Being so out of it that she couldn't fucking move was getting old really, really fast. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to do!
Instead, she just… didn't do anything. She was hugging Yaga, technically, but other than that she was just a silent, mostly immobile observer. Her hearing kept going too, meaning she had to watch and try to understand with just her vision. As expected, it didn't go well.
She wanted to move!
Yaga and Satoru finished planning in a few minutes, whatever it was. Officer Nin seemed to have vacated the dining room area, giving them some privacy instead. It was a kind gesture, she knew he had to be unhappy about possibly losing access to them soon. She didn't think Yaga would block the officer out entirely, but visits would certainly be supervised now.
Yaga led the way into the kitchen, where Officer Nin and the Obas were speaking in low voices. Oba-chan looked concerned, Oba-san a little irritable, Nin slightly urgent. Yaga bowed politely when he entered, showing his respect towards the Obas. He extended no such courtesy towards Officer Nin.
Burn.
"Good to see you again, Oba-san, Oba-chan," Yaga greeted the two women politely, "thank you for looking after Midori-chan and Satoru-kun for me."
They nodded, but looked uncertain. Oba-san looked even more irritable as the two men sized each other up like they hadn't just traveled together, presumably in the same car. Satoru didn't intervene or incite, too busy staring at Yaga like he was holding a whole wedding cake out to him. Chocolate wedding cake.
She wanted to move. Every time she pushed, trying to throw off the haze, all she did was claw at nothing like a fly in a web. She'd have to wait this out, using whatever scant control over her body that she did have.
"I assume that they're going to be moving out shortly?' Oba-chan asked after a long pause, Oba-san's hand on her shoulder reassuringly. The cranky lady looked so loving right now, offering her beloved a little comfort. Seems she wasn't constantly grumpy. Just consistently.
Yaga nodded without hesitation. "Today, if I can manage." Despite the less confident word choice, there was no doubt in his tone. Today.
While they talked shit out, her mind turned introspective. How the hell did she pull herself out of this? Yaga was right fucking there, and she couldn't even hug him properly!
Even her sense of rage was distant. She wished it wasn't, that the emotions could fuel her, but it was just… dull.
She'd been so dull, for more than a day now.
She had to shove this off somehow. By now, she was sick of it, as much as she could be in her state.
The adults were still talking, but Satoru grabbed her hand, cupping it between his own for a few seconds. She appreciated the warmth. It made the pins and needle sensation less all-consuming. He was tense though, for some reason.
Yaga noticed too and offered her to Satoru. Within seconds, she was firmly in Satoru's embrace. His posture relaxed almost immediately.
Looks like there might be a bit of separation anxiety in Satoru too. Being the sole protector for a very vulnerable kid probably had his protective instincts going haywire. Even if he trusted Yaga, having her be held by someone else might end up being stressful for him. In other words, hands off his little sister. And that meant everyone.
Satoru was clearly taking the backseat here, taking a seat as they debated whatever and hugging her closely, protective. The fact that she was basically completely immobilized at the moment probably just made things worse. If it were just the Obas, it'd be fine, but having Yaga and the Officer there probably pinged some instinct in the back of his head, given the tension between them. He couldn't destroy either threat, so instead he wanted to keep her close.
It was all conjecture of course. But, given how stressed he'd been recently, due to her, it wasn't impossible that he was doing whatever eased that feeling. If withdrawing helped him feel less threatened, and helped keep her safely with him, why not?
It all amounted to the same anyway, Satoru sat down and hugged her tightly against him.
Now, she could focus on trying to move.
Her limbs still refused to cooperate, their little movements now ceasing now that the urge to hug Yaga wasn't quite as soul-deep.
Her cursed energy was strange at the moment, all pulled taut over her skin, making everything feel too tight like a balloon about to burst. Satoru rubbed her arms a little, relieving the feeling of being too big for her own skin for a few moments.
She wished that she didn't feel so fucking miserable when she finally got to see Yaga again. What the fuck was her cursed energy freaking out about?
"How can I help?" Satoru whispered, lowering his voice enough to ensure the others wouldn't hear. "What's scaring you right now?"
Nothing! That's the whole problem. It wasn't even just suppressed, it was literally her cursed energy freaking out.
And hiding.
And…
Gone. Her cursed energy fled right back into the seal, the coward. Every damn bit of it, yet again.
And, she could move again.
Fuck.
Holy fuck.
No.
Her head snapped over to Satoru, who jumped at the sudden movement. He looked delighted for an instant, a fragile smile appearing on his face, before he went still.
He realized the same thing she just did.
Rather than say a word, Satoru wrapped her up in a crushingly tight hug, making her next breath come out in a wheeze.
"It's okay, it hasn't done anything yet. I told you, it doesn't want to hurt you." He reassured her urgently. She was definitely still panicking, even though the hazy feeling hadn't faded away with the paralysis. It didn't stop her from curling in on herself, trying to tangle her fingers in her hair. Satoru stopped them, collecting both of her hands in his one. Good idea, because she didn't want to rip any hair out while freaking out like this.
Then Yaga was there, and hugging her and she just-
Cried.
She'd never pretend to be anything but a crybaby. She was four for god's sake. Physically. Mentally unwell too.
He didn't shush her, or anything, just hugged her tight and let her sob into his shoulder.
God, she missed him so much.
She could almost feel Satoru hovering a hair's breadth away, clearly ready to jump in if Yaga's presence made anything worse.
"There she is." Yaga nearly crooned, an odd and unbearably gentle sound from such a large and intimidating man, "I'm so happy you're back with us."
Without her cursed energy to affect her, she wasn't anymore cold than she had been earlier, despite the way she shook anyway. Damn her childish control over her emotions.
Eventually, her tears subsided as they always did, and she turned her position where she had been draped over his shoulder into an actual, proper, hug.
God did it feel wonderful.
God, she missed Yaga so much.
Officer Nin's expression was much softer when Yaga finally turned to face him, but there was a tightness there, lurking around his eyes. He didn't want to let them go with Yaga.
"Can we take Mr. Officer with us today? He's really worried." She finally asked, keeping her voice a whisper as she let her cheek rest on the damp patch on his shoulder.
Yaga said nothing for a long moment, before sighing. Victory. She didn't particularly want to spend more time with the officer, but if it would make their spat end in time for her to go home and have a mental breakdown about how it was the absence of her cursed energy that removed the paralysis.
