Chapter Text
Today, it was Sukuna’s turn to take Yuuji to the playground. Which meant that for the next few hours, Yuuji would have to pretend not to know Sukuna. If Yuuji is honest, he doesn’t know how that would work. They look like copies of each other, just that Yuuji is a lot smaller. It’s not like he cares anyway. Sukuna always did weird things with his friends, and honestly, it scared him. So, pretending like he didn’t come with his older brother, it is.
It’s a bit boring at first. Despite it being sunny, there aren’t a lot of people in the playground. The only kids his age were the kind he avoids. Or rather, they have been avoiding them since he beat them up. He’d been crying that day. A boy, maybe two years older, punched him in the face. When he cried to Sukuna, his brother told him to just go get revenge. Sniffling, Yuuji told him he won’t be able to do that. But then, Sukuna’s friends made fun of him.
“Aww, is the little baby scared?”
“So weak...”
It lit a fire inside Yuuji. Furious, he yelled at the older guys.
“I’m not weak!”
The boys cooed at him, while Sukuna laughed.
“Show us then,” said Sukuna.
“I bet ten bucks he won’t be able to land a punch,” the same guys from before said.
Yuuji stormed off. Teenagers were so mean! Sniffling, he went to the boy who had beaten him.
“H-Hey!” he yelled, probably not loud or confident enough.
“Want another one?” the boy laughed. Behind him stood his friends, laughing at Yuuji.
That’s when Yuuji snapped. He remembered what Sukuna had tried to teach him a while ago. Balling his fists, he ran up to the other boy and then, with full power, punched him in the face. Revenge, Sukuna had said. According to his older brother's wisdom, it meant hitting back twice as hard. So, Yuuji punched again. When the boy’s friends then tried to pry him off, he turned around to punch them, too. If it weren’t for Choso, who passed by the park while going home, Yuuji would’ve won. But instead, he was carried away by Choso, who tried to lecture him about beating others.
“But Suku-nii said—”
“Don’t listen to that moron, Yuuji!!” Choso said, distressed, looking all over his little brother’s body to check for bruises.
In the background, Sukuna earned a few bucks. “Of course he’s not weak, the brat’s my brother,” Yuuji heard him say. It made him smile, even if Choso continued to lecture him. Behind Choso, Yuuji glimpsed the other boys crying and scrambling to leave. It also made him smile.
“Yuuuuuujiii!!” Choso was distraught.
Yuuji laughs as he strolls through the park. The memory was a bit funny. After weighing his options to battle boredom, he settles on the swing. Swinging, he thinks about how he’s about to start school. There, he will make good friends, he thinks. Then, he won’t have to be bored at the park anymore. Yuuji swings as high as he’s able to. If Choso were here, he’d be able to go higher.
Suddenly, Yuuji hears a wailing scream coming from not too far away. When the swing reaches the peak, he catches a glimpse of the same group of boys who hit him before, surrounding another boy. An unfamiliar face. Yuuji swings up and down, and thinks. In the end, he thinks no one should be beaten up, so he jumps off the swing.
Running towards the scene, he starts yelling.
“You meanies! Leave him alone!!!”
The boys ignore him at first, but then he yells louder, and they finally look back. The look of terror in some of their eyes makes Yuuji feel giddy.
“It’s him!! Run!” one of them says, and almost all of them run. A boy Yuuji doesn’t recognise looks at them in betrayal. He grabs the crying boy and is about to hit him again, ignoring Yuuji, when Yuuji slaps his arm away.
“Leave him alone!” he yells and moves to stand between the two.
Scoffing, the bully tries to punch Yuuji. Yuuji is faster and lands a punch first. Howling in pain, the bully seems to finally get it. There’s no winning here. He says a bad word and runs for it.
Behind Yuuji, the crying boy looks like he’s bracing himself for a beating. It confuses Yuuji. Reaching out his arm, he smiles at him.
“I only hit bullies!”
The boy sniffles but doesn’t reply. Slowly, his arms move from his face, and Yuuji can finally take a good look at him. The boy’s hair is black, and he seems a lot smaller than Yuuji. Skinny, frail with big, teary eyes. Big, teary eyes that look at Yuuji’s hand and then up to his face, before looking back at his hand again.
“So, you won’t hit me?” his voice is soft.
“Nope!”
Finally, the boy grabs his hand. Yuuji helps him stand and wipes away some of the dirt on his clothes.
“I’m Yuuji!”
“I’m Yuuta...”
