#the girl next door

Epilogue:  What life is like given a few years to settle in with Toji.

A/N: Something short and sweet to end on. Thank you so much to every one who left kudos and comments. You all really kept me working on this piece when it got hard to carry on. The ending for this story came to me way easier than any other story I have ever had. In the future, look forward to a Nanami story next. In between me working on that story I’ll probs update with a Nanami oneshot, and a few satosugu x fem!reader one shots. 

The Girl Next Door Master List

Previous Chapter

“You know, you’re talking a lot of shit for a woman who needs my help getting off of the ground,” Toji griped at you, looking up from the furniture pieces in his hands to level you with a glare. You stuck your tongue out at him in retribution. 

“I’m just saying, maybe this would go quicker if you looked at the directions,” you argued, only to startle a bit and put your hand down on your rounded belly. The last two years were tamed compared to everything that had happened before. Toji proposed about six months after you got home from visiting the boys in Tokyo. You got married a few months later, choosing to elope instead of having a huge wedding. There was a reception with your friends, and you spent your honeymoon somewhere tropical. 

“Are you alright?” Toji asked, turning a speculative eye at you where you sat on a floor pillow with your back resting against the wall. 

You nodded, “Your strong ass baby just kicked me.” 

“That’s her telling you to get off my ass and let me build this damn crib,” he continued, though you didn’t miss how he visibly relaxed at the assurance that it was just a kick. A baby had been a hard sell for Toji. It’s not that he didn’t like kids. Through his continued correspondence with Megumi he found that he actually might have enjoyed raising him. No, what bothered him was the risk it could pose to you. As you watched him try to put together two pieces that obviously didn’t go together you thought of the night you got up the courage to ask him for a baby. 

“Hey, Toji,” you’d called, throwing one leg over him so you could sit up and be straddling him. His hands rested easily on your thighs kneading the soft flesh. The two of you were in between rounds, catching your breath before you would inevitably go again. 

“Hm?” 

“You know how you always say I can have whatever I want,” you began. 

“What do you want?” he rolled his eyes. 

“Well, it’s really quite a small thing, and I think you’ll really enjoy giving it to me.” 

He raised an eyebrow as he looked up at your smiling face. Just looking up at you like this made him feel all soft in the chest. It was disgusting, and he loved it. 

“What do you want?” he asked again. 

“I want a baby,” you said softly, tentatively as if you were almost afraid to ask. The question froze him in place for a moment. You wanted a baby. 

He frowned, “What happened to Fuck them Kids?” 

“Weeeell, I’m sure I’ll like my kid. Don’t you think we’d be good at it?” 

He let out a humorless laugh, “I didn’t take care of my first kid remember?”

“I believe in second chances,” you smiled but when he didn’t return the expression you visibly deflated, “It’s okay if the answer is no. I want you to want it too.” 

You moved to get off of him, but his grip on your thighs tightened to keep you in place. He was giving you a calculating look, “Mm, try to sell me on it.” 

“You want me to persuade you?” You asked in disbelief. 

“Yeah, what’s the sales pitch? What’s in it for me?” 

Your smile was back as you realized this was his way of considering it, “Well, you get the honor of being my baby daddy and husband. We’ll really be locked in for life.” 

“So you’re trapping me?” he grinned.

“Right, I’m trapping you after the wedding.” 

“Marriages break up, kids are forever.” 

“Alright, well, fine it’s a trap. But you wouldn’t want to escape anyway. You know our kid’s gonna be cute as fuck. Come on, you can’t tell me the idea of a little curly headed menace running around the new house doesn’t put a smile on your face.”

Toji laid back and listened to the dream you weaved. He’d just wanted to know where your head was and he wanted a chance to see the possibilities that you saw. In all honesty, if he could live in your head forever, that would be just fine by him. The way you smiled, talking about this hypothetical child, and the sparkle in your eyes as you looked down at him made him accept his fate. He was going to give you what you wanted.

“Couple of rules,” he said when you were done. 

“Oh good I have rules too. You go first.” 

“Rule one, if it’s you or the parasite we choose you,” he said seriously, “And I get to name ‘em.” 

“Absolutely not. Fuck you,” you laughed. 

“Come on.” 

“I’m not carrying your big ass baby for nine to ten months just to let you name ‘em. Hell no. You can choose the middle name.” 

“Middle name?” 

“Yeah, a second name. You can choose the second name.” 

“Fine, middle name,” he rolled his eyes, “and last rule… no martyr shit. I don’t care how late in the game we are. If it’s you or them I want you. Got it?”

You elected not to tell him that his third rule was really just the first rule again. It kinda warmed your heart that he was more concerned about you than the idea of carrying on his bloodline. You really found new things to fall in love with about him every day. 

“Okay,” you nodded, “Now for my rules. First rule, therapy. We both had fucked up childhoods, we gotta do the work so we don’t fuck our kid up the same way our parents fucked us up. We gotta find new and exciting ways to do it.” 

Toji snorted, “Deal.” 

“Alright, and with that, I don’t hit kids. We gotta try that gentle parenting bullshit.” 

“Fine” 

“And lastly… you gotta promise you’ll still love me, when the baby makes me huge, and afterwards, when my body looks like it’s been through a blender. You gotta love me through all of it.” 

He rolled his eyes at that demand, as if he could do anything but love you at this point, “Til death do us part, sweetheart.” 

You grinned leaning down to kiss him as you began to rock in his lap, “I’m gonna fucking chuck my birthcontrol in the ocean.” 

“So it’s Fuck the Ocean now? That’s a step too far. I draw the line at pollution.” 

“Shut up.” 

Toji reached over and plucked the instructions out of your hands, breaking you out of your reverie. You smiled smugly as he studied the paper carefully. Obviously he’d needed it. It was his idea to get this complicated baby crib. The thing did more than you thought was necessary. Knowing him, the baby wouldn’t even sleep in the nursery. They’d be in their bassinet in your bedroom. 

“Wipe that stupid grin off your face,” he griped at you. 

“Oh I can’t smile now? You don’t want to see your lovely pregnant wife smile?” 

“You’re being a little shit and you know it.” 

“You know babies can hear in the womb. Your daughter can hear how you speak to her mother. She’ll come out holding a grudge.” 

“She’ll come out knowing her mother has a smart ass mouth.” 

“You’ll have to stop cursing so much when the baby comes,” you said, “I don’t want her first word to be fuck.” 

“Why not? It’s a good word. It’s got a lot of uses.” 

You rolled your eyes at him. Seeing him put together furniture like this reminded you of who the two of you were at the beginning of all this. Just two neighbors, one trying desperately to make a home for herself, the other… you actually didn’t know why he bothered getting involved with you. But you were happy that he decided to help you put together an overcomplicated bookshelf. And you were happy for every bit of help he’d given to you. You straightened out your leg and nudged him with your foot. He looked at you, and you’d gotten so accustomed to the softness of his gaze that it was only now that you realized just how different the two of you were from those people just a few years ago. He grabbed your foot and put it in his lap. 

“Fucking hell, your ankles are swollen. They look like a busted can of biscuits.” 

Your expression dropped, “Fuck you. It’s your baby’s fault I’m retaining water. You promised to love me even when I got big.” 

“Oh I love you, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to make fun of you and your sausage toes.” 

You kicked him again and he laughed at your poor temper. He massaged your foot absently as he continued reading.

“Don’t forget you have to pick the boys up from the airport at noon,” you reminded him as he seemed to be taking his sweet time with the crib. 

“I know.” 

Your eyes traced across the walls of the nursery. You and Toji really tag teamed this place. Most of your work was done before you got big. Now you couldn’t imagine putting in any amount of work to get this place together. The vision was really coming together, especially as Niecey kept sending stuff for the baby to the house. You wouldn’t need to buy any onesies, bibs, or toys. 

Toji helped you off of the floor and downstairs before he left to pick up the boys. Yuji had been over the moon when he realized that your due date was in the summer. It seemed impossible to curb his enthusiasm about anything. The two of you spent a lot of time texting, going back and forth with baby names. 

Megumi was reserved about it. Toji assured you he’d talked to Megumi about it. You feared that he felt resentful about a new baby, given Toji’s choices in the past. He was entitled to his emotions of course, so you tried not to push him. When the two of you talked on the phone, you kept your conversation about things other than the baby, which was easy as the two of you quizzed each other on your second languages. You enrolled with a tutor to help teach you Japanese shortly after you first met Megumi and Megumi began to take his English studies more seriously after meeting you. It was a better way to engage with him. You wondered if Megumi would come around once the baby was born. 

When the boys came through the door, you were surprised to see just how much they’d grown since the last time they visited. The two of them were well into high school at this point and growing into respectable young men. 

“Stop growing,” you complained as they walked in, “you two are getting so tall.” 

Yuji was the first to hug you. His embrace was firm, but much gentler than his usual embraces. He pulled back to look at your stomach. 

“You’re growing too, we just FaceTimed last week and you’re already bigger.”

You scoffed, “I blame Toji for this monster baby.”

“It’s always my fault,” Toji grumbled in response. 

“It sure is,” you nodded, “Yuji, there are cookies in the kitchen. I made ‘em this morning with you in mind.” 

He gasped, “You’re the best!” he let you go, in favor of going to the kitchen. You noticed then, the thoughtful way that Megumi was looking at you. You gave him a wave and then after a moment of silent deliberation, opened your arms to him. He accepted the hug, though he seemed afraid to squeeze you. 

“How are you?” Megumi asked. 

“I’m fine. A little top heavy, but you know.” 

He nodded, “Not in any pain.” 

You wondered a bit at his tone, but then thought of how Toji regarded you sometimes. It was his way of showing he cared when he fretted over you. 

“No. Well no more than is normal, when there’s a baby sitting on your internal organs.” 

He nodded, seeming not to know what to say next. You looked up to Toji for a moment then took a deep breath. 

“We still haven’t figured out names, yet. I’ve banned Toji from giving suggestions.” 

“Smart,” Megumi nodded, “He’s the worst at naming children.” 

“You have a great name,” Toji protested. 

“I have a girl’s name. I was teased in school for it.” 

“So you got tougher. That’s a win.” 

Megumi rolled his eyes before looking at you again, “You’re smart. He sucks at names.” 

You nodded, “But if you have any suggestions, I’m open to it.” 

“Oh, okay.” 

Having the boys over always meant days jammed packed with summer activities. Toji felt a little bit better about going to the gym to train with them around. The two reliably helped you out around the house, and looked after you while you were out. Yuji was the most outwardly protective of you, but at one point some random guy at the grocery store tried to touch you and Megumi gave him a glare so malevolent you thought the guy was going to pee himself. The two certainly kept you active, but it was often Megumi who enforced the rule for you to take breaks often. 

Similarly, the two of you seemed to get hungry for a midnight snack at around the same time. He found the weird combinations of food you indulged in to be as disgusting as they were amusing. One night he found you in the kitchen struggling with a pickle jar. It was near the end of summer and you were due any day. 

“It’s a pickle night?” he asked to alert you to his presence. 

You nodded, “Well, it would be if I could get the jar open. I think Toji screws them on tight to be cruel.” He actually did it so you wouldn’t overdo it on pickles and make your heartburn worse. 

He held out his hand for the jar and you handed it over. With a swift twist the lid was off. 

“I loosened it up for you,” you grumbled, taking the jar back.

“Of course,” he agreed, turning to go to the pantry for his own snack. You sat at the kitchen table with the jar of pickles and a few napkins. Megumi joined you with a bag of chips. You were pouring over your list of names once again. You had a little journal full of them. Megumi peered at the writing curiously. 

“Your kanji is better. It looks like perhaps a fifth year elementary student wrote it now.” 

Your jaw dropped before you laughed, playfully shoving him away, “You’re so mean. These are Toji’s selections, and I was trying to decide if there was different kanji that could make them more bearable.” 

“Oh no. They are awful. Kanji will not save you.” 

“Yeah, I was coming to that conclusion.” 

You were both silent for a good long while as you looked over names from other people trying to see if any of those spoke to you. 

“How about Ren?” 

“Ren?”

“Mmhm. It’s simple, but strong and gender neutral.” 

You thought it over for a bit but as you thought, you realized that maybe this was Megumi’s way of extending an olive branch. He was obviously comfortable enough with the thought of a little sister to be engaged with the naming process. 

“I think I like it,” you smiled. He gently took your little journal and wrote the Kanji for you a couple of ways and he explained the significance of each character. You knew as you listened to him talk that you had found your daughter’s name. 

“It will also stand well next to any awful name that my father picks for her second name.” 

You snorted, “Yeah, but middle names are supposed to be bad. Only boring people have normal middle names.” 

Ren made her grand appearance into the world four days before the boys were set to go back to Tokyo. She came in the middle of the night. Neither you nor Toji were asleep. You’d been pacing the floor in the bedroom trying to ease the pain of what you thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. Toji was timing them and so he was intimately aware that the time between contractions was dwindling. 

“You’re going into labor genius. Come on,” he barked at you, worry made him irritable. 

“If we go now, they’re just going to have me waiting in a stupid hospital room until my water breaks.” 

“Good! That’s where you should be.”

“You’re supposed to be a soothing presence, Toji,” you snapped at him, “I don’t feel very soothed right now.” 

“Well, I’ll be soothing when your ass is in a hospital room. Come on,” He was already up and grabbing your go bag. You growled a sound of avide frustration. 

“You’re being ridiculous. Labor can last days for some women.” 

“She better not take that long,” Toji threw back, glaring at you with wide green eyes, and then turning his sights on your stomach, “You listen here, kid. You are going to take it easy on your mother on the way out. Give her hell after that.” 

“You’re a horrible influence,” You groaned. 

“You knew that when you married me, now come on so I can help you down the stairs.” 

You rolled your eyes. You didn’t have the mental bandwidth to argue with him and breathe through your contractions. Toji helped you downstairs then ran up to wake up the boys and tell them that the two of you were going to hospital. 

“Don’t burn down the house while we’re gone. I’ll give you a call when the miracle of childbirth is over.” 

Megumi made a sleepy sound of agreement and Toji wasn’t confident that Yuji was even awake. Since it was such an odd hour of the night the streets were clear on the way to the hospital. You hobbled in, holding on to his arm as he walked to the front desk. The tired eyed woman at the desk looked up from her computer to the two of you with a kind of indifference that could only be gained by spending years at this front desk. 

“My wife is in labor.” 

She blinked, “Has her water broken?”

“No.” 

“Take a seat,” she said, turning to her computer. 

You sighed knowing good and well that was the worst thing she could have said to him. 

“Absolutely, fucking not, you tired ass b-”

“Alright!” you interrupted loudly, letting go of Toji’s hand, “Look, ma’am. That right there, is the reigning heavyweight champ alright. He will knock all of this shit over before he takes a seat. So save yourself some paperwork. You should have gotten a call from my OB/GYN Dr. Challah. We’ve got a birth plan already set up. Please, for your sake, follow it to a T.” 

She looked at you with wide eyes and then back at Toji before making the wise decision to start looking through the papers on the desk in front of her. It was truly the best thing she could have done for herself because Toji was already fuming. Before long you were in a room to wait for your water to break. That took a few more hours of pacing and cursing while Toji became more and more on edge. When you water broke they moved you to another room where you could deliver your baby 

Seven hours later, your beautiful baby girl took her first breath, and showed the world the set of lungs she had on her. You all but collapsed back into Toji’s arms once she was out. You could hear your doctor speaking to you, congratulating you on a beautiful baby, and making observations with the attending nurses that all seemed great. 

