Chapter Text
The irony of hating someone solely for the circumstances surrounding their birth was not lost on Toji, but that did nothing to stop him from absolutely loathing Gojo Satoru the moment news of him had reached his ears.
By the time the newest heir of the Zen’in’s rival clan was barely one day old, rumours - and especially prophecies - had swept throughout the entire jujutsu world in record time and rocked its mouldy, millennia-old foundation to its core. On day two it was scrambling to recalibrate around their new star. Because that’s what Gojo Satoru was from the minute he popped out of his mother’s crotch. A star; famous, feared and pulling everyone and everything in his orbit, with him as the center of it all.
New alliances formed, old ones shattered; organisations dissolved while others were now forming, powerful groups disbanded, and prolific jujutsu big-shots decided to leave the country - Gojo Satoru caused all of this just by existing and after his first week on this Earth, the boy’s arrival was hailed as such a pivotal event for the world it would’ve made even Baby Jesus think all this hubbub was a little extra.
Gojo Satoru was that powerful.
Allegedly.
Now, according to his older brother, Toji’s birth had been something of a show-stopper too - albeit for all the wrong reasons. There had been a little less fanfare and a lot more contempt. Little baby Toji had not thrown the world of its hinges and certainly had not given his family a cause for celebration. The proud and formidable Zen’in clan, a literal powerhouse of cursed energy, infamous for putting some of the most powerful jujutsu sorceress out there, had been made into the cradle of the only human being born without any cursed energy whatsoever. Ever. It was a blow to their image, to their social standing among their peers, and to their dignity. And the Zen’in made sure Toji would pay for this unforgivable crime every day of his childhood up until his early teens. The abuse eventually stopped, but not because his family started pitying him or anything, but because of a sense of self-preservation.
Toji may not have an inherited technique or an innate gift or any cursed energy, but he did have a tremendous amount of anger and a body built to put all of the pent-up aggression to good use. When he started tearing up curses with his bare hands and without breaking a sweat his next of kin graciously decided it was time to give the black sheep of the family a break and a lot, a lot, of space.
Toji prowled the halls of the Zen’in manor like a vengeful spectre for most of his teenage years, coming and going as he pleased, taking and breaking anything he wanted, and no one ever said anything to him. They wouldn’t even look at him if it could be helped.
But here were still whispers, hateful things said in hushed tones that his ears picked up simply because his hearing was that good and no one could sense that he was near unless he wanted them too.
So of course as soon as Gojo Satoru was born, the contrasting started. “Why is it that the prissy-ass Gojo clan is blessed with a prodigy, while we are stuck with…that.” And so on.
Satoru had gifted prestige and power to his family, while Toji had brought nothing but shame and disgrace.
In other words, Zen’in Toji felt justified in his hatred of Gojo Satoru and the *univers* had better keep its stupid mouth shut because it owed him for the absolute shit hand it dealt at his birth, and gods beware if he ever decided it was time to collect.
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It had been pure curiosity, plain and simple.
He hadn’t intended to cause a stir or ruffle feathers. He just wanted to see what the fuss was all about.
A few years after what seemed like the second Big Bang, the commotion died down and the dust settled. Life seemingly went on, at least on the surface. In truth, everyone was waiting and everyone was watching. What would become of Little Boy Extraordinaire.
For his part, Toji wasn’t at all impressed with what he had been hearing. The Gojo kept their little princeling tucked away deep within the bowels of their well guarded mansion complex and far away from prying eyes. Actual information regarding the boy’s potential was scarce, which made the other clans nervous. Toji on the other hand started suspecting foul play. After all, at the age Satoru was now Toji had already been performing feats of inhuman strength due to his Heavenly Restriction.
If the little heir really was such a powerhouse, wouldn’t the Gojo want to flaunt his accomplishments in everyone’s faces at every turn? That’s how the power-play usually went between the Great Houses since ancient times.
Unless…unless the brat wasn’t all that he’s cracked up to be.
If that was true, Toji might bring himself to forgive the universe a little, because that shit would be hilarious.
So he made his way to the grounds of the Gojo clan, passing security with practiced ease. No one would ever know he had been there. Tracking down the boy was even easier. All it took was overhearing two unsuspecting maids talk about the little master taking a walk with his governess just outside the inner walls. So much for keeping him hidden away.
It had been snowing that day, their footprints clear in the crisp white path, leading him straight to his target. He glided through the branches quiet as a light breeze and not so much as a snowflake was jostled out of place. He was proud of his stealth.