Yuuji smiles at Yuuta. The boy doesn’t smile back, but his face seems to relax a bit.
“Thank you,” he says to Yuuji.
“Wanna be my playground partner? I’ll protect you forever!” Yuuji finds himself saying. He grabs Yuuta’s hand again and walks towards the swing. Yuuta looks at him with disbelieving eyes. His big eyes are glossy again, and Yuuji wonders if he said something wrong.
“Forever?”
“Mhm!”
The boy cries, and Yuuji stops walking. He looks at Yuuta, confused and worried. The feelings don’t last long, because then, the boy smiles at him. Maybe Yuuta is just a big crybaby like Choso is, Yuuji figures. He hugs Yuuta close and pats his hair.
“Let’s be bestest of friends, okay, Yuuta?”
He smiles at the boy, who in return nods shyly.
“Great, let’s go!”
He takes his hand and sits him on the swing.
--
The next day, it’s Choso’s turn to take Yuuji. The boy excitedly tells him about Yuuta on the way.
“He’s a big crybaby like you, nii-chan!” Yuuji laughs.
Choso pouts. “Is this how you see me...”
Yuuji nods.
“I hope Yuuta-kun is here again. We’re bestest of friends now, you know? I’m gonna beat all the bullies who beat him!” Yuuji smiles proudly.
“Best,” Choso corrects. It flies over Yuuji’s head.
“Yes, Yuuta is the best! He’s very shy though...” Yuuji cups his chin and thinks.
“No, I mean—”
“Yuuuuta!!!” Yuuji suddenly yells. Choso is quick to react to Yuuji’s angry voice, but not quick enough. The little boy runs to his new best friend, who’s currently surrounded by the same guys from before. On the way, Yuuji picks up a stick. He throws it at the boys and yells at them, completely ignoring his older brother's yell to let him handle it.
Yuuji kicks one of the bullies with full force and sends him flying. The boy lands on the ground with a groan. The other boys run away once again.
“You’ll regret this, Itadori!” one of them yells.
Yuuji pays him no mind. He kicks the guy on the floor another time for good measure and then helps Yuuta get up. Mimicking what his brother always does, he scans his body for any bruises. Thankfully, Yuuta is unhurt, except for small cuts on his hands, probably from falling. Yuuji takes his hand gently and turns to Choso.
“Nii-chan, Yuuta-kun is hurt,” he sniffles.
Choso pulls out a small first aid kit from his pocket. Soon, Yuuta’s hand is disinfected and bandaged with cute bandages. Yuuta thanks Choso politely. Silently, Choso approves of their friendship.
--
It happens more often than he’d like. Yuuta gets teased or hit by the other boys in the neighbourhood, which leads to Yuuji protecting him.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t get better when school starts. Unluckly, they end up in different classes. Yuuji spends days crying in his room about it. Turns out, Yuuta is a whole year older than him.
The two spend every break together and try to meet up after school every day. But sometimes, the bullies get to Yuuta first. He’s too shy and timid, which makes him an easy target. He doesn’t even hit back, even after Yuuji taught him how to land a hit. On days like these, Yuuji searches for him all across the school until he finds him. Usually, it’s over by then, and all he finds is his wounded friend. It makes him mad. When he does find him while the bullies are still there, he gives them a good beating. Sometimes, it gives Yuuta a few days without any harsh bullying. The moment they recover though, they start beating the boy up again.
Sadly, the teachers don’t care enough to interfere.
The bullying escalates to a point where Yuuta doesn’t smile anymore. Even when he and Yuuta meet up on the weekend to eat ice cream and play in Yuuji’s room. Yuuta turns into an even quieter person. Yuuji doesn’t know what to do.
“You’ll protect me forever, right?” Yuuta asks one day.
“Of course!” Yuuji answers. He gives Yuuta a thumbs up and makes a silly face. Yuuta barely smiles. Yuuji gives him a big smile.
--
“Yuuji, I’m going to move to Tokyo next week,” Yuuta suddenly says one day.
He and Yuuji are currently on the playground. Yuuta is on the swing, while Yuuji pushes him. It’s one of Yuuji’s favourite things to do. But apparently, starting next week, he won’t get to do that again. Shocked, he stops pushing and is hit by the swing instead. Yuuji falls on the floor with a groan.
Yuuta jumps off, scraping his arm in the process, and runs to Yuuji.
“Are you okay?”
“Mhm!” Yuuji says.
In reality, he’s not okay. He doesn’t want to lose his bestest friend.
