BIG MANGA SPOILERS HERE GUYS
~~~Read at your own risk~~~
Mio fumbled as she clasped her hand around the chopsticks, her body suddenly taking on the sensation of a cave. She thought for a moment about keeping her decorum, of not wanting to appear rude in front of her somewhat superior… to be respectful… But nothing about their most recent exchange was discreet. Am I really letting this guy fluster me? She muttered to herself, replaying the intrusive scenes in her mind.
It didn't last long though. Her instincts kicked in and she dived at the sliced, battered chicken, breaking it apart and picking up big pieces, wolfing it down. Mio tried for a short moment to neatly break apart the rice and pick it up, but soon gave up in favour of picking up the plate and scooping it into her mouth. Every now and then she took breaks to breathe, and Gojo would catch a subtle curl at the edges of her lips.
"I suppose its good then.." he chuckled.
Mio didn't reply with words, doing so wasn't worth her time in that moment. She simply nodded her head, and looked up into what would be his eyes were they not behind the blindfold.
"Mm~"
Gojo thought in that moment she must have got embarrassed. She had katsu sauce smeared around the edges of her lips, and had already managed to get through half of the entire portion. Meanwhile, he had been picking away small chunks from the slab of rice on the tray. He didn't care too much for the cheaper takeout katsu, he'd had a bit of the chicken and tried the sauce.. He just liked playing with sticky rice, and wasn't particularly hungry then. He was thinking about lots of different things..
He'd spent most of his time watching Mio.. And she knew that he was watching him too, neither cared. Mio had never really thought about how vulnerable hunger would be, she had just been trapped in her mind for who knows how long. Gojo didn't have to be doing this for her… why is he doing this for me?
He was smiling, it was good to see her enjoying something. He knew he shouldn't really be thinking like that, but he didn't have to worry too much about how he brought about the outcome he needed. No one was bothering them, and everything was already moving at quite a satisfying pace. He loved the chase, finding out how people tick.
It was always going to work giving the girl what she wanted. Its a win-win for everyone.. Gojo doubted that Mio would be too stubborn, it was evident to him that she was hurting. She wasnt putting up walls, per se, but she wasn't letting her guard down fully. But here… seeing her like this, there was an almost feral quality to it. Mio usually liked to savour her food, to be polite and respectful. She felt strangely comfortable enough, or perhaps so aware of the difference in power, that she surrendered to her instincts.
Gojo carried on picking at his food, wondering how to start the conversation.. His head was resting in his left palm, and he noticed the dressing gown slipping down Mio's shoulder.
I could just cut the crap… ask her why she's here, ask her why she left her family, Gojo pondered, I don't think she's stupid enough to try anything..
Mio had finished her food while Gojo was locked in thought, admiring the curvature of her collar bone and how her skin was moving across it every time Mio took a deep, sighing breath.
"So.. What is it you want to ask me then..?"
He almost laughed again, forgetting he had a small mouthful of rice still in his mouth. She is direct.. The edge of his lips curled into a smile, and he looked at Mio through his blindfold.
"I was actually going to ask you if you wanted the rest of my portion." Gojo mused, toying again with the fluffy, sticky rice with his chopsticks.
Mio was slightly taken aback by the question, expecting a barrage of interrogation.. Not another offering. She'd spent the last few minutes wolfing down her dinner, and mentally preparing herself for having to decide whether to lie through her teeth and risk losing the trust she needed to get out of this alive.. Or to tell the truth and have her course in life changed forever.
She looked up at the sorcerer, eyes full of confusion and a softness that he hadn't seen before. She was genuinely surprised.
"Uh.. I mean yeah I suppose I could have it.." Mio shrugged.
Gojo chuckled under his breath, sliding the plastic box over to the other side of the table. He was still watching intently, chewing on the inside of his lower lip. He definitely was hungry, but not for the katsu.. His hunger was one of an intellectual nature. A large part of him wondered how long they could manage to talk for without him actually questioning her. It felt like a game.. And Gojo Satoru loved games.
