unlucky charms (yuji x reader)

ch. 2 ~ suicidal boys

Ten years later

── ࣪˖ ࣪ ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ──

The plaque stares back at me as we step onto the school grounds. The cool night air brushes against my skin, making the dark feel a little more alive.

Gumi glances up from his phone for a moment, giving the plaque a halfhearted look before mumbling, "Looks like we're here."

SUGISAWA MUNICIPAL HIGH SCHOOL #3

Our footsteps echo in the stillness as we walk up the stairs toward the courtyard, the night heavy around us. The area opens into a large space, trees scattered along the edges like silent sentinels. We walk side by side, heading straight for the rundown thermometer shed near the far end of the courtyard.

"They're keeping a cursed object in a place like this? Could they be any more stupid?" Gumi mutters, his tone a mix of frustration and disbelief.

I laugh softly at his blunt observation. "Oh, Gumi, you overestimate how common 'common sense' really is."

He chuckles under his breath. "Yeah, no kidding."

We reach the rickety little structure that looks like it's been there since the dawn of time. Gumi opens the door, revealing . . . nothing?

I blink, then open the door wider, as if a different angle might change what we're seeing. It doesn't.

Gumi, equally baffled, sticks his head inside the shed, inspecting it like the cursed object might magically appear if he just looks hard enough. When that doesn't work, he shakes the shed, rocking it back and forth in frustration. His movements grow more erratic as he drops to the ground to inspect the bottom of the shed, and then—unbelievably—he climbs it, trying to peer over the top.

I grab the back of his jacket and yank him down. "Gumi, it's pretty obvious—it's not here."

He sighs, running a hand down his face, clearly exasperated. I don't blame him. If the cursed object isn't here, we're either dealing with bad intel—which I seriously doubt—or someone else got to it before we could.

Gumi pulls out his phone and taps a few buttons, holding it up so we can both hear. The line rings a few times before Toru's familiar voice answers.

"Yo, whaddup?"

Gumi cranks up the volume, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. "There's nothing here."

"Huh?" Toru sounds as casual as ever, completely unbothered by the situation.

I roll my eyes. Of course. He would be.

Amazingly, Gumi's patience remains intact, even though I know Toru's flippancy grates on him more than it does on me. He manages to stay all business-like as he briskly says, "The Stevenson hutch is empty."

I glance at the shed again, so that's what it's called—a hutch. I try to focus, narrowing my eyes to see if I can pick up on any remnants of cursed energy. I've been getting better at it, though I'll never be at Toru's level—his Six Eyes give him an advantage I could never match. But still, I can sense the faintest traces, the tiniest wisps of cursed energy clinging to the wood like dying embers.

Toru's voice comes through the speaker again, completely unfazed. "For real? That's hilarious." Gumi's grip on the phone tightens. "Maybe it took a nighttime stroll," Toru adds, laughing at his own joke.

"I'm going to punch you," Gumi mutters darkly.

Toru ignores him, as usual. "Well, no going home until it's recovered. Oh, and ask (Y/n) what flavor mochi she wants."