She'd known that Satoru wasn't likely to catch Kenjaku. He was too smart to get caught out like that, not with Satoru banging down the front door. Whatever he'd wanted to do would've been quick, he would've been ready to disappear in an instant the moment he finished. She wouldn't have been suffering long at least.
Still, disappointment was inevitable. She'd hoped that somehow Satoru could beat the odds, surpass the expectations of a thousand-year-old curse user. It was a pipe dream, she'd known that, but…
Suguru beckoned Satoru over and as soon as he was in range Suguru snagged his hand, dragging him into their hug. Todo, now that her eyes were open to see, looked slightly squashed yet surprisingly still remained in place. It would be easy for him to get out, his hands were mostly free, she was hardly holding his hand tightly. Yet, he stayed obediently in place. Strange. Probably nervous about making Suguru angry.
Satoru sank into Suguru's hug like it was the only thing that gave life meaning anymore. She made sure to wrap her free arm around him too, in an attempt at reassurance. It wasn't his fault. Kenjaku was just a clever bastard.
"You had really good timing, Nii-san." She whispered.
"I left you." God, he sounded heartbroken.
"For like five seconds until an idiot put up a veil."
"I left you." She felt like she'd just been accidentally bit by a puppy and was now frantically trying to assure them that she still loved them, she didn't hate them for their mistake. His forlorn look didn't help matters, those sad, sad eyes.
"And you broke through just in time to save us. Ken-bastard only managed to grab me a little, and went right for my stomach. He would've killed Todo for interrupting. He tried. Luckily, Todo's super cool and managed to save himself." She assured, letting some enthusiasm into her voice for the last sentence. He was so fucking cool! Even as a kid, he was so awesome!
"He grabbed you? Where?" Suguru zeroed in immediately.
"No touch." She said immediately, pulling away from them to wrap her arms around the seal, "stomach. No touching. No touching." She didn't need to repeat herself so much, but the thought of anyone touching her right now was panic inducing.
The one on her stomach was far more sensitive than the one on her back. Honestly, she forgot it was there half the time. Her cursed energy never rested there, never really did anything with it.
Could it be incomplete, and so, inactive? She hadn't spent nearly the same amount of time studying it, and neither had… most others. Could Satoru even see it? Was it visible to his eyes like the other one was?
"We won't touch, but I do need to see it. If he's the one who put it on you, it doesn't take much time for him to adjust it, maybe just ten seconds for something small. It doesn't take much to destabilize a seal, especially one as complex as yours."
Oh.
"How-"
"Not ten." Todo answered quickly. She hadn't thought so, but having a bit of confirmation was reassuring.
"We should still look," Satoru said with a glance at Suguru, "but if you need to wait for a short while then it should be alright."
Hm…
Not really acceptable but needs must.
"We won't touch you. You just have to show us your stomach, we won't touch you." Satoru reaffirmed. Her face must be something to behold, for him to feel the need to repeat it.
Todo's face was strangely suspicious, glancing between the two boys.
"Why's she gotta do that?" He finally asked, wary.
Hm. Yeah, that was probably really suspicious out of context.
"She has a seal on her stomach. That person wanted to do something to it, to activate or change it. We need to make sure he didn't plant anything on it that might have shifted the balance. Midori-chan doesn't like people to see or touch it, so we're doing our best to balance her wishes with safety." Suguru said, keeping cool under the accusation in Todo's tone. Satoru was less cool about it, visibly offended by the implications. A curse, half-formed and gangly, stretching from Suguru's outstretched hand, smacked Satoru's leg, making him wince.
"They're my brothers, and they're gay."
Satoru made a choking noise at her bluntness, but Todo nodded, relaxing. Then he looked down at himself, as if realizing.
"Also, in a very happy relationship with each other." She added.
Todo nodded.
Paused.
"Adoptive."
"Okay! Also, no one here is interested in children!" Satoru interjected sharply, agitated.
"That too." She agreed.
Todo nodded, settling. She didn't miss his hands in his lap, seemingly at ease, but clearly ready to clap if threatened.
He was a foster kid, wasn't he? She hoped she didn't need to worry about him being mistreated there. The six-year-old she'd been in her first life didn't know what sex was, let alone being wary of people's intentions like he was. Alright, she probably would've refused if asked by a stranger, but for family… she'd been a trusting kid. Perhaps she'd simply been overly sheltered. No, actually, she'd definitely been sheltered. She hadn't had to fear things like that, not until she grew up a little and… suddenly all those new things had been so scary. She hadn't been safe anymore.
Todo was looking at her, analytical. She sighed, leaning into Suguru again. His arms wrapped back around her, his long sleeves feeling like they were hiding her. It blocked her view of Satoru, which- which wasn't good, but Suguru was there, so she'd be alright. Satoru was there, he wouldn't leave soon.
"Alright?" He asked lowly.
"Fine. Don't like that topic." She admitted.
"I'm sorry," Suguru empathized after a moment's hesitation, "it was important for Todo to feel safer. I am sorry it made you feel uncomfortable though, we weren't trying to. Is there any specific reason why?"
Oh god, the prodding skills. Phenomenal. She was impressed, truly. He was clearly brushing up on his information gathering skills.
Her nerves were fried already though so that was a solid NO.
She shook her head.
"No, there isn't or no, you don't want to talk about it?"
"The second." She answered truthfully.
That sounded bad, actually, "I'm fine. No one's hurting me. No one has." Literally, in all her years, she'd never been hurt in that way.
Yeah, their faces were not convinced. She didn't have the energy to try and assure them right now though.
Things were sinking in slowly. Kenjaku was after her. It wasn't just her rampant paranoia; she was actually being hunted. Literally too, by actual bounty hunters.
Suguru hugged her closer, probably able to tell she was getting even more upset. She didn't mean to, it wasn't that sensitive of a topic. Uncomfortable, unpleasant, and she didn't want to talk about it right now. She already had to show them her seal and Kenjaku had touched-
She was gonna freak out if she kept thinking about it, so she just didn't need to think about it right now. Todo was never gonna want to be friends with her if he thought she was just a crybaby. She needed to stay cool. She could do that, she was the queen of being cold absolutely all the time. She was shivering violently right now, even with Suguru's closeness.
That might be why he was hugging her like that actually, trying to warm her up. It was good, but also, she felt a little like scratching every inch of her skin, it was buzzing like she'd touched something unpleasant. She wanted to pull away, to roll in something that would make her skin sting, the pain erasing that buzzing feeling.
"We will have to talk about this later," preferably while she was catatonic and wouldn't be expected to talk back, "but we can stop for now, I see you're getting very upset." Suguru said carefully.
"I'm not upset." She responded quickly. She was fine. For goodness's sake, she wasn't even crying yet. Cool as a cucumber.
Suguru hummed, but didn't argue. The way he pulled her closer, leaned over her a little more, protective, he didn't believe her.
"Can I check you over a bit more thoroughly now, Midori-chan?" Ieiri asked gently.
