Zigreth

Megumis friends knew him as the king of nonchalance. Or, at least as someone who pretended to be that. Whenever they would go out as a trio Nobara and Yuji would get really excited or upset at whatever was happening. Say, Yuji was being silly, making Nobara angry. They'd run around Megumi, Nobara trying to hit Yuji, while he'd try to flee from her.

Meanwhile Megumi would stand in the middle of them, wondering what he'd done to deserve to be around so much noise and excess energy all the time. Like it wasn't enough that he had to grow up with Gojo as his guardian.

So it didn't come as a big surprise when Megumi fell for you. Not to anyone who knew him and everyone around him at least. Gojo saw it straight away, the very first time he'd introduced Megumi to the older students. Back when Megumi was the only first year, before Nobara and Yuji came along, Gojo had decided to put him with the second-years.

Megumi fit in well with the mostly quiet class of yours. Toge, who barely spoke at all due to his cursed speech. Panda, who was the most normal out of the group, despite being a literal panda. Maki, who was loud and often times quite angry.

And then there was you. Quiet, but not shy or delicate. Not nonchalant like Megumi either. Quiet like the sea. Calm and comforting, soothing even, at least to Megumi. He saw the alertness in your eyes, always scanning for danger, always aware. But never loud about it. Always only doing what was necessary, never wasting energy on anything, never losing control.

It was only for about one month but still, the glances Megumi threw at you always seemed to linger a little longer than they should have. Gojo noticed immediately, of course. Unfortunately for Megumi, nothing gets past the blindfolded dumbass.

So he pushed you two together. Made you partner up for sparring sessions or missions. Left you two alone whenever possible. Gojo knew he couldn't be too obvious about it, or else Megumi would notice and stop talking to you altogether, denying the fact that he ever had any emotions of any kind, ever.

It was delicate work and when the single first-year student suddenly turned into three, Gojo knew he'd have to give up on this mission. Unbeknownst to him, you two had already started dating. It just wasn't as loud or outgoing as Gojo would have expected, or… hoped. It was quiet, calm. Like everything about Megumi. Almost everything anyway.

What Gojo never saw was what happened when he left you two alone. The sparring session, that always became so intense either one of you would have to make up an excuse to leave the room to cool down. At least before you started dating. After that it became worse.

The missions that would be handled in basically no time at all, leading to you both being assigned harder ones. Which then turned to private dates for you two. It was perfect, really.

The veil being placed over a building, that all people had been evacuated from, leaving you and Megumi all alone, with no-one around to see. Except for the cursed spirit maybe, but it was usually very easy to pin it to a wall somewhere and deal with it when you two felt like the date had gone on long enough.

No-one ever questioned you about it and luckily for you, you were still assigned the joined missions, even after Megumi got his own class. Fewer missions, but it just made them all the more special. Megumi hated the idea of Gojo finding out about your relationship and you respected that, not that keen on that boisterous lunatic meddling with it either.

So the joined missions became really the only times when you two would be alone. The only times you could openly express any sort of affection for your boyfriend. The only times he would kiss you, like a man starved. Like the restraint of not doing so was physically gnawing at him. And in a way, it was.

"What are you doing tonight?" Megumi asked suddenly, not even looking at you, but rather watching his dogs chase around the two grade 3 curses you two were sent here to deal with. You two barely payed any attention to them, instead resting under the shade of a tree, your head on Megumis lap while he played with your hair. Not that any sunlight ever got through the veil.

When you had received the mission details you had almost burst out laughing. It was ridiculous to assign a mission like this to the both of you, but you would never complain out loud if it gave you a chance to spent time with Megumi.

"Nothing much. Maki and Nobara wanted to go out for Ramen tonight and I think Panda and Toge wanted to prank Yuji, which is not really something i want to be involved in." You opened your eyes to look up at Megumi who visibly struggled not to look at you. "Why do you ask?"

You watched as his cheeks turned a soft shade of red. You also watched him cringe when he glanced down at you for less than a second, seeing your amused expression. "Nevermind." At this point you knew him long enough not to push him. If he brought the topic up once, he'll bring it up again.

Instead, you closed your eyes again, a soft smile still lingering on your lips, and hummed in acknowledgement. After a few seconds Megumi looked down at you again, seeing you so content this close to him, it made his heart ache for more. He hated being reduced to these few hours a month where you two could be truly yourselves around each other.

He also knew that, realistically, the only one standing in the way of that was himself. Megumi took a deep breath, steadying himself and going back to enjoying this moment with you for as long as it lasted.

Eventually, you two decided you had been on this mission long enough. While you two got up from the grass, the demon dogs got rid of the cursed spirits and you met them at the edge of the veil as it slowly lifted, revealing Ijichi, waiting in his car as always.

The dogs sat on either side of you, patiently waiting, when the black one lightly nudged its head against your leg. Megumi felt his heart start to race and was about to release them but paused as he saw you crouch down. He wasn't quite sure how much you knew about shikigami but he had a hard time thinking much about it when you started petting the dog.

"Who's a good boy?" You cooed as you held the black dogs head between both of your hands. It made a little sound and tried to lick your face, earning a giggle from you. Megumi on the other hand sank into himself behind his collar, trying desperately to hide his embarrassment.

What neither of you saw was Ijichi taking a photo of the scene. Only later when he tried showing it to Gojo he remembered that shikigami don't appear in pictures. Gojo understood anyways, and almost burst Ijichis eardrums with the cheer he let out.

That same evening you were laying in bed when you heard a soft knock at your door. You weren't expecting anybody, and yet, when you opened the door to find Megumi you didn't feel all that surprised. He wordlessly held up a book and notebook and you let him in. The second the door was closed and locked you heard the books being tossed on your desk.

You barely had time to turn around before you felt Megumis arms snake around you and his head finding its spot on your shoulder. "I'm sorry." He sighed, holding you a little tighter and shaking his head slightly. "I can't do this anymore." You froze, eyes widening and a cold shiver running up your spine. Was he breaking up with you?

You grabbed him by the shoulders not-so-gently and pried him off of you. "Explain yourself." Megumi furrowed his brows in confusion before his expression fell, realising what it had sounded like. Even now you were like the sea: controlled, quiet, devastating.

Megumi pressed his eyes shut, unable to form words under your hard glare. "Hiding." The grip on his shoulder loosened ever so slightly. "I don't want to hide us anymore." He opened his eyes again to meet yours, seeing the tumultuous emotions behind them.

You let go of his shoulders and closed your eyes as you took a deep breath. When you looked at him again your eyes had lost barely any of the hardness. "Never. Do that again." You walked past him, glancing at the stuff he had dropped on your desk, deciding he brought it for the sake of plausible deniability.

"Sorry, this isn't how I wanted this to go." He said as he watched you walk over to your bed, stopping in front of it with your arms crossed in front of your chest. "You know I'm shit at expressing-" He cut himself for, not even able to say the word 'feelings'. You scoffed at that, turning around to look at him. "Yeah, you are."

When your eyes met his though, you realized how much he was trying. The fact that he was here in the first place was in itself astounding. He'd never done that before. You took another deep breath, letting your arms fall back down to your sides. With a little head-shake you decided to change the topic.

"Can I ask you something? Is it true what they say about shikigami? That they're not individuals but rather an extension of the sorcerer?" So you did know, great. Megumi felt his cheeks heat up again. He choked out a 'yes' which caused a giggle to escape you before you could stop yourself, causing his cheeks to heat up even more.

