Chapter Text
A year of seasons includes spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And, spring comes with flowers, a smooth breeze, abundance of strawberries and cherries. But for this year’s spring, Gojo Satoru, a second-year student of Jujutsu High School, was more excited than ever.
“Satoru, you don’t need to rush. Yaga-sensei already said that first years won’t arrive until later”, a fellow second-year student with thin eyes and black bangs called out his friend.
“I wouldn’t need to rush if Shoko didn’t forget to buy party hats!”, the white-haired boy argued back with a pointed glare.
“Hey! I already had my hands full with other stuff”, the only girl member of the trio rolled her brown eyes.
“Oh yeah? With what?”, Satoru fully turned his head from picking out party hats from the store shelves.
Shoko didn’t hesitate to show her boxes of cigarettes. With a grumble, he went back to choose the suitable hats for the welcoming party.
“Why is he getting more excited about this than the first years? It’s not like we had a party when we entered the school last year”, she mumbled questioningly.
“He’s just thrilled to finally have some kouhai”, Suguru filled in from the side.
“Oh yeah, now that you mentioned it, our rich boy here was home-schooled the entire time before high school.”
With a short chuckle, Suguru stepped forward to help his friend, “Satoru, how about this one? It has three different colors. Each for first years.”
Satoru stared at the package thoughtfully before responding, “Do you think they would like stripes or will the balloon pattern be better?”
“Balloon ones look too small so I say we go with this one”, pushing the said package into his hand.
“That’s true, they aren’t small kids after all. Yep, this is the one!”, he took the item to the register quickly.
Shoko walked up to Suguru, “thank god, you helped him choose, or else he’s going to take even longer.”
~
“What do you mean they aren’t here yet?!”
Annoyed Yaga-sensei rubbed his ear from Satoru's high voice volume, “Like I said, Ume-sensei took them out to test their skills on the field. They should be back before the evening. The location is not that far off.”
“But, the drinks are going to get warm by then”, Satoru complained again.
Shoko raised an eyebrow, “Ume-sensei? I thought she was recovering from last month's mission.”
“We don’t have any other person qualified enough to be a teacher so she had to come back early.”
“Will she be physically able to help out the first years during the mission?”, Suguru voiced his concern.
“She did pick-”, Yaga was cut off by a ringtone from his phone. He looked at the incoming phone number, “speaking of them.”
The three students quieted down in curiosity. After a short exchange, the teacher hung up the phone and looked up at them, “Satoru, Suguru, Shoko. This is an immediate rescue mission for the three of you. The first years are now being caved in the curse’s technique. Since Ume-sensei is still recovering, she can’t use any offensive techniques. Go and assist her now!”
“Roger that!”
~
In front of an abandoned building, a sick-looking female teacher released a relieved sigh when she saw the second-year trio, “Thanks for coming, everyone. All three first years are still inside. The curses had been exorcized successfully but the leftover obstruction from them was still preventing the exit.”
Suguru skimmed the file she handed over, “a grade-3 curse, a plant type born from people’s misery and misfortune. The main threat of it being its vines and pollens.”
“Are you well enough to continue keeping the veil?”, Shoko asked from the side.
“Yes, of course. Just please get my students out of there soon. It’s just their first day and I think I already scared them enough”, her fingers rubbed the side of her head in stress.
“Don’t worry, sensei. We’ll be back in 5 minutes”, Satoru playfully saluted. Shoko nodded at the two boys and stayed back with the teacher.
The two passed through the veil at ease to find an abandoned old building that used to be a clinic. Suguru spoke to his friend while summoning his sting-ray curse, “Find someone?”
Satoru dropped his thick sunglasses an inch to reveal his six eyes already activating, “two on the second floor and one in the basement. All vital signs are stable. They probably got separated to look for an exit. And, no active curse in sight.”
“Good, that means they passed the test”, Suguru slipped a smile, “I’ll go get the two from above. Think you can handle the heavy lifting debris from the basement?”
Satoru clicked his tongue back, “who do you think you are talking to?”
“See you in three, then”, Suguru jumped on his sting-ray curse to fly up.
Satoru walked in the direction of one person in the basement before remembering something, “oh wait, this would be my first impression of them, right?”
