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"[Name], there's a letter for you."
"Thanks."
You scanned the envelope as Panda trotted away happily, humming a tune as he exited the doors. After searching for the little bird, she drew on the paper envelope. You smiled to yourself in victory before carefully tearing the side open.
The lounge room was quiet as everyone else had gone off to do their respective missions or busy themselves on campus, but the low hum of the air conditioner was a good ambiance. You would lie if you said you weren't waiting for a reply from her eagerly. It was starting to feel like a ritual to open one of Ellena's letters at the end of the week. Sometimes you had to hide them from Gojo because he sneaked a peek two letters back, and you didn't want in your private business with Ellena.
You settled yourself to lean back in the couch cushions as you read about her day when she wrote back. She was still annoyed that they made her cut her hair short and couldn't wear her earnings anymore. Her school was extremely strict about that. You had never seen her with hair shorter than her usual mid-length, and at one point, she had her hair reach about near her waist. She wanted to grow it out again because she visited her grandmother and wanted it to be like hers. You told her that once her parents began to miss her, she could move back and grow it again, but she didn't like the idea of leaving Japan without you. She was so clingy sometimes in an endearing way, of course.
Ellena also wrote about the choir group she joined, or more like was coerced to by her roommate. She didn't like the idea of singing, but she was begging to warm up to it. She also joined the ikebana club because she thought it would be fun. You asked if she would be overwhelmed by all her commitments, but she assured me that she found a healthy balance for everything. She seemed to be flourishing in her new school, which you were glad about.
She was doing good for herself.
You were broken out of your thoughts by a chime, and you gave a tiny sigh as you reached into your pocket to fish out your phone.
Without bothering to check the caller's I.D., you answered.
"Hello."
"Why sound so depressed?"
"Because I was having peace and quiet while you were away..." You sighed, pitching the bridge of your nose and then rubbing your sinuses. "What is it you need from me?"
"I just want to wish you luck on your mission. Can't a teacher be concerned about his student going on his third solo mission?"
You folded Ellena's letter, tucked it away in its envelope, and put him on speaker. "Keyword: third. I thought you needed something from me. Are you worried I'll fail or get hurt? You're the one that taught me, so have a little more faith in me."
"It sounds like you're praising me, Poyo-chan."
"Not a compliment. Just a matter of fact."
You tucked Ellena's letter to read later in your interior pocket, sewed inside your haori, and stretched out your limbs.
"Still so cold."
"Whatever you say..." you mumbled, "That all? I'm about to head out for my mission."
"I also called to remind you to update me on your findings. Remember that cursed object is no joke."
You brought the phone up to your ear and switched back to normal audio, "You said that there wasn't even a guarantee that it would be in the first two locations, but you're sending me there any way to check. I could get this done faster if I went straight to the likely location."
"It's going to be at least one in those locations," he ignored your complaint, "I already got to go check up on our Megumi-chan, so I can't go and check up on you, so don't cause me to hear anything more from the higher-ups, alright? I'll tell you what I told Megumi; don't come home till you find it~."
"You're a sadistic ba—"
You were rendered silent by the beep of the call being ended.
Heaving a sigh, you hauled yourself off the couch, muttering and grumbling as you left the room. Megumi hadn't returned last night, so you could only assume something had held him up, but it turns out it was just Gojo keeping him busy. This was such a nuisance too. Sending you out on a Friday, of all things. You would miss the next chapter of that manga you've been putting off. Possibly get spoiled. Guess no internet scrolling for you...
"Aha! [Name]!"
Stopping, you turned to see that Panda had again shown up before you, stubby legs carrying him quickly across the hall to cover the distance between you.
"Are you going out on your mission already?" he asked.
You gave a nod. "Yeah, I figured I should get going and start searching before it gets dark. I got to cover a lot of ground. I want to be back by the end of the weekend."
Panda blinked owlishly, "Isn't this your third mission alone?"
"Apparently, I'm reliable enough to do this much work now. Tell Inumaki-san I'll return his kanji dictionary when I return."
"Alright, I'll make sure to tell him, but I stopped you because I just found out from Maki that something came in from Yuta!"
You paused briefly before replying. "Is it really that exciting to get word from him?"
Panda didn't skip a beat in replying, "Oh, no! He rarely gives any updates! Haven't heard from him since he left!"
There was no way for you to know what to make of that when he proclaimed it so merrily.
