Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gojo was standing in a puddle of slowly disappearing purple and annoyingly persistent red blood that was up to mid-calf, and not too happy about it when the call came in, and honestly this was the third misjudged curse infestation in the last two day, so he was, justifiably, in his opinion, annoyed.

“And how can I help you?” he asked holding the phone up to his ear as he grimaced down at his soaked boot.

“Hello?” a voice from what seems like another life come out of the phone and Gojo froze, one foot in the air. “It’s Nanami. I need to talk to you,” Nanami continued as Gojo slowly lowered his foot back to the ground.

“You need to talk to me?” he asked after a moment, keeping his voice light, a task made easy by the long years of practice.

“Yes,” Nanami answered, sounding far more skeptical than he had any right to since Nanami was the one calling him. “I want to stop by Jujutsu high tomorrow,” he finished, growing more certain as he continued.

Gojo looked around the destroyed buildings, purple blood, and body parts on every surface, the dissipating cursed energy that had been saturating this abandoned stretch of town that had birthed the cursed spirits and then down at the puddle and he couldn’t help but start laughing. He wanted to come to Jujutsu high? What for a sightseeing tour? Mr. doesn’t want anything to do with sorcerer’s or their work wanted to go where they were trained? The place that held some of the worst memories of their times as students. “And bes-“

“Why are you laughing?” Nanami asked through the phone sounding affronted, and Gojo sucked in a breath pretending to try and stop laughing and then chuckled a few more times, while he could practically hear Nanami’s heartrate increase in annoyance then he took another breath and let the laughter fade away.

“Alright,” he said flippantly, “what time do you want to go to the school, and did you want anyone in particular to meet you there or did you just want to wander around for old time’s sake?” he asked finally beginning to climb out of the puddle, he would need to stop by his home to pick up new boots before he reported back, it wouldn’t do to let anyone see that he had dropped infinity long enough for a curse to touch him, even if it was their dissolving remains and what was left of the humans they had killed

He could actually hear Nanami’s scowl through the phone as he answered the question. “Yes, I need to meet with…” he trailed off hesitating and Gojo paused and glanced in the direction of Nanami’s office building, sifting through the layers of reality until he got enough of a sense of the cursed energy that he could pull himself there if he needed to. He reached up and rubbed at his eyes as he took a breath to ask Nanami what was wrong, but Nanami continued before he could. “I need to meet with Principle Gakuganji,” he said, his voice switching back to determined.

Gojo blinked, surprised, but started walking again, it probably wasn’t urgent if he wanted to talk to the old man about it. He climbed up onto a bit of rubble protruding out of the pile and shook each boot off over the pool as he considered. “Why would you want to talk to that self-important old man?” he asked, stepping off the piece of rubble and wincing as he heard infinity smash a piece of one of body from of the people that the curse had sent after him.

“I see you still refuse to show the principal the respect he is due,” Nanami snapped and Gojo snorted into the speaker, weaving his way through the mess his fight had left, he was in for another lecture about limiting damage but honestly there had been five of them… which was suspicious. “But I need to speak to him about…” Nanami hesitated for a moment before continuing, “something I’m not going to tell you.”

“You should definitely tell me, especially since you want me to set up the meeting. It doesn’t seem fair to keep me in the dark,” Gojo said grinning as he spoke, knowing that people could hear it in your voice when you smiled and glancing around for Ijichi, and his ride out of here.

“I am not-“ Nanami cut himself off as Gojo finally spotted the car. “I don’t even know why I called you. I should have known you wouldn’t help me,” he muttered into the phone over the sound of a car going by.

Gojo paused again, looking away from the car and frowning behind his glasses. Help him, what does he need help with? “You called me because you missed talking to me desperately,” he told Nanami keeping his voice light, trying to think through the fatigue, he needed to sleep, reverse curse technique removed the toxins and healed any damage, extending the length of time he could stay awake, but he was on his own with all the rest of the effects.

“No, I didn’t“ Nanami said flatly, “I’ll just do it my-“ Nanami started before Gojo cut in, something Nanami had said before finally sparking a connection “And beside Gakuganji can’t help you with any prinipaly things,” he said easily watching Ijichi climb tentatively out of the car behind him as he watched the cursed energy in front of him continue to dissipate.

“I am sure he is quite capable, regardless of your opinion of him,” Nanami said his voice going sharp over the phoneline.

Gojo laughed again, mirth in his voice even as he rubbed tiredly at his eyes as a flicker of cursed energy independent of the cursed location and thankfully not dangerous just yet caught his attention. “I’m sure he’s not capable of having an important conversation on guitars, but I meant that he isn’t the principle of Jujutsu High anymore,” he said easily, shifting to lean against a bit of rubble, legs splayed out to look relaxed as the stone held most of his weight.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment and then Nanami spoke sounding ever so slightly sheepish, and Gojo grinned for real to hear it. “Right, then I need to meet with whoever the new principle is.”

“G…Gojo?” Ijichi called, and Gojo cursed silently, as he started towards him. He still didn’t know what this was and Ijichi was nice enough, but he reported to the higher ups.

“That would be Yaga, when would you like this hypothetical meeting to take place?” he asked, before adding for form’s sake, “and of course I’ll be there.”

“No, you won’t,” Nanami snapped, “I told you this isn’t any of your business.”

“The time?” Gojo prompted when Nanami fell silent without answering the question. Usually, he would drag it on longer, but Ijichi was getting too close, and he wanted off the phone before he could hear the conversation or figure out who was calling. He didn’t want the higher ups anywhere near Nanami, they had never been pleased that a sorcerer with as much potential as Nanami had, had decided that he wasn’t going to be a sorcerer and left. Hell, it was probably only the chaos surrounding that time that had allowed him to get away with it in the first place and Gojo really didn’t want them remembering that Nanami existed.

“Today if he is free,” Nanami answered, cutting into Gojo’s thoughts.

Yaga was busy, but he should have enough time for one additional meeting and more importantly the higher ups would be too busy with Gojo to notice anything else, he would just have to make sure that all of the people they had watching Jujutsu High were mysteriously busy then.

“Today will be fine, try in…” he calculated the time it would take to get back from here, meet with Yaga himself and then take care of the watchers, “roughly three hours, its nice to keep him on his toes,” he said turning around to wave at Ijichi in an attempt to get him to back off.

“Good, I’ll be there in exactly three hours,” Nanami responded and then hesitated and continued a touch grudgingly, “thank you for your help.”

“Of course, anything for an old friend,” Gojo said easily, wincing at the renewed pain at the knowledge that Nanami would never consider him a friend not after… He hung up the phone with an easy goodbye and then started towards the car. His clock started five seconds ago.

It took them about an hour to get back to school, even with the detour to his house, that he would only explain with reason just a little too ridiculous to be believed, which was about what Gojo had expected and planned for, and so walked into Yaga’s office just after the student he was meeting with walked out, he didn’t have the time or energy for that interaction at the moment. He already knew the important pieces of why the kid had been called into the office.

“Yaga,” Gojo said flopping back into the chair and ignoring the cursed energy coming from dolls behind him and to the left.

“Gojo,” Yaga greeted, his eyes narrowing on him, “did we have a meeting scheduled?” he asked even though Gojo was certain that he was well aware of every meeting he had planned that day.

“No, no meeting, just figured I would drop by, see how you are doing. You know check on things say hi to my fans,” Gojo answered with a grin.

“And you are really here because? Didn’t you have a mission today?” Yaga asked leaning forward in his seat and resting his hands on his desk.

“I did, its all… resolved now, not exactly clean but there are no more curses,” Gojo answered swinging one leg up on the arm of the chair.

Yaga stared at it for a moment before he sighed and looked back at Gojo’s face. “Am I going to get another report about unnecessary damage?”

“Only because the old farts don’t know how to have any fun,” Gojo answered easily, reading the clock on the wall next to him as he watched Yaga flip through the papers in his desk drawer for a moment before he found what he was looking for.

“Why are you here?” he asked looking up from the paper, “you should have reported straight to the higher ups, not come back to the school.”

“It would do them some good to wait,” Gojo said easily before sitting up, “I got a call from an old student of yours today.” He kept his tone conversational, there wasn’t anyone nearby to hear. Unless they had no cursed energy like… “He seemed to be interested in a meeting with you, wouldn’t tell me why. For some reason.”

Yaga tensed at his words and when he spoke his tone was cautious. “Is that so, what student was it?” he asked his hand reaching, apparently unconsciously for one of his dolls.

Gojo paused for just a second, seeing the sudden tension then he felt a sharp stab of pain, and reached into his pocket for a candy to cover for the sudden tightening in his throat. “Nanami of course,” he answered once he had control of his voice again. “He is going to be here to meet with you in two and a half hours,” he continued, shifting sideways to slump into the chair.

“That’s… he couldn’t have given me more warning?” Yaga asked his shoulders relaxing.

Gojo shrugged in answer and then pushed himself back to his feet. “Well, I should get going, would hate to get predictable, maybe I’ll show up early, disturb them with my foresight. Let me know what Nanami wants, yeah?” he said moving towards the door before Yaga’s next words stop him.

“This isn’t a good idea. I was frankly shocked that he was allowed to leave the first time,” Yaga said keeping his voice very quiet, the way he always did when they talked about students.

“It seemed important,” Gojo said in response, letting the humor slide out of his voice and then he walked away as he watched Yaga go tense again, before he shook his head and turned back to his papers.

Distracting the higher up’s watchers was a simple matter of a simple suggestion to the young woman leading classes today and then leaning against a wall in the middle of campus and watching the perimeter of the school as a game, involving every student currently on the campus, despite it being summer, and that had absolutely already been planned, an exercise that looked a lot like finding hidden curse users hidden in an area and making them reveal themselves played out. It was fun and relatively harmless and taught something very useful. “And if in the process they manage to disrupt the spies then how were they supposed to know it wasn’t part of the game? Things change without any warning on a mission all the time, and usually for the worse,” he thought shifting so that he was slightly turned away from the sun, glasses were not very effective at keeping the world out. They should give up lurking anywhere near the insanity that was this years too few student in couple minutes, maybe thirty if they were particularly dedicated.

He slumped into the wall and watched the kids run around the woods, they really had taken to it like a game, even the couple third years who really should have known better by now. The swirl of cursed energy that was a first year who was particularly prone to clumsiness tripped over something that looked an awful lot like a cursed sword and fell face first into the water and Gojo couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face as they came up sputtering, they spun towards where they had tripped and the smile dimmed slightly as he watched the fifteen year settle into a defensive stance, already calling on their cursed energy.

A flare of energy to the West had him snapping his head around, a useless gesture but still automatic, as another flash of energy came from the same place, a slightly familiar one, that was not a student or teacher.

He shifted forward turning to face the same direction as he identified the first person, a second year that was fortunately and unfortunately part of a particularly vicious pack of three other second years. They fought together so seamlessly that when it looked like they were one being with eight hands and feet, and they would kill anyone who attacked one of their friends. He was fiercely proud of them and their determination to hold together despite the mission assignments that always tried to split them up. With the four of them in one place they should be safe from whatever the watcher might do, but he didn’t want to attend another trial this year so he should probably intervene. He was taking a breath to shift himself there when he saw the woman leading the exercise walk into the area.

“Good she’s got it and I,” he glanced down at his phone, “need to get to a meeting.” He walked slowly back towards the road leading into the school, his hands in his pockets as he moved and his shoulders just slightly slumped. “And why does Nanami need to see the principle?” he thought stopping next to the main building for the school, his curiosity had been waylaid by logistics but now he wanted to know. “He could not possibly have a family member that was needed to attend, and even if he did, he would never let them associate people kill kids from sheer selfishness.” Gojo’s shoulder’s slumped slightly for just a moment and then he turned away from the building and towards the car waiting for him, whatever it was Nanami made it very clear that he didn’t want Gojo to have anything to do with it.

He grinned at the driver, not Ijichi this time unfortunately, all the kids were in school all day today, so he was probably taking the chance to catch up on his other work, and then slid into the car, closing the door behind himself just a tree was ripped from the ground a flung a few feet away.

The driver jumped where he was sitting behind the wheel and spun to the side to look.

“It’s just the trainees, doing a bit of practice,” Gojo said leaning back into the seat. “If you drive forward there will be no more super dangerous noise attacks.”

The driver scowled at him in the mirror for a moment before he caught himself, blanked his face and nodded solemnly. Well, the initial reaction was interesting at least. Gojo shifted so he could tap the underside of the driver’s seat with a foot, making him scowl again only this time not in the mirror, then, grinning wider Gojo shifted to a more comfortable position, closed his eyes, and watched the scenery race by as the driver pressed his foot down on the pedal. Just enough childishness to convince whoever it was this man reported to.

The drive to the higher-ups meeting place was only a half hour long and they were pulling off the road far too early for Gojo’s taste, but he only had thirty minutes until Nanami would be walking onto the school campus. “Feel free to go home,” he said to the driver easily, and, ignoring their attempt to convince him otherwise, slid out of the car to stand in front of the building.

He slid his hands into his pockets and glanced around at the nearby buildings for a moment before he walked into the building, his shoulders relaxed even as he watched for out of place cursed energy. He crossed the short hallway to the waiting room, paused to check his phone and then stepped through the door into the dark room, pulling his hands out of his pockets. The room was dark to his normal sight, but he could see the cursed energy flowing through the  six people in the room. A moment later and the lights behind their screens flashed on.

Gojo didn’t react to the sudden light, instead he stood silently, waiting for the higher-ups to make the first move.

A long awkward, silent moment passed  before the person behind the screen to slightly behind him and to the left spoke. “Gojo, I take it your mission was a success?” he asked, voice dry.

“Yes,” Gojo answered simply without turning, not volunteering information. “But that isn’t why you called me here,” he finished keeping his tone even, and not overtly disrespectful.

“There is a curse that we are requiring you to exorcize,” the person to his right in front of him said and then fell silent, even though that could not be all of it, or they would have sent that through Yaga instead of calling him all the way down here.

They wanted him to ask, it took him a second of calculation to decide to remain silent, it would make the meeting take longer and he couldn’t let them get their way in all their games. It took nearly five minutes for the man to his right to continued. “You will take this mission,” he said and then fell silent again, offering no more information.

He kept his silence just long enough to see the person directly behind him shift and then he spoke, letting them get their way this time. “What is the mission?” he asked still not moving.

“There are five curse users in Osaka, they have killed the sorcerer we sent after them and they need to be wiped out,” the man directly behind him said, pitching his voice so it would carry, even though there were seven people in the room, and they were all standing within ten feet.

“They called me here to give me this mission personally, they are not going to change their minds if I push a little,” he thought quickly, before speaking. “What did they do that required a sorcerer to deal with them?” Gojo asked, watching as the shadow behind the screen to his left shifted uncomfortably.

“That is not your concern,” the man behind him said sharply, and Gojo almost smiled, he tried that tactic every time there was something that they didn’t want him to know about a mission.

“It is if you want me to hunt them down and kill them,” Gojo said, watching them carefully, waiting for an indication that he was wrong.

“You will take the missions you are assigned,” the man said, voice getting louder, and Gojo took a breath to answer before he was cut off.

“It’s a shame that Isinori Tamaburo isn’t due for a mission for another few days,” the man to the right said his voice very calm, “unless of course extraordinary circumstances demand that her break is cut short.

Isinori Tamaburo, a just graduated sorcerer that had almost died and had lost her partner Ingakite Kanzare, a childhood friend on her last mission, she was nowhere near ready to go out again, but… He smiled just slightly and looked over to meet the man’s eyes through the screen. “You know that blackmail doesn’t work,” he said flatly, “we have gone over this a time or two since Geto,” he finished, not letting the sharp stab of pain in his chest at the name show, as he tossed the thing that they could still not get him to do at them.

“The first years arriving in a few months will not go on a mission without an adult sorcerer present for two months,” the man in front of him said cutting the man behind Gojo off before he got past, ”you-!”.

Gojo considered that offer for a moment, it would allow him, or someone else the time to get basic defensive strategies into their heads before they were sent off alone to die. “And you will honor the break time of every sorcerer currently not on duty,” he said looking forward again, a useless gesture but one that meant other people would feel like he was watching them.

“Agreed… unless we need them for an urgent mission,” the man in front of him said. Gojo nodded his agreement, he would make sure that didn’t happen, it was why his kids went to a summer camp every year. He could handle every mission and he would.

“Good, we will send the details to Yaga, you can get them from him,” The man in front of him said in dismissal.

Gogo nodded again and then turned and walked out the door, the lights going out behind him as he did.

He glanced at his phone as soon as he was outside the building, and then cursed at the message sitting there. ‘Curse activation time has passed. People in the vicinity. Going in.’ “They couldn’t have waited ten minutes,”  he thought, searched for, found the cursed energy of the area and then teleported there.

                  The first thing Gojo noticed when he stepped through the veil was the screaming, the second thing was that this curse had of course been misreported. “Are the windows drinking, what are they doing if they can’t even tell curse grades apart anymore?”

                  He caught sight of Koshi Kyumori, a grade three sorcerer who insisted on running in without preparation every single time, they were lying gutted on the ground just feet from the six kids who were staring up at the curse, a long sinuous thing that flew had four overlapping wings on either side, that undulated in the non-existent wind, and double-jointed forearms that ended with paws that were tipped with inch long claws that were stained red with blood.

                  His eyes lingered on the dead sorcerer for just a second before he turned back to the curse. Five seconds of effort later and it was over, the curse dead and the people saved, all except for the sorcerer he had said he would protect. Gojo crossed the ground between them and stepping around the blood pooling under them, crouched and rested a hand lightly on their head, infinity resisting for just a moment before he forced it to let her through. He closed his eyes for a long second, still watching the cursed energy in the area dissipate, and then slid his hand down her face, closing her eyes so she wasn’t staring up in sightless determination anymore. The he pushed himself to his feet and pulled out his phone as the veil fractured overhead.

                  “Hello, Tomoki?” he said quietly as he walked past the dead sorcerer he should have saved and towards the six people huddled too close to where the curse was dissolving.

                  “Ah… yes?” Tomoki said carefully, his voice a little higher than normal. He cleared his throat sharply before continuing. “Yes, it’s me what can I do for you Gojo?” he said his voice firmer, until it cracked on the last word.

                  “I’m at the curse site and…” Gojo hesitated, he hated doing this and doing it over the phone seemed cruel. “The curse is dead, but there are six non-sorcerers who saw it, that will need to be handled.”

                  “Why-?” Tomoki started before he cut himself off. “Of course, I’ll be there immediately,” he finished, the sounds of shoes on gravel audible, and Gojo could see him getting closer, he was approaching from the same direction Gojo had. He would see the body before anything else.

                  “Tomoki,” Gojo said turning away from the six kids to focus on the conversation even though ignoring their distress felt like sandpaper on exposed nerves. He couldn’t help but imagine Megumi or Tsumiki in their place, sobbing on the ground while a seemingly indifferent figure stood over them talking on the phone. “You’ll need to call for a hearse as well,” he said, keeping his voice as gentle as he could, while he watched Tomoki’s turn the corner onto this street.

                  “Of course, “ he said again, his tone brisk. “An appropriate cover story will have to be thought up as well, I assume one of the non-sorcerers died before you got there, Koshi told me you would be observing this exorcism. I assume that the are busy with the survivors.”

                  Gojo felt something wrench in his chest and he took a careful breath, before pushing it away, Koshi Kyumori was just one more person that he hadn’t worked hard enough to save, he could handle that, he would. “I’m sorry Tomoki,” he said quietly and watched as he stumbled to a stop in the distance as the kids behind huddled closer together, their sobs slowly petering off.

                  “No, no, they can’t be dead, they couldn’t have died on this mission of all missions. You were there,” Tomoki said quickly, almost stumbling over the words, and Gojo opened his eyes, trading the distraction of overstimulation for the painful sight of Tomoki stumbling against a wall down the road.

                  “I know, I should have been here. If I hadn’t been playing games, if I hadn’t-“ he thought before cutting himself off and sliding a hand into his pocket, and clenching it into a fist, even as he kept his posture relaxed. “No, it’s too late for that now, it’s over and I’ll just have to live with it,” he finished, turning to look at Koshi Kyumori, and forcing himself to focus on Tomoki as he slumped against the wall. “Do you need me to call someone else for this clean up? We need to take care of this before the police arrive,” he said quietly turning back to the kids.

                  Tomoki sucked in a sharp breath on the other side of the line, and Gojo watched him straighten as he finished approaching the kids. “No, I can handle this. Thank you for informing me,” he said his tone perfectly respectful even as it went slightly sharp.

                  “Good, and… I’m sorry for your loss Koshi was a great sorcerer and their death was a loss to sorcerer society,” he said, his voice quiet enough that he could hear the soft distressed sound that Tomoki made. Then he ended the call and crouched down next to the teenagers, who shrank back a little, huddling closer together.

                  “Hi, I’m here to help, are any of you hurt?” he asked, even though a quick examination had already told him that their worst injuries were scrapes and bruises.

                  They stared at him for a long moment then the girl closest to the curse cleared her throat. “N… no,” she stuttered, “we aren’t hurt, just… what was that thing?” she asked, tears welling in her eyes, but not spilling over as she met his eyes through the black sunglasses.

                  He met her eyes steadily for a moment before he sighed quietly, this girl was not going to believe any of their normal cover stories, not when she had stared at it as it died. “It’s gone now, and you and your friends are safe. That’s what matters now,” he said, and glanced around for their bags, as he heard the car that he had been watching get closer pull up behind him. “Can you tell me your names?” he asked shifting to block their view of Koshi as two people climbed out of the car to put them in a body bag and then into the car.

                  “What happened to the person who tried to save us!  I saw them get flung across the ground and then I don’t remember, I was so focused on the monster,” the girl said her voice cracking on the words as she tried to lean around him, searching for Koshi.

                   “They are going home to their family,” Gojo said, shifting to block her view of the pool of blood that was all that was left of the sorcerer. “I need to know your names so the police can get you home,” he said leaning slightly forward and watching the people behind him finish cleaning up the blood and then climb into the car.

                  The girl’s eyes snapped back to him when he moved, her pupils were too wide, and her breath was speeding up again. A glance behind her showed all five of her companions in roughly the same state, their skin pale as they stared straight ahead where the curse had been. “Can you tell me your names?” he asked again keeping his voice gentle. This wasn’t good, they were in shock.

                  “I…I…I, where’s… where’s the person… the person who… who…who,” the girl started, her eyes going unfocused and Gojo could finally hear the sirens closing in.

                  “It’s okay now, you’ll be okay, the police are coming, they will make sure that you get home,” he said standing and backing away as an ambulance turned the corner, then he took a step back and stepped into his home leaving the kids to the medical professionals and the situation to Tomoki.

                  He backed up a couple steps and slumped against the wall, taking in his home in the warm late evening light. The boots he had ruined earlier in the day were still where he had left them in the entryway, twenty identical uniforms were tossed on top of the couch where Megumi sat to read his books, a mountain of takeout containers were sitting on the table where Tsumiki would spend hours drawing and, he closed his eyes and let his head drop, it was far too quiet and empty.

                  He shook away the thought and pushed himself up off the wall and started slowly towards the bathroom. He could at least take a shower before he needed to be anywhere else. There wasn’t a single exorcism that needed to be performed in the next ten minutes so he would get to the next one with plenty of time to spare this time.

                  “It’s not slacking if there isn’t anything to do,” he said quietly as he crossed the living room, “and I’ll stink if I don’t shower soon.”

                  Gojo spent the next three hours after his five-minute shower, he had received a call that one of the curses he had been assigned had gone active early, completing every mission  that he had convinced Yaga to assign. All of them were so easy that they were almost boring except for how many curses he had fought in the last few weeks. By the end of the day Gojo could feel the strain in his eyes and the heaviness of his feet that meant he needed to sleep, but instead he teleported back to Jujutsu high to write his reports and see who had been injured, or killed on the missions he hadn’t gotten to.

                  He stepped into a classroom he knew would be empty and immediately stumbled over air, cursed, and then steadied himself against the wall, and let himself lean for just a minute before he pushed himself off the wall, and started towards Yaga’s office swapping his glasses for the bandages he hadn’t let himself wear all day. The halls were empty at this time of evening, quiet and too still with the only cursed energy in the place coming from the armoury and the mess hall where the kids were sitting.

                  Gojo reached the principal’s office before too long and then stepped through the door without letting himself pause again. Yaga looked up from the doll in his hands at his entrance.

                  “Gojo,” he said calmly in greeting before turning back to his needle.

                  “Yaga,” Gojo answered easily before flopping into the chair across from Yaga. “I hear you have a mission for me, assigned special from the higher ups,” he said after a moment of silence where the world got a little fuzzy.

                  Yaga looked over him for a moment and Gojo held still under his scrutiny, not letting his posture betray his exhaustion, then he nodded, set his doll aside, stood and crossed to his desk where he flipped through the papers there for a moment before coming up with a tan folder that he brought back over to Gojo. “This is it, make sure you have today’s paperwork done before rushing off to another city,” he said as Gojo took the file.

                  Gojo waved the comment off, flipping the folder open and looking at the five pictures there. “Of course, I’ll finish it when I’m done here,” he said reading over the information in the file. There wasn’t much, just their names, faces and that they had killed a sorcerer who had tried to apprehend them before, which was why Gojo was being sent to kill them instead of bringing them in for a trial.  What it did not tell him was what they had been doing to be labeled curse users or why only one sorcerer was sent in the first place. “Doing this without that information was what you were bargaining for,” he reminded himself, looking up from the file and resolving to do some research of his own before starting the mission, he couldn’t take too long, or the inspector general would consider their agreement void.

                  “Alright,” he said closing the file and looking back up at Yaga who slid his doll making tools back into their places and then went and sat behind the desk.

                  “Alright,” Yaga mimicked and pulled a file out of the bottom drawer of his desk, set it on his desk and then opened it. “I hate the summer, it always leads to too much burnout for sorcerers, I always have barely enough to take the worst curses from the students by fall,” he said flipping to the third paper in the file and then skimming down it, and missing Gojo’ wince at the words. “We  only lost one sorcerer today but five more are going to need at least a couple weeks to recover, Shoko healed them all of course but sending them out would get them killed for sure,” he said running a finger over the paper and then reaching into a different drawer for several more files.

                  Gojo tossed his mission file on the seat next to him and stood crossing the office to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk and slid the file Yaga had been looking at closer to himself while Yaga was  looking down into the drawer. One dead and five out of rotation in one day, at this rate there weren’t going to be enough sorcerers to last to the end of the summer, more were dropping, or more accurately being forcibly removed every day. Kurigami Shutsune, Tsusho Kukia, Magaki Karai, Ishigisawa Yukasa, and Konishida Rezuka, three grade threes, one grade two and a semi first grade, damnit, they couldn’t afford to lose anyone, but the semi first grade would be especially hard to cover for.

                  “I’ve already reassigned all the missions so most of them are covered but there are two that I couldn’t,” Yaga said pulling the file away from Gojo and stacking two different files in their place.

                  “Only two?” Gojo asked opening those files. “I’d think that the semi first grade had more than two missions.”

                  Yaga hesitated and Gojo looked up from the files to demonstrate that he was looking at him and then scoffed leaning back in the chair. “Didn’t you just say that you were worried about sorcerers burning out, and then you gave them more work? You don’t see the problem there?” he asked crossing one leg over the other as in the distance the kids began standing up to leave the mess hall.

                  Yaga scowled at him, “of course I do Gojo, but they need to get done and I can’t make sorcerers appear out of thin air,” he snapped, and Gojo laughed, slumping into the chair.

                  “Why don’t you give me the missions that the semi first grade was assigned and then a couple from another one, it’ll be fun. A nice warm up to the actually important assignments I have this weekend,”  he said, grinning easily, as he shifted so he could lean his head on a hand.

                  “Just like that? You aren’t going insist that you get something out of it before you’ll do the mission and save lives?’ Yaga asked, just a hint of bite in his tone. Whoever sent Yaga the file on the assignment the higher ups had given him must have been telling tales out of class.

                  Gojo shrugged easily, reaching out and grabbing the file with the names in it off the desk, and out of Yaga’s reach and looking through it, reading the recommended time off, the necessary time off, the previous mission and the exorcisms that had been assigned to the sorcerers before they had burned out as he answered. “Eh, I like these ones better,” he said watching Yaga’s face contort and the flippant response to the argument he had been trying to start for years now. Once Gojo had all the pertinent detail in the file memorized he tossed it back on the desk and leaned back again and cut Yaga off as he opened his mouth to continue the argument that Gojo refused to have with him. “So, what did Nanami want?” he asked shifting to sit at an angle in the chair, focusing on the clock on the wall for a moment. He planned to be annoying, interfering, and impetuous tonight, and deal with a few curses before the sorcerers assigned to them could get there but he didn’t want to be late again.

                  Yaga hesitated, considering continuing the argument, before he gives up, which is the best evidence that they have known each other for a while. “He… I don’t actually know if I should tell you,” Yaga said after another moment of thought turning back to his desk.

                  Petty, but everyone is entitled to it sometimes, especially when dealing with him. Gojo shrugged at Yaga’s answer and then flicked a hand towards the desk. “Ok, give me the files for those exorcisms and I’ll not ask again,” he said, catching the laughter that bubbled up into his throat. Far too close to hysterical, was everything going to be a trade, you do this, and I’ll do this?

Yaga scowled at him and reached into the drawer without looking and then dropped a pile of folders on the table on top of the two he had already put there. “Fine, I guess I don’t care why they get done as long as they do. Try not to blow up anymore buildings this time, would you?” he said slamming the drawer closed.

“No promises,” Gojo said launching himself up off the chair and on to his feet. “I need to have some fun. Also, you might want to check on on the windows, I don’t think they are getting half of the grades right anymore,” he said scooping the folders up and balancing them on one hand as he walked towards the door.

“Gojo,” Yaga called and Gojo paused a couple feet from the door. “Do not forget to do that assignment, you already agreed to it,” he said gesturing to the seat where the inspector general’s special file had been before Gojo had grabbed it.

“Ah,” Gojo said checking the time and turning around. “One thi-” he said, pause in the middle of the word as he teleported back into the seat, irritation a flare of heat in his chest as he flopped back against the seat. “-ng, you know I will find out what Nanami wanted,” he said, a statement. “I’ll just go and ask him,” he grinned and tilted his head slightly, as though he was looking at Yaga from under the bandages, even though he didn’t need to, and it would be impossible even if he did. “I’m sure he’d appreciate a visit from me, especially if it came out of nowhere.”

Yaga paused, staring at him for a moment before he leaned back. “Very well, I suppose you would find out eventually,” he said reaching out to touch a piece of paper sitting on his desk. “He wants to come back to jujutsu,” he said flatly a gleam in his eye as Gojo jerked back from the statement.

“He…” Gojo said his voice sliding back from the harsh edge before he trailed off. “He wants to come back to Jujutsu, back to being a sorcerer?” he asked a note of disbelief in the question.

“Yes,” Yaga said simply, “he set up the meeting to see what he would need to do to be allowed to join the ranks of sorcerers again. I told him that he would need to start at grade three and go through the same process, which might be difficult for him since he left, and some sorcerers would hold a grudge and make it more difficult.”

Gojo barely registered the dig, stuck on the words, but it did remind him not to do this here. “Good,” Gojo said standing again files in one hand. “He should help cover some of the gaps,” Gojo said mostly on instinct, not thinking about it, some piece of him buried by the gut punch feeling of hearing that Nanami was coming back screamed at him for that carelessness as Yaga’s face contorted in reaction. Then he walked calmly out of the room with a flippant wave of his hand before he teleported back to his home once again. Letting himself seek comfort for a moment in the remembered warmth of his kids.

He is coming back, Nanami, whose last words at his graduation were that he hated sorcerers and Jujutsu society, that it discarded anyone that didn’t have enough power, and lauded those that did simply for that power and asked for nothing else. The kid that had looked back at the school when he left only to spit on the ground as he walked away. Nanami who wanted so little to do with sorcerers that he hadn’t even wanted to see one ever again was coming back.

Gojo slid down to sit against the door, the heavy stack of mission files dropping to the floor next to him. Why? He was used to being the last of their three years, the only one, he could do it, had been doing it without them for years. Geto… Geto… lost to him, Ijichi in a place that he could help, Shoko fighting in her own way safe from curses, even if the weight of patching people up to send them back out to fight and then tearing them apart to learn from them when they couldn’t be fixed, but not killing curses, Utahime teaching the next generation even if every student’s death probably scraped at her as much as it did him, but hating him, as she should, close enough to the dammed old man that the higher up’s machinations wouldn’t touch her,  Mei Mei only fighting battles she was paid for and that she thought she could win, he had let Haibara die, and Nanami gone, lost as well.

Gojo closed his eyes tight, pressing the heels of his palms into them and wishing for just a second that he could actually close out the rest of the world as he tried to get control of his breathing, the bandages under his hands growing wet. Then his phone started to vibrate in his pocket, and he took a shaky breath letting his head fall back to hit the door as he pulled it out and looked at it. An alarm, he breathed out slowly as he let it ring once more then he flicked it off and pushed himself to his feet, getting control of his breathing from years of long practice. He picked the files up off the floor mechanically and set them gently on the table, and brushing a hand over a long scrape, that Megumi and Tsumiki had left during a science experiment, took a step away and teleported to the site of Tomidate Izuko’s next exorcism.

A few hours and he didn’t even know how many exorcisms later, the sun long since set, Gojo finally paused to take a breath, stumbling away from where the previously cursed human lay bleeding onto the ground, dead now and the curse who had made them, dissipating a few feet to the side.

He swallowed down the hiss of pain as he stepped on a still healing ankle that he had broken on the last exorcism as someone with faintly familiar cursed energy and was with Ijichi, so he could be bothered to check who it was, approached.

“Gojo?” a voice asked from the past asked from behind him, and he straightened just slightly, too much and it would be obvious that he was covering, Nanami was right there, just behind him after four years.

Gojo took a quick sharp breath and slid his shaking hands in his pockets before he turned part way around. “Nanami,” he said, voice too flat and he could feel his shoulders trying to cave in on themselves, before he forced them straight and turned the rest of the way around and grinned, taking a small step to the side to partially hide the corpse from both men. “Nanami! Long-time no see, what brings you here?” he asked, hands still in his pockets.

“I was assigned this exorcism,” Nanami said looking around at the buildings that had relatively little damage this time. “Why are you here? Was the plan changed?” this last he asked turning to look at Ijichi who shook his head in answer.

Gojo shrugged a little moving towards them, his hands tightening in his pockets. “I was bored,” he said easily. Yaga couldn’t have assigned Nanami a curse any higher than a grade two on his first day. Had he really worked his way down tonight’s list to the point that he was killing second grade curses? What time was it anyway?

“You were bored,” Nanami repeated, staring at him incredulously. “So, you came to kill a grade two curse? Don’t you have better things you should be doing?” he asked, glancing past Gojo to where the body lay on the ground.

“Not really,” Gojo answered pulling his phone out of his pocket as he watched Nanami swallow hard as his eyes widened when he cause sight of the dead body. Damnit, well it had to happen again sometime if he is going to be a sorcerer.

 Gojo checked the time, his phone barely shaking, and jerked when he saw that it was almost two in the morning, he had been fighting curses for eight hours. No wonder he had gotten all the way to the grade twos, he was going to have some fast talking to do next time he was with Yaga. “Yeah that, and my attempt at avoiding Nanami led me right to him, when I am exhausted enough That I can’t think straight,” Gojo thought as Nanami stepped forward trying to shove past him, only to slam into his infinity, and stumble back before turning to glare at him.

“Is that a sorcerer?” Nanami asked gesturing towards the body. “Did you actually leave someone laying there bleeding out?”

Gojo flinched internally at the accusation and turned slightly trying to ignore the body he could still see slowly seeping blood into the ground. “Technically yes,” he answered shifting all his weight onto one foot as he slid his phone back into his pocket, he couldn’t deal with this right now. Not and keep his control. “Ijichi, would you…?” he asked turning to the other man who nodded, his eyes wide as he glanced between Nanami and Gojo.

“Technically,” Nanami muttered quietly before walking around Gojo, staying far outside of infinity’s range, and approaching the body. He crouched down next to the body and then paused, staring. “He’s…” Nanami said before trailing off eyes still caught on the gruesome sight of the body, and Gojo turned slightly to the side to hide the wince from Ijichi and squeezed his eyes tighter.

“I’m sorry, I tried but I got here too late… again,” he thought, watching Nanami reach out and close the body’s one remaining eye, before he walked away. He could barely deal with knowing that Nanami came back and the useless, pointless hope that it brought up, let alone stay and interact with the living proof. There was no more danger here and he had paperwork to do that was more important than sleep right now, and more possible as well.

Gojo teleported, and between one step and the next he was home once more, the sudden expenditure of cursed energy masking him stumble, and he caught himself on the wall his head heavy, as the room around him faded for a moment before he shook himself and moved towards the table, grabbing the paper and pen he would need to start his reports, glad suddenly that he wouldn’t need to keep his eyes open to write them.

Gojo startled awake two days after his run in with Nanami to the sound of his ringtone blaring in his ear. He rolled off the couch away from the sound and spun his hands going up before he registered what the sound actually was, and he slumped forward, pressing his head into the side of the couch, and breathed out slowly when he realized a moment later what it was. He stayed pressed against the couch for just a second then he pushed himself to his feet and grabbed his phone off the end table, answered it and pressed it against his ear in one motion as he turned to gather the papers, he had left strewn across the coffee table during his unplanned nap.

“Gojo,” he said into the phone by way of greeting as he slid the papers into their envelopes and closed the files stacking them precisely.

“It’s Yaga, how quickly can you get to the school?” Yaga asked, his voice serious and strained.

Gojo straightened, abandoning the papers as he crossed the room, checking the time as he moved, four thirty-two, he’d wasted almost two hours, but he had at least another hour before that damned mission he had been assigned. “I did miss that strange semi first grade curse. Here’s hoping no one died while I was napping,” he thought sliding his feet into his shoes as he grabbed his glasses off the table in the entryway. “Tell me what room and I’ll be there in five seconds,” he said, answering Yaga’s question, and ignoring his stomach growling.

“The meeting room just outside my office,” Yaga said briskly, the sound of a door closing clear for a moment, and Gojo took a step and teleported himself to the empty meeting room.

“I’m here,” he said into the phone just as Yaga walked into the room and ended the call. “What’s going on?” he asked turning to face the principal who was a little pale.

“Four students were sent to exorcize a grade one curse, and they haven’t come out. In fact, the effective range of the curse is spreading.” Yaga said not quite looking at Gojo, whose head jerked back at that, and he shifted, his weight settling on the balls of his feet.

“Four students,” Gojo repeated after a moment, stepping back to press his back slightly into the wall. “Four students dead in one night. How? I didn’t even know they had a mission scheduled tonight. How could I have fucking missed that?” Gojo thought his chest seizing as his throat tightened. “You sent four students after a grade one curse. By themselves, who?” he asked making his voice shift into lightly incredulous as he leaned back into the wall, relaxing against it as he let it hold him up, four kids dead, no warning just gone.

“The fucking wolf pack, they refused to go alone and no, they had a grade two sorcerer as a supervisor but he’s dead, the auxiliary manager assigned to the mission reported seeing his dismembered gutted body fly through the veil.” Yaga said looking at Gojo straight on for the first time.

“Semura, Kakasa, Akesume, Enasano,” he thought, breath hitching at the pain in his chest. “No, damnit they were supposed to live,” he thought remembering in a flash the slightly crazed edge of their smiles when they all came back from a mission covered in blood and eating their way through a ten-pound bag of jerky that they refused to tell him where they got. The way they would surround and attack without hesitation on their classes, moving in sync. Then something struck him, just a hint of impossible hope. If a sorcerer doesn’t come out of an exorcism, then they are dead, but maybe.

“Is this really-“ Yaga started before Gojo cut him off.

“The supervisor is dead but the four didn’t come out,” he said pushing himself up off the wall suddenly. “That’s what you said, you think they might still be alive.” Gojo said studying Yaga for a moment before taking in the room. “Why would…” he started before he shook his head and snapped his head around to show Yaga that he was focused on him. “Where are they?” he asked making his tone stay even if urgent and his shoulders relax.

“I…” Yaga started as Gojo noticed cursed energy approaching from the hallway, a moment before Kusakabe Atsuya walked in the door followed closely by Nanami. Gojo tensed when he saw Nanami, shifting his weight to better brace himself against an incoming blow. “Ah you are here,” Yaga said turning away from Gojo with some relief and Gojo had to catch himself before he moved and made Yaga tell him what was happening. Control, he couldn’t lose control, couldn’t let these people see him lose control. There were more than four lives depending on his ability to portray an unflappable unbeatable front. “Just stay still, he called me he has to tell me eventually.” Gojo thought making himself lean back again, and breathing slowly in an attempt to still his racing heartbeat as he let part of his awareness expand outward watching for the children that should be safe here in his school, the wrench of kids missing quickly swallowed up by the slow simmer of rage in his chest. If this had been a purposeful attack or punishment, then he would destroy anyone who had a fingernail in it.

“Now, we have four students missing and with the nature of the curse they might still be alive,” Yaga said after a moment of polite greetings. “Here,” he said offering each of the tow sorcerers a file and then turning to offer the last folder in his hand to Gojo, who reached out to take it only to find Yaga’s grip unwavering. “Please read it all the way through and then stay a moment longer instead of rushing off ahead,” he said looking straight at the bandages covering Gojo’s eyes and only releasing the file when Gojo nodded slightly, ignoring Nanami’s snort at the words as he looked through his own file.

Gojo flipped the file open and skimmed through it quickly, ‘reported first grade cursed spirit as Yaga had said, festered for too long because the people who went into the area at the guessed time of activation must have come out again later because they are found at their homes later. There they didn’t do just went about theur lives as normal and after long enough they stopped being watched. Area was marked as high cursed energy but not dangerous until a few weeks ago when a thorough window looked a bit deeper into a few murder cases and found something strange.’ Gojo scanned the initial form for a change of status for the location of the name of the window but there was nothing, and he resolved to look it up when he had a chance and thank them for their conscientiousness. ‘And realized that a few weeks after they came out of the curse’s effective range, they killed everyone in their home in various brutal and bloody ways.’ Gojo tilted his head slightly studying the pictures. The kills looked almost frenzied. ‘Before walking away from the scene calmly and going to whatever it was, they had planned after that covered in blood as though nothing had happened.’ Gojo caught himself before he reached up to rub his eyes and kept his hands steady on the files as he swallowed hard, pressing more of his weight into the wall. The kids may technically be alive, but it wasn’t likely that they would still be themselves which meant that they were just as dead as if the curse had killed them only, he would have to… He clenched his jaw tight and locked that thought away with the pain of knowing that he had been sleeping when these children that he had promised protection to needed him, as he focused again on the file, trying to figure out why Yaga had called more than just him to this fight. He was always enough on his own. He had to be.

A few pages into the very thorough report, Gojo makes another note to see where this window has been the last few months, and he finds what Yaga must have seen, on hopefully the second time he had looked at these papers. If not then Gojo was going to need to revise his threat assessment of Yaga, from generally on board and at least provisionally competent at keeping sorcerers especially child sorcerers from getting killed, to incompetent or active danger, which were essentially the same thing. He felt a flash of fear and pain at the thought, Yaga had been one of his closest allies since he had stood on that crowded street and realized that just killing as many curses as he could manage wasn’t enough to keep the other sorcerers alive.

The window had seen two distinct curses when they had apparently gotten annoyed at being ignored and decided to check for themselves by walking far too close to the affected area. They reported one as a grade one, thus the grade two sorcerer’s assignment, although he wouldn’t have suggested sending barely second year kids to back up a sorcerer fighting barely within his own abilities, but the other they didn’t get a good enough look at to grade, which was their first assessment, and that someone less likely to get killed should be sent to check if they wanted a better idea. Which was a direct quote from their first report after having walked in, apparently in response to a complaint that they weren’t being specific enough. The second entry labeled it as a grade two curse, which was certainly within the wolf pack’s abilities, but it also said that the two curses spent too long close together and then when someone walked into the affected area the supposed grade two said something and fled to somewhere out of sight while the first grade spun up and then down around its prey and spirited it away.

Gojo hissed quietly, because that person who had walked into the affected area was not a sorcerer and as such could not have scared the curse away, so it was strategic. It thought ahead, only special grade curses had much strategy. So, a special and first grade curse up against a grade two sorcerer and four students that were still grade three for all that they were vicious together. “Plus,” he thought checking the date of the report that stated someone had gone in. “There may have been one human opponent that was being controlled by a curse, and most sorcerers hesitate to fight something that was once human,” he continued and switched his attention to the other three people in the room. Yaga was still standing in where he had been, one hand brushing lightly against his pants in a subtle gesture of impatience.  Kusakabe was scowling down at his files as he flipped between two papers and Nanami was staring into the distance, jaw tight as he tapped a finger against the file his shoulders tense.

“Ok,” Kusakabe said looking up, “why are there three of us, especially when one is fucking Gojo Satoru?”

“Why thank you,” Gojo answered mostly by instinct as he watched Yaga tense at the question, head coming up from where he had been staring a hole through the wall.

Nanami’s head snapped towards him with a scowl, and Gojo watched as he drew in breath to respond, likely with something acid and uncomfortably true, as he watched Kusakabe look at Yaga and Yaga nod and respond.

“I received a verbal report from the auxiliary manager on site. The curses split up, one attacked, overwhelmed and then… threatened the four grade three sorcerers in attempt to get the grade two sorcerer to stand down, he did not, and the other curse killed him,” he said before hesitating, his eyes flicking over to Gojo, who stayed reclined easily against the wall shoulders relaxed, one hand holding the file in a loose grip and the other in his pocket clenching in a fist. “It is believed that the second curse is special grade, that there are at least three possessed humans, and that if given the chance the special grade will kill the four sorcerers, and we would like to get them out alive.”

Gojo clenched his jaw before forcing it to relax, knowing that it was as clear as a neon sign to the right people. He knew where this was going, and Yaga was right but damnit they were his students.

“As such,” Yaga continued without pausing long enough for anyone to ask questions. “You two will fight the first-grade curse and get the kids while Gojo,” he turned to look at Gojo who flicked two fingers up in acknowledgement, resigned to what came next. “Will kill the special grade and keep it off you. Nanami, you technically aren’t rated for this, but everyone who would be closer is busy at the moment and Kusakabe will kill the first-grade curse making sure that it doesn’t kill the kids in the few seconds it will take Gojo to kill the special grade curse, you just make sure you get any of the hostages out.”

Gojo wanted to be able to look away from whatever Nanami’s reaction to that was, but the other man just nodded. “Anything to hopefully get those kids out of there alive,” he said, voice flat, and Gojo felt his eyes brows twitch slightly as he inspected Nanami more closely. Anything to get the kids out huh?

Yaga paused for half a second at that then he nodded and spoke again. “Good, now go, the sooner you get there the better chance the sorcerers have.”

Gojo pushed himself off the wall and started towards the center of the room, he shoved the coffee table aside, tossing his file on it a crouched to draw a quick teleportation circle on the ground. “Everyone in,” he said with a quick gesture, Kusakabe stepped forward, moving into the circle without a word but Nanami hesitated.

“Why are we getting in the circle?” he asked, brow furrowing and suspicion plain in his voice.

“It’s faster than the car,” Gojo said stepping back, “I’ll teleport us straight to the site, five seconds or less,” and then when Nanami still hesitated, “just get in, nothing bad is going to happen, but if you aren’t in the circle in the five seconds then we are leaving without you,” he said, his voice going sharp for a moment as he turned to show that he was staring at Nanami, head tilted once again to pretend he could see out from under the bandages, and ignoring the way Kusakabe was looking between them a calculating look on his face

Nanami scowled at that but stepped forward into the circle, jaw clenched and shoulders still tense.

Gojo ran through the complicated gestures easily, and a moment later Nanami and Kusakabe were gone, and he turned to look at Yaga who was staring down at the file he had left on the coffee table, then Gojo took a step and followed Nanami and Kusakabe to the cursed location.

                  The veil obscured the building from sight when he first arrived, and the auxiliary manager climbed out of his car a few feet away before rushing over. “You’re here already good they’ve been in there for more than ten minutes now and I don’t know if they are still alive,” he said quickly, words running together.

                  “Yes, we are here to take care of your little curse problem,” Gojo said studying the veil, and the curse’s lair beyond it, as Kusakabe turned towards the manager.

                  “Is this your veil,” Nanami asked walking towards the veil and stopping just short of entering it.

                  “Yes, yes, it is,” the manager said, turning nervous eyes towards Nanami before sending a somewhat helpless look towards Kusakabe.

                  “Why don’t you go wait in the car,” Kusakabe prompted, and the manager nodded quickly, at least six times before turning and fleeing back into the car.

                  Gojo sighed quietly at that, as he watched what had to be a grade one curse sit on the balcony of the building, leaning slightly over the railing, they would have to give this manager a few days off regardless of how this ended, it couldn’t have been easy to sit here waiting for more bodies to come flying as the effects of the curse came closer. “We ready?” he asked, keeping the impatience out of his tone as he strained for any hint of the kids, without turning towards the other two sorcerers even as he watched Nanami reach up to loosen his tie.

                  “Shouldn’t we go over a plan?” Kusakabe asked, one hand touching his sword lightly. Gojo heard a faint, very faint shout from inside the building and abruptly he was out of patience, they would follow, or they wouldn’t he’d handle it either way.

                  “We have a plan, and I’m not going to wait any longer,” he said before stepping into the veil watching as the curse twitched to look at him and as behind him Kusakabe cursed and drew his sword and Nanami scowled as he grabbed his own blunt sword before they both followed him through the veil.

                  He saw another curse appear just over the roof, a special grade, it took one look at the three of them and then fled back out of sight. “No, you don’t,”  thought and ran after it, using blue to speed up his movements.

                  A few minutes of chasing and finally fighting later and Gojo was left standing in a crater just behind the house, the curse a slowly dissolving smear on the ground, he spun as soon as the curse was dead and raced for the house, listening for sounds of a fight as he watched Kusakabe’s cursed energy fight with that of the first-grade curse and Nanami’s fight with what looked like non sorcerers with a strange taint on them. The kids were still nowhere in sight.

                  He hit the door running and was down the stairs and with Kusakabe the next, a moment of attention and the grade one curse went flying through the air, hit a wall, and splattered across it, leaving Kusakabe staring still crouched slightly in his stance.

“I always forget how easily you do that; we should just let you do it all,” he mutters, slowly straightening.

Gojo winced feeling a sharp stab of shame and guilt, as his ears started to ring the world fuzzing for a moment as he crossed the hallway towards Nanami. Usually, he could shrug the words off, but it had been a long few months during which he had let too many sorcerers die, and now four of his students were probably dead or worse than dead. He had known that he should be handling all the curses since he was eighteen when a friend had died while he was just sitting around, not even doing anything just relaxing while his friends were fighting for their lives against a curse that he had killed in seconds, but he couldn’t fight them all there just wasn’t enough time in the day, no matter how fast he tried, and now it would happen again.

He turned the corner in the hallway, Kusakabe far away now, and spotted three of the kids alone on a room at the end of the hall, he hesitated for a moment, they were right there and still alive, he could just… but no, anyone could do that. He turned away from the room and stepped into the room where Nanami still fought, holding his own against five curse tainted humans alone, one was laying on the ground already, but four others were pressing in too close.

Gojo ran across the floor, hit one curse with his infinity covered shoulder and stepped into the loose circle they had made around Nanami, who gave him a quick wary glance as soon as he came into range. “Go get the kids, like was your task, the two curses are dead, I’ll take care of these ones, it shouldn’t be hard,” Gojo said, fighting for flippancy as he blocked one of the people’s attacks from connecting with Nanami.

Nanami frowned, but turned away with one last look around him and left the room, moving towards the kids, Kusakabe finally right behind him. “Good he can handle anything left in that room, and Nanami is out of the way so I don’t need to worry about killing him by accident,” Gojo thought straightening slightly, as he tried to ignore the quiet sounds he could hear from the room at the end of the hall now. Quiet sounds, but full of agony, they clawed at him, he was supposed to fix that, make it better for them.

He studied the people in front of him for a moment, trying to figure out if they were some of the lucky few that could be saved after a curse got their hands on them, but no, once again the person they were was already gone.

Gojo sighed quietly and then moved, and, using blue to speed up his movements, tore through them leaving each one in a bleeding pile on the ground, infinity keeping the blood from splattering on him, leaving him untouched.

Nanami and Kusakabe had reached the room by the time he was done, and Gojo turned and ran to the door, then he paused, took a breath, and straightened before he walked out of the door and into the hallway, slipping his hands back into his pockets as he went. He crossed the hallway and walked to the doorway just in time to hear Kusakabe speak.

“Easy, it’s okay, you’re safe now,” he murmured quietly, freeing Kakasa from the thing holding her to the wall as Nanami pressed two fingers to Akesuma’s throat checking for life even though he was lying in a puddle of blood, long cuts along his torso no longer bleeding. Enasano was hanging unconscious from the wall, Semura hanging next to him.

Gojo stumbled into the doorframe as the faint hope that the fourth of the wolf pack was alive and just being kept elsewhere was shattered, and the too familiar ache of grief stole his balance. Then he took a breath, pushed himself up and stepped into the room, at least the other three weren’t tainted by the curse, and he wouldn’t have to kill them.

“Hello, students,” he said as he stepped into their sight, keeping his voice quiet even as he made it as chipper as he could in the situation.

Semura’s head snapped up from where they had been staring down at the dead sorcerer’s body. “Gojo!” they said yanking at their bindings as they tried to move forward. “You’re here, help Akesume, please he was…” they swallowed hard, and yanked at their bindings again as they took a ragged breath, ignoring Kakasa’s murmured “Semura” “he was screaming for so long, please,” they whispered, voice cracking and Gojo crossed the room quickly as they yanked on their bindings again, blood beginning to flow from around them.

“Easy, Semura,” Gojo said quietly reaching out and freeing them, watching as Nanami slid his hand down the Ake- the dead sorcerer’s face, closing his eyes before he moved to help Enasano down from the wall.

Semura dropped to the ground and Gojo leaned forward to support then until they could sit on the ground, then he crouched down in front of them, keeping an eye on Kakasa as she shoved away from Kusakabe and started towards them still shivering and head tilted so she could avoid looking at Akesume.

“He,” Semura started their eyes not quite focused as they stared past at the body laying still and silent on the ground. “No,” they whispered and Gojo shifted to block their view of the dead sorcerer.

“It’s okay,” Gojo said quietly, “you are safe now, we’ll get you home,” he continued as Kakasa reached them and he shifted slightly to let her get close to Semura, who looked up at her when she touched their shoulder. Gojo clenched his teeth at the look of blatant agony they shared before Semura blinked and both of their faces went blank and Semura straightened. “Don’t do this kids,” Gojo thought with a flash of grief as both of his students set aside their emotions and pulled themselves together, then they stood, turning to face him and he straightened with them.

“It was a special grade, a first grade, and several non-sorcerers tainted somehow by one of the curses,” Kakasa said flatly, hand in a fist at her side, not looking away from Gojo as Kusakabe approached from the left.

Gojo studied the two sorcerers in front of him for a moment and then he nodded at them. “Yup, they are all gone now” he said, with a slight smile, keeping his voice light as he watched Kakasa’s hand, shake at her side, and the way Semura stared straight ahead his jaw clenched. “Alright, let’s get out of here, you probably have a summer assignment to get to,” he said, ignoring the obvious signs that the kids were fighting not to crumble, that was the way they wanted to play this and that was their right.

“Gojo!” Nanami snapped from just to the left, still holding an unconscious Enasano. “This isn’t-“ he started before Gojo cut him off.

“Oh Nanami, don’t be like that, students need to get their education,” he said turning to face the other sorcerer, and cutting him off before whatever he was going to say cracked the kids fragile composure, that wasn’t for here and now. “Besides,” he continued, turning away again, and ignoring the way Nanami’s expression hardened,” I’m tired of standing in this bloody room,” he finished keeping his voice light, and even with effort as every breath reminded him of the boy laying on the ground, and the kids behind him that were trying not to break down or look at their dead friend, their hands shaking in the way that his used to.

“Just leave it Nanami,” Kusakabe said quietly taking a step away from Kakasa, who still hadn’t acknowledged him.

Semura took a sharp breath then turned with a sharp motion towards where the dead sorcerer lay, paused, and then took a jerky step towards him. Gojo caught his shoulder, keeping his touch light barely there. “No, Sem,” he said quietly tilting his head to give the illusion that he was meeting their eyes when Semura turned towards him. “I’ve got him, one last time,” he finished, making himself smile as the pain of loss flared in his chest for a moment, knotting his chest as he breathed through it.

