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Chapter Text

─── ⋆⋅𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓑𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓼⋅⋆ ─── 

Everything begins there, in the middle of the night and at the very core of a dark, endless ocean. Megumi starts feeling the ever-growing pressure. The sea current seem to lean against his body without rest, pulling it further down into the abysmal darkness.

Suddenly, there are no currents, and he doesn’t resist. While going down in an incredibly slow manner, like a feather drifting softly to the ground, the traces of the sun gradually disappear, leaving only opaque twilight. Nothing can be seen, or at least very little, because the darkness gets denser meter by meter. The echoes of the silence envelop them, boosting the sensation of loneliness and despair.

Air bubbles rise around them and burst at the faraway surface like a multitude of short-lived memories of freedom. Still, they start turning rare and then suddenly cease altogether. The pressure inside their ears mounts, the cold turns sharper as if even the water itself tried to absorb everything.

Every movement is slow and heavy, and the body falls as if it would never stop. The ocean is endless and dark, with no end in sight. He goes deeper and deeper, with resignation, while the only companion is the silence of the abyss.

Tsumiki.

Megumi stared at his sister, who had dark black circles on her skin, she was so peaceful as she sank deeper than he could reach. In desperation, Megumi tried to move to reach her, desperately he tried, but he could not even move a single muscle and was only able to watch in horror as his sister floated away, seemingly in a peaceful sleep. His dread increases as, out of the abyss, he feels being pulled upward toward the surface, against his will, his heart aching whether his sister remains lost in the depths below.

Megumi is trapped in a despair that pulls him toward a clarity he has never known, a warmth he has never felt and does not want to feel. But it was an unbearably bright light, foolish in its brilliance, stirring an irritation that seeped into his being.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

He sensed it (irritating yet undeniable) in the silence of the ocean, a haunting call pulling at his soul. With annoyance brewing within him, he chose to confront it, and as he did it there was something akin to an aura, a kind of energy in an angelic white hue, unlike any white he had ever seen, neither opaque nor clear, but so creamy, so beautiful to behold. That light simply hypnotized him and then, without warning, it captured him roughly.

It's... reassuring.

The figure that he once couldn't conceive in any form now took the shape of a delicate white rabbit, its soft fur glistening like freshly fallen snow. It wasn't his, yet it radiated a charm that made his heart swell with warmth. There was something profoundly peaceful about it, a serene presence that whispered of innocence and gentle joy.

The white rabbit nearly made him forget the depths of the abyss he wanted to reach with his sister, but he remembered, and strongly. Even though there was no sound down there, not a single call, the surface felt so different from the depths he had yet to reach, and he was drawn in by that unknown, whitish aura, which frightened him.

He forced his eyes open, his chest heaved anxiously, moving up and down at every breath as cold sweat adhered to his brow. The inadequate light that filtered in disclosed that it must barely be seven in the morning. With Itadori and Nobara sleeping beside him, pressing onto him from all sides, he felt incapable of moving an inch.

The discomfort was palpable, but it was a minor grievance compared to the harshness of the days they had faced. The idea of sleeping together had been Gojo’s, and Nobara and Itadori were thrilled by the notion of having occasional sleepovers.

A small smile formed on his face.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

"This is ridiculous! Ri-di-cu-lous!" Nobara yelled in frustration, raising her hammer above her head while holding a fifteen-centimeter screw in her left hand. "Gojo-sensei was completely wrong! Making them longer changes nothing, they’re just more uncomfortable to use!"

Amid the chaos, a sorcerer trapped under rubble cried out desperately, his voice barely cutting through the noise. He wasn’t sure if the curse had been defeated because the impact had left his ears ringing, nor did he know if his cry would attract the sorcerers or that terrifying curse. Itadori heard the call for help but, noticing that the curse was distracted, destroying debris just a couple of meters away, he decided he had to act. He quickly moved towards the trapped sorcerer, ignoring the chaos around him.

The sorcerer, pale and wide-eyed with panic, could barely keep calm. 

"Are you okay?" Itadori shouted calmly as he ran towards the curse, giving the young boy a thumbs up from a distance

The young sorcerer teared up and raised his finger in a thumbs up gesture "Thank you for coming to save us, thank you, thank you so much-"

Nobara appeared with a furious expression and delivered a kung fu kick to the shouting sorcerer’s head.

"Shut up!" she snapped, kicking him again. "If you keep screaming, the curse will find us before we can do anything!"

The truth was, the curse was drawn to the wounded, and their cries only made it come closer.

The fifteen-year-old sorcerer, lying on the ground, watched in terror. He desperately wondered what scared him more, the furious and seemingly insensitive sorceress in front of him or the curse that had almost killed him.

Megumi didn’t join the mission at Itadori’s request, but that wasn’t why Nobara was so unhappy. Gojo had given them the wrong location, causing a delay. Nobara was furious because she missed her manicure appointment, and on top of that, Hanna had chosen not to join the mission just to (look after Megumi). Even though Gojo had told her she wasn’t allowed to miss it, she got out of the car as soon as she could.

Itadori asked Nobara to help him get the injured out, as he was having difficulty moving them on his own. Nodding with determination, she ran to the younger ones to get them to a safe area. Once that was done, she began dealing with every curse encountered, running, fighting, and moving with agility. Despite her exhaustion, moving with ease was still possible, and that was all that mattered in that moment.

With the remaining strength she had, the senior student positioned herself near Itadori, determined to help him finish off the curse quickly. She took off the top of her uniform due to the heat she was feeling, leaving her white shirt on.

"Go away, Kugisaki" Itadori said, getting into position and keeping his eyes on the curse. "I’ll handle it alone."

"Oh no, not a chance!" Nobara replied firmly while continuing to fight the copies. "I want to buy nice clothes, so let’s do this together and finish it!"

Itadori ignored her and charged at one of them. Nobara gritted her teeth as she watched, aware that the dark energy of the curse was overwhelming. She had put in the effort to eliminate two powerful curses on her own and couldn't believe that Itadori was still fighting that giant.

Meanwhile, she angrily thought that he should be thanking her for protecting the injured and allowing him to finish the fight in peace.

Nobara wasn't in the mood for games, and seeing her partner face the curse without taking it seriously was irritating. She knew he was just training and acting like a child.

Suddenlyn with her hammer raised high, Nobara channeled her frustration over the lost shopping opportunities. The curse was eliminated and she looked at her hammer for a moment, in the end, the fine, long screws were faster and easier to use than she wanted to admit.

"Well done, Kugisaki!"

With an air of superiority, she said "Thank you, random citizen."

Nobara was proud to see how she had become more powerful with each mission. Itadori’s approving look only boosted her ego. For some reason, at that moment, she envisioned herself as a little girl with dark hair and felt a deep sense of pride in what she had accomplished. She couldn’t help but reflect on the long journey she had traveled alone. She thought about the toilsome effort she had put in since her childhood and how each mission had made her stronger and more mature.

Nobara's white shirt, which had been loose due to the intensity of the battle, finally slipped down her arms, revealing more than she had anticipated. In her haste to get to the mission on time, she hadn't had a chance to put on her sports bra. At that moment, Itadori, who had been watching with a casual smile, dropped his jaw and widened his eyes in shock, unable to hide his astonishment. Nobara clearly noticed the pallor on Itadori's face, as if his soul had momentarily left his body. The moment seemed to stretch on indefinitely.

It was evident that Itadori was deeply shocked by what he saw, and he could not hide his reaction.

Yes, he would remember those tits for the rest of his life.

Nobara felt the cold wind against her tits, enveloped by a chilling and almost sepulchral silence. A moment passed before anything registered at all, with Yuuji frozen to the point of not being able to move a single muscle. But when Nobara finally did react, her eyes opened wide in intense embarrassment and shock, blood rushed into her face so quickly, turning it deep red. She promptly covered herself up, glancing nervously between her buttons and then up at Itadori.

Yuji panicked, hunched over, and with closed squinting eyes was yelling desperately "I-I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING I SWEAR TO BU- YOU, YOU, I- !"

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

Megumi had already planned what to give Itadori as compensation for his absence from the mission (which, though against his will, everyone agreed was the best course of action). When they arrived at school, Megumi was dismayed to realize that he hadn't bought anything for Nobara. The sky, already painted in a deep orange that signaled the imminent twilight, marked almost the end of the daylight. Going back to the mall now wouldn't allow him to make a thoughtful purchase. Nevertheless, he felt it was essential to give her something, even though he had no idea what. He knew for sure that making the wrong choice was a considerable risk, as Nobara wouldn’t hesitate to tell him to his face if the gift was crap.

Hana turned around when she noticed he wasn’t by her side and saw Megumi staring at the ground, clearly deep in thought about whether to call a taxi to return to the mall or find another solution.

"What’s wrong?" Hana asked, her voice tinged with concern.

"I didn’t buy anything for Nobara" Megumi replied seriously, but with a hint of guilt that he tried to mask.

"Oh, and what were you going to get me?" Hana inquired with a soft, almost magical tone, as if expecting an enchanted gift.

"Nothing" Megumi answered coldly.

Hana dramatically fell to the ground, feigning tears, but was ignored. She then approached him with a look of disappointment.

“But I took care of you all day.” She complained.

Megumi responded sharply “I didn’t ask you to. I told you to go with them.”

It wasn't his intention, but he knew what he said must have sounded a bit harsh. Megumi was truly frustrated for having missed the mission. He had been really worried about his friends when Hana insisted on staying behind, as if Itadori and Nobara didn't matter.

As he pulled out his phone to check his companion's profile, Megumi watched closely, well aware different people had different tastes. He remembered with a shudder the day Panda had given Maki a lip balm, a present clearly not to her liking.

Megumi had looked into her profile, and from there, he could tell that she liked fashion, putting on makeup, and other girly stuff, like manicures-which, if he remembered right, she said she was supposed to have today. He wondered whether she was able to go or if she decided to cancel. Megumi was uncertain, and he let out a small sigh. He would have to just ask her instead; it was better than getting her something she wouldn't like.

He looked up to see them approaching from afar. He tried raising his hand toward Nobara, who was the first to reach him, but she quickened her pace without so much as acknowledging him. Her cheeks flushed deep crimson, and in her eyes, Megumi couldn't decipher what there was. Embarrassment?

“Hey!" he called again, this time annoyed, believing she was pretending not to hear him on purpose, but again there was no answer. Seeing him at a loss for words, Itadori, too, blushed and looked just like Nobara, who was really embarrassed, and he passed silently by.

《What’s wrong with those two?》He thought to himself.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

They were those unavoidable dinners to which he was required to attend by his clan, where his presence was mandatory. So Gojo warned his students with a smile not to bother him under any circumstances on thursday nights. In return, all his students labeled him as immature, as was customary, and none seemed to care, assuring him they would never call him, especially outside school hours.

Gojo had been forced to attend these family dinners, which he had dismissed as unnecessarily boring and whose sole purpose, in his view, was to inconvenience him. He hated the monotony of convention and the traditions that required one to be properly seated. He didn’t mind showing his disdain and rejecting these obligations, calling them superfluous. Only when it was all over did he feel truly free, so he teleported home. When he flopped onto the sofa in his nocturnal apartment and turned on his phone, an avalanche of messages and missed calls flooded the screen. However, if he was honest with himself, nothing was truly alarming. Two missed calls from Nobara, who in a message explained that Hana had missed the mission to be with her ‘boyfriend,’ accompanied by a slew of minor complaints. Then there was Shoko, suggesting he ignore Utahime’s messages, which, of course, he had no intention of doing. So, when he finally decided to check them, he found only one that really mattered.

I missyo7

For the first time all night, he managed to force a smile, something he hadn't come close to achieving during the tedious dinner. He felt a warm comfort, as if, in that brief moment, everything made sense again. His heart, invariably, raced with every message from her or anything related to Utahime Iori, always overflowing with a feeling that surprised him time and time again.

It seemed that, given the hour, Utahime was drunk and someone had taken her phone. When he tried to call her, he only got a turned-off signal. He then attempted to contact Shoko, but the call seemed endless until she finally answered.

"Where is my wife?" he asked in an animated tone, a mix of excitement and worry.

"I’m answering just to tell you not to worry," Shoko replied, her voice a blend of irritation and reassurance. "You know how she gets in that state."

"Kyoto or Tokyo?" he pressed, trying to get more information.

"We're ok," Shoko said soothingly. "Don’t come here because we're about to get into my car."

"High Five- no, Hibiya- oh wait, there’s music, it’s not a bar," He continued, his voice trailing off as background noise became more apparent.

"Gojo, d-" 

The call was abruptly cut off, and Shoko looked around, realizing that even if she rushed into the nightclub and tried to pull her friend out, they would be discovered unless she could teleport. No one could stop him, and Shoko started to feel a bit anxious about the impending situation, nervously swallowing as she thought of an escape plan. Her only option was to drag Utahime out of the nightclub and wait for him, but as she approached the entrance, she heard him greet her casually.

He was dressed just as he had been for the clan dinner: in a black shirt, unbuttoned at the top, dark pants, and his glasses.

"Can I make one last plea for peace so you don’t go in?" she asked, her tone pleading. "I'm saying this as your friend…"

Gojo smiled, clearly unmoved. "After you."

She sighed in resignation, knowing that asking him not to destroy the place was not a request he would entertain.

The two of them entered the nightclub, where the music intensified, with flashing lights that made you feel disoriented and the stifling mix of alcohol and heat. Gojo navigated through the crowd, his gaze anxiously searching for Utahime while Shoko tried to guide him in her direction. Although he was searching with anxiety, he tried to hide it. As he continued to look around, he eventually bumped into the bar. There she was, standing very close to a tall man who was whispering intimately in her ear.

Gojo acted impulsively. He quickly approached, grabbing the man’s shirt with a fury evident in the veins of his neck and hands as he seized him. 

“Stay away from my wife!” he warned, his blue eyes blazing with anger before he threw the man to the floor with violence.

“What are you doing, Gojo?!”

She shouted at him so he could hear over the loud music. When Gojo looked at her, his eyes were darker than she had ever seen, and she felt a flicker of fear. Subdued, she sealed her lips. Barely containing a potential massacre, Gojo grabbed Utahime by the arm and pulled her outside, because apparently, his desire to get her out of there was greater than murder.

She wasn't very drunk, but she did vomit in the bathroom for a good few minutes, with Gojo holding her hair back. Soon, he put her in the bathtub with cold water, still fully clothed, and stayed by her side while he forced a toothbrush into her mouth. Utahime thinks she can do all that, but she let him do it anyway.

She apologized to him seven times at different moments, but he didn’t respond, he didn’t say anything at all, condemning her to endure a torturous wait. Two consecutive dizzy spells almost made her collapse to the floor, but Gojo caught her, preventing her from falling or getting hurt.

He helped her dry off and put on her pajamas. Utahime felt a bit more conscious and confused, as she had no memory of how they had arrived at her apartment. She sat in the middle of the bed while watching Gojo use her toothbrush. She didn’t mind much since they had shared more than just saliva and she had thrown away his toothbrush.

The silence remains.

Seeing him like that filled her with a deep guilt, she wanted him to yell at her and argue, longing for things to go back to how they once were. It was a constant struggle of thoughts spiraling out of control, gradually taking away from both of them what they used to call their own.

Yet she found some solace in knowing that, given the circumstances, Gojo would be staying the night with her.

When she saw him take off his shirt, she hesitated for a moment before asking, her voice trembling slightly. "Are you mad at me?"

A surge of feelings coursed through Gojo, as if the words were an incantation that only he could perceive. "Not with you," he told her, feeling the weight of those words settle heavily in his chest.

Gojo opened a drawer to put on a pair of pajama pants, his clothes were still there. She could never bring herself to take them out of his drawer.

The silence hung as an impenetrable barrier, a wall that felt like a damned torment for her. It was suffocating, each moment stretching into eternity. But what she couldn’t bear was the gnawing uncertainty, the maddening doubt of knowing nothing at all. It clawed at her insides, leaving her restless and anxious, as if she were trapped in a dark void with no way out.

 “Did you have a good time… at dinner, with your clan?”

He stiffened, his expression darkening. She caught the shift in his demeanor and winced inwardly. “It was boring,” he replied curtly, his tone betraying his irritation.

“…Was she there?” With thorns in her throat, she asks him softly, her voice barely above a whisper, almost afraid of the answer.

“You know she was," he replied, in a flat, resigned tone that made it clear he wasn't interested in discussing it further. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, turning his back to her as he took off his shirt.

“…Did you kiss her?” she asked hesitantly, her voice trembling with a mix of hope and dread.

He shot her a piercing look, his frustration boiling over. “And did you kiss that dick head? The one I should’ve torn apart,” he snapped, his voice edged with anger.

“W-We’ve ended everything, haven’t we?”

“No, you asked for a break. That break is meant for you to heal or take a breath from me. You can’t sleep with someone else, you can’t kiss anyone, you can’t even desire another person.”

“It didn’t seem fair. And you’re so unusually composed about it that it feels like you’re starting to not care if I’m with someone else—”

He threw her on the bed to get on top of her, biting down hard on her neck, making her scream. Her weak hands couldn’t do anything against that beast. She squeezed her eyes shut and listened to what he whispered in her ear.

"If he has his head tied to his body, it’s because I held back for you, got it?" He warned her, brushing the tip of his nose against her cheek. "You're saying so many stupid things in one night... I think the space you asked for, and the only space you’ll ever ask from me in our entire lives, ended today… Or were you thinking of leaving me?"

“No” She had never seriously considered leaving him in her life. During their arguments, she might have threatened him with that, but both of them knew it wasn’t true.

“So, are you admitting that all this fuss was just to get my attention?

