AN: As promised, we see Megumi and Tsumiki! Hope you will like their portrayal and the chapter itself!
One second, she is on Namimori High roof in Satoru's arms, and the next, she's in a completely different place. The shift is so abrupt that if it wasn't for Satoru holding her, Tsuna is sure she would have hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.
On a completely unrelated note: Satoru's method of transportation is not her thing. Or at least, will need time to get used to.
In any case, flying with her Flames is her favorite method at the moment.
"They're gonna skin you for this stunt," she murmurs, trying to stop the world from spinning like a carousel at high speed as her stomach lurched in protest. So far. her attempts remain unsuccessful.
Satoru snorts. "First, they were going to kill me for getting you "pregnant," even with just his voice he manages to do air quotes around the word, rolling his eyes behind his glasses. "Now, you tell me they will skin me for taking you to see Megumi and Tsumiki — whom you agreed to help with, mind you. What's up with the trigger-happy response?"
"Professional deformation, I guess." Out of her Guardians and friends, Satoru was closest to Takeshi, Chrome, and Haru. Takeshi, because they both hide danger behind smiles and laughter; Haru, because of their shared love for cosplay and people not taking them seriously even though they are both observant each in their own way; Chrome… Tsuna isn't sure what they could have bonded over. Still, she suspects it has something to do with Chrome's past, how she would catch the two of them occasionally talking in low voices, with Satoru initiating the physical contact and whispering soothing, understanding words (now his desire for contact has disappeared, now he flinches when someone gets too close or appears too suddenly, Infinity active at all times). And while not as close to Hayato, and meeting others practically yesterday, they all know she would not include anyone in their secret if she didn't trust them, and that Satoru wouldn't harm her. Despite all these facts, they got startled. They had too many close calls over the years to react calmly when she's taken to where they can't follow. She doesn't say this to Satoru, however, as now isn't the time to discuss such intimate matters, especially when he himself isn't ready for it, considering his reactions to the mystery classmate and Fushiguro Toji the day before. Instead, she says, "That, and what you did can be called kidnapping in broad daylight."
"They heard I was taking you to meet Megumi and Tsumiki; how does that count as kidnapping?!"
"I dunno. You tell me," her cheeky answer has him looking at the blue sky over their heads as if asking why he earned this
"You crazy lot," he whines good-naturedly. "Why do I hang out with you again?"
"Because you're bored?" she suggests with a shrug. And because you're lonely.
Again, like with her previous thoughts on his physical contact avoidance — current situation notwithstanding — and alertness, she doesn't voice the last part out loud. Too soon.
"Maybe," he agrees with a thoughtful hum. He looks back at her. "Feeling better or still sick? Sorry about that by the way, I forget teleportation isn't for everyone." And he does sound genuinely sorry.
Not that she's upset with him, merely surprised by the suddenness of it all.
"While a little forewarning would have been nice, I've had worse than teleportation sickness." She listens to herself. Her stomach has settled and her dizziness went away at long last, which she informs him about. "So I'm fine, You can set me down."
Satoru does, and she can practically feel Infinity closing around him as they separate, the barrier setting him apart from the world and the people in it. It was yet another sign of how lonely he was.
With observation stored away for a later date, and her feet on the ground, Tsuna asks, "Where are we by the way?" The place looked suburban, but was far more active than Namimori. At least, at first glance.
"Saitama," Satoru replies with hands stuffed in pockets. "Fushiguro siblings attend school here."
"Already did your research, did you?"
"Hey, I had to find Megumi without drawing attention somehow, hadn't I?" he returns in jest as he reads the time. "C'mon, the school should be over by now."
Tsuna follows.
Megumi is exiting school with Tsumiki when she touches his sleeve to draw his attention.
"Megumi, isn't that the person you told me about yesterday?" she wonders, which makes him confused. Huh? Why would the weirdo visit his school? Nonetheless, Tsumiki will not joke about something like that, so he looks in the direction she does.
And sure enough, the weirdo is here, with parents, and even teachers looking at him with the heart eyes — which is gross, ew – and whispering about him. He isn't alone this time either; he's with a girl who shares Tsumiki's hair and eye color, dressed in a hoodie and jeans and almost as tall as the white-haired weirdo. She's saying something to the guy and rolling her eyes at the love-struck women, and the weirdo laughs in response.
