I miss Yaga, he NEVER would have let them keep panda in that closet :(
One time a friend said his fav jjk character was Panda and when I asked why he said "Dude, it's a fucking panda who boxes that's the coolest shit ever."
Anyways I'll have my popcorn ready for his reaction to the Culling Game Arc as well as tissues
"You’re not alone, you know."
Kaito’s eyes flickered open, the memory of that night drifting back into her mind like an unwanted visitor. She was small again—too small—sitting curled up in the corner of a room that wasn’t hers, in a world that still didn’t feel real. Even though she was saved and brought to Jujutsu High, she still felt the cold grip of fear in her chest, like she was being watched.
And, of course, she was. She could always feel them, even now—lingering just beyond her sight, in the shadowy corners of her vision. The forms. The things that had followed her since… since forever.
"They’re still there, aren’t they?" a voice broke through the silence, softer than usual. It was Panda, sitting cross-legged beside her on the floor, much smaller than he was now, his black-and-white fur glowing faintly in the dim light.
Kaito didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. Panda always knew when something was wrong, even if she didn’t say a word. She felt his round eyes on her, not prying but patient.
"You don’t have to talk about it," Panda said quietly, leaning back on his paws. "But, you know, I get it."
Kaito’s eyes shifted slightly, her brows furrowing. She doubted that. No one could understand what it was like to always be haunted by… them. The cursed forms that had attached themselves to her. They never left her alone. Not for a second.
But then Panda continued, as if sensing her disbelief. "I’ve got them too, you know."
Kaito’s gaze finally moved toward him, narrowing.
"What?"
"My siblings," Panda said, tapping his chest lightly with a paw. "They’re not like most people’s brothers and sisters. They’re inside me. I can feel them all the time, just like you can feel…" He trailed off, not pressing further, but Kaito knew what he meant.
"You mean they’re part of you," Kaito muttered, her voice a little sharper than she intended. She didn’t mean to sound rude, but the comparison felt off. Her… whatever they were… didn’t feel like family. They felt like threats. Like she was constantly one bad moment away from losing control.
Panda just shrugged, his easygoing smile never faltering. "Yeah, they are. But they’re still with me, always. It’s not so bad, once you get used to it. I think it’s like that for you too."
Kaito scowled. "It’s not like that." Her fists clenched at her sides, frustration bubbling up. "They’re not… they’re not like siblings."
Panda didn’t flinch at her tone. He just nodded, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Maybe not exactly. But they’re still part of you, right? And that means you’re in charge. No matter how loud they get, you’re the one calling the shots."
Kaito scoffed, but deep down, she wanted to believe him. How could he make it sound so easy? He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, to live with something inside you that you couldn’t control.
But the way he said it—like it wasn’t a curse, but something normal—made her chest feel a little less tight.
"It’s not about them controlling you," Panda added gently. "It’s about you making them part of your strength. You’re stronger than you think, Kaito."
She didn’t answer, but her fists slowly unclenched, the tension in her body easing just slightly. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was about more than control.
"You don’t have to do it alone," Panda said, his voice soft but steady. "You’ve got me, and Yaga-sensei. And hey, I’m your big brother now, so I’ll help you with whatever’s going on in that head of yours."
The words sunk in slowly, their weight sitting with her as she sat in the quiet. Panda, despite being younger than her in terms of creation, always had a way of making her feel safe, even when she didn’t want to admit it.
Kaito exhaled slowly, the heavy knot in her chest loosening just a little. She wasn’t ready to believe everything he said, but it was the first time in a long while that she didn’t feel completely lost.
---
“Kaito!”
The door to her room slammed open with a loud crash. Kaito groaned, already knowing exactly who was responsible before she even opened her eyes. She threw a hand over her face and mumbled into her pillow, "Is it too much to ask for a normal wake-up call?"
Panda’s heavy footsteps stomped into the room, his towering figure making the space feel smaller as he leaned over her bed, his grin as wide as ever. "I tried knocking last time, remember? You threw a book at me."
"I missed on purpose," Kaito grumbled, rolling over to face the wall, making it clear she wasn’t ready to start the day.
