Work Text:
Nobara Kugisaki has a problem. Well, two, really.
The first is that, apparently, Nobara is beautiful. She’s not sure how she didn’t realize this until now. For her entire life, Nobara has been sidelined, ignored in favor of more conventionally attractive girls. It didn’t matter how much makeup she put on or how sweet her smile was—people took one look at her and wrinkled their noses. They always seemed to be put off by the discordant, mismatched collage of features that made up her face. If, somehow, they could look past that, the façade was inevitably shattered when Nobara opened her mouth. She was loud, opinionated, and abrasive. None of which are qualities a pretty girl should have.
However, she has discovered that she is incredibly attractive to… quite a lot of women. “You’re a lesbian chick magnet,” as Yuji described it. Nobara smacked him for that, because he deserved it, but he was right. Everywhere she goes, what feels like dozens of women crawl out of the woodwork just to approach her. She’s probably being dramatic, but Yuji and Megumi can attest—it’s like a swarm. They’re drawn to her like moths to a flame, like planets to the sun. It makes Nobara feel like some kind of celebrity, fielding these endless requests for her number or a picture or anything at all to remember her by.
There’s one recent incident that stands out in her memory. A few days ago, Nobara, Yuji, and Megumi were sent to exorcise a curse at a nearby strip mall, and they stopped for smoothies beforehand. The cashier at the smoothie shop was a tall, tattooed lady, and Nobara felt her eyes on her as soon as she entered the store. The grin as Nobara walked up to the counter, the subtle glance at her lips, the lingering hand as the cashier gave her the cup… it was a little over-the-top, if Nobara was being honest. The trio left to exorcise the curse, but the cashier followed them , for some inexplicable reason. Nobara knocked the cashier out before they had to do any of the more gruesome stuff, but she still had the audacity to ask for Nobara’s Instagram before she hit the ground.
Yuji and Megumi think this is hilarious, of course, but Nobara finds it distressing. It’s exhausting to be desired so deeply by everyone.
Everyone… save for one person.
That’s the second problem. Nobara has realized that she is deeply, disgustingly, soul-crushingly down horrendous for her senpai, Maki. And Maki just happens to be the one girl in all of Japan who doesn’t seem to want her.
Again, Nobara’s probably just being dramatic. But, sometimes, it does feel like the universe is playing a sick joke on her. She knows that she’s far from perfect, and she’s made plenty of mistakes in her life, but she has no idea which mistake is so gargantuan that it warrants this level of punishment.
But that’s neither here nor there. Nobara will have plenty of time to throw herself a pity party later. Right now, she has bigger problems. It’s the morning of the Goodwill Event with the Kyoto school, and Nobara and Megumi have been sent to fetch water from the school’s kitchen for the other Tokyo students. An easy task, right? Certainly not something with any potential to go terribly wrong.
Well, somehow, it has gone terribly wrong, and now Nobara’s wondering why the hell the faculty are calling this the Goodwill Event, because she sees no goodwill in the eyes of Todo and Mai as they glare at her and Megumi.
“Fushiguro, what kind of woman is your type?” Todo suddenly hollers.
Nobara furrows her brow. That’s a hell of a way to start a conversation. She glances at Megumi, unsure of how he’s going to answer, since they both know his type is no woman at all. His type is a certain pink-haired boy with a heart of gold and a penchant for getting into accidents. But that doesn’t seem like an answer that Todo will accept.
“I-” Megumi begins.
“Wrong answer!” Todo interrupts. Before Nobara even realizes what’s happening, Todo has lunged at Megumi, dragging him outside. She turns to run after them, but a pair of arms grabs her from behind, holding her in place.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mai asks. One of her hands rests on Nobara’s ribcage. The other wraps around her neck.
“Let me go,” Nobara snarls.
Mai’s fingertips dig into her throat, pressing down on her windpipe. “No. I’m not done with you yet.”
“Quit acting so high and mighty,” Nobara snaps. “Maki’s a hundred times prettier than you. Stronger, too.”
At the mention of her twin sister, whatever was left of Mai’s patience seems to burn away. She removes her hands from Nobara’s ribs and neck and places them on her shoulders, shoving her to the ground. Nobara’s head hits the clear, cold glass of the refrigerator. The armful of water bottles she was carrying go flying across the linoleum floor.
Mai draws her gun and points it at Nobara. “Idiot,” she growls. “You should watch who you speak to like that, if you want to survive as a sorcerer.”
Nobara swears that she can feel the cursed energy building, that she can hear the gun’s gears grinding as Mai starts to depress the trigger. Then, the dull end of a katana appears beneath the gun’s barrel. Nobara turns to see a pissed-looking Maki glaring at Mai. Nobara would say that she’s never been more happy to see Maki, but that would be a lie, because she’s always happy to see Maki.
