Bab 162: Flower Viewing
What if Chie survived?
Parallel Universe. This is not the main story.
April 2018 (Megumi 15 years old, Zoro 18 years old)
Breaking both the original story and the main story
...
On a beautiful spring day in April 2018, with cherry blossoms in full bloom, Tanaka Chie smiled brightly at her family and said,
"Let's go flower viewing."
Unlike Zenin Toji and Zenin Zoro, who promptly responded with "Sure," and "Alright," Zenin Megumi had a slightly hesitant expression.
Of course, going on a picnic with his mother on a rare holiday wasn't a problem for Megumi at all.
"Hey, sea urchin. Did you pack everything?"
"Shut up."
The problem was his father, who always looked for opportunities to tease him.
Ignoring Toji's comment, Zenin Megumi checked their items. Sandwiches, picnic mat, parasol, tissues, water, sunscreen…
Seizing the moment when Toji was distracted, he ruffled Megumi's hair at lightning speed.
"..."
Without looking, Megumi knew his hair must now look like a bird's nest and started to smooth it down.
As Megumi glared back at him, Toji pretended to be oblivious and looked away. When their eyes met again, Toji grinned and called out,
"What? Son."
Megumi quietly formed a hand seal to summon his shikigami.
"Gyokuken."
He had endured enough. Today, he would finally pluck all the hair off that man's head. As Megumi nurtured his rebellious dreams, two dog shikigami appeared from the shadows. Toji grinned upon seeing them.
"Oh, you want to give it a try? Sorry, but you're still not there yet, son."
"Toji, stop that. What if Megumi starts to hate you? You're such a bad father, playing pranks even on a day like this. Right, Megumi?"
At Chie's gentle words, Megumi reluctantly dismissed his shikigami. Why did such a kind mother marry his father? Megumi pondered this unanswerable question once again.
Toji, seeing his second son glaring at him like a cat with its fur on end, laughed. Chie scolded him, saying he would end up being hated by his sons if he continued, but he couldn't resist. It was just too fun.
"Marimo, take the booze out of the basket."
"…Tch."
He had tried to sneak it in. Zoro clicked his tongue and took out the bottle of wine he had been hiding in the basket. It was a bottle of wine Chie had bought for cooking.
Toji took the bottle of alcohol from Zoro and put it back in its place, shaking his head.
"I don't know why you like that stuff. It doesn't even taste good."
"I like it. Where else would you find something better?"
"Hmm. I like your mom more than alcohol."
"…Dad, that's not fair. We're talking about food, and you bring family into it?"
Toji chuckled at his eldest son, who couldn't even pretend to like alcohol more than his mother. So clueless.
Unlike Toji, who hated alcohol, Zoro loved it.
Of course, Zoro was underage according to Japanese law, so he couldn't legally buy or drink alcohol… but somehow, he always seemed to be drinking when no one was looking.
'He doesn't get drunk easily, just like me.'
However, unlike Toji, who couldn't get drunk at all, Zoro would get drunk if he drank a lot. And by a lot, it meant an amount that would floor even the most seasoned drinkers.
'It seems like Zoro gets drunk after about four or five crates.'
Of course, Toji hadn't made him drink that much. Who would be crazy enough to do that? It was the work of some curse user group. They had lured Zoro with promises of free alcohol and actually drank with him.
'They probably planned to do something after getting him drunk.'
Unfortunately for them, they got drunk before Zoro did and failed. Zoro left them passed out and brought the remaining alcohol to the empty lot in front of their house, where Toji found him and dragged him back home.
'At least his drinking habit is just falling asleep, so that's a relief.'
Zoro's drinking habit was simply sleeping. And even that would be interrupted if an enemy appeared, as he would sober up instantly and engage.
When Toji approached him that time, Zoro woke up immediately and grabbed his sword. Though he fell back asleep once he confirmed it was Toji.
'That reversal sorcerer in Jujutsu High… I think her name was Ieiri? She found it fascinating and ran some tests.'
According to her tests, Zoro had an unusually fast alcohol metabolism, much faster than normal people. And it accelerated even more when he was in combat mode. Even Toji thought it was a rather abnormal metabolism.
'A bottle or two of alcohol wouldn't even register with his liver.'
Above all, Zoro was a special grade sorcerer.
On Christmas Eve last year, December 24, 2017, during the Hundred Demons Night Parade incident orchestrated by Geto Suguru, Zoro single-handedly knocked out countless curses scattered across Tokyo by Geto. He did it alone, with hardly any effort.