Like it had stopped her from gaining control over her own body.
It… didn't make a whole lot of sense to her yet. If it had control, why didn't it do anything? Why'd it just sit there? Didn't it want to do things?
She thought back for a moment. She'd hugged Yaga, a bit at least. Whether it was under her own will or her cursed energy's was up for debate apparently. She had slept, under the attentive eyes of Satoru. Honestly, she didn't leave his sight the whole time. Was it waiting until it was unwatched or something?
First step. Don't panic. Satoru would absolutely be able to beat her, controlled by sentient cursed energy or not. She couldn't turn a potential into a conclusion. It would just turn things into a full-blown self-fulfilling prophecy if she didn't believe that she could stay in or regain control if needed. Before this, she didn't know what was happening. Now that she knew, she could act upon the information.
Also, Yaga was hugging her, which was at least a plus 4 to her current mood. So, she just didn't want to panic.
They'd figure it out.
Next step, go home. Being surrounded by jujutsu sorcerers was perfect. She couldn't sneak out and do anything bad while she wasn't in control if she was outnumbered like ten to one.
Third step, work with Satoru to figure out what the fuck was going on.
Easy. Completely doable.
She honestly had to focus on step one, because Yaga was a fantastic plan buddy and already was making progress on that.
Trying not to panic was kinda hard though.
Had her cursed energy been the one in control every damn time she'd been disassociated? Seriously? Sure, she'd never disassociated before in the past, but… she'd mistaken being possessed for disassociating?
Maybe it was a bit of both?
Rather than dwell on it more, her clinging to Yaga became just a touch more desperate. Everything was fine. Yaga was here.
So, everything had to be fine.
Rather than doubt it, she just thumped her head on Yaga's chest, a headbutt that lacked any real force. To keep her hands busy, she grabbed a fistful of Yaga's clothes instead of anything more damaging, like her hair or something.
She stayed there, just taking deep, steadying breaths. People kept moving, the world kept turning, but Yaga was steady as stone. He'd talk occasionally, the vibrations making her let out irritated noises, but otherwise stayed steady.
By the time Satoru was all packed and ready to leave, she was buzzing like a live wire and just as twitchy. Yaga had changed to rocking her lightly, like a fussy baby, in an attempt to calm her down. That restless urge to either shriek at the top of her lungs or run until she dropped didn't fade. Her cursed energy might be hiding, but her blood was damn near electric in its place. Officer Nin looked like he could smell the anticipation and nervous energy on her, and she caught him eyeing her several times with concern.
Still, Yaga had a slight air of excitement about him, which really was only feeding into her nervous energy.
Honestly, she paid almost no attention to the Obas' goodbyes or well wishing. She got pat on the head, some words she couldn't focus on making sense of, but that had a warmth edged with sadness in their tone, and that was all the attention she could spare from trying not to freak the fuck out about going back home.
She hadn't even been away from it that long, but this time she was gonna be back for good. A little squeak, its pitch making it borderline a squeal, escaped her mouth at the thought, and her grip on Yaga's clothing was probably strangling. He didn't so much as chastise her for it, his posture was downright rigid.
Satoru also looked jittery too, more than she did. He wouldn't stop moving, fluttering around like a butterfly in a hurricane. He'd already loaded everything into the car that Yaga and Officer Nin had arrived in, so all they had to do was leave.
"You kids take care, you hear? I don't want to hear that you two aren't being fed, or I'll have to find that school and give that father of yours a talking to!" Oba-san grumbled, irritable.
"We'll make sure to visit, and bring you some of your favorite food, if that's alright Midori-chan?" Oba-chan asked, and she nodded jerkily. Goodbye, but not goodbye forever.
See you later.
Yeah.
She'd see them later, when she could think, when she could breathe normally, and she wasn't shaking like a leaf in Yaga's hold. A real goodbye, not a whirlwind of motion and desperation to get back home, finally.
They left. She was trying her best to not flip out like a dog being taken on a trip to the dog park, but it was hard. Yaga was mostly holding her right now, she was trembling violently. He didn't even sit up front, he gave Satoru a little push towards the front seat and strapped himself in the middle.
Car seat?
Yes, Yaga was indeed strapping her in the car seat. He didn't pull his arm away, which she'd latched on to like a burr.
The Obas shouted goodbye, one person's voice suspiciously wet. Somehow, it didn't sound like Oba-chan, as she expected. Odd.
The car started up. The vibrations of the engines, along with the way her muscles were practically spasming, were making her teeth rattle. She tugged his hand closer, until he was leaning over the chair with a bemused air about him, and arranged it to bend at a right angle, his palm upward. She then promptly rested her chin on it.
"Having fun?" Yaga asked, and she nodded awkwardly. It felt better, for some reason. She hated shaking. One too many dentist appointments with epinephrine in her teens. The face that it now happened daily thanks to her cursed technique was just… gotta take the bad with the good. It didn't need to happen elsewhere too.
She probably wasn't supposed to be manhandling Yaga all over the place either. Too bad that she didn't care enough about propriety at the moment to not do it. She needed to be sat on with an adult's full body weight right now, just to keep her damn muscles from trembling like they were. Maybe he could just hug her again in a minute. Really fucking hard.
They drove… she didn't know how long. She was all over the place, craning to look out the window, rubbing her jaw over Yaga's hand that he still held in the position she'd placed it, ever patient, and otherwise acting like an over-anxious puppy. Or cat, considering she was practically begging for affection like one. What was that called again? Bunting, maybe. It was just easier than trying to do anything more like something a person would do.
It felt like seconds and days passed before they finally pulled up in front of the school. She didn't move. She didn't get up, but Yaga did, unbuckling her and climbing out of the car.
Right.
Evil stairway.
Her anxiety about the stairway was easy enough to power through, she smushed her head against Yaga's shirt and shut her eyes as he climbed. Bypassed, just like that.
Then they were home.
Home.
It didn't come with any fanfare, not that she'd expect it. She'd hoped…
It would feel safer.
But it felt just as exposed as the Oba's home had. She pulled herself up a little higher in Yaga's arms, a little bit more away from the ground. Satoru was lingering behind a bit, talking with Officer Nin, getting further away by the step, which was Not Good.
She meowed.
Like a cat.
A sad cat. All plaintive and sad.
Her face went red immediately, but it caught Satoru's attention. It didn't take him more than a moment to piece together the issue together and hustle over to pat her on the head.
