Chapter Text
"Satoru Gojo!" Naoya shouts and gives a bow as he stands before the famed sorcerer outside of Jujutsu Tech in Tokyo. "It's an honor to meet you here-"
"Why are you here?" Gojo asks flatly interrupting him.
Naoya's confidence faltered for a moment. It was clear Gojo wasn't pleased that he was here. For what reason? Naoya was too stupid to figure that out. Social cues were never his strong suit. Nothing was his strong suit really. His technique may have had to do with speed but he was slow as shit with everything else.
"No need to be so hostile." Naoya says anxiously with his hands up in the air.
Ah, maybe today wasn't one of his stupid days. Gojo thought.
"I'm just here on an errand from my father. He needs something from the vault." Naoya explains.
Gojo sighs and clenches and unclenches his fists. He didn't want to let this lame excuse for a human even set foot on this school's grounds. The fact that he was even standing outside of it felt like he was violating these sacred grounds. If hollow purpling him right here and now leaving nothing left of his miserable existence wouldn't cause a tedious civil war between the clans that he just couldn't be bothered to deal with at the moment, Gojo would have killed Naoya before he even had the chance to open his disgusting mouth in his presence.
"Very well but make it quick." Gojo says.
Naoya smiles and runs his hand through his hair with a satisfaction that made Gojo want to vomit.
"I appreciate your understanding." Naoya says and confidently walks into the school making Gojo shiver with disgust at having to let this creature set foot on the school grounds.
And unfortunately he wasn't free of this lizard yet.
"I heard you discovered a distant relative of yours." Naoya says.
Gojo clenches his fist. Hearing this guy talk normally was like hearing nails scraping on chalk board. But hearing him bring up Yuuta, well that just aggravated him on a whole other level.
"He's a special grade isn't he? Just like you?" Naoya asks.
"He's a grade 4 now. He's of no interest to you." Gojo says sternly as a threat to Naoya.
"I suppose not if he's a grade that low. Such a shame he had a power drop like that. It must be hard to go from being so powerful to becoming so weak. I wouldn't know what that's like." Naoya says and laughs and Gojo clenches his fist.
Oh you'll learn one day buddy. Gojo thinks to himself to keep himself from hollow purpling this guy right then and there. Truthfully he could absolutely take him out with far less than that but the hollow purple would ensure that there's not even a corpse leftover from his miserable existence.
"And he was your most prominent student too? Most likely to be your successor. What a shame." Naoya sighs.
"I highly recommend you refrain from talking about or to any of the students while you're here." Gojo insists and gives him a stern stare under his blindfold.
"Really?" Naoya asks, confused as to why Gojo became so hostile all of a sudden.
"In fact I forbid you from interacting with them altogether. You'd only impede their studies." Gojo further clarifies to show he's serious.
"Very well then." Naoya says and waves Gojo off. "I'll just go collect what I came for and leave."
Maki swung her polearm around on the training grounds out of boredom and just to have a little bit of fun while she waited for Yuuta to join her for their sparring session. She also had to admit she was doing this in part to practice so she'd be ready for Yuuta when he showed up. He'd gotten a lot stronger lately and Maki hated to admit it but he was becoming a bit of a challenge for her. And what she hated to admit even more was that she liked it. Having an equal to her that respected her and even cared for her and liked being around her was something she'd never experienced before! It was refreshing, it was exciting it was… amazing getting to spend time like this with him. She found herself looking forward to sparring with him. And she refused to look deeper into what that means.
She just smiles and twirls around on the field and lets herself be carefree and feel happy for once. Until her happiness came to a crashing halt as she spun face to face with a disgusting face from her past.
"Maki-chan! Hey! I'm so happy I got a chance to run into you! How's school going?" Naoya asks her cheerfully.
But Maki knew not to trust him. Memories of their past encounters started flashing through her mind. Bubbling up in her throat and making her ears ring. She gasps and stumbles backwards, trying to get away from him but he just steps closer.
"Are you out here training by yourself?" Naoya asks.
"No." Maki says softly.
Naoya looks around.
