Chapter Text
Yuji kept hopping back and forth between hugging pretty much everyone, even Yuta and Rika occasionally. The severe whiplash of his opinion of them was almost dizzying, honestly, but he didn’t focus on that either.
All he could think about was that his family was here, all safe and okay and here, and Yuji could barely breathe from the crashing relief flooding his system that he hadn’t ruined everything, that they were together again, that everything was going to start being okay again.
Mrs. Yoshino and Junpei hadn’t stopped hugging and crying yet, not that Yuji had either, though both allowed Yuji to invade this hug on his circuit through the group. Yuta and Rika seemed perfectly content to yap to each other -though Yuta was the source of most of the talking- and Nobara seemed to be equally content just laying in the sand. Gojo and Megumi were still several paces away talking with the mannequin curse, who they seemed to actually know, somehow. Yuji decided he’d let one of them explain it if they wanted to. They deserved to make that decision for themselves.
Yuji slid over to Grandpa next, throwing his arms back around him, nestling his face into the man’s shoulder.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he eventually mumbled again, because it’s all he could think to say. He felt Grandpa rather roughly hug him back, and he let himself sink further into the comfort of the man who’d taken care of him as long as he could remember.
“Thanks for rescuing us, you idiot kid,” Grandpa huffed, and Yuji buried his face a little deeper.
“I didn’t do anything,” he muttered, his eyes wobbling slightly. “I just made everything worse-“
“You did not,” Grandpa scolded, his hand clenching on Yuji’s shirt sleeve. “You kept everyone together, and away from Mahito. You’re the one who made this happen. We might not have even survived without you, Yuji. Thank you.”
Yuji puffed his cheeks and smushed his face a bit further. “Thank you, Grandpa.”
“Oh, hello tall man!” Nobara’s voice said, and Yuji blinked and lifted his head to see Gojo returning, the man’s entire face splotchy red and his eyes all puffed up, but despite all this, he was beaming. Megumi was leaning most of his weight on the man to walk properly, or maybe just an excuse to hug Gojo without it being obvious that was what he was doing, as if it wasn’t already obvious. When Yuji looked back at the water, he didn’t see any trace of the mannequin. Had the curse disappeared? Did that mean…?
“Are you two really free?” Yuji asked eagerly, sitting upright, and Gojo nodded, squeezing his hold on Megumi with a wet, “mhm!”
“Yay! Does that mean we can go home now? Where do we live?” Nobara asked, sprawled on the sand, her eye closed and a content smile on her face.
Yuji blinked at the question. “Um. I think we’re homeless actually.”
“Huh?” Yuta asked, startled as Mrs. Yoshino, still clutched around Junpei, shakily said, “w-well you can just stay at our-! Um…I guess our house got a bit, um…damaged. Heh. Hm.”
She dropped her chin back onto Junpei’s head, her lip quivering, and Yuji nestled into Grandpa’s side. “We can figure something out. As long as we’re together.”
“Well, you guys can stay at one of Rika’s and I’s bases if you want,” Yuta said, tilting his head back to look up at Rika. “We’ll be heading north soon anyway, so we won’t be using it. It’d just be empty otherwise.”
“Huh? For real?!” Yuji asked as Grandpa exhaled a, “I think we owe you too much already.”
“No, no, you don’t owe me anything!” Yuta said as Rika trilled, “Yuta’s just generous!” nudging her head against the boy’s.
Yuta stood, smiling brightly. “C’mon! I’ll show you where it is.”
~~~
Yuta had severely undersold what exactly their empty ‘base’ was.
“Is this a castle?!” Nobara yelped, pointing, and Mrs. Yoshino managed a quiet, “um…mansion, maybe…?”
“Heh, yeah, a little,” Yuta said, rubbing the back of his head. “Apparently I’m the last of the…Fujiwara? Sugawara? Honestly I don’t know, I was four when I heard about it, but they used to be a big clan back a few centuries ago, so they have some pretty nice places.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind us staying here?” Yuji gaped, staring up at the multi-floor, ornate structure.
