pomegranate ink | y. okkotsu

xxvi

a/n: i KNOW y'all have been waiting for this one 😩‼️

"Wow, the two of you look awful," Naoya said, grimacing dramatically at you and Maki. Maki crossed her arms at him, but you did not react. "At least your face isn't ruined, huh, Y/N? I'd feel a lot more annoyed if it had been."

"I don't see why that would annoy you," you said.

Of course, Naoya had been in his study, the pretty notes of some song from a movie wafting through the air a sure indicator that he was bored and playing his piano again. His dedication to the instrument was one of his few redeeming qualities, or maybe it was not a particular respect for the craft but something else entirely that drove him to the incessant practice. Either way, it had been easy to find him, and since he was the biggest obstacle in your path at the moment, this was a good thing.

"I'm the one who stuck my neck out for you, you know," he said. "Wasted about three months' worth of paychecks on you, too, so you really should be thanking me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" you said. He raised his eyebrows.

"You really don't know? I thought that that was for sure the reason why you were here," he said. "Is it not?"

"I came to go through the weapons' warehouse," Maki said. "Megumi gave me permission already, so don't think of stopping me."

"I wasn't planning on it. If that's what you want, then feel free to go right ahead and do it," he said innocently. You furrowed your brow. The victory felt too easily won, but when he noticed your befuddlement, he only snorted. "Who am I to disobey my clan head?"

You tried to communicate with your gaze to Maki all the words you could not say aloud, not in front of him. Be careful. They're planning something. He's not doing this out of the goodness of his own heart.

She blinked at you slowly before turning to leave. I know.

"I came to listen to you play the piano, but I suppose I've done that already," you said. "It was nice. I recognize the song — it was in that movie that came out a couple of years ago, wasn't it? At the end?"

"That's right," he said. "You've seen it?"

"Yes, of course I have," you said. "Anyways, that's not what's important. What did you mean when you said that you wasted your paychecks and stuck your neck out for me?"

"Always straight to the point with you, isn't it? You might want to sit down for this one," he said, standing up and patting his piano stool. You gave him an irritated look. He rolled his eyes and sat back down, obviously picking up on the fact that you weren't going to take him up on the offer.

"You know that after that whole mess in Shibuya, the higher ups placed orders for the executions of Suguru Geto, Masamichi Yaga, and Yuji Itadori?" he said. You nodded.

"Yes, and they criminalized unsealing Gojo. What an idiotic joke," you said. "Like Gojo isn't the only one who stands a chance at saving all of us."

"How hard would you laugh if I told you that there was a fourth person who they were going to send an execution order out for?" he said. Ice shot through your veins, and you suddenly felt very heavy. You didn't want to ask him, but you knew you would. You knew you had to, even if the answer was in the question itself.

"Who else?" you said. He smirked, clearly satisfied with the distress in your eyes.

"Y/N L/N has been found to be in league with Ryomen Sukuna. She can now be considered a curse user and is therefore sentenced to death," he parroted. "They were going to send Yuta Okkotsu after you, too. He's your classmate, so you should know as well as anyone that that's a fight you couldn't hope to win."