Chapter 8: Who is this muscle man from hell?
It wasn't even a question. The boy had to go.
My only easy-to-reach scissors were already mounted on the wall, leaving me with items in my bag of groceries. So it was with a very heavy heart that I rustled through it, my fingers clenching the familiar items. I tossed the bag into Koko's care and ran before the boy could wise up and turn around.
Aki hopped off with a knowing chirp before I could dash and whip them along for the ride. Natural laws had no place in the reality I stood in as my body moved with extreme purpose.
Eliminate the boy.
In one second, our eyes met. Surprisingly quick to react, the boy's body began tensing up to jerk away.
Too bad one second was all the time I needed.
With precise accuracy, I gave my wrists a flick and let my knees dig into his throat and chest sharply, pulling a surprised choking sound from his mouth. The force pulled him down with a harsh crash to the ground, his head bouncing off the grass surface with a loud thump. (That brat better be grateful it wasn't asphalt.) The shrill sound of steel hitting cement rang through the air.
My fingers ran through his hair and gripped it in a punishing hold before slamming it once more on the ground. I quickly brought the other hand to my right leg and pulled my emergency knife out of my shoe, deftly flicking it out of its sheath to hold up against the creeps jugular.
Always my ride or dies, Aki and Koko stood on either side of him in case he decided to pull some moves on me. From the corner of my eye, I could see a congregation of black blobs watching with curiosity and excitement at the development unfolding before their eyes-er selves.
Kitchen knives pinned each limb to the ground by the fabric of the stranger's clothing, angled in a way that would hinder any attempts at movement lest he wanted to brave slicing his wrists and ankles. Aki formed some appendages to hold the handles down, just in case.
It was clear to see he was not expecting an assault from a small child to overwhelm him. Previously sly eyes were now wide with attention, and pupils were blown wide by the sudden adrenaline coursing through his veins to prepare for a fight or flight response. There was a pause in motion as the boy took in the position he was in before starting to move his hips to buck me off.
If only.
Taking further control of the situation, I quickly run my fingers through his hair in a deceptively gentle hold, my digits suddenly gripping the strands in a death hold making him wince at the sting, and slammed the boy's head against the ground, eliciting a pained groan from down below.
"Now..." Reaching behind me, my hand slid under my shirt, returning with a medium-sized kitchen knife, the blade gleaming with a menacing glare of light.
"Who."
I twirled the blade with ease, tilting my head to get a better look at his face.
"Are."
Bending lower, my face loomed over his. Our eyes made contact. His pair widened.
"You."
The blade pressed dangerously against his jugular, liquid scarlet already beading at the edge. The sweet and coppery scent wafted from the small wound, coating the back of my throat as I inhaled staring deeply into his eyes for signs.
Toxic green and demonic red. The Sinner and the Judge. The Human and the Being.
"Interesting."
I glanced at Koko, now crouching by the boy's head with a hand under his chin, a surprised look on his face.
(I didn't miss the way the boy stiffened and followed my gaze.)
Just as I was about to turn my attention back to the boy, I was stopped by a shout.
In one moment, Toji was blocking Yuu from moving; the next, he was slammed to the floor with his arms and legs pinned down, a sudden weight on his chest, and a sharp blade skimming near his jugular. A quick knife thrown through his hand immediately stopped any attempts to buck the attacker off.
He'd say he could've stopped it from happening if he wasn't distracted, but that would be a lie. Even if Toji was at his best, he doubted he'd be able to catch up with that speed and strength, much to his regret. There were few who could match up to a so-called monster like him; all of them he could count on one hand. So who was this person-no, someone who could take him down in such a short time didn't deserve to be called a person . They were on the same level as him. A monster.
Was it a hit? Did that shitty clan get tired of having a mutt around and send someone to finally finish him off? Toji's movements were hindered by the threat of blades holding his wrists and legs down; his cuts burned as he took in how dangerously close they were to his major arteries. Aside from the threat of blades, he could also feel the slimy texture of tentacles holding his arms and legs down—no doubt the work of a curse.
Shit.
Toji needed to get Yuu out of here ASAP . There's no telling if the girl would be left unharmed.
(He didn't dare acknowledge the change in priorities he now had. The boy never noticed the shift from protecting him to protecting her until it was too late; at that point, he didn't care that she made him weaker in that regard. He just had to get stronger.)
Glaring up at his attacker, Toji made out a black mop of choppy hair and red eyes the color of freshly spilled blood behind the gleaming glass of wire-framed glasses before his field of vision slanted as his head slammed against the ground with a force that made his brain feel like the inside of a pachinko machine.