"Well I don't see anyone else." He says then gives her a wicked grin that makes her sick. "How about I spar with you?" He suggests and picks up a training staff. "It's been a while since we've tested out our strength on each other! This will be fun!"
Maki gulps and raises her polearm at him. He was right. It had been a while since they fought. She could hear her blood pounding in her ears as her polearm shook in her hands a bit as she stared down the man that had abused her for years. Her anger from the past fueling her adrenaline to push past her fear and take him on. She had training now. She was a lot stronger now than she was back then. She may not beat him, but she'd at least get a few hits. That would be something at the very least. Getting a few bruises on his stupid face would be satisfying enough.
Yuuta was happily walking along on his way to the training grounds, munching on a delicious shrimp cracker from a bag that he got to share with Maki after sparring today. He made sure to remember the brand that she liked the last time their class went to the store together and he hoped she would appreciate the gesture. He was so grateful to her for offering him these extra sparring sessions. Now that Rika was gone and he was no longer a special grade, he had been working hard on improving his swordsmanship skills to make up for it.
He wasn't trying to become a special grade again though. That came with a lot of isolation that quite frankly he didn't care for. He'd had enough loneliness in his life. He embraced the comraderie of his new friends. Being in class together, going out to eat after missions together, training together. They were all moments he cherished. Because he cherished the people in them most of all. Maki especially.
She had saved his life and filled it with a light that he thought Rika had taken with her when she died. But with her courage, and strength, and inspiring determination Maki had managed to bring it back to him and he couldn't help but feel his heart fill with joy whenever he was in her presence! His heart was hers and he'd spend every day showing her that! He'd fill her life with all of the love that her own family refused to give her. He'd give her the world if he could! But for now, just getting to be her friend and train with her was enough for-
It was like his whole world came crashing to a halt when he walked out onto the field and saw the sight before him. He felt nauseous, his vision fuzzy, feeling like he was having a flashback to that day that he found her laying in the courtyard nearly dead from Geto's attack. She looked just about as beat up right now too. It made him worried that these past few months had been a dream, some sort of illusion and he was actually back at that day and had to relive it all over again.
But the man standing over her laughing wasn't Geto. It was someone else. Someone he didn't know. But that didn't matter. Whoever they were, they were going to die.
Said dead man walking noticed Yuuta's presence.
"Oh. Hello there! I'm Naoya Zenin, the future head of the Zenin clan!" Naoya introduces himself with a flourish to Yuuta who just drops his bag of shrimp crackers and katana as he stares at Maki frozen in shock with a rising fear that she might be dead.
"I don't recognize you… Oh! You must be that Okkotsu guy? Satoru's cousin? The kid who used to be possessed by the Queen of Curses but then lost her and got demoted to a grade 4?" Naoya asks but his questions all fell on deaf ears.
"Maki-san…" Yuuta mutters.
"San? Really? For this worthless trash?" Naoya asks and looks at Maki on the ground.
Yuuta winces at the disgusting descriptor for Maki.
"I mean, she's got a pretty face, hence why I avoided hitting it while I was putting it in her place but other than that I really don't see why anyone would refer to her like you are. Unless you're her boyfriend or something?" Naoya says then laughs. "Ha! What am I saying? Like anyone would waste their time on this worthless chick."
Yuuta just stood there in silence as his cursed energy began to flare around him.
"I wouldn't reccomend this one as a sparring partner either." Naoya says noticing the katana on the ground and raises Maki's polearm and points it at her. "She's slow as shit-" He began to bring it down towards Maki.
But it never landed.
"TOUCH HER AND YOU DIE!" Rang through Naoya's ears as the taste of blood filled his mouth as Yuuta managed to catch him by surprise and knock him to the ground and punch him in the face over and over again.
How had he grabbed him? He was fast! Was he a speed type like him? That agility would certainly fit his scrawny physique but the force with which he was punching him didn't match his physique at all! Well time to hit back and knock this brat off of him. Wait- What?!
