Work Text:
One weekend afternoon, Gojo, Geto, Inumaki, and Itadori gathered in Gojo's dorm room to play a fighting game. The fight is quite fierce, because whoever loses will have to do the dishes!
After getting bored playing, the four of them ordered food and rushed to lunch like many energetic students of youth out there. While Gojo cleaned up (because he lost the bet) in the kitchen, Itadori yawned and lay down on the mattress, squirming and grabbing a huge white pillow.
“Oh, it's so soft, is this just bought?”
“Takana, mayo” - “Turn it over, Yuuji”
Yuuji did as he was told and turned the pillow over, revealing that it was in the shape of a big cat wearing sunglasses with a smile that couldn't be more arrogant, somehow looking like someone.
"I don't know why this face seems familiar to me"
The pink haired 3rd year boy showed it to Inumaki, who nodded and grabbed the fat cat's belly.
“Shake”
When Geto returned to his seat to buy a drink, he raised his eyebrows in interest when he saw what his two seniors were doing.
“You two know how to choose what to play with.”
'There's going to be something fun to watch'
The first year boy with narrow eyes smiled meaningfully while handing two cans of soda to Itadori and Inumaki.
“Ah, this is life, being served by our two juniors like this”
“Ikura”
Even though they couldn't see through the wall, everyone knew that the white-haired first year was gritting his teeth while placing a few bowls on the shelf in the dormitory's kitchen. To be honest, these two seniors, 2nd year and 3rd year, are a bit gloating, no, extremely gloating. Itadori thought to himself that the rest of the students also wanted to see these two special grade juniors being ordered around, well, except Okkotsu.
“It's only because Satoru is in the prime of his stupid adolescence that we lost.”
Geto put the can of black coffee on the table and silently cursed his friend in his heart. Just now while playing the game Inumaki was just talking about Okkotsu-senpai learning how to bake from Tsumiki, Gojo started to panic as if someone had stolen his dessert.
Well, the result after that was obvious to everyone, Gojo revealed a loophole and was surpassed by Inumaki and Itadori's characters. Geto looked at the 2nd year senior, the guy who always said the names of the rice ball ingredients wasn't simple, he definitely did it on purpose.
“Next time, you two should prepare yourself to clean the classroom for us.”
Geto is prepared for revenge next weekend.
“Say something? Geto! How dare you look down on us?”
Itadori wrapped an arm around Geto's neck and squeezed tightly, with his strong strength, if Geto was a normal person, he would have passed out and gone to meet his ancestors from a lifetime ago. Fortunately, Geto is also a type of muscle training to compensate for his technique that has many loopholes in close-range combat. So he can endure the neck-snapping jokes of this pink-haired senior.
“Haha senpai, I'm just telling the truth”
They all laughed and joked while Gojo was still frustratingly washing dishes in the other room.
“Agh oops!”
While joking around, the can of coke in the pink-haired man's hand tilted, the caramel-colored liquid rippled in slow motion, looking like the slaps of students slapping each other while playing on the beach at midday in the summer.
“Ah...this is bad”
Itadori put the can of drink on the table and quickly pulled out a few tissues to clean up the coke spilled on the pillow. Geto next to him chuckled a bit in his heart...
“This is really bad, Yuuji-senpai”
When both Itadori and Inumaki still did not realize the seriousness of the problem, the appearance of the main character caused their eardrums to almost escape the real world.
“Aghhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Surely in this fully furnished dormitory room, everyone has the same thought that 'It's over'. The big, round pillow was snatched out of the senior's hand. The terrifying grimace on Gojo's face was in complete contradiction with his gesture of cherishing the pillow more than his precious treasure.
“Who-did-it?”
When they heard the white-haired guy's extremely serious threatening voice, all three remaining guys in the room knew that someone would die within the next 5 seconds. So, more for their lives than for their friends, the narrow-eyed guy and the mushroom-headed guy both pointed at the pink-haired guy who still couldn't grasp the danger of the situation. After all, why did his junior radiate murderous aura just because a pillow had coke spilled on it? Yeah, it's a bit of an exaggeration to say it's poured on, it's only a little bit on the corner of the cat's ear—
“Uh…sorry? Let me wash it for you, how should I wash this… oh how about I pay you, I just got paid this month – Ack…”
It seemed like something had just passed by, cutting off a few sideburns of the criminal who accidentally spilled coke on his junior's 'precious-looking' pillow.
'It's a piece of paper! It's a piece of paper with cursed energy! It split a can of coke in half, my godness!'
“Hey hey Inumaki, hurry up and save me!”
