Chapter Warnings: eye trauma, chemical burns, near drowning, severe bullying.
The school week crawled by. Her sleep was often scattered, dreams for one moment pleasant, the next nightmarish. Dreams of flying, fluttering around like a butterfly, were surprisingly common. One of those dream analyzer people would probably have a field day with the implications, metamorphosis.
She ate lunch and went to recess with Junpei, often the absolute best part of her day, and class hours ticked by at a snail's pace. She would get handed her homework, often now at the end of the day, and sit outside the classroom for twenty minutes to finish it and turn it in. Yaga was understanding about it and started turning up a few minutes later than his normal time to give her the extra time she needed to finish.
Ito-sensei's sour face when she turned her homework in, always the first in the basket, was satisfying.
Bathroom breaks, she learned, were the best way to get a few minutes to herself if the classroom got too loud. Ito-sensei knew better than to stop a four-year-old from going to the bathroom when they wanted to.
Junpei was still being harassed, twice turning up red-eyed and puffy-faced from crying. She'd offered to hunt them down and beat them up, but Junpei refused. She wouldn't like it, but she'd do it for him.
Like Yaga had promised, a new lunchbox was packed in her backpack for Junpei, and while he was noticeably embarrassed by it initially, he seemed to have accepted it well. Not making a big deal about it probably helped.
The other students grew bolder by the time Friday hit, and she was so over school by then it wasn't even funny.
She walked into class to find Ryu-kun in her seat, feet up on the desk. The boy who she'd punched was watching from his desk, a 'subtle' smug look on his face. Children wouldn't recognize subtlety if it was written in front of them, meaning his smugness was practically radiating from him.
She sat down decisively in Ryu-kun's seat.
Class went on, and Ito-sensei was tense, like she had expected Midori to start something. She was above fighting children.
Unless necessary.
Both boys were staring at her more often than not, but she stayed cool, completely at ease. Letting them get under her skin would only encourage them later.
More math, more Kanji. This whole school thing was purely for socialization's sake. Maybe after a year Yaga would call it quits and homeschool her until middle school. Then she could stick around until Junpei graduated and then go back to homeschool.
She didn't need years' worth of public schooling to be capable in social situations.
Gojo managed well enough.
That was probably a bad comparison, honestly.
The bell rang for class A's recess, and she beat even Ito-sensei out of the door, heading straight for the swings to save one for Junpei. She'd learned on Wednesday that if she didn't save one for him then all the swings would end up monopolized by the other students.
There was a small stick-insect shaped curse crawling about in the sandbox that she could see every time she swung forward. She should point it out to Yaga sometime. Maybe she could even exorcize it herself.
Junpei was taking longer than usual to show up. Nearly a full five minutes later than usual, which was a lot with only a half an hour recess.
Maybe he had to use the bathroom beforehand this time.
Because life was always that easy.
She leapt from the swing at the highest point, landing easily on her feet despite the height of her fall. Her hair was still neatly in place, bells jingling. Surprisingly, Ito-sensei hadn't said much about the bells at all, besides requesting that she keep them quiet at times. She'd expected more of a fight about it.
She knew more or less where Junpei's class was now, after getting him to show her during recess on Wednesday. It wasn't very far away, though she had to go to her classroom first just to be sure she was going the right way.
Getting there was the easy part.
Junpei's sensei, whose name escaped her, confirmed that he had left excitedly for recess, meaning he must have been intercepted on the way there.
So how to get from Junpei's classroom to the playground?
Probably a right turn?
It took less than a minute to get hopelessly lost, yet again. She wasn't an idiot, she really wasn't. Just a pipsqueak who wasn't used to the layout of Japanese schools.
Did no one make maps anymore?
She was outside a classroom of some sort, 3-B, by the look of it. Class was in session there, she couldn't just waltz in and ask to be led back to her classroom.
Maybe she could just wait for a teacher or someone to walk past. She could also keep walking and hope to make it outside eventually, then circle around until she made it to the playground. The circle around method worked around half the time, in her experience.
Retracing her steps was mostly futile, only leading to another unfamiliar classroom. It was loud too, with lots of yelling. There wasn't a sign outside of it, but there were a lot of kids inside, judging by the multitude of voices.
In an instant, the door flew open with a loud bang that made her jump, and the loud voices got even louder, some sort of commotion going on. A student stood in the doorway, his face set in a look of stubborn determination.
Ah, it was that teacher from before!
"Close the door!" A stern voice called out. The teacher, she thinks, though she hadn't heard much of his voice.
The boy's jaw was set, the stubbornness on his face crystal clear.
"We should get to go outside now too!" The boy snarled, and he really looked pissed off.
"It isn't time for our recess. Step back inside." The teacher said simply, but firmly. What was his name again?
"Sensei?" She called out questioningly, making both of them look towards her sharply. She waved a little awkwardly. What should she do with her hands right now?
"I'm lost again. Do you know how to get to the playground from here?" She asked a bit faintly. They were both still staring at her.
"Make a left turn, go down the hallway until you reach the panda poster, then right at the milk poster. Keep going until you reach class 2-A, then make a right and you'll be at the playground." The teacher said, not unkindly, and she walked away as the student's standoff continued.
Left, Panda, right, milk, right, 2-A. The panda poster was easy to find, and a right turn brought her to the milk poster. The hallway was long, but surprisingly she did fine classroom 2-A
That was where things started going wrong.
The first sign was the sound of someone sobbing violently, and distinctively cruel laughter. She ran to find the source.
A closet.
Junpei was on the ground, soaked to the skin, and that was all that she needed to shove the door open with a force that cracked something in the handle, leaving it hanging loosely and sending wood chips flying.
There were three kids, all boys, all older than her. Probably six years old or so, and they didn't look pleased to see her, not that she cared. They had flinched away as she entered, but they had been bunched around Junpei, blocking the doorway.
Junpei was taking quick, shuddering breaths like he had been deprived of air, his hair, face, and most of his shirt completely soaked. His face was discolored by large amounts of dirt and dirty water, some bubbles in his hair, and something in his expression said he wasn't so much scared as he was in pain. He was scrubbing at his eyes frantically the moment he caught his breath, and she lunged for a clean rag on a rack of cleaning supplies, sniffing it quickly to make sure it was really unused, quickly helping him wipe the dirt and water away from his face and eyes.
That was when she saw the mop bucket.
The water was nearly black and yet still soapy, chunks of something icky floating in it. Water and chunks of food were splashed around it, in a trail of disgusting black, stinky water that led right back to where Junpei was sprawled out on the floor.
Junpei coughed, violently, and a pained whine crawled his way out of his mouth, his voice hoarse and scared.
She was gonna kill them.
Later.
Junpei was really too light for a young boy, for her to be able to lift him so easily. It could be the adrenaline and the cursed energy too, but she doubted it.
The door with the broken handle was slammed shut as hard as she could with one hand. She hoped it jammed, it would spare her the trouble of hunting them down later.
She didn't know where the nurse's office was, but she did know where to find the teacher. Milk poster, a left turn, the panda poster, then a right.
She kicked the door open without hesitation, and to the teacher's credit he didn't hesitate a second upon spotting them. Junpei was still crying hoarsely when the teacher lifted him from her arms, forcing her to let go or be carried along with him.
"Nurse!" She barked, an order, and he moved immediately, not even bidding goodbye to his students, who had gone silent.
He moved quickly and purposefully, and she only kept up by jogging after him. Each second that Junpei's sobs continued only made her heart hurt worse, as he continued scrubbing futilely at his eyes.
