After the incident, you were summoned to a group meeting with the staff while Ijichi told everyone the casualties and items stolen from the vault.

Damn, I knew I should've handled Mahito… I bet he ran away because he knew I could exorcise him. You felt at fault since you have the ability to wipe him out but you thought it would be okay to let someone else take over. Now many sorcerers lost their lives because of your decision.

Ijichi went on until the meeting was over.

You watched everyone leave while your mind was occupied if Gojo knew anything about your parents' death. You didn't like how eerie you felt after exorcising the cursed spirit. Their words etched in your head and it bothered you.

"What's wrong with you?" Gojo leaned over as he cocked his head in your face. "You're quieter than usual and you have a glum expression too."

Gojo sat right next to you and poked your face as you swatted it away. You didn't understand why he had to be so annoying when it came to you. He's always in your personal bubble like he purposefully couldn't read the air.

Your legs were pulled to your chest as your arms were folded on your knees. "Do you know anything about my parents' death?" You weren't too sure what kind of answer you wanted, but any can fill your question in your head. "How else were you able to find me if that wasn't the case?" It's suspicious how he found you at the hospital. Was he aware of it but didn't interfere or something else?

His left leg was bent up as his right leg was flat, leaning against the wall with you. "Just that a curse user was behind it. All sorcerers affiliated with the schools were notified after news broke out. Me being the best of the best rushed over to find you by myself, whereas others rushed to the scene and examined it." You could hear the honesty and transparency in his voice. Gojo would never lie to you. "There was evidence that a curse user caused it and that's all I know. From what I heard is that they haven't caught the person till this day. We don't know if the person is still dead or alive, but we shouldn't worry about that since you're strong enough to fight for yourself! Did I answer your question?"

The answer sounded reassuring but not. It kind of left you with more questions about the curse user.

So are the higher ups not worried that the curse user might strike again and possibly kill me? I feel like my existence should be top priority since they couldn't protect my parents. How suspicious…

You didn't want to bring in the creepy note when your head seemed a bit fuzzy from everything that happened today. You really needed to get some fresh air and relax.

Scratching your head as you yawned, you got up from your seat before giving him a last glance. "Thanks, Satoru. You didn't have to listen to my thoughts but I'm glad you did." You knew without it, it wouldn't have resolved your desire and curiosity to re-read the note again, and decide if you wanted to meet up with the mysterious sender or not. "I'm going to go home for the day. I'm drained from exorcising that cursed spirit!" You stretched your body and exited.

You breathed out tiredly, walking in the empty hall. It was about 3pm after everything calmed down. Students and staff were tended by Shoko earlier and are probably resting for the time being. Since the event was over and there's no point in extending your stay, going back home was your option. You'll visit your fellow classmates at another time when Yuji isn't here. You'd prefer not to make the atmosphere awkward and tense since you guys hadn't made up.

When you turned around the corner, you jumped back as it was none other than Yuji standing in front of you. At any place where you could exit, you had to bump into Yuji when you're about to leave campus. It baffled you how this happened, whereas Yuji was relieved to see you. He really wanted to find you after the incident, and he's glad he did before he couldn't.

Yuji's heart swelled in delight, ecstatic to see you in front of him. This time no one wasn't going to interrupt you guys since the hallway was empty and everyone was in their rooms. However, he didn't expect you to brush past him like he was invisible. You wore a deadpan expression as there was no warmth radiating from you. Yuji felt his heart sink from your coldness. It was icy and thorny like you put up a fortress to keep everyone out. He didn't want this silence to drag longer than it needed to be.

"Y/n!" Yuji turned around and grabbed your wrist, preventing you from walking away. He's desperate to make up with you. He can't stand it; he wants to go back to normal. Yuji misses it.

Stunned, you whipped around and faced him with a displeased look. You weren't sure what he wanted but you knew you didn't want to be here. "What is it?" You hissed, forcely ripping your wrist from his grip. You really hoped he got straight to the point rather than to drag it on.

Yuji's heart twitched from your aloofness but decided to suppress his hurt feelings aching in his chest. His firm orbs locked eyes with yours as he spoke, "y/n, don't run away from me! I know you're hurt but please hear me out!"

Your eyebrows shot up in confusion. "I'm hurt? No, no, no! You're hurt, not me! I'm completely fine!" Your stern voice was visible to Yuji.

"Then why have you been avoiding me?" Your words only confused him even more.

"Because you're the one who got mad at me, so I've been giving you space. I don't want to be around you if you're still mad. It's gonna put everyone in an awkward position. If that's all you have to say then I'm going," You huffed, about to turn until Yuji hastily spoke up.

"Wait, y/n! I'm sorry!"

You stopped mid-way to hear him out since it's been a week prior to the incident.

"I wanted to apologize in person than through text! I wanted you to see that I'm genuinely sorry than misinterpreting it. I've been trying to find you this whole day so I could apologize but you've been in and out of the picture, y/n."

Yuji poured his heart into his thoughtful apology, expressing how he understood your position and how he made it harder for you. You watched him ball his fists as he was beating himself up. You could tell he reflected really hard about this for the past week.

