All things considered, it 's not the

worst

possible outcome for the fight.

Most importantly, Toji is alive, and Maki still has a father. Maybe he could 've gone without Gojo being alive too, but hey, he 's got kids, right? Plus they 're adopted, which probably means their real daddy is six feet under already, and Toji wouldn 't want to be the one paying the therapy bills if that happened

again.

Toji still hasn 't really begun to process the career offer, but if the kid 's even half-right about the kind of money he 'd make from it, it 's just too damn good to refuse.

Besides, Toji would be lying if he said he didn 't

desperately

need a new job. He 's so goddamn tired of sneaking out at night, dodging questions whenever Maki asks about work, and dumping bleach in his shower to cut through the bloodstains on the pristine porcelain. This isn 't exactly what he had in mind for a replacement, but he 's not in a position to be picky about it. At least this way he gets to use his best -- more like, his

only

-- skillset in a more protected and organized manner. Really, it 's probably the best alternative out there.

...that said, Toji 's having a hell of a tough time gulping down the regret as he watches Gojo meander around his apartment as if he owns the place, tracking dirt, blood, and slush onto his (real!) hardwood floors in gross muddy footprints.

'Oi, I don 't remember invitin ' you inside,'' Toji huffs as the brat drags his ridiculously blue eyes across the walls of his residence. 'You better fix my door before my daughter gets back from her sleepover. '

Gojo blinks at him dumbly. 'Huh? How am I supposed to do that? '

'I dunno, use your sorcery shit or whatever. '

'Uh, that 's not how that works. '

God, then what 's the fucking point? 'Then figure it out, asshole. I 'm not explainin ' to her why it looks like a crappy zombie apocalypse movie got filmed on our front lawn. '

But Gojo just shrugs at him. 'That sounds like a

'you '

problem. '

'Oh, I 'll show you a

'you '

problem, ' Toji growls. 'I have neighbors, ya know. How the hell am I supposed to explain all the weird magical shit they just saw? '

Gojo flaps a hand dismissively. 'Relax, they didn 't see a thing. That 's what the curtain 's for! I 'll have my people stop by and clean up before sunrise. ' He folds his arms weakly. 'So take a chill pill, guy. '

The only pills Toji wants to take right now are painkillers. 'And who would

'your people '

be, exactly? '

The brat taps a finger on his chin a few times before responding. 'Uh, if you see a real gloomy guy with middle-parted black hair and glasses, just leave him alone and let him do his thing. Don 't worry, though. He 's super used to cleaning up my messes! '

Toji suddenly feels a deep sense of camaraderie with this nameless stranger. 'Whatever. ' At least he won 't have to come up with some flimsy excuse for why the snow outside is more red than white now. Maybe Yuuji would believe him if he said a ketchup truck exploded, but he 'd probably be the only person in the universe who would buy it.

Gojo keeps teetering around the apartment like a rickety wind-up toy, stopping every few moments to try to hide how much he 's stumbling. He peeks his nosy head past Maki 's door frame. 'This your kid 's room? '

Setting his jaw, 'Step one foot in there, and it 'll be the last thing you ever do. '

'Ooh,

scary, '

Gojo drawls, but he listens anyway. Toji wonders how much of his bravado is really just for show. Eh, best not to dive into the kid 's psyche.

That

feels like it would be a slippery slope he couldn 't climb back up from.

The kid walks away and exhaustion seems to get the best of him for a moment, because he steps in a particularly wet footprint of his and almost slips right over onto his bony ass. Heh. Serves him right.

But as much as he 'd love to see the brat eat hardwood, he 'd rather not have to scrub off a body-shaped splat in his living room. He marches over to Gojo and grabs a fistful of his shredded shirt, openly reveling in the split-second panic that flashes across his face. He drags him to the kitchen like a ragdoll and plops him down into one of the barstools. The kid makes a face similar to when Maki and Yuuji tried to give a stray cat a shower.

'New challenge. Sit still for like, five whole seconds, ' Toji demands with an exasperated sigh. The brat starts fidgeting with a loose button on his sleeve cuff almost immediately, and Toji snorts. 'Whoa, think you made it three. I was betting on two seconds, to be honest. Tell ya what, I 'll give you a participant trophy. '

Gojo sticks out his tongue at him. Nice, real mature. 'Hey, gimme some water. I need to replenish my fluids. '

Lord, what an awful sentence.

'Fluids, '

Toji grumbles. Is it too late to drown him? Toji wants to drown him. Still, he grabs a glass from his cabinet and fills it with tap water, plunking it down in front of him with a little splash.

'Order up, valued customer. ' Toji gives back a toothy grin when the brat shoots him an annoyed glare. He gulps down the water surprisingly fast, grimacing at the way some of it trickles down his neck.

Honestly, Toji can 't deny that he also feels pretty gross. The blood on his chest is starting to crust over and his back must look like a bowl of Spaghetti-O 's. He quickly darts back into his bathroom to grab some soap and shampoo then returns to the kitchen to start washing up over the sink. No

way

he 's trusting the brat alone in his house while he takes a shower. He 'd say he doesn 't trust him as far as he could throw him, but he can actually throw this fucker pretty far.

Gojo is looking at the soap wistfully. It 'd be a little sad if Toji gave even one iota of a shit about him.

The brat squirms, and Toji rolls his eyes. 'Get over here if you 're just gonna stare at me all bug-eyed, weirdo. Not like I want you to be drippin ' your insides all over my apartment, either. '

The kid perks up, as if he wasn 't expecting that. After another beat, he pads over to the sink as Toji steps aside to towel his hair dry with one of his dish rags. Fantastic, another thing to add to the laundry list of items he needs to replace after tonight.

Still. Look at him, being all courteous and considerate to the kid who almost killed him,

twice.