“Mhm! We’re barely ever south of the lightning, so we don’t use any of the places down here all that much,” Yuta said, turning back towards the structure. “Oh, which probably means some curses have gotten in since we’ve been here last; we can go take care of that real quick! Rika, want to join?”
“Of course, Yuta!” Rika beamed, and the two headed towards the door with a shout of, “stay here!” from Yuta.
“Do you think maybe we’ve relied on this kid a little too much?” Grandpa said flatly once Yuta and Rika were gone.
“Huh? Aren’t we friends with him? Isn’t that what friends do? Also who is that?” Nobara asked, and Yuji exhaled, pulling them both closer.
“I dunno,” he said. “But- it’s good to accept help, right?”
“Mhm,” Gojo said softly, and Yuji leaned forward to beam at the man. He’d taken to carrying Megumi in a piggyback ride until he got used to walking normally again, and he was smiling up in the boy’s direction, his entire face soft with obvious affection.
The group had just followed Yuta and Rika like a gaggle of ducklings, both Gojo and Mrs. Yoshino unwilling to let go of Megumi and Junpei respectively, though Yuji hadn’t really given up his grip on Grandpa or Nobara either. They’d even given Yuta the finger of Sukuna Nobara’d smashed her hammer into several dozen times, which admittedly hadn’t seemed to do all that much to it. Yuta’d said he had a way to dispose of its curse properly once he got back north of lightning. Apparently Yuta and Rika usually lived north of those storms, and they’d only come south through them after feeling Sukuna’s cursed energy detonate when he opened the wishing box.
Yuta had talked quite a bit while they walked over, as he seemed prone to doing. Yuji had only barely acknowledged what he was saying, far too focused on his own thoughts to focus on anything else.
Their long journey of worry and panic and increasingly impossible disasters was over. It felt strange to be without Sukuna -more than strange, actually; Yuji’d grown so accustomed to having the guy around that it felt oddly empty in his chest now- but the curse had done too much damage and threatened too many people’s lives for Yuji to not be relieved that he couldn’t hurt them anymore.
Yuta and Rika returned quickly, both smiling despite now being smeared with several purple stains, which looked odd mixed with the red still on Yuta from his injury.
“Okay, most left on their own, and we took care of the ones who didn’t!” Yuta said brightly. “C’mon in!”
The inside of the building was just as ornate as the outside. Yuji just gaped up at it, and he was sure he wasn’t the only one.
“Here, we can give a bit of a tour- oh, I should change shirts,” Yuta said, looking down at his still bloodstained white jacket. “I probably have some here somewhere…”
“I can help you look!” Yuji said immediately, eager for the opportunity to give something back to the boy who’d rescued them on every front.
“Oh, if you want to,” Yuta said, blinking at him with wide eyes. “Rika, could you show everyone around?”
“Without you?” Rika complained, dropping her head to the side, and Yuta gave a cheerful laugh.
“It’ll be okay, Rika,” he said. “I want to talk to him anyway!”
“Huh?” Gojo asked as Junpei gasped, “what are you gonna do with him?” and Nobara gave a cheerful, “can I come?”
“Yeah, I’d like to talk with you too,” Yuta said to Nobara, then to the others: “but you guys’ll be perfectly safe with Rika! You’re in excellent hands.”
“Aw, Yuta!!” Rika trilled, twirling in the air as Nobara said, “yay!”, practically running into Yuji as the others rather reluctantly allowed the group to split.
Yuta seemed to know exactly where he was going, actually, since they found a large room full of closets without a single wrong turn.
“Um. Why did you want to talk with us?” Yuji asked, oddly nervous.
Yuta gave a sheepish laugh, sliding open the first closet door to investigate it. “It’s a little embarrassing, heh.”
Yuta turned, smiling. “I don’t actually know your names.”