Panda flopped onto the edge of her bed, clearly not getting the hint. "Yaga’s sent me to get you. And you know how he gets when someone doesn’t show up on time."
"Yeah, yeah. What’s the grand lecture about this time? Do I need more ‘self-discipline’? Or maybe it’s about how I ‘lack focus’? Really looking forward to hearing that for the hundredth time." Kaito’s voice dripped with sarcasm, but she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She was used to Yaga’s never-ending lessons about responsibility and discipline—it was practically a tradition by now.
"Actually, no lecture this time," Panda said, leaning in with an exaggerated whisper. "You’ve got a mission."
Kaito’s eyes opened fully, now interested. "A mission? What kind of mission?"
Panda shrugged, still grinning. "Something about cursed objects. Yaga didn’t give me the full details, but he seemed serious about it."
Kaito sighed and dragged herself out of bed, grabbing her jacket off the chair. "Great. If Yaga’s serious about it, then it’s probably not good news."
Panda bounded to the door, waiting for her. "Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be fine! I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?"
Kaito gave him a withering look as she pulled on her boots. "You know you’re never supposed to say that, right? You’re just begging for something to go wrong."
Panda chuckled, completely unbothered. "What can I say? I like living dangerously."
"Yeah, well, let’s just hope I don’t regret getting out of bed for this," Kaito muttered, more to herself than to Panda, as they made their way to the main hall.
__
By the time Kaito reached the main hall, Panda had disappeared to do whatever it was Panda did when he wasn’t annoying her. She dragged her feet a little as she approached Yaga, already preparing herself for whatever this "mission" was.
"Finally," Yaga said, arms crossed as he watched her approach. "You’re late."
"Technically, Panda’s late," Kaito said, raising a lazy hand as if to make a point. "I blame him for being a terrible alarm clock."
Yaga’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she could tell he wasn’t in the mood to argue. He waved a hand dismissively. "We don’t have time for your usual excuses, Kaito. This isn’t a lecture. I’m assigning you an important mission."
Kaito raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "No lecture? Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Should I call Gojo to check your temperature?"
Yaga’s expression didn’t waver. "Keep the jokes to a minimum. You’re going to retrieve a cursed object—a finger of Ryomen Sukuna."
Kaito’s sarcastic smirk faded instantly. Sukuna? The King of Curses. She’d heard the stories, knew how dangerous even a piece of him could be. And now Yaga wanted her to go after one of his cursed fingers?
"Wait, wait, wait," Kaito said, holding up both hands in mock surrender. "You’re sending me to get a finger from the King of Curses? Isn’t that like… serious cursed energy business? Don’t you usually send, I don’t know, someone who doesn’t skip morning runs for stuff like that?"
Yaga’s gaze remained steady. "You’ve been training for this, Kaito. You’re more than capable of handling the retrieval. Fushiguro will be accompanying you."
Kaito snorted. "Fushiguro? Great. Can’t wait for him to stare at me with that deadpan face while I’m trying not to die."
"Fushiguro is a capable sorcerer," Yaga said, ignoring her joke. "You’ll work well together."
"Yeah, if I don’t fall asleep mid-conversation," Kaito muttered under her breath, though the knot in her stomach tightened. Sukuna’s finger wasn’t just some random cursed object—they were talking about one of the most dangerous relics in existence. And she wasn’t sure she was ready for something like that.
"So, let me get this straight," Kaito continued, her sarcasm now a thin veil for her growing anxiety. "You want me, your most undisciplined, least reliable student, to go pick up a piece of the literal King of Curses? Do you really think that’s a good idea?"
Yaga’s expression softened, just a fraction. "You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Kaito. I wouldn’t send you if I didn’t think you could handle it."
Kaito shifted her weight, rubbing the back of her neck, but Yaga wasn’t finished.
"You’ve come of age," Yaga said, his tone steady but not without a hint of pride. "You’re sixteen now, and that means you’re officially enrolled in Jujutsu Tech. You’re no longer the kid we took in—you’re a sorcerer in training. It’s time for you to start taking on missions like this."
