Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Black, everything was black. Why couldn't he see anything? Why couldn't he move? Oh, right.

The Prison Realm

Satoru didn't know how he had been stupid enough to fall for such a cheap trick, he was the Strongest! He could have prevented that stupid thing from trapping him, he knew that much. But… but the monster who did it, he- it- whatever it was, had played dirty.

How could have he imagined that Suguru's face, out of anyone's, was what he was going to see? His best friend, or well, the man who had once been his best friend. A man Satoru had had to kill himself, was in front of him, once again. Satoru was paralyzed, he knew there had to be some kind of trick, Geto Suguru was dead.

Then how was he there? Satoru didn't know, but then he noticed it, the stitches. That wasn't his Suguru, it was an imposter. But how could that monster do that? It even used the same cursed technique Suguru had, spoke like Suguru, everything. What he did know was that he had failed, and this thing had captured him, maybe forever.

Satoru felt something he wasn't used to feel, weakness. How could he, the Strongest, be tricked this easily? What would the others do without him? Because okay, Satoru was arrogant, he was aware of that. But objectively speaking, there wasn't any sorcerer out there who could match his skills apart from Suguru, who was supposed to be dead. Nanamin was strong, yes, but his strength wasn't enough for this group of monsters. And what about his students? They were also strong, but they were so young… Satoru didn't consider himself to be a softie or anything, but he couldn't deny that he had grown fond of his three brats, and was genuinely concerned about their safety.

Yuuji had been dragged into the jujutsu world partly because of him. If he had arrived to the boy's school earlier, he could have aided Megumi and avoided Yuuji the need of eating one of Sukuna's fingers, and he could have continued living an ordinary life. Although Yuuji seemed happy where he was, and Megumi was a bit less grumpy since the pink-haired boy entered their lives, Satoru had even seen the boy smile once or twice a day.

Megumi… well, Satoru didn't know how to feel about him, this death experience certainly was making him reflect, huh? Megumi was, in a way, like a son to him. Legally Satoru was his guardian, so he supposed it made sense. He wished he would have been more present when he decided to take care of the boy, instead of simply supporting him by sending him money and food. But then again, Satoru was a teenager when Toji kicked his ass and announced he had a kid in the verge of death, so he wasn't really prepared to raise a child. But maybe Fushiguro would be less emotionally constipated if Satoru had really been there for him.

And then there was Nobara, the only female first year. Nobara was the best shopping partner Satoru had ever found, she wasn't afraid or shy about spending his never-ending fortune (courtesy of the Gojo clan) and didn't think twice before asking her sensei to borrow his credit card. She was a funny girl, always there to put the boys in their place, even if she was kinda scary sometimes. Kugisaki sometimes remembered him a lot of a younger Shoko, the hair, the personality… Satoru knew she was strong, but… Could she be strong enough to survive this?

Satoru was worried, extremely so. He wanted to move, to scream, to just do something. But he was literally trapped, this thing felt hopeless, cold, empty… He was strong, both mentally and physically, but even a mind like his would probably fall in despair in such a place. How had that maniac called this stupid cube before trapping him? Prison Realm? Satoru had heard of it before, rumors about an artifact strong enough to contain the Six-Eyes. But that was all Satoru knew of, rumors. Who would have thought one of the only few things in this world that could hurt him was in hands of such a psycho. Well, he could say the same about Toji and that freaky spear.

That was that, then, not dead but not alive either. Satoru knew it was a selfish thought, but he wished he would have been killed instead, preferring death over this hopeless sensation, knowing he had the power to help save the world, that he was the most important variable, but that he wasn't being allowed to do shit, if he was dead, at least it would be peaceful. Was that was Suguru was after all those years ago? Peace? The curse user hadn't shown much resistance or regret when he knew he was going to die, he had looked… Calm, accepting. Satoru cursed himself once more, how had he been so blind? So full of himself not to notice how his literal best friend's mental health declined more and more each day? Could Satoru have prevented all this shit from happening?

Guess he'll never know.

But suddenly his vision started to become blurry, and darkness wasn't all he could see anymore. It was… bright, too bright. Had he died? How? When? Had he already been dead as soon as the Prison Realm swallowed him?

But then he started hearing voices, did Heaven really exist? Or was he going to see his entire life flash before his eyes before kicking the bucket? That didn't sound fun.

"I think he's in shock." A young female voice could be heard, accompanied by another that belonged to a grown man "I don't know what happened, sensei. It's like he healed himself with RCT, but I don't know why he's not awake then."

Trying to listen for anything familiar, was that… Shoko? Okay, Satoru was hallucinating, there couldn't be any other explanation as to why was he hearing his friend's voice without the strain of years being addicted to tobacco. He tried opening his eyes, the light immediately making him regret that decision, why couldn't he have his blindfold to visualize his final moment's movie? Truly, what a non-empathetic God.

"Satoru? Are you awake?" Oops, that Shoko look alike had noticed him, Satoru didn't want to be perceived right now "Don't fake sleep, asshole, you worried us all. Come on."

"Hey! Don't pinch me!" Satoru whined as he felt that familiar poke on his cheek Shoko used to torture him back in their school days "You're a weird angel, you know. I thought I'd be treated better in Heaven. But apparently even your hallucinations are cruel to me."

"What the fuck are you babbling about, Satoru? Did you hit your head? Wait, you did-

"Shoko, language." And that was- "Sorry, Yaga-Sensei. But this guy always gets on my last nerve."

Yaga-Sensei? Was Satoru hallucinating his high school era? It had probably been the happiest he ever felt so, it made sense. But then, how was he interacting with them? He certainly didn't remember having this conversation.

Suddenly the bed next to his moved as if it was alive, and as Satoru opened his eyes, he didn't know if he was in a dream or a nightmare anymore.

"Is he awake now? Oh god, Satoru. I thought-

"Suguru, go back to bed. You need your rest too." Shoko clicked her tongue, annoyed as he tried to push her much muscular and taller friend to his bed "He's alive, now go."

"Su-Suguru?" Satoru's voice was small, but it was enough to call everyone's attention "You're alive." He took a deep breath before taking a look at Geto's forehead, no stitches, that was good and all but… "You're alive?"

"I could ask you the same question." Suguru rolled his eyes, black circles under his eyes, but still not as prominent as when he- "But yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit… wounded."

"Wounded can't even describe it, idiot. You have a permanent X all over your body now." Shoko scolded, concern and worry hidden under her deadpan expression.

An X… That was the scar Toji had left on Suguru's chest after he-

"Is Amanai-

"She's alive." Yaga answered then, sitting next to Satoru's bed on a chair "The shot missed her brain for millimeters, she'll be fine with some time to rest and recover. But her caregiver, Kuroi was it? Yeah, she didn't make it."

"When Toji shot, it was headed perfectly to kill. But…" Suguru started explaining, his brows furrowing, oh how Satoru had missed that expression "I don't know what happened, but it was like a bomb of cursed energy exploded where you and Toji were left to fight. It was so strong it even made that man fail his shoot, then he told me you were dead and warned me not to get in the way as he killed Amanai or I'd end up like you." He took a deep breath, being reassured by Shoko's grounding hand on his arm "I-I saw red, I was scared but even more furious, and I fought him with all my strength until I was on the verge of death. Amanai would have been killed if not for Yaga and the first years arriving at the last minute."

Satoru was sure that "cursed energy bomb" had been him, but how, and why? Had he time traveled? No, but time-travel didn't exist, did it?

But everything looked so real. Shoko, Yaga, Suguru… and this mission, it made sense, in a crazy way. During the time he spent living at the Gojo clan, he read the entire library and more, it wasn't as if he was allowed to do much else apart from that and training. There was more than a couple of books he read about the topic of time and space, both of them being related to his techniques. Some of the books discussed timelines, alternative dimensions, the butterfly effect, time travel... At the moment, Satoru classified that entire section of the library as pure and absolute bullshit. But… here he was now, in a younger body, a familiar environment

Had he time traveled 11 years in the past?

Before Satoru had any time to think about how insane everything was, Suguru had gotten closer to him, taking one of his hands into his own "Don't you fucking do that again, you hear me?" Satoru chuckled, he didn't know if it was tiredness, happiness, or whatever. But hearing the always-polite Suguru curse never stopped being funny for him "Gojo Satoru, I'm serious. Promise me, or I swear I'll kill you myself-

Someone cleared his voice then, before a young voice, younger than theirs, spoke "Gojo-san, Geto-san… T-thank you for- s-saving me." Amanai Riko said in a wobbly, cracking voice. Before she broke and started crying while running towards Satoru's bed, kneeling next to him and crying over his bed. Satoru felt weird, a bit nauseous too. After all, the last time he had seen this girl was when he had carried her cold, dead body while a bunch of maniacs clapped over the death of a child. He remembers almost killing everyone in that room, but Suguru had stopped him. Hah, what a hypocrite. "This is all my fault, if I hadn't been stubborn and had agreed to come back here as soon as you found me you wouldn't- Kuroi-" She was hyperventilating now, stumbling over her words.

"Kid, you were about to be offered as human sacrifice." Shoko said, direct as always "I would have been even more difficult."

"No doubts about that." Yaga sighed, he sounded tired "Look, we should be grateful everyone in this room is alive. I'm not happy with the outcome either, Kuroi was innocent. But so were all of you, you hear me? It was a mistake to assign this mission to both of you. Satoru, Suguru, you did well, and I apologize. I'll talk to the higher-ups about this."

Satoru kinda remembers this, in a way. How Yaga's expression turned guilty for weeks after the Star Plasma Vessel mission, feeling responsible. It was always a surprise to hear the man apologize, but after being a teacher himself, Satoru knew the feeling.

"Yaga-sensei is right, we're alive." Suguru nods, Satoru wondered then if he could, in this timeline, prevent Suguru from leaving. Amanai's death had probably been the beginning of his best friend's quick descend into madness, now that she was alive… Could that change anything? "I'm sorry for your loss, Riko-chan. We'll give Kuroi-san a proper burial."

Riko sniffed, trying to wipe the tears off her face with little to zero success "Thank you, she… She deserves it."

"Where will she go now?" Satoru decided to speak, tired of being a mere observer. If he really was in an alternative timeline, if the universe had been merciful enough to allow him a second chance… He'd make the best of it "Kuroi was her only caregiver, and Toji and company may still be after her."

"The bounty isn't active anymore, I don't think Amanai is in any real danger now." Yaga said "Toji probably got some money due to simply prevent the assimilation of the vessel, so I don't think even he has any reason to attack now."

"But what Satoru said it's true…" Satoru smiled, feeling warm inside as Riko used his first name once again "I don't have anyone else who can take care of me now, I think I'm independent enough to take care of myself. But I'm only 14 so-

"Yeah, fair enough." Yaga sighed for what apparently was the tenth time of the day "You have a bit of cursed energy, and you can see cursed spirits. Would you be okay with moving here permanently? You can attend classes with the first years, even if you won't go on missions. At least until everything is more settled and we can decide what to do. But there's no place safer than within Tengen's barriers."

Amanai looked a bit nervous at that, fidgeting with her fingers "But are you sure Tengen-sama wouldn't mind?"

"No, they respect your choice as a free individual. The assimilation is a voluntary process, not even them would force a child into it. We've already discussed it, Amanai-san, you can be sure."

The teenager's expression softened, a little smile on her face "Thank you very much, I'll make sure not to be a bother for any of you."

"You sure about that?" Satoru smirked teasingly, sitting up in bed while ignoring Shoko's angry instructions and Suguru's panicked fussing "I remember you being quite the spoiled little princess, Riko-chan. Begging, kicking and screaming because you wanted another ice cream after already having had two-

"I thought I was going to dissapear! Can you blame a girl for wanting to enjoy some desserts before such an event?" Riko was flushing red, playfully shoving Satoru's non-hurt shoulder.

"I suppose I can't, sweet things are the best." Satoru agreed with a too-serious nod of his head.

"Great, we didn't have enough with one sweet addict that now we have two." Shoko joked, at what Suguru gave her a pointed look "You act as if you don't always have a lollipop in your mouth- ow! Don't hit me, I'm hurt!"

"Children." Yaga muttered, shaking his head. But unable to hide the fondness behind his words "Satoru, about the cursed energy thing Suguru mentioned… Would you happen to know anything about that?"

The playful grin of Satoru's face disappeared, how in the world was he going to explain that he was technically from another world? He didn't want to be looked at as if he was insane, more than usual at that, people already saw him as a lab experiment. "Well?" Yaga tried again when Satoru remained silent.

"Uh… I'm not sure? Maybe it has anything to do with me learning how to use Reverse Cursed Technique?" Hopefully that excuse would satisfy his teacher and classmates. "I don't even know how I did it… I mean I'm sure Toji did kill me, he didn't lie about that. But somehow I kinda revived?"

"So he did kill you after all." Suguru gulped, looking sheepish. Satoru was about to speak when- "I'm so sorry, Satoru. It's my fault, I shouldn't have left you alone. I'm so sorry-

"Hey, none of that. I'm all good, aren't I? And I'm stronger than before!" He chirped, playfully ruffling Suguru's hair (something he had also missed a lot) "Don't overthink it, dude. I'm fine."

"Right…" Suguru mumbled, not sounding too convinced.

"Well, I'll leave you youngsters to rest, then." Yaga got up from the chair "Shoko, please make sure these two idiots behave, and take care of Amanai."

"Yes, sensei." Shoko nodded, Yaga took that as a sign to leave. "And you, miss, are also going to bed." Shoko's voice softened, helping the sleepy and tired Amanai Riko to her bed, where she would finally get the rest she needed.

The rest of the day passed without problems, Satoru talked with his friends, and had a really nice evening. The alien feeling telling him that he didn't belong here was still there, but the relief of seeing everyone he loved alive and well overcame that awful sensation.

Night fell, and Shoko retired to one of the infirmary's bed so she could tend to the wounded if they so needed, she was really a good doctor, even this young. Suguru had dozed off in Satoru's bed, not that he minded, the two of them used to share a bed all the time when they were young. Well, they were young now, it was kinda weird to be back in your 16 year old body, Satoru hadn't gotten used to it. After thinking some good hours about the timeline he left behind, his students, Nanamin, everyone, tiredness came over him and made him fall asleep, wondering about what tomorrow would bring.

"Yuuji, you're going to be late for school. What the hell are you doing in the bathroom? Do you need help?"

Yuuji did need help, because, what? He had been fighting Mahito 5 minutes ago, full of rage after seeing… seeing what he did to Nanamin. Why in the world was he in his childhood house now? With his grandpa alive? And looking like a toddler?

"I-I'm fine, grandpa!" Yuuji yelled, trying not to panic. Had he died? He remembers something, an explosion after… after Gojo sensei was sealed. Everything had turned dark for a second, then blurry, and then here he was.

He came out of the bathroom five minutes later, backpack on. He didn't remember ever being this small, also-

He had looked at his face earlier in the mirror, no Sukuna scars, and apparently, no Sukuna in his head either. But his cursed energy hadn't dissapeared, he felt it coursing trough his body, and he could also see the little cursed spirits around the house when he and his grandpa left for school.

He felt like crying, truly. Maybe he could, after all it wasn't weird for a four year old to cry because he didn't want to go to school. But Yuuji had never cried because of that, so maybe it would be weird, and it would scare his grandpa.

After arriving at the train station, Itadori Wasuke went to his own train to go to work, and Yuuji didn't know what to do. Go to school? Pinch his skin until he woke up from this weird dream? But then he felt it, far away.

Fushiguro Megumi's cursed energy.

So Yuuji wasn't dreaming, cool, maybe? And Fushiguro was here too, the version of their original world, dimension, whatever was going on. Yuuji let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and felt much better than seconds ago. He then made sure to let some of his cursed energy loose, which got him the reaction he wanted, as Megumi answered with a wave of his own cursed energy.

And then, another source of cursed energy popped in. Maybe it was a curse attracted to his power? No, but it also felt familiar, that was…

Kugisaki Nobara!

Yuuji felt again like crying, but this time because of absolute relief. The only problem now was that the three of them were far away from Tokyo, the place when they had originally met, and where they probably should go to try and get some answers. Mobile phones weren't a thing yet, if this was what it seemed it was, a time regression. And even if it wasn't, a four year old normally wouldn't have a phone, Yuuji at least did not.

Panic filled his body again, when suddenly-

"Itadori-kun! What are you doing in 2006, huh? Feeling like being vintage?"

Okay, now Yuuji was definitely crying, as he threw himself to embrace Gojo Satoru's legs "Gojo-sensei! You're here!"

"Well of course I am! I couldn't leave you all alone here, now can I?" He winked under his sunglasses, huh, weird, Yuuji had always seen him with his blindfold on "That would be something just an irresponsible teacher would do!"

"I never thought I'd miss your stupidity, sensei…" Yuuji sniffled

"Excuse me?"

Yuuji flushed furiously, had he seriously said that out loud?! "Nothing! I'm happy you're here, sensei. Fushiguro and Kugisaki are also around, I wanted to go to them, but I don't have a phone and I look like a baby and grandpa is alive and-

"Hold your horses, Itadori-kun. And breathe." Gojo chuckled, patting Yuuji on the head "I warped here as soon as I felt your energy, I was going to go see Megumi but I didn't want to risk finding Toji there-

"Sensei, could you even warp at this age?"

"Oh." Gojo blinked, as if he hadn't given a single second of thought to that fact, which probably was the truth "Nah I couldn't, obviously. I was still getting the hang of it, but it's fine, as long as I go back to Jujutsu High soon." He cleared his throat and clapped his hands "Anywaaaaay, back to business. Yuuji-kun, we have time-traveled."

"We what."

"Time traveled!" Gojo repeated "I don't know how, or why. I thought I was dead and I was hallucinating or something before my brain completely shat down."

"Sensei-

"Shh, let me finish." Gojo interrupted, his tone going uncharacteristically serious "This is absolute nuts, I'm aware. But I know what period of time we are in, some events that happened in our original timeline have already changed." He sighed "Itadori-kun, if what the books my ancestors kept say the truth, we can't go back. But what we can do is change this world, so… so what happened before doesn't happen again."

Yuuji nodded, trying to follow. Had they really time-traveled? His mind was a mess, but… but Gojo-sensei never lied. He was the adult Itadori probably trusted the most, the man who had convinced the higher-ups not to execute him. Even if it was technically simply a delay of said execution, Yuuji knew his teacher didn't plan of letting him die.

To be honest, Yuuji wasn't sure he would even consider the possibility of going back, after all the death and destruction… Gojo-sensei was sealed, Nanamin killed, Kugisaki- No, he didn't want to go back. Maybe it was a selfish thought, the innocent people from that world deserved to be saved and protected, but who would protect Yuuji?

"Okay, so… What do we do now, sensei?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Gojo shrugged "We should reunite with Megumi-kun and Kugisaki, but we have to keep in mind that it would be weird for a bunch of children to suddenly start following me around. I don't want to be a kidnapper at the eyes of everyone else."

"Yeah, grandpa would also worry if I disappeared. And Kugisaki has a family too." Yuuji mumbled

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out!" Gojo did a thumbs up "Let's go see your classmates and brainstorm!" Yuuji felt his arm being grabbed "Wait, sensei-

Aaand they warped right in front of the Fushiguro's house, automatically faced by an adorable but grouchy looking Megumi.

"What if my father had been here? You would be dead right now, Gojo-sensei." He scolded, his little arms crossed over his chest. Honestly, cute.

"That's the first thing you have to say to me, Megumi-chan? Rude…" Satoru pouted, with Yuuji by his side trying not to be sick. It had been quite a while since he had teleported anyone else apart from himself, after all. But the boy recovered quickly, and run towards Megumi, crushing him with a hug "Fushiguro, I'm so glad you're alive, and here…" Satoru noticed the kid was about to cry again, which honestly, fair.

Megumi responded to the hug with an awkward pat on Yuuji's back "Yeah… I am too." He then lifted his face to look at his teacher "Gojo-sensei, what happened? What's going on?"

Satoru tried to explain the time travel thing as best as he could, trying not to leave any detail behind. Megumi was a smart guy, he could help him plan the best way of handling the situation "Okay, I think I get it… So we're going to see Nobara now?"

"That's the plan, yeah." Satoru nodded, looking at the watch he had stolen from Suguru before warping to Yuuji "Have you seen your father?"

Megumi nodded, Satoru could feel a shiver going down his spine, but tried to hide it as best as he could to remain calm "He said something about an annoyingly stupid job that caused him a headache, but that he still got some money from it. Bough me and Tsumiki some food and then left again to do who knows what."

"Yeah, I think I caused him that headache." Satoru chuckled "Anyway, it's good he's not here and that he's a bad enough father so I can steal you for a while. Is your sister home?"

Megumi shook his head "No, she's at school. I told her I felt sick and was going to stay home. She won't come back until 5 pm."

"Alright, we can work with that. Itadori-kun, when do you have to be back from school?"

"At like 5 pm as well, the school provided us with lunch, and then we had nap time and some time to play too." Yuuji explained, his and Megumi's arms already being grabbed "Sensei! I'm going to vomit-

This time they landed at a park, Nobara had been smart, and moved away from her house and school as soon as she had a hint of what her teacher and friends were doing.

"Okay, what the fuck?" Were her first words, she really was a mini Shoko in the making

Satoru felt like a broken radio explaining, once again, that they all had somehow time traveled. And that they were probably the only ones from their original world that had done so.

"I can't go to Tokyo right now, my parents would die of worry." Nobara tsked "And this body is such an inconvenience, I have to wear toddler clothes, can you believe that?!"

"I think there are more important things to worry about now than fashion, Kugisaki-  hey! don't hit me!"

Yup, Shoko reincarnated indeed.

"Look, I'm still not sure about how we're going to do this… But I have an idea." Satoru started "I can try convincing Yaga-sensei, yes guys, sensei. He's not the principal yet. To create like a school for sorcerer children, so they can be in an environment that understands them since they're little. Of course, that would include the families to know about sorcery so… I don't know how I'll do it, but I think it's the best I can come up with at the moment."