“You fucking did it, sweetheart,” Toji breathed, nearly delirious with relief. 

“One and done. No more kids,” you answered, voice ragged and hoarse from yelling as you pushed. 

“No more. One and done,” he agreed emphatically. He hated seeing you in so much pain and not being able to do anything about it. It was an acutely distressing sensation that he never wanted to feel again. 

Though, watching the change in your body, the very moment they put your baby on your stomach to clean her and give you a bit of skin to skin contact before they weighed her was something special. It was like the contact alone breathed life back into you and you went from a woman who looked like she might pass out at any moment to being alert and watchful as they picked her up. Toji had long since laid down the law that anything they needed to do with the baby would be done in the sprawling delivery room he paid for so it wasn’t long before she was in your arms. Toji’s hold body was curled protectively around the two of you, watching as you began to tear up over her. 

“Look at her,” You squeaked at him, voice pulled higher by your tears. He was looking at her. She had a head full of hair, which made sense considering how badly you’d suffered from heartburn. Her eyes were close and she was only hours old so she didn’t look like much but a newborn infant. Her features would set eventually and bids on who she looked like could be made. 

“She’s perfect,” he said, smoothing her jet black hair down where it already curled against her forehead. She left your arms briefly as they cleaned you up a bit and moved you to a new room where you could potentially have visitors. They had you nurse, being sure Ren latched on properly and that all was well in that aspect. You weren’t concerned about your ability to produce milk though. You’d been leaking like an overstuffed cow on a dairy farm. You were half afraid Ren would drown, but all went well. 

“That was probably the smoothest birth I’ve ever delivered,” you doctor laughed as she came to check in on the three of you. 

Toji held Ren when all of the adrenaline, and other hormones left your body and you were too tired to carry on. You passed him the perfect little bundle of joy, giggling softly about how comically small she looked in his arms. If he thought he was gone for you, then he was truly hopeless now. The moment he held her to his chest, she cracked a toothless little grin. Was it probably just gas? Yeah. But that little expression was enough to make Toji realize he was going to spoil this child rotten.

At your behest, in the morning you told him to go pick up the boys so they could meet Ren. You were alert and capable of moving around, though you tried to avoid it if you could. You wanted the boys to see the baby before they had to leave. It’s not like you all lived terribly far from the hospital. It was a 15 minute drive, and Toji called ahead to tell the boys to be ready. Your doctor was keeping you an extra day for observation, and so you’d only be home one day before the boys had to leave. You wanted them to have as much time as possible with her. 

When they came back, Toji had barely been gone 20 minutes and it looked like he’d already imagined that the worst possible thing that could happen had happened in his absence. He was visibly relieved to see you were playing games on your phone while Ren napped. You grinned at them. Yuuji came over and hugged you gently, before peering over into the hospital crib to look at Ren. She had a little pink cap over her head. 

“Oh wow,” Yuji gasped, “she’s so cute.” 

“You don’t have to lie. She kinda looks like an earthworm. All babies look weird when they’re born.” 

You succeeded in making Megumi, of all people, laugh with that quip. Toji just shot you a withering glare. 

“You’re going to stop calling my baby a worm,” he wagged his finger at you. 

“Or what?” you challenged. 

Yuji was eager to hold her and you had him sit down before depositing her into his arms, “Just be sure to support her head.” 

“She’s so little,” He looked back at you with eyes, “She weighs next to nothing.” 

“Yeah I feel a little upset about that. I was all big and round just to give birth to this little baby.” 

Megumi peered over Yuji’s shoulder, curious about his little sister but obviously a bit reserved about holding her himself. It wasn’t until late in the visit, while you, Yuji, and Toji were engaged in a conversation that he took his turn holding her. You spied them, but chose not to comment. He studied her plump, squishy little face. Her cap came off as she nuzzled into his arms and Megumi noticed her hair. He couldn’t help smiling as he saw the way the barely developed curls of her hair made the ends stick up from her little head. It was the most unlikely of family resemblances, given that he knew he got his hair from his mother, and while he couldn’t in good faith call Ren’s hair spikey, the curved locks of hair were enduring. He knew they would become curls before long. He tugged the hat back on her head gently. 

“Megumi, are you smiling?” Yuji gasped. 

His smile dropped almost immediately, “No.” 

“You were. You were smiling.” 

You grinned up at Toji. You could already see that Ren had him just as enamored as she had the rest of you. 

By the time the boys were done with high school, Ren was running around the house doing absolutely nothing but terrorizing her father, with brief breaks to cuddle up to you. She was more your twin than Toji’s something you felt a smug sort of pride about, and while she showed her affection for you in hugs and kisses, she usually showed Toji love by using him as a jungle gym. It didn’t matter to her that he was tired from training or just got in from a fight. If she decided that she was going to jump of the sofa and cling on to him, then that’s just what would happen. The only time things were any different is when the boys were visiting. They walked in the door while she was having the world’s weirdest tea party with you. She dropped the plastic tea pot and went sprinting for the front door. 

“Is that Ren I hear?” Yuji called out playfully, pretending like he really had no idea who’s little feet were slapping on the floor as she ran. 

“Yuji, Yuji, Yuji!” She yelled in a song-like tone. As she yelled her little chant, Yuji joined in, but instead sang Ren’s name. You picked up the discarded teapot before continuing down the hall after Ren. You found her in Yuji’s arms speaking a mile a minute with a good mix of English, Japanese, and pure nonsense. Nevertheless, Yuji nodded dutifully as if he understood every word. 

“Hey, Yuji? Where are the other two?”

Yuji beamed at you, “Oh, probably getting the bags which I should be helping with.” In spite of his words he came over and hugged you taking his time with his hello as always. He passed Ren to you, much to her dismay. 

“No, Mama! Yuji!” she pointed after him. 

“If you put on your sandals you can go outside like Yuji.” 

She hastily pushed away from you. You had to bend down quickly so she wouldn’t fall. She tried to put on her sandals quickly, but fumbled with it so much that she really didn’t get out of the door any faster. It was an adorable sight though. You slipped on some sandals to follow her out. It obviously hadn’t occurred to her that Megumi would be outside as well because when she saw him she gasped. 

“Gumi!” 

Megumi turned at the nickname just in time to see her running over. She did not move fast despite her efforts. Her dark springy coils bounced with every bit of movement, making it looked like it had a life of its own. From your accounts about trying to tame her hair, maybe it did have a life of its own. He squatted down to received her embrace. 

“Is this really, Ren?” he asked seriously. 

“Yes!”

“I don’t know. My Ren is only this tall,” he argued putting his hand out a couple of inches shorter than her. 

“I grew! ‘M gonna be tall like Daddy.” 

“You grew? So you are Ren?”

“Yes!”

“I just don’t believe it,” he kept teasing her. She made a little sound of frustration that he found adorable, and she looked up at Yuji who was nearby. 

“Ask Yuji! I’m Ren!”

“Megumi, stop teasing her. You know it makes her angry,” Yuji rolled his eyes. 

Megumi chuckled, before ruffling her curls, “Hi, Ren.” 

She growled at him before throwing herself at him for another hug. You could only smile as you looked at the two of them. She quickly talked him into letting her sit on his shoulders. It didn’t even take much convincing. The little girl was so delightfully spoiled, but never rotten. The immense affections that her family held for her only made her sweeter. Though as Toji approached you he looked put out. 

“What’s the matter, old man?” you asked peering up at him. 

“I didn’t even get a hello,” Toji grumbled, “She hasn’t seen me all day.” 

“She’ll remember you in a bit. The boys are just new and shiny. I’m happy to have you all to myself for a little while.” 

“Is that right?” he smirked. 

You hummed your agreement as you leaned into him, wrapping your arms around his waist. He bent down and pressed his lips to yours for a soft building kiss. The only thing that pulled you out of the moment was your daughter. 

“MOMMY! THE TEA PARTY!” she shrieked, only just remembering the task she’d left behind. 

“We have more guests! We’ll need more cups babydoll.”

“Okay. Daddy can have the big cup!” 

You looked back at him with a smile, “See, daddy? You can have the big cup.” 

“Lucky me.”

Chapter 9: In the belly of the beast you are sure that your future is grim. As your time seems to wind down, you try to figure out how and if you should fight the dark fate that seems to loom over you. 

A/N: This is the fastest I have ever finished a story. This is the last chapter before the Epilogue. I usually agonize over ending but the ending for these two was just so clear to me. I’ve already written the epilogue, so you’ll probably get it tomorrow after I proofread it and then that will be a wrap on this story. :)

TW: Graphic depictions of violence, discussions of abortion, emotional and physical abuse

The Girl Next Door Master List

Previous Chapter

Toji never went back to sleep when you got out of bed. He’d been waiting for you to come back, watching the mirror on the other side of the room as you trudge clumsily to the bathroom. He was waiting for you to come back so he could annoy you, specifically to pull you under him again. It was the most comfortable sleeping position he’d found yet and he wasn’t ready to give it up yet. Of course, when you came out of the bathroom the hotel phone rang and you took it. He could see the backs of your legs in the reflection. You answered normally, but your next words betrayed the fear in your voice. He thought to move but a flash of red light in the mirror kept him in place. It was a laser sight, trailing briefly along the floor until it disappeared. Toji could only guess that it was trained on him, given the starting angle of the sight, and the vantage point of the window on the other side of the room. 

He stayed still, pretending to be asleep, but all the while devising a plan to make it out of this alive. He’d guessed that Sukuna would try something before the two of you left, he half thought it would be another car accident, but this was to be expected as well. Your friend had anticipated that you’d do something stupid and self sacrificing. He stayed in place for just a moment after you left, Toji moved, rolling off of the bed to fall to the floor. He saw the laser move but the sight was obscured by the curtains. He needed to plan his next move carefully. Time was not on his side but he also couldn’t risk being shot, obviously. Either way you needed help. He kept low to the ground, moving towards  his luggage. He paused upon looking at the luggage to see that the tag was missing. Did you take it with you? 

If that was the case then he needed his phone. Which would mean crossing in front of the window. So he had to make that his last move. He needed a handful of things: Key, shoes, clothes, and his phone. Everything but the phone could be procured away from the window, so once he had that he had to run for it. A shot broke the glass but ultimately missed as he hurried past to grab his phone. He jumped over the bed to be out of the line of fire as he ran for the door. As he ran he unlocked his phone and used the tracking for his luggage tag to find you. Sure enough, he could see the little dot moving quickly. You must be in a car. He was at least proud that you left him someway to find you. He continued towards the elevator and it opened just as he approached. He looked up from the map on his phone and noticed the two guys in tactical gear.

“Fucking Christ,” he sighed heavily, moving to be out of direct eyeshot. He pressed his back against the wall of a blind corner. As the first guy took a step around the corner, Toji grabbed the gun at his holster, not moving to take it immediately, but instead just keeping it holstered as he punched the guy in the throat. It was the most effective way to incapacitate someone wearing so much padding. By that point his partner had a chance to realize what was happening. He drew his firearm. Toji used the first guy as a shield allowing his partner to bury a few rounds in his bullet proof vest before shoving the first guy into his partner. In the midst of that motion, he unholstered the first guy’s weapon, shot them both in the legs so that he wouldn’t have to worry about pursuit. All this was done in enough time for Toji to catch the elevator before the doors fully closed. As the doors slid closed he pressed the ground floor button and then checked the clip to see how many rounds he had left. It was a high capacity clip, meaning he was in a pretty good place in terms of ammo. 

Before the doors could open, Toji tucked the firearm away in the back of his pants and used his shirt to cover it. The lobby was clear and he easily made his way to the parking garage. He  could only guess that Sukuna didn’t think much of him. Because there was no obstacle between him and the rental. Which gave Toji pause. If this guy could figure out what exact hotel room the two of you were in, of course he could learn about a rental. As he approached the car he looked around for anyone who might be watching it, then he got on his stomach in the parking garage to look for anything under the car. Sure enough, there was a square box which could be any amount of things. 

He didn’t exactly have time to try to disarm a car bomb. So it looked like he was going to have to steal a car. That’s when it occurred to him that the assholes who attacked him earlier, definitely got here somehow. It didn’t even take him long to find an obvious getaway car. It was a heavily tinted and armored black truck, with a suspicious guy in the front seat with a walkie-talkie. They couldn’t be more obvious if they tried. The best part about an armored truck, the bulky nature of it made for a lot of blindspot. In no time Toji had his gun pointed through the open driver’s side window. 

“I’m gonna need this thanks,” Toji didn’t give the guy a chance to respond. He shot him in the arm he tried to use to pull a weapon. It was obviously his dominant hand, and the hollow tips inside of the gun all but obliterated the guy’s arm. Toji opened the door and pulled the guy out, letting him fall on the asphalt. He took his means of communication and his weapon before getting into the truck. He drove the winding circle of the parking garage while pulling out his phone again to track your location. Sukuna had a hefty headstart, but Toji was determined.

~

You weren’t really sure to what end all of this talking served. Maybe his tactic was to bore you to death. Maybe he wasn’t eager to damage the goods, either way you were trying to think of a way out. Sukuna was faster than you, stronger than you, all around meaner than you. How could you play this? 

“I thought I was a monster,” he chuckled, “But you, killing your own baby-”

“It wasn’t a baby. it  was an embryo at best,” you scoffed. 

“I wanted an heir!” He yelled at you.

“You had an heir, you sent him away,” you reminded him. Though it wasn’t actually his idea to send his “heir” away. That had been all you. No child deserved to grow up under the thumb of a violent man. You’d made sure Sukuna thought absolutely nothing of the boy that came to him after the death of his younger brother. You could see in his eyes through and through that Sukuna still thought the boy absolutely worthlessly. When he sent him off to Japan, the kid was as good as dead to him. It was perhaps the best way for Sukuna to regard that child.

“Yuji was a lost fucking cause. My brother made him weak. By the time I got him he was useless, you know that. But me and you? We had something special. It could have been perfect.” 

“You didn’t act like anything about us was perfect. I mean if that’s how you treat a woman you considered to be perfect for you, I don’t wanna know how you treat anyone else.” 

“Is that why you’ve been running, little girl?” he purred at you coming around the chair to be behind you, “You didn’t think I loved you anymore.” His tone was saccharine in the same way poison laced honey was. There was a tinge of something deadly in his tone. He gripped the back of your neck roughly. It sent a shiver down your spine. You stared straight ahead at the glittering silverware on the dining room table. The table was set for guests you were sure Sukuna never had. It was all appearances, shiny things to distract from the dirt just under the surface. 

“You’ve made a nuisance of yourself, you know?” He continued, “You thought what we had was dead. Is that why you’re so eager to die?“

“I have a life now, Sukuna. And you didn’t want me-” your words cut off as he dug his nails into your neck. 

“Don’t tell me what I want. You don’t have a life outside of me. And you’re going to pay for giving some useless nobody what’s mine.” 

“That’s not love,” you shook your head at him. 

“Oh, but it is. It’s tough love, baby doll. You need it, because you forgot your place. You don’t get to decide when I’ve had enough of you. When I’m done, I’ll kill you. That’s how this works, that’s how this has always worked. You know too much. I mean, it’s what I did to your old man.” 

