Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kiku’s head was spinning. Her ears were ringing, as she starred at the dark road ahead of her. Only lit by the headlights of the car she was sitting in and the lanterns on the side of the street.

She’s done it. She had finally done it! After months of careful planning and crafting, she finally has done it!

Sitting in a small rental car, she was driving as fast as she could, towards the direction of safety. Even if that word was now hardly limited.

She ran away from the Kamo Clan. When the dark of the night arouse, hidden in the darkness, she left the large estate and just started running. Running to never look back ever again, with only the most necessary items on her. From the very place, that was tormenting her for the almost entire last decade. The reason why she spend so many nights sleepless in her room. The place that never saw her as a person, but only ever as a tool and cattle for breeding. The people that never gave her a chance to just live!

And the reason why she was now in such great danger.

No! Not only her.

Her tired eyes looked into the review mirror, not for the first time in that night.

On the backseat, sound asleep and breathing peacefully, rested Noritoshi, her beloved son. Slumped over and using his sleeping yukata as a blanked, he held onto a small stuffed animal and didn’t let himself be disturbed by the chaos around him.

Kiku let out a heavy sight.

No, her son was in danger now, too. She knew this would be the case ever since she became pregnant with him almost six years ago. As a concubine for the current head of the clan, she knew she would end up in a rock and a hard place ever since she was sold to said clan by her parents. Ever since the baby she carried in her belly turned out to be a male. Ever since she found out that, her son had the prized technique of the Kamo Clan, Blood Manipulation. She knew! Kiku just knew that her son would become her Achilles heel and they both would end up in danger sooner or later.

Quickly Kiku shook her head in an attempt to get rid of the dark thoughts in her head and focus back on the road.

No, not now! She still had time. There was still a chance for her son to be safe and sound, and only she would have to carry the weight of the consequences of her actions.

That was the thought she decided to focus on, just as she arrived in a vaguely familiar neighborhood in Sendai. At the sight of it, she let out a silent breath of relief.

But they weren’t out of the blue just now. Kiku knew that, so she continued to keep her guard up.

“Where is it? Where is it?” she mumbled lowly, as she searched for the house of the old friend of her grandparents. Granted, she hasn’t seen said friend of her family for a very long time now and it was doubtful he even remembered her…

…What if he moved away?

The thought almost let Kiku’s blood freeze in her veins.

Yes. What would she do then? Could she leave Noritoshi with another person? A stranger? Her time was slowly running out and…

Her spiraling thoughts cut off and a relieved sigh escaped the young mothers’ lips, when she finally found the right house and spotted the familiar name written on its nameplate. And despite the early hours of the morning, there was already light lit in one of the windows. The only house that was awake in the entire street as far as she could see. Which was good for her. That way, Noritoshi had a lower chance of being found.

Kiku stopped the car directly in front of the house, seeing how she wouldn’t stay for very long there anyway, and with shaking hands she unbuckled her seatbelt. Taking a deep breath and grabbing what she needed from the passenger seat, she opened the drivers’ door and exited the car, before going to the back and opening the door to the backseats. However, upon opening the door, she couldn’t stop herself from halting her movements when she saw her son.

Noritoshi laid still peacefully asleep on the backseats. His little face was so peaceful and calm, it let tears well up in Kiku’s eyes. She wished she could have had more moments like these in the past. But Kiku had a time limit and she knew it. So against her will, she gently started to shake his small shoulder, to wake her son up.

It wasn’t long before the young boy started to stir from slumber. Sleepily rubbing his eyes with a small fist, before opening them and blinking up at her. “…Mother?...” he asked with a tired voice.

She gave her son a gentle smile. “We’re here, Noritoshi. You have to get up now.”

As answer, she only got a tired nod, before a wide yawn escaped her son. Kiku lowly cooed at that, before holstering her still half-asleep son up in her thin arms and carrying him towards the door.

With from nervousness shaking hands, she pressed the doorbell with her free hand. The sweet chiming sound of the doorbell could be heard even from their position from the outside, before it became quiet and the street was shrouded in silence again.

Nothing happened for multiple seconds and Kiku feared she might be ignored by the inhabitant of the house. Maybe she should ring again? Was the older man even still alive? Did the family he left behind live in the house now? Or maybe she wasn’t even gonna be welcomed here in the first place and should just leave?

Just as these thoughts began to take over her mind, the door in front of her opened and gave sight to an elderly looking man, that Kiku could recognize everywhere.

The shorter man starred up at her with a slight frown, before recognition flashed in his brown eyes, which in turn then widened in shock.

This in turn let Kiku exhale the breath of anticipation she was subconsciously holding in until now.

“…Kiku-chan? Is that you?” he asked with a gruff voice, which almost made the young woman cry with nostalgia.

“…Yes. Yes, it’s me, Itadori-san,” she answered with slightly breaking voice, but smiled nevertheless. If it looked a little shaky and watery, he thankfully didn’t comment on it.

For a few seconds the two adults only looked at each other, before Itadori-san began to speak again, “You look… different.”

Kiku’s smile became a little tighter, as well as her grip around Noritoshi. She understood his hesitance. Compared to how she looked back as a child, her appearance changed drastically. Gone was her long hair, which she used to love so much as a child. She wasn’t as meaty as before, due to her not eating enough anymore, even in her position. A result of the stress caused by the clan. Her eyes, Kiku could only imagen, were dull and lifeless, and far from the bright shining eyes that once watched the world around her in childish wonder. She wouldn’t know, as she hasn’t looked in a mirror for quite some time now.

“I know. That’s why I am here,” she said after a short moment of silence, breaking their tense stare off.

The old man stepped back, further opening the door, silently inviting her to step inside. “Then come in. Would you like some tea?”

She wanted to. Kami, Kiku really, really wanted to. She wanted to have tea with her grandparents and Itadori-san just like in the old days. These days without fear and pain, and the knowledge of the dangers lurking in the shadows around them. Just one last time.

But against her own wishes and yearnings, while she stepped into the house and the door was shut behind her, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Itadori-san, but I don’t have much time. I can’t risk them tracing me back and finding us here.”

She stopped at the genkan and took a deep breath, while Itadori-san watched her with a confused frown of his eyebrows.

“I actually came here to ask you for a very selfish favor. My son,” she nodded her head at Noritoshi in her arm, already back asleep, “is in danger and I want you to look after him.” Kiku continued just as he opened his mound to interrupt her. “Please, Itadori-san, I… I know this is sudden. But please! I don’t… I can’t have him grow up in such a cold place. And I can’t take him to come with me either. We would be found and forced back into this horrible place. So please…” She lowered herself as best as she could, with her son still in her arms, in a low bow. “Please protect my son. He is the only thing I have left.”

Kiku starred at her dirty shoes, not daring to look the man into the eyes, even when she heard him take a sharp inhale of air at her shameless request.

A silence fell over them, that felt like hours, before it was broken by Itadori-san.

“Alright.”

Kiku’s head snapped up and with wide, disbelieving eyes, she looked at the old man in front of her, who just gave her a hard, determined look. She felt like crying from the relief that flooded her veins, but held back her tears for now.

“Thank you, Itadori-san,” she whispered breathless, but he just waved his hand at her dismissively.

“Don’t thank me just yet, stupid girl.”

Kiku couldn’t help he small, wet chuckle that escaped her lips at that. It was strange. In the Kamo Clan, such word would hurt her and make her want to curl up in a ball and cry for hours on end. But when Itadori-san called her that, it felt more like an affectionate nickname, despite the years that have passed since they last saw each other.

So Kiku opened her bag and took out the three thick envelopes, that she then held out to the elderly man, who took them with a questioning gaze at her.

“They are all for you. Two of them you have to read in private and alone after I’m gone and the last one…,” nervous Kiku bit her lip, “I don’t really care how you use the last one.”

Slowly Itadori-san nodded his head and tucked the enveloped in the inside of the cardigan he was wearing, showing no other outwardly reaction. Then she turned her attention to Noritoshi, whom she woke up once again at this morning, with a gentle shake of his shoulder.

“Wah-?” he asked confused and rubbed at his eyes, before being gently put down by his mother, so that he was standing right next to Itadori-san, who looked at the young boy with a stern face.

“Noritoshi.” By the sound of his name, he saw up to Kiku. And maybe it was the sound of her voice when she called him, but Kiku could see the look of confusion in his eyes, when he looked at her. “I’m sorry, honey, but your mother has to go to a very important place now, where she can’t take you with her. But don’t worry. Itadori-san here will look after you, alright?”

Confused Noritoshi looked up to Itadori-san, who gave the boy a small smile and nod in return.

“Noritoshi,” Kiku called again and putt her hands on her son’s small shoulders, as she got down on one knee in front of him. One of his shoulders was bare, since the clothes she bought him on the way here where a little bit too big for him and barely fit on his small frame. “What I tell you now is very important, so please listen to me.” She took a deep breath. “Itadori-san will look after you from now on. He will raise you, protect you, and make sure you aren’t alone anymore. Until you’re old enough to make your own decisions. Do you understand what I am saying?”

“But what about the clan? Didn’t they want me?” Noritoshi asked her with a confused frown, which broke her heart all over again.

“No, you will not go back there again. You will never return to this horrible place ever again, I promise,” she spoke firmly, while gently brushing his hair with one hand behind his ear. “I promise you will be safe here, so please…”

At this point, Kiku couldn’t stop her tears from falling anymore. Her lower lip was trembling and her nose was starting to run, so she held one hand in front of her face to hopefully hold the sobs back. This was the last time she would ever see her son.

So to hide her pitiful expression, she quickly slung her arms around her beloved son, her Noritoshi, and pulled him into a tight hug, despite her trembling frame.

“I’m sorry, Noritoshi. I’m really sorry, but I have to leave you now,” she whispered into his ear.

Ah... She should probably say something different. Something to give him courage and wouldn’t make him regret listening to her. To make sure he wouldn’t miss her too much later on. He would never see her again after all.

So Kiku took a deep breath and spoke in normal and steady tone.

“I love you.”

Yeah, that was right. Because I am his mother, I should and will always…

“I love you from the bottom of my heart, Noritoshi. You can’t even begin to imagen how much you mean to me. I love you more than I did anything ever before. So please…” She slightly tightened her hug around him. “Please grow up and live a long and happy life. Take care of yourself. I…” She took a shuddering breath. “I promise you will be fine here. So please don’t forget that. Whatever may happen in the future, remember that I will always love you.”

With that, she detached herself from her son and straightened herself up again, as she removed the last tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. Noritoshi meanwhile looked up to her, eyes wide with confusion, while Itadori-san put a rough hand on his small shoulder.

“He will be save here. So you don’t have to worry about him anymore,” the old man said with stern, yet gentle voice, to which Kiku could only nod with her head. Her son would be fine here.

“Mother?” Noritoshi, her one and only son, looked at her, childish innocence written all over his face.

So Kiku lowered her head again and pressed a kiss on his forehead, before leaning her forehead against his. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” she told him lowly, before straightening up again and turning towards the door. She put up the brightest smile she could muster at the moment and raised a hand to wave goodbye. “Well then, I’ll be off now!”

“Goodbye, Kiku-chan. It was good to see you again. Even if I wished it was under better circumstances,” said Itadori-san with a small nod. But Kiku could see the sadness in his eyes and the way his grip on Noritoshi’s shoulder strengthened slightly.

It relieved her, to know that her only son would be in the hands of such a capable man. A good person down to his bones, even if he rarely showed it towards others. She wondered if Noritoshi would grow up to be this kind of person under his guidance.

“Goodbye Noritoshi. Be good to Itadori-san, okay?” she passed her goodbye to her son, while standing in the open door. And with one last smile and a wave of her hand, she left the house and gently closed the door behind her.

For a short moment, she just stood there, as the first rays of the sun began to peak over the horizon. Face directed towards the sky, she tried to stop her tears from falling. Taking a few steps forward to return to the rented car, she could suddenly hear a commotion inside the house behind her.

The cries of her son. Crying out to her. Trying to follow her.

Kiku pressed down a sob as she quickly walked back to the small car and immediately started the motor, the moment she sat inside of it.

This was the right decision, she thought in her head, as she drove off in the car, leaving the small neighborhood, where she spend the better part of her childhood, behind. I know it. I’m his mother, so I know what was good for him and what the right decision was in that moment. And yet…

“I’m sorry, Noritoshi. I’m so, so sorry my son,” she whispered as a fresh wave of tears started making their way down her face. “Please forgive me.”

The young woman shoved her feeling back down as best as she could, as she couldn’t cry just yet. She still had work to do. To make sure these greedy old bastards would never lay a hand upon her son ever again. So Noritoshi could have a normal and happy childhood.

