Chapter Eleven: A Normal Kid

The scent of alcohol swam through the air and the sound of glass cups clinking together echoed throughout the bar. Gojo Satoru sat at the bar table, across from the bartender, with a non-alcoholic drink in his hand, gently rotating his wrist while the cup remained around his fingers.

"Just once, there are two kids I want you to look after; Itadori Yuuji and Gojo Y/N. You know them right?"

Nanami Kento glanced at the ashen haired man from the side, his slender fingers holding onto his beverage from the top, "I heard he passed away and... your sister, of course I've heard of her," he said, a blank look etched onto his face.

The ex-salaryman listened to his senior as he spoke, explaining to him Yuuji's situation in an implicit manner.

"You know, Yuuji, he's really an honest kid. He has the determination and the courage; even the decisiveness needed for a battle. But even so, there are times when he's too straightforward. For kids like him, I get worried when their hearts get broken just once."

"And Y/N...she didn't get the chance to grow up properly. Unlike Yuuji, she's seen the world as it is and had her heart broken countless of times. For her, I just want someone to show her that it's okay to be a kid."

Satoru explained and spoke about the two of them with a gentle smile sewn onto his lips, turning his head slightly to meet the blonde haired man's gaze.

Nanami only returned his gaze towards the drink in his hand, "And what do you want me to do now that you're telling me this?" he asked, dully.

The white haired man grinned his usual sly grin, "Well you see, despite all this, I'm really busy y'know, I can't say I'll be around to take care of their mental growth," he explained, "So just for this once, I want to leave them in your care. After all, you're an adult who can understand people's pain."

Dim lights that barely lit the bar shone above them, Nanami glanced at the Strongest Sorcerer, Gojo Satoru, from the side, "You came all the way to Hokkaido just to tell me these sugar-coated words?"

"You already know that I have a sweet tooth, right?" Satoru grinned.

A deadpan was drawn onto Nanami's face, "I don't mind this but, are you really going to leave your sister in the care of someone else again and not be a part of her life? You just said that she didn't get a chance to grow up properly. Technically, you're the closest person to her as of now, and you're the only person she may be able to see as her actual family," he said, calmly and attempting to share his thoughts with the white haired man.

Satoru furrowed his brows a little at his statement, knowing that the truth rang from his words, "But Nanami~ I'm the strongest y'know, I don't have time for this~" he complained playfully.

The blonde haired man let out a sigh, "Of course you don't," he said, sarcasm lacing his words, "But if you really care about her you should do something about that schedule of yours, because unlike Itadori Yuuji, she's your very own sister."

"As expected from you, Nanami~! You're so grown up!"

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Gojo Satoru was finally back from that 'job' he had told you about and he was back to his usual annoying self. You can't exactly say you missed it but you definitely secretly enjoyed his jokes.

The two of you walked through the dark underground hall that led to a room, "Are you ready for your surprise?" Satoru grinned as he bent down to your height and poked your cheeks repeatedly.

You clicked your tongue at his annoying actions as you slapped his hand away, "Quit doing that!" you scolded.

"Okay, okay~ But are you excited?" he asked again, with his usual sly tone.

"How can I be excited when I don't even have a single clue about this surprise of yours?" you questioned, raising a brow and showing the older man an unimpressed look, "Besides, knowing you, your surprise might just end up to be the worst; like you could end up revealing something disturbing that I never needed to know."

Satoru then pouted, "Oh come on, Y/N~ Don't be like that, since when did I ever give you a terrible surprise?" he whined.

You narrowed your eyes at his statement and turned to face him, "Since you told me we were related," you shot.

"Ouch, Y/N! How could you do this to me~?!" he complained as you ignored him and continued to walk down the dark hall.

Coming to a halt when the door to the room was right in front of you, you turned back to look at Satoru who only had a sly grin etched onto his face. He then walked past you and pushed the door open, allowing himself in while you followed behind.

When you entered the room, you were met with a blonde haired man who sported a business suit; a tan blazer with matching slacks and a blue dress shirt topped with a leopard print necktie.

You raised a brow at the sight of this man, 'What sort of surprise is this?' you thought to yourself as you glanced between the two men, "I'm sorry but who's this?" you asked.

