p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" Nanami had left almost an hour ago for his business trip, and Mara was still just laying in his bed, arm over her forehead as she stared at the ceiling. She'd buried him in kisses, shamelessly enticing him to stay just a little longer, and had only relented at the threat of making him late. Selfish though she was, she wouldn't push him into being late, the horror. It wasn't that she couldn't be without him, she just felt displaced without him here despite his assurances that her feeling was unfounded. Still. Mara rolled to her side and contemplated getting up. She knew she would be training with Gojo at some point, but she had no idea where or when. She wondered what that would even entail, not that she didn't think it would be beneficial to her but it felt like they would be trying to accomplish smashing a square into a circle. Absorbing the curse energy wasn't the issue, it was bending it to her will. It was unnatural, curse energy held the imprint of its wielder, merging it into her own was like forcing two opposite polarities together. She had succeeded one time in mastering another's curse energy, but only after killing the sorcerer. The healing reverse curse ability of the brown eyed sorcerer had yielded to her, but was it because she'd destroyed its user, or because of something she had done to conquer the energy itself? /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She blindly reached for her phone on the bedside table, holding it above her face as she scrolled through her social media. Her brows hiked up her forehead at the notification that she, Gojo, Yuji, and someone named Nobara Kugisaki were now mutuals. She clicked on Gojo's profile, it was filled with pictures of himself interspersed with some actually pretty funny random stuff. She snorted at one of the posts, swiping her finger up the screen to scroll back, accidently hitting the like on one of his photos of himself. Shit. Fuck. That post was from a year and a half ago. She tossed her phone back onto the nightstand and rolled off the bed. Maybe he wouldn't notice, or at the least wouldn't ask about it. She picked through her clothing, looking for her running gear. She grabbed a t-shirt and leggings, slinging them on as she shoved her phone in the pocket of her pants and walked out of the bedroom. It was just beginning to stay pleasantly cool throughout the day as full autumn rolled in, but the sun's waning strength was still considerable enough to forgo a jacket. She left the dormitories and walked down the short flight of steps, following the line of trees to a well worn path leading toward the lake. She started off at an easy jog, not really having a plan for how much time she wanted to spend. Her feet made soft falls on the dirt path as she looked up into the canopy of trees above her, their branches still full of leaves slowly yielding their veridian hues as honey and crimson crept in to take their place. She breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with the cool air. It was peaceful here, she thought, so different from the constant motion of living in the city./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Mara kept a steady pace until the lake came into view. She squinted against the sunlight bouncing across its surface, rippling leisurely in the breeze. She slowed and came to a stop on the gravely beach of the lake, catching her breath as she pulled one of her legs up behind her in a stretch. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Mara!" She released her leg, looking back and forth for the owner of the voice calling for her. Feet rustled in the silt behind her and she turned, Gojo approaching her. He grinned, hands in his pockets as he drew nearer. "I've been looking all over for you." She tilted her head in confusion. "You weren't in your room and I couldn't find you on campus, but I saw you heading toward the lake." Ah, he hadn't thought to look in Nanami's room. Interesting. Well, maybe she would just let him labor under the assumption she had been somewhere else. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Sorry, I just went for a little run," she explained, "I wasn't sure what time we were supposed to meet up today." He waved her off, standing next to her on the beach. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hungry?" He asked suddenly, producing a granola bar from his pocket. She eyed him a moment. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Uh, sure," she took the granola bar from his hand, "thanks." He nodded to her running attire. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Do you go running often?" Mara made an affirmative sound around a mouthful of granola, swallowing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Nothing crazy, there was just this ramen place around the corner from my apartment that would run specials on bowls and sake. Dirt cheap, open super late, and freaking amazing. I picked up running so I could take advantage and maintain a semblance of health." He laughed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Ramen and sake, eh? You'll have to tell me the address." She shook her head. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No way, that's my secret spot." He feigned a hurt expression. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""But you liked my photo!" He whined mockingly. Oh great, he had noticed. "I thought that meant you had a crush on me." He gave her a roguish smile as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down behind the bandana covering his eyes. Mara rolled her eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Bud, the only crush I have is the crushing weight of existence." She said flatly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's a little dark, don't you think?" He tsked. She took another bite of the granola bar and leveled him with an even stare, chewing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""True, nonetheless." She looked out over the lake, "besides, my finger slipped while I was scrolling." Gojo's mouth split in a smirk. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's what they all say." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Gross." He laughed again, the sound rich and infectious, but Mara maintained a straight face. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Walk with me, Mara," he gestured with an arm and started a path along the lake, "I have some questions before we begin training." She crumpled up the granola wrapper and she walked alongside him. Gojo held out his hand for it and placed it back in his pocket. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Thanks," /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No problem. So…tell me what training you received at the Wakkanai institute." She blew a breath through her lips. She hadn't talked this much about her institute even when she resided there. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Did Nanami not tell you anything about it?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He mentioned it was lacking, but I'd like to know how you would describe it." His tone was neutral, but she got the distinct feeling there was another answer being sought through this question. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Haruki was the only one I was allowed to train with concerning curse ability, and usually that consisted of the rest of the institute ambushing me and not being allowed to utilize my curse energy to get out of it. If I accidently started to drain one of them they'd pull me off and drag me to Haruki so he could punish me. If there are too many points of contact it's like it scrambles my energy somehow, like it doesn't know which point to pull from, so ganging up on me was a relatively easy way to subdue the curse energy. Some things came naturally to me, I don't have a reason why I can control what I do, I just do, I guess." She shrugged her shoulders, eyes on the ground before them. Gojo was silent a moment, contemplative. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So, he tested your curse ability under duress." He rubbed his chin with a hand. "And what happens when you take on curse energy?" She scrunched her face in contemplation. It was hard to describe, exactly, what happened. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I take it on, but if I can't overcome it with my own it just…builds." She crossed her arms over her chest. "It has to be released, and usually the easiest way to accomplish that is to use it against the opponent, but it's never as strong against someone if I can't warp it into my energy pattern." His steps slowed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You're trying to morph it into your own?" Mara blinked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Well, yeah, what else would I do with it if not immediately send it back?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Is that how you boost curse energy in another sorcerer?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No, I've only been able to do that with my own energy and it's…" She trailed off, swallowing against the sick feeling plummeting into her gut. "The only time I've done it was wildly uncomfortable for me, I doubt I'd replicate it." He raised a brow and glanced at her before returning his gaze to the path before them. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I don't understand." Mara's nose twitched in irritation. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's like…" she searched the tree line for words, "It's like flooding the other person with my curse energy, it opens a channel that, as far as I know, leaves me defenseless against curse energy. It puts me in a very intimate and vulnerable position, and I'm not interested in trying to develop that particular aspect of ability." Gojo nodded absently. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Have you considered maybe that's why you can't adapt absorbed energy into your own without a struggle?" She looked at him, eyes narrowing. "You're expending energy to force what you've absorbed into your own, but maybe instead of fighting against it you should let it flow naturally. You're trying to change it into something else, rather than utilizing it as it is." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Maybe," They came to a stop and Gojo turned to her, "but how can I bend it to my will if I can't master it? It has to be in the form of my curse energy." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I don't think so." He said mildly. He held up a hand, curse energy flaring around it. "Take it." Mara cocked her head back in suspicion. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No." She took a step back for good measure. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Come on, I'm serious, I want you to take it, but I don't want you to try to morph it into your own, I want you to just absorb it." He waved his upright hand back and forth. She leveled him with an exasperated look, but he only waited, wiggling his fingers. She gave a long-suffering sigh and slapped her hand against his, he immediately weaved his fingers through hers to keep her from letting go and she jerked in surprise. It was different when the curse user was actually pushing energy into her through the connection, she had only experienced taking the energy up to this point, but Gojo was emgiving/em his energy. Her brow puckered in alarm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Stop it." She pulled back on her hand, but he didn't release her. His curse energy flowed like an icy wind over her bones and panic started to set in. She wasn't consciously taking it, it was just the natural state of her curse energy to absorb and he was giving it freely. She pulled more urgently on her hand, "Gojo, emstop it/em, let me go!" He was powerful, she had already known that, but memories of the curse's energy from the warehouse screamed through her, it had been so painful, and she hadn't known what to do with the excess energy. Terror set in and she reflexively swung her leg to heel kick him in the gut in an effort to break his grip. She actually connected and he stumbled back, relinquishing her hand. Wait…she landed that hit? Anger and confusion warred on her face. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""See?" He said as he straightened. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""See emwhat?/em" She spat, "What the emfuck/em, Gojo!" She clutched a hand at her stomach and her neck, squeezing her eyes shut. She could feel his curse energy swirling through hers, and she threw everything she had into focusing on emnot/em trying to contain it within her own, instinct screaming at her to do otherwise. She waited for the foreign energy to start warring with hers, to lance through her, to hurt, to…something. Mara opened one eye, and then the other. She dropped her hand from her neck, staring into the palm. "…Oh." She said softly. She could feel Gojo's curse energy flowing against hers, but if she wasn't trying to force hers into it, they just…intertwined. Blended. It wasn't taking his ability into herself, it was just raw power. Gojo smirked smugly. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I told you." Mara looked up at him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's not…It's just…It's like it's blank," she stuttered. Gojo raised his eyebrows, sliding his hands in his pockets. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Blank?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's like the well is deeper, it's stronger." Her eyes swept back and forth between her hands, trying to process what was happening. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I think your curse ability is truly absorption rather than manipulation." Gojo said. "You emcan/em manipulate into your own, but it's stronger when you work with it rather than against it." She faced her palms together, calling her energy up between them. It crackled like lightning between her hands, and she looked up at Gojo. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""This is wild," she gave a tentative, disbelieving laugh. She thought back on the years spent with Haruki, and how painful and confusing it had been to learn how to control her curse ability well enough that she could function, and her face slowly fell. Gojo had shown her a single thing, and it was changing her entire perspective on her curse ability. "I really didn't know anything, did I." She said quietly, dropping her hands as she pulled the energy back into herself. Gojo shrugged. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""How long would you have stayed there had you known how to wield it properly?" He asked mildly. "If you can do that," he motioned vaguely at her, "without experiencing the kind of burn out you were, you can't be held." She blew out a breath as tears pricked the back of her eyes. He was right, she couldn't be held or taken anywhere she didn't want to be, not if she could control her curse ability like this. She didn't have to constantly watch her back for the shadow of Haruki, they couldn't overpower her if she could do this. She rubbed her forehead with a hand, dipping her head to hide her face. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Ohhh man," she turned around, hands on her hips as she tilted her head to the sky, furiously blinking away tears. "Sorry, just…something blew in my eye," she squeezed her eyes shut again, covering her mouth as her shoulders started to shake. She felt a hand on her shoulder and the dam broke as she buried her face in her hands. "I spent emso long/em thinking how awful it was, being emso afraid /emto even use it because it hurt so much." Gojo's hand slid to her other shoulder, pulling her against him in a half hug./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You'll be ok, you have no choice now." She laughed, scrubbing her eyes with the back of a hand. He grinned and patted her shoulder before letting go. "I have to go meet Itadori, why don't you take a break and maybe meet up with us later?" She nodded and he turned to walk away back toward the institute. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hey, Gojo," she called after him. He looked over his shoulder at her. "Thank you, truly." He smiled and waved a hand as he continued walking./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""All in a good day's work," the corner of her mouth kicked up in a half smile and she shook her head. She listened to his fading footsteps as she stared out over the lake. For the first time in her life she felt light, anxiety she hadn't even known she'd been carrying evaporated like smoke on the wind. She tilted her face up to the sky, closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her face. After running away so many years ago, she was finally free. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMara stayed by the lake for a long time, basking in the afternoon fall sun until it began to cross the sky, giving way to a whisper of chill on the wind. She rose from the beach, brushing pebbles off the back of her pants and started walking back to the institute. She wrapped her arms around herself under the shade of the trees, a small regret tugging at her for not seeking Gojo and Yuji out, but she didn't think Gojo would push her on it today. She would see if they were training tomorrow and join them if they were. Mara pushed open the door leading into the dormitories and paused at Nanami's door, eyes sliding to the next door down that would lead to her room. Curiosity pulled her toward it as she pushed through, walking into the familiar looking room. She blinked in surprise, most of her belongings had been brought here from her apartment to replace the issued furniture. She walked in the bedroom and, sure enough, her bed had replaced the rickety pile of springs that occupied the space before. She pulled open the drawers of the dresser to find her clothing within, and the bathroom with her neatly organized soaps and cosmetics. She smiled broadly as she picked up a bottle from the row on the counter, her heart warming at the thought of Nanami doing this for her. Her phone vibrated against her thigh and she set the bottle back down to pull it out, checking the message. She grinned, speak of the devil. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemI would say your ears must have been burning, but I was only thinking of you. /emShe typed back. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemOh?/em /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemI'm currently standing in my dorm, which somehow has all of my stuff from my apartment in it, I wonder who arranged it? :)/em Mara walked back out of the bathroom, plopping down on her stomach on the bed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemHopefully it has everything you need, I'm glad you like it./em emHow was training with Gojo?/em Mara nibbled her lower lip. It was too much to try to type out in a text./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemIt really helped/em, God, what an understatement, emI have so much to tell you. Do you still think you'll be back tomorrow?/em She watched the floating dots indicating he was typing. Uh oh, this wasn't just a simple 'yes, I will'. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemThere's been an unforeseen development I need to investigate further, I'm afraid I will be away for another few days./em Disappointment clanged through her. What was he doing, anyway?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemIs this for the institute?/em /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemYes, the curse we encountered in the warehouse may have popped up elsewhere based on reports. /emShe raised a brow at the confirmation, she had had a feeling it wasn't going to be eliminated by the building falling on it. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemPlease be careful,/em her thumbs hovered above her phone, freezing on the words that bubbled up to the surface of her mind: I miss you./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemAlways./em She hated texting sometimes, it was impossible to ascertain tone at the best of times without an obscene amount of emojis and Nanami definitely didn't come off as an emoji user. No, he cared about her, she knew he did. She shook her head against the mountain of self-doubt, things come up at work that people have to take care of all the time, if he could be here he would. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe if she could prove mastery of her curse ability, next time he was called away she could help him. Her stomach growled and she sat up, looking uselessly around the bedroom. She stood up and walked back into the bathroom, peeling off her running clothes. Since Nanami wouldn't be coming home…home? Her eyes widened at the thought and she immediately shook it off. Since Nanami wouldn't be coming emback/em any time soon, she could borrow a car and drown her disappointment in bowls of her favorite ramen. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMara showered and dressed quickly, finger combing her hair to let it air dry on the way. It usually turned out o.k., but where she was going she didn't really have to worry about getting dressed up. Kenji-san was a man of the people, the drunken people who wanted noodles. She pulled on a pair of leggings and a soft sweater, stuffed her phone in its wallet case, and left the dormitories. She wasn't sure how to go about getting a car, she knew Kiyotaka drove a lot for the institute, but she supposed worst case she could call an uber or something. Mara was walking toward the front building when she heard indistinct chatter floating behind her. She looked over her shoulder to find Yuji walking with two other students. His face lit up like the sun as his eyes registered her, and he took off running toward her. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mara-san!" He barreled toward her like a freight train and she held up her hands, bracing for impact. She let out a breath in a rush as he crashed into her, swinging her off her feet as he spun once. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, Yuji," she patted his shoulder as he set her back down. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I thought you were going to train with Gojo and me today?" The two students he had been walking with neared at a more civilized walk. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We did some training at the lake, it just took a lot out of me." Worry misted across his face as his eyes scanned her up and down. "Mentally, I mean." She added for his benefit. His face shifted back into a smile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, good," horror leapt across his face as he stuttered, "I mean, not good that it was draining, just good that you weren't hurt or something." Mara waved him off with a smile. Yuji turned to the students just behind him, "this is Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki, we're in the same class together." She smiled at the two as they waved a hello. Nobara's name rang a bell as she recalled her morning. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh! You started following me, didn't you?" Nobara nodded. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, Gojo said you could use the encouragement." She said bluntly. Mara cocked her head back in surprise. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry, he said what?" Yuji sputtered as he cut in. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, no, he was just saying Nanami told him you didn't think you were welcome here, but that's not true at all!" She raised a brow, annoyance settling over her. She was going to crack both their skulls. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Uh, thank you for the sentiment, but it's totally not necessary," she looked between them, giving a tight smile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"But we wanted to!" Yuji insisted, elbowing Nobara in an effort to get her to agree with him. She punched him in the shoulder. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey! Knock it off," Nobara growled as Yuji rubbed the shoulder she had hit. Mara narrowed her eyes at them. Nanami should have known better than to tell someone like Gojo that she'd felt insecure, she'd get him back later, but Gojo was the one who had told these students she needed friends. She could get revenge on him now. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you want to form an alliance with me?" She asked suddenly. Three pairs of eyes turned to her. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hm?" Yuji asked. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you want to form a temporary alliance with me, right now, for the purpose of getting Gojo back for saying I'm a sad adult with no friends." Yuji rubbed the back of his neck. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, he didn't really say exactly…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Absolutely." Nobara cut in, eyes gleaming with intensity. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Excellent," Mara put her plans for ramen on hold. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you have in mind?" Megumi asked. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do any of you know where Gojo's dorm is, and where he is now?" Yuji started to say something, but Nobara slapped her hand over his mouth./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We don't know where he is, but he's doing something, and his dorm is in the faculty building." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Outstanding. Come with me, children." She said ominously. She lead them back to the faculty dorms, stopping at her room first. The three waited in her entry way as she dug through a box of snacks, pulling out a package and stuffing it in her pocket. "O.k.," she looked between them as they backed out into the hall way, "we need to figure out which one is his. If it's empty, the door should be unlocked." They spread out, trying doors until they reached the very last one. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Of course it would be the last one," Megumi muttered. Mara pulled two hairpins from her pocket. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're seeing me do this," she said, leaning down and fixing the pins into the key hole, "but you're not really seeing me do this." Her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as she worked, trying until she felt the click. "Excellent," she breathed, throwing the pins back in her pocket and removing a granola bar. Nobara's brows knit in confusion./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What is that?" She asked. Mara held up the granola bar. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"This isn't just any granola bar, this is a Nature Valley granola bar," she waved it back and forth, "the crumbs from this package will remain until Jesus Christ himself comes back to the Earth, and even then they would probably remain as Satan himself clearly designed these babies." The three blinked at her, exchanging a look. "And this is getting crumbled up on his bed." She turned and slowly twisted the doorknob./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, when you said 'revenge' I thought you meant actual…revenge," Nobara crossed her arms, incredulous. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Punishment should be commensurate with the crime, Nobara, jot that down." she called over her shoulder. "You guys keep a look out." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMara tiptoed through the entry way, quickly scanning the room. She rolled her eyes at the amount of electronics and books scattered everywhere. Mara slowly pushed open the bedroom door, peeking her head in. Satisfied he truly was somewhere else, she gleefully pulled back the covers of his bed and opened the dreaded granola bar, crumbling pieces everywhere before sweeping the cover back in place. She dashed back out into the hallway, locking the door behind her. She looked at all three of them, leveling Yuji with the final stare, "not a word about this." She held up a finger for emphasis and they nodded. Clearly Megumi and Nobara didn't think it was a big deal, but Yuji looked concerned. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What if he finds out?" He asked as they walked back down the hallway. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, I'm sure he'll figure it out," Mara said confidently, "but I assure you, he deserves it." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, when you're not carrying out the world's saddest excuse for revenge," Mara cut Nobara a look at that, "what do you do here?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm just a visiting fellow sorcerer at the moment," She held the door open for the three as they exited the building, "and I was on my way to this ramen place I know when I ran into you guys." Yuji sucked in an animated breath, practically jumping from foot to foot as they walked. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about going to the bullet sushi?!" He asked excitedly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I, you want me to take you with me?" Her brow wrinkled in confusion. They surrounded her then./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Please take us with you!" Yuji begged./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We did help you with your, ah, prank," Nobara pointed out. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It would be a shame if someone warned him about it," Megumi cut in. Mara crossed her arms. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"This is extortion, I thought we were allies?" She grumbled. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Allies who want to go to a bullet sushi restaurant," Nobara said, "it's really more of a negotiation." Damn, they were slippery little bastards./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I promise I know a really good one," Yuji encouraged. Mara sighed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Alright…" she conceded as they whooped excitedly, "but it all depends on if I can get a car from Kiyotaka." She added as a warning. They seemed confident it wouldn't be an issue. They made their way back to the front building and the three waited outside while Mara went in to look for Kiyotaka, or anyone else who could help them. The building was empty, and she wandered into the office off to the side. "Hello…?" She called hesitantly, swiveling her head to look for any sign of life. Nothing. She nibbled on her lower lip, eyes falling on a glass cupboard situated next to the door she had entered through. There were rows of car keys hanging. She stared a moment, deliberating. It wasn't stealing because she was bringing it back, and technically nobody had expressly told her she wasn't allowed to use them…She grabbed the keys off the first hook and walked back out of the building. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is Kiyotaka coming?" Yuji asked as she rejoined them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, no," she started, "nobody was actually in there." She took out her phone and pulled up her texts. "What's Gojo's number? I'll just tell him where we're going." Yuji recited the number for her and she typed out a quick text explaining she was taking Yuji and his friends to get sushi. She almost had her phone back in her pocket when it vibrated. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemWithout me? :(( /emspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMara snorted a laugh. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemUh, yeah, you told Yuji and Nobara I needed friends and made them add me as mututals./em Yuji and his friends watched her typing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What did he say?" Megumi asked. Her phone buzzed again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemAnd now you're getting sushi without me! Tell them they're grounded./em /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He says you're grounded." Her announcement was met by a chorus of outraged squawks. She was sure he was kidding, but she still debated putting the keys back to avoid any conflict. Yuji looked up and over Mara's shoulder and grinned. Her brow furrowed in confusion before she looked behind her, and did a double take as she saw Gojo approaching. She had never seen him in anything other than the Jujutsu uniform he wore with the bandana across his eyes. He was now wearing a normal button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbow, and pants with sunglasses balanced on his nose. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, where to?" He asked smoothly as he joined them. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We want bullet sushi," Yuji supplied. Mara pressed the unlock function on the key fob, signaling which vehicle it corresponded to. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ah, well then…" he nodded, and suddenly took off running, "shotgun!" The three students tore after him, Yuji almost pulling in the lead in the race to the car, but Gojo beat him at the last second. Mara blinked, staring after them. She was escorting three children and a large man child into the city to get sushi. She sighed, smiling to herself as she came and slid into the driver's seat while they piled into the car. Yuji wiggled between Megumi and Nobara, pulling excitedly on the front seats./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Let's go!" He cried, Mara saw his infectious smile split his face as she adjusted the rearview mirror./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Alright, you guys are at an eleven, I'm gonna need you to bring it back down to a three or four," she said, leaning an arm across the back of Gojo's seat as she backed the car up. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't let Nanami rub off on you, he's grouchy." Gojo quipped. Mara smirked. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe I'm just grouchy, too," /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You can't be the grouchy one, Nanami is already our grouchy friend." Mara blinked at the word 'friend'. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I dunno, Megumi is pretty grouchy, too," Yuji chirped. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I am not…" Megumi rolled his eyes, looking out his window. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, Megumi is just too serious," Nobara interjected. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I am not, you guys are just immature," he insisted with more force. He was met with a chorus of disagreement from the rest of them, and Mara couldn't help but laugh. They argued and joked for the entire car ride, despite Mara's initial request to tone it down. She feigned mild annoyance, but secretly she was enjoying listening to them. Her institute experience had certainly been a far cry from this camaraderie, and she hadn't really let herself develop friendships beyond acquaintances up to this point for the fear she would just have to move again. She parked the car and they all walked toward the restaurant, Yuji running ahead and Nobara yelling after him. Megumi followed them, and Gojo walked next to her more sedate pace as they brought up the rear. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're happy." She raised her brows, it hadn't been a question but she answered anyway./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, I am." He slid his hands in his pockets and Mara crossed her arms over her chest. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What makes you say that though?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I think I'm…aware, of you." He said cautiously. Mara's steps slowed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you mean 'aware'?" Oh, no. Something had happened this morning with the training exercise, her curse did something to him, she should have known better than to hope for something better…Panic bloomed in her chest, making her feel like her heart had been replaced by a stone. Alarm crossed Gojo's face and he looked down at her. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What? Hey, no, it's nothing to worry about," he rushed, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stopped walking. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You felt that?" She asked, eyes wide. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sure it'll pass," he stopped as well to face her, "it's probably just a residual effect of energy transference." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, my God…" she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's not a big deal, I'm sure it will go away." He assured her. She fixed him with an impassive stare. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Gojo, I may appear to be relatively nonchalant, but I assure you, underneath I am 'chalant' as fuck, the idea of having someone be aware of the inner workings of my brain is emterrifying/em to me, as it should be to you." She ran a hand through her hair. Gojo fought a grin. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, if it's any consolation, 'nonchalant' definitely wouldn't have been my first, second, or third choice of word had I been asked to describe you before this." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I would have definitely picked the other one. The 'chalant as fuck' one." He pressed his lips together to keep himself from laughing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I hate you so much right now." She said flatly. Gojo's laugh broke through and he slung an arm around Mara, dragging her forward with him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, you don't," he said. "And don't try to tell me I'm wrong," his wintry eyes peered down at her over the rim of his sunglasses, "I can tell." He finished in a conspiratorial whisper. She snorted and shoved him in the ribs, only earning her another laugh as he held the door for her and they joined Yuji and the others at the table they had gotten. They were rowdy as ever together, though slightly more quiet out of respect for the other patrons, and Mara laughed with them but she couldn't stop herself from thinking about the implications of a connection through the transference of energy between herself and Gojo. On the much quieter car ride home she found herself combing through her curse energy, she could feel the tingle of the energy she'd absorbed from Gojo, a breath of icy wind ghosting along at the periphery of her well of energy, dipping down and through her own. But if she tried to focus on Gojo himself, what he was thinking or feeling, she wasn't really getting anything other than he was just…there. Present. Was it because of their proximity in the car? Because if that were the case, simple distance should put a stop to this… Her thoughts halted in their tracks as he placed his hand on her knee. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's o.k." He said it with such confidence. She flashed an angry look down at his hand and shook it off. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Dude, get out of my brain." She hissed under her breath. Gojo chuckled to himself and resumed his vigil of watching the scenery pass outside his window. They arrived back at the institute and they walked together back to the dorms. Yuji challenged Gojo to a rematch race and they took off, thundering toward the dorms. Nobara sighed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"How do you deal with them?" Mara asked, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. Nobara smirked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You don't so much deal with Gojo and Yuji, you survive Gojo and Yuji." She gave a long-suffering sigh and shook her head. Mara laughed. Gojo beat him again, resulting in much complaining as they finally separated with the three veering off to the student side of the dormitories and Gojo walking next to Mara as they headed toward the faculty side. He sprinted up the few steps to open the door for her and she raised a brow as she entered, but said nothing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thanks for coming tonight," she called, "good night." She slid her key into her door. Gojo paused and turned around to face her. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's really not as much a problem as I think you're thinking it is." Mara sighed, rolling her neck as she turned to him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe not right now, but I have no idea what this means," she said, shrugging, "maybe it's nothing and it will fade, maybe it's something that will make me a target for anything I absorb energy from, maybe it'll backfire if I try to use it, maybe this will somehow hurt you, who knows." Gojo leaned against the wall next to her door. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe it's an advantage," Mara snorted, lips thinning in exasperation, "no, I'm serious, if I'm aware of you, you should be aware of me and any other curse or curse user you touch." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ever the optimist." She said, leaning her forehead against her door. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ever the pessimist." He countered. She huffed a laugh. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you always expect the worst, you can never be disappointed." He considered her a moment, brow furrowed slightly as his eyes traveled over her profile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's going to be fine." He declared, pushing himself off the wall. He started walking toward his room, "You'll see," he called over his shoulder. Mara gave his back an incredulous look as she twisted her key and pushed her door open. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Good night," she said again. He twisted, walking backward with his hands in his pockets. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't let the curses bite." She smirked, walking into her dorm room. Somebody would discover something other than curses in their bed tonight. Mara placed her keys in the bowl by the door, shucking off her shoes and wandering into her bedroom. She laid down on her bed, aimlessly scrolling through her phone without actually registering what she was seeing. Maybe he was right. She desperately wanted him to be right, she had felt so free this morning she couldn't bear to have that rug yanked out from under her. She closed her eyes and focused inward again, searching for the tendril of winter within her. She found it easily enough and let her curse energy flow around it, searching for any indication that she could pull information about Gojo from it. She twined herself around it, searching, searching, searching. She was just about to give up when she felt something tug. Her brow furrowed as she delved deeper, chasing the tug she had felt. And then…emthere./em It was just a feeling of relaxed calm, a faint notion that he wasn't particularly bothered by anything. She laughed softly, of course the great Gojo Satoru would be completely unbothered. She nearly let the feeling go when it suddenly flared into…anger? Annoyance? There was a bitter tang at the back of her throat. Her phone dinged and she dropped the thread of curse energy, picking the phone up to read the message. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemYou're so dead./em She laughed out loud, cackling as she typed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemI'm sure I don't know what you're talking about./em /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemOh, I'm sure you do. Consider this shots fired. /emShe grinned at the several devil emojis that followed, sending an eye roll in response. She plugged her phone in and rolled over, sliding her arms under her pillow. Maybe she did have a place here on her own./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She blindly reached for her phone on the bedside table, holding it above her face as she scrolled through her social media. Her brows hiked up her forehead at the notification that she, Gojo, Yuji, and someone named Nobara Kugisaki were now mutuals. She clicked on Gojo's profile, it was filled with pictures of himself interspersed with some actually pretty funny random stuff. She snorted at one of the posts, swiping her finger up the screen to scroll back, accidently hitting the like on one of his photos of himself. Shit. Fuck. That post was from a year and a half ago. She tossed her phone back onto the nightstand and rolled off the bed. Maybe he wouldn't notice, or at the least wouldn't ask about it. She picked through her clothing, looking for her running gear. She grabbed a t-shirt and leggings, slinging them on as she shoved her phone in the pocket of her pants and walked out of the bedroom. It was just beginning to stay pleasantly cool throughout the day as full autumn rolled in, but the sun's waning strength was still considerable enough to forgo a jacket. She left the dormitories and walked down the short flight of steps, following the line of trees to a well worn path leading toward the lake. She started off at an easy jog, not really having a plan for how much time she wanted to spend. Her feet made soft falls on the dirt path as she looked up into the canopy of trees above her, their branches still full of leaves slowly yielding their veridian hues as honey and crimson crept in to take their place. She breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with the cool air. It was peaceful here, she thought, so different from the constant motion of living in the city./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Mara kept a steady pace until the lake came into view. She squinted against the sunlight bouncing across its surface, rippling leisurely in the breeze. She slowed and came to a stop on the gravely beach of the lake, catching her breath as she pulled one of her legs up behind her in a stretch. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Mara!" She released her leg, looking back and forth for the owner of the voice calling for her. Feet rustled in the silt behind her and she turned, Gojo approaching her. He grinned, hands in his pockets as he drew nearer. "I've been looking all over for you." She tilted her head in confusion. "You weren't in your room and I couldn't find you on campus, but I saw you heading toward the lake." Ah, he hadn't thought to look in Nanami's room. Interesting. Well, maybe she would just let him labor under the assumption she had been somewhere else. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Sorry, I just went for a little run," she explained, "I wasn't sure what time we were supposed to meet up today." He waved her off, standing next to her on the beach. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hungry?" He asked suddenly, producing a granola bar from his pocket. She eyed him a moment. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Uh, sure," she took the granola bar from his hand, "thanks." He nodded to her running attire. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Do you go running often?" Mara made an affirmative sound around a mouthful of granola, swallowing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Nothing crazy, there was just this ramen place around the corner from my apartment that would run specials on bowls and sake. Dirt cheap, open super late, and freaking amazing. I picked up running so I could take advantage and maintain a semblance of health." He laughed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Ramen and sake, eh? You'll have to tell me the address." She shook her head. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No way, that's my secret spot." He feigned a hurt expression. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""But you liked my photo!" He whined mockingly. Oh great, he had noticed. "I thought that meant you had a crush on me." He gave her a roguish smile as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down behind the bandana covering his eyes. Mara rolled her eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Bud, the only crush I have is the crushing weight of existence." She said flatly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's a little dark, don't you think?" He tsked. She took another bite of the granola bar and leveled him with an even stare, chewing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""True, nonetheless." She looked out over the lake, "besides, my finger slipped while I was scrolling." Gojo's mouth split in a smirk. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's what they all say." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Gross." He laughed again, the sound rich and infectious, but Mara maintained a straight face. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Walk with me, Mara," he gestured with an arm and started a path along the lake, "I have some questions before we begin training." She crumpled up the granola wrapper and she walked alongside him. Gojo held out his hand for it and placed it back in his pocket. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Thanks," /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No problem. So…tell me what training you received at the Wakkanai institute." She blew a breath through her lips. She hadn't talked this much about her institute even when she resided there. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Did Nanami not tell you anything about it?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He mentioned it was lacking, but I'd like to know how you would describe it." His tone was neutral, but she got the distinct feeling there was another answer being sought through this question. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Haruki was the only one I was allowed to train with concerning curse ability, and usually that consisted of the rest of the institute ambushing me and not being allowed to utilize my curse energy to get out of it. If I accidently started to drain one of them they'd pull me off and drag me to Haruki so he could punish me. If there are too many points of contact it's like it scrambles my energy somehow, like it doesn't know which point to pull from, so ganging up on me was a relatively easy way to subdue the curse energy. Some things came naturally to me, I don't have a reason why I can control what I do, I just do, I guess." She shrugged her shoulders, eyes on the ground before them. Gojo was silent a moment, contemplative. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So, he tested your curse ability under duress." He rubbed his chin with a hand. "And what happens when you take on curse energy?" She scrunched her face in contemplation. It was hard to describe, exactly, what happened. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I take it on, but if I can't overcome it with my own it just…builds." She crossed her arms over her chest. "It has to be released, and usually the easiest way to accomplish that is to use it against the opponent, but it's never as strong against someone if I can't warp it into my energy pattern." His steps slowed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You're trying to morph it into your own?" Mara blinked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Well, yeah, what else would I do with it if not immediately send it back?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Is that how you boost curse energy in another sorcerer?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No, I've only been able to do that with my own energy and it's…" She trailed off, swallowing against the sick feeling plummeting into her gut. "The only time I've done it was wildly uncomfortable for me, I doubt I'd replicate it." He raised a brow and glanced at her before returning his gaze to the path before them. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I don't understand." Mara's nose twitched in irritation. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's like…" she searched the tree line for words, "It's like flooding the other person with my curse energy, it opens a channel that, as far as I know, leaves me defenseless against curse energy. It puts me in a very intimate and vulnerable position, and I'm not interested in trying to develop that particular aspect of ability." Gojo nodded absently. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Have you considered maybe that's why you can't adapt absorbed energy into your own without a struggle?" She looked at him, eyes narrowing. "You're expending energy to force what you've absorbed into your own, but maybe instead of fighting against it you should let it flow naturally. You're trying to change it into something else, rather than utilizing it as it is." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Maybe," They came to a stop and Gojo turned to her, "but how can I bend it to my will if I can't master it? It has to be in the form of my curse energy." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I don't think so." He said mildly. He held up a hand, curse energy flaring around it. "Take it." Mara cocked her head back in suspicion. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No." She took a step back for good measure. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Come on, I'm serious, I want you to take it, but I don't want you to try to morph it into your own, I want you to just absorb it." He waved his upright hand back and forth. She leveled him with an exasperated look, but he only waited, wiggling his fingers. She gave a long-suffering sigh and slapped her hand against his, he immediately weaved his fingers through hers to keep her from letting go and she jerked in surprise. It was different when the curse user was actually pushing energy into her through the connection, she had only experienced taking the energy up to this point, but Gojo was emgiving/em his energy. Her brow puckered in alarm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Stop it." She pulled back on her hand, but he didn't release her. His curse energy flowed like an icy wind over her bones and panic started to set in. She wasn't consciously taking it, it was just the natural state of her curse energy to absorb and he was giving it freely. She pulled more urgently on her hand, "Gojo, emstop it/em, let me go!" He was powerful, she had already known that, but memories of the curse's energy from the warehouse screamed through her, it had been so painful, and she hadn't known what to do with the excess energy. Terror set in and she reflexively swung her leg to heel kick him in the gut in an effort to break his grip. She actually connected and he stumbled back, relinquishing her hand. Wait…she landed that hit? Anger and confusion warred on her face. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""See?" He said as he straightened. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""See emwhat?/em" She spat, "What the emfuck/em, Gojo!" She clutched a hand at her stomach and her neck, squeezing her eyes shut. She could feel his curse energy swirling through hers, and she threw everything she had into focusing on emnot/em trying to contain it within her own, instinct screaming at her to do otherwise. She waited for the foreign energy to start warring with hers, to lance through her, to hurt, to…something. Mara opened one eye, and then the other. She dropped her hand from her neck, staring into the palm. "…Oh." She said softly. She could feel Gojo's curse energy flowing against hers, but if she wasn't trying to force hers into it, they just…intertwined. Blended. It wasn't taking his ability into herself, it was just raw power. Gojo smirked smugly. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I told you." Mara looked up at him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's not…It's just…It's like it's blank," she stuttered. Gojo raised his eyebrows, sliding his hands in his pockets. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Blank?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's like the well is deeper, it's stronger." Her eyes swept back and forth between her hands, trying to process what was happening. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I think your curse ability is truly absorption rather than manipulation." Gojo said. "You emcan/em manipulate into your own, but it's stronger when you work with it rather than against it." She faced her palms together, calling her energy up between them. It crackled like lightning between her hands, and she looked up at Gojo. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""This is wild," she gave a tentative, disbelieving laugh. She thought back on the years spent with Haruki, and how painful and confusing it had been to learn how to control her curse ability well enough that she could function, and her face slowly fell. Gojo had shown her a single thing, and it was changing her entire perspective on her curse ability. "I really didn't know anything, did I." She said quietly, dropping her hands as she pulled the energy back into herself. Gojo shrugged. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""How long would you have stayed there had you known how to wield it properly?" He asked mildly. "If you can do that," he motioned vaguely at her, "without experiencing the kind of burn out you were, you can't be held." She blew out a breath as tears pricked the back of her eyes. He was right, she couldn't be held or taken anywhere she didn't want to be, not if she could control her curse ability like this. She didn't have to constantly watch her back for the shadow of Haruki, they couldn't overpower her if she could do this. She rubbed her forehead with a hand, dipping her head to hide her face. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Ohhh man," she turned around, hands on her hips as she tilted her head to the sky, furiously blinking away tears. "Sorry, just…something blew in my eye," she squeezed her eyes shut again, covering her mouth as her shoulders started to shake. She felt a hand on her shoulder and the dam broke as she buried her face in her hands. "I spent emso long/em thinking how awful it was, being emso afraid /emto even use it because it hurt so much." Gojo's hand slid to her other shoulder, pulling her against him in a half hug./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You'll be ok, you have no choice now." She laughed, scrubbing her eyes with the back of a hand. He grinned and patted her shoulder before letting go. "I have to go meet Itadori, why don't you take a break and maybe meet up with us later?" She nodded and he turned to walk away back toward the institute. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hey, Gojo," she called after him. He looked over his shoulder at her. "Thank you, truly." He smiled and waved a hand as he continued walking./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""All in a good day's work," the corner of her mouth kicked up in a half smile and she shook her head. She listened to his fading footsteps as she stared out over the lake. For the first time in her life she felt light, anxiety she hadn't even known she'd been carrying evaporated like smoke on the wind. She tilted her face up to the sky, closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her face. After running away so many years ago, she was finally free. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMara stayed by the lake for a long time, basking in the afternoon fall sun until it began to cross the sky, giving way to a whisper of chill on the wind. She rose from the beach, brushing pebbles off the back of her pants and started walking back to the institute. She wrapped her arms around herself under the shade of the trees, a small regret tugging at her for not seeking Gojo and Yuji out, but she didn't think Gojo would push her on it today. She would see if they were training tomorrow and join them if they were. Mara pushed open the door leading into the dormitories and paused at Nanami's door, eyes sliding to the next door down that would lead to her room. Curiosity pulled her toward it as she pushed through, walking into the familiar looking room. She blinked in surprise, most of her belongings had been brought here from her apartment to replace the issued furniture. She walked in the bedroom and, sure enough, her bed had replaced the rickety pile of springs that occupied the space before. She pulled open the drawers of the dresser to find her clothing within, and the bathroom with her neatly organized soaps and cosmetics. She smiled broadly as she picked up a bottle from the row on the counter, her heart warming at the thought of Nanami doing this for her. Her phone vibrated against her thigh and she set the bottle back down to pull it out, checking the message. She grinned, speak of the devil. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemI would say your ears must have been burning, but I was only thinking of you. /emShe typed back. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemOh?/em /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemI'm currently standing in my dorm, which somehow has all of my stuff from my apartment in it, I wonder who arranged it? :)/em Mara walked back out of the bathroom, plopping down on her stomach on the bed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemHopefully it has everything you need, I'm glad you like it./em emHow was training with Gojo?/em Mara nibbled her lower lip. It was too much to try to type out in a text./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemIt really helped/em, God, what an understatement, emI have so much to tell you. Do you still think you'll be back tomorrow?/em She watched the floating dots indicating he was typing. Uh oh, this wasn't just a simple 'yes, I will'. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemThere's been an unforeseen development I need to investigate further, I'm afraid I will be away for another few days./em Disappointment clanged through her. What was he doing, anyway?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemIs this for the institute?/em /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemYes, the curse we encountered in the warehouse may have popped up elsewhere based on reports. /emShe raised a brow at the confirmation, she had had a feeling it wasn't going to be eliminated by the building falling on it. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemPlease be careful,/em her thumbs hovered above her phone, freezing on the words that bubbled up to the surface of her mind: I miss you./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemAlways./em She hated texting sometimes, it was impossible to ascertain tone at the best of times without an obscene amount of emojis and Nanami definitely didn't come off as an emoji user. No, he cared about her, she knew he did. She shook her head against the mountain of self-doubt, things come up at work that people have to take care of all the time, if he could be here he would. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe if she could prove mastery of her curse ability, next time he was called away she could help him. Her stomach growled and she sat up, looking uselessly around the bedroom. She stood up and walked back into the bathroom, peeling off her running clothes. Since Nanami wouldn't be coming home…home? Her eyes widened at the thought and she immediately shook it off. Since Nanami wouldn't be coming emback/em any time soon, she could borrow a car and drown her disappointment in bowls of her favorite ramen. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMara showered and dressed quickly, finger combing her hair to let it air dry on the way. It usually turned out o.k., but where she was going she didn't really have to worry about getting dressed up. Kenji-san was a man of the people, the drunken people who wanted noodles. She pulled on a pair of leggings and a soft sweater, stuffed her phone in its wallet case, and left the dormitories. She wasn't sure how to go about getting a car, she knew Kiyotaka drove a lot for the institute, but she supposed worst case she could call an uber or something. Mara was walking toward the front building when she heard indistinct chatter floating behind her. She looked over her shoulder to find Yuji walking with two other students. His face lit up like the sun as his eyes registered her, and he took off running toward her. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mara-san!" He barreled toward her like a freight train and she held up her hands, bracing for impact. She let out a breath in a rush as he crashed into her, swinging her off her feet as he spun once. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, Yuji," she patted his shoulder as he set her back down. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I thought you were going to train with Gojo and me today?" The two students he had been walking with neared at a more civilized walk. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We did some training at the lake, it just took a lot out of me." Worry misted across his face as his eyes scanned her up and down. "Mentally, I mean." She added for his benefit. His face shifted back into a smile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, good," horror leapt across his face as he stuttered, "I mean, not good that it was draining, just good that you weren't hurt or something." Mara waved him off with a smile. Yuji turned to the students just behind him, "this is Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki, we're in the same class together." She smiled at the two as they waved a hello. Nobara's name rang a bell as she recalled her morning. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh! You started following me, didn't you?" Nobara nodded. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, Gojo said you could use the encouragement." She said bluntly. Mara cocked her head back in surprise. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry, he said what?" Yuji sputtered as he cut in. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, no, he was just saying Nanami told him you didn't think you were welcome here, but that's not true at all!" She raised a brow, annoyance settling over her. She was going to crack both their skulls. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Uh, thank you for the sentiment, but it's totally not necessary," she looked between them, giving a tight smile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"But we wanted to!" Yuji insisted, elbowing Nobara in an effort to get her to agree with him. She punched him in the shoulder. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey! Knock it off," Nobara growled as Yuji rubbed the shoulder she had hit. Mara narrowed her eyes at them. Nanami should have known better than to tell someone like Gojo that she'd felt insecure, she'd get him back later, but Gojo was the one who had told these students she needed friends. She could get revenge on him now. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you want to form an alliance with me?" She asked suddenly. Three pairs of eyes turned to her. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hm?" Yuji asked. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you want to form a temporary alliance with me, right now, for the purpose of getting Gojo back for saying I'm a sad adult with no friends." Yuji rubbed the back of his neck. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, he didn't really say exactly…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Absolutely." Nobara cut in, eyes gleaming with intensity. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Excellent," Mara put her plans for ramen on hold. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you have in mind?" Megumi asked. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do any of you know where Gojo's dorm is, and where he is now?" Yuji started to say something, but Nobara slapped her hand over his mouth./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We don't know where he is, but he's doing something, and his dorm is in the faculty building." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Outstanding. Come with me, children." She said ominously. She lead them back to the faculty dorms, stopping at her room first. The three waited in her entry way as she dug through a box of snacks, pulling out a package and stuffing it in her pocket. "O.k.," she looked between them as they backed out into the hall way, "we need to figure out which one is his. If it's empty, the door should be unlocked." They spread out, trying doors until they reached the very last one. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Of course it would be the last one," Megumi muttered. Mara pulled two hairpins from her pocket. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're seeing me do this," she said, leaning down and fixing the pins into the key hole, "but you're not really seeing me do this." Her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as she worked, trying until she felt the click. "Excellent," she breathed, throwing the pins back in her pocket and removing a granola bar. Nobara's brows knit in confusion./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What is that?" She asked. Mara held up the granola bar. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"This isn't just any granola bar, this is a Nature Valley granola bar," she waved it back and forth, "the crumbs from this package will remain until Jesus Christ himself comes back to the Earth, and even then they would probably remain as Satan himself clearly designed these babies." The three blinked at her, exchanging a look. "And this is getting crumbled up on his bed." She turned and slowly twisted the doorknob./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, when you said 'revenge' I thought you meant actual…revenge," Nobara crossed her arms, incredulous. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Punishment should be commensurate with the crime, Nobara, jot that down." she called over her shoulder. "You guys keep a look out." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMara tiptoed through the entry way, quickly scanning the room. She rolled her eyes at the amount of electronics and books scattered everywhere. Mara slowly pushed open the bedroom door, peeking her head in. Satisfied he truly was somewhere else, she gleefully pulled back the covers of his bed and opened the dreaded granola bar, crumbling pieces everywhere before sweeping the cover back in place. She dashed back out into the hallway, locking the door behind her. She looked at all three of them, leveling Yuji with the final stare, "not a word about this." She held up a finger for emphasis and they nodded. Clearly Megumi and Nobara didn't think it was a big deal, but Yuji looked concerned. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What if he finds out?" He asked as they walked back down the hallway. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, I'm sure he'll figure it out," Mara said confidently, "but I assure you, he deserves it." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, when you're not carrying out the world's saddest excuse for revenge," Mara cut Nobara a look at that, "what do you do here?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm just a visiting fellow sorcerer at the moment," She held the door open for the three as they exited the building, "and I was on my way to this ramen place I know when I ran into you guys." Yuji sucked in an animated breath, practically jumping from foot to foot as they walked. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about going to the bullet sushi?!" He asked excitedly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I, you want me to take you with me?" Her brow wrinkled in confusion. They surrounded her then./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Please take us with you!" Yuji begged./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We did help you with your, ah, prank," Nobara pointed out. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It would be a shame if someone warned him about it," Megumi cut in. Mara crossed her arms. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"This is extortion, I thought we were allies?" She grumbled. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Allies who want to go to a bullet sushi restaurant," Nobara said, "it's really more of a negotiation." Damn, they were slippery little bastards./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I promise I know a really good one," Yuji encouraged. Mara sighed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Alright…" she conceded as they whooped excitedly, "but it all depends on if I can get a car from Kiyotaka." She added as a warning. They seemed confident it wouldn't be an issue. They made their way back to the front building and the three waited outside while Mara went in to look for Kiyotaka, or anyone else who could help them. The building was empty, and she wandered into the office off to the side. "Hello…?" She called hesitantly, swiveling her head to look for any sign of life. Nothing. She nibbled on her lower lip, eyes falling on a glass cupboard situated next to the door she had entered through. There were rows of car keys hanging. She stared a moment, deliberating. It wasn't stealing because she was bringing it back, and technically nobody had expressly told her she wasn't allowed to use them…She grabbed the keys off the first hook and walked back out of the building. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is Kiyotaka coming?" Yuji asked as she rejoined them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, no," she started, "nobody was actually in there." She took out her phone and pulled up her texts. "What's Gojo's number? I'll just tell him where we're going." Yuji recited the number for her and she typed out a quick text explaining she was taking Yuji and his friends to get sushi. She almost had her phone back in her pocket when it vibrated. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemWithout me? :(( /emspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMara snorted a laugh. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemUh, yeah, you told Yuji and Nobara I needed friends and made them add me as mututals./em Yuji and his friends watched her typing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What did he say?" Megumi asked. Her phone buzzed again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemAnd now you're getting sushi without me! Tell them they're grounded./em /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He says you're grounded." Her announcement was met by a chorus of outraged squawks. She was sure he was kidding, but she still debated putting the keys back to avoid any conflict. Yuji looked up and over Mara's shoulder and grinned. Her brow furrowed in confusion before she looked behind her, and did a double take as she saw Gojo approaching. She had never seen him in anything other than the Jujutsu uniform he wore with the bandana across his eyes. He was now wearing a normal button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbow, and pants with sunglasses balanced on his nose. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, where to?" He asked smoothly as he joined them. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We want bullet sushi," Yuji supplied. Mara pressed the unlock function on the key fob, signaling which vehicle it corresponded to. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ah, well then…" he nodded, and suddenly took off running, "shotgun!" The three students tore after him, Yuji almost pulling in the lead in the race to the car, but Gojo beat him at the last second. Mara blinked, staring after them. She was escorting three children and a large man child into the city to get sushi. She sighed, smiling to herself as she came and slid into the driver's seat while they piled into the car. Yuji wiggled between Megumi and Nobara, pulling excitedly on the front seats./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Let's go!" He cried, Mara saw his infectious smile split his face as she adjusted the rearview mirror./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Alright, you guys are at an eleven, I'm gonna need you to bring it back down to a three or four," she said, leaning an arm across the back of Gojo's seat as she backed the car up. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't let Nanami rub off on you, he's grouchy." Gojo quipped. Mara smirked. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe I'm just grouchy, too," /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You can't be the grouchy one, Nanami is already our grouchy friend." Mara blinked at the word 'friend'. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I dunno, Megumi is pretty grouchy, too," Yuji chirped. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I am not…" Megumi rolled his eyes, looking out his window. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, Megumi is just too serious," Nobara interjected. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I am not, you guys are just immature," he insisted with more force. He was met with a chorus of disagreement from the rest of them, and Mara couldn't help but laugh. They argued and joked for the entire car ride, despite Mara's initial request to tone it down. She feigned mild annoyance, but secretly she was enjoying listening to them. Her institute experience had certainly been a far cry from this camaraderie, and she hadn't really let herself develop friendships beyond acquaintances up to this point for the fear she would just have to move again. She parked the car and they all walked toward the restaurant, Yuji running ahead and Nobara yelling after him. Megumi followed them, and Gojo walked next to her more sedate pace as they brought up the rear. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're happy." She raised her brows, it hadn't been a question but she answered anyway./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, I am." He slid his hands in his pockets and Mara crossed her arms over her chest. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What makes you say that though?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I think I'm…aware, of you." He said cautiously. Mara's steps slowed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you mean 'aware'?" Oh, no. Something had happened this morning with the training exercise, her curse did something to him, she should have known better than to hope for something better…Panic bloomed in her chest, making her feel like her heart had been replaced by a stone. Alarm crossed Gojo's face and he looked down at her. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What? Hey, no, it's nothing to worry about," he rushed, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stopped walking. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You felt that?" She asked, eyes wide. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sure it'll pass," he stopped as well to face her, "it's probably just a residual effect of energy transference." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, my God…" she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's not a big deal, I'm sure it will go away." He assured her. She fixed him with an impassive stare. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Gojo, I may appear to be relatively nonchalant, but I assure you, underneath I am 'chalant' as fuck, the idea of having someone be aware of the inner workings of my brain is emterrifying/em to me, as it should be to you." She ran a hand through her hair. Gojo fought a grin. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, if it's any consolation, 'nonchalant' definitely wouldn't have been my first, second, or third choice of word had I been asked to describe you before this." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I would have definitely picked the other one. The 'chalant as fuck' one." He pressed his lips together to keep himself from laughing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I hate you so much right now." She said flatly. Gojo's laugh broke through and he slung an arm around Mara, dragging her forward with him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, you don't," he said. "And don't try to tell me I'm wrong," his wintry eyes peered down at her over the rim of his sunglasses, "I can tell." He finished in a conspiratorial whisper. She snorted and shoved him in the ribs, only earning her another laugh as he held the door for her and they joined Yuji and the others at the table they had gotten. They were rowdy as ever together, though slightly more quiet out of respect for the other patrons, and Mara laughed with them but she couldn't stop herself from thinking about the implications of a connection through the transference of energy between herself and Gojo. On the much quieter car ride home she found herself combing through her curse energy, she could feel the tingle of the energy she'd absorbed from Gojo, a breath of icy wind ghosting along at the periphery of her well of energy, dipping down and through her own. But if she tried to focus on Gojo himself, what he was thinking or feeling, she wasn't really getting anything other than he was just…there. Present. Was it because of their proximity in the car? Because if that were the case, simple distance should put a stop to this… Her thoughts halted in their tracks as he placed his hand on her knee. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's o.k." He said it with such confidence. She flashed an angry look down at his hand and shook it off. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Dude, get out of my brain." She hissed under her breath. Gojo chuckled to himself and resumed his vigil of watching the scenery pass outside his window. They arrived back at the institute and they walked together back to the dorms. Yuji challenged Gojo to a rematch race and they took off, thundering toward the dorms. Nobara sighed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"How do you deal with them?" Mara asked, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. Nobara smirked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You don't so much deal with Gojo and Yuji, you survive Gojo and Yuji." She gave a long-suffering sigh and shook her head. Mara laughed. Gojo beat him again, resulting in much complaining as they finally separated with the three veering off to the student side of the dormitories and Gojo walking next to Mara as they headed toward the faculty side. He sprinted up the few steps to open the door for her and she raised a brow as she entered, but said nothing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thanks for coming tonight," she called, "good night." She slid her key into her door. Gojo paused and turned around to face her. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's really not as much a problem as I think you're thinking it is." Mara sighed, rolling her neck as she turned to him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe not right now, but I have no idea what this means," she said, shrugging, "maybe it's nothing and it will fade, maybe it's something that will make me a target for anything I absorb energy from, maybe it'll backfire if I try to use it, maybe this will somehow hurt you, who knows." Gojo leaned against the wall next to her door. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe it's an advantage," Mara snorted, lips thinning in exasperation, "no, I'm serious, if I'm aware of you, you should be aware of me and any other curse or curse user you touch." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ever the optimist." She said, leaning her forehead against her door. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ever the pessimist." He countered. She huffed a laugh. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you always expect the worst, you can never be disappointed." He considered her a moment, brow furrowed slightly as his eyes traveled over her profile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's going to be fine." He declared, pushing himself off the wall. He started walking toward his room, "You'll see," he called over his shoulder. Mara gave his back an incredulous look as she twisted her key and pushed her door open. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Good night," she said again. He twisted, walking backward with his hands in his pockets. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't let the curses bite." She smirked, walking into her dorm room. Somebody would discover something other than curses in their bed tonight. Mara placed her keys in the bowl by the door, shucking off her shoes and wandering into her bedroom. She laid down on her bed, aimlessly scrolling through her phone without actually registering what she was seeing. Maybe he was right. She desperately wanted him to be right, she had felt so free this morning she couldn't bear to have that rug yanked out from under her. She closed her eyes and focused inward again, searching for the tendril of winter within her. She found it easily enough and let her curse energy flow around it, searching for any indication that she could pull information about Gojo from it. She twined herself around it, searching, searching, searching. She was just about to give up when she felt something tug. Her brow furrowed as she delved deeper, chasing the tug she had felt. And then…emthere./em It was just a feeling of relaxed calm, a faint notion that he wasn't particularly bothered by anything. She laughed softly, of course the great Gojo Satoru would be completely unbothered. She nearly let the feeling go when it suddenly flared into…anger? Annoyance? There was a bitter tang at the back of her throat. Her phone dinged and she dropped the thread of curse energy, picking the phone up to read the message. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemYou're so dead./em She laughed out loud, cackling as she typed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemI'm sure I don't know what you're talking about./em /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanemOh, I'm sure you do. Consider this shots fired. /emShe grinned at the several devil emojis that followed, sending an eye roll in response. She plugged her phone in and rolled over, sliding her arms under her pillow. Maybe she did have a place here on her own./span/p