Your brain stopped working for a second. Your father? The man you hadn’t seen since your mother kicked you out of the house. He was dead. 

“You… you killed my father.” 

“Oh I did that years ago, you can’t be mad now. You hated the man and once I had you, I didn’t need him anymore.” 

“And my mother?” 

“No, I didn’t bother her. There’s a woman who knew her place. She didn’t go sticking her nose in my business, and every time you sent her a letter she forwarded it right over to me. She earned her right to live.”

You huffed a humorless laugh. Toji was right: The letters were more than she deserved. It’s what you got for holding on to sentiment for people who had none for you. That… almost made you cry. 

“Do you get it now? I’m the only one who wants you. And if I can’t have you, what purpose do you have? So make this easy. Take your punishment, and we can be how we used to be.”

What were you biding your time for? Pride? Did you think someone was going to come save you? Who and how? You were in the belly of the beast. What use was there in trying to survive this if you would suffer for the rest of your life? You could choose the docile route… but whatever punishment Sukuna had in mind was it worth suffering through and did you have a choice?

As you pondered this, you heard a loud crash outside, that nearly made you jump out of your seat. Your head snapped to the window on the other side of the dining room just in time to see headlights rush past. Gunfire and yelling came next. The cacophonous noise shattered the silence that had existed between Sukuna’s monologuing. 

“What the fuck is going on out there?” Sukuna gritted out, not letting you go, but his grip loosened. 

You didn’t take the time to wonder what was happening. His gaze wasn’t on you so you grabbed the fine crystal wine glass on the table in front of you and swung it back to smash against his face. You were up and out of his grasp before he could lash out at you. He cried out pained. His agony became angry growls as he swung at you, partially blinded by the blood on his face. You hoped there were crystal shards in his eyes. You didn’t stop there. grabbing  anything you could get your hands on, which included a fork and another glass before you climbed on top of the table. He rushed forward at you, partially blind but one gleaming red eye trained on you. You ran down the length of the table trying to get to the exit of the room. He was faster than you and manage grab your leg. You faltered but did not fall twisting back to bury the fork in his hand. You’d put all of your strength behind the stab making hard to pull back out quickly. So instead of pulling the fork straight out it dragged as you went to run away again. His answering wails shook you to your core rattling against your eardrums. On the bright side, if he caught you after this, he would probably snap your neck. You wouldn’t have to worry about his punishments.

From the end of the table you jumped through the door way, stumbling as you landed, but not falling. The rug underneath you slid and you pitched forward, arms windmilling, breaking the crystal glass on the floor as you ran nearly parallel to it. You refused to fall, not while you could hear Sukuna’s heavy steps behind you. He was faster than you, but changing directions was harder for him than it was for you. You did anything but run in a straight line. Knocking over the stupid sculptures on hallway tables, and portraits on walls. They were all worthless props of faked opulence when all Sukuna was was a murderer. You made it into the foyer where the sound of gunfire was louder than ever. The front doors were right there. You were so close to being outside. But then what? You couldn’t run like this forever. You could feel Sukuna on your heels. What would you do next? How would you get away? 

Then the doors flew open. A man flew through them, falling on the grand staircase in a heap his neck twisted at an unnatural angle, dead for sure. Between the double doors stood Toji. Blood splattered across his face and all over his hand. There was a knife in one hand, dripping with blood, and a gun in the other.  Your heart gave a squeeze of hope, and then Sukuna grasped the back of your shirt. He yanked you back toward him, and you swung your hand back, burying the sharp edge of the broken glass into his thigh. Something you learned in all the fights you watched Toji win was once you found an opening to attack, don’t stop attacking until your opponent makes you. You pulled the glass back and stabbed again, sinking shards of crystal into anything you could. It bought you time. 

You were much smaller than Sukuna, but moving too wildly for Toji to get a clean shot. He had to move in closer. Toji sprinted across the foyer. Sukuna seemed to notice his intentions and shoved you towards him, to get out of the line of fire. Toji caught you reflexively, but it gave Sukuna a chance to close the distance. Instead of risking the firearm being used against him, he took out the clip, letting the bullets scatter across the floor. Toji shoved you out of the way as Sukuna charged at him. 

You fell to the floor, dazed by the sudden impact, and for a moment the only thing your eyes could focus on were the bodies outside of the open front doors. You didn’t have the mind to count the number of people sprawled on the front yard. Some of them were moving, the others deadly still. How many people had fallen, mere obstacles to Toji’s goal? The sounds of a struggle caught your attention, making you abandon your question. You turned to see Sukuna and Toji on the floor. Sukuna had the upper hand. It was obvious, from all the fights you watched and just common sense, how bad of a position Toji was in. However, you took notice of the fact that Sukuna was in worse shape than you expected from your previous attack. So much so that Toji was able to get the upper hand by kneeing Sukuna in the side. Your wild attacks with the shards of that wine glass had put quite a few shards in his side. Toji’s knee drove them deeper, making it easier to knock him off his balance. 

You never knew just how much Toji held back in the ring, just for the sake of rules you were sure. Given the higher position, Toji reigned blows that hit with harsh thuds. It was short lived though. Even compromised Sukuna was a monster of a man and he flipped them over. You noticed the knife Toji once had was close to you. He must have dropped it, or slid it in your direction so that it couldn’t be used against him. You grabbed the heavy hunting knife and moved as quietly as possible. You knew he wasn’t likely to notice you on the same side as his injured eye. Your heart beat just as loud as the fight in front of you. There was no way you could risk even catching an elbow in this fight. So when you saw the opportunity to strike you went low, throwing all of your body weight into plunging the knife into his side. He roared out a wounded sound and batted you away as if you were nothing but a fly. You slid across the high polished marble floor. The impact was dazing but not incapacitating. When you opened your eyes again, you watched Toji throw a harsh right hook that connected with such power that it sent blood spraying. Sukuna stumbled back, hitting the dark wood banister of the staircase. 

 You looked for the knife only to realized it wasn’t on the floor beside you. It must still be buried inside of Sukuna, but in your looking you found something better: The gun. It was in pieces, but you knew how to put it back together. You scrambled to grab the clip and the gun, shakey hands fumbling with the bullets closer to you, trying to hastily reload it as the sounds of the fight in front of you only made you more tense. You glanced up as Sukuna yelled. He pulled the knife out of his side and slashed it violently at Toji. You put your eyes back on the gun. With only three bullets in the clip you slammed it back into the gun. 

You stood watching Toji dodge the violent slashes of the knife. They were moving too much. You took a deep breath and fired the moment you thought you had a clear shot. It was a miss. The bullet broke a vase on the other side of the room. They both looked at you. You watched the hatred that burned in Sukuna’s good eye. Toji made to attack again, and Sukuna could no longer look at you. 

Toji managed to knock the knife out of Sukuna’s grip, before going low. It was a move that never worked against him when you saw it in the ring. Many people thought to take out his legs, and while it succeeded in pinning him in one place it also pinned them in one place too. He’d pinned Sukuna against a wall but left his arms and legs free to attack. And then you saw it. Toji was in a static position, out of your way, and Sukuna was in one place to. 

You took a deep breath and fired. The first shot went into his shoulder, he was bent a bit to punch Toji. The impact made him reel back. Then bang, another shot, dead center in the middle of his chest, just like the targets in the shooting range. You lowered the gun and stared at Sukuna as he stared at you. Toji fell back and Sukuna slowly slumped to the floor. You approached slowly, a heavy fog of disbelief settled over you. You couldn’t believe it. His eye was still open, trained on you. You approached his body, nudging it with your foot. Nothing, not even a wheeze of pain. He was dead. Well and truly. You’d killed Ryoumen Sukuna. It felt like you were going to shake apart as you looked at the body. You didn’t know how long you stood there before you felt a warm hand close over yours and take the gun from you.

Toji took the weapon before taking your face in his hands. His fingers smudged blood across your cheeks and he looked you over near frantically for injury.

“Y/N,” he called, “Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

You shook your head, eyes slowly focusing on him, “I thought… I thought you-”

“I’m not that easy to kill, sweetheart,” he gave you that cocky lopsided smile. Even with blood smudged across his face the expression offered you the kind of relief that stole the strength from your legs. 

“You came for me,” you said, your lip trembling as you realized that Toji had saved your life. It was over. It was really over. He didn’t let you hit the ground, instead gathering you up in his arms more thoroughly. 

Toji tucked your head under his chin as you cried. Words couldn’t describe the feeling that went through his chest the moment he saw you. He’d had one solitary goal, the very moment you were taken from him and it didn’t matter what he had to do to get you back. He drove straight through the front gates, hitting anyone that stood in his way. The security detail around the house was impressive, but not nearly enough to stop Toji. It didn’t matter how many bones he snapped with his bare hands, the bodies he sunk knives into, the bullets with new homes in skulls, none of it mattered to him. What mattered was you, the very moment those doors flew open. Your eyes were wild and afraid when those double doors first opened. Sukuna barely looked human in his pursuit of you. He’d been so afraid of losing you. He pressed his forehead against yours, closing his eyes as he cupped your face in his bloodied hands. You were alright. That’s what mattered. Fast approaching sirens shattered his relief. He didn’t want to end this moment so quickly but it would have to.

Toji pulled away to look at you, “Listen to me. We are going to be arrested, okay?” 

“What?” 

“Take a deep breath, calm down. Everything is going to be alright. I’ve already made a few calls, we’ll be out just as quickly as they process us. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

You looked into his eyes and… and you believed him, “Okay.” 

“Good. You’ll follow right behind me. You don’t have any more weapons do you?” 

You shook your head, still to dazed by everything that had happened to talk.

“Okay, right behind me. Hands up. And don’t say shit to the cops.” 

You nodded again. The sirens were deafening now and you could see the red and blue lights flashing behind Toji. They glinted in the still wet blood across his face. Before he could let you go, you surged up and pressed a kiss to his lips. 

“Toji… thank you.” 

“You did most of the work,” he chuckled. He turned and you mirrored his movements, leaving the oversized manor with your hands up as the flashing lights shone in your face. As you stepped out you couldn’t help but look at the bodies littering the steps. When Toji said that he would set the city on fire for you he wasn’t exaggerating, you realized. Officers came and handcuffed, far rougher than you thought was necessary, but you headed Toji’s warning and said absolutely nothing as they loaded you in the back of a cop car.

~

You sat in an interrogation room by yourself. You’d pissed off the lead detective pretty much instantly when the only words out of your mouth were, “I’m invoking my right to an attorney, and my fifth amendment right to remain silent.” After that a couple of other people had been in to try to question you but you stayed silent as you said you would. A few detectives yelled, threatened you with all kind of things and through it all you didn’t say a word. You didn’t speak to anyone not to the "bad” cop who slammed his hands on the table and yelled at you about jail times or the “good” cop who offered to get you some water and take off the cops if you only talked to her. You just looked at them.

You were there for maybe an hour more before the first detective came back. He had a harsh scowl on his face as he snatched up your wrists and put the key in the lock to take off your handcuffs, “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you’re free to go.” 

Your eyes widened but you still didn’t speak. Toji had promised the two of you would get out of here but you didn’t think it would happen so quickly. Toji was already standing in the middle of the precinct. His eyes met yours with a certain tension. You knew he was trying to be sure you were alright. You offered him a little smile of reassurance. Before long the two of you were walking out of the police station and getting into a car with a driver. You wound up giving them directions to Niecey’s house. You were pretty sure you weren’t going to be able to go back to the hotel and get your luggage. Her mother opened the door looking tired and confused. She stared at you both with wide eyes. 

“What the hell?”

“…Long story,” you breathed, “Sukuna’s dead.” 

“Get in here, you two,” she ushered you both in hurriedly. You both went to the bathroom to clean up a bit. You’d dragged Toji with you, not really wanting to be apart after everything. You opened the closet and grabbed a few towels. Toji went to take a towel from you and you pulled back. 

“Let me do this.” 

“Alright, bossy,” he joked. 

You made him sit on the edge of the tub while you wet the towel. You would send Niecey money for new ones. For now you focused on wringing the towel before turning to him. He looked up at you easily as you bent a bit to wipe the dried, rust colored blood from his face. Out of the slimmest of margins, the two of you survived with only a couple of bruises and cuts. Toji was sporting a few cuts on his body that you knew would probably scar, but all in all you were both alright. You rinsed the towel when you were done, wringing it out and watching the pink water circle down the drain. You heard Toji move and you looked up only to be distracted by your own face in the mirror. You had a few rust colored smudges on your cheeks, mostly in the shape of Toji’s fingerprints. It was such a foreign look on you. Toji nudged you out of the way taking the other clean face towel to wet in the sink. 

“It’s my turn,” he said, far more good-natured than was probably appropriate for the task but you didn’t mind it. You closed your eyes as he drew the warm towel across your cheeks. It still felt a little surreal that you’d killed a man today, or that any fraction of the other things had actually happened. You had questions, but you chose not to ask them. It was easier to just let this moment stretch on. When your face was clean, he kissed you, a slow building kiss that you melted into, wrapping your arms around his waist, slowly, gently, careful not to disturb any soreness that existed in his body.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” he breathed as he pulled away, only to rest his forehead against yours. 

“Me too… but also about you.” 

When the two of you left the bathroom, both Niecey and Ms. Jones were waiting to hear the story. So you told them. You figured they had a right to know. You could see the relief on Niecey’s face when you told her that Sukuna was dead. 

“Well alright, Bonnie and Clyde,” Niecey joked breathlessly, “Y/N, you can borrow some of my clothes. And… Toji I might actually have something that might fit you.” 

“…Why?” Toji asked. 

Niecey rolled her eyes, “Y/N and I have similar physical tastes, but I’m not silly enough to like men who are trouble.” 

You stuck your tongue out at her, “All men are trouble.” 

“Not as much trouble as you attract, chile,” she grumbled, “Ma, will you help them out.” 

It was not long at all before the two of you were in another car to leave that awful city. You gave Niecey a hug and promised that she could come visit you the moment she was all healed up. Ms. Jones hugged you tightly and pressed kisses to both of your cheeks, before doing the same to Toji. The full weight of your exhaustion didn’t really hit until you were on the plane back home. The two of you didn’t have luggage to check, so it was easy to get to the gate. You leaned into Toji, he’d raised the arm rest so there was nothing blocking the two of you. You sat partially in his lap, legs resting over his as he pulled you in close with an arm behind your back. It was all too easy to fall asleep that way. After all the adrenaline left your system there really wasn’t much to do but to fall into a deep dreamless sleep. 

Coming home was a blur. The person walking through this door and the person who walked out of it were two totally different people . You and Toji dragged yourself to the back of the house, to the bedroom. The both of you were exhausted, too exhausted to do more than shower together and fall into bed. You pressed a sleepy kiss to the corner of his mouth before cuddling close to him and letting sleep pull you into its warm depths. You could only imagine that Toji was exhausted as well. He didn’t take a nap on the plane like you. This was the best sleep you’d had in a long time. There was no latent fear to worry about. The biggest threat on your life was gone. You were in your shared home with the man that you loved. For once, you were completely at peace. In the middle of your sleep you heard Toji’s ringtone. He shifted and you complained wordlessly at him. It was just a sound of overall annoyance at his movement.

“Shut up, go back to sleep.” 

“Fuck you,” you grumbled, burrowing deeper into his side. 

