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Problem number one: Choso was not used to having a lower pain tolerance.
What do the poets say again? To be human is to feel pain, or something like that. In Choso’s case, if he hadn’t been sure of his transformation after fighting with Kenjaku, now he was definitely certain.
“Come on, Choso! You need to stay sharp!” Yuji begins to move towards Choso. The two brothers are sparring at the open training grounds of Kyoto Jujutsu High in the middle of a hot and humid summer day. On top of feeling dizzy from the fact that his clothes had too many layers for summer, Choso has been repeatedly taking hits from his younger brother since sunrise, all because Yuji said he wanted to train today.
Just then, a blonde figure strides by the shaded area towards them. The summer sun may have been harsh on Choso, but to Yuki, it appeared to move with her. Yuki’s confidence was magnetic and alluring all at once, especially in the eyes of the former Death Painting.
Yuji then makes a full lunge towards Choso, knocking him over.
“Don’t get distracted, brother!” Yuji says teasingly. Yuki finally reaches them and helps Yuji up, leaving Choso to the ground. “Alright, Yuji, stop giving Choso a hard time. Have you two even had breakfast?”
Yuji stands straight and responds with much eagerness. “Nope! I told him I wanted to train as soon as we woke up!”
A sigh escapes Yuki as she slumps her shoulders down. “Go eat something, Yuji,” she then looks at Choso. “And you, stop being a pushover to your brother. Come on, get up, I’m treating you to breakfast.”
Yuji pouts and stomps on the ground. “But what about me?”
A click of the tongue, then a flick to Yuji’s forehead. “Go find someone else to bother,” says Yuki firmly.
Problem number two: Hunger was still a foreign concept to Choso.
Choso and Yuki make the short hike from the campus grounds of Kyoto Jujutsu High to the hole-in-the-wall soba house. Yuki orders two bowls of ice cold zaru soba, partnered with crispy shrimp tempura and chicken karaage.
They sit adjacent on a high stool by the bar area of the restaurant. They can directly see the kitchen from where they sit. Choso observes the cooks carefully chop, boil, and fry; he could smell the scent of food that aggravated his feeling of hunger.
His stomach growls and he holds it. Choso could feel his cheeks get warmer too. “What’s this… sensation?” He asks, looking at Yuki.
Yuki simply laughs heartily and pats Choso on the back. “That, my friend, is hunger. You haven’t experienced it in your first days as a human because I always made sure you ate on time. Yuji really did a number on you this morning, huh?”
Their food arrives and Choso simply nods. He copies how Yuki eats her noodles, dipping it in tsuyu before consuming it. “Sorry if I’m taking too long to adjust. It must be hard for you.”
Yuki simply shrugs it off and gives him a casual smile. “Don’t worry too much about it. Besides, don’t you think we’ve been through enough for me to feel hassled by you?”
Thump!
Choso felt as though something was trying to escape his chest. He held his hand by the area where he could feel something hammering.
Thump, thump!
Yuki sees his distress and places her chopsticks down by her bowl. She places her hand on Choso’s back. “Choso? What’s the matter?”
THUMP! THUMP!
At the contact of Yuki’s hand on his back, Choso felt like he was having a heart attack. He knew, of course, what the function of the heart was. He had at least been oriented at the beginning of his human journey that the heart’s primary role is the central pump of a body’s circulatory system.
Problem number three: Choso did not know that the heart and the mind are indisputably connected.
Choso nearly fell on his stool, but Yuki caught him, her biceps flexing in the process. Upon catching a glimpse, Choso could feel yet another strange sensation.
Heat.
Heat built up in his chest, then crept up his cheeks. What on earth was this? What was going on? Was he turning back into a Death Painting? Was he dying? Choso braves a glimpse at Yuki.
He’s seen her countless times. In Tengen’s sanctuary, in hiding spots, in battlegrounds… So what was this new sensation all about?
All he could remember was nearly dying at the hand of Kenjaku, then being saved by Yuki in the process. He remembers waking up and feeling weaker than he did, but somehow he was able to feel things more intensely.
He always liked being around Yuki. Back when it was just the two of them guarding Tengen, her presence felt like the warm embrace of the sun, not the scorching heat summer brings, but the kind of warmth one might yearn for after overcoming a harsh winter season.
“Sorry…” was all Choso was able to say. “I’ll just eat. I’m sorry.”
Yuki places her hand on his forehead. “Don’t be sorry! You’re burning up! I knew something was wrong. You have a fever,” she clicks her tongue. “You really overdid it with Yuji this morning. Choso, you’re still strong, but you have to remember that you’re human now.”
Problem number four: Choso didn’t understand how an immune system worked
Back at his quarters in Kyoto Jujutsu High, he changes into a plain shirt and joggers before letting Yuki in his room. He lays down as Yuki places a basin down by his bedside. She gets a small towelette in his drawer and dips it in the cold water and gently places it on Choso’s forehead.
“Try to get some rest this afternoon, okay?” Yuki fixes his stray bangs, her voice much gentler this time around. “And stop indulging Yuji too much. Please. For your sake.”
“Yuki…” Choso sits up, grabbing her wrist and placing her hand by his chest, right where his heart was still beating as though it wanted to escape his body altogether.
“I don’t understand. Since I became human, it has been… doing this. Every time you are near.”
Yuki flattened her palm on his chest. She understood, of course. She’s had her fair share of men in her life, especially when she traveled, but none of them ever had the earnestness Choso was now expressing.
“Before I became human, when we were guarding Tengen, I always felt this lightness around you. That is why I could easily tell you anything. I like the way you look at me when I tell you things.”
“And how do I look at you?”
Choso cups her cheek, his thumb rubbing in small smooth circles. “I can’t describe it.”
“Try for me. Please?”
He takes a deep breath, as if courage could be gathered through thin air. “The way you look at me… I see your eyes get softer. And then you smile…” and right on cue, Yuki smiles at him, that tender version she doesn’t really give anyone else but him. “When you smile at me, even then, I forgot we were ever in danger. It’s like a promise that everything is going to be okay.”
“And everything did turn out okay, didn’t it?”
Choso let out a long exhale. “It did.”
Yuki leans closer. “So… what do you want to do now?”
Choso’s gaze turns to her lips, before climbing back up on her pupils shining like rose quartz. He inches closer to her, and she does the same. Soon their foreheads are touching. Yuki could see tears build up in Choso’s eyes.
“Why are you crying?” she cups his cheek again, their forehead still touching.
“I just feel… so much… for you.”
Without waiting for another word, Yuki closes the final gap, her supple lips softly touching Choso’s.
Problem number five: Choso didn’t know how addicting it was to kiss the person you like.