Salmon - Agree/Affirm
Bonito flakes - Disagree/deny
Kelp - Greeting
Mustard Leaf - Concern / Worry
Salmon Roe - To grab attention
Tuna - Focus
Tuna tuna - Look
Tuna mayo - Talk
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Okkotsu returns from his jog and he bumps into Inumaki. Inumaki eyes Okkotsu up and down, a curious expression on his face. Even without Inumaki verbally speaking, Okkotsu is sure to know what he's thinking. "I went on a jog." Okkotsu mutters before walking past him.
Inumaki grabs hold of Okkotsu's wrist before he can walk far. The platinum blonde haired boy looks at Okkotsu with keen eyes. He then points at his nose. "I know I stink Toge. You don't have to point it out. I was planning to go shower but you stopped me."
Inumaki shakes his head before speaking up. "Bonito flakes." He reaches into his pocket to grab out his phone. Okkotsu watches the boy type against the screen. "You smell like Y/L/N."
Okkotsu stiffens when he listens to the voice bot speak aloud. He mentally prays his face will remain neutral without a tinge of red on his face. Okkotsu steps back to give himself some distance from Inumaki. "That nose of yours is pretty sharp." Okkotsu casually says aloud.
"Did you see her this morning? What for?" Inumaki questions Okkotsu again. It's difficult to gauge what kind of emotion Inumaki is trying to portray with the voice bot's monotone voice. But from his expression, Okkotsu doesn't sense anything like jealousy.
Okkotsu shrugs, his fingers running through his hair. "My legs just lead me there. I didn't plan to go see her or anything. I was surprised to see her up and out so early." Okkotsu answers Inumaki honestly. There's no reason for him to not tell Inumaki the truth.
Inumaki scans Okkotsu's face for any trace of a lie. But he doesn't find any. He lowers his eyes back down to type on his phone again before leaving Okkotsu alone. "Next time bring me with you." Okkotsu raises a brow from Inumaki's comment.
"Is there a reason why you want to see her again?" Okkotsu carefully asks this question with a soft tone. Inumaki nods his head, pointing to his eyes. Okkotsu can only guess Inumaki must want to share more color with Y/L/N. The thought itself is a kind gesture.
Inumaki then raises a hand up to say goodbye to Okkotsu before strolling off. Okkotsu keeps his eyes down to the wooden floorboard before returning to his own dorm. It's not unusual for Inumaki to extend kindness to others. But why does it make Okkotsu feel upset?
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
"You saw Okkotsu this morning?" Itadori slurps on his ramen cup beside you as you're scrolling through the selection of anime's to watch at his house. The two of you have made it a habit to watch the weekend anime releases together. One weekend will be at Itadori's and the next would be at yours. You nod your head, lowering down your phone onto your lap.
You stare at Itadori's hair that's a light gray compared to his beautiful pink hair yesterday. Itadori notices your stare, a smile curling on his lips. "Sorry, you wanted some of this too, right?" Itadori extends a chopstick full of ramen noodles towards you. You feel the warmth of the noodles radiate against your lips.
Darting your eyes down, you notice there's only a third left of ramen. Your brows knit together but your words are silenced when Itadori forces the chopsticks into your mouth. You can't do anything but eat the ramen he's offered. Grabbing hold of the cup and chopsticks, you playfully roll your eyes at him. Itadori opens up his own phone to cast a random show on as background noise.
"Do you think he was lying about the reason he was there?" Itadori keeps his attention forward to the television. You slurp the last bit of ramen before setting the empty ramen cup on the glass coffee table. You hum out and shrug your shoulders, casting your eyes over to Itadori. He feels your eyes rest on him.
Itadori turns his attention towards you, resting his eyes gently on your face. There's a silence to the conversation but it's comfortable. Okkotsu's conversation this morning spurs up in your thoughts.
"Speaking of Itadori, are you and him close?"
"Is that so? It's possible for two opposite genders to be friends without someone falling in love?"
Okkotsu's words echo loudly in your head and your brows slowly furrow when you recall them. Is it so weird for you and Itadori to just be friends? Just the thought of love and Itadori in one sentence doesn't seem right. Your thoughts are confirmed when you feel Itadori pinch your cheek. You reach up to pry his fingers away from your face.
