Archive of Our Own ^beta

Twirling the black pen between his fingers, Sukuna was barely paying attention to Professor Nanami’s lecture, yawning for the umpteenth time that day while leaning on his propped up hand. All he could think about was when this was all over, he could finally take a break after hellish assignments and torturous exams. His professor was strict but fair, though that didn’t mean his assignments were ever easy, especially coming from a man who didn’t seem to want to do anything overly stressful.

Either way, Sukuna was glad that in five minutes, all of this will be over.

“It was around this time that the Great Kantō earthquake occurred, devastating both Tokyo and Yokohama. It was estimated that the death toll was over 100,000, with about another 40,000 or so presumed to be dead and-”

Sukuna drowned out the sound of his professor’s voice, hardly bothering to listen when there was a minute left till lecture was over. At the very least, he could afford to not pay attention to class once in a while since he never had difficulties understanding the material they were all given and he got along with his lecturers well enough.

When he scanned the lecture hall, everyone was itching to get it over with too. Clearly, each of them had their own plans on how to spend their summer break.

“Alright, that’ll be all for this term.” Professor Nanami finally announced, closing his laptop and gathering his stuff, “I trust all of you will make good use of your summer vacation. Stay safe and don’t do anything stupid.”

The lecture hall was buzzing with activity, many of them quickly exiting with excitement as they chatted about their summer plans with their friends. Sukuna was just as quick to leave the whole building, free from university obligations for a while.

All of a sudden, Satoru popped up beside him with an arm around his shoulder and his usual dopey grin.

“Yo, Sukuna! Any plans for the summer?” He asked as they walked together, casually waving at some girls in passing.

Sukuna rolled his eyes at hearing the girls all squeal, hands shoved into the pockets of his sleeveless hoodie, “Watch TV. Eat. Sleep.”

His friend pouted at him, stepping in front of the pink-haired man with hands on his hips.

“No, no, no! That’s boring, Sukuna!” Satoru slapped his hand on Sukuna’s shoulders and looked at him with a comically serious expression, “Live a little, man. It’s summer vacation! Go hit the beach or travel somewhere new!”

Shrugging off his hands, Sukuna walked past him with a snort, “Nah, I’m good. All I wanna hit is with my head on the bed and sleep the whole summer away.”

Satoru caught up to him, an arm around his shoulder again.

“Come on, that’s a waste of time and you know it.” Both of them stop by the university gates, Satoru patting him on the shoulder, “Just do something fun, man. You never know, maybe you’ll end up in a summer romance~!”

“Summer romance, yeah right.” Sukuna scoffed at him before nodding his head towards Satoru, “What about you then? Since you’re so damn gungho about summer vacation and all.”

Satoru grinned at him, puffing up his chest and looking so smug, “Well, since you asked so nicely, I’m gonna-”

“Nah, I don’t actually care. See ya, loser.”

Sukuna started heading home and waved his hand at him, snickering at the sounds of Satoru whining like a child and cursing him an early grave for such indignation. As if he didn’t already know what his dumbass of a friend already had planned; the guy was unable to shut up about every aspect of his life as if he was God’s gift to earth. It was a miracle they even got along considering both of them were stubborn assholes, yet they somehow do.

Whatever the case, Sukuna truly had no other plans for the summer other than to relax at home, a bed with his name waiting for him already.

Nothing could ruin his summer now.

“You’ll be staying at your grandmother’s old villa for the summer.”

His mother had declared so suddenly as soon as he got home, smiling at him all cheerfully as if she hadn’t just ruined his plans to sleep for the summer. Sukuna had to do a double take, his red eyes boring holes into his own mother’s similarly colored ones.

“Say what?” He dumbly asked.

His mother’s smile only grew wider, clapping her hands together, “Your grandmother needs someone to take care of the villa while she’s away for the summer and I told her that you were free! So pack up your bags, sweetie.”

Sukuna blinked rapidly, dumbfounded, “Wait, then why don’t you and dad stay there then?”

“Because we’re going with her!”

She held up a pamphlet of some destination tour and suddenly her overly cheerful demeanor made sense. Even his parents had made their own vacation plans.

Sighing, Sukuna simply slumped his shoulders in defeat and made his way to his bedroom, the faint sing-song voice of his excitable mother telling him to not forget to pack his underwear and everything. He loves them but god, they could be embarrassing as hell.

Well, he figured it shouldn’t be all too bad. He could still sleep his days away at his grandmother’s villa and there’s probably not a whole lot to do there anyway. Sukuna had only been there a couple of times, back when he was younger and more of a little shit to his parents. Though now they were all vague recollections of his childhood years, having stopped visiting by the time he was in middle school and wanted to hang out with his friends more during the summer than see his relatives.

Taking out his luggage from under his bed, he started to unceremoniously dump all his clothes into the empty cavity of his bag. For now, he figured he could just grab all the important stuff and organize it all later.

That was when his father passed by his bedroom and knocked on his door frame.

“Here’s your train ticket, your mom says to make sure you pack everything you need.”

Taking the ticket into his hand, Sukuna skimmed it for a second and was about to put it on his desk when he paused, checking it again.

“Hey, dad?” He asked, face blank while his father merely hummed in response, “Why does it say the train leaves in three hours?”

His dad shrugged, “Because you’re leaving today.”

Sukuna facepalmed and groaned loudly in frustration, “I just got home and started packing!”

“Well. you better pack fast then.” Was all his dad said, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he watched his son scramble around his bedroom for his stuff.

Tossing and shoving as much as he could into his luggage and a duffel bag he grabbed in his haste, Sukuna was going to give his parents hell when they got back from their trip. His mother passed by and giggled at her panicking son.

“You guys fucking suck!”

“Sukuna, language!”

Stirring lightly in his sleep, Sukuna blearily opened his eyes to see the train now slightly empty. He stretched his arms up as he sat up properly, letting out a yawn after falling asleep as soon as he sat down on his reserved seat.

It was getting darker outside, the sun setting beyond the horizon and the night sky slowly making its appearance.

Checking the time on his phone, he figured he was probably nearing his stop soon and decided to stay awake to wait it out. Raising his head from his phone, he flinched and held a hand to his heart at the sight of a random woman sitting across from him.

The woman chuckled, “Are you okay?”

Sukuna took a deep breath and shakily nodded, “Y-Yeah, I’m good. Sorry about that.”

Coughing, his face was beginning to flush slightly red, much to his fellow passenger’s amusement who chuckled even more. Taking in the sight of her, strangely enough she was wearing a rather eclectic looking kimono in — what Sukuna thought — were such vibrantly retro colors. With stripes and flowers patterned on the fabric, and an equally bold obi tied around her torso as well as a brightly colored haori over her kimono.

She appeared out of place amidst the modern train, almost as if she wasn’t even from the current Reiwa era.

The woman tilted her head, playful, “Where are you headed to?”

“The next stop, I’m taking care of my grandmother’s house while she’s on a trip with my parents.” He answered.

Sukuna adjusted himself on his seat, getting comfortable for the next half hour before he reached his stop. It was almost eerie that there didn’t seem to be anyone else on the train except for them, figuring there’d be more people on it since summer vacation had started.