"No."
She didn't really want anyone to touch her right now, but Suguru was also warm and did not make direct physical contact thanks to the sleeves. Her skin was crawling, she might just be imagining it or was actually covered in bugs from hiding under the bush.
"They won't have to look so soon if I can make sure it isn't affecting you right now." She pushed gently, and damn Ieiri knew how to dangle the carrot in front of her. Negative reinforcement, she was not immune just by actually knowing what it meant.
"Gloves." She finally agreed. Ieiri blinked once, a short pause, but nodded. Good. No touching.
"Geto-san, no offense but if you touch me with your bare hand, I think I'd scream." She said after a moment, as Ieiri washed her and dried her hands.
"Noted." He said dryly.
"It's not your fault. I want to rip my skin off."
"Please don't." Suguru's response was pained.
"It's an expression."
"Suguru's a worrywart!" Satoru chimed in, too cheerful to be natural. His hand, petting hair made her go tense, but it just slid through her hair, not the slightest skin contact.
Infinity.
Oh, that was nice.
She leaned into it without even thinking about it. Physical affection, without touching, not the slightest bit of that familiar overwhelming feeling. It happened sometimes, usually in crowds or when someone she really didn't like touched her. Suddenly all touch was bad, even the type that was usually fine, even good. She didn't know if it was an overstimulation thing or just a panic thing, but it was definitely annoying.
Satoru really was the best. He'd cracked the code in an instant. Something about a barrier just made it far more tolerable, be it clothes or a century old cursed technique.
Satoru looked smug, his look towards Suguru gloating. She couldn't see Suguru's face, but she doubted he was gonna take that lying down. They may be boyfriends now, but she didn't doubt they were still competitive as fuck.
Ieiri was back now, needing to squeeze past Satoru to get to her. The boys had locked eyes at some point, and Satoru looked absolutely poleaxed. Oh, Suguru had just done something flirty that she couldn't see, if Satoru's rapidly darkening blush was any proof. Todo was looking between them, clearly observing. Hopefully, this wasn't the last straw for him.
Ieiri's touch was- it was tolerable. She could tolerate it. The gloves had helped, the feeling of her cursed energy wasn't quite as scary as it had been the first few times. Still… still bad but not quite as scary.
Ieiri's cursed energy was a fantastic little infiltrator. Her cursed energy didn't even recognize that it was strange, letting Ieiri's cursed energy examine the seal without even a second glance. It was agitated, of course, it always was when she was upset, but not a hint of that was going towards Ieiri's cursed energy, just a little towards Ieiri herself, mostly focusing on the powerhouses next to her. It recognized her as threatening, yet still Ieiri's cursed energy wasn't recognized as a threat.
Interesting.
Ieiri rooted around for a while, investigating, moving from the seal to her head, her arms, even her feet, sniffing out any changes, the slightest ripple. She kinda felt like she was getting autopsied from the inside, every muscle and nerve laid out before Ieiri. Unpleasant. She should think about something else now, before she freaked herself out.
She probably had been autopsied before.
Huh.
Time to beat that image back into the depths with a stick.
If Ieiri studied brain surgery or something, could she actually erase some disorders, at least the ones caused by deficiencies in the brain? Fixing neurotransmitters, hormones, even brain damage? Could she calm certain pieces of the brain that were overactive, like the amygdala? God, Ieiri could revolutionize just about any field she chose to be in, and she was stuck in a highschool, trying to save a bunch of kids as they were sent to fight monsters, over and over again? Did she even want that?
Eventually, slowly, Ieiri's energy pulled away, not leaving a single trace. Was that how she could heal, by matching her cursed energy to the person she was healing? She'd always been able to feel Ieiri's cursed energy, but it was enough to fool her own apparently. Perhaps it was just due to the different perspective.
"Am I gonna live, doc?" She asked lightly, like the image of her own dead body, carved open, exposed on an autopsy table refusing to leave her mind.
"Can't find any changes. Your heart-rate was pretty fast, but given your temperament that's likely normal."
Temperament?
Was Ieiri saying she was always stressed? It was true, sure, but still. Rude. She could be calm. She could be perfectly calm, when the image of her own dead body wasn't stuck in her head!
"You need to work on stress relief. Your hair's going to be whiter than Gojo's by the time you're ten." Ieiri lectured sternly.
"There's a bounty on my head. No- actually, a bounty on my live capture, which is worse." She defended, affronted. She was dealing with this like a champ if she had to say so herself. It wasn't like she was freaking out and panicking all the time, just… daily. Multiple times a day.
"If you're needed alive then that means we have time to rescue you!" Satoru argued.
"After they experiment the fuck out of me? I'll be a pile of sludge before you make it in the building. The dude's got a getaway plan, without a doubt."
"What guy is this?" Ieiri asked, "Kenjaku? Or was it a woman?"
Shit.
"That's the name of the guy who put the bounty on her. At least, according to the bounty hunters we interrogated. He can change bodies, he looks like a woman right now." Satoru said quickly. It didn't quite erase the moderate panic on her face that Ieiri had undoubtedly seen, but it was better than nothing.
Please don't ask for more.
"Does Yaga-sensei know yet?" Ieiri asked after a pause.
"We just learned it today." Satoru answered, relaxing as Ieiri didn't press.
"I'll make sure to tell him. Satoru can pass all the details on to me before he takes Midori back.
Back?
Her face must have been heartbreaking because Satoru was quick to jump in.
"We found Todo-kun, so he said he'd take us here anyway. I can probably get away with just texting him that we found Todo and where he is now."
Todo looked over at his name, he'd been eyeing a collection of tools hanging from the wall close to the door, probably picking out the best object to swap with to get away from the group of weirdos he found himself with.
"Does that sound good to you kids?" Satoru asked, catching Todo's look.
Todo shrugged, noncommittal.
He wasn't quite as brash as she'd expected. He'd seen a dead body though, assuming he'd stumbled upon the same scene they had. And he'd had no one to cover his eyes, no one to spare him from that horror. This was probably a lot for him, and almost entirely out of his control.
She nodded and said "You can say that Todo was a bit bruised up, and you brought him to the first doctor you could think of. Panic turns people into idiots, it isn't that unbelievable."
Well. Maybe a little. Officer wouldn't believe that he'd panicked, but it would seem reasonable to those who were unfamiliar with him.
"And when they don't find the bruises?" Ieiri challenged, considering, but still doubtful.
"Dirt. Satoru-nii's supposed to be half blind, it's still reasonable."
"I'll write up a report," Suguru said after a moment's consideration, "Shoko, can you make a reasonably believable medical examination results form?"
"It's not called that," Ieiri muttered, irritated, "but yes."
"How's we get him here?" She asked suddenly, "was where we were really far?"
"Pretty far, yeah. Maybe I can say I called for a manager, but didn't tell them what was happening?"
"Are we lying?" Todo asked curiously, with an innocent look that was out of place on his face.
