When faced with the demands of the strongest sorcerer, your family can't possibly protest. Well, not that they would have wanted to, anyway. They must be happy they don't have to deal with you anymore.
Out of sheer spite, your mother insisted you live with the rest of the clan and be forced into a life of cruelty and discrimination, but even she would never dare defy Gojo Satoru. Besides, her wish has already been fulfilled. You still won't have a shot at a normal life. Even if you had been given the right to choose for yourself, now that you've met Satoru and discovered what world this is, there's no way you would ever take the easy way out.
For better or worse, you will be a jujutsu sorcerer.
True to his word, Satoru was able to convince the Gojo Clan members to let you stay with them. You're not sure exactly what he told them, but he may as well be their deity. Granted, he's still only a kid, but in the grand scheme of things, bringing in a single girl to stay at the estate isn't that big of a deal. It isn't a difficult request to fulfill. Based on the way everyone turns up their noses at the sight of you, however, you can tell they aren't too happy about it.
"No one here will ever hurt you," Satoru promises. He keeps glancing over at you every few seconds as he leads you through the grounds of the estate-which is massive, might you add. He's a lot more attentive than you were expecting. The way he's looking at you makes you feel like you're a weak, helpless baby bird. Which you might as well be, in all fairness.
You nod and smile brightly. "Okay. Thank you, Satoru. I'm really happy to be here."
"Are your injuries really painful?" he asks with a frown. "We don't have anyone here that knows how to convert cursed energy into positive energy. But if I try asking, maybe they can reach out to another clan and bring someone over to heal you."
"You don't need to go to the trouble. I'll be okay."
Satoru watches as your grin somehow gets even wider, despite the fact that the bruised, swollen parts of your face must be aching uncontrollably. He's not sure why you're always smiling so much. It's not like you ever had any reason to smile. Not with how horribly your family has always treated you.
Then again, that's exactly what drew him in. Your warm, sunny disposition, which is so starkly different from what he's used to. Even if it doesn't make much sense, a smile suits you. He likes seeing you smile.
He's already decided that he's going to protect that smile of yours.
You're given a nice place to stay. Satoru insisted that you live in the same building as him. It's obvious that he wants to keep you nearby, in case anyone dares to try anything. Although you're willing to bet that they won't risk upsetting him. Not when he's made it clear that you're off-limits.
It's kind of crazy how much power and authority a literal child has.
Gojo Satoru is in a class of his own. The details of his upbringing were never openly disclosed in the anime or manga, but you know for a fact that he didn't have anyone he could truly call a close friend. Not until he met Suguru.
You may be hopelessly weak for now, but if nothing else, you'll make it so that he never has to feel lonely.
That night, you settle into your big, spacious room. You didn't bring anything along with you for the move. It's not like you had any personal belongings to speak of. Certainly nothing valuable, either. Your new room is a bit empty right now, save for a few decorations here and there, but you resolve to brighten it up and make it your own. All in due time.
Before you tuck in for bed, Satoru stops by.
"Hi," he greets, poking his head into the room. "You don't mind if I come in for a bit, right?"
"Of course not," you smile. "Go right ahead."
He nods and steps inside. There's a clan member waiting by the doorway, and they flash you a brief glare before turning their back towards you and sliding the door shut. As expected, you're far from popular. They probably think you're just a hindrance, or maybe even a distraction. You're not sure if they'll ever change how they feel about you, but it's definitely better than staying with your own family.
Besides, as long as Satoru likes you, that's more than enough.
"Is this room okay?" he asks, kneeling down onto a cushion. "If you don't like it, I can get you a different room instead."
"It's perfect," you reassure.
"Really? You can be honest. I can tell that you're the kind of person to hide how you feel because you don't want to upset anyone else. I already know your dad is the one who beat you, but it didn't look like you were going to rat him out."
"I just didn't want to stir up even more of a fuss. Besides, seeing other people get hurt won't make me feel any better. I'm happy enough just to be here. Again, thank you, Satoru. For helping me."
You sure like to thank him a lot. He's not really used to being thanked-for anything, really. He's being trained and brought up as the strongest sorcerer. It's a given that he's meant to save and protect those who are weaker than him. But you don't take any of that for granted. You're never shy about showing your appreciation. You want him to know how much every one of his gestures means to you.
He likes that. He likes it a lot.
"If it's alright, I'm going to try and go to sleep now," you say. "I'm pretty tired. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Oh. Did you want to spend the night in my room? Like a sleepover? Would you be allowed to do that?"
Satoru blinks. The invitation catches him off guard, and he watches as you pat the spot beside you, on your futon, still smiling brightly.
He turns away in a hurry, cheeks red.
"I-It's fine," he stammers. "I should sleep in my own room. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It seems like you are, so... I'll leave now. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," you happily reply, but Satoru is already out the door, nearly tripping over his feet in the process.
You giggle at the sight. He's so adorable. You can't even express how happy you are to be here. The future may look grim, but you're determined to change it, no matter what it takes.
That night, you dream of a world where Gojo Satoru is saved.
*****
"Satoru. Here, try this. I made yummy rice balls for us to eat. There's a secret ingredient inside. Can you guess what it is?"
Satoru reaches out and takes a rice ball into his hands, furrowing his brows as he looks it over. As far as rice balls go, it looks pretty normal. It's actually rolled up really neatly. He's surprised you made this yourself. You did a pretty good job.
"Secret ingredient, huh?" Satoru shrugs. "Sure, I'll try it."
He takes a big bite, and although he's not really sure what he was expecting, it definitely wasn't this.
"Gross!" he exclaims, immediately spitting it out of his mouth and onto the ground. He then proceeds to stare at the inside of the rice ball he just bit into. "Did you... you actually put chocolate inside of this? Disgusting! What's wrong with you?!"