Synopsis: In which you get accepted into the most elite private academy in Japan, known for its extravagance and hierarchy. Ever since, the game of thrones has began. As a commoner and defined the lowest in an academy of nobles and heirs to their family names, your sights were set from the very beginning on only the very best. After all, it was your dream to become a noblewoman. And you have the perfect plan to achieve it. With that being said, your final goals go way beyond than just having them wrapped around your little finger.
Content: jjk men x fem!reader, light manipulation, reader is cunning, hierarchy college AU (is that even a thing?)
A/N: Early update to compensate for the long delay for part 7!
You were always sensitive about being watched.
As you walked down the tree-lined path after Gojo drove away, you felt an uncomfortable prickling on the back of your neck.
The feeling grew stronger as you walked towards the end of the path.
Were those girls coming after you again?
But you were Gojo's girlfriend now. No one would dare touch you, at least, until you break up with him.
Suddenly, someone grabbed your wrist and shoved your back against a thick tree trunk.
You gave a small gasp of surprise, then recognized the face in front of you as you looked up with wide eyes.
Sukuna's face was as dark as thunderclouds.
Terrified by his expression, you went pale and nodded numbly.
A wave of betrayal and disgust hit him all at once.
You squeezed your eyes shut as you felt a rush of wind beside your ear, followed by a dull thud.
Sukuna had slammed his fist into the tree trunk.
Blood spurted from the newly made wounds, a few drops dripping down his wrist.
Right. You had never even once said you were a rich girl.
The first time he'd seen you at Skygarden, he had just assumed that you were one.
But back then, Gojo must have brought you in for God knows what reason.
His heartbreaks and moodiness over the past few days because of you all turned out to be one big, pathetic joke.
Your eyes were red with fear, body trembling.
What the fuck is wrong with this dude? You thought, quickly scanning your surroundings to make sure you could run away if he really started hitting you.
On the outside, you remained scared and shivering.
Seeing your terrified only fuelled Sukuna’s rage.
Now, he desperately wanted to destroy something.
"Sukuna…" Your voice cracked, close to tears.
That pulled him back slightly. He was breathing hard, but the fury inside him kept surging.
If he stayed any longer, he would lose control.
He gave your one last look, then turned and nearly stumbled away.
You slumped against the tree, exhausted.
You hadn't expected this.
Of course you knew he hated commoners, but you never knew it extended to this degree.
Getting through to him was going to be much harder than you would have thought.
And that reaction wasn't just disgust. It was almost like…a trauma response?
What is it between him and commoners?
You pulled out your phone and messaged the hacker.
You: The profiles you sent before only said Sukuna hates commoners. But why?
Blood Manipulator: That’s something buried deep. It’s not exactly easy to dig up, but if you pay extra, I can try bringing in a senior investigator to look into it ;)
If you didn't find out what was at the root of his issues, this might stall out.
You didn't hesitate long before transferring the money.
You: Just do it. I don’t care.
In a basement on the edge of West Street, somewhere at the edge of the Central Districts but far enough to count as the lesser ones, Choso Kamo sat in front of a massive screen and typed in a string of code.
The entire files of House Ryomen appeared in seconds.
He skimmed through it and noticed that the House had dismissed a huge batch of servants ten years ago.
That might be a lead. He could trace them and find out what had happened.
He printed out the files and tossed them to the people in the next room. "Find out where these people are now."
Three other men gathered around the table.
Their "hacker team" had only four people total.
Choso was the core, while the others were his assistants and brothers.
There was no "senior investigator”, but they try to projected a professional image to make clients feel comfortable enough to wire money.
Choso and his brothers were all people with specialized skills who didn't fit exactly into society, bonding together to make money, and willing to take on any job.
He leaned against the doorframe, watching his brothers get to work.
You, clever and pretty, were a lot like them, to be honest.
After messaging the hacker, you went back to your dorm to grab your books, then headed to the library.
You stayed until the closing music started playing, then tidied up your things and got ready to leave.
At the library entrance, you were stopped by Rei, someone you hadn't talked to in a while.
Rei was the one who came second in place in the entrance exam, a girl with short, cropped, shoulder-length hair with her focus completely on studying.
And she was the one thing you could come across closest as a friend.
Rei seemed to want to say something, her gaze long and hard on you for a few seconds.
