~Kira~

The very second Satoru's daughter can walk is the day that goes down in history for him. There is nothing that the little munchkin can't do once her legs start kicking, waddling like a cute-dumb penguin over the verandas, up the stairs, to the training grounds, and even in the classroom where he holds weekly meetings for his second and first year students. 

Yuji often says that she's the one who softens up a week's worth of scolding. Panda and Maki say she's the ticket to a hard-earned rest. Nobara pushes further that with her in the group, they can get an expensive meal out of their sensei. And yes — all those are absolutely true. 

And that's just her figuring out how to use her chubby, little legs. 

Now, imagine his utter dismay, the day on which he has lamented and scorned the world, when she starts babbling a litany of coherent words. Yet, in that absurd dictionary of hers, the word "Dada" is still missing. 

Granted, she can barely say three words, consisting of "Mommy, food," and "poop." Satoru is still very much determined to be her number four in her first words. 

"Give it time," you said to your husband, when he pouted against your shoulders as you cleared up the dishes. "She's trying."

"I wanted her to say my name first," Satoru mumbled. 

You snort, because of course, he always wanted to be first for everything. "Sucks, doesn't it?" 

Needless to say, when he is supervising all his students' training (at the rare chance that they're all together), you come bounding down the stairs with packed lunches for everyone, and your daughter clinging to your waist with a flower grasped in her hands. 

Satoru unbinds his bandages. If there's one thing he wishes to do every time he gets to see his daughter, it's to let himself see her as she is. Nothing to obscure his vision of what perfection is. 

"Come here!" He crouches and opens his arms for her. His other students stop and greet the new guests, but his attention is all pointing to the little bundle of joy running at breakneck speed towards — 

"What!"

His own daughter, his pride and joy, the one he so begged you to have with him, the one he would sing all those songs that make no sense, the little devil who would beg him to eat her vegetables because Mommy didn't make it right, and the one who would cling to his leg as he runs around the room before you stop it — runs to Yūta. 

Yūta, who crouches down and picks her up with so much ease, where her little giggle turns into a skittish one that sends more arrows straight to Satoru's heart. 

"You've grown up so well!" Yūta praises, brushing her hair aside. 

Satoru pulls his hair and grits his teeth because that's only meant for him. That's what he does to his baby girl, and only the father gets to do that. 

His daughter pulls him out of his imagination of flicking Yūta's forehead repeatedly when she squeals and tries to grab the hilt of Yūta's sword. 

With a quick, "Whoa, there!" Yūta methodically spins her around at the same time he tosses his weapon to Maki. 

There is no greater threat to him than his daughter having a crush on one of his students, because as he stands stupefied in his position and watching his daughter give her flower to Yūta, in which Yūta tucks it behind her ear and calls her beautiful, Satoru is about to die. 

She's not supposed to like anyone but him. And she's not supposed to like anyone until she's old and he's dead. 

And so, is this what death is? Cold and harsh and unforgiving? 

"How cute!" You say beside him, bumping his knee to get him up. 

Satoru would love to get up if Yūta would love to let his daughter go, and if Yūta would love to return to Africa indefinitely. 

"You better not do what I think you're thinking right now." You mutter threateningly. 

"And what is it I'm gonna do, Sweetie?" 

"If I find out Yūta goes missing tomorrow, I will hunt you down like I did when you buried my Barney stuffed toy." 

"Pffft," Satoru says, "I did no such thing."

"Satoru, there was a footage camera, and you were in that stupid video, and Nanami saw you. Don't bullshit with me right now. I will literally break your ass again with Nanami's butcher knife."

Satoru deflates. "It's not faiiir! I want time with my daughter, too!"

"She hardly sees them anyway, and you know that Yūta's her favorite." 

"Kid's barely in town, and she chose him of all people?" 

"Yūta's adorable. I'm sure she finds him adorable, too."

Satoru gasps, heartstricken. "Take that back right now!"