Sixteen. That word hit Kaito harder than expected, but not in the way Yaga probably intended. Sixteen meant officially a part of Jujutsu Tech. Sixteen meant she was supposed to have things figured out—be someone reliable. Instead, all she could think about was how long she’d been stuck here, training, being told she was getting stronger, but never really feeling it.
She thought back to when Yaga and the others took her in, back when she was just a mess of anger, confusion, and too much cursed energy for her own good. She hadn’t wanted their help then. Hell, she didn’t even like them at first. She’d been dragged into Jujutsu Tech like a problem that no one could fix. And, if she was being honest, she still felt like that sometimes—like the chaotic mess they hadn’t managed to iron out yet.
And now Yaga was saying she wasn’t that kid anymore. Like she’d somehow become this competent sorcerer-in-training overnight just because she’d hit a milestone. As if being sixteen made her any less of a wreck.
Kaito crossed her arms, her voice dropping as she glanced away. "I don’t know… it’s been quiet lately. Too quiet." She didn’t say it outright, but Yaga knew exactly what she meant. Her cursed forms—she hadn’t heard from them in months. And the silence was getting to her.
"I haven’t felt anything from them," she muttered. "No sign, no noise. It’s like they’re waiting for something… I don’t know if I’m ready for this."
Yaga stepped closer, his voice calm but firm. "The silence isn’t a warning, Kaito. It’s a sign that you’re gaining control. They aren’t running the show anymore—you are."
Kaito’s throat tightened. She wanted to believe him, but the silence felt too eerie, too unnatural. "Or it means they’re waiting for the perfect moment to throw me under the bus."
Yaga shook his head. "You’re in control. Don’t let your doubts get the better of you."
Kaito glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her arms still crossed tightly. "I don’t know, Yaga… What if they take over at the worst possible moment?"
Yaga’s hand landed on her shoulder, and she reluctantly met his eyes. "They won’t. You’ve trained hard for this. You’re ready."
Kaito let out a slow breath, the sarcasm slipping from her voice. "If you say so…"
Yaga stepped back, his usual serious expression returning. "You leave in an hour. Fushiguro’s already been briefed. This is a retrieval mission—get in, secure the object, and get out. If things escalate, you know what to do."
Kaito nodded, though the weight of the task still sat heavily in her chest. "Got it."
But as she turned to leave, she couldn’t help herself. "I guess I’ll just let Fushiguro do all the talking. If he doesn’t creep everybody away."
Yaga sighed but didn’t comment.
__
Kaito walked across the sun-dappled training grounds of Jujutsu Tech, the early morning chill still lingering in the air. Her hands were buried deep in her jacket pockets, and though the weather was crisp and clear, her mind felt far from it. The weight of the mission Yaga had just dropped on her made each step feel heavier than the last.
Ahead, under the shade of a large tree, sat Megumi Fushiguro. He was leaning back against the trunk, his usual stoic expression fixed in place, a folder of mission notes open in his lap. Even from a distance, Kaito could tell that nothing had changed about him—his sharp, serious gaze, the way he seemed to hold himself as though he carried the world on his shoulders. He’d always been like that, ever since middle school, though he used to have a rougher edge back then. Kaito had seen the transformation firsthand—the delinquent who ditched class for fights now carried the weight of a sorcerer’s responsibility, his once reckless nature now channeled into something far more disciplined.
She approached him slowly, hands still shoved into her pockets, and smirked as she sat down beside him on the grass, kicking her legs out in front of her.
"You look like someone who actually cares about this mission," she said, her tone light but teasing.
Fushiguro didn’t look up from the papers in his hand. "You’re late."
"Huh, why does everyone say that?" Kaito replied, rolling her eyes with a grin. "If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a personal vendetta against clocks."
"You'd be late even if you were the one setting the time," Fushiguro muttered, still focused on the pages.
"Always so dramatic," Kaito said, lying back on the grass and folding her arms behind her head. "Anyway, you ready for this mission, or should I give you a pep talk?"
Fushiguro finally looked up from the papers, giving her a long, slow glance before turning his attention back to his notes. "I think I’ll survive without your motivational speeches."
