Koi No Yokan (gojo x oc)

5. Baseball

June 2005
Two months later.

"Did you have a boyfriend back home?"

We usually stay in Mariko's room like this. Despite her being the only first year from the countryside, the city suits her best. She's fashionable and lively, handpicking pretty posters and a plush rug to make her dorm more comfortable. Even Nanami and Haibara stop by often. 

While she lies in bed, feet propped up on the wall, flipping through a magazine, I'm stuck at her desk, filling out the report from my last mission. It was simple, all things considered. Gojo had the curses head off in less than ten minutes, but he hated paperwork, and left that to me every time.

"No," I say. "I've never had a boyfriend."

She tips her head off the bed's edge, letting her dark hair spill down. "How about a crush? Did you leave any of those at home?"

"No."

She groans. "So boring, Kaede-chan."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't meet any guys my age that weren't family," I say. "Hearing that, you should be very glad my answer is no."

"What about Gojo-san?"

"What about him?"

"There's nothing going on between you two?"

"No. Of course not."

She sighs in disappointment. "I just thought since you've been spending so much time together."

"That's because they keep assigning us to the same missions."

"Yeah, but even so," she huffs, blowing a strand of her hair out of the way. "You spend time together outside of the missions. Weren't you just with him last night?"

"Training." Another grueling night of trying to exchange curse techniques. After that, Gojo wanted my help with his hand to hand. Eventually we gave up on it all, and decided to split a soda instead.

"What about Geto-san?" My pen stills against the page. "He showed you how to play basketball last week didn't he?"

"I thought Jujutsu doesn't really do the whole 'dating' thing."

"There's no rule about it," Mariko says. "Usually Jujutsu are so busy that they don't get to meet outside people often. And there's so few Jujutsu that it's hard to meet anyone inside our world. Plus, there's the whole 'always at the risk of dying' part."

"Sounds to me like Jujutsu are destined to be lonely."

"I don't think so."

When I look at Mariko she has a somewhat reminiscent look on her face. "Did you have a boyfriend before coming here?"

The look fades into a distant smile. "Not a boyfriend, but there was a boy at my school, Kosho-kun. He used to pick flowers off the playground for me, and walk me home."

"Did he know?"

"Know what?"

"That you liked him."

"Oh... well, I guess I never said it to him outright," she says. "But I'm sure he knew."

"Do you regret not telling him before you left?"

Mariko's brows furrow, lips pursed. "No. There was no point in saying so if I was just going to leave." Then after a quiet moment, she says, "But I do think we'll meet again some day. I can tell him then."

The thought seemed to bring her comfort, but my phone began to buzz against the floor. I flip it open, unable to get a single word out before Gojo's voice wailed from the other end, "Kaede-chan! Where are youuuu?"