Hello and thank you to everyone that's liked and followed my story since the last chapter! I see you!
Sorry this has taken me so long, if I'm being completely honest I've been playing Genshin Impact non stop for month so I haven't really spent much time on my other hobbies! But I'm going to try and write a little bit more regularly in future!
Enjoy! :3


A couple of days had passed since their last real conversation. Gojo had brought down a futon and some blankets and pillows, and Mio's own supply of food (mostly ramen and potato chips, which had started to make her feel quite stodgy) tea, a kettle, and a change of clothes.

The clothes were a big baggy shirt that said "Angel Kiss" on the front in katakana (エンジェル キス) in tacky bubble writing, and a pair of shorts. She had asked for socks, but obviously they were forgotten. She hadn't seen much of her new "sensei" other than those brief moments of him dropping off some things for her. It was actually pretty lonely down there, the only light she had was the collection of candles Gojo-san had brought down with him, which did help a little to keep the room slightly warmer.. But it was still cold as heck.

She spent most of the day working out, practising her kicks and dodging skills ready for when Gojo would begin their training. But it was boring on her own. Mio was grateful though that she had time to practice without getting battered. Unfortunately when she wasn't working out there wasn't much else to do to occupy her time, apart from eat or try to meditate a little.

Most of the time she just ended up mulling over memories of her life, attempting to find a way of seeing things that didn't make her frustrated or depressed.

She wondered about the two sorcerers, what their relationship was really like. She also thought about what Geto might have been like before he turned against humans, against the jujutsu code. She wondered if he kept up with Gojo, or if he felt like he was always second best. What if Gojo was encouraging him? Were they close? Or was what they had more of a friendly rivalry?

I suppose there's little point in thinking about that sort of stuff really… since I will probably be having to do my best in helping take him down now, it seems..

Mio decided to do some stretching, and to take it easy that day. It had been a while since she let herself truly relax.. It was pretty hard to, in all honesty, with such a looming situation present in the forefront of her mind.

She sat down and folded herself over her legs, focusing on her breathing and trying to be more aware of her emotions.

What do I have to gain from this?

Mio had already decided that working with the college was probably her best chance of survival at this point. Geto would squash her like a bug if she escaped on her own and tried to find her way back to him. Although it felt like a defeat of sorts, after putting in so much effort to get away from an institution she hated… Oh the irony..

It was a strange mixture of feelings. Mio was grateful to Gojo for giving her a chance to reach her potential, but he was still a bit of a scumbag. That predatory energy had wormed its way into her unconscious, she had begun to dream about him. Every night she woke up feeling flustered, sweaty and mildly annoyed that this man had made such an impact on her in such a short space of time.

Mio was hoping that he would come to see her today.

And she would be in luck..

Gojo was walking down the steps to the crypt-like area under the College, he had been thinking about Yuuji-kun, and how well he was recovering from… well.. Being dead.

Where Yuuji was staying wasnt too far from Mio, however, he had made sure that the barrier he created was in place between both their quarters. It would be a nightmare if he stumbled across Mio by accident.

With Sukuna set to become a more present threat, and the Kyoto kids coming to visit in not too long a time, Gojo had a lot on his mind. He wanted to relax a little, so he had gone and bought some kikufuku mochi from Kikusuian, and was now thinking about how he'd like to spend his evening.

Gojo had already decided that he didn't want to take a lead role in Mio's training just yet, he wanted more of a display.. An initial assessment of sorts.

He knocked the door gingerly with his knuckles, and only entered when he heard Mio's soft voice mutter "come in" quietly, from the other side of the room.

He had brought with him a small duffel bag that had a laptop, some blankets and sweets inside. He had planned, after training, to ask Mio if she just wanted to hang out and get to know each other better. The idea of asking her that, almost like a date, made him feel like a teenager again.

From the way she was sitting, Gojo figured that Mio must have been meditating. He hurriedly apologised for interrupting, while setting the bag down. He didn't open it straight away, thinking it would be funny if Mio assumed that it was full of training gear.

"It's no problem, sensei." she purred "It's not like I've been particularly busy."

Gojo smiled, he liked it when she called her sensei, for sure. He was also excited to see her all worn out and red in the face from training, knowing he could run circles around her for days. He rolled up his sleeves a little, and approached Mio in a very relaxed manner. When he reached her, Gojo held out his hand to her to offer her a bit of help getting up.

Mio was a little puzzled by this, puzzled in general by the familial nature with which Gojo was interacting with her, given that she was expecting them to start training.

Guess I'll have to pretend it isn't weird...

She took his hand and stood up with a perplexed and curious look on her face.

"So, I'm presuming you have a plan for the day, today?"

"You could say that, yeah" Gojo mused, trying not to give too much away.

"I was thinking you could give me a bit of a demonstration of the skills you already have, rather than starting with sparring and having you on the floor the whole time, hm?"

Mio wanted to laugh, but the way she'd mostly been feeling over the past few days had left her prone or being easily upset. So looked down at the floor for a brief moment.

"Oh, come now, we can't have that." he chuckled. Of course it was easy to understand, but a warrior without the determination to win or persevere is nothing more than a pawn. And he knew that Mio was much more than that.

Gojo wanted to keep some decorum, but instead he put his forefinger and thumb around Mio's chin and lifted it up so she was looking straight up into his icy blue eyes.

She could feel his breath on her lips and see each individual strand of his crystalline white eyelashes. It took her more than completely off guard, and she took in a short sharp breath or surprise.

"I would like to think.." Gojo began "that you know why I haven't killed you yet."

"Yet?"

"Mm-hm!" he chirped, "we have to assess how useful you'll actually be, if it turns out you are just a weakling then you'll have to die. You seem clever enough to understand that, Saotome-san. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a tone of authority to his voice, he really sounded like a teacher. Mio couldn't help but let a small smile creep into the corners of her mouth, while trying to stop herself looking down at his lips. He was definitely looking at her like he could swallow her whole, or kill her, probably both… Hopefully in that order at least.. She caught herself thinking, without considering that she was still making eye contact with the sorcerer.

"Is that so?" he cooed.

"Shit…" Mio cursed and looked away, blushing. She had forgotten in the intensity of the moment that Gojo was simultaneously training her innate technique, as well as her physical skills.

"I'm sure we can work on that too.." he smirked, letting go of her chin and walking past her nonchalantly.

He set the duffel bag down gently, next to Mio's futon, and turned back to face her.

"Would you like to work on your mental resistance first? Or your physical resistance?" his tone was serious, but his eyes were full of mischief.

Mio paused to think about it for a moment, she figured that her main weakness was her failure to control her ability. However, upon further examination, she felt like the question was strangely worded.

"My resistance to what exactly?"

Gojo leaned back against the wall and peered over the rims of his black sunglasses.

"Me, of course."