Chapter Text
“How long are you going to be in Tokyo, Maki-san?”
Maki drags her eyes away from the foam topping her glass of beer to stare at Yuuta. She frowns, thinking about his words.
“Curses have mostly been sticking around here, so I’ll stay a little longer.”
Out of the corner of her eye she sees Toge roll his eyes.
“What?” She snaps at him. “That’s why I’m here.” She then points an accusatory finger at Yuuta. “Shouldn’t you two be in Kyoto taking care of clan bullshit anyway?”
“Well, we’re actually here because of the uptick in curse users. They need all the manpower they can get,” Yuuta explains. He grabs his tankard and takes a sip.
It helps that we have a place here too. Toge signs, causing Maki to furrow her brows in confusion.
“You have a house in Tokyo too?”
Yuuta can afford it. Toge shrugs. It’s not a surprise; Yuuta is a special grade and also the head of the Gojo clan—money isn’t an issue for him.
“Plus it’s nice to have something away from all the clan politics,” Yuuta says with a hand wave. “You can relate to that, right Maki-san?”
“I could relate. Nothing left but bones and rubble,” Maki chuckles darkly to herself before taking a sip of her drink. “If there’s more curse users, why haven’t they assigned anything to me?”
Yuuta grimaces at the way Maki says that. It comes out as an accusation.
Maki’s perceptive as ever, Toge signs with a laugh.
“So you are keeping missions from me, why?” Maki folds her arms.
“We have a bigger task for you,” Yuuta explains as delicately as he can. Something tells Maki she’s not going to like what’s asked of her.
“Special grade? You know I can handle that no problem. You and I both know I’m gradeless,” Maki says. Ever since the Zenin clan was wiped out, the clan was removed by the Gojo and Kamo clans—the big three are now the big two. Along with that, Maki’s status as a grade four sorcerer was also removed. She wasn’t given a higher grade; she wasn’t called a special grade—instead she’s been called gradeless. It’s something she would have cared about when she was younger, when becoming a clan leader and changing the Zenin was her goal. Now Maki can’t bring herself to care, not when her gradeless status is pulling in the equivalent of a grade one’s salary.
Yuuta fidgets awkwardly and shakes his head. Toge smirks and begins to sign.
You’re being assigned babysitting duty.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Maki sneers. Who the hell needs babysitting?
“Eh… So, Kugisaki-chan got injured on her last mission.”
Maki’s body stiffens at the mention of Nobara. She hasn’t seen her in a handful of months, though it really feels like years at this point. It might as well be.
“Shoko can heal her then. I’m not taking care of a grown adult.”
Shoko can’t heal her. And you won’t be taking care of Nobara. Toge grins, and Maki’s heart pounds in response.
“No—you can’t expect me to go babysit my ex-girlfriend’s kid.”
“Maki-san. Let me explain things,” Yuuta says gently. Maki huffs in response. “The curse user Kugisaki-chan fought has a type of binding vow. Anyone hit by their technique can’t use RCT to heal, and RCT from someone like me or Shoko is ineffective as well.”
“Okay, so why can’t Megumi or Yuuji do it? They basically raised the kid with her.”
They’re out of the country, honeymooning.
Maki scowls and reaches over the table, grabbing Toge’s collar. “Then why don’t you?” She asks with a promise of a threat. Yuuta sighs, grabbing Maki’s wrist and prying her hand off his husband.
“Because he’s going back to Kyoto to take care of clan affairs while I hunt the curse user down.”
“How bad is it?” Maki finally asks. “She’s not in the hospital, is she?” She’s unable to mask the worry in her voice. She and Nobara haven’t been on good terms since they broke up almost six years ago. Maki made the decision to leave the country for several months afterwards, which only soured things. She was doing work for Jujutsu society, sure, but she didn’t have to be gone that long.
“She’s home, but bedbound.”
Sayaki is only five. She’s a handful. Toge signs with a fond sigh.