"Are you really dating Gojo?" Rei asked finally.
"How could you go out with him? He and us are from completely different worlds. We shouldn't reach for things that aren't ours. Don't you understand?"
Her words were harsh, but you knew she meant good.
Rei also came from a poor family, and she had exhausted every resource she could to get into Jujutsu College. she cherished this opportunity dearly, and couldn't understand why you would risk everything to walk such a dangerous tightrope.
You and her had different views of the world, and neither were wrong.
"Rei, I'm not dreaming of anything impossible. It’s just that I like him, so I said yes when he asked me to be his girlfriend."
You didn't bother explaining further. Rei would never understand your real motives anyway. Better to use feelings as an excuse to soften the conflict between you two.
Now she thinks about it, she does notice that you do have much higher standards for your lifestyle. Even back then, with little money, you never skimped on food.
When you two ate together in the cafeteria, she would get the cheapest meal to save money, while you would pick whatever you liked and tasted best, spending most of your money on food and clothes without a second thought.
So when she heard you were with Gojo, Rei had assumed you had been seduced by the glamorous world of the rich.
But now you were saying you liked him.
Rei's expression was still conflicted, but her voice had calmed down.
"But you know. With someone like Gojo... it's hard to imagine it ending well with you," she paused, then added more bluntly, "kind of impossible."
You smiled and looped your arm through Rei's.
"I just want to be happy right now."
That fit perfectly with Rei's impression of you.
"Good that you know what you're doing then. I won't say more about this subject…but if you two break up... don't take it too hard."
It's easy to go from simple to luxurious, but hard to go back.
After glimpsing that dazzling world, returning to poverty wouldn't be easy.
You felt a slight stir. Though you found it hard to trust anyone, you weren’t immune to kindness.
You grabbed Rei's hand playfully.
"Relax. I cry over a scraped knee because it makes my legs look imperfect. I love myself too much. It’s not like I would hurt myself for a guy.”
Then you dug a ticket out of your bag.
"Here. This is a lecture by Professor Yaga, on the day after tomorrow. Let's go together!"
Yaga was a national treasure in corpse studies, something Rei was struggling to understand now.
He was only affiliated with Jujutsu College in name, and gave lectures very rarely.
Correspondingly, his tickets were impossible to get. People often offered ridiculous sums for them and still couldn't find one.
"Oh my god, how did you get this?"
Rei's voice jumped with excitement.
"Gojo gave it to me." You winked, "we're probably going to break up eventually anyway, so while we're together, I might as well make the most of it, eh?"
From then, Rei realized her worries for you were probably unnecessary.
If you could talk about breaking up with him so casually, your definition of "liking him" was probably very different from the passionate, heart-burning love Rei had imagined.
It was more like a cat getting a favourite ball of yarn.
You liked it, sure, but if it disappeared, you wouldn't grieve for long.
After all, there is always more yarn.
Blood Manipulator (you shiver at the name every time you see it because of how cringe it is) was efficient.
Three days later, you received the file he had dug up.
Entering the password, you read through everything carefully.
Sukuna's parents' marriage had been an arranged one, but his mother had been obsessed with his father since her teenage years.
His father, on the other hand, was always lukewarm towards her.
Even though he never loved his wife, he gave her the respect and treatment a wife deserved…for a while, at least.
When Sukuna was eight, his father fell madly in love with a commoner woman, so much that he brought her home and demanded a divorce with his mom.
His mother, whose obsession over his father had only grown over decades, couldn't take it.
She exploded, and her mental state deteriorated rapidly.
Even so, she refused to blame her husband.
Instead, she put all the blame on that commoner woman.
Younger Sukuna could only be held in his mother's arms at that time, as she tilted between tears and rage, screaming that commoners were filthy scum, and how they had destroyed their family.
According to the servants at the time, during that period, she would mutter curses under her breath and dig her nails into Sukuna's arms, then suddenly begin crying and apologizing, saying that she didn't mean to hurt him, and that the commoners had turned her into this.
The gentle, elegant mother Sukuna remembered was gone.
In her place was a terrifying madwoman.
Sukuna, being only a small child at that time, couldn't understand what was happening. His mother scared him.
Clumsily, he would try to comfort her while desperately hoping his gentle mother would come back.
Then one night, she called him into her bedroom and asked him to sleep with her.
