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"fushiguro megumi, right?”
gojo satoru was not old enough to be a dad. he didn’t even like kids, really. they were loud, and nasty, and confusing, and mean. and made weird faces at him, like the kid he was currently standing in front of. well, in the kids defense, satoru was probably making a weird face too.
“who’re you? and why are you making that face? why’re you looking at me like that?” the kid asked with a scowl. he had a mean face for someone who couldn’t be older than eight.
“you look just like him!” satoru exclaimed, and to be honest, he did. he looked so similar to toji it was almost unsettling. if he hadn’t murdered the old man himself, he would’ve been certain the man had some sort of technique that allowed him to transform into a younger version of himself!
“what?”
of course megumi had no clue what he was talking about- satoru sounded like a crazy person. the kid really should learn better stranger danger, but he was here now. satoru started from the beginning.
“your dad, fushiguro toji, he’s actually from the reputable zen’in sorcerer family. i think he’s a loser. he left the family, and had you. you have powers and can see them, right? i bet you’ve already started manifesting your cursed technique too. the zen’in family loves sorcerers blessed with quality cursed power!” to anyone else, satoru would probably sound crazy. cursed techniques, sorcerers, etcetera. this kid, however, seemed unimpressed. he was definitely much older than his years, satoru could tell. “a cursed technique typically manifests between the ages of four and six, which is a ripe time to sell. your dad kept you hidden from the zen’in clan. his trump card.” he rubbed his fingers together as if showing off some yen. he crouched down to eye level with the kid. “sucks, doesn’t it?”
he paused. “your dad. i ki-”
“so what?” i don’t care where he is, or what he’s doing. i haven’t seen him in years. i can’t even remember what he looks like, but i get the gist of what you’re talking about. tsumiki’s mom hasn’t returned in a while either.”
“hey! megumi-chan!” a little girl stood on a balcony that satoru hadn’t even noticed before. she was young looking, but probably older than megumi. “welcome home!” she had a bright smile.
“that means they’re done taking care of us. probably off living happily together somewhere.”
satoru stared at the little boy in front of him. he stared right back. yeah, this kid was much older than his years. he leaned his head to the side.
“are you really a first grader?” he asked. megumi didn’t answer, so satoru stood up. “if you’re ever curious about your dad, just ask. i think you might find it interesting. let’s get down to business. what do you want? do you want to live with the zen’in family?”
“what’ll happen to tsumiki? if we go there, will she be happy? my answer depends on that.”
“no. there’s absolutely no way. i guarantee that.” he answered immediately. the kid barely had time to even finish the sentence. megumi scowled. that was all the answer that satoru needed. “hah. gotcha.” he ruffled megumi’s hair. “i’ll take care of things then, but you’re gonna have to work extra hard! i’m counting on you! you better get real strong. don’t fall behind!” he ordered. megumi scoffed as a response.
“what does that mean? you’ll take care of things? we’ll stay here?” the boy asked.
“meh! goo! me! chan!” the girl on the balcony- tsumiki- annunciated each letter of the word. “what are you talking about? and who is that?” she asked, staring at satoru. then, in an act that nearly gave the man a damn heart attack, the little girl hopped so that she was on the other side of the balcony, then slowly and carefully made her way down, hanging for a moment when she reached the bottom, then dropping the rest of the way to the ground. she hurried over to megumi and satoru.
“tsumiki, you shouldn’t do that,” megumi, who’d turned upon his name being called out, seemed unsurprised with the action. “you don’t have any shoes on,” he said, as if that was what was wrong with jumping off from a second floor balcony.
“it’s not that far when you hang down like that,” tsumiki assured, taking a place between megumi and satoru. it was a bit awkward, since they’d been pretty close before, and now tsumiki was even closer, but megumi simply took a step back, and tsumiki did the same. “i’m fushiguro tsumiki. can i help you with something, mister?”