“Are you gonna come back?” he asks, and dreads the answer.
Yuuta shakes his head. Then, he sits next to Yuuji on the ground. They’re both silent for the next few moments. Yuuji is the first one to make a sound. He sniffles. Unable to hold back, he starts crying. Yuuta is crying too, he realises, but it’s way quieter.
“P-Promise to still be bestest friends?” Yuuji wails.
Yuuji grabs him and hugs him tight. Yuuta nods into his shoulder. They stay this way until Sukuna comes to pick them up. Sight too pitying, he doesn’t make fun of Yuuji for crying for the first time.
--
The next week, Yuuta doesn’t come to school. He comes around Yuuji’s house every day. The two don’t talk about the impending separation. Every day, after the other boy leaves, Yuuji cries in his brother’s arms until he falls asleep.
The day Yuuta leaves, Yuuji is the one who visits him. His house is empty, and there’s a big car full of boxes in front of it.
“I will miss you,” Yuuji sniffles. He tries not to cry, but when Yuuta cries, he starts crying too.
“Me too,” Yuuta replies.
--
Yuuji spends weeks crying over Yuuta’s departure. But when months, years pass, the memory of the boy fades.
It’s not until years later that he remembers.
--
It was Yuuji’s first day in his new school. He and his parents had moved to Tokyo just recently. It was a big change. A big city, a huge school. Nonetheless, Yuuji was excited! He was sure that Jujutsu High would be as good as it looked. The building was huge, bigger than the schools back in Sendai. Yuuji waves bye to Choso, who drove him, and walks towards the building. There are six boards in front of the entrance. Each one of them is a list of the people in each class. In front of every board, there’s an upperclassman waiting. Yuuji carefully reads every class list until he finds his name. Class two.
Once there are a lot of people standing in front of the class two board, the senpai looks over them. Coughing to gather their attention, he starts speaking. Yuuji barely hears what he’s seeing. Instead, he’s wondering why the guy seems so familiar. His hair is black, parted sideways. Some of his hair hides his face. He’s handsome, which doesn’t matter at all. His eyes are big and gentle, and so is his smile. His voice, too, is soft and gentle. Yuuji passes a few people to get closer.
It’s not until the other boy laughs at something that Yuuji remembers.
“Yuuta-nii?”
It slips out before he notices. Suddenly, Yuuta stills and looks through the crowd. Everyone else is also silent now, wondering. The two lock eyes, and Yuuta seems surprised before he smiles at Yuuji.
“Long time no see,” he says.
Then, he looks back at the crowd. “I’ll show you where your class is. Come with me.”
Everyone follows Yuuta. Meanwhile, Yuuji is embarrassed by himself. He doesn’t move until he feels a hand on his shoulder. It’s Yuuta. The boy smiles at him, kindly, gently, but more maturely than back then.
“Yuuji-kun, let’s go.”
Yuuji nods. If he feels his cheeks redden, it’s none of anyone’s business.
He starts walking with the crowd, trying to avoid staring too much.
“So, do you know all our Senpai’s already?” a girl suddenly asks him.
Yuuji looks back at her. She’s short with light brown hair, cut into a bob.
“No, I just know him,” he answers her.
The girl sighs in disappointment.
“A shame. Nobara Kugisaki, by the way. Just call me Nobara,” she says.
“I’m Yuuji Itadori,” he tells her.
On the way to class, they sort of bond about being new to the city. Nobara seems like a fun person. She’s super energetic for sure. Once they reach the classroom, they sit next to each other. On Yuuji’s left, another boy sits down. His hair is black, and somehow fighting gravity. Yuuji pays him no mind. He looks at Yuuta, standing in front of the class.
“If you have any questions, I’m in Class 2-2, just across the hall. Your teacher will be here soon,” he says and looks at the door. He seems less shy than back then, but Yuuji feels like it’s just an act. A person can’t change that much, right?
“Is he your boyfriend?” Nobara asks, and Yuuji whips his head in her direction in no time.
“W-What?! No? We were friends, but then he moved away,” he tells her, trying to control his face. Nobara raises an eyebrow at that.
She seems like she is about to pry again, when the boy next to Yuuji speaks up.
“Can you two be more quiet?” he asks, tone totally pissed off.
“The teacher isn’t even here yet,” Nobara answers in no time.
The boy is about to speak back, but then the door opens, and everyone stills.
