百合 (yuri) : lily
美味しい(oishi) : delicious
Yuta hummed while walking down the busy Tokyo streets. It was the soft tune that Hiyori always hummed. He wasn't sure what song it was but she hummed it so much that it got stuck in his head. His lips curved up in a small smile when his eyes landed on the familiar flower shop in front of him. The front was lined with various flowers from roses to tulips but none of them were the flowers he had come looking for. He opened the door and walked into the small, quaint shop.
"Good morning, Okkotsu-kun!" The shop owner, a middle-aged woman with greying hair tied up in a bun, Sugimoto Ayuri, greeted with a warm smile. She was a sweet woman who ran the shop with the help of her son who was around Yuta's age.
"Good morning, Sugimoto-san" Yuta greeted.
"Let me guess, same as usual?" Sugimoto asked with a knowing smile. She was already reaching for the blue wrapping paper that Yuta always requested. Yuta smiled bashfully and nodded. He felt kind of embarrassed that she knew his exact order. That was just how often he came to this shop. It was the shop where he bought her that lily so long ago so it only felt right to keep coming back here.
"Alright, one single Casablanca Lily for Okkotsu Yuta-kun." Sugimoto said, holding out the white flower that was neatly wrapped in dark blue wrapping paper and tied with a silky purple ribbon for Yuta to take. Yuta gently took the flower like it would break if he held it wrong. He didn't want it to fall limp like the first flower he had ever purchased from this store.
"Thank you"
"If you don't mind me asking, why come by every morning to buy one single funeral flower?" Sugimoto's son, Kakeru, questioned while ringing up Yuta's purchase. It was such a strange flower to purchase especially considering that the dark-haired boy only ever purchased one rather than a bouquet. Yuta rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Someone I know really likes them. They're her favorite flowers" He replied while handing Kakeru the money for the flower. It was a good thing he received a stipend from the school or else he would definitely not have enough money to eat at this point. Buying a single lily every day added up to quite a hefty dent in his wallet.
Whatever, it was worth it.
Yuta couldn't help the small smile that formed on his face at the thought of Hiyori's reaction to the lily in his hand. Even though he had been getting her one every day since she got put into the infirmary again, she was still always so happy when he surprised her with another lily to add to the ever-growing vase of them on her bedside table.
"Must be a lucky girl" Sugimoto commented slyly. Yuta blushed.
'How did she know...'
"U-Uh it's not like that" His stutter and obviously flustered attitude only made Sugimoto raise an eyebrow in amusement. Yuta already knew his cheeks were hot from embarrassment.
"I...I should get going. Thank you for the flower! Have a nice day!" Yuta scampered out of the shop before he could embarrass himself any further. Besides, he needed to get back to school as soon as possible to see Hiyori. He couldn't wait to see her smiling face. It was a Saturday so there weren't any classes today, which meant he could spend the entire day with her.
"That still doesn't explain why he only buys one though" Kakeru mumbled.
"Oh Kakeru-kun, you're so clueless. It's romantic."
"Romantic?" Kakeru repeated the word in confusion. Sugimoto shook her head at her son's cluelessness while watching Yuta's figure get further and further away through the large, glass store windows. Sugimoto still remembered the first time the dark-haired boy had come to her shop. It was raining heavily that day and he had arrived, soaked to the bone, desperately asking if she had any Casablanca Lilies left - even just one would be enough. Sugimoto's lips curved up in a wistful smile.
"Can't you see?"
"That's a boy in love."
"Have you ever heard of the red string of fate?" The question was so out of the blue that Hiyori looked up from her sketchbook, a gift from her aunt, for the first time in an hour. She looked at the blue-haired boy sitting next to her quizzically.
"They say that you're connected to your soulmate through this red string tying your pinky to theirs." She watched him hold up his pinky finger and examine it intently in search of a red string.
"What do you think, Yuri?"
"That seems pretty unrealistic" Hiyori replied.
"Kazuha-kun has finally lost it after eating too many sweets " Hiyori couldn't help but agree with Tsuki's words. Kazuha laughed.
"It sounds romantic though, doesn't it?"
