Chapter Text
"Satoru-sama? It is time for your calligraphy," Yui-san, his caretaker, called out.
But Satoru didn't answer. Instead, he pressed himself flat against the cold wood of the wall, hiding. He then waited patiently for the specific, slow pulse of her cursed energy to turn away, and the moment he knew Yui-san had turned towards the upper hall, he ran.
He didn't run like a normal child. He moved with a fast, focused grace, making sure his feet made no sound on the polished floorboards. He knew that if he timed his breathing to the rhythmic click click of the water fountain outside in the main courtyard, he could slip past undetected by the Grade 2 sorcerers guarding his quarters.
Satoru, at the age of seven, had already become an expert in finding blind spots in his own house. He knew exactly how to slip past the guards and caretakers, it was as easy as water through a sieve. After all, he was the strongest.
The place he was going to was a corner the elders had forgotten about, a small, neglected garden tucked between the storehouse, not used now, and the outer wall. Because it held no value and no ceremonial importance, there was no surveillance there. Plus, it had many overgrown bushes and trees to hide him away for a good while.
Satoru slid open the last set of shoji doors and scrambled his tiny body into the unkempt grass. He shivered as the cold morning air hit him, but hey, he was out. For a moment, he simply stood there and leaned his head back against the rough bark of an osmanthus tree. He closed his eyes and finally breathed.
Then, something happened that had never happened before, the static in his brain began to clear and fade.
The Six Eyes never truly turn off, even if he squeeze his eyelids shut, his Six Eyes never stop working. But this presence nearby was different. This cursed energy was stable and quiet. It didn’t flutter like the nervous servants, nor did it overpower like the elders. It felt grounded like deep water, and it surprised him how easily it sidelined everything else.
For the first time in his life, the world felt quiet.
Breath hitching, he slowly opened his eyes, squinting through the sunlight, and he started walking towards the bushes. Across the clearing, sitting on the stones near the pond, was a girl. From his side, he could only see her dark hair, which fell in soft layers around her neck.
But she wasn’t looking at him. Instead, her gaze was fixed on something in the tall grass. Satoru crouched behind the thick bush, his small hands gripping the leaves so hard they almost bruised. He then strained his neck, leaning further and further from the bush to see what could possibly be more interesting than his own presence.
And In his curiosity, he leaned too far. His foot slipped on a patch of slick moss, and he went down with a sharp thud, landing face-first in the weeds.
"Ow..."
The girl’s head snapped toward the sound.
Satoru felt his heart leap into his throat. His face went hot, a bright shade of red spreading from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.
Up close, the girl had dark and narrow eyes that suddenly crinkled into crescents as she burst out laughing, the bright sound echoing across the garden.
Satoru froze. He scrambled up with his lips caught between a pout and a glare, his heart thumping against his ribs as he made eye contact with the first person who had ever dared to laugh at him.
Panic, or maybe just the shock, took over as instinct. He quickly dove back to his hiding place and crouched low, chest heaving.
He waited. One second. Two.
Slowly, painfully slowly, he peered over the top of the leaves so just his wide blue eyes and messy white hair were visible.
The girl was still looking at him.
“Hello there,” she waved, voice light and easy.
Satoru went statue-still again. No child had ever approached him first. It wasn’t that he had never seen someone his age actually, there were maybe four or five other children living on the sprawling Gojo estate. It was just that he wasn’t allowed to interact with them—the elders claimed they were weaker and would only distract him from his path. The rule went both ways, though. The other children were terrified of him.
He remembered a day, months ago, sitting in the long shadow of the corridor, watching his cousins play from a distance. He had watched with a quiet, gnawing envy, debating whether to join them. He had decided not to. He didn't want to see the way their faces paled when he got too close. But then, their ball had rolled right to his feet.
Satoru had picked it up, his heart thumping, waiting for one of them to come and take it. A boy had stepped forward, but the moment his eyes met Satoru’s, he stopped dead. He had turned around and bolted, leaving the ball and Satoru behind. Satoru had been hurt, but he hadn't been surprised.
