It was Saturday, a little past noon. (Y/N) woke up, blinking a few times to make sure she was still in her apartment. 'No one came to take me prisoner? What a relief.' Exhaling completely, she let herself relax for a moment before getting up.
She had difficulty falling asleep last night, afraid someone would come for her so she slept till later than usual. She had decided it would be best to go on with her routine as usual so she prepared herself for jogging.
As she was running, lost in her thoughts, down the stairs that lead to the jujutsu highschool, she tripped over a bough that lied on a step and felt her ankle sprain which causes her to fall. Luckily after some steps, she came to a halt. All bruised she tried to get up, some people already around her, trying to help.
"Are you okay, miss? Shall I call an ambulance?"
"No, no. There is no need for that. I think I can move, so nothing's broken."
She gave the people around her a smile assuring them that she wasn't that hurt. Someone helped her up and when she turned around to thank, she was looking up at Gojo's face.
He had left Shoko's apartment with the intention to search for his students. It was Saturday, but they would mostly hang out at school, especially Panda. But then he heard a commotion and saw how Yuna laid on the ground.
Surprised, (Y/N) finally found her voice. "Thank you, Gojo-san."
"Did you drop something or what were you doing down there?" He said in mockery.
The people that were around (Y/N), seeing that the man knew her, left them alone.
"I think I let my dignity fall... Ouch!" Pain struck through her ankle as she tried to put her right foot on the ground.
Satoru was smiling at her answer but as she complained, concern showed on his face. "Have you hurt your foot?"
"I think my ankle is sprained."
"Come, sit down and let me see."
The pain she felt was enough to forget her embarrassment. She followed his orders and sat on the stairs. He kneeled some steps further down, taking her foot over his leg, and carefully began to remove her sneaker and sock. Examining her already swollen ankle he came to a conclusion.
"It doesn't look like it's broken. Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"
"No, I really don't like hospitals..."
Nodding his head, Satoru took out his phone and searched for a number before making a call.
"Hi Ijichi-san, are you near Jujutsu high?" He asked into the phone before waiting for an answer. "I need you to bring the car by the stairs that lead up to the school. I'll be waiting there in a few minutes."
Putting the phone away again, he helped Yuna up and held her by her waist. "I'll help you home then."
"Don't say the car you just ordered is for me?"
"Sure, it's not like you can walk all the way home with your ankle like that, right."
Blushing because of his kindness she said in a small voice. "Thank you, Gojo-san."
Silently and slowly, they made their way down the rest of the stairs. After a moment a black car stopped in front of them, a man with black hair and sunken down cheeks came out of the driver's seat.
"What happened, Gojo-san?"
"Hi, Ijichi-San. Don't worry, there is no emergency, but I will need to borrow the car."
Opening the passenger door for (Y/N), Gojo helped her in while Ijichi continued asking questions. Inside the car, with the door closed, (Y/N) couldn't hear the words exchanged between the two men. Ijichi didn't seem pleased though, looking like he was about to cry, but Gojo just gave him a tap on the shoulder before going to the driver's seat.
"Don't say you are taking that poor man's car."
"Don't worry, this car isn't his, it belongs to the school."
"The school? Must be a really fancy one to have cars and drivers and all..."
Satoru just chuckled, not bothering to answer.
They quickly made it to (Y/N)'s apartment. She pointed to the parking space that belonged to the restaurant for him to park. As she opened the door, Satoru was already by her side to help her out of the car. Once again she thanked him.
Once in her apartment, she let herself fall onto the bed.
"Do you have any bandages and ointment for bruises?" He asked her while looking around.
"No... It's not like I expected to get hurt."
"Ok, then go take a shower and I go to the pharmacy."
She looked at him for a moment. "You would do that for me? Let me give you some money then."
"Come on Yuna, that is no big deal. You can give the money afterward. Now hop into the shower, I'll be right back."
