WHO: Yuji Itadori (eyescar) & open
WHAT: October arrival and catch all
WHERE: Around the City in various places
WHEN: October
WARNINGS: Yellow tea (hallucinations, violent reactions) in one prompt; possible spoilers for JJK manga (up to chapter 212)
[ Yuji might have been more willing to be lenient with whoever has appeared out of nowhere and is listening in to the whispers of the plants, but he feels as though he immediately recognises the person who has slipped into his space. He tenses, almost instantly, and turns his head to look at the stranger, tilting his gaze up and trying not to fall immediately into his own grief and anger.
No one has told him about Getou being here, no one has told him that it's Getou and not the worse of them, the creature inside his body, so of course his instinctive reaction is the urge to lift his hands and attempt to fight - until he realises that he doesn't have any cursed energy to defend himself with, and with how weaker he feels... Would he even be able to put up a fight now?
Instead, he jerks away, trying to get out of his grip, frowning as he looks down at the blood on his jacket. He doesn't know what to do, and his instinct is to run, but with the voices echoing around them he feels utterly trapped. ]
I don't care about being a hero. I care about - [ Helping people. Saving them. Doing whatever he can.
He tries to take a step back, his jaw tight as he lifts his gaze to look at Getou properly, lifting his hands into fists. He'll fight if he has to, but... He has only one arm? That doesn't seem fair. ]
[ oh, there's recognition there, true and bright in the boy's gaze. his hands even lift to fight him — marvelous! what are they teaching the kids these days that this monkey thinks he even has a remote chance against him, powers suppressed upon arrival or otherwise. he almost can't help the laugh that falls out of his mouth. ]
[ still, it's good he doesn't just roll over. if Getou attacked him now, he'd probably do everything he could to live, even if that life was pointless in defending, as quickly as bodies resurrect in this strange city. he's proof. of course, with Yuuji separating them, the whispers return back to a plaintive hum, mingling their messages: suspicious, cog, he won't tell him, weakling, he won't tell him, tell him, say it— ]
[ at Itadori's question, all he does is... point at a particularly chatty shelf. ]
Now what could that mean?
yuji right now: https://i.ibb.co/gMVkgdf/Untitled.jpg
[ The problem is that Yuji is well aware he's not able to put up any kind of fight right now. Being physically weaker isn't the problem - that's never stopped him before - but the knowledge he has no cursed energy as a backup is something he's painfully conscious of. Being laughed at doesn't ease that burden, and he grits his teeth. Last time he and Getou (or whatever his name had been, the fighting had left Yuji's ears a little fuzzy) had fought, he had absolutely almost died, but does that matter?
It doesn't help that the flowers are still speaking, echoing around him, reflecting his own words back at him: I'm you. I'm probably nothing more than a cog. I don't need to find a meaning... It makes him feel sick, remembering that moment with blistering clarity in the back of his mind. He doesn't want this, he doesn't really want to fight, not when he's weaker, and he's not sure of the consequences, but... ]
[ so this is the plan he's sticking with. not the smartest kid he's ever met — but then, they haven't met, have they? yet there's complete certainty in that expression that knows him, so either his crimes have earned him such accolade that even a boy who isn't a sorcerer knows of him, or... or it's tied to what he already most suspects: that thing that no one's telling him, can't tell him, even when he presses at the dissonance in their eyes. ]
[ well, so be it. the greenhouse doors are all locked by now, he's sure. that's how it always goes with these things. ]
No one taught you the willful negligence of a question is an answer itself, did they? What terrible mentors you have. [ aim and swing. look for a reaction, figure out the rest on the way. the flowers let out their cheers — he's a liar, useful, a cog is a tool, he's lying, he's lying — but Getou ignores them, laying this mercy at Itadori's feet. ]
[ he takes a seat at a withered old bench beneath that hissing canopy and crosses his legs, resting his elbow on the arm rest, cheek in a fist as he regards the young man. ]
Please don't attack me. As you can see, I'm not the man I once was. [ not that being down an arm has made him any less dangerous. the threat beneath: "you gonna calm down so we can talk or do you really need me to throw you through the wall first" ]
[ This is one of the few things Yuji knows: he can lift his fists and he can fight, he can defend the people he cares about, even if it means he ends up getting hurt, damaged to the point of not coming back, even dying. If his death means someone else gets to live, that at least that kind of death would have some kind of meaning to him. It would be better than just giving up - that's not something he can do.
He hadn't noticed the loss of the arm until it's made a touch more obvious, but it doesn't make him hesitate as much as it maybe should. Sorcerers are just as dangerous with one arm as they are with two, but he's pretty sure that the last time he saw this guy he had both his arms. Not much of this is making sense to him, so he frowns, tilting his head a little.
