(Ann.: Thanks for your engagement with this story! Don't mind me putting Denji in a healthy environment, even though I've only known him for two anime episodes.)

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Denji felt like absolute shit. Probably because of the blood loss earlier. Maybe because he had slowly started to realize that Pochita was gone for good and he, Denji, was alone again, still friendless, in a car with some old geezer going who knows where.

Said car was running smoothly over a deserted highway, its motor purring like a content kitten but too loud in Denji's ears, which were ringing painfully. His headache made his head feel like it was dropping off any moment. If not for the motor sounds and him playing with Pochita's tail that stuck out from his chest, Denji would've certainly just keeled over.

Plus, his stomach growled loudly in the silence of the car.

The blond geezer with weird glasses turned his head away from the window and to Denji with a blank expression, and Denji shrugged and explained: "That was my stomach."

"Alright. Why don't we introduce ourselves first?" the geezer answered in such a serious way as if somebody had died. "My name is Nanami, I'm a grade one jujutsu sorcerer. It's nice to meet you, Denji."

What was the reason that the two kids and Kugisaki from the warehouse respected this guy so much? Denji didn't feel like it was easy to get along with this dude, not to mention like him. But the guys and Kugisaki had looked so dejected when Nanami had told them to take the other car and let Denji and Nanami on their own in this one.

"Alright. We will stop and buy breakfast along the way. Let me tell the driver," Nanami said.

"Sorry, I don't have any cash," Denji said automatically, and Nanami who had made a move to stand up sank down onto the car seat again.

"That will not be an issue. Just pick what you like. Until you are settled in Jujutsu High, I will pay for all of your expenses."

"What?!" Denji exclaimed with a surge of excitement that made him momentarily forget his pain at this, ignoring Nanami's short-lived grimace at the volume of Denji's voice. "All of them?! Are you for real! Jeez, thanks man!"

"There's no need to get so excited, Denji. I'm merely doing my job," Nanami said dryly, but then paused, adjusted his glasses with his middle finger and sighed, having realized something because of Denji's face shining with unconcealed happiness.

Why was Nanami even surprised in the first place? Knowing the company he kept - Itadori, Fushiguro, Kugisaki, and unfortunately, Gojo -, Denji fit right into the raster, more or less to Nanami's pain. As such, there'd of course be no use in asking Denji to tone down or better yet, to be quiet. So, as a man of few words, Nanami decided to save his strength for battles that could be won.

"What is your job, exactly?" Denji asked in a changed tone, the warmth of his voice gone.

Nanami lowered his hand from his face to have a direct look at half-naked Denji next to him and did a double-take at the expression of his face. Denji's eyes, until now drifting around or staring into the air blankly and bored, now had a sharp look in them, showing an understanding well beyond his years - something that came from horrible experiences in one's life.

But after everything, like the other pupils in Jujutsu High, no matter what Denji had gone through, he was just a child. And Nanami, as the adult in this setting, had an obligation to look after him.

"I assume you don't mean my position in the jujutsu society hierarchy," Nanami answered and slowly folded his hands in his lap, careful to leave them so that Denji could see them at all times, aware of the slight tension in Denji's posture at their turn in conversation. Nanami didn't mean the boy any harm and would pay attention to convey that message unconditionally. It was not Nanami Denji should be wary of.

"My job is to bring you to the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, where we will consult with the elders about your status in our society and necessary precautions and regulations. Your situation is highly unusual and needs to be judged properly before we can proceed further."

"Am I in danger?" Denji asked, still on guard, like a cornered animal. "Will I be executed if I don't perform well?"

At this, Nanami paused to think properly about his answer. He didn't like Jujutsu High's superiors or how things were run at Jujutsu High, but he believed in following the rules. Yet the rules had said that both Itadori Yuuji and Okkotsu Yuuta had to be executed, something that had been postponed for later in the end (and because of Gojo's influence, certainly).

In theory, if Denji was like Itadori - a suitable vessel for a cursed spirit -, he might be pardoned and introduced to the jujutsu society as a first-year, joining the group of Nanami's protegees. Yet, if Denji wasn't able to control the cursed spirit that replaced his heart, then neither Nanami nor Gojo would be able to help him.

As such, Nanami couldn't make any promises. That was what Nanami told Denji after he'd explained the situation to him while the cars rolled to a stop on the gravel.

"That will be all I can tell you about your current situation," Nanami concluded in the complete silence that settled around them when the car's motor died. But before stepping outside, Nanami undid the buttons of his suit's jacket to peel it off himself and reached his tan blazer over to Denji with an additional court: "You will need to wear this for the time being if you don't mind."

Ah, right. Stepping out with no shirt wasn't the brightest idea, was it?

With an awkward grin, Denji accepted the offered blazer and pushed his arms into the sleeves, drowning in the sheer size of it. Already from the feeling of the fabric against his naked skin, Denji could tell that this jacket was high quality.

"Damn. Thanks." Denji looked up at the sound of the opening car door and spotted past Nanami's broad back blocking most of his sight Kugisaki getting out of the other car. A sudden thought hit Denji at that: the blazer he was wearing was certainly making him look good because suits made guys look good, right? Girls liked good-looking men. And Kugisaki was a girl. So … this look was a complete win for Denji!

He quickly followed Nanami, evened out the non-existent wrinkles in his jacket, and made a move to hurry over to where the trio was leisurely chatting with each other. But Denji hadn't taken even one step when his stomach gave another evil growl and redirected his attention to where Nanami was headed to the udon restaurant - with cash. Which he said he'd spend on Denji. On anything he wanted.

