Special Curse – Christmas Party

クリスマスパーティー

kurisumasu paateii

It was around the start of December that year that I found myself having a sleepover at the Fushiguro household. It wasn't the first time we'd had a sleepover. There had been 5 more before this one, 3 at mine and Satoru-nii's house on Tokyo Jujutsu Tech's grounds and 2 at the Fushiguro home.

Over the past few months the Fushiguro siblings and I have gradually become closer, and after much coaxing I've come to call Tsumiki my nee-san. It was kind of exciting as I'd never had a sister before in either lives, something I'd always secretly wished for.

Megumi had yet to shed his grumpy looking shell completely, but seemed to warm up to me and feel more relaxed around me, though he still looked quite irritated whenever Satoru-nii was around. I doubted that would change, remembering how he was at 15 during the canon events of the manga I knew of.

Training together with Megumi was probably a big contributing factor to our friendship settling in, which I was so pleased with.

Not only had I gotten close to my favourite character, but it had been a great help to my Jujutsu training thanks to his presence as a training partner and the encouragement of my creativity.

I'd now moved on from trying to push the wooden block, to the stone one, and was working on moving smaller objects and changing their trajectory with Polarity. Many targets, stationary and moving had been set up in the training hall to help with that.

I was still a bit nervous about changing the trajectory of a living person, aka Megumi, with my technique, as I was worried about accidentally crushing him somehow. But I was determined to get to a point where it didn't worry me.

I had plenty of time to get to where I wanted to be, so I could take my time building up my confidence.

Looking away from the Ghibli movie Tsumiki-nee had found on the TV for us to watch, I glanced at Megumi who was only half-watching the film. It wasn't really his kind of movie but he was putting up with it for Tsumiki-nee and my sakes.

"Hey, Megumi-kun…?" I called to him.

"Hmm?" he hummed in response.

"..It's gonna be your birthday soon. Do you want anything?" I asked him.

At this, Megumi glanced away from the screen to look at me, "I don't need anything. You don't have to bother with it," he said.

I pouted, "Well I want to bother with it!" I huffed.

He shook his head, "There's really nothing, though." He insisted.

"That's gotta be something…!" I tried again.

"There isn't! Are you watching the movie or not?" Megumi replied, looking exasperated.

"I-I am! But I really wanna get my new friend a present for his birthday – is that so wrong?" I said, blushing a little.

Megumi looked away, "But there isn't anything I need right now." He said, then followed by mumbling which I couldn't understand because he was too quiet.

"What did you say?" I asked, tilting my head, to which he quickly replied 'nothing' while still looking away from Tsumiki-nee and I.

I heard her chuckle behind her hand and turned to look at her when she patted my shoulder gently, "Megumi, your shoes are looking pretty worn out right now. Isn't it about time to get a new pair?" she asked her brother and he looked at her suspiciously; she gripped my shoulder slightly, "You were size _, weren't you? But you'll be growing more so you probably want the next size up-" she was speaking but Megumi rushed over and put his hands over her mouth.

"Sh-Shut up nee-san!" Megumi cried, cheeks pink; he glanced down to me, seeing me writing down what Tsumiki-nee-san, "Why are you writing it down!?" he snapped.

Huffing, he let go of Tsumiki-nee's face and went back to his spot, sitting down feeling somewhat defeated.

"Why do you even wanna get me a present so bad? We haven't even known each other that long…" he grumbled.

"For the Christmas pa—Oop!" I slapped a hand over my own mouth; I hadn't meant to tell them about it today.

"Christmas party…?" Tsumiki-nee asked, surprised, and Megumi also looked caught off guard.

I nervously smiled, scratching my cheek, "Ehehe… I wasn't supposed to say it today since it wasn't totally confirmed yet, but my big brother and Yaga-san are organizing a Christmas party at Jujutsu Tech for us, and some other kids around our age that are going to be enrolling at the school when we're old enough, too." I explained to them, "A-And it's on the 22nd, since a lot of people couldn't come on Christmas eve. That's why, it's kinda a birthday party as well, for Megumi-kun. S-Surprise…?" I trailed off, looking at the dismay washing over Megumi's face.

He definitely didn't want a big deal to be made of his birthday, I get it.

"I-It was mostly my big brother's idea! But I did agree with it cause I wanted to celebrate with Tsumiki-nee and Megumi-kun. So, um, yeah. There you have it." I said, shyly looking down after finishing.

Truth be told I'm kinda excited about the party. Since my favourite female character might also be attending, if all goes well.

But I hoped that the birthday boy wouldn't bail now that he knows it's coming. Especially with the cringy spectacle I know my brother has planned for it.

It had been super quiet for a while now, so I looked up to assess their reactions, and found them looking thoughtful.

"U-Um…sorry. I know you probably don't want your birthday to be such a big deal." I apologised.