The teacher made a beeline right to the eye-wash station, so tall that he needed to hold Junpei up in order for him to reach it. She ran for a chair, climbing up on it and flicking the water on for the teacher, who had been struggling with it a bit while holding Junpei.
When he finally got the water right, the spray going directly into Junpei's reddened and severely bloodshot eyes, she moved the chair over, tugging at Junpei's legs to get him to stand up on it under his own power, letting him aim the water at himself better than the teacher was able to.
"I need to call my dad to come and get us. Junpei's mom probably won't be able to come and get him. Ask my Dad to bring Ieiri-san." She ordered firmly once the teacher was back from calling the school nurse over. He didn't argue, didn't even question it, just left without a fight.
Thank god for competent adults who listened to children when they spoke.
"Junpei-kun," She practically crooned, grabbing his hand gently from where he held it, splayed out on the edge of the sink in an attempt to brace himself, "Yaga-san is gonna be here soon and he's bringing Ieiri-san. It's gonna be ok."
He was shaking violently, pulling against the nurse's hold as she held his head in place in the stream of water, her other hand holding his eyes open. She was just scaring him, he had been doing just fine earlier.
She leapt up on the chair agilely, pulling a bit more cursed energy free from the seal just to make sure she would stick the landing and not bump him. Immediately, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, not even caring about the dirty water and heavy-duty cleaner smell.
The nurse kept up the eyewash for fifteen minutes before easing him out of the water slowly, patting his face and hair dry with a clean towel. His eyes were screwed shut the second he was allowed to, but the redness around his them was clear to see, along with the quickly forming rash on his skin. That janitor used strong cleaner, and a lot of it.
Those boys probably didn't intend to hurt him as badly as they did. Six-year-olds don't know about chemical burns and eye damage, they know that soap was once used to wash children's mouths out. They wanted to embarrass Junpei, to humiliate him and make him have to run home to his mother. Rumors spread, especially about the kid everyone thinks of as creepy.
But Yaga was the one that they were going to get. Maybe she wouldn't even have to be the one to kill them.
"Come on, we'll get you to the hospital." The nurse said to Junpei, and that was going to be an absolute no from her. Ieiri could fix him up in seconds, no way was she letting her best friend suffer while he healed. Not even to mention the potential for eye damage, or the risk that he inhaled some of the water. He was so young, any infection could be deadly.
"My family doctor is on the way." She said firmly, grabbing Junpei's arm when the nurse tried to lead him away.
"He's still hurt right now darling, I have to take him to the hos-pit-al." The nurse said condescendingly, emphasizing the last word like she thought that Midori wouldn't be familiar.
"My family doctor is on the way, she's familiar with Junpei and his allergies. It will be much better to wait for her to get here." She reaffirmed, looking the nurse dead in the eyes. She was not letting go of Junpei.
The male teacher walked in as she was staring down with the woman, a battle of wills, as she ignored her condescending words as the nurse tried to gently extract Junpei from her grip. Junpei was in too much pain to be very aware of the situation, but upon realizing that the lady was trying to take him away he clung to Midori back, making it even harder on the nurse.
"Your father is on the way, and is bringing Ieiri-san," He started to stay before pausing, "What are you doing?" He asked the nurse.
"This boy has to go to the hospital! This little girl won't let me take him. Could you hold her for me?" The nurse asked, clearly irritated.
The teacher shook his head.
"Her father is bringing a doctor with him. The principal agreed. No ambulance will be called." He said, uncompromising, and he ignored the nurse as she protested.
"What happened?"
"I followed the directions you gave me. I heard someone crying and went to see and I found Junpei in the Janitor's closet. His shirt was all wet, and he was crying and trying to wipe the soapy water out of his eyes. There were three six-year-old boys there, all between Junpei and the door. I think they shoved his head in the dirty mop bucket. I got a towel to dry his face, but he seemed to be in pain, so I went to you in order to get him to the nurse and call my dad for help." She explained promptly, and his face darkened at the mention of the bullies.
"Do you know where they are now?" He asked coolly. His face was angry, but he controlled his tone well enough not to be intimidating. If he was dealing with two scared young children, it would be good, but all she felt was rage.
"I slammed the door pretty hard, might have jammed if we're lucky. If not, I could pick them out of the crowd. Junpei too, if he's willing by then." She answered, copying his tone. There wasn't much more to add right now, and she didn't really want to waste time talking right now. Her face probably said as much, because he nodded.
"I will report this to the principal then. We'll direct your father in the right direction when he arrives." The teacher said reassuringly, and he left again. The nurse walked off too, back to her desk and would occasionally shoot glares towards them.
She had bigger problems than adults with grudges.
Junpei was better, without industrial grade cleaner eating its way through his eyes, but the distress wasn't gone yet, and likely wouldn't fade until well after Ieiri fixed him up.
Clearly, hugs were needed. She sat down in the chair, pulling him with her, and wrapped her arms tightly around Junpei, who clung to her like a baby sloth. She made soothing noises whenever he made any noises of discomfort and glared viciously at any passing students who seemed too curious.
Time was ticking by slowly, and watching the clock only made it seem to pass by slower, so she tore her eyes away to focus on Junpei.
She couldn't do anything for him right now. The skin on his face was red and angry, and undoubtedly the skin under his shirt was getting irritated too by the water.
Brushing her hand over his face made him flinch initially before leaning in, and eventually she placed her hand over his eyes. Maybe the cold was giving him some relief from the burning sensation.
Junpei coughed suddenly, a wet, hacking sound that had him trembling with pain, and a soft groan and Junpei's hand coming up to cover his mouth was her warning to run for the trashcan, making it just in time to thrust it in front of his face as he threw up once, then heaved again.
Must have swallowed some cleaner too. She brushed his wet hair away from his face and he groaned as he dry heaved another time, which turned into a coughing fit and then more gagging. The moment he seemed to settle down he was coughing again. The nurse was watching worriedly, but made no move to help. Either being stubborn or trusting that she had it handled. Stubborn was the most likely option.
He managed a few seconds of stillness, and she grabbed for the towel that had been used to dry his face and hair, wiping his mouth and chin for him. The noise he made was absolute misery, and it made her heart ache, and she could hear how much he wanted to cry despite the pain it would cause him. She put her hand back over his eyes, her other on his throat, which was doubtlessly painful. Could she focus her cursed technique more and numb the area without harming him?
Yaga walked into the room like a whirlwind, Ieiri right behind him. The teacher from before was holding some paperwork, seeming like he was waiting for Yaga to sign it, but Yaga went straight for them, thank god.
Ieiri reached Junpei first, pulling her hand away gently, and the relief on Junpei's face, the easing of all that tension was clear. She was doing something to relieve the pain, far more effectively than Midori could. The burns weren't fading, that would probably wait until they got to the car, but relieving the pain was more than enough now.
Ieiri picked Junpei up surprisingly gently, and the boy clung to her tightly. Yaga lifted her up suddenly, making her jump a little at first, before she relaxed. He seemed tense, but not particularly angry, just worried, which made her relax a little.
The paper that the teacher was holding out to Yaga was grabbed roughly, dropped right onto the nearest flat surface and signed with a pen that the teacher scrambled to hand to him.
That was that, apparently, because both of them were taken right out of the school.
The moment they reached the car Ieiri got to work.
Physically, his symptoms faded away near instantly, the rash, the irritation. His breathing deepened, no longer restricted by inflammation or swelling in his throat and lungs. He burst into tears instantly, violent, heart-rending sobs, the moment she started healing him, and didn't stop after she pulled away.