"I really thought you were really upset with me that you wanted to avoid seeing my face…" He pouted, resembling a sad dog.

Placing a hand on Yuji's shoulder, you made him pause as his eyes looked regretful. "I accept your apology, Yuji. I can tell it's been eating you up and it's sincere too." Right now you weren't in a mood to hold a conversation. You need to go home and relieve stress that's boggling in your head. "If you need anything just call me or something. I'm going to retire first—"

"Why don't we go check up on Fushiguro before you leave?!"

You didn't have time to answer because he dragged you by the hand. Your feet were trying to keep up with Yuji's as he ran in the hallway to Megumi's room. He's already back to normal, making you feel assured that the argument wasn't going to strain your relationship with him.

Once you guys made it to Megumi's room, you spotted Nobara there eating pizza.

"Oh, y/n I haven't seen you all day!" Nobara said, munching on her food as she took a short glance at you. "You want some pizzas? We got plenty."

You graciously took it since you were a bit hungry from exorcising a cursed spirit. "Sure thing, and yeah it has. I was in the monitor room then I killed an unregistered curse. I'm gonna leave soon since the event is over. But I bet it was fun on the playing field."

You made yourself comfortable on the edge of Megumi's bed. It wouldn't hurt to exchange some small talk between your classmates since you're already there. It's been awhile since you talked to them.

"Ugh," Nobara groaned. "I'm going to rematch against Mai…!" She told everyone about her fight between Mai and Momo. You all could feel her fury as it blazed up the room to be extremely hot. You had to tug at the collar of your shirt to release hot air from inside.

Next, it was Megumi's turn to talk.

"I still have some areas to improve against my fight with Noritoshi." Megumi talked about enhancing small areas in his technique as it didn't register in your ears. He was saying complex words which came into one ear and left in the other. You aimlessly nodded like you knew what he meant. For all the years you knew Megumi, he has always been an intelligent person who caught on to things more quickly than most sorcerers or people.

Then he mentioned his battle with the cursed spirit.

Your eyes scanned how he was patched up from the attack. You didn't mean to sound snarky but it slipped out. "With your shrewd brain, at least you're not dead. We wouldn't want Satoru to be crying." You commented and a tick mark appeared on Megumi's forehead.

"Is that an insult?" Megumi gritted his teeth, staring at you.

"No," You shook your head. "It's just an observation from the last few years. You've grown much smarter. I mean, you've always been smart to begin with but you know what I'm saying. Most sorcerers wouldn't know how to handle a situation as well as you did. So take it as a compliment."

While you were bringing up your past with Megumi, Nobara turned and whispered to Yuji. "Do they know each other? Or am I missing something here?" She could tell that your bond with Megumi was deeper than any others in the room.

"I don't know," Yuji couldn't remember if you ever told him about knowing Megumi on a personal level.

Nobara interrupted your conversation to ask a dire question. "How do you guys know each other?"

"Satoru,"

"Gojo,"

You briefly explained your relationship with Megumi. "We met as kids because of Satoru and were forced to befriend each other. There's nothing much to it but that."

Then Nobara changed the topic, "Itadori, so you're best friends with the gorilla dude?"

"Ahh, I don't even know how that started to be honest. It just happened." Yuji scratched his head, trying hard to figure out how his friendship with Todo happened. They just clicked and became besties.

Speaking of the devil, another voice popped into the conversation, freaking everyone out as you all stared at the windowsill where the special guest star appeared, Todo.

Feeling a bit worried, you positioned yourself behind Yuji since they're best friends. He will be your shield if Todo does something unspeakable towards you. You'd prefer not to remember your encounter with Todo. It was so bizarre and awkward.

"y/n are you okay?" Yuji whispered, keeping the conversation between you and him.

Your hands gripped tightly at the back of his hoodie, scrunching the material in the palms of your anxious hands. "Mmm not really. Your best friend is kind of… Whatcha call it—weird, creepy, around those lines you know? It wasn't the best first impression when I met him…" You meekly spoke, hiding yourself behind his frame in hopes Todo wouldn't spot you.

On the other hand, Yuji didn't know you two met but if you were that uncomfortable he would cover you. It's very unlike you to feel that type of emotion. Whatever goes down, he will protect you and make sure Todo doesn't come near you.

"Wow, my brother has wonderful friends," Todo tearfully said, feeling his heart touched by the power of friendship guiding his brother in the right direction. Then his eyes shifted to the person behind Yuji and narrowed his hawk eyes, trying to see who it was behind his beloved brother.

Feeling his eyes piercing through Yuji's body, you lowered your head farther down his back and tried pulling your body closer to each other so you weren't seen. However, luck wasn't in your favor as Todo caught a glimpse of your hair and immediately recognized you. It's like a lightbulb moment happened and he shouted your name. "Y/N!"

Instinctively, you shrunk your body even more smaller than before, holding onto Yuji for your dear life. You were shaking quite a bit, and Yuji could feel your fear pulling at his hoodie. Now he really wondered what Todo did to make you coil like this.

