I woke up with tears in my eyes. I sat up, wiped them away, then looked around me. I was in the same room from last night.

'So, this is real.' I thought. There was a knock at my door, and I got out of bed to open it.

"Goood Morning Hayashi! Did you sleep well?" Gojo was on the other side of the door. I nodded my head and he smiled.

"That's good. I brought you a change of clothes until your uniform comes in. Hurry up and get changed. We're going to meet your classmates." I nodded my head, took the clothes, and closed the door.

'New classmates? How many times am I going to have to go through this?' I thought. Every time I would introduce myself to a new class, I would just write my name on the chalkboard, bow, then take my seat. I guess the teachers would let the other students know about my condition, because they would start whispering about it while I walked to my seat. I always felt so isolated, no matter where I went.

I got changed, and took a look at myself in the mirror. Gojo gave me a light blue tracksuit, and a plain white t-shirt. I took a deep breath, and walked out of my room. Gojo was still waiting outside for me, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Are you ready?" He asked, and I nodded my head. We started walking down the hallway, and he pointed out the window to our left.

"Out there, you can see the other first years, and some of the second years." I looked out the window to see students that looked like they were sparring.

'Is that a panda?' I thought as I looked at the panda standing on the track, doing what looked like cheering for the sparring match. I shook my head, and assured myself that I was imagining things.

"Hey everyone. Time to meet the new student. Meet Fukoru Hayashi!" Gojo gestured to me as we walked outside. I bowed to them, then looked up.

'It really is a panda.' I thought.

"Hey there Fukoru. My name is Panda. Nice to meet you." The panda said as he waved at me.

'And it's a talking panda? Can anyone be able to speak nowadays?' I hung my head in shame.

"What's wrong with him?" I heard one of the girls say. I looked up to see the one that said it was a girl with green hair tied up in a ponytail, and wore glasses. She was holding a long, wooden stick that looked like a practice sword, behind her neck with it resting on her shoulder. Standing behind her was a girl with short, ginger hair, and a boy with white hair whose uniform covered the bottom half of his face. Over to the side was a guy with messy, black hair, and a girl with short, green hair with a strand of hair in the shape of a heart on the top of her head.

"Well, are you just gonna stand there, or are you going to say something?" She asked, to which I just stared at the ground.

"Oh, about that. I forgot to mention that Fukoru here can't speak. He's physically unable to." Gojo explained.

"What? You could've said that sooner. Now I look like an asshole." She snapped at him, and she looked like she was ready to hit Gojo over the head.

"My bad." Gojo said, raising his hands. The girl just sighed.

"Anyway. My name is Maki. Over there is Inumaki. He also can't talk due to his cursed technique, so he only talks in rice ball ingredients." She pointed to the white-haired boy, who waved at me.

"Bonito flakes." Inumaki said, and I just waved back.

"Over here is Nobara, and the two loners over there are Megumi, and Usagi." Everyone waved at me. No one looked like they were looking down on me or laughing at me.

'There people don't seem so bad.' I thought.

"Now to see what you're made of. Usagi! You're up." Maki threw the practice sword she was carrying at me. The Usagi girl jumped up punching the air.

"Do you finally see my worth, Maki?" She asked with enthusiasm.

"No. You've only been here for two weeks. You're basically as inexperienced as him. Now get over here." Maki threw another sword over at Usagi, who caught it, and promptly ran over to us.

"Alright newbie! I gotta kick your ass to prove myself to Maki, so don't think I'm going to go easy on you." She shouted as she pointed the sword at me.

'Never mind. They're all just crazy.'

Without a second thought, Usagi rushed after me, and started her swing down over her head. I went to block it in my panic, but she changed the direction of the attack, and she hit me on my side. Then, when I was focused on the pain, she spun around, and kicked me in the chest, knocking me to the ground. Then, she placed her foot on my chest while I was on the ground, and cheered.

"Well, what do you think of that Maki? Impressed?"

"I think our newbie needs more work than I thought. That was pathetic." Maki sighed.

"Well, I'll let you kids have fun. I gotta go." Gojo waved goodbye to us, and I reached out my hand towards him.

'Wait! Don't leave me with them.' I thought, but it was hopeless. He didn't notice my struggle, and walked back into the building. I sighed, then tugged on Usagi's pant leg.

"Hm? What is it, newbie?" She asked me, and I pointed at her foot.

"Oh, my bad. Guess I went a little overboard there. Let me help you up." She removed her foot from my chest, and helped me to my feet. I clutched my stomach that was still in pain.

"So Fukoru. Wanna let us know you're Cursed Technique? Usagi over there won't tell us hers." Maki said while walking over to us.

"You have to wait for the grand reveal. Can't go spoiling anything now." Usagi stated proudly. I just nodded, and pulled out the steel out of my jacket pocket. I held it out in front of me, closed my eyes, and focused my cursed energy into it. I then opened my eyes as the dagger appeared in my hands.