"What's in that mind of yours? You blanked out on me Y/L/N." Itadori chuckles out. He rests his hands on his lap and you do the same. "Am I making you second guess his words or something? I was only messing around. Okkotsu doesn't seem to be the type to not be honest."
You rub your cheek where Itadori's just pinched in slow circular motions with your fingertips. "I wasn't thinking about that." You murmur softly. Your eyes nervously look away from Itadori and he slowly sits up straighter, noticing your tone. He reaches for a pillow to his right side and tightly hugs it.
Itadori rests his chin on top of the pillow with his gaze still fixated on you. He's waiting for you to speak. You're unsure if this topic should be brought up. But now that you're thinking about it, maybe you should get Itadori's view on the topic. Pursing your lips, you gulp the saliva that builds up in your mouth.
Your fingers nervously tuck a few stray hairs behind your ear. Parting your lips, you speak slowly. "Do you think it's weird for us to be such good friends without having strong feelings for one another?" You feel a sharp pull to your exposed ear. Itadori narrows his eyes on your face, gently tugging your ear.
"Did Okkotsu ask you something weird pertaining us? It's not like you to be so nervous like this around me." Itadori releases his hold on your ear after stating his thoughts. Your eyes meet his serious ones. Unable to verbally answer, you nod your head.
Itadori sighs loudly before ruffling his hair. He leans back, breaking from his straight posture. "He asked me something similar last night. He thought I had feelings for you when I was trying to play wingman." Your brows raise as you listen to Itadori.
His eyes dart down to the pillow in his arms. "I don't think it's weird for us to have this kind of bond. If anything, don't you think others are envious of it?" Itadori flashes you a smug grin. You can't help but laugh at his words and expression.
Itadori then clears his throat, a serious tone returning back to his voice. "You don't think it's weird either, right? It would be awkward if I were the only one to feel this way. If you like me, tell me right now Y/L/N. There's no use in bottling your feelings up." The last two sentences are playful when Itadori smirks.
You roll your eyes, scoffing, and shaking your head. "I don't think it's weird. I do know that our friendship is special. And if I were to ever fall in love with you, you'd be too stupid to notice Ita." Itadori's jaw drops as he dramatically gasps.
He tosses the pillow to the side before his arms fly towards your waist. You react much too slow to realize the tickle attack. "S-STOP. YOU'RE BEING CHILDISH NOW ITA!" Thunderous laughter escapes from the two of you when you attempt to tickle him at the same time.
"As if! I'm only stupid when it comes to academics Y/L/N!" Itadori bickers back out. He's relentless when it comes to teasing Y/L/N. Her face reddens from her heavy laughter. Seeing her happy makes him happy as well. But he knows when to stop.
Itadori pulls himself away to let Y/L/N catch her breath. He recalls the conversation he shared with Inumaki and Okkotsu. Okkotsu seems to know more about the afternoon Y/L/N left the school campus than Itadori is being told. If he wants answers, the best person to ask is Y/L/N. But he's unsure if this is the right time to bring it up.
He's not sure if the topic is still too much for Y/L/N to talk about. Itadori is the one to feel a pinch to his cheek now. His eyes gaze at Y/L/N who wears a smile at him. "Are those gears in your mind suddenly working overtime?" Y/L/N teases him. Itadori scoffs in response, his arms crossing.
"I'll have you know my brain muscle is always being worked." Itadori pouts with a roll to his eyes. You refrain from laughing at his comment. You speak up again with a smile still on your face. "What are you thinking about then?"
You notice the slight jaw tightening on Itadori's face. His nose crinkles and you notice how hesitant he suddenly is. Whatever is on his mind might be something he's unsure to speak up about. You straighten yourself up, remaining silent.
Itadori awkwardly scratches the side of his neck. He nibbles on his lower lip before whispering. "Is it okay if I ask again what happened that afternoon? The whole Hiroshi incident. Okkotsu mentioned something about a bridge and if you had someone to lean on you wouldn't have tried to do something?"
You feel your body litter in goosebumps from the mentioning of the bridge. You tactically made sure to tell Itadori the bare minimum to not worry him. But it seems like that's not something you can keep up if Okkotsu nearly slipped up. You wonder how the conversation was stirred in that direction anyway but it's no use in getting upset at Okkotsu now. You were eventually going to tell Itadori later down the line.