“Uumm, hi,” the girl said again, her voice closer
"H-halt!" Satoru squeaked. He tried to make his voice sound deep and terrifying, like the scary elders who sat in the high halls, but it came out high-pitched and shaky. "Who are you?”
The girl stopped, but she didn't look scared. She just tilted her head, a stray lock of black hair falling over her shoulder. "I'm Suguru, and I'm waiting for my mom."
Suguru stepped closer, leaning over the bush to look Satoru directly in the eye. "Are you playing hide and seek?"
Suguru asked with a small smirk, "Because you're not doing a very good job. I can see your hair from the other side.”
Satoru’s face heated up."I am not playing.”
"Do you live here?" the Suguru asked, stepping off the stone and onto the grass.
"Yes. And stop moving! Stay right there," Satoru commanded, puffing out his chest.
He pointed a shaking finger at Suguru, his blue eyes wide. “You can’t just walk up to me."
Suguru didn’t get scared, and if anything, the grin widened. "Sounds rich coming from someone hiding beneath a bush," Suguru countered, crossing his arms over his chest.
Satoru’s mouth went hung open. No one spoke to him like that. For a moment, they just stayed like that in silence.
"Okay, okay." Suguru paused, reaching into his pocket. "Do you want some candy?"
Satoru blinked, confused. "Candy?"
"Yeah, Sweet candies. Don't you know what they are?"
"Of course I know!" Satoru snapped, he absolutely did not know.
Suguru giggled. He pulled a small, brightly wrapped square packet from his pocket and held it out to Satoru, who was still crouching behind the bush. "Come out of there. There are spiders in that bush. Big ones."
Satoru scrambled out instantly, dusting off his e silk kimono with frantic hands. Standing now on the path, he realized with a sudden jolt of annoyance that this stranger was standing much closer now. Up close, the kid was taller than him.
Satoru puffed out his chest and strained his spine until it popped, stretching his frame as tall as it would go, but his heart sank. The top of his head still barely reached the other kid's nose.
His caretakers, maids, and tutors always told him how he was such a growing boy for his age and how he was taller than most kids.
It was a point of pride. He was Gojo Satoru. He felt cheated.
I can't believe this girl is taller than me, he thought, a scowl deepening on his face.
"I’m a boy, Snowball."
Oh, wait—did he say that aloud? Satoru froze, his cheeks going from pink to a violent, scorching red. "You're a boy?" he blurted out, his brain short-circuiting.
Suguru let out a huff—a sound that was half-annoyed and half-amused. He reached up, idly tugging at a long, dark strand of his hair that had fallen over his shoulder. "Yeah. I like it long. Does it bother you?"
"No! I—I didn’t mean it like that!" Satoru stammered. He felt the heat from his face radiating out; if anyone touched his skin right now, they’d get burned.
"I mean, it looks good! I thought it looked... I mean, I don't think it's bad! It’s just—"
He felt a cold sweat prickling at his hairline. What if the taller boy got angry and left? This was the first person his own age he’d spoken to in ages. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing the ground would swallow him whole. He’d ruined it.
"I'm sorry... your hair looks very good," he finished, his voice dropping into a whisper.
But then Suguru started laughing. He leaned forward with his shoulders shaking and clutched his stomach, and laughed. Satoru’s eyes snapped open. He stood frozen, his mouth slightly agape, watching the way Suguru’s eyes crinkled into dark crescents. He’d never seen anyone move so freely, or laugh at something he’d said without fear. He stared at Suguru, watching the way the sunlight caught the very hair they were just talking about.
"You're really weird and funny, Snowball," Suguru managed to say between breaths.
He didn't look offended at all, and he looked like he was having fun?
Satoru’s heart slowed down, though his face remained a stubborn shade of crimson.
"I'm not trying to be funny," he muttered, though the bite was gone from his voice. He felt a strange, fluttering sensation in his chest.
"Relax. I’m not mad. Here, take it." Suguru held out the candy. "Since you think my hair looks nice, you can have the strawberry one."
Satoru looked at the outstretched hand and Suguru's smiling face, then finally took the candy. "My name is Satoru," he humphed, adjusting the heavy sleeves of his kimono with trembling, small hands.
"That is a very cute name, Snowball."