Megumi shook his head, "Like you said, your brother planned this. It's gonna be a pain but I'll go," he said.

I'll go… I'll go…. I'll go…

His words echoed through my head on repeat and I felt my chest get lighter.

Tsumiki-nee laughed lightly, "It seems like your more excited for my brother's birthday than he is, Yukine-chan~" she commented. Megumi was finding the wall very interesting right now.

I really am.

"Can we just keep watching the movie?" Megumi was desperate to change the subject and we let him. I'm so excited for December 22nd, now.


It was a few days before the party on the 22nd and it didn't feel very Christmassy yet if I was being honest. I'd already gotten my presents for Satoru-nii (which had been a hellish task to hide from his nosy ass), Megumi, Tsumiki, Shoko-san, Yaga-san, Nanami-san and Panda-kun. I'd also gotten some gifts for the surprise guests Satoru had left until almost last minute to mention, both of which I was very nervous to meet seen as though I wasn't expecting to meet them until I was a teenager. I really didn't leave a bad impression on one of them in particular, seeing as though she's one of my favourite female characters.

My heart raced with a mix of excitement and anxiety at the thought.

But back to the original point. It didn't feel very Christmassy around Satoru's and my apartment close to Jujutsu Tech grounds, considering the party was only a couple of days away.

We didn't have much of anything in the way of decorations up and I was beginning to think Satoru either forgot how Christmas works or just didn't know somehow.

"My, what's with the long face, Yukine-chan?" Satoru-nii's face appeared next to mine as I looked out the window at the lightly falling snow outside. The look on his face hinted at an add on of 'I'm here, after all', but I ignored it.

"I was just thinking about how we don't have any christmassy things around here. We don't have a tree. Even Megumi-kun and Tsumiki-nee have one, though it's tiny and fake." I answered him.

"Hmmm? You wanna decorate for Christmas?" he asked.

"I mean… it's Christmas soon, so yeah! We did it back up in Tobetsu…" I trailed off. He probably didn't want reminding of where I used to be, but still my thoughts wandered back to my time there regardless.

Satoru-nii was quiet for a while, and I started to feel like maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all. Feeling a little guilty after a while, I started to turn around to talk to him, only to find out that he wasn't here at all.

"E-Eh? Satoru? Satoru-nii, where did you go?!" I cried, getting up.

Did I upset him so much that he just left me here? That's hardly fair, is it!?

I decided to try and find him, leaving my spot at the window to search the apartment. Not in mine or his bedrooms, not in the kitchen or the bathroom either. I was about to head for the front door when suddenly there was a loud noise from back in the living room, like a large thud and some rustles.

"Yukine-chan! Where'd you go?" I heard Satoru-nii and bewildered, I made my way back into the living room, and I was shocked with what I saw. So shocked I staggered back and had to grab onto the door frame!

In the middle of the living room was Satoru, holding a huge felled pine tree, still covered in bits of snow. A lot of snow had been shaken from its branches too and was currently melting all over our rug.

My jaw hung slack.

"Yukine-chan, there you are! I got us a tree. What'dya think? Is it big enough?" he asked.

What.

The.

Hell.

I slumped to the ground at the doorway, unable to get a word out. This man was absolutely wild.

"I-It's plenty big… but we're gonna need some things for it," I managed to say.

"Sounds like it's time for a Gojo-Siblings Shopping Trip™!" Satoru-nii agreed, a wide, excited grin spreading across his cheeks. At his infectious enthusiasm, I couldn't stop a smile from spreading across my own face. I was starting to feel a little bit more excited about the holidays now.

Hours later, after a rather chaotic shopping trip throughout Tokyo trying to gather and agree on Christmas decorations for the tree, we returned home and set about securing the felled pine tree in a base and decorating it.

Baubles of all shapes, sizes and colours. Plenty of tinsel and lights. Sparkly trinkets to accent the baubles. And of course, a star sat atop the tree.

By evening, it was neatly set up in the corner of the living room and all the puddles of melted snow and shaken-loose pine needles had been tidied up and disposed of.

Worn out after such a suddenly hectic day, I sunk into the sofa with some hot chocolate we made, next to my brother, marveling at the tree we decorated together for the first time.

Truth be told, we'd never really had a tree in my past life, and back in Tobetsu, Kiku-san had put up our tree herself while I was away at school.

So this truly was my first time putting up a Christmas tree. Before it had just been fantasizing about doing it. But I never in a million years would have imagined putting up my first Christmas tree with Gojo Satoru of all people, after being isekai'd into his previously-nonexistent little sister.

Sometimes I just stop and catch myself, realizing all over again how crazy a situation I've gotten myself into is.

But…I'm happy. "I'm happy." Satoru-nii spoke suddenly, overlapping my thoughts with the same words and I looked up at him startled.

