Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hello! I went insane and wanted to write something for them to cope with the cold harsh truth of canon, so here is a corny no curse/teachers AU. I will keep it mostly humorous and focus on the fluff, but there will be angst now and then.

Hope everyone can have fun and cope hard with me and brainwash ourselves into believing canon doesn't exist. Special thanks to San for beta reading and going insane with me over them!! First chapter is published, I hope everyone will enjoy it :)

Chapter Text

August 2018

Shoko Ieri, part time doctor at Jujutsu High, was taking a smoke break. 

If you asked her whether she thought that med school was worth it, she would tell you that the most significant thing she got out of those 8 years was a nicotine addiction. After graduation, she was working full-time at a local hospital, her 12-hour shifts stressed her out immensely and devoid her of almost any social interaction. She found a friend in nicotine, since she was distancing from any relationship she had ever had.

Except for one person.

“Knock knock! Itadori lost to me at football and scratched his knees again , can you be at the field in 5?”

Shoko turned around to face the tall man standing at the hallway’s opened backdoor, who was covered in sweat and beaming with pride from beating a 15-year-old at football.

“Surely you know how to treat a tiny scratch, Gojo,” she took the cigarettes from her mouth and waved at the man, whose grin dropped, “you can’t tell that I’m on my well-deserved smoke break?”

“Please please please I need to win basketball against Yuuta too,” he replied with a voice — which in Shoko’s opinion — the whiniest, most annoying voice an adult male could make. “I will buy you a drink this weekend please please please —“

“Alright!” Shoko rolled her eyes out of defeat. Anything to stop him from being more annoying than he usually was. “I will be there, stop wasting my self-care time.”

“Your self-care is just getting a fix for your nicotine addiction, Shoko." 

Shoko shot a glare at the man, but not before he slammed shut the door behind to dodge her eyes, his heavy footsteps fading quickly.

And Shoko finally had her space back after dealing with Jujutsu High's (in)famous science teacher. Gojo Satoru — one of her closest friends since high school — was the person who dragged her out of her old, boring full time job at the hospital.

Gojo had always been one of the few who actively tried to keep contact with her despite her tendency to reply from 3 days to a week late. After months of making plans and canceling said plans, Shoko finally managed to squeeze in 2 hours of her time to meet up with him at the bar. And that was when Gojo suggested that she should apply for the newly vacant position as a doctor at their old high school, in which he had been teaching for the past year. Shoko thought hard about it, then said fuck it, applied, got accepted and quitted her hospital job.

That was the story from 2 years ago. Gojo Satoru was an interesting person, both in a good and not-so-good way. But she could not deny that she was grateful for Gojo. Without his invitation, maybe she would have worked to death in that tiny hospital for the rest of her life. At least Gojo still kept contact with her after all those years of friendship.

Unlike him…

She shook off the thought as quickly as it came into her mind. She did not like dwelling on certain things for too long. 

Shoko sighed and put out her cigarettes. She had a 15-year-old with a scraped knee waiting for her in the field.

——————————

“Do you think this skirt looks nice?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about this one, the pattern looks kinda uneven don’t you think.”

“Ohhhh you’re right, I see it now, how about — hey Fushiguro, do you think this skirt looks nice?”

Megumi glanced at Nobara’s phone and furrowed his eyebrows.

“How would I know that?” He replied promptly before sitting down next to Yuuji’s desk.

“Oh come on, you don’t have to be a fashion connoisseur to know what looks good and what doesn’t!” 

“Right? I have never worn a skirt in my entire life and I can still tell.” Yuuji nodded his head in agreement.

“Are you sure? Did you forget the time you and Gojo-sensei wore my skirts to take selfies? And then I had to find out through an Instagram post? ”

“That one doesn’t count!”

Megumi sighed as he flipped through the book in his hands, the chattering of his two best friends in the background continued. It was the first day back from semester break and all students had returned to school.

Jujutsu High was a private school, but not just any private school. It was a school for gifted kids and most students got in through recommendation or scouting. However, Megumi was pretty sure that he got in through nepotism, since his adoptive “father” (he was not sure if he could call that man a father) was a teacher at the school.

But Fushiguro Megumi was also a delinquent. He used to beat up almost every other delinquent in his middle school. So when he got scouted, everyone was saying he was talentless and got in purely through nepotism. It was one reason, but it was also for his outstanding academic results in middle school. The judgemental whispers finally died down after he proved himself capable with his top grades. There were 15 students other than himself in the class, but the only people that managed to get close with him were Itadori Yuuji and Kugisaki Nobara.

Megumi was not sure about how the rest of his class got scouted, but Yuuji said that he figured it was due to his sports medals, especially his wins for his middle school’s football team. Meanwhile, Nobara told them that she was an excellent student with a great mind for fashion, but she also believed she wouldn’t have made it without her grandmother’s letter of recommendations to the school, considering her hometown was a tiny village in the countryside.

Each of them came from a vastly different background, but there was one thing they had in common: they were the only 3 students in their year that lived full time in the school’s dorm.

Since Jujutsu High scouted students from all over the country, there was a dormitory building on the school grounds. However, most students picked the option of going home after school, leaving only Megumi, Yuuji and Nobara to be the sole boarding students of their year. They were not alone, though, since they had also befriended the boarding upperclassmen, with four students from year 2 and one student from year 3, who was currently suspended due to breaking school rules. This also meant that the boarding students — unfortunately — got to spend more time with their teachers after school, since they also moved into the dorms for convenience. The teachers who stayed behind were all responsible and nice, perhaps except for one.

“So which one of us is right?”

“Huh?”

Megumi blinked and regained his focus. Nobara and Yuuji were holding their phones a bit too close to his face. 

“Were you even listening? I was asking whether you think Itadori or I was right. I said the skirt is better in blue and Itadori said it’s better in orange. Seriously, orange?”

“Come on! You can definitely make it work!” Yuuji retorted, pointing at his phone screen. “Blue is lame!”

“Not this shade of blue!”

And the two returned to their bantering, leaving Megumi to sit in silence. These two never failed to stir up the energy in the room. Even though he was easily annoyed, Megumi admitted that he would have felt weird if there were no sound of chattering by these two in the background. But of course no one would ever catch him saying that he loved them out loud. 

“Fushiguro had not picked his side though, you can’t just speak for him!” 

“I know he likes blue! Of course he would —”

“Break time’s over, the bell is late again.”

Everyone whipped around to see their literature teacher walking into the class with a huge stack of books and papers in her hands. 

“Ah, Iori-sensei is already here.” Yuuji scurried back to his desk from Nobara’s chair, the chattering dying down in the classroom.

“I really should report this back to Ijichi…” Iori-sensei mumbled to herself and set the books down with a huge thud. “Alright, before starting today’s class, I would like to go through a few announcements from the school, since I’m pretty sure Gojo forgot to mention them again in tutor time.”

Some people giggled. Megumi sighed. It couldn't get more embarrassing than this. 

“Right, so firstly, the cafeteria is going to change their menu due to some changes in the staff. Students can check out the new menu at lunch time. Secondly, phones will be confiscated if students are caught using them in class. There is no longer a warning strike before the phones are taken away.”

Megumi saw Nobara slipping her phone back into her bag. 

Thirdly… not that important… this one is not worth mentioning either… Oh right!” Iori-sensei flipped through the papers quickly until she stopped at the last page. “There will be a new teacher arriving today.”

That caught everyone’s attention. Even Yuuji, who frequently got distracted by staring out the windows, bolted right up from the desk. Nobara turned around and exchanged surprised looks with Yuuji, then they both looked at Megumi. 

“ A new teacher? ” Yuuji’s mouth dropped. “I heard that there has not been a new teacher for the past few years.”

“And you would be right.” Megumi whispered. 

“Well now this is interesting.” Nobara hushed.

“That’s it for the school announcement.” Iori-sensei concluded and set the papers down. “I guess Gojo must have told you guys about the new students.”

“New students? ”

The entire class broke into whispers again, the three of them exchanged looks.

“Right,” Iori-sensei sighed. “It’s Gojo. Of course he forgot. There will be two new students of your year tomorrow. They are being taken on a tour around campus today, alongside the new teacher. Gojo will tell you more about the new students, since that is his duty with the year group that he’s in charge with.”

Megumi felt bad for the other teachers and staff members sometimes, having to deal with Gojo every day.

After all, he was Megumi’s adoptive father. 

The lesson proceeded like usual, but he could feel how Yuuji and Nobara were itching to turn around to bombard him with their questions and ideas about the 3 newest additions to the school. Megumi was curious too, but everyone would know tomorrow, eventually, so he was not in a rush. He could not say that his two friends carried the same amount of patience as himself, though. As expected, they scrambled quickly to his desk the moment Iori-sensei set her foot out of the classroom.