"Th-that's not—"

Gojo pressed her clitoris through the fabric of her thinly woven sleep shorts. Pressing hard when she did not give him the answer he wanted, Utahime could not suppress her moan of pain and pleasure this time.

"What did you say? I can’t hear you, my beautiful princess..." His blue eyes sparkled for her, and he looked at her neck as if he was tempted to devour it in one bite.

She couldn’t even answer herself if she had gone out for drinks on a thursday, fully aware of what Gojo might be doing. When she looked at it from that perspective and analyzed the whole situation, it really did seem as if she was trying to grab his attention, like a poor beggar collecting crumbs.

What was the point of taking time? If it was only spent thinking about him, feeling like a fool in love, and realizing how impossible it is to function without him, without his comforting hugs and his maddening jealousy. That time only deepened the despair, revealing how utterly unbearable life would be with Gojo by her side, and how devastatingly empty it could be without him at all. 

The situation between them was a tangled web of pain, it didn’t matter if she failed with one man or a thousand, she would never escape the haunting memory of him.

Gojo wouldn't leave her alone until he got her to say what he wanted to hear, which was the pure and harsh truth, so she gave in.

"I just... missed you." She said pointing in another direction, with clear embarrassment reflected in the beauty of her face.

She'll regret saying that when she wakes up.

Or maybe not, maybe she would regret not saying anything. She needed to remind him how much she loved him, how much she needed him, with a few simple words that didn’t reflect how her heart bled and how it conspired every time he left. Deep down, this could be seen as a pathetic attempt to make him think twice before acting, a way to ensnare him in a web of doubts and guilt, leaving him to grapple with the weight of his decisions. That with every move Gojo makes, guilt pursues him like a permanent tattoo, inescapable and always present.

Utahime felt lost, caught between looking at him and pleading for something he can’t give, or surrendering completely to the endless pull of Gojo. Not sensitive enough to cry, nor angry enough to confront him for some twisted sense of satisfaction, she was instead engulfed by a deep longing for it all to be a dream, one where Gojo was entirely hers, and reality didn’t hold her captive.

Reality had her throat constricted so tightly that she could barely swallow. Her pride also prevented her from presenting herself before him in such a vulnerable state. Utahime was relieved, then, that she had turned down that third beer, which might have otherwise pulled her even deeper into the quicksand of her distressing emotions.

There he was, smiling at her with a manic expression, as if relishing in a torturous sexual game that only he could enjoy in a moment like this. She wasn’t sensitive enough to cry, nor was she angry enough to confront him and find some sort of enjoyment in the situation, so Utahime resigned herself to it.

Sadness and alcohol brought out a horrible sensitivity that she hoped Gojo would never discover.

But she couldn’t see how he was truly distant from his lustful aura.

It's not that he wasn't angry, he simply felt a deep relief at having arrived in time before Utahime did what she theoretically could do. His chest pounded with intensity, and he sighed for her, longing for the peace that only that woman provided him.

Gojo was so madly in love with her that the pain in his chest was almost unbearable. He wished he could express how much he yearned to keep her by his side so they could be happy together, away from everything that separated them.

He wants to take away all her sadness and give it to someone else, and just wants to be with her.

Gojo tried to get her attention by kissing her cheek, but he ended the gesture with a playful bite. “I love you, naive Hime” He started to put his hand inside her shirt "... you need to understand that this won’t happen again, you're mine, my wife."

Utahime sighed with pleasure, she loved to be touched by him, she loved to feel his erection on her skin. Her heart ached, and every part of her wanted to break down.

“But I’m not…” She murmured, feeling how her heart suppressed its tears.

Chapter Text

─── ⋆⋅𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓑𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓼⋅⋆ ─── 

Over time, many traditions fade, but those that have endured often revolve around the line of succession of the heir when the six eyes are presented. In the Gojo clan, this choice was a meticulous and deliberate process. There was a firm belief in the practice of arranged marriages, where each women was carefully considered for the compatibility of blood and the cursed power of future Gojo heirs. 

Satoru, the bearer of such power, would eventually be affected by this practice after a long time.

This rigor was not mere formality, it was an essential ritual for the continuity and strength of the clan. Every decision was made with the awareness that the legacy of the clan depended on this ancient tradition. Thus, attention was closely paid to illegitimate children, ensuring that any potential threat to their inheritance was controlled and minimized to just a few.

When Utahime saw him distressed for days, behaving more quietly than usual and only wanting to sleep together without ulterior motives, she asked him to tell her what was happening or to seek help if it was something she couldn’t know. Satoru gathered his strength and explained, expecting to be hit, but he was met with silence. She didn’t get angry or sad, she simply couldn’t comprehend that this was happening to them. Seeing Gojo in anguish brought back dark memories from her solitary moments training for him to face Sukuna.

Defying the clan's wishes, it was Satoru who placed Utahime in front of an old sorceress, able to use her technique to determine if she was worthy. The room was empty, with only a table and several infusions on it, the scent of burnt herbs, rosemary, and valerian filling the space.

Around the room were witnesses from the Gojo clan. Utahime felt so nervous that she thought everything would go wrong because of how she was feeling. Behind her, at a distance, was Satoru, but he couldn't get any closer.

Gojo hadn't explained much to her, only that she had to do what the old woman asked her to do.

When she finished the infusion, a warm layer of energy began to swirl inside her, moving counterclockwise. In that moment, she started to feel unwell, it was so intense that she pressed her lips tightly together, as if trying to contain what was coming. Her stomach churned, bombarded by an unsettling energy that seemed to writhe within her, while a growing pressure settled in her head, becoming almost unbearable. Amidst this storm of sensations, she tilted her head to one side and, unable to hold back any longer, vomited the tea they had prepared, releasing both the liquid and the chaotic feeling that had overwhelmed her.

Gojo immediately approached her side to offer a bottle of water, bringing it to her lips. She drank a little and wiped her mouth. When she turned to look at him, there was no one else in the room but the three of them. It was only at that moment that she knew.

She failed, there was nothing more to say.

That night was the trigger for her to cry, clinging to him in bed. She wasn’t crying just for that, but for everything it meant.

That's when everything started. 

Half a week later, Gojo received the news that at least three girls had been chosen, which didn’t sit well with Utahime, who felt she had failed miserably in that regard, sensing that she was failing at everything in her life. Everything crumbled inside her, she felt useless and like a failure, even a little humiliated. 

Gojo was given the choice of his wife, which he did not make, so his mother chose on his behbeganq

Thursday dinners began, along with the arguments between Gojo and Utahime, but they always ended the same way, knowing they preferred to be lovers rather than just friends, just strangers, just nothing.

No one in the clan could blame him for being on his phone at the table, sending risqué messages to the love of his life while his fiancée sat across from him, surrounded by family. It was too much to ask him to stay seated.

Gojo arrived as he was instructed to do, half an hour early because dinner had been moved up. He didn’t hesitate to go, eager to free himself sooner, but when he arrived, only his fiancée, Ueshita Tsubaki, was there. She immediately stood up to address his possible question.

"I had them call you a little before dinner."

He put both hands in his pockets, curiosity getting the better of him, and smiled as he asked, “Did they give you such power?”

“I begged,” she confessed, embarrassed. “I thought it was necessary, and your mother knows, so she was kind about it.”

“That’s good, she gets along better with you than with me. But right now, I have—”

“Please, it will only be a moment!” Her voice trembled slightly, her eyes lowered, trying to hide the anxiety overwhelming her.

“Okay, okay, what’s going on?” he replied, in a tone he tried to keep calm.

“I know this isn’t what you want…” she continued, biting her lower lip. “You know you can be free anyway… Am I the reason you’re distant?”

“Nah.” His response was brief and cutting.

“But…” Tsubaki paused, feeling the weight of silence between them. “I need to know if there’s anything I can do. Gojo-sama, I don’t want to be an annoying wife or a stranger. I really want to start a family or raise the next ‘Gojo’ with your support.”

“If you’re worried that I might be an absent father—"

"Oh, none of that! I didn’t mean to offend you!” Her voice trembled, anguish shining in her eyes. “It’s just that… please, don’t hate me. I’ll do my best not to be a burden.”

Gojo felt a twinge of guilt as he looked at her. She was a young woman like any other, and he knew he couldn’t offer her love or fulfill the role of a devoted husband. His heart was tied to another person, and it would never be different with anyone else. Yet, caught in this situation, he preferred not to engage with her or get to know her, wanting to make it clear that he did not love her. 

He didn’t realize that Tsubaki was worried about their future children, whether he would be present or if he would be an idiot. Of course, he could do whatever he wanted, and her invitation was out of place, but perhaps that was why his mother allowed it, she wanted to avoid conflict and prevent future disasters.

“Don’t be so serious,” he said, taking a step closer. “There’s nothing wrong with us getting along. This isn’t your fault, and it’s definitely not my intention for this to happen. Though, if I think about it seriously, it would be awkward if you hated me… To be honest, I’m relieved you say that, because I plan to enjoy my freedom, but I won’t neglect my blood and duties. You just won’t see me very often, so that’s good for you too.”

She forced a smile, not expecting this outcome, her heart was breaking. But when Tsubaki looked at him, she flushed, enchanted by him and their potential future together. Now that he was in front of her, she couldn’t let this opportunity slip away, convinced that family dinner would be better if they talked about her or with her, rather than about his colleagues at Jujutsu Tech and his students.

“I heard you are a teacher. What is that like?”

“I’m the best teacher any sorcerer could have,” he boasted proudly, placing his hand on his chest as if swearing to speak only the truth. “But Utahime is good too, really good. If I weren’t who I am, she might steal my credit. You should see how amazing she is at teaching, she makes even me want to shut up and listen.”

She smiled, having always heard that name come from his mouth, just like from others, he was very considerate of his colleagues.

Tsubaki wasn’t calmed by the fact that Gojo didn’t even mention love, their marriage, or anything like that. She could be naive in some ways, but she was sure he would have lovers, many of them.

But at least she should be happy about their conversation, she truly was. Tsubaki was going to marry the most handsome and powerful man in the world. What other woman could achieve something like that? No one, so she felt relieved that her husband wasn’t a wicked man like the ones she had known in the past.

 “It must be a very small school if there are so few students.”

Pulling out his phone and tapping the screen, he said “It’s quite large…” A genuine smile formed on his face, his eyes sparkling behind the black bandage. “Speaking of angels…” He showed her the phone. “Look how excited she is about something that isn’t me."

Definitely, Tsubaki had heard about that woman, Utahime, millions of times, but only from one person.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

It had barely been one week since the incident with her clothes, or as Nobara liked to call it 'The worst tragedy of humanity.'

Instead of studying, she was on her phone, trying to schedule an appointment with the nail salon and hairdresser, a task that had frustrated her for days, as she struggled to find an available slot. The money she had paid for her last appointment was wasted when she didn't show up, and she still harbored some resentment toward Hana, sensei, and partly toward Megumi. Nobara didn’t want to go anywhere else just because of the whim she clung to, this salon was expensive, but it guaranteed that her beauty would be enhanced. 

In a random moment, the memory of the worst tragedy of her life resurfaced to bother her again.

She let out a deep sigh, feeling so embarrassed again that she couldn’t handle the situation on her own. She decided to turn to Maki, who comforted her with encouraging words: if Yuji Itadori dared to joke or made her feel uncomfortable, she should let her know, she just had to give the signal, and terror would fall upon him. That simple promise lifted her spirits a bit, she appreciated having a female friend, especially after spending so much time surrounded by boys.

However, despite her conversations with Maki and her efforts to disguise her embarrassment, every time she crossed paths with Itadori in the classroom, the silence between them felt uncomfortable. They were clearly distant, and she didn’t know how to approach the situation. She saw him almost every day, and it was torturous, her heart raced, and sweat betrayed her as she struggled to avoid looking him in the eye. 

Since what had happened, she hadn’t been able to do it. Part of her rejected that line of thinking. Why was he avoiding her too? Clearly, the situation couldn't be pleasant for Itadori either, but that thought tugged at her insecurities. She found herself wondering, with curiosity, what kinds of thoughts he had about everything that had happened, if he had been bothered by it, or even if he had a completely different opinion from her initial impression. 

She gave herself a mental slap.

Nobara turned her head to see the view from the classroom window; she watched the cherry blossom leaves sway in the wind, their pink petals dancing alongside a white butterfly. She felt a longing to have a picnic under one of them and enjoy a day outdoors. The sight delighted her, and she found herself mesmerized by the delicate movement. She smiled to herself, already having devised a plan for the weekend with Maki, as long as nothing unexpected came up.

But she couldn’t help thinking about Itadori’s eyes again, how he had looked at her and continued staring during that situation that felt like medieval torture designed specifically for her. Since what had happened, they hadn’t spoken, other than attending class together, they hadn’t made eye contact, exchanged words, or seen each other’s eyes again.

Suddenly, a heavy gaze settled on her back. When she glanced at her reflection in the glass, she realized a classmate was staring intently. Nervousness washed over her for a moment, but she tried to mask it, redirecting her attention to the view outside the classroom.

"Nobara," Megumi said in a grave tone, as if he hadn't thought too much about it. He couldn't take his green eyes off her cheeks, which were coincidentally always flushed. She turned her head toward him, straightening in her seat without breaking her gaze from the boy.

"What do you want, Fushiguro?" she asked, a bit surprised. He blinked twice and shook his head slightly, as if suppressing a question.

"Did you finish the exercises that sensei Gojo gave us?"

The girl nodded with a slight movement. "I’m not passing you the answers if that’s what you want. You have plenty of free time thanks to us, so the least you could do is my homework."

He shook his head and pulled out his phone. Nobara raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was ignoring her or what. Fushiguro was like that, few words, said three things, and then ran out of social battery.

Megumi felt a bit anxious because he knew she could react in different ways, so in a way, he was relieved that it wasn't Zenin Maki to whom he had to give something in return. He looked at her again and pointed to her phone on the desk, and asked her to check it.

It was a message, a link.

“Is this a virus?” she joked, glancing at the chat and tapping on the blue text. It was a gift card 60,000 yen to spend at a beauty salon. Her eyes widened, knowing she could get her nails done and dye her hair, plus some extras with creams. 

She looked at him in surprise, a slight smile forming on her face, and for some reason, he felt embarrassed, shoving both hands into his pockets and averting his gaze 

“And this gift is because I’m your best partner, right?” she asked blinking playfully.

More like a compensation for not going on the mission,” he replied, unable to suppress a tiny smile at her enthusiasm. “You didn’t say if you liked it. If you don’t, you can give it to Hana.

 “As if!” she replied suddenly, jumping up and alarming him. She stepped closer, her eyes shining with curiosity. “How did you know this is the salon I like?”

"It’s… the only salon you follow on social media." he replied, mumbling his words and feeling a bit like a stalker.

A radiant smile spread across her face. Her honey-colored eyes sparkled as she launched herself at him in a hug.

“H-hey!” he exclaimed, trying to break free, though his voice trembled with irritation and hidden nervousness.

What she really needed had fallen from the sky; her anger and embarrassment faded, replaced by extreme happiness.

“Well... I appreciate that you didn’t go.” She thought that if anyone else saw her private parts, she’d rather bury herself three feet underground. 

“You know, Itadori has been...” 

As Megumi continued talking about what he needed to say, her mind collapsed, and her heart felt uneasy again at the mention of his name. She was sure that idiot Itadori was the root of all her problems. His name and essence acted like a switch that affected her body, and she didn’t like that at all. 

Suddenly, Nobara felt her partner’s closeness as Fushiguro’s hand unexpectedly rested on her forehead. 

“You seem a bit flushed lately. Are you feeling okay?” 

Since when did Fushiguro's dark eyes turn a light green in the orange light of the sun streaming into the room, announcing dusk? So, behind that delinquent face, there was always a handsome young man, and she only realized it because, besides having his face so close, he was looking at her in a gentle way that she bet no one had ever witnessed before. Her heart started to race, realizing how silly that was, feeling her heartbeat quicken.

“H-hah?” she said, dragging out a sigh.

“You should see Ieiri.”

She backed away so much that she bumped into a desk. “N-no, I’m perfectly fine!”

“You’ve been a bit distracted since your last mission.”

Pausing to reflect for a moment, and feeling that she was behaving the same as always on the outside, she believed she was handling the situation with remarkable ease. Having used her acting skills to deceive everyone, she succeeded—except for Megumi, who had apparently noticed that something was wrong with her.

“Did something happen between you and Itadori on that mission?” Megumi finally asked, worried that they were hiding something serious.

A forced laugh escaped from her as she stepped closer to punch his shoulder. “Ha ha! Y-you’re acting really strange!”

With more fake laughter, Nobara fled the classroom, leaving him with a feeling he couldn’t define. It was a confusing mix of worry and something else, a restlessness that sank deep into his chest. Everything had become strange after that mission, it was as if Nobara and Itadori were hiding something from him.

The happy expression of his classmate remained etched in his mind, a tender image contrasting with the tension he had felt until now. It was strange how that happiness had touched him, making him glad he had given her something she truly liked, especially considering she was the hardest person to please.

Yet, he couldn’t understand why Nobara’s departure left him feeling empty and more confused, as if the atmosphere had grown denser in her absence. He wondered why he felt like something was being kept from him, as if there were a secret in the air that everyone knew but him.

“You're the one who's acting strange...” he whispered to himself while looking at the door through which she had left.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

One of the reasons Utahime had become a fervent baseball fan was the peculiar transformation in her mood triggered by the outcome of each game. That night, the Saitama Seibu Lions had crushed their opponents, scoring a resounding victory that filled her heart with euphoria. In a fit of celebration, he turned off the lights in her apartment for a better atmosphere and streamed music from her cell phone to the television.

