82. Of Rooms Arrangements and Hairpin

Everyone settled into the main house's guest area. Misunderstandings are settled, explanations done, and everyone sat down.

"So," Haruka awkwardly starts, his ears burning red with embarrassment for causing all this fiasco. In hopes to make everyone forget about it quickly, he did an awkward hand gesture towards all of them and exclaimed "Welcome!"

He was going to continue, but his wife smacks him on the arm. Haruka glared at a giggling Gojo Satoru. He swears, one day, he's going to smack the life out of Gojo fuckin Satoru-

"We've prepared the rooms for everyone," Mrs. Inumaki said kindly with a smile. "There's plenty of rooms at my son's wing of the manor. There's also a hot spring over there so everyone should be able to settle down nicely."

"Oh, not the Begonia Hall anymore? I thought they were arranged to go there in the first pla- ouch!" Haruka mumbled to himself, but it was loud enough that everyone heard it.

So, his wife smacked him again.

Haruka smiled widely happily. "Yes! Yes! We've prepared the rooms in Toge's Hall for all of you to stay there! Friends needs to be together, right? Hahahaha!"

Toge just smiled. He felt how awkward his father is, but he just smiled. His parents are beaming at him, and he felt so lifted and blissful.

After so long at the college, Toge is happy to be home.


Mrs. Inumaki took it upon herself to bring all of them over to Toge's hall. Really, it was named as the Heir's Hall, where the Heir is arranged to have a residence away from the rest of the family due to the immense power they could unleash if they happened to sleep talk. It wasn't something that can be controlled, and the arrangements is traditioned to be like this since hundreds of years back.

Maguro slipped her hand into Toge's, smiling up at him when he turned to look at her.

"You look happy," Maguro said, gripping his hand tightly in hers.

Toge smiled at her. Maguro has taken to pinning up her long braid in a neat bun with her hairpin. "I am. I'm sure you'll be happy here too, with the upcoming festival and all. Both Panda and Maki love it here. I hope you'll like it too."

"I'm beyond ecstatic!" Maguro chimed happily, walking closer to Toge as she said quietly. "But really, it's just you. I'm happy to be here with you."

Toge couldn't feel any happier. He swung Maguro's hand happily as she laughed, admiring the sweet dimple that only appeared when she smiles joyfully like this.

And Panda being Panda, took up the opportunity to mock grimace at the new couple, "Urgh, so sweet. I can't stand it Maki. Give me some toothpaste."

The group were brought to the back wing of the Heir's Hall. It's a little far from where Toge's actual room is, but it's just one hall down from his. They were told that they will be the only ones there once Toge sleeps, so if they needed any services from the house helpers, they got to come a little way out of the Heir's Hall and to the Main Hall side of the manor ground.

It is what it is. Being Heir, there are rules to follow. It's to both safeguard the Heir, and the people around the Heir. Afterall, Cursed Speech is also known as the Words of God.

No verdict of God can be defied.

Each of them is given the freedom to choose the room they wanted. Maki and Nobara wanted to room up with Nobara, but Maguro gave them a firm X with the gesture of both her arms and shakes her head at them. Nobara tried to pull Maguro into rooming with them both, but then saw Inumaki Toge standing behind Maguro, watching her grabbing onto Maguro and fingering his zipper ominously.

Nobara lets go of Maguro's hand immediately.

Inumaki chuckled. So easy. The first year must have forgotten that he's now Nullified. He couldn't use his Cursed Speech for now.

Maguro would never sleep with Maki and Nobara in one room. They'd tickle her to death just to make her talk about how far have her relationship with Toge had advanced. She remembered they call it a Spill the Beans talk. And now that it's revealed both Toge and Maguro have yet to done the 'deed', they'd be even more excited to talk about it.

More so on how she gotten that love bite Toge gave her on her chest the night before. They've pulled down her shirt and she's quite sure they've seen the dark purple mark of a love bite Toge has sucked on her chest in the shower the other day before they were interrupted by Gojo-sensei.

