fics I read

He doubts that she remembers it.

The first time that Suzurigi Choki had encountered Gojo Shiki had not been as a new addition to the ranks of Gojo Kiyohira-sama's household staffing, but instead at a funeral.

… His older cousin's funeral, to be precise. Hideo had always liked to stress that he was the older one between the two of them, even though it was by less than a week. He had a knack for being quite aggravating at times, but at his core, he was kind. Compassionate.

And then he was dead.

Killed, through no fault of his own. He had been acting in the role of a chauffeur for the blessed child, when they'd been unexpectedly targeted by a hostile group of curse users. Even the blessed child's accompanying guard had been killed –a Special Grade One sorcerer. So it was no surprise that Hideo… didn't make it.

An unexpected tragedy. Too soon and too sudden, but not a surprise, not truly. Hideo was not the first Suzurigi to have died from unpredictable accidents like these, nor would he be the last, so long as the Suzurigi bloodline remained in service to the Gojo Clan.

Suzurigi Choki met the blessed child for the first time at Hideo's funeral. He doubts that she remembers him from that time –Choki had been standing with the rest of his relatives, when he'd glanced up and saw her. Amid a sea of black mourning clothes, the girl's pale white hair stood out starkly, long and flowing as it was. Snow white hair, abyssal blue eyes–

As soon as those descriptors registered in his brain, he'd realized just who strode in among them.

Gojo Shiki.

That's the blessed child.

The Suzurigi family head was the first to react properly, rushing over to greet her. Choki, on his part, had been shocked by the blessed child's unexpected presence at the funeral of an unassuming servant –and he was not the only one.

Hideo had died because of the curse users targeting this child–

"I'm sorry."

Two simple words, and the storm of grief and anger brewing inside his chest stutters and stills in confusion. Incomprehension.

A Gojo clansman was… apologizing to them? … The Gojo Clan's blessed child, the child whose potential for the arts of sorcery was rumored to rival that of Gojo Satoru's, was apologizing to the lowly Suzurigi family for the death of a single servant? A mere servant, who'd simply been unfortunate enough to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

… It's not her fault. He knows this. For all of Choki's frustrated, helpless grief at his cousin's death, he was aware that it wasn't the girl's fault. She hadn't asked to be attacked, nor had she taken on unnecessary risks of her own volition. And even if she had, no one would solely lay the blame at the feet of a child so young.

So why was she here, at Hideo's funeral?

Suzurigi Hideo's funeral is not the first that the family has seen in recent times. But his is the first where a sorcerer of the Gojo Clan came in person and apologized –not that the unworthy Suzurigi family had dared to accept the apology. But even so, her words… lingered.

Choki had volunteered to serve the blessed child. He had not been the only Suzurigi to do so.

Gojo Shiki held a curious sort of status within the Gojo Clan. Her influence had most assuredly strengthened and solidified over the years, but in the beginning, at the time of Hideo's death… she had both been a child blessed with potential and also a low-ranked girl belonging to a struggling branch family. Attitudes towards her had oscillated between pandering and scornful in turn during those days, to the point where it nearly gave Choki whiplash trying to keep track of it all.

If the young ojou-sama ever felt the heavy pressure that her clan exerted mercilessly upon her, she never made any indication of it.

As far as sorcerers went… there were far worse sorcerers to serve in the Gojo Clan than a terrifyingly talented girl who quite possibly had some degree of sociopathy going on. Choki would know; he's the one with a front row view to it, especially as he'd grown into the role of an assistant to her missions.

Everyone knows that it's dangerous, assisting a sorcerer's missions. Dangerous, but necessary. Choki had been quite hesitant about it, in the beginning. There was nothing wrong with doing the work of a regular servant. Hideo had died, and he hadn't even been a full-fledged assistant at the time –or even acting in the role of one. He'd only been driving, and… and…

…

Choki hadn't made up his mind until that night on Obon roughly four years ago. It had been the Gojo Clan's turn to arrange the ritual that year, and Gojo Shiki had been the one chosen for the honor of performing the ceremonial dance before the final bonfire.

He hadn't thought anything of it at the time. Simply acted on autopilot to perform his job with all the exacting correctness that had been drilled into him from a young age. He'd bowed and presented the bamboo torch to the blessed child for the okuribi–

"Thank you, Choki."

And in that instant, for a single moment, Suzurigi Choki –just another servant of the Gojo Clan, just one more inconsequential servant in a faceless sea of others– freezes.

She knew his name.

Gojo Shiki, the blessed child, the one rumored to be the second 'Gojo Satoru,' she… knew his name.

… If Choki died. Would she… visit his funeral as well?

Not that he wants to die, or anything. But… Gojo Shiki remembers his name. What clan sorcerer remembers the name of an insignificant servant?

Gojo Shiki, evidently.

She knows him and remembers his name. Even though at that point in time, Choki hadn't done much else aside from menial chores around Gojo Kiyohira-sama's household. And it's not just that; in the aftermath of Obon, Choki had gone and spoken with his fellow servants. He'd realized that even though the young lady they served was cold and of few words… not a single person who accompanied her missions ever found themselves exposed to undue danger, or ran afoul of curse related accidents due to being stationed nearby.

Then and there, Choki decides that he will serve Gojo Shiki. Even before it becomes the official stance of the Suzurigi family, Choki makes his decision.

