Naoya suddenly broke the silence.
"Are you Harvard?"
Shoko blinked, confused.
"Huh?"
"Because I'm tryna get into you."
He pressed on, unfazed.
"You must be Mount Everest,
"Wha—"
"'cause I just can't get over you."
"..."
"Is there a police officer nearby?"
"..."
"Cause I'm about to steal your heart."
Naoya finally noticed Shoko's unimpressed glare.
"Can you stop? This is disturbing."
Ignoring her, he grinned.
"Are you pepper?"
"..."
"'Cause you're spicy."
"..."
"Are you a poster?"
Still no response.
"'Cause I've been looking for you."
"Do you have a name? Or can I just call you mine?"
Shoko sighed, folding her arms.
"Did you finish?"
Naoya smirked with mock innocence.
"I've got more, if you want."
Shoko rolled her eyes and turned to leave—only for him to blur into her space, fingers curling around her wrist. The warmth of his grip contrasted with the cold amusement in his voice.
"You're not so easy to shake off, huh?"
She met his gaze, unblinking. "Try me."
A challenge. A dare.
His hand tightened, not rough but deliberate, and in one smooth motion, he pulled her into the shadowed mouth of an alleyway. Her back hit the wall—then his mouth found hers. No hesitation. No permission. Just heat, arrogance, and the kind of hunger that didn't ask, only took.
Three minutes.
Sixty seconds too long for apathy.
Thirty too short for surrender.
Shoko didn't push him away.
But she didn't kiss him back, either.
When he finally broke the kiss, breath uneven, her lips were parted—not in invitation, but in evaluation.
"Well?" he murmured, thumb brushing her bottom lip.
A beat. Then—
"Disappointing," she lied, stepping past him without meeting his eyes.
The alley swallowed her footsteps, but the silence hummed with something unfinished.
...
Later, the city pulsed in electric pink and blue, casting blurred reflections on the wet pavement. Shoko leaned against a brick wall, exhaling a lazy curl of smoke into the neon haze. She didn't have to look to know he was behind her again—persistent as a curse, twice as irritating.
She took another drag.
"You're blocking my light."
Naoya stepped closer, just enough for his presence to intrude.
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing."
His eyes flicked to the cigarette between her fingers.
"Those'll kill you, you know."
"Not fast enough." She exhaled sideways.
As she moved to leave, his hand shot out, catching her wrist again—not harsh, but unyielding.
"Last time I let you walk away, Because I was feeling generous."
His thumb traced the pulse beneath her skin, smug and possessive.
"Tonight? I'm feeling selfish."
She didn't pull away. Not yet.
"And what exactly do you want ?"
He leaned in, voice dropping to a taunting whisper.
"You said you wanted experience. And if I let you leave now, you might stay a virgin forever." A pause. His smirk sharpened.
"And I'm not the type to wait around. I've got a clan to lead, after all."
She stared at him, unimpressed.
"That's your pitch? 'Fuck me or die inexperienced'? Inspirational."
"It's working, isn't it?"
She gave him a look colder than dry ice. Still, he wasn't done.
"Tell you what. One question. Answer it right, I'll walk away."
She cocked an eyebrow. "Shoot."
"What has 187 teeth and holds a monster?"
A pause.
Her eyes narrowed, gears clearly turning.
After a long, silent struggle, she finally sighed in defeat.
"Tch… what?"
Naoya grinned, teeth flashing.
"My zipper."
"..."
"...You need therapy."
His thumb brushed her lip again, annoyingly gentle.
"Still pretending you're not curious?"
Shoko blew smoke into his face .
"I'm a doctor. I know how it works."
He grinned. "Theory's not the same as practice. Lucky for you, I'm very hands-on."
After a few seconds, she sighed and said,"Fine. But we do this my way."
Naoya's brows lifted, amused. "Oh?"
She pushed him back just far enough to light another cigarette.
"Rules. One: no strings. You don't own me. I don't owe you. Two: no expectations. If I'm busy, you disappear. And three—"
She blew smoke directly into his grin.
"—if you ever open that smug mouth to brag, I'll make sure you never walk again."
