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Prior to coming back to Japan, Yuuta had no idea what Itadori Yuuji looked like. Gojo-sensei, despite giving him the responsibility of keeping his kouhai safe in the event he was unavailable, did not provide any sort of visual for Yuuta to reference. He had tried asking, but all he got in return was Gojo-sensei claiming he had to leave and popping out of existence, his usual manic laughter left to fill the empty air he left behind.
Even after his meeting the higher-ups, Yuuta still had nothing to go off of. It seemed as if they were rushing to get him out to Shibuya to perform their command. Yuuta surmises it's from fear of Gojo-sensei miraculously breaking free of the prison realm. Which, it's Gojo-sensei so there's always the chance. Even if that wasn't the case, it wouldn't be totally unexpected behavior of the higher-ups, sending out sorcerers with as little information as possible.
Fortunately he did get the opportunity to speak with his fellow second years before being sent out. After establishing a plan to meet up after, they gave him a few details regarding Itadori's appearance; Pink and black hair (natural, apparently), tan skin, around Maki's height, toned figure. Just the visual indicators that would be apparent from a distance, so nothing of the finer details such as his face.
Again, a photo would have been more useful but Maki doesn't really take any in general, Toge does but he was still resting in recovery, and Panda would take too long fumbling around with his phone built for human hands. Yuuta had been given a description of Itadori's unique cursed energy profile by Fushiguro, who himself had been on his way out (something about a sister?).
It doesn't take him long to find his target, coming to stand and look down from a the edge of a bridge. It wasn't like there was an abundance of sorcerers and curse users alike to comb through in Shibuya at the moment. Out of the three present, only one had pink and black hair so that narrowed it down quickly. And with less refined cursed energy compared to the other two, it was clear who Itadori was.
The man (curse?) closest to Itadori seemed protective. Yuuta wasn't sure what to make of the relationship between the two but he quickly regulated the other person present, Zenin Naoya, to deal with that, so not an issue (well, there probably is considering what little he knows of the man but he can deal with that after).
Itadori is fast. If it weren't for his own vast supply of cursed energy to boost his own speed, Yuuta would've been left in the dust immediately. He's set chasing him for a while, batting curses away when he couldn't just dodge them.
For a moment, Itadori disappears from his sight, likely slipping into one of the many abandoned office buildings. He's proven right when his kouhai crashes through the glass of one, followed by the more destructive exit of an insect-humanoid curse. Before it can reach Itadori, Yuuta quickly dispatches of it himself and falls after its large body and Itadori through the roof of a theater.
He takes the opening given to him, finally cornering Itadori to lay flat on his back on the stage while Yuuta stands above him. The curse's violet blood rains down, it's large body stuck in the metal rebar above. Despite his best efforts to quickly push his sword through the other's head, Itadori manages to hold the blade in place with his bare hands, blood pushing out from beneath the sharp edge. That's not what Yuuta finds himself focusing on in that moment.
…He's glad he's gotten so good at maintaining his facial reactions in more serious situations like this. Really, his friends' descriptions did nothing to prepare him for the real thing now below him.
Like they said, tan skin. There were two newish looking scars, though they failed to diminish how soft the skin appeared. He'd have to touch it to confirm that. Up closer, Itadori's pink hair was a strange dusky shade that Yuuta had the feeling would match his kouhai's blushing face. The black beneath it was fluffy, grown out more than what it might normally be for that type of hair style. It matched the color of the short, sharp brows that were drawn in frustration.
But it was what lay beneath those brows that really had Yuuta's breath caught in his throat.
Eyes the color of dark honey stared back at him with panic (and maybe some fear). With Itadori's pupils dilated into pinpoints, it gave Yuuta the chance to appreciate the strands of color present in those irises. If given the time he could count them all. Itadori's dark lashes helped accentuate the outer corners of his cat-like eyes. There was a small fold of skin above his lash line that alongside the crescent moon scars below served as frames to it all. Like a painting in a gallery.
…Pretty. So pretty. It made Yuuta feel like he'd taken the role of a starving beast staring into the doe eyes of the plumpest prey he could find. His guilt doubled right then and there for having to temporarily murder his kouhai. Itadori's face was set in a grimace, understandably. If (when) Yuuta pulled this off and they were back on campus, he'd like to see how Itadori's features morphed into smiles and laughter.
The stalemate didn't last long. While he had been taken aback, Yuuta still kept up his assault and even with that Itadori managed to quickly maneuver from below him and just barely miss the swipe of his sword.