You stepped towards him, cupping one of his cheeks with your hand and watching him fight himself over fleeing from your touch or basking in it. A warm smile formed on your face as he settled on nestling his face in your hand, eyes pressed shut as if he was angry at himself for it. "You're cute when you're flustered."

He stilled, not daring to open his eyes, but clearly effected by your words. You gave him a kiss to the cheek you weren't holding before stepping back, not missing the moment of him chasing your touch for just a second before opening his eyes.

Megumi followed you with his eyes as you settled back into your bed before you invited him into it. "Let's just rest for now and talk about how to go about this tomorrow, yeah?" Megumi just hummed in agreement, already cuddling up to you, like you were the only thing that could keep him from freezing to death. For a guy who was so hellbent on appearing nonchalant he was ridiculously clingy.

When you woke up the next morning, still curled up in Megumis arms, you felt like the world was just right for once. You looked at his face with those beautiful lashes, for once peaceful, and whispered: "So, how do you plan to do this?" Megumi groaned, scrunching his nose up slightly. "I was hoping you'd forget about that." You blushed slightly at his morning voice and were grateful that he hadn't opened his eyes yet.

As you got ready for the day, Megumi sneaked out of your room, out of sight from everybody else. You chuckled slightly to yourself, wondering how this would play out. Today truly was the perfect day for something big. Some grant gesture to show everyone that you were a couple. It was Saturday and both classes, as well as Gojo, had agreed to go for a picnic.

You met the others outside the campus gate, ready to hike up the mountain for the picnic. On the way up there you strolled behind the others. Not for any particular reason, more out of habit of always keeping everyone in your line of sight.

After a little while Megumi fell back to match your pace. He didn't say a word but he walked just a tad bit closer to you than he normally would. What you didn't see was the courage Megumi was working up to do even just that. It went against every bit of his persona that he had build for himself. Against everything he wanted to be perceived as.

A few minutes before you reached the top of the mountain you felt Megumis hand brush against yours. Once, twice. Deliberately. Then once more, slower this time, catching your pinky finger with his own. It was a very sweet gesture. When you glanced over at him you saw him swallowing hard, holding onto his composure with all his might and seemingly forcing back the blush that was creeping up his neck through sheer willpower. You held onto his pinky a little tighter.

When the group finally made it up to the top and Panda and Toge began setting up the picnic blanket, Nobara turned around, starting to complain about something but stopping mid-word when she saw it. She made a sound of surprise, loud and unmistakable. Everybody turned to look at you and Megumi and you could feel him tense up next to you. This was his personal hell.

Maki looked between Nobara and you two. "What's the big deal, they're not even holding hands properly." Nobara turned to her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly. "Are you kidding? For Megumi this is like… fully making out in front of us!" It took quite a bit of your own willpower not to laugh at that, because in a way, she was right.

It upset Megumi, though. Out of sheer spite, he huffed and grabbed your hand fully, looking more disgruntled than ever. Gojo didn't waste any time. You heard the click of his camera before you even fully realized what was going on. Yuji just stared at you two and your hands in deep thought. "How long has this been going on?"

Megumi didn't look at him when he answered. "Since before I met you." Nobara made another noise of disapproval. "Why didn't you tell us earlier? We wouldn't have tried to set you up with somebody else!" The look in his eyes was sharp. "I told you plenty of times not to do that."

Two weeks had passed since you had brought Toge the flavoured medicine. Every time he took some of it he heard your voice again, quietly whispering that you thought he was pretty. That single moment had burned itself into his mind and he was determined to chase that same high again.

You on the other hand had spent the first two days after locked in your room in embarrassment. It had taken a very confused Yuji and a very annoyed Nobara to drag you back out again. They took you to the city for some ramen where you met with Megumi and Nobara eventually tried to make you tell her everything that happened. Telling her was one thing, but with Yuji and Megumi there as well you wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and not look at anybody.

"It's not like we don't know you're into him." Megumi was as deadpan as ever, the statement draining all colour from your face. "The only thing I don't get is why you would lock yourself in your room. Did he reject you?" Yuji was asking genuinely but Nobara was quick to hit him for it anyways. You felt sick.

"I-," all of them brought their attention to you, "I'm not sure." Nobara nearly jumped on the table, the force of her hands making the decoration clink together. "WHAT??" Megumi just sighed while Yuji rubbed his chin in thought. "I don't get it." Nobara stood up straight and crossed her arms in front of her. "Yeah, me neither. There is no way he'd reject you. Hell, he'd be lucky to have you!"

You took a deep breath and started from the beginning, telling them everything that happened that day, only pausing to order food, ending with you running out on him before he could react. "It was so embarrassing! I've barely ever spoken to him and then I just drop something like that? He must think I'm so weird." With a thump your head landed on the table, the decoration clinking together once more.

"If anything, he's the weirdo, making you feed him the medicine like that." Megumi had pretended not to listen to your story but clearly that was just for show. He'd never admit to it but Megumi loved listening to other people's drama and judging everyone involved.

Yuji was deep in thought again. "Yeah, maybe. But it's also kind of… intimate, don't you think?" All three of you turned to look at him, silently asking him to elaborate. "Well, if we assume he also likes you, then wouldn't he…? I know I would do anything I could to be close to you, especially if I couldn't say it."

You felt your cheeks heat up again. "Do you really think so?" It took some effort not to sound too hopeful. Nobara nodded. "That actually makes a lot of sense. Let's assume that's why he did that and plan our next move." She grinned mischievously and you started to feel sick again when Megumi chimed in.

"Wouldn't it be on him to make the next move?" Nobara shook her head. "Absolutely not. You cannot trust a guy to have the balls for this sort of thing." If this hadn't been about you you would have laughed at that. The idea that you had the courage to do something like that again was ridiculous.

Thankfully, your conversation was abruptly ended when your ramen arrived and the four of you began eating. During the meal the three of them goofed around like they usually did, which actually made you feel a lot better.

To your surprise, Nobara barely brought the topic up again the following almost two weeks. You knew she was planning something, but it was easy to ignore the thought.

Especially on days like today. Since the day they had dragged you out of your room, the four of you had made an unsaid rule to go out to eat together every three days. You had been out for ramen again. As you were just finishing up your bowl you heard the familiar sound of Nobara receiving a text.

It wasn't unusual so you didn't pay it any mind. Although, if you had, you would have been a lot more suspicious over her trying to get you back to campus so quickly. The text she got was from Panda, asking if she knew where you were because Inumaki was looking for you. Nobara immediately put two and two together and told him that she'd have you back in 15 minutes.

When you got back you finally did notice how Nobara was steering you four towards the second-years, who were gathered under a tree near the dorms. You turned to her with pleading eyes but she just smirked at you, not stopping for a second. The boys behind you suddenly felt like a massive wall pushing you forward.

Once you were within earshot Nobara called out to them. "Hey guys!" There was no turning back now, as Maki, Panda and Inumaki turned towards the four of you. Inumaki quickly got up from the grass, followed by Panda, who you saw saying something to him that was too quiet to hear.

"We haven't seen you guys in days, where have you been?" Maki greeted your group, although she sounded as uninterested as ever. "Good to see you too, Zenin." Megumi replied sarcastically. "I told you to stop calling me that!" You didn't hear how their conversation continued because you caught Inumaki's eyes focused on you.