Semura swallowed hard, their eyes filling with tears before they blinked them away and nodded moving back to stand with Kakasa as Gojo moved forward and picked up Akesume. He did it in one smooth motion, not letting himself hesitate, not with all the eyes on him and then started for the door, knowing that this blood wouldn’t sink through his infinity, and watching his students follow a step behind and then the other two sorcerers follow after them, Nanami’s hands careful where they cradled the unconscious Enasano.

Gojo led them out of the house, and into the front yard, then out of the veil and to the car, which… probably didn’t have enough seats for all of them, but he didn’t let himself hesitate, not when he could see the kids behind him staring straight ahead, their eyes vacant in a way that he hadn’t seen any of the wolf pack’s since they started fighting together.

Ho looked over the car as it came into view and sure enough there were four seats, they had to have been crammed in on the way out. Gojo mentally shrugged and then set the dead sorcerer down slowly watching as Semura and Kakasa’s eyes followed the motion then he drew a quick teleportation circle on the street, watching as the nervous auxiliary manager approached.

“H…how did it go?” he asked looking them over before his eyes fell on the Ake- the dead sorcerer and he gasped and backed up. “Oh, oh, I’m so sorry, I…” he said turning to stare at Kakasa who just stared back not answering for a long moment before she clenched her jaw and breathed out slowly, hand forming a fist at her side again.

“It’s fine,” she said with a jerky approximation of a shrug and Semura still at her side snapped their head around to the auxiliary manager and bared their teeth, a low growl starting in their throat that caused Kakasa to gasp, her eyes going wide, and Enasano to twitch once before he began to struggle.

“Semura!” he shouted struggling to free himself, “I’m here, what is it, where are you“ he shouted and Gojo saw the flow of cursed energy in him shift.

“Enasano,” Gojo said, raising his voice slightly to be heard over Enasano’s shouting. “Be calm, it’s just a temper acting up,” he finished keeping his tone flippant, and Semura, cut himself off and turned away from the auxiliary manager his eyes closed for a moment before he snapped them open.

Nanami’s scowl deepened at Gojo’s words as Kusakabe hissed and the auxiliary manager shrunk in on himself, but they did what they were supposed to and caused Enasano to pause. “Put him down Nanami,” Gojo said, gesturing the other two students into the circle. Nanami hesitated and the lowered Enasano to the ground. Enasano immediately tried to roll to his feet, only to hiss and drop to one knee, Nanami reaching out to catch him only for Enasano to literally snap his teeth at him. Semura and Kakasa, took a step towards him at the noise and this time the growl was from both of them before Gojo sighed quietly and intervened, starting towards Enasano.

“Okay everyone just stop, Nanami don’t touch him, he doesn’t need your help,” he said, dismissive, you didn’t touch Enasano, and you didn’t talk about it. “Enasano, try not to bite the hand off of our newest sorcerer, Semura and Kakasa stay in that circle, or I’ll send you back to the school now,” he said, shifting to the exasperation that he always used after they had done something ill-advised in their training causing a mess, and his breath caught in his chest when no snarky retort followed it. There would be no more Akesume egging his friends on and snarking to cover them after the fact. He breathed through the pain and then crouched down by Enasano as Kakasa and Semura rolled their eyes behind him, amused for a moment before their expressions broke as they looked down at Akesume.

“How does it hurt?” he asked Enasano, shoving the pain and guilt back where it belonged, back where it couldn’t interfere with what he had to be.

“I think I broke it,” Enasano replied quietly, like he was confessing some great sin, and Gojo shook his head slightly, this kid.

“Ok,” he said easily, and then took a step away and redrew the circle. “Will you let your pack help you that far,” he asked quietly moving back to crouch in front of Enasano, who nodded.

“Of course,” he said turning towards Kakasa and Semura, then his brows furrowed, and he looked around and Gojo felt a moment of dread as something occurred to him at the same moment that Enasano’s eyes landed on the body just outside a different teleportation circle. Enasano sucked in a breath, choked, and then started keening as he stared at the dead body of his friend.

Gojo let his head drop just a centimeter suddenly exhausted as he listened to this kid mourn and watched as behind him Kakasa’s face crumpled as well and Semura’s iced over leaving no emotion.

Kusakabe stepped away from the kid, dropping his gaze and then turning away as Nanami, who had also flinched stepped forward towards Enasano, but Kakasa reached him first dropping down next to him and ducking her head, moving close to Enasano but not touching, she was followed closely by Semura who dropped to a knee next to him, their eyes closed and face still blank.

Gojo stood, turning to face the auxiliary manager who was standing nearby and staring at the huddle of the three kids. “You should go back to the car,” he said forcing his voice to stay light, even when he wanted to do nothing more than teleport back to his home and curl up in a dark corner and pretend for just one moment that this hadn’t happened, that he wasn’t Gojo Satoru strongest sorcerer in four hundred years. “Call whoever you report to and let them know the curses were taken care of and that there will be three sorcerers coming to Dr Shoko for injuries, and one more for autopsy.”

The auxiliary manager hesitated for only a moment before he nodded far too many times and then hurried away. Gojo took a breath, while he was still turned away from anyone who could see him and then turned around to face them. “Ok wolf pack,” he said, almost brusque, “time to go, we need to get you to Shoko, make sure that curse didn’t leave a nasty surprise.

The three sorcerers looked up at him then, and Gojo flinched slightly, they were so young, barely teenagers, and facing what was only the first of many coming losses. He slid one hand into his pocket hand clenched in a fist and then gestured the kids towards the circle, before crossing back and picking up the dead sorcerer and placing him in the circle, pretending that he didn’t hear the way the three of them sucked in a breath before they stepped carefully into the circle eyes down and standing close together.

Gojo pulled his hand back out of his pocket and then made the quick complicated motions that would send them to Shoko’s office, breathing through the sudden loss of a large amount of cursed energy. “You’ll make your way back with the manager,” he said, nodding towards the car and not bothering to make it a question. Then he took a breath in preparation for his own teleport, he didn’t want to leave the kids by themselves for too long.

“Gojo,” Nanami said interrupting him, voice harsh as he reached out to grab Gojo’s shoulder only for his hand to slide off his infinity.

Gojo hesitated for a moment, he wanted to get back to the kids, needed to see that they were alright, but Nanami needed something, so he turned around, demonstrating a willingness to interact. “What can I do for you Nanami?” he asked shifting his weight onto one leg and sliding both his hands into his pockets.

“They are just children,” Nanami snapped, taking half a step forward before he obviously caught himself. “They shouldn’t have even been here, let alone trapped alone with their dead friend,” he said through his teeth, voice barely calm.

 Kusakabe sucked in a sharp breath and backed up again, as Nanami scowled. “I’m just going to go give the kids a hand,” he said quickly, with a gesture towards the car that the auxiliary manager had vanished into, then he retreated moving away from the quickly.

Gojo watched him go without turning and then felt his posture slouch as he shifted as though he was leaning back against something, reacting instinctively to confrontation, as he focused back on Nanami. “Your point?” Gojo asked because that was blindingly obvious.

Nanami opened his mouth, snapped it shut with an audible clack, took a breath, and then tried again. “They shouldn’t’ve been here in the first place, but since they were and since they lost a friend could you maybe try not to be fucking insensitive about it? Some people need more than five seconds to cope with a loss, so maybe  you could offer them some support instead of informing them that they have homework,” he said tightly his voice almost scraped clean of emotion, and Gojo sucked in a sharp breath feeling the words like a gut punch.

Gojo breathed out slowly and responded without acknowledging that pain. “If all you wanted to do was lecture me about my behaviour as a teacher then I have more interesting things to do,” he responded not letting himself think about Nanami’s words or his own, he’d deal with this later, when he didn’t have kids waiting for him with their friends dead body.

Nanami took a step forward hands clenching in fists at his sides and Gojo tilted his chin up, a blatant challenge. “Those children-“ he started before Gojo cut him off.

“I don’t need a speech just yes or no, was that all you wanted?” Gojo asked keeping his voice light even with the way his blood was beginning to pound in his ears as the time from when he had sent the students away stretched longer.

“Fine,” Nanami snapped turning away sharply, “yes that was all I wanted, you can go and throw yourself a fucking party,” he finished starting to walk away, and Gojo teleported away, moving himself to just outside Shoko’s infirmary. She had banned him from teleporting in when the surprise of it had made her knife slip, on a cadaver, but she had seen how bad it could have been and banned him. A ban that he was always careful to observe, for himself if not for the some of the sorcerers he had teleported to her.

Gojo pressed a hand against the cold wall just to the side of the door and breathed out, slowly forcing each muscle in his body to relax even if for just a moment before he pushed himself up and stepped into the room. Enasano was sitting on a table at the edge of the room Shoko leaning over his broken foot and Semura and Kakasa standing just an inch away, barely not touching.

“Back up you two, I need room to work, and you are blocking my light,” Shoko said voice irritated, as she pressed cursed energy into Enasano. Semura and Kakasa didn’t even flinch at the tone and didn’t respond, but they also didn’t move away, and Shoko’s face creased in a frown, and she pulled back slightly to look up at them.

“Shoko, I wasn’t aware you were sunbathing,” Gojo said, pitching his voice to carry and cutting off whatever Shoko was about to say, she cared deeply., but she didn’t often let it show and Gojo could see the fine tremors in all three of the kids that showed just how close to the edge they were.

Shoko spun on him face setting in a scowl. “Gojo, what are you doing here?” she snapped, and Gojo shrugged crossing the room to lean against the nearest empty exam table, carefully ignoring the four full ones that had sheets pulled up over their occupant’s heads.

“Just checking in on my wonderful students, they had a bit of a rough time tonight,” he said easily, keeping his posture relaxed, unconcerned, but not smiling. That would have been a bit much for Shoko.

“Y…” Shoko started before trailing off and actually focusing on the three kids huddling together at her exam table. “Of course,” she murmured closing her eyes for a moment, guilt crossing her face for just a moment before she turned back to her patient. “You two should o stand at the head of the table,” she said quietly, nodding towards a place only a few inches farther away than they were now.

The two kids still didn’t move, hunching in on themselves slightly, trying to get as close to each other as they could without making in obvious that they were falling apart. Gojo took a careful breath to steel himself and then pushed off the table, and ignoring Shoko’s scowl, moved closer to them. “Come on you two, just over here, so we aren’t in the way as Shoko helps your friend,” he said quietly, placing one hand on Kakasa’s shoulder and the other on Semura and pulling them towards him and to the head of the bed. The two kids let him move them and then froze exactly where he left them, still staring at Enasano, theirs eyes dry.

Shoko finished healing Enasano a few minutes later and pushed herself back from the table. “There you go, you guys can smother him again, but make sure you get some sleep before any strenuous activities,” she said standing and reaching into her pocket for her pack of cigarettes as Enasano curled up into a ball on his side, Kakasa leaned forward to put her head a few centimeters from Enasano’s shoulder as Semura pressed a hand to her back fingers twisting in the fabric of her shirt as they made a fist.

Shoko glanced at Gojo and gestured to the other side of the room before walking over there and lighting a cigarette. Gojo tapped a finger lightly on the table before he spoke. “I’ll be right back, and then we can get you to your rooms,” he said quietly before following Shoko across the room, never taking his eyes off the three kids even as he watched Shoko take the first drag on her cigarette. “How are they?” he asked quietly once he was out of earshot of the kids.

“Beyond the obvious grief-stricken shock and the staring,” Shoko asked, her voice caustic before she took a longer drag on her cigarette before flicking the ash into an ashtray Gojo pushed towards her. “They’ll live, I healed their physical injuries and there isn’t any sign of lingering effects from the curse,” she continued, quieter as she beathed out a cloud of smoke.

Gojo nodded at that and hesitated, “I need to know what he suffered, what they saw him suffer… what I did,” he thought pushing away the reluctance, the cowardice that tried to convince him that he didn’t need to know, or at least that it could wait. “And… the dead sorcerer that they came in with?” he asked not letting himself acknowledge who it was that was on the table.

Shoko gave him a knowing look as she tapped the ash into the tray. “Well, he’s dead. Killed with cursed energy, so that’s a bonus, but anything other than that you’ll have to wait for. There’s kind of a waiting list,” she said a touch of grim humour in her tone.

“Ok, let me know when you have the answers,” Gojo said turning back towards the kids, he needed to get them to shower and then sleep, and hopefully get them through the hell that was going to be the coming years as they learned to live while their friend was dead, without letting their pain go…bad.

“Gojo,” Shoko said, making him pause, watching her without turning around. Only one other person had been able to handle the strangeness of interacting with someone who could always see you better than Shoko. He shook of the thought with a wistful pang of loss, pushing the memories back into the boxes they were supposed to be in. “I’m assuming you want me to sign them off duty?”  she asked quietly and Gojo nodded.

“Give them at least until the school starts again,” he answered quietly, watching the three students curl just slightly closer.

Shoko’s hand jerked, spilling ash on the floor as she stared. “Yaga isn’t going to like that, it’s two months away and we don’t have that many sorcerers,” she said grimacing down at the ash on the table next to the ash tray. “And the ones that we do have a starting to burn out quickly.”

Gojo turned back to her, straightening, and pulling his hands out of his pockets. “If Yaga complains about giving three kids a couple of months to mourn their last friend after they almost died then I will handle it,” he said each word spoken carefully, then he let his posture relax as he turned back to the kids, “and beside he wouldn’t complain, not for kids,” he finished and then walked away, crossing the room back the kids. “Ok you three, time to get you out of here,” he said quietly and Kakasa sat up slowly turning towards him as Enasano uncurled and turned over. They didn’t move for a long moment then Kakasa nodded and Enasano pushed himself up off the table. Gojo turned and led the way out of the room the three kids behind him walking only a few inches away from him and each other and he led them to Semura’s room, where they usually gathered after a mission. The painful memories should be offset by the comfort of routine and indeed the second they were in the room they started for the bathroom without prompting.

Gojo backed up until his back hit the wall and slid down, letting his head hit the wall as he breathed out shakily, pressing two fingers against his collarbone hard enough to bruise, he only had a few minutes before they back out of the shower and then he needed to be steady again. He breathed slow and even, keeping himself from thinking of anything, for the fifteen minutes the kids spent in the shower and then he was on his feet waiting for them the second they came out the last few minutes of grief not visible on his face.

He stood there as a steady presence as they slid into bed, curling up close together, this the one place that Enasano would let them touch him, and watched as their façade’s slowly broke under the pain, tears running down their cheeks and felt his chest ache at the sight as they cried completely silently, and then sat down slowly just beside the door to guard it as they grieved.

An hour later, a few minutes after their breath had evened out into sleep Gojo pushed himself back to his feet in the darkened room, and turned to go, he was late enough as it was, he had to go before the higher ups decided to try and use the mission they had assigned as a leash to call him to heal. “Gojo?” Semura’s quiet voice asked as he put a hand on the doorknob, and he paused turning back around.

“Yeah,” he said in case they couldn’t see him, matching Semura’s tone.

“Does it ever get easier?” they asked, their voice breaking in the middle, and Gojo breathed in carefully, keeping the reaction silent.

“No, it never gets easier,” Gojo answered honestly, “but you do learn how to deal with it… eventually,” Gojo said remembering spending a night after days of missions curled up with someone and trying to breath, and then later laying alone in the dark for a few minutes after weeks of missions and trying to remember how to be a person, instead of the weapon he had to let himself become.

“I don’t want to do this again,” Semura whispered like it was a dirty secret, like they were ashamed to not want to lose anymore friends. “How do I make it, so it never happens again,” they paused and took a deep breath before continuing a touch of the normal steel sliding into their voice, “to anyone.”

Gojo hesitated, watching them where they were curled up with their friends, hands resting protectively over their hearts and a conspicuous empty space left in the bed, and wished desperately that he could tell them a pretty lie, could tell them that everything would be okay, and that there was actually something they could do, but that didn’t lead anywhere good, so he steeled himself for the damage and told the truth. “You can’t,” he said quietly, gently, “it doesn’t matter how good you are or what you do, people will die. You can’t save everyone, and you will only burn yourself out trying.”

Semura closed their eyes and took a shaky breath at that answer. “I should have saved him,” they whispered their voice thick with the tears they refused to shed, and Gojo took a step towards them before he caught himself, he didn’t want to wake up the other two, and they would be sleeping lightly tonight.

“You couldn’t have saved him, no one could have,” Gojo said, fighting to keep the urgency out of his voice as he ignored the insidious thought that he could have saved him that if he had just been there, he could have saved him. Semura needed to understand, Gojo could not let them sink into that guilty spiral, it would eat at them until they broke. “Listen to me Semura, if you learn nothing else in this school, I need you to remember this you are not responsible for everyone, you cannot save everyone and you are not at fault if they die,” he said keeping his volume down but letting intensity fill his voice watching as Semura went still.

“I…,” Semura started before stopping. “I was right there I should have been strong enough to save him,” they said fighting to keep their voice down even as it broke from emotion.

Gojo hesitated again, he could tell them that it was a special grade curse, that of course they couldn’t beat a special grade yet, they hadn’t even graduated but that… that wouldn’t be the message he wanted them to receive. “It doesn’t matter,” Gojo said carefully, hoping that he was actually doing some good this time. “It wouldn’t matter if it had been a grade three curse by itself. It wouldn’t be your fault; you aren’t at fault simply because you couldn’t save someone. That’s not how it works,” Gojo said quietly, trying to tell them the things that someone should have told Suguru before he had crumpled under the weight trying to save every living person.

“But I thought…” Semura said, sounding lost and so very young all of a sudden, the steel hard sorcerer gone finally, leaving a terrified teenager behind.

“No,” Gojo said quietly, and then with a flare from the quietly burning rage, that he was too tired to control, took  a risk. “That’s what sorcerers are taught from the very beginning so that they keep fighting, trapped by duty and guilt,” he shifted slightly and wondered briefly what he was doing, he needed to sleep before he ruined something. “You want to fight to protect, and that is a brave, honorable thing to do, but it doesn’t mean that the deaths are your fault,” he finished finally, feeling a twist in his chest as he hoped that these kids would learn that lesson, that they wouldn’t get bogged down in guilt that wasn’t theirs to feel.

Semura was quiet for a long moment, then they nodded. “I’m going to try anyways,” they said, and the steel-edged sorcerer was back. “Maybe it won’t be my fault,” they said, and Gojo felt something wrench in his chest as he realized that this sixteen-year-old had just accepted that there would be more, that they had lost that sort of hope. “But I don’t want it to happen again… to anyone, so I’m going to try.”

Gojo nodded slightly, and turned to go, they would probably always carry the guilt of losing Akesume, but the dangerous edges were gone for now.

“We shouldn’t’ve been there,” Semura said, making Gojo flinch and pause, they were glaring up at the ceiling, face set. “There was a grade one and a special grade there, the sorcerer they sent with us died in the first five minutes of battle with the special grade. We should have died there, and I was thinking about it earlier when Dr Shoko was fixing Enasano,” their hand tightened just a little on Enasano’s shirt as they said his name. “Each of us should have died several times over the last few weeks, would have if we had listened, like that mission that Kakasa was supposed to go alone on a few weeks ago and the three before that, one for each of us,” they said matter of fact, no doubt in their voice, no questions.

Gojo sighed quietly, he’d known it was coming but he had hoped that they’d had a few more years before they realized what their society was. “Yes,” he said, unwilling to lie to Semura, not today, not when it had gotten their friend killed.

“Why were we sent there today?” they asked, a quiet vicious anger in their voice as they clenched their jaw, laying completely still.

“I don’t know… yet” Gojo said, letting just a hint of his own anger into his tone, letting the kid know that he saw what was going on and that he agreed that it was wrong. “But it won’t happen again,” he said letting it take on the weight of a promise, he’d thought that making sure that they went on every mission together would have been enough to keep them safe, but this had proved that wrong.

Semura nodded and finally closed their eyes. “I’ll be at school tomorrow, you said something about assignments,” they said, steel-edged with the anger barely hidden, and Gojo found himself grinning, a small vicious grin at the sound, then he smothered it and finally left the room, teleporting away as soon as the door was closed behind him, not wanting anyone to tell him to leave immediately.

Gojo teleported straight to Osaka and looked around, searching for any sign of the curse users. There was nothing, of course, that would have made this too quick, and he started for the last known location that was in the file Yaga had given him on them.

He ended up spending two days searching for the curse users, carefully not cursing at the higher ups with every second that passed, before he finally stumbled across the youngest of them, a twenty-five-year-old, at a grocery store of all things and followed him back to where the other four were hiding in an apartment that wasn’t in any of their names.

He sighed quietly when he saw the apartment complex and then climbed up the fire escape, watching the curse user traverse the building until he reached his apartment, then he slid a window slightly open and sat down to listen and wait until they were not in an apartment surrounded by non-curse users.

“Were you followed?” a high voice said from inside the building as the man walked through the door.

“Only if they are invisible,” the man with light brown hair, that Gojo had followed to the building said, and the high voice snorted, turning back to where they had been cleaning some sort of cursed weapon on the couch.

“Hey,” a new deeper voice said as they crossed from the back room into the living room. “That’s entirely possible as an ability… admittedly not one I’ve heard of but give him a break he’s new to all this,” they said sitting down on a couch opposite high voice before leaning forward slightly and readjusting their own cursed weapon.

“Yeah, so is Yuteru there, just managed to convince him that none of us are insane and he isn’t being ridiculously paranoid,” high voice said nodding to someone across the room in the kitchen as she flipped her weapon in one hand.

New to this, two out of five were new to curses, at least one of the new ones didn’t even know that curses existed before, Gojo shifted forward to lean his elbows on his knees as he listened.

“Leave me out of this,” the man from the kitchen said easily turning to stir something on the stove.

“I don’t know about you high and mighty sorcerers but us lowly trainees make jokes that go this thing is def impossible unless this more impossible thing occurs,” a fifth voice said as its owner grabbed the bags from brown-haired guy.

“Yeah,” brown-haired guy said shrugging out of his coat. “No need to mock I was only making a joke. No, no one followed me here, I was watching pretty carefully.”

“Good,” high voice said sliding her weapon into a sheathe at her waist. “We don’t need anyone interfering with this exorcism.”

Gojo’s head came up at that, an exorcism, if they were using their cursed energy to kill curses than they weren’t curse users, maybe unaffiliated sorcerers, which was very unlikely since they would have needed training by someone, but it could be possible and if it was then he could bring them into the rest of sorcerer society instead of killing them, especially if they were already fighting curses. “Not that working under the higher ups is at all enjoyable, but if I could manage to convince them, which would be fucking hard since we made a deal for me to do this mission no questions asked, but if I did convince them then these people wouldn’t have to die,” he thought listening to brown hair sigh before he responded.

“I told you already Miyatsune  I wasn’t followed, and why would anyone want to interfere with an exorcism anyway?” the brown-haired man asked coming into the living room to slump onto a chair as the fifth person carried the grocery bags into the kitchen and began lining up the supplies on the counter farthest from Yuteru.

“We already know that someone is trying to, you remember that guy from before, who showed up and tried to kill us without so much as a hello?” Miyatsune asked irritation plain in her voice.

“Right,” the brown-haired man said shrinking into his seat and Gojo sighed quietly, his shoulders slumping. There was something else going on here that only some of them knew about, Miyatsune hadn’t answered the question just gone straight for making brown hair back down and no one was speaking up to challenge her, not a good dynamic.

“There goes that hope,” Gojo thought tiredly as he listened to the quiet subdued sounds in the apartment as supper was cooked. He’d still follow them on their exorcism, maybe he was wrong, or maybe he could get the new people out of this group, give them a chance. “Even if they did kill a sorcerer, self defense is a pretty good defense in my books,” he thought shifting so he could lean back against the railing more comfortably, settling in for the next few hours.

Gojo kept himself awake over the next few boring hours by watching the people on the street go by, watching their cursed spill out from them in strands that curled in the air and latched on to random things all around them, stretching out and then snapping, leaving scraps behind, one tiny piece that would one day multiply into a curse that would kill a sorcerer or twenty, and trying not to think about the students he had left behind so he could do this mission.

It was a little past midnight when the deep voiced person stood up from the couch, followed immediately by Miyatsune. “Alright, let’s go everyone,” they said and the other three people in the room moved to follow them out the door.

Gojo trailed the party through the city easily, five people who had control of their cursed energy on a street full of people whose cursed energy stretched from them stood out. They finally stopped at a house with warm yellow light filtering out the windows, and a deep well of cursed energy suffusing the area. “Damn,” Gojo whispered, he knew an area that housed a powerful curse when he saw one and this definitely fit.

“Alright, here we go, I’m going to knock on that door, then there will be no backing out,” the deep voice person said glancing back at the four people behind them, who only nodded and gave them solemn looks, so they stepped up and knocked on the door.

A middle-aged woman opened the door, her eyes wide and the whites around them showing, and her shoulders that were hiked up around her ears relaxing slightly when she saw the five people standing in front of her, a good sign. “You’re here to get rid of the… curse?” she asked just the smallest bit of skepticism mixed in with the relief.

“Yes ma’am,” deep voice said smiling slightly at her, as they waved their people closer, “you let us in, and I’ll walk you through your part in it while my associates have a look around.”

Her part in it? Gojo backed up a few steps, pulled his cell out of his pocket, and dialled the numbers from memory before putting it up by his ear as he listened to it ring.

“Yaga here, what do you want Gojo?” Yaga asked after only a couple rings sounding distracted.

“I need you to look something up for me?” Gojo said watching as the woman let the five curse-users into her house. It was possible that she had to do something to convince the curse to show itself but that was rare.

“Really? You called me to… never mind tell me what you need,” Yaga said after a slight pause.

“I need to know if any curse activity has been reported at this location,” Gojo said before rattling off the address as the door closed, he only had a few minutes before he had to go in there. He needed to know what he was walking into.

“Why, do you need to know about there?” Yaga asked, suspicion clear in his voice, and Gojo sighed, making sure that it crackled over the speaker.

“I wanted to picnic there but didn’t want to be interrupted by any pesky curses,” Gojo said backing up a few more paces so he could lean against the nearest building and sliding his free hand into his pocket.

“Gojo…” Yaga said quietly and then trailed off for a moment before speaking again. “It was flagged very recently, someone happened to walk by, saw something strange and reported it on their way to wherever they were going. It seems pretty new, nothing reported before that,” Yaga said over the quiet creak of his chair as he leaned back.

“Recent?” Gojo asked studying the deep pool of cursed energy, that couldn’t be a new curse, there was too much cursed energy in that house.

“Yeah, must be, they are actually up to date with their survey of the city,” Yaga answered, seemingly unconcerned as a thump over the line indicated a drawer being shut. “Now will you tell me why you want to know. You are supposed to be hunting curse users there not sightseeing.”

Gojo studied the house closely as he looked over all the houses on the block, all of which had normal residual cursed energy levels, nothing dangerous yet. “I am seeing lots of the city, its just as beautiful as it was when I was here a couple weeks ago” Gojo said absentmindedly flippant as he watched the five sorcerers move around in the house across the street, the house that had three non-sorcerers in it.

Yaga snorted at that before sighing quietly. “Alright well hurry up with that mission, it shouldn’t take you two days to kill five curse-users.”

Gojo kept his face blank through the flare of irritation, because no it would not take him two days to kill them, but he’d had to find them first he could just snap his fingers and fucking make them appear. Gojo clenched the hand that was not around his phone into a fist to regain control of his temper, the fatigue was making him dangerously volatile. “Yeah, yeah, I know, work, work, no breaks to eat the delicious foods they have down here,” he said making his voice go light as he grinned at nothing. “There are these tiny-“ he started before Yaga cut him off.

“Alright. I don’t need to know just hurry up,” Yaga hesitated for a moment and then lowered his volume before continuing, “and because you wouldn’t ask, the kids are doing as well as can be expected. Tearing through training exercises like they are possessed and getting hit more because they keep leaving a space for a fourth, but they seem to be coping.”

Gojo took a breath at the sudden tightness in his chest, careful to make it inaudible. “Ah of course they are. Children are nothing if not resilient,” Gojo said letting his voice go sarcastic for a moment as he waved a hand through the air. “And besides they have the best teacher,” Gojo said emphasizing the word best.

“Sure,” Yaga said skeptically, “they are also having temper problems but those should subside as they get over their grief for their friend.

Gojo went to answer and then paused as the aura of cursed energy around the house pulsed. “Alright, bye!” Gojo said brightly before hanging up without waiting for a response from Yaga, all his attention on the house as the cursed energy pulsed again. Whatever was going on here was starting, and Gojo needed to be in that house, information or not. It wasn’t there could be anything in there that could hurt him.

Gojo cast a veil and then crossed the street quickly and knocked on the door twice, slowly. Not wanting to alarm anyone inside. Nothing, no answer so he knocked again, louder this time, still nothing, except the cursed energy around the house shifting again. Gojo sighed, resigned himself to another lecture and then teleported into the house.

The woman who had opened the door was sitting inside of a chalk drawn circle, Miyatsune, and brown-haired guy standing next to her. “Just stay here and focus on any negative emotion you have, especially towards other people,” Miyatsune said to the woman in an authoritative voice.

That was not going to help get rid of the curse if anything… it would make it stronger. Gojo stepped deeper into the house, moving into plain view in the living room. “That’s not a good idea you know,” Gojo said evenly, watching the two curse users in front of him startle as the woman in the circle screeched at the sudden appearance of a stranger.

“Who are you?” brown haired guy asked flinching back while Miyatsune’s eyes caught on the button that marked him as a sorcerer and she scowled.

“How did you know we were here?” she asked and Gojo shrugged easily moving deeper into the house and looking around, searching for the other three curse users and the two non-sorcerers.

“We won’t let you stop us from freeing this poor woman of the curse she has lived under these last weeks!” brown haired guy shouted suddenly taking two steps toward Gojo.

“I want to help you remove the curse,” Gojo said easily tilting his head, so it looked like he was looking at brown haired guy. “It is kind of my job,” he said taking a step towards a closed door across the small hallway from him as the cursed energy saturating the house shivered again. The brown-haired man hesitated, glancing towards Miyatsune.

“Who is in this room?” he asked the woman in the circle, nodding towards the closed door and watching closely for the curse that he knew was hiding somewhere nearby.

“M… my children,” the woman said quietly, her voice wavering slightly. Gojo nodded calmly and smiled slightly at her.

“Why don’t we get them out of here before we fight the curse, it can be scary,” Gojo said turning back towards the door.

“But they said-“ the woman started, shifting forward, before Miyatsune cut her off.

“That’s enough, just leave and we won’t hurt you, we already killed one…” she glanced at brown-haired curse user. “Of your curse-user colleagues, and we will not let you stop hurt these people,” she finished, reaching for the cursed short spear slung across her back.

The brown-haired man nodded and reached for the knife at his belt, and then they stepped forward together just as Gojo heard the unmistakable sound of a curse muttering to itself as it climbed the stairs behind him. Which meant it was time to get the non-sorcerers out of the way, he hit the door separating him from the kids, and it flew open, revealing them huddling together on a bed with Yuteru standing near the door.

“Who are you?” Yuteru asked stepping forward and moving between Gojo and the kids, his cursed energy shifting under his skin.

“I’m getting the kids out of the house before you get them killed,” Gojo said, moving into the house as the curse started up the next set of stairs.

“No! they need to be here for us to exorcize the curse,” Yuteru said reaching for a radio inside his jacket pocket just as Gojo saw the other four curse users approach from behind. He glanced at the kids behind Yuteru and then stepped back out of the door and closed it, not letting it slam as he turned to look at the others.

“This is not how you exorcize a curse; you will make it stronger,” Gojo said focusing on the two curse-users new to it as Deep Voice’s eyes focused on his face and then widened.

“The council’s dog! He is here to kill us,” deep voice said, and reached for his own weapon his three companions reaching for theirs as the curse destroyed the door and stepped out onto the main floor and the curse-user who had been in with the kids opened the door directly behind Gojo, cursed energy gathered, and Gojo gave up, fighting five curse users and what was at least a grade one curse without killing everyone in the house was going to be hard enough without trying to leave them alive.

Gojo carried two screaming kids out of the partially collapsed house five minutes later, squinting through the beginnings of a headache from needing to remove his bandages for the precision the fight needed and his hands shaking from the sudden adrenaline rush from when Miyatsune had went for the kids while Gojo was engaged with the curse and her four companions. He set the kids down as soon as they were far enough away from the creaking house that is it collapsed, they wouldn’t be hurt, clasped each by a shoulder, careful not to squeeze too hard and then crouched in front of them, meeting their wide eyes. “Stay here, I need to get your mother, and you need to stay here,” he said firmly, and then when the smaller brother nodded, he let go and disappeared back into the house, searching for the mother.

“She should be here,” Gojo thought squinting through the dust until he finally found her sprawled a few feet away from where the fight had ended, laying half inside of puddle of blood that was leaking from the throat of the woman who had defended brown hair. He crouched next to her, and checked her pulse, focusing on her unconsciousness so that infinity would let him touch her, and then checked her for injuries before picking her up carefully and carrying her out into the night and towards her kids who screamed when they saw her.

“Hey! What’s going on there?” a neighbor asked from a few feet away, approaching rapidly, and Gojo placed the woman he was carrying carefully on the ground, before pulling his phone out of pocket and unlocking the screen as he crouched in front of the kids.

“Do you know him?” Gojo asked the kids quietly nodding to the neighbor who was getting closer, his own phone in his hand. The kids just stared at him, tears running silently down their faces as they shrank away from him. “Kids?” he started before the sudden ringtone from his phone cut him off and he blinked the sound stabbing into his head as the street around him pulsed with the leaking cursed energy of all the non-sorcerers that lived nearby, and then squinted down at the screen. Yaga, why was Yaga calling him now? Gojo felt a flash of alarm and accepted the call, who was dead or dying now?

“What did you do, Gojo?” Yaga asked, voice exasperated. “You were there to take care of five curse users but now I’m getting reports strange, cursed energy fluctuations at the house you told me you were picnicking at.”

Gojo paused for a moment, that was fast, even for Ijichi and Yaga, they must have sent out a notice to the people in Osaka to let them know. “My picnic got messy,” Gojo answered easily, smiling at the smaller kid as he stared at him a skeptical look on his face.

“Of course it did, do you want to give me a better report or do you want me to guess?” Yaga asked, sounding tired, and Gojo felt his shoulders go tense so he shifted his weight back on his heels and rested his elbows on his knees, letting his free hand dangle, to distract from the tension that he couldn’t make go away.

“A difficult choice,” Gojo said, reaching for the sunglasses that he kept in his pocket. “But I think today I’ll just tell you that the curse-users are down… and the big bad wolf came to blow the house of two brave children down, and only partially succeeded,” he finished, with another smile at the kids who were starting to calm down, as he reached into his pocket for two of the candies he kept there, then he spun one hand and presented them to the kids with a flourish.

“The big bad wolf,” Yaga said flatly, “right I’ll just write that down, you just make sure you don’t put it in your report, I’ve dispatched the propped people, and they should be arriving shortly.”

“No promises,” Gojo said almost sing song as the younger kid reached out to take a candy, only for the taller kid to grab his arm.

Yaga sighed and then went quiet, staying on the line without saying anything for a moment. “The higher ups want you to report in as soon as you are finished there,” Yaga said finally, irritation and an emotion that Gojo couldn’t quite place, in his voice.

Gojo’s fingers twitched around the candy before he forced them back open, not letting his shoulders slump, or the exhausted sigh escape his mouth, no weakness. “Alright, I’ll show up when I get a chance,” he said watching someone in a familiar suit climb out of a new car, before he straightened, and offered the candy one more time, and grinned as the smaller kid yanked an arm free and took both pieces.  “The manager is here, I need to go,” Gojo said turning towards them, forcing himself not to wince as the car’s headlight shone directly into his eyes, as though the protection of the sunglasses wasn’t even there.

It only took Gojo five minutes to explain what had happened to the manager then he was finally able to teleport away from the city and back to his home where he paused for a moment, considering, then crossed the hallway quickly.

Gojo tripped over nothing and stumbled forward, landing hard on one knee, infinity cushioning the impact and he slumped forward. He pressed his hands into the ground as he breathed carefully, controlling each breath for a few minutes before he managed to drag his head up to look at the bed. Then he pushed himself to the side, and leaning against the wall for support, slowly climbed to his feet. His legs were rubbery from exhaustion and the room went blurry around him, his blood rushing in his ears as he took an unsteady step towards the bed before pausing again to lean against the wall and breath as the cursed energy that suffused Tokyo, that he could usually ignore threatened to swamp him. Gojo shook his head sharply then stepped forward again, forcing himself onward, using the wall to hold him up until he reached his bed, where he paused, suspended between laying down and standing just long enough to set a timer for three hours. The he let himself collapse, barely on the bed, glasses still on and asleep before he even hit the mattress.

Gojo heard the sound of his alarm from a long ways away, mind fuzzy from lack of sleep, and felt a flash of panic, not yet, please not yet it hasn’t been nearly long enough.

Gojo pushed himself up off the bed, arms shaking they supported his weight for a long moment before he pushed himself all the way up and turned off the alarm that was making his head pound in time with his heart. “Why?” Gojo thought, glancing at his phone screen, trying to remember what day it was and why he needed to be awake at almost four in the morning. “Fuck,” Gojo muttered, pushing himself to his feet as he remembered the meeting that he was already late to. “You can’t just not show up, it isn’t time for another display,” Gojo reminded himself as he pulled new bandages out of the drawer in his nightstand, slid them into his pocket and then crossed the room, moving toward the kitchen to get something to drink and eat.

Another ten minutes of preparation and Gojo teleported to just outside the higher-up’s building and walked inside, not letting himself pause lest they take it as hesitation to confront them, which it honestly was, he knew he was too tired for meeting with them to be responsible. He walks into the meeting room and does not flinch when the six lights flare to life around him.

“Report,” the person behind Gojo snaps the second all the lights are on, and Gojo has to catch the urge to laugh as he let his hands dangle down by his sides.

“Mission complete, no problems,” Gojo answered easily, not turning away towards him, and then he falls silent, lets them start the next conversation.

The silence stretches for a few minutes before the person behind him speaks again. “All of them?” he asked sounding skeptical.

Gojo tilts his head slightly, they hadn’t been strong enough to warrant concern even with the special grade curse in the mix. “Yes,” he answered simply, not willing to volunteer information before he knew what was going on. The three people behind him shifted, looking around themselves as though looking for confirmation.

“Good, I see you’ve finally learned how to actually complete a mission,” the man to the right, who had tried blackmail last time said, although he sounded surprised instead of smug.

Gojo didn’t answer the jibe, just stood there waiting for them to tell him why he was there, even as he felt a flash of concern that they hadn’t expected him to finish the mission.

“Very well,” the person in front of him said after a moment of awkward silence. “Then you are free to go, and good work.”

Gojo turned and walked out suppressing both the impulse to snap back at the good work, and also the irritation that they called him here for this. He could have slept for another hour without this waste of time. He waited only long enough to clear the threshold of the school and then teleported to an empty room at the school. He paused for a moment in the empty room, reveling in the lack of noise for a moment as he watched the calm contained cursed energy all around. Then he pulled his glasses off and slowly wrapped the bandages over his eyes again, moving slowly as he breathed steadily. He was more than halfway through now.

He left the room at a quick walk and moved quietly through the school checking as he went that all the students that should be there were and were sleeping peacefully in their rooms, and walked into Yaga’s office without knocking, knowing that there wasn’t anyone in the room with him, and closed the door quietly behind himself before crossing the room to sit in the chair in front of Yaga, leaning forward elbows on his knees as he looked straight at Yaga who had looked up as soon as the door opened.

“Yaga,” Gojo said calmly in greeting, and Yaga dropped the paper he was holding and sat up, cursed energy flickering inside him.

“What is it?” Yaga asked glancing up at the closed door. “You came here straight from a meeting with the higher-ups,” he said after a second of thought, his eyes snapping back to Gojo. “What did they say?”

“This isn’t about that,” Gojo answered, sitting back in his chair, arms on the arm rests. “Why were those kids on that mission?” he asked just as Yaga’s shoulders started to relax.

“The…” Yaga started before he shook his head, “they were assigned to it, it was supposed to be a grade one and maybe a grade two, easy for five sorcerers. But it got misreported, I’m looking into that,” Yaga answered turning to open a drawer, watching Gojo out of the corner of an eye as he sat too still.

“I read the original report,” Gojo said tapping one finger against the chair. “They did not report the grade of the second curse, said it was unknown.”

“I know,” Yaga said, his shoulders slumping as he closed the drawer. “I found that later, after Kuzu was already dead and I tried to figure out why,” he reached up and pushed his glasses up to rub his eyes. “That’s why I wasn’t waiting for you when you showed up, I saw on the second look through that the window had marked the report as the second one and then went looking for the report.”

Gojo studied the other man for a moment, considering the story, it was plausible, but of course it was, he would hardly lie badly, and he would have known Gojo would ask eventually, but it could also sound plausible because it was the truth.

Yaga dropped his hands and looked at Gojo again, reaching up to slide his sunglasses back down, and then he paused, hands suspended in the air. “You think I did it on purpose,” he said staring at Gojo. “That’s what this is, you think I sent them in there in an attempt to get them killed.” Yaga dropped his hands on the desk with a quiet thump. “For God’s sake Gojo, I wouldn’t do that, I lose enough students every year without getting them killed on purpose,” he said his voice quiet and fierce.

Gojo watched him for a moment more, and then relaxed in the chair, shifting to sit in it at an angle as he leaned back. “Of course you wouldn’t, just figured I’d make sure you weren’t hiding pressure from above,” Gojo said resting an elbow on the armrest and then dropping his head to the side letting his hand hold it up.

Yaga squinted at him, skeptical, and then he sighed and shook his head, brushing his hand along the desk. “Alright, if that’s settled, why are you still here?”

“It’s been two days and I have a bit of time before the kids wake up, tell me who we’ve lost, permanently and not,” Gojo said crossing one leg over the other to get comfortable as he put the worry about Yaga in the back of his mind where it wouldn’t interfere, but he also wouldn’t forget, and listened to the new roll call of sorcerers that weren’t available, the endless cycle of the summer.

-----

A month had passed since he had killed two curse users and three kids who could have been sorcerers, more and more sorcerers burning out as the time passed, but most were alive, he had kept most of them alive this year.

Gojo stumbled and hit the wall as the curse was hit with purple and proceeded to explode, splattering over everything except for him. He panted, his heartbeat loud in his ears as he stared at the vanishing mess, and then pushed off the wall and started back towards the car, placing each foot carefully, and focusing to keep his posture relaxed even as the world narrowed down to the car door.

Gojo woke up, sitting up straight in the car as it slowed down, the manager’s voice echoing and distorted as if under water as he told him that they were at the site of the next exorcism, and Gojo pulled himself out of the car, stretched, and slid his hands into his pockets as he walked away, shoulders squared against the exhaustion.

The curse flared in front of him appearing exactly where he had expected it to, and he lifted his hands to attack, the motions practiced and familiar, but it felt like he was caught in molasses, his awareness slowing as the curse attacked slamming into infinity before he could kill it, and he jerked back, flinching from it even as he finished his attack and shattered it and the buildings all around him. He stared at the jagged tops of what used to be buildings as dust floated to the ground, settling on his infinity, then he turned and walked away, starting back towards the car. There were at least five more assigned missions in the next few hours.

Four hours and nine successful missions later Gojo stood in a puddle of blood staring down at a dead sorcerer, he had known him, had shared lunches, and advice with him for two years now, and he didn’t feel anything. Starting at his dead body ad he felt nothing. Gojo pressed two fingers into his eyes, feeling the rough fabric of his bandages scrape against skin, and then he walked away, he still had work to do.

Two hours later Gojo walked into Yaga’s office awareness skimming over everything, but not focusing, letting it all blur around him as he moved. “Gojo?” Yaga asked, voice muffled and barely audible, and Gojo tried to focus, tried to listen, but he wasn’t sure why he needed to, and then the thought slid away as he dropped the reports in his hands on the desk, and then turned around and walked away, ignoring Yaga calling his name again, even as a part of him tried to pay attention as an ally called to him.

He walked out of the office, out of the building and down to the car, registering vaguely that the driver had changed again, this driver had striking red hair. “How many breaks do they need in a day?” he thought before the question slipped away as he climbed into the car.

“Where are we going?” the driver asked, Gojo couldn’t tell if he should know the voice, if he had met this person before.

“The Sugiga,” Gojo said, voice slightly scratchy, and he cleared his throat and smiled, attention on a pretty spark of cursed energy to the left as his mind wandered. “The Sugiga,” he repeated, grinning at the driver to share the joke, no weakness here, just the normal frog in the throat, he had definitely drunk something in the last few… days?

Gojo stepped to the side, away from the curse’s attack and reached for reversed cursed energy, and then stumbled as for a moment there wasn’t anything to reach, just a painful empty space in his chest, and then the cursed energy slammed back into him, pouring into his reach in a torrent that slipped through his fingers. “No!” he hissed voice fierce even as the energy slammed outward, killing the curse, and leveling the empty building around them, but no farther, the sorcerer who had been smart enough to call for help when he first saw the curse, was right outside it could go no farther.

Gojo was left standing in the wreckage, gasping for breath as he searched the cursed energy around him desperately, looking for a threat looking for… he didn’t know, he couldn’t think, only vaguely remembered how he had gotten here.

“Gojo?” the sorcerer asked, voice wavering as they started towards him. Gojo twitched like he had been electrocuted and then took a deep breath and let it out slowly, shaking his arms out until he could get his shoulders to fall back into the correct formation, then he turned around and started back out of the crater he had created, towards the sorcerer, he needed to sleep he hadn’t lost control like that in years, he couldn’t, he would kill someone.

The sorcerer stared at him as Gojo hopped up the last foot and smiled at her. “The curse is gone now, why don’t you write the report and then go get something to eat,” Gojo said and started back his own car, he had to get the new list of exorcisms and take care of anything urgent and then he could sleep.

The car ride back to Jujutsu high was too short, and Gojo came back awake what felt like only seconds after he had let himself drift off, sitting only slightly slouched on the seat, so he could sleep while still appearing awake, one of the greatest advantages of wearing bandages all the time is that no one could tell when he was asleep. “I’ll probably need a driver when I come out again,” Gojo said tilting his head down to communicate that he is talking to the driver, who had blonde hair and twitched under his scrutiny. “But I should be at least an hour,” Gojo finishes and then slides out of the car, ignoring that the driver spun around to stare at him, mouth gaping.

Gojo walked into the main building of Jujutsu high nodding to sorcerers as he passed them, and stopping to exchange small talk, or answer questions where needed, and stops in the kitchen. He waits until the last sorcerer had left the room and then got a paper cup out of the cupboard and poured coffee into it, his arm shaking at the weight of the coffee pot, and he slides it back into its spot once his cup is almost full, before dropping his arms onto the counter and leaned forward, resting his weight against the counter as he dropped he head, letting it hang as he watched for cursed energy approaching, he couldn’t let them see him like this.

After five minutes, when Gojo could feel himself slipping into sleep standing up he pushed back from the counter and dumped about a cup of sugar into his cup and stirred it slowly, mesmerized for a moment by the quiet rhythmic sounds before he shook himself and picked up his cup carefully, cupping both hands around it to take a drink of the hot liquid that warmed his throat and when he blinked the world came a little more into focus.

Gojo walked down the hallway, and when there was a person in Yaga’s office he shifted to lean back against the wall, waiting for them to be done, and sipping his coffee. Looking like he had nothing better to do then casually drink coffee might be good right now, maybe? He couldn’t think clearly enough to tell, his mind too blurry.

The door opened a moment later and Gojo could hear Yaga and Nanami’s voices as they said goodbye. “Of course it had to be him,” Gojo thought, a flash of panic making his breath catch in his throat as the world snapped into crystal clarity. Gojo pushed up off the wall lifting his hand in greeting as Nanami walked out of the office. Nanami paused when he caught sight of Gojo, his expression tightening for just a moment then it went blank, and he walked by with only a slight nod as acknowledgment.

Gojo slid his hand into a pocket and settled back into his previous posture as he walked into Yaga’s office, taking a sip from his coffee even though his appetite was abruptly gone.

“Gojo,” Yaga said after a brief glance up from his papers. “You are here in the middle of the day; I was starting to think you had gone nocturnal.”

Gojo snorted at that, closed the office door and then after a moment of sluggish contemplation moved forward to lean against the side of the chair, not willing to sit down just yet. “I’ve finished with the last assignments reports’ll be in later. I need the new list,” Gojo said nodding towards the papers on Yaga’s desk.

Yaga paused, papers gathered in his hands. “You’ve finished them… all, all ready? Gojo…” Yaga squinted at him for a moment, eyes flicking down to the coffee cup in his hands before he put the papers down. “When was the last time you slept?” he asked carefully, leaning forward, elbows on his desk.

Gojo froze cup half lifted for half a second before he realized what he was doing and finished taking a drink. Then he squeezed the hand in his pocket into a fist and released it, trying to drag his thoughts into some kind of order, trying to make himself focus. “Only a few more hours,” he thought as he pushed off the chair and dropped into it, slouching back into it, catching the sudden heaviness of sleep, and shoving it away as he crossed one leg over the other. “Why do you want to know?” he asked before flashing a quick grin at Yaga, and taking another drink, letting the sickly-sweet taste of sugar drag his attention away from the glorious comfort of sitting down. “Are you worried about me? That’s sweet.”

Yaga scowled at him, his jaw clenching for a moment before he spoke. “Gojo…” he said before trailing off and shaking his head. “It’s not like anything I can say will make a difference,” he muttered sweeping the papers into a neat pile before focusing on Gojo again. “The new list of what? Out of commission sorcerers?” he asked already reaching into the drawer for the file.

Gojo took a breath and let it out slowly, and silently. Right, he couldn’t just get a list of exorcisms anymore, there was too much he needed to account for now. He took two big gulps of the coffee, hoping briefly that the caffeine would help him stay awake and focused for this conversation. “Yeah, it’s been a while since we went over those last,” Gojo answered shifting to sit up slightly so that sleep would have less of a pull on him.

“Alright,” Yaga said flipping the file open. “We are actually on the verge of needing to call a few of the sorcerers back early, too many of these are grade one curses and too many of the grade two and one sorcerers are out of commission, I’m having a hard time covering them all without letting any of them collapse from exhaustion,” Yaga said flipping through papers before turning back to the drawer and pulling out several more files.

Gojo twitched at the words hand tightening around the paper cup as he fought to control the flare of desperate anger. He would not let them be dragged back even one day before Shoko had said they should. He would not let those three kid’s deaths be in vain, he had killed them as some sick trade for his sorcerers lives and he would keep his end of that bargain. “Add those to the list I’m going to walk out of here with,” Gojo said making his hand relax before he crushed the cup, and then when Yaga looked up, “it’s not like they will be hard,” he continued with a shrug. “I could use the warmup,” he lied, with the way the exhaustion dogged his every step even a grade two curse would cost him, even if only in the energy it would take to keep his concentration long enough not to blow up the block.

Yaga hesitated, squinting at Gojo again as he tapped a finger against the paper then he leant back and spoke. “I was just talking about this with Nanami. From the reports I’ve gotten he seems to be at least able to take care of grade one and two curses, with some ease, we could have him step in as a grade two sorcerer, even if he doesn’t have the grade for it. He’d only be one more sorcerer but he’s a relatively fresh one, which makes quite a bit of difference as you know.”

Gojo froze at the suggestion, words spoken in a cold sterile room, where a friends body lay stretched out on an exam table echoing through his head. “No,” he said without thinking about it. “I can do them all,” he said listening to the past for a moment before he tightened his hand on his cup to dismiss the voices. Dismiss the memory of when he first realized that being the strongest also meant that everyone around him could die so much easier.

Yaga sighed quietly, shoulders slumping slightly, and nodded. “Very well, now let’s got on with this, I do have more work to do today,” he said reaching for his papers again.

Thirty minutes later, Gojo walked out into the bright sunlight, a stack of files under one arm, only two of the missions were urgent, the rest could wait at least eight hours, long enough for him to get some sleep. Gojo crossed the cobblestone pathway silently, watching the blonde driver lean against the car, until he was only a couple feet away then he deliberately scraped his heel across the ground making the driver jump and spin towards him, eyes wide.

“Gojo! I’m sorry! I’ll just-“ he said sliding his phone into his pocket with a quick gesture to the door, before turning around and practically scrambling into the car.

Gojo paused for a second scanning the cursed energy around him, that reaction had been a little extreme, then he rubbed his fingers into his eyes and climbed into the car, setting the files on the seat next to him. He’d look through them later, after he dealt with whatever this was.

“Ah, where are we going?” the driver asked still too nervous for a simple question that he needed to ask to do his job. Gojo studied him carefully as he gave the address for the urgent exorcism that was killing anyone within a block on the fifteenth of every month.

“Did you find anything interesting on your phone?” Gojo asked, once the car was moving down the road, leaning back in his seat and watching, more concerned as the driver twitched at the question. “Maybe he wouldn’t be so worried if I had bothered to learn his fucking name,” Gojo thought, realizing abruptly that he didn’t know, that he only vaguely recognized his voice.

“Uh, no?” the driver answered nervously, shooting a quick glance up at the mirrors. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have been checking it, should have been paying attention,” he said quickly, shoulders caving in as he made a careful left turn, and Gojo found himself wondering just how old this person was.

“You were on break,” Gojo said waving the words away easily, shifting to lean more comfortably against the door as he watched the driver blink and look up into the mirror again. “I’m more concerned that you were apparently looking at something that you didn’t find interesting. Why would you waste your break like that?” he asked tone going scandalized, playing up the reaction.

The driver paused, shifted in his seat, and then shrugged a little with another glance up at the mirror. “It was enough to keep me occupied while I waited for you to come back,” he said as turned left again, then his face went pale, and his eyes jumped to the mirror. “I-“ he started, frantic before Gojo cut him off.

“mmh fair enough, although I still think you should find something interesting to look at, I could have been three hours and then where would you be?” he asked keeping his voice light as he shifted to slouch further into the seat, trying to get the driver to calm down, he wasn’t going to attack him.

“….right,” the driver answered shifting uncomfortably. “I’d probably be bored?’ he said voice turning up at the end to turn it into a question.

“Exactly,” Gojo said turning his head to face the window and watching as the driver relaxed slightly as soon as he did. “Bored, and boredom is one of the great evils of the world,” he said to the window, very seriously, and then, when the driver gave him a highly skeptical look in the mirror, he turned and grinned at him and watched, relieved as the driver relaxed, his shoulders shifting back to finally touch the backrest as he breathed out before returning Gojo’ smile tentatively.

“Right, greatest evil, curses have nothing on boredom,” the driver said carefully, glancing back up at the mirror to gauge Gojo’s reaction.

Gojo shrugged a little. “The worst a curse can do is kill you,” Gojo said easily, pushing aside the memories of the cases where the curse’s victims stared at him, begging for mercy, for death, or sat sobbing in the puddle of blood that was all that was left of the people they loved. Those cases haunted him enough in his nightmares.

“Right,” the driver said with a half-smile, shaking his head, and Gojo nodded slightly and turned away, reaching for the files he had left sitting on the seat next to him, he wanted to double check what was waiting for him at all the locations he had to reach today.

“Um… Gojo?” the driver asked tentatively a few minutes later, hands shifting on the wheel as he glanced between the mirror and the road.

“Yeah?” Gojo asked looking up from the report he had been reading.

“Are you really going on another exorcism?” he asked glancing up at the mirror. Gojo paused, studying him for a moment before he answered.

“Yes, I have a few more before the end of my day. Why?” Gojo asked, keeping his tone light so he didn’t ruin the progress he had made.

“I…” the driver said and then hesitated and shook his head. “Never mind, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

                  Gojo watched him for another moment and then nodded and turned back to his papers, prying would probably scare him again, and Gojo was too tired to see a way around that.

                  Another hour and two urgent missions later Gojo once again stood in the middle of an abandoned building, this one was thankfully still standing. He stared blankly at the spot where the curse had already dissolved, his attention drifting as he swayed. Where was he going next? What did he need to do? Something moving behind him caught his attention and he turned slowly to face the door and behind it the driver. “Right,” he thought, mind thick and slow as he tried to think through the fog. “Home, I’m going… home,” he thought and lurched forward taking a wavering step towards the door. He kept moving until the car only through inertia, every step threatening to send him to the ground, until he finally folded himself into the car, holding himself stiffly in an attempt to stay awake just a little bit longer.

                  “Where’re we going next?” the driver asked, voice chipper as he started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

                  Gojo looked over at the stack of files, maybe he should finish them. “How hard could it be?” he thought fuzzily and then he shook his head sharply, and gave the driver his own address, he needed to sleep or wouldn’t be any good even if he did try to actually live up to his responsibility.

