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For two entire weeks, Nanami had been constantly on the move. He'd slept more on a train to the next mission instead of in bed. All he wanted was to drop off his reports and get back home. He knocked on Ijichi’s office door, expecting permission to come inside. When nothing came, he looked inside, the office silent. The manager must be off driving. The reports in his hand need to be signed soon, though. He wondered when the person he was looking for was due back.
A friendly voice called out. He politely returned the greeting and decided to see if she had any information.
“Are you aware of when Ijichi will return?” He asked Nitta, and he didn’t like the look on her face.
“Maybe another day or so. You’ve been gone, so you haven’t heard. He’s gotten sick and has been working from home for three days.”
An eyebrow was raised at that news. Ijichi never took time off. Well, working from home may not count. He’s seen that man trudge through a blizzard to get to the office.
“His illness must be serious.”
Nitta took the reports off his hands. She placed them on the top of an ever-growing pile to be signed.
“He said he didn’t want to risk passing it along to someone else. I heard he’s coming in at night to sign anything he needs to, so he doesn’t fall behind.” She nodded, sounding impressed by the dedication to go into work in the middle of the night while sick.
That was in character for the head manager. He would die before taking a break. He made a mental note to get Ijichi a small treat as a thank you for all the hard work, full well knowing no one else would. Nitta was now burdened with extra tasks. She quickly collected a few things she needed from the office. With a small bow, she headed back down the hallway, ready to tackle the rest of her day.
Nanami looked at his watch, calculating how much time he had before the next mission. He was scheduled for one in the afternoon. His tired body needed a nap. When he heard his name from down the hallway, he ignored it. No matter how much he quickened his pace, the voice followed him. Someone grabbed the back of his jacket, slowing him down. But not enough. He ended up dragging two students hanging off, begging him to listen.
Finally, he gave in, and the students bumped hard into his back, not expecting the sudden stop.
“You have two minutes.” He sternly said.
Yuji and Nobara started to talk at once, which didn’t help remove the frown on his face. They stopped, and Nobara pulled out her phone, shoving it into the older man’s face.
“There is a creep lurking around the school at night!” She said, appearing disgusted over the idea.
He lifted his glasses to see the blurry dark photo better. It looked like it was taken near the dorms in the middle of the night. The moonlight illuminated the figure, but not enough to properly see them. They were tall and thin with some sort of robe. A reflection coming off a set of round glasses blocked out most of their face. Extremely long black hair reaching past their waist, a slightly blurred form being photographed in the middle of moving.
It was strange that he had no idea who this person was. He studied it hard, trying to match the features to who would be inside the school. Nothing lined up. He didn’t even know any Sorcerers who looked like this and may have been given permission to visit the school.
“Have you asked if permission for visitation has been given to any newcomers?” He asked, arms crossed.
The teens nodded, and Nobara took back her phone. Nanami appeared surprised that they already done some groundwork. They weren’t as dimwitted as he first thought. Or maybe going to him was one of their last options.
“We sent Ijichi an email, and he said there hasn’t been anyone new on the school grounds. And we all know the barrier keeps any nasty folks out.” Yuji started.
“I saw this weirdo two nights ago. I lost track of them sulking about. I honestly thought it was a curse or a ghost until I snagged a photo.” Nobara added.
“We talked to Yaga, and he dismissed us! Can you believe it! He said just not to worry about it and blew us off!”
They all frowned, mentally going over the information at hand. An unknown person lurking in the hallways was a big deal. For a moment, Nanami thought that they had seen Ijichi walking to his office at night. But the hair and the glasses didn’t match him. Sure, he could be wearing a wig, but for what reason? And he hadn’t changed his glasses frames since they were in school. This was strange.
“Have you talked about this with your classmates? It’s possible that this person is here for a secret reason.” He suggested.
If there was a high-risk mission going on, then that was why the students weren’t told about it. If he sent the same email to Ijichi, he may get a different answer than them.
“They’re all gone working right now. The jerk.” Nobara pouted, suppressing the urge to kick the wall in frustration.
They had been left behind during a busy week. She wanted to go out and work too. She and Yuji were assigned to all the local curses while their friend had been sent to all corners of the country.
“We did ask them, but none of them know a thing about it, and this started after they left,” Yuji added.
The reason why Nanami had been gone for so long was because of a small band of rebel Sorcerers. They were weak, but slippery. To make things far more frustrating, they scattered and caused trouble everywhere in an attempt to thin out the schools' resources. Whatever plan they had beyond being a nuisance failed. Right now, the students are in the final stages of the clean-up.
“Alright. I’ll ask and see if anything is going on we should be aware of. Depending on the answer, I’ll come into the dorms tonight to put this to rest.” Nanami said and instantly regretted his words.
Going to school on his time off was the last thing he wanted. However, he needed to protect the students in case there really was someone lurking around. The loud, excited voices thanking him started to give me a headache. He left them alone to go digging into the new mystery that landed on his plate.
Due to a simple mission getting in the way, he wasn’t able to learn much. Ijichi’s email confirmed there wasn’t a new person staying at the school or a new mission related to such a thing. He didn’t see Yaga, and the man didn’t return his messages. As much as he hated to admit it, it looked like there was a stranger lurking in the dark.
The dorm area where they were spotted wasn’t currently being used. The school building had five rooms for the number of students every year. It would be very easy for someone to camp out in one without being noticed.