Seems like things are just sped up quicker now. You're not as mentally weak as you were back then. You've been showered with endless happiness to the point you're drowning in it. And it's all thanks to Itadori. Inhaling deeply, you stare directly into Itadori's soft eyes.
"What I'm about to say may make you upset. It might also change your view point on me, Ita. Is that something you'll be okay with?" You speak in a soft and slow tone. Your eyes begin to waver and you watch Itadori's Adam's apple bob in his throat.
His slightly parted lips tighten and he gives you a firm nod. Itadori extends his hands out to grab hold of yours. You're startled at first, reflexively pulling away from the sudden touch. But you quickly squeeze Itadori's hands with yours. His eyes never stray away from yours as you two look at one another.
"Whatever you say Y/L/N, it's not going to make me love you any less. Of course in a friend way." Itadori lightly chuckles and you snicker under your breath. You swallow the saliva that builds up in your mouth. You're starting to feel to nervous to even bring up the topic.
But you feel a supportive squeeze from Itadori's hands. He takes away your anxiety that runs through your palms. You nervously glide your tongue against your lips and inhale deeply before exhaling slowly. "I haven't told this to anyone asides Inumaki who was there and Okkotsu who was told by Inumaki. You're special, I guess." You try to ease your anxiety with playfulness.
Itadori grins. "Oh? Thanks for making me special, Y/L/N." Itadori plays along with you, a chuckle escaping his throat. You focus on his smile and the warmth he shares with you in your palms.
"That day on the bridge..." Your words fall short as you near your thought process. You drop your eyes down to Itadori's hands on yours. "I was clouded with such dark thoughts. I've had all this pent up pain for years and I was finally tired of it all."
Itadori squeezes your hands, mostly knowing where your next sentence will lead. You feel his thumbs stroke against the back of your hands in circular motions. Taking another deep breath, you speak up again. "I said my goodbye to the world and got ready to jump off the bridge. But, I was stopped by Inumaki and you know the rest from there."
Itadori releases his hold on your hands. A draft quickly replaces his warmth and you refrain from looking at his expression. You're scared to see the face he's looking at you with. You're terrified to know what he thinks of you now. Will he see you as pathetic for acting so selfishly?
In a matter of seconds you're pulled out of your thoughts and pulled into a tight embrace. Itadori's back lands softly on the couch as you're laying on top of him. Your eyes widen when you notice the position you're in. But you're unable to pull away from Itadori's tight hold on you.
His voice rings loudly by your ear. The closeness between the two of you being the closest it's ever been. Itadori's voice comes out shaky as his breath tickles your ear. You feel his right hand slowly stroke the back of your head. "I'm so thankful for Inumaki stopping you. I'll have to thank him the next time I see him."
You remain still, accepting Itadori's embrace. The warmth you receive from Itadori seems never-ending. He continues to speak in a soft hushed voice. "If you hid this from me because you thought I'd hate you for it, you're wrong. I see you as an even stronger person now Y/L/N. You're an absolute superhero in my eyes. Hell, you're better than Jennifer Lawrence."
Your giggle gets muffled in Itadori's shoulder. You know his love for the celebrity Jennifer Lawrence well. You feel flattered that you've outranked her. Itadori slowly pulls away from the embrace to look you in the eyes. Your eyes gloss over when you take in his face.
"Thank you for your kind words Ita." You muster up a few words before you find hot tears fall against your cheeks. Itadori carefully wipes your tears away, a smile on his face. His voice then chokes up when his eyes scan your face.
"W-Why are you crying? I should be the one to." Itadori stammers out, his brows knitting together. Between tears and sniffles, you giggle. You reach towards his face to wipe his tears that begin to fall.
A tiny smile curls on your face. "I guess we're both crying now." You slowly sit up, extending a hand to help Itadori sit back up too. He takes your hand while pushing himself up with his other hand. The two of you wipe your own faces before gathering yourselves together.
"This was not how I thought we'd spend today together." You mutter under your breath with a snicker. Itadori nods his head, wiping the last tear from his cheek. He gets up from the couch and walks over to the kitchen. Itadori speaks up as he opens a cabinet. "I'll make us both a cup of ramen and we can actually start watching some anime."
You look over to Itadori with a smile. If you could see color, you're sure the tip of his nose is red right now. You watch him sniffle as he fills up the water boiler.