Reina Ieiri

The solitude of your new living arrangement in Tokyo was still foreign to you, with the soft afternoon rain outside the window of your second floor dormitory the only sound currently looping in your ears. While Kyoto may have been a smaller city, the two jujutsu campuses couldn’t be more different, and you would have given anything at that moment to hear the familiar street noises you used to find solace in again. It was still surreal to you that such a serene place existed within Tokyo city limits, practically right under the noses of all the blissfully naive citizens of the expansive, curse-laden metropolis.

You’d listlessly wandered back to your dorm, a sudden downpour catching you off guard as you tried (and failed) to walk off the emotional turmoil Gojo’s careless accusation had caused - winding up so thoroughly soaked, it left a chill in your bones. Your uniform was draped over a precarious stack of boxes that were still waiting to be unpacked, any hope you may have had of it drying in time for classes tomorrow fading with every drop of water that accumulated on the floor beneath it. You would have to venture out again soon to find the campus’ laundry facilities but knew that would be impossible with the melancholy that currently threatened to consume you.

You tried to reason with yourself that Gojo had no idea what he was talking about, that no one else really could because they weren't there that night. That you weren't actually the murderer that everyone thought you to be…

Meditating in your current state proved fruitless, the ugly but familiar lull of self-loathing thoughts making any attempt vain. Even the soft, plush robe you’d hastily wrapped around your bare skin was hardly helping to curb the uncontrollable shivers that wracked your recently gaunt frame.

So you just sat there, absent-mindedly staring out at the rain as you rocked yourself gently against the low footboard of a bed that wasn’t even really yours in a place you struggled to believe could ever feel like a safe haven.

Maybe the elders had been right. Maybe you never would fit into this society. Maybe you were too different… too hazardous to ever truly belong…

This wasn’t the first time someone had voiced that type of concern, with even your own father deciding you were too much of a liability for himself and your clan to handle after this most recent incident. Not that you could blame anyone but yourself for their decision to send you away. You did kill your own mother after all.

Another round of tremors rattled through you at the dark thought, the small part of you that clung to the ever-fading truth losing its tenuous hold on reality just as a soft but resolute knock sounded from your door.

A heavy sigh left your lips, your eyes closing for a moment while you internally warred over whether to answer; knowing it was your mild-mannered cousin coming to once again smooth things over before they could get more volatile. With a soft groan, you pushed yourself up from the floor and padded over to the door; adjusting your robe slightly before hastily flinging the wooden partition open.

“I appreciate your concern, Sho, but I'm really not feeling up for visi-” the words came up short in your mouth as your eyes met a set of dark, almost violet irises. “You’re not Shoko.”

“Sorry, but no,” Suguru’s velveteen voice soothed while he struggled to hide a smirk at your surprise. “My apologies for the intrusion, but you left this behind earlier.”

He held out the worn purple knapsack that had been your companion since your first day at the Kyoto school and you found yourself struggling to keep from comparing its deep color to the eyes now watching you.

“Oh… yeah,” you acknowledged with an absent-minded nod before taking the bag from his tenuous grasp. “Thanks, Geto; you really didn’t have to come find me.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s far,” he reassured in a light, teasing tone, bringing to mind yesterday’s brief tour which showed you just how central all of the student living spaces were to one another despite your differences in class or gender. “And please, it’s just Suguru.”

“Heh, right. Suguru. Sorry,” you stuttered through an awkward chuckle, his eyes flashing with momentary delight as you repeated him.

“I know you probably felt a bit ambushed back there, but a group of us are going into Shinjuku for some soba later, if you’d like to join.”

His offer tugged at a part of your psyche that you were amazed could still feel anything at all - one that longed for connection and camaraderie with your fellow sorcerers. But just as quickly as hope dared to bloom in your mind, fear reared its ugly head; the harsh reality of your technique-induced solitude crashing into again.

“No,” you disagreed a bit too loudly, causing Suguru’s gentle smirk to waver slightly, though he made no move to interrupt you. “I-I… can’t. Tonight, that is. I have to finish unpacking. But I appreciate the offer.”

“Right, of course. It is your first day, after all,” he replied flippantly as he watched you intently, a small crease in his brow forming at your half-assed excuse despite his voiced understanding.

“Exactly. Busy, busy bee over here,” you affirmed in as cheerful a voice as you could muster, holding back a wince at how fake your own words sounded. “I hope you have a blast though, really. And thank you, again, for returning my bag. I’d be lost without this thing.”

