THE WHITE DRAGON┊ jujutsu kaisen

Chapter 23: Goodbye My Friend

January 8th, 2018

After spending four days in the infirmary, like always with Ieiri's care, she finally allowed Haku to move around. The first thing they wanted to do, as always, was sit in the zen garden. As they approached the entrance, a familiar feeling spread through their chest and Haku's pace quickened from a leisurely stroll to an urgent jog. It was a feeling so unmistakable, but Haku still wanted to confirm it with their eyes.

As they rushed through the entrance to the garden, there in the grass beside the pond, Yuta sat gazing out across the glassy surface. The rustle and crack of dead leaves gave away Haku's presence as Yuta turned to look at the entrance, eyes lifting with surprise the moment the two met each other's line of sight.

With a gentle beaconing wave, Yuta signaled for Haku to join him; which they happily obliged. Haku rushed over quickly in a hurry like Yuta would suddenly disappear if they didn't move with haste.

"Slow down Haku! You'll hurt yourself again!" Yuta called out, worried that Haku's injuries haven't fully healed yet.

Haku took a seat beside Yuta as they shook thejr head, "I'm fine. Ieiri Sensei let me go. I only occasionally get dizzy since I had a concussion apparently."

"And a fractured skull," Yuta scolded gently.

Haku nodded. The two sat in the rare mid-afternoon sunlight of winter. It was a calming sensation to feel the brisk chill of the frosted wind as it glided across their skin mixed with the warmth of the sunlight rays they sat beneath. A pleasant balance of both feelings in January. The blades of grass they sat in were glistening; dew drops adorned each as Haku brushed their fingertips across the surface of the ground.

As time passed, the unspoken elephant of the room only grew larger as Haku took a deep breath, "You're really leaving for Africa?" they asked. Although Haku knew the answer, they still wanted to hear that clarification one last time, clinging onto the hope that maybe they're mistaken.

However Yuta let out a sigh, "Yeah... tomorrow."

"I won't forgive you." Haku blurted out suddenly, catching Yuta off guard.

It was something so quick and spoken with seriousness; although much of what Haku said often lacked a subtle delicacy. Yuta snapped his head to look at Haku with surprise, "Wha—Why?"

"Because I'm selfish," Haku responded in that same tactful manner. Though, this time it was clearer to Yuta that Haku might be joking; he still wasn't sure.

Yuta let out a small laugh, since that was something unlike anything Haku has ever said before. "I've gotta work hard if I want to be able to stand beside all of you again," he spoke hopefully.

Haku was partially occupied with scanning the ground for a sizeable pebble when they spoke without thinking, "Yeah but if you were here, I could kick your ass no problem in training everyday."

This time, Yuta couldn't help it and laughed as he needed to steady himself by leaning his weight back on his hands in the grass behind him, "You could do that even before I lifted Rika's curse."

Haku shrugged, still in search of that pebble to skip across the water's surface, "I'd say it was a 50/50 chance."

This confident attitude was new for Haku and Yuta couldn't help but watch them in wonder, "That's exactly why I'm gonna train— I'll train so hard that when I come back we're having a rematch on-spot. If I win, you're doing all the chores for six months."