??????? '????, y. itadori

FOUR

AGAIN, YOU'VE SEEN A LOT AS YOU TRAVELED.

Stoners, nice elderly people, pedophiles, you've seen them all. Curses were just one of few strange things you've seen on that list. The first curse you saw was in kindergarten. It literally sprung up out of nowhere and scared the living shit out of you. It wasn't like the cute green slime from Minecraft. They had multiple small eyes that covered half of its face and dozens of legs poking out of its body.

Terrified, you started to cry. You kept pointing at it as small child-like tears ran down your cheeks but people just looked at you like you were crazy. Your teacher tried your best to console you but you didn't light up. It kept staring at you with taunting eyes and a wicked smile. You had to be taken out of the classroom leading to your dad picking you up.

That was when he opened up to you about some scary things in this world. The thought of curses walking around free rightfully terrified you.

"I missed the train," you sighed against your phone that was pressed against your ear. "So I'll be home a little bit later."

"Where are you right now?"

"At the train station."

"When is the next train?"

You down at your wristwatch, "In about two hours." you hear your uncle sigh over the phone. "It's already six, Ace."

The train ride was about an hour ride.

"I know, Bubba. I'm sorry," you muttered. This wasn't the first time you've missed a train before. Your uncle would've given you more grief but you heard slashing and eerie noises in the background. You put two and two together when you heard various grunts coming from him and something else.

"J-Just come back home safe, Pumpkin!" he

With that, he ended the call abruptly. You kept the phone close to your ear, despite the ringing phone tone. You took a deep breath before turning off your phone. You threw your head back and stared at the white ceiling, the feeling of boredom sinking in.

'I have two more hours before the train..' you squinted your eyes, the sound of bustling passengers filling your ears. 'I don't wanna waste my time and besides...I can just walk around.'

You hummed in disdain for a few seconds. Then those led to a few minutes and then, you didnt know how long you sat there anymore. All you knew was that you were outside again, looking down at your phone. 'I'll put a timer this time so I don't mess everything up again.'

Bing!

Your phone chimed once you finished putting the timer, a feeling of relief washed over you. After that, you plugged in your headphones, pressed shuffle on your playlist, and you set off. You didn't know where to go but you just walked towards something, almost as if something was pulling you towards it. You hung your head low, staring at the ground as you walked. Your mind seemed to be everywhere but where you needed it to be. Or, did you purposely let your mind wander?

Thirty minutes passed and you were far away from the station. Beside you was a gorgeous sunset that you had to stop to watch. A small crowd gathered around you and watched the beauitful sight as well. Kids were pointing to the sky as they cluthed the hems of their mother's pants with grins plastered on their faces. A few pulled out their phones and snapped a few pictures. You stood in the middle of them, letting the sun tenderly kiss your face.

You embraced the warm feeling before everything went in slow mention. The people around you started to slow down and the air stood still. The once good feeling sun felt stale, the warmth you felt leaving immediately. Your once clam and relaxed face morphed into a stotic expression, your body tensing up as well.

One hand.

You let out a small gasp.

Right after that, everything started up again. The sun felt good again and it didn't feel so slow anymore. Your brows met, 'Again?' you sighed, swiftly turning around and met the person behind you in the eye. "What?"

"Hi!" It was pinky again, but this time without the flowers and his right hand in the air. He looked as if he was about to touch your shoulder. Your eyes widened for a brief second before you said with disgust, "Gosh, are you stalking me or something?"

He flinched. "What-?! No, I didn't' even know you until today!"

You playfully rolled your eyes, a smirk coming on your face. "Mkay. I'll believe you." You glanced at his empty hands. "I take it the nurses liked the flowers?"

"Oh, yeah!" Itadori sheepishly grinned, "My grandpa tried to throw them away but yeah, they really liked it."

'mI'm glad. you thought to yourself, a small chuckle leaving your lips. "Guess your grandpa really is stubborn."

He quietly agreed before changing the subject. "Hey, what are you doing right?" he asked. By now the crowd of civilians had departed, leaving you two in the middle of the sidewalk.

"I'm just taking walk. Why? you wanna join me, pinky?" you tease. Itadori grimaced at his name, "When you say it like that, I don't wanna anymore."

You laughed, "You can't really blame me when I don't even know your name-"

"Itadori." you stopped laughing and stared into his rather serious gaze. "What?"

"Itadori Yuuji, that's my name." you blinked as the wind started to blow against his face, almost ironically. It was like the sunset that was once beside you moved directly behind him, giving off a beautiful aura behind him. You sighed, flashing a playful smile.

"Names Y/N Ogata, but you can call me Ace, pinky."