In the assistant director's car heading back to the school, Haibara, looking at Zoro who was unusually awake and staring out the window, asked,
"Senpai, aren't you going to sleep?"
"I can't sleep."
Haibara gasped. It was unlike Zoro, who could sleep anywhere as long as his back was against a wall or the ground.
"Are you under a curse?"
"No."
The curse user's cursed energy and weapons hadn't even touched Zoro. He was simply unable to sleep. It didn't seem to be due to a curse, and even though he was quite tired, he couldn't pinpoint the reason.
Haibara looked at the slightly dark circles under Zoro's eyes and then smiled broadly.
"Then let's talk. Have you decided what to get Gojo-senpai for his birthday?"
"Not yet."
"Still? There's less than a week left."
Zoro groaned. Last year, he hadn't been close enough to Gojo to get him a birthday present, so he had skipped it. This time, he wanted to give him something.
The problem was that he still hadn't decided what to get.
"I've thought about various things..."
"And?"
"Satoru seems to already have everything."
Gojo Satoru, the head of the Gojo family, possessed limitless powers and wealth. Most things he didn't have, he could buy anytime he wanted.
Receiving something he already had or could easily buy probably wouldn't make him very happy. Naturally, Zoro was deeply troubled.
Satoru had said it was okay to give him anything or even nothing at all ("This great rich guy doesn't need gifts or anything!"), but Zoro's conscience pricked him.
Satoru had given Zoro a birthday present last year (a whopping 100,000 yen in cash) and had also given him a gift this year.
The gift Zoro received this year was a pair of glasses that allowed even non-sorcerers to see curses.
Seeing curses with the naked eye was just gross and not particularly useful, so he carried them around in his waistband.
"Yu, have you prepared something?"
"Of course!"
"What?"
"New sunglasses."
"...You beat me to it."
Since it was one of the gifts he had been considering, Zoro ruffled his green hair in frustration.
'What should I give him?'
While he was pondering, the assistant director's car arrived at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Led by Haibara, Zoro headed to the student dormitory and saw Megumi sticking stickers on a vending machine and Tsumiki sitting on Toji's knee while Toji tied her hair with a pink heart-decorated hair tie.
Megumi stopped sticking stickers on the vending machine and brightened up at the sight of Zoro. Megumi waved his arms and ran to Zoro.
"Big bro!"
"Then I'll be off, Senpai!"
Zoro waved at Haibara and embraced Megumi, who dashed into his arms.
When reuniting with a child after a long time, the hug should be tight. As tight as possible without hurting the child. This would ensure the child was certain of their protector's love.
Zoro remembered and practiced what he had read in parenting books.
"Have you been well?"
"Yes!"
"Big bro, airplane! Let's do the airplane!"
Megumi's green eyes sparkled as he pleaded.
Zoro grabbed Megumi's sides with both hands and lifted him into the air. Megumi flapped his arms in the air.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
"Yay, yay."
Making swooshing sounds, Zoro moved Megumi around in the air like an airplane.
After tying Tsumiki's hair, Toji put her down, and she ran over too.
"Big brother, me too!"
Zoro put Megumi down and then lifted Tsumiki, making the same swooshing sounds as he moved her around in the air.
Toji approached Zoro and asked,
"Aren't you tired?"
"I have time to play with the kids."
The mission wasn't that strenuous, and winter was relatively less busy. Of course, he still played with the kids even in summer.
Zoro glanced at Toji.
"You look more exhausted than I am."
"I had a lot of missions the past few days."
He had been on duty for 30 hours straight and returned home to take care of the kids without resting. Even with naps during transit, he was bound to be tired.
Zoro looked intently at Toji's face. Reflexively, Zoro's mind recalled the curse user's words from earlier.
"Your blood flows with undeniable evil, no matter what you do."
Sensing Zoro's gaze, Toji looked down at him and asked,
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Zoro silently gauged the emotions in Toji's voice. Worry. Affection. Slight unease.
Things he always felt.
Blinking, Zoro stared at Toji's face. Just as Toji was starting to genuinely worry, Zoro spoke.
"Can you lower yourself?"
Immediately, Toji knelt on one knee in front of Zoro. Zoro's expression turned a bit awkward.
'I didn't mean for him to kneel.'
He had just wanted him to bend a bit.
'Well, this works.'
It's more convenient this way.
Click.
Zoro grabbed the hilt of Wado Ichimonji. Toji froze, holding his breath.
Toji's green eyes focused on Zoro. Zoro's face remained expressionless and calm.
"..."
For a brief moment, a faint sadness and resignation flashed across Toji's face.
Zoro noticed this and hesitated but eventually drew his sword.
Swish!
...Swoosh.
A crumpled sticker and a strand of black hair stuck to it were cut by the sword and fluttered to the ground. Clink, Zoro sheathed his sword again.
"It was stuck in your hair."
I was just trying to remove it. Zoro showed the sticker to Toji.
Tsumiki, seeing the sticker, jumped up and down.
"Oh, my bear sticker that I gave to Megumi! Where was it?"
"It was stuck in father's hair."
"No way? Megumi, you shouldn't do that!"
