Author's Note: Happy Holidays everyone! What a crazy year it has been, I can't believe I started writing this in January… time flies so quickly! It is all thanks to each and every single one of you, for following me on this journey and taking the time to like, bookmark, or favorite, especially those of you who express your thoughts in the comments. Hearing from you and knowing you are out there enjoying this story means the world to me, and I am forever grateful and feel so blessed to have you guys here with me.

Have a wonderful holiday season, and wish you all a great new year full of prosperity and joy! :)

As soon as Zeng saw Satoru standing at his front steps, he immediately tried to slam the door in his face. Fortunately, the Six-Eyes user's reflexes were too fast as he immediately raised his fist, blocking the door from completely closing.

"Yeah, trust me. I don't want to be here either." Satoru glowered at the older Tomioka sibling, who bared his teeth at him. "Now, I know we're the same age- so let's behave like adults."

Zeng glared at him in response before finally releasing a sigh, taking a step back to allow the man inside. "Fine. Five minutes."

Satoru stepped into the foyer, closing the door behind him.

"Zeng? Is that her?!" A frantic voice called from the stairs and Yi-lang rushed down the steps.

The older Tomioka sibling sighed. "No, Ma. It's just Gojo."

Yi-lang immediately froze, staring at the man before her. "O-Oh. What does he want?"

"I found her. She's now in the care of Jujutsu High's Tokyo division." Satoru replied coldly, his masked gaze barely able to hide the angry glow of his ice-blue eyes. "And she will stay there until she's ready to come back."

"You can't do that!" Zeng shouted, grabbing the man's collar with one hand. "She's family, this is kidnapping!"

"Zeng, stop." Everyone looked towards the living room, with Zeng releasing his hold. The elder Tomioka appeared to have been lounging in his armchair, reading a newspaper when Satoru arrived. Chase folded the parchment in his beefy hands into a square, placing it on the coffee table before him, before pushing himself to his feet. In slow, thunderous steps, he eventually reached the man, towering over him despite the latter's 6'3 form.

To his surprise, Chase simply regarded him calmly, with no hint of animosity in his green irises. "Is she okay?"

Satoru kept his gaze passive, dusting his clothes as if trying to erase Zeng's filth. "She was really sick. But she's fine now. I just need her stuff."

Yi-lang gasped, covering a hand over her mouth as Zeng cursed under his breath. Chase remained eerily still. "I see. Well, we will do what you ask-"

"Dear!" The woman threw a pleading look at her husband.

"But first, please." Chase took a step back, gesturing to the couch in the living room. "If you could spare us a few minutes, could you sit down and listen to this old man's explanation?"

Satoru stuffed his hands into his pockets. "No, I'm good."

"You bastard-" Zeng took a step forward but his father raised a hand, stopping him in his tracks.

"Please, I think this is important for you to hear. It's not advocating for the existence of the administration; rather, an admission- forced one at that."

The sorcerer stared at the man for a moment longer, before releasing a breath. "Fine. Five minutes." He kicked off his shoes and stepped into the hall, seating himself on the couch.

"Thank you." Chase slowly sunk into his armchair as his son and wife stood beside him. "So. You have probably learned that my daughter has no cursed energy whatsoever, and yet, she is able to see spirits. Peculiar, isn't it?"

Satoru thought back to his first encounter with the girl, giving a curt nod.

"Well, that wasn't always the case." Chase stroked his beard pensively. "You see, my wife and myself were sorcerers, but we left the Jujutsu World because we wanted to raise a family. It was far too dangerous to stay."

"However, our son ended up inheriting our level of cursed energy." Yi-lang interjected, placing a hand on her son's arm. Satoru glanced at the older Tomioka sibling, who was looking away pointedly, a frown marring his features. "And because of that, he was often bullied in school for trying to help his classmates: warning them about curses on their shoulders, trying to talk them through their fears so their curses would go away." She gave him a soft squeeze as Zeng placed his hand over hers, patting it gently. "Thankfully, he was a resilient child."