He pushes himself through his training. Finally learns how to pull down a proper Curtain –and it's this rare skill that ultimately sees him selected as an assistant to the young lady.

Choki trusts his lady to emerge victorious, and his lady trusts him to behave professionally and perform his own duties well. There have been certain incidents which were more nerve-wracking than others, such as that time when a Special Grade cursed spirit had been unexpectedly involved. But ultimately, Choki has faith in the young lady to–

"… Ojou-sama?" Unlike the horror stories that he's heard of Gojo Satoru-sama's assistants having been involved in, Gojo Shiki is not prone to unpredictable acts of spontaneity or sudden fits of fancy according to ever-changing whims that make her impossible to understand or reason with. Nevertheless, Choki has never seen her walk away from a mission with an injured civilian child wobbling after her like she's–

"Choki," the young lady greets him. Despite just having fought a tricky Grade Two cursed spirit, she doesn't have a single hair out of place, and her kimono remains spotless. Gojo Shiki casually brushes a long lock of snow-white hair behind her ear while making a vague gesture towards her new companion. "This is Hoshi-san. He's a sighted civilian."

That… definitely explains things. Civilians gaining the ability to see curses after a near-death experience were rare, but not unheard of. Choki nods and turns his attention towards the young boy, understanding his lady's silent request.

One of the students stuck inside this building gained the ability to see curses. What do I do with him? Could you please take care of this?

Yes, Choki most certainly can.

The young boy looks to be a little skittish even despite swaying on his feet, and is dripping with water –did the cursed spirit have the ability to manipulate water to some degree? That would've meant an extremely dangerous cursed spirit, then; 'Hoshi' is lucky to be alive.

He's also bruised and bleeding. Unsurprising, considering that he'd just escaped an encounter with a dangerous cursed spirit. Encounters of this sort for unwary civilians were generally lethal. Thank goodness the young lady had arrived in time to prevent any further tragic accidents.

Choki smiles at the young boy, in a manner that has been deliberately trained to appear reassuring and non-threatening.

"My name is Suzurigi Choki," he introduces himself. "I understand that you've just undergone a very terrifying experience, and you must be extremely confused. If you would allow me to–"

The boy passes out.

Fortunately, Choki is standing close enough to catch him, before he hits the ground. That would not have been good for the boy's injuries. He'd noticed that the boy appeared to be a little unsteady on his feet, although he hadn't expected him to be outright on the verge of fainting. There didn't look to be any additional injuries aside from mottled bruises and the profuse bleeding from his forehead, although that wasn't necessarily an indicator that he was not injured elsewhere.

Choki frowns slightly. "Ojou-sama, how badly is he injured?"

His young lady, whose expression hasn't so much as even twitched when the boy passed out beside her, obligingly flicks her eyes over the injured student in his arms.

"… Nothing serious or life-threatening," she says after a beat. Choki knows it to be true, which allows him to relax minutely. He probably didn't have to worry about concussions or anything in that case, then–

The sleeve of the boy's dark gakuran rolls up when Choki readjusts his grip on him, and he frowns upon seeing the discolored bruises along the boy's forearm. Because that? Looked like bruises left by human hands, and Choki is only all too familiar with such things from personal experience.

He hesitates briefly. "… Ojou-sama. May I… request that we stay a little longer? There are a few matters that I would like to ascertain."

If it were any other sorcerer of the Gojo Clan, such a question wouldn't be something that a mere servant would dare to ask.

"That's fine," the young lady says. Her gaze falls upon the unconscious boy in Choki's arms, and there's no doubt that she does not miss the incriminating bruising. It's also equally obvious that she doesn't understand why Choki has chosen to make such a request. But all the same… "Do what you need to, Choki."

Suzurigi Choki bows his head.

"Thank you, ojou-sama."

.

.

If there was one thing that Fushiguro Megumi was grateful for, it was that Gojo Satoru found him and Tsumiki.

… Not just because the eccentric man had taken him and his sister out of that ratty, run-down flat that leaked whenever it rained and had creaky floorboards. Not because they no longer had to struggle with budgeting on their own, barely scraping by with just the two of them. And most definitely not because that infuriating man squatted down in front of him, laughing, before proceeding to bluntly say things like–

Hey, so you were born with special abilities, right? Yeah, so about that! Turns out your scumbag dad sold you off to his scumbag family for money. Because they just looove special little kids like you.

The way that Gojo had leaned in and spoken those words, as if it was some hilarious secret that he was sharing with him…

Megumi had not been amused, to say the least.

Gojo did not leave a great first impression.

Gratefulness was not something Megumi had even realized creeping up on him until he'd woken up from a nap on a winter day. It had been snowing outside. They'd just had a snowball fight earlier in the morning, him and Tsumiki and Shiki against Gojo. Shiki's uncle had also joined them for a while, before they'd eventually trekked indoors.

Megumi didn't even remember nodding off, but somehow he'd blearily woken up and found himself ungracefully sprawled over Gojo's stomach while Tsumiki was tucked against the man's side, and Shiki was ensconced beneath a long arm. Gojo himself had been in a rare light doze as well, his breathing calm and even, and Megumi felt…

Indescribably light, with a floaty feeling in his chest that was somehow full to the point of bursting at the same time.

Safe. Content. Happy.

(Home.)