Nanami asked Yuji and Nobara to meet him in the dorms to look for this person together. If they were lucky, they weren’t a threat, or this was some sort of simple understanding. And he hoped this would be over quickly, so he could have a night at home after a hectic month.
The students diligently arrived early and ready. They appeared too excited to solve this mystery. Or maybe they just wanted to show off to earn some praise. The unused dorm was large. Looking inside each room would take a while. He didn’t want to split up just in case the person they came across caused problems.
“I’ll stay with Nanami. You can look on your own.” Nobara said and made a shooing motion to Yuji.
“Got it!” He saluted, not offended by the suggestion.
He ran off, not waiting for a different order. Sighing, Nanami decided to trust that the boy would be alright. He needed to take a step back sometimes. He still saw the pair as children, yet they were killing curses same as him. He did find it strange that Nobara wanted to stick with him, though. She was always ready to prove herself and to run off like her classmates.
“Are you afraid to be alone?” He asked her and got a scowl.
Her face was slightly red as she made a clicking noise. Her head turned in a failed attempt to hide her reaction.
“No! I want you to see how much I improved so you can recommend me for a higher grade!”
She went over to a door to get their search started. The handle was juggled but stuck. No matter how hard she tried to force it, the door didn’t move. A hand landed on her shoulder to make her stand aside. A key came out of his pocket to unlock the door. Using a flashlight, they searched through the dusty, empty room.
“Where did you get the key?” She asked, hands on her hips, a little upset that he let her make a fool of herself.
“Ijichi’s office. He has a few master keys for every room in the building.” Nanami explained and went to move on to the next room.
“Every room?” She asked, face starting to grow pale.
Could he get into her room while she was asleep? She trusted him to never do anything creepy, but she feared he might confiscate any of her certain spicy manga collection.
“Yes. He spends the most amount of time with all of you. If there are any concerns, it’s his duty to check on the students.”
He carefully looked through the dark, empty space, flashlight beam sweeping across the floor, looking for any footprints in the dust. Nobara scrunched up her face, thinking back to how often Ijichi asked how she was doing or feeling. She always thought he was just being nice.
“What do you mean, check on us?” She asked, following behind the taller person.
Nanami paused in his movements, glancing down at her. He knew she would pester him for this information unless he told her. But also, he knew she could be trusted to know a little of Ijichi’s other duties.
“Four years ago, a student was having a hard time adjusting. Ijichi noticed, and when the student wasn’t answering his door, he used his key. His intuition saved the student's life. You may be uncomfortable with the idea of your privacy being invaded; however, you can trust that he would never do so without a dire reason.”
She stopped walking, letting the information sink in. Their job wasn’t suited for everyone. She hadn’t met someone who couldn’t deal with it but believed it had happened before. Most of the weaker-willed Sorcerers were killed on missions so quickly that they didn’t have a chance to follow through with the other options.
“What happened to him? The student?” She asked and was a little surprised that something like this never came up.
“I believe he went to college and is working at a restaurant now.”
She did the math and realized that Ijichi was trusted with the key when he was only a few years into being a manager. He worked as the head assistant, and she never thought about how long he worked in such a high-stress job. Sure, he wasn’t fighting curses, but he was on the scene of them and dealt with the aftermath of the battles. Sometimes, not everyone can be saved. How many bodies of his fellow co-workers had he seen? And how many civilians? She was thankful for what he did for them, but never stopped to think of what exactly he’d gone through and for how long.
“He’s kinda a hero in his own way, huh?” She sighed, eyes closed, feeling exhausted just thinking about what kind of job Ijichi had.
When she opened them again, a jolt of shock rocked her body. Nanami’s head turned in her direction with a smile on his face. His glasses were missing, so she could see the slightest of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Here, she assumed the man could never have such an expression.
“You should tell him that the next time you see him.” He said and then moved to continue their work.
As they checked the old rooms, his mind started to work away and place pieces together. She asked her where she took the photo, and she admitted it was further down the hallway, where Yuji ran off to. The master keys were hidden in Ijichi’s office. Only a handful of people knew about them. And even fewer people knew where they were kept. Where were the keys to the dorm rooms? They hadn’t been used in so long, he assumed each key to the individual doors was in Yaga’s office. And that was more heavily guarded. If anyone went inside and got one, he would know.
That meant the person staying in these dorms either picked the lock or knew about the master key.
He asked to see the photo again, gears slowly moving. The assistant offices were next to the empty dorms. They were free to use any rooms if they needed. A newer resting area was made for them as well, and most of them went there inside, so they didn’t need to ask for a dorm key every time.
Wasn’t Ijichi coming to his office at night?
Things clicked at the same time they heard a loud crashing sound around the corner. Yuji shouted his name, and he heard a familiar scream of surprise.
Nanami turned the corner so quickly that his feet slid across the floor. He saw the boy pinning a frail arm behind a person’s back while forcing them against the floor. Long black hair covered their face and sprawled out around them. He could sense cursed energy coming from them, which could easily be mistaken as a threat.
“Itadori, please let go,” Nanami spoke and got down next to the pair.
Confused, Yuji scrambled away, worried he had done something wrong. He watched Nanami help the person up, the round cracked glasses sliding down a long bleeding nose. Yuji didn't think he used that much force; however, the wrist he grabbed was already swelling and red.