“Fushiguro, what do you think the new students will be like?” 

“Is it gonna be a guy or a girl though?”

“There are two of them, can be both, Itadori!”

“If there is a girl do you think she will be pretty?”

“Is that all you care about?”

“No! I’m just curious!”

Megumi flipped open his novel again, pulling out the carrot-shaped bookmark that Nobara got him for his birthday. He honestly couldn't care less about some random student moving in, but a new teacher surely piqued his interest.

“Fushiguro-kuuuun,” Nobara turned to him, “what’s your opinion?”

Megumi looked up from his book. His two friends are staring at him intensely.

“I mean I’m not too concerned about the new students,” Megumi replied with reluctance, “the new teacher is something, though.”

“Oh definitely,” Yuuji chimed in, “I genuinely cannot wait.”

“Yes, you can, Itadori,” Megumi gave Yuuji a look, “tomorrow isn’t that far away.”

Megumi then stood up from his seat and started making his way to the door.

“Where are you going?” Itadori asked when he saw Megumi left.

“Ah, just the bathroom.” He answered shortly and closed the classroom door behind him.

Jujutsu High’s hallway was quite large but also empty, since students don’t usually move around much during 5-minute breaks. The only sound Megumi could hear was the echo of his slow and steady footsteps. The bathroom is at the opposite end to their classroom, so he had to take a few turns to reach it. At the last intersection, his ears picked up sounds of footsteps getting louder. Someone was heading towards him from the right corner. 

“…and that was the second year’s classroom, they are having physics next, taught by principal Yaga himself. And if we continue to head straight this way…”

Megumi recognized the voice. It was Aoki-san, the school’s new administration department staff. 

And then he saw them. Walking straight past him at the intersection were four people. Two girls who looked like they were around his age, and two adults. One of them was Aoki-san, and the other —

Wait,

Megumi halted at his place, his eyes following the group until they moved out of his eyesight. His mind suddenly started racing, rummaging for the clue to what he just saw. 

Was it deja vu? He furrowed his eyebrows, taking several steps forward to take a last look at the group before they rounded another corner. Was I mistaken? Or did I randomly make things up?

Megumi walked past the intersection to reach the bathroom. He was good to return to the classroom in two minutes, his mind still trying to find a visual match for that figure. 

But where have I seen —

And that was when he remembered. Right before he re-entered the classroom for physics.

Oh. 

He closed his eyes, took a long, deep inhale, then exhaled slowly. 

Right. Of course.

Megumi pulled open the door and returned to his desk. Nobara and Yuuji were already back at their seats, frantically writing something in their notebooks.

“You guys forgot to do the homework again?” 

Yuuji looked up at Megumi and grinned apologetically.

“In my defense, I did not know we even had homework over semester break.”

“Well me neither because neither of you felt the need to tell me!” Nobara retorted from the desk in front, her head not turning back. “I only found out 3 minutes ago because Miwa asked me if I knew the answers to the multiple choice questions, Megumi-chan .”

Nobara loved calling him Megumi-chan when she’s pissed. He was going to reply before the classroom door swung open.

“GOOD MORNING! I am so happy to see you guys again!”

It is Gojo Satoru. Jujutsu High’s science teacher, and Megumi’s legal guardian. Was it actually legal or not, though?

“Sensei, we just saw you one lesson ago.” A student spoke up, followed by several laughs.

“I am always happy to see you, class,” Gojo took off his sunglasses and set them on the teacher’s desk along with his textbooks. “No time to waste so we’ll get onto the new topic immediately. And if we have time at the end of class, we can do arm wrestling again.”

Megumi sat down, pulled out his physics notebook — all homework done — and put the carrot bookmark back into his book. He admitted that Gojo was a very unserious person from time to time — which is most of the time — but he was very good at teaching and knew how to spoil Megumi and his sister, Tsumiki, who he also took in. Even when he was beating up kids in middle school, Gojo would encourage him by saying something along the lines of “they probably deserve to be punched, anyway”, which was probably not very good parenting, but Megumi ended up alright anyway. So even though he often acted incredibly annoyed with Gojo’s failed attempt at being a responsible adult figure, he still held a lot of respect for him.

“Do you think Gojo-sensei remembers the homework?” Yuuji whispered to Megumi. “Maybe he won’t do anything too bad —”

“I can hear you, Yuuji,” Gojo said over his shoulder and Yuuji’s face dropped. “I will check semester break homework after the arm wrestle match at —”

“…and this is the first year’s classroom. I see that they are having physics with Gojo-san — oh, I’m sorry, did I interrupt the lesson?”

Everyone turned to the door. Aoki-san was at the doorway with the three people Megumi saw earlier at the hallway. Two girls and one man.

That was when he turned to look at Gojo. 

His body, frozen in place. His hands twitched just ever so slightly. His throat rigid as he visibly swallowed the rising bile. And his eyes, so fixated on the man outside the door; his pupils contracted, his blue irises reflected thousands of different emotions onto his horror-stricken face.

Well shit. Megumi thought. I guess I was right.

Chapter Text

June 2006

“Suguru! Hurry up!”

“Wait!”

Satoru checked the time on his phone. 4:32 pm.

“You said you’ll be ready by 4:30, Suguru,” the white-haird boy groaned from outside the door. “It’s 32 now!”

“I know I know!” 

Satoru huffed in disapproval. Suguru was probably taking his time in the shower again, washing that lustrous black hair of his. He heard footsteps moving back and forth from inside the room. There were four more turns of running in and out of the bathroom — he assumed — before Suguru swung the door open, almost hitting Satoru in the face.

“Oh wow , ripped jeans,” he said, staring at the black-haired boy in front of him, “that’s new.”

Suguru’s hair was still wet and loose on his shoulders. He sported a plain t-shirt over black ripped jeans, one hand in his pocket and the other rummaging through his hair in an attempt to get all the remaining water off. 

“I’ve got at least five similar pairs of jeans, Satoru.” Suguru closed the door behind him before locking it. 

Satoru beamed at him like a puppy. Crepes Friday was always what he anticipated most every week. The two would head to his favorite crepe shop in Shibuya and eat away until they were too full to stand up — well, mostly Satoru, anyway. It all started because they were getting sick of having to choose a new activity for their Friday dates every week, so he suggested the crepe shops that they walked past once. Suguru, being everly so easy to persuade — only with Satoru, though — agreed to the idea, despite not even liking desserts that much. 

Suguru reached for his hand and he gladly intertwined his fingers through the other boy’s. With a tug, Satoru broke into a run and pulled his boyfriend along. They rushed down the stairs, passing Shoko – who gave them a disgusted look – before making their way across Jujutsu High’s yard and into the parking slot. He pulled out their usual bicycle, then off they went.

The wind, hot across their skin; the June heatwaves, suffocating but tolerable; and the sky – especially the sky – seemed infinite as he watched the billowing clouds floated slowly, almost freezing in time when they ran past. Satoru loved summer a lot for afternoons like this, where it was just the two of them, making their way into the city on the old school bike. He loved how Suguru’s loose hair flew in the air, some accidentally got caught inside his mouth once in a while. 

His hair, Satoru thought, always smells like mint and lemon. 

Suguru told him that it came from the mint shampoo and lemon conditioner that he used, which apparently were very suitable for his type of hair. When the summer wind blew dry his long strands into Satoru’s face from the bike’s hind seat, he could take in the smell most clearly. Their chatter mixed in with the sound of the city, their voices drowned by the noise of the crowd but not unheard to each other. Satoru could not ask for better days to live his life.

Their goal was to taste everything on the menu of every crepe shop they could find in Shibuya. Since Crepe Friday started, they had cleared two whole shops and were making their way through the third. Satoru had tried the banana chocolate crepe last week ( “A solid 8 out of 10”, he said) and this time he decided to go for the strawberry and whipped cream one. They parked their bike and made their way to the counter, eyes surveying the menu. Satoru already made up his mind last week, so he waited for Suguru to pick out a savory crepe. The two picked their usual spot, which was the small table by the large window. The strawberry cream crepe did not disappoint, with the given score being 9 out of 10. 

The two talked all afternoon. They went on and on, the topics of their conversations seemed to never run out ( “We just like each other that much”, Satoru once boasted). They talked about school, about the newest gossip that Shoko told them, about the latest missions they went on, about training schedules, about the potential of buying matching shirts ( “Isn’t that kinda corny?” , Suguru questioned with a mouthful), about life, about the past, about the present, about the future –

About the future… 

Satoru tilted his head up from his phone. They had taken a break from talking and Suguru was reading the poetry book Nanami recommended. He observed the black-haired boy’s face. His features, not rough but not entirely soft. His angles were defined, his eyes slanted, curtained with pretty long eyelashes. The one strand of hair – which Satoru had always found incredibly attractive for no reason – draped over his face, covering a part of his face when he hung his head low, focusing entirely on the book. And his lips, thin and relaxed and way too kissable.  