Swallowing the sobs and wails that threatened to escape her throat back down, Kiku drove as fast as she could, as far away as she could from her son.

There was only one last thing she had to do now, for Noritoshi to ensure is safety for the future.

She looked in the review mirror or the car, to the old clothes and the small plushy, he forgot to take with him, left behind there, laying untouched on the backseat.

Kiku’s head was spinning and her ears were ringing as she drove towards the coast. Her eyes focused back onto the road ahead of her.

This was all for her son. For his safety.

Because I am his mother, I should and will always do what stands in my power to protect my child from harm’s way.

---

With narrowed eyes, Wasuke starred at the three envelopes that laid in front of him on the kitchen table.

After almost over an hour, he finally managed to calm the small boy, maybe only a year or two older than Yuuji, down and put him to rest in the guestroom. Wasuke knew how little children were, thanks to his own son and grandson, so he knew to expect a delayed reaction from Noritoshi after his mother had left him so suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere.

And a reaction he had. He wasn’t very loud, not as loud as Yuuji is anyway, but he had a strong will. So when he put something in his head, he followed through with it. And because of that, Wasuke had some trouble to keep him inside the house, so his mother could quickly leave.

Now Noritoshi was finally asleep in his new room and peace had returned into the Itadori household. For now at least. Wasuke didn’t even want to imagen the headache Yuuji would bring him once he would meet his new brother. It was a wonder the hyperactive three-year old didn’t wake up due to all the commotion they made.

This boy truly could sleep through an earthquake, Wasuke thought to himself.

With a sight and shake of his head, the elderly man brought his train of thought back on track.

“Kiku-chan…”

Kiku-chan, the little girl that used to visit her grandparents next door so often when she was younger, many years ago. Wasuke almost didn’t recognize her at first. Compared to back then, she looked very different now. She was thinner and had a haunted look in her eyes. She looked more lifeless overall.

But he couldn’t judge her and looking after her son in such a situation was the least he could do for her. The last time he saw her, she was still so small. It was only after her grandparents passed away, that she stopped visiting Sendai.

They were truly good people. One of the few people Wasuke could truly call his friends. It was just sad to him, that they couldn’t have lived longer. They surely wouldn’t have let Kiku-chan end up in such a situation otherwise. Whatever said situation was, Wasuke wouldn’t know, he only opened the first envelope out of the three he was given. The thickest and heaviest out of the three. After looking inside, he already reconsidered his latest life choice.

Money.

Wasuke didn’t count it yet, but he was sure it was at least over 5.000.000¥. It probably came from before Kiku’s marriage, when she was still working, assuming she did work, because if he remembered correctly, she should still be in her twenties right now. How she ended up with a child, when she herself was practically still a child, he didn’t know and he honestly really did not want to.

But Wasuke had the feeling he would soon find out about the ‘how’ anyway when he opened the other two envelopes.

A deep sight escaped the man, who already had his best years behind him, but went to grab the next envelope anyway and tore it open.

Luckily it's a Sunday, he mused in his head, that way he wouldn’t have to worry about Yuuji and their new family member waking up for another few hours.

And so, Wasuke began to read.

---

Noritoshi had a hard time adjusting to this new situation. This new life. And, to be honest, he really didn’t understand anything at all.

He just knew that one night, his mother took him and they ran away from the Kamo Clan, which terrified him, because they did horrible things to the people that tried to run away. He heard of it from the other people in the clan. Then she put them both into a car and they drove for a very, very long time. So long, that Noritoshi ended up falling asleep again, before being woken up and finding himself in a strangers’ house. And then, his mother hugged him very tightly, as she spoke with soothing voice to him, and just left.

She left him alone with Itadori-sama and he didn’t even know when she would return. And the thought terrified him. He didn’t want his mother to go and leave him all alone.

So of course, he tried to follow her, to run after her, but Itadori-sama firmly held him back and told him, that this was for the best and his mother loved him very much. But Noritoshi didn’t want to hear any of it. He wanted his mother back. He wanted her to hug him and never let go again. He wanted her back!

So until she returned, Noritoshi promised himself he wouldn’t come out of the room he was given. Even when Itadori-sama, who checked up on him at least once a day and gave him food, tried to talk to him. He would just cover himself with the blanked until the man would leave again. Even when he could hear another voice outside of the door, that sounded young just like him.

Was this petty of him? Yes. But in his childish mind, this is what the world deserved after his mother left him behind by some stranger.

This changed after around a week, maybe two, Noritoshi wasn’t really sure. But one day the door to his room was opened once again, yet, something was different.

His grey eyes needed a short moment to adjust to the bright light from the hallway, before Noritoshi spotted them. In the doorframe stood Itadori-sama and Noritoshi already wanted to hide himself away again, but stopped when he spotted the second person. A small boy, younger than himself, hid himself partly behind Itadori-sama.

Big, honey brown eyes looked sight with Noritoshi’s grey, foxlike eyes. Immediately a grin broke out on the other boys’ face and he stepped out from behind Itadori-sama’s frame, before walking over to Noritoshi, who still sat on the bed, with the blanked over his head, unsure about the new situation.

The boy with pink hair stopped in front of him and held his hand out. “Hello. My name is Yuuji. What is your name?” the boy, Yuuji, introduced himself to Noritoshi in a cheerful tone.

Confused, the child of the Kamo Clan looked at the extended hand in front of him and then at Yuuji’s smiling face.

Seemingly sensing his confusion, Yuuji tilted his head. “You are supposed to shake it. It is a greeting,” he explained happily.

“Oh,” was all that Noritoshi could say at that.

Slowly, hesitantly, Noritoshi put his own hand in Yuuji’s smaller one, who just watched him patiently, and slightly shook it. “‘m Noritoshi,” he mumbled.

If Yuuji was already grinning at him before, he was positively beaming right now. His smile was so bright and big it was almost blinding. Noritoshi was even sure he could see small stars and flowers surrounding the smaller boy.

“Nice to meet you, Noritoshi!” Yuuji smiled at him. “Grandpa says you are going to live with us now and that you are my new big brother. Does that mean I can call you ‘Toshi-nii’? Where do you come from? What do you like?”

The childes rambling was interrupted by the gruff voice of Itadori-sama, who choose that moment to come over to them, after flicking the lights in the room on. “Yuuji, I told you beforehand not to talk so much. You’re overwhelming him. So cut it out!”

“Sorry Grandpa…” Guiltily Yuuji dropped Noritoshi’s hand and starred down at his feet.

But Noritoshi didn’t focus on that, rather at what Yuuji said before.

“…New brother?” he asked confused and looked towards Itadori-sama with searching eyes. A small feeling of dread settling in his stomach.

At his question, the elder man let out a deep sigh and slightly shook his head. “Let’s sit down for that one. This is probably going to take a while,” he said instead, helping his grandson sit on the bed, before settling himself down between the two children.

They sat in silence like that for a good minute or two, but to Noritoshi, if felt like hours. His mind was reeling. What does Yuuji mean with ‘new big brother’? Was his mother not coming back? Why is he here?

In the end, Itadori-sama opened his mouth and spoke, with a surprisingly calm voice. “Noritoshi-kun… You will be living with us from now on. Your mother… I have known her for a long time now and she asked me to take you in, since she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was… a difficult choice for her to make,” he explained. “But I understand her. She had a hard life until now, and she feared for your happiness and future, if you stayed with the Kamo Clan.”

“So mother… isn’t going to come back?” Noritoshi asked him with shacking voice, his heart beating wildly in his chest. His hands found their way into his hair, to grip it tightly. “She… She left me here for… with you… For what!?”

Noritoshi feeled betrayed. His mother, who he loved so dearly, left him here, with people he does not know, so she could just run off somewhere without him! Why?! How was that a better life than when they still were with the Kamo Clan? It doesn’t make any sense to him. Rather, it made him feel like his mother just abandoned Noritoshi to start a better life without him somewhere else. The grip of his hands in his hair strengthened, until it felt like he would tear it out.

It hurts. It hurts so much in his small heart!

“Noritoshi.”

He heard his name being called out, but couldn’t find himself to care.

At least until two warm hand found his and gently, but firmly guided them out of his hair, away from his head and down into his lap. Noritoshi looked up and locked eyes with Itadori-sama, who was holding his hands in his own. He tried to open his mouth and speak, but no sound came past the lump in his throat. His breathing was uneven and his eyes were starting to sting.

“Your mother didn’t abandon you. She did what she thought was best for you and left you under my care, until you become old enough to look after yourself. You are a child, Noritoshi. Her child. And she loved you with everything she had. That’s why she brought you here,” Itadori-sama said with unwavering voice and a hard look on his face. “And I promise you the same thing I did to her that I will look after you and raise you as if you’d be my own flesh and blood. I will protect you, until you are old enough to go into the world out there, because you mother can’t do so anymore.”

“She isn’t coming back for me… Isn’t she?” Noritoshi asked in a small voice, that somehow sounded so loud in the otherwise quiet room.

“No… She won’t be coming back. And you will probably never see her again,” said Itadori-sama with a slight shake of his head and sad look in his brown eyes.

And that broke the dam.

Noritoshi’s grey eyes filled with tears, that quickly spilled over and a wet sob escaped him. In no time he was wailing and crying loudly. Grieving for the mother, the only family he truly had, he had lost.

Hesitantly Itadori-sama pulled him into a hug that was firm, yet gentle, but Noritoshi registered this action not until a few moments later.

She won’t be coming back. His mother wouldn’t come back. The only person that ever truly loved him wouldn’t return to him.

And so, Noritoshi cried. He wailed and sobbed into the soft material of the elderly man’s shirt. He clung at the fabric, balling his small fists with it, in fear the person in front of him would disappear into thin air as well, if he didn’t held on to him. Snot and tears stained the clean material, as Noritoshi let all his feeling out.

“I want her back!” he cried between broken sobs, muffled by the older man’s chest.

“I know,” was his only answer.

“I miss her!”

Her soft kisses. How she put him to bed at night and sung him a lullaby. How she would protect him from the judgmental eyes of the clan. Her warm hugs, that she would give him whenever he cried. Just… her!

Noritoshi let everything out he had, until there was nothing left inside of him, except a big hollow feeling in his chest.

“I want her back…,” he finally mumbled, exhausted from the crying.

“I know,” repeated Itadori-sama soothingly. “And I know we can’t replace her. I am not your mother, but I will give my damn best, to give you the life she wanted for you. That I can promise you, Noritoshi.”

A sniffle escaped the child, but he nodded his head nonetheless. “Okay.”

“And I’m sorry you have to go through all this,” the old man added quietly, while rubbing circles on his back. “No one should have go through the type of pain you’re experiencing right now.”

Noritoshi hiccupped at that, as he pushed back from… his new guardian he supposed.

“’m sorry,” he mumbled, rather embarrassed, when the noticed the wet spot the left behind on the before clean shirt. While with one hand, he continued to rub the remaining tears from his eyes.

“It’s all right,” Itadori-sama said, almost amused sounding. “It was obvious this was overdue. As long as you’re feeling better now, that’s all that matters.”

Unsure, Noritoshi shrugged his shoulders. He felt… different that was for sure. Exhausted and not as lonely as before. Maybe like a big weight has been lifted of his shoulders. He still was sad, but now it was more… bearable? Was that the right word? It didn’t feel like the world was crashing down and falling apart around him anymore. But he wasn’t happy again either. Maybe he would be in the future?

Just then, the door to the bedroom opened again and Yuuji stepped back in, a towel in one hand and a proud smile on his face. Noritoshi didn’t even realize he left at one point. Was he really so out of it? Or was Yuuji just that sneaky? Noritoshi was raised to be aware of his surroundings all the time in the Kamo Clan. That he didn’t realize what happened around him while he was crying, was rather embarrassing.

He was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn’t realize Yuuji was coming up to him, until he felt a wet, lukewarm towel pressed into his hands, that were folded into his lap. He jumped startled and looked down to Yuuji, who smiled gently at him.

“Grandpa always says you should put that over your eyes after you cried. It helps,” the younger boy told him.

Noritoshi starred at him, then at the folded towel in his hands, then back at Yuuji, before he slowly nodded at him. “Thank you…”

The smaller boy beamed up at him and Noritoshi could feel a small grateful smile make its way onto his face.

“Yuuji, I told you before, that you shouldn’t do that!” Itadori-sama gruffly told the younger boy, who just looked confused at him.

“But grandpa-“

“Don’t ‘but grandpa’ me, young man! I told you it was rude to just give strangers things,” the old man cut him off and leveled him with a hard stare.

“But Toshi-nii isn’t a stranger anymore. We are brothers now!” Yuuji replied confidently, if a little confused.

“You little brat, I told you not to overwhelm him with too much information beforehand, didn’t I? And what are you doing?”