"Pay attention." The boy—because despite his definitely concussed vision, he could still use his senses—reprimanded, as if he were scolding a young child rather than pinning down a person five times his size and weight.
"What's it to you?" he sneered with a wheeze, the wind knocked out of him. Deep down, Toji was extremely bitter at the smooth takeover, and by a runt no less. Here he was, a trained killer, overpowered by the might of a toddler of all things. His reputation would never be able to live this down if word got out.
The figure above him held his hair in a tight grip—one that he was surprisingly struggling with—and was about to slam his head against the ground again when—
"Chi-Chi, no!"
Who the fuck was Chi-Chi?
"Chi-Chi, no!"
"Tsk."
Observing the dazed teen I sat atop on, I narrowed my eyes before I set down my neutral expression. Another time, perhaps. I should've just jumped him in an alley. At least then I'd have a clean getaway. The oba-san who lives nearby wouldn't mind hiding the body if I slipped her a couple of plates of some homemade daifuku.
Loosening my grip just in time to prevent any further danger from happening to the boy's throat via Yuu's frantic grab for my arms as she put me in a hold, I motioned for Aki to let go of the boy and knives; there would be more time for that later. My sister would've let me do my thing if the boy was bad news, or she would've given me the signal she'd deal with it herself. However, judging by the mortified look on her face, this was neither of the two.
Sighing, I looked down at the boy being fussed over by my sister and twirled the knife in my hand in thought. There was a story behind this. I can just smell it.
So it was with a heavy heart that I put down my knife, signaling to my sister that, yes I would stop trying to murder her-would be "friend" and no, I am not going to call our father this very minute. I leaned forward on his chest and yanked my knives out of the ground. His pained hiss was music to my ears as I turned away to innocently face a judgemental-looking Yuu.
"Chi-Chi . Just...just why? "
Ah, there she goes.
"Is that a real question?"
Realizing my point, she worriedly eyed the boy who was currently staring at us with bewilderment. Instead of starting on her customary rant about the dangers of knives, she knelt on her knees and continued to check his body for any injuries—well, any more injuries.
At this point, the situation was making it seem I was in the wrong. To which I say, fair point. Not that I'll ever feel guilty about it.
"You know, there's this thing called personal space," I say, drilling a hole in the teen's head as if I could imprint my words on his mind through sheer willpower. Checking my clock, I deemed the pot of tea I brewed done and poured the hot liquid into three tea cups. The sound and scent of dripping tea helped me organize my thoughts and the hot steam added comfort. After pouring tea into the last cup, I slid them to the two before offering up a plate of rice crackers I had stored in my snack box.
"There's also this thing called overreacting ." He shot back with a drawl, eyeing the tea and snacks as if determining the probability of them being poisoned. Try as he might to seem unaffected, the boy's posture was still stiff with nerves. Strangely, as more blobs meandered their way inside my room, his posture became looser, but his eyes wilder. Similar to the eyes of a cornered animal.
"Look at him all hunched up like a doggy, how cute." Koko sniggered from his place sitting on the coffee table. Aki meowed in agreement froma top the boy's head, receiving a pat on the head from their cushion in reward.
Once Yuu had finished checking over her "friend" she had pleaded to bring him home to explain. Of course, I would've said no, but her promise of souffle pancakes was too tempting to refuse. So here we are, in my room (god forbid I'd let some rando in my sister's room) sitting down at my coffee table. I was sitting on the side with my back facing the bed while the other two sat adjacent to each other with the boy sitting across from me and Yuu sitting on the side akin to a mediator.
Like any love-sick teenager, Yuu was sending disgustingly sweet and concerned looks at the boy across from her. On the other side of things, when he wasn't glancing at the space Aki was occupying, said boy was stealing glimpses of her when she wasn't looking, a soft look in his eye that he probably doesn't know is there.
Ugh, I feel like gagging. No disrespect or anything, but this is my sister we're talking about. I'm more than ready to support her with sibling self-care nights and advice, but having a scene like this smack me in the face was far from ideal. There were too many raging teenage hormones in this room for my taste .
Sipping my tea, I observed the towering (he's got to be at least 180 centimeters) boy in front of me.
Silky black hair that shadowed his venom green eyes with a scar that deliberately ran through the right side of his mouth; tight black shirt with bulging muscles under and shoulders that went on for miles; baggy grey sweatpants with questionable red stains and black shoes. There were questionable scars on his roughly callused hands that were shaped differently than mere cuts were. This did not give me any information aside from my sister's type being extremely concerning: bad boys and edgy guys with questionable motives and lifestyles.