"Aww, you missed me already?" He teased with a smirk that had her narrowing her eyes dangerously.
"You think you're getting out of this?"
Satoru paused.
"Nah. Your room is our room now, Satoru-nii-san. It'll take months for you to be rid of me. You and Suguru can find somewhere else."
Yaga stopped.
Turned.
"We just started dating! We're not- Sensei!" Satoru shrieked, frantically trying to defend himself. There wasn't anything to defend, they'd been reasonably reserved around her. A bit much PDA for her to witness, but nothing too untoward.
Her giggling made Yaga's papa-bear instinct halt its protective bristling. He groaned instead, despairing. She patted him on his head, a quiet reassurance.
Officer Nin watched.
Silent.
Not a single one of them forgot that he was there.
The first place Yaga brought her, predictably, was the cafeteria. She could reasonably assume he was gonna try and fatten her up now.
Carrots and onigiri. So good. It was nostalgic, for all that she'd last eaten it just over a week ago. The group was mostly silent, Satoru munching on his second bag of carrots next to her, Yaga on the other side, typing something awkwardly on his phone. The little buttons were too small for his fingers, and it was clearly frustrating for him as he tried to type.
The fact that she was touching Satoru at all times didn't go unnoticed, but it did go unmentioned. She appreciated it.
Her hands still shook like the devil every time she took a bite.
It took her double the usual time to eat, but no one seemed to mind. There was an increasing amount of tension between the three of them the longer they stayed. Of course, mostly towards and from Officer Nin, but Satoru was also notably awkward too. Probably overthinking.
When she'd finished, finally, rather than leaving immediately, Yaga waved Officer Nin aside. Satoru dragged her into his arms in response, clearly ready to keep her aside should this turn into something loud.
Yaga noticed. Officer Nin did too.
"Go have fun, kids. Satoru-kun, just keep your phone with you." Yaga instructed, and of course, Satoru took the opportunity to exit in an instant.
"Are we looking for Suguru~" She teased him with a grin. His faux disappointed look made her giggle, and it quickly faded into a fond, if exasperated, look.
"You're gonna get me in so much trouble someday. Do you even actually know what that sounds like?"
Should she answer that genuinely? It would be easy enough to blame it on future dreams.
Instead, she shrugged a little. "Yeah…" she couldn't really think of anything else to say on it. Nothing appealing, at least.
"Does it upset you? Knowing about it?" Satoru's voice was casual, unusually relaxed. Intentionally so. He seemed to be searching for Suguru, opening random doors and peering in, like he couldn't spot the guy from a mile away.
Way to hit the nail on the head.
She just shrugged. She didn't feel like having that conversation right now.
Did she wish she didn't even know that that existed? That she could just live without that anxiety? Of course.
Would she be better off not knowing? Being vulnerable, not knowing to even keep an eye out for any less than honorable behavior?
Never.
Sometimes she wished that she could just be normal about it. Sex, and sexual attraction, didn't bother most people. If anything, they liked it. Revered it, even. Isn't that a pleasant thought? That she could just live the same way other people did.
Was she going downhill again? She should stop thinking about it, before she got stuck.
But being a child didn't really protect her, did it?
She shook herself a bit. She was going to start going in circles if she didn't quit. Instead, she refocused on Satoru.
He hadn't stopped chattering the whole time, talking about inane things. Multiple times he checked on her, but when he found her looking back at him, he just brightened and kept on talking. Something about an overseas mission that had taken him to… Florida?
Somewhere between arriving on the flight and having to save his unfortunate manager from an oversized reptile while also trying to not let a crocodile-like cursed spirit (an entity entirely separate from the oversized reptile) from eating a motorboat whole, they were ambushed.
Well, she was. Satoru just watched.
"Midori!" A young voice shrieked, and suddenly a slightly larger body slammed into her, the surprise making her let out an undignified shriek.
Junpei.
The kid didn't even fall, supported by Satoru's hand with ease as he flung his arms around her. It took a moment or two to remember that she was supposed to hug back.
When she did, she actually relaxed a little.
They weren't going to be separated any more.
Another hand, notably fluffier, a paw, was tugging at her foot, unwilling to leap up into the group hug. Satoru dropped to his knees and then sat back, bringing all of them within reach of Panda.
The group hug was nice. She more was hugged than she hugged back, but no one seemed to mind. It was pleasant enough to make her relax more, to push the anxiety that was still swimming in the back of her head away.
She felt just a little bit more like she was actually home.
Not a lot. But a little.
Satoru had set her down then, and Junpei had both hands on her upper arm like he was expecting her to try and pull away. His expression, doe-eyed and worried, concurred. Panda wasn't quite so touchy-feely, but he stuck close, nonetheless.
In the end, Suguru found them.
Surely, Satoru noticed, but for her, the teenager just appeared, sweeping Satoru into a vicious embrace. Satoru just melted into the hold, like all the tension he'd been holding up had been lifted from his shoulders.
Not for the first time, she thought, Suguru hugs like a mother. An arm around the back of Satoru's neck, supportive, another around his back, holding him close. He hugged with all the love he had in him. God, did Satoru need that sort of love. When Suguru pulled away a little, making Satoru whine, a small, barely audible protest, it was just to press a kiss to Satoru's forehead. It was one of the most adoring things she'd ever witnessed.
"Hey, Satoru. I missed you. I take it that you're both back to stay now?"
Satoru didn't even answer verbally, just nodded once. Junpei actually jumped for joy, the sweetheart, bouncing with excitement.
"Good," Suguru's lips quirked upwards, something that escaped Satoru's notice, "so remedial lessons begin tomorrow then."
Satoru's closed eyes blinked open, uncomprehending. "What?"
"Remedial lessons. You missed quite a few days of school. You'll need to catch up."
Satoru looked offended, the frown on his face, the tilt of his head. Suguru looked amused.
"Yaga said I have to take more lessons?" Satoru grumbled, pouting.
"No. The vice principal did."
Vice what now?
"Vice principal? Since when have we had one of those?"
Why did Suguru look so smug?
Oh.
Oh!
"Principal Yaga selected one two days ago."
She was in on the joke now, while Satoru was still visibly lost. He'd been present when they'd said that Suguru was acting as vice-principal, had he not been listening? The idiot had probably been looking for Suguru through a wall or something. Suguru was struggling not to laugh.