The fists stay up, just in case. It wouldn't be the first time he'd fallen for a trick if he gives in like that.
He doesn't move closer, but he doesn't move further away, his eyes stuck on the man in front of him with determination. ]
You haven't answered my question either, so you're just as bad.
[ He's not going to say 'leave Gojo-sensei alone', because he knows his mentor is better than that, but it's on the tip of his tongue. It would be so easy to say it, to boast, knowing he has the strongest on his side - but is he the strongest here? Yuji doesn't know, with his own cursed energy ripped from him. He's more defenceless than he has been in months, and it grates at him. ]
[ a jovial bark, as though he were a little too excited about the prospect — or its inverse, that he's as pleased as can be to be stuck here with him. a pointer finger gestures to the doors behind Itadori, wide panes of glass that won't break regardless of what's thrown through them. a resilient city like that, refusing to kowtow to its citizens. ]
[ to believe him, he'll have to check. to check, he'll have to turn his back. what a predicament! but Getou isn't moving, and he won't, regardless of how Itadori flutters around in the space — a bit like a spider watching a fly, perched comfortably. waiting. patient. ]
I didn't tell you because the flowers already did. Now, would you like them to continue talking, or would you like to come and give us a cuddle?
[ the seat on the bench next to him is given an inviting little pat. a cog is a tool, a cog is a tool, they crow. ]
[ Yuji had been deliberately ignoring the flowers - he didn't want any more reminders of his own negative self-worth, thanks - but he tries to focus on them a little more now. Liar, lying, he doesn't understand that Getou might be lying about, but that does ease some of the tension. Or is he the liar, lying to himself? His mind goes back to all the times he's called himself an idiot, and he sighs.
This kind of thing keeps happening. He finds enemies, and he fights them, and something new emerges that twists his perception of what this world is about. He recognises, at least, that they're all a little less dangerous here than they might be at home, their powers stripped from him, and he thinks even without his cursed energy he's probably still strong enough to fight a man with one arm.
Probably.
Narrowing his eyes, he slowly steps closer, settling down on the bench as far away from Getou as possible. He's still on edge, absolutely so, but at least he's given in to one of the whims. ]
[ an angular gaze tracks him to his seat, tilting with an openness and a perpetual smile as he draws near and eventually relents onto the bench. nothing happens immediately — heartbeats pass, the hissing continues, everything shifts and writhes with life around them, but for that moment, Getou is very still, as though he were trying to impress upon the boy that he isn't a threat. ]
[ well, not unless he wants to be. ]
[ and then he twists, uncrossing his legs but hiking a knee up on the bench in between them — only so that he can get more comfortable extending his only hand, on the far side away from Itadori, across the space to him. ]
Indeed they are, [ he agrees, his smile losing some of its sharpness. ] So take my hand.
[ it's his choice — but if he does, the whispers will silence entirely. might be good of Getou to disclose that ahead of time, but as they had quieted when he put his arm around him, it seems rather evident, doesn't it? ]
[ Yuji definitely doesn't trust him, but there's no denying the fact that being closer to him seems to drown out the strange, hissing whispers of the surrounding plants. This man - Getou, Kenjaku, he's not sure of who he is or what to trust right now - but he knows that he can be careful about this and somehow get out of it alive. A part of him notes down, in the back of his mind, that he's going to have to find Gojo after this and talk about everything that's going on, but that can happen at another time.
Every movement the man makes is scrutinised, Yuji's eyes never flickering too far from him, even with the heavy weight of the rest of the whispers still hanging around on his shoulders. He doesn't want to hear another reminder of 'cog' or 'murderer' or anything to do with Sukuna if he can avoid it.
Frowning, he stares at the hand and back at the man before, slowly, he reaches out to take it, gritting his teeth.
The shock on his face when the plants are quiet is enough to make his eyes widen, almost dropping Getou's hand before he looks back over, his expression tightening. ]
[ so it goes. Getou's smile doesn't flinch when that rough palm is in his — hand-to-hand fighters, the both of them — and he doesn't squeeze down on it any more than what it takes to keep them connected. no need to alert Itadori to just how much of a disadvantage he would be without Sukuna, should a genuine fight break out; not that he's thinking about it in those terms, only acting on the deception that has always come natural to him. he almost laughs. ]
Do you always treat people trying to help you with this much suspicion? That must get tiring. Lesson number one, [ he lifts their linked hands to bring them to attention, ] this place is much easier with a friend.
