Shadows unseen

9-Roomate

Later that day

Y/n sat on the stone steps outside the dorms, her legs pulled close to her chest, staring blankly into the distance. The courtyard, drenched in the late afternoon sun, felt too peaceful—too quiet compared to the storm of thoughts swirling in her head. It had only been four days since she had woken from her coma and been thrust into the strange world of Jujutsu sorcery. Four days, and yet it felt like she had been here a lifetime.

Everything about this place—Jujutsu High—was so far from anything she had ever imagined for herself. A month ago, she had been a regular girl, struggling with her grief after her parents' accident, lost in a world she didn't belong in. And now, she was here, training to fight curses, living among people who could see and do things she couldn't even fully comprehend. It felt surreal.

But the grief... that was the one thing that hadn't changed. The weight of her parents' absence was always with her, heavy and suffocating, pressing down on her chest no matter how hard she tried to push it away.

Y/n let out a long breath, staring at the horizon, though her mind was far away. She had thought that maybe, just maybe, by being here, she could outrun it—bury the pain beneath the chaos of this new life. But every quiet moment brought it back, sharper than before. Four days wasn't nearly enough time to heal anything.

The sound of footsteps approaching pulled her from her thoughts. She didn't need to look up to know it was Megumi. His presence had become something of a routine now—steady, quiet, and predictable. They had fallen into a kind of unspoken agreement, a mutual understanding that neither of them would push the other too hard. They didn't need to talk. They could sit in silence, and that would be enough.

Megumi sat down next to her, his gaze fixed on the horizon like hers. They didn't speak for several moments, and for a while, Y/n was grateful for that. Silence was easier.

But today, she found it harder to keep the thoughts at bay, harder to hold everything inside. The quiet wasn't comforting—it felt stifling like it was pressing in on her from all sides.

"I thought after everything," she said softly, her voice breaking through the silence, "I could keep the past buried. But... it keeps finding me, no matter what I do."

Megumi's brow furrowed slightly, though he didn't turn to face her. His hands rested loosely in his lap, but his fingers twitched, betraying the tension he tried to hide. He stayed silent for a long moment, as if weighing his words carefully. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, controlled, like he was offering her the only answer he knew how to give.

"You're stronger than you think," he said. "But... strength doesn't make the past disappear."

Y/n felt her throat tighten at his words. It wasn't like Megumi to offer reassurances—he wasn't that kind of person. His words weren't meant to comfort her; they were simply the truth, as he saw it. But still, there was something about the way he said it that made the ache in her chest just a little more bearable.

She glanced at him, studying his profile for a moment, trying to understand him. Ever since she'd arrived at Jujutsu High, Megumi had been... distant, yes, but not in the way she had expected. He wasn't cold, just careful. It was like he carried a weight all his own, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Before Y/n could respond, the sound of the door creaking open next to them interrupted her thoughts. She and Megumi both turned toward the noise.

"Yuji, this is where you'll be staying," Gojo's voice rang out from the door as he led Yuji Itadori into the dorm next to theirs. "Not too shabby, huh?"