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Despite being only ten years old, life had forced him to grow up quickly. That was why Megumi used to behave like an adult—or, rather, imitate them. Tsumiki claimed it was a sort of game for him, and she was probably right, because his sister was always right about those things. She knew him better than anyone. However, he resisted being “childish,” but lately, since the circumstances of his life had changed, he could afford to loosen that pose from time to time.
Ever since Gojo Satoru had appeared in their lives, Megumi and Tsumiki were able to… well, live their childhoods as children. At first, that strange man with the dark glasses and messy white hair made him uneasy. Megumi stayed alert every time he arrived at their home and started cleaning the place and helping them with their homework. As time passed by, he just found him irritating. Tsumiki seemed to like him. She gladly accepted his help and, despite the fact that Gojo had initially approached them because of Megumi, he seemed to ask her more questions about how to organize the household. Megumi didn’t mind, because, in a way, Tsumiki was in charge of the two of them, since she was the oldest; and this was partly what had given him enough confidence to let him into their lives. The thing is, whatever arrangement his father had made with that guy, it didn’t seem like he was planning to kidnap them and sell them for profit. Gojo Satoru, in his messy way, seemed genuinely interested in them.
So it didn’t take long before they moved into a house with him. And just like that, little by little and through the strange twists of fate, they ended up forming an odd family. At first, it was just the three of them. Tsumiki studied and handled most of the household chores. Gojo trained Megumi and took him on short missions from Jujutsu High School. Megumi improved his technique and soon became able to summon his shikigami more easily and for longer periods of time. Everything was right. A few years passed, and Megumi already seemed to have gotten used to this new normal.
Until he arrived.
Suguru Geto. They already knew him, since Gojo spent most of his free time with that man, but they usually didn’t exchange more than a few words. Megumi thought that if Gojo was childish, loud, and annoying on a normal day, those traits doubled every time he came back from seeing his best friend or when said friend was around. And the worst part—something Megumi couldn’t understand—was that Geto didn’t seem bothered by it. Quite the opposite! He fueled the white haired man’s delusions with sarcastic comments that only the two of them understood, and then gave him a lecture he didn’t even believe himself whenever Gojo crossed the line.
Well, fine. Megumi could get used to seeing Geto every now and then. He got along well with Tsumiki, probably because he had two daughters a little younger than her, with whom she often chatted about whatever it was that girls talked about. If things stayed as they were, everything would go more than fine. Megumi could get used to being the voice of reason in the house, he was starting to figure out how to handle Gojo too. The problem was that one day, when they left school, they found Gojo waiting for them at the gate. They usually walked home alone, since he was always busy at Jujutsu High or on missions. That afternoon, he took them to a new café nearby and told them to order whatever they wanted. Tsumiki was delighted with the place. Megumi tried to order black coffee, but she wouldn’t allow it.
Then came the revelation:
“Starting next week, Suguru and the girls are going to live with us,” he said casually, as if he were commenting on the sunny weather.
Megumi felt a piece of cake get stuck in his throat. Tsumiki smiled widely. Her eyes sparkled.
“Really? Can they sleep in the room next to mine?” she asked, patting her brother on the back.
“Of course! Besides, that’s the room right between yours and Megumi’s. So you four will all be close to each other,” Gojo replied, delighted.
The two of them started chatting excitedly while Megumi recovered, finishing his tea and wiping tears from his eyes.
“And Geto? Where’s he going to sleep?” he asked then, raising an eyebrow.
Gojo looked at him over his dark glasses and smiled.
“With me, in my room, of course.”
That explained many things: the silly giggles, the shared glances, the inside jokes only they understood. The stupid smile they gave each other from afar when the other wasn’t looking. Maybe Tsumiki was right; maybe Megumi was still rather naïve—at least when it came to human relationships.
The house had already been quite noisy with Gojo wandering around, but since he spent most of his time on missions or at Jujutsu High, Megumi and Tsumiki still had plenty of time to themselves. Now that they were living with three more people, daily life was turning into torture.