Thankfully the groceries weren't damaged so we were still having dessert tonight. Although, I was sad that some of my knives were dented from the cement. (Nevermind that they sank five inches deep in the ground because that wasn't important right now.)
Glancing at the blood trailing on the floor, I closed my eyes in a moment of regret for not suggesting the bathroom. There were probably questionable bloodstains on the stairs as well.
Feeling Yuu's pleading stare drilling into the side of my face, I gave in. It was obvious she wasn't willing to spill anything unless I helped him.
"Fine." I acquiesced, reaching behind myself and under the bed (ignoring the laser focus of the boy's eyes). "You," I nodded at the boy. "Get on the bed."
Giving an unwarranted dubious look at the number of plushies on the bed, he scoffed, lips pulled into a sneer. "Why should I?"
I rolled my eyes at the sass. Teenagers.
"Because I prefer my floors without bloodstains." I gestured to the very prominent blood stains on the wooden floor as I pulled out the at-home medkit. "And because you're a walking wound. Infections are only one call away; Sepsis might even be knocking at your door."
"Wonder why." Despite his sarcasm, the boy stood up and did as he was told, probably because Yuu was practically dragging him by the ear to get up.
"Come on, just do as he says. You're already in hot water, so don't make it more difficult than it has to be." She nervously whispered in his ear.
"Fine." He snapped, eyeing my plushies with a weird look as he sank down on the soft mattress. There was a moment of tense silence before he reached out to turn every one of my plushies around before placing his hands back down on the mattress.
"Show me your wrists." His eyes narrowed and he lifted an eyebrow with a dubious expression on his face. "I'm not gonna stab you again—although if that's what you want, I don't mind obliging to that idea." I let out a forlorn sigh. "Yuu-nee obviously cares for you though, so I'm fixing you up." I motioned Yuu to the bathroom. "Go get some hot water and a towel. There should be a bowl under the sink."
"Yes, Baa-chan." Yuu saluted and pecked me affectionately on the cheek before standing up to go search the bathroom. "Follow what my brother says, okay? He knows what he's doing." She instructed the boy over her shoulder before walking into the bathroom, receiving a quiet tsk from the boy.
Alright, time to get to work.
It was short work rolling up the legs of his sweatpants and observing the damage on his lower legs and wrists; the cuts weren't as deep as I expected, so there wasn't a need to pull out the big guns. Humming a tune, I washed his cuts with the soaked towel Yuu came back with until his pale skin was bright pink and clean. The next step was to sterilize the wound, so I set about uncapping the bottle of rubbing alcohol with an ominous pop and soaking a cotton ball for use. I relished his hisses when the ball of pain made contact with his wounds and continued on as usual.
"Oh, stop acting like a big baby." I scolded him when he flinched for the fifth time. "Even my sister can sit still when I patch her up."
"You do this often?" Despite the pain, he gently held onto the hand my sister offered for support.
"Well, it's not like Yuu-nee's the epitome of grace—"
"I resent that statement." Yuu pouted.
"—and my friends are much too adventurous for their own good. So you can say I've found an aptitude for this."
Funny enough, he didn't flinch or recoil at all when it was time for me to stitch him up. It only took about fifteen minutes for me to finish and bandage his hand. The room was silent as I worked as the two watched my quick and experienced hands move. After I secured and made sure the bandage didn't feel uncomfortable, I washed my hands. Returning from the bathroom, I rummaged around my kit and took out my bottle of aftercare tablets. There was a moment's pause where I turned to take a long look at the pathetic-looking boy, searching for something. Once I found it, I made up my mind and picked out a green tablet, plopping one down in my hand.
Thankfully, his attention was taken by my sister's rambling, so his guard slipped when I asked him an extremely important question.
"Losersaywhat?"
"Wha-?" With a confused blink, he opened his mouth, unprepared for a hand to slap over his mouth, flinging an unknown object inside. In his surprise, he swallowed the offending object without a thought. "What the fuck?"
Before he could throttle me with his very muscular hands (they look like they could bend steel—which, I suppose was what attracted Yuu's attention. She always was weak to a nice pair of hands, and these looked like they were sculpted by God himself), I took his hand and placed a cup of tea (that Aki helpfully nudged over) in it, pushing it up to his mouth.
"Don't freak, it's just a painkiller. If you still feel any discomfort or you catch an infection, come see me again. Drink the tea. It'll help dissolve the pain medicine faster."
Chuckling behind her hand, Yuu nodded at him encouragingly, "Go on, Chi-Chi's not the type to use poison on this set of tea cups, so you're safe."
The boy gave me a look of disbelief before accepting the drink and doing what I asked of him. Once he drained the cup, I took it back and refilled the cup, gesturing for them to sit back down.