“But grandpa!” came the whining reply from Yuuji.

Noritoshi watched the verbal exchange with wide eyes, the wet towel still in his hands. This was… different from the Kamo Clan. Those two acted and treated each other with respect and care, and jet they still fought, but listened in the end.

Just in the short time Noritoshi had seen the two interact with each other and him, he knew they were good people. It was such a strong contrast to his former life in the Kamo Clan. Where the people there walked on tiptoes around each other, where here, he could feel the welcoming atmosphere in a warm home.

Noritoshi couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him, when he saw the two squabble with each other, as Itadori-sama hit Yuuji with one fist on the top of his head, that wasn’t nearly as strong as it could be. Itadori-sama held his strength back to not hurt his grandson in anyway. It seemed only to get his point across. This was so different from what Noritoshi was used in his former clan, it was jawing.

This small act however, made the two Itadori’s pause in what they were doing and looked at him. Yuuji with big eyes and a happy smile on his face and Itadori-sama with a raised eyebrow, but also raising one corner of your mouth slightly.

“Well, it seems like our new roommate will fit right in here,” said the older Itadori amused, before turning serious again. “Now put that towel on your eyes, before you get a headache!”

“Yes, Itadori-sama,” replied Noritoshi and did as was told.

“And stop calling me that. I’m not some bigshot person you might know. Call me Wasuke, or Grandpa, like Yuuji.”

“Sorry, Wasuke-san.”

Satisfied, Wasuke-san huffed a breath. “Better.”

And so Noritoshi busied himself by continuing to press the slowly drying towel against his eyes, before turning to Wasuke-san against, who patiently waited for him to finish. Yuuji meanwhile had returned to his original place next to his grandfather on the bed and was looking at them curiously, until Noritoshi took the towel from his eyes again.

Clearing his throat, Wasuke-san brought his attention back to him. “So, Noritoshi. Now that this is out of the way, we would like to introduce ourselves properly to you. My name is Itadori Wasuke and this,” with one hand he gestured to Yuuji, “is my grandson, Itadori Yuuji. And from now on, you name is Itadori Noritoshi.” He looked Noritoshi in the eyes. “Got all that?”

Slowly, unsure, Noritoshi nodded his head. “But why can’t I use my mother’s name?” he asked with a small voice.

That was something she told Noritoshi when he was a little younger, that when a woman marries into a family, she gives up her old family name, to take on the name of her new family. That was tradition. And when she would leave the household, with or without her children, they change their family name back to that of the mothers’ original family name.

“Because this is saver for you,” said the old man in front of him, with a grave expression on his face. “The official story we will tell other people is, that you are a stray I found and adopted, because you had nowhere else to go. That way, you and your mother can’t be traced back here, while she lays a red herring for your former clan to follow. Therefore, you will be saver in the future.”

Slowly Noritoshi nodded his head again. This made sense. Even if he didn’t understood most of it and liked it.

Wasuke-san looked at him like he saw his inner turmoil and let out a low sigh. “It is only until you’re an adult. Once you leave the house, you can change it back to your mother’s maiden name, okay? But until then, you are Itadori Noritoshi.”

“Okay,” mumbled Noritoshi.

Satisfied, Wasuke-san nodded his head. “Good.”

Just then, Yuuji spoke up, “Is Toshi-nii going to be okay?”

Wasuke-san shrugged. “Don’t ask me, ask him yourself.”

“Okay!” Yuuji said with a determined look, before looking hesitantly at Noritoshi. “Are you okay?”

Now Noritoshi shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said, a little unsure. “I think I will be, one day.”

Satisfied with the answer, the younger boy nodded at him. “Good!”

“Now Yuuji, what did I tell you about calling people names?” Wasuke-san spoke up again.

Confused, the pink haired boy looked up at him and pouted. “But I am just calling him Toshi-nii.”

“Yes, but did you ask him if you could do so?” countered his grandfather flatly.

“Yes!” answered Yuuji him confidently, with a raised arm.

“And did he tell you that you could call him that?” the older man continued to ask.

And just as Yuuji opened his mouth to answer him, realization seemed to dawn on him and he closed his mouth. “Oh,” was apparently all he could say.

“So?” Expectantly Wasuke-san raised his eyebrow, as he looked at his sheepish appearing grandson.

Twiddling with his thumbs, Yuuji turned back to Noritoshi, thought, he didn’t look him in the eye, rather continued to stare at his lap. “I’m sorry for calling you Toshi-nii, without your permission. I won’t do it again,” he apologized to him, in a small voice.

Noritoshi could only blink at him, feeling blood rush into his cheeks. Somehow, this interaction was new territory for Noritoshi, which he didn’t know how to handle.

“Ah! It is… no problem. R-really! You can call me whatever you like,” he ended up stammering out, flustered. He didn’t know why this interaction made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe because he never was called by such a familiar nickname before back in the clan.

But this appeared to be good enough of an answer to Yuuji, who suddenly beamed back at him with his too bright smile. “Yay! Then I am calling you Toshi-nii from now on!” he yelled happily, flustering Noritoshi even more.

“S-sure.”

Wasuke-san meanwhile, Noritoshi noted, only watched the two boy interact with each with a slight smile on his face.

And just like that, Noritoshi became a part of the Itadori family.

---

Yuuji woke up to the sound of muffled crying.

The now four year old heard the sound even before he was fully awake, carrying through the hallway. Slowly he sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily and yawning before moving to hop off his bed. With light steps he walked towards the ajar door, before he opened it, hearing the crying better now.

He knew grandpa sleeps tightly, so he knew it couldn’t be him. That only left Toshi-nii.

Yuuji felt sorry for him. Grandpa told him that his mama was in a bad place and gave Toshi-nii to them, so he would be safe. But he still really missed her and was sad that she wouldn’t come back.

Yuuji didn’t understand that really. He didn’t have a mama and papa after all. He hand grandpa and that was enough for him. But Toshi-nii was still sad.

With a silent resolve, Yuuji walked down the hallway and towards his big brothers door. Arriving there, he stood on tiptoes to open the door. Once it was open, he walked inside and towards Toshi-nii’s bed.

There he found his brother curled up under the blanked, continuing to cry, obvious to the world around him. It was only when Yuuji tugged lightly at the blanked, that Toshi-nii stuck his head out from under it and looked at him with red eyes.

“Are you okay?” Yuuji asked him lowly, making sure not to wake grandpa up.

Toshi-nii shook his head. “Nightmare,” he whispered hoarsely.

“You want to talk about it? Grandpa said it helps,” Yuuji said.

Toshi-nii shook his head again.

“You want to cuddle?” the pink haired boy asked instead.

This time the older boy hesitated, before slowly nodding his head.

Yuuji grinned up at him, before climbing into his brothers’ bed and settling himself under the blanked. Once he was set, he let out a content sigh, before closing his eyes.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard Toshi-nii speak, “Thank you, Yuuji. Goodnight.”

“G’dnight, Toshi-nii,” Yuuji yawned, before falling asleep in his brothers arms.

That night, both boys continued to sleep peacefully with happy dreams.

---

“We’re off to school now! See you later, grandpa!!”

“Goodbye, grandfather!”

With a last wave over their shoulder, Yuuji and Noritoshi left the house on an early Monday morning, leaving their grandfather to look after them, as the door behind the two boys closed.

Wasuke could only sight, when he heard his grandchildren’s voices slowly fade into the distance as they made their way towards their school, before turning away from the door and walking back into the kitchen.

With Noritoshi now 9 years old and Yuuji being 7, their lives had changed drastically in the last few years.

There was, for one, the presence of Noritoshi itself.

On one hand, the boy, despite his young age, was very polite and knew how to act around and interact with adults. He was respectful to Wasuke and other adults and could keep a conversation with them for quite some time. The complete opposite to when he had to interact with children his own age. He was stiff and seem to be rather unsure about how to interact with other children of his age group, relying heavily on Yuuji to make the first step for conversations and approaches towards others. It troubled Wasuke sometimes, to see such a young child not being able to act like a child his own age, instead acting like a mini version of some adult, despite the time that has passed since he left the Kamo Clan.

Irritated at the thought, Wasuke scrunched is face up in displeasure, as he started to do the dishes, before smothering his face back into a blank stare. Still, the older Itadori could understand now why Kiku-chan wanted him to take care of her son and why she left the Kamo Clan in the first place. To think into what kind of person Noritoshi would have grown up to if he stayed there, made the old mans’ stomach scrunch. This boy would have become a puppet without any free will on his own, bound to traditions so old, Wasuke wondered how it was still even allowed to raise a child like that.

But then again, with money comes silence and for people with so much money, buying it surely wouldn’t be much of a problem, the oldest Itadori thought grimly to himself.

Luckily, Noritoshi wasn’t with them anymore and that alone counted. In fact, the young boy started to act like a boy his age should not too long ago. The first time Yuuji came back home from playing at the nearby park, dragging a sniffling Noritoshi with scrapped knees behind him, Wasuke almost had a heart attack, before feeling oddly proud at the boy. When he heard Yuuji’s story, while he cleaned up Noritoshi’s wounds, he felt even prouder for hearing how much fun his boys had at the park. He wasn’t even mad at them. Well maybe Yuuji, because he had to scold the younger boy again for not keeping his strength in check. But that was about everything.

Living with Noritoshi on the other hand, was another thing entirely. Other than Yuuji, Noritoshi was quiet. He moved between the rooms with silent steps and ate his meals with them silently only spoke when spoken too. When playing with Yuuji, Noritoshi sometimes seemed overwhelmed with how enthusiastic the younger boy was playing, but never said anything. Wasuke was the person that had to slow his younger grandson down, when it looked like things became too much for their new family member.

This luckily changed after some time as well. Maybe Noritoshi just needed time to get to know the two Itadori’s, or he still felt the claws of the Kamo Clans’ traditions and mannerisms dig deep into his flesh, Wasuke didn’t know. But giving it time, Noritoshi slowly started to open up to them and interacted with them more. It was kind of heartwarming for Wasuke to see such an isolated and lonely boy slowly growing up into a more open and happy person. At this point, after first starting school, Noritoshi would always talk about his day at dinner, knowing it would make Yuuji happy and excited for when he would start school on his own a couple of years later.

But that wasn’t the only thing that changed in their lives.

Around the time Yuuji first started school and got into first grade, he started to act nervously around certain places and areas. At first, Wasuke didn’t think much of it. But when it became more frequent, the oldest Itadori became worried. So he sat down with Yuuji and they talked about it, where his grandson told him about the monsters in the shadows that were looking at them. And Wasuke listened to him, as slowly clarity started to come to him.

His grandson could see cursed spirits.

At first, it was only a theory. But when Wasuke asked Noritoshi to look after Yuuji and check if he could really see the same things he saw, it was confirmed not shortly after. Noritoshi told him how Yuuji would look at the curses hiding in the school and dark alleys. He also said his younger brother started emitting strong cursed energy.

So with this new development, Wasuke and Noritoshi explained the world of curses and sorcerers to Yuuji. Well, mostly Noritoshi, since the boy grew up in this world, wherever Wasuke only knew about this world due to one of Kiku-chan’s letters for him.

About how every year the average number of unexplained deaths and missing person reports exceeds around 10.000 annually. How the majority of these are the results of negative energy that flows out of people and results in the creation of curses, who mostly linger in places with much negative energy like schools and hospitals. And about the world of jujutsu sorcerers and what they do exactly, but told him sternly to stay away from that world.

It was a long and tiring talk, but in the end it payed off.

Yuuji, back then rather more confused that scared, finally at least seemed to understand what was going on and wasn’t so nervous all the time anymore.

With this, Wasuke enrolled both of them into a dojo to learn aikido, so they knew how to defend themselves against curses. It was the right decision, as both boys seemed to like the idea and also showed great talent and potential for it.

Along with it, Wasuke also set up rules for them, that they only were allowed to train their cursed energy and anything along the lines in their garden, surrounded and hidden from prying eyes by the high walls. And that, while they weren’t allowed to fight against curses out of their league, they would only defeat curses when nobody was around, or they were sure that nobody was looking. Wasuke may have promised Kiku-chan to keep Noritoshi away from his former clan and the world of jujutsu, but it felt wrong for the old man to force him completely away from this world. And with Yuuji now showing signs of talent for it, it strengthened Wasuke’s decision.

It was a little bit painful for the elderly man to use the money Kiku-chan left for them in such a way, to pay for the material arts lessons and other such small things. Before Kiku-chan brought their son to them Wasuke even had thought about moving with Yuuji, to get more money with his job. That plan changed once Noritoshi came into their lives and they stayed in Sendai. But it was a price he was willing to pay, if it meant his grandchildren would be safe in the future. (Not only from curses, but also from the Kamo Clan, should they ever try to do something.)

