Chapter Text
It’s been a month since Nanami Kento’s death, another name carved into what is now referred to as the Shibuya Incident.
Nanami was nothing if not a methodical and well thought out human being. The man had probably planned out most days of his existence as could be humanly predictable. Of course, being in their line of work, a concept such as predictability isn’t anything they can rely on.
Nanami seemed to do just fine.
Gojo should have known the man would have a plan, or rather strategy, for his death.
A list, to be precise.
Written in black ink, folded three times and sealed in a nondescript envelope and entrusted to the person most trusted to carry out his business post-life. It's an honour to be called upon by someone as prestigious as Nanami Kento, who many people believed was an upstanding citizen and a sorcerer of great moral integrity.
Surely Gojo can now officially consider himself one and the same, if such a man would trust him with such integral tasks like-
1. Cancel 'Global Economics Review' Subscription.
And...
2. Return Shoko’s copy of Human Anatomy Volume.1
Gojo frowns. Well... this isn’t exactly the heavy weight responsibility he’d been expecting. He finds himself annoyed how his dear friend thought this was all he was capable of. Errands. The afterthoughts of a life too ordered to leave loose ends.
There's only three requests listed. The last is underlined, stressing it's significance.
3. Please have Ino Takuma report to you from now on. Make him explain Kirin.
It is imperative you do this with haste, Satoru.
Must be serious, if he’s using his first name. Gojo puts the list back in the envelope. Rests it on the tabletop of his home. And stares at it for a long time.
As a sorcerer he is familiar with the weight and touch of grief, and greets her like an old friend.
Ino Takuma...
He remembers seeing the kid at Nanami’s funeral, standing at the back of the quite large crowd, pale and exhausted, staring blankfaced at his shoes. In reflection, the kid was probably still in shock and healing from the Shibuya incident.
Gojo had heard second-hand from Yuji and Megumi how Nanami instructed the three of them to work as a team, how Ino took on two curse users by himself. Apparently he’d lost an eye, but he seemed to have two at the funeral. They were red-rimmed and hollow.
He hadn’t thought much about him at the time, after all the kid didn’t even speak when the funeral director asked if anyone would like to share a few words about the man. Even Yuji went up and said something blunt but heartfelt about Nanami’s wisdom.
Gojo thinks he should've paid more attention.
The first years look more morose today than usual. Shibuya looms over like a cloud of rain. It’s been a real effort trying to bring their spirits back up. Gojo's been assigning them easier curses to deal with in order to boost their confidence, but this seem like it’s done the opposite.
Gojo inquires about it as they trudge through the school gates.
“That dumb level 3 curse got away,” Megumi grumbles.
“Slipped into a sewer without us noticing and we lost it in the pipes,” Yuuji adds. “Thing looked like an eel.”
"How did you not notice? The thing is fucking huge," Megumi asks scathingly.
Yuuji shrugs. "Beats me."
Nobara slinks along behind them, uncannily silent. That’s her new normal, it seems. Still reeling from her close call with death in Shibuya. Some of her fire has been doused, and she walks around as if she's expecting everyone to be disappointed.
She’ll come right eventually. They all will.
Gojo smiles at them. “You’ll get it next time, i’m sure”
He see's Ino that afternoon, skateboarding through the school. Kid's got sunglasses and a pair of headphones on, blocking out something if not the world.
Gojo steps onto the pathway, left hand in pocket, right hand raised for a wave.
Ino doesn't seem to notice there's someone in his way, music blasting too loud, eyes not really seeing, and end's up crashing face first into Gojo's chest. The skateboard kicks out from under his feet and he stumbles backwards.
"Shit, sorry-" His voice cuts off and his posture turns rigid when he looks up at his object of collision. "G-Gojo Sensei!" Ino takes off his sunglasses and wow, it looks like the kid hasn't slept in weeks. His eyes are deeply silhouetted in darkness, like someone's gone and given him two punches right in each of his eyes.
"You look terrible," he finds himself saying.
Ino blinks, unsure how to respond. "Oh."
"I was told to ask you about Kirin."
Immediately the kid bristles. His aura changes into something dark and defensive, and he looks away to the ground, like the avoidance of eye contact is going to be able to stop Gojo from prying into his life.
"I don't know what you mean," Ino bites out politely. His eyes land on something in the bushes, his escaped skateboard, and he dodges around Gojo's imposing figure to retrieve it. "Excuse me, i have to hand in a mission report."
Gojo watches him leave, disappointed but not discouraged.
It seems he'll have to do his own research.
He get's a copy of Ino’s student file. It’s awfully underwhelming in it’s documentation.
Ino’s time at Jujitsu High seems a lonely one. He was enrolled at 14, which is only slightly interesting since most students aren’t allowed until they’re 16.
He suspects this is due to the significant lack in students the years prior. At the time of his admittance there was only two other students at the school, fourth years who were both proclaimed deceased shortly after their graduation, and there hadn’t been any new students until this years current third years came along, and by then Ino had already graduated.
