Yuji rises to the sound of his alarm startling him awake, he groans as he turns it off and rolls over to the other side of the bed. The white rays from the sun bursting through his window and casting lines across the floor keep him from falling back asleep. The boy grudgingly gets out of bed, looking outside to see the black and white sky.
"Good morning." He greets, as he spots Megumi sitting at the table, as he runs a hand through his hair in his tired daze. Megumi greets him without looking up from the table, putting his chopsticks down he wordlessly pushes a plate of food towards Yuji. Yuji accepts the food with thanks as he also starts to eat.
The two sit in silence as they eat before Yuji suddenly complains, "I'm so bored." pushing the food around with his chopsticks. Megumi looks at him in wonder.
"You literally woke up five minutes ago." Megumi responds, Yuji rolls his eyes at the argument.
"You should bring out the dogs." Yuji suggests as he gives Megumi a hopeful look.
"They're curses, not pets, Itadori." Megumi answers, thinking about the way Yuji and Nobara always react to seeing them.
"But they're such good boys." Yuji coos, Megumi looks up at him, seeing the childlike glint in his eyes as he thinks about the dogs.
"They're still curses, Itadori." Megumi restates, Yuji groaning at him in response saying that they could make great pets.
"What about the great serpent then?" Megumi says, his face twisting as he thinks about it. Yuji's skin crawls as he thinks about having to see the giant snake shikigami. "He could make a great pet too."
"I don't think so." Yuji suggests, watching Megumi smirk at him. "So the toads then?" the other proposes, Yuji waves his hands in the air at the other. "Okay, stop!" Yuji says as he thinks about all the less cute animals Megumi can summon.
"You said you were bored!" Megumi shouts at him as Yuji goes to head outside.
_____________
Yuji plays on his phone during their break from training, scrolling through an article about a woman who found out her husband fell out of love with her. The article going on to say how he made an off-handed comment about the green towels in the kitchen when there were only navy towels there.
"Are you back on the whole falling in love colour thing again?" Nobara asks over the sounds of their other schoolmates in the background, leaning over Yuji's shoulder to try and read what was on his screen.
"Of course! Is it not exciting for you guys?" Yuji wonders as he puts his phone down, letting his hands run through the grey grass underneath him.
"I don't know, it would be nice to be able to see different colours," Nobara exclaims and Yuji agrees happily. "I heard some people even dye their hair different ones! Like purple and green!" She continues.
"Green? Isn't that the colour this is supposed to be?" He wonders as he rips up a patch of grass.
"It is." Gojo confirms as he takes a sitting position between them, telling Yuji not to rip up the grass. "What colour are you most excited to see, Itadori?" Gojo asks him, and Yuji thinks about it, there are so many colours out there for him to experience, how can he pick just one?
"Blue." He finally answers, his hands continuing to play with grass, "I heard it's the most popular colour, and it's also the colour of the sky apparently. I want to see that, instead of the bleak black and white it always is." Yuji complains, looking up to the usual plain colourless sky.
"You will." Gojo confirms, Yuji feels comforted by the affirmation even though it sounded like a thinly veiled threat.
"What about you?" Yuji wonders, as he turns to face his friends.
"Something pretty. Like pink, or purple, maybe orange!" Nobara explains as she pulls up a list of colours, reading the descriptions of how they're meant to look like. Yuji turns to Megumi expectedly, but the other just shrugs.
"I don't know. I don't give it much thought." Megumi admits, and Yuji is intrigued by the boy's response.
"How come? Don't you want to fall in love and see colours too?" He asks, something in him stirs as Megumi just shrugs again.
"I don't know, who's to say it's even real. It doesn't logically make any sense." Megumi answers, the unsettling feeling in Yuji grows at his response.
"People have experienced it, Fushiguro. How else would people even know what colours are?" Yuji defends, his mind going to the stories and evidence from people who have experienced it. From meeting a stranger's eyes on the train, and the explosion of colours following after. Or to the colours gradually coming into someone's life as they realise they're slowly falling in love with someone.
"What made you so interested in it anyways, Itadori?" Nobara asks, interrupting Megumi before he can give an answer.
"I don't know, ever since I was a kid I've just always thought it was real, so I've always just wanted to fall and love. I also had a sensei when I was in grade school who told me all about it." Yuji confesses. I want to know what she meant, he thinks as he plays back the memory from his childhood.
"Your sky is green, Itadori." Says the teacher, the sound of her heels stopping in front of his desk.
