Author's note: Thank you Valen Goncalvez, noctisluxys, and YaoiLovinKitsune for your reviews. I am thrilled you are enjoying this story, and I will do my best not to disappoint in future chapters. Thank you everyone for the favorites and follows. I appreciate them all.
I'll continue to update as quickly as possibly but I will confess at some point the updates will begin to slow. This was actually meant to be a one shot to keep the creative juices flowing while I try to figure out how to continue my other stories that I am no longer in the adrenaline driven, 'honeymoon phase' of writing.
Please enjoy the update and tell me what you think! :)
Megumi walked out of his room and turned to the left to immediately hit a wall. When in the hell did a wall get put here? Backing up, he saw that it was only Yūji on his way to the cafeteria for dinner no doubt.
"Hey, sorry man," Yūji apologized raising his hands up in a surrender gesture because of the angry 'what the hell' look he received.
Megumi always wore an epic resting bitch face but when annoyed the irritation clearly shone through when his eyebrows would pinch together and his lips press into a thin straight line.
"Where are you rushing off to? Aren't you going to eat?" Yūji asked.
"Is food all you think about?" he returned. "I'm going out."
"Are you going to see a girl?" his fellow Jujutsu Sorcerer inquired in his typical overenthusiastic manner.
Megumi shook his head. Girls are the other thing always on Yūji's mind. At least he was a simple guy to figure out. He was always straightforward and never had ulterior motives or nefarious thoughts in his head. The demon sharing his body is another matter entirely, but he was definitely not dealing with Sukuna at the moment.
"I'm going out," Megumi repeated, sidestepping Yūji to continue on his way.
"Oh, okay. Bye," he called after the quiet and grumpy classmate who still remained a mystery to him even after several long months.
"Hey," Gojō greeted Yūji appearing from absolutely nowhere like he had a tendency to do. "Where's he going?"
"I don't know. Out," Yūji replied flatly with a shrug relaying what he had been told. "I think he might be going to see a girl."
"What?" the white haired man returned with a chuckle of disbelief. "There's no way."
"Yeah. You're probably right." After a long pause, he asked, "Should we follow him and find out?"
"Nah. Come on," Gojō said, shoving his student in the direction opposite of where he wanted to go before pivoting on his heel and taking off in a run. "Beat ya to the cafeteria!"
Meanwhile, Megumi walked slowly keeping an ear attuned to footsteps or any kind of noise behind him to alert him that one of those dorks might be following him. It was none of their business where he was going or who he was going to see but that would not stop the incessantly ridiculous prankster and generally nosy individual named Satoru Gojō from following him. On some days he still found it hard to believe that man in the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer and his teacher to boot.
The walk to her house only took about thirty minutes at a relatively brisk clip. Once there, he stood at the gate gazing at the little house. Everything was dark and quiet out here. The golden light in the living room window looked inviting. Looking up, he could see thousands of stars without the street lights and buildings to block them out.
Megumi stepped through the space between the short rock wall onto the dirt path leading to the front door. Hundreds of small, bright orbs similar to fireflies rose up out of the short, bush like decorative grass outlining the house.
Suddenly he could hear humming. The sound seemed to come from inside his head rather than through his ears. It was a voice, a human singing a tune he knew very well. Hiroko used to hum that song. He would fall asleep every time he heard it. Presently he grew a little drowsy, his feet becoming so heavy he could not lift them. Apparently seeing things is not her only ability she inherited from her grandmother.
The door slid open, and the humming stopped. The drowsiness instantly dissipated like a cloud that his filled his brain. Megumi shook his head and took a step toward Lily standing in the doorway. She was dressed in cut off denim shorts showing off her long dancer's legs and a loose light blue button up men's dress shirt tied at her waist.
Who the hell does that shirt belong to? he wondered. He shook his head to push out the thought and physically shake off the unwarranted jealousy.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he assured her. "What the hell was that?"
"Think of it as a home security system. Come in," she invited him, turning around and walking into the living room.
Apparently she felt no threat now since she turned her back to him. Megumi entered the house and took off his boots. He could see her in the living room setting bowls of food on the low table. It smelled wonderful making his mouth water.
"That song you were humming...your grandmother used to sing it to me," he said when he joined her at the table. "What is it?"
"You mean what does it do, don't you?" she clarified, scooping a spoonful of the ginger pork and vegetables onto his plate.
"Yeah. The food looks and smells great," he complimented, picking up his chopsticks.
"Your rice is in that bowl right there," she said, pointing to the small orange earthenware bowl with a small domed top on it.
As if to avoid answering the question, she pushed a small dish of pickled ginger toward him. The slices were so thin they were almost transparent. Just the way Hiroko made them.
"It's a sedation technique. It can be used to heal your allies or incapacitate your enemies," she explained.
