Chapter Text
At age six (and a day – don't forget the day), Yuuta Gojo-Okkotsu is a boy whose name is spoken with reverence. His cursed energy is immeasurable and, while he hasn't discovered his innate technique yet, he shows great promise. Fortune must favour him – his uncle is the great Satoru Gojo who has vowed to take him under his wing once he has finished his education at Jujutsu High. Even so, Satoru visits whenever he can, whisking Yuuta away for vacations and training alike.
Satoru has been known to proudly claim that Yuuta will one day surpass him and that his cursed energy reserves surpass Satoru's own. The fact that such a cocky and unsympathetic man has admitted such things is even more cause for respect.
The fact that the Gojo Clan has produced not one, but two, extraordinary sorcerers within their current generation has been a source of great interest to the other clans. While they had heard much about Yuuta, the Gojo Clan kept him hidden away until they thought he was trained enough to handle the scrutiny (and potential assassination attempts) of the other clans.
So, naturally, when Yuuta's sixth birthday occurred and the other clans received invitations to meet the prodigy, they eagerly accepted.
Six was such a young age to determine one safe to interact with the other clans, yet Satoru had been revealed at a similar age. He must truly be something.
The cushion where Yuuta sits does little to soften the feeling of the wood underneath it. It's uncomfortable, yet here he must stay as the guests arrive. They bow to him, scanning his face and body without shame, before kneeling on one of the many mats perfectly positioned about the room.
The kimono they have him in is stiff with embroidery and a bit too warm for the crowded room. The thread itches at his wrists and Yuuta barely resists the urge to scratch it – he knows he cannot show any signs of discomfort in front of these new people. Instead, he inclines his head towards each new guest and tries not to stare out of the window.
It has just turned into spring and the buds of the cherry blossoms are in their beginning stages of growth. If this were any other day, he would be happily repeating the exercises Uncle Satoru had created for him or outside playing with Rika. However, he is alone on this raised platform and she is among those kneeling in the front row.
The wedding ring she wears glitters from under the cuffs of her kimono, his is safely tucked under his own on a chain. One of the elders didn't allow him to wear it and, while he didn't mind, Rika did. Maybe they could play house later, that always cheered her up.
He tears his eyes away to welcome the latest invitee, a teenager with brown eyes glittering dangerously from under his dyed blonde hair. He bows, revealing dark green roots, and Yuuta returns the favour.
More men, similar with their dark green hair, bow before him. And then, finally, a pair of girls are ushered up to the stage by their mother. He straightens up a little to look at them better – they're the first visitors around his age to have arrived. They must either be exceptionally strong or exceptionally unimportant to be brought here at such young ages. The levels of cursed energy he senses from the group point to the latter.
One of them hides behind the other, her wavy hair covering some of her face. Lovingly, her mother strokes it back as they approach.
The other strides forward, unphased and with eyes burning with some sort of emotion he hadn't seen in someone so young before. She bows stiffly, her hand tight around her sister's. Something feels off about her, but he can't quite put his finger on it.
Her sister bows with their mother before all three head towards the back to be seated. Yuuta's eyes linger on them – he wonders if they would want to be friends.
The trio are quickly obscured from vision as more of that clan approach him and his attention is forced away.
The ceremony is long and boring – Yuuta is glad that he was allowed to sit instead of kneeling.
The clan elders lay praise upon him and his cursed energy, sparing purposefully vague details of his training and progress as they brag to the other clans. Yuuta watches as the elders of the other clans share looks and as the rest look increasingly bored.
When Uncle Satoru finally comes up to close the ceremony, he gestures for Yuuta to stand. With as little wincing from his slightly numb legs as possible, Yuuta complies. A katana, sheathed in its opulent saya, is brought forward by one of the elders, where it is presented to him. Yuuta bows in thanks, and then allows her to delicately attach it to his side.
With a deep breath, he gets into position. His right foot takes its forward position and his left hand steadies the katana's tsuba. As he exhales, Yuuta readies his cursed energy for release. Uncle Satoru is talking beside him, but the rush of blood pumping around his body drowns him out. His hand grasps the underside of the tsuka and, finally, he draws the katana.
His cursed energy crackles and arcs as he frees the weapon. It dances up the ornate blade as sparks and, as Yuuta wills its complete release, it bursts into bright flames. His boundless cursed energy begins to leak from its carefully constructed restraints, a menacing and overpowering cloud that seeps into every corner of the room.
In his enhanced state, he notices the nervous reactions of the majority of the visitors – sweating and twitching under the magnitude of his power. As his eyes sweep the room, he takes in the pale faces of those present. He finds the girls from before. The timid one is pressed to her mother's chest, whereas the other stares defiantly at him. He hasn't seen that reaction before – Yuuta really hopes that they can be friends.
Beside him, Uncle Satoru laughs much too gleefully for the atmosphere and pats Yuuta's shoulder.
“What did I tell you, hmm? He'll surpass me one day. You can stop now, Yuuta.”