She lunged forward, pulling him into a tight hug that he returned with surprising force. He was trembling violently, but somehow Ieiri had, if not removed the cleaner that was in his lungs and stomach, at least negated them for the most part.
Yaga didn't bother to try and strap her into the safety seat, only making sure that both of them were securely buckled, her in the middle seat, him in the right one, both of them still clinging to one another, before he started driving. She doubted that he went more than five miles per hour under the speed limit the whole way home, slow and careful.
The trip was long enough for Junpei to settle down, his tears turning into sniffles, and eventually steady breathing, but neither of them let go of each other.
They could have killed him. What did they even want to do, waterboard him? Why the hell would they even do that, what had Junpei done to them? Other than having the audacity to exist near them?
Would this have happened, if she wasn't here to change things? Junpei didn't wear glasses, and had no signs of vision problems. They would likely have permanently damaged his vision if Ieiri wasn't there to heal him so quickly. Had he been a little more confident, just by having a friend, and the three bullies had taken offense?
What sort of janitor left such a powerful cleaner out where children had access? Any four-year-old idiot could wander over and swallow some, for whatever reason. They'd be hospitalized within minutes.
Why the hell didn't they dump the water out?
Were they the type of janitor who thought that using one bucket of water with a lot of cleaner was better than three fresh buckets with a little? That water had been practically sludge, it was so dirty. Don't they sweep first at least?
The car stopped, and she realized that they were outside Jujutsu High, near the entrance with the stairway. Where Toji had nearly killed her.
Ieiri climbed out and they followed too. Junpei seemed reluctant to release her hand though. Rather than try to climb out as one conjoined, very clingy being, she took his hand instead. The moment her feet touched the ground he was clinging to her again.
He was probably feeling pretty terrible still, disregarding any lingering discomfort from his ordeal. He stood well over a half a foot taller than her, but the way he hunched his shoulders made him look strangely small. She wanted to hug him until that awful hurt, disbelieving look on his face went away for good.
The climb up the steps was mostly good. Junpei stumbled a few times, making Ieiri circle back to wank behind them just to make sure they didn't fall backwards down the stairs.
Was Junpei destined to experience the worst of humanity? God, he should swap to homeschooling the moment he could. She'd do it, even, she's sure she could find some guidebooks.
There weren't any bloodstains on either the stairs or the stone platform at the top of the stairway. She didn't know whether it bothered her or not, having all the evidence erased. It shouldn't, it was both unsanitary and unnecessarily scary just to leave it there.
She didn't have the brain space for this sort of introspection right now.
The first place Ieiri led them was the infirmary, sitting Junpei, and by association, Midori, down on the hospital bed as she pulled out a stethoscope, listening to his heartbeat and lungs. Being so close to the instrument made her heart pound uncomfortably. She could feel it thumping in her throat.
She couldn't show fear right now, not with Junpei being so stressed. He needed security and confidence right now.
It was. Fine.
Honestly, she wasn't aware of much throughout Ieiri's assessment. She'd say something, a question, and Junpei would answer back uncertainly, occasionally glancing at Midori like he was asking for help, and she'd. Do something reassuring enough that he wouldn't run for the hills.
Yaga walked in at some point, and stood next to her. He said something, looking at her, but she stared at him blankly for a few moments before refocusing on Junpei when he spoke. If someone asked her what he was saying she wouldn't even know.
She was freezing. But Junpei was a furnace next to her, and he was pressed so close against her that she felt almost warm.
Yaga touched her arm, freezing in place when she flinched a little, and turned to stare at him. He was still talking, but so was Junpei, and when she turned to look back at Junpei Yaga reached out, gently guiding her back to look at him.
He seemed to give up finally as she just looked at him. The bed dipped a little as he sat down next to her. If Junpei was a furnace, Yaga was a forest fire, and more than happy to pull her a little closer. To do so, he had to pull Junpei too, and as wonderful as the warmth felt, she wouldn't choose it over him. Yaga didn't seem to mind and even set a comforting hand on Junpei's shoulder the next time he looked over for reassurance.
Time just passed, like grains of sand slipping through her fingers, and it seemed like they just appeared in the movie room. Junpei was still next to her, reassuringly. One very large blanket was bundled around them, making a two for one blanket burrito that should have been boiling hot.
She still felt cold, somewhere deep inside, and cuddled closer to Junpei, who looked worried even as he obliged.
Was he still scared?
She thought Yaga would have been able to reassure him, but perhaps not. It's weird to think that she might have overestimated his skills. Surely helping children after a traumatic event was well within his purview? He helped her quite a bit.
Did he dislike Junpei for some reason? He wasn't petty enough to not help a child just out of dislike.
So why exactly was Junpei upset?
She pondered it for a while, vaguely aware that she was staring, in the way you were vaguely aware of the position of your feet while reading a good book.
An afterthought, a distant sixth to your main priority.
"Are you still feeling sick?" She ventured to ask, and her voice was airy.
"No." He answered, and his laugh was a bit watery.
"You should drink some water." She mumbled, and he giggled, far more earnestly.
"You've been crying a lot." She continued, and she actually managed to infuse a little firmness in her tone. He nodded in agreement, and she settled down a little.
Time was weird, oddly jumpy. At some point, Junpei loosened the blankets a little, and crawled out, turning on the TV. Some familiar movie, with familiar voices was turned on, and shortly he was back on the couch next to her. When she shifted closer, he did too, and then they were cuddled up next to each other yet again.
Sometime later, she was blinking her eyes open after a sudden jolt, immediately locking eyes with Junpei, who looked guilty, halfway out of the blankets. Her arm was linked around his waist, and she was leaning over like she had tipped over when he moved.
"Sorry!" He scrambled to say, but she was already sitting up herself, kicking her legs free of the blankets that were tangled around them.
Yaga was standing in the doorway. He seemed relieved.
"Lunch is ready." Is all Yaga said, and the softness in his tone was startling, making her look at him more directly.
That relief had given way to a surprising amount of affection. Junpei too, was looking quite relieved. Had something happened? She had just… lost focus there for a while.
She got to her feet, her legs surprisingly weak, and Junpei rushed to support her when she staggered. Yaga too, had his hands outstretched like he had also been ready to lunge and try to catch her.
She wasn't invalid. Just recovering from… probably a period of disassociation. Most likely not possession, because from what little she remembers she just kind of sat there. If she was possessed, you'd think that they would have done something while in her body.
Still.
Concerning.
She never had disassociation episodes in her first life. That was something new. A defense mechanism developed by her new brain due to trauma? Had this happened previously? She had a brief few hours of feeling overwhelmed and depressed, obviously had Anxious thoughts and panic attacks, but disassociating? She did tend to get lost in thought often.
Did that count? Maybe she needed therapy too. It was hard to try and keep track of everyone's mental states and identify who needed help without trying to sort her own issues out at the same time.
Junpei was worried again, watching her, and that made her jolt out of her thoughts fiercely by shaking her head.
Lunch was some sort of noodles that she didn't have the brain power to identify. The noodles were thick and chewy, she liked the texture.
Most of the students were gone, and Ieiri was eating very far away, nearly the furthest that she could get from them. Yaga ate right next to them, talking idly with Junpei after a few attempts to pull her into a conversation failed.
She just liked her noodles. And didn't feel like talking much. The numbness of her fingertips didn't help her clumsy attempts to use chopsticks. Her range of motion was fine, but it was hard to position them properly without sensation in her hands.
