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Chapter 6, Caught in Orbit

Pairing: Reader x Gojo Summary: Cursed energy can be expressed as inherited techniques, reversals, maximums.

Occasionally, cursed energy of a sorcerer will react with another sorcerer’s cursed energy, or perhaps their soul. In these cases, a bond is formed that can tie families together, increase power, or spark love.

Gojo discovers you are his match, the two of you have to wrestle with what the bond will mean

Warnings: Fighting, mention of prior injury Length: 3.4k Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5

His pace up the stairs could have been a sprint or a disgruntled stomp, and perhaps it should have been, but it’s a methodical accent that brings him back up to the surface.

Your conversation is already oddly distant as he returns to his office. He stares out at the green of the campus and the clusters of buildings that make up the city outside the protective borders- nearly everything feels remote in that moment. 

It was probably pretty stupid to let his emotions get the better of him, and he hadn’t even intended on talking to you. It was the way you hunched over the documents, so clearly intent on piercing together any sparse details that drove him spare. If someone had asked him two months ago whether a sorcerer could be romantic, he’d have laughed in their face, but somehow your spirit hasn’t been broken. 

As it is, he can’t take the words back now and you probably (maybe) would have figured things out if you kept researching- you seemed pretty intent. Now he won’t have to think about where you are or what you’ve found or whether he should say anything to you. It’s not like this is going to come back to bite him, and he’s got lessons for the rest of the week to plan. 

Gojo sighs and listlessly flips one of the files open. There’s got to be something he can take his students out to see. 

~*~

The alarm on your phone goes off, slicing through your dream. You forcefully tap to dismiss the blaring noise but don't bother to get up yet. 

It’s been weeks since Gojo confronted you in the archives but the encounter has shifted something. 

Without the threat of discovery on your research, you should be able to make monumental progress. But Gojo’s accusation flashes in your mind whenever you think of returning to the archives, souring your mood and even your motivation. You haven’t heard of any other injuries, despite watching and listening for any reports, and the information provided in your assignments have been fairly correct. 

More likely, you’d read more into the situation than there was to see. The pressure of being surrounded by death, by curses, isolated from anyone who isn’t, it’s gotten to your head and you’re suspicious of the very people there to support you. 

The days pass in an unproductive streak of missions, uninspiring afternoons spent wondering what life would’ve been like if you hadn’t been born with a technique. Individual assignments blur together and your days on call feel the same. 

Nights are more of an emotional affair, feelings come in cycles- anger and grief, frustration, pure disbelief. Gojo’s words play in your mind when you’re trying to fall asleep and you can’t help but think of the implications. It doesn’t feel real. And he hadn’t shown you his mark- there was no real proof that he was telling you the truth. 

But why confront you if it was a lie? You don’t have many connections in the Jujutsu world, nor material wealth, both of which you know he has anyway. Without any real history between you, Gojo would have painfully little to gain by making you think you were matched. 

It’s a poisonous cycle that you don’t seem to want to break. 

A second alarm chimes sharply- the one that means you need to leave. It's already 10 am and you haven’t left the bed yet.

It would be better to stay laying down and wrapped in your thoughts, thinking about being on-call makes you want to bury yourself and go back to sleep. But light flows through the small window in your room, and life has to go on. If you wait any longer you'll have to skip breakfast and risk being tired and hungry while being on call. 

After a final sigh, you drag yourself out of bed and dress. The late summer morning is humid and already boiling, the walk over to the dining area, your eyes dart around the grounds and you stay ready to dart away the moment you see a flash of white hair. 

Thankfully, there's not a sign of your supposed-paramour as you grab a cup of rice from the communal cooker. You don't bother to waste time sitting down, opting instead to lean against the counter by the sink. With your view of the front door and ability to quickly ditch your bowl if need be, this will provide you the fastest getaway option.

Gojo doesn't make an appearance, but breakfast leaves you feeling on edge nonetheless. It's unsettling how fast he could turn a corner or get from one side of campus to another, and you're not sure if he'll want to talk after his outburst, or if he'll be working to avoid you as much as you are him. 

Maybe you should memorize his teaching schedule so you can avoid him more effectively. Maybe you should put in a request to transfer to Kyoto. Or surely it wouldn't be too hard to learn another language and move abroad? You could take up a new name, learn some new skills, and maybe even get a job that doesn't include the physical embodiment of most people's fears. 

Instead, you walk yourself to the administrative building once more, trying to convince yourself that you're making the right decision. 

It's nearly as dry and dull here as it was in the archives, the paper windows that should let in the streaming sunlight are filmy and opaque with dust. The feeling is actually similar to the cutoff vibe you get within a veil.

Hardly any of the rooms are regularly used anymore, the doors are shut and worn patches of the tatami floors lead to the couple areas that still see traffic. You follow one of the routes to the on-call room and check in with Nitta.

“Hey, how are you doing?” She greets warmly. 

You exchange pleasantries for a moment and then dive into business, Nitta notes there will be two other sorcerers on the daytime shift today. 

“Have there been any initial reports? Do you think we’ll see anything big?”

“None so far today. Things were unusually quiet yesterday, which could mean anything today. I’ll keep you updated if we have any assignments come in!” 

You nod, then try to get comfortable on one of the low chairs. The furniture is sparse outside of the few chairs, who are thinning and flat from years of use. A few minutes pass while you scroll on your phone, and another sorcerer enters and walks over to Nitta, who is carefully monitoring her laptop in the corner. They check in and your eyes snap up- you didn’t know Ippei was scheduled to be on call with you. 

He had been unreachable in medical for several days after his injury, and in the very few conversations you've had since then, you hadn’t wanted to broach what had led up to his accident. Perhaps now enough time has passed to ask though- slow days on call leave plenty of time for conversation, and comparing details of your missions could be valuable for finding a common thread. 

Ippei talks to Nitta for a little bit, and though it feels invasive, you strain your ears to see if he brings up anything about his recent missions or whether there’s been more strange activity on assignments. Nitta or Ijitchi are the most likely to know more than just rumors, and whether there’s been any additional reports of mishaps. If you can think of a way to ask without arousing suspicion, it could be worth it to see what he knows. 

He finally turns away and sits next to you. Though there’s sweat on both your hands, you keep your eyes on the phone screen and wait for him to settle in. 

But Ippei greets you a moment later, and his voice sounds sure. You finally look directly at him, trying to absorb any changes and to determine whether he seems truly ready to be back in the field. Ippei’s broad face doesn’t look haunted, but sorcerers rarely do after years fighting curses and compartmentalizing messy aftermaths. 

“I’m glad to hear the on-call team didn’t have much to do yesterday,” you say neutrally. 

“Yeah, me too.” 

You let the silence rest for a moment.

“You’re doing well?” “Yes, doing well,” his voice is as bland as yours and doesn’t give anything away. 

“It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been on shift together, did they finally move you to afternoons?”

An ironic smile sneaks onto his face. “They’ve worn me down, the students can take care of pretty much everything in the mornings. But yeah, afternoons and overnights for a few shifts. There’s more activity later on,” he shrugs.

“I haven’t heard much about other missions lately.”

