Jujutsu Disk

Chapter Three: Choso's Resolve

     The sun sets on the city in front of him. Choso wanders the streets, his hair pinned up and his turtleneck pulled around his chin. It was somewhat chilly outside, but he didn't mind. He was diagnosed with a condition when he was five that meant he couldn't feel hot or cold anyways. It's been months since he'd seen either of his parents. He knew they were probably worried sick. If they even noticed he was gone. At times like these, there was only one person who could help him, so he walked. He lvoed how walking made him feel. The air, the wind, it made him feel free.  His father never let him go anywhere. Since the divorce, Suguru didn't trust anyone anymore. He became a shut in and assumed Choso would feel the same. He didn't. He wanted to go see the world, experience the love and the pain and the joy and the loss. The only times Choso would leave would be to run errands for his dad. He dropped out of high school and of course ever even considered college. His heart was in the arts. A field his father didn't think was a real option. He would always say that paint is the devil's blood and Choso was his son, not the Devil's. Still, Choso would paint in secret, storing watercolors and paints under his bed. He didn't have to try too hard to hide anything from his father though, he would regularly remain bedridden for days or lock himself in his room. He was delusional at this point, but at the end of the day he was still his father, and he loved him. 

     He finally reached his destination: An abandoned building that was really tall in the middle of the city. He squeezed his way past the fence around it and picked the lock at the door, closing it behind him as he entered. Making his way past empty office cubicles picked clean of anything valuable by vagrants and climbed flight after flight of stairs to reach all the way to the top. Opening the final door, the sun hit his face again and he was greeted with a man his age. He had whispy black hair sticking out in every direction and a wrinkled button up. His eyes were dark, but he was happy to see his friend. 

     They exchanged greetings and The dark haired boy pulls an item out of his pocket. Choso lights up. "You got my Graham Cracker flavor!" He exclaimed, looking at he Elfbar the man gave him. "Thank you Megumi, where'd you get it?" 

     "I have my sources..." Megumi quipped as he pulled out an Elfbar of his own. They vaped for a while, the cotton candy and graham crackers mixing in the breeze and drifting out over a dismal city.

     "How do you do it Choso, y'know... How do you handle the pain since Yuji died?" Megumi was casual, but he knew his question held weight. Choso looked as if Megumi had just knocked the wind out of him. He looks down on the city, pondering the question, mentally flipping a stone over and over in his head. Again, he hits his vape with a deep sigh.

     "Since Yuji died..." Megumi looked at Choso intently, hanging on his answer. "When Yuji died, I lost a brother. Everyday without him as my brother brings me pain. We grew up together. When he died, it destroyed me, it destroyed our parents. They got so caught up in it it's like they forgot I even existed." Choso looked up at the man before him. His hair, his eyes, his concern, his smile. It was that smile that comforted Choso. "When I'm with you, Megumi... I don't feel forgotten. For the past ten years since Yuji died, the only person who has actually full seen me is you." The words hung in the air. Choso was afraid to meet Megumi's gaze, he could only hope he hadn't just ruined whatever friendship they had.

     "Choso..." this got his attention.
    
     "Choso, what if we ran away?" Megumi cupped Choso's face in his hand and met his eyes. He was warm. "You deserve to be seen Choso, you deserve to be happy. We're adults, we can move to California. There's no Jujutsu there." Megumi's eyes were full of fever. Choso looked unsure. "You can be a painter..." Megumi suggested "and I can be an automobile salesman... Vaping is legal there, Choso, we'd be free men." Choso looked more hopeful at this last added bit. "We can own a house, have a yard, have a car, we'd be rich."