"Hm, not your worst idea." Megumi nodded, ignoring Satoru's pout at the implications of that sentence "It could work. After all, it's a well-known fact that sorcerer children grow up isolated, and that can cause multiple problems in a kid's development."

"Yeah… I grew up without knowing a thing about sorcery. But I can imagine how scared a child can if they can see scary stuff no one else can." Yuuji added "I agree, thankfully my grandma is also a sorcerer, so she'll probably agree to Gojo-sensei's idea." Nobara said.

"Well, glad my brain is still working!" Satoru said happily "Time for everyone to go home, take care, and we'll talk more tomorrow." Waving goodbye to Nobara, Satoru warped Yuuji and Megumi to their respective houses, then he went back to Jujutsu High by train, kinda exhausted after all that teleporting.

It was still early, so thankfully, his absence wasn't really noticed. Satoru was going up the stairs when-

"Satoru." Shit, super shit. "Hey, Suguru! Good morni-

"Where were you?"

Oh, fuck.

Chapter Text

"Where were you?"

Satoru wanted to dig up a hole and crawl inside. Of course Suguru would be up and about after being cut like meat not even 24 hours ago, question is, how? Shoko couldn't have let him go that easily, and he didn't have the ability to warp, so…

"Why aren't you in bed?" Satoru asked back, he knew better than to believe Suguru would fall for that, the guy was too smart for his own good. But it was worth a shot, right? "I'm surprised our dear friend isn't dragging your ass back to bed."

Suguru narrowed his eyes. Satoru knew that look, he didn't believe him. "She gave me the okay to walk around campus, and to look for you."

Okay, this wasn't working "How nice! Do you want to watch Digimon?"

"Satoru-

"Come oooooon, it'll be fun. And it's been a while since we watched it, right?" If Satoru's memory was accurate, in this moment of his life he hadn't re watched Digimon in quite a while, having been too busy to even breathe "Pretty please?"

Suguru sighed, it seems Satoru's powerful puppy eyes were still functional "Fine, but don't think I'm going to forget about your little escapade."

Of course you won't "Yeah yeah, come on! Let's get some sweets!" He chirped, dragging Suguru along with him.

The distraction had worked well enough, as Satoru found himself in a situation he thought he'd never live again. They both were in Suguru's bed, Satoru's favorite place to be. "Because your room is the best, Suguru! It's too cold in mine, and your blankets are perfect!"

Satoru wasn't going to lie and pretend everything was fine, it was not. He still double checked Suguru's forehead each ten minutes to make sure there weren't any stitches adorning it, and it felt weird as hell to be alone with the person he once thought of as his other half, his soulmate that he had to kill.

But he had to made peace with the fact that he time traveled, and that this Suguru wasn't aware of what another version of him had done, this Suguru was still uncorrupted, innocent. Satoru was happy to have him in his life, once again. But he still mourned the Suguru from his own timeline, probably will always do. As he was the man who shaped his personality, who helped him understand how life worked outside of a strict sorcerer clan, who taught him how to behave and feel like a person, not a machine groomed since his birth to be the world's savior.

"What in the world are you thinking about?" Suguru got him out of his trance, faced with blinking, confused blue eyes "You always sing the series' opening, why are you so out of it? I'm calling Shoko-

"Hey now, why is it so surprising for you that I think, Suguru?" Satoru pouted, he was distracted and of course detective Suguru would notice it

"Because you never do." Suguru rolled his eyes "Seriously, man. Are you okay?"

"Good as new." Satoru gave a thumbs up, and tried to focus on watching the series "Good old Digimon, it's amazing no matter how many times I watch it…"

"You know, if you like it so much, we could try Pokemon next time-

"Shush! I want to rewind and sing the opening!"

"Of course you do." Suguru groaned, but a fond little smile was visible on his face "Fine, but please don't make my ears explode this time."

After watching a couple episodes, the door of Suguru's room suddenly snapped open "Of course you two are here being anime addicts, why am I even surprised." Shoko sighed, she didn't look surprised at all, used to his friend's antics.

"Would you prefer us to be training our wounded, sick bodies to exhaustion? You're so cruel, Shoko… Want some candy?" Satoru offered, pointing at Shoko with the lollipop he just popped out of his mouth.

"Gross, and no thank you. I don't want your saliva in my mouth if it can be avoided. And it can." She sat on the edge of Suguru's bed, medical documents in hand "You're technically still in no condition to be discharged. But as you dorks are stubborn as an ox , I'll allow you to recover in your own rooms." She shifted the paper she was reading for another "No missions until I say so, bed rest as much as possible, lots of fluids and constant monitoring and check-ups. You got that?"

"Sure, but I feel like an invalid." Suguru protested as he played with his hair, which was getting longer each day, Satoru remembered when he had started growing it out.

Or maybe when he had felt so tired he didn't even had the strength to get a haircut.

"Well, you're kinda an invalid now." Shoko agreed with a shrug "You have a sorcerer killer to thank for that."

Suguru visibly flinched at the mention of Toji, Satoru squeezed his hand to comfort him "That guy… It was actually impressive, how can someone with zero cursed energy be so strong?"

"He has a Heavenly Restriction, a binding vow that gives him physical abilities superiors of those of an ordinary human." Shoko explained as she stole a jelly bean from Satoru's bowl "I've seen photos, the guy certainly looks strong. And he can't be detected by Tengen's barriers, so that makes him even more dangerous…"

"It's okay, he got what he was after. I doubt he'll bother with us anytime soon if there's no money involved, and after kind of getting his ass kicked by Yaga-sensei he'll probably think twice before coming back. He's a dad, a bad one, but he just wants what's better for his kid, in a way."

"He is what?!" A masculine and feminine voice asked at the same time "How do you know that?" Suguru insisted

Shit.

"Oh, uh… he told me? We were fighting and he said something about a blessing. I was confused at first, but apparently that's his son's name, Megumi."

"Megumi, right, Fushiguro has a child." Suguru mutters, still in shock at the revelation "I'm genuinely worried about that kid's situation, honestly."

If this wasn't the perfect moment for Satoru to bring his idea to the table, then it never would be, and Yaga could be more easily persuaded if three of his students agreed on something. So with a deep breath, and a lot of faith, Satoru spoke again "Yeah, me too. That's why I have the solution!"

"If it's something you thought about yourself, I'm scared." Shoko deadpanned, eating another jelly bean "Well? What's your super plan?"

"Let's open a daycare!"

"A what now."

"A daycare!"

"Shoko, check his brain, I think there's something really wrong with him." Suguru suggested, looking at Satoru as if he had grown a second head "Are you concussed?" No, I'm from the future

"Come on, guys, don't be like that! Think about it, we could bring such good into the world, help innocent sorcerer children to grow up in a good environment for them! Wouldn't that be cool?"

"First of all, what are you now, a saint? And you hate children, Satoru." Shoko noted

"Hey now, I've matured! I still believe children are dirty little brats, but they can be cute, can't they? Besides, don't you want to help poor Megumi-chan?"

"How do we even know that Megumi kid is even a sorcerer? Maybe he's like his father." Suguru asked

"Oh, trust me, he is a sorcerer." Satoru nodded "He's a Zen'in, Suguru, and he has inherited the Ten Shadows technique."

"How do you even- Did Fushiguro also tell you that?"

Satoru saw this as a good opportunity to justify his whereabouts this morning, so he did "Some of it, mostly hints. But I've made my own research, that's why I was busy this morning."

"You're telling me." Suguru started, tone going dangerously low, even Shoko didn't feel like interfering "that you oh so calmly decided to investigate about the sorcerer killer's hypothetical son the day after that man almost- no, killed you? Very smart, Satoru, very smart indeed. And you said you've matured? I'm going to kill you again-

"Boys." Shoko spoke "This isn't a discussion we can have with Digimon of all things as a background and a bowl of candy."

"Don't you dare disrespect Digimon!-

"Satoru." Suguru sighed "Shoko's right, we should speak to Yaga-sensei." He was already getting up, placing the bowl of sweets on his bedside table "Do you know if he's in campus at the moment?"

"I suppose he is, yeah. I was talking with him just before I came here. Satoru?"

"Yup, I can feel his cursed energy. He's in his office." Satoru confirmed, the glow of his Six-Eyes filling the room "Soooo, do you guys support my idea?"

"To be fair, I don't know." Shoko answered first, lighting a cigarette as soon as they left the dorms. Yaga would certainly scold her if he caught her "The concept is good, I suppose. But who would take care of the children when you two start leaving again for missions? I could volunteer some times. Believe it or not, I'm good with kids. But I have studies to complete and work to do, I can't be there to take care of them 24/7."

"Maybe we could take turns with the first years too?" Suguru suggested, Satoru was surprised at the words "I think Haibara doesn't really enjoy being a sorcerer, and I'm pretty sure Nanami is the main reason he hasn't told Yaga he wants out."

Satoru thinks he could kiss Suguru right now. Well, not literally, maybe? Uh, that was a thought for another moment. But if Haibara didn't continue to work as a sorcerer, then he would be safe, Satoru or Suguru would be assigned to the mission he lost his life in to protect Nanamin, and no one would die "I think that's the best idea you've ever had, Su-gu-ru! Why the sudden support, though?"

"Well, you two know that I grew up in a family of non-sorcerers, right?" Shoko and Satoru nodded, which Suguru took as a sign to continue speaking "It was lonely, very lonely. My parents love me, sure… But they never understood me, I felt like a weirdo, a monster. And was treated as such by a big part of the village, specially the chief. I… I don't want any child to feel like that."

"Suguru…" Satoru was at a loss for words. He knew Suguru had struggled due to his origins, but this deep? He had really been a shitty friend in his original timeline "Well, thank you then. Let's go talk to Yaga, alright?"

"You're not thinking straight. A daycare? This is no place for children, you are children. Absolutely not."

Satoru pouted, convincing Yaga was going to be difficult. But he knew the man would end up caving in.

"Please, Yaga-sensei? Think of the children! Megumi, for example, he's going to be powerful, dangerously so if the Zen'in clan takes custody of him. Wouldn't it be better to have him on our side? And with a father like that…"

"If that Megumi does exist, having the sorcerer killer as a parent is probably not an easy task." Yaga sighed, massaging his temples "Do you know where he lives, Satoru?"

"Yup! We can kidnap little Megumi-chan right this instant!"

"We are not kidnapping children, Satoru. Or anyone, for the matter." Shoko muffled a laugh, to which Yaga responded by giving her a look "If what you say is correct, and Fushiguro's main goal is supporting his… family, then maybe we can convince him to take Megumi in."

"Sensei, that man is a complete maniac. And, in case any of you forgot, he killed Satoru. Surely you don't think we can negotiate his kid's custody just because?"

"Suguru, I'm not stupid. I'm well aware this isn't going to be easy. But aren't you the ones who wanted to help this kid in the first place? It won't happen at all if your determination is this minimal."

"That's not what I meant! I do want to help-

"Then act like it." Yaga's voice was firm, rough but gentle at the same time, educative. "Satoru, stop bouncing on the chair. If you have anything useful to say, speak."

"Well, I think we can all agree that what Fushiguro is after is money, right? Sure, he kinda killed me and tried to assassinate Amanai and Suguru. But as soon as he saw he wasn't going to easily success and that part of his job was done, stopping the assimilation, he left." He stopped a minute to catch his breath and organize his thoughts, then continued "For someone like him, sneaking into the school and kill us all wouldn't be very difficult. But he hasn't made an appearance, why? Because there's no reward, no money to earn. I also spoke to Megumi in the morning, and Toji really looks like he's trying to give him what he needs, in his own weird way. So I doubt we have to worry about him hurting us."

"You spoke to the child!?" Suguru's neck snapped to the side so fast it could have been broken "Satoru, I'm genuinely considering your sanity and self respect right now, if you're so eager to throw your life away!"

"Children, please." Yaga's forehead vein was throbbing, visible from the outside, ew "Satoru, you're not off the hook, we're having a talk later. But back to the matter at hand, you said this child is kind of Fushiguro's weak spot?" Satoru nodded "Fine, I don't like to involve kids in these kinds of things, but maybe it's a must this time. What do you think?" He looked at the remaining students.

"I don't like this." Suguru said honestly "But… if there's not another choice, then I guess I can't complain, the help we can provide to that kid is probably worth it."

"Yeah, I'm with Suguru on this one. It's kinda nuts to go help the guy who tried to kill us all babysit, but hey, who am I to judge?" Shoko added lazily, his right hand suspiciously hidden behind her back.

"I think Satoru's not the only one here who needs a talk." Yaga said, gaze directed at Shoko's hidden limb "Anyways, fine, we'll do this. Shoko, you're staying in the car in case we need emergency healing. Suguru, Satoru, you and I will try to talk with Fushiguro. I'll have Kento and Yu be our backup, any questions?" Everyone shook their heads "Good, let's go."

After arriving at the direction Satoru provided (Suguru was still questioning how in the world he got it) a familiar little urchin opened the door. "Took you long enough, Gojo-sen-

"Ahem!" Satoru interrupted, giving Megumi a look that made the boy's eyes widen comically. Right, Gojo still wasn't his sensei, or anyone's "Nice to see you again, Megumi-kun! Is your dad home?"

The child nodded, pointing to his sensei "Right there." Satoru frowned, turning around and- of course having fucking Fushiguro Toji with a knife up his throat "I thought I was being merciful enough to allow you to live after learning that you weren't, in fact, dead. Are you looking to go to Hell that much?"

Excuse you, I would absolutely go to Heaven! "No, not really. Thanks for the offer." He said instead, he could feel Suguru and Yaga throwing daggers at Toji with their eyes "I- we, are here to offer you something. Will you hear us out?"

"An offer, you say?" Toji's eyes narrowed dangerously, a fleeting glance fell upon Megumi momentarily "Does it have anything to do with my son? The boy behind you?"

Yaga decided to take mercy on Satoru, and spoke on his behalf "Fushiguro-san, we're aware that your son here has inherited the Zen'in clan's most powerful and demanded technique. Satoru mentioned that you probably don't kill for fun, but to provide. Is that correct?"

"Of course you'd guess all that, fucking sorcerers and their nosy noses." Toji muttered, the grip on his weapon loosening slightly "So what if that's true, huh? Can you blame a father for trying to feed and clothe his kid? He's not even the only one, he has a sister, she ain't a sorcerer, can't even see curses."

Shit. Satoru had completely forgotten about Tsumiki "Fine, we can work with that, I suppose." Yaga's hand found its way to his forehead "Fushiguro-san, my students proposed to create like… a daycare, a place in our school to take care of sorcerer children whose families aren't equipped to raise them properly. Would you agree to leave Megumi-kun in our care?"

"And why should I trust you? For all I know, you'll sell him to the Zen'ins, which was gonna happen anyways. Or you'll kill him in revenge, I may be a shitty dad, but that's still my son."

"Fushiguro-san." Spoke Suguru for the first time since they got here. He still looked tense and wary, rightfully so. "I promise you nothing will hurt Megumi as long as he's with us. You know more than anyone that sneaking into Tengen's barriers is impossible, unless they're like you. And I'm guessing your body's condition isn't very common." He took a deep breath, Satoru noticed his hands were shaking "I'm never going to stop hating you for what you did, that's correct. But your child is innocent, and he deserves a good life."

"I was simply fulfilling a job, kid, and you were in the way." Fushiguro shrugged "But fine, I guess you make a decent point." He look at Megumi again, his gaze softening.

"You're obviously banned from campus." Yaga added "But I'll give you my number, if you accept, that's it. You'll be able to see Megumi anytime you want."

Fushiguro sighed "Fine, whatever… If that's was best for the brat." He walked next to his son, crouching down and ruffling his hair "You wanna go with them?" Megumi nodded "Alright then, go call your sister. 'Cuz you ain't leaving her here, right?"

"No, I guess we're not." Yaga sighed

Tsumiki appeared in the doorstep minutes later, introducing herself politely. Satoru promised to give her some special glasses so she could see curses too and feel more at ease, and then picked Megumi up, which gained him a dirty look that should be impossible for any child. And Tsumiki was picked up by Suguru's strong arms.

Megumi and Tsumiki waved goodbye to Toji, then all of them got into the car, Tsumiki quickly befriending Shoko while Suguru and Satoru chatted with Megumi, with Yaga driving them back.

There wasn't still any special place prepared for the children to live, so the dorms were their provisional residence. There was an empty room next to Nanami's, due to the lack of a third student in first year, big enough for Megumi and Tsumiki to temporally stay.

After fixing and cleaning the room for a bit, everyone was exhausted. Tsumiki fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed, Shoko had to give Suguru a check-up, and Yaga was going to war with paperwork.

That left Satoru and his student alone.

"Well, what do you say, Megumi-kun? Impressive, right?! I knew I could have you here with me again in a matter of seconds!" Satoru happily announced as he crushed Megumi with a hug.

"Gojo-sensei! You know I'm not actually four, right? I can't breathe!" Megumi squirmed, being victim of Gojo's bullying until the older man tired himself out "Anyway… Thanks for bringing me here, and not leaving my sister behind."

"Why of course! If I do something, I do it perfectly!" Satoru winked, his tone getting more serious "I told you this time would be different, didn't I? I'm not going to allow your sister to suffer the same destiny again, I promise."

"Thank you, Gojo-sensei…" Megumi muttered, playing with the hem of his shirt "It really means a lot. I never thought I'd ever speak to Tsumiki again, it's like a dream." Satoru smiled, ruffling the kid's hair just as Toji did before, the boy's hair was surprisingly smooth for how rebel it was.

"Sensei, how are we going to bring Itadori here?" Megumi asked after a few minutes in silence "I had it easier because of my father, but Itadori lives with his grandfather, and he doesn't know anything about sorcery."

"Yeah, I don't know… I've been thinking about it." Satoru sighed, he hated thinking so hard, gives him headaches "We have to tell him about our world, there's no other way. And we're going to need Yaga and… maybe give the old man a tour around campus? I wouldn't entrust my four year old grandson to some randoms talking about curses and techniques either."

"I guess so." Megumi nodded, his little arms crossed over his chest, as usual. But now he looked adorable instead of intimidating (Satoru is not going to tell him that he never actually looked intimidating to begin with) "But I still don't know if he'll agree. For what Itadori told me, his grandfather and him are on their own, they don't have any other family member. I'm sure he's attached to him."

"Ughhhh, this is soooo difficult." Satoru pouted, rolling around the bed "What if… what if we invite Itadori Wasuke to live on campus too?"

"Sensei, did you hit your head?" What's with everyone thinking he hit his damn head? He's fine! "He's not a sorcerer, can't see cursed energy, nothing. Tsumiki at least knows about our world, more or less. But an old man?"

"Don't be so negative, Megumi-kun! I'm sure there's something we can do.." Satoru hummed, then seemed to think of something, bouncing on the bed so dramatically Megumi was almost thrown off it "I've got it! We have to introduce him to Suguru and Suguru's parents. They'll discuss dear Sugu's childhood and experiences, they'll bond and ta-da! Problem solved."

"That's actually… Not a bad idea." Megumi agreed "Fine, try to do that. I'm sure Kugisaki's situation will be much easier, her grandmother is the one raising her and she's a sorcerer. So she'll understand. But will Geto-san approve? I suppose I haven't really met him yet but…" He shivered

"Megumi-kun, I understand why you may be scared of him. Itadori was the one who fought him- well not him, he fought the monster controlling Geto's body. I already told you I had to kill Suguru before all of that happened, right?" Megumi nodded "Good, Suguru is a very nice guy, I promise. And he's still not… well, let's say corrupted. Didn't you see how he argued with your dad just to help you? He's good, really. He won't hurt you."

"Alright, that… that's good. But my question remains, will he accept this? Contact his parents just so we can take Itadori in, and support our idea of having Yuuji with us in the first place?"

"Trust me, Megumi-chan. If there's anyone out there capable of making Suguru cave in, that's me!" He picked the boy up "Come on! We're on a mission!"

"Hey! Put me down! And don't call me that!"

"No." Suguru was in his bed, reading a manga tome Satoru remembers being one of his favorite series, not even looking up from the pages as he flipped trough them.

Satoru had came up with a master plan with Megumi half an hour ago, and it was definitely going to work "Come ooooon, Su-gu-ru! Don't be like that, can't you see how sad Megumi-chan is? He needs a friend!" He squeezed Megumi's chubby baby cheeks to emphasize a pout, if the little Fushiguro was planning murder right now, no one could tell.

"He has his sister." Suguru answered, still not looking up "Besides, where would that boy sleep anyway? The floor? I remind you that we don't have anything prepared."

"G-geto-san?" Megumi spoke, cringing on the inside. Now that called Suguru's attention, who finally got his nose out of that manga to look at the child "I played with Yuuji-kun once when I had to travel to Sendai with my dad, and he was scared because he said he was always seeing scary monsters and his grandpa didn't believe him…"

Satoru noticed how Suguru's gaze softened, how could he not? Megumi was a cute kid when he wasn't frowning like he was a 80 year old tired of living "And I miss him…" Megumi's bottom lip quivered, Satoru would have to give him a prize for being such a good actor.

"Ugh, how are you two already teaming up against me? You just met!" Only if you knew how wrong you are "Fine, fine! I'm in, I'll call my parents and then we'll go see Yaga."

"You're the best, Suguru!" Satoru finally put Megumi down, throwing himself to Suguru's bed to squeeze him in a hug. Physical contact had always been one of his favorite ways to show affection, after all "Thank you!"

"Yeah yeah, it's nothing…" Suguru muttered as he turned his head to the side, hiding the growing flush of his cheeks from Satoru.