He squinted at the bright light of the screen and let out a heavy sigh at the number, “What?” he answered. 

“Is that how you answer someone you owe a favor?” 

“I don’t owe you anything, we’re even.” 

“Mm no. See giving me Geto, that evened us out from when I adopted your son. Bailing you out of this last fiasco, that’s gonna cost you.” 

“You wanted that asshole dead anyway.” 

“And if I read the reports correctly, your girlfriend did that. I’d be happy to reward her for that, but you? You just left a mess for me to clean up. But, lucky you, I have a way we can be even.” 

“And how is that?” Toji sighed heavily rolling onto his back.

“You can come introduce yourself to your son. He started asking about you a few months back, and I’ve been trying to discourage his interest but he’s stubborn like you.” 

“How does he even know about me?” 

“He’s got a friend who’s into that UFC stuff that you do. And you two do share a last name.”

“You let him keep his mother’s last name?”

“Well I’m not a monster, Toji.” 

“When?”

“Couple months from now. I’m sure you two need some time to decompress after everything. Besides, you can’t fly internationally until I tie up a few loose ends.” 

“Fine, Gojo.” 

“Give your girlfriend a kiss for me,” Gojo said in a sing-songy voice. 

“Fuck off,” Toji grumbled before hanging up. He rolled back on his side to put his arm around you. 

“Who was that?” 

“An idiot. Nothing to worry about.” he assured. 

“You sounded annoyed.” 

“Because I was talking to an idiot. Go to sleep. We’ll hash it out in the morning.” 

“Mmkay,” you grumbled, because you were sure that if it was something super important, he’d tell you immediately. With that in mind you dozed right back off to sleep, too tired to push the issue. 

By the time you woke up the two of you could barely stand to do more than just order in food so the two of you could sit around and be lazy. You were surprised to hear that the incident with Sukuna didn’t even make local news. It made you wonder what kind of call Toji made.

“Hey, you don’t owe some kind of loan shark your left testicle for calling in a favor do you?” You asked him this while he was in the middle of drinking and he coughed, nearly spitting out his drink. You couldn’t help smiling as he coughed and sputtered before turning towards you. 

“You say the wildest sentences to me,” He laughed.

“Okay, but do you?”

“No!”

“Is it your right one then?”

“My balls weren’t for sell!”

“But something was for sell.” 

“… Just a little time… that’s actually what that call was about the other night. I’ve got to… well I’ve got to go meet my son.” 

“Oh… How does that pay for your favor? And I thought you were only going to do that if he was curious about you.” 

“He is. Apparently he’s got a friend that watches UFC matches, and he saw me. This will make me even with the smug bastard who got us out of that whole mess.” 

“Huh… sounds like you got a win-win. You get a second chance to know your son, and we escaped jail time. I think that’s a pretty generous smug bastard,” you said, trying to help him see the bright side of all this. You were curious about his son. Moreso you were curious about what Toji thought about his son and maybe he just wasn’t a kid person at all. That could be possible. I mean who sells a kid, right? Then again, you supposed that adoption agencies sold kids all the time. 

“Oh yeah? Well you’re coming with me.” 

“Really? You want me to meet your son too.” 

“I could, uh, use the moral support. I don’t know what the hell to say to the kid.” 

You nodded, “Right, well, just tell me when,” you shrugged carelessly. After having an entire showdown with your ex, nothing really seemed all that scary anymore. You leaned against Toji again. 

“The worst he can say is that he hates you.” 

“Thanks, sweetheart. That helps.” He drawled sarcastically. 

“Well do you think you could have done better by him than the other guy.” 

He shook his head, “No. I would have put the kid through hell. Wouldn’t have been any better than my own family.” 

“Okay, then you know you did what was best for him. Even if he still hates you for it, you get to know that you did your best and his feelings are valid because he didn’t have to experience the absolute worst of you. Sometimes we don’t get a pat on the back for doing our best. Because sometimes our best is still pretty shitty… you know coming from a kid with parents whose best was pretty shitty. Though I think I would have respected them more if they just gave me up, let my grandma raise me.” 

“Think things would have turned out differently?” 

“Oh yeah. I wouldn’t have had to wait so long to experience being around someone who truly loves me,” you looked up at him then with a little smile and he rolled his eyes before leaning over to kiss you. 

Only you could deliver such a harsh truth in such a sweet package. It did soothe Toji’s worries, for a time, up until it was actually time to go to Tokyo to visit the boy. You managed to stay in good spirits, making him promise over and over again to take you to all of the best restaurants while you were there. It was probably for the best that you were constantly distracting him from why the two of you were there. 

When you showed up at the sprawling estate your jaw dropped, “Oh my god. Is this like an orphan Annie situation? This kid really got adopted by a wealthy single guy. Look, this can go one of two ways. If he’s a good parent then you literally did the best thing ever for your kid. If he sucks then we do have to kidnap your son. I don’t make the rules.” 

“These sound like rules that you’re making up.” 

“It’s only right! We can’t just leave!” you called out as Toji pushed the buzzer outside of the gate. 

“Who is it?” a male voice spoke in a sing-songy voice. 

“You know who it is. Open up.” 

“No, I don’t think I do. I don’t take solicitors.” 

You scoffed, “It’s Toji, he’s being difficult,” you called pressing the button yourself. 

“Toji and company I see. Come on in,” he said and you heard the mechanism on the gate unlock. Toji pushed the gate open and led the way up the walkway to the door. The door opened to reveal a very tall man with white hair. He didn’t seem old enough to have hair so white, and his eyes were impossibly blue. He smiled down at you with blatant interest. 

“Hello, beautiful… and Fushiguro,” he looked over at Toji with a straight face, “come in, Megumi isn’t home from school yet, but we can catch up.” 

You entered easily. You entered and took your shoes off at the door before entering the sprawling home. The man spoke in English for your benefit, you were sure, but you listened nevertheless. 

“I’m Gojo by the way. Or at least that’s the family name. Americans put the family name last don’t they?” he said looking back at you specifically. 

“Yes.” 

“Then you, pretty lady, can call me by my first name, Satoru.” 

“Isn’t that reserved for close affiliates?” you asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“We can be as close as you like-”

“Gojo,” Toji reprimanded. 

Gojo simply rolled his eyes, “Just making friendly conversation. Calm down.” 

“You have a beautiful home, Gojo,” you complimented, making a point to use his family name. He gave you a sly smile. 

“You know, I’m glad Toji brought you along. He wasn’t the only one who got noticed on the television.” 

You cocked your head in confusion at that, but Gojo didn’t say anything else about it and he barely let anyone get in a word edgewise as he walked into a living room area. You sat on one of the sofas and listened to him tell you about the school that he worked for, and he basically gave his mission statement about gifted children given the chance to excel. He seemed like a pretty okay guy, maybe a bit eccentric. 

“So how did the two of you meet?” Gojo finished, crossing his legs. 

“We were neighbors,” you answered. 

You looked over at Toji to see him frowning at Gojo. You got the impression that Toji didn’t really like Gojo. You wondered why, but before you could start asking leading questions you heard the front door open. 

“Gojo,” a voice called, followed by Japanese that you obviously couldn’t understand. Then another voice called out Gojo’s name. You looked towards the living room doorway and first saw a kid that was literally Toji’s twin. It was uncanny. That must be Megumi. His hair seemed to have a life of its own, and his eyes were darker than his father’s but they really were twins. 

“Christ, those genes are strong,” you murmured. Megumi stopped in the middle of the doorway and you watched his eyes jump from Toji to you to Gojo. You waved and then froze in place as the other boy came to stand in the doorway. 

“Yuji?” you questioned. 

Yuji’s eyebrows showed up, “It’s you,” he said with a happy smile. You were surprised the kid remembered you at all. You’d only been in the house together for a few years after his father died. Granted, you had been his primary caretaker during that time, diligently shielding him from Sukuna’s explosive temper and in the end, seeing to it that he made it out of Sukuna’s clutches before you were even brave enough to make your escape. It was… It was what you would have wanted your mother to do for you when you were younger. 

Yuji crossed the distance between the two of you to hug you tightly, “I was hoping you were okay.” 

You felt the tears pricking at your eyes. You sniffed as you hugged the boy back. He was much bigger than the last time you saw him. Still, there was that innocence that sparkled in his dark brown eyes that made your heart feel so full. 

“I can’t believe you remember me,” you laughed tearfully. 

“You were so nice to me when I was little. Of course I remember you,” he said, pulling back to look at you. 

“You know this kid?” Toji questioned. 

“He’s… Sukuna’s nephew I… I sent him away to live with his Grandpa before I left,” you explained. 

Toji remembered, though it was such an innocuous moment, when he had mentioned sending Megumi away. You said you had your own reasons for being sensitive about sending kids away. You also showed a particular interest in the fact that Megumi was somewhere in Japan. You were probably thinking of the kid grinning at you right now. 

Gojo grinned, “When Yuji saw you on the T.V. and said that he knew you I didn’t believe him, but I guess you haven’t aged a day since the last time he saw you huh?” 

“You haven’t!” Yuji confirmed, “and you used to make the best cookies. I missed them so much at grandpa’s.”

You hugged the boy again, “How’s your grandfather? Is he kind to you?” You asked as you pulled back to look at him again. 

“Oh, he passed a year ago. But sensei got me set up at the school.”

“I’m sorry for your loss… are you happy here?”

He beamed at you, “I am! I get to bother Megumi everyday.” He turned to give a teasing smile at the boy who was staring at him with a look of avid confusion before blinking and looking back his father. He asked Toji a question, and Toji answered in kind. You heard your name mixed up in his response. Megumi gave you a little wave. 

“Hello… my English isn’t good,” he said obviously by way of explaining why he hadn’t spoken to you much. 

“That’s okay. I don’t know any Japanese,” you responded and Toji translated for you. Megumi gave you an amused look that you saw Toji wear quite often. It was almost better than a smile. It was an expression of genuine mirth that wasn’t performative.  

You and Toji stayed in the house for a few hours more. You caught up with Yuji and wound up giving him the recipes for the cookies you used to make when he was young. You apologized profusely that the measurements were all in the imperial system but he didn’t seem to mind. Toji and Megumi seemed to be having a far more sober conversation it didn’t seem to be unpleasant though. By the time the two of you were leaving the sun was beginning to set. 

“You can visit any time,” You said, holding both of Yuji’s hands. 

“What about summer?” Yuji asked you. 

“Of course for summer.” 

Toji rolled his eyes at your easy agreement. He gave Megumi another look before pulling out his wallet and producing a photo. You caught a glimpse of it as Toji paused to look it over. It was of himself, a woman with similar messy hair to Megumi and she was holding a baby. There was a little girl peering over her arm at the child. He gave the photo to Megumi. They exchanged a few more words, and Toji ruffled his hair before taking your hand and pulling you away. You blew more kisses to the boys as he led you to the car. 

“They’re not going to disappear,” Toji griped at you. 

“I know, I just… I never thought I would see Yuji again.” You thought of the little toddler you’d met when you were younger, and how quickly the two of you had taken a shining to each other. He was so small then, and even then he was such a sweet kid, the polar opposite of his uncle. You’d wanted nothing more than to protect and nurture that goodness in him, but when it became obvious to you that you would never be enough to shelter him from Sukuna’s cruelty, you started working on getting him out of there, even if it meant that you had to be alone with Sukuna. Yuji’s companionship got you through some dark times but you knew that it was wrong to selfishly hold on to a child that way. So you got in contact with the next of kin. You talked to Sukuna’s father as much as you could, to see if he was willing to take the boy. You’d learned that he meant to take custody to begin with but Sukuna took over, making it nearly impossible for him to get the boy. It was a hard task to convince Sukuna to hand him over, it involved more manipulation than you could begin to explain, but even at the end Sukuna thought it was his idea to send the boy away. You remembered sending Yuji on his way, and the way he had cried for you to come with him. 

“Who will take care of you?” He’d blubbered while you zipped up his coat.

“I’m a grown up. I’ll be okay. You just… be good, okay?”

“Will I see you again?” 

“… I don’t know. But I’ll always be thinking of you.”

“I’ll think of you too,” he sniffled, grabbing you in a tight hug, “I’ll think of you every day and I won’t forget.” 

You’d smiled, sure that he would forget you with time, and even though it ached, you knew it was for the best that he never remembered much about his time at that house with Sukuna. With that, you’d kissed his forehead and sent him off with the social worker who took the trip with him to his grandfather. 

You relayed all of this to Toji in the car as the two of you went out to get dinner

“You never told me about that,” Toji said.

You shrugged, “I always felt guilty I couldn’t do more. I had no idea if his grandfather was a kind man or not. I mean, look at how Sukuna turned out… but I just had to believe that anything was better than growing up under Sukuna’s thumb.” 

“Seems like he turned out alright.” 

“Yeah… yeah it does. What about Megumi? How did that go?” you asked, because obviously you hadn’t understood a word of their conversation besides hearing your name every once in a while. 

“Oh… well he just asked why I gave him up, and he had questions about his mother. He told me that Tsumikki’s sick. She’s been in a coma for a while.” 

“Oh no. Do they know what’s wrong?” 

Toji shook his head, “No clue. He uh,” Toji chuckled, “he said it was probably for the best that they were with someone rich like Gojo. She’s been in the best care money could buy.” 

“So he’s happy there?”

“He is. Gojo’s an idiot, but kind. He primarily lives at the school with Yuji. I think he’s alright.” 

“Does he hate you?”

“He’s never thought much of me. Yuji asked if he was any relation to me because of our last names and that was it.” 

“Blunt kid. Just like you.” 

“Yeah, but he’s more like his mother. Which is good.” 

“Do you think he’ll want to visit?”

“Don’t know. We’ll just have to see what the future holds.” 

“At least we’ll have each other right.” 

“Oh yeah. You’re not getting rid of me, sweetheart. We’re partners in crime,” he winked.

Tag List:

@turtle-ishtendencies,@thisissomeoneelse,@emonaculate, @doja4eva

Chapter 8: As your best friend heals, you become aware of the position you’ve put yourself and the ones you love in. Toji makes a promise to keep you safe, but as your time closes in you home-city,  Toji’s ability to keep that promise is challenged. 

A/N: Alright, there are 2 more chapters of this work left: the conclusion and the epilogue. I gotta say this story sorta went greatly off the rails of my outline for it. I think for the better though. I’m quite happy with how this is rounding out. 

TW: violence against reader, threat of SA (All at the end of the chapter)

The Girl Next Door Master List

Previous Chapter

It was a better part of a week before your best friend was cognizant enough to really speak to you. Maybe that made her lucky, you didn’t really know. People just said it so often that maybe you were trying to believe it. Either way, you were there as often as you could be. They gave you her personal belongings and you’d been staying in her house, taking care of her cat. You were positive she wouldn’t mind and… and you didn’t want to talk to Toji. You couldn’t right now, not while you had bigger things to worry about. You couldn’t go back and forth with a man too wrapped up in his ego to see what he’d done was wrong. You’d already driven yourself half-crazy just anticipating that argument. It wasn’t something you wanted to deal with. 

Niecey turned to look at you one morning after the nurses got done poking and prodding at her. For obvious reasons, she hadn’t really had the capacity to ask you any questions. She’d cried when she woke up and saw you at her bedside for the first time, back when she still had the ventilator covering her mouth and nose and she couldn’t quite speak to you. The best she could do was feebly squeeze your hand and the best you could do was apologize to her. The moment didn’t last too long. Eventually a nurse came in and gave her more pain medicine. You promised to still be there when she woke up again and you were. You were right there every time. 