Ippei nods and he looks away. You check on Nitta warily and drop your voice further- the last sorcerer could show up for their shift any time.

“Not much about all missions I guess. I wanted to ask you about your injury, Akina mentioned the mission wasn’t -typical.” Ippei had met your eyes again, but visibly shutters himself.

“I got a cursed wound almost two months ago and the notes were wrong. There were multiple cursed spirits and they were stronger than they were supposed to be.” Here is where you’ll have to be most delicate. “It sounded like that may have been the case for you too, and I am … concerned, about our colleagues.” Your eyes flick back to Nitta, who likely can’t make out your conversation, but could still be a liability. 

Ippei follows your eyes with his own. “You aren’t the only one who is.. concerned. I didn’t know you’d also been injured, it wasn’t mentioned in the daily briefs.”

“I think there’s something wrong with the scouting, or with the notes that are being passed on. Two incidents in such a short time, it doesn’t feel right.” 

“Three.”

“Three? Who else?”

“Ryo. He wasn’t injured, so he didn’t make it a big deal, but his assignment last week was supposed to be a second grade at an elementary school, but instead he found nearly two dozen third grades. The difference in cursed energy between the projected and actual curses is significant, it shouldn’t have been missed. 

“That is a huge margin of error. Did he report the misalignment? And did you?”

Your heart is beating fast- three cases that hadn’t been made known to the professional sorcerer team is exceedingly suspicious, even for a management team notorious for their reservation. 

“No idea, but they called me in for a pretty thorough questioning after Shoko cleared me. It’s been years since I’ve seen more than a single member of the director’s board and there were two of them there.”

“Who was it?” The director’s board didn’t often bother themselves with the day to day happenings of working sorcerers, it was rare they intervened even if one of your colleagues fell in the line of duty. 

“I didn’t recognize one of them, probably from one of the minor clans. The other was Nobuaki Zenin. They had me go through the entire mission and asked some followup questions.” 

Ippei’s face is distant and his voice has hardened. More than anything you want to know what sorts of questions he was asked, and you debate how to sensitively phrase the question, but the door to the room slides back open and Ino Takuma huffs toward Nitta’s desk. 

The moment to ask is past, and you half listen to Ino explain his tardiness. 

Since at least one other sorcerer has encountered vastly wrong information in their case notes, it seems like there’s got to be something going on. Clearly you’ve got more nights ahead of you in the archives, and maybe more time surveying the higher ups too. You can’t be the only one who’s noticed a pattern, and someone has to have more information. 

You turn to Ippei and address him sincerely.

“Well I’m glad you made it out. There’s no telling what else is out there.”

He smiles back at you, but it’s more careworn than you’re used to. Even after being knit back together by Shoko’s capable hands, it will probably take time for him to recover. 

Ino sits down across from you, and as conversation turns to pleasanter topics, you allow your thoughts to change with it. When you’ve nearly run out of things to talk about, Nitta sends Ino to mentor one of the students on a mission- a Grade Three spirit in a park that shouldn’t cause much fuss. 

Eventually, Nitta does receive a report of a Grade 2 spirit in one of the suburbs, a non-urgent exorcize mission. You peek at Ippei from the corner of your eye and turn towards the corner of the room.

“Why don’t you send both of us? Things have been slow enough that we may not get another call,” you suggest. 

She frowns at her laptop. “You may be right, but I can't send you both on this. It's low priority and only a Second Grade, Ippei will take the case and we'll keep you here in case anything else comes up.”

Ippei rises and stretches his arms and You nod dutifully, but nerves still prick your stomach. There hasn’t been an on-call day this slow that you can remember. 

You’re left to resume scrolling on your phone until another assignment is called in. The stress in the room has ratcheted up though- your leg won’t stop bouncing and you wonder how things are going for Ippei- if it really is a Grade Two he’s facing and if he’ll make it back to campus safely this time. You scroll mindlessly, not processing anything but willing the visual noise to drown out your other thoughts.

Time passes, and Nitta finally breaks through your cycle of numbing. 

“We’ve got a report of another curse- suspected Grade Two. Ready to head out?”

You're already standing by the time she finishes her question, ready to pour this anxious energy into something besides over thinking. There isn’t a case file, just a single page with the address and fare to the correct part of town.

Luckily, the train ride is short and the reported spirit is legitimately a Grade Two. It seems to be a newly spawned curse, dangling its sinuous body over the front door of a dentist's office in Meguro City. It leers at you and winds itself further up the sign, farther from your reach. 

One of those missions then. You sigh and gauge whether you can quickly reach it with a knife. There's some foot traffic on the road but it's not overly crowded, so if you time it right a little toss shouldn't garner too much attention. 

The handle of the throwing blade is snug in your hand, the edges softened and slightly worn where it's been gripped hundreds of times. You envision the path of the knife and glance behind you at the rest of the street. 

“Are you waiting to enter?”

The woman is tall and fashionably dressed, holding the hand of a young boy. She gestures to the door of the dental practice. 

“Oh no, you can go ahead. I was just evaluating the sign. For the,” you scramble for a reason you might be staring, “cleaning service.”

You gesture down to your all-black uniform and hope that it comes off as managerial. 

She stares at you a moment longer and then nods slowly. She’s got a strange expression on her face now, and she tugs her son a bit closer. 

“Have a nice afternoon.” She walks the boy into the building, sparing you a final glance as your bodies slide past one another. 

You relax a little. That could've gone worse, you think. 

Exorcizing is always awkward in public spaces. At least when you're in Tokyo there aren't too many stares, but out in the countryside missions usually get you lots of looks. The one good thing about Grade One assignments is the presence of the veil and not having to worry about regular people. 

You re-adjust your grip on the knife, imbue your arm and blade with cursed energy, then quickly flick your arm back and forward. The knife neatly releases and pins the curse near the neck. Your cursed energy pierces the spirit and sizzles against the soft flesh. 

It gurgles one last foul breath then disintegrates. A single step brings you close enough to catch the knife in its fall down and then casually walk away, the barest touch of a smile on your lips. 

You hop back onto the train and relax as the line brings you back towards the school. By the time you arrive back, there should be only a few hours left on call, and then you can do whatever you please with the day. 

The stops pass quickly, and soon you're walking the rest of the way back to the campus. The air has lost the heaviest of humidity and has returned to a mellow, golden warmth, but the hills around the grounds are still green and soft. You hadn't needed to activate your technique on this mission, but any opportunity to soak up some sun is a good one, so you linger on the paths on your way back. 

By the time you stroll back towards the administrative building, your mood is very nearly pleasant. Maybe you'll get back off campus in the evening, visit one of the indoor bouldering gyms. Or maybe you could get dinner out- the soba restaurant near the dentist’s clinic looked refreshing and fun. 

When you slide open the door, Ippei is lounging on the same low chair he’d left you from earlier, chatting easily with Ino. It’s unbelievable how much the sight eases your mind, any remaining tension you were holding in your shoulders and chest is immediately lifted. 

Nitta greets you brightly and asks a few questions about how things went, typing up the report notes on her laptop. 

