BOUND; jujutsu kaisen

ch. forty

CHAPTER FORTY . . .
. . . HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

"Are you sure???" Miran repeated three times, arms crossed as her gaze flickered between Satoru and Megumi. Tomorrow's Megumi's seventh birthday and Miran is very determined to make it a great one. Currently, she is being convinced by Satoru to make it a midnight surprise, that he'll take Megumi out for a few hours, "He'll know."

"Psh! Kids aren't that smart," Satoru flapped his hand back and forth, "And what's Megumi gonna do, bite me?"

Her eye twitched, "It's not him I worry about."

"Eh?!"

Miran wasn't really a fan of either of them going out until midnight. Also, Megumi's bedtime is usually ten so she suspects he'll fall asleep beforehand. She attempted to stand her ground all week, every time the kids weren't near he'd blabber on with the same presentation. So, reluctantly, she sighed, pensively thinking about what she agreed, "Fine, I'll text you when we're ready-" Miran pointed at him, "No teleporting."

With that, Miran watched as Satoru began putting his shoes on, soon joined by Megumi who looked almost like he was being punished. She was joined with Tsumiki who scolded Megumi for his pained look.

Since being back she noticed new things. One: Megumi has grown almost more than an inch. Two: Tsumiki really really loves to cook. Three: Moby is purple, at first glance she thought he was black. And lastly four: Satoru rarely wears out of uniform.

When they departed, Miran's eyes wandered more to Satoru, in thought. Even now he's still in his uniform, dark glasses and all. She remembers that he was almost always found in sweats and casual clothes, only putting on the uniform when there was school or a mission. He also comes over to their residents frequently, not even two days would pass where he wouldn't be there. He'd take the couch, still wearing that uniform, just without the jacket or shoes.

Miran hasn't been back at the school yet, still waiting out until New Year, but she does wonder what changed:

Is Shoko still planning to get her doctor's license?

Is Nanami still there or has he moved on to new things?

Are there new students (most likely)?

But one thing she knows for certain is that Satoru is overworking himself again, just like the spring day when... they were all still together. It wasn't hard to tell for her, even though he was pretty good at hiding it.

A pout formed on her face until Tsumiki tugged on her shirt, eyes worried, "What's wrong?" Softening, Miran patted her hair and shook her head with a hum, "Nothing at all, let's go before the bakery closes."

:･ﾟ✧:･.☽˚｡･ﾟ✧:･.:

"Tsu, what are you doing?"

Miran hummed gently, waiting for the cake in the bakery. Tsu hid from the window view, peaking a few times outside, "What if they see us." Letting the boys go, Miran didn't really give them a destination (not that Satoru would follow it). But from what she could guess they were probably training somewhere, that, or he was dragging Megumi down to his favorite sweet stop and engorging on his delights. Satoru always had a sweet tooth, but she noticed it grew more than what she remembered.

She shook her head, hand running down Tsu's brown hair, "They're not, but keep a good eye, yeah?" Now filled with determination, Tsumiki sharply nodded, "Mhm!" Looking out the window, people walked by and came in, then she saw her face staring back. Thoughts rang from her head, green eyes flickering to the scar on her cheek, then to her dark hair, brushing the wisp from her forehead.