"I guess....?" Hiyori said. She wasn't sure what was so important about a soulmate. In fact, she didn't even think soulmates existed. There was no way there was someone out there that was just right for her. But, then again, she was literally blessed by a deity and saw cursed spirits on a regular basis so she shouldn't really be talking.
"I just don't understand. How would you even know if you've met your soulmate?" Hiyori murmured, voicing her thoughts. Kazuha grinned.
"You'll know"
—
'Why am I thinking about that again...'
Hiyori stared at the lilies sitting in the glass vase, one that Shoko had lent her, on her bedside table. Looking back on it now, she wondered what things would be like if he was still around. Her violet-blue eyes watched tentatively as a petal fell from one of the lilies in the vase and landed on the dark oak of her bedside table. Even when taken care of properly, the petals still fell. She thought it was kind of bittersweet that the flowers couldn't stay the same even when given the best care.
"Tsuki" Hiyori called. In an instant, Tsuki was on Hiyori's shoulder.
"Any updates?"
"Nothing on Hokkaido still but you were right about the other thing. Everything adds up" Tsuki replied. Hiyori nodded. "Of course, I'm always right." There was a hint of bitterness in her voice that Tsuki chose to ignore.
"Tell me what you found." Hiyori slowly reached one of her hands out to pick up the fallen petal. She bit back the urge to wince from the sharp pain that shot through her arm from the minor movement.
"You were right, the sudden surge of negative emotions from witnessing his loved one die right before his eyes awakened his cursed potential. Okkotsu Yuta was the one who cursed Orimoto Rika, not the other way around."
"I thought so...there's no way such a strong cursed spirit would emerge from the Orimoto bloodline."
"Hiyori, that's not all. He has potential that rivals even Satoru's. I had Ijichi look into his family lineage and he's a descendant of Sugawara Michizane. Satoru and Yuta are related." Hiyori's eyes widened.
"What....?"
"Who would've thought that they would be distant blood relatives? If this gets out, you know what they'll try to do since they've been trying to find a way to make you a more official part of the family for years now. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing though, would it? Since you like him. No one will question your legitimacy as the next head of the Gojo Clan if you just..." Hiyori stared down at the petal in her hand.
"That won't happen. I don't plan to pursue my feelings for Yuta" Hiyori murmured, admiring the petal. There was no way she was going to allow Yuta to get sucked into the treacherous world of jujutsu politics. His happiness mattered more to her than the greater good.
"And why the hell not?" Tsuki and Hiyori both turned to see an annoyed Maki standing at the doorway of Hiyori's infirmary room. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her lips were pressed in a thin line. She had arrived just in time to hear Hiyori's decision and to say she was happy about it would be a lie. Her feelings about Yuta and Hiyori getting together were still a big jumbled mess but what mattered most was her best friend's happiness and if Yuta made Hiyori happy then so be it. But then why was Hiyori denying her own happiness?
"If this is about Rika then we both know that was one of those playground romances. Kids do that all the time - promise each other to get married and then never do. It's just their naivety and immaturity. They don't actually know what they're agreeing to."
"Even if it was one of those playground romances you're talking about that doesn't mean it wasn't some form of love. He loved her so much that he cursed her into the most powerful curse in modern history - one so powerful that she's considered the Queen of Curses."
"But Hiyori that doesn't mean-" Tsuki began.
"They love each other. Even after being cursed, the only thing Rika-chan knows is her love for Yuta. I don't want to undermine their love and relationship. Out of respect for Rika-chan, Yuta, and their promise to each other, I won't pursue my feelings for Yuta." Hiyori said steadily, still refusing to meet Maki's dark eyes that were now boring holes into the side of her head.
"I don't want to come between what they have. I'm perfectly content watching from the sidelines as long as he is happy even if it isn't with me"
"That's fucking bullshit!" Maki stared at Hiyori in belief. For one of the smartest people Maki knew, Hiyori was a real fucking idiot.
"Did he look happy when he first started here?! He was depressed! The only reason he's even happy now is because of you!" Maki shouted. Hiyori opened her mouth to object but Maki cut her off.