“It looks like the two of you have another couple hours on shift. Grab some food if you need it, hopefully the rest of the day will stay quiet.”

You settle back beside Ippei and close your eyes. It's been a good, successful day. 

If Gojo continues to keep his distance and assignments stay around this level, you can build back to a sense of normalcy. 

Thankfully, the rest of the shift passes uneventfully, and you're relieved by a pair of younger sorcerers before the sun sets to take on the evening shift. Too tired to actually go out after work, you return to the common areas and make a simple dinner, searing some vegetables and mixing miso paste into boiling water before scooping some still-warm rice from the cooker. 

The dining area is largely deserted, another single woman eats while scrolling on her phone. It couldn’t be more different from your shift, packed onto the train and passing others even on the slowest streets. You take nearly all your meals alone, work alone, and you even climb by yourself. Sorcery is an isolating career. 

But you don't necessarily have to do it alone. Your mind returns to the woman outside the dentist clinic- fashionable while having a family, content with doing the things she needs to do everyday. She couldn't have been much older than you, but she had an air of someone far more put together. 

Gojo had been unexpected, but as far as you know, dating or marriage outside of your soulmate is allowed. If he hadn’t confessed to you, you would’ve started dating eventually anyway. You’re content to keep away from him and it seems that he’s inclined to do the same, so you’re bound to cross paths with someone else. Maybe in the future you'll find someone, someone to be a companion and friend, who you can build a life with. The thought is a balm, a crease on your heart flattening just a bit. 

Instead of moping around campus, perhaps it's time you thought more intensely about what you want your life to look like.

Tag list: @h0neysiba

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I'm super late for the cowboy gojo trend but better late than never

patr3on / Subscribestar / Twitter

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get this freak out of my sight immediately (affectionate)

[enterpris]

Pairing: Reader x Gojo

Summary: Cursed energy has many expressions- inherited techniques, reversals and maximums. 

Occasionally, cursed energy of a sorcerer will react with another sorcerer’s cursed energy, or perhaps their soul. In these cases, a bond is formed that can tie families together, increase power, or spark love.

When your soulmate is discovered, you have to decide what the bond will mean

Warnings: Moderate swearing, exercise, soulmate au

Length: 3.1k  Chapters: 1 2 3 4

Ao3: PlaidSparrow

Spending so much time in the depths of the archives has given you a new appreciation for breathing dust-free air. It’s crowded and dim and horribly under-cleaned, but at least it’s also quiet.  

You're tempted down into the archives in the morning after breakfast or once you're off call, this time for a purpose grander than your romantic life. Something in your gut says that the records from the missions you and Ippei were injured will be more insightful when compared with older “typical” mission notes. If it’s a recent trend to get wrong information in your mission notes, you can press the director team. Or you'll find there's nothing to worry about, and that Grades and numbers of curses have always been mistaken sometimes. 

You know there’s a host of protected areas and additional information below the school- there's got to be historical case records buried somewhere among the decrepit school notes. 

Today is only the second or third visit looking specifically for older case notes, but so far you haven’t found any records you want. Shifting the boxes to search leaves dust motes swirling through the air, and it seems like any move you make sends them flying again. 

You’d seen case records when you were searching for the marks, you know you had, but whatever documents did exist seem to have folded themselves back into the boxes and files, absorbed into the whole of the archive. 

Between all of your collective visits, it feels like you’ve searched thousands of documents already, but in reality you’ve covered a small corner of the total archive. You skim page after page, and set the rejected files into boxes neatly on the side, which will hopefully prevent you from losing track of any other papers. Perhaps by the time you’re done the place will be organized. 

Each day you sit sifting through ancient ledgers, thin academic records, and school history, and it’s another week before you come across the first box of case files. They’re nearly 25 years old, but they contain both the pre- and post-mission notes, and they'll at least give you a place to start. 

After that, every moment is a productive one. The days pass quickly, as you compare the initial notes with the end results, looking for any examples that are grossly different. Even though the air is stale, you’re more invigorated and motivated than you have on any recent assignments. This data should at least show you whether anything is markedly different from the past, or if this is the status quo.    

You skim the next file. There have been some cases where the suspected grade was wrong by a level or there was more than one spirit involved, but in the records you’ve read thus far, most of the final case records are aligned with the initial report. So why are there such huge inconsistencies happening now? 

You sigh and scrub your eyes. If there even is something going on now. Before you can be sure there is a real measurable difference, you’ll have to dig deeper and compare data from a larger time frame. With all of the evidence prepared that way, it should be enough to make a case to Ijitchi, see if he’s noticed the same, or if any surveyors or sources have changed for gathering information.  

The next box might contain something useful, you've got to tell yourself that, otherwise it'll be too tempting to return upstairs. Might as well move on to the next one. 

“It seems like you’ve been spending a lot of time down here.” 

You start at the voice behind you. When you look up, Gojo is standing near the entrance of the archives, peering down into one of the open boxes. You must’ve lost yourself in reading- people hardly ever visit the record rooms, so you hadn’t expected company. 

It’s a moment before you process his words- he’s noticed you spending time down here. Has he needed to do some searching of his own? You’re not quite sure what he does all day, but if he needs records for a student or a mission of his own, it would take precedence over your hunch. 

“Do you need the archive to yourself? I’ve gotten a good sense on how things are organized if you’re looking for something specific.”

The boxes near the front were related to academic records, nothing there should tip him off to what you’ve been researching. 

“Nah, not really. It seems like you’re looking for something though.” He turns towards you.

In the low lights and with his blindfold on, you hope he doesn't notice your hands tighten on the file. When you respond, you try to keep your tone light and natural. Technically there isn’t anything that prevents sorcerers from the records, it’s just a bit uncommon. “I’m just doing some research.”

“Oh yeah? Doesn't seem like people really look through these unless they're looking for something specific. You doing more work on that ‘passion project?’”

He plucks one of the papers out of the box and regards it casually. 

“I'm just curious. But I was about to head out anyway, so I'll leave you to it.” 

After placing the file carefully back in the appropriate box, you start for the exit. If you can keep your pace slow and don’t act guilty, it shouldn't give him any reason to suspect you. 

“I just mean, you’re coming down here all the time. Seems like you’re looking for something specific.”

You swallow and can feel your face heat. Something in his voice is less friendly than when he addressed you in the library, and he clearly doesn’t want you to go without telling him what you’ve been working on. The dust and towering boxes feel a little claustrophobic.

His voice still has a teasing quality, but there’s a harshness now that wasn’t there before. You stop a couple steps from the door. 

“Like maybe that mark on your shoulder? Someone might even be fooled into thinking you’re curious, looking for your other half. Don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”

The heat in your cheeks has progressed to sweat beading all over your body. Gojo had been one of the people to see your mark, you recall, but why would he mention it now?

“It’s not a crime to be curious,” you say, keeping your voice light and eyes on the boxes in front of you. He was there the day you got injured, you remember now that he had run out of the medical area. 

It’s been over a week since you did look at anything related to your soulmark, and you’re not sure whether this conversation is any better than if he’d confronted you about what you’re actually searching for. But as soon as the thought crosses your mind, you see this for the opportunity it is. 

