Chapter Text
Suguru hastily got up upon hearing crying. He rubbed his eyes and looked to his right in silence. Satoru had not returned from the mission assigned to him the day before. He grunted and left the bedroom. He turned on the hallway light and, with squinted eyes, advanced to the room from which the sobs were coming.
He peeked in, and thanks to the dim light, he could see Mimiko huddled up, hugging her legs while her shoulders shook. Nanako was nearby, futilely trying to comfort her. The two little girls were sitting on the bed, although only Nanako showed signs of noticing his presence, as she raised her head and looked at him, concerned.
The features of the special-grade sorcerer softened noticeably as he approached. He sat on the bed and looked at Nanako.
"What happened?" he asked softly. The girl separated slightly from her sister, who continued whimpering.
"I think she had another nightmare," the blonde-haired girl murmured, unsure.
"Mimiko, look at me," Suguru requested, trying to take charge of the situation. The little girl ignored him at first, and the young man with black hair repeated his request.
This time it had an effect, and slowly, Mimiko raised her head. Her dark eyes were still filled with tears, and streaks marked the path of those already fallen on her cheeks. Before Suguru had a chance to ask, Mimiko hugged him with all the strength a girl her age could muster.
Suguru smiled faintly and reciprocated the gesture. He began to caress her back slowly, trying to calm her. A while later, somewhat calmer, Mimiko pulled away and looked at him.
"I'm sorry..." the girl murmured, hiccupping. Her eyes resembled those of a frightened deer at that moment, and the young sorcerer felt his heart constrict at the sight. Unprecedented anger overtook him seconds later.
"Why are you apologizing?" he asked, trying to keep his anger in check. The important thing was to comfort the little one. "You haven't done anything wrong, Mimiko." Suguru made an effort to give her a reassuring smile, which worked only partially.
"But I woke you up again," the girl murmured, wiping the tears from her eyes. Nanako approached her and grabbed her right hand.
"I was already awake," Suguru lied smoothly. Mimiko and Nanako looked at him unconvinced, but neither of the two girls commented on it. At that moment, they heard the sound of keys unlocking the front door, and Suguru suppressed a sigh of relief. He stood up and looked at the two.
"It must be Satoru, don't move from here, okay?"
Mimiko and Nanako nodded, and the special grade sorcerer quickly left. He moved swiftly to the entrance and saw his friend. Satoru had just locked the door and turned to look at him.
The light at the entrance revealed that the young man with white hair was unharmed. Part of the heaviness Suguru felt on his shoulders disappeared, and some of his worry dissipated as well.
"You took your time," he commented simply.
Satoru gave a tiny apologetic smile and scratched his head. "Yeah, but the geezers from the Council insisted I had to report the mission's success," he said, not hiding his displeasure in the slightest.
Suguru nodded and tried not to flinch as he felt his friend staring at him. "I'm glad you're back," the sorcerer with black hair said sincerely.
"Has anything happened, Suguru?" Satoru asked, not fooled in the slightest. Suguru sighed a bit.
"You always catch on," he commented, "Mimiko had another nightmare," he revealed.
Satoru nodded. "I'll prepare some hot chocolate," he offered, heading to the kitchen in the house without waiting for the other sorcerer's response.
Suguru rubbed his nose and gave him a look filled with affection as he shook his head slightly. He made his way back to the girls' bedroom and sighed in relief when he saw that Mimiko looked better.
"Feeling better?" he asked nonetheless, approaching them. Mimiko nodded and gave a small smile.
"Was it Gojo?" Nanako wanted to know. Suguru nodded, and the blonde-haired girl smiled too.
"He's preparing some hot chocolate," the sorcerer began to say. The two of them let out a cheer and, without giving him time to finish speaking, they ran to the kitchen.
Suguru chuckled a bit at that and calmly left the room. However, upon hearing the sound of another door opening, he stopped and turned around.
Megumi had just stepped into the hallway, rubbing his eyes, barely holding back a yawn. "You're making a lot of noise," the boy protested. Behind him, with her usual kind smile, his older sister Tsumiki appeared.
"Satoru just arrived," the sorcerer excused himself. "You can go back to sleep."
At that moment, the sweet aroma of hot chocolate wafted towards them, and Tsumiki's eyes sparkled with joy.
"We want chocolate too!" exclaimed the girl, leaving the bedroom. However, before running to the kitchen, she looked at Suguru. "Can we, right?"
"Of course, I'm sure Satoru made enough for everyone," Suguru said. Tsumiki didn't wait any longer and began to run towards the kitchen, dragging her little brother with her. She completely ignored Megumi's protests, focusing solely on getting there as soon as possible.
Suguru, calmly, went to the kitchen and found the four children sitting at the table, looking expectantly at Satoru, who had his back turned, preparing the chocolate on the stove. Occasionally, he stirred the contents of the pot, concentrating on what he was doing.
"Suguru, do you want some too?" asked the white-haired sorcerer without turning around.
"Yes, why not?" the other man replied promptly. He went to one of the shelves and took out six cups, placing them near the stove. Satoru glanced at him, smiling broadly.
"Thanks!" said the white-haired sorcerer as he took a spoonful of chocolate and tasted it. He opened his eyes wide and stuck out his tongue. "It's hot!" he protested, causing Nanako and Mimiko to laugh a little. Tsumiki looked at him with concern, while Megumi rolled his eyes and watched him with some irritation.
"That's what you get for trying it," the five-year-old boy pointed out.
