You woke up again in the comfort of your own bed, this time to more hushed voices echoing throughout the room.
You looked over to find Maki, Panda and Toge tiptoeing around your room with a box of donuts and several cans of red bulls in their hands, arguing about the poor choice of food.
"Who cares? Y/n likes this stuff anyways, so why does it matter?!" Panda whispered before he glanced over and noticed you sitting up against the bed frame. "Now what's all this?"
Panda and Toge pointed fingers at Maki. "It was her idea."
"HUH?!"
You let out a chuckle while Maki started beating the daylights out of Panda and Toge. By the time she was done, you were already sitting up on the edge of your bed.
"Are you sure you should be getting up? Shoko just put in your stitches just the other day." Maki questioned rather roughly, quickly sitting down next to you. You nodded before looking at Panda and Toge.
"Yo! You're up!" Panda chirped, sitting criss cross on your floor. You nodded with a hum. The three of you sat in silence for a few more moments.
"Uhh..we brought you your favorite snack! Donuts with red bull!" Panda held up the box while Toge held a few cans. You chuckled before Maki smacked the box from Panda's paws. "Hey!"
"She shouldn't even be eating that! She literally just woke up, give her a little while!"
"You'd be eating the same thing if it were you!"
You looked at her. "He does have a point." You commented before Maki turned to you with a look of betrayal on her face. At that very moment, your mood dimmed once you remembered that you'd be leaving her soon..
"What?! Why're you against me here?!"
"She's always been against you, since day one!"
"I know that! But she's my girlfriend for crying out loud!"
You smiled, knowing she's finally confident in saying your label.
You wanted to tell them that you were going on that long term mission, you really wanted to. But you also didn't want to ruin the mood. You weren't even sure the exchange event was still going on.
"Hey, guys, is the exchange event still going? Or did it end on the first day?" You finally asked, pulling their attention. Panda tapped his chin. "Yeah..they're keeping it going once everyone recovers. Only people we're waiting on right now are you and Megumi." Panda answered before holding a thumbs up. You nodded slightly. "Ah, sorry that you have to wait on me."
"It's no problem! I'd rather you take forever than get started on it right away, this year was horrific !" Panda commented before tipping open the box and pulling out a donut, eating it in one bite. You chuckled at him before your hand moved on its own to grab Maki's.
She looked down before she started blushing. "Tch..at least tell me before you do that." Maki mumbled under her breath, her blush spreading even more. You hummed before the both of you looked away.
" ...Oh, for crying out loud. You two are dating! Why are you acting embarrassed at the affection?"
Everyone turned their attention towards you at Ryo's comment.
"Ryo's got a point, there."
"Tuna mayo."
You both rolled your eyes and continued sitting there.
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"Uh..so that was one hell of an exchange event...and maybe a few people died. But, hey! We all did good! Sodoyouguyswannakeepitgoing?"
Yuji scratched his cheek. "I, uh..I don't have a whole lot to say, Gojo-sensei.."
"Duh! We're obviously gonna continue it."
All of you looked at Todo. "Why, exactly?"
He huffed. "Because I want to."
After what happened the other day, you were dragged off to Shoko's office and were immediately treated there, since you'd been losing a lot of blood. A while later, the others were sent there for treatment too.
"I'm not complaining." You said, crossing your arms and your legs.
"I'm down."
"Sure."
"Yeah! Alright!"
"Are there going to be draws for the individual battle pairs?" Maki asked, turning to Gojo. He turned to her with a blank expression. "Hm? There are no individual battles. Not this year, anyways."
"Huh?! I was totally ready to fight L/n this year!"
"Maybe next year, Todo..." You said sheepishly, turning away.
"Wait, didn't you say there's team battles then individual battles?" Nobara questioned while turning to you and Panda. You looked at her. "That's just how it is on paper. They may have changed some things and didn't bother to update it."
"Don't you guys just hate routines? Every year we just put competition methods in a box and open it the day of."
"A box? That's funny."
You shook your head as Gojo handed Yuji the box. "So I just like, pull something out?"
"Yup!" Gojo chirped before Yuji reached his hand in the box and grabbed out a small piece of paper.
"Huh?!"
"What the..."
"Baseball?!"
You lifted a brow. "Shouldn't it be something related to...y'know...Jujutsu?"
"Nope! Not necessarily, only if it's picked!"
"Now, I know I put individual battles in here.." Yaga suddenly appeared, making you and Panda scooch away with shivers up your spine.
"SATORU, GET BACK HERE!"
After Yaga got done chasing Gojo around campus, all of you went to do whatever you all wanted for the rest of the day. You and Maki took the time to walk around that courtyard from last year.