The more he stared at Suguru, the more beautiful his entire existence became in Satoru’s mind. The Satoru before falling in love with Suguru was so different. He was more arrogant, more full of himself, and definitely way more annoying. Suguru harbored him, dragging him back to earth every time he flew a bit too close to the sun. He could not imagine himself going back to that embarrassing person and he could also never imagine a Satoru without his Suguru anymore. 

The future…

“Suguru.”

Suguru looked up from his book, his eyebrows perked up at his name being called.

“Yes?”

Satoru stayed silent. His eyes were fixated on Suguru’s.

“Satoru, is there anything wrong?”

He blinked. 

“Suguru, do you think we’ll break up one day?”

It was Suguru’s turn to stare at Satoru.

“Sato- wha- why would you ask that?” 

Satoru’s eyes looked away for a second before breaking into a huge grin.

“Ah, it was just hypothetical, don’t mind that. Hey, the syrup is incredible!”

Suguru blinked at him despite his nonsubtle effort in changing the subject by shoving crepe into his mouth again. 

“Wow, I really should try this one again someday.” 

“Satoru –”

“Can I try yours? I’ve never had a savory crepe at this place before.”

“Satoru, I –”

“Looks really delicious, though, maybe their specialty is not just sweet –”

“Satoru.”

Satoru stopped and finally looked up at Suguru. His eyes held a certain emotion Satoru could not decipher. 

“Satoru,” Suguru repeated, his voice softer than usual, “Try to – try to not think too much about the future, alright? Life is unpredictable, but if I continue to feel this way about you in years to come, then I would never break up with you, okay?”

Satoru blinked. After a few seconds, his grin returned, wider than ever.

“I know, Suguru. How can we ever break up?”

——————————

Gojo Satoru could feel the drops of sweat that started to form on his face rolling down his cheeks. 

How could he – why would he – out of all people, be here?

“Erm, I apologize for interrupting the lesson, so I’ll make it brief.” Aoki, the new staff member said, looking a bit embarassed. “This is Getou Suguru, your new English teacher. He will start teaching tomorrow.”

Satoru could not look away. Suguru looked almost the same as the last time he saw him – which was 10 years ago – but only older. His long black hair, his eyes, his complexion, his defined features were exactly like how Satoru remembered. He felt frozen in place, but his eyes continued to stay fixated on Suguru’s eyes. His eyes again bore a look Satoru could not understand, yet it was impossible to stop staring. 

“Gojo-san? Are you okay?”

Satoru snapped himself out of the frozen state and put up a forced smile. 

“Yes, Aoki, I was just surprised that there’s a new teacher in school! Haven’t got that in a while, right?” Satoru exclaimed loudly, perhaps a bit too loud. “Now I think we should get back to the lesson, so excuse me.”

He strided quickly towards the door and pushed it shut, startling Aoki a bit as she stumbled backwards and out of the classroom. Satoru turned around sharply and quickly made his way back to the blackboard without taking any glance at the people behind the door that he just closed.

“Right, what an interesting and incredibly unexpected surprise!” Satoru clapped his hands together with more force than he anticipated, startling the class. “Let’s focus on the lesson, shall we? We’re doing more calculus today.”

The entire class groaned. Satoru’s brain would not stop buzzing.

Shoko. I need Shoko.

Satoru left the classroom the exact moment the bell rang. He dropped the chalk mid-sentence, picked up his books and bolted straight out. 

Shoko Shoko Shoko.

“SHOKO!”

He kicked the infirmary’s door open. The hinge looked like it might break off the wall. Unsurprisingly, Shoko did not flinch nor react. She turned around in her chair.

“Yes?”

“Why is he here, Shoko?” Satoru deadpanned. “ Why is Suguru here? ”

Shoko stared at him for a second before squinting her eyes, her arms folded more tightly.

“Suguru? Here?”

“Yes, Shoko,” he repeated, panting, “Suguru is here in this school . As a teacher. ”

Satoru thought Shoko’s jaw dropped open a bit.

“Well fuck —”

“I know right —”

“— that’s hilarious.”

Satoru closed his mouth. 

“Hilarious? Shoko, this is the end of my life as we know it.”

“God, you’re always so dramatic, Satoru.” Shoko broke into a laugh. “It’s gonna be hilarious for me.”

Satoru’s face twitched into a betrayed expression.

“Really? And I thought you would sympathize with me, Shoko.” He huffed and crossed his arms as he propped himself down the infirmary’s bed. “Well now what am I gonna fucking do? This is so awkward for me, Shoko. It’s been ten whole years. I don’t know what he thinks about me now or if he even thought about me for the past decade at all . And now we’re supposed to interact as happy, easy-going, sociable colleagues. You know I’m terrible at hiding my emotions.”

“Yea that’s why it’s going to be so funny for me.” 

“Shoko!”

“I’m kidding, or maybe not.” Shoko chuckled and took a spin on her chair. “In all seriousness though, I am sure he thought about you multiple times the past few years.”

Satoru eyes her with suspicion.

“What do you know about him that I don’t.”

“A lot, apparently,” she shot him a knowing smile. He didn’t like it. “Let’s just say a few things should not be discussed with more than one person.”

“Wow, that’s very helpful.” Satoru grumbled. “The point is that… I honestly don’t know if I can act professionally and naturally in his presence in front of the kids. Call me immature but there are things between us that haven’t been resolved since the day he left. And I’m angry, alright? He can’t just dip and resurface exactly when I’m starting to adapt to this new life. God, talking about this makes me even more angry than I was before.”

Shoko tapped her fingers on the handle of her chair. She stayed silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thoughts. Satoru groaned and let himself fall back onto the bed.

“Well you have two options.” Shoko started. Satoru glanced at her direction through the edge of his sunglasses. “You either confront Suguru and resolve the deed from all those years ago, or —”

Shoko looked down to meet his eyes. 

“— you can stay a sulky man-child and continue to hold a grudge. And also be petty and passive aggressive around him until he decides to take action first and resolve it with you himself.”

Satoru stared.

“I’m going to be petty as fuck.” 

Shoko chuckled and turned her chair around again to face the desk.

“I know you’re gonna do that even if I didn’t suggest it. Now get out of here so I can concentrate on my paperwork. Don’t you have students to teach?”

“Yea, yea, I’m leaving.”

Satoru grumbled but pushed himself up nonetheless. He dragged himself out of the room and closed the door behind his back, this time more softly. He did not want to put in his pocket money to replace it.

Suguru could be anywhere inside this school right now, he thought. Where can I possibly go to avoid him?

Satoru found himself wandering towards the teachers’ room. Jujutsu High did not have a lot of teachers due to the small number of students, but the staff room had plenty of space. He carefully peaked in through the window and saw that there was only one person inside. 

“Nanami!” 

Satoru beamed and strided confidently into the room. He could visibly see the math teacher heave a sigh.

“Gojo-san,” Nanami started, his voice tired, “what do you want?”

“Come on,” Satoru patted his shoulders before sitting down the chair nearby, “I haven’t done anything!” 

“Your presence never means anything good.” Nanami grimaced, his eyes still focused on the report he was writing. “Don’t you have a class to teach?”

“Why does everyone ask that when they want me to leave?” Satoru complained. “So how is your day —”

“Stop beating around the bush, Gojo-san.” 

Satoru dropped his grin. 

“Right! Can’t even make small talk in today’s society anymore.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s just — Nanami, did you know that Suguru is the new English teacher. What happened to Kusakabe?”

Nanami raised an eyebrow but did not look up.

“Suguru as in Getou Suguru?”

“Yea, Nanami, who else could it be?” Satoru retorted. “Why would he, out of everyone, be here?”

“Aren’t all of the teachers currently old students of the school itself? It’s not that surprising.”

“But Suguru is supposed to be abroad!” Satoru groaned, burying his head into his hands. “He can’t just drop off the surface of the earth for years then randomly return like this!”

Nanami finally set his pen down and looked up at a dramatically devastated Satoru. 

“What he does really is none of your business, though.” He said calmly. Satoru buried his head deeper into his hands. “And if I’m not wrong then Kusakabe only teaches the third years now, since they are having extra English lessons this year.”

Satoru took the deepest breath that he could.

“Life continues to challenge me.”

Nanami sighed and returned to his work. 

“It’s not that big of a deal, Gojo-san.”

“Well, to me it is!” Satoru lifted his head up, looking slightly offended. 

