Someone had my bestfriend Yume.
Being an Okkotsu- someone with a great deal of natural curse talent, she ended up cursing me before she died trying to save me ten years ago.
I thought I had already freed her spirit, but it seemed it wasn't the case anymore.
Who is Kenjaku...?
The thought of my bestfriend being held captive by some sorcerer made my stomach flip in anxiousness. I thought I could finally have my rest since Miura Chiyo was already getting out of prison, but it seemed I was really naive to think so.
"It's unlike me to be reminiscent," Nanami sighed wistfully. "But since Chiyo-san is coming out, I guess it can't be helped."
I smiled despite the throbbing on my head. "You seem quite attached to him."
"Not really," Nanami replied. "Chiyo-san spends most of his time with Ieiri-san and Kotone-san. I guess I'm closer to Inumaki senp-" He paused and corrected, "-san. Inumaki-san."
Pft. What a tsundere.
"I see," I droned. I didn't have any more to say so I just stood there, waiting for Yaga to arrive.
I hadn't seen Satoru around yet which was quite a surprise since he'd always come bouncing with that tiresome energy of his whenever he sees me. But then again, that idiot was always late.
"(F/n)!" Shoko excitedly waved, dragging another woman by her arm. Her companion was in traditional burgundy kimono, her dark brown hair held up with gold pins and dangling rubies.
"Let me introduce you to someone," Shoko giddily stated. It was rare seeing her this enthusiastic. "This is Kamo Kotone, my upperclassman."
The woman called Kotone scanned my appearance, a line drawing on her forehead. She bowed her head curtly before introducing herself. "I'm Kamo Kotone from the Kamo clan."
I gave her a small smile and bowed a little lower than hers. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Ichihara (F/n) from the Shimokitazawa section."
I expected I'd be meeting her soon ever since Miura Chiyo's release was announced, but meeting her again after all these years still managed to leave a sting on my chest.
Kamo Kotone was our upperclassman back in 2006 when I was still in Kyoto Jujutsu High. Now, she was a grade 1 sorcerer who specialized in blood manipulation techniques. I heard she was currently training his nephew Noritoshi to master the technique.
"Is this a reunion? Gah, I'm so excited to see Chiyo again," Mei chuckled. "Kotone-chan, loosen up. You and Utahime are growing old too seriously!"
"Excuse me? The only problem I have is Gojo Satoru," Utahime retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Utahime-chan~," Satoru entered the conversation on time with a sing-song voice. "Did you miss me?"
Utahime pulled Shoko and the other women away from Satoru. "Don't talk to me, you despicable man!"
Satoru's smirk softened to a smile when his eyes caught mine. His gaze lingered for a moment before his hand reached for my head and started messing my hair. "O-oi!"
My heart nearly lept when his lips turned upward mischievously. "Good morning, (F/n)-chan."
He really had forgotten.
"Good morning, Sa- Gojo-san," I greeted back, stumbling with how to address him.
"Aww," he cooed teasingly. "Look here, ya. This is how you should greet the great teacher Gojo Sato-"
Passing by, I tiptoed and grabbed him by the ear, dragging him as I walked. "Say that again?"
"A-ah! That hurts, that hurts!," he complained, trying to release himself from my grip. "Oii, I'm sorry! I won't do that again, (F/n)-chan."
"And what did I say about that ridiculous nickname?"
"Ichihara-san!," Satoru quickly corrected.
I inwardly cursed myself for letting my mannerisms slip up and quickly released Satoru when I felt his amusement grow as he watched me.
"What's wrong? Not gonna pull more?," he chuckled playfully. "I thought Ichihara-san loves being rough?"
"Idiot," was all that came out of my lips. I could feel my cheeks heating up, causing me to turn away from Satoru. However, I was met with more questioning stares.
"I didn't know you two get along well." Shoko raised a brow at me. It was a short sign telling me we would surely talk about it later.
"They're like an old married couple," Panda laughed heartily.
"Should we start calling you guys mom and dad?," Miura Megumi added oil to the fire while grinning ear to ear.
For some reason, my heart started pounding against my chest loudly. I blinked, hanging my head low before muttering, "who would marry this idiot...?"
"Everyone." Yaga's voice cut through our banters. Behind him stood a man around our age. I saw Satoru flinch from my peripheral, but I couldn't blame him.
The man who came with Yaga had a rather threatening amount of cursed energy coursing through his body.
That man was crazy strong.
He just stared ahead blankly. Standing a few centimeters taller than the women, his lean build and sickly pale skin stood out amongst us. Long, raven black hair framed over his eyes, preventing us from having a good look of their color.