"Kelp." His voice sounded healthy again, which made you smile. "Hey, you sound good!" A pause that felt a lot longer than it was spread. Inumaki just blinked at you while Panda tried to hide his grin by joining the others, who had conveniently also gone quiet. They didn't want to miss anything, unlike you two, who didn't even notice their staring.

"I-I mean. You sound well. Better. Than last time." You felt your cheeks heat up again and you hated it. "Salmon." A small sigh of relief left you, the smile back on your face. Inumaki's mind was running wild. Seeing you in front of him was enough to throw him off but hearing you say that and seeing you smile at him like that? He was entranced.

Next to you two the others were just about ready to shake you both the longer you just stared at each other. Panda mouthed the words "Come on. Just like we practised." and Nobara next to him looked like she was about to explode trying not to just push you into him.

Toge found his voice again just as your smile started to turn a little uncertain. "Tuna." With that he held his hand out to you. Your eyebrows moved together slightly as you tried to understand him. "Tuna, as in, 'look'?" He turned his head to the side and moved his hand more towards you for emphasis. "Tuna." So that wasn't quite it.

You looked down at his hand and saw it trembling slightly. Without really thinking about it you raised your own hand, but you stopped yourself right before taking his. "Tuna, as in… 'take my hand'?"

This was hell, Toge wanted to scream. That's not what he meant, but it is what he wanted you to do. He was still debating what to say when he felt your hand in his, ripping him out of his thoughts. Your hand felt warm against his and he already never wanted to let go.

With the way his hand was shaking you were curious if it would be cold. It was. But it was nice, a calming sensation against your own rising temperature. You watched how your own hand fit into his before looking up at him again, only to find him already staring at you, eyes wide.

You were starting to wonder if he was more nervous about this than you were and the thought made you chuckle slightly. "Now what?" The words came out between the soft laughter, that damn smile on your lips again. It took everything in Toge to stay half composed. He tugged at your hand ever so gently, barely noticeable. "Tuna."

"Ah, I get it. Tuna, as in, 'I want to show you something', right?" Toge nodded his head, the smile he hid behind his collar evident in his voice. "Salmon, Salmon." You gripped his hand a little firmer and Toge felt his knees turn to pudding. "Lead the way."

As the two of you walked away the rest of your classmates collectively breathed out the breath they had been holding in. Nobara was the first to speak up. "Those two are insufferable! I have never seen anyone more obviously in love than them."

"But they're so cute together." Panda cooed, earning an annoyed growl from Maki. "If I ever end up all lovey-dovey like that just shoot me." Megumi didn't even turn to her. "Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen." This had Maki steaming, shouting "What's that supposed to mean?" and trying to hit him, which Megumi dodged.

Inumaki and you didn't notice any of that, the heartbeats in your ears drowning out most other noises. Neither of you said anything as you turned another corner revealing the flowers where you two had first met. You gasped at the sight, taking a couple of steps forward and letting go of Inumaki's hand in the process.

He thought about catching up and grabbing your hand again, unwilling to let that moment end, but dropped the thought when you turned around to him, beaming from ear to ear. "They're even more impressive than I remember! You make such a good gardener."

Toge felt his cheeks turn pink which made him sink deeper into his collar. He averted his eyes, knowing he couldn't handle your amused reaction to him. "Tuna." He said quietly, pointing at the petunias. You followed where he was pointing but only saw the flowers you had already seen. Yes, you would look at them some more, but you felt like that's not what he meant.

You turned back to him, a confused expression on your face. "Tuna Tuna." He seemed adamant about you looking at the flowers some more, so you stepped closer. Then you saw it, tucked between some gorgeous pink flowers you found a sheet of paper, neatly folded. You picked it up and turned back to him.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" By now Inumaki had sunken so deep into his collar you could barely see his eyes looking anywhere but at yours. He nodded, not trusting his voice. God, he felt pathetic. He didn't even have to say it, you would just read it. Why was he so nervous? Why was his heart pounding so loudly in his chest he could barely hear your question? He shut his eyes as you started to unfold the paper.

You're prettier.

The message was short but clear. You immediately felt your cheeks heat up again as you looked up to find him still pressing his eyes shut, clearly scared of your reaction.

With a soft smile on your lips you stepped closer to him until you stood right in front of him. You carefully took both of his hands into yours, holding them between the two of you. You could feel him trembling slightly under your touch as he slowly opened his eyes to look at you.

A sudden surge of boldness overcame you and you raised both of your hands higher, bringing his to your lips to plant a little kiss on each one. He stilled completely, only breathing out a soft "Caviar." You laughed at how cute he was. It was all you could do to stop yourself from crushing him in a big hug.

You both jumped slightly as you heard a loud but soft thud, followed by Nobara's voice. "Panda, you idiot, we were supposed to stay silent." Panda got up and brushed some loose grass from his fur. "It's not my fault they're so adorable, I lost my balance."

Inumaki furrowed his brows as he turned to his friend, taking his hands from yours in the process. "Fish Flakes! Caviar! Tuna mayo!" He was clearly very upset and yet you couldn't help but chuckle as you watched him try to push Panda away, who turned to you like this was the most normal thing in the world.

"We were thinking about all getting some milkshakes if you guys want to come with." You looked at Inumaki, who was slumped to the ground, clearly giving up. "I'd be up for that. What about you, Toge?" He froze. This was the first time you had called him by his first name and he never wanted to hear you call him anything else. "Salmon."

Later, you sat between Toge and Panda as everyone sipped their drinks. Panda slapped his forehead as he remembered something. "Oh, right. I meant to ask you something." You took the straw from your mouth. "Sure, what is it?"

"Toge mentioned that, back then when you visited him, there was a moment where you… for a lack of a better word… stared at his markings." Toge next to you stopped breathing for a moment, debating with himself whether he wanted to hear this or run away. "What were you thinking back then?" He stayed seated.

"Oh, it's, haha, a little, um… how do I even say this, you know those youtube clickbait arrows?" All your other classmates turned to look at you with expressions somewhere between confusion and disgust. "I was kind of thinking they were pointing to his mouth, as if to say," your voice turned quieter with every word you said, more and more embarrassed by your own thoughts, "kiss here."

The leaves rustled softly in the wind as Gojo Satoru and his second-year students wandered through the forest. Gojo was grinning that obnoxious grin he so often wore around them, full of mischief and schemes. Nobody really payed it any mind though - he does look like that virtually all the time. All the time you see him anyway.

This weekend, Gojo was on a mission. It wasn't just the camping trip itself, which Panda had suggested oh so perfectly. No, his mission would require a lot more finesse than just setting up a tent and catching fish in the nearby stream - it was a mission of love.

This man had convinced himself that you and Toge were meant for each other. It had started on your very first day, you had been transferred to the school a little after Yuta, which meant that Gojo introduced you to the others in much the same way he had done to Yuta before.

Except you didn't bring your personal curse with you, so the others had no reason to attack you. Which, honestly, when Yuta later told you that story about his first day had made you feel sick to your stomach. You joked to him then about how you "probably wouldn't have been able to show my face around here anymore" and Yuta just laughed along, saying he had considered the same.

So, in that regard, your first day had gone surprisingly well. Gojo had told you to wait outside the classroom until he called you inside and when he did you saw a class of exactly four students. For a moment you thought he was messing with you, especially because one of the students wasn't even human.

But, no, Gojo was fully serious and after he had told them your name he also listed of each of their names. When he was done it was silent for a moment, nobody quite sure what to say, until the guy standing on the left raised his hand and waved at you, muttering a silent "Kelp". With a shy, but still obviously amused smile on your lips you mirrored the boy, greeting him with a "Kelp" of your own.