He seriously deserves a medal. Toji picks up the soap and whams it on the countertop beside him.

...and of

course

Gojo makes him instantly regret it. 'Ugh, why do you use

5 in 1

shampoo?! That 's murder on your hair follicles! '

'What the fuck is a follicle?! '

Gojo groans as he begins lathering then pulls a face as he inspects his soapy hair. 'Seriously! How do you live like this? '

Jackass. Toji folds his arms. 'Live like what? '

Gojo picks up the bottle and thrusts it in Toji 's face, jabbing a soapy finger at the label as if that somehow answers the question. 'This! ' He slams it back down beside him and resumes rinsing out his old-man hair until the water runs clear. He whips up his head and shakes out his locks like a dog after a bath, getting little speckles of water all over his entire kitchen. Fuck, Toji really wants to squeeze that holier-than-thou attitude right out of this asshole.

'Do you have a blowdryer? ' he has the audacity to ask.

Is this guy for real? 'Nah, but how about you go climb into the dryer in the laundry room? I 'll put it on a fluff cycle for ya. '

Gojo levels him a flat, unimpressed look as Toji cracks up at his own joke. If the brat can 't appreciate Toji 's superior sense of humor, that 's on him.

He plucks up another dishrag and rings his white hair as dry as he can get it -- which is to say, not very. 'I can 't believe I 'm stuck with you now. '

Already?!

Toji bristles. 'Oi! This was your idea! And it hasn 't even been fifteen minutes! '

Besides, it 's not like anything is official yet -- Toji 's

already

not looking forward to meeting whoever these higher-ups are. Still, he 's got a weird feeling that denying Gojo just isn 't something people do.

Well. He 'll have to give the kid a taste of his own medicine sometime. Preferably when they 're not both slowly bleeding out in his kitchen.

Which in itself is getting real concerning,

real

fast. Toji is

definitely

starting to feel dizzy from the blood loss now, and the brat doesn 't honestly seem like he 's doing that much better.

'Gimme your phone so I can call my doctor friend over here, ' Gojo says, as if reading his mind. God, what a creep. 'She basically never sleeps, so she should be able to get here within the next half hour or so. So like, don 't keel over and die before then, or something. '

'I should be the one sayin ' that to you, ' Toji replies. The kid seriously looks like he 's been put through a blender. 'Why don 't you use your own damn phone? '

Gojo fishes it out of his pocket with a sour face and waves it back and forth like a pendulum. 'You fried it when you threw me into a half-frozen river, genius. Take responsibility. '

Toji huffs out his nostrils and rolls his eyes. Eh, fair enough. He flits back to his room to get his phone from his nightstand -- shit, he forgot to charge it. Whatever, eight percent should be sufficient. Before he hands over the device, he shoots a brief text to Yuki summarizing the fight and its outcome. Seconds later, she sends a gibberish keysmash that

can 't

mean anything good.

He 's not sure how much he trusts the brat 's doctor friend, so he asks Yuki to stop by so she can be the one to heal him instead. You know, because she did such a good job of it before. Definitely no other reason.

Before he heads back into the kitchen, he returns the katana to Maki 's closet after rinsing off the last of Gojo 's blood. It still faintly smells of copper, but he hopes (hopes,

hopes)

it 'll fade long before she ever has to use it.

He tosses his phone at the sorcerer when he re-enters his line of sight and Gojo snatches it effortlessly out of the air. He begins furiously tapping at the screen while stifling a laugh. 'Your phone is shitty. '

'You 're

shitty, ' Toji shoots back. He doesn 't care if he sounds like a five year old. 'I 'm not buyin ' you a new phone, by the way. All of this is still your fault. '

Gojo 's face twists. 'It 's

my fault

you threw me into a river?! '

'Oh, absolutely it is. ' He hops onto the countertop and lets his head rest against the cabinets, eyelids fluttering shut. His breathing slows and he remains silent for a few minutes; he can feel his heartbeat shift from heavy thuds to a light tapping and his body slumps as some of the residual tension slips from his shoulders. It 's a little longer before Gojo speaks up again.

'Hey, old man. You dyin ' over there? ' It 's not

quite

concern in his voice, but Toji can 't really think of anything better to call it, either.

'Tch. You wish, ' he grumbles. There 's a cold breeze blowing in through the empty hole where his door should be and Toji has to fight back a shiver. He taps his fingernails against the marble as the two of them wait quietly for their respective medics to arrive.

Yuki gets there first, beating Gojo 's doctor friend. Toji can 't help but feel a weird sense of pride at that. She strolls inside with his door propped casually in one of her arms and a smirk across her face. 'Hey, hot stuff. Think you dropped this. '

Heh. Toji flashes her a smile. 'Thanks, sweetheart. Was wonderin ' where that went, ' he says. Gojo 's eyes widen as he looks back and forth between the two of them, then his lips spread into a smug, knowing grin that Toji

really

doesn 't want to analyze.

'Satoru Gojo! Been quite a long time, ' Yuki greets with a quick wave as she sets a few medical supplies on the counter beside Toji. 'I never got to ask you this before. ' She flips her flawless golden hair over her shoulder and switches her hips suggestively, striking a pose that has Toji darting his eyes away before he can embarrass the hell out of himself. 'What kind of woman is your type? '

It takes a second to click, but when it does, Gojo pulls a face. 'Woman? Pfft, no thanks. Sorry, but I don 't swing that way. '

Toji 's eyebrows jump to his hairline.

Oh.

Well, love is love.