But I didn't have to verify to know who it was.
Finally.
Yaga broke the silence with a forced, welcoming tone. "As promised by the higher-ups after the recent investigations, this is Miura Chiyo of the Miura clan. He is now readying for release after being proven innocent and blackmailed to own up the traitorous acts of Inumaki-san and Geto Suguru. He will be staying in Jujutsu High for the time being."
Toge got on his feet, looking at us in disbelief.
I just hung my head low with a pained yet contented smile.
Yes. That was my plan.
To release Miura Chiyo, I had to put all the blame on our name. He wrongfully paid for someone else's sins to save his juniors. He deserved nothing less than to enjoy his freedom.
And now that he was free, my job here was finally done.
"What the hell are you saying?," Kotone exclaimed, getting up from her seat. All heads turned to her. She just cut off Yaga's strained act, and everyone acknowledged that doing something like that would take a lot of courage. "She would never do anything like that. Yaga-san, you seriously believe those higher-ups?"
"Kamo-san, please calm down." Even Nanami had to join in. Shoko held Kotone by her arm and pulled her back.
"She and Chiyo would never do that. I get that she's not here with us anymore, but can't you just stop tarnishing her reputation?! She was executed with no valid evidence," Kotone continued, her tone beginning to sound shaky and unstable. However, she still put heavy emphasis on her words. "Let's stop pretending that nothing is wrong. We all know they're innocent!"
"Hey, calm down, Kotone," Utahime soothed, caressing the agitated woman's back.
"Kamo-san is right." Fushiguro spoke from the corner with a lowered head. It looked like he was debating whether to speak out or just let the adults do all the talking, but it was already a surprise that a guy as quiet as him joined the conversation.
"Mm," Toge quietly hummed. It seemed he had finally calmed down because of Kotone's outburst. Someone had already spoken what was on his mind.
"We all know that," Yaga sighed, giving up his efforts to appear elated about his former student's release. "But without any evidence proving she's completely innocent, we would have a hard time changing the higher-ups' opinion of her."
"Well, fuck the higher-ups," Miura Megumi muttered under her breath.
Miura Chiyo darted a swift glare towards his younger sister's direction, causing the girl to immediately shut up. It might be the first time I'd seen Miura Megumi flustered.
❦
If there was something that never changed about this bunch, it was the fact that they had never gotten over their love for catching up over alcohol. We were celebrating Chiyo's release, and while I was elated with the news, I had to keep myself from looking too happy about it.
After all, I was Ichihara now.
"Oi, oi, pass the sake here. We're gonna get Chiyo-chan drunk!," Kotone announced enthusiastically as if she did not just flip off people a while ago.
Chiyo just sat quietly, joining only when his name was called or when wishes were sent his way.
"Aight, never have I ever...," Shoko chuckled, starting the game. "Driven while drunk."
"That's a light start," Mei chuckled, chugging her drink down.
"The purpose is to get you guys drunk while maintaining my title as the most innocent one here," Shoko snickered. Utahime raised a brow in disbelief but did not say anything.
"Okay, my turn," Mei smirked. "I've never made out with an ex-lover."
Huh?
"Wow, how innocent," Shoko sarcastically retorted. Her head turned to Chiyo, a surprised look marring her features. "Chiyo senpai is that innocent? Doesn't look like it."
Implying that he looked the type to play around, Chiyo smirked. It was the first time that day that he showed a reaction. "Bros in jail are too rowdy for my taste."
Shoko's face burned from Chiyo's sudden cheekiness. He just managed to cross out her opinion of him being innocent by stating he was in jail, doubling the damage by implying he couldn't have made out with an ex-lover behind the bars.
Mei, Utahime, and Kotone exchanged knowing looks.
"Did you know, Shoko-chan was very excite-" Shoko quickly shut Mei's mouth by putting a hand over it. Her reaction was too quick I wondered if it was a conditioned response from having mischievous friends.
"Alright, back to the game," Mei chuckled in a deep, plotting voice. "Never have I ever made out with an ex-lover."
Does... last night count?
Our heads simultaneously turned to Nanami when he chugged down the contents of his glass in one go.
"N-nanami-kun?!," Kotone exclaimed in disbelief.
Nanami seemed to finally realize our outburts. His eyes momentarily widened before he shook his head and denied. "It was water. I didn't hear Mei-san's statement, sorry."
"I thought I finally had zero chances in getting into a relationship," Utahime grovelled. "If Nanami-kun finally got a girl, then I'd totally be the definition of a career-focused single person." Lighthearted laughter followed.