"You lot are going to give me gray hair, I swear…" Yaga groaned, he was behind his desk, probably busy with all the paperwork and stuff he had to dealt with in order to open their daycare legally, so they weren't literally kidnapping children "I get it, and I know we're doing this to help kids like that Itadori Yuuji. But can't it wait? Fushiguro's situation was more extreme so we took quick action, but that boy is apparently living well enough with his grandfather."

"But Yaga-sensei, Megumi-kun told us how deeply affected Yuuji is! And there's enough space in the dorm for another bed, right? It'll be fiiiine. Besides, aren't the procedures going smoothly? You haven't cursed the higher ups even once today."

"Yes, Satoru. It's going 'smoothly', as you put it." Yaga agreed, resting his head on his palm "But convincing an old, non-sorcerer man that we're serious and not a random cult isn't going to be a walk in the park."

A cult, huh? Satoru looked at Suguru, who raised an eyebrow in question, how time changes things "Yaga-sensei, I know you're being reasonable but… Talking about experience, growing up in a family of non-sorcerers is very hard, isolating and… well, the sooner Itadori is with us the sooner we can make sure he doesn't get traumatized or anything of the sorts. I also believed this could wait, but Satoru and Megumi-kun can be very convincing."

"Of course, everything always comes to you, Satoru. Does it not?" Yaga massaged his temples, pushing his reading glasses up "And now you have a cute little brat to help you in your scheming."

Megumi, who had remained silent until now, protested "I'm not a brat."

"Obviously not! Megumi-chan is a cute little angel, right?" Satoru giggled as he, once again, squeezed Megumi.

Yaga rolled his eyes, but was already getting up "Let me get one thing clear though, Itadori Wasuke, you told me that's the grandfather's name, right? He can't live here, I'm already making an exception of allowing a non-sorcerer among our ranks, that is not the purpose of this project. You understand?" the teenagers nodded "Good, we can show him around, that's fine. But he's not staying. Satoru, do you know where to get those glasses you said you were going to get for Fushiguro's sister? We're going to be needing a pair."

After some shopping and chilling around (Satoru convinced his teacher and classmate to stop for ice cream using Megumi as an excuse) they arrived to the Itadoris' house.

Yaga knocked on the door, and after some shuffling and moving from the inside, a short, angry-looking old man appeared on the other side "I'm not buying anything, fuck off."

Satoru grimaced, this was going to be difficult-

"Fushiguro!" Itadori stormed thorough the door from behind his grandfather "Ojiichan! He's my friend!"

"Yuuji!" Itadori Wasuke groaned, poor man "What I have told you about strangers? Where did you meet this people?"

"I met him at the park, sir." Megumi spoke before Yuuji could destroy their plan and facade "I'm Fushiguro Megumi, and these are my guardians."

"Your guardians? Kid, where are your parents? Are you kidnapped? I'm calling the police-

"Itadori-san, please. We're not criminals." Yaga sighed, trying to regain control of the conversation "Megumi's father entrusted us with his son, as he can't take care of him. Look." He reached for his phone, an old one, but messages and pictures were thankfully already a thing "This is his dad, and our conversations about Megumi and his sister, who is at home being taken care of by a very nice girl called Shoko."

"Right… Well, what do you want? I don't have all day." Wasuke asked, his eyebrows raised in suspicion "Come in, I don't want the entire neighborhood to spy on us."

"Well, allow me to explain!" Satoru spoke as they entered the house "To sum up, we're sorcerers, we kill ugly evil things called curses with our own powers called curse techniques. You normies can't see those, obviously, but that's why our job is secret!"

"As direct as always…" Suguru muttered

"Yeah, sure. And I'm the emperor of Japan. Are you guys high? Look, I'm not interested in drugs, go fuck off-

"Sir, forgive me for my bluntness. But you're not entirely capacitated to take care of Yuuji." Yaga intercepted

"The fuck are you talking about? He's my grandson, of course I'm capacitated to take care of him!" Itadori yelled "Look, Yuuji is all I have left, and I'm all Yuuji has too. So for the love of everything that is holy, leave us the fuck alone."

"Yuuji is like us." Suguru said then "He's not an ordinary kid, he's a sorcerer. Itadori-san, you're hurting him by not listening to us-

"Suguru, that's enough." Yaga scolded "But he's right, in a way. Itadori-san, your grandson needs our help. In the place we live in, there's a lot of people like Yuuji, who can see what he does. He won't feel different there, and he'll learn how to control his own powers."

"I have just the thing! Here, Itadori-san. Try these on." Satoru placed the cursed energy filled glasses over the old man's nose "Suguru, do your thing!"

Suguru then summoned a curse, a small one, a flyhead. "The fuck-

"That, Itadori-san, is a curse." Satoru explained "Yuuji-kun, you can see it, can you?"

"Yeah! It's very ugly, ojiichan." Yuuji's face scrunched up, as if disgusted, Satoru would need to give two acting prizes today "He can see that thing without the glasses? What are even this glasses? And is that thing dangerous?!" Itadori Wasuke asked, in a bit of a panic.

"Worry not, Itadori-san! That's a very weak curse, and also, it's being controlled by my friend's cursed technique here. Point is, Yuuji belongs to our world, do you believe us now?"

"This sounds like bullshit, but I guess I have to believe you." Wasuke sighs "I'm too old for this shit. So, what do you want? Take my grandson away from me?"

"We invite you to come see the place where we all live, Itadori-san." Yaga said "It's called Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, or Jujutsu High. I'm a teacher there, and these two boys are my students." He pointed to Suguru and Satoru "Suguru's family situation is similar as Yuuji's, his parents aren't sorcerers, but we've told them about our world. We've gotten in contact with them, in case a conversation would help you trust us more. And if after visiting you're still not convinced, you can take Yuuji back."

Itadori Wasuke looked down at his grandson, Yuuji was all smiles and excitement, the little ray of sunshine that he was. Even after all the death and chaos he's seen, he's always able to smile and bounce back stronger than ever "Fine, fine… Let's go then."

"Okay, well. This wasn't as I was expecting." Itadori Wasuke mumbled as they arrived at Jujutsu High, even if the old man complained, Yaga assisted him to go up the stairs "It doesn't look too much like a cult."

"We are not a cult, Itadori-san! We're a school!" Satoru repeated for the hundredth time since they got on the train to Tokyo "Look! There's Shoko and Tsumiki-chan, hey girls, we're here!"

"Megumi! Gojo-san! Geto-san!" Tsumiki run towards the boys, lollipop in hand "Who are they?"

"This is Yuuji-kun! And that is his grandpa, Itadori-san!" Satoru introduced

"Didn't know we were also adopting grandfathers." Shoko deadpanned

"Shoko, we're showing Itadori-san around. He's not staying. Why don't you take the children to play somewhere? We have adult stuff to discuss." Yaga asked "Sorry for putting you on babysitting duty."

"Nah, it's fine. Come on, little bugs, let's go."

After showing Itadori Wasuke around and introducing him to the first years (Satoru felt sick to the stomach as soon as he saw such a young Nanamin accompanied by an alive Haibara) and talking on the phone with Suguru's parents, the old man agreed this was the better place for Yuuji to be.

"Don't you dare think I'm doing this for you and your charity, I'm doing it for my grandson. He's all I have, I'm getting old, and he's not even- never mind. Take care of him, okay? If Yuuji loses even a single hair, you all are going to the police and your secret won't be a secret for any longer."

"Don't worry about a thing! I assure you Yuuji is going to be happy here." Satoru smiled "You have all our contacts, you can call us anytime you want to speak to Yuuji, and if you want to visit, we'll arrange it. Right, Yaga-sensei?"

"Sure." Yaga nodded "As long as I'm alive, I won't let anything happen to Yuuji. You have my word."

They were now showing Yuuji to his room, the one he'll have to share with the Fushiguros until everything is ready "I'm staying then? Nice!" Yuuji smiled, then he looked at his grandfather and his expression dropped "Ojiichan…"

"Don't worry about me, Yuuji. I just want what's best for you, and if it's this, then so be it." Itadori Wasuke patted Yuuji's head

"Now, now. Don't look so sad! Yaga-sensei gave me permission to have a pajama party tonight with Itadori-san! Suguru, Shoko, bring it on!"

"I think this is going to scare Itadori-san instead of assuring him that this is a good environment for his grandson…" Suguru sighed, carrying a cake Satoru bought on a whim as soon as Yaga suggested that Itadori-san spent the night in campus.

"At least he's having fun, right?" Shoko shrugged, referring to Satoru "He needs it, didn't look like himself yesterday."

"Yeah, he's acting… different." Suguru hummed "But I'm glad I can see his smile again."

And then they all started playing games and eating with the children, even Itadori-san smiled. Not noticing Yaga's fond expression as he passed trough the door.

Chapter Text

After everyone passed out during the pajama party, Satoru remained awake. It had been quite an intense day, after all. Recovering not one but two of his students who time traveled with him was no easy task, even worse when he had to pretend he wasn't from the literal future in front of his friends and teacher.

Satoru was exhausted, but he still couldn't sleep. With so much going on around him he didn't have the time to stop and catch a breath, to think. This was nuts, crazy, it should be impossible. But no, his stupid elders were right on keeping those damn books, time travel did exist, and this was the proof of it.

He looked at Suguru, relief filling him instantly when he checked once again the absence of stitches on his forehead. But at the same time, a feeling of absolute guilt ate him from the inside. He knew Suguru was smart, decisive, and he made his own decision back then when he decided to leave everything behind and become a bloodthirsty cult leader. But Satoru couldn't help but think that he could have avoided all of that.

He could see it now, how his best friend didn't smile that often anymore, laughed, or took care of himself like he used to do when they first met. Suguru had always took great importance in his appearance, how his hair was done, his earrings... Satoru had been blind in his previous lifetime, even if that sounded impossible for someone who could literally see it all, courtesy of the Six Eyes.

Satoru was confused and anxious, he would have thought he was dead or hallucinating if it wasn't for his students, who thankfully remembered everything like he did. Even if sometimes Satoru wished they didn't, such young people shouldn't need to suffer what those poor kids went trough, specially Yuuji. Not everyone was destined to be the vessel of an ancient curse of the Heian era, after all, a really bothersome spirit Sukuna was.

Taking a peek of a little Yuuji, small hands curling up to snuggle, tiny body seeking warmth in the arms of his equally small friend. It was adorable, and Satoru's heart hurt at being unable to protect such innocence in their original timeline.

But what's done it's done, and punishing himself for a past he couldn't change wouldn't take him anywhere. Better to prepare for a future he knew he could change. And even if he sometimes thought so, he wasn't alone, and swore to himself he would change the destiny of this world.

He grabbed a sketchbook he shamelessly stole from Yaga's desk the day before and started writing on it, he really missed 2018 in times like this, when he didn't have his precious tablet to type on.

Taking Nobara in will probably take a bit longer, it was already a success to convince everyone to go take Yuuji in after just going for Megumi. Nobara also lived with someone like her, so Yaga would probably argue about separating grandma and granddaughter. But Satoru knew Nobara loved and missed her grandma so, it'll be fine until they have their daycare really opened.

Just as if eyes started to drop and Satoru decided to let sleep come find him if it wanted so, some shuffling was heard from the other side of the room. Between the pillows and blankets that were arranged for Suguru to sleep, said man was waking up. Satoru quickly closed his eyes in a panic, but it was too late.

"Satoru, I know you're awake. Stop pretending." Suguru's voice sounded tired "Why are you up though? Something on your mind?"

"Nah, you know I've always struggled to sleep. Same old, same old." He pushed the notebook under the pillow, he didn't want Suguru to see his suspicious notes about the future after all "And why are you awake, hm?"

"Don't know, I simply woke up. I'm going for a smoke-

"Wait, wait, wait. You still smoke?!" Satoru's mouth widened open "I thought you cut it off!"

"Oh, I did." Suguru affirmed, opening Shoko's bag silently to grab a cigarette "But sometimes I just… It's not of your business."

"It is! Come on, Suguru. I can't just stand here watching you blacken your lungs, nope, not happening. Give that back." He demanded while extending a palm

Suguru stared at it for a long, tedious second. Then he lifted his gaze to Satoru's face, blank expression on "No." he then got up and left the room, being careful not to step on any limb.

Satoru pouted, following after him. Did Suguru continue to smoke behind his back in their original timeline? It would make sense that he hid it from him, as Satoru always declared than tobacco was gross and that Shoko would die in her twenties because of lung cancer.

Who would say that in the end, she was the one who would outlive everyone.

"You can stay inside if you want, you know. I'm still smoking this, and I know you don't like the smell." Suguru lifted the cigarette, automatically placing it over his lips

"I despise the concept of smoking, Suguru, not just the smell." Satoru's pout deepened, sitting on the other side of the dorm's front porch "Why do you smoke, anyways? I can't see why you'd enjoy hurting your organs on purpose."

"Of course you don't understand, mister perfect." Suguru grumbles, was he being petulant?

"Excuse me?" Satoru's pout turned into a frown, and he was already up and next to Suguru in an instant "What's that supposed to mean, Suguru? Have I done anything to offend you?"

"Being strong and charismatic isn't the solution to everything, you know? I'm sure this daycare of yours was just another one of your whims. And you'll drop it on me and the others when you're tired of playing house."

"I don't really know what the fuck I've done bad here, Suguru. And why you're being such an asshole to me? I thought you liked the idea!"

"And I do, and I like seeing you smile. I just- I'm sorry, Satoru, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm tired, don't mind me." He took another puff of the cigarette, looking up at the sky, seemingly lost in thought.

"Well, forgive me. But I am going to mind you if you decide to insult me out of fucking nowhere." Was Suguru always this rude? Well, of course he was. They both argued day after day back when they were in first year, and even after becoming friends, they were never short of arguments. Suguru was a teenager, Satoru technically was 28 years old, even if he didn't feel like it at all since he time traveled. He should be the big person here, right? The voice of reason? But Satoru has always been impulsive "Maybe if you didn't have a stick up your ass all the time, you wouldn't need to be smoking like a loner to feel better."

Suguru's sharp gaze settled on Satoru once again, who gulped "Suguru, I didn't mean-

"No, you did." Hurt was evident in his voice, as he threw his finished cigarette to the ground and stomped on it to avoid an accident "Goodnight, Satoru." He started heading away, not back towards the dorm.

Satoru suddenly felt a sense of deja vu, going after Suguru, Suguru ignoring his words, leaving… Leaving and not coming back.

"Suguru.." And Satoru's panic was probably not very well-hidden, as Suguru's softened expression was the next thing the Six-Eyes user saw "Seriously, I didn't mean it."

The younger boy sighed "We'll talk tomorrow, sleep." And with that he left, making a beeline to the training grounds. Satoru decided then to leave him be. Suguru had told him they'd talk tomorrow, so he wasn't leaving. Good, that was good.

Satoru returned inside, sitting on the edge of the bed. Yuuji had moved in his sleep, face now over Megumi's stomach as both boys remained peacefully in dreamland, with Tsumiki curled up next to her little brother.

Itadori Wasuke had obviously been given a bed to sleep in, it was already too late to go back to Sendai by train when they finished showing him around. Satoru offered to warp him home, but Yaga automatically refused, not wanting to give the old man a heart attack. So there he was, snoring away.

The watch attached to Satoru's wrist said 5:30. They usually woke up at 8 am for class to start at 9, but Suguru was an early riser, and liked to be up since way earlier. Not this early though, and not when his depression really started kicking in, with Satoru having to wake him up most of the days.

He had been so blind.

But as a light sleeper and a chronic insomnia victim, Satoru couldn't go back to sleep. And after experiencing that… flashback? Or whatever that awful feeling was, he didn't even want to close his eyes, as visions of another Suguru abandoning jujutsu society, abandoning him, filled his mind automatically.

Training was an easy way for fatigue to appear in his body and help him rest, but he didn't want to find Suguru and have another fight or whatever had happened at the porch. So he thought about doing some more research around campus, it has been a while since he had lived in 2006 after all.

Everything was the same, mostly. Apart from some trees and bushes here and there that Satoru's students (special mention to Yuuji) had destroyed while trying different training methods their deary beloved Gojo-sensei came up with.

In his wandering he came face to face with a vending machine, where he and Suguru used to camp everyday waiting for new drinks to come out, or for Satoru to order the most sweetest of drinks he could find and forcing Suguru to try them, even if he was boring and enjoyed stuff like plain black coffee.

He smiled at the thought, pouting seconds later when he didn't see his beloved watermelon soda among the options, remembering then that it didn't come out until 2007 or 2008. He really missed the modern era.

"Gojo-senpai? What are you doing here?"

Satoru's heart almost burst out of his chest after hearing that voice, he had been so consumed by nostalgia he didn't feel a very familiar flow of cursed energy getting closer. He turned around to face his kohai, tight grin on.

"H-hey, Nanamin! Why are you awake already? Don't you children need your beauty sleep to grow big and strong?"

"Senpai, I'm 16. I'm not a child. And please refrain from calling me that." Awww, Nanami was already so uptight in his youth, even with that emo haircut he had going on. Satoru had missed that so much… After all, Nanami was never the same after Haibara died. This was being a night full of emotions, Satoru prayed to every god that Haibara wouldn't be here as well now or maybe he'd lose it "Haibara is ill, so I stayed up to take care of him. He finally fell asleep so I thought of getting some fresh air and his favorite drink to cheer him up."

"How considerate you are! I raised you so well! I'm proud." Satoru fake sniffed while giving a couple pats to Nanami's back "Haibara probably loves your gentleman side- Oh? Are you blushing? Nanami Kento is blushing!"

"Senpai, stop it…" Nanami was, in fact, blushing. Interesting, Satoru would investigate that in another time. "Why are you here? You tend to sleep in."

Satoru placed a hand over his chest, being dramatic "How dare you, Nanamin. I can be an early riser too."

"Senpai, I know you're not."

"Actually, fair."

"Then?" Nanami tried again, was he always this curious? Being a salary-man certainly killed his personality "Did you have another fight with Geto-senpai?" Perceptive, too.

"Something like that, yeah. Anyways, go check on your friend." His Six-Eyes eyes glowed in the dark, a light blue color adorning the night "I can feel his cursed energy, he's getting up."

"What? How? But he had just- Ugh. Thank you, senpai. Please get some rest." Nanami gave a little nod, then he left as fast as he could, obviously worried about Haibara, cute.

Without nothing much to do apart from waiting for morning to come, Satoru was defeated by nostalgia. Buying another of his favorites, a melon soda, and heading back to the dorm.

The first hours of the day flew by. After everyone woke up, they tidied the room up. Itadori Wasuke had another long conversation with Yaga about Yuuji, and asked him to call him when the younger man had some free time to discuss something important that Satoru had no idea about. Probably more nagging and fussing over his grandson.

Suguru hadn't even looked at Satoru once since they accompanied Itadori-san to the train station. He was all smiles and chuckles with everyone else, but not a single Good morning to his supposedly best friend.

Maybe Satoru was being childish, but he didn't mind. Suguru had been in the wrong for insulting him first, so what if Satoru's tongue loosened a bit too much? He had the right to be upset after hearing such words for someone dear to him, did he not?

Back at Jujutsu High, Satoru told Megumi and Yuuji to wait for him in the training grounds, when Shoko dragged him by the collar of his uniform.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? This is expensive, Shoko!"

"Right, like you care about things like that." She scoffed "Look, Satoru. I don't know what you and Suguru were up to last night. Because yeah, I noticed the absence of a cigarette in my bag, and Suguru wasn't there this morning. So spill, what have you done?"

Satoru whined "Why does it have to be me the one who did something? Suguru insulted me, Shoko. He then kinda apologized but…

"But you insulted him back and here we are, right?" A nod "I knew it. Anyways, go fix that. I can't handle two stupid, oblivious boys brooding and moping around all day." Satoru opened his mouth to speak and probably protest "No, shut up. I know what you're going to ask. And yes, I've also given this talk to Suguru. So please, for my sanity, do something."

"Fine, fine… I'll go talk to him after checking on the children, deal?"

"Deal, now go." She shooed him away while lightning herself a cigarette. Satoru obeyed, and were to find his little ducklings.

Yuuji and Megumi were… sparring? Satoru supposes they are, anyway. Little limbs flailing around and small legs barely tall enough to reach Satoru's knee trying to kick the other.

"Are you guys fighting or training?" He asked with an amused chuckle, arms crossed over his chest as he got closer to the pair.

"Training, or… well, trying to." Yuuji pouted, frustrated "It's too difficult to move like this, sensei! It's like…

"Like we have the coordination of a real four year old." Megumi finished for him "It's the same with my Ten Shadows Technique, I can summon the same spirits I had already controlled but.. they're much weaker, my dogs are literal puppies."

"Hmm, I think our powers have regressed a bit? To a degree where our actual bodies can handle them. I felt it the other day when I found you guys. I could warp, something I still hadn't controlled very well by this time in the previous timeline. But I got exhausted after like 4 or 5 tries, when before I could do it all day and between much more distant areas. I'm not even sure if I can cast a domain without tiring myself out." Satoru explained, poking his students' chubby cheeks "So that means we're going to be weaker than we were for a little while, but we have the benefit of already controlling such a large amount of our powers, so we'll be stronger than we were when we reach our original age."

"Okay, that makes sense." Yuuji had already sat down on the ground, Megumi by his side "What's the plan then, sensei? Are we taking Nobara in today?"

"I don't think so." Satoru adjusted his glasses as the light started to give him a migraine, he really should get a blindfold soon "It was already a challenge to convince Yaga to go get you, Yuuji. And I had my friends' support, but…

"But?" Megumi asked

"But Suguru is mad at me." Satoru groaned, he felt silly, explaining teenage drama to kids who were actually teenagers themselves "We had a little disagreement and he's not talking to me." the mention of Suguru made Yuuji pale "Hm, sensei. Fushiguro explained to me that this Suguru isn't that thing I fought back in Shibuya but… I'm sorry, he's been very kind to me. But he still scares me."

