Chapter Three.
Drunken Mistakes.
"The most painful feelings, the most piercing emotions, are also the most absurd ones — the longing for impossible things precisely because they are impossible, the nostalgia for what never was, the desire for what might have been." — Fernando Pessoa.
July 2, 2018.
4:10PM
"This is your room," Asami grumpily mutters, opening the door for her brand new roommate, Yuuji.
Like the rest of her apartment, the room was cramped, extremely small in size, and in dire need of a makeover. In fact, at first glance, one would probably think the room was a prison cell.
Aside from its dull color, the hardwood floors were creaky and old, making every step in the room feel like you were walking towards the guillotine. Not only that, but the flickering lightbulb centered in the room didn't exactly make things any better.
Noticing the blank look on Yuuji's face, Asami sighs, "Look kid, I know this place isn't the biggest or the prettiest, and when you compare it to your old dorm room it doesn't exactly measure up in—"
"What are you talking about?" Yuuji interrupts her, a giant grin having formed on his face, "This place is amazing!" he jumps onto the bed, quickly making himself comfortable.
Blinking in surprise, Asami stares at Yuuji in wonder, "Wait, what?"
"Yeah! Asami-sensei, you're talking to someone who didn't even have their own room growing up! Picture this, it's ten p.m on a school night, and you're stuck having to hear your old man snoring next to you. Trust me, with a room like this, I have no right to complain!" he exclaims, snuggling further down into his sleeping pillow.
Feeling the corners of her lip twitch upward, Asami quickly turns her head away, forcing herself to scowl, "Yeah, well you still have to pull your own weight around here, meaning I expect you to pick up after yourself and occasionally do some chores! So don't go thinking you can just lounge around here all day!"
Softly chuckling, Yuuji gives Asami a close-eyed smile, "You don't have to tell me twice Asami-sensei. I promise, whatever you need me to do, I'll do it!"
Grunting, Asami narrows her eyes at him, quietly muttering a string of curses to herself. Though she was relieved that the kid was alive, she wasn't exactly too happy with having her apartment be his so-called "place of refuge" , as Satoru liked to call it.
"Curse that white-haired idiot," she mumbles, remembering their conversation from earlier today.
3 Hours Earlier.
"Before he's targeted again, I'd like to at least give Yuuji some basic training. Please leave him listed as deceased in the report."
"Hm? Then Itadori will have to go into hiding for good."
"Nah, I'll have him stay at Asami's while I train him…"
Choking on her own spit, Asami, who had been silently walking alongside Satoru and Shoko, finally tunes in on their conversation.
"...and when the time comes, I'll have him ready for the Goodwill event."
Face twisting in mere confusion, Asami prepares to protest against the decision,"What the—"
"Why?" Shoko asks, interrupting her before she could even get a word in.
Shrugging, Satoru doesn't hesitate in giving an answer, "Easy. It's because I refuse to keep this kid from living the best years of his life. Not just him, but everyone."
And it's at his words that Asami can't help but recall her own high school days, softly smiling as she tries to fight that warm, fluttering feeling in her stomach.
"Ah, I see. Well, I should get going then. I have to turn in that report as soon as possible," Shoko says, turning to Asami, "I'll see you for drinks tomorrow, right? After I fix your arm, that is," she chuckles, glancing at the woman's arm sling.
Confirming their plans with a silent nod, Asami uses her good arm to give Shoko a small wave of goodbye, watching her as she heads back to her office.
Gaze lingering, Asami becomes lost in her own thoughts. As a result, she forgets that she isn't exactly alone.
"Asami?" Satoru calls out to her, confused as to why she had suddenly stopped walking.
Noticing the pained look in her eyes, Satoru quickly makes his way towards her, realizing that there must've been something on her mind. It wasn't like he could blame her. A lot had happened in the last hour.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asks, now standing in front of her, "Never seen someone come back from the dead?" he attempts to make a lighthearted joke, but sadly, her frown remains. Only then does he realize that jokes weren't going to fix anything. Not that it really mattered. In the end, Asami was a stubborn person. Too stubborn.
Forcing herself to put on a fake scowl, Asami makes a dismissive motion with her hand, not wanting him to worry, "And what makes you think my place is open for refuge?" she snarls at him, "Tch, that place can barely fit me."
Pressing his lips into a straight line, Satoru stares at her through his blind fold, close enough to make her feel like he was reading into her soul, "What's wrong?" he repeats his question from before, but this time, there's a firmness in his voice. It was his way of telling Asami that he wasn't falling for her act.
That's because for Satoru, any change in Asami's behavior, albeit big or small, always stuck out like a sore thumb to him. Something was eating at her, and he wasn't going to stop bothering her until she told him what it was.
Knowing there wasn't much she could do, Asami sighs, stubbornly avoiding eye contact by staring at the ground, "Can we at least go sit somewhere?"
And to that he nods, leading her to a spot of theirs that was all too familiar: the swinging bench.
Sitting down, the two choose to sit in silence for a moment, Satoru wanting Asami to collect her thoughts before speaking. Of course, him being him, that silence could only go on for so long.
"Soooo, are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?"
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Asami rolls her eyes before glaring at him. That was Satoru for you. Impatient as always.
Taking a deep breath in, Asami keeps her gaze on the shrub of white flowers in front of her, "Something is…" she pauses, "...off."
Tilting his head in confusion, Satoru mockingly purses his lips, "Care to elaborate?"
She groans.
"What are the chances that we get not only one, but two, of Sukuna's fingers in one day?" she scoffs, "I mean seriously, finding one back in highschool was a rarity in itself, and now we're magically finding two? You can't tell me that it's a coincidence, Satoru. You just can't. Not to mention, that stupid boy just came back to life out of nowhere! If he's anything like me, then he must've made a—"
"Woah, woah, woah," Satoru chuckles, motioning at her to calm down, as the woman was now rambling at a pace he couldn't keep up with, "Asami, slow down."
"Look, all I'm saying is that things aren't adding up. There's no way Yuuji could just come back to life without making some kind of—"
"Asami, I know, and I'll ask him about it later, okay? But don't you think you're stressing yourself out a little too much? I know things are a little suspicious, but I'm sure it's nothing more than a coincidence—"
"It's no—"
"And," he cuts her off before she can continue, "If it's not then I'll get to the bottom of it, I promise you. Are you forgetting who I am?" he laughs, pouting as he pretends to be offended.
Biting her lower lip, Asami shakes her head, eyes now watery, "But it's not just that Satoru," she whispers, her voice wavering just a bit, "That boy died."
Closing her eyes, a single tear rolls down her cheek, "Yuuji died, Satoru. He's what? 15? He's a kid…"a sardonic laugh bubbles out of her, "A kid who just a couple of weeks ago knew nothing about this world of ours. A kid who deserves to live."
By now, the walls that represented Asami's usual stoic demeanor had come crashing down.
Studying her with a worried frown, Satoru gently cups her face with his hand, "Hey, you know I don't like it when you cry Asami," he uses his thumb to swipe across her cheekbone, stopping a falling tear, "You don't look as pretty when you do," he softly hums, smiling when she instinctively leans further down into his hand.