"I told you, try dating Satoru," Mei teased. "He's rich, okay-looking, has a lot of money, strong, rich. He might be a scatterbrain, but he's really ri-"
"Aw, come on, tell me something I don't know." Satoru proudly bathed in Mei's compliments which obviously showed nothing but interest for his bank account.
"You wish!," Utahime gasped. "Why the hell would I marry this egotistic fool?"
"He's rich," Mei repeated simply.
The three started bantering with Mei and Satoru purposely and effortlessly getting into Utahime's nerves. The others joined the teasing, causing Utahime's cheeks to redden. I couldn't tell if it was out irritation or she was... flustered.
Either way, I felt my stomach twist sickeningly. A feeling I thought I had long forgotten made itself known again- jealousy.
Whatever.
Before I realized the consequences of my action, I took a glass and downed the alcohol. Fragant yet bitter liquid warmed my throat, causing me to yelp and purse my lips together.
"(F/n)... had made out with an ex-lover before?," Shoko blurted out loud.
Collective "eh?"s filled the room as they all stared at me with wide eyes and parted lips. Only Chiyo remained expressionless- uninterested, rather. I vouched it was because we barely knew each other in this identity.
"So frisky!," the ever-so-intrigued Kotone squealed. "So, when was this?"
Keeping my eyes from straying to Satoru, I replied nonchalantly. "Just recently."
Teasing and loud laughter continued as the time passed.
I still couldn't take my mind off Yume.
After the first round of the game, I tried to refrain myself from drinking more as the earlier happenings started to take a toll on my mind, causing the headache to resurface. Not to mention, I also just drank yesterday with Satoru.
For some reason, it bothered me why I felt so much pain when I could use reverse curse technique anyway.
No, I think I felt weak rather.
Everyone seemed too busy to notice. Shoko, Kotone, and Utahime were chatting among themselves, while Mei and Satoru relentlessly spouted nonsense to mess with the girls. Chiyo and Nanami seemed to be getting along, judging from the smoothness of their reserved conversation.
I wish Suguru, Haibara, and Yume were here, too.
Returning to the room after bringing some snacks, my vision blurred. The pounding on my head just got worse every time I'd take a step. I didn't know which was worse: that I was feeling pain this hard when I wasn't supposed to or that I completely forgot how to respond to pain.
A frustrated groan left my lips when I opened the door and the screeching sound of old wood hit my ears.
Coming in to the sight of Satoru and Utahime bickering was enough of a trigger, causing my surroundings to spin before my eyes. My fingers instinctively reached for my temples, massaging them in hopes of relieving the pain.
It hurts.
It was nauseating, but nothing I did could alleviate the persistent discomfort radiating from my eyes to the back of my head.
My eyes immediately scanned the room, looking for that very person who I thought could soothe this agitation. There was just one, among everyone I knew, that I would fall onto at a time like this. Someone I felt the safest with.
Just him.
Satoru.
"O-oi, (F/n)!," Shoko stammered as I felt my body fall forward to Satoru's direction, the packs of snacks slipping from my cold fingers.
Strong, lean arms quickly caught me, wrapping my shivering body with that familiar warmth.
❦
"Are you awake?"
"No," I groaned out. My efforts to appear sarcastic quickly diminished when I felt the mattress dip beside me. Satoru handed me a glass of water. "Here."
I wordlessly took the glass from his hand and drank. "Thanks."
"Why didn't you tell anyone you're unwell?," he asked. He pulled open the drawer of his bedside table and rummaged through. "Medicine, where are those?"
By instinct, my body settled to the mattress comfortably. Turned out I was correct. Only Satoru's presence could calm me down. My gaze softened as they rested on the man beside me who was debating about whether to call Shoko or just web search the difference between the medicine packets on his hands.
I caught sight of the white shirt peeking from the gap on his uniform- the opening from where I took his button from. Absentmindedly, I reached for his collar and asked, "do you have a sewing kit?"
Satoru halted from his search and turned to me confusedly. "Uh... I think there's one here." He fished through the trinkets and pulled out a small emergency sewing kit. "That's Shoko's, I think."
Taking the kit from him, I opened it and skillfully strung the thread into the needle. A giggle left my lips when I realized that mending Shion and Seijiro's clothes really gave me some practice.
Satoru began smiling too. "What are you laughing about?"
Our children.
I just shook my head and instructed him to sit down properly. He propped one leg to the mattress and turned his body to face me. I fished out the string of Satoru's button that I was keeping as a necklace from under my shirt, took it off, and pulled my body up.