Inhaling the scent of orange and jasmine from the steaming cup in my hand, I sipped some of the tea, closing my eyes and letting the hot liquid coat my tongue before swallowing. An intrusive thought reminding me about the state of the scissors Honoka and Akihiro thoughtfully decorated made me relieved that there wasn't a scratch on the blade. I won't have to give an awkward explanation about the dangers of tall good-looking men and to not fall for their equally dangerous charm.
Actually, that isn't a bad idea. Gotta teach them when they're young after all.
My hand swirled the tea around as I observed the dregs, staying silent and waiting for the mood of the room to cool down. "You know, I really like sales. So..." My dead-fish eyes grabbed the two's attention, preventing them from looking away. "I'd really like to know why I had to waste five knives and a pair of scissors this afternoon. Who are you?"
"I can explain!" Yuu exclaimed before the other could answer. She started to sweat nervously when we waited for her to continue: him, dreading her answer; me, curious. "He's um-he's..."
The other non-humans in the room just watched us as if witnessing a live telenovela. Koko was just eating it up, hand popping back some potato chips (he was obsessed with the brand and wouldn't stop nagging me to buy some at the store and wanted to eat them as soon as we returned home, so I had opened up for him earlier) into his mouth, munching on the crunchy goodness of capitalism and occasionally feeding some to Aki.
Patiently I waited for her. It seemed like the boy wasn't planning to talk any time soon. He just sat there staring at his own teacup like it held all the answers in the world. If only.
Yuu took a deep breath before she finally blurted it out.
"He's my boyfriend!"
We both stared at her, trying to take in what had just happened.
"..."
"Is that so?" I asked, eyeing the boy with a searching eye. His lips were parted in surprise and his eyes widened a bit, surprised at my sister's action and even more soft for her.
Well, at least it's mutual.
"..."
Unfortunately, my sister's head was still tilted down so she didn't catch his expression, so at the boy's speechlessness, Yuu deflated in herself with regret, gripping her cup for life as if were her only anchor at the moment. "I mean...we are... right?"
...Did I just witness an indirect confession? Did they not consider themselves in a relationship before or something?
Swallowing down his saliva, he parted his lips to answer. "...Yeah" He nodded his head. "I'm her... boyfriend."
"..."
("Oh my me, it's like we're in a soap opera." Koko cackled in his corner. "Aki-chan, grab me another bag of chips!" )
"...I see."
Silence pervaded the room once more.
Thwack.
But that never lasts long in a household like this.
"Chikao! "
"Slip of the hand."
"Why do you still even have that knife? We're in your freakin' bedroom!"
"Reasons." I petulantly answer. "Constant vigilance."
"We literally live in the safest neighborhood, what's there to be vigilant of? " She shot back, not knowing what to do about the blood current flowing down his now cut left cheek. The girl took out some tissues and started dabbing the blood off. "I'm sorry Toji, he's always like this when it comes to people he's close with."
I scoffed, rummaging around the sleeve of my haori (earlier Honda wanted help practicing her tea ceremony, so Kimura and I dressed up in traditional wear to help set the mood) "Who knows-" Aha. Taking out plaster and an alcohol wipe, I scooted my way up. "-there might be a sudden invasion of malevolent beings seeking the doom of humanity-" I gave the boy a long stare until he shivered and relented, bending down reluctantly. "-who'll be the last man standing then-" Wiping his cheek and ignoring his hiss, I started on the plaster."-my dearest Yuu?"
"Okay, point." She snorted as I mockingly patted the boy's cheek, which was actually pretty smooth now that I think about it. How old was he? They were also a bit red with embarrassment, the color only darkening at the close proximity between the two of them—now isn't that cute ? "But that's because you wouldn't hesitate to shoot the threat at point-blank with a gu-are you serious!"
"Hm?" I looked over at her from where I was brushing tangles out of the increasingly agitated boy's mess of hair. "Oh right—question."
Her brows with puzzlement as she nodded her head. "Y-yeah, sure. What is it?"
Cupping his face in a deceptively light hold, I brought our faces closer to take in his features more clearly.
Huh, now that I think about it, he kinda reminds me of the wolf my grandfather took in. The old man lived out in the forest and had come across the severely injured wolf lying pathetically on the side of the ride while walking back from a visit to the local pharmacy. So, being the lonely guy he was (although he'd never admit it out loud) my grandfather took him home and fixed him up. It took a while for the wolf to get used to him, but he eventually warmed up after sussing out the old man's actions to just being helpful.
And thus, a new member of our family was introduced.
Toto.