Compliant, Yuuta cups the end of the saya and guides the dull end of the katana along his skin, letting the cursed energy travel back into his body. Then, as he sheaths the katana, he dissipates the last of the flames. The heads of the other clans look equal parts impressed and concerned at his control over such immense power.
This display has been practised by Yuuta again and again – every action has been analysed and altered to create the image of surety and strength.
With one final bow, Yuuta retakes his place on his cushion. His eyes find those of the girl at the back and he can't help but stare.
Her expression is so unlike that of any other person there, she doesn't appear frightened at all. Instead, she stares staunchly ahead, her lack of care at his power as clear as day.
It's only when the room bows in unison that Yuuta realises that the ceremony is over. He knows that he must now greet the heads of the clans, as well as any other important figures. His desire to meet the girls around his age is temporarily forgotten – he has a job to do. He bows back to them and rises, gesturing for them to do the same.
Rika is the first to stand, although she rises oddly, half-facing the direction he had been looking. Yuuta watches as she scans the back of the room, her eyes seemingly stopping on someone, but he brushes it off when she turns back to smile at him.
Yuuta has already been taught the names and faces of the most important members of each clan. He greets them formally and by name, watching as their chests swell with self-centred pride.
The adults engage in polite, strained conversation and Yuuta answers the few questions he is asked with rehearsed answers.
It's a relief when Uncle Satoru finally pats his back and lets him go “have fun”, although he tries not to let it show.
In the few seconds it takes for Yuuta to respectfully make his exit, Rika has already glued herself to his side.
“You took so long,” she pouts, as she grabs his arm, “I don't like any of the new people around here.” Yuuta hums noncommittally, not daring to agree with so many ears around.
Through the open doors ahead of them, dark green hair around his eye level flashes between the clothing of the people milling around.
“Let's go outside.” Rika's hold on his arm tightens, but she lets him lead her out. The crowd parts around him and Yuuta can feel eyes following them, but he has been preparing for this his entire life. He can't let something so small bother him.
As a naturally anxious child, it had been hard growing out of his nerves, but Yuuta had received only the best in his upbringing. In how to act, how to fight, education – everything.
Fortunately, no one tries to stop them as the pair exit the room. Yuuta keeps his eyes on the girls, who stand to the side of their mother as she makes polite conversation.
The girl who caught his attention notices his path and narrows her eyes, before moving in front of her sister. In turn, the other girl looks over, before sidling a little closer to their mother. Yuuta is not to be discouraged, he makes a beeline for them.
As he approaches, their mother looks over. Her eyes take him, then Rika, before crinkling into a smile.
“Happy birthday, Master Gojo-Okkotsu.” She bows respectfully, before pushing her daughters forward. “Maki, Mai, be polite.”
The more confident girl straightens her back, doing her best to match his height.
“Happy birthday.” Her mother sighs as the girl crosses her arms.
“Happy birthday, Master Gojo-Okkotsu.” The other bows slightly, a little unsure of how to act. “I'm Mai.”
Yuuta smiles at them as nicely as he can, Maki looks unimpressed.
“Thank you for coming. This is my friend Rika.” He gestures to her, moving his arm to pull her forward. Unusually, she takes a second to follow the movement.
“Lovely to meet you, Rika.” A little stiff, Rika bows to the girls and their mother. Her smile doesn't look normal, but Yuuta doesn't think too hard about it.
“You too, ma'am.”
“Did you want to talk to these two? I see there aren't many others your age here.” Maki gives her mother a betrayed look, while Mai looks nervous. The hand on Yuuta's arm tenses.
“Yes, please!”
Their mother ushers them forward, then turns back to continue her conversation with the other adults. The girls are silent, so it's up to Yuuta to make conversation.
“Do you like… to play house?” Maki makes a sound of disgust, her eyes judging. A tug to his sleeve offers an easy way out, but he refuses to take it.
“Do you like… to climb trees?” She looks him up and down, taking in his lavish kimono, before nodding. At her side, Mai looks like she wants to say something, but doesn't.
“I have the best trees for climbing, wanna see?”
“Sure.” Her voice is a little less strained than before and Yuuta feels himself relax.
“Come on!”
Yuuta leads the group down the garden and into the border, where the neighbouring trees will shield them from sight. He ignores Rika's reproachful gaze – this is a chance to make some more friends his age!
He was lucky to have Rika as a friend – her grandmother was childhood friends with one of the Gojo elders, so Rika was over often enough to befriend. However, the only other contact he had with children his age was Uncle Satoru's recently kind-of-adopted-but-it's-complicated child Megumi and various distant cousins who infrequently visited. Unfortunately, Megumi wasn't allowed at his birthday as the Zen'ins would be there and his cousins simply weren't as interesting as these new girls.
Besides, he could always use new friends from outside of the family. It would probably be good for “clan relations” or whatever it was that the elders said.
The tree he leads them to is an old Japanese Oak, its branches curve low to the ground and are easy to follow up to the higher branches. Yuuta pauses at the base of it as he attempts to decide how to best scale it in his current attire.
