A/N: So…it took longer to write the one shot I mentioned last time, in part because of irl issues, but also because it ended up being a little bit (definitely) longer than I thought it would be…also kinda darker. That said, I'm almost done with the typing so I should be able to upload it sometime this Sunday.

Chapter 7.- Hindsight is 20-20

Well now, this wasn't what he'd been expecting.

Between last night and this morning, Satoru had become convinced of one thing:

Higurashi Kagome was pissed.

And the sorcerer was willing to bet some of that frustration was bleeding into her fighting because he was sure at least two of those last few hits were unnecessary. Had the curse user they'd been hunting down not tried to use a domain expansion, she might've not reached for her arrows and kept the fight to just her new stock of paper talismans and her bow. Not that the result would've changed. Wind manipulation was a potentially dangerous ability, and there was no doubt this guy wasn't weak, he was the wrong type of opponent. According to the report he'd gotten, the guy was supposed to be on the lower end of grade 1, but it looked like attacks based on cursed energy alone didn't fare well against her barriers.

Like with yesterday's curse, the cutting wind had turned into an innocent gust of air.

Miss Archer was slow when it came to dodging, but her barriers were more than fast enough to keep her safe. Her attacks, on the other hand, worked just fine. Even if the young woman couldn't match her enemy's speed, she was clearly used to fighting people faster than her. The blood Kagome shed was nothing compared to the severe burns on the curse user skin. Using what little self preservation the curse user had left, he'd tried to flee. An impossible goal to be fair, Satoru himself placed the curtain, so the fight became something closer to a cat-and-mouse-chase around the abandoned temple that served as the curse user's base. Honestly, a domain expansion was the only move left for the guy unless he wanted to try his luck in a drawn-out battle when Kagome didn't even look tired. The girl didn't waste a second after feeling the energy build-up. The arrow was knocked and fired in less than a second, blazing pink trailing behind it. It hit the curse user's shoulder before the domain could fully expand. Just like that, the cursed energy vanished, fading into nothing the instant her reiki touched it.

Idly, Satoru made a quick mental note to consider the implications of that little detail later.

The pained screeches of the guy made thinking a bit of a hassle right now, and he needed to pay more attention to her reactions.

"First time?" He lifted his shades for a second. She didn't look perturbed, even though the noise wasn't exactly a comfortable background soundtrack.

"…not really." Azure eyes glanced down at the curse user. "Can't really afford to hesitate when your only options are to fire or let a group of innocent bystanders get brutally killed by bandits."

"Guess I don't have anything to worry about then." His remark earned him a glare.

Iridescent blue took a second to study the young woman's form.

Compared to both of her first couple of fights, she did way better. A few cuts from debris here and there and a handful of bruises she didn't bother to heal was the extent of the damage. Really, none of the injuries were as bad as the ones she got in the mall. There was no saving the pants she was wearing; even if the blood could be washed off, the fabric had been ripped one too many times. And the sorcerer probably should hurry and order some proper clothes. Aside from that, Miss Archer's breathing was a little short, and her braid had come undone, letting her hair fall back down in messy waves, but that was about it.

Satoru's eyes narrowed slightly. This time, the curse user depended a lot on his cursed technique, mostly disregarding physical combat, with a different enemy, however, a human opponent may prove more difficult.

Blinking, the sorcerer focused back on her.

Looking at her posture, at least it didn't appear he'd have to worry about the grey morality the jujutsu society worked with. There was no shaking in her fingers as she knocked a second arrow. No build-up from her spiritual energy this time around. This was just a regular arrow, sharp and lethal anyway. With how close to him they were, standing halfway through an open hallway, she couldn't miss. There was no hesitation in her eyes as she took aim. Over fifteen confirmed kills, three of them sorcerers sent to stop him, all the others just regular civilians. Innocent casualties. A real piece of work, if Satoru said so himself.

There was something graceful about the way her fingers moved, allowing the arrow to fly true, not faltering despite the way the man's yells rose even higher, fear and panic bleeding through the pain for only a heartbeat before silence fell over them.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Yep, she was still not happy with him.