"This is Nanami Kento! My super dependable junior!" Satoru exclaimed, with a bright grin on his face as he held his hand out towards the man in the business suit.

The blonde haired man then bowed slightly, "Nice to meet you, Gojo-kun," he greeted.

"Likewise, Nanami-san," you bowed in response to his greeting, "It seems you already know who I am. Would it be okay for you to address me by my first name instead?"

Your question caused him to raise a brow as he crossed his arms, "I don't mind," he replied, covertly scanning your expression and trying to see what type of person you were.

"Well, then! I'll be leaving you two for a bit while I go fetch the surprise!" Satoru exclaimed before dashing out of the room, leaving you in awkward silence with the older man that you had just met.

You narrowed your eyes at the empty spot that Satoru stood at, "What the heck is this man even planning?" you muttered to yourself before turning to look at the blonde haired man.

Staring at him wide eyed, you pursed your lips together into a fine line as you formed questions about him in your head, "Are you a teacher here, Nanami-san?" you asked, out of nowhere and breaking the silence between the two of you.

"No," he replied, shortly.

You placed your index finger and thumb on your chin as you tilted your head to the side and observed the man, "Hmm, that's what I thought," you noted, in an almost childish manner.

"Are you a Special Grade sorcerer like sensei?" you asked, shooting your next question already.

"No."

You grinned playfully before you straightened your posture and glanced at the door, "You're a Grade 1 sorcerer, right?" you asked, turning slightly to look at the man, "And I think you just might be a really good one."

A familiar smirk was drawn onto your lips as Nanami glanced at you from the side, he's sunglasses blocking you from seeing where his eyes looked. He sighed softly, "Yes," he replied, unexpectedly asking you a question next, "Why do you think I 'just might be a really good one'?"

Your eyes only remained on the side as you continued to try to read his expression, "Gojo-sensei wouldn't just leave me in the care of someone else if they weren't good at their job. I have no idea what that idiot is planning but I assume that he plans to send me on a mission so he can test how much I've grown over the course of our training. But aside from that, you uphold yourself with some sort of dignity that's hard to explain, in short, you just seem like a powerful person" you explained, in an unenthusiastic manner.

From your words, Nanami concluded that you were a rather intelligent and responsible kid and you were a bit of the edgy type; not in the sense that you're similar to Fushiguro Megumi but you were the type that liked to seem strong when, in reality, you just need someone who was just as responsible as you were to care for you.

"So much for a surprise..." you clicked your tongue as you sighed while shaking your head.

As you finished your sentence, the door swung open and your eyes widened at the sight of the familiar pink haired boy.

In an instant, your brain started to process the possibilities of him being actually alive.

'Did Sukuna heal him?' you thought to yourself. That was the only reason you could think of as to why Yuuji was standing in front of you alive and well, but wait, why would Sukuna do him a favour by returning his heart?

Almost instinctively, your processor-like ability began to go through all the information you had read up on, 'A binding vow would most likely be the reason why he fixed Yuuji' you concluded.

"--/N! Y/N! Hellooooo?" Satoru called out, waving his hands in front of your face before you slapped them away.

"Stop it already!" you scolded.

The ashen haired man only giggled like a kid as he hopped around you, "Soooo how do you like your surprise?? Cool, right? Cool, right?? I bet you were not expecting this at all!" he teased as he poked your cheeks repeatedly again.

You clicked your tongue and slapped his hand away as you attempted to punch him in the gut but alas, you only punched the infinity between the both of you, "Hehe, you didn't think that it'd be that easy, did ya?" Satoru said, sticking his tongue out as he made fun of you.

"You shitty old man! You knew this whole time?!"

"Old man?! I'm only 13 years older than you!"

Nanami and Yuuji watched as the both of you bickered back and forth before introducing themselves to each other, bowing slightly to each other out of common manners.

"Um... Y/N? Gojo-sensei?" Yuuji called out, awkwardly in hopes of diffusing the sibling argument the two of you were having.