He's once again chasing after the younger teen, though it's not for too much longer despite Itadori's best efforts. It isn't until his sword is broken that Yuuta brings out Rika. He's not sure how much longer they'll have before either the man-curse or Zenin Naoya finish up and join in here, so he'd rather do what he can to hurry up and fulfill his side of the vow. He makes sure that Rika is gentle, but he's not sure Itadori would notice the difference.
When he finally pushes the broken edge of his sword through the other's chest (hopefully that wasn't anymore painful with a jagged edge versus the original point) and has to watch Itadori's eyes grow dull, Yuuta finds himself cursing the higher-ups more than usual.
Reviving Itadori ended up being relatively easy, though he attributes that to whatever is going on with his kouhai's physiology than his RCT being strong enough to bring back the dead. He almost wasn't able to, as the man-curse from before had quickly woken up after Zenin Naoya left to lick his wounds and inform the higher-ups of the death of Sukuna's vessel.
Claiming to be Itadori's older brother (Yuuta wasn't sure how that would be possible biologically), the man-curse had been seconds away from attacking him until he saw Itadori's chest slowly begin to fill with air once more. After quickly explaining the situation and letting the other check on his brother himself, Yuuta was in the clear and suggested they move locations.
Choso (he gave his name once they found a place to set up a small fire) gently lowered Itadori to the ground, having picked him up once Yuuta had let go after healing him.
"What is your intention with my brother?"
Yuuta looked up from where he sat across from the two. "Sorry?" he responded.
"You were told to protect Yuuji by Gojo Satoru should something happen to him. So far, I'd say you've done an okay job." Choso stared at him from the corner of his eye, leaning away from Itadori who breathed slowly in sleep.
Maybe it wasn't fair to feel irritated by those words, if Yuuta were him he'd feel similarly for sure. But it's not as if he knew that the higher-ups would essentially corner him as soon as he landed in Japan. He keeps his face blank and lets Choso continue uninterrupted.
"I doubt that my brother will want to hide for sake of dodging his execution." Choso's face darkens as he says this. "So then, what do you plan to do in order to honor your teacher's wishes? Or was that performance you put on the extent of your help?"
Yuuta frowns. "I will do what I can to keep Itadori-kun out of harm's way, but I'm one person. There's only so much I can do, like you said I can't force him to stay out of situations based on that sort of criteria."
That answer doesn't seem to satisfy Choso much, but he accepts it anyway with a huff before standing up fully. "I'll go take care of any lingering curses, there were a few of the former that I spotted on our way here. I'll also confirm we haven't been followed."
Nodding, Yuuta watches as Choso steadily walks off into the dark edge of their camp. He pauses right before blending in the shadows. "Don't do anything strange while my brother sleeps. I'll know."
Yuuta sputters, unsure how to respond to that as the other finally leaves. He can feel his face burning. The crackling of the small fire overtakes the fading sound of Choso's steps and draw his attention. As the ends of the flames dance around, Yuuta looks past them at the sleeping figure of his kouhai.
Itadori's hands lay at his sides. Choso had removed his bloodied jacket to lay it across his lower half. With red staining his shirt and his face motionless, anyone could easily mistake Itadori as a recent corpse. But no, the slow rise and fall of his chest proved otherwise. Yuuta found himself staring hard, tracking the small movements as assurance he hadn't truly ended Itadori's life.
He's not sure how much time had passed. Sitting against a dilapidated wall (he thinks they set themselves up inside the remains of an old building, or maybe they were outside?), Yuuta keeps watch of his kouhai's breathing. Until finally, Itadori wakes up.
Yuuji is awoken by ice running down his back. His mother…her forehead, she had—
He sits up slowly, barely acknowledging his ruined jacket sliding onto his lap. Didn't he…die? A sense of deja vu washes over him. Before he can press his hand against where that broken sword had split his flesh, he feels eyes boring holes into him.
Slowly, he looks to the fire raging next to him. Beyond it, sits his executioner against a backdrop of rebar and crumbling concrete. Okkotsu-senpai. The source of the stare upon his neck, dark eyes outlined by similarly dark circles. Initially it seemed to be a result of exhaustian, but as he continued to look forward at Yuuji all it did was intensify his gaze.
Even though the other hasn't moved an inch and there's ample space between them, Yuuji still leans away in an attempt to feel less suffocated. It doesn't help much. And then—
"Thank goodness!" Okkotsu falls forward for a moment before slowly settling into a more relaxed pose, smiling nervously at him with eyes closed.
