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Gojo Satoru is not suited to become a guardian of two children.
He never thought about having kids before, it’s something that never crossed his mind because even to him, it is so clear that he would be one hell of an irresponsible parent. He’s never had a proper childhood, he’s only eighteen and because of his personality he wouldn’t be the best person for a child to look up to. Also, he’s one hell of a busy sorcerer. It’s true, he’s the strongest. He goes on missions almost all the time, to the point that it’s hard for him to take proper care of himself.
Even if all of that can be ignored, though it probably shouldn’t, there’s another reason why Gojo should not be taking care of children. At least for now. And that reason is, he’s going through a hard time at the moment. Haibara, a friend of his, was killed and Suguru, his best friend, betrayed him and became a wanted criminal.
He’s obviously not in the right mental state to take care of two children and become their legal guardian. Or, that’s what other people would think. Unfortunately, Gojo is not like other people.
You see, when people feel down, when people are going through hard times, they usually try out new things. Like dying their hair, getting a haircut, buying new things. Gojo Satoru adopts not only one but two goddamn children.
“I’m not really adopting them,” he had told Shoko and Nanami, you know, like a liar . “Instead, I’m saving them,” he had said. “They’re being sold to the Zenin Clan and that’s no good, so I’ll be their guardian in paper and keep them away from those people. In return, I will train the one with cursed energy and he’ll be my trump card.”
That’s what he had in mind, apparently. Becoming their legal guardian, paying their bills and stuff, training Megumi Fushiguro as a trump card and that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. Not a parent, just a guardian in paper and a teacher.
Well, something must’ve gone very wrong because right now, Gojo “I’m not really adopting them” Satoru is carrying a very sleepy 6 years old Megumi Fushiguro in his arms. The kid’s sleeping with his arms around Gojo’s neck, Gojo is questioning life while walking in the street and people around them are trying not to make it obvious that they’re staring at the two because well, that’s a 6’3 tall white haired and blue eyed high schooler carrying a small child with no expression on his face.
He might not show it, but Gojo is panicking . His heart is beating quite fast and he’s questioning how he got here. The sky’s about to get dark and he decided not to go on a mission higher ups gave him as if he’s skipping a fucking class. The higher ups don’t know that, he forgot to inform them. So while some people out there are probably dying because Gojo didn’t go on that mission, he’s carrying a child home.
This is ridiculous. Even Gojo is aware this is unbelievable. What even is happening, actually? He thinks about calling Nanami and asking him to go on that mission instead of him but he stops himself. Taking his phone out of his pocket and calling Nanami would wake Megumi up. Or would it? Is Megumi a light sleeper? Does he wake up easily?
Does it matter? That’s a six years old kid! Even if he wakes up, he probably will go back to sleep without questioning anything. No, no he probably won’t. Megumi’s smart compared to other six year olds. Wait, what does being smart have to do with waking up? What the hell? What is he even thinking about?
But no, no no no no. It hasn’t been so long since he met Megumi. Right now, Megumi probably doesn’t know what to think of him. If he wakes up in Gojo’s arms, he will get quite embarrassed and try to run away. He shouldn’t wake him up. That would be bad.
Wait, why would it be bad, exactly? The kid has legs! He can walk by himself. Gojo doesn’t need to carry him. He should wake Megumi up and at least call Nanami and ask him to go on that mission. Hell yeah, he should. People are in danger there, he’s not gonna let them die just because a kid is sleeping in his arms. What the hell?
He opens his mouth to wake Megumi up but before he can say anything, Megumi hugs Gojo even tighter and sighs. Oh my god. What even is happening? What in the heavens is happening?
Calm down, Gojo Satoru, he tells himself in his mind. You’re the strongest being in your time. You can handle a child. Obviously. Who do you think you are? You’re Gojo Satoru! User of six eyes! Head of the clan! The strongest! A six year old should cause you no trouble.
He takes a deep breath and to wake him up, he whispers “Megumi,” and then his phone starts to ring. He panics, he panics so bad because oh my god the kid is about to wake up– He immediately sits down to a bench that was next to them, lets go of Megumi so now he’s sitting on his lap while Gojo’s making sure the kid doesn’t fall with his hand supporting his back. He quickly grabs his phone out of his pocket and rejects the call.
