11th Curse

Playmate

遊び相手

asobi aite

(Normal POV)

Ieiri Shoko watched her classmate's sibling with a mixture of fascination and confusion, chin resting in an open palm as she propped her arm on her crossed legs. At the moment, she'd agreed to look after her while Satoru was away on another mission.

"Ow…!"

It had been a while now since she'd met his little sister. He'd picked her up in Spring, and the months had flown by like it was nothing.

Whenever Satoru wasn't away on a mission, he dedicated his time solely to little Yukine. Which wasn't a bad thing, mind you, but at the same time, Shoko was worrying that maybe spending most of her time with that guy was having a bad influence on her… or something.

"Ow! Uggghh…"

Shoko sighed, "What are you doing, exactly? It'd be a lot easier for you to move around if you weren't cosplaying your older brother, ya know?" she drawled at the 6-year-old.

Grumbling a little, Yukine pulled Shoko's night mask up and brushing her growing bangs back with it as she adjusted it on top of her head.

She pouted, and responded, "I'm not cosplaying! I'm training!" she whined a little.

"Training for what? Getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night?" Shoko raised an eyebrow.

Yukine shook her head, "I'm trying to see if I can do another application of my Cursed Technique. After hearing more about it from Satoru, I wanted to see if I could learn how to do more with it….and I kinda got inspired by brother's technique when he explained it to me." She admitted, blushing a little.

"…Okay, but why are you walking around a self-made obstacle course blind folded?" Shoko nodded, smiling a little at the ridiculous method.

"Um, so my brother said that his technique slows things down the closer they get to him, and it's really hard to land a hit on him because of it. It's almost like a force-field he's creating by manipulating space around him, right?" Yukine began, and Shoko nodded, imploring her to continue her explanation, "And I was thinking what if I could do something like that but with my Magne—P-Polarity. Like what if I could cover my body with my Push technique and stop things from touching me too? And maybe if I can make it stronger, I can make it spread out further, like a Shell. Um, that's what I was thinking and I also thought maybe I could figure it out faster by not being able to see but not wanting to bump into anything. But it isn't working…" Yukine finished with a pout and Shoko was starting to understand a little.

It was still ridiculous.

"I can kind of understand what you're going for… but don't you think you're skipping steps unnecessarily? All you've got to show for your little Satoru-cosplay trick is a few extra bumps and bruises." Shoko told her.

"I know…" Yukine sounded upset with herself, so Shoko huffed out a breath, and got up from her seat and began walking over to her.

When she arrived in front of the little girl, she crouched down and pulled the face mask off her head, fixing up her messy bangs afterwards with a small smile.

"How about this," she took Yukine's tiny hand with hers and opened it, pressing her own larger palm against hers; "We'll go back a few steps and start from there instead. Try using your Push through just your palm, lightly, to try and push my hand off of yours a little. Won't that be a lot easier than what you were doing before?" Shoko asked the girl, whose lavender eyes seemed to sparkle when she understood.

She nodded her head excitedly, and focused keenly on her new task, staring hard at her hand against Shoko's. Shoko patiently watched as the girl tried to figure it out for close to an hour, calmly reassuring and encouraging her when Yukine accidently put too much cursed energy into it and caused her hand to jerk backwards too violently.

Slightly sore wrist aside, as she supervised the little girl's self-induced training, Shoko felt a little sad for her.

It had already been a year since she'd come here from Hokkaido, and the only person her age technically wasn't even a person (no offense to Panda or anything). The only interaction with kids around her age had been done through pen-pal letters and telephone calls. She was even being home-schooled, because Satoru wanted to keep her close by. The nearest Elementary School was an hour away.

She'd been surrounded by teens and adults for the most part, and it showed in the way she acted; like she was older than 6-years-old.

So, Shoko was a little bit worried about whether or not Yukine would be able to fit in with others her age.

She needed to meet more people her age, Shoko made up her mind. She decided she'd talk to Yaga-sensei and see if the two of them couldn't convince Satoru to let his sister go back to Elementary School, or at least arrange playdates with some kids her age.

(Yukine POV)

It didn't really feel like it, since I'd gotten so absorbed in training my curse technique with nii-san, Shoko-san, Yaga-san and Panda-kun, but it had been over a year since I'd arrived at Jujutsu Tech from Hokkaido.

During those days, I'd become closer to everyone here, including Nanami-san, although we were still just acquaintances, not too close. I hoped that in time, he'd feel a little less stiff around me. We already liked to occasionally trash talk my brother and those were some of the few times he relaxed, even a little, around me. I think he just wasn't used to small kids.

At around the start of the training sessions with nii-san, he'd explained to me exactly why I hadn't actually invented my technique, and told me about the history of the technique and its previous users.

It made me feel a little embarrassed that I hadn't invented my technique, which I'd been calling 'Magnetism', and that it was actually an inherited technique first seen in a form similar to mine about 500 years ago from an ancestor of ours, called 'Polarity'.

