Chapter Text
"But Mr.Gojo, my package is coming later!"
"You can pick it up tomorrow."
"But-"
"Ijichi is waiting outside."
"But-"
"Twenty-thousand yen."
---
"Do not engage!"
Crap. I wasn't listening at all. I stood up from where I was crouched and glanced at my watch. My package is supposed to come later today. If it takes an hour for those three to fight, and about an hour to get back to the school...then I'll have about two hours to get to the post office before it closes and get my package before they charge Mr.Gojo a holding fee. I looked at Mr.Ijichi.
"When confronted by a special grade, the options are either to run away or die."
I shuddered. Good thing I wasn't fighting. I looked back at my watch and almost gasped. When had it died? I could've sworn I charged it last night...
I squinted up at the rainy clouds. That's no good. I can't see if the sun moved or something.
"Listen to your fear. Do not forget-your mission is to locate and evacuate any survivors. Nothing more."
No fighting. Not too bad. The thought of a special grade in that building scared me, though. If it somehow came out and tried to attack me or Ijichi, I wouldn't be able to help him at all.
"Excuse me..!"
All five of us looked over. A woman, possible middle-aged, but she looked young for her age.
"Is Tadashi...is my son okay?"
I looked at my shoes, cringing at how they were getting wet and dirty. I want to go home.
"Fushiguro. Kugisaki."
Itadori paused.
"Gojo...?"
Megumi opened his mouth to say something, but I shook my head at him. I looked back at Yuji and shrugged with a tiny nod. At this point, it's close enough. It's a more interesting name than Sato.
"Sure."
Yuji blinked before continuing.
"We have to save him!"
"Of course."
"..we..?"
The three walked to the building. I took a step backwards before Ijichi put a hand on my back and pushed me forwards, almost making me stumble in the mud. I felt a small snap in my ankle before turning to look at Ijichi in shock. He gave me a sympathetic look before lowering the veil.
I looked back at the other three, wiping a tear away before walking towards them. We all walked through the door, and I tried not to gag from fear. The place was huge inside. It was impossible, really - a two-story building becoming what, four...five stories?
A hot tear ran down my face as my blurry eyes looked around the space. The other three walked towards lumps in the corner, and even from this distance, I could tell they were, or used to be, people.
---
Am I dying? Where am I? Everything is so dark and scary, I hate it.
I want to go home.
I want to go home.
"I want to go home!" A little girl whined, curled up under a tree. She gasped when a fawn ran away. She sat up, hesitating before speaking again, her tone much more quiet. "Wait! I'm sorry! Um.."
She reached in the pocket of her dress before pulling out some berries she had picked some time earlier. The fawn's ears perked up, its head turned to look at her. The girl leaned forwards, slow as to not disturb the fawn, and placed the berries on a stone. She then leaned back and watched.
After a few moments, the fawn creeped closer, until it reached the stone. Its head tilted down and briefly sniffed the berries before eating them. The girl giggled, causing the fawn to look up at her in curiosity. The fawn jumped, letting out a small noise that the girl imitated. The fawn crept closer and sniffed her face, licking at a piece of fruit from when she was eating her picked berries.
After a while of playing with the fawn, the girl noticed another deer at some trees over. She stayed quiet as the fawn, without looking back at her, ran over to its mother. The girl tilted her head.
Where's my mother?
I want to go home.
Her legs were starting to get tired. The girl turned and sat on a stone, looking at a small patch of flowers. Or were they weeds? She didn't quite remember or care. They were pretty.
Behind you.
The girl turned with an awed smile as a creature came out from behind a tree. It was tall and grey, with tree branches for eyes. It had a tree branch for an arm as well, with a large flower on its shoulder, ready to bloom.
You're ready to bloom as well.
Although, deflowered might be the word.
You like flowers, don't you?
The creature approached the girl before bending down to her height. The girl smiled and returned the greeting.
"Hello, []. My day is...wonderful."
The creature tilted its head, a roughened hand coming to wipe a tear away from the girl's cheek. She hadn't known she had cried. The girl frowned and nodded.
"I'm lost. I don't remember where my home is...[]...can you help me get back home...?"
The creature seemed to let out a raspy sigh before its hand got closer to the girl's head.
I want to home. Home is where the - is.
---
"[Name]! You're awake! Are you...feeling...oh, you're out again."
Ijichi sighed as he looked back at the road. He wondered what happened to the girl. She had been covered in blood-tinged vomit when he found her, along with a bloody nose, looking shell-shocked. He put a towel under her because, in all honesty, he wasn't sure if she would piss herself next.