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1 - Izakaya
Gojo Satoru knew that he could be a handful sometimes. Or, well, most of the time. He often excused his “challenging” traits to be a result of how he was raised. After all, Satoru was the heir to the Gojo Clan, having inherited its Six Eyes and Limitless cursed technique. Due to these two powers, Satoru had been placed upon a pedestal since he was born. He always had numerous pairs of eyes watching his every move, yet Satoru always felt alone growing up.
These isolating feelings managed to migrate to the back of Satoru’s hectic brain when he met Suguru and Shoko. Instead of treating him like he was on a pedestal, they brought along their own chairs and pulled him down to their level. And despite his fondness of being considered a god, Satoru liked the feeling of not being alone more.
That was until his best friend decided to take his chair and move it somewhere out of Satoru’s grasp. And his other closest ally continued to smoke away whatever pain that sudden change inflicted. No matter how hard Satoru felt that he was reaching out, trying to seize whatever used to be, what he longed for was simply long gone.
And so, Satoru tried to move forward while burying these isolating feelings once again. He busied himself with many other things, from annoying Shoko and Yaga, to eradicating curses with just one flick of his hand. Satoru did all of these things with the smuggest grin on his face, for nothing could stop the strongest sorcerer alive. Nothing could take him off of the pedestal that he was placed on since the moment he entered this world.
At least, that’s what Satoru had thought.
After his one and only left him, despite him thinking that they would reform the jujutsu world together since they were the strongest, Satoru’s pedestal had been abandoned by the owner of the chair. Sometime afterward, Satoru went through some events that resulted in him coming across someone who saw right through him. Despite being raised on a pedestal, meeting this someone for the first time felt as if Satoru was being shoved right off of it.
That someone happened to be the son of a man who almost killed him.
That someone went by the name of Fushiguro Megumi.
If there was any other person who was more of a brat than Satoru admitted he was, then it was that six-year-old boy whose glare could send shivers down a person’s spine. But Satoru wasn’t just a person. With the amount of strength and power that he had, a little kid with a dead father and not even a cursed technique developed yet was no match for him. If nothing else, that’s what Satoru believed.
But after practically carrying the entire first conversation exchanged between himself and Megumi, Satoru realized that the little plan he had wasn’t gonna be as easy as he figured. His desire to foster a new generation of sorcerers that could rise to be his equals and change the jujutsu world forever was a far journey ahead. First things first, Satoru had to reduce the tension between him and this kid he decided to look after.
The first meal that the two of them shared had failed to break the ice, however. Satoru had planned to find out what kind of food Megumi liked and wanted to impress him right then and there by bringing him to a restaurant with said food. Be that as it may, the little boy only shrugged and replied that he was fine with whatever. He had a half-eaten snack bar somewhere in his backpack that he had intended to eat, and Satoru needed to hold himself back in concern over the malnourishment this child was adapted to.
Rather than asking Megumi several questions in order to figure out what his favorite food or tastes was, Satoru didn’t waste another second and led them to one of his favorite izakayas that he went to at least once a week. Fortunately, the place wasn’t too busy when they arrived and the only other people were a group of older men that were always there, sitting in the back corner and laughing as they threw back their beers.
Satoru waved at the group of men and the waitress with a grin on his face as he headed to his usual seat at the bar.
“I see you finally have company tonight,” the waitress spoke as she noticed Megumi behind him.
“Oh yeah. Figured now those guys won’t tease me for always coming alone,” Satoru replied. “I’ll have the usual and whatever this kid wants.”
After seeing the concerned look on the waitress’s face when she looked to his side, Satoru followed her eyes and noticed a pile of spiky black hair behind the stool next to him. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
“Sorry, kid, I guess I didn’t realize just how high these stools were until now,” he apologized as he got up from his own and was about to pick Megumi up when the little boy sent him a glare.
“I don’t need your help,” was all he said through gritted teeth before he tossed his backpack aside and proceeded to pull himself onto the stool. All Satoru could do was stare in amusement at the stubbornness before him. Once Megumi had settled on top of his stool, Satoru sat back down and was about to explain to him how to order. However, before he could even open his mouth, Megumi blurted out a couple of dishes that not even the older one had tried yet. He was just as impressed as the waitress was as she wrote down their orders and took her leave.