"But that's beside the point!" he continued, smiling. "Gojo got something sent to him by Yuta, and he gave it to Maki. Yuta said in his note that it was for you, and Maki should do him a favor and teach you how to use it."
Being a little bold there, asking her for a favor there, Yuta. But you supposed that she was all wrapped around his finger even if she'd never admit it, so she'd agree to whatever the favor entailed.
"Is that right...?" you muttered, wondering what he sent before filing it away to ponder later on the train ride. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll see Maki as soon as I can when she's not busy and when I return. I'll catch you later, Senpai."
Panda waved goodbye, "Good luck!"
Now, to search for that damn finger you've been hearing so much about lately.
====
Given that two schools covered the greater mainland of Japan, it would fall onto the Tokyo sect to oversee and take care of any jujutsu business close to the island's northern part. While Gojo had sent Megumi to Sendai, you would have to go up even more, North, closer to the western coastal prefectures in your search for Sukuna's finger. It was only rumored that it could be in Akita, and it would be that speculation was wrong, as you could not find that damn finger for your life. After doing some sleuthing on your own, you exhausted your search in Akita prefecture and moved on to the next: Aomori.
And again, no finger in Aomori—or should you say no finger in Aomori city, but a sizable number of curses you exorcised on your way out of the city after spending the night there. Gojo sent you a picture of what looked like an annoyed and bloody Megumi, but you didn't really want to ask until you got the story from the former. He hated when Gojo expanded on his misfortune, so you'd rather avoid possible bickering later.
The last place to check was a town on the outskirts of Hirakawa with a smaller population than Aomori City or the city of Hirakawa. It was tucked away close to the mountains of the prefecture.
"A shrine?" the older woman hummed to herself, cupping her chin in thought. "I don't think there's any shrine of what you're describing around here..."
Man, looking for this finger was becoming a real pain. It was already the second day too.
Holding back a small sigh, you bowed to the woman. "It's alright. I'll try to look for it on my own. I may have gotten the wrong directions. Thank you for your time."
You bid her a silent farewell before walking off, only to be stopped by her calling out to you again—a tiny spark of hope lit inside you. Maybe you could go home by the end of the day after all.
"Are you in Saturday school? Why are you wearing such an odd uniform?"
Never mind.
Sighing out loud this time, you waved a hand back at her. "Don't worry about that, Ma'am! I'd check your produce! That cat that's been prowling around is stealing an apple!"
You could hear her gasp and turn back to her small stand as you walked away in the original direction you headed for. At least you knew this was the place because you could feel residual cursed energy seeping into this city. You couldn't figure out from where, as there seemed to be an even coating everywhere. You would have to search every possible location you could until you found a more substantial lead and follow it to where it was sealed.
You could send out Conquest and Famine to get a better lead.
"So, you're searching for a shrine?"
There was no helping the slight flinch you gave up on the voice appearing from nowhere until you whipped your head to the side to see a young man seated on a brick fence. Usually, you'd pick up cursed energy from anyone that comes this close to you, but maybe this shroud of energy emanating from the finger made it harder for you to detect others.
This guy seemed to have little to no cursed energy, which could be another reason why it caused a delay in you noticing him.
You approached the situation cautiously, "You heard that from over there? Sorry, I didn't mean for her to speak so loudly to cause a disturbance."
First things first, gauge his intentions. No sorcerer or otherwise, you should always ensure you weren't setting yourself up to be screwed over.
He looked bored by the blank expression and slightly raised his brows at how you replied to him.
"It's no trouble. She's always that loud and excited when people from out of town come by here," he explained, glancing in the direction where you had just stopped before. "Smaller communities around these parts. You can tell a tourist by the way they look around at everything."
Well, you weren't exactly a tourist. You were trying to find a damn cursed finger.
You nodded, "I see."
The young man regarded you with his still stoic expression, almost reminding you of Megumi even to the dark-colored eyes of his behind his square-framed glasses.
"So, you still want to look for the shrine?" He muttered.
You weren't sure if he was trying to be helpful or nosy. But either way, you were desperate to find it. After a few seconds of silence and pondering, you replied.
"You know where it is?"
And his lips turned slightly upwards.
"Mm, yeah, I do," he said. The stranger slid himself off the fence and yawned as he stretched and faced the direction to go further downhill. "It's somewhere in the prefectural park. I've seen it several times when I hike around there."