"I'm not crying," she murmurs, slightly embarrassed by the weepy state she was currently in. She just couldn't help it. For some reason, there was something about seeing Yuuji dead that felt … overwhelming, to say the least.
Perhaps it had to do with the fact that seeing Yuuji dead was a reminder. A reminder of the things she'd seen and done in the past. It was for that reason that she wanted to run, no, she needed to run. That by being here, she was risking her life, and soon it'd be her on that examination table just like how it should've been years ago.
In the end, no matter what Satoru said to comfort her, this time, not even he could ease that sense of fear inside of her.
But the heart was a fickle thing. A stupid, idiotic fickle thing. Like the ocean, it was uncontrollable and destructive, nor did it have any rational thoughts of its own. When compared to the brain, the heart was unique in its need to be unapologetically selfish.
Staring at her heart's desire, Asami internally groans, wanting nothing more than to hate the man in front of her, for hating him would simply make things much easier.
"The waterworks flowing down your eyes tell me otherwise," Satoru mumbles to himself.
As a result, Asami uses her good hand to pinch the underside of his arm, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Ow!" he immediately rubs the sore spot, "Hey, I'm just trying to comfort you!"
"Yeah, well you're not good at it," she sniffles, letting out a laugh that was wet and not wholly under her control, as she wipes any remaining tears from her cheeks, feeling like maybe this time she'd be able to hold it together.
Smiling when he hears the sound of her faint laughter, Satoru casually tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear before saying, "I see, so your love language has gone from kisses to physical abuse," he playfully sighs while wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "And to think you used to kiss me all the—"
She immediately gets up from the bench, deciding she's had enough of this conversation as she begins to walk away.
"Oh come on! Where are you going?" Satoru yells from afar, sporting an idiotic grin on his face, "I was just teasing you Asami!"
Ignoring her ex, Asami continues to walk, but not before childishly flipping him off.
Shaking his head in laughter, Satoru watches her figure become smaller and smaller, shouting, "Remember to take Yuuji!" as the boy was still waiting for them in the morgue.
Present Day.
"Remember, the only people allowed to come in and out of here are Satoru and I. Also, you're not allowed to go to the city, or even step out of this apartment unless you're with one of us, you got it?" Asami sternly reminds Yuuji, who was now sticking his poster of Jennifer Lawrence onto the wall.
"Got it!" Yuuji smiles from ear to ear, giving Asami a thumbs up, "Thank you Asami-sensei!"
Observing the boy with an apathetic look on her face, Asami sighs, "By the way, I'm buying us take out today. I'm sure you understand why I don't exactly have the energy to cook..." she says, causing the two to simultaneously look at her arm sling, the reason being more than obvious.
"Oh… right…" Yuuji chuckles, scratching the back of his neck, "I guess cooking with one arm will just have to wait for another day, am I right?" he attempts to crack a joke, gulping when all he receives is silence.
"Right…" Asami awkwardly looks around, still new to this whole roommate thing, "So…" she pauses, body posture now stiff, "...what do you feel like eating?
"Uhh…" Yuuji places a finger to his chin, carefully thinking of all his options, treating the question as if it were a life or death decision, "I think…." he continuously changes his mind, smiling when he finally makes a decision, "I think pizza will be just fine."
Nodding, Asami pulls out her phone, ready to dial the pizza place until…
She suddenly stops at the door, "By the way, I forgot to mention this, but Yuuji…"
The pink-haired boy quickly looks up, the way in which she says his name making him believe that what she had to say was of importance. Perhaps in her mind it was.
"Do NOT use my strawberry body wash, you hear me? The moment you do, and I promise you, Sukuna won't be the only curse you have to worry about!"
Feeling the corners of his lips twitch upward, Yuuji nods, "You got it," he laughs.
And with that, she closes the door, allowing him to rest.
1 Hour Later.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Yuuji, pizza is here," Asami announces, lightly tapping on the boy's door.
Silence.
Believing that he couldn't hear her, the woman slowly cracks open the door, somewhat surprised when she hears the sound of soft snores. She didn't think he was that tired. Then again, it'd be safe to assume that coming back from the dead was quite draining.
If anything, what was really surprising was that rather than close the door and make her way back into the kitchen, Asami instead chooses to enter the room, careful not to make a sound as she approaches his sleeping figure.
With the moonlight peeking through the bedroom window, Asami quietly observes the young boy, whose features were currently being caressed by that very same light, "You stupid idiot…" she whispers, secretly in awe of how peaceful he looks.
Hesitantly placing her hand on the boy's warm cheek, Asami can't help but softly smile to herself, "And to think you're just a kid. A kid who stupidly swallowed that finger," she sighs, tempted to pinch him as punishment.
Instead, she chooses to rub her thumb along the baseline of his cheek, "I have to say, when I look at you, I can't help but be reminded of myself at your age…" she chuckles, feeling an odd sense of longing, "...still doe-eyed and excited about living in this world. I just—"
She shakes her head, refusing to cry as her lower lip begins to slightly tremble, "I just hope that the value of life isn't taken away from you like it was once taken from me."
And with that, she leaves the room, quietly shutting the door on her way out.
The Next Morning.
9:05AM
"Good morning Asami-sensei!" Yuuji yawns, stretching his arms over his head as he walks over to the kitchen, smiling as the smell of miso soup fills up his nostrils.
Mumbling a faint, "Good morning," Asami keeps her focus on the difficult task in front of her: opening a sliced pickle jar.
Due to her crippled arm, the woman had been struggling for the past fifteen minutes, becoming increasingly frustrated by the second. Trying to twist the lid one more time, Asami once again fails, "Okay, have it your way," she mutters, speaking to the glass jar as if it wasn't an inanimate object.
Lifting the jar over her head, Asami mischievously smiles as she prepares to smash it against the sink, "Time to face your doo—"
"Need help?"
Asami turns to see a nervous-looking Yuuji standing behind her.
"Oh…" she slowly lowers the jar, quickly becoming flustered as the thought of asking him for help never even crossed her mind, "Sure," she says, handing him the jar.
Twisting the lid with ease, Yuuji can't help but laugh at her awkwardness. Not to mention, she was currently wearing a ruffled pink apron that had "World's Best Chef" written on it in cursive.
"Thank you," Asami murmurs, still feeling slightly embarrassed, "Now go and sit," she commands at him, returning to her usual harsh demeanor.
"Gojou is going to be here any moment for your first lesson, so it's important you eat," she says, dumping the pickles into the soup, "I wouldn't want you passing out in the middle of a workout."
Softly chuckling, Yuuji nods, completely agreeing with her statement. Though her tone was filled with attitude, there was still something motherly about the way she said it that made him feel cared for, almost like she was truly looking out for him.
Stirring the pot, Asami gives it one final taste test before carefully serving him a bowl, "Anyways, I'll be heading out soon. I have to get the first and second years started on their training."
Yuuji arches an eyebrow, "Training for what?" he asks, still wanting to keep up to date with what his classmates were doing.
"The Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event."
Question marks appear around Yuuji's head.