“Takes after her mother, I bet,” Maki huffs. This is the last thing Maki wants to get stuck doing. Nobara actively avoids her whenever they happen to be at Jujutsu High at the same time. They would both be giving mission reports and pretending they didn’t see the other.
And yeah—Maki’s avoiding her too.
It makes hanging out with her underclassmen difficult. Yuuji, Megumi, and Nobara have their own group; they were even living together while Maki was gone—although that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. If she knew Nobara was going to be out with the rest of them, Maki would just cancel their plans. It wasn’t worth the headache.
Yuuta lets out a small chuckle and scratches the back of his head. “You can say that…”
She’s stubborn and blunt. You’ve really never met her?
Maki averts her eyes, taking a large gulp of her beer. Technically she’s met Sayaki. The child would have been too little to remember her, of course. She honestly had forgotten the girl’s name; her brain just immediately went to ‘Nobara’s kid’ if she ever did think about it.
“She was an infant when I saw her… “
“Please, Maki-san, it would be a big help. Kugisaki-chan is never going to admit she needs help, but she can hardly walk. Sayaki-chan needs someone to take care of her.”
Maki lets out an exasperated sigh. “Okay, fine. But you better tell Nobara I’m the one coming to help. I don’t need this being any more uncomfortable than it already will be.”
Maki stares down at her drink, watching her own reflection ripple through the liquid. Unbeknownst to her, Yuuta and Toge share a knowing look.
Maki paces through the apartment’s hallway. She’s on the correct floor and has passed Nobara’s door several times now. She’s been overthinking how this initial meeting is going to go for the last fifteen minutes. Will Nobara be the one to open the door? Is she even well enough to do that, or will the child welcome her inside? Maki’s not sure why it has her so stressed out. Nobara knows she’s coming, but it’s not like Yuuta gave her a key to her place.
She heaves out a sigh as she stops in front of the Kugisaki nameplate.
What does Nobara’s child look like? Is she the spitting image of her, or does she take after whoever the father is? Nobara never did tell her, and their friends always exchanged awkward glances with each other whenever Maki tried to broach the subject. She shakes her head, trying to stop her thoughts. Finally, she brings her finger up to the buzzer.
Maki’s ears twitch when she can hear rustling from inside. It takes longer than Maki is expecting for the door to creak open. Maki truly was expecting Nobara to open the door. She expected a glare in her face, her ex supporting her weight on a crutch while insisting it’s not as bad as the others made it out to be.
“Who’re you?” A small voice demands. Maki’s eyes flicker down to make contact with the child.
Her blood runs cold at the sight of her. She has dark hair, much darker than Nobara’s natural color. She has her mother’s eyes, the same downturned shape, the ones Nobara would always make use of with a pout to get Maki to do whatever she wanted—but they’re hazel-green, not at all like the shade of brown that reminds Maki of caramel.
Maki finds herself unable to speak. Even this little girl’s face shape reminds her of someone.
Megumi.
Sayaki has her hands on her hips, waiting for a response.
“Uhhh…” Maki scratches the back of her head. There are a million thoughts running through her brain right now. She only saw Sayaki once when she was an infant, and she didn’t stick around. Now she can truly see the family resemblance.
No wonder why Nobara moved in with Megumi and Yuuji. She and Megumi must have gotten together at some point and had the child. Maki can feel herself beginning to form a scowl.
The pregnancy happened so soon after Nobara and her broke up. Nobara must have wanted to settle down; she must have immediately latched on to Megumi for that very purpose.
It doesn’t even sound like something Nobara would do, but the living proof is standing right in front of her. She knew that Nobara wanted to settle down and have some semblance of a family. Something Maki knew she could never provide.
“Are you here for Mama?”
That rips Maki from her thoughts. Hearing someone refer to Nobara as ‘mama’ is just too bizarre. Her body stiffens, her scowl drops into something closer to perplexity than anything else.
“Yes.” Maki nods. She has to pull herself together. “Your mom is hurt, so I’m here—here to make things easier.”
