lawly

by footfungus

lawly

16. Chapter 16

Gojo doesn't know how far he is from home. All he thinks is how he always is. And how he always will be.

It was a good comfort, he guessed. Being away from home was a comfort.

Because for a time, he could imagine everything back in Tokyo was the same.

His classmates would be waiting for him at the dormitory lounge. They'd shake their heads when he'd arrive late, with that potent grimace on his lips, already griping about how boring their mission would be.

Then, after their assignment, done quickly without even breaking a sweat, they'd loiter downtown until their senpais would join them for dinner. They'd go to karaoke after and shamelessly belt out songs as if they were divas in past life.

He would stop bitching about their boring missions and weak people then. He'd just be a normal teen laughing and fooling around with everyone.

He'd look beside him and grin like an idiot, gawking one second then laughing his head off at the sight of his senpai's red face, of the angry crease on her brows as she sang a song. Then, Shoko would pinch his ear and tell him to stop tugging at their senpai's pigtail.

With a somber smile, he closes his eyes and thinks of how he thinks of them too.

Sometimes, when the day would be at its most quiet, he'd sit on a couch, lean back and think of them. Of how none of them were back home waiting for him, of how no one would be. Nanami quit sorcery. Shoko was in med school. Utahime moved to Kyoto. And Suguru was a wanted man.

Going home would be more of the same thing. Solitude and silence. Emptiness and longing.

So, this was better in the end. Being away from home, being assigned missions far too dangerous for any other sorcerer.

He closes his eyes then. And in that late evening, in some country far away from home, he leans back on a couch and waits for that ping on his phone, for that next assignment.

He hears a buzz not a second later.

Lazily, he pats around for his phone on the table beside him. And when he unlocks his phone, as he reads the mail just sent to him, his brows rise in surprise. And an amused smile meets his lips.

I dreamt about you last night.

He sits up and reads the text message again, this time with a quiet laugh, with a subtle shake on his shoulders.

You were on a sleigh drawn by unicorns. You kept yelling at everyone and chucking out sweets like it was no one's business.

You're not Santa Claus you know!

Gojo throws his head back and bursts out laughing then.

And not everyone likes sweets!

He smiles as he scrolled down.

Merry Christmas, Gojo.

Stay safe out there.

Ah. He falls back on his couch and lets his phone slip from his fingers. And with a lingering smile on his lips, he sighs and thinks that maybe, going home was best in the end.

Chapter 2: No. 12: "Take my jacket, it's cold outside."

Chapter Text

Utahime sneered at the man chortling beside her. This moron would never change, she thought with an irked twitch of her brow as she walked out of the conference room with her colleagues.

She was lodging at Tokyo then, at Jujutsu Tech, a few days into her time off attending to some personal business in town, when she received an email, first thing in the morning, requiring her presence for an impromptu meeting.

With a yawn as she walked out of her quarters, in the end, she guessed it was because Gojo finally returned from his mission last night. It was rare to have all the teachers around in the same area like this. So, she wasn't surprised that Principal Gakuganji called for a meeting.

Still groggy and only half-awake, Utahime slips on her rubber shoes by the entry way of the school's housing when she hears an irritating laugh echo from down the hallway.

And when the boisterous laughing began approaching her, her brows crease almost instantly. And her blood starts to boil.

"Utahime~!"

Urgh. She grimaced.

It was too early in the morning for Gojo Satoru.

So, she decides to ignore him. And she just keeps to herself and knots the ties on her shoes.

"Where're you off to so early in the morning?"

Utahime's brow twitches. And she lets out a frustrated sigh.

"We have a meeting, Gojo."

"Ah?"

She doesn't bother with him, this tall idiot standing behind her. She just keeps to herself and focuses on heading out for the main building where her more responsible colleagues were waiting.

"Utahime," Gojo calls to her as she stands and heads for the door. And with his hands in his pockets, he cocks his head to the side and tells her, "It's cold out."

Utahime turns to him and arches a brow, at this man whose eyes were hidden behind black shades, donning his signature high-necked black jacket and a pair of black joggers; his feet, snuggly fitted with thick white socks and a pair of black indoor slippers.

The sight of him still idly lounging around without a care in the world makes Utahime frown. Because it was her day off. And this inconsiderate man was going to drag their meeting late into the day with his tardiness.

"I know." She utters with a tilt of her head, just really tired of him by this point.

"Take my jacket," He tells her; making Utahime raise her brows in surprise, taken aback when he starts unzipping his windbreaker and pulling it off, revealing the black long-sleeved shirt underneath.

Frowning in disbelief, Utahime narrows her eyes at him and his jacket suspiciously; wary in case he was toying with her.

"Take it." Her colleague urges her with a wag of his hand, holding his windbreaker out to her.

Utahime eventually relents. And with a sigh, she takes his jacket with a simple thanks and slips it on. And, frowning, struggles with the zipper that refused to click together.

To her surprise, Gojo steps forward, his head bowed and his shades slipping down the bridge of his nose; his hair falling over his blue eyes as he stole the misbehaving zipper from Utahime; their fingers lightly touching; and he clips the hooks together for her. And, with a successful smile, he zips up his windbreaker to Utahime's chin and meets her unamused hazel eyes with the cheeky smile, and a teasing light in his eyes.

"All set." He snickers lightly; his grin reaching his eyes at the sight of Utahime's rosy cheeks nearly disappearing into his windbreaker. And the next thing he knew, Utahime pushed his hands away and left him there; with his goofy smile and a light skip in his chest.

That morning, Utahime steps out into the cold, chilly air in Gojo's windbreaker; irritated by how perfectly warm and cozy it kept her.

And, shyly, embarrassed; she turns back to Gojo with a frown tucked in her lips. And, she gives him a thankful, awkward wave goodbye before rushing through the open field and into the main building.

With her hands tucked under her arms and a flush on her cheeks, she grows embarrassed; thinking odd it felt - how close to him it made her feel, wearing his jacket. It was as though he was holding her; that she starts to wonder, finding herself pausing in the middle of the field, if his embrace was as warm as his jacket.

In the cover of the morning fog, Utahime stops in the middle of the cold, open field. And she closes her eyes, takes a careful, quiet breath, and blissfully sighs and looks up; her chest tightening in disbelief at the thought of how intoxicating the lingering scent of his cologne was.

Chapter 3: No. 16: "It's okay. I couldn't sleep anyway."

Chapter Text

When she sees him on her couch late into the evening, his back turned to her, his head in his hands, and his gaze cast down; she quietly approaches him and crouches down in front of him.

"I didn't mean to wake you." He tells her in a whisper when she pulls his bloodied hands from his face and greets him with a small smile. His blindfold was loose around his neck. His white hair fell on his face in a messy fray. And his clothes were torn up and covered in dirt, sweat and blood.

"It's okay." Utahime reassures him with that tender smile on her lips and keeps his hand in hers. "I couldn't sleep anyway."

Chapter 4: No. 58: "You don't have to say anything."

Chapter Text

"Ah - um - " She scratched her head and anxiously looked around. Her cheeks horribly flushed, flustered and at a loss of what to tell him.

"You don't have to say anything." Gojo tells her simply, with a light laugh on his lips.

His disinterest makes Utahime frown at him. But, she does start to ease up, rather thankful in the end. He never was one to care about these small trifling matters anyway.

"So," He turns to her with that smile on his lips. "You're dating, huh?"

Chapter 5: No. 28: "Drive safely."

Chapter Text

Utahime knots her brows and looks down to check her burner phone for any messages. And when she finds there were none, she knew it was her signal to leave.

"Darling, you leaving already?" The man beside her who's been shamelessly running the back of his hand against her exposed thigh asked in surprise as she made a turn to stand.

Beside her, another admirer cried in disappointment and begged for her to stay.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go." She tells the disappointed men around her with an affable laugh, leaning in when they turned away and flirting enough to calm them. She did this often during missions; use men as a cloak to blend in with any crowd.

"You are?" A voice asks from behind her.

And with that same smile, Utahime shifts on her seat. And she turns to look over her shoulder, smiling sweetly and ready to tell another one of her many disappointed admirers,

"I am." She smiles at the handsome white-haired man dipping down, leaning in over her shoulder just as she turned.

With a smirk, before Utahime knew what was happening, the white-haired stranger dips down as she turned. And he meets her lips in a kiss; sliding in his tongue with little to no warning. And with a careful hand, he cups her chin and tilts her head higher, probing deeper and tasting every corner her mouth with a delighted hum.

A second passes. And he pulls away breathless; his blue eyes dancing in mirth at the sight of the dazed hazel eyes that met the sky in his.

"Shall we go?" He rests his forehead against hers and smiles as he wipes the lipstick smearing her skin with a tender brush of his thumb.

Lightheaded, and with her heart hammering in her chest, Utahime rises to her feet and falls against this man who just chuckles and holds her against him as they walked out the casino. Outside, they are met by the valet pulling up right on time in a Ferrari.

"In you go," The unknown man whispers into Utahime's ear, guiding her with a hand over her exposed back. And she turns to him, unsure, confused; entranced, and she finds herself looking at his lips when leans down right next to her.

The next thing she knows, she's inside the Ferrari, with the door closing automatically at her side. And when they're finally on the open road, when the unknown man starts speeding through the wind, she is rudely awakened and slapped back to her senses when the man beside her, this handsome man in the tux with the white hair, starts laughing. Openly. Loudly. At her.

With his hands resting on the wheel as they cruised, with a teasing glint on his eyes and a condescending smirk on his lips, he turns to peek at her and gives her a pitying look.

"I didn't need your help after all, did I?" He tells the confused Utahime. And, with a laugh, he pulls out a small chip from inside his sleeve.

Utahime pales at the sight of the coveted device, knowing exactly and immediately what it is and what it contained. And she meets the man's arrogant grin with a vicious glare; her blood boiling in disbelief.

"Ah," He laughed at her and reached out to touch her face, only for Utahime to furiously swat his hand away. He laughed even more then. And with a tilt of his head, he smiles and asks her, "Why do we even hire you when you're this useless?"

"You - " Utahime flushed red, horribly, absolutely livid. Even more so when the insufferable man seemed to revel at the sight of her visible rage and even starts grinning at her. "You had me wait for nearly an hour?!"

This makes the man howl in laughter. And with Utahime simmering beside him, he thinks to muse out loud -

"Honestly wasn't expecting that's what you'd get mad about." He smirks at her, throwing a curious glace her way. "Means you liked the kiss, huh?"

Utahime visibly paled and started shaking in sheer rage, in utter disbelief at this man's shamelessness.

"So, can I kiss you again?" He snickers and makes another attempt at touching her face.

This time, Utahime sees red and furiously clamps down on his hand - hard; making the man laugh his head off and nearly lose control of the automobile running at the fast speed of 180 km/h.

Chapter 6: No. 88: "I'll see you later."

Chapter Text

This bastard would be the death of him. Gojo thought as he held the rope with a bite of his teeth and tightened the knot.

By the cockpit, Utahime was yelling into the headset, back at command - trying to salvage what she could from the shot controls of the freighter plane plummeting down from the sky.

"It's no use!" She yells at Gojo amid the sharp, deafening whistle of the wind in their ears. "We'll have to jump!"

Her words make Gojo seethe at the moron tightly bound by the ropes around him. This smug hacker that's been trading national intelligence from one country to the next. This treasonous ass that's been a chore tracking down. He's made Gojo run around in circles for years. And now, he decides to bring them down with him in his suicide?

He'd kill the fucker with his bare hands before they'd even hit the ground.

"It's going to be difficult." Utahime tells him, appearing behind him; her hands resting on his shoulders for support; her black hair thrown about with every shift of the wind. "Should we just leave him?" She asks her partner. This man she was so close to killing in a car crash weeks ago now. And the same man who took a bullet for her; who held her in his arms and told her she'd live amid the stab wound on her chest.

It was unthinkable back then. But she trusted this man with her life.

And oddly enough, she knew he trusted her with his. So, she helps him out and grabs the parachute stored behind a seat.

"This bastard is coming with us. After all the shit he put me through, I'm not letting him go now." Gojo spat. Then, turning to Utahime, he tells her, "I'll deal with him. Just jump when I say so."

Utahime frowns at him and shoves the parachute bag to him.

"Quit worrying about me and just get this done." She tells Gojo with an annoyed sneer.

"You want to get home that bad, huh?" Gojo laughs up at her.

"I do." She tells him unamused. "I never expected the mission to drag on for a month. And with you, no less."

"I need a break." She frowns.

"From the mission or me?" Gojo teases her with a cheeky laugh. And Utahime gives him a smirk.

"Both." She answers. And Gojo laughs his heart out at her.

"After this," He tells her as he wore the bag and secured their prisoner. "You're going on a date with me, Iori Utahime." He laughs and drags the unconscious man linked with him, preparing to jump out the plane in a tandem.

Then, giving Utahime a final glance over his shoulder, he thinks to ask her when he sees her just standing there, with a light laugh on his lips, with his brows knotting in a budding confusion,

"Where's your bag?"

Utahime just takes a step towards him and laughs with him.

"I'll see you later, Gojo." She chuckles and pushes him out of the plane.

And Gojo falls. Falls fast. Down the sky. With the wind blowing past, whirring and howling in his ears.

And he grows cold. He grows numb as a realization dawns on him in a horrific nightmare.

And he tries to turn. He shifts in the air with the man limp and unconscious strapped securely with him. And he pales at the sight of Utahime still on the plane plummeting from the sky and quickly disappearing in the distance.

And when he hears a sharp cry, when he thinks he hears Utahime cry out to him, he wakes and pulls on his parachute almost too late; that within seconds, he hits the ground in a painful thud and knocks his head unconscious.

Chapter 7: No. 84: "The key is under the mat."

Chapter Text

Utahime frowned at her phone as she climbed up the stairs of her apartment building.

"You can't possibly leave your apartment unattended for a week. You have a million plants."

Only because you keep giving me plants.

"Your apartment was too dull! You needed plants!"

Out of the blue. Always a plant.

You always knock on my door. With a stupid plant.

What are you? A plant pusher?

Just because you're a florist, doesn't mean you should give into the ways of plant pushing, Utahime.

"Urgh." Utahime grimaced and started groaning as the idiot on the other end of the phone kept piling on.

A plant here. Another there.

Always a stupid plant.

Why do you never knock on my door for anything else?

Utahime deadpanned and wore a sour frown. It was her own fault for messaging him and asking where he was. When he called the next second, she should've known better than to have picked up.

You know why other women knock on my door, Utahime?

Because they're in love with me.

But not you. With you, it's always a plant.

If we had children, I'm sure it would be a plant.

A family of plants.

It would be an unending rain of plants with you.

Could people die from an overdose of oxygen?

Because that's all I have in my apartment.

Because I have a million plants there. A million.

It's like I've got the Amazon there.

You know why, Utahime?

Utahime massaged her headache.

Because I have a million plants. A million.

"Gojo."

Hm?

"Shut up." She tells him simply. And she frowns when the fool on the other end starts laughing.

The key is under the mat. He tells her between wheezes of laughter, right as she stopped in front of his door.

With a sigh, then a fond smile, Utahime bends down, picks up the key to her neighbor's apartment and tends to his many, many plants.

Chapter 8: No. 22: "It's not heavy. I'm stronger than I look."

Chapter Text

Utahime cries in disbelief and frantically runs to him, to the cute nine-year old carrying a heavy box of books.

She and her cousins were clearing out a storage room when Satoru appeared out of thin air and started lugging around boxes with them.

"Give it here!" She told the young boy in distraught, this small city boy with the sapphire eyes and the white hair visiting her family compound in the province, this boy not of her blood but adored and loved like a younger brother, even when they just got acquainted that same week.

Her cousins were just the worst! Making a cute, tiny nine-year old lug around boxes when he was their guest!

"It's not heavy." Satoru frowns when Utahime starts pulling at his arm, then at his hoodie, trying to stop him. "I'm stronger than I look."

"I'm the onee-san here! I'm older! It's my responsibility to look out for you!" Utahime huffs at him. And she takes the box from the miffed boy.

With a frown, the middle schooler could do no more than follow behind this girl who kept claiming she was his onee-san, when she wasn't, when he didn't want her to be. And with a frustrated flush on his cheeks, he thinks of how he wanted nothing more than to turn a few years older overnight.

"Satoru-kun,"

Satoru raised a brow at the flushed girl holding a box slowly slipping from her fingers...

"It's pretty heavy after all, ne?"

Satoru scratched his head...

"But, I can do it!" She huffed and heaved the box to secure it in her arms. "I can do it!"

With a sigh, Satoru scratched his head and thought of wanting nothing more than to turn a few years older overnight. Because maybe then, Utahime would stop calling him her otouto. Maybe then, she'd stop seeing him as a child and let him look out for her too.

Chapter 9: No. 18: "Here, drink this. You'll feel better."

Chapter Text

"How are you the strongest sorcerer when you can't even hold your liquor?" Utahime frowned as she tried to soothe him with a tender run of her hand up and down her kouhai's back.

The idiot wanted to outdrink Nanami for some reason, when he very well knew the man could outdrink them all any time, any day. So now, here they were, here he was, puking his guts out into the toilet bowl.

"You really should stop going with me and Nanami when we drink out. You're such a lightweight."

"There's no spirit out there you can drink, ne?" She chuckles teasingly.

"Leave me alone, Utahime."

Utahime knots her brows, surprised and offended by Gojo's cold tone; when she was just trying to help him out.

So, with a frown, with a scowl on her face, she does as he asked and leaves.

Gojo could only glare at his shaking hands then; at the stupid alcohol that just never sat well with him; at stupid Nanami and Utahime who always went out and drank together.

With that potent glare on his face, he sits on the cold, tiled bathroom floor, hunched over the toilet, lightheaded and buzzed; his senses a total mess, his Six Eyes seeing everything in a nauseating disarray. And for a while, he rests his head on the toilet seat and dozes off.

He comes to later in the night. At someplace that wasn't the restroom of the bar he had been puking in. On someone's bed, inside someone's room dimly lit by the yellow light of a lampshade.

"You're awake."

He knots his brows in confusion when he turns and finds Utahime beside him.

"Here, drink this." She picks up the glass on the bedside table and helps him up. "You'll feel better."

"Hm." Gojo nods stiffly, taking the glass and chugging down every drop of Utahime's hangover elixir. He leans into Utahime's embrace then; lightly resting his head against the crook of her neck and closing his eyes. And they quietly wait for his hangover to pass.

Chapter 10: No. 50: "I think you're beautiful."

Chapter Text

Utahime sneers at her reflection in the mirror.

"This scar will be an eyesore."

"It will?" Gojo appears behind her, carrying her bag in his hand. "I think you're beautiful." He tells her honestly with a thoughtful purse of his lips.

Utahime couldn't help but laugh at him right then, floored and in utter disbelief.

"You know," She turned away from the body mirror that circled around her, "You're not at all like what Suguru said you'd be."

Gojo arched a brow at her and cocked his head.

"Why? What did the bastard tell you?"

Utahime laughed at the annoyed expression on his face, at the cold bite in his tone. This man could easily be as scary as he was beautiful.

"He said a lot actually." She chuckles at the twitch on his eye. And, with her hazel eyes dancing in mirth, shaking in laughter, she tells him, "Basically," Her eyes drift away, playfully, teasingly. "He said you were a huge ass."

"And that I should always be on guard."

When Utahime turns back to Gojo, she bursts out laughing at the potent scowl that plagued his face.

"That bastard knows shit."

"Can you stop calling your best friend a bastard?" Utahime frowned down at him from her little platform, bunching her thick, puffy white skirt with her as she stepped down to glare at the tall man she roped the last minute to accompany her on her fitting.

"I can call him whatever I want." Gojo frowned back at her, at this woman who was a good foot shorter than him. And yet, she'd so easily and so bluntly scold him and call him names like it was her life's mission or something.

"He's my fiancé too." Utahime smacked his arm. And with a sneer, she held out her open palm at him. "Pay the fine." She tells him. "Bride's orders."

Gojo grimaced at her then.

This was the most unjust settlement in the world. She gets to hit him and take his money with every little thing he said that offended her? What a pain.

Still, he gets his wallet, pulls out a 5000¥ bill and hands it over. And before he could gripe and grumble, this woman, - who his friend met and fell in love with overnight, just months ago, in some temple on the route of his yearly pilgrimage - she opens her own wallet and takes out a 1000¥ bill.

"Here."

Gojo arches a brow when she places the 1000¥ bill on his hand.

"That's your change," She smiles at him. "Since you complimented me earlier."

Gojo scratches his head then.

"I don't need it." He leans closer and tries returning it. "I just said what I thought."

He meets her gaze.

"I think you're beautiful." He tells her again, honestly, squarely. To him, he was just stating a fact; that to him, she was beautiful.

And when she pulls out another 1000¥ bill, he starts laughing at her.

"Stop saying that." Utahime tells him. "I'm losing my winnings here."

"You're beautiful, Utahime."

Utahime frowned at him. And again, she pulls out another 1000¥ bill.

"Not another word." She glares at him with a flush on her cheeks.

"You're so beautiful." He tells her again. And revels at the redness of her cheeks. At the knot on her brows. "When we first met, all I could think of was how beautiful you were."

"Ha!" Utahime shakes her head laughing at him. And she pulls out two 1000¥ bills. "Are you happy now? You got it all back in the end." She gives him a snarl. But then laughs the next second.

This just makes Gojo laugh even more. And with a scratch of his head, he looks away, stuffs his money back into his pocket, and wonders for the millionth time - just why his best friend had to get engaged to this annoying woman; why, of all the women out there, did he have to fall in love with her.

Chapter 11: No. 67: "I did the dishes."

Chapter Text

Utahime closes her eyes, tired from the cold.

And she remembers back to those years long ago. She was at a wedding of a friend. She was laughing with a drink in her hand. With a beautiful dress draping her soft curves, her face bright and made up. She was radiant back then, smiling, happy, and carefree.

She'd look around and smile at the stolen glances she'd find herself sharing with the charming man sitting across from her. They'd share a laugh too, a conversation, a couple of drinks, and her heart would start to flutter at the sight of him so close to her.

She'd walk around the reception, with her eyes dancing in mirth at the sight of everyone blissfully happy.

And her eyes would fall upon a board. This panel displaying a collage, a collection of pictures shared by the night's celebrated couple.

A set of their photographs taken over the years.

Of their first meeting. Of their many dates. Of their engagement.

These images.

Utahime smiles amid the cold air that filled her.

She's seen them before. She's seen this fantasy so many times before.

This is what normal people do, right?

She thought then with a small, curious smile on her lips.

Get married. Start a family. And surround themselves with people they love. With people who love them.

"Utahime,"

With that smile, her gaze drifts to the dance floor, to the happy couple laughing with their friends surrounding them, trying to get their first dance right.

Utahime laughed with them then, with a hand over her lips, with her eyes tearing up from laughing.

These ridiculous friends of hers had always been a rather childish, immature pair. Fighting one second then laughing the next. It was difficult to think that they've promised their lives to each other in a most solemn vow, in the greatest commitment between any two people.

So in the end, maybe they weren't so immature, maybe they weren't so childish.

Maybe they were just two good friends so in love with each other, that it didn't matter how anyone else saw their relationship, that it didn't matter what anyone else thought.

To them, they loved each other. And they knew it.

That alone was enough for them.

They weren't rich. They'd fight over the dishes. They both had to work to get by. And they'd both always be busy.

But at the end of the day, they'd come home to each other.

And that was enough for them.

She was happy for them. Utahime thought then. Utahime thought now.

She was glad that in some way, even though no one would know, she had fought to keep their dream alive. She was glad that in some way, she helped secure a life, a future for them.

So, it wasn't so bad. This cold feeling that slowly washed over her.

"Utahime," She couldn't hear him. This quiet voice next to her ear. "Don't go. Not yet."

She couldn't feel it. His fingertips grazing the side of her cheeks.

There was nothing but this cold air. Nothing but this stillness that consumed her as her life pooled out of her body.

Dying alone wasn't so bad, she thought then; knowing that in some way, she helped keep the dreams of so many people alive; knowing that they were surrounded by the people they love. By the people who love them.

So, as she dies there, lying cold and limp in the tight embrace of a man whose face was hidden beneath the dark shadows of the night, of the smoke that surrounded them, their figures outlined only by the flickering light of the burning flames and the soft light of the full moon above, she thinks herself perfectly content.

That even though she was alone. There was a family somewhere, a couple, a group of friends, who were happy because she chose sorcery. Because she chose to fight.

Even though she would never know love, even though she would never get married and start a family; even though she'd so rarely be surrounded by people she loved, by people who loved her; in the end, she thought it enough - that she was able to help secure a future for them.

Chapter 12: No. 87: "I saved you a seat."

Chapter Text

The second she walked into the room, his annoying voice is first to greet her.

"Utahime~! Over here!"

Utahime frowned, turning to the man on the couch.

"I saved you a seat." Gojo grinned, shamelessly patting on his lap. "Come on. No need to be shy~!"

Utahime flushed red. And Shoko had to hold her back from digging her boot into the moron's head.

Chapter 13: No. 89: "I noticed."

Chapter Text

"I just got dumped." Gojo groaned, dropping his lunch baggie on the table and falling on the seat next to his senpai.

"I noticed." Utahime didn't bother glancing at him and just continued eating her lunch.

"She was pretty too." He continued griping, dipping closer, making sure Utahime saw the potent, irritated grimace on his face. "But she just kept saying the stupidest shit."

"Really?" She couldn't care less.

"Kept saying I should stop hanging out with you." He laughed dryly. "Told her to get her head out of her ass."

Utahime finally turned to him with a scoff. "You called her an ass, and you're surprised she dumped you?"

Gojo shut up and frowned at her.

"You're an idiot."

Chapter 14: No. 99: "Be careful."

Chapter Text

She wound her arms tightly around his neck, closed her eyes and buried her face in his jacket. The smell of his cologne was light and sweet. His embrace was warm and strong.

Flying with him always calmed her. Because for a few seconds, she felt like him - untouchable and beyond the reach of men.

"Be careful." Gojo scolds her in a quiet whisper as they ascended into the sky. "That curse almost got you."

"Ah." Utahime breathed in and held on.

One of these days, her CT would leave her defenseless again. And he wouldn't be around to save her.

So, he was right.

She had to be careful.

Chapter 15: No. 98: "Take a deep breath."

Chapter Text

"It's okay, Utahime." He wiped back her hair and the sweat pooling on her forehead. "Just take a deep breath." He whispered into her ear and held her hand in his.

"Okay, now push."

Utahime nearly fainted. But she had to check. She had to look up and check if everything was all right.

Knotting her brows, she looks around her and sees the surprised faces of everyone in the room. Even her husband was dead silent.

"Your child..."

Her heart plummeted.

"Oh, my god, what is it?" She couldn't bare it. She was so close to fainting. But she had to know. God, she had to know.

All her obstetrician does is lift their newly born son for her to see, to understand their shock.

And that same second, Utahime stills and gawks at the sight of her son before her.

"Why - " Her eyes were wide in disbelief. And Gojo started shaking beside her. "- Why does he look exactly like you?!"

Gojo falls, clutching his shaking guts. And finally bursts and starts howling in laughter.

Chapter 16: No. 97: "I'll pick you up at the airport."

Chapter Text

"It's all right." Utahime spoke, turning the wheel and taking the next turn back to the highway. "I'll pick you up at the airport."

She hears her director's laugh from the speakers of her car. And she smiles when he tells her, "You don't need to, you know."

"I didn't hire you to be my chauffeur."

Utahime smirks, keeping an eye out for her exit.

"And yet, I've been lugging your sorry ass out of every five-star hotel in Tokyo."

"It's not my fault my parents keep setting me up!"

"That's because you're ancient!" Utahime laughed.

"I'm only twenty-eight, Utahime."

"You really should settle down already, Satoru." Utahime laughed and turned to her exit. In the distance, she sees the airport. "It'll get lonely when you're still single come my age."

"Should I just marry you, then?"

Utahime's face visibly soured.

"I'm taking your silence as a yes."

And she slows down, seeing her boss waiting outside with his luggage. Stopping in front of him, she rolls down a window and meets his cheeky grin with a potent frown.

"Hey," Gojo greeted her with a smirk as he leaned into the open window. "My fiancée's come to pick me up~."

With a grimace, Utahime locked the doors the very second Gojo puts his hand on the knob. And when her imprudent director starts yelling for her to unlock the doors, she ignores his angry cries and covers her laugh with a hand.

Chapter 17: No. 26: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

Chapter Text

Suguru taunted him with a chuckle, his arms tight around her waist.

"Haven't you always wanted to do this?" He rises from her lips with a smirk. His fingers grazing her soft lips, his hand ghosting over the side of her face. His lips, his tongue, tingling and wet and warm.

He could still taste her. Salty, but there was an undertone of sweetness there. And he thinks he rather liked it.

"And to think I beat you to it." He chuckled and wiped his lower lip with a swipe of his thumb.

"You really have to try getting it together one of these days, Satoru."

Gojo's energy spiked in errant, vicious waves. Far too potent that Suguru, Kenjaku, whoever the fuck he was - started to feel a fear chill the air around him.

But he just laughs. He just chuckles and taunts the man glowering in the distance, his fists clenched, his blood simmering, his rage overwhelming him.

"Or you just might miss your chance." Suguru smiled down at him and tenderly embraced the unconscious woman in his arms.

She was so soft. And she smelled so sweet. He thought as he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

He's always loved toying with the powerless like her. This woman limp in his embrace. This woman who had the gall to unseal Gojo Satoru in front of him.

Chuckling, he wondered then if he should kill her in front of him, this man blinded with rage, this man whose woman he could so easily crush in his arms.

Utahime,

Gojo clenched his fist and took a step forward.

I'm sorry. He spoke to himself as he advanced down the distance between him and Suguru.

I didn't mean to drag you into this stupid game.

But I'll get you out.

I'll get you out.

Chapter 18: No. 3: "No, no, it's my treat."

Chapter Text

When the waitress comes, Gojo just pulls out his card. And Utahime and her date quickly reach for their wallets. Utahime didn't want to owe Gojo. And her date didn't want to be upstaged. He wanted to show off to Utahime too.

"Please take my card instead." Utahime's date beat her to it and offers the waitress his card.

Confused, the waitress looks at the card being offered to her, then at Gojo's card in her hand; not really sure what to do.

Gojo just laughs it off. And with a wave of his hand, he tells Utahime's date,

"No, no," He wags a hand, leans back on his seat and smiles. "It's my treat tonight." And he gestures for the waitress to just use his card; that it's settled with their party.

Utahime frowned. And her date was not happy. But Gojo doesn't mind them and just turns to share a laugh with his date.

Chapter 19: No. 54: "I made reservations."

Chapter Text

She didn't like this man.

He was in smiles and laughing. But she could tell he was genuinely pissed off.

"I'm telling you, you never made a booking with us." She repeated to the man on the other side of the counter. This man towering over her with an irritated knot on his brows amid the smile on his face.

"I did." The man gritted his teeth and slammed a torn piece of paper on her table. "I made a reservation months ago."

Utahime glanced down at the small piece of paper on her counter. And she scoffs in disbelief; she bites back a laugh when she just finds a barely legible scribble on it, saying, 'Order wedding cake.'

"That's not a receipt, sir." Utahime thinks to tell him in case he didn't know. This annoying man was too pitiful, she shook her head at him and tried to hide a condescending laugh.

"I know." The man's eye twitched. And Utahime rather liked seeing this man slowly crumble into pieces in front of her. He's been holding the line up for a while now that her assistant had to tend to the patrons behind him. He was too headstrong. Too stubborn. She's already told him over and over again that he didn't make the reservation.

"We need a receipt, sir."

The man let out a heated sigh.

"I know."

Utahime honestly didn't know what to tell him at this point.

"I made a reservation. I did. I just lost the stupid receipt. Check your bookings. Your logbook. Check anything. I made a reservation. I did."

Utahime frowned at him. He was relentless, shameless, and too annoying. Heavens they would never have let him book them to make his wedding cake. She'd never work with him, no matter how sweet his bride would be. No. Never. She was certain. So absolutely certain this man didn't book them to bake a five-tiered cake for a wedding happening in two weeks. No, sir.

She was so sure, she takes the thick file tucked neatly under her counter. And she humors him and starts flipping through her bookings and to the list of reservations for October 12th.

And she laughs in satisfaction as she turns the book around to him.

"See." She points out to the man leaning down the list of reservations, this man who leaned down with her over the logbook and accidentally knocked the top of her head with his. It hurt. Bonking their heads hurt. But they were too engrossed in their hunt to care. Too determined to win and smugly show the other off. The both of them so certain, so sure that they were right and that the other was a walking buffoon; well, Utahime thought so.

"Only one reservation. For the Ieiri/Geto wedding." She smirks in victory.

But when she looks up, she's taken aback by the satisfied grin on the man's face. And she grimaces when he starts to snicker.

"I told you I made a reservation!" He suddenly jumped into the air, making Utahime pale and narrow her eyes at him in disbelief. No. She wasn't an idiot. He couldn't have made the reservation. No. No. No.

"God, I thought I didn't! Those two would've killed me!"

"But you're..." Utahime massaged her headache. "You've been saying Gojo and Gojo and Gojo! You've wasted both our time by saying the wrong name, you. moron!"

The man just kept laughing in front of her.

And he starts leaning on the counter and picking random pastries and cookies and dropping it in front of the livid Utahime.

"This entire time, you were talking about someone else's wedding?! And giving me your name?! What's wrong with your head?!"

The man just shook and snickered and added to his pile of sweets as Utahime kept yelling his ear off.

"You're such a headache, you know?!"

The man just kept laughing. And then, with his grin, he tells her quite happily, "I guess I win in the end." He chuckles at the baker's flushed face. "I'm taking these too." He pushes the baked goods towards her.

Utahime frowned at the large pile of pastries in front of her. This man wasn't going to eat all this on his own, was he? She sneered.

"And while you're at it," Utahime turns to frown at the smiling man. "I'll have a date too."

And she could only glower at the annoying man in disbelief and start angrily punching at the cash register.

Chapter 20: No. 95: "Good luck."

Chapter Text

Utahime couldn't help but frown at her kouhai beside her.

"Isn't that Kento's phone?" She arched a brow when he just answers her with a cheeky snicker. "What did you do, Gojo." She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"What?" He gave her an innocent look. "I'm just helping a brother out."

"Gojo." Utahime hissed.

The next thing she knew, Gojo was leaning against her and showing her Nanami's inbox. She was going to hit him for so shamelessly breaching their kouhai's privacy again, but her curiosity got the best of her. That before she knew it, she was reading through long exchanges he had with a certain Ito Nagisa.

The most recent exchange, timestamped around early night last night, talked about them meeting up at her school festival in a couple of days. About how her class was going to run a cafe. About how she'd wear a cute waitress outfit. The guy's outfits were so cute too! You'd look great in them too! She said with a laughing/blushing emoticon. But I'm sure your school uniform is cool too!

To which Nanami replied, I wouldn't. And it isn't. It's just a plain uniform. He tells her. And he ends the conversation with how he was looking forward to their meet up.

Then, Nanami received a text that morning from Ito Nagisa, saying how she couldn't wait to see him too! She also asked if he'll be wearing his school uniform then.

I refuse to believe your school uniform is as boring as you make it out! She said with a smiley emoticon.

Gojo scrolled up, giddy and happily pressed against a deeply engrossed Utahime.

Beside him, Utahime narrowed her eyes at Nanami's next messages, sent just now, just some few minutes ago. And her eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets as she read -

There's not much to my school uniform.

But I can't wait to show you what's underneath.

And with her face horrified and red, Gojo bursts out howling in laughter near her ear, shuts Nanami's phone, and smugly chucks it on the table, very much proud of himself and his day's accomplishments.

"How - how could you think that was a good idea?!" Utahime cried in disbelief at the snickering fool beside her.

Leaning back on the couch, Gojo smirked snidely at his senpai who glowered at him. "I got a better question~."

"How could I not think that was a great! idea~?!" He threw his head back sniggering. "If Nanami plays his cards right," He laughed into Utahime's red ear. "He'll be losing his virginity this week!" He hollered and held onto his shaking guts for dear life.

By that point, all Utahime could see was red. That before she knew it, she was smacking Gojo over his infinity. And all her idiot kouhai did was taunt her even more with his snickering and laughing and pulling her into his arms and laughing some more like the moron stupid idiot ass that he was!

"I'm going to kill you, Gojo!" She screamed at him, lashing out, pulling away from his vice grip, horribly embarrassed and livid - on behalf of Nanami's friend. On behalf of Nanami - God, did she just want to kill Gojo!

"Okay, Utahime~," The bastard grinned down at her and guffawed and chortled and shook, absolutely and completely and insanely over the moon ridiculously happy. "Good luck with that!"

Chapter 21: No. 59: "Wow."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Utahime."

Utahime clenched her jaw at the sight of Gojo taking the seat next to her.

"We screwed up."

Utahime narrowed her eyes at him and threw a hand up in confusion.

"You know that text we sent?" Gojo was dead serious that Utahime narrowed her eyes and thought to hear him out. "It was to his cousin."

"What?!" Utahime bit and nearly choked on her tea.

And her hands started to shake as she massaged her throbbing headache.

"What are we going to do?!" Gojo shook the stupid phone in front of him.

"We?!" She bared her teeth at him. "Why are you roping me into your mess?!"

"My mess?! You were there! You knew what I was up to! You should've stopped me! But you didn't! And now here we are! We're screwed, Utahime! Screwed!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"You guys all right?"

Both Utahime and Gojo shut up and turn to look up at their kouhai with innocent grins; Gojo stuffing Nanami's phone under the table at the last second.

"Good morning, Haibara." Utahime greeted him warmly with a stiff smile on her lips.

"Hey~." Gojo grinned toothachingly sweetly. "How'ya doin'?"

"Not too bad." Haibara smiles at them kindly, not minding the weird tension in the air around his senpais. "Just a small problem. We're leaving on a mission soon. And we can't seem to find Kento's phone anywhere."

"Oh no~."

"Did you try the cleaners?"

Haibara's eyes lit up.

And Gojo arched a surprised, curious brow at his senpai.

"Maybe they found it?" Utahime smiles up at her kouhai. So shrewd. So perfectly calm. So cunning.

And Gojo's eyes just sparkled in complete admiration. Adoration. Completely. And utterly in love - because Utahime was just - she was just -

"Wow."

"You're so smart, Utahime-senpai! We'll give that a try!" Haibara jumped the next second and waved goodbye, dashing off to the cleaners.

And the next second, the flushed and pressed Gojo whipped Nanami's phone back out. And the two accomplices lean over it, over the table, determined to do damage control.

And when Utahime sees Nanami's inbox this second time around, her eyes bulge out in utter disbelief at the text chain that's spiraled completely out of control after just an hour alone with Gojo's stupid brain.

"What the hell did you do?!"

"I tried fixing it?! Okay?! I tried?!"

"You moron! How does saying - I was trying something new from Playboy HELP. WITH. ANYTHING?!"

"I DON'T KNOW?!"

"JUST HELP ME UTAHIME. HELP. ME."

Hands shaking in adrenaline, Utahime swipes Nanami's phone from Gojo's cold hands - not noticing how cold his hands were because her's were as equally cold. And with the speed of lightning, she types in a message and sent it without bothering to have Gojo check.

"There." She dropped Nanami's phone on the table and massaged her throbbing headache. "It's done. That should be it. There shouldn't be anymore problems."

Curious, Gojo picks up Nanami's phone and reads the text Utahime sent out.

And he just started laughing. Laughing his head off. And sighing. So fucking done and tired of himself. That he leans back and sighs and laughs and sighs again. Because fuck. It was finally over.

That was one adrenaline pumping hour!

"Hey, isn't that - "

Utahime and Gojo flinch.

And they pale.

And they look up fearfully, utterly. stupidly. horrified.

"Why... do you have my phone?"

"Uh - "

"Um - "

"IT'S ALL UTAHIME'S FAULT!"

"OMYFUCKINGGODYOUMORON!"

Notes:

Utahime's text - Sorry, my friends messed with my phone.

Chapter 22: No. 4: "Come here. Let me fix it."

Chapter Text

"Come here. Let me fix it." He told her from the edge of her bed, holding out his hand to her.

"You know how to fix alarm clocks?" She smiled at him in disbelief. But she goes to him. She gets the clock by her bedside table and walked on her knees across the bed to him.

She leans against his back and rests her chin on his shoulder, watching him curiously as he tinkered with her alarm. He popped out a few things. Stuffed some back. And the next thing she knew, it was ringing again.

"I had no idea you had life skills." She chuckles against his ear.

"Ah." Gojo nods and just hands back her alarm.

"I guess this is it then." She leans back and sits on the back of her legs. And she gives Gojo a small smile as he turns to look at her.

"You're wrong you know." He tells her quietly, with a subdued expression on his face.

Utahime could barely see him in the darkness. She couldn't fully see his face behind his hair, behind the hand that covered half of his face.

Gojo stands and picks up his shirt from the floor. And he raises his brows as he slipped on his slacks. " - I'm not fooling around."

And he gives Utahime a smile goodbye as he walked to her door.

"I really am in love with you."

"Ah," Utahime casts her eyes down.

And nothing more is said between them as Gojo left with a quiet click of the door.

Chapter 23: No. 33: "Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Utahime idly sat on a folding chair at the back of the studio. Her hands resting between her legs. Her lips pursed and her brows raised. He was pretty good, she thought as she watched the pop star suavely skid sideways across the floor in his sneakers, his oversized jacket flying beside him and falling against his side when he paused the next second, perfectly stopping with the beat of his song.

She's always found his music far too flashy.

His collaborations have always been with artists like him. Flashy and over the top.

So, when she got the call from her manager, telling her - screaming really - about how Gojo Satoru was interested in writing a song with her - scratch that - he wanted to feature you on one of his songs, he squealed - Utahime was beyond surprised. She has never worked with anyone remotely as popular as Gojo Satoru. Hell. She's never performed outside those underground concerts where everyone kept calling you the next big thing, but never really remembered your name outside that one concert.

She's opened for a few big names before, at around five or six in the evening... when there would barely be any people around. Where people didn't come until later for the bigger names they paid to see who'd show up around eleven at night.

So yeah, when she got the offer to collaborate with him, she was pretty excited.

They had made a lot of arrangements to hold joint brainstorming sessions with Gojo's team. She was honestly very excited. Nervous truthfully, because the music they created were so different, also because his popularity, his fame, his wealth, was really quite overwhelming... But she was determined! She wanted more people to hear her music! She didn't sing for herself after all. She sang to share a moment with those who cared to listen. So, she really was looking forward to this collaboration.

Then, the pandemic hit. And all their preparations were shot to the ground. They were all holed up cities away from each other. And they had to work separately.

Still! A collab was a collab!

Like everyone else, she had to make do. She had to make adjustments and be more flexible.

So, working separately, she'd give Gojo Satoru's team some verses. She'd make some mixes. Until the day came when he sent her the final song. She would never admit it, but she kept listening to his final rendition in a loop, for the longest time. It was odd hearing her more alternative flavor mixed with a pop flare. It honestly made her dance. It made her skip in her step. And at one time, while she was vacuuming, she started dancing and singing along. The song was too good! Even Shoko said she loved it, she even bopped her head along with the beat. That made Utahime laugh out loud! She's never seen Shoko do so much as sway to any music. Since their school days, they'd like to joke that something in Shoko's nervous system never quite recovered after her accident.

Months passed since then. Until she received a call from her manager. And all she could hear at the other end of the line was high-pitched screaming. By some miracle, she was able to make out - shoot - a music video - with Gojo Satoru himself. AHHHH!

