Chapter Text
You had just finished an extensive accounting report due after work with a mild migraine through continuous foot tapping against the office tile all afternoon due to the excessive intake of caffeine. Hoping to settle down and have a nice mug steeped with chamomile tea, you now were sitting in the corner of your sister's cafe, mouth half agape at the glittering 1.5-carat diamond ring perfectly hugging her slender elegant finger.
"Is it real?"
"Of course it's real!" your sister, Aiko, exclaimed, pulling back her hand protectively as if you would snatch it right off if she kept it lingering any longer. "Riku asked two days ago on our anniversary. We're planning to have the ceremony at the beginning of summer."
You took a moment to process her statement, wondering when exactly your younger sister had outgrown you. The image of her toddler self running around pantless with half-chewed onigiri stuffed in her mouth flashed through your mind, making it hard to believe it was the same woman before you. The thought made you suddenly nostalgic, but you weren't about to let your baby sister witness your blubbering about how much she'd grown the moment she announced her engagement.
"I'm happy for you," you settled with, placing a gentle hand over hers.
"You don't sound that happy." Her eyebrow slanted, standing upright as she began to wipe down the tables with the rag over her shoulder.
"Well, I am," you continued to push. "I'm just surprised is all. Isn't it a bit soon?" She was only 23, about 3 years younger than you. While she only just graduated college the year before, your sister managed to earn the trust and favor of your parents the quickest. Immediately after she got her diploma, your parents had signed on the dotted line, handing their cozy, widely acclaimed cafe in Meguro City to their youngest daughter. She had followed in their footsteps in making the cafe a second home for most of their customers and never failed to bring in new people with her inviting smile. She might've been younger, but in your parents' eyes, she was wiser.
"We've been dating for four years, I think it's a completely reasonable time," Aiko stared incredulously. "You even said you wanted me to marry Riku after he bought Miso treats!"
"I would want you to marry anyone that got Miso treats," you clarified, taking a sip from your chamomile calmly. Aiko stared peeved, furiously scrubbing off the stain on the table left over by a messy customer. Shaking your head, you laughed. "I kid, of course. I'm happy for you and I'm excited for you to get married."
Your sister sighed heavily before staring at your cup. "Finish up quick before I lock you in."
You eventually finished your drink, helping her close up for the night before parting ways. When you got home, an insistent pawing noise came from the balcony doors. Sighing, you grabbed some leftover salmon from the fridge and tossed it onto a paper plate. Miso mewed chattily the moment you slid open the door, bumping his head against your leg needily.
Miso--the name you had adopted-- was not your cat. He was owned by the upstairs neighbors who always left their balcony window open as a quick exit plan for Miso who they refused to pay the pet fees for. The landlord liked to check up on the residents bi-weekly, so it wasn't uncommon to see the furball strolling along the rails outside your window, and even greedily asking for your food. Everyone on your floor also were subject to his purrs, and randomly one day it became an unsaid rule to always feed him when asked and to never alert the landlord of his existence.
You crouched down, placing the plate on the floor for Miso to eat. "Here you go, you little freeloader." He munched happily, letting out small mews of joy. You scratched him behind the ears when he licked the plate clean before heading into the kitchen to make yourself dinner. You settled for some instant beef and rice, collapsing on your couch as the reruns of your favorite reality show aired.
Being an adult was weird. It was always thinking about the next meal or the next errand or the next bill to pay. After you had graduated from college, your parents had expected you to take your exceptional skills in statistics to work for a white-collar firm and get a husband to live with you in the suburbs close to them like your older sister. And when you moved in, you'd have two kids, maybe a dog, living happily with your white picket fence. Instead, you took your bachelor's degree and various awards and landed a job in the most shady, unknown, culty school known as Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. Of course, there was more to the school than just some educational facade--you were well aware of the world of curses and their overarching mission taught in the school due to being exposed to the curses firsthand a few years back. You enjoyed working at the school as a staff member: it paid well and gave enough entertainment to get you through the day. Your parents didn't get it. How could they? If you tried to explain to them that curses and sorcerers were real in this day and age, you would be guilty of pushing their health into a coma. It was easier to just let them be oblivious.
Your parents didn't make it easy for you to live in the city. While Aiko still lived in Meguro a couple of blocks away, she visited home quite regularly to give updates on the cafe to show that it was not only still put together but thriving. You, however, didn't feel much of a reason to visit that often because you were constantly busy trying to account for the mess of a school, and in return your parents never asked you to visit. Their dream for you to be the thriving, obedient daughter was completely discarded.