"I was lucky and Dad trained me early on to handle any… issues. And then, Qian was born." Zeng added, his brow furrowed. "And thankfully, she was born with less cursed energy than me. We were all so relieved. She was too sweet for her own good, and we did not want her to go through what I went through… especially the dangers of cursed spirits. She was only able to sense them, but not see them."

"But then, Qian grew close with one of our neighbors. A boy just a couple years older than her." Chase sighed, running a hand over his rugged face. "The kid was… odd. And powerful; he was practically overflowing with cursed energy. But he didn't seem to know about it and he didn't seem to hold any malicious intent with her. Qian sensed that something was wrong with him, and instead of staying away like we told her to, she wanted to help him instead. Over time, she seemed happy with him, so we let them interact."

"But then… one day… he died." Zeng thought back to the night of the fire, inadvertently shuddering as he recalled the deathly blaze, destroying everyone and everything in its past. "And Qian fell into a coma."

Satoru's eyes widened. "A coma?"

He nodded his head solemnly. "A curse latched onto her, forcing her unconscious. It was this freaky plant-like parasite, sapping away at what little cursed energy she possessed. Eventually, once that was depleted, it started eating away at her life force instead. No matter what we tried to do, we couldn't get rid of it."

"And so… as a desperate father…" Chase smiled grimly. "I reached out to the administration, pleading them for help. Our poor little girl was dying, they were our last hope."

"And one man got back to us right away, offering his assistance. In exchange, we owed him a favor down the road. It was sealed with a blood-promise, which you know, could never be broken." He shrugged. "Of course we accepted, we didn't think anything was worse than losing our daughter."

"And when Zeng came of age, the rest of the administration saw his potential and brought him into their tutelage." Chase continued, his gaze becoming disapproving as he regarded his son. "Unfortunately, he gained… sympathy for their cause and volunteered to work as an undercover agent: providing intel on civilians, reports of any cursed energy hotspots, all under the guise of a lawyer."

Zeng shot his father a look. "It's not sympathy, dad. They're doing what needs to be done."

"Nonetheless that's why…" Yi-lang interjected, trying to soothe the two men. "... that's why we… did what we did. Not only did we make a blood-promise at the time when Qian was ill, but they made sure our son was cared for- we felt like we owed them a debt."

Blood-promise. Satoru knew the forbidden Jujutsu pact. To an outsider, it was just a promise involving a bloody handshake. But in the Jujutsu world, if either side broke the promise, it meant a special-grade curse would haunt the individual and their descendents for generations.

Satoru clenched his jaw. There was only one man in the administration who used blood cursed techniques. "Does she know about this?"

"No." Zeng interjected. "And she never will."

They all fell silent. After a minute, Satoru released a breath, his eyes flickering between the three before him. "You know, she's stronger than she looks. After all, she willingly stepped into this world- without your permission- and she's ultimately stronger because of it." He stood up dusting his pants. "You should have more faith in her."

Upon hearing his words, Zeng and Yi-lang stiffened, almost simultaneously. Chase, however, regarded him with a knowing glint in his eyes. "You're right. We should. Please, do keep us informed of how Qian is doing. And tell her that… when she is ready… we miss her. We want her home."

Satoru hesitated for a moment, before nodding once more. Chase rose to his feet. Gesturing him towards the second level of the house. "Please. Her room is the first door to the right. Whatever she needs."

—-

Under a bush by the windowsill, a small, plant-like spirit in the shape of a dragonfly twitched its wings- its red beady eyes focusing on the individuals through the window.

"...Please, do keep us informed of how Qian is doing…." It clicked its mandibles together upon the familiar name, before fluttering away into the sky.

—-

Qian sighed in relief upon finally removing her contacts, splashing her face with water before drying it with the fluffy towel given to her by Shoko. Placing her glasses on the bridge of her nose, she blinked gratefully upon her vision being clear without the accompanying pain associated with the contacts. She had to be sure to thank Satoru, who (according to her mentor) had gone to her home and grabbed most of her belongings.