"Do locals know about it like you?" You inquired, worried that some might have gone and disturbed the shrine before.
He hummed in thought, "I wouldn't say yes. It's hard to find if you don't know where it's hidden. And no one really wants to waste their time looking for it."
You eyed the unnamed man from the corner of your eye, mumbling. "Then how did you find it?"
Your question had an indicative tone that he could pick up on quickly. You were mentally preparing yourself for any action you would have to take just in case. This guy wanting to show you where the finger was stashed away was becoming a little more than good fortune.
He didn't say anything for a few seconds, and you slowed your pace until making a complete stop that he also needed to halt. The look in his eye was telling, showcasing a glint of knowledge in them.
"I just travel around. Hear the local stories—myths and legends," he shrugged, walking without you. When he saw that you weren't following, he paused and looked back, face falling into a bit of a deadpan. "This is the part where you tag along."
Still not trusting of him, you stuffed a hand in your pocket, lightly brushing your fingers against your lighter and cigarette pack.
"And I should because...?" You muttered.
He sighed as if he was tired of dealing with you. He's the one who had approached you first, so you didn't know what his problem was.
"Are the mainlanders always like this these days?" He mumbled, seeming more to himself, but his gaze caught hold of yours soon after. "I'm just trying to do you a bit of service here. It seems like you're in a pinch, and I'm trying to kill a bit of time, so why not the two of us get something out of it? You're scared a god will eat us if we disturb their shrine?"
You should test something out before you made him lead you anywhere, to be on the cautious side...
But as you pulled out your lighter and were about to light a cigarette, he plucked it out between your fingers.
"What you got there?" He asked as if he clearly didn't know what he was holding. "Ah, quite the troublemaker. You look a bit young to smoke these."
He said, placing it between his teeth with a sly grin. "You look a little foreign, and foreigners tend to look a little older, but you still look young? I used to smoke in high school but stopped because the smell was annoying. Got all over my car, and I already get enough smoke from my tires."
As you stared with increasing contempt, he muttered on. This guy was a little irritating, to be honest.
"Hey, do me a favor and light it for me?"
Really irritating.
You held back, giving him a nasty look—if only to use him as a guide around these parts. Dumping him would be the first thing you'd do after getting that finger.
Sighing quietly, you swiped down on the ignitor and sparked the lighter to life. You held it close to him to lean in and ignite the butt of the cigarette and watched as he took the first drag from it.
"Interesting," he muttered between the rolled paper, dark eyes on you. "Don't think I've had one of these before. I wouldn't have pegged you as a guy to have these on you."
You tried not to roll your eyes as you put away the lighter after snuffling it out with its cap. "I got them as a gift."
He hummed, "Well, it's not bad," he took another drag, and you could smell the herbal plume of smoke trying to cling to your uniform. It wasn't so bad that you had to clean it regularly, but the smoke was, well, smoke—it did make you smell like you might've hung around some businessman in the business sector of Tokyo.
The man took a third drag from it before he turned to look back in the direction he was initially heading. "'C'mon, I'll take you to that shrine."
You followed this time, still hesitant.
"You're going to take that cigarette to the forest?"
"Don't worry about it. We shouldn't worry about the place catching fire, more so about the journey there."
You didn't know what he might imply but knew it was enough to drop your original critique.
With nothing else to say after, you fell silent and followed him down the hill and around a turn. Soon enough, you walked over treacherous-looking steps and paths rather than paved cement paths. The forest seemed to swallow up any visage on some parts, making it difficult to peer what was ahead sometimes. This strange man who had taken your cigarette seemed familiar with the directions he took, however. You watched him closely, not ready to drop your guard around him. He looked very nonchalant about any hostility or menacing aura you might be projecting towards him, though, and even calm and uncaring to you following behind him with his back turned to you.
"You doin' alright back there?"
"Yeah."
"Great. Keep following. Shouldn't be much longer till we start to feel our way closer."
"Feel our way—?"
It was heavy.
Heavy as in a weight pressed against every inch of you. It wasn't so dense as to suffocate you, but it certainly was enough to make you cautious of walking forward.
You were close, just as he said.
No-name peeked back for a second before trudging past some thick, dead shrubbery, and you quickly caught up after being hit with such a tidal wave of ominous cursed energy.