Well, at least she seems sensible enough compared to the guy.
"Do you think they're here for us?" Tsumiki asks, interrupting his observations.
"Most likely," Megumi says with a shrug. "C'mon," and Tsumiki follows him, holding his hand. He knows she's nervous, so he allows it.
The weirdo is the first to greet them when they approach.
"Yo, Megumi!" he greets loudly with a wide grin. "How was school?"
"What are you doing here?" he asks, not bothering with pleasantries. It earns him a laugh and a pinch from Tsumiki.
"Megumi, that's rude!" she admonishes.
"Blunt is more like," the weirdo adds, still laughing.
"That still doesn't explain why he's here," Megumi insists.
"Says the guy without tact," the weirdo's companion says in response to his words before addressing Megumi and Tsumiki apologetically, "And that would be my fault, actually. I heard from Satoru that he's going to help you, so I asked if we could meet, and here we are."
"That weirdo has friends?" he asks skeptically to which the older brunette smiles while Tsumiki looks at him reproachfully. He ignores it.
"Yes, he does," she confirms, ignoring her friend's affronted "Oi!". "My name is Sawada Setsuna, and that's Gojo Satoru."
"I'm Megumi, and that's my sister Tsumiki."
"It's very nice to meet you both, Fushiguro-kun, Fushiguro-chan."
"Teacher coming right at us," the weirdo now known as "Gojo" interrupts in a low voice.
"I let you deal with it," she returns in the same tone, just before Mizuki-sensei speaks up.
"I beg your pardon," she says, "but who are you? And what are you doing to Tsumiki-chan and Megumi-kun?"
"Well, you see, ma'am," Gojo says charmingly. "My friend over here is a distant cousin of Megumi and Tsumiki, and just recently learned that they had been going to school unsupervised, so we went to meet them."
"Ah, I see," as expected, Mizuki-sensei falls under Gojo's charm, joining the besotted crowd. "Tsumiki-chan, Megumi-kun, are you okay with that?"
"Yes, sensei!" they answer as one.
"Then I guess I'll let you walk home with them," Mizuki-sensei says, then adds dreamily at Gojo, "Hope to see you around…"
"Cousin?" Sawada-san asks with amusement as soon as Mizuki-sensei is out of earshot. "Honestly, Satoru?"
"Hey, you two look alike," Gojo says with a careless shrug. "She's the one who bought it."
"Fair enough," she agrees with a hum before asking them again. "Other than that, Fushiguro-kun, Fushiguro-chan, are you alright walking home with us?"
"Megumi seems to trust Gojo-san, so yes!" Tsumiki agrees happily. She always regards people in a positive light — like their parents, — and while he doesn't trust Gojo yet due to meeting him only yesterday, they had gotten them out of other people prying in his and Tsumiki's life, so he nods in agreement to his sister's words.
This makes Sawada-san smile.
"Good to know," she says. Her warm eyes shine mischievously as she glances at the besotted crowd. "Now, let's go. Or else, Satoru will bewitch the whole school, and they will tear him to pieces."
"Wouldn't be that big of a loss," Megumi retorts, suppressing the twitch of his lips.
"Barely even met and already ganging up on me, that's up with that, huh?!" Gojo demands with a huff, but Megumi can tell it's in fun as the four leave the school grounds. "If you're doing that, then we're doing it too! What do you say, Tsumiki-chan?"
In response, Tsumiki giggles, hiding her smile behind her hand that isn't holding him. "Sure, that sounds fun!"
Megumi decides that while Gojo is a weirdo, and he likes Sawada-san slightly already, as long as Tsumiki is happy, he will tolerate anyone for her sake.
In any case, the walk home is more lively this time around: Sawada-san is asking them questions, genuinely interested, with Gojo chiming in now and then, and Megumi lets Tsumiki talk for the both of them.
Unlike him, Tsumiki loves meeting new people, so it's nice to see her like this — she had been down lately due to their parents being gone, and now she cheered up, thanks to Gojo and Sawada-san. It earned them points in his book.