Yuuji is, unnerved, to say the least, and prepares to book it if needed.
Turns out, not needed at all! Okkotsu explains quickly enough to him.
Gojo-sensei asking Okkotsu to take care of everyone, and Yuuji especially (he isn't sure how to feel about that), the higher-ups pushing his execution up and making a binding vow with Okkotsu to carry out their will, his revival (Yuuji hopes that's not gonna be something he'll need to deal with more than twice).
"They should consider your death sentence carried out for a while."
Yuuji's face scrunches up in disbelief. "Why would you go that far?" he asks.
Without missing a beat, Okkotsu answers. "Because the people I cherish, cherish you." Maybe sensing his continued confusion, Okkotsu goes on.
"I once shouldered a power greater than I could bear. Though the power I thought was forced upon me turned out to be something I brought upon myself." Yuuji catches the aborted fidget Okkotsu makes at his ring finger before he goes back to clasping his hands. "I'm not like you. The power you shoulder isn't your own power."
His senpai's voice seems to grow softer, for a reason he can't place (or rather, a reason he can't understand), as Okkotsu tilts his head down ever so slightly.
"You're not to blame."
The words float across the flames and settle in his ears. It's so earnest, that if Yuuji believed him, he'd cry.
The moment hangs, before a dark, familiar feeling begins to fill his gut. "You're wrong." he says without hesitation. Avoiding the gentle look sent his way. "It's not even a matter of blame. I killed—"
"Itadori-kun."
Yuuji's mouth snaps closed but he keeps his head down. Okkotsu sighs.
"Do you know what exactly happened when Sukuna came out?" he asks.
A headless girl kneels next to a splatter of red gore. Apartment buildings reduced to rubble, burying its inhabitants and their memories alive. The smell of burnt flesh and hair fills the air. And there's no sobbing, no pleas for mercy. Nothing. All gone. Gone, gone—
"Yeah." That's all he can trust himself to say.
Okkotsu hums. "So then, do you blame Fushiguro as well?"
Yuuji jolts and nearly breaks his neck to look up. Okkotsu is still staring at him, lips drawn tight. "What? No! He had nothing to do with it! It was my fault, he—"
"Fushiguro summoned Mahoraga on his own. Sukuna didn't make him do it, you didn't make him do it. That was his own decision."
Shaking his head frantically, Yuuji looks away again bringing his hands up to his chest. "That-That doesn't mean he meant to hurt anyone! He wasn't even awake during it all, so he wasn't in control—" This time it's Yuuji who cuts himself off.
Okkotsu-senpai takes a moment before speaking. "…Fushiguro knew he wouldn't be able to control Mahoraga, he hasn't even tamed all ten shadows let alone Mahoraga. Yet he let it out anyway."
"He…he had a good reason, I'm sure." Yuuji is sitting close to the fire, but it must still be so cold for him to be shivering. Vision blurring as his focus is drawn to the memories in his head. "I…Sukuna didn't get there until after he summoned it, but there were still curse users running around. He could've gotten overwhelmed, I saw! He was against the wall, and-and—"
Something rough lifts his head up slowly, Yuuji following along with no resistance.
Okkotsu now kneels next to him, lowering himself to be nearly at eye-level. He'd moved so quietly, or maybe Yuuji was too lost in his own memories to hear. He watches as a hand pulls back from beneath his chin, returning to its owner. So that's what it was then, the calluses on Okkotsu's palm having dragged along the skin of his jaw.
If Yuuji hadn't seen how icy Okkotsu's eyes looked before, he'd assume the soft sheen they'd taken on after he awoke was their only appearance. Okkotsu's voice is low, with a slight rasp to it. "Choso-san told me while you were out that you two had fought, and he had left you unconscious by yourself. Told me of the plan to steal ten of Sukuna's fingers during the Goodwill event, with the sole purpose of being fed to you at once to bring Sukuna out." Okkotsu frowns.
"You can think of all these reasons why Fushiguro did what he did without having the full picture. Is it really that hard to do the same for yourself?"
Yuuji's breath catches in his throat. "Okkotsu-senpai." he whispers. The other's outline becomes blurry and…wet?
Neither of them say another word. As still as statues. Salt pools over at the edge of Yuuji's eyes and streaks down his face in neat trails, his lip quivering as he tries his best not to break the silence with his pathetic whimpering.
He might be imagining it, maybe it's the heat of the fire, but a faint blush seems to bloom across Okkotsu's face the longer they stare at each other.
