Satoru pants as he rests his head against the bathroom wall. He fists his cock, gripping tightly as he squeezes the base and moves upward towards the head with frantic motions. Fuck him. That was an energy massage? He squeezes his eyes shut. The bathroom light is far too bright, even with the bandages over his eyes.

Everything is clearer. Brighter. Hell, he can still smell her sweet floral scent now. Her energy shimmers under his skin, taunting him with what could have been. What should have been.

Fuck, he's close. He lets out a shuddering breath. His body racked with pleasure. He should have known. Should have put a stop to it before it began, but damn if he wasn't curious. Gripping the head until it is almost painful, he drags his hand up and down. His other arm trembles from the sensations threatening to take him over.

Kagome has to know. She just has to. There is no way she can't tell what her powers do to him.

Shit.

He can see it so clearly. Her big brown eyes, those soft full lips, and those fucking legs that go on for miles. Needs to have those legs wrapped around him while he ...He's losing his mind. Going crazy for a woman he barely knows. A strangled groan claws its way out of his throat, and he comes with Kagome's name on his tongue. Satoru lifts his head and then bangs it against the wall.

What is wrong with him? He can't be fantasizing about her. Satoru opens his eyes and looks down at the mess. Damn. His cock twitches in his hand, ready to go again.

"I can't," he says with a sigh. Girlfriends are a pain and Kagome doesn't strike him as the type to be okay with a one-night stand. His chest tightens as his brows bunch together. Great, now he's being even more irrational.

Shoko. He needs to go see Shoko and get checked out. There is something terribly wrong with him.

"Who died?" Shoko asks, leaning against the railing as she lights a cigarette. Her hair is pulled back today in a low ponytail. The bags under her eyes are less puffy than they were last week. She must be getting more rest.

"No one." Satoru chews on his tongue. How to approach this? Just come out and say it? "I need a physical."

Shoko nearly drops the cigarette, but she catches it and puts it out with the back of her hand. "You need a physical? You have rct, what do you need me for?" The last part comes out slightly bitter.

"I value your opinion?"

Shoko huffs. "Whatever. Fine. Follow me." She slides the unused cigarette in her coat pocket. Her steps brisk. "Have you talked to Yaga?" She leads them to her office and waits for him to sit down on the examination table.

"Nah, it doesn't concern him." At least not yet. He hopes he doesn't have to explain this situation to Yaga. There is something inherently wrong with that. Satoru unwraps the bandages and sets them down next to him.

The room is bright. Way too vivid.

Shoko hums and places her hand on his abdomen. Feels wrong, like something doesn't want her curse energy anywhere near him. He frowns. It's never felt like that in the past when he did need her help, so why does it feel off now? Shoko pulls her hand back. Steam rises from it as if she's been burned.

"Satoru, what the hell?" Shoko stares at her hand. The steam should have dissipated by now, but it's still going. "Did you get hit by something?"

He shifts. "Not exactly. Long story short, the new teacher I'm advocating for is a priestess. She said my energy was all twisted up, and she offered to help." Though the reason he was all bent out of shape is because of Kagome, not because there is something wrong with him.

Shoko flexes her hand and wiggles her fingers. The steam stops. Thank Kami. A little concerning that it took this long for Shoko's healing to kick in.

"Did it burn you?"

Satoru bites his lip. It didn't burn him per se, but it ignited a fire within him that can't be quenched. "It doesn't hurt. It didn't hurt. But...," he trails off. How much is too much?

"Just come out and say it. You asked for my opinion." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a cigarette and her lighter. "I can't help if I don't know what the hell is going on."

"It feels good. Really good. That massage was... I had to go home and jerk off." There he said it with a straight face, too.

Shoko stares at him and then takes a drag of her cigarette. "This massage turned you on?"

"Energy massage. She used her—"

"I got it." She rubs her forehead. "And you said she was a priestess?" At his nod, Shoko continues, "Well, that explains why your body reacted that way."

"I got hard because she's an attractive priestess?"

Shoko sucks her teeth and then takes another long drawl of her cigarette. "No, dumbass, I meant your body burning me. Whatever massage she gave you made your curse energy more potent, and it didn't want mine poking around. From what I could see, is that your reverse curse energy isn't working as hard. How does your brain feel?"

Satoru shrugs. "Fine. Feel lighter." That could be because he jerked off earlier, but whatever. "So my rct isn't working as hard to keep my brain refreshed?" That's oddly refreshing? Maybe he should be worried, but he can't muster up the energy to be that concerned.