Megumi had closed his eyes and fallen asleep again, lulled by the quiet breathing and the comforting warmth radiating from the sorcerer's body. Much to his own detriment, because Megumi had later woken up again to multiple markers hovering over his face…

This is something that he'd never say aloud, but: He's glad that Gojo found them.

… Megumi had never really experienced being part of a family before. Just Tsumiki doesn't count; his sister is family, yes, but it's only ever been just the two of them and not a family. When he was younger, he remembered seeing other kids' parents come to pick them up after school. No one ever came for him and Tsumiki.

Until Gojo Satoru.

Megumi had never really had friends, either. People didn't like him. Whether it was because of his personality or because of his cursed energy was up for debate. But he has friends now. Shiki and Yuzuki. Panda. He's also on decent terms with a few classmates from his new school, sort of, but it's hard when his classmates are people he doesn't relate to. Tsumiki is always encouraging him to keep trying, though, and so Megumi… keeps trying, albeit not with any enthusiasm.

His sister also tries to encourage Shiki to make more friends, too. There hasn't been much progress on that front. Unlike Gojo, Shiki doesn't have an outgoing personality. But just like Gojo, there's something that's a little… skewed with the way she views things. Megumi has grown used to it over the years, but he realizes that it's probably a little off-putting for most people.

Shiki can be scary sometimes. Megumi still hasn't won a single spar against the older girl yet, and he's starting to suspect that he'll never be able to. Not that he intends to give up because of this, no. Even though it gets pretty demoralizing sometimes… it only means that there are more things for him to improve on, and so Megumi tries his best.

Part of him will always remember that time during Obon when that Zenin man had looked down on them. Megumi hadn't liked it, but he'd been helpless to do anything about it. Then the man turned his gaze on Shiki.

And Shiki promptly flattened him into the ground in the blink of an eye.

… For the longest time, Megumi had always thought of Shiki in similar terms as Gojo. It had taken Shiki being kidnapped for that illusion to finally be broken. Even as strong as she was, Shiki had still been in danger.

What if it had been Megumi? Instead of the Kamos targeting Shiki, what if it had been the Zenins targeting Megumi? He doubts that he would have fared half as well as Shiki had, if he were in her place.

Powerlessness. Helplessness. Megumi had always known it, but never had he felt it so keenly, so acutely.

He needs to be stronger so he can protect them someday. It's a long shot, he knows, but he can't just sit back on his hands and do nothing. Especially not if it means that–

The sound of the door opening jolts him out of his thoughts. Megumi automatically turns towards the doorway. Shiki had mentioned that she'd received another assignment today, so it was probably her returning from–

… It's not Shiki. The one who'd just come in was Nanami Kento, Shiki's uncle. A calm, reasonable adult with a good head on his shoulders, although interacting with Gojo seemed to sorely test his patience. Megumi understands that feeling completely.

"Tadaima," the man murmurs quietly.

"Okaeri," Megumi responds. Welcome back. Mi-chan rubs against his leg and meows their own greeting to Nanami.

Some days, it still feels surreal, this sensation of having a home. Instead of a father and mother, though, it's an eccentric brother-father figure, a grumpy and perpetually scowling teacher-uncle, and one single level-headed adult between the three of them. Two sisters, and a demanding cat. Megumi doesn't think any of his classmates at school live in an unconventional family unit like this.

But even so, he wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Fushiguro-kun," Nanami greets, moving into the room. He drapes his jacket over the back of an empty chair, and offers Megumi a small nod in greeting. "How was school today?"

Megumi shrugs.

"Same as usual." The monotony of schoolwork and a repetitive schedule is only ever broken up by occasional instances where the school's delinquents attempt to teach Megumi a lesson for 'getting uppity,' but there haven't been any recent repeats of that lately.

"Nanami-san!" Tsumiki's voice rings out cheerfully from around the corner, in the direction of the kitchen. "Welcome back!"

"Thank you, Fushiguro-chan." A slight pause, then, "Would either of you happen to know where Shiki is?"

"She's still not back from her mission yet." The one who answers him is Gojo Kiyohira, whose voice sounds as a low rumble. There's a bright glint from his right side as he moves, light reflecting off from the metal of his prosthetic limb –the one he'd received after losing his original arm during Shiki's kidnapping. "There weren't any complications, but a few bystanders were caught up in the mess. Suzurigi said he'd be staying a little longer to sort things out, and he promised to bring Shiki straight back afterwards."

At that, Nanami relaxes slightly.

Megumi relaxes slightly, too. Even though he knows that Shiki is strong enough to take care of a Grade Two cursed spirit with ease, it still feels better to have proper confirmation that she is well.

He hopes that she'll be back soon. Tsumiki is trying her hand at making senbei today, and he knows that Shiki likes her savory snacks.

.

.

"These taste really good."

"You think so? I'm glad you like them! It's my first time making these from scratch, and I wasn't sure if I added too much soy sauce…"

Kento watches the two girls chatter away with each other from the other side of the table. Granted, calling it 'chatter' is probably a bit of an exaggeration in Shiki's case, but she's responsive enough to Fushiguro-chan's words. She also seems to be enjoying the round seaweed-wrapped rice crackers that she's nibbling on, much to Fushiguro-chan's evident joy.

