The main room with the arena looked similar to the one you had seen in Tokyo, but it was smaller, looked older, and had the betting area in the same room. There were faded posters and promos of what you could only assume were old fighters on the walls, most of the oldest were too faded to read or covered up with new ones. Only one looked familiar.

“Hey, Nobara,” you started, walking her over to the plastered wall, “Is that who I think it is?”

The both of you stopped in front of the familiar fighter’s poster, “Absolutely.” She replied.

The name next to the fighter was KING in massive script. The fighter stood tall and menacing with a scowl on his face, his tattooed arms crossed in front of him. Emphasis on the plurality of armS. There were four. “Why does he have four arms?” you asked, eyes unable to tear away from the image.

Nobara shrugged, “Freaked me out the first time I saw it too. He popped em out in the middle of a fight and ripped a curse in half. I about puked.” She said rather matter of factly.

You nodded, “So you guys just see what nonsense happens with him and don’t ask any questions.”

“How are we supposed to figure it out? Can’t exactly bring him to the hospital and ask a doctor, ‘Hey, why does this guy grow extra limbs at will and why can he beat up invisible demon ghost monsters that you can’t see without any help?’ now can you?” She explained with a mocking tone.

Sukuna looked menacing in his picture, his stance concrete and assured, his shoulders back, chin lifted, and a fixed eye contact with the camera that spoke only of danger. He was in a loose set of black and white fighter robes, tattooed chest bared, muscles effortlessly contoured and chiseled under the lights. Sukuna’s hair was shorter on the poster than it is now, and a bit more tamed in place. You noted that his newer look suited him a bit more.

There was a hand clapped onto your shoulder, startling you out of your analysis, “Stop ogling my brother and let’s go get our seats!” It was Yuji, coming to drag you two toward the crowded seating.

You spluttered in protest but let him guide you and Nobara through the bodies in front of you, “I wasn’t ogling, you brat!” Yuji looked at you with a dry expression, lips pursed and eyebrows raised. You smacked his hand off your wrist and exclaimed, “I swear to God, you little punk, drop it.” You punched his arm with a firm thunk and continued the path toward the arena, headed straight for ringside.

Yuji hissed, rubbing the pain out of his arm, “You’re the one-!” Nobara thwacked him across the back of the head with a groan and began to drag Yuji now toward your retreating figure.

“She said drop it.” She growled, plopping Yuji in his seat beside her when they caught up to you. Nobara sat between you two and sighed, “It’s just Aoi tonight, right?”

Yuji nodded, “Yeah, me and him are gonna hang out at his after his fight. It’ll be an early night.”

You leaned to see over Nobara and sked Yuji, “What’s his deal? He anything special?”

“He’s like us, just absolutely insane.” Nobara quipped.

Yuji pouted, “He’s a little weird but he’s harmless.” He sighed and turned back to you, “He’ll probably ask you some invasive questions when you first meet him, just be honest and he’ll love you.” He assured with a subtle gulp.

You rolled your eyes, “I mean, like what’s his weapon, how does he fight?”

The two looked at each other, seemingly mulling something over before nodding, “It’s better if you just watch.” They chimed.

“WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!”

You three snapped your attention to the arena. This ring had a man being lowered on a platform to be hovering above the heads of most of the audience, microphone in hand. He looked young with a blond bob and an expensive looking navy suit.

“That’s Arata Nitta.” Nobara muttered to you. “He mostly helps with medical stuff, so he’ll announce too to get some extra cash.”

“FIRST UP TONIGHT, WE HAVE A REAL CROWD PLEASER!” He proclaimed with a smile, “OUR BELOVED BOOGIE MAN!” Raucous cheering broke out around you, including a thrilled Yuji who hopped up to his feet, hands cupped around his mouth to hoot and holler.

Motion caught your attention to your left, a large, built man in a purple shirt and loose black pants with his hair pulled back and a large scar over his left eye coming from his forehead was getting into position. He spread his arms wide to soak in the praise and applause. It was then you noticed he only had one hand.

“Take it off!” Your head snapped to the side where a few young women were gathered. “Take it off!” a chant began, much to the pleasure of the Boogie Man in the ring. You could see a distinct eye roll from Arata on his platform.

Aoi put up his hand to silence the women, nodding with a content smile and grasped the front of his shirt, “Only because the beautiful Takada is in attendance tonight!” He called out, pointing at a vaguely familiar looking woman with a cute pair of glasses on the opposite side of the ring from you.

“Is that the idol?” you muttered to yourself. She was undeniably beautiful, tall, with soft, girly curves, soft brown hair. She was so feminine and so…well, soft. She had this almost fuzzy air around her and a perfect command over her features and appearance. You couldn’t help but shift your muscular figure to be a bit smaller, sinking into your oversized t-shirt you’d had for years, and your ruddy jeans that were almost more hole and patch than jeans, your new, bright shoes stark against your gritty aura.

Nobara sighed, “Yes. She came to a fight where she got paid big bucks to sing after Aoi begged and begged his boss, and somehow, he convinced her to come back and watch him sometimes.”

“He’s completely head over heels for her,” Yuji affirmed, “She only watches his matches. She can’t even see Curses, so she has to wear those glasses. I think it’s a showmanship appreciation thing. Like game recognizes game.”

You gawked as you saw Aoi toss the shreds of his poor shirt to said idol who just giggled and waved off the attention, chittering to her friend next to her.

“You get all kinds of famous people at these.” Nobara explained.

“TONIGHT, THE FORMIDABLE BOOGIE MAN HAS QUITE THE SHOW FOR ALL OF US!” Arata called out over the chaos, “ARE YOU READY?” He called to the crowd. Cheers and applause responded. In your peripheral vision you noticed Aoi snapping something in place on his arm that was missing a hand. “IT IS TIME!”

You took a deep breath, eyeing the metal door across from Aoi.

“TO RELEASE-!”

All three of you leaned in, hands pressed against the concrete in front of you as you peered into the sunken ring.

“-THE BEASTS!”

Aoi bared his teeth and clapped his now two hands together in a deafening CRACK, shaking out his limbs as the creak of the old, damaged door drew itself up.

The monster screeched as it barreled out of containment, a tall, thin humanoid with long spindly limbs, whose knees bent the wrong way and hunched back was covered in boils and spines. It was a dead greenish gray, with ears and fang filled mouths dotting across its body, its face blank other than its pin prick eyes. It towered over Aoi, foaming drool dribbling across the sandy ground, steam billowing up where it landed.

Aoi didn’t waver, in fact his grin grew wider, brandishing an impressive prosthetic arm with different kanji and sigils carved into its metal and wooden surface, the fingers fully articulate. He raised his hands and waited.

His patience wasn’t tested though, as the beast sprinted toward Aoi with a leaping shamble, using its clawed hands to help propel itself forward. Aoi planted his feet and poised his hands across from each other. When the Curse got to him, like a matador, he spun out of the way, but not without cracking another echoed CLAP right next to a set of the creature’s ears. The monster screamed in pain and attempted to shield some of its ears from the noise, but in the process lost its balance and crashed into the concrete wall, back first. Some of the gnarled boils and pustules on its back popped with a sickening squish, and when it rolled away from the wall, there was a splatter of steaming corrosion in its place. Aoi circled it as it regained its bearings.

You felt your heart thrumming in your throat, the grit of the concrete under your fingernails, your eyes locked onto each minute movement and twitch the beast made. You didn’t even realize you were practically hanging off your seat, “This shit is crazy.” You cackled, clapping a hand on the wall in front of you.

It lunged wildly at Aoi, seemingly blinded in its discombobulation, its claws almost reaching his skin. Aoi ducked and weaved out of its way, only to kick its side directly on an ear. As it struggled, Aoi turned triumphantly to the crowd, giving a clear signal up to the watchful Arata.

The blond nodded, “HOW BOUT WE HELP HIM OUT, HUH?!” The crowd jostled in a feral display, making the creature grasp at different ears to block it out. “YOU KNOW HOW THIS ONE GOES!” Arata started, “IF YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT-?!”

The onlookers screamed a throat shredding reply, “CLAP YOUR HANDS!” Seemingly as natural as breathing, the onlookers all around you, along with Aoi lifted their hands and-

CLAP CLAP!

In its stupor the monster didn’t see the left hook coming. It reared back, towering over the human fighter with a growl. Aoi signaled again to Arata.

“ONE MORE TIME!” He chanted, pumping a fist in the air with a fervor, “IF YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT?!”

“CLAP! YOUR! HANDS!” You found yourself laughing again, a fiery glee settling into your bones as you lifted your hands as well.

CLAP CLAP!

Aoi expertly maneuvered the distraction, using raw leg strength to leap upwards and slam his prosthetic, left fist onto its head, directing it chin first into the gritty floor below. Its head caved with a wet crack.

“LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOOGIE MAN!”

Like last time, a shower of booze, betting stubs, and even a few flowers were thrown into the sunken arena. Aoi caught one with a theatrical flair and presented it toward Takada and bowed.

After the crowd broke temporarily to allow time to clear the arena and set new bets and cash out on old, your little group of three found Aoi saying goodbye to the lovely Takada, hearts in his eyes. She giggled slightly, a ruffled rose in her hand, before waving goodbye.

“Are you ever gonna ask her out?” Yuji jeered, tossing an arm over Aoi’s shoulders.

Aoi sighed mournfully, face downcast, “Idols can’t date, Brother.”

Yuji threw his head back with a groan, “Whatever.” He swiftly redirected Aoi’s attention toward you, “This is our new fighter. She used to fight MMA.” Yuji explained.

You grinned stiffly, lips pinched together, but offered a hand to shake, “Great fight, dude.”

Aoi eyed you carefully, raising an eyebrow at your hand. He leaned over to mutter in Yuji’s ear, “Men or women?”