He was smiling softly down at me over his own mug of hot chocolate, his arm closest to me swung over the back of the sofa.

"Up until now, I've never really given holidays like Christmas much of a thought, beyond keeping an eye out for any increase in curse activity that may pop up around it and new years. So, I never pictured myself doing the traditional, christmassy stuff before. If I'd never found you…" he trailed off, frowning as the possibility came to his mind with his words; he bit his lip and shook his head, "Well, I found you! But if I hadn't I don't think I'd ever have done anything like putting up a tree, or holding a party, or anything like it. But I'm glad that the first time I do it is with you, Yukine-chan." He said, and moved his arm from the back of the sofa to brush through my steadily lengthening hair, "I'm so happy that I was able to find you and that you're here with me. Really. So don't go disappearing on me again, okay?" he leant down and kissed my head.

My cheeks flushed hot and I felt so warm and fuzzy. I was a little embarrassed by all this attention and…love that Satoru-nii was showing me, but at the same time I felt giddy and treasured.

I leant into his side, humming.

"I'm so happy I'm here too…Merry Christmas, nii-san." I said softly.

"That's not for a few days yet! But yes. Merry Christmas, Yukine-chan." He said, cuddling in close as well. I felt so warm and safe in his arms.


That day we put up the Christmas tree together was one of the few days we'd spent together in December so far. In order to guarantee he'd have the Christmas party day off from any missions, he'd gone on countless missions in the first two weeks of the month.

And now, the 22nd had arrived. The day of the Christmas party. And Megumi's birthday.

And Satoru-nii was suspiciously nowhere to be found.

Shoko-san, one of the many guests that had come to our party, informed me that my brother didn't have any last minute missions today so that only meant one thing and everyone who knew him knew that.

So there was a sense of dread and anticipation in the air. And that massive boxed Christmas present by the tree was awfully suspicious, too.

However, I was too distracted by my own nerves. After all, just before, I'd managed to give Megumi his birthday present and he was appreciative for the practical gift. I'd also gifted Tsumiki some hair clips and ties, which she also liked.

But more importantly, right now, standing right in front of Megumi and I were Zen'in Maki and Zen'in Mai. We'd just been introduced to each other by Shoko-san, who'd afterwards retreated to the snack table. Mai seemed quite subdued and shy, while Maki boldly looked us in the eye, clutching her sister's hand in one hand, and a paper bag in the other.

"Our father asked us to give this to you. Happy birthday, Fushiguro." Maki said to Megumi, thrusting the bag in Megumi's direction. He looked a bit shocked, mostly at her straight-forwardness, but accepted the bag and thanked her and Mai.

I eyed the bag curiously, wondering absently if the present was genuine or an attempt at buttering up the first holder of the Ten Shadows technique in a long time.

"And this is for you. Merry Christmas. Thank you for inviting us," Mai said softly, handing a bag to me.

I smiled gratefully, and took it, bowing lightly as I did. "Thank you so much. Mai-san. Maki-san," I peeked inside the bag and saw something fluffy with white, black and orange colouring. Upon further inspection I realised it was a calico cat doll, "Awww, it's so cute! I love it." I grinned at Mai and Maki.

Mai looked pleased with the reaction. Maybe she selected it.

"We were told you like soft things… But where is Gojo Satoru? Isn't this his party?" Maki asked, looking around somewhat cautiously.

Maybe she'd heard my brother was a bit eccentric.

"You're guess is as good as mine, but he's probably up to something if I know him well enough," I answered, looking back at that present again. Maki's eyes followed mine and zeroed in on the present as well.

She narrowed her eyes, "He's not." She said, as if to will it out of existence.

The door to our apartment knocked and shortly after, Yaga-san and Panda-kun finally arrived. I ran over to Panda-kun to greet him and give him my gift, a large blue scarf which he happily wrapped around himself and asked me how he looked. He liked the panda-motif stitched on each end of the scarf especially. It was appropriate, though he's not an actual Panda.

I was just glad he liked it!

In return I got some of my favourite cookies from him, and another small doll, this time of a panda bear from Yaga-san. He told me he stitched it himself and not to worry, it wasn't one of his curse dolls so it wouldn't move on its own.

Yaga-san then looked around the living room warily, "Wait. Where is Satoru?" he asked, and as if those words summoned him, a rustling noise finally came from the suspicious large present by the tree.

Everyone's gazes shifted to the box, that subtle dread we'd felt started building.

Something cringy was about to happen.

The box shook some more, and then, the lid flew off as Satoru burst out from inside, dressed up in a Santa Claus costume, circular sunglasses still present and his spikey white hair poking out from underneath the Santa hat.

"MEEEEEEEEERRY CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSUU!" he loudly called out, extending the words as much as his breath would allow, causing us to flinch or cringe at his volume.