"You can definitely say that," Satoru said, grinning as if he didn't notice her annoyance. "Can't say I've ever seen anything like that in my entire life."

"Good, I'm not playing around like that again." With a huff, the girl tried to move past him.

"Not gonna pick up those arrows? Cleaners ain't gonna bring them back." His hand didn't quite touch her, but his movement was enough to stop her. "What do you mean by playing around?"

"Please, you were there yesterday. Your genius should've already figured it out."

Right, yesterday, when her arrow vanished under the stream of water only to reappear behind the curse. She didn't need a clear path to hit her target, physical obstacles didn't pose any real problem. He didn't have a full understanding of what her spiritual energy was capable of, but it was clear she could detect cursed energy; that's probably what allowed her to use that attack. Maybe it was because Shoko had been there, but Satoru could read between the lines she'd danced around. If her educated guess was correct, her powers reacted to sorcerers in the same way they did with any other curse. So long as Kagome wasn't taken off guard, she could have a considerable advantage. She could've finished this before it became a fight. But Miss Archer was quick on the uptake. Meaning this particular bit of information better not reaching the elders until he had a better grasp on her abilities.

Of course, that'd be easier if she wasn't still pissed off at him.

"Just making sure," he shrugged.

"How common are these…domain expansions?" The words were said almost like an insult as she turned to get her arrows back.

"Wouldn't call them rare, but nothing and no one below average can pull it off." Not to mention, it consumed too much energy for regular sorcerers to use it more than once per battle. "Your barriers seem to act as simple domains, so no worries there."

"Simple…alright, no. Stop, we can't keep this up. I need explanations, Satoru." Blood sprayed on her as she pulled her weapons out, the patches of crimson almost looking like some sort of nice looking pattern.

"But the best way to learn is through first-hand experience." They'd get to her explanations…eventually. "Fastest way too."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because the priestess pinched her nose in frustration. Maybe she'd finally be annoyed enough to drop the passiveness of her aggressiveness and actually snap at him.

"That's not, look….ugh, this is more than just a little." Her soft mumble probably wasn't meant for him to hear; it made him all the more intrigued. "This curtain thing you put up... it'll stop anyone from sensing anything that happens here, right?"

"If ya want some alone time, you can just say it."

Unsurprisingly, the priestess' response was to roll her eyes and scoff. The unspoken request to keep the barrier up was loud enough, so he followed her as Kagome glanced around, looking for something before grabbing his wrist.

Questions burned his tongue, but he bit them all down. Holding back wasn't something the sorcerer made a habit of, but since his eyes couldn't dissect her powers, he couldn't exactly have her refusing to talk to him, so he remained quiet while the young woman got them into an empty, untouched room and began to paste her paper charms, creating a barrier of her own, locking them inside the room. Satoru took a moment to study the way the pink seemed to shimmer into a dome around the room without actually filling it. She was chanting again, but the words were different from before. Specific prayers didn't really matter, it seemed.

"This will do," she mumbled before turning to look at him, bright azure piercing through him. "Give me your hands."

"Didn't think ya were into these kinda games." Alright, maybe he was deflecting.

"Can you do me a favor and stop talking." She didn't even bother to hide her exasperated groan. "Look, if this was just about me, I could handle going in blind, I'd still disagree with teaching that way, but I've fought blind before. I can do it again. Issue is…it's not just about me, and you don't understand; you won't get it unless you see what's at stake, and the only way for you to even get a glimpse of this mess is to take a risk."

She was pacing around now, her grip on her bow tightened. He didn't need to have known her all her life to know she wasn't convinced about whatever she was going to do. Still, she was determined to follow through.

Higurashi Kagome's existence was unique. It broke the rules his world worked with; even after getting a better look at her power, the sorcerer still wasn't sure how it worked. Maybe that's why he agreed to put out his hands and let the girl put her paper talismans on his wrists. Her power settled over him. It was an odd warmth that edged the border between comfort and itchy. Stomping down on the urge to test the bindings, see how much they could take.