Kaito snorted softly, looking up at the blue sky through the leaves above them. "Yeah, you would. You’d probably outlive all of us with that stone-cold attitude of yours."
They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments, the rustling of leaves in the breeze filling the space between them. Kaito could feel the tension coiled tight in her stomach, but Fushiguro’s calm presence next to her, however serious, was oddly reassuring.
"So," Kaito said, finally breaking the quiet, "Yaga told me we’re dealing with Sukuna’s finger. Gotta say, wasn’t expecting that when I woke up this morning."
Fushiguro’s brows knit together as he closed the folder and rested it on his lap. "It’s not the first time we’ve encountered cursed objects like this, but Sukuna’s fingers are on another level. The cursed energy they radiate has already started to affect the surrounding area."
"Rural, right?" Kaito asked, recalling what little Yaga had mentioned about the mission’s location.
Fushiguro nodded. "It’s been causing disturbances there for days. We need to get in, secure the object, and get out before more curses gather around it."
Kaito exhaled slowly, her breath fogging in the cool air. She sat up, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared at the ground. "Right. Just retrieve one of the most dangerous cursed objects in existence. Simple."
Fushiguro glanced at her sideways, his expression neutral but observant. "You’ve been on missions before."
"Yeah, but not like this," Kaito muttered, her fingers absently picking at the grass beneath her. "This is Sukuna we’re talking about. And to make it worse, I haven’t felt anything from… you know… them."
Fushiguro didn’t need her to explain. He knew what she meant—the cursed forms that lived within her. He’d seen glimpses of their destructive potential before, but hearing that they were dormant was… strange. "You mean they’ve been quiet?"
"Too quiet," Kaito said, frowning. "It’s like they’re lying in wait. I don’t like it. Silence like this makes me paranoid."
Fushiguro was quiet for a moment, processing what she’d said. Then, in his usual matter-of-fact tone, he replied, "It’s probably a good thing. If they’re quiet, it means you’ve been keeping them in check."
Kaito chuckled dryly, shaking her head. "That’s a popular opinion. Tends to be the thing most people choose over the possibility of them waiting for the perfect moment to screw me over."
Fushiguro didn’t respond immediately, his dark eyes scanning her face as if assessing whether she believed what she was saying. "You’ll handle it," he said after a pause, his voice steady. "You always do."
Kaito raised an eyebrow, surprised at the hint of reassurance in his words. She’d known Fushiguro for years—first as the delinquent who never seemed to take anything seriously, and now as the no-nonsense sorcerer who could keep his cool in the worst of situations. It was strange, hearing him say something so… supportive.
"Look at you," she said, smirking as she nudged him with her elbow. "Who would’ve thought the kid who used to skip class to pick fights would turn into this? All grown up and serious now."
Fushiguro barely reacted, though Kaito could see the flicker of something—amusement, maybe—in his expression. "People change."
"Yeah, they do," Kaito replied, tilting her head slightly. "But you were way more fun when you had a rebellious streak. Where’s the guy who used to get into trouble?"
Fushiguro gave her a pointed look. "I don’t miss those days, and neither should you."
Kaito laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, okay, Mr. Responsible. But admit it, you miss the days when I used to make fun of you for being a troublemaker."
"I don’t," Fushiguro said flatly, but the faintest hint of a blush tugged at the tips of his ears.
Kaito leaned back on her hands, her eyes tracing the outlines of the clouds above them. "Well, either way, I’m glad you’re coming on this mission with me. I’d rather not face Sukuna’s cursed energy alone, and I’m sure you’ll keep me from doing something stupid."
"I’ll do what I can," Fushiguro replied, though his voice was as neutral as ever. "But we should keep the focus on retrieving the object. The longer we’re there, the more dangerous it gets."
"Ironic," Kaito muttered, thinking about the cursed energy buildup Fushiguro had mentioned. "I haven’t been out to the country in ages, but I’m guessing this won’t be a sightseeing trip."
Fushiguro stood, brushing off his pants as he did. "We’ll head out in an hour. The mission should be straightforward if nothing unexpected happens."
