Capítulo - Un corto reunión

     Yuuta looked 17 now that he was growing into his looks. Either that or the stress Atsuki was giving him made him look older in seconds. At first, when they started the call, she couldn't recognize him. He let his hair grow a couple of inches, covering the sides of his face and casting a small shadow over his darker eye bags. But as he spoke and expressed his emotions, he was the same boy she had last seen.

     The same couldn't be said for Atsuki. To him, she had remained the same physically wise, and personality-wise. However, he could feel that she seemed more confident than she was the last time he saw her and she confirmed it when she explained her fight with Miwa and the special grade curse.

     Atsuki aimlessly waved her arms around as she blabbered her mouth. She ignored the sharp pain shooting up her spine she was sure she was doing a good job hiding. The head injury had been treated by Shouko, a scar was the only evidence of any head trauma. It was an inch off from the scar she received last year from Getou's attack. The lack of hair growth made it easy to find the bald spot and she was almost certain the incoming scar would give her another.

     Yuuta was on the phone screen with furrowed eyebrows and an open mouth as he tried to speak. However, Atsuki was unintentionally interrupting him. She hadn't called him in a long time and being a sorcerer always had something new.

     "And then after Megumi was stabbed, so was Maki."

     "WHAT!" Yuuta's eyes widened.

     "Yeah!" She nonchalantly added, "And then I had a severe concussion and was bleeding all over the place."

     "THAT'S ALREADY FIVE PEOPLE!"

     Atsuki was sure she saw a sheer coat of sweat form on the poor boy's face. She quickly said, "Yeah, and it stayed that way. Toudou and Yuuji are fine." Yuuta's shoulders released a small amount of tension. "I heard Gojou used his hollow purple magic to try and exorcise that curse. Toge is all okay now. A few more doses from throat medication and he won't sound like he smokes 30 packs of cigarettes a day."

     "Oh, well, that's good. Are you okay?" he asked. He leaned forward on his seat. His breakfast was set aside to listen to her story. The stress he gave her didn't let him eat his food in peace.

     "Now I am. Thanks to Ieiri-San. I haven't seen the others yet. I was going to give them til one to rest before I go bother them." Atsuki received a text message on the top of her screen. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to read it quickly.

     "What's wrong?" Yuuta asked as she leaned toward the screen.

     "Nothing. Nobara and Yuuji are getting Pizza before we visit Megumi. Oh, yeah, that reminds me. Nobara wanted me to tell you to beware when you come back. She had a few things to say to you because you won the exchange event last year."

     "What? What did I do?"

     "Hold on, let me respond to them." Atsuki typed onto the phone as her nails clicked on the screen. She would usually use her speech-to-text because she didn't want to struggle with grammar, but one, she was on the phone with Yuuta, and two, Megumi told her to practice texting. She quickly hit send and continued, "Anywho, where was I with Nobara."

     Yuuta turned up the volume to his phone now that he didn't have to hear the tapping of Atsuki's nails from his side of the phone. "You mentioned she said something about me."

     "Oh, right. We forgot to mention the exchange event was here and not in Kyoto. So she was mad because she wanted to go sightseeing. And since you won last year, it takes place here, not in Kyoto."

     He rubbed his neck and a small blush appeared on his face. "Oh. Well, tell her I'm sorry and It wasn't my intention to make her upset. The win was unexpected, really."

     "I was expecting that win. Rika was even scarier before you released her curse. Toudou was looking forward to fighting with you again by the way. He beat Megumi up because you weren't there."

     "I think I should start off a list of who I need to apologize to for my absence. Megumi-kun was okay, right? I think Inumaki-kun mentioned he was okay."

     "Against Toudou? He was okay or as okay you can be going against him." She waved her hand, dismissing him, "Toudou is messed up in the head anyway. He's strong but weird."

     "Did he ask Megumi-kun what his type in women was?"

     "He asked you that too?"

     "Did I not tell you that?"

     "Obviously not."

     "Oh," he scratched his head. "Well, he did."

     "That's what made him go all crazy on him. But he and Yuuji seemed to get along. I still don't know how that happened. We're going to hang out in a bit. Expect a weird answer for that."

     "Okay, I will. At this point, I shouldn't really be surprised by anything. Not in the kind of life we live now."

     "It's a work in progress for me too." Atsuki read the message Nobara sent saying that she got Atsuki's food and that they were on their way. She hovered the camera near her face and said, "They're on their way back. I'm gonna go. I want to see Megumi before they get there."

     "Oh, well, okay." Yuuta smiled and waved at the camera, "I'll talk to you soon, bye, Atsuki."

     She returned the wave, saying, "Bye, Yuuta."

     Atsuki pressed the red button and the line disconnected. She unbuttoned her pocket and stuffed her phone in as she made her way out of the door. She frowned clicking it back on.