At least Junpei looked better. Hopefully he took a nap too. When would his Mom be coming? She hoped it wouldn't be anytime soon. How long had they been home? She had missed more than a few hours of time with Junpei thanks to her episode. Hopefully she would have a few more to spend with him.
Once lunch was done and the dishes were clean, things stalled for a few minutes, Yaga unwilling to push them, and neither of them were willing to make a choice quite yet.
It was Ieiri who broke their stalemate, calling Yaga over and pointing to her phone then walking away, and he followed reluctantly, glancing back towards them. She waved him on.
"Are you alright now?" Junpei asked timidly, clasping his hands together and twisting them this way and that, definitely nervous.
"It happened before I think. It's just like my brain decided to mostly turn off because I was so stressed. It's gone now." She assured him, and he didn't look as consoled as she had hoped he would.
"I'm sorry. If I hadn't let them chase me then this wouldn't have happened in the first place," He said, and his voice dropped into a whisper, "I didn't mean for all of this trouble to happen."
She shook her head vehemently.
"You didn't put your own head in the bucket, obviously Junpei. They outnumbered you and wanted to humiliate you! We wanted to help you. Helping you is what I signed up for when we became friends, don't feel bad about letting me!" She said passionately, and she took his hands in hers.
"I will always be willing to help you, Junpei, against bullies, math tests, or curses. Just like you were there to help me earlier too! It isn't like this is a one-sided relationship. I don't have any friends my age besides you, and I like being around you!" She reaffirmed, and yet still Junpei doubted.
He'd come to understand it someday.
"Want to clean off some?" She offered, making him glance at himself. He was still covered in dirt and sludge, though clearly, he had done his best to wipe himself off.
"Sure! Is there a hose around here or some…" he started to say, then faltered when she stared at him in disbelief.
"I have a shower." She said bluntly.
"Won't that make it dirty? And I don't have any clean clothes or anything to change into either." He mumbled, embarrassed.
"Don't worry about that! I'll find you something to wear. Come on!" She said, gesturing for him to follow. He scrambled after her, still radiating anxiety, but she wouldn't let him just live like this when he could be clean.
He balked a little upon realizing that she was leading him to her bedroom and entered uncertainty at her gesture. Her room was neat, thanks to Yaga's oversight.
She was struck by the sudden thought. Why were there school showers if rooms got their own bathrooms? Was it so that people didn't track mud in their own bathrooms? Or were the bathrooms newer additions?
And why would Geto use the school showers instead of his own? Hot water? Plumbing issues? Purely for the drama of it?
She shook it off, because Junpei was getting antsy the longer they stood there. There might be a modesty rule or two that she was breaking that she was unaware about, but they weren't even in their teens yet with their ages combined. It was fine.
The bathroom was clean too, and the smell of her awesome set of shampoo and conditioner that Kuroi and Riko had found was still lingering in the air from her shower before school. She smelled like strawberries everyday now. Riko promised to hunt her down the cherry scented one sometime for her too.
"Take your shower, use the container of body soap that's on the left side. It's specifically for when you are really dirty, so make sure you use that one, not the moisturizing one," Riko and Kuroi might have gone a little crazy," and don't forget that you have to get your scalp, you'll end up getting really itchy. You could get a skin infection really fast if bacteria gets into any cuts from the itching. So, be thorough alright?" She asked sternly and he nodded quickly.
"Use that towel over there, I'll hunt you down some clothes." She said, pointing out the fluffy pink towel folded neatly on the shelf.
She left while he was still standing there, shell-shocked.
Where had Yaga gone?
It was doubtful that Junpei would be able to fit in any of her clothes, given their general size difference. She had been average height and on the buffer side in her old body, but her new one was quite the pipsqueak so far. She could only pray that she grew to be taller. At least put on a little muscle to give her cursed energy something to work with.
That welcome to Tokyo shirt that Yu-nii had bought her was a start, though it most likely would still be a bit tight on him.
Would he agree to wear a skirt?
Probably too soon for him. Worse, he'd probably do it if she asked him, too scared to deny her.
She left the shirt folded on the back of the chair, heading outside to search for Yaga. Maybe the infirmary, given that he followed Ieiri out.
First, she went to the cafeteria, exiting out the same door that Yaga had left by, just to see if they were standing outside.
No such luck.
She really needed a better system for this.
How had Nanami taught Itadori to see residuals? Just sending cursed energy to her eyes didn't seem like it would be enough. She did it anyway and swayed slightly at the dizziness that her suddenly enhanced eyesight brought on.
Was this how birds saw?
Everything was startlingly clear, like her vision had been kicked up to 4k resolution, so much so that it was extremely difficult to focus. Her peripheral vision became focused vision, overwhelmingly so. She couldn't pick a specific point to focus on anymore, because everything was in focus.
She pulled the energy away, feeling more than a little nauseous as her vision returned to normal, her peripheral vision returning.
Did Gojo see even better than that every day? It was sickening. No wonder he wore a blindfold, especially with his hyperactive brain.
Interesting as it was, she certainly wasn't seeing the residuals that she would need to track Yaga down.
Maybe just turning it down a little? Or try covering her eyes, more than empowering them. She took just a little bit, guiding it up to her eyes, and her vision immediately sharpened. It was more like she had just put her freshly cleaned glasses on, the blurriness that was always there fading. She felt even shorter than she normally did, the ground looking closer.
It was worlds better than full enhancement. Still no residuals though. She left the enhancement running for now, maybe if she was lucky, she could form an association.
She let a little bit of her cursed energy leave her fingertip, and pulling it up to hover in front of her eyes was surprisingly simple. Her cursed energy wasn't visible so much as it was tangible, weirdly so. The chill was biting in front of her eyes, and the moment she registered that it moved away to a safe distance. It certainly was responsive.
Was cursed energy supposed to be so easily controlled? Could the seal have something to do with it, sacrificing her access to the majority of her cursed energy in exchange for unprecedented control?
Focus.
Residuals. She peered at the cursed energy, trying to will it to be visible. It started to shed a small cloud of snowflakes, freezing the moisture in the air or producing it itself, but otherwise was invisible.
She could start a business at least, sell shaved ice.
This was a waste of time, apparently.
The infirmary was her first place to check, unfortunately empty.
A PHONE. That's all she needed, a phone. She could call for help, download a map, otherwise solve the majority of her current problems. It was so frustrating to be so helpless when she couldn't find anyone.
Urghhh…
She went to Yaga's classroom first, then his office, finding, surprise, surprise, jackshit. This sucks! She shouldn't curse, not even in her own head, it felt bad, but it was the only words that she could think to say about this that fit her current mood.
"Yaga-san!" She finally shouted, hoping that he might be able to hear her.
"Ieiri-san?" She called, a little more hesitant.
Anybody?
No?
Fine.
She walked back to her room, throwing herself down on the bed out of frustration.
Cuddling her pink plush, who she tentatively named Sakura, in absence of any official name from the anime it was from, made her feel a bit better.
Junpei might have to wear the same pants. Hopefully they weren't too badly soiled.
Eventually Junpei knocked hesitantly on the bathroom door. The water cutting off moments earlier had already made her sit up.
"I found you a shirt, but you might have to re-wear the same pants if they aren't too dirty. Do you want to try on some of my shorts and see?" She called out to him through the door.
"That's alright!" He was quick to say, and she opened the door partially to toss the shirt in.