He shuts his eyes, hopes Megumi doesn't wake up, and slowly opens them. He looks at Megumi and sees that he is resting his head on Gojo’s chest and holding his clothes. After a few seconds, the kid frowns a little, then moves a bit to get comfortable and squeezes Gojo’s t-shirt.
There is not a single thought in Gojo’s mind at the moment. He’s looking at Megumi and he’s out of this world. He isn’t hearing and seeing anything other than Megumi, comfortably sleeping on the teenager’s lap, not minding anything, as if he’s feeling completely safe in Gojo’s arms. It’s ridiculous. It’s– hard to believe. Feeling so safe in someone’s arms to the point you’re actually sleeping and not worrying about anything. Sleeping in someone’s arms despite everything, like you know it’s all going to be okay.
It doesn’t feel real. Gojo doesn’t know how this feels. He doesn’t remember sleeping in someone’s arms ever like this, not even his mother’s. She was always scared of him, because she didn’t know when he was going to lose control of his powers. She was scared that Gojo might kill her accidently someday, so she has always made sure she wasn’t so close to him whenever he was around.
To sleep comfortably and safely in someone’s lap. Gojo always knew he had to be someone else to be able to do this, so he’s never done it. Not even once. It’s stupid, he knows it’s stupid. Feeling jealous over some kid– Megumi is not some kid, though. Megumi is the kid Gojo took guardianship over. This is his kid. His kid, sleeping in his arms. His kid, resting his head on Gojo’s chest. His kid, holding Gojo’s t-shirt.
He notices Megumi slowly opening his eyes, and closing them again. He watches Megumi move again to get a bit more comfortable. He sees Megumi turn his face to Gojo’s chest and rest his head like that. And he wonders, how can someone ever try to sell a kid like this? How did Toji’s heart let him sell this kid to the Zenin Clan? He knows he shouldn’t get attached, he got attached to Suguru and look at how that ended, but this... This should be different. He knows he only got to be this kid’s legal guardian to train him as his trump card, but now he only feels guilt.
Gojo’s childhood wasn’t a childhood. His clan saw him as a god to be worshiped, his enemies saw him as a monster to be feared and his parents saw him as a weapon to stay away from because he couldn’t control his powers properly.
Megumi isn’t Gojo. He is just a little boy that got a bit unlucky. He should be allowed to be happy.
Gojo knows he’s not suited to be a parent. He’s not even meant to be a parent, he’s just the kid’s guardian on paper, he knows that, he knows that for sure but… He still reaches for the boy’s hair and strokes it. He knows he’s not the best person for this, but he still hugs the boy with his other arm.
Megumi makes a quiet noise. “I’ll make you happy,” Gojo whispers to the boy in return while looking at him and continuing to stroke his hair.
He shouldn’t get attached. He once did and it ended horribly. But this, this isn’t about him. This is about a sweet little boy that was sold by his own father. This is about a sweet little boy that deserves even more than every good thing in this world.
“I’ll make you happy like I wanted to be.” He tells him, and he means it. It doesn’t matter if he’s busy, he’s going to make time for this boy. It doesn’t matter if he’s a child himself, there’s no one else around to protect him. It doesn’t matter that he himself doesn’t know what it means to be a child, he’s going to make Megumi happy like he wished he could be but couldn’t.
He knows he’s not the best person to take on this role, he’s quite aware. But Megumi is little, he’s very small, he’s only six years old and is feeling safe enough to sleep in Gojo’s arms without a single worry, and Gojo is going to make sure Megumi won’t ever be scared to do such a thing again.
Not like he was.
Gojo Satoru might not be good at parenting but he’s great at protecting people. So he’s going to do what he does best, he’s going to protect Megumi. He’s going to protect this angel from evil– And he’s going to make sure this boy grows up into a strong, independent person that will not need to heal.
He will protect Megumi. He’ll make sure Megumi will always be safe.
It’s as simple as that.