"…pretty…"
Yuuji blinks (clearing up the wetness in his eyes in the process). Okkotsu doesn't even seem to realize he said anything out loud. "W-what?" Yuuji stammers.
"Huh?" Okkotsu says. Not even a second passes before he waves his hands around in front of him. "Wait! Um, I didn't mean you're pretty! NOT! That you aren't, I think you're very pretty, uh—" His voice raises in volume as he begins to panic. Yuuji watches his senpai try his best to explain himself. The red of his face intensifying by the second.
"Your eyes, uh." Okkotsu clears his throat. "They're pretty up close. A-and far away, too! Better in person, really." He finishes lamely.
Again, Yuuji blinks. Embarrassed, he looks away. "You're just trying to make me feel better." he mumbles.
Okkotsu chuckles nervously. "No, not at all. But if I managed to do that as well, I don't think that'd be so bad, right?"
A laugh slips out of Yuuji. "Ha! Jeez, the second years never mentioned you were a charmer." Wiping away the lingering tears on his face with the back of hand, Yuuji shoots a small smile at Okkotsu before letting it fade away.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that just 'cause of me." He mumbles. Okkotsu is already shaking his head before he finishes speaking.
"I told you already why I did that. Really, the most stressful part of that for me was making sure you didn't actually die. If anything, I'm sorry that I couldn't find another way. I've been told I can be…intense, so hopefully my act didn't leave a bad impression of me." he says, again nervously laughing.
Intense is an understatement, Yuuji thinks to himself. Lazily looking around the makeshift campsite, he realizes the emptiness present.
Back straightening up, he makes more of an effort to look. "Wait, you said Choso spoke to you. Where is he now?" he asks.
"Right, he said he'd make sure the perimeter was secure." Okkotsu spun his pointer finger in the air to indicate the area around them. "I was waiting for him to get back. I thought you were gonna be out longer, honestly." Yuuji settled, letting out a sigh.
"Alright, then I guess I'm waiting with you." When his head returns to its original position and he ends up facing the other, he realizes how little the distance between them has been. Moving away now might seem rude. It doesn't seem like Okkotsu minds, though it's probably uncomfortable being on his knees with all the small debris littering the floor.
"You can sit, senpai. Unless you need me to move."
Okkotsu hums a little questioning noise before seeing how close they were himself. "Oh! Um, s-sorry I didn't mean to invade your space." His blush, which had faded somewhat, comes back in full force. It's kinda cute how easily flustered the other seems to get. "I can go sit on the wall, unless you want to sit there! I'm sure sitting directly on the ground isn't that comfortable, and I was already sitting there earlier so—"
Yuuji lets him continue to panic. It's probably a little mean of him to do that His cheeks begin to hurt, pushing up against the bottom of his eye. It almost feels foreign, that the smile that stretches his face belongs to him. So distracted by that thought, that he takes a moment to realize Okkotsu has quieted down and is giving that same soft look from before.
"I mean…" Yuuji says, quieter than he means to before clearing his throat. "We can…both, sit there? On the wall?" He checks to make sure there's enough room for them to do that, maybe should have did that before saying anything. "But, I'm honestly fine sitting here—"
"Okay."
Okkotsu agrees quickly. Yuuji sits there slightly surprised, watching as Okkotsu stands and dusts his pants off. Moving to go return to his seat on wall, he kindly smiles and beckons Yuuji over.
Yuuji doesn't really register the gesture fully, but he gets up anyway and slowly makes his way over, mindlessly leaving his ruined jacket on the ground. The beckoning hand now pats the space right next to Okkotsu. It would leave the same amount of room between them as before, just now they would be sitting side to side instead of facing each other directly. As soon as he gets close enough, the hand moves away for Yuuji who goes ahead and takes its spot.
They don't speak. It's not awkward, though. And it's not like when Yuuji would finally rest at night in some empty room with Choso standing guard (that tended to be awkward at first before he got used to it), with his thoughts left to run rampant while his brother(?) looked like he was unsure if he should say anything. No, sitting there, Yuuji can't find any lingering thoughts floating around. Not about Shibuya. Not about the box with Gojo-sensei's eyes. Nothing of that night.
What thoughts did occupy his mind were about the older boy sitting to his left. Yuuji has thought about boys before, as often as he's thought about girls. Fleeting, usually, not lasting longer than a few minutes before he moved on. There's only been one other person whose occupied his mind longer than that (much, much longer), and he's not sure how he'll face him again.