"I've already said this to Megumi, I understand how you may be wary of Suguru. At least until some more time passes, I myself am sometimes. But I know him, I know this guy, and he's not a bad person. Just… someone who had it rough and made poor choices. But I intend to help him and avoid the future waiting for us all if Suguru chooses that path again."

"Are you the strongest because you're Satoru Gojo or are you Satoru Gojo because you're the strongest?"

Satoru visibly flinched at the sudden memory, causing Megumi and Yuuji to show him worried looks "My point is, Suguru is still just Suguru here. He won't hurt you, so don't worry about it, alright? He's very good with kids for what I know. Tsumiki is already very enamored with him." He smiled at the memory of the girl asking the teenager to be picked up the night before, and how she convinced him to let her braid his hair.

"Tsumiki likes everyone, that's just who she is." Megumi shrugged, kicking a pebble "But yeah, we should give a chance to Geto-san, Itadori."

Yuuji looked reluctant, but he trusted Megumi "Alright then, but I still don't feel comfortable being alone with him, if that's okay…?"

"Sure, kid. Don't worry about it, you don't have to do that if it's not strictly necessary." Satoru reassured as he ruffled the boy's pink hair.

"Sensei, are you aware that we're not really kids-

"Nonsense, Megumi-chan! Come give your good old teacher a nice, big hug!"

"GOJO-SENSEI, I can't breathe!"

Satoru spent the rest of the day with his students. He and Suguru were still technically on medical rest, so classes were cancelled and they didn't have to go train. Shoko had been surprised at first at finding him voluntarily taking care of the boys, once again suffering Satoru's speech of maturity. Tsumiki had begged Shoko to take her on a 'girls day' or something the child had seen on a TV series, and after making sure her stubborn patients and friends didn't need her, she agreed on taking Tsumiki to the shopping center.

Yaga informed later in the evening that the higher-ups had agreed to open their daycare, and that they'd send helpers if they were needed. Of course Satoru knew they didn't accept out of the kindness in their hearts, but because they thought it'd give them the chance of grooming more children into curse-killing machines.

After that, Satoru looked for something to entertain his students. He found a soccer ball lying around and as soon as Yuuji saw it, his eyes lightened up. "It's been ages since I've had the time to play soccer!" Satoru's heart sank "Come on, Fushiguro! Let's go play!"

The distraction was a success, now Satoru was mentally preparing to go see Haibara. He had seen the boy yesterday, but hadn't had the mental strength to talk to him. Last time he saw him he was… well, a corpse.

But if his and Suguru's theory was correct, Haibara didn't actually enjoy being a sorcerer. It was a hard, high-risk job that wasn't really appealing to anyone, more of a necessity and a responsibility for those with enough power to protect the weak. And Haibara's family knew nothing about sorcery, believing that his son was studying in a peaceful and prestigious Buddhist school. Haibara's personality was, in a way, similar to Yuuji's. A ray of sunshine whose optimism always won over any negativity in the room. Satoru wanted to protect that.

Maybe if he talked to his kohai about dropping sorcery as a whole and focusing on the daycare, he'll be more successful than if he told him to completely abandon the institution. Mainly because Nanami was still here, and now it was more clear than ever that those two had something going on between them, and wouldn't go anywhere without the other following close behind. It wouldn't be the same, of course. Nanami would have to look for another mission partner. But Satoru was certain the younger man would prefer having Haibara as a babysitter of sorts than not having him at all.

You can do this, Satoru. You've already talked to Suguru, Suguru! This will be a walk in the park!

But it wasn't.

Satoru knew Suguru, yearned for seeing him again, so much that even the shock of finding himself eleven years in the past next to his 'dead' best friend didn't overcome the pure joy he felt at being able to talk to him again.

The thing is, he also appreciated Haibara, a lot. But they weren't that close, didn't have the time to become so, honestly. But each time he looked at Nanami's crestfallen expression after losing him, something broke within Satoru. He could fight, argue and then hug Suguru to regulate how he felt about the guy. But he didn't know how to interact with Haibara… Well, everything for his children, he supposes. Isn't he such a great dad already? Toji should take notes.

Nanami had said Haibara was sick. And for what he understood, he was a guy with good taste who liked sweet things. So wanting to make a good impression (more chances of the younger boy listening to him) Satoru made a mental note the night before of the drink Nanami bought from the vending machine, and bought the same one.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on Haibara's door, and was surprised when no one answered. Maybe he was asleep?

"Gojo-senpai." Satoru jumped again, what's with Nanami and his ability of causing him heart attacks?! Maybe he should start living less in his mind and more in the real world, huh "If you're looking for Haibara, he's in my room."

Of course he is "Thank you, Nanamin!" He exclaimed instead, rushing into the blonde's room while ignoring said teenager's protests "How are you, Haibara-kun? Here's your favorite senpai-oh." Suguru was also in the room. What. The. Hell?!

"You didn't give me the time to warn you, senpai." Nanami muttered in his ear. Satoru cursed his impulsivity once again.

Haibara, gods above bless him, while completely unaware of the tension between his senpais, showed Satoru a huge grin "Gojo-senpai, I'm so glad you came to visit! I'm surprised you weren't with Geto-senpai, though."

"Yeah, well… I was uh, busy, yup. Very busy." Ignoring Suguru's eyes piercing through his soul, Satoru took a sit next to the bed "Here, I brought you a little something!" Haibara's smile grew as soon as he was presented a cherry soda "Thank you so much, senpai! How did you this was my favorite?"

"Nanamin here told me." Satoru babbled without hesitation, Nanami looked at him with an incredulous expression "He was so very worried about you he wanted all of us to try and make you happy. Truly, so sweet."

"That's not-

"Seriously? Thank you, Kento!" Haibara giggled, sickness forgotten as he jumped out of bed to hug his classmate, whose face was getting redder and redder "Uh, yeah… It was nothing, Y-Yu."

Adorable. "Anywayyy, it seems like you're feeling better now. Would you mind listening to some stuff I've been thinking about?"

"Oh, you mean the daycare?" Satoru nodded, expression confused "Geto-senpai was actually telling me about it before you arrived. Honestly? I like the idea, I've always enjoyed taking care of children and they seem to like me back. But the thing is…"

"He's worried about the higher-ups' opinions, and about leaving Nanami alone." Suguru spoke for the first time since Satoru entered the room, avoiding his gaze "Because they're the only first years of this promotion."

"I've told him not to worry, that I'll get paired up with you or Geto-senpai for missions and that we'll still be together here. But he's stubborn." Nanami added, making Haibara pout.

"Haibara-kun." Satoru got serious then, making everyone in the room, including Suguru, look at him "Do you like being a sorcerer?"

"I-well, I can handle it?"

"I know you can." Satoru nodded "But do you like it?"

"Not really, no." He finally admitted, biting on his bottom lip as if to ground himself "I try to be positive, I really do! And I know Kento is always there to have my back. I like helping people, yes. And I know I can do that being a sorcerer, but… I'm also scared, each time I receive a new mission I just… I panic."

"Yu…" Nanami muttered, pulling his friend into a hug

"You can spend some days with the children, see if you like it and then make a choice." Satoru proposed, Haibara nodded while wiping off some tears. Satoru decided to give them space, so he left the room, followed by Suguru.

"Speaking of children, where are Megumi and Yuuji?" Suguru asked, hands in his pockets "I know Shoko was taking Tsumiki somewhere so-

"Oh, now you're talking to me again?" Satoru couldn't help but snap "I thought you didn't enjoy hanging out with 'Mr perfect'. And for your information, they're in the courtyard playing soccer.

"I already apologized yesterday." Suguru muttered, was he pouting? He was definitely pouting "I didn't mean it, Satoru. Again, I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that, okay? I'm not… never mind."

"Fine, apology accepted." Satoru sighed "I was also mean to you so… I'm sorry too."

"Are you sick?" Suguru immediately asked, placing a hand on Satoru's forehead "Weird, you've never apologized before. Are you sure you're Gojo Satoru and not an imposter with the same body?" Satoru felt a shiver down his spine, once again, flashbacks filled his vision.

"Please do not joke about that ever again, I mean it." Satoru's voice was tight, suddenly feeling like he was about to vomit. He then remembered Suguru was there, unaware and suspicious "Of course it's me, Su-gu-ru! Truly, it hurts me you think I'm unable to apologize…"

"There you go again, twisting my words." Suguru rolled his eyes, but Satoru could sense that he felt more at ease now "Thank you for apologizing, Satoru. Come on, let's check on the kids."

Both boys walked towards the courtyard, where Satoru had last saw his students happily playing soccer. He wasn't expecting to see both of them covered in dirt, whole bodies scratched, and guilty expressions on their faces.

"Have you been playing soccer, or fighting a curse?" Satoru asked, at what Suguru mumbled "They're just kids, Satoru. Don't scare them if you want them to be sorcerers in the future."

"I don't care about that! You're not the one who's going to have to give Yaga explanations about why they look like they've been left alone without supervision!"

"We were kinda left alone without supervision." Megumi intervened

"Oh come on!"

Chapter Text

A week had already passed since Satoru and company traveled back into the past, almost a complete week of Jujutsu Daycare's creation.

Satoru had warped the day before to check on Kugisaki, explaining how it would probably take some more time until they could go collect her. Thankfully but not surprisingly, the girl didn't care. She was actually having a great time with her grandmother, and after her teacher reassured her that both Yuuji and Megumi were safe and sound, she told him not to worry and to take his time.

When had she matured so much? Satoru was like a proud father now, but how could he not? The sight of a baby Kugisaki trying to scold him for warping right into her bedroom when he could be easily caught by her guardian was just too fun. And even then, he knew she was just worried, and that deep inside she wanted to go back to her classmates as soon as possible.

Don't worry, I won't take long. And with an awkward but fulfilling hug, Satoru warped right back to Jujutsu High.

During the last couple of days, Haibara was introduced to the children. Megumi and Yuuji were very obviously not your ordinary four year old boys, but Satoru hoped no one would guess they were actually teenagers trapped in a toddler's body.

The younger had been ecstatic as soon as he met the little pair, Haibara loved children, and even if these two were more than they appeared to be, they started loving him back.

Even Megumi did, no matter how his face scrunched up anytime Haibara talked to him with a baby voice and how he fussed and squirmed when he was picked up.

Satoru and Yuuji were having a blast because of the boy's actions.

"Laugh all you want, let's see how you act once I get revenge." Megumi had protested one of those times the three of them were left alone. Suguru and Shoko were checking on Amanai (Satoru sometimes forgot the girl was still in campus) and Nanami had dragged Haibara to the infirmary as well to be sure Yu's sickness had completely left his body. Satoru knew it had, but Nanami was such a mother hen over his classmate that even the tiniest of coughs would put his instincts on high alert. So cute.

"Revenge, you say?" Satoru laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach, wiping a tear off his eye "Oh my, Megumi-chan. Where did this come from? I thought you were too nonchalant to worry about such tiny matters." Yuuji accompanied Satoru in a burst of loud giggles, which earned both of them a bite in the ass, courtesy of Megumi's Divine Dogs.

Right now, Satoru lied awake in his bed. It was nice, to allow himself and his students to enjoy life, when back in their original timeline they didn't have the chance of doing so. Yuuji's absolute joy after being allowed to play soccer would never stop stirring something in Satoru's heart. But he couldn't help but feel uneasy, after all, who says this world wasn't also doomed?

That thought always kept him up at night. The first milestone and decisive event, Amanai Riko's death, had already changed. The girl was alive and recovering, and she would be safe and sound within Tengen's barriers, probably.

It worked in Satoru's favor. Honestly, having the girl alive also made him happy, she deserved to live a long happy life too. That said… Could this mean he could help Suguru this time? Satoru was sure there had to be something else apart from Suguru's defection that destroyed his original world. For starters, who was that monster with stitches? They were creepy and frankly, scary. Satoru wasn't scared of much in this world, but he couldn't help being absolutely terrified of a being capable of controlling his dead best friend's body and using it to trap the Six Eyes in a little cube.

The dark circles under Satoru's eyes were growing at an alarming rate because of these sleepless nights thinking about everything and nothing at the same time, thankfully his sunglasses covered them at almost every moment. The worst thing was that his weren't the only dark circles becoming alarmingly big, Suguru also looked exhausted.

The man slept, Satoru knew, but he looked tired. The trauma wasn't as deep as in the original timeline, even so, it was still there. No one could blame Suguru for that, he had been sliced open by Toji and then kinda been forced to take care of his kid. No matter how goodhearted Suguru's nature was, he'd still be affected by something like that.

Maybe it was already time to start helping him? It probably was. Satoru had relaxed after Haibara seemed to accept that he wanted to quit sorcery and focus on the daycare, but he knew better than that, getting too comfortable was dangerous. He had the advantage of information, knowledge, time. And tragedy wouldn't happen again if he was there to avoid it.

A room for the children had already been prepared, it was located in the same buildings were the students' dorms were, as it was their idea and responsibility to take care of them (Yaga still checked every once in a while, just in case). They were doing fine, mostly because two of three children were more than capable of taking care of themselves. And even if Tsumiki was really five, she was a very independent girl, who never misbehaved. Satoru hoped that with time she would start acting more like a kid her age.

Bored out of his mind and tired of overthinking, Satoru got up to silently check on his students. Last night he found both boys cuddling each other in their sleep while clearly fighting a nightmare, Satoru had felt awful.

Tonight they appeared to be sleeping peacefully, at least for now. Satoru had told Shoko the kids were having nightmares, praying that she wouldn't try to discover the origins of them (a war she hadn't participated in because it had happened in another timeline would be difficult to explain). Satoru's prayers were heard, and his friend told him it was probably due to the sudden change of scenery and possible trauma. Oh, how right you are Shoko. And offered the children some herbal beverages kid-friendly meant to relax the mind, which seemed to be working just fine.

Closing the door behind him to return to his room, Satoru felt the shift of a very familiar cursed energy.

Suguru

The teenager was leaving his own room, something in his hands that Satoru didn't want to believe to be a cigarette (it probably was). Debating between hiding and go talk to his best friend, he opted for the latter.

Suguru was also able to feel the cursed energy around him, it wasn't as precise as the Six Eyes, obviously. But he still was able to recognize the time traveler's presence.

"Hey." Suguru waved, even in the dark, he knew Satoru would be able to see the gesture. His voice sounded tense, weak. Had he been crying?

"Hey." Satoru waved back, accompanying Suguru to sit on the porch. Maybe that would turn into a routine for them. He wouldn't mind, if it didn't ended in an argument like the last time they were in this situation. "Couldn't sleep?"

Suguru shrugged, shoulders hunched forward "Something like that." He then lit that damned cigarette, taking a puff.

"Suguru…"

"I know, you don't like 'the concept' of smoking. But this is the only cigarette I've had since… Since our fight. I promise I'm not getting addicted like Shoko." He laughed softly. Satoru loved hearing his laugh "She says she can quit whenever she wants, but I have my doubts."

"She definitely can't." Satoru grumbled petulantly "It's called an addiction for something! She's a doctor, she should know!"

"She's not a doctor yet." Suguru talked back, teasing smile on his face "I give her the benefit of the doubt."

"Everyone knows smoking is bad! It's written on the cigarettes' packages! And I think Shoko can read." Satoru's pout deepened, which only made Suguru laugh harder.

Both boys stayed quiet for a while, simply enjoying the silence. This was normal for them in Satoru's original timeline. They would sit under a tree, on the bed, wherever, and remain in a comfortable silence until Satoru told a stupid joke or their asses became numb from sitting for so long.

Satoru felt like crying. Seriously, when had he become such a crybaby? His emotions were all over the place, even some tiny habits appeared out of nowhere. For example, Satoru couldn't be in a four-walls room with the door completely closed. He felt trapped, like he was once again chained within the Prison Realm. It was stupid, he knew he wasn't there anymore. He knew, but the fear wouldn't stop eating at him from the inside.

"You're lost in thought, again." Suguru broke the silence, cigarette already finished "You seem to do that a lot now, since.. Since the fight with Fushiguro. Are you okay, Satoru?"

Satoru blinked, twice, finally getting himself out of his self-imposed trance "I should be the one asking you that, actually. When's the last time you got a full night's sleep without getting up in the middle of it? I can see your cursed energy, you know, you can't hide from me."

"I don't think you're aware of how creepy you just sounded." Suguru rolled his eyes, but his expression softened "I.. I'm fine? There's no reason for me not to be."

"That doesn't sound like what someone who's fine would say. You know, Suguru, sometimes we just feel bad with apparently no reason at all. But that doesn't mean you're not actually feeling bad, there's no need for any disaster happening for you not to feel well." Satoru was looking directly at Suguru now, one hand gently patting the other man's chest, were Toji had left that nasty scar "But I think being cut sliced like a sausage is reason enough to feel bad."

"Wow, that was almost mature, Satoru. I'm impressed." Suguru chuckled, it was small, but real. He didn't make any attempts to pull Satoru's hand away from his chest, so it remained there, softly massaging over the clothes.

"Hey! I told you all that I have matured!" Because I'm supposed to be 28, whoops?

The comfortable silence returned, with Satoru's massaging and Suguru's distracted gaze directed at the sky.

"You know…" Satoru broke the silence this time "You don't have to force yourself to feel good or happy all the time. Being a sorcerer is difficult, draining. And I don't want you to lose yourself, Suguru." I'm scared, I'm scared of letting you go once again, of losing you.

"Lose myself?" Suguru raised an eyebrow "What do you mean?"

"Never mind, it was just a figure of speech." Please let me in, don't leave me in the dark. Don't abandon me again "But promise me this. If you ever, no matter when or where, feel like doing something stupid, please stop for a moment and call me. I don't care if I'm not there, use your phone. Or if it's 3 am, I'll wake up. Promise me, Suguru."

"Are you really fine, dude? You're getting all serious-

"Suguru, please."

"Oh wow, you're actually serious. I think this is the first time since we met that I hear you say the word 'please'." Suguru's eyes widened comically "I don't know what's gotten into you. But alright, I promise. Happy now?"

"Very much so." Satoru nodded, cheeky smile back on "You're so obedient, Su-gu-ru! Want a little treat for being good?"

Suguru's face became red as a tomato. Was he sick? Maybe he caught it from Haibara…

"Why do I even bother with you." Suguru grumbled, getting up in a heartbeat "Let's go to sleep, it's late anyway."

"Yes, sir!" Satoru fake saluted, and Suguru couldn't help his grin from growing all the time while returning to his room.

Satoru woke up the next morning with something weighting down on his chest. It wasn't particularly heavy, but his lungs and ribs were feeling the pressure all the same. It almost felt like a…

"Gojo-san, wake up!" A little high-pitched voice spoke, ringing on Satoru's still sleepy senses "Wake up, wake up!"

"Uh, Tsumiki?" Satoru pushed his sleeping mask up to see the culprit of his almost death by crushing. And indeed, Tsumiki was happily sitting on his torso, cheerful smile on "I need you to braid my hair!"

"Braid your- why don't you ask Suguru?" As he saw the confused look on the girl's face, he tried again "Uh... Geto-san?"

Recognition filled Tsumiki's eyes, whose smile shifted to a pout "I tried knocking on his door, but he's not opening! And I know he's in there." Her voice then lowered in volume, like she was about to tell a secret "And he was snoring."

Satoru laughed, Suguru was finally resting. That was good, it was still early "He's very tired, Tsumiki-chan. Where are your brother and Yuuji?"

"Asleep too." She frowned "Boys are so boring."

"You know Geto-san and I are also boys, right?"

"But you're cool ones!"

Satoru laughed again "Okay, I'm glad. Let's go braid that hair, shall we?" Satoru had never braided hair in his life. But it couldn't be that difficult, right?

Oh, it definitely was.

He didn't know how Suguru was able to handle wearing long hair, how does one even braid? Maybe a bun would be easier, he tried that too, but with little to zero success.

Tsumiki was a very patient girl, but even she would whine and squirm when her hair was pulled "Gojo-san, it hurts."

"I'm sorry, Tsumiki." Satoru cringed, he wasn't such a good dad after all. He hopes Toji didn't know how to braid the girl's hair, or he would feel like absolute shit.

"What's going on here?" Suguru's sleepy voice was heard over a yawn as the teenager entered Satoru's room. His gaze shifting from man to girl "Satoru? Tsumiki? What are you doing?"

"Gojo-san is pulling on my hair-

"Not on purpose." The accused quickly clarified "You were sleeping, and Tsumiki asked me to braid her hair in your place." He sighed "I can't do it."

Suguru stayed still for a second, sleepy brain trying to catch up. After a moment, he moved to sit on Satoru's bed "Tsumiki-chan, did you wake him up?"

The girl curled up in Satoru's lap, expression guilty "She did, but I don't mind, really. I was about to wake up anyway."

"Sure you were." Suguru clearly didn't believe him, but he was too tired to argue "Anyways, come here, 'Miki. Satoru doesn't know how to braid hair." The girl obeyed, crawling from lap to lap "And don't wake him up again, okay? He needs his rest." A nod "Good."

Satoru couldn't help but melt at the sight. Suguru was a natural with children, he wondered if he wold be a good dad- Wait, why was he thinking about that?

Shaking his head to get rid of stupid, distracting thoughts, he cleared his throat to speak "Well, any idea of what we're doing today? Shoko told me yesterday we're still on medical leave."

"Amanai is being discharged today." Suguru said while braiding Tsumiki's hair, who was falling asleep on his lap, little eyes closing "She accepted going to classes with the first years, so Yaga plans on introducing the three of them today."

"I see." Satoru nodded, leaning back against the bed's headboard with his arms crossed "Do you think she'll want to help in the daycare? She's not going to be attending to missions, and Haibara could use the help, and the company."

"It's worth a try, yeah. I'm sure Amanai will appreciate the distraction too, after losing Kuroi." Suguru agreed "All done, Tsumiki. Why don't you go wake up the boys now? It's time for breakfast." The girl nodded, and got off the bed to run towards the children's room.

