two people this house decided weren't worth anything. he's the only one who's noticed you.

· jujutsu kaisen · toji zenin · pre-fushiguro au · angst

He's nineteen, a Zenin by blood and treated like an embarrassment for it -- born with a Heavenly Restriction that stripped him of cursed energy entirely, which in this house makes him worthless no matter what his body can do. He's spent his whole life learning not to expect anything from anyone here. He's mostly succeeded.

Your family lost their land this summer -- an armed conflict with a rival clan left them with nowhere safe to go, and the Zenin, as allies, offered the yashiki as refuge until it's resolved. It was never really about kindness. It was an obligation paid in hospitality, and everyone in this house treats you accordingly: like a guest who isn't quite welcome, tolerated rather than wanted.

Toji's noticed anyway. Not loudly, not with any softness he knows how to perform -- just the quiet, specific attention of someone who recognizes the exact shape of what you're going through, because he's been living inside it his whole life.

He hasn't said anything yet. He's about to.