He promptly snapped his fingers, “Gotta show off what a senpai can do!”
Abandoning his plan to go down the basement, he walked to the location where the student was caved in. Seeing the person still in motion, he could tell they also sensed that someone was above them.
Mustering his best ‘cool’ voice, he shouted, “A first-year down there? Don’t fret, we are here to help you guys out of here.”
The person gasped in surprise before their response came, “Are you from Jujutsu High School? Thanks for coming in on such short notice.”
Hearing the voice, Satoru noted that this must be the only girl member of the first years. Her voice carried both worry and curiosity.
“Yep, I’m a second year, which means I’m your senpai”, he grinned in excitement, knowing that she couldn’t see him like he could.
“Sorry for the trouble, senpai. I’m not skilled enough to break this debris without causing harm to the surroundings”, she sounded apologetic.
“That’s all fine, first year. It’s more the reason why you need a senpai like me to show the ways”, he chuckled a bit, “now, can you tell me how you are caved in?”
“Oh, we were hunting down the curses. They were stronger together so we lured them away from each other. Since I used a fire-based cursed technique, I was able to take down one easily. But, only after I had exorcized it, I realized that I could not get out of this room unless I burned it down completely. But, the building looked really old so I ain’t sure if it would hold.”
He hummed satisfiedly when she was done, “I see, I see. Here’s your first lesson, first year.”
“Yes, senpai?”
He effortlessly lifted up the cement floor directly above her, “never let yourself be trapped in a place with no exit plan.”
The girl from below gasped when the floor opened up. Her hair strands moved with the breeze that entered from the hole. Her eyes were filled with wonder at his show of capability, making him smirk in confidence.
He walked to the edge of the said hole and held up a finger, “I’m going to lift you up now.”
At your immediate nod of approval, he used ‘blue’ to pull you up from the basement to the ground floor slowly. He didn’t want his kouhai to get startled. Yes, he wanted to show off, but not scared off. The first expressions he had ever encountered before were either wariness or judgment.
Yet, your eyes were filled with nothing but curiosity, “Senpai, that’s one awesome technique you have!”
“Oh! Do you think so? That's pretty neat, right?”, he adjusted his sunglasses.
Your eyes widened when she caught a brief look of his eyes, “Senpai, are you Gojo Satoru?”
“You know me?”, he looked at her again to see her reaction.
You practically glowed with excitement, “know you?? Senpai, you are a celebrity among us. On that note, can I ask you some questions?”
“Shoot.”
“Thank you so much, senpai!”, you clapped your hands together with a grin, “how do six eyes work? Does that mean you can see six points of view at the same time? That would be cool if you have no blind spots at all. But, I also read that they also need a lot of focus to utilize properly. You must be pretty awesome with games if that is true. I am bad at most games because I tend to lose focus. Can I train with you sometimes on that field?”
Satoru blinked a few times at your rumbling for he had never seen a person who genuinely wants to learn from him. Most people avoided interaction with him unless necessary. Suguru was the only presence who could challenge him. Enthusiasm from earlier returned in response to her eager eyes.
“Of course! I will also answer all the questions you have. You got to keep up with me though, I don’t take any weaklings.”
“You don’t have to worry about that part, senpai. I have heard of your achievements all the way from Hokkaido. So, I am ready for any harsh training”, you fisted your hands tight.
“Hokkaido? That's pretty far from Tokyo. Why do you come all the way down here?”
You sheepishly laughed at that, “Well, I couldn't resist the temptation to study along with two special grade senpais.”
“You know Suguru, too?”
“Yes! Geto Suguru’s curse manipulation technique is too rare not to talk about. I have only seen Shikigami's manipulation before. Not to mention, another fellow senpai, Ieiri Shoko, can use a reversal healing technique. I have looked up about you senpais.”
“You seemed to be pretty knowledgeable. Does your family know Jujutsu?”, he asked while double-checking no curses were left.
You nodded affirmatively and introduced yourself.
“If I recall correctly, your clan, Yamazaki, comes from Onmyoji ancestry, correct?”
“That’s correct, but this is rather just a family size than a clan. There are only three active jujutsu users left in the clan.”
“Including yourself?”, he continued the conversation as he led her towards the exit.
