Work Text:
Christmas had never been a day of great importance at Jujutsu High, as far as Fushiguro knew.
Sure, they occasionally cozied up by the fireplace in the midst of the December freeze, and wished each other a Merry Christmas, and even put up an old Christmas tree from the warehouse. But the tree always stayed bare, no bright ornaments twinkling among its deep green leaves; no presents tucked at its foot, waiting to be opened. There were no warm smiles and home-cooked meals, only sharp concussions and bloody hands from exorcisms. The holidays weren’t really holidays for them, they just meant they would have to deal with both curses and the biting cold.
Like today, when Fushiguro, Nobara, and Yuuji were called on one of their more difficult missions, which required them to eliminate some curses–among them a semi-special grade–that had been born in a high school not far from the center of Tokyo. With all three of them, the semi-special grade wasn’t the worst thing they could have faced, but it was the never ending swarm of lower grade curses draining all their energy and patience that had really worsened their situation.
Between their collective fatigue from multiple near-death experiences and the generally dull mood that hung over the campus when they returned, Yuuji somehow latched onto the notion that the only way to cure their so-called “depressing lack of Christmas cheer” was to throw them a goddamn Christmas party.
And that, coupled with a questionable attempt at puppy dog eyes from Yuuji, was how Fushiguro found himself sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching Yuuji throw a fit beside him about how Todo had never seen Home Alone .
“I reserve my TV only for Takada-chan, brother.”
Yuuji jumped out of Todo’s death grip on his shoulder and stood up, meeting his eyes in disbelief. “But– but it’s a classic! How could you not have–” he spluttered. “You know what, we’re watching it right now!”
Fushiguro turned his bandaged head away from the exchange, rolling his eyes and taking another sip of his hot chocolate. Directly behind him on the couch sat Maki. Fushiguro initially had been surprised she even cared enough to show up, to which she simply replied, “Yuuji promised he’d be cooking.”
She was talking to Nobara quietly, who was leaning on her shoulder ever so slightly. Fushiguro caught her eye and sent her a knowing smirk when Maki wasn’t looking, which Nobara returned with a glance at Yuuji’s incredulous face as he talked to Todo about what other classic movies the second year hadn’t seen, then at Fushiguro, raising her eyebrow as if to say, not like you’re making any progress . Fushiguro quickly turned his head away, looking anywhere else in the room in an attempt to ignore the red creeping up his cheeks.
Beside the two girls were Inumaki and Panda, eagerly playing on the former’s new Nintendo Switch. Nestled on the larger couch near the Christmas tree were the Kyoto School kids, who were FaceTiming Kokichi. Apparently, Panda had fucked Ultimate Mechamaru up so badly during the exchange event that Kokichi had no proxy to send to the party.
In the very back of the room, the adults sat around a large wooden dining table, mercilessly devouring the feast Yuuji had prepared, complete with glasses of eggnog. Fushiguro snorted as he watched a very drunk Utahime attempt to punch a completely sober Gojo, who was clutching his stomach and letting out perhaps the most obnoxious giggles the world had ever seen.
“Turn off your infinity, dammit!” Utahime growled, grabbing the fork off of her napkin.
“Ah, no, I’m too scared! Please spare me, Utahime!”
Fushiguro watched the two teachers continue to fight, shaking his head. Frankly, he was impressed that Yuuji's party had managed to garner so many attendees. He had even managed to get the Kyoto kids to come—though maybe that was a product of both Todo’s efforts and the traveling word of Yuuji’s incredible food.
Fushiguro felt his stomach grumble. He’d been helping Yuuji set up and watching him cook and seeing people eat the whole time, but he hadn’t actually tried any of it yet. He turned to Maki and started to get up. “I’m gonna get some food real qui—”
Fushiguro was interrupted by a thunderous noise and an abrupt flurry of motion in his peripheral vision. He whipped his head around immediately, widening his eyes. A large, billowing cloud of purple filled the corner of the suddenly silent room.
Fushiguro clawed at the shadow bubbling up next to him, bringing his Demon Dogs to life and bracing himself for whatever would appear out of the portal-like formation. A thousand questions raced through his mind. What was this? Some type of curse that could teleport, or make portals? How did it get through Tengen-sama’s veil? And if it were so intelligent that it could somehow find a way to break in, why would it be so stupid as to come directly to the place where so many jujutsu sorcerers had congregated, not to mention Gojo Satoru?
Fushiguro gritted his teeth as the portal started to warp. Through the purple smoke stepped four…humans?
No, not humans. Definitely not humans. The first one that caught his eye stood in the front, with pale skin and purple horns extending from her ears to her cheeks. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the room, and she leaned forward slightly into a defensive position. The one standing next to her had stood with one hand on her hip, the other hand resting on her friend’s shoulder. Her dark eyes, the same shade as her skin, leveled Fushiguro with a fiery gaze.