The silence that followed was deafening. The only girl in the class had been looking fairly annoyed from the start, but now she was downright frowning at you, while the other boy and the panda looked more confused than anything. After what felt like an eternity, the girl, Maki, was the first to speak.

"Don't make fun of him. We don't like bullies around here." You raised your hands defensively, a worried expression now on your face. "I didn't mean to, I swear! I just thought it was a bit and wanted to go along with it, I'm sorry." Maki's response to that was more a grumble than actual words but her expression and stance softened somewhat, which made the other three relax visibly.

What you hadn't seen during all that was Gojo grinning to himself behind you. With his six eyes he was able to clearly see the way Toge's eyes lit up when you responded to him the way you did. He could see the smile that formed behind Toge's collar when you explained yourself. From that moment Gojo knew that that boy was whipped.

So now, with a weekend full of "team-bonding exercises" and some good old-fashioned forced proximity he was hoping to finally get you two to admit it to each other. Not just you two, though. Yuta and Maki have also been dancing around their feelings for each other. At least that's what Panda had told him when Gojo mentioned how close his classmates had gotten.

After Gojo explained that he was actually talking about you and Toge it was like someone had finally handed Panda the puzzle-piece he had been missing. Every interaction between the two of you for the past year was finally making sense. That's how Panda ended up planning this camping trip together with Gojo - planning the ultimate set-up.

When the six of you finally reached the camping grounds deep in the forest you all instinctively gathered around the stone circle that marked the empty campfire. Gojo clapped his hands as he looked around his students.

"Alright! We have now reached our camping grounds with roughly, uhhh, two hours of sunlight left. From now on until the end of the weekend you will have to perform a variety of tasks either as the whole group or in teams of two. Those teams of two are…" Gojo pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket, pretending to read it through his blindfold before pointing at you and saying your name.

"You will be partnered up with…" He pretended to read from his list again. "Toge! And next we have Maki and…" He really loved making a show out of everything. "Yuta! Which then only leaves Panda, who will be partnered up with me."

You furrowed your brows at the man. "How is that fair? Wouldn't it make more sense to have a group of three instead of putting yourself in one of the teams?" Maki crossed her arms in front of her chest as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah. At least give Panda a chance of winning this competition."

Gojo raised his index finger in the air, wagging it. "Uh-uh. Not a competition. Remember: This is about team-bonding, not team-fighting." He clapped his hands again. "So! That being said, I gave each team the set for one tent. You have until sundown to put it up, fastest wins. Ready?" Yuta took a small step forward. "But, you just said-" "GO!"

And with that Gojo and Panda sprinted off, about halfway between the fire pit and the end of the clearing, throwing all their bags on the ground and somehow making a mess of things before even really starting. You watched them for about three seconds before gently nudging Toge with your elbow. "Come on, I bet we can beat those losers." "Salmon."

As you and Toge walked away to find your own spot for the tent Maki audibly sighed as she tried to contain her annoyance. "Hey, I think we'll be a great team!" Yuta beamed at her, his expression so earnest that it melted some of her annoyance away. "Yeah, let's just get this over with." She turned around to find them a spot as well, staying one step ahead of Yuta so he wouldn't see the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

All three teams got to work and while Panda and Gojo were about exactly as chaotic as you'd expect them to be, Maki and Yuta did some good work, albeit a little slow. You and Toge quickly gained a lead in this first task, mainly due to your experience in setting up tents from all the camping trips in your childhood.

After your tent was set up you two put your bags inside, each rolling out your sleeping bags and anything else you wanted to prepare before it got dark. Once you were both happy with your tent and stepped outside again with still about 45 minutes of sunlight left, you watched Maki and Yuta putting the final tent pegs in the ground.

Gojo and Panda on the other hand had barely managed to sort the different parts and spread them out, they hadn't even begun setting it up. "Mustard leaf." You hummed in agreement. "You're right, let's help them."

When Panda saw you approaching he waved at you, a big smile on his face. Gojo perked up at that, turning to you as well. "No way, you're done already?" He leaned to the side to look past you both at Maki and Yuta's tent; they were both putting their things inside it as well now. "Those two, too, huh?"

You chuckled at his silliness. "Yeah, well, we figured you guys could use our help." "Salmon." Gojo turned back to you, his usual mischievous smile on his face. "How very team-ly of you." At that Panda threw a small branch at Gojo, knowing full well that his infinity wouldn't let it reach his face. "That's what we're here for, remember? Team-work, not team-sabotage?"

Gojo feigned innocence in a very dramatic, very Gojo, way. "Are you accusing me of sabotaging our tent?" "Is it sabotage to immediately disintegrate the instructions?" You could basically feel Toge next to you roll his eyes which caused you to chuckle again.

Through your own amusement you joined them and their tent pile. "This isn't going to help with your tent. How about I just tell you what to do and if you don't understand Toge will show you?" They both agreed and soon enough the tent was beginning to take shape.

By the time the sun started setting the tent was mostly standing but it wasn't done until the sun had fully gone down. In the dark only one thing was left - the tent pegs. You and Gojo were already joining Maki and Yuta, who had collected some wood for the fire.

As Panda went around the tent putting the pegs in the ground he unfortunately didn't see one of the strings he had already set up. He fell over it, which nobody would have even noticed if Toge hadn't started laughing, louder than you'd ever heard him laugh before. It warmed your heart to hear him laugh so freely. You smiled softly at the scene and didn't notice Gojo's smirk at your reaction.

Once Panda had picked himself back up and Toge had calmed down again they joined the rest of you around the fire pit. Maki immediately called Panda out for being clumsy, which he denied quite strongly. Yuta tried his best to keep them both friendly as they started to raise their voices a little.

Already used to their antics you softly nudged Toge with your elbow, speaking to him quietly enough so that only he could hear. "You should laugh like that more often. It suits you." You weren't sure what had caused your sudden boldness but you were thankful for it when you saw Toge's eyes widen and his cheeks turn pink before sinking further into his collar. He was just too adorable.

Gojo's voice tore everyone from their conversations. "Okay, now that the tents are in place, let's start the campfire." He neatly arranged the branches the other two had gathered and placed the now crumbled up paper he had pretended to read from earlier under them before lighting it with a match. Soon enough he got a small fire going and the rest of you placed blankets around it to sit on.

You found a spot between Maki and Panda as Gojo began explaining the next day's activities. "We start at sunrise. After breakfast each team gets assigned a spot in the forest with two tiny flags. We all get three hours to set up traps in the forest. Then, each team has to collect one flag from both other teams, while a few low level curses are released in the area. Fastest team wins."

Maki was resting her chin on her hand as she listened to him with a stern expression. When he was done she immediately spoke up. "Can't you literally teleport?" Gojo placed his index finger over his mouth and you could swear you saw him wink behind that stupid mask of his. "I won't be doing that, of course." "Of course." You echoed unintentionally.

Gojo just ignored your comment and instead got excited all over again. "We should tell ghost stories! That's what you do around a campfire, isn't it?" He turned to you as if you were the only one who'd ever gone camping before. Perhaps you were. You nodded. "That or we could sing a song."

You grinned as you said it, looking at the fire instead of Maki but knowing full well that she'd hate the suggestion. She instantly grumbled and got up. "Yeah, no. I'm not sticking around for that." As she walked over to her tent she continued. "Don't be too loud about it, I'm going to get a head start on sleep."

