___________
The wind was blowing quite hard, instantly the air around them suddenly became tense and Hinari's throat felt as if something invisible was wrapped around it. The words that just came out of her mouth still left her with deep sadness that only Gojo could feel.
"Oi, Fushiguro.. Didn't you say that all of Shirazaki-sensei's family.. died?" Itadori whispered
Megumi was also surprised when he heard Hinari addressed the man in front of them. "I had no idea that her father was still alive either.." Gojo-sensei told me they are all dead. He thought
"Father.. I--"
"Don't you dare call me that! You disgusting monster!" He raised his voice as he looked extremely angry.
Everyone except Gojo and Hinari was surprised when their teacher's father said that and all she could do was to lower her eyelids in response.
"How dare the likes of you come here?! A monster like you will bring disaster everywhere you go! How dare you show your face here again and again?!" He shouted while clenching his fist tightly, clutching the bottle of sake he's holding.
Hearing those familiar words doesn't change a single thing in her. She just stayed still, staring at the ground with half-lidded eyes as she's used to hearing the same thing every single year.
"Hey!! How can you say such horrible things to your own daughter?!" Itadori yelled
"How can you call your own flesh and blood a monster?!" Nobara gritted her teeth.
"Nobara, Yuji.. Stop it.." Hinari mutteredz
"But, Sensei!!"
"Sensei? Hah! Hahahaha! You are a teacher now?? A murderer like you? A teacher?? Hahaha! Who else are you going to kill this time?! Whose life are you going to ruin this time?!" He laughed.
Hearing that made Gojo's fingers twitch. Hinari couldn't say anything, her hair casted a shadow on her face as she bit her lower lip trying to calm herself down and keep her emotions at bay.
"If it weren't for you, my wife and my whole family wouldn't have died!! Why are you still alive?!" He screamed in frustration, "Why?! You should've died instead of them!!!!"
Her students were so angry that they're clenching their fists tightly, ready to pounce at him. They were about to defend her when Gojo stopped them, blocking them by lifting his right arm slightly as a sign to stop them from interfering.
"Gojo-sensei!" They yelled but Gojo just shook his head in response.
"Why?! Why should you live and not my wife?! What did my family do to deserve such a tragedy?! If only you had never been born!!! If only she listened to my pleadings!"
"You piece of shit.." Megumi gritted his teeth.
Tears fell down to his chin as he shouted, "If only you never got out of that place!"
"Let me punch him." Panda snarled, ready to jump in.
"Stop it, all of you." Gojo said firmly and they were about to protest again but decided not to when they saw him clenching his fist tightly till it bleeds when he heard those words. The memories from that time flashed before his eyes.
"You're a murderer!! I should've killed you back then!!" He screamed in pure hatred at Hinari.
"..... I know.. I know that my existence brings bad luck, However.. It never occurred to me that this was not my fault. I have always kept these facts well in mind that mother's death and everyone else's death was my fault." She finally spoke and took a few steps closer to the place where her father was standing.
"Don't you dare come near me!" He smashed the sake bottle near her and the shards grazed her legs, but that didn't stop her from standing in front of her father. "I told you not to come near me, you monster!" He shouted, raising his right hand.
In a swift second he slapped her left cheek, blood trickling down from the side of her mouth because of how strong her father had slapped her. Her head remained tilted to the side as her eyes looked dead.
"Sensei!!" They widened their eyes, feeling their blood boiling even more. "Move, Gojo-sensei!" Megumi shouted in anger.
"I said, Stop." He raised his voice, making them freeze on their spot except for Megumi. He gritted his teeth and was about to speak but Hinari beat him to it.
She turned her head to see her father once again as she took off her necklace and gave both the bouquet along with the necklace to him. "It never crossed my mind for a second that I would be forgiven, never." She murmured, "This key.. Belong to mother."
"What?.."
"If you have the time, I hope you can go to her study room.. Her secret drawer is right behind the portrait next to the bookshelf. I hope that place isn't that damaged.. But there is something there.. Something she left behind for you." She smiled sadly, "Please don't worry.. I never touched it so I don't know the contents.."
Her eyes moved back to the bouquet and the necklace in her hands. She blinked her blurry eyes as tears fell from her eyes down to her chin as she raised her head to look at him and smiled while furrowing her eyebrows.
"I.. Never even once hated you nor the other members of our clan.. I never even once blamed any of you for what happened in the past.." She pulled her father's right hand gently and handed over the things in her hands, "Please.. Take care of yourself. Stay healthy.. father.."
She wiped her tears before turning her heels away. The man was left speechless, and he could only watch her back as she walked away. He kept on standing there, holding the bouquet and key until they were out of his line of view.