He did, of course, because he would do anything for her.
That night was eerily quiet.
Even his mother, whose moods had been so extreme and violent, was unusually still.
The next morning, when the servants opened the door, they found his mother lying in bed, face paler than paper, with Sukuna still curled up in her arms and trying to wake her up for the past two hours.
Sukuna’s mother was dead.
The doctors came over and quickly ruled it an overdose of sleeping pills.
Her House pressured Sukuna's father for answers after that.
Not long after, the commoner woman disappeared as well.
You finished reading and felt a bitter sense of irony.
Two women, both dead, one by her own hands while the other disappeared and was probably also dead by someone else's.
On the other side, the man who had caused it all continued to live comfortably.
Maybe he even thought of the commoner woman sometimes with regret and bitterness and told himself his life was full of tragedy.
But that love affair of his had destroyed two people.
And even now, his son was still tormented by the aftermath.
You didn't feel much sympathy or pity for Sukuna.
Your own past wasn't any better than his.
Tch. He's lucky, honestly. Having someone as gentle and pretty as you to help him untangle his issues.
You just hoped the payoff in the end would be worth it.
Sighing, you flopped onto your bed and closed your eyes.
Why couldn't you have been born into a Greater House? Imagine having a handsome, gentle guy to help your through your problems.
"Commoners are filthy and low. They'll do anything to take our place. It was those filthy commoners who ruined us."
"Kuna, commoners ruined me."
"Please, I’m sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, baby. The commoners made me do this."
Sukuna's eyes snapped open. His breathing was still ragged as he looked around wildly in his dark bedroom.
Ten years had passed, and he still remembered that morning as clear as daylight, and the cold, lifeless embrace of his mother.
Sukuna was still drenched in sweat when he slid out of bed.
Walking into the bathroom, he turned on the shower.
Cold water poured down, clearing his mind slowly.
He stared at his knuckles.
The cuts he made when he slammed his fist into the tree earlier had barely scabbed over before the water washed them raw again.
And then, against his will, the image of your red-rimmed, frightened eyes surfaced in his mind.
He cursed under his breath and kicked over a shelf of shampoo.
Commoners! Commoners! Commoners!
Why wouldn't these damn commoners just leave him alone?!
He shut off the water, grabbed a robe, and headed straight to the third-floor boxing room to punch out his rage.
The heavy bag caved in, once, twice, over and over again.
His phone buzzed. After working off most of his aggression, Sukuna tossed his gloves aside and opened his phone in annoyance.
You: Hey…what's wrong? Did you take care of that cut on your hand?
On the other side of the line, you stared at your phone for a long while.
When you got no reply, you sent another message.
It didn’t exactly reach Sukuna.
Apparently, he deleted you and blocked your number.
You huffed out a breath, deleting his contact as well and flipping your phone face down onto the desk. He better not come crying to you when he wanted you to reply to his messages again.
You weren’t exactly surprised, but you mentally made a note against him anyway.
You were taking your books out when a commotion stirred in the classroom.
And there was your new boyfriend, in his expensive clothes and signature Prada sunglasses, manuring his way through the crowd easily (they parted ways for him) to get to you, with those blue eyes that glinted under the shades focused on you entirely.
Gojo had been showing up to your classes a lot lately. Every time he did, it sparked chatter.
"So hot. Why does Gojo keep coming? Is he actually into her?"
"Don't kid yourself. He spoils every girlfriend he has. Then he dumps them like yesterday's trash."
"But this is the first time he's ever sat in on a girlfriend's class, isn't it?"
You ignored the whispers around you, eyes lighting up as you looked at Gojo, surprised.
"What are you doing here? I thought you had a family dinner tonight?"
He sat down beside you and ruffled your hair.
"I missed you. So I left early."
House Gojo had deep roots and many branches. Family banquets were always a mess of backstabbing and scheming for them, and especially for Satoru, being the heir of the House.
Normally, he was used to it. But tonight, for some reason, all that sniping and chatters was annoying and irritating when compared to the thought of his sweet, soft girlfriend.
So, to everyone's shock, he had simply stood up and walked out, ignoring his father's angry shouts behind him.
You pressed your lips together and smiled, your doe eyes sparkling.
"But we only met this morning. Are you really that attached to me?"
Gojo laughed, clearly pleased, and sidled up closer to you.