“i’m gojo satoru. i.. know your dad. it’s complicated, but i’m sure you’re just like little megumi here, and realize he won’t be taking care of you anymore.” he said carefully. tsumiki didn’t seem surprised, just like megumi. unlike megumi, she didn’t seem as sullen.
“he hasn’t for more than two years anyways. mom too. it’s okay, we don’t need any of his help. we take care of ourselves just fine. are you a social worker or something?” she tilted her head. “social services always say that kind of thing. about being friends with your parents, and being all concerned.” she said confidently. satoru had never dealt with social services before, but he was decently sure that she’d either made that up, or read one too many, weirdly depressing, stories.
“i promise i’m not with social services,” satoru laughed, holding his hands up as a sort of surrender. “i genuinely did know your dad, though i’d hardly say we were friends. i was explaining to megumi here that he wasn’t the best man, though i’m sure you already know that. are you okay living here? may i see your home, tsumiki-kun?” he asked. tsumiki’s posture changed slightly. she’d been somewhat tense before, but clearly attempting to be casual, but now the causal aura had vanished completely, and she placed herself completely between megumi and satoru.
“why? you aren’t friends with megumi-chan’s dad, and you don’t know my mother. who are you?” she asked sternly.
“tsumiki,” megumi tugged at the back of her dress. she stared satoru down a moment longer (he didn’t feel chills often, but something about this little girls glare was downright scary) before turning to face him. he stood on his tiptoes and whispered something into her ear. she looked at him, then satoru, then back at megumi.
“you’re sure?” she asked. megumi gave a short nod. “fine.” she turned back to satoru, though she was less tense than before. “please, come and look, gojo-san.” she relented. satoru grinned, tipping his glasses down his face in an attempt to charm the girl, but she seemed uninterested as she started inside. oof, burn.
megumi followed his sister in- were they siblings? they probably were, right? maybe cousins, and definitely not birth related siblings, given they looked nothing alike. tsumiki had long brown hair, and warm brown eyes. megumi had black hair, and emerald green eyes. given that they referred to each other’s parents as ‘megumi’s dad’ or ‘tsumiki’s mom’, and didn’t really refer to each other as siblings, they were probably just step-siblings, but clearly cared about each other greatly. it was really sweet.
satoru followed behind the kids, kicking his shoes off politely at the door. frankly, he’d never been the type to care for manners, but he was kind of under the impression that tsumiki might kick his ass if he wasn’t on his best behavior.
their house was… quaint. it was a small place for sure, just one big room that had two futons on the floor and a television that had to have been from the eighties, along with a kitchen, and an open door that led to what looked like a bathroom. it was also very evidently trying to be cleaned regularly! however, an eight year old and a six year old could really only do so much. the stove was marked with stains they weren’t strong enough to clean, and dust and grime was gathering on the spots where they couldn’t reach. the sweeping was mediocre at best, and there was quite a few little bits that made it obvious that there hadn’t been an adult around in a long while.
“this is our home. it’s less crowded with only us here, and we make plenty of food and eat at school too,” tsumiki declared, opening up the fridge to show a small amount of food.
“how do you pay for this food?” satoru asked curiously.
“megumi’s dad left us some, and so did my mom the last time she was here. megumi tried to spend it all, but i make sure that we kept it safe. as soon as i turn nine, i plan on getting a job,” tsumiki said proudly. megumi grumbled about not wanting to spend the money, but the tips of his ears turning red definitely made it hard to believe.
“nine year olds can’t get jobs,” satoru pointed out. from what he could tell, there wasn’t any mold or anything, and he didn’t want to discredit these poor kids, but this was definitely no place for them to live on their own. “and how about rent? they left you enough to pay that too?”
“i look older than nine! i could pass for fifteen easily,” tsumiki claimed, which definitely wasn’t true, but satoru didn’t want to be the one to burst that bubble. “rent?” she asked curiously.
“what is rent?” megumi asked. right, kids. kids who didn’t know anything about living as a real person.