Satoru finally dragged himself out of bed too, fighting against his tiredness "You're so good at this." he mocked playfully "Are you hiding a secret child from me, Suguru?"

"I could say the same to you, you know?" Suguru shot him a dirty look, flicking his forehead "Who would say you were voluntarily spending time with children and not killing them in the process?" He chuckled, his voice automatically softening "I apologize again, Satoru. For doubting you, I shouldn't have said all that the other night."

Satoru waved a hand dismissively "Don't worry about it, Suguru. It's all good." he then clapped his hands, going all cheerful "Now! What should I wear today?"

"I don't know, your uniform?" Suguru deadpanned

"Booo, boring! Come on, Suguru. We're on a break, we don't want to give Amanai the wrong impression, right? Let's show her how cool her senpais are!

"Right… Well, I don't know. Lemme check." Opening Satoru's wardrobe, he gave said man a look "So here is where all the clothes I 'lost' ended up, huh?"

Satoru felt his face warming up, shit. He hadn't thought about how he used to steal every piece of clothing belonging to his best friend that Suguru ever allowed him to borrow: T-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants…

"Whatever do you mean, Suguru? Those are clearly mine! Now come on, don't change the subject. What should I wear?" He laughed nervously, trying to look everywhere but Suguru's face and accusatory eyes.

"You're unbelievable, I swear…" Suguru knew this was a lost battle, as there wasn't anyone in this world more stubborn than the Gojo Satoru, spoiled little brat. Accepting his fate, he searched trough the wardrobe again, finding a black tank top he used to wear for training. He picked it up, and chose a pair of black, oversized jeans. And Satoru thanked the gods for that, as he couldn't stand skinny jeans anymore, or anything that was even a bit constricting. "This good?"

"Hmm, well, you could have done worse!"

"Now what's that supposed to mean-

"I'll wear it! Now off we go." He chirped after changing into the outfit as fast as he could "You need to wear something cool too. And don't look at me like that, Sugu-chan! We both have to be presentable!"

"How the hell did you just call me-

"Let's go!" Satoru giggled as he stole Suguru's phone from his pocket to force the teenager to follow him.

"SATORU!"

Amanai Riko was having coffee of all things with Shoko. The older girl was giving her the last check up before giving her the okay to leave the infirmary. Her wounds were practically healed, thanks to Shoko's amazing control of her cursed technique. It wasn't Amanai's physical state what worried her, though, but her mental one.

Amanai had refused to eat almost anything Shoko tried to feed her. It doesn't taste like Kuroi's food. Was the excuse she heard the most. In other circumstances, she'd call someone like that a brat, like she had called Satoru the first time they met and the boy wouldn't stop behaving like a spoiled prince. He still kinda did, to be honest, but Shoko was already used to his antics. Even found them endearing, not that she'd ever tell him that.

She was exhausted. Amanai was grieving, that's okay, very healthy and all. But she wasn't Shoko's only patient, even more now than two of the best sorcerers were on medical leave. The poor souls that were assigned to the missions that would originally have been entrusted to her classmates used to come back being more corpse than person, it was tiring as fuck to stop them all to die. It was her duty to do so, yeah, but she was a person too. And people got tired.

Just as Shoko was trying to feed breakfast to the girl, both Satoru and Suguru burst into the infirmary. Why were they dressing like that?

"Morning, everyone!" Satoru waved, too enthusiastic for Shoko's tired brain "Hey." Shoko waved back "Where did you abandon the ankle biters?"

"We didn't abandon the children, Shoko." Suguru rolled his eyes. He was wearing purple, not a color the woman was used to see on her friend. But it suited him, especially considering that his eyes were also purple. "They're with the first years, they'll also come when they finish getting ready."

"Children?" Amanai spoke for the first time, taking a bite of her toast. Shoko could cry of happiness "What children?"

"Oh, no one important. Just Suguru's secret kids-

"Satoru."

"Fine, be boring." Satoru pouted "We've opened a daycare."

"Oh." Amanai blinked "That's even more surprising."

"Excuse me?"

The door burst opened again. Shoko cursed under her breath, did no one here knew how to knock?

Haibara and Nanami entered the room, accompanied by Yaga. Each of them had a kid in their arms. Nanami carried Yuuji, who looked between traumatized and nostalgic, what an odd expression for a toddler. Haibara was carrying a grumpy Megumi, who looked like he wanted to be everywhere but there. And lastly, Yaga carried a smiling Tsumiki, who looked proud for some reason as she waved her hair around.

"Aww, they're adorable!" Amanai's face lightened up "Can I hold them?"

"Can she?" Yaga asked, looking at Shoko for confirmation. When she nodded, he placed the girl on Amanai's lap.

"You're so cute." She cooed, poking Tsumiki on the cheek "What's your name?"

"Fushiguro Tsumiki! And I'm five!" She answered happily, giggling as the older girl fussed around her.

Yaga cleared his throat, calling everyone's attention "Amanai, these are Nanami Kento and Haibara Yu. They're in first year and they'll be your classmates."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Amanai Riko. You can call me Amanai, or Riko, I don't care." She smiled, Shoko noticed how she appeared to be happier since she saw the kids "I hope we get on well. I'm not technically a sorcerer so please be patient with me."

"It's fine! I'm kinda quitting being a sorcerer." Haibara told her, he didn't sound scared of saying it anymore "Yaga-sensei approves, I'm going to stay to finish my education though, and to take care of the children."

"Aaaand this is were you come in, Riko-chan!" Satoru winked, grabbing a chair and sitting next to the medical bed "Would you be interested in the daycare too? I can see you're fond of kids, and Haibara will need a hand or two."

"Really? I can do that?" She asked, looking at Yaga for permission. The man looked confused but not surprised, he had learned to expect the unexpected from Satoru. And of course he would propose things like that without consulting with him first. "I… suppose you can, yes. If that's what you want. Don't let Satoru force you into things you don't want to do, though. He can be very convincing."

"Sensei, you're making me look like a bad guy here." Satoru pouted "Riko-chan knows me, she knows I'm super cool, am I right? At least her classmates thought so enough to ask her for my number~"

"S-shut up!" Amanai's face flushed red "That's why I told you not to come! Now everyone thinks you're my boyfriend or something. Gross!"

"Hey! What do you mean gross?! People would kill to date me, I'll have you know!"

Both Yuuji and Megumi remained silent, observing their teacher's childish behavior. Suguru noticed their surprised looks, and moved to whisper into their ears "He's always like that, don't get scared."

Yuuji almost jumped out of Nanami's arms when Suguru spoke directly to him, unconsciously clinging closer to Nanami's chest.

"Are you shy now, Yuuji-kun?" Nanami asked as he felt the kid's restlessness, a small smile adorning his face. Yuuji can't say he remembers Nanamin smiling at all back in his original timeline

"Hey, Yuuji. Don't hide your face." Suguru tried using a softer tone, unaware of the inner turmoil happening within Yuuji's brain "It's just me, Suguru."

He's not that monster, he's just Suguru.

Yuuji remembered sensei's words, sensei never lied, so it was okay. He looked up from Nanami's chest, and waved awkwardly to Suguru. He felt a little like a real kid right now.

Suguru didn't seem to catch the awkwardness, still thinking that Yuuji was an ordinary shy kid, and waved back.

Megumi observed the interaction quietly, silently smiling a bit when he saw Yuuji fighting his fears.

A week later, Amanai had properly recovered. She had been discharged seven days ago after Satoru and the others visited her.

She had loved the idea of helping Haibara with the daycare, both teenagers getting very close, as they were equally cheerful and passionate. Satoru noticed Nanami's obviously jealous looks that he threw at Amanai, it was so fun to watch, even more when Satoru knew Kento had really nothing to worry about, his feelings were more than reciprocated.

"What are you laughing at?" Suguru asked as he got out of the shower, barely covering his waist with a towel. He looks thinner. Satoru noticed, but he still looked damn good- Wait, seriously. Why was he having such weird and random thoughts lately about Suguru of all people?!

"Satoru? You're spacing out, again." Suguru repeated himself for what he felt like the third time that day "What's wrong? You were laughing like a fool and now your face is tomato red. I'm actually scared to know what's going on in that head of yours."

"Nothing, nothing. I was thinking about Nanami-

"Are you blushing thinking about Nanami?" Suguru's tone got lower, darker. It reminded Satoru of- nope, not going there

"Will you let me finish? Geez. I was laughing because of Nanami. He's jealous of Riko-chan. Can you believe it? Ridiculous."

"Yeah, ridiculous. Jealousy is ridiculous, huh?" He muttered "And the blush?"

"What blush? It's just hot in here. You know, you opened that door and all the steam from the bathroom hit me in the face."

"Oh." Suguru nodded "Okay."

"You worry about the weirdest of things, Su-gu-ru. Come gimme a hug!"

"No- SATORU, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME DROP MY TOWEL!"

Chapter Text

Suguru was confused, there was no other way of explaining how he was feeling at the moment. Had Satoru always looked so fine? So caring with others, supportive, kind, funny…

The teenager always knew there was something… Off, about himself. Boys in his village were always talking about girls when they started growing up, Suguru never did. Don't get him wrong, it's not like he hated girls or anything, Shoko was one of his best friends and a girl. But he didn't feel attracted to them like Satoru or Shoko herself seemed to be.

He had seen again and again how Satoru's phone wallpaper was always changing from a pretty girl to another, had listened to Shoko talking about the women she met during her (not many) outings, and Suguru still didn't get what the point of it was.

He wasn't stupid, he knew of homosexuality, but never thought he could be one of them too. His parents were open minded and always told him to marry a nice woman or man when he grew up, but Suguru had seen how people who didn't follow the norm were treated, had felt it in his bones due to his condition as a sorcerer.

So he never thought much about it, pushing his doubts to the back of his mind. And even if he did like men, it was a completely different thing to admit he was gay than hypothetically admitting that he was catching feelings for his best friend.

But lately those thoughts seemed to be popping up in his mind again and again. Maybe it was due to Haibara and Nanami's relationship, they weren't dating, but it was obvious for everyone how they felt about one another. Was that what he wanted to do with Satoru? Hug each other, share a bed, cuddle… They already did all of that though, so maybe he was just confusing things.

And… Satoru was probably straight, there's no way the spoiled heir of the Gojo clan would even consider (or be allowed to consider) date a person of the same gender. Suguru knew his best friend liked girls, but the other guy had never told him anything about a girlfriend, a fling… Nothing. Shoko seemed to understand more about this kind of stuff, so he'll consult her and her 'gaydar' or whatever the hell she called her 'instincts'.

Suguru hated being different, feeling different. The world didn't seem to have punished him enough when he was cursed to be a sorcerer born within a family of ordinary non-sorcerer people. He also couldn't just be fucking straight. He wasn't homophobic, far from it, would never insult Shoko or anyone due to their sexual preferences. But he was tired of having to fight because he didn't fit in, he still remembered the concerned faces from his parents when he told them he could see 'monsters', and the disgust other people looked at him with. Would the same happen if he were to return to the village with a boyfriend?

His stomach rumbled then. Oh, had he forgotten to have breakfast again? He checked the time on his watch: 3:00 pm. Apparently he had also forgotten lunch, well, too bad.

Shoko had said that both he and Satoru were almost recovered now, and that they'll be back on missions very soon, even if Yaga wanted to give the boys more time to rest, the higher-ups wouldn't allow it. Suguru didn't mind, maybe killing curses would distract him from thinking this much.

He was so tired,

but it was normal, was it not? He should push on, continue protecting the weak- Did he even want to do that anymore? He was so confused… But he'll do it, for the children, for Satoru.

As if summoned, Suguru's door burst open, a little bit more of strength and it could have easily been destroyed. A familiar mane of white, spiky hair appearing in his vision range.

"He-llo! Look what I brought!" Satoru was bouncing on his heels, bags in hand. They belonged to a bakery situated near the school, where both boys used to go to escape from Yaga's training and get some sweets (Always Satoru's idea). It had been a while since Suguru had visited, though. "They released a new type of donuts today, so I thought, why not sharing my happiness with my best friend in the whole world!"

"You bought too much again, didn't you." Satoru giggled, saying nothing and everything as he plopped down on the bed next to the teenager "I'm not really hungry, Satoru." He was, actually. But at the same time, the mere thought of consuming any kind of food made him feel nauseous.

"You're not? Well, I don't care!" Satoru opened a bag, getting a white box from it "These are strawberry donuts, Suguru. Try one." He all but pushed the sweet treat into Suguru's mouth.

"Could you not-" A cough "-try to suffocate me?!" After successfully avoiding a pathetic death, Suguru swallowed a bit of the donut "Uh, it does taste good." He mumbled, and took another bite. Damn, he really was hungry.

"Told you." Satoru ate an entire donut in a single bite "I have great taste, after all." He ate a couple more sweets, Suguru didn't know how he didn't have diabetes by now "Say, what were you doing here all alone? Shoko and the first years are trying to teach the children to throw a punch powered by cursed energy, you should have been there to see the shock on their faces when little Yuuji-kun destroyed a tree."

Suguru wasn't really paying attention to his best friend's ramble, and just perked up when he mentioned Yuuji "He's scared of me."

Satoru's enthusiasm dissapeared from his face, tilting his head to the side in confusion "Uh, who?"

"Yuuji."

"Oh." Satoru shifted in place. Weird, he looked nervous "He's just… well, shy? I don't know, man. Kids are weird, and I don't know that much about them, to be honest."

"But you seem to be very comfortable with these kids, including Yuuji." Suguru's eyes narrowed "Are you hiding something from me, Satoru?"

"Whaaaat, no. Pff, no." Satoru waved a hand, trying to be dismissive "Yuuji-kun just likes me, for some reason. But worry not! He's a sweet boy, he'll warm up to you. Anyways, don't change the subject! Why are you here?"

"Because this is my room."

"Suguru, you know I don't mean it like that."

The mood of the conversation shifted, Suguru felt uncomfortable, seen. The Six-Eyes had never bothered him before, sure, Satoru could be intimidating and all when those extremely blue eyes seemed to be staring right at your soul. But Suguru had always felt safe under that gaze, it was familiar, it was Satoru.

But right now, when some of Suguru's more recurrent thoughts were those of disappearing, of not being perceived, of simply being gone. Having the Six-Eyes reading all of you wasn't exactly pleasing.

"I don't know, Satoru. I'm just not in the mood to go out." The blinds of the room were down. It was dark, silent. Suguru had been taking a nap before a nightmare woke him up, and then Satoru had appeared "Can't you just, I don't know. Leave me alone?"

"None of that, Suguru." Satoru shook his head, gently taking one of Suguru's hands in his own, making his heart race "Come on, I thought you wanted to help the children?"

"I do, but-

"But nothing! Come on, up we go." Satoru helped him stand, looking at him from head to toe "Go take a shower, I'll get you some clothes." Before Suguru could protest, Satoru was already raiding his closet. Once again aware of having lost the battle, he entered the bathroom without saying another word, and took a shower.

Ugly, you look so ugly. Suguru told himself as he washed his torso, where Toji had left his signature. Do you think Satoru will like you if he sees this? Not just Satoru, anyone?

Satoru had been massaging his chest the other day, but surely all he was feeling at the moment was pity. And Suguru despised being pitied, it meant people thought he was weak. And he was not weak, damn it! He was about to be ascended to a Special Grade sorcerer, if he wasn't officially one yet, it was due to the higher-ups struggling to accept that 'a mere village kid' could have the same status as their golden boy, when said guy didn't even care about such an idiocy. Satoru could be a lot of things, but he believed in Suguru's strength, recognized it. "We're the strongest together, Suguru!"

"You okay in there, Suguru?" Damn, how much time had he been in the shower? "Don't go dying on me, alright? Do I have to come in?"

Suguru flushed a furious red "No! I'm alive, Satoru. Stay where you are and do enter this room, you hear me?"

"Oh, what was that? I'm suddenly deaf! I'm coming in-

"Gojo Satoru, if you open that damn door, I'm going to strangle you until you can't breathe-

"Kinky! Where did you learn that, Sugu-chan?"

"SATORU."

A burst of giggles could be heard from the other side of the door. Suguru could picture it, Satoru was having a blast while laughing at him, maybe he should really strangle that brat.

After finishing his shower, Suguru still felt flustered. He then realized another one of his mistakes, his clothes weren't there.

"Uh, Satoru?" a hum "Can you give me my clothes?"

"See? You want me to come in so bad."

"Oh my god." Suguru took a couple of deep breaths. In and out, in and out "Stop being an idiot for a second, I know that's going to be hard for you, I'm sorry. And give me my clothes. Absolutely no peeking allowed, you put them on the floor, turn around, and I collect them."

"Why the sudden shyness, dude? I've seen you naked like a dozen times already."

Because maybe I have a crush on you, and I don't want you to see me like this, broken "I'm not shy, and it's none of your business anyway. Now, my clothes."

"Such a prude, you're no fun at all." Satoru whined, Suguru knew he was pouting now "But fine, whatever. There you have your clothes, Mr. boring, I won't look."

After opening the door the tiniest bit, and seeing that in fact, Satoru was staring at the wall. Suguru extended his arm, and grabbed the clothes as fast as he could.

Satoru had chosen something comfortable, at least. A pair of gray sweatpants and a basic black t-shirt. He got dressed, tried to make his hair look a bit presentable. It was getting really long, but he kinda liked it. And left the bathroom.

"Welcome, welcome! I thought you had fainted in there, you know. I'm sure you've wasted all the hot water of the school."

"The water of our dorms is cold, Satoru. The common showers are the only ones with hot water." Suguru reminded him, hands on his hips "Honestly, you're so distracted lately. Maybe you should get Shoko to examine you."

"What? No." Satoru pouted, he was such a child sometimes "I think you and I have had enough checkups for a lifetime, don't you think?"

"You have a point, I guess." Suguru admitted "I think I've visited the infirmary more times in the last week than in the entire time I've been in Jujutsu High."

"Yeah, same here." Satoru wiped inexistent dust off his clothes, he was wearing an oversized outfit again. Suguru thanked the absence of skinny jeans, they were horrendous. But it was still odd.

"So, what was your plan coming here?" Suguru asked, towel in hand as he dried his hair "Eat donuts and scold me for being in pajamas?"

Satoru opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again "Don't be so defensive, will you? I wanted to spend some time with my best friend, is that a crime?"

"No, I suppose it's not." His hair was still wet, long hair was a pain sometimes "But you're not my mother. You don't have to fuss over me like I'm a sick child."

"Well, aren't you?" Satoru asked, serious.

"What?" Suguru got up, his heart beating fast in his chest. Was he angry? Thankful Satoru noticed he wasn't feeling well? He didn't know "Are you saying I'm sick, Satoru?"

"Well." The Six-Eyes user got up too, blue orbs fixed on Suguru's purple ones "Isn't depression a mental illness?"

"What are you- I'm not depressed, Satoru."

"Sure, you aren't." Satoru walked closer to Suguru, poking his cheek "Look, I'm not an expert in this kind of thing. But… But I know you need help, Suguru. Trust me, I… well, you're my best friend. Of course I'd notice you needing help! And I want to help, really, but-

"Satoru, you're rambling." Suguru sighed, too exhausted to continue with this fight. Arguing with Satoru always drained his energy "Fine, I… I'll admit I'm not been feeling my best lately. Since the Star Plasma Vessel mission I've been… thinking. I don't feel like myself, I don't know how to explain it, it's weird. Now that I think about it, it's not just because of that mission, I've been feeling like this for a long while, but that last assignment really fucked me up and- Toru, you're trembling."

Satoru's breathing was far too fast to be considered normal, wasn't he the one asking about his health? Why was he panicking now? "Satoru?"

The Gojo heir felt the weight of a pair of hands on both shoulders, Suguru squeezed them until those pretty eyes were once again fixed on his own purple ones "Are you okay? I'm sorry, have I scared you? I didn't mean to. Please breathe, you're startling me now."

A gasp for air, two, three. And Satoru was once again inhaling and exhaling oxygen more or less like a normal person "It's… It's okay, Suguru. It's not your fault, I'm just… I'm worried, alright? In my p- past, yeah, past. There was someone who was very dear to me and suffered from depression, and it scares me that you're going through the same."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry-

"No, no. Don't apologize." Satoru smiled, Suguru loved his smile "I just want you to trust me, Suguru. I've said it before, I want to help you. But you need to cooperate, I can't force you to let me in and neither to receive help."

Suguru didn't want to see that scared expression on Satoru's face anymore, afraid because of him. Satoru already had more than enough on his plate since he was born and automatically given the role of 'The Strongest'. The guy never complained about it, on the contrary, he embraced it and shout it at everyone who got in his way. But he probably still felt the pressure of having to be perfect all the damn time.

"Who is that rich boy, Shoko?" Suguru asked as soon as a white-haired boy who looked around his age got out of the train. He looked bored as Yaga talked to him, as if he was above everyone and everything.

"No idea, man. But I don't like that face." his friend shrugged as she took a puff of her cigarette.

"Geto, Ieri. This is Gojo Satoru, your classmate." Yaga finally introduced them, Shoko quickly tried to hide her evidence "Gojo, say hello. Ieri, drop that cigarette, I'm not blind."

"Hey." Satoru waved a hand "You two are the losers I'm going to be forced to see everyday? Tch, I knew there's no one stronger than me out there, but I was expecting something more."

"The fuck you just said?" Suguru stomped until he was in front of Satoru's smug face "Who do you think you are? We just met, and you're already looking for a fight and making enemies?"

"Me? I'm Gojo Satoru, are you deaf?" The pompous brat rolled his eyes, or Suguru supposed he did, those funny-looking sunglasses were hiding his eyes "That should tell you all you need to know. I'm strong, you're not. So piss off and don't get in my way."

"Listen here you little shit-

"Boys, please." Yaga groaned, getting in the middle of both teenagers "Gojo, be nice. Geto, don't play his game. And Ieri for the love of everything that is holy stop smoking in my face!"