With a smile capable of captivating any man, she opened a beer, feeling the cold metal of the can against her skin. After finishing it while dancing alone, she decided that one drink wasn't enough. She jumped up, brimming with the energy of a child at an amusement park, and headed to the kitchen in search of another beer. Music filled the apartment, echoing through the air.

Turning around, she came face to face with the figure of Gojo Satoru in the middle of the living room. He looked at her with a mischievous smile, as if he knew that his surprise had frightened her.

“Are you stupid?! “ She scolded him, her surprise barely disguised by the mixture of anger and mirth.

“I missed you too, love” Satoru replied with a smile.

"Satoru, you’re going to give me a heart attack, so knock it off with the surprise appearances!" She pointed her finger at him. As the seconds passed, she realised how unusual his presence was. It was Thursday. “What are you doing here?”

"Can’t I see my wife?" he said, approaching with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I’m serious. Don’t you have responsibilities?" she replied, crossing her arms and trying to stay serious.

"You sent me a message full of excitement. I couldn’t resist so I brought dinner to share this moment with you, since I don't think your team will win again." He said, holding out a bag of goodies and placing it on the sofa.

She stood there quietly, watching him, trying to figure out if the dinner had really been canceled or if it had actually happened as he said and he was just being romantic. But on this particular subject, it was the one thing Gojo Satoru wasn’t joking about. 

“You won’t have any problems with your clan?” She asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

“I don’t care,” he replied. “What else can they take from me?”

His voice lingered in the living room, heavy with unmistakable sadness. He seemed somewhat restless, troubled in his own unique way. She sensed it, he didn't want her to push him away, fearing that one day she might just tire of it all and choose to leave.

The silence thickened around them, as if Gojo was hoping for a response to confirm that he was mistaken.

Utahime knew that beneath his usual facade of confidence and enthusiasm, he struggled with a constant fear that everything would fall apart. That idea haunted him, but it haunted her as well. She was afraid of not being enough, or even that Gojo might decide to end it all. She lived with a specter threatening to unravel what they had built together. Utahime had read enough web novels to know that the old love always loses to the new, the good, the devoted protagonist, nobody has affection for the mistress, and she was that. It reminded her of one she had read recently where the man leaves his mistress because he loves his wife and tries to win her back.

That would break her into countless fragments, making it impossible for her to piece herself back together.

When the TV player switched, "Life Eternal, Ghost" filled the space.

She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Is Gojo Satoru scared?"

"Hime," He replied tightly, not wanting to joke, he wasn't in the mood for that at the moment.

She wanted to tease him a little with that, but she couldn’t be that cruel to him, it wasn't in her nature, and joking about it didn't feel right, even if she wanted to calm the tsunami brewing within both of them.

Would you let me touch your soul forever?

"Fine..." She stood up on her feet and kissed his neck tenderly, feeling his body relax. "There's nothing I want more than you... but stop calling me your wife."

"You are." he assured her.

"It sounds fake, no matter how you put it."

"We could go to Saudi Arabia to get married."

She pulled her head back to look at him, her arms still wrapped around his neck. "Why do you want to marry me? It’s not possible."

"I don’t know," he smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Maybe it would make it harder for you to walk away from me if there’s a divorce involved."

"I don’t want to talk about that... I'm too happy right now to think about it and ruin it."

He dared to place her hands on his waist. "Am I the reason for that happiness? Or is it your baseball team?"

"...I’m really happy you’re here today... just with me," she admitted softly, revealing the vulnerability she had been trying to mask. In that moment, she didn’t want life to lead them in separate directions; she was determined to cling to him with all her strength.

She said, "If you had life eternal"

Can you hear me say your name forever?

"Utahime..."

And she looked at him, filled with longing and deep love. Like flashes of stars in the vastness of the sky, her eyes sparkled with their own light. He was eclipsed by her, by the melody, by her hands tracing hidden promises between them, something that felt entirely right, even if it wasn’t ethically correct.

His hands now caressed her back, pulling her closer to his chest, bringing her to where she belonged. The song faded, and out of nowhere, it became a completely different one; they couldn't measure time while together because it slipped away along with the outside world.

Now their hearts beat together, in a rhythm only they could understand; they were not alone in this vast ocean, not when they communicated with a silent symphony. 

She raised her head and he devoured her lips.

After their sexual dinner, and having fun in every corner of Utahime's flat, they ended up sleeping in bed naked. They were woken up by her phone.

Gojo squirmed and murmured in a husky voice as he stretched his body a little. "Turn it off."

She didn't open her eyes but reached for the ringing phone, which belonged to Satoru and was on her side of the nightstand. She squinted and looked at the screen to silence the alarm and murmured the time.

Gojo watched her in silence, trying to process everything that had happened the night before. Her eyes were closed, and he lost himself in the serenity of her face. Her long lashes rested on her fair skin, and her messy hair fell in soft strands across her forehead. He remembered how just a few hours ago he had been fortunate enough to taste those pink lips, the warmth of her breath mingling with the silence of the early morning. In that moment, everything in the world was summed up in the two of them.

"Did you have a dirty dream about me?" He asked playfully.

She stretched out her hands and answered him."That's funny, you know I don't remember what I dream," She slowly opened her eyes, the honey of her gaze fixed on him. "Although I did dream, it's a mix, roller coaster, white butterfly, cotton candy, clowns... I guess weird stuff as usual."

"I dreamt you gave me your ass."

"Gojo!" She shouted hitting him in the face with her pillow, of course it didn't do anything for his infinity. "It will never happen!"

"Maybe you could give it to me for my birthday?" He fluttered his eyelashes and pouted like a child.

"I'll give it to you when pigs—" and Utahime said nothing, watching as Gojo Satoru listened intently, surely he would make pigs fly, "I'm going to get mad, first warning."

"I'll make you breakfast." He responded while chuckling at her.

"How strange that I don’t have to fight to get you out of bed."

"You know, you should wake up and shout with excitement saying, 'Oh, the great Satoru Gojo is making me breakfast, nya, nya!' '"

"In your dreams, this is reality."

"Well... then show me I'm not dreaming,"

Gojo murmured, flashing a flirtatious smile as she gently caressed his cheek. Her delicate gesture caused an explosion in his soul like fireworks, accompanied by the sensation of gentle white butterflies, which grew more intense as Utahime leaned in slowly towards him.

With a look that sparkled like the dawn's light, she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. It was a light brush, but it held meanings they would keep to themselves.

"Is that enough?" she asked sweetly, her eyes shining like pearls in the morning light.

"That will never be enough."

And with that, he was motivated to kiss her, completely forgetting about breakfast. But she ended the kiss when she felt a teasing tongue touch her lips, reminding him that they couldn't waste time. They exchanged many pouts, sweet and dirty words, but the truth was she had to get to work early. She had already fallen behind on some things and needed to reorganize her work.

Already bathed separately and impeccably dressed, she paused in the middle of the living room to scan with her eyes for her bag, when the white-haired man positioned himself behind her, gently caressing her shoulders and leaning in to sniff her neck.

“Did I ever tell you that that ribbon makes me horny” He began to calmly kiss that white skin.

“Wasn't it enough to fuck me all night?...” Utahime felt Gojo's luscious lips wetting her complexion causing her to let out light sighs and started stroking her hair, feeling it getting wet.

"Only three rounds," he whispered to her softly, almost complaining. “If you want to keep going all night like that time... I’d love to start now.” A gentle nibble on her ear made her sigh more heavily than before.

"I can’t be late." Her breath was rapid as her chest rose and fell.

Gojo slowly moved his hands from her shoulders down to her waist, gently guiding her toward the wall.

Those hands began to outline her beloved's body to stop at her legs and tits. Utahime's clothes were already getting messy and her wonderful hairstyle was falling apart.

She now turned to meet his lips making their tongues meet in and out of their mouths between their ragged breaths. 

“I love you, you idiot” She said between kisses and gasps. She loved how he could corrupt her, how he locked her in a heavy lust she didn't want to leave for a second.

Their bodies imprisoned each other, as they continued to kiss passionately. It was an intense dance they would always dance, anyway they would arrive in time with a teleportation and a lot of perfume on them.

The black-haired girl brought her hands to his white hair to stroke and mess it up as they continued to lock tongues as if in a wrestling match. He brought one of her legs to his waist and lifted her body slightly against the wall, causing the red part of her garment to rise up, revealing a bit of her underwear.

Heated and blushing. Gojo began to gently bite his beloved's lower lip. She held her breaths in ragged gasps and he began to lower his hand to reach her leg, a little higher, at the level of her buttocks and gracefully caress the smooth white that was partly covered by her underwear. He pushed his erection against her, again and again through the fabric of her clothes, warning her that he would not stop.  

It was then that they heard the phone ring.

“Don't answer it” Gojo ordered, still kissing her and with bated breath.

She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. Ishihara Takumi was a sorcerer who retired early from the profession to become a psychologist. He soon received a call to work actively for the school in Tokyo and Kyoto, more specifically to treat the students, who were displaced for many years by the higher-ups.

"Wait a moment, it may be important” She replied as those passionate kisses cornered her even more, she answered and put the phone to her ear. ”Takumi, good morning.”

“Good morning Utahime, I'm on my way to school do you want me to pick you up?”

She felt a strong pressure from Gojo's hands on her ass, squeezing hard, she pressed her lips together to keep from moaning from the pain and pleasure.

“Hello?” Takumi asked again over the line.

Utahime was still cornered, although now Gojo's hands, instead of roaming her shapely buttocks, he had started to touch a certain sensitive part of her underwear while kissing her neck. And no matter that Takumi was on the line, Gojo kept touching his beloved's clitoris.

“Hello? Can you hear me?“ He continued to insist.

“Yes, yes" she answered quickly. 

"Shall I pick you up?"

Gojo licked Utahime's neck fiercely, now biting, warning her that he could hear everything, sinking his teeth into her skin.

"N-no, no, I'm a little late anyway."

“Oh I see, I just needed to talk about your student Kazumi.

“Ah… ¿Miwa?”

Utahime's hair had no way back and was in complete chaos, just like the obi, which was about to be untied so that the white-haired young man could reach her tits, and the red part couldn't be more raised.

"Yes, exactly, you commented that we could work together and I think Kazumi needs to—"

Utahime had had enough, she couldn't concentrate on Gojo and Takumi at the same time, the only thing she could manage to do was to interrupt him.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk right now" she said, holding back her moans, Gojo with a playful smile and satisfied by that answer, stopped playing with her clit to stick his fingers inside the wet intimacy.

It made her tremble, made her feel alive, always craving more. Resisting was difficult, Utahime was in a time when it was hard to resist Gojo, especially with that handsome man who loved her.

It was then that he pulled his finger out of her sexuality, exclusively to deftly pull down her hakama, purely to finish unbuttoning the top in desperation to free her tits.

"A-Ah..." She moaned softly, pushing the phone away.

He began to lower the kisses he was placing on her neck to her breasts. Then he began to roam her body with one hand, reaching her most sensitive part and slipping his fingers back in.

"Are you... okay?"

She tried to activate her mind. "Yes."

"Well, we can have lunch together." Takumi said, they both listened to him.

Gojo was not happy to hear that, he stopped touching his beloved to unbutton his trousers, allowing his throbbing member to show beneath his boxer.

"S-sounds good."

"Perfect, see you,” He replied. With that last comment, Takumi also said goodbye.

Gojo reached under his boxers desperately angry, grabbed Utahime in his arms as if she were a koala as he kissed her fiercely, her clinging so longingly to him that she moaned against his lips as she felt him accommodate her as he clamped his legs around her hips tightly as he thrust into her.

They took a moment so that his cock could take her in that position, while he whispered in her ear in a warning tone. “At 12 o'clock I'll pick you up for lunch, you'll be good and wait for me” 

“No.”

That answer left him not at all satisfied, making him angry. With that said he pushes her against the wall, penetrating her in turn, being crushed and submerged in pleasure by her flesh inside her vagina. 

“Then tell the psychologist to write down how I fuck you full of my cum.” He looked at her with libido as he noticed her vaginal fluids sloshing against his cock.

“S-shut up you i-idiot!”

Firm and soft thrusts were what she received with exquisite pleasure.

That penetration made her hug him even tighter, moaning against his ear and pressing her nails against his skin. 

He was plunging her again into those carnal desires she had never had with anyone but Gojo, her boyfriend or lover, her entitled friend or whatever they were. Only he could bring her dirtiest thoughts to the surface and not make her feel guilty about it.

Frustration seeped into Gojo with Utahime's refusal and the thrusts became faster and the moans soon followed.

“Hime” moaned, trying to bottom himself, both of them lost in desire and lustful feeling.

“B-bed” She managed to say to the rhythm of the thrusts “ta-take me to… bed."

He carried her into the room between wet kisses, Gojo laid her down on the bed, her hair in disarray and scattered across the sheets, and that white skin that could be seen between the obi, she looked at him with her eyes burning with pleasure.

"Don't I deserve a lunch after this?"

“You're...”

"What am I?” he interrupted, looking at her defiantly "Tell me, tell me who I am."

"Mine." She replied, serious and firm in what she was saying. 

"Yeah, yours" He said between sighs "All yours"

Gojo began to calmly lick those soft pink tips of flesh that were getting harder and harder due to the excitement that ran through Utahime's whole body, just by sucking her with longing he was turning her on in such a way that she could never get enough of him and Gojo knew it, the bastard knew it.

The lustful gallops he gave her were a splendid sound in that room. Luckily the walls were thick.

She moaned as she felt her lover gently biting one of her nipples, causing unparalleled pleasure, being subdued by Gojo. He knew how to measure his bites so that Utahime did not feel any pain, but he was not gentle this time.

"Sa-satoru!"

With his hands, he began to massage her buttocks that moved to the sound of the thrusts, causing her to bite her lower lip to keep from moaning as she closed her eyes and arched her eyebrows, bringing her straight to orgasm, but that didn't stop him. He would prolong his own release a little longer.

"Finish it and-now! We have to go!" He chided as soon as he could tell her, barely noticing that he was stalling even though it was a quickie late-night fuck.

She hugged Satoru's head fiercely and tried to hide her mouth in his hair to start releasing her unbridled sighs so they wouldn't be heard from outside the room. Thick walls were not to be trusted.

"Don't hold back... I like to hear you moan, princess"

Told her in ragged breaths and in his characteristic husky voice that made her shudder. They went on, for several minutes until he filled her with his pleasure.

He stayed inside her, while Utahime stroked his back with trembling hands, which he dropped onto the bed as he caught his breath. Gojo lay down beside her, but not before kissing her cheek. 

She looked more tired than he did, but they could continue to have sex if they wanted to, but it didn't give them time to love each other again. So they were planning to make their schedules coincide to take a well-deserved holiday to travel and spend time together undisturbed. 

"It was your fault" She looked at him in amusement and glanced sideways at her lover.

"My fault?" He stood up slightly to put his arm around her so that their faces were quite close."You wanted to do it too."

"I can’t deny that, and I also can’t deny that I love seeing you get jealous."

"Jealous?! Gojo Satoru?!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Jealous of that fool? Never in my life!"

The beautiful dark-haired girl lovingly caressed his face, her fingertips lingering as she pressed a tender kiss to his lips. "We should take a shower," she suggested with a playful smile.

"Let’s do it together to save time." He replied, his voice low and seductive as he leaned in, their lips nearly touching in a teasing dance. 

She laughed softly, her eyes sparkling as she met the intensity of his gaze, which mirrored the deep blue of the ocean. "A quick bath, and then you'll take me to work."

"As you wish, princess," Gojo replied, a smirk playing on his lips.

Chapter Text

─── ⋆⋅𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓑𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓼⋅⋆ ─── 

Miwa was immersed in her thoughts, as if her mind were adrift in a distant realm, detached from reality, entangled with the words of Takumi, the psychologist.

Mechamaru's death was so raw and cruel that she worried she might never be herself again or even go through the same thing with someone else. Takumi's idea of a kind of "Farewell Ritual" was a brilliant one, but for some reason, she couldn't come up with a single idea for it, and partly, she didn't want to do anything like that. It hurt her too much to say goodbye to him for good, and, against all odds, she was also terrified of stopping the pain and letting the grief pass, fearing that in doing so, she would lose him again.

In the midst of her whirlwind of thoughts, suddenly and without warning, someone approached. In the blink of an eye, Itadori was so close that she could almost feel his breath. The movement was so sudden, so close, that Miwa couldn’t help but flinch, startled by his sudden presence. Her face immediately flushed, as if the sun itself had decided to rest on her skin, tinting it a deep crimson. His gaze, full of sincerity, pierced through her like an arrow aimed directly at her heart. The air thickened and warmed, and for a moment, she was certain she could hear the beat of her heart pounding in her chest. But his proximity didn’t calm her, instead, it confused her even more.

Was she that scared?

Her mind was racing with thoughts as he began an apology, wearing a nervous smile, unaware that he had awakened something within her far greater than just a simple reaction of surprise.

"I wasn’t trying to scare you." the pink-haired boy apologized, bowing once, twice, three times.

"D-don't worry!" The kyoto student, still red and a bit dazed, tried to compose herself. "Don't apologize, I just got low blood sugar because I didn't have breakfast."

"You didn't have breakfast? But that's the most important meal of the day," he scolded, and the truth was, he was a bit worried. He has always admired that quality in her, always with a bright smile despite everything that happened to her, ready to listen to everyone.

Itadori knows that Miwa's visits to Tokyo are solely to see the psychologist, and he wonders if it's okay to question her about it, but he decides not to.