                  The driver nodded, shoulders relaxing as he turned the car in that direction, turning calm music on very softly.

                  Gojo let his head fall back against the seat and focused on staying awake as he watched the world around the car as they sped along the road, watching the cursed energy of millions of people twine through the air, and all the places where it caught and stayed, places where someone had mourned something so deeply that it had left an imprint.

                  It only took a half hour to get to his house and Gojo climbed out of car with his files, telling the driver to go home and get some rest for himself, then he walked up the stairs and in his front door, closing it firmly behind himself.

                  He stood in the entryway for a moment and shivered in the chill of the dark apartment before he clenched his jaw, kicked his shoes off and walked deeper into his home. He dropped the files on the table that was covered with stacks of paper of varying sizes, and stalled there for a moment, staring at the paperwork he had to do, or had to turn in or… something. He turned away from the table slowly, shoulders slumped as he slowly stripped his uniform top off as he walked through the empty apartment, hands shaking so much that the buttons were almost impossible.

                  He left the uniform shirt in the hallway as he passed through it, leaning on the wall, on his way to the shower, where he turned the water on as hot as he could without it being dangerous, he couldn’t drop infinity, not now, not when there were still too many curses in the city, not during the summer when curses were everywhere, and stepped into the spray, sliding down the wall until he was curled up on the ground water beating on his back and neck as he bowed his head breathing stuttering under the cover of the water.

A moment, he just needed a moment, a second and then he could start again Gojo’s chest hitched, and he curled tighter, hands reaching up to tangle in his hair as he shivered under the hot spray. There were to many, to many dead this time, he could see them behind his eyelids, screaming in pain, begging for help, and he couldn’t save them, couldn’t, he could never, was never fast enough. He shifted to lean against the side of the shower still curled up as tightly as he could, and pressed hard against the cold tile, jaw clenched to stay silent.

Gojo stayed curled up in the shower until the water started to go cold, then he slowly uncoiled and pushed himself to his feet, using the wall as support. He washed quickly, and turned the shower off before it got icy, pausing to lean forward against the wall, face hidden in his arm for a long moment before he dragged himself away from the wall and stumbled to his bed, curling up in a ball there and pulling the blankets up over his head and finally let himself succumb to sleep’s relentless pull.

Gojo slid into the car an hour after he woke up and grinned at the black-haired driver. “And who are you now?” he asked before taking a quick bite of his breakfast, ignoring the way his arm sill felt heavy with the exhaustion of the last month and a half.

“I’m Kagishi Afumi,” the driver said carefully, hands shifting on the wheel as they stared straight ahead.

Gojo took another bite of his breakfast focusing on the driver. What the hell was going on, he had something of a reputation but two people in as many days too scared to answer or ask simple questions? “Good to meet you Kagishi Afumi,” he said easily, shifting back in the seat before giving them the address of the first exorcism of the day.

Twelve hours later Gojo shifted his uniform jacket closer around himself and turned away from the mess of blood and shredded people on the ground, walking back to the car, as he dialed the number for the auxiliary manager assigned today, he needed to report the dead bodies in a strange condition so they could prepare a cover story specific for them.

“Hello?” the auxiliary manager asked as soon as the line connected, and Gojo hopped down the last few steps.

“Haribu, good to hear from you,” Gojo said turning to walk towards the car where Kagishi sat leaning forward against the steering wheel, hands over their head. Gojo picked up his pace a little when he saw them sitting unmoving, searching the area for strange, cursed energy.

“Ah… Gojo!” Haribu said over a rustling sound, and before the sudden scrape of a chair against the floor.

“Yeah, the curse at the office is taken care of, but it left a bit of a mess behind,” Gojo said, pausing next to the car to search the surrounding block more closely, still nothing odd.

“Mess how?” Haribu asked her voice going flat.

Gojo knocked on the window right next to Kagishi’s head was, and Kagishi jumped, their head going up as they scrambled away from the sound, and Gojo breathed out sharply, relieved. “The curse tore them into strips and left them in a pile,” Gojo said answering Haribu’s question as he walked around to the other side of the car and slid into the back seat.

“Strips,” Haribu repeated, still flat. “Of course they did, how the fuck am I supposed to explain people being torn into strips?” she asked sounding exasperated, as a thunk sounded on her end.

“Ah,” Gojo said, like he was remembering a particularly good story. “You know I knew there was a reason I didn’t want your job. Good luck with that one,” he said with a laugh.

“Thank you, that’s very helpful,  this had  to be the only building you didn’t destroy this month why exactly?” she asked, the sound of keys filtering over the line.

Gojo laughed at that, shifting to lean back against the gap between door and seat as he inspected Kagishi closely. “Sorry to disappoint you,” Gojo said easily, then, “try the deranged murderer, we haven’t had one of his in a while.”

“Deranged murderer, sure,” she said, sighing. “I’ve got it, thanks for the heads up.”

Gojo ended the call and tilted his head so that it was clear that he was looking at Kagishi in the mirror. “Something wrong?” he asked, watching carefully as Kagishi ducked their head at the question, flushing.

“No, sir, where are we going next?” they asked quickly, turning the car on as they did.

“Right, nothing wrong. There isn’t anything wrong with the cursed energy I can see around and in them, so not a curse attack,” Gojo thought still watching Kagishi, who shifted under his scrutiny. “They was sleeping,” Gojo realized abruptly, pressing his fingers into his eyes briefly as he looked away finally. “Twelve hours, at least. Damn,” Gojo thought, swallowing as the guilt rose up in his chest. “Take me back to the school,” he said, finally answering the driver’s question, he’d make sure they rested once they got there.

Kagishi nodded and pulled away from the curb without a word, as Gojo shifted the exorcism he still had to complete today to account for the time this would take.

The curse hit infinity and Gojo shook his head, they would never l-, Gojo felt infinity shift, saw the attack get closer before the curse pulled back, grinning as it spun around for the next attack, that hit and moved even closer. Gojo flinched away from the attack, adrenaline making the world go crystal clear, he couldn’t lose infinity not now, not when so much depended on him, he sucked in a sharp breath and purple exploded out from him, leveling the building, and obliterating the curse. He gasped at the sudden loss of cursed energy, leaning forward as it felt like the ground tilted under him.

“Not again, please not again,” he thought dropping to on knee on the ground as he fought to regain control of his breathing, watching for anyone getting close enough to see him. The last time he had lost infinity, the last time he had failed, everything had fallen apart, he couldn’t do it again, not now, he was too tired. The quiet sound of a rock hitting the ground to the right had him jumping to his feet, straightening, and turning, even though there couldn’t be someone there, just the pieces of the building he had destroyed settling. He took a deep breath, and then breathed out slowly, clenching his teeth, before turning around and starting back towards the car, his wet bandages itchy with the salt. There was nothing wrong, and even if there was he would handle it.

                  It only took Gojo five more days to complete the stack of missions and already the eight hours of sleep felt like a distant memory, a dream almost.

                  “Go get some sleep,” Gojo said quietly to the redhaired woman who had been driving him around that day, and then climbed out of the car, stretching aching muscles before he walked into building, stopping to get coffee once again.

                  “Coffee at three in the morning,” he though with a helpless laugh as his eyes caught on the clock hanging next to the door. “Well that at least explains why there weren’t many cars on the road, and its practically afternoon for me,” he thought taking a sip of the sweet drink before starting towards Yaga’s office. He shifted his attention to watch the sorcerers, still in training and not, in the building, some sleeping, some eating, and some unlucky few probably filling out their reports, and couldn’t help the small smile, even as the relatively light weight of the cup made is exhausted muscles shake, and his legs threatened to give out on him. These people were safe for now, were able to take a moment to just live, there were sorcerers working now, probably, dying as he walked down the hallway, but these people were safe.

                  He knocked lightly on Yaga’s door before entering, feeling suddenly disinclined to antagonise at the moment.

                  Yaga jumped, head coming up from where it had been resting on his desk on top of his paperwork. “Gojo? Why are you here?” he asked head turning slightly to look at the clock on the  wall. “Its three in the morning,” he said flatly, turning his attention back to Gojo.

                  Gojo closed the door quietly behind himself and flopped into the chair. “I’m here for the same reason I’m always here in the summer, I just miss the musty paper smell of your office so much that I have to drop by,” Gojo answered turning his head towards the pile of stuffed dolls in the corner even as he inspected Yaga closely, he had been sleeping.

                  “Of course,” Yaga said with a sigh stacking his papers quickly before turning to open a drawer and revealing a scrape along the side of his neck, like road burn.

                  Gojo shifted in his seat, eyebrows furrowing. “Yaga,” he said slowly, and Yaga snapped his head up to look at him, tensing in his seat. “Have you been going out to play with curses?” he asked leaning forward in his seat.

                  Yaga scowled at him for a moment before turning back to pull a very familiar file out of the drawer. “What of it? You know we are ridiculously short-handed this year,” he said flipping the file open without looking at Gojo.

                  “Yeah,” Gojo said on a sigh reaching up to rub his temples. “Worst summer in four years, and I don’t even know why, we can usually predict them based on what’s happening in the non-sorcerer world but this year…” he trailed off shaking his head, still inspecting Yaga, searching for the rest of the injuries.

                  Yaga nodded and waved slightly as a there you go. “So, no I haven’t been playing with curses, but since, in case you have forgotten, I am a grade one sorcerer and we are in dire need of those, even with you half killing yourself,” Yaga said voice sharpening.

                  Gojo grimaced slightly and waved off Yaga’s words. “I’m fine the curses haven’t been particularly strong for all that they are unending, but our careful principle can’t get himself killed, or who is going to assign the missions?” he asked, watching as Yaga winced when reaching down to grab another file.

                  “Let it go,” Yaga said dropping the paper on the desk. “You are fine and have definitely slept more than once this month and I’m not fighting curses,” he said looking up to stare at Gojo.

                  Gojo paused, considering, Yaga had to stay alive, but he wasn’t wrong, there had been far too many grade one and special grade curses this year, and the grade on sorcerers were burning out too fast.

                  “Let’s talk about your missing paperwork, I think I need over three thousand reports from you,” Yaga said before Gojo could respond to his last statement.

                  Gojo hesitated a moment and then let it go, shifting in the chair to recline more, taking a sip of his coffee. “So that’s what all that paper on my table is from, guess I shouldn’t have thrown them away?” he asked easily, and Yaga’s head came up from where he had been looking over the record of missions complete.

                  “You did what! Gojo, I need that paperwork,” he said straightening, and then wincing as he rubbed a hand over his head.

                  Gojo sobered, taking another drink, and decided to take mercy on Yaga. “Kidding, principal Yaga, kidding, I’ll have someone drop off the complete ones and fill out the rest in a bit. Now can we get to the update, I do have other things to do,” Gojo said, mimicking Yaga for the last sentence.

                  Yaga scowled at him for a moment and then shook his head, giving up. “Alright,” he said turning back to the file in front of him.

-----

                  The last two weeks of the fucking endless summer passed much like the first fourteen and Gojo stumbled home after the latest mission of the last seven days of exorcisms, his scalp burning from exhaustion and his body one step from staging a rebellion and pitching him into sleep whether he wanted it to not, reversed cursed energy or not.

                  He paused one step in the entryway and stared at the new and thankfully smaller piles of cases that he still had to write reports about, gave half a thought to be thankful that all the food he had eaten recently had been outside of his home, and thus it was acceptably clean, decided to get someone to deliver groceries tomorrow, said fuck it to the files sitting accusingly in the middle of the table, kicked his shoes off and collapsed in his bed, his alarm set. He grinned slightly as sleep grabbed him by the foot and yanked him away from consciousness, body suddenly unbearably heavy. Summer was finally over, his kids would finally be home tomorrow,  the curses would stop being fucking whack a moles and it was only a month before enough sorcerers should be recovered that he could maybe sleep once a day, instead of once a month. 

                  Gojo took the last turn to the summer camp parking lot carefully, squinting against the bright early morning light as he read the sign that pointed the way to visitor parking, and then pulled smoothly into the first empty parking space. He climbed out of the car slowly, the muscles in his arms and legs aching at the movement, and touched his sunglasses briefly, wishing that the bandages didn’t get him even more strange looks than his age already did.

                  He closed the door quietly, and then paused, searching for Tsumiki and Megumi’s cursed energy, grateful that they had for once decided to go to the same summer camp. A moment later he caught sight of them not too far away, surrounded by a mass of unfamiliar cursed energy in large building just off the parking lot, and he started towards them, already starting to grin as he watched Tsumiki poke Megumi until he turned away from a different person, probably grumpily.

                  His kids, they were right there, only a few feet away, after months of only sporadic phone calls, they were finally within reach. He was just reaching for the door to go into the building when his phone rang, and he paused, pulling it out to check the caller id, Yaga, of course. Gojo glanced at Tsumiki and Megumi again and then backed out of the way of the door and accepted the call.

                  “What is the very important reason you’re calling me right now?” Gojo asked before Yaga could say anything.

                  “Enasano just left my office,” Yaga said flatly, and then fell silent, like a fucking asshole, and Gojo looked up as a parent walked out of the door, her kid walking next to her chatting excitedly about the last day activities.

                  “And?” Gojo asked, glancing down at the watch on his wrist, he was going to be late if he didn’t finish this soon. He hated when he had to be late to meet his kids, they had spent enough time waiting for adults, and he never wanted them to wonder if he was coming.

                  “He got into a fight,” Yaga answered quietly, still not expounding on why he had called now, instead of waiting until tomorrow morning, a whole twenty hours away.

                  “Trainee sorcerers get into fights all the time, why is this different?” Gojo asked, watching the clock, Yaga only had two minutes left, and then Gojo would be hanging up and walking in there regardless of what he had to say.

                  “They don’t usually get into fights with fully trained sorcerers because they are… speaking against the established government,” Yaga said, hesitating a moment to find a diplomatic way of saying he was shit talking  the fucking higher-ups in earshot of someone who supported them, probably on purpose from the reports Gojo had gotten about the wolf pack since their loss. “What did you tell them?” Yaga asked lowering his voice slightly.

                  “Were the other two in on it?” Gojo asked, ignoring the question for a moment, and turning away from the building, even as he watched Megumi turn back towards Tsumiki sharply.

                  Yaga paused and then sighed and answered. “From what I’ve gathered, the only reason Enasano got out with minimal injuries is because the other two showed up and defended him,” Yaga said, his chair creaking as he shifted.

                  “Good, so that isn’t falling apart. I only told them the truth,” Gojo said, finally answering Yaga’s question.

                  “What did you tell them?” Yaga reiterated, enunciating carefully even as he lowered his voice again.

                  “I’ll deal with this later, I need to pick up Megumi and Tsumiki, call me if you hear anything from the higher-ups,” Gojo said, starting back towards the door, time was up.

                  “Very well, but Gojo?” Yaga said, and Gojo hesitated, hearing the warning tone in Yaga’s voice. “This truth you told them is either going to get them killed, or worse drive them down the same path that Suguru took.”

                  Gojo flinched from the name, feeling it like punch to his gut. He hadn’t heard Geto’s first name in years, and he gasped quietly trying to recover from it. “I… I know,” Gojo said, voice caught in his throat as he tried to ignore the sudden flash of his wolf pack standing next to Geto sneering.

 Then he realized what Yaga had just done, and he clenched his jaw and took a deep breath, suddenly incandescently angry. “I know, and I said I would deal with it later,” Gojo repeated, keeping his voice even through will power alone. “Now I am going to hang up and go inside this building and pick up my kids, and someone had better be dying or about to die if you call me again before we are home,” he finished and then ended the call before Yaga could respond.

Gojo took another breath, pushed the interaction aside and walked into the building, crossing the room to where Megumi and Tsumiki still stood. Tsumiki was talking animatedly with another girl, gesturing slightly as she did, and Megumi was lurking only a few inches away, his hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face as he stood turned away from them broadcasting ‘I’m not with them’ for all that he was almost leaning on Tsumiki.

Gojo couldn’t help grinning when he saw them, exhaustion and the beginnings of a headache forgotten momentarily as he crossed the room towards them, moving around the other parents and kids without taking his first set of eyes off his kids. They’d both grown, Megumi needed a haircut even more than he had when he left, and Tsumiki had somehow tied her hair up in an intricate braid on the top of her head.

Megumi straightened suddenly, pulling his hands out of his pockets, facing setting in determination as he looked over the crowd. Gojo waved excitedly as soon as Megumi’s eyes settled on him, and was greeted with the renewal of the scowl, and Megumi returning to slouching, sliding his hands back into his pockets as he said something to Tsumiki, who glanced over at him and then up at Gojo where he was only a short distance away by now, and she grinned and waved back when he waved at her. She turned back to her friend said something brief and then grabbed Megumi’s sleeve and towed him behind her to meet Gojo halfway.

“Satoru!” she shouted letting go of Megumi and extending her arms as she got close and Gojo stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug, forcing himself not to flinch or hesitate as he did. His kids would always be allowed through infinity but sometimes it took some time to remember that not everyone moving towards him was going to attack him.

“My Tsumiki!” he said back excitedly as he held her close, moderating his volume so he didn’t shout in her ear. “And little Gumi!” he said smiling at the boy over her shoulder as she laughed and squeezed tighter. Megumi’s scowl deepened at the nickname, and he looked away scoffing.

Tsumiki hugged him for a moment longer and then she stepped back slightly and smiled up at him. “I missed you Satoru,” she said brightly, and Gojo smiled back, hand still resting lightly on her shoulder.

“I missed you too little Miki, but you must have made so many friends!” he said excitedly and Tsumiki looked away still smiling, and Gojo looked up over at Megumi.

“No hug from you?” he asked Megumi quietly, offering him an arm, and Megumi backed up a step, shaking his head quickly.

“No,” Megumi answered flatly, his scowl somehow deepening.

“Alright Megumi,” Gojo said softly, still grinning at the boy. “You two still have stuff you need to do, or do you want to get out of here?” he asked glancing between the two.

“I need to say some goodbyes, but then we can leave,” Tsumiki answered already turning to look for her friends.

“I’m ready to leave,” Megumi answered when Gojo looked over at him.

“Okay Miki, you go say goodbye while Megumi and I sign us out so they don’t think I’m kidnapping you, and we can meet back up the doors” Gojo said giving Tsumiki another hug before she dashed off.

Megumi scowled after her and then turned back to Gojo. “Why can’t I go with her? I don’t want to talk with any of the people here,” Megumi said shoving his hands deeper into his pockets as he slouched farther.

“Did something happen?” Gojo asked quietly, crouching slightly so that he could meet Megumi’s eyes.

“No, nothing happened, I just don’t want to be with you,” Megumi answered turning away, and Gojo straightened, grinning again. He had missed this grumpy kid so damned much over the last few months.

“Too bad Gumi,” he said brightly, ruffling a hand gently through Megumi’s hair before letting it fall back to his side as Megumi swatted at it. “I’m not letting you out of my sight for at least two… maybe three weeks,” he continued turning to find one of the camp supervisors and ushering Megumi forward as he started towards them.

Megumi scoffed at his words even as he let Gojo guide him. “You’ll probably vanish in a few hours, and if not, we have school tomorrow.

Gojo winced at the accusation but just rested a hand lightly on Megumi’s shoulder for a moment before sliding his hands into his pocket, keeping a close eye on him as the walked through the crowd. “Alright then, at least until dinner. I missed you kid,” he said softly, wanting Megumi to hear it even if he didn’t care.

Megumi scoffed again and pulled further away. “Why don’t you just talk to the people so we can get out of here and go home,” he said shifting his backpack on one shoulder.

Gojo reached out and grabbed the backpack, pulling it away, and up onto his own shoulder before Megumi could stop him and grinned wider at the way Megumi’s back relaxed once the weight was off his shoulder. “Hey, give that back,” Megumi said reaching for the bag, but Gojo shifted it out of reach.

“Hey now, let me carry it, it still feels like you put bricks in here,” Gojo said easily pulling it over his other shoulder. “And look here we are with the adults who can let us leave,” Gojo said gesturing towards the people in front of him as he smiled down at Megumi.

Megumi huffed but fell silent, his gait easier as he looked forward, scowling at the adult who looked towards them with a polite smile.

“Hello,” Gojo greeted the person, smiling back at them as he took an extra step forward so Megumi could stay behind him if he wanted to. “I am here to check Tsumiki and Megumi Fushigiro out,” he said brightly checking on Tsumiki across the room as he watched Megumi who was just behind him.

The supervisor looked Gojo up and down a skeptical look sliding across their face. “Sure, and what name would that be?” they asked ostentatiously looking down at a clipboard that had been by their side.

“Gojo Satoru, I was the person who dropped them off as well,” Gojo answered easily shifting his weight to one leg, settling in for the next round of ‘are you sure you’re their parent and not just fooling yourself or lying to us’ it was one of Gojo’s least favourite games.

“And your relation to them?” the supervisor asked, staring intently at the clipboard.

“I’m, their guardian,” Gojo answered pleasantly, holding out his id. “Gojo Satoru, right there,” he said pointing to the name. “And on your clipboard, I’m their guardian.

The supervisor finally looked away from his clipboard, glancing at Gojo again before looking down at Megumi, where he stood a step behind Gojo. “I guess that explains the attitude problems,”  they said making a note on the clipboard.

Gojo stiffened at the remark, subconsciously pulling his hands out of his pockets as he straightened. “What is that supposed to mean?” Gojo asked, careful to keep his tone pleasant.

The supervisor looked back up at him, eyebrows furrowing as he stiffened as well. “It means that that kid got into repeated fights for no reason,” they said sharply, gesturing towards Megumi, who turned to look at the supervisor, and scowled.

Gojo shifted, catching himself before he stepped between the two of them, and took a breath to respond as Tsumiki reached the door and Megumi broke into the conversation. “Gojo, let’s just go,” he said and looked away, turning towards the door.

Gojo frowned at the supervisor, considering for a moment going through every one of the people here until they told him what happened, but eventually decided to let Megumi tell him, and then come back later if it was needed. He turned away, resting a careful hand on Megumi’s head before letting it slide down to rest on his shoulder as he guided him out of the crowd. “You okay Megumi?” Gojo asked, keeping his voice quiet so they couldn’t be overheard.

“I’m fine,” Megumi snapped, his face set in determination, and Gojo nodded, watching Tsumiki who was standing next to the door, and squeezed Megumi’s shoulder.

Megumi twitched a shoulder and stepped further away and Gojo let his hand fall away before he slid it back into his pocket, and grinning back at Tsumiki as she waved.

“Okay you two, let’s get out of here,” Gojo said lifting Tsumiki’s backpack of her shoulder and tossing it over his own next to Megumi’s as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Finally,” Megumi said irritably as he pushed his way out of the building, and Gojo laughed, looking down at Tsumiki as he squeezed her close in a sideways hug as he followed Megumi out of the building.

“And how was your summer?” he asked looking down at Tsumiki whose grin grew.

“It was great, I met so many people! And they taught me so many things,” Tsumiki said excitedly, and then launched into a recounting of everything they had done that summer. The serious, scared little girl, with too much responsibility on her shoulders that he had met four years all but erased in this moment, and he couldn’t help but smile back at her, committing it to memory.

They reached the car before too long, Megumi leaning on it and scowling back at them as they followed him more casually. Gojo unlocked the door and shook his head, fond, as Megumi immediately turned and climbed into the back seat behind the passenger seat. He gave Tsumiki one more hug and then let her go so she could climb into the seat behind his, closed the door behind her and then slid into his own seat. Tsumiki picking up her story the second she was buckled.

“Hang on Miki,” Gojo cut into her excited speech gently with a laugh as he turned in his seat to meet Megumi’s eyes. “You need to buckle up if you want to go anywhere,” he said quietly. Megumi scoffed in response but did reach up and buckle his seat with quick sharp movements, and Gojo turned back around. “Alright Tsumiki, take it away,” Gojo said as he started the car and pulled out of his parking space, his shoulders relaxed for the first time since he let his kids out of his sight at the beginning of his summer.

Tsumiki finished recounting her summer a half hour into their trip and relaxed back against the window, her eyes half closed, exhausted, probably from the forbidden slumber party the night before.

“How about you Megumi?” Gojo asked changing lanes smoothly as he watched Megumi jump and look towards him.

“Fine,” Megumi said flatly sliding down in his seat as he crossed his arms.

“Anything interesting happen?” Gojo asked, turning to look at Megumi as he took a curve, watching the car in front of him.

“No,” Megumi said, scowling again. “It was all boring, and the people were awful.

“Awful how?” Gojo asked, brows furrowing as he inspected Megumi for injuries. “Were they being mean to you?”

“Not me,” Megumi muttered turning in his seat to look pointedly out the window. Gojo caught sight of a police car in the distance and turned forward again so that it was clear that he was watching the road.

“Not you?” Gojo asked quietly, checking on Tsumiki who was fast asleep, her head resting on the window and tilted back against the headrest. Megumi didn’t answer, sitting still, turned away from him. “Who were they mean to?” Gojo asked after it became clear that Megumi wasn’t going to answer the first question.

Megumi hunched his shoulders forward. “The other kids, anyone they didn’t like,” he said quietly looking down.

“Who are they?” Gojo asked, wishing that he could climb back there and stop Megumi from looking so small, but Megumi would stop talking if he did that. He would clam up and insist that he was fine, while looking like he was wishing desperately to be anywhere else.

“Everyone,” Megumi answered still not turning around, then he straightened sharply and spun towards him. “Even the adults, they didn’t do anything, they fucking encouraged it,” He snapped, and then, “so I stopped them, I beat up every bully there,” Megumi continued his chin going up in defiance.

Gojo hands tightened around the wheel, and he pulled over to the side of the road, keeping his movements calm, not wanting to wake Tsumiki. “Did you get injured during those fights?” Gojo asked carefully, turning around to face Megumi, trying not to think about his little Megumi fighting alone against an unknown number of other kids, and god he hoped, suddenly sick, that Megumi wasn’t counting the adults as bullies.

“What? You don’t want to know how badly I hurt them? You don’t want me to prove that they were bullies, or lecture me about how violence isn’t the answer when someone is laying on the ground and then bully is still attacking them?” Megumi snapped leaning forward in his seat and baring his teeth, hands going together like he was going to summon his wolves. 

“Hey, easy, you’re okay,” Gojo said softly, catching himself before he reached out. “Of course not, if you are protecting yourself or someone else then of course you should fight.”

Megumi froze looking back at him, gasping for air, his hands shaking. “What?” he asked wind suddenly gone from his sails and Gojo half smiled at him.

“Come on kid. It’s me you really think I’d tell you that you should’ve stood by and done nothing,” he said quietly, meeting Megumi’s eyes, and Megumi slumped back against the seat, his little shoulders shuddering, and yeah that was all Gojo could handle.

Gojo turned away and slid out of the car, walking around it quickly to open Megumi’s door. He crouched in front of him and put a hand on his kids shoulder, squeezing lightly. “It’s okay now kid, just tell me what happened,” Gojo said quietly, stepping on the kindling rage in his chest, now was not the time, and he could not go back there and kill them all no matter how much Megumi’s shaking frame made him want to.

“They… they were all so mean, they picked on other kids and the adults didn’t do anything,” he said hunching in in himself for a moment before he straightened again. “And when I stopped them, the adults punished me but I’m not sorry,” he said balling his fists.

“Good,” Gojo said simply and then when Megumi looked up at him, he grinned. “Good job kid, why don’t we get some ice cream on the way back,” he said squeezing Megumi’s shoulder lightly again as he stared. “Like I said before, you were protecting someone, and that’s a good thing, so good job kicking all their asses,” he said, resolving silently to see what he could do about getting the supervisors fired.

“I…” Megumi started and then he smirked, crossing his arms even as his shoulders relaxed. “Of course it was, and I’d do it again, even without your approval.”

Gojo smiled back at his kid who cared so much, even if he didn’t always know how to make friends. “I would expect nothing less from you,” he said reaching up to ruffle Megumi’s hair so that Megumi would swat his hand away, scowling again. “Now were you hurt?” he asked again letting his hand fall back to his side.

“No,” Megumi answered grumpily shifting to look forward again. “Are we going to go home or just sit here the rest of the day?” Megumi asked without turning his head, posture more relaxed than it had been since Gojo had talked to the supervisors.

“I figured we’d camp out here, that’s why I brought the tents,” Gojo answered Megumi easily, standing and closing the kids door firmly before walking around the car back to his seat. “Now did you do anything interesting at that camp?”

Megumi scoffed at the question and slouched down into his seat, his eyes closing slowly before he snapped them open again, and Gojo couldn’t help the way his smile softened as he pulled the car back out onto the road. One kid already asleep and the other well on the way to following her.

He drove for another ten minutes in silence as the kids slept behind him before his phone started to vibrate in the console where he had dropped it. “I swear is this is you Yaga,” Gojo thought reaching for the phone, and then he glanced at the screen and his face went blank, Gakuganji, about as close as it got to the higher ups calling him. He glanced up at the mirror at his kids and then sighed quietly and accepted the call, pressing his phone to his ear. This was probably going to be about his students, and it would only mean more trouble if he didn’t answer now. “And what can I help you with old man?” Gojo asked as soon as the line connected.

“I am not in the mood for your nonsense,” Gakuganji snapped, shockingly already annoyed five seconds into a phone call. “I am calling because the inspector general decided that we should contact you before issuing the punishment for three of your students, as a favour,” he continued, a smile audible in his voice.

“Punishment?” Gojo asked innocently as he paused at a light, glancing up to make sure both the kids were still asleep. “What did they do that would require punishment from the inspector general of all people, especially one administered through a principal of a… less… prestigious school?”

“They are in rebellion against the power of the inspector general. You didn’t know?” Gakuganji asked a vicious pleasure in his voice. “I guess I’m not really surprised that you wouldn’t know what is happening with your students. How can you when you never see them?”  

Gojo laughed at that barb, leaning forward, still watching the road, as he cackled at it. “Really old man? First, I know I’m fabulous, but don’t you have your own school to run. Seriously, your obsession is creepy and irresponsible,” he said, pausing to let his words sink in, and then he continued, speaking over Gakuganji’s spluttering. “Second, my students are in rebellion? Hardly, although I do find it very interesting that the higher ups are so concerned about a teenager saying uncomplimentary things about them. I wonder what that will say about them… if it gets out.”

Gakuganji was silent for a long moment and then when he spoke his voice was calm collected. “Was that a threat Gojo?” he asked slowly.

Gojo laughed again, shifting to slouch at an angle in his seat. “Of course not, jeez you must be getting paranoid in your old age, or-” he gasp theatrically, “is your inability to understand nuance a sign? Are you finally leaving us?” he asked making his voice go up with excitement, glancing at the kids as he did. This wasn’t something he wanted them to see.

Gakuganji didn’t respond and Gojo let the line stay dead for a few minutes as he navigate the streets next to their home. “Fine, I’ll take pity on you and not force you to tell me which it is when you admit not knowing what I’m talking about. I want you to understand that it is a great hardship but as a gesture of my respect for the higher ups I’ll do it just this once,” Gojo said lightly, circling his block, he didn’t want to risk waking the kids up by stopping the car. “I was not threatening anyone, I was just letting you know how it would look if anyone except… say their teacher punished three teenagers for essentially being impolite in a time of grief. A bit of friendly advice you see, not a threat at all.”

“Fine,” Gakuganji said, sounding far too pleased to actually be losing an argument. “But know that you will be required to give them an adequate punishment or it will look like you support that kind of disrespect.”

“I would never,” Gojo answered flippantly, “now is that all? I’m tired of your voice and I have important things to do today.”

“That’s all,” Gakuganji answered, and then just before Gojo hung up the phone, “have fun with the Zenin boy and his sister.”

Gojo ended the call, parked the car next to the curb, and leant forward, resting his head against the steering wheel as he fought with his breathing, watching the kids as he did. Damn that old fucking man and his bullshit. Gojo squeezed his eyes shut and reached into his pocket, pulling his bandages out of it roughly. Punish kids because they lost their temper after someone’s careless or malicious act got their friend killed? That was absurd, and to turn it into a power play? He wrapped the bandages over his eyes quickly, with jerky movements. “And then he mentions Megumi and Tsumiki,” Gojo thought making himself take a breath. Now was still not the time for another power play, they were nervous enough about him snapping and attacking them, especially during the summer, and with Enasano’s explosion there was a risk that they would assume that all the  students were also behind anything he did now.

“Temper, I’ve managed to control my temper, for the last four years. I will not let this year destroy all that careful work,” he thought, turning the car off and then turning around to look at the sleeping kids. He breathed out slowly, smiling at them and then reached out to gently shake Tsumiki awake.

She shifted, her face scrunching up and then blearily opened her eyes. “Are we home?” she asked yawning as she sat forward.

“Yup, Miki, home sweet home at last,” Gojo answered with a grin as he turned to shake Megumi awake. “Come on Megumi you wanted to be home,” he said softly as Megumi scowled, his eyes still closed, before shifting in his seat and opening them slowly. Gojo grinned back at the scowl and then slid out of the car, grabbed their backpacks from the passenger seat and then locked the car before ushering them towards the door.

Gojo unlocked the door with one hand and leaned back to let Megumi push through the door first, followed shortly by Tsumiki, and then he followed them in, kicking his shoes off and putting them in their right place before following them deeper into the room. They both rushed over to their rooms and Gojo grinned as their conversation filled the air, erasing the oppressive quiet that suffused every summer. He set their backpacks on the clean table so he could go through them later and pull out their dirty clothes, and then went into the kitchen to get the ice cream he had promised Megumi.

The next morning Gojo waved to Tsumiki as she rushed into school, Megumi only a step behind her, like a little grouchy shadow, waited long enough for them to vanish into the school and then he restarted his car and pulled away, driving to the nearest parking space so he could teleport to Jujutsu Tech. Trying not to remember Megumi’s bitter prediction the day before.

Gojo swept into the first class of the day and grinned at the students who were sitting neatly in their seats, looking forward, eyes wide as they looked around. “Hello first years,” he said looking over the three people in front of him, enjoying what was probably the only time they would actually sit in their desks. “How are you finding your first day?”

“It hasn’t started yet,” the girl sitting in the middle answered immediately as the other two stared, awestruck, and then her eyes widened, and she leaned back in her seat, hands up. “I’m sorry!” she started before Gojo cut her off laughing.

“It’s fine, I’m not one of the stuffy teachers from your old school,” he said grinning at her as he backed up to sit on his desk.

“No, you’re just Gojo Satoru, strongest sorcerer alive who’s killed more curses than most of the grade one sorcerers combined,” the boy on her right muttered and Gojo turned his grin on him.

“I am flattered you noticed,” he said flippantly shifting to settle more comfortably on the desk. “Now with that let’s get this day started so you can answer the first question,” he said with a grin at the girl who had commented before, who blushed and looked down.

Gojo dismissed the class of third years to their lunch and watched, amused, as they all collapsed on the ground, splaying out and groaning. Then he shook his head at their antics and turned away. “Make sure you hydrate,” he called back over his shoulder as he walked towards the main school building. The first years were getting their very interesting lecture on protocols, and the second years were learning the boring but necessary school subject so the halls were empty on the way to Yaga’s office, although someone was in standing in Yaga’s office, the door closed. Gojo flopped down into the nearest chair and watched the people in Yaga’s office as his visitor gestured sharply and Yaga sat still in his chair, not reacting at all.

A few minutes later Yaga made his first movement since Gojo walked into the room, gesturing towards the door and the other person spun around and walked to the door, yanking it open and revealing someone in a managers black suit.

“I told you,” they said turning back to look at Yaga. “The reports we get are accurate. I don’t know why your sorcerers are claiming different.”

Gojo raised his eyebrows at that, reports that are different than what the sorcerers said could be a major problem.

“Kaozuka, I have shown you more than enough proof that you are incorrect. So please follow the guidelines I’ve laid out. Now I have a meeting, and you have work to do,” Yaga said in a clear dismissal, still not moving.

Kaozuka scowled but did walk out the door storming through the hallways and out of sight. Gojo pushed himself up out of the seat and then walked slowly into Yaga’s office. “Am I in trouble too?” Gojo asked lightly closing the door behind himself before sitting down across from Yaga who didn’t react to the comment, he just pulled a folder closer and then flipped it open looking over the first paper he found there.

“No,” Yaga said before turning and reaching for a drawer to his right, wincing as he stretched. “You are here because you somehow managed to complete all the exorcisms that were assigned to you and their paperwork already,” Yaga continued dropping a pile of files on the side of the desk nearest Gojo.

Gojo shifted forward in his seat, inspecting Yaga, who spoke before he could say anything. “We are still not taking about it,” Yaga said flatly not looking away from his papers, and Gojo sighed and leaned back.

“Okay, not talking about it but as all aspiring sorcerers are taught these days when you are injured during an exorcism you go and see Dr Shoko,” Gojo said tilting his head up as though he was looking at the ceiling even though he could still see Yaga’s scowl at that comment. “Now,” Gojo said before Yaga could respond, voice growing more serious, “who is out of commission now?”

Gojo walked out of Yaga’s office ten minutes later, a stack of files under an arm. He dropped the files off on his desk and then teleported to the first location. He had fifty minutes before he had to be back to teach the second years their class about combat.

Gojo’s fifty-minute timer went off just as he dispatched the last curse in his pile of files. He jolted, stumbling forward a step before he caught himself and turned the alarm off with a shaking hand. He looked around the mostly intact building with satisfaction for a moment and then he took a breath to steel himself and teleported back to the school into an empty room. He took a couple steps back as soon as he materialized in the room and slumped back against the wall breathing hard. “Damn it,” he panted pressing his fingers into his eyes, teleportation was fucking useful, but it took a lot of cursed energy.

He lit up the screen of his phone in his pocket, checking the time, sighed, and then pushed himself up off the wall, straightening, and then slouching just a little as he slid his hands into his pockets and walked out of the door, starting for the training room.

The three remaining second years were standing in a loose circle talking quietly when he walked in the door. Gojo cleared his throat, watching as they jumped and spun, weapons appearing in their hands as they slid into a ready stance, cursed energy stirring under their skin, and he paused where he was for a moment letting them recognize him before moving again. Each of them relaxed as soon as they registered who it was, weapons lowering and shoulders slumping.

“Gojo,” Kakasa said, sheathing her weapon and taking a step forward.

“Wolf pack,” Gojo greeted, stepping away from the door and crossing the room. “I hear you’ve been getting in ill-advised fights,” he continued before any of them could say anything else, and then watched as Enasano’s chin came up, hands tightening around his weapon, Semura looked away and Kakasa stiffened, steeping back into line with her friends.

“They were not ill-advised,” Enasano said, straightening sharply, his weight going forward onto his toes.

Gojo raised his eyebrows turning his head, so it faced Enasano. “Are you going to attack me?” he asked tilting his head down to where Enasano’s hands were gripping his weapon so tight that his knuckles went white. “Because that would be almost as ill-advised as picking a fight with a supporter of the higher ups while shouting about how you wanted to kill all of the most powerful people in our world,” Gojo said flatly turning his head to include the other two in the statement.

“Yeah?” Enasano asked taking a step forward, weapon still in hand, and Gojo braced himself for another fight. “They get Akesume killed on purpose, and nothing happens, but I say how fucked up it is and get a lecture?” he snapped taking another step forward.

“What did you think it was going to accomplish,” Gojo asked calmly leaning back against the wall, hands in his pockets, trying not to escalate this argument.

“Maybe I don’t care about accomplishing anything that’s our whole life, right? Kill a curse, and then another one and another one, only to wake up and find curses in the exact same place until we don’t have anyone left!” he shouted slashing a hand through the air, cursed energy roiling in his body. “So why can’t I decide to die fighting the fucking people who killed my friend instead of working for them! It’s death either way, right?” he snarled free hand clenching into a fist, as his friends nodded straightening and moving up to flank him, their own hands on their weapons.

Gojo was silent for a moment, watching them and trying to figure out what he could say to fix this, to pull them back before they did something they couldn’t come back from.

“They sent someone we care about to die, and we don’t even know why,” Kakasa said quietly, gaze steady. “You cannot expect us to do nothing, even if you can,” she said looking at him steadily even as her shoulder slumped a little.

Gojo felt his breath hitch but didn’t move, watching them closely as they shifted closer and closer to their fighting formation, then he made his decision. “Sheathe your weapons, I am not going to fight you,” he said flatly pushing up off the wall suddenly and watching all three of them jerk back.

Enasano took a breath to keep shouting and Gojo snapped his head towards him. “No,” he said flatly, and the kid hesitated. “Weapons away before this continues. I am not your enemy.”

Semura breathed out slowly and sheathed their weapon, Kakasa’s hand dropped from her weapon’s hilt and then a moment later Enasano scoffed and sheathed his own.

“Now what?” Enasano snapped, teeth bared, and his shoulders hunched, defensive as his hands clenched over nothing.

“Your life is not pointless,” Gojo said quietly and after a moment of hesitation reached up to pull his bandages off so he could meet Enasano, Kakasa and then Semura’s eyes. “What we do is not pointless,” he said and then continued over Enasano’s scoff, “because our job isn’t to kill curses. It’s to protect the people that the curses would kill.”

“Sure, and who did Akesume die protecting? Because those bastards that were in that building tied us up and left us there for the curses,” Enasano snapped jaw clenching.

Gojo felt his chest tighten at Akesume’s name, feeling the weight of his broken bloody in his arms, too still, but he kept his voice steady as he responded. “Do you know how we figured out that there was curse at in that building?” he asked evenly meeting Enasano’s eyes, and then continuing before the kid could answer. “A person would walk into that building, go home, and then days later kill every member of their family that they could find before they were stopped,” he said flatly, letting not trying to soften the words. They had to hear this, had to understand because if they didn’t… if they didn’t then he would be carrying their dead bodies back to Shoko.

“What?” Semura choked, eyes wide. “They killed their families?” they asked, voice shaking as they took a step back, their distress finally breaking through Enasano and Kakasa’s anger.

“Yes,” Gojo answered turning to them. “Were they not given the file before they left?” he thought seeing the wide-eyed shock on all their faces. “And two of the people on that building when we attacked hadn’t gone home yet,” he continued, watching their eyes widen at that. “Akesume died saving their lives, but also everyone else who would have walked into that building. So no their death wasn’t pointless, and you are accomplishing something. Every exorcism you complete is lives saved. Can you live with that? Keep your patience with our superiors so you can be the person there when someone needs help?” he asked, watching them closely, hoping that they understood now, that they could see what they were doing, see the importance of what they were doing, and that it would be enough for them to hang onto in the horror that was being a sorcerer. “A normal sorcerer,” he reminded himself viciously. “It’s not like I have any idea what it’s like for them to walk into a fight.”

“That’s…” Enasano started before trailing off, looking down as he reached up to touch the button that signified him as a sorcerer.

Gojo kept his silence as the three of them looked at each other, eyes wide, before one by one they straightened, lifting their chins, and squaring their shoulders against the weight as they stepped back into a line in front of him, hands off their weapons this time.

“Alright,” Kakasa said hands tightening at her sides. “We can do that. We’ll never follow the bastard who got our friend killed but we can pretend. To protect other people,” she said and when Gojo looked at Enasano he nodded as well.

“Good, now for the punishment for attacking another sorcerer unprovoked,” Gojo said, fighting to keep his tone even despite the pride he felt for them in that moment, and the grief that caught in his chest as he looked at them and saw them filthy and beaten in the future, bleeding to protect people they didn’t know, the ghost of Akesume standing next to them.

Kakasa nodded sharply, hand reaching for her weapon as she braced herself, the sorcerers at her side doing the same.

“You are going to be given a list of names, they are going to be people that were either saved from curses or know someone who was either saved from or killed by a curse, and you are going to go and talking to every one of them and get a report about that time, what happened before, and after it,” Gojo said calmly, wrapping his bandages back over his eyes. This was going to be a painful task, bad enough that the higher ups sadism should be appeased, and he could argue that it showed them the importance of the higher ups, and it should show them that they do good that what they do isn’t pointless. “Just if someone had bothered to teach him that, instead of just all the awfulness of the world,” Gojo thought before shoving it away and focusing back on the students who nodded, their faces determined, he nodded back at them just as solemn, and then grinned breaking the moment. “Good! Now that that’s settled let’s get some training in, I think you’ve been slacking.”

Gojo finally filled out his last report for that day as the last of the students filed out of the room, their reading complete, and then he picked up the stack of files and carried them out of the classroom building and into the main building where a couple full fledged sorcerers were chatting. He paused by the door to take a breath and check the time, a couple hours before he had to pick Tsumiki and Megumi up from their after-school clubs. “Should be enough time to mingle, refresh acquaintances, and still get to the next exorcisms,” he thought walking deeper into the room full of exhausted sorcerers. 

“Hey Gojo!” Osabata Yunori said turning away from his conversation with Tsushino Kaekae  when he caught sight of him over her shoulder and raising his hand.

“Osabata,” Gojo greeted walking towards him with a smile. “What are you doing here?” He asked stopping a foot away. “last I heard you were taking a vacation on Shoko’s orders.”

“Yeah, well that was a month or so ago so I can go back to killing curses. Thanks, by the way for pulling me out from under that curse, I had just about made my peace with leaving the world squashed like a pancake when you showed up,” Osabata said leaning in slightly.

“Well, I couldn’t let you die in such an undignified way,” Gojo said, easily, shoulders relaxed not showing any sign of the discomfort he felt with thanks for actually managing to fulfill his responsibility for once.

“So fair warning if you almost die in a dignified way you are on your own,” Horimi Shirai a second-grade sorcerer and staunch supporter of the inspector general said walking up to join their conversation.

Gojo turned to grin at her, but Tsushino broke in before he could say anything. “Yeah right, I was about to die in the coolest way ever, stabbed in the chest as I blew up the curse when he showed up and killed the curse with one attack,” Tsushino said turning to scowl at Horimi.

Gojo laughed at that, even as he tried to remember when he had saved her, he barely remembered saving Osabata. “Exactly, I wouldn’t let these two die coolly, then everyone would want to do it,” he said glancing over the room to check identities, that had been bold for a second-grade sorcerer who, while he supported the higher ups didn’t have their direct protection.

He counted five other people in the room beside the people he was talking to, four of them supporters of the higher ups and the last… he caught his sigh just before it escaped his lips, the last was Nanami looking blank faced as he talked to a grade one sorcerer.

Gojo kept an eye on that conversation as he continued his own, not wanting Nanami to get in over his head.

“Sure,” Horimi said looking away and towards the wall. “At least the summer is done,”  she said turning back towards them. “It seemed like it was never going to end, especially with the way sorcerers kept disappearing, and the curse load kept increasing,” she continued, seemingly casual but she was watching Tsushino, and Osabata too closely for that.

“God, I know,” Osabata said scrubbing a hand down his face. “They just wouldn’t end this summer, you kill one, turn your paperwork in and oh there’s another one.”

“And then you go all the way out there and the curse would just be gone,” Tsushino said glancing over at Gojo who grinned back at her.

“So, you pretend there was a curse and go home and sleep?” Gojo asked easily, shifting so that he could lean against the wall letting it hold him up.

“No!” Tsushino exclaims just as Osabata laughed and agreed.

“Yeah, and hope no one sends a curse gone report before you wake up,” Osabata said ignoring the look Tsushino shot him.

Horimi face slid into a scowl for a moment before she tried again. “This summer would have been easier if so, many sorcerers hadn’t slacked off,” she said with a quick glance towards Gojo who only grinned at her, suppressing the wince at her foolish word choice, because the timing of that comment…

“Excuse me?” Osabata asked turning to face Horimi. “Did you really just say that with a straight face?” he scowled and moved forward as Tsushino winced next to him. “There wasn’t a single sorcerer slacking off. This summer was bad because there were so many fucking curses,” Osabata snapped.

“Except a certain grade one,” Tsushino muttered and then flushed when they all turned to face her. “What? She literally refused to fight a second grade curse a couple weeks ago,” she said defensively.

Osabata laughed and, stepped back turned to Tsushino excluding Horimi from the conversation. “Okay so there was one,” he conceded, and Gojo pushed off the wall.

“Good to see you two, good luck out there, the summer’s almost over. Let me know if you need another helping hand,” Gojo said with a casual wave as he turned away.

Osabata turned to look at Gojo and nodded. “I know who I’ll call if I’m about to get squashed again. Maybe work on the concrete dust next time though. I was coughing for days afterwards.” Osabata answered with a grin, and a small wave.

Gojo laughed again and answered without turning around. “but that would be boring,” he said flippantly walking away to the sound of Tsushino and Osabata laughter, leaving Horimi scowling behind him.

Gojo paused by the next three sorcerers standing in a loose triangle, chatting easily about food, just as he saw Nanami’s eyes widen slightly as he turned to look straight at Gojo. “That can’t be a good sign,” Gojo thought watching Nanami as he listened into the conversation.

“Yeah, but I always end up spilling it, or almost crashing the car,” Tatsuchi Yoyate said as he gestured towards a patch of his uniform that was stained, but probably looked normal to anyone else.

“Almost,” Shosawa Jutsuo muttered and Tatsuchi spun to face her eyes wide.

“Hey!” he started before the last sorcerer an Amatomi Miruka cut in.

“Let’s not start this again,” the short haired grade one sorcerer said lifting her hands as she moved forward, resting them on the other two’s shoulders.

“You are not the one that he almost killed,” Shosawa said grumpily even as she relaxed under Amatomi’s touch.

“I never-“ Tatsuchi started only for Shosawa to snort in disbelief. “I didn’t, just because a curse came out of nowhere and slammed into the car does not mean that I crashed,” Tatsuchi continued ignoring the skeptical look on Shosawa’s face as he talked.

“I said lets not do-“ Amatomi started before Shosawa spoke over her.

“You drove into the cursed location! Through a wall!” Shosawa shouted tossing her hands up in exasperation.

Gojo laughed quietly at that and then when it looked like Tatsuchi was going to try again he cut in. “Let it go Tatsuchi you can never convince people when they get an opinion in their heads,” he said easily before he turned his head towards the other two people in a mock furtive way and leaned in towards Tatsuchi lowering his voice. “Like everyone refuses to believe that I don’t destroy the buildings,”

“That’s because you do!” Shosawa shouted as Tatsuchi started to grin and Amatomi dropped her head into her hands.

Gojo gave all three of them wounded looks, paused, and then spoke. “They were like that when I got there,” he said mock offended as he straightened slightly turned his head away, chin up.

There was a moment of silence and then all three sorcerers started to grin and then burst out laughing, shifting to lean against each other and the wall as they did. Gojo held the offended pose for a moment and then grinned at them as they laughed.

“Lik… like that w…when you got… got there,” Shosawa said laughing as she slumped into Amatomi who caught her easily.

“Sure, like that damned school with the fucking six curses that was assigned to just me, before I called the fucking managers. I’m pretty sure that building was there when I got there and then not when you left,” Tatsuchi said still laughing.

“Betrayal!” Gojo said stepping away from them as he brought his hands to his chest, as though he had been stabbed, his mind racing trying to remember when he had exorcised six curses in one school. “I thought you understood! That we were in this together,” Gojo said to Tatsuchi as he took another step away. “just how many exorcism do I not remember?” he thought as Nanami started towards him and he took another step away from the three, Tatsuchi laughing again. “Try handheld things in paper,” Gojo said to Tatsuchi and then started away from the three of them with a wave.

Gojo checked the time and then started towards Yaga’s office, nodding to the grade one sorcerer that he hadn’t talked to. He only scowled back and turned away. “Not a friendly supporter of the higher ups then, and he was talking to Nanami who now wants to talk to me for the first time in two months. This should be so much fun,” Gojo thought sliding his hands into his pockets as he crossed the room and stepped into the thankfully empty hallway just a step ahead of Nanami.

“Gojo,” Nanami called as he let the door close behind himself and Gojo turned back to face him.

“Nanami how are you?” Gojo asked, grinning at Nanami as he checked their distance from the nearest living source of cursed energy, “should be far enough that we shouldn’t be overheard, unless he starts shouting,” Gojo thought shifting to lean against the wall.

“Is it true that you have second year students who just lost a close friend talking to the people who have seen curses for the first time or have lost loved ones and are looking for someone to blame?” Nanami asked, his voice sharp, ignoring Gojo’s question.

Gojo hesitated, stalled at the unexpected question. “News travels fast,” he thought blankly, trying to get his brain to switch gears, trying to figure out how Nanami knew and why he cared enough to ask about an internal student matter. Trying to decide how he wanted to respond, then the memory of Nanami saying ‘Anything to get those kids out of there alive’ and he decided to take a chance, again. “Yes, I do, I thought it would be good for them,” Gojo answered, easily, keeping his voice relaxed as he crossed on leg over the other, so he could lean more of his weight against the wall without it showing.

Nanami’s scowl deepened at that, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “You think it’s a good idea,” he repeated flatly and Gojo’s attention sharpened, a flash of adrenaline clearing the fog, he’d said something wrong. “I see you’re continuing the jujutsu school’s long, proud tradition of destroying every student they teach, crushing them so they’ll do as they are told. I should have known when they were dying on a mission and you didn’t even know,” Nanami continued, his voice cutting, before he shook his head and turned away.

Gojo felt pain flare in his chest, and he clenched his teeth, refusing to let his breath betray him even as his shoulders hunched against the accusation, at the truth of the accusation.

Nanami paused, his hand on the door again. “They are children and since that doesn’t matter to you, you do know that this is the kind of carelessness that leads to… to good people deciding to do horrible things?” he asked without looking back, and then he disappeared into the room, leaving Gojo slumped against the wall, letting it hold all his weight, the relaxed careless posture gone.

Gojo dropped his head, pressing a hand to the center of his chest as he tried to breathe. His students… those brilliant, strong, and so fragile young sorcerers. He would not let them break, would not let them shatter, he gasped, trying to shove the fear, and fucking panic away, he could do it, could protect them. He clenched the hand on his chest into a fist and forced himself to straighten, his breathing ragged as his chest fought to expand against the pain, as he squared his shoulders, feeling once again the weight of every single life sitting on his shoulders, usually ignored but now, horribly present.

His hands shook as the weight of it threatened to send him to his knees, then he clenched his teeth, held his breath for a moment and then forced himself to take a deep breath and shoved the emotions away. This was nothing new, he could hold them all, could handle it all.

Gojo reached up and pressed his fingers to his eyes over the bandages, took another breath and then forced a friendly smile back on his face, before he turned around and started towards Yaga’s office, he had missions to complete.

Gojo finished the last report for his curse killing jaunt, setting the last file on top of the neat stack on the end of the table that was rarely used and then he stood, glanced around his home, and went to go check on Tsumiki and Megumi, who were both sound asleep in their beds.

He stepped into Megumi’s room first, moving quietly, and grinned at the way he had somehow managed to curl himself up into a burrito in his covers and then turn sideways. He crossed the room and put a careful hand on the top of Megumi’s head, the only thing visible under all the covers, the hair ticklish against his palm. “Sleep well Megumi, I love you,” he whispered, watching the kid for a moment more then he made himself turn and walk out of the room.

He stepped into Tsumiki’s room next and had to laugh before he caught himself and muffled it with a hand. Tsumiki had managed to kick all of her blankets off the bed and was now lay splayed on the bed. “Opposites in everything except just how stubbornly good you are huh,” Gojo whispered picking up and then pulling the blanket over Tsumiki. “Stay warm Miki, I love you,” he whispered pressing a hand to her head as well, and wishing for one desperate moment that he didn’t have to leave, that he could just stay here with them, then he turned away and walked out the door.

He crouched down between their rooms to check what was essentially a baby monitor modified so that the signal would reach him no matter where he went in the city, triple checked that he had his phone and that it was charged, glanced back at his kids rooms, and then teleported to the first exorcism location, part of his attention always on his kids’ cursed energy as they slept peacefully.

The next week was long and grueling, full of too many curses, too much damned teleportation and regrettably no sleep. Gojo could already feel the effects of the week without sleep in his delayed reaction time, aching limbs, and the fog that he had to fight through for every conversation.

Megumi sat in the car looking straight ahead and refusing to get out on the second Monday of the school year and Gojo felt a sudden premonition of just how difficult this school year was going to be as he turned in his seat and waved Tsumiki off to her own classes. She hesitated, looking between them and Gojo turned to her and smiled softly. “I got it, it’s okay, you go on to your classes,” he said quietly and then after another moment of hesitation she did, closing the door behind herself. “Alright Megumi, what’s going on?” Gojo asked, squinting slightly in the bright light as he watched Megumi, who didn’t answer. “Come on kid,” Gojo said quietly, feeling the exhaustion closing in, his eyes heavy. “You’ve got to give me something here. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“I’m not going to school,” Megumi said still looking straight ahead, his face set in frankly adorable determination.

