Chapter Text
In all his years of being a sorcerer, Kento thought he would be prepared for it all. He thought he would be ready for whatever the Jujutsu World would throw at him.
Yet all those lessons, all those missions and reports, none of it had prepared him for the day he would be cradling Gojo Satoru in his arms.
He can feel a headache brewing.
It was supposed to be Kento’s day off, but the life of a Jujutsu Sorcerer never ended. They were short staffed as usual, which is why Kento found himself being driven to his mission site by an overly anxious Ijichi. Not that it was an unusual state for him to be in, Kento didn’t think there ever was a day where Ijichi didn’t look like he was on the verge of tears.
Kento closes his eyes, resting his head against the cool window, and lets his mind drift. He had hoped to sleep in today, spend a fair amount of his morning in bed with Pancakes curled up by his side. He had wanted to get a start on clearing the overflowing laundry basket, restock the fridge and the cupboard, and then visit The Hungry Bug for lunch. Once he’d gotten over the shame of being known as a named regular, he would visit frequently and make conversation with Kaimen, and let himself be a test subject for Nikaido as she tried out new recipes.
He debated the merits of ordering some for the students – they’d had a few tough missions lately, it might cheer them up. He would need to order extra of course, Shoko would swoop in and steal a portion of gyoza before retreating back to the morgue, Kusakabe would as well. Yuu could inhale three portions by himself.
The students had been given the morning off, on account of most of the staff being elsewhere. From what Kento had last overheard when he walked past them, was that they were arranging a trip into the city.
His phone buzzes from the inside pocket of his blazer and reads through the incoming texts from one of the group chats he was in.
Tokyo Teacher Squad !!! (and Nanamin)
FROM NO1 BESTIE YUU (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) :
>> I am NEVER taking a mission in the sewers AGAIN
>> I FELL IN
>> I’m ending it all
FROM ⋆꒰১Shoko ໒꒱⋆:
>> dont do that how are u gonna go on ur date with ur hot lawyer
FROM Kusakabe:
>> You could not go on the date.
FROM Geto:
>> I don’t think you get an opinion considering the lawyer is your ex
FROM Kusakabe:
>> That absolutely qualifies me to have an opinion.
>> Considering that is my ex HUSBAND?
FROM NO1 BESTIE YUU (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) :
>> i don’t care <3
A sharp poke jabs into his ribs, making him jolt in place. “What?”
Satoru wriggles his fingers. “There you are. I was trying to get your attention for ages. I was trying to get your attention for a while now. What were you thinking about?”
“I was just thinking about how comfortable I was in bed.” Kento locks his phone and shoves it back into his pocket. “Pancakes had the same thought.”
“Serves you right by stealing my cat like that.” Satoru waves a slim coffee can in front of Kento’s face. It surely wasn’t in his hands before, and there is no pocket in Satrou’s clothes that could contain such a thing. “Here, I think you need this more than I do.”
“Thank you.” Kento takes the can and pulls open the tab with one hand.
Satoru hums softly, drums his fingers across his thighs, tugs at the cuffs of his sleeves. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, actually.”
Kento glances toward the front of the car, Ijichi seems to pay them no mind. “Can it wait?”
“It could…” he sighs in a tone that makes it clear he would rather it did not.
“Fine. What is it?”
The pout is wiped off of Satoru’s face in an instant, replaced by a grin that is bright and beautiful and insufferable all at once and Kento immediately regrets agreeing to hear him out. “Would you love me if I was a worm?”
Kento states at him “What?”
“Would you love me if I was a worm?”’ he asks again, confirming Kento was not in fact hearing things. “The students said it’s some kind of online trend at the moment.”
“I know. I’ve seen it.”
“Well, Nanami, were you not interested in learning if I would love you, were you a worm?”
“I was. You were playing online Tetris.”
“What?! You’ve never asked me this before.”
“I definitely have. Weeks ago.”
“This is the first I’m hearing of this.” Satoru waves a hand. “Anyway. Back to my students who definitely would have told their very cool sensei about a new trend. I let have their little gossip session in class so I could listen in.”
“And?”
“Well, Yuuji asked Nobara and Megumi, obviously. Nobara said yes, but only so she could go viral for being the only person to have a worm boyfriend. Megumi said he would dissect Yuuji in the name of science.”
“So all of this is Itadori’s doing?”
“Mhm! So? Would you?”
“No.”
“What?!” Satoru scoffs, sounding genuinely offended. “Why not?!”
“You didn’t answer me when I asked. Besides, worms are ugly looking.”
“Ugly looking.” Satoru repeats. “You fight curses every single day but worms are too much for you.”
“Exactly.”
“But I would be such a cute worm! Like the one in Labyrinth.”
“I disagree.” Kento downs the remains of the coffee and crushes the can. “I’ve seen what you look like in the mornings. Though if you’re flashy enough Kusakabe can use you as bait.”
“You would let him use me as bait?! You wouldn’t even use me as bait yourself?”
“Like I said, I find worms gross. At least Kusakabe has a need for them. The fish would be thrilled to have you.”
Kento’s mission thankfully passed by with little fuss. The report was accurate enough, a cluster of lower level curses that could have easily been handled by someone else and spared Kento the effort of getting dressed that morning. He shakes off the curse blood off of his cleaver and slips it back into his harness just as the veil dissipates in front of him.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Ijichi tucks his phone into his pocket. “Are you injured?”
Kento shakes his head, rolling his stiff shoulder. “Minor scratches. I’m fine. Is everything alright?
Ijichi nervously twists his fingers together. “I haven’t heard back from Gojo.”
“Isn’t there a chance he just teleported back to the school when he was done?”
“Itadori called. He was asking if we’d heard from Gojo. Apparently he was texting the students to tell them he would treat them for lunch and then went radio silent.” Ijichi says. “I just tried calling Gojo and it went straight to voicemail.”
“There isn’t always a connection inside the veils though, right?” It’s a reasonable explanation. It happens, especially if the curses tend to be on the strong side. Satoru would be fine, he’s a Special Grade. He’s goddamn Gojo Satoru, of course he would be fine. Yet, Kento can’t help the weird feeling gnawing at his chest.
Broken glass crunches beneath Kento’s shoes.
The glass counter displaying bakery goods had been smashed, its contents smeared and spoiled all over the floor. The fake plants that hung from the ceiling had been ripped out, chairs and tables unended, a stain that looked like dried blood in the corner.
Kento slowly picks his way through the mess, cleaver in hand as he goes over the details of the mission report Ijichi gave him just minutes before. A bakery was recently closed due to a high number of unusual accidents; display shelves falling off of the walls, a partial kitchen fire, the lights shattering – the internet started spreading rumours that the place was haunted, and the owners were forced to close due to the last incident. In reality, the mess was the cause of a Grade One curse, possibly even two with the levels of Cursed Energy that radiated from the building.
It would have been easy for Satoru. Child’s play. He usually would have been out front gloating about how quickly it took him, and then gone right back to interrogating Kento about worms and outdated internet trends.
“Satoru!” Kento risks calling out, nudging a smashed cupcake aside with the tip of his shoe. “Where are you?”
His voice seems to echo despite the small space.
“This isn’t funny. Stop hiding.”
Except Kento wasn’t even sure if Satoru was hiding. There was just nothing.
Not a single trace of Satoru, no sense that he had ever been there in the first place. It leaves a horrible, bitter taste in Kento’s mouth.
Something squelches beneath his shoe.
Kikufuku. Completely unspoiled, it almost looked fresh, and there was a bite taken out of it.
He steps around the counter.