[ which is not what they are, that much is certain. there's the hope that, if he keeps things vague, the boy will slip and unveil just enough. that's all he needs, really. just enough. ]
It'll be a while before the doors unlock. [ said rote, like this isn't the first time he's done this. ] Shall we play a game until it does? I'll let you pick.
[ Which is fair, given his experience. Yuji isn't really in a good place, mentally, and this strange place isn't helping, rubbing his nose in it. If he lets go of Getou's fingers he's almost certain he'll hear more whispers of murderer, shaming him, calling him a cog, hissing the sound of enchain that is enough to make him want to punch something. He's glad they're quiet, but he's obviously uncomfortable with being so close to this man in particular.
He doesn't have the energy to keep fighting back against this guy, though, and he sighs, bowing his head and forcing himself to accept that they're going to have to be this way for a while. As soon as they're done, he's going to get out of here and find someone - anyone - that he recognises.
Frowning, he stares at their joined hands, and the only thing that comes to mind... ]
Questions. We can ask each other questions. You can start.
[ that much vitriol, it could almost be a barb aimed to wound his charming good looks... but no, his ego and a strict dedication to binary logic inform him otherwise, maintaining his suspicions. the jujutsu world is small, and this boy's entry into it was after his death. a face he knows... he's the right age to be Gojou's or Utahime's student, and although one is chatty and the other gullible, neither would be able to stomach his name in their mouths. ]
[ brows lift at the suggestion. there's a pause and his thumb rolls circles on the back of his hand; it isn't an affectionate gesture, just an absent-minded one that accompanies deeper thought. rather than pitch forward to keep looking at him, he leans back against the bench, casting his eyes lower — and only then recognizes that telling gold and black swirl button holding Itadori's jacket shut. ]
[ of course. and, putting their ages together... ]
Who else have you spoken to since you came here? Gojou-sensei, Ieiri-sensei? Fushiguro-kun? [ even if he attended Kyoto, he'd have to at least know who they were, right? ]
[ Yuji is normally pretty good at dealing with his enemies, at trying not to let his emotions get the better of him - there have only been a handful of cases where his anger have propelled him forward, and that's because of Mahito, Sukuna and Kenjaku. This guy. It's hard to push that away because of the burn of necessity, and he grits his teeth as he feels fingers brushing against his own; it doesn't feel right.
It feels strange, and uncomfortable, and a small, angry, hurt part of him hopes that this guy feels just as weird as he does.
Glancing away, he forces those emotions back, and he nods his head. He promised to answer the questions, after all, so he might as well be honest: he's bad at lying either way. ]
I've seen Gojo-sensei and Fushiguro. Sensei told me to see if Ieiri-san wanted to check me out, but I'm feeling fine.
[ Despite the loss of Sukuna and his cursed energy. Glancing up, he hesitates, before he goes for the throat - ]
[ a different sort of smile graces his features then — something that slants to Itadori in his peripherals and seems... proud, or at least amused, that this is the first question that comes tumbling out of the young man's mouth. if nothing else, he's brave. stupid, maybe. but brave. ]
Shouldn't you know, or do you just want me to say it? I lost a battle against Okkotsu-kun and Rika-chan... [ for a moment, his eyes cloud. there are so few moments in his past that he's been forced to relive these past few months that he willingly embraced; a memory of the last fight he had when he went all out is chief among them. the shivery feeling of spending every last drop of curse energy into something and not knowing what's going to happen... ]
[ but. well. this city keeps him surprised, when it comes to who takes the seat next to him on a park bench. ]
That wasn't my question, by the way. [ this is what he breaks his reflection for... ]
[ Yuji knows a little bit about what happened before, with Getou and Gojo and the others, but he's not an expert. Those aren't things that people want to talk about very often, nor are they things he had much time to investigate. When he met up with Yuta he was trying to stay alive, and later their focus was on trying to free Gojo-sensei from the box. After that...
It's a little weird, to hear someone talk about a time when they were hurt enough that they died, or the moment they died. In a way, he can relate: he has died twice, sort-of, if you consider what Yuta did to him a real death. It didn't feel the same as the first one.
Glancing over, not wanting to give in to the sudden urge of strange, twisting sympathy he feels, he shakes his head instead. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
oh jeez here we go!! what could go wrong!!
No one has told him about Getou being here, no one has told him that it's Getou and not the worse of them, the creature inside his body, so of course his instinctive reaction is the urge to lift his hands and attempt to fight - until he realises that he doesn't have any cursed energy to defend himself with, and with how weaker he feels... Would he even be able to put up a fight now?
Instead, he jerks away, trying to get out of his grip, frowning as he looks down at the blood on his jacket. He doesn't know what to do, and his instinct is to run, but with the voices echoing around them he feels utterly trapped. ]
I don't care about being a hero. I care about - [ Helping people. Saving them. Doing whatever he can.