"I'll paint a blue sky one day, sensei!" The boy exclaims happily, as he continues colouring. "When did you see your first colour, sensei?" Yuji asks as his feet dangle excitedly under his desk.
"When I saw my daughter for the first time." She answers honestly, and Yuji can feel the warmth from her smile.
"It - it wasn't Mister?" He asks, stunned. Yuji thinking about the man that came to class on Valentine's day with flowers, handing them off to his teacher as she smiled widely.
"No, Itadori. Some people - " she stops herself, "sometimes you meet someone, and you can love them to death, but they're not the ones that bring you colour."
"How is that possible?" Yuji asks stunned.
"I don't really know, Itadori. It just is. Some people just aren't lucky in that way." She explains, "some people even get their colours from someone, but they don't give colours to the other." She continues as she watches the boy's face turn from confused to distraught.
"What!? That's possible? Oh no!" Yuji cries, "is - is that why it wasn't Mister?"
"Mine wasn't romantic, Itadori. In some rare cases, it isn't. Some people get theirs from platonic or even storge relationships."
"Pla - platonic? Storage?" Yuji asks, confused with the new words.
"Friendship. Familial." She answers with a laugh at the confused boy, "it's a very confusing and loaded concept, Itadori. Not many people understand the true logistics behind it. It's just ultimately about someone that you love unconditionally. Someone that makes you, you." She explains, handing the boy a crayon as she walks away, the sound of her heels fading to the other side of the classroom.
Yuji doesn't understand what she means, but he holds onto the crayon that says 'Sky Blue.'
"That's so corny, Itadori." Nobara teases as she continues to play on her phone. The two bicker until they're forced to go back to training.
Yuji drags his feet back to his room when the day is over, letting his body flop against his bed. The exhaustion taking over as he feels himself slowly drift off, only to dart awake when he hears his door click open. He turns his attention towards the intruder and sees Megumi walking towards him.
"Sorry for barging in, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about the whole colour thing earlier, I know how important it is to you." Megumi apologises as he sits on the foot of Yuji's bed. Yuji feeling sympathetic as he sees the guilt in the other's eyes.
"It's okay, I know it's hard for some people to believe in." Yuji admits, and he meant it. Yuji can't blame people for not believing in soulmates even though he wholeheartedly did. He thinks about the people who are old and say they never saw colour or the people who are sure they've met the one but they're still seeing only black and white.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't. You'll see colour one day, Itadori. You deserve to." Megumi promises as his eyes find Yuji's, and he feels as if he has no choice but to believe the boy.
____________
Yuji wakes up the next morning, his eyes squinting at the unusually bright rays of the sun that day. Getting up and looking outside, his eyes focus on the sky. Is it going to rain? He wonders as he sees the off colour of it. Yuji erases the mindless thoughts from his head as he makes his way out of his room, throwing on a shirt he finds on the ground.
He walks into the kitchen to see Megumi sitting at the table, he greets him as he makes his way to the fridge. "There's no food." Megumi says as he watches Yuji open the fridge anyway. Yuji groans as he closes the fridge, not wanting to go grocery shopping.
"We need to go shopping." Megumi says, earning another groan from Yuji.
The two make their way to the grocery store, Megumi grabbing all the things they need as Yuji pushes the cart. The food looks extra good today, Yuji thinks as he looks at all the food laying out. He puts the blame of it on the hunger that's growing in his stomach.
Yuji offers to hold the bags as they leave the store. The two head out and make their way back to the dorm, Yuji gasping as he notices a crepe kiosk in the distance. He throws the grocery bags in Megumi's hands as he grabs his wallet from his pocket, frowning when he sees he doesn't have enough, suddenly feeling the regret from buying DLC for a game he was playing. The boy doesn't notice the way that Megumi's face falls at his reaction. The two walk past the kiosk, Yuji staring at it sorrowfully as they walk their way beyond it. The two continue to make their way back to the dorm, Megumi hesitantly stops walking, Yuji turns around to face him when he notices the other wasn't by his side anymore, face twisting in confusion as to why the boy stopped moving all of a sudden.
"Hey, I just realised we forgot something." Megumi says, as he slowly turns to make his way back to the store.
"Is it really that important?" Yuji sighs, as he tries to get a better grip on the bags in his hands.
"Yes, it is. I'll go grab it." Megumi instructs Yuji to wait here for him as he runs back to the grocery store. Yuji exhales as he sits on the curb as told, placing the bags down in front of him as he waits for his friend to return from the store. He plays with the handles on the bag for a few minutes until he sees Megumi's shoes suddenly appear in front of him. He directs his eyes up to the boy with a crepe in his hands.