"Don't call me a Snowball!" Satoru puffed; he was trying hard to look intimidating, but his wide, crystalline eyes gave him away.
"Then I’ll call you Mochi," Suguru countered. He tilted his head, looking at Satoru’s round face. "Your cheeks look like the ones I get in my favorite bakery. Can I stretch them?"
Satoru’s face went bright red again. He took a shaky step back. “I am the head of this estate! You should bow, not call me a—”
Suguru reached out. With ease, he bypassed Satoru’s personal space and pinched both of the younger boy's cheeks, tugging them outward.
"Stop touching my face!" Satoru squeaked and tried to swat Suguru away, but he was too shy to actually push him hard, his hands fluttering uselessly in the air.
"But it fits in my hands perfectly," Suguru insisted, squishing Satoru’s face until his lips puckered like afish.
"That is NOT a compliment!" Satoru huffed, finally breaking free. He hid half of his face behind his wide sleeve, his heart thumping against his ribs. He wasn't used to people being this close..
"It is where I’m from," Suguru said with a careless shrug.
Satoru peeked over the edge of his silk sleeve, his voice small and curious. "Where... where are you from?"
Suguru grinned, showing off his teeth. "Somewhere that doesn’t have little snow boys."
"I AM NOT LITTLE!" Satoru shouted, though his voice cracked at the end. Suguru just stood there and stared at him, "You’re shorter than me."
"I'm still growing!" Satoru insisted, his eyes welling up with frustration. He was only seven. "The elders say I'll be a giant!"
"Mm. I'll wait," Suguru said, his grin softening.
Satoru blinked. "...for what?"
"For you to catch up," Suguru said, his grin widening as he plopped down relaxedly onto the lush green grass, oblivious to the dirt staining his knees. He then reached out and curled his small fingers around the hem of Satoru's dragon-patterned sleeves and yanked him down.
Satoru landed on his bottom, letting out a tiny, high-pitched "Eek!"
Suguru let out a bright, wheezing laugh at the sound and leaned back on his elbow
Satoru pouted, his lower lip trembling just slightly as he tried to smooth out his wrinkled sleeves. "You... you're very naughty," he muttered, though he didn't try to get back up.
"Mmmh, I'm gonna eat my candy. Don't you want to eat, too?" Suguru asked.
Satoru looked down at the candy in his own palm and gulped he didnt know what to do. So he watched how Suguru's fingers pinched the plastic edges to open it and carefully tried to copy his movements, his own fingers fumbling against the plastic.
Suguru caught him staring and paused, his brow furrowing. “You’ve never had one before?”
Satoru immediately snapped his head up, crossing his arms over his chest to hide his hands. “Of course I have.”
Suguru raised a brow, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “Then why are you staring at it like it might bite you?”
“It looks suspicious,” Satoru insisted, tilting his chin up to look
“It’s sugar.”
“I know what sugar is!”
“Do you?” Suguru teased, leaning closer into Satoru's personal bubble.
“…Yes.” Satoru’s voice went a little smaller, his gaze flickering back down to the strawberry-scented candy.
Suguru didn't argue. He had just finished unwrapping his own and popped the red gem into his mouth with a satisfied hum. “See? Not poisoned.”
Satoru hesitated, his Eyes scanning the candy as if looking for traps. “You could be immune.”
“To strawberry candy?” Suguru asked as the sweet muffled his voice
“You could be,” Satoru whispered, looking genuinely concerned.
Suguru laughed a loud and genuine sound that made Satoru’s heart do a strange little flip.
“You’re really something, Snowball.”
Before Satoru could protest the nickname, Suguru reached over and gently took the candy from Satoru’s stiff fingers. With a quick snap, he stripped away the wrapper. Satoru watched, mesmerized, as Suguru held the small pinkiosh red sweet up.
Carefully, Suguru leaned in and placed the candy against Satoru’s lips. Satoru froze, his breath hitching, before he slowly opened his mouth and let Suguru tuck the sweet inside.
The flavor hit his tongue.
It was sweet.
