The Reservation (Nanami Kento || JJK)

The Tie

I had not gotten up this early in years. Taking me back to my college days (my very brief college days), I rose a little before the sun and left as it was fully cresting over the skyscrapers in the distance.

For my first visit back to the school of my dreams, I wore a long sweater dress, for the weather was finally turning, and the leaves were changing colors. I wanted to look nice to see Nanami too, which I tried not to think too hard about since it was still a sensitive topic.

At least, for me it was. Nanami probably didn't have a clue about it.

I took the stairs two at a time, then quickly tired and slowed down. Jujutsu High was rather secluded despite being so close to the city, and as I reached the halfway mark, I realized why not many people bothered to sneak onto the grounds. It was just too much of a hassle.

By the time I made it to the top at the first courtyard, I was breathless and sorely regretting wearing a sweater dress. The cool breeze did nothing while the thick material trapped all my body heat. Not to mention, it was well past first period... I had gravely miscalculated how much time I would need to get up the mountain of stairs.

Nonetheless, sounds of clashing weapons and grunts of effort echoed from the sunken athletic field to the right of the courtyard. I ventured over, seeing a group of students either sparring or observing, and standing off to the side observing it all was none other than the man I came for.

"Nanami!" I called out on a whim, forgetting for a moment that I was probably disrupting class.

Every head on the field turned, and I slowly lowered my hand that I'd been waving.

Yeah. I was definitely interrupting.

Nanami was stiff, arms crossed over his chest, eyes unreadable beneath the glare of his glasses. Without his suit coat or tie, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he looked ruggedly handsome in a way that made my insides tumble.

With blazing cheeks, I hurried down the steps to the field and breezed past all the gaping students to reach their teacher first. "Sorry," I mumbled as I approached, digging through my bag for the carefully folded tie. "I know you said to hold onto this, but I couldn't relax knowing you might need it today."

"Ooooooh, Nanami, do you have a girlfriend?" a pink-haired boy taunted.

A spiky black-haired boy promptly whacked the pink-boy on the back of the head with his staff. "Shut up, Itadori."

Itadori grunted, grabbing the back of his head in pain. "Hey! What was that for? I was just asking, and we were all thinking it. Even you, Fushiguro."

The flush on my cheeks fanned out to my ear tips, and I met Nanami's gaze timidly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrupt your class."

He said tersely, "You shouldn't have come here, Mae."

I wanted to melt into the ground and disappear under the field forever. "It's not like I can try enrolling at this point. I really just came to bring you back your tie."

"It could have waited."

"I know. I see that now. I'm sorry." I didn't know how many times I could say it. I didn't know how to make him use a softer tone with me again. I didn't know how to smooth it all over and go back to the way things were before.

"Please don't do this again."

Tears burned in the back of my eyes, starting to blur my vision. All his students were watching him reprimand me, and all I could do was stand there and take it.

It was worse than when Yu told me I couldn't go to school with him. Yu would have at least taken me aside to talk about it. He would have walked me home.

Nanami was scolding me in front of half a dozen sorcerers. They were younger than me, but that made it even more pathetic, because I would never measure up to any of them.

I liked to think that at twenty-five years of age, I had finally mellowed out. I wouldn't give in to hot emotions so quickly, and I wouldn't have to deal with irksome boys anymore. Nanami hadn't needed a verbal thrashing since we were teenagers, but right now?

I was about to lose it.

So instead of breaking down in tears, I snapped, "A simple thank you would have sufficed. I went out of my way to get this to you because I cared. I thought we were friends, Nanami. This is what friends do. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe I'm just Yu's chore to you."

Before he could rebuke or reply, I threw his tie at his chest and turned to flee before anyone saw me cry.

A tall, dark haired girl muttered under her breath, "Stupid..."

I thought she was talking about me, and I took the steps two at a time to make it out of the field, but when I glanced back at the top courtyard, she was pointing at her teacher. Ire clearly flared on her face as she said something to Nanami that I couldn't hear.

I didn't stick around to find out what transpired after. It was bad enough getting pushed away by Nanami, but to have it happen in front of all of his students?

I wanted to die.