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Shoko is smoking by herself, sitting under the shade of a tree, when Itadori-sensei calls out to her.
“Hi, Ieiri! How’s your arm?”
His tone is cheerful, which means he’s either alone or with Panda-sensei. Fushiguro-sensei, Kugisaki-sensei and Maki-sensei have Opinions about what students can and cannot do, and smoking falls in the second category. Inumaki-sensei probably doesn’t care, but he makes a point of snatching her cigarettes anyway because he’s a power-abusing troll.
Shoko turns to glance at Itadori-sensei and sure enough, he’s alone. Also, he’s wearing a black T-shirt which exposes his thick arms and the strong lines of his throat.
Fuck, he’s hot.
“Hi, Itadori-sensei! It’s healed already.”
“Wow! You’re really amazing, huh?”
There’s nothing but sheer joy and admiration in his warm voice and his happy grin. How the man manages to work as a shaman and still remain so pure, Shoko will never know. Maybe that’s why he was permitted to live despite being Sukuna’s host? He’s the school’s cinnamon roll, helping bad days be just a little brighter.
“I am,” Shoko nods gravely.
He joins her under the tree and plops in a sitting position after checking that there’s no witness. Itadori-sensei never says anything about Shoko’s smoking, not unless Fushiguro-sensei is here and staring at him. Half the time, it seems like he’s forgetting that teenagers aren’t supposed to smoke – or go to pachinko parlor, per their latest school outing experience. The guy is the nicest anarchist she knows. As well as the hottest.
“You’re not with your classmates? Last thing I’ve heard, they were taking advantage of the Kyoto-Tokyo exchange to do some sightseeing all together,” Itadori-sensei says happily.
The sightseeing story is a cover to settle some of the scores started during the competition while avoiding teacher interference, but Shoko is not about to tell on her classmates. Gojo swore to make Gakuganji eat his own guitar and Geto promised her that he’d film it. It’s gonna be fun, though not fun enough that she would stick around to get caught in the storm once the teachers learn about it.
“Eh, I prefer some peace and quiet after two days of competition. How was it for you? The Kyoto teachers look kinda stuck-up.”
Itadori-sensei laughs in a “you’re right but I’m too much of a cinnamon roll to say it” way.
“They have their temper,” he says kindly.
Damn, he’s so cute. Shoko is so glad that she stayed behind. They chat about the sister schools competition, life, and random nonsense that Shoko is all-too-happy to listen to when it’s Itadori-sensei’s warm voice saying it. He watches a ton of TV, which makes him an expert in useless tidbits of information that he sincerely finds cool.
“A-ah, Ieiri!”
Utahime cut the moment off, but Shoko’s too fond of her to feel really annoyed. Her friend’s standing a few meters away, obviously hesitant to join them.
“Utahime! Come over here, we don’t bite.”
“Maybe I should leave you alone?” Itadori-sensei suggests. “It’s not every day that you get to see each other, so –”
“Nonsense,” Shoko refuses. “It’s perfectly fine, Itadori-sensei.”
Utahime closes in shyly. She’s wearing civilian clothing, something simple and cute – like her. Shoko wants to pat her head.
“I – hum, hello, Itadori-sensei, Ieiri…”
“Hello!” Itadori-sensei salutes warmly. “How are you finding Tokyo, Iori? Do you like it?”
“I do! Actually, I, huh…”
“Hm?”
Utahime’s frantic gaze meets Shoko’s. Shoko mouths “you can do it” at her. She doesn’t mind sharing if it’s with Utahime.
Utahime takes a gulp of air and throws herself from the metaphorical cliff.
“I wanted to know if you’d be up for karaoke together!” She exclaims in a voice just a tad too shrill.
“Karaoke?” Itadori-sensei repeats with a surprised smile. “I’d be happy to, but wouldn’t it be more fun with your classmates than with a boring adult?”
Utahime sounds about to give up. Shoko won’t allow it.
“You’re not boring, Itadori-sensei. Come on, let’s go. The others won’t be back for a while, anyway.”
Might as well strike while the iron’s hot. If they wait for the other students’ return from their secret war/sightseeing trip, Itadori-sensei might get caught up in the aftermaths.
“I mean…” Itadori-sensei hesitates.
Shoko gets up. One of Itadori-sensei’s greatest qualities is the fact that he’s a pushover if you handle him right.
“Come on! Utahime’s leaving soon, so it’s one of her last chances to enjoy Tokyo. Did you have a place in mind, Utahime?”
Utahime’s face lights up. She’s cute, too.