"I got it for you." Megumi offers, handing him the fruit-filled crepe. Yuji feels his heart burst at the action, he quickly scrambles to his feet and grabs it from the other.
"Thank you, Fushiguro." He says, his hands feeling warm from where Megumi's touched his. He doesn't acknowledge it. Megumi grabs the grocery bags from the ground as the two finally make their way back to the dorm.
"No problem, even though I should've kept it because you stole my shirt." Megumi states, Yuji looks down and realises that he is in fact wearing Megumi's shirt. He flushes with embarrassment as he apologizes to the other. The sky suddenly looking too bright.
_____________
The trio decides to go shopping one Saturday night.
"Can you hurry up?" Nobara complains from behind his door, Yuji rolls his eyes as he continues trying on clothes, suddenly feeling weird in everything he was wearing. Why do all my clothes look so off today? He thinks to himself as he grabs a black - no grey? - sweater. Since when did I own this? He wonders as he puts it on, the sweater slides on his body and fits the same way the black one Megumi got him for Christmas does. Yuji looks in the mirror and examines the way it looks on him. I must've washed it too many times, he thinks to himself as he remembers all the times he's worn the sweater since he's gotten it.
Yuji exits the room and sees Nobara and Megumi waiting for him outside, the three throwing on their shoes as they head out the door. The trio walks down the sidewalk together as their comfortable chatter fills the air, Yuji feeling uncharacteristically nervous every time his shoulders bump against Megumi's as they all try to fit on the small patch of pavement. The group makes their way towards the shops, Yuji squinting as they walk down the street alongside all the other stores and food stalls. His eyes suddenly feeling heavy from all the loud signs and bright lights.
"Are you alright?" Megumi wonders as he notices the other rubbing his eyes furiously. Yuji looks over and tries to focus on him through his now blurry vision.
"Yeah, I think I'm getting a headache," Yuji replies as his eyes try to focus on something that wasn't bright, him opting to stare down at his pale sneakers.
"Do you want to eat before we shop?" The other asks.
"No, I'm fine. It's just like, unusually bright today." Yuji complains as he looks back around at the multiple lit up store lights and signs. Megumi and Nobara nod at him as they continue walking, trying to convince Yuji that it's not a big deal if he wants to eat first.
The trio makes it to the shop that they were looking for, multiple racks of clothing with signs indicating what colour the clothes are hung above it. The group all break off as Yuji wanders around aimlessly, none of the clothes really grabbing his attention. He stops at a rack of jeans, pausing to read the sign above it.
BLUE JEANS (LIGHT BLUE)
PAIRS WELL WITH: MOSTLY ANY COLOUR. WHITE, GREY, MAROON OR WINE RED ARE POPULAR CHOICES.
Yuji lets his hand trail along the racks of clothes as he makes his way to the dressing rooms he saw his friends go into earlier. As if on cue, Megumi comes out of one of them.
"It looks good on you." Yuji compliments, observing the boy in the sweater. What an odd shade of grey, he thinks to himself. Yuji sits on one of the couches as he waits for his friends to finish trying on clothes, he watches as the both of them come out in the pieces they've picked out, asking him for his opinion on them.
He walks around mindlessly again as the other two make their way to the cash. A rack of sweaters catching Yuji's attention, he stares at them for a while trying to wonder what was so different about them. He's pulled from those thoughts as he sees Megumi making his way towards him.
"Did you get the sweater?" Yuji asks as his eyes fall to the bag in the boy's hand. Megumi answers with yes, and that he also got more white t-shirts. As if he needed more.
"Are you not getting anything, Itadori?" Nobara asks as she walks over to the two, struggling to hold her plethora of bags, part of Yuji wants to offer help but the other part knows she can carry her own.
"I don't know? Everything just seems - off?" Yuji says as he looks around the store, and it did for some strange reason. The whites didn't look white enough, the greys were all off-colour, and most of the blacks seemed like they were discoloured.
The trio ends up walking back home shortly after they eat, Yuji looking through the windows of all the shops that they pass. He gets intrigued when they pass by a floral shop, the flowers catching his attention as Yuji stops in front of the window to look inside.
"Ooh, who are you getting flowers for, Itadori?" Nobara asks as she swings the bags around in her hand. Yuji furiously shakes his head in response, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"No one. I just want to look you guys go ahead." Yuji says as he instructs his friends to head back to the dorm, Yuji hearing Nobara chuckle to Megumi, "who knew he was such a player!" before he makes his way into the shop.