Nobara grit her teeth, kicking Aoi in the hip, “Don’t start this shit again!”

Yuji coughed out a quiet, “Men.”

Aoi nodded, mostly unphased by Nobara, “What kind of guys do you like?” He demanded, eyes steely and dark.

You spluttered, waving your hands in front of you, “Why are you-!”

“Just answer.” Yuji and Nobara droned.

You swallowed your pride and sighed, “Probably a fighter like me.” Yuji motioned for you to continue, “Uh that cooks well cause I suck at it,” Yuji mouthed the word ‘physical’, making you wince, “With-with uh big arms.” You finally spat out.

Nobara snapped to eye you with an evil glint, “Oh really?”

“I respect such an answer.” Aoi said simply, snatching your hand in his to shake it briefly, “Aoi Todo.”

You returned with your own name, “About the guys you’re into!” Nobara practically purred, bumping up next to you, “You know who’s got four big strong arms and can cook?”

You physically flinched, “Stop it.” You hissed.

Yuji chimed in, “It does sound a lot like Sukuna.”

Aoi squinted at you, seemingly analyzing you, but Nobara beat him to it if he was going to speak, “I knew you thought he was hot! Maki told me-!” She cut herself off with a squeal as you wrapped her head in one arm and covered her mouth with the other.

“Want me to talk about how much you stare at Maki while she’s working out?” You held her in the headlock firmly, even as her thrashing picked up at your threat, “I won’t if you stop it.” Nobara went still with a sigh, so you relented and let her go.

Yuji chuckled at the exchange, “Well we’re gonna go hang out, you guys get back safe.”

Aoi nodded and waved politely to you two as he was led away, “I’m going to beat your ass in Smash.”

You and Nobara quickly found the exit through the milling bodies.

As you both stepped out into the cooled night air, you turned your Yankee cap backwards so you could see better and kept step with Nobara.

“You know how to get back from here?” You muttered, stretching your arms as you walked.

Nobara nodded, “I take this one shortcut from the Tokyo train station, and we get back pretty quick.”

Once you were on the bullet train, sat next to each other, you and Nobara fell into easy chatter, and she showed you new things you could do with your phone. The two hours flew by, Nobara even watched out so you could take a quick thirty-minute nap.

You stayed close, hand in hand as you left the station. “Why don’t you message the house chat to let them know we’ll be back soon.” You suggested, squeezing Nobara’s hand slightly before letting go.

She nodded and did just that, “Should be less than ten minutes until we’re back.”

The both of you wove through the busy streets and stayed close still, “Hey, Nobara?” She hummed in acknowledgement. “Do you think…oh this is stupid.” You whined, grinding the heels of your hands into your eyes, a shot of pain going through your right one.

“No, it’s not, just ask.” She assured, nudging you with her hip.

“Do you think the others like me at all? I can’t get a read on it.”

Nobara practically glared at you, “Yes.” You tried to stutter out further explanation, but she would not have it, “You are wonderful to have around. Our quietest guys are talking to you. You’re actually trying to learn how to talk to Toge. You’re settling in just fine.”

You sucked air through your teeth, “I just can’t help but feel a little-a little out of place.”

“If it has anything to do with Sukuna being all weird and rude, please don’t take that personally, I mean he seems like he’s actually trying.” She explained, reaching to take your hand in hers again. “Just be patient. We all want you here.”

You offered a small grin in peace offering, allowing Nobara to redirect the conversation to something more idle.

“Here’s the shortcut!” She chirped, leading you to weave between a few buildings, never letting go of your hand-

scriiiiiTCH

Your blood ran cold, and you yanked Nobara behind you without a second thought. You knew that sound.

“HeheHEHeee” The eerie cackle bounced off the cool stone around you and pierced right through your diaphragm.

Your whole body shook as you forced yourself to look above you. On the rooftop to your left was a Curse, scraping a curved talon along a brick wall, taunting you. It lit sparks as it dragged, reflecting off its awful muzzle. You locked onto those massive, glassy black eyes and felt bile rise in your throat. It was a deep, sickly brown with scales and fur scattered across its skin, a gaping canine maw, ribbons of drool dripping right in front of you. You felt a jolt of familiar pain in your shoulder, your subconscious raising alarm bells in the form of phantom pains. Or maybe it was little pieces that it left in you before, longing to rip out of your skin and return to its home within the beast.

Nobara muttered your name, trying to shake out of your hold, “What are you doing? We don’t have weapons, let’s get out of here.” Her tone shook as she grasped at your hand. “C’mon, let’s go!” Nobara could feel the power radiating off of the Curse, all of the hair on her arms standing on end and her mouth running dry. But you wouldn’t move-no, couldn’t move. All of your muscles were tensed to an almost painful degree, the only movement in your body was the quiver of your chin.

Nobara called for you again, “Please!” But her efforts were in vain.

The Curse lunged down toward you, propelled forward by its strong arms, its spiked tail thrashing. You pushed Nobara away from you, and away from the Curse, sinking into a defensive position, your arms lifted to cover your face, eyes squeezed shut. You felt a blunt impact on your left, being swiped by its clawed hand to the side, launched into the brick wall next to you. Before you could even react or take in a breath, you were being grabbed, talons digging into your sides and arms. It lifted you up, dragging your back against the brick, the deafening, screeching drag of claw on brick making your head spin. When you opened your eyes, you saw those huge, pitch-black eyes right in front of you, you could smell its rancid breath and felt a sudden chill settle into your bones. It hissed like an alligator, guttural, and airy as you squirmed, trying to get some part of you free from its hold. You only succeeded in digging its claws deeper into the flesh of your arms.

“Little spitfire…” It spoke. You fought back a scream, kicking and thrashing to try and keep its massive teeth away from you.

You grit your teeth, tears spilling out onto your cheeks, “Let go of me!” It was then you saw Nobara try and kick into the armored side of the Curse, “No! Kugisaki, don’t!” The beast turned its head for a moment and swiped its spiked tail toward her.

The Curse wasn’t able to make contact however, letting out a yowl of pain as a blade was driven into its flesh.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you.” It was Sukuna, his extra arms on full display, his eyes glowing a bright scarlet. He twisted his sword in its tail before taking it out, “Stay back, kid.” He said to Nobara who was scrambling backward.

The Curse tried to swat at Sukuna with its free hand, but he dodged effortlessly, swiping the blade through its wrist. The curse clenched its fist around you, cutting deeper before letting you go, your feet barely stable on the ground. Its purple blood flowed out from its wounds, but it refused to back down, rearing back and baring its teeth. It was aiming to bite Sukuna, who had his back turned, guard dropped, to give Nobara brief instructions.

You acted before you could think, flinging yourself forward as fast as you could, reaching to come between the beast’s familiar jaws and the man who was there to save you. You leapt, grabbing onto Sukuna’s upper shoulders and clung to him, acting like a shield. You heard your name being screamed but it was like you were hearing underwater, all muffled and far away. All you could register was the crushing pain of the Curse’s teeth sunk into your shoulder blade, the only thing on your mind was how its bite would have hit Sukuna’s jugular.

Nobara cried out as the Curse withdrew its teeth, curling back onto itself to reset. You let yourself fall to the ground, the pain of your wound hitting concrete the last thing on your mind. Your mind felt fuzzy as you barely registered Sukuna cutting off the head of the Curse, feeling some of its warm blood hit your skin.

“Hey hey hey, can you hear me?” Nobara was on her knees, hovering above you, lightly smacking your cheek to get your attention. You tried to answer, but only a bubbly groan came out. “Sukuna! We need to get her back home!” She demanded, trying to help gather you up.

Said man came over and lifted you from her grasp, holding you against his chest, and began running, Nobara keeping step, “What the fuck were you two thinking?” He yelled, “No weapons, going through back alleys, at night? You’re so fucking lucky I was wrangling local tonight.”

Nobara panted slightly as she spoke, distress clear in her voice, “It’s my fault! I suggested the shortcut, and I should’ve brought something!”

Sukuna just growled, barreling forward, reduced to two arms as you all broke free from the shadowy alleys and into populated territory, the Complex right ahead. “Tell Gojo to get Shoko here, I’ll take her down and do what I can for now.” Nobara agreed and scanned you all in, ushering Sukuna down while she sprinted upstairs.

Sukuna was practically kicking doors in to get you to the medical room by the gym. When he got you there, he laid you on your stomach on one of the beds with rushed care.

He muttered to himself as he ran around the room, grabbing supplies as he went. Soon enough though, he returned to your side with dry, clean cloths. “That was so fucking stupid.” He hissed, quickly cutting your shirt up the middle with some scissors he’d found. Once he had a full view of the area, he swore under his breath before taking one of the cloths to apply pressure to your bite.

You whined at the pain, “Ah! Do you-?”

He cut you off, “Yes I have to press this hard; you’re bleeding everywhere.” He growled, “Which you wouldn’t fucking be if you weren’t so stupid!” You felt the pressure increase, piercing pain shooting down your arm. You winced and gripped the pillow under your head, knuckles gone white. Sukuna huffed and used his free hand to take your hat off your head and set it aside, brushing your hair in place, “Why the hell did you do that?”

“Nobara said she took that way all the time, I didn’t have any reason to think it wasn’t safe.”

“No, you dumbass!” He insisted, his voice growing quieter as he continued, “Why’d you get between me and the Curse like that?”

Your head swam with fatigue, but you tried to remain present, “It would-would’ve killed you.”

You felt Sukuna tense above you, and silence stretched for a little while, “Don’t do that again. I would’ve been fine. I heal fast.” Before you could retort he said, “Why the hell did you freeze up like that too? You haven’t fought too many curses but you’re not useless.”