"Hey," you called out to him, keener on interrogating him now after his previous statement. This was no ordinary man, which was as clear as day to you now. "Why did you say that?"
He hummed curiously, watching you emerge from the dried bushes and slowly billowed smoke from his lips. "Hm? What do you mean?"
You clicked your tongue slightly, eyeing him warily. "I'm not stupid. You've been making weird comments all this time. You approached me with an offer to take me here... So, let's not play this game of ignorance unless you want to look like an ass."
There was that glint in his eyes again as he reached up a hand to choke the body of his cigarette between the space of two fingers, but even then, he didn't smile or even give a frown at your brash comments.
"Thought we were getting buddy-buddy," he muttered, pocketing a hand. "Don't tell me you want to hurt me now that I took you where you wanted to be?"
You refused to respond to his previous questions.
"Why did you really bring me here, Mr. No-Name?"
There was silence on his part, and he took his time to stare at you rather than answer. You were getting a little impatient, but you didn't want to risk him getting the jump on you or making a break for the shrine. He might be hiding something, but he did not seem like a liar. You could see a dull red painted shrine roof in the near distance elevated up where you were currently positioned. If that wasn't enough to make a safe confirmation that the finger was there, then the heavy blanket of residual energy it gave off was enough of one.
He sighed quietly, staring at you for a moment before muttering.
"Look, I'm trying to help you here. I'm currently on a hiatus on the whole sorcerer thing, and not in my jurisdiction around here, so do us both a favor and remove the thing, alright? I'm getting tired of dealing with those damn curses," he scoffed, brows coming together in a sort of scowl at the thought. "They're annoying as hell."
As you suspected, he was a sorcerer, but what did he mean by on hiatus? And within what jurisdiction?
He looked irritated now by your consistent mistrust and pestering about not behaving as he wanted you to, but at least he finally cracked and gave you enough to be satisfied. You would pull back from pressuring him and focus on the shrine for now.
"You could have just told me that."
You took the lead this time, hearing him give a small grunt and scoff behind you, slow to follow as you ascended higher up the mountain.
There were a few stairs you had to hop up and catch yourself on to get on and complete the rest of the way up, but eventually, you made it up to see the tiny shrine house before you. It looked worn down but mostly untouched by any green. There was mostly just dead moss and patches of said greenery that had yet to die out.
Judging by the rusty padlock, it needed a key to open the doors.
"You know where the key to this thing is?" You asked, jabbing a thumb over to it.
The man peered up from the bottom of the deteriorated steps, eyebrows raised.
"It needs a key?"
So, then that might prove he's never been here before.
The two of you awkwardly stood staring at each other for a few seconds before you turned away, muttering to yourself.
It's not like you could pry this thing open. You weren't some ogre with superhuman strength.
With no other ideas, you resorted to using one of your shikigami to help you.
You focused on pouring some of your cursed energy into the puff of smoke that steadily streamed out of No-Name's cigarette. He was impartial to seeing the end of it turn into a dark plume before shaping out the outline of a small creature. A second later, Famine fully manifested.
"Famine," you called out to the tiny fox shikigami. You gestured with a head tilt over to the shrine next to you, "Come up here and help cut the lock open for me, yeah?"
The hairs of her fur fluffed up as her red and white head quickly bobbed, a small chirp leaving her as she bounded over to you in a great leap.
She brushed her tails around your legs, batting her eyes before doing her assigned task when you didn't give her attention. She was always so clingy, and you didn't want to coddle her too much. She's been warming up to the idea of other people, but she's still very much obsessed with you. You had yet to figure out why you had such a shikigami with such a personality like that.
Using a jet of water, she sliced through the padlock and instantly turned expectantly, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
You grimaced a little and sighed, giving in. "Alright, I guess you deserve it... Come here," you lifted your shirt a bit, and immediately the shikigami scampered up your body to snuggle close.
She used her tails to anchor herself to you while you walked or lazed about after missions when you brought her out, and it was something you didn't like to do often because, as you mentioned before, you feared spoiling her.
While she made her body shrink slightly to fit under your shirt, you tucked the hem into your pants so she wouldn't slip out while pulling the sliced padlock off. "Only for a little, okay?" was your reminder to her.
You paused to stare at the shrine for a moment, visibly seeing the dark miasma that plumbed through the crack of the rickety wooden doors of the shrine. It was good that you got here to collect it. The seals on it wouldn't have lasted much longer, and who knows how bad the curse activity would have been.