"What's the real reason why, Hiyori?" Hiyori stiffened. Her grip on the petal in her hand tightened, an action that didn't go unnoticed by both Maki and Tsuki who exchanged knowing looks.
"There isn't-"
"Don't start. There's something else, isn't there? We may have met this school year but I know you. I know there's more to this than just what's going on with Rika and Yuta. What's the real reason why you're refusing to do anything?" Maki demanded. Hiyori gently placed the petal in her hand down on the white linen blanket that covered her legs before she shakily turned to meet her best friend's dark brown eyes. Maki's eyes softened when she took in the whirlwind of emotions stirring in Hiyori's violet-blue eyes.
"I'm...I'm scared, Maki." Hiyori said softly, voice barely above a whisper. To Maki, it sounded like a plead. A plea for help coming from a scared child and Hiyori was never scared of anything. She was the type to smile in the face of death and laugh over horror movies. So the idea that she was scared of something made Maki go quiet. All the annoyance she felt and all the words she wanted to say died down.
"I'm absolutely terrified of loving someone"
"I'm sinking. I'm sinking and I can't do anything to stop myself from drowning...drowning in my feelings that I can't control" Hiyori cried. All the feelings and thoughts that had been suffocating her inside finally spilled out. Half a decade later and she was still grappling with reality. Because love could be the most twisted curse when it wanted to.
"I can't do this. If I fall in love...then that's someone else I might lose. Someone else will be targeted because of how strong I am. I can't let that happen again, Maki. It can't happen again."
"I can't lose Yuta too."
"Maki, I'm in love with him." Hiyori confessed. Maki's eyes widened.
"What....?" She muttered, not believing the words that she just heard escape her best friend's lips. Hiyori averted her eyes from Maki's and stared down at the ground.
"I'm in love with Yuta. I'm so unbelievably in love with him that I don't know what I would do...what I'm capable of...if he gets hurt." Hiyori continued. She could feel Maki's piercing eyes on her.
"It's crazy, isn't it? I'm supposed to be blessed. But then why does this blessing feel more like a curse? Everyone who comes too close to me either ends up dead or barely hanging by a thread."
"That's not because of you, idiot. That's because this world is cruel and all it does is take and take and take." Maki replied. She roughly fisted Hiyori's collar so the white-haired girl would have no choice but to look at her.
"Aren't you the one always saying to live with no regrets? If you don't tell him, ten years from now, will you regret it?" Maki asked. Hiyori didn't respond. She bit her lip and repeated Maki's words in her head like a never-ending, torturous loop.
'Will I regret it...?'
"What if you die tomorrow? Are you going to be on your death bed and filled with regret over not telling him? Full of regret of what could've been?" Maki shouted, clutching the collar of Hiyori's hospital shirt tighter.
"I..."
"Do you want to stop? Do you really want to stop yourself from falling in love?" Maki asked. Hiyori's eyes widened. Hiyori let out a shaky laugh and stared into Maki's eyes helplessly.
"You're right, Maki."
"I'm drowning in ocean blue and I don't want to be saved." Maki's eyes softened and she let go of Hiyori's collar. It seemed her talk worked after all.
"But...."
"But?" Maki raised an eyebrow. Even Tsuki looked at Hiyori quizzically. There was a but?
"I'm still not going to pursue him"
"You stubborn little-" Maki may have loved Hiyori but that didn't mean she wasn't about to give her best friend a piece of her mind. All that talking and she still wasn't going to pursue her feelings for him.
"Out of respect for Yuta, Rika, and their relationship, I won't ever pursue him until I receive Rika-chan's blessing and Yuta moves on." Hiyori managed while shielding herself with a pillow to escape Maki's wrath.
"How are you gonna receive a dead person's blessing huh?!" Maki demanded, attempting to wrestle Hiyori's pillow from her hands.
"You're basically saying that it'll NEVER happen!" Tsuki added, just as annoyed as Maki.
"He doesn't see me in that way anyway."
"You've got to be kidd-"
"Am I interrupting something here..." Maki, Hiyori, and Tsuki all froze and slowly turned to look at the doorway where Nanami stood with a gift basket in hand. To Nanami, the scene was almost comical. Maki had Hiyori's pillow, which Hiyori was still trying to cling onto, held above her head while Tsuki was mid-shout with her mouth still open.