You felt fresh tears well up, silently dropping onto the pillow, “It attacked me before. Years ago. I’ve got a-a scar on my shoulder from it. Seeing it again, I…” You trailed off, choked on a sob.

“You can’t let shit like that get to you! That’s how people end up dead. What would you have done if I didn’t show up?”

You grit your teeth, “It’s not my fault the one Curse that could get such a-a huge jump on me showed up! It won’t happen next time” You resisted the urge to squirm under the firm pressure of Sukuna’s hand.

Sukuna’s nostrils flared and the room felt infinitely hotter to him, the only thing on his mind was the way you looked being held against the wall, for once so small and fragile, arms scratched and eyes glassy with fear. “Next time I might not be there! Next time the Curse might be too strong or too fast or too scary! Next time shouldn’t even exist!” His voice dripped with venom in your ear.

You swung out a leg, “Get the fuck off me!” you exclaimed, kicking into Sukuna’s thigh as hard as you could. He stumbled back mostly from surprise. You swung yourself up to sit on the bed, forcing yourself to stand, ignoring the feeling of fresh, warm blood flowing down your back. You snatched off the remains of your shirt and threw it to the side, a chill prickling your skin, now only covered by your sports bra. You got in Sukuna’s face, pushing him back as you spoke, “You act all high and mighty-!”

Sukuna let you jab him backward, fearing resistance might further the damage to your bite, “Slow the fuck down-!”

Blood collected below you, “-but you’re just some ass who can’t deal with-!”

His breath picked up, and he tried to hold your wrists in place, snatching them up, “Stop moving! You’re making it worse!”

“Why are you acting like you care?!” You practically screamed, “I’m just some extra liability, right?” You stomped on Sukuna’s foot, but he didn’t budge, “Why’d you even save me?”

He felt your pulse race in your wrists, the way you shook like a cornered animal, your skin clammy and flushed. He tried to speak but nothing would come out. Without warning you twisted your wrists out of his hold and whirled to kick him in the ribs with all you had, making Sukuna stumble to the side.

“Get your ass on that bed, now!” The monotone drone of one Shoko Ieiri pierced through the tension, “Choso, get him out of here.” Nobara and Maki rushed in and surrounded you, taking your wavering weight off you and helping you to lay back on the medical bed. Shoko sent Gojo around to grab things for her while she set to work.

“Ryomen.” Choso barked over the chaos, marching right up to his brother, “Come with me.” He demanded, landing a harsh grip on the nape of Sukuna’s neck. Sukuna tried to protest but was shut down by a glare from his older brother.

Choso dragged Sukuna up to the third floor, wordlessly passing a few of the other boys, not stopping until he could practically fling his brother into his room.

Choso locked Sukuna’s door with a click, “What the fuck happened?” He demanded, standing tall with his arms crossed.

Sukuna dragged his hands across his face and sat on his bed with a grating groan, “Those two went out unprotected through some stupid back alleys in the dark and the only reason they aren’t dead is because I was Curse wrangling nearby.” He explained.

“How’d she get hurt if you were there?” Choso asked pointedly, “That bite looked gnarly.”

Sukuna clenched his jaw, “She did that.” He spat, “Little shit thought I was gonna take a fatal bite, so she threw herself on me like a backpack, so she’d get bit instead. Fucking stupid.”

Choso sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “She doesn’t know everything about your bullshit. And who knows? If one hit you in the right place, a Curse could kill you.” He explained before deciding to sit down, dragging out Sukuna’s desk chair, “Why didn’t it stop when you came along? And why’d it try to bite you? They usually leave you alone.”

Sukuna shrugged, looking at the drying blood on his hands, “I think it wanted to kill her more than it wanted to listen to its instincts. It attacked her before, years ago.”

Choso hummed in thought, “It could be a personal Curse manifestation. If she has a strong enough source of negativity, a Curse could materialize and it could target her alone.”

“Well, it’s dead so she shouldn’t have to worry about it.”

“For now. You know as well as anyone that curses can reincarnate.”

A chill ran down Sukuna’s spine, ‘What if I’m not there?’

“Why were you both so riled up in the med room?” Choso asked, picking at his flaking nail polish.

“I pissed her off.”

“No shit, now elaborate.”

Sukuna ran his fingers through his messy pink hair with a wince, “I was trying to tell her to be careful, and that she didn’t need to help me like that but…” he trailed off. Choso cocked an eyebrow, “But I did that thing again.”

“You got too mad and were an asshole even if you didn’t want to be?” He suggested. Sukuna nodded, hiding his face from his older brother.

“She said that I was only pretending to care. That I see her as a liability.” The younger brother whispered.

Choso let the silence linger for a while, “Is she right?”

Sukuna surged upright, on his feet in a second and grabbed the front of Choso’s shirt with a tight fist, “No the fuck she isn’t and don’t you ever imply anything like that again.” Choso swore he could see a light glow coming from his brother’s eyes.

“Then why doesn’t she know it?” Sukuna set his jaw and let go of Choso’s shirt. “Try doing something nice for a change. Since you have trouble with the talking, try doing something. Actions speak louder than words and all that.”

---

Shoko was able to make quick work of your wounds, even helping with your bruising and such from your failed match. She had the ability to use sigils and such to manipulate the blood and flesh of your wounds. You were still sore and tender in spots, but you were cleared for training, just no spars or Curse fighting for a week.

Your room was a welcome calm, bathed in moonlight from your large windows. You had taken a brief shower to get the blood off and made quick work of changing into clean clothes.

You picked up your body wash and washcloth, lathering it and beginning to scrub away the day. As you ran the cloth over your skin, you began to hum a tune, trying to fill the silence.

“What do you want for dinner?” A rough, low voice made you jump out of your skin.

“Holy shit!” You hissed, trying to calm yourself down.

A now familiar snorted laugh echoed in the room, “You really are jumpy after fights, eh Buttercup?”

“Shut up Sukuna.” You groaned, “What do you want?”

You heard an exasperated sigh from outside the shower, “You get to pick what we eat tonight. Gojo’s going out, losers make dinner, remember?” Sukuna explained, “Try to keep up, please.”

You rolled your eyes, “Always a pleasure,” you sighed, “Do you have stuff for yakitori?” All you got was a grunt in response before you heard footsteps leaving the bathroom. “NICE TALKING TO YOU!” you called out.

After your shower, you quickly got dried off as best you could and dashed to your room to get dressed, your towel wrapped tight around you. Once you were safe and sound in your new room, you tossed on the closest set of clothes to you, a massive, ratty t-shirt from the gym you trained in and some sweatpants.

You looked yourself over in the mirror on your closet door again, your hair still dripping a bit of water and your bruises all the more technicolored. You looked a hot mess, but you couldn’t stop the little smile that pulled at your lips.

The building was actually relatively quiet as you padded down the hallway to the top of the steps-

BANG! CRASH!

“YUJI, I SWEAR TO GOD, I’LL SKEWER YOU IF YOU BUMP INTO ME ONE MORE TIME!” you heard the unmistakable rasp of one Ryomen Sukuna telling off his younger brother.

You stifled a laugh, “Sorry! I can’t figure out how to light the grill!”

Sukuna groaned, “Inumaki!”

“Salmon!”

“Keep skewering the chicken while I go get the grill going cause someone can’t do basic tasks!”

“Salmon!”

You bit down another laugh and resumed your descent to the second floor, reaching the bottom just as you heard the quiet shutting of a sliding door that you hadn’t noticed before. You saw Inumaki and Yuji carefully skewering chicken, adding to an ever-growing pile, Panda steering clear of the kitchen (probably for the best, they don’t make full body hairnets), and a content looking Megumi with his nose in a book and a fluffy dog in his lap.

“So, you don’t know how to light a grill, Yuji?” you asked with a grin.

Said man’s head whipped up from his work, his ears tinged red, “I cook inside!” Yuji insisted.

“He’s the reason we had to replace our last oven.” Megumi offered from the couch, causing Yuji to gawk.

“It wasn’t just me-!”

You laughed the topic off, waving at the silent Inumaki who was diligently at work, “Kelp!” you greeted him with a small smile. Inumaki gave a nod and returned the wave with his messy chicken hands.

“Want to meet Kon?” Megumi chimed in, peering over at you from over the edge of the couch. You perked up and walked over to said dog-still sitting in Megumi’s lap-as calmly as you could, fighting a massive smile. “He’s very friendly, he loves when you scratch his ears and chin the most.”

Kon noticed you as you approached and sat up, walking over to you on the couch. You scanned the fluffy black and white dog, avoiding staring in his eyes very long. “Hi, buddy. You’re a good boy, huh?” you whispered, offering your hand for him to sniff. He did so before plopping down and sitting, licking all over your hand. You giggled and got closer to Kon, giving him scritches all over his massive head.

“He likes you.” Megumi stated plainly, a very small smile playing on his face. You gushed over the adorable, massive dog, talking to him while his tail went wild. “Don’t be surprised if you end up with an almost 45-kilogram ball of fur at your heels anytime you’re in common spaces.”

Your joy was simply unmatched, unable to take your eyes off of the beautiful mutt in front of you, “That’s okay!” you gushed, “If somebody’s this cute then he can follow me around all day!” you said, landing a little kiss on Kon’s head.

CLACK!

You whipped your head up in sync with a little bark from Kon at the loud sound, seeing Sukuna at the sliding door with an apron on, tongs in hand, and a twitch in his eye, his gaze dead set on you. The room felt silent.

“Bro, drop the death grip on the tongs. You’re gonna break em.” Yuji hissed, snatching them out of his hands.

You kept a hand still in Kon’s fur as you screwed up your face in a grimace at Sukuna’s expression, “Got a problem, Kuna?” you mocked, still stroking Kon’s soft fur.