     As much as she wanted to ask Yuuta when he was coming back, she knew he would dodge the question. It was odd hanging out with the second-years and not having him around. He brought a balance to Panda and Toge's pranks and Maki's harshness.

     Atsuki felt bad that she selfishly wanted him back. She wanted her friends around her at all times. After all, they were the first ones she had ever made and kept. But she knew Yuuta liked being in Africa. He spent half of his life living alone and in misery and now he had the chance to change it around and explore the world.

     Atsuki knocked on Megumi's door and walked right in. Kurai raised his head, wagging his tail as she closed the door behind her. Megumi knew it was her from his Devine dog recognizing her scent and the strange pattern she used to knock. His hand rested on the dog's stomach, buried into his fur. His lights were still off but open curtains let the afternoon sun seep through.

     She stood there silently with her hands behind her back. Her hair was tied to two pigtails by ribbons and her bangs fell on her face like always. A smile cracked on her lips when the divine dog left Megumi's side to greet her. She bent down to scratch the dog's neck and his fluffy tail wagged side to side. She giggled when Kurai licked the side of her cheek. He could've gotten her mouth if she didn't turn her head to the side fast enough.

     Atsuki wrapped her arms around the dog. Over time she learned how to somewhat escape the kisses from Kurai and Akio. She ran her hands on his back as she said, "I can't believe he's more excited to see me than you."

     Megumi dug his hand underneath the cool side of the pillow, the side of his face squished into it. "You should believe it. You always barge into my room without saying anything."

     "Well, that's not entirely true." She rose and made her way to his chair. "I knocked and Nobara texted in our group chat that we'd be visiting you since you kinda can't move."

     "I didn't think it'd be this early."

     "It's almost one. Never mind forget what I said, you were stabbed."

     "I wasn't stabbed."

     "Partially stabbed."

     "Atsuki."

     "Yes."

     "What are you doing in here?"

     Atsuki flipped the chair to the back of it to face him. She rested her hands on the armrest and placed her chin on top. "Why do you always ask me that?"

     Kurai leaped onto the bed and snuggled by Megumi's legs. "Because you disrupt my peace."

     "Fine. If you want me to leave I will."

     Megumi watched as she dramatically sighed and heavily rose. She turned the chair back to where it belonged, purposely slowing her movements. She was halfway across the room and her shoulders fell realizing she was inches from the door.

     "Wait." Atsuki paused with her hand on the handle. "You can stay."

     Atsuki held back a grin creeping up on her face. She turned around but bit the smart remark. She pressed her lips together to hide the smile on her face as she invited herself to his bed. She rested her hand on Kurai and petted the dog. He walked in a circle to make the bed comfortable enough to lie on. He laid his head on her lap and closed his eyes as she ran her hand down his head.

     "You know, I miss Akio," she said, not glancing up.

     "That wasn't his name."

     "What was it then?" Megumi didn't respond. "Even if he's still here, kinda, I miss him."

     Megumi kept his eyes on his dog lying his head on Atsuki's lap. "I do too," he agreed. "You know, the divine dogs are the first shikigami given to the ten shadow users."

     "I remember you telling me. Back when I first met you. You seem like the person who would value an animal's life more than a human's."

     "Not necessarily. If I don't, then it doesn't bother me because I don't know them. But just because I care for the person who died doesn't mean they don't have as much value as my shikigami. I've had them since I was six and grew to tame more as I learned."

     "I never said this but I'm sorry about the white divine dog and Orochi."

     "What are you sorry for? You had nothing to do with it. And we lost Itadori that night too. Or at least, we thought we did."

     "Still, they're like your pets, right? You have Kurai sitting right here beside you and it's not the first time either. You summon them whenever you want."

     "I guess so." He sat up and moved his pillow against his bed frame. He shifted back and comfortably leaned back. He fixed the front strands of his hair, asking, "How are you feeling?"

     "After Ieiri-san cured the concussion I had she gave me some painkillers for my back. So I feel fine, just tired. What about you? You and Maki got stabbed fighting that thing."

     "I didn't-" He sighed. "Ieri-san was able to patch me up after removing the roots. I'm still sore and the scar is there. She said to take it easy."

     "Let's see if you actually listen to her. That thing was feeding o your cursed energy."

     "I feel almost normal now. I'm just hungry then I'll be better. We're still unsure if they are going to continue the sister exchange event."

     "What?" She quirked an eyebrow and retorted, "So you can get beat up again."

     Megumi's face fell and he glanced to the right corner of his ceiling, his shoulders sagged with it. It was a half-eye roll. "When are Itadori and Kugisaki getting here?"

     Atsuki laughed. "I'm kidding... kinda." Her quiet laugh died down and she withdrew her phone from her pockets. There was a message from Yuuji saying they were on campus. "They should be here soon," she awkwardly said.