Once the two of them were alone, Satoru tapped his finger on the table to keep himself busy. Despite the group of men being plenty loud nearby, it was as if it was completely silent where he and Megumi were that he could practically hear the many thoughts inside his head shouting at him.
“It’s not like I’ve never gone outside before,” Megumi suddenly said in a flat voice.
“Huh?” Satoru blurted out before thinking.
Megumi didn’t spare him a glance as he stared at the posters on the wall in front of them. “I’m not a child. I know how to order at a restaurant.”
You literally are one , Satoru thought to himself, knowing not to voice his comment aloud or else he would receive another one of those vicious glares.
Unfortunately, that was the most amount of talking that Satoru managed to get out of the kid that first night. As soon as their food began piling in one after another with more and more orders coming (the little boy did say that he knows how to order at a restaurant but who even knows when he last ate at one), neither of them spoke. Satoru would’ve tried to make small talk in between bites, but he figured that he should give Megumi a break. They had just met and if Satoru was gonna be stuck with him for who knows how long then he might as well not scare him off already with his bottomless pit of a mouth. Besides, he was pretty entertained despite not speaking as he watched a child a little less than half the height of him practically devour his food.
2 - School
Despite basically taking in Megumi after stopping his sale to the Zenin clan and yada yada, Satoru didn’t see the little boy as often as he expected. After all, aside from still being in school himself, Satoru was constantly sent on solo missions. Whenever he stopped by the apartment that he shared with the kid, the latter was already there in his room doing whatever six-year-old boys did. Satoru honestly didn’t care what Megumi busied himself with as long as he was still alive and well.
Luckily, one day Satoru had managed to finish his mission just as Megumi’s school got out. What better than to pick up the little guy and walk back together? Maybe even pick up some lunch while they were out?
Thinking up his plan, Satoru leaned against the brick wall at the entrance to Megumi’s school. Satoru knew he was pretty tall, but seeing elementary schoolers passing him made him feel like a giant. Satoru flashed a smile as some kids stared while they passed by. Most of them watched him in awe and he wasn’t sure if it was because of how tall he was. Or maybe it was because of his white hair. Or his completely black attire. Maybe the blindfold? Whatever it was, Satoru was knocked out of his thoughts when he spotted black spikes appear out of the corner of his eyes. Satoru turned and smiled when he saw Megumi freeze in his tracks upon noticing him.
“Hey, kid! Guess who’s here to walk you back?” Satoru greeted as he practically skipped towards the boy.
He watched as Megumi looked around him, noting the eyes and whispers directed towards them. They were specifically aimed at Satoru, also known as a tall and suspicious looking man walking towards Megumi. The boy scowled and tried to hurry past him. Even so, with Megumi being pretty small for his age and Satoru being much taller with his long and lanky legs, the older one easily caught up to him.
“So, how was school?” Satoru asked as he matched paces with the other. “Did you play with your friends? Get into any fights? Huh??”
He didn’t get a response as Megumi continued walking silently. Thinking of an idea, Satoru patted his head. “Want me to pick you up? I’m sure you’re tired from whatever you did in school today-”
“Don’t touch me,” Megumi hissed as he swatted his hand away. He somehow managed to quicken his speed and Satoru had no choice but to trail behind him.
Instead of being upset at Megumi’s rebellious behavior, Satoru only stifled a laugh as he watched the boy’s fast little legs. He wanted to inform Shoko with how Megumi had treated him today, but figured his classmate would only roll her eyes and tell him that he was probably just a nuisance to the child. Yaga would probably bring up once again how crazy Satoru was for deciding to take in Megumi. If a certain someone was there then Satoru would be able to talk all he wanted about how today was. Maybe he could even get a laugh out of that person. Maybe they would encourage him to keep it up and that Megumi would one day open up to him. But that person was long gone and Satoru didn’t have anyone he could entertain with his stories and maybe even get some advice from.
For now, Satoru shook away those notions in order to keep up with the young, brazen boy ahead of him.
