Scarlet Eyes (Gojo Satoru x OC)

❂ XXIII. shadow siblings

Hey so turns out I felt like doing another filler where Kumori helps Megumi get his shikigami. Finna be a bit angsty because why not.

"Could you please tell him to stop getting into fights?" Tsumiki had her eyebrows furrowed, her hands on either hip as she was speaking to her older cousin. Kumori looked up from her book, ceased the stirring of her coffee, after the harsh tone from the usual sweet girl. 

"Well better to cure the cause than the symptoms right? Who is it that he fights anyways?" Kumori had her legs kicked up onto a chair and really wanted to get to her steaming coffee, always black with two sugars. Kumori restarted her stirring after hearing with the problem was.

"I don't know. He never brings home a friend, but he's actually pretty popular, apparently. That's what my friends tell me anyways. I find it weird, he doesn't sit with anyone at lunch, and is relatively quiet, but the students don't pick on him," Tsumiki explained. 

"Ah," Kumori smirked and nodded her head. "Our Megumi-kun has a dignified moral compass."

"Huh?" Tsumiki asked confused. 

"Actually..." Kumori also furrowed her eyebrows, but in thought instead of distaste. "It's actually pretty fucked up if I try to explain it to you. Good news, he's gonna survive in the Jujutsu world because of that moral compass."

"Long story short, the kids Megumi are fighting aren't great kids themselves, and I don't even know them. But having Megumi push them around a bit is probably some form of retribution," Kumori shrugged, not seeing how her younger cousin getting into fights is that much of a big deal. 

"But who is he to play god?" Tsumiki protested. "He should just leave it to the teachers."

"Age doesn't matter in our world. Just because someone has some sort of title like, general, higher up, principal, or teacher doesn't make them better than the people on the bottom. Positions can be bought so the merit and trust you have as your instinct will always be your best bet," Kumori's smirk disappeared. "But you're right, he really shouldn't be playing god and I'll have a conversation with him about that.  But also understand that he's not the same as you. His brain is hardwired for something else."

"You know sometimes I wonder what the real better option was, going with the Zenin or you. I have no idea what they'd be like but I know what you've brought to my brother. And the only thing I see is violence and death, and Megumi's life in danger," Tsumiki's tone was cold, prompting for Kumori to close her book and sit up straighter. 

"Tsumiki. I don't care about a lot of things in this life but I'll let you know that my thought process is in your best interest. You're a good person, one of the best I'll ever meet, but that mindset has no place in a world you don't understand," Kumori said her eyes steely. 

"But does he really have to go? Can't he have a choice?" Tsumiki's voice shifted, Kumori clicked her tongue in distaste. Desperation.

"Your brother isn't weak. He's gonna be one of the finest shamans out there–"

"I want him to be normal!"

Kumori narrowed her eyes. "Normal like what? Like you? Who's oblivious to the horrors of this world? And not become some monster like me?"

"Kumori-nee...I know you're no monster..."

"Do you? My job is to protect the world, and there will always be an ugly side to it," Kumori said coldly. "I wish Megumi could have a choice, but by denying him a true education will only hinder the safety of the world and jeopardise your safety."

Kumori lifted her coffee to her lips and sipped, the burning liquid sliding down her throat. "If it's any consolation, he doesn't fancy the idea of becoming a shaman either. He's hesitant to learn the things that I'm teaching and I've been patient, which is fine. But the world needs someone like him."