"I'm not on missions." she excused herself, not telling him that lately, she had no appetite at all. Miwa smiled to ensure her lie wouldn’t be discovered.

"That's not an excuse," he said, tightening his chin in thought, until he remembered to check his pocket and pulled out a granola bar. "Here."

He held out the yellow bar. The girl stared at it, surprised, but didn’t hesitate to take it with both hands while bowing and thanking him. With approval, he began walking, and she followed him.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, ask me anything." she replied while putting the granola bar in her pocket.

"I don't really understand girls, but... a fri-, no, a friend of a friend... saw his friend in an awkward situation and now she doesn't talk to him or say a word to him. What should the friend of a friend do to apologize without making it awkward or without that friend burying him underground and hiding my body?"

"Your body? Are we still talking about—

"Y-yes, friend of a friend!"

"Well... how awkward was the situation?"

"Very awkward, to the point where she is always red with anger when she sees him."

"And what does she do?"

"She stutters and runs away."

"Female anger isn't handled like that. If the situation was uncomfortable and that girl turns red, I think it could mean she’s embarrassed, maybe even in love if that’s the case."

"In love?" He repeated, pale with fear. "No, definitely not."

"I'm only guessing. You should recommend that he asks her directly what's going on, but if it were just 'anger,' it would be easy to spot, she would have already hit him."

"And... what are the symptoms of someone in love?"

Miwa burst into laughter at that question, and Itadori looked at her, confused. "Symptoms?" she repeated, letting out a slight laugh. "It's not a pregnancy, it's a feeling."

Miwa's laughter lingered in the air, but her words vanished as soon as she saw the seriousness in his eyes. Itadori blushed a little, embarrassed for misusing the word to refer to love, something he wasn't sure he had ever experienced with a girl.

She raised her hand and placed it gently on her chest. "Being in love is like feeling that every time you see that person, your heart beats so fast that it feels like it's going to leap out of your chest. It's like not being able to breathe properly, as if you can't catch your breath. You get embarrassed even by their shadow... that's why I think maybe she is in love... with your friend's friend."

Itadori fell silent, his eyes scanning the horizon, as if the words were slowly gathering inside him, the creation of a new self being resurrected with each phrase.

Miwa continued, "But more than that, being in love is about caring for the other person. Admiring them. Wanting to be close to them, wishing for their success, for them to fulfill their dreams. It inspires you to want to be better, to improve."

He admires many people and cares for everyone, but that didn't mean he was in love with all the people he had been kind to. Then, he lifted his gaze, and suddenly, their eyes met. Miwa's eyes were bluer than the sky, shining with a kindness he'd never seen before, almost taking his breath away.

"What happened?" She asked, curious.

Itadori's cheeks turned a soft red, a color that perfectly matched the sweetness of her gaze. Miwa, seeing this, blushed as well, feeling a lump in her throat, as if her whole body were about to break. A wave of emotions flooded her, and for a moment, tears threatened to fall from her eyes. But she held them back.

"Nothing..."

He didn’t want to tell her that, in some way, she was wrong, there was no way Nobara Kugisaki could be in love with him. He lowered his gaze again, focusing on the ground, and sighed deeply, as if trying to rid himself of the weight of his own thoughts.

Silence settled between them, soft and heavy. A few seconds passed, but to Miwa, they felt like minutes, perhaps hours. Time had no shape or meaning anymore. They were both so absorbed in their own worlds that the silence didn’t feel awkward. It was comforting, like the silent embrace of a friend who understands your fears without saying a word.

Then, it was Itadori who broke the spell.

"Have you ever fallen in love?" he asked, swallowing audibly. Curious.

She flinched, as if the question had pulled her out of a deep sleep. It was as if the image of Mechamaru appeared in full color.

"No! Of course not. I... I don't know anything about that." she hurriedly said, her voice nervous, as if her words were a shield for a heart that was completely broken.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

Their lives hadn't experienced a dramatic shift when Gojo and Utahime hinted that they were together, as they had maintained their usual way of being for over 10 years, and that had continued, even though their emotional dynamics had completely changed. The students began to notice this with details that, if one were particularly perceptive, any casual observer would not overlook the fact that the Tokyo teacher, whose usual behavior was marked by a stormy interaction, seemed more involved than ever, bothering her three times more than usual, just to what? Maybe to bring her lunch? That familiar scolding, still echoing through the halls, lingered in the air. But what stood out was that he no longer left her side, and she, inexplicably, no longer asked him to leave her alone, but instead to behave when he was near.

There were also moments like the one when Gojo appeared in front of his students with a white ribbon tied around his wrist, a detail that didn’t escape those who understood the hidden meaning behind such gestures. Or Utahime, who, even in the middle of summer, never failed to wrap a scarf around her neck that clearly wasn’t hers, a gesture that seemed to hide fresh wounds that couldn’t be covered with bandages because she was late for class. The most intriguing part was that she always seemed to carry the scent of Gojo's perfume, a fragrance that lingered in the air and that the students pretended not to smell that annoying man on their teacher.

When they were asked about it, they didn’t deny it. Utahime felt foolish for thinking she was hiding it well, but Gojo gave his students a sarcastic round of applause, saying it took them a while to notice.

The announcement of Gojo's engagement to another woman was so shocking that no one, absolutely no one, had seen it coming. Some even believed that the Six Eyes man had betrayed Utahime, and that rumor spread like wildfire among the curious. This led Kamo and Todo to confront none other than Satoru Gojo himself, challenging him and demanding the restoration of their beloved teacher's honor. That was until Miwa and Maki interrupted, clarifying that the separation had been amicable and that no one had deceived anyone, it was simply an engagement arranged for clan reasons.

Gojo, for his part, disagreed with making a public announcement about a breakup that had never actually occurred. Declaring their separation was a fabrication born from Utahime's desire to avoid being labeled as the "mistress" or the "homewrecker." Such a stigma was too heavy for her to bear, a label that diminished her integrity and distorted the purity of what she felt. So, they chose a long silence until everything had passed.

"You're being really quiet, and I know your period hasn't come. I have an app, you know that. Didn't you like what I brought you?" Satoru asked as he continued eating his ramen, both of them sitting on the couch watching a movie. ""It'll get cold."

God, she needed to force a smile, or he would notice.

"I'm just tired." was the excuse she came up with for her lack of energy.

Satoru put his ramen down on the table and leaned toward her to examine her. She stiffened but kept her gaze fixed ahead.

"Stop looking at me."

"I'm just trying to figure out what I did wrong, but maybe I'm just so perfect that there's nothing wrong, and it's only you." He mocked her just to push her to the limit. Gojo knows she's hiding something under the rug, which makes her act so cold.

"Nothing, I'm just tired."

"Is that the truth, or are you lying?"

“I'm-just-tired” she repeated, looking at him with a furrowed brow, an act so natural to her that she didn't realize her structure had collapsed until seconds later.

“Then kiss me, but use your tongue too, darling~” He said in a teasing tone, grinning at her.

Unable to stand him looking at her as if he wanted to absorb her, she got up and walked away from him.

Gojo felt a strong need to make it up to his girlfriend after sensing a certain coldness. One of the brilliant ideas he had was to ensure her fridge was always stocked with things so she wouldn’t have to go shopping, carefully choosing items he knew she loved. Utahime's phone buzzed with sweet, loving messages (twice as many as usual), reminding her that he loved her and that she was 'the star of his night' 'the sun the earth needs' 'the cause of his libido' 'the owner of his piece of meat' 'the yin to his yang'.

Every time Utahime came home, there were bags from expensive stores, clothes she would end up returning because, clearly, their tastes didn’t align, and she needed to exchange them for something she liked. Among those gifts was a necklace from her favorite shop, which she kept, but she knew this couldn't continue for much longer. Not when every gift or excessive display of affection felt like a stone lodged in her chest. Utahime knew Gojo wanted to do something to make her feel better, but she began to feel a slight suffocation and started interpreting his gifts as something negative. 

She grew tired and asked him to stop with the expensive gifts and efforts to compensate her with material things. When he stood up, she crossed his arms and then added.

"What you’re doing hurts me more than what you’re trying to heal."

She explained that, in that way, he was just sweetening something that would hurt her anyway. His gifts caused her nothing but a sense of rejection, as if every rose was an apology for sleeping with another woman, the bags were an apology for every caress he would give to Tsubaki, and the necklace was for endless sex until his future wife became pregnant.

Gojo understood everything and could only offer her a slight smile. He leaned in and gently caressed her cheek. 

"If I spoil you, it's because I want to give you everything and ensure you lack nothing. I'm sorry that you took it that way, but I also want you to understand that I don't want you to… I don’t want you to feel the need to leave."

Although his destiny had led him to marry and bind his life with a person he did not want, the very idea filled him with absolute despair because he loathed not being able to control something, not having everything under his gaze. 

However, he knew very well that the greatest suffering was in Utahime, and her pain was also his pain. If the roles were switched, he would lose his mind to the point of insanity, for he could not bear such torment, suffocated by a grief that would make him destroy everything in sight.

She noticed the concern in his gaze, the sky blue of his eyes, which appeared almost azure due to the dim light of the television, reflecting a fear they both shared, the fear of being abandoned by the other.

"I need you with me, and I hate seeing you sad over all of this... and on top of that, I hate seeing your heart break... I'm so head over heels for you, Hime, nothing or no one will change that. If something bothers you, I'll fix it for you. If anyone says anything, I'll handle it for you. When all of this is over and we announce that we're together again, I'll make sure everyone knows you're mine, that you're my priority, and that they owe you respect..."

Hearing him, the weight on her chest began to lighten. The mud of a riverbed full of holes finally began to settle.

"Besides, if you had waited for dessert, I would have told you the good news."

"And what's that?" she asked, not expecting it to be something she’d really like.

"I never liked fulfilling my clan's demands, and I definitely don't always follow what they tell me to do. So, I arranged to have my child through artificial insemination."

The lump in his throat loosened and a beautiful adrenaline rush entered his system as the blackest clouds gave way to clear skies. His racing heart finally found its even cadence, an inevitable smile put on his face.

"In case you didn't understand, I won't have to touch her."

It was as if love itself enveloped her in its most protective embrace, dispelling any doubts she ever had, she rushed towards him to kiss him as passionately as ever, as if a second ago all the energy she lacked had now been reborn as an electric shock of pure lust.

“I love you.” Utahime told him after breaking their kiss, then leaned in to kiss him once momor"I love you, I love you, I really love you, you idiot...Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?" She huffed, pretending to be upset, though her sly smile gave her away.

"Ruining the surprise? I don’t think so." His hands squeezed her butt cheeks hard, exhilarated by her. “Don't you feel sleepy now?” Gojo questioned her with a half-smile.

“I'll feel sorry for you if you don't have energy tonight.” She whispers to him in a seductive tone.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

Megumi was not a very talkative person, but his mind was so deep that it often kept him awake in the stillness of the night, and he wasn’t sure if his insomnia was due to the intensity of his thoughts or the weight of the recent changes in his friends. Although inevitably, all he perceived was Nobara, who had become quieter, more distant, especially with Itadori. She seemed almost to avoid him, as if an invisible barrier had risen between them, something Megumi couldn’t understand. Still, something twisted in his chest when he saw his friend so distant, as if her behavior reflected something deeper that he couldn’t grasp and would usually ignore, but his mind kept reminding him, wanting to know what was going on, yet it was difficult for him to ask since he had already asked Nobara, and she said nothing.

《Is she really okay?》

Megumi leaned his face against the window, but the darkness outside only reflected the emptiness inside him, a void that seemed to grow day by day, and incredibly, it didn’t seem to be his sister the cause of that feeling of loneliness. 

"Oh, Fushiguro" he heard someone call him. He looked up and found Yuta standing next to him. "Are you okay?" asked the dark-haired boy.

Megumi looked back out the window. "Yeah, I’m fine." he responded curtly.

"Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of changes. Nobara has been coming to train with us" he tried to keep the conversation going "Apparently, sensei Gojo can’t get her to come back with you guys."

"After hearing lectures about the importance of friendship and whatever else, they’re acting strange now, and they’re leaving me out of something. I don’t want them to carry something heavy just to 'protect me' ".

"Don’t worry about that" Yuta tried to comfort him, scratching his head, shy about his next words "I’m sure it’s because of the incident that happened on their mission, but you already know about it."

His eyes narrowing with uncertainty. "I know what?"

"You know what happened. You were there."

Of course, if something happened to Nobara, she told Maki, and if Maki knows, then Yuta does too. 

But in Yuta's innocence, he continued with his response, trying to tell him without being too blunt, but still careful, when Fushiguro, involuntarily, understood the whole situation. His chest tightened with a storm, and his heart beat wildly. 

《He's telling me Itadori saw... that?》

Every word Yuta had said burned him, and rage rose in his throat, as if he couldn’t release the knot that was forming.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

Yesterday, she returned from a mission with swollen arms, they were burning, but she thought a cold shower and some ice would solve it. In the morning, before her alarm went off, she felt an intense pressure in her chest, so strong that she couldn’t even describe the pain. It was bad enough for her to go to the hospital, thinking it might be something serious. She considered messaging Satoru to accompany her, she knew that all she had to do was tell him she was at the hospital, and he would show up in front of her. But then she remembered that he was probably preparing for the insemination, and Utahime felt that she shouldn’t disturb that moment. The doctor gave her a lecture about the importance of taking care of oneself when engaging in physical exercise. She nodded, knowing she had been careful, but perhaps she had overlooked something important. The doctor continued his explanation and told her that she might have rhabdomyolysis, which occurs when muscle tissue breaks down and releases harmful substances into the bloodstream. This can happen for various reasons, such as intense exercise, serious injuries, dehydration, or some drugs.

"We need to do a CT scan to rule out the possibility that a blood clot has traveled to your lungs."

Utahime needed to call Gojo, she definitely needed someone by her side. But after a deep sigh, she decided against it. The thought of him laughing, making jokes, or teasing her only seemed like it would upset her more.

As part of the protocol, they had to rule out pregnancy before doing the CT scan, so they had taken a blood test.

Right now, she was eating a sweet bread in the waiting room because they had taken her blood, and she was starting to need air and sugar.

Was she paying some kind of karma? First, her love life, and now her health, she was beginning to theorize that she must have been a dictator in a past life.

With her phone, Utahime started looking up what rhabdomyolysis really was. Her only concern was that. According to the internet, it could be fatal if not treated in time, basically, death. That's when she began to get nervous.

While Utahime waited for the doctor to call her, a message from Gojo arrived to annoy her.

Idiot♡

My dick just died :c

Can I bury it in your ass? :cc

Hime♡

Stop writting and focus.

Idiot♡ 

Can you help me get my children out? 

Please love, I need your mouth right now :ccc my dick won't wake up, so why don't you come over here and resuscitate him? ;)

He clearly didn’t realize how those words would affect her, although it was to be expected, coming from him.

It was as absurd as how her smile faded. She silently thanked that he wasn’t there to see her expression. Utahime didn’t know if she felt this way because of that stupid, ridiculous proposal or because she might have a damn muscle disease. Right now, Gojo was either at a clinic or, she suspected, at the clan's property with specialized doctors, waiting for his sperm. 

Utahime should be relieved that the traditional process has been discarded, but apparently, nothing suited her, and the idea that Gojo was asking her to excite him to take his semen to create a child that is not hers, hurt her.

Because in a year, things would only get more complicated. She didn’t want to know anything about that woman or her heirs. She didn’t want to meet them, never, and she certainly didn’t want to get involved as an active mistress, that would embarrass her to no end.

It wasn’t about 'who holds the heart of the clan leader' it was that Utahime didn’t want to find herself caught in a love triangle where she constantly felt like a slut, even though this was her own love story. She couldn’t stop feeling like an outsider in her own world. Because it’s her who has to live on the margins, it’s her who must wait at least two years to see if Tsubaki gives birth to a son, just so she can even begin to consider whether she wants children or not.

And although every fiber of her being tells her to let go in order to find peace, she knows that loving him is like an open wound, one that both hurts and heals her at the same time, pulling her in and keeping her captive in this endless ebb and flow. She can’t let him go, she doesn’t want to let him go. She refuses, with every ounce of her being, to lose him or push him aside, it would be cruel because he didn’t choose this, it’s just his duty as the bearer of the Six Eyes.

“Iori... you’re pregnant, the test is positive."

Chapter Text

─── ⋆⋅𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓑𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓼⋅⋆ ───

Utahime left the hospital, surrounded by the crowd that had gathered outside. Unable to find the strength to call anyone, she could barely shake the overwhelming sense of stress consuming her at that moment. Shoko was working now, but she doubted she could say anything coherent to her friend. Every time she tried to speak, she began to stutter, sobbing with tears streaming down her face, which caused her to stumble over her words. Her appearance reflected that of someone who had just received the devastating news of a loved one's death.

These might just be the tears of someone who is exaggerating, because it wasn't the death of anyone, but she's crying like a crybaby.

Suddenly, she stopped in the middle of a park, sat on a bench, and tried to catch her breath. She couldn't walk another block in that state, couldn't move forward because the tears made it impossible to see.

《This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening to me...》

She tried to focus her mind, although her brain felt in a kind of stupor, frozen in some unfathomable pause, while an avalanche of meaningless thoughts piled up in her mind, with no conclusions. She remembered when they applied the gel to her belly and calculated that she was about nine weeks pregnant, but that she would need to see a pediatrician to get a more accurate due date.

Nine weeks (give or take).