"This was where I hid from you all those weeks." You reminded with a soft chuckle, admiring one of the trees that was still there since the last time you saw it. Maki turned to look at you. "Really?"
"Yeah. It was nice, and calming. One of the few places I could get away from everybody without having to get into my room." You answered, making Maki chuckle. That's when you turned to find her looking at the fish in the small body of water in front of her.
You held your hand out before calling, "Dance with me?" You asked. She turned back around and looked at you, before being met with your hand close to her body. "What?"
"Dance with me, Maki?" You repeated, taking her hand in your own and pulling her closer. Her eyes widened as her cheeks began to turn pink. "Do you even know how to dance?"
"I took lessons before I started going here. Do you not know? I could teach you if you'd like." Your voice came out smooth and calm, almost as if you're flirting.
"It's not like knowing how to dance would do me any good."
"Oh, you don't know that." You said with a charming smirk.
With a cocked brow and a sigh, Maki silently agrees and lets you take control for a minute, guiding her arms to place them where they should be, just like she did on your first day here.
"This reminds me of when we first started training." You whisper, the sound just so happens to fall right into her ear, making her quickly shiver and her cheeks turn an even deeper shade of pink.
"Does it? I don't seem to remember all the flirting." Her reply made you chuckle. Your hands stayed steadily on her waist as the two of you began to rock left to right.
"This is dancing?" Maki questioned, making you hum. "Would you like me to teach you a more complex dance?"
"Another time. This is nice." She admitted, pulling away from your shoulder and looking at you. The two of you made eye contact for a split second before your mood dampened.
Another time, You thought. Would there even be another time like this?
"I love you," You whispered. Her heart fluttered at the sentence, more blood rushed to her cheeks so that she felt as if her head would explode at any minute, a lump was stuck in her throat and no amount of water could get it out. She felt as if she'd be suffocated by it.
"...And I love you." She whispered back before you smiled and pressed a small kiss to her nose, making her scrunch it up.
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For the rest of the day, you and Maki spent it with each other, talking about random things and walking around campus, occasionally bumping into some students either from Tokyo or Kyoto.
And then came the baseball game the next day.
"To think this is how we finish off the exchange event..." You sighed as you pulled over the white baseball uniform over your head. "I know, you'd expect it to be at least a little bit Jujutsu related." Maki replied as she crouched next to you, tying her shoes.
You rolled your eyes. "But in a way, I'm thankful. I'm tired from the other day." You replied before standing up in front of her. A second later, she got done and got up with a straight posture while making eye contact with you. "You're tired from all that?"
"Fighting Todo sounds easy when you didn't have the weight of the Exchange Event on your shoulders." You sighed. She smiled wryly before cupping your cheeks with her warm, comforting hands. A smile spread across your face as she squished your cheeks. "You did amazing, Y/n. If it were up to me, I'd say you did the best out of everyone, facing almost every Kyoto student based on a lucky guess." She complimented before gently pressing a kiss against your lips. Your smile grew.
"Only your opinion matters, Maki." You replied before going in for another kiss, this time more passionate.
"Blech."
You giggled at Ryo's comment before pulling away, both of your faces flushed. Maki lifted a brow with a small and crooked smile. "What's so funny?"
"Just Ryo being an idiot again." You answered before Nobara burst through the doors.
"C'MON, LOVE BIRDS! LET'S! GO!"
You rolled your eyes before walking off, dragging Maki behind you by her hand.
Everyone was already at their positions, Tokyo playing field and Kyoto batting first. You groaned, mumbling curses against whoever lost rock paper scissors.
"It's incredible to think that Jujutsu Tech somehow has this baseball field...how convenient." You commented, pulling on your cap and standing at left field. The loneliest position on the field.
"I wouldn't put it past them if they built it overnight just for this one game." Ryo replied, making you chuckle.
The first batter for this ground was none other than Miwa. Maki threw the ball at her and Miwa swung pretty decently, compared to how you would've.
"Momo, don't run yet!" Utahime called out but she'd already started running. Miwa had only got to first base just before Momo got out.
"Out!"
"Huh? Why?!"
"If you don't know the rules then just say that!"
"I know them! When the ball's hit, I run!"
Noritoshi was up to bat next, and he turned to Yuji and began chatting. You figured it was probably about some bullshit.
Maki held two fingers towards Nobara, then at Toge, then at you, she made the effort to switch the number two and made it to half a heart. You smiled and finished it with your hand. Maki then turned back around and threw the ball, which Yuji caught effortlessly. You stared with a deadpan face.
"The dude didn't even swing..."
"The dude didn't even open his eyes..."
"Strike! Batter out! Chaaaange up!"