“I can see that, why don’t you want to go to school? Did something happen?” Gojo asked, shifting to pull himself away from the very tempting back of the seat.

“No,” Megumi said looking down at his little hands that were clenched into fists. Gojo watched him for a long moment and then when he didn’t say anything else tried again.

“Why don’t you want to go to school today,” Gojo asked, trying to ignore the clock that was set in the car, and was telling him that he if he wasn’t careful, he was going to be late to class, again.

“I-“ Megumi started and then he looked up and cut himself off. “Never mind,” he said quietly, his head down as he started to get out of the car.

“Megumi,” Gojo said, climbing out of the car after him and walking around it quickly so he could crouch down in front of him. “Hey, tell me what’s going on,” he said trying to meet Megumi’s eyes.

“Nothing, I’m going to be late,” Megumi said quietly looking down.

“Megumi,” Gojo started, dropping his head slightly to try and get below Megumi’s eyeline.

“It’s nothing! Let me go!” Megumi snapped just as the bell rang, and then he darted around Gojo and started towards the building his head down.

Gojo stood and watched Megumi until he was safely in the building and then slid back into the car to drive it somewhere he could leave it for the day. “What was that?” Gojo thought, running back through the last few days, trying to figure out if he had missed something that would explain Megumi’s actions. He’d seemed mostly normal on all the school days, a little aloof but Gojo would be more concerned if Megumi wasn’t tired after his afterschool clubs. Nothing bad had happened on the weekend, he’d actually managed to spend all their waking hours with them.

Gojo parked the car and rubbed a hand over his face before he stated wrapping his bandages, he’d have to check with the school, and see if he could get Megumi to tell him, after school, but for now, Gojo focused on the clock, for now Gojo was late for his class with the first years.

Gojo locked the door, gathered the files he needed to turn in and then teleported to the same empty classroom as before, dropped the files on the desk and then started towards his first years classroom, steps carefully measured so he wouldn’t stumble even when fatigue made a leg suddenly not want to work. He was only a few feet from the classroom when he paused. “Nanami?” he thought attention on the familiar cursed energy signature in the room. “What is he doing here?”  he thought, taking a step back as the memory of his last conversation with the man echoed through his mind.

Gojo reached up and touched his fingers to his forehead lightly, took a deep breath and straightened before he stepped through the door. “Couldn’t we do this some other time?” he thought the ache in his legs distracting even as he smiled at the three kids who, while turned to look at him, were still paying more attention to Nanami at the back of the room.

They looked confused at the having an observer but seemed fine overall, so Gojo let Nanami’s presence pass for now and focused on teaching the class. “I can’t make a scene in front of them, I’ll figure out what he’s playing at after class.”

“So, what do the lot of you actually remember from last week?” he asked sliding his hands into his pockets as he backed up so he could shift some of his weight off his legs. “I wonder if there is a way to kill curses sitting down, or hell asleep,” he thought absently as the class tilted around him.

“Everything,” Shomio, the sarcastic boy from the previous day snapped, cutting into Gojo’s distracted musings as the kid’s chin came up and his attention abruptly left the intruder.

“Is that so?” Gojo asked, amused, the first week was always a whirlwind and with the start of combat training the beginning was usually understandably blurry. “Well then I guess you’ll have no problem reciting it for us,” he continued, head tilting towards the student who stood suddenly to meet his challenge.

The classroom learning section of the class passed uneventfully, with the  students retaining a surprising amount of what he had told them the first day, and Nanami sitting at the back of the classroom blissfully silent through it, even if his constant scrutiny made Gojo’s skin prickle with the beginning of alarm.

“Alright you lot,” Gojo said once they clock slid past the hour mark, “Gather up your stuff and follow me to the gym, it’s time to begin the fun part of the day,” he said, not letting his smile change as aches flared across his entire body as he pushed himself to his feet.

“Are we actually going to be fighting today?” Shomio asked as he grabbed his bag from under his desk.

“Yup,” Gojo answered as he walked out the door, attention focused on Nanami as he stood and started after them. “What the hell are you doing?” he thought at Nanami as he led the three students and one fully trained sorcerer through the hallways and into the training gym. “Okay line up, we are going to be practicing sensing and dodging curse attacks,” he said turning back to face the kids who were standing in a very small line.

“So, we are not going to be fighting, you are just going to be attacking us and we are going to run around like headless chickens,”  Usanako the too honest girl from the day before said before her eyes widened again and she took a step back just as Nanami took a step forward, face set.

“Precisely,” Gojo answered brightly stepping to the side unconsciously, so the students weren’t between him and Nanami. “Knowing how to not die is a fundamental part of fighting,” he continued, grinning back at Shomio as he sighed very loudly. “That is probably why the fusty sorcerers always end up hating my students. I should maybe consider working on that,” he thought as he nodded at Shomio who mouthed very clearly, “precisely, he says,”

He ran them through the warmups, half his attention on Nanami and then started their class in how to dodge and block that he had a month to make sure they were proficient in so he could teach them how to kill the damned curses before the higher ups tossed them out to die on their first solo missions.

Nanami walked out of the room without a word a few minutes before class ended and Gojo tracked him down the hallways as he talked the exhausted kids who were flopped on the ground into doing their cool downs, wanted very much to collapse next to them and sleep. “I should make the third years suffer through a double classroom day,” he thought tiredly as he shifted his weight against the wall, breathing carefully quiet as he tried to catch his breath, then the clock struck the hour and he pushed himself off the wall, dropping his center of gravity slightly as his legs threatened to give out on his at the first step. “Feel free to stay here, but make sure you get to your next class on time,” he said and started towards the door, his shoulders relaxing at Nanami not being there anymore.

“Gojo?” the third kid asked, his voice quiet, and Gojo turned back to look at him, surprised, the kid hadn’t said a word all day yesterday.

“Yeah?” he asked, after a moment of silence, encouraging him to speak.

“Who was that man?” the kid asked head tilting ever so slightly towards the door that Nanami had disappeared out of.

Gojo paused, shifting his weight with a grin to buy time as he tried to figure out how he should answer the question, what he wanted these kids to think about Nanami. “Anything to get those kids out of there,” and “they are children,” echoed through his mind again and Nanami’s genuine disgust and rage at what the school… at what he was doing. Nanami had always been critical of the sorcery world, and now specifically how kids were treated. “I’ve let him down too many times, and he knows me to well to ever support me but he, at least so far, is hellbent on being angry every time a kid is hurt,” Gojo thought, breath catching for a moment as the guilt crushed his windpipe.

“He’s a friend from my school days,” he answered easily, hoping that he hadn’t just made a mistake that would leave one of them battered and broken from trusting the wrong person. “That it won’t lead to one of them being ground into dust under the weight of jujutsu sorcery,” he thought bitterly as he waved to the kids once more and then stepped out of the gym, and made his way towards the third years, who were probably going to be rowdy from their math classes.

He once again paused just outside the door, staring at Nanami’s cursed energy signature inside the classroom and sighed quietly, resigned to more staring, and then walked in before the gremlins inside the room noticed him standing there and decided to do something about it.

“Hello Sorcerers,” he said slamming the door open and making every single kid spin where they were standing, reaching for their various cursed objects, and cursed energy as Nanami, once again at the back of the class shoved himself to his feet, starting forward, reaching for his own weapon. “Great reaction time,” Gojo said easily, holding still as the sorcerers slowly relaxed, hands slipping from weapons as they breathed out. “Not rusty I see,” he continued, walking into the room and over to the desk when all of them, except Nanami who stood exactly where was, had relaxed.

“Gojo,” a young sorcerer sighed slumping back against their desk, the unfamiliar scrapes on their face a souvenir from the exorcism they had been assigned the night before.

“Yes, I am Gojo,” Gojo said easily as all the students settled into their desks. “Now that the reflex test is out of the way let’s get started,” he said and then paused to look at the four solemn faces, at least on of whom was usually a jokester.  “I have a special dispensation from the grand principle to teach you…” he paused sucking in a breath as he braced himself against the desk before he leaned in, he saw a couple eyes light up, the trusting ones, while another kid rolled his eyes and the last, the kid who’d had a brutal exorcism the night before just stared at him. “More math!” he said filling his tone with excitement as he shifted back against the desk so he could throw his hands up in the air in celebration without falling over.

The four kids in front of him paused and then groaned as one, slumping back in their seats. “Please tell me you’re joking,” a boy with a scar down his face said his head tilted back.

Gojo said nothing for a long moment, and then as the kids looked back at him, expressions mournful, he grinned at them. “Of course I’m joking, I hate math, instead you get to run around outside and try to kill each other,” he answered pressing a hand flat against the desk to combat the sudden dizzy spell. All but the sorcerer who’d fought the night before perked up at that information and Gojo grinned at them before he started the short book learning part of every day.

Nanami once again did nothing through the entire class, he just stared and then followed silently as Gojo led the third years to the outside practice yard and vanished a few seconds before class ended, preventing Gojo from speaking to him, again. “What the hell are you doing Nanami?”  Gojo thought as he took his file to Yaga’s office, grateful for the empty hallways and rooms leading there.

Gojo stepped into the hallway just outside Yaga’s office and paused half expecting Nanami to be waiting for him, but no one was there, except Yaga who was in his office, sitting at his desk as always. He stood still for a moment and then stepped forward and into the office without knocking.

“Gojo,” Yaga greeted looking up briefly before he pushed a stack of files towards Gojo. “Here are your new missions, should be only a few more weeks before everyone is ready to start again,” he said and turned back to his papers quickly.

Gojo walked the rest of the way into the room and dropped his own stack of files on top of an open file, making Yaga look up with a scowl, and revealing once again a long red scrape along Yaga’s neck.

“Why are you still killing curses? The school year started yesterday,” Gojo asked hand touching the stack of missions, that was apparently not enough.

“We aren’t passed the summer yet as you well know,” Yaga answered looking back down at his paper that looked an awful lot like a report for a successful exorcism.

Gojo felt himself sway, guilt dropping heavily onto his shoulders as he took a step back and sank into the chair. “I told you before, just give me the exorcisms that you don’t have people for,” Gojo said on an exhale before he caught himself and continued. “It’s not like they would be all that difficult for me.”

“I slept last night,” Yaga said without looking up from his papers, and Gojo paused, hand reaching up to touch the bandages over his eyes before he dropped it at the sudden topic change.

“Good for you,” he said watching the principal closely as he finally signed and then closed the file.

“Haribu reported that she had to create another cover story for you at three in the morning, and those are done,” Yaga said gesturing to the stack of reports that Gojo had left on the desk before he pulled a different file close to him. “So, you did not,” he said still looking down.

Gojo tensed for a moment before he forced himself to relax, when the hell had Yaga started paying so much attention to what he was doing.

“Why is Nanami sitting in on classes?” Gojo asked suddenly, deciding to let the previous conversation go in lieu of getting an honest reaction out of Yaga.

Yaga’s pen stopped moving and he looked up, eyebrows furrowed. “He is?” he asked glancing towards the window.

“Did all morning,” Gojo answered carelessly as he reached for the new mission files, his attention on Yaga.

“I have no idea,” Yaga said, face blank except for the small concern lines at the corners of his mouth. “I doubt it’s for the higher ups, but I’ll look into it.”

“Good,” Gojo said pushing himself to his feet, the clock telling him that it was time to get started on the exorcisms before he had to go teach his second years. “Please don’t let him be there,” he thought desperately as he turned to leave the room, remembering the anger in Nanami’s tone last week. He could not adequately provide them the support they would need with an observer. “Yeah that and you don’t want to see that hatred again,” he thought as he paused outside Yaga’s door, a hand pressed to his chest. Nanami had hated him for years, ever since he had let Haibara die but he couldn’t cope with the reminder, not now, not when he was still failing the same way he had back then.

Gojo stumbled to the side, resting his weight against the wall as he fought to regain control of his breathing once again. “Not here, not now,” he thought hissing as he caught sight of a sorcerer just out of sight around a bend, pushed himself off the wall and teleported away. He couldn’t manage what he should be able to, but he still had work to do.

Gojo walked back into the building sixty minutes later, head pounding and the world blurry even with six eyes, the cursed energy from the other sorcerers swirling together until he had to focus to differentiate them. He walked down the hallway steadily, shoulders held carefully so they didn’t communicate exhaustion. He smiled slightly when he saw the four familiar cursed energy signatures in the classroom, his second-year students were on time for once, and stepped forward into the classroom, shoving the door open with a hand that shook from exhaustion.

“Students!” he called as he stepped through the door, and three of the four turned to him, their cursed energy resolving as he moved closer. “Kakasa, Enasano, and Semura, where is…” he thought, trailing off as his attention snapped to the fourth person in the room, Nanami, it was still Nanami, who was now a sorcerer and apparently decided to visit after lunch. “And the fourth student died over two months ago,” Gojo thought gasping quietly as the memory slammed into him again.

“I see we have a visitor once again, have you introduced yourself?” he asked, walking across the room to lean against the wall, sliding his hands into his pockets.

“No,” Kakasa said shortly, her eyes one the ground and her shoulders slumped.

“Damn,” Gojo thought, studying her and then the other two, both of whom were standing in their versions of dejected. “Now is not the time for a fucking observer.”

“Why is he here?” Enasano asked straightening suddenly, his voice choked even as he reached for his weapon again, spinning towards Nanami, who shifted forward suddenly, attention sharpening, the other two following the motion seamlessly, also reaching for their weapons.

“Something happened over the weekend, he can’t stay, I need them to talk to me honestly,” Gojo thought and then shrugged slightly, the only person who could see it Nanami. “I don’t know, Nanami, why are you watching?” he asked, paused for half a second and then continued, “keep it child friendly now,” he finished, tilting his head, and grinning at the other man who stiffened abruptly, his scowl deepening.

“You don’t know?” Semura asked, turning their head slightly so they could see Gojo, as their cursed energy rippled.

                  Gojo didn’t answer the kids question, keeping his attention on Nanami, waiting for the answer, he needed to know what he was working with here, Nanami needed to leave, and the three kids weren’t looking beaten down anymore, three wins. Gojo forced his face to stay blank even as the thought flashed back through his mind, fear, and guilt sparking in its wake, beaten down, destroyed. “destroying every student they teach, crushing them so they’ll do as they are told,” Nanami’s words echoed through his mind, a damning counterpoint to the knowledge that these kids were hurting and it was his fault.

                  He clenched his teeth for a moment, before forcing his jaw to relax as he leaned more heavily on the wall, shifting so he could cross his legs at the ankle, a counterpoint to the moment of tension, and forced himself to concentrate on the moment. Nanami wasn’t the higher ups, but this still had the potential to go very badly.

                  “I am observing the classes, making sure that everything is in order,” Nanami said slowly, each word carefully considered as he met Enasano’s eyes.

                  “And what does that mean?” Enasano snapped, taking a step forward. “You here to make sure we are good? Make sure that we conform to your damned rules?” he finished, voice going up, and Nanami opened his mouth to respond but Enasano continued without giving him a chance to start. “Trust me you don’t have to do that, it’s already been taken care off and we’ll be good sorcerers from now out,” he said voice sharp.

                  Nanami’s face hardened and Gojo caught the flicker of motion as Nanami’s eyes, obscured by his glasses flicked to him.

                  Enasano sucked in a breath to continue and Gojo cut him off. “Enasano that’s enough,” he said quietly watching the other two that were starting to take small steps to the side, moving to flank Nanami.

                  Enasano snapped his mouth shut and turned back to him, eyes slightly too wide and teeth clenched, his knuckles white where they closed around his weapon.

                  “He’s not your enemy,” Gojo said quietly once all three kids were looking at him and then he turned his head very conspicuously to Nanami. “It’s time for you to go sorcerer, you are upsetting my class, and making it impossible to teach,” he said voice going formal, he was a special grade sorcerer of the Gojo clan, if he didn’t want someone in his classroom then they wouldn’t be there. Some part of him cringed at using his position, his power like a hammer to make someone do something, especially here, and with Nanami, but he couldn’t think through the fog, the only thing repeating through his mind that something was wrong with the students and Nanami couldn’t be there.

                  Nanami tilted his chin up in defiance, ever so slightly as the three students turned to stare at Gojo, surprise clear on their face. “I told you Gojo I came to observe, make sure everything is in order and I can’t do that from outside the classroom,” he said sharply, almost spitting Gojo’s name.

                  Gojo took a breath, and braced himself, ignoring the impact of Nanami’s words, he’d asked Nanami to leave, which meant that Nanami had to leave, and pushed himself off the wall, walking towards the other sorcerer whose hand twitched up to touch the knot of his tie.

                  “Why do you have to be one of the only damned sorcerers left who doesn’t either cower or fucking flatter when I push,” Gojo thought pushing the door to the hallway open sharply, also ignoring the ache that always accompanied that realization.

                  “Out you go, Nanami,” Gojo said turning back to the other man and gesturing towards the door, like showing him the way, as though he had forgotten where the exit was.

                  Nanami stared at the door and then looked back to Gojo. “No,” he said flatly.

                  “he’s a good fucking person, or at least he was before he left, and from what I’ve seen still is, so that means no force and no blackmail,” Gojo thought, squeezing his eyes tighter as he shifted to subtly rest a shoulder on the doorframe. “Nanami, leave I have a class to teach, these sorcerers still have things they need to know, and you are getting in the way,” he said keeping his voice almost flippant, watching it carefully so that it didn’t slip into threatening or pleading. “Please Nanami just leave, I can’t do this now and you can’t be here, please,” he thought as Nanami glanced over the kids who were still standing tensed, and spread out, halfway to flanking him and then sighed.

                  “Very well, for now, but I will be watching and,” he said meeting each students eyes for a moment. “if there is something wrong I’ll help,” he finished and then walked out, staring at Gojo as he walked past him, and missing Enasano’s snarl at his words.

                  Gojo froze by the door, chest tightening and pressure building in his head as his body felt light, pins and needles just under the skin as Nanami left. “they are children… on a mission you didn’t even know… doesn’t matter to you… and breaking children,” he grinned at the kids automatically, closing the door. “making sure that everything is in order… something wrong I’ll help,” Gojo crossed the room back to where he had been standing, his mind spinning on nothing as he focused on his breathing. Nanami thought… Nanami was… he slammed a wall on those thoughts, forcing the realization away, and his attention back on the kids who were once again standing in a line, exhaustion and grief that was far too old for them crossing their faces.

                  “Maybe he’s right…” he thought faintly, before forcing that thought away as well and taking a deep breath, forcing his chest to expand despite the steel bars wrapped around them, years of practice making it easy.

                  “Alright, you… kids tell me what’s going on,” he said, barely catching himself in time, he had been calling them ‘you four’ since their first month when they had first started doing everything together, including attempting to break his desk enough that when he leaned on it, it would break apart under him and send him to the ground.

                  The three students flinched under the unspoken words but didn’t respond, their eyes dropping back to the floor. “Nothing,” Kakasa said shortly, without consulting the other two, a clear tell of a rehearsed statement.

                  Gojo studied them for a moment more, checked the clock and then decided that whatever this was, was probably more important than classroom study today, so they could just switch it this time. “Okay have a seat, and you can give me a topic so I can start guessing,” he said brightly shifting to sit on the floor, and pressing a thumb into his leg surreptitiously to stave off the sudden wave of exhaustion that threatened to pull him under the moment he did.

                  “Sitting may have been a small miscalculation,” he thought as the three students slowly settled in front of him, but some of the tension was gone from their shoulders already so he’d count it as a win, even as the darkness of unconsciousness haunted him.

                  “You’ll be guessing a long time, since there is nothing wrong,” Kakasa said after all three of them were seated, Semura and Enasano on either side of her.

                  “For fuck’s sake kid, just tell me,” was what he wanted to say but he caught himself before the exhaustion could make him lose his temper. “Ok so no topic, let’s see,” he said resting his chin on his hand and leaning slightly towards them. “Is it class? Feeling stressed from the coursework?” he asked with a grin as he tilted his head towards Enasano, who always reacted dramatically to any suggestion that he was having trouble with something, and sure enough he was speaking before Gojo even finished his sentence.

                  “No, the schoolwork is fine, too easy if anything,” Enasano said shifting forward onto his knees as he spoke.

“Enasano,” Semura sighed dropping  their head into their hand at his words, as Kakasa cursed quietly.

“Ok, ok,” Gojo said lifting his hands, “so I need to give you harder work, good to know.” He paused and let his face settle into something more serious. “Is someone harassing you? A fellow student, or sorcerer?”

“No,” Kakasa said straightening, “we’d kill them and leave their body on your doorstep,” she said with a sharp grin.

“Like a cat,” Gojo thought with grim amusement as he grinned back at her. “Just make sure you watch the blood. I have neighbors and they would complain,” he said easily, shifting his weight to the side slightly. “So, it’s your punishment,” he said quietly letting his smile slip away. He knew he was right when the smile slid of Kakasa’s face and she looked away, Semura and Enasano’s gaze dropping back to the ground. “What’s going on? It was going well last week.”

No one said anything for a long moment and then Semura looked up, forehead creased in pain. “They thanked us,” they said voice cracking as they shot a look over at Enasano who slumped a little farther. “We let their most of their family die and they thanked us because we managed to save their friend at the very end, barely,” they looked back down at the ground, hands twining together.

“They should hate us, we weren’t fast enough,” Enasano whispered, barely audible as Kakasa looked away, shifting like she wanted to leave. “We are never good enough,” he continued, speaking through his teeth as he looked back up.

“Hey,” Gojo said, as the other two of the wolf pack flinched away from Enasano words. “I told you before, it’s not your fault and saving someone is always a good thing, always a victory. You can’t save everyone,” he finished, the familiar refrain, slipping out without thought.

“Maybe not but they shouldn’t fucking thank us for doing our damned jobs,” Semura said without looking up, his voice low and fierce.

“You damned kids,” Gojo thought forcing his expression to remain the same. “You saved their friend,” was all he said aloud and then raising his voice slightly to cut Enasano off. “You went into a dangerous deadly situation with a terrifying entity that they didn’t even know existed and saved their friend. Yes they lost their family, but at least they didn’t lose their family, and their friend,” he finished, leaning forward again. “Remember what you did do, not what you couldn’t.”

“You would have saved them all,” Kakasa said, sharp, even though she still wouldn’t look up.

“Maybe,” Gojo said, the weight of that particular guilt pressing him into the ground, he could never save everyone. “But I wasn’t there, and you managed to save someone. That isn’t so common that you should ignore it.”

Kakasa nodded but didn’t say anything in response and after nearly five minutes of silence Gojo pushed himself to his feet. “No point in letting them dwell,” he thought, resting a hand lightly against the wall to regain his balance. “Alright baby sorcerers, I was told by a reliable source that your school isn’t hard enough, so today I will try to rectify that,” he said with a grin as Enasano hissed through his teeth, already turning an apologetic smile on his friends as he lifted his hands. “So, you should prepare to be so exhausted that you’ll need to be carried to your beds.”

Three hours later and Gojo was dancing out the door with a grin and a jaunty wave back at the three kids who were laying splayed across the floor in exhaustion, gasping for breath. “I’ll see you all tomorrow, and I’ll try to make sure it isn’t too easy,” he said and then, laughing, closed the door on their groans.

 The smile slid of his face once the door was closed, and he watched Nanami walk down a hallway, just out of sight, he’d been sitting outside the classroom for hours and now he left. Gojo rubbed a hand over his chest where it still felt tight and then sighed and walked away from the door starting towards the breakroom where he could get some coffee that might stave off the way he felt like the floor was a trampoline.

His friend from school thought that he, personally, was a danger to his students, that he would hurt them, and needed to be watched. He laughed a little reaching up to press his fingers into his eyes as he walked, the empty hallway allowing him to drop his mask for a moment. “Well, that’s something I’m going to have to live with,” he thought bitterly, his head aching with exhaustion, “but hell it’s not too far a stretch, he already knew that I should handle all the curses when I was still in school, and then he comes back, and sorcerers are still dying.” Gojo stopped in the hallway, abruptly nauseous as the framework he had built his life on shivered, as he remembered Haibara, remembered Suguru who he had let slip away, who he’d let help shoulder the burden that should have only ever been his.

Gojo pushed the thoughts, the memories, and the crushing grief that threatened to send him to his knees even four years later, away, forcing himself to straighten, his body feeling like a puppet controlled by strings, and teleported away from the school, and to the first curse he would kill. He couldn’t change the past, but he could do this, he could always do this, killing curses, putting himself between them and any people was what he was for.

Two hours and eleven curse later, Gojo stood staring blankly at the ground where the purple curse blood was long since evaporated, mind blank, and body completely still as he stared, his bandages balled in one hand clenched at his side, and then five minutes later an alarm split the air, making him jump and spin, hands going up as he reached for cursed energy that flowed slowly to his command, instead of the normal torrent that took all his concentration to hold at bay.

He scanned the area rapidly, shifting his attention close and far away, searching for the threat, for the curse, for the sorcerer, or the friend turned enemy. The alarm rung through the air again, and he hissed, his hand dropping to his pocket where his phone vibrated. He slid his phone out of his pocket, stopped the alarm and then stared at the screen, trying to remember why he had set it, what it was for. He started at the time as it changed, one minute passing, the generic wallpaper that Tsumiki had picked for staring back at him, and then he jolted, remembering.

“Tsumiki, Megumi,” he thought frantically, looking down at his uniform, covered in fucking cement dust, and then back at the clock, almost late. “Damnit not being late is more important than making sure they think I’m invulnerable,”  he thought, rubbing a harsh hand down his face, before he teleported back into the car, started it and drove it the two blocks to their school, arriving just in time to cringe as the bell shrilled through air, making his head pound, and then the kids came streaming out the door.

He closed his eyes, watching for Megumi and Tsumiki with six eyes as he scrabbled in the console for his sunglasses that would block out the bright late afternoon sunlight. He caught sight of his kids just as he his hand closed around the glasses and he slid them on his face, blinking his eyes open as Tsumiki opened the door with a tired smile, and Megumi opened his with a scowl.

“Miki, Gumi,” Gojo said brightly as soon as they had slid into the car. “How was your day at school?” he asked, watching them buckle their seats before he started the car.

Tsumiki opened her mouth, glanced over at Megumi, and then turned to stare out the window without a word as Megumi glared at her. Gojo watched the interaction and then slid a hand under his glasses to rub his eyes as he slowed to stop at the light. “Come on you two, what happened?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice light, and the exhaustion from slipping into it.

Tsumiki glanced at him briefly and then away again saying nothing as her shoulders slumped inwards, her hands playing with the strap of her backpack.”

"Megumi?” Gojo asked, trying to prompt the kid into talking, but he only continued to stare out the window, hands clenching into fists in his lap. Gojo watched them for a moment more and then nodded slightly, giving up for now, he wasn’t going to try and force them to tell him. “Ok, we can talk about whatever it is when you’re ready. Anything specific you want for dinner?” he asked, trying to prompt them to at least let whatever it had happened go until they were willing to face it, but Tsumiki only shrugged, and Megumi just kept staring straight out the window.

“Whatever this is obviously has something to do with Megumi,” he thought hands tightening on the wheel, as he made the turn onto their street. “I should never have let him go to school without telling me why he didn’t want to in the first place, should have been paying more attention,” he thought grinding his teeth, he’d thought that he had learned that lesson four years ago but now here it was again.

Gojo slowed to a stop in front of his building, turned the car off and slid out of his seat. He stumbled a step and then caught himself, turning back towards the car to grab Tsumiki’s backpack out of her hands before she could put it on her shoulder. “I’ve got it Miki,” he said quietly, resting a light hand on her shoulder when she looked up at him, jaw set, and then watched with alarm as her eyes widened and filled with tears.

“Miki,” he said, dropping to a knee in front of her, hand tightening slightly on her shoulder. “What’s wrong kid?” he asked as Megumi slammed the door on the other side of the car and started towards the door, no one nearby.

“Nothing,” Tsumiki said quickly, shaking her head as she wiped away the tears. “Thank you for carrying my backpack,” she said with a shaky smile as she started after her brother towards the door.

“What the hell happened in that school?” he thought, shoulders tense, and heart pounding in his chest, the last time Tsumiki had cried was when she had woken up from a nightmare where their fucking parents had abandoned them leaving Megumi in her care and he had died in the night, and now this, over a backpack. He pushed himself to his feet, swayed slightly and then followed the two kids into their home.

They had already disappeared into a room when he walked in the door, so Gojo sighed quietly, took his shoes off, dropped Tsumiki’s backpack on the table and went to pull the food out of the fridge, laying it out on the table with plates. He sat down on a chair and leaned back, letting his eyes slide closed as he waited for his kids to come back out, and sleep ambushed him before long.

“Satoru?” a quiet voice cut through the heavy blanket of sleep, and Gojo dragged himself from the darkness of sleep, focusing on that familiar voice.

“’umiki?” he asked eyes flicking open to force himself the rest of the way awake as he focused on her.

Tsumiki looked down at the ground, and then turned to look at Megumi who was a step behind her, before turning back to Gojo. “You should sleep, it’s getting late,” she said carefully and Gojo sat up, watching the two of them as he checked the clock, not late enough that they needed to be in bed, and he needed to be leaving.

“I’m okay, sit, you need to eat,” he said gesturing to the table where the food was… gone, the sink was still wet and the cupboard near it was open slightly.

“We just finished,” Tsumiki said, glancing back at Megumi again.

“Good,” Gojo said, ignoring the sharp prick of guilt under his sternum, as he watched Megumi who stood turned away, his head down still. “Sit down, both of you. I’ll get us all some ice cream and you can tell me what happened today,” he said abruptly, pushing himself to his feet, the slowly darkening bruise on Megumi’s face meaning that he couldn’t wait for them to come to him.

“Nothing happened!” Megumi snapped, head coming up for the first time since he had gotten in the car, the bruise down the left side of his face clear now. “How many times do we have to tell you that?”

“Megumi…” Gojo sighed, before trailing off and giving up on the ice cream. “Kid there is a dark purple bruise on your face, and neither of you have been able to meet my eyes since you got back. Something happened, and you need to tell me what it was so that I can handle it,” he said meeting Megumi’s eyes.

Megumi immediately dropped his head again, tilting his head to hide the bruise, as Tsumiki shifted, uncomfortable as she watched her brother.

“C’mon kid,” he said stepping forward and dropping to a knee so he could meet Megumi’s eyes. “Tell me what happened,” he finished, and then when Megumi turned his head to look away again, and Tsumiki’s shoulders slumped more as she curled in on herself, he continued. “Ok, you don’t have to tell me now, but I’m calling your school in the morning and if they don’t know, you’ll have to tell me tomorrow.”

Megumi’s head snapped at that, and he glared at Gojo, jaw clenched, so Gojo softened his voice. “You got hurt Gumi, I can’t let that go, you know that,” he said softly, and Megumi’s eyes went wide.

“I…” Megumi said and trailed off, eyes going to Tsumiki who only scowled back at him, so he turned back to Gojo. “I got into a fight,” he said flatly, his tiny shoulders squaring as Tsumiki’s finally relaxed.

“With another student?” Gojo asked, eyes steady on Megumi even as he watched Tsumiki as well.

“Yes,” Megumi answered voice sharp on that one word before he fell silent.

“Why?” Gojo asked and then watched as Tsumiki tensed and Megumi looked away again, jaw clenching as he drew in on himself. What the hell was going on? “Hey Megumi, it’s okay, what’s going on?” he asked shifting slightly as he forced himself not to reach out, not when they were this jumpy.

“It doesn’t matter,” Megumi muttered, turning further away and Gojo caught the sigh before it could escape.

“just tell him,” Tsumiki said suddenly, her voice sharp, and exhausted, and her eyes dry again. Gojo turned back towards her as Megumi answered her.

“No! We talked about this! I will not and you promised,” he said turning to Tsumiki, his shoulders straightening as his hands came up in front of himself in a defensive gesture.

“Yeah well it’s not working now is it?” she asked with a sharp gesture towards Gojo that Megumi followed with his eyes before he slumped.

“What?” Gojo thought, fighting not to tense, what wasn’t working? What was he doing wrong? “What is going on?” he asked after a moment of silence where Megumi scowled at Tsumiki, worry tightening his throat.

Megumi sighed and dropped his hands turning back to Gojo but still avoiding eye contact.

“They said that our parents must not want us around with summer camp and then the after-school clubs,” Tsumiki said flatly her voice a forced calm and Gojo flinched back, exhaustion making his reflexes to slow to catch the reaction before they could see.

“That is not true,” he started, shifting forward again, looking between the two of them, meeting their eyes.

“I know,” Megumi cut in still looking away with a scowl. “That’s why I punched them,” he said without turning and Gojo turned towards Tsumiki. Tsumiki who still sometimes felt like she was only an afterthought tacked onto Megumi, that she was only barely tolerated baggage that had to come along with the important person, with the sorcerer.

“Tsumiki?” he asked quietly, and she met his eyes for a moment, nodded and then looked away. “Alright. I’ll talk to your teachers tomorrow, make sure they do something about this,” he said, slowly wrapping an arm around Tsumiki’s shoulders to pull her into a hug before reaching out to place a steady hand on Megumi’s shoulder, wishing that Megumi would let him hug him. “But I need you two to know that I love you and always want you around, It just isn’t always safe,” he said quietly, fiercely, grip tightening slightly before he forced himself to loosen it as Tsumiki leaned into him and Megumi looked away but didn’t move away.

They stood there for a long moment and then when Megumi started to shift Gojo stood slowly, leaving his arm around Tsumiki. “Let’s go watch a movie before you need to be in bed for school tomorrow,” he said ushering them to the couch. “Do either of you want ice cream?” he asked right before he sat down. “I distinctly recall planning to have some, but it never appeared… oddly.”

There was a short moment of silence and then Tsumiki started laughing, pulling away to slump onto the couch almost on top of her brother, who her laughter jostled enough that he couldn’t help but smile.

Gojo watched them for a moment, smiling slightly, and then mock scowled. “What’s this laughter now? It was a genuine question, and I’ll even get it since the magic ice cream deliverer is apparently broken,” he said with an affronted look up at the ceiling, and then watched as Tsumiki who had been starting to calm down devolved back into peals of laughter.

He watched them for a minute more and then disappeared back into the kitchen getting both the kids ice cream, and himself actual food.

“Okay what are we watching?” he asked sitting on the couch once the ice cream was delivered.

“You mean what are we watching and what are you sleeping through?” Megumi asked grumpily as he turned on the tv.

“Sure,” Gojo answered easily, leaning back into the couch, and eating quickly as he fought the sleep that tried to claim him. Megumi shook his head silently, and then turned to argue with Tsumiki, like always, and Gojo closed his eyes letting the sound wash over him. They were safe for now and he still had a few more hours until he had to abandon them again so that he could go kill curses.

Gojo set Megumi in his bed gently, and pulled the blankets up over him, resting a brief hand on his head before he turned and walked out the door, checking the baby monitor on his way out, steps uneven from the exhaustion that the couple hours of sleep he had gotten on the couch could barely touch. He crossed the dark house silently, until he reached his desk where he locked his file when his kids were home, and then he pulled the drawer full of assigned not finished exorcisms out and flipped through them quickly, refreshing the details, and stalling, in the warmth and safety of his home before he locked the drawer and teleported to the first exorcism site, his hands already shaking.

Gojo paused just inside the classroom he used to teleport to the school, hand on the door as he steeled himself. Then he pushed the door open and started down the hallway, shoulders relaxed, and shaking hands hidden inside his pockets as he whistled quietly. He turned the corner and focused on his classroom and his shoulders slumped slightly as sure enough Nanami’s cursed energy signature was in the room again, this time leaning against the wall at the side of the room with the door.

Gojo took a breath, jaw clenching for a moment before he forced his shoulders to relax and stepped forward, opening the door suddenly, and silently. He walked into the room with a grin, attention partially on Nanami even as he looked towards the two students who were sitting on the quiet student, Imagisa’s desk and chatting, Imagisa sitting in her chair, listening silently.

“Where are my good students?” Gojo asked, voice aghast as he moved into the room and towards the desk. He turned his head to stare at the empty desks and then around as though he was searching for them. “Where? They are always sitting neatly at their desk,” he said, grinning as the two students hurried to their seats. A smile that slipped slightly when Nanami shifted against the wall, hands tightening into fists.

“They aren’t defensible,” Usanako said as she settled into her chair looking innocently forward as Shomio cackled at her answer. Gojo paused and turned to her, eyebrows going up as she hung onto her innocent expression.

“Yeah teacher,” Shomio said twisting in his chair to squint at the door and then the windows. “They are probably in the worst place in the room if we were to be attacked, I would have thought you would know that and approve,” he said with a grin as he threw himself backward in his chair, arm going over the backrest.

Imagisa sighed and closed her notebook before dropping her head on her desk, hands going up around it.

Gojo turned his head slowly to give them the impression that they were being studied one by one and then he grinned slowly at them, delighting as the smug look on Shomio’s face slid away. “Well, if that’s how it is, my experts then I suppose you wouldn’t mind rearranging the classroom to be as defensible as possible. Mmm?” he said keeping the amusement off his face until Imagisa let out a long groan, lifted her head a little and then dropped it back down again, and then he laughed watching as Nanami slowly leaned back against the wall. “I kid, we have too much bor… ahem I mean very dry important shit to go over today for that,” Gojo said after a long moment as he reached back and grabbed the papers he had put together for their lesson plan.

 Imagisa’s head came up quickly as she reached for her notebook and Usanako breathed an almost silent sigh of relief, and Gojo continued, head down. “Guess we’ll have to switch to using your surroundings to your advantage since you are so interested,” he said watching as Imagisa dropped her head again, pressing her fingers into her temples and the other two droop in their chairs, regret clear on their faces, and grinned choosing not to tell them that that had already been the plan for the day, and the rest of the week, he only had fourteen days left to ensure that they wouldn’t die on their first solo mission.

Gojo stood back and watched Shomio and Imagisa chase Usanako through the empty section of the building, tracking their cursed energy as they darted through rooms, launching mock attacks at her, making a note of each of their mistakes, and good ideas. Nanami following them silently, thankfully staying far enough away to not interfere in the exercise.

Gojo checked the time and then pushed off the wall where he had been leaning and started towards them, bracing himself as he stepped into the hallway, and then he saw Shomio pull on too much cursed energy for his next attack, Usanako not moving fast enough to evade or block the strike, which would usually be fine but this time would lead to serious injuries and Gojo teleported in the next step appearing between them, letting his infinity turn the attack aside as Usanako stumbled to the side a moment too late, Imagisa lunge forward, too far away to do anything, Shomio stumble away from his sudden appearance, and Nanami run into the room hand halfway to his weapon.

Gojo grabbed Shomio’s shoulder, steadying him as he shifted to let the attack hit the wall behind him now that Usanako was out of the way, the attack denting the stone wall and then sending spiderweb cracks out.

“I’m so sorry!” Shomio said immediately, voice going up as he rushed forward, towards Usanako who was still on the ground, staring at the damaged stone where she had been standing a moment ago. “I didn’t mean to, are you okay?” he asked dropping to the ground next to her as Gojo stepped to the side slightly, focused on Nanami who slowly dropped his hand, eyes still locked on Usanako who was sitting up slowly, obviously uninjured. “Sorry, so sorry,” Shomio said, hand outstretched partway to her and hanging in the air.

“Easy Shomio,” Gojo said, finally turning away from Nanami and towards his students. “No harm done. You okay Usanako?” he asked and Usanako nodded sharply and stood, reaching up to touch her uniform shirt on the shoulder.

“I’m fine,” she said to Gojo and then turned to Shomio who had stood with her. “It was just a training accident slowpoke, I’m going to be a sorcerer it would take more than that to hurt me,” she said grinning with all her teeth at Shomio, whose face slowly cleared as he straightened as well.

“Oh yeah?” Shomio asked voice going taunting as he gestured towards the damaged wall. “I think that wall says that I am going to be a sorcerer, you couldn’t even dodge.”

“Oh my god!” Imagisa snapped, suddenly loud, throwing her hands up in the air, and making the other two jump. “You two are impossible, you were almost killed if our teacher hadn’t somehow appeared,” she said gesturing towards Usanako. “and you, you were just worried that you had hurt her,” she said spinning towards Shomio who had started to smirk. “Neither of you are going to be sorcerers because I going to kill you both in your sleep,” she finished snarling at them both.

“Ookay,” Gojo said lifting his hands as he raised his voice catching everyone’s attention. “Now that we have devolved to death threats in record time I think you all get the rest of the class off. Please don’t kill them,” he said turning towards Imagisa, and tensing the muscles along his spine to keep from swaying, the sudden teleportation exhausting. Imagisa blinked at that and then nodded and looked away, going quiet again. “Good, now Shomio,” he said turning to face the kid. “You need to work on that attack, it is a good attack, sure to be effective but you need to be able to control it,” he said, carefully not reacting to Nanami’s scrutiny as he walked farther into the room.

Shomio nodded at him, head down and Gojo waved them all out of the room and watched them leave, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and lit it up checking the time, fifteen minutes until the next class.

Nanami turned and walked out of the room a few seconds behind the kids and Gojo backed up and then slumped against the wall, rubbing a hand down his face, careful not to disturb the bandages that were shielding his eyes. Nanami really was planning to watch every class and escort the students out of his presence. “Like I’m a curse that would devour them,” he thought, and, since there was no one around to see and he had fifteen blissful minutes free, he slid down the wall to sit on the floor, letting his head fall back to rest against the wall.

He sat still for a long moment, basking in the blissful feeling of being still for a moment and then reached for his phone, maybe he should call Megumi, make sure the principle actually did what he had promised, then he hesitated, hand touching the phone. No, that would only annoy Megumi, he’d have to wait until after school to check in. “If they’ll tell me this time,” he thought tiredly, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

Gojo shifted to get more comfortable his head still resting on the wall as he inspected the dent in the wall and the doorway. That had been altogether too close, there had been seconds between him making it there on time and Usanako being hurt. “Just any other time then, a second of hesitation and people die,” he thought before shoving himself to his feet and starting out of the room and towards where he would meet the third years, thinking about that never led anywhere productive.

Gojo’s hand tightened around the cup of very hot coffee as he paused outside the classroom for the fifth time in two days, Nanami once again inside, leaning against the wall closest to the doors and not even halfway down the wall. Gojo swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and then pushed the door open, he wasn’t going to complain because a sorcerer was going out of his way to make sure kids were okay unless it interfered in their training, but that resolve did nothing to alleviate the ache behind his ribcage every time Nanami was waiting in one of his classroom.

“My students!” he called stepping into the room, and all four of the third-year students turned away from their close scrutiny of Nanami to look at him. The kid he’d been worried about the day before looked better, less pale and the scrapes on his face almost healed.

“Gojo!” a sorcerer with neon green hair parroted back, pitch and cadence an exact match even if the word wasn’t.

“Yeah, yeah, you are all happy to see me, have a seat and we can get started on the boring part of the day,” Gojo answered grinning at the green haired student as he shrugged a little and tossed himself back into a seat, wincing slightly at the movement. Gojo paused a moment, checking the list of exorcism that were assigned to his students last night, nothing for Sugise, he should have been off until the day after tomorrow. He filed the wince away and waved the other three students to their seats. They went warily, eyes flicking to Nanami regularly.

“Please ignore the lurker at the… side? Of the classroom,” Gojo said turning away and walking to the chalkboard. “He is not the most dangerous thing about this class,” he continued, reaching up to write on the chalkboard before he paused, third year was generally when he taught as true a lesson on the politics of the society they were part of, and how to keep themselves safe as he could, in direct contradiction of the previous course every sorcerer learned in first year, but with Nanami here… He sighed and studied Nanami, his back still to the class. “There is no way he’ll leave this class without extraordinary measures,” Gojo thought flipping the chalk through his fingers absently. He could probably get away with teaching it later, they were still students and would be for the rest of the year so there wasn’t much rush, when he had convinced Nanami that he wouldn’t hurt fucking kids, his own damned students. “If he ever is convinced,” Gojo thought, breath catching at the ache in his chest, as his memory flashed back to the second-year kids standing dejected in the middle of their classroom, eyes empty, the shadows that followed every single one of the sorcerers in the room now.

“Alright,” he said flipping the chalk towards the chalkboard and carefully not reacting when it fell on the ground instead, hands too shaky now to manage throws like that without concentration. “I’ve changed my mind, the lurker is the most dangerous thing you will face in this classroom today because we are leaving right now and going outside into the sunshine because it is far too beautiful to be cooped up inside,” he said opening his arms wide as all his students except Sugise looked suddenly pleased at the revelation that they weren’t faced with more time in chairs.

Miro, the kid with the scar on his face raised a hand and Gojo paused, staring at him, no one raised their hands after the first year. “Yeass Miro?” he asked drawing out the word carefully.

“What are we training with today?” he asked, his voice polite and even, and Gojo studied him more carefully, Sasu and Airada turning to look at him as will brows furrowed.

Nothing untoward in his cursed energy, but Sugise wasn’t reacting. “I was going to say we take a nap, but what was your suggestion?” he asked, tilting his head to give the illusion of meeting Miro’s eyes, and ignoring the way Nanami’s stare sharpened abruptly into a scowl before he managed to wipe all expression form his face again.

“Drills, no partner,” Miro answered immediately, not looking away even when Airada groaned, reaching down to touch the mace at her feet.

“Very well, drills no partners it is,” Gojo answered easily, only grinning when Sasu sighed muttering to himself.

“Of course, we are doing them today, when I am actually well rested for once,” Sasu muttered but stood easily enough when Gojo turned to lead them out of the classroom.

The hour finally changed over, signalling the end of the class and Gojo them all towards himself, his attention shying away from Nanami who still stood near the students, his back to them, eyes on Gojo. “Alright good work, everyone, a few more months and you’ll all be ready to be full sorcerers” Gojo said, making sure to nod to each of them. “Now everyone except for Sugise go have your lunch.”

Sasu and Airada left easily touching a sympathetic hand to Sugise’s shoulder as they did, but Miro hesitated until Sugise nodded at him, his shoulders squared and tense, and then he followed them with his own, longer squeeze.

“Lurkers too,” Gojo said when Nanami didn’t move to follow them.

Nanami glanced around the empty training yard once and then straightened, taking a careful breath that would be invisible to everyone that wasn’t Gojo. “I am not leaving. You can have your conversation with me here,” he said, flatly, hands open at his sides.

Gojo turned his head towards Nanami even though he could see him perfectly fucking fine without doing it before turning back to Sugise. “Do you want him here for this conversation?” he asked, deciding to at least figure out if he needed to fight this battle.

Sugise dropped his head slightly and then shrugged. “I don’t even know why I’m here, so I don’t care,” he said hands slipping into his pockets.

“You are injured,” Gojo said keeping his voice quiet so that Nanami, still some feet away wouldn’t hear him. “You didn’t have any exorcisms recently and you are injured, what happened?” he asked and watched as Sugise stiffened glancing back an Nanami, hand reaching absently for his cursed weapon.

“I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want him here,” Sugise said, voice strong even as he looked away his hair falling down to just above where it would cover his eyes.

Gojo watched as Nanami stiffened, his jaw going tight. “That means you need to leave,” he told Nanami, his voice calm as he slid his hands into his pockets.

“I am not leaving,” Nanami reiterated, voice steady and cadence oddly regular as he shifted his stance.

An argument was not going to help so Gojo turned back to the kid. “Well, a private conversation is probably better to have in an office anyway,” he said easily, with a quick grin that the kid did not mirror. “But you really need to stop this in Nanami, you keep fucking pushing like this and I’m going to need to make another damned display, so the fucking higher ups don’t get any ideas,” Gojo thought gesturing Sugise to lead the way off the training field.

They only got a couple of steps away when Nanami started after them walking quickly to catch up and Gojo sighed, stopped moving, calling Sugise’s name to prompt him to do the same and then drew a teleportation circle and moved them both to his office.

Gojo held still for a moment as the dizziness passed and then moved away from Sugise who was looking around in with alarm his eyes wide. “Easy kid, it’s just my office, doors over there,” he said with a gesture towards the door as he went and sat on the desk.

Sugise glanced towards the door and then back towards Gojo before his eyes narrowed, and he flopped back in the chair across from the desk. “Why do you always sit on the desk?” he asked voice going tired as his shoulders slumped.

“It’s weird,” Gojo answered simply, searching the school for Nanami’s cursed energy for a moment before setting the ache of loss aside and focusing on the conversation.

“Okay kid what’s going on?” he asked, leaning forward slightly and Sugise sighed and looked away.

“I knew you’d notice. I tried to hide it, but I figured that would last about as long as it took you to get in the door,” Sugise said sounding tired as he slumped in the chair. “I got in a fight with another sorcerer. It was just fists but I still got in a fight with a full sorcerer, and…” he looked away hands twitching where they were resting on the arm rest. “I know how that ends,” he finished quietly looking down.

Gojo hesitated, sliding his hands into his pockets, not quite sure what Sugise meant. “And how does that end?” he asked carefully, watching the kid carefully as he slid farther down in his chair.

Sugise looked up, and then straightened, hands tightening into fists. “The same way it did with the wolf pack,” he said, voice challenging before he looked away again and continued softer. “I understand why.”

Gojo flinched before he could stop himself, that damned punishment again, it wasn’t supposed to ruin everything. “What was the fight about?” he asked keeping his voice neutral, even though he wanted nothing more than to shake the kid.

“I am not going to tell you,” Sugise answered evenly without looking up. “And I am not going to tell you who they were.”

“They?” Gojo asked leaning forward slightly, “this fight was with more than one full sorcerer?” he asked running through the list of sorcerers that were around at the moment. How many damned sorcerers were willing to fight students anyways?

Sugise winced a little at his words and finally looked up. “Yeah,” he said slowly before looking away again. “yes there was more than one of them, but I still won’t tell you who they were.”

“Why?” Gojo asked shifting backwards to sit more completely on the desk behind him as he checked on Nanami who was still far enough away but was walking rapidly in his direction.

“Because then you will go and ask them and they would eventually tell you,” Sugise said with a half-smile as he tilted his head up. “That is something we learned in our first year,” he said still smiling.

Gojo inspected him carefully, and then sighed quietly and gave up, resolving to ask Yaga about sorcerers with injuries not consistent with their exorcism, Jujutsu Tech graduates were always annoyingly, unusually stubborn for reasons that no one could quite figure out. “Fine, if you don’t want to tell me I guess I don’t get to know,” he said lightly, sliding off the desk. “But since I haven’t heard about it from anyone we can pretend it never happened,” he continued, grinning when Sugise blinked and sat up straighter in his chair. “How badly did they hurt you?” he asked remembering the wince and then Miro suggesting drills.

“I gave as good as I got,” the kid said an offended look crossing his face as he tapped the pocket where he kept his own cursed tools.

“I’m sure,” Gojo agreed amiably even though he wasn’t Sugise was good but most of the full sorcerers were much better, and if there had been more than one then he would be  impressed if Sugise had managed to land more than two blows even without cursed energy. “But that’s not really what I’m worried about now, I need to know how badly they hurt you so I can send you to Dr Shoko.” he said easily moving to lean against the wall next to the door as Nanami turned into the hallway just before his own, moving at almost a sprint.

“Just a few broken ribs,” Sugise said turning to look at him as he shrugged slightly.

“Broken ribs,” Gojo repeated dryly before he shook his head with a laugh, these damned kids were going to drive him insane, between their insistence on taking blame for everything, their apparent inability to stay out of fights, and now their unconcern about painful, dangerous injuries. “Well, you are going to Shoko, visit her after your last class, she should be in her office then,” he said keeping his voice light even as Nanami took the last turn into his hallway so fast that he almost hit the wall.

“Thank you,” Sugise said quietly standing up. “And I’m sorry, I know I should only be fighting curses.”

Gojo shrugged at him as he reached for the door. “You won’t tell me why you were fighting but I trust your judgement if you thought it was important then it probably was,” he said easily and then watched baffled as Sugise grinned, straightening to his full height, and lifting his chin before he turned to go. “And kid,” Gojo called as the green haired sorcerer opened the door, making him pause. “Tell me if somethings wrong,” he finished and Sugise nodded slightly and walked out, leaving the door open.

Gojo crossed back over to the desk, watching through the wall as Nanami stopped abruptly in front of him and lifted his hand slightly to reach out, only for Sugise to flinch back, and he dropped his hand. Gojo watched them stand there for a moment and then when Nanami shifted to let the student pass he stood and walked out into the hallway, closing his office door behind himself.

Nanami stood in the middle of the hallway watching Sugise walk away but he turned slowly to face Gojo as he walked out of his office, his shoulders tense.

“Nanami,” Gojo greeted lightly crossing the hallway towards Nanami who shifted slightly to follow his movements, breathing just a bit too fast, from the run.

“Gojo,” Nanami said in return and then after a moment of hesitation. “What was that about?”

“Just needed to talk to him about something,” Gojo answered, walking past Nanami and down the hallway, Nanami following a moment later.

They walked in silence for a few steps and Gojo slid his hands into his pockets, forcing his shoulders to stay relaxed even as muscles down his back tensed. He realized abruptly that he couldn’t talk to Nanami, not this man who had known him before Suguru had… who had realized the same thing that Suguru had but had walked away, decided to be done with Jujutsu instead of killing people who just wanted to live.

“Did you need something?” he asked, stopping suddenly, and turning towards Nanami who turned slightly, hand reaching for his tie again before he dropped his hand and straightened.

“No, nothing” Nanami answered, voice almost polite, a direct counterpoint to every other time they had spoken since that damned phone call two and a half months ago.

“So, you just want to walk with me?” Gojo asked, grinning at the other man, hands clenched in his pockets.

Nanami tensed at his words and then shook his head. “No, I was just leaving,” he said carefully before he started walking away.

Gojo let the smile drop off his face and watched as Nanami walked away and sighed quietly, reaching up to press his fingers into his eyes. This… Nanami was an unnecessary complication that was making everything fucking harder than it needed to be.

He touched a hand to his phone again and then pulled it roughly away and shook his head, starting down the hallway again, he needed to get his new files and ask Yaga about the sorcerers who had fought with a student.

-----

Gojo kicked the corpse of the special grade curse lightly to make sure it was still dead and then backed up until he could drop down on a clean patch of floor, gasping for breath. That had been an unexpectedly difficult fight. He flexed his hands that ached from the constant use and then dropped them, letting his head hang for a moment, just a moment, he had seven more curses and only two hours left before he had to be home for when his kids woke up.

He sighed quietly and pushed to his feet, resting a hand on the wall for balance since there wasn’t anyone around to see and shook his head slightly to try and clear the fog, then stumbling as it upset his balance the world going fuzzy.

Gojo lurched forward pressing his shoulder against the wall and breathed slowly, bracing himself to teleport, but before he could his phone rang startling him into spinning again and almost falling on his ass. “That would be a great look. Come one come all look at the Strongest Sorcerer too weak to stay on his damned feet! Felled by a ringing phone,” Gojo thought bitterly as he grabbed his phone with a shaking hand so he could see who was calling.

“Yaga, damn,” he hissed when he saw the name lit up across the screen, and then he swiped and held it to his ear. “What’s going on?” he asked, knowing that if it couldn’t be good if Yaga was calling him now when he was killing curses.

“There’s been a meeting called, all clan heads principles and the higher ups,” Yaga answered voice serious. “You need to come back to the school.”

“All of them?” Gojo asked straightening and turning towards the school, focusing, nothing untoward that he could see from here. “What’s going on?” he asked running through what had happened recently, and realizing abruptly that he hadn’t been paying enough attention, to focused on Nanami and killing curses to fill in for the resting sorcerers and he’d forgotten the rest of the shit he had to do. “Damnit, damnit, damnit,” he cursed silently, and vehemently as cold prickles rushed through his body, leaving him feeling lightheaded, what had he missed this time? “Please don’t let it be a fucking political power move, I don’t know enough to counter it,” he thought panic making his breathing go ragged.

“I don’t know all of it, you know they keep me out of the loop, but I know it has to do with all the reports being wrong. You told me about some of them, but I also spoke to Kaozuka who assured me that the reports were accurate,” Yaga said over the quiet sound of a drawer closing.

“Ok,” Gojo said pressing his fingers into his eyes, he had no idea why windows getting the curse grade wrong would be an issue that would require the heads of the clans and the higher ups in addition to the principles.  “Where are we meeting? I need to get the kids a sitter but then I can be there,” he said glancing down at himself and mentally adding a change of clothes, these ones were covered in mud, and it wouldn’t do to look like he had actually been working.

“The school, where else,” Yaga said voice dry, “you know we always meet here.”

“Well, what do you expect we all know it’s better than anywhere else we could meet,” Gojo said lightly teleporting to his house and then paused to let his phone connect to the new tower.

“Right, can you try not to antagonize Gakuganji this time? My ears are still ringing from the last time you managed to piss him off,” Yaga said sounding more amused than chiding.