3 - Kitchen
Sometimes even Satoru admitted that it was a rough day. He was deployed to get rid of a special grade curse, but there ended up being about triple the number when he arrived at the scene. Not only that but his mission was right near an elementary school, so he had to be careful not to let things endanger the children and faculty there. Satoru cared at least a little bit about their safety, but he couldn’t help but admit he was relieved that the school wasn’t the one that Megumi went to. It would be quite unfortunate if a kid he took in over a month ago ended up getting killed by a curse he was supposed to get rid of.
After getting scolded by the higher ups over how apparently he wasn’t careful enough at taking care of the curses, even though they were the ones who failed to properly inform him over how many he would be facing, all Satoru wanted to do was pass out.
As soon as he arrived at the apartment, Satoru only had the energy to take off his shoes before he collapsed onto his bed. He couldn’t care for the fact that he still had slime from the curses all over his uniform and hair. He’d just let the future Satoru worry about cleaning everything up. For now, his bed immediately turned him to mush and he fell asleep seconds later. He only hoped that Megumi had found something to eat and was asleep as well.
It only felt like Satoru was unconscious for ten seconds when he was woken up to the sounds of thudding and scratching noises. At first, Satoru dismissed the sound to be some rats somewhere in the apartment. He admitted that he wasn’t a neat freak and had seen at least one small rodent crawling around. However, the noises didn’t exactly sound like the scurrying of a rat as it continued. Maybe an army of rats? Even if it was, Satoru’s body was now fully awake whether he wanted to be or not. He let out an irritated groan and pushed himself up.
As he made his way out of his room, Satoru ripped off his blindfold and was ready to destroy whatever had torn him away from his slumber. To his surprise, he spotted Megumi dragging one of the kitchen chairs all the way to the fridge. In silence, Satoru watched as the boy then picked up an empty glass and stepped onto the chair, using it to reach the water filter and then proceeded to fill his glass.
After he moved his glass away, Satoru decided to announce his presence by clearing his throat. Megumi looked his way and, not affected at all by the bothered state Satoru was in nor at this being his first time seeing his eyes not covered by anything, took a sip of his water.
“You know, if you needed help getting water then you could’ve just woke me up,” Satoru said, his voice low and raspy having just been roused from sleep.
“I’d rather not go through the effort of waking you up and ruin how quiet it is,” Megumi replied.
“Well I’m awake anyways and the ‘quiet’ ended when you loudly dragged that damn chair across the floor,” Satoru grumbled to himself.
Whether or not Megumi heard his complaint, the boy returned to drinking his water.
“Instead of using a chair, I could’ve just picked you up to reach the water filter,” Satoru continued in a louder voice, the playfulness in him now emerging as he smirked.
Megumi only stared at him with a blank expression as he gulped down the rest of his beverage. Once his glass was empty, he placed it into the sink. Satoru figured that was the end of that, but the boy had the audacity to drag the chair all the way back to where he got it from on the other side of the kitchen. Satoru grumbled a few more things to voice his annoyance.
Then, without another word, Megumi returned to his room. Satoru felt one of his eyes twitch as he stared ahead in irritation. Then, with a loud huff, he returned back to his room as well. He sensed he might as well shower now that he could feel the slime beginning to harden in his hair. He’d make sure to belt out a few songs while he was at it as a little revenge.
4 - Intersection
After Megumi refused to have Satoru carry him from school or even hold his hand, the older one concluded that there was no point in trying to do anything else during the rest of the walk back to the apartment. The two of them only stopped by the grocery store to buy a few things and then headed back in silence.
Satoru had just about given up as the two of them waited at an intersection. He was idly whistling the tune to one of the songs he’d been belting in the shower the past few days, whether those showers were late at night or way too early in the morning (yes he was still petty about that one time with the chair in the kitchen), when he overheard a young mother telling her daughter to hold her hand when they cross the street.
Deciding to try once again, Satoru shifted his grocery bags into his other hand and nudged Megumi.
“Hey, kid, you should hold my hand when we cross the street to be safe,” he said.
Megumi glared up at him. “I’m not a child.”
