Ataraxia 平静 | Gojo Satoru

-'๑'-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕-'๑'-

The chill of early autumn wafted through the air, causing my unbound hair to dance in various directions as I observed Yuji. He was locked in a struggle with a bird curse, attempting to ground it, but his inexperience with such elusive targets was evident. Despite my seemingly relaxed stance, my muscles were poised, ready to engage at a moment's notice.

Megumi remained bedridden, despite his multiple protests. I had decided that morning to allow him proper recovery before returning to missions. Nobara, on the other hand, had to be coaxed out of her room by her companion, claiming she hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

Man, did I relate to that. Apart from going to bed so late, it took quite some time to silence my racing mind before I finally found some rest. The memory of Gojo's warm body next to mine as I slept, for god knows how long, still infested my brain, making it hard to focus on the task at hand.

I scoffed, kneeling at the edge of the sidewalk as Nobara sprinted past, a scowl etched on her face as she complained about her stained uniform. The pack of curses chasing after her didn't seem to care.

"I just washed this the other day, you stupid shits!" she barked too close to my ears, prompting me to cover my face with a groan. My head throbbed with a headache.

"Keep your attention on the target," I attempted to maintain a calm voice, but her response was far from it, as she drove her hammer into a curse's head.

"It's not like it would make a difference!" she whined, frustration evident as she sent flying nails into another.

"It will, when you'll be facing—"

My words were drowned out by another furious yell as she dashed away, cursing at the remaining couple of curses in pursuit. "Just die already!"

I sighed heavily, raising a finger in a straight line as a slender, black pike emerged, flying directly through one's throat and impaling the other to the wall before disappearing into mist. Nobara gave me a cheerful wave before running to assist Yuji.

"You couldn't do that before," a voice called close to my ear.

I let out a disgraceful yelp, stumbling slightly as I glared back. "For fuck's sake!"

Gojo grinned wildly, straightening himself as he scolded, "Language," leaving me gritting my teeth in frustration.

"Shut the fuck up," I muttered, crossing my arms. "Stop doing that," my voice came out too whiny for my liking.

"Do what?" he asked innocently, inclining his head to the side, his white mop of hair shifting with the movement, no longer restricted upwards. He replaced his blindfold with a pair of pitch-black round glasses that framed his face gracefully while still concealing his eyes. It had been years, I realized, since I last saw him without the blindfold. Not that I saw him much after we drifted apart.

"Sneaking up on people," I retorted, "I don't care how you do it, if it's your stupid Infinity or not, but stop, it's not funny."

He inclined his head further, a cocky smile tugging at his lips as he didn't say anything, studying me closer. I shook my head at him in question, arms still snaked around myself.

"What's gotten you in such a bad mood today?" he purred, and my fingers clutched the sides of my jacket.

'Tsk," I jerked my chin upwards, trying to avoid his stare. "You, actually."

He hummed in fake pondering, and I shifted my attention to my two students, now arguing while dodging the flying curse not too far away from us.

"You seemed to be in an angry state long before I joined you, though," he mused, the same cocky expression on his face.

I turned my head to him abruptly, my hair wrapping around my body slightly as I raised my eyebrows at him in an unimpressed manner. "You have been spying on me?"

"Simply observing," he puckered his lips with a side-eye.

"Seriously?" I deadpanned.

He shrugged his arms in the air, "I don't know why you're so affected by it; we are supposed to be here together, you know?" His voice remained steady despite his leer. "I just chose to keep my distance."

"This is you keeping your distance, then?" I nodded my head in his direction, as he stood barely one meter away.

He ran his tongue over his teeth with a grin but remained quiet. I sighed at his lack of response and settled on the duo again. Itadori clinging to the curse's clawed foot and screaming, as Nobara attempted to hit her mark. I rubbed a hand over my face with another sigh.

"I just didn't get much sleep last night. That's all." I half mumbled, as both of us watched the scene.

I noticed him shifting next to me, choosing to ignore his approaching frame as he looked down at me with a feline smirk. "Not on my watch, you didn't."

My body tensed at his words, the blood rushing through my veins and up my ears as I finally craned my head to meet his stare. And through the now-visible spaces of his glasses, I saw glimpses of his bright, blue eyes—like a pair of sparkling sapphires catching the sunlight, holding the very essence of an endless, cloudless sky. My breath hitched in my throat at the intensity of his gaze as I finally faced away.

So he did remember.

I started stomping away towards the now bickering duo, pursing my lips at the creeping blush on my face. I heard him chuckle behind me, a full, satisfied sound, and I clicked my tongue without looking back. "That was an incident, by the way. One that I deeply regret."

I could hear his light steps behind me. "Didn't ask," he chimed, "No need to explain yourself."

I let out an exasperated exhale, my knuckles turning white at my sides.

"You're such a jerk," I barked.

"I don't see why you're the one complaining when you were the one salivating on my clothes last night," he retorted, and I could hear his smugness as I turned to him with bared teeth.

His grin deepened at the challenge, hands still casually tucked away in his pockets.

"I'm done with you." I seethed, to which he lifted his palms in fake surrender, "I'm so done with you." I prowled closer.

"That's flashing news—"

"From now on," I cut his retort off abruptly as I slammed a finger against his chest, "We are taking turns." I finished, brushing away the surprise of actually touching his clothes.

"Huh?" he tilted his head in amused confusion.

"From now on, we are taking turns with the kids," I said plainly, crossing my arms over my chest.

He snorted in what I could only imagine was surprise, as he cooed, "And what do you propose?"

"We alternate days," my voice rang, "You can choose whichever you like, I don't care."

"What about the weekends?" he taunted.

"You can have them on the weekends," I flung my hand in the air.

He shook his head in disapproval, "That won't work. I need some free time for myself."

"Fine," I clicked my tongue, "I'll take Saturday, then."

"Uhh, Sensei. . ."

I was so immersed in the argument with Gojo that I only then noticed the two deflated students staring at us. My eyes widened slightly as I turned to meet Itadori's grime-covered face.

His hand rubbed at the back of his head with an awkward expression as he pointed behind him at the melting corpse. "We killed it, so we can move on whenever you're ready. I'm kinda hungry," he added, Nobara puckering her lips next to him.

I exhaled heavily and gave them a nod, patting their shoulders twice. "Nice work."

My lack of excitement was painfully obvious as they both watched me take my leave without another word to Gojo.

He shrugged his shoulders at his students, earning himself a disapproving look.