Nanami did not reply. Satoru realized that no one was going to be able to sympathize with this agonizing dilema of his. Satoru left the room again and wandered down the corridor into the front school yard.

His head buzzed again. Now all he had was himself, his pissed off attitude, a worsening craving for sugar and his childish urge to be the pettiest, most annoying and troublesome colleague to his ex.

Deep in his thought, Satoru did not notice the sound of footsteps nearing his way. And then he heard it. A voice that froze his body into stone the moment it was spoken. A voice that could not be mistaken for anyone or anything else.

“Satoru.”

Chapter Text

“Satoru.”

Satoru turned around slowly. It was Getou Suguru, with his hands in his pocket and a casual stance. Satoru’s eyebrows twitched.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice unable to be kept steady. 

“Just want to greet an old friend.” Suguru replied, his smile cold and professional. “I just went and said hi to Shoko, too. Gonna find Nanami and Haibara after you.”

Satoru thought his face was burning up. He clenched his jaw to stop himself from firing out an insult.

“Oh, old friend , huh?” He folded his arms across his chest. “Good to know that’s how you remember me.”

Suguru’s forced smile wavered just slightly.

“We were friends before we were lovers, Satoru.” He said, still keeping great composure, unlike Satoru. 

“Well if that’s the only way you see me after dumping me and blocking my number without explaining a single thing ,” Satoru felt heat rising to his head, “then moved to the US-fucking-A like a day after and let me find out through Shoko .”

Suguru didn’t answer. His smile had dropped completely. Satoru could not tell what thought was going on behind those pitch black eyes. Heck, he never could before.

“Well if I’m not welcomed then I’ll leave to find Nanami and Haibara now.” 

Suguru turned around and started walking away. Satoru wanted to open his mouth to tell him to stop, to say that he wasn’t finished yet, but his throat was frozen and his legs were stiff. And there he was again, on the pavement in Shinjuku, watching helplessly as Suguru walked away and never contacted him again. 

“Suguru!” He shouted in desperation. “You can’t keep doing this to me!”

Suguru halted promptly and turned his head half way around. 

“See you later in class, Satoru.”

Satoru felt defeated. Ten whole years later and he still had not gotten an answer. He wanted to force the answer out of Suguru, wanted him to say everything he was hiding from him, but he didn’t know how to. 

“Fine, if that’s what you want!” Satoru shouted after Suguru. “I’ll treat you the way you want to be treated then!”

Suguru did not stop. Satoru didn’t even know whether he heard it or not. But he simply didn’t care now. If Suguru wanted to play the hard to get game then he’ll give him it. Just two colleagues, two ‘old friends’ and nothing more. 

And he would go all out on the pettiness. 

——————————

Nobara and Yuuji glanced at each other through the corner of their eyes. This could not be normal.

His behavior looked incredibly weird, Nobara telepathically said to Yuuji through her intense glare.

I know, right? What is he doing? Yuuji replied with his furrowed eyebrows.

They both turned to their right to shoot Megumi a knowing look, waiting for his answer.

“What?” He mouthed, looking unenthusiastic.

Yuuji flickered his eyes back and forth between the two teachers, his head jerked slightly in their direction. Nobara raised her eyebrows, nodding her head. Megumi looked at his two friends, then at Gojo-sensei and Getou-sensei. He let out a sigh.

“I know,” he whispered back, waving his hand to gesture that they should talk about this later.

Yuuji raised an eyebrow. What did Megumi know that he and Nobara didn’t?

The class went on normally. Gojo-sensei cracked a few jokes and annoyed half of the class, Megumi got targeted for said jokes, the entire class being confused with Gojo-sensei’s way of explaining the new topic. But Yuuji did notice that his teacher seemed very off. It was probably the nervousness in his voice throughout the entire lesson. Something definitely went wrong when he saw Getou-sensei.

The exact moment the bell rang, Gojo-sensei bolted straight out of the room. Yuuji was about to open his mouth to ask about the homework, but Nobara motioned him to shut it. She leaned forward on her desk and looked out the door, making sure Gojo-sensei was far gone, then she turned around and shot Yuuji a serious look.

"Did you see how Gojo-sensei stared at that new teacher?" Yuuji turned to Nobara's desk as soon as the bell rang. "I have never seen that look on his face before."

"I know right," Nobara replied, furrowing her eyebrows, "from my experience, it can only be --"

“They’re exes.” Megumi said.

“ WHAT? ”

Yuuji and Nobara had their mouths wide agape. They stared at Megumi then at each other, then back to Megumi.

“No fucking way,” Nobara started after a moment of stunned silence, “how do you know that?”

Megumi finally put his book down and turned to look at them. Yuuji thought he looked… less uninterested?

“If I’m not mistaken,” Megumi said, his eyebrows furrowed, “I used to see his photo on Gojo-sensei’s phone. Since I was quite small, though. But the image still stuck with me until now.”

“Well that must have been years ago if they broke up before Gojo-sensei adopted you.” Yuuji pondered, his face serious, “Your memory is surprisingly good, Fushiguro!”

Megumi opened his mouth as if to say something, but it seemed like he hesitated and decided not to. Nobara raised an eyebrow at the sight.

“Fushiguro, what are you not telling us?” She scooted her chair closer to Megumi’s desk. “You probably know some incredibly, astonishingly, marvelously juicy information about them, don’t you?”

“Well — I” Megumi hesitated, “— alright. My memory is not that good and I don’t really want to spread misinformation, but then again, it’s Gojo-sensei. I kinda couldn’t care less, he doesn’t have a reputation anyway.”

Nobara cracked a laugh while Yuuji struggled to find a word to defend his teacher. 

“I’m not saying this is a fact,” Megumi continued, speaking slowly as if to find the right thing to say, “but I think the reason why I remember Getou-sensei’s face is because… they were kissing in the photo that I saw.”

“Oh my god,” Nobara widened her eyes in what seemed like excitement, “Gojo-sensei was staring at a photo of himself kissing his ex? He was so not over him!”

“And that look on his face at the beginning of the class —” It was Yuuji’s turn to widen his eyes, his brain slowly connecting the dots. 

“— means he is still not over Getou-sensei!” Nobara finished his sentence as the two shared a Eureka! look on their faces. 

Yuuji turned to look at Megumi. And he was… smiling?

“You’re interested in this too, aren’t you?” Yuuji gave him a wide grin. “I know there must be something you love to be nosy about!”

“What?” Megumi shot him a glare, but Yuuji saw heat rise to his cheeks. “It’s a chance to tease Gojo-sensei! Of course I will be interested.”

“I absolutely agree.” Nobara smirked. “This is something that we need to dig deep about. There are definitely photos of them on SNS somewhere.”

“Gojo-sensei took Megumi in when he was eighteen, right?” Megumi nodded and Yuuji opened the search engine on his phone. “That’s like, a decade ago. If they broke up before that then they probably were dating in high school, around our age.”

“That would be 2005 to 2008 or something like that, right?” Nobara made her guess. “You can’t convince me they didn’t post the low quality selfies they took with their flip phones.”

“From what I know about Gojo-sensei,” Megumi chimed in, “he would be the kind of person to take excessive selfies. Maybe he also posted a lot of them.”

“Oh, definitely.” Nobara smirked. “Give me one afternoon and I’ll be able to dig up some photos, trust me.” 

Yuuji brightened with anticipation. Megumi heaved a sigh but Yuuji swore he could see a tinge of excitement on his face. 

“We’ll have our first lesson with Getou-sensei tomorrow, right?” He checked his timetable on his phone. “Wait, that’s like right after tutor time with Gojo-sensei.”

“Well that’s convenient.” Nobara grinned and rubbed her hands together. “I need to see these two talk to each other directly.”

“I don’t know why I’m so interested in a teacher’s love life,” Yuuji admitted with excitement, “but I am strangely invested.” 

“Because it’s Gojo-sensei , Itadori,” Megumi drawled, “if there is any teacher that is fun to dig into, it’s him. I have lived with him for a decade but I still know so little about him. Behind that annoying facade he hides a suspiciously large amount of secrets.”

“You’re right…” Yuuji paused to think hard about what Megumi just said. “We meet him a lot at school and after school, also, but we barely know anything about him or his past. Meanwhile Nanamin and Yu-sensei are very busy but they both have told quite a few stories about their school days or personal lives.”

“Come to think about it, we don’t know about Gojo-sensei’s relationships outside of school at all.” Nobara added. “He has never once mentioned his family or friends. We only know he used to be a student here also because other teachers have talked about it.” 

“With how loud and egotistical he is,” Megumi frowned. “Gojo-sensei is strangely closed-off. People would think he reveals a lot about himself with the way he is boastful and extroverted —”

“— but he just makes jokes and repeats the same topics in different contexts and in increasingly more annoying ways.” Nobara finished Megumi’s sentence and the three of them exchanged bemused looks.