"Here we are!" Tsumiki announces brightly as they finally reach their apartment. "Our home!" then, she glances at Sawada-san and Gojo shyly. "Uh…would you like to come in?"
"Only if you two want to," Sawada-san replies kindly. "We wouldn't want to impose since it's your home."
Megumi blinks at this. That is most considerate adults have been to them. It's surprising, nice, and baffling all at once.
"We want to!" Tsumiki assures. "I want to thank you for your help! How about tea?"
"Tea sounds good, Tsumiki-chan!" Gojo agrees.
The four of them enter the apartment. His sister tries not to show it, but she's embarrassed as she made her way to the kitchen; at the peeling of paint on the walls, stains that had been there long before they moved in, and whose origin Megumi doesn't want to know; at the furniture that had seen better days and other things that barely work or don't work at all.
In short, this place is a shithole, but it's all they have.
Megumi glances at their guests discreetly. Both appear relaxed, but their expressions are hard to read, lips thin as they look around. Are they disgusted? Angry?
Megumi can't tell, and he doesn't like it.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have anything to serve with tea!" Tsumiki calls. "Is that fine?"
"That's alright, Fushiguro-chan!" Sawada-san answers back. They all move to the living room — or something that serves as it, anyway, – and soon Tsumiki comes back with tea.
"Thank you, Tsumiki-chan," Gojo says as he helps set the tray down, and takes his cup while passing Sawada-san hers. "Say," he adds, looking around the dingy room, "how long have your parents been gone?"
At that, Tsumiki lowers her head. "She hasn't returned for two weeks now," she mumbles into her tea.
"And… your father?" Sawada-san asks cautiously next. Megumi scoffs.
"Like I told Gojo, I don't care; they're probably enjoying themselves somewhere, having washed their hands off us."
Tsumiki frowns at his words, but doesn't disagree. Gojo and Sawada-san, for their part, exchange a gaze full of meaning; they are having a silent conversation that Megumi and his sister are not privy to.
Finally, Gojo says, "Tsumiki-chan, what has Megumi told you about my proposition for him?"
Huh? What has that to do anything with the situation now?
"Uh, that you're an associate of Megumi's father who entrusted his care to you before he went away," Tsumiki answers. Megumi sees how Sawada-san raises her eyebrows at the information. She is obviously in the known if she's Gojo's friend, and aware that Megumi didn't mention some information — like dad selling him and that stuff about clans and sorcery — for Tsumiki's sake if how she looks at him is any indication. But other than smiling at him, she doesn't say anything, preferring to listen and drink probably bland tea.
What a weird person. Not to Gojo's levels, but still weird.
"Essentially, yes," Gojo's voice returns him to the subject at hand. "That includes you too, Tsumiki-chan. I'm still working out minor details, but I could take you in now if you want to."
Megumi and Tsumiki share a glance. While they didn't want to move for their own reasons – Megumi, because they will be surrounded by strangers, and Tsumiki, because she still held hope that their parents would be back, – they also both knew that they were running out of money and soon won't have electricity and water.
So, the choice is obvious.
"Where we will be going?" Megumi asks, knowing they will take the question as a yes.
"To my hometown," Sawada-san says. "I'll be helping Satoru with you."
"I won't have to call you mom, have I?" Megumi wonders skeptically.
For some reason, the question makes Gojo giggle hysterically. "Actually—" he starts, but Sawada-san claps a hand over his mouth, effectively cutting him off.
"Why do you ask that, Fushiguro-kun?" she asks while giving her friend a stink eye.
Megumi shrugs, uncaring. "I don't remember him well, but Dad told me to call someone mom if he was staying with them long-term."
Both Gojo and Sawada-san's faces darken, erasing any traces of fun at the mention of his dad, but they hide it soon after.
"I see…" Sawada-san says slowly, then shakes her head, chasing whatever dark thought she had away. "Then, if it's decided, gather whatever you need and want. Satoru and I will wait."
Knowing they are dismissed from whatever conversation the two are about to have, Megumi takes Tsumiki to gather their meager possessions.
Guess their lives are about to change very drastically, starting from today.