And her body had given no signs of it. She couldn’t understand how it could have happened, how a pregnancy could have occurred when she had been so careful with birth control and had gotten her period as usual, with no signs of irregularity. Not a single symptom, nothing that would have warned her of anything unusual in her body. Or maybe the intense symptoms that appeared in movies were just fiction? Had she missed signs that she should have detected? Gojo always cum inside, with the assurance that she was taking pills, so she doesn't know when she got pregnant, it could have been any day.

Gojo once mentioned something about being parents, it was recently, and now, her stomach began to twist as she recalled Gojo's words: It would be dangerous, you know, so when I have my child, wouldn’t it be nice to think about having a little you soon?

What did he mean by dangerous?

Gojo hadn’t provided any details, as she never asked. In truth, she never cared to know, since they had never discussed the possibility of having children. Their morning conversations always focused on other things, and for the first time, his words made her see an unexpected interest in fatherhood. However, she was far more preoccupied with the children he would have with someone else to even consider giving him a stepson to his future wife.

Was her baby going to be the Antichrist? Would she give birth to a monster?

And the tears started to flow again, hot and fast, and she couldn't understand why she was so sensitive, she should be able to control herself, at least a little, but she couldn't find clarity or make much sense of anything. Not when the only person capable of providing her with answers was Gojo, and at the same time, the source of her complete uncertainty. 

It was then that she realized something. Almost two months ago, her gynecologist had offered her to switch her birth control pills, it was normal for new products to be promoted or advertised. That was the only thing she clearly remembered. Without thinking, Utahime grabbed her phone and began searching on Google, and suddenly the answer appeared before her, and the result of it all was that the phone fell onto her lap as her fingers pressed against her face.

《That bitch, its all because of her.》

She could go to their office, but she knew she’d just end up insulting her, crying uncontrollably.

How could a healthcare professional not warn her to be careful if she chose to switch birth control pills? Her face burned with frustration.

She couldn’t believe she was carrying a baby, It sounded unreal because she didn’t feel any different, and accepting it was overwhelming, as if she were trapped in a metal bubble.

As Utahime followed the paths beneath the whispering trees, breathing in the scent of freshly cut grass, she felt relaxed in a different way. She paused to inhale more deeply, the scent seeming like a remedy from nature that entered her nose, bringing peace and a certain ecstasy. It didn’t stop her endless tears, but it gave her a sense of calm and pleasure. The thought of staying there for a while lingered in her mind, or even the idea of taking some and putting it in her bag, but she didn’t do it.

Utahime's phone rang just as she sank into the couch, exhausted. It was Shoko.

After a long sip of water, as if the liquid could soothe the anxiety that enveloped her, Utahime let out a deep sigh and, with a slight effort, picked up the receiver.

"Hi, honey" Utahime said, trying to hide the fatigue in her voice.

"Senpai, I’m free this weekend. What are we doing?"

"I work this weekend." she lied. It was better this way than meeting up and rejecting the alcohol, which would definitely raise suspicions. Besides, Shoko didn’t know that she was still seeing Gojo.

"Oh, I see," Shoko replied, sounding a bit disappointed. "Oh, that's fine. Let me know when you're fre so we can meet."

Uta said yes, signaling that she would do it, and a brief silence settled between them, filled with a sense of suspense, until Shoko finally gathered the courage to ask.

"How are you?"

The question seemed odd to her. "I'm great, and you?"

"I mean... how are you handling the fact that Gojo is getting married tomorrow?"

Utahime paused for a moment, searching for the right answer. "Perfectly, we weren't really in love."

Shoko didn’t believe the lie. This situation of hiding emotions reminded her of when Utahime fell in love with Gojo, but like any proud person, she kept it to herself until she couldn’t anymore. So Shoko doesn't know if what she's about to say will help her get over it faster or not, but Utahime would find out sooner or later.

"Did you know he brought his fiancée here to Jujutsu Tech?"

Utahime froze for a couple of seconds. She hadn't expected something like this, and the surprise left her speechless. It was typical for Gojo Satoru to get on her nerves with his nonsense. It wasn't sadness she felt, but something more intense, pure frustration, because she knew that, even if Gojo had two heads, he would be incapable of thinking with either of them

"And why did the unlucky girl go all the way there?" Utahime asked, trying to sound playful.

Shoko laughed, perhaps a little relieved to have gotten the heavy burden off her shoulders.

"I don’t know, she just walked around."

"... and what's she like?" Utahime tried to hide the question, but curiosity got the best of her.

"She doesn’t have curves as voluptuous as yours and definit—"

"Shoko" Utahime interrupted her. "I didn’t ask you to compare me to her."

"She’s nice... looks kind and polite. She’s young, twenty four years old, although at first, I thought she’d be some silly eighteen year old..."

"Okay."

"And he treats her like he treats me or Meimei..."

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

None of the four senior students could have predicted how much the forest smelled as they got closer to their destination: an abandoned hotel in the north of Japan, an area surrounded by mountains and trees. 

Gojo vaguely informed them that after paranormal events took place during World War II, and the rumor spread that it was haunted, the owners sold the hotel. However, its reputation and the bad experiences inside led to its permanent closure, as no one would stay in such a place.

"I can't believe that professor Gojo isn't going to invite us to his wedding." Itadori complained, his hands on the back of his neck. " I'm curious to know what his fiancée looks like."

"That’s probably because members of his clan will be attending." Fushiguro replied.

"And what's the big deal? A wedding is a wedding." Itadori said, still puzzled.

Despite the bitterness Fushiguro felt, he responded with an unusual seriousness. "It's not that simple. The Gojo clan is very private. If a member of the Gojo family shows up, you run. The professor said nothing good comes from them, they have their own interests."

Itadori noticed a certain hostility in his best friend's voice but decided to assume the anger or bad mood had to do with something else. "But no one is more powerful than the professor. His clan isn't strong."

"They’re not powerful in strength," Fushiguro said, "but from what I hear… they have other influences."

The hotel was large, but upon arrival, the four of them realized that this could have been a job for just one of them, or at most, two. They had all evolved in strength in unique ways, but it seemed their beloved professor had noticed the tension between them, and that was the only explanation for why the four of them were doing the mission together, even though Megumi, Nobara, and Itadori naturally handled missions on their own.

Before Itadori could inquire further, Hana jumped up with excitement upon seeing the abandoned hotel. 

"I say we split into pairs!" she suggested, clinging to Fushiguro's arm.

Kugisaki went pale. Why did she have to be paired with that one remaining person? She was about to protest but Megumi intervened as he stepped away from the blonde.

“No, I'll go with Itadori.” He would take the opportunity to talk to Itadori about what happened and clear everything up. Because if his best friend turned out to be a pervert who did it on purpose, he would erase that smile in an instant.

Hana pouted. "But you said you'd protect me..."

Megumi looked at her, knowing he had promised that, and he would never forgive himself if something happened to her, especially since she had sacrificed herself to save him. And she did, Hana saved him. His silence only made Itadori speak up.

"I'll go alone. Kugisaki can take care of herself, so you guys can go ahead. I'll put the curtain."

Itadori turned away, leaving Nobara somewhat stunned by his words. She didn’t like how easily he dismissed her, as she had wanted to reject him first. But instead of anger, what she felt was something much worse, an overwhelming sense of uneasiness, as if her heart had just tasted the sourness of a lemon for the first time.

Perhaps it took Nobara anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes to finish off a major curse. Luckily, it wasn’t a special grade curse, since she hadn’t faced one of those since Sukuna. And although she had confidence, Nobara had to admit she would get a little nervous. She turned the corner and spotted Itadori in the distance, coming out of a hallway. That’s when she noticed his broad, sexy back completely exposed, bare. Her heart slammed against her chest, and she felt that tachycardia that always hits whenever that man appears before her eyes. It was at that moment that he was surrounded by pink smoke, of course, this only appeared in Nobara's imagination. He turned around, and his face was different, his jaw exaggeratedly sharp and defined, his lips swollen, his eyes like Terry Grandchester. The violins played, and angels appeared.

She could feel her heart racing, the symptoms were clear. She concluded that, indeed, she had tachycardia, which was causing her to see illusions about Itadori Yuji.

And with that wrong conclusion, the violins explode, the pink turn to gray, and the angels fall wounded to the ground.

"Kugisaki, are you okay?" Itadori asked, noticing the blush on her face, the nervousness, realizing that the red of fury wasn’t fury at all. That’s when Miwa’s words echoed in his mind, and at that exact moment, he thought that his friend might actually be in love with him. If that were the case, he couldn’t laugh or take it the wrong way, he had to be direct, especially with Kugisaki. "Hey, can you hear me?"

"Of course I can! I’m going to keep looking—"

"I’m sorry!" he shouted before she could run off. "I’m sorry for… seeing...that, I’m sorry… and I don’t want things to be awkward between us because of it."

They both knew it might not be the right time to talk, but getting it off their chests would help them feel more at ease and allow them to complete their mission without further complications. "Just… let’s forget about it."

He expected her to shout, but instead, he received an answer so out of character for her that he wondered if she was sick or delirious. Right now, he hoped that everything would settle from here on, but that inner voice of his, that reaction she had with him, still lingered. Solving the incident was one thing, but asking if she had feelings for him was something entirely different.

The pink haired boy had begun his serious question, but it was interrupted.

Nobara felt him wrap his left arm around her. They were violently thrown out of the hotel, crashing through the glass. Nobara felt Itadori's weight on top of her as thousands of glass shards fell, cutting his skin. Fortunately, Itadori’s body managed to cover her and cushion the impact. She looked ahead and saw a vengeful curse, speaking in a voice barely understandable to them, distorted and eerie. 

Itadori raised his hand backwards, as if trying to defend her, and without realizing it, he placed his hand on one of her tits.

Both remained motionless, so surprised by everything that happened in a matter of hundredths of a second, that they couldn't even organize their thoughts. Nobara was focused on the entire sequence and couldn't register that touch, but Itadori did and his face transformed into a fire extinguisher, or a much deeper shade of red than that. He pulled his hand back in the blink of an eye, looking at it, pursing his lips and with his eyes wide open, waiting for it to be used as a sacrifice for the curse.

Nobara took her hammer from her waist, and both of them stood up to get into a fighting stance. It was then that the black energy didn’t come only from the curse in front of them, but when Itadori turned around, Megumi was glaring at him, furious, not at the curse, he was looking him in the eyes.

“Hana, watch out!” Nobara shouted when the curse launched a pink liquid into the sky. She dodged it just in time, and Itadori ran forward, his fist ready and charged with energy.

When she turned around, she saw Fushiguro flying through the air after being hit by another curse. So, she grabbed her loaded nails and started shooting at it, severely injuring it, but still, that curse lunged at her. Nobara managed to give it a powerful kick to push it back a little before landing a clean hit, driving an 11 centimeter nail deep into it. It was then that she saw another curse peek over the top of the hotel, which made her angry, so she ran to find it.

However, when she reached the rooftop, it was empty, so she leaned over to shout at the others below, asking if they could spot the enemy. That’s when the curse appeared from the ground, causing her to slip and fall forward in shock. To the others, it looked like she fell too fast from a dangerous height, but to her, it felt like an eternity, and no one could cushion her fall.

Everything went black.

"Oh, s—"

"Shit, shit, shit," Megumi cursed, stunned, his senses shaking, but he still ran to kneel beside her.

Itadori approached quickly, intending to pick her up and run to the car. "We need to take her to Ieiri, she's bleeding!"

"Don't you dare touch her!" Megumi warned angrily while pressing down hard on Nobara's wound. The hostile glare he shot at Itadori was dangerous.

Now Megumi had a clear idea of who her friend really was, she doesn't know how she couldn't have found out earlier that he was a pervert, since the posters of those scantily clad actresses should have given her a sign. But to take advantage of a teammate like that? He would report it to the authorities (Gakuganji, Iori, and Gojo), then he would eliminate him himself.

"What the fuck is your problem? I'm faster than you, I'll carry her." 

Yuji was already furious at that point, fed up with his friend's excessive sarcasm and passive-aggressive comments.

"Hey Itadori, don't talk to my boyfriend like that!" Hana intervened, but neither of them paid attention to her as the electric tension passed between them.1

"Fucking pervert" Megumi muttered, but the pink haired boy heard it and ignored it.

When Itadori, fists clenched and face tense, ignored Fushiguro to carry Kugisaki in his arms, the next thing he felt was a solid punch straight to his face.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

Gojo Satoru watches her, fascinated, utterly entranced by the way she cuts through the water with radiant magnetism. Each movement is smooth and hypnotic, and she might as well have been a siren born to swim. Then she takes a deep breath to prove she's human, and with natural elegance, she submerges herself completely again. Her legs kick hard, she surges forward, creating perfect semicircles in the water, it is as if she were dancing in her aquatic kingdom. He can't help thinking that Utahime Iori was a siren, able to sing with charm and fascination, hypnotically, enticing any man into falling under her spell, irretrievably into her net.

Emerging from the water with a gasp, her hair was loose, slightly tilted back, highlighting her large eyes, wet skin, and perfect lips. He smiled almost involuntarily when she came up, clinging to the edge and in front of him like an obedient siren.

Before she could lift her gaze, Gojo brushed away a few stray strands from her face with one hand, her fingers slightly wrinkled from being in the water too long.

"It’s time to get out of the water, my beautiful siren."

"Five more minutes." 

But she is not a mermaid, and she is not obedient to him.

The water had always been therapeutic for her, not only for its physical benefits but because it allowed her to disconnect and do something other than lie in bed, crying. But of course, when she remembered that yesterday Gojo took his fiancée on a tour of Jujutsu Tech, she really wanted to kill him. She knew that Satoru would never do anything to hurt her, but he had started hurting her indirectly since her clan had forced him to marry another woman, but that unwanted marriage ended up becoming (against all expectations) the least of her problems at that moment, as she had to go check on the baby's condition.

Though she wasn't a teenager, no one prepares you for an unplanned pregnancy, especially when she knew she could have at least taken some time to think about it before stopping the birth control pills and make Gojo read an entire book about responsibility, a concept he was lacking.

I’m pregnant, and I’m not sure what we’re going to do about it.

That was the sentence she dreaded saying more than anything at that moment, for each time she attempted to speak it, her throat tightened, and she could feel her breath seize within her.

Utahime smiles faintly as she places her hands on the edge of the pool, pushing herself out of the water.

Her figure hugging swimming costume was provocative enough that Gojo could imagine his cock sticking between her tits and other places, but he pushes that thought away, thinking that today Utahime might be trying to pretend it was okay.

That night, he was getting married, and Utahime had asked him not to show up at her apartment that night.

"Good morning, love," He said as he approached her.

"Gojo, if you touch me I'll cut your hands off."

"Oh" he stopped in his tracks and smiled in amusement. "Shoko told you? I came here to tell you."

"Why did you do it?" She ask him seriously, warning him with a look to think carefully about his answer.

"I thought her presence would be more pleasant, considering that she and I wouldn't do anything physical."

"I want to see you if I were to take my fiancé and introduce him to my students, the quietest thing you would do would be to threaten him in the air."

Gojo starts laughing. "Wow Hime, are you jealous?"

"I'm not jealous, Gojo, it's something else."

She is aware that Gojo loves her and feels nothing for that woman, but she didn't like what he did at all.

"Don’t be upset about it, as I had said that I didn’t want to have any issues with her because of the situation we're in. I never touched her, and I won’t"

"It’s not about that, it’s just that if in the future we’re going to announce to everyone that we’re together despite your marital situation, I feel uncomfortable that everyone has already met her."

"In theory, I didn't introduce her to my students, only Shoko, Panda, and Ijichi saw her."

"Are you going to bring her again?"

"If my significant other forbids me, I won't do it."

"I don't have to be the one to tell you things."

"But you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, and you know very well that since I was fifteen, you've been my sexual fantasy and my guide, so guide me, and punish me if I am wrong as I know you like to do."

Two, four, seven veins were marking her forehead. She steps forward and punches him in the shoulder, but Gojo's infinity prevents her from flinching from the blow, which only serves to frustrate her further.

"What did I tell you about talking like that in public?" she scolds him, raising an eyebrow visibly annoyed.

"There's no one here!" he replies, laughing lightly.

How could she tell him about the pregnancy if that idiot was saying such obscenities?

She stood there with her arms crossed.

"You didn't tell me how it went with the doctor yesterday." he asks in a calm voice.

Utahime could feel the pressure building like a ticking clock, relentless in its passage.

"It was from overworking," she answers, her gaze fixed firmly on him. 

Utahime will not forget the fact that he took that woman to Jujutsu Tech, but she knew that he understood the message, and continuing to complain about it would only inflate Gojo's ego and eventually make her more irritated when she needs to reveal the truth once and for all.

"Good, I have to go abroad this weekend, but you have the key and the password if you want to wait for me there".

She felt calmness, a great wave of pure luck. It meant he would be gone until monday, a certain relief, giving her a few days of peace, at least enough time to breathe. Utahime took it as a sign to hold back and not tell him today.

On Monday, she will not only tell Gojo that she is pregnant, but she will also see a married man, a fact that does not escape her. In a matter of hours, he would sign the papers, but at least she will have time to process everything calmly and practice what words to use to tell him.

She wasn’t an anxious person, not the type who couldn’t resist giving a surprise gift, and she knew that if men were the ones who got pregnant, at the first sign of doubt, Gojo would be shouting it everywhere.

I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant, Utahime, I'm pregnant!.

"Maybe you can wait for me covered in cream? Be creative, my princess," he says with a playful smile and a raised eyebrow.

His heart almost stopped when he saw her so upset, and that encouraged him. Teasing her is his favorite pastime, one he will never tire of. His cheeks redden slightly as he feels her cold hands on his neck.

Will she kill him now? A half smile appears on her face as he, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, dares to touch her waist, slipping his hands under her towel, causing it to fall to the floor.