Yuji walks around the shop undirected for a while, observing the multiple tables and shelves of potted plants and flowers. He stops when he finds himself in front of a pot filled to the brim with tiny four-leaf flowers, he picks it up to observe it.
"Do you need help, sir?" The woman in uniform asks, Yuji puts down the flower pot in surprise, looking towards the woman in question he declines her help. The woman smiles at him, looking down at the flower pot that he was just holding.
"They're lilacs. Purple lilacs." She explains as she hands it to him, Yuji takes it back from her and continues to look at it. His eyes wander until he sees another pot close by, he notices it was overflowing with flowers, they were light and larger than the other ones, with the petals flowing out gracefully.
"Those are the yellow carnations." She speaks up as she follows the boy's line of vision. Yuji nods at her, his eyes keeping focused on the flowers.
"How much are these?" Yuji asks, diverting his eyes back to the uniformed woman, she smiles widely at him before telling him the prices.
Yuji ends up leaving the shop with four pots of flowers. He sets them up in the basement, adding life to the otherwise bleak room. Yuji turns around as he hears Megumi making his way down the stairs.
"You ended up getting some?" Megumi asks as he makes his way to the other, leaning against the wall as he watches Yuji set up the flower pots on the table.
"I did. The shop owner was too nice, I didn't know how to say no to her." Yuji commented as he recalled the helpful woman from the shop earlier.
"They're nice," Megumi states as he lets his fingers trace one of them, the petal falling off after he touches it. He pulls his hand away quickly, eyes darting to Yuji to see if he noticed. The latter turning around and pretending he didn't, Megumi quickly picks up the evidence and hides it in his pocket.
"They are, aren't they." Yuji agrees as he turns back around to look at the array of flowers that now decorate the room.
"You have a good eye for these things," Megumi states. Yuji thanks him for the compliment, suddenly feeling warm. "Just don't let Kugisaki see these, I had to listen to her speculate about who she thinks you're buying them for the entire way home. She even guessed me at one point."
Yuji laughs at his friend's antics, pushing down the feeling he feels rising in his chest at the comment. "She ruined the surprise!" he jokes, cheeks reddening after saying it. He rocks back and forth on his feet as he sees the smile on Megumi's face grow, the pounding in his chest growing with it.
Yuji looks back at the flowers, noticing how they suddenly look more lively than before.
____________
He regrets getting the flowers when he realises how much time and effort has to be put into it. "Why do I have to water these so often?" He complains as he pours the water into the soil, Megumi telling him that's how they stay alive.
"Do you have to feed your shikigami?" Yuji asks, wondering about Megumi's cursed spirits. This is a good segue.
"No. They're curses." Megumi answers and Yuji nods as he hits the water bottle against the table, getting lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, an idea comes to him. "And no, I'm not going to bring them out." Megumi adds on, already knowing where the conversation was heading.
"I wasn't going to ask that!" Yuji says in defense, as he was definitely going to ask that. He bites his lips as he tries to find a different way to convince Megumi to bring out his dogs.
"Then what were you going to say?" Megumi asks, Yuji suddenly feeling put on the spot says the first thing that comes to mind.
"We should get a dog. A real dog." Yuji says, and Megumi breaks eye contact from the book he was reading to face him.
"We? We shouldn't get a dog." Megumi answers almost too quickly. Yuji feels himself deflate at the rejection, suddenly really wanting a pet.
"I'm going to ask sensei if we can get a dog." Yuji states as he thinks about it, Gojo-sensei would let me get one. Inumaki would probably like a dog, so would Nobara. Are dogs scared of pandas?
"We are not getting a dog." Megumi reiterates, and Yuji frowns at the second rejection.
"C'mon, it's been like - forever since I've seen them last." He whines as he thinks about how he misses them. "Just for a minute, just let me pet them," He says as he moves his hands into a praying motion.
"I told you, they're curses, not pets." Megumi repeats from the same conversation they've had before. Yuji just rolls his eyes at him, not wanting to remember he's already gone through this course of refusal with Megumi before.
"So that's why we should get a dog." Yuji argues, standing his ground on their pet debate.
"We are not getting a dog!" Megumi says, his voice raising. Yuji tries not to laugh at his friend suddenly getting annoyed with him.
"You're always snappy!" Yuji states in a joking manner, "so now's a perfect time to bring them out." Yuji adds, remembering what Gojo told him about the emotions behind using cursed energy,
"I'm not snappy!" Megumi argues, Yuji can see the annoyance swim in the other's dull eyes, he bites his lip in order to prevent himself from laughing.