YOU LITERALLY ARE ONE! , Satoru yelled internally. He had to ask himself if he accidentally blurted that out loud when he saw Megumi roll his eyes.
“I don’t need to hold your hand just to cross the street,” the boy said. “I literally used to walk from school and cross many intersections by myself before.”
Satoru was about to point out that he was just trying to show that he was worried about his safety when the pedestrian signal changed for everyone to walk and Megumi practically zoomed across the street. With a sigh, Satoru moved after him.
He hated alcohol, but even he wanted a drink after that. However, since he practically never consumed any alcoholic beverages, there were no such things there for him to channel his frustrations when they got to the apartment. Instead, after Megumi sneakily took one of the candied ginger snacks that he convinced Satoru to buy (the older one may like candy but he almost threw up when he saw Megumi practically shove the snack into his face), he hurried to his room as if he didn’t wanna get caught.
Meanwhile, Satoru tossed the rest of the grocery bags on the table and only put away the things that needed to be refrigerated. He then took out a bag of the candies that he picked out (one that was actually sweet instead of being semi-sweet and semi-spicy), and plopped down on the couch in the living room. He lazily chewed a piece of the candy and just as he was about to eat another one, he couldn’t help but stare at his hand. He dropped the other piece of candy back into the bag and raised his hand out in front of him. Were his hands ugly-looking? Rough-looking? Smelly? Dirty? Satoru knew he washed his hands more often than people thought, but perhaps after Megumi saw him with slime all over his hair and body, the boy started to second guess his hygiene habits.
It’s not like Satoru was obsessed with the thought of holding Megumi’s hand. He was sure that the boy’s hand was sticky and clammy like any other kid’s was. Still, the fact that Megumi refused to hold his hand nor let him pick him up bothered him. Maybe he was a child for being so bothered by this.
Figuring there was no point in arguing with himself over what was so unappealing about his hand, Satoru tossed another piece of candy into his mouth.
5 - Park
Satoru was just about to beat his high score in the candy puzzle game he’d been playing the past couple of weeks when he heard a scream and accidentally clicked something unintentionally, ruining his progress. Satoru looked up to glare at whoever decided to yell and distract him when he saw a kid, who looked like he had fallen from the monkey bars, get up and limp towards his worried mother. The child didn’t hold back with his crying, making sure that everyone knew he had hurt himself.
If Satoru didn’t have his blindfold on and he was near the boy, he’d give him another reason to cry. Still, Satoru decided to be the adult he almost was and he went back to playing his game.
When he got bored of doing that, he began to just scroll idly on his phone. He ignored whatever message was sent to him about his next mission as he wanted to relish in having a day off. There was nothing for Satoru to deal with today, which was why he wanted to relax.
Although, his efforts to take it easy failed when he sensed something off nearby. Satoru looked up to see Megumi walking towards him with a big scrape on his leg. The white-haired man raised his eyebrows in surprise as he put away his phone.
“I’m ready to go,” Megumi spoke, without a hint of fear or pain on his face. “I’m bored.”
“You’re sure that’s all you are?” Satoru asked as he glanced down at the scrape again. “What happened?”
Megumi only shrugged. “I fell, but I’m fine.”
“You positive?” Satoru asked. Even though Megumi nodded, Satoru knew better. He may not have had many deep and heartfelt conversations with the child, but he at least understood what kids felt like when they got hurt.
That was why Satoru got up from the bench he had been sitting on, turned around, and bent down.
“What are you doing?” Megumi asked, as if Satoru was in some crazy yoga position.
“Come on. I’ll give you a piggyback ride since your leg is injured,” Satoru insisted as he wiggled his fingers to signal for Megumi to climb onto him.
Megumi scoffed. “I don’t need to be carried back. I said I’m fine.”
He then began walking off, leaving Satoru in his weird position. Biting back his tongue, Satoru got up and walked beside Megumi. He purposely walked much slower than he usually did, however, as he noticed Megumi slightly limping. Yet, neither of them said anything.
