Flights of Fancy [JJK Reader Insert]

Chapter 13: The Human Heart

And you realized that he wouldn't come by your door, rasping on it with a call of your name.

It was a result of that clarity that you had gotten up, dressed in your sweats, and headed out into the hall. Fushiguro wasn't outside as expected. Nor was Kugisaki when you walked outside and caught sight of the female dormitory.

And so you decided to run because you had done so alone before. That's how you had set it up to be. Remember?

"Taking an extra long break there, aren't we?"

You had to pause and blink if you had heard that right.

Then you felt the end of a pole press against the back of your head.

"You were watching me the whole time?" You muttered, not bothering to turn around to see who it was. "Creepy behavior, don't you think...Maki?"

She pressed the pole further into your head but pulled it away just as quickly after your retort.

"Difficult not to stare when you're looking off like some kind of idiot," she mumbled, moving around you to sit beside you with a good gap between you.

Maki crossed a leg over the other and then crossed her arms after setting her naginata aside.

"I heard."

You swished the water inside your bottle around gently and stared down at the field from the steps you were sitting on.

"Heard what?" you muttered.

She scoffed a little, although it wasn't as condescending as it would sometimes be.

"We both know exactly what I'm talking about," she glanced at you through her violet-colored frames, "I heard all about it already. The new student, Yuji, and the mission the three went on."

"If you know, then what is there to talk about."

You don't think you've been this standoffish towards Maki before. You respected her grit and character aside from her abilities.

It was just that his death had been recent—a literal day.

You had only known him for a short time. It couldn't have been more than a couple of weeks.

It almost felt like it had been much longer than that.

Maki scrunched her face, disapproving of your words.

"I leave for a bit, and you somehow become more of an emo than Fushiguro."

"I don't think Fushiguro would appreciate you saying that about him. Also, I'm not emo."

She stood up, swiping up her naginata with her.

"It's alright to be upset, you know," Maki glanced at you, a slight frown on her face. "Sorcerers aren't impervious to feelings. Even if you knew someone briefly, you can feel bad about them not being around anymore."

You didn't respond. Whether it bothered her initially or not--that was too hard to tell.

"If you have time to 'not' mope, you have time to train. Come on," she pointed her naginata at you, hand on her hip, "show me how bad you still are with your tanto."

You grimaced. "How about we do some hand-to-hand training today...?"

You'd rather avoid sparring with her altogether, but if you could have a say in what torturous training she'd put you through, then at least you should pick the one you were good at.

"No," she immediately turned down your request, "training is to improve on things you're terrible at, so get up!"

Well, at least while you had your ass handed to you by Maki, you wouldn't be thinking about Yuji's death.