“Oh,” Yuji said, blinking. He felt a smile himself and said, “I’m Yuji Itadori, and- I’m into girls like Jennifer Lawrence.”
“I’m Yuji Itadori’s friend, and I don’t know who I’m into!” Nobara said, sticking her hand in the air, and Yuji’s smile tinged a bit sad.
“Nobara Kugisaki,” he said, fidgeting slightly. “Uh- Sukuna said her memory could get fixed, but- I mean- I know we can’t trust anything he says -said- but he thought the lightning might be able to help her remember. Is that…possible?”
“Hm,” Yuta said, cocking his head, sending his bangs over his stitches. “I…wouldn’t recommend it, I think. Kashimo’s not exactly predictable, and Rika and I usually get pretty scorched coming through.”
“Oh,” Yuji said, his lip wobbling as he looked at Nobara, who said, “oi, my head feels fine other than the memory thing, y’know,” jabbing her thumb into her chest before adding, “but I remember the important things, like that I like my friend and also I think sword guy can bleed out and not die, and so can my business partner, and also…a volcano…?”
She blinked dazedly, her eye dragging up slightly, but then it went back down to Yuji, blinking expectantly, and Yuji gave her a little squeeze around the shoulders.
“I just…I want her to remember me,” Yuji said, and Nobara jabbed him in the cheek and complained, “I do remember you, idiot, I just said I remember that I like you.”
“Well, that’s certainly good,” Yuta said with a smile. “I’ll try to learn how idle transfiguration works and see if that can help at all, but it’s a really tricky technique if you’re not just restoring someone’s original shape. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t risk it.”
“So…she’s just- like this forever now?” Yuji asked, blinking over at Nobara, who hmphed and said, “why do you look upset that I’m here, huh? So what if I can’t remember everything as long as I remember what’s important?”
Yuji blinked at her, but…she was kind of right in a way, wasn’t she? She was the same Nobara; she had rescued them, rescued him, and even though she didn’t remember names, she remembered what they were to each other.
She was still Nobara. That hadn’t changed.
“Yeah,” Yuji said, sending her a small smile. “As long as you’re not hurting.”
“Nope, I feel great!” she said, punching her fist in the air, and Yuta beamed.
“That’s good!” he said brightly, turning back to investigating the closets. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Hm?” Yuji asked, turning back to him.
“I assume that’s why you wanted to come with me,” Yuta said, pulling a blue-gray yukata down, considering it.
“Oh. Yeah, actually,” Yuji said, rubbing his foot slightly against the ground. “I- wanted to thank you. I don’t know where we’d be without you. I don’t think we can ever repay you-“
“Don’t say things like that,” Yuta said with a laugh, closing the closet and setting the yukata hanger on the knob before he turned back. “Take it as my own apology for taking so long to take care of Sukuna. We’re usually much faster at it!”
Yuta tucked his hands behind his back, and Yuji blinked, tugging Nobara a bit closer.
“You’ve been fighting Sukuna a long time, haven’t you?” he asked quietly, and Yuta’s expression grew a bit more serious.
“Yes, we have,” he said quietly, looking over to the hanging kimono. “We’re getting closer to fully destroying his curse on the world. Someday, we’ll manage it. I’m confident in that.”
“And…what happens to you, then?” Yuji asked warily.
“He celebrates a job well done!” Nobara said, shaking Yuji back and forth. “And then lives with us!”
Yuta gave a laugh and said, “I doubt you all will still be alive by the time we finish. I’d be happy to use your techniques to fight when you die, though! Naturally, I mean.”
“Boo, lame,” Nobara pouted, and Yuji added, “but that’s what I mean, like- what happens to you and Rika when you don’t have to fight Sukuna anymore? Are you both just- stuck the way you are?”
Yuta looked back, surprise flickering in his eyes. “Oh. Well. Rika’s curse only formed because the human Rika refused to leave me to finish our mission all on my own. As soon as we are done, I think her curse will disappear. The same way that mannequin did when it could open the box.”