"You're being dramatic. Yūta wouldn't even hurt her or let anyone hurt her. You should be glad."

"She's got me, her daddy. Daddy will protect her." Satoru whines. "She didn't even greet me . . . ran straight to Yūta instead . . ."

You laugh sympathetically. "That just goes to show you that he's great with kids. You know that kids are naturally drawn to those who are kind-hearted." 

Satoru concedes, "I suppose," 

"Let her be. Yūta's often out on missions, and whenever he's free, it's past her bedtime. Give her this moment, Satoru." 

The two of you watch as your daughter hovers over Yūta while the rest coo and greet her affectionately. In hindsight, if Satoru isn't jealous about it, he would think that it's nice to know his daughter is very well protected by his students. Plus points that she's quite drawn to Yūta — now there is absolutely no way any curses would be around your vicinity so long as he's there. 

But, as the sun begins to set and he's about to conclude today's training, Satoru's daughter does one more thing to drive a nail into his father's poor, crumpled heart. 

"Love! Yūta!" 

"Oh, shit." Satoru hears you mumble through the ringing in his ears and the cracks of red bleeding through his Six Eyes. 

Yūta is definitely going overseas tonight. 

No, it’s the fact that your male coworker leans in just a little too close, murmuring a joke that you laugh at without thinking.

You say your goodbye quickly, heading over to Sylus with confusion on your face.

“What are you doing here?” You lean a little close to him, making sure the variety of people ogling your Greek god of a boyfriend get the hint.

“You wanted to try that restaurant down the street, yes?” Sylus smirks when he sees what you’re doing, hands finding your waist and fiddling with the buckles of your uniform.

“I am starving…”

“I assume all that laughing stirs quite the appetite.” He’s teasing you, because of course. You shove him a little, only slightly pouting.

“We’re just friends. I promise.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself, kitten. I understand.” He’s smirking, but you can tell he’s being genuine.

“You’re…not jealous?” He huffs a laugh at your question, leaning down to brush his lips against yours.

⌞synopsis⌝ it’s nerdjo’s birthday and all he wants is… a calculator?

⌞warnings + pairings⌝ nerdjo x reader, pure fluff, none tbh, there's like ONE suggestive sentence.

⌞word count⌝ 1.8k

you’d been waiting for the day to roll around. december 7th. your lovely boyfriend’s birthday. 

satoru was by no means normal. cocky and arrogant, walking around campus like he was better than everyone with his straight posture and freshly ironed polo shirts, all while maintaining the title of your university’s valedictorian.

however, when it came to you, he was as sweet as sugar. 

correcting your homework in a polite manner, tutoring you in subjects you were struggling in, and even writing the occasional essay for you while you were passed out naked beside him from riding him a bit too hard. 

he was your dream guy– well with one tiny issue. 

“i’m serious, satoru!” you exclaimed, your impatience growing by the second. “what do you want for your birthday?” 

satoru chuckled from where he sat at his desk, putting his pencil down and reaching up to grab your hands as you stood next to him. 

“i’m serious, too. i just want a new calculator.” 

you frowned, your body slumping as you stared at him disappointedly. “y’know, this is worse than when people say they don’t want anything.” 

he kissed your hands as he laughed, standing up and guiding you to lay on his bed. he got comfy beside you, letting you rest your head on his toned chest that he hid under stupid graphic t-shirts and hoodies. 

you both lied there as you listened to his heartbeat, calm and steady. satoru let out a heavy breath as his thumb slid back and forth on the skin of your thigh. 

“mine's just really busted and some of the buttons are coming loose.” he admitted quietly after a second. “but if you think it’s stupid, you can get me something else.” 

you tilted your head up, meeting his crystal blue eyes. 

“do you seriously just want a calculator?” you mumbled shyly, suddenly feeling guilty for berating him for his request. 

“yeah,” satoru smiled softly, nodding as his cheeks flushed slightly. “but any gift from you is already perfect.” 

you pouted, leaning up to kiss his cheek softly, further deepening that faint pink shade on his pale skin. 

