Chiyo Ten:"I knew him…"
Pause.
Chiyo Ten:"…Before you were born."
Your breath stops.
Gojo doesn't interrupt.
Doesn't joke.
Doesn't deflect.
Which is terrifying.
Grandma Chiyo Ten studies your face.
Really studies it.
Like she's deciding how much truth your heart can handle.
Gojo stands still near the window.
Unusually quiet.
Chiyo Ten (softly):"I wasn't always… just your grandmother, Y/N."
You blink.
Y/N:"…What?"
Gojo's eyes lower slightly.
He already knows where this is going.
Chiyo Ten:"Long ago…"
"…I was a sorcerer."
Your breath catches.
Y/N:"You were WHAT?!"
Gojo chuckles faintly.
Satoru Gojo:"She was terrifying, actually."
Grandma clicks her tongue.
Chiyo Ten:"I prefer 'exceptionally capable.'"
Chiyo Ten:"In my time… your generation's chaos was nothing."
Satoru Gojo:"She's not exaggerating."
You stare between them.
Mind racing.
Y/N:"…You were a jujutsu sorcerer?"
Grandma nods slowly.
Chiyo Ten:"One of the strongest of my era."
Your brain short-circuits.
Because—
No one ever told you this.
Not once.
Chiyo Ten:"And Satoru…"
"…I've known him since he was a child."
Your head snaps toward Gojo.
Y/N:"Since he was a CHILD?!"
Gojo sighs dramatically.
Satoru Gojo:"Yes, yes, I was once small and adorable."
Chiyo Ten:"You were never small."
Satoru Gojo:"Emotionally?"
She almost smiles.
Chiyo Ten:"His grandmother… and I were close friends."
Gojo's expression softens.
A rare, genuine warmth.
Chiyo Ten (nostalgic):"We fought together."
"Trained together."
"Survived things children today shouldn't even hear about."
A quiet beat.
Chiyo Ten:"I watched him grow."
Gojo looks away slightly.
Respect.
Memory.
Chiyo Ten (to you):"The last time I saw him…"
"…he was eleven."
Your eyes widen.
Y/N:"…Eleven…"
Then—
Realization dawns slowly.
Y/N:"…Wait."
"…That's when—"
Grandma nods.
Chiyo Ten:"Yes."
Chiyo Ten:"You were one year old."
Silence.
Your heart skips.
You look at Gojo.
He isn't smiling now.
Y/N (barely a whisper):"…You met me?"
Gojo's gaze shifts to you.
Gentle.
Unexpectedly tender.
Satoru Gojo:"You used to wobble when you walked."
Your breath stops.
Satoru Gojo (soft grin):"Like a cursed technique without balance."
Grandma chuckles quietly.
Chiyo Ten:"She wouldn't stay still."
Satoru Gojo:"Grabbed everything."
Chiyo Ten:"Especially him."
Your eyes widen.
Y/N:"…Me?"
Satoru Gojo:"You refused to let go of my sleeve."
You stare.
Frozen.
Satoru Gojo:"Didn't matter how many sweets I bribed you with."
Grandma smiles warmly now.
Chiyo Ten:"You liked him."
Gojo corrects immediately.
Satoru Gojo:"She adored me."
You sit there.
Silent.
Processing.
Because this isn't just trivia.
This means—
He knew you before you ever knew him.
Before Tokyo.
Before Jujutsu High.
Before everything.
Y/N (soft, shaken):"…Why didn't you tell me?"
Gojo's playful energy fades.
Just a little.
Satoru Gojo:"…Because you deserved to meet me as your teacher."
"…Not as a ghost from your past."
Grandma watches both of you carefully.
Chiyo Ten:"Some bonds…"
"…begin long before we understand them."
Your fingers tighten slightly.
Because deep down—
Something about that feels…
Again.
Your words linger in the air.
Confusion, almost unbelievable.
"…You knew me?"
Gojo's usual lightness is gone.
No teasing smile.
No playful shrug.
Just something softer.
Older.
Grandma Chiyo Ten watches him carefully.
Because she knows exactly which memory just resurfaced.
Gojo exhales.
Slow.
Gojo (quietly):"…Yeah."
Your fingers tighten around the bedsheet.
Y/N:"…From when?"
A pause.
A fragile one.
Gojo's gaze drifts — not to you, but somewhere far behind you.
Far into the past.
Gojo's Memory — Years Ago
A vast traditional courtyard.
Cold winter sunlight.
Too much space.
Too much silence.
An eleven-year-old boy sits alone on the engawa.[1]
White hair messy.
Bright blue eyes dull with boredom.
Isolation.