Panic flashed across Naoya's face as he found himself unable to move. How was that possible? Was it this kid's cursed technique? No, that was impossible. He was demoted to a Grade 4 after Rika's curse was lifted. All of his strength came from her, there's no way he could have this kind of a hold on him on his own! And just then, he felt a shiver run down his spine as a creepy energy flooded the training grounds. Was it this boy's cursed energy?
As Yuuta held Naoya down, he sensed a presence forming that he hadn't sensed in a while. A presence that he thought was gone. His breath caught in his throat as he felt his cursed energy surging, emanating from the ring on his finger.
"Rika?" He shakily asks and hears her voice.
"Yuutaaa." She says sweetly as she rises from the ground around Naoya, revealing that she had been the one holding him in place so that he couldn't attack Yuuta.
"You're back!" He exclaims in shock.
"I never left!" Rika tells him and Yuuta looks confused.
"What? Yes you did! You passed on to the other side I watched you-" Yuuta explains and Rika cuts him off.
"That was the real Rika who passed on. Her spirit is now peacefully residing in heaven like you saw, but she left her vessel behind, me, the manifestation of her will to protect you! And now you've finally been able to summon me after 3 long months! Promise me we won't have to be apart for that long again! Please Yuuta!" Rika begs and Yuuta laughs.
"Okay I promise! I'm glad you're back!" Yuuta says happily before looking at Naoya's stupid face and immediately feeling nauseous again.
"Do you hate him Yuuta?" Rika asks.
"Yes." Yuuta hisses. "I despise him."
"Like the last man we fought together?" Rika asks.
"Worse." Yuuta says. "This man's still breathing."
Naoya chokes as Rika grips him tightly in her hand.
"Would you like me to make him stop?" Rika asks and Yuuta smiles.
"Yes." He says.
Rika squeezes his neck and he chokes briefly before Yuuta stops her.
"But not yet. He's Maki's relative after all. Whether or not he lives is up to her not me. I just need him out of the way and preferably suffering while I tend to Maki's wounds." Yuuta explains. "Rika do you mind playing with Naoya for a bit while I heal her?"
"You've got it Yuuta!" Rika cheers and starts swinging Naoya around like a javelin, using him to break all the training equipment around them.
At that same moment, Yaga and Gojo came running towards the training grounds to see what was going on.
"Holy shit… you were right!" Yaga exclaims when he sees Rika beating Naoya into the ground.
"Am I ever wrong?" Gojo teases and watches with glee as Rika gives that shit stain the beat down he deserves. "Oh I'm so happy Yuuta got her back and in the best way possible! I am so going to enjoy this!"
"Gojo, I hate Naoya as much as… well everyone! But we can't just let Rika beat him to death!" Yaga explains.
"Can't we though?" Gojo asks in a high pitched voice that makes Yaga sigh. "I mean I told that idiot to stay away from the students. If he ignored my warning and went and attacked them then what he gets from that is on him. Especially going after Maki I mean, we all know if you hit the Maki nerve Yuuta is going to return you to sender in the most brutal and creepy fashion he can think of so he brought this on himself we're not at fault at all for what happens to him we can just sit back and watch."
Yaga sighs and shakes his head. "I suppose you've got a point there. As long as the boy doesn't kill him I think we can allow this to continue for now."
"GREAT! Have some popcorn!" Gojo exclaims and offers Yaga the bowl of popcorn he pulled out of God knows where.
"Where the hell did you get popcorn from?!?" Yaga exclaims in frustration with this man's antics.
Yuuta immediately rushes over to Maki's side and lets his energy surround her as he uses his rct on her to heal her. And to his relief she starts to stir. She looks up at him and weakly says "Yuuta? Wha… What's happening?"
"Shh." He tells her and reaches for her and cups her cheek in his hand.
Maki gasps from the sweet gesture but also looks around on alert for her attacker.
"Don't worry, that jerk who hurt you is being taken care of. It's alright Maki-san. I'm here now. I'll make you feel all better." Yuuta assures her as her wounds begin to disappear.
Maki winces and tears start to flow down her cheeks as the memories of her beating came flooding back to her mind.
Yuuta feels his heart leap to his throat at the sight of her crying and pulls her into his lap and holds her in his arms and lets her sob into his shoulder while he just holds her in his arms and lets her cry it out.
