His Comfort . 彼の慰め

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"Only people who care this much are the ones who put in the effort." -------------------------------------------------------------

Naomi sat in the passenger seat of Gojo's sleek car, staring blankly out the window as he weaved through the morning traffic. Music played softly in the background, but the atmosphere was anything but peaceful.

"Why are you even dropping me off?" Naomi asked, raising a brow. "Don't you have Teaching stuff to do?"

Gojo, still wearing his stupid smug grin behind his sunglasses, turned the wheel effortlessly. "I do, but I also have big brother duties, and you should be grateful for the free ride. Besides," he shot her a teasing look, "I just wanted to see my baby sister off to school like a responsible guardian."

Naomi groaned. "First of all, you're the least responsible guardian. Second, you just want an excuse to embarrass me, don't you?"

Gojo gasped dramatically. "How dare you accuse me of such things, Noa-chan!"

Naomi deadpanned. "You literally pulled up in front of school last year with the windows down, screaming 'Have a great day, princess!' at the top of your lungs."

Gojo laughed shamelessly. "Oh yeah! That was hilarious. Everyone was looking at you like—" he made an exaggerated shocked face, "—and your face got so red—"

"I wanted to die."

"Good times," Gojo sighed happily, pulling up in front of the school gates.

Naomi quickly unbuckled her seatbelt before he could pull any more stunts.

"Alright, thanks for the ride, bye—"

But before she could escape, Gojo leaned out the window. "Bye-bye, my precious little sister! Have fun at school! Don't be like Megumi-kun~!"

Naomi flinched as a few students turned to stare. "I swear—"

"LOVE YOUUUUU!" Gojo called obnoxiously.

Naomi slammed the car door shut, pretending she didn't know him as she speed-walked inside.

Inside the school, she let out a long sigh before making her way toward her locker. Before she could even reach it, a familiar voice called out—

"Naomiii~!"

Naomi barely had time to react before someone tackled her from behind.

"ACK—Ririko?! Personal space—!"

Her best friend just laughed, squeezing her tightly before finally letting go. "Noodles, you're finally here! I thought you died or something."

Naomi groaned. "Yeah, well, I almost did. Thanks to my stupid brother."

"Oh no, what did Gojo do this time?"

Naomi gestured vaguely behind her. "He yelled at the school gates. Again."

Her best friend gasped in mock horror. "The absolute audacity! If you want, I can push him down a flight of stairs for you."

Naomi grinned. "Tempting."

Linking arms, the two walked down the hall, chatting away, the morning chaos already behind her.

At least, for now.

Ririko Asano is more than just Naomi's best friend—she is one of the only people who sees Naomi as just Naomi, not as a failure, not as an anomaly, not as the girl who "wasn't supposed to exist." In a world where Naomi feels like she is always being measured against her brother's greatness or treated like a mistake by the Gojo clan, Riri is the one person who doesn't see her that way. Unlike Megumi or Gojo, who are deeply involved in the sorcerer world, Riri is just a normal high school girl. This makes it easier for Naomi to talk to her without feeling like she's being judged or compared.  Riri never makes Naomi feel like she's lacking something. Whether it's in sports, academics, or just existing, Riri always believes Naomi is enough.  Everyone else, even Megumi, ended up walking a path that Naomi couldn't follow. But Riri stayed. Even when Naomi felt completely alone, Riri never abandoned her.

From Elementary school, Riri and Naomi used to one pair then slowly during middle school Megumi joined them, making them a trio. Even though Megumi is not that close to anyone, he talks to the duo making sure they don't cut classes, eats their lunch on time, saving them from bullying, and giving that not so effective assurance when they loose any of their volleyball matches.

Even though Naomi doesn't have any connection towards Jujutsu world she knows that something like that exist from her clan. She has heard her cousins talk about it whenever she goes to visit during any traditional festivals. But half of the time she couldn't understand anything and when she asked them- "You need to have cursed energy for that...How is she even from our clan?...Is she even Satoru's sister?"

Curses....Techniques....Jujutsu...all felt like Greek and Latin to her.

"Oii, Did you do your homework?" Riri asks her with a hopeful expression but immediately changes to a glum expression when she sees Naomi smile cheekily. 

Dumb and Dumber..

"But don't worry, I was watching some volleyball matches and just you wait and see how we are going to win today."

They lost..... 

Well just by 2 points but they fought very well. 

"You did well Naomi.. don't worry. We still have matches left."

Naomi smiles but did not say anything.

"The only person who can comfort you is Megumi for real, Why did he have to leave us?"

Naomi looks at the energy drink she has in her hand.

  Naomi sat outside the school gym, hugging her knees. The sting of defeat still fresh, her fingers curled into the fabric of her jersey as she tried to keep her frustration at bay.

"Sulking isn't going to change the score, you know." Naomi lifted her head just enough to see Megumi standing there, hands stuffed into his pockets, expression unreadable as always.

She groaned, burying her face in her arms again."Oh, great advice, Megumi. I'll just win next time, why didn't I think of that? Genius."

Megumi sighed, then, after a moment of hesitation, sat down beside her. He didn't look at her, just stared straight ahead."I mean... you played well. It wasn't like you lost because you sucked."

Naomi scoffed. "That's literally what losing means."

There was a pause before Megumi nudged her with his elbow."If you were actually bad, you wouldn't be this upset about it. Only people who care this much are the ones who put in the effort. That has to count for something."

She exhaled sharply, staring at her shoes."I just hate losing."

Megumi's voice was quiet, but firm."Then don't lose next time."

Naomi's head shot up, eyes narrowing."Oh, great advice, Megumi. I'll just win next time, why didn't I think of that? Genius."

Megumi shrugged, unconcerned."Well, you usually do win, so..."

Then, as if it were nothing, Megumi reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle.

"Here."

Naomi blinked at it."Is this... my favorite sports drink?"  

Megumi scoffed, looking away."Tch. No. It's just whatever I grabbed from the vending machine. Drink it or don't."

Naomi smiled despite herself, taking it from his hands."Thanks, Megumi."

He grumbled, shifting slightly."Yeah, yeah. Just don't cry over a volleyball game."

"I wasn't crying!"

"Sure."

Naomi could still remember the way she had shoved him playfully, her laughter finally breaking through her frustration. And for the briefest moment, she swore she saw the corner of Megumi's mouth twitch, just slightly. A small, barely-there smirk, gone as quickly as it came.

Back in the present, Naomi sat still for a moment, lost in the memory. She didn't realize it then, but that day had stuck with her. Maybe because it was the first time she truly felt that Megumi would always be there, in his own quiet, stubborn way.

The memory of his words stirred something in her chest. At the time, she had been too frustrated to realize it, but looking back now, she could see that Megumi wasn't teasing her. He was just stating a fact. He genuinely believed in her. 

" I wonder what he is doing right now?"

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Double Updateeee Babiesss, a small compensation for short word count. 

As a volleyball player someone like Megumi comforting after loosing a match if like finding  gold in sand. (Doesn't make sense dw i can't understand too-) 

I don't like asking twice... but the Divine Dogs are getting hungry. 🐺 So, vote and comment unless you want to be on the menu.