“It’s normal to be interested, it’s on my body after all.”

He snorts and you stop, a few meters away from him and the door. It’s better to have him thinking that’s what you’re researching, and if you’re going to sell this, you’ve got to lean into the embarrassment and keep the conversation focused. “There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of information about the marks. Do you know anything about them?” You ask. 

If he'd taken the time to notice the mark in the moments he'd seen your bare shoulder, maybe he's got some insider knowledge.

“It just might be more trouble than it's worth. You might have someone from the Kamo clan scoop you up and marry you off.”

You glance up at him- he’s put down the paper and seems to have taken your admission at face value. And Gojo is one of the major clans- he might have more knowledge in his head about the marks than is contained in the whole campus. 

“Is that how it works in the big three?” Despite trying to maintain your casual tone, you regret asking as soon as the words are out of your mouth. 

“Who could say? I'm not married to one of them,” Gojo's voice is still bright. “You should think some more about whether it’s worth it though. To know.” 

He leans casually against the nearest stack, a long barrier to the exit. Then he tugs his blindfold down and you see the entirety of his face for the first time. His eyes are electric blue, and right now they’re piercing. 

He looks down on you and you’re frozen by the emotion on his face. It’s intense and serious, a complete departure to how you’d seen him in the library and the way his voice sounds. It makes you uneasy, the hair on your arms raises. 

It’s time to find a way out of here.  

“It’s not like it really matters. I’ll probably never find whoever I’m bonded to anyway.” You look away from his face and give a little shrug, then start to step towards the exit.

He huffs, a half laugh from his nose. 

“Don’t be too sure about that.”

Your attention snaps back onto him. His voice matches his countenance now, serious with a bitter note. 

“I thought that I would be able to choose one thing in my life. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were the one I’m bonded to.”

Your stomach drops. The gears turn in your head- but despite what Gojo’s just said, there aren’t any dots connecting. Surely he’s joking. 

“Sorry?”

Now he rolls his eyes.

“I thought that I was bonded to someone else.” His eyes flick to the floor for a moment. “But then I see you passing out on Shoko’s table, and there was your mark, clear as day. Sure wasn’t expecting it to match mine.”

Your mind is really moving now. Gojo thought he was bonded to someone else but couldn’t confirm their matching marks? How often he had shown up around the campus. 

“You mean-”

That was supposed to be a full sentence. It’s too much to process- you cannot believe that he’s known for over a month that you’re bonded and hasn’t said a word. He had time to accept this and learn about you, while Gojo is still an eccentric stranger to you. You latch onto that last thought and the confusion and shock ignite into anger.

“So you’ve known this entire time and didn’t even think to tell me? I wasn’t even-” you cut yourself off. The haze of indignation and anger won’t goad you into telling Gojo what you’ve actually been researching. 

Gojo huffs again and leans on the doorframe. You’re close enough to see the line of displeasure that tugs on his mouth. 

“You’re the one trying to hunt me down. Anyone paying an ounce of attention has noticed that you’ve been spending all your time down here.”

Damn it all. You can’t keep a single thought in your mind for more than a moment and your heart is beating so loudly that you’re not sure you’re even hearing him correctly. 

“Well you don’t-”

“Now I’m sure it’s overwhelming to find out you’re matched to someone this handsome, but I’m really not interested.” He cuts you off cleanly. He sounds more relaxed and less pressing now, like your attempts to speak couldn’t matter less. 

Your cheeks heat further. It’s more than a little humiliating to be so directly confronted and derided for your mark. Gojo’s reaction brings every doubt, every curious thought you’ve ever had about the mark back to the surface in an instant.  

“That’s fine,” is all you can string together. 

He gives you a loose shrug back. “As long as we’re clear that nothing will come of this. No need to keep sneaking around for information.” In this second you can’t imagine feeling anything but contempt for the man in front of you. “I never thought I would find a match anyway. No changes needed.” Your voice is blistering and so is your face. Anger and embarrassment mix in an awful cocktail within your mind. “Great.” 

His voice is back to its normal, cheery cadence. He walks out without saying another word.

The stale air of the archives feels oppressive and tight around your throat, and you’re nearly dizzy with emotion. Your feet are locked into the ground where they have been, who knows how long it will take before you can move them. 

Anger still fizzles under your skin, and you can’t shake the desire to scream into the air. Of all the sorcerers in the world, God knows how you were divinely paired with the most annoying man on the face of the planet. 

Thoughts are still rushing in your mind- going over every interaction, every time he randomly popped up for lunch since that mission at the beginning of autumn. He'd apparently known about your compatibility that entire time, why would he say something now? Adrenaline is still pumping through you, and it suddenly feels too tight and crowded in the room. 

Frustration wells up and annoyed tears start to form in your eyes. It’s overwhelming- anger at the world, at the directors, at your thankless job, at Gojo. How dare he barge into your private space and talk to you like that? 

It’s not as if you had any choice in the matter- you woke up one day and the Mark was there. And you weren't even looking for it, or for him! For all the rumors about his prowess and skill, evidently he hasn't noticed what you were actually researching. 

While mildly embarrassing, when you had been looking into the mark, nothing had actually come off your research. If anything, he probably knows more than you about the stupid thing. That’s all the clans do- hoard information and use it for their own benefit. 

Beyond taking every measure to avoid him from here on, there frankly isn’t much that you can do about being matched to Gojo, or his reaction. If you’d hoped for any closure by finding out more about the mark, all you can feel now is regret in the pit of your stomach, a bitter reprimand for seeking any answers.

Achingly, you finally move, leaving behind the archive. The day around you is irritatingly pleasant and warm as you head towards the sanctuary of your own apartment. No one should bother you there. 

But being alone in the small unit doesn’t shake whatever emotion lingers. You shower off the dust and scrub your skin, then try to take a nap. After half an hour tossing and turning you give up on the prospect of sleep and wander into the mini kitchenette. There’s got to be a way to think through this. 

Your fingers tap an anxious pattern on the countertop. Being a Grade One sorcerer certainly has its perks especially financially, and usually the difficulty of your day to day isn't any worse than you imagine another job would be. It’s been years since an assignment had you fighting tooth and nail for your survival. There are other job opportunities out there, even for someone with an untraditional schooling background, you could resign without fucking over your colleagues too badly. 

But you recall the parents of the girl you had recently rescued. Their relief had been palpable as they embraced the scraped-up child. If the was down a Grade One, who knows if the assignee would have gotten there in time for it to be a rescue mission instead of a body recovery. 

“Shit.”

The truth is, you'll never walk away. When you do die, it'll be with the knowledge that you fought curses to the end. You straighten your back and look back outside. The campus can be serene, with its rolling greenery and secluded shrines. Perhaps what you really need is some time to relax and reflect inwards, to bear the mental as well as the physical toll of being a sorcerer. After a quick change of clothes in your small apartment, you head out, away from the Jujutsu world. 