“I see, I see! Well, aren’t you a good son!” The woman giggled behind her sleeve, leaving Sukuna to feel a little embarrassed, “I would think young men such as yourself would usually be with their friends, especially during these summer vacations.”

Shrugging, he turned his gaze to the windows, watching the scenery pass by, “I see my friends enough, I wanna use my break to relax by myself instead.”

The woman hummed, smiling, “No one special in your life to spend it with either?”

Sukuna gave her a look, eyes narrowed, though she didn’t look bothered by it as she kept smiling. There was a twinkle in her own eyes, almost as if she was teasing him even.

“No, I don’t have anyone like that.” Sukuna huffed.

He pondered on why people often stuck their nose into his business when it came to his love life, calling him a dried-up prude for not giving a passing interest in anyone brave enough to approach him. Satoru’s little comment from earlier came back to mind, letting his irritation show on his face.

Giggling, the woman laid her hands neatly on her lap, one on top of the other.

“I’m positive someone as dashing as you will be able to find someone eventually.” She said so assuredly, in a way that sent chills down Sukuna’s spine.

Her smile grew wider, her eyes curled in half moons in such a gentle way yet so mysterious at the same time. There was something about her that almost seemed off now, as if she wasn’t so strange before but now Sukuna was beginning to doubt everything going on at that moment Before he could say anything, the woman got up from her seat, though not before reaching over and placing something on the palm of his hand.

With a finger to her red lips and a hand on her knee, crouched down to his eye level from where he sat, she whispered to him.

“Maybe it’ll come from the most unexpected place.”

Sukuna snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the train announcement blare across the cart, eyes darting around to see the seats filled with people when before it had been empty apart from him and the woman from before. Instead, the person sitting across from him was an old businessman gathering his stuff.

Almost convinced that maybe he simply had a vivid dream of some sort, he glanced down at his hands only for his eyes to widen.

There, on the palm of his hand, was a single yellow flower.

Before he could make heads and tails of what was going on, the train was coming to a complete stop and he had only a few minutes to get off or risk having to spend time and money to turn back around.

With haste, Sukuna hurried off with his stuff for the second time that day.

By the time he reached the gates to his grandmother’s villa, the sun had already long disappeared and the moon lit up the sleepy little town he’d arrived in. Though he wasn’t that far from Tokyo, being more around the outskirts of it, the journey still took a while and Sukuna was dead tired. He paid the cab and dragged himself and his luggage up to the door, unlocking it with the key his mother had given him.

His grandmother had already gone over to meet with his parents back in Tokyo, having taken an early train and a short detour to meet with other relatives in the city. This left Sukuna with a dark house he’d be staying in for a while, plus a list of things he had to do which at least didn’t seem hard to accomplish.

For the most part, they were basic chores like cleaning up rooms and taking care of the garden in the backyard.

Sighing, he’ll figure everything else out later after he’s had something to eat and a good night’s sleep. His body was exhausted and his stomach growling loudly at him. Thankfully he had the right mind to at least stop by a convenience store near the train station before grabbing a cab, buying himself a quick dinner.

After dropping off his stuff in the bedroom he used to sleep in, he went downstairs to where the kitchen was and heated up his food in the microwave, leaning back on the counter with a tired yawn. Tucking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, his fingers touched something soft and took it out, revealing the yellow flower he had from earlier.

Although it had been in his pocket this entire time, the flower was hardly a petal off, looking as pristine as before.

Curious, Sukuna took his phone out of his pants pocket and began searching through various sites about what kind of flower it was. Of course it wasn’t going to be easy, glaring at the thousands upon thousands of links and images of various yellow flowers yet none that match the one he had.

He flinched when the microwave beeped loudly next to him, dropping his phone on the floor in surprise.

Cursing under his breath, he took his food out of the microwave and placed it on the kitchen island before crouching down to pick up his phone, checking it for any scratches or cracks. When it appeared his phone was fine, he sighed in relief and sat down on one of the stools to eat.

Unlocking his phone again, he was greeted with a page loading on his phone’s browser and watched a picture slowly pop up on his screen containing the very flower he had been searching for.

“Geranium?” Sukuna mumbled to himself, raising an eyebrow.

Skimming through the flavor text on the site, there wasn’t anything particularly special about the flower, though Sukuna didn’t claim to be knowledgeable about flowers anyway. As he scrolled down the site, boredly reading through it while he ate his dinner, his eyes stopped at the trivia section at the very bottom of the page.

“In the language of flowers, depending on the situation, yellow geraniums are known to mean many things. One of which is…” Sukuna’s voice trailed off, expression incredulous, “... unexpected meetings.”

Unexpected meetings? Why did that sound familiar?

Sukuna wracked his brain for a minute, stewing to himself until it came back to him.

“Maybe it’ll come from the most unexpected place.”

The odd woman from the train.

He eyed the flower — the yellow geranium — on the kitchen island, laying so innocently in front of him. Sukuna still wasn’t sure what happened on that train or where that woman had gone off to, disappearing right before his eyes and leaving him with a single lone flower.

God, he was way too tired to be dealing with this kind of bullshit.

Rubbing his heavy eyes to keep himself awake just a little longer, he quickly finished his dinner and tossed the plastic container into the trash bin. Whatever was going on, Sukuna wasn’t in the mood to be dealing with it and needed sleep badly. Pocketing his phone and the flower, he’ll figure it out when he’s not running on fumes at this point in time.

Making his way back upstairs to his bedroom, not even bothering to clean himself up in the bathroom, Sukuna took out his hand from his shirt pocket to open his bedroom door when the flower fell out and picked up by the wind from an open window Sukuna had noticed too late.

Cursing, he ran after the yellow geranium as it flew around gracefully, spinning around without a care in the world.

“How are you so fast?! You’re a fucking flower!” Exclaimed Sukuna, running after the thing through the long hallway.

It slid through the open slits of a door, disappearing beyond the room. Sukuna slowed down to a halt, briefly wondering if his grandmother had forgotten to close certain windows and doors before she left, and creaked the door open. Examining the room, there didn’t seem to be anything special about it other than being one of the many guestrooms in the villa.

Well, except maybe for the large object underneath a dusty sheet. Beneath it, the yellow geranium.

Approaching the covered furniture, Sukuna reached out and hesitated for a second, if this was alright for him to do. Then again, his grandmother and parents wanted him to keep the house clean and this would be part of something he’d have to do.

Without further ado, he grabbed at the sheet and tugged it down, dust flying everywhere.

Sukuna coughed, waving a hand around to fan the clouds of dust away from him until it cleared up. When he could finally breathe and see again, in front of him stood a large antique mirror with elegant swirls and floral flourishes decorating the dark wooden frame, embellished with carved out leaves and vines.

Although what caught his eye wasn’t the beautiful wooden embellishments but rather, what was beyond it.

“Wha—” Sukuna took a few careful steps closer, unsure of what he was seeing, “Who… are you?”