“Are you alright? I think this might be broken.” Nanami commented and gently took the person’s injured arm in his hand to see how bad it may be.
“It’s perfectly fine.” A head full of dark hair shook, causing a wave of motion to flow through it.
“Wait, Ijichi?!”
Nobara ran over and got down on her knees to see his face better. Somehow, his hair had grown nearly to the ground since she last saw him. He blinked back tears, more embarrassed by them seeing the reason why he hadn’t been in the office. Using his good hand, he tucked his long strands behind his ear. The strange, cursed energy came from the new long hair, and it explained where it came from.
Yuji also got down low, crowding the men. He was beyond upset that he accidentally harmed the manager. From behind, there was no way to recognize him. He should have called out first instead of tackling him to the ground.
“I was hit by a curse a few days ago. It drains the host of their cursed energy. However, it’s weak. Or I'm not affected by having my energy depleted because I don’t have much to start with.”
Ijichi’s voice only had a slight strain in it. He didn’t want to upset Yuji any further by letting him know just how much pain he was in. Nanami was right, his wrist was broken. And his shoulder was dislocated. If this was Yuji holding back, he hated to think of how strong the boy was when he went all out.
“Please go to Shoko and get this taken care of. We have a shopping trip this weekend!” Nobara was pleased, hands put together in front of her, begging her ride would be alright by then.
“Why haven’t you asked Shoko to take care of this curse already? It would have saved you the trouble of hiding away for so many days.” Nanami asked as he carefully helped Ijichi back to his feet.
The manager was wearing a yukata, which made him appear even more like a ghost lurking in the hallways. He’d been slipping out in the middle of the night to get work done and then going back to the dorms to sleep. It didn’t make sense to waste time getting changed when no one saw him. The round glasses also made sense. Ages ago, Nanami was looking inside Ijichi’s car trunk for something and came across two glass cases. One had his normal square frames, and another was a round pair. He kept backup pairs in case they were broken on the job. The round pair was from years ago, and he never needed to wear them. If he had broken two main pairs recently, he resorted to a different frame until he could bear to be seen in public once again.
“Shoko...” Ijichi started, and a haunted look came over his face. “Refused to remove the curse. She thinks it’s funny and forced me to let her take photos. She also wanted me to take some time off, fearing I was going to drop dead from overwork.”
He sighed and ignored Nobara sneaking some photos of him to show off later. The longer hair, cursed or not, weirdly suited him with the new outfit.
“Ijichi...” Yuji started mouth in a thin line. “I'm sorry. You do so much for us, then I go and hurt you like this.”
A hand patted his shoulder, and Ijichi smiled warmly at him. He's slipped his bad arm out of his sleeve to rest against the loose fabric as a makeshift sling.
“I should have clued in when you all asked about a new person getting permission to visit the school. I didn’t think anyone saw me walking around. We both made a little mistake. You were just looking out for your classmates.” When that didn’t cheer him up, Ijichi went on. “You’re a good kid.”
Forcing himself to smile, he accepted the praise. It would be hard to forgive himself for this even if Ijichi already had.
“Hey, what kind of photos has Shoko taken of you?” Nobara spoke up.
The haunted look came back. His eyes stared off into the distance, appearing to disassociate just remembering the recent trauma. The lack of an answer was enough to worry even Nanami.
“Itadori... there is nothing you can do that is more damaging than what Shoko has done, so don’t worry about all this,” Ijichi said, his voice wavering.
“Now I’m extremely worried.” Both students said in unison.
Blackmail photos or not, Ijichi needed his arm healed. He let himself be guided away, and Nanami told the teens to head back to their rooms with a promise to take care of the manager. What exactly had he gone through while he was gone in those past few weeks?
For being a crybaby, Ijichi had a high pain tolerance. He only started to slow down when they got closer to the basement. He refused to be carried and very carefully made his way down the cold stone steps. Shoko's workspace was empty. Medical cots took up half of the room. He collapsed on one, face damp and pale.
“I don’t see her. Is she out in the field?” Nanami asked, glancing around.
“No, she has the night off.” Ijichi shook his head.
“We should call her.”
His offer was refused. No matter how much pain he was in, his life wasn’t in danger. Like all of them, Shoko rarely got a night off. Ijichi wasn’t about to wake her up and drag her down there for a broken wrist.
“I can wait till morning. Can you reset my shoulder?”
Nanami respected the man for how well he was handling this. It was different from his normal high-strung nature during work hours. Was he just too tired to overreact, or was this a new side of him he hadn’t seen before? No, Ijichi had been calm like this once when they were students. It had been a long time since he thought back to those days and found himself missing them.
His hand took hold of Ijichi, ready to yank the shoulder back into place. Bracing himself, the manager prepared himself for the new burst of pain.
“Have you been working out?”
Nanami’s question confused him. Glancing upward, he was about to ask what he was talking about, then his shoulder was pulled back into place with a horrible sound. Ijichi was more upset over being tricked than how much it hurt.
“That was cruel.” Tears hovered in his eyes that he blinked away.
“Let me treat your wrist.”
The next few minutes were Nanami doing what he could for the now swollen arm. He wrapped it and helped get the arm into a proper sling. Ijichi was handed some ice packs with some mild painkillers.
“I can’t find anything else.” He admitted.
Ijichi looked over the bottle, then got off the cot to go to Shoko’s desk.
“She had something stronger.”