“No promises, and I need to go now,” Gojo said flippantly and then waited a moment to make sure that there wasn’t anything else Yaga wanted to say, and then he ended the call and turned away to change.

Twenty minutes later Gojo was changed and walking into Jujutsu tech, content that the kids would be looked after and gotten to school on time. He grinned as he walked through the front door, jittery from the caffeine he had guzzled before coming, and nodded to a sorcerer as he walked past.

Gojo caught sight of Nanami’s cursed energy in the hallway, and almost paused, the sudden urge to just skip the hallway and teleport into the room catching him between one step and the next, but he forced himself to continue through the door, teleporting would not send the right message here.

Gojo nodded to a sorcerer who had a folder in hand, obviously leaving for an assignment, and kept walking as he studied Nanami who was standing against the hallway wall, suit dirt stained and both hands around a cup that steamed slightly. Gojo slid his hands into his pockets and forced his shoulders to relax as he walked past Nanami, careful not to react even Nanami glanced up to look over the room, eyes sliding over people until they reached Gojo and then the other sorcerer straightened suddenly, one hand tightening around his cup as he dropped the other one, his shoulders going tense.

Gojo refused to hesitate, to stop even when Nanami shifted forward so he was no longer leaning on the wall, he couldn’t afford the kind of conversations Nanami liked to have right now. Gojo crossed through the room and into the next hallway and then down that emptier hallway, and then paused outside the room that held the most influential people in jujutsu society. He took a careful breath, checked his posture, and then stepped forward and opened the door, stepping through it with little fanfare. Might as well start solemn until he knew what this was.

“Gojo finally,” Gakuganji said, voice sharp as soon as Gojo walked in the door, and there went Yaga’s request not to antagonize him.

“I actually have important things to do,” Gojo answered easily crossing the room to sit down in a chair next to Yaga, attention skimming over the six dark screens that already had people hiding behind them, Zenin, Kamo, Gakuganji, and Yaga. “Well? Why are we here?” Gojo asked leaning forward on his chair, head tilted towards the screens.

“As you can see we are still waiting in the inspector general,” Zenin said with a gesture towards the screens and the normal scowl. Gojo had never counted the man as an ally, but he had been an avid enemy since he had taken Megumi from him.

Gojo sighed and leaned back crossing his leg over his knee. “Zenin, my friend, they have been here since I walked into the room. I am quite sure you at least are aware that they aren’t actually light,” Gojo said calmly, tilting his head slightly towards Gakuganji, and very carefully not smiling when the old man scowled at the implication.

 Zenin glanced at the screens momentarily and then back towards Gojo his face blank just as the lights came on behind the screens, the shadows there proving his point.

“And so it begins,” Gojo thought keeping his body language relaxed and open as the other four people turned towards the screens.

The room was silent for a long moment as everyone watched each other and then the man behind the screen on the far right, the man who always broke first in Gojo’s meetings with the higher ups spoke. “We have called you all here to deal with a dire issue that was brought to our attention recently,” he said voice pitched to carry through the room, and Gojo suppressed a sigh, this was going to be a long meeting if this dramatic asshole was going to be leading it.

The room fell silent once more as they all waited for him to explain what the dire issue was, to say something that they didn’t all already know. It stayed silent for almost five minutes, no one willing to break the silence, and be the first to speak, the first to admit that they didn’t know what was going on, and then finally the same man who had spoken before spoke again. “Apparently most of the window reports that sorcerers have been receiving have been wrong,” he said, voice serious as he fiddled with a pen where Gojo was certain it was out of sight of anyone else.

“So it is about the windows,” Gojo thought, holding still as relief rushed through him, loosening the muscles down his spine. This was something he knew about and was probably not the prelude to some machination that he would have to answer.

“I had heard that sorcerers were finding curses harder than they should be but that is common. Are we sure that there is an actual issue here?” Zenin asked, his posture perfect even as he leaned back in his chair, tension leaving his body.

“He didn’t know either,”  Gojo thought, attention slipping to the room a hallway away where several sorcerers where beginning to gather before he dragged it back to the room. “Neither of them knew, Gakuganji did of course but the clan heads didn’t” he thought, Kamo’s pause between one breath and the next as he leaned forward slightly giving him away.

“More than three fourths of the reports have been wrong,” Gojo said casually, head turned away from the table as he leaned back in his chair, his attention still on the people at the table.

“Since when?” Kamo asked, voice even and steady, his finger tapping silently on his armrest where it was hidden under the table.

“And why is this the first we have heard of this?” Zenin asked, throwing Gojo a suspicious look.

“It was left with the principle to resolve, as are their responsibility along with the sorcerers they assign the exorcisms to,” the man behind the screen to the left of the first speaker, the person who always sat behind him said, just a hint of censure in his tone.

“We were looking into them, I spoke to Kaozuka, and they assured me that the reports their people were sending in were correct, and then when I showed him the reports we received they showed them to their people and they claimed to have never turned them in,” Yaga said his voice even as he pressed his hands onto the folder sitting in front of him on the table.

Gojo shifted to sit up straighter in the chair as he turned towards Yaga. “Was that mess with the two curses that were controlling people one of them?” he asked letting interest slip into his tone, even as he kept his back touching the backrest. Yaga’s eyes widened behind his glasses as he glanced around the table, but Gojo was more focused on the way the two clan heads brows furrowed slightly but didn’t react and the way the person in the middle on the left shifted slightly at his words, the way he drew in a silent, sharp breath.

“No,” Yaga said carefully, studying Gojo carefully as he spoke. “That was one where the window agreed that that was her report, but the grade was wrong because she got an order insisting that she give the curse that grade since she had no evidence that it wasn’t,” Yaga said, turning back to the room as he finished speaking.

“Mmh, should probably look into that,” Gojo said relaxing back into his chair as he turned to stare fixedly at the man behind the screen in the middle for a moment before he looked away again.

“What is this?” Kamo asked, his eyes flicking over every face he could see even though his head stayed still.

“Never mind that or whatever nonsense Gojo is talking about, why are we here if it is just an internal matter for the principles,” Zenin asked eyes flicking over Yaga for a moment before he glanced at Gakuganji briefly before he turned back to the higher ups’ screens and continued. “Not that this isn’t extremely important, and the accuracy of the windows reports vital, but why are we here in the middle of the night?”

“Geto Suguru is involved, this is his doing,” the man one screen from the right end said, voice serious, as he leaned forward.

Gojo’s breath caught in his throat, and he held very still, fighting not to react to the shard of pain that stabbed ice through his chest as fear froze his lungs as the other people in the room turned to stare at him. Suguru… “No, it can’t be him, I can’t fight him, can’t kill him,” Gojo thought, his heart racing and his shoulders relaxed. “Him again?” he asked, after a short pause, enough time that it would seem rushed. “Like the time he was sneaking into the building and drinking all the milk or the time he was supposedly luring people to their deaths with a haunted house?” he asked, head tilting slightly as the person at the right end of the row flushed angrily at his words. “because I have to say there was not Geto there but the police sure were confused when their murderer showed up with a bow on their front steps,” he finished and watched as both Zenin and the person who usually sat behind him during his meetings with the higher ups clenched their jaw at his flippancy.

“No, it is not like those other times,” the man behind the screen said through gritted teeth. “This is real, and altering the windows reports is obviously an attempt to weaken us before his attack.”

Gojo laughed at that and shifted sideways in his seat to relax farther. “Sure, it is, I personally think the haunted house more likely considering his professed goals but,” Gojo shrugged slightly.

“Of course you would say that,” Zenin said grinning sharp and nasty as he leaned forward. “You are his friend after all.”

Gojo turned to him and raised an eyebrow at that comment fingertips going cold at the insinuation. “Do you really want to go over this again? I feel like we have better things to do but if you really want to do it again I am more than willing,” he said letting his smile go sharp, that had been Zenin’s argument since he had refused to kill Geto, up until Gojo had very publicly started a competition over who had saved more people in the recent days, weeks, and then months until Zenin had let it go, concerned about the way it had allowed Gojo’s popularity and influence to rise.

“No,” Zenin said looking away. “I only meant that you if you were to simply kill the traitor we wouldn’t be having these conversations.”

“That aside,” the man in the middle on the right, who Gojo usually stood facing, cut in. “We do still have to do something about the reports being wrong and investigate the concern that Geto did do this in preparation for war,” he said calmly and fell silent to let his words linger in the air.

 Yaga ran his fingers down the folder in front of him and spoke. “Geto Suguru is not in the country, and neither are any of his known associates,” he said carefully, looking forwards steadily. “And while that doesn’t mean he can’t be behind them it does make it unlikely, and I am in the midst of conducting an investigation,” he said head turning to speak to each of the screens. Gojo breathed in slowly, careful to keep it silent, Suguru couldn’t be behind it, he wasn’t in the country.

“Really?” Zenin asked, raising a skeptical brow and what evidence do we have that you even know what we are talking about let alone that you are capable of handling it?” he asked leaning forward and turning to face Yaga completely.

“Well, he knew about it when you were still thinking three out of every four curses being reported wrong was normal,” Gojo answered easily flashing a grin at Zenin just to watch the scowl slip back across his face as he sat back. “Yaga’s one of mine, hands off,” Gojo thought letting his smile go sharp for a moment as Zenin backed off and the room dropped into silence.

“Right,” Yaga said slowly carefully not looking at Gojo. “If the special grade curse user and his followers aren’t behind it then I can handle it,” he said into the silence, and then fell silent letting the room slip back into an awkward combative silence.

“Is that all?” Kamo asked after a long moment, robes whispering as he shifted.

“Yes,” the man behind the far-right screen said, voice slightly awkward under the uncertainty. “You are all free to go,”

“Good,” Kamo said standing from his seat. “I shall leave this in your hands Yaga,” he said and then turned away just as the lights behind the screens went out.

Gojo dropped his leg and sat up leaning forward across the table towards Zenin, and ignoring Yaga mummering his name, spoke. “That doesn’t mean that they are gone, they are still there you just can’t see them,” he said with a grin, meeting the man’s eyes, the open insult a direct response to the man’s insinuation that Gojo had betrayed them for Geto, a matter that they had resolved a few years ago.

Zenin scowled at him and stood. “I hope the Zenin boy you are training his doing well,” he said calmly and then turned and walked out the door.

Gojo tilted his head down so that his glasses wouldn’t obscure his eyes and then rolled them, before he stood, nodded to Yaga, flashed Gakuganji a secretive smile, that made him shift, and then walked out the door. That had been easier than he had expected, and he could probably make it home in time for breakfast with the kids.

He was halfway down the hallway, attention split between the higher ups still sitting in the room behind their screens and the sorcerers who were still standing in a loose circle in the next room, when Yaga called his name and he stopped to let him catch up.

“Gojo you do know that if this is Geto which it very well could end up being you will have to kill him this time?” Yaga asked quietly as he fell into step next to him.

“He’s out of the country,” Gojo answered, keeping his pace consistent, neither speeding up or slowing down, either would give away far too much.

“Yes but we both know that he is more than capable of subterfuge. Gojo you are probably the only person who could kill him. I need to know that if it becomes necessary you can do it,” Yaga said, frowning deeply as he looked straight ahead.

“Of course I can,” Gojo answered flippantly, not quite capable of pulling his gaze off the door in front of him, even if it did nothing to prevent him from seeing the skeptical look on Yaga’s face or the memory of his best friend walking away, telling him to kill him if he wanted to. Love turned to hatred because he hadn’t been enough, hadn’t been able to do enough, hadn’t cared enough.

Gojo swallowed hard against the emotions, and tried to steel himself against what could be coming, against the memories that he used to cherish and now could barely look at. “Of course I can do it, I will do anything that is necessary,” he thought even though the thought of Geto dead by his hands, his body splayed across the ground, utterly destroyed or at peace, never able to move, laugh or smile ever again made him nauseous.

“Ok,” Yaga said quietly, dropping his head slightly. “I’m sorry G-“ he started before Gojo cut him off.

“Head up Yaga, the old man is coming out of the room,” he said quietly and watched as Yaga straightened just as Gakuganji left the room and turned down the hallway going the opposite direction as them, and then they were stepping into the room full of sorcerers and there was no more time to talk.

“Yaga,” an older sorcerer said the second Yaga came into the room and walked over quickly. “I had something I wanted to talk to you about,” he said and Gojo grinned at the principle and then abandoned him to the conversation, crossing the room quickly, he had seven exorcisms and an hour to do them in.

Gojo was halfway across the room when Nanami walked back into the room from a different hallway and he came to abrupt stop, the blood soaking into the side of Nanami’s suit around a gash in the cloth catching his attention even though he could see almost immediately that the skin was intact again. He studied Nanami for a moment more before Nanami’s head came up sharply and he scanned the room, his eyes landing on Gojo quickly, and he tensed once more, taking a step back for better balance.

Gojo looked away from Nanami and continued through the room and out into the cool fall air, yanking his glasses off and wrapping the bandages that he yanked out of his pocket around his eyes roughly, abruptly exhausted again, the caffeine wearing off far before it was supposed to. Nanami hurt fighting a curse that he should have killed, and Geto possibly signing his own death warrant. “Maybe I should go and see if Shoko is going to fucking hate me,”  he thought, closing his eyes, and pulling the bandages tight, grimacing as they pressed wet against his face. Seven curses, one hour and then school, that’s all he needed to be for the next little bit.

Gojo stepped into the classroom quietly, closing the door behind himself as the three students who were once again gathered around Imagisa’s desk, and Nanami turned to look at him. “Have a seat, “ he said waving a hand towards the chairs as the three students stood slowly, exchanging glances and Nanami pushed up off the wall, face blank.

“Gojo?” Usanako asked shoulders curving in as she walked to her seat, eyes never leaving him.

Gojo leaned back against the desk, suppressing a grimace as he felt the way his uniform crackled as the dried blood from the last exorcism cracked, and studying her and then the rest of his class who were watching him warily. “What’s up?” he asked shifting to settle on top of the desk, forcing his shoulders to stay straight, tensed against the pull of exhaustion.

“I…” Usanako started before trailing off, her eyes flicking over to Shomio who shrugged slightly in response.

“Good non-verbal communication,” Gojo thought fuzzily as he stayed silent, waiting for the rest of his student’s answer.

“Nothing,” Usanako said finally dropping her eyes to the floor as she sat in her seat and opened her notebook.

Gojo stayed silent for a moment considering them, watching the way Usanako’s breath sped up, the way Shomio shifted half off his seat and Imagisa tensed hand in her pocket. What the hell was going on? Nanami stepped forward, moving farther away from the wall, his hands clenched at his side and breathing controlled. “Did he do this? Warn the students that wouldn’t know better?” Gojo thought, the anger that would usually flare through him barely stirring at the thought, dampened by the exhaustion.

“Come on students, I don’t get a snappy greeting? I feel like I’m in the doghouse,” Gojo said, leaning forward, hands braced on the desk. “I was half expecting to come in here today and find the desk moved,” he continued when no one answered, ignoring the weight that settled on his shoulders and pressed down, trying to force him to bend.

“You didn’t care that it wasn’t defensive yesterday, we figured you’d want to keep being careless,” Imagisa said, without looking up, the muscle in the arm with the hand in her pocket tensing.

Nanami sucked in a sharp breath as he shifted forward, hand reaching up to adjust his tie, as Gojo grinned at her answer, forcing the exhausted muscles in his face to comply. “That was exceptionally rude, and I’m not being careless,” Gojo said forcing his voice to go light and flippant as he wished for a cup of extra strength caffeine, his chest aching anew.

All three of the students breathed a quiet sigh of relief the tension in their shoulders unwinding at his answer. Gojo let his attention slip to Nanami for a moment as he realized, with resignation that he would need to corner him and ask if he had been telling these students tales, because that reaction had been more that worrying.

“Right because you can’t be hurt,” Shomio said, head tilting slightly as he smiled slightly, head tilting up so he could look at Gojo.

Gojo tensed, the reaction to immediate to stop, and then forced his shoulders to relax as he grinned at the kid, careful to make sure the smile showed amusement as he tried desperately to shove the memories down. The feeling of cold steel dragging through his skin, the terror of realization, the slick, the unstoppable endless surge of uncontrollable cursed energy, the cool wetness of his own blood clinging as he pushed himself to his feet, alive when he should have died.

Gojo’s next breath came in shaky as he fought to keep his body language relaxed, non-confrontational, his focus on the fully trained sorcerer, someone he liked, only a few steps away. It had been a miracle, and Geto, that he hadn’t killed more than one person that day.

“Exactly, but it is an exercise I should have you do, after we go over all the ways to tell curse grades apart,” he said, speaking on autopilot, his awareness briefly overwhelming even with bandages on, before he managed to narrow his focus again, just in time to see Nanami’s eyes widening even as his brows furrowed.

Shomio groaned and slumped forward in his chair, apparently recovered from his bout of shyness. “That’s boring, can’t we just go run around trying to attack each other?” he asked chin on his desk.

“No,” Gojo said, hands tightening on the desk as he managed to shove the memories away again. “Telling curse grades apart is a vital part of staying alive as a sorcerer and that is the first unit.”

“But aren’t there people that do that?” Usanako asked quietly, shifting slightly in her chair as she did.

“Yes, but there are factors that only a sorcerer can assess so the reports can be wrong,” Gojo said easily, the lie familiar on his tongue after three years.

Shomio sighed at that answer, but dutifully sat back up in his seat, pulling his notebook close to himself.

Gojo grinned at that, turning his head so that it was clear that he was looking at all of them “Good, and after you can run around trying to kill each other,” he said and then watched as all three of them sat a little straighter in their seats as Nanami back up to the wall again, hand on the side not facing Gojo still in a fist. Gojo forced his attention away from Nanami, focusing instead on teaching the class. Nanami’s tension, and that clenched fist impossible to look away from, just like everything else in the room, and highlighted like a flashing light as his chest tightened once again,  the hurt and guilt from that shifting in his chest, making it hard to breath before the numb exhaustion smothered them.

Gojo kept closer to the students through that days training, wanting to be close in case something went wrong again, fighting the urge to back out of the room, to find somewhere to hide. A feeling that was caused by having Nanami only a couple steps away, his eyes sharp, as he jerked forward every time Gojo moved for hours. Then finally the class was over, no mishaps and Nanami disappeared out the door only a couple steps ahead of Gojo.

Gojo followed Nanami down the hallway towards the next class in silence until they were out of earshot, and then he took a quick fortifying breath, steeling himself. “Nanami, wait a moment,” Gojo called, forcing his voice to come out calm and even, as the hallway shifted under his feet, and Nanami paused mid step and turned around.

“Gojo, what can I do for you?” Nanami asked, his voice perfectly polite once again, hands loose at his sides.

“Were you talking to my first-year students?” Gojo asked in response to Nanami’s question, watching as the other man tensed at the question.

“No, I didn’t,” Nanami answered carefully, tilting his head as he pivoted slightly. “Why are you asking?”

Gojo studied Nanami for a moment skin buzzing as he fought through the fog smothering his thoughts, and then he nodded and continued down the hallway, willing to believe him. “There was something odd that I was hoping I could attribute to you,” Gojo answered as his focus wavered for a moment, and every single grain of dirt on the floor, and every sorcerer in the building came into sharp relief for a moment as he passed Nanami. Who started walking again a moment later without saying a word.

Gojo stepped through the already open door of the third-year classroom to see Sasu and Airada standing side by side in front of Sugise a couple steps too close, Airada’s face still showed the healing scrapes from her exorcism the night before, and Miro a couple steps to the side an almost smug look on his face.

Nanami stepped past him and into the room, his back scraping against the doorframe as he stayed as far from Gojo as he could, even though Gojo pulled his infinity close enough to his skin that Nanami could pass easily.

“What’s going on here?” Gojo asked as the four students turned to face him, aborting the move to grab Nanami as he stepped towards them.

“Nothing,” Sasu said evenly, looking away from Gojo as he did, a clear indication of a lie that he didn’t have with anyone else.

“Really?” Gojo asked turning his head away from them as he moved towards the desk. “Because it looks like you were backing Sugise into a corner and this isn’t training,” he said, shifting back to lean against the desk, hands in his pockets, and part of his attention on Nanami who had turned to look at him, at his words. He didn’t think there was anything wrong here, these students usually got along, and bullies didn’t last until the third year, but it was always better to make sure.

“Really,” Sugise said pushing between Sasu and Airada whose faces were sliding into a scowl, a half-smile on his face.

Gojo tilted his head, studying all of them for a moment, and with Sugise standing shoulder to shoulder with Sasu and Airada, and the grin on Miro’s face he shrugged, deciding to believe them. “Alright then, have a seat and we’ll get started,” he said turning to walk to the chalkboard, to begin the lesson that would take the place on the political one for now. “Lurker please go lurk at the edges of the room again,” he said as he started writing on the board, Sugise, and Miro moved to their seats easily but Sasu and Airada still stood where they had been, their faces wiped of expression. What happened? Gojo ran through the last few minutes, feeling like his brain was working through molasses, every thought slow and murky, not quite forming.

“They were annoyed when I walked in, but Sasu at least seemed fine,” he thought fuzzily, his hand tightening around the chalk, as his heartrate went up. His students only went blank-faced in danger, or when there was an enemy, never in class. What was he missing? What was going on, who was going to die? He turned back to face the room, leaving the writing half-finished as he turned his head towards the two who weren’t sitting, ignoring the way Nanami stepped forward off the wall in one abrupt motion and moved forward.

“What’s going on you two?” Gojo asked again, ”what did you see?” he asked silently, breathing in, and pulling his cursed energy with it, if there was a threat here it would be difficult to fight it without hurting anyone else, especially now. There was a reason he went on exorcisms alone this late into the season.

“Nothing,” Sasu said tightly moving forward, Airada a step behind him, moving the way they always did when they were paired together for a fight, and then Nanami was between them, facing Gojo, hands at his sides and breathing fast.

Gojo paused throwing his focus outwards, letting the overwhelming world flood in for a moment to check, to make sure, but there was still nothing, no threat. “Ok, see me after class,” he said finally, turning back to the chalkboard, and watching their faces draw into a frown for a moment before they went blank and sat down. “Lurker go back to lurking,” Gojo said again keeping his voice casual easily after his years of practice, and then when Nanami slowly moved back to the wall he started teaching.

An hour and forty-five minutes later Gojo finally called a halt to what was probably one the worst training sessions he had witnessed with these students in a long time. With Sasu and Airada so stiff and careful that they weren’t blocking attacks that they should have been able to do in their sleep by now, and refusing to attack even when not doing so made them lose the fight, and in a real fight would have killed them. 

“Ok we are done, Miro, Sugise go cool off somewhere over there,” he said with a vague gesture to the left. “Lurker you go with them, make sure they don’t skip it,” he continued, turning to face Sasu and Airada, ignoring the looks Miro and Sugise shot each other, their two classmates, and then finally the very skeptical look they turned on Nanami, who shockingly was refusing to move.

“Fucks sake Nanami I’m not going to hurt them, but there is obviously something wrong here,” Gojo thought, controlling his expression with effort, the irritation and hurt finally enough to shift the blanket of numbness that had settled over him sometime after the fourth curse he had killed in that last hour.

He gave Nanami a minute to decide to walk away, while everyone stared at everyone else, and then when he gave no indication that he was planning to leave, in fact he shifted his stance to make him easier to move, then he sighed quietly and spoke without turning around. “Ok, Sugise, Miro, new task for you two, please move the lurker off in that general direction,” he said with another vague gesture, “don’t destroy the field. Nanami, do not hurt my students,” he finished turning slightly to face Nanami for a moment before he turned away, ignoring the wide-eyed look on Miro and Sugise’s faces that slowly slid to a predatory grin as they moved closer, Nanami backing up, his hands up. He was more concerned about the way the other two student’s didn’t react to his words, no shock, excitement, or disappointment at missing out on fighting a full sorcerer, only the blank face that meant fear.

“Follow me,” Gojo said, walking away from the mess he had created with a small wave. “We don’t want to get caught in the blast wave,” he continued easily, watching as Sasu and Airada followed him, their heads down, and as Miro and Sugise stepped between them and Nanami when he stepped forward, cursed energy already shifting in them.

Gojo walked until they were far enough away that no one could hear them, and they wouldn’t be hit by a stray attack, and then he turned to face his two students. “Ok, now what is going on?” he asked once more sliding his hands in his pockets as he tilted his head, watching them both closely as Sugise launched his first attack that Nanami blocked.

“Nothing,” Sasu repeated, and then fell silent, looking straight ahead, and Airada, when Gojo looked at her said nothing at all.

“You could barely fight in that last class,” Gojo said dropping to the ground as an explosion rocked the field.

“Everything is fine,” Airada said, face still blank even as she folded down to sit on the ground across from him as Sasu stayed standing.

Gojo’s heartrate picked up again, as a wave of cold slid down his back, lighting up every nerve, he knew this, had seen this before, but why? What had happened in that classroom? “Airada,” Gojo said with a sigh leaning back on his hands, “you know you can’t lie to me, just tell me, and maybe I can help.”

“You can’t help this,” Sasu snapped hands tightening into fists at his sides as he took a step back. “This is something that we have to fix on our own,” he continued, voice forcibly calm, shaking under the strain of keeping it that way. Airada hunching forward in front of him as she clasped her hands together.

“There isn’t much I can’t do,” Gojo answered easily before pausing as Nanami finally attacked, responding to a particularly sneaky, vicious attack from Miro, and then continued when the attack was blocked easily enough that it was clear that the full, should be at least grade two sorcerer was holding back. “So why don’t you tell me, and we’ll see.”

“Why don’t you tell us what we did to make you think we were bullies, who would hurt our own classmate, our friend,” Airada said, her voice calm, ignoring Sasu stepping forward, snapping her name.

“What?” Gojo thought blankly, trying to remember if he had implied that, when he had… and then he stopped and sighed quietly, remembering again that no one was privy to the inside of his head. “I don’t,” he said flatly, shifting to sit up straight again. He knew the ache of that, the pain, confusion, and guilt that came from realizing someone thought you’d hurt someone for no reason.

“Yeah? Then what was that in the classroom?” Sasu asked, voice sharp even as they took a step back again, not willing to loom aggressively. Gojo grinned at the move, these two would never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it but… “We were cornering him? What you thought we would attack him?” Sasu continued, voice rising.

“We just wanted to know why he had to go to Dr Shoko, who attacked him,” Airada cut in her voice still calm, somehow, even though she was speaking through gritted teeth, leaning forward.

“You two are obviously not bullies, but I had to check, teacher’s job,” Gojo said leaning back again as Sasu blinked, brows furrowing, and Airada’s face relaxed. Gojo shrugged a little as they studied him. “He got in a fight and then I walked into a classroom with you two backing him into a wall, I had to make sure?” he paused for a moment studying their slightly disbelieving faces, although the fact that he could read them again meant they were listening. “I would have pushed for an explanation if I thought either of you was capable of that,” Gojo finished, exhaustion making his head heavy all of a sudden, he wanted to be anywhere but here, wanted to be back in his home preferably asleep, with his kids just a room away.

Sasu and Airada’s face crumpled with relief as Sasu dropped to the ground, breath rushing out of him. “Oh,” Airada said quietly. Gojo gave them a moment to recover and then as the ground shook again he pushed himself to his feet, grinning down at them.

“Let’s go break that up before they destroy the whole place. So irresponsible the lot of them, can’t be left alone for more than five minutes before they start a fight,” he said easily as they got to their feet as well.

“What?” Sasu asked, eyes widening in shock.

“You told them to do that,” Airada said shaking her head.

“Did I?” Gojo asked as he started towards the fight. “I don’t recall that,” he continued over his shoulder as the students followed him.

“You never do,” Sasu grumbled as Airada just stared, but both of their emotions were once again easy to see so Gojo counted it as a victory.

“All right you’re all done, good job you two,” Gojo called as he walked into range as Nanami spun away from Sugise’s attack. Miro stepped back immediately, braced for an attack, his eyes still on Sugise as he finished his last attack and then stepped back as well.

“Lurker?” Gojo asked as Nanami didn’t turn to face him at his words, instead standing looking straight ahead a scowl on his face for just a second before it vanished back into blankness, his shoulders tense. Gojo watched him for a moment and then turned back to the students. “Go on, back to cooling off, your impromptu training is over,” he said easily with a wave to the side and Nanami shifted slightly to watch Sasu and Airada walk past his eyes sharp.

Gojo slid his phone out of his pocket with one hand and lit up the screen checking the time as he watched his students start their warmups, and then he turned and walked away, he had to get a report from Yaga on everything he had learned about the windows, now that it might be Geto, and he needed to get the list of curses for that day. Gojo watched the students and Nanami as he walked, watched Nanami stand for a moment longer watching Sasu and Airada as they moved smoothly through their exercises, before he crouched down to start a conversation, then Gojo switched his attention forward again as he walked in the door of the building, shoving Nanami out of his mind for now. Luckily Nanami wasn’t a well-known sorcerer who could sway opinions just yet, and the third-year students were more than capable of dealing with him.

-----

Gojo drained his third cup of coffee in two drinks and then rinsed the cup and left it on the counter as he walked out of the room, the caffeine making his hands shake. He crossed through the hallways quickly, choosing his path to avoid as many people as he could, the exhaustion hanging on his shoulders making his steps heavier than they should be.

It only took him a few minutes to reach Yaga’s office, which was, oddly, empty of even Yaga. He paused, staring through the door at the empty room for a few seconds, stalled by his absence. “What?” he thought fuzzily, reaching up to shift his blindfold as he searched the room behind him. “Where is he?” He stood there staring at the empty room for far too long and then he jolted and reached for his phone, muttering invectives under his breath as he pulled it out of his pocket.

“Oh, I don’t know what to do, however shall I talk to him? Better get a fucking carrier pigeon,” he thought viciously as he leaned back against the wall and tapped on Yaga’s contact info on his phone before lifting it to his ear and wincing as the ringing cut through his head.

“Gojo?” Yaga said, voice coming through the phone muffled as a door closed in the background.

“You busy?” Gojo asked letting his posture slouch as he rested his head back against the wall, a numbing blanket sweeping through his body as he let it relax, the sluggish weight making him want to slump the rest of the way to the ground and just sleep.

“Yes, I’m busy,” Yaga said, sighing through the words, the sudden sound of his voice jolting Gojo awake again. “I’m always busy, now did you need something, or did you just call to waste my time?” Yaga asked irritably.

 Gojo paused at the snappish question, tempted to offer flippancy in payment, then he shifted the speaker away from his mouth and sighed, slouching farther down the wall before he caught himself and straightened. “I finished the last of the assigned exorcisms last night, now I can just go find curses to kill but I figured you might want a say in that?” he said dryly his voice rising at the end the only indication it was a question.

There was a long pause on the other side of the line and then Yaga sighed quietly. “Yes, I do. Go ahead and break into my office, there is a pile folders sitting on the side of the desk. Those are yours,” he said just as a muffled voice over the phone said Yaga’s name. “I have to go, is there anything else?” he asked, and then continued before Gojo could answer, “anything important?”

“There are several things, but they can wait,” Gojo answered and then, because he couldn’t help himself, even with exhaustion making his tongue feel clumsy. “Well, I was wondering about your favourite colour,” he said lightly, and then grinned at the long silence followed by the sharp tone that signaled the end of the call. “Green then,” Gojo muttered somewhat giddily, the caffeine finally doing its job, and teleported into Yaga’s office, grabbed the folders, and then teleported back out. He stumbled a step before he caught himself and walked back out of the room whistling loudly, as he opened and read the files as he walked.

He paused halfway down the hallway towards the dusty classroom where he left his files during the day, and turned towards what was usually an empty room but now held a painfully familiar cursed energy signature, reclining slightly off the ground, probably on a couch. Gojo stepped forward, reaching for the door, and then stopped, hesitating, Nanami had been clear about what he thought of him over the last couple of weeks. Gojo glanced at the clock, and slid a thumb down the folders, counting them. “I could try to…” he trailed off and took a step back, what was there to fix, to explain, what could he even say or do to change Nanami’s mind, he wasn’t wrong, everything he had said had been the truth. Gojo caught the faintest hint of antiseptic and clenched his teeth “shouldn’t he be able to handle them all alone by now,” the words whispered though his mind and he flinched, taking another step away from the door. No there was nothing to fix, nothing to explain, nothing to rebuild. Gojo hunched his shoulders, and he turned away starting down the hallways, Suguru’s voice taunting him as he walked, “are you only your power? To create a world of only jujutsu sorcerers, Jujutsu exists to protect non-jujutsu sorcerers. Kill me if you want, that would have a point to.”

Gojo shoved the door to the dusty classroom open and stumbled inside, dropping the pile of folders on the nearest horizontal surface, and then leant against the desk, head hanging between his shoulders as he tried to breathe, each breath a ragged gasp. “Suguru, if you did this, if you…”  he sucked in a sharp breath that scraped across his throat as he curled in on himself. He couldn’t, he should have… “Kill me if you want,” “Suguru,” he whispered quietly, reaching up with one hand to claw at his uniform shirt, the red blood from last night’s exorcism flaking off onto his hand, as he tried to breathe. How many sorcerers had died in recent days because the fucking curse grades weren’t right, how many sorcerers had he killed because he couldn’t bring himself to kill a curse user?

Gojo scoffed at the thought forcing himself upright. “How many people are dying right now because of this?” he thought adjusting his uniform with sharp jerks, shoving the emotions away, he’d do his job, kill as many curses as he could and then learn the names of the people he had failed. Gojo teleported out of the room, and to the site of the first exorcism that didn’t require anything but showing up and killing it.

He managed to hunt down and kill four curses before his alarm went off just as he was killing the fifth, startling him out of the exhausted trance that he had been fighting in, and he teleported back to the school immediately, clothes caked in purple blood that could never hurt him and was slowly dissipating. He pulled the five folders out of his stack and dropped them to the side before he turned and walked out of the room, moving smoothly.

He made it to the second year’s classroom only a few seconds late and stepped through the door. “Wolf pack, how was hunting?” he asked conspiratorially head tilted down. “Oh, and Nanami you’ve decided to visit again,” he said spinning towards the sorcerer as soon as his head came up and eyes narrowed at his greeting to the students.

Nanami shifted forward at Gojo’s greeting hands lifting, and Gojo turned away again, moving to the front of the room.

“Since yesterday?” Kakasa asked shifting on her feet. “We didn’t do any, we’re still on leave,” she continued without waiting for Gojo’s answer.

“Ah yes, leave, my favourite time of the week,” Gojo said with a quick grin, before waving towards the ground. “Have a seat and we’ll get started.”

The second year’s class passed by quickly, a blur of instruction, sparring and Nanami a step away watching him, and before long Gojo was dismissing the class. “Be careful, and please keep your tempers,” he said tilting his head to face Enasano who scowled at him in response.

“Maybe I would if the people around me didn’t say so many horrible, foolish, naïve things,” Enasano snapped, hands tightening at his sides as he took a step toward Gojo.

Gojo leaned back, once again meeting Enasano’s anger with calm. “I think we’ve had this conversation before, sorcerer, and I’m pretty sure you agreed to try it my way,” he said calmly, reaching up to shift his blindfold.

Nanami straightened at his words, as Kakasa nodded sharply. “We did,” she said into the sudden silence as Enasano recoiled, dropping his gaze.

“Good, then keep your tempers, it’s only going to get worse as you refuse to take their bait,” Gojo said, and then pushed off the wall, starting for the door, he had a stack of curses to kill, and after that he could finally pick up his kids. He’d made it out the door and around the corner before he saw Nanami move to follow him out of the room, only to be stopped by Kakasa. Gojo paused mid step, turned back around, and waited, the wolf pack could sometimes be aggressive even when they had just agreed to play by the rules, but Nanami walked out of the room a moment later and promptly disappeared into an empty room.

Gojo hesitated, lit up his phone and then sighed and turned back towards the classroom that held his files, he had curses to kill.

Gojo kicked the dissipating body of the fucking snake curse a third time for good measure before he turned towards Horimi who was trapped under a heavy piece of wood, blood pooling around him and slowly creeping towards him. “Hey sorcerer,” he said quietly crouching down next to him, searching for the injury, two deep puncture wounds in his chest and shoulder.

“Gojo?” he gasped, his voice gurgling slightly. “What… what are you d…doing here?” he asked trying fruitlessly to push himself away from him.

“Easy stay still, I’m calling help,” Gojo said not answering his question, the answer a secret, the answer that he had been trying to mitigate the damage the bad reports were causing and was too late. He slid his phone out of his pocket and dialed Shoko’s number, holding it to his ear as it rang.

“I don’t understand,” he said before coughing, “We aren’t… I… the in...inspector…” he said before trailing off his eyes closing for a moment.

“Come on Horimi, stay with me,” Gojo said shifting to press a hand against the puncture wound he could reach. “Shouldn’t have taken so damned long with those special grades,” he thought, remembering with a flash the way they had kept dodging in and out of occupied homes, making him chase them as they slit throats in random houses. The blood from that mission hadn’t even finished drying yet and here he was kneeling in another puddle of blood.

Horimi reached up and tried to grab his wrist, but was stopped by infinity, his hand hovering a few inches away from Gojo’s skin. “Gojo there’s… Tsushino… she didn’t answer… she was supposed… supposed to be here,” he said coughing, his fingers flexing uselessly as the call finally connected.

Gojo stared down at the sorcerer, feeling cold seep into his bones at the implication. “What is it Gojo I have at least three people that need healing and like ten corpses?” she asked sounding bored even as she recited the list.

“There’s a sorcerer here with me, he’s trapped, bleeding, I’m going to bring him to you, straight into your surgery so I figured I’d give you a warning,” Gojo said quickly, fighting for a flippancy that wouldn’t come with his hands covered in bright red blood.

“Okay bring him and be careful,” Shoko said her voice going brusque over the sound of her opening and closing drawers.

Gojo ended the call without a word, pressed Horimi’s hand to his injury and stepped away drawing a teleportation circle with quick movements, trying not to wonder if he could even do this, if he had enough cursed energy after the last damned week, and this night of endless curses to teleport her to Shoko, but he would die if he didn’t try.

He stepped back to Horimi, reaching for the wood pressing into his chest. “Tsushino,” Horimi whispered as Gojo shoved the wood off and lifted him off the ground carefully.

“I’ll find her,” Gojo said as he set the injured sorcerer down in the circle, his voice calm even though adrenaline was sending prickles along his skin. Then he stepped back, and with a deep breath teleported him to Shoko, where he would hopefully survive.

Gojo stumbled as the cursed energy flowed out of his, the world wavering and his head buzzing even through the pounding pain that sat right behind his eyes. He turned back to where he had dropped his phone, gasping for air, and fighting for his balance with every step. “I left it too long,” Gojo thought his hands shaking as he dropped to a knee his blood-stained hands grabbing his phone. “I can’t fight like this, I can’t…”  he thought tapping Yaga’s number his finger sliding on the screen, leaving a bloody streak behind, before he lifted it to his ear. “But Tsushino, she’s in trouble, probably already dead, I can’t abandon her, can’t leave her just because I’m to tired. I’m the strongest, there shouldn’t be anything I can’t do,” Gojo thought, pressing his free hand into the ground to help hold him up as the call connected.

“I still don’t have anything more on the windows, or who attacked Sugise, and I will not give you any more curses to kill until you have slept. It’s been more than a week and you can’t have slept for more than a couple hours in the last month,” Yaga said flatly as soon as the line connected, his voice exhausted.

Gojo didn’t respond right away, his thoughts derailed by Yaga’s words. “What?” he thought, mind turning too slowly, caught on the windows, on Geto… “Please no don’t let it be him I can’t…” he thought, breathing ragged as he curled in on himself, before blood pooled around him, and he straightened sharply, remembering Horimi’s desperate words. “Tsushino,” Gojo said, pushing himself slowly to his feet.

“What?” Yaga asked blankly, before he sighed, the sound crackling over the mic. “Why are you asking me about another sorcerer?”

“Where was her exorcism before the one she was doing with Horimi?” Gojo asked, ignoring Yaga’s question, he couldn’t afford the wait, was probably already too late to save her.

Yaga paused for a long moment that had Gojo grinding his teeth with the effort not to rush him, not to show urgency or concern. “I assigned her that pesky exorcism in the damned park of all places. Why are you asking about her?” Yaga asked, his chair creaking, and his voice sharpening.

“She’s probably in trouble,” Gojo said before he ended the call, braced himself and then teleported to the park.

He dropped back to a knee with a gasp, breathing hard as the pain in his head spiked, and turned sharp for a moment as his thoughts splintered, then the pain eased, settling back into a steady pounding and the adrenaline pushed the exhausted fogginess away.

Gojo stood again, feet spread for better balance as his awareness spread back out as the pain diminished. The area was saturated with cursed energy, exuding from a stand of trees only a foot away. Gojo stepped towards the trees and then paused, shook his head, and turned to his left, and sprinted towards the body lying on the ground, not willing to risk another teleport when someone’s life relied on his ability to remain conscious.

Tsushino’s breath rasped in her throat as she fought for each breath and Gojo sucked in a breath at the way her limbs were fused to the ground, and her stomach had been cut open with a neat slash, her intestines laying on the ground next to her.

“Sorcerer,” Gojo said quietly as he dropped next to her, part of his attention on the trees where he knew the curse was hiding.

Tsushino flinched, her body barely moving, and the muscles in her neck and shoulders twitched, as she tried to bring her hands up to defend herself before they relaxed back onto the ground as she rolled her head to the side to look at him. “Gojo,” she said on a sigh, relief plain in her voice. “Th… this isn’t a c…cool way to… to die,” she whispered, her voice hitching on wet coughs.

Gojo held perfectly still as that barb hit him, and only smiled slightly at her. “Well you aren’t a pancake,” he said quietly searching through the cursed energy twined around and through her, hoping that there was a way someone could save her, a way that when he killed the curse she could be saved, but there was nothing.

“True,” Tsushino whispered, her voice fading, “killed by the… the strongest sorcerer is a… a pretty good way to die and it w’dn’t be letting a cu…rse get the better of me,” she continued, slurring slightly.

Gojo leaned away from her before he could catch himself, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried not to scream. “Let’s try killing the curse first,” Gojo said turning his head towards the trees, trying to ignore the way Tsushino’s guts quivered with every breath, the way the blood on the ground was seeping into his boots to mingle with the rest of the blood he had walked though that night.

Tsushino’s eyes slid closed, pain stealing across her face. “Be quick, please I’m tired,” she whispered, turning her head to look straight up again.

Gojo pushed himself to his feet, missing the scalding heat of anger as the empty resignation made him cold as he walked towards the curse. 

Gojo carried what was left of Tsushino’s body over to where the auxiliary manager waited for her, the blood once again unable to go through his infinity.

“Gojo!” the vaguely familiar driver said straightening from where they had been leaning against the car.

Gojo nodded at them and then shifted to put the dead sorcerer on the ground, already able to see the sirens in the distance, coming in response to his call. “The curse is dead and everyone else is on their way,” he said quietly, the lightening sky warning him that he needed to get back to his house if he wanted to be there before his kids woke up.

“Is she…” the driver asked, eyes stuck on the dead sorcerer’s face.

Gojo nodded again, and checking the progress of the sirens gave the driver the quick version of what had happened before he teleported back to his house, into the privacy of his own room where he could wash off the blood before his kids saw him.

Gojo finished making breakfast just as Tsumiki stumbled out of her room, her eyes bleary. “Good morning Miki,” Gojo said quietly, with a grin, feeling his shoulders relax as she gave him a sleepy grin in response. “Foods ready, eat up while I go wake your brother,” he continued, resting a light hand on her hair as he walked past.

Tsumiki nodded but then turned and reached out for a hug that Gojo took a step back away from, dropping into a crouch in front of her, both hands on her shoulders immediately. Tsumiki dropped her arms and shuffled her feet. “Satoru?” she whispered, and Gojo winced when he saw her wide, worried eyes.

“Easy Miki, it’s okay, I just haven’t gotten a chance to change yet,” he said shifting his filthy bandages up on one side to meet her eyes, trying not to squint in the bright morning light. “I don’t want you to get all dirty.”

Tsumiki studied him for a long time, her gaze suspicious and worried, and then her shoulders relaxed, and she nodded.

“Good,” Gojo said, letting the bandages drop back into place before he leaned forward, and careful not to let his blood-soaked uniform touch her, kissed the top of her head. “Now let me go wake the sleeping bear,” he said lightly, pushing himself to his feet with only momentary support from the counter.

He walked to Megumi’s door, knocked lightly and when there was no answer, opened the door, the cursed energy in the room telling him that Megumi was still asleep. “Megumi? Kid, it’s time to wake up,” Gojo said quietly, walking deeper into the room as Megumi shifted in bed, stirring at his words.

Gojo dropped into a crouch by his kid’s bed and placed a careful hand on his shoulder, shaking slightly. “Kid, come on wake up, you need to eat before school,” Gojo said quietly, swaying in his crouch before he dropped a knee to the ground to support himself. Megumi tossed his head to the side and slitted one eye to glare at Gojo.

“No,” Megumi slurred and then his eye slid closed again and he pulled the blankets tighter around himself, dislodging Gojo’s hand.

Gojo smiled softly at the quickly forming burrito, and then he checked the time again and sighed quietly. They were going to be late; it was time for the more persuasive methods. “Guummii,” he said in a quiet sing song, leaning forward slightly, careful not to let his uniform touch the bed. “Gumi, little Gumi,” he said again as the blankets over Megumi’s shoulders twitched. “You need to get up Gumi, otherwise…” he trailed off sucking in a dramatic breath as the circle that was his kid uncurled a little. “Otherwise, I shall have to start singing to you… loudly,” Gojo finished and then he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face when Megumi abruptly threw off his blankets, spinning to face him, and already scowling.

“No, no singing this early in the morning, you agreed,” Megumi said quickly, voice going from almost desperate to accusing in seconds.

“Ok,” Gojo said leaning back, his hands up in surrender, unable to suppress the grin even though he knew that he was pressing his luck with Megumi, especially this early in the morning, on a Friday.  “Ok, no singing, but you need to get up, there’s school, and food,” Gojo finished, pushing himself to his feet, and ruffling Megumi’s messy hair briefly, pulling his hand back when Megumi swatted at it, and taking half a step to the side to keep his balance when the room inevitably tilted on him. “You have ten minutes to get ready then I will bring your food in here for you to eat,” Gojo said turning towards the door and pressing a hand to his eyes.

“I am not going to school,” Megumi said his chin up, gaze steady, and his voice very firm, the kind of firm it only got when he couldn’t be swayed.

Gojo caught the sigh before it could escape, forced his shoulders to stay straight and turned back to Megumi, dropping to the ground in front of him. “Why aren’t you going to school today? Are the bullies back again?” he asked quietly, checking the clock again, they were going to be late. “Leaving Nanami alone in a classroom with the students who would be the easiest to turn against me,” Gojo thought, with a familiar jolt of fear, Nanami had been increasingly jumpy in class since Gojo had whisked Sugise away to talk about his fight, always one step away from spiriting the kids out the fucking window, or worse picking a fight.

“No, the bullies aren’t back,” Megumi said, staring straight at Gojo, without wavering, and then he didn’t say anything else, avoiding Gojo’s first question.

“Should have known better than to give him two,” Gojo thought tiredly, proud of Megumi’s stubbornness even though it was getting in the way.

“Why don’t you want to go to school?” Gojo repeated, and then fell silent, not leaving anything for the nine-year-old to use to avoid the question.

“I want to go to school with you, see where I am going to go to school, do some extra training,” Megumi said, gaze dropping for a second.

Gojo felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of his little Gumi fighting curses, alone in dark places that were soaked in blood. Megumi coming home covered in the blood of people he couldn’t save, his mind full of nightmares that wouldn’t go away. He took a breath and breathed out slowly, controlled, not letting the sudden panic or grief slip onto his face.

“Megumi…” Gojo started, falling silent for a moment, and then continuing, quieter. “Megumi you do know that you don’t ever have to go to Jujutsu Tech right? he asked pulling his blindfold off so he could meet Megumi’s eyes and watch him closely.

Megumi didn’t look away, tilting his chin up, his eyes widening slightly, as he visibly clamped down on his expression, smoothing it to his blank pissed off look that could meant anything except for anger. “I am going to be a sorcerer, so I’m going to Jujutsu tech. I can do it,” Megumi said, almost daring Gojo to contradict him.

“I know you can do it kid; you can be one of the most capable sorcerers of your age, but you don’t have to be a sorcerer,” Gojo said, shying away from remarking on the power of Megumi’s technique. “but sorcery is difficult, dangerous, miserable work and you can pick something else,” he said, pausing when his words made Megumi flinch.

“I can do it, I swear,” Megumi said, leaning forward, his hands clenched into fists as his breathing and heartrate picked up slightly.

“Hey, easy Megumi,” Gojo said, reaching for Megumi’s shoulder before the way Megumi pulled back made him drop his hand. “I know you can, trust me I know but you don’t have to. You can… I don’t know, do whatever the other kids at school’s parents do,” he said shifting back slightly, tilting his head slightly with a smile.

“No,” Megumi said again, scowling as his shoulders straightened, his fingers braiding together in his lap. “I will be a sorcerer,” he said flatly, and Gojo sighed silently and nodded.

“Okay kid, you’ll be a damned good sorcerer, and since you are all caught up on school yes you can come with me, but it will probably be a very boring day,” Gojo said, deciding to try the conversation again later, when Megumi wasn’t so defensive, and he wasn’t so tired that he couldn’t figure out why his kid was defensive and halfway to panicked because he didn’t have to be a sorcerer. 

Megumi’s eyes widened and he started to grin before he caught himself and forced a scowl back onto his face. Gojo looked away deciding not to comment and make Megumi self-conscious, as the kid climbed out of bed and started to get ready rapidly.

Gojo shook his head stood, and left the word, he’d have to teleport another person if he was going to get to class anywhere near on time, but he could do that for something that was apparently very important to Megumi, the kids didn’t smile anywhere near enough for his peace of mind.

“Oh, Tsumiki,” Gojo called as he walked into the kitchen, and she looked up from her plate quickly, making Gojo pause for a moment, before the nervousness on her face faded, replaced by a justified suspicion, and then he walked the rest of the way into the room.

“What?” Tsumiki asked after she had swallowed her bite, her tone very much like Megumi’s when he was suspicious of Gojo.

Gojo grinned at the unconscious mimicry and started filling a plate of food for Megumi. “Did you want to skip school today? Go see my school?” he asked lightly, putting the plate on the table before making another one.

Tsumiki hesitated, before she looked down at her food and pushed a piece of it around. “I have a test,” she said quietly without looking up.

Gojo paused in the middle of putting food on the plate and set it down on the counter, before crossing to sit in the seat across from Tsumiki, who still didn’t look up. “Is something wrong Miki?” he asked quietly leaning against the table.

“No,” she answered, and took a quick bite before she dropped her fork.

Gojo studied her carefully, considering and then he tapped the table lightly next to her hand. “Okay, you’ll do great on your test, and I’ll show you the school another day,” he said, and then leaning forward when she turned to look at her, he shot her a conspiratorial smile and continued. “Maybe when Megumi next has a test,” he said, his shoulders relaxing when she blinked and then smiled back at him.

“Okay,” she said, her shoulders straightening as her posture relaxed.

“Good, now eat,” Gojo said nodding to her plate, and waiting for her to pick up her fork before he stood and turned back grab his own plate as Megumi walked out of his door, his steps light and backpack over one shoulder before he dropped it on the ground next to his chair and started eating quickly.

Gojo waved at Tsumiki as she walked away from the car and into school, her chin up, and backpack pulled over both shoulders. Then he pulled a clean roll of bandages out of his glove box and turned towards Megumi as he wrapped them over his eyes. “You ready for this?” he asked, and Megumi nodded sharply, his hand tightening on his backpack strap. “Ok, come on, we need to go somewhere where people won’t give us weird looks while I draw on the ground,” Gojo said, pushing the door open and then climbing out, his filled-out exorcism reports in one hand. Megumi climbed out after him and followed as he walked a few blocks away, never more than a couple inches away.

“I’m not going to leave without you,” Gojo said, laughing as he rested a hand on Megumi’s shoulders.

“I know,” Megumi said, but didn’t move away, just kept following until they reached somewhere secluded enough that Gojo could draw a quick teleportation circle.

“Ok, you know the drill, hop in,” Gojo said, remembering easier times in the winter when he had the cursed energy to spare to teleport them back from activities when they were too tired to bear a car ride.

Megumi stepped into the circle without a word, and Gojo took a deep breath, shifting to lean slightly against a nearby building before he put his hands together, shifting easily between the positions needed to teleport Megumi and a moment later, Megumi was gone. Gojo felt a lurch in his stomach like he was falling, and pressed back against the building as he pressed a hand to his head. The cursed energy seeping into every inch of the buildings around him swirled, twisting nauseatingly but he pushed himself up of the building, and teleported to the empty classroom where he had sent Megumi anyways. Jujutsu Tech might be his school but that didn’t mean that it was safe enough to leave Megumi on his own for long.

Gojo appeared in the room a foot behind Megumi and slumped over the desk breathing hard for a moment, the sharp pain back in his head as even his six eyes fuzzed into blankness as his awareness faded. He shoved himself up of the desk, leaving his files resting on it and started forward, feeling a drop in his available cursed energy as the world snapped into focus again.

A chill ran down his back as he swayed after his first step, Megumi’s cursed energy only a foot away making his shoulders tighten as he slid his hands into his pockets. “This was not a good idea, not now, what if someone attacks now? I should have known better, especially with the sudden interest from the Zenins and Gakuganji,” Gojo thought, checking his infinity for the first time in years as he moved up next to Megumi.

“You ready kid?” he asked, his voice teasing and nothing else as he nudged Megumi lightly, trying to ignore the fear that was constricting his chest.

“Yes,” Megumi said, turning to scowl at Gojo before he looked forward again, leaning forward slightly, Gojo laughed lightly at his enthusiasm and then he started forward, Megumi only a second behind.

Gojo paused outside the first year classroom, his attention on Nanami’s cursed energy where it was close to the wall only a step from the door, then he ruffled Megumi’s hair one more time so that the kid would scowl at him again, and then he stepped forward and tossed the door open, startling the three students into reaching for their cursed energy, and sending Nanami off the wall, and spinning towards the sound, a vivid red line cutting from his cheek bone down over his throat and into his shirt.

“Sorry students,” Gojo said walking in the door, his attention split between his students, Megumi behind him, and that injury on Nanami that Shoko should have healed already. “Didn’t mean to startle, but that was a good reaction, although Imagisa you really should have stood up,” Gojo said moving to sit on his desk as he checked Imagisa for signs of injury and waved Megumi to a seat at the front of the class.

“We have a visitor today!” Gojo said brightly, waving Usanako and Shomio back into their seats, and leaning back against his desk, the tensions in his shoulders easing when Imagisa only nodded at the reprimand, maybe she wasn’t injured, she had had an exorcism the night before, but she had been accompanied by someone competent so she should be fine.

“Gojo,” Nanami said, cutting through Gojo’s thoughts, his voice carefully polite. He was still standing a few steps away from the wall, his hands at his side and weight shifted forward, his eyes steady on Gojo.

Gojo shifted forward, moving so that leaning on the desk was more for show than anything else, his pulse picking up as he tilted his head. “What is it lurker? I’m trying to teach a class here,” Gojo said lightly, his hands tightening in his pockets as he braced himself.

Nanami tensed and he took a deep breath before he lifted his chin slightly and spoke, his voice very calm. “Don’t you think fifteen is young enough to be forced into sorcery?” he asked carefully, never looking away from Gojo.

Gojo’s breath hissed out between his teeth as he watched Megumi tense behind Nanami, his hands balling into fists on top of the desk. “Outside Nanami,” Gojo said flatly, smothering the flash of anger before it could slip into his tone or expression, and turned back to the students, ignoring Nanami for a moment, even though he made no move towards the door.

“Students do a quick review over how you tell if someone is being influenced by a curse or is just weird, while I talk to our observer. Feel free to discuss it,” Gojo said and then pushed off the desk and started to the door. Nanami made no move to follow him, and Gojo clenched his teeth, considering how he was going to get the sorcerer out of the classroom, and then he followed, with a quick glance at the students who were watching them.

Gojo walked down the hallway until they were far enough away that Megumi and his students couldn’t hear them and then ducking into the nearest empty room, turning back to face Nanami just as he walked in the door behind him, his eyes scanning the place quickly before they snapped back to Gojo, and he paused just inside the door. “Now was there something you wanted to discuss with me?” Gojo asked, fighting to keep his voice even, fighting to remind himself that Nanami was a good person, was trying to help his students, help Megumi, but he couldn’t help remembering the last time someone tried to interfere. The first and last time someone had overruled what he was trying to teach and almost got a student killed.