Gojo hadn’t taken into consideration how lucky he was as a teacher at this school to actually have students… suppose it's so rare that somebody is born a jujitsu sorcerer in the first place, it’s common for there to be gaps where there's nobody around to train.
All in all, Ino's experience as a student must have been quite boring. Having to deal with Kyoto High on his own for the annual Goodwill Event would've sucked. Those guys are annoying as hell.
Gojo reads to the end of the page, looking at the details of Ino’s promotion to Grade 3 in his third year and to Grade 2 in his fourth year. Reads about how most of his missions as a student were solo, obviously, since he had nobody to go with.
At lease his independence as a fighter is strong.
Apparently he was adept at hand to hand combat even in his first year, with 'reflexes equivalent to Grade 1' but noted as not very bright in regards to tactical intellect. There’s no notes here other than hesitates in battle.
Right, okay, well Gojo can train the hesitation out of him. As long as the kid has some smart’s, which he must if he’s survived this far out of school on his own.
It really speaks on how unremarkable the kid is that Gojo, who has been flicking in and out of Tokyo Jujitsu High over the years since his own graduation doesn’t even remember seeing the kid on campus.
Not that he would have had the time to notice, having been too busy trying to navigate his faux adoption with Megumi and the manifestation of his legendary cursed technique Ten Shadows. Ino’s own abilities pale in comparison, there’s not a chance for him to stand out to be noticed.
Gojo suppresses a yawn of boredom.
In conclusion, Ino Takuma is just another banal sorcerer. Great.
If Nanami hadn’t personally requested for Gojo to seek the kid out, there’s no way someone as substandard as this would even be near his radar. But Nanami’s always had a soft spot for the underdogs. And now Gojo has to pay the price.
Suppose all his friend is asking for him is to have this kid report to him… whatever that means. Report what?
He shifts into a more comfortable position, resting his feet up on the bleacher seats as he oversees the training between the first and second years. At least Gojo can have a little more gratitude for the strength of his current students. He even claps lazily when Nobara lands a blow on Maki.
The girls look up at him, put off guard when they sense his attention is focused on them.
Gojo makes a carry on motion with his hand, and seeing his little first years determined smile after all she went through at Shibuya (almost dying and all that, thank god Gojo didn’t have to attend TWO funerals) reminds him why he’s far more satisfied being a teacher than he is a full time Sorcerer.
Defeating curses is boring after awhile, especially when the few which really challenge him only come along once every couple of years or so.
Creating little Curse Destroyers is far more fun.
And Gojo rather likes working with with other users innate techniques. Likes to figure out the different characteristics of their power and how it can be used optimally in combat.
Ino Takuma’s innate technique seems to be a point of much debate. There’s notes in here from Principle Yaga, who’s seems to be the one that was predominantly instructing Ino, or at least the one who bothered to fill out the kids file.
Gojo reads...
Auspicious Beast Summon.
Even his technique is solitary. A type of seance technique, where Ino takes on the attributes and abilities of the beasts instead of summoning them as their own beings to fight alongside him, like one does with Shikigami.
Finally, something he can get excited about with this kid. Something he would be intrigued to read about…
If there was anything to actually fucking read.
It's like whoever filled this out couldn't be bothered. A bunch of scribbles in pencil that- wait, is this Ino's own handwriting?
Why the hell did the school make him fill out his own file?
Who authorised-
“Hey! Are we just meant to hit each other all day, or are you actually going to have some input here, like a proper teacher.” Maki’s glaring up at him, hands on her hips with a defeated Nobara and Megumi (Gojo didn’t even notice that he’d joined, oops) puffing on the ground.
“Of course!” he says leisurely. “Gold star for you Maki.”
Megumi and Nobara protest with whining, but he can see Maki’s lips curl up ever so slightly as she turns her face away. Gold stars never fail to make even the toughest of characters twinkle.
He’ll have to continue his investigation on Ino at a later date, when he doesn’t have actual students to attend to.
The next time he see's Ino iis n the hallway of one of the training rooms, the kid takes one startled look at his approaching figure and turns straight back around, hightailing it away. Gojo could easily catch him, but decides against it after such a blatant display of avoidance.
He'll find him later anyway.
Whilst there is little information, Gojo learns what he can.
Ino Takuma’s innate technique has four components, or rather, four beasts.
Kaichi, seems to be the favourable one since it’s the one mentioned most prominently in Ino’s reports. A telepathically controlled horn formed out of thin air that will damage any target. A little bland in Gojo's opinion.
Reiki is of a water based nature. Coating the body in cursed energy transmuted into telepathically manipulated water, giving the user a kind of soft armour. Another simple technique, but paired with Kaichi’s horn it means the kid has both offensive and defensive in his skill set.
Gojo picks up his morning coffee and takes a sip.
Across from him, Shoko does the same, nose deep in her recently returned copy of Human Anatomy V.1.
They’ve taken to spending more time together. Now that he’s taken on the more stable (location wise) job as teacher here at the Tokyo college, he’s been around more often to catch her. Gojo enjoys the moment of peace, and Shoko is the only member of staff here who he doesn’t mind willingly spending time with.