And with this, their new routine was settled.

With a small sigh Wasuke put the final dishes away, before letting the dirty water run out of the sink. Eyeing the clock, he saw that it was almost time for him to go to work himself. So with one last look over the now clean kitchen, Wasuke nodded satisfied to himself, before making himself ready for the day.

The way things are now, they are supposed to say. Peaceful, he thought meanwhile to himself.

However, Wasuke knew that with him getting older, time would continue to change. What would happen to his beloved family when he was gone? Kaori, or whatever the thing was that was wearing her face, was still out there and with all the knowledge the old Itadori had now, as limited as it may be, he knew this imposter was somehow connected to this hidden world.

It worried him deeply.

But he couldn’t do anything about it right now, so with a heavy heart, Wasuke shoved the thought in the back of his head and instead focused at the here and now.

And that was raising his grandchildren to the best of his abilities, until they no longer needed him.

---

Time passed in the Itadori household and before anybody noticed Noritoshi and Yuuji started attending middle school.

With Noritoshi now in his third year of middle school and Yuuji in his first, one would have thought the two brothers wouldn’t spend as much time together anymore. But these people were proven wrong over and over again, as the two boys were practically inseparable and spend most of their time together, in and outside off school.

Like right now.

Valentine’s Day just passed and currently, both boys were lounging around in Noritoshi’s room, that now looked far more lived in than when he first arrived here. With many books, both in Japanese and English, some potted plants on the window seats, and perfectly clean. Currently Yuuji was sitting on Noritoshi’s desk chair and turned to look at his older brother, who was sitting on his bed and reading a book.

“You sure got a lot of chocolate this year as well,” Yuuji commented while side eying the big amount of handmade chocolates Noritoshi found in his looker and got as gifts from many people from the school. “Even more than me. You sure are popular with the girls, Toshi-nii.”

“Not all of these are from girls, Yuuji,” answered Noritoshi calmly, while looking at his bother. “You should know. You are beloved by both boys and girls as well. Especially that one girl, Ozawa-chan, seems to like you.”

Surprised Yuuji looked at him. “Really? I never noticed,” he chuckled embarrassed, while scratching the back of his head.

“Of course you didn’t…,” sighed Noritoshi and lowered his book, to point a finger at his bother. “You have to pay more attention to these kind of things! You may learn stuff explained to you quickly, but you really have to learn some tact and how to read the room!”

“I know, I know!” A laugh escaped Yuuji, as he raised his hands in surrender. “But it’s so hard. You make it look so easy with how you talk to people. You could smile more, though.”

On his last comment, a snort escaped Noritoshi. “And attract even more people? The same could be said when you would look more serious. The amount of people that would confess to you…”

“You think so?” Yuuji asked him laughing.

“I know so,” Noritoshi replied, while the corners of his mouth quirked upwards.

His answer only made Yuuji laugh harder, until he doubled over in the chair he sat in.

Once the younger Itadori’s laughter died down and he composed himself, he pointed at the mountain of chocolate on Noritoshi’s desk. “Just tell me when you need help eating all that. You can give me the stuff you don’t like and I give you mine in return,” he said lightly.

Now it was Noritoshi’s turn to bark a laugh. “You eat everything, Yuuji!”

“Exactly!”

In return, Noritoshi only laughed harder. It was different from Yuuji’s. Not as loud, more controlled and composed, but it was enough for Yuuji, to know he made his older brother laugh.

“So is that a ‘yes’, or…?” asked Yuuji after a few seconds of peaceful silence between them.

“Of course. I possibly couldn’t finish all of this alone,” Noritoshi answered him with a chuckle.

“Yes!” With a loud cheer, Yuuji bumped his first into the air. “You’re the best, Toshi-nii!”

“So long as you’re doing your homework correctly.”

“Ah, fuck! Now that’s just unfair!” lamented Yuuji loudly. To bring his point across, he even let himself down to his knees onto the floor. “You know exactly that I suck at school!” Accusingly he pointed at finger at Noritoshi, who just returned to reading his book.

“Then start learning, so you won’t fall behind on the material,” was all Noritoshi told him in return.

Yuuji could only puff out his cheeks at that. He knew exactly that his older brother was right, but that didn’t stop him from being annoyed. Especially at his schoolwork. Why does he need to learn that stuff anyway?

So they continued to bask in each other’s silence. Noritoshi reading his book and Yuuji sitting at his brother’s desk, trying (and failing) to get his homework done, while eating some of his own valentine chocolate.

Time past on like that, with only the scribbling of a pen on paper and the occasionally turning of a page, before Yuuji spoke up again.

“Do you think once you start high school, you will quit aikido?” Yuuji asked Noritoshi and looked at his older brother, who frowned at the question.

“Probably,” he answered and put a bookmark into his book, before putting it onto his nightstand. “I want to look if I can find a job close by. Or maybe I finally join a club. Taking down more curses in the neighborhood could also be done.” He looked at Yuuji and slightly tilted his head to the side. “Why do you ask?”

Now it was Yuuji’s turn to frown. “’Don’t know. Maybe because we are the strongest at the dojo and the only ones who can take down Sensei on our own. I just think that, without you there, things will get boring.”

“You want to quit?” Noritoshi retuned the question.

The pink haired boy shrugged with his shoulders. “I guess. It’s starting to get boring. And the only reason we started in the first place was so we could defend ourselves against curses.”

Noritoshi nodded. “That’s true,” he said, before he seems to have an idea. “We could stop aikido and instead focus on our cursed energy. We already fought against each other, but not with cursed energy.”

At that, Yuuji perked up. “That sounds good. Though, we have to train somewhere else, our garden is getting a little small for that kind of stuff, I think,” he noted. But then he became thoughtful. “But don’t we already train with cursed energy? We’ve been learning and self-teaching us that stuff since I was six. You even longer because you came from one of these three big clans.”

“Yes, but I meant, that we can focus on it even more. Even if we aren’t fully trained sorcerers, we can at least help some people with our powers,” elaborated Noritoshi.

“Ah,” made Yuuji and nodded his head in understanding. “Makes sense.” He took a piece of chocolate out of the box and popped it into his mouth, before raising his eyebrows. “Hey! Maybe we could also start fighting against more curses while we do that. More training for us.”

“As long as we don’t attract too much attention that way,” Noritoshi started slowly, before adding quickly. “But only the curses that we know we can handle!”

“Of course! I’m not an idiot,” Yuuji told him. “And as long as you don’t use your cursed technique too much, everything should be fine.”

“I’m still going to train with it,” Noritoshi said.

Yuuji nodded. “Of course!” He looked towards the clock in the room, before looking back towards Noritoshi. “Are we going to talk about it to grandpa tonight?”

Now Noritoshi shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

Silence. Then…

“You think grandpa will start nagging you about getting a girlfriend once you stop aikido and have more free time?” Yuuji asked his brother out of the blue.

Noritoshi sighed. “I hope not. I don’t even know if I like girls that way…”

“Maybe you like both boys and girls like me!” Yuuji exclaimed, while raising a finger. “Or you don’t like anyone romantically. That would be fine too!”

A light laugh escaped Noritoshi at that. “Thank you Yuuji. But I don’t think I can take anyone seriously who has Jennifer Lawrence as a beauty standard.”

Angrily Yuuji whipped his head towards his older brother. “What is that supposed to mean?!” he asked him loudly.

But he only got a chuckle as answer.

And so the rest of the day was spend in a light atmosphere and an unspoken promise between two brothers.

---

“THIS WAS A VERY BAD IDEA!!!”

That was the only thing Yuuji could yell, as he was thrown across the rugby field, after the curse that resided there managed to land a hit on him. A grotesque creature with 6 arms and a strange bug like appearance, that was currently running towards the boy, who was now in his second year of middle school.

Quickly he tried to get back onto his feet again before the curse could reach him, but slightly struggled, since the spot where the punch landed was still stinging like hell. His eyes could only widen when he saw his foe storm towards him at full speed. But the curse never reached Yuuji, as suddenly Noritoshi jumped between the two and delivered a powerful punch against the curse, putting it at a distance again.

“Are you alright, Yuuji?” Noritoshi asked him, his eyes still fixated on the curse in front of them.

“Jup!” chirped Yuuji brightly and gave him a thump up, as if they weren’t currently fighting for their lives. “Sorry for that! I didn’t manage to block in time.”

“It’s alright,” sighed the now high school first year, before returning into his fighting stance. “But let’s finish this fast, before someone comes by and sees us.”

Yuuji nodded at him, now with a more serious expression on his face and pushed himself up, to stand beside his older brother, in a similar fighting stance. He side eyed Noritoshi, seeing that he copied his action, before they sprung back into action.

They couldn’t put up a curtain to hide themselves and the destruction they would likely leave behind, since there aren’t any jujutsu sorcerers located in Sendai. At least they didn’t think so. So when suddenly a curtain would be lowered around Sugisawa Municipal High School, the school Noritoshi now attended, they knew the sorcerers would become suspicious, so the two boys couldn’t do that. Instead, they planned to finish this fight as quickly as possible, with as less property damage as possible, without being seen.

Considering is was currently winter and in the middle of the night, the last part of their plan shouldn’t be a problem. The other parts on the other hand…

Yuuji winced when his punch missed the mark and instead hit the ground beneath the curse, who jumped backwards and out of the way at the last second, making the earth crack under the brute force, leaving a spider web-like pattern behind.

But his action did some good, as the curse was now in the air and with no way to avoid the incoming attack. Yuuji could feel his brother mere meters behind him and could hear the way he clapped his hands together to fire his shot. The cursed energy behind him rose in strength, before he heard it.

“Convergence: Piercing Blood.”

A line of blood shot towards the curse, who, miraculously, managed to move to the side to avoid it, laughing in the process. A disgusting sound in Yuuji’s ears, that made him twist his face in distaste, before he started to grin.

Because Noritoshi wasn’t done yet.

“Blood Cutter.”

The thin line of blood moved. Over Yuuji’s head, towards the curse. It tried to block the attack, but couldn’t and was cleanly cut in half in the middle, making it loose its back part. If feel on the hard earth with a lout ‘splash’, unmoving.

However, Yuuji knew the curse wasn’t defeated yet. Only when it disappeared into nothingness was a curse defeated. They had to learn that lesson a few years ago the hard way.

So he drew his fist back and leaped at the curse, who tried to move out of the way.

But Yuuji was faster.

Black sparks erupted as his punch made contact with the curse, throwing it back due to the pure power put behind it, until the high wall surrounding the school stopped it.

Satisfied, Yuuji nodded to himself when he saw the curse slowly disappear into ash, until nothing was left of it.

“Nice work, Toshi-nii!” Yuuji praised his brother with a bright grin, as he jogged over to him.

“Thank you,” said Noritoshi with a nod of his head, while dusting his clothes off. “You weren’t bad either. That last attack was truly powerful.” His expression then turned concerned. “Are you alright, thought?”

“Jup! Just a little sore. That punch from before came really out of the blue.” As if to prove his point, Yuuji rolled his shoulder, wincing slightly when a jolt of pain surged through it. Yeah… He definitely would have to cool that later with some ice.

But Noritoshi seemed satisfied with his answer and nodded. “This curse was stronger than the ones we fought before. No wonder this fight was so hard,” he said calmly. “Let’s to home and clean ourselves up.”

To that, Yuuji could only nod his head. And with one last look over the school grounds, they turned around and left to go back home.

Sugisawa Municipal High School barely suffered from any damage because of their fight. Only a few small craters were scattered around the rugby field and a hole in one of the walls was left behind. For normal humans, this could be brushed off as the results of a gang fight or of something like that. And if a jujutsu sorcerer was to come around in the near future… well… lets just hope they couldn’t follow their residuals. The Itadori brothers suppressed their cursed energy most of the time, but even they could slip up… So it was better to be extra careful.

On the other hand, Yuuji and Noritoshi themselves suffered quite the damage. Both of them had their clothes, some dark tracking suits that they wore in their free time, torn and ripped at some places, with dirt and sweat sticking to them like a second skin. This was mainly because at the beginning of the fight, there were some weaker curses around that keep interfering in their battle, making them stumble and interrupted their attacks. So they had to exorcise these small fries first, before taking care of the big fish.

It took some time and was hard work, but it payed of in the end. Knowing the school Noritoshi now attended to was a safer place.

Said boy now ran his hand through his dark hair, that almost reached down to his shoulders. His hair tie must have ripped at some point during their fight, since he usually wore it in a neat, low ponytail. Small cuts lingered his body and drying blood stuck at some places.

As for Yuuji himself, his pink hair was sticking up in all directions and he was sure to get some bruises from some of the attacks he took earlier. Luckily, it seems that nothing was broken, thanks to his sturdy body. Except for their tattered clothes, the two brothers were relatively fine in that regard.