The sun sears through your eyelids as you raise your face to the sky, trying to savor the warmth on your skin even on a humid day. Even just a few minutes is enough to raise your spirits, and when you activate your technique, you can literally feel the strength returning to your arms and core. Back to back missions hadn’t allowed for a spare moment to recharge, save the sunlight passing through the window of Ijitchi’s car. That didn’t really compare to the unbridled sky, you think, and fill your lungs with fresh air. 

According to the time on your phone, there won’t be enough daylight to completely fill your reserves, but lately you can’t predict when you’ll be sent out. Having some stores will become a necessity if things don’t slow down. 

The hours of light that you can absorb right now should be able to fuel your technique, converting the sunlight into extra strength and speed for your next assignment. Who knows when you'll get the next opportunity to grab some sun, and it’s been too long since you indulged in any of your hobbies. 

The crag outside the city isn't too busy today, enough traffic to watch other climbers attempt problems and spot you, but not so crowded that you'll have to wait for your turn on the route. 

In the relative peace of nature, you let the concerns of work drain out of your mind, focusing on mapping out your path and how to make each grab count. You douse your hands in the chalk bag on your hip and dust off the excess, all moisture sucked out of your palms before you step up to the wall and take your first hold. 

Your hands mold to the grips, and you place your toe delicately on the lowest hold. You sight your next move and swing to reach the next hold with your left arm, keeping the tension on your foot hold. 

Before ten minutes have passed, you’re being cleansed in sweat and anointed with sun rays, the muscles in your legs and forearms pleasantly straining. The only thoughts left in your mind are how to complete the route and whether you need more chalk on your hands. 

You complete the climb and slowly lower yourself back to the ground, then step into line for the next route. 

Bouldering had become an accidental hobby to charge your technique and get away from campus for a little while. 

Methodically moving through the problems, you leave the climbing site with aching legs and fingers, with your reserves of cursed energy higher than they’ve been in weeks. The walk back to the school grounds feels long, but you savor the exertion and chatter of the regular people as you head home, back to your problems and the restraints of sorcerer society. 

Tag list: @h0neysiba

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Gojo studies from the anime

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I DONT WANNA PAY BILLS I WANNA USE MY MONEY FOR FOOD AND LIL GIFTS FOR MYSELF AND MY LOVED ONES

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playing around with color ♥

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I do want to post chapter 5 of CiO but I am so shattered by the 1D news

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Gojo

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Caught in Orbit, Chapter 4

Pairing: Reader x Gojo

Summary: Cursed energy has many expressions- inherited techniques, reversals and maximums. 

Occasionally, cursed energy of a sorcerer will react with another sorcerer’s cursed energy, or perhaps their soul. In these cases, a bond is formed that can tie families together, increase power, or spark love.

When your soulmate is discovered, you have to decide what the bond will mean

Warnings: Gojo POV, reference to injury, soulmate au

Length: 2.8k  Chapters: 1 2 3

Ao3: PlaidSparrow

There’s not much special about you, he’s surmised that. 

In the couple days since he first encountered you in the medical area, he's checked your sorcerer file and discretely asked Shoko about your abilities. She’d been unfortunately suspicious about any questions from the get go, and hadn't offered any particularly useful info. The pages of your records also left much to be desired- you’d gotten an accolade for good work on a mission several years ago, and at least he learned your technique. But the documentation could really stand to be improved. 

That’s how he’d been led to a more unconventional approach- getting first hand evidence. It’s not creepy, of course. Even with the blindfold, he can usually make out where people are located on campus based on their cursed energy signature. If he pays a little more attention to your particular pattern now, it’s really just to monitor from a distance.

What he did learn is that it doesn’t seem like you even do much, just get sent out on missions, take your meals alone, and slink off to the archives. That last part could mean trouble for him though, if you’re looking for what he thinks you’re looking for. 

Something has caught his attention though- he’s run into you enough times (and perhaps looked for your cursed energy signature) to see that the level of cursed energy in your body fluctuates. Like a lot. 

Now it’s normal for cursed energy levels to fluctuate a little, especially for the students he teaches. But it seems that your technique may allow for a wider range of energy than is common for others. The top levels he’s seen from you are more than he was expecting, to be totally honest, and Gojo can’t help but be a little curious. 

That’s how he goes from observing your cursed energy signature from afar to accidentally passing you while walking across campus, or happening to take a meal at the same time. 

It’s not as if the other teachers or career sorcerers pay him much mind anyway. Beyond the mind-numbing faculty meetings he has to attend every so often, people aren’t really lining up to talk to him. And talking to his students is nice, but the truth is that he spends most of his time alone or working too.  

And obviously he’s not going to strike up a conversation with you. It’s just that there has to be some reason your cursed energy was compatible enough with his to create the mark, and there’s no harm in being curious. He’s just staying on top of the happenings on campus. 

And between watching the first year students and supervising their missions along with his own, he doesn't have a ton of down time. But as the days go on without any confrontation, your blip of cursed energy still catches his eye as he goes about his days. 

You’ve been spending a lot of time down in the archives. It could be innocent, but most sorcerers don't have a reason to hunt through decades old records, especially not multiple times a week. And just because you haven’t approached him yet doesn’t mean you’re not planning to do so. Life would be so much easier if you let this go. 

Classes are done for the day and he finds himself scanning the campus, seeing the bolts of cursed energy move as sorcerers go about their days. It’s easy to pick out your mark from the others. He rocks once on his feet, and makes the decision. 

It looks like you’re grabbing dinner in the communal dining center. Gojo doesn’t usually spend much time there (the miso soup is awful, and he can buy a better lunch anywhere in the city), but you seem to take most of your meals on campus. The dining center is on the way to his office on the other side of campus, so he has an excuse ready. 

There's a few other sorcerers dining too, you're sitting with a woman he doesn't remember the name of, talking in low voices. Your expression is serious and reserved, it doesn't look like you're having a great conversation. 

Gojo strolls into the cooking area and rummages through the contents of the fridge. Some kind soul has made a huge portion of nikujaga- a little note on top inviting anyone who needs a meal to enjoy some of the meat and potato stew. He’s certainly in need of a meal (and a reason to sit and listen), so he scoops out a portion and quickly heats the meal. 

He heads back to the seating area, and pretends to deliberate for a moment on where to sit, but he knows already there's an empty table to your left. It should be the perfect spot to enjoy his meal and maybe learn whether you're digging around, looking for whoever you're matched to. 

He settles down and begins to eat, ignoring the glances from other tables. You don’t seem to notice his arrival though, your focus is fully locked on your companion’s face. That’s all the better for his purposes. 

It's a shame the Six Eyes didn't allow him to hear better as well as see, cuz more sorcerers have filtered in for lunch, and the low buzz of other conversations leak in and make it hard to hear what you might be saying. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be anything good, the way you scowl down at your bowl.

Snippets of your voice cut through the chatter, and he can hear you questioning your companion. Gojo studies your face while you talk, oblivious to his attention. Wearing a blindfold really is great. 

He can't hear much, but there's a name that's been mentioned a couple times, and Shoko's name too before your friend glances around and brings their head closer to yours. Soul marks are usually kept out of polite conversation, so it’s possible that you may be discussing them now. 