He tries to take a step back, his jaw tight as he lifts his gaze to look at Getou properly, lifting his hands into fists. He'll fight if he has to, but... He has only one arm? That doesn't seem fair. ]
What do you want?
(:
[ still, it's good he doesn't just roll over. if Getou attacked him now, he'd probably do everything he could to live, even if that life was pointless in defending, as quickly as bodies resurrect in this strange city. he's proof. of course, with Yuuji separating them, the whispers return back to a plaintive hum, mingling their messages: suspicious, cog, he won't tell him, weakling, he won't tell him, tell him, say it— ]
[ at Itadori's question, all he does is... point at a particularly chatty shelf. ]
Now what could that mean?
yuji right now: https://i.ibb.co/gMVkgdf/Untitled.jpg
It doesn't help that the flowers are still speaking, echoing around him, reflecting his own words back at him: I'm you. I'm probably nothing more than a cog. I don't need to find a meaning... It makes him feel sick, remembering that moment with blistering clarity in the back of his mind. He doesn't want this, he doesn't really want to fight, not when he's weaker, and he's not sure of the consequences, but... ]
It's none of your business.
[ He squeezes his fists into shape. ]
What do you want?
chihuahua vs doberman
[ well, so be it. the greenhouse doors are all locked by now, he's sure. that's how it always goes with these things. ]
No one taught you the willful negligence of a question is an answer itself, did they? What terrible mentors you have. [ aim and swing. look for a reaction, figure out the rest on the way. the flowers let out their cheers — he's a liar, useful, a cog is a tool, he's lying, he's lying — but Getou ignores them, laying this mercy at Itadori's feet. ]
[ he takes a seat at a withered old bench beneath that hissing canopy and crosses his legs, resting his elbow on the arm rest, cheek in a fist as he regards the young man. ]
Please don't attack me. As you can see, I'm not the man I once was. [ not that being down an arm has made him any less dangerous. the threat beneath: "you gonna calm down so we can talk or do you really need me to throw you through the wall first" ]
at least he's scrappy
He hadn't noticed the loss of the arm until it's made a touch more obvious, but it doesn't make him hesitate as much as it maybe should. Sorcerers are just as dangerous with one arm as they are with two, but he's pretty sure that the last time he saw this guy he had both his arms. Not much of this is making sense to him, so he frowns, tilting his head a little.
The fists stay up, just in case. It wouldn't be the first time he'd fallen for a trick if he gives in like that.
He doesn't move closer, but he doesn't move further away, his eyes stuck on the man in front of him with determination. ]
You haven't answered my question either, so you're just as bad.
[ He's not going to say 'leave Gojo-sensei alone', because he knows his mentor is better than that, but it's on the tip of his tongue. It would be so easy to say it, to boast, knowing he has the strongest on his side - but is he the strongest here? Yuji doesn't know, with his own cursed energy ripped from him. He's more defenceless than he has been in months, and it grates at him. ]
I'm not attacking you. Not if you leave me alone.
no subject
[ a jovial bark, as though he were a little too excited about the prospect — or its inverse, that he's as pleased as can be to be stuck here with him. a pointer finger gestures to the doors behind Itadori, wide panes of glass that won't break regardless of what's thrown through them. a resilient city like that, refusing to kowtow to its citizens. ]
[ to believe him, he'll have to check. to check, he'll have to turn his back. what a predicament! but Getou isn't moving, and he won't, regardless of how Itadori flutters around in the space — a bit like a spider watching a fly, perched comfortably. waiting. patient. ]
I didn't tell you because the flowers already did. Now, would you like them to continue talking, or would you like to come and give us a cuddle?
[ the seat on the bench next to him is given an inviting little pat. a cog is a tool, a cog is a tool, they crow. ]
no subject
This kind of thing keeps happening. He finds enemies, and he fights them, and something new emerges that twists his perception of what this world is about. He recognises, at least, that they're all a little less dangerous here than they might be at home, their powers stripped from him, and he thinks even without his cursed energy he's probably still strong enough to fight a man with one arm.
Probably.
Narrowing his eyes, he slowly steps closer, settling down on the bench as far away from Getou as possible. He's still on edge, absolutely so, but at least he's given in to one of the whims. ]
I want them to shut up. They're annoying.
[ Petulant, like the child he is. ]
no subject
[ well, not unless he wants to be. ]
[ and then he twists, uncrossing his legs but hiking a knee up on the bench in between them — only so that he can get more comfortable extending his only hand, on the far side away from Itadori, across the space to him. ]
Indeed they are, [ he agrees, his smile losing some of its sharpness. ] So take my hand.
