Chapter Text
Inumaki yawned as the soft glow of his TV flickered, filling the small room. It’d been hours since the other students had gone to bed, but he tossed and turned, restlessly awake until the wee hours of the night. He should have been exhausted after the Goodwill Event, but his mind wandered back to thoughts of Yuuta after relentlessly trying to bury them throughout the week.
He rolled his eyes, frustrated with himself for continuing to entertain his imagination instead of tucking the outrageous ideas away in lieu of sleep. He rolled over, groaning at his predicament, and lightly dropped a fist against the bed before throwing the sheets off to swing his feet to the floor. He couldn’t sleep like this, he needed to clear his mind.
He shook his head with a disgruntled huff as he snatched his jacket off the back of his desk chair and promptly made his way out the door.
He peeked down the empty hallway, listening for any signs of life before clicking the door shut to head toward the garden. Thankfully, it resided fairly close to his bedroom, but Inumaki didn’t want to take any chances of running into another classmate on his way. In consideration of the other rooms, he carefully padded across the cool floor in hopes of leaving them undisturbed.
As he pushed open the door that led to the garden, the crisp night air kissed his skin. When had the summer heat begun to fade?
Inumaki wrapped his jacket tightly around himself, urging the fabric to fend off the chill. Rubbing his arms for a moment, he paused to take in the scene in front of him. How long had it been since he last visited under the cover of night?
The familiar crunch of grass tickled between Inumaki’s toes as he noted how the dew drops shimmered like precious jewels in the silky moonlight. The garden appeared almost magical nestled against the outer walls of the school, illuminated in a sheen of silver under twinkling stars.
Taking it all in, Inumaki’s lips curved up in a soft smile. It drew him in like a moth to a flame, coaxing him to walk over to take a closer look at the bushes he’d been tending all summer. The faint crunch of grass shifted beneath his feet as he neared the largest one and tenderly took a leaf between his fingers.
Inumaki’s smile grew, stretching from ear to ear as he felt the density of it in his hand. It really had grown and flourished under his care and a sense of pride swelled in his chest as he admired his handiwork. The only thing that could have made him happier was if...
His smile slipped.
That’s right, the person he would have wanted to share this with was halfway across the world, and the entire reason he had walked outside to clear his head in the first place.
Inumaki released the leaf, letting his hand drop to his side, dejected. He mentally kicked himself for somehow letting his thoughts drift back to Yuuta again. It’d barely been 30 minutes since he left his bed, and yet, images of soft blue eyes that deserved the world and much, much more flooded Inumaki’s thoughts once again. He attempted to push them away, aware that divulging himself would only make the knife twist deeper. But, no matter how hard Inumaki tried, the absent classmate clouded his mind more and more with each passing day.
After a moment, Inumaki straightened his shoulders, refusing to wallow in his self-pity. Instead, he pulled out his phone to reread a conversation he had with Yuuta mere hours prior. It had started with a video of Maki smacking Itadori for saying something stupid.
He had sent it after realizing during one of their previous conversations that Yuuta hadn’t met the first years. Inumaki felt awful that it slipped his mind at the time. Especially since he had spoken about them a few times without thinking about it. He didn’t want Yuuta to feel left out while he was away, so, Inumaki took it upon himself to familiarize Yuuta with the newest additions to the school via pictures and videos.
After watching the video play through again, Inumaki scrolled down to the rest of their messages. His heart twinged a little as he reread them.
So that’s Itadori
Yeah. He’s the one I told you about that’s really strong but has no brains.
That’s mean. I’m sure he has some intelligence.
You watched the video, didn’t you?
Maki’s harsh. You know that.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Don’t give me that. Be nice to your underclassmen.
Are you saying I’m not nice?
That’s not what I meant.😭
I know.
He clicked the screen off after reading the final message and stuffed it back into his pocket. He thought that rereading their exchange might make him feel better, but somehow it made him feel worse. It was as if he’d given himself a little taste of what it might be like for Yuuta to be here, beside him again.
Cruel reality set in as Inumaki glanced around the garden, noting that he stood solitary amid nothing more than bugs and plants. There would be no tender voice soothing over sensitive subjects under the hush of night. There would be no gentle looks stolen between shifting eyes in the tranquil moonlight. There would be no other sleepless person to lean against him when anxieties arose and he worried that the next day may not come. His comfort and his confidant resided on the other side of the world and Inumaki never felt more alone.