"Mhm. I can't live without my girlfriend."
When he had first gotten together with you, you had always been shy.
Now you were getting bolder, even teasing him back.
None of his previous girlfriends had ever said things like that to him, and it was a whole new experience for Gojo.
Something he liked very much.
He had no idea that you had been testing the waters step by step, through both words, and touches, gradually pushing back the boundaries he had set for himself without him even noticing.
The bell rang, and you refocused on the class and started taking notes.
You held your pen with concentration, pretty face serious and intent.
Gojo knew you were diligent about your studies.
Sometimes, you would stop replying to his messages for hours long, and he would know that you were just studying and too focused to check your inbox.
You had your own principles. Whether it was studying or working your part-time job, you hadn't changed a thing just because you was dating Satoru Gojo.
He found it frustrating sometimes, but he also felt that this was just who you are.
Anyhow, wasn't that unique quality of yours exactly what had drawn him to you in the first place?
So, despite everything, he didn't try to distract you during class, only sitting quietly beside you.
Only when the old professor veered off from the lecture into a long talk about his own son did you turn your head to look at Gojo.
Damn this guy has a sexy side profile.
On impulse, you dropped your left hand from the desk and slowly hooked your fingers around his, where they rested on his thigh.
Gojo's brow lifted. He turned just in time to see you sneaking a glance at him, eyes gleaming with triumphant for holding his hand.
He smiled down at you, turning his larger hand over and squeezing yours gently.
Despite his words, your hands stayed together until the bell rang.
You walked out of the classroom together, under the burning stares of everyone around them.
The forum was going to be buzzing again tonight.
You felt a surge of satisfaction.
You loved being the center of attention.
After class, Gojo accompanied you to the library.
Jujutsu College’s library was the most well-stocked in the empire, with twelve floors of books in total. Commoners were only allowed on the first and second floors; while the other ten were reserved for nobles.
Of course, commoner students used the library far more often than nobles.
As a result, the first two floors were always packed. The sound of pages turning and pens scratching, when multiplied by that many people, made the place feel noisy and cramped.
You walked around for a while before finally finding two empty spots in a corner near the trash cans.
Gojo looked around the place and frowned.
So many people crammed together.
The spots by the windows weren't terrible, but the unventilated areas were stuffy and heavy, mixed with all kinds of weird smells.
Just being in here for a few minutes made him lightheaded.
You study here all this time?
As you moved to sit down, he caught your wrist.
You looked up at him, confused.
He kept his voice low as he picked up the books you had just set on the table.
It wasn't a good place to talk. You didn't ask any questions, and only followed him out quietly.
Only when you were outside did you ask, "what’s wrong?"
"It's too crowded in there, and the air smells weird. Baby, that is not a good place to study."
"It's fine. I've always studied here."
Gojo knew that commoners at Jujutsu College gets a completely different experience from the nobles, but knowing that you were on the receiving end of that treatment just felt wrong somehow.
You noticed he wasn't saying anything and bit your lower lip.
"It's okay. I've studied in worse places. And it's not like I have anywhere else to go."
Hearing your say that in such a soft, helpless voice hit him right in the chest.
He pulled you into his arms.
"Why don’t you come to Skygarden? I have a study in my lounge that I don't use it anyway. You can study there."
Your chin rested on his shoulder, and you let yourself smile just a little.
According to the school rules, of course, commoners weren't allowed into Skygarden. But if Gojo wanted to make an exception and give you access, no one was going to argue with him.
In Jujutsu College’s rigid hierarchy, status came with unquestionable privilege and authority.
You had wanted a nicer place to study, yes, but the real goal was to get opportunities to run into the other three at Skygarden.
And for that, all you had to do was check the forum.
Whenever any of the four showed up on campus, their whereabouts were posted almost immediately.
You didn't have to wait long.
Two days later, you saw a post saying that Sukuna was at Skygarden.
So you grabbed your books and headed over, humming to yourself happily.
The smart entrance system at Skygarden had already registered your facial data, so you got in with a scan and without any trouble.
And as luck would have it, just as you stepped out of the elevator on the top floor, a tall figure rounded the corner at the end of the hallway.
No need to manufacture a "coincidental encounter" this time, you thought with a small smirk in your head.
Sukuna just came out of the gym, his hair damp with sweat and his sleeveless workout top clung to the lines of his muscles.