“Y/N,” she said suddenly, side eyeing you viciously, “You here alone?”

“… Kinda,” you sighed. 

“Look, you told me what this was about and I really hate it when you’re not here. I worry about you. Please tell me you’re not in this city alone.” 

You took a deep breath, “It’s complicated. I came here with Toji-”

“Oh? I know you aint have his fine ass in here while I look tore up.”

You laughed softly, “You know damn well I wouldn’t do you like that.” 

“Hm, he at the house then?” 

“No. Hotel. We’re uh. We are not talking right now.” 

She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she looked at you, “And why is that?”

“Niecey, I told you what happened! I can’t fucking look at him right now. I mean if he listened to me you wouldn’t even be here right now. I toldhim to leave it alone. And he just couldn’t-”

“You are selfish as fuck you know that?” she interrupted you. 

You stared at her, wide and befuddled. She turned her dark eyes from you to look up at the ceiling. 

“And not even in the good way,” she continued, “You gotta do everything alone and fuck the people who love you, right? You do this shit every time, babe. You ain’t tired? Because I’m tired of seeing you do it.” 

“What… what are you talking about?”

“You’d rather play the martyr than let the people who love you help you. What the fuck was your plan? If Toji did what you said then what? You live looking over your shoulder in the new city while that asshole Geto fed information on you to Sukuna? Then what? When Sukuna’s crazy ass came for you again what then? You just die, right?” 

You were genuinely too stunned to speak. It wasn’t like you could deny anything she said. It was your cross to bear. It was yourmistake. You earned whatever consequence that got you. The moment you got out you knew you were living on borrowed time you’d have to pay back in full one day. Dating Toji, keeping your friendship with Niecey, that’s what felt selfish. You were putting them in danger because you loved them. That’s the part that disgusted you about yourself. You couldn’t stop pulling people down with you. It reminded you so much of your mother, and her mother before her. It felt like you were just another crab in a bucket, grasping on to others to get up only to bring them all down with you. 

Niecey wasn’t done with you, “What the fuck about me? What about Toji? What about the people who love you? You die and then what? You just leave us wondering why the hell you didn’t ask for help. We wantto help you. We wantyou around, and it’s the most infuriating shit for the person you love to be so nonchalant about whether or not they live or die. And trust me, I know how you think about it. Heaven forbid you experience happiness right? Heaven forbid you receive even half of the support you give away? That’s just off limits, but goddammit Y/N, I am begging you to wake the fuck up and look around. You can’t do this shit alone, and we want to help you! That man risked his life looking out for you twice now, and all you can do is curse him for caring, because god fucking forbid someone care about you, right? Why is it so hard for you to understand that the things people choose to do for you because they love you are not your fault. It hurts more that you won’t let us help.” 

You opened your mouth to speak and then closed it again as tears pricked your eyes as you thought again of your mother, “When the person who’s supposed to love you unconditionally throws everything they do for you in your face… it changes things.” 

“Baby, you have to heal from that. You’re parents…. Your parents failed you. And I know, they fed you, they clothed, they kept a roof over your head, but that was shit they were supposedto do. They were also supposed to protect you. They were supposed to teach you to love yourself, and to take care of yourself. Your parents were supposed to build you up and all they did was break you down. I have been your friend for a long ass time, trust me I know why you are the way you are, but it’s gotta stop. You need help in the form of a therapist, and also with this Sukuna situation. The people who love you are gonna make mistakes alright. Everyone is human. Toji probably should have listened to you, but I don’t think it was ego that made him do it. You have no idea what it’s like to love you and see someone threaten you. If I was a man Toji’s size I’d knock a few heads together in your name in the blink of an eye.” 

You sniffed, wiping your face with your sleeve, “Well then, you got me together didn’t you.” 

“Someone needed to gather yo ass,” she said with a hint of humor in her tone. She reached out and took your hand in hers, “Plus, that man is fine as hell. Friends don’t let friends block they own blessings. Grow the fuck up and talk to him.”

“Alright now. I will hit that nurse button and have them sedate you. You getting a little too bold,” you threatened, but couldn’t help laughing as you swiped at the rest of your tears. She laughed too resting back against the pillows. The two of you were quiet for a moment. You gave her hand a gentle squeeze. 

“Thank you,” you breathed. 

“For what?”

“… For just being my friend.” 

She rolled her eyes and then a slow smile spread across her face and she started singing the Golden Girls theme. You giggled and joined her, adding in extra adlibs to make the two of you laugh. 

She smacked your hand as she laughed, “Bitch! Stop it. My fucking ribs,” there was still a smile on her face as she said this. 

You sat back, and realized just how much you missed being in the same room as her. The calls weren’t the same. It struck you hard just how much you’d let go in a misguided attempt at taking care of yourself. You missed this. And if you were honest with yourself. You missed Toji. You stayed with your friend until the nurses started encouraging you to leave. They gave her pain medicine so she would be out for the night. 

From the hospital, you took the short drive in a rental car to the hotel you knew Toji was at. You knocked on the room door and stepped back. Once again, you didn’t really have a plan. For half a second you considered just leaving. Maybe you’d call and then come by tomorrow. Why didn’t you call first? 

The door opened and Toji stood there in the doorway, shirtless looking down at you with the stoicism you were used to. You took a deep breath and looked up at him. 

“You’re avoiding me again. Are we done?” he asked you. Toji was straightforward, blunt. He cut right through the bullshit to the heart of his own curiosities. 

“I don’t want to be. I… Can I come in?” you asked. 

He narrowed his eyes at you before stepping aside to let you in. You walked past him into the hotel room, toying with your fingers the entire time. It seemed like maybe the best course of action was to take a page from Toji’s book, just be direct, speak plainly. 

“Uh, I’m sorry for how I reacted. I’m not proud of that and you didn’t deserve it. I don’t want to… lose you. I really, really- I care about you… more than I’ve ever cared about anyone. And I know if I give this up I won’t get another chance like this. I hope you can forgive me.” 

Toji rolled his eyes at you, “There’s nothing to forgive. I should have listened to you.” 

“I agree… or maybe you should have told me what you’d done. But I shouldn’t have lashed out like that at you. That was wrong.”

“Well, you’re forgiven.”

“Great. That’s good, because Niecey said she was gonna beat my ass if I didn’t fix this,” you pointed between the two of you. 

He snorted, “Nice to know I’ve got someone on my team.” 

“She really tore into me. Got me all the way together,” you laughed, “Look… I’m not goodat accepting help, like at all. I’d literally rather die. But I do need help and I don’t know what I’m going to do about all of this, and I can’t ask you to stand between me and Sukuna. I just can’t-”

“Bold of you to think you have to ask,” he said, reaching out to tip your chin up with the side of his finger, “really bold of you to think I wouldn’t set a whole fucking city on fire for you and baby I have been trying to keep it together, but I’m gonna be honest, I don’t like anyonefucking with you. This’ll all be a whole hell of a lot easier if you just accept that I’m not gonna let anyone threaten you.”

“Toji,” you breathed. He stepped closer to you, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you in close to him. 

“No, you’re gonna listen right now. I told you, I’ve lived a questionable life of questionable morals. Everything I wanted in life I had to take for myself. You have given me you and I’ll be damned before anyone takes you from me. Only way your leaving my side is if you choose to go. That’s it. I don’t care what I have to do.” 

“Why?”

He huffed an exasperated laugh, “Because I’m fuckin’ in love with you, genius.” 

Your eyes went wide at that, “What?”

“You heard me. I’m in love with you. You ridiculous, stubborn woman. It can’t be that damn surprising, I mean look at the fucking state of me. Do you think I just hang around waiting for every beautiful woman to come back to me?”

You were still having trouble wrapping your head around what the hell was happening right now, “You’re saying you are in love with me?” 

“Yes, should I say it slower? You look confused. Baby, we live together.” 

“Yeah but… but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you love me.” 

“Oh you’re impossible,” he let go of you to throw his hands in the air, “Trust me, sweetheart, I don’t go getting wrapped up in other people’s business for the fun of it.” 

You blinked again, and it really hit you what he was saying to you. The initial shock took away from his message. Toji just told you he loved you… for the first time. It was something you’d been keeping inside because nothing good ever came from telling a man you loved him first. Your face felt hot as you peered up at him. You could tell that he was just as embarrassed as you did and perhaps with better reason. You still hadn’t  voiced that you reciprocated his feelings. 

“Uh me too,” you said quickly and then your brain caught up with your mouth and you hit your forehead with the heel of your palm, “I mean, I love you too. Which is whyI can’t stand the idea of anything happening to you because-”

“Say it again,” he cut you off with a slowly growing grin. It wasn’t one of his boasting grins, he didn’t mean to make fun of you. He put his hands on your hips, holding you in place in front of him. He wanted to see you say it. 

“Um, I love you too. I thought it was kinda obvious on my part.” 

“Yeah, but it’s still nice to hear you say it,” he began to lean down to kiss you and you pulled back. 

“Dammit, Toji, there’s a bigger point here.” 

“I don’t really think there is.” 

“Homicidal ex-boyfriend?”

“You have a homicidal current boyfriend,” he shrugged. 

You blinked up at him, obviously unamused. You did understand what he meant though. The man just came short of outright telling you he’d kill for you. Still, that only worried you. What were the odds of this ending in a way that wouldn’t ultimately break your heart? From where you were standing right now, not good. 

“You’re the impossible one. Look, just tell me before you do something impulsive and stupid for my own safety okay? I hate to admit it but I know that piece of shit better than anyone in the world, kinda had to if I wanted to live this long. He’ll want you to attack him head on, but really? The only way to win is to fight dirty.” 

“Right, you’re scrappy, I remember.”

 In a few more days, Niecey’s mother was able to come up and be with her. It was for the best. People in your office were itching for you to come back and work in person again, and being in this city was making you anxious. It occurred to you, more than once, that part of Sukuna’s purpose behind attacking your best friend was to get you on his turf again. However as the days dwindle down before your departure flight, you wondered if he was really going to ignore the opportunity to do something with the home advantage. His inaction unnerved you. It felt eerily calm. Nevertheless there was nothing to really be done for it and it was stressful enough keeping an eye on Toji so that he didn’t do something stupid. To his credit, though, he’d been on his best behavior. 

Before you both left you decided it was time to introduce him to Niecey. It was at her request, after she’d been home for a few days, and most of the swelling was gone from her face. You offered to cook with her mom. When you walked in, her mother hugged you tightly. It wasn’t the first time you’d seen each other in person, but this was the first visit since you helped her get Niecey situated. 

“Oh, baby, I can’t thank you enough,” she said as she squeezed you. Niecey’s mother had always been kind to you, from the very moment she met you. You liked her. She was more of what a mother should be, you thought. She was kind, but firm, you could tell she didn’t put up with nonsense, but you could also tell from her and Niecey’s relationship that she was a reasonable and warm woman. Sometimes seeing her made your heart ache for what you could have been with a mother like Niecey’s. 

You pulled back and looked at her face, the perfect window into the future of what Niecey would look like in 20-something years. The two were twins, always had been. 

“It was nothing. Really the least I could do. I wouldn’t have been able to get here so fast if not for this one,” you gestured behind you with your thumb. She looked behind you and then all the way up to meet Toji’s gaze. 

“Ms. Jones, this is Toji. Toji, Ms. Jones. This is Niecey’s mother. I’ve been trying to get her to adopt me for years but apparently I’m too grown for that,” you joked, stepping out of the way. 

“Nice to meet you,” Toji said amicably. 

Ms. Jones slid her gaze from Toji to you, “Child, you sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“Come on,” Toji laughed, “Don’t do me like that.” 

She cracked a smile, “I see right through you, boy. I know you’re trouble. I can see it in your eyes. You better be good to her. That’s my baby too, you know?”

“She’s got me wrapped around her fingers. I’m really the one you should be worried about. She works me to the bone.” 

“As she should,” Ms. Jones tossed you a conspiratorial wink. The three of you continued in and saw Niecey on the couch. Her leg was in a cast and her right arm was in a sling. It hurt your heart to look at her, but you did your best to keep that off of your face. 

“So we finally meet,” she said with her signature grin, that lit up her face like the fourth of July. 

“I can finally put a face to the voice that talks all that shit on the phone,” Toji joked with her casually, like it was all no big deal. You weren’t sure why you thought things might be any different. They were constantly making little quips at each other when you had her on speaker phone and Toji was in the room.

“I’ll talk shit to you right here too. Don’t worry,” she grinned. 

You wound up in the kitchen with her mother when you were satisfied that the two of them were getting along. Ms. Jones griped about her own daughter’s inability to cook. Niecey could cook, but she couldn’t cook.She was respectfully designated as the person who brought the paper plates or store bought desserts to a function. You were the friend that could cook.

“That boy treating you right?” Ms. Jones asked you after a while. 

You smiled a little, though your heart ached at her wary tone, “Yeah… yeah he really does,” you said emphatically trying to convey to her in so few words just how different he was from your last serious relationship. 

She looked you over and a bit of the worry on her face seemed to slip away, “Well alright. He’s handsome, I’ll give you that. No face tattoos.” 

You snorted, “No tattoos at all, funnily enough.” 

You heard Toji let out a loud startled bark of laughter as if something that Niecey said had truly caught him off guard. The sound of it made you smile as well. 

“This one laughs,” Ms. Jones remarked. 

“There’s no walking on eggshells with him. And… well he’s got a record, but I know he’s on the up and up now.” 

“Can’t help that, I guess. You dohave a type. Alright, I just worry about you out there all alone. I know Niecey has too.” 

While Ms. Jones was checking in with you, Niecey was checking in with Toji. Which did not surprise Toji at all. The moment he sat across from her she started eyeing him suspiciously. He took a deep breath and wondered if this is the part where she would give him empty threats. 

“I know you care about her,” Niecey began, “and I know she makes it hard to take care of her but don’t stop okay?” 

He blinked, that wasn’t what he was expecting. He wondered if he was really that obvious to outside eyes… probably. Everything you did set off some unexpected soft part of his brain that made him want to walk around smiling like an idiot. It was really a shame, he used to be sure a hard to read person. 

“I can agree to that,” he said easily. 

“Good, because she’s got this stupid ass idea in her head that she has to do everything alone. She’ll trudge head first into danger if she thinks it’s for the greater good. There is no greater good when it comes to Sukuna. He’ll kill us all regardless of what she chooses.” 

“Yeah, I gathered that. You’re not upset about… this?” He asked, gesturing towards her general state of injury. 

“I could be, but bad people do bad things. That’s not her fault. Plus, I knew what I was getting into when I continued to be her friend. I had plenty of chances to bail out.” 

“Why didn’t you?” Toji was just curious about her motivations. He could tell that the two of you were close, but he didn’t know if there was anyone, save you, who he would still be in contact with after this incident. 

“She’s not the type to give up on people, and she’s always been there when I needed it. That’s the thing about kind people I guess. If no one’s looking out for them, then assholes take advantage of their kindness. Besides, I just love her. It is what it is.” 