You immediately pushed Satoru away at the sound of Yuuji's voice as you stomped your way towards him and wrapped your arms around him, "You are not allowed to die again before I do! Got it?!" you scolded, pushing him off of you while holding onto his shoulders and glaring at him.

Though you wanted to cry, you did not allow yourself to show witness despite Fushiguro's words that repeated over and over again in your head.

"I-I got it!" Yuuji stuttered as he smiled awkwardly, "I'm sorry for dying on you, Y/N."

You only turned away and crossed your arms, "You better be," you huffed. The pinkette grinned as he patted your head gently, "There, there, I'm back so stop sulking already," he teased.

"I'm not sulking!" you snapped, even though that was obviously a lie.

Yuuji smiled at your idiosyncrasies, thinking to himself about how much he missed your presence and how glad he was to have you in his life.

"Alright! Alright! Attention, students!" Satoru called out, clapping his hands to get your attentions while breaking the grateful atmosphere the both of you were just having.

An irk mark grew on your forehead as you clenched your fist and glared at the white haired man, "This here is Nanami Kento, the ex-salary man Jujutsu Sorcerer!" Satoru exclaimed, swinging his arm around the Grade 1 sorcerer as he introduced him to you two.

"Please don't call me that," Nanami said, dully.

The both of you stood dumbly in front of the two adults; Yuuji was genuinely confused by his teacher's enthusiasm while you silently judged the ashen haired man, even though you were just like him at times.

"Plenty of Jujutsu Sorcerers are oddballs, but since he worked for a company, he's got a good head on his shoulders. He's a Grade 1 sorcerer too!" the ashen haired man grinned.

Nanami only pushed his glasses/ sunglasses up, "I'm sure no one would want to hear you saying that about them," he muttered.

"Ex-salaryman? Why didn't you start off as a Jujutsu Sorcerer from the beginning?" Yuuji asked, innocently. You glanced at him from the side, "I mean, this doesn't seem like the friendliest job, to be honest," you remarked, shrugging.

With his mouth forming an 'O' he nodded to your words before turning to face the two adults, awaiting for the Grade 1 sorcerer's reply.

"While studying at Jujutsu Tech, there was one thing I learned and that was..." Nanami spoke, calmly before breaking his cool, "Jujutsu Sorcerers are shit!"

"Eh?" the both of you muttered out except, once again, Yuuji was genuinely confused but you had an amused smile on your face.

Nanami then continued with his own introduction, "Then I worked at your typical company, and one thing I learned is that work is shit!"

"Really?!" Yuuji exclaimed in disbelief. On the other hand, your eyes sparkled with admiration, "This man is amazing!" you grinned.

The blonde haired man only went on with his spiel, "If both are equally shit, I'll take the one I'm more suited to," he said, nonchalantly, "That's the only reason why I came back."

Yuuji and Satoru exchanged whispers with each other while you stared at the man in front of you with an amazed grin on your face, "Now this is what I call a cool adult!" you laughed.

Your words only grabbed Satoru out of his whispers with Yuuji, "What?! Am I not a cool adult?!" he exclaimed, seemingly offended by your words.

You glanced at your teacher with an unamused look on your face before you returned your attention to Nanami.

"Itadori-kun, Y/N-kun, please don't believe that I'm of the same mindset as Gojo-san," Nanami said, with his arms crossed, "I do trust and have faith in him."

Satoru placed his fingers on his chin as he smirked proudly. The both of you only turned away from him in annoyance.

"But I do not respect him!" Nanami declared, which only caused you to burst out in laughter.

"BWAHAHAHAHA THAT MAKES THE TWO OF US!" you laughed hysterically, clutching onto your stomach as you gasped for air in between your laughs and giggles.

"HUH?!" Satoru gasped in dismay.

Nanami only ignored the both of you as he continued with his words, "I hate the way the higher-ups do things, but I believe in rules and regulations," he spoke seriously.

"In short, I don't recognise you, Itadori-kun, as a sorcerer either. Even if you do carry the bomb we know as Sukuna, please make an effort to prove that you are useful," he announced, straightforwardly, "And, Y/N-kun, even though you're officially recognised as a sorcerer, I do not see you as one due to your uncontrollable abilities that can harm civillains. I'm not against the existence of both of you, I just believe that there should be order in things."