The two other girls behind them looked much less assured and much more exasperated. One of them boasted the same horns as the first one had, but in a cream color that posed a stark contrast to her black hair. She clutched her temple, rolling her eyes. The one next to her had pointed ears sticking out of her dark purple hair and stood with her arms crossed, pulling her lips together in a tight smile. Fushiguro felt a strange pang of sympathy for them.
Even stranger, none of the girls had even a trace of cursed energy on them.
“Dude…I literally swear I had the CD in here somewhere! Where the heck is it?”
Fushiguro had never wanted to smack Yuuji more than he did then.
With Yuuji’s exclamation, the delicate silence of the room shattered. Gojo instantaneously appeared at the front of the room, his previously playful demeanor nowhere to be found as he pointed at the four girls. The rest of the room rose to their feet and readied themselves to attack the intruders at the slightest show of aggression.
“Who sent you?” Gojo’s grave voice filled the room.
The four being questioned remained silent, looking at each other.
Gojo pressed on, stepping forward. “It’d be in your best interest to tell me. Who sent you?”
At his movement, the first girl suddenly whirled around and grabbed a stunned Yuuji—who had finally acquired some sense and abandoned his search for the CD—by the red hood of his uniform. In the same breath, she drew a large sword from her back and held it to his neck.
“Cagalli—” one of the other girls called.
The room erupted into chaos.
The sight of the large sword against Yuuji’s skin sent flames of anger flooding Fushiguro’s body. He clenched his trembling hands even tighter, gritting his teeth and summoning the remainder of his shikigami. He sensed Maki unsheathing her staff behind him, and Nobara sucked in a breath as she drew out her hammer. Gojo swiftly tugged at his mask and crossed his fingers, whispering to himself. Todo beside him, too, had the same reaction—though he was much more active about it.
“Cursed technique lapse: blu—” Gojo started.
Todo interrupted him with a challenging grin before the blue energy could leave Gojo’s hold. “You dare touch my brother! What is your name, woman?”
The girl—Cagalli—brought the edge of her sword closer to Yuuji’s neck. Her hostage smiled meekly. “First you’ll answer my question. What world is this?”
Gojo dropped his hand back down to his side, squinting at Cagalli. Todo looked around the room for answers. His questioning gaze lingered on Fushiguro, as if to say, you look smart, answer her. Fushiguro rolled his eyes yet again and shook his head, pushing on his Demon Dogs’ heads slightly. The dogs looked up at him with their dark round eyes, then slid onto the floor, understanding Fushiguro’s signal to stand down.
Todo crossed his arms and looked back at the group of girls. “This is earth.”
“That’s not what I fucking meant , dumbass, I—”
“Calla, let’s calm down. We didn’t come here to start an inter-dimensional war, for god’s sake,” the purple-haired girl standing behind Cagalli piped up. “And will you drop the fucking boy!”
Cagalli let out an irritated sigh and abruptly unclenched her grip on Yuuji, who fell to the ground with a thud. “ Ow! That hurt!” he whined. Cagalli turned to her friends with a smirk.
The girl with the white horns spoke up. “Yes, everyone, we come in peace. Well, we didn’t exactly even mean to come here. This was all an accident. Either way, we don’t mean harm. I am Su, and these are my friends I’valia—” she gestured to the purple-haired one, who flashed everyone a smile.
“I’m Sai,” said the one with darker skin. She smiled and shot everyone a finger-gun that absolutely should have been awkward, but her ignorance of the fact somehow negated it.
“And you’re Cagalli,” Fushiguro blurted, before he could stop himself.
“Aw, look who’s been paying attention!” Sai quipped.
Fushiguro flushed with embarrassment, feeling an urge to never open his mouth again, but spoke again despite himself. “You still haven’t told us how you got here. Or where you’re from. Or…what exactly you are.”
Sai sighed. “Su, I can’t do this again. Please explain to them our accidental dimension-hopping.”
“Where do I even start…” Su muttered.
“Maybe with these dumbasses,” I’valia suggested, taking turns flicking Cagalli and Sai’s foreheads. The two girls let out squawks of pain and indignation in almost comical unison.
“Um, well there was a crystal, for starters.”
Fushiguro just knew it was going to be another long night.
—
After almost an hour of explanations, questioning, and Fushiguro’s entire perception of reality being warped, the four girls had practically merged into the rest of the group, helping themselves to the food and engaging in conversations.
Yuuji, having finally found his godforsaken CD of Home Alone , was eagerly showing the movie to a sparkly-eyed Sai and a very confused Todo, attempting to explain anything he could (which was very little, since he himself had only seen the movie when he was five years old, with attempted Japanese translations from his grandfather). Fushiguro sat on the side next to Yuuji, amused. His patience had grown almost exponentially after he ate some of Yuuji’s cooking and indulged in the boy’s homemade hot chocolate.
