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He woke up to the sound of his phone, a quiet chime-like sound that alerted him of a text message. He sat up with a sigh, blue covers falling down as he reached to the bedside table and grabbed his phone. It was a message from the group chat with the students here; Yoshino, Itadori, Fushiguro, Kugisaki, and... Gojo was in it as well, for whatever reason. He closed the blinds next to his bed and laid back down, opening the chat to read the incoming messages.
Yoshino: It's Easter!
Itadori: Yeah! Hey, we should all go to a movie or something, I really want to go to a theatre!
Itadori: Oh! We could try to find an easter movie or something, too!
Kugisaki: Only if we go shopping after, I need more clothes, I'm getting bored of my outfits.
Itadori: Sure!
Yoshino: Okay...
Yoshino: But, didn't Gojo say he had something planned for today?
Kugisaki: Who cares!
Fushiguro: It's 6:52am.
Itadori: Good morning!
Itadori: Will you come to the movie with us?
Fushiguro: No.
Itadori: Come on! It'll be fun, I promise! Have you ever been the a movie theatre?
Fushiguro: No.
Itadori: All the more reason to come! Yoshino said it's an experience you can't afford to miss out on!
Fushiguro: ...
Kugisaki: Just give up already.
Fushiguro: You won't leave me alone if I don't go, will you?
Itadori: Nope!
Yoshino: 😂
Fushiguro: Fine.
He shut off the phone with a soft exhale, a fond smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His eyes trailed over the dimly lit room, taking in the minimally decorated appearance and eventually finding the blinds and looking at where the first slivers of light peaked through the shutters. It should be the beginning of dawn, no doubt the dark sky bleeding into red and gold before it calmed into a serene blue. He laid in the bed for a while, letting his eyes slip shut as he breathed slowly, in and out as he felt his cursed energy ebb and flow within him and just along the surface of his being; it was a similar feeling to when he wore the hairpin, but not as constricting or concentrated. He didn't exactly need sleep, and he didn't really sleep either, but after wearing the hairpin for such long periods of time and then using his technique to maintain the effect to a certain degree, he found himself entering periods of hibernation ; that is to say he entered a non-reactive state that could be considered sleeping in a sense.
He sat up eventually, pulling the covers off as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Just as he was about to stand, he saw something that wasn't there yesterday sitting on the bedside table. It was... an egg? But, rather than the usual colour of eggs, this one was pink with wavy patterns of blue dotted with yellow here and there. He picked the egg up, turning it between his fingers as he inspected it. It really was just an egg, a painted egg. Why was there a painted egg next to his bed? It hadn't been there when he came in last night...
His immediate answer was Gojo and he set the egg back down with a heavy sigh. It had to be Gojo, he was the only one who could get in and out of here easily without him noticing his presence. He knew the man was rather eccentric and childish, considering his age, but even then... for what reason would he come into his room just to put a painted egg beside his bed? His hand twitched and he forced the vile itch back, instead standing up and tugging the sleeve of his sleeping robes until they morphed into a blue and violet kimono adorned with gold embroidered koi fish scales.
The logical answer would be to simply ask for the reason, but he severely doubted that Gojo would just give it to him. How annoying.
He made the bed and grabbed the pair of reflective glasses off the table, putting them on before starting out of the room, only to stop in the doorway as he looked down. There, right in front of his door at enough distance so it wouldn't be hit when he came out, was another egg. This one was gold, with splashes of pastel pink and white, but when he picked it up it was clearly not an actual egg. It was wrapped in wrapper, and a slight peeling of the wrap showed him that it was chocolate inside. He held the egg in his hands, staring blankly at it as he stood in the vacant hallway; the grey walls lacked any lively paintings or interesting decorations, instead, various talismans of old, yellowed paper were plastered onto the wall every few feet.
He curled his fingers around the egg and turned down the hall, the sound of wooden sandals clicking on the floor until he soon reached a sliding door that led him onto the small outdoor veranda. The residence the sorcerers had him stay in was only a few minutes walk away from the dorm residence Yoshino stayed in; he wasn't exactly sure what the building he stayed in used to be, but he guessed it was also once a dorm residence due to the number of other, now empty, rooms. The sky was blue now, the bleeding red faded and gone as dawn had passed.
"Oh, Mumei!" He turned his gaze to the left to find Yoshino walking along the path towards him. "You're up!" Yoshino smiled as he approached; instead of his usual, black uniform, he wore a lavender sweater with loose pants.