Sukuna’s eyes snapped wide, his jaw clenched. He almost robotically turned and went back out the sliding door to the balcony, shutting it loudly behind him. The boys all looked at each other, bewildered expressions on their faces, silently arguing. You rolled your eyes and returned to spoiling Kon.

“I-I’m gonna check on him.” Yuji muttered, quietly following him out to the balcony, tongs in hand.

Sukuna stood out on the balcony, watching the ground intently, a white-knuckle grip on the railing. “I’m fucking stupid.” He mumbled, smacking his face with one of his hands, keeping it there. Despite his mental insistence on moving on as quickly as possible, his brain was relentless with its alarm bells going off. “Stupid girl and her stupid nicknames being cute with the stupid mutt.”

“Bro-You okay?” Yuji asked, closing the door behind him, stepping onto the balcony. “That was some weird staring.” He said, coming up to lean on the railing beside his older brother.

Sukuna shrugged, looking away, “Nothing.”

“Okay, so-since when is it ‘nothing’ to enter a room, glare at the new girl with the fire of a thousand suns, and almost break a kitchen utensil before leaving without a word and slamming the door?” Yuji asked sarcastically, gesturing with the victimized tongs.

“Oh, shut up, Brat.” Sukuna hissed, “It wasn’t that weird.”

“Yes, it was.”

Sukuna sighed, “I don’t fucking know. It just…happened.” He tried to explain, picking at the flaking black nail polish on his thumb.

Yuji hummed in thought, “Not used to being around pretty girls that are your age and don’t think you’re scary?” he deadpanned, much to his brother’s displeasure. Sukuna whipped his head to the side to give a sharp reply, but Yuji held up the tongs threateningly “Stop being a dick to her.”

“I’m not!” Sukuna exclaimed, arms out in exasperation, “I’m just-just, that’s what happens when I get around her!”

Yuji groaned, “When was the last time you had a serious girlfriend, dude?” Sukuna’s mouth snapped shut, his face heating up. “Exactly. You are awful when you get around girls you might actually like.” He said, pointedly tapping Sukuna’s tattooed arm with the tongs. “She’s not going anywhere. Just try to be normal for once.”

“Shut up and help me grill this fucking yakitori.” Sukuna said with a finite tone, yanking Yuji by the back of his collar toward the grill.

Once dinner was ready, nobody wanted to sit at the table, so the living room filled to the brim with your fellow fighters. You were once again sat between Maki and Nobara.

Panda piped up through a mouthful of food, “Oh! There’s a movie me and Toge wanna watch that’s streaming now, think we could?”

“Is it stupid?” Maki asked with a distinct drone to her voice.

“Fish flakes!” Toge insisted, a hand on his chest in offense.

“Yes.” Panda stated.

Choso rolled his eyes, “It’s fine. Let me find it.” He sighed as the dedicated remote operator and settled into his corner seat.

You were enamored with the plate of food in your lap, it looked perfect. The chicken was glistening and looked well-seasoned with the perfect amount of char beneath the reddish sauce. “This looks so good.” You muttered.

Nobara chuckled, “Stop looking and start eating.”

You rolled your eyes but dove in, bringing a skewer to your lips. “Oh my god, that’s delicious!” You exclaimed, a wide smile on your face.

Sukuna’s neck heated up, taking a dry swallow before biting off a piece from his own skewer.

“It’s my brother’s recipe!” Yuji chimed, “Sukuna’s a great cook.” Sukuna’s head snapped over to his younger brother, kicking his shin with his heel. “Ow!” Yuji went to retaliate, reaching over Choso to get to Sukuna.

Choso glared at his brothers on either side of him, “Stop.”

The other two froze and settled into their seats again.

“You better keep losing your spars then, Kuna.” You chuckled. Yuji popped up an eyebrow at the nickname, “Cause this is some of the best food I’ve had in years.”

Sukuna glowered, “Don’t get used to it.”

Everyone finished their food, half watching the nonsensical movie on the TV before you popped up, grabbing everyone’s dishes and trash, balancing a large pile of plates.

“I’ll do dishes!” you chimed, walking to the sink, “Thank you for cooking!”

Maki hopped up and joined you in the kitchen, “I’ll help you!”

“I’ll watch!” Nobara exclaimed, coming to lean on the counter near you two. “So,” Nobara started while you rinsed the first dish off, “Think you’ll wanna go clubbing on Saturday?”

You froze, “Uhh…”

Maki laid a hand your arm, “I really think you’ll have a lot of fun.”

“Ask me again after the fight on Friday.” You replied, resuming your scrubbing. The girls both nodded in agreement.

“Also, we have a dishwasher.” Nobara snorted a laugh.

Croc's criminal business classes, Money laundering 101, How to make the marines not look at your murders 202, Advanced Persuasive argumentation 102, and Withstanding Advanced Persuasive argumentation 103. So far only Mihawk, Nami, Robin, Law, and weirdly enough Sanji have passed. Sanji only passed because he always had to help Zeff with his books cause Zeff would be ASS with numbers.

Twin Size Mattress by The Front Bottoms. Buggy. Losing Shanks. And Roger. Begging and crying baby Buggy. Last verse is Shanks.

Mihawk only being a goof with his SO. Like imagine earning him being goofy. Like one day you make a little quip and he actually like snort laughs. He will not address it at first. Then one time you're bathing together and he gives you both silly bubble beards. He starts muttering sly little comments to you while on official business, keeping a perfect straight face on the outside, but he's joking about Doflamingo's pink fairy princess dress that must be at the back of his closet that he must only bring out for tea parties. If you break and laugh at all you look insane to outsiders.

Also with Mihawk, I could see him sitting next to Croc just drinkin his wine and chilling :

Croc: I need to update my numbers by the fifth next week for the new quarter.

Mihawk: *chokes* Next week?!

Croc: Yes....?

Mihawk: *Panicking* ehhh joder!!!! My anniversary!!! It's on the third! I need to send something NOW!

Croc: *disapointment* You forgot?

Mihawk: Give me the key to the treasury.

Croc: No.

Mihawk: *snatches Croc's keys* *Sprints away to grab copious amounts of jewelry and gems*

*Later*

Partner: Oh! A delivery! *Opens front door* ...Oh my...*basically a fucking caravan of gifts getting carried into the castle*

Partner: ...Okay so I WON'T kill him for being late.

*Cross Guild*

Croc: You owe me more money than you can comprehend, swordsman.

When Monday morning finally rolled around, you only realized when you heard a honk outside. You were woken up off your bare mattress that had to stay behind with a start. You whipped some drool from your chin and sprinted to the window that overlooked the street and saw Gojo, Yuji, and Megumi on the curb dressed in sweats, ready to help lug your belongings into a truck that they had brought. You opened the window and waved with a holler, “Give me two minutes, I’ll let you up!” the men gave you thumbs up.

You made a mad dash to the dusty duffle bag you left on top of all the other belongings you were bringing with you and tore it open, snatching fresh clothes, your deodorant and hairbrush from it. You decided to skip brushing your teeth for time and instead popped a stick of gum in your mouth.

You frantically ripped off your night shirt and changed your underwear, applying deodorant and putting on your bra and ruddy jeans. You ran the brush through your hair a few times before pulling it back out of your face. You threw everything back into your bag and zipped it up, running for the front door. “Shit, shirt.” You groaned, going back to where a fresh one had been laid. You put it on and slapped your Yankee cap onto your head as you rushed out the door into the hazy summer heat, bare feet burning on the concrete.

You hollered a greeting as you hopped down the old metal stairs of your apartment complex, shoving on socks and your beat-up running shoes. The three men looked at you in concern as you hissed in pain at the heat. And they all briefly wondered if you knew what tetanus was. For the record, you did-you just didn’t care. You’d been through worse.

“Damn, got places to be?” Gojo joked, clearly amused at your rush. He had on his sunglasses and a t shirt with gym shorts. His hair was held back off his forehead with a headband.

You huffed out a dry laugh. “I don’t have a lot of boxes, so it should only take us like two trips max.” You said, taking the cold water bottle Megumi offered up with a smile. The icy liquid ran down your throat, and you drank down half of it greedily. “You woke me up with the horn.” You explained. The men let out little noises of recognition as you led them up the rickety stairs to your small apartment.

They let out various noises of displeasure at seeing your drab studio apartment. They took note of the cracked tiles on the floor and your twin mattress on the ground in the corner of the room. There wasn’t even a closet. Only a door to a very small bathroom. Gojo had seriously thought you were exaggerating how broke you were like some do, but he realized with a start that you were entirely honest.

“It was the cheapest place I could find in Tokyo that was taking tenants.” You explained, cheeks hot with the shame of your measly situation. The younger men, you didn’t know for sure, but you knew Gojo came from money. You could practically smell it on him, so you found yourself silently praying that he wasn’t judging you too harshly. It wasn’t your fault that you’d gotten scammed. You did what you had to. You were lucky you weren’t homeless. You would have been right then if Gojo hadn’t appeared like an angel in that locker room to offer you everything you needed.

“Let’s get started,” exclaimed the older man. You let out a small sigh of relief at the lack of topic being addressed and pointed to the small stack of boxes and the few rolled posters.

“Only two of them are very heavy,” you said. “They’re the ones on the bottom. They have some books and my manga.” They nodded before quickly divvying up all the boxes among themselves, two each.

When you tried to take any from them, Yuji stopped you, “You take down your posters. With how your ankle was last week, we don’t want to mess it up more.” He explained. Your head recoiled and your fists clenched. You knew they meant well, but you’ll be damned if you ever let anyone stop you from doing something. Especially because of that stupid ankle.