“Yes, my father is the current head and my elder sister is already in training to be the next head soon”, you followed after him with hands linking behind you.
“They let you off to Tokyo even though there are only three people left? They are pretty understanding. If you are from one of the Jujutsu families from here, they wouldn’t let you go away easily”, he scoffed at his own past incident.
“They are strict here, huh? I guess my family gives me pretty much freedom about whatever my choices would be”, you two crossed the threshold together, “and I need to come here to learn more. I’m still unable to cover all the skills that a normal Onmyoji should be able to do. Even if they don’t push me, I think they sent me here to gain more experience for the other techniques. I have to get stronger.”
“Family techniques? What kind?”
Before he could hear your answer, you suddenly squealed excitedly when you saw a large sting-ray flying down from the second floor. The said large curse carried three people with ease and landed beside them.
“Nanami-kun! Haibara-kun! Are you alright?”
“Yamazaki-chan, we are fine. Sorry, we couldn’t come back down to back you up.”
“It’s fine, I burnt it down with no sweat”, you held up two fingers in peace sign.
“That explains the smoke”, Nanami jumped down from the curse.
Suguru scanned the three first years in case of injuries. When he found none, he glanced at his friend with a nod.
“Thank you for coming to help us, senpai”, Haibara said as you and Nanami bowed to the two.
“We didn’t do much. You three already defeated two grade 3 curses by yourselves. That’s already an achievement if you ask me”, Suguru smiled kindly, “I am Geto Suguru, and here is Gojo Satoru. We are in our second year, along with another student named Ieiri Shoko. We are going to be the students going to the same school together. So no need to be so formal.”
“If that’s the case”, you raised your hand for attention, “Geto-senpai, can I touch your curse?”
“My curse?”, Suguru looked back at his sting-ray curse in a stunt before nodding slowly, “Sure, go ahead.”
You excitedly leaned in closer to it and slowly raised a hand to touch it carefully. Haibara also closed in with you while Nanami only stood nearby.
Suguru lingered close by as you kept examining the curse, “Geto-senpai, if I touch the curse, do you get the feeling as well?”
“Not quite. Even if it may be my curse, I don’t get to feel its sensory systems. But, if it were to get exorcized, I would know.”
“That’s kind of a relief to know that you wouldn’t get to feel it when it got killed or else it would be a pain.”
Suguru looked at you with a hint of surprise while you were still continuing to pet the curse. Haibara joined in to pet it as well.
“She sure is a curious one”, Satoru grinned ear to ear.
“Why are you looking so proud?”, Suguru raised an eyebrow at him.
“Becauseeee”, he dragged for a dramatic effect, “she chose ME to tutor her so you need to find another kouhai for yourself.”
“Tutor? You? Poor girl, she doesn’t know what she got herself into.”
“Hey! I can teach properly if I want to.”
Suguru playfully rolled his eyes before focusing on the three first years, “Come on, we should get out and meet up with your teacher. She’s worried sick.”
“Ah! Ume-sensei!”, you and Haibara gasped in simultaneously before running off. Nanami bowed at the two senpais briefly and joined with the others.
~
“Congratulations on your enrollment!!”
Satoru popped the confetti while the others clapped along. You and Haibara grinned with excitement but poor Nanami was awkward at the celebration with a green party hat on his head. Haibara chose not to wear one so Satoru had a blue one. You lifted a hand to adjust your pink party hat sheepishly.
“Come, come! We bought some snacks, too.”
“Satoru, it’s before lunchtime”, Suguru tried to reprimand but just got waved off, “It’s fine once in a while. I got both Cola and Pepsi, which one do you want first?”
Yaga-sensei sighed at his student, “Sorry about him, he’s being childish.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’m glad to know that my students are in good hands of senpais”, Ume-sensei shook her head with a small smile.
“Still, it’s just the first day and he’s already pursuing the kids to hang out with him.”
“They passed the test after all. It’s a pleasant celebration, Yaga-san.”
“Sensei, here are your drinks.”
“Thank you, Nanami-kun.”
Seeing that the blonde student didn’t move away, she questioned, “Are you not going back to the others?”
“They are too enthusiastic”, was his dry answer. Sure enough, you and Haibara were absorbed in Satoru’s animated speech about sweets.
Yaga snorted at the scene, “That’s his so-called lecture?”