“Huh, yes! I’ve gone through online reviews and there’s one that’s relatively close…”
Itadori-sensei doesn’t really object after that and they can drag him toward the school’s entrance. They’re waiting for their drive – a taxi, not an assistant manager; Shoko’s not so heartless that she’d bother one on such close notice, at least not when she wants to remain discreet – when a cold voice cut through Itadori-sensei’s excellent rendition of Batman’s anger in The Dark Knight Returns.
“Itadori-sensei, are you leaving for a mission?”
Nanami. Of course he didn’t join the sightseeing trip; the guy’s as straight-laced as they come. He’s emerging from one of the training grounds, Haibara in tow.
Damn it. Nanami’s not even eighteen yet, but he acts like he’s thirty. He’s going to make them cancel everything. Itadori-sensei’s face switches from Batman to Guilty Teacher in a blink.
“Nanami!” Itadori-sensei calls out in a failed simulacrum of light-hearted innocence. “Huh, we were leaving for karaoke – you want to come?”
This a blatant attempt at bribery. Obviously, Nanami will refuse. His unimpressed gaze brushes over Utahime, Shoko, then Itadori-sensei.
“I find it improper, but you’re the adult here and I’ll trust your judgment. I’ll join you.”
What?
“I want to come too!” Haibara exclaims happily.
“However,” Nanami says calmly, “though it’s fine to ‘have fun’ once in a while, we also need to study. Thanks to the sister school event, I made a list of the weaknesses in my technique that I must polish. So, we’ll go through them together in a private tutoring session.”
“Private?” Haibara interjects like the sad puppy dog that he is.
Nanami glances briefly at him. His dead fish gaze softens for a millisecond.
“It’s fine if it’s you. No more than two students, though. Otherwise, Itadori-sensei’s teaching will be less personalized, and we want to work specifically on our flaws and points of improvement.”
“I – I – it makes sense,” Itadori-sensei agrees weakly, floored.
Shoko stares at Nanami. Nanami stares back at her, unmoved.
A private tutoring session.
This is war, then.
(The karaoke session’s not that bad, except they utterly fail to get Itadori-sensei drunk even once he forgets that students aren’t supposed to consume alcohol. Shoko plays it strategically and fakes tipsiness so she can grab his muscled arms and his strong hands any chance she gets, while Utahime reaches dizziness from one single glass of beer and “needs” to be princess-carried to the cab by Itadori-sensei.
Nanami glares at them all the while.
Shoko has a great time.)
***
Sometimes, Suguru feels very thankful for Satoru’s brash and irreverent temperament. Without it, Satoru wouldn’t have challenged Itadori-sensei to a game of poker with one week of good behaviour at stake; he wouldn’t have (barely) won: and thus Itadori-sensei wouldn’t have been forced to spend a whole day wearing (fake) glasses.
“They suit him so well,” Satoru whispers at him, clutching his chest to simulate a heart attack.
“They do,” Suguru agrees.
A few meters ahead, Itadori-sensei is chatting with Ijichi, who’s visibly trying to stay focused. Without glasses, Itadori-sensei’s already hot. With them, he's downright kinky.
“He looks exactly like the hot teacher in those porn videos,” Satoru moans.
“He does.”
“I will die during this mission, Suguru. Not from a curse, but from his hotness.”
“I’ll fuck him in your memory,” Suguru nods gravely.
Satoru squeaks in outrage.
“I’m dead and that’s all you’ll think of doing?”
“Well, I’ll be carrying out your last will. Don’t you find it beautiful? Don’t worry, I’ll tell everything to your tomb afterward.”
“You’re awful. My will, you ingrate, is us spitroasting Itadori-sensei together, as friends.”
“That’s so noble of you, Satoru.”
“I know – oh fuck look at him when he straightens his glasses –”
They end up distracted enough that Gojo gets his arm broken and Geto sprains his ankle.
It was all worth it.
***
Masamichi’s heart is beating so hard that he’s half-sure that Itadori-sensei will hear it, but he tries to keep a straight face nonetheless.
“Huh, Itadori-sensei.”
His voice trembled slightly on the last syllable of “Itadori.” He clenches his jaw, but his teacher doesn’t seem to notice and just gives him a bright smile.
“Yes, Yaga?”
“You… you said my plu – dolls were cute –”
Masamichi’s voice is not breaking. He’s far past the age for shyness or general childish wimpiness.
“They’re adorable!” Itadori-sensei agrees with a big, warm smile.
He’s radiant. Masamichi’s heart is melting in his chest.
“Well, I made one just for you,” he says in a tight voice.