"You'll never change, you'll always be a depraved with me." She said, looking at him in the clear, beautiful radiant eyes, now calmer.

"I don't know what the surprise is, I've always behaved like this, you fell in love with me like this."

“If you let your guard down, a punch could be coming.” She didn't even know if she was saying it in a suggestive tone or genuinely annoyed.

“Oh yea, I’m waiting for it...” Gojo said playfully, his eyes sparkling with a seductive glint.

“We won’t do it today.” She warned him when she felt Gojo's hand squeezing her butt. 

Gojo bursts out laughing, his voice light and teasing. In one swift motion, he pulls her into his arms, wrapping her in a tight embrace. The warmth from his body spreads to hers, chasing away the cold.

“Come live with me.” His hands press gently against each side of her waist, pulling her even closer. His voice is soft, but there's an underlying determination in it. "In exchange, I'll let you choose any house you want, with no spending limit."

“Don’t squeeze me there.” She protests softly, though there’s a slight smile playing on her lips, as if she's not entirely bothered, but now she has a guest in her stomach that she can't let her father squeeze like a teddy bear. “You know I can’t, I work here.” 

“Then let me move into your apartment.” 

“I thought you already lived with me, you have clothes there, a toothbrush, your food, your books...” He laughs lightly, fully aware he’s been caught. “You’re practically moving in bit by bit.”

Gojo lets out a soft laugh, realizing just how well she knows him. He pulls away slightly, but doesn’t move too far, as if the closeness is something he’s reluctant to let go of. He bent down to grab the towel and cover her, he didn't want her to get sick.

Utahime was surprised by how long she could maintain her role of peace without breaking down in tears. Maybe she had shed many liters of tears while swimming, or perhaps it was because she wasn't fully ready to tell him which caused her mind to block any negative feelings that might surface so that he wouldn't suspect anything. Or maybe it was simply because Satoru's presence made her forget how miserable she felt.

She hated how he always found an excuse to bother her, hated how much his eyes calmed her, hated that his attention was always on her, hated that he hid his ribbons from her, hated that he was the love of her life, hated how much she loved him, and how she didn't hate him at all, or at least not as much as she thought she did.

"Stop doing that." Utahime warns him, crossing her arms and frowning, though her eyes soften slightly as she watches him, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Doing what exactly?" Gojo replies, his voice playful.

"Smiling." She sighs, as if she’s exhausted by his behavior, though a faint blush creeps onto her cheeks. She doesn’t like to admit it, but that smile always has an effect on her.

In response to that request, the only thing Gojo could do was laugh. And that smile, far from charming his Hime, finally made her growl in frustration (again).

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

"Good news, mom, you're 11 weeks pregnant, and your baby is the size of a raspberry."

When the pediatrician said everything was fine it was a relief because this baby survived a lot of alcohol, spicy food, hectic missions, intense sexual encounters, its own sadness, just for the doctor to tell her that it's in perfect condition. The results also revealed the possible gender. She was surprised because (As far as she knows about the topic) that was usually only known at 18 or 19 weeks, but the doctor said that with the blood tests she had done the other day, they had used them to check the baby's health, and also analyzed the fetal DNA fragments circulating in the Uta's blood, so the doctor knew.

Utahime felt her throat close up, her heart raced in a curious way, she could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassing curiosity. Her gaze drifts to the side, and she asks "And… what is it?"

"Oh, are you sure you don't want to consult the baby's father?"

Utahime could laugh at that comment but she just forced a smile.

"No, tell me."

"A boy."

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

The grocery items were falling into the basket as she seemed lost in her own world, not smiling, with wet cheeks and the corners of her eyes red.

What will his reaction be? Now she was anxious, a bit regretful for not telling him before, but if she told him, he’d still be leaving for abroad tonight, so she preferred to wait until he returned.

It seemed that she cared more about knowing his reaction than the fact that, in the blink of an eye, a baby would be in her house. Utahime has two rooms in her apartment, spacious enough for a family of three, two cars, and an apartment in Tokyo, but the Tokyo apartment could only fit a couple, it wasn’t made for children at all since it only had one room. She began to think that the available room in her house should be completely cleared out, and that would be a problem, she had a damn gym in there. What would she do with the machines? Would she have to buy a crib? Would she have to assemble it herself? Natural birth or cesarean? Should she read a book? What should she do in the first month of life? A nanny? Her job? Green or blue? What can't she eat?

Utahime shook her head, feeling a nauseating dizziness beginning to set in. She didn’t want to be a mom, but it wasn’t like she had another choice, it had come out of nowhere and changed her life 100 percent. And with the way things were going, she felt like she would be the worst mother in the world. How could she tell her baby that the first thing she did upon finding out about his existence was cry as if her entire world had collapsed? That, instead of feeling relief for not having a life threatening illness, she only became even sadder with the news of his arrival.

She slapped herself mentally again and continued putting things into the shopping cart. Utahime looked to see what else she needed and noticed the absence of sweet things, so she headed to the cookie and candy aisle, only to stop when she noticed the diaper section, the baby aisle, and wanted to pass by out of curiosity. She had never been interested in passing through this area, in fact, it was a place that went unnoticed in her mind.

Diapers of different brands, prices and colors. She kept walking, very carefully checking out the formula milk and baby diapers.

《Why am I looking at this?》She scolded herself.

Since they told her the baby was the size of a raspberry, she couldn't help imagining a baby dressed in clothes of that color. Her parents might ask why she dressed him in a vibrant shade of red, with hints of pink, or anyone who sees a baby boy wearing something other than blue or green, but she could perfectly picture him that way.

Then, something truly adorable caught her eye: a blue pacifier from the brand MAM, with a charming design. On the shield of the pacifier was a small white bunny (the cutest thing in the world). The pacifier also featured ventilation holes and had a unique shape, reminiscent of a four leaf clover, with soft curves and delicate details. Utahime couldn’t help but be captivated by its cuteness. She looked around absentmindedly and almost instinctively, placed it in the cart quickly, without thinking too much, as if she knew she couldn’t let it slip away.

Utahime arrived at the apartment loaded with grocery bags, the clattering of containers rubbing together echoed in the hallway as she closed the door behind her. With skill, she removed her shoes at the entrance and made her way to the living room, intending to turn toward the kitchen. However, a figure was sitting on the couch. She let out a scream, and the bags slipped from her hands, falling to the floor, leaving her frozen, unable to react. She couldn’t understand how someone had entered, as the door hadn't been forced, and only four people knew her code, and none of them would betray her like this.

Before she could even form one of the many questions that flooded her mind, the woman, dressed in an elegant kimono, stood up and gave her a smile.

"Did my unanticipated visit startle you?" the woman inquired, her tone attempting to mitigate the gravity of her intrusion. "Rest assured, I am no thief, it is rather disheartening that you would entertain such a notion."

"It's a normal reaction when someone enters unannounced and without permission. Will you tell me who you are?"

"I could give you my full name, or simply say that I am the mother of the most powerful man in the world."

Chapter Text

─── ⋆⋅𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓑𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓼⋅⋆ ─── 

Upon arrival at the dorms, each went to their rooms, but none of both Inumaki and Panda could settle their concerns. Both wandered around the hallways, their minds filled with the accident of their teammate, anxious to know what happened. The tension began to ease only when Ieiri reassured them that she was stable.

Meanwhile, Itadori, no longer angry with Fushiguro, but there was something he didn’t understand, something he needed to clarify. Without thinking further, he stood up, determined to confront him. He walked with heavy steps, but his mind kept racing, making his heart beat wildly. He approached Megumi’s room and, with some uncertainty, knocked gently. The door opened, and Megumi appeared, his gaze lowered and his face gloomy.

"Itadori," he muttered, as if saying his name was an effort. "Come in," he continued, moving a bit to his side to let him in.

The air inside the room seemed to grow thick, heavy with uncomfortable silence that only worked to heighten the tension and make Itadori's anxiety spike.

"Why did you hit me?" The question came straightforward, no beating around the bush.

Megumi crossed his arms. "What happened with you and Nobara?" he answered, giving him the chance to explain what had occurred between them."I saw you touching her inappropriately today and she can't even look you in the face for days after that mission you had together. Did you do something to her?"

"W-what? No! Absolutely not! It’s all a misunderstanding!" He stammer, waving his hands frantically.

"You have three minutes to explain yourself, or I swear I'll make sure you regret it."

"ONLY THREE MINUTES?!"

"Now you have one. If I were you, I’d start talking."

"IT WAS ALL AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT!"Itadori tried to explain, now he was nervous because his best friend thinks he's a pervert. 

"An accident?" Megumi questioned

"She had a problem with her uniform on the mission, she wasn't wearing the... you know, the... you know that sporty boob-tightening thing. So I saw her tits, I saw them but not because I wanted to, because I was right in front of her."

Now he wanted to punch his best friend just for being such an idiot.

"And how do you explain what happened today? Another accident?"

"I had to push her to dodge the curse attack, and we both flew out of the window to the ground, and my hand was... my hand moved involuntarily, it was never my intention to do something wrong like what you think, I swear on Hiroyuki Ken!"

Fushiguro frowned in confusion "And who is that?" 

"The actor who gives voice to the main character in the movie 'Love of Chimeras IV' "

The young man with green eyes let out a sigh, at least everything his friend said sounded like something he would actually do, and he didn’t think he would risk telling a lie knowing that Nobara could refute him. In fact, if that were the case, he doubted Itadori would even be alive.

“I think I owe you an apology, Itadori,” he said while placing his hand on the back of his neck and being direct with his thoughts. “I saw you on top of her doing that and thought you were taking advantage.”

“I know you’re upset, and I guess I would feel the same if I were in your shoes and—”

The young man with black hair raised his hand, signaling for him to stop and not continue speaking.

“I can’t lie to you. When I heard you before, I got angry and even thought about hitting you even harder." Megumi confessed, referring to when Yuji offered to carry Nobara because he was faster. Itadori’s face looked on attentively, with a hint of shame. “However, it’s not your fault. If anything, you owe her an apology, don’t you?” he added, raising an eyebrow and speaking seriously. “So stop making that miserable face and tell her that directly.”

Fushiguro was right. If that was his best friend's point of view, what was Kugisaki's point of view? Yuji needed to clarify everything with her. 

In his room, he had time to think before he slept. Yuji thought of the changes that would happen in the group if Kugisaki felt something for him. He wondered how could something as perfect as their friendship shift into something strange and ugly. He loved Kugisaki the same way he loved Fushiguro, they were both like siblings to him. In his mind, the idea of them dating seemed as awkward as incest. That's why he knew he had to be careful, especially since she was a ticking time bomb who could kill him at any moment. But he could never, ever date her. Right now, he even created an imaginary cloud to simulate a date with her, but it quickly turned into a horror movie.

Yuji had no doubts about his feelings for her, being a fan of romance movies, he understood that when he saw her, his heart didn’t do the toki toki thing. Nobara was his complete opposite from his ideal type, yet he knew that Eros often strikes when you least expect it, sometimes with the most unexpected person. That's why he thought maybe Eros aimed his arrow at Kugisaki by mistake. He couldn't date her, that was for sure. But he didn't want to reject her either. First, because he liked his organs inside his body, and second, because he didn't want to hurt her. Not her.

Itadori let out a deep breath, feeling really confused and unsure about how to handle the situation. He couldn't go to Megumi for advice, not after he had just been judged as an abuser, from which he was declared innocent.

He opened his palm upward and stared at it. It was then that he realized it was the hand that had touched that. The thought brought a little warmth as he recalled the soft sensation, the feel of a firmer tit, and bigger than he'd ever imagined it would be. His mind shifted back to Kugisaki. 

She wasn't so bad looking after all. He liked her attitude, though it also scared him. He could almost admit, just maybe, that there was something slightly adorable about her.

Yuji lowered his hand again, but the sensation lingered and Yuji is affected to notice a growing bulge in his pyjamas.

《You've got to be kidding me. 》

Even when he was fourteen he wasn't this degenerate, but his heart beats frantically and now, he keeps touching himself thinking about who he shouldn't think about, so he squeezes his eyes shut while spitting into the palm of his hand and rubbing himself fast.

He slapped his face and shouted “WAIT!”

《It's Kugisaki, it's Kugisaki you idiot, you can't do THIS. 》 

Desperate, he bit his lip and looked at the wall, a poster of Jennifer Lawrence, her bikini, her big boobs. True, he can't stop his erection but he can redirect his dedication, so he slipped his hands under his pijamas, just to caress himself a little.

《Jennifer Lawrence, Margot Robbie, Jennifer, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Sidney Sweeney, Jennifer Lawrence》 

But Itadori only named these beauties to pretend to himself or to an imaginary judge, so perhaps he felt less guilty about his best friend Nobara Kugisaki dominating his mind, a foolish mind that ignored beautiful actresses.

He did not stop, although there was one part that he did want to stop.

Itadori shudders as he moans biting the end of the pillow, his hand now on the growing bulge in his trousers, his thick penis being stirred again and again, he was palming it endlessly, just imagining a perfect smile that Kugisaki made when he saw a bargain in a clothing shop. The semen that came out without descending amidst muffled sighs and moans, the guilt he felt doing that was great, as was the empty feeling inside him, with his heart still going toki toki. 

"I'm such an idiot..."

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

For a moment, she was speechless, unable to react. Her eyes went to the coffee table in front of the sofa, where two cups of tea, not belonging to her, rested still steaming as if they had just been brewed. It was then that she understood the reason for the woman’s presence. So, when the lady's delicate hand pointed to the sofa beside her, Utahime obeyed her, leaving the supermarket groceries on the floor with the promise that she would pick everything up as soon as the conversation was over.

As soon as she sat down on the sofa, maintaining a considerable distance. The woman kept that smile, now tense in comparison, making it clear that she was waiting for her to say something.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself? Or were you born without a name? Or perhaps, you're just shy?"

Utahime saw no point in this, especially since it was clear that the woman must already know her name and was simply playing along or prolonging a situation she would rather avoid.

"... Mrs. Gojo, I know why you're here. You don’t have to pretend with me."

She was a woman with ash-blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in elegant clothes, her fingers gently tapping the armrest as she leaned back.

"I was sure we were on the same page, but enlighten me."

Having an unknown figure in front of her didn't give her much peace, but knowing in advance what the woman wanted, she didn't get anxious at all. If Satoru's mother thought for a moment that she was going to start crying because of her presence, she was wrong. Utahime had much worse things to cry about at that moment, and precisely, the possible future threats from that woman would have no effect on her.

Utahime took a deep breath before responding, her voice steady. "You're going to ask me to stay away from Satoru's life and his fiancée's."

The woman’s expression remained unreadable, but she subtly checked her watch, her wrist flicking with casual grace. 

"And in approximately..." She paused for effect and looked at her watch. "two hours, she will be his wife."

The love of her life is marrying another woman, and yet, she gave him her blessing. Utahime couldn't bring herself to call herself foolish for accepting such a thing, not when Satoru's marriage is unlike any other. In fact, it could hardly be considered a marriage if analyzed closely, it would be more of a formality, or at least that's what she tells herself. Although she's not in a position to ask Satoru to abandon his duties, she always has the option to leave him. Something she will never do, because she believes herself incapable of making that decision, and Gojo knows it.

The thing that haunted her like an invisible spirit is about that supposed danger he mentioned, if it is so dangerous, she should have asked Gojo first, but if she couldn't get her emotions together on her own, she would never be able to face him and now she was pregnant, and though not ready for motherhood, the maelstrom of conflicting emotions now churning inside her at that instant was a question of whether Gojo would truly be capable of asking her not to have the baby. Utahime didn't know what she'd say, which is why she needed the time to herself. 

She should first consider what danger he was talking about and whether he had exaggerated, as he always does. Then she would have to think about and consider many other things: Did she really want a baby? She thought not, but right now, she felt more certain with her little raspberry inside her than she did near Gojo. Utahime feels foolish for having bought a pacifier when, in theory, she doesn't want to have a baby yet.

It's sweet to think that her baby chose her, not the other way around, since it came without announcement or planning. Just like Gojo Satoru did with her life, it appeared unintentionally, without planning it, basically it got into her brain on purpose, but at least her baby made it less morbid, Utahime remembers like a horror story when Gojo made his feelings for her clear.

A tense silence filled the room before Utahime finally spoke, her voice edged with a mixture of frustration and resolve. "Will you start with threats?"

"Your thoughts are rather simplistic. I expected more from the woman my son praises as if she's someone better than... well, better than him." 

Utahime furrowed her brow, wondering if Gojo was delirious for speaking of her in such a way.

Mrs. Gojo chuckled, noticing the expression on her face. "I know, it's unlike him." The woman said with amusement, taking a sip of his tea. 

The aromatic chamomile filled the air, and Utahime barely touched her lips to the cup, not fond of the taste, only drinking it when she was truly stressed.

"I don't mind, Tsubaki, my dear. To be honest, I'm quite pleased to finally meet you." She paused, offering a smile. "My name is Gojo Nobuko."

"Iori Utahime"

Utahime placed her tea on the table, her little raspberry not wanting chamomile tea, but she managed to hide the disgust the scent was causing her.

Nobuko gestured toward her full cup. "May I?" she asked, her tone polite yet curious.

Utahime nodded in response, she was astonished, noticing an unexpected boldness, as she had imagined the mother of the Gojo clan to be a woman of pure refinement and sternness. 

"Sorry, I love chamomile tea and I already finished mine."

"... Mrs Gojo, It seems strange to me that your visit is just to see me two hours before the wedding. If it's not to tell me to stay away from your son, then why are you here?"