(Toji felt like his life was on a very sharp edge the moment those hands curled around his jaw—he could sense the immense power within the young boy's palms and didn't dare move a muscle despite the almost playful grip the other had on him.)
I peered in on his emerald eyes.
(He could feel his soul being stripped bare under that searching gaze until nothing was left.)
And promptly pat his soft hair. Kinda figured he wouldn't be the type to use conditioner; I'll have to put an end to that. There was hope for him yet.
"It's actually for you, big boy, so I'm gonna need your answer on this one."
Caught off-guard, but also annoyed by the address, he warily nodded his head at me.
"Good, good." I gave him another pat. "What's your name?"
"...Toji."
Rolling at his dramatics, I made a 'go on' motion.
Despite his obvious vehemence against answering, Toji knew there was no option for refusal. He looked like he had eaten something vile when he answered.
"Zenin Toji." The boy spat out.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh shit.
My brain was on overdrive as I connected the dots as to why this motherfucker looked so damn familiar. I'd never forget milkers like those in any lifetime. It's Toji. Toji as in Jujutsu Kaisen. Toji as in Fushiguro Toji. And judging by the nature of his relationship with my sister and the characters of our last name, Toji, as in Yuu's future husband. Toji, as in the future deadbeat father of Fushigurio Megumi, my soon-to-be-born-nephew.
Toji, as in Yuu's baby daddy.
Wait, let's take a step back. Didn't he take the surname Fushiguro after his marriage to Tsumiki's mom? And by then he already had Megumi. But Yuu and Tsumiki's mom have the same last name, so that doesn't make any-wait a minute.
I pulled out the mental imagery of our family tree, skimming through our relations with a needle-point focus.
There's a cousin.
Thrice-removed—but that doesn't matter—and on our father's side of the family. Lives in Niigata and is around the same age as well.
Hm. That's a rabbit hole for later. For now, the... boyfriend situation takes precedence.
On the outside, however, my face was that of total peace. "Hm, okay." Looking him up and down (Toji shivered) I touched my chin in deep thought. "I can work with this."
I gave Koko the Look .
No words were needed between us.
He nodded and saluted me childishly. "Sir, yes, Sir!" With a wink, the boy stood up and started shooing away the curious and nosy blobs lining the corners of the room and peering in from outside. With a serious look on his face, he waved them out through the small crevices in the window; the blobs slinking and sliding through any gaps available, albeit disappointed for missing out on the juicy details. Gossips, all of them.
At least they were gone now. Toji looked like he was debating whether or not he should flee or start killing them judging by the way he would sporadically clench his hands into fists, eyes shifting around the room as if sensing the masses of energy. Now that they'd left, he seemed more relaxed, but now he was filled with even more suspicion.
"Toto, Yuu-nee." I said in my most authoritative voice I mostly used for when we go on supermarket sales.
Yuu's head snapped up at attention while Toji's brow twitched as he mouthed Toto with an annoyed look .
"Hai!"
I eyed them over my glasses, tilting them so they gave a malicious glint. "We will start the official questioning as of..." My hand slammed an extremely obnoxious pink gavel (kindly passed over to me by the sweet and generous Aki—thank you sweetheart) against my tabletop, letting out a loud and obnoxious squeak run through the air. I held in a grin at the flinches they gave me.
(Toji narrowed his eyes in scrutiny at my hand holding the hot pink gavel, and then to the surface where Aki was lounging.)
"Now."
Yuu straightened her back as she prepared herself for questioning. Toji was still suspicious of the gavel but went along with the moment.
"Where did you meet?"
"Hoho, going straight to the point, Chi-Chi!"
Toji seemed to be amused at the memory: with a quirk of his lips, he glanced at my sister. "At the konbini across from Mako's bakery. I was looking for chips, and we happened to choose the exact same one. I tried to make her back off but... "
I nodded understandingly. "She took exception to that?"
"As she should!" Koko crowed over my arm, propping his head over my shoulder from where he was enveloping me in a hug, unfairly long legs pressing against my crossed ones.
Toji nodded. "She judo-flipped me over her shoulder." My sister, embarrassed, sheepishly nodded at his answer.
Sounds accurate
I couldn't help but feel like there was a bell ringing in the back of my mind; something about this sounded familiar. The potato chips. The judo flip. The embarrassment. Thinking over the details, my brain slotted together the pieces until the frame was completed.
"Oh," A lightbulb lit up in the recesses of my mind, illuminating the darkness that was my cavern of confusion. Koko choked on his mouthful of chips as he gasped in recognition, his eyes gleefully widened in sync with mine as we recognized the overgrown doggo sitting in front of us.
Oh my god, he's—
"Konbini Boy."
"Konbini Boy!"