All the tattoos on his torso and arms were on full display as you drank in the sight of him, drooling over his body internally.
Hey, you were only just a girl. Of course you love looking at muscles.
As Sukuna walked closer, your eyes darted away in panic.
Instinctively, you stepped back, but the elevator doors had already closed behind you, blocking your way to head down.
Sukuna looked at you, whose face paled instantly when you saw him notice you.
"Who let you in?" his voice was cold and harsh.
Stupid question. Who else but Gojo?
He realized it too and let out a cold snigger.
You blinked, confused, and met his mocking gaze head-on.
That look, like you had done nothing wrong, only irritated him more.
Your clear eyes seemed to shatter at his words. When you spoke again, your pretty doe eyes were already glistening with tears.
"Did you thought I was trying to get close to you? Was that why you blew up at me, and then deleted my contacts?”
Sukuna's gaze flickered. He pushed down the other feelings and sneered, "Aren't you? Don't tell me you got together with Gojo for no other reason."
Deep down, he knew you probably weren’t that kind of person.
But years of conditioning wouldn't let him see a commoner in any other way.
You turned your head away, biting your lip. Tears spilled over, rolling down your cheeks and dripping off your chin.
You weren’t going to explain yourself to him anymore.
Something churned in Sukuna's chest. He slammed his fist against the wall.
You flinched, not exactly from how much he scared you, but because how much it probably hurts from slamming his hand into the wall.
Owwww that must have been painful.
You almost felt sorry for his fingers at this point.
Last time he'd punched a tree and bled. Now he was punching a wall.
Is he masochist or something?
Instinctively, you reached out your pale hand and touched his wrist as he was pulling it back.
The sudden physical contact triggered Sukuna.
He shoved your hard by the shoulder.
You let yourself fall backward, landing on the floor.
A shelf with a porcelain vase on it that looked like it costed more than your life tipped over with you, and the white ceramic shattered everywhere.
Sukuna, instinctively, stepped forward, but his fingers curled back, and he stopped himself.
Hearing the commotion, Gojo came out of his lounge.
“Sukuna, what the fuck are you—”
He saw you on the ground, eyes widening.
Hurrying over, he crouched down to check on you.
You were pulled into his arms, and for a few moments, you were silent, still in a daze.
After a second, tears finally begin to well up and fall from your face.
Sukuna watched you two cling to each other like a pair of tragic lovers, as if he were the villain trying to tear them apart.
"Satoru, the top floor isn't just yours. I don't want to see commoners coming in and out of here anymore."
Gojo's face was even darker than Sukuna’s now.
He was about to yell at him when you spoke.
You raised your arm, and they both saw the gash on your right arm, running from your wrist to half the way down your elbow.
You had been bracing yourself on the floor, so they hadn't noticed at first. Now that you lifted it, your blood dripped down in a vivid red trail.
Sukuna's pupils contracted as he stared at the wound.
Which was why, when Gojo shot up and hit him right across his face, he was too stunned to dodge.
"Sukuna, what the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Sukuna wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes still fixed on the wound on your hand.
He didn’t even bother to fight back.
Gojo called the school infirmary's surgeon to come over immediately.
Scooping you into his arms, he carried you to his place.
It hurt. It reallyyyy hurt.
You were placed on the sofa, your lips pale and beads of cold sweat forming on your forehead.
You had wanted to fall and see Sukuna's reaction, but cutting your hand on the porcelain was completely accidental.
You weren’t stupid enough to deliberately slice your own hand open for a man's sympathy.
You were even afraid of needles.
And you valued your life too much.
Gojo pressed a handkerchief to your wound to slow the bleeding.
The doctor arrived quickly, and after an examination, he assured you and Gojo that it was just a small cut, not deep, and would heal completely with some care.
Gojo breathed a sigh of relief. You stayed curled in his arms, silent.
After the wound was bandaged up, he stroked your hair gently.
"Hey. It's okay now. Want to rest for a bit?"
You nodded weakly. He carried you to the bedroom, kissed your forehead, tucked you in, and closed the door behind him quietly.
You looked at your bandaged right hand and grimaced.
Sukuna's expression when he had seen your wound made it clear that he cared.
Well, that made things easier than you had anticipated.
You were worried that his hatred for commoners would make him completely distant from you.