“Last I checked, you aren’t supposed to start fights until after the Goodwill Event starts, Mai,” Maki says coolly. God, her voice is so perfect. Maybe it’s a bad time for Nobara to be thinking that, but it’s not like she can stop herself. Maki’s voice washes over her, relaxing her muscles and soothing her sore head.
Mai glowers at her older sister. “Shut up,” she hisses. “This isn’t your fight.”
Maki steps closer. “Yes, it is, since you and your little friend back there are harassing my juniors for no reason.”
“Well, it’s about time they learn what the real world is like,” Mai retorts. “Consider this training.”
At those words, Maki’s expression darkens. “I’m the one training Nobara,” she says. Her words are shrouded in an air of finality.
Silence falls, but the conversation continues between Maki and Mai’s eyes. For a long, quiet moment, they go on like this, with Nobara staring up at them, clueless. Finally, Mai throws her hands in the air, relenting.
“Fine,” she says, inexplicably. “Fine. You win. I’m leaving.”
At the same time, Todo reappears in the entryway. “Uh, Mai? We should go,” he mutters, suddenly looking timid. Nobara briefly wonders what happened that could’ve totally destroyed Todo’s confident demeanor like this. Then, behind him, she sees Panda and Toge high-fiving, Toge pulling his turtleneck back up over his mouth. That answers her question.
Mai grumbles, but follows Todo out. “I’ll get you back later, Kugisaki,” she calls over her shoulder.
Nobara springs to her feet. “Quit acting like you’ve won already!” she shouts after her.
Maki puts a hand on Nobara’s shoulder. “Calm down,” she says. “Don’t waste your energy on her.”
Nobara can feel her cheeks heating up at Maki’s touch. She coughs, then covers her face. “Uh, yeah,” she mumbles. “I won’t.”
And maybe it’s Maki’s voice, or Maki’s touch, or the faintest trace of a smile on Maki’s lips, but Nobara does calm down. She’s at peace all morning, and she’s laser-focused in the afternoon when the Goodwill Event starts. She’s paired up with Panda, and the two of them patrol their section of the woods, keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of rival interference.
It’s not long until they find something. The branches on the trees around them start quaking, their leaves rustling in the wind. That’s strange. There hasn’t been any wind at all today. What’s more, this unusual wind seems to move in a circle. Nobara turns, trying to keep up with the wind whipping around her, the poor trees being jostled faster and faster.
“What the heck is that?” Panda asks.
A few things happen in rapid succession. First, they hear a voice—Megumi’s, Nobara realizes a moment later—shout “Nue!” Then, there’s a loud caw, followed by a shriek and a thud. All of this results in Momo Nishimiya crashing into a tree.
Well. Nobara supposes that answers Panda’s question.
Momo quickly rights herself, resettling her body atop her broom. She glares down at Nobara and Panda. “What? Never crashed into a tree before?”
“I’ve crashed into a tree plenty of times,” Panda responds—to what end, Nobara doesn’t know.
Momo ignores him. She’s obviously recalculating her plan of attack, since her initial plan of an ambush has been foiled. Just then, there’s a sound of twigs snapping, and Mechamaru runs into the clearing.
“Momo,” he calls up to his classmate. “I’m here to help.”
Momo shoots him a glare—is she glaring, or is her face just like that?—before she speaks again. “No,” she says. Her gaze fixes on Nobara. “I want to fight her. Alone.”
Nobara huffs. Why is everyone so insistent on fighting her today? It’s not like she’s the talk of the town in the Jujutsu world or anything. That honor belongs to Yuji. Yet, somehow, both Momo and Mai seem to have come into the Goodwill Event with the intention to fight Nobara specifically. Something else must be driving them. Nobara thinks she has some idea what that something is.
Panda takes this momentary lapse in action as an opportunity to launch himself at Mechamaru. Their explosive fight leads them to another part of the forest entirely, leaving Nobara and Momo alone. The silence continues until Nobara gets sick of it.
“So, are you gonna come down, or are you gonna stay up there like a coward?” she taunts.
Momo scoffs. “You’re so annoying,” she mutters. She flies out of the tree and into the open air. Nobara watches her for a second, admittedly a bit stunned at Momo’s ability to fly on a broomstick like a witch from a fairytale. Then, Momo whirls around in a circle, sending strong currents of wind rushing out in all directions. Nobara’s awe disappears as she ducks, struggling to keep her feet on the ground.
When the torrent of wind finally ceases, Nobara stands up straight. “Ha! You didn’t knock me over, you little witch!” she shouts.
That’s when Nobara notices that the broom has descended to the ground, the end of its stick pointed towards her. She hears Momo giggle from somewhere above her, and then the broom flies toward her, its dull end jabbing her in the face.
“Ow!” Nobara shrieks, cupping her cheek in her hand. “Hey!”
The broom flies back up into the canopy of the forest. A moment later, it flies back down, now with Momo perched on top of it. “You’re lucky that’ll only leave a bruise,” Momo muses. “Nothing permanent.”