Gojo casually shifts in his seat, inching closer to your table, but the other voices in the room carry away or bury whatever it is you're talking about. He can't help a disappointed frown. There's no way to know if you've guessed his role in your soulmark yet, he'll have to continue keeping an eye on you. 

~*~

Your heart is stuck in your throat, waiting for Akina to deny what you thought you had heard.

“Yeah, apparently the case file was wrong, otherwise they probably would’ve sent you or I. There were three Second Grade curses, and Ippei barely made it out alive. He won’t be sent out again for another three or four days.”

“Really?” You sigh. “I’m glad he got out of there. How did you hear?”

“I saw Nitta dragging him out of the car. Shoko was already there and they needed help getting him down to medical. She was already using RCT by the time we put him on the table,” she pauses. “He looked really rough.”

“I didn’t think Ippei would be the one to get hurt.”

It’s true, though Ippei was a year above you in school, he’d always had a fiery spirit and the air of someone who usually got lucky. He was strong for a Second Grade sorcerer, and there’s a pit in your stomach thinking that he almost died. 

“I didn’t either.” Akina sighs and takes another bite. 

After your immediate return to work after your own injury, you hadn’t really felt like discussing that mission. But apparently you’re not the only one to receive less than accurate information from case notes, and Ippei hadn’t gotten as lucky as you had. 

You lean in closer across the table. 

“They sent me out with bad info too- I got hit in the field and had to get fixed up by Shoko. The file only had details for one cursed spirit, but there was a second,” you whisper. 

Akina’s eyebrows furrow. “We’ve all gotten cases where the Grade of the spirit was off, but there’s hardly any cases of multiple curses in a single assignment.” 

“That is strange.” Had there been anything else that connected your and Ippei’s cases? Only the management team knows the full details of all the assignments. There's usually some comparison of hardest cases when the career sorcerers get together, but it's rare to have many of you in one place. 

“Well I hope that the scouting staff gets better info moving forward.” 

Akina is almost done with her lunch now, but the conversation hasn’t left you with much of an appetite. 

“Yeah.” 

In a lot of ways, you’re going in blind. Being sent out on assignments is more unpredictable than ever, and you're worn out from the constant work and extra research you've been doing on the side. If you're not careful, exhaustion will catch up with you in a nasty way. 

You stir the noodles around your plate. Investigating the mark hasn't gotten you anywhere so far, but it's clear that something has changed in the way case notes are being dealt to sorcerers. Apparently your time stalking the records hasn’t ended yet. It would be more valuable to pour the time and energy that you do have into what's going on there, before one of your colleagues loses their life instead of a couple days spent healing. 

Paranoia leaks into your daily life after your conversation with Akina. The hairs on the back of your neck rise at the sense of unseen eyes when you creep down to the archives. Every meeting with Ijitchi or the directors is riddled with fear that they know what you’re searching for, that your conversation will turn into an ugly confrontation about what you’re trying to dig up. 

It’s uncomfortable and eerie, and leaves you tumbling into bed each night, in a dreamless sleep before your head hits the pillow. But you do pay closer attention to the comings and goings of other sorcerers- frequenting the common areas to see who’s on campus and who might be out in the field, listening for any straw gossip that another mission might have begun with bad info. 

The first week passes uneventfully. There doesn’t seem to be whispers of horrible missions or any abnormal mission schedules as far as you can tell. No one has approached you about the daily visits to the underbelly of campus, or commented on your own abnormal schedule. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the trivialities of work, and most career sorcerers take their time off seriously, so it’s unlikely that your behavior has attracted attention yet. 

On Monday the following week, you’re off call, and you use the time off to prowl through the campus once again. The first stop is the dining area for a quick breakfast. The space is largely abandoned in the stretch between breakfast and lunch meals. You make your way across campus, briefly stopping at the large building that houses most of the recreational spaces. There’s a few people relaxing on the low couches in the largest room, a variety show buzzing under the current of conversation. You don’t know anyone here particularly well, so you keep moving.  

Next, you head into the campus library. The room is far more welcoming than the archives below, with wide windows and paper doors that let in the natural light, and dark shelves with orderly rows of books and tables. On a whim, you step deeper into the library. You’d been totally focused on records and mission notes, but it’s possible that something up here may be useful. 

You search the stacks and pull a couple of references before settling at one of the long tables to begin reading. Nothing you grabbed should look controversial or give reason for pause, and frankly, it’s nice to spend some time outside your room or working. 

Hours pass before you hear someone enter the room. You peer over the top of the page and find Gojo browsing a shelf across the room. Your brow furrows- it’s during the week, shouldn’t he be teaching right now? There’s not any students accompanying him, though, and he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry. 

You aren’t certain if you’ve ever seen him this close, and he is striking. Gojo’s hair and uniform contrast in the warmth of the sunlight, and he easily plucks a book from the top shelf. He searches the stacks and meanders into a section closer to your desk. Your eyes snap back down to the page and you try to re-immerse yourself in the text. It's a study of the nature of cursed energy, how it is developed and how it can coalesce into cursed spirits. It's mostly theoretical and frustratingly hasn't yielded any info in the seventy-ish pages you've skimmed so far. 

When he’s just a meter away, he finally seems to notice that you’re sitting there. 

“Oh hey!” He calls, then says your name in a questioning tone. You nod once in confirmation. 

“I’m Gojo,” he grins. 

It’s impossible to keep the surprise off your face. 

Obviously he’s Gojo, anyone who’s spent more than a day in Jujutsu society knows who he is. Then at once, a suspicion in your gut. You glance back down at the titles on your desk- maybe he did see something curious there. 

“Yes,” you slowly say, including another polite nod. 

“Looks like you're doing a lot of reading.”

“It's just a bit of research, nothing too crazy.” You offer a tight smile in return. Hopefully he'll take the hint and move on without bothering you further. 

“Oh yeah? A little passion project?” He tilts his head to be parallel with the titles of the books.

“Something like that.”

You lean forward a bit and try to casually adjust the stack of books before you, tilting the names away from where he’s standing. It’s hard to tell where exactly his attention is since you can’t see his eyes, but it’s clearly somewhere on you or the books. Maybe you should have brought these back to your room instead. 

“Yikes, that’s quite a stack. I think I'll stick to this.” He gestures with the single book in his hand. His fingers cover most of the title, you can't make it out. “Well good luck with your findings!”

Without waiting for a response, he saunters back out the door. 

Huh. 

After the run-in at the library, you start to see glimpses of Gojo around the campus. You’re nearly certain he wasn’t so present before, as you surely would have noticed him around (it’s hard to miss a white haired giant), but it’s hard to explain when you cross paths while walking to dinner the next day or when he’s lounging in the recreation room after you finish your work day the following week. 

You’ve never really interacted with Gojo. Obviously, you’ve seen him around the campus, but there’s not much the two of you have ever had in common. He was working as a sorcerer when you started school, and soon after you graduated he had moved on to teaching. Now he only gets called out for the biggest, nastiest curses that the other Grade Ones aren’t strong enough for. 

But lately you’ve caught more glimpses of his bright hair while walking to grab lunch or to be filled in on your next assignment. His schedule must change constantly with the students’ needs- you remember hearing there are four first years, the largest group in several years. 