If anyone had told Kento even a year ago that he'd find himself looking after three children with two other sorcerers, one of them Gojo Satoru, he would've called them crazy. Funny, how things turned out in the end.

Gojo Satoru approaching him in the aftermath of the incident with the Kamo Clan and telling him that it would be good for Shiki to leave the Gojo clan compound had been unexpected. The man's reasoning for it made sense, and Kento was glad for his niece to leave the oppressive environment of the sorcery clan.

He would've thought that the Gojo Clan would resolutely refuse to let Shiki out of their grasp. For all that Gojo Satoru was the head of his clan, even then there were still dissenters and elders who had their own agendas. Gojo Daisaku had mellowed out over the years, but the same could not be said for the others, Gojo Takatomi most of all.

That elder had known what was going on with the Kamo Clan, had taken one look at the situation and decided that putting Shiki in danger in order for the Gojo Clan to get their hands on the Kamos' research was something perfectly acceptable. And that, Kento would never be able to accept, or forgive him for.

… Even so, there still wasn't anything that Kento could do for his niece, not as he currently was.

Not unless he became a Grade One sorcerer.

Practically speaking, Grade One was the highest rank that was realistically feasible for a sorcerer to achieve. Anomalies such as Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru were in an entirely different league of their own. 'Special Grade' was less of an actual rank and more of a title, in some respects.

It was a little frightening, sometimes, to think that the Gojo Clan looked at Shiki and considered her… if not possessing the potential to become Special Grade herself someday, then at least the closest approximation to it. The rumors comparing Shiki to Gojo Satoru… putting that sort of pressure on a child is very unhealthy. Knowing what the Gojo Clan was like, Kento didn't doubt that they also played a role in encouraging these rumors to satisfy their compulsive need for one-upmanship over the other Great Families.

Luckily, Shiki's personality was the sort where she'd glanced at those rumors and promptly proceeded to put them out of her mind.

Kento still wishes that she would be able to experience the life of a regular girl, even though he's aware that's very, very unlikely to ever happen. Their current living arrangement isn't exactly conventional, he's still glad to be able to provide her with a greater semblance of normalcy than what the Gojo Clan had done with the way they isolated her.

It's undeniable that Shiki is suited to a sorcerer's work. Even in light of what had happened with the Kamo Clan when she'd been kidnapped and the man who acted as a father figure to her had nearly died in front of her eyes, she hadn't… she hadn't cried, or had any nightmares over it. Gojo had given him an utterly confused look when Kento had tried to discreetly inquire after his niece out of concern. Shiki's own reaction… was not dissimilar. Kento doesn't know what he'd been really expecting.

He's pretty sure that the usual response to trauma isn't to continue going about one's life completely unaffected. It hadn't been long before she'd even started taking missions again, even. As if there was nothing wrong!

Shiki hadn't always been like this… had she?

… If she had, it had never been so obvious, so clear-cut and undeniable that it wasn't just her prodigious skill or her cursed energy that set her apart from other children her age, but also her mindset and mentality.

It's not as if she suddenly turned into a different person, though. She's still Shiki, still quiet and soft-spoken as she'd always been for as long as Kento has known her. But there's a marked difference between knowing and knowing.

…

Kento wonders if Araya Souren had anything to do with this. The man's fixation on his niece was downright disturbing, and raised all the hairs on the back of his neck. Araya had his eye on Shiki ever since she was born –surely there must be a reason for that. Was it really just 'research material' and nothing more? The man's former affiliation with the Kamo Clan was not something that could be denied, but even so–

It didn't help that Araya Souren was missing. Technically dead, but neither Gojo nor Shiki seemed to think that the man was truly dead, despite his body having been torn to pieces by 'Red.' And with the additional insights provided by the research that had been confiscated from the Kamo Clan…

The prospect of a sorcerer who didn't fear the death of his physical body was a terrifying one, to say the least. And this sorcerer was targeting Shiki, for unknown reasons. Presumably for her unique abilities, but that still didn't explain why or just what he was planning–

"Ken-jichan?"

Kento blinks, his attention drawn by the soft call of his name. His niece blinks back at him with luminous cursed eyes, and raises her hands.

Kento belatedly realizes that she's holding out a small plate of Fushiguro-chan's rice crackers to him.

"Thank you," he carefully accepts the bowl.

… Despite his endless concerns, his perfectly valid worries for the dangers that lay ahead in the future, ultimately there was nothing to be done about it but to prepare for the worst while striving for the best.

Hopefully, that would be enough.

.

.

Kamo Noritoshi had always known that he wasn't enough. That he would never be enough.

Not clever enough to effortlessly excel in his lessons, not powerful enough to satisfy his father who needed a perfect heir to quell the discontent over his bastard son's filthy blood. Lady Kamo always looked at Noritoshi like he was less than the dirt beneath her feet, and her children –Noritoshi's half-siblings– naturally followed their mother's lead.

Nobutomo-niisama had changed, though. Noritoshi's eldest half-brother had started being nicer to him after that time when Noritoshi attempted to save him from a rampaging cursed spirit that somehow got loose in the clan compound. 'Attempt' being the key word; Noritoshi had struggled against it, and in the end he hadn't even been the one to kill the cursed spirit. That had been the Gojo Clan's blessed child, Gojo Shiki, who'd killed it in a single blow with nothing more than her hairpin. Long white hair had cascaded down her shoulders when she'd pulled out her hairpin and slashed, eerie blue eyes focused unerringly on the curse before her. Noritoshi still remembers that scene, even now.