Oh, he was playing innocent, the clever boy. He wanted more information, maybe a little leverage just in case. After all, if he told the truth, the officers would know that all of them had lied.
"Yeah. The officers were looking for you, so we need a reasonable explanation for why you're here that won't get us accused of kidnapping. We can't exactly tell them that Satoru-nii teleported us, or that a curse user tried to kill you. They wouldn't understand, they can't see them, so it would reflect really badly on us." She explained as truthfully as possible.
"Satoru-nii is Satoru Gojo, a special grade sorcerer, my adopted older brother, and stupid strong. The one holding me is Suguru Geto, also a special grade. Very nice, very cool, scary when he's mad. He uses cursed spirits to fight, if you see one within the barrier, it's probably his. The nice doctor lady is Shoko Ieiri, I'm not sure what grade she is, lower than she deserves, she can heal with reverse cursed technique. If you stay here, there's also two younger students, Nanami Kento and Yu Haibara. Nanami's a blond emo guy, kinda cool, a little lame, not good with kids. Yu Haibara's got brown hair, but you'd know him because he's ridiculously kind and friendly. He'll let you call him nii-san within minutes of meeting you. Gives fantastic hugs. Riko Amanai and Kuroi-san might also be around, they're super nice. Riko has black hair that's usually braided and is really pretty, Kuroi often dresses like a maid but she's super cool. Hmm… Yaga-san looks like he could be a yakuza but he's the school principal… I think. He's probably the principal, a teacher, at least. He's very kind and responsible, if you need help, he'll help you. There's also Panda, who's a panda, and Junpei, who's an anxious boy around your age."
Did she miss anyone? Todo didn't seem overwhelmed by the information, if anything he seemed like he wanted more.
"Panda?" He finally asked after a few moments of absorption.
"Yes. He's a panda. He can talk. Fights well too, he got me pretty good."
That caught Todo's interest like she'd just smacked him.
"I'm sure he'd be willing to play-fight with you." She offered, "and if he doesn't, I will! As long as one of the students is watching. Right! We're at Tokyo Jujutsu Highschool, a school for students like us who can see cursed spirits. I don't think kids are supposed to be here, but it's a safe space for us and Yaga-san's good at taking care of us."
Todo probably stopped listening after she offered to fight him, but still. She didn't want to leave him wondering where the fuck he was the whole time. At least she'd had a lot of context already here.
"I want to see the Panda." He finally decided firmly. She nodded, looking at the others.
"Are you guys good on working out a plan? If Nanami-san or Yu-nii are here, they could babysit." And she'll keep Todo distracted and out of trouble, and make sure he won't blow their cover.
"Yeah. You two go have fun." Suguru agreed, "The first years will find you. You know the way, Midori-chan?"
Probably.
Maybe.
No.
She shook her head. His amused grin was irritating, but his eyes were soft.
"Rainbow Dragon will show you the way, you can't miss it." He assured, ruffling her hair.
Rainbow Dragon?
Baby?
"Will they let me pet them?" She asked, probably with too much intensity, but Suguru. Nodded.
She grabbed Todo's arm, dragging him out the door.
"Dragon!" She cheered, and a grin appeared on his face too. She wasn't dragging him for much longer.
"Stay within the school grounds! I don't want to yank you out of Tengen-sama's domain again!" Satoru shouted after them.
Rainbow Dragon already was swooping low in the sky, doing a pass over their heads just to show off.
"Think they'll be willing to fly us there?" She asked mischievously. Todo's grin only widened, looking up at the magnificent cursed spirit as they did another pass over their heads, so close she could feel the wind of it as it whipped at her hair.
"Do you mind if we get Junpei first?" She asked, and Todo shrugged, unbothered, still staring up at Rainbow Dragon as they showed off. Good enough.
She knew the path to Junpei's room from here, and she didn't even pause to stop by her own room on the way. It'd honestly just hurt right now, and if she stopped moving to feel sad or upset, she might actually get crushed.
Where was her body now? Rotting in a grave? Trapped in an urn somewhere? She'd never made a damn will.
If she asked Satoru to make sure she got buried in pieces, would he do it? She didn't want to get cremated, but the thought of Kenjaku getting his hands on her body while she couldn't fight him was sickening. Being in pieces didn't sound much better, but at least… She didn't know what she wanted. To be buried, but-
God this wasn't something she should even be worrying about. If she died, she died, and that was that. Whatever they did to her afterwards wasn't gonna hurt her anymore. Even if it made her sick to think about.
She knocked loudly on Junpei's door, and something hit the ground. She'd startled him. Oops.
He hurried to the door, throwing it open, and froze on sight of her. She jumped forward and hugged him for a few seconds before pulling away and tugging him in front of her.
"We're going to see Panda-onii-san, this is Todo, he wants to fight him. Todo, this is Junpei, if you bully him, I will bully you without hesitation."
Todo nodded.
"That includes pushing him into fighting when he doesn't want to," her tone might have a bit too much reprimand in it, but whatever, "Junpei can see cursed spirits, but he can't use cursed energy yet. He's really smart and brave though, he just hasn't learned to fight yet. He'll be super cool when he's older and knows how to fight!"
Junpei looked embarrassed at the praise, his face getting red. He flailed his arms like a denial.
"I'm a coward, I'm not brave at all!" Junpei protested nervously.
Hell no.
"Sorry, that's your low self-esteem talking actually."
"My what?"
"Self-esteem. Um… opinion of yourself, I guess? You don't hold yourself in high regard, you think badly of yourself without letting yourself consider the good parts of yourself too. You might be anxious, but it doesn't mean you're a coward, you know? You still do everything don't you? You leave your room, you made friends with me, you explored that tunnel even though it scared you, you did it all even though you probably felt afraid to. Brave." She explained carefully. She didn't want to push too hard, just enough to maybe leave an impression on him.
"Want to come with us?" She asked after giving Junpei a few moments to process. He was frowning, clearly wanting to protest but also mulling it over at the same time.
He nodded, so she took his hand, dragging him out of the doorway and down the hall, until they hit the door that led to the waiting dragon. Rainbow was hovering about twenty feet up, over the roof.
"Todo, can you get us up there?" She asked, snatching up some rocks. Her cursed energy seeped right in, and the stones grew icy in her hand. She handed it to Todo, who didn't even flinch at the chill.
He launched the first stone and it went whistling over Rainbow's head. One clap and Todo vanished, reappearing a decent distance over Rainbow's head and dropping.
Rainbow's bulging eyes rolled back into their own head, presumably staring through their own skull at Todo as he landed a bit awkwardly on their neck. Two more claps and Junpei and her were on top of the dragon too.
"Rainbow Dragon-sama, can you take us to Panda?" She asked carefully, and the dragon snorted, but shot upwards, gaining speed. It carved through the air with ease, the wind prompting her to duck down and tuck herself close to their body, tangling her hands in their fur. Rainbow had the strangest combination of scaly and furry at the same time, when her hand sank in she could feel the texture of scales underneath. Their fur was like a mane around their neck, going downwards in a strip along their spine.