Rolling her eyes, Asami sighs before explaining, "It's an event hosted with our sister school, Kyoto Jujutsu High. Aside from us, they're the only other school in the country that is dedicated to fostering and teaching future jujutsu sorcerers. Over the course of two days, each principal will choose an event for the day. The first day usually consists of a team event, and the second will have an individual event."
"I see…"
Noticing the confused look on his face, Asami tries to elaborate a little further, "Think of it as a friendly sparring match between two rival schools, almost like those sporting events that regular high schools do. I'm sure you're familiar with those, right?"
Thinking back to his track and field days, Yuuji nods, everything slowly beginning to make sense.
"In the end, it's nothing but a flashy jujutsu battle where no killing is the only rule," she says, placing her prepped slices of salmon onto the stove, "Sator—I mean Gojou, is hoping to have you ready by then, so consider your lessons with him to be personal training."
An excited smile appears on Yuuji's face.
"I believe in past years Gojou has been in charge of training students, but because we have to train you in private, he and I will be switching places every now and then in order to mitigate suspicion."
"Nice!"
"Of course, if Gojou magically finds another sorcerer to help us out then you'll probably train under them, but…" she sighs, "It's unlikely for now, which brings me to the next topic I've been wanting to discuss with you."
Yuuji tilts his head in curiosity, patiently waiting for her to continue.
"There's going to be days where you'll be bored and alone here,Yuuji. You do understand that, right? Gojou and I are still technically employees of the school."
And for a second, Yuuji lowers his gaze, completely forgetting that he was in hiding, "Oh right..." he feigns a chuckle, quickly replacing his frown with a tiny smile.
"Yeah, I completely understand," he says, secretly bummed by the fact that he was going to be away from his new classmates for so long.
Noticing his solemn expression, Asami attempts to comfort him, "Hey, these two months will go by in the blink of an eye, I promise."
Sensing the sincerity of her words, Yuuji is genuinely surprised when he sees a gentle smile on her face, realizing this was the first time she had smiled at him since he had moved in here.
"T-Thank you Asami—"
"Don't mention it," she quickly turns around before he can finish his statement, continuing with her cooking.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Can you go get that? It's probably—"
"Yuuujiiiiiii! Asamiiiiii!"
"Gojou," Asami groans, rolling her eyes when she sees the two dramatically hug one another. She could excuse Yuuji's behavior, as he was just a kid, but Gojou? Well he was just too old to still be this childish!
Placing her hand onto her hip, Asami gives her ex a deadly glare, "How many times do I have to tell you to wait for someone to open the door before teleporting inside?!" she scolds him, "Seriously, you know nothing about personal—"
"Mmm miso soup with salmon?! You're spoiling the boy Asami!" Gojou rudely interrupts her, grabbing a slice of cooked fish from the platter that she was ready to serve.
Veins popping out of her forehead, Asami tightly grips onto her wooden cooking stick, tempted to smack him across the head with it.
Meanwhile, Yuuji silently watches the two bicker with each other. Well actually, it was Asami who was doing most of the bickering, barking a number of things at her ex. Gojou, on the other hand, was laughing and making jokes of his own. In the end, they were like an old married couple.
Noticing the faint blush on Asami's cheeks, Yuuji can't help but quietly giggle to himself. Despite her grumpy facade, it was plain as day that the woman still held some feelings for her ex.
Turning his attention to Gojou, Yuuji's lips slightly part in surprise when he sees the doting smile on his sensei's face. It was the kind of smile that felt like it was reserved just for her. It was intimate and full of nothing but pure love. He was a happy man, that much was clear.
Observing their subtle acts of affection, several questions begin to arise in Yuuji's mind, all of them having to do with Asami and Gojou.
How did they meet? Why did they break up? What exactly are their abilities? Why was Asami gone for so many years? Why did she become an actress? Why weren't the two together despite it being extremely obvious that they were in love with each other? So many questions, and yet he hadn't received even the slightest hint of an answer for anything!
"Yuujiiii?"
The sound of Gojou's voice brings Yuuji back to reality, the two sorcerers in front of him now staring at him with looks of concern on their faces.
"Something wrong?" Asami asks.
Immediately shaking his head, Yuuji gives them an enthusiastic thumbs up, "No, everything's fine, it's just that…" he pauses, hesitant to go through with what he was about to say, unsure of the reaction he'd get from his teachers.
"Well, we're waiting," Asami places her hand onto her hip, unaware that what her roommate was about to say would ruin her whole morning.
"Has anyone ever told you you two would make a good looking couple?"
The sound of glass breaking could then be heard.
Feeling her left eye twitch, Asami wants nothing more than to strangle the kid in front of her.
Meanwhile, Gojou grins from ear to ear, "Oh have they!" he puckers his lips, making obnoxious kissing noises as he playfully inches towards the woman.
Swinging her cooking stick at him, Asami scowls when all she's met with is his infinity, knowing she wasn't going to be hearing the end of this, "Curse you Yuuji!" she glares at the boy, who's currently clutching onto his stomach, laughing like never before.
1:00PM
"You're late!" Maki yells at Megumi, who was just now arriving at the field, an hour late,"Where were you?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes," she grumpily mutters, "especially when we had to run laps and you didn't," she turns to look at Asami, who for the past hour, had been blowing the whistle that was dangling from her neck as if her life depended on it.
Wincing when they hear her blow it once more, Megumi internally shudders when he sees Asami staring at him from the corner of her eye.
"Panda, that's enough," Asami calmly states, watching the fluffy bear swing Nobara onto the cold grass. Getting up from her seat, she slowly walks over to Megumi, failing to hide the frown on her face. She didn't like it when people were late. In fact, it was probably one of her biggest pet peeves.
"Care to explain why you're," she glances at the time on her watch, "an hour late, Megumi."
"I—" he hesitates, Maki's presence making it hard for him to be completely honest, "I had to return something to someone."
Carefully staring at the boy, Asami notices how stiff his posture gets, realizing that whatever this something was must've been of great value.
"Fine," she says, "but I still expect you to run ten laps," she commands, pointing at the field.
Sighing, he nods without protest, beginning his jog.
"Asami-sensei, I'm going to go buy myself a track suit!" Nobara loudly announces, patting the dirt off her skirt as she stomps over to the woman.
Understanding the struggles of training with a skirt, Asami only nods, "Training resume Monday," she reminds both the young girl and herself, for a second, completely forgetting that today was Saturday. The only reason they were training today was because the second-years, aka Maki, were more eager to begin.
"See you guys Monday!" Nobara shouts, waving at her schoolmates from afar as she exits the premises.
Feeling her stomach rumble, Asami pulls out her phone, "Are you guys okay with eating ramen? So I can order it," she asks the group of second-years while opening her food-delivery app.
"Salmon."
"Yum, sounds good!"
"Yeah, I guess."
She hands her phone to Toge, allowing him to input the group's order.
Taking a sip of her water, Asami sits down on the staircase facing the field, "I think you've all done enough training for today, but if you really want to continue sparring then be my guest," she yawns, remembering that she was going out for drinks later with Shoko. Aside from that, she was also going to be getting her arm fixed, something she was definitely looking forward to.
