Trip to the Closet

It had been another day just like the one before and the one before that. The weather was relatively clear and the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds. Well, it wasn’t actually peeking… right? It was just a little weird that it followed her with every step she took. It wasn’t actually able to follow her though, yeah? It was just a big ball of burning energy in the sky and not at all a spy camera or anything crazy like that. What if it was though? What if it wasn’t the real sun? Could the school have created a fake sky like they created veils? No, if Saluki were here right now, she would be having a field day with this. “Sis, you’re such a scaredy cat! How do you even survive out there?!” Her friends. Yeah, mostly her friends. And Sakiko. She didn’t  understand how much her smiling face meant to her older sister.

In any case, she blasted through the common areas and directly into the hallways that her own classroom would be in. Except, she wasn’t ready for class yet and she was sure she was far too early, since she was always paranoid of missing out. As she stood in the hall with her hands on her knees breathing rapidly, it seemed that she wasn’t alone. The sun was shining through the windows directly to her right and there seemed to be teachers whispering about her directly in front. So, she would do the only thing she could think of and open the closet door directly to her left, tripping over whatever they had stored in there… or so she thought. ”Nice one, Miho.” She would groan as she peeled her face off of the wall. Well, at least Miho had a nice pink mark on her forehead to go with her hair.

Another day at the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. Another day of teachers coming up with the most ridiculous lessons, classes that ran the range of normal subjects to wilderness survival and how to disassemble a Cursed Spirit with one's bare hands, and most importantly...another day of sneaking away to take a quick nap. Chuku was an absolute master at that last one, and had chosen a disused supply closet as his sanctum for the moment. Getting settled in, the chess master closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, shifting his shoulders to get comfortable in the way only a professional could, drifting off into the closest thing to a coma he could manage.

This was, of course, when he was violently interrupted by the squeak of the door, and a foot in the gut. Groaning as something slammed into the wall, the size of the closet enough that he got tangled into the legs of whatever cruel intruder had stumbled quite literally on his hiding spot, the black-haired teen looked up to try to see any identifying factors when he finally heard the voice of one of his classmates. "Uggghh Miho, what the hell?! Was that you, or did you at least get the number of that truck?"

Rolling himself into a sitting position, the shikigami user poked his head out into the hall, glancing around quickly before closing the door, sure that no one was watching. Turning back to the head of pink hair that had no right to be so energetic this early in the afternoon, he blinked slowly. "...So, uhh....You going to tell me what has you running headfirst into this lovely little slice of paradise, or do I need to guess why an innocent bystander got trampled? Was it Sensei?"

This last was, of course, asked with a sense of justifiable paranoia. He wasn't exactly supposed to be sleeping during class, after all.

After getting nearly bowled down by a rapidly fleeing Miho, Shichiro found himself intrigued enough to find out what exactly was going on. The trail of destruction was easy to follow, and the barely subtle closet door closing was all he needed to get the answers he was looking for. He pushed the door open, likely nudging anyone on the other side out of the way as he peeked in. “What are you two doing slacking off again?” It wasn’t like this was a rare occasion. “We’re supposed to be setting a good example for the first years.” He crossed his arms with a frown as he stood at the door.
“Might want to find a better hiding spot though.” He added, if only for the irritated yell demanding an explanation. Their sensei, Hayate, had been slacking off himself while enjoying an afternoon snack that had been sent flying off to the floor. It wasn’t wise to get between Sensei and his food.

Shichiro peered about; they were safe for the moment. If they were lucky Hayate would have missed who it was altogether. The yelling had subsided, which could mean he had stomped off, or he was now on the hunt for the culprit.

Seeing as he stumbled in during the middle of this conversation, he decided if he wanted answers staying would be the best option. So that’s what he did!

Rubbing her forehead as she pried herself from the wall, Miho would hear the groans and voice of someone she knew very familiarly. The girl would whip around the see her snarky, lazy classmate, Chuku. A fellow third year that excelled in doing everything that he wasn't supposed to, like napping during class or using that brain of his to get his mouth into trouble. Still, he maintained his average and was smarter than he made himself out to be, maybe that was one of the things that made him such a genius. In any case, she had just trampled over his body, as she fled from her own wild imagination. Thankfully, he had taken initiative to close the door, but it would swiftly be opened again before she could really express her concerns.