The scales glittered in the sunlight in a way that had never really been showcased in the anime. It cast rainbows along her skin like through a million prisms, she could see the rainbows on Junpei and Todo's bodies too. Junpei was turning his outstretched hand in wonder, it was like his hand was covered in a million pieces of rainbow glitter. It really showed how they'd gotten their name, though it didn't seem to be visible unless someone was looking at Rainbow from above, where the scales could reflect the direct sunlight. She didn't remember such an effect when she'd rode Rainbow before, perhaps it depended upon the angle of the sunlight as it hit their scales.
It took less than five minutes to get to Panda's little home, and it likely would've been less if Rainbow wasn't showing off for the most appreciative audience they'd likely ever had, twirling and spiraling. She wasn't shy about her praise either, and Junpei was in awe of the dragon. Todo was more fascinated, leaning closer to investigate the scales at first, but whenever the dragon performed an aerial maneuver, he wasn't shy about his delight.
Has she eaten recently?
Not really.
Did she care that much?
Also, not really. But Satoru would, so she should probably find something later when they get done playing.
Todo swapped them down rather than allow Rainbow to try to land, considering their size. They had four legs, but the trees were dense and well packed. They'd just crush a bunch of trees.
Once they were all down, Rainbow flew upwards, flying in slow, languid circles. They'd be keeping watch apparently.
"Panda-onii-san!" She called, and the door opened with a bang as Panda bolted out the door on all fours.
"You're back?" He asked, painfully hopeful. Damn, she'd played with him once and dipped, she was a terrible little sister.
"For a little while. This is Todo! He wants to play-fight with you, if you want to."
Panda's gaze zeroed in on Todo instantly, sizing the older boy up.
"With adult supervision." She added, just in case they were planning on duking it out right here.
"Todo, this is Panda. Panda, this is Todo." She introduced as they continued to size each-other up.
"Are they gonna fight?" Junpei whispered in her ear, sounding worried. He was almost hiding behind her, made visibly nervous by the tension between the two kids. She grabbed his hand, clasping it in both of hers, just to try and reassure him.
"That's the plan, but don't worry. Yu-nii or Nanami-san will be here soon. They'll make sure no one goes too far. And I'll distract them for a minute too." She assured him, giving him a little smile, as best as she could manage.
Now she had to think of a game they could play that'd be distracting enough and entertaining enough for Todo yet not too much for Junpei.
Wow, she just made this so much harder on herself. At least Panda didn't care much, or at least hadn't shown whether he did or not.
Something with different roles then? Junpei could be the least physically active, allowing him to participate in a less stressful way, and Todo could get the most active role.
But what?
Ugh.
"Let's play Hunters!" She finally announced. She'd just… make up the rules as she went. Little kids did that anyway, after all.
"Hunters?" Panda asked, a little warily.
"Yeah! One person can be the prey, one person can be the game warden, and the other two are hunters! No cursed techniques, on account of that only half of us have them."
"Game warden?" Junpei asked, unfamiliar with the term.
"The prey gets to wander around freely, but the game warden has to pick a high up spot to keep watch. While the warden is watching them, the hunters can't move. We'll do that by pointing and calling the person's name or something, just to make it clear who the warden is looking at. The hunters have to reach the prey! And the prey has to run away!"
That seemed like a decent set of rules at least. Hopefully, it'd work well.
"Junpei, do you want to be the warden?" She asked, and he nodded quickly. It figured that he wouldn't want to run around and be chased or try to chase people.
"Panda, Todo, what do you two think? Any roles you want?"
"Hunter!" They chorused.
Which meant she was… the prey.
Great.
"Alright! No lingering for the prey, they have to keep moving, so don't worry that I'm just going to sit next to Junpei the whole time. Hunters can't touch the game warden either though, no interfering with him. Junpei, is there a good spot? Maybe a decent tree?"
"You can use the roof. Mami won't mind." Panda offered.
Mami?
"Who's Mami?" Junpei asked before she could. Panda went to the door, swinging it open and leaning in.
"Mami! I have friends over!" Panda shouted into the house.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, a cursed corpse peaked her head out.
Mami looked like a person. That was probably what freaked her out about it the most. Probably half a head taller than her, she looked like an old-fashioned doll. Faceless, but wearing thick makeup, she had a faded red kimono that was ragged at the edges. Thick black wool cords made up her hair, which flowed less like it was being blown by wind and more like live snakes.
Every human kid froze on the spot. Panda grinned up at her, ears flattening when she bent at the waist, a little farther than she needed to, like her range of motion needed recalibrated, and swung her hand upwards to scratch at Panda's chin. It was cute, adorable even, but God, it looked unnatural.
She could instantly see the difference between Mami and Nishinoya. There was a difference between programming and what was essentially Artificial Intelligence. Nishinoya was real Artificial Intelligence, he was learning and growing and developing emotions of his own along the way. His first decision for the way he felt about people? That Satoru and Suguru were idiots, apparently.
Mami seemed loving, but in the way of a reliable robot, still trapped within the restraints of her programming. There was no soul in her, beyond what Yaga had managed to imprint on her. It was enough, she clearly cared vaguely for Panda, but it wasn't enough. Not in the way Panda clearly craved, as he rubbed his cheeks into her hands.
Panda was alive. There was no programming in him, not like Nishinoya and Mami. He was a kid. She didn't know if his older siblings were alive or if they were simply defense mechanisms, half-formed personalities that centered around Panda's core consciousness. When he transformed, he seemed to be the one in control, he thought his way through problems, it was mostly a physical change. Perhaps they could communicate, but they didn't seem to be able to take control. Perhaps the one she hadn't seen yet might, but…
It must be awfully lonely, being the closest being to human around cursed corpses and the closest being to a cursed corpse around humans. Never quite fitting in, despite his best efforts. Even his siblings weren't all the way there. Yaga was the closest thing he had to a genuine loving relationship, and Yaga was always so busy. Being isolated out here, with a doll for a mother and Yaga being gone for so long just wasn't good for him.
She had to visit him more often. He needed friends his age if he was going to develop properly. Well, she wasn't exactly a good role-model for him, but she could try at least. At this point, him moving into the actual school was more possible, with all the kids that were going to be around. She could only hope that maybe Yaga would be willing to bring Todo in, to foster him. He couldn't be getting into trouble like this, acting like he was invincible. He could so easily get himself hurt, especially now that he'd made contact with her. His whole future could change, one little flap of the butterfly's wings that could get him killed later. She never wanted to see that scar on his face, let alone any other ones.
Todo was the first to relax, getting over the uncanny valley type effect brought on by Mami quickly. Junpei's grip on her hand was tight as fuck, cutting off the circulation. It was making her fingertips start to tingle, but as long as it comforted him then she'd deal with it.
"Hi. Nice to meet you, Mami. Can we use your roof for our game?" She asked politely. Mami nodded, a jerky motion.
With that, she straightened abruptly, turned around and walked back inside.
