Chapter Text
There’s been a fire. Half the building has been destroyed, and there were two deaths reported to the public. An older man and his 4-year-old granddaughter. Although, the girl wasn’t dead and this wasn’t a normal fire. It was caused by a jujutsu sorcerer, trying to kill off the lineage of the king of curses, Ryomen Sukuna. They were the last of his descendants alive and the higher-ups didn’t want to take the chance of anything happening in a few years if the girl found one of his fingers. A few hours later, after the fire had been put out and the ‘bodies’ removed, a young man secretly made his way into the house, dodging puddles from the rain that had started once the fire was gone.
He knew something was there. Whether it was a curse or someone had actually survived. He crept around, luckily, the floors were still intact so he didn’t have to worry about falling through. He used his Jujutsu to enhance his hearing and the sound of soft sniffles caught his attention. He turned his head, to listen closer, moving towards the sound. He found himself in front of a door, knocking on it, he heard the sniffles stop, and whoever was in there held their breath.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” He asked softly.
“What’s the password?” The reply was from a tiny voice, probably the granddaughter.
“I don’t know, sweetie. But I think you should come out of there. We should leave so that whoever tried to kill you doesn’t come back.” The door creaked open and a single golden-eye peered through the crack.
“You know who killed Grandpa?” He shook his head.
“I don’t personally know them, but I know of them and what they do. They are not nice people. They get rid of anyone they deem a threat.” The door opened a little wider and he finally was able to see the child’s whole face.
“Am I gonna die too?” He shook his head.
“Not if I can help it. If you come with me, I promise you’ll be safe.” He knelt down and held out his hand. She crept closer and hesitantly placed her tiny hand on top of his larger one. He wrapped his fingers around her hand before gently pulling her closer and scooping her into his arms.
“Ready to go, little one?” She nodded and pressed her face to his shoulder. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, placing the hood over her head both to keep the rain off of her and to keep any Jujutsu spies the higher-ups had placed from knowing that she was still alive. He calmly walked out of the house and to the nearby park where he was able to use one of the curses he had eaten in previous years to transport them back to his apartment complex. He unlocked the door and opened it as he stepped inside, closing it behind him. He made his way to the bedroom that he hardly used and set her down on the bed. He lowered the hood and knelt in front of her.
“You’re safe now, little one.” He grabbed a clean rag that was laying on the post of his bed and began wiping off her face, the soot and grime from the fire coming off easily, revealing soft peachy skin. She sniffled once again, tears beginning to run down her chubby cheeks. He lifted her off the bed and held her in his arms while she cried. He took her to his bathroom and set her on the counter. He stood there for a second before he sighed and pulled out his phone. He knew it was a bad idea, but he had no other ideas.
‘Hello?’ A female voice answered the phone and he sighed softly.
“Shoko?” The person on the other side of the phone gasped softly.
’Suguru?’ She asked.
“Yeah. I need your help. I need some supplies.”
‘Supplies like what?’ Her voice grew suspicious and he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Like… clothes for a four-year-old girl?” Shoko went silent for a few seconds.
‘Suguru. What. Did. You. Do?’ She demanded. And he groaned in agony.
“I’ll explain later. But I can’t just leave her here while I go and get things for her.” She sighed softly.
‘I expect payment.’ He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Shoko. I already have a stash of the brand you like. How soon can you come?” He asked.
‘It probably won’t be until tomorrow. Text me a list of things she’ll need and I’ll see what I can get.’
“Thanks, Shoko.” He hung up the phone and turned back to the little girl sitting on the counter next to his sink.
“My friend is going to be bringing you clothes to change into. Do you want to wait until she gets here to bathe, or do you want me to help you?” She looked up at him with wide golden eyes.
“You?” She asked hesitantly. He nodded and moved to the tub and began running the water at a warm temperature. He set her down and took her hand and placed it under the water.
“Is it too hot or cold?” She shook her head and he plugged the drain before helping her out of her dirty clothes, setting them behind him. He held out his arm for her to use to clamber into the tub and settle in the warm water.
“Alright. I’m going to go grab you a towel and put your clothes to wash for later, alright? When I come back we’ll wash your hair and get all that nasty dirt out, alright?” She nodded and began swirling her fingers through the water as he walked out and quickly did what he told her he was going to. He grabbed one of his towels before he grabbed one of his larger shirts for her to wear as well as a clean, old pair of underwear so that she had something underneath the shirt until her clothes were clean. He also grabbed a large cup so she didn’t have to put her head under the running water.
He set the clothes on his bed before going back into the bathroom and setting the towel on top of the toilet while he kneeled next to the edge of the tub. He unclogged the drain and let the dirty water go through the drain.
“I’m going to wash your hair, then your body, and then we can refill the tub and you can sit in here for however long you want. Okay?” She nodded and he filled the cup up before carefully pouring it over her hair, drenching the soft pink strands, darkening them slightly while dirt and ash began to run down the drain. He grabbed the shampoo and placed a dollop in his palm before he rubbed it between his hands and began washing her hair, starting at her roots and working up a rich lather, the white-colored soap quickly turning grey with all the ash that was there. He rinsed her hair with the cup, making sure all the soap was out before he repeated the process two more times until the soap finally stayed clear. He then began working conditioner through her hair which was a little long for a child her age. After rinsing the conditioner out of her hair, he ran a soapy washcloth across her body before he spoke again.