"Who? One of the higher-ups? Are we going to have to chase them out?"
Suguru finally lost it, laughing so brightly that Satoru smiled too, despite his confusion.
"It's me, you idiot." Suguru managed to force out, still laughing at Satoru's dumb-struck expression.
"They literally told us that Suguru-san was acting like one at the arcade that day. Weren't you paying attention?" She asked, disapproving.
Satoru just shrugged. "I was busy."
She rolled her eyes dramatically, just to fully demonstrate her exasperation.
"So… you're Vice-principal…" Satoru's tone had changed, turned mischievous. "That means that you're in charge now?"
Suguru's expression flattened, deeply unimpressed. "I'm not letting you get away with stuff just because we're dating now."
Before Satoru could argue, she jumped in. "Does that mean you'll be really busy? Are you not going to go on missions anymore?"
Suguru paused momentarily before crouching down. He was still taller than her even then, but he was much closer to her level now. When he spoke, his voice was soft, as if speaking to a scared child. Which- made sense, sadly. "I'll probably still take one or two missions when needed. Yaga-sensei said that one of the two of us needs to be present on school grounds, and that he would like to be able to accompany the first-years on more missions. So, yes, I'll probably be here more often than not, and I will be busy. I'll be helping everyone else with their missions too, but I'll never be too busy to help you- and you boys too. Don't think I'll get angry at you for interrupting. You're all my responsibility too now."
Okay.
She knew he was good with kids, but damn. That was 10/10, perfectly explained, perfectly executed, completely understandable for children. Reassuring too. The last sentence even made her feel all warm and fuzzy and safe, and she was busy analyzing the heck out of everything he said.
Why was she analyzing?
Anxiety. Probably a lingering bit of responsibility towards him too, making sure he was doing alright mentally.
Suguru seemed good. Lighter. His smile towards them wasn't a large one, but it was both genuine and warm. He looked healthy. When he'd hugged Satoru, there wasn't any hesitation. She'd guess it had happened too quickly for him to second-guess himself, the urge to hug his returning boyfriend greater in that moment than his fear of harming him.
It was sweet as fuck to tell the truth.
"What did you want to do first, now that you're home?" Suguru asked curiously, meeting her eyes. Eye contact, yuck. He was too close to her level to avoid it though. Her expression must've said how uncomfortable she was, because his eyes dropped to the dirt, studying the same spot of ground that she was.
There was a rock. Interesting.
Suguru sighed when she didn't respond.
"Didn't plan for much." She said blandly, an inadequate explanation, but all she really had.
Part of her honesty hadn't expected to live long enough to even make it back.
Here she was. Still staggering along, holding onto the coattails of people above her.
Suguru sighed again, more heavily, and dropped a hand to her head.
"That's alright. You don't have to have it all planned out already. You've got plenty of time, alright?" He assured her kindly, and straightened. "How about we show you how the robot is moving along?
Robot. Right. She'd… forgotten about that. A little bit busy.
She nodded, and Satoru pumped his fist a little bit, victorious. Apparently, she'd taken the bait or something. Whatever.
Junpei was the one to eagerly drag her forward, heading somewhere she wasn't familiar with. Panda followed more sedately, but he didn't fall behind. Satoru and Suguru fell back, but stayed mostly within sight, just giving them enough space to talk without being overheard.
Junpei led her over to a workshop of some sort. It kinda looked like it used to be a classroom of some sort, before someone brought a wall down, and it just never got fixed. There were pieces of wood still sticking out around the sides where the wall had used to be, the larger pieces sawed off for a touch of safety. A handsaw rested on the ground, so it was very clearly still unfinished.
The path to the old classroom wasn't really a path so much as a place where people had started to cut through the grass to get to the makeshift workshop, flattening it down slowly. Naturally, people gravitated to the trails rather than forming their own, making it almost like a deer path. There were still weeds and greenery around where people didn't walk.
Junpei and Panda skirted around the construction with a care borne of many warnings.
The robot looked worlds different. It was in pieces now, every part having been taken apart and carefully sanded down. A coating of slate grey primer sealed it off from further rusting. Still, several pieces were bent severely. Undoubtedly, they'd need replacement.
"Yaga-san helped us take it apart and sand it down! Panda had to take a whole ton of baths, he got so dirty when oil started leaking, he looked like a black bear instead of a panda!"
The mental image of Panda, dripping wet with oil like the sad animals in the Dawn dish soap commercials, made her giggle. It probably shouldn't, but it did.
Junpei was in his element, picking up pieces and telling her all about what they did, how they made the robot work. Without a doubt, he'd asked Yaga and whoever else was helping with the information and now was delighted to share every last detail. In a more jumbled, childish way. She didn't mind. Even if a few things didn't make a whole ton of sense, it still made her smile.
It was a delight to see him so passionate about something beyond movies. Not that movies were bad, it was more… he had something beyond that.
More.
She had lost the plot of whatever new story that Junpei was telling a few minutes ago, somewhere around going to a store to get a specific screwdriver (but they stopped by a restaurant on the way and-)
Somehow, they ended up looking at Legos? She was kinda lost, but Junpei was smiling, so she nodded along anyway.
It took about fifteen minutes for Junpei's story to wind down, and damn if she wasn't delighted that he was so talkative nowadays, and almost immediately, he launched into a new one, this one being one that Panda had been present for. This of course meant now there were two eager storytellers. And double the confusion.
She didn't mind.
She might cry actually, just because knowing that they were happy and having fun while she was gone was such a relief.
She'd been gone and they'd been just fi-
Nope.
Not gonna do that to herself right now, it was time to be happy.
It took probably an hour or so for them to run more or less out of stories that were at least somewhat related to the robot. At some point, Satoru and Suguru had, in absence of seats, just sat down on the floor to talk together, side by side, their backs against a wall. Of course, the three of them swarmed the teens, and she'd ended up on Suguru's lap while Junpei and Panda bounced and playfully tussled over who got the prime seat on Satoru's lap.
Junpei ended up sprawled half on Satoru's lap and half on Suguru's, leaning against Satoru's side so that he was facing her. It allowed him to look at her as he continued to tell his story.
It was nice.
Peaceful.
At some point, she'd gone from sitting up and alert in Suguru's lap to being slumped against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, calm and steady. Her attention began to waver, despite her best efforts. It wasn't even that late, she was just cozy. Suguru had an arm looped around her upper body, keeping her mostly upright.