… Despite his failings, though, somehow that incident had been enough to start thawing the antagonistic relationship that existed between him and his eldest brother. Their relationship never progressed to the point where they were close, but childhood vitriol had fallen to the wayside, and Noritoshi had hoped… maybe…

…

It was no use, in the end. Nobutomo-niisama was dead. His brother had been killed –and at the hands of their father, no less.

The unexpected shock of his brother's sudden death had scarcely settled inside Noritoshi's mind, before it was followed by the news that the most respectful head of the Kamo Clan had committed suicide to atone for his mistakes. His lady-wife, overcome with grief, had drank poison and committed suicide as well, following her husband unto death.

There was no time for grief. Elder Shino had burst into Noritoshi's rooms with a grave, unsmiling expression, then proceeded to inform him in no uncertain terms that Noritoshi needed to take up the position of clan head.

Immediately.

But… there were also so many people who didn't want Noritoshi as the head of the Kamo Clan, and suddenly they all came crawling out of the woodwork, loudly making their discontent known.

Noritoshi might possess Blood Manipulation, but he was a filthy illegitimate son, they'd said. Strength was important, but it wasn't all that mattered for the head of a clan. Noritoshi was too young. Who ever heard of a twelve year old child leading one of the Three Great Families, one of the most respectable and illustrious lineages of the jujutsu world? Could they really trust someone so young and untested to make the best decisions for the Kamo Clan?

No, no, they'd said. For Kamo Noritoshi to assume the clan head position, it should be at a later date in the future, after he had matured and grown into a fine young man and an accomplished sorcerer who was a credit to the Kamo name.

Elder Shino had been trembling with rage, towards the end of that particular clan meeting.

"They clearly have no intentions of gracefully yielding to your leadership in the future," the elder hisses, sitting down stiffly in his chair. He reaches out to pick up a nearby cup of tea, only for most of the lukewarm tea to spill from his shaking hand. Noritoshi hurriedly rushes over to steady the elder, and grabs a nearby cloth to dab at the spilled tea while he's at it. "… Thank you, child."

Noritoshi bows his head mutely.

"You are young," Elder Shino says quietly. "It is reasonable that others would have doubts, but that is still no excuse for them to sideline you like this. You are the heir that Kamo Teruichi named!"

And Kamo Teruichi was dead. His father was dead.

Noritoshi's head drops even lower, and he bites his lip.

"Arinaga, Einosuke, Iemon…" Elder Shino's gnarled fingers tighten into fists on his lap. "So quick to pounce upon perceived opportunity, instead of doing what is best for the Kamo Clan and supporting their rightful clan head. With the Gojo Clan breathing down our necks and the Zenin Clan watching from the side… this is time for the Kamo to unite in face of adversity, not to turn upon ourselves in worthless infighting!"

But the problem was, Kamo Teruichi had no legitimate heirs. Of his legitimate sons, none were sorcerers, and all had been twice-disgraced by their father and mother. Lady Kamo Matsuhime for targeting the Gojo Clan's blessed child and dragging the entire clan down with her, and the respected clan head for enabling it. Both of them had committed suicide as atonement, but it would be their children who would have to live with the parents' mistakes. Noritoshi might nominally be the clan heir, but he knows better than anyone else just how unstable his position is.

One didn't have to look any further than the current situation in the Kamo Clan to see proof of that.

With no viable heirs left in the main family aside from Noritoshi, a bastard son, the other families finally saw a chance to seize power for themselves. A golden opportunity, one that they would be fools to let pass without even an effort–

So what if the Gojo Clan was displeased with them? They already had assurance that Gojo Satoru would be held in check by his clan. It didn't matter to the other families if the Kamo Clan was weakened by this ordeal, so long as the Kamo Clan still stood and did not splinter. There was an irreplaceable weight to the Kamo name. Influence and power waxed and waned; those could always be easily regained and rebuilt.

Even though there were a not-insignificant number of elders who supported Noritoshi, many of them also had close ties to his father –which discredited their support, as it implicated them in the matter of the blessed child's kidnapping. Noritoshi still has no idea what could've possibly possessed anyone to even think that would be a good idea–!

But what's done is done, and all that's left for the rest of them is to pick up the pieces and try to make their best out of the current situation. Which wasn't looking too good for Noritoshi.

Noritoshi's only true claim to the position of clan head was the fact that he possessed Blood Manipulation. A cursed technique that was not unlike what Limitless was to the Gojo Clan. There was significance in his cursed technique, and no matter what his opponents said about Noritoshi's suitability as clan head, Blood Manipulation wasn't something so easily overlooked. His chances in this power struggle were not zero–

(But even with Blood Manipulation, Noritoshi lacks power.)

He remains confident all the way up until the night he is nearly murdered in his sleep.

It's Elder Shino who saves him. The elder had sensed something wrong in the dead of the night, somehow, and had killed the assassin. Noritoshi, heart pounding like a wildly beating drum in his chest and eyes blown wide, could only stare blankly ahead of himself at the blood of his would-be killer, not understanding what was going on.

He knows that not everyone in his clan likes him, but… but to kill him?

"… focus. Noritoshi, focus!"