After a moment, Yuki lets out a hearty laugh. 'That 's quite the answer! I approve. '

Gojo waggles his fingers in a little jazz-hands gesture, as if to say he couldn 't care less whether she approved or not. Yuki washes her hands with warm water and begins to inspect Toji 's wounds. A faint flicker of concern knits into her brows, but when he meets her eyes again her expression is a blank sheet. She looks between him and Gojo again as she begins unpacking her supplies. 'I always knew you two would get along. Didn 't I say it before? I bet you 'll be the best of friends before ya know it. '

Gojo and Toji exchange glances with a scowl then turn back to Yuki. 'He can 't stand me, ' they say in perfect unison, and--

god dammit.

Yuki throws back her head and cracks up.

Soon after that, Gojo 's doctor friend arrives --

Shoko

, he calls her. They immediately start talking in hushed voices. Toji could eavesdrop with his heightened senses if he wanted to, but his attention is quickly commanded elsewhere when Yuki starts wiping away the blood on his back with some infernal chemical that stings like a million fiery needles.

'Christ,

Yuki. A little warning woulda been nice, ' Toji hisses.

Yuki flicks him on the shoulder. 'Oh come on, big guy. You can take it. ' There 's a hint of something else in her tone that Toji has to grind his teeth to ignore, then he feels her cursed energy wash over his body like freshwater waves at low tide. The pain begins to ebb from his muscles as a deep sense of calm flows throughout his veins, cotton-soft and mountain spring cool. Damn, he 'd forgotten how nice this feels.

'He really got you good, huh? ' she says with a little laugh, her fingertips ghosting over his skin as she treats his wounds with her gentle cursed energy. Toji keeps his single remaining brain cell from combusting through sheer force of willpower.

'Hey, gimme some credit. Least I 'm not the one who lost any limbs this time around. '

Yuki just chuckles and shakes her head. 'I guess. But seriously, the way you 're lookin ' right now reminds me way too much of when I first scraped you off the dirt over two years ago. A lot has changed since then, y 'know? Before I knew it, I totally never wanted to see you like that ever again. ' She finishes applying the technique, and there 's something in her voice that 's way too fond for him to process.

'Toji, '

she says softly, meeting his eyes with an undefinable warmth in her gaze. 'I 'm really glad you 're okay. '

Barely pushing past the stirring in his chest, 'Yuki, I-- '

'What are you two lovebirds talking about? ' Gojo cuts in.

Toji

almost

flushes at the nickname alone, and

definitely

reddens when Yuki just waves it off without bothering to deny it. Toji clears his throat in an attempt to pull himself together and turns to glare at the meddling brat over his shoulder. 'We 're plotting your murder. '

Gojo snaps and shoots him with finger-guns. Man, what the hell? 'Ooh, try poison. I eat so many sweets, I bet I 'd never notice. '

What? Toji frowns. 'The fuck is wrong with you? '

'You really wanna start with that? And here I thought you 'd actually want some sleep after all this, ' Shoko answers instead. Oh man, Toji likes her already. Gojo gasps and clasps a hand over his chest in mock betrayal.

'Shoko! ' he whines. 'You traitor! '

Shoko snorts. 'As if you ever had anything against traitors. '

Now the kid

actually

looks like he 's been smacked. 'Aww, come on, seriously? Too soon! '

Yuki laughs too, like she 's somehow also in on the joke. Toji feels a little left out, but whatever. Amnesia kinda gets you used to that. The two pairs each talk amongst themselves for a little while longer before Shoko tugs Gojo to his feet and begins to lead him outside the apartment, fucking

finally.

Gojo peers over his shoulder before he can shuffle out the barely-fixed door. 'Hey, I 'll get in touch soon so we can work out the details. What 's your number? '

Is he for real? Toji quirks a brow. 'Uh, I 'm not giving you that. '

'Then I 'll stop by your house. '

'How about no? '

'You can 't hide from me, I know where you live. '

Toji sighs, scrubbing his hands down his face. 'Y 'know, you 're a real fuckin ' weirdo. '

Bur Gojo just barks out a laugh. 'Whatever. See ya soon. '

Toji sighs and deflates against the kitchen cabinets, and with resignation that feels a little like surrender, he replies, 'Yeah, see you later, I guess. '

Shoko and Gojo head out together after that, to

god

knows where. Toji honestly couldn 't care less. Yuki hangs around for a little longer as Toji tells her in more detail about the fight, and despite not being half as good a storyteller as she is, she still hangs onto his every word. She bids him farewell sometime past 4AM, and as soon as she 's gone, Toji passes out on the kitchen counter.

Luckily, Gojo 's unfortunate colleague actually does a decent job of tidying up the surrounding area, so Maki is none the wiser when Toji brings her home from Yuuji 's -- though she does comment that he seems more tired than usual. Fortunately, she doesn 't press for details; she never does, because she 's a goddamn angel. As soon as he 's not broke, he 's gonna spoil her so bad.

It 's another week before Gojo finally stops by. Thankfully, it 's midmorning, while Maki is still at school. Toji 's been lazing around doing absolutely nothing since their fight, because he honestly deserves a goddamn break. Hey, a near-brush with death will do that to a person. When the burn phone he uses for jobs runs out of power, he doesn 't bother plugging it back in.

'Yo, ' Gojo chirps when Toji opens the door with a scowl. 'Miss me? '

Toji snorts. 'About as much as anyone can miss a pit viper, I guess, ' he shoots back. The kid 's got a new pair of sunglasses now, identical to his old ones. Toji steps aside to let him in, because apparently they 're past invitations already.

'So I talked to the higher-ups, ' he begins. Toji 's almost thankful the brat doesn 't bother with small-talk first. 'I think I 've pretty much got 'em where I want them, but they do still want to meet you first before we start working together. '

Yeah, and there 's another thing Toji 's still wary about. 'And what exactly does 'working together ' even

mean? '

Gojo waves his hand in a gesture Toji assumes was supposed to look nonchalant, but instead it just looks stumbling. 'Y 'know, stuff like going on dangerous missions together, traveling the world to investigate curse-related deaths and hunting down the culprits like an awesome buddy cop duo, fighting the toughest cursed spirits and curse users alike that would kill literally anyone except us, and training together so we can get used to each others ' fighting styles! '

God, that sounds like hell on earth.