Healing the self-proclaimed priestess had been the excuse he used to get Shoko to his apartment, and if he was being entirely honest, asking her to check up on the girl's migraine was also something of an excuse. Out of all the impossible things that made him freeze in his tracks, it was that feeling that stood out the most in his mind. The one that tested his self-control with those opposing desires. He needed to know if someone else could feel what he had. But the only thing the doctor felt was an unsettling urge to retreat when Miss Archer's reiki shot back. That said, Shoko only ever used the reverse cursed technique, and she didn't have a wealth of energy either. As far as he knew, there was still a chance other sorcerers would react to her energy in the same way he did. Back in the mall, she was confident the special grade would chase after her once she stopped hiding her presence. He hadn't thought much about it until now, but he'd felt it again twice already. When she fired those arrows of hers, charged with enough energy to exorcise that curse to bring down the curse user they'd rose to the surface once more.

And that feeling was coming back now.

"The Shikon is not something that can be controlled. Just sealing it won't stop it either." Soft pink was gently swirling around her form. "It's…insidious, pervasive, even if it can't break the seal itself, it will reach out, looking for someone to break its bindings…after three years of facing powerful demons, ogres, and everything you can imagine, we found one daiyoukai able to hold a shard without being influenced, and that was only for a short period of time, who knows if that would've lasted.

"So we had to be careful." The girl sighed. It was a tired and weary sound. "The seal we used is twofold. One part keeps it chained to my soul; it fully restraints it, that one's not going anywhere." Her gaze was locked on his, and again, it felt like she was seeing more than he could. "The second part is focused solely on hiding its presence, even dormant as it is, its nature won't change…so do try not to move."

Before the sorcerer could ask for clarification, he felt the surge of her spiritual energy. Just as before, the urge rose. A need to harm, to possess, contradictory desires gnashing at his entrails. It didn't fade after an instant this time, pooling within him as her energy lifted the locks of that second part of the seal. Tendrils of pink whirled around her, surrounding her frame. It was certainly unique…and then, it changed.

He felt it the moment it happened.

Living and enticing, voiceless whispers swam inside his head, swallowing his urges, drowning out everything else. All it wanted was to be heard, to be obtained. His fingers itched. His skin burned when they moved, and Satoru blinked, his gaze finding focus once more, seeing the energy swirl and start to darken in the center of the girl's chest, turning into a shade closer to violet. Still somehow hidden, suppressed by Kagome's power chaining it down, but undeniably there. It was reaching out, a lazy attempt that he could easily shrug aside now that he was aware of it.

Gojo Satoru was the strongest, and he really had no clue how a weaker sorcerer might feel about the siren call the cursed relic gave out. He had less of an idea of how a curse would react.

"These domain expansions of yours." Her voice caused him to startle, earning him a slight shock from her binding. Something she appeared to notice since she began to warp her energy around the relic once more. "They don't just transform our physical surroundings, do they?"

"It's less about our surroundings and more about a sorcerer creating their own personal dimension with their cursed energy inside a barrier, pulling on a person's soul's is more a byproduct than the intended purpose." Still a simplified explanation, but it would do for now, it had to, because a part of him felt incredibly disorientated.

"Yesterday's curse tried to get a hold of my soul, and once the Shikon is complete, it will use that moment to ensnare whoever or whatever casts that thing." The pink of her energy began to fade, taking the whispers with it, leaving behind only those lingering urges. "That stupid bauble breaks my seal... your cursed energy won't be able to imprison it again…I need to know what I'm dealing with, Satoru."

"Aside from domain expansions, not a lot of people have regular attacks that can directly target a person's soul. That said, no one starts a fight with a domain expansion. Sure, it's a guaranteed hit, but it's too taxing for most people to risk using it and failing." Satoru forced himself to blink, trying to find his footing once again.

"A guaranteed hit that can fail?" Skepticism dripped from her words. "Wait…that thing yesterday was supposed to be that dangerous?"

"You can fight fire with fire. A stronger domain expansion will cancel the weaker one, and there's the simple domain, those keep you safe from the effects as long as you can keep it up. Figured your barriers would work the same way," he said with a shrug.