Nanako tended to leave her bedroom door wide open and blast music loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear. The only one who could negotiate the volume was Tsumiki, but since the songs were usually ones she herself had recommended to the younger girl, it took her a while to give in to Megumi’s reproachful looks and huffs. Somehow, she had quickly adopted the twins as younger sisters, and their adoration was mutual. The twins admired her and listened to everything Tsumiki said, even if that meant calling a temporary truce in the silent war they waged against Megumi.
As for Megumi, he spent most of his time outside, training. He liked summoning his shikigami dogs and walking around the neighborhood—basically excuses to get away from the noise at home. Sometimes he let Mimiko accompany him, because she was quite different from her sister. She was reserved and calm, but she often made sharp comments about certain situations that Megumi found impressive. He thought he might be able to get along with her, as long as Nanako wasn’t around. For now, he could tolerate it.
As for Geto, Megumi wasn’t entirely sure he understood him. He could see how someone like him would get along so well with someone like Gojo. When they were together, they spoke a language only they understood. The rest could only grasp a part of it. Geto usually appeared focused, rational, and a mediator, but there was something in his tone that let something else slip through: a mocking, sarcastic personality, like a restrained beast constantly wanting to break free. Behind the logic were repressed emotions, and Megumi always had the feeling of wanting to see more—of wanting to truly understand him. Why would the twins adore him so much if what he hid wasn’t more interesting? And more importantly: what were his intentions towards Gojo?
Megumi couldn’t say he was particularly interested in Gojo. He didn’t know if he had come to care for him—or, if he had, in what way. Tsumiki said that Gojo cared about him and that he didn’t need to be so harsh, but Megumi hadn’t asked anything of the sorcerer. They only lived together because their father had made some convenient exchange, and probably the only thing the two of them could thank him for was choosing a good person. Eccentric, but good nonetheless. However, if the darkness Geto carried within him harmed Gojo, then Tsumiki and he would be in trouble. He didn’t want to see his sister go without a meal on the table again. And he, as the mature and responsible older brother, would do whatever was necessary to prevent that.
Even if that meant getting rid of Geto Suguru.
That spring weekend was perfect for going out. Gojo had announced that he would take all of them on a picnic to see the cherry blossoms, so Geto prepared several food for everyone. They left early, loading everything they could into the car the two men shared. The twins each carried an enormous backpack, full of things they would almost certainly not use. Tsumiki packed her own bag and then helped Megumi pack his.
“Are you two ready in here?” Geto asked, poking his head through Megumi’s doorway.
Megumi shot him a murderous glare while Tsumiki answered that yes, they were ready, and Geto clearly got the message, since he didn’t dare set a foot inside the room. After telling them they’d be waiting in the car, he flashed a smile that was a little too formal and left. When his footsteps faded down the hallway, Tsumiki sighed and looked at her brother.
“What?” Megumi asked, looking away.
His sister pinched his cheek affectionately and handed him the full backpack.
“Come on, everything’s packed.”
When they arrived, it took them another ten minutes to decide the seats, until finally Tsumiki and Mimiko gave up the window to Megumi and Nanako (after Geto kindly asked them to). Gojo, who was wearing a Metalgreymon T-shirt and square sunglasses instead of his usual round ones, put on some music and they drove off.
“Megumi, why did you bring that jacket? It’s pretty hot today,” Geto commented, turning toward him momentarily.
“I told him to leave it, but he insisted,” Tsumiki added beside him.
“Traitor,” Megumi thought. “Nanako’s wearing a sweatshirt,” then pointed out.
“But mine is light, and it’s stylish. It matches my outfit,” she retorted, sticking her tongue out.
“Mine matches too!”
“Suddenly everyone’s a fashion designer,” Mimiko muttered with sarcasm.
Gojo burst out laughing, and Geto covered his mouth to maintain some semblance of composure. Tsumiki let out a giggle.
“And didn’t you try to hide Gojo’s Metalgreymon shirt before we left? He was looking for it for like fifteen minutes because you wanted him to wear something else, didn’t you?” Megumi shot at Geto.