"Nanami-oji! It's been a while!" Hiyori said in greeting, loosening her hold on her pillow. Maki let out a huff of satisfaction now that she finally wrenched the pillow from Hiyori's grip before she set it back down on Hiyori's bed.
"Hello, I came to see how you were doing after your incident." Nanami said, walking towards Hiyori's bed. His eyes lingered on the vase full of lilies in various stages of life on her bedside table before he set down his gift basket brimming with apples, candy, and boxes of Hiyori's favorite tea brand. Hiyori nodded. "Thank you for the basket"
"It's not a problem. It seems your recovery has been going well"
"Yes, I hope that village is recovering as well as I've been" Hiyori replied. Nanami slowly nodded. "Right...."
—
"You're saying Geto Suguru murdered the brainwashed villagers that attacked Hiyori?" To say he was stunned would be an understatement. This was definitely not what Nanami expected to hear when he was called out by his eccentric co-worker.
"That's right. At first, it looked like the work of a cursed spirit but the cursed residuals said otherwise" Nanami swirled his cup of liquor. His brown eyes watched the amber liquid gently swish around the clear, crystal glass. No wonder why Satoru chose a bar of all places to meet at. Nanami didn't think he could properly stomach the implications that came with the shocking news in a sober state. He raised his glass and took a large sip of his drink. The slightly bitter taste of the alcohol invaded his tastebuds.
One of his former senpais, that he went to school with, that he shared meals with, was a murderous cursed user now. He had struggled to come to terms with words of Suguru's betrayal back when it first happened and it had been so unexpected. The loss was only amplified by the grief he was going through at the time because of Haibara's death. Nanami knew that all that he felt was only a mere fraction of what Satoru and Hiyori went through since they were the closest to Suguru. To think that Geto Suguru would murder a group of non-sorcerers as some sick, twisted form of revenge for what they did to Hiyori while they were under mind control. Even someone indifferent to most things like Nanami was stunned beyond words.
But Nanami couldn't blame Suguru for becoming a cursed user. This profession, jujutsu sorcery, was just too much sometimes. The harrowing looks on children robbed of their youth grew into husks of adults. The broken cries of those who lost loved ones. He had seen a lot in his time as a jujutsu sorcery. That was why he quit and became a salaryman after he graduated. Haibara's death had been too much for him to deal with on top of everything else. It was an unending cycle of exorcism after exorcism with the ghosts of all those dead trailing after him.
Yet, somehow, he ended up back in this profession. Maybe it was because of that meeting with Hiyori or maybe it was because of that girl at the bakery but he still ended up working as a sorcerer in the end.
"Did you tell her?" Nanami asked. Satoru shook his head.
"No. Listen, Nanamin, don't tell her. She's already been through enough and the death parade is in a couple of days." Nanami nodded his head in understanding. He wasn't planning to tell Hiyori anyway. He completely agreed with Satoru for once.
"I won't but how do you plan to hide it from her? She'll find out when she files her mission report" Nanami asked. Satoru picked up the maraschino cherry floating in his overly sweet cocktail drink and popped it into his mouth.
"Tsuki and I are writing the report." Satoru, at surface level might've seemed nonchalant right now, but to anyone who even had an inkling of how the white-haired man acted, knew he was far from calm.
Because Gojo Satoru didn't like alcohol.
"I see" Nanami took another sip of his drink. Satoru's grip on his cocktail glass tightened. He raised the glass up and downed the rest of his cocktail before placing it down on the bar counter. Nanami's eyes widened. It was rare to see Satoru, of all people, so angry.
"My daughter should be enjoying her youth not worrying about something like this"
—
Nanami swallowed dryly while staring at Hiyori who had begun fluffing her pillows with the help of Maki. It was better if she didn't know what really happened. There were some things that were just better left unsaid. If he could keep that smile on her face longer then he would because there was nothing more heart-wrenching than Hiyori without that light in her eyes and smile on her face.