"Panda," Maki stares at the human-like animal, signaling to him that she wanted to spar.
"Hehe, you're on," he giggles.
Soon, the two are back at it on the field. Handing Asami her phone back, Toge follows his friends, wanting to get a closer look of their spar.
At the same time, an out of breath Megumi returns from his run, "I'm done," he huffs, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Passing him a bottle of water, Asami chuckles at how red he is, patting the space next to her. It was her way of saying he could sit next to her.
Blinking in surprise, Megumi hesitantly sits down. The reason he was surprised was that the two hadn't really talked since the night of Yuuji's death, the silent car ride home being dreadful enough as it was. Of course, the only difference now was that Asami knew Yuuji was still alive, she just had to keep her students in the dark about it.
"I—" Megumi pauses, keeping his gaze on the spar in front of him, "I went to drop off one of the victim's name tags to their mother. Felt like it was the least I could do," he confesses. Though she hadn't asked about his whereabouts, for some reason, he still felt like he owed it to her to tell the truth.
"I see," Asami hums, "That's a…." she struggles to find the right word, "... noble thing for you to do. I read the mission report, it wasn't like those boys were saints either."
Megumi shrugs in a solemn manner,"But they were people nonetheless. People with good people around them. Good people who'd mourn their deaths," he says, the image of Tadashi's crying mother appearing in his mind.
Silence fills the air.
"I've—" Megumi exhales deeply, "I've been meaning to ask you something Asami-sensei. I tried asking Maki-senpai, but she didn't really give me the answer I was looking for."
Asami raises an eyebrow, her curiosity now piqued, "Well, what is it?"
"As a jujutsu sorcerer, what kind of people do you want to save?"
Honestly, he expects to hear some kind of elaborate answer. An answer about morality and justice, and how there's a code to follow as jujutsu sorcerers. So imagine his surprise when all Asami does is…. laugh.
'He's …. He's a good boy.' she thinks to herself, happy to know that he came out alright.
"If I knew the answer myself, I'd tell you, but it seems like I'm no use to you," she chuckles, having calmed herself down, "What I do know is that whether you're a jujutsu sorcerer, a regular human being, or hell maybe even a curse, we're all just selfish beings. That's because most, if not all of us, have the desire to live. The reasons simply tend to vary."
She sighs, "But when it comes down to it, the question is, who has a stronger desire?"
"I see…" Megumi stares at Asami with a pensive look in his eyes, not exactly disappointed with her answer. If anything, it made him even more curious about the woman. That's because an answer like that could only be learned first-hand.
"But I think the mentality of saving good and kind people works too," she gives Megumi a small, comforting smile, almost as if she too understood his inner turmoil.
Looking down at the ground, a flustered blush appears on Megumi's cheeks, not exactly a fan of being read.
"Anything else I can help you with?" she asks, expecting him to say no. So imagine her surprise when he in fact nods his head yes.
Taking a deep breath in, Megumi twiddles with his fingers before speaking, "Right now that you just laughed, it reminded me of something that's been bothering me for quite some time now…"
She motions at him to continue, interested in what he had to say.
"When I was younger, I want to say maybe in first grade, a woman followed me from school one day..."
Asami's heart begins to race.
"She thought she couldn't be seen, and perhaps she wouldn't have been, had it been anyone else she was following," he chuckles, remembering the days where he didn't know what cursed energy was. At the time, all he knew was that it was like a strange buzzing feeling.
"For some reason, the memory sorta comes in glimpses. It's weird, really. Around that time, Gojou-sensei had recruited me, and I can remember that memory as if it was yesterday ..."
Choosing to remain silent, Asami studies her hands, secretly gulping down the saliva that was building in her throat.
"All I know is that I stupidly confronted the woman. I just can't seem to put a face on her," he sighs, almost as if he was disappointed with himself for not remembering, "What I do remember is the sound of her crying and apologizing, as well as…"
He looks up at her, "The sound of her laughter."
"..."
"Asami-sensei, it'd be a lie for me to say that your laugh doesn't resemble that woman's, so…."
Knowing what he was about to ask, Asami immediately begins to think of several excuses she could give.
"I was wondering if it had possibly been you?"
Asami's lips slightly part, the woman still taken back by the question.
Quickly composing herself, Asami shakes her head no, "Sorry, must be a coincidence," she mumbles, not bothering to explain any further, as she didn't want to dig herself into a whole.
"Are you sure? I won't be mad if it was, " Megumi frowns, "It's just really been bothering me, you know?"
Asami shakes her head once more, clearly adamant about her answer, "Considering you're a first year now…" she pretends to do the mental math despite knowing exactly what year it was when he was in the first grade, "... that means you were a first-grader in what, 2007? 2008? I was studying overseas by then…"
Biting the inside of her cheek, Asami knows that she's lying, but like hell was she going to tell this kid the truth.
"Oh…" he lowers his gaze, making the mistake of believing her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry so much."
"No, it's fine. I would be the—"
"I could really go for some food right now," Panda loudly groans, having gotten his butt kicked in hand-to-hand combat with Maki. By now, the second years were tired from training, having made their way back to the stairs.
Checking her phone, Asami gives him an estimate for the food, "It should be here in about fifteen minutes, so just sit and rest for now," she says, taking out a lollipop from her pocket.
Surprisingly, Satoru's childish method was beginning to work again, the temptation to smoke a cigarette slowly disappearing with every day that passed.
"So…" Asami awkwardly glances at the students, "Anything you kids want to talk about?" she asks, trying to find a way to pass by time.
"These days, I've been wanting to start carrying a cursed tool for myself," Panda randomly says, causing Maki's eyebrows to furrow.
"Hey! You already carry mine!" she scolds him.
"Carrying cursed tools, huh?" Megumi begins to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of carrying a weapon for himself, ultimately concluding that he liked having his hands free, as his cursed technique required hand symbols. From there, he asks Maki where she keeps her own weapons, causing her to scold him as well.
"Did you not just hear me? I make Panda carry one, while I carry the other," she harshly responds, causing Megumi to sulk to himself, regretting ever asking.
"Some sorcerers use cursed spirits to store items as well," Panda mentions.
"They're really rare, and you almost never see them used since it takes a lot to tame them. But if you find one, let me know," Maki adds, her reason being obvious.
"Asami-sensei, do you use any cursed tools?" Panda turns to his sensei, who seemed to be patiently waiting for her food.
"W-What are you—" the students begin to blush, confused as to why the woman was lifting her skirt. It isn't until she reveals the pouch strapped around her thigh that everything begins to make sense.
"Throwing knives?" Maki is the first to ask, curious as to what made them so special.
Pulling out a knife, Asami displays the weapon to her students, "They're imbued with just a tiny bit of my cursed energy," she explains, casually tossing it to a tree.
Eyes widening, the students are taken by complete surprise when the tree practically explodes, "Woah," they all whisper under their breath, shocked at how lethal the knives were.
"Technically speaking, they're not cursed tools, but if I didn't program them to get rid of their cursed energy when thrown then they'd definitely have the potential. All I'd have to do is continuously imbue them with cursed energy for a long period of time. Something I prefer not to do."
"Can I see one?" Maki asks.