The depressing mood followed them all the way back to Jujutsu high. The air between Gojo and Megumi was still tense as they were heard arguing over what happened a few hours ago. It's more to Megumi who still sees Gojo as if he wants to kill him while Gojo himself just doesn't seem in the mood to joke around. They were sitting far from each other inside the school lounge.
"Hey.. When are you two going to let it go??" Itadori sighed "C'mon Gojo-sensei, Fushiguro.."
Yet they didn't respond.
"Oh come on! What Are you?! A first grader?!" Nobara finally loses her cool. "Hey.. We're going on a trip tomorrow, you know? If you two keep this up, it won't be fun." Panda mutter
"Geez. Just made up already. You two are making things even more awkward." Maki sighed
"There's nothing awkward here." Megumi mutter, his tone laced with annoyance.
"Yes it is!" Nobara, Maki and Panda yelled in chorus
"C'mon.. if Shirazaki-sensei saw this, she'll be even more upset.." Itadori mutter
Just then the door slid open and they turned their heads towards the door. Hinari was standing there, fully healed from the wounds her father inflicted on her earlier. Staring at the two male, she sighed lightly and approached them.
"Megumi.. Gojo-senpai.." She said and held their hands, dragging them away. "Come with me for a moment." She said and they walked out of the lounge together without a word.
"Geez! They're like five year old kids!" Nobara frowned as soon as the three left.
"And Shirazaki-sensei looked like a Mother who tried to lecture her kids.." Maki sighed.
"But.. you know, I've never seen Gojo-sensei holding back his anger before. Heck, I've never seen him looking extremely pissed before." Nobara said.
"Yeah.." Itadori nodded
"From what I heard.. Satoru, Shirazaki-sensei and Megumi have known each other for so long. Their relationship is more than that of teacher-student if I were to say." Panda mutter
"Meaning?" Nobara leaned her back against the backrest.
"Satoru and Shirazaki-sensei are like a parent to him I suppose.. Megumi really respects Shirazaki-sensei and I'm sure he loves her like a family too.. So arguing like that once in a while is pretty normal for them, I guess." Panda said
"That might be true, but if they stayed like that any longer, it'll be hella awkward." Nobara sighed again for the umpteenth time. "Let's just let them deal with it, although I'm still a bit angry about what happened earlier.." Panda said
"Same." Itadori, Nobara and Maki said in chorus and Inumaki nodded as well
"Let's just play Wii." Panda suggested
"Oh, nice idea."
••••
"So?.. When are you two going to stop ignoring each other?.." Hinari asked as soon as they arrived at the backyard of the lounge.
Silence.
Hinari sighed softly, "Please, don't fight like this.."
Still silent, none of them wanted to speak as they just looked away from each other as if they were subconsciously repeating what they did in the past whenever they argued.
"Alright. If you two are going to keep this up, I won't be going tomorrow." She said, making the two men flinch as she turned her heels, leaving them.
"Wait!!" Both of them said in chorus and she smiled, stopping on her tracks without turning around just yet. "Fine! I apologize for yelling at you, Gojo-sensei." Megumi said
"I apologize too." Gojo mutters and Hinari turned around, smiling before holding their hands. "Okay. Let's head back inside. No more fighting okay?"
"Okay.." they said in chorus, they just knew that they couldn't win against her in an argument.
The next day came, they woke up early as their flight time was around seven in the morning, After everyone's getting ready in their Autumn outfit, they waited for their teachers at the front gate. Minutes later Gojo and Hinari arrived, everyone went inside the minivan and drove off to Haneda airport.
It didn't take them that long to arrive at the said airport, Panda was attracting attention since, well, he's a panda.
Hinari, Megumi, Itadori, Inumaki, Nobara and Maki pass through the Immigration check with ease meanwhile Panda was having a bit of trouble trying to make excuses and after a few minutes of troublesome negotiations and God knows what happened, he pass through the immigration check and joined the group.
As for Gojo, he should remove his blindfold for obvious reasons and the lady who is in charge was immediately blinded by his heavenly features to the point where she fainted out of a nosebleed and he's proud of what he unintentionally did. The students squinted their eyes out of disgust when Gojo smirked as he walked towards the group, wearing his blindfold again.
When they heard the announcement, they boarded the plane and found their seats. There are not many passengers there which is a rare sight, so there are pretty much empty seats in the plane. Nobara was so excited because she had never flown before, and Panda sat next to Inumaki and Itadori. Maki sat next to Nobara while Hinari sat in between Megumi and Gojo. Megumi sat next to the plane window and so were his two classmates.