"Don't be like that, Megumi," Tsumiki scolded him gently. Then, looking back at Satoru, she added, "Are you okay, Mr. Gojo?"
The young man regained his smile and nodded. "Yes, don't worry, Tsumiki," he said, putting both arms on his sides. "And don't call me that, please. I prefer you to call me Satoru."
Tsumiki didn't seem too convinced about it and asked, hesitating, "Isn't it too disrespectful?"
"Nonsense!" Satoru dismissed it with a gesture. "I'm asking you to do it, besides. And it goes for everyone, of course," he added as he served the cups and passed them to the children.
Suguru took his and sat at the table, occupying one of the ends of the rectangular table, just like Satoru. "Enjoy your meal," said the young man with black hair before blowing a little on the hot chocolate and slowly bringing the cup to his lips.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was eleven o'clock at night. "At least it's not too late," the sorcerer thought. Although, with so much sugar, it would be harder for the children to sleep.
He glanced sideways at Mimiko and Nanako. The two girls seemed to have completely forgotten what happened earlier. "We almost look like a family," the young sorcerer reflected involuntarily.
"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Satoru asked at that moment. The four children looked at him confused, and none of them dared to speak. But the young man wasn't deterred. "If you agree, we can go to the park nearby."
"It's a good idea," Suguru replied immediately, taking the lead when none of them seemed convinced.
Tsumiki and Megumi exchanged a fleeting glance, and the boy lowered his gaze while squeezing the cup tightly. Tsumiki had stopped smiling and avoided looking at the two young men.
"Is something wrong?" Satoru asked, immediately noticing the heaviness settling in the atmosphere.
"...No, it's nothing," Tsumiki replied with a faint voice.
Megumi occasionally glanced at Satoru and Suguru. The two guys had sat on one of the free benches as soon as they arrived at the park and were keeping an eye on the four kids.
Nanako and Mimiko were swinging enthusiastically, while Tsumiki, although occasionally throwing furtive glances at her two legal guardians, was sliding down the yellow slide repeatedly.
He, on the other hand, stood somewhat apart, making no attempt to play with anyone. Suguru said something to Satoru at that moment, stood up, and walked toward him. Megumi frowned and visibly tensed.
"Is something wrong, Megumi?" the sorcerer inquired.
"Why did you bring us here?" the boy asked, tense. He felt that some tears were starting to gather in his eyes and did everything he could to hold them back.
"Well, for you all to play a bit," Suguru responded, looking at him in surprise. "Why else?"
"Are you not going to leave us here and go away?" Tsumiki asked behind them. The girl had approached unnoticed, and she had heard the last part.
Suguru's eyes widened, and he turned quickly, facing her. "Of course not!" The girl, upon hearing that, burst into tears, relieved. Suguru squatted down and hugged her. "We would never do something like that to you. You have my word."
Megumi didn't seem too convinced and looked at Satoru with some suspicion, who was approaching them. Concern was more than evident on the face of the white-haired sorcerer.
Nanako and Mimiko had stopped swinging and were looking, not understanding much, at the two children. They quickly got down and ran over.
"What's happening?" Satoru asked, looking at Suguru, serious. The other sorcerer shook his head and, adjusting his grip on Tsumiki, picked her up in his arms.
"We'll talk about it calmly later," Suguru said evasively. Satoru nodded and took Nanako and Mimiko by the hands.
The two girls followed without any issues. Occasionally, they cast worried glances at Tsumiki. Megumi silently followed behind Satoru.
"What happened earlier, Suguru?" was the first thing that came out of Satoru's lips as soon as they entered and closed the door of the room that the two sorcerers used as an office when they had to draft the reports of the missions they carried out.
Suguru, who had leaned against the mahogany table, let out a long sigh. "Tsumiki asked me if we were not going to leave them alone in the park."
"What?" Satoru asked, astonished. "Can you repeat that? I think I didn't hear you well."
"She thought we were going to abandon them in the park," Suguru repeated, crossing his arms and looking seriously at his friend.
Satoru paled slightly and removed his glasses. He fixed his piercing blue eyes on his friend before speaking. "You must have told her that we don't plan to do something like that, right?"
"Of course, but I don't think just saying it is enough," Suguru admitted.
"And what do you suggest?" Satoru asked, tense.
"Continue as we have been. Show them that we are not going to leave," the black-haired sorcerer improvised.
Satoru nodded. Neither of them even knew if they were doing it right. Overnight, they found themselves responsible for four children. Although the young man from the Gojo clan had used his immense wealth to start building a house near the grounds of the Metropolitan Institute of Tokyo, that didn't mean everything was solved.
The director, who was none other than their teacher, had allowed them to do so as soon as they proposed it. Seeing the deplorable state of Nanako and Mimiko, as well as the ramshackle house of Megumi and Tsumiki, was all the sorcerer needed to authorize something like that.
But while the house was ready, they had to live in a rental one. Although it didn't bother either of them.
"The Zenin clan won't dare to protest, I assure you," Satoru said, tense.
"I hope so. Considering that Megumi is a user of the Ten Shadows Technique, I don't think they're going to leave him completely alone."
"I have everything under control, Suguru," insisted the white-haired sorcerer, confident in his words.
Suguru looked at him, somewhat surprised. If someone had told him four months ago that Satoru had that side, he wouldn't have believed it at all. But his friend had been surprising him since they met Amanai.
"I know," Suguru murmured, fixing his coffee-colored eyes on his friend. "It's just that I wish things were easier, I suppose."
"Suguru. We are the strongest," Satoru reminded him. "And we will get through this together, as always."