That didn’t seem right. Shoko wasn’t the type to leave that kind of stuff just lying around. When Ijichi pulled out a bottle and waved it at Nanami, he couldn’t hold back a grin. Two glasses were placed on the desk, and Ijichi struggled to open the cap. Nanami took over to pour them a drink. A golden liquid appeared to be a nice, small treat after all the recent headaches.
“You hate whisky. Having a broken wrist might be better.”
Ijichi snorted at the comment, waving off the concern. Sure, he would rather order beer or sake on their nights out. But he was an adult and could handle whatever Shoko could. They took a sip at the same time and had different reactions.
“This is good.”
“Awful, just awful.”
Ijichi turned to cough, more tears forming. Nanami leaned against the desk, forcing himself not to laugh. Ijichi had been through too much already that night. Gritting his teeth, another sip was forced down with a shake of his good hand as if that would remove the taste from his mouth.
“I’ll replace the bottle. I hate to get into Shoko’s stash.” He sighed and wished Shoko had different tastes.
“I’ll pay for it. You don’t want to know how much this costs.”
Sweat started at the back of his neck, fearing what kind of trouble he would be in if Nanami wasn’t there. Shoko would have held those terrible photos over his head forever for stealing an expensive drink. The warmth already started to spread, causing his stomach to hurt. A few more burning sips would fix that problem.
The long hair made his head feel hot. No matter how much he pushed it out of his face, it kept slipping back into his eyes. The fabric over his legs started to slip slightly, exposing his legs. Quickly fixing it, he was suddenly hyper aware of how underdressed he was in front of a co-worker while sitting in Shoko’s desk chair. If Nanami noticed, he didn’t say anything about it.
“I don’t know why you have been hiding away for days. The hair isn’t terrible.”
Ijichi took the comment wrong. He assumed he was being scolded for skipping work for a silly reason, even though he had still been doing reports. But he did pass along his meeting or driving duties to others.
“There is a slight risk of the curse spreading. The less I'm around people, the better.” He defended himself.
With a grimace, he forced himself to finish his glass. Holding it out, he silently asked for another, but his face said a different story. Hazel eyes looked down on him with pity. Once it was poured, Ijichi decided to literally bite the bullet. He threw back a third of the glass at once, nearly gagging from the harshness. A hand took away the rest to make him pace himself.
“You’ll make yourself sick. When did you eat last?”
“A few hours ago, maybe?”
A disappointed expression in his direction hurt almost as much as his wrist at that moment.
“You’re drinking as if you’ve been having a hard time lately. I'm sorry I wasn’t here to help more.”
A package of cookies was found on Shoko’s desk. With a forceful suggestion, Ijichi took one but didn’t eat it just yet. The apology made him more depressed than it helped.
“You’ve been doing far more important things. I didn’t want to trouble anyone... and I didn’t want more people to laugh at this.”
Sliding the glass back, Nanami let his already depressed friend drink more, now aware he needed it.
“Has Gojo seen you?”
Ijichi nodded, the long hair covering most of his face. No wonder he’d wanted to avoid everyone else. It would nearly kill him to have his co-workers or students whispering behind his back about his appearance while Gojo mocked him directly to his face.
“He said my appearance finally matched my skill level.”
He normally rubbed his hands into each other when stressed. Now he twisted a strand of the hair that had caused him so much grief lately between two fingers. He had always hated his frail body and lack of talent. Gojo often said Ijichi cried like a little girl, screamed like a girl and now with the stupid hair he looked like a girl. He always thought his face had masculine features yet, just having a slightly different hairstyle made him doubt that opinion.
“You’re smart enough not to listen to him.”
Ijichi knew that. Sitting in the chair, looking at the outline of his thin legs under the grey fabric, didn’t help chase away his worries. His job did keep him busy; however, he worked out when he could. No matter what he did, his body didn’t change. It was as thin and delicate as his student days. Yuji barely put any effort into the take-down, and he snapped his wrist. A person ten years younger than him would win within seconds if he were dumb enough to fight back.
“If Gojo spent the same amount of effort on killing curses as tormenting you, then there wouldn’t be any left. Eat your snack.” The order came with a sigh at just how miserable Ijichi looked.
It didn’t take much to get him in this sort of mood. Chasing away the pain by getting drunk created more problems than it solved. Sadly, he munched away on the stolen snacks, face starting to show a reaction to the whisky he forced down. It was nearly impossible to get the man out of his drunken funk once it started. Nanami paused to take another sip to finish off his glass and to think of what he should say next. Not once had he been able to deal with Ijichi’s bad mood when they were drinking aside from giving him enough booze to black out.
“I can understand how you feel to a certain extent. No matter how hard I train, I’ll never get to Gojo’s level. It's frustrating putting your all in and only having a fraction of his strength. It’s harder for you because you’re surrounded by a constant reminder that fighting curses is beyond your capabilities. However, that isn’t all there is when it comes to saving people.”
Ijichi looked up at him with an almost pouting expression. His eyes were mostly hidden behind the long strands, and the late nights caused bags under his eyes. He looked downright terrible. It was hard not to give in to the urge to reach out and pet his head as if he were a child.
“When it comes to the students, they learn how to be strong from Sorcerers. How to fight, how to force their emotions away to focus on the battle. To become a weapon. Gojo claims to want to protect their youth, yet what has he done to follow through on that?”