You weren't sure why the idea of a comfy two-story house with a husband and kids intimidated you. Maybe it was because you knew what was really out there. You would be lying if you said you hadn't at least thought about the life your parents planned for you or marriage as a concept, but every attempt to consolidate those feelings just left you more put off than before.
The Japanese laughing emoticons from the television drifted across the screen, casting pastel reflections onto the furniture. Miso curled up to your side, demanding more pets and a bit of your beef.
"You've become greedy," you seethe through narrowed eyes. He looked up at you innocently, head tilted. You dig your spoon into the rice lazily. "You're hardly ever with your owners. Do you even feel loved?" Miso stared back, head empty. You sigh, surrendering the rest of your meal as you continue to rub the cat's head. "I guess we both don't care that much."
----
You were in the middle of filing a finance report for the reconstruction of the school's recently demolished west wing when a boisterous voice echoed from down the hall. The office seemed to grunt in reply, knowing all too well who would be this chatty early in the morning.
You paid no mind, bringing your coffee with you to print the faxed document you made.
Jun, your subordinate, grumbled as he typed diligently on the computer. "This man has the self-awareness of a sponge. It's only 5 past!"
"So what? At least he makes the mornings more lively," Tsumugi countered over her cubicle. Her braid whipped around as she sighed dreamily. "Besides, he's just so cool~"
"Oh yeah, 'cause disturbing the workspace of us non-sorcerer low-lives is so cool," Jun scorned, marching to the coffee machine to make a cup of black. "I mean, how do these sorcerers think their school still manages to be up and running?!"
"Yeah, how does the school keep running?"
The two bantering co-workers jumped in their position at the familiar voice of Gojo Satoru leaned against the doorpost.
"M-Mr. Gojo!" Tsumugi exclaimed, bowing profusely. Jun flushed, scurrying to make his coffee silently. Your co-workers' panicked behavior was nothing new, really. Being the three non-sorcerers on campus made it easy to feel invisible to the rest of the staff, so whenever Gojo Satoru spontaneously appeared in the office, it was pretty common to see them scrambling to make an impression. You, however, were a bit desensitized to Gojo's antics already.
Tsumugi and Jun were your subordinates, so most of their work pertained to sticking their heads into their computers and staying in the administrator's office. Occasionally students would walk in requesting documents for their student profile, but other than that, the faculty remained pretty isolated from the students and teachers. You, as the superior, often dealt with Principal Yaga and meetings with schools from other districts. You still weren't regarded as that important in terms of figureheads, but you kept the school running and you had a lot more exposure to the sorcerers.
Gojo visiting to annoy the staff was not a foreign concept to you.
Tsumugi tried to recover. "We...we were talking about how it's crazy how well the school has been running! Two new first-years, really exciting news you know?" she used her cheery awkward charm. "Anyway, would you like some coffee?" She glared at Jun expectantly across the room.
Jun jumped in response, making a beeline to hand Gojo his mug.
"Wow, you guys are so nice! Thank you-"
"Stop teasing them Gojo," you interjected with narrow eyes. You nudged Jun away, assuring him that he was only joking, and asked that he finish his assignment by noon to avoid distractions. You returned to the printer, ignoring Gojo's bemused smile.
"Busy at work, I see. Whatchya got there?"
The tall man grabbed the first sheet of paper that slipped out the end, still hot from the machine. He readjusted his mask like they were glasses as if he could see through them. You always wondered if he actually could.
"It's the finance report for the repairs on the west wing." You lowered the top of the sheet, forcing him to look at you from behind. "Take a good look at those numbers and think about them the next time you take your students out on a lesson."
Gojo stared uninterested at the sheet, craning his neck backward lazily. "How do you even understand any of this?"
You snatched the paper back from him, stacking it back with the rest of the freshly printed copies. "It's my job believe it or not. Someone ought to let you know the rigor it takes to deal with the reputation of this shady school and how it often asks for repairs every other month. Once a month! Minimum!" You continued your tangent as the sheets printed, adding more copies to your stack, completely ignoring the snot bubble appearing from Gojo's snores. "Are you sleeping?"
That jolted him awake. You rolled your eyes, knowing he wasn't the type to dabble in mundane tasks or wonder what it was like to have a normal reputation. "Anyway, don't you have a meeting with the Elders this morning? Why're you still here?"