     Atsuki stood from her chair and left it there for someone to sit on. As she walked past Megumi's desk, she noticed her glitter pens left on the smooth surface. "That's where they went! These would've been helpful with my sketches three days ago."

     "Sorry, I forgot to bring them back to you," he apologized. He tilted his head, asking, "Why do you always use colorful pens, anyway? They wouldn't be lost if you used standard pens."

     "Because that's boring. The black and white sheets need some color. It's art."

     Nobara barged in through the door, flipping the switch without any warning, causing Megumi to groan and he released his technique. She held the drink holder holding their smoothies. Yuuji was right behind her carrying the pizza and another to-go box. "Atsuki, I got you what you wanted. Then we got ourselves some smoothies, too. I can't believe you don't like pizza."

     Atsuki smiled bouncing next to Megumi. The boy placed his hands to his sides to scoot himself over, creating more room for her. She reached her hands flat out for Nobara to give her the box. She gently plopped her orders out for her. "It's something we always gave out in the circus. When I hit the age of about... nine, I wanted to puke every time I smelled it."

     Yuuji closed the box of pizza, frowning as he questioned, "Why didn't you say anything? We could've gotten something else too. Now you have to smell it."

     She waved her hand, "Eh, I grew numb to the smell and I stopped eating it. So I don't get sick of it anymore. I just choose not to eat it." Atsuki unwrapped the plastic bag and gave Megumi the box on top, "So I got rice and salmon for us. Since you got stab- impaled, it's easy on your stomach."

     Megumi rested the warm to-go box on his lap. He grabbed the chopsticks Atsuki held out for him, saying, "Thanks. How much do I owe you?"

     She smiled, gently placing her elbow on his shoulder, "It's on me. Plus, you won't complain about your stomach having trouble digesting the pizza." She rolled the bag up to a ball and tossed it onto Megumi's desk. "I'll throw that away later." When she faced her friends, Yuuji and Nobara seemed to come to an abrupt stop in their actions. Atsuki quirked an eyebrow glancing between them and Megumi, who had a faint red tint to his cheeks and the tip of his ears. "What?" she questioned.

     Yuuji and Nobara drawled out, holding back laughter, "Nothing..."

     Nobara strolled to the other end of the bed as Yuuji set the pox of Pizza on Megumi's legs. "So, Atsuki, did you tell Okkotsu?"

     Her eyebrows shot up. "He says he's really sorry about it and he didn't mean to upset you."

     "I'll take the apology in person." She then asked Yuuji, "When did you start getting along with that gorilla?"

     Yuuji's Pizza slumped down and a sting of cheese stretched down as he paused. "Well, we got along, but like... I remember what happened but I wasn't exactly myself then."

     Nobara leaned forward holding half of the pizza yet to be eaten. "What, were you drunk?"

     "You believe I could've been drinking liquor in that situation?" He shut his eyes, glancing down, "I'm shocked."

     Atsuki snickered, bringing down her chopsticks, "Yuuji doesn't think things through in fights. He just does it."

     "Exactly!" Yuuji beamed. "I usually don't have time to think anyway. But I'm glad you seriously you guys weren't hurt."

     "Apparently, I got off easier because my cursed energy was all dried up," Megumi said. "Ieri-san was still able to fix me up as soon as the roots were removed."

     "Honestly, Yuuji, we got lucky we didn't get impaled by those things," Atsuki commented.

     "Itadori." Yuuji brought down the pizza he was about to take a bite out of to look at Megumi. "You've grown stronger. Back then, we both said our convictions were proper ones. I still think that's true. Or put it another way, we're both wrong."

     Nobara rested her head on her palm, "Some questions don't have answers, you know. You're thinking too hard."

      "That's right. There's no right answer. It's just whether or not you can accept it. But there's no accepting anything if you can't have it your way. Weak sorcerers can't do that. So I'm going to become strong, too." Megumi's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Yuuji, "I'll surpass you in no time."

     Yuuji's eyebrows rose and he laughed. "You never change."

     Nobara's eyebrows furrowed, "Don't just move the conversation forward without me."

     "That's my brother's friends for you!" Toudou said. He nodded as the four first-years turned their heads to him squatting at the foot of Megumi's bed.

     Yuuji dropped his pizza on the pizza box. He darted up and zipped to Megumi's sliding door leading outside. He was a blurred streak of pink and blue hues as he was too fast to shut the glass door behind him.

    Toudou jumped and zoomed behind him, shouting, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING, BROTHER?"

     Yuuji shouted, "I'M GRATEFUL TO YOU, BUT GIVE ME A BREAK!"

     Their voices grew smaller in the distance. The first-years stared at the open door as Atsuki slowly withdrew her phone to text Yuuta.

