Chapter Text
“I want it all!”
Jo held out his arm to stop his subordinates’ forward march, holding his head higher and his shoulders straighter at the sound of Choji’s gleeful laughter. It wasn’t difficult to guess the things which interested Choji as of late but rare was it that Choji proclaimed his wants so loudly. Whether it was his favorite drink or their former comrade’s discarded skin, Choji remained placated - not happy or thankful - but appeased .
Jo could care less about all of Choji’s empty compliments and absent-minded thanks; it was the smile he wore that hurt worse . The curve of his lips never held anything more than a passive contentment, a momentary appeasement for an appetite with no bottom. An appetite Jo had no idea how to fill .
Now, hearing the childlike joy was like being blessed with rain after a never-ending drought.
He stepped over the legs of another one of Furin's students, propping his knee under their chin to tilt their head back. The whites of his eyes greeted Jo beneath half-opened lids, blood smeared at the corner of a slack mouth. The poor bastard likely hadn’t a moment to wrap his head around what was happening before he met the ground.
Strange, Choji usually liked to drag fights out for enjoyment. For him to have made such quick work of them to get to —
“Furin, Bofurin, and you too, Ume-chan..!”
Him ?
Jo turned his head, peering around the stone gates leading to the courtyard outside of Furin High. He could see Othello-kun, and his first-year pals standing at the school’s entrance but Choji wasn’t interested in them. No, he only had eyes for Umemiya . Revulsion swirled in Jo's stomach as he watched Choji come to life, dancing around Umemiya with clapping hands and an elated face, a sparkle in those lifeless brown eyes that didn’t belong to his Choji.
Oh, but how long had it been since Jo last saw him so alive ?
How long had it been since Choji last looked at them - at him - like that?
And where did Umemiya get off looking at Choji as if he were something less than worthy of his time? Like a nuisance .
Do you know how long I’ve been trying to rekindle the light in him? Something you were only able to do by mere existence, but I…
His jaw clenched, teeth grinding together as his knuckles pressed into the mortar, tapping once lightly then —
Arima stepped forward, careful not to cross the line set by Jo's outstretched arm, but Jo felt him close enough. He could smell the cheap cologne slathered on his collar, and the stench made his head pound .
“Togame-san? Aren’t we gonna back up the boss? ..!”
Arima, and the few members close enough to hear the harsh smack of Jo's knuckles against the stone, flinched away from him. They exchanged glances, and those further back braved whispering furtively, wondering what made their second-in-command snap this time.
They wouldn’t get it, they would never understand, not when Choji overlooked the carnage he’d left in his wake at Umemiya’s behest. When he didn’t even notice Jo's presence, his watchful gaze and tensed body ready to swoop in at any moment to protect him.
His blood seethed when Choji’s eyes glanced over him, unseeing, uncaring as he launched himself at Umemiya with his leg swinging in a beautiful arc, one that rivaled the arches carved by time itself in slowly corroding caves. The anger cinched in his chest when the dust settled and Umemiya stood, unharmed, fingers wrapped around Choji’s ankle.
Let him go, Jo thought with a maddening heat stirring in his chest as Umemiya carelessly pushed Choji’s leg away with that look haunting his face. How dare he look at Choji as if he were dirt beneath his heel rather than Shishitōren’s sun?
And Choji, entranced by Umemiya, never paid heed to the countless eyes watching them from behind Furin's dusky windows, of the fight he’d be in for if they moved to defend Umemiya. The idiots that stood behind Jo had no true loyalty to Choji unlike the sheep of Umemiya’s flock who hung upon every word and act of their beloved shepherd. Shishitōren was once a den of lions, but now hyenas wore the lion’s pelt, opening their hungry maw for the illusionary morsels of power only made possible by Choji’s strength. Yet, whenever they crept too close, poised to bite into Choji’s back, Jo was there to break their frail fangs and remind them why he was second-in-command.
Ever on Choji’s side, always watching his back, and sharing in his suffering.
They didn’t care to see Choji’s withering heart, the desolation behind his eyes, the way he was becoming less of himself and more of something else .
But Jo did, he did , and there was nothing he could do to stop it because having this Choji was better than not having him at all. He closed his eyes, letting his hand fall to his side. The ache in his knuckles was grounding, reminding him of all the sacrifice he’d endured to get them here . If this was what would bring Choji back to himself, then who was Jo to stand in his way?
He would carve a path for him in blood, dust, and sweat with the pelts of their weak for Choji to walk upon, so he would never sully his feet, so he would never have his light besmirched by their incompetence.
“... The boss wants Furin,” Jo mused dreamily, reaching down to grab the dirt-speckled black and green blazer of the unconscious student at his feet. Lifting his hand and the limp body with it, Jo couldn’t help but tease a smile, running his thumb over the delicately embroidered collar. They weren’t strong enough to wear their orange, but given time, Jo would ensure the strong remained over the weak.
It was the only way to make Choji happy after all.
“So let’s get him Furin,” Jo said, opening his fingers and allowing the student to fall to the ground, crumpling like a ragdoll. He stepped over him, wooden geta clacking as he tucked his twitching hands in his pockets, mouth twisted into a rictus grin. Behind him, their subordinates howled and cackled like the pack of hyenas they were, taunting and poking at the defeated Furin students while keeping close to Jo's back as if fearful the wind would rise again to strike them down.
There was no thought spared for them, his eyes only intent on Choji who looked up to him in surprise.
Ah, so now you see me.
Choji scolded him for getting in the way of his one-on-one with Umemiya.
You tore through Makochi in search of him , and I followed to make sure you would come back to me . If you asked, we could have gone together. Don’t you understand, Choji?
But who was Jo kidding - this Choji would never get it. This Choji wanted Umemiya Hajime, and he leered with that mockery of his Choji’s sweet grin, dancing like a fool at the prospect of being able to fight Umemiya once the arrangements were made. Umemiya, whose sole purpose in Jo's world was to sate this Choji’s twisted desire to have him and his precious flock, to finally reach the pinnacle of happiness he sought for so long —
I would do anything for you , give my happiness for you because I have never known a moment’s joy without you.
All so that Jo could see his Choji’s smile again.