“rent? you know, to pay for where you live?” he explained, looking to the older of the two, who had seemed really confident up until now.
“you have to pay for where you live?” she asked.
“really?” megumi added. satoru’s jaw dropped.
“when was your mom last here, tsumiki-kun?”
“she, uhm,” she tapped her forehead as if that’d help jog her memory. “two months ago? or three? i can’t remember now, i’m sorry.”
“have you gotten any mail for her, or toji that said anything about rent?” he asked. tsumiki pointed at a kitchen counter where a pile of mail sat. all of it completely unopened.
“we aren’t supposed to open mail that isn’t ours. it’s a crime,” megumi said.
“you know that, but you don’t know what rent is??” satoru asked, checking through the mail, where sure enough multiple letters that said things such as IMPORTANT , PLEASE OPEN , LATE FEE , and EVICTION NOTICE. in bright red lettering sat. “i’m gonna teach you a life lesson, kids if something says to open it in bright red text, open it,” he suggested. “this literally says eviction on it!”
“what’s eviction?” megumi asked his sister.
“uhm,” she paused.
“it means that if you don’t pay the person who owns your home money so that you can keep borrowing it, then you won’t be allowed to live here anymore,” he said, opening one letter, then a second. “oh, sorry correction, it means you aren’t allowed to live here anymore, because it’s been two months since you’ve paid them.”
“we.. aren’t allowed to live here anymore…?” tsumiki asked. megumi gripped her shirt tightly.
“no, see-” satoru made a face. how the hell did you even explain this shit. “basically, toji was borrowing this place from someone else, and in return for staying here, he gave them money. when he left, your mom, tsumiki-kun, sheprobably took over and gave them money on his behalf. however, when she left, she didn’t tell you that you were supposed to do it.” tsumiki quickly nodded in agreement. “so you didn’t pay anyone, so now the person who owns it isn’t getting anything in return, so now they want to replace you with someone who will give them money back. do you understand?” megumi seemed a bit lost, but tsumiki nodded quickly, hurrying over to a corner of the room where a box sat alone, which was definitely not incredibly obviously where she kept their money.
“if i give them money, we’ll be allowed to stay?” tsumiki asked, grabbing the box and hurrying back to satoru, where she dumped it out onto the floor. it was a pathetic amount that they had left. “is this enough?”
“when do you turn nine, tsumiki-kun?”
“five months,” she answered. “why, is this not enough? will i need money from a job to pay it?
satoru would be surprised of what they had lasted them even a month of groceries alone, let alone rent. taking two children into his house was absolutely not on today's itinerary.
“how about you guys come to see where i live?”
—
up until a few months prior, satoru had lived in the dorms of tokyo jujutsu high school. it was perfect. he didn’t have to get up early for school, because he could wait until the last minute and rush to his classroom, plus he could hang out with his two best friends (and harass his favorite underclassmen) whenever he wanted! however, due to… recent events, the school was no longer a place he found joy. instead, he stayed in a fancy apartment complex that was further away from the school, but it wasn’t really as if he attended classes anymore anyways.
it had three bedrooms, two of which sat empty and untouched, which was… actually oddly perfect. he didn’t really need three bedrooms, given the fact that he was one single person and all. one of the empty two was an ‘office’ wherein he was supposed to do paperwork, and homework, but it was probably more dust covered than the room that was ‘storage’, though he really didn’t have anything. his house was very obviously one that belonged to a young, single, almost twenty year old guy. it was hardly better than the fushiguro’s, in hindsight.