There was no way he was telling Shoko or anyone else about what happened today. Shoko would only snicker and say that he and Megumi were practically a lost cause at this point. Even Satoru himself was starting to doubt whether he should’ve listened to the boy’s old man back then. Sure he wanted to have a hand in training the new generation to later on change how things worked, but it’s not like this child with a permanent scowl on his face was the only one he could use for his plan. It would suck giving up on someone that had as much potential as him since his dad was from the Zenin clan, but what was the point if he wouldn’t accept when Satoru tried to reach out to him multiple times?
Megumi might not be picky or messy. He made sure to keep all of his things organized and didn’t really complain much. It was just the fact that his and Satoru’s relationship was about the same as it was months ago when they first met. They experienced silent walks from school, when Satoru was actually able to pick Megumi up. Then the both of them were always in different rooms when they arrived at the apartment until they sat down together to eat. Even then, all of their meals were practically wordless except for Satoru every now and then trying to spark a conversation only to be given responses with a maximum of five words.
For a man that was as flashy and cocky as Fushiguro Toji, his son was a complete 180. At first, when Satoru had first met Megumi, he thought the kid was just shy as children usually appeared around someone they didn’t know. However, just hearing one full response from the boy informed Satoru that he knew more than he thought he did. Still, after months of being together, Satoru wasn’t even sure what the kid’s favorite color was. He didn’t plan on becoming the kid’s new father (heck he was still only nineteen!), but Megumi sure knew how to make it hard forming any sort of relationship with him. Was putting in any more effort even worth it?
These doubts started to cloud Satoru’s judgement on whether this whole situation would pay off. Still, a part of Satoru didn’t want the poor kid to be sold to the Zenin clan. He didn’t want him to go through what he went through growing up, even if he was the strongest. That was practically like tossing the kid into hell to suffer for the rest of his life. But was being with a teenager like him, who knew nothing about taking care of a child, any better, in all honesty?
+1 - Festival
Despite Megumi not wanting to, Satoru somehow convinced them to stop by a nearby festival on the way back to the apartment. It was getting close to the end of the year and Satoru refused to let a little gremlin like the one he took in ruin his cheerful mood.
As the two of them began to walk through the crowd of people, Satoru was about to tell Megumi to hold his hand so he wouldn’t get lost, but after remembering all of the other times that he tried to reach out and failed, he decided not to.
Still, Satoru glanced back a few times to make sure that Megumi was remaining close to him as he led them through the festival. It didn’t take long for Satoru’s initial annoyance about Megumi’s coldness that day to be replaced with excitement. He began to immerse himself in the festivities around them as all of the colors and lights brightened up his mood.
He found himself walking a little faster as more and more things caught his attention. After skimming each of the vendors lined up to the sides, Satoru spotted one selling choco bananas. The nineteen-year-old let out a dramatic gasp as he hurried towards the food stall to buy some.
“I’d like to buy a couple of those,” Satoru greeted the vendor.
The woman smiled at him and asked which ones he wanted. Satoru tapped his foot idly as he tried to pick out which ones looked most appealing to him. He decided to settle for one with blue sprinkles and another with green sprinkles.
“It’s been a while since I’ve come to one of these. I usually came here with my friends,” Satoru said as the woman handed him the two choco bananas.
“Were the others just too busy to join you this time?” she asked.
Seeing the genuine care in her eyes as she asked him that, Satoru gave her a small smile. “I guess you could say that.”
Not wanting to wait another second to enjoy his festive dessert, Satoru snapped a few pictures of them and grinned.
“Alright, kid, do you want the one with blue or green sprinkles? I personally like the blue one so I’ll just take this one,” Satoru said, realizing there was no point in asking as he made his own choice. He turned around to hand Megumi the dessert with green sprinkles, realizing he subconsciously matched their desserts with the color of their eyes, when he noticed that the scowling child wasn’t standing there.
Satoru looked up and it was only then that he realized just how packed and lively it was. He had been so occupied with everything and wanting to relish in his happy mood that he forgot to check if Megumi was still following closely behind him.
Filled with more panic than he’d like to admit, Satoru hustled through the crowd of people. Amidst his rushing, he ended up ditching the choco bananas as they kept getting in the way while he squeezed past people.