"Right…"

Unamused, the girl removed the talismans on his wrists. He could feel her power lifting from his frame. The feeling lingered on his skin. Relief and longing battling for a moment as he gazed at her. She looked more tired now, as if opening and putting back even part of the seal tired her more than the fight had. And she knew the sort of effect it would have…she also knew he could've broken her restraints, had he really tried, she wouldn't have been able to react in time. But she did it anyway.

Satoru bit his tongue as he followed the young woman out.

When he heard about this jewel of hers, the sorcerer simply equaled it to Sukuna's fingers, annoying power boosters that'd probably attract the wrong type of attention if word ever got out. Truthfully, he'd mostly dismissed the whole thing. It was sealed, and as long as he kept Miss Archer alive, he wouldn't need to worry about the bauble. He'd been wrong. And suddenly, he could understand why Kagome had been so pissed off yesterday.

Insidious was a good word to describe what he felt earlier.

No one, not even him, could destroy Sukuna's fingers.

Boosting a curse's power was a troublesome trait, but what truly made them dangerous was the fact that they could be used to bring back the King of Curses. That said, he and a few others were able to seal the damn things. Collecting them was important, and he'd already been sent on a couple of finger-related missions, but for the most part, it was out of sight, out of mind. Headquarters was full of a bunch of greedy, cowardly assholes, but they were good at keeping things locked tight. For a cursed object to be sealed, all that was needed was a decent talisman and a competent sorcerer. Of course, since her jewel didn't originate in this reality, his Six Eyes couldn't dissect it either. In this situation, his only choice was to trust Kagome's own assessments, and if she was about this world's power basically feeding the relic…there were too many ways for it to escape.

He'd planned to fill the afternoon with physical training anyway. One of Yama-sensei's cursed dolls was waiting for them together with the rest of the unpacked boxes he'd shipped to the new house.

One thing was absolutely clear though…a full reassessment was in order.

"Something wrong?" Kagome was panting, keeping up, but she managing to look at him.

"Why would there be?" Iridescent blue glanced at the orange sky, away from the message in his phone. "No problems here, other than your form; you're getting sloppy."

"Clearly, whatever you just checked annoyed you. Also, is this really necessary, I don't —

Miss Archer yelped, not quite dodging the freaky bear's punch.

If he was honest, the girl was a far better fighter than he'd initially given her credit for. When unbothered by the exhaustion of fighting and healing others for hours on end, Kagome's powers were up to the task, and her reaction time was decent enough, almost instantaneously forming whatever she needed as long as she perceived the danger. He still wasn't sure how effective she was regarding energy usage with her technique, of course; regardless, that could wait for later.

Not all her barriers blocked the physical aspects of the attacks sent her way. Meaning she'd be vulnerable to faster enemies, and anyone who realized what her weakness was would use cursed energy to enhance their physical abilities to go after her. That's why he'd gone to Yama-sensei and asked for a training doll last night, and she'd been fighting for the last couple of hours.

Apparently, his earlier string of explanations was enough to earn him some version of forgiveness. Either that or Kagome was too distracted by trying to navigate the new house to remain angry at him. In any case, she'd let him hang around in the kitchen while she cooked for lunch because fighting off monsters is no excuse to be lazy. For all her lack of amusement, she didn't complain when he explained what their afternoon schedule would be like after securing the area with a mix of their barriers that had, thankfully, blended well.

"Will you turn this thing off?!"

"Yer doing…not great, but somewhat decent." Physical combat was going to have to be a priority. "Multitasking is a great skill to have, you know."

For a regular civilian with no cursed energy, she was faring better than expected. Her experience from her memories of battling those demons was shining through. She knew how and when to dodge. Her movements, however, betrayed the inexperience that came with never having fought with this version of reality; her body was struggling to keep up with her mind's orders. Though even if her condition had remained the same as in her memories, it still wouldn't be enough. Not when dealing with curses and curse users. There wouldn't be enough time to fill the gaps in her defenses, but Satoru was confident there was a way to make things a little more even in the mid-term future. After all, even if equaling the jewel with Sukuna's fingers had been a mistake, there was something he wasn't wrong about. Whether her world had the concept or not, Higurashi Kagome was a vessel, and vessels could use the power of the curses they sealed.