He had sent that person flying across the room, gently so he broke bones but didn’t die, found, fought, and eventually killed the strongest special grade curse that the higher ups had known and then walked into a meeting with the higher ups, uniform pristine and told them that his school was off limits, that he was going to defend it and if they wanted anything there they should ask him. He still remembered the rage that lit as he stood next to Shoko as she healed the student, and he could feel it reigniting here.

Nanami shifted backwards, before he caught himself, his jaw tightening. “Why would you bring a ten-year-old here? Isn’t enough of a tragedy that fifteen-year-olds are fighting and dying?” Nanami asked taking a step forward, one hand reaching up to loosen the knot of his tie.

Gojo took a breath, held it for a moment and the breathed out slowly. “Megumi isn’t going to fight curses today,” he said slowly, focusing on keeping his voice even, as he watched Nanami’s hands open and close, and his heartrate speed up.

“Then why is he here?” Nanami asked sharply, his breathing even and regular.

“He wanted to come and see where he was going to school when he is fifteen,” Gojo said, forcing his shoulders to relax as he took a step back, trying to keep hold of his temper.

Nanami jolted, his head snapping up as he took a step forward, teeth slightly bared. “You’ve decided that for him have you, I wasn’t aware that Jujutsu society had gotten so fucking desperate that they would recruit at ten years old why don’t you let him actually live a life before you sign him up to die. Let him see what there is out there before you toss him on the fucking heap of bodies that is sorcery,” Nanami snapped, volume rising before it dropped suddenly, so that he hissed the final words.

Gojo scowled, breathing catching in fear at the flash of a picture of Megumi, broken, bloodied and dead atop the mountain of people that had died in the fucking never-ending war, and reached up and yanked his bandages off so he could meet Nanami’s eyes, anger following the fear closely. Megumi was his kid, he wasn’t going to let him die, and no one would take his fucking choices away, even if it was the choice to become a damned sorcerer. “I’m not tossing my kid anywhere,” he snapped as Nanami twisted sharply to the side before he froze, eyes going wide and breathing slipping out of the carefully controlled rhythm. “He’ll be a sorcerer if-“ Gojo started before Nanami cut him off.

“Your kid Gojo? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Nanami asked, raising his voice to be heard over Gojo, his weight forward and his eyes hard.

“It means I’m raising him,” Gojo said tightly, his posture rigid, as he tried desperately to keep control of his temper with his heart racing, and the pinpricks of fear at telling someone that Megumi was his kid, that he cared about him.

Nanami sucked in a sharp breath, going pale as he took a step back. Gojo paused, shoving the anger back for a moment as he studied the other sorcerer. Nanami swallowed hard and then straightened sharply, setting his feet. “And do you treat your kid the same way you treat your students?” Nanami asked tightly, one hand sliding behind his back.

“Of course, I fucking teach him how to use his cursed technique,” Gojo answered immediately, “I’d teach him even if he wasn’t going to be a sorcerer,” Gojo said tightly, chin tilting up slightly. He’d seen too many non-sorcerers die from curses to not teach his kids how to defend themselves.

“I can’t let you do that,” Nanami said flatly, his shoulders relaxing suddenly as he shifted forward, his hand sliding under his jacket.

Gojo tensed against the flare of fear that burned through him, freezing his chest as he remembered, remembered the fucking Zenins and Gakuganji asking about Megumi. He had known something was coming, that they were going to try something but this? Nanami? “Why Nanami? I know I haven’t managed to take care of all the curses, save everyone, but they are killing people, sending them to die, on purpose,” Gojo thought a shard of pain wedged under his ribs.

“You will not take them,” Gojo said, firm, and level as a burning incandescent rage flared through him, clearing his mind, and flooding his veins, leaving his mind clear, as he took a step forward, hands up. No one would touch his kids, not even if he had to go through every sorcerer on the fucking planet, he would kill them all, gladly and laugh as they burned but they would never touch his kids, they were his to protect, and he would not fail, never again.

Nanami cursed and launched himself towards Gojo, pulling his right hand out from behind himself, weapon in hand.

Gojo dodged, stepping to the side, and spun back to face Nanami, reaching for his cursed energy to speed his attacks as Nanami was already coming back at him, slashing with his dull weapon. “Really sorcerer? Attacking me?” Gojo thought, baring his teeth at Nanami and didn’t move letting his attacker slam into infinity, just like all the ones before him. “How the hell did I forget that no one ever tells the truth?” Gojo though viciously, remembering what must have been Nanami’s lies and feeling rage crackling under his skin, fingers twitching with the urge to pull his domain around them, wanting to drown him in the knowledge of just how small he was. To try and take his kids from him, to try and give them to the Zenins or the inspector general, he would burn.

Nanami’s slash slid through the air straight towards infinity and Gojo felt a jolt as his technique used up cursed energy, then a sharp spike drove through his head directly behind his eye and he saw Nanami’s strike cut straight through where his infinity should have stopped it.

Gojo sucked in a strained breath and spun away from the attack, the anger dampened by pain, by fear, by the remembered feeling of cold steel sliding through his skin and the certain knowledge that he had failed that they would die.

Nanami hesitated hand tightening on his weapon, and Gojo took a step back hands up, fighting to pull himself back to the moment, to push away the feeling of his own blooding pulsing out of him as the world faded. “School, you’re in school, remember. There are kids only a few rooms away,” Gojo thought, his hands twitching as he fought against pulling on the cursed energy he would need for purple, would need to kill the person who had attacked him.

“Gojo?” Nanami asked, his voice careful as he shifted forward and then back, eyes focused on Gojo and his cursed energy still flowing smoothly through him, ready for a fight.

“You will not take them,” Gojo said again forcing his shoulders down as he steadied his hands in the air in front of him. If Nanami wanted to fight him then he could beat him without infinity. “I don’t know what deal you made with the Zenins, but they should have known better, I warned them when I first saved Megumi that I would kill them if they ever tried to touch him,” Gojo said forcing his voice to stay level, even if he couldn’t quite hide the anger.

“The Zenins?” Nanami asked finally taking a step back, eyes wide. “Are you really threatening to kill an entire family if I don’t back off?” he asked voice rising, as he shifted away from Gojo his free hand clenching at his side.

Gojo paused, cursed energy shifting in him, chill licking at his hands as he caught himself before the attack, and ran the words through his mind again, something was wrong. They sounded right but there was something wrong. He remembered abruptly three fucking weeks of Nanami standing in his classrooms watching him, “do you treat your kids the same way you treat your students? Destroying every student they teach, crushing them so they’ll do as they are told,” and hissed, taking a step back.

“I don’t hurt my kids,” Gojo said quickly, swallowing against the nausea at that idea, cold prickles climbing up his back in fear that someone might think he would  hurt them.

“Kids?” Nanami asked, swallowing hard as his clenched hand started to tremble, fine barely there, movements that Gojo could only see because of six eyes. “more than one. I…” Nanami started and shifted his grip on his weapon.

Gojo hesitated, studying Nanami for a long moment, he couldn’t afford to be wrong, couldn’t risk trusting the wrong person it would ruin everything and he would be left with only one option, the bloodstained violent kind that Gojo had shied from since Geto stood there in front of him and told him that Gojo could kill every single person in the world. “I don’t want to kill him,” Gojo thought, not Nanami, one year younger, always a step behind friendly personable Haibara, a steady practical presence for all that he didn’t want to be there. Kind even when surrounded by the horror that was jujutsu sorcery, and the first person to look at his students and think kids instead of incompetent sorcerers.

Gojo breathed in slowly, pushed away the fear, forcing his mind to focus past the panic at knowing his infinity was down, knowing that he was vulnerable, and dropped his hands letting his cursed energy settle back. “Yes I have two kids, and I don’t hurt them,” Gojo said, hesitated and then continued, sliding his hands into his pockets, and clenching them into fists, his body trembling slightly. He was taking a fucking massive chance. “I don’t hurt my students either, would never… the higher ups demanded a proper punishment and I had to give them something,” he said evenly, hoping, for the first time since Suguru walked away on that street, his last words an insult and taunt, that he could trust someone else, because he didn’t want to kill Nanami, not unless he had to.

“What are you talking about?” Nanami asked straightening sharply and turned to face Gojo head on even as his right hand dropped to his side, still holding his weapon tightly.

“Your question three weeks ago,” Gojo answered simply, forcing himself to back up and then lean against the wall, fighting to keep his posture relaxed even though the feeling of the wall on his back made him want to scream the way it never did when he felt it with infinity on. “Is it true that I had three students talking to talking to the people who have seen curses for the first time or have lost loved ones and are looking for someone to blame. They got in a fight, and I needed to do something that would appease the higher ups,” Gojo said with a shrug and then when Nanami’s face slid into a scowl again he forced himself to continue, speaking past the tightness in his chest. “And it would help them remember why they wanted to be a sorcerer, remind them that what they were doing had a point.”

Nanami stepped back his eyes widening behind his yellow glasses. “You actually thought it would help?” he asked shifting his grip on his weapon and making the muscles down Gojo’s back tense even though he forced himself not to show it.

“It did help,” Gojo said calmly, reaching for his cursed energy as his head throbbed, the sharp pain gone but replaced by the shaking though his whole body that he hoped Nanami couldn’t see.

Nanami stepped back again studying Gojo carefully for a long moment before he spoke again. “The third year… Sugise went to Shoko right after your private conversation,” Nanami said slowly, his breathing sliding back into its regular pattern even though his heart was still racing.

Gojo blinked, brow furrowing slightly, confusion blanketing the fear for a moment. Yes Sugise had gone to Shoko, he was injured and Gojo hadn’t wanted him to be in pain, but why…? Gojo flinched as he realized. “He was injured before class, that’s why we did the weird drills,” Gojo said slumping back against the wall, exhausted suddenly, as he watched the hallways all around then, his eyes lingering on the door, trying to make sure that no one could sneak up on him.

“I didn’t hurt him, I have never and would never hurt kids,” Gojo said finally meeting Nanami’s eyes, shoving away the memory of Akesume and five students before him that had died fighting curses that he should have killed.

Nanami hesitated again, and Gojo continued before he could say anything else, wanting the conversation to end. “I teach Megumi and Tsumiki how to defend themselves against curses,” he said carefully, eyes flicking to the door to make sure no one was walking through it before he could stop them. “but he won’t be a sorcerer or do exorcisms until he is at least fifteen,” Gojo finished, forcing his voice to stay steady as he forced his eyes back to Nanami who took another step back, thumb on his free hand tapping twice against the side of his hand as he watched Gojo. “And maybe I’ll actually be able to keep the first years away from curses by then,” Gojo thought shifting against the wall as another wave of exhaustion slid through him.

Nanami didn’t answer for a long moment and then his shoulders relaxed suddenly, and he slid his weapon back into its sheathe on his back. “I see,” he said voice back to carefully polite, before he glanced down at the ground for a minute before he looked back up and continued, shoulders straightening. “It seems like I misjudged you Sorcerer Gojo,” he said formally, meeting Gojo’s eyes.

Gojo took a breath, reaching for his cursed energy and pulled it back around him, raising Infinity consciously for the first time in years, and studied Nanami, the formality surprising him after they had just fought. He tightened his fists in his pockets, considering his words carefully, as the unneeded adrenaline slowly flowed away leaving exhaustion to blanket his mind once more. This couldn’t be the end of this, Nanami would not take his words at face value, would not change his opinion just because he had told him he was wrong. “talk to Yaga,” he said finally, voice a bit too loud as he pressed his shoulders back against the wall as the world swayed around his, his head starting to throb with pain.

Nanami flinched at his sudden words, shifting back slightly. “What?” he asked after a moment, voice steady and quiet as his shoulders tensed.

Gojo hesitated, studying the other sorcerer, something off about his reactions and then the approach of a familiar cursed energy outside the door caught his attention, pulling it away from Nanami. “Megumi,” he thought with a sight, “I told you to stay in the classroom,” he thought as he spoke to Nanami. “Ask him about all of this, he knows enough that he should be able to verify it,” Gojo said, running through what Yaga might actually know, what he was allowed to tell know, then he crouched slowly, to grab the bandages that he had dropped on the floor, eyes dropping to look at them and his attention never leaving the sorcerer who was standing too close, staring at Gojo.

He straightened a moment later and started to wrap his eyes quickly, Megumi was only a few doors away and his didn’t want him to know anything about this.

Nanami watched his quick movements silently, holding completely still, breathing even but his heart rate barely slowing, and a fine tremor still in his hands. Gojo tied the bandages into a knot at the back of his head, hesitated, and then spoke once more, his chest tightening as he decided to trust Nanami once more. “Nanami,” he said carefully, pausing for only a second as Nanami twitched when he used his name, “you can’t tell anyone what I told you today,” he said hoping he had made the right choice.

“Why?” Nanami asked, shoulders squaring as his heartrate picked up again.

The door slammed open before Gojo could answer, making Nanami jump, and spin and Megumi stepped through the door, scowling at first Nanami and then Gojo. “I thought you taught at this school,” Megumi said irritably, barely turning towards Gojo, his hands in front of him.

“I do,” Gojo said brightly, pushing off the wall sharply, leaving his hands on it until he was steady, and then started towards Megumi, shifting so he was between Megumi and Nanami, and watching as Megumi’s shoulders relaxed.

“Really? Because the impression I’m getting is that the notebooks teach here not you,” Megumi paused, and looked around the room, “or are there invisible students in here that you are teaching?” he asked sharply, shoving his hands into his pockets as he scowled at Gojo.

Gojo grinned at him, pulse jumping, and the phantom chill of blood loss sliding through him as Nanami tensed behind him, hand twitching backwards before he caught himself and just watched. “I’ll have you know that invisibility is a staple of all jujutsu sorcery,” he told Megumi lightly, and then had to bite his tongue to suppress a laugh as Megumi blinked surprised, eyes widening before they narrowed, and his scowl deepened.

“In precisely what way?” Megumi asked suspiciously, no doubt remembering the time Gojo had told him that greeting every single dog in three dogs had been essential to his training.

“Oh, you know,” Gojo said lightly, gesturing for Megumi to leave, his skin prickling under Nanami’s scrutiny.

“No, I don’t, you should explain it,” Megumi said, his voice going flat and his scowl not shifting.

Gojo hesitated, his body still shaking from the panic of his infinity breaking and then reached out carefully to ruffle Megumi’s hair, letting his hand drop before Megumi could hit his infinity when he swatted at his hand. “I have a class to teach as you so helpfully pointed out,” Gojo said, before turning back to Nanami. “Any more questions you can ask me later, after class,” he said sharply, and then after a pause, not quite able to stop himself now that it seemed he had been right about Nanami after all. “You should go to Shoko get that healed the rest of the way, I’m surprised she let you leave with it only partially healed,” Gojo said and then walked away, wincing at the way Nanami flinched and turned towards him. He’d said something wrong again.

Gojo followed Megumi back to class, dodging his continued prompting about how precisely invisibility was a staple of sorcery, until he stopped short of the door and turned back to look at Gojo, his hands in his pockets. “Who was that?” Megumi asked glancing back down the hallway, where Gojo knew Nanami was still standing slumped against a wall in the same room as before, not moving.

“An old schoolmate,” Gojo said answered easily, checking on the kids in the classroom who were moving around rather a lot for studying their notebooks and going over something that was not… playing the floor is lava, from the way they were jumping from desk to desk.

“Why did he say that?” Megumi asked, looking back at Gojo, hands opening and closing in his pockets, before his little face set in determination and he pulled his hands out of his pockets, bracing them in front of him in preparation of summoning his dogs. “I am a sorcerer,” he said fiercely, chin coming up.

Gojo sighed silently, he should have realized that Megumi would think it was a slight against his abilities, especially after that morning’s conversation. Megumi very capable for a nine-year-old, and would one day be a dangerous sorcerer, but he wasn’t one now and Gojo refused to let him take that responsibility on at nine. “Maybe Nanami had a point about bringing him here this early,” Gojo thought, his chest tightening in worry at the thought, he could not let sorcery destroy Megumi. “Invisibility is a staple because non sorcerers can’t see the curses,” he said turning towards an empty wall as he watched Megumi’s face determination slide into confusion and then back into a scowl.

“So, it isn’t a staple of sorcery at all,” he said crossing his arms.

“no, it is,” Gojo answered, not turning towards Megumi, as a smile that he couldn’t help, slid back across his face. “Just like meeting enough of the animals that you are going to summon that you understand them is a staple,” he said, tensing as Nanami walked into the hallway, close enough for someone without six eyes to see.

Megumi paused, stared for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed into a glare, and Gojo forced infinity down just as Megumi launched himself at him. “It does not you… you… you!” Megumi said slamming into him and trying to shake him as Nanami’s head snapped to them and he picked up speed.

“It does, I swear,” Gojo said laughing as he lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“You liar, you had me petting dogs for hours, in twenty parks!” he shouted, and Gojo laughed as Nanami stopped in his tracks, staring.

“It was only three parks,” Gojo said, still laughing as Megumi pulled back and then rammed forward making him stumble back against the wall, the sudden movement making him lightheaded for a moment as he brought his arms around the kid, giving him a brief hug, breathing out shakily as the fear that he would lose them slowly drained away.

Then Megumi jerked back and scowled up at him, little hands clenched into fists. “I am not going to make friends with all the pigeons in the city before I summon Nue,” he said firmly, and Gojo grinned down at him, slid an arm around his shoulders and started towards the door.

“He’s different then the demon dogs, you didn’t have to fight them,” he said lightly, and then pushed the door open before Megumi could respond. He stopped as the door swung open, pausing on the threshold to take in the chaos that had befallen the room.

Half the desk were overturned, the back packs resting on shelves that were pulled away from the wall with three notebooks tossed casually to the side as Shomio and Imagisa did some sort of interpretive dance one on an upright desk, and one on a knocked over desk with Usanako sitting on a shelf, watching them carefully, as she chewed on a pencil.

“What is going on?” Gojo asked blankly, staring at the disaster the room had become, and then watched as all three of his students startled, jumping to the side and backwards, and promptly falling off of their precarious perches.

“Gojo!” Usanako said brightly as she jumped up from where she had fallen five feet and turned to face him, her hands behind her back as she tried to hide a piece of paper. The other two students dragged themselves up off the floor somewhat slower, turning to face him with quiet groans.

“Well?” Gojo asked, watching her as he studied Shomio who was wincing as he rubbed the shoulder that he had landed on.

“We…” Usanako started before glancing at Imagisa and falling silent, looking down at the ground.

“Imagisa?” he asked turning to face the quiet student, who had said maybe four sentences in the last three weeks, and who he should have known was going to be the biggest troublemaker.

Imagisa shifted slightly and answered from where she was grabbing her notebook. “We were doing what you told us to. Reviewing our work,” she said casually turning around to face him as she closed her notebook, her expression completely innocent.

“And the dancing?” Gojo asked skeptically, shifting to lean against the door frame as Nanami passed the classroom door behind him, continuing down the hallway without pausing.

“We weren’t dancing,” Shomio said crossing to his desk and righting it quickly before he started towards his own notebook.

“Then what, precisely, were you doing?” Gojo asked waving towards the room as he leaned forward, supressing the grin that his students absurd antic always brought, he needed to know what this was before encouraging them.

“Practicing,” Imagisa said lifting her own desk and dropping her notebook on it before she started towards the desk behind hers, that was actually upside down.

Gojo paused, watching the three students start to put the classroom to rights and finally let himself grin at them, fairly certain where this was going. “And how does dancing and wrecking the classroom help with practicing?” he asked, as they worked together to move the shelves back into place, tossing their backpacks on the ground by their chairs.

“We were demonstrating, what it looked like, and seeing if we could guess which was which,” Usanako said as she moved a desk about half an inch to the side, so it was perfectly in line with the desk in front of it.

Gojo watched them finish the rest of the clean up as Nanami turned the corner and started towards the door that was the second fastest way from this hallway to Yaga’s office, then he pushed lightly at Megumi’s back to prompt him to move deeper into the room. “Good for you, practice is almost always advised,” he said following Megumi into the room and leaning back against his desk, which had managed to escape the carnage, as he opened his phone where it sat in his pocket.

“Nanami is dropping by, asking you verifying questions. Knows about wolf pack, gumi, miki Zenin to do with them and Sugise’s fight,” Gojo typed quickly, without looking at his phone, and then hit send, hoping that it would be enough for Yaga to reassure Nanami. “Guess you’ll know if he shows up to the next class,”  he thought, stamping on the flash of worry at the thought, he didn’t know what he would do if Nanami couldn’t be convinced.

“Really?” Shomio asked as he slid into his seat, his head coming up quickly as he dropped his notebook back on his desk, still closed, his pen flipping through his fingers.

“He said Almost,” Imagisa said cutting in before Gojo could answer, emphasising the word sharply. “There will be no more of your damned ‘practising’ anywhere near the bedrooms,” she continued, turning in her seat to stare at Shomio, no specific emotion on her face.

Shomio turned to scowl at her, opening his mouth to speak but Gojo cut in before he could derail the class even more. “While I will be asking about that later, we do need to get started on our lecture for the day,” Gojo said, studying Imagisa who had apparently been pushed out of her shell at some point in the last twenty-four hours. “Ok, today we are going to go over our defensive, and offensive strategies if we aren’t in a building,” Gojo said, turning away from them and towards the chalkboard. He could feel the end of the month of relative safety that he had bargained the lives of five people for, closing in on him, the quickly running out time making his shoulders tense with the feeling of the powerful aura of a special grade curse filling a building as it hunted him through the dark enclosed rooms.

Two hours later, and several arguments about how Megumi was going to do his own training and not join the three first years in their training that was only as dangerous as it was because they had been practicing for three weeks nonstop, later and Gojo finally stepped out of the training room, ushering Megumi out with him.

“Come on Megumi, we need to go see what trouble my third years are getting into,”  Gojo said, catching himself before he rested a hand on Megumi’s head, he had been pushing his luck with that specific gesture today and he didn’t want to actually annoy him.

Megumi only sighed at his words, sliding both hands into his pockets, his shoulders slumped as he stared forward at the ground. “Am I actually going to get to participate there?” he asked the ground, face set in a frown.

“Probably not, kiddo,” Gojo answered lightly, shoving both hands in his pockets to resist the urge to pull Megumi into a hug as they turned around the corner into the hallway connected to the third years classroom, and breathed out sharply in relief when he only saw the four cursed energy signatures of his students, no uninvited fifth standing against the wall.

“Guess he decided to believe me,” Gojo thought his chest loosening suddenly, and he took his first full breath in weeks, relieved that Nanami finally believed that he could be left alone with the kids, that he wouldn’t have to do anything drastic to salvage both the reputations that Nanami had seemed determined to grind into the dirt.

“Why?” Megumi asked, shooting Gojo a glare. “What was the point of me coming if I’m not going to be training?” he asked sharply before he dropped his eyes back to the ground.

Gojo flinched at the question, hands tightening briefly in his pockets before he consciously forced them to relax. “You wanted to see the school, I did warn you that is was going to be boring,” Gojo said pausing just outside of the classroom with a quick check of the time.

Megumi stopped next to him, kicked lightly at the floor, and spoke without looking up. “Ok, but I want to do more training at home,” he said, voice starting out quiet, before it went suddenly determined.

Gojo hesitated, checking the time again, he was already a little late, but he crouched down in front of Megumi anyways, resting a hand on the ground to steady himself against the sudden dizziness. “Megumi, there is a reason that we don’t except sorcerers into this school before they are fifteen. You are doing incredible for the age you are, you don’t need any more training,” Gojo said quietly, tilting his head slightly in an attempt to get in Megumi’s line of sight, watching for approaching people as he did.

Megumi looked away but didn’t answer, and after a few minutes of silence Gojo sighed silently and straightened, resting a hand against the wall until he stabilized, before he rested his other hand lightly on Megumi’s head. Megumi jerked his head away from Gojo taking a couple steps to the side and out of his reach without looking up and Gojo dropped his hand, his chest aching again. He’d pushed too far, and not far enough at the same time. “Story of my life, the eternal fucking balancing game,” Gojo thought before he took a deep breath and pushed the door opening, careful not to slam it since every single one of the third-year students had been on an exorcism the night before and half of those had gone badly.

“Hello third years, did you enjoy you Thursday night? Get lots of studying done?” Gojo asked as he walked in the door, and then had to grin as Sugise flipped him off, Sasu and Airada dropping their heads onto their desks face first.

“How about you keep your sarcastic optimism to yourself, you already know what we were doing last night,” Miro said not looking up from where he was perusing his notebook.

“I am quite frankly insulted that you think I am responsible enough to know anything,” Gojo said gesturing Megumi to the closest desk and then crossing the room to lean against his as Megumi sat down.

“I second his statement,” Sasu cut in lifting a hand above his head a moment before he raised his head to look at Gojo, the last two students in the room also lifting their hands in silent agreement.

“Well-“ Gojo started before Sasu cut him off, his eyes flicking between Megumi and the place by the door that Nanami had inhabited for weeks now.

“One who is the kid, two where is the nameless weirdo, and three is it some curse where the nameless lurker is the kid who is simultaneously trying to fuse with the chair and stare me down?” Sasu asked amusement plain in his voice as he grinned at Megumi, his head tilted slightly.

Airada’s head came up sharply and she looked first at where Nanami usually stood and then turned her head to squint suspiciously at Megumi. Sugise dropped his head backwards from where he was sitting sideways in his seat, his back seemingly purposely towards the door and stared straight at Megumi as Miro turned in his seat to look towards the wall and then Megumi.

“Huh, how did I miss that?” Miro asked flatly before he turned back to his notebook.

“Probably because that curse exploded right in your face last night,” Sugise said answering Miro without lifting his head, still staring at Megumi who switched his scowl to him.

Miro flicked a dismissive hand at Sugise, flipping a page in his notebook. “I actually went to see Dr Shoko when I was injured, so I’m not trying to hide injuries in Gojo’s class,” he said without looking up from the page that from what Gojo could read from across the classroom, which was all of it, was lists of all the ways curses had been recorded dying.

Sugise’s head snapped up as he jerked around in his seat suddenly, turning towards Miro with a sharp movement as Airada dropped her head back onto her desk with a groan. “Not this again, please for the love of everything that kills fucking curses, please don’t do this again. I have heard this argument and all of its variation before, both of you have, Hell the people at the gas station probably have it memorized,” she said rolling her forehead against the desk.

“Ok you four,” Gojo said raising his voice slightly to cut off the argument he could practically feel building, his headache spiking with the rise in volume, and he shifted so that the desk was holding up more of his weight until the pain dulled again. “Let’s get started,” he said turning towards the chalk board.

“Umm” Sasu said raising his hand. Gojo turned back around to face the teenager, eyebrows raised, fairly surprised by the almost normal way of indicating that he had a question. “You didn’t answer the question. The child, the lurker, the curse fusion?” he asked, shifting in his chair as he turned back to face Megumi when he turned back to glare at Sasu. “What it’s an important question and you are a child. You are like this big,” he said holding a scraped hand only a foot off his desk.

Megumi’s scowl deepened and he turned back to facing forward, his jaw clenched as his hands slid back into his pockets.

“The newcomer is Megumi, the lurker is not coming today, and no they aren’t one and the same,” Gojo answered easily.

“That makes sense,” Sasu said relaxing back into his seat, flipping his notebook open as he did.

Gojo paused a moment waiting to see if anyone had any more questions about the add on to their class, and then when they didn’t he turned back to the chalkboard and started writing with a hand that only barely shook.

Gojo called an end to the class two hours later and then watched somewhat bemused as Sugise and Sasu almost jogged over to Megumi, offering to show him one of their favourite attacks over their lunch break.

“Uh…” Megumi stalled his eyes going to Gojo, pleading.

“Have fun kid,” Gojo said easily in response as he turned his head to face Miro who was stretching a few feet away. “Make sure they don’t get out of hand will you?” he asked when Miro pulled a homework assignment out of his bag and spread it out on the grass in front of him, obviously planning to stay for a while.

“Of course,” Miro said glancing up at his two fellow students who were backing up to demonstrate something, before turning back to Gojo. “I’ll call you if anyone shows up,” he finished, looking back down at his papers.

“Thank you, I’ll bring you some sweets from a far-off place next time I leave,” Gojo said, sliding shaking hands into his pockets as he started to turn away before pausing, the nearest out of the way horizontal surface calling to him, but then he turned back to Miro and took a couple steps closer to him before crouching down next to him, one hand resting lightly on the ground to keep his balance. “Did that curse that exploded last night do any damage?” he asked quietly, knowing without looking up that all four of the other kids were far enough away that they couldn’t hear if he was quiet. Miro had always been jumpy around injuries and who knew he had them.

Miro glanced up at his question, eyes flicking to the other students briefly before he looked back down at his papers and answered. “There was some damage, but I really did visit Dr Shoko last night and its gone now,” he answered, hand reaching up to brush lightly against unmarked skin just under his left eye.

“Any questions?” Gojo asked, remembering the old textbook that Miro had been looking through earlier, letting the topic drop now that he knew Miro wasn’t hiding an injury.

“Not right now, I want to find them on my own if I can,” Miro answered glancing up at Gojo quickly before he looked back down at his homework assignment. Gojo shifted back, willing to leave it at that, but then Miro took a breath, one hand smoothing the papers briefly, and Gojo settled back into his crouch, waiting.

“Why was that sorcerer watching our classes?” he asked quietly, glancing up at the other students. “I couldn’t think of anything we had done recently that would mean someone outside of you would need to keep an eye on us, and yet there he was, refusing to leave,” Miro continued, turning to face Gojo as his hand reached up to touch the thin cord that hung at his waist.

Gojo caught the sigh just before it escaped and set one knee on the ground, settling in for a long conversation, guilt pressing down on his exhausted shoulders. His student shouldn’t be worrying about not doing the wrong thing yet, they should still feel safe to mess up. “You don’t need to worry about him, I took care of it, and none of you did anything wrong,” Gojo said lightly, watching with relief as Miro’s shoulder almost instantly relaxed as he nodded.

“Ok,” Miro said quietly, before he shifted to look down at his papers.

Gojo shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. “You should go do something fun, studying all day is so dull,” he called back over his shoulder as he walked away, the floor in the nearest room suddenly looking like an awfully soft bed.

Gojo forced himself to walk past the first door and the second and kept walking until he had reached the abandoned classroom. He stepped through the door, closing it softly behind him, and then slumped back against it, his breathing going ragged as he slid down to the ground, forearms resting on his knees, his held his hands in the air, ready for an attack, as he felt for the strange sensations of displaced air that told him infinity was up, that told him he was still safe.

He dropped his head, pressing his forehead into his arms, watching Megumi mimicking Sugise all the way outside even though his eyes were squeezed shut.

“It’s over,” Gojo thought, gasping as he curled up tighter, shoulders hunching. “It’s over and he isn’t dead, no one had to die this time, nothing had to be lost,” Gojo whispered, trying to convince himself, his heart racing as he swallowed hard, trying to keep the bile down as he remembered what he had almost done. He’d almost used his power to hurt someone, someone who couldn’t possibly win, someone who was only trying to do something good, and he’d almost killed him from anger.

Gojo clenched his hands into fists, grinding his teeth as he tried to catch his breath, gasping through each attempt, his hear refusing to slow. He’d almost killed Nanami, he’d wanted to hurt him to prove a point.

Gojo reached up to scratch a hand through his hair, ripping his bandages off roughly as he did, snarling slightly. He’d promised himself that he wouldn’t become his family, wouldn’t become the higher ups, wouldn’t become… but he’d done it anyway, and for what? Pride? Anger? a stubborn refusal to think things through without reacting. “Can’t even piece together basic logic,” he thought viciously, breath hissing out between his teeth as he pressed the hand not tangled in his hair over his chest, pressing hard against the tightness there. “Arrogant, just like he said, couldn’t even conceive of the idea that you could be wrong that maybe there was someone else who cared about them,” Gojo thought leaning forward, his hand tightening in his hair. “Well you better be right now, or everyone is fucking dead and you’ll be all that’s left, holding their dead bodies in your goddamned red stained hands and complaining about how that wasn’t what you wanted, as though you weren’t the one person who had the power to change things, to protect people, to kill the curses,” Gojo thought at himself, mouth twisting in a snarl as he hissed between his teeth again, a silent scream, he couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t fail, not again.

“Four years of careful planning, of trading lives, one person dead instead of the ten over there as though that makes it better, four years of gambling with the fucking devils, pretending I don’t see what they are doing, fucking rationing who I can help, letting people die, killing them because they weren’t fucking convenient , and I pinned it all on a man I haven’t seen in years,” Gojo thought, choking out a bitter laugh, head thumping back against the door, exhausted suddenly, he couldn’t help but realize that even now he was careless, reckless with people, with their lives and safety.

“I’ll never learn will I? It’ll always come to Riko in that damned white room, dead because I messed up,” he whispered, pressing shaking hands to his face as he laughed quietly, his eyes burning from tears he refused to let fall, not for his mistakes, not for things that he could have stopped.

“It’s over now, for better or worse, he knows, not everything but enough,” he said quietly, his shoulders slumping as he dropped his arms back on his knees, breathing out in sharp jerks as he finally started to get control of his breathing. “I guess I’ll know soon enough.”

“Please don’t let me have been wrong,”  Gojo thought desperately, hands shaking violently at the fear, the feeling of being exposed, layed bare, too close to the feeling of infinity dropping in the middle of a fight. He couldn’t be wrong, not about this.

Gojo dropped his head forward again, letting it rest against his arms, the world swaying around him, until he couldn’t tell which way was up, as he forced himself to focus on Megumi, on his kid who was standing in front of Sasu, nodding as the older student gestured. At least he was safe, Gojo didn’t want to confront what he would become if they were ever in danger.

Gojo felt his body get heavier as sleep pulled at him again, his awareness of the people in the building getting hazier, and he started to pull himself out of it, months of exhaustion making it second nature, then he caught himself, and forced himself to let go of consciousness, choosing to let himself slip into sleep.

Gojo woke up forty minutes later to the blaring of his alarm, usually set to pull him back if he had gotten too absorbed in killing curse after curse, but this time it yanked him abruptly back to awareness and he rolled to the side, his cursed jolting and then flowing smoothly though him, an icy wave that steadied his heart even as he searched for the threat, for the attack, and then five seconds later his alarm went off again.

“Damnit,” Gojo cursed quietly, slumping back to the floor as he realized what had woken him. The alarm rang through the air for a third time as Gojo lay on the ground trying to catch his breath, his limbs feeling sluggish, and he reached a hand into his pocket, and pressed the button roughly silencing that damned phone.

“Seriously, damnit, and fuck this day,” Gojo muttered, closing his eyes, and letting his head hit the ground, laying sprawled across it as he checked for Megumi, who was still with the third years, sitting on a hill in a very loose circle.

He let himself have thirty seconds of more rest, and then he grabbed his bandages from where he had dropped them before and pushed himself slowly back to his feet, stumbling and catching himself on the nearby wall as his legs refused to cooperate with the plan to get to class on time. “I could always just not go to the class, I got called away on important, secret business, it happens frequently enough,” Gojo muttered as he leaned against the wall and rewrapped his eyes. “Just stay here, or even go home and sleep in my bed,” he continued as he slid his still shaking hands into his pockets, then he took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders slightly and started towards the field, he had to pick up Megumi before class.

He walked through the hallways at as calm a pace as he could manage, the vulnerability from Nanami knowing making his skin prickle as he fought against the urge to rush to Megumi’s side. There wasn’t even anyone he didn’t know near Megumi. “You’ve relied on that before and look where it got you,” Gojo thought and his hands tightened in his pockets, Toji was dead, there was no threat.

“Megumi!” Gojo called as he walked out onto the grass, his voice shifting into sing song as soon as he caught sight of his grumpy kid who almost immediately turned to scowl at him. “Ah there you are Gumi, come along, we need to get to the next class,” Gojo said, checking the four students who were sitting with their books out in front of them, pencil discarded in a pile in the center of the circle.

“Yes here I am. Right where you left me,” Megumi muttered, grabbing his backpack as he stood up.

Gojo flinched at the accurate accusation, but forced himself not to react, keeping the smile on his face. “Sorry kiddo, I had something I needed to take care of, and I figured you be happy to be learning jujutsu tricks you shouldn’t know,” Gojo said, tilting his head up slightly, towards all four of the students who suddenly found the grass very interesting, all but whistling their innocents.

“Oh, get out of here you rascals, you have your own classes to get to” Gojo said with a laugh, not wanting them to be there for the conversation he would need to have with Megumi. Sasu and Sugise groaned quietly but all four stood easily enough, gathering their books, and starting towards the school.  Then as soon as the students were out of earshot he dropped to one knee in front of Megumi. “You okay,” he asked quietly, responding to emotion behind Megumi’s words.

“Fine,” Megumi said shortly as he started towards the school, his head down and shoulders slumped forward.

“Hey Megumi wait,” Gojo called after him, taking a couple of steps to catch up to Megumi who didn’t look up. “What’s going on, talk to me kid,” Gojo said tilting his head down slightly, since he couldn’t get below Megumi’s eye line and keep walking.

“Nothing is going on, let’s just get the rest of this day over with,” Megumi said with a sigh, still not looking up.

Gojo hesitated, studying the way Megumi’s shoulders were hunched around his ears, his hand white knuckled where it gripped his backpack strap, then he sighed silently, clenching his hands tighter in his pockets as he let it go. “Ok Megumi, just… if something is wrong you can tell me,” Gojo said, hand reaching out to ruffle Megumi’s hair before he caught himself and pulled it back, shoving it into his pocket again, his own shoulders slumping before he caught himself and forced them straight again.

The rest of the short walk passed in silence, and they were standing before the second year’s classroom door before too long. Gojo breathed out a quick sigh of relief as he realized that Nanami wasn’t in this classroom either. “Maybe he really did get everything he needed to be convince from Yaga,”  Gojo thought, reaching for the door before his next thought made his movement stutter, his hand jerking away from the door. “Or maybe you confirmed what he already thought about you and he’s trying to find an actually feasible way to… handle the problem,” Gojo thought, clenching his hand into a fist to hide the renewed tremors in it as forced himself into movement again, pushing the door open.

“Hello students,” Gojo called, walking in the door, Megumi only a step behind him. The three students who were settled on the ground doing their warmup stretches looked up when he walked in, and their eyes fell on Megumi almost immediately.

“Who’s the kid?” Enasano asked, straightening his posture going tense as a flash of grief slid across Kakasa’s face as her eyes flicked from Megumi to the empty space that they still left for Akesume.

“This is Megumi, he will be observing today,” Gojo answered lightly, as he gestured Megumi to a spot on the ground.

“What another one?” Enasano asked sharply hands clenching at his side as Semura’s face went blank. “Is he another fucking asshole who doesn’t know anything? Who’s also going to tell us to be good little sorcerers?” Enasano asked shifting forward as his voice went vicious.

Megumi hunched slightly, and then straightened his shoulders turning towards Enasano. “Stop,” Gojo said flatly, making all the students and Megumi turn towards him, cutting in before the situation got out of hand. “Enasano you are being cruel for no reason, Megumi is just here to learn,” Gojo continued, keeping his voice inflectionless as he turned his head towards Enasano, who scowled at him for a long moment and then looked down.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, hands shifting in his lap. “I’m sorry, I’m just on edge,” he continued, looking back up at Gojo after a moment, then he turned towards Megumi who was still scowling at him across the six feet of floor. “I’m sorry… Megumi was it? I shouldn’t have said that, welcome to our class,” he said, attempting a smile.

Semura’s shoulders relaxed at the apology as Megumi scoffed quietly and turned forward again, making Enasano wince.

“Good, thank you, now let get to class, I have thrilling things to share with you now that we don’t have adult supervision,” Gojo said lightly, moving on as his attention slid to the empty spot where Nanami had every day for two weeks, his shoulders tensing again before he forced himself to focus on the class, on his students.

Two hours of teaching a somewhat subdued class and Gojo finally called an end to the school day, dismissing the class. “Make sure you eat something tonight,” Gojo said quietly as he walked out the door, waving Megumi out in front of him.

“yeah sure,” Enasano muttered as Kakasa pushed herself to her feet and started towards her bag, not looking at anyone.

Gojo hesitated, watching her for a moment then he turned away and followed Megumi out of the room, he’d have to check on her later, he needed to start on the stack of curses he had ignored to take a nap. He swallowed hard at the sudden flash of that afternoon, the guilt and fear that he had been ignoring all day pressing down on him again. 

“Where are we going now?” Megumi asked his voice startling Gojo into looking down, pulling him out of his head.

“You need to go to your club,” Gojo answered quietly, head tilting back up again.

Megumi didn’t say anything for a long moment, and then when they were almost back at the empty classroom, “so you’re just going to drop me off at school?” he asked flatly, hands tightening on his backpack straps as he looked down at the ground.

Gojo hesitated as he took the next step, pausing for a moment while Megumi kept moving, not looking back, then he continued after him, taking a silent breath to steady himself. “Sorry Megumi, there are a few exorcisms that I need to take care of before dark,” he said quietly, watching Megumi closely as the kid paused and turned back around.

“I can go with you, I can help,” Megumi said, looking up at Gojo, his eyes wide as his grip tightened further on his backpack straps, shoulders slouching.

“No,” Gojo said quickly, remembering with a wince Tsushino half grown into the ground, her blood glistening on the grass, her intestines spread out next to her and the quiet gasp of relief before she had gone limp, dead by his hands.

“But…” Megumi started but Gojo cut him off, dropping to a knee in front of him, the now dried invisible bloodstains on his uniform burning where they touched his skin.

“No Megumi, you aren’t going to fight curses until you are at least old enough to go to school here,” Gojo said urgently, watching his student throw themselves at curses, never sure who would be waiting for them in class  the next day was hard enough, he would not let his nine-year-old kid learn those same lessons.

Megumi scowled at him, taking a step back and yanking on his backpack. “let’s just go,” he said snapped looking down at the ground.

“Megumi…” Gojo started, tilting his head in an attempt to get below Megumi’s sightline.

“I just want to leave,” Megumi snapped, head coming up so he could glare at Gojo. “I don’t even know why I wanted to be here in the first place.”

Gojo hesitated a moment longer and then sighed quietly and stood. “Ok kid, let’s get you to your club,” he said quietly, reaching out to rest a hand on Megumi’s head, only for Megumi to twitch away and move across the hallway, putting as much distance between them as he could. Gojo dropped his hand and after a moment slid it back into his pocket, his own shoulders hunching for a moment before he straightened them again. He couldn’t let anyone see though the façade.

Chapter Text

It was after midnight when Gojo walked back out of Yaga’s office, a stack of folders with assigned exorcisms under one arm and a cup of espresso in the other, his head already aching from the first three hours of fighting and from the last ten minutes of arguing with Yaga to actually get the curses assigned. 

He scanned the room automatically, brain too foggy to register much beyond not a threat, no curses, or higher up threats present. He drained the last of the coffee just as Nanami walked into the room, a single folder in hand and his suit jacket over one shoulder not quite hiding the bloodstain over his entire right side or the large tear in his shirt.

Nanami walked into the room steadily, looking it over briefly and freezing when he caught sight of Gojo who was looking towards him.

Gojo hesitated trying to think, trying to figure out the best course of action through the pounding headache. He raised his empty cup in salute to the other sorcerer before he could think better of it before it occurred to him that maybe Nanami wouldn’t want an acknowledgement from the man who had almost killed him that day.

Gojo turned his head away from Nanami pretending he had looked away even as he watched Nanami’s eyes widen slightly in surprise before he nodded back to him. Gojo dropped his cup in the trash and watched without turning around as Nanami’s eyes narrowed at him before he pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked down at the lock screen, his head snapped back up to stare at Gojo.

Nanami stared for another long moment, shifting forward slightly then his shoulder slumped, and he dropped his eyes, hands tightening briefly on the file as he slid his phone back into his pocket and started towards the door that would lead him to the hallway that would lead him to Yaga’s office, his head down.

Gojo forced himself to keep moving past the trashcan, not letting the flash of guilt and grief show as Nanami left without an acknowledgment. “We haven’t been friends in years, there’s no call for this,” Gojo thought tiredly forcing his mind to focus on his next exorcism.

-----

Gojo moved slowly as he walked into the room, each step placed carefully so he didn’t stumble, there were too many sorcerers around for that, and his shoulders relaxed as he grinned at a sorcerer who was sitting slumped on a couch waved as he walked past. He nodded to another sorcerer who was draining a bottle of water, leaning against a wall when they looked up.

“Edagusa, good to see you again,” he said pausing by a sorcerer who had been hit with a cursed technique that had lingered after the curse had died and who had been on leave for the last few months. “You doing okay now?” he asked remembering the way the other sorcerer had screamed in pain and fear at whatever he had been seeing.

“Yeah, much,” Edagusa said turned to towards Gojo. “I’ll probably always have nightmares but that’s normal for our line of work,” he said quietly reaching up to touch the button that marked him a sorcerer.

“Good,” Gojo said with a grin, leaning in slightly, tensing when the world swayed. “Who else would I get to bring me those delicious tiny sugar balls,” he asked quietly, “especially because you refuse to tell me where you get them.”

Edagusa shook his head, but a small smile quirked his lips. “You know full well that I make them I don’t know why you continue to pretend that it is a secret, especially since you told all of my friends that I bake when you first found out that I made them,” he said with a laugh.

Gojo shrugged a little. “Maybe I’ll remember if you bring me more,” Gojo said lightly grinning as Edagusa laughed and shook his head.

“Yes I’ll bring you more, I’m pretty sure I promised you a lifetime’s supply a few years ago,” he said voice going strained at the end of his sentence as he reached up to rub his throat, wincing.

“You do that, I’ve been sorely missing them, nut I should let you get to your rest, before Shoko comes looking for you,” Gojo said noticing the pained creases starting form on the other sorcerer’s face the longer they talked.

Edagusa nodded and but spoke again when Gojo started to turn away. “Thank you, I’d be trapped in that nightmare forever if you hadn’t killed he curse,” he said quietly, pressing a hand to a spot just under his collarbone where the curse had stabbed him.

“Of course,” Gojo said quietly, only turning back briefly, before he started forward again, crossing the room.

He scanned over the room and the hallway outside and tensed when he saw Nanami’s cursed energy a moment before he walked into the room from the direction of Yaga’s office. Gojo kept moving conscious of the other people in the room.

Nanami glanced around the room quickly as soon as he walked through the door, he was holding himself stiffly as he paused at the threshold of the room. The other sorcerer’s eyes widened suddenly when he caught sight of Gojo before he checked his phone again, his head snapping up before he turned slightly to scowl over his shoulder.

Gojo clenched his jaw but kept moving forward, he had to give Yaga the reports for the last two days and see if he had figured out who was messing with the windows or who had fought with Sugise.

Nanami turned back around again, his face blank as he started forwards, carefully not looking at Gojo.

“It’s what you were expecting,” Gojo reminded himself as he passed Nanami without a word, the desperate quiet hope that had ignited with Nanami in his classes every day, that maybe when Nanami knew the truth they could be friends again, dying.

Gojo ducked into the empty hallway and kept walking, not letting himself focus on what had just happened, not letting himself focus on the useless feeling of loss that was restricting his throat. He had work to do, curses to kill and that was all that was important.

Two days later, Gojo stumbled away from the latest pile of slowly dissolving goo his head pounding, and hands shaking as he dropped to the ground far enough away from the curse’s body that he couldn’t hear it, gasping for breath as he wiped the purple blood off on his uniform. It’s slick feeling too close to the same as a humans. “Only three days until the rest of the sorcerers are back,” Gojo thought pressing purple stained shaking hands to his eyes. He’d stopped wearing bandages during his fights three days ago, his cursed energy kept fluctuating too much for him to be willing to trust only six eyes in a fight. “Three days until I can sleep for a whole night,” he thought, relishing in the idea, he could shake the exhaustion for a few months, sleep part of every night.

Gojo listed to the side, almost dropping the rest of the away onto the ground before he caught himself. “But not yet, there are still three days left and I still have a dozen curses tonight,” he thought, trying to remember where he was supposed to go next. “I think Yaga said something about a school,” Gojo muttered, forcing himself to his feet as he vaguely recalled Yaga mentioning the address where a tricky curse was harassing a school. “It’s always a damned school,” he muttered as he teleported the site.

Gojo stumbled a step as the new space materialized around him, his vision going fuzzy as his cursed technique told him that there was a sorcerer nearby.  A sorcerer that was close enough to see him. Gojo straightened his shoulders, tensing to stop the swaying as he turned towards the figure, already smiling. “Why is there another sorcerer here. Yaga would have-“ Gojo thought desperately, trying to think through the fog and panic, trying to remember why Yaga had sent him here, before a familiar voice rang out in the quiet air cutting through his thoughts.

“Gojo?” Nanami asked, Gojo’s normal vision finally clearing as Nanami took a step closer. “What are you doing here?” Nanami asked, his eyes flicking around them when Gojo didn’t answer.

Gojo stared at the person who was one of the sorcerers he least wanted to see, who least wanted to see him and couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up in his throat even as he took a step away from him. “Of course he’s here,” Gojo thought still laughing even as his chest tightened, the one person who knew enough to see all the way through him.

“Gojo?” Nanami asked again, shifting forward but not moving any closer, his hands twitching at his side. “What’s wrong?” he asked eyes searching over Gojo.

“Stop, get it together,” Gojo thought, forcing the smile to stay on his face as he sobered, suddenly very aware of the dust on his clothes that were torn from the couple of times he had lost his grip on infinity after a curse had hit him, and, most telling, he wasn’t wearing the bandages, the most obvious sign that he was running low on cursed energy. “As if he didn’t already know that with the way my infinity collapsed four days ago,” Gojo thought, his heart speeding up in his chest, blood rushing in his ears, and his adrenaline spiking as he shoved both hands in his pockets, shifting his weight backwards on his heels as he grinned at Nanami. “Nothing’s wrong, Nanami,” Gojo answered lightly, shifting his weight to the side so he could cross one leg over the other, pretending to lean on something. He had to fix it now, he couldn’t be weak, too many people would die if he was weak.

Nanami’s eyes narrowed as he searched Gojo again. “Why are you here?” he asked again, voice careful as he glanced towards the school across the road.

“Team up, I wanted to see if you forgot everything you learned in school,” Gojo answered easily even as he fought to remember if Yaga had told him Nanami would be there. He couldn’t even remember why Yaga had mentioned the address, or what grade curse was here. “Why wasn’t I paying attention? What else did I miss in that meeting,”  Gojo thought with a spike of alarm, jerking a hand towards his phone before he could stop himself. “If I’m not supposed to be here then where was I assigned,” he thought, clenching his hands into fists in his pockets to try and stop the shaking that was starting there, he couldn’t afford it now, couldn’t afford to let Nanami see anymore. He didn’t know where the other sorcerer stood. “He will protect the kids, but I’m not one of them. I’m one of the people knowingly putting them in harm’s way.”

Nanami took a small step forward, watching Gojo closely and then he dropped his gaze to the ground for a moment before he took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, making Gojo tense unconsciously, that gesture from this sorcerer had never brought anything good.

“Are you alright?” Nanami asked finally, his voice careful and gaze steady, the tension in his shoulders and hands belying the calm.

Gojo froze, caught on the question. Was he alright? What did that mean? Why was Nanami asking? His mind spun, chest tightening with every second that passed, he didn’t know what Nanami meant, what he wanted, what this was a ploy for, didn’t know what any of the answers would cost him. “Lie, you know the answer to that question,”  Gojo snapped at himself, there was only one answer to that question, he was allowed only one answer to that question.

“Of course, I’m alright. Untouchable remember?” Gojo answered with a bright grin, his attention sliding to the building where a curse was supposed to be. The cursed energy was already fading, meaning the curse was probably gone. “A wasted trip, wasted cursed energy I can’t spare.”

“Right,” Nanami said, eyes lingering on Gojo’s shoulder where his uniform was torn from sliding across the ground after he’d been hit, his infinity barely protecting him from the blow before he hadn’t been able to hold it anymore. “Shouldn’t you be at home preparing for school tomorrow?” Nanami asked, glancing down at his phone again. “I didn’t hear anything about classes being canceled.”

Gojo flinched, “it can’t be that late, I have an alarm set,” Gojo thought,  pulling his own phone out of his pocket, “I can’t be late for them, especially now,” Gojo thought, frantic as he checked the time, he couldn’t let his kids down again he couldn’t. He squinted at the time, three thirty in the morning, and breathed out sharply at the number, he still had time, he wasn’t late yet.

“No, I can manage another dozen curses before I need to leave,” Gojo answered Nanami’s question finally, some of the sudden tension in his shoulders easing as he relaxed.

Nanami tensed at his words, opened his mouth, hesitated, and then spoke, slowly, picking each word deliberately. “You were in the room when I came back after my first exorcism today, you’ll be done in a few hours and classes aren’t canceled,” Nanami said flatly studying Gojo closely.

Gojo shrugged slightly. “I’m not sure why you are narrating my whole day, but if you’re looking for feedback you are right on all major points even if you are missing a couple things,” Gojo said, shifting slightly to catch himself as he swayed, exhaustion clouding his mind.

“When do-“ Nanami started only for Gojo’s ringtone to cut him off. Gojo felt the blood drain from his face and turned away, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he did. This could not come at a worse time. He glanced at the screen, Yaga, again.

“Principle?” Gojo asked, answering the phone, and pressing it to his ear. His greeting was answered with a long silence, and Gojo’s jaw tightened, he was not going to play this game with Yaga too.

“Is this a bad time?” Yaga asked carefully, the sound of a drawer closing slowly sounding over the line.

“No, it’s fine, what’s wrong?” Gojo answered, pulling lightly on his cursed energy, and grimacing as it answered sluggishly, that would be a problem if this was going to be a major battle.

“A mission came up unexpectedly,” Yaga answered after another long pause, the quiet sound of his sunglasses hitting the desk barely audible over the line.

Gojo paused, his breath catching in his throat, he knew what that meant. “Whose?” Gojo asked quietly, voice rasping as he forced it out past the sudden block in his throat.

“Tatsuchi,” Yaga answered quietly. “The grade was reported right for once, from what I have been able to gather. It just had a curse technique that he couldn’t manage to fend off. It’s a bad one and I don’t want to risk anyone else against it.”

“Tatsuchi,” Gojo thought briefly, adding the name to list of dead sorcerers, and then pushing it away, he had work to do, and a curse that might actually be dangerous to him now to kill. “Alright where is it?” Gojo asked, wondering briefly, nonsensically if Tatsuchi had taken his suggestion for food to eat between exorcisms.

“An abandoned building,” Yaga said before reading the address off slowly.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it,” Gojo said, hanging up the call without another word, and turning back to face Nanami who was still standing where he had been, watching Gojo closely.

“Duty calls, I’ll see you later,” Gojo said with a quick wave before he teleported away before Nanami could answer.

Gojo woke up slowly, his mind still bleary as he dragged his way out of unconsciousness, his phone ringing incessantly from where it was tucked in his pocket. “what-?” Gojo thought, forcing his eyes open, squinting against the blinding light as his head pounded. “Where-?”

Gojo took a careful breath, and slowly pushed himself of the cold cement, swallowing against the nausea that the movement caused as he looked around, the scant light from the from the starry sky making his head throb.

The first thing that caught his attention was the dried blood on the ground, he dragged his eyes slowly from the first smear across the ground, following an ever-widening trail until he reached the body splayed out on the ground, it’s face set in a mask of fear.

“Tatsuchi,” Gojo thought blankly, staring at the familiar face before he jerked forward, his memory finally catching up, the phone call from Yaga, teleporting here, seeing Tatsuchi on the ground with the curse leaning over him, the battle that should have been easy but wasn’t because he was too slow, limbs not answering his call, cursed energy flickering, the curse dying, and then… he must have passed out, on the ground where anyone could see.

“Damnit,” Gojo rasped yanking on his collar trying to loosen it so he could breathe better as he fumbled for his phone, it’s ringing sending sharp stabs of pain through his head.

He finally managed to wrest the phone from his pocket and squinted down at the screen, just an alarm, Gojo’s shoulders slumped slightly as he ended the alarm, his free hand pressing against his chest as he tried to breath.  Then he remembered what the alarm was for, and he tensed, his hand clenching in the fabric of his uniform.

“The kids!” Gojo thought, attempting to scramble to his feet only to lose his balance and slump back onto the ground, breathing hard. He gave himself another couple of seconds, slumped on the cold ground, and then he pushed himself very slowly to his feet, breathing carefully even as urgency pressed on him making his heart rate go up once again.

He finally managed to get to his feet, braced himself and teleported home, straight into his room, and promptly collapsed again, slamming into the ground hard as his legs gave out suddenly.