She was in all smiles then, as she held her phone a foot away from her ear, from the crazed laugh-cry on the other end of the call. He was so glad!, so over the moon happy!, that something good came out of this godforsaken pandemic!

So, here Utahime was, around a year later, seated on a foldable seat, waiting to be ushered in to shoot her scenes with Gojo Satoru; while her manager mingled with every notable name around.

.

.

Finally, she's ushered next by a crew member. And, in a slim detail vest, a pair of rounding pants and Stan Smiths, and with her ebony hair falling loose over her small shoulders, she meets Gojo donning similar shades of clothing, wearing a blazer that glittered with his every move, a simple shirt, slacks that showed his ankles and dress shoes.

He looked very handsome. And not as playful and quirky as his earlier attires.

When he turns to look up at her from his choreographer, she thinks to give him a smile and gives him a demure bow in greeting, already bracing herself for his loud, booming voice, as he's greeted everyone else this whole time. He was such an odd character, she thought with a laugh.

"It's nice to finally be meeting you, Gojo-kun." She held her hand out to him, thinking maybe he was more versed with the western way of greeting when he didn't return her bow.

But he just stood there.

And Utahime blinked then. Because the man seemed to have frozen mid-greeting at the sight of her.

"Um." She didn't know what next to say when he just looks at her without speaking a single word... So, she just awkwardly ducks her head the instant they're called to stage.

.

.

Utahime arched a brow and kept herself from scratching her head in confusion at the man by her feet.

They were just dancing their routine. A simple set of quick, fluid steps really. But sometime into the song, to Utahime's shock, to everyone's surprise, Gojo slips and catches himself on the last second and lands on his knees, on the floor right next to Utahime; making everyone around them jerk up in surprise, as if ready to catch their star, each and everyone taken aback. They've never seen him trip like that outside of rehearsal...

"Are you all right?" Utahime narrowed her eyes at him and offered a hand to help him up. And she frowns when he doesn't take it and just stands on his own. With a frown, Utahime thought sourly how these big names were pretty conceited.

It honestly didn't matter to her how he'd flinch, freeze up, and sometimes miss his footing during their shoot. He's been recording videos since four in the morning. He didn't have to be salty for messing up a couple of times...

.

.

When he trips over himself for the nth time that hour... Utahime stops and stands there in confusion.

Okay. She finally scratched her head and laughed at the man by her feet. There was something wrong with him. "Gojo-san," She tilts her head to the side and chuckles as she pulled him up for the nth time that afternoon. "Are you really all right?"

"Should we take a break?"

And, she furrows her brows in surprise when she sees how red his face is.

"Are you sick?" Her face creased, taken aback, worried that he's been pushing himself the entire day when he was feeling under the weather... also... the pandemic... you're not supposed to be out when you're sick...

Still, her worry gets the best of her. And she steps closer. And as she was about to touch his face, to feel his temperature, the celebrity flinches and takes a step back.

"What - " Utahime narrowed her eyes at him in front of the entire crew. Utterly confused at the knot on his face. "What is it?"

"Do you hate me or something?" She scrunched her face at him, utterly bewildered by his odd behavior.

When he doesn't say anything and they're just standing on stage, the crew ushers them along. And Utahime narrowed her eyes when Gojo seems to have returned from his stupor and was dancing and lip singing like it was nothing.

And seeing him able to work properly when he's on the other end of the stage... and far away from her... it made her blood start to boil in disbelief...

This bastard... Utahime clenched her teeth. Did this bastard not want to be around her?!

.

.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

They're moving along with their shoot. They were on the final scene. And Utahime was determined to do this right.

So, she pulls Gojo's hands in hers and guides them over her waist. And she starts swaying her hips. And smiling, she leads him with a laugh and tells him when she feels him stiffen up against her touch, "Just ease into it and let loose with the music."

"I've seen you do it a million times earlier." She smiles up at him from behind her bangs. "So, I know you can do it, Gojo-kun."

And she finally laughs when Gojo starts to ease up, when he finally pulls her against him and they start dancing in perfect unison; perfectly complimenting each other's every movement, and finally perfectly comfortable with each other. That by the end of filming, Utahime turns to Gojo with a hearty laugh as everyone congratulated them for finally wrapping up the take.

"I told you we could do it!"

"Well," Utahime grins at him and offers a hand for a shake. "This was very fun. I guess I'll see you when the album's released."

And she beams, when finally, finally! Gojo accepts her handshake. And with her happy flush, she shakes his hand.

"I'm really thankful for the opportunity." She tells him with her warm smile and pulls her hand back.

But, as she was about to, she stiffens in surprise when Gojo just holds onto her and keeps her small hand in his.

Confused, she looks up at him. And her eyes narrow when she sees a glare on his flushed face. He really, really, reaally looked unwell. So, she asked him again, for the nth time that session - "Are you really ok - "

"Go out with me."

"What?" Utahime's face dropped. And she takes a cautious step back when Gojo takes a step closer.

"Go out with me."

Utahime flinched and tried pulling her hand away.

"What?" She leaned away when he tried getting closer.

"Let's go to dinner."

"Umm - ?" She turned around her in a panic, eyes blaring in alarm for anyone to help her. But everyone was busy packing up and her manager was laughing with the director.

"Breakfast?"

"No?!" Utahime had tears in her eyes.

"LUNCH?!"

"What the hell is your problem?!" Utahime cried, horrified by the manic glint that suddenly clouded his sapphire eyes. "Let me go!"

"Go out with me!"

"NOO!?"

.

.

.

"Are you happy with yourself, Satoru?"

"Shut up."

"Been obsessing over the woman for the past year."

"Only to scare her away in the span of a second."

"Shut up, Suguru."

"You keep bitching about your crazy fans..."

Gojo bared his teeth at his manager.

"...When you're exactly like them."

"I told you to shut up!"

"You know she'll never collab with you again, right?"

"She will." Gojo gritted. "I'll make her if I have to..."

"Satoru."

"What?" The popstar frowned at him.

"You're never allowed to speak to anyone ever again..."

Gojo sneered at his manager.

But in the end, he relented...

In the end, he figured it was probably for the best...

Him shutting up... it was probably for the best...

Notes:

Gojo's internal monologue - Focus, Satoru. Focus. *looks at Utahime once and stumbles, trips, and falls all over himself*

Chapter 24: No. 21: "You might like this."

Chapter Text

Resting his heavy head against her forehead, Gojo lifts her like she weighed nothing. He buries his nose against her neck, her hair, and drowns in her intoxicating scent. Then, he tells her in a hot, quiet breath, as he shifted her weight in his arms and slid back into her; "You might like this better."

And the next thing Utahime knew, she falls on her back in a huff; and they were in the middle of a forest - far from downtown - far from the boutique store -

"Go - Gojo - !" She let out a feral cry, Gojo digging deeper into her as they landed.

"Sorry -" He chuckled, biting his lip. Then, bending his head and resting his forehead against her shoulder, he smiles, tells her, "Don't move." and shifted. And Utahime cried when he moved and twitched inside her.

"Go - Gojo?! Ahh - " She bit back her moans and grabbed him down to her as she shook and came, unable to hold back anymore; her walls shuddering and convulsing around his cock that he grows undone with her, a deep, primal groan escaping the pit of his stomach in bliss. "Fuck, Utahime." He panted against the side of her face.

Spent, Utahime weakly glares at Gojo with her clouded hazel eyes when she starts to feel his shoulder shake, when she starts to hear him chuckling. This idiot... She sneered. He was laughing at her for cumming so suddenly...

So, she hit him. Hard on his head.

"Wait," He chuckled hoarsely, quietly against her lips, finally pulling out of her. And lightly snickering, he met her angry scowl with a kiss. "I unconsciously took us back to Jujutsu Tech."

"What?!" Utahime paled in horror. Suddenly feeling so naked and exposed.

"Just a second." Gojo laughs out loud.

And Utahime's breath is knocked out of her again, falling on a soft, cotton mattress that smelled of fresh linen this time around.

"Better?" Gojo smirks down at her.

"It's your apartment."

"It is." He humors her surprise. And laughs when she finally starts to smile.

And with a raise of her hands, with a small smile on her lips, Utahime hooks her arms over Gojo's neck and pulls him down to her. And they continue where they left off.

Chapter 25: No. 24: "Just because."

Chapter Text

"You?" Utahime couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. "You miss me?"

Gojo starts to smile up at her. "You're here with me, aren't you?"

"Urgh," Utahime frowned down at him. "You'll take anyone here with you."

Gojo's eyes widened then, surprised, wondering if he should be offended. But he decides against it. And with Utahime just frowning down at him, as she straddled him, with her hands resting on his chest, he starts to laugh. Finding their current situation odd more than anything else.

And before Utahime could stop him, Gojo rolls them over the bed, until it was Utahime under him this time. And when she finally starts to laugh, herself finding it silly, how their night played out in this weird way, he smiles down and chuckles with her.

Then, sometime in the night, they'd stop laughing. And soon, they'd start kissing. Soon, they'd be undressing each other and holding on until they're entangled and lost in each other.

And after, they'd lie in bed, with Gojo sighing against Utahime's bare neck, with his arms wrapped around her waist and holding her close.

Then he'd ask her quietly, against her ear, if she slept around a lot.

And she'd frown and bite back her answer - not as often as you.

Gojo would laugh then. And he'd say something along the lines of - I'm thinking of getting myself a girlfriend, you know.

To which Utahime would turn to him, raising a skeptical brow.

Why?

He shrugged at her.

Just because.

How do you think you'll keep a girlfriend when you're always away?

I don't know.

Don't play around with people, Gojo. She tells him stolidly. Commit to someone when you're able to commit.

It's selfish to keep people dangling and waiting around.

Gojo arches a brow at her then, taken aback.

Is that how it is? He frowned, pulling her closer to him.

Utahime scrunched her face then. And she sighs and shakes her head at the clueless idiot in her embrace.

Chapter 26: No. 13: "Sorry I'm late."

Chapter Text

Mei Mei let her guard down. She looked away one second, she eased the tension on her shoulders for an instant, for a moment as quick as a blink of an eye - and that's all it took. That's all the curse needed to speed past her and to her partner floating a few feet above ground, her arms outstretched and her eyes fogged, her senses, her entire consciousness completely lost in a deep trance as she summoned the power of the gods to possess her.

That before she could turn, before she could even flinch - the same instant Utahime's eyes shot open with a different light, with an expression not her own, the curse sliced her across her face right as her lips parted - right as a powerful cry escaped deep from within her chest and blasted the curse into a million pieces before them.

And Mei Mei could only stand in utter shock - frozen where she stood, stunned, astonished by the flash of power that overcame her one second and vanished the next without a single trace.

Then, her eyes widening in horror, she blinks; she wills her wits back into her. And she starts to run - she runs in sheer horror as blood spewed out of the deep gash on her partner's face. With her knees weak in disbelief, in dread - in fear - afraid that the worst has happened - afraid that her partner was killed - that Utahime died - and on her watch -

She ran - she dropped her axe and ran to her - with her eyes wide in shock - in dread - in panic -

No- no- no- no-

Falling on her knees and skidding to a stop, she checks on her partner, unable to find her face under all the blood that coated her skin -

"Hey~, sorry, I'm late~!"

Her horrified eyes turn to the young man idly walking into the warehouse and sniggering.

"...You guys done here already?"

And the instant he finds them on the floor, he stills. And his eyes darken. His face creased and paled in disbelief; in a deep, budding anger -

And Mei Mei - she lets out a shaky breath, her cold, trembling hands hovering over Utahime's face - not knowing what to do - what to cover up - how to stop the bleeding -

"What did you do, Mei."

She flinched at his sharp tone.

"We need Shoko." She tells the man in front of her with the dark cloud in his eyes.

"You were supposed to protect her."

"I know - " Mei Mei held her head, a guilt consuming her. "Let's just get her out - "

"You had one job."

She turned to Satoru in aghast, as he crouched down next to them; and her eyes tremble, her brows knot at him in disbelief - his venomous words, his sharp bite; unfair.

"You had one job." Satoru met her trembling gaze with his icy glare, scooping the unconscious sorceress into his arms.

"One job, Mei." His tone grew harsher with every bite.

"Satoru," Mei Mei didn't know what to tell him. "She - she blew the curse in one hit - " She held her dazed head with a cold hand. "I - I - "

She looks up at him and bites her lip, realizing that second that she's alone in the cold, empty warehouse.

Chapter 27: No. 73: "Take mine."

Chapter Text

"Where're you going?" Gojo looks up.

"I'm getting more biscuits from the pantry." She tells the man on the edge of his seat, seemingly about to stand as well. Then, she frowns when he starts squirming like a petulant child... He was the tallest man she knew. But all she'd ever see was a child who couldn't stay put for a second.

"All the way at the caf?"

"That is where the biscuits are..." She arches a brow at him, then thinks to add, "The meeting isn't for a while anyway. I might as well visit Shoko at the morgues." She muses out loud.

"Here." Gojo picks up his plate and gives it to her. "Take mine."

"Why?" Utahime narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you want them?"

"Just take it, Utahime." He nudges her with the plate, making the woman frown.

"If you're sure." Utahime relented and took his plate. And taking a step back, she returns to her seat next to Gojo.

Chapter 28: No. 2: "It reminded me of you."

Notes:

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

Chapter Text

"That man doesn't need me." She tells Shoko blankly, simply; sighing. "I don't know why I bother with him. He does whatever he wants anyway."

Beside her, Shoko lightly leans against her friend's shoulder and chuckles.

"Was it ever about him?" Shoko smiles at the sorceress by her side. And she laughs when Utahime turns to arch a brow at her and frown in confusion. "You only bother with him because you're you."

"Only you are kind enough to care even for Satoru."

"Care? About him?" Utahime grimaces at Shoko's laugh. "Why would I care about someone who's untouchable?" Then, she adds with a bitter frown. "And an idiot too."

"What's that, then?" Shoko chuckles, casually pointing to the plush toy in Utahime's hands just to prove her point.

"This?" Utahime raised the fluffy Samoyed plushie she was holding. "It just reminded me of him." She looks at Shoko's smile in disbelief at what she was implying. "Doesn't it look like him?"

Shoko laughs at her friend.

"All I see is a cute dog, Utahime."

At this, Utahime could only grimace and give her friend the toy.

"It's just payback." Utahime defends herself. "He gives me the stupidest things all the time. Once!" She raised an annoyed hand. "Once he told me to take a piece of gum and when I pulled it - a rubber cockroach landed on my thumb!"

Shoko couldn't keep herself from laughing.

"He sneaked in a Matryoshka doll into my bag once! I don't have a clue how much he paid an artist to make those dolls of him!"

"This!" Utahime raised Shoko's hands with the cute Samoyed plush toy flopping back and forth. "Is payback!"

"That is all!"

Shoko could only laugh.

And even when Utahime left with that sour grimace, bitter that Shoko just wouldn't stop laughing at her; she reminded her with a heated, pointed finger - not to forget to hand that stupid toy to the moron!

With a chuckle of her lips then, Shoko waves the plushie at her glowering friend in goodbye.

And a few days later, when Gojo drops by the morgue, his bandaged eyes widen in surprise. And he scrunches his face as he looked back and forth at the toy and Shoko.

"What's this?" Gojo asked the doctor examining a corpse. "You finally got your morgue a mascot?" He snickers.

"Oh," Shoko looks over her shoulder, pulling down her face mask. "That's from Utahime." And, she adds with a laugh. "She said it looked as stupid as you."

"Oh?" Gojo's lips started to spread into a smile. And, plopping the plushie on his broad shoulder, letting it rest on his jacket, he returns to asking Shoko about the string of curses he's come across recently.

And that whole day, he walks around campus with that plushie on his shoulder, that Hakari laughs when Kirara wastes the whole day trying to swipe the cute plushie from their sensei.

Chapter 29: No. 10: "I'm sorry for your loss."

Notes:

kiss it off me - cigarettes after sex

Chapter Text

She couldn't help but smirk when she sees him walking uphill on the sidewalk, the lights of passing vehicles outlining his tall frame with cool blue and orange. His jacket was draped over an arm. And his face was marred by a potently sour frown.

Slowing down her scooter next to him, Utahime laughs when he doesn't bother turning to her and just goes on to groan,

"Don't you start."

With a loud laugh, Utahime shakes her head at the miffed face of her stupid kouhai; as he finally stopped to turn to give her a scowl; his sapphire eyes glinting in annoyance.

"I thought you were going back to the dorms first thing in the morning?" Utahime cheekily grinned. "You went on and on about it the whoole day. But it's not even eleven, is it?" She cocks her head to the side, mocking him with her condescening laugh.

She couldn't keep it in; couldn't contain her laughter. Gojo was always so full of it. It was great seeing this prick fifteen year old brought down a peg or two. It was sad. It was disappointing. But this arrogant teen sorely needed a good dose of humility.

So, resting her arms over the head of her scooter and leaning down with a teasing smile on her lips, with that same laugh, Utahime piles on;

"You kept saying you were finally sleeping with your model who's on all those magazine covers." She sarcastically copied his haughty tone from earlier that day; when they were all in the cafeteria for breakfast and Gojo was snidely reminding them that he scored a date with a gorgeous model. Picked me up downtown when I was just standing there too! He grinned and scratched his nose proudly, earning the ire of his half-awake housemates.

"Guess you didn't make the cut after all?" Utahime laughed openly. She's long stopped bothering with politeness when it came to this idiot kid.

Gojo sneered at her. And Utahime couldn't be happier at the irritated expression on his dumb face.

"More like, her stupid boyfriend kicked me out."

"Boyfriend?" Utahime scrunched her nose. And Gojo rolled her eyes at her gullible naivety.

"Idiot girl had a boyfriend." He hissed. "Wasn't coming clean even when I clearly sensed him come in the apartment." He scratched his head, still horribly pissed by earlier's incident. Too pissed in fact that he walked back the whole way from the idiot girl's apartment to cool his head off. "Forced me into a closet too."

He clicked his tongue.

"Also fought in front of me." The first year grimaced and leaned closer, resting his arms over the railing separating the highway and the sidewalk. "Dumb headache."

"God, you know you deserve that, right?" Utahime couldn't believe what she was hearing. And she laughs at him dryly. "That's what you get for always playing around!"

"Maybe." The teen finally smirks, looking down at his senpai's pink cheeks, blue eyes settling at the quiet laugh that lingered in her red lips. The faint sound of her scooter hums in the background. "You riding back home?"

"I am." Utahime arched a cautious brow at him.

The highway was close to empty. This stretch was a long one mostly catering to Jujutsu High.

"Let me hitch."

"What? No way!" Utahime glared when Gojo just ignores her and hops over the railings. "I said no!" She revs her scooter and drives it down a few feet away, earning a hearty laugh from Gojo behind her.

"Come on!"

"I said no!" Utahime bared her teeth; then laughs when Gojo keeps following after. And she just revs her scooter a couple of feet further down and away from her snickering kouhai jogging after her, his jacket flopping after him, his shades and white hair reflecting the passing cool and warm carlights.

"Come on!"

"I've been walking for over an hour!"

"An hour?" Utahime scrunches her face at him. "Why should that be my problem?" She frowned at the laugh on his lips. Still, with a pitying smile, she relents. And shakes her head as her lips twist into a small smile; watching Gojo run up the road to where she was waiting.

"Finally!" Her kouhai throws his arms and cheers, hopping on behind Utahime. And he laughs when Utahime revs the scooter and sees her red ears under her black hair.

"Was she really so pretty?"

"Huh?" Gojo cocks a brow and leans forward to peek at Utahime's face.

"For you to be so annoyed." Utahime tells him, looking straight ahead.

"Who cares." Gojo starts to smile. And he settles back on his seat.

"Don't you?" Utahime scrunched her face, confused.

"Why should I?" He laughed. "Women ask me out left and right."

"Older ones too." He tells her with a smirk on his lips, unconsciously dipping closer and breathing in, pursing his lips when he realizes he was smelling the sweet scent in her hair.

"That's just so gross." Utahime's voice faded with the wind. And Gojo thins his lips and tries not to think of the vanilla in her hair. "There's plenty girls your own age."

Gojo arched a brow, his blue eyes dancing. And he quietly steals another breath and closes his eyes, dipping in and losing himself in the soft humming noise of the wind blowing past, of the drumming engine of the motorbike, of Utahime's cool tone. And he stops himself right as his lips touch the skin on the back of her neck.

"You'd never date someone younger than you?" He asked her with a groggy voice. And he pulls away and peeks from over her shoulder.

"Huh? Why would I?!"

Gojo starts to smirk at the redness on her cheeks.

"What if he didn't look younger than you?"

"Still gross!"

"Even if he's taller?" Gojo laughed.

"Yes!" Utahime cringed and tightened her grip on the scooter. "A kid's a kid!"

"I'm not a kid, Utahime."

"Huh?" Utahime scowled and glanced back in confusion, her hazel eyes returning to the road ahead the next second. "Who said anything about you?"

"It's a shame you're not dating anyone." Gojo ignores her and muses on his own. "Wasting that pretty face - no wonder you're still a virgin - "

"What - ?!" Utahime eyes shot wide open. And before she knew it - her hands slip and she jerks the head of the scooter to the side of the road -

And she could only glower and see everything in blotches of red when Gojo gingerly grabs her by her waist and jumps them to safety - leaving her scooter unmanned and zooming fast past the safety railings and down the cliff.

Absolutely livid, Utahime couldn't believe her eyes when her idiot white-haired kouhai started laughing his head off at her.

"You're not used to being called beautiful, huh?" He snickered at Utahime's cute red face. "Everyone calls me handsome all the time!"

His enraged senpai saw nothing but red.

"That's why your head's so big!"

And she stomps his feet.

And she starts flailing around; desperate to hit him, anywhere - anywhere within reach - his foot - his arm - his leg - anything! anything where it'd hurt! -

"It's just fact, Utahime." He grinned at his cute, fuming senpai; simply and casually stepping back from her every attempt to grab and hit him, and taunting her with his obnoxious laugh every step of the way. "I'm rich, handsome and the strongest. Why bother dampening the truth?"

"You're nothing but an idiot!"

Gojo threw his head back laughing, at the miffed Utahime who missed a step and nearly fell; -

"And!" The livid young sorceress huffed and glared up at her stupidly tall, sniggering kouhai - "You're paying off the school for that scooter!"

Gojo just laughs his head off at her in reply; his cheeks horribly flushed. And as they walk the whole way back to campus, Utahime snaps and yells his ear off at every thoughtless word shooting out of his idiot brain.

Chapter 30: No. 14: "Can I have this dance?"

Chapter Text

She laughed as they danced to the slow beat of the song; his hands on her waist, a gentle smile on his lips. Her hands comb through his white hair, her palm ghosts over his ears, and her fingertips graze the sides of his face; warm and tender as they swayed and laughed.

In the darkness, soft lights flicker around them; fading out in a quiet, humming pulse.

She doesn't know why he's here. Gojo just always seems to show up and disappear the next second. They've known each other for over a decade now. And she still has to remind herself to get used to it; to him suddenly popping up even in her most mundane errands. He really loved getting under her skin. And she thinks she could hold it off, she thinks she could tolerate him long enough until the fool finally gets himself a girlfriend.

Then, surely,

She smiled up at his stupidly loud laugh;

Surely, he wouldn't bother with her anymore.

For now, she wraps her arms over his neck, locks him in; and she pulls him down to her. She buries her face in the sweet scent of his cologne; she closes her eyes and loses herself to the quiet music that filled the air around them.

And she sighs;

She sighs with him as they melt into each other's embrace. Ten years, she knots her brows and loses herself in him; those long years were enough even for them to grow familiar with each other; enough for her hate to turn into understanding. Something she knew he'd never have the patience for - understand anyone beneath him.

But this, she smiled as he winds his arms tighter around her slim waist and pulls her closer; her feet rising with his tender embrace.

When Gojo had it in him, he'd have enough patience to keep quiet and hold her. And, she'd let him. Without question nor qualm, she'd let him hold her close. And she'd keep him in her arms and hold him too; hold him tight and feel his heart sync and pause and beat with hers.

And for a moment, she'd lose herself in him; She'd bury her face in his chest; breathe in the subtle musk that lingered in his shirt; and she'd lose herself in him; fully and completely.

Chapter 31: No. 56: "It brings out your eyes."

Notes:

bloody utahime fanart

Chapter Text

Utahime was resilient.

Although she wasn't equipped to stand alone, she could well hold her ground until reinforcements came. Usually, they did. Usually, in the form of her blue-eyed kouhai.

But today, it was different. Today, nobody would come in time.

"I know." Utahime wiped the blood flowing down her nose. Her whole face was covered in blood. And her senses were drowned out by its metallic stench. She didn't know how many bones she's broken. With Shoko around, it didn't seem to matter.

Shoko tended to her quickly enough. And Utahime could only fight back a smile when she notices the water stinging her kouhai's eyes.

Urgh, Utahime groaned to herself as Shoko healed her. It sucked not being stronger. It was pretty embarrassing, getting beat up this bad. It sucked even more, knowing that she'd have to push paperwork while she recuperated. Worse, Gojo was returning from his mission tomorrow. He'd have full view of her failure then, when he reports back at Jujutsu Tech. He'd really give her a tough time now that she had a permanent reminder of how weak she was.

Urgh. She groaned again in frustration. For once, she wished he'd leave her alone. It was a futile prayer. Still, she could hope, right?

To her surprise, she hears Shoko quietly chuckle beside her; finally settling back, finally done reversing her injuries.

"Is it the scar?" Shoko asks her with a small smile. The bags on her eyes were dark as usual. "You can always get plastic surgery."

"No need." Utahime stood up from her hospital bed. Even its white sheets were covered in her blood. "It'll help keep stupid men away."

Shoko shook her head and hid her chuckle behind a hand. "You think it'll keep Satoru away?" The young doctor asked her jokingly.

To wit, Utahime sneered back at her. "Hopefully."

And, turning back to the mirror in the room, the young teacher frowns at her reflection. Her whole face was covered in blood. She sorely needed to wash up; she thought to herself as she traced the red scar on her face.

Behind her, Shoko stands from her seat, about to give Utahime her privacy; when the door to the room slides open. And Shoko and Utahime turn in surprise, taken aback to find Gojo.

Utahime freezes where she stood, suddenly feeling self-conscious. And she braces herself for Gojo's bullshit.

To her surprise, Gojo stays by the door and directs his attention to Shoko, completely ignoring her.

"All good?" His voice was unnervingly still.

"Ah," Shoko stiffly nods, taken aback by Gojo's unusually cold demeanor.

Utahime starts to crease her brows, confused by the quiet chill that filled the air around them the moment Gojo showed up. His silence was too unsettling, that when he finally turns to her with a small knot on his forehead, with his icy blue eyes hidden behind the shadow of his hair, Utahime could only cover her face with a hand, growing increasingly conscious under the young man's penetrating gaze.

"Your face is red." Her kouhai coolly arches a brow at her. And Utahime could only raise her brows and look up at him with puzzle in her eyes; she didn't know what to tell him.

"I like it." Gojo leans back on his heel. "It brings out your eyes." He tells her as he takes the few steps separating them. And Utahime could only stare in shock as Gojo cups her cheeks, leans down, and closes the gap between them in a deep, hungry kiss; his lips soft and wet against hers; his tongue hot and slippery as he tasted the walls of her mouth.

Her knees buckle at the weight of his embrace; that Utahime could do no more than desperately clutch onto Gojo's jacket to keep herself from falling limp and crumbling to the floor.

Chapter 32: No. 41: "Go back to sleep."

Chapter Text

He laughs when he finally pulls away. Because the instant he did, Utahime slumps against him, putty in his arms the second his weight stopped supporting hers.

"You all right?" He smirks at her hooded gaze, his hot breath tickling her lips; his sapphire eyes dancing with mirth.

"You - "

Gojo lightly laughs at the growing fire in Utahime's hazel eyes. He sees her brows begin to furrow; he sees her jaw lock and clench. And he snickers as her hands shake and start to angrily fist the sides of his windbreaker.

"Gojo - " She shook in a budding rage. "You - "

"- You!"

But before she could explode into a furious fit, Gojo backs away. Abruptly stopping Utahime from her outburst, he twirls on his feet and faces the door with a grin. And that same instant, the sliding doors to Utahime's hospital room parted and her students burst in; their faces horrified at the sight before them.

"Se-sensei - "

Utahime quickly drew back into herself. Her brows knotting; suddenly very much aware of the tingling sensation on her lips, of Gojo's stolen kiss, of his tongue, of his teeth knocking hers and pulling at her bottom lip.

Why -

Her face flushed scarlet. And she clenched her fists on her sides in anger, in frustration -

Why did - why did he -

"Sensei - "

Utahime was overwhelmed with outrage. How dare he violate her - in front of her friends - right here, where everyone they knew - where her students could've walked in - could've saw -

"Your face - "

Utahime looked up in surprise, at the hoarse voice that broke before her.

"It's my fault - "

"It's all my fault - "

Utahime swallowed the lump lodged in her throat. Her eyes widened, shocked when her student crumbles into himself and starts to cry. His classmates around him didn't know what to do. They didn't know if they should console him. Today was a tough reminder of just what they've gotten themselves into.

Before today, they were obnoxious, foolish young sorcerers who thought they held the world in the palm of their hands. Unlike the lowly nonsorcerers, they were blessed with cursed techniques. Unlike those ungifted, powerless men, they were born into privilege. Only they had the right to see into a world only a select few would ever know.

Today was supposed to be like any other assignment. Vanquish the third grade curse. Laugh at how weak it was. And demand to be assigned to tougher cases.

Today, without knowing, they got just that. A special grade disguised as a low level curse.

The young man crying on the floor; he was certain he would die that day.

When he looked into the demented eyes of the special grade curse, he knew it was over.

But, Iori-sensei intervened.

She would be scarred for life. And he and his classmates would leave the site without so much as a scratch.

"It's my fault - "

He cried into himself.

This wasn't allowed. Showing weakness - never - no -

The young student looked up at the glistening blue eyes looking down at him.

What would it take - he choked at his own tears - what would it take to come close to Gojo Satoru's power?

"You should quit."

The student froze at Gojo's words. And behind them, Utahime cried in disbelief; "Gojo - !"

"No - sensei - he's right - "

Gojo laughed at the whimpering fool in front of him. It was Utahime who was beaten up. It was Utahime who fought beyond her grade and saved them. And he was the one crying?

No matter how many times he's goaded her, she never once shed a tear. Not even now.

The strongest sorcerer looks down at the young man on his knees, trembling and shaking in guilt. And, with a condescending sneer, he spits out a simple "Pathetic," before stuffing his hands into his pockets and sliding the door open with a foot; it's wheels noisily banging and clanging against the metal railing.

"Sorcery isn't for the weak." He laughed at the grim students behind him; their faces pale, their palms wet with cold sweat. And, casting one last look over at Utahime; he gestures to her with a nod. "Wash up and rest." He tells her simply and finally leaves.

Utahime could only glare at the floor then. It left a bad taste in her mouth, to have been told off in front of her students.

Still;

She lifts her gaze and sighs at the dark, severe young faces before her; each one of them contemplating their choice of becoming a sorcerer.

Gojo was right, she thought then. Sorcery isn't for the weak.

"Hey," She frowns at her students. "You were all idiots today."

"None of you followed protocol at all."

The high schoolers stiffen. And their eyes cloud in guilt.

"But tomorrow's a new day." She tells them wearily. She sees it so clearly, how young they all were. How foolish. How naive. "So," She gives them a small, resigned smile. "Hold your heads high."

"We'll do better tomorrow."

Chapter 33: No. 86. "You're important too."

Notes:

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

Chapter Text

"Utahime," Shoko looks up in surprise at the door that slid open. And with a small smile on her pale face, she greets her colleague; "You're injured again."

"Ah," Utahime nodded as she walked into her friend's office. And with an exasperated sigh, she tells Shoko, "I'm sorry I'm bothering you."

"No problem." Shoko chuckles. And her hazel eyes drift from wound to wound, from purple bruise to purple bruise. "But, you do have to hold back once in a while."

"You don't have to overdo it in training."

Utahime smiled at Shoko then. And, tugging on her bangs, she closes her eyes and eases her stiff shoulders as the pleasant wave of Shoko's cursed energy started reversing her injuries.

"I have to." The young teacher tells her. "I have to keep working hard."

"I don't think I'm getting promoted anywhere above semi-first grade." Utahime smiled to herself. "I need to prove to them I can carry my own weight."

"I don't plan on being anyone's problem."

Utahime pauses. And she looks down at her rough hands, at her blistered fingertips, at her dirty nails. "That moron's annoying." Utahime raised her brows, trying to seem distant and nonchalant. "But he has enough on his plate."

And she adds on, "The cases abroad are increasing drastically."

"Everyone around here is too inexperienced." She tilts her head and looks at Shoko; her brows arched and ticking in irritation. "You know a lot of students have quit already."

Shoko nods grimly. A few days ago, they lost two graduating students to a first grade curse. They walked into the den without being greenlit. Since Gojo started teaching, the students seemed to have formed this misconceived notion that he'd always come to save them. That day, they faced the curse without knowing that their sensei was sent out of the country for another expedition. And it cost them their lives.

The students have all grown increasingly reckless that even Utahime was on her wits end with them. And when the lot of them quit, she could only accept their resignations with a stiff smile.

Utahime would never admit it, how disappointed she was that in the end, they just gave up.

"Geto's cult is gaining popularity."

"And the higher ups have killed another first grade sorcerer."

Utahime looked up and sighed into her cold hands.

"We're being spread too thin." She turns back to give Shoko a small, grim smile. "Attacked in all directions even by the council." And she looks down.

"He doesn't need to worry about me too." Her lips quirk. "There's enough problems as it is."

She looked at her hands then. And she wondered what was wrong with her. Jujutsu Tech has never been as quiet. It has never been this bleak. And yet, amid this darkness, she had never been more motivated to fight.

Even if she was objectively weak, she was determined to show everyone she wasn't weak-willed. She could wait until the next year, when new students would be recruited. She'd hold out hope for then.

"There," Shoko peers at Utahime from over her shoulders and gives her a smile. "All done."

Utahime turns to look behind her. And, as she was about to thank the young doctor, she blinks; she freezes at the sight of the young man seated at the back of the dark morgue; his sapphire eyes glinting from the light of the moon slipping into the room from the open window; the bandages usually wrapped around his eyes were loosened and draped over his broad shoulders.

"How - How long have you been there -" Utahime starts to stammers and shake. She flushes horribly red; she trembles and clenches her fists; absolutely mortified that he heard every word she's just said.

In front of her, Gojo just smirks and idly rocks his chair back and forth. And, with his eyes drifting away; with his lips spreading into a wide, teasing grin, he arches a brow and asks her instead of addressing her question;

"Why?" He stops rocking and coolly leans over the back rest of his chair. "I like worrying about you." He tells her with a playful tilt of his head. Then he starts to snicker at the sight of her cheeks puffing scarlet. And he throws his head back laughing when he sees the gears in her head shift in a slow, budding realization -

"You - ! - How could you be here - this whole time - and not think to say anything?!" Utahime cried in mortification.

Gojo just keeps laughing his head off at her. And a very pissed Utahime shrieks in frustration and instinctively throws Shoko's best doctor mug at the chortling fool. The mug just meets Gojo's infinity and shatters on the floor. And this sends the white-haired special grade sorcerer into another fit of laughter.

"Careful, Utahime!" Gojo chortled and nearly fell from his chair. "You'll only hurt yourself!"

Utahime's jaw locked. And she saw red.

"Respect your senpai, you idiot!"

Gojo just makes a dumb expression. And the enraged Utahime nearly jumps him when he suddenly tells her,

"You worry about me; when you don't need to." And Utahime pauses from her attack. And she scrunches her face.

With a sour frown on her lips, with an irked glare, she quietly tells her annoying kouhai, "I have to." Gojo starts to laugh, finding her ridiculous. And Utahime grimaces and arches a brow, stilly telling him; "No one else would bother with a moron like you."

"I look out for everyone. My students, my kouhais, my peers. And even you."

"Well," Utahime frowned. "Whatever is left of my students." She adds with a bitter sneer.

Resting his chin on his seat, Gojo laughs and looks up at Utahime's red face. "You don't have a monopoly on saving people, Utahime."

Utahime arched an unamused brow at her kouhai.

"Especially with you so weak." He laughs at his enraged colleague. "You need me."

"I'm already telling you," Utahime crossed her arms and grimaced. "I don't."

"I'm not like them." She scowled, irritated that he wasn't taking her seriously. "You don't have to bother with me."

"I won't do anything stupid. I won't leave sorcery. I'll fight and protect the students like I always have."

"So, you focus on what's important." She arched a brow at his smirk. "I can handle myself."

"You know, Utahime," Gojo tilts his head playfully to the side and starts to smirk. And Utahime frowns, unsettled by his cool demeanor. "You're important too."

Utahime's eyes narrow cautiously; leaning in and wondering if this idiot looking up at her was being serious.

With a purse of her lips, at the sight of the quirk on his; Utahime decides he couldn't be...

"Are you two going to kiss?"

Gojo and Utahime's eyes widen, turning to the chuckling Shoko in surprise. They both forgot she was in the room...

"What~?" Gojo starts to beam.

And Utahime paled in disgust. "What?!"

And Shoko just laughs at her two idiot friends.

Chapter 34: No. 52: "Have fun."

Chapter Text

"WHAT?!" Utahime's eyes nearly popped out of its sockets.

The third year student of Jujutsu High paled one second and flushed red the next at the most horrendous claim she has ever heard. And in her arms, rather; her chokehold, was one equally flushed Gojo Satoru whose white hair stood up in a messy fray after having grappled and wrestled with his unshaken, undeterred senpai who was apparently going out of her way, teaching him how to be a better person since everyone else seemed to have failed him; her words, not his -

They've been at it since the start of the school year.

He called her weak once. And she wouldn't let it go. So, he innocently tests the waters and was delighted to find out that Iori Utahime was as completely and as utterly relentless as he was. It was too funny how much effort she put into everything she did. For someone so weak and small, the pride she had for her work was amusing. It was misplaced. But, it was amusing and on some rare occasions, - commendable.

Recently, she's taken into getting more physical with him. She'd throw random objects at him before he's even had the chance to open his mouth. And sometimes, like now, she'd jump him and try to attack him.

And her face! Gojo snickered up at his senpai's beet red cheeks; at the mortified expression on her face as Mei Mei said the unspeakable, most appalling words Utahime has ever had the misfortune to hear. To him though, he didn't mind one bit. And he could only laugh, because he saw the irony in it too. It would be hilarious if it was true.

Gojo grinned up cheekily at his cute, weak senpai. It would be too funny, wouldn't it? He laughed at the annoyed frown, at the fiery hazel eyes that finally looked down and met his.

It would be too funny if it were true.

Honestly, Gojo laughed; he rather liked the idea.

"For the last time!" Utahime snapped at their laughing peers, beet red and mortified that everyone seemed to be in agreement - when nothing, no other claim, could be more outlandish and just plainly, stupidly wrong!

"We are. not. dating!"

Gojo started to shake in laughter. And he rests his head against Utahime's chest as she held onto him from behind.

"We don't like each other!" Utahime paled, utterly distraught that everyone just kept laughing at her! "We never have! And we never will!"

"We! hate! each other!"

Gojo shamelessly chortled. Shoko covered her amused smile with a hand. And Suguru could only laugh when Mei Mei points to the two fools on the ground and simply asks Utahime;

"Then, why are you hugging him?" Mei Mei chuckled. It was amusing, the Gojo clan heir and the school's sweet shrine maiden; the both of them were caked in dirt and had twigs sticking out their hair. One would think that going to different schools and being over two years apart in age was enough to separate the two. Everything about them seemed to contradict the other. But it seems as though someone was pretty adamant in catching his senpai's attention, Mei Mei laughed.

"I AM NOT!" Utahime cried in horror and instantly shoved Gojo away; earning another chorus of laughter from their peers; and a giddy snicker from her stupid kouhai.

"We have our fun, ne, Utahime~!"

Utahime swore she saw everything turn red that instant.

"FUN?!" She cried and fumed away in disbelief, angry that she could still hear her schoolmates' stupid laughing behind her.

Chapter 35: No. 85: "It doesn't bother me."

Chapter Text

It's Christmas. And Gojo wanted nothing more than to punch a hole through the wall.

Amid the merry, nostalgic songs blasting from the speakers in a loop. Amid the happy crowd of families and friends reuniting this holiday season, spending the day in the mall, Gojo felt his entire body shake in frustration. And he clenches his fists at his sides. He glares at the floor, locks his jaw, and tries to temper the regret, the self-loathing growing in him.

Because, she got him.

He smirked bitterly. And his brows twitched in annoyance.

She got him good.

It was supposed to be the other way around. He was supposed to dump her.

After months of rejecting him, of spitting cusses left and right, of telling him, their friends, everyone in the college, that she would never ever even think of dating him; he makes a bet with some of the guys - that he could get her to date him and sleep with him; that he could make her fall head over heels in love with him and surrender her virginity.

Just like every other girl he's come across, he was certain he would win her over.

But, damn, she got him.

She got him good.

Because, while he did win the bet - he got her to date him. He got her to go out with him. And, he laughed at this when she told him - that night they spent together, they laughed because no, she wasn't a virgin.

Did everyone think I was? She asked him then, annoyed and in disbelief.

Gojo nodded as he laughed and held her. And he sighs when she starts gritting and ranting about men and how stupid and gross they were. And he lets her. With a sigh as he nuzzled into her, as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, he lets her; because, she was right. Men were trash. He was trash.

But, he chuckled quietly against her skin, she already knew that.

It was ridiculous, Gojo thought with a small smile; now that he got to know her. It was ridiculous how wrong they all were about her. Everything they said, they thought, they knew about her - all of it was just plainly, and so stupidly wrong.

They all thought she was a prude. A know it all. A tightly-wound shrew.

But, he'd come to learn that Utahime was pretty cool. It was surprisingly fun going out with her. Hanging out. Bickering then laughing at the exaggeratedly animated faces she'd make.

That night he held her close, that night they slept together, he'd learn she wasn't a prude. And those few weeks they spent together, stealing away and snogging at some deserted classroom, camping out in the library during finals, going out with friends like a real couple; he'd learn that it was pretty cool being with Utahime.

She wasn't always angry. Or vicious. Or shrill.

Even she had her moments too.

And knowing that only he knew this side to her, that only he would be on the receiving end of every glare, of every frown and smile and laugh, that only he would be the person she'd ever bother looking for in a crowded room; he liked it. He liked being with her. He liked that he alone held her gaze. And he wanted to keep it all to himself. Knowing who Utahime is; what she found funny and stupid, which were, most of the time the same thing, and most of the time, him; how she'd be so passionate about the smallest things; how stubborn she was, how tough. It was too hilarious, watching her beat the ass of some pervert in the train.

He wanted it. All for himself. He wanted to keep her, all for himself.

Then, that morning, when they meet at a cafe at the mall; as they browse through the items on sale, as he'd laugh and tell her that they should go to the more expensive luxury stores, Utahime grimaces and tells him that her family didn't need those stupid things they'll never use because of how insanely expensive they were.

So, Gojo hangs out around her, as she frowns and tells him to be less of an idiot when he's around her; snickering and playing at the random items on display. And, when she's done with her Christmas shopping, she invites him to a cafe. And he tells her they should go to his favorite matcha cafe. It would be perfect for them, being a couple that needed the perfect blend of sweet and bitter.

Utahime nods then. And he holds her hand as he led them to the cafe at the ground floor, near the train station's entrance.

They order their food. They set down their bags. And Gojo starts telling her about how stupid Geto was the other day, because he woke up late and ran into the glass wall in front of their professor.