You immediately kept your mouth sealed and absorbed his words, oh how you hated being looked down upon as incompetent and as a ticking time bomb. But this wasn't the time for you to fight back because you knew that truth rang from this Grade 1 sorcerer's words.

When you watched Yuuji 'die', that was the first time you felt completely useless and that was also the moment you realised how big this world was; your talent for things would not even be able to measure up to it.

That was the reason why you remained silent to Nanami's words, despite the fact that you were the type who was always confident and always proving yourself.

It was no wonder that Nanami saw you as some sort of danger. You had the powers of The Gojo Satoru, but you would let them explode whenever you got emotional.

Of course he would think that you were somehow dangerous.

"Lately, I've been forced to realise how weak and useless I am," Yuuji began, "But I'll become strong. I have to be strong, or I won't be able to choose how I die. I'll make you recognise me, even without that advice."

"Just give me a bit more time," he smiled, assuringly.

You glanced at Yuuji from the side, a gentle smile sewn onto your lips, feeling proud of your best friend.

A brief silence hugged the atmosphere of the room, the two Gojo's feeling proud for that certain pinkette and the blonde haired man forming his own opinion about the two teens he had to babysit.

"Say that to the higher ups, not me," Nanami said, straightforwardly, "Frankly, I don't care!"

"Y/N, you have nothing to say about this?" Satoru probed, sticking his head out to look at the expression on your face.

Yuuji glanced at you with his eyes that held a certain childlike innocence to it, awaiting your reply.

You glanced down aimlessly, "No, I think Nanami-san's words about me made sense," you said before returning your gaze towards the Grade 1 sorcerer with a mischievous and determined grin on your face, "But there are some things that I'll leave to my abilities to prove."

"Hehe, Y/N, you're still the coolest person I know!" Yuuji beamed as he copied your usual action of placing your thumbs up right next to your face.

You grinned, crossing your arms while you were at it.

Satoru had a smile plastered onto your face, feeling ever so glad that you were finally back to your confident self.

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Upon your arrival at the Kinema Cinema, you stood next to your friend and the Grade 1 sorcerer, scanning the building with an expressionless look drawn onto your features.

Your eyes narrowed at the creepy building before following Nanami as he entered the darkness that lurked within the cinema.

Making your way to the cinema hall where the incident occured, you felt an eerie feeling creep up under your skin as you slapped your forearm to stop your goosebumps from growing.

The movie hall was brightly lit for the investigation, unlike how it normally would be. There were those bright yellow police tapes taped around the gory site and there was evident blood splatters around that area. You made your way towards it along with Nanami and Yuuji.

It was a disgusting sight but that was the last thing that bothered you at that moment. Being there and observing the bloodied velvet seats, you could surmise that this incident definitely had something to do with Curses.

"Can you see it?" Nanami asked the both of you, "This is the residual taint of Cursed Energy."

You kept quiet, nodding once to his words.

"No, I can't see anything," Yuuji shrugged, dumbly.

The common deadpan only remained on Nanami's face, "That's because you're not trying to see it," he shot, "We typically see curses as if it's perfectly natural to. When a Cursed Technique is used, it leaves traces behind. That's what residuals are. But residuals are much fainter than Cursed Spirits. So focus your vision and look closely."

"Oh!" Yuuji gasped, "I can see them!". His hands were placed on the sides of his face and he had this excited look drawn on to his face. You chuckled at his enthusiasm before returning your attention to the Grade 1 sorcerer.

"Of course you can see them. A proper sorcerer can sense them before seeing them," Nanami said, bluntly.

On his remark, Yuuji scrunched up towards his stomach like a frustrated child. "There, there, you did great," you comforted, patting his back twice as you smiled in an encouraging manner before following the older man.

Nanami then made his way out of the movie hall along with you, ducking slightly and going under the yellow tapes, "Come on, can't you give me a little praise or something," Yuuji pleaded jokingly as he followed the both of you.

"I don't praise or disparage anyone," Nanami said, "I adhere to facts and judge on that basis. That's who I am. There was a time when I mistakenly