Suguru laughed at the memory, causing Satoru to look at him, perplexed "Did I say something funny?"

"No, no. Sorry, I was just remembering something." Suguru assured him "Thank you for checking on me, Satoru. I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't."

Satoru's face grimaced again, but he seemed to recover fast, showing Suguru another one of those charming smiles of his "Sure, man. That's what friends are for, right? Also, I'm going to make you drop that 'sorry' you can't stop saying all the time now."

"Uh, sorry?"

"Su-gu-ruuuuu. You're doing it on purpose now!" Satoru accused, pointing a finger at his best friend "You're so mean to me."

"Sorry." Suguru chuckled

"Stop iiiiiiit!"

Satoru felt good, very good. Okay, he maybe had had a tiny little panic attack an hour ago in front of Suguru, but the outcome was worth it, right?

Suguru had accepted to rely on him, to keep trying and to talk to him. Communication was probably one of the things they both weren't very skilled at in Satoru's original timeline, which ended up bringing chaos to the entire world.

After their chat, Satoru convinced Suguru of leaving the dorms for a while. The children were playing soccer again, Yuuji had discovered a new passion, and Megumi was happy to indulge him. Tsumiki wasn't a great fan of soccer, so she forced Haibara to teach her how to write better, because she apparently 'wanted to be a writer' when she grew up.

Both boys were sitting under a tree now, Satoru munching on his donuts while Suguru tried to show him how to tied hair into a bun.

"Yeah, no. I don't get it." A bite "Yw rwilly twihnk I cwan dw thwat?"

"Satoru, swallow before you speak. That's gross. And of course you can do this. It's actually very easy once you get the hang of it."

Satoru swallowed, crumbs all over his face "Well, I'm not getting the hang of it."

"Oh come on." Suguru rolled his eyes "You would if you just tried."

"I told you, I can't- wait." What was that? Cursed energy? It was familiar…

Suguru had felt it too, eyes narrowing as he looked at his surroundings "Whoever it is, knows their way around here."

Satoru had a suspicion of what- who was behind that cursed energy, allowing himself to relax and smile reassuringly "She doesn't have bad intentions, don't worry."

"She?"

"I said nothing!" Satoru was already up and running to the source of cursed energy.

"Hey, Satoru! Wait! It could be dangerous-

Satoru run and run, and when he found what he was looking for…

"Kugisaki? What are you doing here?!"

"I got bored of waiting for your asses." And there she was, Kugisaki Nobara in the flesh "I told my grandma about the daycare thing, she called the school and principal Yaga told her to bring me here, they're talking in his office now."

"Principal who?" Shit, Suguru was fast.

"Yeah, principal who, indeed!" Satoru winked at Kugisaki "We have a new child in our hands, Suguru! Kugisaki Nobara, Geto Suguru. Geto Suguru, Kugisaki Nobara. Now bond!"

"You know, that sounds like I'm being kidnapped." Kugisaki deadpanned

"The girl's right, you have such a way with words, Satoru." Suguru was clearly being sarcastic, Satoru pouted "Nice to meet you, Nobara-chan. Where is your guardian?"

Kugisaki made a face, just like Megumi did when he had been first talked to with a baby voice "Uh, she's with p-, Yaga-sensei."

Satoru clapped his hands, giving a pat to both Kugisaki's and Suguru's heads "Well, now that you two know each other, let me go get the other children, okay? I'm sure they're going to be ecstatic to meet their new friend!"

"What, Satoru, wait-

But Satoru didn't wait, and warped in an instant to the courtyard his students were playing at.

"Salutations!"

"OH MY GOD." Yuuji squeaked, Satoru's fault, maybe "Gojo-sensei, don't just appear in my face, please!"

"My apologies! Kugisaki is back!"

"What? How?" Megumi asked, patting Yuuji's back to get him to breathe again "Did you go get her without telling us?"

"You think so low of me, Megumi-kun. I'm wounded, truly." Satoru fake sobbed, Megumi looked at him like he was a cockroach "So you did." He deadpanned

"I did not! She came here on her own, her grandmother brought her."

"Really?" Yuuji, who had already recovered, asked "Kugisaki is here, and she's fine?"

"Of course she is! All safe and sound!" Satoru gave him a thumbs up "Her grandma is talking to Yaga now, arranging things I guess."

"And Kugisaki is…?"

"Oh, I left Suguru on babysitting duty while I looked for you."

Yuuji paled "No, you can't do that, sensei!"

"Yuuji, calm down." Satoru sighed, it was going to be difficult to get his student to trust his best friend "Suguru is just Suguru, remember? He won't hurt her."

"Right…" The boy took a deep breath "Sorry, sensei."

"It's fine, I get it. It'll take time." Satoru crouched down to look at his students in the eye "Do you want to go see Kugisaki now? Remember, you have to act like you don't know her. It was already difficult to explain why you two knew each other." Both boys nodded, and Satoru picked them up "Cool! Let's go! The Gojo family reunites once again!"

"Gojo-sensei, we don't have your surname. We're not a family." Megumi, the brat, protested.

"Hush now, don't sour the mood!"

Satoru warped the three of them back where he had left Kugisaki. Suguru couldn't help but open his mouth in fascination.

"Since when can you- never mind. Good evening, boys." He smiled warmly, to what Yuuji and Megumi answered with a little wave. "Nobara-chan, these are the people I talked to you about- Itadori Yuuji and Fushiguro Megumi, they live with us at the daycare."

"Yeah, uh. Nice to meet you." Nobara was not as good as an actor like her classmates were, Satoru would have to teach her.

"There's another girl around your age with us, her name is Fushiguro Tsumiki. She's Megumi-chan's big sister." Suguru added

"Tsumiki?" Kugisaki looked at Megumi, a smile growing on her face "Yeah, I'm sure I'll like her."

After some more introduction time to avoid Suguru of getting suspicious, more than he probably was already. Everyone left to Yaga's office, where Haibara was happily chatting with Kugisaki-san, a happy Tsumiki in his arms.

The old woman explained that she was getting too old to take care of her granddaughter on her own. The relationship with her daughter, Nobara's mother, was tense, so she was the only one currently raising the child. And even if she wanted Nobara to remain in their small village, she knew the girl would grow up better here, surrounded by other sorcerers who could raise her properly.

Yaga assured her that she could visit whenever she wanted, gave the woman his number and accompanied her to the exit.

"Satoru." The man muttered "A word, please?"

Satoru blinked, confused. Haibara and Suguru took the children away, probably going to show Nobara around and to her new room. So that left both men alone.

"What is it, sensei? Is this about my behavior in class again?"

"No, even if we should really discuss that, too." The future principal rolled his eyes "I wanted to ask you. Would you happen to have any idea about why Kugisaki-san knew about the daycare after we just started it?"

"Uh, why would I? News spreads fast."

"Don't play dumb with me, young man." Yaga's eyebrow twitched "You've been acting weird lately, so spill-

"Yaga-sensei!"

An out of breath Haibara burst into the room, face sweaty and flushed after probably running here.

"Yu? What is it?" Yaga asked

"It's uh… well." Haibara looked… flustered "I-it's Kento, sensei. He and Amanai are having a fight."

"What, Kento? Having a fight? And with Amanai? Are you sure?"

"I am! They're not being physical or anything but… I've never seen Kento angry, I don't know what to do."

Yaga sighed, a deep, painful sigh "You kids are going to give me gray hair. I'm so tired of teenage drama. Fine, whatever, let's go."

Satoru couldn't help but laugh, a hundred percent sure of what dear Nanamin was arguing about with Riko

"And you." Yaga looked back at him "You're not off the hook. We're talking again soon, now go."

"Yes, sir!" Satoru laughed, not hesitating to flee the room.

Later at night, Suguru lied in bed, completely awake. He hated how his body acted, why did he have to be sleepy all day, and finally when it was the time to go to sleep he just couldn't?

He had retired to his room as soon as Yaga dismissed him, social battery at zero. He did some homework, making the most out of the energy boost he got from his previous conversation with Satoru. He was going to help him, even if Suguru didn't exactly know what he really needed help with. But it was fine, the two of them would figure it out, as they always did.

That didn't mean sleep was any easier to achieve, though. Maybe he should try to drink himself to sleep? Satoru had almost no resistance to alcohol, the guy was a lightweight, passing out after a simple drink. Suguru could handle his liquor much better, but maybe if he took something strong enough it would help him sleep better. Although it would be difficult to buy alcohol as he was still a minor, maybe he could make a fake ID…

As he thought about his master plan, his door was kicked open. How many more kicks could that poor door handle until it finally broke, he didn't know. Maybe he should start a bet or something.

"Satoru, were you never taught how to knock?"

"Why bother? I know you're gonna open anyway." His best friend said as he threw himself over Suguru's bed, cuddling with a stuffed toy he had gifted Suguru.

"What if I was already asleep?"

"Nah, you weren't. Six-Eyes, remember? I'd know."

"Right, you and your creepy stalking skills." Suguru teased

"Hey now. You're the only one I stalk, Suguru!" Satoru giggled as he shifted from cuddling the stuffed toy to cuddle Suguru himself

"Oh, what an honor." Suguru rolled his eyes "To be stalked by the one and only Gojo Satoru. I'm flattered, truly."

"Well, you should be!"

Suguru sighed fondly, running his fingers through Satoru's white locks. His hair was very soft to the touch, maybe if he convinced the boy to grow his hair out, he could braid it. "So, why did you come to my room in the middle of the night?"

"Couldn't sleep." Satoru muttered, hiding his face in Suguru's chest. Was he embarrassed? Cute

"Well, I couldn't sleep either." Suguru hummed "So I guess it's fine. Shoko will probably give us the okay to go back on missions tomorrow, do you want to have a movie night?"

"Hell yeah! See, you can be fun sometimes too, Suguru!"

"Hm, I know. I have the master of laziness in my arms right now, he taught me how to."

"Meaaaan." Satoru pouted "We're watching Digimon." He declared then

"Again?"

"Again."

"But that's not even a movie-

"Digimon!"

"Fine… you're such a child."

And just like that, both boys watched Digimon once again, finally falling asleep snuggled in each other's arms.

Chapter Text

Just as Suguru expected, the day after their movie night (Digimon night, because the other sorcerer is obsessed with that series) he and Satoru were given the okay to go back on missions, ready to become the higher-ups' lapdogs once again.

Satoru spent the entire morning whining and protesting, his neck was giving him hell because of the awkward position he fell asleep in the night before. But even if he assured that it hurt 'like a bitch' "Satoru, language" scolded Yaga, Shoko determined that he was just being his usual dramatic self and that he was ready to go.

"I so don't want to go on missions." Satoru protested once again as they returned to the dorms, Suguru preparing breakfast for the three of them, Shoko included.

"Well, too bad." The girl was munching on her toast, too busy with her own work to wait for Suguru to finish his cooking "Yaga-sensei wanted to give you more time to rest. To be honest, I wanted it too. But you know how those old pests are, they were crying for their strongest and the other idiot to get back to work."

"Why am I being insulted now?" Suguru perked up, not facing his friends as he tended to his soup in the making.

"Because you always deserve it. Also, what is that?"

"Huh?" He turned around now, gaze shifting from Shoko to the bowl, from the bowl to Shoko. Giving the woman a confused look "Soup?"

"Yeah, genius. I know that. But why are you making soup for breakfast?"

"Satoru said his throat itches, I thought maybe this could help." Suguru took a peek at said man, who was busy trying to sneak out some sweets from the cupboards, as if he was invisible and no one could see him, cute.

"Oh, gods above. You're so whipped…" Shoko mumbled

"What?"

"Never mind." Shoko stood up, fixing her clothes "I'm leaving, I have stuff to do. You guys have a mission later, yeah?"

"Yup!" Satoru chirped as he hid something in his pocket "Not that I want to do it, but at least they've partnered me up with Suguru! It's just a First Grade though, I could easily kick its ass on my own."

"Yeah, but I don't trust you dorks to behave and remain unhurt on a solo-mission after last time, sensei doesn't want to take any chances either." Shoko was already grabbing a cigarette from her pocket, ignoring Satoru's offended look "So you two won't be going on solo missions for a while. I don't think you'll complain, though, you're attached at the hip."

Satoru was at first, offended. He was the strongest, why did he need another sorcerer, specially another Special grade, to end a simple curse? But the more he thought about it the happier he was with the outcome. In his original timeline, Suguru's depressive spiral went mostly unnoticed because both boys were being enslaved 24/7 with solo missions.

The white haired man knew his best friend wasn't feeling too well, but he wasn't doing much better, to be honest. Trying to become even stronger after the severe trauma he endured being defeated by Toji was all he thought about at the moment, too caught up in his own mind that he stopped paying attention to everything and everyone around him, including Suguru.

When the psychical signs of the other sorcerer's depression started being obvious, the concerning black circles under his eyes, the weight loss, the absence of a smile… It was too late, there was nothing that could have prevented the teenager's imminent descent into madness.

Or maybe there was, if Satoru had just been there. But thinking about that, about what could have happened if he just did something to help his other half, always made his heart ache like it was breaking into a million pieces.

So now that he had the possibility of both grow stronger to avoid further complications and keep an eye on Suguru, he felt as if he had won the lottery.

"Well, you're right, Shoko!"

"As always."

"If we both go on missions together, that means I can drag him to every bakery I find! Oh, and to the souvenir shops to get something for the children." That habit would never change, he loved spoiling his students "Isn't that amazing?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm thrilled." Suguru, clearly being sarcastic, placed the finished meal on the table "We're not sightseeing, Satoru. We're working."

"You're soooo boring, Su-gu-ru!" Satoru drawls as much as he can, pouty lips jutting out as he digged into his soup like a starved man in a dessert "I meant we can do that after we exorcise the curse. You know, our usual!"

"Yeah, fine." Suguru sighed, he couldn't just say no to that face "But we're not buying an entire bakery again, Satoru. The kids need more than sugar to grow up." Satoru whined

"Well, I'm definitely leaving now." Shoko was already at the door, turning the door's handle "You two have fun acting like an old married couple and be careful not to come back as corpses, okay? Or I'll kill you myself. Bye." And off she went.

"What does she even- ugh. How's the soup?"

"Good." Satoru managed to say between spoonfuls "It's the best thing I've had in years!"

"It's just soup, Satoru." Suguru chuckled "I'm sure you've had much better dishes than this at the Gojo estate."

Yeah, but you weren't the one to make them. I've missed your cooking, I've missed you

"My clan's food is ass." He opted to say instead, swallowing more of the soup "Like, sure, it's all balanced, boring, nutritional food. But there was no spice in those meals, you know? They tasted artificial, I don't miss them, honestly. Your cooking is much better." The only thing that may have a chance against Suguru's exceptional chef abilities were Yuuji's meatballs recipe, but he couldn't say that. What he could do instead… "You know, I've been learning how to cook! Not that many stuff, but I can do some decent dishes. Will you try them someday?"

Suguru's eyes widened comically, and he stared at his best friend like he had grown a second head "You, Gojo Satoru, have learned how to cook? How? When? I don't believe you. You don't even know how to use the stove!"

He was right, in this time in his original timeline Satoru couldn't even made a sandwich. Having grown up in one of the three bigger clans, and having inherited two of their most important and powerful techniques, Satoru never had to lift a finger during his entire childhood.

He was surrounded by nannies, butlers, servants… People whose only purpose in life was to serve and tend to every whim and need of the heir of the Gojo clan. That said, many people considered Satoru to be nothing more than a spoiled, rich kid who was given everything in life just because he got lucky at birth.

And they couldn't have been more wrong.

Okay, it was true that Satoru didn't know how to cook, how to tidy his room, how to wash dishes… But that didn't mean he was happy. His destiny was sealed from the moment he took his first breath into this world, when his clan cheered and celebrated that a Six-Eyes user had been born. And the worshiping they provided Satoru with got only worse when he also manifested Limitless.

He was a symbol of power, of hierarchy. The Gojo clan was the most powerful now of the three clans, with a mere kid holding the weight of expectations from countless of people who talked about him like he was a God living among humans before he even knew how to speak.

At first, when he arrived at Jujutsu High, he actually believed that. He acted like he was superior to everyone else, and truly viewed himself like a divine being forced to share his precious time with mere mortals.

"No way in hell I'm sparring with that guy." Satoru scoffed "He's more curse than human, I refuse." His tone was hard, he wanted his words to hurt. Suguru ignored him, acting like he didn't care.

"Well, he's your classmate. And he's the same level of human as you, Gojo." Yaga scolded, arms firmly crossed over his chest "I'm the teacher here, you're the student. I'm saying you're sparring with Geto, and you will. I don't care if you're a Gojo, surnames and clan shit mean nothing to me. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Satoru muttered under his breath, ready to crush his 'classmate' so he could finally leave and spent his time on something actually useful. But then Yaga had said something that made him feel unusually uneasy.

"No techniques, this goes for both of you." He then looked directed at Satoru "That includes Infinity, Gojo."

"What?! But that's just stupid! I'm not going to fight without using my infinity. So what's the point in training without it?"

"Who knows if there will be any moment when you can't use your techniques? You have to be prepared. And once again, I'm the teacher. So stop protesting, please, and start sparring."

That was the first time Satoru experienced defeat. He was invincible with his techniques, but he was no rival to Geto Suguru in martial arts. The other sorcerer looked as if he had already been born fighting. His stance was perfect, he didn't leave any openings, and he was an expert in feints, dodging… everything, really. Satoru had never seen anything like it, not even from the countless teachers that taught him how to physically fight back at the estate. They were nothing more than mediocre beginners if compared to Suguru's perfect technique.

He had been cross with the other teenager for an entire week, not that Suguru minded, as he was used to being either ignored or insulted by the Gojo heir. But after Satoru got over it, he admitted to himself that there were people who surpassed him in different things, that he wasn't perfect, but he had to be.

So he started acting friendlier with both of his classmates, specially Suguru, who he was always forcing to train with him. Satoru had to be the strongest, after all, and Suguru proved to be an essential piece to achieve that. Who would have imagined that he would become so, so much more to him.

"Well, surprise! I can cook too now." Reminiscing was dangerous, it made Satoru felt weird, but he just couldn't avoid it "Anyways, you didn't answer the question."

Suguru looked reluctant, sipping quietly on his soup "I suppose I can try your food, if you promise that it's actually edible and I won't get an intoxication from it. I have enough nausea episodes after absorbing curses, I don't need more, thank you very much."

"Did you just compare my cooking to the taste of curses, Suguru? That's so rude!" He threw a piece of bread at the other man

Suguru easily dodged it, not without giving him an exasperated look "You know that's not what I meant. I haven't even tried your food yet, Satoru. Don't be dramatic."

"Awww, don't act all tough and nonchalant now. You love my dramatics, don't lie to me." Satoru winked, batting his eyelashes.

"Gross." Suguru grumbled, trying to hide the pink tint growing on his cheeks "Finish your soup, we have to leave soon." He all but run from the kitchen, leaving Satoru there laughing like an idiot.

Satoru felt content with his new life, he had Suguru again and he wasn't a genocidal maniac, and won't be if Satoru can do anything to avoid it. His students were safe and sound, Nanami and Haibara were also there, it was perfect.

But he still felt uneasy, he had to investigate what or who had been the cause of everything going to shit in his original timeline.

So while Suguru got ready for their mission, Satoru left to go find his students. He wanted to check on them and, with any luck, talk to them about their future plans.

When he set foot in the large room that had been prepared for them, he clearly wasn't expecting to see what he did.

Yuuji and Megumi were asleep, cuddled with each other with the pink haired boy drooling all over the other's face. Nobara was having the time of her life, grabbing a marker and drawing things that a girl her age shouldn't know about on their faces. Tsumiki, bless her heart, innocently chuckled. But her laugh shifted to guilt as she took into the older man entering the space.

"Gojo-san." She welcomed in a quiet voice, she was usually cheerful and giggly, so Satoru guessed she didn't want to wake the boys up.

"Hey." He waved at the girl, silently walking to the children's side "What's going on here?"

"Don't you have eyes?" Nobara, friendly as always, scoffed "The idiots fell asleep after staying up all night playing with the DS, so I'm giving them a lesson."

"My brother and Yuuji-kun are not idiots.." Tsumiki pouted

Satoru could already feel the headache forming, he had zero experience dealing with kids. He had gotten lucky that his students time traveled with him, but of course, living once again in the body of a child would prompt them to behave like real children sometimes. And there was also the older Fushiguro, who was actually a kid.

"Uh, where is Haibara-kun? and Riko-chan?" He asked the girls, anxiety evident in his voice at now knowing how to deal with the situation at hand.

Nobara decided to have mercy on her sensei, and dropped the marker to her side "They left like ten minutes ago because Yaga wanted to have a talk with them and Nanami-san. They put me charge." She said, too proud of herself

"I was going to be in charge because I'm the eldest!" Tsumiki pouted "But Nobara-chan really wanted it, so I let her!"

"Right…" Satoru thought the older Fushiguro would have been the better choice, even if Nobara was technically fifteen "Well! I'm going on a mission soon, so-

"You're leaving?" Nobara interrupted, something akin to fear filling her voice. It was an odd sound on the always too confident girl, she also looked worried. Not about herself, but about her teacher.

"Yup." Satoru affirmed, making emphasis on the 'p' sound "Don't worry your pretty little head about it! I'm going with Suguru, I'll be fine."

"That doesn't inspire me much more confidence…"

"Nobara."

"Fiiineee."

Tsumiki looked from child to man, trying to follow the flow of their conversation. But after realizing she wasn't going to understand a thing, she left their side to go focus on some toys.

Satoru let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and redirected his attention to his student, lowering his voice "Nobara, trust me, I'll be fine. Whatever being that managed to hurt me in the past had Suguru's body under control, that's how they managed to… well, seal me away." He chuckled nervously, the phantom pain of invisible chains tightening over every part of his body feeling too real "Suguru is alive at this moment, there's no way that stitches thingy can make a move now."