“Oi, Nanami! Where did you run off to?”
“Nanami-kun, we are getting to the good part!”
“Gojo-san is going to tell us about the best mochi shops around here.”
As much as he wanted to refuse, he couldn’t bring himself to reject his fellow first years’ expectant expression. With one last grunt, he walked back to the group. Haibara waved at him to sit between you and him.
“Now, where were we?”
“Tell them about the time you pretended to be a middle schooler to get a second piece of that limited edition snack”, Suguru leaned in.
“There’s no way he could pass as a middle schooler”, Nanami quietly grumbled.
“Oh yeah, it was- wait, I’m not going to tell them that!”
“Almost got him”, Suguru snickered with Shoko.
“What kind of snack, senpai?”, your question prompted the others’ head turn at you.
“What? It must have been a pretty good one if senpai wanted it.”
“Oh, you get me!”, Satoru dragged his chair closer to you, “it was a limited edition menu of my favorite dango shop. They only sold one per customer except for elementary and middle schoolers.”
“Was it delicious?”, your eyes widened in curiosity.
“VERY. They were in animal shape as well. The pink rabbit has sakura flavor, the green frog is matcha and the last white polar is the original taste.”
“Now, I want to try it myself too.”
“Isn’t that the same as normal Hanami dango?”, Shoko sweatdropped. Suguru just chuckled at the two, who were too deep into the sweets topic.
“Geto-san! Can you teach me how you cut that plant curse so quickly? It could be helpful if I could change my cursed energy form in the future”, Haibara moved forward.
“Haibara, your technique allows you to cover yourself in curse energy, right?”
“Yes! Then, I noticed you cut down that curse with a bare palm. That must mean I can train myself, too.”
“Have you tried using a weapon as a medium like Nanami does?”
“I did, but they didn’t hold much longer.”
“Then, I suggest-”
Suguru and Haibara immersed themselves in the cursed energy topic. Shoko turned to Nanami who was wearing a bored expression until she noticed a blood stain on his sleeve, “you got hurt?”
He looked down at his hand, “it was just a scratch and I don’t feel any pain.”
She put down her drink and held out her hand, “show me.”
“I’m fine. Please don’t mind-”, he stopped mid-sentence when she sent him a look.
Reluctantly, he rolled up his sleeve to show her a red graze on his forearm. She took it wordlessly and restored the wound, “Never hide your injuries when I ask. It could be poisonous and you don't know until it’s late.”
Then, she pulled back to return to drinking her choice of soft drink. Nanami awkwardly pulled down his sleeve with a quiet, “Thank you for treating me.”
Ume-sensei smiled contently at the way the students were interacting with each other, “All three of your students were kind, Yaga-san. You should be proud.”
The older teacher grumbled, “You should see them on a normal day”, but hid a smile behind his cup.
~
You plopped down to the ground while breathing hard. Haibara fell back on his back in exhaustion. Nanami kneeled on his right leg with sweat dripping from his body.
“Hmm? That’s it? Come on, guys. It has only been 15 minutes”, Satoru landed easily in front of the three of you.
“It has been an hour!”, the first years complained.
“Really? I didn’t notice”, he snickered, “now, let’s go for another round.”
Suguru also jumped down from his horse curse, “Now, now, Satoru. They caught us within the time limit this time. Don’t be so harsh.”
Shoko walked up to place a cold water bottle to your cheek, “Remember to drink slowly.”
“Thank you, Ieiri-senpai”, you took it gratefully.
It had been a few weeks since enrollment and just as they promised, the second years regularly stopped by to practice with you three. Today was about a game of tag. Since cursed techniques were allowed to be used for the game, it was nearly impossible to catch two special grades who could fly. Shoko was more than happy to just ride along with Suguru.
“I was impressed with the way you quickly adjusted your cursed energy to enhance your speed, Haibara. And, Nanami, I didn’t guess you would throw your sword for distraction”, Suguru then turned to you, “Great control at controlling your fireballs. They are quite precise.”
The three of you looked back at each other before sharing satisfied smiles. Although you all knew they were still holding back, there was an undeniable joy at being acknowledged.
“I wanted to show you my improvement earlier, Geto-san, But, the two advised me to hide it until today’s training so I’m glad it was a success”, Haibara sat up eagerly.