Pale-faced, Noritoshi finally hears his elder's voice and snaps back to attention.

Elder Shino exhales slowly, bloodstained gnarled hands holding on tightly to Noritoshi's own. "You… need to leave. I never expected Einosuke to stoop as far as to… it doesn't matter. Not now. I'll take care of this, Noritoshi. But you need to go."

Where would he go?

Shiroshichi-sensei is the one who sneaks Noritoshi out of the Kamo clan compound that very same night. His teacher also fends off another two attacks in the process, but he protects Noritoshi and ensures that he gets out safely.

"… Where do I go, sensei?" Noritoshi has lived in the Kamo Clan his entire life, training to become a sorcerer. Because he was born with this power, and because… because he wanted to be able to bring his mother back someday, and have her be able to lift her head with pride. People kept whispering and saying unkind things about his mother –Noritoshi's real mother– behind his back, but it wasn't like that! Noritoshi's mother was kind and gentle and… and Noritoshi just wanted to make it so that the Kamo Clan would accept her. If he was the clan head, then they would definitely accept her.

But the Kamo Clan would not even accept Noritoshi, now that his father was gone.

… He wasn't strong enough to hold on to the position of clan heir. Not strong enough to declare himself clan head. No one in the Kamo Clan actually wanted to follow him, not really. Even Elder Shino and the other clan elders in his father's circle, their true goal for wanting to install Noritoshi as clan head probably had nothing to do with his cursed technique. A young boy would make a good puppet leader –the head of his clan in name only, while the elders could divide the true power among themselves and make decisions, just as they'd done when Noritoshi had been completely sidelined during the initial meeting with the Gojo Clan when Gojo Satoru declared his intent to destroy the Kamo Clan.

Noritoshi… didn't care about having power to himself. As long as it meant there would be a place for his mother, as long as she wouldn't be scorned or disrespected–

What's the point in thinking about this? It's not something that's likely to happen anytime soon.

"Here. I think… you'll be safest here, Nori."

A few days' worth of travel later, Noritoshi finds himself standing in front of a nondescript house with his teacher. Shiroshichi-sensei pats him on the shoulder, then leans forward to ring the doorbell, and steps back to wait patiently on the doorstep with him.

Muffled footsteps. Then, the door creaks open.

Noritoshi's breath catches in his throat. "… Mother?"

.

.

Gojo Toku coughs, clearing her throat. It's a fairly quiet sound, but the agitated voices around her fall silent all the same.

She does not wield any true authority within the Tobiume. But simply by virtue of being the oldest clansman, she is automatically afforded a certain measure of respect by the children, and she finds that something inside her chest warms at the thought, this trust that she is given so freely.

"There is no need for overreacting, Ima," she says.

Ima has always been a good child, so hardworking and dutiful. Even when her rebellious younger brother had left them and struck out on his own, Ima had never said a single harsh word about it. Instead, the young woman had simply squared her shoulders and immersed herself even further into her work without any complaints.

But in this moment, there is none of that graceful composure that remains. It truly breaks Toku's heart, seeing young Ima like this. Ima is no longer neatly put together as she used to be, and there are even dark circles under her eyes, indicating a lack of proper rest.

And yet…

Ima leans forward across the table, an almost manic light shining in her eyes. "She's a child. What does a child know of the logistics and responsibilities that a branch head must deal with? She's not even in the clan compound anymore, she ran! This must be–"

"Aren't you tired of this?"

The voice that cuts across Ima's is short and decidedly impatient. Oh dear. Toku frowns, because while she understands this sort of reaction…

"That's no way to speak to your cousin and former branch head, Hijiri," she reprimands gently.

"Former branch head. She's not my branch head anymore and can't hold her rank over my head," Hijiri folds his arms across his chest, unmoving despite the reproach. Dark eyes narrow, and he throws Ima a truly cutting look before casually tilting his head to look aside. "I'd take a sensible kid over Ima any day, it doesn't even have to be the clan's precious blessed child."

"Hijiri!" Toku is aghast at the young man's attitude. But perhaps it's only to be expected, these willfully contrary mannerisms of his. Ever since Ima's plans had seen both his beloved little sister and his brother in law dead, Hijiri had cast aside any veneer of subservience to Ima's orders. What had happened to that young couple was truly a tragedy, but–

"You should just give up already," Hijiri says to Ima, cruelly amused by her frustrations. "What's the point of organizing these little monthly meetings behind your niece's back? You keep saying that she doesn't have the skills or the capability to be a proper branch head and yeah, she hasn't done much directly. But she's also been taking care of the quotas single-handedly on her own, and making sure that we're getting the right allocation of resources from the clan. I distinctly recall some months of getting absolutely nothing at all when you were still in charge, Ima."

"That has nothing to do with any skill or actions taken on her part," Ima grits out through her teeth, and oh. Oh, how it breaks Toku's heart to see her like this, to see the lovely young woman so full of helpless rage towards her own family. Towards her own niece. "It's because of favoritism! Just because the honored clan head favors her and everyone knows it, no one dares to cause trouble over minor infractions now that she is openly associated with us again–"

"So?"

Ima falters. "What do you mean, 'so?'"

Hijiri shrugs. "Does it matter if it's because of favoritism? We're getting the resources that we're supposed to receive without anyone cutting corners or giving us grief over it anymore. I couldn't care less if it's because the honored clan head favors our little branch head or not."