Itadori sweatdropped as he pulled his mushroom-haired friend's hand.
“Sujika, shake, tunamayo, ikura!” - “Hey, whoever did it should take the blame, you want me to duel with him, really, me?”
Imumaki looked at the pink-haired boy with disbelief. Itadori lightly hit Inumaki on the shoulder.
“Hey, could you try saying 'stand still' to make Gojo motionless, then we can run away?”
Both of them looked at each other and sweatdropped...
...
“Tsumiki-san is really good at cooking, I've been bothering her and Fushiguro-senpai a lot.”
Yuta returned to school with his spiky-haired senior after borrowing the kitchen from the Fushiguro family. Fushiguro was quite surprised when the younger special grade junior said he wanted to ask Tsumiki to teach him how to bake, and Panda also went along to have a full meal. Maki and Nobara go shopping instead of hanging out with them.
“It's okay, Tsumiki is happy to meet my school friends.”
Seeing the third-year senior's rarely relaxed and gentle expression made Yuta a bit surprised. Perhaps in everyone's eyes, Fushiguro is a quiet person who rarely cares about things around him. But surely no one does not know how much he cares for Tsumiki, she is his whole world, the remaining ray of light in a dull house without the breath of relatives.
“That's good then…”
To be honest, Yuta was a bit jealous... he had only recently contacted his little sister via text message, the relationship between the two Okkotsu brothers, or more accurately, the entire Okkotsu family was still very gloomy. But at least now there's a glimmer of hope, so it's not so bad, right?
“Why do you suddenly want to learn baking?”
Being asked like that made Yuta a bit startled...a bit difficult to say because it was a stupid reason without any logic at all.
“How should I put it…I just suddenly thought it would be cool to know how to bake after hearing Satoru-kun say he likes sweets..”
He didn't understand why saying these words felt a bit embarrassing... clearly when he decided to learn baking, Yuta didn't think that much at all. Simply imagining the white-haired junior's happy face like an arrogant cat when receiving sweets made Yuta's spirit of learning soar.
“Ah yes, to be more precise, sweets can be given as gifts on occasions, right? Very diverse and convenient. I also plan to give sweets to you guys when I have free time, so the reason I learned to bake is not-not really just because of Satoru-kun..”
Fushiguro's unresponsive face was still not very impressive. Even though he wasn't the type of person who liked to pick up on people's trivial matters like Itadori or Nobara, Fushiguro was surprisingly sharp.
‘Really?’
Sarcasm ran through the third year senior's head, to be honest, almost everyone felt it, Yuta was especially affected by Satoru more than the other two juniors even though Geto seemed more approachable and Shoko has the same rare technique as him. The young Satoru also acted a bit puzzled in front of Yuta. Besides the excitement of meeting a strong individual, the chemistry between them made the rest of them pay attention.
‘Bang! KANG! Boom!!'
The sudden noise caused both black-haired sorcerers to become defensive. This was in Jujutsu High, so it was rare for someone from outside to break in. If there was a sound of fighting, it was definitely due to…
“What did those guys do again?”
Fushiguro and Yuta could see smoke coming from the dorm room on the 2nd floor.
“We have to stop them quickly!”
Even though he showed a disapproving expression, Fushiguro still followed the second year who was so panicked that he was sweating profusely. Fushiguro sometimes feels quite worried about Yuta's spirit when he easily becomes worried and stressed like that even though he is aiming for his job as a sorcerer.
"Guys, what's going on—Ah!"
Even though it was very sudden, Yuta still cleverly avoided the pillow flying at incredible speed towards the door, but the thing in his hand was also thrown away. The people in the room were fighting with pure cursed energy, this time they would be scolded again by Yaga-sensei.
“This brat! That hurts! I already apologized, right??”
Itadori did not hold back and responded to the white-haired junior's punch. Gojo kicked Itadori's ankle with force, causing Itadori to slip and fall, but the more experienced senior in martial arts did not give up and immediately regained his position. He used his arms and legs to kick Gojo's face but was immediately blocked.
“Satoru-kun, Itadori-senpai, stop!”
To be honest, even if it was Yuta, intervening in a fight between two sorcerers with physical advantages would still be a bit risky. When Gojo dodged Itadori's direct attack, the direction of the attack accidentally coincided with Yuta's position.
“!! Yuta”
Gojo hurriedly pulled Yuta away from Black Falsh's destination. Although he thought he could block it to some extent, Yuta still felt a bit chilled by the direct strength of the third-year senior.