He nodded, it seemed like you brought that out of people, a desire to look after you. It was obvious in Maki, of all people, who’d actually called him to inquire about you a few days ago. He thought again of when Sukuna broke your wrist, and despite your assurances that Toji had nothing to do with it, it hadn’t stopped Maki from making him promise to be kind to you and threatening serious bodily harm if anything occurred otherwise. He didn’t think Maki could kill him at her current skill level, but give it a couple years and she’d be more than capable of making good on that promise. There was just something about you and maybe some people sought to simply own that goodness outright, to monopolize it, but Toji had the pleasure of knowing another woman like that in his life and he found that great things came from letting truly kind people live and be who they want. 

“You don’t have to worry about me taking the bailout plan. I’m a stubborn fucker and I like her. She’s alright with me.” 

“I’m counting on that.”

“And here I thought you were just going to threaten to kill me.” 

“Oh… no, I have cousins who kill people. That can still happen, but I figured that was implied.” 

Toji let out a loud startled laugh, by how casually she just admitted that. He could tell why the two of you were friends for sure. 

“Fair enough. Good talk,” he agreed, still chuckling. Niecey giggled to then let out a pained little groan. Toji knew that laughing with broken ribs was not a fun time. 

The rest of the visit went without a hitch. He managed to win over Ms. Jones before dinner was over, which didn’t surprise you in the least. Toji was charming when he wanted to be. There was just something about his rye humor that could win people over. Also, you were sure compared to the last man Ms. Jones saw you with, he was a walk in the park. No one had to worry about a joke getting them killed. You remembered bringing Sukuna around your family. He preferred to breed fear, to let them know that his power was absolute and you would do what he said. It was hair raising, so eventually you just stopped coming around. 

You left to go back to the hotel in order to get some sleep before your early departure in the morning. In the middle of the night your phone began to buzz on the night table. It’s heavy hum was enough to wake you out of your sleep. Of course, getting to the phone was no easy task. Toji had an arm around your waist, and you were partially under him, an unfortunate hazard of sleeping with a man of his size. He must have rolled over in his sleep. You did wonder for a moment how the vibrations of your phone could wake you, but Toji rolling over on you did not. 

“Move, you fucking ogre,” you grumbled trying to wiggle from under him. Your movements woke him just enough for him to shift his weight slightly. 

“Sorry.” 

“No you’re not,” you grabbed the edge of the mattress to pull yourself away before he shifted back on his stomach, grabbing the pillow under his head instead of you.

“You’re right.” His voice was muffled by the pillow. You sat up on the edge of the bed, but by this point your phone was done buzzing. Now that you were up, you had to go to the bathroom. You were just coming back to the bed with the hotel phone started ringing. 

You frowned at that and grabbed the phone since you were already up. It was probably important if the front desk was calling at this hour. 

“Hello?” you asked, and winced at your sleep laden voice. 

“Ignoring my calls?” 

You tensed, “Why are you calling me again?” 

Sukuna chuckled on the line, “Well I realized you were going to leave without saying hello.” 

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Why would I come to see you after you nearly killed my friend?”

“Easy, because I’m going to actually kill your boyfriend right now if you don’t.” 

You turned then to look at Toji. If you were scared before, you felt like you might die now. There was a red dot trained right on the back of his head. You followed the laser sight to the far window. What were you supposed to do? Were you just supposed to let him die? If this was between you and Sukuna, why couldn’t it just end with you and Sukuna?

“Leave him out of this. I’ll go. Where should I meet you?” 

“I thought you’d be more amicable. There’s a car waiting for you downstairs. You’ll get in. And I’m watching you, so don’t try anything funny.” 

“Okay.” 

“See you soon.” 

You moved around the hotel room, putting on clothes so you could leave. You grabbed a few things, and put on your shoes. Before leaving you pressed a kiss to Toji’s shoulder before seeing yourself out. It was so easy for people to ask you not to be a martyr, but what else were you supposed to do. Were you supposed to shake Toji out of his sleep and directly risk his life to put him in the middle of this? Your own likelihood of survival wasn’t good and Sukuna harbored some amount of interest in you. What did he care for these other people? They were just pawns to him, people he could use to manipulate you and it worked. It worked. 

However… if there was a way, some small way to preserve yourself and the people you loved… you had to take it. In a snap decision you grabbed one of the luggage tag Toji put on his bag because he was hyper specific about his things, for some reason. You slipped it in your bra and left the room. Walking down the long hallways of the hotel felt like a funeral procession. You were the casket bearer, the casket, and the body at all at once. The inside of the flashy elevator was reflective, and you stared at yourself. You looked tired even to yourself. It was nice for a while though wasn’t it, loving someone and being loved back… loved not owned. It was really nice while it lasted. You thought as the doors to the elevator opened up to the lobby and you stepped you. The receptionist didn’t even give you a glance as you passed by her. You thought to yourself that she would be useless when questioned. But why should she look up. You were just another person in a sea of people living a life that didn’t affect her at all. You pushed through the revolving door on to the sidewalk.

 You made it a few steps before you heard glass shatter. It stopped you cold in your tracks. Without really even thinking you looked up, and you knew what had happened. He shot. Of course that was another option. You just didn’t want to think of it. There was a chance that you would do what Sukuna said, and he’d still kill the people you loved. What did he care for them? They were just people to use to manipulate you. And it worked. It worked. 

You felt your knees give out at the same time someone grabbed you. You offered no significant resistance as they pushed you into the waiting car. There was no one on the street to see. It was all done so quickly. Before you really knew it you were just sitting in the back of a dark car. 

“Are you going to cry?” Sukuna asked, making you aware of his presence in the car. You realized that you were just staring at your lap. You lifted your gaze to him. He was just a dark figure next to you. The city lights washed across him, but he was facing you so you couldn’t see his face. Even so, you could feel his cruel stare and hear the smile in his voice. 

“Go on, cry for me. I’d like to see it.”

“You had him killed anyway,” you breathed. 

“Of course I did. That bastard shot me. He wasn’t going to live no matter what you did. But if it makes you feel better, I won’t interfere with your friend’s life anymore. I don’t need to. You came easily,” he said casually, as if he were talking about simple tasks that might be on anyone’s to-do list. You were too stunned to cry or speak. In some way, you suppose you forgot what it was like to play Sukuna’s game. You weren’t playingat all. You had all the control of an ant who’d been discovered by a curious child. The best you could do was hope that their fascination did not become cruel. You were far past the point of his interest becoming cruelty. You took a deep breath. 

“Is this the part where you kill me then?” 

“Hm, I haven’t decided yet. Try begging for your life. It might sway my decision.” 

You did not beg. You just stared out of the window. Maybe it was just shock that made you brave. Or maybe there was some kind of vacant hole opening in your chest and this wouldn’t be the first time it opened. It had always been there, a little pocket in your heart you could slip into when things got too bad. Everything was quieter there, and you didn’t have to see what was happening to you first hand, you could just float above it all. When you were little you used to imagine that you were a bird, perched on a wire, watching the way your father hit you for miniscule mistakes… sometimes just for the horrible mistake of existing. No offense was too small. It was easier to just observe it if you didn’t see the horrible things that happened to you as things that were happening to you. Just your body. Your eyes just glazed over and you weren’t really in the car anymore. You’d slipped through the pinhole in your heart and you were outside of the car, racing with the moon to keep your eyes on yourself. It was easier that way. And you did not cry. 

You knew where you were going… but you couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing. He was taking you to his house: Which might mean he had no intentions of killing you right away… which ruled out the ease of quick death but also bought you time you supposed. Time for what though? To figure out how to get out of this, or to make peace with your demise. At the moment, you were pondering your next move. You wouldn’t stay here. That was simply not something you had the bandwidth to withstand now. One way or another you would get out of this… it just might not be alive which is something you were trying to make peace with but could not. There were so many things you still wanted to do. You wanted to travel. You wanted to get married, maybe have a kid, and you wanted to continue to decorate your home. You stopped that line of thinking in its tracks the moment you felt tears coming. There were a lot of things you could do, you refused to cry. That was never an option. 

The winding drive up to the sprawling estate filled you with a soul deep dread. There were memories that you left locked away in this place that you never wanted to revisit. 

“It’s a castle fit for a king right?” Sukuna said, obviously taunting you, “Pity it’s empty, but you saw to that didn’t you.”

You wondered what he meant by that. You supposed you weren’t the only person who left this place. Deep down you knew it was the right call. The other person who had been trapped in these four walls was too good for those circumstances. Sukuna had a nephew. The kid was as sweet as sweet could be. If you were honest, he’s what kept you around for longer than you might have stayed otherwise. You knew about two years in that nothing good was going to come of your relationship, but that child… you couldn’t just leave him alone. So, you bent all of your mental power toward making Sukuna believe that the kid was worthless to him. He was better off signing over legal custody, letting him live with his grandfather instead. You hoped the boy wasn’t back. He was such a sweet kid. He didn’t deserve to be stuck with a wretched person like Sukuna. 

The car stopped and Sukuna got out first before going around to open the car door for you. You started at his outstretched hand as if it were an open bear trap. 

“I will drag you out,” he said. 

You put your hand in his tentatively and the bear trap closed, holding your hand tightly. He yanked you out of the car and you fought to get your footing. You were dangerously close to falling and you were certain that Sukuna would simply drag you if you were to fall. He moved fast though, and his legs were much longer than yours, meaning you had to jog to keep up with his pace. There wasn’t much you could do to keep from going into the house. He made you set in the dining room with him. 

Well he didn’t sit. He forced you down into the chair and stood beside you for a moment before bending down to speak to you. You kept your eyes trained right in front of you, refusing to look at him at all as he began to speak. 

“See, I had time to figure out every little thing you were up to while I was busy making a home for you.” 

So he was going to monologue before he killed you. That seemed on brand. 

“I learned about the accounts you kept, the people you talked to, the exact route you took to run away from me, and you know what I found? I found that you killedsomething that was mine.”

Right, that. You wondered how he got a hold of that information. You didn’t even give your real name at the clinic. 

“Now how is that fair, hm?” He asked and when you remained silent he grabbed your face, digging the pointed ends of his nails into the flesh of your cheeks, “Answer me.” 

“I didn’t want to bring another monster like you into this world,” you said solemnly. 

“You stole from me.” 

“It didn’t belong to you and it was my choice.” 

“You stole from me,“ he reiterated, "and you’re going to give it back.” 

You spoke between clenched teeth, “I’ll die first.” 

“That can be arranged, but what fun is that.”

“Then get to killing, Ryoumen. Spare me the drawn out monologue.” 

Sukuna grabbed your hair in a vicious grip, jerking your head to make you look at him, “I was nice to you before, that was my mistake. This time, I’m going to break you. I’m going to take every little piece of defiance out of you until your nothing but a hole for me to fuck.”

Next Chapter

Tag List:

@turtle-ishtendencies,@thisissomeoneelse,@emonaculate, @doja4eva

Chapter 7: Toji moves to make one of your issues, a non-issue. Meanwhile, you try to reconcile the person you were, with the person you are now but your past makes it hard to see how anything in your present has changed.

A/N: When I tell you guys, this chapter gave me so much trouble. I didn’t want to drag the story on. I can write fluff all day every day but this is a story with a plot. It’s been a long time since I posted a story that I was writing as I was posting it. I usually write quite a few chapters ahead. And I think I’m gonna stick to that bc this is a little stressful and I hate to keep y'all waiting. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

TW: Domestic abuse mention (not described in any detail)

The Girl Next Door Master List

Previous Chapter

You kept forgetting to breathe. Watching the fight unfolding in the arena was really wearing on your nerves. You knew the fight for the heavyweight title wasn’t going to be easily won, but you didn’t anticipate this at all. Since you started going to fights again you’d watched Toji win some fights by the skin of his teeth, but this was tense. So tense it made your stomach hurt to watch.

“Breathe,” Maki reminded and you pulled in a sharp breath, “He’s got a hard head. He’s been through worse in brawls. This is nothing.” 

She said that but his nose was bleeding and the sight of his blood, vibrant against his skin, bothered you. The two were sere circling again. This fight was pretty evenly matched. His opponent was just as big as him, with equal reach. The only difference between the two was background. His opponent had apparently been training since he was young in the formal MMA arena. Which Maki assures you was a steep disadvantage for Toji. You didn’t see how. It’s not like the rules of brawling were the same as MMA, so to you the other guy had the advantage. Not to mention he had a background and wrestling which made his floorwork impressive. The third round had ended due time but Toji wound up on the ground. It was an awful place to be with this guy.

You winced and turned your face towards Maki when the other guy punched Toji with a hard right jab to the ribs. 

“Oh,” Maki breathed, “Oh he’s got this.” 

“What? Who?” you demanded, actually focusing on her face. There was a light in her eyes you did not understand. She seemed to know something that was absolutely escaping you. This looked awful. You looked at the ring again in time to watch the opponent kick with the kind of force that looked like it would take someone’s head off. Toji leaned back at the last second and he grabbed his ankle. Which, for the record, his ankle was moving too fast for any normal person to have possibly caught. Toji yanked the guy’s leg up until he lost balance. Then he was on the floor. The commentators were spouting information about the different holds, and defense, but all of that went over your head. You weren’t really sure where the hell Toji found the energy but once he started wailing on this guy he did not stop. The opponent, a relatively normal human being, was tired from three previous rounds. He couldn’t keep up a solid defense. As the blows just kept coming he hit the mat, three distinct times and the referee was splitting them up. 

As if to prove that Toji was an actual human and not just a can of whoop ass personified he had the decency to look tired as he got up and walked away, moving to lean against the wall of the cage, breathing heavily. There were so many other things happening in the arena but all you could look at was the way he was practically glistening under the bright white lights, from the beads of perspiration on his body. He had the nerve to push his hair back in order to move the strands that stuck to his forehead. It was a selfish desire, considering the fact that he was probably tired and sore, and itching to just shower and go to sleep, but you wanted to suck him off so well that his soul left his body. The heavy rise and fall of his chest, the way the veins in his arms bulged from exertion it was all utterly mesmerizing. Maybe you’d just agree to do all the work. He was tired, maybe for once he’d just lie there and take it, let you be in charge for a little bit. 

As if he could read your dirty thoughts his eyes landed right on you, in your seat right outside the ring. The rest of his team was cheering and hugging each other. There was just you, still sitting, but your eyes were locked on him with that pretty little doe eyed expression that let him know you were having dirty thoughts. As was his ritual after every fight he stuck his tongue out at you, smiling despite the ache in his face. You grinned too and mimicked his expression. With whatever strength he had left in him, he was gonna fuck you until you felt just as tired as he felt at this moment. 

The announcer gave Toji the ridiculous gaudy UFC Championship belt and lifted his arm. Your cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. Maki grabbed your wrist to make you follow her and the rest of the team as they climbed the stairs into the ring. You did your best not to snap your ankle in your heels. You’d gone all out with hair and makeup considering this was a televised event and you were glad to have done so now that you were front and center with Toji. Basically hand delivered you to him. He received you casually as he answered whatever inane question the announcer asked him. He rested his arm over your shoulder as he spoke.

“It was a great fight, start to finish, and I’m ready to get the hell out of here,” Toji said and the laughter that followed made you smile because they thought he was joking. 

You knew the two of you would be in this place for another couple of hours so that people could interview him. You gave his back a reassuring pat. He was really going to be here much much longer than he wanted to be. 