Silence.
“Oh, really?” Gojo murmured, turning the music down.
“N-no… it wasn’t exactly like that,” Geto replied, without looking at him.
“So that’s why it was in the washing machine even though it was clean…”
“I put it there by accident,” the other lied shamelessly.
“I like your shirt, Papa Gojo,” Tsumiki said, leaning over to pat him on the shoulder.
The twins nodded seriously. Megumi glanced out the window, and through the side mirror his gaze met Geto’s. They stared at each other for a moment, swallowing their comments. Finally, a small smile tugged at the corner of Geto’s mouth, and he raised the volume of the music again.
When they arrived, Megumi got out with his backpack and waited for Tsumiki. She asked him to help the twins with their backpacks too and, after rolling his eyes, he helped Mimiko with her things. Gojo and Geto exchanged a knowing look and let the kids help each other.
There were quite a few people in the park, so it took them a while to find a place to sit. They eventually found a large cherry tree whose petals fell like rain over the grass. According to Geto, they wouldn’t have any issues with the sun there, so that’s where they settled. Then, Nanako asked Tsumiki to go take pictures with her. Megumi cast a quick glance at the two adults, who were chatting animatedly with soda cans in their hands. At one point, laughing, Gojo leaned toward Geto and planted a kiss on his cheek, prompting the other to push him away gently—though he was clearly blushing. Megumi twisted his mouth in disgust and looked at Mimiko, who was quietly combing her doll’s hair. Then he clasped his hands to cast a shadow technique. Mimiko looked up when a huge white dog poked its snout toward her doll.
“Wanna go for a walk?” Megumi asked.
The girl stood and straightened her skirt. Before following him, she glanced at Geto, who nodded instantly.
“Don’t go too far,” he said.
They walked among the trees, where the light filtered through the leaves. Megumi had a rubber ball that he occasionally threw forward so the shikigami could catch it. Then he offered it to Mimiko, and they took turns tossing it, though neither spoke much. That was fine. Megumi didn’t mind quiet people nor silence.
After the dog did a particularly difficult flip to catch the ball far from them, they both let out a small laugh. Mimiko glanced at him sideways.
“Why don’t you like Geto-sama?” she asked, without looking directly at him.
Megumi studied her for a moment, slightly uncomfortable. The dog returned to his side, and after receiving the ball, he ran his hand behind its ears.
“It’s not that I don’t like him,” he muttered.
“I’ve seen the way you look at him,” she replied. “Is it because of your dad?”
“It’s just… I don’t get him. Why do you adore him so much? That overly righteous morality, that fake calm… I can’t believe you don’t see it, and you spend more time with him than we do,” Megumi responded, irritated. He kicked a small rock on the path, frowning as he chose his words. “And Gojo isn’t my dad.”
Mimiko raised her eyebrows in surprise. Then, instead of what Megumi expected, she smiled slightly.
“I think you do the same thing,” she said with a shrug. Megumi blinked in confusion. “Even the way you talk… You also pretend to be like that, don’t you?”
He didn’t answer. His dog stared at him, wagging its tail. Megumi quickened his pace and decided to change the subject.
They ran into Nanako and Tsumiki on their way. The twin was explaining something she had learned to do on her phone. She, like Mimiko, could manipulate cursed energy, although their techniques were strange and they still didn’t know how to control them very well. On the way back to the tree, both explained to Tsumiki (and to Megumi too, against his will) that Geto didn’t want to force them to train if they didn’t want to, but that they did need to learn enough to defend themselves.
“Geto-sama doesn’t get along very well with people at Jujutsu High. He can only teach there because Gojo stepped in for him,” Nanako explained.
“Seems his word carries a lot of weight in the sorcery world, huh?” Tsumiki said, for whom all of that was distant. Megumi was grateful it stayed that way.
“Of course it does, the Gojo clan is the most important of all. Even if the two of them don’t talk about it and won’t tell us anything,” Mimiko added.
“But Gojo does train and spend a lot of time with Megumi, doesn’t he?” Nanako remarked.
