The first thing you noticed was the intense pounding in your head and your parched throat. You groaned softly while rolling over onto your back. It didn't take you long to realize that you were in your room. You sighed, continuing to stare up at the ceiling, still seeing that same crack that you kept telling yourself to fix months ago.
You sat upright and placed your hands on the temples of your head as you waited for the head rush to pass. Waking up in your room and not knowing how you got there was something you definitely did not want repeated. Your hands dropped back down to your sides as you tried to recall last nights events but everything seemed hazy.
There were some vague recollections that flipped through your mind, such as a stuffed toy resembling Gojo and also a fuzzy image of you sitting on his lap made your face burn with heat. You snorted and shook that thought away thinking about how silly and delusional it seemed. Feeling a bit skeptical you decided to look around your bed and immediate surroundings to make sure that the miniature Gojo didn't exist.
"What a weird ass dream." You mumbled to yourself.
It was now Sunday and the Kyoto bunch weren't scheduled to leave until tomorrow. Everyone was scattered across the campus, either still sleeping, mingling or completely hung over and likely puking somewhere.
You gathered your legs at your chest and wrapped your arms around them as you stared out into the river. You continued your steady in-and-out breaths while trying your best to ignore the throbbing in your head.
"Hey."
You looked up to see Yuta standing next to you. He was currently in his uniform which consisted of a untraditional white school jacket and belted pants. But it suited him well. He had his katana sheathed and slung around his shoulder by a strap.
"Yuta..."
The black-haired boy sat down next to you, spreading out his legs across the grass, "Thought I'd come by and say bye before I head out."
"You're leaving already?! But you just got here."
Yuta chuckled lightly and leaned a bit closer, "Well if I didn't have to find those darn fingers for you and Itadori then it wouldn't be an issue."
"Forget the fingers." You pouted, "They taste like crap anyway. Plus, if all of them are retrieved... that means me and Yuji will have our death sentence."
The black-haired boy's expression blanked, he could never allow such an unreasonable thing to slide. If anything, he couldn't even imagine it, it was unthinkable. But he too was in a similar situation at one point. All the reason why he was more than empathetic.
"I'll never let you die. You or Itadori. I'll make sure of it."
His reassurance made you smile. Okkotsu Yuta was generally a quiet guy who likes to keep to himself. He was previously bullied in grade school. He was quite the loner until you broke him out of his shell. For this, he was truly grateful. Unfortunately, the higher-ups always sent him away over seas to complete tasks that only a special grade sorcerer could handle.
"It's never goodbye." You turned to face him with a bright smile in which he returned, "Always see you later."
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
"Just promise me one thing." You said with your tone a bit more serious as you got to your feet.
"Anything."
"Don't go sacrificing yourself for us." You diverted your gaze out to the river again, "Or I'll find you and kill you myself before then."
Yuta snorted while getting to his feet to match your level prompting you to turn towards the boy. He then flicked you on the forehead, "Don't forget who you're talking to."
Of course, he was just as strong as Gojo Satoru was. He was more than capable of handling his own.
You winced briefly and your response to his flicking was one he wasn't expecting. Yuta's arms lifted slightly and his body tensed out of reflex. His eyes widened when you threw your arms around him and drew him in till your bodies were flush against each other. His expression softened once he realized you were just hugging him. He felt your hands tighten around the back of his jacket and he smiled before he wrapped his own arms around you.
"Hey... no crying." The boy said with his ever growing grin, "I'll miss you too."
You pushed yourself away and swiped at the corner of your eye with the heel of your hand, "I'm not crying. I just got some stuff in my eye..."
The two of you turned towards the approaching male whose voice cut into your conversation, "Making girls cry again?"
"I think that's your job, Gojo sensei." Yuta chuckled as he placed his hands on his hips. He too knew very well of the white-hair's promiscuous past. After all they were related distantly and had known each other for quite some time now.
"Good morning!" Gojo placed a hand on your head before retracting it to reach for something in his pocket, "By the way, you forgot this..."
His touch made your heart leap and your eyes trickled down to see what it was that you had forgotten. The white-haired sorcerer took out the miniature plush, the one that resembled him and the one you thought didn't exist. You just about fainted. If the doll was real then that means everything that happened in your so called 'dream' wasn't a dream at all.
"W-what is that??" You asked with some tension in your voice.
"Your gift. Don't you remember?" Gojo asked whilst arching a brow in confusion.
"No...?" You honestly didn't want to admit that you remembered anything because you were too embarrassed about the other things that had occurred the previous night. Things that you normally wouldn't have done if you hadn't had any alcohol to back up your wavering confidence.
Yuta laughed upon seeing the fatuous toy, "Really?? A toy of yourself? Ah, I guess I wouldn't put it past you sensei."
"I'll have you know it's flying off the shelves." Gojo joked smugly without any offense taken.