Nodding, Asami gently tosses her a knife, confident that she would be able to catch it without cutting herself.
"Oh wow," Maki's eyebrows curl in amusement,"These are heavy, even for me," she chuckles, struggling to lift the weapon.
"You get used to them," Asami says, "Anyways, I tend to use my knives whenever I want to weaken a curse. At most, they can probably kill a grade two curse if I stab it well enough, but in the hands of someone inexperienced, they'll only be able to kill grade three and less.
"These, on the other hand," Asami suddenly pulls out two ancient Sai knives from the holster wrapped around her left thigh, "are special-grade cursed tools."
"Tuna tuna," Inumaki points at the knives, grabbing his friends' attention.
Carefully passing the knives to Maki, the young girl stares at the knives in awe, its golden color reflecting off the sun's glare, making them seem almost God-like.
"Die in peace," Maki whispers to herself, reading the kanji that was engraved on the handles of the knives.
"I guess you can call this my final trump card. Let's say I'm in a life or death situation, and I'm all out of options, I can throw these at any curse or curse user, and it'll immediately kill them for me. The only thing is," she sighs, knowing nothing good in life could exist without some kind of drawback, "Once it's out of my hands, it must land on the specific target I have in mind."
The students tilt their heads in confusion, wondering what was so hard about that.
"When I say target, I mean an exact pinpoint. For example, if I want the knife to land on your heart and it stabs through your head instead, then not only will it effectively hurt me, but it'll temporarily make an opponent much stronger. If it's even an inch off target then it's game over for me. For that reason, I can't just throw them whenever I want to. "
Staring at the object in awe, the students feel a chill run down their spine, realizing just how powerful these tools were.
"If they're not being thrown then they're just like any other regular cursed tools, which is why I only ever take them out for swordfighting," she adds, placing the knives back into her holster.
"How'd you even get those?" Maki asks.
A soft chuckle escapes from her lips, "That's a story for another day," she says before looking at her phone, "Food's here."
"But—"
"Talk amongst yourselves. I'll be right back," Asami gets up from her seat. And as she leaves, she looks back one last time, proudly smirking when she sees Megumi put a hand through his own shadow, a determined smile now on his face.
7:30PM
"Well, I've gotta run," Gojou announces, laughing when he sees Yuuji trying to fight off the cursed corpse he had assigned to him, "Just keep hanging in there."
Rubbing the swollen spots on his face, Yuuji pouts, "Am I really going to get stronger?" he asks, beginning to grow annoyed with this exercise.
"Of course," Gojou laughs, knowing Yuuji still had a long night of punches ahead of him. Ready to walk out the door, Gojou suddenly remembers his conversation with a certain someone.
"What are the chances that we get not only one, but two, of Sukuna's fingers in one day? I mean seriously, finding one back in highschool was a rarity in itself, and now we're magically finding two? You can't tell me that it's a coincidence, Satoru. You just can't. Not to mention, that stupid boy just came back to life out of nowhere! If he's anything like me, then he must've made a—"
"Woah, woah, woah. Asami, slow down."
"Look, all I'm saying is that things aren't adding up. There's no way Yuuji could just come back to life without making some kind of—"
"Asami, I know, and I'll ask him about it later, okay?"
It seemed like later was right now.
"Oh, by the way, did you talk with Sukuna while you were dead?"
"Talk…?"
Gojou decides to elaborate a little further, "Any conditions or contracts in exchange for fixing your heart?"
"Oh… um… I know we talked about something," Yuuji pensively looks down at the ground, "I just can't remember what it was."
Frowning, Gojou chooses to leave the conversation at that, not wanting to worry the boy, "I see," he mumbles to himself, quietly making his way back to Asami's living room.
'She's right, something is off,' he sighs, knowing his concerns would have to wait, as he had a meeting with Masamichi to get to. Wanting to grab a quick snack, Gojou heads to the kitchen, stopping midway as something catches his eye.
Grabbing a photo album from the bookshelf placed just outside the kitchen, Gojou softly chuckles, "Didn't take you as someone who liked making these kinds of things," he says outloud, presumably referring to Asami.
On the front cover, the dates "2005-2008" could be read.
Realizing the album was a culmination of photos from their high school days, Gojou smiles when he sees an old photo of Asami, "So…" his finger softly grazes over the image, "... cute."
Laughing when he sees how horrible the quality of the photos were, Gojou figures that they were all taken from either a flip phone or a cheap camera, "Ha, we were a good looking couple," he snickers, spotting a photo of him and Asami smiling at the camera.
Cringing at the style of their youth, Satoru's grin grows only wider as he flips through the album book, feeling a sense of nostalgia. Who would've ever thought that things would end up like this? Asking himself where things had gone wrong, Gojou shakes his head, not wanting to taint his memories with such useless questions.
What had happened, happened. There was just no changing that. All Gojou Satoru could do was live on with his life. In fact, it was the least he could do.
Continuing to look through the photos, Gojou exhales deeply, wondering what Asami was doing at this very moment.
"Cheers to a healed arm," Shoko raises her drink, clinking it with Asami's.
Gulping down the vodka, Asami immediately makes a face as she feels a burning sensation form in her throat, "I don't see how you can like this stuff, " she says, drinking out of her chaser of cranberry juice. Despite this being her fifth shot of the night, the pungent taste of alcohol was only getting stronger for the woman.
Taking another sip of her drink, Shoko nonchalantly shrugs, "You get used to the aftertaste."
Asami sighs, "I guess. Then again, I've always had a love-hate relationship with alcohol," she laughs, "I don't know if you remember, but I don't exactly have a high tolerance for it."
Laughing at an old memory, Shoko nods, "Oh I remember," she says, recalling the first time Asami ever drank alcohol. Oh, what a night that was! Even now, she could still hear Masamichi's thirty minute lecture on the dangers of alcohol piercing through her ears.
"You also seem to be pretty talkative when you're tipsy," Shoko adds, causing her old classmate to playfully roll her eyes.
"Haven't I always been? Talking is in my nature!" Asami dramatically throws her arms in the air, a clear sign that she was getting drunker by the minute, "It's just that things change when you least want them to," she sighs, signaling to the bartender that she wanted another shot.
"Speaking of things changing, I'm surprised to see just how little things have changed between you and Satoru," Shoko smirks, carefully observing Asami's reaction to the statement.
Eyebrows knitting together, a flustered blush appears on the woman's cheeks, "Tch, what's that supposed to mean?"
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you two were fooling around or something," Shoko chuckles.
Asami scoffs, attempting to be nonchalant, "We're just friends who happen to be exes," she says, but to her horror, her voice cracks midway through the sentence.
'Kill me,' she thinks to herself.
"Mhmm sure you are," Shoko sarcastically responds with, "Honestly, I don't see what's stopping you two from getting back together. It seems like you two are always around one another anyway."
"Hm."
"Then again, who broke up with who again?"
"It was a mutual thing," Asami quickly answers, oddly getting defensive. Then again, taking a trip down memory lane wasn't exactly something she wanted to do tonight.