Maybe it's surprising how quickly Okkotsu has wormed his way into his head in the less than one hour of total interaction, especially after the pretty terrifying pretend game of cat and mouse that was their introduction. But Okkotsu, after making sure he was alive, wasn't obligated to try to comfort him as much as he did. Even for a friend of a friend.
Yuuji spies Okkotsu's hand closest to him. It lays plainly between them, the same hand that swiftly pushed a broken sword to the hilt into his heart.
"…pretty…"
The memory of such a simple word falling from the other's lips has Yuuji putting his hand over his chest, ignoring the flaking texture of dried blood. The blood stain on the front of his shirt is a bit stuck to his freshly healed skin. Rubbing his palm a little harder there frees the fabric, he can tell there wasn't even a hint of a scar tissue left behind. Amazing.
"Does it hurt?"
"Hm?" Yuuji looks over as Okkotsu nods toward his chest. "Oh. No, not really. Even when you did stab me, it didn't hurt all that much weirdly enough."
Okkotsu winces. "Probably from the adrenaline, then you passed out quick enough from blood loss to not have to deal with it." He droops a little, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand.
Not wanting to let the other think about it for much longer, Yuuji switches the topic. "You know senpai, you kinda look like a puppy right now."
"You think so?"
Yuuji nods. "Yeah, but like one of those sad looking puppies that make you feel bad for not feeding them chocolate that'll poison them." He grins at the snort Okkotsu lets out.
"Honestly, not a bad description." Running his hand through his hair once before dropping it back, Okkotsu laughs and tilts his head ever so slightly. "Then, if I'm a puppy, then you're definitely a cat. You definitely have the reflexes of one."
Yuuji groans at the comparison. "You're not the first to say something like that. I used to have this really embarrassing nickname because of it back in middle school."
He almost immediately regrets bringing that up, just going by the open curiosity on Okkotsu's face.
"Really? Let me try to guess, hmm…" he says, closing his eyes in thought. Yuuji waits in unwanted anticipation, but not for long as Okkotsu suddenly calls out, "Tiger! Or something to do with it."
"Ugh, yeah." Yuuji drags a hand down his face. "How'd you guess that so easily?" he mumbles.
"I mean, it's such an easy comparison!" Okkotsu jokes. "For one, your eyes are similar in color and shape. My next guess would have been jaguar just because of your speed, but stripes fit you better than circles I think."
Yuuji shook his head. "Your reasoning has some merit to it at least. I'm pretty sure they picked it just cause it sounded cool." He taps the back of his foot against the wall. "You know, that's the second time you've mentioned my eyes tonight. All within an hour! They can't be that interesting to look at."
Instead of getting flustered like Yuuji expected, Okkotsu responds smoothly. "You probably only think that because you see them all the time in the mirror. Really though, they're such a unique color that I can't recall seeing on anyone else before."
Yuuji tries his best not to blush at that. How the hell did Okkotsu manage to make such a sweet compliment over something so small?
Definitely a charmer…
"What was that?"
He looks off to the side. Oh man, Yuuji is not really used to this sort of thing. When it came to compliments, they were usually the standard I like your hair or You seem pretty fit. Never more than surface level observations. Anytime he got approached by someone for romantic purposes they were usually so shy they never actually said anything.
"Itadori-kun?"
He doesn't even know if that's what Okkotsu was doing, but it was still getting to him. If he could Yuuji would definitely run off to scream into a pillow over this but he can't, he's the one who said they should both sit here! So he's left to manage these feelings in silence.
"Hey."
It doesn't help that Okkotsu is kind of hot. Even earlier during that stress inducing chase, thinking back on it Yuuji can't help but feel flustered about the intense gaze his senpai seemed to have for him the entire time. Granted it was because the older teen had a specific goal in mind, not because of anything less than innocent. Man, this was such an inconvenient time to think about—
He freezes. The hand he had put between them is wrapped up in a warm grip. Looking down, he sees Okkotsu has moved his own hand on top of his. He watches as it closes around his hand a little more, the bones beneath the skin shifting.
"You alright?" Okkotsu asks.
"…Mm-hm." Yuuji confirms, that noise all he can get out while his are eyes glued to their connected hands.
"If you say so." It might just be because he's so focused on the other's hand, but to Yuuji, Okkotsu's voice sounds much closer than before. Following up the arm connected to the pale hand holding his, Yuuji realizes that's because Okkotsu is in fact closer, leaning in.