“Ah..thank you Satoru-kun”
A few seconds after the tension in the room had subsided, Yuta discovered he was lying in Satoru's lap. Just a few days ago, Satoru still looked like an arrogant and hot-tempered kid, but when did this broad and sturdy chest give Yuta this feeling of security?
‘It feels like…he and I have become closer…’
Not only that, Yuta is sure that one day, this kid will surpass him and become even stronger, that's for sure.
“Okkotsu! Sorry, are you okay?”
Itadori also worriedly asked about his juniors and blamed himself for letting the situation get out of control even though he was the oldest person here.
“Ah, it's okay, I'm fine, don't worry. More importantly, why are you two fighting?”
As soon as Yuta mentioned it, the surrounding atmosphere became tense like a string. The white-haired boy looked at the older boy angrily while the pink-haired senior scratched his head, not knowing what to say but could only apologize profusely.
“Nothing important…”
Even though he was pouting as if someone had bullied him (but who would dare to bully the young master of the Gojo clan), Gojo only muttered as if he wanted to hide something from the person in his heart.
“Tuna tuna”
At that moment, Yuta's classmate suddenly appeared with a huge white cat-shaped pillow in his hand. Yuta immediately recognized it as the pillow he gave Gojo for his birthday last week.
“It looks like its ear is dirty..?”
Yuta noticed the stain at the corner of the cat's ear. As for Gojo, he immediately snatched the pillow back and glanced at the villain with eyes full of murderous intent. Assuming that Gojo was a cat, he would definitely immediately rush to scratch his pink-haired senior.
“Sorry, that…haha, I accidentally spilled coke on it.”
“Oh you deserved to be beaten”
Fushiguro commented with a sentence that couldn't have been more painful. Itadori pouted and poked his friend's arm with his elbow.
“Hey, which side are you on?”
Yuta smiled helplessly as he looked at the chaotic scene around the room and then carefully observed the complex emotions swirling on the face of his white-haired junior. Gojo's usually lazy eyebrows frowned, his lips pouted and looked extremely resentful. Is Gojo angry? Because of this not so precious pillow?
“Satoru-kun? What's wrong?"
Clicking his tongue in exasperation, Gojo muttered.
“Tsk, I told you it's nothing, you're the one with the problem! Why did you suddenly jump in and almost get hit, idiot?
Being so used to the not so gentle way of speaking of my juniors, Yuta knew that Gojo was just having good intentions, reminding him not to interfere in the middle of a battle between a special grade sorcerer and a grade 1 sorcerer.
“This just needs to be washed and dried and it will be fine, give it to me.”
The frown on his face gradually relaxed, Gojo hesitated for a moment before giving the cat-shaped pillow to the person who gave it to him. Yuta borrowed the first-year dormitory's bathroom to wash the pillow, then hung it up to dry in front of Gojo's room window. It looked like a giant cat-shaped rain doll.
“So everything is resolved, right? Satoru-kun?”
The rest of the people in the room carefully observed the expression of the person who was difficult to please. Gojo didn't say anything but just nodded. Although he still wondered why this kid was so angry, Yuta couldn't ask further because of the quiet and serious appearance of the white-haired junior.
‘Does Satoru-kun like this pillow that much?’
Seeing the huge pillow hanging down with a lovely smile made Yuta giggle, every time he looked at it it made him think of his white-haired junior.
'Well...this pillow is so cute, who wouldn't like it?'
Everything was quickly resolved, Yuta thought he understood why Gojo loved the pillow he gave him so much without asking any further questions. A new flower bud began to bloom in Yuta's heart, cherished by dew drops filtered from the unexpected hearts of his white-haired junior.
Seeing the smile of the person next to him brighten up like a budding flower made the white-haired sorcerer's heart flutter in an unbearable way, so the mouth that rarely spoke the truth became accustomed to uttering a bit of sarcasm.
“Why are you suddenly standing there laughing all alone? Looks so stupid”
Seeing Gojo's lazy appearance that rarely said pleasant words as usual, Yuta felt his heart lighten.
“Haha, it's nothing.”
“Tsk..”
This person was always like that, able to easily ignore the harshness in the white-haired sorcerer's words and create a smile gentler than the wind and flowers.
‘This is unbearable…’
Gojo thinks that sometimes he should go see a doctor, if he has a heart-related disease like arrhythmia, it would be very dangerous...
“By the way, where did you and Fushiguro-senpai go this morning?”
“Ah–”
Having mentioned the almost forgotten incident, Yuta immediately remembered the cute little paper bag abandoned on the ground. Running out the door, Yuta quickly picked it up...this was the first batch of sweets that Yuta baked without burning, but now they looked like a pile of shapeless crumbs. Yes, there are still a few that are still fine, but seeing the bag of cookies he put so much effort into being flattened like this is a bit heartbreaking...