[ it's his choice — but if he does, the whispers will silence entirely. might be good of Getou to disclose that ahead of time, but as they had quieted when he put his arm around him, it seems rather evident, doesn't it? ]
no subject
Every movement the man makes is scrutinised, Yuji's eyes never flickering too far from him, even with the heavy weight of the rest of the whispers still hanging around on his shoulders. He doesn't want to hear another reminder of 'cog' or 'murderer' or anything to do with Sukuna if he can avoid it.
Frowning, he stares at the hand and back at the man before, slowly, he reaches out to take it, gritting his teeth.
The shock on his face when the plants are quiet is enough to make his eyes widen, almost dropping Getou's hand before he looks back over, his expression tightening. ]
What is going on?
no subject
Do you always treat people trying to help you with this much suspicion? That must get tiring. Lesson number one, [ he lifts their linked hands to bring them to attention, ] this place is much easier with a friend.
[ which is not what they are, that much is certain. there's the hope that, if he keeps things vague, the boy will slip and unveil just enough. that's all he needs, really. just enough. ]
It'll be a while before the doors unlock. [ said rote, like this isn't the first time he's done this. ] Shall we play a game until it does? I'll let you pick.
no subject
[ Which is fair, given his experience. Yuji isn't really in a good place, mentally, and this strange place isn't helping, rubbing his nose in it. If he lets go of Getou's fingers he's almost certain he'll hear more whispers of murderer, shaming him, calling him a cog, hissing the sound of enchain that is enough to make him want to punch something. He's glad they're quiet, but he's obviously uncomfortable with being so close to this man in particular.
He doesn't have the energy to keep fighting back against this guy, though, and he sighs, bowing his head and forcing himself to accept that they're going to have to be this way for a while. As soon as they're done, he's going to get out of here and find someone - anyone - that he recognises.
Frowning, he stares at their joined hands, and the only thing that comes to mind... ]
Questions. We can ask each other questions. You can start.
no subject
[ brows lift at the suggestion. there's a pause and his thumb rolls circles on the back of his hand; it isn't an affectionate gesture, just an absent-minded one that accompanies deeper thought. rather than pitch forward to keep looking at him, he leans back against the bench, casting his eyes lower — and only then recognizes that telling gold and black swirl button holding Itadori's jacket shut. ]
[ of course. and, putting their ages together... ]
Who else have you spoken to since you came here? Gojou-sensei, Ieiri-sensei? Fushiguro-kun? [ even if he attended Kyoto, he'd have to at least know who they were, right? ]
no subject
It feels strange, and uncomfortable, and a small, angry, hurt part of him hopes that this guy feels just as weird as he does.
Glancing away, he forces those emotions back, and he nods his head. He promised to answer the questions, after all, so he might as well be honest: he's bad at lying either way. ]
I've seen Gojo-sensei and Fushiguro. Sensei told me to see if Ieiri-san wanted to check me out, but I'm feeling fine.
[ Despite the loss of Sukuna and his cursed energy. Glancing up, he hesitates, before he goes for the throat - ]
What happened to your arm?
no subject
[ a different sort of smile graces his features then — something that slants to Itadori in his peripherals and seems... proud, or at least amused, that this is the first question that comes tumbling out of the young man's mouth. if nothing else, he's brave. stupid, maybe. but brave. ]
Shouldn't you know, or do you just want me to say it? I lost a battle against Okkotsu-kun and Rika-chan... [ for a moment, his eyes cloud. there are so few moments in his past that he's been forced to relive these past few months that he willingly embraced; a memory of the last fight he had when he went all out is chief among them. the shivery feeling of spending every last drop of curse energy into something and not knowing what's going to happen... ]
[ but. well. this city keeps him surprised, when it comes to who takes the seat next to him on a park bench. ]
That wasn't my question, by the way. [ this is what he breaks his reflection for... ]
no subject
[ Yuji knows a little bit about what happened before, with Getou and Gojo and the others, but he's not an expert. Those aren't things that people want to talk about very often, nor are they things he had much time to investigate. When he met up with Yuta he was trying to stay alive, and later their focus was on trying to free Gojo-sensei from the box. After that...
It's a little weird, to hear someone talk about a time when they were hurt enough that they died, or the moment they died. In a way, he can relate: he has died twice, sort-of, if you consider what Yuta did to him a real death. It didn't feel the same as the first one.
Glancing over, not wanting to give in to the sudden urge of strange, twisting sympathy he feels, he shakes his head instead. ]
Sure, okay. Ask your real question then.