"Sorry," Denji said in direction of Kugisaki, Fushiguro and Itadori, and made his way to the udon shop instead, almost stumbling over his own feet. Yeah, the brilliant, mouth-watering smell of food was like a punch to the nuts, reminding Denji of all the pain in his body and the weakness of his limbs. On his way, he wished the smith who did his best to split his head in two, undistracted by the thoughts of his future, would just fuck off already and leave him be.

"What do you want to eat?" Nanami asked when he heard Denji's footsteps approach from behind, waiting patiently for the order of curry udon with a sausage, doubling it for himself as well.

Nanami paid wordlessly, mildly surprised by a lack of words from his companion, and turned his head at the exact moment that Denji passed out for a moment - Nanami's arm shot forward with uncanny speed and managed to grab the boy before he faceplanted against the counter, cradling him against himself in an awkward angle instead.

"He's alright," Nanami said to the cooks who had frozen on the other side of the counter, probably contemplating whether to call an ambulance, the police or simply ignore the two weird customers, of which one didn't wear a shirt under a blazer and the other had a weird object strapped to his back.

"Hah? Oh, sorry." Swaying, Denji came to stand upright again, blinking, his eyes still fixated on something distant, unfocused. "I think it's the blood loss. I feel all fucked-up."

"It's alright." Nanami hovered his hand in Denji's back in case he needed to grab the boy again but retracted his arm when Denji seemed fine enough on his own. He quickly went through his options of action and decided that Denji needed food and rest as soon as possible, assuming that Denji's condition was comparable to a "normal" emergency situation.

"Here's your food," the cook said and put two bowls with extra sausage onto the counter with a suspicious glance at Denji and Nanami, whose face didn't change when he thanked the cook and picked up their dishes to carry them over to the tables.

"Hey, what're you ordering?" Before they could step away, a second voice joined them, and Nanami noticed how Denji's eyes immediately re-focused on approaching Nobara, who came to stand next to him, her attention on the menu displayed on the side of the counter. Not only that, Denji made the mistake of standing a bit taller with a surge of fleeting enthusiasm, ignoring his body's warning signs.

As he was shouting: "You must have curry udon with a sausage too, it's really … amazing … !", his body gave in on him again and sent Denji flying face forward against unsuspecting Nobara - and this time, Nanami's hands were occupied and the jujutsu sorcerer unable to avoid the catastrophe.

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Denji woke up with a start and would've rolled off the bench he was lying on if not for two hands left and right on his temples, holding his head in place during his short period of disorientation.

"Fuck, sorry," Denji said once Nobara let go of his head and allowed him to sit up from where his head had been resting on her lap.

Nobara was glaring at him with eyes whose intensity were like two suns burning down from the sky during a hot summer day. Denji must've passed out again earlier, but he didn't remember what had happened afterwards. He only knew that his head was throbbing instead of being split in two halves now. And Kugisaki seemed pissed off again.

"I said sorry," Denji said sheepishly at her continued glaring, and lifted a hand to the back of his head, scratching it at a loss. He really wasn't good at all of this, especially not as weak as he felt. And Nobara didn't seem nicer either at Denji's apology. "Is that not enough? I don't have any cash for you, you know?"

"Cash?" Nobara lifted an eyebrow at that and crossed her arms in front of her chest, but because she looked more sceptical than angry (Denji thought), Denji counted it as a small win. Fact – people were monsters when it came to money; they got a lot nicer at the mention of it or could get really nasty when they didn't get or lost money.

"You're wrong if you think you can bribe me into forgiving you. But if you wanted, just theoretically, to really buy an apology from me, at least offer what you have and not what you don't."

"I don't have anything," Denji said truthfully. He really didn't.

"You have your sausage."

"Sausage?" Denji echoed, eyes widening, and Nobara lifted her second eyebrow with a glance at the table. Denji followed her gaze, saw his udon there. Understood. "Ooooooooh. That sausage."

"… Yeah. Whatever." She sighed, gestured at the udon. "Go on, eat."

Denji followed her order with burning head and ears, picked up the chopsticks with trembling hands, and started eating, immediately shouting at how good the food was. He could've moaned at the taste of it.

Unable to stop, Denji shovelled the food into himself, feeling like in heaven because of the taste of the broth, the udon, the meaty sausage - everything he'd never had the money to afford before.

Plus, Nobara kept him company by herself at first - that was, until Fushiguro and Itadori joined them with food for the three of them as well. According to them, the udon wasn't as half as good as Denji believed, but they promised that once they were back in Tokyo, they'd take him to a place that had "real good food, you'll see".

Denji wondered if it was going to count as date if only he and Kugisaki went.

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"Hey Nanami." Before they got back into the car, Denji - now fully satisfied and feeling like a human again - had another question to the jujutsu sorcerer, who had been waiting for everyone to finish, leaned against the car with phone in hands.

"Yes?"

"Can I say No?" Denji asked.

He was referring to their previous conversation, with fresh mind and new strength to sort through his thoughts. Denji understood from Nanami's previous monologue that in the best case, he'd be working for the jujutsu people, which shouldn't be all too different from working for the Yakuza. Hunting devils, gutting them, getting paid too little to live off it.

In the worst case, those jujutsu guys would kill him. The Yakuza had threatened Denji with that many times, so Denji was not too worried about that anyhow.

"The jujutsu society is idiotic," Nanami said and for the first time since their first exchange, his mouth became thin-lipped and showed his irritation. "But because it's shit and the alternatives, that is either starving outside or being killed on the run from the hunters, are shit too. I suggest you go with the lesser evil."

"You don't get paid for the job though."

"Not as a student."

Denji kicked away a pebble under his feet and looked over his shoulder to the other car, where the trio was retaking their seats loudly, fighting over who had to sit in the middle and be "burgered" between the other two. Denji'd never had friends and doubted that would change any time soon. But well …

"Okay. Then let's go."