I don't got this!

Every time Qian saw someone tall, or some inkling of silver, she panicked and would dive around the corner, behind a tree, or simply run off in the opposite direction. It was her first day back, in the mid-afternoon, and she was constantly looking over her shoulder, making sure any sign of the man was nowhere in sight.

She sighed, resting her back against the wall of the hallway where she was currently hiding. Come on Qian… get your shit together. She slapped her cheeks. You were able to survive the morning, just a few more hours.

Unfortunately, despite holing herself up in the lab for almost 5 hours, she had not made much progress with her research. Now that she finally had a sample of that cursed user's tissue (taken from a severed arm which, according to her mentor, was gruesomely obtained from their last encounter), she planned to isolate the cells to see if she can determine how that woman created these cursed spirits, but with her distracted mind, she kept messing up the experiments.

She gripped her growling stomach, silently cursing herself for forgetting to bring lunch. Hopefully with some food in her system, she can regain her focus.

She peered around the corner, down towards the cafeteria entrance. She made sure to wait till almost closing time to ensure that hopefully, no one would be present.

"Qian! Welcome back!"

She whirled around and came face-to-face with her mentor, who regarded her with a shrewd glimmer in her eye. The poor girl's face flushed with embarrassment in her awkward position, and she scrambled to her feet. "I-Ieiri-sensei!" She gave a quick bow, smoothing out her sweater and attempting to act normal. "T-Thank you so much! How has everything been?"

"Honestly, nothing has really changed. Been starting to schedule physical exams- it's that time of year." Shoko replied, scratching the back of her head as she yawned. "Besides, you were only gone for a week, I told you to take off more if you needed to."

Qian shook her head adamantly. "N-Nope, I'm all rested now! Ready to get back to work!"

The doctor crossed her arms. "You sure? All I got from you was a quick text saying you were coming back today. You should've come to my office to say hi."

Her assistant rubbed her neck, tilting her chin down shamefully. She knew she was being a coward, but the strongest sorcerer's office was close to the doctor's own room, and she did not want to risk an encounter. Qian dipped her head apologetically. "S-Sorry, Ieiri-sensei. I just had a lot of work I wanted to get started on right away."

Shoko sighed, discerning the real reason, but choosing not to comment. "I see. Well, I won't keep you long. Keep me posted on how everything goes."

Qian bobbed her head up and down. "I-I will, thank you!"

She bowed down once more before turning towards the cafeteria. "Oh, and Qian?" She glanced quizzically at the brunette. "Satoru's out on a mission this week."

The girl stumbled backwards in her step, her eyes wide with mortification. "A-Ah i-is that so?" She squeaked before releasing a cough, trying to keep her voice even. "I-I wasn't-"

"You were pretty nimble, ducking and diving all around campus this morning." Shoko remarked teasingly, placing a hand on her hip. "Valiant effort, but you should save your energy."

"N-No it's not that- I-" The poor girl's face was now dark red as she rambled incoherently, struggling to come up with the proper explanation.

"Qian, it's fine. Really." Shoko placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Besides, you've been through a lot. Just take it easy, alright?"

But the poor girl's head began to spin, her mind going into overdrive as she began panicking- imagining the horrified expressions from everyone else in the school. "B-But if you know- does that mean-?!"

"No one else does, and I only know because I'm smart. I'm a doctor, remember?" The doctor winked as she twirled a strand of her hair with one hand. "Relax, this stays between us."

She waved her fingers at her slack-jawed assistant with a knowing smirk before disappearing down the hall.

—-

Qian sighed in defeat as she plopped down on the grass, staring at the field in front of her. The Jujutsu High students were undergoing some sort of rigorous training regiment outside, and now that she didn't have to avoid a certain someone, she felt it would be rude to not say 'hi' in person.

She hugged her knees and buried her face in her thighs, completely embarrassed with the fact that her own mentor knew about her stupid feelings.

Oh god, am I that obvious?! This definitely means everyone must know! She rubbed her temples dejectedly. Oh god, if he didn't hate me before, he definitely does now.

She slowly raised her head, resting her chin on her forearms to continue watching the students, who now appeared to be taking a quick break and heading to the sidelines. Yuji reached into his bag to pull out a towel, draping it over his shoulders before he stretched his arms high above his head, casually looking around his surroundings. Upon realizing she was in the distance, he immediately gave a friendly wave as he rubbed the sweat off his face.

