𝟖𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐎𝐆 || JJK x Makima!reader

𝟏𝟒

─── ⋆⋅ ♰ ⋅⋆ ───

Deciding to take a stroll on the grounds of Jujutsu High, you found solace in the eerie quiet of the late evening. The campus, usually teeming with life, now lay shrouded in darkness. Only the distant rustle of leaves and the occasional faint squeak of a mouse scurrying by broke the stillness. It was a calm that almost felt unnatural—a stillness that wrapped around you like a thick blanket, both comforting and suffocating.

As you wandered toward the training grounds, your eyes caught sight of a lone figure curled up on the cold, hard ground. It was unmistakably Yuji Itadori, his despondent form hunched over like someone who had just received the world's worst news. And, in many ways, he probably had. Megumi's death still loomed over him like a storm cloud, heavy and oppressive. The grief was palpable in the air, a silent reminder of what had been lost. To you, it felt like a bad breakup—the kind that lingers far too long after the relationship has ended.

You approached Yuji with deliberate steps, making sure to make just enough noise to alert him to your presence without startling him.

"Yuji? What are you doing out here?" you asked, your voice steady, though you already knew the answer. You knew what this moment would be like. The weight of Megumi's death had crushed him, and you had orchestrated it all with the precision of a surgeon carrying out a delicate operation. The outcome was inevitable.

Yuji slowly turned his head toward you, his eyes distant and hollow, as if he were staring straight through you. "Miss Y/N..." His voice came out in a flat monotone, like someone reciting lines they didn't believe. "I won a free ice cream."

He held up a popsicle stick with the word "winner" scrawled on it in jagged, almost tragic lettering. The contrast between his hollow expression and the ridiculousness of his "prize" was jarring. "I got free ice cream," he repeated, the words falling from his lips like a mantra, as if the victory could somehow fill the void that Megumi's absence had created.

You knelt down beside him, your movements fluid and precise. Taking his cold, trembling hand into yours, you offered a fake tenderness, the kind that might have fooled anyone else—but not Yuji. "Oh no, your hands are freezing!" you exclaimed, laying it on thick, like this was the most urgent of matters. You let your voice drip with exaggerated concern.

"It's okay," Yuji mumbled, his voice so flat it almost sounded like it was coming from someone else. "Cold hands aren't gonna kill me. Plus... I won a free ice cream."

You stood up, your eyes narrowing slightly as you looked down at him with a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes. "That's no good, Yuji. When you're physically cold, you feel cold emotionally, too. You're going to freeze up on me if we don't do something."

Yuji blinked slowly, his expression blank, like he was barely present in the conversation. "Uh-huh." It wasn't clear if he was even listening.

"Stand up," you commanded, your voice firm, as though you were addressing a disoriented puppy.