"Have you ever been to Shibuya, Mio?" he asked, his head still resting in his palm, elbows on the table. She had always been told off for doing that as a child..
She thought about it for a second, Mio vaguely remembered going through Shibuya on a journey once, but she only saw it from the inside of a train. It looked so cramped and bustling. Claustrophobic even.
"Sort of, but not really.." She answered.
"So you've been through on the train then? Did you get off and look around the station at all?"
"No.."
"Ah, a shame really, they have such quaint souvenir shops and some of the nicest tofu hot dogs you'll ever try!"
He was smiling, thinking about the glittering, lively indoor market at the station, the smiling faces of people watching displays of teppan yaki, bursts of flame making each stall stand out amongst the rabble. He had the idea to ask about it because he had not long ago received some intel about rumours going round the curse world that something was going to happen there.
Ever since the mission Gojo and Geto went on over 10 years ago now… fuck… Gojo had suspected that Geto Suguru… being Geto Suguru… would have found some way of continuing his existence, of moving forward with his plan. Of creating a world where only Jujutsu sorcerers exist by process of elimination evolution. Killing monkeys to create Sorcerers. It made Gojo sick. Thank god at least he didn't have to try and force himself to eat the curry.
Mio was watching as Gojo quieted for a moment. He had always seemed like the type of man to fill a room with noise and activity, a very restless human being, but in these moments Mio knew he was thinking about something that drained him. She knew it would be to do with him. And yet, he wasn't asking about it. He was being trivial, jovial even, joking around about sightseeing and tourism. Mio wondered what the reason for this was, perhaps it was another strange encarnation of Gojo's playful nature… if that is the case, Mio felt compelled to play along, to see where the conversation went naturally, like they were both ignoring the reality of the situation at hand and actually just having a casual chat about insignificant things.
"I personally like the tofu hot dogs from Shinjuku the best.."
Gojo's heart almost leapt up in his chest.. She does get it! The girl has a sense of humour, thank god!
Though, the mention of Shinjuku made him shuffle slightly in his seat. He had only been back there a couple of times since that day… Since he had to take out his own partner for becoming a curse user. For years he blamed himself, if only he had spent more time with him, not been so focussed on developing his own powers, maybe Suguru wouldn't have ended up the isolated individual he did. Nope, I'm not gonna go there, not today. I've got much better shit to think about, right in front of me.
He put on a big smile and put both his hands on his cheeks, making that irritating 'heh heh heh' laugh he knows Yaga and the Old Man at Kyoto hate. It seemed to make Mio laugh, and she was smiling as she played with the thin strips of pickled ginger, unconsciously imitating Gojo's actions from mere moments before.
"Well then! It seems we have ourselves a food critic in the room! Is that so?"
Mio was still smiling, and she looked up at Gojo with a flirtatious and challenging look in her eye.
"I would be even more so if it were your cooking, Gojo-san." she smirked.
"Is that so?"
She nodded once in silence.
"Well well well… I suppose I'd be missing a trick there if I didn't make you something.. Tell me, do you like cakes? Sweets of any type really."
Mio didn't really have too much of a sweet tooth, she only fancied the Pocky that Gojo had got because she knew her body would be very depleted in sugars, but generally tried to avoid them. The thought made her reach for the sweets and open the packet, humming to herself deciding whether to play into his likes or to just carry on being upfront. She, again, chose the latter.
"Yeah, sorta. I usually don't eat sugar but I figured I could squeeze a treat out of you since you were being so nice and…" her mind trailed off briefly thinking about other words she could use to describe how he left before… rugged, handsome, teasing..
"And?" he prompted.
"Stupid.." Mio smiled again, biting down on a strawberry Pocky and puckering her lips a little from smiling as she chewed it.
"Pffhahaha!" Gojo rocked back in his chair, this girl was gutsy, he liked girls more like that.