---

you’d woken up early to decorate his dorm– thankful yet again that he didn’t have a roommate. he was currently finishing up his presentation in his advanced calculus class, and knowing him, he’d be heading straight back to his room after it was over. 

therefore, you had approximately forty-five minutes to finish. 

you started with the obnoxiously large ‘happy birthday, toru!” banner above his window curtain, trusting his spinny chair not to fail you as you stuck it up with tape.

next, you lined up the bags of gifts suguru and kento had dropped off before they left to the store to pick up the custom cake you had ordered a month in advance.

you frowned at the thought of shoko missing out, something about having a chemistry lab that was worth half her grade, but you knew she’d just cheat her way through it and still find a way to make it for at least the end of the little celebration you’d planned.

satoru wasn’t a big party person– you knew that– but still, you knew there was nothing he loved more than the company of his friends. 

after the bags were arranged to your liking, you set your small wrapped box down along with an enveloped letter you’d ask him not to read until everyone was gone. 

by the time you had the streamers hanging and balloons inflated and scattered all over, suguru and kento entered the room.

“five minutes to spare! i told you we’d make it in time.” suguru chuckled, setting down the cake on satoru’s desk next to the neatly arranged gifts. 

kento shut the door, immediately draping himself on the small couch as he shut his eyes that were undoubtedly sore from rolling them at suguru’s annoyance. 

“you were starting to worry me.” you smiled, pulling out your phone to check satoru’s location, his little blue dot showing he wasn’t too far from his building. 

suguru’s pat your shoulder, his eyes doing a double take at the gifts. 

“did you not get him anything?” he asked, genuine. “i guess you have been with him since freshman year…” 

“what?” your eyes widened in confusion as you pointed to the neatly wrapped box and envelope. “his gift is right there!” 

suguru’s eyebrows knit, darting back and forth to see if you were joking. “oh.” 

before you could question him further, a ping from your phone made your attention go elsewhere. 

toru <3: Heading up to my room now. I’ll get ready and we can go out?

toru <3: It’s my birthday so you can’t really say no. :) 

“he’s here!” you exclaimed quietly, already hearing his approaching footsteps. 

the boys shot up, smiling widely as you handed them tiny confetti poppers and waited for the door to open. shortly enough, you all watched as the key unlocked the door, slowly opening to reveal the birthday boy.

“surprise!” you all exclaimed excitedly, simultaneously pulling the thin string and sending confetti towards satoru who stood at the door with the second biggest smile you’ve ever seen from him. 

he laughed as suguru hugged him, chuckling out thank you’s while kento pat his shoulder. his eyes looked straight at you when the boys pulled away, your arms extending as you smiled at him. 

satoru lifted you up as his arms wrapped around your waist, pressing his face into your neck and pressing soft, hidden kisses to the delicate skin. 

“happy birthday, toru!” you smiled, holding him close. 

you could feel his lips curl on your neck before he pulled back to peck your lips. “thank you, sweetheart.” 

“okay, wrap it up lovebirds, i’ve been eyeing that cake since we picked it up.” suguru complained, handing satoru the plastic knife and pushing him towards the container. 

though it wasn’t a big celebration like most people have on their birthday’s, this was exactly satoru’s scene. a small thing with the most important people in his life.

the boys sat on the couch while you made yourself comfortable on satoru’s bed, eating your slice of cake quietly while listening to their strange conversations.

your phone pinged, a message from shoko.

“oh! shoko’s on her way!” you exclaimed, swinging your feet off the ledge of the bedframe. 

“sweet!” satoru smiled, standing and walking over to his gift table. “think she’d mind if i opened these before she got here?” 

you shook your head with a smile, kento filling the gap for you. 