He looked worlds better already when he walked out, even with his pants still mildly dirtied, mostly along his left side. The shirt, as she predicted, was slightly too short for him, but he didn't seem too bothered by it, no more than he was in general as he looked around her room.
"Thank you!" He said shakily, looking distinctly out of place, and she took mercy on him, leading him outside, nearly running her over with his haste to leave. He had his shirt folded. Maybe he'd be here long enough to wash it.
"Want to hang out with the robot? I think one of the students here wants to get rid of it and buy us a new one. I don't think he would really dump it without asking, but he might buy us a new one anyway just to try and get us to give up on the old one." She said, and Junpei looked confused by that, but nodded anyway.
Gojo was a bit strange, and she wasn't quite sure what his grudge was towards the robot, but as long as he didn't get rid of it then she could handle his emotions towards it.
They walked to the robot slowly. Really, it needed to go inside before all the rust got even worse. Maybe Yaga could get her some sandpaper and primer sometime and she could go to town sanding the rust off wherever she could. If Junpei could visit at the same time then she could teach him how to sand too.
They didn't do much outside, both of them were too wrung out even after the break to put much effort into playing games. She wishes there was a swing around, it'd be fun to play on when they were feeling like this.
The sun and the warmth of the day was pleasant on her skin, but Junpei was looking a bit uncomfortable in the heat, tugging at the hem of the too short t-shirt. There were beads of sweat already visible on his cheek and he shaded his likely sensitive eyes with his hand.
"Need a hug, Junpei?" She asked without opening her eyes.
"It's just a little hot." He admitted reluctantly, and she waved him over anyway, holding out her hand to him.
Junpei made a surprised noise when his hand brushed hers.
"Ice technique, remember?" She said with a small smile, and he cuddled up to her quickly. He was warm to the touch, very pleasant as his body heat chased away that lingering cold. Cursed energy still swirled around in agitation from the stress of the day, never settling for long.
Oh, her next therapist was gonna have a field day with her when she was older. Her own innate magic was getting traumatized, helplessly searching for an outlet that would solve the problems she faced. Sadly, as much as she wanted to, killing the students would be meaningless, only getting her removed from the school, put in jail, and leaving Junpei friendless once again. Cursed energy just wasn't useful in this situation.
The sorcerers who used it could be.
"Junpei-kun?" She said, getting his attention and making him lift his head from where he had been resting on her shoulder, watching butterflies flutter around flowering weeds.
"Could I ask some of the other students for help in this too? I know some people who would be able to help you a little more personally than Yaga-san would." She asked, and he seemed apprehensive.
"Why?" He asked after a moment. He was genuinely confused about why she would ask others for help with his bullying problem.
"Well, Yu-nii, Haibara Yu, who you saw the first day that you were here, is really good at helping people. He's helped me out a lot. He might be able to help you learn to stand up for yourself a little more, without making things worse. He's really, really good at understanding and talking to people, and probably the nicest student here. And his classmate, Nanami Kento, is very serious and intimidating, and doesn't really like kids all that much, but he has a very strong sense of justice. If Yaga is being blocked from taking action as a guardian, he might be able to find alternate routes of preventing them from hurting you again." She said carefully, hoping that Junpei would hear her idea out. Really, he needed more people on his side.
She couldn't imagine Yu-nii not taking to Junpei like a mother hen who found a lost chick, and Nanami wouldn't leave a struggling kid to fight alone, especially if Yaga's chosen approach failed to work out. Gojo would probably be too much for Junpei to handle, but she could be a decent buffer for them until he adjusted. Like the bag that let fish get acclimated to a new tank, so it didn't die due to shock. Geto would be fine, they either would get along like a house on fire or they wouldn't. Junpei would probably be a bit starstruck, given how cool Geto was.
All else failed, she'd beg Geto or Gojo to walk Junpei to school. Their coolness as teenagers and general scariness might be a bit of a deterrent towards bullies, especially if he could demonstrate that they would be willing to protect him if needed. Riko could certainly up Junpei's perceived 'coolness', because she was beautiful and awesome, but she wasn't sure if it would be safe for Riko to be out in public so soon.
They would need to meet Junpei properly in order for that to happen though.
She needed to schedule a playdate, with everybody involved. That meant asking Yaga sometime and hoping he'd be able to give her a rough schedule, and then asking Junpei's mom if he could visit sometime, then hoping the two schedules would coincide at least a little.
Ugh, might as well try to set up a Dnd session at the same time, for all the chance she had at getting everyone together. Yaga and Junpei's mother would probably get along like a cat and an angry wolf.
Did Junpei's mom have money troubles? If she was working long hours, that would explain her general absence and the lack of food for Junpei. But for her not to notice Junpei being bullied was a step towards neglect, for him to sit in the principal's office for hours, for her to ask for Junpei to stay even longer with a friend he had literally just made…
She didn't have high hopes for Junpei's mother. Did he eat dinner regularly? Breakfast? She covered lunch on school days, but what about weekends?
"Alright." Junpei said timidly, making her blink in surprise.
"I'll talk to Haibara-san if you think it's a good idea." He reaffirmed, looking more than a little self-conscious about it. There's no shame in admitting when you needed help, she knew. No toxic masculinity was going to sink its claws in him while she was present.
She cheered instead, hugging him tightly. Physical affection was a suitable reward for his bravery. He laughed a little too, the smile on his face enough to prove his enjoyment of her reward.
Perfect, he was absolutely affection motivated. Offers of hugs would likely be enough to motivate him to do something he didn't really want to do. Used sparingly, at least.
Now if only she could find Yaga.
They mostly sunbathed, resting in the warm sunlight, and Junpei would wander around a little, watching butterflies, then walk back over to cool off by draping himself over her from where she lay, enjoying the sunlight. It was a fine system, one that let her relax and him explore without overheating in the sunlight.
Probably should be wearing sunscreen.
If she knew where some was, she might actually try it. Her problem-solving skills were going to be top notch by the time she hit her teens and actually could handle herself. She might be familiar with half the school by then.
Eventually, Yaga found them outside, toting her backpack. He looked surprised at the sight of Junpei, sprawled out comfortably on top of her, and Junpei scrambled to his feet. Nishinoya walked alongside him, looking irritated. She got to her feet quickly.
Oops, she'd forgotten about her backpack in all the chaos.
"Sorry, Nishinoya-san. Junpei was hurt pretty bad, but there wasn't any excuse to forget about you. I'll do my best not to forget again." She said to the doll, bending down a little to look him in his eyes.
It seemed startled by the genuine apology, a little bashful as well judging by the way that it rubbed its paw on the back of its head. A remarkably human gesture for a cursed corpse.
"Thank you, Yaga-san. Junpei took a shower, but I didn't really have much that he would fit in. Do you think you could find anything?" She asked, and Yaga nodded slowly.
"I can find something," He agreed, "Some of the students have run into trouble on their missions, so it might be a day or so until everyone gets back. No one seems to be injured yet." He assured her, as her expression changed to horror in seconds.
It was too soon for Yu-nii to die, wasn't it? When he died, it was due to an improperly graded cursed spirit, it most likely something that they wouldn't be able to call for help for. He'd be fine.
Yaga patted her head gently.
"Want to help us pick out Junpei's new clothes?" He offered kindly, and she nodded absentmindedly, letting him steer her into the school.
"I need sandpaper sometime. And primer." She said, in absence of anything else to say.
"I'll take you on Sunday." Yaga promised. A set day! That was certainly an improvement. Was something planned for Saturday though?