"No, not from what I could gather. There's probably more, but whatever she did to you, it didn't want my curse energy there."

"Makes sense. Foreign to my body and all." He jumps off the table and puts his bandages back on. Still, he doesn't know why her energy turns him on so much, and so help him if her energy works the same on anyone else. He clenches his fists at his sides.

Yeah, no. No one else is getting an energy massage.

"If she's going to be a teacher here, then Yaga will want to know. Maybe see how much better everyone performs after one of her massages." Shoko walks over to the counter and puts the cigarette out. "So long as it doesn't turn everyone on like it does you, I don't think it would be a problem."

Satoru grits his teeth so hard, he tastes blood. Not happening.

"That sounds like a terrible idea," he spits out. "What if they get hurt and need you to heal them, but you can't because their curse energy rejects your healing?"

"... That's possible. But it might not do that. There are too many variables. Could always test it out on Ijichi since he's in no real danger."

The lightbulb flickers.

"Too many variables. We shouldn't rush into this. Kagome will need time to acclimate to Jujutsu High. Teaching here will be a lot different from teaching at Megumi's school."

"She's Megumi's teacher?" Shoko lets out a whistle. "Is that how you found her?"

"Parent-teacher conference. Megumi beat up some more kids." His phone buzzes in his pocket. He glances at the message and immediately embarrassment floods his system hotter than a hot spring.

"Something happen?"

"I forgot my shoes at her place."

"... You forgot your shoes?"

"I had to get out of there. Telling ya, there's something wrong with me."

"There's something wrong with you alright. You found a woman you're attracted to."

He scoffs. "You make it sound like I don't like women."

"More than physical since you're so adamant about not telling anyone else about how one of her massages makes your curse energy more potent. Visceral."

"It's called looking out for my new coworker. Whatever happened to being there for your colleagues?"

"If that's the lie you want to tell yourself." Shoko shoos him out. "But you better figure it out before she officially starts here and interacts with other sorcerers."

The hell does that mean?

"It's fine. She's already interacted with Ijichi and it's not like I lost my mind over it." He glances over his shoulder. Shoko's expression is not convinced. "Anyway, thanks for checking me over." He waves goodbye and tracks Ijichi down. They still have missions to finish today. He'll respond to Kagome when it feels like his face isn't going to combust.

A few days later...

"Why are you here?" Megumi questions, shifting his bookbag to the side. Satoru ignores him and instead waits for Kagome to show her face. "Are you ignoring me?"

"Where's Tsumiki?"

"Tutoring someone at the cafe. She got out faster than I did," Megumi mutters.

"That so..." Satoru waves at the other teachers, who blush and giggle as they walk by. Where the hell is she? Kagome sure is taking her sweet time. "Ya don't have to stay."

"I'm not going anywhere. You're being weird and Kagome-sensei does not need to deal with you."

Satoru makes a face, inwardly jumping for joy at the utter look of disgust on Megumi's face. Like hell he is going anywhere. Doesn't Megumi understand how much he had to rearrange his schedule to make it here on time?

"She's going to be working with me soon," he reminds Megumi as he pushes his glasses up. Any moment now, Kagome should be walking out those doors. The sun breaks through the clouds and Kagome walks out the doors with a much longer skirt than she wore over the weekend.

Thank Kami.

He waves his hand high in the air. "Over here, Kagome!" he calls.

"It's Kagome-sensei," Megumi grumbles. "Or at least Higurashi-sensei."

He ignores Megumi and beams when Kagome heads their way.

"Satoru? I didn't know you would be stopping by today." Kagome glances at Megumi, who shakes his head and stuffs his hands in his pockets. "You should have told me. I would have packed your shoes."

"His shoes?"

Satoru shifts, blocking Megumi from view. The glare is hot enough to burn concrete. "Spur of the moment. I just thought I'd stop by and see how you are doing. Yaga and the higher-ups want to have a meeting with you sometime this week if you are free." A meeting they don't want him joining for whatever reason.

Kagome scrunches her nose. "You don't have to worry about me." She tilts her head to the side. Her long dark hair shines blue in the light. Vanilla-rose dances under his nose and he inhales like the greedy man he is.

"Feeling like yourself?" He takes her bag from her and matches her pace as they head in the opposite direction of Megumi's apartment.

"Oi!" Megumi says from behind them, "Don't you have something to train me on today?"