Think of the money, think of the money, think of the money.

'How fun, ' Toji says drily. 'Look, I can barely contain my excitement. Fork over the contract so I can sign it with my tears of joy. '

Surprisingly, Gojo actually laughs at that, and it sounds strangely close to genuine. 'It 'll be fine! C 'mon, I 've got a driver out front ready to take us there. '

Ooh, a private chauffeur?

There 's

something Toji could get used to. He follows Gojo down the staircase to a sleek black car that looks like it cost at least half as much as Maki 's katana. A man steps out of the driver 's seat and opens the door for him with a polite bow. Middle-parted black hair and glasses, Toji notes. Must be the 'people ' Gojo mentioned earlier.

The man looks...a little terrified of him, but Toji supposes he gets that. He 's not fully sure why, but he decides to blame Gojo for it and moves on.

'Aww, Ijichi! You don 't have to look so afraid! ' Gojo crows. 'He won 't kill you! Probably. I mean, he totally could, if he wanted to. And who knows if I 'd be fast enough to stop him? But relax, you 're absolutely fine. Again,

probably. '

Toji exhales slowly. Fuck, is this what his life is gonna be now? 'I 'm not gonna kill ya, ' he tells the man flatly.

Ijichi snaps up to attention. 'Thank you! ' he exclaims. Toji almost feels bad for the guy. He slides into the backseat across from Gojo and closes his eyes.

'We should play a road trip game, ' Gojo says about five minutes later.

'No. I 'm sleeping. '

'You 're clearly not sleeping! '

'Yes I am, I 'm asleep right now. Get outta my dream before it turns into a nightmare. '

'Ha! ' He hears Gojo laugh then shift beside him. 'Fine, be like that, you stick-in-the-mud. I 'll wake ya up when we get there. '

Toji nestles further into the plush pleated-leather seat and tries to get comfortable again. He 's thankful when the silence stretches on for another fifteen minutes, and is just about ready to snooze when Gojo pipes up again.

'By the way, what 's your relationship with Yuki? '

Toji cracks open an eye to glare at the brat. Yeah, what

is

his relationship with Yuki? Unable to think of a good response, Toji can only shrug.

'Well, it never hurts to

befriend

the special grades, ' Gojo snickers with a stupid wiggle of his eyebrows Toji is legitimately proud he doesn 't smack the kid for.

'I don't have any intention of bein ' friends with you. '

'Pfft. That goes both ways, old man. '

Toji rolls his eyes. 'And speakin ' of special grades, are there any others besides you two? '

In response, Gojo 's face twitches, and his playful demeanor slowly falls away until all that 's left is a distant, empty nothingness. 'Yeah, ' he murmurs. 'One. '

'Oh? And what 's their deal? '

Gojo pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose to hide most of his eyes as he turns to gaze out the window, strangely forlorn. He sounds uncharacteristically sad when he finally replies, 'He 's a total idiot. '

They spend the rest of the ride in silence, which is probably for the best. Ijichi ferries them out of the city and up remote windy roads into the deep mountains until they reach an impressive temple constructed in traditional architecture, all ancient weathered timber and artisan-crafted tile, with majestic tiers of pagodas that mingle with the clouds as they reach towards the heavens.

Ijichi ushers them inside a dimly-lit room illuminated only by candlelight, and the heavy door creaks shut behind them in a sound that 's oddly final.

The meeting with the higher-ups goes reasonably well, by Toji 's admittedly low standards. They look at him like a dog would look at a flea and bitch at Gojo for the better part of an hour, but in the end, none of them stand up to him. Absently, Toji wonders if they 're even willing to; both he and Gojo alone could probably slaughter everyone in the room without breaking a sweat, let alone the two of them

together.

Toji kinda likes that, in a twisted sort of way; the idea that no one can

really

stand up to them.

The geezers demand to keep his presence as under the radar as possible, which Toji supposes he can understand. Honestly, he prefers it that way; the less sorcerers he has to interact with, the better. He 's already stuck with the worst of them all. Running into a few along the way will be inevitable, but he 'll burn those bridges when he gets to them. Crosses them? Whatever.

When they finally start talking numbers and slide Toji a piece of paper with a number written on it all spy-movie style, Toji can 't help but drop his jaw and curse out loud, much to the dismay of the conservative old farts around him. Gojo whoops out a laugh of victory as Toji signs on the dotted line so quick he almost rips the paper.

Toji 's given a stupidly heavy copy of all the papers he signed, along with repeated statements of warning and confidentiality, blah blah blah. Toji will toss them out next week with the rest of the combustible trash. When he heads out, Gojo hangs back to iron out final details about their first mission together, which they insist won 't be until after the Christmas and the New Year, thank fuck. That gives him at least two weeks to kick back before everything inevitably goes to hell.

Ijichi leads him down the temple steps and drives him back to the city, and as soon as Toji gets home, he buys Maki every piece of junk food she 's ever asked for.

-----------------------

The end-of-the-year holidays have never been a time that Maki remembers fondly.

She 's always been tasked with holiday chores she 'd never reap any of the joy from. She recalls being shoved in a room to wrap presents for all her cousins with strict directions for which gifts belonged to whom, and she 'd gaze wistfully at the list while wishing with all her heart that her name would be on just

one

of them, even if only a card, but it never was. It was up to her to bake the Christmas cake and wash the dishes afterward, then she would take down the wreaths on the 26th and switch them out with shimekazari in preparation for New Years ' festivities.