"Yo! Qian's back!" He shouted to the others before jogging up the hill.

Nobara was laying on the grass, her face covered with her own towel. She peeled the corner of the fabric off her sweaty brow, eying her teammate. "Yay…can she come down here though? I can't feel my legs."

Yuji rolled his eyes and stopped, motioning the girl to come down. Qian giggled, pushing herself to her feet as she shuffled down the slope carefully, trying not to slip.

"H-How is everyone doing?" She queried upon finally reaching them, kneeling beside the girl as the others gathered around.

"Kelp." Toge greeted, before grabbing a protein bar from his backpack.

"Not bad, yourself?" Maki replied, squatting down and taking a sip from her sports drink. "How are your injuries?"

"A-All better! I don't really feel any pain anymore." She responded, taking the sandwich she had bought from the cafeteria out of her bag. "P-Plus, I'm happy to be back."

"I thought you were supposed to be holed up in the lab all day, we were planning to come find you after." Megumi commented, wiping his sweaty chin with the collar of his shirt.

Qian recalled the text she had sent the trio earlier that day. She chuckled nervously. "T-That was the plan, yes, but then I figured I'd get some air and came to say hi!" She quickly took a bite of her sandwich to hide her guilty expression- she hated lying to her friends.

"You sure it wasn't because you were hiding from someone?" Panda interjected, rubbing his shoulder with a paw.

Qian paled and started choking, just as Nobara sat up. "Yeah, wasn't Ieiri-sensei ranting about all the work she had to do?" She turned to the girl, handing her a bottle of water. "Honestly, I don't blame you. Paperwork sucks."

Qian silently breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god, they weren't referring to Gojo-sensei. She poured the drink into her mouth, careful to not touch the rim as she swallowed the fluid gratefully. She coughed, thankful her esophagus had cleared. "N-No, I wasn't trying to avoid her- I just had a lot of work I needed to do."

"Gotcha, well it's still good to see you!" Yuji sat down beside her, lying on his back in the soft grass with his hands behind his head. "What's new with you?"

"N-Nothing really, I got a ton of rest, which was nice! My brother said he missed me being at home." Qian smiled fondly. She then clasped her hands together as she suddenly remembered her family. "O-Oh! That reminds me, are you guys free on September 3rd?"

Megumi shrugged. "It really depends on what missions we'd have going on. Why?"

"M-My parents are coming back to celebrate their 20th anniversary, and they're planning on hosting a huge party." She interlaced her fingers as she placed them in her lap. "I-I was wondering if you guys would be interested in attending?"

"A PARTY!" Nobara shot up to her feet. "Count me in. I don't care what mission is happening. I'm going."

Megumi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kugisaki-"

"SAME!" Yuji also shot up. "I've never been to a party before! Especially in Tokyo, I wanna go!"

The shadow user threw a pleading look at his upperclassmen, but Maki simply smirked. "I mean, we'd have to ask Principal Yaga but… why not? Sounds like a good way to kill some time."

"Salmon." Toge nodded his head.

"Indeed, it does!" Panda agreed; however, he then crossed his arms with a frown and furrowed brow. "Unfortunately, I do have to politely decline."

Yuji shot up to a seating position. "Eh?! Why? You gotta come with us, Panda-senpai!"

Qian also tilted her head in confusion while Maki gave him a deadpan stare. "Use your eyes, kid. Why do you think?"

As Yuji let out a soft 'ah' sound, the medical assistant turned away in embarrassment, also completely forgetting as well about Panda being a cursed doll. "I'm honored that you'd want to invite me but, I'm not sure how uh…my appearance… would be received if I showed up." Panda laughed sheepishly.

She then remembered the invite list. "O-Oh don't worry, a lot of my parents' friends have young kids! You could pretend to be a mascot again?" Qian offered with a raised finger.

"Ah, is that so?" The cursed doll grinned with a thumbs up. "That could work. In that case, sure, I'd love to come!"

Qian beamed, grasping her chest joyfully. "T-That would be wonderful!"

"So, what's the dress code?" Nobara asked, flipping her hair as she sat back on the grass, leaning on her elbows.