They'd have to be more careful about it, and he wasn't sure if she could achieve the same results as a sorcerer, but at least she should be able gain enough power to react to incoming attacks, regardless of the speed of her opponent.

Of course, that said, there was something more interesting in what she said just now.

"Get this thing away from me, or I will fry it." Okay, that was more than just an empty threat.

"You'd break one of Yama-sensei's presents? That's cruel, Kagome-chan." He grinned but went to grab the plush by its head, sending a pulse of cursed energy to deactivate it. "But we can take a break."

"We?" Indignation dripped from that one syllable.

Huffing, the young woman walked to the trees she'd left a supplies bag by, and let herself fall down. She groaned as she took out a water bottle and took a sip while grabbing a towel. Definitely tired and bruised, but it really wasn't too bad. Following suit, Satoru sat down in front of her with one lazy motion.

"I really shouldn't be this tired." Ah, so that's what she was frustrated about.

"Were your demons stronger then?" He asked, pretending not to notice.

"Just how weak do you think youkais are?" Now the girl sounded mildly offended as she sent a weak glare his way. "Sure, a bunch of them are canon fodder, but if that was all, it wouldn't have taken us three years to get the stupid thing back." Kagome shook her head. "What bothered you, then?"

"How are you so sure I'm upset?" It was curiosity that pushed his questions, not his deflecting.

"No matter how much control you have over your facial expressions, you still feel them, you know," the girl said, rolling her eyes but threw him a bone. "I told you I'm not easy to fool."

"You're seeing something, aren't you?

When they first met, she'd stared at him for a moment; he'd done the same, so he didn't think too much of it, but she'd repeated the action after she first woke up. And both times, he got the feeling Kagome was looking at something, as if her gaze was seeing through him. She'd also pegged the old bastards fairly quickly. It could be that she was simply good at reading people, but perhaps there was more going on than he thought. This world was full of people who could see what others couldn't, and the priestess already admitted there were ghosts here, too. Things Satoru couldn't see.

Once more, the girl was looking at him.

"I suppose you can say that," the girl said with a sigh. "Every living being has a soul. Some of us can see a visual representation of it. That said, it's not like I can tell if someone's lying or not, and emotions are more than a single color, but I've seen enough to be decent at identifying them, and there's no hiding fluctuating feelings."

"And that's how you can sense where someone who uses cursed energy is and tell them apart from regular people." It wasn't a question.

"Unless you're hiding behind a barrier, you can't exactly mask your soul," she said before correcting herself. "And if you can, that in itself is a neon sign that they're not just an average person."

"Oh~ What do I look like?" Again, his curiosity was genuine.

"Like another overpowered jerk I know." Despite her words, she was smiling as if remembering a fond memory. "Trustworthy enough…but you still haven't answered my question."

"Our esteemed leaders have decided on a date." Carelessly, he threw his phone in her direction.

"….barely four days huh…."

Not an unexpected response from the elders.

Five days was more than he expected as it was, and internal division was more than likely the only reason they got this much time in the first place. What bothered him was the name under the location for the task. The last thing the elders would ever do was pick someone neutral, let alone favorable, but they really went for the worst they could find. Even within the Zenin family, Naoya was particularly hateful. Just as greedy and cowardly as the others but somehow even more of a narcissist than those in the council, the guy was everything Satoru hated from the jujutsu society, all rolled into the form of an especially gross individual. No matter how things went tomorrow, this asshole would try to interfere as soon as he realized Kagome wasn't a weak non-sorcerer. Satoru never bothered to learn if the Zenin upstart viewed his clan's late, shameful little not-secret with the same distaste as the others. Whether he'd try to destroy her or covet her, it'd be a toss-up.

And Zenin Naoya was fast.

"Fine, better to get it out of the way sooner rather than later." Kagome frowned, throwing his phone back to him. "But I don't think getting two days less is worth the drama."

"You're calling me dramatic?"

"Do you hear yourself?" Disbelief dripped from her words. "If it can mess with the Shikon, I need the information."

"Compared to the old bastards, that guy is an even bigger piece of trash. If you can keep a barrier around you at all times, do so."