"You did totally forget my food before, takes a big kinda dumb-dumb to manage that!" they were both laughing, and it felt genuine. The atmosphere in the room was of two colleagues that had had a hard week kicking back over some beers on a Friday night, catching up on the week's antics and gossip. It was relaxed, and Gojo actually really appreciated the girl for it.
"Ah.. Yes.. So sorry about that, Mi- I mean, Saotomi-san."
She chuckled softly to herself, brushing a strand of hair that had fallen down her face behind her ear.
"You can call me Mio, if you like.."
This caught Gojo by surprise, he was stunned by how comfortable he felt around Mio. They had a similar sense of humour, and she was incredibly strong willed, but she was also allowing herself to be comfortable, making the best out of a bad situation.
"Hmm… I'll think about it." he was still smirking, but it was a softer smile now, one of kindness, and Mio acknowledged it with a small bow of her head.
She could easily have taken the conversation in a direction of soppy gratitude, played the sobbing troubled girl that just wants to be free from her torment. But it would all be bullshit. She was grateful, but Mio wasn't about to go back to how she was as an angsty teenager. She surpassed that version of herself years ago.
It had been 11 years since Mio had left her family at the not so tender age of 16. She had already worked it out, if she had been allowed to train in Sorcery at the college, she would have been a first year when Satoru was in his 3rd year. There were rumours when she was that age that Satoru was already a special grade sorcerer by then. She had heard of his exploits, sent on missions to do with Master Tengen, but she was never told any details. She knew about the Limitless and the Six Eyes, he was the talk of the town.. Of the country… from the very moment he was born.
Gojo knew all of this, he had seen her as a child, growing ever more frustrated and gloomy with each encounter. He knew about her family, and chose to turn a blind eye to it because he knew, at the time, that his words would be more of a nuisance than something to heed, something that would change anything.
He had suspected that ever since Geto Suguru became a curse user, and he had to take him out, that the man had found a way to keep living. There had been rumours, though Gojo knew the man wasn't stupid enough to go out in plain sight. He probably only spent time moving through domains. However, since the sighting of two unregistered special grade curses (Mahito and Jogo), Gojo had started to suspect whether it would really be him… or whether it would be some sordid means of cheating death using some ancient dark cursed energy. He hadn't thought about it in detail for a while until now, what with Sukuna being a pressing threat. If there was anyone who was ruthless enough to find and turn Itadori into an asset, perhaps even try and ally Sukuna in order to wipe out the human race somehow… it would be Geto Suguru.
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted.
"Think about what?" Mio pried.
He had almost forgotten what they were talking about… and stumbled quite clumsily over his words.
"I mean, I.. Yeah if you.. I suppose I could call you by your first name if you like… Wait what did you ask me just now?"
Mio burst out laughing. At least I'm not the only one getting flustered.
She looked down at her food again, not being able to keep what could hardly be considered eye contact for fear of not being able to stop laughing. He was actually being genuine.. The guy is a fucking dork, she chuckled to herself.
"Jesus christ I feel like a teenager.." Gojo groaned, scratching the back of his head and leaning back in his chair. It had been quite some time since someone had made him feel this giddy and flustered, he wondered if he could keep the chase up for much longer. They were both being incredibly honest with each other.. He wondered if it would continue when he started to pry into those topics that Mio knew were coming.
"That's interesting.." Mio had finished picking at the rest of the food, there was a small amount left.. Hardly worth even leaving, Gojo figured, but perhaps she was saving it for later. The girl was now pulling Pockies out of the box and taking little nibble bites of them, looking Gojo up and down as if she was assessing him.
He was watching the way her lips closed around the small biscuit sticks every time she took a bite. How she was practically kissing them… he wondered what she would look like with something like a lollipop or a candy cane, how her cheeks would look as they pulled in whole she sucked on the sweet.