Noticing his staring, she looks up. She has no makeup on this early and her hair is tied up in the messy kind of way that reminds him of their early school years together. She doesn’t speak, settling Gojo with an analysing stare as she tilts her head to the side.
Gojo mimics her, tilting his head too.
“You’re rather loud this morning,” she says after a long moment of staring and head tilting.
“I haven’t said anything.”
Her eyes flicker to the file in his hands, her expression kept blank, and then back to her own book. “Hm.”
Gojo flips the page of Ino’s file.
Ah, finally the subject of much concern.
Auspicious Beast Number Three - Kirin.
Technique causes intracerebral doping to nullify users sense of pain.
Well that’s helpful, if you’re losing. Ideally one wouldn’t have to get to that point.
Warning: use of Kirin will cause insomnia and brain—
There’s obviously been more written down, but something, or rather someone has come along and scribbled out the information. Gojo attempts to read what’s underneath but the scribbles make the letters indistinguishable.
Insomnia huh?
So he just needs to put the kid to bed. Well that sounds easy enough…
What the hell had Nanami been so pressed about?
Annoyed and somewhat confused, Gojo reads about the last component, Ryu, which is basically a final blow type of attack, and apparently quite lethal. It’s brought about by concentrating cursed energy around the sorcerers hands and summoning a dragon.
This, Gojo would like to see in action. He loves dragons.
“No luck again?”
This time, the 1st years are angry instead of morose.
“Lost it in a swamp,” Yuuji says, scratching his head. “I don’t even remember when it got away on us. We must have been looking there for at least an hour before we realised.”
Gojo looks at the mud covered all the way to their knees. There’s even some on Megumi’s head.
“I’m going to the showers,” Nobara says, arms folded defensively. “I can feel mud in my socks.” She storms away, her two classmates following closely behind.
For someone as persistent and skilfully unparalleled as Gojo Satoru, he sure has a hard time hunting the kid down. What makes it difficult is he doesn’t have access to the kids living quarters like he does all the other students, because Ino’s not a student anymore. He’s 21, technically an adult, although Gojo thinks back to when he was that age and most certainly wouldn’t have considered himself much of an adult at all.
There’s no records of Ino Takuma’s place of residency other than ‘Campus Graduate Lodgings’, a place for sorcerers to live if they don’t have a family compound or any other form of accommodation to return to after graduation. It’s quite common for those who don’t come from families with sorcery in their lineage to chose to stay on the College grounds, as it can be hard to reintegrate back into normal society after spending four years away training, not to mention the solitude of being the only one in your neighbourhood to understand how fucked up the world is.
How close it is to destruction every day and how taxing that fact can be on the soul.
The lodgings have always reminded Gojo of little bird houses built into the treetops. It’s tucked right back in the far corner of campus, in a little crevice of the mountain with a stream trickling down the middle. Dare he say it, it’s nicer than the Teachers Suites. More peaceful, more secluded than where Gojo sleeps on the occasions when he doesn’t feel like going home to his family compound.
He has no problem finding which one Ino Takuma inhabits. The kid’s just sitting on his balcony, soaking up the last few hours of the afternoon sun before the chill of autumn night settles in.
Gojo’s surprised to find a book in his hand. The kid was described as ‘not very bright’ in his file, so he hadn’t figured him as someone who would read recreationally.
He spends a moment to observe from the pathway, takes in the loose fitting clothing and beanie, which he knows is the main tool needed for Ino to activate his innate technique. He wonders if any mask will do, and how much of the face needs to be covered for the technique to be in play.
So engrossed in his book, Ino doesn’t notice the Special Grade sorcerer standing not 10 feet away. This technically isn’t a demonstration of Ino’s threat awareness ability, since Gojo technically isn’t a threat to him, and the whole point of living on Campus is that you’re meant to feel safe and protected at all times.
Still, an unpredicted appearance of strength on the level of Gojo’s should be setting off some instinctual alarm bells, at least enough for acknowledgement.
He makes it to the start of the stone steps leading up to Ino’s little cabin before he has to make himself known.
“Whatcha reading?”
Like a disturbed cat, Ino leaps into the air with fright. His eyes, which Gojo notes are even more bloodshot and hollowed out with dark circles than he'd seen him last, land on him incredulously. As if Gojo Satoru is the very last person he would expect to be on his front doorstep. It’s obvious even without Ino’s instantly guarded expression that Kirin is already serving as an issue for him. Kid looks insanely sleep deprived, and it’s probably why he didn’t seem to notice Gojo’s presence earlier.
Gojo shares the sentiment.
They stare at each other. Ino isn’t very forthcoming with the name of his book (Gojo’s already seen the front page anyway, and hasn’t ever read The Hobbit but thinks he's seen it in Megumi’s hands years ago).
“So, you wanna tell me about Kirin now?”
“Kirin?” he repeats, sounding utterly awful.
“Yes. You know, your third little beastie that won’t let you sleep.” Gojo feels the best way to approach this situation is by being direct. “I know using Kirin causes you sleep deprivation and from the looks of you,” here he dips his glasses to look Ino in the eyes (ego boosting as it always does when, like many others, Ino flinches at the shock of it), ”you are very much deprived. So, why don’t you tell me about your experience of things and we can figure this out together.”