However Gojo and Hinari didn't interact that much, making the raven-haired teen feel a bit awkward. After the captain announced several things including the duration of their flights which was approximately two hours and forty minutes, the plane started to move and the flight attendant began explaining a few safety things.
"It's been a while since we went on a vacation together like this." she breaks the silence between them, looking at Megumi with her usual gentle smile
The said teen turned his gaze away from the window to her "Um. Let's go again next time.. Together when she's awake.."
Gojo glanced at his student when he heard that, Hinari raised her eyebrows momentarily then smiled, "Yes.. of course, let's do that."
Around half an hour later, the students went silent. Gojo took a glance at his students behind his seat and saw them fast asleep, leaning against each other's shoulders and heads. "No wonder it's dead quiet." He mumbled
Hinari chuckles lightly, "I guess they're too tired, we all woke up early after all.."
She moves Megumi's head gently from the window to her left shoulder. Gojo tried so hard not to lean his head on her shoulder nor do anything that'll make things more awkward between him and her. "They're too excited." He replied
"Yes.. but that's what made me feel happy. It's good to take a break once in a while.. they deserved it"
"We also deserved a break." He sighed, "working non-stop will shorten our lifespan, y'know??"
She giggled and nodded, "well.. what do we expect from being a Jujutsu Sorcerer and a Teacher at once?"
"Yeah.. then, How about you? Aren't you tired? Y'know.. waking up early and stuff.." He asked and she nodded. "Um.. I'm a bit tired too.." she said and covered her mouth when she yawned
"You worked too hard.." he mutter
Hinari smiled, "I can't help it.. when I see them growing, doing their best everyday.. I can't help but to follow them and try to do my best too."
"Well.. I guess you're right." He chuckled lightly and soon they went silent again.
Gojo noticed that Hinari was asleep, but she didn't lean her head against him nor Megumi. Gojo sighed lightly and smiled, gently moving her head to his left shoulder. Tucking her hair behind her left ear before planting a soft kiss on her head and he, too, finally gave in to the drowsiness that started to emerge in him. Leaning his head on top of hers, he soon fell asleep.
Two hours later, they arrived in Okinawa. Upon feeling the plane has landed, all of them stirred awake and stretched their arms above their heads. Megumu woke up earlier than the rest and decided not to wake his guardians slash teachers next to him. But since Hinari is a light sleeper, she woke up right after the captain's announcement.
Feeling a weight on her head, she realized that Gojo was resting his head on top of hers. She smiled and moved her head carefully, letting the man rest his head against her right shoulder before finally waking him up when the plane touched down safely.
They walk out of the plane to get their luggage and then ride in the bus that they rent for the duration of the trip. They were amazed by the view of the buildings that were mostly white and pastel. There were several modern Japanese style buildings too. There were also plants growing profusely on the sides of buildings, on the ground and everywhere. Making it look very aesthetic.
Nobara and Itadori were so excited, but almost everyone chose to check in to the booked resort near the beach first before they went out to have a sightseeing. The duration from the airport to their resort took around two hours but it was worth the wait because the resorts Gojo booked were so beautiful and looked expensive.
"Yuji, Nobara, don't run like that..! You'll trip!" Hinari yelled since the duo had already run after taking their luggage from the minivan.
"Jeez.. They're like a first grader going on a trip.." Maki sighed
"I agree.." Megumi nodded
"Well, it's good to be energetic right? They did well in handling their missions." Panda mutter
"Shake."
"Yeah, you're right." Maki nodded
"I'm going to take care of several things. Panda, Megumi, and Toge, help me take the luggage." Gojo said. "Okay." They said in chorus
"Hinari, can you help checking us in?"
"Okay, Do you have the payment receipt, senpai?"
"Yup, already sent." He said without looking at her and kept his phone back inside his pocket. She took out her phone and opened the text, nodding. "Okay, I'll go inside first."
After they saw Hinari walk to the lobby, Megumi, Inumaki, Panda and Maki stare at Gojo with a sharp gaze making the white haired male turn his head to look at them, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"What's wrong with you?" Maki asked
"Huh?"
"Gojo-sensei, why are you avoiding Shirazaki-sensei?" Megumi asked, looking unimpressed as always.
"What?"
"Don't play dumb." They said in chorus. "Shake."
The white haired man sighed, scratching the back of his head and looked at Hinari who was talking to the receptionist, "I just need some alone time."
"........ Huh?"
"What's with that face??" Gojo replied immediately.
"Alone time for what?" Maki raised an eyebrow. "Satoru, are you sure that you're sober right now?" Panda tilted his head slightly to the side
"Did you make a huge mistake or something?" Maki asked, hand on her hip.