"I pity her, I mean my daughter in law..." Nobuko replied with a sigh. "She'll never know what intimacy is, or the sweetness of a husband. She'll be the virgin who gave birth to a baby, like Jane the virgin or Virgin Mary. My son doesn't care about her, and it would be imprudent to ask him for affection when he won't give it. Society moves forward, while traditions stay behind. And like I said, I just wanted to meet you... despite everything. My son was sure you'd pass the test. I'm truly sorry you're in this situation."

In those blue eyes, as dark as if they belonged to the night itself, Utahime could see a palpable sincerity. She watched Nobuko drink two cups of tea without hesitation and couldn't help but wonder if Satoru resembled her in some way.

"...I’m sorry for treating you so rudely, I didn’t expect you to say that and Satoru never mentioned you."

She wouldn’t admit that her presence made her feel a bit uncomfortable, but at least it was a relief to know that she wouldn’t have to deal with the typical overbearing, insulting mother in law, threatening her at every turn.

Nobuko pulled out a card, or rather, a plain piece of paper, and placed it on the table. 

"My number is there, in case you want to talk. I know we won’t be friends, but we can count on each other."

"Don't you want me to make more tea? Or will it be too late?"

"It'll be too late if I keep wasting time, but I can't leave without knowing what my grandson will be called first."

Utahime wanted to ask, but she was feeling a sense of suffocation, as if she were trapped in her own apartment. How had this woman entered without forcing the door? Did Satoru let her in? How does she have that information? 

"I didn't say anything to anyone, and I also didn't tell anyone that it's a boy. Are you spying on me?"

"Oh, dear, don't get upset," Nobuko said calmly, raising a hand in a gesture of reassurance. "My son has a habit of omitting information or telling only part of the story. What happened in your case?"

"... he said it was a danger but -"

Nobuko´s hands tightened around Utahime's, a pressure that spoke louder than words. 

"Over the years, the descendants of the Gojo clan didn't focus so much on the wives, but on controlling the mistresses. They've always closely followed the bloodlines, with detailed records. We have all your information since you were eighteen, but since you started dating him, following his trail became much easier. You're the only one."

"How dangerous is it?" 

"I don't want to scare you... I don't have the heart to tell you. You didn't pass the test, that should have been enough for you to give an advantage to those who were chosen."

"... mrs Gojo, it wasn't my intention for this to happen, but you have to tell me what could happen."

“That baby will kill you, and the baby will drown in your blood.”

What Nobuko said to her was enough to give her goose bumps. Now that he looks into her eyes, he can see Mrs. Gojo's concern, she is not worried about her, but about what Satoru could lose if they continue with that. That is the reason why that lady tries to warn him, because she loves her son.

"I understand perfectly and it's not something you need to worry about. I can take care of it for you. I know a woman who handles these problems without pain, without risk. But I won’t call her if you're not sure about it. That’s why I came, to ask you."

"I still haven't spoken to Satoru."

"On one hand, they insisted he handle it, but since you didn't tell him as soon as you found out about it, I assumed you were scared... My son would never dare to ask you for something like this.”

“D-does he know?" Utahime asked, her voice filled with uncertainty, as if she couldn't believe it.

“No, I'm sure he would have come to me… but this doesn't have to be something sad."

Again, she felt a great pressure. The fact that a member (whom she assumes is important) of the Gojo clan shows up like this at her house must be for something urgent.

Were they really so kind that they cared about an unborn child and a mere 'mistress'?

If she thought about it carefully, they had a sorceress in their clan capable of determining who wouldn’t suffer such consequences. That was to save the trouble of marriage, in case the fiancée was only going to die during childbirth. (It was purely an administrative matter).

But the fact that Nobuko was there, warning her, could only be explained by maternal love. She wanted to spare Satoru the pain of finding her in that situation when he returned from abroad: a mistress, not pregnant, healthy, with the entire situation resolved.

Still, Utahime couldn’t stop thinking that they had given her a puzzle where no piece fit, as if Satoru and Nobuko were only telling part of the truth. Or maybe it was she who couldn’t accept that she couldn’t have her baby, and in her desperation to find a solution, she was looking for mistakes where there were none. It was as if she were scrutinizing every detail with a magnifying glass, convinced there was something hidden, but finding nothing. The woman smiled at her, her words sweet, but Utahime understood their meaning. She had come this far because she was worried about her son, Nobuko didn't come here to insult her, but to show her support.

"It will happen in the blink of an eye, as if it had been a dream. What do you think? Shall we do this together? I will always be by your side and I will not let go of your hand."

"... you mean, right now?”

"You can be rewarded with whatever you want, just don't make that child or his father suffer... It pains me to my core, so I can't imagine how you must feel, but for Satoru... don't force him to push through this."

It was clear that she wouldn’t put herself in danger, she wouldn’t go through with a pregnancy that would end in such a tragic way, but still, Utahime couldn’t bring herself to make a decision at that moment, not one of that magnitude. At that precise moment her hands wanted to go to her stomach as a reflex, but her hands were covered by Nobuko's hands, who was smiling at her. Utahime decided to wait for Gojo to return and have a serious talk with him.

"Think of me as a genie from the lamp, make any wish without restriction and it will be yours, think of it as something that will make you better tomorrow and the good thing is that you and my son will be able to have babies once Tsubaki has conceived a strong boy.”

A boy.

It offended her a little that Nobuko Gojo offered anything in exchange for something as serious as an abortion.

" I'll talk to Satoru, because I would like to do it with him in that case."

Mrs. Gojo smiles and stands up, Utahime does the same. "Then I have nothing to do here, and once again, Will you be alright? "

"Yes... and thank you so much for coming to see me, it really means a lot."

《Despite everything.》 she thought to herself.

“It was nice to meet you, sweet lady."

"Could you clear something up for me?" Utahime asked with curiosity.

"Of course," Nobuko replied, her tone calm and reassuring.

She paused, studying him closely, then asked, "How did you get in here? Did Satoru give you the code to my apartment?"

"Oh darling, couldn’t you have waited at least a month until that silly girl conceives?"

Utahime struggled to make sense of the unexpected words that Mrs. Gojo had said to her. Her confusion deepened when, without warning, the older woman placed her hands on her shoulders. In that instant, everything around her began to dissolve, as if reality itself were crumbling into dust. An overwhelming dizziness hit her, intense and all-consuming, yet it lasted only a few seconds, though it felt like an eternity. When the sensation finally faded, Utahime tried to process what she was seeing, but panic gripped her as she realized she was no longer in her apartment.

The place she found herself in was dark, an eerie void, and all familiarity had vanished. She quickly scanned her surroundings, seeking some explanation, but Nobuko was nowhere to be found. Instead, there were several people dressed in yukatas, masks, and white aprons, their presence silent and oppressive, amplifying the strange atmosphere, like a nightmare from which she couldn't wake.

"Wh-what?"

It's not her fault, her legs don't move, but not out of fear, but because there is something she can't see that keeps her still, when Utahime looks down she sees darkness, she can only see the badly lit corridor.

It doesn't matter, it was what she had thought, she will hurt everyone. 

Broken bones and complaints, voices she doesn't recognise. And without warning, a needle sticking in her skin.

Utahime felt herself being grabbed, completely immobilized, unable to defend herself. Her heart raced in fear, almost stopping from the sheer terror. Several hands tightened their grip on her skin.

"No, no, no, no! Wait, wait! What the hell are you doing? 

She couldn't make out their faces, but she managed to push two of them into the darkness. She heard them groan in pain, but still, no words. It looked like she was facing faceless, formless shadows, but no, they are sorcerers. 

"Don't touch me! Don't fucking touch me!” Utahime screams as if her throat is going to break. "Don't touch him, don't touch him, don't take him out yet, wait!"

They dragged her down a hallway while she screamed for them to let her go, eventually bringing her to what seemed to be a medical room. Surgical tools lined the side, and doctors waited, impassive to the situation.

"Please, please, please, wait, w… please don't hurt him... p-please..."

She had lost her voice now. The silence was a weight that crushed her as they put the oxygen mask over her face, the cold air thick with the promise of a strong anesthetic. Her body shuddered, but her eyes slowly fluttered closed, and darkness pulled her under, hurling her into unconsciousness.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

Night had long since fallen, and his body was starting to feel the weight of exhaustion, but his mind was wide awake, grasping onto the image of Nobara falling and the desperate cries of his friends trying to get her to respond in vain. The scene replayed itself in his head, over and over, like some sort of haunting echo that wouldn't fade.

He took out his phone, expecting Gojo to post pictures of the wedding or make a big spectacle about it, but there was nothing. Not even complaints or a fuss.

Megumi lay down on the bed, but no amount of rest seemed capable of pushing away the shadows that lingered in his thoughts. Every time he closed his eyes, Nobara's face appeared before him, the anguish of his friends' voices still rang in his ears. The adrenaline of the moment, the pressure, the fear it all came back in the most brutal of forces.  Also, he felt a pang of guilt for hitting Itadori, for delaying the care his partner needed. Yes, that was it, he kept thinking about her because of the guilt.

He really worried about the hospital pillow, fearing it might be too stiff, or at least of a lower quality than the ones used in the dorms. That thought alone was enough to keep his mind spinning. Even with his eyes closed, he knew he was wide awake, as if his system had been flooded with all the caffeine in Colombia. His mind was on high alert, restless. So, without thinking too much about it, he put on his shoes and went out for a walk, the pillow still in his hands. 

The walk was longer than he had thought, as if he might eventually tire himself out and be able to rest. But without realizing it, his feet led him to the emergency area, and he stopped in front of Nobara's room. He hesitated. The idea seemed ridiculous, even unreal, yet something small inside urged him to go on. At last, with a frown, he went inside.

The hum of the machines filled the room, marking the rhythm of the space. His footsteps seemed almost too loud, as if the space between him and her had shrunk to its barest minimum. Nobara lay there, slightly pale, her face relaxed in sleep. She wasn't wearing the eye patch, revealing the scar that circled her eyelid. The sight reminded him of one of her jokes, when she had said that she might look like the Phantom of the Opera but much prettier. Now, Megumi couldn't help but agree, though an image that once sounded as a joke now seemed somewhat unsettling, almost painful to look at.

That's when he found how incredibly transformed Nobara looked while sleeping. He was undeniably drawn to silence, yet Nobara wouldn't be Nobara if she didn't fill the air with her shouts. One could say it's the only sound his soul truly welcomes.

He exhaled a barely audible sigh, slowly leaning over Nobara's bed, careful not to make a sound. Cold, trembling fingers, filled with anxiety, touched her, hesitant to hurt any sensitive wounds. However, this action made his hands shake even more, which irritated him, not understanding why his body reacted this way. He sighed with his heart pounding wildly, and as he lifted his head, she moved slightly, and they both found their noses nearly touching.

Toki toki toki.

Fushiguro swallowed hard, feeling the warmth of her skin. He tilted his neck back and carefully removed the pillow with his other hand. Then, with great care, he placed his own pillow, adjusting it at the exact same angle, and placed it under her head.

He moved away as quickly and quietly as he could.

Was it the fear that she might wake up? Was it the fear of hurting her with his hands? He had no idea why he reacted this way, but his stomach remained clenched, as if a thousand insects were crawling inside.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

It was Sunday, he wasn't supposed to be bothered by messages from his professor.

Gojo

Since you've become a criminal, I'll assign you a mission as punishment now. 

Hehehehe

Clearly, this crazy person was joking, but it still irritated him that his authority figure was someone more immature than a child. But at least for the mission he was assigned, he received an address and the floor of an apartment. All he had to do was ring the bell and see if anyone was there. His displeasure grew immensely when he realized it was in Kyoto.

During his trip, he received an unusual message from Dr. Ieiri. She asked him if he was heading to the house of the Kyoto professor, something he wasn't aware of. She sent him the address and inquired about it. With a thumbs up, Ieiri told him it was possible that this was a serious case of disappearance, that phase when sorcerers don’t return from their missions. Although Utahime had no pending assignments, the lack of response to calls or messages wasn’t a good sign. That’s why Shoko asked him to enter the apartment if he didn’t get a response, suggesting that it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Megumi massaged his temple, not wanting to inconvenience anyone. he certainly didn’t have the kind of trust with Iori to just walk into his apartment. However, he understood the importance of ruling out a disappearance before alerting any sorcerers to search for the body, or what remained of it.

Standing in front of the door, more than twenty minutes had passed since he had rung the bell. He rang it again, then once more, and waited another five minutes. He sighed deeply before entering the code and stepping inside. Upon entering, he was met with an unusual mess: objects scattered on the floor, things that definitely shouldn't be there. They were grocery items, some of which should have been in the refrigerator, but by now, they must have gone bad. He called out loudly, announcing his arrival in case the professor was changing or in the shower, but he had a feeling that no one was home.

Upon entering the living room, he spotted a small piece of paper on the table in front of the sofa. He picked it up and, upon looking at it, realized it was nothing important, It was the number of a pizza delivery. But something was definitely off. He had sensed it ever since he saw the things scattered on the floor. Although the door was intact and the apartment was in good condition, it made him wonder. If someone had tried to harm her, it was possible the professor had let them in. He decided to check the other rooms before calling Gojo.

He paused in the hallway, where the bathrooms and rooms were supposed to be, noticing an unusual trail of one-liter water bottles. He counted at least thirteen. He continued walking until he reached the bathroom, which was left open. There, he found more bottles, but also several strange objects. It took him a moment to realize they were pregnancy tests. He counted at least a dozen, all different, all with a single line.

《What does a single line mean? Is Professor Iori pregnant?》he wondered

"What are you doing here?"

Fushiguro was so absorbed in his thoughts that he startled himself. When he turned to apologize, something stopped him from speaking. In the distance, the door to Professor Iori’s room came into view, and what little he could see was a complete mess. Just like her, her eyes were red, her hair disheveled, and her pajamas were dirty and smelled unpleasant.

“…Gojo… sent me. Professor Iori, what happened here?” he asked, his voice filled with concern, unable to hide the worry the scene in front of him caused.

She looked at him, with no more tears to spill, as if nothing was inside her anymore. Her heart was an empty, hollow echo that no longer reverberated. Megumi's eyes pierced through her, those green eyes that, though filled with concern, offered a comfort she couldn't even understand. It was a bitter comfort, like a refuge in the midst of a storm.

Utahime saw him there, a child searching for something, searching for someone. She felt fragile, broken, but also touched by something so simple, so human. The weight of sadness crushed her, and without thinking, she embraced him. A tight, desperate hug, as if it were the only thing left, the only thing she could still feel. She didn't know why, but her soul cried, and her body responded with a hug she couldn't stop.

Chapter Text

─── ⋆⋅𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓑𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓼⋅⋆ ─── 

The white ceiling of the operating room stretches above her, a harsh light shining down that bothers her even with her eyes closed. The cardiac monitor, which the nurse anxiously waits to see slow down, now beats at a calm rhythm: Beep, beep. Several voices, several guards, several eyes on her. The pulse oximeter records every fluctuation, its high-pitched tone confirming a 98% oxygen saturation.

She can’t move, but she hears things in distorted fragments.

“... vaginal disinfection.”

The metallic sound of surgical instruments being arranged on the table echoes precisely — the repeated click of the needle holders, the soft scrape of the scalpel being picked up.

Beep, beep, beep...

“Simultaneous ultrasound control, uterus shows 7 cm in length.”

“Is that the baby’s heartbeat?” asks an innocent voice.

“The patient’s,” replies a substitute doctor.

A nurse spreads gel across Utahime’s stomach, then—

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep

“That’s the fetal heartbeat,” someone at the back points out. A figure steps closer, eager to listen to those heartbeats one last time, to make sure of it. "He’s strong like his father."

Some laughter can be heard in the background.

The pacemaker quickens along with a surge of energy; the lead surgeon orders an increase in anesthesia, while three silent shadows remain alert to any threatening movement that might interfere with the clan’s affairs.

Utahime is no longer conscious.

“Inserting suction cannula. Suction on.”

The metallic clatter of instruments echoes amid new commands. A machine hums with a steady drone, and the nurse glances at the Hartmann clamp just before the surgeon asks for it. Two monitors had been marking the heartbeats of two people, and from one moment to the next, only one kept sounding.

The nurse smiles as she holds it in her palm, a raspberry, completely crushed.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

"Hime, Hime, are you listening? I just told you the most incredible thing you'll hear all day."

She was only half-listening, but she nodded, pretending to be concentrated on a series she was watching. "Go on."

"It's not that hard to convert to Islam."

It was incredibly hard for her to say more than two words, but if she didn’t, Gojo might become even more intense.

"Look into all the religions you want, but I told you, I'm not marrying someone who's already married."

"You know what? You're right. Who wants to get married? Statistically, marriages don't last. Besides, if we got divorced you might try to take everything from me. Oh... that would be sexy." He joked, but he could still tell she wasn't taking her eyes off the TV, she was watching a doctor show. "Hime."

But she did not answer. A feigned drowsiness clouded her features, and in the silence that hung over them both, Utahime could hear only one sound. A sound that pierced the fragile calm, a metallic, implacable pulse that devoured thought and banished peace.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

《Shut up, shut up, leave me alone.》

"Hime, Hime, Hime!"

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

Itadori

Todo!! I rlly need ur help rn, it’s urgent.. :((((

But there was no reply, and he was starting to get impatient.

Itadori

It’s about LOVE

Just as he was about to hang up, his phone lit up, his best friend was calling him. The moment he answered, he heard a faint crash and what sounded like sand spilling somewhere.

“MY BROTHER! So you’ve finally unlocked this chapter of your life?!”

Itadori frowned, pulling the phone slightly away from his ear. “What the hell are you talking about?”