Panda shut the door behind her. His ears were still slightly flattened, staring through the door where she'd left. He looked sad.
She started to walk towards Panda, dragged Junpei forward a bit until he let go. He was clearly relaxing now that Mami was out of sight.
"Can I give you a hug?" She asked when she was close enough, coming to a stop in front of Panda.
He nodded. His ears flattened even more, though, he looked so sad. Poor baby.
So, she flung herself at him, hugging him like her last lifeline. He was soft as fuck of course and hugged her right back with desperation.
"Mami looks like she's really cool."
"She is. She's the best."
"It's okay if she's not enough though."
"She's Mami. Papa specifically tailored her for me."
"And it's alright if that isn't enough."
"She was made for me."
"That doesn't mean she's all you need. She's wonderful, and it's clear you both love each other a lot. But it's alright to need more than that, to need more than Yaga-san can give you like this. It doesn't mean she's failing, and it doesn't mean he's failing either. You're growing up, you need to interact with more than your parents. You've got us now too. When you need us, we'll do our best to be there." She assured him gently.
He looked distraught, his ears pinned against his head, but he only hugged her tighter.
Poor kid, he must feel so inadequate. She knew what it was like to know that people were truly doing their best and for it to just… not be enough. She knew that Satoru was doing everything he could to make her feel safe, but it just was never quite enough. She couldn't relax, not for long, until the sensation of being hunted returned. Once she settled down, stopped moving and the knowledge that Kenjaku was genuinely after her settled in, she'd be a fucking mess. If Satoru had thought she was clingy earlier, he hadn't seen anything yet. Even with Rainbow overhead and Todo right there she still felt on edge.
She understood.
She'd do her best to give him whatever he was missing.
"Do you still want to play, or do you want to sit out? Junpei would probably be happy to swap with you if you don't feel like running around." She asked gently, keeping her voice low. She wasn't sure if he was at the age to be more embarrassed by his emotions or not.
He wiped his eyes with a paw, but shook his head. "I'll play."
"Panda-onii-san, you should ask Yaga-san if he can move you to the school. There's going to be enough of us, at some point it'll be easier to have us in one place. There's safety in numbers and I've got plenty of people after me too. I don't think the higher ups will be that- well, actually, they would totally be that bold, but I can freeze their feet now! It'd hurt pretty bad, at least."
He giggled. Good enough.
"Junpei!" She called, making the said boy jump. "On the roof! It's time to play!"
Panda would not have to flounder, not while she was present, for however long that was.
Junpei scrambled to obey but paused when he looked upwards. Probably wondering how he was going to get up there.
"Todo, could you help Junpei up?" She asked, pitching a cold rock up the ledge. One clap and Junpei shrieked, dropping to hands and knees as he swapped places with the pebble, clinging to the roof.
"Just shout when you're ready. We'll go on your cue." She assured him, putting some distance between her and the hunters.
Right. Time to fight for her life because Todo was not going to take it easy on her in the slightest.
She'd just do a loop around the house then. She could feel Todo's eyes on her, the kid radiated intensity. It was intimidating. If she was a cursed spirit she'd be quaking in her boots right now, little kid Todo or not.
"Ready!" Jumpei shouted and she was off like a shot, just in time to roll out of Todo's ridiculously fast lunge. Then, she was scrambling away, Todo frozen in place by Junpei's sight.
Where had Panda gone?
Junpei was focused on Todo, his finger trained on him, giving Panda the time he needed to disappear.
She was turning the fuck around. Ambush central, pulling into the station. They absolutely expected her to keep running away from Todo.
She doubled back, running right past Todo, still being watched by Junpei, and she heard Panda's offended noise as she avoided his ambush.
It was enough to turn Junpei's gaze and Todo was freed to chase after her, which was absolutely terrifying. She ran, he ran, one of them had longer legs and was catching up alarmingly quickly.
Oh, she hated this game already. Should've taught them all to fucking play DnD or something, not this.
She treed herself, of course, the only thing she could think of doing climbing up a thinner tree that wouldn't support Todo's weight. She hated this game.
He prowled beneath the tree, but then Junpei's call of his name and pointing finger froze him in place. Panda lurked around the outside, looking like he was measuring the distance it would take to reach her.
Nope.
She leapt to the ground and went back to running for her life, praying Junpei would keep Todo in place long enough for her to gain some distance. Panda was slower, not closing the distance quite so fast.
It wasn't enough. Junpei called Panda's name and thirty seconds later she was in the dirt, pinned by Todo. Unnecessary, and mildly panic inducing, even if he wasn't an adult.
"Game's over!" she cried, probably a bit too high pitched, and Todo hauled her right to her feet. Her hands were shaking, her breathing was a bit too shallow, her head was swimming, but she was fine.
Fine.
"Are you okay?" Panda asked, concerned, and she nodded, forcing a smile on her face.
"I'm alright!" She chirped, "Just a bit out of breath, you guys are fast!"
There was a thump as Junpei hopped down and hurried over, surprisingly quickly. She was surprised to see he hadn't even hesitated over the jump.
"What's wrong?" He asked, too gently and too empathically, his eyes worried.
"Lots of running!" She said with a grin and a laugh, "I must not be in the best shape!"
They were all looking at her with varying degrees of concern and it wasn't helping her avoid her problems at all costs. She didn't want to scare them all by breaking down right now.
"Is everything alright?" A familiar voice called and she almost crumbled then and there.
Yu-nii looked at them with concern, not even breathing hard from his quick run into the area, Nanami trotting in behind him. A humanoid fox-like curse spotted them, turned, and walked away, their job done.
"Fine! We just finished a game. Todo and Panda won!" She said enthusiastically, bouncing on her feet.
"Can we fight now?" Todo asked sharply, his glance towards Panda appraising.
"We should take a minute to establish some rules first." Yu-nii said with a bright smile that had even Todo blinking.
She walked away as Yu-nii squatted down, calling both of the kids over to start laying out the ground rules. He was skilled, keeping both of their attention with ease, even with Todo's impatience.
Nanami intercepted, probably able to sense her impending breakdown like a fucking diabetes alert dog. Well, actually Yu-nii likely picked up on it and set Nanami on her while he distracted the rest of the kids.
"I heard something happened." He said, not really a question. Just an awkward attempt to prod her into opening up.
"Yeah."
"Do you want to… tell me about it?"
"No."
"Right."
They stood there in silence for a few moments before Nanami came to a decision. She didn't bother responding when he plucked her up like he would a feral cat and settled her against his hip. He just walked over to the little porch of Panda's house and sat down, keeping an arm around her shoulders. She didn't feel like doing much of anything suddenly, even as Junpei hurried over and sat on her other side, looking worried.
She just missed being fine. Just living a normal life, going to work, working on another essay. Just going through life, not feeling like a doll when she wasn't scared out of her mind or ignoring her problems.
Wishing death upon others wasn't like her. She didn't even wish it upon politicians, though there were a few that she wouldn't be all that sad about.
