The car ride was a mostly silent affair, other than the few bickering questions Kaito had.
"What happened?" Kaito asked again, just as he did before.
"I already told you." Hina tried. "I was walking to the bus stop from dinner with my coworkers, and I heard something. I didn't know it was a curse."
"Hina honestly..." Kaito sounded frustrated, rubbing a hand over his mouth. "Seriously, you should be more careful next time."
"I know, and I'm sorry." Hina told him calmly.
"You don't..." Kaito didn't finish his sentence. He just scoffed, sighing heavily. "When we get to my house, we'll say that you felt ill, and that you didn't want to be alone. Mayumi wouldn't question it."
Hina felt skeptical about the excuse. "I can go home, you know."
"You won't. I'm not letting you out of this car until we get to my house."
Hina resisted the urge to snap back. This headache really was irritating.
Kaito spoke again. "And what will you do about the cat?"
Hina smiled down at the mop of white fur in her arms. It purred quietly. "I'll take it to the vet tomorrow morning. I wanna know if it's a he or a she."
"You're not going to keep it, are you?"
Hina hummed in thought. "Probably not. Why?"
Kaito scoffed again. "You should learn how to take care of yourself before you attempt to take care of another living thing."
Hina frowned at him. "You don't... you don't have to be so harsh."
"I'm only telling the truth." Kaito told her simply.
I'm only stating what's true.
Hina pursed her lips, deciding not to answer. They stayed like that for the rest of the ride.
-
"I hope they're not too big for you." Mayumi said, handing her two folded articles of clothing. Hina kindly took them, smiling timidly.
"Thank you, Mayumi-san." Hina told her. "And I really am sorry for showing up unexpectedly."
"No, it's fine! Really!" Mayumi chided, patting her shoulders lightly. "Really, if my dear Hina had to take care of her ill-self all alone... I would worry too much. Kaito would too, you know that."
Hina chuckled. "I guess so. And, the cat..."
"Is in the living room. It's so cute. I tried cleaning it up a bit, god knows how long it's been out there—it's sleeping in this little makeshift cardboard bed that I made. I fed it some chicken, since we have no cat food—I hope it's not too uncomfortable."
Hina chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Thank you again, Mayumi-san."
Mayumi smiled. "Alright then, goodnight. I gotta go check up on Kana to see if she's sleeping. Tell me if you need anything, alright?"
Hina nodded at her as Mayumi left, closing the door behind her. She sighed, then proceeded to change into the pajamas that Mayumi had given her, which consisted of a loose long-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts.
They had let her stay in the guestroom. The walls were a calming off-white, and the bed covers were grey. Hina's only stayed here a couple of times, a few from when she was visiting as a student and a few from when she had just moved into her own apartment.
After changing, she collapsed on the four-poster bed, staring up at the ceiling. She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, breathing in slowly.
It had exhausted her, using her technique with that much force. She's never exerted that much, or released that much emotion and forced it into another being with that much power—and releasing a powerful emotion such as fear—
No wonder her head throbbed. She wasn't used to using her technique to that length.
Hina closed her eyes, remembering the jujutsu sorcerer's words—Nanami Kento's words...
On December 24th, I would recommend staying inside.
Worry. It was worry that she was feeling. Not for herself, not just for Kaito, Mayumi, Kana, Kikuchi, Shimizu, Imai, Fujiwara, or Akane and Fusae—she was scared.
She was scared for Gojo.
No, she told herself. You have no reason to be worried. He'll be fine.
Yes, he'll be fine, won't he?
She reached for her phone, typing in the password and clicking onto her messaging app. She scrolled down, until she found Gojo's name.
She clicked on it, viewing their texts. None of them were recent. They were more than a month old.
Should I? She clicked on the messaging box, her thumbs hovering over the keyboard. Just a simple 'how are you', or a 'hello', or a 'it's been a while', or 'why haven't you texted or called or visited me in a month,' or 'it's not my fault I said those things', or 'maybe I said too much' or 'I'm sorry'—
Please tell me that you're okay.
Hina left the app entirely without texting a single thing, tossing her phone to the side. She wondered if Nanami Kento would really tell Gojo what she said, or even could tell Gojo what she said... he did say he would, Hina remembered, recalling his words, meaning that he knew him personally.
That was a good thing.