"You learned a lot from your grandmother," he said, staring at her with suspicion and curiosity.
"I inherited most of her abilities which made teaching me how to use them much easier. Thank goodness my parents never stopped me from communicating with her by phone or letters. A few years before she died, we had begun using video calls which helped a lot with training," she said.
"Did you think I was an enemy?"
"I wasn't sure. I haven't learned to recognize your exact wavelength yet."
"Wavelength?" he questioned her as she poured his tea.
"I don't know what it's actually called but to me each person puts off a specific vibe if you will pardon the term. I learned to recognize those around me by feeling their unique energy signature," she said, settling onto her cushion.
"So each person's Cursed Energy is like a fingerprint?" Megumi questioned her, fascinated enough he forgot the food waiting on his plate. Although he could detect it, he actually found it difficult to pinpoint the source of any Cursed Energy much less recognizes definitive individual patterns.
"Yeah. Something like that."
"You can really recognize someone by their Cursed Energy alone?"
"Eat," Lily encouraged him. "It's getting cold."
"I will after you answer my question."
"That's emotional blackmail, Megumi Fushiguro."
"How so? Concerned about my health and eating habits? You care about me already?" he challenged.
Her face blushing a dark pink like a fuchsia flower told him he had hit the nail on the head. He blushed in response to her unexpected reaction.
"How could I not? I swear my grandmother told me everything about you. I felt like you were this little brother I never knew I had," she murmured, poking at her food.
Little brother? Actually that made sense. He still couldn't help feeling a little disappointed by already being reduced to a familial capacity in relationship terms.
Megumi wished he knew half as much about her as she knew about him. What he learned so far fascinated and intrigued him making him want to learn more. He never really cared much about getting to know people, but he would like to know more about her especially since she was already so well acquainted with him.
"It's more like recognizing someone's voice...their timbre, the patterns of speech they use. Or maybe think in terms of a birthmark, something unique and specific to that person, an identifiable characteristic," Lily tried to clarify. "I'm sure you can Cursed Energy."
"I can feel the intensity but not exactly the origin. I think I get it," he assured her, noting she had not eaten a thing. "You should eat too."
Conversation ceased temporarily to allow for eating and for Megumi to digest everything he had heard as well.
"That was really good. I'm so full," Megumi groaned, leaning back on his hands and rubbing his distended belly. Around her, he felt able to relax, to let down his guard - the same comfort and trust he felt with her grandmother.
Lily smiled, refilling his cup.
"Want to join me outside for a cup of tea and some star gazing?"
"Sure," he replied, following her through the kitchen to the back door.
He really should be getting back to the school. Gojō could care less how late he stayed out as long as he appeared for training on time. However, having to endure the teasing from him and Itadori is something he would rather not have to deal with.
The backyard was bare except for a solitary tree that appeared to have been there for centuries and a short tablelike platform off to the side out from under the canopy of the thick and leafy branches.
Lily sat down cross legged on the platform, holding her tea cup with both hands as she turned her face upward toward the stars.
Megumi sat beside her, legs extended straight in front of him. He would prefer to lie on his back to stare at the sky but being too full prevented him from doing so. Instead he leaned back on his hands.
"Do you ever wonder why your father chose the name Megumi for you?" she asked casting a sidelong glimpse at him with a slight turn of her head.
This again, he thought wearily. But when he looked at her the sarcastic words would not come out.
Her hair that had been over her shoulder fell back revealing the graceful line of her neck. Her gold amber eyes glimmered in the dazzling white light of the full moon giving them to appearance of having an inner luminescence. She definitely looked like a model at the moment.
"I used to. Then I figured it was just because he was an asshole," he murmured, taking a sip of his tea as an excuse to break the mesmerizing eye contact with her.
"Maybe he was doing you a favor. It was his weird way of protecting you," she suggested.
"What?" he coughed, choking on his tea. "You're kidding me right? Are you making fun of my name now?"
"Of course not," she sighed, giving him an extremely motherly look of sheer disappointment. "How could you think me to be so cruel? I love your name."
His heart tripped and ran amok at the mention of the four letter L word even though she used it in reference to his name.
"Hear me out, please," she implored him, putting down her cup to hug her knees with her arms. Her hair fell over one of her glowing gold eyes when she turned her face toward him. "It means blessing, right?"
"Yeah. We already both know that. If you want me to hear you out, you really need to get to the point," he muttered, employing his habitual sarcasm.
"So impatient," she exhaled, but smiled at him in direct contrast to the annoyance evident in her voice. "Names are important. Their meaning can determine a lot about who we are and who we become. They are like a declaration over us, announcing to the world who we are before they even know us."
"You're no sweet delicate flower," he countered irritably.
