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The ground crunched beneath his feet, the small particles of dust breaking under the pressure. He took a silent step forward, then another, closing the long gap between them an inch more. He stopped behind a large tree. This was enough, close enough for now. He settled for watching them from afar, peeking his head just enough to see and not be seen.
Yuji was talking to his friends, that brown haired girl and ebony haired guy. He seemed to be enjoying his time, posture relaxed and face stretching into a genuine smile.
Choso couldn't help but form one of his own. He watched on as they walked down the path in the darkness of the night.
He wanted to take a step closer, reach out for his precious brother and join him in this mundane yet serene activity. But he stopped himself. The invisible wall between him and Yuji didn't let him get any closer.
It was okay. He was content with this for now. There would come a day where he'd be able to hold Yuji and he wouldn't be arms length away, but for now, this was enough.
Lost in his wistful fantasies, he stepped on a rather crunchy branch. In the hollow silence, it rang the loudest and if not for Choso's quick reflexes, his secret would've been spoiled. He ducked his head behind the tree and held in his breath.
"Kugisake, did you hear that?" Yuji asked as he turned behind.
"No, what is it?"
"Nothing, it's probably the wind. Let's get back to dorms." Yuji sighed.
He let his breath out, a sigh of relief, yet his heart kept pounding loudly in his chest. They were this close. Yuji almost found out. Yuji heard him.
It was a rush of anxiety and excitement. The smile on his face is nothing but unblemished happiness. This was his first real interaction with his brother.
He took a leap to the roof of the old building, clinging to the wooden frames of the window and climbing down to peek through it. The glass was old and dirty, the vision inside blurry and decorated by specks of dirt. Choso didn't care, if it meant to see Yuji.
A rustle of wind blew by and he shivered, tightening the century old scarf around his neck. Maybe he shouldn't be out in the night on top of a building during winter. But maybe Yuji was cold or sick and had no one to notice his misery. He'd done worse before. A little cold was nothing to stop him.
He took a look through the glass and found it to be the wrong window. It wasn't Yuji's room but the hallway. Before he got up to check the other windows, he spotted the figure crossing the hallway.
His sweet, adorable little brother held a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. He wore a random red scarf— no. It wasn't a random scarf.
Yuji wore the scarf Choso had given him! Not that Yuji would ever know, but it didn't matter. Yuji was wearing it!
He had slipped into Yuji's room one night and placed the scarf between his clothes in the drawer. When Choso first saw it, he knew it was made for Yuji. The rosy red color and white deer embroidery would've looked awesome on Yuji. And he was right. It did look amazing. Choso couldn't help but sneak into the store that day and take it.
It was okay. There would once come a day where Yuji would thank him for the beautiful scarf. What mattered now was that Yuji was warm and safe.
It seemed like Yuji entered a common area room, because Choso could hear the faint sound of talk and laughter, but it didn't have any windows for him to peak through. He decided to wait on the roof above Yuji's room.
Later that night, he peeked in again. He just had to make sure Yuji was alright. It was his responsibility as his big brother. If it meant spending the night hovering over the windows of the jujutsu school, he would gladly do it.
Yuji sat down on his bed reading something, a book with drawings. Choso had no idea what that was. He stayed like that for around 20 minutes before he finally fell asleep, book in his hand.
Choso sighed, a smile of fondness on his lips. His dear Yuji was careless. He always slept like this, holding something. And Choso couldn't risk his dear little brother getting back pain, could he? After all, Yuji was still more human than him. Still smiling, he rolled his eyes and went inside the room.
He took the book from his brother's hand and put it on the bedside table, before adjusting Yuji to sleep in a more comfortable position. He spread the cover on Yuji and closed off the light then got out of the window.
Yuji was on the ground, unconscious and blood oozing out of him. From various places, he was injured and bleeding. His friends lay nearby, not in a better state. They weren't heavily injured, but they were definitely beaten up.
Choso cursed under his breath. If only he had come earlier. This was all his fault. It was supposed to be a simple mission for Yuji but in the world of jujutsu, everything could go south in a minute. Choso should've known better.
He clapped his hands, blood spiking out of him and slicing through the curse that lingered by Yuji and killing it. It was weak, barely a third grade, he supposed. But it must've had an unexpected technique to overpower them, and Yuji was still a rookie, still learning.
He crouched beside his brother and checked his injuries. Not too bad enough to be life threatening. He pulled out a roll of bandages from his bag, one he always carried in case Yuji got hurt. Yuji was too human.
Choso discarded Yuji's torn t-shirt and jacket and then began to roughly clean the wounds as best as he can. He wrapped the bandages around the gash across Yuji's chest and the bigger cuts on his arms. He then dressed Yuji in his raggy clothes again. Choso made a point to leave him new garments later. For now, Yuji needed all the warmth he could get.
He got up to leave when he caught site of the girl who was Yuji's friend. She was bleeding too, a nasty cut on her thigh and an open wound on her forehead. He looked at the other boy, chest breathing awkwardly and a hit to the side, oozing blood and almost flesh.
The sorcerer's would come eventually. It really wasn't Choso's responsibility that the school sucked at assigning suitable missions. Whoever the idiot that was teaching them, he felt like giving him an earful for letting Yuji get hurt. He didn't care about the others. They weren't his burden to carry.
But if they bled dry before help arrived, if they died, Yuji's heart would get broken. He would be sad. Choso didn't want that. Anything but that.
So he sighed and went down to stop the girls bleeding thigh and wrapping it tightly, doing the same to her head. He layed the boy on his back to relieve pressure from his side, cleaned his wounds and wrapped them as good as he could.
Satisfied with his work, he got up and walked away from the scene. He settled in a nearby building, close enough to watch over Yuji and waited as help came.
Choso smiled fondly as he watched his brother. Yuji couldn't find him now. He wasn't not ready yet. There would come a day where they'd hang out together and Choso would tell him all about the times he saved him and Yuji would smile in return, but for now, Yuji was protected, even if he didn't know it. His big brother would always be there for him.