"Right, if you say so. I trust you, sensei." She sighed, her strong facade softening as she looked down at her sleeping classmates "Should I wake them up?"

"Nah, it's better if I don't tell them where I'm going." Satoru smiled as he also looked at the kids' peaceful faces " Or they'll get too restless, specially Yuuji. I know he's the one who's suffering the most since we got here."

"Don't dismiss your own pain, Gojo-sensei." Nobara said, too serious for her usual personality "I've seen how you look at Geto-san. You're happy but… You're also sad, like your grieving the Geto Suguru who once died by your hands. I've never had to kill my friends, but I know for certain that if Itadori or Fushiguro went nuts and I had to execute them, I would feel like shit too."

Satoru was surprised, his students were growing up to be such mature people. Thankfully, his black glasses hid his eyes from the kid, they were always too expressive for his liking, it was better to keep them hidden "You're absolutely right, Nobara. I am, in a way, grieving Suguru. I know he's alive and you don't know how happy I am at having been given the opportunity of doing it right this time, a second chance to be by his side and stay. But the Suguru I left behind was also real. When I killed him, it was real. I killed my best friend."

"Yeah, I know." Nobara hummed, surprising Satoru with her sudden goodness cleaning the faces of her friends with some wipes "And that's okay. I'm sure Fushiguro is having it rough too, being able to talk to his sister after all this time."

Just when Satoru was going to respond to that, the doors opened.

"Hello, Gojo-senpai!" Haibara waved energetically, followed by a pouty faced Riko and… Nanami?

"Gojo-senpai." The blond bowed politely. Amanai simply gave a hum and made a beeline towards Tsumiki.

The tension in the room was palpable, even with Haibara's everlasting smile. It was too much for Satoru, who couldn't stand a serious conversation for more than five minutes, and he had already had four full minutes of exactly that.

"Sooooo, what are you doing here, Nanami?" Satoru broke the silence "You wanna babysit too?" He joked

Nanami sighed like a forty year old abused by the cruelty of life, and denied it "No. I came here looking for you, actually."

"Looking for me?" Satoru tilted his head to the side, confused "Why? Did someone die?"

"Don't joke like that, senpai." Nanami, the old man, scolded "And I would go to Ieri-senpai for that, not you. Anyways, Geto-senpai told me to call you, said you had a mission together. He's waiting at the front gates."

"Oh, right. The mission." Satoru mumbled mostly to himself, but that didn't prevent Nanami from raising an accusatory eyebrow "It seems like I lost track of time! Silly me! Thank you for telling me, Nanamin."

"Don't call me that-

Satoru expertly ignored him "Well, everyone, I'll be back soon with gifts and good stuff! Take care and don't break any children's bones. 'kay? Bye!" Then he warped away, leaving behind an angry Nanami, an amused Haibara and Nobara, and a surprised Riko.

He appeared just mere centimeters away from Suguru's face. But instead of jumping and screaming like Yuuji did, he shot him a deadpan expression.

"You're late."

Satoru pouted "Like, what. Five minutes?"

"Still late, what where you even doing anyway?" His arms were firmly crossed over his chest, purple eyes narrowing as they tried to take the information out of Satoru's soul.

"Oh, fucking."

"What." Suguru's face lost all its color, white as a sheet "But I-I told Nanami to look for you, he said he knew where you- what?"

"I'm joking, Suguru. You should have seen the look on your face! I would kill to have a photo-" His sentence was interrupted by a loud, painful smack on the back of his head. Infinity always allowed Suguru's touch, after all "Hey! What was that for?! I may be concussed now!"

"Gojo Satoru, stop fooling around for a second and focus!" Oops, Suguru was really angry "If you were concussed you'd stop behaving like an idiot for a while, which I would be eternally thankful for. Now let's go!" He turned around and started walking away, not even checking if the other sorcerer was following him.

Satoru, like the mature adult that he was, stuck his tongue out at Suguru's back. And followed him to take the bus.

They soon arrived at the place where the First Grade curse had been reported by a Window. An abandoned school, so not original.

Apparently they had intended to destroy the building, but two of the workers in charge of it had mysteriously dissapeared before even checking the area. No body, no weapon, nothing. It was clearly the actions of a curse.

"So, do we know anything important about the curse?" Satoru asked, he had been given the silent treatment by Suguru during their entire trip here. But he knew the teenager would answer him if work was involved "If you had read the entire report and not just the first five lines, you'd know." He was still upset, huh. Satoru would have to get him that boring black coffee he knew his best friend enjoyed to make up for it "But yes, the Window reported it was big in size, yellow and covered by eyes."

"Ew, creepy."

Suguru rolled his eyes, his anger evident "We don't have much more information, so we'll have to be careful. Any questions?" Satoru raised a hand "Questions that aren't dumb." Satoru's hand dropped "Good. Let's move."

Satoru didn't know what was that he did for Suguru to be in such a mood. Surely a five minutes delay wasn't that important to the guy. The Six-Eyes user remembers his best friend being obsessed about respecting everyone's time and arrive on time to whenever they were asked to be. But five minutes were a bit too extreme to be so angry. Was it the sex joke? Satoru had just said the word 'fucking'! He knew Suguru was a prude sometimes, but seriously?

Before he could think longer about the matter, he felt a push to the side, and he would have tripped and fall if it wasn't for Suguru's hand taking hold of his uniform's collar "Stop spacing out, Satoru! The curse is right there!"

"Sorry!" Satoru winced, Suguru was already in a bad mood, he didn't want to make it worse by not being able to destroy such a weak curse.

He had missed this, even if they weren't using their full power, by all means. But the thrill of fighting by Suguru's side and not against him, was something Satoru didn't know he needed as much as he does.

Both boys were synchronized, their fighting was more like a dance. Satoru attracted the curse, as it couldn't touch him due to his technique, while Suguru summoned one of his flying curses to get closer to the enemy and overpower it with his raw power.

Satoru was having fun, but he checked on Suguru each time he had to move away from him. For the teenager, his last battle had been with Toji, and the result wasn't pretty. So Satoru understood if he felt a bit uneasy today.

As he dodged one of the curse's attacks, he called the other's attention "Hey, Suguru! You want to absorb this one?"

Suguru thought about it for a moment, commanding one of his curses to cut off one of the curse's many arms. It wailed and screamed in pain, trying to regenerate its limbs. But Suguru's curse was faster and more powerful, making the task impossible.

"I don't know, maybe?" He observed the curse, it wasn't very strong for him or Satoru to struggle, but it wasn't weak either. Its power consisted on growing as much as it could, attacking everything and everyone in sight with his countless, and also big, arms? tentacles? Whatever they were. A hit from those things probably hurts like hell "It's not a smart curse, I could use it to destroy buildings or something if we're sometime trapped somewhere"

"Cool. I'll be careful not to kill it, then." Satoru gave him a thumbs up, thankful of Suguru being concentrated enough not to remember that he was mad at him. "Do you have any idea where the workers could be?"

"Maybe they've been eaten." Suguru shrugged "Can't you sense them?"

Satoru shook his head "I can't sense any cursed energy around that doesn't belong to you, me, or the curse. So I don't know, there's a lot of stuff going on. Let's try to weaken this thing first." Suguru nodded, summoning more curses to defeat the curse.

After a while, the thing visibly deflated. "Huh." Satoru crouched down next to them, his Six-Eyes trying to see any traces of other people "No one has been eaten, I'll check around while you absorb this." The white haired man knew his best friend didn't particularly enjoy being watched as he ate a curse, and Satoru respected that. So he started looking around for possible victims.

Suguru clearly appreciated the gesture, his anger cooling off as he turned the defeated curse into a sphere just so he could swallow it.

Satoru heard him gag, and cringed. Suguru always felt sick after absorbing a new curse, even worse if it was a First or Special Grade, as he said those tasted even worse.

As he walked, he found a trace of blood. And, making sure that Suguru had already finished his business, he turned around to call for him "Suguru, I think I found our guys."

"Oh, fine." He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, getting closer to his friend "Dead or alive?"

"Crushed by concrete." He specified, pointing to a hand peeking out from under a pile of debris "Probably this part of the school got destroyed when these people arrived to the scene and the curse appeared."

"Yeah, you're right. The report said that the order to tear down the school hadn't been issued yet. So it's clearly the curse's doing."

Satoru clapped his hands then, tone cheerful and excited again "Alright! Now that we're done here, let's go get some souvenirs!"

"And by souvenirs, you mean sweets." Suguru rolled his eyes, but didn't refuse as he followed his best friend out of the abandoned school. Then he lifted the veil, and started walking to the closest stores Satoru felt the need to burst into. Obviously, the dark haired teenager ended up being dragged into a bakery.

"Come on, Su-gu-ru! Don't look at me like that. Don't you want to taste something that it's not a curse?" He proposed

"Well, yeah. But-

"Then it's all said and done! What are you in the mood for? Donuts, pancakes, cake… Oh! I saw there was this huge strawberry cheesecake that looks gods-made. Wanna try that?"

And Suguru was a weak, weak man when it came to Satoru. So, how could he say no to that face? "Sure, Satoru. Let's order that."

"Thank you! You're the best. Don't worry, I won't forget to get you your boring black coffee. Just sit there and look pretty for a minute!"

Suguru just shook his head fondly. Satoru was a menace, a bratty menace. But if there was some kind of God or divinity out there, he prayed that his best friend never lost that innocent, happy smile that cheers up simply at the sight of anything sweet.

The trip back to Jujutsu High was entirely different from their journey to the abandoned school. Suguru's mood had clearly improved, so he allowed Satoru to yap and babble all that he wanted until they arrived to their destiny.

"You think everyone will enjoy my gifts?" He asked, a couple of bags hanging off each of his arms. The younger boy had warned him not to go overboard with his shopping, but of course, as the rich kid that he was, Satoru payed absolutely no mind to those words.

"Of course they will, Satoru. Which kid doesn't like chocolate?"

Megumi-chan, whose tastes are as sour as his grumbly little face "You'd be surprised." He muttered instead. He had bought something specifically for the younger Fushiguro, knowing his tastes and preferences. In reality, the boy did enjoy sweets, not chocolate ones though. But he always denied it to avoid his teacher from teasing him, assuring that he had more 'mature' tastes, what a joke. But to protect the kid's pride, Satoru always got him something else apart from the sweets, like crackers of random flavors or spicy snacks.

Yuuji was easy to satisfy, the boy would eat absolutely everything and still be hungry. Satoru used to blame Sukuna for that, because surely feeding the King of curses was no easy task. In this timeline though, Sukuna hadn't made an appearance, and Yuuji's eating habits didn't change at all, similar to Satoru's ravenous appetite. So he got a variety of snacks for the kid, aware that he'll want to share with everyone and try everyone's own food.

Nobara wasn't that easy to please, well, not for ordinary people, as her tastes were expensive. But Satoru was no ordinary person, so he bought whatever thing he saw his student would enjoy. All of it while hiding from Suguru, of course, as the younger boy would have a heart attack if he saw his best friend buying such expensive gifts for a four year old.

They didn't take long until they found the children, who were accompanied by their caregivers and Nanami. Satoru didn't think he could take this any longer, if his underclassmen wouldn't do anything to resolve their obvious tension, the Gojo heir would intervene.

"Welcome back, senpais!" Haibara, bless his innocence, waved happily at the pair when they entered the nursery "Oh, Gojo-senpai, do you need help with that?" He asked, already getting up to help the other man with the bags.

"Nah, don't worry. My arms are made of steel!"

"Right, are you sure you don't mean jelly?" Suguru teased, helping Satoru with the bags even if the other wouldn't stop whining about it.

"You're so meaaaaan. Why can't you be like Nanamin here, huh?" He started, smirking at the blonde, who was already throwing him daggers with his eyes "He treats Haibara like he's his husband! Suguru, learn."

"W-what?" Haibara flushed red, clearing his throat "Uh, how did the mission go?"

"It was good." Suguru answered in a heartbeat, clearly wanting to change the topic of conversation. He was so boring "The curse was weak, but I absorbed it anyway. Just in case it can be of any use in the future."

"Smart choice." Nanami, also trying to take the attention away from him, joined the conversation. Satoru was surrounded by old, boring men "Quality is important, but we shouldn't underestimate quantity."

"Gojo-san, what's in there?" Tsumiki perked up from where she had been napping at Amanai's lap.

"You brought us stuff?!" Yuuji asked now, no longer looking sleepy. And thankfully, with no obscene things drawn on his face anymore. He run until he clung to Satoru's legs, looking like an excited puppy

Megumi was trying to play the nonchalant emo act, as usual, but even he was painfully curious as he tried to look over his neck to check the contents in the bags.

"Well of course I did, Yuuji-kun! Whenever I go I'm always thinking about my fellow classmates and… kids? Whatever! Let's open this up!"

Everyone started opening his gifts then. The children received various types of snacks, some games for the DS, and some toys for Tsumiki. Nanami was gifted a beautiful black scarf, and Haibara got a matching one, but in lighter colors.

"And for you!" Satoru gave his last bag to Suguru

"For me? But-

"Hush now, open it!" Satoru bounced in place, he looked so excited Suguru couldn't help but smile at the sight "Okay, okay. Calm down, your cursed energy is all over the place." The teenager then proceed to check was his gift was, his mouth widening open "Satoru, this- Wow."

"Well?" Satoru prompted, shifting nervously from foot to foot "Do you like it?"

It was a photo, a framed one. Suguru remembers taking it during their first year, when both he and Satoru finally got over their differences. Shoko had told them about a ramen restaurant next to the school she usually visited with her friends, and Satoru, who never had the chance to explore the outside world while stuck at the Gojo estate, didn't hesitate in dragging Suguru to the place.

They ended up ordering quite a lot of food (courtesy of Satoru) and the lady of the restaurant was both impressed and thankful for all the money she'd be receiving that day. So she offered to take both boys a photo and hang it on her restaurant, as she said that there wasn't a better way of gaining clients than showing a pair of handsome boys enjoying her shop. Suguru was very fond of that photo, and always regretted not having asked for a copy.

"How did you get it? Satoru, don't tell me you've stolen the photo from the restaurant." Suguru asked, suddenly concerned.

"What? No! I just asked the owner for a copy. It was that easy." Satoru explained "Remember when I dragged you to the bakery and went to the bathroom for a moment? I warped to the restaurant then, and quickly got to work."

"You're unbelievable." Suguru muttered, voice fond "But thank you, Satoru. Really, I love it."

Satoru was smiling widely now, he wanted to surprise Suguru, to show him how important he was for him with the hope that these small details would help him get better. Obviously, a framed photo and some gifts wouldn't get rid off the teenager's mental illness, Satoru wasn't such a delusional materialist that he thought money could solve every problem. He was rich, yes, but not stupid.

Just then, he hear a sniffle. Suguru wasn't crying, then who…?

"That was sooooooo cute, Gojo-sensei!" Yuuji, of course it was, the boy had always been a bit sensitive.

"Gojo-sensei?" Suguru, always the perceptive one, asked.

Yuuji, as if noticing his mistake, tried to fix it as soon as he could "Hm, yeah! Because… Because he taught me and Fushiguro how to play soccer! So he's my sensei!" Smart Yuuji-kun, Satoru would have to give him an extra sweet.

"Oh, makes sense." Suguru, thanks the god, accepted.

"Can I call you Gojo-sensei too?" Megumi asked, the boy was smart. As soon as he saw an opening to call Satoru as he had been doing all his life, he took it. Satoru himself felt super weird each time his students called him Gojo-san, so he was thankful. "Can I, too?" Tsumiki asked shyly, Satoru's heart felt warm.

"Of course you can! Even Nanamin can!"

"No thank you." The man grumbled.

And just like that, Gojo Satoru became, once again, Gojo-sensei.

He truly felt like he belonged now.

Chapter Text

After the two strongest sorcerers were allowed on the field once more, everything returned back to normal. Or at least, the most normal it can be when one of them is a time-traveler and not exactly a teenager anymore.

Mission after mission was entrusted to both boys, to the point where it was routine to go on at least one mission a day, they were, once again, being exploited by the higher-ups.

Without even noticing, a month had already passed since Satoru and his students were sent to this timeline.

Today, the morning had started like any other. Satoru woke up, changed into his uniform and went straight to the dining area of the dorms, dying of hunger, as usual. But what surprised him was the absence of Suguru, who always waited for him with Shoko so the three of them could have some time together before leaving to attend their own businesses or they had to go to class.

"Hey." Satoru grabbed a cookie from the jar, and plopped down on a chair next to his friend "Have you seen Suguru?"

"Can you see him here? No, right? Well, me neither. And your eyes are better than mine, so." Shoko dismissed while preparing her coffee. "Want some?"

"Uh, no. You have poor tastes." He stuck his tongue out, expressing his disgust of black coffee with great maturity "And that's weird, Suguru doesn't oversleep-

Oh.

"Shoko." Satoru suddenly sat up straight, making the girl jump in place and stare at him weirdly "Have you, huh… Seen anything different in Suguru lately? And in his behavior?"

"You're such a creep, Satoru."

"Hey! That's not what I-

"Not what you mean. Yeah, I know that, duh." Shoko shrugged "But now that I think about it, I think I have. He's like absent or whatever when we're talking, like his mind is always somewhere else and not really paying attention to what we're saying at all."

Well, shit.

Satoru didn't know what he was doing wrong. He was always trying to spend time together with his best friend, accompanying him on his missions when it was allowed, bringing him food and gifts… Amanai had also lived this time. And, according to his theory, that had been the breaking point of Suguru in the past timeline. So, what was happening?

Maybe Suguru was destined to have depression either way, and the Star Plasma Vessel mission simply made it happen quicker.

Either way, his friend needed his help and support, and Satoru would give that to him, he deserves it.

Satoru nodded at Shoko's words, munching on his cookie and swallowing it whole in a big bite "So, what do we do? I think Suguru is depressed, I'm worried."

"Would you look at that, the great Gojo Satoru showing concern for another human being." The girl joked as she focused on her coffee, the other sorcerer would never understand how his friends could enjoy such a bitter beverage.

"Shoko, I'm being serious." Satoru tried to look offended, but his expression looked like a pout instead "Suguru is important to me, okay? And even someone like me can see that he's not feeling well."

Because I had to lose him once to know that he had been struggling until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine, fine. Geez, calm your gay self down." Shoko rolled her eyes, placing her empty cup aside to get up

"What-

"No, we don't have time for your imminent gay crisis now." Satoru didn't know what in the world the future doctor was talking about, but she looked serious, so he remained quiet."You're right, I've studied mental illnesses and I know how depression works. Suguru, the stubborn mule, is a master of hiding his discomfort and emotions in general, so I haven't given much thought to how weird he's been acting lately." She sighs, looking away from the other sorcerer and looking kind of guilty in the eyes "I'm not one to compliment others, like at all, even less if it's you."

"Oh my, thank you."

"But, this time you did well. I can admit that much." Shoko's lips slightly curved upwards "If you hadn't noticed it, who knows what could have happened in the future?"

Oh, trust me. I know, and it's not pretty "It's fine." He blurted out instead "We're all very busy and exhausted as fuck these days. And that includes you, Shoko. I don't think Suguru cares about that though, at least if he's aware that you want to help him."

"I guess." She shrugs "You know, I still find very weird how you suddenly have these random maturity episodes. It creeps me out, I'm not gonna lie. But it's a nice change."

"Hey now you're just exaggerating things! I've always been mature." His pouted deepened

"Yeah, sure. And I'm straight." Shoko deadpanned "Still, that's not the point. We have to think of something."

Satoru nodded, grabbing another cookie for emotional support "Hm, yeah. We'll call ourselves the Geto Suguru squad, and our first mission will be named 'Project: Sugusmiles!"

Shoko almost spit out all her coffee after hearing such an absurdity "Excuse me, what?" Satoru ignored her, happily eating his sweet treat "I'm already regretting this…"

"Don't be boring, Shoko! Cheer up, if you don't, how can we cheer Suguru up?" Satoru finished his breakfast, adjusting his uniform and glasses after bouncing next to Shoko "I have an idea."

"No."

"Come ooooon, pretty please?" It was the time to use Satoru's most prized ability, his puppy eyes. They never worked on Shoko, though, the girl was a difficult one. But it was worth a try, right?

"I should have known your maturity wouldn't last long." She sighed, looking bored already "Fine. Enlighten me then, what is your oh so cool idea?"

"I'm glad you asked! You'll love it!" Shoko gave him a look, which he, once again, ignored "We can ask the children for help. And before you shoot my poor heart with the 'no' I know you already have prepared in your lips, hear me out, okay?" His friend didn't look very keen on listening to his ramble, but nodded anyways "Suguru loves the kids, he may act all cool and neutral about it. But he enjoys taking care of them, and they like him too. So, why not make the most of it?"

"Right… And how do you, exactly, plan on doing that?"

"I have my ways." Satoru waved a hand dismissively, finishing his breakfast and sprinting out of the room as fast as he could, not giving Shoko the time to react.

He was worried, very worried. He didn't know if he could handle the pain of losing his best friend once again. No, he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it.

He had always been an expert in hiding his emotions and true feelings to everyone around him, still was. But when Suguru defected and became a wanted curse user, his heart felt so broken he didn't have the strength to pretend everything was rainbows and lollipops. Taking all the missions he could was his way of protecting himself, of thinking about anything that wasn't Suguru leaving him without never looking back even once. He couldn't stand Shoko's pity anymore, Nanami looking at him like he was going to break, and Yaga's sad gazes directed towards him.

Satoru wouldn't be able to survive that again, definitely. He planned to do everything in his power and more to avoid such a fate, which neither him not Suguru deserved.

He run as fast as he could to the other sorcerer's room, and found the door closed. His Six Eyes told him Suguru was still there, laying in bed and with no intentions of getting up. So he did what he knew best, force the door open.