Your heart and soul were trembling in anxiousness. You weren't sure what Todo was going to say or do to you but you didn't want to know. "Nobara, can you kill me? I don't want to know what's going to happen next…!" You harshly murmured, squeezing your eyes shut.

Your reaction threw Yuji into a frenzy as he locked eyes with Nobara.

"What happened to y/n?"

Nobara told Yuji about your encounter with Todo and how he fell on his knees and knew you were his ideal type.

Yuji's eyes widened, feeling a bit shocked but not. He hasn't known Todo for long but if he's willing to befriend someone with the same ideal type, he would do something crazy for a girl who is tall with a big butt.

I can't believe y/n is trembling this much. I won't let Todo get near her. Yuji said to himself, patting your arm to reassure you that everything was going to be okay now that he's here.

Todo grinned upon seeing you in the room, hiding behind his brother. "You look beau—" Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence as he realized something. He wanted to hit himself for not noticing it any sooner.

She must be the woman brother was talking about—his girlfriend problem! I didn't know it was her! If I knew it was, I wouldn't have cried before her. It's a good thing he found the woman of his dream!

Todo's personality turned 360, straightening himself up to compose himself. He wanted his brother to have some alone time so you both can make up. "Brother, I'm glad you found her. Go amend your relationship with your girlfriend, okay? We'll leave you guys alone!"

"Girlfriend?" Nobara and Megumi said in unison, glancing in your direction when you lifted your head up and opened your eyes to peek at Todo.

"Huh?" You were dumbfounded. You knew Yuji had some explaining to do.

Todo winked and being the best man he was, he quickly took Nobara and Megumi out of the room. "Good luck!" Then the three of them disappeared with the other two yelling at the back.

Scooting away from Yuji, you kept your eyes at the window, wondering what just happened. "He… He just took Megumi out of his own room… What in the world? And am I the 'girlfriend' he was referring to? What's going on?" You glanced at Yuji, asking for answers from your distraught look on your face.

Yuji exhaled sharply, giving you a nervous look and apologizing again. "Well… I told him my issues about how we weren't talking, and I guess he might have misunderstood our relationship. I clearly told him that it was my 'friend' but he got it messed up."

"At least he won't be on my ass," you murmured in relief.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! You're forgiven. Don't worry too much, but if Todo is going to be near you, I'll be at the other side of the room." You light heartedly joke, trying to change the mood in the room so you guys weren't focused on Todo anymore.

Yuji chuckled, shaking his head at your statement. "No, no! I'll protect you, y/n! I'll make sure you're safe with me." His brown eyes twinkled in earnesty while his smile tied everything together.

Your breath hitched as your heart skipped a beat. In your ears, Yuji sounded like a knight pledging his oath to his princess, and that princess was you. It made you a bit embarrassed, feeling your body temperature rise because he didn't need to say that, but Yuji has always been a sweetheart. You're also glad that everything went back to normal.

"Haha, stop it you!" You hit his arm lightly, feeling like he's teasing you. "I don't need your protection because I can protect myself. Other than that, how's it going?"

You two were catching up, enjoying each other's company. Yuji felt assured when you told him that you were busy taking care of your plant and trying to find hobbies to pass time. Additionally, Yuji opened up about Junpei's death and accepted it since he didn't have the power to save him, but stated that he will save other future victims.

"Remember, we're not superheroes; we're sorcerers. We try our best to minimize damage and deaths but sometimes it's out of our reach. Don't dig yourself a grave just yet," You hit him again and hope he won't cry about this sensitive topic. You noticed how emotional Yuji gets when it comes to sorcery duties. It's a subject where you do have to walk on eggshells so he can understand the structure of the jujutsu society.

"I know, I know! But you know,"

"I know what?"

Yuji's next few words threw your whole existence into a frenzy. "It's only been a week since I last saw you, but has your appearance changed? It looks like your skin is glowing, your eyes look softer, and your lips are pinker than usual. You look different, y/n! Maybe it's because I miss talking and seeing you."

You froze in your spot, eyes widened from his compliment, whereas Yuji immediately realized what he had said. He couldn't take it back since he wasn't thinking about it, but he wasn't wrong either. You did look different in his eyes, and he couldn't put a finger on it. You looked prettier than before, like spring had come to enhance your beauty.

Shoot, I let my thoughts slip out of my mind! Yuji cursed himself. Now he felt like he messed up for sounding like a weirdo even though he's not one.

Was he trying to call me pretty? Or he just sucks at complimenting girls? You said to yourself, trying hard not to think too much while your heart was hitting against your rib cage like crazy.

You just broke into a smile, trying to figure out what to say. You were very flattered as you didn't care much about your outer appearance than most girls. "Thanks Yuji. You grew more muscles than the last time I saw you," What you said was true because before he looked more on the leaner side, but now he's more muscular and toner. You knew that because you pressed yourself against his back to feel everything. Gojo must've beaten him hard to the point where Yuji trained endlessly to make up for his losing points.

"I-I think it's time for us to get out of Megumi's room...!"

"Yeah, we don't want him to get mad at us when we're the ones who kicked him out unintentionally…"