He patiently waits as Ino’s poor little overwrought brain tries to catch up. He wonders how long the kid’s been like this, and why nobody’s bothered to check in on him… well, he supposes Nanami would be the one to check on him usually, being his mentor and all that.
And Nanami did specifically leave the task to him.
It is imperative you do this with haste, Satouru.
Well.. he might be a little late, but he's here now.
Ino gathers enough of himself to croak out, “It’s fine Sir, i’m handling it myself.”
Not the response Gojo was hoping for, but it was one he had been expecting.
“Now now,” he says, walking the rest of the way up the stairs to stand menacingly over Ino at the top. “That’s not what i asked.”
Kid’s not very tall. Nor wide. The word runt comes to mind when Gojo looks up close now. Skinny. Small. He doesn’t usually deal with runts. Yuuta and Innumaki are a little runty looking, but that’s because they’re young. And they both have pretty powerful abilities.
Not water coats and sleep deprivation.
Ino looks down at his feet, takes a deep breath, and looks back up with a fake smile that Gojo thinks is meant to put him at ease. “Kirin just get’s me a little wired sometimes. It’s nothing to worry about Sir, i’m capable of dealing with this myself. All i need is some time alone and—“
“I don't think you're capable of handling this yourself," Gojo cuts him off. "If you were i wouldn't be standing here.” He doesn’t mean it to sound so patronising, but he’s already getting impatient with this entire interaction. Why won’t he just answer his questions? “I just want to help."
Ino's face flashes with defiance. "I didn't ask for your help."
"Well, lucky for you someone did on your behalf."
That earns him a confused head shake from Ino and an uncertain step backwards. "What does that even mean?" he mumbles.
"Come on," Gojo's running out of patience. "The sooner you speak, the sooner i can leave, hm?"
He want’s to say, i’m your superior so do what i say, you sleepless little brat, but understands how detrimental that would be to the end goal.
Ino folds his arms defensively, but finally begins to mumble his way through an explanation. Thank god, because Gojo was about to resort to threats.
“It doesn’t happen all the time.” Ino says, unconvincingly.
“Of course it doesn’t," Gojo replies, a little patronising.
“I think it happens if my nervous system doesn’t like, settle down afterwards, like if i stay stressed out then Kirin sticks around even if i take my mask off.”
Ah yes, he remembers reading in the notes ‘Ability is nullified on mask removal’. It doesn’t sound too promising. An incredibly unhelpful effect. All someone has to do to render Ino useless is remove an item of clothing.
“Go on," he orders.
Ino fiddles with the corner of his book, folding the already creased cover over and over. “I mean i can still feel pain and all, but my stamina and cursed energy is constantly drained, and it won’t stop until i sleep. But it won’t let me sleep… so… “ he trails off, annoyed.
“Right. So you need to regulate your nervous system before you can lay down.” Gojo rubs his chin in thought. “How have you managed this in the past?”
Ino grimaces. “Nanami would help. He used to make me meditate and shit with him. Or we’d like, read together. Or do breathing exercises but i’ve been doing those and i’ve been trying to calm down, i even tried sleeping pills but it’s not fucking working,” Ino says, sounding frustrated and exhausted. “And I’m fucking loosing my shit because i’m too stupid to figure it out-“
“Woah, calm it down, kiddo,” he interrupts, “Why haven’t you gone to see Shoko?”
“I have, she can’t help.”
Unusual. “Why not?”
Ino shrugs unhelpfully, looking more tired than he has all day.
Obviously Nanami knew this was an unresolved issue, and that Ino, especially when in this state, isn’t going to be able to help himself. It requires outside assistance. Lucky for Ino, his mentor has just passed the fate of his wellbeing onto the smartest and most skilled sorcerer in the world.
Ino must take his silence as abandonment which seem’s to prompt more hurried speech. “Look it’s fine, seriously. I appreciate your help and all but I’ll calm down eventually.”
There’s false reassurance in his voice. Gojo isn't fooled. “How long have you been awake?”
Ino’s shoulders shrug upwards then hunch together, and Gojo can visibly see the kid retreating into his shell, unwilling to answer the question.
“Kid-“
“I’m not a kid!”
Right.
Because he’s the adult here and not the sleep deprived child, (Gojo pettily emphasises this title in his head) he doesn’t snap back with something mean and snarky.
But Nanami’s ominous order in his letter to 'make him' rings through his head, and the sun’s going down, it’s getting cold and Gojo’s getting bored of this now. Sure he want’s to help, but he didn’t sign up for this kind of teeth pulling.
“Look, i just need to know what i’m working with here. How long has it been since your nervous system’s been settled.”
Ino rubs his face. “I don’t know.”
“If you tell me i’ll leave you alone.”
When Ino takes his hands away, his eyes are wet. There’s no tears, but his expression is awfully lost and brokenhearted. “Since Shibuya.”