"Well, I better get going." The black-haired boy sighed and brought you in for one last platonic hug before he bid the two of you a farewell, "Take care of yourself, (y/n)."
"You too, Yuta..."
"I always do." He waved a hand in the air without looking back.
Once you and Gojo were alone he spoke up, "So about last night—"
You raised your voice and a sheepish laugh left your chest. You were literally cutting him off and didn't allow him to continue his thoughts, "OH! Yeah. Goodness, I was so drunk huh? Everyone was so, so, sooo drunk."
He made a troubled face but due to his blindfold you couldn't really tell. He hummed before he spoke again, "Do you remember anything?"
You twisted your lips, brought your hands to your back and began rocking back and forth on your feet, trying to appear like you were thinking, "Nothing worth mentioning."
The white-haired male was trying not to allow the hurt he was currently feeling to manifest physically, "Nothing worth mentioning?"
"Yeah... I don't know. I can't seem to recall much." You continued to lie through your teeth, "I guess it's not memorable enough that it's worth mentioning, yenno?"
By now Gojo was about to go build himself a casket and bury himself six-feet under. Just how many times were you going to shoot down his fragile ego? He thought he was moving forward with you but it appears that he had, in fact, actually moved about 10 steps backwards.
Gojo could literally have any girl he wanted. Any girl would have their hands all over him if he allowed them a chance. Any girl would want his attention if he gave them the time. So why wasn't it working with you? Was he not dropping enough hints?
"I see." He said blandly.
Some feet away Kugisaki and the Zenin twins sat at an outdoor table sipping on their drinks.
"Look at them." Mai scoffed, "Makes me sick."
"If you like him so much, why don't you do something about it then? Instead of complaining." Maki replied with furrowed brows.
"Don't worry girls." Mai smiled mischievously, "I got a plan and I might need your help."
"I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but (y/n) is my friend. I mean, I know you like Gojo and all but I can't help you." Kugisaki placed the straw in her mouth before she sipped audibly.
"That's fine." Mai groaned before she turned to look at her sister, "Maki?"
Maki rolled her eyes, she gulped down the last bit of her matcha before responding, "Alright. What is it?"
After excusing yourself from Gojo you found yourself joining Yuji and Fushiguro in the common area.
"How are you feeling?" You laughed as you watched Yuji heaving from his nausea over the side of the couch.
"....Like.... death..." the pink-haired boy brings himself up and sinks himself into his seat next to you, placing his head to rest on the backrest.
"Here, drink some water." You handed the boy a glass but he quickly spits it out.
"Why does it smell and taste like alcohol?!?"
"Gee, how fucked up were you?" You continued to laugh at his miserable state.
Yuji groaned and placed his hands over his face. He was so hungover the bright light emitting through the windows weren't helping with his throbbing headache.
"We should be asking how you're feeling." Fushiguro looked at you, remembering the fact that you were passed out on Gojo last night.
"Huh, why?"
"You don't remember anything?" Fushiguro's eyebrows knitted together, "When I found you, you were passed out. Gojo sensei brought you back to your room."
"Oh... about that..." Your eyes and head dropped downward as you began wringing your fingers. You felt bad about leaving Gojo hanging and also pretending that you didn't remember anything made you feel more like a shit-head. Maybe Fushiguro and Yuji could help shed some light on the situation, "I need some help..."
The raven-haired boy tilted his to the side, he was feeling rather curious and so did Yuji who had now brought his hands back down to his sides.
"I, uh, may have kissed him last night..." you brought your hands to your cheeks immediately to hide your embarrassment, "...but, I lied to him this morning and said that I don't remember anything at all. And now I don't know what to do!"
Yuji's heart sank to his stomach but he already accepted the fact that the two of you were nothing more than friends. He turned his head and reached over to put a hand on your shoulder, "Just be honest and tell him how you feel."
"I agree with, Itadori. What are you so afraid of?"
You brought your hands to gather at your lap now while you stared down at the chabudai, "Well, I just haven't been in a situation like this before and... what if I mess up? Or what if he doesn't like me like that?"
"I don't think you need to worry about that." Fushiguro didn't want to openly admit that the guy had feelings for you. He felt like that should be Gojo's job, "If you want it, go for it. Take a risk. Don't always play it safe or you'll die wondering."
"It's always going to feel scary..." Yuji smiled at you, remembering how scary it felt for him at one point too, "But the uncertainty, it's all apart of the journey."
You nodded slowly in agreement, now feeling better about the situation.
Yuji had always been a risk taker. He lived his life risking everything and yet he could not do that with you. As much as he wanted to take his own advice, he didn't want to bear more confusion and stress on you. Life has a funny way of bringing people together. Whether it was you or someone else, he knew he would meet his soulmate one day.
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Author Note
Can we just take a moment to appreciate Okkotsu Yuta? (●♡∀♡)
Artist: DLsmma (on Twitter)