She smirks, baring an almost-perfect set of teeth marred with a pair of jagged canines. “You have such a nice face, Kugisaki,” she says, her tone mocking. “You’ll need that, if you want to make it as a sorcerer.”
This is the second time that somebody’s said something like that to Nobara in the past few hours, and it’s gotten pretty damn annoying. “That’s stupid,” Nobara snaps. “All you need to be a good sorcerer is strength and lots of training.”
Momo lets out a bitter laugh. “Maybe if you’re a guy,” she retorts. “But not if you’re a girl. If you’re a girl and want to be a good sorcerer, you need to be strong and train a lot and be pretty and never argue with the men.”
Nobara snorts. “That’s so stupid. I’ve spent, like, 90% of my time at Jujutsu Tech so far arguing with my male classmates,” she says.
“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” Momo snaps. Her face turns red with anger. “Why are you being so insolent? I’m trying to warn you. All men suck, but the men of Jujutsu society especially.”
“I knew that already. Obviously,” Nobara chuckles, putting a hand on her hip. “I’m a woman too, you know. I know these things. I know how stupid the expectations for us are.”
She hazards a step closer to Momo. “But if you’re willing to accept this mistreatment, all so you can convince yourself that you’re a good sorcerer…”
Nobara leans in close, craning her neck so that her face is just a few centimeters from Momo’s. Momo’s expression suddenly shifts from one of pure vitriol to one of confusion, desperately searching Nobara’s eyes for an answer that she cannot have. Nobara sees Momo’s gaze flit momentarily down to her lips, which, really? Now is not the time for that.
The words that Nobara whispers next, though, completely shatter Momo’s fantasy.
“You. Are. A. Coward.”
Momo lets out a guttural cry of pure rage and takes to the sky again. She dives at Nobara like an osprey rushing to devour a defenseless fish. Nobara, however, is hardly defenseless, and Momo cannot knock her over.
Nobara sends three nails sailing through the air, aiming in Momo’s direction. “Are you done lecturing me yet?” she yells.
Momo swerves her broom out of the way just in time to dodge the nails. “Actually, no,” she replies. “Because I heard about how you treated Mai this morning.”
The nails fly right past Momo, piercing through the bark of a nearby tree. “The Zen’in clan doesn’t treat its women well,” Momo continues. “In the Zen’in clan, the best thing you can be is a man with an inherited technique. Since she has neither of those qualities, Mai was terribly mistreated.”
Nobara blinks. In her head, she connects the dots. If Mai was mistreated for being a woman, as well as for not having a cursed technique, then that means that Maki was most definitely abused as well. Strong, powerful, caring Maki, rejected by her own family for things she could not control.
The thought makes Nobara sick. The flame starts in her gut, making her want to keel over, but then it rises, up and up to her ribcage, her lungs, her heart, and instead of making her sick it lights a fuse inside her, and it sets her heart ablaze, and the fire cleanses her inside and out, and she can think clearly for the first time in ages.
She has to fight. She has to win. For herself, and for Maki.
Momo, oblivious to Nobara’s newfound burst of determination, keeps talking. “You should really have listened to Mai, you know,” she says. “You should stick with other girls who know how the world works, like Mai and me. That way, we can keep each other safe-”
“What, you want to be in a throuple or something?” Nobara mocks.
“It’s not a throuple, you brat!”
“Oh, so you want me all to yourself, then?”
Momo’s cheeks turn pink. “Shut up! Why won’t you just listen to me? ”
Nobara rolls her eyes. “Because you’re annoying. And I don’t need your protection, anyways. I have Maki.”
“Maki is a weakling!” Momo cries.
“No, she isn’t!” Nobara cries back. “Just because Maki isn’t a total self-righteous asshole like you and Mai doesn’t mean that she’s weak!”
Nobara can feel her cursed energy rising, that flame in her chest spreading, growing into a forest fire. “Maki and Mai grew up the same, and yet Maki’s a good person while Mai is terrible!” she shrieks. “I love Maki! I hate Mai, and I hate you! ”
Momo is left stunned from this outburst, giving Nobara a chance to thrust her hand in front of her and shout “Hairpin!” The nails wedged in the tree explode with cursed energy, its trunk splitting in two from the blasts. Momo screams, then scrambles to get out of the way as beaches come down all around her.
Nobara takes her confusion as a chance to leap into the air. She makes it look like she’s trying to grab Momo’s broom, but fails, her hands barely grazing the straw.
Momo smirks. “Ha!” she gloats, flying upwards. “You still can’t reach me!”
Nobara’s knees hit the ground. She looks up at Momo circling above her. Momo’s pretty cute, despite everything. Maybe if her attitude wasn’t so terrible, Nobara might have liked her. Momo’s smile is so victorious that it almost makes Nobara sorry for what she’s about to do.
Almost.
It’s only then that Momo notices the straw doll in Nobara’s hand. “What the hell is that?” she asks, suddenly sounding terrified. “Is that a piece of my broom sticking out of it?”