Utahime laughed then, quietly. And, she leans closer when Gojo takes her hand and idly plays with her fingers over their table, just lounging around and watching the wave of commuters walk past.

"Ne," She smiled then. "It's done, ne?"

Gojo arched a brow then, not following her.

Then, he freezes when Utahime tilts her head and goes on to tell him, "The bet."

"You won already, right?"

"We've dated. We slept together. So," Utahime gives him a smile and pulls her hand away. "So, it's done, ne?"

Gojo didn't know what to say. But he knew, he had to force himself to say anything - anything that could stop what was about to happen -

" - What are you talking about - "

"Don't worry." Utahime reassures him with a small smile. "It doesn't bother me."

"I've actually known for a while now." Utahime tells him simply, like it was nothing to her. "I can take a joke too, you know." She begins to chuckle.

And Gojo pales. He couldn't stomach it. How she could be so coy. How she could be so composed -

"It's not what you think - "

"Ah, ah," Utahime's smile stiffens. "I was pretty mean to you at the start of the year. So, I thought going along with you was enough to make up for it."

"You have no idea how annoying you are, do you?" She starts to laugh. "I tried this out too, just to see how it would go."

"Made me realize we could be around each other without killing each other." She chuckles.

"Besides, it's Christmas."

"And I can take a joke too." She repeats with a smile. "I can take a joke too."

"I'll see you around, ne?"

And when she leaves, Gojo could do nothing but stare at the empty space in front of him in disbelief.

Chapter 36: No. 19: "Can I hold your hand?"

Chapter Text

"Holding my hand," He laughs dryly. "Must mean I'm in worse shape than I thought."

Utahime stiffens, freezes up when she feels his weight rest against her. And her hazel eyes somberly drift down to their hands.

"You know,"

Her eyes dart back up. And she finds him looking down, his gaze seemingly drawn by this odd sight of their hands together, seemingly taken by this small, unusual act of tenderness between them.

"You held his hand too." He quietly tells her; his heavy frame leaning against her, his head lying on her shoulder. "Back then," He laced his fingers with hers. "You held his hand too."

"What?" Utahime tilted her head, turning to meet his gaze.

"Nanami." Gojo looks up at her with his blue eyes.

"Back then, you held his hand too."

Utahime arched her brows, taken aback by what seemed to be jealousy amid his stoic façade.

He could remember back then so vividly. It's been a decade now since then.

When they lost Haibara, when he returned to find Nanami so badly beaten up that he had bandages all over his body.

Nanami kept blaming him then.

Why did they have to sacrifice their lives on those missions; why did they have to bother, when they could just send him and have him blow everything up on his own.

You keep saying they're out to kill you. That the council is out to kill you. Then, what do you call what's happening to us? To those without your last name? Without your power? You think they give a shit what happens to us?

Fuck. Compared to you, we're nothing but flies to them.

Even they know better than to lose you. Even they know you're the only thing standing between them and death.

So, don't fucking tell me you get tired too.

Don't fucking tell me you're like us when you're not.

We'll all just die, won't we? Me, Utahime, Mei, everyone - we'll just die, won't we? And you'll be there. You'll still be there like nothing's happened.

So, don't fucking tell me you're like us - when you're not. - when you couldn't possibly be.

Gojo didn't mind it. He just keeps quiet then. Grief tended to make people irrational. Tended to make people more spitefully honest.

When they buried Haibara, he saw them then. That cold, dead autumn afternoon, they were standing upfront, in the crowd, close to Haibara's family; hand in hand, that whole afternoon spent by each other's side.

Back then, Utahime was always by his side. Looking after him, trying to make him laugh.

Like she did now, she also held Nanami's hand.

"Is this what you do?" He raises their intertwined hands and lets out a dry, bitter laugh. "No wonder everyone likes you."

"You treat everyone the same."

"Care for everyone. Look out for everyone."

"I'm the strongest but it's all the same to you."

"I'm nothing special." He turned his head and buries his face in her chest. "Just like everyone else."

And he feels her arms wrap around him and pull him closer; hiding his tears in her embrace.

"I'm no one special;"

"Not to you."

Chapter 37: No. 23: "I'll wait."

Notes:

Connected to a previous oneshot, Six Eyes.

Chapter Text

He flicked his fingers, unleashing an incredible force; the ball of energy bursting in erratic waves, slashing through the air and disintegrating everything on its path.

Exhausted, nearly at his limit, he releases a breath and tries to focus. It's been a challenge now that he only had one eye to work with.

But he manages to warp closer. And his insides clench in frustration when he sees the hill untouched.

And again, with a sharp breath, he concentrates his energy into his hands; determined; resolute. He would break her curtain even if it meant losing an arm, an eye, even his life. He would break her curtain even if it was the last thing he'd do.

"Sensei!"

Another burst of energy catapults from his arms and crashes against the strong seal.

And again, he clicks his tongue. And he tries to ignore the growing trepidation in his chest, he tries to ignore the realization that he may be too late. And again, he focuses his energy. But, before he could throw the attack; he is tackled from behind.

"You have to stop!"

"It's done! Utahime-sensei's sealed him! It's done! It's over!"

No -

No - It isn't -

It can't be.

Gojo rose to his feet and focuses. His eyes scanning and searching every angle. He could exploit even the smallest vulnerability; that would be enough for him to break the curtain. That would be enough for him to get in.

Enough to get in. Pull her out. And shake her back to reality.

She didn't have to -

Gojo shook as the hill started to collapse into itself. And as it all fell apart before him, he drops to his knees in painful disbelief.

"She locked me out." He laughed in utter defeat; his heart broken; his bruised hands cold and numb; his chest aching in a locking, suffocating pain. "She knew I'd stop her." He could hear his deep voice crack and break. "So, she locked me out."

Fuck. It was unbearable. This pain in his chest was fucking unbearable.

She told him she'd wait -

She didn't have to -

If she waited, one second more - maybe -

Maybe - she didn't have to die.

Not like this.

Not now - not when they were already at the end.

Chapter 38: No. 17: "Watch your step."

Chapter Text

Kirara leaned back on her seat. Her lips pursed as she idly tapped her lap.

How interesting. She thought it, her eyes curiously darting around.

So, this was how it was at Jujutsu Tech during Christmas.

Everyone around her seemed to have left being a sorcerer out the door the moment they stepped into the auditorium riddled with red and green.

It was pretty funny, when they told her that sorcerers and their families usually came together for one night, to celebrate the holidays together. And even funnier still, was the fact that some of them, these severe-looking old men and women sorcerers, some of the scary-looking students too, would actually go onstage and perform.

Perform?! She threw her head back cackling then. And her upperclassman, Takuma Ino, would scratch his head in confusion, not at all understanding what she found so hilarious about it.

Some members of the faculty -

Ino had to stop, frowning when his innocuous words makes Kirara lose her head laughing even harder, only now, at the thought of Principal Yaga wearing a Santa Claus outfit and singing the national anthem on stage.

Holy shit. Kirara couldn't help but shake in laughter, holding onto her stomach and desperately keeping her guts in place. You can't be serious!

Ino pursed his lips then.

They're pretty good, you know... He narrowed his eyes defensively. Because, they were. They had to be. Important people attended this event. Council members were here. Every year, they'd attend this seemingly laidback event.

There would be performances. A talent show, an exhibition of sorts. Where the strong would mingle and secretly assess the other. Where they could make a show of solidarity when everything was starting to fall off from its seams... or so Satoru said it would.

Kirara stopped laughing then and pats her senpai's shoulders.

She's been looking forward to the event since then. She and Hakari did.

They were so ready for the show. So ready to laugh at how stupid everyone looked. And on the day itself, they had their phones out at the ready; fully intending to take as many embarrassing photos of everyone as they could.

.

.

The moment they enter the auditorium, a snotty-looking attendant in a tuxedo greeted them even before they could loiter in the lobby where there was a bar, where food and drinks were being served.

Before Kirara could snatch a couple of crab cakes and expensive traditional sweets, right as Hakari made his way to the bar, in hopes of snatching a drink or two, the snobbish attendant pulled their arms and escorted them to the second balcony where they found their fellow schoolmates already seated.

Kirara frowned bitterly then, now understanding. Those assholes were as classist as ever. It was always a bad day to feel like a second-rate citizen in your own country.

"This is bullshit." Hakari grumbles, stuffing his hands into his pockets and taking the empty seats up front. And, peering out over the balcony, down at the people seated in orchestra, each of them donning the most expensive jewelry and gowns and suits, Hakari bitterly frowns. "Money's the only thing that makes sense."

Kirara frowned with him then, her wide eyes scanning the room for anyone they knew. And when she sees Principal Yaga in the crowd, wearing a tuxedo and towering over the pruny old women in their best kimonos talking to him, probably asking for another plushie to be made for them; she almost bursts out laughing.

Then, the lights begin to dim. The crowd settles into their seats. And the Christmas Pageant begun.

Kirara and Hakari took quite a number of photos that night. They didn't hold back when some rich old geezer started tripping over himself as he performed. They heckled elite members of the Zen'in clan stepped up on stage, just because they were Zen'in and were assholes.

They took pictures of the fat old clan leaders who sang in a falsetto. They took pictures of even fatter women, opera singers, VIP guests the rich clans invited to perform that evening. Then they saw some of their senpais - and cackled at the sight of Ino walking on stage wearing a snotty, preppy attire. His face was flushed, already embarrassed, knowing that Kirara and Hakari were somewhere in the crowd laughing their heads off at the sight of him.

Children. He shook his head, already chastising them in his head.

Then, when Ino's group finishes and leaves the stage, they see her.

The stage is emptied. And the room quiets when they see her gracefully walk up to the stage from the audience, a spotlight following her.

"It's Utahime!" Hakari exclaims, sitting up on his seat and leaning down. Around them, the other students scrambled to their feet and shoved each other trying to catch a glimpse of her.

Beside Hakari, Kirara's eyes widen when another spotlight shines down beside the seat Utahime had been occupying. And she blushes.

She doesn't know why a wave of embarrassment washes over her. But it does. And she blushes at the sight of their sensei standing on his seat, grinning and waving to the crowd; shielding his eyes with his hand as a visor as he looked up to the second balcony and waved at them; at his students who all groaned and seethed at the sight of him.

True to his nature, their sensei just snickers at them.

Kirara doesn't know why - but she grows even redder, even more embarrassed, when their annoying sensei jogs up after Utahime and offers her an arm as they climbed up the steps to the stage; a wave of applause already greeting them.

That night, they sang the most innocuous song. The simplest Christmas song she's ever heard. Their voices sweet and low. Their smiles small. The distance between them, always at least a foot away, with Utahime obviously stepping away whenever their sensei gravitated towards her.

Kirara and Hakari forget to take pictures then. They laugh along with their fellow students. They clap and cheer when the two teachers suddenly belt out in a beautiful harmony, their notes, their voices perfectly complimenting each others'.

That night, they sang the most innocuous song. The most harmless. The sweetest song.

But their sensei's voice, his falsetto, his range, his voice swinging and swooping and dancing; his smile infectious, his grin growing every time he'd end a verse and watch Utahime sing beside him.

Even though she was close to him, Kirara laughs when she sees that Utahime still manages to smile as she sang. She still laughs even when their annoying sensei makes takes a dip and pulls her to him. And she wears a smile as their voices perfectly melded together in that beautiful, heartaching melody. And they all laugh when the crowd starts singing along, when the students around them begin singing the catchy chorus with them, earning smiles and laughs even from the lower floors, even from the more prominent families seated at orchestra.

And when their song ends, when everyone is laughing with them, everyone drunk and high from singing along, the laughing Utahime in their sensei's arms turns to her grinning colleague and cups his face with her hands. And tiptoeing, she plants a harmless kiss on his cheek and pulls away; laughing the next second at the dumbstruck expression on his face.

And the song ends.

And the host leads in the applause.

And the next set of performers gather on stage, a group of children, younger choir members in cute outfits greeting Utahime and helping her run off stage.

And Kirara sinks back into her seat, not knowing why she was growing somber. Why are you still standing there? She thought to herself, burying her frown in her arms crossed and leaning over the railings; her heart oddly sinking at the sight of her sensei in the middle of the stage, watching Utahime leave. Then, like everything else he did, he turns back to the crowd and starts laughing. And he picks up the children around him and helps them up to the platform. And he returns to his seat alone. That night, the seat beside him remained empty for the rest of the evening.

.

.

Satoru would invite them all out for sushi and karaoke after. It was odd, the smorgasbord of food around them. There were alcoholic beverages all around. There was meat, sushi and roasted KFC chicken. It seemed like Utahime did all the shopping beforehand because when they got to the small karaoke place they booked, she was already there.

Some of the faculty members came with them. A lot declined, they'd rather attend the more prestigious party hosted by the Zen'in clan.

That night, Utahime and Satoru were there with them. They would hog the karaoke and belt out songs with everyone. And a drunk Utahime would force a buzzed Shoko to sing too. A man with blonde hair came in later that evening, he looked like a salaryman. And even Principal Yaga made an appearance and told them he liked sushi and karaoke better than being trapped in another one of those suffocating rich people parties.

Satoru would tell him that he made the right choice as he forced a Santa hat on the large, chocolate man. He fit in here better, Satoru said with his irritating laugh; since he looked like a gorilla. Yaga would grab him in a chokehold then. And Utahime would laugh to his face and taunt him and poke his cheek as he tried, with the most minimal effort in the world, to break free.

It wasn't obvious.

Since no one's ever cared to look, it wasn't obvious.

But like their singing earlier, these two senseis would always gravitate around each other. One way or the other, they'd be together. But like their performance earlier, there would always be at least a foot between them, a space separating them; a line neither dared cross.

They obviously liked each other, Kirara thought then. They liked a lot of the same things. They both taught sorcery. And they've known each other long enough for a relationship between them to make sense.

Maybe they weren't ready.

Maybe they tried before and it didn't work out.

Whatever it was, there was a thin line between them they never dared cross. It was clear to her now. Looking back at orientation, at the mandatory baseball games Utahime forced on them when they'd visit the Kyoto school, at how their sensei would say anything to get into a fight with her; Kirara came to realize that it was their way of being around each other, more than any two colleagues should.

In these past months she's been serving as a sorcerer, as a first year sent out on random missions trying to hone her technique, Kirara finds herself growing disillusioned by sorcery with every passing day. Sure, you get paid enough, more than most. But everything you had to give up, love, freedom, even at times, your life; it wasn't worth it. Being a sorcerer meant nothing - nothing at all - if it meant having to surrender everything else.

Chapter 39: No. 1: "Pull over. Let me drive for awhile."

Notes:

How have I lived not knowing this song until now?

Driving Home for Christmas

Chapter Text

It wasn't the easiest thing, being a father.

He had to do gross things like change diapers filled with wet poo. He'd have to wipe his boy's bum and clean him all up with his wife helicoptering him from behind, telling him what to do, how to do it; only to soon laugh at him when his hands get caked with the unmentionable.

It really wasn't the easiest thing.

He'd have to wake up early and wait for the dogs to finish doing their business. He'd have to pick up after them too.

Lazily, Gojo would stand at their back porch, narrow his eyes and wonder if his wife was taking advantage of his oblivious, sleep-deprived state by pushing all the grosser chores on him.

Before he'd come to a realization, the dogs would finish and maul his feet the next second. They'd rub their thick coats against his legs and hit him with their excited wagging tails, demanding they be fed right that instant.

He'd have no choice but to comply. He'd look for their feeds and frown when he finds their packages empty. He'd open fresh feeds then, and his stupid morning brain would miscalculate the strength necessary and tear off more of the package, sending feeds sliding out and all over their floor.

He'd flinch then, at the impatient tapping behind him. And he could only turn around and give his wife a cheeky grin, apologizing in his own way.

She'd just frown at him then.

And when he smells the delicious odor of pancakes and chocolates, he'd know then that all's forgiven.

Then, when he sees his son suddenly beside him - shocked - shocked! - that he was crawling for the first time - he pales, he freezes and pales in horror when his little boy grabs a few feeds and stuff it into his mouth.

Gojo had never dug down anyone's mouth as quickly and as desperately as he did then.

So really, it wasn't the easiest thing, being a father.

Being a father meant doing tedious chores. It meant sucking in every whine and surrendering to the whims of his wife and son.

Like this evening, driving through the dark; with the light falling snow melting and sliding back the front window as they sped down the highway; as he drove their small family a few provinces down to attend some festival they saw on TV a few hours before; the three of them standing in the freezing cold, sniffling and watching a parade leading up to a temple crowded with people every corner they turned.

They made him go to some café too. His wife grabbed his arm and excitedly dragged him to one with cats and owls and hedgehogs too. It was warm. And he took a million pictures of their son with all the cute animals, so it was all good.

Being a father meant doing tedious chores. It meant sucking in every whine and surrendering to the whims of his wife and son.

So really, it wasn't the easiest thing, being a father.

Knowing that wherever he was, whatever he did, he was a father first.

He'd be in school, attending to his classes, and his students wouldn't even get annoyed or scared at him anymore; not with his boy crawling all over his table as he gave his lecture about curses and sorcery.

He'd be in Kyoto, for a mission out of town. And all he'd be thinking about was browsing through the selection of traditional sweets at his favorite store near the high speed rails. He'd soon call his wife to ask her if their son could eat mochi already. To which she would tell him not to bother, their son had good taste like her. He didn't bother with sweets like her.

Out of spite, Gojo would bring home an insanely huge pile of sweets. And he'd chortle in success when his boy would crawl up to him and give him the tightest of hugs.

His heart would melt then. And they'd go through the small sweet packs for the little things he could eat. He'd have an arm over his wife then. And he'd laugh when she starts hissing at the intricate paper wrappers that just wouldn't tear open.

Gojo has been a child all his life. Even as an adult, he was still immature in so many ways.

And the times he wasn't, he'd be the cold-hearted sorcerer everyone knew he was.

He's a man who has never lived for love.

His life has centered around nothing but power and brute strength. All he's ever bothered with in his life was lording his ability over everyone. He'd topple those in power and show them their place. And he'd end lives without a thread of remorse.

His innate skill gave him all the freedom he wanted. It let him live life as he pleased. And in his arrogance, he surrendered his life to sorcery, to protecting the weak; believing himself to be their only hope, their only salvation from this grim reality of death and curses.

He was ready to give his life for sorcery. He's long been ready to surrender his last breath to sorcery; knowing that nothing would be waiting for him after the war.

He's lost them all. Everyone of his friends.

And those few that managed to survive, left with an inch of their life, they would never be the same.

Back then, she'd always be by herself. She'd wear the smallest smile. And she wouldn't even bother with him anymore. She wouldn't tell him off. She wouldn't throw anything or yell.

Like her, nothing followed the war but silence.

As the world rebuilt itself, there was nothing but silence.

What was the point of living, she'd tell him then.

What was the point of living now that I've lost everything.

What about me?

She turned to him then, as if it's the first time she's seeing him.

I'm still here, aren't I?

The disappointed frown she finally sends him makes him laugh.

And slowly, as the world around them rebuilt itself, their wounds would start to mend too.

He's been a child all his life. A monster for most of it. Cold, heartless and calculating too.

He'd be the most powerful. And he'd kill without remorse.

So really, he's never thought of it. He never thought it was possible. He never thought anyone would bother with him enough to stay.

When he held his son in his arms, he never felt more pride, more love course through his veins.

When he held his son in his arms, he never felt like protecting anyone as much and as strongly as he did then.

So really, it wasn't the easiest thing, being a father.

Love made him feel vulnerable and weak. It made him shake and cry. It made him selfish and proud. And it made him want to be a enough good man.

It was difficult being a father. Because nothing else seemed to matter to him now. Nothing would ever matter more to him now than his family.

"Satoru," His wife's soft voice groggily calls him from the passenger seat behind him.

He turns to the rearview mirror then. And he arches a brow at his newly woken wife.

"Pull over," Her voice was hoarse, having just woken up. And the boy in her arms begins to stir. "Let me drive for awhile."

"It's all right." Gojo gives her a small smile. "If we stop, we'll wake him."

"Ah," His wife gives him a tired smile. And, she scoops their son into her arms and coaxes him back to sleep.

On the wheel, Gojo could only wear a small smile, himself exhausted. But, he pushes through his tire and continues his drive home; the quiet breathing of Utahime and their son fast asleep at the back, the merry tunes of Christmas songs playing from the radio, and the quiet hum of the wind against their car accompanying him as they sped through the night road and drove home.

Chapter 40: No. 40: "I made this for you."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Utahime and Gojo laugh at the tilting, flopping cake spilling at the side of the plastic ring encasing it.

Since they got together, they did something cute and relationship-py every Christmas. And not by design!

Satoru just always teases her; nudges her, and tells her with that sniggering laugh of his, not to shy away from those girly things girls like her do for their boyfriends because they're girls.

Utahime would start spluttering then, hitting him and yelling after him that not all girls were the same! That his stupid words were demeaning to all women! And - that she would never - never! think of making something for him! ever!

Gojo would just burst out cackling then. And Utahime would gape like a fish out of water - and she'd hit him, hit him until he gained some sense back into his stupid, male brain!

Nonetheless, the new couple would find themselves in a build your own teddy bear store. And Satoru would snicker and coax her, telling her that - for someone who didn't like girly things - you sure know what you're doing.

Utahime would just be a beet red tomato every single time they'd go out. It was embarrassing, showing off her feminine side to Satoru - one she's strategically hidden from everyone at Jujutsu Tech. It was difficult enough that this idiot kept calling her weak like some alarm ringing every second of the day. She didn't need everyone back at school to know she was as basic as the next girl in the mall.

Like every other girl, she followed a strict skincare routine. She meticulously planned her training to tone her muscles in a way that it'd complement her curves. And she loved wearing cute clothes. Sleeveless shirts, flowy blouses, and when she was far - far away from Tokyo; she'd wear sundresses too. She loved window-shopping too. She loved buying cute things for everyone too!

This is why she always dated non-sorcerers. She could be as girly as she wanted. She could make the silliest Valentines Day gifts, build the largest chocolate heart. And her boyfriends would dote on her and think that she was nothing - nothing more than a regular cute high school student. No curses. No missions. No blood, and tears, and sweat. Nothing! None of those!

She'd just be Utahime! The cutest girlfriend the world has ever seen!

But this wasn't the case with Satoru.

Since they were acquainted, their relationship was anything but cute. There's been nothing but animosity between them. Gojo just wouldn't stop making fun of her. And she wouldn't back down until he shut up. That is, until Gojo stole a kiss from her.

He laughed then, the second he pulled away. And he tells her like it's nothing - you're broken up with that ugly guy already, right? - He grinned. And Utahime started to glare. - So, you're dating me now.

At that time, they were called by their principals before Utahime could wring his stupid neck. Gojo was sent to another mission. And Utahime had to return to Kyoto.

She honestly thought it was nothing more than an aberration. Gojo must've eaten something bad that day.

But to her surprise, the first thing Gojo does when he returns from his mission is to take her out. She was about to protest then - but he bribed her with baseball game tickets. And on their next date, he bribed her with a trip to the aquarium. And the next, tickets to Koshien. And so on, and so forth - bribing her left and right with her most favorite things - that she didn't have time to think their relationship over; that she just accepts it - she was dating Gojo Satoru. And for some odd reason, she was really, really having fun. They honestly had more in common than she cared to admit.

Plus! He loved doing stupid things with her too.

That teddy bear thing - she told Shoko she wanted to give one to Satoru - but he'd probably just make fun of her again. But now, it was Satoru goading her, telling her that they should go make those stupid, cute bears together will all the other cutesy couples being all lovey-dovey and nauseatingly affectionate.

Utahime made him the biggest bear then. And Gojo made her - what Shoko frankly called - a monster. It had stiches all over the face. It looked like Frankenstein's teddy bear. It was so, so bad! Shoko laughed her head off. And Gojo grimaced then, at their chortling friends. And he throws the voodoo dolls he made of them to their faces.

The year after that, they made each other self-portraits. Gojo made Utahime look like a red bucket. And Utahime made him look like a wet mop. They laughed their heads off at the reveal and made everyone else in the session uncomfortable. The couples around them would flinch and wonder whether those two annoying idiots really on a date...?

This year -

This year -

They laughed at their tilting, flopping cake; its frosting was slipping and oozing from the side of the plastic ring encasing it.

"It looks horrible!" Utahime shook her head and hid her red face in her hands. "I told you we should've done something else!" She glared up at him, embarrassed. And she laughs at the stupid expression on her boyfriend's face.

"It's as bad as the paintings last year..." Satoru chuckled beside her, draping an arm over her petite shoulders as he took a closer inspection of their cake.

Then they both look around and laugh together, when they find nothing but happy couples with perfectly made cakes.

"How the hell did everyone get it right?" Gojo was honestly curious. They did everything the instructor said. They followed the manual to a tee. Still, their cake was a horrendous mess!

"Don't feel so bad!" The couple beside them suddenly said. And Gojo and Utahime turn in surprise, finding a happily beaming couple dip into their conversation. "It's our first time baking too!"

"Ours is such a mess too! I'm so embarrassed!" The girl pouts and flushes while raising up the cake she and her boyfriend proud beside her made.

And before them, Utahime and Gojo's eyes twitch. And they grimace at the sight of the couple's flawless cake...

"See! So many mistakes!"

"I'm so embarrassed, honey!"

Utahime clenched her jaw. And Gojo was close to punching someone.

Were these bastards - Gojo and Utahime grimaced together - making fun of them?!

"If you want," The girl kept at it. Her tone was so sweet and condescending that Utahime wanted to slap the cocky smirk from her face. "You can have our cake."

"How generous of you, honey!" Gojo and Utahime nearly gag at the sight of the nauseating couple bumping noses. "My girlfriend is so kind! Always giving a helping hand to those in need!"

In need?! Gojo and Utahime share an outraged glare.

"It's a pity you won't have anything to show for your afternoon." The girl pouted at them, offering her cake to the annoyed sorcerers. "I knew a couple that broke up because of their bad cake!"

"The cake you make at the love factory reflects your relationship, you know!"

Something in Utahime snaps. And beside her, Gojo buries his face in his a hand.

"Thank you." The pissed Utahime turned away with her nose high to the air. "But we're very proud of our cake."

"Besides, just because something looks perfect on the outside, doesn't mean it's not spoiled and falling apart on the inside."

"Oh, really?" The girl's smile twitched. And an irked vein pops on her face.

"If you're so proud of your cake, why don't you eat it right now?"

Gojo's eye twitched. Utahime didn't even flinch.

"We will." They gritted in unison.

And they both get forks and dip into their abstractly-shaped and contoured cake.

And Utahime laughed in embarrassment, blushing when she finds Gojo holding out his fork in front of her with a cheeky grin; himself flushed and giddy.

At least they were able to spend an afternoon together. That was the point of these dates, right? She smiles to herself. And she forgets her anger then. And they laugh and each take a bite out of each other's fork.

And with two wide grins, they turn to the condescending couple beside them and tell them proudly -

"As we thought, - "

Utahime huffed at the couple. And Gojo sneered.

" - It's delicious."

The obnoxious couple just gives them a frown. And they turn away, annoyed by the happy flushes on Gojo and Utahime's faces.

And the moment they finally left, the grinning Gojo and Utahime immediately lose the smiles on their faces. And they spit out the cake in their mouths and into the trash bin.

"We're never doing this again." Gojo hissed as they cleaned up their station.

"OK." Utahime nods in firm agreement, giving her boyfriend a circle OK sign with her thumb and index finger.

"It's not that we suck at baking." He continues. And he dumps their misshapen cake into a cute cardboard box. "It's just that - "

" - Baking sucks." Utahime finished for him with that same dedicated nod. And Gojo laughs almost instantly. And he gives his girlfriend a solid thumbs up.

.

.

Later that day, they visit a surprised Shoko at Tokyo University. She had just finished her rounds in the hospital when she found the two love birds waiting for her at the lobby.

"What a surprise!" She greeted them with a tired smile. "Aren't you two on a date? Why are you guys here?"

Gojo and Utahime only answered her with a wide grin. And it was starting to make the smiling Shoko uncomfortable.

"We made this for you."

Shoko peered into the box in their hands.

"A cake?"

Gojo and Utahime gave her a nod. And Shoko could only smile.

"That's so sweet." She grins, gingerly taking the box in her hands. "It's alright if I share this with my classmates?"

Gojo and Utahime exchanged a look.

And the next instant, to Shoko's absolute bewilderment, Gojo snatches the cake back. And he and Utahime dash out the hospital.

Shoko was left standing there, downright confused. And even more so when she received another cake that night from the couple, delivered from an upscale bakery downtown.

They were so odd, she thought to herself with a laugh then. Still, she sends them a text, thanking them for the cake they sent over. It was honestly, the best cake she's ever eaten.

Notes:

.

.

.

.

Connected with my universe/HC/past works of them dating in HS then breaking up. - The One Day one, and there's a couple of chapters on top related to this.

Chapter 41: No. 25: "Look both ways."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"I went down to Kyoto recently." Atsuya sipped his whisky and frowned at Ijichi; the two of them were surrounded by fellow sorcerers. Everyone was dining out together, the faculty and students bonding on a rare night out. The two more responsible and mature staff didn't bother with the mess the Gojo clan head was creating with the students.

"Sensei, the Matsusaka! - " Hakari pulled the plate towards them, dumping the wagyu on Gojo's black, stone plate and keeping the other for himself.

"Senpai - " Yuta tried to talk them down. "The food's not going anywhere..."

"Wake up, Yuta!" Hakari cried. And on their seats, Atusya and Ijichi could only cringe from secondhand embarrassment. "You're looking at a week's worth of food! Imagine all the money we'll save!"

Yuta's eyes widen. And his eyes started seeing the numbers shoot and fly before him.

Before long, Yuta starts diving down and focusing on the succulent wagyu. And their white-haired sensei nearly chokes, laughing the moment he realized he had two students copying his technique.

The gourmet boom shouldn't be taken lightly!

"Yo!"

"Hei!" Gojo turned around with a huge grin, his mouth still full of food. "You picked up Megumi-chan!"

Megumi cringed and tried to make a reverse, wanting nothing more than to just get tf out of there and away from the insufferable man a few tables over. But, Yaga only grabbed him by the collar and held him in place.

"Watch your manners, Satoru!" The beefy man bellowed, making Megumi cringe from the awkwardness. Especially more so, when the man's scolding just made Gojo act out even more. He even had the gall to stick out his tongue filled with chewed up meat. And with that, Yaga snaps and locks the moron in a chokehold.

"Have some self-respect in front of your students!" He yelled and locked him tight; that Gojo finally tapped out in defeat; earning a confused glare from Megumi. And Atsuya and Ijichi teardrops... this idiot Gojo Satoru will never straighten up his act, will he?

"I tried following your advice." Atsuya turns to his kouhai, trying to channel out the loud chortling fool a few seats away. "Tried being more direct."

Ijichi raised his brows.

"But she's as dense as ever."

"Kept asking me about my technique. Told me about needing to train that new recruit with the same technique. Kasumi, I think her name was."

"All throughout dinner," Atsuya grimaced as he looked at the gold liquid swishing about. "Talked about nothing but work..."

"Even paid for her half of the dinner..."

Ijichi could only crease hide his empathy with a small, understanding smile.

"She was so cute in high school." Atsuya frowned, his cheeks tinting. "It's really a pity." He looks down at his glass with a somber expression. "Her scar."

"If she didn't have that scar, she'd long been married.

"She did have a number of suitors before." Ijichi nodded. "The Gojo clan was very interested, Ieiri-san told me."

"It's really tough," Atsuya mumbled reverently. "Being a woman sorcerer."

"Women shouldn't be made to fight in a man's battle."

"She reminds me of my sister." Atsuya told the sympathetic man beside him. "Small and dainty."

"When I first met her, I knew even then that she shouldn't be here."

"She should never have been a sorcerer."

"Her CT comes in handy every now and then." Atsuya continued. "But it's not enough reason to condemn the woman for life."

"Women are supposed to be cherished. Not hardened with all this fighting."

"If she gives me the chance, I'll make sure she doesn't have to lift another finger." He lets out a small smile.

"Starting a family would be a good reason to quit sorcery, don't you think?" He sighs at the heartwarming thought. And beside him, Ijichi shares his smile.

"But then again," Atsuya started to frown. "She told me she was waiting for someone." And he knots his brows, still unable to decipher what she meant. "Holding out for some idiot, she said."

"When he's done doing what he's doing, then she'll marry."

"I didn't know Iori-san was involved with someone." Ijichi's brows creased. And he sips his drink and thinks.

"She isn't." Atsuya tells him. "She went out of her way to make it clear." He smirked and let out a dry laugh.

"She was waiting for him to finish. Then she'll do whatever she wants, she said."

Ijichi turns to Atsuya. And they share a confused look. They honestly couldn't understand Utahime. Out of their group, she was the most dedicated one of them. She never questioned what she was doing. She never quit. And she didn't even bat an eye when she got scarred.

"That woman." Atsuya frowned. "She has to think of herself once in a while."

"What?"

Atsuya and Ijichi turn in surprise. And they frown at the sight of Gojo's smirk.

"Who're you to dictate what Utahime needs?" He laughed.

Atsuya hissed under his breath, his glass against his lips masking the spiteful tone of his voice. "Big talk for someone who's been mocking her her whole life."

"You don't even respect her as your senpai."

Gojo only laughed his head off at him.

"Ah!" Gojo laughed his head off. "I see it now!"

"You're shooting for Utahime?!" Atsuya could only grimace. "But she'd never go for you!"

And with a tilt of his head, with a teasing grin, his eyes creasing behind his bandaged eyes, Gojo tells the poor man,

"Utahime would never go for unreliable men like you." Gojo gives him a sorry smile. "That woman has a mind of her own."

"She knows what she wants."

And like that, right on cue, his phone rings. And he smirks and wags his phone for Atsuya to see the caller ID - 庵歌姫 (Iori Utahime).

His senpai could only flinch then. And he almost drops his drink when Gojo gives him a suggestive wink and jumps out of his seat to take the call.

.

"Utahime!" Gojo laughs into the receiver. He could vividly see Utahime's annoyed flinch.

"I found the den of Geto's cult here in Ukyo." Utahime tells him the second he answers her call.

"Ah," Gojo lets out a quiet sigh. And his lips spread into a small smile as he leans back against the cold, brick wall of the restaurant. It was winter out. And he could see the white wisp of his breath leave his lips. "Thanks, senpai."

"Senpai?" Utahime's voice rang on the other end of the line. "Senpai?!"

Gojo couldn't help but laugh.

"What's wrong with you?! Why can't you ever stop mocking me?! Is it so hard to respect your elders?!"

"You're just a year older than me." Gojo tells her with a fond smirk.

"Three! I'm three years your senior!"

With that small laugh in his lips, Gojo looks up at the night Tokyo skyline and smiles.

"Is it?" He teases her. And he cackles when she starts yelling at him over the receiver.

"Don't forget to look both ways when crossing the road, Utahime - "

"Of course?! Why wouldn't I?!" Utahime glares, stopping at the last moment in front of the red pedestrian sign. And with eyes narrowed in suspicion, that maybe her idiot kouhai was around, she scans the immediate vicinity for his stupid white hair.

"Ah, ah." Gojo laughed.

"Whatever." Utahime frowned, flushed as she walked through rural Kyoto. "I'll keep you posted so make sure to keep your phone charged."

"Stay safe, Utahime."

And he laughs again when she bursts in another spiel of -

"It's Iori-senpai to you, you idiot!"

And he laughs and laughs. As he leans back against the cool brick wall, he laughs; because, no matter what he did, there was just no winning over this woman.

.

"She'll never get married," Gojo smiled at them then, his confident tone was firm and unwavering.

And, with a playful tilt of his head, he tells them simply -

"Because that woman;" He smiles. "She's waiting for me."

Notes:

.

.

.

Utahime got mad when Gojo called her senpai because she firmly believes he was still mocking her.

Chapter 42: No. 51: "Are you sure?"

Chapter Text

Utahime flinched. And her body jerks the second she sees him.

She tries to simmer down her hate. She tries to tame the anger that bubbled deep in her gut.

It's been years since he defected. Years since she's crossed paths with him. He was far altered compared to those days long ago. His eyes were sharper. His gaze more severe. And his jovial smile, eerily sinister.

And she stops. She stops and frowns when he casually raises a hand and waves at her.

"Are you going to kill me?" Utahime asked him threateningly. They were a good distance away. And she hoped he didn't hear the shake in her voice.

"Are you going to attack me?" Her former schoolmate tilts his head and smiles. And his nonchalance makes her grit her teeth. This smug bastard didn't change one bit, did he?

"You haven't changed, have you, Utahime?"

Utahime locks her jaw. And Suguru gives her that same vile smile.

"Still so weak, ne?"

He chuckles at the visible tick on Utahime's eye, at the embarrassed flush on her face.

"You and your friend never did like me, ne?" The shrine maiden, the newly enlisted teacher of the Kyoto school spits at him and leans forward; ready in case she had to strike.

Suguru tilts his head and raises his brows, admittedly confused.

"Friend?"

"Always calling me weak."

"Always looking down at me."

Suguru starts to smile, at the sight of Utahime crouching down; a tell-tale sign that she was summoning her technique.

"How many innocent people do you have to kill before you're satisfied?"

"Ah."

Suguru chuckles.

"Are you sure?"

And he leans on his heels and playfully looks to the side, then upward.

"Satoru does, you know."

Utahime's face creases, not following; not understanding his cryptic words.

"Satoru likes you."

Suguru chuckles. And he starts walking towards her. And Utahime freezes where she stands.

"Odd, ne?"

Suguru smiles at her and continues forward.

And Utahime could do no more than cast her glare down as he walked past her.

Chapter 43: No. 62: "It can wait until tomorrow."

Notes:

hi hello - day 6

Chapter Text

Tsumiki bats her eyes. And she rests her cheek on the palm of her hand and leans in, her upper body over the kotatsu.

Her hazel eyes were curious, peering low, peering in; trying to find the person behind the bangs that covered their face, this person slumped over her small family house's kotatsu, snoring lightly and fast asleep.

She's already told them that she was already old enough. It's been two years since these random people kept showing up and looking after her, after her brother. It all started with that handsome, albeit weird white-haired man. When she saw him leering over her kid brother, she rushed out with a broom and kept swatting him away; only for Megumi to flush in embarrassment when the two started arguing in front of him - his older sister, yelling about child trafficking; and the oddball guy in the high school uniform, laughing his head off and calling his sister a chibi monster.

In the end, a more responsible-looking man came in later in the day; a burly, tanned man who wore shades. And they had a good talk over the best dinner they've had for the longest time.

Since then, they've been looked after well.

Especially by this young woman slumped on her family house's kotatsu, snoring lightly and fast asleep; drained after work.

Uta-nee-san didn't have to keep doing this. She didn't have to fill in for their absentee parents. The auxiliary staff of Jujutsu Tech were kind enough to look over them. Satoru-nii-san told them they were his friends. And his friends did everything he said.

Tsumiki scrunched her face then. And Megumi just glared.

This man was a fool; they thought then. Because that wasn't how friendship worked...

So, really; Uta-nee-san didn't have to come visit them after work. She didn't have to buy them dinner, teach them, and play with them.

She didn't have to. But she did.

And Tsumiki would smile then; because at some point, on those rare occasions, she'd see Megumi's lips curl into the smallest smile; until he realizes she's staring. Then he'd frown and look away the next instant.

Tsumiki smiles then, as she watches her nee-san sleep. And she pats the top of her head tenderly, affectionately.

"Sleep as much as you need, nee-san." She quietly whispers with that same smile. And she starts clearing the table.

Sometime, later that night; while Tsumiki and Megumi quietly scribbled on their textbooks, the door to their small apartment parted open. And they're greeted by Satoru's warm grin.

And Tsumiki pales at the ruckus he was making as he lazily kicked off his shoes at the entrance.

"Satoru-nii-san!" She hissed in alarm, jumping to her feet and nearly mauling the man. "SHHH!"

Satoru's blue eyes perked up from behind his shades.

"Utahime-nee-san's asleep!"

"Asleep?" His goofy grin rests into a smirk.

And, before Tsumiki can tell him off even more, he dumps a paper bag of treats into her surprised arms.

She was distracted for a second. But she wasn't going to be deterred! Satoru was an idiot who always messed with Utahime-nee-san! She was certain her crass provider was going to wake her up.

So, she dashes after him, in her small, quiet steps. And before she could yap and beg him to just let Utahime rest, she pauses, freezes at the sight of Satoru quietly crouching down beside Utahime.

"She's really tired, huh?" Tsumiki hears his hushed voice ask Megumi.

Megumi only tilts his head at Satoru. And her brother's cool voice drifts down the hallway.

"She's been asleep since six." He tells Satoru.

"Really?" The white-haired young man couldn't help but chuckle quietly. And he turns to look behind him, at Tsumiki who walks into the living room where everyone was. "Do you have a spare futon?"

Tsumiki knotted her brows, not understanding.

Then, she sees Satoru gently scoop the sleeping Utahime into his arms.

"She can sleep in my room." Tsumiki suddenly tells him. And she runs ahead and opens the door to the right. "I'll sleep with Megumi."

"Gojo...?"

Gojo's brows rise. And he smirks as Utahime lightly stirred in his arms.

"Your mission..." She started to wake. "I..."

"It can wait until tomorrow, Utahime." He hushes her with a small smile. And he quietly laughs at the light tuck in her lips.

"I'm going to be a teacher, Gojo." She mumbles, close to incoherent; half-asleep; half-conscious.

"Ah, ah."

"I need to keep training." She rattled on groggily as Gojo ducked under the low wooden beam of the door frame to Tsumiki's room and followed after the middle schooler.

"Hm." Gojo nodded with that same fond smirk.

"I'm going to be a teacher," She muttered to herself, slowly succumbing back to sleep, falling unconscious and warm; the muffled beat against her ear, stilling and calming her.

"I'm going to protect them." She mumbles off.

And Satoru smiles and holds her head a second close to his chest, before gently lying her on Tsumiki's futon.

"You will." He quietly whispers into her ear.

And he returns to the living room and helps the kids with what's left of their schoolwork.

Chapter 44: No. 5: "I'll walk you home."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Do you like him?"

Her cousin flushes.

"Is it so bad if I do?" And she frowns at her gullibleness. Just one small smile from him earlier, from Utahime's colleague, was enough to send her over the moon.

"Why would it be?" Utahime laughs at her. "He's attractive, ne?"

They were back at Utahime's apartment. They had just finished dinner when they ran into Gojo in Kyoto. And the first thing he does is show off his tickets to Koshien to the horrified and awed Utahime. And before Utahime's cousin could say anything - the two of them start raving about the teams. And they start arguing about who'll win - that Utahime's cousin would soon find herself in a bar and trying to mediate between the two.

And before they parted ways that night. Gojo, off to his hotel; and Utahime and her cousin to Utahime's apartment, Gojo asks her if she was free to go with him.

"You should go out with him."

"He's an idiot." Utahime said as she frowned at the exam she was checking. Whenever Nobuko Takada releases anything new, Todo would just be a shut in otaku and not bother with schoolwork or sorcery at all...

"He's an idiot." She finally looks up from her desk, to her cousin visiting her. "But he's a good guy."

And she gives her a smile.

"You should go with him."

"God knows that idiot needs a change and date a good woman for once."

Her cousin only laughs at her, surprised by the sharp, annoyed turn of her sweet demeanor.

"All right." Her cousin grins. "I'll take his offer."

Utahime's cousin meets Gojo at the ballpark the next day. He was already on his seat. And if he was surprised that she came alone, he was good enough not show it.

"Utahime thought we'd hit it off." She tells Gojo with a pretty flush on her face. And Gojo gives her a warm smile as she slipped into the seat beside him.