It was getting hard to keep her eyes open. They kept slipping shut, her head drooping. Junpei had stopped talking at some point. His head had fallen back, supported by a bemused Satoru's hand. Panda was curled up in a little ball, looking fuzzy and adorable.
Midday nap time, it seemed.
Suguru made a fond noise that she was vaguely aware of. When he started rubbing her back gently, all was lost. She was out within seconds.
Someone was speaking. What were they saying? She shifted a little, to try and hear better, but the sound stopped instantly.
Suspicious.
Slowly, she forced a heavy eye open. Nanami and Yu-nii looked back, both sheepish. Clearly they'd been trying to avoid waking her. She waved at them after a long delay. Ugh. She felt all sticky and sweaty, the furry part of her jacket sticking to her skin as she moved.
"Sorry. We didn't mean to wak-" Yu-nii started to say, but she wagged a finger, making him pause. Then, she waved him closer.
He looked uncertain. Why?
Oh.
Right.
Japan.
She turned her palm downwards and made a little go away gesture. He blinked and stepped forward. Success.
"Hug." She asked when he paused. Probably didn't want to wake the rest of the sleeping people. Too bad. Satoru's eyes were cracked open, probably had been from the moment that the two got within a hundred yards of the place, knowing him. Suguru's eyes hadn't opened, but he had tightened his hold, just a bit. The other two kids were out.
Yu-nii wasn't one to deny her affection and dropped to his knees to give her an awkward hug. She clung to him like an octopus.
"Missed you."
Yu-nii's next breath shook. "Missed you too. I'm so glad that you're finally home."
No kidding.
She extracted herself from Suguru's grip, much to Yu-nii's visible horror and silent, frantically gestured protest. Suguru even lifted his arms up a little to allow her to squirm underneath, but apparently Yu-nii hadn't been clued in that he was, in fact, awake.
He picked her up anyway, the damage was done. Suguru peaked one eye open, just to make sure that she got to her destination safely before letting himself stretch out a little more. Apparently, he was quite cozy too, his head resting on his boyfriend's shoulder. Adorable.
Yu-nii, once he got ahold of her, immediately hugged her to his chest, putting a bit of distance between them and the sleeping group. Nanami followed, skirting far around.
Yes. Even more hug time. With Yu-nii too! She draped herself over his shoulder, half-hanging off of him. It was so nice to not have to worry about when she had to leave.
Damn, was this how her cousin back in her past life had felt, like, all the time? The instability of it all was driving her crazy, and she hadn't even lasted a week. Did that make Officer Nin and Yaga divorced parents fighting for custody?
Yes. Yes it totally did.
"Why are you giggling like that?" Yu-nii asked, a brightness in his voice that just made her giggle more. She covered her mouth to muffle it a little, but she could see a slight smile on Suguru's face.
"Custody battle." She answered bluntly. His head tilted, clearly not understanding, but that slight smile didn't disappear. He even nodded, just like he knew what she meant. Dope.
Her cursed energy still hadn't come back, so she was actually quite warm. Almost unpleasantly so, with the humidity of the day.
Ugh.
Hopefully it would come back soon.
Was it sad to wish for a potential malevolent force to return just for the ability to cool herself off when it got warm?
Well…
Humidity was killer. Was a potential hostile force really that bad?
When you thought about it…
God, she hated the heat.
"Could you come back now? It's too hot." She complained, not to Yu-nii but to whatever might be listening.
Nothing.
"Please?"
Oh, come on.
She melted into Yu-nii's hold, all hot and uncomfortable. Ugh. Heat was not her friend. The others seemed to be alright, but she just felt so hot.
"Are you alright?" Yu-nii asked when she groaned.
"Too hot today." It probably wasn't really that bad. Like when you're just coming out of winter and have an unexpectedly hot day, the way it feels so much hotter than normal. In summer, it wouldn't be out of place, it would just be warm, but when your body was so used to the cold… uncomfortable.
"Why… don't you take your jacket off, then?" Yu-nii offered slowly.
Right.
Winter jacket. Probably wasn't a good idea right now.
Yu-nii helped her arms out of her sleeves and the freedom was wonderful. God, she was so hot! In the shade of the building, it was less noticeable, but now that they'd gone outside it was unbearable. She was all sweaty and gross, her shirt damp. Ugh.
"Just a little bit of cold?" She tried again.
Not a peep.
Ughhh. She was just going to have to suffer like a normal person for now apparently.
Yu-nii hadn't taken them far, just outside of the busted-up wall. He stood in the grass, a little off to the side of the budding pathway. Nanami hadn't followed them out yet.
"Are you alright?" He asked again, with a little more concern.
"Yeah. My cursed energy is hiding right now, so I'm suffering in this heat." She said dramatically, holding one hand to her forehead like a court lady feeling faint. She was being silly, but ugh. So hot. She must have slept through the cooler parts of the day. And- you know, wore a winter jacket until less than a minute ago.
Maybe she should get some water or something.
"Do you want to go indoors?" Yu-nii offered, visibly deciding just to leave the cursed energy thing for not and focus on what he could fix. She nodded. Better than out here.
Yu-nii didn't risk going inside by the way of the workshop, instead following the path to find a different building. There were vending machines inside, and Nanami was staring down at one, looking perturbed. Probably ate his money or something..
Oh, she knew this place. Not from visiting it before, but from the anime. Where Suguru talked to Yuki. The moment they stepped inside, the temperature immediately dropped to a far more comfortable range. It was heavenly.
Yu-nii set her down and she hurried over to the bench where Suguru had- or would- or would never sit again. She'd make it her spot in order to avoid it if she had to. Yu-nii didn't argue against her choice of seating, instead moving over to try and help his classmate.
She still had money or something, right? Yu-nii was searching his pockets now, while Nanami stared at the machine like it had personally wronged him. She'd be shaking in her boots if she was subjected to that look. The machine gave a thunk, but no drink came out. Poor machine.
She groaned but got back up to fetch her coat from Yu-nii, checking the pockets.
Nope. No money. Satoru must have moved it somewhere safe. She'd have to find where he put it.
Hmm…
She had little hands.
Once she'd gotten closer, she could see the problem. When the can had dropped, it had turned sideways and gotten wedged between the glass and the little spinny thingy that was supposed to spin and move the drink forward when you picked a drink.
She was in no way a vending machine expert.