They walked slowly to a storage room of some sort. Were those Jujutsu high uniforms over there? She itched to steal one, just for the fun of it. She couldn't exactly cosplay as her real friends. They looked comfy though. Maybe Yaga, or more likely Gojo, would order her one sometime. Gojo might just do it for the cuteness of it. She could dream.
Yaga was hunting through an old box in the corner, full of baby and toddler clothes. There were several clumps of black and white fur all over them, which Yaga clearly noticed.
"Why's there so much fur?" She asked, just to see Yaga squirm a little bit. She got her wish, judging by the way he froze. Would he lie, or tell a bit of the truth?
"I had a cat." He said simply.
Lie it was.
He pulled out a newer looking shirt, a green button up one, and handed it to Junpei, who held it up to himself. It looked like it would be large enough.
"Why do you have baby clothes?"
Yaga didn't answer for a long moment.
"I like to dress my cursed corpses sometimes." He said finally, deadpan, and she nearly giggled. Dress he certainly did, though Panda could probably dress himself right about now.
Junpei seemed a little confused, so she let her teasing stop, much to Yaga's visible relief.
God, she wanted to meet Panda. One hug, that's all she wanted. But she would wait for Yaga to be ready for it. He was probably treating this like introducing two cats.
The next pair of pants looked to be a good size as well, though Yaga found two more that might fit, sending Junpei off to the nearest room that would have enough privacy.
He came back, modeling the shirt and shorts and doing a little spin. She clapped, of course, because no model deserves to be unappreciated. He held out the remaining pants, and Yaga folded them before standing, pushing the dusty box off to the side again.
The pants that Junpei wore now were black, long and flowy, quite comfy looking actually. What style were they?
They left the storage room, her a bit more reluctantly than them, staring longingly at the uniforms. She wanted one!
Yaga led them to the classroom this time.
"Junpei-kun, how long have you been able to see cursed spirits for?" Yaga asked. Junpei started at being addressed directly, and when he spoke, he stuttered just the slightest bit.
"Recently! I just started seeing them a few months before I met Midori-chan. They've never really bothered me as long as I ignored them." Junpei said quickly.
"Good. So far, it doesn't seem like you will be able to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Things change though, and traumatic events like the one you just experienced can be a trigger for increased power. If curses start to become aggressive, or take more notice of you, tell Midori and she will tell us. If there is ever a curse that looks unusually strong or aggressive, stay far away and don't look at it. Get in contact with us as fast as possible. Do you have a phone at home?" He asked, and Junpei nodded, "I will leave my phone number, and that of Ieiri-san. If you get injured or feel sick when you are back at home, contact her and I will bring her when I pick Midori up for school, or when I drop her off."
Junpei looked overwhelmed but nodded.
After that bit was over, Yaga launched into a general spiel about cursed spirits, what they were, and the point of Jujutsu sorcery. She already knew most of it and spent a decent amount of time staring out of the window, keeping half an ear out for new information.
Several times, Nishinoya caught her attention, patting her on the leg, and when she turned and looked at him, he nodded, satisfied somehow. Maybe he was making sure she wasn't disassociating again.
Yaga was saying something about cursed techniques, how they were innate and varied, giving examples. Blood manipulation, her own ice technique, Nanami's technique, to name a few.
"How do you measure your control of your cursed energy?" She asked, speaking up suddenly at a lull in the lecture.
"Typically, by using control exercises. There are many different types and forms, from measuring regular output, internal, and external control."
"Could I try one?" She asked curiously.
"I'll see what tools I can find." Yaga agreed, leaving the classroom to search.
"Can I watch?" Junpei asked eagerly.
"Of course!" She agreed quickly, making Junpei smile brightly. She was glad that he could smile so soon after his traumatic experience.
Yaga came back moments later, holding an empty water bottle.
"Using cursed energy, sorcerers can crush the bottle quite easily. Young sorcerers like you can struggle sometimes however, making it a good beginning exercise in control." Yaga said, then placed the empty bottle on the desk, maybe ten feet away.
Crush the bottle. Seems simple enough.
She called on her cursed energy, letting it gather at her fingertips before sending it out, mentally giving it the command to twist the bottle, and it surged forward. The bottle twisted apart violently, spraying frost everywhere, and the cursed energy returned in seconds, pleased as punch with its success.
Yaga was staring blankly at the bottle.
"Perhaps that was too easy for you." Was all he said, a little dully, making a wait hand sign before leaving again, leaving her time to think.
Was she humanizing her own cursed energy? It shouldn't actually be able to feel pleased, but it definitely was. It felt the same way she would have reacted if she was giving a command to destroy something and completed her task as well as possible. If Yaga had ordered her to smash a pumpkin, she likely would have felt the same sort of pleasure upon successfully destroying it as her cursed energy did upon finishing its task.
Her cursed energy probably wasn't sentient. Probably. It didn't feel separate from her, more like an extension. Could it be the seal's effect on her? Or was it the result of her past life? She knew what it was like to have absolutely no cursed energy at all, so she was intimately aware of the new sensation like someone who grew up with it wouldn't be. Could that allow her to hold her natural cursed energy as far more a distinct piece of her, and so direct it far easier?
That would depend on how normal people felt their cursed energy, and how they controlled it. Was just giving commands enough or did they use it like they did a limb? Her cursed energy searched for things to do, for ways to help her when she was under stress, and did it's best to help her do the things that she wanted. Was that unusual?
Yaga walked back in about ten minutes into her worrying, holding a feather this time, probably from some costume judging by its extravagance. In his other hand he had some sort of mysterious item, a round ball with many holes in it. What it did, she didn't have a clue.
"First, I want you to lift the feather without damaging or touching it." Yaga said, putting the feather on the same table that the empty bottle had sat on.
Lift it. Easy enough.
She repeated her normal steps, directing her cursed energy to leave through her outstretched fingers, with the command lift, and added distinction, gently.
It seemed to pause at that, reevaluating its approach, and she felt more than saw it slowly, gently, slide underneath the feather, and push it up into the air like a bubble, liable to pop upon any false movement.
It definitely wasn't sentient, or at least it was sentient in that it was her. A secondary part of her, but still her, in a very strange way. Like a small piece of her own brain went with it, a small piece of awareness. A piece of her soul, Mahito might say. When her cursed energy left her body, a piece of her went with it, commanding it exactly as she would. It was her, after all.
Right?
The biggest question was whether or not it was a normal thing. Judging by Yaga's fascination, circling the desk, eyeing the floating feather from all sides, probably not.
"Yaga-san, I might just be unusually aware of my cursed energy. I can still command it even from over here," She said, and made the feather do a little spin, "but I don't know enough about cursed energy to understand what part of my experience is or isn't normal.
Yaga nodded slowly.
"I want Gojo-san to be present when we test this again later. Try not to do it too often. I'd ban you from doing it, but you've been quite responsible so far. I'm trusting you not to hurt yourself in the meanwhile." Yaga agreed, considering.
More testing, hooray…
At least he recognized her efforts to follow the rules, for the most part. Or did he not think the issue was immediately dangerous, and believed it would be beneficial that she was allowed a bit of freedom, eliminating the potential for rebellion? Could be either, honestly.
She was such a little freak of nature. Ice technique that left her nearly a popsicle every time she used it, unreadable mess of a seal, weird cursed energy that was practically as alive as she was, Isekai-ed soul, mysterious history. All she needed was a little bit of fucked up biology and she would be a truly incomprehensible little girl.
Yaga was unaware of her little crisis, set the little ball and the feather aside.