“this is my home! it’s further away from yours than i realized, unfortunately, but if you want to, you can live here. i live by myself, so it gets a bit lonely,” he joked, and it was definitely a joke and not serious at all, right? right. the two children stood hesitantly by the door, shoes yet to be kicked off. tsumiki was still stood between satoru and megumi, and megumi was holding his sisters arm uncertainly. “oh, please forgive me, make yourselves at home! i know it’s a lot to take in at once, but, well, you were evicted, so i’m not sure what other options you have.”
the kids seemed to think on it. he had shown them not only the google definition of eviction, but also read them out, and shown the letter to them before they left the house. tsumiki was the first to take off her shoes, politely bowing her head as a thanks for the invitation, and megumi copied, taking his off and lining them up neatly with his sisters.
it was a very brief house tour. tsumiki seemed completely unimpressed, and satoru wondered briefly if this was how tsumiki had felt before when she was showing him her house. were kids always so judgy? damn. he tried being as fun as possible, and tsumiki was very kind in turn, but megumi seemed completely uninterested, as if he was in his own little world. when they were back at the front door, he smiled.
“so, what do we think, kiddos! you wanna stay here with me? i promise to keep you out of the zen’in’s clutches, and safe from any curses.” he assured. the kids looked at each other. “here, i’ll go get you guys a snack, and you can discuss right there by the door!” he suggested, leaving the room to the kitchen, which was basically useless since it was only a few feet away and he could hear the entire conversation.
“who are the zen’in’s??” tsumiki whispered.
“he said they were a family of sorcerers. my dad was going to sell me to them, because of my technique.”
“the shadow thing, you mean?”
“mhm.”
"is that something that’s important? why would he sell you to them?”
“i don’t know. he never told me about them. not that i can remember, at least.”
“what do you think? should we trust him? what if he’s lying?”
“tsumiki, i really only know as much as i told you. i don’t know anything about these people he warned us of…”
“but?”
“well, we were emicted.”
“evicted,” tsumiki corrected.
“evicted is what i said,” megumi huffed. “it’s not like we can stay home, even if we wanted to. plus, he knows where we live anyways.”
“we could stay at an inn? and then i could get a job so we can get a new place to live!”
“tsumiki, i’m sorry to tell this to you, but you don’t look old enough to get a job.”
(satoru almost laughed at how serious he sounded, and he could basically see the kids deadpan face from around the corner.)
“i can pass for fifteen!”
“no, you can’t.” megumi said sternly. tsumiki sighed. she probably knew this the entire time, but was trying her best to convince herself and megumi otherwise.
“so… do we stay here? what if he’s a weirdo??”
“he’s definitely a weirdo, but…” megumi paused. “i think we can trust him. he seemed genuine while explaining everything, and he was going to tell me about my dad too.”
“was going to? why hadn’t he?”
“i stopped him. i don’t care about what he’s doing. they’re done with us.” megumi said. he sounded much too solemn for a child. tsumiki sighed. megumi copied her.
“at worst, we call the police.” tsumiki said.
“yeah.” megumi agreed. satoru huffed out a laugh, opening the closest cabinet and grabbing some random sweets- yeah, he was almost twenty, and he truly planned on starting to be responsible when he hit that! he was just hanging on to the last of his teen years- and headed back to the hall, where the kids stood.
“candies!” he exclaimed excitedly. megumi made a face.
“aren’t you kinda old to be having candies as a snack?” he asked.
“excuse you! i’m not even twenty!”
“you aren’t??” megumi asked in surprise.
“no, you little demon, i’m nineteen,” he handed tsumiki a candy, which she accepted happily. megumi turned up his nose at the offer.
“you’re ancient.” satoru’s eye twitched.
“have you made up your minds then?” he asked, taking the piece megumi hadn’t accepted, for himself.
“we’ll accept your offer, gojo-san. and we appreciate you very much,” tsumiki declared. satoru grinned.
“great! we’ll be the best of friends, you’ll see! gojo satoru will be the world's number one host!”
“great,” megumi said sarcastically.
“great!” tsumiki said excitedly.
“great,” satoru agreed with a tone of finality.
gojo satoru was not old enough to be a dad. he wasn’t good with kids, and these kids were certainly going to be interesting roommates, for lack of a better term, but he was the greatest. he was the gojo satoru! he didn’t know where exactly this would go, but he’d definitely have it entirely under control, for sure. he was good at everything he tried, after all.