Hina turned the lights off, throwing the blanket over herself. She shifted onto her side, letting her eyes trail to the white bedsheets. She mindlessly pinched a fold, remembering the feeling in her fingertips. The feeling of using so much force, so much emotion—it was stronger than anything she had ever done before.
And then she remembered these very fingers sinking into his jacket, his skin, searching for any emotion inside of him, her pulling away, him pulling her back, wrapping his fingers around her wrist, causing shivers to trail down her arm, Hina almost falling for the urge, the temptation, because she fell for him—
And she knew what he felt.
She didn't want to think about it. Hina closed her eyes, allowing sleep to consume her in a much, much calmer way than the curse did.
-
The cat purred into her palm.
"This little one's in good condition, other than malnutrition." The veterinarian explained. "Are you going to take him in?"
Hina blinked. "It's a male?"
"Yes." The lady replied, as if it should have been obvious. "Did you not check?"
"No, I..." Hina frowned, coughing an awkward chuckle. "You can do that?"
"Yeah." The veterinarian laughed, crossing her arms. "Well, you just have to check his... It's a male."
"Ah," Hina nodded slowly. "I see."
"I'm assuming you've never had a pet before?"
Hina laughed. "Never." She softly patted the cat's now-cleaned coat of fur, smiling. "So he isn't chipped?"
"No ma'am." The veterinarian answered quickly. "No chip, no identification... we can place him in an animal shelter, unless you want to adopt this little guy." The lady laughed when the cat purred affectionately into Hina's wrist.
Huh. Hina blinked, thinking for a moment. Her eyes flickered into the cat's deep-blue eyes, staring right back at her with a hint of solicitation.
He really is cute.
No, Hina snapped at herself. You shouldn't. You'd have to get all the supplies, and it'd be a big commitment.
The cat purred, lifting its paw. Hina stared at it. He's an attention seeker.
"I'll..." Hina swallowed, hoping she wouldn't regret this decision later. "I'll have to figure out a name for him now."
-
She named the cat Kumo.
She scratched the underside of the cat's chin, watching as he purred contently, his fluffy tail jumping. His fur was now clean and white, rid of the dirt and dust that had been tangled in it. Kumo trotted off to his bed, settling down as he clawed at the scratching post Hina had bought for him—the little rascal had almost torn her couch apart.
Akane came over as soon as she found out about Kumo, and she dragged Fusae along with her. She showed pictures of Kumo to her colleagues at work, who awed at the sight of him.
Mayumi and Kaito came over a couple of times, along with Kana. Kana adored Kumo—she liked playing with him, giving him belly rubs, and attempting to teach him tricks.
"Is it normal for cats to like belly rubs? It's more of a dog thing, is it not?" Mayumi asked one time, raising her eyebrows as Kumo seemingly begged for one from Kana, who happily obliged.
Hina shrugged. "Apparently it's rare."
Kaito scoffed at the scene. "You really did bring in that stray."
"It looked like he needed me." Hina told him, smiling as she watched Kana attempting to teach Kumo how to shake his hand. He's not a dog, she thought amusedly.
"And plus," Hina added, somewhat distantly. "I know what it feels like. I was once brought in too."
Kaito didn't reply.
-
Hina had a dream one night.
It started with the curse who had attacked her. It wanted to drown her, to eat her alive for making it feel so utterly terrified—instead of recoiling, Hina's technique had angered it further, and that anger bursted and overflowed into flames, burning wildly inside of Hina. She tried to force it away—after all, the anger was too overwhelming for her to bear—but she was weak.
So she screamed.
But she didn't wake up.
When she opened her eyes, she was overlooking a scene. A candlelit room. Tatami floors. A broken vase. A brittled girl, leaning against the wall, limp like a loose puppet.
"Don't you agree, brat?"
What? Hina eyes flickered from the bleeding girl to the women in front of her. Akiyama-san's gaze bled through her.
"I..." Hina breathed. And that wasn't Dream-Hina saying it—it was real Hina. In this dream, she was fully conscious.
"Don't make me repeat myself." Akiyama-san's voice was cruel. "Insolent brat."
Hina blinked.
This isn't how it went.
"What are you doing with that?"
Huh? Hina's breath shook, confused. It wasn't until she squeezed her hand, that she noticed what she was holding. She looked down at the shard, sharp and white with delicate flower designs painted on it.
No. She whimpered, shaking her head frantically. No, I didn't—it was an accident, I was young and I didn't mean to—
"Then why do you feel so guilty? Why are your hands dripping with blood?"