"O-Oh, I think technically 'cocktail' attire?" Qian pulled out her phone to open the 'Notes' app, scrolling through the notes she took from her call with her mother. "B-But don't worry about it, it's a really casual gathering so you can just wear whatever you want!"

The brunette tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, where's it going to be held?"

Qian swiped up on her screen, searching for a particular line of text. "A-At the Sonesta Hotel, I think?"

Everyone's (except Maki's) eyes bulged out of their sockets. "THE SONESTA?!" Nobara screeched, leaping to her feet. "Literally THE Sonesta?! How rich is your family?!"

"W-What? Not at all, I swear!" Qian waved her hands in front of her wildly. "T-They're good friends with the manager and my father has helped him numerous times in the past, so he wants to return the favor!"

"Still, that's one of the fanciest hotels in town." Megumi replied, scratching the back of his head. "I've only ever seen it in movies and stuff. Tons of weddings are hosted there every year."

"Yeah, even my family has issues booking events there sometimes." Maki commented with an off-handed shrug.

Qian let out a quiet murmur of understanding. "I-I see, well their event space can hold a ton of people and, um… my parents have a lot of friends."

"Sure seems like it." Panda sighed, plopping himself down beside her. "Who else is coming?"

"W-Well, I already invited Miyano-chan." Qian began, closing out the page she was on and opening a different note. "I was also going to invite Miwa-chan, Principal Yaga, Ieiri-sensei, and… G-Gojo-sensei." She gulped, silently cursing herself for stuttering right as she said his name.

The others groaned, seemingly ignorant of her faltered speech. "Aw man… do you have to?!" Yuji bemoaned, palming his forehead. "That means they're gonna keep us from doing anything fun…"

"O-Oh, um, I'm sure they won't…" Qian tried to be reassuring. "I-I mean, I'm not sure how fun the party will be in general but…"

Megumi rolled his eyes. "Ignore them. It's your family's party, therefore your decision. They'll suck it up."

His teammates hung their heads dejectedly as Qian guiltily bit her lip. "I-If you guys don't want to come anymore, I completely understand-"

"NO I WANT TO GO!" Both Yuji and Nobara shrieked simultaneously.

"Alright, alright. She gets it. Break-time's over." Maki clapped her hands and pushed herself to her feet. She turned to the girl apologetically. "Sorry, Qian, they've been slacking off recently."

"N-No you're totally fine! I should get to Ieiri-sensei anyways!" Qian protested, rising to her feet as well. "T-Thank you so much for letting me join you guys on your break!"
"Oh, stop." Panda waved his paw dismissively. "You're always welcome to join us. If anything, I'd want to see you do some sparring yourself." He wiggled his bushy brows.

Qian let out a soft chuckle. "I-I don't think I'd be a very good sparring partner but I'll definitely try one day!"

She gave a friendly wave as she headed back up the hill. "S-See you guys!"

—-

Shoko was typing away on her laptop in her office, updating the medical records of Jujutsu High's staff.

She squinted her eyes, scrolling down to her old classmate. She frowned upon seeing his last physical exam. Lazy bastard. I knew it- he's due for a checkup. She sighed to herself. "I'll have to ambush him whenever he gets back."

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door and Shoko took off her reading glasses, massaging the bridge of her nose. "Come in."

The door creaked open and she peered up tiredly before her eyes shot wide open. She leapt to her feet. "Satoru?! What are you doing here?"

Satoru himself, dressed in his usual uniform, seemed equally surprised, though it was due to her odd reaction more than anything. He had one foot through the door as he quirked a brow at her. "Um… I work here?"

"No, I meant-" She faltered before she cleared her throat, returning back to her usual poker face. "What are you doing being back so early?"

"I finished my mission already." He adjusted the body that was resting over his shoulder. "And I found another one of those plant spirit… things. Well, what's left of it. I figured you could always use more samples."

Shoko quickly cleared her throat, straightening her lab coat. "Ah, right. Of course. You've always been fast with missions. I'm not surprised or anything." She whispered the last part to herself and he regarded her in confusion as she strolled around her desk, holding out her hands.

"Right… you sure didn't look surprised." Satoru remarked sardonically as he plopped the remains of the beast onto her arms. "So, how were things these past couple days?"

"Oh, nothing new." Shoko chirped, silently cursing the higher tone in her voice. She coughed again, grabbing a trash bag from her coat closet and placing the body inside before tying up the plastic strings.