There aren't many sorcerers that live on the Tokyo campus, and most of them you'll only see one or twice a week. Perhaps it's just that you are spending more time in the common areas yourself. It's difficult to say, but your senses stay slight whenever you see him. As the most prolific sorcerer, he's got to have some sway with the leadership team, and you're not eager to have your research uncovered yet. Next time, you'll be more careful when you sneak into the archives. 

And you are. In your treks down to the library or the archives, you don’t encounter Gojo or anyone else, there’s only the dry, sweet scent of the books, and the crackle of pages and whispering sweep of folder covers against each other. Slowly, the suspicion lessens, peeled away by the monotony of day to day life and a lack of return on your investment in watching others. 

The prospect that there may be something larger going on is enough to spur your investigation further- nearly every day you find yourself searching for older case files, through records of the administration of the school and sorcerers throughout the years. If there is something going on, you’ve got to figure it out before someone else gets hurt, like Ippei, or worse happens.

Tag list: @h0neysiba

[enterpris]

And his dreams ⭐️

You deserved so much more, Gojo

[enterpris]

Caught in Orbit, Chapter 3

Pairing: Reader x Gojo

Summary: Cursed energy has many expressions- inherited techniques, reversals and maximums. 

Occasionally, cursed energy of a sorcerer will react with another sorcerer’s cursed energy, or perhaps their soul. In these cases, a bond is formed that can tie families together, increase power, or spark love.

When your soulmate is discovered, you have to decide what the bond will mean

Warnings: Gojo POV, reference to fighting, soulmate au

Length: 2.8k Chapters: 1 2

Ao3: PlaidSparrow

Thoughts whiz in his mind as he back-tracks up the stairs and across the campus. 

He’d expected to drop by, pick up some more bandages (the students this year were strong, but kind of clumsy), and then hang out with Shoko till she inevitably told him she had actual work to do. He certainly hadn’t expected to walk into a blood-soaked scene and find out he had a soul mate, one that was delirious with pain and high off Reversed Curse Technique, no less. 

Quite the revelation for a casual afternoon. 

You're not someone Gojo knows well. Certainly not well enough to count you as a soul mate, at least, regardless of the shape of the cursed energy on your shoulder. 

He reviews the couple times he had interacted with you- probably only enough to count on one hand, since your time in high school hadn’t overlapped. Maybe you had graduated before he became a teacher, but after he finished school, he wasn’t quite sure. The couple years after Geto’s defection blended into each other, heavy with a thousand emotions and questions. 

But you're not one of the teachers, so you've got to be a career sorcerer. 

There’s not a lot of overlap between the professional sorcerers and the school, their different goals make them separate entities that just share the same space. He didn’t really have much to do with the career sorcerers unless one of them is needed to recommend a student for promotion, and even then, it’s not generally a friendly affair. There aren’t many sorcerers worth their salt, at least the kind that he wants to provide a model for his students. You hadn’t been a contender in that respect. 

Frankly, the few times he had interacted with you, he hadn’t seen anything special. Enough cursed energy and strength to have a job and make it out alive, but he couldn’t remember your technique off the top of his head. Perhaps he should have taken the time to check that before bolting out of the medical area. 

He wracks his mind as he heads up the stairs to his office space to think of anything specific about you, anything at all that had stuck out. Had the two of you ever even had a conversation one on one? He can’t remember for certain.  

As he nears his office space he huffs with amusement- it’s not easy to catch him off guard like this. 

There had been no mistaking it though, even through the dried blood and healing wound. The curl of cursed energy on your bare shoulder was a match for the one on his own. Gojo could recognize the individual spark of your cursed energy intertwined with the mark on your shoulder, and as he settles into a plush chair, it settles in. The mark that’s branded on his own body has a match, and he knows without a shadow of doubt now who he’s bonded to. 

For another sorcerer, a soul mark might come with a lot of expectations, hopes, or romantic notions, but Gojo isn’t a fool. He doesn’t have any delusions of romance just because there’s a mark on his body, and hopefully, you don’t either. Knowing your identity won’t change anything in the end, and it isn’t worth it to pretend so. 

It is unfortunate that he found out like this, though. No doubt you were embarrassed he had seen the mark. If you could even remember his entrance. Blood loss can do a number on people, and he’s heard being healed by another sorcerer isn’t particularly pleasant. But some people got so worked up about the marks, it was kind of funny. His own clan would probably have a conniption if they knew about his own mark.  

Growing up there had been hopes of course, that the first six eyes and limitless user in hundreds of years should be blessed enough to have a soul mark of his own. To lead the clan into a new age of power and favor. But as he grew up and became a little more headstrong, the murmurs had stopped. Who knows what you even know about the marks as someone outside the largest clans. 

Once you’re conscious and aware of what’s happened, it’s possible you might try to talk to him or Shoko about it. And that is not something he's particularly interested in- no thank you. It could complicate things rather spectacularly. 

No one is aware of his own mark, no one has seen him stripped bare or exposed, he's been pretty careful to ensure that, but it wouldn’t be ideal for you to push this. Gojo has plans for the future, and right now none of them include cursed energy induced romance.

But the bond between cursed energies in different bodies is complex, and who knows if you would be able to realize the actual connection between you. He takes off the blindfold and focuses his attention outside the building. The distinct shape of the mark, intertwined with your cursed energy, as clear as day, tucked in the medical area. The blindfold can’t keep everything out, and now that he knows your mark is there, it’ll be unavoidable going forward. 

He runs his hand through the fresh-shaved hair at the back of his neck. He’ll probably have to deal with this, one way or another. The question is whether to keep his distance or to see what he can find out about you. It probably wouldn’t hurt getting to know you a bit better, to ensure you don’t find out about his own mark and prevent any accidental meetings, but that would require a significant amount of effort. 

Ah, well. You’re under Shoko's purview for now, and he’s got bigger things to worry about- and a day of lessons to plan and execute. He looks at the pile of cases and documents towering on his desk. Having a soulmate will have to be put on the backburner for a little while. 

It will certainly make things interesting. 

~*~

Your mission was a success, thank God. You'd located the curse in one of the small sports buildings near the tennis courts and exorcized it quickly before returning the girl to her anxious parents. All told, it probably took less than 30 minutes. 

While significantly less emotionally draining than retrieval missions, rescues always came with the excruciating process of explanation. It was easy enough to wave away parents’ fears with the return of their precious daughter, but after initial relief always came questions that are difficult to answer. It's obvious at a glance that you're not a part of the National Police Agency, and it's difficult to know what the victim will recall. The brain is powerful, and those who can't see cursed spirits fill in the blanks in their own way. You've found it's best to leave as soon as possible, making yourself and the encounter a nightmare that will blur away, given time. 

After returning to campus, mission completed, Ijitchi had promised you the following day off call. After two back to back assignments, you’ll need the down time to refocus and recharge your technique, you’re tired to the bone right now. 

Returning to your room and napping for the rest of the afternoon is extremely inviting, but there's an itching in the back of your mind that you can't quite slip. Instead of returning to your private space, you find yourself in the communal living area for professional sorcerers. 