She blushed heavily as she thought of her last encounter with him. The way he held her, his strong arms crushing her to his chest, his kiss…

A puff of smoke erupted from her head as she dug her face in her hands, kneeling down onto the floor. What in the world was that?! Was it possible that… he… maybe…? She tentatively touched her lips, which still tingled from before. But then she slapped both her cheeks, adamantly shaking her head. No, there was no way. He must have confused me with someone else.

She pushed herself back to her feet, palming the porcelain sink and facing the mirror. Upon seeing her reflection, she released a dejected sigh. That's right, there's no way. Even though her round cheeks had returned some of its original color, her skin was still clammy and pale. Even worse, hair a complete knotted mess, and dark bags hung below her eyes, which were sunken into her skull from lack of proper sleep.

She turned her head to the side and took in her surroundings. Thanks to Shoko, she had her own room. It was a modest studio, with the bed in the same single room as the kitchen. But it was more than she could ask for. Her gaze traveled to the travel bag she placed on the bed, after her mentor had dropped it off to her. She remembered it being a Christmas gift from her mother several years ago. A pang of sadness shot through her at the memory and she bit her lip tearfully. After what happened, knowing her family was directly involved, she couldn't face them. Even though she felt guilty making them worried, she felt so angry and hurt over what happened. She just needed time away from them.

But her being here now, was it alright? She thought back to her resignation with her mentor. She knew it was an emotional decision, but she did not feel comfortable being here anymore either.

There was a knock on her door and her head whipped towards the noise. Swallowing audibly, she took a breath and trotted over, opening the door cautiously.

"Relax, it's me. Satoru gave me more of your stuff." Shoko winked at her from the other side, handing her a duffle bag. "Don't worry, he has no idea where you are staying and I'm making him give me your stuff so you won't encounter him."

"T-Thank you, Ieiri-sensei." Qian replied breathlessly, hating that a part of her still wanted to see him.

Shoko gave her a sympathetic look, as if reading through her façade. "Qian, listen. All things aside, take the next few days off. Think about what you want to do. You staying here is not contingent on your employment. If you want to keep working, by all means, wonderful. But if you want to leave, then take the time to find yourself a proper place and then leave. Don't make decisions based on your emotions alone."

The girl paused before nodding her head. Shoko had a point. "I-I'll think it over carefully."

"Good." Shoko flipped her hair over her shoulder as she placed her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. "And you have my number. Call me if you need anything."

After she waved goodbye, Qian held the bag to her chest, sighing heavily. After everything that happened, did she even have a right to be here?

But then she thought back to how Satoru held her, apologizing for his actions. Did he actually mean it? He did take care of her overnight, when he could've easily dumped her back to her family. She swallowed thickly. Does he… forgive me?

But then she shook her head vehemently. No, there was no way. The man was merciless- for good reason. He was the epitome of handling things logically. And logic spoke: her family was collaborating with the elite in the Jujutsu world- the very same people Satoru hated with every fiber of his being. By association alone, she also fell into that category.

Her mind traveled back to her current predicament. Part of her wanted to stay; yes, she enjoyed her work, but also… she felt like she was finally doing something with her life… she finally felt like she found a place where she belonged.

But… it'd be so selfish of me. After all, her family is directly involved with the elite of the Jujutsu world, who have directly impacted and made her friends' lives difficult. She heard about their execution order of Yuji, the animosity they fed within the Zen'in clan to pit them against each other… if she stayed, wouldn't it be a direct slap to their face?

Her head began to hurt and walked towards her bed, flopping facedown on the covers. She breathed in the clean linen scent as she racked her brain, torn between her options. Finally, exhaustion took over her mind and her consciousness drifted off to sleep.

—-

Satoru patiently waited outside the board room, his body remaining eerily still as his attention completely zoned in on his target on the other side of the door. He had called an "emergency" meeting with the administration, knowing that the bastard was guaranteed to attend. The sleaze never missed a single meeting, always enjoying the opportunity to display his power and high rank.

Finally, the door unlocked, swinging itself open to allow the teacher to enter. As soon as Satoru stepped into the dark room, he immediately recognized his target's cursed energy signature. Within seconds, he walked towards the old man, socking him in the face directly through the shoji screen erected between them.