"I know what he did to you was terrible. And I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner to stop him from hurting you at all. But I'm here now and don't you worry I'm taking all of that pain, tripling it and giving it to him with no intention of healing him afterwards." Yuuta explains to her.
Maki's brow furrows at his words, confused as to how Yuuta could be attacking Naoya while healing her. Until she looks up from his shoulder and gasps when she sees Naoya getting flung around like a rag doll and getting smacked into the ground over and over again.
She immediately tenses up in fear and tries to scramble away from Yuuta but he shushes her and pulls her close again so he can continue to tend to her wounds.
"Shh…. shh…" Yuuta shushes her as he gently holds her broken wrist in his hand and heals it. "It's fine you're safe she's just here to help."
"Who's here?" Maki asks weakly and Yuuta looks confused.
How could she not see… Oh. Yuuta looks at her broken glasses on the ground next to her. That's why. He couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at how funny this must look for her right now, seeing Naoya get flung around in the air and flopping on the ground, getting hurt in the most slapstick way imaginable by some invisible force.
"What's so funny?" Maki asks.
"Rika's here." Yuuta says and lets her wrist go as he finished healing it.
"RIKA!" Maki exclaims and scrambles to get away from Yuuta before yelping and hissing in pain as she puts pressure on her sprained ankle.
"Maki be careful!" Yuuta fusses and grabs her legs to hold her still.
Maki's heart lept in her throat when she saw the look on his face. It was like the sight of her in pain caused him pain as well.
"Don't move around until I've taken care of your injuries." Yuuta stresses and places his hands on her ankle to heal it.
"Sorry it's just that I-I… I thought Rika was… gone." Maki chokes out. "W-why is she back?"
And what does it mean for your life because of the binding vow you made three months ago? Yuuta could tell by the look on her face that was the second part of her question.
"It's nothing you need to worry about. I'm not going anywhere. Especially not when you need me." He tells her with a smile and swipes his thumb over a cut on her cheek, healing it now that he was done with her ankle.
It made Maki's heart flutter.
"Just me?" Maki asks.
"Oh! Uh!" Yuuta's face turned bright red and he sat up straight and started nervously fidgeting with his jacket.
There's the cute sensitive Yuuta she was familiar with. Now more at ease she cracked a small smile.
"A-and everyone else too!" He quickly adds. "I care a lot about them! Not just you! Although you are really special to me but not like that! Everyone matters to me! I would do this for Toge and Panda and even Sensei too although I doubt he needs it." Yuuta nervously laughs.
She would have been more flustered had Naoya's desperate cries for help and pain weren't killing the vibe for this tender moment.
"Please! Make her stop!" Naoya begs before Rika slams him into the ground again.
"Huh? Did you say something?" Yuuta asks and looks back behind him.
Maki couldn't help but let out a short laugh from how Yuuta was having fun tormenting her tormenter.
Yuuta smiles at her and moves in a little closer and places his hand on her abdomen to continue healing her. He may have been able to pull a brief chuckle from her but her body was still shaking from the panic attack she must have suffered during Naoya's attack.
Naoya winces as Rika grips him tighter after hearing Maki's giggle.
"He'd better not be flirting with her in front of me!" Rika wails and Naoya's stomach drops.
"No no no please! I'm sure he's not!" Naoya pleads. "He would never do something like that!"
"How would you know!?" Rika scolds Naoya before slamming him into the ground again. And again. And again. And, well you get the gist.
"So how did you get Rika back?" Maki couldn't help but ask.
"Apparently she's not the Rika you knew." Yuuta explains. "The original one that I cursed. Her spirit moved on to the other side but I just found out that she left her vessel behind to protect me as a manifestation of my curse technique isn't that cool!"
"I… I… guess." Maki says.
She was overwhelmed. Yuuta didn't blame her. This was overwhelming news for him too. But his laser focus on protecting Maki had allowed him to process this new revelation a lot easier. Or at the very least, push it aside for now.
"But why did she only just show up now?" Maki asks.