In front of him was not a reflection of himself but rather, of a completely different person staring back at him. A boy — maybe a year or two younger than him — dressed in a black gakuran and hat, with pink hair a lighter shade than his own and black undercut. The most striking part about him were those bright eyes of his, made of amber and honey. They held just as much surprise as Sukuna did, if the sheets around his own feet were any indication.

The figure in black uniform spoke, voice much lighter and expressive compared to himself.

“Who am I? Who are you?!” They shot back, confused by this strange turn of events, “H-How are you inside my mirror?”

Sukuna is definitely dreaming. He has to be. There’s no way what was going on was for real and obviously he needed to pinch himself right then to prove it was a dream.

It was not a dream.

“Well,” He ran a hand through his hair, unsure of what to do, “Shit.”

Suddenly another voice was heard, though Sukuna couldn’t hear it well but the person beyond the mirror snapped their heads to the side. For a second, they glanced back at Sukuna, unsure if they should leave or not before the voice shouted at them again.

“Okay, I’m coming!” They yelled back, quickly covering the mirror with the sheets again.

A second later, they came back, peeking from the side.

“Uhm, I-I don’t know what’s going on or how this is happening, but I’ll talk to you later, okay?” Was all they said before they properly covered their part again.

Sukuna heard footsteps and the sound of a door opening then slammed shut until it was quiet again.

Yeah, he needed sleep. He’ll leave this for future Sukuna to deal with.

The sound of knocking on glass woke Sukuna up, burying his face into his pillow and groaning in exhaustion. He brought the sheets up high and covered himself completely, wanting to disappear from everything.

It irritated him when the knocking did not stop or let up one bit, even worse when a voice started calling for him.

“Hello? Hellooo?” They called.

Sukuna opened his eyes wide.

A voice?

He suddenly sat up on the bed, glancing around the room to see he had plopped himself down on the nearest bed and fainted completely. This wasn’t even the bedroom he was supposed to be sleeping in.

The knocking continued, realizing a second later it was coming from the mirror covered by the sheet.

Getting off the bed, Sukuna stood in front of the mirror and tugged off the sheet to see the same boy from last night inside the mirror. There was an air of childish wonder on them, gazing back at him in awe.

“There you are! I’ve been calling you for ages.” They said, hands pressed to the mirror, standing so close to where their reflections should be.

Sukuna had truly wished this was all a dream, his mind trying to find some sort of scientific way as to how this was happening. There was no way he could process the situation he was in, mind running a mile a minute.

The young boy tilted his head slightly, “You seem to be thinking hard about something. What’s going on?”

Snapped out of his thoughts, Sukuna sighed and started massaging his temples with his hand.

“I’m just… trying to wrap my head around this whole thing.”

Okay, so rewinding whatever happened last night in his mind, Sukuna couldn’t think of one possible scientific explanation behind how this was happening. Mirrors were made with glass and aluminium; a surface where light can bounce off of and reflect images of what’s in front of it. This was clearly an old antique mirror though, so it could possibly be made of silver instead of aluminium but neither of these materials could explain the reason why there’s a pink-haired boy standing in front of him.

Touching the surface of the mirror with the tips of his fingers, the mirror part was still there but he couldn’t go any further, knocking on it with his knuckles.

In the midst of his deep thinking, Sukuna completely ignored the person on the other side of the mirror, pouting to the point his cheeks would puff up.

“I’m still right here, just saying.” They said, sulking.

Sukuna flickered his gaze back to him, surprised for a second time as if he truly did forget there was another person besides him with the way his mouth was slightly opened. Running a hand through his hair, making a mess of himself, Sukuna sighed.

“Just be quiet for a second, brat. I’m trying to think.”

“I’m not a brat!” They exclaimed, glaring at him, “I’m 18 years old and I have a name, you know!”

Rolling his eyes, Sukuna wondered how he got stuck with a teenager, only in his third year of high school. To be fair, the kid looked a lot younger than his age, figuring he’d be at least 16 and so was a little amused to hear he was barely a young adult.

“Still a brat in my book.” He snorted, retracting his hand from the mirror to shove it into his shirt pocket.

They grumbled, “I’d rather be called by my name instead of brat, thank you very much.”

Sukuna rolled his eyes and shook his head, shifting about till his arms were crossed and gave the kid a look, waiting. It took them almost a few minutes to understand he was waiting for said name, sputtering to themselves before adjusting the cap on their head.

“I-I’m Yuuji. Itadori Yuuji.” He finally introduced himself, face flushed.

Sukuna hummed, a teasing smirk forming across his lips, “What are you, an old man? Who names their kid Yuuji?”

Yuuji glared at him, “My parents did and it’s not old! It’s a perfectly good name!”

“In what year? The 60s?” Sukuna scoffed and laughed, “The Shōwa era ended a long time ago!”

Expecting to be yelled at for his crude joke, what he got instead was silence and a blank stare from Yuuji, his eyebrows slowly scrunching up in confusion. It was then Sukuna felt there was something terribly wrong when Yuuji opened his mouth.

“What's the Shōwa era?” He asked innocently with a tilt to his head.

This started ringing alarm bells in his mind, on how something wasn’t adding up until the man started gathering all the bits and pieces from the short period of time they’ve met. The old name, the way Yuuji wore his gakuran, even the way his room was decorated from what Sukuna could see from beyond the mirror.

Sukuna didn’t want it to be true but he had to ask.

“Hey, brat.” He called, now serious and solemn, “What’s the year right now?”

Yuuji appeared even more confused by the question, still he complied anyway.

“It’s Taishō 12.” He answered meekly, unsure of what was happening.

All the air in his lungs stood still, holding his breath until he finally exhaled and started to panic. This wasn’t good, not good at all. Calculating the numbers in his mind, that would mean Yuuji is currently living in the year 1923.

There was a 98 year difference between their time periods.

“Yuuji,” Sukuna started, hesitating to even tell him but felt it might be better for him to still know, “Listen to me closely and keep calm, okay?”

Yuuji was growing concerned, his eyebrows furrowing but gulped and nodded. Licking his lips, heart beating fast against his chest, Sukuna leaned in close and laid his red eyes on amber hues.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

“Currently, I’m in what’s called the Reiwa era.” He explained, scowling when he noticed Yuuji’s eyes widening, “I’m from the year 2021.”

The young teen took a few steps back in surprise, a hand up to conceal his gasp as he slowly sunk to the floor. Obviously, it was a lot to take in, the way his eyes shook in shock and how Sukuna could tell he had a lot of questions in his mind. Hell, Sukuna himself was reeling at the fact he was talking to someone from almost a hundred years ago.

With a sigh, Sukuna took a seat on the floor in front of the mirror, legs crossed and arm propped on his knee to lean his head on. The other hand was tapping on the other knee, not sure how to proceed with the revelation that they were two people from different time periods and talking to each other using an old mirror.

His eyes perked up.

“Brat.” He called to attention, Yuuji jumping a bit before crawling closer to the mirror and plopping himself down across from him.

“Y-Yeah?” The way he sat so prim and proper would’ve made Sukuna laugh had he not known the kid was from the Taishō era, figuring it might not be a good idea to joke around about these kinds of things.

“What does your mirror look like?” Sukuna asked, “And don’t leave any details out.”