Your thoughts return to your assignment the day before and all of the aftermath. Belatedly, you realize that you hadn’t really even debriefed with the director about the false info you had going in. He hadn’t seemed surprised when you pushed back on the accuracy of the rescue mission though. It’s more than strange that they’d request your presence so urgently, only to send you on another assignment. 

But more than your work schedule, you’re fixated on the mark. 

It’s been years since the mark was so heavy on your mind, you haven’t thought about it this much since you realized you had the damn thing. 

When you’d finally recognized what it was, you spent weeks doing cursory research in the library and archive searching for answers. A few furtive questions to other sorcerers got you more laughs and raised eyebrows than answers, but surely, you'd thought, there has to be something documented in the one of the two largest hubs for Jujutsu sorcerers. 

Late nights searching hadn’t turned up even a mention of the soul marks, and it soon felt silly to continue looking for anything. Work took up more and more of your attention, and any curiosity about the mark faded into the background.

Since it was on your back, most times it was easy enough to forget about. The couple times you’d tried dating were mostly limited to non-sorcerers, who wouldn’t be able to see the mark. But one or two dates always seemed to fizzle out, never resulting in much. Who knows if it was your soul bond or lack of chemistry that ended things. In all likelihood, you’d probably never meet whoever you were bonded to. The group of sorcerers in Japan is a limited pool, but there are Jujutsu Sorcerers everywhere on Earth. 

Anyway, it hasn’t made much change in your life since you first noticed it, and sorcerers die young and often. It’s just as likely that your match has already perished. 

You can’t quite convince yourself that’s the case though, so you sigh and head toward the archives again. 

The archives of Tokyo Jujutsu High are cramped, dusty, and dim. Like many of the underground rooms closer to the barrier, it doesn't see much use or upkeep from the general sorcerer population. Some of the ancient papers are yellowed and crumbling around the edges, you move them as delicately as possible when sorting through the disorganized stacks.

When you’d first come searching years ago, you had been thorough and optimistic, methodically sorting through each box before moving onto the next. It’s hard to recall what exactly you’ve looked through already, or if the files and boxes have been rearranged since then. It looks as disorganized as you remember, so you choose a stack of files and start skimming. 

Through the rest of the week, the mark stays fixed in the back of your mind. While running errands and grocery shopping, before you fall asleep at night, you can't help but wonder. 

Day after day, whenever you can find time, it's driven you back into the depths of the archive to search for answers, that traitorous curiosity within you hoping that this time will be fruitful. Out of caution, or perhaps embarrassment, you sneak down to continue rifling through the piles of records. Even as an adult you’d heard jokes about soul marks, but any hard evidence is as elusive as being fully rested. 

As you descend the stairwell again, there's a voice in the back of your head that feels silly for even trying. 

Your eyes strain as you make out the Kanji and kana. Some of the language is archaic, dating back over a century. Unfortunately, most of the records kept here seem to be related to student affairs. The last stack you picked up had detailed the team and individual events for the last 30 years of goodwill events. Other boxes are labeled with Grades and mission files from years past, time-worn pages peeking over the tops of the files. 

There doesn’t seem to be information on anything particularly useful where anyone can access it. 

You sigh and stretch your back. Hunching over the stacks along with missions and chores has left the muscles sore and fatigued. 

When you finally leave the archive, you're left dusty and irritable. The time you’ve spent secreting yourself away in the depths of the campus would've been better spent with a warm shower and a nap, you're in need of both now. You head back to the upper levels of the grounds, hoping your leftover nasu dengaku is still where you left it in the fridge. 

The communal dining area is mostly empty, there's a couple of career sorcerers eating and talking quietly in the corner. They don't look up as you head back into the kitchenette.

Thankfully, your leftovers are still safe in the fridge, so you set to work heating up your meal. After grabbing some fresh rice from the communal cooker, you return to the dining area and choose a table by yourself. The campus has never been a bustling hub, but lately it’s felt more and more empty. Or maybe you’ve been neglecting your few friends by spending all your free time with only documents for company.

Instead of continuing that morose line of thinking, you shift your attention to your phone and scroll while you eat your meal. The eggplant is soft and smokey, and melts in your mouth with the warm and fluffy rice, exactly what you’ve needed after a long day. 

Your eyes flick up casually when someone enters the space, and then you look again to make certain of what you're seeing. 

He's never taken a meal at the same time you have for as long as you can remember, but now Gojo is sitting at one of the tables across the room, unpacking a bag of takeout. 

You keep up the pretense of scrolling on your phone, but you can't help but be aware of him. The other couple sorcerers have now left, leaving only you two in the wide space, and he seems perfectly at home while setting up and eating. Gojo doesn’t even seem to be aware of you as he dives into his meal. The rest of your meal is uneventful though, he enjoys his spread of curry and pickled vegetables by himself and you finish your leftovers. 

The rest of the week follows just as quietly- you’re working nearly every day, once you’re sent on two smaller missions in a single day. None of the assignments are particularly taxing, but it’s getting harder to keep meals prepped and your space clean. Between fatigue and the lack of results, visiting the archive falls lower on your list of things to do.

Today, your apartment has become overrun by mess. There are empty water bottles littered on the desk and small table the school provided you with. A few shirts you'd tried on but never worn have piled up on the tatami mats too, and you hadn’t bothered to fold up your futon this morning. You sigh and gather up the bottles. Maybe it’s time to finally rent an apartment off the campus- the rent here is so cheap it’s been hard to consider in the past, but being so close to your work is becoming suffocating. 

At least if you got your own place, the director team would have to give you a bit of notice before missions, time to get from your apartment to the campus, and it wouldn’t feel like you’re on call 24/7. 

Spending time away from the base or in the common areas would do you some good. The managerial staff do a good job of keeping the kitchen stocked and amenities available for the working sorcerers, but they never bring in your favorite sandwiches from the convenience store. Maybe a quick trip out would be a good distraction.

The aisles are always tidy and organized, and it’s comforting to listen to the conversations of other patrons- the daily concerns of what to eat for dinner, when children’s events are, or what to do on the upcoming weekend soothe you. These people will never have to worry about hearing a snippet of a mission gone wrong or whispers of another fallen comrade. 

Escape from work can only last for so long, though. As you ride back through the city, your mind has already returned to the rest of your week, a never ending list of chores and preparations to survive when you're slammed. 

Luckily there's no one else in the common kitchen, so you put your groceries away quickly. The windows let in the golden afternoon sun. You can’t help but sigh. Now that the shopping is done and everything is in order, you’ve got to prepare for your next assignment, make sure that you don’t get caught unaware again.

Every time you think about the fight at the bank, your stomach still drops. If the projectile had hit the front of your body or you’d been a bit slower, you’d be dead. You’ve been spending too much energy and bandwidth on looking into the mark, and it’s time that you refocus and pour your time into something worthwhile. You’ll be sent out to do more work soon.

Tag list: @h0neysiba

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Sirens

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mentor

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I'm praying hoping swearing dreaming of a good ending

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plz forgive me for not posting in a month!!1! heres a wip i have stsg art in the works PLZ GUYS