Everyone from Tokyo began jogging to the other side and some people sat in the dugout, Maki stuck her tongue out. Shami didn't even have to move since nobody asked her what position she wanted to play. You felt bad for her so you went over to sit next to her.
"Kamo! You won't get a hit if you don't swing the bat!"
"He wouldn't even swing the bat if he didn't open his eyes." Shami commented, making you and Ryo both chuckle.
"Can't believe this is how I'm going to spend my last Exchange Event...playing baseball." Shami groaned, sitting back and folding her arms. "I thought this would be fun! This isn't fun, it's boring!" She continued complaining. You looked at her and lifted a brow. "You sound like Todo."
"Well, I'm being honest! I thought I'd get a good pair up for the individual battles like I did when I first went!" She whined. You shook your head before turning to look at the field: Nobara's batting first.
"They call me Mah-kun of Tohoku." Nobara said confidently, holding the bat. You and Shami both stared with deadpan expressions.
"No, Mah-kun is Mah-kun of Tohoku."
"Mah-kun's a pitcher, y'know!"
"Ok I get it! Get off my dick!" Nobara shouted before dropping the bat with a frown. "Alright, wait a minute!" She yelled as she took her helmet and tossed it off. You and Shami both quirked your eyebrows before everyone got up to hold Nobara back.
"Oh, shoot! Kugisaki's snapped! It's a free for all!" Yuji shouted. Apparently Mai had brought out some pitching machine that had Mechamaru's icon on it.
"Don't bullshit me! That's a pitching machine!" Nobara grumbled, Panda holding her back by her arms. Mai lifted a brow and looked at the machine. "What do you mean? It's a spare. A spare Mechamaru. We didn't have much of a choice since Panda broke him, along with Y/n over there." Mai glared at you before you flipped her off absentmindedly.
"But a pitching machine? I don't understand, you seem to know a lot about machines. Are you an otaku?"
"YOU- IT'S JUST ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER WITH YOU ISN'T IT?! YET YOU'RE SOMEHOW STILL A JUJUTSU HIGH STUDENT!"
You rolled your eyes before everyone walked back a few moments later. You didn't even notice that Maki didn't leave her spot at all, so you decided to go and sit next to her.
"Hey," You chirped, face lighting up. She looked at you and gave you a small smile before you sat down. "Having fun?" She asked, turning to you. You playfully gasped, putting your hand over your mouth.
"Maki Zen'in? Caring about my feelings?"
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I care about your feelings, nobody else's." She admitted, making you grin like a lovestruck person. "Well that's nice to know." You giggled before looking over and seeing the machine, or "Mechamaru" revved and shot the ball at Nobara, which she swung pretty decently.
"TAKE THIS, YOU CHEATERS!"
She ran off to the bases, and Megumi walked up to home base, picking up the bat. Mechamaru shot the ball at him, and he swung with a bunt right before he hit it. You lifted a brow before scoffing. "No wonder he gets beat up in all his fights."
Maki chuckled. Finally, it was her turn and she got up for the base, but not before leaving a quick smooch on the lips, leaving you flustered as she walked towards the base and picked up the bat.
Maki stared at the machine as it revved for a few seconds before it shot the ball and she swung flawlessly.
"Ok, that's three."
Everyone stared in awe and with dropped jaws.
Until Momo caught it on her broom.
"WHA-"
"AHHH! WHAT THE HECK?! THAT'S CHEATINGGG!"
"Kugisaki, go back." Megumi hollered while Maki stomped back to her spot next to you with a bunch of grumbles and curses stringing out of her mouth.
"Tch, all that fucking effort just for her to use her damn broom and cheat! That shouldn't even be allowed!" She complained, crossing her arms. You lifted a brow and chuckled. "You look like a five year old."
She turned to you with a frown. You scoffed playfully before wrapping an arm around her neck, kissing her cheek, making her face turn a deep shade of red. "At least tell me before you do stuff like that."
" 'Oh, I'm gonna show you love and affection now.' "
She rolled her eyes before you kissed her cheek again, earning a bonk upside the head.
Then, it was your turn to bat. You looked at home plate with a nervous expression before Maki pat your shoulder. "It's alright, you'll do fine. Just go up there."
You huffed then trudged your way over there and picked up the bat. Ryo took over your dominant arm.
What the hell?! What're you doing?!
"Relax, it'll help you swing better. I know you suck at it." He said before Mechamaru shot the ball at you and you swung the ball high into the sky to where Momo couldn't even fly up that high, earning a homerun.
Everyone from Tokyo cheered your name as you jogged to home plate. You received several pats on the backs and 'good jobs' and 'nice hits' and other compliments. You enjoyed all the attention, but didn't want it to last much longer.