“Well, then, I’m glad I could be at your service,” he said with an exaggerated bow of his head, causing a soft laugh to bubble out of your mouth. “I'll just, uh, let you get back to unpacking.”

With a slight wave of his hand, he started walking back down the quiet corridor as you stood there feeling like a bit of a heel.

“Actually, Suguru…?” you call out before he gets too far, grimacing when he froze mid stride and second guessing yourself a moment too late. You recovered quickly as he turned to face you again but not closing the gap that had formed between you. "No, you know what, nevermind. I know you have somewhere you need to be; I'm sure I can fin-”

"Don't be silly - I always have time to help a friend," he corrected, a gentle smile on his lips and his head tilted slightly in consideration.

"I, um, kind of got stuck in that downpour earlier so my uniform is drenched and I haven't had a chance to request a second set of the Tokyo ones yet. And I'm still kind of new to where everything is aroun-" you ramble out in exasperation.

"So, you need the laundry facilities then?" He clarifies, interrupting your sudden anxiety-driven word vomit with an amused grin. Your nose scrunches up in mortification, loathing that you had to ask in the first place and silently wishing you hadn't said anything to him at all.

"Reina."

He spoke your name, his tone gentle but stern as he interrupted again; his fingers visibly twitching at his side as though he was about to reach a hand out to stop you. Until he, thankfully, reminded himself of your evident touch aversion, that is. A silent moment passed as you stared at each other across the small corridor, rain still pattering steadily on the roof over your heads.

The sound of shoes scuffing aggressively against the gymnasium floor greeted you by the time you joined the rest of your classmates again. Under the hoop furthest from you, Gojo was fighting to get the basketball out of Suguru's grasp as Yaga looked on from the sidelines; all three of them so wrapped up in the game, none of them batted an eye at your added presence. Shoko sat off to the side near the bleachers, her eyes closed and body contorted into a yoga pose that looked less than comfortable.

“Feeling any better?” Her calm voice inquired as you walked closer to her, stopping a few feet short of the thick mat.

“Yeah, I'm… sorry about that,” you apologized with a disconcerted sigh, throwing a sheepish glance over to the on-going game. “I shouldn't have reacted that way. I was caught off guard, but I know better.”

“You really don't have to apologize,” she consoled before effortlessly pushing up into a downward pike position. “Gojo can be a bit much to get used to. He’d tell you that himself. And besides, it's your first day in a new place - no one's holding it against you.”

You nod half-heartedly, not exactly sure what else you expected from the mild-mannered girl you grew up with. Shoko always had been the more easy-going of the two of you; the calm to your storm, the steady rain on your blazing wildfire, the logical yin to your every hair-brained yang. Those times that your abilities started to get out of hand when you were younger, Shoko was the one everyone knew to call. Even your own father left it up to her at times like that - especially after the role you played in your mother's passing.

“Those thoughts of yours are awfully loud over there,” she commented pointedly, pulling you from your spiral of self-loathing. “You really shouldn't worry so much, you know? Those guys, especially, can handle their own.”

“Maybe, but it’s not like you can pretend I'm not dangerous to be around.” 

Your tone came off more vulnerable than you'd intended, years of hurt spilling out through the unexpected crack in your somber voice. Shoko stopped then, coming to her feet with a heavy sigh, her lips pursed into a thin line as she silently evaluated you.

“You've always been too hard on yourself,” she conveyed quietly, holding a hand up when you started to interrupt. “I know, I know - you're convinced history has shown that's been necessary. But this place is different, the people here are different. Gojo and Geto? They're next level, even compared to most of the sorcerers you'd been training with in Kyoto. And I'm not saying you have to get close to them or braid each other’s hair at a sleepover or anything, but… just give yourself a chance to trust them. Even if Gojo is -”

“You know, if you’re going to gossip about someone, you should probably make sure they’re not in the same room.” Gojo’s playful tone piped up from behind you - the second time he’d been able to surprise you today. You turned sharply, surprised that his hair still seemed haphazardly flawless even after just playing a fast-paced game of basketball.

“And you really shouldn't sneak up on people,” you chastised with a noticeable grimace. His eyes widened on your pained expression for a split second before his usual smug smirk settled back into his face.

“Sorry, newbie - had to come over and see why my ears were burning. Someone said something about a sleepover…?” His pale eyebrows waggled mischievously while Shoko simply rolled her eyes at the innuendo.