Thankfully, the seeds you had planted while pretending to be a rich girl had taken root. All you had to do now was water and fertilize them quietly, and they'll grow, despite everything.
Gojo stepped back out into the hallway.
Sukuna was still standing by the broken porcelain, staring down at the floor, lost in thought.
Gojo's voice was flat and emotionless behind him.
He didn't say yes or no, but when Gojo walked toward the balcony, he followed.
"You went too far," Gojo turned and cut straight to the point, "whatever your prejudice against commoners is, she isn't like that."
Gojo knew about Sukuna's mother and how it had left scars.
But he didn't know that on the night she died, she had held her son in her arms, muttering and cursing.
He also didn’t know that Sukuna hated them as much as he did.
Mainly because Sukuna loathed them so much he never interacted with them, so Gojo had never thought much of it.
Plenty of nobles hated commoners.
He would just have to make sure that you and Sukuna never crossed paths.
But then again, Gojo had underestimated how much he cared about you.
He couldn't even stand to see you upset, which was why he had given your access to Skygarden in the first place.
He had also underestimated how much Sukuna despised commoners.
It had been barely two minutes since he had seen you, and Sukuna had already hurt you.
Sukuna looked at his angry expression and jabbed back with a snarl, "I thought you said it was just a game. Why do you care so much?"
Gojo knew it too. His feelings for you had already strayed from the path he had originally set.
He didn't know how long this would last, but in the short term, breaking up with you wasn't something he wanted.
"It doesn’t matter. She’s still my girlfriend. I don't want you doing anything to hurt her again. She has never done anything to you. Right now, you're the one who’s hurting her."
Sukuna's eyes darkened. The image of your blood leaking out of your thin, fragile arm resurfaced.
He kicked the railing in frustration and turned to leave.
"Whatever. She can come to Skygarden if she wants. But you better make sure she stay outs of my fucking way."
He strode off, kicking another porcelain off its shelf in frustration.
You heard the shattering in your room.
And there goes another half a million dollars.
You wished you had that much money.
When Gojo returned to the lounge, you were sitting up against the headboard, lips paler than usual and your lashes casting a shadow over your face as you stared blankly at the bandage on your hand.
What had happened today was completely his fault, if not Sukuna’s.
Guilt gnawed at Gojo. He walked over and sat down beside you.
You looked up at him, not answering the question.
"Your friend really doesn't like me, does he," you mumbled softly.
Gojo smoothed your hair back.
"Don't overthink it. Something happened in his family when he was young. He's got a lot of prejudice against commoners. It's not your problem."
You let him pull you into his arms. Wrapping your uninjured hand around his waist, you asked quietly, "Toru... how far can we really go?"
You were a commoner from the bottom of the line, while he was an heir of a Greater House.
You had both been avoiding the question, pretending that it didn't exist, but Sukuna's attitude had forced it into the open.
You could have kept ignoring it, and enjoying the thrill of dating him.
But you needed him to think that you wanted something long-term.
He had started this as a game. Even though he really did like you, he had never imagined that you would end up with him together forever.
His House was complicated. He couldn't escape their commands, not matter how much he would have wanted, and they would never accept a commoner into their House.
But that felt unfair to you.
The guilt weighed on him, even heavier now.
All he could do was treat your better, even better than before.
You felt the change in his emotions.
That was exactly what you wanted. Your relationship had been too smooth, and too easy.
For a guy like Gojo, who changes girls like how he changes clothes, you didn't trust his interest to last.
Things would fade into boredom if everything was just hearts and bubbles. You needed guilt to add weight to this relationship—
And then you would leave him when he was desperately in love with you.
The injury on your right hand caused you a lot of trouble. You could only take notes and type with your left hand now, making everything painfully slow.
Next time when I fake a fall, I would check for breakable objects nearby, you thought glumly.
Half the semester had passed, and the student council was getting busier.
About time for you to get stuff going with Geto anyways.
After lunch, you headed to the student council building.
Since you became Gojo's girlfriend, people around you have changed.
Former classmates who'd never spoken to you now struck up conversations.
Your assigned tasks were lighter than before.
Even if people talked trash about you on the forum, in person, they wore different faces.
After all, everyone wanted to get on Gojo's good side. Whether he would dump you later was a future problem.
Right now, it was obvious that he treated your better than any other girlfriends he had before.