Maki looked at you with a content face and a smile as you walked back over to your spot, your face blushing from all the compliments. "You should see your face."
"It feels like it's burning." You replied, sitting down. Her smile grew as she chuckled. "It might as well be, you looked like you just face planted right into the sun." She commented, earning a groan and an eye roll from you.
...
Maki lifted a brow. "Something wrong?" She asked. Your face cooled down and you turned to her with a blank expression. "No?"
She tilted her head sideways. "Really? You seem...uneasy...today. Like you've got something on your chest that you need to relieve. Do you want to talk about it?" She asked with a more serious tone. You huffed before taking confidence breaths.
"Uhh...so a week before the Exchange Event, I was training one day..." You started, she nodded slightly. "And...Gojo popped in and asked how my cursed technique was going.." You said sheepishly. She lifted her brow again. "Your cursed technique? Well that's new, was it that purple thing you shot out of your hands the other day?" She asked, and you nodded in response.
"...Yeah. And I told him that it was going ok, and then he asked if I had that conversation with Ryo...about him and I...merging. Basically I am becoming Ryo." You continued with a still sheepish voice. "Becoming Ryo?"
"Yes, but it's not as bad as it sounds. I get all the powers he has, that's the only thing that changes. It'll be like nothing happened." You continued while Maki crossed her arms.
"I said that it took some time, but Ryo finally agreed. But when he said that, he also said that it'd take some time for the curse to finally start processing." You finished. Maki didn't look satisfied.
"There's more." She said suspiciously. You clenched your jaw and shook your head nervously.
"Don't lie to me." She kept an indifferent tone. You sighed. "And I asked Gojo if I could go on a mission..to hunt down a particular special grade curse." You admitted. You felt as if the weight of the world wasn't on your shoulders anymore, though you still felt under pressure. You wondered how Maki would react: would she think it was just a normal mission? Would she think you're still lying and force you to add in the part where you thought of dropping out temporarily?
Would she end it between you two?
"...Well, I'm not stopping you." She finally said after a few moments of wildly uncomfortable silence. You got the feeling that even Ryo was on edge. You nodded. "Good, because Gojo already put in the special request. He said the mission would be ready by tomorrow." You admitted. She nodded slowly.
"So that's why you taught me how to dance?" She asked. You nodded in shame, for whatever reason. She let out a playful huff. "While I have to say that I'd appreciate knowing sooner, I'm not stopping you. Does the mission involve...something personal?" She asked. She pushed a button that she didn't mean to, but you told yourself it's ok. It's her, she'd support you, right?
"...Yeah. A lot of personal stuff.." You said quietly. She stayed silent.
"Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She said before turning back to face the game. You looked up at her.
"...I hope this doesn't change anything between you and I." You admitted. In all honesty, you did hope that nothing would happen. You didn't need anything happening to what you and Maki have, not after spending all that time earning it. Not after seeing your father's lifeless body on that day.
She hummed. "Of course not. It's not like you said anything about it." She replied. You huffed before scooting closer to her and locking your pinky with hers.
"Good." You said before looking up and realizing that it was your team's turn back on the field. You groaned and tossed off the uncomfortable helmet and jogged back to left field, standing there all alone again.
It was Todo's turn to pitch, and he turned to Yuji and started a conversation just like Noritoshi. You rolled your eyes.
"They're taking too long!"
"Hurry up!"
"Just throw the ball!"
"Throw the ball already!"
Maki nodded as she threw the ball and hit Todo square in the jaw. The hit was so hard, he even dropped the bat.
You chuckled at the sight. Everyone started complimenting Maki on her throw.
"Nice pitch."
"Nice pitch!"
"Nice pitch!"
"Nice pitch!!"
"Yo, nice pitch!"
"Maki-san, nice pitch!"
"Nice pitch!" You chipped in, and the complimenting stopped as Yuji got down next to Todo.
"Todo, everyone...really hates you!"
You laughed as it was now Tokyo's turn to bat again, and this time it was Toge's turn to bat. To your surprise, he's actually a really fast runner.
"I've never seen a guy run so fast..." Shami commented. You side eyed her. "You should see Yuji. He's like a car."
Speaking of Yuji, it was finally his turn. He confidently walked up to the plate and picked up the bat with a grin on his face. Mechamaru shot the ball at a fast speed and Yuji swung, hitting the ball straight out the field!
Everyone stared at the flying ball.
"AHHHH!! HOMERUNNN! HOMERUN FOR ITADORI YUJI-KUNNN!" Shami cheered as she got up from her spot and started running around the field.
"He nailed it." Maki commented with a smile. You chuckled and hugged her from the side.
"He sure did."