"Rise and shine, Suguru! It's a new day!" He exclaimed while raising the blinds , sounding way too excited compared to the actual turmoil that was having place within him "Wakey, wakey!"

Suguru groaned as the sunlight hit him straight in the face "It's our free day, Satoru. We have no missions today, let me sleep." His face was pushed into his pillow, preventing the other man from seeing his expression. Long, black hair was sprawled all over the bed. He really looked beautiful like this- wait, not the point!

"I know we don't have missions, silly. But we still have classes! Or are you that excited for the prospect of facing an angry Yaga yelling at you for skipping?"

That made Suguru perk up, finally looking up at the other sorcerer "Wait, we have classes today? I thought it was Saturday."

Satoru flicked the teenager's forehead, getting his face close to the other's "It's Friday, Su-gu-ru! Really, what would you do without me, I wonder."

"Sleep, for starters." Suguru groaned, but made a move to get out of bed, his hair covering half of his face.

Satoru didn't know what got into him, but he suddenly felt the need of running his hands through that hair, making Suguru blush in a beautiful shade of pink.

"Satoru, what-

"I can't see your face." The man pouted, placing a lock of hair behind his ear "And stop whining!"

"You have the audacity of telling me to stop whining?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Satoru's pout deepened, tugging gently on his best friend's hair "Anyways! Come with me, we have places to be." He demanded as he dragged the other out of bed. His plan was simply going to class with the other, as Shoko was now also aware of Suguru's mental state, the girl would probably try to help in her own way. Satoru was still worried, but he had to stay optimistic if he didn't want this timeline to end like the previous one. There were still a lot of things he had to investigate, like that Stitches being, and he was sure Suguru was an important and essential part of that thing's plans.

"Can this be considered kidnapping?" Suguru joked, which made Satoru relax immediately. The guy was still grumpy and clearly not feeling well, but if he was in the mood to joke around, he couldn't be that far gone.

"Maybe? Not that I care, no one would dare to fight the Gojo Satoru to rescue your sorry ass from my claws." He maturely stuck his tongue out, he loved doing that, pushing Suguru's uniform onto his hands, who automatically started getting dressed.

"Well, I suppose there are worst fates out there than being kidnapped by you." He hummed, trying to put his hair into his usual bun, but unable to do so because of how difficult it was to deal with hair longer than usual.

"Do you want me to tie your hair for you?" Satoru blurted out, and when he noticed it was him who had said those words out loud, it was too late to backpedal.

"You don't even know how to do it without leaving the person bald." Suguru smirked, playing with the hair tie in his hands "But if you want to try and fail anyways, be my guest."

The Six Eyes user felt his pride was being hurt, and he couldn't just let that happen without at least putting up a good fight "Hey! I'll have you know I've been practicing with Tsumiki-chan, I don't even pull at her hair anymore."

Suguru raised an eyebrow, clearly doubting all that came out of the white-haired man's mouth "That's so reassuring, Satoru."

The man ignored him, and started trying to tie Suguru's hair up. It was actually proving to be a challenge, it had nothing to do with Tsumiki's long but still thin hair belonging to a little kid. Suguru's hair was surprisingly long and thick, even if he was depressed, it seems like his hair was always taken care of anyways.

At first, seeing or imagining Suguru with his hair down was a huge trigger warning for Satoru. After all, he just started seeing him wearing it like that after he defected from Jujutsu Society. There were just a couple of times the two of them interacted after his best friend left, probably neither of them being strong enough to face the other after everything.

Satoru had the orders of going after Suguru and kill him, but didn't have the heart to do so. Of course, if he tried, he could easily track the other down and capture him. But how could he, after feeling guilty enough to believe that he was one of the main causes that forced his other half to leave? So he simply convinced the higher-ups that he was doing his best to find the man, even if they didn't believe him, what could they do against the Strongest?

The Strongest, who was all alone again, after losing the only person who taught him how to behave like one.

But now, at the present, Satoru was positively intoxicated with the way the teenager looked with his hair like this. He wasn't stupid, Suguru was beautiful, objectively speaking, and he enjoyed appreciating beauty.

"You're taking your sweet time." Suguru raised an eyebrow, turning his head to the side to face his classmate "Not so brave now that you're not dealing with baby hair?"

"Silence, Su-gu-ru!" Satoru drawls as much as he can "I need to concentrate to create a masterpiece. Isn't this how professionals work?"

"The fact that you're asking says it all, you know."

"Rude." Satoru pouted, pulling on Suguru's hair on purpose to give him a very mature lesson about not teasing your hairdresser when they have your mane in their power "Okay, I'm done. Doesn't it look super amazing and cool?"

"I'll be the judge of that." Suguru got up from the bed, his clothes hanging loosely over his form, he was losing weight. He entered the bathroom, and came out minutes later with a shocked look on his face "How did you manage to do that? You were ass at it."

"You're so mean to me." Satoru grumbled, walking towards the other and flicking his forehead "You like it or not?"

Suguru stayed still for half a minute, making his best friend start feeling self-conscious "Well?" He prompted "You know, if you don't like it you can just untie it and-

"I love it." Suguru interrupted, shifting his body to stare at the wall like it was the most important thing in the room at the moment "Thank you, Satoru."

The Gojo heir felt warmth growing inside him at those words coming out of his best friend's mouth. He really hadn't made a work of art or anything, as it was merely a bun with lots of loose locks of hair here and there. Still, it felt really good to be complimented by Suguru. Satoru was used to be called all kind of good things from people who wanted to get on his good side, family, higher-ups, other sorcerers… But Satoru knew the teenager in front of him had nothing more than pure and honest intentions, and that felt amazing. When did he start needing Suguru's validation to feel at ease? He wanted to believe that it had started in this timeline, as he was constantly on edge about the literal end of the world and the need to avoid Suguru's descend to madness to avoid it. But something deep inside his heart told him that he was lying to himself, he had always craved the other's validation and praise, like a puppy.

He was tired of facing Suguru's back, so he grabbed his shoulders and forced him to move. And Suguru was… blushing?

"Oh." Satoru couldn't keep the sound in his mouth, too concerned and focused on the pink tint decorating his best friend's cheeks, which were a bit hollow and sharp due to the weight loss, but still looked pretty and pinchable.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Suguru all but pouted, Satoru didn't know if he should laugh out loud or melt, probably both "Stop staring at me, Satoru. It's even creepier when you have those stupid glasses on."

"Oh, really?" That got Satoru out of his stupor "You are surely the only one who thinks that way. My eyes are what always creep people out, not my glasses."

After some Satoru's first months at Jujutsu High passed, he still fought with Suguru, but both boys had gotten used to it and were even friendly towards one another, even Shoko had accepted his antics.

But there was something Satoru still hadn't gotten used to.

Being stared at.

He knew he was pretty, or at least that he looked unique enough so people would stop twice after seeing him to double check that they were really seeing a teenager too tall for his age, with white, spiky hair and deep blue eyes. He was fine with those types of stares, but then there were those who looked at him like he was a monster.

"Have you seen that Gojo guy without those ugly glasses on? He looks so weird! It gives me the chills each time I have to see his eyes."

"Do you think he can read minds? I can't look at him in the eyes, it's so weird."

"Thanks God he's always covering his creepy eyes, or I wouldn't be able to endure a conversation with him."

"I think he's too weird, and scary. Have you seen him fight? He probably wants to take over the Jujutsu world or something. What were they even thinking when they allowed him to study here just because he's the heir of the Gojo clan? He's going to get us killed someday, that beast."

Those were just some of the comments he received everyday. Of course, the ones who said such things didn't know he could listen to them. But his sight wasn't the only sense he had more developed than the ordinary person, and he was very aware of those who viewed him either as a God living along mortals or a monster who wanted to conquer the world. It was ridiculous, he knew. But after all he was just a teenager, and hearing people talking like that behind his back day after day would affect anyone.

But Suguru was different, he never flinched after seeing his eyes, always having stare contests with him and never avoiding his gaze.

Satoru never realized how much he had missed that

"Satoru? Did you listen to what I said?"

"Uh? Oh, sorry." Satoru chuckled nervously "I was just… thinking."

"That sounds dangerous." Suguru joked, shaking his head "Anyways, I said that your eyes don't scare me, you know that. And all of those idiots who fear them are simply weak, your eyes can hurt, after all."

"Yeah, I know." Satoru hummed, looking everywhere but the other's face "Then why don't you-

"Because I know you'll never hurt me, Satoru. Do you even need to ask? Seriously, I thought you knew me better than that."

I thought so too, but then you abandoned me "Uh, yeah. Thank you? But I'm still scary!" He pouted, trying to save face.

"Of course you are, the scariest of them all." Suguru rolled his eyes, more than used now to play along with Satoru's mood swings "Now come on. Didn't you come here to wake me up and go to class? We're going to be late."

"Right." Satoru nodded, trying to go back to his cheerful self before Suguru got more suspicious "Let's race to the classroom!" He didn't wait for the teenager to respond, already storming out of the room.

"Hey! That's cheating, you asshole!"

"Gojo-sensei, can we talk?"

Satoru had sneaked out to the children's nursery after his classes, with the excuse of needing some rest. He offered Amanai and Haibara some free time while he looked after the kids, and they thankfully accepted.

"Sure, that's why I'm here for, Yuuji-kun." He nodded, sitting down on the ground while surrounded by his three students from the original timeline. Tsumiki was busy drawing somewhere in the room.

"Okay, well. Grandpa visited yesterday, and he said some weird stuff." Yuuji started explaining as he munched on a donut Satoru had brought for the children "He was discussing it with principal Yaga, but they let me stay because they thought I was too young to understand them."

"So?" Nobara intercepted "Spill it out, Itadori!"

"Hey, shush! I'm giving context!" Yuuji complained "Bitch." He mumbled

"The fuck did you just call me?!" Nobara was already heading to grab the boy's pink hair while Megumi simply stayed still, probably more than accustomed to their nonsense.

Satoru didn't know why, but he felt like he was experiencing some kind of deja vu.

"Guys, please, focus!" The teacher clapped his hands, low enough not to call Tsumiki's attention, she absolutely couldn't have anything to do with this "Please continue, Yuuji. What did you hear?"

After the boy freed himself from his classmate's tight grip on his hair, he spoke "My grandpa was talking about my mom, he said her name was Itadori Kaori, which I already knew. But then he said she had some weird accident like a year or so before I was born, and her personality changed radically after it happened."

"Okay." Satoru nodded, mentally writing the information down "Anything else that could be of use?"

Yuuji hesitated at that, shifting nervously and avoiding his teacher's gaze "Yeah but… Don't freak out, okay? I already did."

"Okay, very calming." Satoru chuckled "Don't worry, Yuuji-kun. Out with it!"

"Well… He said my mother had permanent stitches on her forehead after the accident. And that he never understood why she did, when the wounds should have already healed by the time she and my dad left to never come back."

Satoru felt his heart sink to his stomach, going white as a sheet as he audibly swallowed. He was expecting a lot of things, but not that.

"Sensei, are you okay…? You're pale, and shaking."

"Sorry, you warned me not to freak out. But god damn." Satoru laughed hysterically, running his hands trough his hair nervously "Those are some crazy news."

"Sensei's right, we have to think about this carefully." Megumi spoke for the first time that day, small hand rubbing his chin as he got lost in thought "If what we know is correct, this means that Stitches thing can use whatever body they want after the victim's death. They probably provoked Itadori Kaori's accident and then kidnapped her body, in a way."

"That's twisted." Nobara grimaced "Wait… Does this mean Stitches is Itadori's mother?!"

"Please don't say that ever again, it's gross." Yuuji swallowed hard, face turning green "I feel dirty."

"Hey, none of that! Yuuji-kun is not dirty." Satoru smiled, he still felt like a knife was twisting his insides. But as a teacher, it was his duty to comfort his students at all times, even if that meant neglecting his own needs and feelings "You're just you, no matter what crazy entity participated in your conception. Don't overthink it, okay? You're Itadori Yuuji, Wasuke's grandson. Nothing more, nothing else."

"Yeah, I guess you're right… Thank you, sensei." The boy smiled, his chubby cheeks lifting adorably.

"That's my Yuuji-kun! Or should I say Yuuji-chan? You look so cute! Let sensei pick you up and pinch your cheeks!"

"What?! No!" Yuuji exclaimed, squirming around as Satoru's arms wrapped around him to lift him up "Sensei, I'm not a child!"

"Sure you aren't." Satoru cooed as he went on and on with the threat of pinching the kid's cheeks, trying to distract him from those ugly thoughts. Which apparently worked, as the boy started giggling while trying to avoid his sensei from squishing the life out of him. After some time to calm down, the Six-Eyes user got serious again.

"The information you provided to us was very useful. Thank you, Yuuji." He smiled genuinely, ruffling the mane of pink hair "Do you know if your mother had a curse technique?"

"Honestly? No idea." He shrugs "I think so, maybe. Because grandpa was telling Yaga that she had always been weird, even before the accident."

"Alright. We have another clue now, our guy goes after sorcerer's bodies. We should investigate if your mother had a powerful cursed technique, because Suguru clearly does, I suppose that's why they went after his body." He hums, this was giving him a migraine "Or maybe the plan was to capture me all along..."

"It's too soon, we need more information." Megumi said, receiving a nod from Nobara "We should speak to Itadori-san and see if we can obtain more data."

"I think he already told principal Yaga all that he knew. Grandpa is not a sorcerer, so it's going to be difficult." Yuuji sighed "But I'll try."

"That's the spirit!" Satoru chirped "Now, who wants to go eat some sweets-

Suddenly, the room's door burst open, and a way too out of breath Shoko run into the room. Weird, Satoru doesn't remember the girl running even once in the previous timeline. But he didn't expect the cause of such a strange event to be-

"It's Suguru." Shoko breathed "He got called last minute for a mission, and he's hurt."

"What?" He was up in an instant, everything else forgotten for the time being "How did he get hurt? That's not like him."

"I don't know, okay? I'm as shocked as you are." Shoko sighed, trying to remain calm, an unusual look on the usual nonchalant girl "He called, said the curse was suspiciously strong. And that he felt a weird source of cursed energy coming from within the curse."

Both Satoru and Yuuji perked up at that, the younger boy tugging on Satoru's leg. The two of them were clearly thinking about the same thing.

Sukuna.

"Okay, whatever. Where is he? Give me the coordinates and I'll teleport there." Satoru asked- no, demanded. He was getting more and more nervous, he needed to see with his won eyes if his best friend was alive and well, and without stitches on his forehead.

"Chill out, will you? Warping will take a lot of your energy, we should drive you-

"Absolutely not. Suguru could be dead by the time I get there!" Satoru yelled, he was losing his patience "Shoko, I'm being serious right now. Please tell me where he is."

"Wow, fine. Chill out." Shoko showed him a notebook with the address, which Satoru easily memorized "You should trust him more, he won't go down that easily."

I trust him more than anyone, but this enemy is too strong even for the two of us "Thanks. Take care of the kids, bye." And just like that, he vanished.

Satoru hysterically looked for Suguru, Six Eyes seeing everything and more, until he found his best friend's alarmingly weak cursed energy.

Seriously, was the world trying to kill him with flashbacks today?

Suguru was resting against a wall, sliding down to the ground as soon as he saw Satoru. This time, at least, he wasn't wearing those monk robes, and he wasn't lacking an arm either. "Satoru." He voiced with noticeable relief "You're here."

"Of course I am, dumbass." Satoru chided, running to the teenager's side to check on him. He was hurt, but he'd make it, good "What the hell happened, Suguru?"

"The curse is absurdly strong." He groaned, putting pressure on his injured side, which Satoru noticed was bleeding "It regenerates again and again, no matter what curse I use or what punch I throw at them, it's unnerving. Then there's also that weird cursed energy it carries, can you see what it is?"

Satoru was a 90% sure about what the energy was, but he nodded either way, and concentrated in the energy around them, careful not to attract the curse to their hiding place.

Then, he felt it. One of Sukuna's fingers pulsating inside the curse's body. Now the thing was, should he already be aware of Sukuna's existence in this time of his life? He never listened to Yaga's rambles during class, so he had no idea if they had ever discussed the Heian curse user who ended up becoming a curse himself. But as the heir of the Gojo clan, it wouldn't be that weird if he happened to know about the King of Curses, right?

He was very tired of lying and faking since he time traveled, so he would indulge a little bit and at least say the truth of what he really knew about this.

"It's Sukuna's finger."

"What?"

"He's a curse user of the Heian era. Or, technically, was. He became a curse after death, and he was so strong no sorcerer had the power to exorcise him." The curse was getting closer to them now, was he strong enough to Hollow Purple the thing? He supposes he is "So, his fingers were cut off and sealed. The fingers are incredibly dangerous on their own, they attract other curses who are looking for power."

"Wait, let me get this straight." Suguru groaned, but ignored the pain as he slowly got up, decided to aid his friend when he was the one in need of a rescue "Are you talking about the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna?"

"How did you- I mean, yeah."

"I know about it because Yaga-sensei was teaching us about him in literally today's lesson. But if you weren't paying attention, how do you- well, never mind. Let's exorcise this thing and go home."

Satoru smiled unconsciously at Suguru still thinking about Jujutsu High as his home, thankfully he wasn't too far gone yet "Sure, but I am the one exorcising them. You're just going to sit your stubborn ass back down and let me work, okay? And before you protest, I can handle it. Just accept the help, Suguru."

"Fine… Don't you dare get your ass kicked, Satoru. Or I'll be very pissed, clear?"

"Crystal." He laughed, helping his best friend sit "I'll be back!"

The curse was indeed, very strong. But it still wasn't rival to Satoru's godlike powers. Okay, maybe he got a scratch or two (his left arm and right leg were bleeding) but he managed to exorcise it, recovering Sukuna's finger in the process.

Satoru knew Suguru could have easily handled this on his own, but he was probably too weak and out of it due to his mental health to focus on such a sneaky curse that managed to hurt someone like Satoru (he had to work a bit more on his infinity in this timeline), fuck the higher-ups.

"So that Sukuna's finger." Suguru spoke as they both took the train back to the school, neither of them in the mood to warp away "It certainly looks dangerous, do you think I'll be able to control Sukuna if I eat it?"

Please, stop trying to eat this guy's nasty fingers, everyone.

"You'd just become his vessel, or die." Satoru answered "I wouldn't recommend it."

"Oh." Suguru blinked, focusing back on his wound "You know a lot about Sukuna, don't you? Where did you learn that?"

Shit.

"Have you forgotten where I come from? The Gojo clan had me studying long before I even realized I was doing it. So, of course they taught me about the King of Curses." Maybe being honest hadn't been such a good idea after all, reminding Satoru once again how damn perceptive his best friend was "Point is, this thing is dangerous. That's all we need to know."

"Sure… You know, Satoru, I'm not stupid. I know there's something you're not telling me. And it's fine, really. Everyone has the right of keeping his own secrets as long as they don't hurt others, at least that's how I see it. But as you told me the other day, you need to accept help and talk to me, or I won't be able to support you like you need."

Satoru's heart felt that warmth once more, it always happened when Suguru said stuff like this "Thank you, Suguru. I… I appreciate it."

"Hmph, as you should." The teenager nodded, bumping his shoulder gently with Satoru's, and both boys remained in comfortable silence until they got back to Jujutsu High.

Shoko scolded them for being careless and give her more work than she already had, but both of her classmates smirked knowingly as soon as she had her back against them. It was obvious that under all that grouchy exterior, Shoko was worried about them. Satoru appreciated it.

"Well, we're alive, aren't we? That's all that matters! Now, with your permission or without it, I have some important stuff to do. So I'm leaving, bye!"

"What? Satoru, wait-" But it was too late, as the white haired boy had already warped away "Ugh, he's unbelievable..."

"Yuuuujiiiii, I'm back!"

"SENSEI!" Yuuji almost died as he saw Satoru's bright blue eyes appear out of thin ice in front of his small face, falling on his behind with a loud thump "You love scaring me, don't you?" He pouted

"It's funny, honestly." Satoru admitted with a wink "Where are the others?" He asked, noticing the nursery being completely empty

"I sensed Sukuna's cursed energy some time ago, and I figured you had found something. So, I asked Fushiguro and Kugisaki for help. They told Haibara-san and Amanai-san that they wanted to play soccer, and I said I would stay here because I was tired and wanted to get some sleep. Tsumiki-chan didn't want to bother my theoretical nap, so she also left with them."

"Smart Yuuji-kun! Well done, you learned from the best." Satoru fake sobbed, proudly patting his student on the head "But you're right, I found one of Sukuna's fingers. It's already under Yaga's custody." He explains "I'm not going to be the one to tell you if you should or not wake Sukuna up in this timeline. But your body is still young, having such a vessel would certainly make Sukuna upset. So it's better if we wait, okay? No matter the decision you make."

Yuuji nodded "Yeah, alright."

"Also…" Satoru cleared his throat "We should discuss what to do about the tiny, little detail that we're time travelers." He took a deep breath "Suguru is already getting suspicious and-

"Suspicious about what?" Not Suguru's voice, but other equally problematic, appeared in the room.

"Heyyyy, Shoko." Satoru smiled, painfully forced "You know, about the thing."

"The thing?"

"The thing."

Yuuji was about to panic as soon as he heard the girl's voice, but he was confused now "What thing?"

"Project: Sugusmiles, of course!" Yuuji looked even more lost now, and Shoko wanted to crawl into a hole and never see daylight again "Yuuji-kun is going to help us make Suguru feel better."

"Geto-san isn't feeling well?"

"Nope, as I was clearly telling you, Yuuji. Suguru is sad, very sad. You'll help us, right?"

The boy still didn't understand a thing. But he liked helping people feel better, so he nodded "Yeah, of course!" He them bumped fists with Satoru.

"You're such a bad influence, Satoru…" Shoko groaned, regretting all her life choices that got her to this point in life.