Unsure why he was asking that, Yuuji decided to be obedient for now and gave him all the details, of every nook and cranny. At the very least, it proved one theory right in Sukuna’s mind.

Yuuji gave him a puzzled look, “Why do you wanna know what it looks like?”

“Because I wanted to confirm something.” Sukuna sat up straighter, keeping his gaze on the teen, “And now I know for certain we are both using the same mirror across two different time periods.”

“You mean the mirror is connecting both of us like this?” He asked, the tips of his fingers touching the cool glass surface, both confused and in awe.

Sukuna hummed, still unsure, “It’s the best explanation we have so far.”

The two of them sat on the floor in deep thought. There were so many variables to their situation and Sukuna couldn’t pinpoint any exact way this could’ve happened. It was entirely impossible yet here they were, talking to each other like they were next door neighbours. They couldn’t exactly talk about this to others either or people would think they were crazy.

Taking out his phone, he started to search the net about time travelling, hopeful to get any kind of information. As he did so, Yuuji watched him in awe, hands pressed against the glass and wondering what the thin rectangular box was.

“What are you doing?” Yuuji asked, trying to take a peek at whatever he was holding.

Sukuna jumped in his skin, nervously eyeing the pink-haired teen who was gazing curiously at his phone. Anything that Yuuji tells him may not affect him since he was from the future — or present would be accurate? — and the events he may tell had already occurred, but anything Sukuna did may very well have an effect over the past and subsequent present.

Would his future be changed if he tells Yuuji anything? Or would it be the kind of situation where even if he tells Yuuji anything and it happens to affect the future, it’ll simply be a branching path and thus not actually change the current Sukuna’s present in any way?

Then again, it’d be inevitable that the teen would start asking questions the more he sees modern objects in his peripheral vision. There’s only so much Sukuna could avoid talking about before things got ridiculous, so he sighed.

“Listen, whatever I tell you from now on is strictly between us.” Sukuna stated firmly, placing his phone down for a moment, “Do not tell anyone about anything I’m gonna be showing you, okay brat?”

Yuuji pursed his lips into a tight line and nodded, “I swear on my life I won’t!”

Sukuna nodded, scooting closer and rotated his body to the side so he could show Yuuji what he was looking up on his phone. As the smaller young teen did the same on his side, neither noticed how close they had gotten, bodies pressed up on the glass.

Despite the cool surface against their skin, the two of them felt the tingling of warmth as they spoke.

Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, Sukuna could finally take a breather after tending to his grandmother’s garden. All he thought he had to do was water the whole place and then head inside to sleep, instead what he got was a list of instructions on how to care for the garden and to help clear out any weeds growing on the soil.

Of course his summer break would never be this easy, there’s always a catch.

This is how he found himself sitting underneath the shade of the gazebo, arms resting on the table and legs stretched out to let them rest for a while. His head tossed back, the irritation and exhaustion present within his furrowed eyebrows. His eyes slowly trailed off to where the villa stood, something in the back of his mind as he stared at the white pillars and balustrades adorned with climbing vines and flowers.

A few days have passed since he met the young boy in the mirror, Itadori Yuuji. He was a precocious brat, constantly asking him about every little thing in regards to the future after the first time they spoke and Sukuna showing him what a smartphone was. Their exchange ignited the passion in him, asking to be shown everything on this so-called smartphone as well as the changes that happened between their time periods.

“So this rectangular box can do several different things at once?” Yuuji had asked him with a twinkle in his eyes, amazed.

Sukuna almost laughed, seeing such a young face blatantly say he knew nothing about smart technology. Although he understood why, it was still amusing nevertheless.

“Yeah, I can search up information as long as there’s an internet connection. I can call and send messages.” Eyeing the teen beside him, he smirked as his fingers deftly tapped on the screen, “I can even take pictures right now.”

“Pictures?” Yuuji asked with a tilt of his head, a dumb look on his face.

Sukuna took the opportunity to raise his phone up and took a selfie with the two of them, chuckling at the dumbstruck expression on Yuuji on the other side of the mirror before showing it to him.

“I’ve never seen anyone so stupid looking as you.” He teased, smirking.

Yuuji pouted and glared at him, “Has anyone ever told you how mean you are?”

“I hear it a lot.” Shrugging his shoulders, he could barely contain his growing smirk, “Doesn’t bother me at all.”

The teen on the other side grumbled, throwing a disgusted groan at him with a roll of his eyes. Sukuna couldn’t help but laugh at him sulking, his frown deepening at being teased and bullied so mercilessly.

“Is everyone from the future as mean as you? Cause if they are, then there’s no hope for Japan.” Yuuji snarked at him, eyes half-lidded with irritation. The man merely shrugged his shoulders again, “Beats me, though everyone I know is a complete fucking asshole anyway. You’ll die if you ever meet my friend, Satoru.”

Yuuji grimaced, “Ugh, you are needlessly crass.”

“And you’re old-fashioned. Honestly, you are technically older than my grandmother.” It was true, considering there was about a hundred year difference between them.

“I’m currently 18 years old! How old are you then?!” The teen growled at him.

Sukuna relented a bit, “I’m 20, brat.”

Yuuji scoffed and smirked back, though it looked more like a small cub trying to be intimidating, “You look older than 20. What did you do to look twice your age?”

His expression darkened, feeling a vein pop on his skin, “Strong words coming from a snot-nosed brat who barely looks a day over 15.”

The two of them glared back at each other, the spark from their gaze palpable. The sudden ringing from the grandfather clock out in the hallway jolted both of them, Sukuna checking his phone to see it was already getting close to afternoon and he had chores to do.

“Shit, I wasted so much time talking here!” He quickly got up, needing to clean himself up as well and make something to eat, not realizing he’d been hungry this whole time too.

Yuuji sputtered and stood up as well, knocking on the glass when Sukuna suddenly tossed the sheet over the mirror.

“Hey, wait! I still never caught your name!”

By that point, the man had already ran out of the bedroom to get started on his to-do list. Since then, he divided his time between doing his chores and checking up on the brat in the mirror. From what he gathered, other than the hundred year difference, their timelines were running adjacent to each other to the point they could ask each other for the time and it would be accurate.

Exhaling, Sukuna got up from his seat and picked up the round bag of weed to throw out, figuring he did enough work on the garden. He’d already been at it since this morning and lunch sounded good right about now. Yuuji must already be waiting for him in the mirror to talk more about what the future would be like, interested in the advancement of Japan’s economy and technology after the smartphone conversation.

Yesterday, he had told Yuuji about the invention of the washing machine and the young teen was almost salivating at the thought of not having to wash clothes by hand, admitting he’d often help his mother with the laundry.

Unknowingly smiling to himself, Sukuna couldn’t wait to tell him about the refrigerator, strutting back inside the villa covered in bougainvilleas.

If someone were to tell Sukuna he’d be spending his summer watching anime with a boy from the Taishō era, he’d have genuinely suggested they get themselves checked into a mental asylum.

