Megumi's Flower ❀ | ɢᴏꜰᴜꜱʜɪ

[ XIII ]

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It was morning. I went down to the kitchen to eat breakfast with Satoru and Tsumiki. I was debating on just letting them eat alone and waiting for them to finish before I got breakfast, but I decided to eat with them today, mostly because I didn't eat anything the night before and I was incredibly hungry.

I was trying to avoid Satoru ever since I got the Hanahaki disease. I figured that if I wasn't around him as much, I would start loving him less. But that was very hard, considering we lived together and he was my guardian. It didn't stop me from trying though. Stuff like walking fast away from him whenever I saw him, not hanging out whenever he asked me too, kind of like the way we were when we first met.

I walked down the stairs, heading into the kitchen. I expected to see both Satoru and Tsumiki, but I only saw Satoru. He was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper. 

When I saw him I stopped in my tracks. I thought Tsumiki would be there with him. I didn't want to be alone with him. I turned to go upstairs before he spotted me, but it was too late. He saw me.

"Are you finally going to eat breakfast with Megumi? Or are you going to keep on avoiding me?" He called out.

I turned towards him slowly. "I'm not avoiding you," I answered, even though it was a lie. "I'm just...busy." It was a lame excuse.

And of course Satoru realized that it was a lame excuse, because he asked me, "Busy? Doing what?"

I couldn't think of anything to answer so I just shrugged. "None of your business," I said coldly.

Then he got up, walking towards me. I got more and more intimidated as he got closer. I wanted to run up the stairs, but I just stood there frozen.

Then he crouched down, right so he could reach my eye level, and he got in close. "But it is my business," he said. "Because I'm your guardian." 

As soon as I took a whiff of Satoru's cologne, I pushed him away. The overpowering scent reminded me of my feelings for him. So much so that I almost let out a cough, but I managed to hold it back. 

I'm your guardian, he said. Nothing more, nothing less. And I'm just a kid to him. And that's all I'll ever be. 

I looked down at my feet, "Nothing's wrong," I said, quickly. "It's just that, I, uh," my eyes darted around "I was busy. And that's it. But I'm not avoiding you," I lied. 

Satoru crossed his arms, clearly not buying my excuse. But he went along with it. "Is that so? Alright then. Let's just go and eat breakfast." He picked me up in his arms, but I started squirming to get out. 

"Wait, put me down!" I yelled at him. "Put me down!" I yelled again, squirming my way out of his arms. He finally complied and put me on the ground.

"What's wrong Megumi?" He asked. "I always carry you around. You don't like it anymore?"

I shook my head. "N-no. I'm already 13. So I'm old enough to walk without you carrying me everywhere. I don't need you to treat me like I'm special," I lied.

"Is that so? My Megumi-chan is old enough to do things without me now? Well I guess if you want to be independent so bad, I should let you. I'm your guardian after all," he walked towards the kitchen. I followed him.

Then I sat down, sitting at the table. "You don't have to say stuff like that either. Stuff like 'My Megumi-chan'. It feels immature and childish. Like you said, I'm older now. So just call me Megumi. And I'll keep calling you...Gojo." 

It was weird to call Satoru by his family name again, after calling him 'Satoru' for so long. But it would be good for me, because it would imply a sense of distance between us. I always mistook his treatment towards me as something that made us more than what we were, but maybe if I kept calling him 'Gojo' again it would be easier for me to just see him as my guardian, and let my feelings fade.

Sator- I mean Gojo, sat at the table and started reading his newspaper again. "Calling me Gojo again I see. Okay then...Megumi." He said, not looking at me. "If that's what you want, then we can that from now on."

"Mmm," I nodded, lying again. But you know what they say, if you lie enough times, eventually it becomes the truth. And in my case, I needed that to happen. My life was on the line after all.

Then I heard Tsumiki come down the steps, to join us for breakfast. She looked surprised momentarily to see me and Gojo together, since we were rarely together nowadays, but she quickly hid it with a smile on her face. "Gojo-san! Megumi! Good morning!" She greeted us and sat at the table. "What were you guys talking about?" She asked curiously.

Gojo put his newspaper down, "Good morning, Tsumiki," he greeted her back. "I was about to tell Megumi something, but it's better now that you're here to so you can hear."

I got up, grabbed a glass of milk, and sat back down. He was going to tell me something? I started sipping my milk through a straw.

"What were you going to tell us?" Tsumiki asked him.

He smirked. "How would you like it if you two had a step mom?" 

I almost chocked out on my milk. A what? Already? I thought he was just having a bunch of one-night stands, but he has a relationship with a girl that's serious enough for that? I thought about the girl in the red dress I saw that day, and I felt like I was going to be ill.

Tsumiki asked what I was thinking. "A step mom? You mean you're getting married already? But we haven't even met her before! I didn't even know you were dating!"

Gojo laughed. "I'm not. But I just wanted to ask you." He looked at both me and Tsumiki, observing our expressions. Is it just me or did he look at me for longer? It's probably just my delusions because of this stupid disease. Anyways he said, "Would you ever be okay with having a step mom?"

I kept drinking my milk, not answering. Tsumiki looked at me, worried, but I just nodded, like it was okay. 

Then she answered. "Well it's your life Gojo-san, and even if we are in your care we shouldn't get in the way of your happiness. So if you ever find a girl you like, then you should get with her. It might be nice to have a step mom around." 

I just nodded, agreeing with her. Yeah I was jealous, but I didn't have a chance anyways, so what did it matter? Actually it would be better wouldn't it? If Gojo got with a girl, it would be easier for my feelings to fade, I could move on, and it would be like I never got the Hanahaki disease.

"Megumi? You're okay with that?" Gojo asked me. It almost felt like he was reading my mind.

"Yeah," I said nonchalantly, trying to play it off like it was nothing. "Who you date doesn't matter to me. Like Tsumiki said, we're just two kids under your care. You shouldn't let us get in the way of any romance." I kept drinking my milk. 

"Hmm, okay," he smiled. "Nice to know that I have your blessing." Tsumiki got up and started preparing breakfast. I looked down at the table, not wanting to look up in fear that I would meet his eyes. 

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