"Yeah, because nothing ever goes wrong on these things," Kaito replied sarcastically, standing up beside him. "But sure, let’s keep it simple. In, grab the finger, out. Easy peasy."
Fushiguro gave her a long, steady look. "Just follow the plan."
Kaito smirked, tossing her hands behind her head. "Oh, you know me—I’m great at sticking to plans. You just better keep up."
"Right," Fushiguro said dryly, but he didn’t seem too concerned. He started toward the gate, and Kaito followed, her steps feeling a little lighter now that she had something to focus on.
As they walked toward the exit, she couldn’t resist one more jab. "So, what is the plan? You let your shikigami do all the work while I stand back and look cool?"
Fushiguro glanced at her, his expression unchanging. "Has anyone ever told you you’re not funny?" Kaito’s expression also didn’t change.
“Yeah.”
Fushiguro said nothing, though Kaito thought she caught the faintest smirk as they headed off toward the dorms. Maybe it wasn’t going to be as bad as she’d thought. Or maybe that was just her convincing herself.
For the most part, you’d gotten over the ‘grocery shopping incident’ as you liked to call it. You’d had a very stern talk with both Kugisaki and Itadori the next day, making sure that they wouldn’t tell this secret of yours to the one person who you’d never want to know. The man of the hour, Fushiguro.
“This kinda feels like you’re threatening us…” Itadori had said, sitting in front of you, unable to look you in the eye. In full intimidation, you had simply raised a brow and said, “And?”
Just like that they dropped it and promised to not mention anything to Fushiguro. Well, Itadori at least, Kugisaki just scoffed but you took it as the best you could get from someone like her.
You could be pretty scary if you wanted to be, especially if it was a topic such as this. You seriously needed to do some damage control, because the more people who heard about this little secret, the greater the chance an unspeakable evil would announce itself. And if it did, you’d be absolutely screwed.
So with the two biggest mouths sewed shut, you didn’t think you had anything to worry about.
But just because they promised to not tell Fushiguro, didn’t mean that they promised to never bring it up again.
*Yeah, you really should’ve read the fine print. *
You’d learn that lesson the hard way almost a week later when the entire situation had once again left your mind.
In hindsight, that was truly your first mistake.
But to be fair, it’s harder to concentrate on your mortifying secret being exposed when you’re getting an ass-kicking of the century by your upperclassman.
It was a day hotter than most, considering you were still in the thick of spring. But that didn’t stop the unblocked sun from beating down enormous amounts of heat on you as you lay on the grass, trying to grasp the escaping breath that had been kicked out of you—courtesy of Maki-san.
“Nice, that’s five to zero. Wanna go for round six?” Maki didn’t seem out of breath in the slightest, doing a little twirl with her staff. And while that would give you enough fight and energy to push you to go another round, that was what pushed you the four other times.
You think it was safe to assume you weren’t going to be winning anytime soon.
“Thanks for the offer, Maki-san, but I think I’ll pass. Maybe I’ll spar with someone who’s more merciful.” You’ve sat upright now, panting shallowly while you wipe the sweat off your face.
“I think you’ve worked her enough Maki. I don’t think you want a reputation of being more cold-blooded than you already are, and to be known for beating up your underclassmen.” You heard Panda-senpai from behind you and you turned to see his extended hand, or rather paw, offering to help you up. You give an appreciative smile as you stand, your legs straining from the pure exhaustion Maki-san put you through. You were definitely going to get her back for this.
Yeah, as if you could.
“It’s not training if you aren’t pushed.” Maki stated defensively, crossing her arms sourly. You decided to not add your input.
You stretch out your tired muscles while looking across the track and field area you were training in, noticing that the others were nowhere to be seen. Others being Fushiguro, Itadori, Kugisaki, and Inumaki-senpai.
“Where are the others?” You ask, and Panda points to a small shaded seating area. You assume they’re getting a break from the sun. Wordlessly, you all head towards the area, finding the students as Panda said, sitting in the shade. You make eye contact, and they wave you over.
“Finished getting beat up by Maki-san?” Kugisaki asks, smug voice enhancing her teasing gaze. You narrow your eyes, debating on whether you want to fight her today. You decide that you’ve fought enough for the day and choose to be passive.