So, you let them get out of the door, locking it behind all of you. Then when they had just begun walking towards the metal staircase, you grabbed Megumi’s boxes, pinning your posters between your arm and your torso. He gave them up with little physical protest. The boxes didn’t have handles, so you had to grab them from around or below, so he had an iffy grip to begin with. He audibly told you to stop, but it was too late, you were already at the bottom of the stairs with the boxes, heading towards the truck’s open tailgate. You set the boxes down with a satisfied huff.

The boys quickly caught up to you, and you met them with a menacing glare, “Never decide for me what I can or can’t do.” You asserted, grabbing the boxes from Yuji and Gojo, putting them on the truck bed.

“We just-!” you cut Gojo off with a swift grab at his collar, lifting him off the ground slightly. Gojo’s eyes widened when he realized his toes could only just barely reach the hot asphalt.

“I decide what I can do. Not you, moneybags. Get that straight or this won’t work.” You hissed, maintaining eye contact with him through his dark glasses. “I’ve lived on the streets before. I’ll do it again. You’re not in charge of me.”

Gojo held his hands up in surrender, “Understood.” He said clearly. You lowered him onto his feet again. He turned to the younger boys who had wide, saucer-like eyes, “You guys really just stood there while I almost got my shit rocked? Didn’t help me at all?”

The two shrugged, “I don’t mess with angry women. Especially not her,” Yuji urged, “I watched her fights, remember?” “It’s fine. Just don’t do it again,” you insisted, hopping into the truck bed, sitting on one of the fuller boxes. “Let’s get going. I’m starving.” Yuji hopped up with you. The truck was only a two-seater; the center being taken up by a console he didn’t particularly want to dig into his crotch for the whole ride back.

As the pickup began speeding along the bumpy streets around your apartment complex, Yuji eyed you from across the truck bed. “How is your ankle feeling?” he called over the wind.

You pinched your eyes closed with a sigh, “Fine, Yuji. It only hurt for like two days.”

He nodded slowly, “How sure are you that you’re up to start fighting again?”

You glowered at the younger man, setting your jaw, “Very. I don’t care if my leg gets cut off tomorrow. I’m fighting.” You explained, turning away.

“You sound like my brothers.” Yuji chuckled. “They both have been fighting longer than I’ve been alive.” You rolled your eyes.

“How old are they anyways?” you asked. “They both look 21 and 30 at the same time.” You slid off your box seat and onto the dirty floor of the bed.

Yuji cracked a smirk, “Ryo’s 25, Choso’s 26-gonna be 27 in like two weeks.” A spark of mischief popped into the pink haired boy’s eyes. “Why, you tryna date one of em?” He teased, nudging your foot with his.

“What is it with everyone’s interest in my dating life?” you exclaimed, kicking the man’s leg, “No. I just couldn’t get a good read on their ages. Didn’t know if I was the oldest one in this little crew.”

‘Didn’t know if I was gonna be surrounded by babies.’ You added in your mind.

Yuji shrugged, “Choso’s the oldest fighter, then there’s Gojo-sensei and his friends. They’re all like 28-27?” he surmised. He smirked, “You think Gojo-sensei’s more your speed?”

“No! God, what is with you people!” you exclaimed, “and I’m not calling him that.” You huffed.

“Gojo-sensei?”

You nodded, “Already had one fighting sensei. He’s just a trainer.” Yuji’s brows drew together in confusion, “Kept me off the streets after I dropped out of high school. No one else can have that title in my mind.” Yuji nodded, “And it’s fucking weird to call someone that when he’s only a little older than me. Feels like he gets off on it or something.” You continued, scrunching your nose.

Yuji’s face fell in horror, “That’s nasty!” He crawled up to the back window of the truck and smacked the part that opens, “Gojo! You’re a fucking perv!” he exclaimed, prying it open.

“Eh?!” Gojo asked.

“Do you get off to pretty girls calling you sensei?!” Yuji yelled over the wind. You chuckled a bit, biting your cheek to keep quiet.

“Not during work.” Gojo called back, a sly smirk on his face.

Yuji reached his arm through the back window and tried to whack Gojo, but the angle made it hard, “Gross! Gross! Gross!” He exclaimed with each hit he managed to land.

The truck lurched as the brakes were slammed. Yuji hit his head on the body of the truck then fell backwards onto the truck bed with a bang. He hissed and rubbed his head. You were at the complex.

…………

You frowned as you stared at the ceiling of your new bedroom. The mattress was far too comfy, the desk in the corner brand new, the tall windows too bright with too nice of a view of a blooming tree, the plush carpet under your feet was too soft, the closet too big, and the bookshelf too spacious. There was even a laptop on the desk, a television mounted on the wall, and a new cell phone on the bedside table. You stared up at nothing and wondered-what’s wrong here? What’s not going to be right? Where’s the downside? It’s been three days already. Where’s that damned other boot and when will it drop?

You sat up and looked at yourself in the mirror on your closet door. Your bruises were starting to fade and the blood in your sclera was turning yellow. You ran your hand over your arm, pushing up the sleeve of your shirt over your shoulder. You looked deeply at the scars there, they speckled your skin like freckles on a ginger. On your left shoulder though was one that always stuck out. It was a large bite mark. It took well over a year to heal, but when it did it left jagged marks in the clear shape of a mouth in its wake. A curse had come after you inside your high school and had given you your money’s worth before you ran away. It was the only scar you had that you had mixed feelings over. The rest of your scars you had earned with pride. They were badges of honor of your need to survive, your fight to live and succeed. They were won. This bite mark was a loss. It reminded you of how the curses were more powerful than you on a base level. That they’d always be there and always be ready to kill you. You pinched the skin around the bite with a glare.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Come in.” you muttered, still analyzing the skin under your grasp. You saw Maki was the one pushing open your door. Her eyes fell onto your shoulder with a furrowed brow,

“Woah.” She whispered. “Curse bite?”

You nodded. “I was 15. Freaked people out for a while when they saw it. I said a dog got me.”

She cleared her throat, “Gojo-sensei wanted to know if you wanted to join us for training. He said you could just watch today if you’d like.”

Your head whipped to face her fully with a wicked grin. “Absolutely.”

Maki led you down to the bottom floor to a metal push door. You opened the heavy door and took in the training space. It was massive, a waxed floor gym with a few benches around the edge of the room and a large, blue fighting mat in the center. Your grin widened as you jogged up to the large group stretching on the mat. Maki joined in on the stretches.

Gojo waved as he continued to stretch on the ground. “You decided to join us! So, you wanna watch or get in on some sparring?” he jeered.

You rolled your eyes, smile never wavering, “The fuck do you think?”

He smirked up at you through his sunglasses, “Who you wanna match up with?” You shrugged, insisting you don’t care. Gojo nodded, a smug look on his face. “Who wants her?” he asked the group.

They began to glance between themselves, trying to assess who’d be a good matchup for you.

“Fuck it, I’ll fight Yuji.” You chimed, impatiently pointing at the boy.

He whipped around to face you, pointing at himself as sweat dripped down his forehead. “You wanna fight me?” he squeaked.

You nodded, “Why not? I’ve seen you fight, and I think you’ll be a cool challenge.” You stated firmly, dropping to the mat and beginning to join in the stretching, a slight struggle in your jeans that were probably older than you. “Why, you scared?”

“Kinda!” Yuji exclaimed, receiving scattered laughter, “You guys don’t get it, she fights like a beast! Back me up here Ryomen!” he insisted, grabbing his older brother’s tattooed arm.

Sukuna rolled his eyes with a grin, “She won’t kill you, Yuji.”

“Probably.” You chimed.

Yuji whined, “No one’s gonna volunteer for me? You two-!” he said pointing to his older brothers, “-are not allowed to watch The Hunger Games with me anymore. You’ve clearly learned nothing from Jennifer Lawrence.” He huffed, stretching again, bringing his fingers to his toes, and trying to flatten himself.

Sukuna snickered and Choso let out a smirk, “Just win.” Sukuna chided.

Megumi raised his hand from another end of the group, “Who am I gonna fight then?”

Gojo thought for only a moment, waving off his concern. “You’ll fight the loser.”

Megumi sighed with a roll of his eyes but said no more.

“Let’s give Yuji a little longer to live.” Gojo insisted, rising to his feet. “Usual order, Yuji’s match last.” He said, ushering the lot of you off the mat. You all took seats lining the border of it.

First up were Choso and Sukuna. They took opposing positions on the mat with matching smirks. Sukuna had his shirt off, displaying all his abdominal tattoos fully and loose gym shorts. Choso’s hair was back in his usual style, and he had on a loose tank top and shorts that reached the tops of his calves. Both were bare foot on the mat. The group of you off the mat sat and cheered for them as they squared each other up from their opposing ends. Maki offered you a sip of her water from beside you which you took happily.

Gojo stood in the middle of the mat, a whistle around his neck, “No outside weapons, no lethal moves, punches and kicks allowed, first to pin the other for 10 full seconds or get the other off the mat wins.” He explained quickly before blowing the whistle and jogging to an empty part of the floor next to the mat.

They both took their fighting stances, but you could tell by how solidly he stood that Choso was waiting for his younger brother to make the first move. And sure enough, he did, Sukuna advanced on Choso quickly, sending a right-handed jab straight for his face. Choso lifted his left forearm to block, swiping his right foot at Sukuna’s feet, tripping him. Sukuna recovered quickly, kicking upwards, aiming for Choso’s chin. Choso moved his head to the side, grabbing Sukuna’s calf tightly. Sukuna used the grip as leverage to throw himself upwards, forcing Choso to bend backwards, his head almost brushing the mat next to Sukuna’s foot, but Choso’s feet never left the mat, so he hovered, stable for a moment before using his grip on Sukuna’s leg to push him backwards as he rose back upright, Sukuna hopping on one foot.