Belatedly, she realized she should probably recall her cursed energy. It didn't get aggressive with Yaga taking the feather, which was something she probably should have been worried about. It felt like her, but she couldn't be entirely sure that it was her, or that it held her same morals. Instead, it just waited there patiently, making the room colder as it shed cool air.
It reached her and a bit of tension faded from her shoulders, the bit out outside awareness vanishing.
Eerie. But not, at the same time.
Natural.
She was such a mess.
The lesson, of course, resumed slowly, letting her fret over her new worries. Of course, nothing about her could possibly be normal, not even her cursed energy. She already knew that, partially, but this was a whole other ballgame.
A hug from Yu-nii would be amazing right about now. Maybe a nap on Geto's lap, or a cuddle with Gojo too. Even a bit of reassurance from Nanami would be awesome.
Maybe Junpei would… but he was enraptured by the lesson, completely engaged.
She rested her chin on her hands, suddenly reminding herself of Shikamaru. The thought cheered her up, just a bit.
School on Monday would either be hell, or completely boring. Boring would be best for Junpei, and hopefully if Yaga threw the book at the school, staff would take action, preventing any threats towards Junpei.
If the staff failed to do their duties, then peer to peer action would be needed. Throwing sand in their eyes every chance she got wouldn't kill them at least.
A few well-placed threats, a bit of ice over the door handle, and maybe they'd be too scared to touch him again.
She'd need her kunai, wherever that was. Yaga wasn't liable to give it to her if she didn't know how to handle it though. Who was most likely the best person to ask? Nanami, maybe, with his cursed tool knowledge?
Yu-nii definitely was a hand-to-hand combat fighter, he wasn't that good at weaving and dodging and kicking without intense training based on that. Using a weapon would have been a distraction, there's no way he would have gotten that good without focusing on them specifically.
Whenever Nanami got back from whatever mission he was on, she would ask him.
The lesson dragged on, and even with new information she just couldn't focus on what Yaga was saying. She just wasn't in a learning mood right now.
It was nice to see Junpei be so eager though. He looked at Yaga with burgeoning awe, the man clearly working hard to help Junpei understand, answering his every question with care. Junpei likely hadn't gotten that sort of focused, one on one teaching in a very long time, if ever.
There was a butterfly outside that she was watching idly. It was the same color as the one she saved. It wasn't completely out of the question that it was the same one, though unlikely.
Eventually the lesson came to a stop, just to protect Junpei from getting too overwhelmed by the amount of information he was receiving at once. Yaga dismissed them, promising dinner soon.
Movie time perhaps? More likely nap time, with how bored she was, but Junpei would enjoy it.
"Want to watch a movie?" She offered, and surprisingly Junpei shook his head, his expression nervous.
"Could we read some of your Manga?" He asked instead. She was honestly impressed by his boldness, and agreed without hesitating.
They headed back to her room, thankfully easy to find from the classroom. She pulled her Inuyasha manga down from the shelf, handing him the first book before patting her bed invitingly. Junpei removed his shoes before climbing up, leaning against the headrest.
"Ever read it before?" She asked, and he shook his head, tracing the artwork on the front with a fingertip.
She grabbed the tin of Pokémon cards that Gojo had got her, offering one to Junpei, who set the book aside quickly.
"Want to open these with me?" She asked, and he nodded quickly. She didn't have any card sleeves or protective toploaders, but she could keep them mostly safe in the tins, as long as she didn't throw them around.
She opened her three packs from her tin carefully, and Junpei copied her after a moment's observation. They were so old looking, it surprised her a little. It shouldn't, she knew that, but it still did.
Nothing too special about hers, though she definitely appreciated the three foil cards. Junpei pulled a beautiful Umbreon card that she insisted that he keep. She found a bit of cardboard from the shampoo bottles, left in her trash can that she had yet to take out, and grabbed her scissors from her backpack, cutting out two card sized squares, then grabbed a rubber band, sandwiching his card between the squares and wrapping the bands around it to secure it from both corners.
Junpei looked bewildered at her intensity towards keeping the card in good condition but accepted the protected card slowly. She might be a bit intense about keeping her cards in good shape. She cared about her shiny cardboard, so sue her.
She put the trash in the moderately full can, offering one tin to Junpei as a place to store his protected card. She had one tin left, she'd save it for a while. In 2024, it'd probably be worth a lot.
Junpei resumed reading, and she grabbed the third volume to sit and read next to him. She was nearly halfway through with it, and had been saving it for a rainy day. She didn't want to run out of reading material so soon.
They sat in companionable silence for at least an hour as they read, the only noises were the sounds of pages turning and the small audible reactions that Junpei had as he read, soft noises of surprise, intrigue, and small laughs.
Eventually, Yaga knocked on the door, announcing that dinner was ready, and Junpei leapt up from the bed, putting his shoes back on at top speed. She giggled and followed quickly after the eager kid. Must be really hungry.
That was a sobering thought. How often did Junpei go without meals in order to react like this to having two meals in a row?
Ieiri wasn't there, which hopefully didn't mean a change in how the missions were going. Hopefully she wasn't avoiding Midori either. She didn't mean to be scared of her, it was just a traumatic response. Completely avoiding her would only reinforce her as a threat, because they encountered each other so little, every meeting would be significant in a way that regular meetings wouldn't be.
Dinner, to her delight, was some sort of chicken fettuccine alfredo dish, along with corn and string beans. It wasn't a Japanese type of dish like she had expected, it definitely wouldn't be out of place at her old home.
Yaga portioned out the noodles and vegetables carefully, making sure to give Junpei a particularly large portion of noodles. She approved. Clearly, he noticed how hungry the kid was.
She loved fettuccine alfredo, it was one of her favorite pasta dishes. Each bite was familiar in a way that she hadn't really had since she appeared here, like the McDonalds chicken nuggets were. The corn even tasted the same, though she avoided the string beans. Never liked them much.
Why did Yaga choose this to make? She wasn't complaining, but it did strike her as a little odd.
Dinner was finished quickly, plates scraped clean, and Yaga led them in the cleanup, putting the leftovers in containers for the other students to reheat when they got back.
"When does Junpei have to head home?" She asked as she dried the finished pot, Yaga and Junpei working on scrubbing the plates. Both of them paused at her question, glancing at each other.
"His mother agreed to let him stay the weekend." Yaga said simply, like it wasn't a complete and utter shock. His mother was that unafraid of letting Junpei stay with a bunch of strangers? Her six-year-old son? She'd never met any of them!
Had Yaga spoken to her over the phone maybe?
"Is that alright with you?" Yaga asked, as she didn't respond for a bit too long. Junpei looked anxious suddenly.
"It's great! But wouldn't his mom be worried about him? Doesn't she care about what happened today?" She said, a bit too sharply, a little too angry.
Junpei winced, but Yaga nodded.
"She feels that we might be the best place for him as he recovers. She wouldn't have the time to watch over him as he needs over the weekend, and she needs to work out how to reduce her work hours enough to watch over him better. Until she works it out, we will be hosting Junpei here." Yaga said heavily. He looked disappointed, almost. Not angry like she might have thought.
His poor mom must really be struggling right now, to have strangers watch over her son because she couldn't do it herself.
"Can Junpei have the room next to mine?" She asked, making sure her tone was eager, excited. Junpei didn't need to be worrying about her opinion when he had so much to worry about already. And Yaga didn't need to worry about her either.
Junpei deserved a good father figure, and Yaga was practically signing the papers already. She wasn't really four years old, she didn't need a role model in the same way that Junpei did.