"Good morning, Yoshino," he said evenly, turning to face him as he inclined his head in greeting. Yoshino bowed slightly in turn, laughing lightly much to Mumei's continued confusion of the day. Ah, right. He held out his hand and Yoshino blinked down at it, staring at the egg offered before him. "I found this outside my sleeping quarters, I do not know why it was there. There was another egg in the room as well."
Yoshino blinked dumbly before he snorted amusedly and smiled. "It's an Easter egg, Mumei."
Easter. He's heard of that before, a couple times in passing and then earlier this morning when he saw Yoshino's text saying 'it's Easter'. Easter. Easter... Wasn't there a name... Ah, Eostre, right? That was her name, the curse who found meaning beyond violence and became known as the goddess who heralded spring, he remembered meeting her; he wondered if she was still in existence, or if she had been erased and forgotten long ago. She lent her name to the month of Easter, didn't she? So...
"Easter, is that the name of Eostre's celebration?"
"Eh? Eostre?" Yoshino replied and both of them stared at each other in silence.
There was still much to learn, it seemed; then again, it should have been rather clear... since when had Eostre ever shown an interest in eggs?
"Disregard that. Could you tell me, what is Easter?" he asked as he walked, subtly inviting Yoshino to follow him which he did as they went down the path towards the dorms.
"Oh, well, it's a kind of celebration I guess. I don't really know the specifics, I'm not that religious, but I know it's got deeper origins. Basically, when Easter comes the Easter Bunny comes and hides eggs and chocolates around for people to find."
"The Easter Bunny?" he repeated, tilting his head quizzically as he noticed Yoshino's bemused expression. Easter Bunny... The image of a rabbit with antlers and scaled wings reminiscent of Eostre's flashed through his mind. That was... a disturbing image.
"Yup! The Easter Bunny is a rabbit who delivers chocolates when everyone is asleep, kind of like Santa, and then retreats into his burrow until next Easter!" Yoshino exclaimed, but Mumei couldn't figure out why there was a strange sense of unease; Yoshino's bright smile seemed... mischievous, if that was one way to describe it. He didn't have time to think about it, or to ask about who this Santa was, because they had neared the dorms and the familiar peach hair of Itadori came into view.
As if sensing their approach, Itadori turns from his conversation with Kugisaki and Fushiguro to wave at them cheerfully. "You're back! Good morning, Mumei!"
He nodded his head towards Itadori as he returned the greeting, doing the same to both Kugisaki and Fushiguro. He tuned out of the following conversation among them as he noticed the small, blue and green egg in Kugisaki's palm.
"What are you looking at?" Kugisaki said, catching him staring at the egg. He pointed in reply and showed the egg in his own hand.
"Oh, right! Mumei doesn't know what Easter is so I had to explain it to him!" Yoshino says and then turns to Mumei before continuing. "The Easter Bunny gives these eggs to everyone!" Itadori suddenly wheezes as he tries to stifle his sudden laughter and even Kugisaki seems on the verge of howling, only Fushiguro remains calm. There was something missing here... He just couldn't exactly place it, and somehow he felt as though asking would only lead him nowhere.
"I see..." is all he replies, gaze flickering between Itadori and Yoshino as they grin, even Kugisaki as she rolls her eyes with a hint of exasperated fondness. Itadori and Yoshino turn to whisper something to one another and Kugisaki turns towards him.
"Your kimono is nice, Mumei," Kugisaki says and before he can thank her for her compliment, she continues. "I think blue and dark purple would really suit you with some more modern clothes, maybe some whites and blacks as well," she spoke, more to herself, as she stared intently at Mumei. He merely stared back, ignoring the strange feeling that he was on the verge of getting roped into something new once more.
"Oh yeah, Mumei, we're going to see a movie and go shopping, do you want to come with us?" Yoshino asks him.
"I suppose I will, there is nothing to do here anyhow."
"Great! Now there's five of us!"
"You're not going to include your favourite sensei!" All five of them turn to find Gojo walking towards them, hands in his pockets as he walks at a leisurely pace, a broad grin plastered on his face. He sees Fushiguro roll his eyes in a not so subtle manner while Itadori greets him cheerfully alongside a more mellow Yoshino. "Well, anyway it will have to wait for later!" Gojo exclaims as he raises a finger for dramatic effect. He folds his hands into his sleeves at the same time Fushiguro pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs; it was an action he had learned that came with knowing Gojo had one of his annoying antics planned.
"Do you have something planned, sensei?" Itadori asks and it only spurs Gojo on.
"We're doing an Easter egg hunt with the Kyoto students!"