Gojo's sing-sang voice rang through the air as she crouched to open the zipper of the tent. "That's not very team-ly of you~" She slipped into the tent. "So? You're not a part of my team." And with that she was gone for the night.

As Panda turned to you to talk about some panda-themed clothes he saw the other day, Yuta turned to Toge, speaking to him in a whisper. "I don't know if I can handle sleeping in a tent with her. What if I snore?" Toge scoffed at his friends worry, deciding to tease him for it. "Tuna mayo."

Yuta's eyes went wide and one of his hands shot up to cover his own mouth in shock. "No… you don't really think… Maki doesn't snore!" He half-whispered, half-shouted, which only caused Toge to giggle, lightly hitting Yuta on the shoulder. "Bonito Flakes." He managed to get out between giggles, visibly relaxing the other.

Meanwhile Gojo smiled softly to himself, staring into the fire. This was exactly the kind of casual fun he always tried to make possible for his students. The kind that he had been denied in his own youth.

"No, but seriously, you don't think it'll be weird? Aren't you worried at all?" Yuta's tone was still low, not wanting you to hear him as he asked his friend this question. Toge wasn't worried. Or, at least, he hadn't been. Until now. They had both sought out the other's advice before, so while Toge knew about Yuta's crush on Maki, he also knew about Toge's crush on you.

He blinked, the idea setting foot in his mind for the first time that day. You and Toge had been close from the start, bouncing jokes and pranks off of each other like it was the easiest thing in the world. Somehow, you had never been weird about his speech and even though you didn't understand him at first, you learned a lot quicker than most because you were so willing to just go along with whatever he said.

He couldn't help but develop a crush on you. You had carved a place in his heart so fast and effortlessly, he wouldn't wish it any other way. And yet, he had never voiced those feelings towards you, terrified to destroy this friendship that you had built. Scared not only of you rejecting his feelings but also him entirely.

But would you really? Toge often dared to hope that you wouldn't. On days like today, for instance, when you'd compliment him so honestly it had his heart stuttering in his chest. It had happened a few times before and each time Yuta had assured him that, yes, it means that you feel the same as him!

Still, it didn't help the cold shiver that ran up Toge's spine as an image of you manifested in his mind. In it you were looking at him, tired and disgusted as you removed the hand from your waist that he had placed there in his sleep, the fragile bond the two of you had built shattered in a single moment.

Toge pulled his legs towards himself and buried his face behind his knees. The look on Yuta's face next to him turned to panic. "N-No! Sorry, I didn't-" In that moment Panda noticed the shift in the mood as well. You followed his gaze as he spoke to Yuta. "What did you say to him?"

Yuta's eyes shifted nervously between Panda and you, not wanting to give away what they were talking about. "I'm not quite sure." Toge was staring at the fire, seemingly too lost in thought, even as Gojo chimed in and decided to distract everyone with a ghost story. Slowly but surely though, it worked and three stories later Toge seemed less upset.

All four of you were now tired though. You had leaned your head against Panda, his soft fur making for a way too comfy pillow. Toge sat leaning back on his hands while Yuta had slumped in on himself, occasionally nodding off. Gojo's laugh had all of you perking up.

"That's enough for today, you guys need to be ready and well rested tomorrow. So. Off you go now." He shooed all of you into your tents while he covered the remaining embers with sand, extinguishing the rest of the fire.

Sitting inside your tent, the reality of the situation sank in. You were sharing a tent with Toge. This wasn't bad, of course. Quite the opposite, actually! You had imagined what it would be like to fall asleep next to him often enough for it to be embarrassing. But there was one thing your imagination never included: Having to change in front of him.

As you pulled your sleepwear from your backpack you decided to be normal about it. Which is such a normal thing to decide. But you were friends, damn it! It's not his fault that you have a crush on him that makes you feel weird changing in front of him.

You started speaking as you turned around to him. "Toge, how-" The sound died in your throat as you were greeted by bare skin. Toge had already taken off his shirt, apparently entirely unbothered by the whole situation. At the sound of your voice he turned to face you as well, finding your eyes lingering on his torso a bit too intensely.

Your eyes flicked back up to meet his which only caused heat to rise up into your cheeks. As you felt the familiar sensation you quickly turned back around, shutting your eyes tight, as if you could ever forget the sight you had just witnessed. "S-sorry, I didn't… I, uh, just wanted to say I'll be changing now, too, i guess." You tried to swallow the lump in your throat, unsure whether to add 'don't peak!' to it, after you had already failed at it so miserably.

Toge on the other side of the tent turned back around now as well. "Salmon." He saw the way your eyes lingered on him. Hell, he felt it. Like his skin was sizzling under your gaze and the part of him that still dared to dream whispered into his ear that what he saw in your eyes was attraction.

Meanwhile the part of him that Yuta had unintentionally awakened today was quick to drown out his hopes, claiming that look in your eyes and the way you turned away so quickly to be a sign of disgust. He shook his head lightly and quickly changed out of the rest of his day clothes.

Then he waited until he didn't hear any more rustling from your side, too scared of tainting your view of him to even consider peaking. When it was silent on your side he spoke up. "Salmon?" He heard you take a breath before you responded, a smile evident in your voice. "Yes, I'm done."

He carefully turned around, looking around the tent for a moment before finding your eyes. "…Thanks," you said, quieter now, "for being more respectful than I am." You tried to hide your embarrassment with a soft laugh and Toge wanted nothing more than to tell you that he couldn't care less whether you saw him shirtless or not. In fact, he kind of wanted you to, actually, but he wouldn't dare to admit it.

The air in the tent was tense while both of you tried to figure out how to proceed. Toge decided to speak first. "Tuna…" And quickly realised that everything he wanted to say to you had the potential of ruining your friendship. That and the fact that his limitations made it virtually impossible to voice them anyway.

You watched his gaze turn downward as he trailed off and in a second surge of boldness you moved closer to him, placing your hand over one of his. Toge's eyes shot up at the sensation, first at your combined hands, then to your face. His eyes were wide and his pulse hammered in his ears so loudly he worried about not being able to hear your next words.

As if someone had slapped some sense back into you you pulled your hand away again just as quickly as you had placed it there. Toge already missed your warmth. "Shit, sorry. I don't know why I did that." You felt your cheeks heat up again as you fiddled with the zipper of your sleeping bag, trying to open it. "Let's just… go to sleep."

Toge stared at you as you opened your sleeping bag. He could just let it go. Pretend this tiny, insignificant, intimate moment never happened. He should let it go. For the sake of your friendship. Of all the things both of you had ignored before. Every lingering stare; every more or less deliberate accidental touch; every blush or compliment.

But something in the air tonight was different. The tent seemed smaller with every passing second that his eyes continued to drill holes into the back of your head. Toge couldn't take it anymore.

"Bonito Flakes." Your hands stilled.

"Caviar." The word came out rough, everything he said even more demanding than usual. By the deep breath Toge took you could already tell that he was about to reveal something big to you and you felt your heart start to race. You could hardly breathe as you waited, hoping desperately that this would go the way you wanted it to and not the way you feared the most.

"Tuna Mayo. Salmon." You could hear him huff in frustration. "Caviar." A distinct rustling of fabric had you finally remembering how to use your muscles. Slowly, you turned around to him, your eyes flickering over his face but not able to stay there, instead focusing on his hands typing away on his phone.