“she’d prefer if you did that without her here.” 

the three of you gathered around him as he opened the first bag, a smile instantly appearing on his face as he pulled out the first gift, a Digimon game for his computer and a stupid t-shirt that read, “I paused my game to be here”. 

suguru cackled as satoru thanked him, the two guys dapping each other up before moving on to the next bag. 

kento had gifted him a new watch, something he noticed satoru needed an upgrade on seeing as he’d been wearing the same one since middle school– the leather threading and the time being slightly off. 

“aw, thanks dude! now i won’t have to check my phone every time to make sure it’s right!” satoru exclaimed, hugging kento obnoxiously. 

“you’re welcome.” kento answered, a rare smile on his face as he pulled away. 

lastly, your small box. 

even though he’d asked for it, you couldn’t help the anxious feeling that brewed in your stomach. your palms had grown slightly sweaty at the thought of him hating it. he’d never been good at hiding his reactions. 

you watched nervously as he slid the card to the side, neatly unwrapping the gift. the room fell quiet as the boys stared at the box in his hand, their faces falling in confusion. 

you swallowed worriedly, chewing at the tip of your nail as satoru said nothing, lips slightly parted as he blinked, processing what he was holding in his hand. 

“is it the wrong one?” you asked quietly, feeling the embarrassment creep through every fibre of your body. “i did some research and–” 

your worries were cut off as satoru turned to you and lifted you up, swinging you side-to-side in excitement. 

“oh my god!” he shouted repeatedly before setting you down, running a hand through his snowy hair while staring at the calculator with wide eyes. 

“a calculator?” they both mumbled, looking towards you then back at satoru who seemed like he was about to explode. 

he turned to his friends, “it’s not just any calculator! it's the TI-Nspire CX II CAS!” 

it sounded like gibberish to everyone else but satoru, but the guys just went along, joining him in his excitement despite their confusion. 

satoru littered your face with kisses as he thanked you repeatedly, your giggles uncontrollable as you tried to push him away.

“yikes, glad i missed out on whatever this is.” shoko mumbled as she entered the room to chaos.

---

later that night, after everyone had gone home and satoru had ordered a real meal for the two of you that wasn’t straight sugar, you found yourself cuddled up with him on his bed yet again, the weight of you above him grounding him like nothing else in the world. 

“did you have a good birthday?” you asked quietly, littering innocent little kisses across his neck and bare chest. 

his face was flushed pink as he relaxed under you, a smile creeping back onto his face. “yeah. probably my favorite one yet.” 

your lips curled, kissing his cheek before pulling back just enough to see his face. his eyes were downturned and semi-open as he leaned forward to kiss you before settling back onto his pillow. 

“thank you,” he sighed. “for listening to me. i know it seems like a bit of a ridiculous thing to ask for.” 

“i’m just happy to see you happy.” you shook your head, trying your best not to squeal at how adorable he looked like this. “i love you.” 

the words were soft as they left your lips, your fingers pushing stray hairs off his forehead. 

“i love you too.” he admitted, tightening his hold on your waist. 

his room was quiet yet again as you rested your head on his shoulder, biting back the uncontrollable happiness you felt.

you could feel your body relax, eyes fluttering shut before you heard him reach over beside him, holding up the calculator like it was his most prized possession. 

“hey,” he whispered as if not to startle you. “do you wanna hear all the different functions?” 

you snorted, smiling widely as you nuzzled your face further into him, opening your eyes to watch his fingers glide across all the different buttons. 

What it's like talking about Hakuoki in 2026

“ 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 king decides a fallen god's wife 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴. ” in which the king of curses takes the honoured one's wife as a war prize ˖ ꯴ ⌇ violence, angst, toru's rolling in his grave.

The Gojo estate never knew such horrors, but with the Strongest long gone, who could possibly stand in disaster's way?

The halls you and your husband upheld for your short reign have been engulfed by flames. The burn of failure scorches every hallway. Ashes of a great clan now engraved in the dirt. A mercy for those who have not been slaughtered by the blade instead. Blood ran rivers over your peaceful abode. Your sanctuary, your home, your everything has been reduced to soot and shame. The King of Curses stood proud at the sight. The Strongest had lost, and so his domain was flooded by hellfire.