She looked at him as he vanished behind her door while looking back at her with a silly grin and waving his hand for goodbye. Left alone, she was still smiling to herself because of him before making her way to the bathroom. Not even ten minutes later she came out again, with only a towel around her naked body. She wasn't used to taking her clothes with her when showering and she didn't expect Gojo to be back so soon, so when she saw him already laying on her bed, she stopped in her tracks. He peeked his head up to look at her.
"A-already back? I didn't expect you to be so quick."
Again with that sheepish smile on his lips, he let his head fall again against the mattress. "Yeah, there was no one in line, so it was fast. But don't be shy, I won't peek at you. Not much, that is..."
Well, there was no going back. She hopped as fast as she could to her clothes. Without even looking she picked out some shorts and a t-shirt, disappearing again in the bathroom. Now dressed she came out again.
"Can I look now?"
"Yes, you can. Now I'm decent..."
She sat on her bed while Gojo took the package with the things he bought in the pharmacy. Sitting next to her in the bed, he motioned for her to put her foot over his leg. He then took out the tube with the ointment and spread it over her ankle, careful not to hurt her. Afterward, he began to bandage her foot.
(Y/N) was observing him. What she could see from his face was different from what she had seen till now. He looked concerned for her. Focusing on what he was doing, handling her foot like it was something fragile and that could break at any time.
"You're weak, you will only get yourself killed."
Those words from him had pushed her to find a way to get stronger. When he said it to her, she had been crying for her parents, their bloody bodies still on the ground in front of her, her father over her mother as he was trying to shield her... She had always thought that he had been so cold for saying that to her right to her face while she was still in shock. But now, thinking back, maybe he said it not because he was the cold-hearted snob she thought he was, but because it was the truth. Looking at him now, he cared, at least it looked like he did. But also when he was with his student at the bar, when the kid fell asleep, Gojo's expression changed when looking at the teen.
Lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice that he had finished with the bandage and was looking back at her as she was staring at him. He brushed a strand of hair away while lightly touching her cheek. She had a bruise there that needed to be disinfected. His touch on her wound stung and she flinched.
"Sorry."
He looked her in the eyes while still touching her face lightly, wondering where she had been in her thoughts. 'Is it possible that I can make her trust me enough to confess why she is following me?'
"I think this needs to be disinfected." He said softly.
Biting her lower lip she nodded. She looked as he soaked a cotton disk with disinfectant before holding her chin and tapped over her wound. He needed to focus on what he was doing so her gaze on him wouldn't distract him. But then he noticed how the burning marks showed up underneath her make-up.
'Even her face has been marked? There is no way she would do this without a reason.' Believing that those marks were somehow forced on her, he clenched his chaw. That change in his face didn't pass unnoticed by (Y/N). She arched an eyebrow in questioning.
"What is it?"
"I haven't noticed before, that your marks extend till your face."
"Oh..." Trying to come up with an excuse, she said dismissively. "Sometimes, you think that something would be great but later you know it was just a dumb idea. When I did this tattoo I thought it looked cool all over my body, but later I regret extending it to my face."
"So you let your skin be burned because you thought it looked cool?" He said incredulously.
She let her head fall in shame. "As I said, stupid idea."
He decided not to push her any further. He needed to take it slow and get close to her so she would completely trust him.
"Now that you are all patched up, I think the best would be for you to rest. I will come later to check up on you again."
"Thank you for everything Gojo-san, but you really don't need to go out of your way because of me. You already did so much for me, someone you barely know."
He waved it off. "Oh, it's nothing. You are my favorite bartender after all."
She chuckled. "Yeah, sure. But I mean it, Gojo. You don't need to come just to check on me. Just a few days and I should be good."
"Okay, I think I can compromise if you give me your number. So I can check up on you without needing to come here again."
Letting a mischievous smile playing on her lips she replied to him. "Now I see, getting my number was your plan all along."
Feign being hurt, he said. "No, you saw right through me."
This time, he managed to extract a giggle from her.
"Okay, I think my savior deserves to get my number."
She extended her hand for him to give her phone and typed her number on it, making a call for her to get his number too.
Satoru was about to leave when (Y/N) made a signal for him to get close to her. She stood up, careful not to put weight on her injured foot, and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you for taking care of me."