"I've never met anyone from her family," Gojo tells her later, on the way to dinner.

They had quite a blast in the game. It was impossible not to. Koshien was the most lively, most spirited game in all of Japan. It was always a treat to watch, even for someone like her who didn't particularly like baseball.

"Even after all these years." Gojo snickered. "Pretty sure she made sure I didn't."

"You've known Utahime long, ne?" Utahime's cousin smiles up at her date. And Gojo perks up. "Since high school?"

"She talks about me?" Gojo turns to her with an amused smile.

"Uh," Utahime's cousin blushed under Gojo's gaze. Even behind his shades, his eyes were penetrating.

"She's talked about you," She trails off, surprised by his sudden attentiveness. "Once, twice, maybe." She lied and looked away; and she awkwardly remembers the countless times over the years Utahime would come home to their family compound and just rant and beat the straw dummies named Gojo Satoru with a stick. There were plenty of those in the backyard when they were younger...

They have dinner. And Utahime's cousin couldn't help but blush the entire night long. Because Gojo Satoru, he doesn't beat around the bush. He knew he was attractive. And he used it to his advantage.

Knowing him now, Utahime's cousin could only wonder how Utahime could think this man was nothing more than an annoying idiot. He was apparently rich. And smart. And the most handsome and charming man she's ever met. He was such a different person from everything Utahime's told her about him...

He'd say the most inconsequential thing; his throat would lock in a laugh; he'd just turn to give her a small smile; and already, her heart would twist into bits and pieces.

Utahime? She cried; alarms already blaring in her head - because she was definitely falling in love - and falling fast! How?! How was Utahime able to be around this gorgeous man nearly half her life?! And not once- Fall- For- him?!

"Utahime played Little League?"

Utahime's cousin snapped back to reality.

"I can see that." Gojo smiled.

With a blush on her cheeks, Utahime's cousin shows her phone out to him.

"Hm. She forced all of us to go with her." She smiled and scrolled through her feed, where she posted a couple of their childhood photos. "But she's the only one who stuck with it."

"Hm." Gojo tucks his lips. And she smiles when he takes her phone, thinking she was glad; pleasantly surprised that Gojo was taking an interest in her childhood.

"What's this?" Gojo laughs at a picture of kid Utahime wearing her baseball uniform, all covered in mud.

"Oh!" Utahime's cousin leaned against Gojo and laughed with him. "That was when Utahime fought all those junior high kids!"

"What?" Gojo snickered, propping his elbows on the table and leaning closer and hogging the phone; zooming in and out of Utahime's scratched up, muddy face. "She didn't!" He couldn't help but throw his head back, cackling.

"She did." Utahime's cousin laughed. "She beat every single one of them!"

"Ran them off our field with a baseball bat!"

Laughing his head off, Gojo swipes to the next picture. Then the next. And the next. And he throws his head back when he finds another picture of Utahime and her cousin in a shrine for New Year's. And he zooms into Utahime's face, horribly red from the cold air. And he laughs his head off.

"What face is that?!" He cackled and cackled. And beside him, Utahime's cousin knots her brows, confused. But she still tries to laugh with him.

They go over a few more photos. But the ones that seemed to interest him the most was the ones with Utahime. And they've gone through all that already. So, Gojo just leans back and smiles at her. And he asks her if she wanted to get some coffee back at his place.

With a blush, she tells him - okay.

And Gojo smiles and excuses himself for the restroom.

And she doesn't notice it at first. But she finds his wallet by her feet. It must've fallen from all his laughing earlier, she thought then with a small smile. This man was so silly, she thought to herself; a fond tuck on her lips.

And she doesn't mean to. She didn't mean to. But she opens his wallet. And she smiles at the picture up front. It was old and wrinkled and tucked in deep. And she sees a younger Gojo in his high school uniform. She sees three of them, a pale-looking girl and a guy with odd bangs. And she sees a larger, bulkier tanned man standing behind them.

And her eyes widen; she loses the smile on her face, when she notices a small, old, tanned photo to the side; a discolored ID photo of a middle school girl.

And she shuts the wallet in her hands. And her hands grow cold. Her heart hammers in her chest; at the sight of the familiar picture; the same ones she always saw when she was younger.

And she shuts the wallet and puts it away, puts it on Gojo's side of the table and she keeps it to herself.

When Gojo returns, she gives him a smile and tells him he dropped his wallet. And when Gojo hails them a cab, she tells him that she suddenly felt under the weather, that she underestimated her tire from the game earlier.

And when she goes back home, when Utahime opens her door to her in surprise and tells her with a disbelieving knot on her brows; her protective side kicking in -

"He made you go home alone?"

Utahime's cousin, she just didn't know what to say. It was too confusing. So, she keeps quiet. She keeps it all to herself.

And when she overhears Utahime berating her date over the phone, how it was late; how he should've known better; how he should've been a gentleman and have the decency to at least walk his date home; she keeps quiet.

She remembers the familiar kid from that old, torn photo.

And she looks at her cousin, at Utahime; and she sees her, she sees the Utahime she knew back in middle school; that same girl whose picture, for some reason, was carefully tucked in Gojo's wallet;

And she keeps quiet.

Because, she didn't know. She had no idea what to say.

Notes:

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[And before they parted ways that night. Gojo, off to his hotel; and Utahime and her cousin to Utahime's apartment, Gojo asks her if she was free to go with him.]

This was a miscommunication. Gojo meant if she was free to go with him and Utahime.

Chapter 45: No. 31: "Don't worry about me."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Utahime snarled at both of her kouhais. They've been moping around for god knows how long. Gojo's been a depressive, prissy snob. And Nanami's never really moved on from Haibara's death that he's constantly spaced out; that he's barely improving as a sorcerer. If he kept this up, he wouldn't be endangering just himself.

"So, you both lost your partners, so what?!"

Nanami and Gojo both grimace.

"You'll lose so many more people!"

"It's the life of a sorcerer!"

"Hold your head high!"

"You!"

Nanami flinched.

"Go train! Perfect black flash!"

And he frowns sourly, petulantly as his senpai kept scolding him... worst of it was, he was being lumped with his irritating senpai...

"And you -"

Gojo snarled up at Utahime. And Utahime didn't even bat an eye at the dark, spiteful gaze he sent her.

"Return to being your stupid self!"

"The both of you are unbelievable!"

Gojo and Nanami groaned and threw their heads back; slumping further back into the couch they were on.

Utahime's been at it for a while now. They were honestly losing their heads. If they hadn't been locked inside with her, with everyone outside guarding the door, with Shoko threatening them - that she'd never do anything for them ever again should they (Satoru) try to escape - well, if it weren't for everyone conniving and scheming and calling them idiot men - forcing them into an open therapy - a stupid, unnecessary intervention - something - Gojo barked, his taunting tone dripping with sarcasm, at Utahime with an annoyed flush on his face - she should've done with Geto - since just talking about your feelings would magically fix every problem in the world - then maybe he wouldn't have to be held against his will by his weak senpai -

Still - Utahime - She was one of a kind -

She just kept at it. She kept telling them off -

And Gojo couldn't tell if he was annoyed or impressed.

"You aren't the only people in the world who's lost someone!"

"That's why we're sorcerers! We serve a higher purpose!"

"You're both so strong, right?!"

Nanami and Gojo frown at her.

"Then show it to everyone!"

"Prove Geto wrong!"

"And make Haibara proud!"

"The both of you are all just idiots!"

Nanami and Gojo groan for the nth time that afternoon.

"Get it together!"

"Even I won't always be around to whip you two back into shape!"

Gojo clicked his tongue.

"You think I'd let anything happen to you?" He couldn't help but snap at Utahime.

"Don't worry about me!"

"We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, Gojo." Utahime glares at him. "Our lives will never have stability. That's why we should make the most of everyday."

And she smiles at him, at her kouhais.

"Whatever it is, as your senpai," She proudly points to herself, to her chest with a thumb. "I'll always be here."

Nanami and Gojo frown. But they get it. They quiet down.

They guessed that one way or the other, if anything; Utahime yelling their ears off meant that she cared about them. She was kind that way. Even to him, Nanami frowned at the man beside him. Even to his idiot senpai.

"You should have the national flag behind you the next time you do this." Gojo sneers at his senpai.

And Utahime only gives him a sour frown.

"If that's it, I'll go ahead." Nanami rose from his seat.

"You get it at least, right Kento?" Utahime had to make sure. She wanted to know that her empathy at least reached Nanami.

"I do." Nanami gives her a small smile.

Utahime beams that second. And Gojo couldn't believe his eyes when Utahime just opens up her arms to Nanami and they give each other an embrace.

And when they part, when Utahime finds his surprised gaze, he flushes when she gives him a small smile.

"You too." She takes the few steps separating them. "Come here."

And before he could grasp that Utahime was hugging him, she already pulls away and tells him to keep going forward.

"You're the most annoying one of them all." She pinches his cheek and unknowingly strikes dead center into his boyish heart; "Try not being such a headache to everyone."

And when they leave the room, when Nanami notices that Gojo was as solid as a rock, the young sorcerer could only grimace in secondhand embarrassment.

"God," Nanami hissed as he passed Gojo. "You're so whipped."

And the flushed Gojo could only splutter like a fish out of water - gritting his teeth and snarling at his kouhai - "Shutup."

And they follow their senpai out of the dormitories.

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Notes:

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I will never get over it. The idea that the OP Gojo Satoru is also an idiot kouhai crushing over his senpai.

This bit is taken from Chapter 77 I think, when Shoko laughs at Suguru - when he tells her she wouldn't understand his conflict, even should he tell her. And she laughs to his face and tells him that's why she thinks he's an idiot - because he thinks they wouldn't understand. Gege writes the girls like they all have it figured out. And he generally writes his men like absolute idiots or downright monsters. That guy, I can't haha

Chapter 46: No. 32: "It looks good on you."

Chapter Text

Utahime frowned up at him. This idiot's been standing beside her for a while now... And he was getting to her nerves; this man tilting his head and frowning beside her, thinking and carefully considering it; what she's just said -

"You talk to them, huh?" He purses his lips. And he holds his chin in deep thought.

"I do." Utahime snarled at him. She hated talking to him. It was a chore having to look so far up.

"Huh." Gojo still couldn't wrap his head around it - the idea that Utahime openly talks with her students about their... feelings. "And that really helps?"

"You know Gojo," Utahime sighed and massaged her head in disbelief. How was this idiot responsible for all these children? "If they mean enough to you, you should cross the bridge yourself."

"They're children, not weapons. Not everything is about getting stronger."

"Haha."

"What?" Utahime quickly snapped, already writhing in defense.

"What?" Gojo starts to grin. "I didn't say anything."

Utahime looked away. Still she pursed her lips, still wary of him.

"I did think it. But I didn't say it." His grin spreads as the fire in her eyes grew. "That it's funny. How you'd think getting stronger isn't important - "

Utahime saw red in an instant.

And Gojo laughed his head off when she suddenly whirls and tries to hit his shin with her heels. And she cries in pure, unadulterated indignation, when she - once again; and for the millionth time - only meets his infinity.

And with an annoyed cry, she stomps away before he could poke more fun at her.

"Utahime!"

He laughs after her, at his senpai fuming away and stomping.

"What?!" She yelled at him from over her shoulder.

"That dress looks good on you." He smiles. And he laughs again when she flushes red all over again, this time in embarrassment. "Your date won't know what hit him."

"Mi-mind your own business!" Utahime sputtered. And Gojo throws his head back laughing.

With a frustrated sigh, Utahime frowns at him, at her idiot kouhai and colleague. And with a wave goodbye, she tucks her hair over an ear; showing her beautiful face, unmarred, unscarred; radiant and all made up for the evening. And, with a careful duck of her head, she slips into a one of the school's cars and leaves Gojo at the sidewalk, smiling and waving to her in good night.

Chapter 47: No. 64: "It's two sugars, right?"

Chapter Text

When Utahime finds him in the basement, holed up with a pile of DVDs, lounging on the couch and his head hanging over the handrest; a mop of white hair draping leather; she frowns almost instantly in disappointment.

"I heard you're back." She greets him as she coolly walks across the rec room.

"Just got back." Gojo lazily answers back; the muffled noise from the movie playing on flat screen TV filling the gaps in their exchange.

There was a spread of snacks to the side. An assortment of teas and coffee too. And idly, Utahime prepares herself a cup of tea.

"Didn't he mean a lot to you?" She asks him after a while, as she poured hot water into her tea cup; the liquid falling in a quiet flow.

Gojo arches a brow at her. And he twists his lips.

"And you've been saying you're fine?"

Utahime sets down the kettle. And Gojo frowns.

"You're really an idiot, ne?" She finally turns to him. And her hazel eyes dance with the light flickering from the TV.

"Why?"

Gojo leans back, stoic and nonchalant; his arms casually draped over the headrest of the leather couch.

"What am I supposed to look like?"

"I don't know." Utahime tilts her head and gives him a good, hard look.

"Uglier." She smiles.

And Gojo's lips start to twist into a smirk.

"That's an impossible feat, Utahime." He rises to his feet and laughs.

"Why are you men so emotionally stunted?" Utahime sighed to herself as Gojo approached her.

"Why do women fixate so much on feelings?" Gojo sighs too, reaching out and picking up the coffee cup beside her; the back of his hand lightly brushing against hers; his skin tanned; large and rough and calloused too.

"Has it never occurred to them? That maybe there really is nothing there?"

Beside him, Utahime casts him an unamused look and sneers.

And when Gojo openly meets her disagreement with a cheeky, unfazed smile; she looks away and glares down at her tea cup.

Chuckling quietly, Gojo pours himself some coffee. And the silence between them is filled by the sound of pouring liquid and the quiet clanging of metal utensils against porcelain.

"Three sugars, ne?"

"Hm." Gojo nods. And he watches Utahime's hand linger over his cup; sugar cubes plopping into his coffee as her fingers lifted one after the other.

"We'll never see eye to eye, will we?" Utahime frowns up at him.

Gojo's lips spread into a small grin beside her. And with his voice as smooth as silk, he leans down and chuckles.

"Never, Utahime."

He leans down, slips a hand over her waist. And gently, he pulls her to him.

And with a small smirk on his lips, with his breath brushing against her lips; with his drink forgotten; he breathes her in and smells the faint sweet jasmine tea lingering in the air around her.

"We never will." He tells her, a hand tenderly brushing aside the hair over her face. And Utahime meets the sky in his eyes and smiles,

She smiles up at him, wraps her arms over his neck; and quietly, she pulls him down to her, stealing his every breath with a tender kiss that nipped at his lips; that tasted the bitter coffee in his tongue and twisted his guts and made his chest flutter and ache and feel.

And he holds her tight. He wraps his arms around her, breathes her in; and he closes his eyes and holds her tight.

Chapter 48: No. 93: "I believe in you."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I had a friend before, he smiles at Yuuji; the both of them seated on the couch. A man who had it all figured out.

Loved that guy. I'd kill for him, no questions asked.

I thought we were the same. I'd mess around. He'd set me straight.

Everything he did had purpose. Everything he did was for someone else.

He was strong. And he'd still put everyone first.

He was the brother I never had. The only best friend I'll ever know.

When I met him, I thought that was finally it. This guy would get me. No one did before. But I was certain this guy would.

He was like me. Strong too. No one could touch us. No one would come close.

But things happen. People change.

Lost him out of nowhere. Gojo snapped his fingers and laughed.

I realized then it was just me.

Realized that it was the same in the end. Being strong brought us together. And it also tore us apart.

I still don't get it. Why he hated me. He was strong too. But he'd hate me too. Gojo laughed dryly.

Guess he'd realize no matter what he did, he'd never come close to me in the end.

He didn't seem like the type to care. I sure didn't.

That's the burden of the strongest, Yuuji. He smiles at his student.

No one will ever understand my power. And I'll always be hated because of it.

That's why I don't care. Gojo leans back and lazily stretches his arms overhead. Why bother when it's all the same in the end. He laughs.

Ne, sensei.

Hm?

I'm sorry -

Utahime raised her brows and turns back to them, to Gojo's first years.

We had no idea how mean he could be -

Gojo? Utahime turned to Yuuji, Nobara and Megumi in surprise.

Un! Nobara and Yuuji nod firmly in a deep apology, on behalf of their idiot sensei. He really went out of line!

I've told this a million times to you, ne? She smiles at Megumi, chuckling at the silly thought she's had to repeat to the poor young ward of the idiot Gojo clan head over the years.

We just have to be patient around that moron.

Believe it or not. She tilts her head and crosses her arms, drifting back in thought. He has everyone's best interest in mind.

Also, She grimaces. He was much worse when we were younger.

But, he's trying.

He has a lot on his plate. Utahime looks at the kids with a gentle expression on her face. But he's trying.

For now, we just have to understand him.

God knows, Utahime tells them as they descend the stairs to Kokichi's apartment; that idiot needs all the help he can get.

I'm alone, Yuuji. Gojo chuckles at him. I'll always be.

No one will ever have the patience to understand me. He smiles.

And I don't mind.

I guess we fight a lot. Utahime furrowed her brows and frowned. But we work well together.

And I believe in him. Utahime laughed lightly, her own words alien and ridiculous to her. And she tucks her lips and sighs. I'd do anything for that moron.

Now,

She turns and scans the room numbers stretching down the hallway.

Let's get to the bottom of this and look for Mechamaru-kun.

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Notes:

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I don't know how cryptic my drabbles are. I just hope you guys get it... ahahah. To those who's reached this far into the series, thanks for joining me. We're almost at the halfway mark!

Chapter 49: No. 69: "I bought you a ticket."

Notes:

Kumoko - Hikousen

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"You're kidding."

Gojo frowned, trying hard to keep still. Even he couldn't believe it.

"You like baseball too?"

Gojo narrowed his eyes.

"I can't imagine anyone who doesn't."

"You're kidding me."

"You? You like baseball too?"

"I do."

Gojo started to glare.

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?"

"You? You?"

And he starts to grimace now too.

"Don't you just blow up things and make fun of everyone?"

Gojo looked at her like she was dumb.

"What am I, a bomb?"

"I don't know." Utahime narrowed her eyes and leaned in. The third year and the first year, the two of them were crouched down and huddled up in the courtyard, the both of them under the shade of a tree. And their friends try to enjoy this peaceful time where they weren't fighting.

"Favorite team?"

"Seibu Lions." Utahime answered in a beat. "Favorite player?"

"Ichiro-sama."

"Ahck." Utahime's head dipped. And she scratches the back of her head and hides the excited flush on her face from her idiot kouhai.

"Ne,"

Gojo's blue eyes perk up. And his lips frown in surprise, unknowingly growing flushed himself; at the sight of the embarrassed expression on his senpai's face.

"Want to go with me?"

Gojo pursed his lips and tried to keep still.

"I'm going up to Saitama on Saturday."

"My treat." She smiles up at him.

And it takes everything in Gojo not to maul her.

"You serious?" His voice was low.

"I am." Utahime started to glare. Still, she'd have that embarrassed flush. Getting along with this fool was an impossibility. But here they were.

"You seriously asking me on a date?"

Utahime's eyes widened into saucers. And Gojo hissed a silent curse, just realizing his mistake.

"WHAT?!"

Gojo deadpanned then and there. And he covers his ears from the painful shriek that cut through the quiet.

"A-ASK YOU OUT?!"

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Utahime tries to hit him. But she's only met with his infinity again. And she nearly combusts into herself -

"WHY-WHY WOULD I ASK YOU OUT?!"

Her entire body was red with humiliation. And Gojo could only grimace when she stands and fumes away.

"You just did..."

Utahime's eye ticked. And she saw nothing but red.

"A-AS IF!"

And Gojo could only laugh in disbelief as he watched her fume away; flushed and red and angry as always.

"See you Saturday, Utahime!"

"DO-DON'T BOTHER!" She splutters back, still very much angry and red and humiliated too.

"I'll buy the tickets!" Gojo yells after her.

And he throws his head back laughing when Utahime just hisses at him from the hallway. And he laughs at her. He laughs and laughs. Because he honestly can't imagine himself ever getting tired of how red and puffy her face would get - every. single. time.

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Notes:

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Utahime's canonically a fan of Saitama Seibu Lions.

She's a teacher from Kyoto. People HC her to be from Kyoto since HS. But her favorite team is less than an hour away from Tokyo. You have the more popular Hanshin Tigers from Osaka, less than an hour away from Kyoto. But she's a fan of Saitama Seibu... That's a team seven hours away from her by train...

The only other character we know to love baseball like she does is Gojo. These two idiots are best friends, I swear to the heavens. They super went to baseball games and geeked out together growing up. I'm dyinggg.

Also, if you're embarrassed that you simp over GoUta, remember - KenRik is here and simping way worse. xD Hope we get canon GoUta XDD

Chapter 50: No. 81: "Sweet dreams."

Notes:

Bakusou Yumeuta - Diggy-MO'

Do not underestimate - how much I love this fucking chapter. AHAHAHHA

Warning: Curse words for days! HAHAHA

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Jōgo sneered at the asshole crouching down and low beside him. And he grimaced. He fucking wanted to erupt and kill everyone around him out of damn fucking spite. But this smug asshole was beside him; there, just right next to him, that he was afraid to even take a fucking breath with this fucker so close.

First he manhandles him. Lords over him with his power and shit domain. And the next thing he knew, he was warped with him to who the fuck knows where.

"Had no idea she was dating again." His captor clicks his tongue. And beside him, Jōgo's eye wouldn't stop twitching in absolute loathing -

The fuck was this shit -

"You think they're hitting it off?"

Jōgo's eye ticks. And he clenches his jaw and forces himself to peek over the window sill and into this fucking fancy, yellow-lighting, jazz music-playing shithole. Fucking humans sickened him to his core. All this stupid shit just to get dinner?

"Oi,"

Jōgo grits when the hand gripping him over his nape dug in deep and started to crush into his armor. He feels a chill grow in the air. And he pales in a growing dread -

"The-they're obviously not." He splutters red and clenches his fists; frothing in the mouth and absolutely livid - utterly - just utterly humiliated -

"Oh?"

His captor starts to smile. And Jōgo feels his extremities shake in complete and utter loathing.

"She doesn't like him." Jōgo finds himself blurting out before he could stop himself. And he rakes his brain. He tries to remember all those shit korean dramas Hanami forced on him over the past year. "She's playing polite. Doesn't want to offend him."

"You have a good eye on these things?"

Jōgo sneers at his captor playfully tilting his head and pouting.

"I can never tell myself."

Fucker - Jōgo's eye nearly pops out in rage - acting all innocent and sickeningly sweet when he just fucking dismembered him seconds ago like nothing -

"I didn't even know she was dating again."

Who the fuck cares?! Jōgo screamed into himself, his skin burning in outrage. This man - he swears - he'll have his day with this overpowered fucker - !

"But then again,"

Jōgo's eye ticks. And he pales - fucking pales when he realizes he's suddenly hanging over the edge of a skyscraper; dangling over the edge like some poor man's motherfucking toy -

"I don't want her to get mad at me again." His captor purses his lips thoughtfully. And Jōgo sees nothing but splotches of red, his gut writhing and his skin crawling in complete outrage -

"For some reason, she always gets mad at me." The fucking sorcerer piled on. And Jōgo just wanted to punch him right dead center his face -

"Ever since high school." The bastard tilts his head and sighs a deep, melancholy sigh. "Always red and angry." He chuckled.

And Jōgo had to keep himself from gagging.

"We'd look so cute together, ne?"

Jōgo flinches - at the strong wind that blew past him - and his eye narrows - at the sight of the ocean before him; the salty breeze stinging his one eye.

This fucker -

His knees weaken - his fingers numb in absolute horror -

Did this motherfucker just warp them to the ocean?!

And he pales - Jōgo pales when he suddenly - drops - DROPS - through the whirring air. And he's nearly consumed by the errant waves crashing into each other when his sick, twisted captor grabs his yellow, black-spotted poncho at the last possible second; and the rocky waves splash and graze his newly polished boots.

And his grey face drains of color - flushing absolutely white when he hears the roaring thunder crash through the stormy clouds; and he looks up with a fearful eye. He looks up and he sees the dark glint in his captor's steely sapphire eyes; a white strike of lightning shooting down from the sky and outlining the sharp, chilling features of this piece of shit strongest sorcerer - his grip on him; strong and firm; his expression malicious, bloodthirsty and horrifyingly homicidal.

And for once in his short life - Jōgo sees it. That instant, he sees the full embodiment of everything he's always loathed and feared - all in this one man - the deadliest sorcerer of their time -

"You eat mochi?"

Jōgo's eye twitches. And as rain starts to fall on his face; he squints - thinking he was seeing wrong - when he sees the raindrops bounce off an invisible force around his captor and drench him instead -

But before he could make anymore of it - Jōgo's entire world spins once again - and he lands on a plain of luscious greenery. He lands and drops to his knees. And he pukes - he pukes his guts out; cold sweat running through his skin and a chill digging deep into his bones -

"I barely get to see her. And the time I do, she tells me she has a date."

Jōgo flinches, jerks away at the sight of the plate of mochi suddenly in front of his face.

And when he just sees the bright, wide, friendly grin on his captor's face - Jōgo - he just deadpans.

He frowns and gives up. He fucking gives up and quietly eats the sweet dessert in his hands; a piping cup of hot tea gingerly beside him. He was honestly left with no other option but to sit on this bench made of bamboo by the side of the road; his feet dangling over the ground; far too physically, emotionally and mentally drained to give a shit anymore -

And he tries to channel him out - he tries to focus on the buzzing cicadas, on the fireflies around them; their soft, warm light fading in and out in a quiet, calming pulse.

Beside him; his captor - this overpowered piece of shit sorcerer - he crosses his legs and leans back beside him on the bamboo bench; here at this makeshift mochi store on this random mountain in some province in the middle of nowhere, playfully swinging his hand back and forth with the cool, evening breeze.

"You'd think us being teachers meant seeing each other more."

"It doesn't." His captor sighs.

And Jogo just frowns and keeps to his mochi as the white-haired shithead blabbed on and on -

"I should call her, check how she's doing."

Jōgo narrowed his eye. And he seethes when he tells the fucking moron beside him -

"Don't. Call. Her."

"If you're just going to act like a jealous ex, don't call her."

"Jealous ex?" His captor laughs coldly. "We've never even dated."

Jōgo flinches at the annoyed tuck on the bastard's lips. And he curses his fucking luck when he sees the cold, demented sapphire eyes of his captor turn to him; his jovial, aloof demeanor lost in a snap of a finger.

"And why would I be jealous of a nonsorcerer?" His icy bite could cut through glass.

Twitching, Jōgo tries to pace himself; he tries to thread carefully, thread lightly - "Cause he's with her," He tells the dangerous man beside him. "And you're over here..."

"Ah?"

Jōgo loses the taste in his mouth. And he feels the air twist and condense in disturbingly powerful fog -

"You know your kind are the only reason I'm here, right?"

Jōgo's face flushes white.

"It's because of curses like you that I'm not with her - you know that, right?"

"It's because of curses like you - "

Jōgo cowers at the black that started to envelope them.

" - That I can't retire and live my own life."

"You know that - "

Jōgo's eye widens at the insane levels of cursed energy converging and concentrating in his captor's hands -

" - Right?"

Fuck.

Jōgo's mochi drops to the floor. And he tries to run out the void - but he just falls into a dark, empty pit. And he turns, looks overhead; and he sees the hateful sneer of that fucking piece of shit Gojo Satoru looking down at him in disgust.

"You're too weak for me." The fucker spat. His tone coy; condescending; and cold.

And Jōgo's jaw locks; and he writhes in anger -

"Maybe, next time, ne~?"

Jōgo paled; that second he sees the deadly flicker in this overpowered sorcerer's demented blue eyes, he pales in a deep, bone-chilling dread -

"Sweet dreams, curse-chyyan~!"

And he's left there, with his dismembered head suddenly popping out of the domain and rolling down a cliff and falling deep into the ocean.

Stewing in anger, in revenge; at the deepest, darkest trench of the ocean - Jōgo swore - he fucking swore to all the gods listening - that the day would come - the day would come when he'll give that motherfucker Gojo Satoru a taste of his own medicine!

Notes:

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The take away is - Gojo needs more friends he can rant to... AHAHAHHAAH

Reupload. Cause I had to make it longer. I don't know, man. Just kept laughing writing this. HAHAHAH Gojo forcing Jōgo to stalk Utahime with him on her date - why does this seem too plausible? I CANT - AHAHAHAHAH POOR Jōgo! HAHAHHA

Chapter 51: No. 92: "I want you to be happy."

Chapter Text

The students frowned among themselves. And they scratch their heads awkwardly as they waited in the back.

They've been at it for a while - these two senseis of theirs. After the baseball game, Iori-sensei clapped her hands and called for everyone's attention.

They all turn to her, confused as they packed up for the day; talking among themselves about what the dinner menu was at the cafeteria; when, with a beaming smile, Iori-sensei tells them that they'll be treating them to dinner and karaoke - as a post-celebration for the successful culmination of the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event!

Everyone of them - Yuuji especially - cried in absolute awe and excitement - smacked and shook by an eager Nobara behind him; and he, in turn, smacks the unamused Megumi - for a good one second at least, before he himself was mauled by an overly enthusiastic Todo.

Which brought them now to this lively karaoke place in the middle of bustling downtown Tokyo.

And they've been at it for a while - these two senseis - picking and choosing from the catalogue - which food and room they were getting.

They were both leaning over the counter, arm to arm against each other as they browsed through the catalogue for the best option for their large group.

"We should get this one."

Yuuji could hear Gojo-sensei's quiet snicker as he pointed to a room type. And his brows perk up when Iori-sensei laughs back a - baka.

"The kids won't need a stage just to sing."

"What about me?"

Yuuji starts to smile, honestly surprised that the two teachers were getting along.

"I'd need a stage."

"What about drinks?" Iori-sensei hid her laugh behind a hand. And Gojo-sensei snickers with her and leans against her more;

"Let's just get them all cokes."

"What?!"

Yuuji smiles, curious and taken off guard by their friendly dynamic. He wouldn't have guessed that they were close. And he laughs when he hears her sharp hiss.

"That's too much junk food!" Iori-sensei cries in disbelief. And Yuuji perks up at the fond smirk his sensei wore. He had absolutely no idea his sensei had this side to him.

"Oi, minna-san!"

Everyone turn to their annoying, snickering sensei.

"What's everyone drinking~?"

Lemon soda!

Iced tea!

Brown sugar tea!

Diet coke!

A sprite for me!

Sparkling wine!

Cream soda!

Strawberry milkshake!

- Shake!

Make that two!

Gojo-sensei laughed in disbelief and scratched the back of his head. And beside him, Iori-sensei shook her head and gave the students a fond smile.

"Ne, Yuuji!"

Yuuji perks up at his sensei's call.

"Mind taking all that down for me?"

Yuuji's fiery eyes sparkle at the sight of his sensei leaning against the counter, tilting his head and smiling and all happy - that he couldn't resist giving his favorite sensei a spirited, heartfelt - "Un!"

And he pulls out his phone and takes note of everyone's orders.

Yuuji was so kind and patient with everyone - that he could only laugh awkwardly when his senpais start abusing his power as the order taker - with Panda and Toge crouching down beside him even after everyone's given their orders. And they make him add several more expensive menu items to the group tab -

"Salmon skin chips - "

Panda counted one by one with his fingers.

"Pork belly thrice fried - "

"Okaka!" Toge nodded passionately.

"Caviar fish roe!"

"Shake!" And he and Panda pump their fists to the air.

"Mozzerella sticks too!"

Yuuji scratched his head and wondered if Gojo-sensei wouldn't mind...

"Buffallo wings!"

"Okaka!"

And when he gives the list to Iori-sensei and Gojo-sensei by the counter; as everyone else finally moved on and ahead to the room their senseis booked - Yuuji grins when Iori-sensei takes the list from him with a beaming smile.

"You were incredible earlier, Itadori-kun!" She cheered with a friendly grin. "Were you part of your Junior High team?"

Yuuji blushed and scratched his head shyly.

"This kid was part of all the clubs." Gojo-sensei laughed and ruffled Yuuji's hair. "My secret weapon." He winks at the bashful Yuuji.

"Ehh?" Iori-sensei looked at Gojo-sensei in disbelief. "That's incredible!"

"When you finally get sick of this idiot, just tell me, ne?" Iori-sensei chuckled. "I'll help you transfer to Kyoto Tech."

"Whaat?" Gojo-sensei snickered and leaned closer to the laughing Iori-sensei. And she teasingly shakes her head back at him as she gives the attendant their group order.

Behind them, Yuuji laughs along; his chest warm; his heart full. And he thinks of how kind they all were - these people at Jujutsu Tech. And with a smile, he thinks of how they were his family now.

"You can go ahead, ne; Itadori-kun." Iori-sensei turns to smile at him. "I'm sure they're waiting for you."

With a grin, Yuuji waves after them and rushes to his friends. And he laughs when he looks behind him; at Gojo-sensei snickering and handing his wallet to Iori-sensei to pay for their food and drinks.

Chapter 52: No. 46: "You can go first."

Chapter Text

"You won't be able to do it." He tells her in a low, quiet voice as she walked past him.

The both of them were standing outside the main building of Jujutsu Tech, waiting for their respective cars.

Utahime doesn't look at him. She doesn't bother anymore. It was all the same to her. She didn't need his approval.

It's been a long time coming. This one mission would be the culmination of everything she's sacrificed her entire life. This one mission would change everything; would validate all her years of hard work. After all those months of special missions to be promoted to semi first grade, she was ready. She was ready to take the leap and exorcise a first grade curse alone.

"Gojo,"

Gojo's brow twitches.

"Promise me;"

He turns to her;

"Promise me you won't be anywhere close."

And lets out a dry, disbelieving laugh.

"How much further away do you need me to be?" He asks her bitterly. "Aomori not far enough for you?"

"Gojo," Utahime hisses in a low, cautioning breath. "Let it go." She tells him. But Gojo just ignores her and lets out a sarcastic, humorless laugh.

"It's not bad enough you're doing this?" He bites at her. "I can't even be close by."

"You're going to get hurt." Gojo kept laughing dryly, spitefully. He hated this. He hated restriction. He hated even the smallest thing that made him feel powerless.

"You're going to get hurt. And I won't even be able to do anything about it."

"What bullshit is that, Utahime?"

"Stop it, Gojo." She quietly pleaded with him. And she tries to hold her head high.

She's made her decision. Amid her better judgment, amid their friends' discouragement and Gojo's blatant disapproval, she's made her decision. Like them, she would take the leap. Like them, she too would become a first grade sorcerer or die trying.

"Ah, maa;" Gojo groans and impatiently scratches the back of his head, annoyed and growing increasingly pissed. Why did he even bother. There was no talking to her. She's always been so stubborn. She'd never fold. She'd never cower and let anyone get to her. That's why he loved her. She's always been so headstrong and hardheaded beyond reason.

"Why do I bother when you do whatever you want anyway." Gojo says with a click of his tongue. And Utahime was quick to glare at him.

"And you don't?" She bites at him defensively.

"Guess we finally have something in common then." Gojo glared back.

"Whatever." Utahime looks away with that same irritated scowl.

And when they finally see one of their chauffers turn into the driveway, she steps back and drops her gaze to her feet.

"You can go first." She mumbles heatedly, quietly. And beside her, Gojo arches a brow; tries to take a peek. But she'd just look away and avert her gaze.

Infuriated, Gojo grits his teeth and concedes.

"Ah, ah." Gojo bitterly tells her. And he steps down to the road and slips into the backseat of the black, armored sedan.

"Ne,"

Gojo looks up and turns to her; to Utahime who still couldn't bring herself to return his gaze.

"I never thanked you."

Gojo glares. And his lips tuck in frustration.

"Thank you, Gojo." Utahime finally looks up and meets his gaze; his blue eyes glistening like cool, crisp water behind his shades.

And his brows rise. Gojo's brows rise. And his lips twist bitterly at the irony.

"Thank you," Utahime smiles. And he feels his blood rise; he feels his extremities burn in frustration, in helplessness.

"Thank you for recommending me."

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To be a first grade sorcerer, you need the recommendation of two first grade or up sorcerers. Then you shadow a first grade or up on missions to become semi first grade. Then it will culminate to you facing a first grade curse alone. If you successfully exorcise it, you're granted first grade rank.

In this snippet, Utahime's been working to be promoted. She's done her work, got promoted to semi first grade already. Now, she'll have to fight for her place on top, among the best sorcerers in the first grade rank.

Her friends, Gojo most especially, have expressed their disapproval over her facing a first grade alone. Not because she's weak, but because her cursed technique has a big draw back - which is her buffing time. It leaves her open and vulnerable to attacks before and after use. An easy target for a strong curse.

Utahime goes in anyway. She wants to set the records straight to all her naysayers, to the higher ups; that she has what it takes. So they'll never question her skill again.

The snippet is her and Gojo waiting for their drivers to bring them to their respective missions. Utahime has specifically asked Gojo this once to do as she tells him, to give her space to complete her mission. Utahime doesn't want him anywhere near because she knows that he wouldn't be able to keep himself from exorcising the curse the second it's in front of her.

Gojo bites his tongue back for once. He does what he's told this once. Because he does love Utahime. He does respect her. It's just hard for him, because his six eyes only tell him the truth. His actions are driven by logic and reasoning. And he knew Utahime's restrictive technique would get her injured, or worse, dead.

But Utahime doesn't care. And she tells him he shouldn't too.

They're sorcerers. He should know that death followed them at every turn. And he does. But just because he knew it, it doesn't mean that's how it's supposed to be. Sorcerers didn't have to prove their worth through this stupid grading system. Utahime should know that's bullshit.

Utahime tells him that the only reason he's saying that is because he's ranked a special grade. His whole life, his power was never once doubted. He would never know what it's like to be looked down at, for being weak, for being a woman. She tells him his words are hypocritical. She could take him on. She could live with him laughing at her and calling her weak, because they couldn't help it. It's how they've been since their high school days. Even she calls him dumb, stupid, moronic all the time too even when he's done nothing yet...

But that was Gojo. They were friends. Her internal battle was against the higher ups. She wasn't going to stand for it anymore. She was going to prove to the higher ups that she's a serious sorcerer too. That she wasn't just another pretty face to be adored and courted.

She was ready for more responsibility. She was ready to stand on her own.

Utahime goes to her mission. And as Gojo's told her; she gets injured. She gets her scar. It could've been worse. Up to you to decide if Gojo did do as she asked and stayed away.

After this horrificly botched mission, Gojo doesn't recommend her again. He doesn't talk to her for a while too. He was angry she went against his, even her own, better judgment and got herself permanently scarred. Now, she was worse off than before. Now, she had a scar she'd have to carry; clear, definitive proof to everyone that she was weak. Now, she'd even be mocked by other women for losing her looks.

And he hated it. He hated how he was angry at her for putting herself in such a vulnerable position. How he couldn't do anything about it. And how he's always had to factor in all this bullshit the higher ups instilled into their society in everything he did.

Following the incident, Utahime acts the same. Does her missions. Humbly lives with her scar.

They never really talk about it, Utahime and Gojo. They've known each other long enough to get it; how the other would feel following the incident. So, they do what they know. They move on and bicker and work like normal.

It's just fanfiction, all right. Not canon, just to be clear ahah. I added this backstory because my snippets I fear are very cryptic. I just want to paint a moment in time, not lay out an entire story haha. This way too, I don't have to commit to a plot or HC!

Chapter 53: No. 15: "I made your favorite."

Notes:

Snippet connected to the No Title, No Love, No Nothing universe.

Chapter Text

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26-28

"It must've been nice, ne?"

Gojo looks up from his drink. This guy's presence was so plain and forgettable that he's always surprised when he's around.

"What is?" Gojo gives him a sweet, cordial smile, his brows rising curiously. It never ceases to amuse him, how awkward and jumpy Utahime's boyfriend would always get around him.

"Growing up with her." Utahime's boyfriend tells him. And he hides his small, boyish grin behind his glass of gin. "It's funny because she always talks about you and the good old days,"

"How you were the annoying little brother she never asked for."

Gojo's expression stiffens. And he loses the friendly smile on his face.

"Guess you had your pick of the litter even then, ne?" Utahime's boyfriend laughed. "I'm a year younger than her, but I know I would've had the biggest crush on her growing up."

"But then I guess your age gap is wider." He kept on it. "Four years is a lot."

"Is it really true,"

Gojo's lips thin. And he stands from his seat.

"That she had her first boyfriend at twenty-two?" He chuckles and follows after Utahime's good childhood friend to the small island bar. "Pretty prudish, ne?" He laughs. "But kind of cute too."

"It's two."

"Huh?" Utahime's boyfriend smiles goodheartedly. "Two?"

"Gojo,"

Gojo and Utahime's boyfriend turn and look to the side, to Utahime walking out of the kitchen with Shoko; a light chuckle on her lips.

"Here." She holds out her hand. And she fights back a laugh at the weird expression on his face. "I made your favorite."

Hm. Gojo nods stiffly, caught off guard. And he finds himself laughing dryly at the sweet, pink mocktail with the tiny umbrella in his hands.

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Chapter 54: No. 39: "Don't cry."

Notes:

Tried reading back through the Shibuya Arc. Nothing greeted me but P.A.I.N.

I first read the manga in one sitting, back when I didn't understand the characters at all. It's more painful reading back now, knowing their motivations and dynamics.

I'll always love JJK for how human it depicts its characters. :)

I cried writing this chapter by the way. Hehe. ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ

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Chapter Text

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They're all gone.

They couldn't see the expression on his face.

The second he steps out of the seal, he doesn't speak nor utter a single word. His head was cast down; and his eyes were hidden behind the shadow of his hair.

"Where are the others?" Came his hoarse voice. Finally. Quietly; low; and sinister.

"Sensei," Yuuji couldn't get himself to look up. He couldn't get himself to face him. There was nothing he could do to make this all okay. Everything's gone wrong. And there was no turning back.

So, he just shakes his head in guilt, in remorse. For not being stronger. For not being a better sorcerer.

"So,"

Yuuji looks up. And a chill crawls down his skin at the grim; dark expression on his sensei's face.

"You guys are all that's left?"

Gojo looks around him. And he sees them, familiar faces, of students, of colleagues and fellow sorcerers. All of them, brought together by this war that's unleashed upon them.

He sees his student's hardened face for the first time in what felt to him like an eternity. And he tries not to hate himself for disappearing. He tries not to blame himself for that splitsecond that cost them this war.

"Ah," Yuuji nodded stiffly; his heart thumping and drumming; painful against his chest. And a dread grows within him. His blood pumps and beats against his ears; deafening and loud; And a dread consumes him.

And he hoped he wouldn't notice.

He prayed that that was it.

But when he looks up, he bites his lower lip in frustration. And he tries to fight back the tears stinging his eyes.

And when his sensei finally utters the words he dreaded most to hear; Yuuji freezes and stills.

"Where's Utahime?"

Yuuji releases a deep, heated breath. His jaw clenches. And his knuckles turn white.

"Sensei," He grits his teeth, shuts his eyes and tries not to relive the pain - the heartbreak -

He shakes in frustration where he stood. His face pales. And he tries not to relive the pain -

Yuuji, it's okay.

Yuuji shuts his eyes and knots his eyebrows in gut-wrenching agony.

"She unsealed you."

Before him, Gojo's jaw locks. And he lets out a loud, frustrated breath. "What?" He glares and spits impatiently.

"We were outnumbered." Yuuji's fingers were cold. And he couldn't help the wave of guilt that washed over him -

It's okay, she smiled. Just tell, Gojo -

"We were outnumbered. And she unsealed you."

"Yuuji - "

Yuuji freezes at the sharp bite of his sensei.