Gojo groaned quietly, dragging himself forward so he could sit propped up against the bed. He sat there for a long moment, panting, trying to get the world to stop spinning around him, and the swirling colours out of his vision.

“Just a minute more, I can get back up again, just please a minute more,” Gojo thought, exhausted, as his eyes slid closed again. He didn’t have anything more to give, had managed to make it this far on will power alone and this was where that ended.

“Some strongest I am, can’t even do the damned job I was born for,” Gojo thought bitterly after a few seconds of resting, shifting slowly so he could press his fingers into his eyes, trying to convince himself to get up. “The kids are right out there,” Gojo thought staring at the flimsy door that separated them, that meant that he could continue to be someone they relied on.

He closed his eyes again, dropping his head and interlacing his fingers on the back of his neck as he breathed slowly. “I have a responsibility for them, and for the students, the kids that I’ve been fucking pulling away from most of the bullshit in sorcerer society, I can’t abandon them now,” Gojo thought, and slowly started to push himself to his feet, he had to get changed, this uniform told people that he had come too close to losing and that wasn’t allowed.  

Gojo stepped back into the building and out of sight of the third-year students and immediately slumped against the wall, pressing a hand to his aching head as the hallway around him went fuzzy, his mind drifting for a moment before he shook his head sharply and started back towards the empty classroom.

Gojo noticed the approaching sorcerer just before he turned the corner and stiffened, one hand clenching in his pocket as he scraped the other down his face, trying to clear the fog and then slid it back into his pocket as Nanami came into view.

“Why is he here now?” Gojo thought, his exhausted mind taking a second to remember the night before, remember Nanami seeing the clear evidence that a fight had been hard. “Damnit,” Gojo thought with a spike of alarm. “If he is here now, after that…”

“You’re here,” Nanami said, cutting into Gojo’s thoughts and pausing a few feet away from him, hands by his sides.

“Here I am, in school, where I teach, and here you are, in school, where strangely enough you don’t teach,” Gojo answered lightly, grinning wide enough to show teeth as he shifted to lean against the wall on the same side of the hallway as Nanami, guilt already settling heavily on his shoulders as he once again did the exact thing he had promised never to do.

Nanami shifted backwards. “I…” Nanami started, hesitated a moment and then straightened, squaring his shoulders. “I was hoping you weren’t here today, after last night,” he said, his voice even and his gaze steady, hands loose by his sides.

Gojo forced his posture to stay relaxed at the other sorcerers words, at the confirmation. “and here we go again,” Gojo thought, swallowing hard, it had been a long time since he had needed to deal with a new sorcerer trying this, mostly because he’d made sure his reputation preceded him, but of course Nanami would be the first in years, the man who would spit in the higher ups faces if he knew what they were doing.

“After last night? I mean I probably killed twenty curses last night but while that is impressive I know;  it isn’t a reason to shirk my responsibility to the new generation. How will they grow without guidance,” Gojo asked, leaning forward slightly, his smile sharpening.  

“You were dead on your feet last night, barely able to stand, and intending to somehow kill twelve more curses before school,” Nanami said flatly, breath hitching for a moment the only sign that he wasn’t completely unconcerned. “You should be resting, not teaching right now.”

Gojo laughed at that, covering his confusion, that hadn’t been what he was expecting. “I don’t need to rest, come on Nanami everyone knows that. I know you’re new and all but really I’d think you would have heard by now,” Gojo said, focusing for a moment on steadying his hand as he flicked through the air dismissively. “What is he doing, that didn’t sound like even a veiled threat or challenge,” Gojo thought as he slid his hand back into his pocket, shifting his weight slightly as he crossed one leg over the other, leaning heavier into the wall, and checking infinity briefly.

Nanami hesitated, rocking backwards slightly, the movement almost imperceptible, even to Gojo, then his eyes flicked to Gojo’s shoulder where his uniform had been torn last night, and Gojo suppressed the sigh that wanted to escape, the destroyed uniform was going to be hard to brush off.

“When was the last time you did sleep?” Nanami asked slowly, his heart speeding up as his hands twitched at his sides. “Because you didn’t miss a single day of school in the two weeks I was…” Nanami hesitated, his gaze leaving Gojo for the first time since he had started the conversation, before it snapped back, and he continued. “The two weeks that I was sitting in your classes, and yet from what Yaga said he still has more than four hundred reports of curses killed just from you.”

“I didn’t tell you to tell him everything Yaga,” Gojo thought briefly before he forced himself to focus on the danger in front of him. “Are you stalking me Nanami?” he asked, his grin sliding into something more knowing.

Nanami jerked at the accusation, face sliding out of the blank mask and into a scowl as he sucked in a sharp breath. Then he paused, and clenched his teeth, turning slightly as he breathed out slowly, before turning back to Gojo, has face neutral once again. “Just tell me when you last slept,” he said evenly, his voice perfectly calm.

Gojo felt a spike of alarm at that reaction, at Nanami’s refusal to be distracted. He shifted, pulling his hands out of his pockets slightly and checked infinity again, feeling the slow seep of cursed energy into it as he considered Nanami’s question, considered lying. “That would only tell him that I was hiding something, if he figured out I was lying, as of now all he’s asking is about when I slept, I just need to convince him that I don’t need to sleep more,” Gojo thought, his mind flicking through options slower than normal.

“Fine, fine, Nanami, you win I’ll tell you. You apparently haven’t lost that stubborn annoying streak,” Gojo said, shifting against the wall slightly as he held up his hands in surrender, still grinning, attention on his hands forcing them not to tremble. “I’ll admit, I slept a bit three weeks ago, but it was such a boring movie,” Gojo said dropping his hands to his sides, and tilting his head slightly.

“Three weeks!” Nanami shouted, stepping forward, hands out, his blank mask breaking to show blatant shock. “The last time you slept was three weeks ago?” Nanami asked, his eyes wide.

“Well,” Gojo started, taken aback by the reaction, “I slept for about an hour four days ago,” he said carefully watching the other sorcerer carefully as he shrugged slightly.

Nanami clenched his jaw, looking away for a moment before he turned back to Gojo. “Why haven’t you slept in three weeks? What is so important?” he asked, his voice steady and calm once more.

Gojo checked the hallway quickly, no sorcerers approaching, no one near enough to hear, only Nanami. “Nanami,” Gojo said, drawing the name out as he tilted his head back, slumping against the wall. “Anything is more important, watching paint dry is more important, I told you I don’t need rest,” Gojo took a quick breath, bracing himself and then continued, “the strongest sorcerer here, head of the Gojo clan remember?” he asked, tilting his head back down and waving a hand in the air.

“You dropped infinity,” Nanami said flatly, his shoulders tensing, “both four days ago and last night.”

Gojo flinched from the words before he could stop himself, breath catching in his chest, the memory of the fear as infinity dropped, the pain from the curse’s strike hitting him and throwing him across the room, skidding across cement flaring across his mind before he shoved it forcefully away, dragging his attention back to the sorcerer in front of him, who had seen far too much.

“I wondered why at the time, but now…” Nanami said, holding still as he watched Gojo steadily. “If you can’t maintain infinity then you are bound to make mistakes, mistakes get people killed. So why do you refuse to sleep?” Nanami asked, voice hard, and his hands loose at his side.

Gojo slumped against the wall, sighing quietly, and squeezing his eyes shut tight, trying to banish the images of dead or hurt sorcerers. “I know but I can’t Nanami, I have curses to kill,” Gojo said quietly, his entire body aching from the endless weeks, that were already stretching out behind him like one long day, a fever dream of never-ending fighting.

 Nanami hesitated, shifting his weight from foot to foot for a moment before he stilled again. “You teach all day, you shouldn’t hunt curses all night, let the other sorcerers share the exorcisms, you don’t need to do them all,” Nanami said with a small half smile.

Gojo jerked, gasping like he had taken a blow to the chest with infinity down, his scalp prickled at the sudden cold flash as he remembered a dark hallway, a cold room, and a friend dead on an exam table, killed by a curse that he had taken care of in moments. “No!” he said, sharply, his voice far away. He sucked in a breath, shivering in the cold, his shoulders shaking as he tried to think tried to… “No, I can handle them all, I need to take care of them all,” Gojo said, the words a familiar refrain, a promise made, that he couldn’t keep. The root of everything wrong, if he could just manage what he was supposed to do…

He noticed, distantly, that Nanami flinched away from him, eyes going wide at his words. “Gojo,” Nanami whispered, his voice ragged.

Gojo curled in on himself farther, Nanami had always know, even back when they were all kids, he had noticed what Gojo hadn’t what he had been too damned oblivious too caught up in his own damned selfishness to see. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, not sure who he was talking to, Nanami whose friend he had killed, Shoko who he forced to heal or dissect people she knew, all the sorcerers, students, and non-sorcerers that he had killed over the years, or perhaps Suguru who had been so good until Gojo’s selfishness had forced him onto exorcism after exorcism until he had finally snapped. Exorcisms that should have been Gojo’s.

Gojo pushed off the wall, stumbled a step and then started down the hallway again, stepping to the far side of the hallway to pass Nanami, moving on autopilot. He had work to do, curses to kill, maybe, one day if he could kill enough curses the staring eyes of everyone he had failed wouldn’t follow him quite so closely.

Ten minutes later Gojo stared down at the open files on the desk in the empty classroom, trying to memorize the address at least, when his phone rang, the sound cutting through the air and making him jump.

Gojo shoved a shaking hand into his pocket pulled out his phone and stared at Yaga’s contact on the screen for a long moment, trying to  focus on the screen, trying to remember why Yaga would be calling, and then finally he answered the call pressing the phone to his ear. “What’s going on Yaga? You know I don’t have much time right now,” Gojo said as soon as the line connected, shoving the still open files into a haphazard pile before he slumped into the nearest chair.

“Gojo, good, are you still in the building?” Yaga asked brusquely, voice urgent over the distant sound of a door closing.

“Yes, I’m still here, not that it matter much,” Gojo said, trying for light, but failing as his throat tightened with fear, his heartrate speeding up. “Please don’t be about Suguru, please,” Gojo thought pressing his free hand against his leg, as he fought to keep his breathing silent.

“Good, then I need to you to walk down to my office, there is something we need to talk about,” Yaga said carefully, the absolute silence on the other end telling Gojo that he was barely moving.

“What’s wrong Yaga? Just tell me now,” Gojo said, already pushing himself to his feet and starting towards the office.

“Just…” Yaga started before trailing off and then starting again. “Nothing is wrong, but I do need to speak to you in person.”

Gojo considered forcing the issue for a moment, and then he sighed, too tired for that, especially with an ally. “Alright, I’m on my way,” Gojo said, and then hung up before Yaga could say anything else, moving as quickly as he could without running.

He stepped into Yaga’s office a few minutes later. Yaga was sitting behind his desk, that was clear of papers for once, his hands resting on the desk. Gojo paused for a moment, and then walked deeper into the room, closing the door behind himself before he dropped into the nearest chair, studying Yaga closely.

“What’s going on? You never call me in the middle of the day,” Gojo said, leaning back in the chair, searching the room for any hint of what was going on.

Yaga hesitated, drumming the fingers of his right hand on his desk once before he stilled them. “Almost all of the sorcerers are back from their break,” Yaga started carefully, fingertips lightening as he pressed them against the desk slightly.

“Ok,” Gojo said after a long pause, still not sure what was going on. “Congratulations to them, can’t wait to see what they do,” Gojo said, propping his head on his left hand. “Why does that mean you had to see me in person, urgently?”

Yaga hesitated again, and Gojo fought to keep his posture relaxed and open, dread making his fingers go cold, as he breathed carefully, steadily.

“Gojo,” Yaga started, then he hesitated again, and then leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk. “I’m putting you on leave,” he finished flatly, folding his hands on the desk, and his gaze steady from behind his glasses.

Gojo paused, brows furrowing slightly. “Why?” Gojo asked finally, crossing one leg over the other. “Actually, how are you intending to do that? We both know that there are curses that are assigned to me because I am the only person who can exorcise them,” Gojo said with a flash of a grin, his mind racing. The last time Yaga had tried to put him on leave was… never. What had changed, the summer was worse than most but still.

“Why?” Yaga repeated, leaning back in his seat, unlocking, and pulling a drawer on the left side of his desk. “Can you honestly tell me that you have slept more than twelve hours in the last three months?” he asked pulling out a thin file and dropping it on his desk. “And before you answer I have been keeping track of the exorcisms you have completed, and I know approximately how long a curse takes you on average.”

Gojo resisted the urge to sit up and instead slouched further into the chair, lifting his right hand to wave Yaga’s words away. “We both know I do that every summer; I don’t need any more sleep than that,” he said, repeating the words for the third time in not even an hour. “Why is everyone so concerned all of a sudden?” Gojo thought, Nanami had made some sense, since he had seen him last night, but Yaga?  “Oh,” Gojo thought suddenly, swallowing hard, as he fought to keep his breathing from going ragged, holding his pose as he remembered that he’d had twelve exorcisms to do. “That must be it, between those and the things I keep fucking missing he’s probably concerned that I’m going to mess something up and kill someone,” Gojo thought, pressing the fingers of left hand into his scalp, where they are hidden by his hair.

“Everyone needs sleep,” Yaga said flatly, shifting forward in his seat. “I know you have almost unlimited cursed energy, but you will eventually use more than you make and what then?”

Gojo studied Yaga for a long moment, checking the hallways and rooms around the office as he did, all empty. “We both know that I can’t stop,” Gojo said, shifting to lean back in the chair, dropping his hands in his lap.

Yaga looked away, brushing a hand across the clean desk, before he looked back to Gojo. “You need to, you are going to burn out at this rate. We can’t afford to lose you,” Yaga said, tapping the folder lightly.

“No,” Gojo said, and then left it at that, Yaga couldn’t know what he was doing, not all of it.

“You need to rest, I’m putting you on leave, no killing curses for at least a week. You will still teach classes but that’s it,” Yaga said, sliding the file of the desk and then dropping it into the drawer.

Gojo sighed quietly, exhaustion pressing him into the seat, he didn’t have the time or energy for this. “Don’t alienate the principal of your school, and your city,” Gojo reminded himself, biting his tongue briefly before he slid down in the chair. “What do you suggest oh principle? You want me to sit and watch as the special and first grade curses run amok?” Gojo asked watching Yaga as he winced slightly and looked down. “And now for the out,” he thought before continuing, his hand sliding along the chair as he looked up at the ceiling. “The sorcerers being back are great, and I won’t say no to less curses every day, but I can’t just stop,” Gojo continued, pretending not to notice as Yaga’s eyes snapped back to him.

“Got him,” Gojo thought tiredly, fighting not to notice the familiar way the guilt pressed on his shoulders, making it hard to keep them straight. Every year he proved that he could kill curses by the hundreds and every winter he just stopped and let sorcerer who died take over instead.

“I’ll get bored if I can’t kill any curses,” Gojo said with a slight shrug. “Besides, what am I supposed to tell the higher ups? No, I’ve been put on a timeout?”

“Very well, no leave, but I want you to sleep at least four hours, every night,” Yaga said leaning forward in his chair again.

“Four hours, really?” Gojo asked, not wanting to accede too quickly. “I feel like that is too many.

“No, Gojo, it still isn’t enough, you should get about seven,” Yaga said dryly, closing and locking the drawer.

Gojo sighed loudly and tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling. “Fine, since you insist. Was that all I have… lesson planning to do,” Gojo said still facing the ceiling, four hours of sleep would be enough to keep him going and ensure that he could fight if a big threat did appear. “But how many people will die because I’m asleep?” Gojo thought, remembering, with a suppressed wince, what he had said to Nanami in that hallway only fifteen minutes ago, “I can handle them all, I need to take care of them all.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t manage it yet,” Gojo thought, squeezing his eyes shut tight where they were hidden by the bandages., his throat tightening with grief.

“Yes that’s all, Go on,” Yaga said, waving Gojo towards the door.

Gojo pushed himself to his feet, leaving a hand resting on the chair until he was steady, and the started towards the door, his shoulders squared against the guilt he could feel settle on them like a familiar coat. He had to keep going, too many people relied on him, and this was a compromise that was sustainable.

-----

Gojo finally escaped from the meeting four hours after it had started, and allowed himself a second to breath in the cool night air, keeping his posture straight, aware of the eyes on him even though they were concealed in the building, then he started forward again, and slipped into the car waiting for him, sliding his phone out of his pocket and glancing at the screen that showed two missed calls from Yaga, one an hour into the meeting and the other a few minutes ago.

“Take me to the school,” Gojo said quietly when the driver glanced at him in the mirror, and then he tapped on the name and called Yaga as the car pulled away from the building.

“Hello Yaga, what’s up?” Gojo asked casually, slouching back in the seat, and tilting his head back, relaxing for real for the first time in four hours.  

“You are aware you missed a meeting?” Yaga asked calmly, his chair creaking.

“Yep, did you really call me twice because I missed a meeting that was scheduled after a clan engagement?” Gojo asked, with a quick laugh, tilting his head to the side. “You know well enough that these damned things always run late. Everyone has something to say, and it’s never short,” Gojo said, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

“That’s not why I called the second time, there is something you need to look at, something about the windows,” Yaga said quietly, and Gojo tensed, his breath catching in his throat, his posture never changing.

“And?” Gojo asked when Yaga paused, “come on I know I’m brilliant and all, but I can’t guess what’s going on based on one word,” Gojo continued, hoping as he had every day since he had heard the guess that Geto was not involved.

“I’ll tell you when you get here. Are you on your way?” Yaga asked quickly just before the muffled sound of knock sounded over the line.

“Yeah I’ll be there soon,” Gojo answered, slouching into his seat farther, crossing his legs at the ankles.

                  “Good,” Yaga said, and then hung up abruptly, just as he started to tell someone to enter the room.

                  “Damnit,” Gojo thought vehemently, already sick of whatever was coming, his skin too tight from the hours of conversational dancing, performance, and outright lies.

                  Gojo paused outside Yaga’s door a half hour later, after exchanging conversation with a dozen sorcerers as he moved through the building, adding the random bits of gossip to his knowledge of what was going on. Charting the changes in relationships and alliances by the way they moved through the rooms.

                  Gojo pressed a flat hand into the wall, breathing carefully for a moment as he rolled his shoulders back, and then when his posture was relaxed he pushed the door open, and then froze in the doorway when both Yaga and Nanami turned to look at him. Yaga’s reaction Gojo expected, he was exasperated, pushing out of his seat, scowling and already about to speak,  but Nanami froze when he saw him, eyes dropping for a moment before he straightened sharply in his seat, and looked up, scanning Gojo, shoulders tense.

                  “You couldn’t have knocked, before barging in?” Yaga asked, leaning forward on his desk. “I’m in the middle of something here.”

                  Gojo shrugged, the reaction automatic, even though his mind was still caught on Nanami’s reaction, hell, Nanami’s presence. “What’s going on? I cannot do this now,”  Gojo thought stepping farther into the room. “I have never knocked on a door, I’m certainly not going to start with an office,” Gojo said, settling down in the chair next to Nanami.

                  “Right, then you’ll have to sit there and wait in silence,” Yaga said with a sigh, sitting down again, and turned pointedly towards Nanami. “Go on,”

                  Nanami hesitated, glancing to Gojo, his face blank, but his shoulders pulled in slightly.

                  Gojo laughed, twisting to sit in his seat at an angle. “You did call me here you know, but sure I’ll just waste my endless time sitting here while you give Nanami detention for filling out paperwork too right,” Gojo said lightly, tilting his head to grin at Nanami. “See I can do this, I’m not going to get anyone killed, I can make up for it, can take care of everyone,” Gojo thought hands tightening where he had them interlaced in his lap.

                  Nanami flinched at his words, and Gojo straightened slightly as Yaga’s brow furrowed but he spoke before either of them could do anything. “It can wait, I’ll come by after the next exorcism and finish the report,” Nanami said, pushing himself to his feet with a nod to Yaga and then Gojo. “Have a good night…” he said, hesitated, shot a quick glance in Gojo’s direction, and then continued, “both of you.”

                  “Nanami,” Yaga started, but Nanami was already turning away, a file under his arm as he disappeared out the door, closing it lightly behind himself.

                  Gojo furrowed his brow, watching Nanami walk away without turning his head. “What the hell? I…” Gojo thought, confused for a moment before he remembered, the last two times he had seen Nanami he had attempted to intimidate him, had threatened him. Gojo slumped in his seat, sighing quietly as his chest tightened, skin going cold with guilt as he squeezed his eyes shut, the motion invisible behind the blindfold.

                  “What did you do?” Yaga asked, leaning forward in his seat, elbow planted on his desk as he stared at Gojo.

                  “Nothing,” Gojo said quickly, lifting his hands, “in fact I find it hurtful that you would assume that I did something, and not that he was simply bored and decided to leave, I do it regularly enough.”

                  “No, you don’t and Nanami certainly never does, so what did you do?” Yaga asked, repeating the question slower, spacing each word out.

                  “Nothing,” Gojo repeated, just as slow, and then pushed himself up in the chair just enough to cross one leg over the other and then lean back again. “I believe there was something you wanted to tell me,”  he said tilting his head to the side as he changed the subject.

                  Yaga stared at him for a long moment, then he sighed and looked down at the papers on his desk, before he started gathering them up and sliding them back into the folder they came from. “Very well Gojo, but please try not to alienate the new sorcerer who has the potential to be grade one someday and who as of now seems to be leaning towards siding with us,” Yaga said sliding the folder back into his desk.

                  “Of course, principle,” Gojo said shoulders tensing, even though he stayed slumped in the chair, one leg still crossed over the other. “I will not alienate Nanami, for the sole reason that we might use him one day in a political game,” Gojo continued, voice slightly sharp even as he tilted his head back to face the ceiling.

                  Yaga looked up sharply at his words, and then sighed, slumping back in his own seat. “Point taken,” he said, rubbing at his forehead. “Can we move on to the reason I called you here? I figured out who’s fucking with the windows,” he continued, only looking back up at Gojo what he had finished speaking.

                  “A curse user I presume,” Gojo said. “Geto please tell me you didn’t do this,”  Gojo thought not letting the reaction show in his body language.

                  “Yes,” Yaga said pulling a thick file out of a different folder in his desk. “Not one we know thankfully,” he continued, then he paused, dropping the file on the desk, and looking back to Gojo with a cynical half smile. “We are going to have a hard time convincing the higher ups of that, but it is true. They’ve got a tricky cursed technique that we haven’t been able to figure out, but whatever it is, is making the windows make those false reports,” Yaga continued pushing the file across the desk.

                  Gojo dropped his foot and sat up to grab the file, flipping it open.

                  “I hate to give this to you now when you’ve only had a few days to recover from the marathon that was this summer, but…” Yaga said trailing off as Gojo tilted his head to look at him.

                  “But I’m the only person who can manage the curse user, the only hope for a success, and the higher ups want it done now,” Gojo finished for Yaga with a grin flipping the folder closed as he slid back in the seat. “Not to mention all the sorcerers who are getting hurt or dying because their curses are being reported wrong,” Gojo thought, suppressing a wince as he remembered showing up just in time to catch a sorcerer who a curse far above their grade had sent flying. “And they were one of the people I actually managed to save.” Gojo held his shoulders squared, where they rested against the back of the chair, refusing to let them slide inwards.

                  “Precisely,” Yaga said, glancing at the clock on the wall, before turning back to Gojo. “And that is the end of this night for you. You need to go home and get started on those four hours,” Yaga said, before glancing at the file in Gojo’s hands. “Just take care of that as soon as you can manage, I’m tired of seeing sorcerers come back half dead because a report was wrong,” he said, voice going ragged for a moment before he caught himself and steadied it again.

                  “Will do,” Gojo said brightly, pushing himself up out of the chair suddenly to hide the flinch at those words.

                  Gojo finally made it back to the school after the week he spent finding and then getting rid of the curse user at four in the morning, having been up for about four days before that point and shoved the door open, stepping into the room on light feet, his shoulders relaxed as he moved through the mostly empty room.

He’d made it about halfway through the room when his phone rang suddenly, startling every one of the five sorcerers in the room into spinning towards him, reaching for their cursed energy. Pretending that their reactions hadn’t happened, Gojo slid a hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, answering it with the swipe of a finger and then pressed it to his ear. “Shoko, you either have the best timing ever, or the worst,” Gojo said lightly as he continued across the room towards the hallway that would eventually lead to Yaga’s office.

                  “The best,” Shoko replied shortly then her voice went serious as she continued, “I need you to come to the infirmary as soon as you can, and no I won’t tell you why until you get here,” she said quickly, before muffling the speaker and talking to someone else, her voice inaudible.

                  Gojo paused for half a second mid-stride and then turned away from where he had been going and started towards the infirmary, moving leisurely, his chest tightening as he tried to figure out what was going on. Why Shoko wanted to him in the infirmary. “Nobody died, Yaga would have called me immediately if someone had,” Gojo reminded himself, heartrate picking up as more adrenaline slid into his system, pushing overworked nerves back into overdrive, and making his skin prickle under the familiar weight of his uniform.

                  Gojo walked into the infirmary five minutes later despite the leisurely pace, he’d had to use. “Shoko,” Gojo called, conversationally as soon as the door closed behind him, scanning the room he was in and the several rooms beyond it, all empty except for one that had two people, both of them with familiar cursed energy that was only slightly obscured by the residual cursed energy in the infirmary.

                  “You have got to be kidding me,” Gojo thought, slumping back against the wall with a silent laugh when he caught sight of Nanami’s cursed energy behind the door. “You’re fucking everywhere now. It was a joke, but it’s looking more like you are stalking me every day,” Gojo continued, pressing a hand to his eyes as he fought to regain control of his breathing, still laughing, his eyes watering as his chest tightened despite the laughter. “That is the best way to save the people around when someone makes a fatal mistake,” Gojo thought, laugh catching in his throat as he dropped his head backwards, letting infinity catch the blow before it could do any damage.

                  “I can do this Nanami, it was just a really shitty summer,” Gojo thought, shifting to lean farther against the wall, familiar exhaustion pressing onto him after four days of hunting.

                  A few minutes later the door to the exam room opened and Nanami stepped out, looking back at Shoko as she finished her last few instructions, a bloody hole the size of a baseball in his suit leg, four gashes in his shirt that his jacket barely covered, and his tie shredded on one end.

                  “I will do most of that, but I have an exorcism in a couple of days,” Nanami said, pausing in the doorway still turned towards the room.

                  “Just tell Yaga I’ve told you to rest,” Shoko said in response, pulling off bloody gloves and tossing them in the correct trash as she walked past. “That’s why I told you about it,” she said with a sardonic half smile as she lit a cigarette and breathed in.

                  “That… was not how it worked before,” Nanami said slowly, brows furrowing as he stared at her.

                  “Yeah, I know it came into effect about three years ago, after a summer, when sorcerers were dying every night when they didn’t need to be. Our bosses saw sense for once,” Shoko said crossing one arm over her chest and resting her other arm on it to take another breath from the cigarette.

                  Gojo grimaced at the reminder of that bloody, hot summer, where he had come back from his missions covered in sweat from the heat to find sorcerers standing by themselves in a room full of other sorcerers, staring off into space as they waited for their next assignment. Sorcerers walking around with their heads down, too exhausted to do anything except work, sometimes not even remembering to change their uniforms, the dried blood invisible against the black, to everyone except him.

                  Fixing that had taken months of careful work, and offering things he hadn’t wanted to give. “Worth it though,” Gojo reminded himself again, remembering with a flash of pride the way the sorcerers he had seen had during the summer had talked with each other, had laughed. “Even this last summer, with as fucking awful as it was,” Gojo thought pushing himself off the wall and starting towards Shoko.

Shoko’s eyes flicked to him as he walked into her sightline, and Nanami spun with it, hand sliding behind his back.

“Shoko, Nanami,” Gojo greeted lightly, trying to ignore the blood covered table in the room behind Nanami.

“Gojo,” Nanami said, after a second, his eyes going wide as he stepped forward. “Are you injured? How did you get injured?” he asked, scanning him quickly, looking for injuries.

“Not injured,” Gojo said, stuffing both hands into his pockets as he nodded towards Shoko. “Just visiting,” he continued, not letting the surprise or shock show on his face.

“I called him down here,” Shoko said, stepping across the room to tap her cigarette against the ash tray sitting on the counter farthest away from the exam table. “Although I am slightly offended that you think the only reason anyone would come down was if they were injured,” she said putting the cigarette back to her mouth and breathing in before her eye abruptly narrowed, flicking between Gojo and Nanami, who only glanced at her briefly before turning back to Gojo.

“Wait,” she said suddenly, putting out her cigarette with a quick gesture, and cutting of Nanami. “Why would you even think he would be hurt? Mr. invincible can’t get hurt,” she said sharply, stepping forward and leaving the cigarette in the ash tray.

Gojo sighed dramatically and flopped sideways to lean against the wall to cover the flinch as Nanami turned to stare at her incredulously before glancing between them quickly. “Oh, thank you dear Ieiri your faith in me is a balm,” Gojo said grinning wide before he tilted his head forward as though peering over glasses that he no longer wore. “And what are you two getting up to?” he asked, the words, the flippancy coming without conscious thought, before he realized with a wince that it was obvious what they were doing and pretending it was anything else was insensitive, especially since they had just established that he didn’t get injured on his exorcisms.

“I just got done patching him up,” Shoko said briskly, still squinting between them as Nanami watched Gojo carefully, his intense focus making Gojo want to shift away, even though his posture stayed relaxed against the wall. “Why did you assume he had been injured,” Shoko asked again, her eyes snaping to Nanami, who finally looked away from Gojo to look at her.

“Habit, this is the infirmary, and I’ve never seen anyone in here who wasn’t injured,” Nanami said flatly, moving through the words at a steady pace, eyes on Shoko until he was done, and then they flicked to the clock, and he stiffened, turning back to Gojo.

“Shouldn’t you be home by now? School starts soon,” he said carefully, eyes steady on Gojo despite the way his hands fisted at his sides, shoulders sliding in slightly.

Gojo shrugged at his question, he wasn’t planning on sleeping so as long as he got back before his kids woke up he should be fine. “I’ve still got things I need to do, can’t let leave any work undone,” Gojo said, grinning again, half expecting Nanami to roll his eyes or nod, and thus surprised when he recoiled and dropped his eyes for a moment before straightening.

“Gojo-“ he started, and Gojo tensed, the sudden change in demeanor worrying him.

“Nope,” Shoko said stepping forward to prod Nanami in the shoulder. “Go home, you can have your argument with Gojo later, I need to talk to him first,” she said briskly, prodding Nanami’s shoulder again.

Nanami twitched away from her touch, glanced between them quickly, and then to Gojo’s great relief, nodded and started out the door moving past Gojo carefully.

Gojo watched him cross the room without turning his head, the tension sliding out of his posture the farther Nanami got away. “At least I won’t have to hear what a shitty job I’m doing at shouldering my responsibilities in front of one of the people most affected by it,” Gojo thought, exhaustion swamping him once more as Shoko slowly lit another cigarette, watching Nanami until he had disappeared out the door and only then turning her attention to Gojo.

“So, Dr what’s going on?” Gojo asked, not shifting from his place against the wall. “What terrible thing has occurred that is so urgent?”

“Sugise has been here three times in the seven days you were gone, and only one of times was because he was hurt during an exorcism,” she said flatly, staring straight at him, her cigarette trailing smoke into the air.

Gojo held very still for a long moment, breathing through the sudden rage. The incandescent fury making it hard to breathe. “Who?” he asked carefully, keeping his voice calm, and quiet even though he knew that his body language was giving him away, his hands tight in his pockets.

“I don’t know, he refused to tell me, but it’s getting worse,” Shoko answered, resting one hand on the counter so her cigarette’s ash would drop right into the tray as she drummed finger tips against the metal. “I figured you’d want to know that someone is attacking your student,” she said, voice hard as she looked down to study her cigarette intently, mouth tightening.

“Thank you,” Gojo said, speaking carefully, forcing his mouth to open so he wasn’t speaking through his teeth. “I warned them, did they think that one week away meant I didn’t care anymore,” Gojo thought turning away as Shoko started to clean the exam table. “Maybe they assumed you wouldn’t notice, since you weren’t there taking care of them,” Gojo’s mind whispered, and he missed a step, hand pressed to the door back into the hallway as he breathed slowly, pushing aside the familiar heavy weight of guilt so he could focus on fixing it.

                  Gojo stepped out of the room, and then paused again, resisting the urge to teleport straight to Yaga’s office and demand answers. He breathed, slowly steadily, forcing the anger away, he would not make the same mistake again, he breathed in slowly, one hand pressed flat against his leg, all the muscles tensed but not pushing for a long moment before he breathed out sharply, and let the muscles relax and then teleported to Yaga’s office, calmer now, willing to listen.

                  Yaga jumped in his chair when Gojo appeared, his head snapping up as he shoved himself back from his desk, his cursed dolls jolting to life around the room.

“I come in peace,” Gojo said, with a laugh, leaning back against the door, hands in pockets as Yaga paused, and then slumped back into his seat, his dolls, settling back down with him.

“Gojo,” Yaga said, pressing a hand to his head as he sighed, looking down at his desk before scowling back up at Gojo. “Why was that necessary?” he asked sharply.

Gojo grinned at him, teeth showing as he pressed more of his weight into the door and crossed his legs at the ankles. “I heard a funny story on my way in Yaga,” he said lightly, his grin widening when Yaga straightened suddenly.

“What was that?” Yaga asked, pushing the paper on his desk to the side as he rested both arms on the desk.

“Sugise…” Gojo said, paused and continued when Yaga shifted slightly in his seat, taking a breath to speak, “a third-year student, who has not yet graduated has had to see Shoko twice for injuries not gathered during an exorcism or training, and we both know none of my students would do that,” Gojo said, tilting his head to the side. “Do you know anything about that?” he asked lightly, still grinning as he slouched farther into the door.

“If this is another time like that damned exorcism you sent the second years on…” Gojo thought, anger flaring in his chest, and forcing him to focus on keeping his jaw relaxed.

“I know,” Yaga said tightly, leaning back in his chair, “Shoko made me aware of it after the second time Sugise came to see her, but he won’t tell me who he is fighting with or why,” Yaga said, reaching into a drawer and tossing a file in the middle of his desk. “And whoever it is has been smart enough not to see Shoko about whatever injuries they got. They aren’t using cursed energy so there isn’t much else I can do without knowing why they are attacking Sugise… or I suppose why Sugise is attacking them,” Yaga said, speaking the last carefully, pressing his hands into the desk.

Gojo didn’t respond for a long moment, studying Yaga closely, searching for any sign of a lie, and when he didn’t find one he sighed lightly and moved farther into the room, dropping into a chair in front of the desk.

“I want to protect them just as much as you do,” Yaga said quietly after a few minutes of silence. “I can’t always manage it, but I do not want to see them hurt.”

Gojo didn’t answer for a moment, remembering a young girl, brought to Jujutsu Tech so she could be sacrificed to Tengen, Geto pushed so hard that he eventually snapped, and Yaga a willing participant through it all, then he tilted his head up to face Yaga. “I know that of course,” he said with a slight shrug, “just have to keep you on your toes.”

Yaga scowled and turned pointedly back to his papers. “How was the mission, is it done?” he asked sharply picking up his pen.

“Done, and with flare,” Gojo answered flippantly, pulling the file in the middle of the table towards himself, and flipping it open. “Oh, and Nanami’s going to miss his next exorcism so you should give me the file while I’m here,” Gojo said absently as he scanned the papers. “Shoko should send you the heads up in a bit.”

“Why?” Yaga asked head coming back up as his pen paused on the paper.

“He got injured in his last one,” Gojo said flipping the page, looking for anything that might tell him what was going on with Sugise.

“Damn,” Yaga muttered, pulling a calendar closer and flipping through it. “No, I’ll give Nanami’s mission to Asanaga, you can have their mission,” he said making a note on the calendar before pulling a folder out of his desk and sliding it towards Gojo.

Gojo ignored the file on the desk until he had made it to the end of the first one, and then he sighed quietly and tossed the file back on the desk. Nothing, not even a small hint. “I’ll need to asked Sugise again, and hope that he’ll actually answer the question this time,” Gojo thought pulling the second file towards himself and scanning it quickly, until he spotted the special ranking on the first page.

“Good plan,” Gojo said easily, closing the file and then pushing himself to his feet, and starting towards the door, more than ready to go home.

“Gojo…” Yaga started only to trail off as Gojo turned to face at him, eyebrows raised. “Sleep well,” he finished finally, looking back down at his papers.

Gojo laughed quietly, and then stepped out the door, sidestepping immediately as Nanami almost ran into him.

“Gojo?” Nanami asked, brows furrowing in obvious confusion, even as he stepped back, clearing the way. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh nothing, just catching up,” Gojo answered immediately, tone light, and dismissive by habit, before he paused, catching the wince. “Let’s not give him more reason to think I slack off,” Gojo thought tiredly as Nanami squinted at him, glancing briefly at the office behind him.

Nanami visibly hesitated, shifting his weight slightly before he spoke, eyes steady on Gojo. “You don’t have another exorcism assigned do you?” he asked slowly, grimacing slightly as he glanced back at the office.

“Oh, I do, a special grade,” Gojo said, shifting to lean against the doorjamb. “Just came up,” he continued lightly, pausing when Nanami flinched and looked away.

“I heard you were on a mission for the last week, you should rest before doing anything else,”  Nanami said squaring his shoulders and tilting his chin up again, his jaw tight as he swallowed hard.

“Probably will,” Gojo answered flippantly, stomach lurching at the admission. “I can’t lose my edge like that right now, not during the winter,” Gojo thought desperately, scalp prickling as he swallowed against the nausea. “There’s too many games to play when everyone isn’t scrambling to keep afloat, and I can’t keep ahead of them when I’m too tired to think straight,” Gojo thought, knowing that Nanami didn’t know that, could only see that he was leaving people to die so that he could sleep. “Not that he would care if he did know,” Gojo realized, shoulders slumping without his permission as he was hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion that was only partially to do with the long week.

“I… Good,” Nanami said carefully, stepping closer. Gojo froze at his words, tensing, mind racing again. “You should sleep more,” Nanami said, eyes flicking past Gojo to rest on the door behind him as he held himself very straight, hand clenched tight at his sides.

Gojo stared at Nanami, stunned, he should sleep more? “I can’t,” Gojo said, shocked into an honest answer for once.

Nanami flinched away from that answer, taking a step back as his shoulders hunched. “Right, of course, just… be careful Gojo,” he said carefully.

“Sure,” Gojo said slowly, and pushed off the wall, studying Nanami carefully, as he checked the hallway beyond the room, which was empty. “I’m missing something,” Gojo thought, mind spinning as he tried to figure out what it was.

“I should go, I… have an exorcism of my own,” Nanami said, glancing at the file in Gojo’s hand quickly before he looked back up at his face, shifting his jacket to cover the rips in his shirt and the bandages they revealed more completely.

“You really should listen to Shoko, I have on good authority that she is a good doctor,” Gojo said lightly, studying Nanami closely, there was something wrong.

“I know,” Nanami said, and then stepped forward, moving towards the office door. “But I have an exorcism I have to do,” he continued, shoulders stiff as his gaze dropped to the ground before he straightened and pushed the door open, nodding to Gojo as he passed.

Gojo stayed where he was, resting against the wall, and watched as Nanami walked into the office, closed the door, and then sat down in a chair across from Yaga. “At least he shouldn’t give Nanami an exorcism knowing that Shoko advised time off,”  Gojo thought, rubbing absently at the bone over his heart, worry catching in his throat before he pushed off the wall and started towards the car that had dropped him off, if he was lucky he would get home in enough time to get some sleep before his kids woke up.

-----

Four days passed and once again found Gojo standing in a puddle of slowly dissolving purple liquid, scowling down at it. “I’m going to kill them, I’m going to rip the eyes from their head and break every bone in their body and then toss them in front of a fucking curse, and watch them try and fight the fucking thing,” Gojo thought viciously, keeping his face composed so that the watching Usanako a first-year student, barely not grade four, sent after a damned first grade curse couldn’t see his anger.

“You okay?” Gojo asked, after a moment, when he knew he could keep the rage from his voice.

Usanako nodded slightly, still staring at the spot where the curse had been, eyes too wide as she panted for breath.

“Easy kid,” Gojo said starting towards her, head ducked slightly. “You’re okay it’s gone now.”

“Gojo?” she asked, her head snapping around to look at him. “It was too much, I’m sorry I couldn’t beat it. I know you taught us how to fight them, but nothing worked. I thought I was dead…” she said on a gasp.

Gojo paused in front of her, crouching so he wouldn’t loom, and smiled slightly, trying for reassuring. “It’s okay, you did good, and it’s gone now, as dead as can be,” Gojo said quietly, keeping his tone light.

“I…” she said, eyes flicking away from Gojo and back to where the puddle of blood was finally gone.

“Come on,” kid let’s get you back to school,” Gojo said quietly when Usanako continued to stare. “Back home where you’ll be fucking safe,” Gojo thought, teeth clenching as he swallowed against the familiar disgust and anger, as he ushered the kid towards the car. She had almost died and was never going to fully recover from this. “It’s a sad day in any society when a kid needs to do a job and adult shouldn’t have to fucking do,” Gojo thought hating all over again the necessity of it, that he hadn’t been able to stop sending kids to die.

Gojo stepped into one of the common rooms and made a beeline for the coffee, rubbing fingers into his aching eyes as he moved. “Damn them,” he thought tiredly, much of the rage gone for now as he stood against the counter, shoulders slumped, watching for cursed energy approaching him as he let his head hang, the coffee machine making quiet sound just to his left as it started. “Damn us all,” he whispered with a quick bitter laugh. Children, they are all only children. His chest ached at the memory of running into Milo as he had ushered Usanako into the building, the memory of the way the third-year student’s face had twisted in sympathy, eyes too knowing.

“Damn it,” he hissed again pushing harder against the counter, squeezing his eyes shut. “Why can’t I manage to save them, I’m supposed to be the fucking strongest, but I have kids fighting my battles for me,” he thought, head dropping farther as he took a breath, breathing carefully past the lump in his throat, fine tremors starting in his shoulders at the thought.

He sucked in a ragged breath clenching his hands into fists as he braced himself against that knowledge once again. The guilt tightening his chest and making him sick. How many kids had died for him to sleep? How many sorcerers died every night?

“And god, Megumi, I can’t let him die, not because of me,” Gojo thought, gasping, supressing any noise as he curled in on himself, before he caught a glimpse of familiar cursed energy approaching down the hallway, then he straightened sharply, pulled two cups out of the cupboard, and turned so that he could rest back against it, one leg crossed over the other, posture loose, and hands clenched into fists in his pockets as he breathed slowly.

“Why is he here? Why is he everywhere?” Gojo thought bracing himself, just as Nanami walked into the room and stopped, staring at him.

“Gojo?” Nanami asked pausing in the doorway, to look around the room and then back down the hallway.

“Nanami,” Gojo greeted, pressing harder back against the counter as he breathed slowly, fighting not to clench his teeth to hunch his shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” Nanami asked glancing up at the clock that displayed four forty-five in great detail. “Shouldn’t you be home by now?”

“One of my students had an exorcism,” Gojo said with a shrug, stiffening as he pushed away the flash of memory, of watching Usanako break down, and apologize.

“Are they okay?” Nanami asked sharply, head snapping around so that he could stare at Gojo, jaw tight.

“She’s fine, knew enough to call when she realize it was a fucking grade one curse,” Gojo said tightly, turning around to pour the coffee so that Nanami couldn’t see his face, couldn’t see the anger.

There was a few second of silence, and Gojo set the carafe down, fighting not to stiffen under Nanami’s staring. “Why were any students assigned fucking grade one curses? They kill fully trained sorcerers,”  Nanami asked through his teeth stepping farther into the room.

Gojo flinched, head dropping at the accusation and squeezed his eyes shut tighter as he breathed out, exhausted, every muscle in his body aching. “I know, I thought she was assigned a grade three curse, or I would have done it,” Gojo said quietly turning back around, leaving the coffee on the counter behind him as he sucked in a quick breath. “I was dealing with… something else, or I would have been there anyways,” Gojo said quickly, shoulders slumping as he realized how that sounded. “Yeah there are things that I think are more important than a kids life, that’ll definitely help, good thing I’ve given up,” Gojo thought tightening his hand to a fist to suppress the desire to rub at his temples in an attempt to soothe the headache pounding behind his eyes. “And I still need to deal with the fallout from leaving in the middle of that anyways,” he thought, exhaustion pressing down on him as he checked the time again.

“What could you possibly have to be dealing with at four in the morning when you haven’t slept?” Nanami asked scowl deepening as his hands tensed at his sides.

“It’s not important now,” Gojo said waving a hand through the air briefly before letting it fall back to his side, the motion burning through energy he didn’t have, then he fell silent for a moment before his words played back through his head and he straightened slightly, tilting his head to face Nanami head on. “I did already take care of the curses that were assigned to me for the night,” he said quietly, knowing that it wasn’t enough, that no number of curses would ever be enough.

Nanami flinched away from his words, looking away for a second before he took a deep breath and straightened, face setting in determination as he glanced back down the hallway and then stepped deeper into the room, closing the door behind himself. “Gojo I think we need to have a conversation,” he said carefully, looking at Gojo steadily.

Gojo sighed quietly, he couldn’t have this conversation now, Nanami deserved a to be allowed to speak after coming back even after Gojo had let Haibara die and Geto crack under the strain, but he already knew how it would go. “I’ve told it all to myself often enough that it would be familiar now,” Gojo thought tiredly, leaning back against the counter, the heat of the coffee behind him warming his back.

“Can we skip the part where you tell me how I could be doing more and move on? Trust me I’m aware that I should be able to handle them all and that every sorcerer that dies is on my head. But there simply isn’t enough time in the day for me to do them all,” Gojo asked reaching up to rub at his head, slumping slightly.

“Gojo,” Nanami said, flinching away before he straightened his shoulders sharply. “That isn’t what-“ he started before he cut himself off and started again, “you aren’t responsible for everyone’s lives. I should never have said that, I was grieving and I-.”

“Grieving a sorcerer that I let die, that I killed, that I could have saved!” Gojo said voice rising with every statement before he caught himself and leaned back, pulling himself back under control with a sharp breath, his heartrate picking up as he watched Nanami flinch away from the vague reference to Haibara. “I understood your anger then, and I still do. You were right I should have been better, less selfish, and I know I haven’t managed it yet, but I’m trying,” he said quieter, voice steady as he fought not to curl in on himself, hating the vulnerability, the way it felt like he had been flayed alive. Telling secrets that he had never told anyone before, secrets that would upend everything he had worked for.

“Damn you Nanami, how do you always do this? Everyone else I can brush away but you…” Gojo thought hands shaking in his pockets before he tense them to stop.

“Please Gojo, that isn’t what I’m saying, just listen to me. I was wrong. No one can carry it all, and no one should have to. Gojo, you were a child, I was a child. It was never your fault… none of it,” Nanami said desperately, hesitating before adding the last.

“Maybe it wouldn’t be my fault if I couldn’t have done anything, but we both know that isn’t true, there isn’t much I can’t do,” Gojo said quietly, tilting his head away even though he could still see Nanami, six damned eyes and he could always see everything even when some days he wanted nothing more than to just look away.

“You’re not a god Gojo!” Nanami cried, voice raw as he stepped forward, “you’re just a sorcerer like any other, maybe more powerful, but still just a sorcerer, and you’re going to get yourself killed if you continue on like this.”

Gojo flinched back from the words, the impossible words, of course he wasn’t a god, if he was all powerful then no one would die, Geto wouldn’t have… he’d always known he wasn’t a god, but what difference did that make when he was the strongest sorcerer in hundreds of years, stronger than any curse? They were words that he had longed to hear when he was too young to know better. Words that he had believed, had chased until it was so fucking obvious that it was selfish, and that that selfishness was getting everyone hurt or killed. “We both know that isn’t true,” Gojo said laughing bitterly in the face of the way Nanami’s eyes widened, surprised to be called out on it. “I appreciate what you are trying to do here but come on I heard you already, and we both know what I am.”

No! Gojo please,” Nanami said moving forward again and Gojo leaned back, moving away from Nanami, he couldn’t do this. “I was wrong, it was a lie, it was… was just pain, and misplaced anger!” Nanami said, desperate, and Gojo laughed, the lengths Nanami would go to…

“And I’m telling you it wasn’t misplaced, in fact I should be thanking you for showing me what I was missing before anyone else died,” he said lightly face still turned away, eyes squeezed shut as he held himself tense, trying to breathe. “I know I haven’t managed to do my damned job, but I am working on it.

“No!” Nanami snapped, leaning forward, hands balled into fists before he jerked backwards pulling away. “You do enough, you do more than enough, You’ve pulled the whole damned weight of jujutsu society on your shoulders, and you’ve been holding it alone for years and it’s wrong, you never should have had to do that,” he said raggedly, “Damn it Gojo you’re just one person,” he said with a sharp motion before breathing in sharply and laughing, once a hard sound. “Hell, you’re a person too Gojo. A person who needs food, water, sleep, and sometimes a damned break, all the things you gave to the other sorcerers,” Nanami said voice breaking.

“Oh yeah? And even if that were true what do you want from me Nanami?” Gojo asked throwing his hands wide as he laughed, grinning wide, tears hidden by the wet material of his blind fold. How dare Nanami come in here and offer him things he could never have, didn’t deserve, didn’t need. “You want me to eat while other sorcerers die, sleep, and try to ignore them screaming? Come into work the next day and see their friends, family and lovers sobbing because they died fighting a curse that I could have killed in my sleep and shrug and go oh well I needed to get eight hours of sleep that I don’t even need?” Gojo snapped voice sharp as he bared his teeth, hysterical laughter underpinning every word.

“I don’t want you to die-“ Nanami started before Gojo cut him off.

“Done, I’m not going to die. I can’t no one has enough power to take my place,” Gojo said, slashing a hand through the air as he stepped forward. “are we done-?”

“And I don’t want you to have to hold the lives of everyone. Fuck Gojo, I’ve been listening, I’ve been asking questions and watching. You never get a moment to just rest, the things you’ve managed to accomplish, things that rest solely on your shoulders,” Nanami said sharply speaking over the end of Gojo’s question before his voice softened. “Don’t you ever just want a break, want some help?” he asked quietly, staring steadily at Gojo.

Gojo flinched back, gasping like he had been struck, like the words were an attack that had slipped through infinity, a sharp pain in his chest starting as he tried to breath. Help? Who could help him? Who would even want to? “No,” he said dully, no one would want to help, and he didn’t need their help he could do it all without risking anyone else’s life. “I don’t want any help, I can handle it all,” Gojo said tonelessly, the refrain a familiar lie that he had been telling himself for years. There was no other option, he had to be able to handle it all, if he didn’t everyone would die, and he couldn’t let that happen.

“You can’t,” Nanami said stepping forward again, “no one can, it’s impossible.”

Gojo laughed, showing his teeth, bitterness making his words sharper than they should be. “Of course I can, I can’t be hurt, can’t even be touched, I can do anything. Fighting curses means nothing to me, just an amusing pastime.”

“That isn’t true,” Nanami snapped, “I saw you hurt, saw you tired, this is killing you, and even if it was true, Gojo, fighting curses, watching people die, it leaves a mark.”

Gojo shrugged, what did that matter? “It won’t kill me, which means I can keep doing my job, the strongest should protect everyone.”

“You don’t have to do it,” Nanami said, voice breaking as he stepped forward. “I’m sorry I said that, sorry I started all this and made you think everything was on you but it’s not, you’re just one person and-“

                  “Of course I’m only one person, but I’m the strongest, the only line of defense for sorcerers, and I can’t step back, can’t take a break. You think I’m doing this because you told me to, because anyone told me I had to? I’m Gojo Satoru the first wielder of both six eyes and limitless in four hundred years, no one can make me do anything, but people will die if I falter, die Nanami, and I won’t allow that!” Gojo snapped stepping forward away from the counter, jaw tight and shoulders stiff. He would not let his sorcerers die, would not let non sorcerers die, they were all his responsibility, and he couldn’t save them all, but he could damn well try.

                  Nanami recoiled and then straightened, chin going up. “Then let someone help you, I don’t know everything that you are doing, you keep secrets too well for that, but you don’t have to do it on your own,” Nanami paused, taking a deep breath as he squared his shoulders. “Maybe you can’t stop, but let me help you, let me take some of the weight.”

                  “What?” Gojo rasped stepping back, his heart hammering in his chest, Nanami wanted to help? “You don’t know what you are talking about,” he said quickly, shaking his head before the idea could sink in, not wanting to build hope for something he could never have.

                  “Maybe not,” Nanami said watching Gojo steadily, “but you are trying to save everyone,” he said before laughing slightly, shaking his head, and continuing, “hell you somehow managed to make it so that sorcerers can take breaks when they were injured,” he said still looking steadily at Gojo. “and you’ve been doing it alone for four years, and I’ve seen the toll it takes,” he said glancing down briefly before looking back up. “I don’t want the price for other sorcerers being better, safer, to be your pain. Let me help you.”

                  “No, I can’t, this is my burden, I don’t need help, I can handle it. It’s okay Nanami,” Gojo said wincing when Nanami flinched away from his words again, before immediately squaring his shoulders.

                  “No, it’s not, it’s wrong, and I’m not going to let it go on any longer,” Nanami said, shifting to plant his feet, shoulder width apart, chin up again.

                  “What does that mean?” Gojo asked, fear sending a jolt of adrenaline down his spine, speeding his breathing, and prickling at his skin. Nanami knew too much, he could mess up everything in the name of doing what was right.

                  “No, Gojo,” Nanami said quickly, and Gojo hissed, there went everything, everything he had worked for… “I will never betray your secrets, I know better than that, I may not know what is going on, but I know you are being careful, which means it’s dangerous. But I will do as many exorcism as I can manage, which while it won’t make as much a difference as it does when you do it, will mean there are a few less curses for you to fight,” he said steadily.

                  Gojo paused, and stared at Nanami, and then he started laughing, stepping back to catch himself against the counter as he cackled, gasping for breath his chest tight  as Nanami stared. “Are you actually trying to blackmail me with your own safety?” Gojo asked after a few seconds, gasping for breath as his chest tightened, his heart racing, and the walls closed in. There was no way out, nothing he could do.

                  “No!” Nanami said jolting forward, “of course not I’m… I’m not your enemy,” he said and then winced, “contrary to what my behaviour before said. I want to-“ Nanami cut himself off and glanced back at the door before he continued quieter. “There is something wrong with Jujutsu society, everything’s wrong, I’ve always known that, I ran from it because it couldn’t be fixed. People, children were dying, and it couldn’t be fixed, and I came back but that was only because non sorcerer society isn’t better and at least this way I could help people,” Nanami said turning back to Gojo. “But now there is a way to make it better and you are killing yourself trying to create it, let me help you.”

                  Gojo hesitated staring, watching Nanami. “He has always hated everything about jujutsu society, I just couldn’t figure out why he would come back. Can I actually let him help, tell him?” Gojo thought shifting his weight, another impossible, dangerous decision. “Even just another set of ears would be helpful, and he cares, so maybe I can…” Gojo thought, a flash of Geto’s mocking face making him hesitate. If he was wrong again… “I don’t like the higher ups, or the other clan heads, they put people in danger needlessly, on purpose sometimes to keep a hold of their power,” Gojo said slowly, heart still pounding in his chest, he couldn’t do this, known when he started that he would have to do it alone.

                  Nanami’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at him, and then he nodded slowly. “That makes sense, let me help you.”

                  Gojo shuddered and relaxed back against the counter, relief taking a weight off his shoulders, Nanami hadn’t faltered. “Not done yet, give him a few months or years, like four,” Gojo reminded himself, but he couldn’t help the way it was immediately easier to breathe, just having someone offer.

                  “Gojo?” Nanami asked stepping closer squinting at him.

                  “Call me Satoru, if we are going to be committing treason I mean,” Gojo said lightly, almost giddy at the idea of having an actual ally, someone knowingly helping him with even the most impossible plan.

                  “Uh” Nanami said, hesitating, “right, is everything okay Gojo?” he asked carefully stepping forward again.

                  “No big deal, something to work towards,” Gojo said grinning at Nanami who only blinked back before Gojo’s alarm went off, loud in the quiet space and startling them both.

                  “Damnit,” Gojo hissed, flicking the alarm off. “I have to go the kids are going to wake up soon.”

                  Nanami nodded and stepped to the side clearing the door, but Gojo only laughed, the relief covering everything. “Sorry Nanami, I have my own way out,” he said almost singsong and then teleported away, still laughing.