Nobara staggers upright, lifting the doll high above her head. “Maki never lets anyone tell her what she can or can’t be. I want to be like her, not you,” she declares. “At this point, the only person limiting you is yourself!”
She throws the doll to the ground, and Momo plummets from the sky. Nobara manages to get a few good hits in with her plastic hammer before a rubber bullet strikes her out of nowhere, knocking her unconscious.
Nobara is fine, in the end. She’s a bit concussed for a while, but she’s not seriously injured. Plus, the Tokyo team ends up winning the Goodwill Event, so. Ha. Showed those losers.
There is one negative outcome of the Goodwill Event, however, and that’s that Nobara only wants Maki more. Because of what she’s learned about Maki’s childhood, her desire for Maki has changed. At the beginning of the school year, it was just a passing admiration for Maki’s looks, strength, and elegance. It became a little crush, then it quickly snowballed into a big crush. Nobara wanted to go on dates with Maki and train with her and maybe kiss her, if she was lucky.
Now, it’s different. Nobara wants to take away all of Maki’s pain. She wants to hold her close, through all the good and all the bad, refusing to let go even if the world starts to crumble around them. She’s imagining a domestic scene, twenty or so years from now. Lazy mornings in bed, washing dishes together, chasing around a pet dog or cat or snake or something (Nobara’s not picky)—that’s the future she envisions. It’s the only future she can envision.
Dammit. Nobara is so far gone.
It hurts. All of this hurts. It’s a strange ache that starts in Nobara’s chest, but slowly seeps into her blood, pumping throughout her body until every part of her is dull and sore and heavy. Her body is slow, her mind is slow, and the next few weeks blur together, becoming a colorful haze. Nobara’s longing is so all-consuming, her fantasies so vivid, that the boundary dividing reality and dream becomes permeable, dissolving into almost nothing.
And, of course, women keep hitting on her. They blur together, too. None of them are Maki.
Then, one day, a terrible thunderstorm rolls through the area, though “rolls” might be giving it too little credit. This is the kind of storm that lingers, the kind of storm that’s really a thousand smaller storms joined together to create one huge natural disaster. At the end of every dark cloud lies, inevitably, another dark cloud. At the same time, there’s a terrible uptick of curses in a nearby mountain range, so personnel from the Tokyo and Kyoto schools alike are dispatched to see if they can solve the problem.
They start their mission during a lull between storms, but still, the mountain forest is hardly a welcoming place. The students may be sorcerers, but nature is still nature—impossible to predict, impossible to tame. Nobara learns this the hard way when she decides to go on a walk near their camp. It’s not long until the woods become an endless labyrinth all around her, each tree taunting her, begging her to ask herself if she’s been here before.
And just when she thinks her luck couldn’t possibly get worse, she runs into Mai. Mai, of all people. Of course, when Mai sees Nobara staggering through the woods, she looks incredibly pleased.
“Are you lost?” Mai mocks.
“Depends,” Nobara shoots back. “Are you?”
“No, I just thought I’d walk for three hours through an unfamiliar forest and see what happens,” Mai scoffs. “Obviously, I’m lost.”
The conversation ends abruptly when a cursed spirit that looks like a massive heron appears in the clearing. It flaps its wings, which are adorned with an equal amount of viscera as they are feathers. It caws at them, and the noise rattles Nobara’s bones. Nobara and Mai share a quick glance, then leap into action. It’s actually kind of nice, fighting alongside Mai. She can cover Nobara’s blind spots while Nobara sets up Resonance, and Nobara knows from experience just how much Mai’s bullets can sting.
Finally, Nobara’s able to pluck a feather from the cursed spirit’s wing, quickly wedging it between the straws of her doll. She draws her hammer from the waistband of her skirt, tosses the doll into the air, and hits it like she’s going for a home run.
The cursed spirit dies with a loud wail, then the clearing falls into silence. Above them, the sky breaks open like an ancient clay urn and rain pours out. Nobara feels the water seep into her clothes, feels them go slick against her body. It isn’t long until she catches Mai staring. Her eyes drift to Nobara’s neck—whether she wants to kiss it or tear it open, Nobara can’t tell.
Then, Mai meets her gaze, and Nobara feels her stomach churn. She’s squeamish beneath the barely-restrained lust in Mai’s gaze. Not because she’s unused to being lusted after, but because it’s Mai. Maki’s twin sister. She’s about as similar to Maki as any other human could possibly be. And yet, all Nobara can see when she looks at Mai is a distinct lack of Maki. It sickens her.
Mai’s lips part, and Nobara almost expects her to lunge, to sink her teeth into Nobara’s flesh. Instead, she speaks.
“Did you mean what you said?” she asks, her voice low. “At the Goodwill Event, I mean.”
Nobara’s eyes widen. She frantically flips through her memories of that day, trying to think of what Mai could possibly be talking about.