Sukuna smirked, twisting his leg in Choso’s hold and going for a swinging kick at Choso’s head. Choso pushed Sukuna away midair, almost throwing him down towards the mat. Sukuna landed on his feet in a crouch with a grin. Choso took his fighting stance again, not taking his eyes off his opponent.

Sukuna rushed Choso, staying low, and grabbed Choso around the middle, forcing him backwards towards the edge of the mat. Choso planted his feet and grabbed Sukuna, trying to stay in one place, but his brother’s strength and momentum kept him sliding, mere inches from the edge of the mat. Choso grit his teeth and lifted Sukuna by his abdomen over his head. Sukuna’s eyes widened as he was flung. Choso didn’t let go as he lifted his brother, arcing his back and forcing Sukuna down quickly. Sukuna’s feet landed on the waxed gym floor with a small bounce.

“Choso wins!” Gojo called out, blowing his whistle. Choso flopped onto his back with a huff and a smile.

Sukuna rolled his eyes but offered his hand to his older brother. Choso took it and used the leverage to hop up to his feet. “Good match.” Sukuna mumbled, clapping his brother on the back.

“Hey, I haven’t beat you in a month, don’t be a sore loser.” Choso chided.

“Uh huh. You just wanted to impress the new chick.” Sukuna scoffed.

Choso rolled his purple rimmed eyes and shook his head. “You just can’t lose gracefully, can you?” he asked. Sukuna glared, kicking his brother’s shin with his heel as they approached the group to take their seats. Yuji handed them both their water bottles as they settled next to him with quiet “thank you”-s.

“Come on up, Toge, Nobara.” Gojo commanded, blowing his whistle once again. The two opponents approached the mats readily.

The fight went swiftly, Nobara quickly pinning Toge to the mat. He hadn’t seen her going for a right hook and had gone down like a bag of bricks.

“Nobara wins!” Gojo announced with a tweet. Nobara helped Toge up and off to the sidelines, both all smiles. “Maki! Panda!” the two were already up and approaching the blue mat.

This fight stretched on for longer than the other two but ultimately ended with Maki pushing Panda off the mat. He had focused too much on where Maki was on the mat and not enough on his own surroundings.

“Okay! Now for the match we’ve been waiting for!” Gojo exclaimed, calling out your and Yuji’s name. You both got onto the mat, you with enthusiasm and Yuji with reluctance.

“Why are you so sure you’re going to lose?” you glowered. “I don’t know all your little tricks, but you know plenty of mine! You’ve seen me fight tons more than I’ve seen you.” You insisted. “If you go into this thinking you’re gonna lose, we may as well not even spar.” Yuji nodded, still unsure but he got into a fighting position. You noticed it was a defensive position with a shake of your head.

Gojo let out the whistle for you two to start and you dropped into position but stayed still. You looked at the boy across from you carefully. Yuji was wearing a hoodie and shorts, he clearly was agile and skilled in direct combat, but you anticipated that he’d probably know what to do better with a more street style attack, so you gathered up your breath and nerves, and with a swallow, you prepared to kick his ass semi-systematically.

Yuji swallowed under your intense gaze, he desperately didn’t want to make the first move, not knowing the approach you’d come at him with. He’d seen you fight every opponent differently on TV, taking in their strengths and weaknesses as you pummeled them. But as he leveled his eyes with yours, your stony gaze told him you weren’t moving. You were going to wait him out and let him run at you.

With a hiss and a prayer, Yuji sprinted at you at an arc, going for your left. You smirked and mirrored his actions, arcing towards him at full speed. His eyes widened and he swung blindly towards your head. You ducked and slid under his arm, the mat burning your knees through the holes in your jeans. You quickly popped up and kicked him over with a square blow to the center of his back. He ate mat with a gasp, you walked backward, never taking your eyes off him as he scrambled up. Sure, you could have gone for a pin, but that’s no fun so early on. You stayed on the balls of your feet, your hands in loose fists as you stretched your neck.

Yuji gritted his teeth and rushed you again, aiming to grapple your torso. You hopped up as he got to you, using his shoulders to vault yourself over him, kicking his knee in as you landed. He stumbled but didn’t fall. You heard a few gasps at your jump but stayed focused on the fight.

Yuji turned back around and with a huff he came at you, fists at the ready. You stayed put and took him on directly this time, blocking his barrage of blows. He threw a left hook with all his weight behind it heading toward your bruised cheek. You raised your own hand and caught his wrist, twisting his arm behind him and pinning it upwards against his back. Yuji let out a groan of pain. You swiped your foot under his and he fell forwards. You sat on his lower back, still holding his arm. You reached around, grabbing his other arm and holding it against the mat and held his legs in place with your own. He still squirmed as Gojo began to count so you reached down with your head and took his hood in your teeth, jerking it backwards with a snarl. Yuji gagged at the pull against his throat but couldn’t move under your strong hold.

“-10! That’s a win for the newbie and a loss for our little Yuji!” Gojo exclaimed. You let the boy go and hopped up with a grin. Yuji huffed to catch his breath and laid his head against the mat.

“Good fight, Yuji.” You said, reaching a hand down. Yuji nodded, grabbing it. You hoisted him up to his feet.

“Told you I’d lose,” Yuji muttered.

You rolled your eyes, “You could have won, but you were so focused on me you forgot about yourself.” With a chuckle you joined the group again, sitting next to Maki.

She turned to you with a sparkle in her eye, “That was a cool fight,” she started, “we have to train together.”

“You gotta tell me how you jumped over his head!” Nobara chimed in, grabbing your arm with a wide smile.

You shrugged, “Don’t skip leg day.” You joked.

“You kicked Yuji’s ass.” Sukuna cackled, clapping you on the shoulder. “He’s never gonna live that down.”

You smirked, “Are you being sexist, Ryomen? You trying to say he should be embarrassed cause I’m a girl?” his eyes widened, and he stammered, trying to explain what he meant. You bit your lip with a smile.

When Sukuna noticed your grin he glowered, “Don’t do that! I’m trying here!” he whined. You chuckled and waved off the man with a push to the shoulder.

“Yuji and Megumi!” Gojo called out. Yuji whined but got back on the mat as Megumi joined him.

You rose to go refill Maki’s now empty water bottle at one of the fillers you’d noticed on the edge of the room. You yawned and stretched as you waited for the bottle to fill.

“Good job, Buttercup.” You heard over your shoulder. You startled, whipping around to see Sukuna with an empty water bottle behind you. He held his hands up in defense, “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Sorry, adrenaline makes me jumpy,” you muttered, taking a swig from the now full bottle. He came up to your side and put his under the spout with a nod. “Hope I lived up to the hype.” You chuckled.

He snorted a laugh, “Sure did.”

“When’s the next fight night?” you asked.

Sukuna took his full bottle and screwed the top on, “Fights are on weekends. Start Thursdays and end Saturdays.” He explained.

You nodded, “When do you think I’ll get into the ring?”

He rolled his eyes at your eagerness, “Calm down. You gotta learn with weapons for at least two weeks still. And you’ll be starting in a tournament. That’s how you’re introduced to the betters.”

You frowned, “When’s that?”

“First of next month.”

“Of course.” You sighed. “We just started this month, so that’s like four weeks.” You muttered, crinkling the disposable bottle in your hand.

Sukuna nodded. “Gives you time to watch everyone and get really prepared, knock off any of that rust you’ve got,” he jeered. You shook your head and shrugged.

“I just want in the ring dammit.” You said. “It’s been too long.” “How long now?”

“Year and a half, going on two.” You muttered. He shook his head with a frown.

“Gojo-sensei!” Yuji gave out a muffled yell, you both looked over to see a pinned Yuji laid flat on his face. You and Sukuna jogged over, bottles in hand.

“Get up, Yuji.” Gojo chastised as you got to the edge of the mat. Megumi smirked a bit as he let Yuji go. Yuji let out a gasp as he flipped himself around, huffing to catch his breath.

“Now we’re going to free work out until 6:00 then the losers of the matches today make dinner.” Gojo announced, gesturing to where a few of the others had already filtered through a door to a room with weights and workout machines. You grinned and bounded towards the room, making a beeline towards a hack squat machine.

“Haven’t been able to work out with equipment in forever!” You exclaimed, immediately setting the weight. “Been using rice bags and water buckets.”

Maki came up beside you, “You can’t just keep saying stuff like that. It’s getting sad.” She joked. You felt heat rising over your neck as you got into position on the machine. “So…”

“So?” you responded, starting your first rep.

“You wanna try and hit up the club this weekend?” She asked quietly, an eager grin across her face.

You stopped for a moment, holding up the weight. “I don’t know, Maki. I wanna try and go to all the fights till I can get started.”

“Well, that’s the thing! Nobara and I are fighting on Saturday! We can go after our matches!” She whisper yelled, clearly wanting to make it a girl only trip. You pondered for a moment, resuming your weighted squats before you gave her a hesitant nod. Maki lit up, “We can go to my favorite spot! It’s got the best music, and there’s always pretty people there.”

“I’m not going home with anyone, Maki.” You muttered. Maki pouted, “We can at least have fun! What do I look like here! I’m not trying to sex you out!” You rolled your eyes, continuing your reps. “If I wanted to do that, I’d gas you up to Sukuna or something.” She mumbled.

“What the fuck?” you hissed, shoving the weight up. “Why the hell would you say that?”

Maki stepped back a bit, “I’m just saying. You’re the same age and he’s actually trying to talk to you…” she trailed off suggestively.

You rolled your eyes, “Seems like I annoy him, honestly.”

“Everyone annoys him.” She clarified, taking a seat on the weight machine next to you. “He only seems like he’s having an unabashed good time when he’s fighting. He’d love to fight Gojo-sensei some time.”

You continued your reps as you spoke, “I didn’t think Gojo fought. I thought he was just the boss?”