     There wasn't much Atsuki could do after leaving Megumi's room. Everyone was still recovering even herself. Plus it's not like she wanted to go anywhere at the moment. Although she was used to walking through the streets alone she preferred not to. She had gotten used to everyone's company and if she were to leave, a wave of anxiety will drown her in the sea of people. She thought about doing her schoolwork due in three days but she was sure Ijichi wouldn't mind her turning in two things late.

     Atsuki held her sketchbook out and viewed the hundreds of designs, running her finger over each page. Her window was open to let the golden and orange rays of the sunset beam into her bedroom. She was too far from her desk lamp and the temptation to her up was too low. She made mental notes skimming through each page to find new outfits to sew together.

     Until someone knocked on her door. She didn't glance up and welcomed them into her room, "Come in!"

     Gojou opened the door, a paper bag crinkled as he stepped into her room. "Guess what! I brought you a gift!"

     She shifted her eyes and viewed him from the side. Her bangs barely let her see him. He set the bags near the door and stood in the middle of her room. "You're too loud. My head hurts." It didn't. She didn't want to speak to him at this moment. Atsuki crossed her arms. "Special grades really like busting my head in." She narrowed her eyes, "You're not gonna be the third one are you?"

    He tilted his head and rested a hand on his hip, answering, "I don't think that'll make me a good teacher, 'Suki."

     Atsuki scoffed, "You say that and you let Panda throw me fifty feet."

     "It's part of training."

     "Yeah, whatever," she waved her hand. "What are you doing in here?"

     "You still mad?"

     "I don't know." She closed her sketchbook and tossed it at the foot of her bed. "You hid Yuuji away for two months basically and then you turn him into a Jack in the Box to surprise us. How would you like it if someone did that to you?"

     "So you are."

     Atsuki glared at him through her eyes, the rest of her face remained stoic. She pointed to the bag, "Is that souvenir in there supposed to be an apology or part of it? Because it feels very manipulative that you're giving me something with the apology."

     "Relax. I'm not your old boss. And this isn't part of any apology because I'm not apologizing." Atsuki licked the inside of her teeth and looked away. "I'm not sorry for hiding Yuuji. I haven't told anybody this yet besides him and Ijichi but the four of you were sent on that mission because I wasn't here to take control of anything. Their intent was for Yuuji to die and if any of you died that night as well, then the blame would be pushed onto me."

     Atsuki turned her head to Gojou. She wanted to be surprised the higher-ups planned that out but after facing the Kyoto students and their task to kill Yuuji, a frown stretched across her lips. "Killing two birds with one stone type of situation?"

     "Yeah. He woke up the next day after he was pronounced dead. I hid him away until I knew he was ready to come back out. In case they tried to get him killed, he'd have a better opportunity to put up a fight. That's why I'm not sorry for it."

     "When you put it like that it makes sense. It's still upsetting."

     "That's why I brought you these. To light up your terrible mood. Yuuta helped pick some of these out too. It was his idea." He picked up the bags and set them beside her bed. Gojou handed one to her and her eyes brightened seeing the colorful fabrics in the bag. "They're straight from Kenya. We thought you would like these. They have cool unique designs."

     He had brought two bags filled with fabric to add to her collection. The colors were far more vibrant and tougher. They have a mix of different textures and designs stacked on top of one another.

     Atsuki picked out a rough textured fabric. There were shiny micro linings across the red fabric chopping it up into squares. Although it was thin, it wasn't see-through. The fabric was good for the summer heat coming.  There was another one with the same texture with golden linings and white fabric. She pinched it with her fingers and raised it, "I think this one is my favorite." Her eyes focused on the solid yellow with bright orange triangles. She gasped, "Oh, this one's pretty, too!"

     "See, mood lifted! Yuuta wanted me to tell you to text him what you thought of them," he grinned. Gojou tucked his hands into his pockets and drawled out, "Alsooo..." Atsuki's smile fell. "I need a quick favor."

     Atsuki glanced up from the fabrics in her hands. With a bored tone, she asked, "You need a favor from me? The strongest sorcerer?"

     "Yes, because I need your technique to pull this off."

     She sighed. "What is it?"

-

HEY GUYS!!!
Sorry I was supposed to upload this like two weeks ago but I got my wisdom teeth removed a month ago and I could do anything for two weeks. Since there's like ten things I was able to eat the fatigue hit hard. But I've been adjusting back to my regular schedule and I finished this chapter and writing my other books.

ALSO JJK SEASON TWO IS OUT AND I LOVE IT (I'm totally prepared for pain...).

Since I'm a manga reader I already have the Shibuya arc planned out (most of it at least) so I'm thinking that I'll start writing it when the anime is halfway through the arc.

-Aithusa