“What, you mean when I said that Maki was prettier than you?” Nobara replies. She lets out a small snort. “Yeah. I did mean that.”
Mai rolls her eyes. “No, not that, you idiot. I’m talking about what you said to Momo,” she huffs. “You told her that you love Maki. Is that true?”
The rain comes down harder, each drop falling through the forest canopy, making small, hollow noises as they hit the ground. All the little sounds combine, coming together to form a deafening cacophony. Thunder rolls, then, seconds later, lightning strikes in the distance. A delayed reaction. Nobara, for a moment, is motionless, refusing to react at all.
Mai sighs, reaching down to yank her boots up out of the mud. “Just answer,” she says, her tone brooking no argument.
“I…” Nobara begins. Her throat burns as the words come out, but she is powerless to stop them.
“…Yes, I do. I love her.”
Mai steps back, her lips pulling into a taut line. “Alright, then,” she says, resignation weighing heavy on her words. “I won’t interfere.”
A cursed spirit no larger than a lapdog bursts through the bushes. It snarls at the two of them, but a bullet from Mai’s gun cleaves it in half in an instant. There’s a small, black cloud as the cursed spirit dissolves into dust, and Mai disappears, leaving Nobara alone.
After some time, she rejoins Yuji and Megumi and they return to Jujutsu Tech. They sit in Yuji’s room, beneath the peeling poster of Jennifer Lawrence which Megumi still eyes suspiciously even after all this time. Nobara is quiet as her two classmates debrief the mission. “Debrief” might be too formal of a word for it, though, because they’re mostly complaining. Similarly to how Nobara got stuck with Mai, Yuji found himself inadvertently paired up with Todo, and Megumi with Kamo. Nobara listens as Yuji laments the dozens of times that Todo called him “brother” and Megumi grumbles over Kamo’s ridiculous clan-heir posturing. Nobara is never usually this reserved after such an exciting day, but today she can’t even bring herself to laugh at their anecdotes or scoff at the ridiculous eyes Yuji is making at Megumi.
It isn’t long until the boys notice, however. “Nobara,” Yuji says, “what about you? How was your time on the mountain?”
Instead of answering, Nobara groans and buries her face in her hands. “I’m in love with Maki,” she mumbles.
“We know,” Megumi says at the same time as Yuji asks, “What does that have to do with the mission?”
Nobara shoots a glare in Megumi’s direction before turning to Yuji. “Not much, really,” she says. “But I ended up with Mai somehow, and she asked me if I loved Maki.”
Yuji frowns. “Why would she think that?”
Nobara’s cheeks turn pink. She lets out a long sigh, then speaks again. “Because… at the Goodwill Event…” She rubs her temples. “I might have… said something to Momo… along the lines of… ‘I love Maki.’”
Megumi snorts. “Yeah, that’s pretty unambiguous.”
Nobara chucks one of Yuji’s pillows at him, which any sane person would find gross, because Yuji is gross and who knows where his pillows have been, but Megumi makes no move to get away as the pillow hits him in the face. Which is even grosser.
Yuji, however, seems deep in thought. “Okay, so you love Maki,” he says contemplatively. “Well, what do you plan to do about that?”
“You could just tell her,” Megumi points out. “That would get it over with quickly.”
“I don’t know about that. That’s scary,” Nobara admits. “I need advice.”
Megumi’s eyes seem to widen a little at that. “Do not say that word so loudly,” he whispers, his tone suddenly urgent. “You’ll summon him.”
Nobara frowns. “Summon who?”
Her question is answered when the door swings open and Gojo bursts into the room. “Did I hear someone ask for advice?”
Megumi pinches the bridge of his nose. Yuji, however, is much more enthusiastic about Gojo's appearance.
“Hi, Gojo-sensei!” he says cheerfully. “Nobara needs advice because she’s in love with Maki.”
Nobara turns even redder at that, covering her face again. Way to cut to the chase, Yuji. Well, at least he ripped off the Band-Aid so she doesn’t have to do it.
Gojo rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Ah, so it’s love advice,” he muses. “I’m great at love advice.”
“You’re terrible at love advice,” Megumi counters. “You just tell the same story about yourself and Suguru every time.”
Yuji slings an arm around Megumi’s middle. “You know this from experience, huh?”
Megumi groans and buries his face in Yuji’s shoulder. “Shut up.”
Gojo feigns offense at Megumi’s insult. “Ow, you’re killing me, Megumi. You’re killing your poor old father.” he exclaims dramatically. He reaches down to ruffle Megumi’s hair. “Now get out of here. You’re late for game night with your sisters.”
“Hey, can I come?” Yuji asks.
Megumi stands, then offers Yuji a hand, pulling him up as well. “Yeah, Nanako told me I could bring my ‘dumbass husband’ if I wanted.”
Yuji, blessedly, doesn’t seem to notice the insult in that. His face breaks into a bright smile. “She called me your husband?”
