DARK RED [ITADORI Y.]

―XII. LIFESAVER

CHAPTER XII. YOU'RE A LIFESAVER, ITADORI-KUN.

__________________________________

I huffed, wrestling the animated stuffed bear before forcing it down in my lap, stilling it as I looked back at Yaga. I remember him from when I first got stuck here, and I got yelled at for that, too. But, he was a pretty laid-back man, if I had to say so. Though, his stupid stuffed bears were not.

"You're doing well," He said, watching me calm the seemingly always angry bear back to a sleeping state. "You must have a good hold on your emotions."

I shrugged, petting over the bear's soft fur. "Not really, actually. People always tell me I'm an emotional teenager."

"You have a sense of knowing when to be calm," Yaga said, looking down at one of his creations, Kathy, I think he called it. "You knew what you had to do in order to save your friend that night."

I swallowed. "Y-Yeah, I guess. I just didn't want anything bad to happen to her."

"Keep applying those thoughts to your training," He said. "And you'll be done in no time."

I sighed. He was right. If I kept good control over my emotions, then I would be able to end this training faster. My eye already ached from the dumb bear hitting me square in the face. I didn't want to keep this up.

"So tell me," Yaga said, making me look back up at him from where I sat on the floor. "How did you come back from the dead?"

Once again, I shrugged my shoulders. "I dunno. Gojo-sensei made me go see someone named Ieiri-san, and she said that I was perfectly healthy. Even my heartbeat had come back. I think we all made a mistake and...I wasn't actually dead. But, I do believe there's so kind of...I dunno...healing factor, I guess? That comes into play, otherwise, how would I be here?"

"Hypothetically," Yaga said. "Would a small wound heal as fast?"

"I don't think so. I mean, I've gotten hurt plenty of times before; knicking my finger on a kitchen knife, breaking a bone, spraining something, I bruise myself a lot, and none of those things have healed quickly. It just...takes the natural amount of time," I replied.

"You might have some kind of healing ability, but only when you're in grave danger, and your life is seriously at stake," He said, a hand resting on his chin. "Have you ever had a life-threatening situation, other than a few weeks ago, L/n?"

"W-Who are you? W-What are you doing?! Stop! Stop it, let me go! Okaasan! Otousan! Someone--help!"

I placed my hand over my shoulder, my eyelids falling slack as I remembered. "No...but...it was close."

Yaga could sense the heaviness that filled the air. "I see. I won't pry at you, then," He beckoned the creature in my arms, making me move them away as it got up, skipped across the room, and then hopped into his own lap. "Join your classmates and get something to eat. We'll finish training tomorrow."

"Okay," I said, getting to my feet, bowing to him. "Thank you for your time, Principal Yaga."

"Yeah."

I turned and walked up, softly easing the large door shut as to not create a loud slam. I searched around a bit until I found the rest of my classmates, gathered around in a room. The first person to look up was Itadori, whose face brightened when he saw me.

"Hey, L/n-chan!" He said, waving me over. "We saved you some food!"

"Great!" I smiled, thanking him as he motioned for me to sit. "Thanks so much!"

"So this is the new kid?" An older girl, with glasses and long hair asked. Fushiguro nodded.

"I'm L/n Y/n," I said, bowing my head.

"Zenin Maki," She introduced. "I'm a second-year. These are my classmates, Panda and Inumaki Toge."

The giant panda next to her waved and bowed his head to me, while Inumaki's eyes squinted up, in what I assumed was a smile, and held up a peace sign.

"There's another second-year, but Okkotsu's on a mission overseas right now," Maki said.

"Well, it's very nice to meet the three of you," I said, smiling. "And I'll look forward to meeting Okktosu-senpai as well."

Maki smiled a little. "You're pretty chipper for someone with a black eye."

I laughed nervously. "Yeah...training wasn't as easy as I was told."

"But your face isn't bloody, so that's something!" Kugisaki said.

"I'm very worried about all of you," I said, making them all laugh.

....

When I heard a knock on my door, I looked up from my schoolwork, calling whoever it was to open the door. A head of sandy-blonde hair popped into the room, soft hazel eyes find my e/c ones. Itadori slipped inside, holding up an icepack.

"I got some ice for your eye," He said. "It looked a little swollen at dinner, so I thought this might help."

I smiled and graciously took it from him. "That's very considerate of you, Itadori-kun," I said.

He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's no problem. I just know how difficult it can get when you first start out. I promise it gets easier, though."

"Considering how far I got today with my training," I replied. "I believe you. I just hope Gojo-san returns soon. I'd like to know more about techniques. Or...you could tell me?"

Much to my dismay, Itadori shook his head. "Sorry," He said. "I really don't know a lot about them myself. I don't even know how I got my technique, Divergent Fist. I just started punching stuff and hoped for the best."

I snorted a soft laugh. "Maybe I should just do that."

Itadori laughed with me. "Like I said, it'll get easier as time goes on. Just...go with the flow for now!"

"It's really all I can do, huh?" I said, looking down at the ice pack in my hands. "Well, I better get back to studying, since I missed the lesson today."

"I took the notes from Fushiguro if you need them," He said. "Do you have a phone?"

"Huh, oh yeah," I took it from my pocket and unlocked it for him, then handed it to him. After a minute, he handed it back.

"There, now you have my number," He smiled, a light brush dusting his cheeks. "You can text me whenever, and I can send you the notes you miss."

"Thanks," I breathed. "You're a lifesaver, Itadori-kun."

"No problem," He laughed, waving. "I'll see you later, L/n-chan."

"S-See you," I said, watching him leave, closing my door behind him.

I looked down at my phone, seeing that his out his name in my phone as 'Note Dealer' with the icy emoji and the gun emoji. I looked back at the door and laughed, shaking my head as I sat back down at my desk, and began my work once more, this time, using the notes Itadori sent me. 

[Chapter XII. End]
[Image belongs to me]