“But what about you?” Yuji asked, and Yuta smiled at him.
“You’re awfully kind, you know that, Yuji Itadori?” he said, and Yuji startled as Nobara flatly said, “yeah, duh, even I know that.”
Yuta continued, “I’m only still alive now from a combination of Kenjaku’s corpse manipulation and Shoko Ieiri’s reverse curse technique, which both have to be active at all times. Once we’ve finished destroying Sukuna’s curse and I’m sure Rika’s curse is resolved, I’ll stop those techniques from activating. My brain will age out naturally, and then- I’ll die. Eventually. Like normal people do. It’ll be nice, I think. To start being normal again.”
“Well, if it’s soon then- you should come back to stay with us,” Yuji said, and Nobara said, “wait, isn’t this his house? This is our house? Where are we?”
“Oh, right, it is yours already-!” Yuji said, his eyes going slightly wide, but Yuta just sent another bright smile.
“I appreciate the sentiment,” he said. “And glad to see she remembers that.”
“Yeah. She- did,” Yuji said, staring at Nobara in surprise, and she punched his arm and complained, “didn’t we just talk about that?”
“Yeah, earlier today,” Yuji said, beaming at her. Much earlier today. Maybe that meant she was healing on her own. Yuji liked that idea. He liked it very much.
“Um…do you guys mind letting me change in here alone? Heh,” Yuta said, rubbing awkwardly behind his head, and Yuji jumped.
“Oh, uh, yeah! Right,” he said, turning Nobara to steer her out, and she called over her shoulder, “don’t take too long, loser!” as they left.
~~~
There were bags of rice stored in the pantries that were deemed edible, and the plain rice meal they all hobbled together was the best tasting dinner Yuji’d ever had in his life.
Yuta and Rika only stayed long enough to eat before heading back out onto the road.
“Our friends on the other side of the lightning are probably wondering what’s taking us this long,” Yuta said with another sheepish laugh, one hand resting on the strap of his katana sheath. It felt strange for the sight to not make Yuji feel uneasy. “Sorry again that it did take us that long!”
“Don’t apologize, Yuta, they were the ones making it harder on you,” Rika said, dropping her head slightly to the side, her teeth gleaming.
“Wait, you’re leaving?!” Junpei gasped, his eyes still wide and twitchy, as they had been since becoming himself again. “But- what do we do if-! I mean-!”
“Well, just don’t eat any more of Sukuna’s fingers, and you should be good!” Yuta said cheerfully, and Yuji flushed slightly at the comment.
“And what about- um- Mahito?” Mrs. Yoshino asked warily, still hugging Junpei.
“If he ever comes near us again, I’ll obliterate him,” Gojo said quietly, Megumi still smushed against his side too.
“Um, I’m not sure you could, actually,” Yuta said, tapping at his chin in thought.
“Huh? Why not?!” Gojo demanded, squeezing Megumi closer, and Yuta continued.
“Well, only specific types of attacks can land on him. The only technique I have that can do it now is his own,” Yuta said before snapping and pointing at Yuji, “but since he’s one of the pink vessels, Yuji Itadori does have the capacity to, and,” another snap, “Nobara Kugisaki can by the nature of how her technique works.”
Yuta gave a sort of salute and said, “which means you all are in excellent hands!”
“Aye Sword Guy!” Nobara said, saluting back, and Yuji hesitated, shifting his weight back and forth.
“Uh, I dunno if we really could do all that much against Mahito-” he said, worrying at his lip, and Nobara punched him lightly and scolded, “what, you think we’d lose, loser? Loser in general, not in this particular instance?”
“I doubt you’d have to worry about it anyway,” Yuta said with a laugh. “Mahito won’t reform for a long time. Rika and I might not even still be around by the time he does.”
Rika gave a soft hmph and smushed her head against Yuta, who turned with a wave. “We’ll come back and visit every once in a while! Oh, and when I’ve found a good Mai&Maki exoskeleton for you, Megumi! See you!”