"Anywayssss," she begins to slur her words, "I know Satoru, and he hasn't said or done anything that would make me think his teasing is anything more than his usual idiotic behavior. For that reason, I'm taking everything with a grain of salt," Asami says with a know-it all tone, well aware that she was lying through her teeth.
Sighing, Shoko shakes her head, knowing Asami was simply being stubborn, "Satoru will always love you. I mean you were his first girlfriend, hell you were even his first ki—"
"Well, won't you look at the time," Asami interrupts her before she can continue, glancing down at her watch.
Perhaps if she wasn't drunk, she would've realized that she had completely forgotten her watch at home. As a result, Asami was blankly staring at nothing but her naked wrist, unaware of how foolish she looked.
Gulping, Shoko nervously smiles, "Guess you weren't lying when you said that you didn't have a high tolerance. Let's call you a taxi," she helps Asami get up from her seat, happy to have caught up with her high school friend.
8:10PM
"Bye Shoko!" Asami childishly waves at the taxi that was now driving off. Entering her apartment complex, the grown woman giggles as she looks for her floor's button. To say she was drunk would be an understatement.
Stumbling out the elevator, Asami miraculously makes it to her door.
Digging into her purse, she tries to look for her keys before shaking her bag like it was some kind of piggy bank, "I know you're in there somewhere," she laughs, not caring for the things that were falling.
Hearing a jingling sound, Asami grins when she sees her keys on the floor, quickly bending down to grab them. Having finally obtained her keys, the intoxicated woman struggles to insert her key into the lock.
"Mmm," she grumbles, repeatedly rotating her key, failing to open her door each and every time. Growing frustrated, Asami practically jams it into the keyhole, forcing the door to open. Funnily enough, as she enters her apartment, she doesn't forget to take off her shoes. Drunk or not, indoor slippers were a must.
"Left…right….left….right…" Asami whispers to herself, walking like she was some kind of giant. Perhaps it was because in her mind, she was.
Staring at the floor, Asami is convinced that the floor is some kind of moving illusion. As a result, with every step she takes, she inches her head just a little forward, until soon enough, she finds herself well on her way to the ground.
"Waahhh—" she laughs like a child. Closing her eyes, Asami prepares to land on what she believes is a cloud of pillows. That is until…
"Woah there," a pair of firm arms grab her from behind, preventing her from completely falling.
"Hm?" Asami tilts her head in confusion, whoever is behind her now helping her maintain balance. Looking back, Asami frowns when all she sees is a blur of colors. Though she had to admit, the voice sounded awfully a lot like a certain someone she knew.
"Satoru?" Asami asks, not exactly too sure. Then again, who else had white hair and towered over her like a giant.
"Come on, let's get you to sit somewhere," he chuckles, carefully leading her to the couch.
"Oh, it is you!" Asami grins, "Satoruuuuuu," she sings his name.
"That's me," he snorts, gently setting her down onto the couch. Honestly, it felt like it'd been forever since he'd seen her in such a drunken state, but almost as if it was second nature, he still knew what to do.
"I'm going to boil some tea on the stove, if that's alright with you?" he asks her.
"Mmmhmmm, you go do that," Asami lazily gives him a thumbs up, her eyes only halfway open.
Preparing her drink, Satoru heads to her room to grab a blanket along with some makeup removing wipes.
Groaning when she feels something moist on her face, Asami tries to swat her ex's hand away, "What is that?" she pouts, ready to throw a hissy fit.
"It's a makeup removal wipe," Satoru says, sighing when she deliberately turns her face away from him, "Asami—"
"I don't like it," she crosses her arms, now in a grouchy mood.
"You also don't like sleeping with your makeup on," he retorts.
"And how do you know that?"
Gulping, a faint blush appears on Satoru's cheeks as he recalls certain memories, "I just do."
"I don't believe—"
And like a cat being petted, Asami suddenly closes her eyes, "Satoruuuu," she purrs, enjoying the feeling of getting her hair stroked.
Chuckling at her reaction, Satoru uses one hand to run through her hair and the other to remove her makeup, "Yes, Asami?" he asks, careful not to poke her eye.
"I missed youuuu," she randomly confesses, giving her ex the sincerest of smiles. Perhaps it had to do with all of the alcohol she consumed, but her face was now slightly flushed red, adding to her cute appearance.
Laughing to himself, Satoru chooses not to take her seriously, "I'm sure you did, but say that to me when you're sober," he says, voice little more than a murmur.
Grabbing her blanket, he tries to get her to lie down so she can sleep, but like a child, she refuses to do so.
"No! I want to talk to youuu," she slurs, stubbornly remaining in an upright position, "We need to talk about u—Oooooo!"
Something suddenly catches her attention.
"Is that my photo album?" she reaches for the book that's on the coffee table, Satoru having accidentally left it there.
Flipping through the pages, a giant grin appears on Asami's face as she skims through the pictures, "Awww, look how young we looked!" she laughs, pointing at her favorite ones.
Snickering when she sees an old photo of Satoru, Asami decides to poke fun at him, "Remember when you used to wear those round sunglasses, and we'd make fun of you for looking like the mice from Shrek! Seriously, what were you thinking?" she asks.
As a result, she receives a cold glare from Satoru, making her laugh even more.
"Hey, I'm just teasing you," she winks at him, mocking the common phrase he likes to use on her.
"Mm, I'll have you know, those sunglasses were the craze—"
"Look!" she points at another photo.
Glancing at the photo, Satoru's heart swells with nothing but joy when he sees the current look on Asami's face. It was a look that radiated pure innocence. It reminded him of the Asami he first met, the one who was still naive to the horrors of the world.
"I can't believe I used to wear that kind of stuff! And look at my hair!" Asami clutches onto her stomach, tears now falling down from her eyes as she goes into a fit of hysterics.
Leaning her head against his shoulder, Asami wipes her tears, "I have to say, if there's one thing I miss from this era, it's angrily closing my flip phone," she jokingly says, causing him to join in on her laughter. Even he had to admit, it was quite fun to do that.
Realizing it was getting late, Satoru exhales deeply, "Asami, I should really get—"
"Satoru," she calls out to him, voice hoarse, "Stay with me."
Looking down, Satoru frowns, "Asami—"
"Please?" she slowly inches towards him, sliding her palm to his nape as she caresses him. Ever so gently.
Gulping, Satoru's palms get sweaty, knowing what she was about to do.
Tempted to give in to his inner desires, Satoru bites the inside of his cheek. The last time he received a kiss of hers was nearly ten years ago, yet he could still remember how sweet and full of love they always were. He could still remember the sound of her giggles in between their kisses. He could still remember it all. Every single minute of their relationship.
Sometimes, it was all he ever thought about when looking at her. And so to say he hadn't been dreaming of this moment for quite some time would be a lie.
But not like this.
It wasn't going to happen like this.
'She's drunk, she doesn't know what she's doing,' Satoru reminds himself, ready to turn his head and deny the nearing Asami. But before he could say or do anything of that sort, Asami does something that surprises him.
She takes off his blindfold.
"Ah, there's my Satoru," she softly chuckles, leaving him completely speechless.
From there, she glances at the photo album on her lap, as the last page she had turned to had a photo of him without his sunglasses. It was the sole reason why she had wanted him to stay.