Hina widened her eyes. "What?"
Akiyama-san's neck was trickling with shiny-red blood. The cut in her neck was gaping. "Why are you still holding that?"
Hina dropped the vase shard, hearing it clunk as it landed beside her feet. "I'm not—I'm not holding anything—"
"Oh, no dear. That's not what happened."
"I know what happened!" Hina snapped back, shaking. God, I hate this dream.
Akiyama-san slowly advanced towards her, her neck dripping blood onto her kimono, dying the flowers red, dripping onto the floor like plit, plat, plit, plat—
No, no, no—Her mind was racing, and the shard was in her hand again.
She closed her eyes and struck.
This time when she opened them, she was watching her younger self tremble from a nightmare. She couldn't be no more than nine here, trembling and holding onto Nakano Isamu for dear life. They were in her old bedroom. Her lamplight was on, and the clock read 2:56 A.M.
"Does it," She heard her younger self say. "Does it plague you, when you.. when you kill someone?"
"It plagues everyone, child." Isamu said gently. "Is that what has been troubling you all this time?"
"I'm a murderer." Her younger self bit out. "She was mean and vile, but I didn't.. I didn't want to kill her..."
Hina watched as her younger self slowly raised her head, sniffling. "Do you think I'm disgusting now?"
"No." Isamu answered without hesitation. "You defended yourself against a beacon of evil, and now you regret doing so." He tapped a finger against her chest, pointing to it.
"You have a good heart, Hina." He told her quietly, honestly. "Don't feel guilty for escaping a life that despaired you."
Hina stepped back, breathing heavily. She didn't feel guilty for escaping.
She felt guilty for not feeling guilty at all.
Laughter arose from another room, and Hina looked outside the door. Without thinking, she walked out, trailing after the sound of pure happiness, without a shred of pain lingering in it.
She entered the living room. She looked down at a family of four, playing a card game on the carpet. This time, her younger self looked older. Twelve. She was twelve here. Kaito was complaining about his cards, and Isamu was making fun of him for it. Toko was trying to help Hina win, whispering hints into her ear.
Isamu's phone buzzed. Someone was calling him, and he answered it.
Hina knew what was going to happen.
"Ah, yes—I'll be there soon." He gruffly said, ending the call.
"What is it?" Toko asked, standing up after him. Isamu sighed.
"A special-grade curse. They're calling on all available grade-one sorcerers to the scene."
"Really?" It was Kaito, who looked intrigued, oblivious to the future. "You better kick its nasty ass then, dad. Or else you owe me some gyoza."
"Oh shut it, boy." Isamu shot back, shrugging his black-jujutsu sorcerer coat on. He made eye contact with Hina—younger Hina, who eyed him anxiously.
"Be careful." She heard her younger self say.
"She's right, sweetheart." Toko added, fixing her husband's collar, leaning in to kiss him sweetly on the cheek. "Do your best—aren't special-grades the really dangerous ones?"
Isamu scoffed. "Do you doubt your husband's strength?"
"No, I doubt my husband's wisdom, the wisdom I married him for." Toko shot back smartly. She gave him another kiss, quick and light on his lips. "Do be careful, okay?"
"I will." He nodded, slipping his boots on and grasping a curved sword that had been laying by the shoe rack—a safe and convenient place to put my weapon, he had once claimed, much to Toko's dismay.
Hina watched in agony as he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob. Don't.
Don't go.
"Wait—!"
Her voice was drowned out. She couldn't speak. Hina tried to move, but the dream was stopping. It had cast a spell. Invisible vines kept her rooted in place, and Hina used everything in her to try and escape, to warn him, to tell him that he shouldn't go, that he shouldn't leave, that he shouldn't take a single step outside that door, because if he did then he would die—
"I'll be back as soon as I can." He told them.
Liar! Hina wanted to cry. You liar, because in reality—
The door closed, and he was gone.
—you never came back.
The vines pulled her under.
She found herself in a new location. A demolished site. Rubble and debris scattered around her, roofs fallen over and walls crushed to dust. Broken temples. A barrier that had been broken. The question of what had happened didn't need to be asked.
She knew where she was this time, too. Jujutsu High, ten years ago.
Hina immediately closed her eyes. No. She didn't want to see what lay before her. She didn't want to see who lay before her eyes.