If someone could use you to get close to Gojo, that would be a win.
But there were exceptions to every situation.
On the second floor, Himari stopped you at the entrance to your working space.
"Getting plenty of perks from dating Gojo, huh?"
Up close, your face was even more stunning than she remembered. Flawless, striking, and almost impossibly pretty.
No wonder Gojo had broken his rule for a commoner. You weren’t just pretty. You were annoyingly, frustratingly beautiful.
Himari had been telling herself to stay calm. Of course Gojo was just going through a phase. He would get bored and move on.
But what he was doing nowadays made her doubt that. He sits in on your classes. He even punished the girls who had bullied you.
Himari had been his girlfriend once. She knew he only enjoyed the thrill of flirtation.
He never cared about what his girlfriends did, how they felt, or who they fought with.
But now he was breaking all his patterns—for a commoner.
Himari couldn't stand the fake innocence you were radiating out.
"Don't play dumb,” she snapped, “you're with Gojo for his money, aren't you?"
Finally, someone who gets it.
You spread your hands innocently.
"But he said he liked me and asked me to be his girlfriend. I didn't do anything."
Everything Himari wanted was something you got effortlessly. She had spent nearly a whole year trying to get Gojo to notice her, enduring all the laughs of his previous girlfriends when she tried to confess to him. It was not until she chased him for ages, that she got a quick taste of being his girlfriend, then got dumped after not even a whole month.
"Don't get too cocky. Gojo plays around with everyone. And you're just a lowly commoner. Once the excitement wears off, he'll drop you without a second thought."
Himari’s pretty face was twisted into a snarl as she jabbed a manicured finger at you.
You didn't want to fight. Arguing over who a man liked more was pointless.
Two pretty girls fighting would only make the guy feel good.
"So why are you angry?" your voice was still gentle, as if the sharp words hadn't affected you at all.
You looked at her, puzzled.
"If he doesn't really care about me and will dump me eventually, why are you upset?"
Himari felt as if she was punching cotton.
She was upset because she had noticed how special he was treating you. But why do you seem so unconcerned?
"I just can't stand your smug attitude. So what if you're his girlfriend now? A charity case will always be at the bottom."
You were speechless. You had been trying to tell Himari that a man wasn't worth getting angry over. But somehow that just triggered her more.
She clearly just wanted to pick a fight.
In this case, arguing was pointless.
"Yeah. You're right. I’m a lowly charity case.”
Himari felt like a clown, like she was dancing and shouting while the other person didn't even give two shits.
After a long, heavy silence, she shot you a vicious glare and stomped off down the stairs.
You didn't linger either, only turning to head towards your workstation.
But when you looked back, you met a pair of amused, fox-like eyes.
Your expression flickered for half a second, doe eyes widening.
Caught off guard like that, your cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.
Your eyes darted away as you squeaked out a greeting and hurried off.
Like you were afraid that he would ask about what he had just overheard.
Geto watched the back of your head, his curiosity deepening.
How could a girl who had just gotten a boyfriend be so calm about the possibility that he was just playing around?
That expression hadn't looked fake.
Yet this same girl, who showed no reaction to doubts about Gojo's sincerity, had gotten visibly flustered at the sight of him.
Wide, glossy eyes like crystal jewels and a flush that spread across your cheeks.
He'd seen that look countless times from girls who admired him.
Geto had been standing on the other side of the glass wall, hidden by a pillar. Himari hadn't seen him, but you had already spotted the tall figure in black reflected in the glass.
You had said those words for Himari, but they were also for Geto.
From their first meeting in the break room, you had already recognized the freakiness lurking beneath his perfect exterior.
A harmless, soft, innocent little flower wouldn't hold his interest.
You had a script crafted for him personally, something that would spark his curiosity.
When you sat down at your workstation and opened the promotional plan for an art competition, you found that the section you was supposed to write had already been completed.
You looked up across the room. A plain and clean-looking guy was grinning at you.
Since you had started dating Gojo, many people had extended their goodwill.
Kai was the most enthusiastic of them.
His family was one of the lesser Houses, and still going downhill. But with his sharp, excellent social skills and an uncanny ability to read the room, he had managed to navigate the noble circles with ease.
Kai: Girl, I saw your hand injured, so I went ahead and wrote the promo plan for you. Take it easy, eh? If you need anything, just lmk.