It didn't take him long to finish his text but he didn't turn his phone to you immediately. Instead, he just looked at you, as if asking himself once more if he should really show this to you. Once you read this text he would never be able to take it back. After a long moment you found the strength to properly look at him.

When your eyes met Toge's it was written all over his face. The uncertainty, the fear but also how much he cared for you and what you thought of him. You let out a breath, your lips forming into a small smile. In that moment you already knew what the text would say. And you were finally ready to allow both of you to admit it to each other.

"Show me." Your voice was soft as you gently motioned towards his phone with your chin. Toge swallowed but still handed you his phone. You didn't miss the slight tremble in his hand.

"I have a massive crush on you and I can no longer keep quiet about it. Please let me take you out on a date?"

You felt your cheeks heat up again, but this time you didn't turn away. Instead, you laughed lightly as you let the relief wash over you. Relief of knowing that your feelings are mutual. But also pure excitement at the prospect of going on a date with your best friend.

Toge felt like he was about to burst into flames, the few seconds it took you to answer feeling like the longest moment of his life. The uncertainty was eating away at him. There was no way you laughed at the text because you found it ridiculous and would reject him, right here, right now. Right? Right?

"I'd love that." As your eyes met his again you watched his expression change. All the tension he was holding in his tight lips and creased eyebrows washing away into big, open, hopeful eyes and lips slightly parted as he gasped quietly.

His voice was small, barely a whisper. "Salmon?" You exhaled through your nose, forcing yourself not to laugh again. You put the phone down beside you as you moved closer to him again until your knees touched. Before you could stop yourself you reached out your hand, carefully cupping his face. "Of course."

Toge leaned into your touch ever so lightly, as if he was afraid of scaring you off by being to forward. Like you were going to run off now. You let your thumb caress his cheek softly and you could see the way his shoulders dropped as he let out a shaky breath. A breath he's been holding onto since the first time your fingers brushed his as he handed you his phone to read something he wanted to tell you.

As his hand reached up to hold onto your wrist you slowly moved closer, gently pulling his head toward you as well until your forehead came to rest on his. There you stayed for a moment, just breathing each other in. A warmth bloomed in your chest and you couldn't help the giant smile forming on your lips.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this." Toge made a sound of surprise before huffing quietly. Even without words you understood him perfectly. "We're both idiots, huh?" He chuckled softly, not daring to move too much. "Salmon."

You would have been happy to stay like this forever but eventually Toge moved again. He raised his other hand to your cheek and pulled back ever so slightly, just enough to look into your eyes. You watched his eyes flicker down to your lips once before coming back up to meet your eyes. Now that he's had a taste of heaven he felt himself go greedy.

Another small smile graced your lips as you nodded. Toge's expression softened and he smiled right back at you. Slowly, he leaned in. You closed your eyes in anticipation and felt his nose brush against yours. Just as your lips were about to meet, he stopped.

You could feel his breath ghosting over your lips and it made your mind go blank as something in your stomach tightened. You hadn't known just how badly you needed him to kiss you up until this moment. The words came out soft but needy, desperate. "Toge, please…"

You felt him take another shaky breath. Then, he finally closed the gap. His lips were a lot softer than you'd expected. They moved in tandem with yours like it was the most natural thing in the world. Just like everything you two did together.

You let your thumb move over his cheek again, holding his head there as you pulled away. When you opened your eyes you saw him pouting at you slightly, his cheeks tinted red and his lips glistening, inviting you back in. A soft chuckle escaped you.

"There is nothing I'd rather do right now than kiss you until the sun rises. But I don't think I can with our teacher sleeping in the tent next to us." Toge groaned, earning him another chuckle from you. He looked at you then like your chuckle was the greatest sound he'd ever heard. Like being able to make you laugh was an honour he held with pride. The intensity of his eyes had your cheeks heat up again.

"To think that this is what I was missing out on… We have to make up for so much lost time." His eyes sparkled with mischief and a smirk formed on his lips. You slapped his arm lightly. "Don't be gross," you tried to keep your laugh quiet, not wanting to bother the others, "at least take me out to dinner first."

Toge's eyes lit up as he moved closer again, cupping both sides of your face in his hands. His voice was determined. "Salmon." A kiss to your cheek. "Salmon." His voice got quieter as he kissed your other cheek and you couldn't help the laughter bubbling in your chest. "Salmon." His voice was almost a whisper now while he kissed your forehead.

"Salmon." He said it so softly now you barely heard it as he pressed another kiss into your hair. He moved his arms from your face to wrap around your shoulders as he held you close, resting his chin on your head. "Salmon." You continued softly chuckling as he pressed you into himself, breathing him in with your face pressed to his chest.

"I didn't know you were this sappy." You mumbled into his chest, trying to tease him a little. "Tuna mayo." He sounded content, like he was finally where he wanted to be. You smiled, feeling the same. "I guess there are a lot of things I don't know about you. I can't wait to find out."

After taking another deep breath you pushed Toge back, untangling yourself from his arms, much to the dismay of both of you. "…Tomorrow." He furrowed his brows at you and you fought the urge to pinch his cheeks. "We need to sleep, remember?"

Toge sighed but didn't protest as both of you climbed into your sleeping bags. You laid facing each other, his expression soft and happy while you smiled at him. Something flickered across his face as his hand twitched on the ground between you.

You shuffled closer to him, urging him to just do it. He swallowed before raising his hand and letting it rest on your waist ever so gently. You felt it shake slightly as it came to rest on your side. The smile on your face was enough to melt away his insecurities, shattering the idea of you being disgusted by him he'd had earlier.

"Goodnight Toge." You shuffled even closer to him, until your face was almost touching his chest again and he could feel your breath fanning around his shirt collar. "Tuna." One of your hands came up to rest against him, feeling his heartbeat slowly calming down as you both drifted off to sleep.

One tent over Panda and Gojo were still awake, quietly talking about today's events and if their plans were working out the way the wanted them to. "I don't think Maki and Yuta really had a chance to do something about it today. The other two though…" Panda thought out loud as Gojo just smiled knowingly.

He had forced himself not to focus on either of your tents as everyone went to sleep. However, his six eyes being as restless as ever, he couldn't help but check up on you just now and saw you and Toge holding onto each other in your sleep.

Everyone watched in horror as the blade pierced right through your stomach, pinning you to the wall behind you like one of the posters you used to have hanging over your bed. You vaguely heard someone call out your name but the only thing you saw clearly through your blurry vision was Aki's eyes.

They were filled with so much terror it would have had your blood running cold if it wasn't already running out of your stomach. You hands reached for the sword weakly in a pathetic attempt to steady yourself, staying alive already a faint dream you could no longer recall.

You didn't want to die (who does?), but long ago you had been in a situation not unlike this one. Back then you had also been close to death as you had called out to anyone or anything that could hear. Something answered your call, proposed a deal to you which you had accepted without thinking it through, scared because you could no longer feel your limbs.

The deal was healing and getting you out of that mess in exchange for your body the next time you died. Now, as even the blue in Aki's eyes faded into black, you could feel something stir within you, something familiar, something rotten.

"It's time." The voice was as smooth as the first time you heard it, soft like silk-sheets on your deathbed, lulling you to sleep. "Let me take it from here." A sensation like someone covering your hands with their own contradicted what you knew wasn't there.

You pressed your eyes shut, shaking your head as if trying to shake the devil out of your head. "We had a deal." A single sob escaped you as you opened your eyes to find Aki's one last time. He was already on his way over to you, his own sword raised and a fire in his eyes you hated to see. "I'm sorry, Aki."