"If you had a dog you wouldn't be this snappy." Yuji jokes, and the other looks at him. Yuji can see the irritation in the other's eyes, so he smirks at him, causing Megumi to get up instantly.
"I'm not dealing with this." Megumi says as he grabs his phone off the table and heads to leave, Yuji pushing down the feeling of trying not to laugh.
"I'll even let you name it!" Yuji shouts to the other as he hears the door slamming shut. Laughing to himself as he finishes watering the plants, silently praising himself for making them look even more vibrant than when he first got them.
_______________
Yuji watches as Megumi throws his head back in laughter at a joke he just told, laughing along with him as he basks in one of the rare times that he gets to see his friend act this way. Yuji feels content as he watches Megumi's blue eyes close, seeing the way they crinkle at the sides in joy. Wait - his - his blue eyes? Megumi has blue eyes? Yuji freezes as he watches as Megumi comes back to his senses, the other opening his eyes to look at Yuji, and Yuji finds himself staring into oceans. Oh, my god. Yuji gets up in a panic as he realises everything in the room was suddenly bursting at the rim with colours.
Megumi noticing the panic in Yuji gets up too, nerves rising at the sudden behaviour of his friend. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Megumi asks, Yuji opens his mouth to say something but closes it quickly when he sees the other's eyes darken with worry. He looks around the room, why is everything so bright? Why does nothing match? "Are you okay?" Megumi asks again, unaware of the other's internal struggle. Yuji just nods his head, telling the other he's not feeling good as he rushes to the bathroom.
Yuji splashes water on his face, and oh god the bathroom is ugly, Yuji thinks. He looks around to see the mismatched coloured tiles and white walls. An assortment of different colour bath towels are folded semi-neatly on a shelf behind him. He grabs one of them and stares at it for a beat, the thick red material sitting softly in his hands. He throws the towel down and grabs another one, the blue - no green - no it's both? fabric hanging off his hands. It slipping out of his hands in shock when he hears a knock on the door, suddenly scrambling to clean up the mess he's made, Yuji checks himself in the mirror before preparing himself to leave the confines of the bathroom. My face is red. Why is it red? He wonders as he turns the dial.
"Hey, what's going on?" Megumi asks once the door opens, his eyes widening when he sees how distraught the other one suddenly is.
"No - nothing, Fushiguro. I'm going to lay down, I don't feel good." Yuji says as he tries to leave the room, only to be stopped by Megumi's voice.
"Wait, are you sure? What's wrong?" Megumi asks, and Yuji hesitantly looks at the other, his eyes - his blue eyes staring back at him. Yuji swallows as he tells him it's fine as he tries to leave the room again, "dinner's almost ready, though." Megumi says in protests, Yuji brushes him off by saying he doesn't want any. "Okay, feel better." Megumi tells him as Yuji makes his way out of the room, the boy refusing to pay attention to the heat rising in his cheeks as he makes his way up the stairs.
Yuji closes the door to his room in a panic, he looks out the window and sees the blue sky looking down at him. It looked familiar, but still new somehow. Yuji turns around and scans his room, seeing the various trinkets and posters suddenly all brought to life with colour. There's a shock to seeing it, but at the same time, it feels like something he's seen every day. "What is happening?" He wonders out loud at the strange familiarity of being able to see the colours. Yuji lets himself fall against his bed as he searches up articles about people's first experiences with seeing colour, trying to find if someone else has had a similar experience that he's having. His eyes stop as he scrolls past one entitled It Was My Best Friend. Nervously intrigued by it, he clicks on the article. He coos when he sees a picture of two toddlers sitting in a sandbox with an assortment of toys scattered around them. He scrolls past the multitude of pictures until he reaches the last one, a photo of two girls who look roughly a few years older than him sitting near a creek with their bikes discarded behind them. Yuji notices that they're both wearing very mismatched outfits.
I've known my best friend since I was in diapers (look at cute we are in that first photo!). Our moms were best friends, so that made us best friends. We were biking one day and stopped for treats at one of those weird shops on the side of the road. I saw her laugh as she ate her popsicle, making some crude joke that made the old people sitting at the next table glare angrily at us. We biked again until we found some strange creek (the one pictured in the last photo - also I know, I picked that outfit before I could see colour!), she dared me to jump in it but I was too scared. So she promised to hold my hand if I went in with her, and of course, I could never say no. So I nervously grabbed her hand, looking over at her when she counted down from three, she pushed me in. When I came back up to hear the sound of her laughter I realised that the popsicle was orange the whole time.