His target and now victim, Kamo Taigetsu, fell backwards with a yelp as the others immediately rose to their feet.

He clutched his bleeding nose, glowering at the sorcerer. "How dare you-?!"

"What in the world are you doing?!" One of the elder's cried from behind his panel.

"He deserved it." Satoru stated simply, pulling his mask down to reveal his irises glowing in fury. "You took advantage of a family who wanted to save their child, only so you can use them for your own gain."

Taigetsu flinched, gritting his aged teeth. He pulled back his withered lips in a sneer, narrowing his gray eyes at the younger man as the blood soaked into his grisly beard. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh? How about I give you another gentle reminder." Satoru raised his fist, aiming it at the stupid geezer's balding scalp, before he felt a hand grip his wrist.

He glared at the interceptor before relaxing slightly, smirking in recognition. "Principal Gakuganji."

"Back down, Satoru." The principal of Kyoto's division warned. "One more move and this will not end well for you."

When the Six-Eyes user refused to budge, Yoshinobu sighed, lowering his voice. "This is not you. Think of your students. If something happens to you- who's going to raise them to, how did you describe it, 'overthrow us and transform this world for the better'?"

Satoru's eyes flickered back down towards the old man beneath him once more before he slowly straightened his back, throwing Yoshinobu's hold off, before storming out the door.

"Y-You're just going to let him walk away from that?!" Taigetsu shrieked after him. "He hurt me! He deserves punishment!"

"And you're perfectly capable of patching yourself up." Yoshinobu grumbled, strolling out the door. "It's the least you deserve, if what he stated was true."

The other elder gulped. "He's lying. I did no such thing."

Yoshinobu paused in his step, tapping the ground with his cane. "I sure hope you didn't. Otherwise, you have clearly violated the terms of this administration. We never take advantage of our people for personal gain, only for the greater good."

Taigetsu paled, knowing the consequences of any violation. "I-It was, I swear! For the greater good!"

"Great. Then all is well." With one last judgemental stare, Kyoto's principal disappeared out the door.

—-

Satoru landed in the clearing beside the teacher's dormitory wing. He flexed his hand, recalling the nice crunch he felt from breaking the old geezer's nose. A sadistic grin spread across his lips.

He couldn't express the satisfaction he felt as he recalled the event that had just transpired. His phone suddenly buzzed and he groaned, knowing he was going to get an earful from his old teacher. No doubt would the man march to his room if he didn't respond- but he really did not feel like explaining himself to him.

He regarded his knuckles, where he grimly noted the skin had actually split open and begun to bruise. Forgot to activate Infinity. He barely registered the pain, shaking his wrist.

Honestly, he had no idea why he decided to do that. It was a reckless move, and he could have easily been charged with execution. But he knew they couldn't risk losing their strongest fighter.

Nonetheless, he ran a hand through his hair- it was not the smartest move on his part. But he was just so angry after learning that her family was practically blackmailed into being their pawn. Even though they were guilty of lying to her, their actions (at least her parents') were somewhat understandable, especially if she was cursed and dying… the thought of her being in pain made him feel oddly protective-

Hang on a moment. He faltered in his step. Protective? He shook his head, massaging his temples. His feelings were a confused mess, he felt… empty… since he last saw her. And he thought of her: when they were alone together, how he was completely drawn to her, yearning and rejoicing the feeling of her in his arms… why did he want more?

And now what is this… affection?

Suddenly, he heard his phone buzzing once more and he rolled his eyes, thinking it was Masamichi. He begrudgingly pulled it out of his pocket to glance at the screen. Instead of the principal, however, it was a text from-

You around? Miss you xo, Carina

He racked his brain, trying to put a face to the initial. Carina? Carina… Carina… Red-head… blue-eyed… ah, that's right. The waitress from a cafe he frequented. They went out a couple times.

Satoru clenched his jaw, his mind inadvertently traveling back to a dark-haired, bespectacled medical assistant. Maybe his conflicting feelings towards the girl was purely due to his hormones; after all, it had been a couple months since he was last with anyone. Maybe he was craving female companionship, and just needed release… right?

Before he could change his mind, he replied to her text.