“Wait!” Gojo practically yelped as Yuji said, “hang on, just like that? But- we’ve barely even thanked you!”
Yuta cut off the vague assent from the previously transfigured people with a wave of his hands and another sheepish laugh. “Really, you don’t have to! Honestly, it’s really nice to have human friends again, and people who care this much about thanking us. You’re doing more than you realize you are. We didn’t help you to force some IOU or something. It’s just what we do, y’know?”
“You are a remarkably good person,” Grandpa said flatly, and Rika cheered, “yes he is!” as Yuta gave a mumbled, “I try to be.”
And then, after a few minutes of the pair waving, they were gone again, just as suddenly as they’d first appeared what felt like ages ago.
The group opted to give Yuji and Nobara the tour they’d missed which Rika had given of the house, and the place really was massive. Mrs. Yoshino suggested cleaning out bedrooms just to give everyone something to do, and Yuji felt Junpei tugging at his sleeve as he moved to pick one for himself.
“Hm? What’s up?” Yuji asked as Junpei pulled him aside, his wide eyes flitting everywhere.
“I- um-” he managed, puffing his cheeks. “I want to- apologize? I guess-?”
“Junpei,” Yuji said immediately, putting his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Nothing Mahito did was your fault.”
“B-but-“ Junpei whispered, hugging his arms, his eyes twitchy and darting around. “I mean- he was Moondregs, and- I didn’t even know- he was in our house! All that time, and- I just let him be-!”
“Junpei!” Yuji interrupted again, squeezing his hands on Junpei’s shoulders. “That wasn’t your fault! You had no idea Moondregs was connected to Mahito- and what about me? I mean- I let Sukuna in-“
“You didn’t know about him either,” Junpei said. “I’m the one who was supposed to know history, I should have warned you-“
“No, that wasn’t your fault either. Sukuna-” Yuji stalled slightly before exhaling. “Sukuna used us. That- that was on him. R-right?”
“It most certainly was,” Grandpa’s voice said, and Yuji and Junpei both startled and turned, Yuji then dodging his gaze. Grandpa stepped forward and put a hand on Yuji’s shoulder.
“I want you to remember, Yuji, that you’re the reason all of us are okay. That Yuta boy had the technique, but without you, he never would have even known about us. And you, Junpei.”
Junpei hiked up his shoulders, still hugging his arms.
“We were all there,” Grandpa continued. “None of us saw Mahito for what he was. The two of you are only children. You were manipulated and used, all of us were, but you especially. It was not your fault that you were.”
Yuji felt tears brimming his eyes, and he sobbed and fell into Grandpa, throwing his arms around the man, who he felt give Junpei a gruff pat on the head.
“I’d tell this to Nobara too, but I think she’s more than aware,” Grandpa said with an exhale, and Yuji let out a small smile of his own. Nobara had spent a decent chunk of the walk here singing about how they were heroes.
“Yeah. I think she knows,” Yuji said, and that fact alone was incredible.
~~~
A week later, life had oddly calmed. It felt strange to be back in a house at all, let alone not actively running from several pursuers.
Let alone actually sleeping in beds at night.
By the second day there, Yuji decided that eating rice for every meal was going to drive them insane and told them he would grab food from a nearby town, an errand Gojo almost literally jumped at the chance to join him on, and Megumi, as always, was right at his side to go with him.
Megumi was -and probably would be for a very long time- still relearning how to have his normal self back. He struggled walking on two legs without leaning on Gojo as a crutch, he still couldn’t really form words that were all that comprehensible, and he retained some of the habits he had in his dog form, like bumping his head into Gojo to get his attention. But the sheer exhilaration on Gojo’s face whenever Megumi did just about anything seemed to minimize any frustration the boy might have had at his slow reacclimation. And Yuji supposed it did make sense; he’d spent years living his life as a dog. It was going to take a while to relearn everything.