Ijichi was a little shocked to hear the question. No matter how annoying the strongest Sorcerer acted, all of his actions were to protect the students he cared about so dearly. He started to sputter, trying to think of a way to defend the person who wasn’t there to do so.
“He put you in charge of them. That’s what he’s done. Tell me, how do you feel about the students?”
Fidgeting, Ijichi’s face fell, collecting himself. He cared about them. But how to put those feelings into words? It almost felt impossible.
“I... agree with Gojo that their youth should be protected, but I’m aware that it’s just not possible with the life we live. They’re going to get hurt. They’re going to grow up too quickly. I just want to be there for them, no matter how hard things get. Even if I can’t do much, at the very least I should be able to let them know that they’ll always have someone waiting to take them home at the end of a mission.”
Had he ever said these words out loud before? He half expected them to be dismissed or laughed at. This time, Nanami couldn’t stop himself from giving the dark hair a gentle pet.
“We teach them how to be weapons. You teach them how to be human.”
If Nanami kept being this kind to him, he would start crying. So far, he’d been strong enough not to do so.
“Kugisaki called you a hero tonight when I spoke with her. So clearly, you’re doing something right.”
That was enough to put him over the edge. Sniffling started under the long hair over his face. He hated always crying in front of people. This time, he thought he earned it.
“My... arm hurts.” He lied as an excuse for the tears.
It wasn’t just the students Ijichi was there for. He took care of all the assistants under his care and the Sorcerers around him. Gojo might go insane if he didn’t have a friend to pester as often as he did. So many people relied on him. After reflecting on that fact for a second, Nanami realized that after every mission, he went to Ijichi whether he needed to or not. The man was always there after a deadly job. Something as simple as a quiet drive home took away some of the stress the job caused.
With Ijichi’s low tolerance he was quickly drunk, the pain in his wrist fading behind the dizziness. When he tried to stand up and failed, Nanami’s arm caught him around the waist to lift him off his feet. The long cursed hair dangled down, shaking when Ijichi giggled at the realization he was being carried to the cot. His good arm slung around a strong neck to keep himself from slipping.
“I work hard, don’t I?” Ijichi drunkenly whispered face a deep red.
“You do. So, rest for a while.”
Either Nanami was stronger than he thought, or Ijichi was far lighter than he should be. When he was placed on the cot, the arm didn’t slip from his neck. Eyes half closed behind his glasses, he tugged to get a little closer.
“Can I get a reward? I’ve been lonely these few days.”
Nanami reached out to start lifting the blanket over his friend, then became aware of how close their faces were to each other.
Ijichi was half lying. He wasn’t lonely just for a few days. He had been a very long time. No matter if he was surrounded by people, he was always going back to an empty apartment. Asking for anything more felt selfish. He only let himself do so then because they were alone, and he was convinced the request would be rejected.
“You can pretend I’m a girl.” His voice held a sense of guilt and almost shame from what he was suggesting.
The expression on his friend's face softened. He pulled away to finish tucking the blanket around his shoulders, so carefully ensuring the broken wrist was in a comfortable position. With a sigh, Ijichi closed his eyes, almost glad that what he just said was completely ignored. A few minutes passed in silence between them. When Nanami thought the other person was asleep, he reached over to take off Ijichi’s glasses to put them away. He didn’t move away for a few seconds. His head hovered, debating if he should follow through with his next action. Ever so slowly, he leaned down to part the long hair to place a kiss on a warm forehead.
“Good work.” He whispered so low that the words were almost lost in the silence of the room.
Not wanting to risk leaving him alone, he took over a chair next to a cot. Using his jacket as a blanket, he quickly drifted off easily in an uncomfortable spot. His job meant he often slept in odd places. Only a few hours passed until Ijichi opened his eyes again. Being half asleep and not in the best state of mind, he got up to do something Shoko found very amusing when she saw them in the morning.
A click of a phone camera woke Nanami. His body felt heavy and overly warm. Forcing his eyes open, he was greeted by dark hair resting so close to his face. At some point, Ijichi had gotten up to curl up in his lap. Head on his shoulder, and Nanami’s arm wrapped around him to ensure he didn’t slip off.
“Delete that photo.” He sternly ordered, and Shoko smugly refused.
With some careful effort, the thinner body was lifted slightly, waking him. Ijichi was placed upright, barely aware of his surroundings, at the edge of the cot. Shoko quickly started to look over his arm as the man started to wake up more.
“Why didn’t you call me to fix this? You can die from a broken arm, you know.” She said, but wasn’t overly worried. She just wanted to give Ijichi a hard time.
“He didn’t want to wake you,” Nanami explained.
“What a gentleman.”
She had gone out drinking, so it wasn’t as if she would hear her phone to come in anyway. It didn’t take long to heal the injuries, and unfortunately for her, the healing did away with the long hair curse as well. The dark strands curled up and disappeared in a blue flame, leaving behind the regular short hairstyle the manager was known for. Ijichi wished RCT did something for hangovers. He was so out of it that he didn’t even remember what position they found him in.
“Shame the hair is gone. But I have some photos if you want to see how great he looks in long black socks.”
Shoko went over to her desk to pull out five pieces of paper, fanning them out with the back towards the boys as a threat. Her dark grin sent a chill down Ijichi’s spine. Nanami was the last person he wanted to see the horrors he endured.