The bell rang and they scooted their chairs back to their respective desks. Nobara turned around and whispered as Yu-sensei walked into class.

“Right, I’ll get back to you guys at dinner,” She winked and gave them a thumbs up, “count on me.”

Yuuji returned an enthusiastic thumbs up while Megumi reluctantly raised one after Yuuji gave him an expectant look. The trio exchanged knowing looks before returning to class, their minds filled with curiosity about their obnoxious yet mysterious tutor teacher.

——————————

September 2005

“Take your legs off the desk, Satoru.” 

Satoru tilted his sunglasses down and looked through the gap at his teacher. 

“And why do I have to do that?” He replied with a drawl. “I am not disturbing your teaching at all, aren’t I?”

Yaga frowned at the white-haired boy. Satoru continued to give him a challenging look. 

“It is classroom etiquette,” Yaga replied calmly, “not because you want to or not.”

Satoru rolled his eyes. He was going to fire a smart retort but he felt a hard push on his leg, making him lose his balance and tumbled backwards onto the floor. 

“ Hey! ” Satoru climbed back onto his feet and looked at the direction of the push. “What the hell?”

Getou Suguru glanced at him dully from the corner of his eyes, his chin resting on his right hand.

“Manners, Satoru,” Suguru said as he retreated his leg, “you can’t just make up your own rules because you’re the best student.”

Satoru glared at his friend but did not retaliate. He grumbled and sat back on his seat, this time in a proper position. Although he had his back turned towards Suguru, he could feel the boy snickering. 

With how they treated each other, everyone would have thought they hated each other’s guts. After all, they were friendly rivals who constantly competed for the top position in class for every subject. But in fact, they were the best of friends. 

Yes, they hated each other’s guts at first, Satoru had to admit that, but their friendly rivalry quickly helped them become close friends alongside Ieri Shoko, who was basically the only other person in class who could tolerate Satoru’s ego. 

“You did not have to push it that hard, Suguru.” Satoru said with his legs and arms crossed once the class was over. 

“It was funny, though.” Suguru grinned and raised his eyebrows teasingly. “Shoko laughed.”

“Yeah it was kinda funny.” Shoko admitted as she set herself down Suguru’s desk. “Your face is hilarious when you get pissed off.”

“Oh great,” Satoru pouted, “so I’m you guys’ laughing stock, huh?”

Suguru and Shoko laughed as they each received a kick from Satoru.

“Aren’t you glad we’re the only people who put up with you,” Shoko chuckled and pulled out a cigarette from her pocket. “I know you don’t notice but the rest of the class literally hate you with every fiber of their being. Especially Utahime, to be honest.”

Shoko waved vaguely towards Utahime’s general direction. Satoru glanced from his sunglasses’ side and saw the girl looking daggers at him. 

“Oh well,” he returned his eyes to his friends and stuck out his tongue, “I’m still at the top of the class so that’s not really a concern.”

“Of course,” Shoko rolled her eyes, her hand fiddling with the unlit cigarette. “I wonder if your family tolerates you as much as we do. You probably see us more than them at this point.”

“I mean, yeah,” Satoru shrugged, “all three of us live full time in the dormitory.”

“I have never seen you visiting your family, though.” Suguru said, his fingers drumming on his desk. “Shoko and I both visit our family on summer break. You just stay here through the holiday.”

Satoru paused to think. Seeing his family so little never bothered him that much.

“I don’t really mind not seeing them, honestly.” He replied nonchalantly. 

Shoko and Suguru exchanged a brief look. 

“Right, I’m going over there with Utahime.” Shoko hopped off the table and smoothed her clothes. “See you guys at lunch.”

Satoru raised his arm lazily for a wave. Suguru smiled and said goodbye to her. Then it was just the two of them on their desks next to each other.

She’s doing it again, Satoru thought. Lately, Shoko had been randomly dropping out of the conversation and left him alone with Suguru. And there was always that glance they gave each other before she left. What could that even mean?

“I don’t really know a lot about you, Satoru.”

He turned to his left and noticed that Suguru had been looking at him. Satoru felt heat rising to his face when caught under his stare. Wait, why did heat rise to his face?

“There isn’t much to talk about, is there?” Satoru chuckled. “Everyone already knows enough about how great I am.”

Suguru rolled his eyes, but Satoru noticed that he was smiling slightly.

“I’m not talking about the gifted child genius Gojo Satoru that the entire world knows.” Suguru replied, his voice softer than usual. “I’m talking about the Gojo Satoru behind that greatness. There has to be more about you other than just your accomplishments. Who is Gojo Satoru behind the academic achievements?”

Satoru blinked. He knew Suguru could not see through his thick sunglasses, but his eyes were wide and unblinking. 

It certainly was an interesting thought, though. Had anyone ever saw him as anything other than smart, ingenious and boastful? Was Suguru the first one to ask this question?

“I actually never give it much thought.” He shrugged, his eyes still fixed on Suguru. “I think everyone including myself sees me as a genius, and that’s it, I guess.”

Suguru still stared at him from the other desk unblinkingly. Satoru felt a bit weird under his gaze — but in a good way, or at least he believed so.

“Well,” Suguru sat upright and scooted his chair closer to Satoru’s desk, “I guess I’ll be the first to ask, then.”

Satoru felt the weird feeling in his chest getting more intense. What is this buzz in my stomach? He thought to himself. And why does Suguru sitting closer to me make me feel that way?

Suguru gave him a big smile and leaned back onto his chair comfortably, just inches away from Satoru’s own seat.

“So,” he started, his eyes meeting Satoru’s under the eyeglasses, “what is your mysterious family like?”

——————————

“Ehhh, my mom’s birthday is coming soon.”

“Are you sending her a gift?”

“Of course I am! Can you help me pick something nice, Kugisaki?”

“Say less!”

Satoru smiled at the first years’ dining table as he made his way into the cafeteria for dinner. Suguru was two tables away. He did not give him a second look.

“Birthday gift, huh?” Satoru patted Megumi a bit too hard on the back as he sat down next to him. “I’m actually an expert.”

“Ugh, what do you know about women's fashion anyway.” Nobara made a face when she saw him sitting down. Suguru was two tables away.

“I’m technically good at everything I try to do, so why not?” Satoru beamed at his students, who did not find the statement amusing, except for Yuuji.

“Ooh, then can I have your opinion, too, sensei?” 

The pink haired boy reached across the table to show Satoru the items on his phone. Everything looked mostly the same to him.

Suguru was two tables away. Satoru squinted his eyes and scrolled through the different listings. Suguru was two tables away. Why did it feel harder to focus on the colors than usual?

Suguru was two tables away.

Chapter Text

Nobara glanced at her teacher. Gojo-sensei might have thought that he was hiding his emotions well but she swore that everyone at the table could see him sweating bullets.

Her eyes flickered to Megumi on her right, then to Yuuji across from her, who was sitting next to Gojo-sensei. She gave them a knowing look. We need to kick him out of our table, I need to show you guys what I found, she furrowed her eyebrows. The two seemed to have understood and nodded. 

“Okkotsu-senpai!” Yuuji turned around and shouted at the group of approaching second years. 

“Maki-san!” Nobara called out. “Come sit with me!”

Megumi picked up on the plan and waved for Inumaki and Panda.

“Erm, I think we don’t have enough seats if all four of them sit here.” Nobara said loudly for Gojo to hear. “Gojo-sensei, can you sit at the teachers’ table so we can have enough space? Panda-senpai kinda takes up two slots.”

There were only four second year students who signed up to live full time at school. Panda was principal Yaga’s son. He had a tall and big physique and for some reason he always wore the same panda hoodie, which was why everyone called him Panda. Inumaki Toge was a person of few words, but when he did speak up, it was often something important. 

Maki Zen’in was a gifted student in martial arts and sports. She had a twin sister, Mai, but due to their parents separating in their youth, they had not been close in years despite being in the same class. Weirdly enough, Maki-san and Mai are Megumi’s aunt on his deceased father’s side. And finally there was Okkotsu Yuuta, who just returned this semester after a 3-month exchange program in Africa. He was an outstanding student who was also incredibly friendly and helpful with his juniors, so he gained the first years’ love quickly, especially Megumi, who saw Yuuta as his role model.

The second years slid into their seats and Gojo-sensei unwillingly left his. He threw them a forced grin and went to sit next to Ieri-san. Still avoiding Getou-sensei, it seems, Nobara noted. 

“So what’s up with the over-enthusiasm?” Maki spoke up after settling down in her seat. “The looks you gave Gojo are funny.”