"Wow...your fists aren't the only thing you know how to fight with huh?" she remarked calmly, her eyebrow quirking upward. She turned her nose into the air, flipping her hair back over her shoulder with a haughty sniff. "I am a sweet delicate flower, good sir."
"What makes you think I'm good?" he argued, being his own devil's advocate. Did she always trust so easily? But he wasn't exactly a stranger to her.
"A lot of things."
Lily leaned toward him, her eyes locking with his. For a second he mused she might kiss him which prompted him to incline his body toward her until their faces were mere inches apart.
"Would you shut up and listen?" she asked in a low, surprisingly calm, especially for her, voice.
"Enlighten me," he returned.
"A blessing counteracts a curse. Perhaps in his own weird way he was protecting you because he knew what you would become...a Jujutsu Sorcerer," she said, sitting back up straight in her original position.
"That's a kind thought, but I seriously doubt that was his reason," he grumbled growing more agitated.
"Maybe not, but I believe it did work in your favor," she said. "You learned to kick ass and protect yourself at a young age."
"That's true," he rejoined, finally able to agree with something she said which in turn made his anger subside a little.
"Anyway, my point is - "
"Finally?" he interrupted.
With a lightning fast movement, Lily reached over to grab the top of his ear and tug on it mercilessly.
"Listen," she ordered him, yanking hard on his ear then letting him go.
"Ouch," he muttered, rubbing his the hot and pulsing cartilage at the top curve.
"My American grandmother listened to this song about a boy who got the name Sue from his father before he abandoned him."
Sounds frighteningly familiar, Megumi thought, choosing to say nothing lest she get hold of his ear again. He had forgotten the thin layer of cartilage had so many nerves endings. It had been many, many years since he received an admonition like that. And of course it had come from Hiroko. This woman was so much like her grandmother it unnerved him but also offered some degree of comfort in the nostalgic familiarity.
"After he becomes a grown man, gets to confront his father. He beats the hell out of him," Lily continued.
Not a bad plan, he mused. Too bad my father is dead. Gojō killed him.
It was because of his father he met Satoru Gojō in the first place. Guess he could actually thank dear old dad for that one. Lily was slowly making him see more of the good things about his feminine name.
"His father gave him the name so he would be tough. He would learn how to fight and how to protect himself. Although it seemed like a hateful thing to do, he was actually protecting his son, equipping him to combat all the hell that would come his way since he would not be there to protect him," she finished, giving him another one of those sly glances from the corner of her eye.
"That's a very kind sentiment, Lily," he said, feeling a bit sad for her ignorance. "But my father wasn't that unselfish or noble."
"Well," she sighed dejectedly, shifting her eyes toward the stars. "It was a nice thought."
"It was. And you are sweet," he added, his face growing warm with self-conscious discomfort from giving her the sincere compliment. "I should go. I need to get back to the school."
"I'll walk you to the door," she offered.
Lily picked up both of their cups, dropping them off in the sink while Megumi continued on his way to the door. She waited on the single stair in the foyer for him to stand so she would be eye to with him.
"Thank you for dinner. It was delicious," he said, backing away a step so he would not be almost nose to nose with her.
"You're very welcome. I'll be happy to cook for you any time. Just let me know when," she returned giving him a gentle smile.
"I couldn't - "
"Yes, you can," she cut him off. "You're not an inconvenience. I would like to think I'm your friend."
"A friend? Okay, a friend," he confirmed.
"Be safe, Megumi," she entreated him as he took another step backwards with some reluctance.
"You be safe as well," he said, reaching behind him for the handle but only finding it after patting around blindly on the door a bit.
"I will," she assured him, her smile broadening until her lips separated to show her flawless, sparkling white teeth. "I have my own special home security system remember."
"Oh, yeah," he returned, giving her a small smile in return.
He had forgotten about the protection barrier not to mention her sedating lullaby. He wondered how big of an area she could protect and how strong the barrier she created could be. Exactly how powerful of an enemy could she subdue with that song?
Perhaps he should mention Lily and her abilities to Gojō, possibly introduce them. But thinking about how embarrassingly flirtatious his teacher could be with the girls at the sweets shop, he decided against it. Besides, he really did not want to drag her into the dangerous world of the Jujutsu Sorcerer. He wondered if he put her at risk simply by being here.
"Don't you dare think about never coming back here," she scolded him as if reading his thoughts. "I like you, Megumi."
His heart leapt in his chest and fluttered like a bird inside his ribcage. Apparently, she liked saying his name at every opportunity. He couldn't say he disliked hearing her say it. He was waiting for her to add 'as a friend' to douse his warm emotions. But she did not say it. He suddenly did not know what to think or feel about her.
"Good night," she said, stepping down toward the door as he backed outside.
"Good night."
Giving him one last smile, she slid the door closed.