But it was also obvious that every single person in Yuta’s house was excited to see him making any progress. Yuji, personally, was very eager to spend more time with his new friend and eagerly welcomed the pair on his shopping trip.
The others remained back at the house, Grandpa and the Yoshinos still clearly slightly terrified to go out anywhere, especially without Yuta and Rika, and Nobara joining their efforts of cleaning the place out in case Yuta and Rika had missed any stray curses, though it seemed they’d done a remarkably thorough job.
Yuji and Gojo both had to go much slower to accommodate for Megumi, but neither minded. Actually, Gojo spent the entire time beaming up at the sky through his glasses, a sight which made both Yuji and Megumi smile at him.
Yuta, the genuine maniac, had also left a note on a case reading, “Food Funds for Gojo, Megumi, Yuji, Nobara, and the others (sorry I never got your names!)” which had more than enough money to buy whatever they wanted for quite a while and added yet another thing to thank Yuta for whenever they saw him next.
Yuji let Gojo and Megumi pick out essentially everything, he himself on a special mission as they searched through the farmer’s market of the nearest town Gojo’s Six Eyes could detect. They stayed out for ages, Megumi trying to say everything he saw and finally starting to make some sort of recognizable sounds, though no words yet, and he and Gojo were so distracted by each other and the world around them that only Megumi noticed what exactly Yuji was buying.
Gojo opted to carry Megumi home, still smiling softly until his attention shifted slightly to watch the fluffy clouds now drifting calmly above them.
After a moment, Gojo spoke up. “They’re pretty. Clouds, I mean.”
Yuji looked up and grinned. “Yeah, they are.”
Gojo was quiet another moment before he said, “I started…I used to hate seeing them. Seeing them meant someone was using me. Hurting Megumi, too.”
Yuji lowered his gaze back down and glanced at the man, who was still just staring upwards, his lip quivering just slightly. Megumi nestled his head a bit against Gojo’s cheek. Another habit he’d done a lot as a dog.
“I’m sorry, Gojo,” Yuji said, fidgeting with the bags in his arms. “And Megumi. I’m really sorry.”
Gojo let out a soft laugh, looking over at Yuji now as Megumi lifted his head, blinking at him.
“What are you sorry for?” Gojo asked. “You’re the reason any of this was possible for us. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how many more hundreds of years we’d have been trapped for.”
Gojo looked back up at Megumi, a sad sort of smile on his face as the boy dropped his cheek back against his head. “I don’t think you have any idea how much you did for us just by being yourself. People weren’t kind like you were. Like you are.”
Yuji blinked at him, surprised, and Gojo let out a soft sigh, still smiling up.
“Because of you, the clouds are pretty again. You and Nobara, both. So…”
Gojo lowered his eyes again and very hesitantly glanced over as he added, “thank you. For- helping us.”
Yuji smiled, a warm feeling stirring comfortably in his chest. “Of course. I just wish I could have done more.”
“Don’t. Wishes are stupid, and you did more than enough,” Gojo said, looking back up with a content sounding exhale. “Well, ‘Gumi? What do you think of the clouds?”
Megumi gave a reply that almost sounded like, “a-o’v oo.”
Gojo just beamed, and Megumi repeated himself, bumping his head slightly into Gojo’s.
“Sorry,” Gojo said with a sheepish laugh. “I’m just really happy to hear him say anything at all.”
Megumi repeated himself again, and Yuji couldn’t fathom why Gojo had felt the need to apologize for such a thing.
Megumi practically smacked Gojo in the chest and repeated himself again, this time managing more.
“L’ve. Oo. I l’ve oo.”
“You luh-?” Gojo started before stilling, his eyes very wide. “What?”
Megumi nodded, apparently pleased that he’d gotten his point across, and dropped his face back into Gojo’s shoulder.
Gojo, however, lowered all of the bags he’d been carrying to shift around and squeeze Megumi in a proper hug, and Yuji realized what Megumi had actually been trying to say as Gojo spoke next.