Yuji smiles to himself at the cute story, hitting the like button in the process. He can feel a pain in his chest rise as he reads the last line over and over again. The sound of her laughter. Yuji swallows as he closes the article and rolls over, shoving his headphones in his ears. If he doesn't have to think about it, it doesn't have to be true.
____________
The change is strange and overwhelming, he soon comes to realise. There's colour in everything. Yuji observes the way the sky rises with yellow and oranges, to set with blues that fade to pinks and purples, only to end with a deep black. He sees the way the sun burns so bright, the otherwise harmless yellow burning his eyes until he's forced to look away. The green of the grass and the vibrancy resulted from hours of costly care. The tinge of pink on the cheeks of lovers as they kiss each other goodbye in the morning.
____________
Blue, the colour of the ocean, the sky, and Megumi's eyes. The most popular colour in the world, apparently. His favourite colour.
Yuji wakes up extra early the next day, getting himself ready as he quietly makes his way out of the dorm. The golden rays of the sun casting shadows on the sidewalk he makes his way down. Yuji walks around the streets of Tokyo, now being slightly overwhelmed by how bright and colourful everything is. He stops at the same flower shop from before, all the flowers bursting with lovely colour. Yuji continues to look in, something in him feeling happy as he thinks about the care that goes into keeping them looking this vibrant and alive. He continues to make his way around the area, noticing the colourful graffiti that paints the walls that he never really recognized before. Yuji walks past a pair of middle schoolers, watching the girl's face turns red as the person she's walking with pulls her closer, making sure she doesn't bump into him. Yuji smiles at the two as they apologise to him. He continues to walk around senselessly as he takes in the streets.
Yuji arrives back at the dorm hours later. He opens the door quietly as he comes in and kicks off his shoes, feeling shock waves go through him when he hears the sound of his friend's voice break the silence.
"Where did you go?" Megumi asks with worry as he spots Yuji coming in, Yuji looks over at the noise and sees the other sitting at the kitchen table. He notices a dirty plate, and a full plate of food sitting in front of him.
"Sorry, I went for a walk." He apologies as he checks the time on the clock behind Megumi, 10:28am, he feels sympathetic when he realises how long he was gone without telling anyone where he was going.
"I saved you some breakfast," Megumi offers him a plate with food on it, ignore it. ignore it. Yuji screams to his heart. He smiles as he makes his way over to the table the boy was sitting at, grabbing the plate and the chopsticks Megumi left out for him. The other boy apologising for the food probably being cold now.
"So, where did you go?" Megumi asks again, prompting Yuji to give him more details about the journey he went on earlier. Yuji doesn't know why, but he feels put on the spot at the question. He slowly eats the food that was in his mouth before answering.
"Just around. Just walked to some shops and stuff." He answers honestly, as he pushes the food around with his chopstick, Megumi watching as he slides the food back and forth before eating it.
"So you're feeling better?" Megumi asks, referring to the night before. Yuji stiffens at the question as he thinks about the other day, his mind reeling as it plays back the memory of seeing Megumi's eyes light up with a shockingly beautiful shade of blue.
"Yeah, I am. Thanks, Fushiguro." Yuji says, "and for saving me breakfast, I was starving." He says as he pushes the now empty plate away from him. Megumi looks to him and accepts the thanks with a smile, their eyes meeting in the process. Yuji feels the ocean blues crash like waves against his heart.
_____________
Red is his least favourite colour, he quickly realises.
It covers Nobara's face, chest, and the cold concrete around her. There's so much of it. There's so much. Why is there so much? Yuji can't do anything but stare as the warm liquid runs down his trembling hands. The words It's going to be okay fall off his lips. He believes them. He needs to believe them.
Red is the colour he feels when the man inside of him starts taunting him. When he incubates his thoughts and makes him feel and do terrible things.
It's the colour he sees when he wants, needs to defend himself. When he needs to defend his friends and anyone who can't themselves.
Red is the colour that stains his hands no matter how many times he washes them.
_____________
Green is the colour he sees when he enters Megumi's room.
Yuji opens the door to Megumi's room, looking in he makes out a lump in the bed in the otherwise pitch-black room. Yuji quietly tiptoes his way over, trying not to make a sound as he places a glass on the table, reaching his arm out to softly touch the boy that's under the blankets.
