Abandoned | Jujutsu Kaisen

Chapter 38

"Haneki!" Someone shouts from outside my bedroom. It's Gojo-sensei's voice. I close up the book I'm reading, mentally remembering the page number (pg. 106, paragraph 3 on the page), and sit up from the bed. I stand up, head to the door, and slowly open it.

I tilt my head as I see my teacher in front of me. Didn't Maki say he was going out somewhere?

"What," I say, looking up at him. Am I allowed to die now? Or a new mission? Something about Itami, perhaps?

"Follow me," He waves his hand, a small smile on his face that shows excitement.

'Why?' I want to ask, but I just walk behind him, staying quiet. As we walk down the hall, I start sensing nervousness in him, and his mouth has become just a straight line. Huh.

[What sh- ink?]_Gojo-Sensei

I really need to work on reading his mind beyond that Limitless of his.

"Okay," Gojo-sensei says as we arrive in the basement I'm quite familiar with by now, "Just a few minutes ago, I... visited my, uh, family to ask some questions,"

I sense hesitation in his voice as he starts talking.

"And?" I ask.

He begins to explain again, "It's been a while since I saw them and everything, so I decided to-"

"Get to the point," I interrupt him, seeing that his whole 'backstory' will take up way too much of my time.

"Apparently... you- you are..." His mouth closes again, and I see him trying to cover up his constant pausing with a forced smile. I tilt my head in confusion. What is this that he wants to say?

I notice that he has temporarily allowed my mind-reading to reach his thoughts, so I hear what he was trying to say the whole time. And I go quiet.

[You're my sister]_Gojo-sensei

I take in a sharp breath, not knowing how to react or respond. Should I feel mad or happy? Am I supposed to show a positive reaction? What does he want me to say? How does he know? Did he know the whole time? What is this that I am feeling?

A wave of different complex emotions crashes into my brain, leaving me wordless.

"...so?" I decide to ask, lowering my gaze to the floor.

"You aren't alone. You never were," He says quietly, in a lower voice. Then he bends his knees until we are at eye level, and pats my head in a gentle way. I flinch at his touch, and my fists start to tremble slightly. Not from relief, but more from confusion.

"Then why-" I start to ask, a million questions swirling around my head.

"I thought you were dead," He answers before my question even ends as if he knew what I was going to ask.

"Because that's what the news said about me," I mumble, letting out a small breath.

"No. My parents told everyone that you were dead. Right on the day you were born," He explains, giving his head a light shake.

"But you weren't. And they had just thrown you away,"

"..." I stay silent as I try to process his words. So... Maki and Panda were right, after all. D*mn it.

"Hmm... that's not the reaction I expected from you," Gojo-sensei suddenly says in an attempt to lighten up the mood. I shrug and bring my head up again. He also straightens up.

"I still remember you as a baby," He continues talking, pacing around the basement, "I was about twelve. It was just before a Christmas feast," I slowly bring myself down on a couch as I listen.

"I went into my room to do something and heard my mother scream for my father. I had thought she messed up the cooking," He laughs a bit to himself.

"And when my father came back... he said you were dead," His voice quiets down. He slowly turns in my direction, and I finally notice that he's actually serious.

"Uh, well I'm not, so..." I say in an attempt to also try to sound serious about the matter. But even I can hear the disappointment and casualness in my tone.

"So to the main reason why I called you here," Gojo-sensei suddenly says, bringing up a new topic. I lean forward, towards him, a bit as I'm glad for the distraction.

"Now, we know that you're part of my family, Gojo, right?" He says.

I nod, and he continues, "Well, then you should be able to use some of the powers that I can,"

(727 words)

im so so so so so sry about the late update  ;-;