Floating Like a Lilo ── Itadori Yuuji (✓)

23 JUTTING, VICIOUS, CRUEL

WHAT A STRANGE BEING YOU ARE
GOD KNOWS WHERE I WOULD BE IF YOU HADN'T FOUND ME

sick of losing soulmates,
dodie

In all honesty, maybe you should have expected this. Gojo certainly did. But, not even you would be so pessimistic about your chances in a battle that you would have prepared for being flung back into Masamichi-sensei's prized garden, over five miles away from you originally were.

The fact that your ungraceful exit from battle had been cushioned by petunias and geraniums would be comforting except you were knocked out cold by the impact. The loss of consciousness was brought about from straining your muscles and pushing yourself to the limit. You did not know what it was to have "boundaries", or recognise the outline of who you were.

The best way to describe you is like a forest fire. You charge ahead, in any direction so long as you're moving. But the destruction you leave behind, in the forms of littered, burnt leaves and hollow tree branches, will soon catch up. And then, you burn yourself out in the best-case scenario. Fear clings to you like a dress, and then falls, trailing you as you walk further and further away from the person you think you are becoming.

And... to top it all off, you have a killer headache and your insides feel like jelly.

The last thing you remember is trying out an attack outlined in your mother's diary. Something about... mind blocks? Whatever it was, you clearly couldn't grasp it back then and you certainly can't remember right now.

The sunlight leaves you feeling even more disorientated―the gleam of white is a blur that impeaches the rest of the colours. It's a honey-yellow, blue, some white and then... black?

Panda's face looms over yours, "Morning! Or afternoon... whichever one."

Your eyes widen a little, and then, slowly your sight sharpens. Things becomes a little clearer. The grey thing in the corner of your vision was Mai, bandages visible beneath her uniform. The brown 'sea' above you was the make-shift medical area. And the navy, unmoving blob was... you squint... Kasumi, fast asleep on a chair.

"Oh god, Panda..." You murmur, hand flying up to your forehead, nursing the headache with a scowl. "What happened? I can't remember shit."

Panda taps his chin, "There was a loose Cursed Spirit, something that wasn't part of the Exchange Event. Gojo-sensei dealt with the intruders but we don't know if they were exorcised."

You groan, struggling to sit up without losing your breath, "The curse? That Mother Nature one? Did they kill it? I... I got knocked out so early..."

"Well, I hope I did!" You turn slowly, so not to get a crick, and Gojo-sensei stands above you, hands in his pocket, grinning from ear to ear. "And I knew you would do this! Don't worry, Shoko-chan prepared all the necessary stuff after I told her!"

You frown, tugging at Gojo's trousers in frustration, "You knew this was going to happen?! Sensei! I made myself look like a fool!"

"Ah," Gojo clicks his tongue and wags his finger, "You did injure the spirit. Think of it like this. You're a rusty violin! You just need some fine-tuning and you'll be the best."

You remain unfazed, it's always like this.

But some violins can't be fixed. Or they were made to be like that. Besides, aren't you the best?

"Besides!" Gojo kneels, pulling out his phone, "If you didn't take part, then I wouldn't have got this video of you snoring in your sleep! And Yuuji-kun did come around to see you but he didn't want to wake you up."