“Yeah pretty much. By the way, how was falling practice with Panda-senpai? Still eating dirt?” Your face mimics hers as you see hers drop, hearing the other members of the group chuckle in the background. You said you wouldn’t fight, but you wouldn’t take her shit sitting down. She tsks and you nudge her playfully, before looking among the group, and noticed immediately that it’s missing a key face.
“Where’s Fushiguro?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” You hear Itadori’s voice creep up, face dripping with mischief, knowing eyes boring into you, with Kugisaki joining him almost immediately. On the outside, your face remained passive and calm, as if there wasn’t a hidden meaning to their words, but on the inside, you were considering how much trouble you could get in for murdering your classmates. And whether it’d be really worth it.
The penalties weren’t really that much of a deterrent at this point.
“Yes, that’s why I asked.” You respond plainly, trying to stop the suspicion growing in the second years, the tone in Itadori’s voice most likely letting them know something might be up.
“Salmon roe.” Inumaki responds to your question, making a motion with his hands to help you understand what he means.
“Off to get drinks?” You ask to confirm, and Inumaki nods.
“Kugisaki made him go off alone a little while ago.” Itadori adds, deciding to drop the teasing. You hum in understanding.
“I’ll go over there too. I doubt he got what I wanted.” You were being completely honest when you wanted to go to the vending machine to just get a drink. Of course, Fushiguro alone would be a bonus, but you didn’t like altering your actions simply to get a boy’s attention, you simply found it below your own level of self-respect.
But of course, idiots didn’t see it that way. And you should’ve realized that.
You hear the two idiots in question hum knowingly, and you don’t even have to look to see them smiling at each other smugly.
“Sure…” Their simultaneous response paired with the look they were sharing had you stop dead in your tracks.
“Careful, or I’ll convince Fushiguro to give me your drinks instead.” Your voice is calm, delivered with your usual dryness but mixed in with severe undertones of ‘drop it, you assholes’, but that sure as hell didn’t stop them.
“You can’t get him out of your mind for a second! Even your plans to screw us over involve him!” At this point, you swore you could feel your blood pressure rise.
You realize that Kugisaki is crass and blunt, and you’re willing to accept that, but you really can’t accept her lack of awareness.
It was really too much at this point.
You clench your teeth, knowing now that you’re completely screwed. The second-years weren’t dense, and you knew they’d already be somewhat suspicious at the first comment, but those two Neanderthals just put the final nail in the coffin.
“What’s going on?” You hear Maki ask, looking between you and the other two, slightly cowering at the pure aura of anger now surrounding your form.
Silence fills the area, with the first years not knowing what to say, and second years standing there in basically complete confusion.
And then it happened.
“[Name]’s in love with Fushiguro!” Kugisaki blurts out, and your jaw drops to the floor. Immediately all eyes were on you, causing your already there blush to burn ever redder across your cheeks, giving everyone the confirmation that it was indeed true.
To some extent.
“Wha-what?! I am not! I-I never said-“ You continue to stutter and cut yourself off, the stares of the first and second years being a little too much. You bury your face in your hands as you hope and pray that the world swallows you whole.
No such thing occurred.
“Well, To be fair, [Name] said that she liked him, not loved him.” Itadori, of all people, is the one who comes to your rescue.
Well, kind of.
You snap your head up at his words. “O-oi!“
You go unnoticed by the two loudmouths, who were getting sucked into their own argument.
“Hah? Are you stupid? Of course she loves him. She talks about him all the time, and told me that she even wanted to get screwed by-“
“I never said any of that!” You felt like you wanted to pull your own hair out at this point, stomping your foot like a child and cutting Kugisaki off. Your little outburst manages to snap them out of it.
But you just couldn’t seem to catch a break.
“Is this even new information?” Maki’s words hit you like a freight train, whipping around to look at the now unimpressed second-years.
“Wh-what?”
“I mean, even if you didn’t say anything, it’s pretty damn obvious that you like him.” You swore you could feel your heart stop.
“That-That’s not true! I’ve never shown my feelings for him.” You’re quick to defend yourself, not hearing your own words.