"I'm not quite sure." Yuuta says. "When I saw you laying on the ground hurt with that jerk standing over you and laughing it just… triggered something in me. I felt this overwhelming urge to summon every ounce of my power to protect you. I couldn't think of anything else but that in that moment. And then next thing I knew Rika was back by my side. Maki are you okay?"
"Huh?" She squeaks out.
"Your heart rate just went up and you're breathing a lot heavier than you were before." Yuuta points out. "Did another wave of anxiety just hit you?"
"Uh. Yeah sure. That's what happened." Maki says.
"Well I know you're going to be getting a lot of those for a bit but just know that I'm here now and nothing's going to hurt you! Can you stand Maki?" Yuuta asks her and delicately lifts her hand.
"I think so." Maki says softly and holds onto his shoulder to help herself stand up.
Yuuta holds her waist as Maki stands up. She was still leaning on him heavily though.
"You're still shaking." Yuuta says in that soft voice that made Maki choke out a sob.
He pulls her closer to his chest and she doesn't fight him on it. She just lets out a shuddering exhale. Relieved to be in the arms of someone who cares for her. Something she never experienced after these incidents at home. Yuuta felt warm. He smelled like summer rain. Relaxing, calm, cool. The exact opposite of what he was currently doing to Naoya with Rika.
His screams of pain echoed throughout the courtyard every time he was lifted off of the ground before being slammed back down onto it. Hard. So hard that the choked noise that escaped him sounded like he was choking on his own blood as it escaped his mouth on impact.
The noise should have been music to her ears. And don't get her wrong, she was delighted to hear karma doing it's work on him in this manner. But there was also a part of her that was horrified to hear these sounds. Because they were sounds that she herself had been making not that long ago. And her brain hadn't quite recovered enough from the trauma to recognize that she was safe now. Because Naoya had once again reminded her of how weak she was, so in her mind she feared that whatever was attacking him, would be coming for her next.
Rika rips another howl of pain from Naoya's mouth and a sob of fear is ripped from Maki's throat and she buries her face into Yuuta's chest and begins to weep.
"Shh. Shh. It's okay!" Yuuta soothes her and runs his hand along her head and through her ponytail. "Hey Rika!" He shouts back at her.
Rika pauses, holding Naoya by one leg upside down in the air.
"Yes Yuuta?" Rika asks and Naoya begins to cry from the amount of pain he's in now that this pause had allowed him to feel every part of his broken body at once.
"Can you lighten up on the beating a little bit?" Yuuta requests and Naoya lets out a sob of relief. "The noises he's making are scaring Maki." Yuuta says and gently nuzzles his face against the top of her head briefly. "If you could keep attacking him but just shut him up a bit more I'd appreciate it."
"Got it. I'll just shove him in the dirt so you can't hear him at all."
"No wait wait wait please NO-" Naoya cries out before Rika turns him into a human ostrich and shoves him head first into the ground.
"Ha ha! That's hilarious!" Gojo exclaims, slapping his knee while Yaga shakes his head and facepalms.
Yuuta smiles in satisfaction before turning his attention back to the weeping Maki in his arms. "Shh it's okay." He whispers to her and soothingly rubs her back.
"B-but he-" Maki stutters and Yuuta rests his cheek on top of her head.
"I know. He did." Yuuta says. "But he's never ever going to hurt you again I promise."
"H-how do you know that?" Maki asks and pulls back from him so she could look into his eyes.
He seemed so stoic. It was a bit unnerving. But comforting at the same time. He wasn't playing around about her safety at all. He was taking it serious. Dead serious.
"How can you be so sure unless you're planning to- to…" Maki stutters and her eyes widen when she realizes why Yuuta seemed so cold right now. "Kill him." She chokes out.
"Do you want me to?" Yuuta asks and Maki gasps in surprise. "Because I'll do it." She grips his jacket in her hands tightly. "Just say the word and I'll end him right here right now. For you."
Maki gulps and stares at Yuuta's chest and considers the power she holds right now. She was feeling overwhelmed with a mix of emotions right now. Anxiety and fear from the traumatic situation she was in and the flattering prospect of someone she cared for offering to take one of her clan members down in her honor. Permanently. The thought excited her. The thought of kissing Yuuta for it even crossed her mind briefly and that she quickly pushed down because now wasn't the time at all to be feeling that.