End-of-year deep cleaning always fell to her tiny shoulders. She read that New Years ' Day itself is meant to be free of stress and anger, while everything should be spotless and no work should be done -- not for her. It was up to her to tidy up after her extended family as they celebrated the fresh start; her job was to pour them sake and throw their trash away, which apparently, included herself. Maki was never invited when the rest of the family made their first trip to the temple. She was always told there wasn 't any point to her praying for something, since the gods had already turned their backs on her long ago.

When she asked her father what he 'd wished for at the shrine one year, he 'd glared down at her with a gaze like a splash of liquid nitrogen and replied that he wished she 'd never been born.

Which is why when Yuuji asks, 'How do you, your mom, and your dad usually celebrate the holidays together? ' after they 're heading back inside from playing in the snow a few days before Christmas, Maki can only stare back at him in dumbstruck silence.

She hadn 't even met Toji at this time last year. They didn 't cross paths until a little over two weeks before her seventh birthday. She 's known Yuki for maybe four months at best. She stops in her tracks before she can reach the cold metal staircase, now dusted with a light frosty layer of delicate snowflakes that stick between the strands of her evergreen hair like sugar crystals and dot the soft felt fabric of her winter coat with little wet spots.

Yuuji 's still watching with patience as he waits for an answer, eyes twinkling with honesty and innocence. He won 't judge her no matter what she says, she knows; his heart is too big for that, so big that Maki still doesn 't understand how there isn 't any room within it for anything close to hatred. Maybe it 's crammed too full of so much love and compassion it 's overflowing, radiating warmth straight through his chest and heating up the lives of everyone around him like a campfire.

Maki hates how much hate blackens her heart. Sometimes she looks at Yuuji and thinks:

I want to be strong like that.

I want to be strong enough to be kind.

'Um, ' Maki begins in a small voice. Yuuji shuffles closer. 'Just the usual stuff, I guess. '

'Awesome! ' Yuuji beams back. 'My grandpa and I usually keep things pretty mellow because he 's tired a lot. Last year he was in the hospital through the holidays, so I spent them there with him! I don 't think he was too happy about that, though. But there was a really pretty Christmas tree in the hospital that me and some of the other kids got to decorate! It was so much fun! Have you ever had a Christmas tree? '

Embarrassed, Maki shakes her head slowly as the two of them walk up the staircase into her apartment. 'I haven 't. '

Yuuji hops up and down in place like a bunny rabbit. 'Whoa, really? We should totally get one then! Do you think your dad would let us have one in your apartment? I think mine is too small. '

Uh, Maki 's pretty sure Toji would plant a whole forest in their kitchen if they asked him to. 'Probably. ' She pushes open the door to find Toji just hanging up from a phone call. 'Hi, Toji. Can you help us-- '

'Yes. '

Blinking, 'But I haven 't even finished asking the question yet! '

Toji sighs and gestures for her to continue. Maki has to stifle a giggle. 'Can you help us get a Christmas tree? '

Toji smirks. 'See, what 'd I tell ya? 'Course I can. ' He slips his phone back into his pocket. 'When do you kids wanna go? Think I saw a bunch for sale about a kilometer or two down the road. '

'Oh, ' Yuuji says, pondering. 'How will we bring it home? My grandpa doesn 't have a-- '

'I 'll carry it, ' Toji cuts him off.

If Yuuji were anyone else under the sun, a statement like

that

would set off blaring alarm bells that had him running for the hills. But Maki 's somewhat convinced that Yuuji doesn 't entirely register just how unnatural their superhuman strength is, because he considers that answer for about half a second before immediately moving on. 'Thank you, Toji-ji! I can bring some decorations I have back at my house. What kind of decorations do

you

like, Maki? '

Caught off guard, Maki pauses. The Zen 'in clan never bothered with a tree -- they must 've thought it wasn 't

'traditional '

enough, or something. Or maybe they just had a vendetta against anything happy and fun. But she remembers a resplendent display in a store window catching her eye while running errands last year -- the tree had been doused in endless threads of shimmering silver, tangled between the pine needles and layered in mantles atop the plateaus of branches, and Maki 's face spreads into a bright smile.

'Tinsel, ' she replies. 'Lots and lots of tinsel. '

Toji throws on his winter coat and the three of them head out after that. There 's a foreign and apprehensive look in Toji 's eyes as he glances at Yuuji, like there 's something he wants to say but can 't; absently, Maki wonders what the phone call was about. It 's stopped snowing for the moment -- instead the air is crisp and fresh and the wind has stilled, while soft footprints left by pedestrians make their temporary mark on the pure white blanket below their feet. It takes just under half an hour to reach the lot, mostly because they were meandering at a snail 's pace, unusual for the three of them individually, let alone together.

'Look at all the trees! ' Yuuji exclaims. 'They 're all so pretty! How will we pick? '

Maki surveys the rows of conifers, grinning as a sudden gust of wind whistles throughout the lot and carries with it the gentle scent of brushwood and pine. 'We should pick one with lots of branches, ' she suggests. 'That way we 'll have lots of places to hang decorations. '

Then Yuuji 's eyes practically sparkle back at her. 'That 's a great idea! You 're so smart, Maki! '

Well,

someone

has to guard the concerning paucity of intelligent thoughts between the three of them. 'Let 's start looking! '

The two of them crunch through the compacted layers of snow left by the treads of previous customers, searching high and low for the perfect tree. In the end, Yuuji finds it; he and Maki instantly fall in love and then hoist it off the ground together. Toji doesn 't bat an eye as the two of them carry the hulking tree up to the merchant, whose eyes bug out of his skull as the two tiny children easily prance around with the pine on their shoulders. Toji collects it from their grasp as soon as he 's paid for it, and they travel back to Maki 's apartment in half the time it took for them to get there.