“You think the school will be safer now?” Yuuji asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence, walking side by side.

“I hope so,” his older brother answered, while fixing his jacked. “Even if not, every curse we kill helps someone. No matter how small.”

“And it helps us with our training!” Yuuji added.

“And it helps with our training,” Noritoshi repeated, less enthusiastic.

After a minute of walking, Yuuji spoke up again. “How are we going to explain this to grandpa when he finds out? He said not to fight against something we can’t handle.”

“But we did handle the curse,” Noritoshi replied, sounding almost confused.

“Barely,” Yuuji muttered and looked at the pavement under his feet. “Pretty sure without you there, I would have died.”

“Then it was good I was there. Grandfather also told us to look out for each other.” Yuuji could feel his brother gaze on him, before he heard him sigh. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. We are still young and don’t have much experience. Plus, that curse was stronger than any of the ones we fought before. This outcome was somewhat to be expected.”

A warm hand was placed on Yuuji’s shoulder, so he stopped and looked back up at his older brother. His grey eyes looked at him with worry and understanding.

“It’s just frustrating,” Yuuji admitted in a small voice. “You always seem so much better than me at this type of stuff. Maybe because you grew up in a clan, or because you have more talent for it. And I know it’s unfair, but I can’t help but feel frustrated because it.”

It was the truth. But Yuuji didn’t know why he said these words at all. Noritoshi always was better at this type of stuff. Even if Yuuji was more skilled at close combat and learned it much faster than him, his brother had a cursed technique. Something Yuuji didn’t have. Even if Noritoshi told him he had a slim chance of having one, Yuuji honestly doubted it.

His thoughts were cut short, when he was suddenly pulled into a firm embrace from Noritoshi.

“I’m sorry,” his brother said calmly. And from the tone he used, Yuuji knew he truly meant it. “I’m sorry you feel that way. But you don’t have to. We are still young and have still room to grow. We can definitely still improve and continue to evolve.”

At Noritoshi’s words, Yuuji felt himself tear up and he finally retuned his embrace. It was warm and made Yuuji feel safe. That it was okay to feel these things.

“If I’m being honest, I feel kind out envious too,” Noritoshi started again. “You understand everything so fast when someone explains it to you properly, no matter what. Fighting, teaching material, and all those things. It kind of makes me jealous on how quickly you pick up on that stuff.” A low chuckle escaped him.

Meanwhile, Yuuji could feel his ears turning red. “Only because Toshi-nii explains everything to me, that I don’t understand,” he mumbled in embarrassment.

“And yet, you are still better at it than me,” Noritoshi hummed, before breaking the hug and put some distance back between them. But he still held onto Yuuji’s shoulders with both of his hands. “You feeling better?”

Quickly the pink haired boy nodded, while rubbing the tears in his eyes away with his sleeve. “Yeah.”

And it was the truth.

Satisfied, Noritoshi nodded as well, before letting his hands fall from Yuuji’s shoulders. “Good. Then let’s get back and clean ourselves up, before grandfather notices something.”

At that, as small laugh escaped Yuuji. “Pretty sure he’s going to notice anyway. But yes. Let’s head back.”

And so they continued their way side by side in peaceful silence.

---

Shortly after this, Wasuke was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was already in its more advanced stages, so the doctors advised him to take treatments soon. The elderly man stubbornly refused and continued to work.

It honestly both impressed and worried Noritoshi.

And already a year later, Wasuke was forced to move into the hospital. For ‘supervision’ the doctors said. For ‘when he changes his mind’ is what Noritoshi read between the lines. Unfortunately, for them, Noritoshi knew his grandfather and how stubborn the man could be. So he could only silently wish them luck, knowing it wouldn’t bring anything.

Now in his second year of high school, Noritoshi, along with Yuuji, who was now in his third year of middle school, regularly visited their grandfather after school when they had time. Not every day, but at least once every week. Even if the old man didn’t want it and continued to deny that he liked when they came by.

Today way such a visit.

Yuuji was humming as soft tune as the adjusted the bouquet of flowers they got for Wasuke in the vase the nurse gave them, while Noritoshi sat next to the mans bed, on one of the chairs that stood there, reading a book. A collection of old poems he took an interest in a while ago.

“What are you two idiots doing here?! Don’t you have anything better to do than being here? Didn’t I tell you two to join a club in school?” interrogated Wasuke the two in his usual grumpy manner.

“My aikido class is tomorrow and you know that grandpa,” Yuuji answered him calmly, just as he finished adjusting the flowers. “Besides, there aren’t any interesting clubs in my school anyway.”

With that, he took his place in the chair beside Noritoshi, who took this as his signal to close his book and take part in their conversation. Placing the book on his lap, the older Itadori brother caught the way his grandfather was looking at him.

Stifling a sigh, Noritoshi answered the unspoken question. “I’m in no club either,” he said, before remembering something that occurred to him today. “Though, I was approached by two of my kohai’s and asked if I wanted to join their Occult Research Club.”

“Oh! That sounds interesting!” Yuuji exclaimed excited. “What did you say?”

Noritoshi shrugged his shoulders. “I said I think about it. But seeing how they research things that have to do with supernatural activities, I rather keep an eye on them,” he answered calmly.

“You think they’re gonna get in trouble with a cursed spirit?”

Again, Noritoshi shrugged. “You never know. Just to be sure.”

Yuuji starred at him, before the older brother could see a mischievous glint appear in his brothers’ eyes. “And what is the real reason?”

Noritoshi stiffened slightly at Yuuji’s question. So he noticed his dancing around the topic.

Instead of answering, though, Noritoshi continued to stubbornly look into his amber eyes, hoping he would drop the question. It was an intense stare down between the two brothers, in which neither wanted to back down. Yuuji with a confident smirk on his face, while Noritoshi continued to look as uninterested as possible in the topic.

But in the end, the older brother gave in. With a small sigh, he broke his stalemate with Yuuji and instead looked out of the window opposite of him.

“The other clubs continue to pester me to join them, because of my good grades and talent. I wish for them to stop it and leave me at peace,” he revealed his family calmly, though, there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Next to him, he could see Yuuji frown. “Damn. That sucks,” he said. “Hopefully I won’t have to deal with that next year.”

“With your strength, I doubt it,” Noritoshi stated, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly upwards in amusement.

“Bro, don’t say that! You’re gonna jinx it!”

Just then, Wasuke cleared his throat, interrupting their brotherly banter.

“Well… It seems like I won’t have to worry too much about you two,” he said, before sharply nodding his head. “Good! You two better don’t end up in any trouble.”

“Hey!” said Yuuji loudly and raised his fist in protest.

Meanwhile Noritoshi just returned the gesture of the elderly man. “We won’t. Promise!”

At that, Wasuke harrumphed in satisfaction, before turning his gaze towards the window, seemingly lost in thought. Seeming to sense the shift in mood, Yuuji’s protest died down, while Noritoshi furred his brows in confusion.

“You two are strong children,” Wasuke started, his voice serious, but also tinted with sadness. “But never forget, that there is always something bigger out there that can take this happiness away. That’s why I want you two to listen closely to me now.” He took a deep breath, before slowly releasing it. “This is about both of your parents.”

Noritoshi had a feeling he knew where this was going, so before Yuuji could open his mouth to protest, he help up his arm to stop him. The older Itadori brother knew that Yuuji disliked talking about his birthparents, but Noritoshi felt that this was important. So he looked at Yuuji with a stern gaze that said ‘Don’t interrupt him. This is important’.

To his immense relief, his little brother seem to understand his silent message and quickly closed his mouth again.

Just then, Wasuke continued. “Noritoshi, I don’t know how much you remember from your mother, or your life before us for that matter, but know this,” he looked at Noritoshi, a hard look on his face, “never return to this place! It was living hell for your mother to life there and I promised her to keep you away from these old bastards.” He lowered his eyes and looked down at his hands, regret creeping into his voice. “Kiku-chan was a good girl. She was bright, smart, and always smiled at the world around her. She was the definition of a good person. I don’t want to imagine what she had to go though at that place, to make her lose all that and surrender her only child into the arms of a man she hadn’t seen in over a decade.”

Noritoshi felt his breath hitch and tears sting behind his eyes. He hadn’t thought of his mother in years. It was always too painful to bear and he didn’t want to dwell on his past too much.

“Noritoshi.” Wasuke’s voice snapped his attention back to the elderly man, who still looked at him. “Your mother loved you more than anything in this world. I could see it clearly back then, even when she left. Until the end, she was a mother, your mother, so you make sure to honor her wish and life a happy life, away from the Kamo Clan.”

“She is dead, isn’t she?” These words escaped Noritoshi before he could stop himself.

Sadly, Wasuke nodded his head. “I can only assume she wanted to make sure your blood family would never find you. I’m sorry.”

Without the ability to form proper words, Noritoshi could only nod his head at his grandfather, as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

He knew that. Noritoshi knew his mother was gone, even before Wasuke told him. Deep down in his heart, he always had the feeling his mother wasn’t in this world anymore, after she left the Itadori house back then and left him behind. He knew it. He knew!

And yet, it still hurt so much to hear these words anyway.

For a short moment, nobody in the hospital room spoke, as Noritoshi slowly pulled himself back together. Yuuji’s warm hand in his shoulder and calming presence were very much appreciated at that moment.

Once Noritoshi was sure he could talk again without his voice breaking, he looked back at Wasuke.

“Thank you,” he said honestly, “for everything.”

Wasuke only patted Noritoshi’s hand at that, which still rested in his lap. “Don’t mention it.”

But then his face became serious again and he retreated his hand back to himself. “That being said, she and I both knew we couldn’t keep you from this world forever. Both of you. It was always a part of you both, whether you want it or not,” Wasuke continued, his voice hard. “Which is, why I want to warn the both of you about Kaori.”

At that, Noritoshi felt confusion. With a short look to Yuuji, he could confirm his younger brother was just as confused.

“This is serious, so I want both of you to listen to me carefully,” their grandfather said. Any traces of warm have left his face and beneath his eyes, Noritoshi could see great anger. “Kaori may be Yuuji’s mother, but she was anything but. I don’t know what she was and what she wanted. All I know is that she had Yuuji with my son and then disappeared with him.” His fists, balled in anger, started to shake. “I know Jin is dead. She took off with my son and killed him. The man that wanted Yuuji to be born more than anything and loved him as much as Kiku-chan loved Noritoshi. That was the type of person he was. To good and naïve for his own good.” Wasuke chuckled. There was no humor in it. “My foolish son…”

On his shoulder, Noritoshi felt Yuuji’s grip tighten. This was new to him as well and despite always saying, he didn’t want to know anything about his parents, Noritoshi knew these words affected Yuuji in a way.

“So I’m warning you two,” Wasuke continued, turning his head to look at them directly. “Kaori died in an accident before Yuuji was even conceived. Whatever came back from the dead, it wasn’t Kaori! It was something from this world of sorcerers and curses, which you are part of.” His gaze turned icy. “So whatever happens, if you ever see a person with stitches across their forehead, you run away as fast as you can. I don’t want any of you to die because of that monster! You are my grandchildren, so as your grandfather it is my job to make sure you are safe.”

Yuuji and Noritoshi could only nod their head at that, the gravity of the situation slowly sinking in.

Whatever it was that gave birth to Yuuji, is was not human. That alone could bring enough danger to their doorstep. Paired with if the Kamo Clan would show up, this was a recipe for disaster.

This is so messed up, Noritoshi lamented in his head, before glancing sideways. Especially for Yuuji.

Before the older Itadori brother could dwell on these thoughts however, Yuuji spoke up.

“I see… So my parents are dead,” he said nonchalant, his hand slowly falling from Noritoshi’s shoulder and his eyes casted upwards.

“I see? I see?!” their grandfather started to yell irritated. “What do you mean ‘I see’? Didn’t you just listened to what I told you?!”

“Oh, I heard you,” Yuuji answered him with the same nonchalance and looked at the elderly man. “But it doesn’t matter to me. You and Toshi-nii are my family, no matter what happens. All I need to know is that this person with stitches across their forehead is dangerous and we should stay away from them. That is all that matters to me. Now we know who we have to be careful around if we should ever see them again.”

Yuuji is right, Noritoshi thought, as he blinked. Regardless what grandfather just told us about our parents, we now know that there is someone dangerous lurking around in the shadows, that we have to be warry of.

This thought seemed to occur to the oldest Itadori now as well, as he suddenly lost his will to fight again. Instead, he clicked his tongue in irritation, “Well then that is good. Just make sure so stay as far away from that thing as possible!”