Naturally, the Jujutsu world was thrown into chaos, and even Gojo Satoru's eyes were wide with surprise. If such a talent wasn't a special grade, then who was? After much upheaval, Zoro was officially recognized as a special grade sorcerer.
Toji and Megumi, however, were not particularly surprised to hear that Zoro had handled the Hundred Demons Night Parade alone. They had seen his strength firsthand for a long time.
'It was more absurd that he wasn't designated as a special grade because he's a non-sorcerer.'
Given that, Zoro's health wouldn't be greatly affected by drinking a bit. Still, Toji stopped Zoro from drinking because Chie would freak out if she saw Zoro drinking. It was also not good for his health.
'Chie's been determined to make Zoro promise to limit his drinking.'
She wasn't planning to ban alcohol entirely but to control the amount. Zoro was a son who never broke a promise once made.
"Toji."
Chie called, bringing Toji out of his thoughts. He turned around. He took her outstretched hand gently, as if he couldn't refuse her.
His green eyes never left Chie's. Chie, too, didn't take her loving, gentle gaze off Toji.
Since this was a familiar sight they saw every day, neither Zoro nor Megumi paid it much mind. Even when they argued, those two always held hands.
Megumi asked grumpily,
"Aren't we going, Mother?"
"Oh, yes! Let's go! Sorry about that."
Megumi pretended not to notice Chie's face turning red as she turned away, something he was used to. Toji clicked his tongue, noticing how Chie's attention had been drawn away so quickly.
"If you're jealous, you should get a girlfriend too, Megumi. The other day I saw you with a girl."
"Who, Nobara?"
"Not that girl. Another girl. She's a non-sorcerer."
"Really?"
As Zoro perked up with interest, Megumi yelled in protest, almost fainting from embarrassment.
"She's not my girlfriend! Tsumiki is… Tsumiki!"
It wasn't a date or anything. He had just had a meal with a former classmate from middle school. Megumi tried to explain. However, Toji, sensing the subtle emotions in Megumi's voice, smiled knowingly.
"Is her name Tsumiki? That's a nice name for a daughter-in-law."
"Who said she's your daughter-in-law?!"
Seriously. Chie shook her head. Turning her attention from the familiar bickering, she held out her hand to Zoro.
"Zoro, shall we hold hands?"
"I don't need to."
"That won't do. Mom will be sad if you get lost."
Chie said firmly. It was the number one absolute rule for anyone living with Zenin Zoro, even briefly. No matter what, never let him walk more than three steps alone.
"...."
Zoro looked into Chie's eyes, and with no other choice, he took her hand. Chie intertwined her fingers with his, holding tightly. As the family stepped out of the house, cherry blossom petals fluttered down around them.
In the middle of a grassy park full of blooming cherry blossoms, they spread out a picnic mat. Chie and Toji sat next to each other on the mat, while Megumi summoned his shikigami so they could play on the wide lawn.
Even though Zoro couldn't see his brother's loyal shikigami, he gently petted them.
"Brother, are you coming to school tomorrow?"
"I'll go to school. Not for a mission."
"You're a special grade sorcerer. Why don't you do some missions?"
"I don't like taking orders from anyone."
Although classified as a special grade sorcerer, Zoro, being a non-sorcerer, couldn't undertake typical jujutsu missions. He preferred wandering around and cutting down curses and curse users.
In that regard, Zenin Zoro was more skilled than any sorcerer.
Megumi just nodded, having only brought it up as a suggestion.
'Who can stop my brother's stubbornness?'
Zoro was already doing plenty as a sorcerer. Just recently, he had somehow found three special grade curses and strung them up like dried fish, leaving them in the front yard of Jujutsu High.
Megumi threw a frisbee into the air. The shikigami, Gyokuken, 'Black,' caught it mid-air. To a non-sorcerer who couldn't see the shikigami, it would have looked like the frisbee had just fallen from the sky.
A delicate cherry blossom petal gently landed on Chie's head as she nibbled on a sandwich. Pretending to remove the petal, Toji brushed her hair with his hand.
The person who started all his happiness was here.
Chie looked back at Toji. Seeing his silly smile, she returned it with a gentle smile of her own.
"Why do you keep smiling, Toji?"
"…Just because."
Because he was happy, because everything was wonderful.
Instead of saying those words out loud, Toji kissed Chie.
The warmth he felt from his lover's skin, the love they shared, and the people they loved with all their hearts. Everything Zenin Toji had longed for his whole life was here.
He was happy.
...
[Author's Note]
Vote with your power stones, it motivates me to keep posting chapters.
If you're interested, you can read 20 advance chapters on my Patréon.
patréon.com/fumiaki
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