Before she saw Nishimiya Momo peeping at them through the curtain gap in Toge's room.

Maguro shivered. That was a creepy experience to have.

In the end, Maguro was left to have a room to herself. Being conscious of their relationship, Maki and Panda pushed Maguro to the far end of the room in the hall. Told her that would be the room suitable for one person.

"It's just right, yes," Panda said, rubbing his paws together gleefully. "It's plenty right. Just nice for one person."

Maki gave no response but a thumbs up. She had wanted to grin, but thought that it's best she maintained her resting bitch face. That wouldn't trigger any suspicious thoughts. Yes. Thumbs up without a smile. Do it.

Maguro, not knowing that Maki and Panda have been here before, went along with their arrangements and thanked them.

She didn't know that the room was closest to Toge's room, and she completely missed Maki and Panda's snickering giggles after she turned around. Toge came back up after settling down Fushiguro, Nobara and Itadori's room, and realizes it when he saw Maguro dragging her luggage into that room.

Toge smiled wordlessly. They didn't have to do that. He knew, Maguro would find him herself no matter what room she's arranged in.

"My, my," Mrs. Inumaki said suddenly from behind Maguro, her eyes staring admiringly upon Maguro's hair pin as she crouched down to unpack her luggage and bag for the clothes to wear later after a shower. Maguro looked up and smiled at Toge's mother. She is so beautiful, Maguro thought to herself. As she stood up, Mrs. Inumaki's hand reached out and outlined the hairpin Maguro is wearing with her fingertips without touching it, "This is… where did you get this hairpin?"

It wasn't a very unusual or intricate looking hairpin. Quite normal, to be exact, but that wood quality and colour… and that light scent.

To anyone else who has never come to know about this would never know about its existence. Mrs. Inumaki read about it in the historical book for sorcerer clans in Japan. The hairpin matches the description in the books she read about the Tsukigami clan.

This should be it. But how did she come by it? It couldn't have been something she inherit from the now deceased Tsukigami clan. Something like this should be locked, or sealed until the right person comes along.

Unless…

"Oh, hello Mrs. Inumaki. You meant this?" Maguro squeaked in a small voice and reaches up to touch the sandalwood hairpin holding her hair in a neat bun, feeling shy all of a sudden. Toge's mother is really beautiful. She couldn't help but to feel shy around beautiful people. "My grandmother gave me this last year on my birthday. Said it will protect me."

Mrs. Inumaki realizes her question might have triggered unpleasant memories of the Massacre of the Tsukigami clan. Her finger glides back down from the hairpin to Maguro's soft cheeks, thumb caressing the lovely young lady her son seems to be head over heels in love with and smiled, "Very beautiful. You must treasure it very much."

Maguro nodded her head, feeling overwhelmed by the attention, "I do. It's the only thing that could keep my hair up without a hair tie that I cherish. I love it."

Mrs. Inumaki smiles at her silently and walked away. She knew that hairpin. A famous heirloom of the Tsukigami. Thought to be lost as it is not seen in the public eyes for so many years. It wasn't gifted to just any Tsukigami member, and to think that this was gifted to her by Maguro's grandmother – a year ago, long before the massacre happened. She had her suspicious as to who Maguro is but kept quiet about it and looked up to Gojo Satoru.

The sorcerer wearing a pair of dark glasses standing in a corner stared back with a small smile on his lips.

She smiled. If anyone should know, this sorcerer would definitely know something about it. Afterall, he was the one that brought her into the Toko Metropolitan Curse Technical College.

And Gojo Satoru returned that smile. He knew – she knew.

Inumaki's mother merely smiles back at Gojo and nod her head once.

She understood. This wasn't her secret to tell. It's a noted silent agreement between Gojo Satoru and Mrs. Inumaki – until the right time comes along, she will help to keep this a secret.

And she somehow had a feeling that this secret won't remain one for long…