// SURVIVOR'S GUILT // : MAKI ZEN'IN

2.

Yuji Itadori woke to the vibration of his phone by his bedside, groggily turning it on, squinting at the notification on his Lock Screen.

Suoh Yuuya

- We're heading out, get dressed!

The Jujutsu High First-Year let out a soft huff as he sat up, gently mumbling to himself as he took his towel from the knob on his dresser and slid his feet into his slides, trudging his way to the shower rooms.

With a twist of the nozzle all the way to the hottest the water could be, Yuji scrubbed himself down to the sounds of birds chirping, the crack of dawn just barely peeking above the mountain range enveloping the Technical College campus.

Drying off his hair, toothbrush pressed to the inside of his cheek, he tossed on a black compression top and a pair of athletic shorts, carrying his runners to the door with a water bottle in the other hand.

Sliding the door open, he greeted one Suoh Yuuya, sitting on the steps.

"I didn't keep you waiting, did I?" Yuji said.

Perking up at the boy's words, Suoh hopped to his feet and bumped Yuji's fist with a chuckle. "Don't sweat it, weather's gorgeous, so I didn't mind the wait."

"So, you ready?" Suoh asked, taking position on the sidewalk with a couple hops in place, "I won't wait up for you~."

Yuji eagerly took up the challenge with a determined smirk, slipping his feet into his runners.

"You're on, then!"

And so, the two physically-gifted teenagers, water bottles in hand, were off.

A brisk jog through the campus was the best way for Yuji to keep in mind where everything would be; sweeping through the morning breeze, the sunrise blooming through the tree line with the passing of their run, over the bridge, up and down the steps, around and up the stairways of what buildings they could access- even waving at a Shoko sitting on the steps of her clinic, empty bottle in hand.

She looked....rough.

Putting that aside, Yuji enjoyed himself; light exercise, summer morning's weather, and a good friend to push his paces.

"Right! You all warmed up, Yuji~?"

"Yup! All set!"

Standing several paces apart at the track field, Yuji took a stance, a relaxed hand held out in front of him, with a shift of his lead leg and bent knees, chambering his fist to his midsection.

Suoh himself, his slouched, relaxed standard.

"Bring it, Yuuya!"

"Fsh...!"

With a hop off of his toes, Suoh dashed forward and flicked off a flurry of jabs, parried briskly aside. Yuji struck out a combination of rights and lefts of his own, to which Suoh evaded with the most minimal of movements, stepping into the first-year's range and swinging his elbow across from below, Yuji narrowly able to squeeze a two-armed block before impact.

"Ha...ha...you're sick, Yuji! Strong as me, with those hands, alone~!"

"Kgh, I'll take the compliment, even if you're lying to my face, Yuuya...!"

The duo pushed off from one another, ample space created between them, that was closed off with a dash forward and a clash of fists.

"But, you know that fists ain't enough to take a Curse down, gotta bring more to the table!"

Yuij backed off first, flicking off another right; Suoh himself shifted out of the way with a twist of his core and a quick counter from below, halting it just before it made contact with Yuji's chin.