“No, no, Todo, the parents left the kid at home on purpose . Ya know, as like, a learning experience!” Yuuji said.
“I don’t think so, brother…” Todo trailed off, frowning at the TV. “Anyways, I have something more important to ask.” Todo turned to Sai, a grim look on his face.
Sai looked alarmed, but Fushiguro could only groan. “Fucking here we go again.”
“Sai,” Todo boomed. “What kind of woman is your type?!”
Sai’s face contorted and she scoffed, taken aback. She looked at Cagalli—who had been reluctantly roped into watching Home Alone by Sai somewhere along the line, and subsequently joined Fushiguro in making snarky comments throughout. Cagalli was of no help, however, as she was rolling around on the floor, clutching her stomach to try and subside her hysterical laughter.
Nevertheless, Sai brought her fingers to her chin and looked up, eyebrows knitting together in concentration. Fushiguro snorted. There was no doubt that Sai would make the same mistake he did and mention something actually sensible. Kindness or confidence, for instance, or even humor. She was a woman herself, for god’s sake! There was no way she’d—
“Hm,” said Sai. “Probably…a tall woman, with a big ass, maybe?”
Fushiguro’s jaw dropped. Grinning, Yuuji reached out to her for an enthusiastic high-five. “Nice! Me too!”
Meanwhile, Cagalli appeared to be on the verge of combustion by virtue of her borderline manic wheezing on the floor.
Todo, however, was staring up at the ceiling solemnly, tears glinting at the brims of his eyes. “S-sister…” he whispered.
“Sister? Sai, don’t tell me this is another adoption triangle!” Su chimed in from her conversation with Maki and Nobara, mirth slipping through her tone of concern.
“Sister!” Todo bawled, jumping to cover Sai in a hug, who yelped and attempted to shove all two hundred and two pounds of Todo off of her.
Fushiguro feared that Cagalli might need CPR for the frankly alarming breathing patterns she was displaying on the floor.
He shook his head, deeply disturbed by the whole exchange, and turned towards Yuuji, who had long abandoned Home Alone and was now staring at I’valia’s greatsword with eyes of wonder.
“It’s so cool! All I can do is punch stuff! But you can punch stuff and slice stuff!” he exclaimed in awe. “Could I hold it? Just once? I won’t break it!”
I’valia glanced down at her sword with reluctance, and Fushiguro couldn’t blame her. Yuuji didn’t exactly have the most gentle hold. This was a guy who put world records to shame without even knowing it. “Don’t do it. Don’t fall into his trap. He says shit like that but then goes and ruins it,” Fushiguro urged.
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.” I’valia raised an eyebrow. “But it’s fine, these swords are terribly hard to break,” she said, placing the greatsword
“I warned you,” Fushiguro said grimly.
“Maybe listen to him,” Su broke in, slipping down to the floor from her place on the couch next to Nobara. “You also always say that it’ll be fine, but it really never is.”
But it was too late for that.
Yuuji stood up, parading around the room and swinging the sword around haphazardly. If Fushiguro hadn’t known better, or witnessed Yuuji do this exact thing far too many times for the short time they’ve known each other, he would’ve been anxious. I’valia, however, had been spared from anxiety in no such way.
He suppressed a snicker as he glanced between Yuuji wielding the sword with no sign of caution in his eyes and I’valia’s grimacing face.
“That’s probably not safe in the slightest—” Su called out to Yuuji.
The moment those words left her mouth, Yuuji went tumbling down for the second time that evening as he lost his balance on a plastic chair. He rose slowly, rubbing his head.
“Um,” he started sheepishly. “I sorta bent it. Sorry.”
He returned it to I’valia’s hands, who looked like she was simultaneously on the verge of tears and two seconds away from knocking the daylights out of the pink-haired boy in front of her.
“Literally how did you bend it?” I’valia cried.
“I told you so,” Fushiguro slipped out, biting his lip to stop himself from breaking down into laughter.
I’valia raised her curved sword to Fushiguro’s face. “I’ll kill you too.” Upon seeing her precious sword’s curvature once again, she buried her face in her hands, groaning.
“It’s okay I’valia, I’ll get you a new one.” Su rubbed her friend’s shoulder gently. “Sai! Cagalli! It’s time to go!” She summoned the purple portal from earlier and looked around the room to find the girls in question.
“They’re over here,” Maki smirked.
The two girls got up from behind the couch, bottles of some sort of alcohol in their mouths. Su charged towards them angrily. “What did I say about hijacking strangers’ alcohol supply?”
After wrangling all her friends together, Su let out a world-weary sigh and turned towards the rest of the room. “Thanks everyone. This has been a pleasure. Say thanks .” She nudged Sai and Cagalli, who were leaning against either side of Su and practically dozing off. They murmured something resembling a thank you , almost falling over in the process.
And with that, they stepped through the purple clouds, never to be seen again.