"Woah! That's so cool!" Usagi shouted, and I swear I saw stars in her eyes.

"So, you can summon weapons? Anything other than a dagger?" Maki asked, and I shook my head.

"Well maybe you can with practice. It would be nice on missions. Panda can only carry so much. Since your technique is summoning weapons, you're going to need to know how to use them. That's definitely something I can help you with. Prepare yourself, because we're far from done today." Maki said while cracking her knuckles.

'This is my life now.' I thought as Maki swept my feet out from underneath me.

A few hours later, I dragged myself through the hallways on my way back to my room, using the wall as a crutch to keep myself on my feet. I was covered in bruises, and my body ached in places I had never ached in before.

"You look awful. Maki must have been brutal today." Gojo was waiting for me outside my room. All I could manage was a weak wave.

"Well, I got a present that should cheer you up." Gojo pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and held it out for me to take.

"I noticed you didn't have one when we confiscated your belongings, so I brought it upon myself to get one for you." I just looked at it in his hands, then pointed to myself.

"Yep. It's all yours, kid." He placed it in my hands, and I just stared at it, not really sure what to do with it. It had been two years since anyone had given me anything.

"Have you ever had a cell phone before?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"Oh, look at that. I gave you your first ever phone. Aren't I just the best?" Gojo patted himself on the back. I pressed a button on the side, and the screen lit up. On the screen was a picture of Gojo with a kid my age with pink hair, Megumi, and Nobara. I showed him the screen and pointed at it.

"Oh that? I thought you might like a picture of your awe-inspiring teacher as your lock screen, along with your fellow first years. We should take a group photo with you and Usagi at the exchange event." I looked at the picture some more, and then pointed to the kid with pink hair.

"Him? That was Yuji Itadori. He was another first year, but passed away a couple weeks ago on a mission." Gojo explained.

'He died? What am I getting myself into?' I thought. I guess Gojo saw the panic in my eyes, because he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. I won't let anything like that happen to another student." Gojo gave me a thumbs up. I knew he meant well, but I wasn't exactly calmed down.

"You go get some rest now. You've got class in the morning. Don't be late." Gojo patted my shoulder, and started walking away, but stopped himself, and turned around.

"Oh, and one more thing. Make sure to get everyone's number. I'm sure texting them will be much easier than carrying around a pen and paper everywhere." Gojo turned back around, and waved as he walked off. I then dragged myself into my room, and threw myself on the bed. It felt even softer than the day before on account of how much pain I was in. I pulled my new phone to my face.

'I wonder if I can contact Yanagi with this. Wait, would I have to get his number? How am I supposed to do that?' I thought, and buried my face into my pillow. It wasn't much longer that I felt myself drift to sleep.

I knocked on the front door of Yanagi's house. I went alone, because Yanagi was late at track practice, and he insisted that I go over that day. Yanagi's mom opened the door and greeted me with a smile. She had long, blonde hair, had a blue button-down shirt, and a black, high waisted dress skirt on. She looked like she had just gotten home from work.

"It's so good to see you Fukoru. Come on it." She stepped to the side, and gestured inside.

'Thank you.' I signed, and walked in. After Yanagi told his mother that I couldn't speak, she insisted that everyone learned sign language so I could talk to them, and not feel excluded.

"Fukoru!" Yanagi's younger sister, Hinami, came running around the corner and hugged me. I patted her on the head, and she looked up at me smiling.

"Are you here to play today?" She asked me, and I nodded my head.

"You two go on ahead. I'm going to change and get started on dinner. I'll let you know when it's ready." Yanagi's mother told us.

"Yay!" Hinami cheered, then dragged me away to her room.

Half an hour later, Yanagi opened the door to his sister's room to see us having a tea party, and that there was a tiara on my head. One look at me was enough for him to burst into laughter.

"What a pretty princess you have today, Hinami."

"isn't she? She might be the prettiest one I've had." Hinami said with such excitement that I couldn't help but smile. Yanagi took a break from laughing to notice that I didn't have my mask on.

"You're not wearing your mask."

'Hinami said I couldn't drink tea with it on, so she made me take it off.'

"I see." Yanagi sat down next to me. I could tell that he was looking at the 'X' on my lips. I blushed from embarrassment, and looked away.

'You don't have to stare, you know.'

"I'm sorry. Just curious is all. I know I see it at lunch, but you do your best to hide it still." He said as he raised his hand toward my face. I started panicking inside, and I didn't know what to do, or why I was panicking in the first place.

"You can't touch royalty, Yanagi!" Hinami shouted as she jumped between us. I took a deep breath after being saved, then looked back at Yanagi. We looked each other in the eyes, then both of our faces turned bright red, and we quickly looked away.

"Oh. Mom wanted me to let you two know that dinner was ready." Yanagi told us

"Yay! Come on Princess Hayashi."

