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After Naoya descended the mountain, he joined the Gojos for the hike, and honestly, it was quite different from the kind of things he was planning to do with Satoru, but it still felt nice to go on a relaxing hike, especially with the beautiful lady accompanying them.
The only thing that prevented the hike from being perfect was the annoying white-haired kid who tagged along with them. Like can't the idiot get a hint?
Satoru looked at the shameless bastard who was cozying upto his mom and tried his best to make sure that neither of them stepped out of line. Ruriko found it fun to mess around with the innocent kid, and he was just making sure that the teasing wouldn't let them slip up.
'Honestly, father should be thanking me for all the things I do to save his marriage,' thought Satoru, and stared at Naoya happily chatting with Ruriko.
Being around Toji, Naoya has picked up quite a few moves from his cousin. He may not be as filanderous as the older Zenin, but he knew how and when to use the moves.
Satoru saw that and didn't know whether to be impressed by his friend or be mad at him.
Ruriko observed Satrou's reaction and thought she should stop teasing her. She didn't want to be misunderstood by her son, after all. Not to mention, leading Naoya astray was also a no-no.
"Alright, boys, what else did you plan to do?" asked Ruriko.
The three of them arrived near the peak, and she felt that the hike was good. She was a sorcerer as well and didn't feel much tired by the trek.
Satoru and Naoya looked at each other. The playful air around Ruriko changed all of a sudden, and that caught them off guard.
"We were gonna go for a movie after the curse subjugation," replied Satoru.
"Oh, a movie...I haven't gone to watch one in a movie theatre in quite a long time," muttered Ruriko.
"You can tag along if you want," said Naoya and looked towards Satoru.
Satoru looked at Naoya and shrugged. He knew better than anyone that his mother didn't get many opportunities to go out of the clan and have fun. If she had tagged along and was interested in movies, then he was not gonna deny that.
"Sure. Come along mom.....I will sit between you and Naoya, though," said Satoru and looked towards Naoya.
Naoya stared back at the third wheel and was contemplating pushing him off the mountain.
Seeing the imaginary sparks between the two kids, Ruriko stepped in between them.
"Alright, alright. Don't fight you two. Satoru, don't worry. Naoya-kun is just playing around and doesn't have those kinds of intentions. He won't be interested in old ladies like me anyway," said Ruriko and tried to give a subtle hint to the boys about her stance.
Naoya and Satoru were smart enough to understand what Ruriko was implying, and Satoru looked at Naoya, wondering if he was saddened by the indirect rejection.
Naoya remained silent; he could act shamelessly and just act like he didn't get the hint.....but that would be disrespectful to Ruriko-san.
"Haha. Ruriko-san, I always say this, but you don't look old to me at all, you know," replied Naoya with a soft smile.
Ruriko looked back at him kindly and patted the kid.
"I am old, you know. I am Satoru's mom, meaning I am old enough to be your mom too," replied Ruriko.
"Don't spoil him mom. He has mommy issues," said Satoru, trying to joke and cheer up the atmosphere.
"Huh, I most certainly don't!" complained Naoya.
"You most certainly have mommy issues," retorted Satoru.
"Oh yeah, the one without the mom is the one with mommy issues? Explain that logic," replied Naoya and stared back at Satoru.
Satoru and Ruriko got awkward at that and didn't know how to respond.
Naoya smirked at their silence.
"See. You cannot. Now let's go to the movies," replied Naoya and turned around.
Satoru and Ruriko looked at each other, and Ruriko immediately smacked her son.
'You had to bring up a sensitive topic at this time,' thought Ruriko.
She didn't speak, but Satoru could somehow understand what Ruriko was trying to say.
'You are one to talk after indirectly rejecting him.'
'I was trying to let him down slowly before things escalated!'
The mother and son kept communicating through their eyes and soon started following Naoya, who was quite far away from them.
He knew that the Gojos were quite behind him, but he didn't wait for them and made his way down.
Somehow, he felt a bit hurt and wanted some space.
Near the foot of the mountain, two cars from the Jujutsu division were parked, and the personnel from the HQ were waiting for Naoya and Satoru.
"Zenin-sama."
"Oh, Sato-san. The curse has been exorcised. I will tell you the details on the way. On that note, can we ask you for a favour?" asked Naoya.
"Favour? From us?" asked Sato and the other man in confusion. How could they be of help to two special grades.
"I was wondering if we could use your services for the day to go around town? Just for casual stuff, nothing jujutsu related," replied Naoya.
"Ah, no issues with that. We would be happy to help," replied Sato and the other man with a smile. The two of them had no issues with taking sorcerers from place to place after their missions. This gave them a bit more free time during their duties and while stationed at another mission. There were no issues with this arrangement.
