Time passes relative to it's conception and the time between the exchange event's conclusion to the eve of Suguru's threat passed rather idly. Tension only prolongs its suffering; it stagnates the air and prevents any sort of forward movement whilst stirring apprehension. Relaxation was difficult to come by, but since moving into the student dorms nearly a month ago, Haku had found something to ease their mind aside from sitting in the zen garden.
Cleaning was a task Haku seemed to enjoy, to lose themselves in the work of improving the space around them. In fact, since Haku began living inside the student dorms, everything was kept spotless; there was never a mess or untidy section to be found.
Still recovering from the exchange event, Haku had been doing just that on the chilly, winter's morning of December 23rd. On the deck outside, Haku had been scrubbing it thoroughly on their hands and knees; it was a mindless task that kept them busy without sitting in agonizing wait.
"Haku. It's cold outside. You should come in."
Interrupting Haku's spaced-out daze of cleaning, Maki had appeared in the doorway to the dorms. She watched as Haku continued to scrub without a care, barely paying her any attention.
"I'm scrubbing the floors," Haku replied listlessly.
Maki refused to move as she tried again. "You'll catch a cold. Come inside." This time, her tone was absolute, demanding rather than a simple suggestion. She went back inside without waiting to check if Haku would follow her orders.
Haku hated whenever Maki did that— truthfully they were still scared of her and there was no refusing Maki. They gave in, cleaning up the last section of water they had splashed on the deck's surface and going inside like Maki had commanded. Inside, the first years are the only ones home at the moment and they were all gathered in the common space.
"Haku you're all wet!" Panda exclaimed as he got up immediately and grabbed a random blanket that had been draped over a chair. He rushed to Haku who had just closed the door behind them; with care Panda wrapped the student in the blanket to hopefully prevent a cold.
Haku's entrance gained everyone's attention as they all noticed their clothes were splashed with water. Inumaki got up and disappeared down the hallway. Panda lead Haku to the couch and together, they took a seat. Without looking up, Haku could feel Yuta's concerned gaze from across the common room.
"I was scrubbing the floors outside," Haku admitted without Yuta needing to ask.
Inumaki had returned, walking into the room with a stack of clothes in his hands that he shoved in front of Haku's face. Haku looked up at the boy who said nothing but persistently gave the stack of clothes in his hands a shake, telling Haku to accept them. Which, they did cautiously and Inumaki went over to taking a seat beside Yuta across the way.
A few moments of silence passed, no one daring to move as Haku stared dejectedly at the clothes they received from Inumaki. All of them could feel the tension in the air as tomorrow's events loomed in agonizing fear. It was a solemn weight that burdened everyone's shoulders. Panda couldn't help but feel guilty towards their classmate as they wrapped an arm around them and pulled them closer.
"You moved in almost a month ago, but you still don't spend time with us," Panda sighed.
Haku kept their gaze on the floor, but didn't shake Panda's arm away, "That isn't on purpose."
Maki looked at the two as she sat on the floor, "I'll admit, it's nice that you actually speak to us now, but you speak really formally with all of us. That makes me feel super weird."
YOU ARE READING
THE WHITE DRAGON┊ jujutsu kaisen
Fanfiction☁︎ ┆ ❝ When I was sad, I said I didn't want to live, but I also didn't want to die. Truthfully, every particle of my being was fighting to find a reason to live; even if it was just for one more day.❞ "Have you found your reason yet?" ☁︎ ┆ "Not qui...