                  Help, he had help, and Nanami didn’t hate him, didn’t blame him anymore. Gojo grinned as he spun and disappeared into the kitchen to make breakfast for his kids. He still had to make up for running out of that meeting, help Sugise, check on Usanako, and make sure what was left of the wolf pack was okay, but that could wait for later, all he wanted to do right then was make breakfast and then eat it with his kids before the whirlwind started again.

-----

                  Three months after their conversation in the kitchen, Gojo sat in his own kitchen at two in the morning and stared down at his phone, looking at the conflicting invitations, hoping that they would suddenly change, the dates would change to something different. Finally, he sighed, turned off his phone and pushed it away, slumping back in his seat as he rubbed at his eyes, that were hidden under his bandages. “Shit,” he muttered quietly, shifting to stretch out stiff muscles, before slumping back in the chair, tapping a finger against the half filled out form in front of him.

                  “I can’t go to both of them,” Gojo thought, taking a quick drink of lukewarm coffee before pulling the papers closer to him. “And yet I can’t miss either of them, especially not since they had to have been scheduled this way on purpose,” Gojo thought, laughing quietly as he started filling out the form, pressing too hard on the pen.

                  One invitation a meeting between clan heads to resolve an issue he had created, when he’d gotten a couple of the Zen’in’s people reassigned far away somewhere boring, and relatively useless for attacking Sugise. The other essentially a party where most of the more social sorcerers would be attending. Important normally since it was a place where he could shore up alliances and keep an eye on the way most sorcerers were leaning, and more important this time when the Zen’in’s had set it up.

                  “Damn it,” he muttered quietly, tossing his pen on the table on top of the papers. “What the hell are they planning?” he asked resting his elbows on the table and then letting his head drop into his hands. It was probably something along the lines of ‘if a certain sorcerer can and would get these hard-working sorcerers moved all the way over there, then what would he do to you’, and that was something he couldn’t let fester, his easy interactions with other sorcerers were fragile enough, he was always walking the line of being too distant and unapproachable.

                  “Nothing I can do,” Gojo said, sighing again as he shifted to pick up his pen and started filling out the report. “I can hardly not show up to a meeting between clan head that is specifically about something I did.”

                  Gojo finished the last of the forms and hour after he had started them, pushed them into a haphazard stack and then leaned back in his chair again, attention shifting to the phone resting a few inches away for a few seconds before he reached up and rubbed at his eyes again.

                  “There is another option,” Gojo thought suddenly, dropping his hand to his phone as he realized, pulling it closer to him before he paused, hand tightening around it. “Is this really the best idea? He doesn’t do politics, and I have no guarantee that he would be willing to help,” Gojo thought, flicking his phone on, and scrolling to the contact regardless, before pausing again, thumb hovering over Nanami’s name, considering it, heartrate speeding up again at what he was considering. “Just knowing what they are saying would help,” Gojo thought finally pressing on the name and then putting his phone to his ear to listen to it ring, again and again, until it went to voicemail.

                  “That can’t be good,” Gojo muttered, standing slowly, pressing one hand to the table as he tried to remember if Nanami had had an exorcism assigned for the night, chest tightening as fear settled on his shoulders.

                  He pushed off the table after a couple seconds of contemplation, sliding his phone into his pocket, and crossed the room slowly to set his mug in the sink before, coming back and scooping the files of the table as he passed on his way to his room, he didn’t want the kids to get curious and take a look inside them.

                  Gojo was just dropping into bed, limbs growing heavy when his phone rang, splitting through the quiet of his home with a piercing noise. “Damn it,” Gojo hissed, startling, and then rolling towards the edge of his bed to scoop up his phone, flipping the sound off as he checked who was calling him.

                  “Nanami, that was fast,” Gojo thought sliding a finger across the screen to accept the call.

                  “Gojo, what’s going on?” Nanami asked, voice slightly out of breath.

                  Gojo hesitated a moment, listening to the other side. “Why do you sound like you’ve been… working out?” Gojo asked lightly, pushing off the bed and starting towards where he had tossed his uniform, straining to hear anything else on the other end.

                  “I just finished an exorcism, what is wrong,” Nanami said, enunciating each word carefully, the effect slightly ruined by the way he panted between each word.

                  “Nothing, a slight scheduling issue,” Gojo answered, dropping his uniform, and then sitting back on the bed, breathing out slowly so that Nanami couldn’t hear it as his shoulders relaxed.

                  “A slight-“ Nanami started before he cut himself off and took a deep breath. “Scheduling issues for what, and why do they concern me?” he asked calmly, breathing finally steadying as a door shut behind him.

                  Gojo flinched away from the words, and hesitated, it had nothing to do with Nanami, nothing at all and yet he was had called while he was on an exorcism, “that should have been mine,” to ask his to waste his time there. “Ah, nothing of course, I simply wanted to see if you wanted to attend a bit of a party,” Gojo said lightly, shifting to lean back against an arm, posture relaxing. “But if you’re too busy… well I suppose I’ll have to introduce you around another time.”

                  The other end of the line was silent for long enough that Gojo’s relaxed posture was just starting to tense when Nanami spoke. “Gojo, do you need me at this party?” he asked carefully, his voice quieter.

                  Gojo hesitated, pushing back up to curl over his knees, dropping his head into his free hand as his shoulders slumped. “Yes,” he said plainly, voice emotionless as he braced for Nanami’s reaction.

                  “When and where?” Nanami asked brusquely, and then when Gojo didn’t answer, sitting stunned, chest tightening, “Gojo? When is the party?”

                  “Day after tomorrow,” Gojo answered, straightening, and forcing his voice to stay even, and not reveal the way his throat suddenly tightened, he had help, Nanami dependable Nanami would be there. “I just need you to listen to what everyone is saying,” Gojo said voice shifting to business like even as his shoulders started to shake as he shivered, curling in on himself, eyes squeezed shut, uselessly.

                  “You are not going to be there to listen yourself I presume?” Nanami asked, just before the click of a car door opening sounded in the background.

                  “Yes-“ Gojo started before a quiet groan from Nanami, followed by a door slamming shut, cut him off. “Nanami? Are you okay?” he asked sharply, leaning forward, half off the bed, that had been pain. “He was on an exorcism of course he got injured,” Gojo thought irritably, hand clenching into a fist as he fought to stay still.

                  “I’m fine,” Nanami said, starting the car with another faint sound of pain, “You were saying, you aren’t going to be there?” Nanami prompted.

                  Gojo waved a hand through the air, waving the words off, once again uselessly as he spoke. “That can wait. Are you injured?” he asked sharply, pushing off the bed, he’d go to him if Nanami didn’t answer the damned question.

                  “Yes I’m hurt, I was fighting a fucking grade one curse, but it isn’t anything that Shoko can’t fix when I get there,” Nanami snapped, before breathing out sharply, the sound crackling over the mic.

                  Gojo dropped his head at that, weight settling onto his shoulders once again, Nanami had gotten hurt fighting a curse.

                  “It’s fine,” Nanami said again, tone even, and voice calm. “About the party you want me to attend?”

                  Gojo stayed silent for a moment, and then took a deep breath and stood, squaring his shoulders before he started to tell Nanami about the party and what the other sorcerer had to look for, his back tense as he fought to ignore the worry.

-----

Gojo paused just inside his door hand pressed to the wall as he studied his empty apartment, papers strewn across the table. His head pounded, and every muscle down his torso ached from when he’d dodged a particularly vicious attack.

 He stood there in the hallway, his uniform dripping blood onto the ground slowly, the stream long since slowed, the wet material making him shiver in the cool air. ”Let me help, let me take some of the weight,” the words echoed through his mind as he stared at his empty home, his hands shaking, two years later and they still burned through him like the first time Nanami had said them.

Gojo found himself outside Nanami’s door without a conscious decision to teleport, and he paused, staring. “This is not a good idea, it’s a waste of time,”  Gojo thought turning away, shoulders slumped slightly under the fatigue.

He only made it two steps before the door was flung open to reveal Nanami dressed haphazardly in clothes that could be worn to an exorcism, pulling his weapons harness tight as he paused to squint at Gojo, pajamas barely visible through the open door, lay tossed on the couch.

“Gojo,” Nanami said stepping forward, ”Where is the fight? Is it an exorcism?” he asked, pulling the door shut behind himself.

Gojo paused mid step and turned around, eyebrows furrowed, concerned at the way Nanami’s heart was racing, his breathing barely controlled. “There is no exorcism,” he said, too tired for once to remind Nanami that he could call him Satoru.

Nanami straightened, chin going up as he set his feet. “So, it’s time? What did they do?” he asked glancing past Gojo down the hallway. “And where are the kids?”

“The kids?” Gojo asked blankly, mind spinning as he fought to think through the fog of three dozen exorcism in three cities in twelve hours, the blankness that had set in after…

                  “Megumi, Tsumiki, I’d think you’d want them safe before we did this,” Nanami said, stepping forward again, his eyes narrowing.

                  Gojo fought the urge to cringe away from Nanami’s scrutiny, his eyes on him feeling like sandpaper against raw wounds as he slid shaking hands into his pockets to hide them, forcing his shoulders to stay straight even as the muscles in them screamed at him. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” Gojo said blankly, before wincing at the honesty.

                  Nanami blinked at him, glanced behind him again, and then took another step forward head tilting down as he surveyed Gojo. “What’s the emergency?” he asked finally, straightening, shoulders relaxing slightly even as he moved slightly closer, eyes lingering on the still wet front of Gojo’s uniform. “Why are you here?”

                  Gojo backed away from the questions, swallowing hard, his eyes burning and throat tightening, he should have known better, why was he here? “Figured I’d drop by, see how you’re settling in, maybe steal some of your candy,” Gojo answered his voice light, even as he fought to keep his breathing even. “Comfort, you came here for comfort? What happened to the strongest to doing it all? One person offers you an alliance, help fighting, and you fall apart,”  Gojo thought scoffing silently as he took another step back. Exhausted mind reaching desperately for the memories of conversations over food, gritted teeth, and calm logic when the fucking higher ups were undermining everything and a quiet presence when someone died, standing just outside of infinity, but firmly there even when everyone else fell for his façade. Memories that were warm even now, even against the blood cooling against his skin.

 “But since it looks like you are going out, I guess I’ll leave you be. Just this once you understand,” Gojo said pointing vaguely in Nanami’s direction as he prepared to teleport.

“Wait,” Nanami called quickly, lifting a hand towards Gojo, moving another step forward before he stopped himself.

Gojo paused, cursed energy already freezing under his skin as he prepared to teleport away, his heart racing, he needed to…to sleep if he was going to be able to continue in the morning, and since it was evident that that wasn’t going to happen here he needed to go home.

“Why did you come here?” Nanami asked again, and then before Gojo could answer, “the truth this time if you please.”

Gojo only shrugged, the motion smooth until he felt the way it dragged the blood-soaked fabric against his chest, then he froze for a second before he finished the motion, movements jerky, his face slipping into a grimace for a moment before he caught it, nausea swirling in his stomach, blood, that was blood, soaked so completely through his clothes that he could feel it on his skin, each movement painting it across his skin. Everywhere the blood touched him started to burn and he took a ragged breath as he strained to keep his shoulders from sliding in, from revealing him.

“So, there is nothing pressing we need to attend to?” Nanami asked after a moment more of studying Gojo.

“No, sorry for worrying you,” Gojo said turning away again.

“Then come inside, have a seat and I’ll see about that candy,” Nanami said casually, turning away and pushing his door open again, and stepping through it before turning back to wave Gojo through.

Gojo froze at Nanami’s words before slowly turning back around, studying Nanami closely, and then when the other sorcerer just stood in the doorway, waiting for him to walk through Gojo jerked forward, breathing hitching as he walked past Nanami into the softly lit room, Nanami following him in and closing the door quietly behind them, the lock clicking closed, loud in the silent room.

“Sit down. Do you want something to drink,” Nanami asked, waving to the couch as he shrugged out of his weapons harness and hung it by the wall.

Gojo stepped towards the couch, willing to listen to Nanami in lieu of any idea what was going on, then he stopped, hand reaching up to brush against the soaked fabric of his shirt. “I can’t sit down, I’ll get blood all over his couch,” Gojo thought, blankly.

“Gojo?” Nanami asked pausing in the doorway to the kitchen, and Gojo turned towards him grinning, and moved to follow.

“Nanami,” he said lightly in response, moving carefully so he didn’t brush against anything. “I don’t want you hiding that candy stash I’m going to raid.”

Nanami hesitated, studying him closely, and then his gaze flicked from Gojo to the couch and back again. “I… don’t actually have any candy in the kitchen,” he said slowly.

“What?” Gojo asked with a gasp, stepping away, hands going up. “You lured me here under false pretenses, how could you?” Gojo said, tone shocked before he dropped the act and grinned, breathing carefully, his chest tight. “I’m proud of you Nanami, learning how to be underhanded.”

Nanami scowled at him and then turned away shaking his head. “Just sit down, Gojo,” he said tiredly disappearing into the kitchen.

Gojo turned to stare at the couch as he watched Nanami pull a cup out of the cupboard in the kitchen. Gojo caught himself as he swayed towards the couch, and turned away sharply, crossing the room to run shaking hands along the books packed into a too small shelf right next to the desk. His shoulders slumping slightly, weight settling on them as he noticed the picture of Haibara sitting on the highest shelf, turned so that the picture was barely visible, breath going ragged as he remembered... Then Nanami appeared in the doorway and Gojo turned back to look at him, rocking forward onto his toes and grinning again, the expression feeling stiff on his face as the movement pressed wet fabric against his skin again.

Nanami paused in the doorway, and scowled at Gojo, two cups of tea in hand. “For fucks sake Gojo, sit down,” Nanami said sharply, dropping the cups of tea on the table as he moved deeper into the room.

Gojo hesitated, watching Nanami, and studying the couch before he shrugged slightly and moved towards the couch. “Okay, but don’t complain to me when it gets stained,” Gojo said holding his hands up in front of him. “You try to do something considerate and get you get yelled at,” he muttered, just loud enough for Nanami to hear, and paused right next to the couch.

“I don’t actually care-,” Nanami started before he paused and took another step forward, squinting at Gojo. “Why are you going to stain my couch?” he asked shoulders stiffening.

Gojo waved him off and turned around, taking a few steps away from the couch, straightening slightly as reversed curse technique finally healed the torn muscles in his torso. “Nothing to be concerned about, I’ll just stand, I hope that doesn’t offend your host sensibilities,” he said, reaching for flippancy as he moved towards the window, tensing as a flash of cursed energy down the street caught his attention.

“That’s not… just, are you injured?” Nanami asked shifting his weight slightly forwards, hands clenching.

Gojo laughed at that, the room coming back into focus as he turned around. “No, of course not, you would have heard about an incident that size on an emergency broadcast,” he said stepping back to lean against the wall before he remembered the blood still soaked through his uniform and moved forward again.

“Right,” Nanami said, looking away for a moment before he shook his head suddenly and looked back up at Gojo, making him twitch under the sudden scrutiny. “Then you can get changed and then sit on the couch. Come with me,” he said moving towards the hallway on the other side of the apartment too fast for Gojo to remind him that he didn’t have anything to change into, so Gojo sighed and followed, focusing on his movements to keep them smooth and unhurried.

He had just stepped into the hallway after Nanami when the other sorcerer reappeared from a room at the end of the short hallway a bundle of cloth in his hands. “Here,” Nanami said quickly, not quite looking back at him as he opened another door, stepped inside, and dropped the clothes on the counter before coming back out. “Get cleaned up,” he said moving across the hallway.

Gojo hesitated, fingers twitching in his pocket, and then moved forward slowly, grateful for the way the bandages made it impossible to meet Nanami’s eyes and breathing going ragged as he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind himself.

He stood completely still in the cool room, holding himself rigid as he watched Nanami wait on the other side of the door for a moment and then shake his head and start down the hallway again, then he reached for the first button of his uniform slowly, his breathing carefully uniform as his heartrate picked up, throat tight with tears he refused to shed.

His careful control lasted until his fingers slipped on a button halfway down his shirt, sliding through the blood there. He paused, hands tightening on the cloth and breathing going ragged, before he yanked hard on the shirt, yanking on the buttons as he scrambled to pull it off, hands shaking as he panted for breath. “Off, off, get off of me,” Gojo thought tears wetting his bandages before he finally managed to yank the shirt, tossing it across the room to land in a heap. “Damn it,” he thought, the blood on his hands, and chest burning him as he yanked the faucet on, smearing the blood over the clean metal, and shoving his hands under the freezing water trying to scrub the blood away, raking his nails into his skin as he tried to drive away the feeling of the weight if the bodies, so many bodies.

“Damnit, damnit,” Gojo though stumbling and slumping against the counter, breathing too fast, the memory of the broken buildings, torn apart bodies, dying but still alive people, and the blood all the blood, glistening on every surface, seeping across the ground, three families at a birthday party, all dead the sorcerers assigned to the exorcism dead before they could walk in the door, left to rot on the doorstep.

Gojo gagged, spinning to the toilet, and dropping to a knee as he retched, scratching at his collarbone with one hand, blood, so much blood, he could still feel it could still hear the screaming, the moaning the… Gojo gagged again curling up tighter, trying not to remember, not to think about the tiny hands, the pop spilled across the table and dripping on the floor, the startlingly white birthday cake sitting somehow pristine in the carnage.

“No, no, no,” Gojo thought shoving at the memory, he couldn’t, he pressed his head against the cool enamel of the toilet, panting for breath as he tried to let it ground him, his hands still shaking nerves alight.

Dead, they were all dead, so many dead. Gojo hissed out a breath between his teeth, forcing it to be silent as cursed energy flickered under his skin, it’s cold burn too familiar. “I’m sorry,” he rasped, reaching up to clench his hands in his hair, pulling slightly, a flicker of cursed energy outside the door, and an unintelligible murmurer going unnoticed as he tried to breath, tried to force away the memories, the way the curse had screamed as he had torn it apart, the way the black-haired woman had tried to grab his hand, begging him for help, to save… Gojo curled tighter, locking his elbows against his knees and panting, the air too thin.

“-ojo,”  a calm voice said, barely filtering through the rushing in Gojo’s ears, and Gojo flinched, head snapping up, they couldn’t find him, no one could see him like this, it would ruin everything.

Gojo sucked in a sharp breath, gasping it out immediately, trying to focus, trying to breathe, trying to pretend, the world blurry, and blank, too much, and too little as he tried to see who was there, cursed energy shifting in the air, he couldn’t focus, couldn’t see.

“Gojo,” the same calm voice repeated, “you’re in my bathroom, there’s nothing… its safe here,” the voice said, familiar, so familiar, but it didn’t matter, they couldn’t see. Gojo took another breath, deeper this time, pulling on his cursed energy as he prepared to teleport, control perfect even now.

“No don’t, Gojo stay here, just… its safe here, you don’t need to leave,” the same voice said, still calm, but with urgency underneath.

Gojo reached up and yanked his bandages off, he had to see, he had to know who he would have to handle once… once… once he could think, once he could breathe.

“Easy,” the same voice as before said, wary now, and Gojo looked up, blinking rapidly in the light, Nanami, moving away, hands up.

“Nanami?” Gojo asked, breathless, hands sliding to the back of his neck and squeezing, shoulders trembling.

“Yeah,” Nanami said, freezing in place before dropping back down on the ground. “Yeah, you’re safe here, I…” Nanami glanced around the room quickly and Gojo forced his hands to open, pulling his arms down as Nanami’s eyes lingered on the red smear on the still running faucet, the droplets of pink liquid across the counter. “Are you injured?” he asked, voice calm despite the way his head snapped back around to stare at Gojo, leaning forward just slightly.

Injured? Gojo stared for a second, and then he started to laugh, deep cracking laughter that shook his shoulders and stung his eyes as he curled up tighter still trembling, cackling, his teeth jattering. Him injured? “what could possibly injure me? I’m the strongest, nothing can touch me,” Gojo said still laughing, his hands tightening where they gripped his arms.

Nanami flinched, ducking his head before straightening his shoulders and turning back to Gojo, who only laughed harder, tears beginning to fill his eyes as his ribs ached from the laughter. “Good, that’s good,” Nanami said finally and Gojo choked on his next laugh, falling silent for a moment as he studied Nanami, before he dropped his head on his knees, pulling them in tighter as he laughed again, a softer sound.

“Nanami, strange, wonderful Nanami, what am I going to do when it’s you I find in a puddle of blood?” Gojo thought drawing in a ragged breath. “So many people are dead, including sorcerers and I walked away without a scratch, if you were anyone else…” Gojo trailed looking up finally, dropping his head back against the wall, eyes closed as he shivered, and watched Nanami turn his head away, scowling, his jaw clenched before he breathed out slowly and turned back.

“Well, I’m not, let me get you a blanket, you look like you’re freezing,” Nanami said moving away and then standing and turning to go.

Gojo smiled slightly, breathing carefully, heartrate slowly going down. “A blanket for the strongest because he is cold,” he thought letting his hands dangle in the air in front of him as he watched Nanami move to the next room, grab a blanket, and come back down the hallway quickly, appearing in the door a second later.

“Here,” he said, stepping into the room and pausing just outside of infinity to offer the blanket to Gojo.

“I’ll stain it,” Gojo said tiredly, a smile flickering across his face mostly out of habit.

“I don’t care, just take it,” Nanami said, and Gojo reached up without opening his eyes and pulled the blanket towards himself tucking it around his shoulders and pulling it tight, the warmth doing only a little to quell his shivering.

Nanami disappeared out the door again and brought back the still warm tea and offered it to Gojo, lips drawn into a tight line.

Gojo stared at the cup for a long moment, and then slowly reached up and took it, cradling it close as he started to drink it, Nanami dropping to the ground a couple of feet away, his won tea in hand.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Nanami asked a few minutes later, still staring straight ahead, fingers tightening on the tea cup.

“No,” Gojo said, shoulders slumping, exhaustion pulling at him again, now that his heartrate and breathing were back to normal.

Nanami nodded at his answer, and took another drink, dropping the subject.

“You should probably go lay on the couch,” Nanami said a half hour later when Gojo’s eyes were starting to drift closed from the fatigue.

Gojo hesitated, considering refusing, and then he shrugged, giving up, he didn’t want to go back to his empty home that should be fulling of noise from his kids anyways. “Okay,” he said quietly, using the wall to push himself to his feet, Nanami rising with him.

Gojo pulled the blanket Nanami had loaned him closer around his shoulders unconsciously as he followed the other sorcerer out of the room, closing his eyes as he walked out into the hallway, trying to soothe the burning. Nanami paused a few steps down the hallway and glanced back towards the far end before turning to Gojo. “Go sit down, I’ll be there in a few seconds,” he said quietly, gesturing towards the living room.

Gojo considered asking, considered trying for banter, trying to pretend that everything was normal, and then he gave up shoulders slouching as he started towards the couch, Nanami only moving once he had stepped into the hallway. He sat gingerly on the couch, pulling the blanket even tighter and bracing his elbows on his knees, letting his head hang down as he watched Nanami grab something from the room and start back towards him, straightening just as Nanami turned the corner.

“Not like there is any real point to pretending anymore,” Gojo thought blankly, too tired for the fear, or guilt he knew was waiting for him for that.

“Here,” Nanami said stepping closer, dropping a pillow on one end of the couch, and then offering him a small stack of blankets.

Gojo stared at the blankets for a moment, not quite sure what to do with them, then he reached out slowly and grabbed them, pulling them into his lap as he stared at Nanami. “What does he want?”  Gojo thought, mind moving too slowly, thoughts drifting to him through a fog.

Nanami stared back at him for a long moment, then he grimaced and turned away, stepping back. “I… you should get some sleep; you must be exhausted. Do…” he started before trailing off, scowling at the wall next to the kitchen.

Gojo hesitated again, and then lay down for the lack of any better idea of what to do, kicking his shoes off as he pulled his feet up onto the couch, and curling up under the blanket, still watching Nanami as the other sorcerer turned back to stare at him, sighed quietly, and grabbed a couple of the other blankets, unfolded them and tossed them haphazardly over Gojo, who froze, as Nanami walked away flicking the lights off as he left the room.

“What?” Gojo thought even as he pulled the blanket closer, his body already feeling heavy as his awareness of the world faded.

-----

Gojo fell into step with Nanami after the exorcisms were done for the night two months later, the summer months pressing down on him as he moved. “So, supper?” Gojo asked lightly, slipping his hands into his pockets as he walked.

Nanami glanced over at him before looking forward again, and nodding. “Yes, but in my apartment since you probably have coffee, protein bars, sugar and not much else,” he said calmly, and Gojo laughed as they stepped out into the cool nigher air.

“I probably have flour as well,” he said grinning as he paused next to Nanami’s car, the other sorcerer sliding behind the wheel with only a moment’s hesitation.

“Get in the car Gojo,” Nanami said on a sigh slamming the door shut before Gojo could respond.

Gojo laughed and stepped around the car, sliding into the passenger seat still grinning. “You know it’s Satoru,” he said as soon as he had the door closed, not wanting to prompt Nanami into driving away with it still open.

Nanami sighed again, and started the car without responding, his latest tactic in refusing to call Gojo by his first name.

“I’ll get you to call me it eventually,” Gojo said contentedly, slouching back into the seat as Nanami pulled away from the school smoothly.

“Not likely,” Nanami said quietly, a frown flickering over his face for a moment before he smoothed it out again, staring straight ahead.

“Fine, fine, I give up for today,” Gojo said, lifting his hands slightly in surrender, not wanting to actually annoy Nanami. The car fell into slightly awkward silence and Gojo shifted to lean against the door, attention slipping for a moment as exhaustion swamped him before  shook himself and raked through his mind, trying to find something they could talk about.

“Just sleep,” Nanami said tiredly, without looking away from the windshield, hands tightening slightly on the wheel.

Gojo winced and turned his head away for a moment as he schooled his expression. “I’m fine,” he said waving the suggestion off as he shifted so that the side of the seat would press harder into his back, keeping him alert. “I swear I used to be harder to read,” he thought rubbing a finger briefly along the inside of the door.  He’d revealed too much already, he knew that, but he still wanted Nanami to trust him, to rely on him.

“No, you haven’t slept in days, you don’t have anything to do for at least twenty minutes, so go to sleep. Then you will be twenty minutes worth of sleep more fine,” Nanami said, still not turning to look at him, his voice serious and hands tensing on the wheel again.

Gojo hesitated for a moment, checking the area around the car, and then nodded. “Alright you win, but just because you asked, don’t go telling anyone else that I sleep on command,” he said flippantly, slouching further into his seat.

“I would never tell anyone anything,” Nanami said, voice quiet but certain as he took a turn slowly.

Gojo smiled slightly, something warm filling his chest as he relaxed into the seat, slipping into sleep as Nanami quietly turned the heat up slightly before going back to driving.

Gojo jolted awake when the car came to a stop almost forty-five minutes later and checked his surroundings for cursed energy first, the only nearby concentrated source Nanami, and then he checked the rest, attention lingering on the clock.

“How did it take you forty minutes to drive somewhere twenty minutes away?” he asked sitting up in the seat as Nanami turned the car off, without looking over at him.

Nanami only shrugged in answer and then slid out of the car and started for his door. Gojo climbed out of the car slower, and started after him, studying Nanami as the other sorcerer opened his door with a smooth motion, stepping inside and kicking his shoes off, before pausing just inside the door to look back.

“Nanami?” Gojo asked, tilting his head to the side and grinning as he stepped through the door, pulling his own shoes off.

“Do you want something to drink? Not coffee?” Nanami asked once again ignoring Gojo’s question still refusing to look at him.

“Oh Nanami,” Gojo said sing song as he stepped quickly to get in front of him, exhaustion momentarily forgotten as he watched Nanami hang up his weapons, still trying not to look at him. “You’re evading the question, that means the answer has to be good,” he paused, and when Nanami still refused to answer or look at him he tried something else, shifting to lean lightly against the nearest wall, “if you don’t tell me I’m going to come up with the most embarrassing reason I can think of, starting forgetting how to operate a car,” he said turning to follow Nanami as he stepped around him to move towards the kitchen.

“If I had forgotten how to operate a car we would have crashed,” Nanami said placidly pulling two mugs out of the cupboard and dropping them on the counter.

“That’s what you would say if you had forgotten how to operate a car,” Gojo said stepping into Nanami’s kitchen to shift the kettle to the right burner.

“It also happens to be true; this also happens to be the most ridiculous conversation we have ever had,” Nanami said, turning around and moving towards the fridge, his shoulder pressing into Gojo’s for a moment as he stepped to the side to open the fridge, and then he jerked away, sending the fridge door flying into the wall beside it with a crash as he jumped forward and spun around.

Gojo moved with him, spinning to face the door, stepping to the side so that infinity could cover Nanami and searching for the threat, his heartrate picking up as adrenaline flooded his system, his skin prickling with it.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry,” Nanami said taking a couple steps farther away from Gojo, leaving the range of infinity his face stricken. “I didn’t know it was that bad.”

Gojo’s eyebrows furrowed as he turned back to face Nanami. “What are you talking about?” he asked, reaching out to flip the stove off as he studied the other sorcerer closely.

“Your…” Nanami started before he trailed off with a wince, taking another step backward. “Infinity is down,” he said carefully after a short pause, his shoulders tense but his gaze steady.

Gojo’s pulse jumped, fear hitting him like a punch to the gut as he checked his infinity. “How could I be so careless again, what was I thinking, how did it go down it never goes down,” he thought quickly, breathing speeding up, it had been years since he had forgotten to put up infinity, since he had let it drop before he was out of cursed energy… but no it was still there, still protecting him.

“No, it’s not,” Gojo said finally, fighting to get his pulse back under control, even as the residual fear made his hands shake.

“Yes it…” Nanami started before trailing off, looking away for just a moment before he looked back at Gojo. “I touched you just a second ago, I didn’t mean to,” he said quickly, shifting his weight slightly, I thought infinity would stop me before I go too close.

Gojo hesitated, resisting the urge to touch the still warm spot on his shoulder where Nanami had leaned against him. “Damn, I should have warned him, I just didn’t think… but I guess he is always careful to stay well away from me,” Gojo thought catching the movement to reach up and rub at his tightening chest and changing it into adjusting his bandages, as he turned his head away slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Gojo said finally, rubbing his eyes. “I should have warned you that you would probably go through my infinity,” he continued, head tilted down, shifting in discomfort at the admission, at the vulnerability, heartrate going back up.

“Go through…” Nanami started before trailing off, his eyes widening as he took another step back, his hands going up in a surrender that was frankly unnecessary.

Gojo watched the other sorcerer stare at him in silence for a few minutes, resisting the urge to say something sarcastic to lighten the mood, to distract from what he had revealed, skin under his uniform going clammy with dread.

“I can get through your infinity?” Nanami asked finally, hands dropping to his side as he audibly forced his voice back to being calm. “When it’s up?” he asked before Gojo could answer.

Gojo shifted, suddenly wishing that he was anywhere else at the moment. He didn’t know why Nanami had a problem with that, it didn’t mean anything. “Unless he’s wondering how I could be so fucking incompetent as to let anyone through infinity,” Gojo thought, pivoting slightly away from Nanami, the colours in the kitchen feeling suddenly muted.

“Yes,” Gojo said calmly, opening his mouth to make a joke to make light of it, before he clamped his teeth shut, Nanami deserved better. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” Gojo said again before trailing off. He didn’t know what? That Nanami use the infinity to gauge how far away he was? The other sorcerer had been capable of walking through infinity for months, and it hadn’t caused any problems. “I didn’t know that it would be a problem?” he said, carefully, shoulders tensing as Nanami only stared back at him, eyes wide.

“Why are you apologizing?” Nanami asked after a couple of seconds, finally dropping his hands, his eyes still wide. “I think that is the largest compliment I have ever received,” he said, and then he winced and looked down for a moment.

Gojo shifted to lean casually against the counter, body language shifting to relaxed as he tried to figure out what was going on. “The largest compliment? Why would that be a compliment? If anything, it’s fucking irresponsible and dangerous,” he thought keeping his posture relaxed and open as his fingers prickled, guilt looming, he couldn’t keep infinity as subconscious and keep Nanami out not so long as he wasn’t dangerous to him.

“A compliment?” Gojo asked finally as Nanami just kept staring at him silently.

Nanami jolted back into motion, turning to pull sugar out of the cupboard with hands that shook. “To have your trust? Even just for this is something I will cherish,” he said without looking up from the drawer where he pulled two forks out and set them on the counter, before taking a deep breath and turning back around to face Gojo, who couldn’t help but stare, dumfounded. His trust a compliment?

“I will never betray it,” he said solemnly, his gaze steady even though Gojo couldn’t meet his eyes.

“I…” Gojo started, warmth filling his chest at that, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “That is what he says for now, give him one more year,” Gojo’s mind cut in viciously and he grinned at Nanami suddenly. “That’s great but we should still eat,” he said turning to start the stove, weight settling on his shoulders again, taking a step away from the fridge. Nanami stood still watching him for a moment, and then his shoulders slumped slightly, and he stepped forward to start pulling food out of the fridge.

Gojo finished shifting the kettle onto the burner in silence and then a few seconds later turned back around to start another argument about the importance of sugar, letting the normality, ease the rest of the tension from his shoulders, even as guilt pressed down on him at the slightly stilted way Nanami began the conversation.

-----

“Nanami, do you think I should lock my fucking students in separate rooms for a few weeks?” Gojo asked as he stepped into the almost empty breakroom eight months after their conversation in the kitchen, dropping into the empty chair across from Nanami, content in the knowledge that no one was near enough to hear him complain.

“If that is what you think is best,” Nanami said calmly as he flipped through a stack of papers, laid out on the table in front of him, papers that Gojo didn’t want to know anything about.

“What?” Gojo asked aghast as he slumped back against the back of the chair, pressing fingers into his eyes, his head pounding from the fourth argument he’d had to break up in the two-hour long class. “You’re actually advocating for me to lock kids in solitary confinement? What’s happened? What has become of you? It’s the old man isn’t it what has he done?” he asked letting his tone slide into horrified as he dropped his head back to rest his neck.

Nanami sighed quietly and flipped the to the next paper in his too tall stack of papers that Gojo still refused to know what was. “Satoru you could tell me you were planning to make them fight S grade curses and I would respond the same way,” he said without looking up.

Gojo laughed, letting his shoulders relax and then he realized what Nanami had just called him, he snapped forwards in his chair, spinning towards him, already grinning, giddy joy bubbling in his chest. “Nanami! You called me by my name,” he said, fighting to keep his voice quiet, he’d been telling the other sorcerer to call him by his first name for almost three years now, and this was when he decided to do it?

“I do that all the time, there is no reason to be so excited, it’s not like I call you by some ridiculously insulting epithet… like old man,” Nanami said finally looking up from the stack of paperwork, eyebrows furrowed as he studied Gojo.

“No, No, you called me by my first name, you called me Satoru,” he said laughing, shifting forward to drum his fingers against the arm of his chair, feeling light and giddy as Nanami blinked back at him. Finally, after all these years, he’d been mostly certain that Nanami was his friend for about half of the time, but this was the first time he had used his name, first time he had decided against the pointless formality.

“I…” Nanami started before trailing off, hand tightening around his pen as he jaw clenched.

“What changed your mind?” Gojo asked before Nanami could continue, leaning back in the chair again, shoulders relaxed. “I thought for sure that you would insist on calling me Gojo for the rest of your life.”

“I’m sorry,” Nanami said, the serious tone to his voice cutting through Gojo’s thoughts, and his attention snapped to Nanami as the other sorcerer dropped his eyes to the ground, setting the pen lightly on the table.

“Why?” Gojo asked, straightening in his seat, and studying Nanami carefully, swallowing against the flash of fear, and hurt.

“I shouldn’t have used it,” Nanami said slowly, shoulders straightening as his tone shifted, going formal and distant, like it did every time he had interacted with the higher ups or the clan heads.

Gojo stiffened at the change, at the implication, throat tightening, he’d thought they were past that, thought Nanami knew better now. “I’ve been telling you to… that you could use my first name for years Nanami, for three years, and… and we’re friends,” Gojo said shifting about to cross one leg over the other before stopping himself, it was an act that was almost instinctive but had no place here. “All reasons that you absolutely should call me Satoru whenever you want,” he said lightly, tilting his head as though he was actually watching Nanami with his eyes. Then he waited for a few minutes, until it was clear that Nanami wasn’t going to say anything. He just sat still in his chair, watching the ground.

“Why shouldn’t you use my name?” he asked finally shifting forward in his seat again.

Nanami didn’t answer for a long moment, and then he looked up and stared straight at Gojo’s face, trying to meet his eyes. ”After what I did, what I said, what I implied, what I could have caused…” he said steadily before trailing off for a moment, eyes never leaving Gojo’s face. “I… imagine that it will take a very long time for me to be able to earn that privilege. I have a great deal of work to do first,” Nanami said quietly before turning back to his paperwork, his paperwork that was a report of special grade he had killed in the presence of a first-grade sorcerer, who’d vouch for him.

Gojo sucked in a sharp breath, feeling like he had been sucker punched, fighting to keep his breathing regular and silent as he remembered. Three years it had been three years since some of that, seven since the rest and he was still… “He’s been carrying that this whole time? That is why he always refused, because he thought what? He can’t have thought I held a grudge? Not all this time there wasn’t even anything to hold a grudge over when it happened, let alone now,” Gojo thought, feeling sick. Nanami guilty all this time, and saying nothing, pretending nothing had happened, except this one thing, and he hadn’t noticed, hadn’t realized, what else came from this guilt?

“Nanami, that isn’t…” Gojo said before trailing off, trying to find the right words. “You don’t have to earn anything or do whatever work you think you have to do,” Gojo said, starting selfishly with the thing that was so wrong, the thing that made him nauseous. Earn it? Earn what, allowance to use a name?

Nanami didn’t react to his words just kept staring down at the same piece of paper, so Gojo continued quickly. “And the rest… the rest Nanami,” Gojo said shifting forward. “The rest don’t matter, it was seven years ago, it was protecting kids-“ he started before Nanami’s quiet laughter cut him off.

“Protecting kids that didn’t need protecting, and I know what could have happened, what I could have ruined. I’ve watched you these past few years, I know what your summers are like, I know what they do to you, and I know what you have to juggle. Having the accusations made, having someone you didn’t know, or trust suddenly in your classrooms, with your students…” Nanami trailed off, sighing quietly, reaching up to touch his tie briefly before dropping his hand and looking away.

Gojo stared at Nanami, frozen, he hadn’t known, hadn’t even thought… it had been three years and Nanami had seemed fine at the time, scared out of his mind in retrospect but otherwise fine.

“And as for the bullshit I said when in that damned morgue,” Nanami said swallowing hard and staring hard at the paper for a moment before he looked up at Gojo. “I can never apologize enough for that, no apology can ever cover it,” he said voice cracking even as he kept looking straight at Gojo. “I don’t know how many times you almost died because of what I said, how many other fucking scars my careless selfishness left you with. You said you wanted to protect everyone for yourself, and I believe you, that is who you are but…” Nanami trailed off, voice ragged as he breathed deeply for a few seconds. “But I saw what it did to you, heard it, and I can never fix it, can never make it up to you, I know that, but I can at least try to make it better,” he said finally, voice certain, and Gojo went cold, panic fuzzing the edges of his vision.

“can try to make it better, can try to make it better,” the words echoed through Gojo’s mind, as his chest tightened, making breathing difficult. “Please no,” he thought, before forcing the panic down, he couldn’t do this right now he had to make sure Nanami knew.

“Nanami, you were a kid, a kid who had just lost a close friend to something he should’ve never been fighting, I was never…” he hesitated for a moment, not wanting to lie, the words had burned, had echoed in his head for years because they were true, because he could fight anything, but Nanami… “I was never angry at you,” Gojo said finally, leaning forward in his chair,

“You wouldn’t be,” Nanami said quietly, rubbing his face. “It doesn’t matter anyways,” Nanami said stiffly, turning back towards his papers. “What’s done is done. I’m sorry I used your first name it won’t happen again.”

Gojo hesitated for a long moment, watching as Nanami started filling out his paperwork again, movements sharp and shoulders tense. “Nanami,” Gojo said softly, taking a deep breath, and pausing until Nanami looked up at him, eyes shuttered. “You can call me Satoru, you don’t need to earn anything,” he said, continuing before Nanami could cut in, his skin prickling with trepidation for the next part.

“All of this, has it been to make up for what you said when you were a kid?” Gojo asked quietly, the idea too likely, he remembered when they’d agreed to the alliance, remembered now what Nanami had said, what they had been talking about. “Please… It can’t all have been out of obligation, I can’t have missed that,” Gojo thought watching Nanami very closely as the other sorcerer turned to look at him.

“No,” Nanami said with a sigh, his shoulders tense as he looked straight at Gojo, who after a moment of hesitation pulled his blindfold off to that he could meet Nanami’s eyes. “No, it started as that, but in that first conversation…” Nanami said, trailing off, his eyes flicking away briefly before he looked back up and actually met Gojo’s eyes, his jaw clenching. “You told me you were going to change jujutsu society, and I…” Nanami said, eyes flicking away briefly,  “I wanted to help, didn’t want to close my eyes and pretend they weren’t there,” Nanami said, his shoulders twitching towards his ears even as Gojo’s relaxed, and he slumped slightly in the chair. He could live with it being about a common purpose.

“Good, well then you can definitely use my first name by now,” Gojo said, shoving himself back in his chair and crossing his legs, letting the rest go, that was as good as he was going to get with that. “We are friends, allies, I trust you, you… help me carry the weight,” he said carefully, not tilting his head down from where he was looking at the ceiling even as he watched Nanami’s eyes widen, his expression crumpling as dropped his head, eyes welling.

“I’m glad,” Nanami said, voice breaking over the words as he ran a hand over his face. “I… I’m glad, Satoru” he said hesitantly, and Gojo breathed out slowly, trying not to start grinning like a fool as he went back to explaining what his students had insisted on arguing about that day.

-----

Gojo stepped out of the school and started walking down the road, shoulders straight and mind empty, his breathing even, and regular as he walked.

He paused on the side of the road forty minutes later, shoulder slumped as he lingered for a moment and then continued on.

Twenty minutes later and he stopped again, staring at his home, the lights in the main rooms still on but the lights in his kid’s bedrooms off, it was well past their bedtime. Gojo walked up to the door after a couple of minutes and reached out to for the doorknob, only to stop again, his hand around the cold metal.

“late again as usual, Satoru,” Gojo gasped, hand tightening on the door knob as Geto’s greeting words echoed through his mind. Late, late, he was always too late… Gojo shoved the door open and stepped inside quickly as though he could run from the words, closing the door quietly behind himself, grinning briefly, instinctively at the baby sitter as they turned to look at him.

Ten more minutes, and they were gone out the door with a wave and Gojo stood frozen in the middle of the living room, smile still etched across his face as he stared at the room around himself.

“Are you going to make sure my family is safe?” Gojo flinched sucking in a sharp breath, blooming pain filling his chest, as he forced himself forward, hands reaching for the first of the buttons on his uniform.

He froze again, attention snagged by his hand, by the weapon that had… He ground his teeth and forced himself to continue, stripping out of his sorcerers uniform with quick sharp movements, balling it up angrily and lifting his hand to throw it, to get rid of it before he paused, hands tightening for a moment before he slowly uncurled the shirt and carefully laid it out, his hands shaking.

Then he paused again, his mind empty, clicking, trying to find the next step… but he didn’t know… he’d killed… Gojo reached up and ran a harsh hand through his hair, eyes wide as he stared forward, trying to burn his last image of Geto, bleeding slumped against the wall, from his mind.

He shifted, beginning to turn and he paused again, caught before the sudden flash of familiar cursed energy had him spinning towards the door just as a knock rang through the room.

“Nanami,” Gojo whispered, taking a step towards the door. “You sent them assuming that I’d defend them,” he froze, swallowing hard against the sudden nausea, children used as tools for the greater good, he backed up, breathing going ragged, Nanami had been right, he’d…

“Gojo I know you are in there! I can feel your damned cursed energy, either you let me in or I’m breaking down the door,” Nanami called from behind the still closed door, and Gojo… couldn’t, he couldn’t face him, not Nanami, not the person who he had promised that he would protect his students, that he wouldn’t be the higher ups or the principle.

“Gojo,” Nanami said, quieter, voice barely audible through the door. “Okay, I won’t break your door, but you need to let me in,” he said, the urgency in his tone making Gojo jolt forward, and throw open the door to reveal Nanami standing on the other side, still covered in concrete dust, dirt and blood, scrapes and bruises still littering every part of him that Gojo could see.

“What are you doing here? You should be at home, or with Shoko,” Gojo said, shifting to lean against the doorframe, the words grating at his tongue, his breathing steady even though he felt like he couldn’t breathe, chest binding with the lack of oxygen.

“I heard what happened,” Nanami said, and Gojo dropped his head, the words hitting like a gut punch,

“You don’t pull any punches do you,” Gojo asked breathless, his chest aching, Geto slumped against the wall and still so angry, so committed to his plan.

“That wouldn’t work with you,” Nanami answered, gaze steady even as he winced.

“True,” Gojo said tiredly, stepping to the side to let Nanami in, shoving his hands into his pockets as he followed Nanami deeper into the room, he knew his body language was giving too much away, but he couldn’t stop it, the masks gone.

“You should sit,” Nanami said as he turned around.

Gojo laughed, not even glancing at the couch. “Let’s just get this over with,” he said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest, hands gripping his arms tight enough to bruise.

Nanami hesitated, studying him closely before he turned and started towards the kitchen. “I’m getting tea,” he said as he disappeared into the kitchen.

“Tea?” Gojo laughed, bending over to brace himself against the couch as he laughed, tears stinging at his eyes. He couldn’t do this, couldn’t… Suguru was dead… and he couldn’t do this.

“Sit down,” Nanami’s quiet voice cut through Gojo’s thoughts and making him snap his head up, hands tensing in front of him, hands that had killed his own friend, hands that had failed to kill a curse user before he had attacked a school and almost killed two students.

“Gojo, just sit down,” Nanami said, still quiet and calm and Gojo let himself drop onto the couch, accepting the warm tea cup when Nanami handed it to him. He then watched passively as Nanami shifted a few feet away and settled into the chair that Gojo had gotten just for him , since he had always refused to sit on the damned couch.

Gojo jerked his eyes away from the other sorcerer and stared down at his tea, still watching Nanami as he took a long drink from his cup and set it down.

“Are you okay?” Nanami asked quietly, watching Gojo steadily.

Gojo closed his eyes and turned his head away, was he okay? “I lost him ten years ago,” he answered, quietly, dully. “I lost him the second he attacked that town, the second he decided that he would… could kill every non sorcerer on the planet,” he said, hands tightening around his cup as he remembered, remembered shouting at him on that damned street, remembered trusting him, hoping that he had a good reason, hoping that he could bring him back. He had been so angry, and more scared then, he had been since he had died.

“and yet,” he continued on a sigh, “I feel like I lost him again, I haven’t seen him in years, and I should have killed him the last time I did, but I…” Gojo cut himself off hand pressing to his chest as he felt tears begin to slide down his face. “He would have killed those students at that school,” he whispered, voice cracking. “I hate everything that he has done, he is what I despise, but still, I can’t…”

“Are you going to make sure my family is safe,” “I have all this power,” Gojo said quietly shifting his hands around the teacup to hold them palm up. “I can do anything, anything except save people, except protect the people I love, I just want to be able to save people, just want to make it in time for once,” he said quietly, letting his hands settle back against the teacup.

Nanami hesitated a moment and then pushed up out of the chair and shifted to sit next to Gojo on the couch. “You do save people Satoru,” Nanami said quietly, leaning forward slightly. “You save people all the time, both by killing the curses and making sure they have a chance to rest, space to be something other than a sorcerer for a moment.”

“He hated me you know,” Gojo said, ignoring Nanami’s words, he couldn’t cope with that, not now. “By the end, hell maybe the whole time,” he continued, staring down into the tea “Late again as usual,” he flinched from the words, he had been too late for Geto so many time, arriving just as the last blow was landed, too late to do anything. “But he was my best friend, my first friend, for five years, I love him, and I thought… it was us against the world,” he said voice breaking, throat tightening as he swallowed against the sob caught there.

“I’m sorry,” Nanami said quietly, and Gojo laughed again, a crackling sound that he couldn’t control, tears still rolling down his face.

“Me too,” Gojo said quietly curling in on himself, guilt, and grief a crushing combination. “I should have killed him that first time,” he whispered, he hadn’t thought he was capable of killing Suguru, but now…

“He attacked two cities, sent a curse into an elementary school, and I don’t even know what else,” he said knuckles turning white on the cup. “Instead, I left the task to a child,” he said pulling his knees close to his chest, bracing for Nanami’s reaction, for him to get up and walk away, or maybe attack him like he had five years ago. “I’m a kind person unlike you, Satoru.”

“Gojo,” Nanami whispered before leaning closer, hand outstretched only to run into infinity.

“Then I sent two students to fight him on their own,” Gojo said, voice finally steadying as he managed to shove the ache in his chest away.

“Satoru,” Nanami said again, and this time when he reached out he passed right through infinity and pulled Gojo close, wrapping an arm around him in a slightly awkward hug.

Gojo tensed, not breathing as he held very still, infinity was supposed to be up, a barrier between him and the world.

“Let me help, Satoru,” Nanami whispered, and the words sent a sharp spike of pain through Gojo, and he turned towards Nanami, letting him pull him closer, tears soaking through Nanami’s filthy bloodstained shirt.

------

Gojo could feel the burn of grief and rage in his chest as he walked away from the door, Itadori safe inside the room with enough food to last him a few weeks, and Gojo could barely breathe through the anger. Cursed energy flickering through him, too close to the surface, fingers cold with the power of it right there, practically crackling in the air.

He wanted to kill them all, kill the higher ups, kill every damned person who supported them, kill Ijiji, burn the whole of sorcerer society to the ground, and leave nothing in its place.

He stalked out of the building power roiling under his skin, uncontrollable and freezing as he fought to keep it contained within his skin, rage making his heartbeat pound in his ears. They had tried to kill his students, had tried to kill his son, they sent him to die, had deemed him an acceptable loss in a fight against a threat that didn’t exist. They had made him fight his friend, made him watch his friend die. They had killed Megumi, killed Itadori, for fear of Sukuna. Gojo breathed in sharply, laughing with the rage, cackling as he tried not to scream, for fear of Sukuna. They were both alive, but that didn’t matter. They weren’t alive because of anything the higher ups did, they were alive because Itadori had done the impossible, had  wrested control back from Sukuna, because he’d died to save Megumi. Itadori alive only because of Sukuna. “Miracles, but they mean nothing because you sent them to die,” Gojo thought, sliding his phone out of his pocket with fingers that shook with rage. He had to find Nanami. Nanami would help him, would keep Itadori safe for now.

He couldn’t think straight, his heart racing, and teeth gritted, breathing coming in ragged as he fought for control. He wanted fire and blood, and right then he couldn’t remember why he wasn’t already walking through a pool of blood, why he had stood by and done nothing when the fucking useless, evil, harmful bastards were willing to plot to kill kids.

His phone dinged with a new message just as he managed to open it, and he fought to focus through the red at the corners of his vision, through the overlay of his own cursed energy that was saturating everything.

‘On my way to the school unless you want to meet somewhere else. I heard what happened,’  Nanami, thank god, and he was close by.

‘Your house, I need to talk with you about something,’ Gojo responded, typing carefully as he breathed slowly, pulling calm over top of the burning rage, he couldn’t do this, couldn’t be this, not him, not with the power he had.

“Megumi,” his mind hissed at him, the memory of his kid, his Gumi covered in blood, half dead next to the dead body of his friend, barely able to move, two shikigami that he had loved, dead flaring to life in his mind despite his attempts to ignore it.

He shook the memory off and teleported to Nanami’s apartment, pausing in the entryway to pull his shoes off before he crossed to the window at the far side of the room. His fingers drummed against the window sill as he watched for Nanami, urgency rushing through him, he had to get back to the school, back to Megumi, back to where he could actually do something if the damned inspector general decided to try something else. “I could rip his head off, it would be so easy,” he thought viciously, hands tightening into fists on the desk.

A few minutes later and Gojo caught sight of Nanami’s cursed energy approaching from the front of the building, and a few minutes after that he heard the sound of keys in a lock and turned around to face the other sorcerer, his jaw tight from the roiling anger that refused to settle.

“Gojo,” Nanami said, closing the door, his eyes landing on him the second he stepped in the door. “Is Megumi okay?” he asked moving across the room to grab his suit, his sorcery uniform.

“He’ll live,” Gojo said tightly turning back to the window, hands clecnhing as he shoved them into his pockets, trying for a nonchalance that he couldn’t feel with the way his cursed energy still roiled under his skin. “But their stunt killed Itadori,” he said tightly, shoulders tensing as he fought to keep his voice calm. “Did you hear what happened?”

“I heard enough,” Nanami said pulling his jacket on. “I heard that it was on purpose, that they knowingly sent three first years into a fight with a special grade. How are we doing this?”

Gojo squeezed his eyes shut, bowing his head as he breathed out slowly, fighting for control, they needed logic now, a plan, not rage. “Itadori is alive,” he said tightly not turning around. “He came back from the dead.”

“What?” Nanami asked, straightening sharply, and moving forward. “How did he come back from the dead?”

“Sukuna,” Gojo whispered, leaning forward to press his forehead against the cool glass, fear starting to send small shivers over his body. He could beat Sukuna, could kill him even if he was in control of Itadori’s body but… “Sukuna had to have brought him back, and I don’t know how or why, or what the price was,” he said quietly before squaring his shoulders and turning around. “Regardless of how or why though, if this is how far the inspector general will go to kill him then I can’t let them know he is alive, not until I can find a way to keep him safe or he is strong enough to protect himself,” he said turning his face away to hide the wince, the guilt, he knew what Nanami thought about leaving kids to defend themselves.

“Okay,” Nanami said carefully, studying Gojo. “So, I take it we aren’t killing the higher ups for this?” he asked hands dropping from his half-done tie.

Gojo laughed, a bitter crackling sound as he slumped back against the window, shoulders caving in as he started to shake, the rage settling into a low simmer inside his chest. “I want to, there is nothing I want more right now than to go kill them all, but no the decision still stands,” he said pressing a shaky hand to his temple, trying to stop the headache.

“Sit down,” Nanami said gesturing to the couch as he pulled his harness off and hung it by the door, each movement jerky, his teeth clenched so tight that Gojo could hear them scrape against each other.

“I’ll stain it,” Gojo said dismissively, before he sucked in a sharp breath, he was covered in blood again, a painfully familiar feeling but this time… this time it was… “late again, as usual” Gojo jerked an arm up and started stripping out of his uniform, his uniform that was stained with the blood of his kid.

“Uh,” Nanami said before turning away quickly and disappearing down the hallway only to reappear just as Gojo got the last piece of bloodstained cloth off of himself  and offered him a bundle of clothes.

“Thank you,” Gojo said absently as he pulled the clothes on, shivering even though the apartment was warm as ever.

“Sit,” Nanami said again, disappearing into the kitchen to make tea just like he always did.

Gojo laughed briefly and settled on the couch dropping his head into his hands and leaving it there as he sat hunched over until Nanami came back with a warm cup.

“Here, if you are sure we can’t kill the higher ups then drink your tea,” Nanami said, breathing finally back to normal.

“Itadori died to save Megumi, if it wasn’t for his determination…” Gojo said quietly as he uncurled enough to grab the warm cup and fold it between his hands, the warmth scalding against Gojo’s skin.

Nanami sucked in a sharp breath as he backed up to sit in an armchair a few feet away. “I want to kill every last one of them,” Gojo continued equally quiet, keeping his head pointing straight forward and watched as Nanami’s face creased into a scowl, his hands tightening around his own tea.

“I know,” Nanami answered straightening in his chair, “but if not to tell me that we are going to war, why are you here instead of with Megumi and Itadori?”

Gojo breathed in slowly, bracing himself. “I need you to look after Itadori, teach him, supervise him on exorcisms, and watch for signs of Sukuna bleeding through his control,” Gojo said tiredly, chest aching from grief. “Don’t let him be alone, I can’t be with him all the time it would blow his cover, but I don’t want him to be all alone especially not after what happened, he’s going to blame himself for what happened to Megumi,” he continued, still looking forward, not quite willing to look over at Nanami even though he could still see him.

Nanami hesitated and then nodded. “I can do that, I’ll make sure he’s okay,” he said, dependable, trustworthy, capable Nanami making a promise that he would keep. Gojo breathed out slowly, some of the tension bleeding out of his shoulders as he relaxed into the couch, breathing in slowly to let the scent of safety drive the fear and anger farther away.

He could still feel the anger simmering under his skin and something was coming but at least he’d have Nanami by his side when he had to face whatever it was.

The End