“It was a surprise. Hiding your tricks until a chance comes up is one of the important tactics. Good job, you three.”
At Suguru’s praise, Haibara and you grinned widely while Nanami shyly looked away.
“Happy?”, Satoru bent down to you with a teasing smirk.
“Very!”
“So, you don’t need my evaluation anymore?”, he faked a sad face.
“No! I mean, yes!”
He chuckled at your panicked face before standing straight again, “I will give you mine if you can run away from me for 10 minutes this time.”
“Wait a minute, Satoru. They just had a game. Let them rest up a bit more.”
“I mean, if they weren’t up to it, I wouldn’t-”, he shot you a challenging gaze, urging you to take upon it.
“I will do it!”, you immediately stood up.
“See? She’s up for it.”
“We are in, too!”, Haibara dragged sitting Nanami’s arm.
Suguru sighed at his friend, “Fine, one last game. Then, we will go to the ramen shop.”
“And, it will be Satoru’s treat since you guys caught us”, Shoko helped Nanami up to
His feet.
“Huh? Why would it be-”
“We will give you a 3-minute head start”, Suguru cut off.
“Suguru, did you have to-”
“Same rules apply. Run within the school premises. Ready? Set”, it was Shoko this time.
“Why am I being-”
“Satoru, on your count”, Suguru sent a teasing smile at his grumbling friend.
“Fine, 1…2…GO!”
You three looked at each other briefly before nodding in unison to run in different directions. Nanami ran towards the school buildings. Haibara headed to the forest. You decided to run through the garden area. As you all started to run off, you looked back one last time at the senpais.
With a wide grin, Satoru mouthed at you, “I’ll be coming for you”, making you squeal and run even faster. He chuckled at your reaction.
“You take quite a liking to her, I see”, Suguru remarked at the interaction.
“Hmm? Who doesn’t? She is a good kid who listens to our advice and never fails to do what she should do.”
“I’m not denying those facts. It’s just that you kept pushing her to do better and faster. They are just first years, you know. Even if she’s currently in semi-grade 2, she can even reach grade 2 next semester. No need to push too hard.”
“I only push her because I can see that she is still up for the challenge. She told me before that she came here to be better, stronger. She has expectations from her family. Besides, I wouldn’t be pushing if she doesn’t want me to.”
Suguru studied his friend’s rare serious expression silently. He came from a non-jujutsu family so he couldn’t say that he understood these expectations. But, he was aware of Gojo clan duties on his friend’s shoulders so he just resigned himself, “Just don’t go scare the poor girl. Remember to hold back.”
“Oh please, I only use like 30%”, Satoru winked playfully. Just like that, his friend was back to being goofy.
“Guys, as much as I am ‘interested’ to hear more about differences in your teaching methods, it has been three minutes”, Shoko looked up from her phone.
“Oh”, the two simultaneously exclaimed.
~
You ran zigzagged through the tall trees of the school garden, making sure to leave traces of your cursed energy everywhere to distract Satoru’s six eyes. Surely, his six eyes couldn’t find you within the timeframe … right?
No sooner than five minutes passed, you heard his voice.
“Ah La La, I wonder who is this person leaving traces of their cursed energy to throw me off track.”
You took cover behind a large tree, trying your best to hide your cursed energy and presence.
“Hmmm, all these traces seemed to contain a hint of fire energy. Now, I wonder who it could be.”
His voice was getting closer and yet sounded still so far away at the same time.
“Let’s see, Nanami only uses weapons for his technique. And, Haibara? That boy uses his cursed energy to strengthen his body. So, who is left?”
You would scoff at his ridiculous way of deduction if you weren’t worried about hiding yourself.
“Ah yes, that one first-year girl could use fire. The ‘will o wisp’ is her technique after all. It seemed that she purposely left traces but was she aware that my six eyes could not only trace but also sense the amount of cursed energy”, he casually walked towards one big tree.
You took a sharp breath at that.
“Well, judging from the amount of cursed energy, she is-”, he reached behind the tree.
His stance faltered when his arm found a scarecrow infused with your cursed energy. Only then, do you take off in a different direction with an excited giggle.
