𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 [𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢]

• Chapter 1 •

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❝Like a little kid making up a secret code❞
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"Welcome to Tokyo Jujutsu High!" the odd white-haired man said. "You'll be staying in the second-year building, right over there." He points to a medium sized building on the staggered land with a quirky pose. "Maki-san will show you your room." "Thanks Gojo-sensei," you respond. This guy had a surprising amount of energy for a 30 year old teacher. You guess it makes sense; he is the best jujutsu sorcerer after all.

Making your ways to the building steadily, you look around. It was actually quite a beautiful campus. The cherry blossoms surrounding the area had just bloomed, and the grass was still a nice bright green. The buildings looked a little old, but you haven't seen the inside so you decide not to judge too much. Making it to the door, you open it and are met with a hallway. The hallway turns to the left at the end, and you assume that's where the rooms are. Walking past the preserved classrooms, you turn the corner, seeing a girl in the hall.

"Hey, Maki-san!" you say with a smile on your face.

"Hey, how have you been?"

"Great! I can't believe I got in!"

"Yeah, enjoy it while you can," she says in her usual sarcastic manner, rolling her eyes. The two of you share a laugh. Although you and her have different mothers, you've known Maki since you were little. After all, you are in the same clan. It's a little weird, sharing a last name but not being related, but you suppose it didn't matter. You like to think of yourselves as best friends, but you haven't made it official yet.

"Anyways, here's your room. It's a little beat up because part of it was destroyed in an... incident. But I'll scare Sensei into fixing it up for you." "Thanks, but I think once I decorate the walls it won't look so bad," you respond, chuckling slightly. You do wonder what the incident was, but you suppose it doesn't matter at the moment. You see your boxes are already in the room, and you wonder if Maki brought them here. You don't bother asking; she wouldn't admit it even if she did.

Unpacking your boxes and putting up a poster of your favorite band over a particularly large crack, you hear someone walking down the hallway. You look up and see a giant panda in the door. Standing up, you walk over to it. "Are you a cursed corpse?" you ask. You've never seen one this large before, and if they were one, it would be astonishing. "Yep! How'd you know?" And it can talk! "I'm Panda, by the way. Nice meeting you." You nod and return to unpacking your boxes, a little ecstatic.

"Bonito flakes." You lift your head up again, surprised. In the doorway was a short boy with off-white hair. "Tuna, tuna mayo," he says. In that moment, something odd happens. The meaning for the words he said flows right into your mind, and you can clearly hear what he actually means. "N- nice to meet you too, Inumaki-san." It's a little scary: how this is working. The boy's eyes widen, almost as if he's surpsised.

Panda peers around the corner of your doorframe.

"You can understand him?"

"Yeah, can't you?"

"No; Inumaki-san uses cursed speech, so he speaks in rice ball ingredients to prevent him from accidently hurting someone. The fact you can understand what he's actually saying is pretty impressive."

You're not sure why, but you blush slightly at the fact he can't actually talk. Maybe you subconsciously thought it was cute, like a little kid making up a code so their parents can't understand them. This analogy makes you blush more, and you jerk your head downwards so your hair hides your face. Pretending to look around in a box, you say, "It was nice meeting you two. See you around!"

After their footsteps fade away you look back up and take a sigh of relief. Your face feels warm, and you check it in your phone, only to see it an unflattering shade of red. You close the door to prevent any more interruptions. Replaying the interaction in your mind, you remember Panda walking out of the building again, but Inumaki's steps went further down the hall. Feeling a little curious, you exit your room and look down the hall. The room next to yours had an open door and you could hear rustling inside.

'Well fuck,' you think to yourself. It's bad enough he made you blush, but now you'll be seeing him almost every morning. Feeling anxious, you play through a possible scenario in your mind, trying to find a solution.

Leaving your room, the door next to yours opens. Inumaki leaves his room, obviously just waking up. You feel blood rush to your face, so you look down. Hearing the footsteps get closer and closer to you, you realize he's walking alongside you. "Good morning," he says in his soft, comforting voice. You didn't expect him to say anything, and it gives you butterflies. You realize looking at the floor probably looks pretty weird, so you look up and respond, eyes straight ahead. "G- good morning, Inumaki-san." You can feel his eyes on you, and this observation makes you even more red. "Are you alright? Your face is pretty red," he says. 'Well shit.'

Well that went horribly. Maybe it'll be better in real life. You can imagine the walk to breakfast will be unimaginably awkward, but maybe the feeling will wear off after a bit.

You hurriedly walk back to your room, being careful not to make any noise. You rustle in your box, and realize it's the blanket box. You pick up a blanket and nuzzle your face into the fabric, cherishing the feeling. It's been a while since you've packed up your things, and you missed the warmth. Standing up and taking the blanket out, you look up from the soft fabric. You realize you forgot to close the door, and Inumaki is standing there, staring at you. You let out a small gasp, his expression becomes more surprised, and he quickly walks away.

'How long was he standing there?' You wonder to yourself. You could have sworn he was blushing a bit, but it was hard to tell with the large collar covering the majority of his face. It could have just been a shadow. You have to admit it was a little creepy, having him watch you for who knows how long, but maybe he was just curious, like you were. To be fair, you didn't look in his room though.

You walk to the door and close it gently, not wanting to seem rude. Returning to the floor, you shuffle through your boxes and start furnishing your room, your stomach sick with butterflies.