Ah, of course. The event that set off Ino’s nervous system. The stressful trigger that won’t let him leave fight or flight, that has Kirin still activated on some level.
It’s Nanami’s death.
Something’s changed. With the first years. Something is very much not as it was. It’s subtle, this new thing, like a change of wind. Invisible yet still felt.
Gojo speculates with a keen awareness, looking up from his online research article Treating the Parasympathetic Nervous System to watch the 3 vs. Panda fight taking place on the field.
He’s restricted their use of cursed techniques to only once throughout the whole faux battle. Megumi’s already used up his summons, and Yuuji’s succeeded in landing a cursed energy fuelled punch to Panda’s stomach, but they’re surprisingly not very good at keeping up with an opponent who’s willing to keep running away as an option.
Gojo should think on some ways to train them on this. Catching curses is a big part of exorcising them, they’re not all gonna be hanging out in a school classroom or jail cell just waiting for a sorcerer to approach.
Their current trouble with this level 3 curse is case in point.
For now, he can’t quite put his finger on what’s going on with the three of them until he sees Yuuji pull back on an opportunity to attack and rush to Nobara’s flank when Panda makes it appear as though his next strike is aimed at her, Megumi following suit the moment he see’s Yuuji’s direction shift, moving to stand near the girl.
Ahhh, that;s it. Their dynamics are different
Megumi and Yuuji, (Yuuji especially) have started changing their fighting strategy so their main instinct is now centred around protecting Nobara. How curious.
Gojo assumes this is because Nobara, whilst a very strong comrade-in-arms, is technically considered the weak link between the three of them when in comparison to Megumi, a descendant of the Zenin clan and Yuuji, the living vessel of Sukuna.
Although this has never affected their fighting style before, as Gojo trains all his students to be independent fighters and to play to each other’s strengths, it’s surely a problem now.
One Panda is noticing and taking advantage of, as the giant bear fakes a strike at Nobara then switching mid air to fling Megumi to the ground in his haste to defend her.
Hmm…
“All right, that’ll do for today,” he says. “Go hit the showers.” The kids don’t argue with their early retirement. Gojo waves at them as they pass by, then in a fit of impulsivity he calls, “Panda, if you wouldn’t mind waiting around a moment, i’d like you’re opinion on something.”
He wait’s until the first years have disappeared from the field before he speaks. “Did you notice what i noticed?”
“If you mean the fact that i couldn’t come within five meters of Nobara before the other two stepped in to take the blow, then yes,” Panda says, stretching out his muscles. “But i noticed it weeks ago. All us 2nd years have.”
Weeks ago? This is news to Gojo.
“You obviously have theories by now. You’ve been hanging out with them more causally.” Panda will have insight that, as a teacher, Gojo wouldn’t ever be privy to. Gossip is indeed a useful method of gathering intelligence.
Panda scratches his ears, uncomfortable. “Well, Maki’s probably the one to ask about it. She’s the one who pointed it out to us in the first place.” Us meaning him and the rest of the second years, Yuuta and Innumaki.
“I’m asking you.”
“Right,” Panda says, “Well, we think it’s something spurred on from the Shibuya accident.”
Gojo’s conversation from yesterday with Ino briefly rings to the forefront of his mind. “Go on.”
Panda explains how they think it’s a trauma response to almost loosing Nobara. Intensified from the time they’d lost Yuuji, because they know now Yuuji has the ability to come back to life, but Nobara is simply a human.
She doesn’t have the abilities of the King of Curses running through her veins.
Her mortality is so much more prevalent, and Gojo knows the country girl has been shocked to her core from this experience. Both her confidence and sense of adventure have been noticeably lacking, and it’s seemed to have awakened some instinctual need for protection from her year mates.
“All this defence sure does make it annoying in combat,” Panda adds. “Although predictable.”
Predictability doesn’t worry him. Most curses don’t have the judgment to predict a reoccurring style of strategy in battle, especially not one as elusive as this.
Still, they’re far more closer than Gojo had expected them to be, and he doesn’t know how to feel about this development. He told Megumi once, it doesn’t matter how many allies you have around you. When you die, you’ll be alone.
It seems the kid has chosen not to listen to him. Typical.
Perhaps he should give them all a lecture on self-preservation and the solitude of sorcery.
Speaking of solitude, he spies Ino Takuma slinking along the trail just to the side of the combat field. He wonders what the kid’s doing, and if he’s managed to get any sleep.
Panda follows his gaze, squinting as Ino disappears into the shady overgrowth of forest on the track.
“Do you still need my opinion? Sensei?”
Gojo’s already stalking across the field in pursuit of Ino when Panda asks this, “No thanks. You’ve been a great help.”
He pin’s Ino coming out of the administration office, where qualified sorcerers go to file their mission reports. He doesn’t look any better than yesterday. In fact he looks worse, as if he’s just been out fighting curses.
Of course, that’s exactly what he’s been doing. Because he hasn’t been taken off the goddamn roster.
Gojo changes direction without breaking his pace.
“I’m withdrawing Ino Takuma from active duty.”