"Great," she groaned, letting her back rest against the tree trunk. " One week without someone trying to kill me was too much to ask."

"And I'm the dramatic one?" Satoru snickered.

With a lazy motion, the girl threw her towel at him, the fuzzy fabric hitting the empty space beside his head. She hadn't been aiming at him, and she really didn't seem concerned at all. Learning she was being targeted was just another day in her life. If she hadn't almost snapped at him earlier today, he would've thought her overconfident. Confident, even. Miss Archer was way too wary for that to be true. She was the right type of crazy to survive in this world.

It'd be okay.

The elders didn't know how to target her.

Mysterious little Miss Archer could handle whatever the old bastards decided to throw at her. As for Naoya…interfering with the test would invalidate it, but the council would turn a blind eye to whatever the Zenin chose to do while keeping Satoru's hands as tied as they could, but that wouldn't stop the him from getting to that asshole the second he crossed the line. The head of the Gojo clan, the strongest sorcerer alive, wouldn't fail, especially not due to a cocky, entitled idiot. Once the test was over, he could focus on fully exploring what her powers were capable, and just how they interacted with cursed energy. Actually, he should probably get to teaching her the basics of jujutsu, history, and theory alike. Plus, as much info as he could on the rest of the clans, especially the assholes from the Zenins. It'd be better to start soon…day after tomorrow, and…

Iridescent blue got stuck on the black numbers innocently shining on the top of his phone screen.

Right, they met five days ago…five days ago on the last day of the month.

Originally, his plan had been to deal with the special grade from the mall, pick up a couple more missions, and then continue with his monthly schedule, but that meeting had changed everything. Encountering a being that should not be possible had been a little more overwhelming than he'd like to admit. Higurashi Kagome had been (and still remained) a mystery. An odd color he'd never seen before, and yes, he'd hyper-focused on her, though in his defense, he didn't really have a choice. The young woman was different in more ways than one; she was a puzzle he couldn't figure out even after observing her carefully, and there was so much to prepare. Dealing with Headquarters and his own clan was time-consuming, not to mention he really needed to prioritize making sure she was caught up. His thoughts kept circling back to the young woman and doing his damnest to not repeat his previous mistake.

It was only natural that he'd forget about one thing or two.

"Hey, what do you say we go out for dinner tonight?"

"Thought the plan was to keep training." Alright, she wasn't buying his easy-going attitude. "Prepare for tomorrow."

"Adaptability is an important trait, you know," he shrugged.

"Oh, I know adaptable, trust me." Stubborn seemed to be a quality of hers then. "Now spill."

"Are you looking at my soul?"

"Let's just call it aura," Kagome said, undeterred. "And I don't need to pay attention to that when our plans change all of a sudden."

Satoru bit back a wince.

It's not like he wasn't used to carrying heavy responsibilities. He was the head of one of the great three families; sure, he ignored quite a few pointless traditions, but he kept up with those that mattered. Rescue missions weren't too common, but it's not like it had never happened before. He could deal with responsibilities that's why he promised to keep the girl safe. That said, Kagome was an adult; she clearly knew how to take care of herself if left alone for a week, even without money….something he wasn't sure kids could generally do.

Even now, the sorcerer wasn't entirely sure why the hell he took that man's words seriously; when he'd chosen to steal guardianship from the Zenin family, he'd decided to just push it onto Jujutsu high, but he still felt a little responsible for the two brats. Regardless of the circumstances, Satoru was the one who killed the father of those children; it'd be a little unfair to ignore them until the boy entered the school. Sure, maybe it would've been better to set up an account and have a fixed amount transferred automatically every month, but that felt a little too irresponsable. He didn't want to bring the children to the pit that was the Gojo clan, and leaving them completely unsupervised meant others could buzz around them if she wasn't careful. One monthly visit to give the siblings some money and the chance to get a look at them and make sure they were still alive and kicking was the solution he came to. Probably not the best way to raise a child, but if even a portion of the rumors going around about that family were true, they would've been lucky to be abandoned on a deserted island with no supplies compared to the Zenin alternative. Especially since the girl was a non-sorcerer.