Silence, and then a snarky comment from Kugisaki and a mock expression of hurt from Gojo. He tuned out from the conversation once more as he looked at the small egg in his hand; an Easter egg hunt? Would they be searching for the eggs left behind by the Easter Bunny? That is what it sounded like, logically; he couldn't stop wondering why the Easter Bunny came only to leave eggs, what was the reason? He also couldn't stop recalling the image of a rabbit with Eostre's notable features, although it would probably resemble something more akin to folklore demons at that point...
"You're joining too, Mumei!" He was pulled from his thoughts by an arm around his shoulder and Gojo's cheerful smile too close for comfort. He stepped away without a word or change in expression and noticed the others had started walking off, presumably to a place where they would meet the Kyoto students. "Aw, come on! You're so cold, Mumei!" Gojo whined as he walked past him, though it was easy for Gojo to catch up and match his pace.
"And you're annoying," he replied blandly, following the others at a fair distance while Gojo continued to mutter and whine to himself.
It wasn't long before he could see the clearing where the Kyoto students were gathered, along with the others Mumei had become familiar with, although Maki appeared to be absent. As they approached, he gave a curt nod to greet Inumaki and Panda who waved at him, Maki had yet to open up to him which was, well, understandable. He followed to stand beside Yoshino, lining up facing opposite of the Kyoto students. Some of them were subtle about it, others were not, but either way it was easy to notice the stares and glances stolen towards Mumei, who remained eerily calm even when Gojo and another woman with a scar started talking; he recognized the woman as a teacher from Kyoto's school, but he did not know her name.
His eyes scanned over the line of Kyoto students, not paying any mind to how some of them purposely avoided his gaze. He recognized the one with closed eyes as Kamo Noritoshi, he even knew one of his earlier ancestors in the past... let's see... he also recognized the large man, Aoi Todo, apparently he was Itadori's brother; he would have never guessed. There were two girls, one with a broom and another with shorter, black hair that he did not recognize, though he was fairly certain one of them was a Zenin if the snippets of conversation he's heard were anything to go by. At the end of the line there was a strange looking robot and...
The girl with blue hair met his eyes and froze before she closed her eyes in a gleeful smile and waved. He waved back after a moment of hesitation and that's when he started paying attention to whatever nonsense Gojo must have been spewing, if the scarred woman's annoyed expression told him anything.
"So, you'll be going in small groups! Think of it like a team building activity, you might work together in the future after all!" Gojo cheered, clapping his hands. The scarred woman then sighed as she pulled out a list from her pocket, unravelling it to read off its contents in a monotonous voice.
"Group one is Itadori, Todo, and Mechamaru," she said; Mumei noticed how Todo grinned broadly at Itadori, and how Itadori's lips twitched in a barely held back cringe. Well, from what he's seen, Todo comes off as the type to be a little overbearing, perhaps he's too much for Itadori. He still couldn't believe they were brothers...
"Group two is Mai, Inumaki, and Kugisaki." Mai... first name? Must be her first name. Well, if she was a Zenin it would make sense, considering Maki preferred her first name due to her... circumstances. The Zenin family has never been a kind one.
"Group three is Panda, Nishimiya, and Fushiguro," the scarred woman said, pausing briefly before continuing. "And group four is Kamo, Miwa and... Mumei." He didn't react to the uneasy way she said his name, it didn't bother him in the slightest. Gojo slung an arm around the scarred woman's shoulder, earning a glare from her, as he addressed the students.
"Alright everyone! You know what to do, get going!" Nobody moved until Gojo urged them all again, this time with the threat of extra training, and people dispersed in their groups. Gojo and the scarred woman left, clearly bickering, and he and his two other group members were the only two left in the clearing. Kamo hadn't moved from his spot and he couldn't tell whether the boy was displeased or had a naturally serious expression. Miwa however.
"Hi, Mumei! Happy Easter!" Miwa exclaimed as she walked up to him, a slight bounce in her step; she always appeared to be excited or happy, it was uniquely endearing considering how many humans were constantly weighed down by gloom. He turned to her and bowed his head slightly.
"Happy Easter to you as well, Miwa."
"Ah! You remembered my name!"
"Of course," he replied and watched curiously at the way she rubbed the back of her neck with a smile.
"Let's get going," Kamo said suddenly, turning away without another word.
"Ah! Y-yes!" Miwa replied and jogged lightly to catch up with him, glancing back to make sure Mumei was following. He caught up easily enough, making sure to walk on Miwa's side opposite of Kamo and to keep arms length; he was aware of the other student's discomfort or caution of him, and even if Miwa was unbothered by his presence he had no plans to make the Kamo boy uneasy, so he opted to keep a fair distance even when they made their way into the forest.