"No—"

"Oh, you don't have to walk me home. I can bring your shoes to you another time." Kagome flashes him a smile so bright it feels like he's been sliced open and dissected.

He kind of likes it.

Kind of hates it.

"I'll see you back at school, Megumi-kun. You know you have to do your homework first." Satoru throws an arm around Kagome and ushers them forward.

"Oi!"

"Finish your homework first," he says over his shoulder, sticking his tongue out at the slack-drawn expression on Megumi's face. He can't believe Megumi of all people is trying to stop him from spending time with Kagome. The nerve. No loyalty. He outta buy Megumi a cheap coat this year for Christmas with that attitude.

"If you're busy, you really don't have to follow me home." Kagome lets out a small yawn. "Your energy is better today. I'm glad the massage helped. I was worried with how you left that it did something wrong to you."

His muscles stiffen and then relax. "It was super effective, but I don't think you should give those out to anyone else."

"Why not? If they are as pent up as you, surely, they need some relief, too?"

The clouds darken overhead, and the sun hides for cover. They need some relief? The fuck they do. They've been surviving this long without one. They can keep going as they have been.

"I think it might rain. We should move faster. Left my umbrella at home." Kagome tries to shrug out of his hold. She huffs.

"I got checked out by our healer, Shoko, and we still don't know what the lasting implications are. I don't think we should introduce it to anyone else... for now." Or never.

"You aren't the first person I've done that for, but they didn't react like you either."

Thunder booms and the rain comes down hard with a vengeance. Civilians run and try to find shelter. Some pull out their umbrellas and carry on as if they expected it to rain.

"We aren't getting wet?" Kagome looks at him with so much wonder, his chest puffs out a bit. Finally, she sees how strong he is.

"Infinity." Good to know that her being so close to him does not affect his infinity blocking everything else out. "Did you want to get dinner?"

"Dinner? Don't you have to train Megumi-kun later?"

He forgot about that lie Megumi made up. They don't have training today, but he went along with it.

"Not like I'm gonna train him through dinner."

"Well, I appreciate the offer, but I'll have to decline. I already have plans tonight."

Plans?

"Ugh, you're so mean," he says with a sigh. "What kind of plans?"

"Oh, just a date," she says it so nonchalantly, as though her words haven't gutted him. As if she isn't about to go out on a date with someone that isn't him. And after that massage she gave him too? He feels a little used.

"Really?" His voice rises impossibly high. "Where at? What time?"

Kagome laughs, shaking her head. "And why would I tell you that?"

Why? That's a good question and he doesn't have an answer for her, so he keeps his thoughts to himself until they reach her apartment. He waits outside the apartment as she brings him the shoes he left.

"Because?" he says, clutching his shoes to his chest. Maybe she'll take pity on him and give him the information he wants.

"Please. You aren't my dad. I'm not telling you."

Or maybe not.

"What if I want to be your daddy instead?"

A blank expression crosses her face as the silence stretches to an awkward state. Kagome leans forward and presses a hand to his forehead. Her palm is soft. Unbelievably so. Like the finest silk.

"You don't feel warm, but maybe you're right about that massage. I don't know why it's affecting you differently than everyone else."

"Because I'm the strongest?"

Laughter spills from those full lips, and her whole body is racked with laughter. He presses his lips into a firm line. He was being serious for once.

"I don't think that's why, but we can figure it out some other time." She takes a step back inside her apartment. "I'll be by Wednesday after school lets out. You don't have to come get me. I can just head that way with Megumi-kun."

But he wants to come get her.

"So, about that date..."

"Have a nice night, Satoru." She closes the door in his face without any remorse.

He wets his lips, staring at the door, willing it to open up, but the door doesn't listen because it's a bitch like that.

This is bad.

A/N: I finally updated the summary lol and Satoru is slowly losing his mind over why he is so attracted to Kagome, meanwhile Kagome thinks this is just how Satoru is. If Miroku was around, he'd pull Kagome to the side and just tell her. Next update should be Wish I Could Curse You and I think I'll write a date night in the Side Stories.

"Do I read manhwas" - Yep! I've been going crazy over Surviving As A Maid In A Horror Game. I actually read a ton. It's like my reward for finishing my writing for the day. I read pretty broadly, but I usually need some romance to keep me interested (there are exceptions).

"Do I plan to self-publish"- Yep! I've actually been working on original stuff for a while now and learning all the fun stuff that comes with it, so that's why updates aren't on a schedule like they used to be. Writing Satoru and Kagome also feels like a treat.