It wasn't hung up a whole lot, but when Yu-nii gave the machine a little shake, it didn't budge. It was also, unfortunately, too high up for her arms to reach.
However…
Her cursed energy had been much more careful this time. She honestly didn't think she had speck left. She couldn't summon Doomslug. If she could, the little darling might be able to worm her way in and knock it loose.
"Maybe Yaga-san can help?" She offered. Yu-nii and Nanami glanced at each-other, uncertain.
"What's wrong?" A new voice called, making her jump and, because the universe never stopped trying to beat her up, she smacked her head on the fucking wall like she was trying to dodge. Like it was instinct, both students jumped in front of her for a moment.
Suguru looked bemused. Satoru looked vaguely approving. Junpei and Panda, drowsy. Daytime naps would do that to ya.
"Nanami-san's drink is stuck." She said, pointing to the offending can.
Suguru approached the vending machine with all the seriousness of a man on a suicide mission. A small curse, thin and flexible, maybe a worm or snake of some sort, appeared. Within seconds, without a word from Suguru, the cursed spirit had slipped inside and was nudging the can insistently.
It wasn't doing very well.
"Push it up, then turn it." Suguru instructed the little curse patiently.
The little curse kept nudging it, trying to force it downward.
"Up. You have to push it up first, it can't go down anymore." Suguru tried again, more firmly.
Nothing. The little curse stopped, breathing hard, and dropped its head to rest on the can and look back at Suguru. Its eyes were about half of its head, which was… creepy, but its expression was incredibly human. It looked so embarrassed, curling in on itself and covering its head. Poor baby.
"Maybe it can't hear you in there?" She offered, when Suguru's expression turned exasperated. She bent down to the spot where it had entered and pushed the flap thing open a little, pressing her mouth to it. "You have to push the can up and then twist it so that it won't get stuck again. Don't worry, I'll tell them to stop watching you!" Because god, the performance anxiety, its literal owner just watching it fail.
When she pulled back, she found the others staring at her, then the snake curse. It wound itself even tighter, it might be trembling a little.
"Turn around for Snakey, please." She asked the onlookers. Slowly, with a lot of confusion from most people, they obeyed, turning around.
"Okay. You can do it!" She leaned closer again, whispering, "I believe in you."
Clunk.
There it was! Snakey slipped right out and then onto her head, waving its head around in a way that was absolutely victorious. Adorable.
"Yay! Good job!" She praised the cursed spirit, removing it from her head and cradling it in her hands. If she was an adult, she'd probably be able to hold it with ease, but as it was it spilled over, hanging.. It almost glowed, and then it coiled up again, like it was getting shy, even covering its face.
"It was so awesome! None of us could have managed to do that! You did so good!" She had absolutely no issue heaping praise on the sweetheart. It flicked its tail at her, a textbook example of 'oh you stop it' type of gesture.
"You're going to end up stealing all my curses if you keep talking like that, Midori-chan." Suguru called, amused, and took the little curse from her hands with both of his, cradling it. It scrambled to compose itself, ending up looking stiff. Quite literally. "But yes, well done. Snakey." The way his mouth twitched at the nickname said a lot about his opinions on the name.
Suguru dismissed the little curse and grabbed the slightly dented can, tossing it to Nanami, who promptly handed it to Yu-nii, who likely was the intended recipient the whole time. The blush while doing so was adorable, especially when Yu-nii gave him a hug as a thank you. Satoru walked up, retrieving some cash from his wallet.
"Anyone else want something while we can rescue it?" Satoru asked, giving the machine a thump with a fist.
It clunked again.
Loudly.
Then a little more, continuing on for about ten seconds, ending in a resounding clang.
"I'll be fine." She answered after a slightly worried silence. The others quickly nodded along, but Satoru fed a bit of money in anyway, punching a code in.
Rather than wait, she hurried over to her new claimed spot, taking it before anyone else could. Yu-nii followed, dragging Nanami along with him. Together, they took up the whole side.
"Does anyone know if Midori-chan's going to school tomorrow?" Junpei asked once they'd all settled down along the benches. When everyone's attention turned towards him, Junpei shrank in on himself, but Suguru put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yaga-sensei hasn't said anything yet, but if a had to guess… no. Better to give her more time to prepare, not to mention-" Suguru's eyes flicked to Satoru. The way Satoru's jaw clenched, she could guess what it was that he was about to say. "I believe it's all still being worked out. If you ask nicely, he might be willing to let you stay home too. I think it would be good for her. I know all this change has been hard on both of you as well."
Nooo, don't let the newest drama of the week interfere with Junpei's education! She didn't argue verbally, but she'd definitely have to talk with Yaga about it sometime. He needed to learn. Beyond that, he needed to be able to learn social skills. When she got back, she'd be able to protect him from bullies hopefully.
Ugh… she didn't want to go to school again.
A water bottle was in front of her face. She blinked at it, taking in the hand holding it and following it upwards. Satoru. He shook it a little, urging her to take it.
"When you finish that one, I'll get you another one, so drink as much as you need." Satoru said firmly. She nodded.
Water tastes heavenly when you're dehydrated. This was no exception. She drained the bottle in under two minutes. Satoru got her another one and she drank half of that one by the time she was sated.
Ugh. She needed a shower. No point for now, who knew what else was going to happen today.
The students started chatting, always about normal, school-related things. She didn't participate, but it felt nice to be able to listen.
Yu-nii had gotten a perfect score on his last math test, while Nanami had gotten a 96. Yu-nii was quite proud of himself. Yaga had smiled apparently.
Suguru was settling in well with his recent promotion. It was nice, he admitted softly, to not have to go on missions anymore. Nicer than he really wanted to admit. Yaga would begin teaching him more about his duties soon, but for now what he'd been doing was more than enough. He promised that even if Yaga ended up being busy, the first-years would always have at least a grade one curse along with them from now on. If they ever had their doubts about whether a cursed spirit was graded, they could always call him, and he would, in turn, contact Satoru.
She was pretty sure Satoru would pick up if Satoru called him even if he was in a different dimension.
Satoru was… hesitant to answer when Yu-nii asked him how he had been while they had been fostered. She could guess that it was more than a little bit because she was here, not to mention the other kids. It would be too vulnerable for him to admit to any troubles right now. Hopefully, with Yaga and Suguru, he would allow himself that relief.
Instead, he talked about the Obas.