Once they 're done placing the tree in the corner of the living room, Yuuji takes a step back to admire it before turning back towards Maki. 'It 's perfect! I 'm gonna head back to my apartment to get my decorations. I bet my grandpa will help me find them. '

Toji clears his throat. 'Uh--about that. ' His brows pinch together and he scratches the back of his neck uncomfortably. Maki 's heart sinks; she has a

bad

feeling about this. 'I was on the phone earlier with your grandpa. He 's--well, he 's in the hospital again. '

It 's not the sadness that gets Maki. It 's the way all traces of Yuuji 's expression fall away to leave his ever-smiling features hollow and numb, until all that remains is the complete lack of emotion he wears whenever he 's fast asleep. 'Oh. '

'Yuuji-- ' Toji says, because once Maki started calling him only by his first name he insisted that Toji do the same, 'I know you probably wanna be with him like you were last year, but he 's pretty insistent that he doesn 't want ya to do that. He said he wants you to spend it with us. ' Toji flinches when Yuuji 's breath snags in his throat. 'You don 't have to, of course. But if you want to -- you 're always welcome here, y 'know? '

Yuuji fidgets in place. 'Is that really okay? ' he asks in a small voice.

Warmly, Toji strolls over and crouches in front of him, rustling his unruly hair with a grin. ' 'Course it 's okay. We 'd love to have ya. Besides, I bet Maki 's gonna need some help with all the cookin ' for Christmas and New Years ' dinners. Lord knows I 'm

fu

--uh, totally useless in that department. '

Yuuji giggles and throws his arms around Toji, whose eyes widen owlishly at the sudden display of affection. He pats Yuuji on the back a little cluelessly then hoists him onto his shoulders. 'Alright kiddo, let 's go find those decorations. ' He beckons Maki to follow, and the three of them make their way to Yuuji 's apartment.

Once they 've rummaged through Yuuji 's belongings and successfully find the decorations, the two kids get to work on the tree with staunch determination. Toji kicks back on the couch and gives pointless advice for what he thinks will look best, and Maki cracks up at how obvious it is that he 's talking out his ass. Yuuji, bless his heart, takes everything at face value and nods enthusiastically, earnestly following his half-baked decorating tips that leave the tree a jumbled mess of unevenly-spaced ornaments and tangles of tinsel. When they 're finally almost done, all that 's left to put is the star on top of the tree. There 's just one problem.

...none of them are tall enough to reach it.

She 's pretty sure Toji could jump up to put it on, but there 's a good chance he 'd accidentally snap it off, and he kinda looks like he knows that. Just as the three of them are debating who would be optimal to hop on Toji 's shoulders to meticulously place it, the door opens.

Honestly, it 's pretty funny that she doesn 't even bother to knock anymore.

'Hey, party people. I brought-- ' Yuki pauses, her smile widening with cheer as she catches sight of the somewhat disastrous tree in front of her. 'Whoa, that looks great! '

'Oh, you 're just in time, ' Toji says with a smirk. He walks over to greet her, taking one of her soft hands in his calloused own and placing the star gently into her palm. 'We need a little help with somethin '. '

Yuki 's face blooms pink, petals of rose scattering across her cheeks. 'W-well, okay. Sure. ' She sets down the glossy scarlet bag she 's holding and cautiously approaches the tree, then stands on the very tips of her toes as she carefully sets the star in place. Toji watches her fondly as she pivots around to face them with pride, flashing them a smile with enough wattage to power a small factory. 'There, now it 's perfect! '

'Thank you! ' Yuuji says as he stares at the glittering star with awe, its shining light reflecting in his chestnut irises like melted chocolate. He peers over his shoulder to face Yuki. 'You 're gonna be in town for Christmas and New Years ', right? I bet your family would love it if you were here! '

Yuki 's breath hitches. 'My-- ' She whips her head around to face Toji; he 's looking at her with a silent hint of emotion Maki can 't quite name. After another moment, he gives her a slight nod. Yuki 's eyes soften as she turns back to Yuuji. 'Yeah, I 'll be here. Wouldn 't miss it for the world. '

Then Yuki jogs back to the entryway and retrieves the bag she 'd been carrying, then slides it under the tree with a little smirk. 'Don 't open this yet, okay? Wait for the big day. '

Three days later, it 's finally Christmas. Maki and Yuuji spend the whole day cooking the roast chicken and baking Christmas cake; Maki catches Yuuji eating batter out of the bowl with a fork, so she momentarily takes it away then fetches each of them a spoon. She 'd heard something once cautioning against eating raw eggs, but whatever. That sounds like a problem for Tomorrow Maki. Yuki rolls in a couple hours before dinnertime and keeps Toji company as he watches them cook with a watering mouth and hungry eyes.

After they 've finished their feast, the four of them crowd around the tree. The presents beneath it have multiplied -- Maki 's chest stirs with a surge of warmth when not one, not two, but

three

of them have her name written on them in various handwriting, scrawled in beautiful brushed calligraphy (Yuki), a solid attempt at proper kanji (Toji), and a handmade tag with a few strokes missing (Yuuji). She crouches down to stare at them with delight for a moment before spinning back towards the other three.

'Let 's open them! ' she declares.

Toji folds his arms. 'Ah? Ya don 't wanna wait until tomorrow mornin '? '

Maybe she 's being too eager, but she 's waited her whole life for this. Maki shakes her head.

Toji chuckles. 'Well, alright. Tonight it is. '

Yuuji prods her excitedly on the shoulder. 'Open mine first! '

In acceptance, Maki nods. 'Okay. ' She pads over to grab the gift -- the wrapping is lopsided, a little messy, tape cross-hatching over unintentional creases and uneven seams of the snowman-printed paper. There 's a big smiley face drawn on the front of the card next to her name that stretches across the whole length of the present, but as Maki begins to unwrap it, Yuuji 's own smile is somehow wider.