Satisfied with her actions, Asami wraps her arms around his waist as she buries her head into the crook of his neck. By now, her hyper little state had died down, as she was now breathing at a slow, relaxed pace.
Noticing the way her eyelids droop, Satoru knows that she's going to fall asleep at any moment.
"Asami?"
"Mm."
Silence.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
Slowly looking up, Asami frowns, "For?"
Perhaps it had to do with the fact that at this very moment, he wasn't the notorious Gojou Satoru that everyone knew and looked up to. That right now he was just another average man in the eyes of Asami. But for some reason, Satoru felt like he owed it to her to apologize.
Apologize for bringing her back into the world that she desperately did not want to be a part of, for selfishly asking her to help him achieve his dream, and most importantly for …
"Not choosing you that night," he solemnly says, the night they broke up having haunted him for the last ten years. To this day, he could still remember every word that was exchanged.
"Mm, I see," Asami quietly hums, a small smile now on her face, "If it makes you feel better, I knew what I was asking for was a complete longshot. In fact, that night, I didn't go in with high hopes," she admits to not only him, but herself.
Staring at her in brief shock, Satoru feels a lump form in his throat, "W-Why?"
Grabbing his hand, Asami intertwines it with her own, "Because you have a dream, remember?"
Giggling at the pained look on his face, Asami gives him a reassuring squeeze, "And even though you can be a completely smug and overconfident idiot, you'll never be nowhere near as selfish as me," she whispers, almost as if reminding herself of the fact.
"And that's what I love about you. You want to help people, so that they can become just as strong as you," she says, giving him a close-eyed smile.
Of course Asami would confess her love for him when she was drunk! Couldn't the woman do this when she was sober, instead of acting all brooding towards him? Sighing, Satoru rests his head against her own, basking in her strawberry scent.
Blankly staring at the wall in front of them, a heavy silence fills the air. It was one filled with regret and longing, almost as if the universe had been waiting for this exact moment.
You see, Gojou Satoru wasn't one to entertain "What If" notions. In fact, he usually found it to be completely and utterly useless. In his mind, when things happened it's because they were always meant to be that way, and having regrets for such things was nothing more than a potential weakness. And if there was one thing Gojou Satoru didn't like, it was weak things.
But right now, looking at the weak woman beside him, Satoru couldn't help but feel endeared, for she was one of his very few weaknesses.
"What if…" he pauses for just a slight second, hesitant to go through with his question. A question that had been plaguing his mind since their breakup. A question that he once thought he'd never get an answer to.
"What if I had chosen you that night?"
And just like that, Satoru feels a weight come off his shoulders.
"What would've happened? Where would we be now?" he asks, for the first time, allowing himself to think of the path he could've taken. The life he could've lived.
Remaining silent, Asami stares at him with her lips slightly parted, "We—" she cuts herself off, unsure of what to say. Then again, what could she say? After that night, any dreams she possibly had were crumbled like ashes in the wind, forgotten and dismissed.
That's because the day Gojou Satoru chose to continue being a sorcerer, was also the day Okada Asami had chosen to live for herself, promising herself to never look back. And yet, here she was.
Exhaling deeply, Asami hesitantly begins to recite her long forgotten dream, her voice soft like silk, "We would've moved to a small village in the countryside, where the number of curses are at a minimum. We'd spend our days learning and doing new things like drawing or painting…."
Listening to her speak, Satoru begins to picture what could've been. Perhaps he wasn't the only one, as he soon notices the faint glimmer in Asami's eyes, almost as if she were imagining it with him.
"Despite us living in the countryside, we would still be only a couple miles away from the city, just in case we get bored and find ourselves in desperate need of some entertainment," she laughs, knowing that deep down they'd always be city-people.
"We probably would've gotten married on a whim because I cannot imagine you seriously getting on one knee without making an utter joke out of it," she says, making him laugh as he knows it's true.
"And when the time was right, we'd even have ki—"
She abruptly stops herself from continuing, realizing she was going too far.
"Kids? We'd even have kids?" he says for her, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.
Reluctantly nodding, Asami chooses to stare down at the ground, "Two, at most. A boy and a girl, but I wouldn't mind a third," she pauses, trying her best to keep her voice strong and firm.
"We'd all be one little happy family, ignorant to the world around us," she concludes, secretly wiping the single teardrop that rolls down her cheek.
Feeling his heart wrench, Satoru wonders what their kids would look and be like. Who would they take after? Would they be loud and outgoing like him? Or would they be warmhearted and gentle like Asami? Either way, all he knew was that she'd be a good mother. No, not good, exceptional.
She'd love them more than she would ever love herself, that he was sure of. It'd be the kind of love that was boundless, endless, seamless, selfless, and unconditional—the purest love of all.
"We—" he struggles to continue, knowing that his next words were only lies, a way of giving Asami false hope, "We could still have that. Maybe not now, but—"
Asami lets out a bitter laugh, no longer the naive little girl she once was.
"Mm, I'd like that," she mumbles, gently shutting her eyes, as all she wanted in this moment was to peacefully sleep beside the one she loved most.
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Satoru carefully picks Asami up before carrying her bridal-style into her bedroom. Gently setting her down on the bed, Satoru smiles when he sees her naturally curl up and cuddle the pillow beside her, now fast asleep.
Stroking her cheek with his thumb, Satoru whispers, "Goodnight Asami," before exiting the room, knowing he had a meeting to get to.
9:30PM
Looking out the car window, Satoru stares at the full moon above him, secretly admiring its luminescence. Even now, he was still thinking of his conversation with Asami, each and every word she had said now ringing in his mind like a never ending loop.
Countryside? Painting? Drawing? Marriage? Kids?
Deep down, Satoru knew it was unobtainable, but for some reason he still wanted it. Especially now that she was miraculously back in his life. He owed it to her, didn't he? She gave up her own career for the sake of his dream, meaning the least he could do was one day fulfill hers.
Then again, who knew when his dream would be achieved. It could take years, decades, perhaps even his whole lifetime to finally do it. To finally reset the crappy world of jujutsu.
But in order to do that, he needed to foster and teach several generations of sorcerers, not just one. It was a commitment he was willing to take until…
"We'd all be one little happy family, ignorant to the world around us."
He deserved a future. He deserved peace. He deserved love.
Didn't he?
Frowning, Satoru crosses his arms as he continues to stare at the moon.
"Stop the car."
"Huh? Right here?"
"Just do it," Satoru commands at the nervous Ijichi, sensing an unfamiliar presence of cursed energy. Not only that, but it was following them, almost as if waiting for the right moment to ambush them.
Stepping out of the car, Satoru curses himself for not taking Asami's concerns too seriously before. Of course, that's not to say he wasn't confident in facing whoever this person was. He just didn't like it when weak people thought they had the upper hand on him, especially not after the incident with Fushiguro Toji.
Sighing, Satoru patiently stands in the middle of the road, mentally preparing himself for the earful he was going to receive from his ex later.
10:15 PM
"Asami…."
A hand gently shakes Asami's body.
"Asami," the person repeats her name, hoping she'd wake up. Surely enough, she does.