“I’m glad you asked.” Nobara grinned as she shoved a spoonful of rice into her mouth. “So there’s this thing that happened between Gojo-sensei and Getou-sensei…”

Nobara spent the next 10 minutes briefing the current situation to the second years. Maki seemed uninterested but listened carefully, Toge and Panda nodded along to every sentence, while Yuuta looked genuinely invested. 

“I knew there was something between them!” Yuuta hushed after Nobara finished speaking. “I went to the school’s front yard earlier today and saw those two talking nearby. I couldn’t overhear anything but Gojo-sensei’s expression was… tense.”

“Tense, huh,” Nobara smirked, “that is expected when you talk to your ex after 10 years.” 

“Gojo-sensei looked really tense,” Yuuta continued. “but Getou-sensei’s expression was quite calm. Either he’s better at hiding his emotions or he was not affected emotionally as much as Gojo-sensei.”

“Well Gojo-sensei was definitely affected emotionally, alright.” Megumi grimaced. “Since he took me in when I was small, I have taken notice whenever he expresses negative emotions in secret. I never knew why he was always so pissed off after phone calls and texts, but I guess I can connect the dots now.”

“What exactly happened between these two for Gojo-sensei to be mad about after a whole decade?” Yuuji asked with a mouthful. “Must have been an incredibly messy breakup.”

“I suppose…” Nobara said, putting down her spoon and pulling her phone out. “But guess what I’ve discovered after an afternoon of digging online?”

Everyone gathered closely around Nobara’s phone. She opened the photo gallery and pressed the screenshot folder. Yuji and Yuuta gasped while Megumi and Maki raised their eyebrows once they saw what was on screen.

“Ieri-san?” Megumi asked, his tone serious.

“Yes, Ieri-san.” Nobara replied with an equally serious expression. “Apparently she was very close to Gojo-sensei and Getou-sensei in her high school days. They were in the same class and from what I saw, I assume they were also the only boarding students.”

“You’re right…” Yuuji nodded in agreement as he zoomed into the screenshots of Ieri-san’s old SNS. “This looks like a dorm room, even though the decorations look a bit different.” 

“The caption said ‘sleepover’ so I guess they really were the only boarding students of their year.” Maki added. “There’s only Gojo and Getou in the photo, Ieri must be the photographer.”

“These photos are all very… intimate.” Yuuta commented as he flicked through dozens of screenshots. “It seems like these three were very close. Look, in this photo Getou-sensei wears the exact same shirt I saw Gojo-sensei wore in another photo.”

Nobara squinted at the photos more closely. The way Gojo-sensei and Getou-sensei were very touchy and comfortable with each other in every image really raised more curiosity in her. How did they go from this — Nobara glanced at the direction of the teacher’s table where Gojo-sensei and Getou-sensei were sitting at opposite ends — to… that?

“I guess we all know what to do next.” Megumi said. 

“Yup,” Nobara nodded, “we need to ask Ieri-san.”

“Well, this is truly interesting but I’ll stay out of it.” Panda spoke up after finishing his meal. “Do give us updates, though.”

Toge nodded in agreement. Nobara turned to look at Yuuta and Maki.

“This is very interesting but I think I’m not that nosy.” Maki shrugged “But yeah if there is any update I would like to know.”

“Me too.” Yuuta smiled apologetically. “I’m quite curious but the homework cannot do itself. There isn’t any time outside of deadlines for me.”

“Truly the face of our year group, huh?” Maki teased with a smirk. 

“Come on, there are a lot of great students in our class.” Yuuta quickly replied.

“But you’re the only one that’s chosen for the exchange program,” Panda added, “that really says something about your ability.”

“You are so, so cool, Okkotsu-senpai!” Yuuji chimed in brightly. “Fushiguro admires you a lot, he always talks about how he aspires to be as amazing as you — hey!”

“Why did you say that?” Megumi shoved Yuuji lightly, his face blushing. 

“But you really do admire Okkotsu-senpai, Fushiguro!” 

“I don’t need you to tell him out of the blue like that!”

“Nobara’s right, you really do look funny when you’re blushing, Fushiguro-kun.”

As the chatter continued and the topic of Gojo-sensei died down, Nobara took one last glance at the teachers’ table. She could swear that Getou-sensei looked at Gojo-sensei and Ieri-san’s direction too, his expression was hard to read, but she was sure there was a tinge of sorrow on his face. 

Well well well, Nobara thought as she turned back to her friends, isn’t this complicated.

Shoko did not have to look up to know who just sat down next to her on the bench. She continued eating her miso soup as the man next to her sighed loudly.

“Trying to hide among your students, huh?” 

“So what? I always try to sit with them at dinner.” Satoru said, his voice more tense than usual.

“This time is different, though.” Shoko said, ignoring Satoru’s grumble. “Why aren’t you welcoming our newest staff? It’s very out of character for you to not be over-the-top at welcoming new people.”

“Oh, drop it, Shoko.” Satoru clicked his tongue in annoyance, his eyes glancing at a smirking Shoko. “I really cannot do this, right now.”

“I find it funny,” Shoko finally looked up at her sulking friend and met his eyes, “that the ingenious, confident, unrivaled scientist Gojo Satoru’s composure only ever breaks at the sight of an old lover. Maybe I was right when I told you that love is your only weakness.”

Satoru did not reply. He jabbed his chopsticks into the fish on his plate and shoved it into his mouth rigidly. His reaction confirmed that Shoko was correct — even a bit too correct.

“You know that you’ll have to resolve this with Suguru one day, right?” Shoko continued. “You two will be working and seeing each other every day constantly from now on until God knows when. Either you’re gonna force yourself to be proper until you or him retires, or you two confront each other and actually talk about your feelings —”

“Absolutely not.” Satoru hissed. “I would actually rather jump off a bridge.”

Shoko gave Satoru a look, who stared back at her. 

“Of course,” she sighed in exasperation, “men will literally do anything but talk about their feelings.”

“Oh really, look who’s talking?” Satoru shot Shoko a look. “Have you ever talked to either of us about your feelings? Or to anyone at all?”

“Really? This isn’t about me.” Shoko returned his look with a tired glare. “My feelings aren’t affecting my job quality, Satoru.”

He fell silent again, which was always an indication of him knowing Shoko was right. She sighed and shook her head, but her lips corner twitched slightly upwards. It’s been a while since Suguru was mentioned in our conversations at all, Shoko thought as she casted a glance at Suguru’s direction. Somehow, she missed the feeling of acknowledging that it had always been three of them instead of two, even though the current situation was complicated. 

Still better than pretending that he has never been here at all.

——————————

July, 2006

“I thought you said you would quit smoking?”

Shoko looked to her right as someone approached the balcony. The wind was stronger than usual tonight. It carried a familiar aroma, but she could not pinpoint where it was from. 

“Surprise! I lied.” Shoko replied blandly.

“Might as well give me one, then.”

Shoko eyed the boy next to her for a moment. Getou Suguru had his hair down and a boring sweatshirt on. His expression was hard to decipher.

“Since when did you smoke?”

Suguru shrugged, his expression unchanged. He turned to stare at the dark scenery beyond the dorm’s balcony. Shoko looked at him for another moment before holding out a cigarette in his direction. 

“Do you even know how to smoke?” Shoko asked as he took the cigarette from her hand and moved closer to have it lit by her lighter.

Suguru leaned down and covered the cigarette with one hand to fence it from the strong wind as Shoko lit it up. He shot her a thankful smile and returned to his spot. Shoko eyed him up and down, taking in his unusual presence. She knew Suguru was someone who hid his stress from everyone and managed to maintain his composure under extreme circumstances. But she had soon realized that he lost control sometimes. The times when his test came back with a mark lower than he expected and she saw him snapping a pencil in his fist under his desk; or when he walked out of the teachers’ room after talking with the exam supervisors and she could see his lips thinned and his knuckles white from digging his nails too hard into his palms. Suguru’s rage was always silent – and often no one would notice if they did not look hard enough. 

That was why Shoko felt unnervingly surprised to see the Suguru next to her – his hair messy and his eyebags visible, cigarette in hand and his tired eyes gazing far far away. She had never seen him so vulnerable before.

“‘Seems like it’s not the first time you smoke.” 

Suguru did not reply. He blew out another puff of smoke as it quickly dissipated in the wind.

“Not everyone is an addict in the open like you, Shoko.” 

Shoko continued to stare at him. He did not meet her eyes.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She took her own cigarette out and put it off on the balcony’s railing. “Since when is being secretly addicted better than being openly addicted? You sound really ridiculous right now, Suguru.” 

Suguru chuckled and took another inhale of cigarettes. Shoko bit her lips. It seemed like he really was not up to talking. 

“When did you start, though?” She continued to ask. “Tell me that, at least.”