“Again with your antics, Satoru?” Suguru berated impatiently as he finished crossing the court, his toned abs showing briefly under the hem of his jersey as he used it to wipe sweat from his brow.

“Like you don’t wanna see what this one here is made of,” Gojo scoffed back, quirking a thumb in your direction and earning scowls from his two friends when he stepped even closer to tower over you. “I know we all felt that oh so brief display of uncontrolled cursed energy back there. Why not go ahead and show us what exactly you’re hiding up that sleeve of yours, Rei?”

“The development of the newest Ms. Ieiri's ability is not your concern, Mr. Gojo,” your instructor suddenly reprimanded sternly, startling all of you slightly when he appeared out of nowhere to grab the lanky blonde by the nape and pull him back a few feet. “Keep your eye on your own progress and leave your classmates out of it.”

“Aw, come on, Yaga - if all she's gonna do is be a sulking timebomb, she could at least tell us what her technique even does.”

“Satoru,” Suguru chided, glaring in his friend's direction before glancing at you apologetically.

“No, no, it’s ok. Let him continue. I'd love to hear what else his ignorance has to say about a relative stranger,” you insisted with a glare of your own as your hands went to your hips defensively.

“Ignorance, huh?” Gojo chuckled humorlessly, his bright blue eyes flashing with indignation. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s heard the rumors about what exactly brought you here. What was it again? Oh, that’s right - your lack of control on a simple training mission left one of your classmates in Kyoto dead.”

Shoko gasped aloud at his words, her disbelieving expression directed at Gojo as Suguru’s narrowed eyes watched you guardedly and the blonde smirked as if he’d won something.

“Satoru, you can’t just say things like -” your cousin began to admonish in your defense.

“You don't have to defend me from someone like him, Sho,” you stopped her, though your now lethal gaze stayed on Satoru.

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” He countered with a low scoff as he crossed his lengthy arms over his chest and eyed you with haughty skepticism.

“You know what it's supposed to mean,” you counter, the words like acid on your tongue. “You’re trying to intimidate me with the things you say, that bullying me will somehow make me realize just how weak I am against the great Gojo heir.”

The room was silent enough to hear a pin drop, everyone in it seemingly frozen in anticipation of what either of you might say next. But surprisingly, Satoru let you keep going.

“You want me to sit here and regale you with the tale of how I killed the person closest to me, hmm? How I couldn’t even keep my own unhinged technique from draining every drop of his cursed energy from his lifeless body while I held him in my arms?” You laughed humorlessly, your rhetorical questioning making the others shift uncomfortably, all eyes glued to you as if watching a train wreck as it happened. “Trust me, Gojo, the things you say can't even scratch the surface of the things I've said to myself. So whatever reaction it is you're trying to get out of me, you might as well stop trying. Before I accidentally hurt someone else.”

“Come on, Gojo - we don't have all day here!” Shoko’s usually unenthusiastic voice huffed from across the field, now irritated at the lanky blonde standing too-calmly on the pitcher's mound.

“You know you can't rush perfection, dear Shoko!” Satoru replied, the corner of his tongue sticking out in concentration as he took his sweet time eyeing exactly the right angle to throw the small white ball resting in his hand.

“Like it'll help much anyways,” came Suguru’s surly retort, impatiently swinging the bat from where he waited behind home plate wearing a self assured smirk.

“Now, now, Sugu,” the pitcher tutted, briefly flashing a toothy smile of his own. “We both know you and the new girl wouldn't be winning right now if I wasn't allowing it.”

“Allowing it? Why don't you go ahead and throw the ball, hmm Satoru? Then we can see exactly what you’ll allow,” the dark-haired teen countered menacingly in return.

You rolled your eyes at their little testosterone-fueled ribbing, smiling in spite of yourself as you readied to run on second base. You’d already stolen three bases from under the opposing duo’s noses, but you knew the more you did it, the closer Gojo would be watching you.

He looked over his shoulder then, shockingly blue eyes meeting yours at the base behind him as though he knew exactly what you were thinking. You pursed your lips to keep yourself from smirking, only cracking slightly once he turned back around on the mound.

When you had exited the girls’ locker room with Shoko, you were hesitant to say the least; following behind her to the open baseball field where the two boys and a burly teacher stood waiting. Yaga, who you’d been briefly introduced to the day before, announced then that your practical instruction would include a fair amount of team training and cooperative exercises in order to prepare all of you for working together in the field.

