Gaiden - Zenin Zoro 14

Just before Fushiguro Megumi faced Fushiguro Toji.

Zenin Zoro was quietly watching the sleeping Fushiguro Toji on the bed.

In fact, Zoro hadn't had many opportunities to watch the sleeping Toji for this long. Toji was sensitive to his surroundings and would quickly wake up if someone watched him. Knowing this, Zoro never bothered to look at him while he was asleep.

'He must be really exhausted.'

...Or he might have taken too many hits.

Zoro clicked his tongue as he looked at the large wound on Toji's stomach, clearly inflicted by his father. Though Toji, being a zero-cursed energy Heavenly Restriction, recovered quickly since Zenin Toji didn't aim to kill Fushiguro Toji with the Rankyaku.

"He's always so rough on himself."

Even though he wasn't alive but possessed, it was still another version of himself from another world, yet he was treated too harshly.

When Zoro heard that unconscious Fushiguro Toji was stored in the weapon storage curse along with Uraume's corpse, he couldn't help but shake his head.

'If it were me or Megumi that had been possessed, he wouldn't have done that.'

"Are you in a position to say that?"

Hearing an old woman's voice, Zoro turned around. As if sensing the approaching presence, Fushiguro Toji's body twitched, and Zoro patted him soothingly.

An elderly woman with completely white hair was walking toward him with her back straight. She had a mental technique that stabilized the side effects of jujutsu.

Although she was practically retired, she never refused Zoro's requests.

Zoro raised his eyebrows slightly.

"What did I do?"

"You treat your body too roughly. It makes those watching you nervous."

"I take care of my body."

"You take care of it after countless other things, and that's the problem."

The old woman gave a light rebuke, blinking as if she had forgotten something. Then she stepped back a few steps and deeply bowed to Zoro. Zoro, looking annoyed, waved his hand dismissively.

"There's no need to do that every time. I'm the one asking for help here."

"How could that be? You saved my daughter and me."

Zoro thought about saying more but stopped when he saw the old woman's smiling face. He knew from experience that she wouldn't listen anyway.

"Are you ready?"

The first thing Zoro prepared for after waking up was to stabilize Fushiguro Toji's possession.

To prevent him from ending up as a mindless killing puppet.

To ensure that his body and soul would never be used for another stupid jujutsu practitioner's experiments again.

Zoro touched Fushiguro Toji's forehead and frowned.

"His body is a bit hot."

"Even though we've stabilized him, the possession has been going on for too long. He's also wounded. But being a zero-cursed energy Heavenly Restriction, he'll calm down soon."

And... the old woman hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"There is something I need to tell you about his possession."

Zoro listened quietly to the old woman's words.

"...!"

His gray eyes widened, then deepened as if lost in thought.

Fushiguro Toji's eyelids trembled as if he was about to wake up. Zoro watched him quietly and then spoke.

"...We'll talk about that later, just the two of us."

For now, could you call Fushiguro Megumi?

...

"..."

Fushiguro Megumi looked around the room where Fushiguro Toji was.

Contrary to his vague expectation that it would look like a prison cell for sorcerers in Jujutsu High, the room resembled an ordinary hospital room. Plain wallpaper. Minimal furniture. A clean bed.

...And on that bed, Fushiguro Toji sat alone.

He had no restraints or bindings on him. Whether it was because they trusted he wouldn't do anything reckless, or because they believed they could overpower him no matter what he tried, was unclear.

It was likely the latter. Standing next to the bed where Fushiguro Toji sat was Zenin Zoro.

Toji quickly dodged Zoro's hand, which was reaching for his forehead as if to check his temperature.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking your temperature."

"Ha. You think someone like me would have a fever?"

"You did a while ago."

"Oh, really?"

Fushiguro Toji replied dismissively, clearly not believing him at all.

Fushiguro Megumi quietly watched his father. As he felt when he first saw Zenin Toji, he really did look a lot like him.

'Gojo-sensei said I was like a carbon copy when he first saw me too.'

Of course, back then, he didn't know who he was being compared to.

On the other hand, the man standing beside Toji, Zenin Zoro, aside from their build, bore no resemblance to him at all. In another world, it would be hard to believe this man was Zoro's father.

Fushiguro Toji's green eyes rolled over to his son. For a brief moment, the father and son's gazes met.

...But it was only for a brief moment. Fushiguro Toji looked away indifferently, as if he felt no emotion towards him.

