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Satoru thinks he's got it all together.
Sure, he comes home to the ever so tiring sight of Jujutsu High at the end of the day, but it has always been the people within it that mattered to him the most. The structure and the place in itself reminds him of his responsibilities and the ever so foreboding sense of feeling of what's breathing down each and every single one of the Sorcerers' necks, but he's got that pushed aside.
It's been scheduled! Suguru and he will finally be killing the old cahoots he should have done a long time ago!
But – but, he sets those thoughts aside for now, especially the bloodlust. It does him no good thinking of the Higher Ups when he has people he considers as family awaiting for him behind those gates. He hears laughter, loud and boisterous and he couldn't help the smile that slowly forms on his face. The sound always an anchor to his ever so muddled and busy mind. It keeps him grounded, stable, and that there are people who's childhood or teenage years he'd at least been able to protect.
God knows the suffering they'd have taken if someone else got to them first.
So, Satoru thinks he's doing good. That he's doing well. He had some of his students actually approach him for advice that wasn't necessarily about any Jujutsu or training, something they usually go to Suguru for – that's a win, right? Definitely a win in his books.
The stench of alcohol hits his nose, one Suguru and Shoko already warned him about with the kids wanting to have a taste of it but aren't allowed in clubs or bars. So, they settle with drinking liquor within the common rooms. It's a good suggestion, Satoru thinks. Sure, it's illegal for minors to drink, but when did people truly follow that type of law? This way, the adults are nearby for guidance or for when things go bad.
It's only a surprise when even Principal Yaga turned a blind eye to this one.
It's nostalgia, he muses. The way he'd catch Suguru and Shoko drinking beer sometimes and instead of reprimanding them, Principal Yaga joins instead. Saying something about how they probably wouldn't experience that kind of thrill when they're adults, far too busy to even rest, nevermind drinking.
And now that they are adults, he finds that the old man wasn't lying at all. So, they allow the students at least this. Besides, it's a good bonding experience for the first years and second years that isn't related whatsoever to their soon to be jobs. Yuuta's only returned from Africa a month ago, after all. Satoru knows, he knows – he should leave them alone. They didn't need his presence there and it was a moment of time for them, not with him–
He just couldn't help it, though. He wants (needs) the sight of his precious students all together in the same place, having the time of their life without having to worry about anything outside of their little bubble, their little curtain of happiness. It could serve as a good ray of sunshine in his head when things get a little too dark in there.
"Surprise surprise!" He shouts, grinning at the shriek he receives in return, quickly followed by a resounding sound of 'sensei' in a rather dragged out and dreadful tone. Satoru snickers. Casually, he lifts up a part of his blindfold to soak in the energy. He sees Megumi first, right in between Panda and Yuuji, both attempting to make the boy drink in what Satoru thinks is water with how drunk Megumi looked. Then to his right, he sees Nobara with Maki, both sporting a scowl directed toward him he expertly ignores.
With his usual bountiful energy of youth a little mellowed down, he snorts. "Yuuta," he says, tilting his head toward the apple juice the boy is holding. "Let loose! What are you drinking?! Come on! Suguru sneaked all this alcohol from my stash! You could at least taste them!"
Because he knows. He knows Yuuta and the sense of duty the seventeen year old is holding and carrying on those shoulders even now that they're in the safety of the other two Special Grades and Shoko. He's the oldest of all the students, so he thinks he can shoulder the responsibility of making sure no one gets that shit faced.
Not on Satoru's watch if he can help it! He gets into a staring contest with the boy. Seriously, has Yuuta's eyebags deepened? It surely did when he got back from Africa and he did have a long damn talk with Miguel about it. It's insomnia, the man has defended, nothing they can do about it aside from the usuals to let Yuuta try his own methods of sleep. But Satoru at least thought his nights were getting better.
It's uncanny though. The light in Yuuta's eyes had already been snuffed out before Satoru found him, and as he grew – so did the way his eyes can simply stare as though it's the void itself.
