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Winter days were spent lounging around in the dorms. Most students were usually on missions, or simply just staying inside the comfort of their rooms. Contrary to most students’ belief, they did have breaks—it’s just that they had nothing to do or nowhere else to go to.
She in particular didn’t like to be outside. The snow was unforgiving, and it was something she had grown to dislike ever since she was a child. The color, the texture, the temperature—everything about the season just put a frown on her face. She didn’t get why everyone was so happy and excited with winter, not even with Yuji, who had been very adamant about the rest of the first years eating hotpot together.
“I just don’t get it.”
A frown was on her face as she laid on her stomach, a magazine in front of her while she stared at the fluffs of white from outside. They were covering everything—the trees, the grass—everything. With a sigh, she turns her attention back to the magazine in front of her, swinging her legs in the air as she read whatever interesting article it was that she found. That was when the door burst open.
“(y/n)! WE’RE GOING TO GO EAT NOW!” Yuji’s voice boomed in the room, and the girl nearly threw the magazine to his face.
“Yuji! Do you not know how to knock?” She says, frowning as the rest of her friends piled in the room. “And why are you all just going inside my room?”
Nobara laid on the bed, pulling the yellow comforter snug around her. Megumi walks inside and sits on the foot of the bed, while Yuji lays on the floor just right beside her.
“We know your room is the warmest during winter. It’s literally freezing in our rooms.” Nobara responds as she smiles while laying snug on the bed.
It was true. (y/n) noticed how her room had always been so warm, so she didn’t have to worry about keeping herself comfortable during this cold season. She pressed her back on the bed and Nobara went ahead to play with the soft brown locks of her hair.
“So, what’s up now?” (y/n) asked, looking at Yuji who seemed to have been lost in thought as he got too comfortable.
“Oh! Right!” Yuji sat up with his legs crossed. “Gojo-Sensei’s going to treat us to some hotpot!”
Her eye twitched.
Gojo-sensei. That man reminded her much of this season she hated. His hair, his eyes, his skin—everything about the man was so much like winter. Except for his personality maybe. He seemed to be too chipper for winter. It wasn’t like she completely disliked him, maybe he just struck her the wrong way. He was usually chatty around Yuji and the rest of the students, but he wasn’t the same with (y/n).
Gojo never really spoke much to her, other than the usual greetings and small talk. Or maybe it was her who wasn’t very invested in even starting a conversation with him. She saw no point in having to be too close with the teacher—reminding herself that it was fine to just be acquaintances.
“You three should go ahead. I’m not too fond of going out in this weather.” She said after a long moment of silence.
Yuji frowns at her statement, and was about to say something when she felt someone familiar stand by the doorway. And of course he’d be standing there—all high and mighty like the man that he was. The powerful man that he was. She didn’t even notice the others greeting him, and Yuji immediately saying that (y/n) didn’t want to partake in the hotpot, as if it was a tradition for all students to join meals with their teacher.
“He makes me feel sick.” She thought to herself. “Sensei is nice, even to me, but he makes me sick. Literally. I feel like puking every time I see him, and I feel like I’m going to have a fever when he looks at me—does it even count as looking at me if he has that blindfold on?”
Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed Megumi calling her attention.
“(y/n).” He calls her gently, and she turns to look at him while humming a response. “Sensei said you should come with.”
“Oh.” Was all she managed to say, and there goes that damned feeling in her stomach again.
She looks at him, and sees that lazy smile on his face again. Can you please wipe that off? It’s making me feel sick—literally.
“You okay, (y/n)?” Gojo asks, and she had to stop herself from frowning.
“Yes. I’m okay, sensei. I think I’ll stay here. I’m not feeling well.”
“Ah, that’s a shame. I was taking you guys for some hotpot, my treat.” He continues, and she feels herself wanting to throw up.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll um… I’ll stay here. Maybe next time, sensei.” She says in a soft voice, pressing her knees close to your chest.
He hums as a response, that lazy smile still on his face as he nods. He calls to Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara—and soon they were out. She was left alone in her room, thinking about why it had suddenly felt warmer than it usually did.
The next few days of winter were far more annoying than they usually were. The snow was falling a little more than it did some days ago, and though (y/n) would have preferred to stay inside the warmth of her room, her schedule didn’t exactly agree with that. She was called to exorcise a curse in some shopping district near the Otemachi station. The weather wasn’t very good—it was one of those days you’d have to be careful when walking otherwise you’d slip in the middle of the street.