That got a laugh out of Yuuji. “We promise grandpa! Don’t worry about us!” he said and raised his hands in a peaceful manner.

Just then, Noritoshi’s eyes caught the time on the clock that hung on the rooms’ wall and he turned to his little brother. “Yuuji, visitors’ hours are almost over. We have to go,” he told him collectedly.

Confused Yuuji blinked and looked towards the windows, where the sunset was now painting the sky in orange and yellow colors, before copying Noritoshi and glancing towards the rooms’ clock.

“Is it already that late?” he asked, a little shocked.

Noritoshi nodded only, before putting his book back into his dark colored messenger bag and rose to his feet. Just like Yuuji, who already had his light colored backpack slung around his shoulder and was standing at the door, waiting for him, when he was finished.

“We are off then. Bye grandpa!” Yuuji all but yelled, as he waved back at the elderly man in his bed, as he opened the door. “We’ll be checking up on you when we have time again!”

Noritoshi’s farewell was far more polite. He bowed towards their grandfather in an almost formal way, before following his younger brother out the door, closing it behind them.

It was only on their way home, that Yuuji broke the silence between them.

“I think you should join the Occult Research Club,” the pink haired boy said, while crossing his hands behind his head.

Confused at the sudden topic, Noritoshi furred his brows. “Why?”

Yuuji shrugged. “You seem like you want to. And, honestly, it sounds a lot like fun,” he said calmly, before a grin broke out on his face. “Besides, I want to join this club once I start high school and sharing the same club reminds me of our time in the dojo. So…”

The older Itadori sighed. “I will think about it,” he said. “To be honest, at this point I might just join them so the other clubs will finally stop bothering me.”

At that, Yuuji raised an eyebrow. “That bad, huh?”

Noritoshi snort in amusement. “You have no idea.”

They walked in silence again, before Yuuji spoke up again.

“You think I have any other siblings?” he asked calmly.

Surprised and shocked by the unexpected question, Noritoshi whipped his head around to look at Yuuji, who was now looking towards the horizon.

“I mean,” his little brother continues, completely unbothered by Noritoshi’s look, “if this being with stitches is really a cursed spirit somehow, that means it must be really old. Don’t you think it had children like me before?”

Noritoshi thought about that, resting his hand on his chin in a thinking manner. Like, he really thought about that. It made sense for such a being to try to reproduce itself, but for what purpose? Why would such a being try to bear children? Something felt off about this entire thing to Noritoshi, but he just couldn’t put his finger onto it.

Maybe he was thinking too much into it.

With a shake of is head, Noritoshi brought his attention back to Yuuji. “Who knows,” he said. “Maybe you have, maybe you don’t. Does it really matter?”

Yuuji smiled at him. “I guess not,” he lightly said. “It would be cool, though. As long as they are nice, I would try to get along with them.”

Noritoshi frowned. “Should I be worried?”

“What? You worried that I replace you?” Yuuji asked him laughing, before slinging his arm over Noritoshi’s shoulders and pulling him down to him. “No way! You are my favorite big brother. Nobody could ever replace you, Toshi-nii!”

“Then it seems my worries were unfounded,” Noritoshi laughed lightly, before pushing Yuuji off of him. “Anyway, what should we make for dinner today?”

At the prospect of dinner, Yuuji’s smile became wider. “Maybe we could make curry!”

“Sounds good. Let’s do that then,” said the older Itadori with a nod of his head.

The rest of their walk was spend discussing dinner and about trying out new recipes in the future.

---

Against Wasuke’s hopes and wishes, Noritoshi retuned the next day to visit him again.

It wasn’t a surprise, however, really, since it was him who started to talk about Kiku-chan in the first place, so he should have seen this coming.

The next day his older grandson came to the hospital, his body tense, eyes lowered and visibly nervous. As he sat down on his chair next to Wasuke, the old man looked at him, but didn’t speak. He knew the look on Noritoshi’s face. The boy had that look whenever he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words to express himself. Wasuke knew at such moments, he should stay silent and give his grandchild the time and space until he was ready to speak.

So the old man waited.

Minutes passed, before, finally, Noritoshi opened his mouth.

“Can you… please tell me about my mother?” he asked slowly, uncertainty tainted his voice.

At his question, the older Itadori let out a low sigh. “That depends,” he started calmly, “on what you want to know.”

Noritoshi stiffened, slowly raising his head to meet Wasuke’s eyes, as he nervously tugged at the sleeve of his white shirt. “I guess… Anything would do,” he said.

Wasuke felt himself getting annoyed at that. “That’s not an answer,” he said sternly.

Seemingly unsure, Noritoshi bit his lower lip, before answering in a small voice, “How did you meet her? What type of person was she?”

Wasuke, exhaling deeply through his nose, let himself fall back against his pillow with his back, deep in thought. How did he meet Kiku-chan back then?

“Kiku-chan was… the grandchild of my neighbors at that time,” he started to speak, his voice melancholic and eyes focused forward, the pictures playing in front of his eyes. “Her parents were very busy people, so they brought her over to her grandparents whenever they worked and couldn’t look after her themselves. That was mostly weekends, and holidays. They were good people, her grandparents I mean, always kind and smiling. Kiku-chan came a lot like them, a bright child, that was always smiling and watching the world around her in wonder.” Wasuke chuckled at that. “Even to an old, grumpy man like me, she was always kind and polite.”

The old Itadori could feel Noritoshi’s eyes on him, having his full attention.

“So of course she quickly became friends with my son, Yuuji’s father, Jin, despite being around over half a decade apart in age,” Wasuke continued. “Always playing with each other. Jin helped her with her studies and was often next door because of that. Which was good for me, since my wife died around that time and I had trouble looking after Jin by myself. Though, at the time I wasn’t really happy about this, due to grief. And yet…”

“Itadori-san, my grandmother bought melons! Do you and Jin want to come over and eat them with us?”

“Hello Itadori-san! Can Jin come over to play? You can join us too if you like. Grandfather made tea for all of us.”

“Itadori-san! Itadori-san! Look at the poem it wrote for school please!”

“And yet, she always looked at me with a smile. I saw her as my daughter, despite not being related by blood.” A small smile formed on Wasuke at the memories that flooded his mind. “She loved it when Jin and me did her hair. Back then, she had very long hair, that she loved to get styled in different variations. From traditional to modern, she always looked at us with wide eyes, when she saw the finished results in the mirror and thanked us over and over again. Just like that, these happy and peaceful years passed,” His smile faded and he became serious. “Until her grandparents died.”

At that, he could hear Noritoshi take a sharp breath, but didn’t speak.

“Jin and me were at their funeral. It was an accident they said, a drunk driver crashing into them on their way home, killing them on impact,” Wasuke recalled, becoming more angry at the memory of that day. “On that day, I meet Kiku-chan’s parents for the first time. They weren’t good people in the slightest. Cold. Only focused on their work. The son didn’t even cry for his parents. They both just stood there, watching as their daughter, who loved her grandparents so dearly, bawled her eyes out. Didn’t even comfort her.” He balled his fists at that memory, before the anger abruptly left him again, replaced with a deep sadness. “Jin was the one that ended up comforting her. And after the funeral was over, he promised to keep contact with her and she agreed to that. Giving us her address, so Jin and I could write letter for her.”

“I guess that never happened?” Noritoshi asked, speaking for the first time since the start of the story.

Wasuke shook his head at that. “Jin wrote her. Countless letters did he send to her in hopes to see her again one day. He never got an answer from her,” he spoke sadly. “If Kiku-chan’s family simply moved after the funeral, or if her parents withheld these letters from her, I don’t know. And I probably never will. All I know is, that, at that day at the funeral, was the last time we saw Kiku-chan. Even as she wished us a tearful goodbye and a promise of reunion one day, she smiled so brightly at us, despite her sadness.”

It was a sad memory for Wasuke. How he and his son stood together in the rain under an umbrella, watching as the little girl was pulled at her arm by her father, who was yelling at her to forget about them, since she won’t see them again anyway. Dragging her away from them and into their car, before driving off. Where, even inside, she smiled at them from the backseat and waved to them from the window, until they couldn’t see her anymore.

“Over time, Jin slowly wrote less and less letters to her, until he stopped writing them altogether. It hurt to see my son so sad, over the loss of his best friend,” Wasuke continued. A moment later, he chuckled slightly. “I’m pretty sure, if it wasn’t for Kiku-chan’s grandparents dying, she and Jin would have continued to stay friends and married one day. Despite their young age and the age gap between them, I saw how they looked at each other. Her grandparents saw it too. Truly, they looked at each other with pure adoration.”

He turned his head towards the window and looked outside. Lost in thought.

“Sometime I wonder, did Jin ever look for her when he left home back then?” the old man asked. “He later introduced me to Kaori, the real Kaori, and she was so similar to Kiku-chan in personality. I never asked him about it, because I wanted my son to be happy, but look how that played out.” He barked a hollow laugh. “Now they are both dead and I won’t ever see them again.”

Wasuke had to hold back his tears at that. It hurt, no matter how much time passed, a loss of a loved person would always hurt, no matter what. He felt like laughing because of it. Here he thought all these tears would have run dry back when his children died.

But his thought were abruptly interrupted, when he suddenly felt two arms around his torso. He look back and saw how Noritoshi stood by his bedside and hugged him tightly. Wasuke could feel the tears of the boy next to him staining his hospital shirt.

“I’m sorry,” he said with cracking voice, swallowing down the lump in his throat. “But thank you. Thank you for telling me all this.”

At that, Wasuke had to huff in amusement, before he raised his arms to return the hug carefully.

He cries just as easily as Kiku-chan did back then, he thought silently.

“What are you getting upset all about? You were the one that asked for this,” he said instead out loud, a little stern.

“I know. It’s just…” Noritoshi removed himself from the old man and tried drying his tears with his sleeves, pressing them against his eyes. “I’m so happy. I barely remember my mother, so…” He trailed off. “I’m just so happy that there was at least one person that cherished her until the end and cried for her. It relieves me.” He looked, with bloodshot eyes at Wasuke and smiled. “Thank you, for everything you ever did for my mother. For being there for her.”

The older Itadori huffed a breath at that, but said nothing. Better not to ruin the moment with something inappropriate.

It was at that moment, that Wasuke truly looked at the boy, almost a man, in front of him. He definitely grew and resembled his mother quite a bit, with the long hair that he kept in a low ponytail, with some hair at the front framing his face and the more feminine appearance.

But right now, at this moment, he looked happier than Wasuke had ever seen him before. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders and heart. He looked, for the first time, truly free and like a boy his age.

I just wish Kiku-chan was here to see this, Wasuke thought sadly to himself.

He snapped himself out of his musings and instead directed his attention back to Noritoshi. “Now hurry up and get home! That was enough emotions for one day! Visitors’ hours are over soon anyway, so shoo!” he said grumpily, returning to his normal attitude.

This grandchild just laughed at that. “All right. Yuuji is probably wondering where I am anyway, so I’ll be on my way,” he raised his hands in surrender, before picking up his bag and moving towards the door.

Just before he could open it however, Wasuke spoke up again.

“You can come over any time. I don’t mind telling you more about you mother,” he found himself saying, making the teen stop in his movements.

After a few seconds, he seem to snap out of his thoughts and turned around to Wasuke. “Thank you. I will definitely come back to hear more,” he said with a small nod of his head, before bowing slightly. “Goodbye now, grandfather.”

And with that, he left the room, leaving Wasuke alone with his thoughts.

“Kiku-chan, you truly gave birth to a good boy,” he whispered to himself, settling himself back into his bed. “I just wish you were here to see him grow up.”

That night, Wasuke dreamed of happy days long passed and friends he never managed to say goodbye to.

---

“Are you sure?” Noritoshi could hear Yuuji ask aloud in a nervous voice.

The older Itadori could only roll his eyes in amusement at that. They could see real spirits, well curses, and yet here he was, watching Yuuji playing a game with Sasaki Setsuko and Iguchi Takeshi, two second years at their high school, involving ghosts.

From his position on the windowsill where he was sitting in their small club room, Noritoshi watched as his little brother and kohai’s amused themselves, laughing at the ridiculous results their game gave them to their questions. It brought a smile to his lips, as he read his novel. A story about a young woman in ancient china, that works as an apothecary and solves mysteries around her in the imperial palace.

Quite an interesting story, the dark haired boy thought to himself.

“Hey, Toshi-nii, you wanna join us for the next round?” Yuuji asked him loudly, tearing him from his thoughts.

But before Noritoshi could even open his mouth to answer, the door to their club room slammed open and the student council president stepped into the room.

“Occult Research Club!”

And gone is the peaceful atmosphere, what a shame, Noritoshi though and closed his novel, standing up from his spot, to stand behind his fellow club members.