They were kind people, he would admit. Determined, understanding. Excellent cooks. While she'd been- indisposed, they'd constantly been constantly asking about her, trying to help in any way that they could. Water, bits of food, soup that he might be able to get her to sip. She had no memory of eating, but she'd been out of it more often than not in the last few days. It was good to know she hadn't starved quite as much as she'd believed.
Junpei was doing very good. He'd gotten a 72 on his last math quiz- which, he assured them, was unusually low for him. Satoru offered to tutor him, and Junpei's eyes lit up at the thought.
Panda had learned to flip an adult man over his shoulder. Coincidentally, Yaga was a bit sore on one side. She wondered what could have happened.
Then, it was her turn to share. Joy. She'd just… talk and see where it led her.
"I had a hard time. Satoru-nii is most likely the only reason I'm alive. I don't know what I'm going to do when he has to go on a mission for any more than an hour or two. I don't mean to say that any of you don't make me feel safe. He's just literally been the only reason I'm alive right now and not having him around is really, really scary."
Way to go emotionally vulnerable. Ew. Her voice had gone flatter the more she spoke, because if she put too much emotion in her tone then she'd probably crack her resolve to not cry right now.
The students looked absolutely gutted though.
"I have a pet slug now. I named her Doomslug. I can't summon her right now because my cursed energy is hiding, but she's very sweet." God, please don't start hugging her right now. Her emotional state was fragile.
"I made a new friend. Maybe. His name is Todo. I think most of you have met him already. He refused to help me fight a guy until I managed to hit him three times, and I actually managed to do it. Todo also saved me from the man with the stitches. But now he's in danger because the man might want revenge or to be sure that Todo can't save me a second time. I'm worried about him. He's going to have such a hard time just because he decided to help me."
Damn, just spilling all the beans today. What, was she going to admit that she'd been feeling suicidal next?
Not in front of Junpei and Panda she wouldn't.
Should probably tell somebody, though.
Sometime.
Yu-nii had so much empathy on his face it made her want to run away. Satoru and Suguru both were about to pounce, she could tell. They were going to hug her within an inch of her life.
Junpei was just the one who got to her first.
Kids hug in the way that they were used to being hugged.
Junpei's mother must hug him quite desperately.
Panda leapt in just as quickly, turning their little hug pile into a much fluffier one. Junpei's arms were around her neck, and Panda's were too, and it was a little bit suffocating, but nice too. If she weren't all hot still, it'd be great.
"We'll keep you safe while Gojo-san is gone!" Junpei promised sincerely. It was sweet as fuck, if entirely unrealistic. She'd much rather he gets himself to safety.
Kenjaku had no reason to leave Junpei alive. Worse, he had every reason to capture Junpei and do whatever unspeakable things he had to in order to get her to talk. He'd probably enjoy it, the bastard.
A hand landed on her head. She was surprised to see that it was Nanami's. His other hand was on Yu-nii's shoulder, like he was holding the teen back from leaping up to join the hug.
"We won't let anything happen to you." Nanami's voice was firm. He met her eyes evenly.
Nanami wasn't a liar. He was a realist, cynical even. He didn't promise to save people that he didn't believe he couldn't save. Reassurance, empathy, he could offer those where needed.
Nanami Kento did not offer false promises. He was too kind for such a thing.
So.
He must be telling the truth. Or at minimum, what he truly believed.
It wouldn't be enough later. Not when Satoru was gone and she was in her room, hiding under her bed like it could save her. Not when someone would sit beside her bed, talking for hours to try to coax her out. It just wouldn't be enough.
For now, though, it felt like it could be. Just maybe. Maybe when Nanami was the one sitting on the floor, talking about grades and missions and bread and stupid emotionally intelligent idiots, she would be able to poke her head out. Maybe even crawl out, even if she couldn't leave the faux safety of her room.
It wasn't enough, but it was something.
She could hold on to that.
Nanami's hand stayed mostly in place, just jolting a little when Yu-nii scooted over and made the man take a seat next to her. When the kids finally pulled away, and damn it, Junpei's eyes were teary, she slid over a bit to sit next to Nanami. She didn't lean into him, and he didn't tug her closer, but his hand stayed.
Satoru still looked damn near gutted, but he didn't say anything to assure her that he wasn't about to leave. She knew he couldn't. He was a Special Grade sorcerer for a reason, and they needed him. She couldn't believe he'd been allowed to stay with her for as long as he had been. Yaga must have fought the higher-ups something fierce. Hopefully neither of them paid for it too much.
The AC in the building was finally cutting through. She felt worlds better. Her cursed energy was still being stubborn and avoiding any chance of being questioned. She'd out-wait it, somehow.
Either that, or Satoru would find a way to force it to quit hiding.
Yu-nii got up and whispered something to Suguru, who nodded immediately. Suguru said something back, then waved Yu-nii off. He nudged Satoru up from where he'd slumped against Suguru's shoulder, giving him a little push and a silent gesture towards the door. Apparently, Satoru would be coming with him.
With both Yu-nii and Satoru gone, the two extroverts, things settled into a comfortable sort of silence. Nanami eventually got awkward about having his hand in her head, so he subtly moved it away. It wasn't subtle, but she'd give him some grace. Poor awkward teenager.
She was content as she was, sandwiched between two very worried kids. Panda… she didn't think he was emotionally attached to her, but he did seem to be attached to Junpei, and Junpei's reaction was enough to cause him to mirror his behavior. Suguru had shifted down, now one bench away. She might actually shove him- as much as an unenhanced four-year-old could shove a person of his size, away if he tried to move any closer to the cursed bench of bad conversations.
Eventually, after a long, relaxing silence, Suguru decided it was the perfect time to make them all get up and head back outside. Into the heat. She swore that she started sweating the moment that she walked out.
Suguru led them not indoors, but outdoors, and she groaned quietly. Apparently outdoor time was on the agenda right now.
A picnic.
Huh.
Definitely not what she had expected.
They'd found a table somewhere, and dragged it over to a semi-flat area. It looked like it could well be from the cafeteria. A blanket was laid across the ground. Food was on the table. Fruit, chopped and not, what looked like pre-made bento boxes, still covered, chips, something unfamiliar that looked fried.
Onigiri.
There were boxes of board games, some familiar, some not. A smaller table, with a cover, seemed to be set up as a play-station for whatever board game they decided to play. Some cheap, inflatable plastic balls were on the ground next to the table, a hula-hoop encircling them to attempt to corral them into complacency. Even as she watched, the wind whipped up, sending two rolling away. Satoru looked exasperated as he chased them down again.