She couldn't bear to freshen that memory.
"Open your eyes, Hina."
No, Hina thought, shaking her head. That voice was taunting her. She didn't want to. She didn't want to relive the memory, she didn't want to see any of it, she didn't want to wonder why this voice sounded so much clearer than the others had—
"Right here. Behind you, Hina. Really, you're not gonna see anything there. It was pretty revolting—insulting, actually, so I cleaned it up."
What? Hina slowly opened her eyes, scared for—for nothing. She blinked. There was nothing there. No blood, no body, just concrete and rubble and dust. Hina exhaled sharply, placing a hand against her forehead.
"See? I told you!" The voice said again—and it was a voice all-too familiar. "It was unsightly and it gave me the shivers."
Hina turned around, her eyes widening as they landed on Gojo. But it wasn't present-day Gojo, nor was it young Gojo. It was Gojo Satoru as a teenager, donned in his black jujutsu high uniform. There was no blood, no tears in his clothes—just him.
His glasses were off. Hina stared at him, and he gazed back, a knowing smile on his lips. He kicked a stone towards her. "If we'd met as teenagers under different circumstances, do you think anything would've changed?"
"I..." Hina didn't know what to say. "I don't know."
"Well I do!" He told her cheerfully. "I, for one, think that it all would've been the same. Of course, not everything literally—I mean, feelings, rather than events."
Even in dreams, Gojo Satoru still spoke in riddles. "I'm not following."
"Well, you love me." He replied shortly, with no hesitation. "Romantically. I don't think that would've changed."
Hina blinked. "Well, that..." She looked around for a distraction, clearing her throat. "What really happened here?"
"A blasted non-sorcerer with his pet caterpillar and an unholy amount of weapons, that's what. And don't change the subject." He told her bluntly, sliding his hands into his pockets.
"A non..?" Hina frowned. That wasn't something from her prior knowledge. How was she able to know that?
"I said don't change the subject, Hina." He pouted at her. "Really, if you think I kept things from you, maybe you should take another look at yourself."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sure, I didn't tell you everything. It's not like I had to. But you know, it's not like you told me everything as well. Not that you had too, either. Even when we were children, you would come into my room at night with bruises and cuts on your face and think that I wouldn't wonder where they came from, isn't that right?"
Hina felt her throat dry. "I—I don't—"
"I'm a genius, you know. There's not a single thing I'm not privy to, Hina. Maybe you should take that into consideration."
Hina didn't hold back the urge to laugh. "I didn't think you cared."
"I didn't." He told her shortly. "At the time, I didn't. You were right about one thing—you amused me, that's why I kept you. You made me curious, because of how different we were from each other. Status, personality, values—you name it."
"So I was a zoo animal to you?" Hina raised her eyebrows. Honestly, she should feel hurt by this—but in the end, she really wasn't surprised.
"Somewhat." He whistled. "But also, no."
"Meaning?" Hina frowned.
"Let me finish, you impatient girl. It might come as a surprise when I say this, but I did grow to care."
Hina didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked down to the pebble at her feet, giving it a light kick. It skidded back to Gojo, landing inches before him.
Breathe in—
She inhaled.
Breathe out—
And she exhaled.
"Do you love me?"
Her voice was low and quiet. Inquisitive, but scared—and she knew that she shouldn't really be scared, after all, this was a dream—but after what this dream had shown her, Hina didn't know what to feel anymore.
"Well," Gojo's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Of course not!"
She kept her gaze low. Wow.
"Not right now, at least." He added. Hina's breath hitched, and she slowly looked up. Teenage Gojo was currently advancing towards her, abandoning the pebble. Hina looked up at him.
"I'm still what, seventeen in this body?" He told her matter-of-flatly. "So of course I'm not in love with you. So not right now, at least."
Hina caught his gaze. His eyes were still the same, but they were younger here. "Not yet?"
He smiled cockily. "You know the answer to that, don't you? You felt it." He brought her hand up to his chest. "Right here, remember? Come on, it wasn't that long ago."
Hina nodded slowly. "I remember."
"Good." Teenage Gojo said. Hina drew her hand back to her side, taking a step back.
"What happens now?" She asked.
"Well you gotta wake up! Duh!" He chided. "It's a dream, remember? So wake up."
Wake up.
Hina saw the dream slowly dissolve around her, the landscape disappearing into nothingness. She quickly looked back at teenage Gojo, who just smiled back at her as the world dissipated.