Positioning a knee on the space between his legs, I carefully leaned in and placed the button in place. Hooking my fingers inside the gap to support the needle, I could feel Satoru's chest tensing against my touch. His breath halted for a moment, prompting me to hold mine as I finished securing it.
"There."
Satoru hummed softly, his breath tickling the shell of my ear. A wave of shiver ran down my spine when I realized the proximity between us. In between my legs rested his thigh, my arms nearly touching his chest.
I should've known better, I know, but my intense desire for Satoru's attention made my body crave his touch to the point my sense of danger was nonexistent. I wanted more from him.
I allowed my body to relax, feeling his thigh beneath me as I shifted my weight to my buttocks. The sight of Satoru's fingers slowly dipping into the mattress and curling against the covers elicited a heavy, fuzzy sensation in my stomach.
None of us dared to break the silence, only the sound of our breathing could be heard.
With a little more courage, I inched close, keeping my head by his chest-level. I bit the excess thread off. Satoru exhaled rather shakily. "(F/n)."
"Yes?," I asked in a hushed tone, my voice getting caught in my throat. His presence was leaving me breathless. He felt cold against me, yet I loved how our skins warmed up together. That familiar cold, musky scent enveloped my senses once again.
I worried I'd give in to him on a matter of time, but I didn't think it would come this soon.
In an attempt to fix the situation, Satoru shifted a little, his thigh brushing against my clothed core. A soft repressed moan left my lips, making Satoru hiss.
His hand grabbed my waist with urgency, trying to keep me steady. The force of his grab caused my knee to lurch forward. A grown pitch that wasn't there a while ago caressed my thigh.
"(F/n)," he called again, his voice guttural and low. He sounded dangerously serious.
I hummed in response, feeling lightheaded. The pleasure of seeing him react so honestly beneath me could barely allow me keep my eyes open.
But then, he grabbed me by both shoulders and helped me off him. He cleared his throat, getting ready to stand up and leave soonest. "I... really can't."
And with that, he left the room without looking back.
❦
"Cover your hair, Seijiro!," Sena sternly reminded. "Goodness, (F/n). Your children will be the waste of my skin care regimen!"
I just chuckled. Too much complaints from a woman who hadn't aged for hundreds of years. "Sei-chan, apologize to Oba-san, yeah?"
"Sorry," Seijiro pouted, but after a few seconds of shutting up, he began reasoning out again. "It's because my hair is too awesome to hide, Mama. None of the kids in the neighborhood has the same haircolor."
Today, I promised to go out with the twins. Sena refused to let me handle them alone. When we first sprang into existence, she used to be wary of the kids because of their nature as curses, but now, she took the full-time job of being their devoted aunt.
"I have," Shion finally uttered something. He excitedly pointed on a group of teens approaching our way. "Him, too!"
"Eh? Isn't that Ichihara-sensei?," said a pink-haired guy from a distance. He excitedly waved on the air. "Sensei! Look here!"
"Oh, she saw you, Yuji!"
"Tuna?"
Kugisaki, Fushiguro, Itadori, and Toge. Behind them was Miura Chiyo.
No...
"Should I bring the children home?," Sena suggested with a dark expression clouding over her features. She looked ready, reaching for Seijiro and...
Where's Shion?!
Before I could even ask, I heard Shion's little voice a few meters from us. My eyes widened, seeing him tugging on Toge's fingers and beckoning him to squat down. "Lookalike-san!"
No... no.
I could feel my throat drying up, my mind searching for possible answers for the questions they would certainly throw my way.
There wasn't any.
What answer could I give for being with children who looked like the exact copy of Gojo Satoru and their Inumaki girl?
It's over.
There's no way they wouldn't know.
"But you don't look anything alike, though," Yuji observed, scanning Shion up and down then looking at Toge.
Huh?
"Who is this kid, sensei?," Kugisaki asked, her other brow raising.
"We're Mama's children!," Seijiro responded, mirroring Kugisaki's posture. He also placed his hands on his hips to look intimidating.
"Oh, there are two," Fushiguro stated with a flat yet curious expression. He looked up to me then back to the children. "They indeed look like you, sensei."
Like me? The me in this body?
"I thought you were single, though," Kugisaki brought up.
"You look like Siren-san and Shion-chan," Seijiro pointed at Toge. "Are you our Papa?"
"No! Goodness!," I immediately exclaimed.
Toge looked both curious and horrified, as if his mind was drifting to the outer space for answers. If what Fushiguro said was correct, then it really made no sense if Seijiro claimed Shion looked like him.
But how?