She wished Kenjaku was dead. Sukuna could be handled, Satoru himself could do it as long as Sukuna didn't get his hands on Megumi. With Suguru too? Sukuna was fucked.
Kenjaku was an awful, vile human being. Not just the body snatching, but his cruelty. The father of the cursed womb death paintings, the man who raped and impregnated an innocent woman nine fucking times. Just to see what would happen, out of scientific curiosity. He would have no qualms about killing any of them, had tried to kill Todo, experimented on a four-year-old orphaned girl. His experiments in the past as the Kamo guy, had gotten erased from history.
Why? What drives him? Just seeing if he could do it, like a child setting objects alight just to see how they burn? Why did he focus on bringing down Satoru if he could just… wait? He was ancient, why did he have to end Satoru's existence, rip him from the world he knew to release him some nebulous amount of time later into a whole different world? Was it just the appeal of having the world's shiniest toy, of holding the cube up and saying, 'I beat Satoru Gojo.' Pride? Trying to destroy the Six Eyes, keeping a user 'alive' to never allow it to appear again?
Was there anyone in the world who loved him? Has he ever loved someone before? He didn't love the death paintings and showed no disappointment when two of them died. Has he ever shown regret?
Something about him didn't make sense. A child didn't grow into someone like Kenjaku without a reason, without a catalyst. Something had made Kenjaku never learn to empathize with his fellow humans, to want to push beyond morality, decency.
How was a technique like his even discovered? What was the first time he'd ever seen a dead body and some instinct had drawn him to tear his way into their skin, into his own head, to replace their brain with his? How long had it been since he had a body that felt like his? Did he lose a piece of himself every time?
She wanted him dead.
She wanted to understand him too.
She had to know why, had to know how the hell someone could do something like that. Maybe it was the passion of criminal psychology in her, but she just had to know how someone could turn into a person like him.
What broke that innate sense of morality, of human decency and respect for others, in a man who became Kenjaku? What mother had raised or abandoned him, what loving hands fed him while he was a helpless baby, when did he last touch someone with genuine kindness or love? Has he ever?
The higher ups were awful, playing with sorcerers' lives like pieces on a board. She wouldn't mourn them when they passed.
Kenjaku was something different. Something was missing from him, or simply shattered. If she could go back, observe him as a babe, what would she see? Horrible abuse? A loving family who couldn't connect and love their child the way that he wanted? Was he able to connect to people in that way? What she wouldn't give to see, at least for a little while, Kenjaku in a situation where he had absolutely no power, just to see how he acted around people he wasn't 'superior', even lesser to.
Nanami shifted suddenly, lunging forward to shield Junpei and her from a spray of wood chips as something smashed through one of the pillars.
Right. They were 'play' fighting right now and she was considering the psychology of a man who was essentially the worst serial killer, rapist, and terrorist on the planet. And wondering if he had been abused as a child, as one did when their friends were throwing each other through buildings. She should probably watch.
Neither of the children had smashed through the pillar, just a whole ass other tree that apparently Panda had thrown at Todo. Or Todo had thrown it at him? Either way, the freshly uprooted tree had been much more solid than the old rotting pillar, tearing right through it. The roof of the porch sagged a little and Nanami snatched her and Junpei up, moving them out of range.
The door was hurled open, and Mami emerged, looking pissed. Both boys froze, Todo flying right into Panda, canceling his flying kick awkwardly and just smacking into him, sending them both down in a heap.
"I'm sorry, ma'am! It was my fault; I should've stopped them when they started getting too rough." Yu-nii stepped in, bowing apologetically. He tensed a little when Mami's angry look focused on him, but otherwise stayed steady. She didn't admire his position.
Mami didn't say a damn word, just watched as the porch roof finally collapsed, sending wood and roofing tiles all over the porch, kicking up a cloud of dust. The racket made her wince with each tile that fell shattering to pieces on impact.
Slowly, she turned to look back at Yu-nii, who smiled nervously.
"We'll fix that. I'll make sure they help too, so they learn never to do that again." He said quickly, keeping the wavering grin fixed on his face even through the discomfort of her stare.
Finally, Mami turned and walked back inside, slamming the door shut with a thud that rattled the little house, sending a few more tiles clattering to the ground.
"Fight's over." Yu-nii said, a bit faintly, before he shook himself. He clapped his hands sharply. "Alright, all of you are going to learn how to fix a porch today!" He said enthusiastically.
All of them? She definitely didn't do anything to break the porch, she was pondering a very evil and toothy brain.
She was quite comfy in Nanami's arms right now actually. Maybe if she looked comfortable enough, they wouldn't bother her.
Was it bad to use their unwillingness to bother a very content looking little kid against them to avoid doing work?
Probably.
Was it going to stop her?
No.
She'd helped build plenty of things in her lifetime, from family projects replacing flooring, remodeling whole bathrooms, to cutting down and chopping up trees. She even helped her grandpa restore a few cars, though that was only occasionally. If she tried and had all the materials, she could get the job done.
She also hated doing it.
So, no. She wasn't going to rebuild a porch. She was going to nap in Nanami's arms and try to shake the feeling that she was nothing more than a sad little doll. The boys would learn that if they didn't want to fix something then they'd better not break it. Simple as that.
It made her feel like a jerk though.
Ugh, she was totally going to help. If they seemed like they needed it.
But she was so comfy…
Nanami was walking away, taking her and Junpei with him. If she tried to orient herself by where the house was, she'd guess that they were heading back to Jujutsu Highschool.
Problem delayed. Looks like they were all heading back, probably for supplies. Yu-nii had a squirming Panda in one arm and Todo's reluctant hand in the other. Todo really was being forcibly treated like a kid right now in a way he likely wasn't used to.
Rainbow dragon followed overhead, swooping low occasionally when the trees cleared enough to allow it, much to the delight of the boys. She was admiring, but she couldn't muster up much awe.
They made it to the campus without issue. At some point, Junpei had reached over to take her hand halfway through, just holding onto it. Her hands were probably unbearably cold to him, but he didn't let go.
She felt like everyone was being forced to make allowances for her. She didn't mean to require so much attention. They could just stick her in a corner and she'd just vibe there until she felt better, watching everyone be alive and go about their lives. It'd be restful, letting her just exist, be as passive as she wanted.
She wasn't exactly a person of action, normally. She liked to be boring, just scroll on her phone, write when she felt like it. It was just nice to live quietly, for all her dreams of making a difference. She didn't want to be a superhero, she just wanted to make things to be just a little bit better. To ease a little bit of pain.
That wasn't going to fly here, she knew that well enough. Maybe if she'd been a non-sorcerer she could've sent Yaga an email or something from a library and went on her merry way, but she was already marked. Even if she'd never met Suguru that day, she'd have been taken by Kenjaku soon enough. It was just that simple bout of luck that had saved her so far.