But nii-san would encourage me, saying that although my current application of Polarity is very similar to the previous users', I can adapt the technique to suit myself and find new applications for it. He told me that creativity is good, and a technique like mine isn't so constrained as other techniques, so with some work and imagination I could make my application something truly unique and ever evolving.

He had high hopes and expectations for me as Sorcerer, since I am his little sister and he believes I can do it.

Those expectations feel heavy on my shoulders, and I hope I can live up to them.

I want to become strong, too, so that I can live a long life, and protect my friends from the dangers that I know are coming. Some dangers still a mystery to me, since the story of this world had still been ongoing when I was taken away and reborn here.

The future was honestly very scary for me.

It took so much for me distract myself from it and try to live in the moment when I knew I could always be doing something to prepare for it.

But I also knew I still had to somewhat enjoy being a kid again, despite everything, and my bumpy start to my new life.

It was a little hard, though, to 'enjoy being a kid', when I wasn't really a kid on the inside. And I didn't really have any 'normal kids' around me to figure out how to enjoy childhood properly.

I kinda wanted to go back to Elementary School again, so I could meet more kids my age and get used to it again. I'd only been just starting to settle into that lifestyle and feel comfortable about it, before everything that happened with Kiku and nii-san's arrival, that shattered the illusion.

A couple of days ago, I broached the subject of going back to school to nii-san and though he hadn't given me a definite answer, it did looked like he was truly thinking about it.

He must've noticed that I was essentially cut off from my age-group and decided I was lonely, because a few days later, he burst into the room Panda-kun and I were chatting in to drag me away.

"W-Where are we going, nii-san…?" I asked, stumbling along behind him.

Noticing that, in fact, his legs were too long and his steps were too broad, he scooped me up into his arms, not stopping until we reached the car. He put me down by the door and pulled it open, grinning.

"I've found you a little friend! We're going to visit him, right now!" he told me.

"A-A friend? W-Who?" I asked, wondering who he could be talking about.

"You'll have to wait and see! It's a surprise!" nii-san sang, helping me inside.

I shuffled over to let him get in after me, and he rattled off the destination to the driver while fastening my seat-belt for me.

As we drove to our destination, I wracked my brain, trying to think of people connected to the sorcery world's clans that he could be talking about. Another second year, like Maki or Toge? Or someone from the Kyoto branch? That'd be a long car ride to spring on someone short notice though…

I felt like I was forgetting someone—Wait!

I widened my eyes. Now way…. It couldn't be him, right?

My heart palpitations were picking up. I needed more preparation time for a meeting like this, I'm not readyyyy~!

"Excited?" nii-san laughed at me.

"Terrified…" I whispered, looking out the window of the car. I heard nii-san make an 'eh?' sound, but kept my eyes on the surroundings passing us by, from the trees and hillsides surrounding Jujutsu Tech, soon transforming into suburbia, then city buildings.

After about 30 minutes, the city buildings transformed back into tight, winding residential buildings that were all squashed together, making the alleyways between them look really cramped.

We got out of the car when it became too narrow for the car to fit through, and continued on foot.

Nii-san had to grab onto my hand and pull me along, because I was so deep in thought, worrying about how this first meeting would go.

I thought I wouldn't meet him until I was at least 8. It felt a little too early.

But perhaps my perceived loneliness had sped up nii-san's urgency in his searches?

Suddenly, nii-san stopped walking, and I ended up bumping into the back of his legs. He patted my head to make sure I was okay, before turning to the boy approaching from the opposite direction, clutching his school backpack.

He was dressed in a grey, plain shirt and blue shorts. And even as a kid, his hair was the same mess of spikes as it would be when he was a teenager.

Upon spotting my brother, a very suspicious person, he halted in his steps and looked at us warily. He because slightly less cautious, though, when he noticed me holding onto nii-san's legs, unafraid or worried about being in his presence.

I understood his worries. Nii-san's personality was apparent, the moment you looked at him. He didn't scream 'responsible, reliable adult,' after all.

"Hello, there! You're Fushiguro Megumi-kun, aren't you?" nii-san opened up with with his usual playful drawl, causing Megumi to frown at him.

"Who are you guys? What do you want with me?" he asked cautiously, his eyes flicking to me again, but staying on nii-san for the most part.

"My name is Gojo Satoru – I'm a Jujutsu Sorcerer. The strongest one, actually!" Brother proudly introduced himself.

"Jujutsu Sorcerer…?" Megumi hadn't heard that word yet, it seemed, which wasn't surprising. Apparently, nii-san and everyone else were surprised when they found out I knew anything about sorcery after being raised away from it as well.

Forgoing introducing me for now, nii-san continued, wriggling his fingers suspiciously, "You know, your dad… He's from the Zen'in Clan, a big clan among jujutsu sorcerers, but they're such good-for-nothings, it freaks even me out. Your father left the clan to have you," he began, "Megumi-kun, your father was saving you as the ultimate wild card to use against the Zen'in Clan. He was even gonna sell you off to them, so he could be free of their machinations for good!" he said, sounding awfully pleased about that for some reason.