Principle Yaga raises an eyebrow. It’s not unlike his old student to enter his office and demand things from him, however commanding a complete withdrawal of a sorcerer is most unusual. Gojo Satoru’s usually in here to blatantly argue about a decision like this, not advocate.
“For what purpose.”
“He’s medically unfit.”
Ino Takuma was an unexpected arrival on the school campus. Yaga had been in the process of leaving his position as teacher and trying to find a replacement when the scruffy street kid showed up out of nowhere at the school gates.
He remembers Ino to be a very independent student. Which was fortunate, as Yaga had been most resentful of being thrust into the teaching position for another four years, and had hardly the energy to give much instructions other than ‘ask the third years, they’ve been through this before’.
Yaga’s own sorcery training was rather informal. And he didn’t have access to the internet like the kids nowadays do. The kid turned out fine, he's not dead yet.
Yaga smooths over his moustache. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” Gojo nods. Arms folded across his chest. “At least for now.”
“You do understand you don’t have the power to withdraw a sorcerer from-“
“No, i don’t understand,” Gojo quips, “And i don’t care to.” Yaga is far to used to this kind of lashing out from Gojo to be goaded into an argument anymore. “Ino Takuma is unfit to fight even a grade 4 curse right now, and if i see him out in the field without my strict authorisation i’ll—“
Yaga waves him away. “Fine, whatever. Ino’s not a priority to the school anyway, do what you want with him.”
Gojo blinks, expecting more of a fight.
He's reminded of the hierarchy of importance the sorcerer world follows, and the basic rule: if you’re not form a prominent clan, or so powerful that it demands attention, you’re basically left alone.
The 1st years are out with Nitta investigating some curses in a mental asylum, having given the wiley level 3 curse they’d been chasing the past few weeks to the 2nd years, to see if they have any better luck with it. They’d set off this afternoon with a sort of competitiveness in their step.
All this means is that Gojo has a spare day to investigate further into Ino’s case.
He finds Shoko not in the medical bay where she usually is, but instead in the library, coveted away in a little reading nook with her laptop. Her hair is out and her shoes are off, tidily pushed together under her chair, socked feet crossed at the ankle.
With his hands in his pockets, he saunters up to her table. She doesn’t acknowledge his presence until he clears his throat, and even still she doesn’t break from tapping away at her keyboard.
“Looking for something?” she drawls.
“For you actually,” he replies.
She huffs humorously. “In that case, you’re obviously extremely bored and i’m extremely unlucky.”
“Perhaps it’s the opposite. Perhaps i’m extremely interested and you’re extremely lucky.”
Shoko rolls her eyes.
He takes Ino Takuma’s file from inside his jacket and pitches it to the table. Shoko’s fingers cease tapping, and from over the laptop screen he can see her eyes snap to the name at the top.
“It’s getting thicker,” she says, reaching out and sliding it over for closer inspection. “Been adding to it, Gojo?”
“Just some footnotes,” he says dismissively. “Care to elaborate on your own contribution?”
Shoko sighs apathetically. “By law i'm not allowed to. It's called patient/doctor confidentiality.”
“It’s important.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“Don’t be difficult. You signed him off as being fully healed, but you knew about his insomnia.” He levels her with a sharp look.
Her demeanour turns a little more serious as she flips through to her most recent report. There’s not many medical reports in the file. Either Ino never get’s hurt or he never goes to medical after. Gojo has a feeling it’s the latter.
“Yes, i did him sign him off,” she confirms, “His eye is completely fine, it healed perfectly. And he told me his insomnia was curable on it’s own. Claimed he just needed to be prescribed sleeping pills.”
“Well, they’re not working,” Gojo grits.
“Hmm, shock,” she says, like she already knew the sleeping pills wouldn't be effective.
“A human is regarded as clinically insane after 72 hours. It’s been over a month, how is the kid still able to walk around?”
It’s honestly off-putting.
“Well," Shoko steeples her fingers, tone thoughtful, "my guess is he’s stopping his brain from eating itself through Reverse Curse Technique.”
Ahh... That’ll be why Ino isn’t zombified.
Why he can still walk around and have coherent conversations. But Kirin’s been draining his cursed energy, so it must be goddamn exhausting for the kid to be constantly dipping into his reserves and healing himself.
It’s lucky Gojo took him off the roster. Kid would’ve been annihilated otherwise. It's a surprise he'd lasted this long.
“Why haven’t you followed up? Made sure he was sleeping.”
Shoko’s eyebrow twitches, and after all these years of friendship Gojo knows when he’s hit a nerve. “What do you expect me to do? I'm not going to run around after every sorcerer who's injured and stubborn. If he doesn’t want to come to medical then i can’t force him. And he’s not your student, so you can’t make him either.’
Make him… Guess that's what Nanami used to do.
“There’s no proper standard of medical fitness for a sorcerer to be out in the field,” Shoko continues. “I’m trying to get one, which will force sorcerers like Ino to take their health more seriously, but for now all I can do is wait for him to come back. Hopefully not on deaths door.”
“I took him off active duty.”