"Megumi, don't put stickers in father's hair."
Scolded by both Tsumiki and Zoro, Megumi pouted.
"But it looked pretty…"
"Even so, you can't. It makes dad's hair dirty."
"Okay."
Zoro looked back at Toji.
"You must be very tired. Not noticing something like that. When was the last time you slept lying down?"
Toji touched the area near where the sticker had been stuck. He was also shocked that he hadn't noticed it, even if it was placed there innocently by Megumi.
"About… 60 hours ago?"
"Go to sleep immediately."
No wonder you're out of it. Zoro clicked his tongue.
…The hesitation Toji showed when Zoro drew his sword wasn't just because he was tired.
'Annoying.'
Zoro ran his hand through Toji's hair. Toji, receiving the same gesture he usually gave Zoro, felt his tangled hair with a dazed expression.
"Is today's mission over? Go to sleep. I'll take care of the kids."
"You need rest too."
"Then come with me."
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
The kids gathered in Toji's dorm room.
Zoro sat on the bed, holding a napping Megumi in his arms, and looked at the soundly sleeping Toji, then spoke casually.
"Idiot."
As if I would ever abandon you.
Even though he knew in his head, his heart wasn't sure.
He treated himself like a stray dog that had been abandoned once, always ready to be discarded like trash.
'You said you'd be fine.'
So frustrating. Zoro gently pulled Toji's blanket up to his neck.
Seeing this, Tsumiki quietly approached Zoro and whispered.
"Big brother, is it possible to love someone and still hate them?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Sometimes, it seems like you hate dad."
Zoro paused, then gave a bitter smile. Children are more sensitive to emotions than adults think. Zoro admitted it straightforwardly.
"Some parts of him are hateful."
"But… you love dad a lot, don't you?"
Tsumiki said without a hint of doubt. Zoro shrugged.
"It's not always good. One person can't like everything about another person."
Zoro didn't like everything about Luffy either. There were dozens of times he thought he'd cut him down because of his reckless stupidity.
"Even with family?"
"Even with family, they're not me."
No matter how close, they can't know everything, understand everything, or empathize with everything.
In the end, I am me, and you are you.
That fact never bothered him, made him feel lonely, or made him feel isolated. In his past life or this one, Zoro was never someone who felt loneliness.
"Are you with dad because you like him more than you dislike him?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"Well. It's hard to explain to you right now."
How could he explain to a child that if left alone, this man would burn himself out and silently die like a discarded stray? Especially when that man was her father.
Besides, that's not all there was to it.
Seeing the troubled look on Zoro's face, Tsumiki asked,
"I know. It's because of love, right?"
Zoro gave a small laugh. Even if it was embarrassing, even if it felt like cramming all his emotions and words into one, ultimately, that was the only explanation.
"Yes."
"I love you too, big brother!"
Zoro smiled warmly. It was a gentle smile that would stay in Tsumiki's memory and subconscious for a long time.
"Have you decided on Gojo-san's birthday present?"
"Not yet."
"Tsumiki and I have! Do you want to join us?"
"What is it?"
Tsumiki whispered something in Zoro's ear. Zoro asked, looking somewhat unimpressed,
"…You're going to give that as a present?"
"Yes! Don't you think Gojo-san will like it?"
Sure, Gojo would laugh if Zoro did that. No, he would laugh a lot.
"Let's do it together!"
At Tsumiki's cheerful invitation, Zoro finally nodded.
...
Thus, on December 7, 2006.
The highly anticipated birthday of Gojo Satoru.
Gojo Satoru encountered a birthday gift he never expected.
"""Happy birthday to you~"""
"Pfft!"
Seeing three children in white dresses with sparkling angel wings singing, Gojo Satoru involuntarily covered his mouth with his hand and knelt down for the first time in his life.
Misunderstanding this as a sign of emotion, Megumi sang with extra enthusiasm.
"Lo↗ving! Satoru~!"
"Pfft..."
"Happy↗ birth→day↑↑↑"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Gojo couldn't hold back and burst into loud laughter.
Suguru smiled contentedly as he recorded the entire scene on camera. Seeing this, Toji tried to snatch the camera away, but Geto swiftly dodged.
"Why are you filming this?"
"It's a memory. Especially something Satoru will want to remember for a long time."
"Ahahahaha."
Toji shook his head as he watched Gojo rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach. Then he looked at his kids with a sympathetic gaze.
Tsumiki wasn't the type to be embarrassed by this, and Zoro was a kid with a thick skin. Besides, they had probably prepared for the embarrassment.
'But Megumi isn't like that.'
Megumi was proud now, but would the Megumi who would see this video ten years later feel the same way?
'Well, they'll figure it out.'
It was too late to stop it anyway. Toji folded his arms and leaned against the wall, observing his children's antics.
That day was the first birthday on which Gojo Satoru laughed until he cried.
…And later, this video would remain an eternal source of embarrassment for Zenin Megumi.
...
[Author's Note]
Vote with your power stones, it motivates me to keep posting chapters.
If you're interested, you can read 20 advance chapters on my Patréon.
patréon.com/fumiaki