Hell, Sukuna wasn’t even the type of person who watched anime to begin with. He’s seen movies and has his preferences, sure, but anime wasn’t one of them. Yet here he was, back against the hardwood frame of the mirror with his arms crossed and his laptop on a low table Sukuna had carried inside the room. If his smartphone had amazed Yuuji, then the laptop blew his mind completely. Amber eyes watching Sukuna typing on his keyboard like a hawk, awestruck by how fast his fingers moved across each letter.

God forbid Sukuna ever tells him about LCD screen TVs.

He wasn’t even sure how this happened, merely scrolling through his social media feed — Yuuji had begged to see what social media was — and by chance, an advertisement went past the screen of some anime characters, catching the teen’s attention.

“Sukuna, what was that just now?” Yuuji pointed out, asking to scroll back up.

Sukuna raised an eyebrow but complied anyway, landing his sight on some random popular anime he’d seen a few times in passing. Memories of the trailer for the movie last year surfaced in his mind, remembering how Satoru had whined and begged for Sukuna to watch it with him because it looked cool and interesting.

Still, he could see why this caught Yuuji’s attention, with strong vibrant colors and the familiar yet stylized depictions of the Taishō era.

Even the characters were wearing black uniforms, similar to the one Yuuji often wore whenever they spoke to each other. Although Sukuna noted Yuuji was wearing them accurately and never wore a haori on top of his gakuran, keeping it simple and sleek with a hat on his pink hair. Today, however, he’d chosen to wear something more casual and dressed down; a simple cream long-sleeved shirt and dark slacks with suspenders, dark red argyle socks and brown shoes.

The man had tried not to snort at how much of a good boy he was, in comparison to Sukuna’s modern laid back summer casual outfits. Yuuji had balked at the fact people in the Reiwa era actually wore tattered clothes as a fashion statement after seeing Sukuna wear his black ripped jeans once, having asked why he hadn’t fixed the holes around his knees and other patches on it.

Explaining the brief history of fashion in the modern era was not something Sukuna had thought he’d enjoy until he saw the increasingly look of disbelief on Yuuji’s face, trying his best not to laugh out loud from how contorted his face looked.

Hearing a gasp from beside him, Sukuna paid attention to the anime again, seeing the main character managing to finally pass his first challenge with the mysterious masked swordsman. His face was revealed to be a young man with a scar on his cheek, smiling melancholically at the main character before disappearing in the snowy mist, the large boulder now cut in half behind where he once was.

Yuuji was sniffling into his handkerchief, tears running down his flushed cheeks as he tried his best to wipe them away. There was a part of him that almost moved from his seat on the floor, wanting to reach out his hand and wipe them away for him. A tug in his normally frigid heart. Instead, Sukuna stayed put, the grip on his forearms tighter.

“Ahh, that was such a good episode!” The young teen cried out, blotting out the rest of his tears away, “It took him so many months but he finally cut the boulder!”

Only grunting in response, Sukuna couldn’t say he was paying attention all that much but if he was enjoying it, then that was enough. Yuuji had already accepted the man wasn’t much of a talker at times, even going hours sitting on a couch to read a book or scroll through his phone before falling asleep.

The next episode automatically played, letting the opening play its course since Yuuji insisted they watch it after being enamored by the sleek modern animation and dramatic lyrics. After a while, the main character found themselves climbing up several steps to their final examination before becoming part of the brigade. Glowing wisteria in shades of purple colored the screen, drooping from brown branches so gracefully as the main character stretched his hand out in awe.

“That’s so beautiful…” Yuuji mumbled softly.

Sukuna breathlessly chuckled, “There’s a park in Tochigi with rows and rows of wisteria hanging down from the branches. I went there with my parents once.”

“Wow, really?” Smiling, the pink-haired teen leaned close to the glass, “I’ve only ever seen younger wisteria trees, but none like the ones like in this show.”

“I think most wisteria trees in your time would be around 30 to 50 years old at most.” Sukuna started explaining, shifting in his seat to get comfortable after slumping against the wooden frame for a while, “The park I mentioned wouldn’t even exist yet till the 60s, but the tree itself should be around 54 years old in your year.”

Yuuji made a childish noise, rocking side to side petulantly, “I wanna see the pretty wisteria tree too!”

Sukuna felt a small twinge in his chest, lips forming a tight line as he recalled the destructive turmoil that would happen in a couple more decades before the 60s. While he’s shown Yuuji some pretty incredible things from his time, there were certain parts of history he’s omitting from him, knowing there was nothing he could do about the atrocities that would occur.

The peace he now lives in was due to the young men like Yuuji serving and sacrificing for their country, yet he didn’t have the heart to tell him any of that.

All he could do was smile to himself, hoping to rest the uneasiness within him.

“If you live a long enough life, you’ll be able to experience some of the things we’ve talked about.” His eyes set their sight on the wisteria shown on screen, “Maybe even go see the park when it opens for the first time.”

Although he couldn’t see Yuuji’s face, he heard a small giggle beside him, able to imagine the innocent smile in his mind without even trying.

“I’ll try my best to stay alive then!” He says with much glee and joy, “I’ll grow big and strong, like a wisteria tree!”

Sukuna, deep inside, wished for the same as well.

Footsteps paced back and forth in the kitchen, sounds of food being cooked in a frying pan as Sukuna ran around making himself something to eat. On the counter, leaning against the wall was his phone, faces of his family cheerfully speaking to him on a video call.

“You haven’t burned down the place yet, have you, sweetie?” His mom cheerfully asked, receiving a groan in return.

“No, mom.” Sukuna rolled his eyes, tossing some salt and pepper into the pan, “And I’m pretty sure you’d sooner burn it down the minute you get here. Remember the toaster incident?”

His mother huffed at him in mock indignation, trying not to snort at a grown woman puffing her cheeks up like a small child who wasn’t given candy. His father and grandmother gave each other a look of fond exasperation, understanding of what she could be like with a shake of their heads.

“How is my garden doing, Sukuna, dear?” His grandmother asked, being handed the phone while his parents started ordering some food off-screen.

Sukuna smiled lightly at her, “It’s doing fine, don’t worry too much, grandma.” He turned off the stove to plate up his food, stomach hungry after cleaning up the house, “It’s me we’re talking about, you know it’s in good hands.”

Laughing softly, his grandmother always took his apparent arrogance in stride, proud of her accomplished grandson.

“Oh right, why don’t you decorate the house with some of the flowers?” She suggested, “The sunflowers should be at the peak of their bloom right now, I have a couple of vases you can use.”

Sukuna, ever the softie when it came to his grandmother, obediently nodded, “Alright, since you asked, grandma.”

His mother popped into the screen with another petulant pout, “Hey, how come it takes me an hour and a half to convince you to do one thing but when your grandmother asks for it, you do it right away?”

A low sigh could be heard off screen, already seeing in his mind the exasperation on his father’s face, “Because your requests come with extra instructions, honey.”

While his parents playfully bicker in the background, his grandmother bid him goodbye before hanging up, Sukuna waving at the screen with a half-smile before shaking his head at his quirky parents. They should be thankful he loved them a lot.