The words slip out, and Maki can’t help but feel like she’s lying through her teeth. For fuck’s sake, she’s in her ex’s apartment, staring at what she has to assume is the love child between said ex and her goddamn cousin.
It’ll just be until Yuuta tracks down the curse user. It shouldn’t take long if he’s the one in charge of the search.
Sayaki blinks. “Babysitter?” She tugs harder on the door, grunting. Maki’s hand flails out, bracing against the wood. She’s not sure why, but she couldn’t stand seeing the small child struggling with the heavy apartment door.
Maki didn’t use that term—which could only mean that Nobara herself referred to her as such to the child.
“Sure. That.” Maki grimaces as she agrees. Sayaki turns around, oblivious to the discomfort written on Maki’s face. She stares down the hallway of the apartment.
“Mama!” She shouts. Maki lets out a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. “The babysitter!”
There’s a thud and grumbling.
“Mama was nappin’,” the child says, as if that were an explanation for the sound of swears Maki can hear from the bedroom.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have opened the door…” Maki starts. The idea of this small child opening the door and welcoming in a stranger bothers Maki deeply. Even if she already has a technique, Maki figures she’s much too young to have a grasp on how to defend herself with it.
She has to quickly remind herself that she is a stranger to the Kugisaki family. Nobara hobbles into her view, standing in front of the entryway, crutchbound.
“You’re not her mother, Maki,” Nobara spits, her tone like ice.
“Maki?” Sayaki pipes up, glancing up at her. Maki realizes she never did tell the girl what her name was.
“I wasn’t trying to be,” Maki replies back swiftly and smoothly.
She folds her arms and takes in the sight. She hasn’t really seen Nobara in several years. Not since Sayaki was a mere infant. Her hair has gotten longer, no longer the signature bob she carried in high school and her young adulthood. Her hair is still dyed, though Maki can notice her roots are coming in. Her eyepatch is missing, the gnarled scar across her left eyelid and cheek notably visible; Maki figures she doesn’t bother wearing it in her own home. She’s chubbier than Maki remembers, though she can easily chalk that up to the pregnancy. It’s not like Nobara is a full-time mom, Maki has seen enough reports from missions to know that. Maki's eyes trace over her figure, landing on her legs. She stares at the problem one, a white cast wrapped around it.
“It’s temporary,” Nobara says. She snaps her fingers to take Maki’s attention off it.
“Right…”
The little girl is squinting at Maki. She lifts her head up, trying to gather the full sight of her.
“You’re tall.”
“Megumi and Yuuji are taller.” Nobara cuts her daughter off. It’s a childish response, with Nobara wanting to take a jab at Maki’s ego, clearly.
“She’s taller than me and you!” Sayaki continues. “Mama, why's her hair so short?”
Maki clears her throat, trying to remind the girl she can just ask her directly.
“Because a volcano burnt it all off,” Nobara huffs.
Oddly enough, Maki’s more bothered about Nobara’s height comment than her referencing the Shibuya incident. Still, she glowers in response. “I’m the same height as Yuuji,” Maki says, as if it has any meaning. Her ego feels bruised and she feels almost pathetic for saying anything. Thankfully, Maki changing the subject back to height kept Sayaki from asking any questions about the Shibuya incident.
Maki has to wonder if the girl ever questions why her mother’s eye looks the way it does. After all, it’s not like Nobara’s hiding that part of her from her daughter. Maki admires that part of her still, at the very least.
She runs a hand through her short hair. She’s made a handful of attempts to regrow it after being burned alive. When they were dating, Nobara had recommended a handful of hair growth serums to her. It helped, but the growth was slow and, frankly—annoying. Maki ended up finding that what did grow back just got in the way. She ended up lobbing most of it off. One notable haircut was after their breakup, and she didn’t hear the end of it from Panda about how that was something girls always do when their hearts are broken.
Which is stupid. Maki’s the one that ended things after all.
“Uncle Yuuji is really strong! He picks me up and spins me around, and it feels like I’m flying!”