"Hiyori, I got you a crepe. They ran out of the matcha berry crepe you like so I bought the strawberry one instead" Nanami and the others turned to see a certain ravenette at the door. Yuta's head was down as he rummaged through the plastic bag in his hand to get the crepe out for Hiyori while making sure not to damage the flower he bought.
"I didn't get any ice cream with it since this article online said that it might hinder your recove—" Yuta looked up only to freeze at the sight of so many eyes on him. He awkwardly stared at Tsuki, Maki, and Nanami who stared back. Yuta gulped nervously while taking slow, measured steps to Hiyori's bedside. He was expecting Hiyori to be alone in her infirmary room but she obviously wasn't. If it was just Tsuki and Maki then maybe it would be alright but there was someone else here that Yuta didn't know. He didn't exactly do well when it came to meeting new people, especially without any prior notice.
"Yuta, you didn't have to get me anything to eat." Hiyori said while taking the flower and crepe Yuta handed her. His shoulders slightly relaxed after hearing her voice.
"You mentioned wanting a crepe a couple of days ago and the line at the crepe shop happened to be short today so..." He trailed off at the end and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Thank you" Hiyori murmured with a soft smile. Yuta smiled in return.
"It's no problem."
"Oh right, this is Nanami-oji. He's a first-grade sorcerer who used to go to school with Toru" Hiyori said, introducing Yuta to Nanami. Yuta bowed his head.
'Nanami-oji?' That name sounded familiar. He had definitely heard it before but where. 'Oh! That's right...he's the one that picked Hiyori up all those years ago...'
"Nanami Kento. I would say nice to meet you but I believe we've already met before." Nanami said stoically, analyzing the dark-haired boy through his spectacles. They had indeed met before.
Nanami remembered that day clearly. It started off as a normal day with Nanami, still a first-year at the time, visiting Sendai with his senpais, Haibara, Ijichi, and Hiyori. That day somehow descended into madness when Hiyori disappeared while the group was studying a map in an attempt to find the famous dessert shop Satoru wanted to go to. Suguru and Satoru almost tore the entirety of Sendai City apart trying to look for her. If he hadn't, by pure chance, decided to check out a nearby playground then Sendai City would probably no longer be a city. Though, what he hadn't expected when he found Hiyori was to see her talking to a dark-haired boy who was looking at her like she hung the stars in the sky. That same boy whom she proceeded to talk about for the next week to anyone who listened. The reason why she would request to go visit Sendai whenever she could. Who would've thought that same boy would be here in front of him as the special grade that Satoru scouted?
What were the fucking odds?
'H-He remembers me?!' Yuta wasn't so sure if Nanami remembering him was a good thing or not especially considering how intently the blonde was staring at him. "It-It's nice to see you again, sir. My name is Okkotsu Yuta" Yuta bowed a full 90 degrees much to the amusement of Maki and Tsuki. Hiyori took off the plastic wrap around the crepe.
"Itadakimasu" She took a big bite.
"You're spoiling her, Yuta. She just had cake not even an hour ago and it's only 12 in the afternoon" Tsuki said, watching Hiyori delightfully chew and swallow her mouthful of food. Yuta didn't respond. He was too busy trying his best to not flinch under Nanami's unwavering gaze.
"美味しい.." Hiyori sighed happily. The fluffy cream mixed so well with the sweet strawberries and soft crepe. It was just the right temperature too. Not too hot and not too cold. Her soft sigh of happiness was enough to take Yuta's attention away from Nanami. He smiled fondly while he watched her happily eat the crepe. An action that didn't go unnoticed by Maki and Nanami.
"Speaking of which, Nanami-oji, should we get down to business? You're here to talk about the parade preparations right?" Hiyori asked nonchalantly while licking a bit of cream from the corner of her lip. Nanami stiffened. Maki's face hardened. Yuta was stunned by how serious the atmosphere in the room became the instant the word parade was uttered from Hiyori's lips.
"Yes..." Nanami turned to look at Maki and Yuta. "I apologize for the abrupt request but would you both mind leaving?"
"This is a private matter."
