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Deciding to take a stroll on the grounds of Jujutsu High, you found solace in the eerie quiet of the late evening. The campus, usually teeming with life, now lay shrouded in darkness. Only the distant rustle of leaves and the occasional faint squeak of a mouse scurrying by broke the stillness. It was a calm that almost felt unnaturalβa stillness that wrapped around you like a thick blanket, both comforting and suffocating.
As you wandered toward the training grounds, your eyes caught sight of a lone figure curled up on the cold, hard ground. It was unmistakably Yuji Itadori, his despondent form hunched over like someone who had just received the world's worst news. And, in many ways, he probably had. Megumi's death still loomed over him like a storm cloud, heavy and oppressive. The grief was palpable in the air, a silent reminder of what had been lost. To you, it felt like a bad breakupβthe kind that lingers far too long after the relationship has ended.
You approached Yuji with deliberate steps, making sure to make just enough noise to alert him to your presence without startling him.
"Yuji? What are you doing out here?" you asked, your voice steady, though you already knew the answer. You knew what this moment would be like. The weight of Megumi's death had crushed him, and you had orchestrated it all with the precision of a surgeon carrying out a delicate operation. The outcome was inevitable.
Yuji slowly turned his head toward you, his eyes distant and hollow, as if he were staring straight through you. "Miss Y/N..." His voice came out in a flat monotone, like someone reciting lines they didn't believe. "I won a free ice cream."
He held up a popsicle stick with the word "winner" scrawled on it in jagged, almost tragic lettering. The contrast between his hollow expression and the ridiculousness of his "prize" was jarring. "I got free ice cream," he repeated, the words falling from his lips like a mantra, as if the victory could somehow fill the void that Megumi's absence had created.
You knelt down beside him, your movements fluid and precise. Taking his cold, trembling hand into yours, you offered a fake tenderness, the kind that might have fooled anyone elseβbut not Yuji. "Oh no, your hands are freezing!" you exclaimed, laying it on thick, like this was the most urgent of matters. You let your voice drip with exaggerated concern.
"It's okay," Yuji mumbled, his voice so flat it almost sounded like it was coming from someone else. "Cold hands aren't gonna kill me. Plus... I won a free ice cream."
You stood up, your eyes narrowing slightly as you looked down at him with a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes. "That's no good, Yuji. When you're physically cold, you feel cold emotionally, too. You're going to freeze up on me if we don't do something."
Yuji blinked slowly, his expression blank, like he was barely present in the conversation. "Uh-huh." It wasn't clear if he was even listening.
"Stand up," you commanded, your voice firm, as though you were addressing a disoriented puppy.
Without hesitation, Yuji obeyed, dragging himself to his feet with a soft, reluctant, "Woof."
"Good boy," you praised him, your smile stretching just a little too wide. The power dynamic was clearβhe was the one following orders, and you were the one giving them.
"Come over to my place," you suggested, your tone laced with a warmth that was completely false. "We'll drink some warm tea together."
You could almost feel your plan falling into place as you led him toward your quarters at Jujutsu High. Each step, each word, was carefully orchestrated. You knew exactly what you were doingβand it wasn't for Yuji's sake.
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When you reached your door, you paused, as if a sudden thought had just struck you. You raised an eyebrow in mock surprise, pretending to remember something important that you had almost forgotten.
With a slight tilt of your head, you gave Yuji an almost apologetic smile. "Oh, I almost forgot," you said, dragging out the words for effect. "Are you okay with dogs?"
Yuji, looking utterly exhausted and not quite processing things, blinked at you through half-lidded eyes. He seemed to be fighting to stay present in the moment. His voice was sluggish, as though his brain had yet to catch up with his body. "Uh... sure?"
Before he could even register the implications of the question, you swung the door open with a flourish, making sure the action was quick and decisive. The moment the door opened, chaos erupted. A pack of dogs came charging toward you both, their nails clicking on the floor as they raced out with wild excitement. Their barks were a cacophony of pure joy, echoing through the room like a whirlwind of energy. The dogs, an exuberant blur of fur, surrounded you in an instant, practically jumping up and down with excitement at the sight of a new person.
You let out a hollow laughβone that was almost mechanical, as if you were playing the part of someone who was pretending to enjoy the chaos. The dogs greeted you with so much energy, their happy barks and wagging tails filling the space around you. The noise felt oddly jarring against the silence of the night, a stark contrast to the quiet, still evening. "Okay, okay! I know, I know. I'm home!" you said in a voice that barely masked your indifference to the madness unfolding before you.
Turning your attention to the dogs, you continued to play along with the charade. "That's right, a new person! Isn't that nice? That's Yuji. Can you tell him 'I ruff you'?"
You crouched down in front of them, imitating their excited barking in an exaggerated, almost cartoonish tone, as if you were a performer putting on a show. "I ruff you!" you declared, your voice high-pitched and full of artificial enthusiasm.