Shoko laughs disbelievingly. “God, the perks of being all powerful… If i'd suggested that i'd be running the risk of defamation. It’s like my doctorate means nothing to those old bastards.” She shakes her head in annoyance. Which is fair, it must be pretty annoying to have the kind of knowledge and credentials she does and still not be taken seriously by the higher-ups. “How did he take it?”
“Not sure, haven’t seen him. I’m sure he’ll understand.”
“Well, good luck with that,” she says, amused. She closes the file and flicks it back over to Gojo. “You need to settle his nerves first before you try get him to sleep. Make him feel safe.” Make him. “He can’t do it himself.”
Yes, Gojo knows that. The kid is remarkably terrible at it. “How do i do that?”
She returns to her laptop. “Read him a bedtime story or something. Maybe take him to a bar and get him black out drunk, that works for me when i can’t sleep,” she says with a joking curve to her lips. She rolls her eyes at her companions unimpressed stare. “Honestly, Satoru, I don’t know why you thought i’d have the answers. I’m a physician not a psychologist.”
Gojo leaves but he can still hear her mummer grudgingly, “Nobody cared to listen to me when i requested we get one of those.”
“I swear it’s got some sort of invisibility or something, because i searched that damn barn for hours…“
“Nothing got past me either, and i definitely wouldn’t have missed it. I just got new glasses. ”
“Salmon.”
“Well how in the hell did it make it to the train tracks without any of us noticing! And why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“Kelp.”
“No way, it’s a level 3, it cannot be that intelligent.”
The second years look like they might have been in a fight with a tornado, for all their scuffed with dirt cheeks and shredded clothing. Inumaki has literal feathers in his hair. Gojo regards them amusedly.
“I take it the hunt didn’t go quite as planned?”
They all glare at him.
There’s the faintest trace of cursed energy, and then a slight stinging sensation on Gojo’s shoulder, as if he’s been ever so briefly pricked with a bee. The sensation disappears almost the moment his unexpected guest arrives.
“You took me off active duty?”
Gojo hadn’t expected to have this conversation on his family compound’s front steps. Nobody’s ever been stupid enough to trespass into the home of the most powerful man in the world, but alas, here Ino Takuma is, shaky and sickly and looking like a large exhale would tip him right over.
Kid can’t keep walking around like this.
There’s groceries in Gojo’s hands. Milk and eggs demanding to be put away and a dinner in need of preparation. Well... heating up.
He doesn’t really want to have this conversation with an overtired and slightly psychotic 21 yr old on an empty stomach.
“Why don’t you come inside for a little bit. Have some dinner. I’m having leftover Bolognese.” He casually opens his door and walks inside. “Close that behind you."
There’s a two minute interlude where he doesn’t hear anything, where Ino’s outside debating with himself if he should enter the home of such a dangerous man, and then the sound of the door closing and soft footsteps.
There's a lost look on Ino’s face once he finds himself actually inside the house.
“Would you like something to drink?” Gojo offers.
Ino blinks like he’s in a trance. “You took me off duty,” he says instead, this time his voice sounds sad.
“I did,” Gojo confirms.
“But i’m a good sorcerer. I’m grade two.”
“Well, grade two isn’t really something to be proud of,” Gojo says off-handily, dividing the leftover pasta into two bowls. "My grandmother is considered Grade 2."
Ino’s face falls. "Oh."
"Twice now i've approached you without your awareness. Imagine if i'd been a curse, or something with malicious intent. You can't be out in the field with that kind of ailment."
“But… am i…. do i have to move away?”
“What?” Gojo closes the microwave door and turns to look at his impromptu guest.
Ino’s wringing his hands, demeanour distressed. “I don’t have anywhere else to live. I-I don’t know where i’m supposed to go if i can’t stay-“
“I’ve just taken you off active duty, not revoked your grade, or your association to Jujitsu High. You don’t have to go anywhere.”
If anything, this just makes Ino more confused. “But- But how am i supposed to earn rent if i can’t help out?”
Ah, Gojo sees the problem here. Ino’s equating his usefulness as a sorcerer to his welcome into Jujitsu High. And the entire sorcery community itself, he supposes.
“Have you honestly looked at yourself in the mirror lately?” Gojo says.
“I told you i’m dealing with it.”
“Yeah, well, not fast enough.”
That makes the kid falter. Makes him shrink backwards and wring his hands harder. It’s like he’s trying to remove his fingers from his palms. Looks painful. Gojo slaps a bowl of food and a spoon down in front of him before he dislocates anything.
Ino doesn't look enthusiastic. “I’m not-“
“If you’re about to tell me you’re not hungry, i’ll throw a conniption,” Gojo scorns. “You look like a skeleton who’s skin forgot to decompose.”
Ino puts his head down.
Gojo eats his dinner whilst making painful conversation and pretending like his young guest isn’t picking the food around his plate with his fork with a scarily blank expression.
“So… You’re file said you started jujitsu high at 14?”
“My file?” Ino blinks owlishly.