“You are all clean. Do you want to stay in here longer or do you want to get out?” He asked. She shook her head and held out her arms.
“Out please.” He turned the water off and had her stand as he grabbed the towel. He wrapped it around her body before scooping her into his arms. He carried her to the bed and set her down. He pulled his shirt over her head and helped her into the bottoms that he had found. He tied a string around her waist to keep the pants up. He carried her back into the bathroom and sat her on the counter. He gently began toweling her hair until it was damp. He then began to comb through her hair, starting from the ends of her hair and working up to the top of her head.
“Do you want me to trim off the dead ends of your hair? If I leave them, they’ll keep going up.” She nodded and he pulled out his scissors and quickly trimmed off all split ends. And he then worked some leave-in conditioner into her hair before he set her down on the floor. He went and led her into the kitchen. He made her a sandwich before he went and moved her clothes into the dryer. He came back into the kitchen to find her nodding off with the sandwich sticking out of her mouth. He took it out of her mouth and carried her into his room, and settled her under the covers where she quickly fell asleep. He went and cleaned up the counter before he went and laid on the couch quickly falling asleep as well.
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The next morning, he woke up to a small hand shaking his shoulder and a loud banging on his door. He sat up and pulled the child into his arms before he went and opened the door, the girl pressing her face into his shoulder.
“Hey, Shoko. Thanks again for doing this.” He stepped aside and let her into the apartment. She was holding a few bags in her hands. She set them down on the counter before turning to her best friend.
“No problem.” She dug through the bags and pulled out the clothing and laid them out on the couch.
“Do you want to pick your outfit sweetheart?” She asked, not looking at the girl in her friends’ arms. He carried her over and let her look over the offered clothing. She pointed at a pair of black overalls that were shorts and a loose white long sleeve shirt to go underneath. He grabbed the items as well as a pair of underwear for her before taking her into his room.
“Can you get dressed on your own? I need to talk to Shoko for a few minutes.” She nodded and he slipped from the room and headed back into the living room after closing his door.
“So, where did the kid come from?” She asked, leaning against the counter. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before beginning.
“There was a fire that occurred out of nowhere in the middle of town. It burnt down half of the house before anyone was able to put it out. I heard whispers from curses nearby that a young jujutsu sorcerer was in the house when it went up and that supposedly they had somehow survived the blaze. When I got to the house, the fire was out, and two body bags were being loaded into the back of an ambulance. But I could tell something wasn’t right. I could still feel cursed energy saturating the building and reaching out towards me. So I went and investigated and I found her hiding just inside the door that led to the basement stairs. I took her out of there, brought her here, and here we are.”
Shoko nodded and the door to his room opened and he found her peeking through the crack. She crept out and ran over until she was hiding behind his legs. He placed his hand on the top of her head as she peeked around to stare at Shoko.
“This is Ieiri Shoko. She’s a friend of mine. Shoko, this is… I didn’t even get your name. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m Getou Suguru. What’s your name?”
“Grandpa says it’s Itadori Yuuji, but Mama said something else before she and Daddy left.” He knelt in front of her.
“What did your mama say your last name was?” He asked softly.
“Ryomen. There was another name, but I can't remember how to say it. But, then Daddy told me to never tell people that name. He said that I would get hurt if I ever told anyone that. So, I think Itadori is correct?” She looked up at him with wide eyes and Getou smiled at her.
“Itadori Yuuji it is then. It’s nice to meet you Yuuji-chan.” She beamed at him and he noticed the small marks under her eyes.
“Are those birthmarks?” He asked, running his thumb across them. She shrugged.
“They don’t hurt and I’ve always had them, so maybe.” She then looked back down at her clothes.
“Oh, yeah. I needed help. I can’t get the buttons.” He smiled and quickly hooked the metal buttons into the clasps that rested over her shoulders. She hugged his leg once he stood up and peered up at Shoko again.
“Thank you for bringing me new clothes, Shoko-san.” The woman smiled at her softly.
“No problem, kiddo. Getou, Try and stay out of trouble. I’ll be on call if you need me, but one of these days, I might not be able to come due to orders from the higher-ups.” She hugged him before she left. Getou sighed softly before turning his attention to the child standing in front of him.
“You want me to fix your hair for you?” He asked. She nodded and climbed onto the couch and he sat behind her and combed his fingers through her hair before he braided her hair and tied it off with one of the extra ties he had on his wrist. She pulled the braid over her shoulder and ran her fingers across the top of it before beaming at him. He smiled at her and got off the couch.
“You want to go to the park? Or play on a beach?” Yuuji tilted her head.
“What’s a beach?” He held out his hand and she took it, and he led her to the hall door and he placed his palm against the door before he opened it to reveal a stretch of sand. He walked through before his hand jerked behind him. He turned to see Yuuji clutching his hand looking at the sand in worry. He knelt in front of her.
“It’s okay. The sand won’t hurt you. It’s soft.” He lifted her up and carried her inside and closed the door behind them. He walked over to the tree line and set her down slowly on the sand. She stared at her feet, staying silent for a few moments before she turned to stare at him, her lower lip poking out and quivering. He laughed softly and picked her back up letting her press her face into his shoulder once again. He sat down on a beach chair that he had brought a few weeks previous. He let her rest against his chest while she calmed down. He ran his hand down her back and she finally slumped into his hold, falling asleep once again. He leaned his head back and joined her as a cool breeze blew across their sleeping forms.