A hundred lives for the life of one (is this the end?) | JJK

CHAPTER TWELVE | ... THE ANTITHESIS OF CRUELTY

Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento are drastically different individuals.

Her first interaction with Haibara gave her a baseline of his personality and character. A little too enthusiastic, curious and brimming with positivity. Nukumi feared his bright disposition would dim with the years to come. She knew, without a doubt, that the world of Jujutsu Sorcerers was difficult. She experienced, first hand, the dangers. The nightmares returned in her lowest points and phantom pains often danced across the skin of her legs. Being an optimist in this world would land you two places; discouraged by the harsh truths or six feet under the ground.

Nanami, on the other hand...

Their first meeting was the same day she met Haibara. She happened upon him by pure chance, wanting peace and quiet from the excited chatter that filled the dorms. Her frequent spot for quiet was under the shade of a specific tree, marked with old horizontal slashes. It was obviously used as a training dummy for someone a while back. When she crested the hill that sloped down to the tree, she found him. The blond sat with his back against the tree and a book in his hand.

At first, she hesitated to proceed. It was clear the teen was engrossed in the book he was reading. But, she also wanted to enjoy the comfort of the familiar tree. Her decision was made when he glanced up to her, hazel eyes staring at her with an uninterested air radiating from him.

Unwilling to let these first-years drive her from all of her favorite spots, she makes her way down the hill and settles on the grass a few paces from the blond. He glances at her once more when she leans against the base of the tree, before focusing back on his book. Nukumi slips her bag off her shoulder and collects the sketchbook recently gifted to her from it. Yamaguchi handed it to her after her last visit to Yuuji and smiled gently down at her, encouraging her to use it. It was definitely a different experience than painting, but it was just as relaxing.

The pair sit in relative silence for a while. Nukumi easily decides she likes this teen better than Haibara, likely due to him not trampling over her things while having the gall to ask who she was afterwards. Tenma had introduced them to each other prior to her leaving for the embrace of nature, teasing her enough for her to hit him over the head with one of her spare knitting needles. Between them, the sound of a pencil scratching against paper and the flipping of pages was all that was exchanged. The tweeting of birds and rustle of leaves gives a calming backdrop that allows her nerves to settle.

Yes, she decided easily. This boy is much better than Haibara.

This peace of theirs was interrupted when the annoying voice of Gojo drifted over the breeze. He was shouting, though too far away for it to be discernible. When they both glanced up the hill, they found the white-haired boy waving animatedly. It was clear he was gesturing for them to come to him. Nukumi, knowing there was no helping her if she ignored him, as he would just drag her along if he truly desired, sighed deeply and gathered her things before walking toward him.

From there, she and Nanami were introduced. It was a short affair with pleasantries exchanged. Gojo seemed exasperated that she hadn't even bothered to ask for his name when she "let her guard down" around him. He playfully scolded her, ruffling her long hair enough for her to swat his hands away due to messing it up too much. He "begged" her to be more careful in the future and lamented their first meeting, how it must have made her susceptible to accepting strangers. Either he hadn't heard about her interaction with Haibara, or he just wanted to mess with her, she didn't care. She zoned out through most of his scolding anyways, much too drained to care.

Clearly, Nanami had some semblance of understanding the cruelties that would come with training to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer. For that reason alone, she would have easily acquainted herself with him. It didn't help that he was kind enough to allow her to impede on his peaceful reading, even if it was her spot originally, and never once bothered her when she was drawing. From that, Nanami became her favorite first-year.