Chapter Text
To you, it’s just another Sunday night. Tomorrow you’d return to work like everyone else in society, so you thought you would relax all you can before the work week. However, you find yourself sighing again, face mask starting to slip off your face as you look at your phone to check the time “10:30pm”, it reads.
Relaxing was supposed to be your plan for the night, yes, but you were constantly watching the clock. “I thought he was supposed to be home by now..” you sigh again, “He’s usually not this late..” you note, as you hadn’t heard the door open or close next door that would signify his return. Usually you wouldn’t always wait for him to come back from work, as you know his job can keep him working at very odd times of the day. However, he was to go on a mission for two months overseas and he was leaving tomorrow. You find your thoughts drifting into nostalgic memories as you wait, drowning out the white noise of the TV.
Your older brother, Nanami Kento, lived in the apartment next door to you. Actually, it’s more like *you* live next to him. After all, he was the one who got the apartment next to his for you. He provided a lot for you, he wanted to protect his little sister from the world of curses and sorcery at all costs. Although you could see curses as long as you could remember, you never went to Jujutsu High like your brother did. You had wanted to enroll when you were younger, but Nanami forbade you to. As sad as it made you, you knew his decision to keep you away was right. After all, you were weak. You didn’t have much cursed energy, you couldn’t fight. You couldn’t fight, but you had a keen sense of awareness of cursed energy around you.
Instead of attending Jujutsu High like your brother, you lived a relatively normal life. You were pretty smart, you were decent in all areas of school, never having less than a B in any of your classes. However, you kept to yourself. You knew that if people got close to you, or knew you could see curses, they would think you’re crazy and run for the hills. You weren’t super lonely, because you knew it was for the best and you had your brother after all. He was, and continues to be, your best friend. He would always tell you about his day and whatever shenanigans went on at Jujutsu High. You could tell some parts of him felt bad about hiding you completely from the world of sorcery, so he allowed you these glimpses behind the curtain through his stories and multitude of pictures. You had grown fond of these people you’d hear about and occasionally see in photos, they were an important part of your brother’s life and career now.
The frequency of the stories and photos slowed down after you finished high school, due to you and your brother’s schedule becoming increasingly busy. You were busy with art school and college, while he had his hands extremely full with more missions and sorcery work after returning to being a sorcerer full-time. Most people would have drifted apart in that time, but due to him securing the apartment next to his, you were always able to keep tabs on each other. He wanted to be able to protect you at all times, even though you were never going to be a target of a high profile curse, because no one in the sorcery world even knew you existed. It just put his mind at ease to be able to know where you were when you weren’t working.
After graduating art school, you worked at an art supply shop until you saved up enough to open your own shop and become an independent artist. Nanami, ever the businessman, helped you from time to time with the financial side of things. You were extremely grateful, though ever perplexed because you had no idea how he ever managed to fit this into his schedule between missions.
Suddenly you were pulled out of your thoughts by the sounds of two distinct voices in the hallway, one much louder and boisterous than the other. You stood up and ran to the door when you heard the two voices come to a halt near your door. You try your best to take a peek through the peephole, catching a glimpse to confirm your suspicions. “Ah ha!” You whisper excitedly to yourself, “He’s finally back!” Though your heart and brain both come to a halt when you see who it is that’s accompanying, or rather, bugging him.
Gojo Satoru.
“Of course he would be bothering Ken-chan… the faculty must have gone out for drinks, that’s why Ken-chan’s so late, with his biggest headache in tow”, you whisper to yourself. You had heard so many stories about everyone at Jujutsu High, but 99.9% of the time whenever Gojo was involved, stories and conversations became complaints and venting sessions.
“You sure you won’t miss me, Nanaamii~?” You could hear the teasing grin in the words Gojo used to antagonize your brother.
“Yes, I’m sure. In fact, this will be a much welcome break from you, Gojo-san. Now please, if you would leave, I have to finish packing and other preparations to tend to.”
“Hmph, fine, be like that! You big meaniee-'' Gojo was cut off by the sound of Nanami slamming the door in Gojo’s face. “Wow, so cold.. Bye-bye Nanami..” He fake sniffled as he began to leave the apartment complex.
You giggled at the sort yet silly exchange between the two. You hardly ever get to see or hear anything involving your brother’s coworkers firsthand, it makes you feel special, like you were sneaking around and hiding your candy stash from your parents like a little kid. Sighing again, still leaning against the door, you think more about what you had just witnessed. A tiny glimpse of a conversation might not seem like anything special, but actually seeing Gojo Satoru with your own eyes made your heart feel like it was going to beat out of your own chest, much to your brother’s chagrin. You would never let your brother know that whenever you heard his stories about Gojo, or whenever you saw him in photos, your heart would skip a beat. It was safe to say you had a tiny crush, despite the fact you knew about his habits from your brother’s many tales of irritation.
Your head up in the clouds, still daydreaming about (barely, through the peephole of your door) seeing your little crush in person, came crashing down as you felt your front door open. Falling on the floor face first was not how you expected to greet your brother that night.
“ (y/n)..?” Nanami looked down at you, perplexed as to why you had been pressed up against the door and were now on the floor.
“Ah… haha.. Hi, Ken-chan..” You got up and rubbed your neck in embarrassment.
“What were you doing?” Nanami squinted at you suspiciously. You looked around, avoiding eye contact with your brother, knowing you couldn’t lie to him. He always could see through your lies.
“Well, I heard you come back so I was… watching”, you pointed at the door and the peephole, your hand returning to scratch your neck as you continued to avoid eye contact. A deep sigh catches your attention, you look back and see Nanami’s finger pinching the bridge of his nose in disappointment.
Nanami enters your apartment, shuts the door, then puts both of his hands on your shoulders, “While I appreciate the concern, it would be unwise to do that ever again.” He leans down to look you in the eyes, “You know that Gojo-san has the Six-Eyes and can usually tell when there are other gazes on him. Luckily the charms I had put in here should prevent you from being detected, though I still advise against watching through the door to prevent any close calls again. It’s for your safety, you know this (y/n).”
You nod, you knew he was right. “Sorry Ken-chan… curiosity got the better of me. I won’t do it again, I promise,” your heart sank in your chest as you apologized. Wanting to know more about the world of sorcery and being involved was something you thought you had gotten over, but these instances made those feelings bubble up again and made you act against your better judgment.
Nanami could see the look of heartbreak on your face. It broke his own heart, knowing it was his fault to keep you concealed from sorcery, though he always came back to logic and said it was for your safety, he still felt a tug at his heartstrings. “(y/n), just promise me that while i’m gone for this mission, that you’ll go to work and come right back. I won’t be able to keep an eye on you while I'm gone, so promise me you’ll stay safe.”
You looked up to meet Nanami’s eyes and nodded “Just work at the shop and come right back home, I promise.” A small smile worked its way onto your face, Nanami echoed the smile and brought his hand up, patting your head.
“Now, the flight is very early, so I have to leave. I’ll see you when I get back (y/n). Take care, stay safe.” Nanami says as he walks out of your apartment with a small wave. You wave back with a grin across your face, “I’ll miss you Ken-chan, get me a souvenir!”
A tight feeling gripped your chest after he left, the anxiety of being alone for a long period of time worming its way inside your heart. The happy grin on your face moments ago, slowly sliding into a frown the moment Nanami closed your front door. To stave off this feeling, you went into your bedroom and plopped on the bed. It was going to be an early morning of prep and work in the shop, you figured you needed the sleep anyway.