“That’s Gojo-sensei, he’ll be your homeroom teacher! I’ll leave now; bye!” Yuuta says and walks away after greeting the teacher awkwardly. There it was. His usual behaviour. Yuuji giggles. When Yuuta looks at him and waves nervously, he waves back.
--
Gojo-sensei is fun. Nobara thinks he’s a bit unserious, she tells Yuuji between classes. Yuuji shrugs.
When it’s time for lunch, Yuuji and Nobara walk to the cafeteria to eat. They talk a bit about middle school and other random things. Before they can enter the cafeteria, Yuuji feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns around and locks eyes with Yuuta.
“Mind if I steal him for a while?” Yuuta asks Nobara.
“Sure?” the girl answers, brow arching. Before she goes, she sneaks Yuuji a thumbs up, whatever that is supposed to mean.
Once she’s gone, Yuuta turns back to face Yuuji. A smile on his face, he leans in to hug Yuuji. It lasts barely a couple of seconds before he moves back.
“You really grew so much,” he says, looking Yuuji up and down.
“Says you! I used to be taller...” Yuuji says and almost finds himself pouting. There’s nothing left of the small, cute kid from years ago. If anyone grew a lot, it’s Yuuta. Yuuji still gets teased for having “baby fat.” In comparison, Yuuta is much more...mature.
Yuuta giggles.
“Did you miss me?” he asks, and Yuuji feels his cheeks redden.
“Of course I did,” he answers, looking everywhere but Yuuta’s face. “And you?”
“I missed you, too.”
Yuuji looks up to see Yuuta smile. His pearly white teeth glisten in the artificial light of the school hallway. It’s almost blinding, the way he smiles. The two look at each other in silence until Yuuji starts sweating from how awkward he feels. Perhaps he should say something. Usually, he would. Usually, he has many words to say, but something about Yuuta makes his stomach turn in a way that weirdly isn’t too unpleasant. He swallows, hoping that the older boy says something soon. He does.
“You should go now; she’s probably waiting for you.”
“Oh yea...” He scratches his head. Ah, how awkward. He looks at the floor.
“Girlfriend?”
“Huh?”
Yuuji looks up. His eyes must deceive him, because behind Yuuta’s cute, youthful smile, Yuuji feels a hint of...malice? Blinking twice, he looks at his face again. It’s gone. How odd.
“Always so popular, Yuuji-kun,” Yuuta laughs.
“It’s not like that...” Yuuji sighs.
“Ah,” Yuuta says. He seemingly sighs. “Sorry for assuming. I have to go now; let’s catch up some time.”
Yuuta turns to go.
Yuuji stays still for a second, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
--
In the cafeteria, Yuuji gets his food and starts looking for Nobara. After a while, he spots her sitting on a table with what seems to be the guy from class. They make an odd duo, Yuuji notes. The closer he gets, the more he thinks they might be fighting. In the end, he figures it might just be friendly bickering.
“Hey, Yuuji! I sat next to this guy cuz he was sitting all alone. Turns out his personality is as nasty as it looks,” Nobara tells him the moment he sits down.
The guy, not happy with her words, swallows down his food before quietly yelling.
“Excuse you? You’re the one with a nasty personality.”
“Gasp. You did not just say that.”
“Sure did.”
Yuuji isn’t sure how he’s meant to react. He starts eating to make up for the time he talked to Yuuta.
“Eugh, whatever, dude,” Nobara scoffs. She looks back at Yuuji. Pointing her chopsticks at him, she asks: “What did you talk about with Okkotsu-senpai?” There’s a grin on her face, which makes Yuuji wonder if he keeps hallucinating evil versions of people today. Whatever.
“Not much,” he says at the same time the guy next to him asks, “You know Okkotsu-senpai?”
“Childhood friends,” Yuuji answers.
“Do you also know him?” Nobara asks. Her eyes sparkle for some reason.
“Not really, but he’s like, best friends with my cousin,” the guy answers.
“Cousin? You’re cousins with Maki-senpai? Hook me up!!” Nobara’s face gets super excited.
The guy’s permanent frown grows. “Gross.”
“You’re only saying that because you’re going to die an old, lonely, virgin, you spiky head.”
“For the last time, I got a name,” he sighs. Yuji starts to feel bad.
“I’m Yuuji, and you?” he butts into the conversation, hoping the two stop bickering.
“Megumi.”
Megumi continues to eat, ignoring Nobara, who hasn’t stopped trying to annoy him. Yuuji laughs. He can see himself becoming good friends with those two.