Would he want to keep her alive if he knew who she was, the knowledge she had? It would definitely have consequences, but it could be a last-ditch effort to stop him from killing her. Might be better to just let her kill her, actually, and avoid getting it tortured out of her. She wasn't exactly strong willed.
She could numb herself though… it'd be mostly psychological at that point.
Hmm…
She'd cross that bridge when she got to it.
Best not to panic about torture before it even happened. Satoru would avenge her afterwards at least. God, Kenjaku would bring hell down on himself if he laid a hand on her. Sure, she'd be dead, probably have her body desecrated, but it was nice to know he'd be annihilated from the face of the earth afterwards.
Note to self, never let him know of her aversion to touch. Especially don't let him know she was terrified of any touch that could be even remotely sexual, because she didn't think being four would save her, not from him.
Technically, she could kill herself pretty easily, just by taking a bit too much cursed energy from the seal. God knows what would happen then, she had like ten different potential scenarios that Gojo had thought up and no idea which one, if any, was the right one. But she'd be basically untouchable too, it'd probably hurt like hell for him if it got cold enough.
Was this catastrophizing? She wasn't feeling super distressed about it, there wasn't a whole lot she could do besides become Satoru's emotional support kid. She didn't want to go on missions and fuck herself up even more but… safety first and she'd rather stare down special grades with Satoru at her side than risk getting caught be Kenjaku alone.
She wasn't going to be able to go to school anymore, was she? He could walk right in, slaughter all her classmates and her teacher, and drag her away. It was a huge risk already, and now…
It was a bit of a relief not to worry about going back, but leaving Jumpei behind would really suck.
How the hell did she get in Suguru's arms? Nanami must have thrown her into his arms like a hot potato, ridding himself of the responsibility. Still, it was definitely pleasant, he held her so protectively. No wonder the twins were so at ease with him, he held her in the most maternal, loving way. God, did she feel safe all of the sudden. Satoru was in front of her too, looking at her stomach worriedly for a few moments before he relaxed and looked up to meet her eyes.
"Not feeling so good anymore?" Satoru asked gently.
"Per usual." She mumbled. It took too much effort to try and be louder, but Satoru nodded, brushing one hand through her hair soothingly.
"Officer Nin's on his way now. You guys are done playing already?"
"Broke porch." She muttered, not even bothering to say the full sentence. He'd get it hopefully.
"Did they?" He asked slowly, shooting the first-years a teasing grin.
"It was an accident. But we're going to try and fix it!" Yu-nii answered good-naturedly, an embarrassed smile on his face.
"I'll make sure you get reimbursed for whatever you need to buy." Suguru reassured them, his voice sounding strange with her ear pressed against his chest.
Things were being taken care of. She could relax. She didn't have to think about earlier right now, she could just be at ease.
Just breathe.
She could relax.
Suguru shifted a little to look down, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Junpei, his hand tangled in Suguru's shirt, looking up worriedly.
"Is Midori-chan alright?" He asked, and Suguru's expression softened.
"She had a rough time lately. You know how sometimes when you're really scared, you just want to go and hide in your room?" Suguru asked, bending down to not loom over Junpei so much. He waited for Junpei's nod before continuing. "Midori-chan didn't always have a room or somewhere to hide in, so she tends to hide in her head instead. It isn't any of your fault, she got a really big scare today. She'll get better soon, I promise. I don't think she'd mind if you kept her company though, until she feels safe enough to stop hiding."
Well, someone's been reading up on disassociation recently. She was impressed, it was an excellent explanation to give to a kid.
"So… she's okay, just hiding?" Junpei echoed, still visibly concerned.
"Yes. She's alright."
"Was it because Todo-kun and Panda-kun were chasing her?" Junpei asked, frowning.
"Maybe," Suguru agreed, and Junpei's eyes dropped, looking pained, "but there were also a lot of other things that probably caused it too. Do you like to be chased?"
Junpei shook his head quickly.
"But you like to play, right?"
Junpei nodded more slowly.
"Midori-chan likes to play too. She doesn't want to avoid it entirely, just in case she gets spooked. The scary thing happened a short time ago, not even three hours yet. She got chased by someone scary. It probably just reminded her of that. Did she seem nervous afterwards?"
Hey now, don't go spilling all her secrets. She couldn't say anything about it right now though. Couldn't muster up the willpower.
"She kept saying she was… fine. But she looked scared, even when she tried to smile. When Yu-nii distracted everyone, she wandered off, but she looked like she was shaking. It was a little scary. And Nanami-san kept trying to talk to her, but she wouldn't answer, even when he shook her."
Suguru made a sympathetic noise, taking a seat on the ground entirely and dragging Junpei closer, tucking him against his side.
"I'm sorry. I know it's scary to watch, even Satoru panicked when it was really bad. He brought her right to Ieiri-san, thinking she was hurt. But I promise she's alright. People react to fear in different ways, and Midori-chan has had to deal with a lot of it recently. Once she's back home again, I think she'll feel a lot better. While she's hiding like that, she doesn't really move or respond to anyone, that's why she didn't answer Nanami-san. It makes her feel safer to ignore what's happening around her. If she was in a scary situation, she'd stop paying attention to it and not get scared anymore. It isn't a good response, because she could get hurt if she didn't know to move out of the way and she wouldn't be able to protect herself if needed, but it's how she learned to protect her mind from danger."
Damn, the empathy. The explanation of disassociation, to a child no less, in a way that he could understand. These kids were learning fast. Not surprising, they were all intelligent kids, in a place like this you learn or you die but… it was nice to see them doing better. Now, if they could apply these skills to their relationships with each other, maybe they'd all be in a better place right now. Fantastic for calming down civilians too, so it was even useful while they were out being Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Junpei took her hand again, holding it as he relaxed into Suguru's side.
It was nice. He felt so warm compared to her, and Suguru's hold was so cozy too.
It never felt right, getting too cold. Something primal in the back of her head howled about how wrong it was, how she must be dying, for all her emotions numbed as well. It wasn't something that humans were supposed to be able to survive, she felt… dead. Yet, her body obeyed, even when her blood stopped in her veins, her heart quit beating. Her cursed energy pushed onwards, taking up its vital tasks but worsening the cold.
Junpei covered her hand with both of his own, trying to warm her up. It wasn't working well, she was too on edge, her cursed energy too protective, even as it softened at Junpei's presence. Hopefully her cursed energy wouldn't ever consider Junpei a threat, she couldn't bear the thought of hurting him by accident.
Suguru and Satoru were talking, but she was losing focus on the words, just drifting peacefully. Whenever something uncomfortable popped into her head she shoved it away, trying to relax in peace. She could think about playing with Junpei and Panda and Todo, think about splashing in the river with them, just… being a kid. It was a pleasant little daydream. Maybe it could even come true someday.
She wasn't sure how much time passed before that sense of contentment changed, a bit of tension in the air. Officer Nin had arrived, to an icy reception most likely. She didn't feel like dealing with it right now, so she let her focus drift again.
She wished she had some music.
Her cursed energy had gone tense, like it was ready to spring. Something had alarmed it.