'Okay.' I signed, then let Hinami drag me to the dining room. Yanagi stayed behind for a minute, covering his face

Their mother was setting down the plates as we walked in. She noticed the tiara on my head and giggled.

"I didn't know we were dining with royalty tonight. It's a good thing I pulled out the nice plates." She said, and I smiled.

'Thank you for the meal.'

"you're very welcome, Fukoru. Now where's Yanagi?"

I'm right here." Yanagi walked up to the table, but his mother held her hand out.

"You can't wear a tracksuit when you're dining with royalty. Now hurry and get changed into something a little more appropriate." She told him. Yanagi smiled, and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yes ma'am. I'll be right back." Yanagi then took off towards his room.

'Everyone is so nice to me.' I thought.

After dinner, we all continued to sit at the dining table, while Hinami went to bed. I listened to them talk about school, and his mother's day at work. I looked over at the dresser in the living room to see their father's dagger on its stand. I always seemed to be drawn to it whenever I came over.

"Fukoru, are you okay?" Their mother asked me. I looked over to see a smile on her face.

"You do always seem to find yourself staring at the dagger, don't you?" I nodded my head. I didn't know much about their father. All I knew was that he was a jujutsu sorcerer, and that he died shortly after Hinami was born.

"How has your training with cursed energy gone boys?" She asked us.

"Fukoru's is going great! You should see how fast he is." Yanagi jumped out of his seat. He seemed really excited to talk about my technique with her.

"Is that so?" She looked over at me, and just stared for a moment, as if she was lost in thought.

"Well, it couldn't hurt to try." She finally said, then got up from her chair. She walked over to the dresser, and opened the top drawer. She reached her hand in, and pulled out a piece of metal shaped like a cylinder. She then walked over to me, and with a smile, handed it to me.

"I want you to close your eyes, and focus your cursed energy into this." She explained. I nodded my head, and did as she said. I tried to clear my mind, and focus only on the piece of metal, but no matter how hard I tried, nothing happened. I started to get frustrated, and she could tell.

"Fukoru, relax. It won't work if you get too stressed out. Just take a deep breath, and try again." She told me, and Yanagi placed his hands on my shoulders.

"It's okay. You got this. I believe in you." Yanagi cheered me on. I smiled, then took a deep breath. It felt nice having them believe in me. Their belief in me helped push me just a bit further. I closed my eyes again, and focused all of the cursed energy I could muster onto the piece of metal, and a few seconds later, I heard gasps come from them. I opened my eyes to see the dagger had replaced the steel in my hands. I was so relieved that I did it. I couldn't help but smile.

"You did it Fukoru! That was amazing!" Yanagi cheered. His mother then patted me on my head.

"Good job Fukoru. I'm really proud of you. As a reward, it's yours. Just be sure to only use it in emergencies." She told me. I had never felt happier in my life. No one had ever told me they were proud of me before. A few seconds later, the dagger disappeared, and the steel reappeared in my hand.

"Hm. Seems you can't maintain it for very long just yet. Don't worry, with time and practice, I'm sure you'll be able to maintain control, and who knows, maybe you'll be able to summon other things. Think you can do that?" She asked.

'I do.' I was determined to get better. I wanted her to tell me how proud she was of me again.

"Good. Now it's getting awfully late, but I'd hate to send you home. Why don't you spend the night here, Fokoru? You can stay in Yanagi's room." Both Yanagi and I eyes lit up. I had never stayed over at a friend's house before.

"Can he?"

'Can I?' We asked in unison, and she just laughed.

"Of course, and you two can walk to school together in the morning. Now go ahead and get ready for bed." We nodded, and ran off to his room to get ready. Yanagi pulled out an extra futon, and placed it next to his.

"I hope this is okay for you."

'Yeah. I'm used to the worn-out futon the school gave me. This one is much better.'

We both hopped in our futons. I laid there thinking about the day I had. Every time I came here, I was treated so nicely by everyone.

'This must be what it feels like to have a family.' I thought. Then I started thinking about how the next day, I would be alone again. It made me feel so empty, so lonely inside. Tears started falling down my face. I tried to quietly sob to myself, but Yanagi heard me.

"Fukoru, are you okay?" He asked me. I wiped my tears away. and looked over at him. Our faces were right next to each other, and our eyes met.

"Why are you crying?" He asked me. I should've known better than to hide anything from Yanagi.

'I just felt lonely is all.' I signed. Before I knew it, Yanagi embraced me. He placed his hand on the back of my head, and my face was buried in my chest.

"You don't need to feel lonely anymore. I'm right here. I will always be by your side. Whenever you need me, I'm here." He reassured me. I held onto him tightly, and started crying again. Yanagi was the most important thing in my life, but I couldn't handle the next time he told me those words. We stayed like that as I cried myself to sleep in his arms.