Gojo would laugh at him. Nanami would pity him.
“2016, May 24th at 4:56 Am,” Ijichi said, his voice was deadly serious.
Nanami had no idea what he was talking about, but Shoko did. Her face fell in an expression he never seen from her. She calmly turned around and pulled a lighter from her desk to set fire to the photos in her hand. Within seconds, they were nothing but ash.
“Truce?” She asked Ijichi over her shoulder.
“Truce.” He agreed.
The Sorcerer was starting to suspect a lot of things he had no idea about happened while he traveled for work. With that negotiation over, Shoko admitted she only came down there to get something, and she was needed elsewhere. With a promise to talk to them later, she left the pair alone. Since she didn’t clean up the brunt traces of the photos and they never put back the whiskey bottle, Nanami stood up to do so.
“Are you feeling better?” He asked as he dusted off the desk.
“Yes, my head feels much lighter now.” Ijichi nodded.
The bottle was put back inside the drawer where they found it. He would make a note to clean the glasses later. A small piece of paper was stuck in the corner of the otherwise empty space. Not thinking much of it, he reached out to flip over the paper to see what it could be and to find where it belonged. He hated how cluttered and unorganized her desk was and wanted to fix that. As it turned out, Shojo missed burning a photo.
His eyes landed on a snapshot of a poor, distressed Ijichi. His hands crossed over his chest, legs tucked up under him, with his hip turned towards the person taking the photo, tormenting the distraught man. The long hair mostly covered a devastated expression, holding back tears. He wore his normal dress shirt, but somehow Shoko got him into a high-waist black shirt that revealed a figure most would kill for. His legs were in shiny black stockings that made them appear longer.
His hand flipped the photo around with a snap and slammed it to the desk so hard it rattled the contents. Ijichi jumped where he sat, noticing the back of Nanami's neck turning red. There was no way he saw a certain photo, right? Shoko burned them all, right?
Seeing the lighter still on the desk, Nanami followed through, destroying the last of the blackmail material, hoping Ijichi didn’t clue into what was going on. They wisely decided not to talk about it. Shoko peeked her head back inside to tell them they were both needed to work. She wondered why they suddenly refused to look at each other, but figured she would know the cause of the mood change later.
They got away without addressing what Nanami saw, but they both knew it would eat away at them if they let it. The day was busy. Ijichi needed to catch up on all the things he hadn’t been able to do in the past few days. Meanwhile, Nanami was forced into chasing a group of spirits around the city for most of the day. He was lacking sleep and proper meals, which made him grumpy as hell.
He again just wanted to hand in a report and go home. But Ijichi was the person who needed to sign it before he could leave. When he entered the office, an awkward air came between them. Ijichi sat in his chair pretending as if things were perfectly normal while stress ate away at his stomach. He feared that if he tried to stand, his legs would shake. They went through the motions of handing over the report, going over the information, and signing it. Once it was over, Nanami hovered in the room waiting for the right moment to go into what he needed to say.
“Which... one did you see?” Ijichi asked, breaking the silence.
Asking the question almost made him throw up. But it was better than not knowing.
“A skirt...” Nanami answered, finding the rest of the words missing.
Oddly enough, Ijichi sighed as if he was relieved by the answer.
“Oh, the mild one then.”
If that was mild, Nanami hated to know what Shoko forced his friend to wear. He really needed to start checking on Ijichi more often.
“Sorry, I saw something you wanted to keep private.” Nanami started.
A hand was raised to stop him without needing an apology. He didn’t blame anyone but himself for what happened.
“It was my fault. I got caught up in all the attention Shoko gave and let myself be dressed up. I should have refused to do so. But... It felt nice being attractive for once. It would be best if we just forget this happened.”
He folded his hands in his lap, with some stress easing a little. He knew his friend wouldn’t talk to a soul about what he saw. They could pretend the entire thing didn’t happen with the evidence now destroyed. He was ready to turn away and get back to his work, but the other person made no motion to leave.
“Do you think you’re not attractive?”
The question took him a second to answer. He thought everyone already knew how he felt. Ijichi didn’t like anything about his face. Compared to the people around him, his features made him appear extremely plain, if not leaning on the ugly side.
“Well, yes. Look at me.” He shrugged, not thinking it was much of a big deal.
Sure, looking in a mirror bothered him a little. It was just another thing to worry about in his life. His attractiveness was not the main thing he was concerned about. It wasn’t until after getting hit by the long hair curse that he realized just how much he wanted to change his face. But now he just wanted to know when he could get out of the office that night.
“I am looking. And I think I prefer how you are right now.”
Huh?
Was he over tired? Or was he still sleeping? Maybe Itadori put him in a coma last night by accident.
No, he must be overthinking what he just heard. His friend was just being kind. That was all. Ijichi had a bit of a rough time lately. And Nanami was the type to feel guilty about things that weren’t his fault.
“Thank you?” The words came out slowly as his brain struggled to keep up.
When the taller man took a few steps so that he was in front of the chair Ijichi sat in, he tensed up on reflex. Was he going to be lectured for something? What had he done wrong recently? A small scared sound slipped out when a hand landed on his shoulder, covering the entire thing. He often forgot how large Nanami’s hands were compared to his own.
“You’ve been working hard lately. You should get a reward.”