I frowned, and moved back slightly to kick his shin. And for some reason, he let it connect?

Didn't seem like it hurt him though, but he did try to pretend it did. He pouted at me, puckering his lips.

"Yukine-chan…! Why must you abuse your onii-sama like this!?" he complained.

"No matter how many times you refer to yourself that way I'm still gonna just call you nii-san," I rolled my eyes at him, "And you were being so mean to him just now. Why're you telling him such depressing things?" I scolded him.

It must hurt to hear your dad wanted to sell you off.

"I was only telling him the truth!" nii-san shrugged it off.

"Have some empathy! There's the saying 'the truth hurts' for a reason. Some things are better left unsaid." I reasoned.

"He would've found out eventually, Yukine-chan. It's better to hear it sooner rather than later, or from the wrong person." nii-san fired back, making a fair point. I just pouted at him.

"It's whatever, I guess," I heard Megumi-kun say, and I turned back to see him kick a rock away, "I already knew he was a dead-beat. I haven't seen my old man in over a year, now." He looked like he was trying to brush the news off as just a fact of life, but I could sorta tell, it had pissed him off.

The news about his father.

Gojo Satoru's lack of tact.

I lightly kicked nii-san's leg again, "Stop wriggling your fingers like a wierdo, nii-san, and get to the point. You did have a point, right?" I asked him and nii-san sighed, lowering his hands.

"You're always so cold to me, Yukine-chan," he complained, but straightened up, finally getting serious; "My point here was, that I managed to block your sale to the Zen'in Clan using my expansive influence! Instead, you'll become my ward, Megumi-kun!" he announced; placing his hand on his jaw, he kept speaking, "I'd heard that you inherited the Zen'in Clan's Ten Shadows technique. One of their most powerful inherited techniques. It seems only fitting that I, the World's Most Powerful Sorcerer would be your mentor, no? Amazing, isn't it? You can save your thanks for later," nii-san explained.

"…Do I get a choice in this?" Megumi-kun grumbled, warily watching the white-haired teen.

I sighed out, "I get the feeling you don't… I'm really sorry about my brother. Um… I'm… G-Gojo Yukine, by the way." I introduced myself to Megumi-kun, bowing slightly.

I was still getting used to introducing myself like this, if I was being honest…

Megumi-kun stared at me for a few moments, before slowly dipping his head in a small bow, "Fushiguro Megumi," he lowly said, giving me an unsure look, like he was thinking 'at least this one's somewhat normal.'

I gave him a small smile, hoping I'd made a good enough impression on my favourite character, despite the strange first meeting.

He didn't smile back, but I wasn't exactly expecting him to.

This was probably a really awkward situation that had been forced onto him. But I hoped that with time, he'd open up to me and we could become friends. One day, though it's a bit greedy, I'd like to be the reason for his rare smiles, too.

Juju Stroll~

Satoru laid back on the sofa in Yaga's office, arms spread out over the back of the sofa, and his body slouching into it carelessly. He had a troubled expression as he stared at the ceiling.

He let out a deep, dramatic sigh, earning an irritated click of the tongue from his teacher.

"That's the fifth sigh in the last hour, Satoru. Are you going to tell me why you're here, or not? If you have nothing to say than why don't you go spend time with your sister?" Yaga grumbled.

Satoru then began to let out yet another sigh, and Yaga had had enough. He put down his papers and pen and looked directly at the snowy haired teen.

"Satoru." He bit out.

Satoru finally decided to answer him, looking over, "Hey, sensei…. Do you think I'm a bad influence on Yukine-chan? Just earlier Shoko sai—"

"You are. I'm praying every day that she turn out to be a more grounded, mature person than you are, when she gets older." Yaga said flatly.

"Eeeehhhh?!" Satoru pouted.

'Am I really that bad?' he thought to himself, petulant.

onigiriri: I'm really sorry that this is the first update in 4 months plus. It's been really difficult to write lately, especially since my interest and motivation have been moving away from JJK. This chapter was hard to write but I hope you enjoyed it.

I'm gonna be honest. It's gonna be really difficult for me to write 'young childhood days arc' for this story, harder than I anticipated it. Especially if I wanna stick to a 3000-word a chapter goal. But I don't want to give up. So I've got two ideas, for you to choose from:

1/ We skip the childhood parts and go straight for middle-school days arc and maybe reference/mention anything that might've been important in flashbacks or comments from the characters, or,

2/ We do shorter mini-chapters kinda like the Juju Stroll I did at the end of this chapter, but of varying lengths and however many words I get out of the plot-point/idea is how long the mini-chapters will be.

Let me know which one you like the idea of best! I hope you liked Megumi's introduction and it wasn't a let down or anything after such a long wait. I just finally managed to write something I was sorta okay with and decided to share it!

Hopefully, I'll get more invested in this story again when Season 2 airs, or when we get to more exciting parts of the story. :)