Ima's hands clench into white-knuckled fists at her sides.

"Get your goddamned act together already, Ima," Hijiri heaves a heavy sigh when she falls silent, and stands up from his seat with a loud clatter. "Jealousy is an ugly look on you. You're better than this. Don't make me lose the last shred of respect that I somehow still have for you."

"How dare you, Hijiri," Ima whispers, trembling. "After everything, how could you–!"

The young man ignores her entirely. He turns on his heel and makes his way out of the room without another word, or even a single backwards glance.

… Things have been hard for Hijiri. Toku knows this, and she's sympathetic to the young man's plight. Ever since Genjiro and Machiko's deaths, Hijiri had been the one taking care of the three children that they'd left behind. Those children were all that remained of his sister in this world. It was no easy task for a single person to take care of three young children, and so Toku had helpfully suggested to Hijiri that he should get married.

Having a second set of hands around would help, and with a wife to organize his home the children would surely be watched and well-taken care of. Besides, it was well past time that he started his own family. Why, Hijiri was already in his early thirties, and he certainly wouldn't be getting any younger with each passing year!

Toku had not been the only one encouraging Hijiri to consider marriage to solve his problems. Hijiri had reluctantly heeded their words and ended up in a brief, unhappy marriage with a young daughter of a higher-ranked branch family. There had been many arguments between the two of them, and one particularly vicious incident had even involved boiling water that little Tetsu-kun had gotten caught up in–

Suffice to say, Hijiri's marriage didn't last very long after that.

Toku sighs, tutting and shaking her head. Children these days! If only they were a little less headstrong and knew the value of compromising with each other…

"Come now, Ima," Toku says gently to the young woman who remains frozen at the table, after Hijiri's departure. Toku rests a wrinkled hand on Ima's shoulder soothingly. "Hijiri's words are harsh and could use refining, but he still means well. You shouldn't–"

"Was I wrong?"

Toku pauses, and looks down in concern at the prideful young woman. "… Ima?"

Ima bites her lip, hard enough to draw blood, which makes Toku flounder. She brushes at the young woman's lip, coaxing her to loosen her bite because there's no sense in Ima hurting herself like this–

But Ima stares ahead blankly.

"No…" the young woman finally whispers to herself, like a revelation. Or perhaps, a desperate self-affirmation. "No, I'm not wrong. I can't be wrong. Everything I did, I did for the good of the Tobiume. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says–"

"Ima!" Toku raises her voice, alarmed, but in this moment it doesn't appear that Ima can hear her at all.

"I'm not wrong," Ima shakes her head, and something in the young woman's voice finally breaks. "If I'm wrong, then everything I've done is all useless, a-and… and it means that everyone who trusted me died for nothing! I promised them! I promised that there would be meaning in their sacrifice, that they would help pave the way to a brighter future!"

Warm tears trickle down Toku's face, spurred by the pitiful sight of Ima's own leaking from her eyes. Slowly, Toku gathers the crying child to her chest, gently combing her fingers through her hair just as she'd done when Ima had only been a little girl. The motions are familiar, even with the gap of so many years.

Oh, this poor, poor child.

"Hush, Ima," Toku says softly. "Dry your tears. You've always worked so very hard and tried your best. It's all that anyone could ever have asked of you."

Ima's only response is to bow forward, hunched over her knees and sobbing.

.

.

Gojo Satoru leans back in his seat, stretching.

It's a strange feeling, looking around and seeing the walls of a modernized home around him, rather than the traditional paneling of the buildings in the clan compound. Which is kind of funny, because it's not as if he's not used to this or anything. The hotels that he books into for his 'business trips' aren't always high-class extravagances, but they all tend to be modern buildings with modern conveniences.

Moving out from the clan compound was always part of his plans. Eventually. He hadn't really anticipated buying a house and moving into it with two other adults, three kids, and a cat, but… really, what else could he do when his little cousin looked at him so pleadingly with those doleful eyes of hers? So really, Satoru–

"You're not happy here."

–didn't mind moving up the timeline he'd already planned out for her.

Besides, part of the reason for remaining inside the clan compound aside from wrangling his clan into order was precisely so that he could keep a better eye on Shiki –and the Fushiguro siblings as well, once he'd decided to have the kids stay with them at Shiki's behest.

The elders really overstepped themselves this time, though. Takatomi was probably still patting himself on the back over that plan of his that made Shiki into bait for the Kamo Clan. A plan that was likely also backed by other elders, who wanted to send a message to express their discontent with Satoru for the chaos that ensued in the clan while Satoru had been cleaning house, using 'rooting out Kamo traitors' as a thin smokescreen. He'd succeeded in rooting out the elders' influence in certain key positions when he'd been removing some individuals, and they were upset about it.

Boo-hoo.

Satoru wasn't surprised that the elders would find some way to retaliate against him. He'd been expecting it, even. But to drag Shiki into this –and there was no doubt that the elders were involved, going by how no alarms had been raised when the Kamos infiltrated the clan compound for their kidnapping attempt…

Okay. He gets it, he gets it. People are scared of Gojo Satoru, reasonably so. This includes his own clansmen. He has no doubt that Shiki will also grow to be similarly terrifying someday, except right now she is still a child without the intimidating reputation to warn off others. Unlike Suguru, Shiki is not a Special Grade sorcerer strong enough to handle everything herself –not yet, at any rate. And… Satoru's unabashed fondness of her may have backfired on them, a little bit.