A memory sparked in Ijichi’s brain, causing his soul to completely leave his body. His drunken display that night was what he would be lectured on. No, this went beyond a simple scolding. Acting like that was inexcusable. Nanami just repeated the words that should be Ijichi's professional death sentence. Normally, he would start sputtering an apology or anything that might save him. Instead, he sat as still as a statue, wishing none of what was happening was real.
That was until he felt pressure on his lips. It took him ten seconds to catch up. The person he knew so well and respected a great deal just leaned down to kiss him. A large hand remained on his face after their lips parted, but neither moved away.
“It was a shame the longer hair kept hiding your face.”
The whispered compliment did all sorts of things to the manager’s stomach. His stunned face was lifted enough for a set of hazel eyes to get a better look. He was in too much shock to even blush. His heart almost stopped at the sight of the kind smile directed down at him. He never thought Nanami’s face could look like this, and somehow, he caused that gentle expression.
“Thank you for keeping me human.”
A heat overtook his body, causing his skin to prickle. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. Just a new one. When Nanami started to straighten back up, Ijichi wasn’t having any of that. He caught a hanging tie to tug him back down. Hands catching the sides of his face to force their lips together chasing a newfound high.
He didn't know how long he kept hold of those sharp cheekbones or how long they kept kissing for. Any time one tried to pull away, the other person brought them back in. Through the haze, Ijichi wondered just how far they were going to go in his office.
The realization of where they were and what they were doing came far too late.
“Ijichi! How are you-!”
A cheerful voice came after the door was rudely pushed open without a single knock. Yuji had been worried since the night before over how roughly he treated the manager decided to drop by and check in on him. Only to walk into Nanami still bent over kissing Ijichi sitting in his chair. Even after the pair darted aside, pretending such a thing wasn’t happening, it was far too late. Ties and glasses were crooked, along with flushed faces and messed-up hair. It was very clear what he just interrupted, and they had been doing such a thing for a while.
“Are you two dat-”
A harsh cough stopped his words. After not taking the hint, Yuji started again.
“Dat-”
Again, a cough from Nanami came as a warning.
“Dating?”
Ijichi nervously smiled and saw the man beside him appear very agitated. Yuji’s fate was hanging by a thread.
“Yes?” Ijichi risked bracing himself for anything after giving that answer.
After a long sigh, Nanami's shoulders fell. He took the time to fix his glasses and tie, collecting his thoughts.
“Yes.” He confirmed.
Yuji’s face lit up in the way only he could. Then he did something very, very stupid. He turned on his heel with his hands at the side of his face to project his voice extremely loudly down the hallway.
“Ijichi and Nanamin are dating!’
It rattled the windows, and the moron took off unaware of the danger he was in. Nanami was on the move before Yuji even finished yelling. His hands flew to start rolling up his sleeves, and somehow Yuji was faster. He raced down the hallway, the older man on his heels.
Once he caught him, Nanami was going to beat the Sukuna out of that kid.
The chase led around the school, Yuji only a second or two ahead. He kept shouting, spreading the good news, since he already signed his death warrant. When he was finally caught, a strong arm hooked him around the neck to drag him inside an empty classroom.
Some sense returned to him, and Yuji quickly sat, legs tucked under him, with his hands on his thighs, sitting upright, ready to bow his head against the floor. It was far too late for a proper apology. Nanami tore off his glasses to show just how angry he was.
“Here I was starting to consider you an adult, and now you proved me wrong! After everything Ijichi has done for you, you go and do this childish nonsense to cause trouble for him?!”
He was shouting at the top of his lungs. Nanami rarely yelled and never this loudly. He could be heard all the way across the building, causing people to scatter, fearing that if he sensed they were there, they would be next. The only one stupid enough to stay or to enter the room to see what was going on did so.
“What got your silk panties all in a bunch?” Gojo appeared cheerful, staring at a newly traumatized Yuji and Nanami’s back.
When his friend turned to look at him, face with a deadly expression Gojo knew he messed up. He foolishly had his technique dropped. A hand roughly took him by the collar to sit him down next to Yuji.
“And you! You’re the one setting a poor example for all of the students! If you would just grow up for once, maybe they would learn how to be proper adults!”
All the noise drew out something none of them expected. A mouth formed under Yuji’s eye, the one possessing his body, making himself known. Gojo tensed, getting ready for a fight in case Sukuna took over.
“Brat, I am displeased with all this racket. Make it cease or else-”
“Do not interrupt me!” Nanami shot back without missing a beat.
Deciding it was not worth the effort, the mouth disappeared, causing Yuji and Gojo to sweat even more.
They were forced to endure a verbal beating so harsh it left their ears red and ringing. Most of it was directed at Gojo simply because there had been so much annoyance towards him built up. They were a little impressed, though. It seemed as if Nanami didn’t need to breathe between all the shouting.
They lost track of time. Yuji thought he was going to die there. When the door opened, he took a chance for freedom, darting behind the newcomers' backs to hide.
“Please save us.” He begged Ijichi.
“Yeah, call off your dog.”
Nanami shot a glare at Gojo, arms crossed, and was still ready to chew him out. Ijichi let Yuji hold onto his arm, tears in the boy's eyes. Sure, he did something wrong, but Nanami might have gone a little bit too far.
“Itadori, I understand you were excited; however, this sort of news needs to be treated with care. You’re new to this world and won’t understand the kind of enemies we have. Nanami is often in charge of tracking down rogue Sorcerers. I’m weak. People know that. And they might use me to get to him. That’s just one thing that could happen if this sort of information falls into the wrong hands.” Ijichi started to explain in a far gentler tone.