After sitting down and filling his empty stomach with food, he got to work in getting some flowers in a vase like his grandmother asked him to. It took a while for him, looking up various videos online on what to do before cutting the stem of the sunflowers step by step, placing them in one of the clear glass vases he found and filling it up with water.

For his first time, Sukuna thought he didn’t do too badly and puffed up his chest, having no doubt he was the best at everything he did. Carrying the vase in one arm, he thought briefly on where to put it until he remembered the bedroom near the end of the hallway, his feet already carrying him there before he knew it.

Opening the door, he remembered having left one of the windows open to let the cool summer breeze flow in, fresh air and the faint floral scent wafting inside. Walking inside, he was about to place down the vase on the table by the window when he heard the familiar knock, reaching over to tug the sheet down to reveal Yuuji by the mirror with a grin.

“Hey! How was your lunch?” He asked, voice light and cheery before he noticed the vase in Sukuna’s arms, his face brightening, “Sunflowers! They look so pretty!”

Sukuna sighed, though the upward tug on the corner of his lips couldn’t hide the slight fondness he held, “My grandmother told me to decorate the place with her flowers from the garden.”

“Well, your grandmother has some really nice flowers.” Yuuji smiled.

It takes Sukuna a full minute to take in the view before him, of a pink-haired young man with a smile as bright and sunny as the sunflowers he held in his arms. The way his eyes twinkled with glee, eyes made of sweet honey gazing back at his own dark red ones, unabashedly open and honest. For someone raised in their country’s most tumultuous years, Yuuji felt like a breath of fresh air in a field of sunflowers, a flash of pink in a sea of brilliant yellow petals.

Even though he had tried to ignore the strange tingling in his chest, Sukuna couldn’t avoid it any longer, chuckling to himself while Yuuji looked at him in confusion.

Sukuna placed down the vase of sunflowers on the low table they used to watch films and TV shows on his laptop together, somewhere the young teen could see from where the mirror was facing. He watched Yuuji happily kneel down to admire the soft petals, admiring every little detail with such concentration.

For a moment, he wanted summer to last a little while longer.

Dark clouds rolled by in the sky, covering vivid blues in shades of grey. Sukuna thought he could relax for today from tending the garden, lest he wanted to possibly get caught up in the oncoming rain and get sick. He’d been hard at work lately, the garden taking up most of his day usually when he’s not inside spending time in front of the mirror.

Most people would likely call him narcissistic, but they didn’t need to know the real reason why he’s been perched by the old antique mirror almost everyday since summer break started.

Speaking of which, the old-fashioned Taishō teen had been particularly busy these past few days, often being called for by his own parents about something or other. Sukuna hadn’t tried to ask him what was going on, figuring it wasn’t any of his business and Yuuji hardly said a word about it either, returning every time with a meek smile before they continued on doing whatever activity they decided to do that day.

Usually it was either Sukuna telling him about his present, Yuuji telling some wild story about what he’s done with his friends, or they’d be sitting together quietly either minding their own business or watching something on his laptop.

It became their routine even, Sukuna finding it difficult to believe he’s settled into something almost domestic with a guy he’s met only earlier this month. At the same time, there was a dull ache present in his chest, knowing this may not last forever since he’d have to go back home to Tokyo eventually.

Sukuna knew his feelings were unavoidably a lost cause, a futile effort. They were separated by the concept of time itself; impossible to understand and cruelly moving forward.

Maybe that’s why he kept the pink-haired teen at an arm’s length. Close enough to enjoy each other’s company, but distant enough for their inevitable farewell. He knew his history well, that there was nothing he could do to prevent it nor could he. Not to mention, Yuuji had his own life to lead, one he couldn’t tether to his own no matter how much he wanted to.

Yuuji had his own family, his own friends, his own future to forge. A future without Sukuna, one where he’d marry a young girl his age and have kids together, living a life filled with sunny smiles and soft laughter. Enduring the difficult times which would happen without a single doubt.

And yet, Sukuna would constantly convince himself to stick around just a little bit more.

A few minutes more.

A little bit longer.

Drinking in the beautiful view of that smile he’s come to adore, to cherish. Wanting a few seconds more of the precious time they had left together. Yuuji may never know of the thunderstorm raging in his heart, conflicted by the roaring of emotions circling inside of him. All he knew at that moment was he wanted to see him, convincing himself it’ll be the last time.

Over and over again.

A vicious cycle.

“You never know, maybe you’ll end up in a summer romance~!”

His friend’s words from earlier in their break resounded in his mind, chuckling humorlessly.

“You forgot about summer heartbreaks, you idiot.” Sukuna muttered to himself, smiling pitifully. He only had himself to blame for this. Of course he’d catch feelings for someone impossible to be with for the most extreme reason ever.

A walking disaster the minute they met.

Heading inside the bedroom, the man had become so accustomed to this room by now, a few pieces of furniture moved around to accommodate his time spent with Yuuji in front of the mirror. Time spent mindlessly counting the zinnia flowers on the faded old wallpaper when Sukuna was at the peak of boredom whenever he waited for the teen to knock on the glass.

Counting the days he had left before his time at the villa was over.

For once, he took careful footsteps towards the covered mirror, raising the sheets up before he rapped his knuckles on the glass. A minute or two later, the sheets from the other side were raised, Yuuji carefully peeking from the corner before smiling widely and tugging off the sheet on his end.

“Hey! You never usually knock on the glass first.” He giggled, a hand to his lips.

Sukuna merely shrugged as he tugged off the sheet from his side as well, “There’s a first for everything.”

Before Yuuji could respond, someone was already calling for him and he quickly responded, sending an apologetic look in Sukuna’s way.

“Sorry, I’ll be right back.” The mirror turned dark again, covered by the sheet.

Sukuna quelled the ache in his chest, letting go of the sheet in his hand to fall limply on the floor and made his way to the couch, flopping down with an arm covering his eyes. Moving his arm up, he turned his attention to the wallpaper and started counting the zinnias again, hardly bothering with anything else till Yuuji returned.

And that was the last time Sukuna ever saw him.

The rain poured down heavily, the way it had been the past couple of days. The dreary weather hardly matched the colorful garden, flowers drenched in water while the smell of petrichor permeated the air.

Sitting on a stool by the kitchen island, Sukuna stared out at the marigolds peeking out from the other side of the window, vibrant yellow and orange a stark contrast to the dark greys of the rain. The days flew by, spent cleaning up the house since there was nothing else left to do.

Yuuji never showed up in the mirror ever again, his side remained dark under the cover of his sheet. Sukuna would often stand in front and knock on it several times, only to receive no response. No cheerful greetings, no wide smiles, nothing. Almost as if he’d never been there at all, serving to remind Sukuna how much time he spent together with the young teen in the black gakuran.

They really do say that you never know how much you miss something until they’re gone for good, Sukuna mused darkly to himself.

It wasn’t just that he missed Yuuji’s warm demeanour, the way he could light up the room with his presence alone. There was a sense of foreboding, something Sukuna felt he was forgetting and no matter how much he tried to recall it, his mind remained blank. A hole in his usually brilliant mind. For a moment, the man wondered if the depression he was feeling was hindering his thought process, unable to remember something so important.