Aki watched as the colour in your eyes was replaced by a deep, sickly green and your hair was replaced by green, slimy tendrils. He stopped dead in his tracks. The eyes that were no longer your own snapped forward, towards your assailant. In one smooth motion your hands pulled the sword out of your stomach. The first bit of the blade was still stained red with your blood, but the bit that slid through your body now came away covered in green goop.

The devil turned the sword in your hands before pointing it at the assailant. In the blink of an eye, he was dead, decapitated like it was the most mundane thing to happen. Against his better judgement, Aki called out your name. The eyes that no longer bore any resemblance to you turned to look at him and he instinctively took a step back.

Those uncanny green eyes scanned over him as it moved your body closer to him. When a faint flicker of recognition passed through the green, it stopped. "Hayakawa." The voice no longer sounded like you either. "In honour of the feelings this body once held for you, I will spare you just this once." It took another step towards him. "Do not show yourself to me again."

"We can be together forever!" Before you knew it Skips started another ritual, intent on transforming you into a shadow. You weren't too worried about it - he had already admitted that his whole story about the armaments was made up, also magic wasn't real.

Skips hummed with even more intensity, clearly very focused on his task as you leaned your head to the side, a tired smile on your face. You blinked, but as you opened your eyes again it was dark. After a few more rapid blinks you called out to him. "Skips?"

"I'm right here, Penumbra." You jumped slightly as you felt his hands taking yours. "Why can't I see?" Skips chuckled softly. "Because your eyes aren't atuned to the darkness just yet. Give it a few minutes."

He rubbed soothing circles on the backs of your hands that barely put a dent in the increasing panic that was bubbling up inside you. "What?! What does that even mean? What darkness?"

You couldn't see it but Skips shook his head slightly in irritation. "I told you, Penumbra. I transformed you into a shadow - like me! Now you won't ever have to leave me again!" The pace if your breathing picked up considerably as you took a step back, although not enough to pull your hands from his.

"I-I-I… I can't be! My friends, my family… how will I ever…? No, Skips, this isn't right!" He frowned trying his best to understand your point of view and not just letting his own insecurities getting the better of him. He swallowed thickly before stepping closer to you again, raising one hand to cup your cheek.

"Hey. It's going to be alright. As long as we're together, nothing can harm us, right?" You stayed silent as you tried to get your breathing under control again. Skips took another step closer to you and you could feel the heat radiating off of his body as your free hand made contact with his side, resting there.

"It'll be you and me, together, against the rest of the world." Slowly he leaned in further until his forehead rested against yours. He took a deep breath and from the sound of his voice you could tell he was smiling. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to hold you like this."

As much as you wanted to push him off of you, tell him that isn't how it's supposed to be and this can't be real. You also couldn't deny that you had longed to be this close to him as well. Expect, you would have preferred your eyes to be working. Although by now you could already distinguish dark from darker.

"Skips, I-" You were interupted by the sudden sensation of hundreds of little legs crawling up your own. You shrieked. "Hey! Everybody off!" With that you actually felt the little bugs retreating off of you. "Sorry, that was just-" "Your silverfish. Yes, I remember."

Your tone was a little more snippish than you would have liked but this whole situation wasn't exactly making it easy to stay clear-headed. "Do I now just have to expect being crawled on at all times?"

You were sat in his chair, just idling about until Silco came back from his meeting with the other Chembarons. The undercity was a dangerous place and while Silco was also an incredibly dangerous man you'd always figured that being with one of - if not the most - dangerous man you'd be about as safe as you could be.

The only problem was, even though you really loved him for all he had done for you, Silco was still dangerous and occasionally unpredictable. You immediately noticed the red lining his good eye when he stepped into his office, accompanied by the slightest, almost imperceptible wobble in his step. He was high on… something.

As much as you resented being afraid of him like this you couldn't help your instinct to run. Only there was no place to go, he blocked the only door with his body. So instead you just looked at him for a moment as he seemed to be quietly contemplating something.

Eventually, he spoke up. "Have I ever told you how my eye got to be the way it is?" He pointed sort of clumsily at his bad eye, almost poking his finger in it. Cautiously, you replied. "Yes, you did. It was on that night. With Vander." He hummed, turning slightly to not look at you.

"Yes. But have I ever shown you where it happened? Wouldn't you like to know?" A certain unease settled deep in your stomach. "You never thought it was necessary." You knew him well enough by now to not outright disagree with him while he was high. He turned back to look into your eyes and you noticed how glassy his gaze was. It worried you even more.

"I've changed my mind. Come, we'll go there right now." He stepped to the side slightly and waved you over. You swallowed thickly but still got up and stepped around his desk toward him, unsure what was to happen next. Silco just wrapped his arm around our shoulder, somewhere between wanting to guide you while also not wanting to fall over.

As you two made your way through the busy streets of the undercity, and then the distinctly un-busy streets of the abandoned and polluted area, he kept talking to you about how much you mean to him and that he just needs to make sure that you understand him. Unfortunately, today he picked a rather odd method to get you to understand.

When you both arrived at the near radioactive lake the air made your eyes sting. Silco on the other hand was entirely unbothered, no doubt by this being to him like returning to your mother's place after you moved out. He led you a few steps into the water and you followed him, even though you could feel the water scratching at your legs.

"Do you know what it feels like to drown?" You swallowed heavily. "I've never head to." Silco hummed once more before turning to you abruptly, one hand on your throat while the other swatted your hands away. In another swift motion he pushed you backwards and under the surface.

The little gasp that you had managed to suck in quickly ran out and you began to flail your limbs toward him, trying to get him to loose his grip or give you some sort of opening. Instead, he pulled you back up, looking into your face for a few seconds, definitely not enough to take a big breath, and then once again pushing you under.

You limbs started to flail again, this time less controlled, more erratic and panicked. No amount of breathing could have prepared you for being without it for so long. Eventually, you could feel your arms getting limb, your legs soon following behind. "That's it. Now we can finally be the same."

With one final swing at him, trying to shake him off or something, you couldn't keep it out any longer. You let go of needing to not breathe in the water and instead gave way to the massive need to take a breath. It should have been your last as the world faded to black.

The all too familiar screech of a bat sounded behind you and you swished around, sword in hand and swung at the creature. You hissed in pain with every swing, your previous encounters with the creatures of these mines taking their toll on your body. The bat was thrown backwards at your second swing and you could tell it would not survive a third.

You steadied yourself and as the bat flew close again you swung your sword again, hitting it. Ending it. But with its last breaths and as it was falling to the ground, it managed to scratch at your leg, badly. Your leg gave out momentarily and you fell on your knee with a pained groan, holding yourself up by your sword.

This trip to the mines was not supposed to be this taxing on you. You only meant to get another frozen tear. It was for something you had set your mind to ever since Sam had mentioned how much Sebastian adored the fragile gem. And it's not like you weren't successful - you had already gathered it. In fact, you were currently searching for a way out of the mines.

Unlucky for you, on your way you had encountered a few slimes. Nothing unusual, and you had managed to deal with them quite well. But before you could so much as take a breath, much less eat something to gain back some strength, you were surrounded by thick fog and attacked by a swarm of bats.

You swung your sword at everything that moved and eventually managed to get out of the fog and rid yourself of those creatures but they had already taken a lot out of you. As you ate your last field snack you realized that you needed to find an exit quickly.