The three of them looked at him inquisitively. Megumi instinctively stepped away, like a frightened cat.
“We just train,” he said quickly.
“But you spend a lot of time doing that. Doesn’t he tell you other things? What’s Jujutsu High School like?” Mimiko asked.
“I’ve only gone once…”
“Seriously?!” the three exclaimed in unison.
“What’s it like?” Nanako.
“What did you do there?” Mimiko.
“Did he make you fight curses?” Tsumiki.
“Of course not!” he snapped. With his hair standing on end, he really did look like a scared cat. “We went to visit Ieiri-san. I’m not interested in that place. I just do what I have to so we’ll be okay.”
“But Papa Gojo does care about you, Megumi,” Tsumiki said with a gentle smile. That was her ultimate way of scolding him when he behaved poorly.
“He’s not my father,” Megumi shot back. “Just like Geto’s not their father. And we… we’re not a family.”
The three girls fell silent. Almost instantly, Megumi regretted what he’d said, but the idea of apologizing made him even more uncomfortable. So they walked in a silence he now wished he could break, though he didn’t know how.
At some point, his dog melted back into the shade of the trees, and when they spotted Gojo and Geto in the distance, the twins ran toward them.
Tsumiki stopped walking, and Megumi turned to her. He expected her to be angry and prepared himself for a lecture that would be obvious to everyone and embarrass him. He could handle that. What he couldn’t handle was the look of disappointment in his older sister’s eyes when she met his gaze. And something else… pity, perhaps?
“Things haven’t been very easy for us, have they?” she said softly.
Megumi didn’t answer. He stared at the ground. Suddenly, his eyes burned. Tsumiki walked up to him and ran a hand over his head gently. She crouched to meet his eyes and smiled. Two strands of dark hair framed her face, highlighting the kindness in her expression. Megumi felt a stabbing pain of unconditional love.
“We’re not alone anymore, Gumi,” Tsumiki said. “Maybe we’re not a family yet, but they don’t seem like bad people. And it looks like they want to be here—with me, and with you too.”
Megumi lowered his gaze and nodded, letting a few tears slip out. He wiped them away quickly with his fist, as if nothing had happened. Tsumiki smiled once more and continued walking.
“I’m starting to get hungry, aren’t you?” she said casually.
“Megumi! Tsumiki! You’re going to miss the onigiri!” Gojo shouted from afar.
Tsumiki ran toward the others, and Megumi, after making sure he wouldn’t shed any more tears, followed her. They ate lunch peacefully, in a cheerful atmosphere largely thanks to Gojo. At one point, Megumi found himself laughing with them, and a warm feeling spread through his chest. For now, he decided to trust his sister once more.
After a long and fun day, everyone returned to the car to head back home. Gojo and Geto were carrying the twins—one each—who were fast asleep. The girls tended to be perfectly in sync when it came to their energy, which meant that if one fell asleep, the other would doze off almost instantly. Tsumiki also yawned from time to time, but she walked steadily ahead of them.
“Satoru, we should stop to buy a few things for next week’s lunches before heading back,” Geto reminded him once they reached the car.
They gently set the twins in the back seat and buckled them in. Gojo let out a dramatic sigh.
“Does it have to be now?” he asked with exaggerated complaint.
“Mainly because we’re almost out of vegetables,” Geto replied, settling into the passenger seat.
In the back, Tsumiki and Megumi also sat and buckled up. Gojo clicked his tongue and started the car.
“Fine. Megumi, could you go with Suguru?” he asked, looking at him through the rearview mirror. “Some adult should stay with the girls.”
Megumi glanced at Geto, who offered him a polite smile through the mirror, then turned toward the window.
“No problem,” he muttered.
With that, Gojo seemed pleased. They drove to a nearby supermarket, and there, the two climbed out, promising to return as quickly as possible. Megumi caught a wordless exchange between the two adults before walking away from the car. Geto looked unsure about Megumi’s company, and Gojo seemed like he was pushing him to go along. Megumi pretended not to notice and walked ahead of Geto in silence. How annoying. They didn’t have to talk behind his back as if he were irrational. He could behave himself for ten minutes, even if he didn’t enjoy Geto’s presence.