It was a 2nd grade curse, and being a first grade sorcerer, (y/n) wouldn’t seem to have any problem in exorcising it. The shopping district was empty when she arrived, and she felt the cold nipping on the tip of her nose. She cursed under the soft material of the wool scarf around her neck. Usually it would be Ijichi who’d set up the curtain, but they sent one of the teachers instead as Ijichi was called elsewhere. (y/n) hoped it would be Nanami—she liked being in his silent, but very calculative presence. Plus, they both loved the same bakery.
But alas, her luck seemed to be running out on that day, because even in the thick specs of snow she was able to see familiar tufts of white hair. She felt herself scowl immediately. Why is he here? Ah, right. He is a teacher. He had that same lazy smile on his face when he turned around to look at her.
“Ah, (y/n)! You made it!” Gojo says as he places his hands inside the pocket of his pants.
He’s so much like winter. He isn’t even bothered by the snow.
“Yes. I made it. I thought Nanami-sensei would be accompanying me.” She says, as she stands a couple of feet away from him, not bothering to meet his eyes.
“Oh, I made Nanami go with Yuji for the moment! He’s supervising their mission.” Gojo responds, walking closer to (y/n). “And I’m here to accompany you instead! We rarely spend time together.”
She felt her eye twitch in annoyance, and that same nauseous feeling creeping up in the pit of her stomach made itself known again. (y/n) turns to face the empty shopping district instead.
“Can you please lower the curtain already? I’d like to get this done with as soon as possible.” (y/n) said, placing her case on the ground and taking her violin out.
Gojo doesn’t respond and smiles instead as he lowers the curtain, blocking them from the world outside. It was silent in the vicinity of the district, and (y/n) takes a deep breath before starting to glide her bow against the strings of the instrument.
He watches as she plays, and sees the curse walk out of the dark corner—its hideous appearance of long black hair and numerous eyes and mouths in its green mucky body, making itself known. It charges towards her, yelling out a string of profanities, its eyes seeming to glance almost everywhere. (y/n) closed her eyes, playing the piece with gentle hands, cursed energy enveloping entire area—the cursed piece sounding like screeches to the ears of that cursed spirit. It was a haunting melody that Gojo had heard of once, and he had been wanting to hear it from (y/n) in one of her missions.
As soon as the piece was nearing its end, the cursed spirit bellowed, its last attempt of trying to reach her, but the last note was played and it burst into bits and pieces. Blood splattered in the place, the curses along with it being taken inside the instrument that she held in her hand. After a few minutes, she walked back to where her case was and placed the violin and bow inside—hearing the curses whisper to her. She stares at it for a moment, muttering a small prayer before shutting it close.
(y/n) turns around when she hears Gojo clapping, and she immediately felt that same dreaded feeling down her spine. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she didn’t like the way she felt.
“I’ve always wanted to hear you play that piece.” Gojo says as he stands beside (y/n).
The younger girl pulls the scarf up to her nose, looking away from Gojo after mumbling a little thank you. She stood in silence, looking at the dark curtain before her. When she notices that Gojo hasn’t lifted it yet, she turns to face him.
“Sensei, can you lift the curtain now, please?” She says, and she flinches when she sees him so close to her.
Why is he so close?! This isn’t allowed!
She takes a step back immediately, hands gripping the strap of the case across her body. Gojo hummed as he stood straight, the corners of his lips pulled up in a smile. He sees the red tinting her cheeks and nose—and he was sure it wasn’t the cold this time.
“You up for some hotpot? You look like you’re ready to freeze any minute.” He says teasingly, and she stands straight before clearing her throat.
“I’m alright, I’d like to go back to the dorms. It’s freezing.” She responds softly, turning away and looking somewhere else.
Gojo picks up something from her body language and the tone of her voice, and he smiles bigger—grinning even.
“Alright, but the next time you say no, I’m going to accompany you to all your missions, ‘kay?” He said, finally lifting the curtain with two fingers.
(y/n) had a surprised look on her face as she watches Gojo walk ahead, the snow beginning to make itself known once again as it gently fell from the skies.
December 7, possibly (y/n)’s worst day. She went down with a cold—something she had absolutely hated. She rarely got sick, taking very good care of her health, and now here she was—sneezing and blowing her nose in another tissue. A fever pad was pressed on her forehead as she swiped through her phone and finishing the book she was reading. She sighs as she felt her eyes get watery again, so she turns her phone off and was about to lie down on her bed when she heard a knock on the door.
Is it Nobara? I thought I sent her a message…
She stands from her bed, shuffling to the door and coughing slightly before opening it.
“Nobara… I’m not joining dinner—“
“Aww, again? Remember what I said about saying no to my last offer?”