It 's a painting. Yuuji 's art skills have actually gotten better by now -- almost impressive, especially for a six year old. Splashes of acrylic paint dye the canvas in a brightly-pigmented scene depicting the two of them chasing each other across the schoolyard, reminiscent of the very first time they ever played tag together and instantly latched onto one another like velcro. Maki tries to picture him hunched over the canvas, brows knit with effort and tongue sticking out between his gapped teeth like he always does whenever he 's

really

concentrating. He squirms beside her in anticipation, feet kicking back and forth against the cushions of the couch.

'Do you like it? ' he asks eagerly. 'I chose this memory because it 's one of my favorites ever! It 's really special to me, because it was when I met my best friend! '

Maki has to swallow hard to gulp down the lump in her throat. 'I--I love it, ' she whispers. 'Thank you, Yuuji. It 's perfect. ' She flits back to the couch to give him a quick hug, then hands him his present from under the tree. 'Your turn! '

Yuuji 's grin brightens as he hurriedly unwraps his gift, tossing the shredded paper haphazardly beside him in a flurry like the snow outside. Maki chuckles, because that 's just like him. 'Wow! ' he cheers when the present is freed from the paper. 'Is this a cookbook of all our favorite recipes? Did you make this just for me? '

It took

forever;

hey, that 's what happens when you meticulously write everything by hand. 'Yeah, I did. There 's some new ones in there, too, but I thought it would be cool if we could try them together. ' She gulps again. 'Does that sound fun? '

Instantly, Yuuji springs to his feet and pulls her into a crushing hug. 'Of course it sounds fun! This is the most awesome present ever, Maki! '

Yuuji pulls away as Yuki withdraws her present from under the tree. 'Alright kid, my turn. ' She reaches a hand into the bag she brought and pulls out three matching boxes and hands one of them each to Toji, Yuuji, and Maki. 'Go ahead, open 'em. '

The three of them open up the boxes in unison. When Maki draws back the crinkled tissue paper, she finds a gorgeous green scarf -- it matches her hair

perfectly,

down to the most subtle forest hues and tourmaline undertones. When she looks up, Yuuji and Toji have received the same, with Yuuji 's scarf a rosy coral pink and Toji 's an inky black, all plush cotton yarn and snuggly softness, cozy like watching a snowstorm while huddled inside by a warm fireplace.

'I made those myself, y 'know. Little known talent, ' she chuckles. 'Hey, gotta figure out

something

to do while I 'm on those painfully long flights. '

Maki wraps it around her neck and nestles into its threads to hide her smile. Toji tosses his around his shoulders with a devious grin. 'Oh, what a coincidence, ' he says mischievously. He plucks up a present with Yuki 's name on it and swiftly unwraps it. It 's a similar scarf, a muted pale gold like her picturesque blond; with it, the four of them

together

make a matching set. 'Looks like we got each other the same thing. '

Yuki 's jaw drops. 'Toji? ' she squeaks, her face flushing a screaming shade of crimson. 'How did you-- '

Smoothly, Toji grins again and spirals it around her neck, tugging gently on one of the ends to pull her closer until she 's just a few centimeters away from his chest. 'Darlin ', you ain 't nearly as subtle as you think you are. '

Yuki seems--pretty much speechless. After a few seconds of collecting herself she gives Toji a peck on the cheek that leaves them both a little flustered, then Toji turns back towards the kids.

'Alright, kiddo. Time to open your present, ' he tells Maki. 'Guess it 's partially for Yuuji, too. '

Maki picks up his present and gingerly peels back the silver paper. Inside of it is a simple rope ladder. Maki tilts her head. 'What 's this? '

Then Toji pushes off the back of the couch he 's leaning against and gestures for her to follow him. 'C 'mon, I 'll show ya. This way. '

Maki and Yuuji trail after him out of the apartment and through the snow outside until they reach a nearby park. A path through the ice has been cleared; it winds past the plastic benches and frozen playground, across the frosted-over blades of grass that are more gold now than green, between the rows of saplings sprouting out between the patches of ice blanketing the ground. Some of the trees are taller, Maki notes. And in the tallest one---

---is a treehouse.

It 's constructed carefully with smooth panes of wood, stained a deep rich mahogany that sharply contrasts against the white landscape as it peeks through the arbor curtain. Open windows hang with ropes that ascend further up into the tree, perfect for climbing higher and swinging around between the labyrinth of branches. From its ceiling hangs a lantern that glows like a lighthouse, beckoning her closer like a ship guided to shore.

'Y 'know, it was surprisingly tough to convince the neighborhood association to let me build this, ' Toji murmurs.

Maki turns around, her breath stuck in her throat.

'You

built this? '

Toji ruffles her hair. 'Yeah, kiddo. I did. '

Quickly, Maki blinks back the stinging in her eyes. In lieu of responding, she reaches into her pocket to fish out his gift. 'I want to give you your present now. ' She reaches up and hands him the little box. He takes it carefully from her grasp and unties the ribbon, then pulls out the little doll tucked inside. 'It 's something I made with Yuuji, ' she explains. 'We like to play superheroes with grass dolls sometimes and um--this is the first one I made. ' She drops her eyes to the snow. 'It 's supposed to be you. '

She hears Toji audibly gulp. 'You made a superhero doll of...

me? '

'Yeah, ' she whispers, and because if there 's any time she 's allowed to be sappy it 's now, she adds: 'It 's because

you 're

my hero. '

Toji covers his face with one of his hands and clears his throat. 'Thanks, ' he chokes out. 'This is--this is really sweet. ' He peeks at her through his fingers with a watery gaze. 'Love ya, kid. '

He really does, doesn 't he? It 's not just in the way he says it; it 's how she knows it from everything that he does for her. It was in the way he pulled her close when hugged her for the very first time, and when he anxiously handed her the new glasses after her old ones were crushed. It was in the way he held her after exorcising the special-grade curse, in the blood drenching his body as he gazed at her with nothing that Maki had ever seen before but instantly recognized as fatherly love. It was in the way they moved into the first apartment she wanted, in the beautiful sword he gave to protect her. It was in the way his face shone as if lit from within when she made her first friend, in how he carried home the Christmas tree on his shoulders just to make her happy.

