SALVATION IN UNEXPECTED ARMS ❪ gojō satoru ❫

FIVE: AN OUTSIDER'S LIFE (ACCUSTOMED TO)

Fumika tries to keep her mind off the deal Gojō must be brokering with the supposed 'Elders' back in his Jujutsu society but it's a difficult task. Luckily for her, it's reading time and the children are all occupied in their books, only quiet whispering and the sound of pages turning breaking the serene atmosphere. It gives her plenty of time to think about- the shit ton of information Gojō dumped on her. About a society of Sorcerers. About Curses made from negative energy, monsters that terrorise humans. She glances to the side, staring outside of the window to see the tiny creature that skulks near the sandpit, digging ravenously. She can finally put a name to the things she's been seeing her entire life and it's more than reassuring to know that she's not insane. Fumika seeing these Curses had been the thing that made her bond with Megumi in the first place.

She had spotted him standing in the playground, small fingers curled into fists above his shorts as he glared hatefully at the monster ( that she now knew was a Curse ) sat on top of the side. Tsumiki had been beckoning him closer, her wide smile meaning that she didn't see the Curse nestled by her side. Fumika had approached the slide and disguised her smack at the creature as a reach for Tsumiki instead. The Curse had howled, a piercing thing that had made Megumi and Fumika both flinch, but had skittered away as Fumika had glowered at it over the crown of Tsumiki's head. Megumi had stayed back in her classroom afterwards, eyes wary yet gleaming with something akin to satisfaction.

'You can see them too,' the slight waver to his voice had betrayed his relief and Fumika had felt fondness rush inside her to see the boy's expression becoming less fearful when she had nodded simply.

Megumi had been only five then. Nearly two years had passed then. Tōji must have picked up on it and made the deal with his family years ago. Something acidic curled in her mind at the thought that it just her luck to find an adult with some semblance of understanding for her circumstances only for him to be as greedy as the adults she grew up with. She wonders what it must have been like for Megumi, for his father to slip through the door and come back when he least expected it, his heart beating anew with hopes of Tōji staying only to splinter when his father vanished the next day.

"Takenaka Sensei," a whisper makes her glance to the side to see another teacher peeking in. He opens his mouth to say something, sealing it obediently when Fumika presses a finger against her lips.

"Children," she says, keeping her voice quiet enough to not disturb them but still catch their attention. "Sensei will step out for a bit so please continue reading. That means no going for the paint when my back is turned. I'm talking about you, Yoshi," the boy's brightened eyes dim and she reigns in her fond smile when he pouts, continuing to flick through his book. She shuts the sliding door behind her, leaving it the slightest bit open so she can still keep an eye on her students. Her eyes run over the teacher who requested her presence's face, recognising him as the young and recently transferred Hinami Yuri. He's wearing loose sweatpants and a jacket zipped open to reveal a whistle hanging from a coil of rope in the centre of his chest. He smiles at her, revealing white teeth that gleam and a dimple. "Hinami-san," she greets politely. "How can I help you?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Taekanaka-san, but the receptionist told me to come to you if I have any queries about the students," his voice is sheepish.

"Queries about the students?" Fumika echoes.

"You are the homeroom teacher, right? So, you'd know about the children's strong suits and weaknesses. I figured that we could get together after school an-"

"Isn't it your job as a physical education teacher to find out these aspects by yourself?" she cuts him off abruptly, crossing her arms over her chest and adopting a pose that screams 'not interested, not interested, don't try unless you want to die'. Hinami takes a step back, thrown aback by the coldness in her voice.

"I thought that it'd be a lot more detailed if you helped me. I heard that you worked as a teaching aid before you became a teacher," he tries to smile charmingly and Fumika frowns.

"I don't think indulging in gossip about your fellow teachers is the best activity to have,"

"That's not what I meant-"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to help you, Hinami-san. I have my own activities to take care of. If you've heard of my past, then you surely must have heard that I'm currently in charge of all four classes of the first grade and occasionally take over the second grade's homeroom period as well," he blinks at her and she has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm too busy,"

"Sunday then?"

"Busy then too,"

"Monday," she looks at him flatly. "Right, that's the beginning of the school week," he laughs nervously, hand smoothing down the fabric of his jacket. "Well, alright. I'll let you get back to your class now,"

"Much appreciated," Fumika enters in her class, sliding the door shut and cutting off Hinami's call of 'goodbye'. Considering the rumours that Hinami is only three years older than her (twenty two to her nineteen), she can assume that the gossiping teachers that sit inside the teacher's lounge and exchange gaudy jackets to ward off unexpected chills and stories of their mother-in-laws and children must have encouraged him to, as he put it, 'get together after school'. She knows that the man will return to the gossiping crones and glumly inform them of her disinterest and they will click their tongues and mutter about her rejecting every person they send to her door, hoping that one of them will be able to crack the shell she encases herself in.

'It's alright, Hinami-san,' they'll probably soothe him. 'Takenaka-san is just cold like that,'. They'll lave compliments on his personality and looks, outstanding or not, and send reproachful glances in Fumika's direction when she decides to make her rare appearances in the teacher's lounge or the weekly meetings they hold. She scoffs inwardly, taking a seat at her desk and starting to flip through the activity sheet for the next week. She's made it abundantly clear that she's here to do her job and only her job but being the youngest member of the staff often means that she's hounded for relationships. It's always a 'oh, you'd love my nephew!' or 'a pretty girl like you should have a loved one to spoil her'. Her co-workers are hungry wasps, wanting to dig their stingers into her skin and have her latched to them forever. She has no idea why, idly wondering if it's something about how she holds herself ( a distance, her mother whispers in the back of her mind, only furthers the desire to be close ).

The coldness she adopts doesn't seem to affect them but the option of cursing then out isn't possible. Thus, Fumika's growing reputation has become one of the 'outsider teacher': one who is wonderful at her job but infinitely more comfortable with children than she is with any adult. She doesn't mind. An outsider's role she's always played from her youth, spending a majority of her childhood crouched on the pavement of her school and counting silently as she waited for her mother to fulfil her promise of picking her up, the other half spend on watching children chase each other and reluctantly add her to their numbers if their parents took pity on the solitary child with blank eyes and an absent mother.

The windows are shut yet the cold still manages to creep in. It surrounds her, reproachful of not coming home, and she tightens her grip on the cardigan she dutifully wears over a layer of slips she wears under her already heavy clothes. Despite the attempts at keeping herself warm, she's sure that when she exhales, the air will leave her parted lips in the form of dusky wisps of mist. It's something she's become accustomed to over the years, the ice in her bones, the frost in her lungs, the freezing temperature of her skin. She can only hope that whatever this frost is, it'll keep it's distance from the Fushiguros.