Yuji's face fell in guilt for not understanding what kind of trouble his actions could bring. He had been trusted with something important, and he blew it within a second.
“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” He admitted his face was directed to the floor.
“That’s your problem. You don’t think.” Nanami said his voice a bit raspy from yelling.
“Aw, give the kid a break.” Gojo butted in.
Another glare in his direction made him shuffle back on the floor a little.
“I wonder where he gets that trait from.”
Nanami started ready to start a new bout of lecturing. Ijichi raised a hand, hoping they were finished with all that.
“Anyway, I got here after all of this and wasn’t paying much attention. All the yelling kinda sounds the same. What news got my poor student in trouble?” Gojo asked a bit behind in information.
“Ijichi and Nanamin are dating. I saw them kissing.” Yuji said not at all learning his lesson.
“Fraternizing at work? Really?” He asked, mostly to Ijichi, with eyebrows raised under his blindfold.
“Where else am I supposed to do it?” Ijichi replied without a hint of shame.
Wait. He wasn’t joking. Gojo’s face started to fall as he looked between them. He truly thought this was some sort of prank Yuji had been dared to play. But neither of the adults was denying the facts.
“What, are you scared you’ll die alone and decided to settle? You couldn’t do any better than Mr. Forehead?” Gojo sighed, but his normal teasing had crossed a line.
Swiftly closing the distance between them, Nanami stormed over and landed a punch across the stupid face he hated. It didn’t do any damage, but it made him feel slightly better. He planned to walk away after that, but a few more taunts got him to turn around to continue with their argument. Soon, they were rolling on the ground in a somewhat pathetic version of a fight. Gojo was playing dirty by pulling hair as Nanami shoved a palm under his chin to keep away a biting mouth.
“You fight like a girl!” Gojo struggled to get out.
“That’s a compliment! At least female Sorcerers get their missions done, unlike you!”
From the doorway, Yuji and Ijichi watched them. Carefully, the student was slowly guided out, and the door closed on the commotion.
“Shouldn’t we...” Yuji started almost worried.
“No, they do this once a year. Come along, I’ll get you dinner.”
It was true that Gojo and Nanami had a yearly spat. It didn’t often come to blows, but it was good for them to get it out of their system. Yuji almost felt bad for being the cause of it, even if it was going to happen eventually. He didn’t think he would ever understand adults.
After making sure the students were fed and answering a lot of questions, Ijichi headed back to his office with an ice pack and a first aid kit. It was dark inside the room with only a computer screen as a light source. A person sat in his chair, tie over his eyes, blocking out the light.
Even in the dark, he could see the damage. A split lip, black eye. Shoko refused to heal any injuries from their petty fights. So, he would be stuck with a bruised face for a few days.
“Did you win this time?” Ijichi asked and carefully placed an ice pack on a tender face.
“It was a draw.” Nanami lied.
The tie was lifted off his eyes, causing him to wince. A soft kiss on his lips in an attempt to chase away the pain did help a little. He took over, holding the ice pack and refusing any other treatment.
“Sorry to cause you all this trouble. I panicked and was joking with Itdadori when I said yes. I didn’t expect him to react like that.” Ijichi said.
Even after their encounter in his office and being able to kiss the person in front of him so briefly, he couldn't believe that they could be a thing. Maybe to save face, they would say they tried dating, and things didn’t work out.
“I wasn’t.”
A hand took his and brought him closer, the ice pack set aside and forgotten about. He refused to let Ijichi shrink away from this. Or to refuse to accept what was in front of his face. After all, Nanami had been doing that for far too long. If he just stopped to look, then maybe they could have had something far sooner.
“Ijichi, you’ve always there for everyone. I knew that, but I never realized how no one was there for you. If you’ll have me, I would like to change that.”
This had to be some sort of dream. The offer he desperately wanted but never dared let himself hope would come, did. Was it really possible that he could have someone waiting for him at the end of each day? To fill up his empty apartment for at least a little while?
Unable to find his voice, he just nodded, holding back the wave of emotions threatening to come out. Careful not to hurt the split lip more, he accepted another kiss, silently making their relationship official.
“Are you asking me out because you like me, or because you liked how I looked in a skirt?” Ijichi blurted out, then mentally kicked himself for ruining the moment.
“I’m asking you out because I’ve been in love with you for a long time, but was too stupid to notice. The skirt is just a bonus.”
A soft punch landed on his chest, followed by a bout of laughter. Hands carefully guided him to get comfortable in a warm lap, the small chair somehow holding both of them. For the second time that day, they kissed for a while in Ijichi’s office, this time without any risk of being caught.
“Maybe after a few dates, I’ll let you see what other outfits Shoko put me in,” Ijichi said when they pulled away for a breather, hoping it wasn’t too early for a joke.
“I’m already attracted to you; you don’t need to bribe me.”
That comment earned him skipping a date or two before he got to see the better of the outfits. He was positive that Shoko still had them somewhere, even if he asked them to be burned.
In the dim light, Ijichi took a moment to pause long enough to study the handsome face he held in his hands. It was bruised and exhausted, but he never looked better. Deep down, he still couldn't believe this was happening. Until he woke up from this dream, he decided to go with it.