“Your club didn’t submit its activities records! We don’t have space in the school for clubs like that!” the student council president said seriously, while pushing his glasses up. “This is going to be the changing room for the girls’ Track-and-Field Team starting today! So get out!”

“Just because we don’t have proper results, doesn’t mean we are wasting our time here,” Noritoshi spoke up. “Besides, this club has four members. You can’t just kick us out of the club room, when we are a fully functioning club.”

“And exactly that is the biggest problem here!” the student council president said seriously, before pointing at Yuuji and Noritoshi. “Itadori Noritoshi and Itadori Yuuji! You two aren’t members in the Occult Research Club! Noritoshi is in the Art Club and Yuuji in the Track-and-Field Team! This means the Occult Research Club doesn’t meet the three-member minimum and has to be disbanded!”

Both Itadori brothers blinked at that, before sighing deeply.

“You really weren’t lying, Toshi-nii,” Yuuji said and scratched the back of his head with one hand.

“He really went and rewrote our applications,” Noritoshi complained while scrunching up his nose, already used to this particulars teachers’ quirk.

“Indeed I did!”

And with this statement Takagi-sensei, the Track-and-Field Coach, made his great entrance.

Why does this man sound so proud for doing something that is so obviously against the rules, Noritoshi silently asked himself.

“Itadori Yuuji, we need you if we’re to take over the country,” Takagi-sensei said seriously.

“Why do you keep bugging my little brother? He already said no, didn’t he? Besides, I’m pretty sure changing the applications of students without their permission is against the rules,” Noritoshi spoke up, a tint of anger and exasperation in his voice, as he positioned himself slightly in front of the younger students.

“Exactly!” Yuuji yelled beside him, clearly annoyed. “Also, why did you put Toshi-nii into the Art Club? That doesn’t make any sense either!”

“Well, the Art Club teacher asked me to convince Itadori Noritoshi to join their club, because they need his artistic talent and beauty before he graduates. So I changed his application alongside yours’!” Takagi-sensei declared loudly, proudly sticking out his chest.

Noritoshi sighed. “I already told them I wouldn’t join them. Why can’t they just accept a simple ‘no’?” Noritoshi mumbled, while massaging his temple with one hand. This man really gave him a headache.

“Senpai is just too irresistible to not have in their club, seeing how talented and beautiful you are,” Sasaki said behind him.

“A true man of culture and full of potential,” said Iguchi next to her, with a nod of his head.

A vain throbbed at Noritoshi’s forehead. “You two are not helping this case,” he hissed lowly towards them.

“Just give it a rest already! We aren’t changing clubs!” Yuuji exclaimed loudly and pointed at Takagi-sensei. “Change our applications back and leave us alone!”

“No can do!” came the answer immediately.

“’No can do’?!”

“What is that supposed to mean?!”

The Itadori brothers were shocked at their teachers answer, but he continued.

“However, I’m not a monster! Let’s make it a fair fight! On the field!” Takagi-sensei proposed seriously. “If I lose against Itadori Yuuji, I will change both of your applications back. However, if I win-“

“Say no more! I’m in!” Yuuji interrupted their teacher with a mirroring serious expression.

Noritoshi could only sigh loudly at that.

And just as he predicted, they were lead to the schools sport field, where the competition between teacher and student would take place. Multiple other students gathered around them, since this wasn’t an everyday sight at their school. After all, no teacher probably ever tried so hard to get a student to join their club.

Noritoshi stood somewhere at the side, with Sasaki and Iguchi in front of him, watching everything with a bored expression on his face. But kept himself ready, in case Yuuji would overdo it again and he had to protect their other club members and students.

He could hear the mumbling and whispers coming from the other students surrounding them, making the tall teen want to sigh all over again, as Takagi-sensei threw the ball. Some students even clapped for him.

Way to blow up his ego, Noritoshi thought drily.

“Is Itadori-kun famous or something?” Sasaki asked all of a sudden.

Ah, so she heard the rumors then. …Just great.

“It’s just a rumor, but apparently he’s won the ‘Ninja Warrior’ contest,” Iguchi stage whispered to her, with a raised hand. “That or he’s the reincarnation from the croatian fighter Mirko Cro Cop!”

“But Mirko Cro Cop isn’t even dead yet!”

“Something like that…,” hummed Noritoshi, watching the little competition. His kohai’s now looking up to him with curious eyes. “In middle school, he was given the name ‘The Tiger of West Junior High’ after he showed of his strength one time and repeatedly beating up bullies, even from other schools.” He huffed in amusement. “Over the time, words started to spread and rumors were born. Though, I didn’t know they became so absurd since the last time I heard of them.”

“The name is kind of lame,” Sasaki commented.

“So he isn’t a pro in anything?” Iguchi asked him instead.

Noritoshi shock his head. “No. We just took aikido classes until we started attending high school. Nothing more,” he said simultaneously.

He would not mention to them that both Yuuji and him dominated the entire dojo after only a couple of years of training there and later basically ruled it. Even their sensei couldn’t beat them at one point anymore, so they could only fight against each other, or the weaker students, who either respected, or feared them. Luckily, most of their fellow dojo members respected them more than they feared them.

Noritoshi snapped his attention back to the present, just as Yuuji was about to throw his ball.

…And watched as it straight flew into the football goal 30 meters further away, leaving a dent behind at it.

Noritoshi sighed, massaging the bridge between his eyes. He told Yuuji to hold himself back so many times, even without cursed energy.

At least he didn’t use that in his throw, Noritoshi thought, otherwise-

He stopped his train of thought, as he could suddenly feel a presence nearby.

Noritoshi’s grey eyes moved to the side and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a black haired boy, that he was pretty sure didn’t attend their school, who watched he exchange between Yuuji and Takagi.

That itself wasn’t what bothered Noritoshi however. No, it was the cursed energy that surrounded the unfamiliar boy like a blanked. Cold and silent, like a shadow.

The tall teen narrowed his foxlike eyes in suspicion. A sorcerer? Here in Sendai?

For a short moment, Noritoshi felt panic. Is he from the Kamo Clan? Did they find me?

Slightly, he shook his head. No, they don’t have reason to look for me here. It has been years. Beside, Yuuji and I always suppress our cursed energy, even now. So he can’t be here for us.

That was the logical explanation. But then why was the boy here? The only thing Noritoshi could think about why he would be here was-

“Yuuji, you and Noritoshi don’t have to feel obligated to stay in the Occult Research Club, you know?”

The sound of his name brought Noritoshi back into reality and he looked at Yuuji, that now stood before them and looked slightly confused.

I let my thoughts run wild again, the oldest teen lamented in his head.

“A sports club would probably be a better fit for Yuuji… And something with art for Noritoshi-senpai…,” Sasaki continued, sounding unsure.

“Well, we’ve got our reasons, and we need to be home by five,” Yuuji answered the girl with glasses, scratching a back of his neck while doing so. “Besides, everyone needs to be in a club, right?”

“On another note, you two asked us to join the club in the first place. And without us, you can’t even step a foot into any haunted places. Despite the claim that you like this kind of stuff,” Noritoshi added calmly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

As if caught lying, his two kohai’s stiffened.

“We’re scared because we like it,” Iguchi defended them weakly.

Yuuji smiled at them. “If it’s okay with you guys, we’d like to stay,” he said, before looking at Noritoshi, adding quickly, “Only if you like it too, Toshi-nii.”

At that, Noritoshi had to suppress another sigh and instead gave his kohai’s a small smile. “Don’t worry, we stay. This club is really growing on us. Besides, you are good friends for Yuuji.”

“Well, suit yourselves then. We don’t care,” Sasaki said. Iguchi next to her nodded his head.

But Noritoshi could see how happy their words made them, so he didn’t mind their response.

It was then, that Yuuji looked towards the schools clock and saw the time.

“Ah! It’s already half past four!” the pink haired boy exclaimed loudly, before looking at Noritoshi. “We have to hurry!”

“I got you,” he answered his brother, holding up both of their school bags and jackets for Yuuji to see.

“You’re the best, Toshi-nii!” he said with a bright grin, before snatching his stuff out of Noritoshi’s hands.

Together they took off as fast as they could, running past the dark haired boy Noritoshi saw before, storming out of the school gates and towards the hospital their grandfather was located in.

Though, for a short moment he could have sworn someone tried to call out to them.

Oh well…

*

Once they bought some flowers, the two brothers reached the hospital shortly after and went straight to their grandfathers’ room.

Yuuji was busy adjusting the flowers in a vase, while Noritoshi stood beside him, continuing to read his novel from before, while Wasuke was watching them with the same grumpy expression he always had. At this point, they knew their routine like the back of their hand.

“Yuuji… Noritoshi… I have some final words for you two,” the oldest Itadori suddenly started in a serious voice.

“We don’t care!” Yuuji interrupted him loudly.

Noritoshi shot him an irritated look. “Yuuji,” he said in a scolding tone.

“What? If he has something to say to us, he should just be his usual self! No point in trying to act cool before you die.”

“Yuuji!”

“What?”

“You brats! Can’t you listen for one damn second?! A man wants to go out in style, you know?!” Wasuke interrupted their banter angrily.

It worked, since Noritoshi and Yuuji now looked at the elderly man again, their heads slightly lowered.

“Sorry, grandpa.”

“We are sorry, grandfather.”

They said at the same time.

“Why are you still buying me flowers anyway? Stop wasting you money for stuff like that!” Wasuke continued, calmer this time.

“They are not just for you grandpa. They are for the nurses, too,” Yuuji hold him with an amused huff.

“And before you ask about our club at school, that one ends before five. So we have plenty of free time to visit you,” Noritoshi continued for his brother, already knowing the way this conversation would go.

“A stress free life, huh? Tsk!” Wasuke clicked his tongue and turned around, his back towards his two grandchildren.

Just as Noritoshi returned to reading the book in his hands and Yuuji retuned his attention towards the flowers in the vase, Wasuke spoke up again.

“Noritoshi…”

By the sound of his name, Noritoshi looked towards the man.

“Yuuji…”

As did Yuuji.

“You are both strong children, so help other people,” Wasuke said, without looking at them, suddenly sounding much older. “I already told both of you about your parents, but I’m still asking you two to be careful. Even so, I want you to help people, but mostly each other. Make sure you don’t die doing what you want to do and that you are happy. And if you help people, don’t always expect something in gratitude. It doesn’t even have to be all the time. Just whenever you can. Help them and look after each other.” The elderly man took a breath. “When it’s your boys time to go, make sure you both are surrounded by others. Don’t end up like I once did.”

Confused, Yuuji and Noritoshi looked at the man, as he said these words.

It took a moment for Noritoshi to see it, but when he saw it, he could feel a lump form in his throat.

“Grandpa?” Yuuji asked aloud.

“He is dead,” Noritoshi said bluntly and put his hand on his little brothers’ shoulder. “I can’t feel his heartbeat anymore.”

“Ah…”

*

Life truly wasn’t kind towards the Itadori brothers.

One moment they were at the hospital, filling out the documents for their just deceased grandfather, the next they were running behind a jujutsu sorcerer, that had introduced himself to them as Fushiguro Megumi, towards their school to safe their club members.

“And I told them not to do anything until we are with them!” Noritoshi cursed under his breath, while running next to Yuuji.

Behind them ran Fushiguro, clearly baffled by their speed. If only he knew, Noritoshi could run even faster, if he activated his technique. But he would refrain from doing so, until absolutely necessary. Because he truly liked his peaceful life right now.

“Hey, Toshi-nii,” Yuuji said suddenly, low enough that only he could hear him over the wind. “That guy, is he-?”

“Yes,” Noritoshi interrupted him, already aware of what his little brother wanted to ask him.

Yuuji nodded, before furring his brows. “Do you think he-?”

“No, I don’t think he knows,” Noritoshi interrupted him again, making sure the boy behind them didn’t hear them. “And I rather he never knew. So you better watch your mouth.”

The last sentence was a straight warning. Noritoshi knew how blunt and direct Yuuji was, in every way. Back in the hospital he almost slipped up and if Noritoshi hadn’t stepped in that moment, Fushiguro would have likely right then and there known that they knew about curses and the like. That would have brought a whole lot of new trouble for the Itadori siblings.

Yuuji just gave him a serious nod if his head. “Got it!”

Just then, Sugisawa Municipal High School came into view for them and immediately the three teens stopped in their tracks. The sheer pressure emitting from the building alone was a big, fat red flag! Already multiple curses swarmed and roamed around the school halls, they could feel, despite Noritoshi and Yuuji making sure there weren’t any around earlier that week.

“Shit!” cursed Yuuji loudly, standing next to Noritoshi, who looked at his brothers’ tense stance.

Noritoshi had to agree with him, though, this situation was everything but good.