But then she looks over at Naoya getting his head pulled out of the dirt by Rika and seeing how pathetic and weak he looked soured the thought of killing him now. It wouldn't be fun to kill him like this. She thinks to herself. It would be too easy. Not a proper fight like she always imagined it would be. And by her hands, not Yuuta's.
"No." She decides softly and Yuuta smiles softly in return. "You have no idea how much I love that you'd offer to do this for me but I want to take his life myself. It'll be much more satisfying for me that way."
Yuuta smiles and laughs in that infectious way that always makes her smile too and she manages to let out a little giggle.
"That's so like you!" Yuuta cheerfully replies. "And I support your wishes. Always." He says and cups her cheek and strokes it with his thumb before letting her rest her head against his chest again.
She smiles and happily nuzzles against him until she opens her eyes and sees Naoya glaring at her before spitting out some dirt and then smiling at her. Shit. He could still talk. And this man was famous for not knowing when to shut up.
"You think this means you've won? Stain!" Naoya growls at her.
He never took losing well. He knew he may have lost physically but as long as he could make her feel fear he'd still felt like he'd won.
"Yu- Yuuta…" Maki stutters and clutches at his jacket.
"Shh. It's okay. It's okay. He can't hurt you now." He soothes her and wipes her tears from her cheeks while her breathing picked up.
"Clearly I can still scare you!" He shouts the last part loudly and Maki flinches and jumps deeper into Yuuta's embrace and begins to hyperventilate.
Yuuta places his hands over her ears to shield her from his shouting but he wasn't sure how effective it was.
"Yeah go cry to your boyfriend you weak little bitch!" Naoya shouts.
That struck a nerve with Yuuta. He could feel the urge to kill creeping up his spine. Only getting stronger as Maki clutches at his jacket and whimpers.
"M-make… Make him stop!" She begs and Yuuta holds her closer and gently shushes her to try to soothe her.
"Shut him up!" He instructs Rika but before she had a chance to grab him he managed to shout out one last insult at Maki.
"You're lucky he's strong but the second he's gone you're nothing!" He shouts at her loudly.
Yuuta felt tears start to well in his eyes as he watched them overflow in hers. Her bottom lip trembled and she took in a sharp breath.
"No." Yuuta mutters. "No no no Maki-san please don't-"
With a loud cry Maki began to wail and buried her face in Yuuta's chest. He held her tight in his arms as his heart shattered into a million pieces for a second time at the sound of her anguish. And Naoya having the audacity to laugh at it, further tormenting his precious Maki, only sealed his fate.
Yuuta took a few shaky deep breaths before steeling himself to do what needed to be done to end Maki's torment.
"Maki-san." He breathes and reaches down and picks up his katana. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted to kill them all yourself. But this one dies now!"
"Yuuta?" Maki hiccups and Yuuta just shushes her gently and cups her cheek.
"I know Maki, I know." He tells her softly and hearing him call her by just her name and not with the honorific makes her heart do a flip. "Don't cry anymore it's all going to be okay. I'll shut him up permenately. I'll be right back just wait here for a sec." He kisses her forehead and her heart lept into her throat as she watches him pull out his katana from its sheath and Naoya's laughter slowly dissipates when he sees the murderous look on his face.
"Shall I do the honors Yuuta?" Rika offers.
"Thanks Rika. But no. I want to do this myself." Yuuta says and Naoya shdders. "Since you clearly don't know how to shut up." Yuuta says and holds his katana out towards him.
"Uh hey Gojo…" Yaga says.
"Yeah?" Gojo asks, eagerly chowing down his popcorn as he watches Naoya about to get beat up again.
"I think Yuuta's gonna kill him." Yaga says.
"I'll have to shut you up myself." Yuuta threatens Naoya.
"What? No he's not gonna- OH SHIT HE'S ACTUALLY GOING FOR IT!" Gojo exclaims and throws his popcorn all over Yaga much to his displeasure as Yuuta charges at him screaming with his katana aimed to come down on his neck.