Thankfully, Satoru caught a glimpse of Megumi standing among the crowd. The boy was just standing there with an expressionless look on his face.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Satoru hurried towards him and dropped to his knees right in front of the kid.
“Goodness, Megumi, you really had me worried. I thought you were with me the entire time!” Satoru said. He tried to laugh it all off, thinking that way the boy wouldn’t realize Satoru had called him by his name for the first time since they met.
Despite filling the older one with so many emotions, Megumi didn’t reply. Not wanting to deal with his challenging personality anymore, Satoru sighed once again and got up.
“Just stay close, okay, kid?” Satoru told him. “Man. You owe me dessert. I dropped them when I was hurrying to find you.”
He turned around and was about to make his way back towards the choco banana stall when he felt the slightest tug on the sleeve of his jacket. Freezing right in place, Satoru looked down to a silent Megumi trying to hold onto him.
He was about to tease him for finally trying to reach out to him, but then he noticed the fear and anxiety in Megumi’s face. Maybe there were even hints of tears in his eyes as well. It was as if the little boy was practically yelling, “PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!” in silence.
Deciding to let his teasing go just this once, Satoru instead held out his hand without another word. Megumi stared at it for a couple of seconds and Satoru was about to give up and pull back even though the two of them were just about to make some progress with their relationship (maybe his hand did smell after all), when Megumi finally held onto his hand.
Satoru’s initial suspicions about Megumi’s hand being sticky and clammy were debunked as they were simply small and warm. But more than that, Satoru was surprised by just how tight the child held onto his hand. He tried to hide a smile since Megumi could really only hold onto two of his fingers.
With that, the two of them walked off together. Even though Satoru was walking extra slowly in order to keep his pace the same as Megumi’s to prevent them from being separated again, the latter refused to loosen his death grip on the older one’s two fingers. It was as if the poor child’s life depended on that grasp.
The two of them finally made it back to the choco banana stall by the time Satoru was sure his fingers were numb and turning purple.
“Ah, I see one of your friends wasn’t too busy to come after all!” the vendor said when they arrived.
Satoru chuckled. “I wouldn’t exactly call us friends, but sure.”
The vendor decided not to question him further and happily gave him two more of the same kind of choco bananas as before. After paying for them, with Satoru struggling to reach for his wallet, as it was in the pocket where his closest hand was practically falling off by Megumi’s grip, the strange pair left the food stall and continued walking through the rest of the festival.
“Here, Megumi,” Satoru handed one toward Megumi without asking first and, luckily, the boy accepted the dessert reluctantly.
“I don’t really like sweets,” Megumi commented as he awkwardly held the choco banana in his other hand, still refusing to release Satoru’s poor fingers.
Satoru laughed his hardest one in a long time. “Well at least now I know for next time.”
He could’ve sworn he saw the smallest hint of a smile on Megumi’s lips, but Satoru chose not to comment or they would definitely be moved back to square one.
Perhaps, even with all of the doubts that still swarmed somewhere in Satoru’s bustling head, he could conclude that this was all worth it. If dealing with a grouchy child most of the time meant getting to see the rare times the said child opened up, then Satoru would happily comply. Or at least, he hoped.
Satoru’s thoughts were suddenly put to an end when he looked down at Megumi to see that his choco banana had disappeared.
“I accidentally dropped it,” the boy said.
Satoru knew that the kid was definitely lying and probably tossed it away on purpose because his other hand was still death-gripping his fingers. Despite this, Satoru couldn’t help but smile.
“Are we going home now?” Megumi asked.
Satoru paused in his steps, ignoring the confused look the other gave him when they suddenly came to a stop.
Not once had Satoru referred to the apartment that they shared together as “home” or anything. He was slightly bothered over the possibility that mentioning his place as Megumi’s as well would cause the boy to react negatively. However, just hearing the word he tried to avoid coming out of the boy’s own mouth caused his smile to grow even bigger.
“Yeah, we’re going home,” Satoru decided, resisting the urge to keep exploring the festival if it meant going back to the place that belonged to the two of them.
Satoru noted that his relationship with this ill-tempered child would take some work, but that was just how things would be from now on. Still, Satoru admitted that it all wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.