“What is that?”
Suddenly hearing a low voice in his ear, the special grade sorserer's shoulder jerked as if he had been caught doing something bad.
“Ah–Satoru-kun? Oh-yeah, it's nothing!”
Yuta reflexively held the bag of crushed cookies in his arms. Gojo clearly felt that this person was hiding something from him, but their relationship was not close enough for Gojo to be bold enough to dig into his senior's privacy.
Before they could spit out the curiosity that was hanging in the awkward space, the monotone voice of a 3rd year senior rang out behind them.
“Okkotsu made that batch of cookies all morning to give it to you.”
“Fushiguro-senpai!”
Fushiguro didn't seem to care about the white-shirted teenager's pleading eyes. Yuta should know that those puppy eyes only had an effect on the idiot Gojo Satoru.
“Eh? For me..?"
Gojo's face was blank, because he wasn't wearing sunglasses, it looked even funnier.
“But the cookies are crushed like this…Fushiguro-senpai brought Tsumiki-san's baked cookies to share with everyone, right..? So Satoru-kun can eat that—eh wait!”
The paper cookie bag with the carefully tied white ribbon suddenly slipped from Yuta's slender hands. Eyes that were a blue color even more beautiful than the light blue of the wrapping paper carefully observed the cookies with interesting shapes. Even though a few of them were crushed, when you look at them, you can still see how much care the person who made this bag of cookies took.
“From now on, this is mine, don't you dare ask for it back.”
“Eh…?”
The secret was revealed, Yuta had to sadly watch the white-haired junior untie the ribbon, then pick up a lucky star-shaped cookie that was still intact, biting into it, causing its structure to easily break, then slowly sip the sweet taste of the cookie melting on the tip of his tongue...
“Ugeh-so sweet–!”
Sweet as the stupid eyes that always curled up into the moon in the cold winter sky, penetrating the heart that had frozen into stone of the future head of the Gojo clan.
“Too sweet..? I think Satoru-kun likes sweets so..”
It was that wet puppy look again, it felt like Yuta didn't mean to make that look but Gojo's own heart softened of its own accord, making him even angrier.
“I like sweet but not this sweet, you idiot.”
Gently flicking the high forehead exposed by the new hairstyle, the foolish senior who didn't look like a senior hugged his forehead pitifully like a small puppy being scolded by its owner.
"Sorry.."
With a small 'tch' in his throat, Gojo picked up the bag of cookies, shoved it back into his throat and swallowed it all at once, causing his senior to open his eyes in shock.
“Satoru-kun!”
He thought it was cool, but because the cookies were too dry, the white-haired boy choked. He kept hitting his chest and coughing.
“Ah-water water!”
Yuta quickly poured a glass of water from the kitchen and returned to give it to Gojo. In just one breath, the white-haired boy gulped down the entire glass of water brought to him, causing his cough to subside. Even though he knew he looked very stupid, Gojo still couldn't hold back his sky-high pride and pointed his finger at his senior.
“Next time, bring me another batch of better cookies, you hear me?”
Surprised by the response to the crushed cookies, it sounded like the reaction Satoru would give, but Yuta could feel the gentle aftertaste melting on his tongue.
‘Satoru-kun…is so kind, huh’
The candy had melted under the sunlight and seeped into the sensitive heart that was gradually warming up, quietly placing a branch of forget-me-not in a small corner called 'Gojo Satoru'. I wonder what that garden would look like if filled with that beautiful flower.
...
“Geto, you obviously know Gojo will be angry if anyone touches that pillow of his, why didn't you warn this idiot?”
Even though Fushiguro bluntly called him an idiot, Itadori could do nothing but sit quietly and resigned, after all, he had just been saved by these people from a visible defeat. Geto didn't look guilty at all, but leisurely stayed in one place to observe the fun.
“Wouldn't it be more interesting like this?”
Itadori made a pained face, yes, the progress of the relationship that was silently and enthusiastically supported seemed very interesting, but wouldn't it be too much to use this senpai's life as a stepping stone?? Itadori feels that his position in the hearts of these juniors is not very stable, right?
...
Finally, the story about the silly-sounding cat-shaped pillow ended peacefully. The other students also understood the weight of that pillow to the white-haired first year. And it seems they also see something unusual when patching together seemingly trivial details.
Only the two people involved couldn't see the clues as clear as day, but used meaningless reasons to cover up the beating that made their hearts juggle.
'These two guys are really annoying' - probably a thought that will follow the friends around them for a longer time.