He clicked his tongue in dismay at the thought and ran his foot along the grass in an attempt to distract himself from his inner turmoil. How did he get like this?
Up until a year ago, Inumaki hadn’t relied on anyone. In fact, he kept everyone at arm’s length. During the first few months of their first year, he warmed up to Maki and Panda fairly well, but when Yuuta arrived everything changed. Inumaki couldn’t put his finger on what it was that made the other boy so special, but something was different about him in comparison to everyone else in his life. Had it been his earnest nature? Or maybe was it that Inumaki wanted to protect him from the harsh reality of the Jujutsu world?
He shook his head, shoving his hands into his jacket pocket and looking up at the sky. The moon appeared vast that night and Inumaki wondered if Yuuta would see the same image as him when the sun finally set in Morocco.
When would the sun set in Morocco?
He pulled his phone out once more to check the time. Thumbing it open, he scrolled to the time app that tracked their respective time zones. When he opened it, he read:
Tokyo, Japan - 2:08am
Rabat, Morocco - 5:08pm
His shoulders dropped, deflating a little as he calculated that it’d still be a few more hours before Yuuta would be able to see the moon. It was such a small thing. It shouldn’t have upset him, but something deeply ached inside his chest, tugging him under as he realized that Yuuta would never see the starlit sky at the same time as him. The thought of it shredded his heart in a way Inumaki never expected and swallowed him whole in overwhelming isolation.
He glanced up at the moon once more, inwardly begging for life to show him an ounce of mercy. He silently mourned over the one thing he once believed could have connected him with Yuuta but somehow managed to crush those hopes and set the divide even further between them.
His eyes fell to the ground with a sigh of defeat as he turned to head back inside. Unfortunately, it seemed that there was no chance of escaping the wandering thoughts that plagued him.
After a fitful night of sleep, Inumaki roused to the sound of his phone playing the opening song from Your Lie in April.
“Yuuta,” he groaned to himself.
Inumaki blinked back the drowsiness as he rolled over yawning and checked the message:
I miss you
Inumaki’s brow furrowed in confusion as sleep clouded his judgment. What time was it? The sun brightly peeked through his window, forcing Inumaki to conclude that dawn had already passed. However, Maki hadn’t come busting down his door yet, therefore, it still had to be before noon.
He grumbled to himself as he gave one last good scrub to his face, wiping away any remaining remnants of sleep before checking the clock. It was 10 ‘til noon. He reckoned he’d be hearing from Maki soon, but more importantly, Yuuta’s message.
He rolled over onto his back and lifted the phone above his head to read over the message once more:
I miss you
A simple message that appeared straightforward and direct in its meaning still managed to make Inumaki’s head spin. Yuuta rarely messaged him first and when they did chat, they had only talked about trivial things. Yet, here was a message detailing much more than just the three little words that appeared on the screen.
Something felt off about it. He scrutinized it a bit further, looking for anything that could be construed as amiss. Nothing set off any sirens, but Inumaki couldn’t shake the weird feeling. In a last-ditch effort to figure out why he suspected the message, Inumaki checked his time converter.
Rabat, Morocco - 2:54am
He knew it. Yuuta wasn’t sleeping again.
His stomach twisted at the thought. Inumaki hated when Yuuta didn’t sleep. Whether it had been due to being plagued by nightmares or a restless mind, Inumaki desperately tried his best to be there for Yuuta during those nights.
He’d sit beside Yuuta’s bed until he heard the soft lulls of Yuuta’s breathing before returning to his bedroom. Some nights, he’d walk Yuuta out to the garden to talk when the other’s head was full of uncertainties. He’d sit and listen as Yuuta voiced whatever he needed to in order to empty his mind. Inumaki had even gifted Yuuta one of his old t-shirts in hopes that a familiar scent might help him rest easier. But what could he do for Yuuta from here?
Inumaki was useless to him now. He couldn’t do any of those things in hopes of helping Yuuta fall asleep; not from this distance.
His thumbs hovered over the keyboard for a moment, contemplating what the best response might be to ensure Yuuta knew he wasn’t alone. Inumaki chewed on his bottom lip as he typed out:
I miss you too.
He stared at it for a moment before deciding that he needed to add a little more. Maybe he couldn’t be there, but he could certainly do his best to try and pad the situation.
