Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Megumi snatched his hand back, seething at the paper cut he got from unraveling one of the ancient scrolls. Who knew paper this old could still do this kind of damage. 

The Ten Shadows user had received permission to enter the Zenin estate and look through their writings to find more clues about his powers. He knew this “small” favor would come at a price in the future, but he wanted to do everything in his power to become stronger. (Lest he be left behind).

Whatever scrolls he had found said nothing new about his powers. As he grew frustrated by the mountain of scrolls and old text, his elbow knocked into a tower of books that fell onto the floor, kicking dust all over. Considering that it was time to call it quits, he found a book that was rather peculiar. 

Opening it to peruse its contents, he discovered it to be a journal, a diary perhaps from all the dates. Out of curiosity, he decided to read a couple of pages. 

Megumi’s eyes widened, realizing that this was the first time he had ever found a first person account of his Ten Shadows predecessors. He quickly sat down at the candlelit desk—the mess of fallen books forgotten on the ground. 

He flipped through the old diary quickly, trying to find the name of Yue’s master, but could not. But with her description of him, it was so eerie, like reading a story about himself.

Yue gently poured the tea into her master’s favorite cup—the one with cherry blossoms painted on the inside—and observed her liege from her peripheral vision. He seemed on edge today. 

Zenin Megumi was not one who was easily riled up, so something must be on his mind today. Even though he was a few years shy of being considered an adult in the sorcerer society, he was a rather precocious young master, born to bear the burden of Ten Shadows and Zenin titles with much grace. 

“Are you nervous about the upcoming all clans meeting, Megumi-sama?” His eye ticked, making her assumption correct. 

“That Gojo head is surely going to cause a ruckus. I’m simply not one for it.” The Zenin heir admitted. 

“But I’ve heard about how the meetings were rather dull before Gojo-sama stopped skipping them.” Yue commented with a small smile. Even if her young master would never admit it, she knew that he was secretly amused with how the Gojo clan leader could step on the elders’ toes and get away with it.

Megumi was planning to open his mouth for a retort, but a loud gong could be heard ringing through the Zenin compound. 

“It’s time. The other heads are arriving now.” 

—

Megumi sighed as he sat in his secret garden. The meeting with the clan elders and current heads dragged on and on. Time felt infinite in that stuffy meeting room. His legs were still tingling from kneeling for so long. Still, Yue was right though. Gojo’s sharp, jabbing comments toward the elders were the only thing keeping the Ten Shadows user awake. 

A bird flew to his shoulder and chirped in his ear. It seems like more and more feathered companions were coming his way since he exorcized Nue and added the winged creature to his shadows. He didn’t mind though. He preferred the companies of animals to humans on most days. 

“My oh my, what do we have here? Perhaps you are actually a princess of the animals and not solely the heir to the Zenin name.”

Megumi startled and the birds flew away from him. His shocked face morphed into one of displeasure when he discovered who it was. 

Gojo Satoru, the bane of Megumi’s existence, popped into view with a fan in his hand. His long, silver hair glistened under the sunlight as he stepped closer in his layers of royal robes. How could someone so lackadaisical hold himself so regally?

“What are you doing here? This is my private garden.” He attempted to cease all nervousness before the older man. Despite Megumi’s annoyance, the man was still his respected superior, and the strongest sorcerer in all of the land. The only one who was said to rival Gojo was Megumi himself with his prized Ten Shadows technique. 

“I just happened to follow a trail of intriguing curse energy and it led me to you.” Gojo turned his smile towards his feet where Megumi’s shadows were nipping at his shoes. Already in the inky shadows, Orochi snaked its way across the cobblestone to hiss at his feet. But the man was not afraid, sending back tendrils of his own curse energy to greet Megumi’s. “I truly meant no harm.”

Gojo was within arms distance now and he used that fact to reach out and pick up Megumi’s silky ponytail from his shoulder and bring it up to his lips. “Gojo Satoru, at your service.” He kissed the tip of the boy’s hair reverently. Megumi could feel blood rush to his face. 

“I know who you are. I’ve been to all the meetings.”

“Yes, but we’ve never been introduced face to face. You simply sit by the old Naobito side and never say a word.” He began twirling the hair around his finger as Megumi stood there, shell shocked by his brazenness. “But I must say, I am glad my attempts at humor entertain you. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the exhale of amusement you barely held back at today’s meeting.”

Megumi could not fight the deep blush that settled on his face any longer—its color rivaling the cherry blossom’s lush hue. “That—that was…” He broke away from Gojo’s enchanting gaze. Those aqua blue eyes would be the death of him one day. 

Before either could say anything, a rustling could be heard from the lush path. “Megumi-sama! Are you here? I apologize for my interruption, but Naobito-sama is summoning you in regards to preparations for the games.” 

“Looks like my time’s up,” Gojo said as he pressed another kiss goodbye onto the tip of Megumi’s hair. In the blink of an eye, he was gone with a whoosh, leaving Megumi standing there wondering if that had just been a mirage. 

Yue popped her head out of the bush, wondering why her master had such a red face. “Oh dear, Megumi-sama. You look awfully red. Shall I tell Naobito-sama so that we can postpone the meeting?”

Megumi shook his head to get a hold of himself. “No, it is fine. I’ll be on my way now.”

So that was Gojo Satoru. Megumi was one of the few people who met him and came out of unscathed. But to be fair, Gojo was one of the few people who could say the same after meeting Megumi.