The two of them leave, so Nobara and Gojo are left in Yuji’s dorm, which would be incredibly odd at any other high school, but not here. At Jujutsu Tech, this is probably the least odd thing to happen all day.
“So, you’re in love with Maki,” Gojo repeats, breaking the silence. He grins. “Well, do you know which strategy is completely foolproof?”
Nobara lifts her head from her hands. She thinks back to what Megumi said earlier. “Just telling her?”
Gojo shakes his head vigorously. “Absolutely not!” he says, almost shouting now. “No. That’s ridiculous. The best way to tell someone you love them is through a grand romantic gesture, of course.”
Nobara raises an eyebrow. “Is that what you did for Geto-san?”
Gojo snorts, as if that’s a ridiculous question. “Obviously.” He sits down on Yuji’s bed. Nobara opens her mouth to advise him against that, but he speaks again before she can. “It’s January, you know. Maki’s birthday is coming up. What are you getting her?”
Nobara sighs. She’s been thinking about this for some time. “I don’t know,” she says. “I don’t know what she wants. I mean, I know what she likes—I think—but I don’t wanna get her something that she already has.”
There’s silence for a moment, then a smirk crawls across Gojo’s face. It’s the same smirk he wears when he’s about to pull his trump card in a battle, or when he’s taking down a particularly cocky opponent.
“You know,” he says slowly. “I am your sensei. I have a key to your dorm room, as well as every other student’s dorm room.”
He fishes around in his pockets. Quite a bit of clanging can be heard as he does so. Nobara frowns. How many keys does Gojo-sensei carry around? After a moment, though, he lets out a small “a-ha!” and retrieves a silver key. He lifts it up like it’s an ancient artifact, letting it reflect the light from the fixture on Yuji’s ceiling.
“I’m not really supposed to do this,” he mutters. Then, he shrugs. “Ah, who’s gonna stop me?”
The bed creaks as Gojo stands. He tosses Nobara the key, which she scrambles to catch.
“You should go, by the way,” Gojo says. “I don’t think she’s in her room right now.”
He leaves the room then. Nobara, stunned, stares at the key in the palm of her hand. By all measures, it’s an extremely ordinary key, but it looks so, so beautiful right now. What she’s about to do is pretty unethical—but hey, Maki won’t even know, right? And if she does find out, Nobara’s breaking-and-entering will be overshadowed by the awesome gift she inevitably gets Maki. They’ll laugh about it, definitely… and then they’ll kiss, maybe. Hopefully.
Well, regardless, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Nobara pushes her morals aside and shoves the key into her pocket. It’s time to deal with this, once and for all.
***
Maki Zen’in has a problem.
That’s a lie. She has several problems. Her life has been abundant with problems from the moment she was born. But she’s able to ignore most of them. This particular problem, however, she absolutely cannot ignore.
A few months ago, a girl came into Maki’s life. She arrived at Jujutsu Tech like a summer storm, mystical and tantalizing and impossible to keep up with. She’s brash. She’s unapologetic. She’s beautiful. She deconstructed the world Maki thought she knew and then, armed with a hammer and nails, she built a new one.
Maki cannot take her eyes off her.
The problem is, nobody else seems to be able to, either. Nobara gets hit on more than any other person Maki’s met in her entire life. She hears the tales from Yuji and Megumi about all the women who go to great lengths for a scrap of Nobara’s attention. Like, some of these people have risked getting crushed by crumbling buildings. Ridiculous. (Of course, Maki would risk all her bones getting crushed at a moment’s notice if it was for Nobara’s sake, but who’s counting?)
The whole world wants Nobara. How can Maki compete with the world?
Maki has decided that, counterintuitively, the only way she can stand out is to be completely understated. In a sea of grand romantic gestures, whatever big thing Maki attempts will just fade into the background. So she subtly flirts with Nobara instead, hoping that small smiles and lingering touches and soothing words will be enough to draw Nobara’s eye. That strategy doesn’t seem to be working, though. Maki doesn’t want to be the thousandth person to serenade Nobara this month, but Nobara seems to be completely oblivious to anything less than total melodrama.
That’s why Maki has showed up at Toge’s room this evening. She needs advice. Without knocking, she bursts through the door. Toge and Yuta are cozying up on Toge’s bed, and Panda is on the floor. Yuta startles when the door swings open. Maki doesn’t even give them time to greet her before making her declaration.
“I’m in love with Nobara,” Maki announces.
Toge frowns. “Maki. Knocking. We’ve talked about this,” he signs.
“Doesn’t matter,” Maki says. She starts pacing the room. “I have a problem. I need solutions. Who’s got ‘em?”
Yuta shudders. “Well, whatever you do, don’t do some kind of grand romantic gesture,” he says.
Maki narrows her eyes and glances between Yuta and Toge. “What, is that how you two got together?” she asks.
“Yes, and it was a disaster,” Yuta mutters, his face turning a little pink.
Toge snickers and leans further into Yuta’s side. “It was not a disaster. It was cute.”