"Do you think Hiyori will have to participate in the death parade even though she's injured?" Yuta asked while following Maki down the corridors of the large building that housed the school infirmary. Maki hadn't spoken to him at all since they left Hiyori's infirmary room. It was kind of unnerving, especially since the last time she did this, she ended up yelling at him about how it was his fault Hiyori got hurt. The memory of her angry screaming while Hiyori lay unconscious with her head wrapped in bandages caused him to shudder. It was already established by Hiyori that it wasn't his fault and Maki had apologized for her abrupt outburst as well so there weren't any hard feelings left but Yuta couldn't help but feel that he was about to get yelled at again. Maybe he was overthinking it...but if he was then why was Maki clenching her fists so tightly.
"Of course not. There's no way she's going to be. She can barely move much less get out of that hospital bed" Maki replied matter-of-factly.
"Maki, I'm in love with him."
'Fuck' She slammed her fist against the wall causing Yuta to jolt. His eyes widened at the slight dent in the wall from where her fist collided with it. Maki swiftly turned around to look at Yuta. He flinched and leaned backwards to get some distance between him and her. She was definitely upset but he wasn't entirely sure if it was directed towards him or not. 'Did I do something wrong...?'
—
"Hiyori...when did you wake up..." Maki stared at her best friend who was still laying in her hospital bed with bandages wrapped around her head except, unlike the last time Maki saw her, Hiyori was wide awake now.
"Hey" Hiyori said softly. She scooched over in her bed and lifted her covers so Maki could climb in next to her. Maki slid into the open spot and was immediately enveloped by the warmth provided by both Hiyori and the heavy blankets. Hiyori was still cold like she always was but it wasn't the unnatural cold Maki felt when she picked up her best friend's unconscious body and that was what mattered. "I woke up around two hours ago."
"Oh." A comfortable silence befell the two of them before Hiyori opened her mouth to speak once more.
"Tsuki told me what you said to Yuta" She murmured. Her words sliced through the comforting atmosphere like a hot knife cutting through butter. Maki's eyes widened. It felt like she had just been doused in a bucket of ice-cold water. She sat up and shot Tsuki an accusatory look for ratting her out. Tsuki raised a single brow as if daring Maki to say anything. Maki huffed and laid back down.
"Don't be upset at Tsuki for telling me. I would've found out anyway. You know that. I'm not upset with you if that's what you're thinking" Hiyori's voice was soft and relaxing like a cool breeze on a humid day. Maki relaxed a little.
"Maki, I'm sorry for causing you so much stress. You were probably really worried. I should've taken better care of my health. I'm sorry. It must've been scary seeing me laying there in a puddle of my own blood." She turned her head so she was face-to-face with Maki. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I'll try not to do it again but I can't make any promises." She said with a small smile.
"Idiot, why are you apologizing? It's not your fault." Maki chided. Hiyori chuckled.
"Maybe next time, I should take a page out of Tsukumo-san's book and play hooky. She still gets paid since she's a special grade sorcerer even though she doesn't do any missions." Hiyori mused.
"Uhuh and where are you gonna run off to?" Maki asked with a raised eyebrow. Hiyori hummed in thought.
"Maybe Malaysia. Nanami-oji says it's pretty nice there"
"Malaysia? That sounds pretty nice" Maki commented. Hiyori nodded.
"Oh or maybe somewhere in Europe. That sounds nice too. Want to come with?" Hiyori asked causing Maki to roll her eyes in mock annoyance. "Not everyone is good at English like you. Some of us only know one language"
"Yea, but I can translate. It would be fun. A tour through Europe. We could go see Big Ben in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I've always wondered what it would be like to stand on top of the Eiffel Tower." Maki smiled while Hiyori continued to list off all the things they could do in Europe with that gleam in her violet-blue eyes that she always got whenever she was thinking about all her plans for the future. "We can do that scene in the Titanic where Jack is holding onto Rose while they're at the front of the boat but on top of the Eiffel Tower instead."
"That movie was kind of questionable." Maki replied. She remembered watching it with Hiyori, Toge, and Panda during movie night. Toge and Panda had done a ridiculous rendition of the boat scene Hiyori was referring to with a fan blowing into their faces. Toge made a pretty hilarious Rose.