Toji’s confidence in his ability to remain undetected, along with his life-long experience dealing with sorcerers over-relying on a person’s output to detect one another, was what made Toji land right there in the middle of the path, just a couple of feet behind the pair, instead of watching them from behind the cover of the bushes. He was certain they would never know a thing and he could quietly observe the boy without worrying he’d ever be caught.
And in the next second Gojo Satoru locked eyes with Toji.
Vengeful spectre Zen’in Toji, the unpredictable beast even the heads of the great clans wouldn’t mess with, damn near fell on his ass in shock.
‘What the fuck’ he mouthed.
The thing that left him aghast was that the boy hadn’t even stopped to wonder if he had sensed that anyone was there. Had not turned his head around in search of something. He had simply known. Not just where Toji was exactly, but his exact height as well. Gojo Satoru’s eyes- the brightest, clearest and coldest blue he had ever seen - honed in on his green ones with such speed and precision it could not have been an act of sheer luck.
If Toji had even the slightest bit of cursed energy he could’ve have chalked it up to the kid’s Six Eyes, but he didn’t , so how….
He was so bamboozled by being caught - no, by being sensed- that the repercussions of his transgression didn’t even occur to him until the woman accompanying the boy turned around as well to see what her little master was looking at and loudly gasped, before yelling for the guards.
‘Shit’
Toji might have forced his family to put up with his presence and unruliness, but sneaking into one of the Three Great Houses’ properties and spying on their precious scion was nothing short of an incitement of war. If pressed, the Zen'in would not hesitate to throw him under the bus and should the clans band together over their mutual agreement that Toji’s head was to roll, then even he’d be in trouble.
“Oh, be quiet, will you,” the boy turned to his governess and scolded her. “Are you blind? Can’t you see that guards wouldn’t be a match for him anyway?”
Toji blinked when he heard that. ‘Huh..’
And then he blinked again in surprise and nearly high-tailed it out of there, because the boy was running towards him, eyes wide with wonder and a smile on his face. ‘What the-’ He stood his ground, because heaven’s be damned if the brat made him lose his composure a third time.
The kid stopped less than three feet from him. He was not scared of him at all and Toji didn’t know what to make of this. Deep down, he felt his anger flare up, because he invested a lot of time into making sure there weren’t any sorcerer’s, noble or otherwise, that didn’t get at least a little scared when they heard his name. Maybe the kid just didn’t know who he wa-
“I think I know who you are,” the boy stated proudly.
‘Okay…’
“I heard my parents and grandparents mention you,” the boy continued.
‘Ah, here it comes’. Toji wondered what kind of nasty insults the kid was about to unwittingly pass along and if Toji’s head might actually end up in a bucket for punting His Heighness into the afterlife. Yeah, being caught left him severely irritated and maybe even a little scared. His temper was unpredictable now.
“Not that I care what those people have to say most of the time.”
This made Toji look back down at the boy. “Those people…” Toji muttered, addressing the heir for the first time. “You’re talking about your family.”
“Eh, I have to put up with their nonsense, but their minds are so bland and small. Now that I got to see you for myself, it just confirms how blind they are. But I am sure you’re used to that too, eh?”
Toji eyes narrowed, hoping the kid would get the message that he did not appreciate the assumption that the two of them experience the world similarly in any shape or form.
“After all, your family is not worthy of you, too. You know that, right? ”
Toji stared. And stared and stared and stared.
Had he heard that correctly?
“You’re talking jibberish, kid.”
“Oh, come on, you know what I mean. The two of us, we stand above them. Far above them. I guess it’s more apparent with me, because of I have Limitless and Six Eyes, but you see, there was someone like me just four hundred years ago. There has never been anyone like you! That makes you even more special than I am. But it’s not your fault your family is too stupid to realise that.”
The kid was not mocking him. Toji could tell. The little heir of the Gojo clan meant every word he said and he said it so openly and matter-of-factly that Toji nearly blurted out “Yeah, they are.” Instead, he just continued to stare, his mind still processing not just what might have been the very first honest compliment he had ever received, but an honest compliment from the very creature that was supposed to represent everything he failed at being. The person who the jujutsu world propped up and praised turned out to be someone that apparently did not give a hoot about them and their values and looked towards the pariah they shunned.
So, what now? What would this meeting, this trifling, innocuous little interaction mean for someone like Toji in the long run.
“Say,” the boy started again, “did you attend Jujutsu Highschool?”
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Author Note: I am sleep deprived, please forgive errors