The smallest hint of concern lays underneath his eyes. Yuuji had noticed the dark blue hue of them earlier, just now he had the excuse to study them harder. They shift down for a moment to look at something beneath his eyes, just for a moment before returning.
"Yours are pretty too." Yuuji says, the words barely making their way from his head to his lips.
Okkotsu chuckles. "What, my eyes? Don't feel obligated to compliment me because of what I said before." He's lowered his voice to match Yuuji's volume. The rasp returns as a result, Yuuji shivering at how his eardrums catch it. If anyone sat next to them, they'd have an easier time hearing the fire crackle then the words they exchanged.
"No, they really are." Yuuji leans in as if to better examine them. There's the barest hint of Okkotsu's exhales warming the skin on his face. He feels his hand being squeezed tighter, Okkotsu's fingers reaching around to feel his palm. Yuuji swears he can hear the other's breath halt.
"Ita—"
"Itadori!"
They both nearly jump away from each other in surprise. Yuuji whips his head over to the voice.
"Fushiguro?"
Yuuji's not entirely sure what the relationship between Fushiguro and Okkotsu is, but he'd expect them to be at least cordial. When his fellow first year had shown up, attempting to physically drag him off to Jujutsu High, Okkotsu had continued to hold onto his hand. From the split second Yuuji saw of his face before turning to Fushiguro, it'd gone blank.
The two seemed to have a staring contest before Fushiguro had moved his attention onto Yuuji. He had protested the idea of going back to Jujutsu High at first, the dark heavy feeling that filled his gut returning despite disappearing during his talk with Okkotsu.
Fushiguro's grip loosened the moment Yuuji had yelled Stop it!. He quickly ripped himself free, landing back onto the wall. For now he did his best to ignore the small amount of hurt that flashed across Fushiguro's face.
"Because of me, so many people died!"
"Because of us."
Really, he should have expected that response. The way Fushiguro so readily lined up to share the blame.
"You can think of all these reasons why Fushiguro did what he did without having the full picture. Is it really that hard to do the same for yourself?"
No, it's not the same. Sukuna was Yuuji's responsibility, he was the one who chose to continue to house the volatile curse for his own selfish desire to live.
So when Fushiguro asked for his help, who was Yuuji to refuse?
"Okkotsu-senpai." He turned to face him.
"Sukuna is plotting something that uses Fushiguro." He doesn't have to look back to know Fushiguro had tensed up, he could feel it in the air. "If I somehow lose control to him again, don't hesitate to kill me. I trust you can do that, senpai."
Okkotsu doesn't answer right away. "All right." He nods, letting his head hang down. "I'll do my best." His hand tightens around Yuuji's. If his hand were flipped up he'd do the same.
When he looks back at Fushiguro, he seems to be upset (not hurt like earlier), the barest of hint of a frown dragging his lips down. Before Yuuji could ask if he was okay, he launches into an explanation of their plan.
When Yuuji prods for information about Kugisaki, he doesn't get a response. It's confirmation enough for him, and he gives himself just a few seconds to gather himself. He does his best not to let any more tears drop from his eyes today.
Choso finally returns, popping out from behind some debris to offer himself as a guide to Tengen via his (their?) remaining brothers. He managed to surprise Fushiguro alone, Yuuji hiding a smile at the small jump his friend does.
They leave for Jujutsu High soon after, snuffing the fire out with dirt and picking up his discarded jacket.
The moment their group had started walking, Fushiguro placed himself right next to him. He's usually not so close, always preferring to hang back somewhat. When Yuuji steps aside to give Fushiguro more room when they bumped into each other, the gap was quickly closed. Yuuji doesn't comment on it. Fushiguro's hand kept grazing his (the same one Okkotsu had held). Yuuji couldn't tell if it was an accident or not. He certainly didn't mind, just wondered where it was coming from.
Behind them, Choso had taken position, acting like a personal bodyguard. Okkotsu walked ahead, leading the way. Every so often he'd throw a glance back, each time his eyes met with Yuuji's. And every time that happened, he'd see Fushiguro scowl from the corner of his eye and step impossibly closer.
It was selfish, it had to be, to welcome that closeness from his friend knowing the danger it would put him in. Greedy, he must be, to also find himself wanting those glances from his senpai to happen a few more time before they reached the school.
Yuuji makes a promise to himself, that once they made it to the others, that he would put aside those feelings and focus on whatever goal he's assigned. But for this march of theirs, he would bask in his self-centered desires. And none would be the wiser.