ITSY BITSY SPIDER. ― ( Jujutsu Kaisen )

PROLOGUE. fall from grace

"Yes," his face flushed while he rambled, "if you look at it that way, but I didn't– it wasn't like I was–"

"Relax," Arisu said as she opened the bottle. "I'm just messing with you."

She took a sip from the purple liquid while they headed to the exit. The glass had gotten warm in his hand, but the juice inside was still cool. The aroma it left on her tongue was of the sweetest summer they were soon going to leave behind. It was the best summer of her life; the first one she had spent with friends of her own whose parents didn't raise her. Arisu wasn't ready for the summer flowers to wither. At least the polaroids on her wall were there to immortalize the beautiful memories they collected together.

"How are you feeling?"

"I slept through most of it," she shrugged it off. Brown eyes lingered on her side profile. Even if they were able to see through her lie, he didn't say anything. "I'm just sad I missed the Throw Stuff at Satoru Day. Not every day you get to throw a stapler at your clan's crown police without consequences. Ryo must've had a field day. He was grounded for a month last time he did that."

"Gojo-san was trying to get him to throw something, but he ignored him," Nanami replied. "I envy how good he is at it."

Arisu huffed. "Of course he did. What was I even expecting? He can't be seen doing anything fun. What if people think he finally got rid of that massive stick up in his ass?"

"I think there's something bothering him lately. His mind was somewhere else during the training this morning. Maybe one of you should check on him."

"Don't worry. I'm sure your dear mentor is fine."

She never bothered hiding her jealousy – not because the girl was dying for a closer relationship with her cousin. Nanami was Ryosuke's favorite, the only person the fourth-year sword prodigy of the Gojo Clan deemed worthy of sharing his techniques: Not Arisu, a relative (barely) and a member of his clan, but a stranger who barely had any interest in being a jujutsu sorcerer. She wanted to blame Satoru for it, but even before she was given the Calamity, Ryosuke never accepted her as one of their own.

"It's probably about Satoru. Ryosuke's father was on his back again for not being anywhere near his cousin's level when we visited home. His ego must be bruised, but he'll be fine. It's nothing new." Every once in a while, Gojo Shohei remembered that he had a son and that son wasn't the one to be born with the Six Eyes and the Limitless. "Besides, even if it's anything serious, I'm the last person he'd pour his heart out to."

Arisu wasn't a Gojo, not enough to be worthy of the sacred surname of the people that raised her. She only shared a great-great-grandfather and less than one percent DNA with the pearl-haired heir. She was a mere third cousin, her bloodline long removed from the family tree. Still, Satoru's grandfather was kind enough to take her in and make her another spoke in the wheel of misogynistic traditions and generational trauma.

To have both techniques show up in the family tree at the same time... You and Satoru's destinies must be woven together, Gojo Kousuke used to tell her as they sat by the koi pond in the backyard, but there were three techniques: Satoru's Limitless and Six Eyes, her Jorogumo, and Ryosuke's Dark Matter. For the longest time, Arisu couldn't understand. His technique was almost as strong as hers, and grew to be even stronger. Why wasn't the older cousin celebrated but treated like a bad omen?

Eventually, she had realized that the only one to be truly celebrated was Satoru. The boy was a priceless gift from the gods that needed to be protected until he was old enough to protect the rest of them, and she was born with the right technique for the job. Their love was part of a transaction; she had to earn it. But Arisu loved the Six-Eyed boy with her entire heart, more than she was allowed to love anyone, more than herself. She loved him so much that she didn't mind if she was disposable.