Mio could tell his mind was elsewhere, and decided to use it as an opportunity to get some kind of advantage. She slid her right foot forwards under the table, and hooked it around the back of Gojo's leg. She didn't look him in the eye, instead her gaze lingered around his neck, where she could see his pulse pressing against his skin. She watched intently as his breath hitched with surprise, but his heart rate didn't change.
How can I get him to cave…
Mio raised her leg to hook around the back of his knee, pulling his calf towards her legs. Gojo swallowed hurriedly, attempting to calm the rush that was spreading up his legs and through the out of his stomach. His eyes were tracing up and down her chest and shoulders, waiting for the moment that she would look up at him.
"You know.. Gojo-san.."
She looked up, and Gojo couldn't help but grin.
"Mmm.." he replied, it came out like a low groan rather than an actual response.
"I know you want to get inside my head, and I know there are things I know that you don't…"
There it is. Now I wonder where she's going to take this.
"What about it?"
"Well.." she began, pulling another Pocky from the box "Suppose there are things that I want. Suppose I feel like I may be of use to you, in other ways than being a witness to interrogate or a stranger who you think you know."
Gojo's grin turned sinister, and he sat forwards, upright in his chair, crossing his arms.
"Before you continue, Mio.. Let's not forget who is the prisoner in this situation, hm?"
Mio's head bowed, but she was still smiling.
"What I want, Gojo-san.."
The knot in his stomach tightened at her words, the tone of voice she had started using was so sultry and erotic that he had to focus on not becoming more aroused and succumbing to her tricks.
Mio knew what he was hoping or expecting her to say… something obvious and seductive like 'use me' or 'let me serve you'.. But Mio was far more intelligent than that. If she was going to get the upper hand, then she needed not only Gojo's trust, but his sympathy. I don't want to be the sullen teenager, but it feels more genuine than playing some sort of temptress. It's not in my nature.. Ah, fuck it.
She let her foot slide down his leg and drop to the floor, giving off an air of disengaging and pulling back, which, once again, took Gojo by surprise. Her head stayed slightly hung, and she started to fiddle with the Pocky in her hands.
"What I want… is to feel like I'm somewhere I belong, to feel wanted.. Appreciated. Or at least not underestimated. I wouldn't expect you to understand…"
Though in a sense, she was right, Gojo has still always felt isolated. Being the strongest is a lonely place to exist. He was stunned by the seeming assumption that Mio hadn't considered this, surely she must have. Was she trying to force him into a corner where he, too, would have to actually open up to gain her trust? He started to feel like, though this entire situation was pure mind games and manipulation.. I mean, is it really just that? He couldn't really afford to question it right now, he had been posed with a choice.
Follow the soppy route and have a real heart to heart with the girl, have her believe that he genuinely cares enough to divulge the information she has.. Or to put up a wall and re-assert his dominance in the situation, let her know that the sympathy ploy isn't a viable option..
It was a tough choice.
Everything up until that point seems to have been based on gut reactions, and Gojo couldn't deny that he did have a desire to connect with the girl. To not see her talent wasted, especially for such nefarious purposes that he suspected Geto was behind. So he went with his gut, and it turned out like a strange combination of the two.
"Perhaps you would be wise to remember that the strong will pick on the weak, or those who have been made to feel that they are weak. They make you feel worthy… for a time, until you become a threat. At which point they will try to make you lesser in some way, so that they feel less afraid of you."
Mio was stunned by the frankness of his response. It struck her in the pit of her gut like a hot knife, ripping through her abdomen straight into her heart. She had felt weak her whole life.. And when she met Geto, she felt like she finally had someone to believe in her, to train her, to make her into something better. For a long time she still felt useless, knowing that Geto had probably never used his full strength on her in a fight… She would probably be dead. That was it, that must have been Gojo admitting slyly that she was associated with Geto.. Or it could have been a poke at how the College had treated her family.. Arghh why can't it be as clean cut and simple as it is in the stories?
Sorry for the wait I've had major writers block for a while, thank you to everyone following and reviewing the story it actually means a lot :3