Satoru narrowed his gaze, crossing his arms. "Shoko, what's going on?"

"Nothing! Not a thing!" She countered immediately. Too quickly. She cursed herself once more. "So… where'd you find this guy?"

The man scrutinized her, still suspicious but choosing to answer her question. "Just outside Chiba-" Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door, which Satoru never fully closed.

He was right beside it and turned his heel. "I got it."

Shoko sucked in a breath and panicked. She dropped the bag she was holding, having a strong inkling of who would be standing in the hallway. "Wait, don't, I got it-"

His hand closed around the knob and he pulled the door ajar, coming face-to-face with the last person he expected to see.

—-

Qian raised her gaze with a small smile, expecting her mentor to be at the entryway, before she froze. Her eyes stretched open to the size of saucers as she blinked dumbly, her brain barely managing to recognize the man standing before her. For a moment, they simply stared at each other.

The poor girl's mind went completely haywire. What was he doing back?! Ieiri-sensei said he was still on a mission! What do I do!? I-I-I-

His eyes were covered as usual, but with- was that the mask I made? He's still wearing it? Why? She unconsciously took in his entire being, searching his immaculate face… somehow, he became more handsome than the last time she saw him… was he always this tall? He was standing so close… stop it brain! Stop thinking those thoughts! But she couldn't pull away her gaze… she suddenly forgot how to breathe.

Satoru's eyes widened as he peered down at her. He studied her dusted cheeks, her comically stupefied expression… A rush of guilt suddenly slammed through his gut upon seeing her face- he could vividly remember the blood dripping from her lips, her eyes turning blank and dull as she collapsed in his arms, her skin growing cold…

She had her hair pulled back into her usual bun, but a couple strands fell over her lashes as she continued gaping up at him. His fingers suddenly itched to reach forward and tuck them out of the way-

"G-G-G-G-Gojo-sensei!" She finally stuttered out his name and the corners of his lips twitched in amusement. Her face was bright red and turning darker by the minute.

"Hey." He finally breathed out. Several seconds passed as they remained silent, both unable to tear their eyes away from one another.

Finally, he leaned against the doorframe, hovering over her petite form as he placed a hand in his pocket. "I didn't think you would be back already."

OHMYGODWHYDIDHECOMECLOSER- "W-W-W-W-" The poor girl couldn't speak. Her brain just shut down like a blown fuse, completely ceasing to function. Various inner voices were fighting with one another, one was telling her to run, another telling her to say something, a third telling her to bow politely-

At the same time, Satoru continued watching her, taking in how she was now standing perfectly fine on her own two feet in front of him. Her face, no longer pale, was pooling with a healthy shade of red. Her eyes, though owlishly wide, were vivid and bright with life. The longer he stared, a warm feeling began to envelope his chest. A sense of relief? Yet… something else that he couldn't name.

He suddenly drew back in shock upon the realization, as if someone had punched him in the nose. No, there's nothing else. Just glad that she's okay.

"Hey, Qian! I'm back here, did you need me for something?!" Shoko called from behind the pair, smiling nervously. As much as she was engrossed by the interaction, she feared her assistant was about to suffer from an aneurysm.

Qian snapped her gaze over the man's shoulder at her mentor, before shaking her head violently. "N-No it's okay, I'll come back later!" She quickly dipped her head down. "B-Bye!"

She immediately raced off, disappearing down the hallway.

Satoru sighed, clenching his jaw before Shoko smacked the back of his head.

"Ow." He glared at her over his shoulder, rubbing the sore spot. "What?"

"I told you to wait." She crossed her arms. "And you didn't. And now look at what you did: she's traumatized."

"I thought you said she was coming back next week." He grumbled, straightening his back as he placed his hands on his hips.

"She said she had enough time to rest. And I thought you were going to be gone longer." She sighed, rubbing her temples. "There's no way she's going to be able to get any work done now."

Satoru shifted his gaze back down the hall. "Did she go back to the lab?"

"Ohhhh no, no, no. You aren't going there." In two steps, Shoko stood in front of him, waving a hand in his face to shake him out of his reverie. "She doesn't want to see you. You've disturbed her enough."

"I wasn't planning to, was just wondering. Geez, chill, Shoko." Satoru grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets in nonchalance. However, he nonetheless turned his head, gazing pensively at the spot where she had disappeared.