This time, his six eyes successfully found your running back. He couldn’t help but feel the same excitement at the chase now. Yes, he was holding back but after being tricked like that, one should repay the same, right?
When you looked back, you saw him chasing you with a grin, “Gah, I’m sorry! I just wanted to trick you a bit!”
“Oh, you tricked me alright. Now, it’s a real time to be chased.”
You cursed to yourself when you felt his presence nearer. You knew better than to fight him off with your skills so running was your only opinion. The timer was still ticking so you had to push yourself to run faster. When you were about to turn left, he shot a small amount of blue in that direction, making you choose the other way. He kept you running in a straight line until you reached another tree area.
You were about to count the remaining time before he trapped you in between the tree and his larger arms. The force was enough for you to bump into the trunk. He still didn’t touch you so the game wasn’t techically over.
“Caught you”, his breath reached your ear. His normal playful light voice was laced with heavy breathing from the chase, making you aware of the distance between your bodies.
You slowly turned around to look up at him. Although you were aware of his body size, damn, he sure was a lot taller than you. His eyes were hidden by those dark sunglasses but judging from his facial expression, he was having fun with this. Still gasping for air, you faced his smirk directly, “how do you think of my trap?”
“Pretty good, I didn’t know you could do that now.”
“Ume-sensei taught us that yesterday.”
“Guess I should have looked for you properly from the start.”
“Hehe, I’ll keep getting better so maybe watch out for me”, you crossed arms in front of your chest smugly.
He withdrew his arms from caging you and tucked them into his pockets, “oh, I’m scared. What could a 5-foot girl do to me?”
“Senpai! My height isn’t the point here, and I’m still growing. Just you wait I will be a tall beautiful lady in the future”, you pouted at him.
“Well, you aren’t growing to be any taller if you only eat sweets.”
“But, you are the one who keeps recommending me good ones.”
“That, I do.”
“I can’t believe how you get so tall when you mostly eat sweets.”
“What can I say? I have good genes”, he purposely stood straighter to show off the height difference.
“Sorry for not being born into a family with tall genes”, you faked a tear dramatically.
Then, the two of you broke into chuckles at the ridiculous banter. A beeping sound from your timer rang at that time.
You turned off the timer and looked up at him with a smug, “I won, senpai.”
“What?? I caught you, didn’t I?”
“A game of tag has to touch a person to catch, doesn’t it?”, you stuck out your tongue at him.
He looked at you silently before groaning in frustration, “I forgotttt.”
“Good to know my distraction skill of talking nonsense is useful”, your giggle was full of delight, “senpai, I won so don’t forget about your evaluation now.”
“Righttt”, he drawled the word before facing you again with a stern expression.
When he raised a hand, you shut your eyes in reflex. You felt his finger moving hair strands away from your forehead first. And, started to draw something on your skin.
When you first felt a circle, you wondered if he was drawing a spell of sorts. Then, he continued to draw some curves around it before finishing up with a smiley face inside the circle.
“There! That’s my score to you.”
Your eyes fluttered open in confusion, “a flower with a smiley expression?”
He nodded satisfiedly, “Yep, you can be proud of yourself.”
“... What does that mean though?”
“A full score! Didn’t you get it when you went to school before??”
“That’s for kindergarten students!”, your body shook with laughter.
“Oh, shut it. I like it, okay?”, he ruffled your hair in embarrassment and walked ahead.
“Senpai!”
“What do you want now?”, he grumpily asked.
Lightly, your fingers touched the phantomatic score on the forehead. With a heartfelt smile on your lips, you shouted out, “thank you so much!”
He didn’t hesitate to return your smile with a matching one of his own.
~
“Eh?”
“Ehh?”
Satoru and Suguru looked at each other in confusion.
“I thought we were chasing them for real?”, Suguru asked with the ‘captured’ two first-year boys in tow.
“Ah well- yea- right.”
“I won fair and square!”
The four widened their eyes at you and Satoru, “for real?” “Seriously?” “Satoru lost?”
“Hey, she was getting better, you know”, he was quick to defend but Suguru and Shoko didn’t miss a chance to tease him more. You ran up to join Nanami and Haibara, who welcomed you back eagerly with questions about how you did it. As you answered them with the same energy, Satoru studied from afar at how bright your smile looked.
~