YOU, ME, US [ okkotsu yuuta x reader ]

03: DREAM ON, KID

"You're cursed, Okkotsu," you say while offering him a popsicle.

His back hunches forward as he sits on a nearby bench, his fingers fiddling nervously with each other.

"W-What?!"

Okkotsu fumbles around with the popsicle stick, unsure of what to make of himself after you said those words. Metaphorically, you're absolutely right, what else could explain such a phenomena? What else could be the reason for his endless suffering? But Okkotsu thinks you're not the type to use metaphors. He thinks you're the type of person to mean everything they say.

"W...What do you mean?" he finally manages to ask, not having the appetite to eat the ice cream you so benevolently bought for him.

"You're cursed," you repeat. "By that giant monster from before."

"You mean Rika-chan?"

"Yeah," you respond. "Rika-chan."

He looks down, strands of his dark hair coming to cover the upper half of his face as his figure trembles. Okkotsu begins to sob quietly, tears staining the fabric of his uniform pants as he struggles to breathe amidst the grief.

"I..." he says in between gasps. "I d-don't know what's wrong with me, Imai-san..."

Nothing, you think. There's nothing wrong with you. Your hand comes to brush the hair from his forehead, sweat dripping from the side of his face. Tenderly, you rub your hand on the furrow of his brows.

"You'll get wrinkles," you say. "If you keep scrunching your face. Then women won't want you."

Women already don't want me, though? Okkotsu thinks. Still, he heeds your words.

In an odd, bittersweet way, Okkotsu is a chance for redemption. A chance for you to cherish the humanity, the normalcy of someone else, and ensure that they won't ever have to end up like you. Chained by duty, by ability. You want Okkotsu to be free, not only of his curse, but of the weight on his shoulders, the sights that will haunt him in his sleep.

You want him to do all the things you couldn't, even if the thought irks you a little.

Sitting next to him, you lean back against the wooden bench, captivated by the vibrant green trees, the essence of spring. Popsicle in hand, you watch the world go by like a senior citizen, relishing in the most mundane parts of life. You take a bite, wincing at the brain freeze that follows.

"Okkotsu," you say. "Do you know what Jujutsu is?"

He sniffles, tears sliding down his cheeks. Pitifully, he shakes his head. Okkotsu seems too occupied with his thoughts to notice the way his popsicle begins to melt, trickling down the stick and onto his fingertips.

You face forward, examining the emptiness of Miyagi before pointing your half-eaten popsicle towards him accusingly.

"In this world," you explain, "there are Jujutsu sorcerers. People who exorcise the curses that haunt humanity, like the one that you have."

Okkotsu doesn't ask you what a curse is. You suppose he's already connected the dots, especially when he's constantly being surrounded by them.
"But," Okkotsu mumbles. "But my curse is Rika-chan."

"Who?"

He sobs again, snot trickling down from his nose as he wails. "She was my first love."

You perk up immediately. "Keep going."
"And... one day, she..."

"Died," you finish for him, noticing how he struggles to utter her fate. "What else?"

"W-We were going to get married when we became adults," he whispers. "I-It was a promise."