“You two stay here! I take care of it,” Fushiguro said in a serious voice, while already jumping over the school’s gate, leaving the two Itadori’s standing alone.

However, it didn’t take long until Yuuji started to move towards the gate as well.

“And where do you think you are going?” Noritoshi asked him with a calm voice, crossing his arms over his chest.

“We have to help him! He doesn’t know the school like we do! And this concerns us too, because Sasaki-senpai and Iguchi-senpai are part of the Occult Research Club!” Yuuji said loudly, balling his hands tightly into fists. “I know we should be careful because of Stitches, but we have to help them! They are still our friends!”

Noritoshi sighed quietly when he saw the fire in his brothers amber eyes. Yuuji really was a bleeding heart and no matter what, he would jump to help a person, no matter the problem. He had to know, because Noritoshi himself was the same at heart. The only difference was that he continued to look after Yuuji, so that he woudn’t overdo it and end up breaking because of all the burdens he took upon his shoulders.

Seeing Yuuji right now in front of him, Noritoshi thought that their grandfather didn’t even needed to tell them to help other people and look after each other. They would have done that regardless, whatever he would have said to them.

“Let’s go then!” Noritoshi said, his tone serious, as he moved to jump over the school gate. “We help Fushiguro-kun and our club members, and see how it goes from there. There is no point in holding back either. There are lives on the line after all.”

Behind him, he could feel Yuuji stare at him, before jumping over the gate as well and landing next to Noritoshi. The pink haired boy looked at him in determination.

“Then let’s hurry!” he declared confidently.

And with that, they took off towards the school and broke through the doors, before running through the long halls towards where they could feel Fushiguro’s cursed energy.

They arrived on the fourth floor, just in time as a curse tried to eat their club members, along with the cursed object with them. Around the corner, they could see Fushiguro with two dogs at his side, who seemed to be frozen in place. If from fear or something else, Noritoshi didn’t know. He frankly also didn’t care, because they had to act now!

“Yuuji!” he bellowed to his brother, who was already moving.

“I’m on it!” he answered and raised two fingers, before speaking in a serious voice, “Dismantle.”

And with a clean cut, the upper part of the curses head that held their friends was cut off. Purple blood splattered on the walls, ceiling, and floor, but Noritoshi didn’t care, as he stormed forward and griped the two students and pulled them out of the curses grasps. For good measure, he kicked the curse as strong as he could, before jumping back and distancing them from it. In the air, he could hear Fushiguro make a surprised sound, but didn’t care at that moment.

Just then, Yuuji stormed forward and raised his first for a single punch. Black sparks erupted as the pink haired boy slammed his first into the remains of the curses grotesque face, with so much force that it broke the wall. A deep dent was all that remained of the curse before it disappeared into nothingness.

“What are you two doing here?!” With quick steps, Fushiguro came over to them and looked at them with wide eyes, before settling on Yuuji. “Did you just use a cursed technique?!”

“Yeah! We can see curses since we were children,” Yuuji answered the dark haired teen bluntly, while checking over Sasaki and Iguchi, which Noritoshi now gently lowered down on the floor.

The older Itadori used that chance to also look over his two kohai’s. They were unconscious and seemed to be uninjured, but Iguchi seemed very unwell.

“By the way, what are those two things?” Yuuji continued and pointed at the two dog like creatures.

“They’re my Shikigami. Makes sense you two can see them, if you can see curses,” Fushiguro-kun explained drily, before holding his hand out towards them. “Now hand over the cursed object. It’s dangerous!”

At that moment, Noritoshi noticed the small object that poked out of the pocket of Sasaki’s skirt and took it into his hand, holding it high for everyone to see.

“This is what you mean, right?” the third year student asked Fushiguro, who nodded in response, so he gave it to him.

“What’s that thing anyway?” Yuuji asked just then, seemingly intrigued. “Looks kind of disgusting.”

“This is the special-grade cursed object, Ryoumen Sukuna. Or at least a part of it,” Fushiguro explained, while pocketing the cursed object, before looking at them seriously. “You still didn’t really answer me. You two can use cursed energy, right?”

Noritoshi nodded. “That is correct,” he said. “However, we should save the talk for later. We are still-“

He didn’t continue any further, because at that moment multiple signatures from curses rushed towards them at a very high speed and he reacted.

“Brace yourselves!” was the only thing he could yell, as he moved to shield the younger students, before the wave of cursed spirits reached the group and slammed into them.

They just managed in time to move into a defense position before they hit them, but due to the wall behind them already damaged from Yuuji’s attacks, they were thrown out and onto the roof of the school, where they landed roughly on the hard concrete.

When Noritoshi managed to move again after a few seconds, he quickly jumped back to his feet and looked to the side, where he saw that the others were mostly unscathed from the attack. He then looked back up ahead, seeing the curses following behind them, crawling out of the hole in the wall and towards the group.

“Damn it!” he cursed lowly. Who would have thought that this cursed object would attract so many curses? Yuuji and he cleared the school out last weekend, so where were all these pests coming from?

“You good, Toshi-nii?” Yuuji asked him, when came and stood beside his brother.

Without taking his eyes of the horde of curses, Noritoshi nodded. “Yeah,” he answered. “You?”

“I’m fine. Sasaki-senpai and Iguchi-senpai are still unconscious,” came Yuuji’s answer, before he lowered himself into a fighting stance as well. “Think we can take them all?”

“We have to,” Noritoshi said with calmness he didn’t really feel. “Otherwise we and our club members die.”

Yuuji laughed. “That’s the spirit!”

Just then, Fushiguro seemed to come back to his sense, as he asked loudly from behind them, “What are you two doing? Hurry up and get out of here! You don’t have the experience to handle this!”

“And you do?!” Noritoshi snapped back at him, his eyes still fixed on the group of cursed spirits that advanced towards them. “As far as I see, you are still younger than me, so it is my responsibility to look after you all and make sure you stay alive! You just focus on protecting the cursed object.”

“Besides,” Yuuji started seriously, “we can fight, so we will! We aren’t exactly weak either, so don’t worry about that!”

“You two…”

And then all hell broke loose. The cursed spirits attacked and the Itadori brother’s meet them head on in the middle of the roof.

Noritoshi quickly activated Flowing Red Scale, feeling the red mark around his right eye appear and coated his hands and forearms in his blood, to strengthen his body and attacks. He started to weave it into his clothes, after realizing that transporting it in a flask was a very bad idea a few years ago.

Meeting the first curse head on, he punched it as hard as he could, before elegantly moved onto the next one, scratching some passing curses in the process with his blood enforced nails, forcing his blood into them, before repeating the process.

Yuuji’s presence was always close by. His younger brother mainly using Cleave and with cursed energy strengthened punches to fight the cursed spirits more brutally.

He holds his cursed technique back in order not to accidently hurt the other people on the roof, Noritoshi subconsciously noted, before focusing back onto the battle in front of them.

Since Fushiguro held onto the cursed object, they were mainly on the defense, making sure the curses wouldn’t reach him or their friends. At one point, the boy brought his Shikigami Dogs back out to support them, after they disappeared following them being thrown through a wall and onto the roof.

And finally, after seemingly hours of fighting nonstop, which in reality couldn’t be more than a few minutes, the seemingly endless number of curses slowly started to dwindle, before fully disappearing. Leaving behind nothing but a few exhausted teens, drenched in sweat and purple blood.

Watching the last few curses disappear into nothingness, Noritoshi finally relaxed his stance and deactivated his technique. Next to him, he saw Yuuji flop himself down on the rooftop, breathing a sigh of relief. At one point during the fight, he lost his shirt, so he was now shirtless.

“Maaaaan! That was more than I thought!” the pink haired boy complained, with a loud groan.

“Agreed. Despite us cleaning the school every week,” Noritoshi said, checking his wrists for any injuries. “So I wonder where they all came from…”

A loud ‘thud’ sounded behind them and immediately the Itadori brother’s whipped their head around, to look at Fushiguro, who now laid on his back, looking towards the night sky and breathing hard.

“H-how… How are you two… still standing?” the dark haired asked them weakly, seemingly very exhausted. Perhaps this was too much for him? He had to protect himself, the cursed object, and their still unconscious friends after all.

Yuuji meanwhile looked at Fushiguro in in worry. “You good?”

Faintly the other boy nodded. “Y-yeah… Just...” He took a breath. “Just give me a minute.”

“We have to move soon,” Noritoshi said. “Sasaki-chan and Iguchi-kun need a doctor and we all too, for that matter. Besides, we aren’t safe out here in the open.”

“You’re right!” Yuuji exclaimed loudly and jumped back to his feet. “I can carry both of them, but if you want to-“

Just then, a new voice interrupted him.

“Yo! What’s the situation here?”

The three teens whipped their head around, to look at a tall, lean man, with white hair and a blindfold over his eyes, looking cheerfully at them with a smile. He wore a uniform similar to the one Fushiguro was wearing, making Noritoshi think they probably knew each other. In one arm, the unknown man also held a bag, which the older Itadori recognized as one from the store that sold very good kikufuku mochi.

Who is that guy? …He seems kind of familiar.

“Gojo-sensei!” Fushiguro yelled loudly, trying to sit up as fast as possible. Winching slightly when trying to do so. “What are you doing here?!”

“I wasn’t gonna come at first, but the higher-ups got involved after hearing that the special-grade cursed object went missing. So I agreed to come as long as they also gave me time to see the sights,” the man, Gojo, explained happily, before taking out his mobile phone and starting to take pictures in a rapid session of Fushiguro. “Man, you’re really beaten up. I’m gonna show these all the second years.”

At his last comment, Noritoshi could see Fushiguro grinding his teeth in anger. He felt sympathy for the younger teen. This man seemed like a lot.

“So, did you find it?” Gojo asked Fushiguro, while stuffing his phone back into his pocket.

Grumbling to himself, Noritoshi and Yuuji watched as the boy took the cursed object out of his own pocket, before holding it out for the white haired man to take.

“Here.” he said grumpily, avoiding eye contact. “You could have come sooner, you know? We almost died!”

“But you didn’t! Good job on staying alive!” Gojo instead said cheerfully, taking the finger from the teen’s hand. Only then, did he seem to notice the Itadori brothers’, as he looked at them. “And who would you two be?”

“We are-“ Noritoshi started to said, but was interrupted by Gojo, who suddenly stood in front of them, leaning down to them and made direct eye contact from behind his blindfold with them.

“You two sure are doing a good job at suppressing your cursed energy,” he stated calmly, but still smiling, putting a hand on his chin in thought. “And that without any form of formal training or stuff like that. Pretty impressive.”

“Uh… Thank you…?” replied Noritoshi unsure. What a strange person.

Next to him, he could feel Yuuji stiffen and turned his head to look at him in worry.

“Are you all right, Yuuji?” he asked his younger brother concerned.

Yuuji gave him a tight smile in response. “Fine, just…” He looked at Gojo. “Could to put that thing away. It's making me feel all jittery.”

Rising to his full height, Gojo looked at the pink haired boy, tilting his head like a curious cat, before putting the cursed object in his pocket. Immediately Noritoshi could hear Yuuji let out a breath of relief and he felt him relax.

“Thanks,” he said with a small smile.

“You’re welcome.” Gojo smiled at him, before it turned into a small grin. “So now… What to do with you two?” he asked, almost himself it appeared.

Huh?

Yuuji and Noritoshi looked at each other, before turning their faces back to the man in front of them.

“Gojo-sensei…” they could hear Fushiguro starting to say, almost in a warning voice, but he was ignored.

“You both are aware that we can’t just let two curse users like you running around, right? Such powerful ones at that too,” Gojo said, still smiling. Honestly, it started to unnerve Noritoshi a little.

Yuuji jumped at that. “Hey! Hold on! We aren’t bad people or anything!” he yelled loudly in their defense. “We only fight curses and make sure the school and the area around the hospital stay clean of them! We aren’t doing anything illegal!” He paused, thinking. “Right?”

He looked at Noritoshi, who could only shrug. How should he know? He may was part of a clan in the past, but all in all he grew up his entire life in a normal home, so any rules regarding that topic are unknown to him.

“Don’t worry. I believe you,” Gojo just laughed amused. “But according to our rules and because you two have quite the potential, I can’t exactly let you just leave. Especially after seeing all that.” He pointed behind them, where they fought the army of curses off. But wait!

Did that person watch us the entire time, without helping us out, Noritoshi asked himself silently. He could have help us!

Unaware of Noritoshi’s inner tumult, Gojo continued to speak, “So I’m making you an offer you can’t refuse!” He spread his arms in a presenting manner, an excited grin on his face.

Yuuji and Noritoshi each raised an eyebrow at the man, both having a vague feeling where this was going.

“How about you two to join us at Jujutsu High?!”