“Well, it was kind of a disaster,” Panda supplies.
Maki whips her head around to look at him. “You were there? ” she asks incredulously. “Why didn’t any of you tell me?”
“Because it’s embarrassing,” Yuta groans.
“It’s your own fault for listening to Gojo-sensei’s advice,” Toge signs.
“Oof,” Maki remarks, plopping down on the other end of Toge’s bed. “Rookie mistake, Yuta.”
There’s a knock at the door. Toge motions for Panda to open it, which he does. Geto steps into the room.
“Hey, guys,” he says, looking tired. “You wouldn’t have happened to have seen my husband anywhere, would you?”
The four students shake their heads. “You lost track of him again ?” Maki asks.
Geto rubs his temples. “Yes,” he mumbles. Then, he glances around the room and raises an eyebrow. “Why are all four of you in here, anyway?”
“I’m in love with Nobara,” Maki repeats. “And I came here to ask for advice, but these three are totally useless.”
Toge grins smugly. “Well, I wouldn’t know. I’m only ever on the receiving end of grand romantic gestures.”
“Oh, god, don’t do a grand romantic gesture, Maki,” Geto says. “It never ends well.”
The four students glance at each other, their faces scrunched up in confusion.
“But Geto-san,” Yuta begins. “Gojo-sensei always says that a grand romantic gesture is what brought you two together.”
At this, Geto’s eyes go wide. “What?”
“Yeah, Gojo-sensei tells us this story like, twice a week,” Maki says. “He never really goes into the details, but he says that you were ‘swept off your feet’ or something like that.”
Geto blanches. He covers his face with his hands and mutters something that sounds suspiciously like “This time I’m really gonna do it.” After a moment, he rights himself and clears his throat.
“It was good talking to you all,” he says. “Now, I have to hunt down my delinquent husband.”
He starts to leave the room when Maki stops him.
“Wait, Geto-san!” she calls out. “If Gojo-sensei didn’t perform some grand romantic gesture, then how did you two get together?”
Geto glances at her over his shoulder. “Oh. I just told him how I felt.”
Once Geto is gone, Maki springs up from the bed. “Okay. I’m gonna go do that,” she declares. “I’m gonna tell Nobara how I feel.”
“You got this, Maki!” Yuta cheers. Panda lets out a loud whoop.
Only Toge seems unimpressed. “How was that not the first thing you thought of?” he asks. He turns to Yuta and pokes him in the chest. “And you. Same question.”
Maki strides out of the room, partially because she doesn’t want to be there for whatever discussion Yuta and Toge are about to have, but mostly because she’s filled with a newfound enthusiasm. Her body feels like it's on fire, ready to burn through any obstacle in her wake. She could swear that she’s floating, not walking, down the hallways of the dorm building. Maki feels no fear. She feels invincible.
She decides to stop by her dorm room so she can grab her phone. She needs to text Nobara to figure out where she is, after all. Having Nobara physically there is a pretty crucial part of confessing her feelings to Nobara. But when Maki rounds the corner, she sees none other than Nobara herself crouched in front of her—Maki’s—door, fiddling with the lock. Nobara’s hair has fallen in front of her face, and her tongue is sticking out of the side of her mouth. Which is, admittedly, adorable, but provides no answer as to why she’s trying to break into Maki’s room.
“Nobara?” Maki calls out.
Upon hearing Maki’s voice, Nobara startles. She lets out a squeak—also adorable—and stands up straight, shoving her hands behind her back.
“Hi, Maki!” Nobara greets, her voice overly sweet. “Um, how are you?”
Maki suppresses a grin as she approaches Nobara. Honestly, whatever Nobara’s trying to do is more entertaining than anything else, but Maki wants to build the suspense for a little longer.
“Are you trying to break into my room?” Maki asks.
“N-no!”
“Yes, you were.”
“Yes, I was,” Nobara immediately relents, her expression falling. Then, her tone changes to something more desperate as she scrambles to apologize.
“I’m super sorry, though! I swear I wasn’t gonna steal anything!” she babbles, her face turning red. “It’s just… I was talking to Gojo-sensei about how I didn’t know what you wanted for your birthday, but I didn’t want to get you something you already have, so he gave me a key so I could check your room. It won’t happen again, I swear-”
“Nobara,” Maki interrupts. “It’s fine. I’m not mad at you. Take a breath.”
Nobara, who clearly hasn’t realized that she forgot to breathe through all of that, sucks in a long breath.
“Good,” Maki says. “Now out.”
Nobara exhales.
“Better?”
Nobara nods. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Maki responds. She’s silent for a moment before asking, “Do you want to come in?”
Nobara looks shocked. “W-what? You want me to come in?”
Maki shrugs. “Yeah,” she says, finally letting herself smile a little. “You still haven’t decided what you’re getting me for my birthday, right?”