It was just under an hour of aimless walking, with Miwa and Kamo each finding a couple of small, colourful eggs, when Mumei saw something sparkle from a low branch. Reaching up to grab the branch and bend it down, a silver egg dropped down and he caught it easily, letting the branch go to inspect it. This one was larger and fit nicely in the palm of his hand, its surface was covered in silver glitter and was slightly rough to the touch.
"Oh, you found one!" Miwa was at his side, on her toes to peer at the egg. He brought it down from his inspection and turned to her, letting her see it more clearly while Kamo stayed leaned against a nearby tree. "Ah, this one pops open!"
"Pops open?" he echoed in confusion. When Miwa reached to take the egg, he offered no resistance and instead watched with rapt attention as she pressed the midsection of the egg, hearing the pop as it opened in the middle. She held out the now divided egg out to him and he took it slowly, barely catching the thing that rolled out of it in his momentary surprise. Out of the egg and now in-between his fingers was a small figurine, a brown rabbit on its hind legs with a basket of colorful eggs held at its front.
"You're awfully fascinated but such meager things," Kamo commented as Mumei was turning the small rabbit in his hand curiously. Miwa seemed to deflate somewhat at the comment but it didn't bother him.
He didn't spare Kamo a glance as he replied evenly. "If you spend all your time painting the bigger picture, you'll miss the small details that bring everything to life; besides, it's my first 'Easter' as you humans call it, I should take my time enjoying it."
"A curse enjoying things? How amusing."
"...Guys," Miwa tried to interject weakly but it was futile. This time, he turned to face Kamo while tucking his hands together within his sleeves, both of them meeting each other with neutral stares.
"Amusing indeed, anything else you would like to say, Kamo?" There was no reply, but he noticed the minute tightening of Kamo's jaw and decided to fill in the silence himself. "Well, before you ask the inevitable question, I'll enlighten you; we curses do not feel as you do, but do not mistake our differences for the absence of feeling."
"Curses don't have emotions, they're curses , monsters born from negativity that feel nothing for those they murder."
"Now, now, why don't we keep looking for eggs!" Miwa cut in with a nervous smile, hands raised placatingly as she stepped in front of Mumei; she didn't meet either of their eyes. "Gojo said there would be a prize for whoever found the most eggs, so let's keep looking, yeah..?"
There was a long breath of silence before Mumei eased his stance, letting out a calm breath as he turned.
"As you wish, let's keep looking," he relented his sharp tone for a purely monotone one, even that seemed to bring ease to Miwa as she visibly relaxed.
"If it's a gift from that man, I don't want it, it's likely nothing but trouble," Kamo muttered, just barely enough for Mumei to hear as the boy trailed behind them, Miwa going further ahead to pick another egg off the ground. Well, at the very least there was something he and the boy could agree on. If it had anything to do with Gojo, he wasn't sure he wanted to win this little game.
Though, Miwa's poorly veiled excitement was intriguing, so he supposed he could try if only to observe for a little longer.
In the end, it was Itadori's group that had one, though after seeing Gojo's mischievous smile he was glad to not have won. It was late evening, turns out some of the eggs had been guarded by lower level curses, nothing challenging but enough to be a nuisance at times. For the most part, he stayed on the sidelines and allowed Miwa and Kamo to fight, though he secretly dealt with the larger curse that approached from behind but that was of no importance. There was a small speech from Gojo and Utahime, which he learned was the scarred woman's name from Miwa, essentially wishing them a Happy Easter and that there would be joint training tomorrow, nothing that would involve him.
The group was dismissed for the night, except for Itadori's group which stayed behind to receive whatever 'prize' Gojo had schemed. On his way returning to his residence, he found Yoshino and Kugisaki, and he even found himself briefly talking to the robot, Mechamaru, and Panda. Mechamaru wasn't afraid to voice his curiosity, interested in his cursed nature and so they came to the agreement that they would discuss more tomorrow, alongside Panda who seemed equally as interested though he was less blunt about it. He wished everyone a goodnight and gave Yoshino the chocolate eggs he had found throughout the day, ignoring the boy's sputtering about how Mumei should keep them as he walked away. He was just passing the main dorms where Yoshino would be when a figure stepped out from the shadows. It was Kamo.
He stopped and they became locked in a silent stare-down. Strangely enough, it felt to Mumei as if he was being searched, examined even, despite the way Kamo's eyes remained closed. It was Kamo who broke the stalemate.