You never had been one for sports - not that you weren’t athletic or had any issues with coordination. It had everything to do with your inability to come in physical contact with others, a glaring set-back that your cursed technique provided and one that pretty severely hindered your participation in most team sports.

So your instructor’s words had given you visible pause - a panicked expression crossing your face as you quickly looked from him to Shoko. Your fears were soon quelled, though, when the man tersely forbade any use of physical touch; including, but not limited to, tagging other players in the baseline. This had prompted a nearly child-like tantrum from Satoru while you breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the change unknowingly made just for you.

The two boys were at a stand-off now; the fact that you and Suguru were leading by two runs obviously leaving Satoru on the brink of an all-out conniption. You glanced at home base where Suguru stood, stance ready to hit the ball hard enough to get both of you around the diamond and solidify your win. His dark eyes were already watching you when yours met his, his grip tightening on the bat as the corner of his mouth curled up at your attention.

The pitch caught you off guard, Satoru’s form sending the ball perfectly over home plate faster than you could register it. But somehow Suguru knew right when to swing despite being distracted by you. The sound of the bat cracking against the ball forced your feet into motion, your body hurdling itself toward third base as fast as they could carry you.

You heard Satoru call out to Shoko, your attention split between the base line before you and the pitcher himself while he maneuvered to cover the infield and your teammate quickly rounded first base. You glanced over your shoulder as you rounded third, just long enough to catch a glimpse of your cousin’s arm releasing the ball toward home base. Your head snapped forward to your destination, your stomach lurching once you realized that Gojo was already there - practically straddling the marker and waiting to catch the incoming projectile.

You only had two choices: run faster than you ever had before in hopes of beating the airborne ball or take the chance and slide into the plate. Right between Gojo’s long, outstretched legs.

The wide, toothy grin on his face was proof enough that he knew precisely the scant options he’d left you with; but luckily, you’d never been the type to shy away from getting a little dirty. Your pace suddenly sped up a bit and once you were within less than fifteen feet of your target, you leapt with as much force as you could muster toward the small opening.

Gojo’s jaw dropped, his obvious shock at your decision causing him to momentarily lose track of where the ball was - the ball that ricocheted off the side of his head just as you landed on the base between his feet. 

He scrambled at the unexpected contact, abruptly turning his head to look down at you in astonishment. You smiled coyly, wiggling your fingers in an unapologetic wave as Shoko began to yell at him from across the field, snapping his attention back to where Suguru was now rounding third base. Satoru animatedly glanced around for the ball, running to grab it as you quickly got out of the way of their imminent skirmish.

In the end, it was close. Gojo may have gotten Suguru out on that play, but it still wasn't enough to overcome your previous lead over them.

“I gotta hand it to ya, Ieiri,” Suguru voiced from beside you on the walk back to the gymnasium. “That was quite an impressive game out there.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” you retorted after taking a quick sip from your water bottle, the ghost of a smile playing at the edges of your mouth at the compliment. “I’m just glad I could keep up. You guys can get a little intense.”

“You think that was intense, wait until you see them on the basketball court,” Shoko advised with an eye roll.

“Nah,” Satoru disagreed from behind you, the cockiness returned to his tone now that his fit over losing had abated. “Suguru may not admit it, but even he knows I’ll dominate on the b-ball court every time. Even against a dirty player like you, new girl.”

By the last part of his sentence, he had come up behind you - too close - the side of his face nearly touching yours as he lowered his voice and spoke directly into your ear.

You moved shockingly fast, stepping out of his reach and wheeling around to glare at him as a quick pulse of your cursed energy caused the entire group to come to an abrupt stop.

“Don’t touch me,” you seethed through gritted teeth, the warning in your voice unmistakable and your entire body rigidly on high alert at his unexpected proximity.

“Woah. Easy there,” he responded, his hands raised in mock surrender as he looked back at you.

“Reina, you're alright. Everything’s okay,” Shoko placated while quickly angling to position herself between you and Gojo, her normally sleepy eyes wary as they watched you.

A beat of tense silence passed while you glared at the ignorant blonde, his cerulean eyes flashing with dangerous intrigue as what remained of your cursed energy dissipated around you.

“Yeah, Rei, everything's a-okay,” Satoru parroted mockingly, his long arms crossing over his chest and his usual smug grin returning to his face.

