THE WHITE DRAGON┊ jujutsu kaisen

Chapter 43: They Who Fell from the Sky

October 31st, 2018
The Advancement Exam

That morning was particularly red. It was as if someone from the heavens had taken a paintbrush and liberally drenched the sky a crimson hue that bled through the clouds and came down to the earth as rain. It poured, sobbed, and wept; the sky seemed to be in mourning.

        The recommended students met in the front of the school to await their assignments and receive their mentors for the exam. However, none were safe from the rain. It took only a few seconds before all were soaked to the bone and heavily rethinking their choice to participate. Amidst the overcast and gloom, it was nearly impossible to see more than a few feet into the distance, but if they squinted they could just about see something coming their way.

        A familiar iridescent glow glittered amongst the raindrops and caused the students to rub their eyes in confusion. Certainly it had been a while, but not the longest stretch of time that the second years had gone without seeing a particular classmate of theirs. Reunited, it was a mixture of rushing excitement that warmed their cheeks amidst the torrid downpour, but a boulder of dread that sunk in their stomachs knowing what this absence probably entailed from prior occasions. Something that helped to partially subside the rapid concern festering in the hearts of the seconds years being that the iridescent glow appeared brighter than usual and the silken wave of serenity that always washed over them seemed to reach out with an unrestrained ease.

         Something had changed, but for the better like it was always meant to be this way.

        "Haku?!" Panda exclaimed.

         Alongside Haku, Gojo strolled merrily with his hands tucked into his pockets and a cheeky smile plastered on his lips. Upon greeting, Haku gave a curt nod; they had vanished without a trace for all of three weeks yet had nothing to say. Their secret visit the day before went unnoticed by mostly everyone, only Itadori had been privy to the knowledge and given the chance to exchange a long overdue conversation.

         Even Maki couldn't resist letting out a sigh of relief seeing Haku. Her eyes glossed over Haku's diminished frame, "It's really you. I can't believe it— where— why," she moved to take a step forward and reach her arms out for a hug, but Haku took a step back with only a slight raise of their eyebrows for any emotional expression.

         Maki's arms drooped, shoulders slacking before letting them slowly fall back to her sides. Hurt was written all over her face, stunned, it had been a while since Haku rejected any form of comforting touch. Maki did a quick glance over her shoulder just to meet Panda and Inumaki's eyes for a fleeting second of confirmation that that had indeed just happened before returning her attention to Haku. All they could do was offer a small shake of their head, rejecting any more questions from Maki or explanation on their part.

         It could have been the weather that drained the color from their complexion, but despite the strong spiritual presence they imposed, Haku's physical appearance was more fragile than usual. Purplish blue dark shadows haunted the space beneath their eyes and the hollows beneath their cheekbones were more prominent. To add, Haku was missing the lilac sash they used to fasten their coat neatly around their waist; the coat billowed unrestrained, puffing with the occasional gust of wind and shrinking their figure even more. The sash wasn't the only missing detail of their usual ensemble, Haku's dark almost violet hair wasn't tied up and it loosely fell barely past their shoulders.

         Only after intense scrutiny did the rest of the students notice perhaps the most startling detail of all, despite the downpour Haku wasn't wet at all; they were dry and the strands of their hair proved this by floating casually with the breeze of the storm. As much as everyone wanted to question just how they managed to deflect every drop of rain, Gojo cut time short.