"I'm sorry," She told him honestly. "I'm sorry for just leaving after I saw you like that. I was scared."
"I know." He replied. "Just don't walk away this time."
He disappeared.
And Hina finally woke up.
-
"Hello there, this is Gojo Satoru! And I have better things to do than answer your call! So leave a message after the beep! Doesn't guarantee I'll listen to it though!"
Beep.
"...Hi." Hina cleared her throat, taking a second to collect her words. She didn't plan this. Really, she should have planned out what she wanted to say.
"Um, so... I—I just wanted to ask how you've been?" She cringed at the awkwardness and nervousness in her voice. "I mean, I just.."
Just what?
Hina closed her eyes, drawing in a long breath before exhaling. "So I had a really strange dream, and... and I know that I should've acted more maturely before, and that I probably should've at least texted you once—so I'm doing it now. Well, I'm leaving a voicemail with no guarantee that you'll listen to what I have to say, but I'm trying anyway.
"But I also have to say that you should've acted more maturely too, Young Master. I wanted to hear from you first, even though we left off on a bad note. But seeing as I haven't seen you or heard from you in more than a month, it hurts me and it worries me and I want you to know that.
"So if you ever find the time, please come visit again. Text me, call me, show up at my door unannounced—anything's fine. Just please, I think...I think we should talk about it, at least."
She ended the call.
-
Hina rang the doorbell.
Kaneko-san opened the door, Toko's caretaker. She blinked at Hina before bowing politely. "Nakano. Are you here to see Toko-san?"
"I am." Hina smiled. "I'd just like to talk to her for a moment. It won't take long."
Kaneko eyed her anxiously. "Nakano..."
"It's fine, Kaneko-san." Hina assured her. "It'll just take a moment."
After a second, Kaneko let her inside. Hina slipped her shoes off, observing the home that she once lived in. She glanced at the couch, where Toko sat as she watched the TV. Her frame didn't move.
Hina slowly made her way to Toko. She sat on the floor in front of the couch, next to Toko's legs. Without looking at her adoptive mother, she started to speak. "Hi, Toko-san. It's been a while since I last came."
No answer. Just a sad, quiet hum.
"A lot of things happened lately, and I really think I just didn't know how to handle them well."
She played with the edge of her coat sleeve.
"I got a cat." Hina chuckled. "Yeah, I... found a stray cat in an alley, and I decided to take it in. Kaito didn't like it that I did. I named him Kumo, because he reminds me of a fluffy white cloud. He looks like a fluffy white cloud, and he reminds me of... someone dear to me. It's quite funny, actually."
Hina sighed. "Toko-san, you've always been a mother to me. So today, I'm going to be the daughter who professes her first love. I'm a bit late, but it happened. And Toko-san—you didn't tell me that loving someone as a partner would be so overwhelming. Especially one with a jujutsu sorcerer. So I... I think I understand you more now. I understand Kaito too, even though he still makes rash decisions.
"But I've made rash decisions too. And to be completely honest, I haven't been honest with myself these past years—I know you know the full story. Isamu-san must have told you at some point. But he believed that I felt guilty for that reason—but it wasn't like that. Not entirely."
For the past seventeen years, Hina felt guilty because—
"I'm going to acknowledge it now before I can regret it. I don't feel guilty for doing it."
—she didn't feel guilty for killing Akiyama-san.
"I meant to do it. I know I did, because I hated her. I was scared of her, and I wanted to be rid of her. But that's just what makes it worse, isn't it? I did something that I can't take back. And I don't want to take it back—is that so bad?"
Hina leaned her head against Toko's knee. "So I took my guilt out on him. I blamed him for something that makes me a hypocrite. But I'm still a bit angry at him, Toko-san—and I'll remain upset until he decides to muster himself up and see me again—and only then will I fully forgive him, and I hope that he can forgive me.
She closed her eyes. She imagined Toko's soft hand running through her hair soothingly, like she did when Hina was a child.
"Because if this isn't love, then I don't know what it is."
Someone knocked on the wall.
Hina turned around, expecting to see Kaneko. But it wasn't her.
Kaito was frowning at her. "Hina."
"Kaito." Hina blinked. She smiled, "When did you get here?"
"Around a minute ago. Kaneko-san called and told me you were here."
"Did she now?" Hina tilted her head to the side. "Well, she didn't tell any false information then."