I miss you too. You’re up late. Is everything okay?
He determined the message was simple enough and hoped that it would bring at least the tiniest bit of comfort to Yuuta. So, he hit send and let his arms flop to the bed, outstretched on either side of him as he stared at the ceiling. When did Inumaki start getting all worked up over his friend?
A heavy fist pounded against Inumaki’s door before he had the chance to really play through what happened with Yuuta. On the other side, Maki yelled, “Toge! Get your ass out of bed! It’s noon!”
“Okaka!” He shouted back at her from the comfortable confines of his bed.
“Don’t ‘okaka’ me. If you’re not out of bed in 15 minutes, I’m dragging you out myself!”
He listened carefully as she left, waiting for her footsteps to die before muttering, “Mentaiko.”
He loved Maki, but damn was she a stickler about being up at a reasonable time— even on a Saturday. It was fine though. Inumaki smirked to himself knowing that he had already locked the door in anticipation of this scenario.
The theme song for Your Lie in April started up, causing Inumaki to nearly jump out of his skin. After having his attention stolen by Maki’s demands, he’d almost all but forgotten why he was awake in the first place. He placed a hand on his chest, taking a steadying breath to calm himself before reaching over to check the newest message from Yuuta.
I’m okay. Was just feeling really lonely and thought of you. Wish I could be with you again.
Inumaki froze. The message came across as terribly sweet but also gracefully somber. Should he be flattered or worried? His cheeks tinted pink as he reread it over and over again. The more he read it, the more his mind tried to put puzzle pieces together that Inumaki wasn’t even sure existed in the first place.
What was Yuuta trying to say?
For someone as flustered and honest and unfiltered as him, Inumaki struggled with understanding his text messages sometimes. Yuuta had this knack for saying everything but also nothing at all through their messages and it drove Inumaki mad. He could read Yuuta like the back of his hand if the other boy were standing in front of him, but words on a page? They were always lost on him. Especially in regards to Yuuta.
He agonized over the message, desperate to decipher the deeper meaning, but nothing came to him. Could Inumaki really just take it at face value? He scratched his head, lost in thought about what to say in return. He hopelessly wanted to help his friend, but what could he do?
He scratched his head, trying to think of anything that could be better than a simple text message in return. Then, finally, an idea came to him. It was something he’d read in a story somewhere– sometimes people enjoyed listening to someone talk as they fell asleep. Apparently, some people found it soothing to hear the voice of someone familiar as they drifted off.
But..could Inumaki be that? He couldn’t talk in anything other than rice ball ingredients. Unless…
It was a long shot and a horrible decision if he was honest. The mere thought of it was ludicrous, but Inumaki yearned to be there for Yuuta. So, without any further thought, he opened the recording app on his phone.
“Yuuta,” he started the memo. He paused for a moment, contemplating his next words. Inumaki had never tried anything like this before and wanted to remain careful in his delivery on the off-chance it responded negatively. He took a steadying breath as he shifted the volume of his voice to a whisper. “I want you to be too.”
His cursed energy started to fill the room like a heavy fog at just a few words spoken. Clearly, Inumaki couldn’t talk for long, but he needed to get a few more words out before he called it quits. He waited for the energy to settle just a little more and then started again, “I feel alone while you’re in Morocco too.”
Unfortunately, with the amount of cursed energy starting to seep under his door, Inumaki reluctantly called it quits. He wished he could have said more, but hopefully, Yuuta would feel better with the few phrases Inumaki was able to manage.
He opened their conversation and clicked on the sound byte, dropping it into the body of the message Inumaki intended to send back to Yuuta. As he drafted the message, Inumaki made sure to include a disclaimer in case of any hiccups or confusion:
Be sure to cover your ears first and sorry for the long pauses. I hope this helps. Get some sleep.
The tiniest tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as Inumaki watched the message go through. He felt utterly useless to Yuuta. He couldn’t even record a full message from the safety of his own room. What benefit could he be to Yuuta if he couldn’t even do that?
He tossed his phone to the side, abandoning it to slip out of bed to get ready before Maki broke down his door like the Kool-Aid Man. He already had one problem, the last thing Inumaki needed was another one.
Inumaki took his time getting ready; with each task moving more languidly than the last. He typically didn’t take long in the mornings, but today he subconsciously found himself waiting for a response that never came.