DARK RED [ITADORI Y.]

―XL. ROUGH SLEEP

CHAPTER XL. HAD A ROUGH SLEEP, DID YOU?

__________________________________

I don't even think I could call this a house, to be honest. It was more of a shack. Half the windows were boarded up, and there were only four rooms. A bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and an extremely small space as the living room. There was a TV, with a DVD player and a case of movies beside it. There was no internet, so we were forced to resort to cheezy movies and a bookcase filled with basic romantic love story novels.

The floors creaked whenever you walked, so sneaking around wasn't something Yuuji or I could do. Once I had gotten a hold of some cleaning supplies, Yuuji, Gojo, and I got to work to clean up a bit. The place was covered in a layer of dirt, so I stripped the bed of the original sheets and replaced them after they'd been washed and dried. It took almost three hours to sweep all of the dust away, mop the floors, wipe everything down, and organize the fridge and cabinets. When that was finished, we all collapsed onto the small brown couch.

"Well, welcome home," Gojo said, grunting as he stood back up. "You'll just have to make do with what this place has for now. The TV has cable, but it's super shitty and the antenna outside has to be in a certain position. No internet because tracking...and...yeah. You guys are set."

"This is got to be the worst thing I've done," I muttered, sitting forward as I rested my forehead in my hand.

"It's only temporary," Gojo replied, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I hate to do this to you both, but it's the only way I can assure your safety until I get the higher-ups to back down. Once they fuck off, you'll be able to come home. This shouldn't take more than a week."

"Thank you, Gojo-sensei," Yuuji said. "For defending and protecting us."

"You're not the ones in the wrong," He stated. "Besides, I always side with my students, no matter the circumstance."

"Even if it costs you your job?" I asked. Gojo chuckled.

"I don't give a damn if I lose my job or not. They decide to exile me, then, oh well. I'll watch the Jujutsu World crumble and laugh,"

Yuuji gave a small smile, dropping his head as he ran his hand through his hair. I think we both knew what would happen if they switched their focus to Gojo.

"I need to get back to Nobara and Megumi. I sort of left them in the middle of a mission," Gojo hummed. "I'll come by and check on you tomorrow. Try and get some sleep tonight."

...

Our sleep that night wasn't very refreshing. Both of us were exhausted beyond compare, and we sluggishly carried ourselves to the bedroom, all but falling onto the mattress. Yuuji seemed to fall asleep almost immediately, face down into a pillow with his arms tucked under it. I managed to at least slide under the blanket, pull it out from under him, and cover his body with it. I settled against the wall, my nose buried in the corner with the blanket over my shoulder.

I wish I could say my sleep was peaceful. But, it was far from it. Flashes of heat made me toss and turn, and Yuuji was just as restless. He got up a few times and walked around the house before laying back down, hoping to tire himself out.

By the time morning came, neither of us had more than maybe three hours of sleep. We were practically zombies, sluggishly carrying ourselves through the house. Around noon, both of us were on the couch, half-asleep. Yuuji's head was rolled over the back, one arm draped on the arm, the other on the back of the couch. My head was on his thigh, my feet dangling over the opposite arm. The sun was shining just right so it wasn't in our faces, but it was warm and comforting. We were so close to falling asleep.

Well, we were, until Gojo decided to bust through the front door.

We both jolted up in surprise, the sound of the door hitting the wall startling us. Yuuji whipped to look over the back of the couch, his shoulders relaxing when the white-haired male entered the living room.

"Good morning!" He sang, his hands planted on his hips. "Woo! You two look like shit. Had a rough sleep, did you?"

"I thought you weren't coming for a few days?" I groaned, aggravated that he'd taken my only chance of sleep away.

"Just stopped by to see how you slept," He hummed, leaning over the back of the couch. "And judging how you both look, I'm gonna say it wasn't all that good?"

"Horrible," I murmured.

Gojo dropped a bottle into my lap. "Melatonin does wonders."

"How long do we have to stay here?" Yuuji asked, getting up from the couch.

"I'm meeting with the old farts today," He said. "If I can't convince them to drop it, I'll get them off your backs. And if they don't want to listen to me, well—" Gojo shrugged. "—they'll have fun trying to scrape the bodies of their sorcerers off the concrete while we sit back and watch."

"Will you come to tell us what they say?" I asked.

"I'll be here the moment I leave from there," He assured, standing up. "Try and eat something. Maybe go out for a walk along the beach. Just don't be out too long, and don't go too far. Don't be slacking off and getting lazy. I'll force you to run this whole city if you do."

Yuuji chuckled at that. Gojo then bid us goodbye before he was leaving, yet again. I knew that I should probably do as he said and eat something, but my stomach was twisting. I was anxious.

I couldn't imagine what would happen if they didn't listen to Gojo and we would be executed. I didn't know how my family would react. Would they even be told? God, my poor mother. She'd probably never move on. And my dad? It'd be over for him.

"Come on,"

Yuuji's voice flooded my ears, making me lift my head to him. He was in the process of sliding a pair of sunglasses over his eyes when he looked over at me. He shot me a toothy grin.

"Where are we going?" I asked, placing the bottle of pills off to the side as I stood up.

"On a walk," He said, holding another pair of sunglasses out to me. "I might suffocate if I stay in here any longer."

And so we both slipped our shoes on and left the little shack, the keys dangling around Yuuji's finger. He joked and said we didn't even need it—one little shove and the front door would fall off. Still, he carried it in his pocket, his other hand laced in mine.

Feeling the breeze from the waves didn't seem right. Don't get me wrong, it was calming and peaceful, even. The way they shifted back and forth, brushing over my ankles before retreating, just to do it all again a few seconds later—it was calming to watch. But I couldn't fully enjoy it. And neither could Yuuji.

"It just...doesn't feel right," He said quietly. He was standing beside me on the deck, his hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts. I kicked my feet through the water, sighing.

"This feels more like a vacation than it does a safe place,"

"Let's get back," Yuuji extended his hand down to me, helping me back onto my feet. "I'll fix something for lunch."

[Chapter XL. End]
[Image does not belong to me]