"I brought you some tea, it might make you feel better." Yuji offers. Megumi rolls over and grumbles something that Yuji assumes is a thank you, so he nods in return.
"How are you feeling?" Yuji presses, reaching his hand out for the other's forehead. It's warm, he thinks. They shouldn't have trained for so long in the rain. The undeserved guilt rises as he sees the other, spotting the way the moonlight coming through the window behind him casts a light on his face and accentuates the dark bags under his eyes.
"I'm fine, Itadori. Don't worry about me." The bedridden boy croaks out, and Yuji would believe him if it weren't for the sudden gravel of his voice or the two discarded Kleenex boxes that are laying on the bedroom floor. Yuji watches as Megumi reaches for the glass, sniffling before letting it come to his lips as he takes a drink of it, wincing when he feels the heat come in contact with his mouth.
"Do you need another blanket?" Yuji asks after hearing the boy sniffle again, "I can bring you mine, it's not that cold today." Yuji suggests as he's already getting up to grab extra blankets, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing his wrist and holding him in place.
"No, it's fine. Can you - can you just keep company?" Megumi asks, Yuji feeling his nerves spark at the proposal. He feels pity for the other when he thinks about how Megumi has been bedridden for the past day and a half, and that everyone was instructed not to go see him for too long so they wouldn't get sick either. Yuji not being one to let his friend be alone accepts the offer, he'll deal with the consequences later.
"Okay, but don't touch me with those snotty hands, please." He says as he pulls his wrist away from the cold yet clammy hand of the other. Yuji grabs a chair from the other side of the room and pulls it towards his bed, stretching his legs so his feet were now resting on it, ignoring the sudden protests from Megumi.
The room stays silent bar the sound of Megumi's constant sniffles and Yuji's rapid heartbeat, it pounding against his chest so hard that he thinks the people in the next room could even hear it.
"Thank you." Megumi suddenly says, turning his head to face Yuji. Yuji brings his attention to Megumi, swallowing when his vision focuses on the other amongst the dimly lit room. "For what?" Yuji asks.
"For being a good person, Itadori." Megumi says, "we need more people like you." Yuji sputters at the weight of the compliment, just nodding in response to it as he watches the others head lull to the side, his eyes fluttering shut in the process. Yuji sits there as he lets the compliment sink in, his mind taking him back to the words Megumi said to him before.
Yuji stays in the room for a few minutes longer, only to leave and return with painkillers and a fresh glass of water. He places it silently on the table like before, stealing one more glance at Megumi who's now completely clocked out. Yuji makes his way back to his own room, staring at his feet as he walks, the words we need more people like you playing like a broken record in his mind. Yuji flops against his bed when he makes it to his room, shutting his eyes tightly as he refuses to think about it anymore.
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Pink is the colour he feels spread across his face and down to his chest when Megumi's hand brushes his. It's the colour that paints the apple of his cheeks whenever he gets a compliment. It's the colour that he dyes his hair in a panic-filled night, the cheap dye burning his scalp mirroring the constant fire he feels burning in his heart.
Yuji walks outside to where Gojo and Megumi were sitting, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the change in his appearance. Gojo smiles knowingly at him when he sees it. And even behind the blindfold, Yuji can sense the playful glint in the other's eyes. To his luck, Gojo doesn't say anything about it.
"You look different." Megumi states as Yuji sits beside him. He freezes at the comment. "Your hair looks like Gojo-senseis." He says, reaching out to touch Yuji's hair. Yuji feels his cheeks turn the same colour as Megumi grabs a piece of his hair, rubbing it between his index finger and thumb.
"You dyed it, Itadori." Gojo states. Yuji tenses at the sentence, looking at him in betrayal.
"Why? What colour?" Megumi asks as he looks at the boy's hair, trying to decipher what colour it could possibly be. Yuji feels pressured under the attention of them.
"I don't even know?" He lies as he wrings his hands together, "I just grabbed a box off the shelf, I wanted to experience that whole 'hair-dye therapy' I always read about it." Yuji rambles, as he recalls the things he's read online about teenagers dying their hair to express themselves, and in particular the stories about them dying their hair whenever they reach points of emotional turmoil.
Megumi just stares at him, not knowing what the other was going on about. "It's pink." Gojo speaks up, "and it suits you, Itadori." he adds on. Yuji feels good at the compliment, giving thanks to the man.
"I'm sure it does." Megumi agrees as he continues to hold eye contact with the other. Yuji flushes at the compliment "Th - thanks, Fushiguro." he stammers out as he runs his hands through it, Yuji looks away from the boy when he feels his cheek heat up again. His eyes focussing on the grass as he refuses to acknowledge the accusing glare that Gojo gives him.
