"When we get back to my place, I'll show you where everything is in the bathroom so you can take as long of a shower as you want. There's plenty of hot water and good water pressure, so feel free to just stand under the spray and zone out for as long as you need. I've got some high-end bath products too if you want to use them—fancy shampoo, conditioner, body wash, the whole deal. Sometimes a really good shower can help reset your emotional state when things get overwhelming." He starts the car and pulls smoothly into traffic, his driving confident and practiced as he navigates back toward his neighborhood.
After a moment of comfortable silence, he adds more quietly,"You mentioned that you've only been this emotionally exhausted one other time in your life. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'm here if you need to process whatever that was or if it's connected to the traumatic past you hinted at during lunch. No pressure though—if what you need right now is just quiet and space to decompress, that's completely fine too. I just want you to know that the option is there if you want it."
His eyes flick over to Noa briefly before returning to the road, trying to gauge her emotional state without being intrusive about it."Also, when we get home, do you want me to give you space and stay out of your way for a while, or would you prefer company? I can work in my office and leave you alone in the living areas, or I can stick around if having someone nearby feels better than being by yourself. Just let me know what would be most helpful for you."
She yawns & stretches her arms above her head, the pink midriff crochet top rising slightly as she did, "You're surprisingly perceptive haha. But yea, it has to do with the falling out I had with me family. And, I mean you can do whatever, it's your home."
She looks at him sorta hopeful, "But, ummm, hey. Since the list of things that we have to talk about back at your place is growing, maybe we should take some of them off the list? You know the less important ones?"
His eyes track the movement of her top riding up slightly as she stretches from underneath the blindfold, catching a glimpse of skin before his attention returns to the road, though there's a subtle shift in his expression. He thinks on her comment about the falling out with her family, some concern passing through his mind.
"I am perceptive when I choose to be, yeah. Comes with the territory of being a teacher and having to read my students' emotional states, plus the Six Eyes give me enhanced perception in general even beyond just seeing cursed energy. But I'm sorry about the falling out with your family—that kind of thing can leave lasting wounds that don't heal easily, especially when it's severe enough to create that kind of emotional exhaustion." His tone is gentle and understanding, acknowledging what she's shared without pushing for more details.
At Noa's suggestion about addressing some of the conversation topics now to lighten the list for later, he glances over at her with a slight smile, clearly trying to gauge which topics she considers "less important" and which ones she's hoping to tackle while they're still out and about. "That's smart, we can do that—knock out some of the easier conversations now so we're not facing an overwhelming pile of heavy topics all at once later. So what did you want to address while we're driving? The living situation logistics and house rules would probably be good to cover since you'll be showering and settling in once we get there. Or if there are other questions that feel less intimidating to ask while we're in the car rather than sitting across from each other at home, now's a good time."
He navigates smoothly through traffic, comfortable with having this kind of conversation while driving, "For the house rules and logistics stuff, the basics are pretty straightforward. You can use anything in the kitchen whenever you want—I keep it well-stocked and I'm not particular about food being 'mine' versus 'yours.' The living room and common areas are shared space obviously. The guest room is yours and I won't come in without permission unless there's an emergency. Same goes for the bathroom when you're using it—I'll knock if the door is closed. I'm generally pretty relaxed about household stuff and I don't have a lot of rigid rules, but I do like things relatively clean and organized, so just clean up after yourself and we'll be fine."
He pauses, then adds with a slightly playful tone,"I also work weird hours sometimes because curses don't operate on a nine-to-five schedule, so I might be coming and going at odd times. I'll try not to wake you up, but if you hear me moving around at strange hours that's probably why. And sometimes students or colleagues will stop by, though I'll give you advance warning when I can. Is there anything specific you want to know about the living situation, or other topics you want to tackle while we've got drive time?"
She taps her fingers against her crossed arm while in thought, "Hmm. Well, I'm guessing that we'll each do our own laundry? and dishes? and does training happen at your house?
He nods at the practical questions, appreciating that she's thinking through the actual day-to-day logistics of living together rather than just focusing on the bigger picture stuff.
"Yeah, we'll each handle our own laundry—the washer and dryer are in a closet off the kitchen and they're pretty straightforward to use. I'll show you where everything is when we get there. As for dishes, I usually just clean up after myself as I go, so if you do the same we shouldn't have any issues. If we cook together or I make something for both of us, we can figure out the cleanup situation on a case-by-case basis, but generally yeah, just clean up your own messes and we'll be fine." He answered nonchalantly.
He slows for a red light and takes the opportunity to look over at her more directly, "As for training—no, that won't happen at my place. Training happens at Tokyo Jujutsu High, which is where I teach and where you'll be doing your support role once you're ready. The school has proper facilities, training grounds, cursed tool storage, and safety measures in place for when students are learning to control their abilities. My apartment is just for living—it's my private space away from work, and I like keeping that boundary clear. So you don't have to worry about curses or combat training happening in the living room or anything like that."