Forgetting about the monthly checkups wasn't that bad, really. He gave them plenty of money, and a week couldn't be bad enough for them to starve.

Something told him Miss Archer wouldn't see things in the same way.

"Real long story." One that he wasn't about to retell right now. "But to make it short, I may have forgotten to give the brats the money for this month's expenses."

"Brats…wait, do you have children?" Ah, he could already hear the beginnings of a scolding.

"Not exactly.." He wasn't inwardly wincing, absolutely not. "Sorta taking care of a couple of kids cause of reasons. Usually, I just give them the money at the end of every month."

"The end of every…wasn't that when we met?"

"Yep."

"And you're only remembering now?! For all the…we're leaving as soon as I take a shower, and don't think I've forgotten about your nonexistent teaching methods." Urgency drowned her anger, her movements hurried as she stood up and grabbed her things.

Aaaand she was gone.

Frustration fueling her motions, she was almost stomping her way back to the house. He was willing to bet there'd be another talk in his innocent future, this one all about caring for children and the like. She did have a younger brother, after all.

Idly, Satoru let his gaze wander to the reddened sky.

Now that he thought about it, Satoru had never lived with anyone like this before.

In the clan, even his direct family members were always too wary of offending the strongest sorcerer the clan had ever produced, and the servants bent over backward to please him, so he'd grown bored and left for the dormitory without a second thought. That said, that was closer to living on his own closer to living on his own than anything else. He rarely spent time in his room, swamped with missions as he'd been; his bedroom was simply a place to sleep in. This wasn't the case now, trying to ignore the girl's attempts to talk wouldn't work, he could already tell how determined she was. This may not be as small as his suite, but it would hardly make a difference. With one notable exception, the young woman had insisted on dragging him to eat together, absentmindedly asking about his likes and dislikes and allergies while she fumbled around with the kitchen equipment he'd never used.

Until the girl's position in the jujutsu world was solidified, he had no choice but to keep her at his side, that's why he pushed the idea of living together. It was…odd…there was a certainty that he'd be forced to get to the kitchen to act whatever the girl decided to cook for tomorrow's breakfast, that even with the extra space, he was sure to get a snarky remark for any of his antics. He was getting used to her presence at an almost alarming rate.

"What are you doing, Satoru?" Her head peeked out from the glass doors; apparently, today's outing was urgent enough for her bathroom to last less than 15 minutes. "You're already a week late."

"Not a week~" Still, he stood up.

"Are you really getting hung up on technicalities?" She was crossing the living room already. "How old are these kids again?"

"Hmmm, oldest is around ten, I think." Now that he thought about it, he hadn't checked the sister's info.

"Ten…" Oh, this time it was a genuine glare. "And they have no adult supervision?"

"Youngest one's a sorcerer, already enrolled at the high school, though there's still some years for that." He grabbed the keys to the car he almost never drove himself As he followed her to the foyer.

"Still children," she shook her head. "I shouldn't be saying that to someone who wants to be a teacher."

"You were fifteen when you started your fun adventures, right?"

"Exactly!" Wet hair almost hit him when she turned around to give him a pointed look. "And I was a mess."

"A mess wouldn't have made it this long, Miss Archer.." His grin didn't seem to amuse her, but he opened the door to the car despite the lackluster response he got.

He was definitely getting a scolding by the time they were back, oddly enough, he sort of wanted to see how that would go.

Loosing the afternoon hadn't been his original plan, but honestly, it was probably for the best. She was tired, and he needed her to be in as good a condition as possible for tomorrow's test. Resting with the brats would give her the chance to rest.

A/N: They're getting there in the whole honesty department, sort of, mostly out of necessity but progress is progress. Kagome is finally getting some answers (even if a little too simplified because of time restraints), as for Satoru he'll need a bit more time to realize he doesn't need to try to do everything on his own, but he is starting to understand he can't just keep her in the dark. Also, those two have definitely lived two very different lifestyles up until now and Satoru is not used to living with someone he can't either dismiss or ignore.

As always thank you guys so much for reading and any and all reviews/comments/criticism are greatly, greatly appreciated.