A hundred lives for the life of one (is this the end?) | JJK

CHAPTER THREE | JUJUTSU SORCERERS

It takes time, but Geto eventually calms her down. He's kind the whole way through, even without outwardly showing it with his expression locked in a scowl. He settles her whole soul, a thing near-impossible nowadays. And, when he made sure she was okay to do so, they walked her back to the dingy apartment. She was uncomfortable with the prospect of the frosty fool knowing where she stayed. If she had any say, she would beg Wasuke to move at their earliest convenience. Despite Nukumi not liking it very much, Sendai City was home. She liked the more rural areas Kaori frequented to get away from the bustle of the city. Although, that made them stand out more in the end.

They stop just outside the threshold of the entrance, encouraging the nine-year-old to fiddle with her long hair yet again. She wanted, badly, to cut it and style it as Kaori had. But Wasuke refused to let her do so. "We'll be leaving you here." Mused Cotton Ball.

Geto turns down to her, patting her head yet again, much to her annoyance. "I expect we'll see each other again-" He says lightly, an underlying meaning in his tone. His hand lifts from her head. "-take care of yourself."

Both of the teenagers turn to leave. Clutching her hands to her chest, she purses her lips in contemplation. Then, without a brain-to-mouth filter, she shouts. "Be safe Oniisan!"

The man she was obviously addressing spun around in shock, allowing her to indulge in a smug smile. Milk-head, not self-conscious enough, points a finger at himself in bewilderment and awe, asking to no one if that was for him. Instead of addressing the rude teenager, she smiles at Geto. "Give milk-head a good punch for me, Oniisan!"

With that, she exits the situation smoothly by entering the door to the apartment building. It shuts behind her with a creaking screech and sharp clunking noise, the sound of Geto and Snowcap arguing beyond the door serving as music to her ears.

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She smiles softly, placing the cake on the old table in their makeshift dining room. Wasuke was out for work and would be for the rest of the day. This left her to celebrate with Yuuji by herself. So, she scrounged what she could and made a cake from scratch. There was no frosting, and the cake was flat and flaky due to an excess use of flour and no eggs left in the fridge after breakfast that morning. That fact didn't seem to matter to Yuuji as he makes grabby hands toward the sweet delicacy from his booster seat.

"Cake, nee-san. I want cake." He whines adorably, cheeks puffed out in his frustration.

Giggling, she places her hands on her hips. "Not yet Yuu-kun!" She declares with a flourish, spinning once for the child's entertainment. "We can't forget the best part!"

Confused, Yuuji grumbles indecipherable baby-gibberish. It's cute, the way he's still confused and still making grabby hands for the poorly made cake. So, to get the show on the road, so to speak, she begins clapping her hands to an internal tune. The "Happy Birthday Song" slips past her lips with childish glee, smiling wide for her younger brother as she claps her hands to the rhythm. Intrigued, Yuuji tries his best to follow along, babbling and clapping his hands off-beat, but trying all the same. She ends the song, drawing out the last note while waving her hands close to her chest.

"Ta-da!" She cheers, wishing she could watch him blow out a candle. Unfortunately, the only candles in the house were for Kaori and Jin's shrine. To think that Jin had a place in her mother's shrine angered her often, seeing as he disappeared without a trace. Although, there was nothing she could do but wait until she inherited her mother's ashes for herself.

Yuuji clumsily claps, giggling. "Again again!"

Shaking her head and wagging her finger at the same time, she grabs the butter knife waiting beside the cake. "You have to wait for next year, silly!" She teases gently, sticking her tongue out as she cuts a manageable slice out of the flat cake for the two-year-old. "But I could... if you don't want any cake?"