Megumi took it as a challenge: if they thought he behaved like a child, then he would behave like a child.
They walked through the supermarket shelves, and after the third or fourth time Geto put back the unnecessary items Megumi kept tossing into the cart just to annoy him, the boy wandered off a few steps to look at different cereal brands. Geto sighed with resignation, and went to select vegetables. From afar, Megumi watched a woman approach him. She looked to be in her twenties and seemed to be asking for directions to a product. Megumi watched Geto gesture kindly, with that irritatingly polite smile that made his eyes narrow when he spoke. The woman bowed her head slightly and walked away, leaving him to continue the difficult task of finding a ripe-enough avocado.
They returned with two bags each. Gojo stepped out to meet them and asked his partner to wait in the car while he and Megumi loaded the bags into the back. While they were arranging everything in the trunk, the woman who had spoken to Geto walked past them.
“That woman was talking to Geto in the supermarket,” Megumi said casually.
Gojo looked at her quickly, then at Megumi, a bit puzzled.
“Oh, yeah?” he replied casually. “And what did she say?”
“She told him he had nice hair,” Megumi answered naturally.
Gojo let out a small laugh.
“Well, Suguru does have nice hair,” he said, still smiling.
There was a pause. Gojo closed the trunk and then, still casually, asked:
“And what did he say?”
“He said thank you and told her she had pretty eyes,” the boy replied with a shrug, as if reporting something particularly uninteresting.
“Oh, yeah?” Gojo repeated, this time forcing a bright, electric smile.
“Satoru, everything okay back there? Do you need help?” Geto called, poking his head out of the car door.
“Naah, we’re good!” Gojo exclaimed, raising his hands in an exaggeratedly casual gesture. They got back into the car, and he continued talking as they buckled in. “Megumi was just telling me you were chatting with some girl.”
Geto looked at him blankly for a few seconds, until he seemed to recall.
“Oh, right, she came up to me when I was choosing the vegetables,” Geto said.
Gojo turned the key in the ignition a bit too sharply. In the back, the twins shifted in their sleep.
“So you’ve been telling strangers they have pretty eyes?” Gojo asked, still wearing that strange smile.
“Told her what? No, she asked me where the rice shelf was…”
“Or maybe she told you you had nice hair and you were sold right away?”
“Satoru, I have no idea what you're talking about,” Geto said, utterly confused.
“Suguru, logic tells me you should remember—you know, since it happened less than ten minutes ago,” Gojo snapped, no longer trying to smile. His voice was several tones higher.
In the back seat, Megumi stared fixedly out the window. Tsumiki watched the two adults argue louder and louder, then jabbed her brother with an elbow. He looked at her innocently and shrugged. That gesture clearly meant, No idea. Tsumiki frowned at him, obviously annoyed.
They drove home listening to Gojo and Geto argue. The twins, at no point, showed any intention of waking up.
The week always started with training after school. It was one of the gaps Gojo had set aside to help Megumi improve his technique. So, that day, he was waiting for him at the school gates. This time he was wearing a blindfold. He’d been using it more and more lately, as if the dark glasses weren’t enough. Tsumiki went back home with the twins, and the two of them walked in the opposite direction.
On the way, Megumi summoned his dogs. The shikigami ran ahead of them, playing with each other. Gojo let out an impressed whistle.
“You’re more natural at this,” he said proudly.
Megumi stared at his feet at the compliment.
They reached a wide park where the dogs ran across the grass. Gojo stopped beneath a tree and invited the boy to sit next to him.
“Today we’re staying here. Think of it as… a theoretical lesson,” he said.
Megumi looked at him, puzzled, but eventually sat down. That’s a new excuse, he thought as he settled beside his teacher.
In the distance, his dogs seemed to be digging a hole together. Megumi watched them with a smile. He knew they weren’t pets, but sometimes he couldn’t help feeling that soft spot for them. Somehow, he felt Gojo watching him through the blindfold.