Too sweet with strawberry. Bright and fuzzy and overwhelming in a way he’d never felt before. It made Satoru’s eyes widen to the size of saucers. His shoulders finally relaxed, and a tiny, muffled "Oh" escaped him.
“…It’s strange,” he muttered, his voice muffled by the candy tucked against his cheek.
“Strange bad?” Suguru asked, leaning his weight on one hand as he watched the white-haired boy.
“…Strange good.”
Suguru smiled like he’d been waiting for that answer. It was a wide, triumphant look that made Satoru feel like he’d just lost a game he didn't know they were playing.
“You look surprised,” Suguru teased.
Satoru’s spine went rigid. “I am not.”
“You are.”
Satoru frowned, his brow furrowing as he felt the candy beginning to change shape in his mouth, but he didn’t spit it out.
“It’s…,” he said slowly, his eyes narrowed as if he were analyzing something
“It melts.”
“That’s what candy does.”
“…It disappeared. Why is it dissolving?” Satoru’s voice rose an octave, his tongue searching for the solid piece that was rapidly shrinking.
Suguru tilted his head, watching Satoru’s genuine confusion with a soft expression. “Yeah. That's how it works.”
Satoru swallowed the last of the syrupy sweetness, and for a second, he looked almost betrayed. He looked at his empty palm, then back at Suguru’s pocket.
“That’s stupid,” he declared, his voice trembling with a mix of awe and annoyance. “Why make something good if it’s going to vanish?”
Suguru didn’t answer right away. He reached into his pocket, the plastic crinkling loudly in the quiet garden. He took another one and held it out.
“Then I’ll just bring more.”
Satoru stared at the candy in his hand and then he slowly looked up at Suguru. His pale lashes fluttered. "You... you will come back?" Satoru whispered.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Suguru shrugged, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I like you, Satoru."
Satoru froze. The air seemed to leave his lungs. No one ever said they liked him. They said they feared him, or they expected things from him. His face went from pale to a deep, burning red that coloured even his ears. He looked away quickly, focusing intensely on a ladybug crawling across a blade of grass.
"You... you're weird," Satoru choked out, his fingers trembling as they closed tightly around the new piece of candy.
"We are friends, aren't we?" Suguru asked, bumping his shoulder against Satoru’s silk-covered one.
Satoru’s breath hitched. Friends. He’d read the word in books, but he’d never had a use for it. He looked at Suguru at the dirt on his knees, the messy hair, and the kind eyes that didn't look at him like he was scared.
Satoru let out a long, shaky breath. He didn't look back yet, but he bumped Suguru’s shoulder back.
"...I suppose," Satoru muttered, his voice barely audible "Since you're bringing more candy... it would be rude to say no."
“Niceee,” Suguru said, a wide, satisfied grin breaking across his face. He dusted his palms off on his knees and pushed himself up from the grass. “Now it’s getting late, Snowball. I have to go, my mother is waiting.”
"Now?" Satoru blurted out, his voice sounding much smaller than a clan head's should. He quickly bit his lip, trying to catch the desperation before it spilled over. His small fingers instinctively curled into the silk, bunching the fabric into messy wrinkles.
Suguru waved and began to retreat. Satoru’s hand twitched, reaching out as if to grab Suguru and pull him back down into the dirt, but he caught himself at the last second, hiding his hand inside his oversized cuff.
Suguru paused, looking back over his shoulder.
The sun was above the trees, turning everything a fuzzy orange. It caught the back of Suguru’s head, making his dark hair look shiny and soft, like the expensive ink stones in the study. And to Satoru, he looked like a bright, warm drawing the prettiest thing in the whole grey estate. He looked like the sun was following him home.
Suguru grinned, a bright, easy thing. “See you tomorrow, Satoru.”
Tomorrow. Yeah, the word tasted better than the strawberry candies. Satoru’s shoulders, which had been hiked up to his ears, suddenly dropped. He looked down at the grass, his bangs falling over his eyes to hide the sudden, watery shimmer in them.
He tried very hard to keep his face flat, tried very hard not to look pleased.
He failed.
A tiny, wobbly smile broke through, stretching his sugar-sticky cheeks as he tucked his face into his high collar and squeezed the candy in his hand like it was a treasure.