Maki shook her head, “Gojo’s not our boss, he’s our trainer and helps take care of us. Our boss is Masamichi Yaga. You’ll meet him when you start fighting. Gojo-sensei is technically a fighter just like us. He can’t compete in matches anymore though. Kinda like Sukuna.”

“Why?” you said, settling for a rest between reps.

“He wins too fast. No use betting. Curses don’t even get a chance to get out of the gate before he could have them pulverized. He’d rush them so fast and knock them to pieces that you wouldn’t know what happened till you saw the blood.” Maki explained. “Yaga kept getting flack for the boring matches and had to bench him. They tried things to make the fights last longer, but it didn’t work. They weighted him down, blindfolded him, even put him against multiple curses at once. Didn’t stop him at all. He only comes in the ring if there’s a curse so powerful that it’s killing fighters.”

“What’s his weapon?”

“It changes sometimes but he always comes back to these knuckle dusters.” Your ears pricked up a bit at that. As Maki was about to continue talking, Gojo came through the door and crossed over to you two.

“Maki! Why are you just sitting there?” Gojo teased, urging her to get up, “Hop on the treadmill, I gotta talk to the newbie.” Maki nodded and said her goodbyes, jogging up to the treadmill next to the one Toge was using.

You frowned, and started another rep, “I have a name, Gojo.”

He gave you a wide smile, pearly whites in full view. “You don’t like my nicknames?”

“Don’t like being called newbie all the time.”

“Alright then, Hyena.” He teased, sitting where Maki had been just moments ago. You rolled your eyes and kept your squats consistent and paced. “So, I gotta know, what’s your weapon experience?”

You thought back through your life, “Minimal. If anything, it was mostly just stuff that was around where I was fighting. Nothing on purpose.” “So if I send you in with a trash can lid, you’ll be set.” He joked.

She had goals and knew what she wanted in life. She wanted enough money to live comfortably with an aptitude for violence and a hatred for curses, so this is where she ended up. She was a bright young woman with an even brighter future. Then Maki was there, kicking ass and taking names as a reject from a rich family that she planned to come back to with enough money to make the rich geezers in charge kneel, so she could reform the family and prove them wrong.

 You admired their reasons for fighting and frankly felt silly in comparison. You were all three sat with your shopping bags in the food court for a lunch break, digging into some cheap mall food when they had asked you why you wanted to join in and fight in the Underground. You had almost choked on your drink when they asked, not wanting to reveal your inadequate reasons. But they had urged you, telling you that it was okay to share.

“It’s dumb, really.” You had started, only to receive disappointed glowering stress from the other two, “It really is!” but they remained unconvinced, so you opened up with a sigh, “Honestly, I’ve just been fighting forever. Fighting bullies, fighting my dad and my grandparents, fighting to get anything. It’s like…breathing for me. I got into a few scraps with the law, and it messed up my schooling real bad. So, when I dropped out of high school, I was aimless until I joined a gym. They taught me technique, gave me a job, and gave me an in to join rookie matches. I had another brush with the law when I fought a guy that I saw smack his girlfriend, and I only stayed out of jail because of the gym owner.”

The two girls nodded with serious expressions on their faces as they listened intently. “Then an MMA scout saw me win a women’s tournament and liked what she saw. She thought my fighting alias was funny too, so she got me in, set me up with a trainer and a manager, and the rest was history from there. I didn’t make a lot of smart money decisions, and my first manager-that dick-took all my earnings. I couldn’t afford the legal fees to take him to court, so he got away with it.” The two girls across from you made audible reactions of disgust, “Then when my second manager came around, well that was only a couple weeks before I got my ankle snapped. I didn’t even have a fight during that, so I was completely broke. Insurance helped the fees, but I couldn’t get another job and when I tried applying to places, they wouldn’t take me. No diploma, no college, and being a woman with a “violent” track record, a lot of people wouldn’t hire me. And then when I did get hired, I’d either get in trouble for messing stuff up all the time or I’d hurt my ankle again while I was training back up to get back into MMA. A whole year and half of that,” You continued, word vomiting at this point.

It had been so long since you’d been able to talk about the things you’d been through, it was therapeutic to just let it all pile out of your mouth. “And then yesterday I had a private fight scheduled where my manager, my trainer, and a few of the league officials would decide if I was ready to come back, and I fucked it up.” You sighed and pushed your food around in front of you mindlessly, “I stepped wrong and rolled my ankle. Felt like I had broken it all over again. I almost passed out, it hurt so bad. I was beating myself up in the locker room when Gojo came in and asked if I still wanted to fight. So, I came with him to Yuji’s match, and you know the rest. I couldn’t not. That’d be like asking a diabetic if they wanted their insulin back, or a drowning person for a fresh gulp of air. I had to say yes. I have to get back in the ring and fight. It’s all I know how to do. It’s basically my whole life.” You said, suddenly embarrassed at your rambling.

Maki and Nobara reached across the table, and each squeezed one of your hands. Maki spoke up first. “I understand completely. And that’s not stupid! I just hope you know that you’re so much more than your fighting abilities.” She rubbed your hand with her thumb as she spoke. You noticed that while calloused, her and Nobara’s hands were still soft unlike yours. You shrugged and nodded.

“If it helps, I think you’re really cool.” Nobara chimed, “You were dealt a shitty hand, and this is where it’s led you. I get it!” They both gave your hands a small squeeze before letting go.

Maki cleared her throat with a cheeky smile, “Now what’s this about dating?” She asked, mischief in her eye. You blanched a bit, noticing Nobara’s delight at the topic being brought up.

“What? Do you have a boyfriend?” she asked, chastising you. You shook your head, and were about to explain when Maki cut in.

“She says she ‘doesn’t date’.” The green haired woman eagerly filled in the youngest of the group who responded with a furrowed brow and a frown.

“Why the hell not?”

“It’s not that deep, really!” You insisted, heat creeping up your neck. You could feel your cheeks practically on fire. “I just don’t really date!” you exclaimed, trying to shut down the conversation entirely.

The two girls frowned, “Why though?” Maki asked.

You began to pick at your nails as you spoke softly. “It’s just never happened. Guys never liked me cause I was fighting or stronger than them. More didn’t like my muscles or the scars, or-it was always something. And I’m not going to change anything about that stuff, so they just always stayed away.” You explained, wringing your hands, “And I only ever even liked two guys my whole life and that was in middle school.” You scoffed, “They both made fun of me when they found out. Separately. It’s just never worked out.” You finished with a shrug, shoveling a bit of food into your mouth.

“Wait.” Nobara stopped your blabbing, placing her fingertip onto the table to help her organize her thoughts. “So, you’re telling me…You’ve never dated anyone.”

Maki gasped quietly and ducked her head to whisper your name, “Are you a virgin?” You groaned and sank in your chair, pulling your Yankee cap over your face to try and hide the embarrassment across your face, but your full body reaction-of course-gave you away to the shocked girls. “But you’re so pretty!”

“And cool!”

“And nice!”

“And-!” you cut them off with an outstretched hand, before you started to throw small pieces of your meal at them from across the table. They shrieked and tried to avoid the ammo, ultimately failing.

“It just never happened!” you hissed.

“Have you at least been kissed?” Nobara asked, digging out a stray piece of food that had fallen down her shirt. You looked off to the side, almost feeling guilty for your failure of a love life. You’ve always punched your emotions. If not that, kicked them. You aren’t used to embarrassment like this and almost felt like steam was coming out of your ears as you prayed for the floor to swallow you. “No?!” You shook your head, confirming the two girls’ horror.

“Oh, we are getting you laid.” Maki said, jumping up from her seat. “Let’s go get you some clothes for hot girl shit. Stat!” she ushered the two of you to get up, grabbing your trash for you and quickly throwing it in a nearby garbage bin.

Nobara nodded confidently, grabbing you up by the arm, snatching all your bags as the two led you deeper into the mall.

………..

“Uh, I don’t think this looks right.” You called through the changing room door. The two eager women had brought you to a high-end lingerie store you couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of and grabbed you an armful of different things to try on. Currently you had on a green lacy number that sat low on your hips and covered far too little for your liking. It didn’t hug the right parts of your body, instead pinching your hips and making them look weird. It wasn’t flattering by any means, and the color just wasn’t your style.

“Do you want us to look?” Maki gently hollered back. You shrugged and opened the door wide to let the girl’s look. It was a one person changing room with a private seating area right inside a lockable door, so it was just you three.

Nobara whistled as they laid eyes on you. “You didn’t tell me you were that hot!” she chastised, pointing at your figure and whispering to Maki at her side, “Did you know she had all that under those baggy clothes?” Maki shook her head with raised eyebrows and pushed her glasses down her nose to get a better look.

“Listen, if this doesn’t work out, I’m right here.” Maki offered, wiggling her eyebrows with a smirk.

You laughed but pulled at the skimpy fabric. “Thanks, but-I don’t know. This one doesn’t look good to me.” You surmised, a bashful look on your face. The girls nodded thoughtfully.

“Try on the black one.” Nobara requested. “And don’t bother with the neon one. I think it’ll have a similar effect.” Back to the drawing board. You sifted through the pieces, finding the neon one first and setting it to the side. Then you pulled out the black piece and began to swap out what you were wearing. It was a bit more coverage around the front, but it was a thong. You didn’t totally mind the thought of one, but this fabric was itchy. And the top was nice, but it didn’t cup your breasts right.

“Another bust!” you call out.

The two girls let out a few “hmm”s and “what if”s before Maki called out “Red! The dark one!” You hollered your agreement and tried it on. It looked good. The top was a lace push up with straps across the chest, and it hung around your neck, no shoulder straps, and it closed in the front. The bottoms laid high on your hips and were a more comfortable fabric than before. They had lace embellishments and came with a garter that wrapped around your thighs and high on your waist. You looked good. You held your hair back to get a good look at yourself from all angles. It didn’t hide anything that you liked but didn’t make anything look odd or accentuate anything poorly.