I looked down at my children, but their appearance remained the same to me.
And there could only be one possibility left behind this phenomenon.
What the students were seeing must be an illusion...
My eyes snapped to the only person who could use such flawless illusion- Miura Chiyo.
Chiyo had his eyes far ahead as if he wanted nothing to do with our conversation, but I could swear there was a mirage of illusion around us. His technique was too refined he could even conceal the fact that he was using jujutsu from the students.
"You should go along first," Chiyo spoke, his voice coming out authoritatively. "I have something to talk about with Ichihara-san."
With me?
"Y-yeah," Kugisaki tripped with her reply. She hesitantly backed away, pulling Itadori by his hood. "Come on. We still gotta buy something."
"We'll meet you again later, Chiyo-san," Fushiguro bid. He looked down to the twins and smiled.
"Bye, Sea urchin-san!," Seijiro grinned.
Kugisaki and the gang burst into laughter, pulling the annoyed Fushiguro along with them. Toge didn't seem to want to join, but one questioning look from Chiyo made him realize he was not welcome to join in our conversation.
Toge spared me one last look before squatting down to the children and giving them each a piece of butterscotch candy. "Bye."
"Bye," Shion muttered softly.
We were silent, watching the students' backs as they faded from our sight. Shion dejectedly lowered his head while his little fingers fumbled open the candy wrapper. Seijiro did the same.
"I assume Satoru doesn't know about this," Chiyo muttered, his eyes not leaving the twins.
"You know it's me...?"
He turned to me. I just realized he had cut his hair to its same length back in high school. His light gray eyes appeared nearly transparent against the sunlight, hair framing those hypnotizing irises.
"You should do better if you plan to hide something from an illusion technique holder," he shrugged.
Wait. "So your sister knows who I am, too?," I clarified, pertaining to Miura Megumi.
"I assume she has a clue already," Chiyo replied, patting Seijiro on the head. "Her technique is naturally stronger than mine, though she's still immature. She's probably just waiting for you to talk about it."
So when she opened up about wanting to find Maki's teacher, she was trying to pin me down?
"Now, tell me," he started. "Why are you in Jujutsu High while hiding your identity? What's the catch?"
"To release you," I replied firmly. "I didn't return to clear my name and all those false accusations. I just wanted to free you from prison."
"And what about Satoru?"
"You...know they're his?"
Okay, dumb question, I know. But my brain was still barely functioning.
Chiyo turned to me with an are-you-dumb-or-what look on his face. "Whoever sees these children would know. Look at this one." He placed a hand over Shion's head and spinned the clueless kid to face me as if he was a doll. "He looks just like his dad."
The twins perked up at the mention of their father. Seijiro gasped, "You know our Papa?"
Shion's forehead creased. He pointed at Chiyo. "Light-kun!"
This kid has always been good with faces.
"Light-kun!," Seijiro gasped as well. Grinning, he wrapped his short arms around Chiyo's legs. "It's Siren-san's good friend, Mama! The good guy!"
Chiyo stared at the twins, dumbfounded. "Ha?"
"Light-kun! Eat lunch with us in our house! We found Mop-kun, too, but Mama said Siren-san will get jealous if Mop-kun stays in another home," Seijiro babbled sxcitedly, jumping all over the place.
His low-energy twin just stood there, holding Chiyo's hand as if he had already decided he'd take him home, too.
"Why are you guys in your rebellious stage already?," I groaned in defeat, my eyes half-smiling and half-dead. "You don't even listen to Mama anymore."
Chiyo looked like he was processing everything and was in a halt. "I'm guessing I know who Mop-kun is."
"Let's go, Light-kun!," Seijiro exclaimed as he pulled Chiyo's other hand.
"Why do I feel like I'm being collected like a Pokemon?," Chiyo said to himself as he followed mindlessly. "Curse these cute little organisms."
I sighed. After texting Fushiguro that Chiyo would be staying with us for lunch, I turned to Sena. "Sena-san, will that be alri-"
Huh?
She looked dangerously empty. Her eyes snapped to me, unblinking and wide open. That was when I caught sight of her palms. They were red, drenched in crimson liquid, as blood stained the ground on her feet.
"Sena-san...," a faint whisper left my lips as I felt goosebumps run on my nape.
She looked nothing like Sena.
My heart rate picked up when a wide smile formed on her lips. Her eyes remained empty. Behind that beautiful facade, I could feel sinister thoughts clouding her mind.
"Sena-san," I called once again despite my head's warning to leave her alone.
Something was telling me I shouldn't get involved.
"I... found him."
Ryomen Sukuna.