Naoya shrieks in fear as his life flashes before his eyes and he prepares to make peace with the fact that he'd be going to hell in an instant but Yuuta's blow never lands. He looks up and sees none other than Satoru Gojo holding his student's wrist, keeping him from landing the killing blow.
Yuuta whimpers as Gojo squeezes his wrist just enough to make him drop the blade.
"Yuuta. Let it go." Gojo grunts as it took him more strength than he was expecting to stop him.
"I can't." Yuuta growls and fights him. "Maki's crying."
"I know she's crying but this isn't how we solve that." Gojo tries to reason with him but the sound of Maki's choked sobs were filling his ears and making him see red as he stared down his prey, beaten and ready to be slaughtered on the ground.
"She'll keep crying as long as he's able to speak he needs to die!" Yuuta shouts and lunges towards him but Gojo holds him back.
"No he doesn't! Not right now!" Gojo argues.
"Let me kill him!" Yuuta growls through gritted teeth.
"I can't let you do that." Gojo says and keeps readjusting his grip on the teen as he struggles to get out of his grip as Maki continues to weep behind him.
"At least let me cut his tongue out then!" Yuuta pleads.
Gojo pauses. Then a bright smile lights up his face and he turns back to Yaga.
"Hey-"
"Unfortunately no." Yaga says in a deadpan voice and Gojo whines and stomps his foot.
Yuuta took advantage of his distraction and almost gets out of his grip and manages to wrap his hands around Naoya's neck and choke him before Gojo managed to get him off.
"Yuuta no!" Gojo shouts and grabs Yuuta's jacket to hold him back, yet he kept struggling and fighting in the older man's grip.
It's like he was blood lusted. On flat terrain. And only focused on making Naoya's blood spill out on the training grounds.
"Yuuta you need to stop!" Gojo shouts again, a bit more fiercely.
"What I need is for him to stop breathing!" Yuuta shouts back and Gojo gives him a strong tug on his shoulder to force the boy in his arms to turn to him.
Yuuta lost his breath when he looked into his six eyes.
"Sensei…" Yuuta mutters, realizing just how intense this situation must have been for Gojo to take off his blindfold for this.
"And there's someone far more important to you that needs your attention right now." Gojo reminds him and turns his attention back to his sniffling and shaking Maki who was still on the fringes of a panic attack.
"Maki-san!" Yuuta exclaims and Gojo lets him go to rush over to her.
"Yuuta!" Maki exclaims and throws herself into his arms as he hugs her tight to help calm her.
"It's alright Maki. I'm here I've got you." Yuuta sighs in relief himself as Maki's breathing began to return to normal in his arms.
Gojo watches and lets out a sigh of relief as Yuuta gathers Maki up in his arms in a bridal carry and hears him say "Lets get you back to your room okay?" He asks her and she nods in agreement.
His plan worked. The boy had returned to his senses and was doing the right thing and caring for Maki instead of taking a life that would be hers to claim someday. But Yuuta did have one more warning for Gojo as they walked by.
"Sensei." Yuuta says in a calm and even tone and Gojo turns to him.
This was a warning for both him and the wretch drenched in blood on the ground. So he made sure it was within his miserable earshot as well.
"The next time he sees her. He dies." Yuuta declares.
Gojo nods in agreement and lets Yuuta carry Maki away to her room. Then he sighs and shakes his head as he walks over to a barely conscious Naoya who was struggling to get up off of the ground.
"You know." Gojo says as he squats down next to Naoya. "If the Zenins really don't want her it looks like the Gojo clan will be more than happy to take her off of your hands."
Naoya just growls at him before his face slumps down in the dirt and his body goes limp.
"Is he dead?" Yaga asks.
"God I wish." Gojo says and shakes his head.
"I'll go get Shoko to heal him." Yaga says and Gojo gags.
"Make it fast because you're going to have to account for time to allow her to vomit at the thought of using her rct on this slug before she's able to come here and keep him from succumbing to his rightfully deserved wounds." Gojo explains.