A picnic.
Interesting.
Junpei and Panda finally broke away from where they'd been trying out for the role of her shadow, running up to the table and examining the options. She wasn't particularly hungry at the moment, so instead she stayed with Suguru.
He went over to the table with food on it.
Next thing she knew, she had an onigiri in her hand.
Were those strawberries?
Strawberries… She took a bite of the onigiri in her hand absentmindedly. It wasn't filled with bonito flakes, it seemed like they'd gotten an assortment of flavors. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as it could have been.
The strawberries were in a reasonably fancy container, and they looked damn near perfect. God, she wanted to eat them.
How many strawberries was she allowed to eat?
Satoru finally got fed up and teleported with the insubordinate balls to somewhere indoors and back out. He gave her a thumbs up when he saw her making heart eyes at the strawberries.
"Eat as much as you want!" He encouraged, "I'll get more if we run out."
She wasn't going to do that, but it did give her the courage to grab one. From her little hands, it looked even more perfect. How the hell'd they get such a perfect strawberry, a deal with the devil?
She took a bite.
Delicious.
But…
Not as good as the ones that she remembered. The one-pound containers from a store, chopped into quarters, or chips, or spears, or whatever she felt like at the time. She'd eat them plain, but her mother would cover them in whipped cream.
There was no whipped cream here.
She didn't feel like unpacking all that yet again, so she shoved it away, taking another bite of the berry. One upside to being puny was that the food was sometimes so much bigger. It took her a decent amount of time to eat, just from trying to savor it.
Satoru placed another one in her hand.
Unfortunately, if she ate another strawberry without her mom to share it with, she'd probably cry, so she just- handed it back.
Satoru looked crushed though. Poor man was just trying to feed her. She should grab something at least.
Nanami was handing out small, prepackaged bags of chips, so she went over to grab one. She didn't bother looking at the packaging, she figured that Nanami wasn't going to give her a plum flavored one or something spicy or anything.
Hmm…
Waffle chips? What the fuck?
Actually, they were pretty good. Salty. Crunchy. A very appealing texture.
Maybe she should get another bag.
Did she have food hoarding tendencies? She knew that she liked to have a few boxes or containers of her favorite foods, just in case she finished it. Running out of what she wanted to eat sucked. It was especially useful when whatever food she enjoyed got discontinued or something. Sometimes though, it expired because she refused to finish it. The trials of not wanting to run out of her favorites and so letting it expire out of refusal to finish eating it.
She had problems. She knew that.
They'd started bringing chairs out, so she snatched/fought to drag one over to the safety of a tree. The leaves were yellowing, they'd fall soon. For now, they acted as excellent shade. She settled quickly.
The boys were playing some game together, and when Junpei paused, as if to see if she wanted to join, she waved him off. Running around in this heat sounded about as fun as jumping in a trash can full of rotting food.
She'd gone through a bag of chips and was well over a third of her way through the next one (Satoru had piled three more on the ground next to her) when Nanami eventually dragged a chair over to sit next to her. He didn't encroach on her space, and he didn't say a word, just sat down and stayed quiet. She appreciated it.
Suguru also ended up settling next to them, and he didn't even bother with a chair, just leaning against the tree. He watched the kids as they ran and chased each other, giggling the whole time.
A flash of black caught her attention. A portal, opening up low to the ground, four or five small cursed spirits slipping out. Two were humanoid-ish, but very small, even to her, and entirely pitch black besides white eyes the size of pinpricks. The third one, familiar, by far the largest, sort of demon-cow like. The fourth, something like a weasel, but with fangs so long that they grazed the ground. Finally, a coyote shaped curse, kinda cute, if one discounted the exposed brain, broken, hanging jaw, and lolling tongue.
Junpei screeched as one humanoid cut across his path, stumbling sideways. The coyote nipped at his heels a little, making Junpei squeak again and jump away.
The coyote circled, chasing its tail, and then took off, then circled again. Clear play behavior, which made Junpei relax slightly.
"Coyotes are dangerous wild animals, don't forget Junpei. This one's just actually a cursed spirit, and under Geto-san's control, so don't consider this as normal." She reminded Junpei, who paused, glancing at the cursed spirit. It tilted its head, innocent. Its jaw flapped as it did so, hanging down.
Yeah, Junpei wasn't going to forget that it was a cursed spirit anytime soon.
The weasel tackled the coyote, and then the game was on, the cursed spirits chasing each other in circles. The humanoids and the familiar one joined in and then they were a stampede of hooves and paws and no small number of teeth.
Junpei and Panda had no hesitation in joining in.
She sat up straighter as the kids leapt into the fray, a jolt of anxiety forcing her to focus on their game. Satoru jumped in too, chasing the children and cursed spirits alike, making them scatter. The demon-cow one almost flung the weasel away with a flick of its hooves, getting the cursed spirit just outside of Satoru's outstretched hands. Yu-nii joined to help the children stay clear, and 'accidentally' tripped Satoru. Considering the theatrics, Satoru had chosen to fall.
The play continued this way for about half an hour, until Junpei was tired enough to want to stop, when things then moved on to a board game. The one that they picked, she just watched the game commence, she didn't have the mental energy to try and learn a new game today.
It was good.
A picnic, happiness, giggles, Satoru groaning as he landed on a bad space yet again, Suguru absolutely wiping the floor with the teenagers who volunteered to play, coincidentally accidentally helping Panda when he got into a pickle.
Good.
Everything was good.
She ate another strawberry.
It was good.
She wasn't home, but…
Good.
It wasn't great. It wasn't bad. She wasn't home, but she was, but it didn't feel-
Time would go on whether she accepted that she was actually home or not. Eventually, it would feel like it again. She knew it, even if her patience was waning. What she wanted most was to feel safe again.
It would be a long, long time until that happened. So, for now…
She ate another strawberry. It didn't taste quite as much like homesickness this time.
"What do you mean you win?" Satoru howled, and she shivered as a bead of sweat dripped down the back of her neck. So hot. Suguru smirked back at him, smug and victorious, and Junpei nodded, a gracious defeat. Panda fell over backwards, sprawling out. Just barely behind Suguru, apparently, he'd nearly won.
Not great. It could be better, but...
Good.