"Where- is- she?"

"I'm sorry, sensei;" Yuuji's face knots in agony - in regret - in self-loathing - "I'm sorry, sensei - "

Gojo's knees weaken. And his fingers grow cold.

"She's gone."

His face twists in a deep, searing pain. And he crumbles to the floor.

"She's gone, sensei."

His chest shook and shuddered and ached. And his eyes widen in disbelief - confused by the tears that ran down his face and dropped to the floor one after the other.

"It can't be." His face twists. And he tries to make light of it; he tries to laugh.

Because it can't be true.

We're in this together. She gave him a small smile and held out her hand.

Where are you going?

Who gives a shit?

She slaps him right across his face.

Can't you see it?

They'll need you.

Why? He leaned back and laughed. What will it take for you to go out with me?

You're crazy.

She frowned. And he starts to laugh.

I'll think about it; she finally meets his eyes and starts to smile.

If the day comes that they won't need us anymore; I'll think about it.

Yuuji; it's okay.

Yuuji drops his gaze to the floor. And he bites his lip and tries to fight back the tears from spilling down his eyes -

I'm sorry, sensei. He cried to himself in regret - in utter heartbreak -

As his sensei broke down in the deepest, most pained cry - Yuuji fights back his tears and in his turmoil, he apologizes to Utahime, to Iori-sensei -

I'm sorry, sensei. Yuuji's tears finally defeat him and stream down his face. I can't do it, sensei -

I can't tell him -

Tell Gojo, she smiled to him in farewell. Tell Gojo not to cry.

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Chapter 55: No. 42: "Is this okay?"

Chapter Text

Utahime was quick to sneer.

"Didn't know how lewd you were, Utahime."

"It's always the good ones, ne?" He chases after her lips. And he laughs when she glowers and glares.

"I wasn't complimenting you, you moron!"

She gritted her teeth, infuriated by the growing amusement in Gojo's eyes.

"I'm saying you sleep around too much!"

Gojo laughed even louder, much to Utahime's aghast. And he pins her down; a fond smirk on his lips. "Who cares?"

"I do!" Utahime frowned at him in disbelief and tries to push him away. "This isn't okay!"

"How will you find a meaningful relationship if you keep jumping from woman to woman?"

Gojo arched a brow.

"Why would I need to look for one?"

"Why?" Utahime looked at him like he was crazy. "You don't have a clue what it's like to love someone, do you?"

"Why?" Gojo starts to glare. And he nearly snaps. "You do?"

Utahime narrowed her eyes at him. And she purses her lips and looks away, her cheeks tinting pink.

And she tries not to think of him, of the obnoxious brat she met back in high school who'd sneer at the weak, of the young man who's kept to himself since he lost his best friend; She tries not to think of him, of how much she loved this man looking down at her and waiting; this man who she's always hated who's come to sacrifice far more they would know, for those he'd look down at, for the weak he so despised; for the children unwittingly forced to fight.

Utahime knots her brows. And, with a heated breath, she sighs and tries not to think of him and of how much she's come to love him.

"I do." Utahime finally looks up at Gojo. And her eyes don't stray from his. "I'm in love with someone."

Gojo frowns. And his brow flinches at the firmness behind her words.

"All right." Gojo's head drops to the crook of her neck. "I get it." He mumbles against her skin.

And he purses his lips in a budding frustration, in an ache that grew and ate at him. He sighs against the dip of her neck and rests his head. And he tries not to listen, he tries to channel it out - this thought that even though she was in his arms, all this - her - was all fleeting. He bites his lip and tries not to think of how there would be nothing more to this.

So, he sighs. He sighs when Utahime's arms wrap around him and tucks him deep into her embrace. He stills in her arms and nods.

"I'm in love with someone." She whispers against his hair. And her fingers idly play with the hair over his ears as she looks up at the ceiling and quietly sighs. "I think I always have been."

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Chapter 56: No. 70: "You're warm."

Notes:

Tatsuro Yamashita - Someday/Itsuka

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"You guys jump from one part time job to the next pretty quick, huh?"

Yuta, Toge and Panda look up to find Utahime with her hair clipped up in a messy bun, a bangle bracelet on her wrist, and a black dress with a low neckline hugging her curves.

"That won't look good on your resumes, you know." Utahime told them off and waved a reprimanding finger. "Companies look for loyalty! Lo- yal- ty!"

Panda perked up, finding Utahime funny. He didn't know she was back in Tokyo.

"Did you know minimum wage is 1000 yen?" Panda tells her with an innocent laugh.

"Is it?" Utahime drew back and knotted her brows, surprised herself. "That's pretty low..."

"We were being paid 600 yen an hour at the skincare place." Panda smiles. "Here, we're bumped up 800 yen!" (That's just an additional dollar! HAHAHA. Iba ang kayod ng nangangailangan! HAHAHA)

Utahime was quick to shut her mouth then. And to Panda's surprise, she opens her purse and pulls out three 10,000 yen bills.

"Eh?" Panda was pleasantly surprised by the offering. "What's this for?"

Utahime frowned and flushed.

"A bribe."

Panda's brows rise, confused but forever amused all the same by how odd Utahime would get every now and then.

With open palms, Panda accepts the kind offering with a respectful bow of his head. Only for Utahime to second guess herself and draw back her hand.

"This is a bribe, you understand?" She hisses at Panda. And Panda laughs at her and nods. "To never be like your idiot sensei, okay?"

"I like Satoru." Panda chuckles. "But he can be an idiot."

Satisfied, Utahime gives Panda a curt nod and surrenders the cash. And with a pat on his head, they both turn to the restaurant, with Panda kind enough to escort her to the bar.

"Treat her well, ne, Tsugami-san." Panda smiles at his employer. "She's a VIP." He wears the larges grin and stuffs the paper bills under his fur.

His employer, a restauranteur and the bistro's bartender, only laughs and nods along, humoring the good young sorcerer. And he turns to greet the beautiful, dressed up Utahime.

"I guess my night is finally turning around." He gives Utahime a sweet smile.

And Panda laughs when Utahime tilts her head. And coolly, she asks why as she slipped on the bar stool in front of his boss.

"It's not often," Tsugami-san starts to grin. "Meeting women as stunning as you."

"You know," He gives her a warm, handsome smile. "You almost broke my waiter's neck when you passed him." He chuckled lightly, pointing to the blushing man trying to hide behind a menu.

Eyes widening, Utahime blushes. And she shyly smiles up at Panda in disbelief.

"Your boss is a smooth talker, ne?" She tries to hide her flushed cheeks behind her hands. And the three of them share a friendly laugh.

When the two adults finally fall into a happy exchange, Panda excuses himself and steps back. And with a purse on his lips, he finds himself looking around. Curious, he found it; how everyone seemed to be looking at them. Or rather, at Utahime innocently sharing a laugh with his boss.

Utahime honestly looked the same to him. Sure, she was wearing a form-fitting black dress with a dipping neckline. And maybe her make up made her skin more radiant, made her eyes brighter and her smile more beguiling; but he just couldn't understand why everyone was staring. Utahime looked the same to him. She's always looked this beautiful.

With a laugh, he walks back out to his station and thinks that maybe it's the magic of a woman's décolletage! As Utahime told them a few weeks ago.

"Look what Utahime gave us!" Panda tells his friends when he meets them at their take out/pick up station outside. "Why didn't you guys come in with me to greet her?"

Yuta and Toge keep to each other. Both intently looking into the restaurant, peering in through the window outside. Their eyes glued at the beautiful woman in the black dress nursing a drink in the bar and sharing a hearty laugh with the charming barkeep.

"You guys heard me?" Panda scrunched his face. And he tries to catch their attention with a wave of the 30,000 yen in his paws.

"She looks even better than Iitoyo Marie-san." Yuta mumbles under his breath.

And beside him, Inumaki nodded. "Shake..."

"Huh?" Panda crossed his arms. "What're we talking about?"

"Iori-sensei..." Yuta mumbled, his cheeks tinted red. "Looks so pretty tonight..."

"Huh?"

"What are we doing?"

Yuta and Toge flinch and pale. And beside them, Panda chuckled and waved at the newly arrived Satoru.

"They were just ogling Utahime's décolletage." Panda tells his sensei with an innocent smile. And Satoru's eyes widen behind his shades.

"We-we weren't!" Yuta and Toge cried defensively, their faces flushed red.

"O-okaka!"

"We learned that word a while back from Utahime!" Panda freely offered to Satoru. And the young sorcerer piled on with a laugh, totally oblivious to the humiliation that marred the beet red faces of his two classmates.

"Oh?"

"Décolletage!" Panda tells him with a proud grin and a cool snap of his finger. And he points to Utahime seated alone in the bar, nursing a drink, and sharing a laugh with the charming bartender;

And beside him, Yuta and Toge begged to the heavens that he'd soon stop -

"Look at Utahime for example,"

Yuta and Toge puff red. And Gojo's brows rise. And his lips thin and purse.

"Her décolletage is low enough to appeal to the men nearby, but still high enough to be tasteful."

"I nailed it this time, ne?" He grins at Yuta and Toge who've just hidden behind their hands.

"Appeal to men?" Gojo's lips twisted into an unamused line. And the oblivious Panda was quick to give him a hearty, vigorous nod.

"Men have been approaching her after the other and buying her drinks all night!"

"I even saw a man trip earlier just looking at her!"

"You guys think Utahime's attractive?" Panda turns to smile at Yuta and Toge.

And they just both puff red and cry in utter indignation - when Panda turns, about to ask Satoru -

"What brings you here, Satoru?"

- only to see that his sensei was already walking inside and ignoring the host chasing after him and asking for his reservation.

"Utahime,"

"Oh, you're finally here," Utahime turned to Gojo and shifted on her seat.

"We're leaving."

"He's your boyfriend?" The owner asks with a stiff, polite smile, setting down the wine glass he was wiping.

"Oh, no, no," Utahime laughs and waves a hand dismissively. "He's a colleague."

"I'm her boyfriend." Gojo was quick to bite back. And he throws his jacket over Utahime's shoulders and hides her under his arm as he dragged her out of the restaurant.

"You're never wearing that dress again." He grumbled to her ear. And Utahime couldn't help but look at him like he was crazy.

"You bought me this dress!" She cried in disbelief.

Gojo's eye ticks. And he grits back a loud, overprotective -

"I don't care!"

And he zips up his jacket on her and drags her out of the restaurant with him.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Utahime tries to pull away from his vice grip. And Gojo snarls, stopping near the entrance.

"What?" He bites at her, his face horribly flushed. And his eyes widen into saucers when Utahime cups his cheeks and pulls his face down to her.

With a knot in between her eyebrows, Utahime's lips twist into a teasing smile at the odd sight of how red Gojo's face was. And she laughs at him in disbelief, "You're burning up!"

Gojo's face heats up a million more degrees with her so close. And he nearly loses it when he sees that all the men were still looking over and ogling Utahime.

And Utahime could only pale in utter mortification when Gojo suddenly, without the slightest warning, grabs her by her waist and lugs her over his shoulder.

"Wha-wha- What do you think you're doing?!" She shrieked in bloody murder as Gojo stomped out of the establishment. And she could only glare and try to wave good night to the students behind them looking on in complete and utter confusion.

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Notes:

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Panda shakes his head as their senseis walked away. And he could only wonder what those two were up to so late in the evening.

"I guess Utahime was waiting for Satoru?" He muses out loud. And Toge and Yuta couldn't help but just turn horribly scarlet.

"They still work this late into night?" Panda cocked his head to the side, still confused. "They're so dedicated, ne?" He grins at Toge and Yuta who just wanted to cry and beg for Maki to save them from Panda's obliviousness.

"We have to work harder as sorcerers too!" Panda turns and gives his two classmates the widest grin. And Yuta could only cry in despair, "Tha-that's not what's happening here, Panda!"; with Toge beside him just so done and repeatedly banging his head against the glass wall.

Chapter 57: No. 74: "We can share."

Notes:

22-24 y/o

Chapter Text

"You're Iori Utahime?"

Utahime looked up from her morning coffee, her fingers hovering over the piping cup. She was seated outside a cafe, grabbing a quiet breakfast before reporting to work when two young women approached her.

"Did you need anything?" She was about to smile, when she notices a hand strike through the air. And she stiffens and lets them slap her across her cheek, sending her face to the side, her bangs falling in a mess over her eyes.

"Stay away from him, you ugly bitch."

Utahime narrowed her eyes.

"What?" She glared up at the two angry faces looking down at her and sneering.

"Gojo Satoru is mine. We're dating. It's official. So, you better stay away or there'll be more where that came from."

Utahime's eye twitched. And she bites her mouth shut.

"You're old. You're ugly and plain. And you have the grossest scar in the world." The unknown woman spat. "If you think you can steal him from me with that face of yours, you'd better get a reality check."

With a dry, condescending laugh, the woman turns on her heel with a satisfied snap of her head, her friend following proudly in suit.

And Utahime could only massage her head and let out a pissed off breath.

With her cheek blaring red, she grumbles in her seat and combs down her bangs with her fingers; growing increasingly livid at the hot, stinging burn on her left cheek, until finally, the object of her unending stress gingerly walked out of the cafe with two plates of food in hand.

"What happened to you?" Were Gojo's first words to her, honest and innocent, genuinely surprised by the striking redness that marred the side of her face.

Seeing him so oblivious, right about to grin and laugh; made everything in Utahime shake and twist as she tried not to jump and choke her stupid kouhai to an early grave.

"I got slapped - " Utahime grinded her teeth.

"What?" Gojo knots his brows and starts to laugh, finding her trying to calm her evident temper horribly funny.

"I got slapped - " Utahime slammed her fists on the table and yelled - "I got slapped by another one of your girlfriends again! YOU IDIOT!"

Gojo's face twisted. And he purses his lips, finding her words utterly incredulous -

"I don't do girlfriends." He sneers in disgust as he sat down in front of her.

And Utahime just bursts into a bomb and starts to reach out and wring his neck.

"YOU IDIOT!"

"Someone got to you again?" Gojo couldn't help but laugh as he grabbed her angry hands and set them down with her plate of food. "After all these years, I would think you'd should show them up once in a while." He grinned, stealing a piece of fruit from Utahime's plate.

"Why?!" Utahime pulled at her hair, absolutely beside herself in anger. "Why would I want to provoke them more?! When sleeping with you already gives them enough problems!"

"Haha!" Gojo laughed as he chewed his food, making Utahime snarl and simmer at the gross food all munched up inside his mouth. "How do they even know you?"

"How the hell should I know?!" Utahime threw her hands in the air in absolute frustration. "When you're the idiot going out with them?!"

"And why me?! Why is it always me?!"

"You hang around Shoko too?! You go out with her too! But why is it just me?! Why the hell?!"

"I don't know what their problem is." Gojo humors Utahime with a laugh as he dropped several sugar cubes into his coffee, much to Utahime's dismay. "I always tell them it's a one time thing."

"You're a moron." Utahime held her throbbing head. "You're just a dumb moron, you idiot."

"Wow," Gojo leaned forward and snickered, absolutely taken by the new level of anger Utahime was reaching with him today. "You're really pissed, huh?"

"It's because you keep leading them on!" Utahime cried at him in disbelief. "What does it matter if you say it's just a one night stand?! That girl was obviously in love with you."

"For some stupid reason, all of them, Gojo! All of them really like you!"

Gojo knotted his brows and scrunches his nose in absolute confusion. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. It just didn't make sense to him at all.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Utahime's eyes pop out. And she screams into her hands.

"They know it's just a hook up." Gojo narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "Why should it matter if they like me?"

"You're! Just! An! idiot!" Utahime cried in painful agony. "Didn't you hear me?! Who cares about you?!"

"What?" Gojo scratched his head, utterly and completely lost.

"Who cares what you think about them?! They're in love with you! That's it!"

"They don't care what you think! They like you! They want to be with you! And you're the idiot who keeps stringing them on by sleeping with them!"

"No person sleeps with people they don't like!"

"Eeehhh?" Gojo snarled and cried in his defense. "A one night stand's a one night stand. I'm not going to apologize for something I didn't do. It's not my fault they'd think I'd date them." He sneered.

And Utahime just saw red.

"You're just such a piece of trash!"

"Female empowerment, right?" Gojo jokingly pumped his fist in the air. And Utahime nearly caught his hand and twisted it and gnawed it off. "I respect women's right to sleep with whoever they want!"

"OH MY GOD!"

"You're such an idiot." Utahime sneered at him. "One of these days, you'll find yourself in the same situation, we'll see how you'd feel then!"

"What situation?" Gojo laughed. And Utahime could only let out a frustrated groan.

"Falling for someone who'll never feel the same, you idiot!"

"Haha!" Gojo laughed her out of the room. "That'll never happen!"

"That's not something to be proud of!"

"Utahime,"

"What?!" She snapped. And before she could chew his ear off even more, Gojo reaches out over the table and feeds her a huge chunk of strawberry.

"It's so sweet!" Utahime cried out, her eyes glittering and her face comically going from red and angry to confused and pleasantly surprised.

"Great, huh?" Gojo leaned closer and snickered. "We can always share." He gives her a cheeky grin and pushes his plate closer to her, across the table.

And Utahime could do no more but sneer at him, defeated by the refreshing, sweet flavor of juicy strawberry in her mouth.

"When the day comes you've gone stupid and fallen in love, I'm going to laugh your ear off, you understand?" She gave him a sour frown and snatches the syrup before he could douse his plate in sugar.

"Looking forward to it." Gojo smiles at the unamused Utahime. And with a quick hand, he snags the syrup back and laughs at the angry, irritated hiss Utahime threw his way.

Chapter 58: No. 30: "One more chapter."

Chapter Text

i don't do girlfriends, gojo casually says as he lazily flipped through to the next page, jumping all the way to the back of the newspaper for the comics. but if i did, i'd be dating utahime.

what? nanami nearly choked on his morning coffee. and gojo looked up from the comics strip, his brows knotted in confusion behind his blindfold.

what happened to you? he nearly laughs at how red and stupid nanami looked.

you like utahime? nanami blurted out, utterly horrified. from his first day at jujutsu high, ever since he's known gojo, the bastard treated everyone the same. pushing their buttons and laughing at them, at every single one of them. even geto. but this idiot picked on no one, no one person, no one sorcerer more, more than utahime.

you? nanami had to set down his coffee and massage his growing headache. you like utahime?

huuh? gojo arched a brow and tilted his head, his tone whinning. who said i liked utahime?

nanami's eye twitched. and his jaw locked.

you. nanami clicked his tongue. you just did.

gojo wrinkled his nose. i didn't.

nanami narrowed his eyes suspiciously and mouthed a harsh, reprimanding,

don't try getting with her.

gojo's brows rise. and he leans back on his seat, covers his face with the newspaper and tries to read one more chapter. and with a bored mumble, muffled by the sheets over his face, his lips grazing the crisp paper, gojo tells nanami as if he should already know,

i never would.

i was just saying; if i dated, i'd date utahime.

(if i wasn't gojo satoru, i'd be with her; i'd be with utahime.)

Chapter 59: No. 38: "I like your laugh."

Chapter Text

Ah, His lips spread into a smirk. I've always liked your laugh.

You never did laugh in front of me. He quietly choked up a chuckle.

Baka, she couldn't keep herself from shaking. She couldn't keep her hands from trembling as she held him close, as her tears kept streaming down her face. Her throaty laugh, hoarse.

Why would you say sorry? Utahime laughed as the tears ran down her cheeks, dropping in pellets over his pale face. His eyes were bleeding again, behind the bandages wrapped around his head; bandages dampened with his sweat, blood and grime. He refused to listen. He wouldn't relent. No one could keep him from the battle. And now, her fingers were cold and shaking. And she tried her best to keep her hands pressed firmly against his open wound.

Hang on, she told him then. Shoko's coming, she lied to him then.

Everyone was leaving her left and right. And these lies would be all that she'd have left.

Why would you say sorry when you've done everything beyond what's humanly possible.

You've done enough, baka. She cried and laughed.

You've done more than enough, Her lips trembled as she kissed his forehead. You've done more than anyone could hope to do in an entire lifetime.

So, please. She kept her cheek next to his as his breathing slowed, as his pulse stilled.

Please, just this once; She cried against his lips. Let yourself rest.

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- You think I would've had a beautiful family?

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Ah, baka. You would've.

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They'd be perfect, Utahime.

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Ah, ah. Utahime laughed as the tears kept falling down her face.

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They'd be pretty weak, but I wouldn't mind. Not at first.

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Ah, She chuckled and forced back a throaty cry.

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Two kids. Three if we were lucky.

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Hm, Utahime smiled.

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They'd be beautiful.

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Hm, Utahime nodded, her vision blurry as she tried to wipe her tears from his face. They'd look as handsome as you. She smiled.

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He looked away and laughed then. No, He tells her with a smile. They'd take after their mother.

They'd be beautiful; His blue eyes turn to her with a teasing shine as Utahime's lips stiffen, as her face darkened and her heart slowly broke.

They'd be beautiful like her [you].

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Gojo, He laughs as her brows start to crease. As a wrinkle knots over her nose. You don't know what are you saying, She started to get angry. She started to shake in frustration.

Don't say it. Don't say another word.

Ah, Gojo sighs as his lips rest into a small smile. But, it's true.

No,

No,

No, Utahime knotted her brows.

No, you're wrong. She shook her head.

You're wrong.

Ah, ah. He quietly chuckled. And he weakly holds her trembling hands still, his grip loose against her fingers.

Fourteen years, Utahime. He smiled. And she fervently shook her head. Had to hold myself back for fourteen years. He laughed a dry, quiet, self-loathing laugh.

Fourteen years. He purses his smiling lips.

So this once, He closed his eyes and lets out a shallow breath as he felt her cheek press against his in helplessness, shaking and lost; her cry, frustrated and broken.

Just this once,

He loses himself into her embrace; hiding her painful sobbing deep in his chest.

Don't take this from me. He laughed bitterly and held her tight as she cried.

And just tell me -

Just tell me you've always loved me too.

Chapter 60: No. 66: "Stay over."

Notes:

After Chapter 54: No. 39: "Don't cry."

Chapter Text

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It's been a while. Years even.

It was too much. Utahime had no idea since when he's grown this passionate; this rough.

She couldn't think straight. It was like a fever took over her; and she tries to salvage a second; an instant - to breathe, to escape and steal back even just a morsel of sanity before she completely lost herself to him -

But Gojo only grabs her by her waist and pulls her back; digging deep into her, slipping in and thrusting in rough and hard until his entire length fills her and every part of her clenches him and quivered and held on; her entire body aching, and wet, and trembling; her soft curves held down by his strong, taut frame; his body pressed firmly against her every curve; her leg hooked over his arm as he dug in deep; and her arms desperately reach out; hands searching and pulling for anything to hold on to -

It didn't help.

Gojo bit at her lip and pulled the second Utahime guides his face to hers and breathes in his ragged, shallow breaths; their tongues melding wet and hungry and burning -

Seeing her kissing someone else.

He bit Utahime's lip and thrusted in; pausing and throbbing inside her until she mewled and moaned and cried.

Seeing her pressed up against someone else.

It didn't help.

Gojo groaned; a deep, hoarse choke escaping from the back of his throat; a growing wave of pleasure consuming him. He drops his head and buries his nose deep against the crook of her neck. He bites her skin. He melts into her, consumed and muddled by this thick fog of pleasure that washed over him in waves - his every thrust, deep and rough; stealing all that was left of their sanity -

She came home with him. She would pick him in the end.

But seeing her hold someone else's hands, laughing a breath away and sharing a tender moment; it didn't help quell the frustration stewing in his chest - the jealousy - the iniquity of it all -

A deep, feral cry escaped from the back of her throat. And Utahime grabs him and holds on, trembling and cumming within seconds. And Gojo could only fight back the throaty groan from escaping his lips as her walls convulsed and shook around his cock and squeezed him dry; his orgasm consuming him and releasing everything he's been keeping pent up inside him.

He was different. Utahime thought as she chased after her breath, unable to keep herself from knotting her brows as she watched the pleasure wash over the light wrinkle of his nose, his shallow breathing, the redness of his skin. She didn't remember him to be this attentive before, this hungry; this desperate. But, they were younger the last time, far more inexperienced, drunk and in over their heads.

And it's been a while. Years even.

And she pulls him back down to her and gently kisses his lips; his face flushed; his eyes glazed and clouded.

And when Gojo turns to her, half of his face sinking into his pillow; a handsome smirk on his lips and a soft, tender gaze in his eyes; something in Utahime breaks.

And she looks away and tries not to think of all the women he's been with; she looks away and thinks of all the men she's been with, all the relationships she's had. And her lips quirk when she's come to realize how she'd always gravitate back to him; to this annoying man beside her she's grown unwittingly fond of.

"I guess it's always been easy for you," She couldn't help but tease him, a quirk on her lips as she played with the lock of white hair over his ears. "To get anyone to sleep with you;"

Gojo just answers her with a low chuckle, props himself up on an arm and leans in to kiss the side of her face, lightly breathing her in and tickling her with a quiet laugh.

Utahime turns to face him then. Her hazel eyes meeting the sky in his.

And right as he was about to steal another kiss, to pull her close and lose himself in her once again, a phone lightly buzzes on the nightstand. And Utahime pulls away almost instantly.

"No, no, no," Gojo wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her across the bed and back against him.

"It's work." Utahime looked over her shoulders, her hazel eyes peeking through her long, ebony hair. And with a playful quirk of her lips, she asks him with a teasing frown. "How many more times do you need to cum?"

Gojo laughs at her crude joke. And he cups her cheeks and meets her lips in a kiss, nipping and tugging at her bottom lip until she smiles against his lips and relents; dropping her phone on the bed and kissing him back; tussling his hair and tenderly holding his hair over his face. And she gives his irritated frown a tender smile.

"They don't need you at three in the morning." He mumbles against her lips. And Utahime could only laugh.

"I might need to get back early." Utahime tells him, finally reaching into the sheets and unlocking her phone with a press of a finger; the soft light from the screen illuminating her pretty face; her messy black hair.

"Utahime,"

"Hm," She lightly hums as she checked her email; her voice vibrating against his skin as he held her.

"What will it take," He whispers in a low hum against her nape. His nose, his lips, the tiny hairs of his skin tickling her and grazing the side of her face. "For you to go out with me?"

"What?"

"Just one." He smiled against her skin as she quivered against his touch. "Just one date."

"You always ask that." Utahime suddenly pulls away. And he leans back and starts to laugh. "Every time."

"Do I?" Gojo cocks an amused brow.

And he groans when she finally pulls away from him; her weight shifting the mattress as she stood up.

"You do." Utahime frowns at him. And she angrily pulls the sheets off the irritating man draped on the bed and covers herself up. "And my answer will always be the same."

His blue eyes travel down her body, appreciating every tuck and curve.

And as she wraps the thin sheet under her arms and twists her hair into a messy bun, he unconsciously bites his lip and marvels at the inviting silhouette of her toned figure.

"I'll only date you," She sighs; her eyes peeking through her bangs; cocking her head to the side and pursing her lips. "When we're not sorcerers anymore."

"And we know," She picks up his own phone, unlocks it with a press of her thumb and holds it out to him; that Gojo's left with nothing more to say when he sees a new email notifying him of his next assignment; that he was to be shipped off to some country within the next hour;

"We know that's never going to happen."

Sensei.

Utahime drops next to Gojo. She gives him a sorry smile. And she shakes her head, laughing at the bitter frown on his handsome face.

Sensei,

And she teasingly pinches his cheek goodbye and chuckles at the glare he sent her way.

"Sensei, did you hear me?"

And she caresses his cheek with a gentle thumb and bids him farewell.

Gojo turns back to them; to his students. And he takes a second. He looks at them. He takes a second. And only then, with a sober nod of his head, does he give them his attention.

"I did." He tells them quietly, his chin propped on the palm of his hand.

"Yuuji,"

His first year looked back at him.

"When you were with her,"

"Did she say anything?"

Yuuji looked down.

"About me," Gojo raises his gaze, a hopefulness in his eyes. Just this one thing, this last thing would be enough; enough for him to move on, to forget, to treat it like everything else - with nothing over a heartless, rational detachment.

"Did she say anything,"

"While you were with her, did she say anything at all?"

Gojo raised his gaze and met Yuuji's uncertain eyes.

"About me?"

Sensei?

Gojo blinks, surprised to see the confused expression of Yuuji looking down at him.

"You trailed off, sensei;" His student tells him quietly.

And he shakes his head, taken aback and trying to snap out of his daze.

And he forces a smile. He tries to smile as he turns away and mumbles in a quiet, half-hearted breath; "It's nothing."

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Chapter 61: No. 77: "Call me if you need anything."

Chapter Text

"I don't know." Hakari shrugged and bitterly frowned, his mouth hovering over the lip of his beer can. "What does it matter?"

"I mean, you can't do this your whole life." His sharp black eyes narrow. And his thin, slitted eyebrows crease. "You're almost forty."

In front of him, turning back to face him; his sensei snarled, far from amused.

"I'm just twenty-seven." Satoru sneers, stopping on his tracks. Already surrendering. He knew better than to force stubborn young men like him.

"Same difference." Hakari shrugged and chugged down what's left of his beer can; slumping back against the cold concrete wall of the abandoned warehouse. "What's the point of everything you're doing if you don't get anything back."

"Pointless, that's what."

Satoru frowned then. This kid's just an ingrate, isn't he? Chased him down to talk him back to jujutsu sorcery, and he's the one giving the lecture. This kid's got some nerve... He scowled.

"That's why I'm leaving." Hakari effortlessly crushes the aluminum can in his hand with a strong, prickling wave of energy. And carelessly, he chucks it to the growing pile by the corner. "There's nothing for me there."

"There never was."

"How about you?" Hakari asked him, his voice loud and booming amid the distance between them; both of them still alone and inside the eerie, abandoned warehouse.

"What's keeping you there?" The young man frowned. "You hate them too, right?"

"Why bother with them when we can do whatever we want."

"Why?" Satoru's lips twist into a smirk. And Hakari crosses his arms over his chest and tilts his head.

"Because they're all there, aren't they?" Satoru smiles. And Hakari arches a brow.

"The people who matter most to me - " Satoru's lips spread into a wide grin. "They're all there - back at Jujutsu Tech."

"But you have a point."

"I don't want to still be babysitting ungrateful randos when I'm forty."

"Yeah, you're ancient!" Hakari jokes back dryly. And he chuckles in a deep, throaty laugh when his former sensei sneers at him.

"I mean," Satoru gives it a good thought over. "Utahime's definitely not getting any younger."

Hakari's eyes narrow. And his brows crease in confusion.

"Can't keep her waiting much longer." Satoru laughs. And Hakari nearly spits his drink.

"You? And Utahime?!" Hakari couldn't help but point at his snickering sensei in utter disbelief, in pure betrayal. "So, Kirara was right?!"

Satoru gives his former student the widest, cheekiest grin and a thumbs up.

"You're right!" Satoru cups the sides of his mouth and laughs. "I love that woman!" He yelled, his voice loud and bright amid the distance between them.

Hakari's lips break into a grin that instant. And he runs to him, stopping halfway and mimicking his sensei and cupping the sides of his mouth too - and excitedly; in disbelief - he yells back with a laugh -

"You're in love with Utahime?!"

"Always was!" Satoru shouted back with that same laugh. "Ever since high school!"

"Since high school?!"

"She like you back?!" Hakari guffaws, throwing his head back laughing; still consumed with disbelief but elated nonetheless - ecstatic for his sensei all the same -

He had no idea! None at all! That his sensei was in a secret love affair!

"She doesn't!" Gojo answers back flatly, laughing louder now at the sight of the confusion that twisted Hakari's face.

"What the hell?!" The young man cried in disbelief.

"But don't worry!" Gojo laughed, reassuring the poor kid. And Hakari could all but hold his throbbing head steady. "I'm handsome!"

"She won't be able to resist me when I turn on my charm!"

"What the hell?!"

"Your logic is shit!" Hakari laughed, unable to keep himself from scratching his head in pure disagreement. "Utahime hates you, you know!"

Gojo just bursts out chortling in laughter. "She doesn't!"

"Trust me!"

"You're an idiot, sensei!"

"I'm not!"

"Don't go calling me and crying when she rejects you, you got that?!"

"She won't!"

"THAT WOMAN CRAZY LOVES ME!"

"TRUST ME!"

And with that, Hakari could only laugh as his sensei warped away and disappeared come the exit. And with a chuckle and a shake of his head, he thinks of how, like Gojo-sensei, he'd work hard too; like Gojo-sensei, he'll build something worth keeping for himself too.

Chapter 62: No. 82: "I was in the neighbourhood."

Chapter Text

"You should take it easy on her."

"She'll never reach a rank beyond semi first grade, but she's a passionate sorceress. You know, there's talk of taking her on as a teacher."

"There is?" Satoru rests his head on his hand. "So, she exchanges a marriage proposal for a job contract?"

"That woman's too hilarious." He laughed.

- Don't marry him.

He looks up at her from the floor, his eyes still and firm. And Utahime's brows rise, surprised to see him.

With a wrinkle of her nose, she cocks her head and gives him a frown.

Why? She tilts her head. I never said I would. -

"One of these days, Satoru; you'll have to understand that it takes a strong woman to be a sorcerer."

"You'd be lucky to have Iori on your side."

"I know." Satoru tells him impatiently. "You know I do."

"What does it matter if I know? When you still act the way you do." Yaga's harsh tone was reprimanding. And Satoru could only twist his lips and knot his brows in annoyance, irritated that he was being told off again.

- I need to know. She tells him. And she sighs in a heated breath when she sees his lips tuck in a sneer. I need to know you're fine.

Why? He grumbles and tilts his head.

They were on a bridge overlooking a stream. People were walking past. And bicycle bells chimed in a quiet greeting.

You in love with me or something? He joked. And beside him, Utahime sneered in disgust.

As if. She scoffs at him. And Gojo lets out a dry laugh. I was just in the neighborhood.

Besides, She frowns and rests her chin on her arms; her hazel eyes lazily watching the flowing stream. I'm not trying to mean more to you than I already do.

I'm just trying to be a friend. -

"I know."

"I know." Satoru repeated with a frown. And he starts to glare, growing pissed that he's being told off again. "She's a friend."

"How you treat the women in your life will reflect on your future relationship, you know."

"Huuh?" Satoru started to sneer in disgust. "Why the sudden lecture?"

"I don't plan on getting hitched any time soon." He laughed mockingly.

"It'll be difficult." Yaga frowns back at his student. "It's always been difficult for a sorcerer to find anyone who can keep up with them."

"With your thick head, I'd think it'd be harder for you."

Gojo grimaced.

"But, it's not impossible."

"When you finally find someone, it'll be the most rewarding relationship you'll have."

Satoru could only grimace at his sensei in disbelief. And he sneers.

"Big talk from a divorcee."

Yaga returned Satoru's displeasure with his own.

"Who cares about that. Marriage is a joke. Monogamy is a joke. All this structure is a joke."

"I'm young, rich, attractive."

"I can do whatever I want."

- So, what do you plan to do? Are you bringing him back?

He's too far gone. If I'm bringing him back, I'd have to execute him.

I'm not ready for that shit. He laughed dryly.

With him. With the higher ups. He scratches the back of his head impatiently and lets out an exasperated sigh. I'm not ready.

Well, Utahime buried her cheek deeper into her arms, her hazel eyes peeking up from behind her bangs and twinkling.

Whatever it is; She tells him; a small smile upon her lips; We're in this together. -

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"Utahime's weak." Gojo straightens up, at the sight of a black car entering the driveway a floor beneath them. "But she gets the job done."

"You should take her in."

"That woman's as straight as an arrow." The corners of his lips spread into a fond smirk. "She'll never quit." (She'll never leave.)

"It's dumb." (It's dumb that she fights even though she's weak.) He raises his brows. "But she'll make a good teacher. I trust her with that much at least." He scoffed condescendingly.

And Yaga smiles; he chuckles in disbelief, at the fact that Satoru just couldn't give a compliment for free.

.

.

With a tuck in his lips, Gojo peers over the balcony and looks down. And the corners of his mouth lift; at the sight of Utahime stepping out of the black sedan and looking up.

His bright sapphire eyes light up. And his lips spread into a wide grin.

And with a hearty laugh, at the surprise in Utahime's eyes, seeing him a floor up and meeting her gaze from the open balcony; he cups the sides of his mouth and yells; He yells with his voice ringing in a full, jovial cheer -

"Iori-sensei!" He called out with a pure, full, unadulterated laugh. "Congratulations!"

And he throws his head back laughing when he sees Utahime instantly grow beet red. And she mirrors his boisterous, outgoing personality, cupping the sides of her face and yelling back in a disbelieving laugh -

"I'm still in training, you idiot!"

Gojo sniggered and shook and laughed.

"But, thank you!" Utahime grins up at him.

"Thank you, Gojo!"

"I'll do my best!" She gives him two proud thumbs ups and the most radiant smile, her cheeks rosy, her face beaming, that Gojo slowly loses the grin on his face.

And with a quiet breath, he smiles at the light ache in his chest, at the twist deep in his gut; and he waves goodbye;

Chapter 63: No. 6: "Have a good day at work."

Notes:

mary black - only a woman's heart

Chapter Text

"You should try to have a good day at work instead of scolding every person around you."

Utahime's brows knot. And she snaps back at the idiot chuckling behind her.

"You can't expect me to let them spread all those nasty rumors about you." She bit at him. "You never did anything wrong. You need to clear your name!"

"I don't have to." Satoru smirked, a dry smile lingering on his lips. And Utahime glowers when he starts to laugh. "They've always expected me to turn the second I was born."

"More now that Geto has." He slouched and leaned back on his heel.

"So," Satoru lightly rests the tips of his fingers on his temple, turning to his senior with a tilt of his head; facing her with his bangs over his blue eyes; and an amused smirk on his handsome face.

"So, you don't have to stand up for me."

"I do well on my own."

Utahime scowled. And she bit her lip.

"You don't have to." She tells him harshly. "And," She takes a breath and tries to keep her throat from locking; she tries to keep herself from taking a step closer and reaching out for his large, rough hands.

And she looks up at him. With her eyes red, angry and glaring, she looks up at him and tells him off -

"You don't have to." Satoru's brows rise then. "And," And he thinks her gaze softens. "I don't want you to."

And he laughs. His wry smirk breaks into a quiet, disbelieving laugh; honestly finding her thoughtfulness, - odd and unnecessary.

Still, the corners of his mouth curl into a fond smile as he looks away. And he tries to make light of the growing weight on his chest.

With a shallow breath, his eyes drift to her, to this woman with the red cheeks yelling her students' ears off and chasing after them with a broom; clearing his tarnished reputation with every cry and comically-animated hit - And, he starts to wonder if he'll ever fall in love; honestly, he couldn't imagine himself falling for anyone - anyone, if not her.

Chapter 64: No. 90: "You can tell me anything."

Notes:

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

Chapter Text

"Urgh," Utahime groaned as she slumped over the bar, her cheek melting against the cool marbled counter.

Beside her, Shoko could only chuckle. And, holding her glass next to her lips, she tilted her head and jokingly asked her friend; "Disappointed again?"

The annoyed glare Utahime sent her way was answer enough, that Shoko could only hide an amused smirk behind her drink.

"This is why you're still single. You never give anyone a chance."

"It's not my fault!" Utahime was quick to cry in her defense. "There's just never anyone good in these soirees!"

"All the men here can barely spit out a full sentence!"

"It's because you're too intimidating." Shoko laughs, humoring Utahime. She's never been one to reject Utahime's invitation to go drinking. Typically, Utahime would call her at the last minute, tell her she was in town and that they were going out. Shoko would spend the whole night getting buzzed on Utahime's dime. Utahime on the other hand, she'd spend the whole night trying to find herself a half-decent man. Heaven knows she'd never find one from their circle of sorcerers. "Men like dependent, sweet types, you know."

Utahime scowled at Shoko in disbelief and faked a disgusted, gagging sound.

"Also, your standards are too high." Shoko added, much to Utahime's aghast. "Rich, attractive, tall and strong? None of these non-sorcerers will be able to meet your impossible standards."

"When did I ever say that?!" Utahime cried to her friend in disbelief.

"So, you'd go out with someone who isn't rich, attractive and tall?" Shoko challenged her.

"I-I wouldn't mind!" Utahime spluttered, embarrassed and lying her ass off. "All I'm looking for is an honest man! A good man with good family values!"

Shoko thinned her lips and gave Utahime a skeptical glare.

"That wasn't what you said last time." Shoko frowned, vividly recalling that night Utahime was drunk off her wits and half-consciously yelling to the whole bar about how hard it was to find a rich, attractive man who'd spoil her, buy her expensive gifts and take her to lavish trips abroad like Okinawa...

That night was especially embarrassing, because after crying for quite some time, about why it was so difficult to find a handsome man who'd respect her - she went out of her way to point to her, to Shoko who was minding her own business getting drunk alone - why?! Utahime cried in indignation then - why is it so hard even for my beautiful friend right there; to get a sugar daddy?!

Thanks to that, Shoko was hounded by men thrice her age the whole night, that she had to shove Utahime into a cab with her and mute her phone.

"Either way," Shoko quirked a brow then and took a sip of her drink. "That's not why I think you're single anyway."

Utahime scrunched her nose in confusion then.

"You already have someone you like." Shoko smiled to her. "That's why you can never find anyone."

"I-I don't!" Utahime cried in disbelief, animatedly slamming her hands on the bar counter with a deep flush across her face that even surprised Shoko. "I've never liked anyone!"

"If you say so..." Shoko pursed her lips, not at all buying it.

"Who? Who the hell would I like?" Utahime glared, both completely embarrassed and irked.

"Nevermind." Shoko chuckled, annoying Utahime further by glossing over her words. "Let's just focus on finding you that good man with the good family values." She said teasingly, shifting on her seat and surveying the room, with Utahime simmering down and grumbling beside her.

"You're finding yourself a man?"

Shoko turned back, smiling when she finds the newly-arrived Gojo clan head laughing in disbelief, the expression on his face both condescending and patronizing. Beside her, Utahime was quick to look up and bar her teeth in defense.

"Come on," He goaded her with a laugh. "You can tell me anything." He sniggered as he looked around the room. "But I doubt we'll find you anyone here. Everyone's far too weak."

Utahime scowled, claws out on guard.

"I thought I was the weak one?" She glared at the tall, attractive bastard in his polo shirt and slacks.

"Exactly. You're too weak, Utahime." He grinned and leaned closer, his cheeks red and glowing. "You'll need to balance it out and date someone strong."

Utahime's nose wrinkled. And her face soured in an instant.

"Utahime's looking for a good man, you know." Shoko fills Satoru in with a smile. "A man who respects her and values her, not some strong man with unlimited money." She laughed. And Utahime's brow twitched in annoyance.

"Utahime's too weak." Satoru ignores Utahime's fuming and continues to tell Shoko with a cheeky grin, his sapphire eyes watching Utahime's face grow redder with every word from his mouth. "Someone weak like her will need someone strong to protect her. Ne, Utahime?"

Utahime's eyes turned red. And Satoru's grin reached his ears; gone and completely amused by Utahime's increasingly scarlet face.

"I'm your senpai, you idiot!" Utahime finally cried and leapt at him, much to Satoru's delight, that he catches her in his arms and spins her the next second -

"If you wanted to dance with me, you should've just said so Utahime!"

"Le-let me go, you idiot!" Utahime's vision blurred as blood rushed to her face in utter embarrassment, unable to pull away from Satoru's vice grip; that she no sooner finds herself on the dancefloor with him. But instead of blowing her head off at him, she laughs in disbelief the second he starts dancing in front of her, that she shoves him and hides her face in her hands in secondhand embarrassment as he pulls her to him and makes her dance his goofy dance with him.