When it was time for him to hit the showers you waited with the rest of the team in the room where the post fight interview was set to happen. You were still buzzing with excitement at Toji’s win, and what that might mean for him. He was never one to spend too much time basking in his own glory, but you felt like he deserved to enjoy this. It was a huge accomplishment after all. You were on your phone. Your best friend was sending you back to messages about the fight and sprinkling in compliments for you as she’d seen you on television. 

- Oh my god BITCH! That was crazy!

- He’s good. I know.

- Does he have friends??? A brother?

You scoffed at her questions. As you started typing you reply you froze. Someone was watching you. It was more than just cameras. There were plenty of reporters milling about, buzzing with questions, but none of them were for you. They weren’t terribly worried about who you were at all. No, there was someone watching you. You tried to be natural, not wanting to tip anyone off, or appear crazy by wildly whipping around and searching for a pair of eyes on you, but you could feel it. They might as well have been right over your shoulder. You slowly lifted your gaze and scanned the room as if you were waiting for the press conference to start just like everyone else. In your scan you saw him, and try as you may to appear casual your eyes paused on Geto Suguru. One side of his mouth quirked up in a sinister smirk. You probably should have guessed he’d be around. It’s not like he could try anything at the moment with so many people around but it still made your stomach heavy with dread. 

“You know that guy?” Maki asked, and you turned away from him to look at her. 

“Um, not well.” 

“Are you sure? You look like you’re gonna be sick,” she frowned and turned to look in the same direction you were looking before. You looked too and noticed him coming over to you. He stopped in the aisle. Maki sat between the two of you, looking up at him confusedly. 

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” he cooed, looking straight at you, “I don’t mean any harm, just delivering a message. Sukuna’s about made a full recovery, you know? I’m sure he’ll be looking to give you another visit and maybe congratulate the heavyweight champ. He owes him one doesn’t he?” Geto smiled.

It felt like someone had replaced your blood with ice water. You clenched your jaw to keep from shivering. You glared up at him with open hatred, “What do you want?” 

“To offer my help… for a price,” he shrugged and flicked down to take in the rest of your form before meeting your eyes again. 

“Fuck off.” 

He took one hand out of his pocket and held out a business card between two fingers, “In case you change your mind?”

You were acutely aware of the way the rest of the room was beginning to settle down. It seemed like the conference was about to start. You didn’t want Toji to come in and see this. This was his big night and you’d be damned before it was ruined. You reached in front of Maki and snatched the card away from him. 

“Get lost,” you hissed at him. 

He smiled, “I look forward to hearing from you.” He walked away to the opposite side of the room. 

You stared straight ahead ignoring the blatantly questioning look Maki was giving you. You really didn’t want to talk about it. Sometimes you hated how good you were at compartmentalizing. You never forgot about Sukuna, you just put it out of your mind, deciding instead to live in your own perfect world where those problems no longer existed. Now here you were on what was supposed to be a happy occasion, fretting. You heard the commotion the minute Toji entered the room, and you focused on schooling your facial expression into something happy, instead of the expression of a woman gazing upon the gallows. You turned and almost immediately met Toji’s gaze. You gave him a smile and you hoped it was genuine. He didn’t seem to expect anything was amiss. 

It was perhaps the most useful skill you learned under Sukuna’s thumb. You learned how to act. It was the only way you got out. You had to act like you were still in love with him for months after you’d recognized his true nature. You had to fawn over him, simper and sit in his lap, all while on the inside you were scared shitless that he’d figure out about the money you set aside in order to get away from him, or for the short amount of time it took you to decide once and for all that you’d terminate your pregnancy that he’d learn about it. You pretended for months to still love him in order to survive. You were sure that throughout those months he had never been more enamoured with you, thinking he had the perfect grasp of your emotions, that you’d never leave. That was always Sukuna’s problem. He thought he was the smartest person in every room. It made him underestimate others and overestimate his own control. Sukuna had no idea who you were now, he barely knew you back then. If he thought you’d just roll over and let him have his way, he was wrong. You were happy now. You were honestly and truly happy with a man who cared about you.

The conference passed by and you barely listened to the words exchanged between Toji and the people who asked him questions. You were careful to look engaged and happy, but on the inside you were wondering what the hell Geto thought he could do. He was young. Age was probably the reason for his arrogance. Whatever reason Sukuna kept him around wasn’t enough for him to be of any use to you. You wondered at his plans or rather what he thought his plans were. Sukuna would kill him without a second thought. And what price did that boy think he could demand of you? You had an idea and it made you want to laugh. He was a kid, pretending to know more than he did. It would get him killed, you were sure of it.

Toji stepped down from the stage with a salacious grin pointed right at you once the conference was over, He took your hand and pulled you up to your feet to walk with him. As he pulled you in close he spoke in your ear. 

“What happened?” 

“Huh?” you pulled away to look at him. 

“You don’t look right. What happened?” 

You laughed a little, “Damn, you could have just called me ugly. What do you mean I don’t look right.” 

Toji gave you a little bit of a stern glare. He could tell something was wrong. Whenever you were afraid your eyes glazed over, like there was a physical wall behind your pupils. It looked like the lights were on but nobody was home. You could smile and laugh, and carry on as if nothing was the matter but your eyes didn’t lie. That doe-like quality, like you were frozen place staring at headlights destined to obliterate you, it lived in your eyes now. He knew something was wrong. He just didn’t know what and it was making him anxious. He held you close to his side. 

“You know you’re the most beautiful woman in every room. Don’t be fucking stupid,” he rolled his eyes at you. 

“Really, I’m pretty sure there were some super models in the arena. So you’re a liar, and also I know I’m hot, I just thought that maybe you got punched a little too hard out there.” 

He chuckled, “So that’s how it is. I may have taken a few hits but I’m sharp as ever sweetheart, and when we get in the car you’re gonna tell me what’s wrong with you so I can handle it.” 

You huffed, “Fine.” 

Toji pulled your in a bit more, placing his arm over your shoulder and curling it in a bit possessively. As he left out of the room he looked around reflexively. He looked over your head to his left and saw an unfortunately familiar face. It was really just an old habit to survey his surroundings at random. He pulled you in reflexively as he met eyes with Geto. He did promise to beat that man’s ass if he ever saw him again… but he was in a good mood, plus… Toji didn’t particularly want you to see him like that. You were secretive about your past but he wasn’t stupid. He saw the way your gaze glazed over any time he tried to ask about anything that happened to you more than seven years ago. You put up a wall, something impossible for him to get through. It wasn’t hard to guess what your relationship with Sukuna could be like. It was written all over the small mannerisms you had. They were subtle, but obvious when you knew what to look for. If he yelled, and he didn’t often, but if he did there was a certain tightening in your eyes, and you stood stock still. He was never yelling at you, but it never seemed to matter. When you alluded to the incident in your old apartment you spoke with a kind of detachment that bordered on robotic. It could have happened to someone else for all the emotion you showed. Then he thought again of when he got out of the ring. What gave him pause was the glazed over look in your eyes. Your walls were up, which made no sense because he, obviously, hadn’t asked you anything about your past. 

When the two of you were in his truck he waited until you were both on the road to ask you what happened. 

“You saw him, didn’t you?” 

“Who?” You said, looking down at your nails. 

“Long black hair, tall guy. Former associate of your ex. I saw him as we were leaving. Did you see him before?”

“No.” 

“Don’t lie to me, Y/N,” he sighed, “I hate it when you lie to me, especially over shit like this.” 

“And if I did?”
“I’d want to be sure you’re okay. He didn’t touch you, did he?”

“No,” you answered softly, “Todo got between us first.” 

“Was that so goddamn hard?”

“Yes. Yes, it was,” you looked out of the window then, and he glanced at you reflexively, and then again as he noticed you try to covertly swipe at your cheek. 

“Are you crying?” he asked incredulously. 

“No!” 

“Why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying.” 

“You know you’re a piss poor liar. It’s getting insulting at this point. Talk to me. I’m asking you to just fucking talk to me.” 

“What do you want me to say, Toji?”

“I wanna know what’s going on? What happened back there? Why are you crying?”

“Because my life is in fucking shambles, okay? Do you think I like needing a fucking security detail? Do you think that’s fun for me? And it’s all because of a stupid decision I made when I was young. That bothers me, Toji, and I feel like I’ve ruined your night with shit I can’t seem to fucking escape. So yeah I’m crying! But it’s because I’m pissed! I’m not some stupid emotional girl. I’m a grown woman and I hate that all the work I’ve put in to be something different than who I was doesn’t matter because I have nothing to show for it.” 

“You have nothing to show for it? Are you serious right now?” 

“I’m done talking about it.” 

“Well I’m not. I know who Sukuna is. And I know that 99% of the time, whatever he wants he gets. That 1%? That’s you. The fuck do you mean you have nothing to show for it. You’re alive aren’t you? You’re out.” 

“But I feel like… I feel like I’m being sucked back in.” 

“Hey, look at me.” 

You turned your head miserably to look at him. 

“I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Do you understand me?” 

You crossed your arms in front of your chest petulantly. 

“Y/N, do not play with me right now.” 

“Yes, I understand,” you huffed. 

“Good,” he paused before looking at you again, “Do you want to go home? We’ll go home. I don’t really give a shit about this after fight drinks thing anyway.” 

“No, we’re going. This is your night to celebrate.”

“I win fights, all the time,” he said with a cocky shrug. 

Your lips tugged up in a reluctant smile as you dabbed at the tears on your waterline, “You’re so full of yourself. Ugh, I can’t believe you have me crying. I’m a G. I don’t do tears and shit.” 

“Oh now it’s my fault,” he mused playfully, but he did spare one more glance at you just to be sure you were really okay. 

He didn’t like it when you were upset. It made him want to do something impulsive, like go hunt down that Geto kid and snap his neck, or make a few calls to someone crazy enough to try to take out Sukuna or do it himself if he could bear to be away from you for a significant amount of time. It was a constant struggle to stay on a more righteous path than the one he had walked in his youth. You were just… special. He really liked you. Well, he felt a bit more than like for you but that wasn’t the kind of thing he wanted to get into. Not that it was too soon for that kind of thing. The two of you were inching closer and closer to the year mark. He just wasn’t that guy. He didn’t say stuff like that, even when he felt it. No, especially when he felt it. 

Still, he kept a watchful eye on you at the bar. You spent most of the time under his arm anyway, sipping at a cocktail that was more juice than liquor. You didn’t like to get too drunk in crowds. Though in the comfort of the house you did drink a bit more, and he was used to your drunken giggles. He kind of wished that you’d wanted to go home. He would have preferred drinking with you to this place, but you would have sworn he was derailing his night for you, so he hung around for an hour before pretending that he was beginning to feel the punches from tonight as an excuse to leave early. 

“You’re such a liar,” you breathed as the two of you walked out of the bar, “You’re fine.” 

“Yeah, but I got sick of sharing you. I’m a pretty selfish man, you know?” 

“Oh trust me I know,” you rolled your eyes. 

“Can you blame me? With the way you look tonight.” 

“Oh that’s your angle? You think just because you’re the new UFC Heavyweight champ that I’m just going to spread my legs for you.” 

‘No,” he shook his head, “I think you’re gonna spread your legs for me regardless of all that, sweetheart.” 

“In your dreams.” 

The two of you barely got into the house before he was between your legs. If only for a small fraction of time you allowed yourself to forget about the awful sense of foreboding that existed on the fringes of your psyche. Instead you let yourself fall into Toji. You would worry about the rest in the morning. For now, there was just your man, in his place between your legs making you cum more times than your cared to count. 

What you didn’t know was that Toji did not intend for you to worry about it at all. While you were fast asleep he grabbed your phone from its place on the nightstand and unlocked it. He used your face ID, of course. He didn’t care to go through your phone at all, no he was more interested in finding the card he’d seen you stow away in your purse while he was talking to the press. He went through your bag and found  it amidst crumpled receipts and gum wrappers. he  looked at the number on the card and the one scrawled in Geto’s handwriting. He had to assume that the handwritten one was Geto’s cell. So Toji sent a simple text.

- I could use your help. 

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess what Geto Suguru would have offered you. Toji did his homework on the kid after their first meeting. He wasn’t the type to deal with a problem while uninformed. Geto had something like a gang, but it was probably more aptly named a cult: a group of people who worshiped him as their leader and looked up to him as someone who might turn the tides of the city where the strong led the weak. Toji wasn’t overly interested in the kid’s’ manifesto. He was interested in connections, strong people who might have a problem with their lord and savior getting beaten to a pulp. There weren’t many who would pose Toji a problem. What Toji didn’t know was his exact connection to Sukuna and whether or not the man was expendable to him. He could find that out.

- I know you were a smart girl. What do you say we go out for dinner?

- I’d like to meet somewhere private. I know I’m being watched. 

- Even smarter. I’ll send you an address, date and time. 

Toji waited for a bit and soon enough Geto sent all the information Toji asked for and Toji wrote it before sending Geto a message not to contact you again and then deleting the entire thread. This would be a problem that he handled without the need for you to be worried at all. By this time tomorrow he will have beaten Geto up to a pulp and that facet of your problem would be dealt with. 

It was a few days, more than enough time for you to show that you never had any intentions of contacting Geto. You never went looking for the business card, and you continued your usual routine of going to work and back home with a couple of random shopping trips in between. He appreciated that you were not a particularly complicated or over secretive woman, at least not with him. It made it easier to keep an eye out for you. He didn’t have to ask you to leave your location on, you just had it on, which made sense when you were worried about an actual psycho ex. He only kept this stuff a secret because you always put up a fight with him when he let it be known that he was going to handle your problem with your ex, but it was just a statement of fact.  He was in this with you now because he liked you. Well, what he felt for you was far more intense than just “like” but to call it anything else was simply too much to admit ever to himself. It wasn’t a groundbreaking confession or anything but it bothered him sometimes. He just had to like a woman that was wrapped up with one of the most dangerous people he knew of. Maybe it was karma. He’d spent so many years putting money over the lives of his fellow man and now here he was. If anyone hired him to do a job like this the price he would have requested probably could have set him up for life, now here he was doing it at a loss for you. It was almost laughable. 

He got to the location early of course. It was a pretty remote alley, the perfect place to snatch up a woman and have no one be the wiser. He was glad you weren’t actually in a place like this. Despite being in the location first he was well hidden. Geto wouldn’t know he was there until it was far too late. 

Toji used to do this kind of thing for a living. He was good at it and this job would have earned him a pretty penny back in the day. Now it was actually costing him money. He gave you a nice chunk of change to spend all day in the salon. Still, even working at a loss he wasn’t bitter about it. He wasn’t even angry really, more resigned to his fate. It was really quite simple. You were his now, and would be for as long you cared to be, and anyone who tried to cut his time short with you would be dealt with. He liked to call himself a changed man but really, much of his motivations hadn’t changed at all, only his methods. There was a bigger picture for him now, things that he wanted that he didn’t care about in his twenties, things like a house, maybe a dog, you said you didn’t mind dogs. He had a kid. He could tell despite your initial acceptance of his lack of relationship with his child, you were bothered by it, so maybe he’d make an effort there so you’d stop frowning at him every time the subject of father’s came up. For the longest time, Toji thought that he would never find anyone that made him feel the way his first wife had made him feel. In a way he was right. 