Sparing him a brief glance, Maki comes to a stop beside him. The tree appears to be to her liking – she kicks off her zōri sandals and tabi socks without a second thought. After a little struggle, her obi follows, revealing the casual Western clothing she wears underneath.
Yuuta follows suit, shedding his traditional outerwear. It's cold without the thick fabric, but he'll soon be warm enough when he starts climbing. He dimly registers Rika and Mai giving the pair concerned looks, but Maki is already scaling the tree and he doesn't want to be left behind.
She climbs like a squirrel – her hands and feet easily finding holds as she hoists herself higher. As Yuuta follows her, he finds himself falling behind and realises that she must be naturally strong. His want to befriend her increases – he wishes he could climb like that.
As he watches, Maki climbs further and further, up through the thin branches which he doesn't quite trust. Yuuta isn't about to find out if they'll hold him too, so he stops to watch as she climbs.
When Maki finally reaches the last of the sturdy-ish branches, she pauses to look down at him. Her smile is wide and bright, so much more genuine than before.
“This is a good tree, I want it.”
“Yeah.” He grins back at her, warmed by this newfound camaraderie.
Yuuta is about to ask her how she was able to climb so high, but Rika's clipped voice interrupts them.
“Yuuta, there are adults coming.” Although she can't see it, he pouts in response.
“Maki,” joins Mai's hushed voice, “it's Mama and Naoya.” As Yuuta watches, Maki's face pales, then tightens.
As quickly as he can, Yuuta descends from the tree, but Maki overtakes him on the other side of the tree. She's already hastily throwing on her clothing when Yuuta's feet finally touch the ground.
He attempts to redress himself, with little success until Rika joins. As Maki and Mai's mother approaches, her face twists into something equally nervous and disapproving. She fusses over Maki, straightening her clothing and hair.
Once she has finished, she gently fixes Yuuta's kimono as well. Naoya, the blonde haired teen from earlier, watches with an expression that Yuuta doesn't like.
“I expected better from you, Maki. This isn't the event to climb trees at.”
“I asked her to. Sorry, ma'am.” Yuuta bows quickly and the woman smiles, but it's more reserved than before.
“She should know better, especially with no one watching you both.”
“I can babysit, Auntie.” interjects Naoya, “You should go socialise.” Maki and Mai's faces turn paler.
“Are you sure? You should be doing the same.” A stray leaf is picked from Maki's hair, her hand lingering.
“Yeah, I'll find someone to take over later.”
“I would appreciate that.” She spares one last look at the children, then brushes a final strand of Maki's hair out of her face. “Stay out of trouble.” With that, she swiftly heads back to the conversation she had abandoned.
Once she is out of earshot, Naoya bows deeply to Yuuta.
“Happy birthday, Master Gojo-Okkotsu. Your earlier display was impressive, my congratulations to your clan.”
“Uh, thank you. I'm lucky to have been raised so well.” A rehearsed answer to a prepared statement – Naoya grins.
“Raised well enough that someone of your calibre is conversing with a girl little cursed energy and one who can't even see curses. How benevolent of you.” Yuuta doesn't know all of those words, but he understands the sentiment. Then it hits him, that's what was off about Maki – she has almost no cursed energy.
He peeks at her, at her now angrily flushed face, then back at Naoya.
“Maki is nice.”
“Nice, hm? How cute, do you hear that?” He takes a step forward and rests a hand on Maki's shoulder – she visibly tenses. “Maybe there will be wedding bells in the future? That would truly be an advantageous marriage and you could finally be useful, Maki.” His hand caresses her shoulder. “Or perhaps Mai would be a better fit, who would want such an ill-tempered girl as a wife.”
Maki's face cycles through emotions that Yuuta can't even begin to name, reddening further as she fights to hold her tongue. At his side, Rika steps closer to him, taking his sleeve in her hand again. The wedding ring on her finger, partnered to his on its chain, catches the light.
“Um, I–” Maki's wide eyes find his, equal parts scared and scathing. Yuuta falls silent under her burning eyes. He's not sure if she's angry at him for some reason, but she sure looks it.
“Come on, Mai.” At the sound of her name, Mai startles, but she bows and excuses herself to follow Maki's retreating figure.
Naoya watches the pair leave with a smile that rubs Yuuta the wrong way.
“I better go watch over them. Congratulations again, Master Gojo-Okkotsu.” With one last, deep bow, he trails after the girls.
Yuuta watches as they disappear back into the crowds, none of them looking back to catch his gaze.
“I don't think she's good to be around, Yuuta.” Rika's voice is quiet. “I don't like her.”
“Oh. Really?” His eyes haven't left the spot the trio entered.
“Yeah. You shouldn't see her again.”
Finally, he drags his eyes away to mest Rika's. Her face isn't as cheerful as usual, slightly pinched around her eyes.
“If you say so.” Yuuta isn't convinced, but Rika's face breaks out into a warm grin.
“Yay!” Suddenly bursting with energy, she throws her arms around him in a hug. “So, do you have a birthday cake?”