And back by the bar, Shoko enjoys her newfound peace and orders herself another drink. And with an amused smile, she thinks - for someone who's never liked anyone, Utahime sure invited one particular man out with her a whole lot.

Chapter 65: No. 49: "Call me when you get home."

Notes:

scarlet - independent love song

Chapter Text

A recent string of homicides brought them to this dark back alley, deep in the underbelly of Tokyo's red light district; both skidding to a stop in front of a supposedly abandoned warehouse; guns raised; in his hands was a .500 caliber S&W Magnum, on hers, the smaller Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan;

"Gojo Satoru!" A sharp voice yelled in the distance, behind the thick, late evening fog. "Hands off!"

"This is official Tokyo Police business!" Utahime Iori, Division Chief of the Homicide Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force spat, skidding to a stop at the opposite end of the alley; her team of officers halting behind her.

"Is it?" Gojo Satoru, the newly appointed Regional Head of the Criminal Affairs Bureau smirked, his white hair handsomely falling over his sapphire eyes; the red and blue warning sirens behind him flickering in the fog. "Pretty sure you came to my office the other day begging me to take over your investigation!"

Utahime flushes in anger; her eyes flashing red.

"I never did!" She cried in disbelief, her cheeks flushing scarlet in embarrassment. And throwing an arm out in indignation; she gives him a vicious glare, about to tell him off - when a bomb detonates from inside the building, exploding the next instant and shattering glass; spewing shrapnel out into the open road.

And before Utahime could duck, her greatest, most vocal critic jumps at her, momentarily knocking the wind out of her lungs and shielding her tight in his arms as a string of explosions blasted one after the other from inside the building.

"Let me go!" Utahime cried the second the explosions stopped.

Gojo Satoru only looks down at her with that condescending smirk of his and tells her teasingly, "How will I be able to face your husband if you get injured on my watch?"

Utahime flushed beet red and shoved him away.

"I'm not on anyone's watch, let alone yours, you idiot!"

"Also!"

Gojo held her shoulders and, to Utahime's dismay, laughed his head off.

"I entered the force two years ahead of you, you moron!"

"Ah, ah," He nodded at her patronizingly, that the fuming Utahime gives him another good shove off her.

"Secure the perimeter!" Utahime barred her teeth at her team, rising to her feet and holding her gun close to her chest; rushing up the stairs and into the entrance; gesturing instructions to her team with a firm hand.

And the next second, much to Satoru's annoyance, she and her team quickly disappear into the building.

"You two," The young director spat, rising to his feet and running after them. "With me!"

Quick and nimble on his feet, Satoru speeds up the staircase, straining his ears after the commotion upstairs. And the instant he pushes the gates to the rooftop of the quickly collapsing building open, he's greeted by the sight of Utahime kneeing a much larger man, the ring leader of the biggest drug operation in Shibuya, a man with at least eleven homicides under his belt; and twisting his bulging arm behind him, with her long black hair falling from her ribbon and over the sides of her face, she locks his thick wrists in handcuffs with a careful click of the mechanism.

"See," The Division Chief found Satoru's impressed gaze amid the dimly lit space, struggling to keep the large man pinned beneath her weight. Beside her, her team apprehended his comrades and all the contraband in sight. "I told you I didn't need your help!"

Satoru could only shake his head in disbelief then, at her rashness, her cockiness and pride.

Still, he smiles and tells her, reminds her really, to finally go back home to her husband.

That whole night, Utahime spends hours at the precinct. And the next days, she drowns in paperwork and post-case debriefings. Until finally, the day came when the last of the release forms was signed and stored off.

Utahime sighed and closed her tired eyes then. Thankful it was finally over. Thankful that the case was finally closed.

And with a smile, she bids her team good night.

"You'll finally be able to go home to your husband, ne Chief?"

Utahime's brows rise in surprise then. And she breaks into a disbelieving laugh.

She should've expected as much, everyone in the department dipping in on her marriage; what with her marrying a fellow officer.

At the end of the day, they were right. After months of working on this case, she could finally go home without worry nor qualm.

This recent mission did put a strain in their relationship. They've been married for just a month when this case was assigned to her. And she's been away from home for months now, only seeing her husband when she comes home and passes out on the couch.

She'd still wake up in bed and with breakfast ready for her at six in the morning, and she'd eat her meals in silence and wonder if this was worth it, if making their marriage suffer this way was worth it when it took so much for them to finally get together.

Whatever it was, Utahime smiled; she would finally be able to have dinner with her other half. Exicted, she gets them both take out; determined to surprise him with her return.

She quietly unlocks their apartment door. Steps in. Sets the table. And, goes into their bedroom to call him out with a large grin and outstretched arms.

Only, much to her disappointment, and a slightly budding annoyance, her husband wasn't home.

Irked, piqued, and livid; Utahime reminds herself that she had no right to get angry. He's been more than patient with her. Hell, he was a saint this entire time; well, for the most part of it.

So, when she hears the front door unlock. She quickly rises to her feet, a growing smile on her face. And she helps him swing the door open.

"Utahime?"

Utahime's eyes widen. And her lips were quick to frown at the sight before her.

"You're finally home." Geto Suguru smiled.

And he laughs when Utahime only manages to reply with an irritated glare.

"I had to bring him home." He tells her before she could get mad. "Picked him up with the trainees back at HQ." He gestured to the man slumped against him and buzzed off his wits.

"What's wrong with him?" Utahime wasn't at all amused.

"Couldn't keep up with the kids. He was already wasted even before I got there."

"What an idiot." Utahime frowned, stretching out her arms. "I'll take it from here."

Suguru nods and deposits the half-conscious high-ranking officer in her arms.

"Thanks for looking out for him, Suguru."

"It's the least I can do," Suguru smiled. "After all he's done for me, getting this decorated officer home to his wife is the least I can do."

Utahime shook her head and shifted her husband against her; carefully supporting his heavy weight with her whole body.

"Well, good night."

"Good night, Suguru." Utahime smiled after him. "Tell Shoko we'll visit your little boy soon."

"Till then." Suguru gave her a salute. And with a step aside, the hefty wooden door to their apartment closes behind him, leaving Utahime to deal with her annoying, unconscious husband shamelessly snoring against her.

With a shove and a wrong step forward, after managing to drag his ass across the living room, they both fall on the bed. And Utahime could only sigh against the side of her husband's cheek; looking up at the ceiling in defeat, wondering just how she'll be able to push this tall, lean idiot off her.

"Utahime,"

Utahime arched a brow, surprised by the groggy voice that called for her in a whisper.

"You're awake?" She carressed his back and rests her cheek against his; his white hair tickling the sides of her face.

"Marry me."

"What?" Utahime scrunched her face.

"Marry me." He whispered again, much to Utahime's embarrassment.

And with her cheeks growing red, Utahime could only frown and mumble back a shy, quiet;

"We're already married, you idiot."

In her arms, Satoru starts to shake in a silent laugh; his face buried in the sweet scent of her hair.

And, still half-asleep, he smiles sheepishly and mumbles a low and quiet, "Just making sure." He laughs.

And Utahime could only sigh, unable to keep herself from smiling when Satoru lets his buzz consume him and finally falls back asleep; his muscles resting and melting against her; his breathing calm and even; his snoring light against her cheek.

"Ah," Utahime smiled back and tenderly patted his back. "You wore me down, baka." She laughed to herself in the quiet.

"You wore me down after ten years." She pulled back his hair and smiled up at his resting face. "And,"

She planted a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"We got married in the spring." She smiled. "You idiot."

Chapter 66: No. 71: "No reason."

Chapter Text

Nanami twisted his lips.

Shoko arched a brow.

And Utahime raised an angry, trembling fist.

"I don't know what to do!"

The three sane sorcerers, well-respected masters of their craft, lauded by the elders of jujutsu sorcery, these three professionals - they had to hold back as the most insufferable man they've ever met dramatically fell to his knees and raised his hands, pleading, begging to the heavens -

"Why?!"

Nanami's brow twitched.

"Why did this have to happen?!"

Shoko's tired eyes drift to Utahime beside her, to the fuming, irritated Utahime; and she hides her amused smile behind a hand.

"What did I do to deserve this?!"

"Would you pipe down?!" Utahime's finally snapped. And she shakes the table with the brute force from the slam of her hand.

"You would never understand!" Satoru was quick to cry back in disbelief - his gestures, exaggerated. And he points an accusative finger at his offended colleague and fellow educator. "You've never had it!"

"You've never had mind-blowing sex!"

Nanami's sunglasses broke. Shoko nearly choked on her drink. And Utahime saw nothing but red -

"This woman was different! Insanely sexy! Insanely beautiful! And the things we did - She's definitely European!"

"A European supermodel!"

"I definitely banged a European supermodel last weekend!"

"We already know." Nanami clicked his tongue and reached for his glass. "We get it." The poor sorcerer wanted nothing more than to dull his working brain with the whisky in his glass; dull his brain enough to drown out his insufferable colleague's mindless nattering. "There's no shutting you up, is there?"

"I can't help it!" Satoru cried in dismay. "She was one in a million!"

"If she was one in a million," Shoko titled her head and coolly smiled. "You shouldn't have let her go."

"Don't tell me you're falling for his tricks, Shoko!" Utahime glared at Shoko in disbelief and slammed Satoru back with a heated finger his way. "That idiot'll be on someone else's bed this weekend, I'm telling you!"

"Really?" Shoko chuckled and turns to give Satoru a teasing smile. "Seems to me like he's finally fallen in love."

"In love?!" Satoru, Utahime and Nanami nearly choked on their drinks.

"Oi, oi, oi," Satoru started tapping on the table, impatient to set the record straight - "I never said I was in love."

"Oh?" Shoko smiled.

"I was just saying - "

Utahime's eye twitched and twitched; far beyond merely irritable.

"- She was the hottest - the sexiest! woman I've ever banged!" He yelled with a firm finger raised in the air. Announcing it in a full and true declaration - so infuriatingly dramatic to boot - that Utahime finally smacks him right at the back of his head; not at all minding how she'd just hit his infinity over and over again...

Before long, a tired Utahime passes out. Red. And drunk. And well, not really so angry anymore. Spent by her day of teaching and chaperoning her students on every single mission.

With a laugh, having his fill of amusement for that night, Satoru turns to Shoko beside him; and he quietly and genuinely asks her;

"So," He unconsciously strokes the back of Utahime's head, his fingers combing down her dark, ebony hair. "Why did you ask me to come?"

"Oh, no reason." Shoko smiled. "It's not work." She reassured him. And, leaning closer, she tells him; "Just needed help cheering Utahime up."

And with a slide of her thumb, she slides to the next picture on her gallery, a picture of the four good friends at the beach with some of the students. And she zooms in on Utahime. "She lost her necklace recently." She stops the picture at Utahime's neckline, at the gold chain with the Iori family crest. "It was a family heirloom. Can't remember where she last placed it."

"Really?" Satoru smirks, his blue eyes turning to his senpai quietly snoring, all fast asleep and dreaming.

"Hm." Shoko nodded. "We tried the campus. With her field work piling up recently, only god knows where it might've fallen."

"Guess I know what I'm getting her for her birthday." Satoru joked. And Shoko shook her head, still with her small smile.

"I doubt even the most expensive jewelry can replace a family heirloom."

"It was a joke, Shoko." Satoru leaned in, spelling it out for his friend.

"Anyway," Shoko chuckled into her glass. "You finally met someone good?"

Satoru's brows crease. And he starts to laugh at the serious, anticipating look from Shoko.

"Ah, I did." He smiles halfheartedly and leans back on his seat. "I really liked this one. Insanely hot. We were at it the whole night."

"She was the one." He tells the ever amused Shoko with sarcasm in his tone. But there was a dash of truthfulness there. And his friend could only laugh in complete understanding.

"You're just talking about sex, aren't you?" Shoko teases. And Satoru looked at her like she was crazy.

"What else would I talk about?"

"You know I don't do relationships." He visibly gagged, sending Shoko shaking her head in disappointment. "Either way, she left first. So that was a relief."

"Makes her even more perfect." He grinned.

"Satoru,"

"Hm?" Satoru laughed at the unamused expression on his dear friend's face.

"You're depressing me." Shoko stated frankly with a frown on her lips. And Satoru couldn't help but snigger.

"Which model was it?"

"OH?" Satoru's lips twisted into a goofy smile. And with a cheeky grin, he turns to the sour-faced Nanami. "Living vicariously through your favorite upperclassman, ne?"

"Don't make me gag."

"I didn't catch her name." Satoru ends up laughing at the unamused, stoic expression on Nanami's face. "Can hardly remember her face. Everything happened so fast. She could be the hotel custodian for all I know." He sniggered; his bangs handsomely falling over his eyes.

"What I can say is this - " He gives them a wide, toothy grin; "She was incredible."

"Coming from you, that must mean a lot." Nanami stated as a matter of fact. "Since you've slept with a thousand women by now."

Satoru scrunches his forehead in disbelief then; and he throws his head back laughing, much to Nanami's annoyance.

"Ah, ah. She was something else." Satoru smirked.

"Don't believe him."

The three friends turn to the grumbling, half-awake Utahime with her head resting over the table.

"Don't believe a word that idiot says." She tries to glare, but only manages groggy pout.

Nanami and Shoko chuckle. And Satoru laughs; and he tries not to think of her; of how he always sees her locked beneath him; no matter who he's with; no matter where he was - he'd always find her hazel eyes glistening up at him; her face glowing, her coy smile radiant. After all, he's become used to it, to making nothing more of it.

So, when Utahime musters a sour frown and turns to bury her face back in her arms, shielding her eyes from the warm bar lights, Satoru just laughs and tenderly pats her head back to sleep.

His phone buzzes then, a special alert set for work; something someone encoded especially for his phone - so, as Yaga-sensei would say; his lazy ass wouldn't be so late to meetings as often.

With that ping, Satoru checks his phone and scans his recent mail. He presses on the bolded subject directly sent by Yaga-sensei, completely ignoring all his other emails. A lot of which were buried deep with his other unimportant, unread emails; one of which came from the hotel he stayed at the previous weekend, informing him that management has set aside a forgotten item retrieved from his room during his stay - one gold chain necklace with an intricate pendant crafted in the image of a lesser jujutsu sorcery clan's insignia.

Chapter 67: No. 75: "I was just thinking about you."

Chapter Text

"Oh?" Gojo cocks his head to the side. "You're looking for someone to date?"

"I am." His informant looks up at him and nods. The both of them were walking briskly with the downtown Tokyo crowd, their rendezvous cloaked by the bustling streets littered with black suit company employees. "It's been a while since my ex. I think I'm ready to get back out there." He laughs, realizing how lame he sounded.

"Get back out there?" Gojo's lips twist into a condescending smirk. "You sound like an old man."

"Maybe I am." He smiles boyishly. "So," He looks up at Gojo who was a few inches taller. "You'll introduce me to her?"

"You'll set me up with Iori-san?"

Gojo arched a brow, honestly taken back by the man's persistence.

"You really liked her, huh?"

"I really do." He tells him straight. And he laughs at the disgust he thinks he sees in Gojo's expression.

"So," His informant gives him a hopeful smile. "You'll help me out?"

Gojo cocks a brow. He sighs and scratches his head.

"Just think about it." His informant gets the message and laughs it off. "I'm nothing if not patient."

And with a nod goodbye, he walks further down the road and disappears into the crowd; leaving Gojo pursing his lips and sighing; wondering just what it was with his senpai; why was it -

He scratched his head -

Why was it so easy for everyone to like her?

.

.

.

"Gojo," Utahime seethed the second she walks into the dark room.

And Gojo only looked over his shoulder, resting an arm over her couch; turning away from the TV to the open doorway.

"Welcome home!" He grinned innocently and threw her a friendly wave of a hand. "I was just thinking about you!"

Utahime could only slam apartment door behind her and and clench her fists.

"I've told you a million times," Her eyes flashed red. "Never to go inside my apartment?!" She yelled, her cheeks burning in embarrassment; throwing her bag at the obnoxious intruder ducking down and laughing his head off at her.

"Wow," He shook his head at her in disappointment - much to Utahime's disbelief - "Just here to deliver a message."

"You could've called me, you idiot!" Utahime tried smacking and smacking him with her folders. Still, nothing she did could penetrate through his infinity.

"My informant wants a date." He tells her straight. And he peeks up when Utahime suddenly stops trying to hit him.

"What?" Her brows rose in surprise.

"He's a financial adviser." Gojo's lips spread into a teasing smile, much to Utahime's disdain. "You like those boring types, right?"

Utahime pursed her lips and frowned.

"I don't have a type." She hisses at him. "I just keep away from idiots." She glared down at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Really?" Gojo climbs up her couch and sits at the headrest. "I don't think you're doing such a good job - at least with me, anyway."

"It's because you're too much of an idiot." Utahime sneered. And she frowns, helpless when Gojo slips his hands over her waist and pulls her to him; falling back down the couch and burying her into his arms.

"It's not because I'm too handsome?"

Utahime rolled her eyes.

"Too smart?"

Gojo grinned.

"The strongest?"

Utahime grimaced and tried to pull away from his embrace.

"You're just such an idiot." She gives up and lies on top of him; resting the side of her face on his chest; closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep with the drowned out lulling beat of his heart.

"Told him you were taken." Gojo whispered against her temple, smiling as he felt her melt against him; her breathing quiet and even. "That you're hopelessly in love with someone else."

"I'm not," Utahime grumbled against his jacket.

And Gojo just laughed and shushed her.

"Ah, ah," Utahime started to shake and get mad all over again... "You're too tired, you have no idea what you're saying." He gives her a teasing smile. And Utahime could only glare and sigh against his skin.

"I guess I am." Utahime closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. And Gojo lifts her up, brings her to bed and leaves for the airport to his next assignment.

Chapter 68: No. 78: "Do you want to come too?" / "You in?"

Notes:

Okay... I'm honestly bored of writing oneshots... So...

I've got a series idea. Yes. I still have stories that make me happy. And I want to write it down. 5 Song couple forever! Hahaha

It's going to be a series of related oneshots this point forward, until the resolution. I'll be following the chapter title sequence (forcing it more like) of One Hundred Ways. I thought of posting it's own story/a separate one from this. But it'll just add to my many MANY MAAANY stories already. AHAHAHA Plus, I wanted to put the chapters in to finish this series... :))

I'll put a synopsis after this prologue/entry chapter setting the scene, I don't want to spoil the story haha. It's super cute. Canon-Compliant. Gojo's Past Arc. Hilarious (because that's JJK to me - comedy/friendship + loss/grief). And it makes me smile. Hope you guys enjoy. And thanks for joining me!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

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"What's he so happy about?" Suguru peered through the door, into Satoru's dorm room to find his classmate idly whistling to himself in a happy, sappy tune.

"He's going on a date, apparently." Shoko answers thoughtlessly, clicking down on the keypad of the newest, top of the line flip phone. And she chuckles at the new message she received, from a subscription for daily jokes. She's gotten into the habit of not really minding either of them - after nearly a year together; she's known well-enough it was easier to ignore the two than try to reason out with their idiot overpowered male brains.

"He is?" Suguru crossed his arms over his chest; his brows knotting in intrigue. "With who?"

"Who knows." Shoko spares him a glance, an amused smirk on her lips. Suguru had this annoying habit of putting his nose in everyone's business. Always looking out for everyone; always so righteous and thoughtful. It was irritating; Shoko thought with a chuckle. "Isn't it just another one of those women downtown?" She finally looks up from her phone, finding Suguru's concern funny.

"You know,"

Shoko arched a brow at the serious turn of her classmate's tone. And she purses her lips in surprise, when Suguru suddenly sits close beside her; arm to arm against her. And his face dipping low and close.

"I think Gojo;"

Suguru gestured to the unamused Shoko with a firm hand; not realizing he was a hair too close that Shoko was trying to scoot away, thinking he was getting unnecessarily familiar with her...

"I think Gojo got himself a girlfriend." He finally tells Shoko; dead serious.

A silence fills their exchange soon after.

And not a second later, much to Suguru's annoyance, Shoko bursts laughing her face off and mockingly pointing a finger at him like he was some crazy lunatic.

"Get real!" She rolled her eyes, about to stand - done with this ridiculous conversation. Only to snarl when Suguru grabs her hand and drags her back down right next to him. His face right next to hers.

"Hear me out!"

Shoko twisted her face in disgust - what the hell happened to the quiet, self-righteous Suguru?

"You know how crazy you sound?!" Shoko looked at him with her brows knotted deep. "You're out of your mind if you think Satoru would ever date anyone!"

"Really?" Suguru bit back, the both of them growing red. "You really think that?"

They both knew Satoru. He was an idiot. He was a player. He did whatever he wanted because he could. So - to think that that idiot player would willingly enter a serious relationship - it was just impossible!

"You can't think of one person - " Shoko glared. " - One person at all he would want to date?"

Shoko's eye twitched. And her lips started to thin into an unamused line.

"You're not saying..."

"Think about it!" Suguru held his head - this genius was too overwhelming that he had to hold down his trashing - spinning mind ! - "He's never picked up anyone downtown for so long!"

"In all our recent missions, he's always on his phone before - and immediately right after - !"

"Always excusing himself. Looking over his shoulder. And talking. On his phone - IN A WHISPER!"

"You can't seriously be implying - " Shoko shook her head. No, no, no. No. NOO -

"Haven't you noticed it?"

Shoko's eye twitched at Suguru's insanity - horrified it was infectious - .

"He only ever goes out when we know - KNOW - that Utahime's in town!"

"Shut up." Shoko lost all the color in her face. "If he was - if they were -" She couldn't wrap her head around it. She held her head and trembled in disbelief - "If they were dating - I would've known!" She yelled at the equally horrified Suguru - "She would've at least told me - !"

"RIGHT?! RIIGHT?!" Suguru cried out! And Shoko was so close to losing her mind -

"Utahime tells me everything!"

"You really think she'd admit it - " Suguru challenged her - "- If Utahime actually hit her head and actually liked Gojo back?"

"You think she'd ACTUALLY admit it?!"

Shoko grew pale in realization -

"No," Her face lost its color - "No, I don't think she would've..."

"I don't know what you're doing this afternoon," Suguru finally stood from his seat. "But I'm getting to the bottom of this."

"What?" Shoko looked up at him and glared - just so confused and lost and grossed out - She's always wanted Utahime to find someone good - but Gojo?! GOJO?! DATING GOJO WAS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF FINDING SOMEONE GOOD?!

"Don't tell me - " Shoko laughed dryly, massaging her throbbing head; she couldn't take any more of this... "Don't tell me you're stalking them?"

"Exactly." Suguru nodded firm and true. "I'm stalking Satoru on his date." He tells her straight.

"So," He arches a brow at the frowning Shoko. "You in?"

"Ah,"

Shoko stood up and patted down her dress.

"Let's get to the bottom of this;" And she gives Suguru a small, tired smile. " - Partner."

"Ah." Suguru smiles back, drapes an arm over Shoko and pulls her next to him - only for her to dangerously click her tongue for him to back off.

"Ah," Suguru slyly chuckled and pulled back his arm. "My bad."

And Shoko pushed him far back for good measure; thinking to herself this was going to be one loong day.

Notes:

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Chaos ensues on the next chapter. Hope you have fun reading along. AHAHA

Chapter 69: No. 29: "Well, what do you want to do?"

Notes:

Just pasting some snippets from my unfinished story, Still Blue, This Black Sky. I don't see myself ever writing or continuing that story. But I do love it a lot. Thought to share some parts of it with you here.

I might do the same with my other unfinished story, Tough Love. I've written down a lot. Just haven't gone around to piecing them together. And I don't think I ever will.

The series that begun with the previous chapter, Chapter 68, will continue eventually. Thanks for dropping by!

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

Chapter Text

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"Utahime,"

Utahime looks up at Gojo in surprise. He called her aside when everyone started leaving the common room.

They were all holed up in a safehouse in downtown Tokyo. Jujutsu Tech had fallen. They've lost Tengen-sama. They've lost so many sorcerers in the attack already.

All this destruction had to end soon. Gojo was determined to end it all before the next sunset.

"You'll be by my side."

"No." She glares at him.

And Gojo knots his brows. This wasn't the time for her stubbornness.

"Well," He thinks to humor her. "What do you want to do?"

They've agreed to the plan. They would be split into three factions. Maki and Yuta would lead the frontlines. Yuuji, Megumi and Hakari would infiltrate the enemy base to retrieve the last finger. And he would take on Kenjaku. Then, Sukuna when he wakes.

It was all set.

And this time, he'd be there should anything go amiss.

This time, he wouldn't lose anyone. This time, no one was dying on his watch.

"I'm fighting in the frontlines with my students." Utahime tells him coldly, firmly.

Gojo's face twists. And his brows furrow.

"You have to meet me halfway." He attempts to reason with her. "Some of us will need to compromise."

"Would you?" She snapped. (Would you compromise?)

"No." Gojo frowns at the determination in her eyes, the desperation. "No, I wouldn't." He admits in resignation.

And that was all that was said between them.

And Gojo could only glare at her back as she walked away.

For someone so weak, he scratched the back of his head in annoyance; she had a huge head.

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When he tells this to Yuta, his student just chuckles at him.

"Don't you trust her?" The young man with the kind smile asks him. "You can't expect to save everyone, sensei."

"No." Gojo hid his mouth behind his hand. His gaze far, in deep thought. "No, I don't trust her."

Now that this new age was dawning before them, he was going to make sure everyone would live to see the next day. He would show them all, the new age he's worked towards for so long.

"You've always been looking out for her," Gojo turns to Yuta, arching a brow in surprise; cut from his train of thought.

"Ah," Gojo nods. "I have to." He tells his student, saying the same line he's been repeating over the years like a broken record. "She's weak."

"She's not weak, sensei." Yuta smiles. "Iori-sensei is not weak."

Gojo raises his brows at him.

"She'll die without me."

"Sensei," Yuta smiles kindly at his mentor. "Perhaps, it's not because she's weak?"

Gojo leans forward, not following.

"Maybe, you look out for her," His gaze drifts in a thought. "Because you don't want to lose her?"

"Because," He tilts his head and smiles. "Maybe, you love her?"

Gojo knots his brows. And it takes him a moment, a second, before he leans back on his chair in disbelief at his student's ridiculous words.

"Love her?" He couldn't help but let out a low chuckle and rest his hands behind his head, playing cool, playing aloof. "Why would I love Utahime?"

"She can do whatever she wants."

He laughs.

"It'll just be a pain," He smiles at his student. "Having to look out for her."

You'll die this time, you know. He told her in the corridor. He wasn't trying to scare her. He was just stating a fact. The same way he did many years ago, before she took on the assignment that would leave her close to dying, that would remind her everyday, as she looked in the mirror, just how weak, how vulnerable she was.

I know. She turns to look back, up at him, at his eyes behind his blindfold.

And he sees it. Like those many years ago, he sees a friend walking down a path with no return.

Gojo, I know.

She smiles at him.

It's okay.

She chuckles.

I know.

Yuta just smiles at his sensei. This man had always been so far disconnected with society, with his humanity; that he couldn't even distinguish his frustration from heartbreak.

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Chapter 70: No. 37: "Can I kiss you?"

Notes:

Still from Still Blue, This Black Sky.

Chapter Text

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"...Utahime,"

She couldn't see him. She was so drained, so close to death; that she couldn't even open her eyes.

"Look at me, Utahime."

She tries to. She tries to look up.

And she sees blue. She sees sweat, blood and a flickering light.

And - her brows crease as a tear escapes her eye - she thinks of how she couldn't even reach up to kiss his lips goodbye.

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Chapter 71: No. 76.: "I want you to have this."

Notes:

Still from Still Blue, This Black Sky.

Chapter Text

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Gojo lands on his back against the soft grass. And his breath is knocked out of him when someone materializes from thin air right after him and falls limp on top of his sore body.

And, he grimaces when he looks up at fiery hazel eyes, eyes pooling with unshed tears, so angry, so livid and hurt; and with a raise of his brows, he sighs and mentally prepares himself for the inevitable.

"YO-YOU IDIOT!" Utahime cried and beat his chest. And Gojo could only look at her with a frown, her hot tears dropping on his cheeks, running down his face as if his very own.

"Ah, ah," He quietly hums as he pulled her down to his chest, her body soft and warm over his own. His heart jumping from one beat to the next in painful erratic thumps as he held her tight, as he breathed in against her neck and smells the subtle fragrance in her hair, in her skin. Sweet, comforting, familiar.

What a cry baby. He thought with an annoyed crease on his brow as he ran a hand down her long hair, his fingers lost to the dark tresses falling over her shoulders. She was such a cry baby, he thought jokingly, with a quiet sigh of relief as he breathlessly, tightly held on. Her warmth, her scent, her touch, filling him with a power, with a life he's thought he'd lost.

As she laid on top of him, she sobs into his embrace, and she hits him again, lightly, gently this time.

"You're such," She cried in a hoarse voice against his shirt stained and wet from her tears. "Why are you such an idiot?" She closed her eyes and hit him again.

And, when her crying quiets, when her shaking stills, she turns and looks up into the sky in his eyes. His white hair parted and damp.

"Gojo," She whispers. "I want you to have this." She rests her hands on his chest and pushes herself up.

"What is it - ?" He whispers back and leans up; the light in her hazel eyes swishing, glimmering under his gaze.

"Your life." She dips her head, closes her eyes and touches his forehead with hers.

And he reaches up and meets her soft, wet lips with his dry, chapped mouth. In a gentle kiss. A deep, longing kiss.

And she pulls away.

His brows twitch. And he leans up lightheaded, following; searching for the lips that left him.

But Utahime only pulls away; and she stands on her knees, her hazel eyes cast down, hooded and dark; looking at him, not faltering, not drifting.

And with a light press of her palm over his chest, over his pounding heart, she releases a soft, warm energy from her hand, emitting a power, a lightness that fills him.

And, he is knocked out.

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Chapter 72: No. 68. "You didn't have to ask."

Notes:

AU. Gojo is a sushi chef. Utahime is a patron.

Chapter Text

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"You crying?" He asks her when he follows her out of his restaurant.

Utahime frowns at him.

"Why would I?" She tells him evenly, oddly calm for someone who's just walked out on her date.

"He's not so bad."

Gojo raises his brows at her when she tells him.

"I've been with worse men."

And he tries to keep himself steady.

"He's pretty sweet."

He tries not to shake some sense into her.

"Jealous at times. But who doesn't get jealous when they're dating someone, ne?" She turns to smile at him.

Gojo falls into step beside her as he followed her down the road, not knowing where they were headed, not caring that he left his restaurant in the middle of dinner service.

"What's wrong with you?" He finally asks her after a block.

And Utahime laughs quietly and holds her bag closer to her chest.

"You act tough, but you're not, are you?" Gojo tells her, musing out loud. "You're pretty insecure."

Utahime just keeps laughing and doesn't look at him. She doesn't turn. She doesn't deny his words. She doesn't do anything and just resigns to walking down the road with this man who followed her out.

"So," Gojo pulls at her arm, stopping her with him. And with an arch of his brow, he asks her again - "What's wrong with you?"

"Gojo," She finally looks up at him with her eyes brimming with a sadness he's never seen in her before, with a hurt he never noticed before.

"Look at me."

He knots his brows in confusion.

"I am."

"No." Utahime glares at him. "Look at my face."

Gojo leans back on his heel, his brows easing in understanding.

"Look at my scar."

"What person has a scar like this?"

"Where would anyone even manage to get a scar like this?"

"There's no reason someone like me would have a scar this horrible."

"But I do. I have it, Gojo."

"It will always be there, on my face, for everyone to see."

"So, you didn't have to ask me - ." She pulls her arm from his grip. "Like you don't see it right in front of you."

When Gojo doesn't say anything, with her brows furrowed, with a growing guilt at how she seemed to have unfairly lashed out at him, Utahime sighs in a shaky breath. And she tells him,

"It's okay."

She talks about the man she was with. "I don't need a pity relationship to make me feel less insecure."

"I know what this scar means." She frowns when he still wasn't saying anything. "It means I have to be patient."

"And it may not come for me, but I'll wait. Anyway, being single isn't the worst thing. If I wasn't so easily swayed by the men I meet, I wouldn't bother dating in the first place."

Finally, Gojo laughs - he laughs at her dryly.

"You weren't swayed by me." He reminds her with a bitter glare.

And she bites back at him, "Were you trying to?"

Gojo looks at her in disbelief.

"Didn't you think so?"

"Do you want me to think so?"

"Did you want to?"

"Gojo,"

"What?"

"You're so annoying."

He lets out a surprised breath. And he starts laughing.

"You are too, so it's all right."

"How the hell am I annoying?!" She shoved him away. And he smiles and lets her.

"And rabid." He smirks down at her red face.

"I. Am. Not!"

"And hysterical." And he laughs and lets her shove him again.

"I'm leaving!" She glowered and started stomping away.

"And weak!" He yelled after her as the distance between them grew.

"Bye!" Utahime yelled back mockingly, with an angry wave, with a sour frown.

"And so fucking beautiful." Gojo sighs into his hands. And, he tucks away a laugh into the bend of his arm as he watched her stomp and glower away.

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Chapter 73: No. 53: "Sit down, I'll get it."

Notes:

AU. Gojo is a sushi chef. Utahime is a patron.

Chapter Text

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It's been a month since they last saw each other.

And when Utahime walks into his restaurant like it was nothing, Gojo slams his knife on the counter in disbelief, his face paling at the sight of her turning to him by the door, just smiling and gingerly waving in greeting as if a month hadn't passed between them.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Gojo yelled out before he could stop himself.

And horrified, Utahime could only flush beet red - her eyes widening in embarrassment as the old couple she was with turned to her in mortification.

"I - I -" Utahime stuttered, her eyes wide with shock.

"What?" Gojo growled, scrunching his face at her. "Spit it out!"

"Do - " Utahime's eyes watered. And she shook in utter humiliation. "Don't embarrass me in front of my parents, you idiot!"

And she runs right back out of Gojo's restaurant.

And Gojo nearly drops the knife in his hands.

And the elderly couple, Utahime's parents, flushed and tried to move past the awkward reunion.

"Ah, sit down." The old man tells his wife, his voice cracking; stunned and shaken. "I'll get Utahime."

And his wife grabs his arm weakly. "Ah. I'll come with you." She said, forcing a smile; trying to keep it together. But her eyes screamed at her husband, in a silent, desperate cry, not to dare abandon her here; not with the loud, vicious chef.

And with that, Utahime and her parents leave; not even a second after they've arrived at Gojo's restaurant.

And Gojo could only redden, groaning into his hands in frustration. And he picks up the pieces of what was left of his dignity and follows after them outside his restaurant.

He finds the small family of three huddled up in the corner, the next block over. And he scratched the back of his neck and dipped his head when they see him approach.

Utahime meets his gaze with a disappointed frown. And the old couple beside her awkwardly avert their eyes and quickly make a show of leaving; eyes anxiously darting around, trying to act cool and nonchalant, terrified at the thought of the impending confrontation as he got closer.

Gojo ran a frustrated hand down his face then; pinching his nose when he sees the couple suddenly make a dash for it and enter the nearest store they could find.

And, cheeks tinting pink, embarrassed and frustrated; he bitterly sneers, stopping beside the woman who caused all this mess in the first place.

"Where the hell have you been?" He hisses when he's in front of her.

And Utahime could only look at him in disbelief. And before Gojo could stop her, she furiously hit his arm.

"What are you? My boyfriend?!" She cried.

"I might as well be." Gojo frowned.

"Well, you're not!" Utahime scowled. "You're just the most annoying person in the world!"

"Oh, was I~?" He harps back snarkily.

"God, Gojo!" Utahime threw her hands in frustration.

"What?" Gojo starts to smile when she suddenly quiets down. And they share a cautious gaze; brows rising, lips quirking in a budding amusement at the ridiculous incident that's just happened.

"You really did a number on my parents." She told him. And she starts to laugh.

"Urgh." Gojo groaned into the palm of his hands. "This is all your fault."

"My fault?!"

"Where were you all this time?!"

"I was in a conference abroad." Utahime smiles at him when she sees his blue eyes peek from behind his fingers. "Then, I went to visit my relatives."

"Should I add your email to my calendar?" She jokes, pulling his hands away from his face and laughing at how flushed he was.

Gojo gave her a frown. And he tells her straight -

"Yes."

"Urgh, Gojo;" She sneered at him in disbelief. "You should get yourself a girlfriend already."

"I'm trying to." He scratches his head and smiles innocently.

"Not me. You idiot." Utahime hissed in disbelief, her cheeks tinting pink.

"Well, too bad." Gojo tells her coolly and shrugs. "It's you I want." He dips closer and starts leaning against her shoulder. "And I always get what I want." He whispers into her ear and smirks.

"Gross!" Utahime shoves him away the next second. "Stop leering over me like some creep!" She flushes red. And fuming, she glares up at him then stomps away.

"Where are you going?!" Gojo laughed after her and followed her down the street.

"Getting back my parents, you idiot!" Utahime pursed her lips and frowned at the sniggering man, unamused and annoyed.

Still, she stops. And she waits up for him down the sidewalk with that sour frown on her lips.

"Come on." She gestures for him with a cock of her head. "They're starving."

"You owe them a meal after giving them a good scare." She sneered.

"Hai, hai." Gojo smiles down at her, throwing an arm over her shoulders and pulling her next to him.

And they walk back down the street to retrieve her parents.

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Chapter 74: No. 48: "I'll do it for you."

Chapter Text

"So," Sukuna raised his brows, his red eyes glittering in amusement - in a sordid delight. "You're the descendant of Michizane."

"How disappointing." He gave him a pitying, condescending smile; an eerie, ominous cloud lingering in his gaze.

Gojo could only click his tongue, irked and growing impatient; his cursed energy spiking blue in errant waves around him.

"It's disappointing how time has diluted what was once an incredible power."

Gojo's brow twitches. And his lips quirk and purse into a thin, unamused line.

"Why did you do it?"

Sukuna arched a brow in confusion. And his gaze is led down to his feet, to the sorceress lying unconscious and on the brink of death.

"Ah." He seemed to have forgotten. "She's not dead, if you're worried."

"Humans form the oddest attachments." He laughs. And Gojo ticks, confused, offended - for his power to be so blatantly belittled - for being thought of as human -

"She's just trapped in a curse."

"I couldn't kill her. I'm already threading on thin ice with the gods as it is." He jokes mockingly. And Gojo clenches his jaw and groans out in sheer frustration -

"You're going to release her." His command was cold and brutal, like his power.

"How?" Sukuna laughed at him like he was joking. "The only way to reverse the curse is if I die."

"Should I go ahead and kill myself?" He cackled.

And Gojo's face twists. He bares his teeth and wrinkles his brows -

"Don't worry." Gojo's lips tug into a dangerous, menacing smirk. And he raises his arms. And a veil of dark forms around them - "I'll do it for you."

Chapter 75: No. 55: "I don't mind."

Notes:

Gekkouka - Janne De Arc

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

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"This is rare;" His smooth voice came breezing in the second he walked into the room. Outside, the sun was setting. And light seeped through the open windows, touching the walls of the empty dōjō with an orange hue.

Utahime looked up from the floor with a sour frown on her lips. And when she meets Gojo's gaze, she glares at the mischievous smirk already plastered on his face.

"You've finally come to me for help." He said, giving her a condescending smile from across the hall.

"You didn't have to." Utahime's voice was weak and quiet. "But thanks for coming all the way down here." She consciously tucks her hair over an ear, exposing the fresh, pink scar across her face. "I know you've been busy."

"You know I won't go easy on you, right?" He cocks his head to the side; the line on his lips, patronizing.

"I know." Utahime stood up and brushed down her shirt. Her left forearm was stitched up. And her right hand was bound tight with bandages. "That's the only reason I asked you to come. No one else seems to bother to take me seriously."

"They're all afraid to hurt me." She glared at the floor and frowned. "All afraid to look me in the eye."

Her gaze rises. And Gojo sees the remnants of her injury around her eyes, purple splotches marred the skin beneath her hair, and a yellow coloring smeared the side of her pale face.

"With how everyone's been treating me, I'll surely end up dead in some ditch before the month ends."

"So," She looks him straight into his eyes, sapphire eyes peering over the pitch black sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose. "I don't mind. And I'm not expecting you to hold back."

When Gojo doesn't bother to say anything after, Utahime arches a brow, herself taken aback by his silence, his receptiveness.

She thinks nothing more of it. And she turns away, to prepare herself for their sparing session, when a burst of wind suddenly knocks her back with a brutal force. And her eyes could only widen in disbelief at the sky looking deeply into her eyes; his lips thinned and his white hair seemingly suspended in air - and she is kicked in the gut and sent painfully slamming back against the wall.

"You bastard - " Utahime spat in horror, gasping for air. "I wasn't ready - "

"I told you," Gojo stretched his arms and arched his back. "I wasn't going to hold back."

"Ah," Utahime bit her trembling lips red. And her hands shake on her sides. "Ah." She nods. And before Gojo could notice, she wipes the tear that spilled from the corner of her eyes. And she glares at him - at Gojo who was idly waiting for her in the middle of the room.

"So," He gave her a teasing smirk. "You regretting this already?"

Utahime gave him a dry laugh.

"You tell me." She spat and ran across the room the next instant, throwing a kick over his head and biting her lip when he disappears from right in front of her - that she quickly drops to her knees and rolls on the tatami floor, narrowly evading the fist that came at her from behind.

This bastard - Utahime cursed at herself and picked herself up. And - her eyes widen when she sees Satoru appear on her side then the other, and she impulsively shields herself from his kick with her bad arm and soon crumbles to the floor writhing in pain.

The next instant, she sees him over her, her vision hazy; splotches of white blinding her. And the next thing she knew, he picks her up by her collar and starts to laugh in disbelief.

"That's it?" He asked her condescendingly.

And Utahime shakes in frustration. She sees the arrogance in his eyes, the cursed energy that pulsated throughout his body in strong, prickling waves, and her entire body shook in frustration at the inequity of it all - that, no matter how hard she trained, no matter how much she'd sacrifice - she would never come anywhere close to his power.

Gritting in anger, bitterness and resentment - that next instant, before Satoru could throw her right against the wall - all across the room again - Utahime slips out of her loose shirt and jumps away right as Gojo realized what she's done and tried to catch her a second too late -

And she seethes at him. From a distance, still holding her throbbing arm and cursing him for being who he was - cursing herself for being so vulnerable, for not being a little stronger - Utahime rises to her feet, her bust bound in bandages, and her scars fully exposed to him - to Satoru who slowly lost the smile on his face, sobering and unamused. And he lowered his guard a notch further.

"You always let them get to you, huh." He tells her with a quiet, flat tone. And Utahime only sneered.

She doesn't bother giving him a response. And she sprints at him again, arms raised and posed to attack, when - instead of avoiding her blow - Gojo meets her head on and catches her by her gut - knocking the wind out of her and slamming her to the floor with brute force; pinning her down and caging her under him.

And he holds her down. He restrains her and holds her down against him.

"Gojo - " She started to squirm. "Let me go - "

"Make me." He hisses against her ear. And Utahime stiffens when she feels his lips lightly graze the side of her head. And her gaze rises, her hazel eyes follow and meet his.

And she stills, when she sees the disappointment in his eyes, the conflict and the pain. And her eyes tremble in disbelief, her brows furrow in confusion; And she doesn't know what to do, she doesn't know what to think;

"...What is it." She finds herself asking him in a whisper. And she sees his brow's lightly rise.

"What's wrong?" She pried. And when he starts to dip down, when she starts to feel Satoru's breath against her lips, her brows start to knot and she hisses in disbelief - waking him up with a scolding call - "Gojo - !"