Back then, he didn’t know how easy everything goes. Anything he got his hands on could so quickly be taken away. He gave up everything cold turkey, still playing it hard and fast with life and she was right there with him. The experiences were just different. He wasn’t gambling away money, but he was devouring all the good things that come from love without a thought for the future. When you play things hard and fast sure it’s fun while the good times are still rolling but when they stop it hits hard, and things go down fast. He’d nearly lost his mind when he lost her… maybe he had. 

This was… different. Still a bit fast by most people’s standards but for Toji, the two of you were moving at a snail’s pace. Though he’d long since made up his mind about you he was taking his time before revealing that he could and would do just about anything for you. He sighed at that, more disappointed that it was the truth than anything else. He couldn’t think of a single thing he wouldn’t do if you asked it of him. It was ridiculous, more than a little pathetic, but a truth he’d accepted months ago when he woke up at your side for the first time. 

Geto parked his car at the end of the alley and Toji. Which was the only way out of the alley. It led to a dead end. He wasn’t completely blocking it, but if you had intended to come you wouldn’t be able to leave easily. Toji peered through the dashboard to see the same asshole from before in the passenger seat. If you had been stupid enough to go to Geto for help, he never would have accepted a no. It was a good thing that you weren’t prone to that exact brand of idiocy. You were a martyr but not one without a cause. Toji waited until Geto was a good distance away from his car, so that when Toji exited the building he would be between the mouth of the alley and his car. He didn’t expect the other guy to be able to see enough to join in. Toji suspected they had a signal or something. Mahito was in a great position to stop escapes from the alley, and drive off quickly. He was not in a good position to see anything happening in said alley. 

Toji stepped out of the building and into the alley with a heavy sigh, “You know this was too easy. I thought I might have to work a bit harder to get the Lord of the new world in a precarious position but… man, you really think my woman’s an idiot.”

“Au contraire, I thought she finally had an intelligent thought. Do you think you can protect her from Sukuna.” 

Toji shrugged, “And besides, I told you that if I saw you again I’d beat you to death. I saw you again after my match. And I’m a man of my word… that is unless you can help me put together a few pieces.” 

Geto did not seem in the least bit worried, “Hm… She reported right to you huh? Damn you trained her fast or maybe she’s just eager to please.”

“A lot of things could happen to you in this alley right now. I know what is going to happen. But I could be persuaded towards other resolutions. I know people who would pay for your head served up on a silver platter. I also know someone else looking for you, and I’m sure you don’t want him knowing where you are and what you’re doing. so think carefully about how you talk to me.” 

Geto narrowed his snake-like eyes at him as his lips tugged down into a frown. He could tell that Toji wasn’t bluffing at all. 

“I just wanted to offer her an alternative to being the next body someone found in a river. Sukuna’s already interested in taking your life, and he’s eager to get his hands back on her. he was crazy about that woman so maybe he’d just kill you. I don’t pretend to understand the thoughts of a mad man.” 

“Right, because you’re so sane. How could you even begin to help her out of her situation, huh?”

“I could take care of her,” Geto shrugged. A sly smile began to spread across his face. 

Toji laughed, one hard guffaw of genuine amusement, “Slow it down, kid. If you honestly think I’m gonna step aside and let anyone take her from me then you’re stupider than you look.”

“I’m her best bet. If Sukuna gets a hold of her again… well I’m afraid there won’t be much left of her to covet. I always liked the way she carried herself, even under Sukuna’s thumb she stood out. There aren’t many people worthy of the air they breathe but that woman… that woman’s really something. I hate to see a face like that go to waste.” 

“Look I don’t really give a fuck about your crush on my woman. You’re not her type-”

“Right, she likes ‘em big, stupid, and violent.” 

Toji raised an eyebrow, supremely amused by Geto’s appraisal, “Real violent. And I owe you an ass kickin’. Let’s get down to business.” 

You pulled up to the house and was surprised to see that Toji wasn’t home. He didn’t say he was going anywhere, but he seemed like he meant to spend the day in. You were fine with that. You were craving soul food and preferred to start in an empty house anyway. Toji had a way of distracting you when he was around. He was just too hot for his own good.

You tried not to, but it was hard not to compare your last serious relationship with this one. You weren’t so much comparing the two men, moreso you were comparing yourself. Sometimes you’d catch yourself looking at Toji and feeling so very happy to know him and your heart would do this weird fluttery thing and you felt soft and young and it made you want to start problems on purpose. Which you knew was stupid so you seldom ever opened your mouth about it. It was just that you didn’t like how soft you felt about him sometimes, because it reminded you of how you used to feel all those years ago, before you knew better.

Like now, you were getting ready to make dinner for him. You would have been fine with what was in the house, but Toji liked your cooking, and he was curious about soul food, and obviously soul food was never any good from a restaurant, so you would have to make it. And it wasn’t like he made you cook for him all the time. In fact he faithfully cooked breakfast every morning because he woke up earlier than you, but you just wanted to and it felt so… domestic. You huffed. This cycle of thinking was killing you. It was slowly killing you. Why couldn’t you just be happy to be happy? Why did you have to make it so complicated? Why were you scared of happiness?

The answer to that was quite simple actually. Life had a way of knocking you off cloud nine, and curb stomping you into the concrete. Every time you were happy you couldn’t help but to think about how bad all of this was going to hurt when it fell apart.

Toji came back around the time you put the sweet potatoes on, which was hours into you cooking. Everything else needed to be cooked low and slow so the sweet potatoes were one of the last things you put on the stove. You looked at your phone for the time and saw it was close to 5. 

“Hey, old man,” you greeted, peeking your head out of the kitchen in time to see him fall onto the sofa. Something about it made you pause in the doorway. It set off something in the back of your mind. You read somewhere, right after you got out of your shitty abusive relationship that survivors of domestic abuse could be hypersensitive to the moods of others. It was true for you. You knew that you had a bad habit of trying to anticipate other’s actions. For the most part you tried to ignore the subliminal messages you perceived about someone else’s mood and just wait for them to talk to you, but something was up with Toji. 

“Are you… good?” You asked hesitantly. 

“Perfect,” he said on a sigh. 

That really didn’t help so you continued into the living room slowly, keeping an eye on him, well mostly the back of his head until you came around the sofa and looked at him. He appeared mostly normal, maybe a bit tired. Perhaps he just came back from the gym. 

“Whatever you’re cooking smells fucking delicious,” he continued slowly opening his eyes to look at you. 

“Glad you think so. It’ll be ready in a few.” 

You took a step back then slowly turned on your heel, trying to make sense of the weird feeling you had. Maybe it was just nerves. You were just thinking about all the way this relationship could go wrong. You took a deep breath and set your nerves aside to continue what you were doing. 

“Everything’s gonna be just fine” you said under your breath to calm the nagging anxiety fluttering in the pit of your stomach. 

You were at work when you got the call. It was an unknown number so you didn’t bother answering, but you remembered having a weird feeling about it. A few hours later your best friend’s mother called you while you were on a lunch break. You answered, that woman didn’t call you without good reason. This was the first time in years the two of you would be talking. 

“There was an accident,” she began, and your whole world felt like it was crumbling. You listened, barely breathing, staring sightlessly ahead. There was an accident. Niecey worked in your old hometown and her mother didn’t have the time or the resources to go up there at the moment. She was asking if you could go instead. She was asking you to go back to the city that Sukuna lived in. You tried to focus on her words, and not the heavy frantic beating of your heart. 

“Please, I can’t stand the thought of her being there alone.” 

“I’ll go,” you breathed, “I’ll go. I’ll get on a flight tonight.”

“Thank you so much. I wouldn’t ask if I-”

“Stop, it’s okay. It’s the least I could do really… I need to start setting things up.” 

“Right. Bye, baby.”
“Buh-bye.” You hung up and looked again at the unknown number that had called you only a couple hours before. Maybe it had been the hospital… but the hospital would have left a voicemail. This caller did not. There was every chance that this was just a weird coincidence, however something inside you told you it was anything but. You managed to keep it together long enough to tell your supervisor that there was a family emergency and you would have to leave. You called Toji on the way back to the house so you could start packing your shit and go buy a plane ticket. 

“I’ll order the plane tickets, we’ll be on the first thing out of here.” 

“You don’t have to come I know-”

“Like hell you’re going there without me. Don’t be stupid. I’m going.” 

You let out a defeated sigh, you weren’t in the mood to argue with him, “Fine. Whatever. Okay. I just need to get there. I don’t fucking- I don’t know what I’ll do if she- if she-” You couldn’t even bring yourself to say the words. That woman was your rock. She was everything to you. Men could come and go but that woman was your constant. And you felt like an ass because the two of you hadn’t been talking as often as you used to, and you had to move across the country from her all because of a stupid decision you made in your youth. All of it felt like it was crashing down on you. You couldn’t even allow yourself to cry about it. You didn’t have that kind of time, and you were driving on the highway. So you put all of the tumultuous emotions raging in your chest into a little drawer in the back of your mind, and you shut it. You slammed it closed. Now wasn’t the time for you to fall apart. You didn’t have that luxury. 

If you were honest, most of the transitory stuff was a blur. Toji already had half of your bags packed. You just needed to add a few more things. He assured you that you would just buy your hair products and things like that when you were there. You didn’t even blink at the fact that Toji got first class tickets. It was probably a necessity from how big he was. You thought maybe once you were on the plane you would cry, since you had a long flight to sit through, but it was like your body just decided to shut down. You fell asleep right after lift off, with your head resting against Toji and his arm around your shoulders. 

When you arrived, you got checked into a hotel pretty close to the hospital, and then the two of you went to go see Niecey. She was in the ICU. You were listed as her emergency contact. Her mother must have also named you her sister just to ensure that you’d be able to see her when you got here. You were grateful for that because it saved you from arguing with anyone. 

“It was a hit and run,” the doctor told you, “police haven’t found the suspect but the wreck was bad. She’s lucky to be alive.” He said gravely. 

She was T-boned at an intersection. If they’d hit the driver’s side she’d be dead. She was lucky, all things considered. If she pulled through she might heal completely from her injuries. With a little physical therapy she could resume her life as it was before. She was lucky. That’s what everyone kept saying. Lucky, would have been not getting hit. She wasn’t lucky. Toji couldn’t come back with you into the room. It was fine by you, you didn’t want him to see Niecey for the first time like this. 

You and Niecey met in college. Two black girls in a PWI, struggling to stay sane. She was smart. She was accomplished. You’d been proud of all of her achievements, been there to celebrate all of them and you felt like you’d only ever shown her you worst since graduation. Maybe it was selfish but you wanted a chance to show her a win. To give her something to be proud of the way you were proud of her. You stared at her lying in the hospital, bruised beyond recognition. 

What’s awful is that when you were dating Sukuna she used to fret about having to see you like this. It was the only time two of you really fought. It was the only time she yelled at you, really yelled at you and it was because she was scared for you. 

“I don’t want to be the one to get that call that he’s fucking beat your ass! Or- Or worse! That shit don’t get better! People like him don’t fucking get better! People like you just wind up in body bags!” She yelled at you and you could still hear her voice crystal clear. Your phone rang and you answered it without looking, too numb to really even think about it. You half expected it to be Niecey’s mom, or maybe Toji. You did not expect the voice over the phone. 

“Oh, you answered this time.” 

You were already stock still, but you were pretty sure that your very heart stopped as you listened to the voice on the line, “Sukuna, how did you get this number?” 

“I feel like you have bigger issues on your hands. How’s Denise? Bet she’s doing about as well as Geto is right now.”

“You-” You didn’t even know where to start, “You did this? Why? What does Geto have to do with anything? I don’t-”

“Well someone messed him up pretty good. I’m not crazy about the guy but he did have his uses and now he’s useless to me, thanks to the piece of shit you’re whoring yourself out for.”

“I didn’t- I didn’t even know-”

“Shut up,” he said cruelly, “I’m not done speaking. You wanted out, you’ve got it. You’re out, and I’m going to treat you like I treat every other piece of shit that’s in my way. This is an eye for an eye. And we’re  not nearly even, yet.” He hung up and you stood there devastated. 

Toji was in the waiting room, waiting for you to leave your friend’s side. He’d never met the woman, but he’d heard her voice on the phone and it was obvious that the two of you were close. He was ready to be waiting for a while. He did not expect to see you speed walking towards him with tears in your eyes. You looked like you were on a warpath. He stood up reflexively, because obviously the two of you needed to go somewhere quickly. He did not expect you to hit him. You punched him right in the chest. It was a solid hit with a good amount of strength in it. And then you hit him again in the stomach.

“Hey, what the fuck?” He reached out and grabbed your arms as you continued your assault. 

“You stupid fucking asshole! This is your fault! I told you to stay out of it! I fucking told you!” you yelled at him as you tried to shake off his grasp. He grabbed you by the shoulders and shook you a bit. 

“What the hell are you talking about? How the fuck is this my fault?” 

“What did you do to Geto?”

He blinked, “Huh?”

You tried to push away from him with your hands on his chest, “Don’t fucking ‘huh’ me. I know you heard me. He did this to her because of you! I can’t stand the sight of you. How could you?”

“Talk to me,” he demanded, green eyes wide with worry. You hated it. You hated how genuinely worried he seemed, how he wasn’t mad at all. You wanted to hit him again. You wanted to keep hitting him. 

A hard sob shook through your body as you spoke, “Sukuna. He- he did this to her, because you- you-” you couldn’t even get it out because you were crying and you hated it. You wiped at your face angrily and Toji began to pull you into him. You smacked at his body trying to shove him away… but in the end… in the end you just surrendered into it. You let him hold you, because you didn’t hate him at all not even a little bit. 

Toji let you cry it out. He understood now. This was his fault.

Next Chapter

Tag List:

@turtle-ishtendencies,@thisissomeoneelse,@emonaculate

Emile Hirsch in Alpha Dog (2006)

Guys

I currently have a Paul Dano brainrot.

Klitz Headcanons pt. 2 (The Girl Next Door)

• he enjoys forehead kisses
• hates the texture of peanut butter but loves the taste
• he is allergic to oreos
• can appreciate a blink 182 song every once in a while
• carrots reminded him too much as penises as a child and now he refuses to eat them
• klitz listens to evanescence when he gets upset
• he has a re occurring pimple on his left elbow
• klitz didn’t need glasses originally, he found his dad’s glasses and just started wearing them and his eyes eventually adjusted
• the longest he’s gone without showering is six weeks
• his favorite animal is a beaver
• when it gets really hot out klitz will shave his armpits
• he says its for comfort but eli teases him for it 
• his favorite flavor of beef jerky is terryaki
• a few years after high school, klitz was an extra on criminal minds season 1
• he is afraid of the amish
• he has considered selling feet pics for extra cash before, but he is too anxious his mother would find out
• he has a lock of his baby hair hanging on a nail in his bedroom
• he still doesn’t understand how a tampon works
• his favorite socks are orange
• he is too afraid to turn left on streets
• he will turn as many rights as he needs to so he can avoid a left
• that results in him sometimes going in circles
• his cousin was a finalist on american idol and it gave him semi fame in his high school for about a week
• he has a piss drawer
• HATES WEEZER

-

tag list: @beenz-beenz@fikism@liveforkarljacobs@colorsofjun@kr4lie@slut-for-matt-murdock@dani5216@uwiuwi@alohastyles-x@samanthacookieone@maddieinnit0@nluvsdano@slut-for-matt-murdock@rosepaintedblack