With another pained groan you pulled yourself up by your sword and stumbled towards some nearby crates, praying to Yoba to let you find a cave carrot in it. Luck was not on your side.

You leaned against the wall behind you and took a deep breath, scrambling around in your coat pocket. What you pulled out of it was a necklace. Its deep blue pendant contrasted nicely by the frozen tear you had attached to one side of it. You held the second frozen tear to its rightful spot on the opposite side with your other hand. A deep sigh escaped you as you pressed the necklace with its additional pendants to your chest.

Then you heard something you had never heard before. It sounded like a deep, distorted wail. You tried to locate its source, reaching for your sword while still clutching the necklace to your chest with your other hand. What appeared in front of you, seemingly seeping through the wall itself, should not have been real.

Its body was a sickly green and translucent. The face of the creature was big and its mouth contorted into a grotesque silent scream. You swung your sword at it with what remaining strength you had but it seemed to pass right through. Could this really be… a ghost?

As it drew closer and you realized you could do nothing you saw your own hand holding your sword start to tremble in fear. You clutched the necklace and frozen tears even tighter as you felt your eyes fill up with your own tears. The ghost was right in front of you now so you shut your eyes tightly, freeing some of the tears as you whispered your last words.

"I'm sorry, Sebastian."

~*~*~

The leaves sailed away on the wind unbothered as the temperature began to drop in Pelican town. Fall was drawing to an end and Sebastian took a deep breath of the cold, almost-winter, air. He smiled contently, albeit tiredly, as he stared out at the lake, not even feeling the need to light a cigarette.

Sebastian had waited for you last night, during Spirit's Eve. You weren't one to miss the towns festivities if you could help it, so he had laid awake all night, worrying about your safety. You had, in your short time since moving into the old farm, quickly become one of his closest friends, next to Sam and Abigail of course, although that was not all. You two had also been dating for about a year now.

He remembered it clear as day, how you had asked him to go out with you. It was during band practice, he was at Sam's with Abigail. The three of them practising for their first real performance. Then suddenly you stormed into the room, not even glancing at the other two as you went to stand straight in front of his keyboard. You swallowed once before holding out a bouquet of flowers towards him, followed by a "please go on a date with me sometime". It was the cutest thing he had ever seen. So much so he almost forgot to react. Almost. He had carefully taken the flowers from your hand and breathed a soft: "...You want to get more serious? I feel the same way."

Sebastian was in the middle of remembering this when a man approached him. The man was wearing an eye-patch and a cape. He startled Sebastian out of his thoughts. "Are you Robin's boy? Sebastian?" He eyed the man up and down once before responding. "Yes. Who wants to know?" The man nodded solemnly.

"I am Marlon of the Adventurer's Guild. I…" He shook his head bitterly, "The new farmer who moved here a couple of years ago - We found them in the mines this morning." Sebastian's eyes went wide and his mouth dry. Before he could ask any questions he saw that the man was pulling something from under his robe.

"I know you two were close - They spoke of you sometimes. So I'm assuming that they meant to give this to you." Marlon opened his hand to reveal the Necklace you had been clutching when the Ghost attacked you. The blue Mermaid's Pendant was a stark contrast to the oranges and reds of the season.

Instinctively, Sebastian took a step back, shaking his head in disbelief. "No. Th-They're too tough! They wouldn't just di-" He cut himself off, unable to speak the word - to face the truth.

Marlon sighed sadly. "It was a shock to me as well. They were… a most promising member of the guild." He reached his hand out further towards Sebastian, urging him to take the necklace. "They would have wanted you to have this."

With eyes still wide and mouth agape Sebastian held out his hands. Marlon nodded once more after placing the necklace with the extra pendants into his hands. "I'm very sorry." And with that he left, leaving Sebastian all alone with his own tears now falling from his eyes.

Through the blur of them he realised that it wasn't just the necklace but two frozen tears as well. He sank to his knees as the realisation hit him. You wanted to make the necklace even more special for him but ended up paying for it with you life.

About two hours later Robin found him curled up in the grass, clutching the necklace, crying and shaking. She brought him back into the house where, eventually, Sebastian was able to tell her what had happened. She cried with him as they embraced. Even Demetrius couldn't keep a tear from slipping from his eye.

You were being watched. It was as simple as that. And no, it wasn't like you were feeling some floating eye of god following you around, it were the two eyes of a regular man. In short, you had a stalker.

As crazy as it sounds, it didn't really bother you. The man kept his distance, never interacted with you directly, didn't do anything weird. Or, you know, weirder. Quite frankly, you weren't even fully convinced it was a man, you had never seen this person's face after all. You'd only caught glimpses of a figure, masculine built but long hair. In the end, you just assumed that it was a man.

It all started when you went to this quaint little antiquarian bookshop where you found a book that just drew you in. You bought it without thinking it through and only when you got home and tried to read it did you notice that it was entirely in Latin, a language you didn't speak. The only thing you were able to read was the little info at the front: From the library of Jurgen Leitner.

You didn't end up reading the book or doing anything at all with it, really. Just put it on your shelf and moved on with your life. However, the very same night you could feel someone's eyes piercing into you through your window. When you looked outside you spotted a dark figure not even trying to hide that he was clearly looking up at you.

Maybe it wasn't the most rational choice, but you just closed the curtains and put on a movie, eventually going to bed. Nothing ever came of it and in a way you started to appreciate the company. Yeah, yeah, it sounds kind of insane, but this stalker was starting to feel like the only human who was able to even acknowledge your existence.

Your coworkers planned around you as if you weren't there, your friends stopped texting back and even your family members couldn't hold a conversation with you. They always drifted off and eventually just got up and left, no goodbye, nothing. It felt like your stalker became the only person who could even see you.

Eventually, you tried to drown out your increasing feeling of loneliness by burying yourself in books. Which is how that strange old book fell back into your hands. You still didn't understand any of the Latin but this time you noticed a picture on one of the pages. It was a double page, one eye on each side. The eyes looked… sad. With a distant look in them, sort of glassy. Like the eyes of someone who was fully out of it.

With a sigh you closed the book again, the picture having stressed you out, hitting a little too close to home. In the exact same moment you heard a knock on the door. You froze until the knock came again. This time you managed to move yourself towards the door, putting the book back on the shelf as you passed by it. Then you slowly opened the door.

In front of you stood a man with long hair that was very unnaturally black. He was wearing all black with tears and chains all over his clothes. It sort of looked like he tried to go for a goth look but gave up somewhere along the way.

"The book. How much to buy it off of you?" You blinked at him slowly, considering his question. "Why don't you come in first." You stepped out of the way and watched as he entered your apartment. After you had closed the door behind him, you followed him to your bookshelf. He had already found the book he was looking for but he didn't reach for it.

"You're the guy who's been following me, aren't you?" He turned to face you, expression hard to read but definitely tired. "Yes." You hummed as you thought for a moment before speaking again. Somewhere inside you knew that the book was the cause for everyone forgetting you, you just couldn't explain how that was possible. The idea that he could take both the book and this curse off of you however seemed very promising.

"£50. That's ten more than I payed for it." You had no idea why you felt like sharing that info with him, but the man didn't seem to care. He just quietly reached for his back pocket and pulled out some money that he handed to you before finally taking the book off of the shelf.

And just like that he left again. Well, he did say goodbye but he just left you all alone again. Granted, he was a stranger and the fact that you let him into your apartment in the first place might have been a little strange as well. But still, he was the first one in a while who talked to you first.