He'd made it too obvious that he cared about her.

… That's fine. It's not something that's worth the effort of hiding, not when there was already such intense scrutiny on his cute little cousin. Even if he'd thought to hide it from the very start, it probably wouldn't have stayed hidden for long. The attention that they would receive if it had been discovered that Satoru was only pretending not to care… no. Better to lay everything out in the open from the beginning.

It helps that Shiki is finally making more headway in developing her cursed technique now. 'Nothingness,' she'd called it, but Satoru is still entertaining the idea of naming something else. Shiki is the same girl who'd nearly renamed Jihei's cat as 'Cat' before Tsumiki had hurriedly informed her that the fluffy menace was already named 'Mi-chan.'

Oblivion, maybe? Nah, that seemed a little too dramatic. Emptiness, then? Perhaps. It was definitely more fitting, but it might also tip off some of the elders…

… Nihility.

Satoru pauses and rubs at his chin, thoughtful. Hmm.

… Well. Setting aside the matter of naming for now, there was still no doubt that Shiki's cursed technique was brimming with possibilities. The way that it ran parallel to his own Limitless… Satoru was curious about how Shiki would develop her abilities in the future. She was already a menace with those pointy blades that she loved so much, but getting a proper hold on her cursed technique would bring her to another level.

Special Grade potential, he thinks to himself, and finds that he's almost eager at the very prospect.

Tsukumo Yuki, the oldest Special Grade sorcerer, made it a point to distance herself from the jujutsu administration due to 'a disagreement in ideals.' Occasionally, though, they would receive reports –generally from Windows and overseas contacts– of powerful cursed spirits mysteriously being annihilated overnight, and a tall blonde woman sighted in the vicinity.

Suguru… is a curse user on the run. Maybe Shiki was really onto something with her suggestion to break his legs…

Regardless; what this means, practically speaking, is that out of the three Special Grade sorcerers existing in this day and age, Satoru is the only one actively taking missions and cooperating with the administration, and there is a lot of work to be done. It's nothing that Satoru can't deal with, even if it seems never-ending. Whatever. This is a responsibility that he's been prepared for ever since knowing what was expected of him as the bearer of both Limitless and Six Eyes.

It's really not much of an 'honor,' that he can say with certainty.

But it's necessary. Curses are always increasing in number, and with the heightened power of cursed spirits these past few decades, the importance of having a Special Grade sorcerer to hold the line was vital. Satoru recalls that more than a few of his childhood assassination attempts had been made out of a desperate effort to 'stem the growth of cursed spirits,' because it was apparently his fault that they were growing stronger. Because Gojo Satoru's birth coincided with the timing of cursed spirits growing in strength, ergo Gojo Satoru was the one responsible for this terrifying phenomenon.

Ha! If that was really the case, then shouldn't every user of Limitless and Six Eyes be murdered at birth? Correlation does not equate causation. Killing off potential sorcerers purely due to baseless fear, in a time when sorcerers were needed more than ever to combat powerful cursed spirits? Did they even think about what they would do if it turned out that Satoru's death didn't change anything about their situation at all? What kind of idiot was calling the shots here?

With people like this seeded everywhere throughout the leadership of the current administration, it's no wonder that things were so goddamned awful. This is why Suguru had mentioned wanting change when they'd parted ways as third year students, right? … To the point where he willingly became a curse user for it?

Although Satoru still wasn't quite sure what murdering non-sorcerers had to do with it, because he's pretty sure that killing off the majority of the human population wasn't much of a solution to anything.

… Yeah. If Suguru was going to try and hightail it again without saying anything the next time they ran into each other, then Satoru is definitely going to give some serious consideration to his cute little cousin's helpful suggestion.

Satoru is drawn out of his thoughts by a quiet knock at his doorway.

"Shiki!" he grins, leaning back even further in his chair so that his head dips back and the upside-down sight of his similarly white-haired, blue-eyed cousin swims into view. "What can I do for my favorite little cousin?"

Shiki raises a plate in her hands, "Tsumiki made senbei."

"Aww, and you brought some up for me?" Satoru sits up and straightens properly, craning over to look at the offering with interest. They look a little lumpy and uneven, but he picks one up between his fingers and bites into it all the same.

Crunchy, and salty. Not his preferred taste, honestly, but bafflingly enough Satoru finds himself plucking another piece out of the bowl after he finishes the one in his hands and biting down again. And again.

… Okay, yeah, the senbei are definitely on the salty side of things. But it leaves a lingering taste of something not-sweet on his tongue that isn't entirely dissimilar, although he still can't quite pin it down…?

"Want to come downstairs?" Shiki asks. "Tsumiki doesn't believe me when I tell her that it's not too salty."

"And she'd be right," he tells his little cousin seriously, which only makes her pout at him. How adorable.

"It's not–"

"C'mon!" Satoru ruffles her hair with a laugh, then steps out the doorway. "Down we go, before Tsumiki comes calling. How did your mission go, by the way? I thought you'd be back earlier than me. Was there traffic or something?"

"Well…"

His little cousin falls into step beside him, and they head down the staircase together to where everyone else is waiting for them.

.

.

…

.