"Thanks."
Just like that, the three of them, along with the two drivers, went to the movies.
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At the theatre, Naoya treated the people from the HQ, too, and like that, the five of them got into the almost empty hall.
Ruriko looked around, seeing the empty hall and turned towards Satoru.
"Why is it so empty?" asked Ruriko.
"Don't know. Maybe because it is still early?" replied Satoru.
"What movie are we watching?" asked Ruriko.
"Earthworm Man," replied Satoru.
Ruriko blinked, understanding the reason why the hall was empty.
"What is wrong with you boys?" asked Ruriko and facepalmed.
"Huh? Why the sudden jab at your own son?" asked Satoru, taken aback by his mother's comment.
"Well, considering your mental health, I too would be worried about you."
Naoya's voice came, making Satoru turn around and look at his friend, who was holding a bit too many snacks.
"Like you are one to talk. You were included in mom's comment, too, you know?" replied Satoru.
"Huh? Me too? What was the context? Here, caramel popcorn and cola for Satoru, and Butter popcorn and lemonade for Ruriko-san," said and handed the snacks to the two of them.
Both the Gojos looked at the things that they were handed and then looked back at Naoya, who still held quite a lot of things.
'He knows our preferences too well....' thought the two of them.
After settling down, Naoya turned towards the mother and son duo and asked what they were talking about.
"Hm? Something wrong with me?....well, considering that I decided to become your friend, there must be something wrong with me," said Naoya and looked at Satoru.
"What do you mean by that?! It's the other way around! I decided to be your friend first!" replied Satoru in annoyance.
"The best decision of your life, if I do say so myself," said Naoya with a sagely nod.
"This arrogant bastard!" complained Satoru.
Seeing the two of them back to normal, Ruriko sighed.
As the two boys continued to argue, the movie started making Ruriko shut the two of them up.
Naoya looked behind him, where the two people from HQ were, and handed some snacks to them as well. He was treating them afterall.
Neither the two nor Ruriko had any intention to watch Earthworm Man, but getting dragged in by the two special grades made them stop complaining and try to enjoy the movie anyway.
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Back in Tokyo:
Currently, Suguru Geto was not on a mission and considering that Satoru was not present for him to fool around with, he was on his usual job of walking around town and collecting curses while saving someone if he could.
"Satoru and Zenin are getting stronger and stronger day by day....I need to step up too..." muttered Geto and gulped the cursed spirit ball.
He didn't want to admit it, but he was a bit jealous of Naoya's and Satoru's strengths. He has seen Satoru every day since they joined Jujutsu High and knew that he was strong, too.
But after his encounter with Naoya and seeing the true limits of both the sorcerers, made him question his capabilities. He believed that the gap between him and Satoru was not that huge, but apparently, he was wrong, and it became even clearer after Satoru's recent understanding of RCT.
"I need to get more cursed spirits," muttered Geto.
While on a stroll, he spotted someone familiar.
"Hm? Geto-kun?"
"Itadori-san, fancy seeing you here. How is your injury?" asked Suguru with a smile mixed with worry.
The lady smiled at the boy.
"I am fine. Don't act like that. Also, I told you to call me Kaori, right? Don't act so distant," said Kaori with a pout.
"Haha. Sorry sorry. Kaori-san," replied Geto with a chuckle. The pouting lady looked cute to him.
"Anyway? What are you doing at this time? Don't you have school? Skipping classes?" asked Kaori suspiciously.
"Busted. Don't tell my teachers, though. I would be scolded," said Geto and raised his hands in surrender.
"Hm? What should I do with this bad boy? As an adult, this is my responsibility to report bad behaviour," said Kaori playfully.
"Ugh. I got caught up with a good person. What to do?" replied Geto, playing along.
Kaori smirked and waved her hand.
"Don't worry, I am just messing around. Anyway, since you are skipping anyway, help me get some groceries. I need someone to carry my stuff," said Kaori.
"Eh? Using me as a choreboy? Aren't you a good adult?"
"I will treat you to ice cream."
"Hmm...well, can't say no to that now, can I?" replied Geto with a chuckle. His gaze moved towards the bandage wrapped around Kaori's head, and he felt a bit of pity for her and decided to help her.
"My~ Accepting just like that? Did your parents not tell you to follow strangers who offer you candy?" asked Kaori playfully.
"My mom did warn me about girls like that," said Geto, thinking for a while.
He then smirked at Kaori.
"I was hoping she was right," added Geto.
Kaori blinked at that answer before she started laughing out loud.
"Well, let's hope you don't regret it," replied Kaori and stared at Geto...a bit too intently.