The light turns green and he accelerates smoothly, getting closer to his neighborhood now, "The school is about a twenty-minute drive from my place, maybe thirty depending on traffic. Once you start training, I'll drive you there in the mornings when our schedules align, or you can take a car service that the school provides if I need to head in earlier or if I'm away on a mission. You won't be expected to navigate public transportation while carrying cursed tools or sensitive materials, so transportation will be provided as part of your role."
He glances over at her again briefly, "That covers the laundry, dishes, and training location questions. What else is on your mind? You said you wanted to knock some things off the list, so hit me with whatever you want to address while we're still in the car. Could be more practical stuff, could be personal questions, whatever feels easier to ask now rather than later when we're sitting at home and the conversation might feel more intense."
She bits her lower lip, hoping the question won't feel to intrusive to him, "Well, ummm, do you have eyes under there? Like in the last day in a half I've never once seen your eyes. I know you can see despite the blindfold, but like what color are they? They're not just empty socks & Six eyes isn't literal, right?"
He grins at her question, amused by the uncertainty about whether he literally has eyes under the blindfold or if "Six Eyes" means something else entirely. There's something almost fond in his expression at the curiosity in her voice, like he finds her directness about this endearing, "Yes, I have actual physical eyes under the blindfold—two of them, normally positioned, not six literal eyeballs or empty sockets or anything weird like that. 'Six Eyes' is the name of an inherited technique that gets passed down in the Gojo family, not a description of my actual anatomy. It's basically a visual ability that lets me see cursed energy in extreme detail, perceive things at the atomic level, and process massive amounts of visual information simultaneously without getting overwhelmed. But the eyes themselves look completely normal aside from their color."
He navigates into his neighborhood, the buildings becoming more upscale and the streets quieter, "As for what color they are—they're blue. Really blue, actually, like almost unnaturally bright blue. It's distinctive enough that people tend to remember it, which is part of why I keep them covered most of the time. The Six Eyes technique means I'm constantly perceiving everything around me in microscopic detail, which would be mentally exhausting if I didn't filter it, and the blindfold helps reduce the sensory input to manageable levels. Think of it like wearing sunglasses in really bright light, except instead of just dimming visible light, it's dimming my perception of cursed energy and spatial information."
He pulls into the parking garage of his building and finds his spot, putting the car in park before turning to face her more fully, "I can show you if you want—take the blindfold off for a minute so you can see what I actually look like without it. Fair warning though, the eye contact will be pretty intense because of the Six Eyes effect. People tend to feel like I'm looking through them rather than at them, which can be unsettling. But if you're curious and want to see, I don't mind showing you."
There's something almost vulnerable in the offer, like removing the blindfold is more intimate than just showing his physical appearance—it's letting her see him without one of his barriers in place.
A gentle smile found it's way to her face, "I mean yea I wanna see them haha. Right now if I where to picture your face in my head it's literally just your mouth & the blindfold that pops up. I'd love to have the complete picture. But I kinda have a bit of a more personal question to go along with it."
She gave him a comical slightly concerned skeptical look, "Do..do you wear the blind fold during sex too? Like for your causal encounters you mentioned, doesn't that freak them out?"
He pauses for a moment before bursting out laughing at the question, definitely not having expected her to go there. His smile lights up with amusement and appreciation at her willingness to ask something that practical and slightly absurd. His laugh is warm and unguarded as she completely caught him off guard in the best possible way.
"Oh my god, that's—okay that's actually a really fair question and I'm honestly impressed you just went ahead and asked it instead of wondering about it silently." He tries to catch his breath in between words, settling down a bit "The answer is no, I don't typically wear the blindfold during sex because that would be weird and impersonal and yeah, it would freak most people out to be hooking up with someone whose eyes they've never seen. Like there's intimate, and then there's 'I'm having sex with someone who looks like they should be holding a cane,' and most people prefer the former."
He's still grinning as he continues, enjoying this conversation more than he probably should, "I usually take it off once things start getting physical, though I'll admit the first time seeing my eyes during an intimate moment tends to be intense for people because of the Six Eyes effect I mentioned. The trade-off is that I'm perceiving everything about them in extreme detail—every reaction, every shift in cursed energy, everything—which means I'm very good at reading what they're enjoying and adjusting accordingly, but it also means the eye contact is really intense in a way that can be overwhelming if they're not expecting it."
He reaches up and hooks his fingers under the edge of his blindfold, pausing before removing it,"So before I show you—are you ready for potentially intense eye contact? Because I meant it when I said the Six Eyes make people feel like I'm seeing through them. It's not a bad feeling necessarily, just very exposed and intimate even in a non-sexual context. Some people find it attractive, some people find it unsettling, and some people find it both at the same time. Just want to make sure you're prepared for that before I take this off."
His hand stays positioned at his blindfold, waiting for her confirmation before he reveals his eyes, and there's something almost anticipatory in his posture—like he's curious how she'll react to seeing him without this particular barrier in place.
She turns in the seat to face him fully, wanting to give this deeply personal moment for him the respect it deserves but also a bit excited to see what's underneath, "You can go ahead, I'm ready."