“So you do like him?” You hear Itadori pipe in, making you jump. You don’t even have any time to smack him until Panda decides to add his fifty cents.
“Regardless of whether she’ll admit it, she does. Whenever he’s training, she’ll stare at him so hard you can practically see hearts in her eyes. I’m surprised you guys didn’t know until now.” You know what, you’ll retract your previous statement. Now you want the ground to swallow you whole.
“Can all of you shut up?! I do not stare at him!” You yell, trying to keep the last shred of dignity you have intact, only for it to be completely shattered by the disbelieving eyes of your classmates.
“Bonito flakes.” It’s the tired tone of your upperclassmen that manages to finally push you over the edge.
“Okay, okay, fine!” You snap, the redness running across your cheeks removing any seriousness or intensity you wanted to have. The only thing you’re met with is indifference and amusement as your classmates watch you.
“Believe what you will, whether it’s true or not is irrelevant.” You say through clenched teeth, ignoring Maki’s eye roll and Kugisaki’s scoff. “But just keep this ridiculous theory to yourselves.” You weren’t really talking to the second years at this point, but the only people dumb enough to tell Fushiguro and effectively ruin your life.
You stare down Itadori and Kugisaki. With them looking at each other and then at you. “I don’t care what it is I’ll have to do, but you two are as good as dead if you tell Fushiguro anything.” You hiss, too angry to notice that their eyes are now not looking at you, but behind you.
“Tell me what?”
The voice makes your heart drop all the way down to your feet.
You whip around to an extremely suspicious-looking Fushiguro holding a small bag of drinks. He looked extremely confused, but not awkward. He didn’t hear anything.
You silently thanked all the Gods you could think of. But you weren’t off the hook just yet.
He started to look to the others, searching for someone to fill him in, but they didn’t give him a coherent answer, purposefully avoiding eye contact and mumbling to themselves.
Some friends they are. You make a mental note to curse them out later.
You needed to come up with a reasonable excuse, and quick. Because the more time you let him think on this, the harder it’ll be for him to believe anything half decent.
But being the presence of your crush, (Yeah, you weren’t going to deny it anymore.) your mind draws a fat blank and you just end up dumbly opening and closing your mouth like a gaping fish.
The seconds are agonizingly slow, and the silence among the group is soul-crushingly loud. You knew it must’ve been extremely hard to watch. And maybe it was because it was hard to watch, or she was bored, that Maki decided to help dig you out of the hole you fell into.
More like pushed into and buried, but you digress.
“She was just embarrassed that she lost to me so many times during training. She doesn’t want you to think less of her.” Her tone is light and casual, and you’re almost scared of how convincingly good your senpai sounds. You see the others follow her lead, nodding and adding small agreements. You catch on quickly.
“Uh… yeah, that’s it. I was just a little embarrassed.” You add on, avoiding looking at him so he couldn’t see the redness on your cheeks that you couldn’t seem to get rid of. He raises a brow, and your heart beats faster as you watch him process your excuse. You feel your blood pulse through your ears as you wait for his response.
“Well, Maki-senpai is a formidable opponent and she does push people a little hard.” You hear Maki let out a scoff, but you pay no mind to it. “Plus, you just started training recently. I wouldn’t be too upset about losing to her.” He finishes. You could tell by his face that he wanted to add more, but decided to keep it to himself.
You’d take that any day.
You laugh, trying to edge out the awkwardness and nervousness in your voice before speaking. “Yeah, you’re right. It sounds stupid now. I’d appreciate it if we just forgot about this.” You rub the sides of your arms, still avoiding looking him in the eye.
“Alright. Here.” You hear his bag rustle and it causes you to look up at him. After a couple of seconds, he pulls out your favourite drink. You show your confusion. You didn’t ask him for a drink.
Seeing your expression, he explains himself. “I always see you get this one. Figured you’d want it.” He hands it to you before giving everyone else the drink they requested, acting like five minutes ago never happened. Rowdiness of the group returning to homeostasis.
You stare at the drink with the dumbest smile on your face, not being able to hide it.
You chose to ignore the looks of your classmates.