You pulled the doors open, noting how clean it was inside the shrine box even though the outside was wasting away. A few seals barely clinging to the walls of the wood, almost falling off. They were not taking any chances, whoever was the one to seal this finger away.
As you reached to grab the lone box inside, Famine squirmed inside your shirt, making you peek down to see her narrow eyes glare at it.
"I know," you told her, picking the box out from inside and looking at the seals slapped on it for extra measure. "It's bad news, alright. They weren't playing around with the King of Curses."
It was vaguely fun at first to hear the moniker, but it was evident by Gojo's face in class when he gave the history lesson to you and Megumi that this was someone you would not have wanted to meet. If anything, you were glad the guy and his spirit were gone.
"What's it look like?" The man yelled from down the crumbling platform. "Is it in there?"
That's right. You still needed to check.
With a distasteful look at the box, you quietly mumbled to your shikigami as you carefully peeled off the seals on the container. "Be ready for anything, Famine. I want you to have my back if it attracts any curses."
She squeaked in reply, shrinking to slide out your shirt and grow back to a more appropriate size.
You peeled the last seal off before sliding the top of the wooden box, seeing that underneath were even more seals. But despite that, you could make out the semblance of something that could be the size and shape of a finger. There would be only trouble if you decided to go the extra mile and check what was underneath. And in any case, no other damn cursed object would radiate off such foul residual cursed energy nor be so painstakingly hard to find unless it was another of its kind, i.e., another finger.
The image of a disgruntled Megumi surfaced in your mind, and you couldn't help but potentially share in his struggle. Hopefully, he was heading back successfully after hearing what Gojo told him.
"Yeah, it's in here." You closed the box and slapped some top seals back on, doubting it would do much to stop some of its energy from further leaking out. At least it was worth a shot.
Famine gave a slight growl at the box, and you had to reassure her as you turned to look down at your guide. "I'm not going to hand you the box if that's what you think will happen."
He seemed almost offended that you said that. "What? Look, you can keep the damn thing. As I said, I'm not big on jujutsu stuff at the moment. I'm taking a long break, and I was enjoying my time off," he took a heavy puff of the cigarette and blew out the smoke just as strongly, coughing a little at his own boldness.
"I wasn't just going to leave these folks at the mercy of the cursed spirits around here once those seals wore off, and if it came down to it, I would have taken that thing with me back to HQ," he continued, almost grumbling. "I'm happy you showed up, so now I can finally enjoy the rest of my time off! I meant to check out more of the mainland, and now I can do that, thanks to your help."
He beamed, stuffing his hands in his pockets as you stared hesitantly down. He could just be lying and trying to con you, but...
"Thanks! Be careful on your way down the mountain!" He waved. "See ya!"
And began to leave.
You didn't know if impulse or interest compelled you to call out for him before you left.
"Who are you?"
You hoped to get some thread that could lead you to an idea of who this guy was and why he was here all this time, just waiting around.
He stopped, looking behind his shoulder with a smug look. The guy knew you'd probably ask that.
"Katsumi."
That was all you got from him and an added comment before he headed ahead of you.
"Oh, by the way—like your bracelets, they're very colorful."
You wanted to say you were suspicious of him by the end of your interaction, but you were slightly more confused than anything. Could jujutsu sorcerers take vacations? Guess it was just like any job in terms of putting hours in, but sorcerers were in short demand. It seemed unproductive to take breaks like that. But then again, you wouldn't complain if you got the opportunity to have some R&R you could.
==x
"Where did you say the three of you went again?"
You wiped the sweat off your face with the back of your arm, looking next to you.
"Rika's house, but we only dropped her off," you said, finishing the last details of your drawing. "Yuta was too shy to go there before. He was embarrassed when we walked home."
Ellena puffed her cheeks a little, "How nice for you..."
You noted how she muttered that begrudgingly, asking, "You're not jealous, right...?"
She quickly snapped her head to look at you, making you almost flinch at how sharp and poignant her glower was. "I'm not...!" She declared quickly before backtracking. "Okay...maybe a little...! But that's not fair! You're supposed to be my best friend! You can't have more than one!"
You grunted, "Why not? I like you and Rika both as my best friends."
She bolstered herself up, crying out. "No way! There can only be one! And Yuta doesn't count, either! He's your family, so he can't be your best friend!"