But still, you stood tall.

Tooth and nail, you fought. For your clan, for your husband who you haven't even seen the body of. Perhaps it's a blessing. You would rather fall first than see those dull eyes staring back at you.

Screams and gurgles echoed the once peaceful citadel. Malice made its home in the graves of your fallen people. Your head held high, even while you're knelt in your shared bedroom. Four walls that knew so much love, laughter and solace — the last place to be touched by the tyrant king.

You won't let him have the satisfaction. Your blade readied firm between clenching fists. Tears dripped to the steel and you drew the sharpness to your throat. You won't be captured. You won't be a war prize for a mad conqueror. The Jujutsu world has already fallen with your husband, so it was your time too.

Braced. Breathed. With one last look at the picture nestled on your husband's desk, you smiled shakily. Satoru's wide grin and bright eyes will be your last sight. So be it.

The blade bit your flesh. You tighten on the handle and sliced swift —

Clank! Half its length fell to the ground.

Your eyes widen and you scrambled to reposition it over your heart. Thrust forward. Ragged.

It never came.

You screamed and used all your might to shove the broken blade into your chest. So that your heart may bleed and you may rest with your husband. "Release me, you monster!"

Rune-littered hands cupped the blade and forced it down. Your jaw was taken into the unforgiving, hot hold, and you cried out at the sear through your flesh.

In-spite of yourself, your eyes shot open. Teary, veiny, yet your glare daggered all the same. On instinct you spat a pointed wad. It hits a lower eye. But the madman smiled — grinned and wretched your head closer.

"So." He mused, voice grave like the cruel night you're basked in. Eyes firelit like the flames that have engulfed the last shred of your soul. You and your husband's bedroom. He was elated. What more should you expect from the King of Curses?

"This is the Madam Gojo?"

Your head is tossed side-to-side. Unceremoniously. Why should he handle you with the grace you deserved? Charred nails dug into your flesh already flushed red from his burns. "Ending your miserable life already? Why, no fight left in your weak heart?"

"Kill me if you must."

"Kill you? Tempting." His thumb shoved into your cheek and you wailed at the surge of heat. Tears doubled in your vision. You're defenceless. Your home ruined. Your husband slaughtered. But what Sukuna said next struck all of your fears into existence.

"However, it would be quite the waste. . . don't you think?"

You gulped down a sob and squeezed your eyes shut as you're yanked closer. Your hands raised to shove his off, but all you're met with is more scalds that weaken every fibre of your being.

"Open your eyes."

You refused.

"Open. Your. Eyes."

Excruciating blisters littered your body and you keened. You had no saviours. All of your attendants long since met their demise. Your screams echoed a desiccated, aflamed citadel. Like the cries of a lonely, frightened lamb. Your husband was gone. He could not save you. So you peeled your gaze onto him, and immediately felt the soothing caress of ease over your aching body.

You gasped for breath through your sea of tears. His grip only tightened, but no longer did his nails ruin your face.

"I saw you."

What was this mad tyrant on about? Was killing your husband not enough for him? Satoru's heart already stopped, but yours went on; and yours beats for him even beyond the grave. Even in this fiery carnage.

Sukuna drew you closer. Leaned over your knelt form so that your neck arched painfully and his weight suffocated you. His thumb ran over your lower lip and you quiver. Still, your eyes could not leave him. Petrified. Agonised.

"I saw you in his eyes when he realised he had lost."

His face twisted into a grin. Yours wet with tears, shook with sobs.

"I saw you together with fear." He grasped your throat. Cut off your air supply. You choked and tried to envision your husband. Satoru. Just one last time. Happy, alive —

Anything but this. Anything but that grin.

"So much fear." He cackled and pressed a cruel tongue to your tears.

"For his pretty little wife, in the hands of a king."