Naoya laughed—sharp, delighted, thoroughly entertained.
"Deal. But I've got one condition too."
"What?"
He leaned in, teeth grazing the shell of her ear.
"Next time… you kiss me back."
…
Naoya wakes up first. He watches Shoko sleep for a beat - the way her eyelashes flutter, the dried come flaking on her inner thigh. He pokes her bare shoulder.
"You snore."
Shoko's eyes slit open. She licks her dry lips, winces slightly when she shifts her hips. "…Fuck off." Her voice is gravel from last night.
Naoya grins, stretching like a satisfied cat. "Already did. Thoroughly."
Shoko reaches blindly for her cigarettes on the nightstand, finds the pack crushed. She glares at him. "You're buying me a new pack."
"Yeah?" Naoya rolls onto his side, propping his head up. "What do I get in return?"
"Not getting stabbed." She sits up gingerly, sheets pooling at her waist. The bite mark on her collarbone pulses purple.
Naoya's fingers trail up her spine. "Hurts?"
Shoko exhales through her nose. "Like I got hit by a truck." Pause. "…Driven by an asshole."
He barks a laugh, unoffended. "You'll walk it off."
"I'd walk better if you disappeared."
"Liar." His hand slides around to her stomach, possessive even now. "You'd miss me if I did."
Shoko doesn't answer. Just lights her broken cigarette with focused irritation. The silence stretches - comfortable in a way that pisses her off more.
Naoya finally breaks the silence, voice uncharacteristically quiet:
"…So. How'd it feel?"
Shoko's fingers still on the lighter. "Drop it."
"Come on. First time's supposed to mean something, right?"
She finally turns to look at him, eyes sharp. "You want a review?" Her voice is venomous. "Fine. It hurt. And you didn't care."
Naoya's grin returns, all teeth. "Would it have mattered if I did?"
Shoko scoffs, ash fluttering to the sheets. "Idiot."
But when he pulls her back down - his mouth hot on her neck, his hands already roaming - she doesn't stop him. Not really.
The cigarette burns forgotten in the ashtray as the sheets tangle again.
…
After returning to the Zenin estate, Naoya did the usual. Scowled at a few elders, insulted a cousin for breathing too loud, and threw a clan heirloom at someone for calling him "niisan." Basic chores.
He'd just started unwrapping the bandages on his knuckles when he felt it—breath on the back of his neck.
Small and Warm.
Makima.
She didn't say a word at first. Just stood there, two feet tall, all eyes and silence, sniffing him like a dog that knew your secrets.
Then she dropped the nuke.
"Did you cheat on my mom?"
Naoya did a backflip.
Not a metaphorical one. A full-blown, what-the-actual-fuck, panic-powered backflip.
He landed clumsily, knocked over a stack of scrolls, and stared at her with wide, betrayed eyes.
"The fuck?"
Makima, two feet of unblinking judgment, tilted her head. "Cursing in front of a child. That's bad, right?"
Naoya blinked. Once. Twice.
"...You're two."
She didn't blink. "That's not an answer."
He stood up like he was defusing a bomb with his spine.
"First of all," he said, jabbing a finger down at her, "your mom is not my—nope. Not doing this. Not explaining myself to someone who thinks ketchup is spicy and still drinks from a sippy cup."
Makima just stared at him. "So you did."
Naoya sighed so hard he looked like he aged five years.
"Do you have any proof, little demon? Evidence?"
Makima trailed behind him.
"I forgive you," she said suddenly, as if she were bestowing mercy from a throne.
"…What?"
"For cheating on Mama."
"I didn't!"
Makima smiled sweetly. "It's okay. I'll make you better."
Naoya froze. Turned. Looked down at her like she'd just announced her plans to conquer the Jujutsu world.
"Better?" he echoed. "What the hell does that mean?"
"One day," she said, eyes bright and empty, "you'll only want me."
Naoya stared at her like he was looking at an idiot.
He dragged a hand down his face, muttering to himself,
"…Should I just drop her off at an adoption center?"
As the words left his mouth, he kicked her—hard—sending the two-year-old flying.
.............................................................................
Give me your power stones