The boy turned his head away from the bright blue sky above them, and to the girl lying beside him, humming in question. Viridian blades of grass brushed along her cheeks, kissing her skin softly. Her gaze was still trained to the sky, watching the shapes of the clouds dance along with the hues of blue. Her arm was raised, fingers spread out in the air.
“Do you think we’ll stay friends, even after we grow up?” She asked. The boy turned back to the sky, folding his arms behind his head.
“I don’t see why we wouldn’t,” He shrugged. “You and I have been friends practically since we were babies. Why would we stop now? Besides, nothing can tear us apart...right?”
Her pink lips pulled in a sweet smile. “Right,” However, the smile didn’t last long, and soon faded from her features. Her hand retracted from the sky, coming to rest on her chest, above the pendant of her necklace. “But…”
Satoru rolled onto his side, propping his elbow on the grassy ground, and rested the side of his head in his palm. “But what?”
“I-It’s just...my father…” She said softly, turning her head to look at him. “He’s picking someone for me to marry, and from the looks of it, none of them are nice.”
“Well, what does that have to do with us being friends?” He asked. “Don’t tell me he’s going to send you off somewhere.”
She looked away for a moment, biting her lip in thought. “I don’t want to say yes, but...I think he is. I found some of the letters, Satoru, some of them are from around Hiroshima and Yokohama. The only close one is from Shibuya. I-I think he wants me gone...for good.”
“Well, we can’t just let him do that,” Gojo said, watching her sit up, propping herself on her palms. Her long hair fell over her shoulders.
“And what are we supposed to do about it, Satoru? We’re nothing compared to him. He’s the head of my clan, my father, and a high-ranking sorcerer!”
“And an asshole,” He added with a scoff. “Look, don’t worry too much about it, alright? We’ll go to high school together, and then meet back up there if you do end up getting sent away. Then, I’ll become the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer there is, and I’ll save you from all this.”
She smiled softly, raising her hand and holding out her pinky finger. “Swear to it?”
“On my life,” He grinned. “Cross my heart and hope to die, or stick a needle in my eye.” They both crossed an ‘x’ over their chests with their index finger, their pinkies still interlocked.
“Now seal it with a kiss!” She giggled, making Satoru as well. They both leaned forward and pressed their lips to their hands. “Now you’ll never be able to break it!”
“Like I would anyways!”
“Satoru, wake up,”
His eyes opened, meeting a pair of dark brown ones. He sat up, glancing at the empty seat beside him. Rubbing the corner of his eye, he looked out the window.
“Where’s Yuuji?” He asked, placing the black-rimmed sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. Sho put a finger to his lips and pointed to the side.
Itadori lay in one of the long seats, curled into a ball, facing them. His eyebrows were knit together in discomfort, his body slightly jerking and twitching. He pulled the blanket closer to him in his sleep, and a soft whimper escaping almost silently.
Nightmares, Gojo thought.
“He’s been like that for the past fifteen minutes,” Sho said quietly, as not to wake him. “He paced up and down for almost an hour until I slipped some melatonin in his water and told him to lay down over there. He’s restless.”
“Yeah, it’s probably Sukuna fucking with him,” He said, standing. “It’s better to wake him up now.”
Itadori’s eyes flew open when he felt Gojo’s hand brush his shoulder. His hand shot to grab the man’s wrist, the other inches from slamming in his jaw when he saw the man’s face. A flurry of apologies spilled from his lips as he let go of Gojo’s wrist and fell back on the seat, wiping his hands over his face.
Had this been the reason Itadori looked so tired all the time? Was Sukuna so bored that he began taunting Itadori to the point it was physically affecting him? It was obvious that something had been going on with Itadori lately; the lack of enthusiasm, the half-hearted grins and brief smiles, the dark bags under his eyes. His classmates had voiced their concern many times, both teens worried about their friend’s well-being.
Even Gojo had noticed. He was concerned as well. He knew it was the stress, the fear, the guilt, and the anxiety that loomed above the teen that made him act so. It bothered him to no end to know that his students weren’t okay and that something was wrong.
“Yuuji, what’s he doing to you?” Gojo asked, crouching in front of the seat. Itadori looked at him with stress, his golden eyes wavering.
“N-Nothing. I just had a n-nightmare,” He said, brushing past him to stand. “Th-That’s all.”
“You’re lying,” Gojo said, standing and facing him.
“I-I--”
“Don’t push him, Satoru,” Sho said, standing up as the train came to a stop. “He obviously doesn’t want to discuss it. It’s better not to bring up such terrorizing things.”
“Sorry,”
“I-It’s okay, I p-promise,”
“Come on, grab your bags,” Sho said, throwing his own over his shoulders. “We can warp from here. Okasa is going to put up a veil long enough for us to go.”
“Alright,” Gojo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Once their things had been collected, the image of the interior of the train car vanished, and they now stood in front of an old house.
The white paint was chipping off the side of the house. The house structure itself looked old, the winding pillars and wrap-around porch being the obvious sign of that. It also didn’t look like a typical and standard Japanese house. It was more urban. Off to the side, a barn sat idly, and it looked like it would cave if you blew on it.
“So this is the place?” Gojo asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“Yup,” Sho replied, popping his lips.
“It looks...cozy,” Itadori said, rubbing the side of his neck as he watched a blue-tailed lizard scurry past his feet.
“Well, let’s get inside. This place is about ten kilometers from the other houses, so us being spotted shouldn’t be an issue,” Sho said. “But we still should be cautious.”
Gojo’s shoulders dropped with a heavy, exaggerated sigh. “This is gonna be a helluva long week,”