Huffing, you pointed your stick at her accusingly. "You can't make rules like that!"
"You can't have two best friends!" She countered back.
In your childish mind, that made sense to you. What was the point of best in the title, then? If the friend was not the best?
But you weren't ready to denounce one over the other, so you devised a compromise.
"Okay, then you can be my bestest friend," you told her, seeing her eyes squint at you as you explained, "You're my first and bestest friend. Rika can be my best friend."
"And you'll tell her, right?" She asked expectantly.
You pushed out and grunted, "Yeah...and then I'll tell her I like her next time I see her too! She can be my girlfriend instead of my best friend!"
The news didn't sit well with Ellena, who bemoaned your declaration. She dropped her own stick that she was using to draw in the dirt and grabbed onto your arm, "Whaaaattt? No! You can't do that! I won't let her take you away from me even more!"
"But I like her!" You repeated, trying to shrug her off, "And what do you mean by that? I play with you a lot! Rika only sees me for a month!"
Ellena shook her head, "No! Don't tell her! Then you'll have to marry her and move away! Just like my mom and your dad did! And then you'll really leave Peru!"
Seeing where her distress came from, you were a little more empathetic, letting her cling on. "You know I won't leave. I like it here, and besides..." she peeled herself away, and you handed her back her stick left on the ground.
You smiled at her, "You're my bestest friend, so we can't be apart forever, okay? We need to stay close to each other no matter what."
She still looked uncertain, but her faith in you was no doubt unwavering.
"Alright," she mumbled, sniffling. She might have been upset that she was close to tears, or the summer heat was getting her too. "But you have to keep your word, okay?"
You nodded, happy with the diffusion of the situation. "Promise."
Now happy by your assurance, Ellena turned to look at your drawing in the dirt.
"Let me see what you drew! Oh...it looks like a bear with horns. Cool!"
"Okay, now let me see what you drew... You drew...a bird?"
"Yep! Does it look good?" She beamed down at her work. "I saw it in the book I read when we went to the library. There're so many birds around the world, but I think this one is the prettiest."
You were invested in said bird now. "You did a good job. What's it called?"
"It's—!"
==x
"—It's five-thirty in the evening with a temperature of twenty-two degrees. Please watch your step as you exit the train, and take any personal belongings and overhead luggage before you leave."
You moaned, rubbing at your eyes with one hand while the other was balled into a fist as you stretched out.
The trip was long as you remember it being, but at least it was over, and you could get some proper sleep on your bed. Thinking about it made you almost fall asleep, remembering how soft your pillow covers were. After two months of staying in Tokyo, you were able to decorate your room to your liking.
With little to take with you, that being only a duffle bag with a change of clothes and the cursed finger tucked away inside it, you exited the train and walked out onto the platform. You had texted Gojo that you got a shinkansen the next day after you acquired the finger, but he only praised you and told you to hurry back. He seemed occupied with the brevity of his texts, his normal responses being stupidly annoying with a slew of emoticons or stickers. You didn't want to harass him if he was busy, as you weren't patronizing as he was.
But that left you with the problem of getting to the technical college. You could always ring up Ijichi if you wanted to and ask if he could pick you up if he weren't busy, but Gojo might also be hounding him with things to do.
Sighing, you looked out to the sea of people walking around and thought of using a taxicab to travel more than halfway there. That way, you wouldn't have to walk all the way. But then you'd have to use your money and...
"...Ijichi-san? Yes, sorry to be a bother, but....Gojo? Ah, yes...I see. It's alright, don't worry about it—I'm not too far from campus anyway, so I'll walk there."
You took the taxi halfway.
==
It wasn't so bad to walk up a mountain incline. You were lucky you did all that training and were fit for a respectable number of years before doing stuff like this. Otherwise, you would have been struggling to get so far.
But still...it would have been nice to drive up here.
Dusk was already upon you when you arrived, and you couldn't help but sigh when you reached the doors to the common room.
"Welcome back."
You looked around the room, finding that only Panda and Inumaki were inside. Guess Ijichi was right.
"Good to be back," you mumbled, zoning in on the empty armchair across from the couch they sat on. Panda was munching down on some bag of chips while Inumaki was nibbling on a rice ball. "...I can finally rest..." you trailed off lucidly, shutting your eyes as soon as your back hit the cushions of the armchair.
"How was your mission?" Panda asked. "Did you do any sightseeing after in Akita?"