Maki can easily picture that. She lets out an amused sigh. People like Yuuji, Yuuta, and Toge always seem to have a knack when it comes to children. Nobara, Megumi, and herself… Not so much.
Which makes the very existence of Sayaki even more surprising.
“He’s very strong.” Maki nods in agreement, and because she can’t help herself, she adds, “but I’m stronger.”
Sayaki’s eyes light up at that; her mouth opens wide. “Really?” She looks over at her mother, asking for confirmation.
Nobara merely shrugs. “Well—she’s not the strongest, but—“ She sighs and hangs her head. “Maki is stronger than Uncle Yuuji.”
Maki snorts, a combination of hearing Nobara’s begrudging praise of her strength and Yuuji being referred to as an uncle. It suits him, but hearing it come from Nobara’s mouth doesn’t make it any less amusing.
Sayaki looks back at Maki with delight. She stares deeply at Maki, making the woman squirm uncomfortably.
“Did the volcano do that?” Sayaki asks, pointing at Maki’s face.
“Sayaki-chan!” Nobara hisses. She grits her teeth, looking nervously back and forth.
Maki blinks. Nobara’s the one that started this after all.
“But why does she look like that?”
“You can’t ask people that!”
“Why not!?” The little girl huffs and stomps her foot. She looks back at Maki. “Mama’s eye is different.”
Maki merely nods at that.
“Was it a monster too?”
Ah. Yes, it’s unsurprising she’d know about curses at this age. Maki’s unsure if she can quite sense them yet; she’s around the age. Four to six years old is when techniques will manifest. Every adult in Sayaki’s immediate life is involved in sorcery, so she should have an understanding.
Mai was around five or six when she started seeing them. Maki would always take the lead to keep her safe.
In the end it wasn’t enough to protect her.
“Yes,” Maki answers. “But it was a different one.”
She leans down until she’s around Sayaki’s eye level. Maki pulls the sleeve of her jacket up, revealing more of her scarred skin. Sayaki makes a noise of surprise, her small hands reaching out and touching Maki’s wrist.
“It’s bumpy… Does it hurt?”
“Not anymore.”
Sayaki looks over at Nobara, who has been uncharacteristically silent during this exchange.
“Mama, it feels like yours.”
“Yeah—“ Nobara’s voice cracks before she clears her throat. “Scars…they’re like that.”
“Uncle Megumi and Uncle Yuuji have them too,” Sayaki says with a nod. Maki can’t help but smile.
Uncle Megumi… Not Papa.
It still doesn’t change much. Sayaki is clearly his kid, even if he wasn’t fully a father figure to her. But just that tiny thing makes Maki happy, for some reason.
“I know.”
“How come you know them?”
It’s a bit of a loaded question. She chooses the most simple answer for the five-year-old. One that doesn’t involve how they all saved the entire country.
“We all went to school together.”
Her little eyes go wide.
“Even Mama?”
“Yeah,” Maki says as she sneaks a glance at Nobara, who immediately turns away from her. “I trained her and Megumi.”
“Wow!” She bounces on her feet as she absorbs the new information. “Did you train Uncle Yuuji too?”
Maki shakes her head. “No. Satoru did.”
Sayaki tilts her head, confused. She looks over at her mother for an answer.
“Grandpa.” Nobara supplies her with.
“Oh!”
Maki raises a brow at that. Satoru Gojo had died long before Sayaki was even conceived. It was odd he was addressed in such a way when he wasn’t even around. It’s not Maki’s place to assume the relationship Nobara had with Satoru. She knew that all of them were affected heavily by his death, Yuuta and Megumi being the most affected.
Wait.
Megumi was the one that was basically taken in by Satoru. Sure, Megumi always cited Tsumiki as being more of a parental figure to him than Satoru—but if Megumi were raising Sayaki, of course she’d know Satoru as her grandfather.
“What’s with that look?” Nobara asks, glaring at Maki.
“Nothing.”
“You’re making assumptions. Even after all these years I can still read when you’re being an ass—” Nobara looks over at Sayaki and refrains from swearing. “You have no place to judge.”