The marigold petals dance to the beat of the raindrops, bouncing and fluttering amidst the wind. Taking his mind off of certain things for a while, Sukuna kept himself distracted instead. All the chores he had left to do were done and with the heavy downpour outside, tending the garden wasn’t a good idea at the moment. Bored, he took out his phone and started to scroll down his social media feed, catching up on what his friends were doing.

A picture of Satoru with some dark-haired kid popped up, hair being ruffled by the older man while trying to pry his large hands off of him. Sukuna had seen pictures of them a few times now, guessing the white-haired idiot had been spending his summer with whoever this was. He did mention in passing on being close with his juniors from his high school days, though Sukuna wondered if annoying them to being his friends was more accurate.

Still, he was having fun and Sukuna, as his only other friend in university, was at least sort of happy for the guy.

Continuing to scroll down his feed, he noticed a post from Professor Nanami. It was a miracle the guy even had some kind of a social media presence, hearing from older students and professors on how Professor Geto convinced the man to get on social media in the first place before he gets left behind by society.

Sukuna sighed, remembering how boring the last lecture was before summer vacation started. Knowing the guy though, it might be a good idea to start reading up on his textbooks again since he was definitely going to give them an assignment as soon as they got back from their break.

Opening up his student portal, various PDFs popped on his screen and he was about to tap on one before he paused, reading the title of the PDF.

“Great Kanto earthquake…” He quietly mumbled, the gears in his mind whirring back to life as he finally remembered it. The thing he had forgotten and now the dread pooling in his chest. Quickly, he checked the date on his phone to see it was already August 31st, panic setting in when he abruptly got off the stool and ran towards the bedroom.

Yuuji, Yuuji, Yuuji!

He screamed in his mind, barreling inside the drab room and tugging the sheet down, the other side still so dark and void of anything.

Sukuna knocked hard on the glass, shaking the wooden frame for someone — anyone — to answer his desperate pleas. To let Yuuji know of the danger he was about to come into. Maybe, just maybe, he could save him before it's too late. This might affect the future — his present — but in this very moment, nothing else mattered other than Yuuji’s safety.

Of the sunshine in his smile Sukuna desperately wants to preserve within his memories.

“Yuuji!” He called out, voice hoarse from all the shouting he had done.

In a moment of desperation, Sukuna scanned the bedroom for anything useful, to help alert the teen of the impending danger. Spotting his duffel bag slumped against the corner of the bed, he started searching for something inside, finding his pencil case and notebook. Tearing out a piece of paper, Sukuna penned down all that he knew of the devastating earthquake, right down to the time and date of it. His pleas for Yuuji to get somewhere outside of Tokyo and Yokohama, wishing for his safety the most.

His own feelings came pouring out onto paper, the love and admiration hidden behind kind words. Signing his name down at the very bottom, he stuck the paper on the glass with tape, praying to some deity out there to listen and hope that Yuuji will find his letter before it’s too late.

Falling down to his knees, Sukuna let his tears flow.

Dear Yuuji,

I hope this letter reaches you. It is important you read this before September 1st and to not be alarmed by what I’m about to tell you. Please, just please, leave Tokyo immediately. As far away as you can possibly go, alongside your parents and your friends. An earthquake will occur on this specific date and you must leave before then. This mirror may or may not survive the calamity that will befall Tokyo soon, so this may very well be my last goodbye to you. This summer, I did not expect to see myself talking to someone from the Taishō era, nor did I see myself falling in love the way I did with you. Every moment of every day we spent together had been the most unforgettable experience I will ever have, your smile the one thing I would look forward to the most whenever I wake up. How a sunflower could barely compare to everything that is you.

We may never meet again after this, but please know you will always remain in my heart.

I love you.

Yours truly,

Ryoumen Sukuna

Tears fell down onto the paper, staining the dark ink wet as Yuuji stood amidst the rubble of his destroyed home. He had no clue as to how this letter reached his side of the mirror, foreign and different compared to the paper he was used to holding. All he knew was that he found it laying on top of the mirror, the object managing to survive the disaster that befell Tokyo while he had been away this entire time.

He hadn’t had a chance to tell Sukuna he’d be gone, suddenly whisked off to where his relatives were at the last moment when he had told Sukuna he’d be back. His heart ached so badly at having missed the man completely, the dirty mirror now reflecting his own image rather than the sight of the handsome man teaching him all about the future — of this so-called Reiwa era.

How he longed to walk with Sukuna around the Tokyo he’d shown in his pictures, to meet his friends who seemed fun to be around, to watch more TV shows together side by side.

How he never noticed until now their feelings were mutual this entire time.

Yuuji may not be the brightest bulb around but he wasn’t dumb either, noticing how the older man often kept himself distant in their conversations at times, almost afraid to grow any closer than this for fear of something. It took him so long to realize Sukuna was counting down the days to the end of his summer vacation, not knowing when they’ll ever meet again.

If they’ll ever meet again.

And it pained him to know they could never be, gripping the letter in his hand.

“One last time…” Yuuji pleaded for someone — anyone — to hear, “Please… let me see him one last time…”

Sinking down to his knees,  in the mess of dirt and broken concrete, Yuuji wept. Many cast sympathetic gazes towards him, thinking he must’ve lost someone dear to him in the devastation of the earthquake but no, his heart ached for a different reason.

Of a different kind of loss.

As he cried and sobbed to the depths of his heart, the wind picked up and blew his hat off his head, picking up his head to watch it fly off then land on a pile of rubble. Wiping away his tears with his sleeve, he picked himself off the ground and shuffled over to his hat, taking it off the ground to dust it off and put it back on when he noticed something inside of it.

Taking it out, he held a bookmark in his hands, some sort of pressed flowers pasted on top of thick brown paper. The flowers were incredibly tiny, so vividly blue with a bright yellow center. Flipping the bookmark around, the back of it read ‘forget-me-nots’ along with a description of what it means in the language of flowers.

“True love and I will always remember you…” Yuuji softly read.

The wind picked up again, this time holding his hat down on his head to make sure it didn’t fly off again like it did earlier. What he didn’t expect was a burst of tiny blue flowers to breeze right past him, breath hitched when he noticed dark pink hair in the distance.

There was no way, it couldn’t be.

Yet his feet started moving before he realized it, running between all the men in dapper suits and women in slick kimonos. Between the reunited families and the weepings of the lives lost.

“Sukuna!” He called out, heart beating wildly against his chest.

The figure in the distance stopped in their tracks, Yuuji in such disbelief and yet he couldn’t help it, the hope he held close to him.

When he turned around, those beautiful red eyes scanning through the crowd after hearing someone call out to them, Yuuji gasped when their eyes made contact. The relief and happiness and longing come crashing down on him all at once

Uncaring of how he looked, Yuuji ran forward as fast as he could, muttering quick apologies to all the people he was bumping into. He kept his eyes on Sukuna, the man wiping his own tears away before dropping everything he had on him to run as well, squeezing through the crowd of people.

“Yuuji!” His voice shouted, loud and clear despite the noise surrounding them.