And Satoru only meets her reprimanding cry with an irked glare.

"What?" He hissed back, his breath hot against her lips.

"Don't be an idiot." She tells him, looking away and glaring; flushed from chest to face. And Gojo's jaw tightens in frustration.

"Ah," He dips his head against the crook of her neck. And, Utahime stiffens.

And she sighs; When she feels Gojo's body begin to rest against hers, her furious glare begins to ease in disbelief and she sighs. She reaches over the back of his neck, runs a light hand over his hair, and she closes her eyes; losing herself to the loud, pounding drumming of his heart against her weary, bare chest.

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Chapter 76: No. 60: "Happy birthday."

Notes:

hana - orange range

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Megumi was on his way home from school when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. And he reluctantly answers the call with a grimace and a tired sigh.

"Why can't you just text like a normal person, Gojo-san?" He grumbled quietly as he walked down the sidewalk with his book bag resting over his shoulder.

The young man on the other end of the call was quick to a laugh a loud, jovial laughter; his deep, booming voice drowned out by the noise of a busy market street. Around him, Megumi could make out cries of different kinds of cattle. And there were men yelling at each other in a foreign language.

"You're meeting with Utahime today, right?" The voice on the other end asked, their line choppy and their signal breaking amid the distance and noise.

"We are." Megumi nodded, idly kicking a stray plastic bottle into a trash bin and unknowingly impressing the elementary school kids he passed by. "She came up to Tokyo today."

"Then I'll need you to pass on something to her for me."

Megumi nodded then. And as his guardian continued to explain what he needed to do, the junior high school kid stopped dead on his tracks and dropped his phone in utter disbelief.

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"I don't know what to do with him, Utahime-chan." Tsumiki sighed into her hands. She was wearing her high school uniform. And her book bag was by her feet. "Everyday passing day, he seems to be growing more and more closed off."

"And he's always surrounded by so many gangsters." The high schooler dismayed. "I don't know how it's possible, but he beat up an entire gang the other day!"

Beside her, also seated on the park bench, Utahime could only pat her back and condole with a sorry smile.

"I'm sure it's not so bad. Megumi's a good kid." Utahime gave the girl a sweet smile. "He still meets up with us after all."

"I guess." Tsumiki still wore a sad frown. "I just don't want him to miss out on his childhood. I want him to have friends and play around like everyone else."

Utahime smiled at the kind Tsumiki in disbelief. She was just on her first year in high school, and she's freely raised her kid brother on her own. These two kids always looked out for each other. Megumi too, in his own way. And these few years she's come to know them, she's learned to love them like her very own siblings too.

"Ne, Utahime-chan;"

Utahime looked up and gave Tsumiki a smile.

"Am I seeing things?" She pointed out across the park in surprise. And Utahime followed the high schooler's gaze behind her.

"Is that Megumi-kun?" Utahime's face twisted in absolute confusion.

"Iori-san,"

Utahime's eyes widened in horror when Megumi stops in front of her, a large shadow casting over both her and Tsumiki.

"Megumi-kun," Utahime knot her brows and squinted in disbelief. "Why do you have a bear on your back?"

"It's for you." Megumi mumbled, his voice barely over a whisper; flushed and absolutely embarrassed by the large, life-sized teddy bear on his back.

"Uh," Utahime hesitantly opened her arms to the red Megumi who deposited the large stuffed animal on her arms, fully and completely covering her entire body from view. "Thanks, I guess..."

"It's from Gojo-san." Megumi peeked at her from the side. "Happy birthday, he said."

"What?" Utahime's voice was quick to turn shrill and angry. And she turns to Tsumiki in dismay. "You have it, Tsumiki-chan!" She cried in a panic. And Tsumiki laughed and awkwardly shook her head.

"I couldn't possibly take it, Utahime-nee-chan!" She waved her hands and gave an apologetic smile. "It's for you!"

"But I don't want it!" Utahime cried, absolutely horrified. "I'm riding the train back to Kyoto today! I can't possibly carry that with me all the way home!"

"I'm sorry, Iori-san." Megumi scratched his head and frowned apologetically. His guardian really was such a piece of work. "He was very persistent."

Beside him, Tsumiki hid a knowing chuckle behind her hand.

"Why don't we settle this later and first go and eat!" The high schooler smiled at the distressed Utahime and beamed, thinking slyly to sway the conversation elsewhere.

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That whole afternoon, Utahime had to hide her face in mortification as she lugged around the horribly large white teddy bear with the bandana over its eyes, earning a million oohs and ahhs from the many many people they passed by downtown.

And when Tsumiki and Megumi saw her off at the train station, she had to carry the gigantic stuffed toy alone and with her all around; that at one point, she was stopped by a journalist from a famous news outlet who requested for a quick interview - asking her about the story behind the big bear and if it was a Valentine's present from her significant other.

Utahime flushed scarlet then. And she spluttered her every answer - absolutely and completely denying all the nosy journalist's probing questions into her mystery man.

In the end of the day, the journalist let her go; unswayed by her lame cover up story of how she bought it on sale for herself. And, to Utahime's utter horror, the same interview was posted online. And an article about her and her undisclosed boyfriend was made, garnering a large enough following to reach - to her absolute mortification - her peers at jujutsu tech. And in turn, Gojo Satoru who was busy hunting down a sorcery relic all the way in Cairo, Egypt; laughing his heart out in some hotel suite thinking of her red face all flustered answering some nosy reporter's questions, smushed by the big, white teddy bear he had specially made for her, hanging on her back via piggyback with the afternoon rush of people curiously looking on behind her.

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Notes:

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"I-I've told you a million times! I don't have a boyfriend!" Utahime cried for the nth time as she ran deeper into the station.

"Okay, then hypothetically - !" The reporter wasn't swayed. "What would you tell your hypothetical boyfriend? What would you tell the man who gave you this thoughtful gift?"

"Uhh..." Utahime looked away angry and flushed and embarrassed. "Thanks, I guess. Thank you," She frowned. "For thinking about me even if you're busy with important business abroad."

"That even if you're the most narcissistic, disrespectful idiot in the world," She pursed her lips and started to smile. "You still think of others too."

The reporters eyes widened. And Utahime realized her mistake.

"So, there is a man!"

"I-it's all hypothetical, okay!"

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Chapter 77: No. 57: "There is enough room for both of us."

Notes:

No Name - Asian Kung-Fu Generation

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

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The sky was cloudy and grey. The air cold, and the breeze chilly.

He walked with a lightness in his step. His gaze was low. And his white hair fell loose over his head.

Amongst the tall, looming buildings of downtown Tokyo, he stood slouched, a fine silhouette of black and white against a backdrop of grey.

The light pitter-pattering of the rain joined him in his step, its icy pellets bouncing off the thin layer of his infinity, unnoticeable to the common, untrained eye.

His windbreaker was as dark as night. His black shoes pointed and sleek.

His every step hovered exactly a centimeter above the wet pavement. And his eyes were covered by the shield of his blackened out shades.

In his hand, roses were wrapped in a thin sheet of paper, the bouquet striking and blue.

He walks down the street alone. And he takes the turn on the next corner, climbing up the high staircase leading to the peak, to an area secluded and closed off.

He meets her by the top of the hill, overlooking the city that's seemingly lifetimes away.

Tokyo hasn't always been so bleak, so quiet and grim.

There was a time when people didn't keep to themselves, cower and hide. To him, nonsorcerers seem to do nothing else.

Even with Geto's death, the slaughtering of humans and sorcerers continue. Even with his death, nothing's changed. There is still no hope for them. No future. Their lives, their agony and weakness; now only more prolonged, their existence, more painful; more excruciating.

"You're late."

His gaze rises. And there, he finds her, at the top of the staircase; under the shade of an umbrella.

She was wearing her overalls again. This time, with those white sneakers she'd always complain would get dirty before she'd even step out of her apartment.

It was early February. The air was still freezing, but she didn't bother with a coat.

There was a near empty plastic cup of beer in her hand. And her cheeks, ears and chest were flushed pink.

"You know, you didn't have to be here." He falls into step beside her when he reaches the top. And he smirks when he sees her eye the impressive arrangement in his hand.

Utahime shakes her head. And she tells him simply, "I know." And she knocks back what's left from the drink she had left over from the game she came from. And she throws it at the trash bin.

She jogs back beside Satoru a second later. And she raises her umbrella over his head.

"What?" She leans back and takes a step closer; surprised that he instinctively jerks away, their arms touching and her fingers grazing his. "There's enough room for both of us." She peeks up at him right as he tried to take a step away.

Her expression is genuinely perplexed. And Satoru feels a stillness wrap around his chest; trapped by her curious gaze, by the innocent knot on her lips.

"What is it?" She asked in a hushed whisper. Her cheeks were rosier up close. Her lashes long. And her eyes more expressive.

"What's wrong?" She presses against him and prods on.

Satoru eases the tension in his muscles then. He releases his infinity. And he sighs to himself; in defeat, frustration and disbelief.

And he takes her hand, surprising Utahime that her face flushes a shade darker. And he raises her umbrella a foot over his head.

"Higher." He smiles against her ear.

And he draws back; lips quirking at the blush on Utahime's face, making her flinch and glare back in annoyance.

When they reach the memorial, in this private lot owned by Satoru personally; a peaceful, quiet lot overlooking the expanse of the whole of Tokyo, they stop in front of two tombstones. Both plots of land empty and uninhabited.

No one bothered to care for them. No one bothered to remember who they once were.

Riko Amanai.

Geto Suguru.

He's attended many funerals in his time. But he's only ever had a memorial built for two.

Satoru offers his small gift. And a somber Utahime crouches down and settles into a low squat.

They pass the time in silence. And Utahime remembers the last time they were here. It was back when Satoru graduated, when he came back home after a continuous string of special grade assignments. It was only then that he found out how the council disposed of Riko Amanai's body, left away to rot in some vault in the dungeons of the school, buried deep and hidden among the countless corpses of curses and curse users.

She had never seen him so livid and furious. When Shoko relayed to her the incident at the Tokyo School, she could hardly believe it. It was only later, when she visits the school, that she see the destruction he caused.

She comes to him later. She tries to teach him how to grieve. And before he's set to leave for another mission, she offers him a small lot in front of a shrine where she once served, one overlooking Tokyo. She could rest here, she told him back then.

Years later, she'd find out that he had a simple memorial built for the young girl who was supposed to be Tengen-sama's vessel. He'd rarely visit. But he'd continue to pay for its upkeep.

"You know," Utahime had a small smile on her lips. Her gaze was low. And her eyes were focused on nothing really. "It's nice to know you think about your friends even after they're gone."

She looks up at him with that small smile. And she meets his gaze, his head slightly tilting to the right. And his hair handsomely falling over the side of his face.

"One day," She smiled, somber, grim and quiet. "I guess you'll be visiting me too." She tells him with that smile of hers. And she falls back into that somber quiet. And she doesn't mind the chilling cold.

"I won't." Satoru's voice lingered through the quiet.

And Utahime arches a brow; taken aback.

Her lips tighten. And her gaze turns away; unable to keep herself from feeling a tinge of offense.

Just how little, how weak does he think of her, that he couldn't - didn't see her his friend; even after all these years working closely together, depending on each other one way or the other.

So, she glares at him, at the rain slipping off the edge of a leaf; slighted, angry, and hurt.

"Nothing's going to happen to you." He tells her; mouthing every syllable, loudly, bitingly clear as he met her gaze;

He doesn't bat an eye. He doesn't hide. He faces her and returns the scowl on her eyes with a distant, unfeeling expression. And he tells her, quiet, certain and firm -

"I won't let it."

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Notes:

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References - JJK OP2, Gojo walks through the rain with a blue bouquet. Manga, Yuta and Gojo -

"I've got a bad feeling."

"If anything happens to me, I need you to take care of the current first and second-year students, Yuta."

"If anything happens? Like you getting a girlfriend?"

"You're a comedian now, huh?"

"Well, I couldn't imagine what could happen to you."

Chapter 78: No. 27: "Try some."

Notes:

track/5oFqS69yufr7arUXFG2uHk?si=47a13a06de884b84

Chapter Text

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"What flavor did you get~?" An irritating, sing-song voice chirped beside her; nudging her shoulder with his arm as they walked down the side walk.

Utahime's eye twitched. And her grip on her sundae cone tightened in annoyance.

"You have your own." She snapped, baring her teeth at the pompous first year beside her.

"Eehh." Satoru wrinkled his nose and whined.

Beside him, it took everything in Utahime to hold back and not give him a good knock on his head. When she invited Shoko to the beach with her, she had no idea Shoko's airhead classmates would be tagging along.

"Isn't that chocolate?" The annoying, tireless, infuriating first year kept at it, stealing a peek at the cone Utahime tried to hide from his view. "Give me some~ I love chocolate!"

Utahime wasn't having any of it. And she bit at him - her tone stern and impatient - "Then maybe you should've gotten chocolate instead?"

"But I also wanted strawberry too." Satoru cheekily raised his own pink sundae. And the infuriated Utahime could only shake her head and look at him in utter disbelief.

"What an idiot." She hissed to herself sheer disappointment - that this idiot in front of her - literally begging for her ice-cream cone like some petulant child - was the Gojo clan head everyone feared.

Hearing her, Satoru begins sniggering. And all his laughing irritated Utahime even more.

Instead of backing away like a normal person, to Utahime's aghast, a shadow suddenly casts overhead, and she sees her idiot kouhai's face right in front of her; barely a feet away - the grin on his lips beaming; and his eyes - crisp and blue behind the shades slipping down the bridge of his nose -

"Wha - "

And before she could stop him - he steals a huge bite off the tip of her chocolate soft serve.

And Utahime felt her spirit leave her body.

And she saw nothing but red.

"YOU - "

And Satoru started to wheeze and chortle at the sight of how red her face was getting -

" - YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO TAKE SUCH A HUGE BITE!"

And behind them, their friends hid under the shade of a gigantic umbrella, sat back with their cold beverages and enjoyed the show.

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Chapter 79: No. 63: "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Notes:

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

Chapter Text

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Satoru and Utahime?

They've always been like that. She smiled. He's a loose canon. She doesn't back down.

They're both stubborn in their own right. I guess you have to be to survive as a sorcerer.

Love? She twisted her lips and wrinkled her nose. Utahime's long given up on that.

And Satoru's incapable of loving anyone but himself. She chuckled.

But I guess they do.

One way or the other, I guess they do.

They have no choice after all.

They're both combatants. Both always out on the field. As a sorcerer, you have no choice but to look out for each other.

There aren't many of us to begin with. We can't afford to lose anyone. They know this. You do too.

Satoru always goes out of his way to make sure everyone's safe. Utahime's the same. She prioritizes the safety of the students before everyone else. She smiled. And Satoru does too.

They make a good team.

Are they friends? She laughed. You guys ask the oddest questions.

We're all good friends.

We've all known each other since high school after all. We've spent most of our formative years together.

Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with your classmates, even your seniors. At some point, you'll all be paired up, but at the end of the day, you all go home to one school. You'll have the same mentors; attend the same events.

You'll spend most of your time together. Out on the field. And on your breaks too.

I remember, she smiles; We used to always hang out downtown. Those two [Satoru and Suguru] would wear the baggiest clothes. And still women would flock to them.

Utahime couldn't understand it. And Satoru would never let the day pass without boasting about it on and on.

Not that he ever really went out with anyone. I don't think he could be bothered to.

Satoru, a small smile makes its way to her lips; He's not the type of person who'd bother to make time for someone. He'd go and do whatever he wanted.

Utahime's right about that side of him. He's selfish. And proud. He'd never slow down just to walk beside someone. She smiled.

Yeah, I've seen Satoru with women here and there.

Utahime helped even him buy clothes for a date once. And we'd [Me and Suguru] would tag along for the show.

The whole time they'd be together, there'd be nothing but their bickering.

Utahime would ask him why he'd bother going out with someone if he won't treat her well. And she'd grab his hand and teach him how not to act like an idiot around a girl.

We're a family. All good friends.

I don't think we cared much about love. Or romance. It's all just too tedious. Too time-consuming.

Sorcerers don't have time for love. Everyone's just too busy.

You know, since her first year in jujutsu high, Utahime's consistently been a top student. She's done everything to excel to be a teacher.

Even back then, the faculty's been strict in filtering applicants. At the least, you had to be a first grade sorcerer. You could have the highest grades in school, but you know rank is all that matters here.

When Utahime didn't get promoted, we thought that was it. Even then, Satoru wouldn't quit teasing Utahime about her rank. About being weak too. That's all you can do, huh? he'd ask her.

Utahime never let her rank affect her. She'd never let Satoru's words get to her. She always did call him an idiot after all. She smiled.

She'd be accepted one day, we all knew it. It would just be a matter of time.

What we didn't expect was for Satoru to follow soon after.

Believe it or not, Satoru does look up to Utahime. He does his own thing, but he does listen to us. Utahime especially.

Special grade sorcerers tend to do what they want. We were certain Satoru would be the same. He'd graduate and leave.

It made sense. Yuki left. Suguru too.

Twenty-two is young to be a teacher. He and Utahime were accepted roughly at the same time. She was stationed in Kyoto. And Satoru'd be teaching in Tokyo.

On his first years teaching, he'd be away more often than not. It's only recently that he's decided to stick around more.

Maybe he realized he's needed here more. To protect the school; and the students too.

Believe it or not, he's looking forward to the day he won't be needed. He's brought this up once or twice before.

He'd quit too. Like so many others, he'd quit too he said.

Maybe then he'd be able ask his senior out if she was up for it.

That guy was never a good drunk. She chuckled. He spent the night passed out on the floor.

Utahime and Satoru, they have so much in common. The first time I met them, I honestly thought they'd get along well. Utahime always gets along well with everyone.

But, she chuckled; I guess Satoru never did.

There're only a handful of people Satoru can rely on. Only a few people Satoru can trust. Ever since I've known him, he's always looked out for everyone. He's a really considerate friend.

Deep down, I know Utahime knows this. If she really hated Satoru, she would never have bothered with him in the first place.

They're good friends. I'm certain. Without a doubt.

She doesn't work for Gakuganji. She isn't Mei's partner.

She's an incredible sorcerer. A selfless teacher.

And she's one of the oldest friends of your sensei.

Cross my heart and hope to die. Shoko teased the three first years in front of her; at the injured Megumi she was patching up.

So, Shoko sat back and smiled; you should trust in Utahime too.

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Chapter 80: No. 94: "You can do it."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Yeah, we've kissed. He mumbled against his palm. We've slept together too.

I don't think I've ever loved a woman more.

Maybe if everything didn't go to shit, I might've wooed her.

Ha! Suguru laughed, the deep ring in his voice equally pompous and condoling. If Utahime had the slightest idea that you liked her, she wouldn't let you anywhere near her.

That isn't true. Satoru sneered at the man leaning against him; the both of them back to back, seated on the ground and each facing the opposite way. Neither daring to look back, to steal a peek; afraid one glimpse would end the fantasy - kill this dream.

So, they laughed. These two sorcerers seated on the floor; locked in this black void spanning miles around them.

One of them living, the other; a mere memory.

That isn't true. Satoru smirked to himself. She loves me. I know she does.

Behind him, Suguru smiles. And with a low, quiet chuckle, he tells Satoru; he tells his good, old friend;

I guess if it's you,

He steals a peek over his shoulder and gives Satoru a small smile;

I guess you can do it.

You are Gojo Satoru after all.

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Notes:

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An older Suguru and Satoru acknowledge now, know now, that Gojo Satoru is Gojo Satoru.

(in reference to - "Are you the strongest because you're Gojo Satoru. Or are you Gojo Satoru because you're the strongest?")

Chapter 81: No. 65: "I'll help you study."

Notes:

The day Iori Utahime offended Gojo Satoru.

Chapter Text

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"What?!" Gojo threw his head back laughing; sinking back on the park bench, not realizing he was slipping off his seat.

Beside him, standing by the bench with her arms crossed over her chest; absolutely refusing to be seen anywhere next to him, Utahime turned away and tried to keep a straight face; unable to keep herself from cringing at the shameless teenager with his mouth wide open, saliva spewing out of his mouth without a shred of care as he fell deeper and deeper into that condescending, annoying cackling fit of his. At one point, Utahime swore she heard him choke on his own spit.

She was in the middle of chasing down a second grade curse then; when - to her absolute horror - she and Gojo caught sight of each other.

The look he gave her. That mischievous glint in his eyes; that wise ass sneer of his - seeing him out of the blue, this pompous first year not even a month into school, caught her off guard that she forgets the second grade curse at her mercy, just an incantation away from being purified - that it slips from her trap and quickly scampers away into the sewers.

The dismay on her face - and the stupid grin spreading on Satoru's - was beyond mortifying. How - just how was she going to explain this on her status report - that she failed to exorcise the second grade curse she painstakingly forced out of hiding - because she ran into a tall idiot with white hair.

Even worse, the said idiot had to step in, exorcising her curse with a mere snap of his fingers.

She could still hear his whiny voice the other day, when he was ranting about being assigned to those lame ass, boring ass missions exorcising second grade curses when he can very well exorcise first grade curses without breaking a sweat.

There are external factors out of your control when you're out on the field, Yaga-sensei was patient enough to tell him. You're barely a month in. You're still too green for those missions, regardless of your rank.

This applies to you both. He told Suguru as well, who was quite keen on receiving his sensei's instructions. Still, he shared Satoru's bored expression.

How about me, sensei?

The three men turn to the smiling Shoko in surprise. Won't you tell me off too?

When Utahime heard them all break into a laugh, she couldn't help but grimace and duck down, wanting nothing more than to avoid another confrontation with her annoying kouhai.

"There's no need to be embarrassed!"

Utahime's frown soured as Gojo's grin spread wider across his face.

"I think it's cute!"

Utahime couldn't help but bare her teeth at him; her glare vicious.

Cute?

"It's cute that you got distracted because of me!" Gojo grinned up at her; his cheeks swelling red from all his laughing; his eyes glittering blue; and his grin easing into a happy smile.

"What?" Utahime wanted to grab his collar and shake the living daylights out of him. What was this idiot trying to say?

"You can't help that you're attracted to me. You know, if you're so desperate to get stronger, I can always help you out - " Gojo's beaming grin could light up a city.

"Wha - wha - WHAT?!" The horrified Utahime paled sheet white -

"Don't sweat it!" Satoru beamed up at her, his eyes swimming, his cheeks flushed pink. "You're far from the first girl who's fallen for me."

"I would never - " Utahime couldn't have been more - outrageously - offended - that Satoru's brows start to twist in confusion, taken aback by the horribly enraged expression permeating off her - "I would never ever like an idiot like you!"

Satoru's eyes widen in surprise. And Utahime could only praise the heavens the second she sees her chauffeur finally turning down the curb and up the driveway towards them.

"Don't forget I'm your senior." Utahime spat back at the shocked Satoru; "Even if you were half the idiot you are - " She hissed back at him as she stomped to the car - "I would never date someone younger than me."

"What do you take me for - "

Satoru's brow twitched. And his lips begin to tuck in annoyance.

"A babysitter?"

And when Utahime slams the door at him and the car drives away, Satoru began to sneer at the black sedan turning on the next corner; angrily stuffing his hands into his pockets and sinking into his seat with a potent frown across his face; absolutely offended by Utahime's words -

That he couldn't help the foul glare he sent the two university school girls who tried to ask for his number.

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Chapter 82: No. 36: "We'll figure it out."

Notes:

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

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Hm. Utahime nodded. Her voice was hoarse and groggy. Her eyes, heavy and lidded.

It's true. She arched a brow and held her nose up high in the air. Her face was flushed; buzzed from all the alcohol and trying not to look it.

So what? She frowned at the discernable intrigue on her students' young faces.

It was just a small kiss. She scoffed at the embarrassed blush on Miwa's face.

He looked like a prince then. Her voice trailed off, and her vision glossed.

I might've fallen for him that night;

Her eyes wander up at the lamp overhead, in this family restaurant with an old lady server who enthusiastically tended to them and served her one beer too many.

And with a small smile, she sees it - that distant memory, that one night nestled and hidden deep in the forest beside campus grounds. Just the two of them standing in the clearing, face to face, with nothing but the soft, white moonlight seeping through the trees overhead.

His hair shone silver under the moonlight that night. And his eyes were a mesmerizing, crisp blue, drowning her with every twinkle and laugh.

If he hadn't been Gojo Satoru. Utahime buried her lips in the fold of her arm and smiled. I might've fallen in love that night.

He wiped my tears. She smiled against her skin. He held me.

He told me everything was going to be fine.

He did still laugh at me. She pointed out, sternly at that. But, she grows resigned the next second and closes her eyes; the pink hue on her cheeks gentle and light. He held me tight and told me it'll be fine. We'll figure it out, he said.

I cried my heart out to him that night. Drenched his shirt. Strained his ears.

But, he didn't mind. I guess he's used to crying girls. Utahime laughed. Back then, he'd break a girl's heart after every weekend.

I haven't seen him in a while. But that night, he wasn't as annoying. He wasn't as loud and hateful.

He found me in the forest. Asked about my wound.

When he saw me, I thought he'd point at me and call me a freak. Call me ugly now too.

I can never figure him out. When I think I have, he does the opposite thing entirely.

Shoko tells me that it's because I don't think he can be human too, that he's like us too.

He isn't an invincible sorcerer, she told me back then.

He's just a man too. He worries and feels too.

She should know, she added. She's his doctor.

I only laughed at her back then.

Gojo Satoru is Gojo Satoru. I told her.

I don't hate him. She shook her head. No. Not really.

Sure, there are parts of him I dislike. Parts of him I absolutely abhor.

Her brow twitched.

But Gojo Satoru is Gojo Satoru.

His strength shouldn't be taken against him. Not by me. Not by the higher ups. Not by anyone.

All this hate. It's nothing but fear; a fear of realizing you're less than who you are.

A lot of sorcerers fear their own weakness. They run. They quit. They turn.

They don't know that strength comes with discipline and fortitude.

Gojo and I - we don't see eye to eye. Where he finds weakness, I can find strength.

I don't doubt he'll never respect me. Not as his colleague. Not as his senior. Not as a fellow sorcerer.

But, Utahime smiled at her students. I trust him. Her cheeks rosy. And her face bright, her smile radiant.

For some reason, he cares about this school. He cares about all of you.

We work well together in that regard at least. She rest her head against the palm of her warm hand; and her smile lingered on her lips as she closed her tired eyes.

I like him. She smiled. In that regard at least, She doesn't notice the man wearing black from head to toe stop beside her and smile. I like him a lot.

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Notes:

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Anyone still reading? :)

Chapter 83: No. 72: "I'll meet you halfway."

Notes:

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

Chapter Text

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It was dark out, a quarter close to midnight, when the thick wall of bushes started rustling in a noisy fray. On the other side of the bushes stood a silhouette of a tall man slouching down, his figure outlined by the light seeping through the trees, his white hair and cheeky grin glowing with the pale moonlight.

"Where are you?" The bushes cried in a shrill, impatient tone.

And the handsome silhouette starts to shake, sniggering behind a hand and dipping closer at the rustling bush. His sleeves folded up, the top buttons of his polo shirt undone, and his hair in a messy fray over his eyes.

The next second, from the thick bushel of leaves and twigs and dirt; popped out the pink, and ever so flushed face of one Iori Utahime, her pretty face marred with the leaves and twigs and dirt.

"How did you manage to get through?" She cried in disbelief, her eyes shinning in absolute amazement - buzzed and forgetting that one fact that her colleague and kouhai could literally do everything and anything - like warp through time and space.

She steps out of the bushes then, trying not to trip when a branch snags her shoelace. And she unceremoniously falls straight into her colleague's ready arms, the charming man laughing in amusement as he caught her and held her steady against his tall, lean frame.

"You all right?" He asked her in a low chuckle, that wide smile of his endearing to others, but nothing less than irritating to her -

Utahime looks up at him then, flushed and embarrassed; and she shoves him away from her, that Gojo just laughs and lets her push him a few good steps away.

And she hides her rosy cheeks. She tries to frown amid the light, ringing laughter echoing in her ears.

Whatever she did, he always seemed to be laughing at her. Mocking her too. Utahime huffed in annoyance, unable to keep the red from her cheeks.

Gojo was still wearing the same blue polo shirt, slacks and rubber shoes from earlier. And his shades were slipping from the bridge of his nose, exposing blue eyes that seemed to shimmer with every tilt of his head, with every laugh.

Utahime had long changed out of her baseball uniform that evening, before they had even brought the students out for a small, but head-achingly rowdy, culminating party.

Getting the students all together was trouble enough. But when you add one teacher who'd goad the students (one hot-headed student really) into picking a fight with everyone; and another telling the students that drinking should be an olympic sport - things were quick to get out of hand.

"It's here somewhere." Utahime pushes the snickering Gojo out of her way and hikes up to the clearing, shoving away every protruding branch.

"Huh?" Gojo tried to hold her back when - to his utter bewilderment - she starts hiking up away from him only to drop to the floor the next second and start crawling and patting around in the darkness.

"Aha!" Was the last thing he heard before a booming, buzzing noise zips through the quiet. And Gojo turns back in awe, shocked by the blinding stadium lights that turned on one after the other behind them.

"Come on!" Utahime suddenly grabs his hand and holds tight, his hand, large and rough against hers; pulling him with her to the empty baseball park above them.

"It's been a lifelong dream of yours, huh?"

Utahime arched a curious brow at Gojo.

"To do it with me in the middle of a baseball field." He smirked, puckering his lips and giving a horrified Utahime his most smoldering look. "Well," He opened his arms and stretched out. "I'm ready."

"Get real!" Utahime yelled at him with her face absolutely scarlet - chucking a baseball glove at him from the storage.

Gojo sniggers at her red face and catches the glove with a suave 360° spin, slipping it on and hopping onto the pitcher's mat with a cool grin and wave to his imaginary audience.

"Now," Utahime smirked up at him; picking up a bat and swinging it about. "I'll show you how the pros actually play." She twirls the bat in her hand and walks to the platform with a proud sway of her hips - to wit Gojo grinned and whistled appreciatively.

"You're sure happy for someone who's about to be beaten twice in a day." Gojo called out to her, mirroring the arrogant smirk on her lips; bending down and preparing to pitch.

"We'll see about that." Utahime snarkily yelled back, gripping her bat tight and locking her knees.

Taking a breath, Gojo smirks and, with a throw of his arm; he pitches the ball with a snap of his hand - the speed, record-breaking and the blow strong;

And Utahime laughs, right as she catches his pitch at the sweetspot of her bat, as she's done several times in the past just like this, against him, since their high school days, and she sees them - she thinks of how many more of them there were back then; - and she swings the ball right out of the park -

"This is how Ichiro-san does it!" She yells at Gojo, laughing as she darted down the bases the next instant, right as Gojo suddenly warps into the sky, catching Utahime's homerun with a wide grin and warping right back before her, touching her with a teasing nudge of the ball right as she was about to step onto the third base and claim a homerun.

"Gotcha!" He beamed at a flushed, infuriated Utahime; who shoves him away.

"I'm safe!"

"Sure you were." Gojo gave her a patronizing pout.

"Why would I lie?!" Utahime smacked his arm, only for Gojo to purse his lips and give her a disappointed look.

"'Cause you're desperate." Gojo takes a step closer and smirks down at his senior's flushed face. "You always are."

And he snickers at the angry flash of red on her eyes.

"I'm not!"

"And weak." He takes another step closer. "You'd never win against me."

"I have!" Utahime seethed. And Gojo just laughed. "And I will!"

"Well?!" She cried at him, pointing for him to return to the pitching mat when he was just standing there and smiling at her.

Compliant, Gojo jogs back to give the pitch. And a hyped up Utahime hits the mat with her bat and grins up at her amused colleague, determined anew.

"This one - " Gojo smirked and threw her another sharp pitch. "Is Babe Ruth!"

She laughs, catching his pitch yet again and attempting to run down the bases; only for Gojo to warp right in front of her and catch her homerun a mere meter from her.

"Got it again." He whispered next to her ear; openly smirking at the darkening flush on her face; and wholly amused that he brushes a thumb against her rosy cheek.

"Tha-that's not fair!" She cried in disbelief, unnerved by the sight of him dangerously close. "That was going to be another homerun!" She slapped his hand away.

"Tough luck." Gojo smirked. And a miffed Utahime shoved him back.

"Don't you have some mission to go to?!"

"No," Gojo glanced at his watch and looked up at the irked Utahime with a grin. "Not at 12:09 in the morning."

"Besides," He crossed his arms over his chest, his gloved hand extending past his elbow. And he tells her with a cheeky tilt of his head; "You're the one who wanted me here."

Utahime's face paled. And Gojo's grin widened at the sight of her gaping like a fish out of water.

"A-As if!" She cried. "I-I just wanted to prove a point!"

Gojo's lips quirk into that ever amused smirk. And he humors her, his tone light and airy. "Which is...?"

And with that same smile, he stops right in front of her, in front of the flushed Utahime trying not to be too intimidated by his height, by his perfume, by his cheeky smirk. And she rakes her brain; she scrambles for anything half-coherent to say.

"That I'm better than you." She hissed, refusing to give him the satisfaction of looking up at him. So, she directs her glare to the corner beside them.

"...At baseball?" The corner of Gojo's lips quirk. And a smile spreads across his face when Utahime finally turns up to look at him; her brows rising and her lips curving into an amused smirk.

"At everything." She joked.

And Satoru threw his head back and burst out laughing, much to the annoyance of Utahime who threw him a nasty glare. Still, he bows down. And, Utahime's brows knot, frowning in protest; and she sighs, helpless as Satoru rests his head against the bridge of her neck.

"It's not one of them." She tells him after a while; her gaze to the night sky. Her tone was low, and her voice quiet and careful.

"But, I'll do it." Her voice hums against the side of his face. "I'll meet you halfway." She tells him and pulls him into her embrace, his shoulders broad and his back tight against her arms. "I'll spy on them." She rests her chin on his shoulder.

With a nod, Gojo closes his eyes. And when they hear the boisterous noise by the gate, of the students playing hooky and sneaking into the baseball field like they just did - he pulls away with a goofy smile on his face, pulls a surprised Utahime to him, and warps them away, into the night.

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Chapter 84: No. 47: "Did you get my letter?"

Notes:

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

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"Did you get the envelope?" Gojo swivels on his unnecessarily expensive recliner, his gaze drifting up at the newly arrived sorcerer.

"I did." Mei gave him a coy smile and waved out the thick envelope in her hand. "It's always a treat doing business with you."

"Ah, ah." Gojo nodded her off and got up, leaving now that the matter's been settled.

"Out of curiosity," Mei opened the envelope right as Gojo passed her. And, with a smile; as she ran a thumb through the bills gingerly tucked in, she asks him, "It's because you like her, ne?"

"Huh?" Gojo took a pause. And he turns back with an arch of his brow, his sunglasses hiding his obvious confusion. "Why?" He knots his brows and almost laughs. "Why would I like Utahime?" He looks at her like she was kidding. And Mei could only fight back a surprised laugh.

"She's not interested in me." Gojo tells her as he slouches back and gives her an incredulous expression. "So," He leans back on his heels and laughs. "Why would I like her?"

Mei looked up from counting the bills in her hands then. And a light chuckle escapes her lips.

"Is that how it is?" She lifts her fingers right next to her lips, tilted her head playfully, and gave Satoru a patronising smirk.

"How else would it work?" Gojo creases his forehead in genuine confusion. And he starts to frown when Mei just shakes her head and quietly laughs at him.

"Does it matter if she's interested in you?" Mei slipped the thick envelope of ten-thousand yen bills into a tiny sliver in the air. And it disappears right as she pulls her hand away. "You like who you like, isn't it?"

"Isn't that how it is for everyone?" She tilts her head and gives him an amused smile.

"It's not." Gojo scrunched his face and looked all disgusted; finding the thought that he would ever like anyone revolting. "Women chase after me every second of the day." He arched back and stretched his arms, bored and ready to leave. "That's how it's always been for me."

"Everyone wants a piece of me." He turns to the door, about to leave. "Women, curses too." He laughed dryly. "Everyone can try chasing after me. But no one, not one," He gives Mei a cold, dangerous look. "Will ever be strong enough to touch me."

"So," Mei leaned on her heels and eased back. "Why should it matter to me? Liking someone; being liked. It's all pointless, isn't it? We all just want to nut and leave. No sense in making more of nothing."

"Is that it?" Mei wore a smile and humoured him.

"It is." Gojo thinned his lips at her and frowned, stepping out the door.

"Then," Mei had to ask him, still with that coy smile of hers Gojo's always found annoying. "You've never liked anyone?"

"Ah." Satoru nodded. "I've got no time to waste on that bullshit." He smiled. And Mei could only chuckle as he finally gave her a wave goodbye.

Satoru always had to be the first to head out after every transaction; always had to be the one with the last word.

Usually, she'd give it to him. It didn't matter to her really. Not as much as it seemed to mean to him.

But, she was feeling playful. She was always in a good mood when Gojo hired her.

"I guess that's how it is for you. I (She placed her hand over her chest and chuckled slyly.) wouldn't know what to do if the person I liked didn't feel the same way."

Mei's smooth voice called after him, a cheeky, light air touching her tone that Gojo, curious, pauses to turn back.

"Huuh?" Gojo started to glare and tuck his lips at the insinuation.

"I'll take good care of the Kyoto School while you're away~." Mei smiled. And Gojo snarled. "Try not to take so long this time," And his lips twitch. "Or our sweet princess might start worrying over her knight in shining armor."

Gojo raised his middle finger that instant and visibly gagged, sending Mei into a laughing fit as he stepped out and left irritated.

Laughing, Mei pulls out her passbook for this one account she first opened as a young sorcerer, back when she was a new graduate of the Tokyo School.

Did he know? She shook in laughter. Did he have the slightest idea just how much he's been paying her over the years?

Mei could only laugh in absolute euphoria - the number of zeros in her account incredibly baffling that she could only laugh her heart out.

The next time she sees him, she wonders if she'd be kind enough then. She wonders if she'd tell him then - that he's been paying her thrice as much as she was worth - just to see to it that wherever Iori Utahime was stationed, she was well and far out of harm's way.

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Notes:

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"Hm." Shoko nodded, their murmurs flittering down the corridor as they walked through the school halls. "It gets pretty busy at lunch. We better start lining up."

"In this heat?" Utahime frowned beside her; the two of them holding their wallets, about to head out for lunch, when the door next to them swung open, revealing a surprised Gojo Satoru, his brows rising behind his blindfold.

"We're heading out to lunch." Shoko cheerily offers when Utahime and Gojo just look at each other without saying a thing. "Want to join us?"

Gojo arches a brow at Utahime who glared and looked away.

"Nah," He turns to Shoko and closes the door behind him. "I'm already late for my flight."

"Thanks, by the way." He tells Utahime like it's an afterthought. "You make it a habit of collecting toys of me?" He starts to smirk at the sight of the flush that filled her cheeks. And he laughs right at Utahime was about to stutter a retort - when Shoko thought to step in for her frazzled friend.

"Have a safe trip." She smiles at Gojo who was snickering at Utahime's rosy, angry face.

"Ah," He smiles at Utahime. "I'll see you guys in two weeks." And he grins when she finally looks up and meets his gaze.

"Don't do anything dumb." Utahime frowns at him.

And Gojo smiles back;

"I'll remember not to." He tells her with a sweet, quiet voice. And he waves at them as they walk away to lunch.

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Chapter 85: No. 83: "Stay there. I'm coming to get you."

Notes:

Related Chapters:
85
84
83
82
79
75
69
64
33
28

Chapter Text

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"You're here."

Gojo sneers at the elder who passed him in the corridor. He'd just gotten back at campus from the airport.

"What do you want old man?" Gojo whined, belatedly stopping from his quick gait and not bothering to hide his obvious annoyance with the chance encounter. He turns to look back over his shoulder; stuffing his hands in his pockets and slouching lazily in blatant disrespect.

"Haven't they briefed you?" The council elder speaks with a detachment and feigns nonchalance, his assistants stopping behind him. With a stern, watchful eye; he notes that the clan head never did bother masking his disdain. His strength has made him prideful beyond his young age. In time, they would have to find a way to punish his insolence. "There's a special grade in Koenji."

Gojo's lips twist in annoyance, and he pulls his phone from his pocket and frowns at the number of missed calls.

"Deal with it before more people die." The elder tells him sternly. "That's your oath as a sorcerer, right?" He mocked Gojo and what he thought was his wayward practice; making the young sorcerer sneer and clench his jaw in absolute hatred.

"It's too late for the sorcerer on ground." The old council elder tells him in an afterthought and goes on his way without bothering anymore with the errant clan head. "Just retrieve the body for Ieiri-san." His voice fades with the distance.

And Gojo glares and makes a brisk walk back to the driveway where a manager was already waiting for him.

"Gojo-san!" The manager runs to him in alarm from the other side of the building. "Where were you?!"

"Ah, ah." Gojo waved him off and slipped into the car. "Just take me there." He snaps, irritated and short-tempered, stewing in annoyance by the encounter.

That old bastard was the signatory to the order to terminate an entire village in Toyama, after some flimsy information that Geto's cult might be seeking refuge there. After the order, the entire village was wiped. And no evidence was found linking anyone to Geto's cult.

Sorcerers weren't mercenaries. Sorcerers weren't weapons set against curses. Not that the old fucking bastard would know; Gojo thought with a pissed off click of his tongue; The bastard wasn't even a sorcerer in the first place; just some bigheaded spawn of some old family. His stewing, unknowingly making his manager anxious as he peeked at him from the rear view mirror and drove them over the speed limit through residential Tokyo.

When they arrive at the site, the manager curses under his breath at the sight of the damage. A veil had been set. But there was still a crowd gathering. Cars were overturned. Walls smashed and street lights bent and shattered. A heavy dark cloud hovered overhead. And they spot the first casualty dead on the ground, right before the veil ends. A civilian, an old woman with a bag of groceries scattered around a pool of her blood.

What a mess. Gojo thins his lips and steps out of the car.

And, rushing down the street and looking further into the veil, he clicks his tongue when he passes by another dead civilian. He counts seven casualties in total. All the three dead were civilians.

That stupid elder knew shit, Gojo glared right as he sees a silhouette dropping in the fog; the first responder that damned elder said to consider as good as dead. With a click of his tongue, Gojo speeds up. She was unconscious. But there was still time to relieve this foolhardy sorcerer who attempted to face the special grade alone.

With a quick survey of the scene, in those few seconds he ran down the street, Gojo finally turns to focus on the special grade. And he's taken aback. And his blood chills at the sight of the sorceress at end of the blocked road - a few feet away from the demented special grade three times her size -

And his eyes widen; a disbelief - a rage stirs and bubbles deep in his gut when he sees her - her hair loose over her face, her kosode tattered, and her face pouring blood - and his knees buckle, and his blood chills in anger -

He disappears instantly and warps directly up front - and with a snarl, a furious bite and a red flash of blood in his eyes - he raises his hand and snaps his fingers with a forceful flicker of light. And runs through the burst of blood and guts raining down from the sky; rushing blindly to the sorcerer unconscious on the ground and losing blood fast.

No one told him.

His blue eyes flickered red.

No one told him she was here; Gojo's blood grew cold in a horrific rage - that he didn't know what to do with himself at the sight of her.

"What did you do?" His lips quivered in frustration, dropping next to her. And he starts to grow lightheaded in his rage.

She just kept crying as he picked her up into his arms.

"I couldn't - " Her voice broke as she hid her face in his embrace, ashamed and drowning in guilt. "I couldn't save them - "

Gojo could only thin his lips, afraid to lose himself at the sight of the deep gash across her face.

And his fingers grow cold. And he forgets to breathe in his anger.