"The scene with the door? That was ridiculous. He would've fit on the door with her." Hiyori added.
"Exactly! She should've just moved over a bit or something"
"You know that chef that was drinking alcohol? Apparently, he survived because the alcohol increased his body temperature." Maki's eyes widened in surprise.
"No way seriously? That's kind of crazy. Guess I can't just toss Naobito into a freezing lake anytime soon then" Maki said causing Hiyori to laugh, which in turn caused Maki to laugh. The two laughed for a good three minutes before they finally calmed down.
"You know, you still have to apologize to Yuta for yelling at him though right?" Maki groaned and buried her face into the softness of Hiyori's pillow.
"Do I have to?" She grumbled, not looking forward to apologizing. She knew she was in the wrong but apologizing was hard. That wasn't something she did often. She wasn't like Hiyori who could apologize easily.
"I know it's hard but it's the right thing to do"
—
To Maki, Hiyori was one of the few good people that existed in this world even if she didn't think so herself. Maki wanted what was best for Hiyori. Maki wanted to see her best friend happy and, for some reason, Yuta made her happy. Maki didn't know why it had to be Yuta of all people but it was. Since she was a kid, Maki was never one to dance around subjects and she just couldn't stand this bullshit anymore. She needed answers and she needed them now. Maki wanted to know if Yuta would be able to love Hiyori the way she needed to be loved.
"There's something I need to know."
"Eh? What is it?" Yuta asked.
"Do you love Hiyori?" Yuta stiffened.
'How does she know?'
"W-What are you talking about?" He asked, pretending to be clueless about what she was saying. He wasn't just going to outright admit to someone, especially not Hiyori's best friend, that he was head over heels in love with Hiyori. Maki's brows furrowed angrily.
"If you can't give me a clear answer then maybe you should go get your shit together because what Hiyori doesn't need is some guy that's treating her as a replacement to fill the hole in his heart." She spat while taking leveled steps toward him. Yuta's eyes widened.
'W-what? She thinks I'm using Hiyori as a replacement?'
"No it's not like th—" He tried to explain but was cut off by Maki. She was right in front of him now. He could feel her breath against his face. It smelled like the homemade strawberry jam Hiyori made before she got put back in the infirmary.
"She's the best damn thing that's ever happened to most of us including me. So until you can sort your feelings out and give me a clear answer, don't even fucking think about pursuing her. She deserves better than that."
"Don't use her as some rebound because you haven't fully moved on from Rika"
"Hiyori isn't Rika and she won't ever be."
"I know that" Yuta replied.
"Really? Then are you just stringing both of them along? Tell me, if Rika never died then would you have even considered Hiyori as a potential love interest?" Yuta didn't know how to respond to that. The answer was at the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't voice it no matter how hard he tried.
"Right now, to me, it looks like you're in love with both of them. It's Rika or Hiyori. You can't choose both of them. Neither of them deserve to be strung along because you're feeling indecisive or something. So make a choice." Maki stated. Her voice wasn't raised at all. It was frighteningly leveled and that was what made it all the worse for Yuta. He could see the visible fury in her eyes. The strange thing was, even with how obviously hostile and threatening Maki was being, Rika made no move to manifest or stop her. Maybe it was because Rika wanted an answer too.
"Rika or Hiyori?"
"Choose"
It was so sudden. He wasn't prepared for such a confrontation today. All he wanted to do was sit next to Hiyori and talk about mundane topics that had absolutely nothing to do with each other. Maybe eat some snacks she got gifted and watch a couple of movies she had downloaded on her laptop with her. That was all he wanted to do. He didn't want to be here with Maki staring dagger at him in wait for an answer.
So Yuta did the one thing he never expected himself to do.
He ran away.
He ran as fast as his feet could take him.
Maki let out a sigh of disappointment while watching Yuta run away. She made no move to stop him. It was now up to him to figure out an answer. He had to do it on his own.
"Damn, you didn't have to be so brutally straightforward about it. You literally sent him running." Maki turned to see Tsuki walking towards her with her pale yellow eyes glinting in amusement.
"You look entertained" Maki said. Tsuki shook her head and hopped onto Maki's shoulder.