“I’m not judging you,” Maki says. It’s only half-honest—Maki realizes she has no room to judge how Nobara made this all work; whatever family dynamic they had, it isn’t any of Maki’s business.
Nobara winces, her eye shutting tightly. Sayaki’s eyes widen, her pupils filled with fear. Maki’s heart leaps at the chain of reactions.
“Mama!”
Maki’s standing up before she realizes, grabbing Nobara’s waist before the other woman has the chance to fall over. The mobility aid slips from her grip, and it tips back. Maki grabs that too, before the crutch could fall and whack Sayaki in the face.
Nobara weakly shoves Maki away, though she can’t extinguish the look of pain on her face.
“Talk to me, what’s happening.”
Nobara grunts. “It’s—that damn curse user.” Her free hand pats at the cast. “Keeps making it act up.”
“Maki’s fast,” Sayaki says in awe.
Maki frowns. “How often has this been happening?”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“It makes Mama hurt every day,” Sayaki pipes up with a pitiful pout. Nobara grimaces and pushes Maki once more. Maki feels a little reassured by this; at least they know the source. But seeing Nobara in pain, it makes her feel—gross. She should be mad at Nobara for all the secrets she’s kept from her, but even now she can’t stand to see her in pain.
She maneuvers the crutch back under Nobara’s arm, yet her other hand remains on her waist.
“Maki.”
“Hm?”
“Let go.”
Maki retracts her hand quickly, as if touching Nobara had burned her.
Her hand tingles and she clenches it tightly. It feels unfair; this entire situation seems like whatever god exists created it solely to torment Maki. Maybe it is fair, after all she was the one that broke up with Nobara. It was a heated argument that ended with Maki coldly leaving and demanding whatever missions were readily available; the higher the stakes and the further away from Tokyo, the better.
Maki clears her throat awkwardly. “Uh—I’ll help—”
“No.” Nobara cuts her off. “No,” she repeats. “I’m fine; I can handle myself.”
Maki almost rolls her eyes at that. “Then why am I here?”
“Maki…” she groans. “You’re really…” she huffs. “Nevermind. You’re here for Sayaki-chan.”
There’s a finality to Nobara’s tone that makes Maki keep her mouth shut. She’s right. She’s here because her friends asked her to be. This is a duty; this is a mission. It’s not supposed to be some melodrama.
“Okay.”
A tiny hand grasps Maki’s own. She looks down at Sayaki. The girl is grinning brightly now, despite the previous tension in the room.
“You were fast when you caught Mama!”
Maki merely blinks and nods, not sure how to react to the praise she’s been supplied with. Despite Nobara’s lack of hospitality, Maki’s body settles. She can handle this. And some twisted part of her deep down wants to know more about this small family. She wants to understand how and why this all happened. Would it have been different if Maki never left? Would Sayaki have even been in the picture?
She’s shaken from her thoughts as Sayaki starts to lead her out of the entry hall. Maki quickly kicks off her boots before stepping in. Nobara hobbles over to the kitchen, as Sayaki continues to pull Maki past the kitchen and into the living room. There is a couch, a loveseat, an end table with a lamp, and a TV. The furniture looks more beat up than what Maki expected Nobara to own; secondhand objects, she imagines. There are toys strewn about; it’s lived in for sure, a little on the messy side. That doesn’t surprise Maki very much; when she and Nobara had lived together, she was the neat freak of the two.
“We can play,” Sayaki says, moving to her toy pile. “You can pick too… But you can’t have that one, or that one, or that.” She points around. Maki's eyes catch a stuffed animal, either a dog or a fox—one of the off-limits toys. As well as a squeaky hammer, Maki’s almost certain it’s the same one Nobara used during their Goodwill event—that would have been about a decade ago. It’s remarkable it’s lasted this long, especially in the hands of a five-year-old.
Maki picks up a green action figure; she’s pretty sure she can make out teeth marks on it. “Alright.”