Already labeled:
The Strongest
The Gojo heir
A living weapon
Servants whispering.
Clan elders watching.
Other children?
Gone.
Avoidant.
Afraid.
Then—
Tiny footsteps.
Unsteady.
Soft.
A toddler waddles across the wooden floor.
Nearly trips.
Giggles.
Round cheeks.
Curious eyes.
Completely unaware of cursed energy, power, status…
or fear.
She stops in front of him.
Looks up.
Eyes sparkling.
No hesitation.
No tension.
Just—
A delighted smile.
And then she toddles forward…
straight into his space.
The servants freeze.
Servant (horrified whisper):"Chiyo-sama's granddaughter—!"
But the child doesn't stop.
She grabs his sleeve.
Balance wobbly.
And laughs.
Like he's just…
another kid.
Gojo blinks.
Stunned.
No one approached him like that.
Ever.
Young Gojo:"…Huh?"
She pats his arm.
Completely fascinated by his white hair.
Giggles again.
Then—
In a tiny, clumsy voice:
Baby Y/N:"…Sa… to…"
"…Sato…"
Gojo's eyes widen.
Not "Gojo-sama."
Not "heir."
Not "the strongest."
Not even "Satoru"
Just—
Sato.
Something cracks.
Softly.
He awkwardly lifts a hand…
unsure, hesitates…
then gently pokes her cheek.
She laughs louder.
And just like that—
The vast, empty courtyard feels…
less empty.
Back To Present
Gojo's expression is unreadable now.
But his voice is unusually gentle.
Gojo:"…You were about one year old."
"…Could barely walk."
Your breath catches.
Grandma smiles faintly.
Bittersweet.
Gojo (soft, almost amused):"You used to wobble everywhere."
"Almost face-plant every five seconds."
A tiny, unexpected warmth flickers in his eyes.
Gojo:"But you never avoided me."
"Never cried."
"Never got scared."
You stare at him.
Mind spinning.
And then—
Something stirs.
Deep.
Blurry.
Flash —
A bright blur.
Warm sunlight.
A tall white shape.
Snow-colored hair.
Laughter.
A tiny voice.
Your voice.
"…Sato…"
Present — Your Eyes Widen
Your hand instinctively lifts to your chest.
Y/N (whisper):"…Sato…"
The word leaves your lips before you even realize it.
Gojo freezes.
Grandma Chiyo Ten's gaze sharpens.
Because that…
wasn't coincidence.
She speaks carefully.
Measured.
Grandma:"Memories do not always vanish, child."
"Some only sleep."
You look at her.
Heart pounding.
Grandma (softly):"And some bonds…"
"…are older than the mind remembers."
Gojo's eyes narrow slightly.
Not in suspicion.
In recognition.
Because he hears the unspoken part.
Older than you know.
You swallow.
Confusion.
Emotion.
Something fragile blooming.
Y/N:"…Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Silence again.
But this one is heavier.
Layered.
Grandma's fingers gently stroke your hair.
Grandma (quiet):"Because some truths…"
"…must wait until the heart is ready."
And Gojo —
for once —
doesn't interrupt with a joke.
Because even he knows…
there is something deeper here.
Something still hidden.
And somewhere beneath your skin —
faint.
Almost imperceptible —
Tenchu pulses once.
Not violently.
Not wildly.
But knowingly.
Outside the Hospital — Late Afternoon
The automatic doors slide shut behind you.
The scent of disinfectant fades.
Cold air replaces it.
You're holding nothing now — the daisies left in a glass beside Grandma's bed.
Your hands feel strangely empty.
Gojo walks beside you.
No teasing.
No lazy grin.
Just hands in pockets.
Silent.
You hate the silence more than jokes.
Y/N (low):"…Why didn't you tell me?"
No accusation.
Just confusion.
He doesn't answer immediately.
A breeze lifts his hair.
Gojo:"You were one."
A beat.
"You wouldn't remember."
You stop walking.
He stops too.
Y/N:"That's not what I meant."
Your chest feels tight.
"You kept it from me."
Something complicated flickers behind his blindfold.
Gojo (calmly):"It wasn't my story to tell."
That stings more than you expect.
Your thoughts spiral.
He knew you.
You called him "Sato."
You weren't afraid of him.
When everyone else was.
Why does that feel important?
Why does it feel like something was taken from you?
And deeper than that—
Why does your chest hurt like you lost something you don't even remember having?
You start walking again.
Faster.
He keeps pace easily with his longer strides.
[1] An engawa is a traditional Japanese veranda or wooden strip of flooring that runs along the outside of a house, acting as a transitional space between the interior living area and the garden