Why are you here. He wanted to shake her. What's wrong with your head? He wanted to beat some sense into her. But she just cried and cried in his arms.

Biting back his spite, his frustration and anger - he clenches his jaw and pools her into his arms.

"Gojo-san!" His manager rushes in through the thick, dark fog and cries out after him in worry - and behind him, Nanami ran with his blade ready; himself dishevelled, coming directly from another mission outside of Tokyo.

And they freeze as the fog around them slowly cleared; the metallic stench of blood potent and the darkness hovered heavily in the air.

The scene was too gruesome. The dead carcass of the special grade was completely torn into bits and pieces spewed out all around them, its blood smearing the open street. And dead center of the mangled curse stood Gojo, his face hidden by the shadow of his hair;

But they could both see it clearly - the rage in his eyes; his anger pulsating through his veins and overwhelming him that they were frozen in fear where they stood.

And in his arms, they see her. They see Utahime unconscious; both she and Gojo drenched in her own blood.

And as quickly as they saw them, in that split second their shadows appear in the fog; they vanish right before their eyes.

And Nanami and Gojo's manager could only spit a splitting curse at the mess that was yet to come.

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Chapter 86: No. 43: "I picked these for you."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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He grinned at his reflection as he buttoned down his shirt. He ran an appreciative gaze down his attire. And he gives himself a smug whistling hoot.

That dashing young man, here at the spring of his youth; he tells himself as he brushed down his shirt - How could he even take a second to doubt himself? He was the most handsome man he knew!

The white-haired teen was practically beaming as he stepped out of the changing room, very much pleased with himself and all too ready to bask in the litany of praises his friends were sure to send his way when, to his surprise, they only look at him - undoubtedly dumbfounded by how incredibly handsome he looked.

"What the hell did you do?" His senpai was the first to bark out. And next to her, his two-faced friends burst out laughing, even the moody Nanami was sniggering at the corner.

"Why?" Gojo laughed, turning against the mirror. "What is it?" His question was rhetorical. "I'm too handsome, huh."

Utahime could only smack her head in her hands in utter frustration. And beside her, Shoko stood up and patted Satoru on the back, urging him back into the changing room to try again.

Outside, he could hear Suguru ask the girls why he just couldn't wear his school uniform - to which Utahime shushed him and called him an idiot for thinking he could wear his uniform on a date!

"I know you think you have taste, Utahime," Gojo snickered at them from the other side of the door to the changing room; hopping around as he slipped on the pants Utahime threw over the door to his head - "But the clothes you picked are just too boring - "

And, with a zip of his pants, with a brush of his sleeves, he steps out for the nth time that morning. And the second he looks up, with that cheeky smile on his face, with his blue eyes glittering in mirth, the entire store stilled; and even a toddler dropped their milk bottle.

"Too much - "

Satoru arched a confused brow and grinned.

"It's too much!" Utahime cried out with her face absolutely red and shoved Satoru back into the changing room.

"What am I supposed to wear now?!" Gojo groaned - impatient, bored, and over the entire thing -

"Utahime!" Gojo could hear their voices at the other side. Shoko seemed to have returned from the women's section - "That dress from the other day - it's on sale!"

Gojo arched a brow and yapped in annoyance, not enjoying the fact that he was being left out and stuck in the changing room while everyone else seemed to have moved on -

Picking whatever, he puts them on and rushes after his classmates -

"You should get it! 20% off is good enough, ne!" Shoko clapped her hands. And Utahime flushed at all the attention, trying to focus on whether or not her monthly budget would allow for such a splurge -

"Wha- what -" Satoru blurted out, his throat locking and his eyes watering in disbelief - and Utahime only throws him a side glance and starts to glare, thinking he was about to make fun of her again -

"You finally picked out something decent for a change." She frowned at him, finally green-lighting his attire; Satoru on the other hand, could only gawk as he looked her down; her dress dropping over her thighs, her neckline low, and her shoulders bare;

How - Satoru's eye ticked - how could she look both cute and sexy at the same time - it didn't make any sense? - also - he cried to himself in internal torment - Utahime had a huge rack? That miko's uniform was an utter disgrace to all mankind?!

"It's perfect timing too, ne!"

Satoru blinked and twitched and tried to keep calm -

"Fine." Utahime started to smile at her reflection, beautiful on the mirror. They both were; Satoru thought with an embarrassed frown, his cheeks flushed, and his torment his own. "The restaurant Endo-san chose is pretty fancy."

"Endo?" Utahime and Shoko turn in surprise at the icy bite in Satoru's tone. "Who the hell is Endo?"

"Utahime's junior high friend." Shoko answered for Utahime who was starting to get riled up by Satoru's self-important tone. "We ran into him downtown the other day, and he asked Utahime out then and there!"

"Stalker." Satoru hissed before he could stop himself. But Utahime already heard him and nearly stomped his foot - "What - ?" Gojo started to smirk - just because he knew it would rile her up more - "Isn't he?"

"He was pretty sweet!" Shoko answered for the snarling Utahime who had her claws out, ready to pounce at the obnoxious junior grinning and sniggering at her - "Also told Utahime he was sorry for teasing her so much - "

Gojo paused and frowned, taken aback and curious. And Utahime turned to Shoko with an arch of her brow.

"Said he only picked on her because he liked her." Shoko smiled at them.

And Utahime could only scrunch her face in confusion -

"He never said that - " She raised a hand, only for Shoko to ignore her and continue, saying -

"You guys never know," She tells the two young sorcerers in front of her, "By the end of the week, you might both be in a relationship. Then, you two can go on double dates, ne?" Shoko grinned. And beside her Suguru could only scratch his head, honestly confused if Shoko was trying to help them make peace or not...

"As if I'd want to go on a double date with that idiot - "

"Utahime's no good - "

Utahime's eyes flickered - And Gojo started to knot his brows, backtracking what he's just said -

"What?"

"What?" He grinned all innocent -

"What did you just say?!" Utahime jumped at him, absolutely enraged; and Gojo, none the wiser, was all too happy to catch her, pull her into his arms, and tell her that if no one will have her, he was more than happy to take her in -

"Over - "

Shoko ducked out of the way. And Suguru pulled back a horrified grandma within the range of destruction -

"My - "

Haibara and Nanami took a side step -

"Dead - "

And the store clerk could only watch in astonishment -

"Body - !"

That week, following their row, Utahime and Gojo had to work for the store to pay back for all the damage, what with Gojo telling Utahime that they shouldn't use his money to bail them out of every little thing, that their work serves as penance, and that it was all her fault anyway - much to Utahime's annoyance, and Gojo's elation, both of them had to cancel their dates and instead, spend their free time that entire week working together...

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Notes:

Gojo meant to say, "Utahime's date is no good."

Chapter 87: No. 44: "I'll drive you to the hospital."

Chapter Text

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"Uh..." Miwa stood from her seat, her hands raised in worry; beside her Mai's glare could cut glass, and Nishimiya held her broomstick back way up, as if she was ready to smack some idiot teacher into the next century with it -

"Gojo-sensei..."

Flushed, shit plastered and barely looking it, Gojo turns to the girls at the table with a wide, cheeky grin spread across his face; his eyes practically glistening in impish mirth behind his shades, and his hair tousled, and standing sideways up, messier than normal.

"Where are you taking her...?"

"Huh?" Gojo tilted his head to the side, confused. And, shifting the dead weight over his shoulder, leans back on a sure heel. "Who?"

"Uh..."

Nishimiya clenched her hands on her broomstick. Mai cocked her gun. And Miwa squeaked.

"Utahime-sensei..." The young sorceress pointed awkwardly at the drunk, giggling Utahime draped over Gojo's shoulder, her long dark hair falling over her face, her face flushed red, and her hands snaking into his button-down shirt. "Where are you taking her...?"

"Utahime~?" Gojo said, in a singsong-y voice, seemingly laughing and announcing it to the entire izakaya. "We're going to have sex~!"

Miwa lost all the blood on her face.

Nishimiya broke her broom.

And Mai lost her grip on her gun -

"-Wha - whaa - what?!" Miwa blurted out, her eyes nearly popping from its sockets, utterly - horrendously - scandalized -

"Sex!" Gojo grinned at the horrified students. And in his strong, secure arms, Utahime held on; laughing against the bridge of his neck - "We're going to have - S - E - X - !"

"-SEX!" He declared triumphantly in repeat; just in case they didn't hear him the first... second... and third time...

"It's when you put the penis into the vagina!" Gojo snickered, his drunk brain thinking that these children need to study their biology better!

The girls were just, absolutely in over themselves in mortification; each of them frozen in utter, mind-numbing rage -

And when they seem to say nothing after - Gojo takes it as an opportunity to leave - But, right as he said - "We'll get going then!" and started turning to the door - the three of them - Nishimiya, Mai, and Miwa - mauled the two senseis down, forced them off each other, and gave them a lengthy lecture about the dangers of pre-marital sex.

And at the corner, Yuuji, Nobara, and Megumi could only mumble a quiet apology in behalf of their idiot sensei; and, under their breath, argue who among themselves will be bringing Gojo-sensei to the hospital this time around... after the Kyoto School students were done with him...

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Chapter 88: No. 35: "After you."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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"Utahime?"

He turns to his students with a grin spreading across his face.

He was on the grass, cross-legged and beaming.

"Yeah, I like her." He tells them with his cheeks all red, with his grin so wide. "I do."

"We've been friends for a long, long time." His grin could light up an entire city.

"Her boyfriends all hated me." He laughed, remembering their faces that would freeze up and lose all hope at the sight of him beside her, laid back and effortlessly handsome. Even back when they were in high school, they'd stand next to each other and ruin everyone else's day.

"They'd always glare. Ask why I was even there; when I'd leave." He snickered.

"One of them tried to punch me." He laughed his head off at the memory.

"She's always been single, that Utahime." His gaze shifts to the side, thinking; his smile still wide on his face.

"No one's been good enough." He tells them with a laugh.

"Utahime's a good girl." He smiles. "I need her to ground me."

"I won't let anyone near her who isn't half as good." He grins up at them.

"If anyone good enough shows up." His smile grew. "I might try dating after her."

"One of these days, maybe," He snickers. "I'll go after Utahime."

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Notes:

*Gojo's dialogue says he'll date after Utahime finds someone good. That he's just looking out for a friend. That he'll date after she finds someone half as good as her.

But Gojo's words can be construed to mean - If Utahime likes someone, I'll go after her. As if I'd let anyone after her.
("One of these days, I'll go after Utahime.) - One of these days, I'll court Utahime.

(Even back when they were in high school, they'd stand next to each other and ruin everyone else's day.) - This means that they'd look so handsome and beautiful that the people who'd see them would crush on them, until they realize that Utahime and Gojo are standing next to each other, and are probably dating; thus, ruining people's day.

("No one's been good enough." He tells them with a laugh.) - This means no one Utahime's dated was good enough for her in Satoru's eyes. They were beneath her, so this implies that he's meddled in her past relationships.

Chapter 89: No. 79: "I'll still be here when you're ready."

Notes:

I just watched JJK 0... and now I'm in a world of sad.

Sakayume - King Gnu

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

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She wiped the sides of his face with the tender caress of her fingers; her palms were warm against his cheeks; and her face was a few inches from his lips.

The room was cold. And the curtains swayed with the gentle breeze.

The sheets were white and soft and light. The washed-out school walls were muted against the strands of his silver hair. And his bangs fell in a mess over his expressive blue eyes.

In the darkest corner of the classroom, drowning in his lonesome, he looks up from his grim reality; and, he finds her there before him. Her pigtails loose over her small shoulders. Her skin pale against her ebony, dark hair.

Her cheeks, rosy; her lips, smooth, wet, and glossy; and the small quirk of her smile, enchanting.

"You'll be fine." She tells him, slipping her hands tenderly over the sides of his face, and, without needing a word from him.

She was a vision to him. Satoru closed his eyes and tried to relive the memory; Those hazel eyes were nothing less than liquid gold to him.

He could still feel her fingers ghost over his cheeks, tickling the tiny hairs on his skin. And with a breath, stilling the world and driving him breathless, she leans in, presses her lips against his and steals his breath with a light, chaste kiss.

And she tells him as she pulls away; with a smile far too beautiful to be real, she tells him -

"You'll be fine, Gojo."

Time stopped for him that night. That when he wakes from his stupor, he realizes he's back alone in the empty classroom; as if she was just a vision he conjured from his dreams.

But; he closes his eyes. And he tastes the light, sweet flavor of her chapstick lingering on his lips.

He leaves the classroom early that morning, still with her words in his ears, with that beguiling smile of hers she rarely offered;

I'll still be here when you're ready.

And that early, foggy dawn; he walks out into the cold morning and abandons Jujutsu Tech; desparate to salvage whatever was left of his best friend's humanity.

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Notes:

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What Utahime means when she said - I'll still be here when you're ready. - is that Jujutsu Tech will always be here until you return./ You'll always have a home to return to here at Jujutsu Tech.

A/N:

! - JJK 0 Movie spoilers - !

I might make another meta post on my Tumblr.

But I'm definitely certain Utahime's role in the plot is important. It surprised me that everyone in the anime is in the movie. We know Utahime is pretty popular, given her relationship with Gojo. It was so easy to place her in the Kyoto team along with her students.

The fact that she didn't make an appearance. And that her absence was addressed with a bonus chapter - just continues to fuel my theory that Utahime's role in the plot is important. That's why her presence in battle is under wraps.

In the movie, if you caught it - Gojo sent the second years (Kirara and Hakari, among others) to Kyoto. He made them go to Kyoto.

The movie showed the Kyoto students.

But not Utahime. Not Kirara and Hakari.

I think they're together. I think the second years were sent by Gojo to be with Utahime. And we know that these second years are strong. Gojo consideres Hakari to be Yuuta's level in terms of strength.

Nitta wasn't shown because he's a first year like Yuuji, Nobara and Megumi.

It's really curious how Utahime wasn't shown when everyone else had some sort of spotlight to their ability.

Utahime's power is under wraps. And that just means one thing - It's important! oijoijoij

Damn, I love JJK so much. :(

Chapter 90: No. 20: "You can borrow mine."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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"I wish he didn't matter to me." She smiled.

"I wish I could let go and leave it all behind." She tells him.

"But," She looks up. And her eyes mirror the tire of his first year; his pale face smeared with dried blood.

The onslaught of sorcerers continued around them. The ongoing battle; a vivid nightmare.

"After all these years, how can I say he doesn't matter to me?"

She kneels down next to his limp, lifeless body. And she smiles down at him in apology, her ebony hair falling over her eyes.

"He keeps saying love creates the most twisted curses." She tenderly sweeps the white hair over his face and runs a finger down the side of his cheek. "But he doesn't know,"

She looks down as a light, blinding gold, started to fill her.

"Love is the greatest, most selfless gift."

She leans down and closes her eyes; the soft, tender hum of her voice purifying everything around her. Mending what were once broken; cleansing all that's been cursed.

"He's a cold, heartless man."

She held out her hand to a distraught Megumi, horrified and pleading - begging her to find another way -

"I doubt he's ever loved anyone but himself." She joked dryly, pinching his cheek and lightly wiping the dirt on his angelic face with a swipe of her thumb.

"So, this once," She takes her heart in her hands and holds it against his chest;

"He can borrow mine."

And she pushes down its blinding light into the gapping wound in his chest; his injuries healing and the light disappearing into him.

And he begins to stir.

And his body grows numb. His extremities start to chill. And a heavy weight drops against his chest.

And, he lifts his head, confused and faint; and -

A chill runs down his skin - and his blue eyes widen, the world around him muting in a stilling, blood-curling horror -

And he feels her against him. Her dead weight lying limp and lifeless over him. Her hand cold against his cheek.

And in a dreadful realization, he falls back and holds her; holds on to what's left of her; and a voice, hoarse and unfamiliar to him, - far from his own - escapes from his lips in a horrified, agonizing scream -

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Notes:

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Ten chapters to go

Chapter 91: No. 8: "Take my seat."

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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"What are you to him?"

Utahime pauses in surprise. Her expression careful and steady.

"Gojo Satoru." The deep, shaky voice across from her was curious, quiet and musing. But, there was this low, ominous air hanging overhead. "I've always wondered." He muttered, his lips against the rim of his clay teacup; his wrinkled, greying fingers encasing the warm cup; and his breath puffing against the liquid's hot steam.

"You must already know why I decided to take you on amid your rank."

Utahime's gaze dropped to the teacup in her hands. And she tries to stay composed and unaffected where she sat; She tries to keep herself from knotting her brows in offence and keep herself from glaring in slight.

"We live in an unsettling time." He confides with her, his tone low and pensive. "A time where young sorcerers are foolhardy, irrational and violent. Where strength is revered over the formidable foundations of our society."

Utahime couldn't follow -

"I recommended you precisely because I thought I could trust you. That you shared the values that built the jujutsu society into what it is today."

Utahime looked up in disbelief and grit her teeth; his words unwarranted and unfair -

"I don't understand - " Utahime could no longer sit back and passively be the arbitrary target of his ire -

"So why - " Utahime held herself back; her grip on her cup unconsciously tightening in apprehension.

"TELL ME WHY HE BEAT TAKANASHI ZEN'IN WITHIN AN INCH OF HIS LIFE?!" Gakuganji bellowed, his voice booming in outrage and his grey face washed red with vexation; his energy spiking in an angry, erratic burst that he loses control of his grip and shatters the cup in his hands.

"It's too late for the sorcerer on ground." The old council elder, Takanashi Zen'in, tells him offhandedly.

Ticked off, his lips purse into a thin line. And his brow twitches behind his white bandages in annoyance.

"The weak can't help but die." The council member laughed spitefully. "It's their nature." His voice fades with the distance, oblivious to the growing ire he unwittingly stirred in the special grade sorcerer who clenched his fists and held back the image of bashing his head in.

All Utahime could do was glare down at her teacup and bite her lip in frustration, knowing that a word - a sound from her will only serve to make the situation worse.

"You weren't there," In front of her, Gakuganji's beady eyes were red, and his knuckles were turning white. "You have no clue of the massacre that nearly took place - "

I was. Utahime clenched her fists over her lap and grit her teeth. I was there.

She could still see them as clear as day. The splayed bodies. The blood that spewed out into the open streets. The desperate cries for help -

All of it. She bit her lip and trembled. All of it would forever be a part of her now.

"So tell me why - just what are you to Gojo Satoru?" Gakuganji prodded, impatient and curt.

And Utahime could only look at him in disbelief, taken aback by his insinuation.

"I don't know - " Utahime started to glare; clenching back her frustration; her lips quivering and her voice shaking; herself lost in the dark and confused by the turn of events; certain - absolutely certain that the incident he was talking about had nothing to do with her -

"No one," She looks her superior in the eye and tells him in a firm, unwavering voice. "No one can claim to understand what goes on in Gojo Satoru's head."

"I always wondered why you hired me." Her tone was quiet but challenging. "I thought it was because you respected my skill as a teacher; that maybe you believed that I could protect the students too."

"I can't claim to know Gojo Satoru to speak on his behalf." Utahime's words left her lips with a bite. "But I'm certain of one thing."

She raised a hand to her heart and scowled.

"I mean nothing to him."

Gakuganji stilled and narrowed his eyes, listening.

"I'm aware of my rank." Utahime continued with a strong, determined expression. "I know the limits of my technique."

"I'm weak." She scoffs at herself. "There's no need to mask it."

"Gojo Satoru only sees strength." She spoke emptily, her self-deprecating words calming down her severe superior. "Sorcerers like me are beyond his notice."

"We're not lovers." Her mouth quirks. And a dry laugh escapes her lips. "We're not even friends." She thinned her lips and looked up at Gakuganji; Gakuganji who seemed satisfied with her confession, easing back and believing her explanation as true. Her logic, unquestionable.

"What happened to Zen'in-san is his own fault." Utahime spoke a word too far. And Gakuganji, with a watchful eye, took notice. "He's ordered the execution of a civilian village."

Gakuganji pursed his lips and kept silent.

"He's sent untrained first years to their deaths against a special grade curse in Nazehiratacho." Utahime glared and seethed, seeing the report so clearly as if it was in her very own hands.

"What happened to Zen'in-san was his own fault." Utahime looked up at Gakuganji with a red glint in her eyes, her outrage and anger stirring loudly and clear behind her calm façade. "I can't blame Gojo for what he did. In fact," She spoke bitingly. "I can only wonder what took him so long."

Utahime ends it at that. And Gakuganji sits back, his cane in his hands, and a quiet breath escaping his lips.

It was clear to him now.

He saw it clearly now, just where Iori Utahime's allegiance lied.

"The principal called you in too, huh?"

Utahime looked up from her hands in shock, surprised to see Gojo casually walk past her in the corridors and head into the room behind her; herself just dismissed from her meeting with Gakuganji.

"Wonder what that old fart wants." He twisted his lips in annoyance.

And Utahime could only deadpan and frown at his aloofness.

"He thinks you're in love with me." She told him straight, wholly expecting him to burst out in laughter.

But, Gojo suddenly paused, taken aback.

And she stiffens at the gaping silence that filled the air; her heart stopping in a quiet trepidation.

Then, Gojo tilted his head.

And she arches a cautious brow.

"Huuh?" Her kouhai started to whine. And Utahime could only knot her brows in offence. But, she couldn't deny the relief that washed over her at the sight of his disgusted face - certain he was horrified at the thought of liking her.

Easing back, Utahime starts to smile at the stupid man before her in disbelief.

"Don't worry." She told him with a light laugh on her lips, the fresh, pink scar across her face creasing with the cute wrinkle of her nose. "I told him he'd be a dumber idiot than you if he actually believed that."

And Gojo could only grimace and scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

"Dumb ain't half as bad as being weak, you know~." He mumbled with that frown of his. And he starts to laugh at the glare Utahime sent his way.

"Don't agitate him too much in there." She tells him as she stepped aside. And with a lazy wave goodbye, Gojo took her place and disappeared into Gakuganji's office.

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Notes:

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Connected to Chapter 85: No. 83: "Stay there. I'm coming to get you."

Chapter 92: No. 100: "I love you."

Notes:

maselang bahaghari - eraserheads

Chapter Text

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Utahime looked at her reflection against the running water, the stream flowing past her under the bridge.

Amid the pebbles beneath, the vibrant koi fishes and the pretty flowers, she could see nothing past the fresh, pink scar marring her face.

It didn't matter much to her.

She started to glare.

It shouldn't really, she tells herself. It was only a matter of time before she got severely injured anyway.

She was bound to get scarred. She frowned. She's had a couple of scars here and there. Just because this one was right on her face shouldn't make any difference to her.

It shouldn't. She glared at the reflection of the idiot who got herself nearly killed.

It shouldn't matter really. But; she purses her lips and turns away from her reflection; she couldn't help it.

Her scar made her look weak. It made her feel ugly;

If she didn't have time to date before; now, no one would want her.

She thinned her lips and berated herself for thinking like a fool with no self-respect.

Because she did. She respected herself enough to know that this scar changed nothing. She was still the same. If not stronger. If not more resolved.

She was a sorcerer, goddamit.

Who cares about this stupid scar? Her black hair fell over her face as she looked down and faced her reflection on the water.

She was still beautiful.

She starts to smile.

In time, she was bound to meet someone who'd think the same, right?

"Utahime!"

Utahime's smile quickly soured.

"You cryin' again~?!" Her idiot kouhai - turned idiot colleague - greeted her with an unnecessarily loud, booming voice from the other side of the street; making Utahime's eye twitch in anger -

"I'm not crying - respect your seniors!" She snapped at him with a furious clench of her jaw; rising from the railings of the wooden bridge and fuming at the idiot laughing at her.

"Pretty sure I heard you sniffling~." Gojo coaxed her on; looking away with a skeptical frown and scratching his nose; the line on his lips slowly spreading into a teasing smirk and his eyes glinting impishly -

Making Utahime turn to him with a growl; clenching her fists at her sides and ready to implode - when - her brows rise; and her eyes widen in genuine amazement.

"Wha - "

Gojo tilted his head teasingly and started to smirk.

And Utahime could only break into a disbelieving laugh, her eyes watering and her throat locking in excitement.

"What's that?!" She called after him with a growing laugh, her hazel eyes flooding with mirth.

"What else?" Gojo teased her on with a happy scoff. "A motorbike!" He smirked and played cool, sweeping his hair back and leaning against the large, incredible vehicle behind him. He donned the cliche look - dashing and handsome in his black leather jacket and shades; his white hair loose over his face; and his eyes, glittering crystal blue.

Utahime quickly walked over with a curious smile, her gaze scrutinizing; honestly and genuinely impressed.

"So," Gojo patted the leather seat and leaned closer to her; making Utahime glare and lean away; "Want to go take a quick spin?" He asked her with that teasing grin of his. And he laughs at the disgusted sneer that spread across Utahime's face.

"Do you even drive?" She frowned at him, totally and wholly unimpressed by him, and Gojo expected; everything about him. "You know you need a license, right?"

"Who cares." Gojo shrugged and rode on with a swing of his leg, urging Utahime to get on behind him with a cheeky wave of his chin.

"No thanks. I don't plan on getting hospitalized any time soon." Utahime frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, hugging her jacket tight around her and stepping back.

"You think I'd let anything happen to you?" Gojo asked her in a sing-song voice, but there was a sincerity there that unnerved Utahime;

"Well," Utahime looked up in surprise. "If you're so sure~!" Gojo grins; quick to call her bluff, knowing very well that she was just holding back. Then, he starts to turn away and smirk to himself, revving the engine and leaning forward, as if he was ready to leave any second.

Then, he lets a second of silence pass; and - he turns to Utahime and looks at her with a tilt of his head and that cheeky smile of his that's always riled her up. And the instant he sees her face drop in disappointment, he falls against the head of his bike and bursts out laughing - kicking down the jiffy stand and settling the revving engine -

"Why - You - !" Utahime flushed red in embarrassment - teased yet again - and, with an outraged cry; runs to the sniggering Gojo with her arms raised; ready to beat him into the next life when he catches her wrists and pulls her close -

"Just get on already." Gojo smiles; And, all red, Utahime shoves him away (and he lets her with a hearty laugh).

Grabbing his shoulder, Utahime watches her step and hops on, her hands sliding down Gojo's broad shoulders.

"Hold tight." Gojo tells her, subtly guiding her hands, secure around his waist. And behind him, Utahime leaned down, her cheek resting against his back.

"Hm." She nodded, growing quiet.

And they rode off.

Took a quick spin around the block.

Then, they take an odd turn around the corner, opposite the way back to Jujutsu High.

And Utahime could only pale as they passed through town after town - her eyes widening in a horrified realization -

"Where-"

Gojo laughed his heart out amid the loud, burring engine and the howling wind zooming past. And he speeds up, down the mountain road; Utahime's indignant cries lost to the empty provincial road -

"Where the hell are you taking me?!"

Falling against him in defeat and grumbling, knowing she could do nothing but hold on, Utahime lightly hits his back with her forehead. And, hearing his laughter against her ears, eases against him and resigns herself to watching the sun set beside them, the buildings below, a littering speck of lights against the dark, orange sky.

It was sunset when Gojo slows down, stopping near a familiar place. A small beach cove they used to visit back in high school with everyone.

"You're late!" An elementary school kid with snot on his face pointed at them and yelled.

Beside him, Yuki waved them over, a wide smile across her face.

"What's all this?" Utahime's brows rise in surprise.

Her students were chasing each other with some curse that looked like a crab. And Shoko was down by the water, turning back with her eyes rising in recognition.

"You made it!" She waved at them in greeting. She was with an oddly embarrassed Ijichi (who gave them an awkward, shy bow), holding a pair of barbecue tongs with a piece of yakiniku clasped on the end.

Utahime could only knot her brows, confused, curious and; wondering - she steals a peak at Gojo who only laughed back at Shoko.

"So?" Gojo and Utahime turn to Yuki, "How was it?!"

Parking at the side of the road and kicking down the motorbike's jiffy stand, Gojo looks down and laughed.

"I'm keeping it!" He joked, leaning on a leg and easing back against Utahime's embrace, his hands resting over hers.

"Okay, but it'll cost you." Yuki humored him with a good-natured laugh.

"Who's the kid?" Gojo's eyes perked at the kid beside her, finding the signatures of the boy's cursed energy curious.

"This guy?" Yuki looked down at the kid with the buzz cut, a bruise here and there on his face, and a school-issued bag over his back. "He's my latest discovery!" She clapped her hands in pride and laughed -

"He's Aoi!"

The kid huffed and crossed his arms; his eyes unimpressed by the odd group of people before him; this small group of jujutsu sorcerers stealing some time off at the beach.

"He's Todo Aoi!"

"And I'm leaving him to your care, ne, Utahime-chan!" Yuki beamed.

"Ehh?" Gojo whined. And Utahime laughed, smiling behind a hand. "Why her?"

"Cause I trust Utahime-chan!" Yuki tells him with a hand on her hips and an incredulous laugh. "Besides, you're always away!"

"Gojo-san!"

Right on queue, an out-of-breath - disgruntled Ijichi ran up to them, sand all over his black leather shoes, and an accusatory finger pointed at Gojo. "You told me you were just taking a quick circle around the block!"

"Oh, did I?" Gojo raised his hands innocently and grinned.

"You're going to miss your flight!"

Behind him, Utahime's brows slowly rise in disbelief.

"Jaa," Gojo chucks Yuki's keys back to her and bids them farewell with a grin - "Thanks for the ride!" He swept back his hair.

"Please hurry!" Ijichi tried not to cry - Yaga-sensei would have his head if Gojo didn't make his meeting with their counterparts in Moscow!

"It'll be fine." Gojo snickers, following after him and coolly stuffing his hands in his pockets. "We always make our flights."

"That's because you make me drive past the speed limit!" Ijichi cried, urging the easygoing sorcerer to pick up the pace.

"Gojo!"

Gojo's eyes widen, and he turns in surprise; halting where he stood.

And the corners of his lips rise; and his brows crease in amusement - finding Utahime grinning at him and breaking into a laugh - her hands held up to the level of her chest, curled into arches and her fingers touching; all forming the cheesy shape of a heart -

"Have a safe trip, ne!"

She tilted her head and beamed, holding her heart next to her face; the breeze teasing her long black hair tied back in a white ribbon, a pleasant flush upon her cheeks; and her face - scarred, pretty, and radiant -

"A-ah," Gojo's throat locked. And he looked away with a scratch of his head, a small smile on his lips and a tuck in his heart.

"You really did it, ne, Gojo-san;" Ijichi smiled at him from the rearview mirror as they rode the black sedan. "I was certain I'll never see Iori-san smile again." He mused on, looking down with that happy smile of his and quickly driving off.

Laughing quietly to himself, Gojo leaned back on his seat and looked out the window, a subtle smirk on his lips.

And with a close of his eyes, he sees her; the feisty young woman he met nearly seven years ago now, this young miko who approached him with an angry scowl and yelled at him for blowing up some shrine;

And with a hand to his heart, he sinks back and laughs at himself.

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Chapter 93: No. 45: "What do you want to watch?"

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

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"...Are you angry?"

Her lips were swollen; and his clouded blue eyes grew engrossed by her light, shallow breaths.

"No," He mouths, dipping down and leaning in, unconsciously drawn back in; his white hair falling over his face, lips wet and lightheaded. "Just, confused..."

Utahime looked up at him through her bangs. And the tenderness in her gaze grips him.

And he leans back into her; bewitched by her; by everything about her; that he forgets how to breathe;

But; as he drew closer, lips tingling, aching to steal another kiss; she averts her gaze; pulling away and leaving a wisp of air between them.

And he catches himself; brows rising in a subtle realization.

"Go out with me." He tells her under his breath; in a quiet, desperate whisper.

"What...?" The confusion in her eyes, the wrinkle in her nose; all of it makes him weak. And foolish. And hopeful.

"Date me, Utahime." He holds back his breath.

And she looks up at him in surprise; the water in her eyes beguiling him with glittering light and gold.

"...Why?" She asks him in a whisper - that Satoru starts to smile in amusement, his eyes stinging and his throat locking.

"Why?" He mouths back her question with a disbelieving quirk of his lips; his expression defeated and weak - "Because, I

" - Utahime!"

Utahime blinked back the water in her eyes. And she looks over her shoulder; her eyes tired, her expression drained.

"You told me to get you when Kaseifu no Mita's on!"

"A-ah." She forced a laugh and wiped back a tear. "We'll be in in a bit." She tells Nitta with a small smile.

"We?" Nitta tilted her head in confusion; making Utahime turn back behind her; and, taken aback, finds herself standing in the clearing all alone.

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Notes:

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Connected to Chapter 82: No. 36: "We'll figure it out."

/_KenRik/status/1593998305100300290

Kaseifu no Mita is a popular japanese drama back from 2011.

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The scene in this chapter is back in their younger years, the very scene Utahime was reminiscing in Chapter 82: No. 36: "We'll figure it out." It is after Utahime steals a kiss from Gojo who was comforting her.

After she steals a kiss, she pulls away. And when he doesn't say anything, she looks up and asks him if he was angry at her (for stealing a kiss from him).

Utahime stole a kiss because, as she was saying in Chapter 82: No. 36: "We'll figure it out.", he was kind to her; he still laughed and teased her, but he was like a prince that night. He comforted her, told her everything was going to be fine. He was so handsome that night (to her), that if he wasn't Gojo Satoru, she was certain she'd fall in love with him.

But he was Gojo Satoru, so, she puts up a wall between them.

Gojo doesn't understand her. He's confused. Because he knows she doesn't see him that way, that she only thinks he's a nuisance.

But he liked it. He really liked it when she kissed him. The world stopped when she kissed him.

At that moment, he realizes he likes her. And the brazen, frank Gojo who goes headfirst into everything he does - spoke the first words that came to mind -

"Go out with me."

But even as he said that, he had an odd feeling that it won't work out the way it usually does for him - he was almost certain Utahime would reject him.

But again, he was foolish and headstrong. So, he asks her again, clearly this time and desperate -

"Date me, Utahime."

Utahime was also taken aback, because she knows he doesn't care about her (because she's a weak sorcerer). She legitimately thought her kiss offended him.

Instead of getting angry, Gojo asks her out. In a voice so sincere, so serious, that it confuses her.

When they're interrupted, alarms start ringing in Gojo's head. And, against his better judgment, he warps away; disappears. And nothing more is made of that night.

Chapter 94: No. 34: "That's okay. I bought two."

Notes:

Sequel to Chapter 35: No. 85: "It doesn't bother me."

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

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"Utahime,"

Utahime turned away from her hot cup of tea, barely able to bring herself to look up at the pair of sharp eyes across the table.

"I'm really sorry for all this." Her kouhai holds her cold hands over the table and gives them a tender squeeze. "But don't be so hard on him."

"You know how mean-spirited Gojo's jokes can get."

"A-ah." Utahime's throat locked. And she glares as her eyes started to sting. She'd never felt so humiliated. So betrayed. She wanted to break down. She wanted to cry. But not here, - she blinked back her unshed tears. Not in front of everyone.

"That guy's too conceited to think of anyone else."

"The bet was probably something to pass the time."

"Been seeing him with some other girls too."

"E-enough, please." Utahime's voice was so close to breaking. "I-I get it."

"It's just a game." She pursed her lips and glared at the tears that finally started streaming down her face. "I get it." Her lips quivered. And her kouhai could only caress her hand with his thumb.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Utahime."

"No, it's all right."

"Whatever it is," Her kouhai smiles. "I'm always here for you." And Utahime wiped her tears and returned his wide, toothy smile with a small, apologetic nod.

"Thank you," She bade him farewell. And her kouhai could only lean back on his seat and start to snicker to himself in spite. "Thank you for telling me, Naoya-kun."

A few days had past since then.

It was Christmas. And she's long forgotten about him. It was annoying, thinking anymore of him.

After she begged off, after she broke it off with Satoru, whatever it was that they had between them - she's spent all her time with her family.

It was difficult not to think of him.

Utahime glared as she tied her ponytails.

She had to admit that when she first saw him, there was no doubt in her mind that he was attractive. If he wasn't so much of an idiot, she might've fallen in love with him at first sight.

But he was just so obnoxious. So conceited. And so loud.

Being around him riled her like nothing else. And it didn't help that he'd go out of his way just to pick at her.

That moron, Utahime scowled at her puffy, red reflection on her mirror.

He really played her for a fool.

That day he asked her out. He seemed so sincere. His voice was so clear and firm and genuine.

They'd been seeing each other casually before then. She figured he just needed someone to fool around with. He was so relentless, she thought to finally give in. As annoying as he was, she liked holding him. She liked kissing him. And he did make her laugh a lot, with all the little dumb things he'd do.

She didn't realize she started liking him enough that she said yes without thinking. As if she's been waiting for him to ask her out for the longest time.

The smile on his face, and she guessed, the smile on hers that mimicked his - it all seemed so real that she thought that maybe this could be it - that maybe they were in love.

But she was a fool.

Utahime glared at the tears that ran down her face and wiped them away with a tissue.

He got her good.

What was that stupid bet for anyway? Why were men so dumb?

She groaned and cursed at herself for crying over him for the millionth time.

What was the bastard doing this Christmas?

She threw her crumpled up tissue and glared, annoyed that she still thought about him. That she still cared.

He was supposed to spend Christmas with her and her family. Christmas at home was pretty boring, he told her. Just a bunch of old rich people and girls that keep chasing after him.

She couldn't help but sneer at his incessant ranting then. That idiot was so sure of himself, so frank about how self-important, self-absorbed he was that she couldn't digest his idiot words.

Maybe they just want to be friends with you? She'd counter. But Satoru would just wave her off and tell her,

"Naaah, they want a piece of me." He'd say. "Who doesn't?" He'd speak as a matter of factly that Utahime couldn't wrap her head around how anyone could be so conceited. But there she was, dating the imbecile.

He's probably with some model. Utahime thought to herself realistically. And she frowns at her plain, red face.

That idiot really did play me. She frowned at her reflection. With how big his head is, that idiot would never date someone as simple as her.

It was her fault really. Utahime finished up, stood up, and straightened her dress. She shouldn't have let him in her life from the beginning. The first day she met him, she knew he would be nothing but a headache.

Whatever.

Utahime turned to her bedroom door.

She didn't have to bother with him anymore. It was done. They've gone their separate ways.

Forcing a smile, she joins her family at the festivities downstairs.

She rushes downstairs. And her lips begin to spread into a smile at the excited calls of her relatives.

"Utahime!"

"Keiko-baasan!" She waved cheerfully in greeting, pushing through the crowd of her relatives with a wide grin.

And, looking up, as she got closer, she looks past the wave of her relatives on her father's side. And she sees him.

"You never told us you had such a handsome boyfriend!"

Utahime's face pales. And her eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight of Satoru his winter coat.

"We're not dating, auntie." Utahime stiffened at the cool voice of her ex right there, inside her house.

"What?!"

Satoru grimaced at her loud cry that seemed to have attracted everyone's attention to them. And Utahime could only scowl in embarrassment. Her relatives were something else.

"Why?! What's wrong with our Utahime?!" She cried in scandal. And Satoru rubbed the back of his neck in awkwardness.

"Nothing." He mumbles, much to the old auntie's curiosity, and everyone else's. And, his eyes stealing a glance, flickering at Utahime's who frantically averted her gaze, he tells them in a quiet voice, "She's perfect."

Everyone swooned that next second.

And annoyed, Utahime couldn't hear anything past the deafening drumming in her heart.

"Did you hear that, Utahime?! You should go out with him!" Another eavesdropping auntie shamelessly chimed in. "Even Tadashi'd approve, ne? Ne!" (Tadashi is Utahime's protective older cousin.)

Utahime's brows rose then. And she grew distant and quiet.

"I already did." Utahime scowled at her meddlesome relatives. "He went out with me as a bet with his friends."

"...What?"

Utahime glared at her naive, nosy aunt; hoping she'd get the idea and quit her nonsense. But before Utahime could spell it out for her, she sees it too late - she sees her older cousin jump at the horrified Satoru and punch his face; the two of them falling on the floor grappling.

"Stop!" Utahime's mother cried in horror.

And Utahime froze in utter shock.

"Cut it out, Tadashi!"

The commotion shook Utahime back into her senses. And, mortified, she and several other of her cousins pull Tadashi off Satoru.

"What's wrong with you?!" Utahime cried in disbelief at the bruised Tadashi. And her miffed cousin could only glare back.

"I'm so sorry, Satoru-kun." Utahime could hear her mother apologize, absolutely mortified on Utahime's behalf.

"It's all right." Satoru couldn't get himself to stand up; and feeling a lock in his chest, just dryly laughs. "I deserved it."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure the both of you can talk it over?"

Utahime looked down to her feet. And wordlessly, she shoves an ice pack at her cousin's hands and gives Satoru a good glare over her shoulder, a fiery glare which he wholly accepted with a sorry grimace.

Still, Utahime helps pull him up. And they both apologize to her parents for the mess they caused.

"What good did you think would happen with you coming all the way out here?" Utahime frowned as she walked Satoru out.

"I don't know." He tells her with an ice pack on his lower lip. "You're the one who invited me."

"You're an idiot." Utahime glared at him. And Satoru started to smile.

"You weren't answering my calls." He tells her. And Utahime looked straight ahead. "What was I supposed to do?"

"I wouldn't know." She confesses. "I blocked your number."

"Figured as much." He muses. And they stop right by her gate.

"So," She frowned, gesturing at the bruise on his lip. "Was it worth it?" And she places more ointment on her thumb and slides a careful finger down the side of his lip.

"Hm." He nodded. "Actually went better than expected." Satoru smirked down at her, at the proximity between them. And Utahime hissed, flushing red and immediately pulling back her hand. "I'm talking to you now, aren't I?"

Utahime looked down and started to glare.

"It wasn't all a lie, you know." Utahime looked up at Gojo in surprise, taken aback by that expression on his face, by the seriousness in his gaze that he rarely showed. "You always said I was an idiot."

"Ah," Utahime grimaced at him. And Gojo gave her a self-chastising smile. "You really are."

"You hate me now?" Gojo asked her, taking a bold step closer.

"I know it wasn't." Utahime suddenly tells him.

"What is?" He asks, curious.

Utahime looked up at him with a light in her dark eyes.

"I know it wasn't all a lie." Her bangs fall over her eyes. "That's why it's much worse." She tells him straight.

Gojo's brow twitched. "It is?"

"It is." Utahime tells him frankly, without breaking her gaze. "You lied to me. For months."

"And all that time, I - " Her voice broke. "- I really, really liked you."

"So, you did." Satoru grew silent. "Like me."

"Hm." Utahime had to hold back the blasted tears stinging her eyes. "I did." Her lips quivered. And her mouth dried. "I do."

"Funny." Gojo thinks lightly. "It seemed like it was nothing to you when you broke up with me."

Utahime's eye twitched. And her frown soured.

"Why? Did you want me to cry?" She snapped. And she started to growl when Satoru broke laughing.

"Iie." Satoru smiled at her teasingly. "You'll never cry."

"Hm." Utahime nodded. Awkward, angry, and confused. And sometime later, Gojo's cab finally arrived and slowed down in front of Utahime's house.

"I don't hate you, you know." Utahime tells him with a eventually, as he gets in the car. And, gently touching the bruise on his face, she laughs when he flinches and frowns. "I just don't think we should date anymore."

And, stepping away, Utahime leaves the ointment in his hands.

"Keep it for the swelling." She tells him. "It'll be a shame if you get a bruise." She smiles.

"Who cares." Satoru laughs dryly and just pockets the pack. And his blue eyes look up at her through his white hair. "There are worse things."

And with a wave goodbye, Utahime turns away, unable to keep his gaze. And she returns to the party waiting for her inside.

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