"Goodnight," was all he said as he passed by Mumei, however, this time there was a noticeable lack of coldness. Indifference, likely, but not hostility. He watched Kamo's retreating figure until he was out of sight.
"How strange," he huffed to himself. He continued on his way and soon reached the residence he was kept in, colourful robes fading into white sleeping robes as he stepped through the sliding doors. The halls were just as barren and lifeless as when he left this morning, decorating only by the yellowed talismans that marked the pathway to his room.
His room was just as dull, even lacking the paper talismans; though he knew there was an inscribed talisman underneath his bed on the floor. He set his glasses and his phone down on the bedside table, moving the bed covers to lay down. And there he stayed, the covers pulled up just to where his arms folded over his chest, fingers clasped together as he stared straight at the ceiling. He counted the seconds that went by as he laid there motionless and in silence.
One...
Two...
Ten...
One hundred...
Two thousand...
Five thousand...
Ten thousand...
Sixteen thousand and...
He moved, reaching out to grab his phone, white pupils dilating at the harshness of the bright screen as it turned on. The current time read 11:04pm; the other students should be asleep by now, likely the faculty as well. His eyes narrowed further as he stared at his contacts: Yoshino, Itadori, Fushiguro, Kugisaki, Miwa, Gojo, and...
Well, there could be worse options, like Gojo for example. Besides, he wasn't sure he could handle the incessant itch that burned his skin any longer; curiosity and lack of knowledge was a cruel monster in its own right, though he may be among the few who consider it as such.
He opened the messaging app on his phone.
Mumei: What is the Easter Bunny?
There was several minutes of waiting until his phone dinged with a response.
Fyodor: HAHAHHA!!!
Fyodor: You did not just ask me what the Easter Bunny is!
Mumei: Shut up and tell me, you insolent brat.
Fyodor: Come on, you love me.
Mumei: Not enough to have my mercy.
Fyodor: Fine, fine, sheesh.
Fyodor: What do you want to know exactly?
Mumei: Tell me who the Easter Bunny is.
Fyodor: First off, the Easter Bunny isn't real, you idiot. I bet those kids of yours tricked you, didn't they?
Fyodor: Secondly, that's all I have to say besides the fact that you really are an idiot :P
He scowled at the message, not bothering to reply as he set the phone down on his chest. He turns his gaze to the ceiling once more and positions an arm comfortably behind his head. His eyes narrow at his own thoughts; he knew something was up ever since Yoshino first mentioned the Easter Bunny... somehow he couldn't even find it in himself to be agitated. Though, he was somewhat relieved to know that there was not, in fact, a bunny that could break into his territory completely undetected and leave eggs behind as if taunting him. But, he didn't know if that fact was better or worse than knowing that Gojo was left as the implied 'Easter Bunny' since he was definitely the one who broke into his room to leave the eggs behind; no one else would be able to do that without him noticing. The image of Gojo dressed up with bunny ears and carrying an easter basket was both shocking and horrifying, if he ever saw something like that he'd surely gouge his own eyes out.
He turned to place his phone back on the bedside table and he noticed something toppled over. Reaching out to it, he quickly noticed that it was the small figurine he got from the egg earlier today with Miwa; was it perhaps in his robes and he took it out with his phone unknowingly? He left the rabbit standing upright on the table but stared at it for several moments longer.
Easter, huh?
He recalled the smiles of those he had begun to call friends, and even those who he still found to be on uncertain terms with. Of course, with him there would always be caution and distrust, he felt no offence to that, it was simply something to be expected and accepted. Even still, there were times today when he noticed the others smiling or appearing just a little more relaxed than usual, like when he spied the girl with a broom with a vague but present smile, or when he saw Mai with an air of ease he had not seen prior, or even the way Kugisaki and Itadori competed excitedly over a simple egg when the two groups clashed, his group own hiding in the trees. Or, when he was approached so easily by Mechamaru and asked questions without hostility, something he hadn't expected, and even Panda seemed more open considering the most they had interacted was on a basic level that involved greetings and niceties.
He recalled Kamo's odd behaviour as he was returning here.
Despite how insignificant Easter seemed, it brought out a strange warmth in the many of the others, even if barely. Humans were a truly peculiar species, its part of what made them so fascinating.
His phone dinged and the screen lit up, showing him the message he received.
Fyodor: Happy Easter, Mumei.
He didn't reply, instead he turned onto his side and curled up within the blanket, his eyes falling closed with a small smile formed on his face.
Happy Easter, everyone.