A loud thud followed by the crunch of bones came through the speaker.

 “The meeting of destined souls! Is today the day Romeo meets Juliet? Or Clyde meets Bonnie?”

“It’s not that. I don’t even know if it’s love, that’s why I called. I can’t stop thinking about her… and not in a cute way.”

“You jerked off to her picture.”

If a human being could blush in volcanic shades, Itadori would’ve been the first. He covered his burning cheeks with his hand, too mortified to say anything, his brain had completely short-circuited. Only when Todo burst out laughing did he manage to speak again.

“Just tell me, how do you even know if you’re in love with someone?”

“That’s easy, my brother!”

Somewhere behind him, something massive collapsed with a rumble.

“Uh… what was that noise?”

“Focus! When you see her, does your heart pound like when a special-grade curse is chasing you and you’re crawling on the ground like a worm? Does your stomach twist like you just ate cockroaches?”

Yuuji remembered hearing from a friend back in high school that girls get moody when they’re on their period. So when Nobara spent the whole day on the defensive, he in the purest display of innocence, asked if she was on her days.

“Yesss, exactly!!”

“Jennifer Lawrence or that girl?”

“That girl,” he answered instantly. Of course he’d pick Kugisaki over some random celebrity, she was his friend, someone real.

Todo whistled, impressed. “She must be hot as hell! Destiny has spoken, ladies and gentlemen…. My best friend’s totally in love.”

Itadori sighed. “I still don’t get why love has to feel like food poisoning…”

Suddenly, a deafening roar blasted through the line. Itadori heard glass shattering, rapid footsteps, and that’s when it hit him.

 “Wait— are you on a mission?!”

Through ragged breathing but still grinning, Todo yelled, “No battle is more important than the battle of lov—”

The call ended and Itadori stared at the screen, wondering if any of that conversation made sense.

He didn’t have many real references for love. He hadn’t learned it from his parents , he only knew the love of friendship, what he felt for Fushiguro and Todo, or the familial love he’d shared with his grandfather and Nanami. Romantic love… that only existed in movies for him. He soon remembered his teacher, who was said to be having a romance with the teacher from the sister school in Kyoto. Many claimed it was obvious, almost impossible not to notice, but Itadori had never been good at those things. He needed everything to be clear and straightforward, because ambiguity only confused him, that was why he had thought they didn’t get along. Now that he knew, everything seemed to make sense. Itadori noticed how his teacher had an exclusive alarm just to take naps with her (a fact he knew against his will), how he spoke with her on the phone in brief but constant three-minute intervals, how he bought ridiculous things just to provoke a reaction from her, and how his tone of voice changed whenever he mentioned her.

One day, he’d been walking through campus with Gojo. His teacher was dressed sharply and even wearing glasses, a rare sight. As they talked, two voices echoed down the hallway. It was Utahime, speaking with someone else.

Then Gojo reacted in a way Itadori had never seen before. His body tensed, like a dog perking up at the sound of its owner’s footsteps. Those bright blue eyes lit up with a completely different kind of spark, not the thrill of meeting a worthy rival, nor the fondness he showed kids. It was something softer, warmer… almost magical.

“My girlfriend’s here and she didn’t even tell me,” Gojo said, already halfway out the door to chase after her.

Itadori watched him, puzzled. “So that’s how he always looks at her under the blindfold…” he thought, as if he’d just placed the final missing piece on a puzzle, and suddenly the whole picture made sense.

Now he could only feel sorry for Gojo, the man who had to end things with the woman who made his eyes shine like that, just to marry someone else for the sake of his clan.

But again, he would never have noticed those details if he hadn’t already known that they were a couple, that they were in love.

Yujii couldn’t help but wonder what Nanami would’ve told him if he were still alive.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

That day was colder than usual, even under the relentless rain. The drops struck everything in their path with a fierce rhythm, revealing a leaden sky that seemed intent on crushing the world from above. Megumi watched as each droplet slammed against the café window, shattering into countless sparks, until a thin line of water began to trickle down.

The wind barely blew, it could barely stir the branches of the trees. He thought about texting Utahime, even scribbling several short notes like Good morning afternoon, Are you okay??” But again, he didn’t have the trust to actually send them. 

He shook his head, as if that simple gesture could push aside what wasn’t his concern. Yet, again, the sad expression on his teacher’s face and her embrace felt personal, an intimacy he hadn’t realized he needed until he had it. When was the last time someone had held him like that? He couldn’t even remember having a mother. What would it feel like to have one? Would he be less broken if he had?

He refused to cry over it, over a life that never existed. But he did want to know more about what had happened to Utahime. He hated being left with doubts or unfinished stories. It wasn’t really his place to interfere unless asked, but why were there more than twenty negative pregnancy tests scattered across the floor? Nothing made sense. Had she gotten a new boyfriend, and this was just a false scare? And why would Gojo have asked him to check on her?

On one hand, it made sense, after all, they were still colleagues, and maybe everything between them was fine. It wouldn’t be surprising if her teacher had sent him to check on his ex. But again, nothing Megumi thought seemed to fit. No matter how curious he felt, it wasn’t his place to interfere in Utahime’s life, he sent a message to his teacher saying that she was fine, just as she had asked him to.

Itadori arrived, shaking like a puppy caught in the rain. Megumi groaned as droplets splashed not just him, but his drink too.

“Hey!” he growled, lifting his cup.

“Sorry, sorry!” Itadori rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward smile “I just couldn’t find the place. Your description was something like “at the usual coffee shop.” Do you know how many coffee shops there are on this street? I went to them all.“

Megumi sighed. “This is the only one I like…“

Itadori thought that, for someone he had hit not long ago, things had naturally been forgotten. But there was something in Megumi, a faint, stubborn hostility, that refused to fade, even though he knew it had all been an unfortunate accident.

Itadori collapsed into the chair as if carrying the weight of the world. His face held the expression of someone who had just watched their life flash before their eyes.

“Fushiguro… “he murmured, voice trembling “ Something terrible has happened.“

“Did Gojo take your slippers again, or did they cancel the worm saga?“

“Worse!“ Itadori slammed the table, making the cup jump.He paused, eyes widening, his expression collapsing as if he had just seen a ghost.“I… think… maybe… possibly… I like someone really close to us.“

Megumi blinked. “…And why do you say it like you’re announcing a funeral?“

“Because this IS a funeral!“ Itadori groaned, burying his face in his hands, then muttered to himself “Or at least, mine…“

Megumi stared at him, expression flat and unreadable. He took a sip of his coffee, his mind drawing automatic connections. Ozawa, the girl Itadori had talked about, the only girl Megumi knew he had feelings for, he set the cup down, but it was hard to swallow the coffee lingering in his mouth, as if the rhythm of the world had warped.

“Close to us.“

The words hit like a silenced gunshot. The smell of coffee felt aggressive, its taste bitter and cold. His fingers clenched unconsciously around the cup, knuckles paling under the pressure.

“…Nobara.“

It wasn’t a question, it was a blunt certainty.

Itadori stared, surprised. “How did you know?“

“Do you like her?“

“No!“ he replied immediately, but seeing Megumi’s confused expression, he simply sighed, resigned“ I… I’m not sure.“

“Not sure?“

“How could I know? I want to be sure. Kugisaki is our friend, I don’t want to ruin anything, at least not without knowing for certain.“

Megumi was stunned and answered almost mechanically, nearly letting slip, 《Why not just leave things as they are?》

He thought for a moment, then said the first thing that came to mind. “You should make a list of the things you like about her. Maybe that’ll help you figure it out.“

Yuuji snapped his fingers, dug through his backpack for the supplies, and handed Megumi a sheet of paper and a pencil.

“Good idea!“

Itadori wrote the number one with great determination. Nobara wasn’t the type of girl you’d stop to stare at, and that was why she was a jujutsu sorcerer instead of a model, as he might have wished. But she had her charm: "Determined." When he wrote number two he paused, racking his brain. He had spent five whole minutes thinking, he knew her qualities, but they all seemed like things anyone could have. If he wrote "Good friend," would that be filler? He liked her hair color, did that count?

《Where do I start? Number two should be A tough woman with a good heart. She’s fun in battles, I like going on missions with her even though she insults me a lot… Chicken brain? Who says that? Hahaha, she’s funny, yes, I definitely have to add that too…》 he thought as he wrote.

《Also, if you touch her shopping or her clothes without permission, she becomes an enemy you don’t want to face…》

Itadori bit the pencil while the paper still mockingly dominated the blank space.

To Itadori, Nobara wasn’t just a companion; she was an irreplaceable pillar, a force as vital as the air filling his lungs after a battle. After Shibuya, where the world had crumbled in blood and screams, the mere fact that she was still breathing—albeit wrapped in bandages and painful silences—felt like an irrational miracle, one he didn’t deserve but clung to desperately.

The very thought of losing her plunged him into a cold void, as if someone had ripped a part of his essence away. "I couldn’t bear it again," he sometimes thought during sleepless nights. "Not even in my worst hell."

And yet, now, facing that damned blank paper, the words betrayed him. How could he reduce her—a storm of pride, sharp laughter, and fierce loyalty—into simple phrases? How could he describe how her presence filled the empty spaces, how her stubbornness always pushed him forward, even when he wanted to give up?

The pencil creaked between his fingers, powerless. Perhaps that was the problem: Nobara couldn’t be described. She was the echo of a scream in the dark, the flash of a cursed nail through the night, the warmth of a hand shaking him awake from his nightmares.

Finally, he wrote Indispensable for number three.

Now the paper was blank again, nothing. His pencil refused to move. He wouldn’t write nice nipples, he had just cleared up that misunderstanding with Fushiguro and didn’t want him to think he was a pervert. He stole a quick glance at Megumi to copy some answers or at least confirm that Megumi was as lost as he was.

When he looked, his eyes widened. Fushiguro was writing as if composing a detailed essay on his own cursed technique. He hadn’t just filled the first page, he had turned it to continue a list that seemed endless.

“No way! How many do you have?!" Itadori exclaimed, jumping from his seat and pointing at the paper.

Megumi looked up. "I was about to write number thirty-five."

"HUH?!" Itadori snatched the sheet with the speed of a hare.

Indeed, Fushiguro’s neat handwriting occupied every available inch.

"Wow…" Itadori muttered, impressed at the first three entries. They weren’t just lofty words; there were small details he hadn’t even noticed. "You’re good at this. Can I… copy some?"

Megumi shrugged. "Keep the sheet if it helps."

Itadori beamed like the sun, triumphantly waving the paper. "You’re a lifesaver, Fushiguro!" He sat back down, stuffing the sheet into his backpack along with his pencils.

Itadori didn’t notice, but Fushiguro was watching silently while calling the waitress to order something. Megumi felt an inexplicable pressure in his chest, a hollow tightness, but he couldn’t understand why it bothered him so much that his best friend was in love with Nobara.

· · ─ ·𓃹· ─ · ·

Implementing a school psychologist had been Gojo and Utahime’s idea. In the United States, it was a common practice, but in Japan, it was almost unthinkable. Both agreed that their students urgently needed one: surviving in an environment where death could snatch a friend away at any moment, or where the mind could break until it became unrecognizable, was reason enough. No one wanted another case like Suguru Geto’s.

Utahime never imagined that Takumi would actually end up listening to her. At another time, perhaps she would have thought long and hard before daring to speak of something so intimate without Gojo’s consent, or without first dissecting it within her own conscience. But now she felt that if she didn’t share, even the smallest fragment of that unbearable weight with someone, she would lose her mind, it was as if something inside her needed to be released, or at least soothed. Utahime didn’t dare speak about the assault she had suffered, that was too intimate a pain, an abyss she preferred to keep sealed—but she allowed the conversation to flow toward safer topics: she confessed that she was still with Gojo, explained the situation with the marriage, and what she felt about it. Yet, the more she spoke, the stranger it felt: those conflicts, which had once seemed enormous, now felt distant, almost alien. As if the weight had shifted somewhere else, to a darker place.

Because what she really wanted to say wasn’t that. She wanted to speak of what had been taken from her. Of how Gojo’s mother had taken her to that cold, nameless place, where her child was taken before she could even hear him breathe. But she wasn’t ready. She didn’t want to see the looks of horror or pity that would follow that truth.

So she decided to keep it. That matter was hers and Gojo’s, perhaps also Takumi’s, so he could help her sleep without the nightmares dragging her under. Maybe, later, Shoko could also know. But her students… they were to remain outside of it.

At least, for now.

The Gojo clan had always remained aloof from the world of Jujutsu; few knew what the clan was truly like. They acted with the arrogance of those who believe they have the right to decide the fate of others simply because they have the strongest on their side. And of course, there would be consequences. Utahime didn’t believe Satoru would let this pass, and she wasn’t sure how safe it was for her to stay silent. But vengeance and hatred had not yet arrived in her being, only silence remained, a coldness that had stolen her smile. Right now, she could be in danger at the hands of the Gojo clan to silence her, but at that moment, she couldn’t care less. If Gojo suspected something was happening, what would really happen? Chaos? Destruction? Or would he explain that what the clan did was protect her, because that baby could have been a disaster of nature? She couldn’t go too long without telling Satoru what her clan had done, yet finding herself amid all that chaos was unbearable. She would tell him, she wouldn’t let too much time pass, but she simply couldn’t. It wasn’t that she was a fool.

“Your love for Gojo shouldn’t force you to do something you don’t want to do or that could hurt you.”

“I hate him, but I also love him. I don’t feel that this is entirely his fault, but… it still hurts, and it’s painful.”

"What’s important to note is that, even if it’s not entirely his ‘fault,’ his actions are causing real harm to you, and that pain is valid."

"I'm back from my trip and you won't even look at me or pay me any attention"

Utahime felt her strength falter; even smiling had become an impossible effort. Gojo’s voice was near, too near, and yet the emptiness inside her seemed to swallow every word.

She didn’t respond, Utahime didn’t feel the need to explain or justify herself, simply because she was afraid she would start crying if she said any more and besides, she knows that he knows it's not true.

“What’s wrong with you?” The question came from him with the firmness of someone confronting a wall, but behind it flickered a fire crackling beneath the surface."Since when have you two been so close?”

Shit...again. That sound.

”I … I want to be alone, Satoru. So please…” her voice broke, and for an instant she felt her heart might break with it.

Gojo stepped forward, his gaze tense, his brow furrowed “How much more space do you need, then?”

Each of them seemed to crave something the other could not give, and the impossibility of it gnawed at him from the inside. He had not spoken a word of how coldly she had treated him upon his return, how she ignored him, distanced herself, and refrained from responding to his provocations or jokes. A terror unlike any he had known gripped him, for when all this had happened, she had asked for time, and the very thought of it made his heart pound as if it feared the void between them. For him, it felt as if he were trapped on a carousel with her. He could endure the turns, the dizzying motion, but when she was absent, when she pushed him away, when she failed to see or appreciate the effort and love he carried for her—then he could not bear it. Neither her coldness nor her distance could he endure. They had been together for years, as companions, as friends, as lovers, he had given everything for her. Yet in this most fragile of moments, he felt neither valued nor loved.

“I just haven’t been feeling well… I want to talk to you, but not now,” the confession was a shattered sigh, barely audible.

“Why can’t you just tell me the truth?” his tone turned urgent, almost aggressive. “I’m doing everything I can and you keep pulling away. Say something!”

Utahime lowered her eyes as if she could hide within herself, far from the gaze that pierced through her “You want me to say something?” But the world turned to silence.

“I´m waiting…”

The weight of the unsaid crushed her; guilt and pain tangled in her throat. How could she begin to confess that she had rejected what she carried inside out of fear, out of desperation, out of the cruelty of those around her? How could she tell him her family had pushed her into the darkness, into losing something she could never get back?

Beep… beep

“I just… Can we…” She changed the subject, trying to protect herself “When will the insemination happen?”

Gojo stiffened, his body rigid at the mention “…Today.”

Utahime swallowed hard, her voice unsteady. “In nine months you’re going to be a father… and I told you I agreed with that. I set my conditions and you accepted. But a baby?…I can’t handle that.”

“Hime, it’s just an artificially made baby,” he replied, trying to hold himself together. “You don’t even have to see it. It won’t even be the sibling of our future children. Think of it as if I were a single father. If you analyze it, the situation isn’t that bad.”

She looked at him, raising an eyebrow, almost angrily. “Aren’t you going to take responsibility for your child?”

“Of course I will, but it will be different from the ones we’ll have.”

She shook her head, fighting the knot of despair “I’m not going to have children.”

“Great! Let’s not have them!” Gojo shouted, frustration blending with helplessness, rage at feeling all his efforts slip through his hands.

“Gojo…”

“No, Utahime. Don’t give me that look.” His voice was firm, cutting. “You told me you understood, and now suddenly you don’t. You’re making excuses. What do you want?”

She trembled, caught between the urge to melt into his arms and the need to push him away. Gojo wouldn’t move a single inch, and she couldn’t face him. In her silence, his tension grew, and anger mixed with desperation.

“I want space. I need space.”

The words hit him like a hammer. She wanted space again, and his world seemed to tilt, teetering on the edge of a void he couldn’t stop staring into. Bitter frustration pierced him with cruel force, a reminder of all the times she had pulled away just when he needed her closeness most. He wanted her to understand him, but it all felt futile.

“Space from me, but you don’t fix things like this. How much time do you need this time? I’m not dragging you out of another damn bar, Utahime, don’t do this to me.”

“You won’t get me out of another bar, and I couldn’t bear for you to have another family.… I’m ending this. I can’t keep us together anymore.”

─── ⋆⋅𝓔𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓑𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓼⋅⋆ ───