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, Fushiguro Megumi's eyes widened. For a moment, he thought about turning around and leaving the room.

But his feet wouldn't move.

Zenin Zoro approached Megumi and patted him on the shoulder.

"Go ahead and talk. I'll be nearby, so let me know if anything happens."

Creak, slam. With those words, Zoro left the two of them alone and exited the room.

Silence filled the room. Fushiguro Megumi continued to glare at Toji, who was staring elsewhere—at the ceiling, the window, or the wallpaper, anything but his son.

Eventually, Toji turned his head towards Megumi.

Since the memories from his time as a rampaging killing puppet were hazy and fragmented, it couldn't be said that this was their first meeting. But it was the first time seeing each other with clear minds.

Feelings of joy, gladness, or pride... honestly, he didn't feel any of that. The self-deprecating thought of "what a piece of trash" crossed his mind, but when had Fushiguro Toji not been trash?

However...

'So he's grown this much already.'

That dry thought occurred to him.

Fushiguro Toji didn't know the exact year it was now. 2018? 2020? Seeing his son in the Jujutsu High uniform, he looked to be at least 15 years old.

'Was I sixteen or seventeen when I left the Zenin family?'

While he had been dead, his son had grown to about the age he was when he left the Zenin family.

It was a rather strange feeling.

As Fushiguro Toji looked at his son's green eyes, brimming with resentment and sorrow, he spoke calmly.

"If you have something to say, say it."

At those words, Fushiguro Megumi instead clamped his mouth shut.

He had more than enough resentment to pour out.

From the small things, like not being able to remember his parents' faces and only being able to draw Tsumiki's face for a school assignment about family,

To the servants who would whisper, asking why the head of the Gojo family protected him so fervently, saying he was practically the son of a jujutsu sorcerer when he happened to visit the Gojo estate.

The fate of being a jujutsu sorcerer, decided from birth because he carried Fushiguro Toji's blood.

Memories of fighting, bleeding, and getting injured without anyone to rely on, witnessing the death of his comrades.

However, despite all the resentment and curses, the first thing that came out of Fushiguro Megumi's mouth was something different.

"My... name."

Fushiguro Toji's eyes trembled slightly, as if he hadn't expected this question.

"Why did you name me like this?"

Although "Zenin Toji" had already explained that "Megumi" was not a name given due to a mistake in gender, but with the meaning of blessing from before birth.

"Fushiguro Toji" and "Zenin Toji" were different people.

Therefore, Fushiguro Megumi wanted to hear it directly from his father.

Fushiguro Toji, looking at his son's face mixed with hope and desperation, remained silent for a moment. He considered making up a story, but then he thought, since he was already dead and would soon die again, there was no reason to hide the truth anymore.

"It was a name not permitted to me."

Unlike him, who was given the name with a character meaning 'intense' and 'you' without any blessings, his son was born with innate jujutsu power and techniques.

Sensing the strong jujutsu energy from his wife's womb, Fushiguro Toji fervently wished.

Don't break, don't lose, don't be cursed like me...

So, the name Megumi (Blessing).

—Take care of Megumi.

Fushiguro Toji recalled his wife's last words and closed his eyes.

Not confident he could fulfill her request, he left the child to others. First to Naobito, then to Gojo Satoru.

However... one thing still bothered him. Whether this child was a Zenin or not.

The Zenin clan treated children with techniques better than anyone.

But Megumi was also the son of someone they treated like a monkey.

"Are you a Zenin?"

"I'm Fushiguro."

"I see...."

Fushiguro Megumi saw a faint mix of worry and relief flash across his father's face.

"That's good."

In that moment, Megumi realized.

He might be trash as a human and a father.

But what this man gave him wasn't only curses.

'There was something else.'

Even if it was just a little, even if it was just for a moment, Fushiguro Megumi...

...was loved by this man.

Fushiguro Megumi burst into tears. Fushiguro Toji, seeing his son cry for the first time, widened his eyes in surprise.

Watching his son cry, he hesitated for a moment, then got up from the bed and approached Fushiguro Megumi.

As he awkwardly stood there, Fushiguro Megumi grabbed his collar and pulled him into a rough embrace.

Neither of them wrapped their arms around each other, and with their bodies reinforced with jujutsu, it felt more like a violent clash than an embrace. But Fushiguro Toji didn't point it out.

Instead, he offered the apology he should have given long ago.

"I'm sorry."

—Take care of Megumi.

"...I'm sorry."

...

[Author's Note]

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