You shook your head, inhaling the cool air of the room. "No...I headed straight for my hotel room and then took the afternoon bullet train back... Didn't get to pick up any souvenirs or anything..."
Your furry upperclassman hummed, "That's too bad. We were able to pick some things from our mission. Inumaki and I pitched in to get some confectioneries from Kanazawa that we brought for everyone to share—and he's completely knocked out now."
"Salmon."
Blissfully unaware, you slept like a man deprived of it for days. Which, technically, you had been. After Katsumi had left you alone in the forest, you had a few hostile visitors attack you to try and get the finger you had picked out of the shrine. It seems like peeling off some of the seals attracted them, and they saw it as an opportunity to ambush you. There was also the fact that you got jumped again while on your way to your hotel, and you couldn't sleep well after that, knowing that a curse could wreak havoc.
You had Conquest out to keep as a lookout after trying to inconspicuously light a cigarette inside the room you were staying at. But Conquest, despite his nature as a curse, also had the occasional need to be treated like a house pet, like Famine. You should stop sending out the two in pairs often. That little vixen was rubbing off on him.
But that was something to contemplate later. The point was that you were out like a light and slumped in the chair while Panda and Inumaki finished their snacks. They left you to rest up, seeing how exhausted you were, even leaving you to nap a little longer in the lounge room before they planned to wake you and then send you to your room.
But someone else beat them to the punch.
"Looks like you did a good job."
He had muttered to himself a little more before you roused yourself from sleep, but that was what your ears perfectly picked up, and you decided to reply.
"Looks like you took your time coming back."
He turned his head to you, your tired eyes seeing that he had his blindfold on and his uniform.
"I had a few things to address before I came back on campus," he said, grinning while you made a disgruntled sound. "Some interesting events have happened while you were away."
You rubbed at an eye and tried to sit yourself up with a slight groan. "Mmm, I don't really have the energy to hear what they are, but you have your finger now. That means I'm off the clock and can shower and sleep..."
You could skip the shower but didn't want to seem like a dirty boy in front of Blindfold.
Gojo patted you on the shoulder, and you reached for the table where he had opened your bag to collect the sealed finger.
"That sounds like a good idea," he agreed, watching as you lethargically moved, "Get some rest. Ah—but be mindful that Megumi might not answer the door if you need something. He's just as tired as you are, if not more, right now."
It sounded like he had something to do with the exciting stuff that happened. You'd find out later, in any case.
You threw up a hand in dismissal as you reached the sliding doors. "Mhm, 'kay."
====
It turns out you slept an entire day, only to wake up in the early afternoon on the second day of your arrival back at JJ Tech. It seemed like no one wanted to bother your rest, and so left you to sleep everything off. But the problem with sleeping an entire day in was that you woke up with the combined appetite of the whole prefecture of Tokyo.
So, you went to raid whatever food you could find in the shared kitchen of the dorms, eating a bowl of rice conveniently left out for you with a sticky note sitting nicely on top of the plastic wrap encasing it. Your name could easily be identified in Inumaki's handwriting, and you mentally praised and thanked him as you swallowed the mountain of grains down.
After quickly putting that away in your stomach, you grabbed a small snack for the trip back to your room. If you ate too big of a meal, you'd feel too bloated to want to condition later, so you should hold off on having too much.
That reminded you that you'd also have to write up a response to Ellena's letter and send that out as soon as you could... Hopefully, she wouldn't worry about you lagging on your letter back to her.
You crunched down on the fruit you picked out for a snack and noted a few more things in your mind to do later as you turned the corner of the hall.
"We're going out to get the fourth first-year."
Well, that was news to you.
"Since when was there a third and fourth?"
All heads turned to look at you as you rounded the corner fully, directing a dubious look at the white-haired man.
Gojo puffed up. "Poyo-chan, so nice of you to finally return to the land of the living! You slept like a rock."
You grunted, taking another bite of your snack. "Yeah—no thanks to you for sending me out on such short notice to all those places. Do you have any idea how big Japan is?"
While you wanted to rant a little more, the set of unfamiliar eyes stopped you and made you ask. "So, is this the third first-year you haven't told me about?"
Gojo gave a big, closed-lip smile, "His enrollment was rather sudden, but I was going to tell you when you woke up, but you took your time on doing that."