“I like it so far!” the girl’s cheered and encouraged you to open the door. When you did, they were ecstatic with small claps and cheers.

“It looks perfect!” they assured.

“Oh! The pink one! It’s similar!” Nobara exclaimed, urging you back into the changing room. As you closed the door, you heard a mutter about how they’d bring you out clubbing sometime, let someone get a preview. The thought of anyone seeing you in such a thing brought heat to your face. You were only playing along with this little plan of theirs because you wanted some more feminine clothing but didn’t know where to start. You had owned a few nice bras before, and they always made you feel good about yourself when you wore them, so this seemed like a pretty good place to get going.

You slipped off the red lingerie set and set it to the side to buy and put on the light pink one. The structure of the top was like the red with a bow in the middle of the cups, but it had sheer fabric that flowed over it in a baby doll style as you heard Maki call it. The bottom of the sheer fabric had a bit of soft, fluffy lining all in a bright, pastel pink. Then the bottoms were a high waisted thong with lace and bows on the sides. You looked great. You made yourself blush as you looked in the mirror. You hadn’t ever seen yourself look pretty like you had today. It brought a rosy smile to your lips.

When you opened the door to show the girls, they were almost speechless at how nice it looked on you. “You’re buying that.” Maki insisted.

“And you’re like two steps away from being legally required to sit on my face.” Nobara joked, a serious look on her face as you and Maki laughed. “It’s the law.” She spoke.

You shook your head and smiled, “I really like it. I think I want this one and the red.” The two girls nodded in approval. “I’m gonna get changed then we can check out.” The girls had already assured you they didn’t need any new sets and had bought some new ones at the start of the year.

When you left the lingerie store, you couldn’t help the smile on your face. “Let’s get you a cute dress and a pair of heels. Then we can bring you to your apartment so you can start packing.” Maki said, dragging you towards a designer store full of youthful designs and vibrant clubbing outfits.

You three split up, sifting through the dresses. You were quickly going through a rack when you saw it. It was a deep maroon, floor-length dress with only one thin strap that let fabric pool around the neckline in ripples. It was clearly skintight and had a high slit over where the left leg would be. You wordlessly grabbed one in what looked like your size and rushed to the fitting room, grabbing the two girls on your way. When you came out and showed them what you looked like in it there was no question about it. You’d struck gold. It looked fabulous on you. It wasn’t conservative by any means, but covered enough to be classy, and the top has enough support to make you feel comfortable. The smooth fabric almost shimmered in the light as it moved. You looked amazing.

Before you left, Nobara produced another dress, a mid-thigh length scarlet number with a plunging neckline. It was a backless halter with gold accents. It fit like a glove.

With a successful shopping trip behind you, the three of you laughed in the back of the car Gojo had sent you along with. You really liked these girls and were glad to have them with you. When you were still in the MMA, sure you had the other girls in the league, but you were more focused on kicking their shins in than getting drinks and having fun at the time. And the guys at your gyms were usually rude or if they were nice, so aloof that you’d just keep to yourself anyway. It was easier. Lonely, but easier.

You were sad to get out of the car, but you knew you’d see them again in only a few days’ time. “Wait!” Nobara yelled, grabbing your wrist as you got out of the car, bags in hand. “What’s your phone number?” you once again found yourself shrinking into yourself at the question.

“I don’t have one. I couldn’t afford it anymore, so I sold it and used the money to buy food.” You explained, sick of sharing sob stories. You wanted to be able to talk about the fun parts of your life like your training days, your wins in the ring, or how much you loved to draw and watch anime. But this kept happening, little slights throughout your newfound joys, just cutting deep enough to keep you down and remember that things don’t work out for you. To wait for the other shoe to drop.

Nobara waved off your embarrassment, “All good. We’ll tell Gojo to buy you one. You’ll need it anyway to coordinate on fight days and spars.” She explained. “Have a good night, and if you need anything, send a carrier pigeon or something.” She chuckled, closing the car door with a wave.

Luffy- Let’s be honest. Partly due to his Devil Fruit and partly because he’s Luffy, boy doesn’t bathe or do a lot personal maintenance wise. However! He takes meticulous care of his things. He is careful with his hat and has learned how to repair it. He learned the basics of how to sew and take care of his clothes. He maintains the trinkets and treasures he’s picked up over his adventures, keeps them clean and dust free, does repairs on them as needed. His main means of “self-care” though is he dedicates specific time in the day to be alone in the quiet outside on the deck, just watching the sky and the water, and feeling the sun and breeze. Just gives him some time to think-yes Luffy thinks-and be grounded with himself and the world around him. I think, if Luffy had a hobby it’d be drawing. Now listen. He is no artist by conventional standards. But for him, the point is the joy it brings him, and the calm he feels as he scratches pen against paper. He doodles things he sees, random little things he notices, the other Strawhats, his family. Luffy had blank journals that he just draws in when he has time. He doesn’t show them off unless he’s really proud of them. The crew each has a few of his drawings of them-good or not-by their bunk.

Zoro-Zoro is our beloved stink man. We know he’s not the best at hygiene or maintenance, I mean he keeps his hair that short so he doesn’t need to do anything to it. Bro wears the same clothes till he’s forced to wash them. Other than the occasional curiosity and theft of Sanji’s stuff Zoro’s self-care is manifested in his workouts and training. It centers his mind, brings him pride, and makes him happy. One could argue that his naps are a form of self-care, but I’m gonna be honest, as someone who’s been diagnosed with multiple sleep disorders, I don’t think that’s a conscious choice. Zoro struggles with hobbies. Bro gets bored easy and doesn’t like to do things he thinks might be lame. However, he has joined Sanji’s knitting circle. Sanji challenged him saying he couldn’t make anything nice, and now he’s stuck.

Sanji-Sanji takes good care of himself, he always has, but post time skip it’s upgraded. He has a skincare routine, he moisturizes, he uses very nice shampoo and conditioner, he has a fuzzy bathrobe, he has a collection of face masks, he always smells good. He-on rare occasion-will break out a little makeup if he’s feeling up to it! He maintains his facial hair meticulously. To relax, he needs some things to do outside of cooking. He loves cooking, but it’s his job, and one needs hobbies. Sanji has the hobby habits of an elderly woman, and Zoro especially loves to point that out. He collects and completes jigsaw puzzles, he completes sudoku books on the regular, he started a knitting circle on the ship. He has leant a few puzzles to Zoro for him to do in the crow’s nest. Sanji showed him how they work and some strategies and he’s been slowly working his way through a few.

Nami-Nami is an everything shower girlie. She especially takes meticulous care of her hair. She has hair oils, masks, deep conditioners, fancy satin pillowcases, if there’s a product that’ll be good for her hair she has it. She insists on lending Robin products, and they have spa nights where they gab and talk about the books they’ve been reading. One of Nami’s favorite things to do to relax is read. She loves romance, adventure, fantasy, and biographies of famous pirates-mostly women. Other than that, she loves to maintain her orange trees. She waters them, weeds, prunes them, and just loves working with them every day. She’s propagating a few smaller plants in her window. She’s also in the knitting circle. She’s in the middle of making a sweater.

Usopp-Usopp is a very clean man. His mom wouldn’t have raised him any other way. He works with his hands all day but always makes time to take care of himself. I mean, look how long his hair is post time skip! You think he has all that length and doesn’t maintain it? Also, if he let his beautiful hair go to waste, I feel like Nami would throttle him. Usopp consistently is one of the best smelling Strawhats, second only to Franky when it comes to the men. Usopp is the most open to Sanji’s slow introduction of products to the boys. It’s something they’ve bonded over. Usopp was actually the one to encourage Sanji to make the knitting circle. Usopp had learned from his mom and Sanji picked it up over the time skip, so it started with them and slowly expanded. Otherwise, he loves to draw and paint, mostly people and landscapes. He’ll also use leftover bits and bobs from around the shop to build little toys and give them to kids he runs into on islands. Luffy also has a small collection. It brings him joy and calm, making something that’s just for happiness and fun every once in a while.

Robin-Robin makes her own perfume. Where does this come from? My heart. My soul. I just know this. She is very well maintained. She takes wonderful care of herself, a skincare queen. She uses a hair oil and loves her spa days with Nami. I feel like she smells like Jasmine. She drinks tea to calm her in the evening. She joins the knitting circle, but she cross stitches instead. She uses her summoned hands to hold up her book while she does. Robin loves to read. Loves it. She especially loves mysteries! One of her favorite things to do is to try to solve them before the characters do. She also loves reading books about the things her fellow crewmates love so she can give them tips and facts about them.

Chopper- Chopper is a teenage boy. He tries his best. Robin helps as best she can. He’s always eating sweets when he can and loves to read. While the others are knitting, he and the ones that don’t knit play boardgames!

Brook-No need for care! Afterall, I’m already dead! Yohohoho! Jk. Brook is in the knitting circle, he’s really really good at it. If he wants to relax, he’ll specifically write lullabies. It may sound odd, but it’s always helped him. He also loves shopping!

Franky-FRANKY SMELLS GREAT. NO I WILL NOT TAKE CRITICISM OR QUESTIONS. He takes such good care of himself. He is always maintaining everything as best he can. He has minimal products, but that’s because he knows exactly what works for him, and he keeps on schedule with it. There’s a reason he’s so comfortable in his outfits, it’s because he knows he looks good, and knows he has nothing to be insecure about. He keeps amazing care going on his robotic parts as well. Keeps them shined and clean, waxed and buffed. Hobbies wise, Franky is relatively minimal, but he loves to sing and listen to music. He sings while he works and just in the shop when he feels like it.