The mini staring contest is broken only when he sees Toge tug on Yuuta's sleeve where he's sat beside the Special Grade, almost draping over Yuuta. "Tuna," he says and reaches for his cup of alcohol. "Tuna mayo." He offers the cup to a reluctant Yuuta.
"Hell yeah!" Nobara's voice booms once the alcohol is down Yuuta's throat, coupled with a few encouraging sounds and Satoru peels back, satisfied with himself. "That's right!"
"My work here is done!" Satoru dusts his hands dramatically, smiling. "You kids have fun – oh, Megumi?"
Megumi's abrupt move of standing up catches their attention. The cup in Yuuji's hand is at least drained to half, but it doesn't do much with the way Megumi sways as he attempts to take a step. "Megumi can't hold his alcohol, huh?" Saturo chuckles, wonder where that lack of tolerance came from? "Megumi! Sit back down! You'll toppl–"
A frustrated sound escapes Megumi's mouth, shooting a glare at Yuji when the other tries to pull him back to his chair. He's wobbly, unused to having no complete control of his body and Satoru is in the midst of pulling out his phone if just to have this memory forever engraved when Megumi straightens up, and with fierce determination, stalks right up to Satoru.
It's sudden, so out of the blue and so shocking Satoru has half the mind to pull up his Infinity before realizing who this is and pushes the urge down. He laughs nervously nonetheless. "Am I going to get hit–"
Oof.
...
Satoru blinks, keeping both their balance steady as he stares down at Megumi suddenly hugging him in utter surprise. Like – hug, with the arms wrapped around him with his face squished in Satoru's chest and all. Not the two second side hugs Satoru can offer because that's the kind of touch Megumi accepts and he respects that even if he'd wanted –
Megumi is hugging him.
"No one moves," Yuuji whispers quietly. "The cat is drinking water – no one makes a sound."
He wants to point out that it's Yuuji that's making the most noise. That even if he whispers, he's still somehow so loud but Megumi is shifting his embrace and Satoru is quick to wrap his own arms around the boy before Megumi could even think of pulling away. Megumi is so small, Satoru thinks. He's the tallest amongst his classmates and even some of his upperclassmen but right now, in Satoru's arms, he's so small.
Megumi's just a kid.
"Dad–" And Satoru's heart soars. Megumi's voice is shaky, almost as though he's not used to talking. "Dad, dad–"
"I'm here," Satoru replies, knowing full well his face must be doing something funny and yet, his students who have a front view of it, do not make fun of him for once. They understand well, how small things like this are important for Satoru's heart and Megumi's acceptance of the affection everyone is willing to give him in their own way. "'m here."
Megumi shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry–" he hiccups. Satoru's uniform is getting wet, and Megumi must be so drunk that he's crying right in front of all these people. "I – I know where you came from. I know – I know that once you found out we were organizing a small get together, that you finished all possible missions so that none of us gets called tonight and tomorrow and –"
Oh, Satoru does not know what to say.
"I'm sorry," Megumi sobs, voice so quiet and so small and Satoru thinks he's having whiplash. He can count in one hand the amount of times Megumi ever cried during childhood up to now, and if he counts the amount of times of how Megumi cried that he's shaking, he'd only be counting up to two. It's strange, but it kickstarts every bit of instinct Satoru has to protect and comfort. "You keep... you keep telling us to be young, to be strong at our own pace because you're here, you're the strongest and you are. You are so strong and so brave, dad, but sometimes I don't want you to be because I know you get tired. You get so sick of it and – and –"
"Megumi–"
"And I just want to tell you that – that I appreciate everything you do for us, for everything that you did and have done for me and Tsumiki–" Megumi hiccups again, when he inhales, Satoru feels the full body shiver that follows. "I want to be strong. I want to be stronger so I can at least take some of the burdens you're so insistent in carrying alone. So, that – that you can rest for one entire night without having to worry if someone will die because you just slept."