The sorcerer sighed, scratching his neck as he leaned against the wall. "I hate hearing old people speak. They're always like 'No Gojo, this is wrong! Execute this person, kill this person by tomorrow, kill yourself!' They give me a headache."
You deadpanned. "Isn't the meeting for that newcomer's execution? That kid's life is depending on you."
"Everyone's life depends on me," he corrected, grabbing your coffee mug and glancing inside. It was a custom-made porcelain mug that had a tiny cat in the middle of the cup once you drank halfway. Gojo smiled, pointing at the coffee. "Wow, I didn't know you liked cute things! You're always so scary and cold all the time-"
You whacked him with the copies and jabbed at the doorway. "Go to your meeting. Now."
Eventually, you managed to kick the sorcerer out and get back to your report. You were on the way to Principal Yaga's office when your cell phone rang in your back pocket. It was your mother. You sighed, mentally preparing for the usual life update interrogation before answering.
Unsurprisingly, you were immediately greeted with an earful about why it took you so long to answer and how long it's been since you last called. You calmed them down with a story about going to the market (they usually eat that shit up) and visiting your sister last night. You were caught off guard when they asked you about having a boyfriend. You choked.
"What?"
"Yes, a boyfriend! Aiko will already be married at the beginning of summer. What about you, hah?!"
You weren't exactly unfamiliar with your parents' nagging for a partner. Quite frankly, it happened more often than you'd like to admit, and you suspected that since your younger sister was already intent on seeing her boyfriend at the altar, your parents would be more relentless than ever.
You wanted to laugh. "Why? What's the rush?"
"You want to go to the wedding without a date? What will your aunties say? What do you want me to say to them? That my daughter is already middle-aged and has no husband?!"
This time you couldn't even hide your laugh.
"What's so funny, hah?!"
Clearing your throat, you recomposed yourself. "Don't worry about it Mom, I'll have a date," you said sarcastically, leaning against the corridor post.
There was scratchy shuffling from the other end of the line. You could imagine your dad hobbling across the room to hear more about your juicy non-existent love life. "What do you mean? You have a boyfriend?" It was your dad's voice this time.
"Hah! Not my daughter," your mom's voice sounded distant in the background.
The slight insult hardly stunned you. "Oh yeah, yeah. We've been going out for a month. He's tall, a real charmer. You'd like him." You rolled your eyes, thumbing through the numbered sheets. "Oh my my, he's rich too."
There was more constant chatter from the other end. You knew they likely didn't believe you. You were known to be the most sarcastic and unapproachable out of the three siblings, and if it came down to it, you wouldn't be telling your parents about your romantic encounters out of sheer pride. It was a harmless prank, one to blow over in a millisecond, and you were keen they weren't going to ask you too much about boyfriends again for-
"Okay, we'll meet you this weekend. Bring your boyfriend." The call ended without a goodbye.
You stood still, the phone still against your ear as you stared utterly stunned at the corridor walls. You considered calling them back to clear the miscommunication, or even sending a severely unserious text message that said 'JK!' with a bunch of demon and fire emojis to clarify, but knowing your parents, they were already packing their backs for a minor weekend trip an hour away. You could only imagine the disappointed look on your dad's face and the unsurprised one from your mom. You sighed, completely surrendering, ready to type in an excuse when an amused voice came from over your shoulder.
"You have a boyfriend?"
You nearly jumped in surprise, but you managed to write your expression as an annoyed eyebrow raised. You whipped around to see the white-haired sorcerer looming over you curiously. If his mischievous expression or close proximity affected you in any way, you didn't show it. "What's it to you?"
Gojo straightened upright, placing his hands on his hips with a smile as he glanced away. "Nothing really. Just curious since you don't seem the type to date."
This made your eye twitch. It was enough having your parents constantly getting nosy about your love life, but having Gojo Satoru reinforce how unapproachable you were just made you more peeved.
"Meeting. Elders. Go."
Gojo obliged, but it didn't stop his whimsical self from running away with a wave. "See you!" he chirped as he left.
You stared at him incredulously before turning back to your phone to deal with the issue at hand. You came back to a spur of messages from your mom about taking you out to dinner and bringing you her old dress for you to wear for your older sister's restaurant opening with lots of flowers and smiley emojis. God, why did she have to sound so nice on text?
A pained groan escaped your lips as you realized you couldn't back out of it now. At least they were visiting, although you weren't so sure they were going to be happy about the lack of wedding bands around your finger. You sighed.
Well, shit.