"Well, it's not every day you see something like that. You think he'll come back?" Tsuki asked.
"Don't know. Probably" Maki replied truthfully. She really hoped he came back with an answer because both Rika and Hiyori deserved better than to be strung along. Hiyori was the type of person to hide her emotions under a façade of happiness and a bright smile. The type to say she was alright when she really wasn't. That's why Maki couldn't bear to see her best friend get strung along because some teenage boy who hadn't moved on from his childhood crush that died six years ago.
"Speaking of which, Maki, I thought you were against the two of them getting together. What changed?"
Maki clenched her fists and stared down at the ground. "I...I just want her to be happy..."
'Even if it's not with me...'
Jujutsu Scroll
"It says it's five streets away" Satoru said, pointing at the spot the sweets shop he wanted to visit was.
"No, that's not it. It's over here" Shoko said, pointing to another spot on the map.
"Wait, guys, we're over here not over there." Suguru said, pointing at a third spot on the map. Nanami sighed. This was getting nowhere. They were so lost and it was because Satoru wanted to try a dessert. He just wanted to go home and rest.
"Uh...." Nanami raised an eyebrow and turned to his fellow classmate who had a look of visible confusion on his face.
"What is it, Haibara?" Nanami asked. Haibara slowly turned to look at Nanami.
"Where...did Hiyori-chan go?" He asked warily.
"What do you mean? She's right ther—" Nanami's brain stopped computing. His brown eyes stared at the spot he saw Hiyori was standing at only a couple of seconds ago. She wasn't there.
She was gone.
'Shit.'
"Geto-senpai is right. It should be around 20 streets away from here." Ijichi said, studying the map.
"Ijichi...." He felt a nudge to his arm and turned to look up to see Nanami and Haibara staring at him with equally wary expressions on their faces though Nanami's was more schooled. Nanami tilted his head in a gesture to tell Ijichi to look in the direction of the spot Hiyori was supposed to be at.
Except there was no one there.
Ijichi's eyes popped out of their sockets.
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! YOU LOST HER?! GOJO-SENPAI WILL KILL US!" Ijichi whisper-screamed while grabbing Haibara's shoulders.
"NO, SCRATCH THAT, HE'LL TEAR THE WHOLE CITY APART. HE CAN DO THAT YOU KNOW!" Ijichi frantically shook Haibara. Ijichi was pretty sure he was going to die today. He had managed to lose Gojo Satoru's daughter. The Gojo Satoru's daughter.
"Geto-senpai...." Nanami called. Ijichi let out a breath of relief that Nanami had called Suguru instead of Satoru.
'Wait...wouldn't Geto-senpai respond in a similar manner anyway?'
Ijichi's face contorted into one of pure horror. He had been so caught up with what Satoru would do that he forgot to even consider Suguru. Both of them were special-grade sorcerers for goodness sake. They could literally annihilate all of Japan if they wanted to. Suguru looked up from the map he was studying with Shoko and Satoru.
"Huh? What's up, Nanami?" Suguru asked, turning to look at his kouhai. He raised an eyebrow in confusion when he saw how pale both of them were. They looked like they had seen a ghost.
"Hiyori-chan...Hiyori-chan is..." Haibara muttered.
"What about my dear Hiyori-chan?" Satoru asked, now looking up from the map to see what was going on.
"She's gone..." The dark-haired first-year practically squeaked out.
"Huh? What are you guys talking about? She's right over there" Shoko pointed at the spot Hiyori was standing at only to pause when she saw no one there. Ijichi was already writing his will in his head.
"Huh..." Suguru, Shoko, and Satoru stared at the empty spot. Ijichi jumped at the sudden intense wave of cursed energy that came from Satoru and Suguru.
'Crap! They're angry!'
"Where's my daughter...?" Satoru asked calmly. Too calmly.
"HIYORI!" Suguru shouted at the top of his lungs. There was no response. No white-haired little girl popped out of her hiding spot with a bright smile. Satoru lowered his sunglasses so he could use his Six Eyes while Suguru summoned one of his cursed spirits.
Hiyori was missing in the second-largest city north of Tokyo.