He shoves the doll in Itadori-sensei’s hands. It’s a small grizzly-kappa hybrid-like creature with a bandana. Itadori-sensei beams.
“Yaga, it’s so cute! I love the little bandana! Thank you so very much!”
To be perfectly honest, catching the other students’ jealous glares as they walk to the classroom together, Itadori-sensei proudly hugging the doll, is almost as satisfying as the happiness Masamichi felt from Itadori-sensei’s joy.
***
“Sensei, you’re the only kind adult in this school,” Atsuya moans pitifully.
He’s clinging to Itadori-sensei for dear life. His thought process is double: first, he’s trying to evoke mercy in his teacher and second, might as well use this opportunity to cop a feel.
Itadori-sensei looks guilty. He’s blushing a little, too. It’s cute, which helps soothe Atsuya’s heart away from the fact that he’s currently being tortured.
“It’s for your own good, Kusakabe,” Itadori-sensei says. “If you become strong, you can protect everything you care about!”
Were it anybody but, huh... a lot of the teachers except Panda and Inumaki-sensei, actually, Atsuya would be retorting “my safety is what I care about.” It’s Itadori-sensei, though, who’s kind (and ripped) to a fault.
“But can’t I get just a little more time before I have to take on my first Rank Two curse?” Atsuya whines in his saddest voice.
Itadori-sensei wavers.
“I mean…”
“Atsuya! Are you trying to suck up to Itadori for pity points?”
Oh no. She’s here. She caught on!
“Ah, Kugisaki! I, huh –” Itadori-sensei says embarrassedly.
“Don’t you even start with me! He’s far past the level for that kind of mission.”
Itadori-sensei’s hands clench protectively on Atsuya’s shoulder.
“If he doesn’t feel that confident…”
Yes! Mercy! Atsuya’s pride stings a little since the stupid part of him would like to impress Itadori-sensei, but –
“… Then he needs to gain confidence by proving to himself that he can take on enemies that easy,” Kugisaki-sensei retorts. “Also, stop clinging to him like this, Atsuya.”
Kugisaki-sensei is merciless. Atsuya obeys sadly.
“But maybe he’ll feel a bit more at ease if a teacher comes with him?” Itadori-sensei tries.
He, too, is powerless in front of Kugisaki-sensei’s might.
“I understand,” Kugisaki says, impassive. “And don’t you worry. I’ll be accompanying him to comfort him. Personally.”
Atsuya is going to die.
***
Fushiguro stares at Yuji. Yuji tries to keep from fidgeting. Usually, that glare can mean a few things:
- The situation isn’t great, but Fushiguro is thinking of a solution to improve it;
- Yuji indulged the students again “and you know Gojo shouldn’t be encouraged”;
- Yuji caught the students smoking/drinking/sneaking out after dark/others and didn’t scold them;
- Yuji said or did something dumb;
- All of the above.
“Did I do something?” Yuji asks sheepishly.
Fushiguro sighs. Yuji was just speaking with Geto on the doorstep to his own apartments – he’s living in the school facility; it seemed a waste of time and money to rent something outside when teachers are allowed – when Fushiguro cut them off and asked to see Yuji in private.
“Itadori – you and the students…”
Oh no. Is he speaking about that time when he went to a few beers with Geto and Ieiri? Or the one when he showed Haibara how to play pachinko? Or all those, huh – sometimes, Yuji feels the situation is getting slightly ambiguous – oh no, there are far too many things that the other teachers don’t know about and he’s definitely not inciting or grooming impressionable young minds, but is he responsible if the impressionable young minds seem to be self-inciting themselves? Or trying to incite him? Maybe?
He’s probably just imagining things, right?
Yuji is only a man. A man who sometimes fears (?) he’s one wrong (?) move away from being jumped by his own students.
“I don’t – huh – I’ve done nothing on purpose –” Yuji stammers.
“On purpose,” Fushiguro repeats with the smallest of sighs.
He rubs Yuji’s hair. It feels strangely affectionate. Yuji enjoys those kinds of touch – though he’s probably imagining it, right?
Fushiguro sighs again.
“Kugisaki was right. I think that rather than the armory, it’s your bedroom that we should protect with a Tengen barrier.”
“Eh?!”
“Don’t ‘eh’ me.”
Fushiguro glowers at him, hesitates, then visibly gives up.
“I won’t forgive you if you don’t at least let your fellow teachers have dibs.”
He’s flirting with you and you better accept right now or I’m ruining your career in this school, Sukuna snaps instantly.
Eeeeh?!
Yuji is only a man with far too many suitors and far not enough willpower for this whole situation.
He gives up, gives in, and gives a kiss to Fushiguro.