I really didn't know if I would come back with a second chapter, but here it is. I have some cool ideas for a third one if you want, I really want to put all these characters together in one place.
[JUJUTSU KAISEN belongs to Gege Akutami]
[English isn't my first language so please, be kind]
CHAPTER TWO
Stray Dog
- Here are some blankets, and I can get another pillow if you want.
- It's okay - said the boy, his name was Megumi Fushiguro and apparently he and Yuji had become friends this year after I managed to get Yuji transferred to a better school. I still owed Satoru a favor for that letter of recommendation.
It was scary how rich people got everything they wanted.
- Your name is familiar to me - I tried to think about where I knew him from, but I was so tired that my mind couldn't work properly. Not to mention that the simple fact that I was stepping into the upstairs room gave me chills. I still remembered how big and cheerful the house was when the family was bigger, but now that it was just the two of us I could barely bring myself to come here.
- I am back! - My concentration was interrupted by Yuji, who returned with a sleeping bag and a tray full of mooncakes.
- Are you going to sleep here too?
I pulled Yuji out of the room after he handed the tray to the new kid.
- Yes, I can't leave Fushiguro alone, that would be rude.
- It would really be rude if he saw your messy room full of posters of women...
- You say I need to be a good kid, to help my friends, always look four times before crossing the street…
- Yes, four times! I didn't do that today and you know what happened?
Yuji sighed, I've never seen him so frustrated and it hasn't happened since I didn't let him adopt a dog.
- Remember the stray dog four years ago?
- Oh my God - it was my turn to sigh. I felt the sandwich I had swallowed slowly returning to my throat. I was raising a teenager, I would never dare to have children.
- The street dog - Yuji continued - I couldn't keep him because he was young and irresponsible, your words, but you helped me anyway, we took him to the vet and he found a family to take care of him. It's the same situation, let's stay with Fushiguro for a while.
He made few analogies, but when he did they worked well.
- Okay - I gave in, but I felt like I always gave in - tomorrow is Friday, you're going to school, but when you get back I want Fushiguro's parents' phone number, he can't run away from home like that. Understood?
Yuji smiled, he hugged me in thanks. I patted his head, he was a good kid who just wanted to help his friend.
- And you, are you really okay sleeping here? - I asked, but because of my own insecurities.
- Yeah - he looked at the ceiling and the walls - I was too young to remember anything, remember? And you ended up renovating the place.
- I guess - I continued looking at the place, there was a small room with an old TV now where Eso's room used to sleep.
Yuji was really stronger than me.
- This is really delicious - Fushiguro said, for a moment I had forgotten he was there.
His cheeks were busy chewing as he admired the bunny shaped mooncakes, but his eyes were teary, he was just a child after all.
- There's more in the kitchen - I said
- My brother is a great cook - Yuji said while setting up the sleeping bag on the floor - you'll see.
I was tired and anxious about having to deal with the kid's parents, but I also couldn't let him go to sleep feeling bad, so I grabbed some old board games that I had stored in the closet. I used to play this when Yuji was still a baby and he almost ate some pieces once.
- You guys suck in RPG.
- Nobody plays that anymore - Yuji tried to defend himself for having such a bad score - young people use cell phones nowadays.
It was a quick game, I tried to develop an easy-to-solve story and it was fun to see Yuji playing a swordsman while Fushiguro was a wizard who conjured talking animals.
There were no more tears in Fushiguro's eyes when they went to sleep.
I set the alarm clock to go off an hour earlier the next day.
- Crap - was my first word that morning. I hated the fact that I had to get up every day, but what could I do?
I didn't know what Fushiguro liked to eat, but he hadn't eaten anything other than the mooncakes last night so I figured he'd get up hungry.
I decided to make a rice miso soup with vegetables, I also took some of the salmon that I had left marinating in the fridge and fried them quickly, added some crunchy lettuce in a bow and it was ready.
The boys showed up when the smell of the food started to waft through the house, of course. Fushiguro's hair was spiky and I wondered if he was like that naturally, his eyes were a little puffy, but his appearance remained serious and tidy. Yuji sat at the table with a big smile on his face.
- You never do that so early in the morning.
- Don't embarrass me in front of visitors - I replied.
I didn't want Fushiguro to think I tried so hard just to impress him, I just didn't want to embarrass ourselves in front of other people. That's why my anxiety didn't let me sleep properly the night before.
- Here - I placed two lunch boxes on the table when they finished eating - I don't know how your mother makes your food, Fushiguro, but I hope you like it.
- I don't have a mother - he replied and I automatically wanted to throw myself off a cliff. - thank you, Mr. Choso.
- He always puts cute things in the lunch box - I heard Yuji say when they left for school - cute animals, stars, he has an obsession with Pucca...
Damn, I did put Pucca's face on the rice, but only because I had perfect molds for it.
I looked at the clock, I was going to be late if I didn't leave soon and I hadn't even showered yet.
I arrived at the office a second short of being officially late, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't a good thing either.
Nanami was already there, of course, he was never late, usually he came to work after walking with his wife to the bakery she worked at.
- Did the mooncakes work? - Nanami asked as soon as I arrived - Chihiro commented that you didn't send any photos.
Chihiro was Nanami's wife and we met at a company event, she discovered that I liked cooking and that I had a younger brother, so we exchanged recipes sometimes.
- They were a success - I replied - I ended up forgetting to send the photos to Chihiro, but something happened last night, Yuji took a boy home.
- Wow, he's already at that stage then.
- What? No, he's still a baby, he took a friend who ran away from home so now I have two children that I need to feed.
- Have you called the boy's parents yet? - Nanami asked, he seemed seriously interested this time, as it was a real story.
- I let him stay at home that night, I didn't want to scare him, and Yuji insisted a lot... - I quickly pressed the buttons on the computer, why was everything in the corporate world so slow?
Nanami began to advise me about how I should call the boy's parents soon, as they might be worried about his whereabouts. I noticed that Suguro's things were on his desk, but I hadn't seen him that morning and he hadn't brought coffee either.
When Suguro finally appeared he looked like a mess, his hair, always tied up and combed, was loose and disheveled, there were dark circles under his eyes and he seemed worried about something.
He looked at his cell phone nonstop and his feet couldn't stay still.
I watched as Nanami quickly wrote the words "don't ask him anything" on a piece of paper and showed it to me before continuing to talk to me. Had he already said something and Suguro didn't react well?
- Anyway - Nanami cleared his throat - call the boy's parents as soon as you get home, it must have just been a family argument. After all, what's his name?
- Megumi Fushiguro – I noticed out of the corner of my eye how Suguru reacted to that name - Yuji met him at school.
- Did you say Fushiguro?
We both looked at Suguro, his eyes were wide open.
- He's my stepson, we were looking for him all night.