“Give it a rest, would you, Satoru?” Suguru spoke up then, his tone saturated with exasperation at his friend’s continued antics. The blonde’s lip pushed out into a surly pout, objection stopping almost immediately on his tongue once he saw the stern look the other boy was giving him. “You know if we take too long getting to the gym, we’ll never hear the end of it from Yaga.”

“Not my fault she’s so sensitive,” Satoru dissented with an exaggerated huff, prompting a swift and clearly forceful nudge from Suguru’s elbow as Shoko rolled her eyes at his childish response. “Alright, alright! Message received - me no touchy the new girl.”

You scoffed in disbelief before turning on your heel and stomping off in the opposite direction of your previous destination, needing a moment alone to calm yourself back down and knowing that Shoko would cover for your unexplained disappearance yet again. A task she’d taken upon herself since you were both kids learning to navigate your confusing new abilities.

The humidity stuck to your skin as you fled the instructional hall, leaving behind faces that - unbeknownst to you - had quickly turned from confusion to concern as they watched you walk away. You had to find the training facility and couldn’t be bothered to take the time to deal with whatever was going through their minds right now.

You knew you shouldn’t even care; it wasn’t like you’d planned to make friends here anyways; past Shoko, of course. You wouldn’t dare let what drove you from Kyoto happen here too, and if that meant keeping everyone at arm’s length and yourself from getting close to anyone ever again, then that’s exactly what you intended to do.

“Reina!”

The sound of your name being called from behind you nearly made you stop, the still unfamiliar voice of one of the boys you’d just met causing your steps to falter slightly before you pushed on.

“Reina!” The voice called again, this time a bit closer - your eyes widening in surprise at his pace despite the stubborn set of your jaw. “I know you can hear me!”

“Please just leave me alone,” you replied listlessly from over your shoulder, your own pace quickening a bit more in hopes of avoiding a public confrontation. You were approaching what looked to be a baseball field attached to a large gymnasium - that has to be where I’m going, you thought to yourself as the pit in your stomach grew larger with each step. And while you’d never been the fastest, at least you had a decent head start on the teenage boy tailing you. Or so you’d thought.

“Come on, Ieiri - could you please just give me a second?” The proximity of the voice behind you made the small hairs on the back of your neck stand up, causing you to swiftly spin around and face him.

“And what good would a second do?” Came your haughty reply, your arms crossing over your torso defensively as your cold gaze met his nearly pleading one.

He looked just as exasperated as he sounded, two pieces of his dark hair now framing his face and haphazardly blowing in the soft autumn breeze. And yet there was this somehow unaffected calm still surrounding him that threatened to pull you closer, despite every fiber of your being anchoring your feet to the ground beneath them in firm protest.

“Listen, Satoru can be a bit… he’s a lot to get used to,” Suguru conceded with a sigh, sliding his hands into his pockets and settling back onto his heels about a yard away from you - eyeing you warily as if you might bolt again.

“A lot to get used to?” You questioned skeptically, one eyebrow arching in disbelief. “More like insufferably arrogant and unreasonably pretentious.”

Suguru choked out a small laugh, clearly dumbfounded at your unfettered criticism of his friend.

“Well, yes - he is both of those things,” he acquiesced while fighting back a telling smirk. “But he’s also a wonderful ally. And still learning, as we all are.”

This made your anger deflate a bit, the disgruntled frown on your face softening slightly as your arms fell to your sides, Suguru's dark eyes watching you intently.

“I'm not here to make friends, Suguru,” you explained guardedly, your apprehension evident in the small pinch between your brows.

The small smirk on his lips widened slightly as his hands went up in a show of mock surrender, wordlessly taunting you in a way that made your stomach somersault ominously.

“That at least doesn't make us enemies, though, hmm?”

A part of you wanted to disagree with him, but there was this hopeful gleam in his eye that threatened to make your stomach flip over again. So, instead, you just rolled your eyes at him, turning to quickly walk away from him again before he could see the way his words affected you.

"Aw, Suguru - don't tell me you scared her off this time," Shoko's playful voice called out from behind you.

"Nah," the raven haired boy answered, smirk still evident in his tone as he watched you walk toward the practical facilities. "I have a feeling we're gonna get along pretty well, actually."

You were out of earshot by the time Satoru’s boisterous lilt responded, far enough that you were unable to make out his teasing words as he threw a casual arm over Suguru's shoulder.

You had never once feared Satoru Gojo, though you'd been raised knowing exactly who he was. The One Man Army. The Honored One. The Six Eyes.