As long as she stayed stable and took care of herself, Yaga could focus on Junpei. It'd be great for him, even if it was short term.
Stability would be vital for Junpei to recover. Fine he might be right now, but when he went back to school, he was gonna be a wreck if he wasn't secure enough to know that he wasn't going to be attacked again.
"He can if he wants to. We'll go pick up some clothes for him shortly, then we'll get him settled before bedtime. In the morning, we can go shopping for anything he's missing." Yaga agreed, and Junpei's face fell, a look of guilt crossing his face.
"Yaga-san doesn't mind spending money on you, Junpei! He bought all of my school supplies and my clothes, and he didn't complain at all! Don't feel bad!" She insisted, trying to ease Junpei's mind.
"Don't worry about money. I am getting promoted to principal here, which comes with a pay raise. I can buy you whatever you need, it won't be any trouble." Yaga agreed, but Junpei was still clearly doubtful. She'd work on it later.
They piled into Yaga's car, and this time she wasn't spared the unpleasantness of being strapped in the safety seat. Junpei at least, was amused by her situation, though he patted her on the shoulder sympathetically anyways, failing to smother a smile.
He better count his days though, a booster seat was probably in his future, if Yaga couldn't find a big enough safety seat. Yaga didn't do things by halves.
The drive was surprisingly long, and she and Junpei entertained themselves by playing eye-spy.
She stumped him for quite a while by calling out green as her color, and eventually when he gave up she revealed that it was his own eyes.
He tried silver after that, and her voice was deadpan when she answered that it was her eye color. Silver was a bit more uncommon of a color than green was, and doing so after she just used his eye color was a dead giveaway.
They pulled into a parking garage, in the twenty-minute free parking, and Junpei hurried to lead them up to his apartment.
It was worse than she had thought.
The lights took several seconds to flicker on when the switch was flipped, and the lighting was dim even after they turned on, half the bulbs burnt out.
The refrigerator hummed loudly, and when Junpei led Yaga to his room she peeked inside, unsurprised to see it was nearly empty, the deli meats and fruit rotting where they sat. The cupboards were bare, molding bread left on the counter. The only fresh item seemed to be a bunch of bananas, and even they were starting to spot.
There was no way he was coming back to this apartment anytime soon.
Hopefully without Junpei to pay for and stress over, his mother could stabilize herself somewhat. Yaga didn't seem to be the type to abandon her either when she was clearly struggling severely.
Junpei had a place to stay while his mother got back on her feet, and hopefully that would be enough.
She went to Junpei's bedroom, which unsurprisingly was mostly bare. The most he had was an ancient tv and surprisingly new DVD player, with a carrying case filled with DVDs.
"Yaga-san," she called when Junpei was out of earshot as Yaga carried the first load of clothes out to the car, "could I get some onigiri and fruit from that convenience store we passed earlier? For Junpei's mom to eat?"
He looked surprisingly proud at her question, nodding without hesitation and pulling out his wallet, handing her a few bills. Maybe two thousand yen or so in smaller bills.
She left with his permission, and Nishinoya in her arms as additional protection. If she wasn't back in fifteen minutes, he'd come to find her. She intentionally pulled a little bit of her cursed energy to her feet, leaving a small bit of frost on the ground with every sixth step, just to leave residuals behind that Yaga could track if needed.
The convenience store was well stocked, and she was careful with her math. Two onigiri were a good meal, and they had a deal for a dozen as they tried to get rid of the day's stock. She targeted the vegetable ones under the assumption that they would likely last the longest in the fridge.
There were oranges and apples for a decent price, so she grabbed three of each.
The staff member, a kind looking woman with black hair and dark brown eyes, walked over as she spotted her struggling to handle all the items and Nishinoya tucked under one arm, kindly offering her a basket.
"Do you need any help?" She asked politely, and Midori nodded after a moment's thought.
"What do adults usually eat for dinner? Something that would last a long time?" She asked curiously and was directed to a section with premade meals. She picked out a few of the healthier options, and threw in some cup noodles as well, before checking out.
She didn't overshop luckily, and had enough to go back for a lovely loaf of bread that she had spotted earlier, looking fresh enough to keep for a while.
For once, she didn't get lost, following the street signs back to the parking garage and heading upstairs to Junpei's apartment.
She put the cold stuff: the onigiri, premade meals, and fruit, away, and the rest of the items went on the counter, well within view.
The boys were just packing up when she arrived, and she handed the change and receipt to Yaga. He only took the receipt and pocketed it, waving the change away, leaving her standing there, uncertain.
She had a bit of money now, apparently. Like two dollars' worth or so. She put it in her pocket hesitantly, and only relaxed when Yaga made an approving gesture.
She'd split it with Junpei in the car, it was only fair that he had some money too.
Junpei had the last load of items in his arms, his DVD player and a few articles of clothing. The TV, conspicuously, was missing. Apparently, it went with him.
How'd Yaga even get it to the car?
They headed down soundlessly, and Junpei flinched when a ruckus started up, a couple screaming curses at each other from one of the apartments.
They moved a little faster.
She climbed in after Junpei, buckling herself this time. When Yaga climbed in he reached into the back, checking the tightness, before approving.
Junpei didn't really want to play on the way home, and she respected that, settling for holding his hand comfortingly.
They went home together. She had a new older brother now.
Did that mean she had to call him Aniki now? Or was that too old-fashioned? Maybe just nii-san? But she already called Haibara nii-san, it could get confusing really fast.
"Junpei-kun, do I call you nii-san now, or Aniki?" She asked suddenly, and he choked on the water he was sipping. Yaga giggled loudly in the driver's seat, an undignified sound that she didn't expect from him.
"You don't have to call me anything!" Junpei cried, alarmed.
"Aniki it is." She decided. She liked the sound of it better, the sharp k sound.
He floundered, mouth opening and closing like a fish.
They pulled up to the stairs and she freed herself before Junpei could argue back, hopping out of the car to help unload.
"Aniki," She called, just to see him flounder, "let's get everything up in one trip!"
The box of clothing was just manageable for her to carry on her own, more awkwardly large than heavy, and Yaga hefted the tv up. Junpei scrambled to grab his DVD player and set it on top of the box of movies and bedding, chasing after her as she ran up the stairs.
"Be careful!" Yaga shouted, but didn't need to worry. She reached the stairs and stopped, waiting for Junpei to reach the top before prancing, giddy with excitement, over to her room, choosing the room to the left of hers and setting the box on the floor.
Junpei reached the room and set his box down with a groan, his back likely aching. Cursed energy ruled.
Yaga set the TV carefully on the desk, making sure it could take the weight of the old thing, and Junpei plugged the DVD player in expertly, leaving the box of movies over the desk.
Just like that, Yaga took the box of clothing, letting Junpei pick out a pair of pajamas, and headed to the laundry room with the bedding piled over his shoulder. The room's bed was already made, so the room was already move in ready.
This was going to be her first ever weekend with a friend, she realized. She hadn't been the most social as a child, and being a military family didn't exactly allow for long-term childhood friendships.
"What movie do you want to watch first?" She asked, and Junpei grinned, pulling out an unfamiliar movie.
Ju-On: The Grudge. Absolutely, a horror movie.
She was going to regret this when she tried to go to bed later, but she nodded.
His joyous smile was all the reward she needed.
She was right though.
Waking up screaming in a puddle of sweat wasn't the best way to spend the night. Hiding under the covers didn't help either. It hadn't saved Hitomi, after all.
The things she did for Junpei. He was lucky she loved him so much.