"You—" Kaito grimaced, seemingly holding his tongue. "That's not important."
"Then what is?"
"Well I happened to have overheard something quite interesting. I'd like to clarify it with you, if that's okay."
Oh dear. "Kaito..."
"I knew it." He bit out. "He was in your apartment, how could I have not known?"
Hina shot up. "Kaito, not here. Let's talk about this somewhere else."
"There's nothing to talk about." His voice rose slightly. "I told you to not fraternize with a jujutsu sorcerer—"
"And I decided not to listen." Hina shot back. "It's a choice that I made myself, it has nothing to do with you."
"It has everything to do with me!" He threw his hands up, marching towards her. Hina stepped back as he walked around the couch. "God, Hina—seriously? Are you insane? You just got attacked by a curse not too long ago, I thought you would've learned your lesson—"
"Learn my lesson?" Hina repeated. "You talk to me as if I'm still a child. Don't even get me started on that."
"On what?"
"Kaito, I'm a working adult—just because I don't have kids and I'm not married doesn't mean I'm a child!"
"You might as well be if you intend to date then marry a jujutsu sorcerer!"
"Wha—" Hina coughed, staring at him incredulously. "M-Marry? What—what are you even saying right now—!"
"What I'm saying is that you're about to walk down the same path as mom!" He snapped harshly at her. "Look at her now! She's goddamn miserable, because dad decided to go off and kill himself—"
"That was out of his control." Hina tried to reason. "Kaito... I understand why you're worried about me, but I can take care of myself. I have been."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"No, I..." Hina cursed herself internally. "Kaito, right now we're just friends—me and Gojo-san. I haven't seen him in more than a month—"
"That's not what I just heard." Kaito bit back. "Hina, I really thought you were smarter than this—"
"Kaito, I'm not going to change my mind."
"Then you are stupid. Just like dad was."
"How could you say that?" Hina snapped at him. "I know you don't want to hear it, but he was my father too—"
"Hina—"
"And don't say that he wasn't, and that Toko-san wasn't my mom and that you are not my brother—I don't understand, Kaito, because sometimes you really act like one—"
"I wanted something to blame!" He revealed, sighing shakily. "I had no reason to blame you, but I did anyway."
Hina stared at him.
"God, Hina," He said, lowering his voice. "I don't know why I said those things. I was angry and I was grieving. You were so quiet. You were always so quiet, since the first time I met you. And look at you now—you're talking some goddamn sense into me."
"Kaito—"
Toko made a sound in her throat. Both Kaito and Hina shot their heads towards her.
Her head tilted slightly. "Don't...fight."
And then she was silent again. The TV blared beside them.
Hina inhaled shakily, kneeling down. She took one of Toko's hands, grasping it tightly. "We're not fighting, Toko-san. Not anymore."
She heard Kaito kneel down next to her, taking Toko's other hand into his own. He slowly laid his head on Hina's shoulder, and Hina didn't stop him. They stayed like that for a minute or two, and Hina rested her cheek on Kaito's head.
"It terrifies me, Hina." Kaito revealed quietly. "I worry for you because you're my sister. You have been since the moment you stepped into this house."
Hina swallowed, holding back the urge to cry in relief.
"Can I really not stop you from seeing that jujutsu sorcerer?"
Hina shook her head. "I'm sorry, you can't."
"Then I want him to promise you and I something." He began. "When you see him again, I want you to make sure he promises not to die."
Hina pursed her lips as they trembled into a smile. "Okay, I will. I promise."
She felt Toko's hand slightly shift in hers.
-
The night of December 24th passed quickly.
Hina stayed inside. So did Kaito and his family. She told everyone she could for them to stay inside as well—her reasoning vague—and Hina only hoped that they did. On the news, they said it was an earthquake that rocked Shinjuku and Kyoto. It wasn't a big one, but the destruction was inevitable.
She woke up on the morning of December 25th, to the sound of her doorbell ringing. She checked the clock—7:34 A.M. Did she have a package arriving?
Hina slowly pushed herself up, swinging her legs off her bed as she trudged out of her bedroom, making her way towards the front door. She mindlessly tidied her hair, blinking tiredly as she turned a light on.
She opened the door.
"Hello, how may I—"
She stopped. Her hand fell from the doorknob.
Oh.
For the first time in more than a month, Gojo Satoru was at her door.