They 're related, at least distantly, through the wicked blood of the Zen 'in that cast them both aside, that put them both in the same category of worth as the curses they kill for a living. Toji loves like he has something to prove, loves like he 's determined to convince her she

deserves

to be loved.

Ogi confirmed it, her mother confirmed it, her cousin confirmed it. Maki is not Toji 's daughter.

But honestly? It doesn 't

feel

like she 's not his daughter.

Maki looks up at him, and for the first time she thinks -- does it really make a difference if he 's not her birth father?

He truly did save her. The look in his eyes now is filled with trepidation, a thinly-veiled nervousness like he 'd worn when he brought her that old TV and a slice of cake for her birthday; she wonders if at that point Toji loved her already, even if he hadn 't known it yet.

Maki wonders when along the line she started to feel the same. She could try to place it, but it 's not important now. What

is

important is this. Maki takes a deep breath.

'I love you too, Toji. '

Then Toji smiles at her, slow at first like a sunrise, then all-encompassing, brilliant and warm. He scoops her up into his arms and twirls her around with an unfettered laugh of joy, and she buries her face into his neck when her tears start flowing.

The New Years ' festivities begin before she knows it. Toji and Yuki are the ones who deep clean the apartment, while Maki and Yuuji play like the carefree children Maki always wished she could be. On January 1st they wake up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise, then the four of them make a trip to the local shrine to ring the bell and cast their wishes; Maki 's always heard that you 're supposed to keep your wish a secret, but as soon as Yuuji pads back over to her he announces, 'I wished we could be best friends forever! '

Maki beams at him, and she 's telling him the truth when she replies, 'Me, too! '

The next evening they go to the town 's New Years ' festival, all wearing their matching scarves. The two kids are decked out in yukatas Toji bought for them, spun from thick layers of fabric with intricately hand-stitched designs of gossamer thread; they seem

ridiculously

expensive, from their similarity to the ornate traditional robes worn by the heirs of the Zen 'in clan. Maki thanks Toji over and over for that, because even when she knew he had no money he always did his best to spoil her.

Toji 's yukata is a muted black; Yuki 's wearing a stunning midnight blue kimono with majestic oriental cranes embroidered from head to toe and a vivid silk obi woven with shimmering fibers of crimson, her hair tied into a half-updo with a dazzling butterfly ornament tucked between her winding curls. She looks like an empress, Maki thinks absently.

'You look--uh, real pretty, ' Toji says smoothly. Maki snorts. Yuki flicks him playfully on the chest and murmurs,

'You 're not so bad yourself. '

Toji and Yuki are looking at each other funny, but whatever. Maki wants to explore. They make their way through the winding festival stalls as Maki and Yuuji munch on cheap takoyaki, trying to decide which game to play first. Maki 's competitive switch activates when the two of them eventually decide on a ring toss game. They get three tries to win their desired prize; they each only need one. The booth owner looks a little concerned as he hands them both the toys they easily won. Maki and Yuuji exchange glances -- their competition isn 't even close to being settled.

'Let 's try goldfish scooping next! ' Yuuji declares.

Yeah, that goes pretty much the same. Yuuji scoops up about half the squiggling population in one go and Maki catches the other. The stall attendant insists they can 't keep them all, much to the childrens ' chagrin. Bummer, Maki was already trying to figure out how to house them all in her bathtub.

They decide on an arrow-shooting game to settle the score, but that doesn 't help them establish a winner, either. Maki makes a bullseye on the first shot and Yuuji splits her arrow in two with his own. The top prize is a giant teddy bear worth at least twenty thousand yen, and the attendant 's jaw drops to the ground when the two of them effortlessly win it. Jeez, is he really that surprised? Maki might almost think the game was rigged or something. The rest of the game attendants seemed equally concerned they 'll meet a similar fate, and she

swears

she overhears one man say, 'Will somebody please stop these menace children?! '

When it 's almost time for fireworks, Yuki hands the two of them some change to buy some candy apples. The kids shuffle over to the booth to buy them, but the woman behind the counter gives her a warm smile and gives Maki the second one without cost. 'Here, ' she says. 'A free one for you and your brother! '

Maki gasps, but Yuuji doesn 't even blink. Instead, he plucks it from the woman 's grasp with a quick, 'Thank you! ' then skips off to rejoin the adults, and Maki can 't even try to suppress the smile on her face when she returns to his side.

Finally, they make their way towards the sprawling field on the side of a hill to watch the fireworks show. Maki and Yuuji lean up against the comically large teddy bear as they watch the empty sky with bated breath. Behind them, Toji needlessly adjusts Yuki 's scarf before subtly wrapping an arm around her shoulders -- which is nice of him, but she didn 't seem all that cold in the first place? Oh well. Yuki rests her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh, and it makes Maki feel weirdly flustered so she turns back towards the nighttime.

And all at once the sky alights with color, trails of fire carving out channels of incandescence through the blackness in a blaze of glory. Maki watches in awe as the flares scorch the heavens, alongside her dad that isn 't her dad, her mom that isn 't her mom, her brother that isn 't her brother. As she watches the starbursts explode in the sky, Maki thinks distantly that the blood ties her clan always told her were paramount are actually absolute nonsense; those people aren 't her family, she decides. She 's with her family right now. When Yuuji excitedly jabs her shoulder and points towards a smiley-face shaped firework light up the clouds, Maki can 't help but burst into laughter.

Maybe blood doesn 't even matter at all.