They didn’t care anymore, about anyone or anything else around the two. Their eyes never left the other as they made their way closer and closer to each other until finally, just finally, their outstretched hands held the other, warm and safe.

Sukuna pulled him closer till their bodies were flushed, burying his face into Yuuji’s shoulder. His arms wrapped tightly around his body, a hand slowly making their way through the tresses of his hair. Yuuji couldn’t help but cry, the tears falling from his eyes as he held the man close, gripping the back of his shirt.

Time stood still around them, with only petals of various sizes and colors gently floating down and landing among their feet.

After what felt like an eternity, the two of them pulled away, Sukuna gently wiping away the tears from the young teen’s eyes and a wet chuckle from his lips.

“You’re a mess.” He tried to tease, unable to hide the relief in his voice.

Yuuji laughed at this, sniffling, “Like you’re any better!”

The two of them shared a laugh and a smile, despite having a feeling whatever was happening right now won’t last forever. Laying a hand on his cheek, Sukuna leaned down and knocked their foreheads together, the way his body could finally relax after being tense for so long.

“I’m so glad you’re alive.” He whispered softly, only for Yuuji to hear.

Yuuji smiled, “Thank you for the letter, Sukuna.”

As they slowly closed their eyes, they leaned in closer and closer till they felt the feather light touch of their lips, Yuuji wrapping his arms around the man’s broad shoulder to bring him even closer.

Although their time was running out, they’ll make every second of it count.

Slowly pulling away from each other, they giggled secretively, whispering words of love and promise that transcend beyond time. Feeling the tug in the back of their minds, Yuuji held Sukuna’s hand and passed something to him, pulling away just enough for them to say their last goodbyes before he faded back to his time.

Standing by his lonesome in the middle of the earthquake’s destruction, Yuuji gazed up at the blue sky and smiled.

The cherry blossoms bloom beautifully within the university campus, petals coloring the streets in soft pink hues. Fresh new faces walk along the prestigious road, excited for the next step in their lives and transitioning fully into adulthood.

Sukuna had sat down on one of the many benches, reading a book while waiting for Satoru. The man insisted they go do Hanami together, already readying the food and everything for a good time. Of course, trust the guy to be late for something he planned himself, somehow forgetting he had a seminar to attend first before they could hang out.

Now he was stuck waiting for the man, having finished his classes an hour early.

Checking the time on his watch to see his white-haired friend should be out by now, Sukuna picked up his bookmark and placed it between his pages, a brief fond gaze in his eyes whenever he saw the blue flowers before closing his book shut.

His summer may have long been over, but his feelings still held strong and true even months later.

“Hey, Sukuna!” He heard a familiar voice call.

Sighing, Sukuna stuffed his book into his bag and got up from his seat. Obviously, Satoru decided to not skid to a stop and crashed right into Sukuna, an arm around his shoulder as his dopey grin came into view.

“Kept ya waiting?” Satoru jokes, dark sunglasses sliding off the bridge of his nose and blue orbs twinkling in mischief.

Rolling his own red ones, shrugging off the arm on his shoulder, Sukuna adjusted the strap of his bag and sighed again.

“Let’s just go already, I’m starving and way too sober to be dealing with your dumbassery right now.”

Satoru stuck out his tongue, arm back around his shoulder again since he knew how much it annoyed Sukuna whenever he was overly touchy. They walked out of the campus together, Satoru yapping on and on about how bored he was in class. Even tempted to just skip it had it not been Professor Geto’s threatening email politely asking him to attend all his classes or else something bad may happen.

Sukuna had laughed when he first heard about it, almost questioning how the university hadn’t sacked him for that until he remembered it was aimed towards Satoru, whom everyone agreed would be deserving of half the things mentioned in that email.

“Oh right, is it alright if some of my old juniors join us?” Satoru asked.

Sukuna merely shrugged again, “Knock yourself out, I just wanna get wasted.”

“Awesome! You’re gonna love Megumi, he’s just like you!” Satoru started to snicker, “Way too serious and grumpy, except maybe without all your arrogance.”

“Satoru, literally everyone is way too serious and grumpy when compared to you.” Sukuna shook his head, narrowing his eyes at the man.

His friend pouted, cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk, “Nuh-uh! One of my juniors is very much the definition of a cute puppy!”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, man.” Sukuna blankly responded.

Heading inside the park, the cherry blossom trees above them glittered in magnificent blooms. Petite petals gently cascading in a rain of pink, a few landing on Sukuna as he tried to brush them off his already pink hair.

Weaving through the other picnickers, Satoru guided them around until his eyes caught sight of his juniors, letting go of Sukuna to run towards them.

“Megumi-chaaan! Did you miss me~?” The man cheerfully exclaimed, arms stretched wide open to catch the dark-haired man and nuzzle him affectionately. The man — Megumi — was quick to try and pry the man off of him, already annoyed. A woman with short brown hair laughed, not even trying to help despite Megumi’s obvious pleas for support.

Sukuna truly had to wonder how exactly they were friends before approaching the group, a lot more calm compared to his friend. Raising a hand, he knocked Satoru on the head with his fist, tugging him by the collar of his coat.

“You’re embarrassing, so stop it.” Scolded Sukuna.

Megumi thanked him profusely, ignoring Satoru who was whining and crying beside him while glaring daggers at his friend. Rubbing his head from the hard hit and feeling a slight bump, Satoru glanced around in search of someone.

“Just you two?” He asked, puzzled.

The girl — Nobara — stepped up beside them, “He ran down to the convenience store to buy more drinks and snacks, should be back any second now.”

Sukuna stood by while the rest of them talked to each other, placing his bag down with the other ones and gazed up at the cherry blossoms above them, shoving his hands into his pockets. Spring and cherry blossoms had always been the mark of new beginnings; that even though life was short and fleeting, every full bloom was filled with endless possibilities and hope for a better future.

Deep in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed the figure approaching their group, carrying large plastic bags of drinks and snacks.

“Sorry for the hold up, guys! The convenience store was packed!” Said an oddly familiar voice.

Satoru immediately cooed, the sound of him being overly affectionate as ever while the new person giggled happily.

“Yo, Sukuna!” The white-haired man called for him, “Come over here and let me introduce you to someone!”

Breaking his gaze away from the cherry blossoms, he hadn’t paid that much attention as he made his way over to them with an annoyed sigh.

“I’m not deaf, you know.”

When he finally took in the sight of the new stranger, he paused, eyes widening.

The sound of Satoru’s childish noises and the chattering of the other picnickers faded into the background, all because of the person standing before him in a bright yellow hoodie and jeans folded at the hem. Bright pink hair with a dark undercut and sparkling amber eyes, ones which were also staring back at his own in shock and sudden realization.

The pink petals rained down on them in circular motions, just like that fateful day in summer.

The young man blinked a few times when a hand patted him on the back, eyes flitting up to Satoru before approaching Sukuna.

“I’m Itadori Yuuji.” He introduced himself, yet the knowing look in his eyes betrayed the familiar longing he held, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Sukuna tried not to appear emotional, however he couldn’t help the smile gracing his lips.

“Ryoumen Sukuna. Nice to finally meet you too.”