Yuji, caught between confusion and disbelief, looked at you with a flushed face, unsure whether to laugh or simply question his life choices. His brows furrowed, and he shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, still processing the surreal situation he had found himself in. "Uh... thanks?" he muttered, his voice trailing off.
You rose smoothly from your crouched position, maintaining a fluid motion as you turned toward the kitchen. "There's black tea, green tea, and roasted rice tea," you said, your tone light and casual, as though offering something as mundane as tea could erase the tension in the room. "Which one do you want?"
Yuji hesitated, clearly caught off guard by the sudden shift in atmosphere. His gaze flickered between you and the lively dogs still circling around, their excitement seemingly undeterred. "Uh... the one that tastes the best?"
"Good answer," you responded with a small, almost unnoticeable smile. You walked to the counter, retrieved a cup, and prepared the tea with methodical precision, all the while keeping an eye on Yuji, carefully watching his every reaction.
Once done, you grabbed a plate of tiramisu, placing it in front of him with a flourish, as if presenting a gift. "Here, have some tiramisu too. I made it myself," you added, your voice sweet, though tinged with something more calculated beneath the surface.
Just as you were about to sit down across from him, one of the dogsβaffectionately named Tiramisuβlaunched itself at you like a cannonball. The dog was a blur of excitement, and you barely had time to shield the plate from its unrelenting enthusiasm. "Whoa! Not you, silly! I wasn't calling for you," you scolded, trying to protect the delicate dessert with exaggerated care.
Yuji raised an eyebrow, clearly entertained by the absurdity of the situation but still somewhat baffled. He glanced at you, the confusion in his eyes now mixed with a quiet amusement. "What's going on?" he asked, the bewilderment in his voice impossible to ignore.
You pointed to the dog with a grin. "This one's named Tiramisu," you said, your voice dripping with mock sweetness. Then, in a high-pitched, over-the-top voice, you cooed at the dog, "That's me, I'm Tiramisu!" You mimicked the dog's excitable yips, deepening the absurdity of the situation with every word.
With a dramatic gesture, you turned toward the dog Yuji was petting. "And that's Creampuff. Yes, Creampuff, you're getting belly rubs. Aren't you lucky?" you teased, your words playful but underscored with an unsettling sense of control.
Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, Yuji let out a soft chuckle, unable to resist the humor of it all. The tension in his body momentarily loosened, and for a split second, the weight of his grief seemed to liftβthough just barely. Still, he was clearly disoriented, as if trying to navigate his emotions while simultaneously questioning the absurdity of the moment.
You reached into a small bag you had stashed nearby and made a show of pulling out a few doggy treats. "Who wants a doggy treat?" you asked, your tone bright and teasing, as though this was all perfectly normal.
Before you even had a chance to open the bag, the dogs went wild. They bounced around you in a frenzy, their excitement palpable, and the room seemed to vibrate with their boundless energy. Their paws pounded against the floor as they jumped up to your hands, each dog eager to be the first to receive their treat.
As you handed out the treats, a strange sense of satisfaction washed over you. It wasn't the satisfaction of simply caring for your dogs, but rather something darkerβa feeling of control. You controlled the room, the energy, the chaos. You controlled Yuji's attention. It was all part of the plan, and you were executing it flawlessly.
You gently took Yuji's cold hands into yours once again, the touch calculated and deliberate. As you held his hands, you gave him that overly saccharine smile, one that was just a bit too sweet to be genuine.
"Good, your hands are warming up," you said, the words soft and soothing, as if your concern was purely out of kindness. "You know, the best way to warm cold hands is to touch living things." You ran your fingers through Tiramisu's soft fur, pretending to feel affection as you indulged in the false tenderness of the moment.
Yuji looked up at you, his face flushed with the residual warmth from the dogs and your touch. "Thanks a lot, Miss Y/N," he murmured, his voice soft but heavy with something elseβsomething vulnerable. You could hear the gratitude in his words, but it was tinged with a sense of fragility, as though he were clinging to whatever comfort he could find.
Feigning innocence, you asked with a tilt of your head, "What for?"
"My brain feels a little better because of you..." Yuji mumbled, his words soft, his eyes glazed over as though he was struggling to push through the fog of exhaustion and grief.
You pulled him into your arms with practiced ease, holding him close with the kind of familiarity that spoke of a deep, calculated intention. Stroking his hair gently, you whispered, "Yes, you've been through so much. You've done a good job surviving... you're a very good boy, Yuji."
You pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes, your gaze focused and unwavering. "Do you remember our promise?" you asked, your voice soft but with an underlying edge that hinted at something more.
Yuji blinked, his brow furrowed in confusion for a moment, but there was a flicker of recognition in his eyes. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but it was there. "Huh?"
Leaning in closer, you lowered your voice to a soft murmur, so quiet that only he could hear. "Tell me the wish you want me to grant," you whispered, your tone laced with a kind of hypnotic calm.
Yuji hesitated for a moment, his thoughts heavy and tangled with grief. His desires felt muffled by the weight of his emotions, but finally, after a long pause, he whispered,
"A dog. I wanna be... your dog..."
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