The way her eyes widened in surprise was almost comical. Standing in front of her was Gojo, he was in his casual clothes and wore his black sunglasses—oh dear, his hair was also down. Upon realizing that it was him, she immediately straightened up, only to cough in the process. He looked surprised, but his features softened when he took the sight in. (y/n) in her oversized hoodie and sweatpants, hair all over the place, and cheeks red.
“You okay?” He asks, a gentle smile on his face.
She turns to look at him and covers herself more with her comforter. It was even colder outside. (y/n) nods though, and tells him that she was going to be fine.
“It’s my birthday today.” Gojo suddenly said, and she looked surprised—genuinely.
She didn’t even know it was his birthday. Did Megumi and the others know? I didn’t get him anything. Ah shit, what should I—
“But it looks like you can’t celebrate with us, huh.” He says, and she looks at him, the thin strands of her brown hair covering her sight just a bit.
“Sorry, sensei. Do have fun though. Happy birthday.” (y/n) responds, giving him a small smile.
It was the least she can do. It was his birthday after all. She watches as he smiled, his pearly whites showing. (y/n) couldn’t help but feel her fever getting worse. What the hell. They stood there, for just a couple more minutes until one of the doors opened, Yuji pops his head out and waves at Gojo and (y/n).
“(y/n)! You ready to go? We’re going to go get some yakiniku! Gojo-sensei’s treat!” He cheerfully says.
“It’s always Gojo-sensei’s treat, you don’t ever treat us.” Megumi adds as he stands beside the pink haired boy. Yuji sends him a look.
“I would if I had money.”
“(y/n)! Are you feeling better?” Nobara was suddenly beside her, and she flinches. Goodness, why was she so jumpy today. “Your face is red, did your fever get worse?”
Nobara places her palm on (y/n)’s forehead.
“Why is your fever suddenly so high?! I thought you said you were just coughing.”
She looks away and waves her hand at Nobara. “I’m okay! Just go. I’m going back to sleep.”
“(y/n), get well soon. We’ll take home some meat for you! You’ll need it to recover.” Yuji says, standing beside her and ruffling her hair.
She thanks him, and the trio bid goodbye before walking ahead. Gojo was still there.
“You should go, sensei. The snow might get worse.” She says softly, not wanting to strain her voice any further.
“I’ll see you later.”
Again, she looks at him walk away with wide eyes.
There was a knock on the door. She had just dozed off after drinking her medicine and was now feeling much better. She stretched for a bit before moving to the door to open it, wondering who’d be the person to come see her at— 9 in the evening.
After opening the door, she wanted to shut it back close. Of course, Gojo-sensei would be there. Of course, he would keep his promise of seeing her. Of course, her fever would come back and she’d feel nauseous again.
“S-sensei? What are you doing here?” She manages to stutter out, the warmth she felt earlier was suddenly back.
“Told you I’d see you later, didn’t I? I brought you some food by the way. Has your fever gone down?” He responds, showing her that handsome smile again.
He waits for her to answer, and after gaining her thoughts back, she does. Gojo doesn’t seem to buy it, after noticing that she was red again—but then he knew why. She glances at the bag he was holding, and felt the need to let him inside. He noticed that.
“I’ll call Nobara so she can keep you company. She was planning on seeing you as soon as we arrived anyway.” Gojo explains, handing her the bag.
She takes it gratefully, and thanks him. She wondered why he didn’t invite himself in like he usually would with Yuji and Megumi. Gojo sees the little troubled look she had in her green eyes, and he couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle as he ruffled her hair. Her brown locks were much softer than he thought they would be. She looks at him with those pretty doe eyes of hers, and Gojo feels contented on that night.
(y/n) seemed to notice something in the atmosphere shift. A sudden realization that hit her like a truck—or something like finally figuring out that very hard math problem back in junior high. Gojo caught that look, and he knew it all too well. He couldn’t help but share it back with a smile on his face.
“I-I’ll be sure to eat this, thank you Gojo-sensei.”
“Make sure you finish it, okay?” He adds, and she nods.
He takes his hand away, waving goodbye as he walked away, only to have her words stop him in his tracks.
“H-Happy birthday Gojo-sensei! I promise I’ll come eat hotpot with you before winter ends!”
He turns his head back, grinning at her. (y/n)’s green eyes showed promise, and he knew that lingering feeling behind them.
“I’ll be looking forward to it then. Good night kiddo.”
He walks out of the dorms, that irregular beat in his chest made him feel all the more alive. It was winter, but it felt like spring to hear those words from her. He looks at his palm, and laughs softly to himself.
“When you’re older, (y/n). Maybe when you’re older I can make you realize that winter isn’t so bad.”