Shoko could see Suguru visibly hesitating. Her eyes fixated on his fatigued expression, waiting patiently for his answer. The longer she looked at him, the clearer she saw the harrowness that was etched on his pale complexion. God, how did no one notice this earlier?

“A few months ago.” Suguru finally spoke in a loud whisper. “Before the last school year ended.”

“So after last year’s final exam?” Shoko asked as realization hit her. “After you –”

“– fail the national competitions. Yes.”

Shoko sighed. That makes sense , she thought, recalling the shock that came to both Suguru and Satoru after they failed the final round of the national competitions as a team. The deciding question was answered by Suguru and it seemed like he never moved on from his mistake. Both of them revised incredibly hard for the competitions, which was a one-in-a-lifetime chance. Winning it meant that their future would only propel from there. Satoru told Shoko once that he never blamed Suguru for their failure at all, since he had only become even better since then. He considered the failure to be a pivotal moment in his life to help him bounce back even stronger than before. But apparently with Suguru, it had the exact opposite effect.

Suguru was good at hiding how he truly felt, not letting most people see how torn and guilty he was after the competitions. Despite Satoru’s assurance that the loss was not his fault, Suguru continued to blame himself internally. While Satoru used the failure as motivation to be better, Suguru started spiraling because of it. And no one took notice at all.

“You really rather start a nicotine addiction than talk about your feelings, huh?” Shoko sniggered. “How childish.”

“Look who’s talking.” Suguru sneered. “Isn’t that the same reason why you picked up smoking in the first place?”

“Our circumstances are different, Suguru.” 

They stood in silence for another moment. Shoko glanced at Suguru again. The cigarette was in his mouth, she could see him chewing hard on it. 

“You’re not gonna tell Satoru, aren’t you?” 

“Nope.”

Shoko looked away from Suguru and into the distance again. The sky was so vast but the darkness was so eerie and unpredictable. Just like Suguru’s future, isn’t it.

September, 2018

Shoko checked the time on her phone as she closed the door behind her. 5:43 A.M. She estimated that she had a maximum of five hours of sleep before heading to Jujutsu High for work. Sometimes Shoko wondered to herself why she still did night shifts at the hospital after quitting the full time shift to work part time at Jujutsu High. If the position for full time work at the school was open, she would have applied immediately, but unfortunately there was only a part time spot. 

As she slid into bed, Shoko thought of Satoru barging into her office at school earlier. Something he said reminded her of a conversation she had a long, long time ago.

Shoko was about to set the alarm on her phone when a text appeared on the screen from a strange number. 

Long time no talk, Shoko. I was gonna say hi to you at dinner but I don’t think Satoru would appreciate me approaching him again. So here’s my number if you need it. - Suguru

“Suguru…” Shoko stared at the text with exasperation. “Both of you are absolute idiots.”

Chapter Text

“So we all agreed that asking Ieri-san is the first step to our investigation, right?”

“Yup.”

“Right. Let’s do that after the first break.”

“Great!”

“Should we even take it that far?” 

Nobara and Yuuji turned to look at Megumi, who asked a very valid question. They turned to each other then back at him.

“Of course, it’s fun.” Nobara giggled. “Besides, it’s Gojo-sensei.”

“Right.” Megumi sighed. “Fair enough.”

Megumi’s relationship with Gojo was a strange one. Toji Fushiguro was a firefighter that saved Gojo when he was small and they proceeded to keep contact over the years. After Gojo graduated, he moved out on his own and found a place in the same apartment complex with the Fushiguro family. Despite being bad with children, he visited them frequently to give Megumi and his sister Tsumiki sweets and other desserts that he bought every day. Fushiguro’s wife passed away a few years previously, so he barely had time to build relationships outside of work and Gojo. So when Gojo Satoru headed back from university one day to hear the news that his neighbor had lost his life while on duty. Gojo found his name on Fushiguro’s will, saying that he hoped Gojo could take care of Megumi and Tsumiki instead of having them go to an orphanage. 

Megumi was eighty percent sure Gojo was gonna put him and Tsumiki into the orphanage anyway, but proceeded to feel guilty and reluctantly took them in. He was an irresponsible eighteen-year-old who was not supposed to be able to take them in legally, but his wealth and academic knowledge fortunately compensated for it. Megumi never considered Gojo his adoptive father, but he also did not mind people seeing them that way. After all, he had to give it to Gojo for trying his best.

“Interesting that you said that, though.” Yuuji spoke up. “Like if it was Nanamin we wouldn’t have been this invested, isn’t it.”

“Yup, it’s because it’s Gojo-sensei. ” Nobara replied. “No one has ever taken him seriously, not him nor any of us, to be frank. So being nosey about him is really kinda fun.”

“You’re right,” Yuuji nodded. “There is just something about the fact that it's Gojo-sensei’s ex that makes this whole thing ten times more appealing.”

“Right, right I get it.” Megumi sighed. “Finish your food, it’s almost time.”

Yuuji and Nobara downed their tea and finished their breakfast before running to their classroom. Megumi ran after them in exasperation. He turned on his phone to re-check the time table for the day. English first lesson. 

“We’re seeing Getou-sensei right after tutor time, right?”

“Yup,” Megumi nodded, “I have a feeling that it will be interesting .”

The three arrived at class exactly when the bell rang. They barely sat down before Gojo entered the class with his usual annoying grin.

“Hello class!” He beamed at his students. “Hands up if you’re absent. No one? Alright, happy studying kids!”

What the hell, Megumi thought. Gojo really entered and left in five seconds, as if he was in a rush to go somewhere. He swore he could see him sweating bullets. Before he could question Gojo’s behavior more, his answer stepped into the classroom.

“Oh, Gojo-sensei. I thought you would be here to introduce the new students at least.”

Megumi glanced to his left. Nobara and Yuuji were giving him the same knowing look.

“I almost forgot about that.” Gojo replied, his lips pressed thinly. “Thank you for reminding me, Getou-sensei.”

Getou-sensei gave Gojo a big smile, in which Gojo returned with an even more forced one. Megumi could practically feel the tension radiating from them. 

“So,” Gojo managed a big grin as he beckoned the two new students to come in. “This is uhh… Hasaba Mimiko and Hasaba Nanako.”

Gojo looked down at the files on his hands to check for the two girls’ names. They looked bored and slightly annoyed.

“They’re the new addition to our class. Go ahead and introduce yourselves.”

The two girls gave Gojo a cold look. He smiled at them through gritted teeth.

“I’m Nanako and this is my twin Mimiko.” The girl with lighter hair spoke up. “We moved here from the USA. It is nice to meet everyone.”

The twins bowed down quickly. Megumi noticed that Gojo was getting impatient. He was tapping his foot and his right hand was curled tightly in his pockets.

“Right, that’s all from me. Have a good day, class.”

Gojo strided immediately towards the door, but Getou-sensei was still at the doorway. Megumi exchanged glances with Nobara and Yuuji again.

“Happy to meet you, Gojo-sensei.” Getou-sensei said with a bright smile. The smile looked uneasy to Megumi.

“Have a good first day of teaching, Getou-sensei. ”

Gojo slipped past Getou-sensei, their shoulders brushed briefly. Before they knew it, Gojo had already disappeared behind the classroom walls.

Megumi was pretty sure it was not just him who found that interaction incredibly forced and intense. He supposed that it might not have been that clear to the rest of the class who were not aware of the two teachers’ history together, but to him and his two friends, it was as clear as daylight.

“Let me introduce myself, shall I?” Getou-sensei set his books down and flashed the class a warm smile. “My name is Getou Suguru and I will be your English teacher this semester. I recently moved back to Tokyo after a long time staying in the USA, I hope we can have an enjoyable school year together.”

Megumi squinted his eyes. The two new students also just moved back from the USA.

“Right, I see that you guys are up to topic number four in your textbook, aren’t you?” Getou-sensei smiled as he immediately moved on to the lesson. “Let’s spend our class time today to revisit all four previous topics, shall we? Just to refresh your memories after the break. Kusakube-san told me that this class achieved amazing results last semester, so I am looking forward to seeing that for myself. Now, let’s start.”

The moment Getou-sensei left the classroom, Nobara and Yuuji practically threw themselves onto Megumi’s desk.

“Woah, woah, slow down!” Megumi protested as his two friends scooted their chairs a bit too close to his personal space.

“I can’t believe this!” Yuuji slammed his hand onto the desk in excitement. “Getou-sensei’s teaching was so interesting. I did not expect to enjoy an English lesson that much.”

“Right?” Nobara chimed in. “I suck at English so badly but I actually understood what he summarized today more than all the lessons we had with Kusakabe-sensei last semester. No offense to him but Getou-sensei is truly on a league of his own.”