"Again, I wouldn't have slept in if I wasn't given so many places to check out," you retorted, taking an aggressive last bite out of your fruit and planning to dispose of the little remnants after this conversation. "But you never said anything about another student enrolling."
The man laughed, "Yeah, that one was anticipated for a while. I didn't say anything about that." Megumi and you both shared a moment of solidarity when you gave him 'that look.' Not wanting to deal with either of you simultaneously, Gojo seemed pushed past that and suggested. "Hey, why don't the two of you befriend Yuji here by helping him settle into his room?"
You followed where he was looking and saw that the room that this new student named Yuji would be occupying was next to Megumi's.
"Next to yours?" You muttered, more to yourself in question than anything.
"Gojo," was all Megumi said, and you understood perfectly.
The man laughed, "Well, I'll be off." He walked and waved a hand up in goodbye. "Take care of Yuji and make him feel at home, alright? No fighting!"
With his long legs, he quickly left the building, and the three of you to your devices.
You looked to Yuji, who was staring at where he had left, and you felt compelled to apologize on behalf of your foolhardy teacher. "Sorry, he's a bit of a handful sometimes."
Yuji quickly whipped around and denied being troubled, "Oh, no—he's been super helpful to me all this time. I'm the one who feels like I'm inconveniencing people."
Inconveniencing?
You didn't know how to approach that way of thinking with a stranger, but you didn't feel any attachment to act like you knew him or his experiences. Maybe he had really caused trouble, and you didn't know.
With nothing other than a silent, short stare, you pulled your gaze away after and shuffled over to your door. "Well, I'm next door here if you need help navigating somewhere or anything. I'd appreciate it if you could knock on the door to catch my attention rather than call me..."
"Will do, uh, Poyo."
If this were a cheesy comedy show or sitcom, there would be a record scratch the second after he said that.
Poyo, he called you.
Damn that Gojo Satoru.
"It's [Name], actually," you told him, a little deadpan.
He blinked in realization, quick to apologize. "Oh! Sorry about that...! I sort of just assumed...I didn't think that would be a nickname..."
You hummed in response, crossing the threshold of your door.
He seemed like your average run-of-a-mill guy, just like any other but...
There was no doubt something off with him. You couldn't tell yet, but if Gojo and Megumi didn't look alarmed, maybe it was okay to ignore it for now.
You trusted them.
Extended Ending:
Knock-knock!
"Yeah?"
"Uh, [Name]-san, it's me, Yuji."
You peeled off the plastic layer over the envelope adhesive before folding the flap close and following along the edge to ensure it was sealed. Done. All you needed to do was send it out first thing tomorrow.
"You can come in." you heard the door creak open while you set aside the letter on your desk.
You angled your swivel chair to face him, seeing that he had shed his hoodie and was down to basics. "Do you know where the baths are? I, uh... sorta forgot to ask Gojo-sensei where they were, and Fushiguro is sorta..."
Stretching out your arms, you nodded wordlessly and stood up.
After sliding into your slippers, you beckoned him away from your room and proceeded down the hall to the other end of the dorm building. You stopped to open a window and then waited.
"Uh..." Yuji said after a minute of you just silently standing by the window. "So where..."
You raised a finger silently, and then he hushed himself. Not even a few seconds later did a ball of tails and wisps jump onto the sill, slightly freighting Yuji. When you saw the cylindrical jar in her mouth, you grinned mischievously.
"Good girl, Famine," you praised her as she got close to letting you brush the fur on her head back.
You took the jar from her mouth and sent her to rest in a puff of smoke. Yuji watched confusingly as you scanned the label on the transparent jar.
"I don't really know what's going on..." he admitted.
You turned to him with a satisfied grin, brandishing the jar. "This is payback," you said but knew he wouldn't have a clue what the hell you were talking about, so you followed up with, "Hey, Yuji. Want to know how Gojo gets his hair to stand up like," you motioned to the top of your head with the jar in hand.
It was like a light went off behind his eyes.
"Is that...?" he asked, and you nodded with a sly grin.
"Gojo's holy grail," you said, chuckling slightly at your deviousness. "But I'm not going to rope you into my stuff... Baths are that door on your right, second to last. The restroom is the one next to it. There're communal sinks outside the restroom. You can brush your teeth there."
You flashed a raised hand in goodbye, "See you tomorrow, newbie."
Somewhere later in his room, Gojo was disgruntled, searching for his hair gel.