Once he was done wishing us a happy Christmas, the room suddenly fell into an awkward silence as our brains tried to catch up with what was going on. Once they had, most of us decided they didn't like Satoru-nii's idea of a surprise very much, many of the guests sending a flat look.

One of the guests, Shoko-san's friend Iori-san nursed her sherry while holding her forehead and looking away from Satoru-nii's direction.

"Uggghhh… Why did I agree to come again? I came from Kyoto for this…" she was very much regretting her life choices right now.

Shoko-san looked like she agreed even though she had a much shorter distance to travel to get here than her friend.

"Look on the bright side. At least you confirmed for yourself what I told you about his sister. She's leagues more mature and less annoying than her older brother. Right?" she comforted her friend, nursing her own sherry.

I'd been listening in from nearby and grimaced, "Sorry for my nii-san…" I bowed my head to Iori-san, who looked like she appreciated the words.

After seeing that his surprise went unappreciated, Satoru-nii exited the box, pouting a little.

While he was getting scolded by Yaga-san, I saw Tsumiki-nee guiding a reluctant looking Megumi my way. She had a wide grin on her face.

"I think Megumi has something to give you, Yukine-chan!" she said, and nudged her little brother closer to me.

He looked chagrinned, glancing back to his sister to say "I could have done this myself" to her, before turning back to me. His cheeks flushed a little at being put on the spot, and he lifted up a small box dark-navy box with a silver ribbon around it and offered it to me.

"Merry Christmas," he said lowly, so nobody else would hear him but his sister and I.

My heart started racing, and with a blush of my own, I took the present from Megumi and marveled at it a second. After preparing myself, I untied the ribbon carefully and opened the small box. Inside of it was a beautiful silver-plated bracelet with a snowflake charm, along with some blue fake-gem charms on it.

I stared at it, fascinated, and touched by it. It was really beautiful. And Megumi and presumably Tsumiki-nee got it for me.

I'm going to treasure this for the rest of my life…!

Quickly unfastening the bracelet and refastening it around my left wrist, I dove forward and surprised Megumi with a hug around his neck. He yelped surprised, and his awkward self couldn't even manage to hug me back but I didn't mind.

Taking an arm off, I tugged on Tsumiki-nee's sleeve to pull her in for a group hug, which she joined with a smile.

"Thank you so much! I love it! I'm never taking it off!" I said excitedly.

"I-Isn't that going too far…?" Megumi stuttered, still unused to the whole being-hugged thing.

Tsumiki-nee just giggled, "I'm glad you like it. Megumi thought long and hard before choosing it. We both had to chip in to afford it though." She said.

"You didn't need to tell her that." Megumi hissed at his sister to shut up as I finally let go of the two of them. Megumi's face was so red, hehe.

Tsumiki-nee and I just exchanged smiles at each other, until Megumi shyly spoke up again.

"There's actually one more thing… well, I don't know if you'd class it as a present, but… I thought you might like this." He said and put his hands together in the shape for summoning his Gyokuken. My breath caught as I realised it, and suddenly I was buzzing with excitement again.

Quickly, the two pups rose from his shadows. They'd gotten slightly bigger than the first time I'd met them, but they were still just as adorable and fluffy!

I wasted no time, going down to my knees and pulling them in for snuggles. I heard them panting, and saw their tails wagging as they sat and let me nuzzle them to my hearts content. After a while, Megumi, Tsumiki and I settled in for an impromptu nap, cuddling with the two fluffy canines.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

And don't think I didn't hear all the camera shutter noises going off as I dozed!

Juju Stroll:

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Tokyo at Yomiuriland, their annual Jewellumination event was going on. A man wearing a traditional monk's robe with long black hair half-tied back partially into a knot watched the monkeys go by, enjoying their Christmas together.

He knew he'd never be in a place like this, surrounded by all these non-sorcerers if not for his two wards incessant pleading to take them here.

He admitted, the lights were pretty, but it wasn't something that really interested him.

Seeing Nanako and Mimiko scamper around was enough to make it worth it, though. And it got him thinking about some intel about his former classmate that he'd been told.

Apparently, Satoru managed to find his little sister after all.

Suguru was happy for him.

'I wonder what kind of person Gojo Yukine is.' He thought to himself, his attention shifting to his wards running back to him shouting something about some sweets they wanted him to get.

He got up off his seat, heading towards his two girls, 'Well… I might just pay her a visit one of these days. If the occasion arises.' Geto Suguru mused.


riceball-girl: So this Christmas Special may be coming three months late, but I decided I wanted to get this done before anything else. I'm sorry that this took me so long once again, and I really hope the wait was worth it.

I'm going on holiday to Japan the day after tomorrow so I may not see all your comments quickly, but I hope you liked this update. I'll also check it over for any spelling/grammatical errors then. I'll try to get a new chapter quicker one I'm back from Japan I'll try to write more. :)