“Right, right, I get it!” Megumi sighed, backing his chair away a bit more. “Calm down, both of you.”

“Now I might understand why Gojo-sensei still has trouble processing his feelings when he meets Getou-sensei again.” Nobara commented, nodding her head. “I mean, if I lost someone as talented and naturally charming like that I might just be pissed off until I die.”

“It is not that serious, Kugisaki,” Megumi said, exasperated, “it’s probably just a confusing break up, let’s not assume anything right now.”

“On that matter,” Yuuji said, “let’s go find Ieri-san.”san!”

“Exactly,” Nobara grinned, jumping off her chair, “let’s go!”

Megumi sighed as his two friends grabbed his hands and dragged him along. Though exasperated, he could not help but admit that he was curious about this. He had lived with Gojo for almost a decade, he realized that he knew nothing about the man’s past. The main reason was simply that he never cared about it enough when he was small and he never questioned anything either. But now when he thought hard about it, he realized how truly bizarre the situation was. The occasional hushed phone calls Gojo made with — who Megumi assumed was — Ieri-san in the middle of the night, his voice hushed and filled with different emotions each time. He assumed that they were just close friends who liked to keep contact daily, but it did seem strange that the only time Gojo seemed to express that kind of negative emotions was when he made those secret phone calls with Ieri-san. He never gave much thought about what the topic might have been, but now he was more sure of what it really was about.

“Okay, I think she’s inside.” Nobara said, peeking through the infirmary’s window. “Now, Fushiguro, you have a stomachache.”

“ What? ” Megumi grimaced. Nobara and Yuuji looked dead serious.

“I said,” Nobara repeated slowly, “Fushiguro, you have a —”

“No, I heard it.” Megumi interrupted her mid-sentence. “I meant, why me? ”

“You’re always frowning, it’s believable.”

Megumi stared at Nobara wordlessly. He shot Yuuji a glance. 

“Honestly, Kugisaki is right,” Yuuji gave him a shrug. “You might as well be in a constant stomachache with the way you wear that frown twenty-four-seven.”

“Isn’t this you guys’ idea?” Megumi sighed exasperatedly. “Why am I doing the heavy lifting here?”

“Oh come on,” Nobara cooed, flinging her arm over his shoulder heavily, which made him lose his balance and stumbled forward, “you’re into this plan too! You’re definitely nosy as hell, too, so you better help us with this. Right, Yuuji?”

“Definitely!” Yuuji chimed in excitedly. “You’d help us, right, Fushiguro?”

“Pleaseeeeee —”

“Alright!” Megumi exclaimed in defeat, pushing Yuuji away from his face and breaking free of Nobara’s arm around his shoulder. “I’ll do it.”

Yuuji and Nobara’s faces brightened immediately as they clasped their hands together and cheered. Sometimes Megumi wondered how an introvert like him managed to get close to those two.

“Ieri-san! Ieri-san!” 

“This is an emergency! Fushiguro is dying!”

Megumi held back an embarrassed sigh and put on his best frown, which did not look much different from his normal facade.

“It’s not that serious, Ieri-san.” Megumi spoke up, clutching his stomach. “It’s just a stomachache.”

Ieri-san was sitting at her desk when they rushed in with a convincing urgent look on their faces. She put down her pen and stood up from her seat. 

“A stomachache?” Ieri-san looked tired as her eyes surveyed the group. “Sit down on the bed, I’ll come back in a minute.”

“Thank you Ieri-san… we don’t know what to do if you aren’t here right now…” Yuuji exclaimed dramatically. 

“Yes…” Nobara chimed in. “Fushiguro could have died from his ruptured esophagus —” 

“That’s not —”

“— so I am very relieved you are in your office today, Ieri-san!”

Ieri-san looked like she wanted to let out a laugh but instead she just gave them a bewildered look. Megumi wanted to dig a hole and jump in.

“…Please don’t mind them, Ieri-san.”

“Right,” She said before leaving the bedside to head for the medicine inventory.

Once she was out of sight, Megumi dropped the forced grimace and replaced it with a face of absolute annoyance.

“You guys are not acting naturally at all, you know that, right?”

“She’s still gonna treat you regardless!” Nobara pouted. “At least we did get inside.”

“Exactly,” Yuuji nodded. “That’s like, halfway to success.”

“Yeah yeah whatever,” Megumi frowned, “you guys do the talking now.”

“Of course,” Yuuji grinned confidently, “leave it all to us!”

Yuuji and Nobara raised their thumbs up and winked. Megumi had a feeling that this would not go smoothly at all.

Ieri-san came back with a bottle of pills and a heating pad. She gave Megumi a pill and told him to drink up. He grabbed the glass of water and downed the pill hesitantly. As he put the hearing pad onto his stomach, he glanced at Yuuji and Nobara, who had strangely fallen silent. The looks on their faces were grave and serious. Ieri-san seemed to notice this too, as she glanced at their direction with an expecting look.

“You know, Ieri-san,” Nobara spoke up, her voice higher than usual, “something quiteeee interesting happened in our class today.”

Ieri-san did not look like she was interested in small talk, but she hummed in response regardless.

“Yeah,” Yuuji chimed in, “it’s about the new English teacher.”

At the mention of Getou-sensei, Megumi noticed a mild shift in Ieri-san’s expression. She seemed a little more tuned in.

“Is that so?” She replied, her gaze diverted from Yuuji and Nobara to refocus on measuring Megumi’s temperature.

“Yes!” Nobara continued. “He and Gojo-sensei had a very weird interaction this morning in front of the class.”

Megumi could tell that Ieri-san halted for a second. Her expression was still neutral, but there was something different about it.

“They seemed to have a very strange tension in their voices while talking to each other.” Yuuji whispered gravely as Nobara nodded in agreement. “I have never seen Gojo-sensei so tense!”

“Exactly!” Nobara added. “And yesterday when Getou-sensei visited the class for the first time, too. Gojo-sensei looked like he had seen a ghost!”

Megumi watched Ieri-san’s expression closely. He was surprised that her expression did not seem to shift too much. She waited for the two to finish before replying.

“Well,” She started, her gaze seemed vacant, “Getou and Gojo have an interesting past, alright.”

Nobara and Yuuji visibly brightened at Ieri-san’s reply. 

“Wait, they know each other before?” Nobara asked in a hushed voice.

“Not just them,” Ieri-san finished fiddling with the thermometer and let out a sigh, “Gojo, Getou and I — the three of us were best friends in high school. We attended this school together and were in the same year group, being the only boarding students in our class just like you three.”

Megumi mentally heaved a long sigh when he saw his two friends pretending to be surprised.

“Gojo and Getou were… exceptionally close.” Ieri-san paused for a while. “But they fell off near the end of our last school year.”

“What happened?” Yuuji asked, genuinely concerned.

“It’s quite complicated, honestly.” Ieri-san chuckled. “They had a big fight just days before our graduation. Then Getou just left for the USA to study without telling us at all. He didn’t even show up to the graduation ceremony, then proceeded to cut off all forms of communication with us. No one knows where he was or what he did until he returned yesterday. Frankly, it was a surprise to me, too.”

That was new information to Megumi, too. He did not know it was that serious.

“Oh wow… it was that bad, huh?” Nobara saud, exchanging looks with Megumi and Yuuji. “Well, thank you for the story, Ieri-san. I hope you three can reconnect somehow.”

Ieri-san let out a chuckle again, but this time it sounded as if there was some sadness that lingered.

“It probably is not too hard for me, but for Gojo… that is another story.”

Megumi understood what that meant. It was a messy break up, indeed.

They quickly left the infirmary afterwards. The moment they left Ieri-san’s sight, Nobara stopped them in their tracks, her face serious.

“This is even more interesting than I thought, guys.” Nobara deadpanned. “Getou-sensei leaving the country without resolving the conflict with Gojo-sensei? This is a majorly fucked up break up. How much do you wanna bet this is due to their communication issues?”

“I don’t want to assume anything, though.” Yuuji replied. “But it is quite sad to see a conflict from a decade ago stay unresolved and lead to such an intense relationship between those two.”

“It really is none of our businesses but…” Megumi sighed, shaking his head. “Gojo-sensei is a fucking idiot.”

“What if Getou-sensei is secretly a horrible person and that is why they fought terribly?” Yuuji chimed in.

“What did you say about Getou-sensei?”

The three whipped around, taken by surprise by the sudden voice behind. Horror dawned on Megumi as he realized who was overhearing their conversation.

Standing with their arms folded and a disgruntled look on their faces, the three found themselves facing the two new students in their class, Mimiko and Nanako.

“So?” Nanako repeated. “ What did you say about Getou-sensei? ”