"There are things only adults should know." Gojo replied nonchalantly.
Before any of them could reply, Nobara's voice caught their attention, "Oiiii! All of you! Let's hurry up and go to our rooms!" Nobara waved her hand, calling them.
They went inside the resort to get their room cards right after Nobara called for them. Gojo booked their rooms with a beautiful sea view. Since one room is a maximum of two people, he booked five rooms. three rooms with two single beds and two rooms with king size beds.
The students went to their rooms right away, Panda with Inumaki, Megumi with Itadori, Maki with Nobara and the other two rooms are for Hinari and Gojo since they can't be in the same room for obvious reasons.
Since Gojo booked a five-star resort, using school funds which he did on purpose to annoy the higher-ups, their service, facilities and room interiors were definitely of a high quality befitting the resort's own ranking.
Nobara checked the bathroom and was genuinely amazed by the interior and facilities. For a country girl like her, all of this is new. She took several pictures and took a selfie with Maki before running towards the balcony.
"Woahhh!!! Maki-san! The sea view is crystal clear!!" She shouted from the balcony. "Yeah, you don't have to shout. I can hear you." Maki replied.
"Oh Kugisaki! We're next door!" Itadori said and the said girl turned her head to the right side. "Of course.. Gojo-sensei booked five rooms in a row, that's how we get the rooms with sea view." Megumi said.
I wonder how much everything that blindfolded idiot booked costs.. He must've used the school funds for this.. Megumi thought to himself, leaning his back against the guard rail.
"Oh, we're neighbors." Panda said and the three first years turned their heads to the left side
"Konbu." Inumaki waved his hand
"Panda-senpai, Inumaki-senpai." Nobara greeted "Then? Where is Shirazaki-sensei's room?"
"Maybe next to ours?" Itadori said, pointing his right thumb to the room next to his and Megumi's.
Just then the balcony door of the room next to his slid open, "Ah.. Are you guys done placing your luggages?" The said lady came out of her room to the balcony, greeting them.
"Oh, it is!" Itadori grinned "Yo! Sensei!"
"All done!" Nobara said with a wide smile
"Let's go out and eat something, We haven't eaten yet. you guys must be hungry, right?" She asked with her usual gentle smile
"Oh, now that you mention it.." Nobara muttered and seconds later their stomach growled as if they were orchestrated, Making the fair-haired lady blinked her eyes several times and giggled.
"Do you guys want to eat in the resort's restaurant or go out?" She asked. "Go out, please!" Itadori and Nobara raised their hands and said in chorus.
"Jeez.." Maki sighed and smiled
"Then let's go, I'll wait for you guys at the lobby."
"Okay~" they answered and got ready.
She smiled and went back inside her room, Locking the balcony door and grabbed her cream colored sling bag before exiting her room and went in front of Gojo's room, pressing the bell once and the male opened the door
"Hinari?"
"They want to go out and eat, let's go together, Gojo-senpai"
"Ahh.. okay, let's go." He smiled and took his room card
Thus the two lecturers made their way to the lobby but they didn't have any conversation, normally Gojo would hold her hand and they would have a random conversation. But ever since that incident at the hospital, he's holding back the urge to hold her hand.
Is he alright?.. She thought to herself as they exited the elevator and walked towards the lobby, waiting for their students.
"I've contacted the driver, he should be here in any moments now" Gojo informed
"Okay.." she nodded and they went silent again before she finally decided to speak, "Gojo-senpai.."
"Hm?"
"About wha--"
"Shirazaki-senseeiii!!" A voice cut in before she get to finish her sentence and Someone tackled her with a hug. "Woah..! Nobara..!" Hinari yelped, "Don't run like that, you'll fall!" she sighed, smiling with her eyebrows furrowed as she pat her student's head
"Heheh~ let's go!" She grinned and linked her arms around Hinari's right arm.
The others followed suit, they went inside the minivan and the driver took them to a sushi restaurant that was quite famous in the resort area where they were staying, They sit down together, ordering their sushis while having a conversation but Gojo didn't talk that much, he keep on thinking about what Hinari was about to say before she was interrupted by Nobara.
On the other hand, Hinari glanced at Gojo with a worried expression when the students were busy having their own conversations. Gojo was quiet the whole time as he ate his food, Hinari lowered her eyelids and drank her roasted green tea. She could feel that Gojo is distancing himself from her.
Did I do something wrong?.. She thought to herself, little did she know that Megumi noticed this. He doesn't like to see his guardian, teacher and parent-like person make such a sad and worried expression but he can't do anything right now since he doesn't know what is going on.
ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀꜱᴇ ɪ | 17
[A/N]: FULLY EDITED.