You were a commoner, but Kai talked to you with ease, without even a speck of disgust in his eyes or attitude.
With that kind of mindset, no wonder he managed to connect with many better Houses despite his status.
You accepted his help gracefully.
Mutual benefits were a win-win. Having someone like Kai in your corner was a good thing.
Kai: No big deal. I might need to trouble you in the future too, so don’t worry about these little stuff. ;)
If a handsome guy were showering you with attention, Gojo wouldn't like it.
But a plain-looking guy with not much status like Kai being helpful to his girlfriend?
Gojo would probably approve.
That was why he was comfortable getting close.
He'd never bothered connecting with any of Gojo's previous girlfriends.
They were changed too fast, and none of them had any real influence.
But you were different. Not just because Gojo's attitude toward you differs from his previous girlfriends, but because of who you were.
The first time he had seen you, naturally, he had been struck by your prettiness. But he assumed that you wouldn't get far. Plenty of pretty girls had come and gone, and a commoner was still a commoner.
In the academy, it was all about family background.
But as time went on, he had watched you navigate the student council and got along with people surprisingly well. After that, he had started observing your quietly.
The more he watched, the more he realized you weren’t at all simple.
Instead, you had your own way of handling people and situations.
When he heard you was dating Gojo, his first reaction wasn't shock, but rather, impressed by how you could take things this far.
Maybe, in the future, even further.
He decided right then to try and establish a friendly relationship with you.
If he got benefits, great. If not, he would lose nothing.
As a lesser noble at Jujutsu College, he couldn't afford to be prideful.
Opportunities had to be chased.
Besides, you were gentle, striking, and pretty to look at. Win-win.
Who would say no to a pretty and nice friend?
Since your work was already done, you packed up and left.
The student council didn't have a strict clock-in system. Once your tasks were done, you could leave.
At the disciplinary department entrance, a blond guy with glasses walked out.
You met his gaze and nodded slightly. "Nanami-san."
Nanami paused, his expressionless face showing a flicker of surprise.
You let out a brief, soft laugh, then looked up. "The Kelvis Prize winner and the only commoner in the medical department. Hard not to know you, Mister."
Nanami's attention drifted for a moment as your lips curved up a deliberate, soft smile at him.
Then he smiled too. "Thanks. You're pretty famous yourself."
The current girlfriend of Gojo Satoru and the academy’s hottest topic.
"Since we know each other now, how about we exchange our numbers?"
Asking for an opposite sex's number often carried an undertone, especially with your sensitive status as his girlfriend.
But your expression was relaxed, your tone natural, as if you were asking for something completely ordinary.
Nanami took out his phone, eventually, and you exchanged numbers.
You waved your phone at him. "We'll probably run into each other again. See you around, Nanamin."
Nanami watched your leave, his gaze lingering.
The last time he had seen you, you had been confronting Naoya in public for a bullied girl. He had thought you were just naive, and foolishly kind.
When he heard you became Gojo's girlfriend, he hadn't thought much of it either.
Your face was enough to make any man look twice. A playboy like Gojo changing tastes now and then was nothing new.
He had pitied you, actually, thinking of you as a naive girl who would probably get chewed up and spit out.
But after meeting your face to face, he wasn't so sure anymore.
Because he was a hundred percent sure that you weren’t some innocent little girl who dreamed of princesses and shiny rainbows.
Nanami was a commoner, but his award-winning research had indirectly cured Old Master Fushiguro’s illness. As a result, he was highly valued by the House.
As Rei had said, when you both interviewed for the Student Council, he had one foot in the noble circle already.
You had been wanting to connect with him for a while.
With people like Gojo and Sukuna, you would play soft, dependent, and slowly win them over emotionally.
But with Kai, Nanami, and others who might become allies, you couldn't be a naive little lamb.
There are different approaches with different people.
Side notes from Vivi: We gonna have some juicy stuff coming up next chapter hehe…cuz we’re meeting Toji! And have Sukuna back!
But it might have to wait a while before it comes out cuz I’m getting very busy again… sorry guys…I’ll make it as quick as possible
@sailormarsinanotherlife @asian-woody @biggiecutie @jussy4lifer @changbinsalonsblog @ravenraa @alex2602 @angel-of-delusion @your-favorite-god