"Thank you – thank you, thank you, dad, thank you–" he babbles, words slurring as the adrenaline gradually disappears in lieu of the alcohol hitting him back in full force and Satoru holds the boy tighter in his arms when Megumi starts to slip. "Don't leave us. Don't ever leave us, please. Dad – dad, I don't think – don't leave me, please, please–"
"Hey – hey," Satoru soothes. "I'm not going anywhere," he says, smiling brokenly as he hugs the boy.
Megumi hiccups, nodding slowly and Satoru chuckles quietly. "You're stuck with me, remember? When I took you and Tsumiki under my wing, you should've known by then that I would never leave you –"
"I'm sorry," Megumi interjects, crying and crying and Satoru's heart breaks. "I was a shitty kid. I wasn't good to you. I wasn't – I was always so mean to you. I'm sorry–"
"You were a good kid–"
"I kept pushing you away–"
"Because you thought that was better than having your heart broken again," Sarotu gently parts them, just so he can cup Megumi's reddened face. "You were so young, and you thought all adults failed you and your sister. When I appeared, you started pushing me away first so you won't get hurt."
Megumi sniffs, another cry tearing out from his throat and nods quietly as he tries to wipe his tears off. They're relentless though, and Satoru couldn't help but smile. "I'm proud of you, Megumi."
That's done it. Megumi's cries are louder, and he would have fallen to his knees if Satoru didn't catch him immediately into another embrace. He allows the boy to cry his heart out, years and years of never letting a tear shed bursting out and Satoru thinks he'll never get a chance like this again.
He watches all his students, how they stare into nothing, seemingly all lost in thought. He sees Yuuji wiping his own eyes, Toge burying his face into Yuuta's shoulder to hide his own tears. Maki is stubborn, but her eyes are red. Panda is patting Nobara's head as she scowls when she wipes her eyes and her hand comes out wet. This is a sobering moment for the students, it seems.
Satoru laughs this time. "All of you," he says, catching a few glances. "I'm proud of all of you."
It takes time for Megumi to calm down, most of his body weight is leaning against Satoru and he holds them both steady. Once Megumi's cries quieten to small sniffles and he's gone limp, Satoru carefully lifts him up in his arms. "He's out cold," he says out loud, amused. "I'll bring him to his room. You all should continue your night! It's not everyday you all get to be illegal!"
Yuuji grins in spite of the shift in mood. "Aye, aye, sensei!"
Waving to the rest of them as best he can, Satoru directs Megumi toward the dorms. It's a little difficult to open the door when he's carrying a person, but it's certainly not the first. He slips inside the room quietly, laying Megumi into his bed and removes his shoes. He goes to tuck him in when Megumi shifts, groaning.
Drowsy, swollen eyes blink up at him. "Mnh?"
"Sleep, sleep." Satoru smiles, pushing back that ever so unruly black hair off that face. "You're done for the night."
Megumi closes his eyes again, his cheeks still puffy. "Hmn."
Satoru sits there for a few minutes, staring as Megumi's breathing evens out under all those blankets Satoru is acutely aware that isn't Megumi's. He looks peaceful this way though, Satoru thinks. He looks younger, or is that generally just how Satoru sees this kid?
He leaves the room as silently as he had entered, making sure to shut the lights off on his way as he began walking toward the infirmary where he knows Shoko and Suguru were at this time of the night, especially when they needed to stay up to make sure the students would survive their alcohol intake.
Deep breaths, deep breaths.
The tears were already falling from his eyes before he even manages to pull open the infirmary doors, his blindfold soaking as he removes it from his head–
"Oh boy–" Shoko's voice sounds entertained as Satoru presses both palms against his eyes, uncertain where he's even going. "Here we go–"
Satoru releases a shaky breath, feeling his own arms wrapping around the first person he can touch.
"What did he do this time?" Suguru's voice is muffled as he asks this. "Did he give you candy? The usual one he buys for Tsumiki?"
"I wanna guess Megumi probably said something," Shoko says. She sounds like she's getting squished.