Ugh. They were probably fighting again, weren't they?
She forced her eyes open, just to check. Officer Nin was indeed present, and nervous about it too. Todo was also there, safely tucked under Suguru's arm. He didn't look nervous, but his fist was clutching Suguru's shirt. She couldn't see Suguru's face without looking up, but he felt tense.
Satoru was standing between them, like a guardian. His stare was clearly weighing heavily on Officer Nin, he kept looking away. The officer looked strangely defeated as he talked, making little helpless gestures.
If she could muster up the willpower she'd try to read his lips, but she got the feeling that the whole translation business would make that pointless anyway.
She hoped Todo could join them, or something. Non-sorcerer foster parents weren't going to cut it, not for the traumatic stuff he's seen, not for his safety from curses, and absolutely not for Todo's safety from Kenjaku if he decided to take out an annoying player on the field. He needed someone to look out for him, someone who knew.
Their argument wasn't exactly energetic. She doubted that Officer Nin wanted Todo in Jujutsu Highschool's hands, not if he thought they were some weird cult of child soldiers or mercenaries or something. Satoru couldn't in good conscience leave Todo where he was though, not unless they wanted to come back to find Todo gone someday. It was an unpleasant situation on both sides.
There wasn't room at Obas house, not as far as she knew, so Todo couldn't join them. Yaga wasn't able to take her home yet either, so he wasn't certified yet. Other than that, they had… no one.
Todo would be going back to his foster family, unless something gave. Satoru wasn't giving up, even as Officer Nin shook his head. There was nothing he could do, no matter how Satoru pleaded his case. Maybe Suguru could… but did he have a curse who could save Todo from Kenjaku at all?
Satoru said something then, his fists clenched too tightly as he looked down. Todo's hand tightened on Suguru's shirt, and Suguru hugged him closer. It made Officer Nin pause, just for an instant, a bit of empathy crossing his tired face. He said something, looking down too, something pained.
Another helpless gesture from Satoru. She wished she could hear it, that she wasn't so floaty. It was getting so inconvenient.
Yu-nii said something, making them turn. He held a hand to his chest, impassioned, and both Satoru and Officer Nin pivoted entirely, facing him. The change made their body language open up, that closed tension fading somewhat from their shoulders.
A compromise.
A good one, judging by the consideration on Officer Nin's face, the displeased acknowledgment on Satoru's. Suguru took a deep breath, which he must have been holding, and Todo looked up to Suguru's face. Whatever expression he got back must have been reassuring, Todo relaxed visibly. Suguru ruffled his closely cropped hair, making Todo squawk and protest, but causing a smile to break out.
They were bonding. Awesome. Suguru was an awesome special grade sorcerer to bond with, level-headed, parental, absolutely not going to throw a kid to the wolves to see what they do. She approved. A Todo trained by Satoru would be an absolute nightmare, but a Todo who was trained by both Satoru and Suguru? Special grade, easy. Suguru was good at hand-to-hand combat in a way that Satoru's cursed technique didn't allow him to learn. When you were able to make yourself untouchable, you just fought differently. Suguru didn't have that, and neither did Todo. Suguru could make up for Satoru's faults, they complimented each other. Together they could make a fantastically well-rounded Todo in the end.
The boys were closer together now, having a much livelier discussion now that they were getting somewhere even slightly more acceptable for all the involved parties. They were talking, gesturing widely, no longer keeping their arms close to their bodies defensively. It was relaxing, seeing stuff get done without needing to intervene.
Suguru's arm was hooked around her torso, keeping her safely in his hold regardless of the absence of any effort on her part. It was cozy, but she did wish that she could move.
The biggest advantage of this whole dissociation thing is that she got to relax and drift off. It was as mentally and emotionally relaxing as it was draining, somehow. It took the edge off while simultaneously amplifying her emotions afterwards. Was it due to the sudden resurgence of emotions after being so numb?
They seemed to have come to a decision, people were nodding, Suguru even said something, judging by the way Satoru's head turned his way. Todo still looked a bit worried, but less so, regaining a bit of his confidence. Some of his natural confidence had returned, and he went straight back to his normal prickly self, pulling away from Suguru to cross his arms, suddenly no longer needing Suguru's support. Suguru just grabbed him and tugged him right back like a broody hen with an adventurous chick.
What a mom, honestly. She applauded him for embracing his natural parental instincts by absolutely mothering some children. They all needed it too, considering… orphan, orphan, only has a dad because of… asexual reproduction more or less, absent mother.
Wow, what a sorry bunch of kids they were. No wonder his parental instincts were going crazy over them, they needed it.
Oop, Satoru and Officer Nin were shaking hands. A deal had been made, it seemed.
She could only hope it was a good one.
For now, she could just relax in Suguru's arms. Things were being handled, whether she was mentally present or not. It was nice.
She might be able to move now, the cottony feeling was fading, but she didn't have much will to move anyways. She was perfectly content in Suguru's hold, ignoring her every problem. Officer Nin would be taking them away soon, she had to get her cuddles in while she could. Kenjaku could scheme evilly in a sewer somewhere, she was happy where she was.
Todo would be alright, she had to trust that the adults would be able to keep him safe. There just wasn't much she could do besides encourage him to live in the woods for the next few weeks.
They were safe, for now. She could panic after they left the school's barriers, she wanted to savor this pleasant feeling of safety while she could.
Sound was starting to creep back in, a little muffled, but it was better than before. This episode wasn't even that long. Maybe it was because of how safe she felt right now, like nothing could touch her.
Junpei was still holding her hand, she realized suddenly. It was only a little warmer than her own, but he'd shifted a little, the only reason she knew he was still there. He wasn't in her range of vision right now at all. If she turned her head, she could probably see him, sitting by Suguru's other side. Panda might be over there too, or on Suguru's shoulders, completing the kiddie-pile. Was it nice for Suguru, like this, or scary? A bunch of trusting children all around him, so easily hurt by accident. She hoped he wasn't thinking about such things, just focusing on protecting them instead. He didn't need to worry about stuff like that. Kids didn't gravitate and stick around like this unless they truly trusted the person they were with, and even Todo wasn't afraid of Suguru anymore, just being a tough and independent little chick.
She wondered what had changed, why he seemed to be relaxing a little more, not quite as on edge. Some of that stress that was constantly wearing on his mental state was gone. Was it Satoru, not having to hide his feelings anymore? Had something changed while she was gone? It seemed to be a good change, but she was still curious.
Whatever it was, Suguru seemed to be doing better. She was glad. This shake up was having some good effects on somebody at least.
She tightened her hold on Junpei's hand, just a little bit, forcing her head to turn just a little to meet Junpei's hopeful eyes as he leaned forwards.
"You're not hiding anymore?" He whispered, keeping his voice low.
She shook her head mutely, looking forwards again. Satoru spotted her and gave her a little wave and a reassuring grin.
Alright.
Time to quit hiding.
She could do this.
What other choice did she have?