But he was nothing like those legends you'd been told when you first met him. You weren't really sure what you'd expected, but it definitely wasn't a gangly 15 year old with a loud mouth and an unruly mop of hair so white it almost glowed.

You'd transferred from Kyoto High at the beginning of your second year - and, unfortunately for you, he had somehow already heard of you. Or of your ability, that is.

"So you're the girl that can co-op other sorcerers' powers," he'd jeered as he circled you in the hall after your first day of classes, looking down at you over the round lenses of his sunglasses. "Seems a bit underhanded to me, if I do say so myself."

You felt your ears slowly start to heat up in familiar shame, quickly squaring your shoulders and pulling your face into a defensive scowl before you opened your mouth to reply.

"Too bad I don't recall anyone asking for your opinion," a deeper voice countered sardonically from over your shoulder, the quiet tone sounding nearly bored at the other boy's antics.

You turned slightly and, not to sound like a cliché romance novel, your breath literally caught in your throat. The boy looking back at you was, quite simply, stunning - long, jet black hair pulled into a sleek bun and a lopsided smirk directed at you that made your knees go a bit weak.

"Apologies on behalf of this oaf," he offered with a playful eye roll as he pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against. He stepped a bit closer to where you were still frozen in place, also towering over you yet somehow less imposing than his blonde counterpart. "I'm Suguru. And that ray of absolute sunshine goes by Satoru.”

“As if some newbie has earned the right to refer to us so comfortably,” Satoru scoffed, his arms folding over his chest in perturbation. “It’s Gojo to you.”

Your mouth dropped open slightly, hardly believing the callous way the boy was speaking to someone he’d just met. You awkwardly adjusted your knapsack on your shoulder, gritting your teeth together as frustrated tears threatened to spill from your eyes.

“Rei!”

Your eyes darted around Satoru’s tall frame at the sound of your nickname, looking through the crowded hall for the one voice you knew in this foreign city.

“Don’t tell me - you’ve barely even introduced yourself to my cousin, but have already somehow put your giant foot in your mouth, huh, Satoru?” Shoko chided the white-haired boy as she threw an arm around your shoulders in welcome, her friend Utahime stopping close behind her.

The shock on Satoru’s previously smug face nearly made you laugh out loud, his mouth now agape and brow creased together in uncertainty.

“Wait, wait, you're Shoko's cousin?!” He exclaimed once her words had a second to sink in, his disbelieving gaze bouncing between the two of you almost comically.

“Oh, stop standing there looking like a stupid guppy,” Utahime chastised with an annoyed huff. “Anyone could tell they're related, they look exactly alike for God's sake!”

“Except for the hair, that is,” Suguru spoke up again, eyes narrowed on the one glaring difference between you and their friend.

It was hard to ignore the two bold chunks of silver that ran through your otherwise plain dark brown, shoulder-length hair; one slightly more pronounced than the other, but both equally confounding for someone your age. You knew it was one of the first things anyone ever noticed about you, and between that and your shockingly green eyes, you weren’t sure which you’d grown to resent more.

“Ah yeah, what’s up with the weird dye-job anyways? Kyoto’s rules must be way more lax than here,” Satoru questioned snidely, long arms crossed over his torso as if he’d called you out on breaking the rules.

“Don’t worry, Gojo, it's not a dye-job. Thanks so much for your concern though,” you reassured him begrudgingly before pushing past him and continuing down the hall to find your next class.

The confusion that had shown on three of the four faces in front of you was one you were well accustomed to by now, but not something you felt like humoring with a new group of peers in the hall of your new school. You knew the “fresh start” couldn’t last forever, but you expected to at least make it one day without having to explain the ins and outs of your cursed technique - or how it affected you.

Shoko had called after you then, but you knew better than to try and convince a group of strangers of anything, especially when they'd already made up their minds. You'd stormed out of the templesque building into the mid-morning sun, not really caring if the door slammed behind you.

You couldn't be sure what stood out more from that day.

Was it the hollow knock as it sounded through your suddenly suffocating dormitory? The achingly cold ground under your feet as you mindlessly pulled yourself to the door? Or the haunted resignation in his piercing cerulean gaze that now purposely avoided yours?

You'd forced yourself to open it, swallowing back the sinking feeling in your stomach as your other arm wrapped around you in self-defense, pulling Suguru's oversized hoodie tighter against your athletic frame. And knowing exactly who would be waiting on the other side…