Nobara nods. Maki unlocks the door to her dorm and gestures for Nobara to go in. Nobara does so, looking a little sheepish. Maki sits down on the bed and pats the spot next to her. “Come, sit.” Nobara does.
They’re only inches apart, but each inch feels like a mile, like acres and acres of untamed, uncrossable land. Nobara glances around the room, then up at Maki, her eyes as wide as two little full moons and just as bright, too.
Maki smiles down at her. “See anything you like?” she asks, trying to make this a little easier on her junior. Her question is bait, an olive branch, even, but Nobara doesn’t take it.
Instead, Nobara looks down at her legs and sighs. “Look, Maki, I can’t lie to you,” she mumbles. “The… the birthday gift thing was just an excuse.”
Maki clicks her tongue. “And here I thought I was getting a present.”
“Well, you still might,” Nobara murmurs, and wait, was that innuendo? Maki’s completely stunned, but she doesn’t have time to process that before Nobara continues.
“The birthday gift thing…” Nobara says, “was just an excuse for me to do a grand romantic gesture.”
Maki knows that now is probably the worst time possible to start laughing, but she’s heard the phrase “grand romantic gesture” about fifty times today, and it’s starting to sound ridiculous. She can’t suppress a snort. “Those never work,” she says. “Was that what Gojo-sensei told you to do?”
Nobara’s head snaps upwards. “How do you know that?”
“I have my ways,” Maki replies. “But, regardless, Gojo-sensei is full of shit. Per usual.”
Nobara blushes again. “Dammit,” she groans as she drops her head between her knees.
Maki’s silent for a moment. By now, she’s realized what Nobara’s trying to do. She doesn’t know if Maki loves her, so she’s trying to woo her. It’s sweet, really, but Nobara could probably punch Maki in the gut and Maki would still love her. There’s really no need for all this romantic hand-wringing. But, at the same time, Maki doesn’t want to embarrass Nobara further. Maki knows her too well. She knows that Nobara probably feels like an idiot, that she’s probably beating herself up already. She knows that Nobara probably feels like she lost her only chance.
However, Maki hasn’t lost her chance yet. She’ll be damned if she lets it slip away.
Cautiously, hesitantly, Maki lifts her hand, then rests it on Nobara’s upper back, just between her shoulder blades. It’s hard to stay focused, because Maki’s so deep in her adoration for Nobara that she gets terribly distracted by the little things, such as Nobara’s shoulder blades, but she pushes through.
“Maybe you could try a different approach,” Maki murmurs.
Slowly, Nobara lifts her head from her knees. She peers up at Maki. “What approach would you suggest?” she whispers.
Maki smiles softly as she says, “Just tell me.”
She removes her hand from Nobara’s back and reaches to interlace their fingers. She lifts Nobara’s hand to her lips. Kisses it once, twice, gentle as the beating of butterfly wings.
“I kinda love you,” Nobara finally says.
Maki grins. “There you go,” she says. “Isn’t that nice, to finally have that off your chest?”
Nobara nods. Silence falls. Maki’s breath is still hot against Nobara’s skin. It’s clear that Nobara’s still waiting for something. Maki lets out a small, affectionate sigh.
“Do I really even need to say it, at this point?” she asks.
“Just say it,” Nobara replies breathlessly. “I need to hear it.”
Maki lets go of Nobara’s hand and brings her hands instead to Nobara’s waist. It doesn’t require much effort to pull Nobara onto her lap, as she comes along willingly. Her thighs press into either side of Maki’s. Their foreheads and noses are nearly touching.
“I love you, Nobara,” Maki whispers.
Then Nobara kisses her, and Maki is helpless but to respond with twice the force, twice the vigor, twice the need . The need she feels is not simply erotic. It’s deeper than that. Its roots are twined within the very foundations of Maki’s being, and, now that it’s satisfied, its vines grow and grow, its flowers unfurling towards the sun.
The kiss is perfect. The kiss is wildly imperfect. The kiss is better than perfect because of how imperfect it is, because of how much they both had to go through to get here, because of the mishaps and the yearning and the agony, because of them. Maki recently asked herself how she, a single person, could compare to the whole world, but now she realizes it doesn’t matter. This kiss, this moment, this love between them is greater than the world itself.
Maki puts a hand on Nobara’s chest. Nobara’s heart is racing. To Maki, it feels like a nebula is collapsing beneath her hand, leading to a new, magnificent star being born. Gently, she pushes Nobara down, their lips still locked, until Nobara’s head hits Maki’s pillow. Her ginger hair spreads out around her head like a halo, and Maki thinks that’s fitting. Maki may be her senior, but Nobara has always been Maki’s guardian angel, her guiding light.
For a moment, they break apart. Nobara, apparently desperate to distract from her flushed cheeks and swollen lips, attempts to make a joke.
“Wow, I didn’t know you wanted me that bad,” she murmurs.
Maki reaches down to run her thumb across the smooth crest of Nobara’s cheek. Her smile is earnest as she asks, “Who wouldn’t?”