Trapped Behind Words: InuOkko

Chapter 21: Drawing

Yuta stood, rolling his shoulders back. "Hi, I am Okkotsu Yuta."

"Oh, yeah, I didn't give a prompt. I'm a little distracted today. How about you say why you are here?" Gojo huffed.

"I came here because I was asked-"

"No, don't include others in your reason. You came here on your own two feet. That was no one else's fault," Gojo smirked.

"Right. Well, I came here because..." Yuta thought about the real reason he had come in the first place, Rika. "I came because I lost someone close to me. They were someone I thought I loved, and they were taken way too soon. I saw it happen right in front of me. I want to reclaim my life, I think. Whatever that means, make new friends, maybe."

Yuta sat down again. He could feel Gojo's eyes staring through him. Was he not careful enough with his answer? There wasn't anything leading into the question like the time before. Perhaps Gojo was growing lazier? No, that wouldn't make sense considering all the effort he had put into the time-shifting project. Yuta couldn't be relaxed until he was sure Gojo wasn't going to hear information.

"Inumaki, why don't you go next?" Gojo asked.

The black-haired man turned his attention to Toge, who sighed as he pulled the same notebook from the inner pocket of his jacket. Itadori had no insight into this interaction. It would be several days until his knowledge of events would be useful. Again, Yuta was alone.

Toge walked across the room and handed the notebook to Gojo. That was different. Maybe Toge didn't remember? Or was he defeated? Itadori didn't seem to be on a tight leash when it came to those who remembered, but maybe Toge was too much of an outlier?

Gojo started reading the note aloud, "I am Inumaki Toge, and I don't speak. I have selective mutism. I came to this group a long time ago. At first, it was just because I was asked, then it became part of my routine. Now, I want to work on my mutism. I want to be able to speak when I want to. Not just when I can. Also, Gojo is... Hey! Inumaki, that was rude!"

Inumaki giggled as he took the notebook back. Yuta couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. Instantly, Yuta shivered as he felt icy thorns run down his spine. An anxious shimmy jittered his shoulders. If Gojo saw him smiling, would Gojo assume Yuta remembered? No, others in the group were smiling too. That would be a heuristic, a leap in judgment too great for someone so calculating.

When Toge returned to his seat, Yuta whispered, "So, you do make sound."

With that short incantation, Toge's amethyst-lensed eyes pierced Yuta. The black-haired man hadn't planned too far ahead, so he gave a calm side glance. That was his hope. A shot in the dark that Toge would recognize him. Not for the Okkotsu Yuta that he inhabited, but for the Okkotsu Yuta he was on the inside. The one that remembered.

As the conversation moved around the room, Yuta felt a nudge against his leg. When he looked down, it was Toge's notebook. Too early to assume it was a success. Yuta averted his stare for a moment, as if observing the paper would ruin the entire go-round. It would be a normal human response to look down at something touching their leg, right?

Yuta inhaled, looking to the open page with one sentence written, "Are you new around here?"

That was an odd question for a Toge that remembered to ask. Then again, everything about the new timeline was different. Was the butterfly effect really a thing? Even then, that would be a lot of change in a short period of time. Yuta saw the pen in the center of the page.

However, maybe Toge was ahead of him? The redhead from before had ruined the entire timeline according to Gojo. She made a mess of things, that was for sure. There was a chance the question Toge was asking was coded to be answered in a certain way.