"Mhmm," the red head groggily blinks, her entire body feeling both heavy and sore. Rubbing her eyes, Asami squints at the man in front of her, "Satoru?" she says, confused as to why he was holding Yuuji by the collar.
She had to be dreaming, right?
"Asami, on a scale of 1-10, how drunk are you?" Satoru asks.
Groaning, Asami glares at him before mumbling a faint, "Two."
Vision slowly clearing, Asami sees the pensive look on his face.
"Are you sure?"
"Gojou-sensei, clearly she's still drunk," Yuuji whispers, clearly concerned for his sensei.
Grouchily sitting up from her bed, Asami scowls, "What do you want?"
Nervously laughing, Gojou awkwardly scratches the back of his neck, "I'm in the middle of a high end jujutsu battle," he attempts to answer her question as casually as he can.
"You're in a what?!"
"Look, it's a long story, and we don't have time to waste. I need you to scan the surrounding area while I'm fighting this curse," he says, knowing he didn't have any other option but to take Asami along with him. Though his six eyes were an anomaly in their world, sadly, they didn't grant him the ability of being in two places at once.
"B-But—"
"Asami, I know you can do this," he reassures her, knowing she was doubting herself.
"Fine," she grabs her pouch of knives from the bed stand, grabbing his free hand as he quickly teleports them to a forest.
"We'll be at the lake," Gojou announces, continuing to hold onto Yuuji by the collar, "Remember, only scouting, no fighting," he reminds her before heading off into the battlefield.
"Tch, as if it freaking matters. So much for not putting me in a situation that'll get me killed," she huffs, now alone in the forest.
Taking a deep breath in, Asami begins to think of the long list of questions she was going to ask him later, ready to have his head on a stick.
Rubbing her temple, Asami quietly groans. God, was her head killing her.
Deciding to do as told, she begins to walk around the forest, keeping her eyes open for anything suspicious. The only thing was that due to the overwhelming amount of cursed energy that Gojou and whoever it was that he was fighting were using, it was difficult to locate any other sources of cursed energy.
"Asami, on a scale of 1-10, how drunk are you?"
"Two."
Boy, was that an underestimate. Perhaps five would've been a better answer.
Mistaking her left foot for her right, Asami accidently crashes into the tree in front of her, causing her to fall to the ground, "Ouch," she mumbles, knowing she'd wake up with a couple of bruises. Though she wouldn't consider herself drunk, she was definitely still tipsy.
Massaging her temple, Asami slowly gets up from the floor, frowning when her surroundings begin to overlap with each other. Did she really hit the tree that hard? Maybe this was an effect of the alcohol?
Rubbing her eyes, Asami begins to panic when things only get more blurry for her, almost as if she were losing her vision…
'What the…' she takes a big whiff. Where was the husky scent of the trees? Where was the smell of the dirt? What the hell was going on with her senses?
Soon, a sharp sound pierces through her ears, causing her to wince in pain.
Covering her ears, Asami tries to run, but her disorientated state makes it hard for her to move. Not only did she not have any balance, but she was in a complete state of panic, the loud sound resembling that of a flashbang.
'I need to find Sato—'
"Asamiiii."
An eerie wind blows through the forest.
Eyes widening, Asami freezes in fear, every single inch of her body becoming stiff as she finds herself unable to move, "N-No…"
"Asamiiii."
Her name echoes through the forest.
"I-It can't be," she whispers to herself, eyes watering when she sees a shadow run past her, "H-He's dead," she reminds herself, her voice breaking.
Feeling a cold chill run down her spine, Asami pulls out a knife as she frantically looks around, fingers trembling. Why couldn't she sense his cursed energy? Was this all an illusion? No, it couldn't be. So then, why was there nothing physically around her?
"Asamiiii," they whisper her name once more, almost as if taunting her.
With a single teardrop rolling down her cheek, Asami finally utters their name into the empty forest, "S-S-Suguru?"
Vision going black, Asami's chest heaves as she struggles to control her breathing.
"I don't want to die! Please! I just want my mommy! Please! I don't want to die!" a child's voice suddenly screams across the forest.
And just like that, Asami falls to her knees.
Body shaking in fear, Asami uncontrollably sobs, "I-I'm sorry," she croaks out, repeating the meaningless words she had once said before. Shutting her eyes, Asami covers her ears with her numb hands, having lost all sensation.
'H-How?' she think to herself, 'This is one of my—"
"Asamiiiii."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up," she rocks back and forth, feeling as if she was going crazy.
"Asamiiii."
"I said, shut up!"
"Asami!"
"SHUT UP!"
Panting for breath, Asami looks up to see Gojou crouching in front of her, his blindfold off as he stares at her with a worried look on his face. Behind him, stands Yuuji, who seems just as concerned.
Touching her face, Asami finds herself at a complete loss for words. Her senses had returned. Not only that, but any tears she had shed were gone, not a single trace of them could be found on her face. It was as if nothing ever happened to begin with. Almost as if she dreamt it all.
No, that was impossible…
Right?
"Asami, what happened?" Satoru asks her.
Staring at him in silence, Asami wants to tell him what happened, but it was hard to do that when she herself wasn't sure of anything. She was just too drunk, right? That had to be it. No way in hell was that real. She refused to believe that it was.
"It was…" she pauses, voice slightly shaking, "It was nothing."
"Asami—"
"Just me being drunk," she forces herself to laugh, patting the dirt off her knees as she gets up from the floor, "There seemed to be nothing around the perimeter either. So, how'd your battle go?" she asks, purposely avoiding eye contact with the man.
Pressing his lips into a straight line, Gojou's nostrils flare in annoyance. He didn't believe her. Not at all.
"It was botched by some curse," he says, deciding he wasn't going to press her on the issue in front of Yuuji. She would definitely be hearing from him soon, that much was guaranteed.
"I see," she murmurs, still feeling a bit disorientated.
Sensing the tension in the air, Yuuji jumps into the conversation, "So, Gojou-sensei … What is it that you were saying about my new goal? Something about me beating a curse like that?"
"Oh right," he hums, forcing himself to grin as he explains Yuuji's training plan for the next month.
Keeping her gaze lowered, Asami tunes out their conversation, still stuck on what had happened. By now, her mind was screaming at her to run and never look back. It was telling her that this was her last warning before she'd find herself revisiting a past that she desperately wanted to forget. That by staying here, she'd have to come face to face with the fact that she was nothing more than a monster hiding in sheep's clothing.
A/N:
I know the romance between Gojo and Asami seems a little fast paced, but don't worry, there will definitely be angst in the future :) At some point, this story jumps into the past, so you'll get a better understanding as to why they're so comfortable with each other and why Asami is such a girl in love.
Anyways, see y'all next update ! And please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter! Anything is appreciated :)
Music Inspiration:
It's Okay - by Nam Hye Seung & Go Eun Jeong
Rooftop March - by Nam Hye Seung & Park Sang Hee
Woorunggakshi - by Nam Hye Seung & Go Eun Jeong
On the Road, Left Alone - by Nam Hye Seung & Park Sang Hee
Revised 2/8/22.