“That’s unusual for someone who isn’t a member of a clan.” Gojo stabs a meatball. He hopes Ino might be interested in explaining this to him, since it’s something that’s been on his mind since he first read Ino’s file. It’s not uncommon for a clan member, especially a member of the big 3, to enter training a little earlier.
But just a random outlier with no clan connections to speak of and not much to offer in ways of power isn’t what usually qualifies for an early entry.
“Were you scouted?”
“Scouted?”
Right. Gojo’s apparently invited a parrot into his home. Perhaps it’s better to investigate this matter after the kid’s managed to sleep.
Despite looking concerningly underweight, Ino obviously doesn’t have it in him to accomplish more than a few mouthfuls. That’s fine, at least he finishes the glass of water Gojo set out for him.
Hydration is important.
“Alright.” After putting the last of the used cutlery in the dishwasher, Gojo heads into the lounge. “Let’s go light the fire.”
“Fire?”
“Yes.”
Since entering the house, Ino’s taken to shivering. Whatever chaotic energy the kid had possessed earlier which lead him to confronting Gojo on his own doorstep seems to have been drained, leaving this despondent little ghost following him around instead.
“Take a seat on the couch.”
Ino sits down, wrapping his arms around himself, staring listlessly as Gojo lights the fire. He has central heating, but there’s something about a live flame that makes a room feel more cozy.
"Are you warm enough?"
"...I don't know."
"Do you want blanket."
"I don't know!"
He sounds moments away from breaking down. Gojo decides not to ask the kid anymore questions.
He settles himself at the other end of the couch, then pulls out A History of Jujitsu Clan Formations, which was the most boring book Gojo had on his bookshelf.
Read him a bedtime story or something, Shoko had suggested.
Well, there’s no harm in trying.
It’s almost working.
They’re two hours in, and Gojo’s up to Chapter IV: The rise and fall of the Northern clans. It hasn’t been hard to keep his voice as monotone and boring sounding as possible since it’s just reflecting the content he’s reading aloud. Ino doesn’t seem to notice he’s just spent the last 120 minutes being droned at, too busy staring tiredly at the fireplace.
About half an hour ago Ino’s lids had started falling, but every time it seems like the kid’s asleep, he suddenly wakes up again, looking seconds away from bursting into tears before schooling himself back into the tired staring.
After another 2 rounds of this he sets the book aside.
How the hell is he supposed to make the kid feel safe? What did Nanami manage to do that he can’t?
Gojo rubs his hands over his face. He’s fucking over this too now.
“Kid,” Gojo’s brain is tired, “you do know you’re probably the safest person in the world right now. Like, objectively. You’re in my house, and i’m literally the most powerful person on the planet. Nothing’s gonna get ya.”
Ino’s eyes are on him.
Right. Of course… It’s not the reading or the meditation that would help the kid, it was the fact that he was doing it with Nanami.
He felt safe when Nanami was around. Which, yeah, even someone like Gojo gets. He felt safe with Nanami around too. Everyone did.
Gojo takes on a very serious air, all of a sudden. Turns to face Ino properly.
“Ino, if anything comes near you with the intent of hurting you tonight…” he sits up straighter, more domineering, and doesn’t hold back in the lurch of cursed energy that wells up inside of him, the protectiveness. “I’ll end it’s very existence.”
It works. The kid’s finally, finally asleep. Gojo feels like cheering, but the fear of waking the sleeping sorcerer after hours of sitting and reading has him refraining himself to a silent celebration. He does place a blanket over Ino’s body and chucks another couple of logs on the fire before ducking from the lounge.
He’s feeling pretty goddamn good about himself.
The feeling continues all throughout the week. He can’t believe he figured it out. All he had to do was gain Ino’s trust and threaten to keep away all the terrible monsters that the kid thinks are out to get him.
The kid slept through the whole night. All throughout the morning actually. Gojo was half expecting for his couch to still be occupied when he retuned later that evening, but the blanket had been neatly folded and the room empty.
He doesn’t see Ino again, but he feels the kid on campus. Feels him slinking around the shadows like a stray cat who’s been fed by a stranger but still isn’t sure if they’re welcome.
“Ino looks better,” Shoko says as she comes to stand beside him under one of the few temples they won’t be reprimanded for smoking under. Apparently whatever god rules this one was a fan of fire, or lorded over ashes or some shit, because Principle Yaga’s never given Shoko shit for it.
Gojo turns his head to the sky, admiring the blue that’s been hidden more often than not these cold months.
“Turns out a bedtime story has very efficient results.”
Shoko snorts. “I suppose this means the kid is no longer in your periphery? Now that he’s able to sleep again.” The smoke from her cigarette is thicker in the low temperature and she lets it leak lazily between her lips a moment before exhaling it one despondent breath.
“Not quite.”
Her eyes flicker to his, a spark of surprise in them.
It may have taken some force on Nanami’s part to put Ino onto Gojo’s radar, since the kid is not an immediate source of intrigue, but he’s certainly there now.
Just because he’s solved the most pressing issue of Ino’s sleep deprivation, doesn’t mean Gojo can stop putting energy into the overarching dilemma... The blatant neglect of Ino Takuma.