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Yellow is the colour that lets him know it's time for training, it comes through as thick bright lines on his floor in the morning. It's the colour of his favourite sweater that's carelessly thrown into the closet. Yellow is the colour where he messes up.
"Does anybody ever water these?" Nobara complains, as she dumps the remaining water from her bottle into the various neglected flower pots.
"I don't." He admits, eyes transfixed on the phone in front of him. Him suddenly feeling guilty about the neglect he was giving his flowers. "Water the yellow ones, they're dying." Yuji instructs, pointing his foot toward the flowers in question. The request making Nobara stop in her tracks.
"Water - water the what?" She asks, shocked by the boy directing her to water the yellow coloured flowers.
"Those ones!" Yuji repeats, kicking towards the flowers again, his eyes still glued to whatever game he was playing.
"You said to water the yellows ones. How do you know they're yellow, Itadori?" She demands, and the realisation of what he said dawns on him. He hears the game over sound play from his phone, and if his mind and heart weren't suddenly racing with a way to explain himself he would've laughed at the cruel irony of it.
"I didn't say that." Yuji tries to defend himself as his mind tries to think of a way out of this. He looks at Nobara who stares back at him, looking shocked and in denial. Yuji watches as Nobara places the water bottle down on the table, seeing the curiosity looming over her as she twirls it around.
"How does no one know yet? Oh my god, who is it?" Nobara asks, her hands wringing together with nervous excitement. Yuji feels his heart drop as he hears the question, don't think about it. don't think about him.
"I can't. I don't - I - I don't want to say." He admits, swallowing down the pain that comes from thinking about it. And luckily for him, Nobara drops it. The two stay in awkward silence as they both wait for the other to say something, Yuji refusing to make the first move opts to play with the strings of his hoodie instead.
"What's your favourite colour?" She prompts him, Yuji laughs to himself as his mind fills with a familiar shade of blue.
"Like the sky?" Nobara asks, her voice asking in excitement. Yuji just nods, hearing the way Nobara goes on to explain how she can't wait until she gets to see it with her own eyes. And he wishes the same for her, wishes that the person she sees colours for also sees them for her.
"You know, I can't believe you got to see colours before me." Nobara suddenly complains as she continues to pick the dead leaves off the flowers, letting them get crushed behind her fingers. "Is that why you dyed your hair? To brag?" She asks, and Yuji stares at her in confusion.
"How did you know I dyed my hair if you can't see colour?" Yuji accuses, suddenly intrigued by how his friend knew of his hair change.
"Hey, don't accuse me of lying! Gojo-sensei told me, and I also saw your hair change from black to a like whiteish colour so -" she explains, the sentence trailing off as she wipes the dead leaf remnants off the table, Yuji watches as what's left of them fall to the ground.
"It's pink, I don't know why I did it." He says as he lets his hands run through his hair, suddenly feeling insecure at the roots growing in. "But you would not believe the number of people I have found out that can see with this hair." Yuji goes on to say, as he recalls all the weird looks and comments he got from people wondering why his hair was now pink. Nobara laughs as she engages in the speculation, asking Yuji who he means. The two end up gossiping about people they think can also see colour.
"Would you keep it a secret?" Yuji suddenly asks Nobara, he looks over at her and watches the expression on her face change as she thinks about it.
"I don't know, it depends really." Nobara answers, "if the person didn't feel the same I probably would." Yuji stiffens upon hearing her answer, "or if it was someone embarrassing, I've had a lot of those." Nobara jokes, after she notices the boys shift in mood. Yuji laughs as he reminiscences over the stories she's told about her embarrassing love life.
"Thanks, by the way," Yuji smiles, "for listening to me, I've been dying to tell someone, but it just -" Yuji says, the pain in his chest preventing him from finishing the sentence. He swallows down the next words sucks when you don't know how they feel.
"I won't tell anyone, I'm a lady after all." She says, placing a hand on her heart. Yuji smiles, feeling comforted by his friend's sincerity. They sit in comfortable silence before Nobara pulls out her phone, suggesting that it's getting late and they should head to bed.
Yuji takes a look at Nobara before getting up to leave, "You should wear more orange, by the way, it's your colour." he says, snickering at the way Nobara screams What does that even mean!? at him.
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White is the reminiscent feeling in his heart when he looks at Megumi and finally understands what his teacher meant.