When Satoru opens his eyes, finally gaining clarity, he sees he's pulled the both of them into an embrace and he laughs, wet and giddy. "God, I'm doing this right, aren't I?" He released them to allow them to sit back down and Satoru kneels, laying his forehead against Surugu's knees. "I'm... I'm – he just called me dad."
"Ah." Shoko snorts, crouching down on the floor beside him. "That explains it." She touches something on Satoru's chest, and he belatedly realizes just how wet it was from Megumi.
Satoru will never ever wash this uniform ever again. Matter of fact, he's going to frame it–
"Satoru," Suguru calls in a murmur. "You okay?"
And he thinks he's never been better, despite the tears still flowing down from his eyes and he smiles at the both of them. "I feel great," he replies easily. "I feel like I've done something right."
Shoko's arm wraps around him, Suguru's hands carding through his hair and he thinks he's going to cry for the rest of the night as he laughs again. The only reaction he can bring out because he's just so damn happy.
Yeah, he's got it all together.
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"No, Suguru, you don't understand – they sell the best ice cream in the whole of Tokyo–"
"You say that everytime–"
"Okay, well, maybe because all of them sell the best of their own flavor of ice cream–"
Still, Suguru is persistent. "We can't just go there in the middle of the day," he argues.
"I can teleport us there!" Satoru counters back. He just wants that particular ice cream after a rollercoaster ride of last night, alright? And he figured it was the best time to bring Suguru there since they haven't had an actual date for months! Months! He's deprived of Suguru!
Suguru sighs, opening his mouth to say some bullshit again and Satoru is so ready for his own rebuttals because there really is no other reason for Suguru to say no. They wiped out every active cursed energy there is for the past week, it's basically a rest day.
"It–"
"Sensei?" They pause, turning to look at Megumi standing by the hall with an ice pack pressed against his eye, still dressed in his pajamas. Satoru would have worried what happened if he didn't notice just how swollen and puffy his visible eye was from all the crying. "Oh... ah–"
A grin spreads through Satoru's face. "Megumi! What is it?"
Megumi frowns, the familiar look so different from last night Satoru couldn't help but feel happy that though there had been a heart to heart talk, things remain mostly the same. "It's... just – about the previous night's events..."
Calming down, Satoru shakes his head. "We don't have to talk about it, Megumi–"
"No – I–" Megumi releases an annoyed breath. There's no liquid courage to aid him this time, and it seems to make it harder for him to speak. "Itadori says that I should... I should, you know, follow up on it. To make sure you – to make sure you won't think it was just said in the heat of the moment. I –"
Patiently, they wait as Megumi finds his words, putting his ice pack against his other eye. "I mean that I just wanted to say that although I don't remember some of what I said last night, that I mean what I said anyway." He doesn't look either of them as he says this, and Satoru feels like his chest is constricting. "I want to thank both of you, and Ieri-san too. I know having to raise two kids when you were teenagers wasn't easy – I, for one, made it difficult too."
Suguru's hand grasps Satoru's wrist so tight, Satoru thinks he doesn't have to argue about that ice cream shop any longer. Megumi, oblivious to this, scratches the back of his neck with his frown deepening. "And... I hope that the three of you get to be happy. Pat yourselves in the back, will you? No matter what they say, you did your best with us, me and Tsumiki and the rest of Jujutsu High."
"Fushiguro! Where are you?!" Wincing, Megumi tilts his head. "Maki-san will kill us if we don't show up for breakfast!"
Yuuji pauses, wherever he may be. "Scratch that, Okkotsu-san will kill us if we don't appreciate Inumaki-senpai's cooking immediately!"
From a farther distance away, probably deeper into the common rooms, the three of them hear Yuuta's muffled whine of 'Itadori-kun!'
Huffing, Megumi turns away with a small wave. "See you around, Gojo-san, Geto-san."
...
Suguru pulls Satoru's shirt. "Fine," he says and Sarotu does not point out the way those eyes begin to water. "Let's get that ice cream, then an alcohol infused one for Shoko."
"Yeah – yeah." Clumsily, Sarotu straightens up to prepare. He cackles. "I can't wait to tell Shoko about this one."