“I love you too ‘Gumi!!” Gojo shouted, spinning the boy around in his hug as Megumi clung to him, kicking slightly to stay stable. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!!”
Yuji beamed and shifted to crunch all of the remaining bags into his own arms, beaming at the exhilarated duo, and Gojo didn’t stop repeating himself the entire rest of the trip back to the house.
~~~
Yuji happily presented his secret purchases to the group when he returned, and Gojo seemed the most excited when he saw limes tumbling out of Yuji’s bag.
The whole group worked together to prepare the dessert they’d been longing for; even Megumi was able to help while seated, and Nobara was very energetic about whatever directions she remembered.
The actual key lime pie itself was mediocre at best, the crust too hard and filling too runny, and not a single person present cared because they were all here eating it together.
Yuji helped Grandpa clean the dishes afterwards, and he nearly burst into happy tears when the man scolded him for trying to help because it sounded so much like home that it overwhelmed him again, and he had to sit down. Eventually the rest of the group joined him and talked and laughed and just existed together until the sun began to set, and Yuji enjoyed every second of it.
Since everyone except Yuji and Nobara had spent extended time in a severely confined and trapped existence until recently, they all had ended up sleeping in large separate rooms with massive windows, and while Yuji understood this just fine, he felt a bit sad that he wouldn’t get to form a massive hugging pile on a nightly basis with anyone.
So he was surprised when he returned from the bathroom to see his new bedroom door cracked. When he slid it fully open, he saw Nobara sitting on his bed, looking out the window.
“Nobara,” he said, stepping in. “This isn’t-”
“It’s your room, I know,” she said before turning her head back. “The sunset looks really nice, and I wanted to see if this window’s got a good view, so you can look at it too if you want.”
Yuji blinked and smiled, stepping further over to sit beside her.
“Does it?” he asked, and Nobara turned back to the window.
“Mhm,” she said with a nod. “Perfect, with the tops of the trees.”
She gestured vaguely, and Yuji leaned a bit to see.The dark silhouettes of the forest did paint a nice border to the dazzling sky, shining spectacularly above them.
“I have something kinda weird to say,” Nobara said, and Yuji blinked at her, surprised.
“Yeah?”
“I might’ve said it before, but I’m gonna say it again, so don’t stop me, ‘kay?”
Yuji swallowed and nodded. “Yes?”
Nobara scrunched her shoulders a bit, her uninjured eye still on the window. “I’m…glad I live here.”
Yuji blinked, surprise returning to him. “Huh?”
Nobara’s cheeks puffed slightly as she continued, “I’m pretty sure I’d be an easy person to just ditch somewhere, and I’m probably not easy to live with, with all the things I forget, but- I like living here. So I’m glad you guys aren’t stupid jerks, y’know?”
“What? Of course we’re glad you live here too!” Yuji gasped, straightening up slightly. “You’re like my sister- you are my sister. It doesn’t matter if you forget things; we’d never leave you behind somewhere. You’d never leave us either. I know you wouldn’t, because you didn’t.”
“Well obviously I didn’t, because I’m incredibly impressive like that,” Nobara said matter-of-factly, turning and sticking her tongue out in her grin. She punched Yuji lightly in the chest and said, “and someone as impressive as me obviously has good friends, so it all makes sense.”
She turned back to the window, and Yuji felt his lip quivering, his chest clenching with affection for all these people who’d become his family.
He leaned his head to rest against Nobara’s shoulder, letting out a sleepy exhale as his eyes watched the glimmering clouds. “I love you, Nobara.”
Nobara shifted slightly, tapping at her chest before turning, and Yuji lifted his head slightly, curious.
She sent him a beaming smile. “I can tell I love you too!”
Yuji felt his eyes wavering, and he lowered his head back onto Nobara’s shoulder as she turned back to the window, and the two simply watched the sky glowing, a thousand rays of sunlight dancing across the air, with both viewers perfectly content by the calm and simple beauty of it.