“Were you able to summon any other shikigami?” he asked with interest.
Megumi nodded. He raised his hands and cast a shadow in front of them. Two white rabbits with very red eyes emerged from it. One of them hopped immediately onto his lap.
“Fantastic, Megumi!” Gojo exclaimed, raising his hands. He picked up the other rabbit and scratched behind its ears. “Of course, this isn’t anywhere close to a rabbit stampede, but we can work on that.”
Praise never came without something attached.
“I know, I’ll work hard,” Megumi replied.
They stayed silent for a while.
“You’re a lot like him, you know that?” Gojo said after a moment.
Megumi stared at him, wide-eyed.
“Huh?”
“Suguru. You remind me of Suguru when we first met.”
Then, in an exaggerated way, he mimicked Geto’s slightly hunched posture and—had he not been wearing a blindfold—Megumi would’ve sworn he was squinting.
“‘Satoruuuu~, you can’t talk to a teacher like that,’” he imitated. Megumi couldn’t help bursting into laughter at how accurate the voice was. “‘Satoru, behave like an adult.’”
The boy laughed until tears welled up in his eyes. Soon enough, Gojo caught the laughter too. They both laughed until they had to clutch their stomachs and wipe their faces. Eventually, Megumi sighed and looked back toward his dogs, who seemed to have found some kind of treasure in their excavation.
“The girl at the supermarket thing was a lie,” he confessed.
“I know,” Gojo replied.
Silence settled again. The rabbit resting on Gojo’s lap had dozed off.
“We talk about you all a lot, you know?” he eventually said. “All of you. Neither of us planned on ending up raising four kids. I think it just happened naturally. I know our arrangement started differently, but over time, both Suguru and I decided we wouldn’t let anyone else be used like a simple tool. To me, you were never that.”
“I already knew that,” Megumi replied, staring at his hands twisting on his lap. “I care about Tsumiki… but I care about you too. I don’t know why you two keep saying I’m like him. I still don’t get it.”
“Well, he doesn’t get it either,” Gojo said with a shrug. Megumi raised a brow. “See? Even in that you’re alike! Neither of you realizes how afraid you are of being alone. You don’t know how to ask for help, but you want to be the first to help the people you love. And you’re always so…”
“Mature?”
“Forcedly courteous,” Gojo corrected. “When really, deep down, your emotions are boiling. And sometimes, if they boil too much, they explode.”
“I’m not sure that’s what happens when something boils…”
“Please, just go with the analogy.”
Megumi simply looked at him. He felt like he understood. In a way, Gojo was putting into words what Megumi sensed about Geto—something he hadn’t been able to name because doing so meant recognizing himself in those same behaviors. He wasn’t sure how much he liked that feeling.
Gojo ruffled his hair abruptly.
“Ah, but you’re both so cute when you show your feelings!” he exclaimed in a higher-pitched voice.
Megumi waited for the affectionate attack to pass, then pulled away from his grip. He fixed his hair and shooed him off with a hand.
“I think I can try getting along with him,” he finally said, exaggerating his resignation.
Gojo beamed.
“Oh, that’s great! You’ll like Suguru. Besides, he’s better at martial arts than I am. He’d be a good guide for your training—just don’t tell him I said that.”
Megumi smiled too.
“Thanks, da—”
He clapped both hands over his mouth instantly. Gojo stared at him through the blindfold for a moment. Then a devilish smile spread across his lips.
“Thanks what?” he teased, poking his cheek.
“Nothing,” Megumi muttered, looking away.
“Oh, come on, Megumi! What were you going to say?”
“Thanks!”
“Just once, it won’t kill you.”
“Let’s go.”
Megumi stood up and made the rabbits disappear. He started running toward his dogs without looking back.
“Megumi!” Gojo shouted behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder just as the tall, slim, white-haired man began running after him. When he looked forward again, he smiled widely, the wind tossing his dark hair, while that warmth he had felt earlier in his chest spread through his whole body. This was good. Megumi thought he could get used to this feeling.