Another third year and classmate, Shichiro, had come looking for them and managed to find their hiding spot. Of course, it was one of many, but he had probably caught her running off in her state of panic, since he had found them so quickly. His first order of business was to chastise the pair of them, saying they should be an example for the first years. First years? To be honest, they had hardly interacted with the first years to begin with. They were always far too busy training or taking on missions. They were all working toward first grade, after all. Still, he was right, but they wouldn't be safe, if her suspicions were true. "Come on! They're gonna find us! Get in here already!" Miho would yell in a whispered tone, dragging the boy inside and closing the door behind him. It was a bit cramped for the lot of them, but Miho would curl her knees up into her chest to make more room for the others. She was much smaller than they were.

"Okay, hear me out! The sun!" Miho would whisper as she pointed toward the ceiling. "What if... it's not real?! I know it sounds crazy, but I swear it was following me! It could be like a fake. We can create veils, so why not a fake sky with a spy camera for a sun?! Nobody would ever suspect it! It shines through everything! We're only safe in these enclosed spaces. It's always there! What if it's the enemy? Or even the higher ups! What do you think?" Miho would ask wrapping her arms around her legs and squeezing them tightly. "Are we really safe here?"

Blinking a bit at Miho's seeming panic and Shichiro's entrance to their cramped closet, the chess master among the Third Years shuddered a moment. He could hear their Sensei's rage from here, and was currently doing mental calculations to determine exactly how long it would be before the man found them. Deciding that it would take a a while, and ignoring the distinct possibility that yet again his classmates would leave him as the sacrificial lamb, Chuku turned back to the conversation with interest as the door shut.

Looking up at the ceiling, as if to see the very sun his pink-haired companion was talking about, the student scratched his chin thoughtfully before looking her dead in the eye with a somber expression. "I can't believe no one ever told you, although...I guess that it makes sense. The higher-ups and the bigger families keep it so secret that I only found out on accident. The sun is a Special-Grade Cursed Spirit made using the collective hatred of everyone that isn't a morning person. So many veils and barriers have to be put up every lunar cycle just to keep it in check, and one day it will incinerate us all."

Nodding his head slightly, as if what he just said was the absolute truth and not just bullshit he made up on the spot to mess with her, the young man turned to the member of one of the three biggest Clans to corroborate his story. "Right, Shichiro? You've heard about this one, I'm sure, and I know for a fact that Hayate-sensei will have even helped to delay our impending doom."

Ahh, chaos, just what he needed this morning.

Shichiro wasn’t exactly expecting to be dragged into this, but before he knew it he was stuck in the same closet. “Alright calm down!” He protested, though there was nowhere to hide now. There was a fifty-fifty chance that their sensei just gave up going be irritated elsewhere. Shichiro was brought back to reality, standing with his back to the door while the explanation for Miho’s destructive rush was provided. Unfortunately, the reason seemed to be ‘insanity’, but most Jujutsu sorcerers were a bit crazy, so he wasn’t going to hold that against her.

Before he could dispel this ridiculous theory, Chuku decided to make it much… much worse. It was, however, amusing. “You might want to keep that to yourself. If someone else knew you knew… well.” He drew his finger across his neck. Shichiro caught himself being far too serious, and with their delusional friend here might not appreciate it. That and they were practically stuck in a very small room with her. “The Sun isn’t a cursed sprit. ‘They’ aren’t spying on us.”

It was around this point that they heard the heavy, familiar stomping coming down the hall. “I know you’re around here somewhere Miho! ” Hayate didn’t sound happy, and he was also getting closer.

Shichiro wasn’t quite so keen on just hoping this hiding spot would actually work, but the others hadn’t made a motion to escape yet so here he was. Waiting for the inevitable.

Miho had made her every fear known, but she had never considered the thoughts that spilled from Chuku’s mouth. Her eyes would widen and a shutter would be sent reeling down her spine. Th-the sun.. was a.. spirit? And it was a big secret? Why would he tell her?! Why would he say that?! N-now everyone would hunt her down! They’d really have reason to come after her and then she would disappear leaving her dear sister and mother behind. Only veils were keeping it at bay? Surely, surely he was just kidding, but why would he be? What if he was serious? No wonder it felt so off. No wonder. Her heart began to race the more he explained and when Shichiro confirmed it, Miho would let out a high-pitched scream. Even if he denied it now, she was already convinced and there was no turning back.

The sound of their sensei’s voice would draw her out of the closet as she ran toward him. Miho had almost barreled him down again, but instead stopped in time to grab him by the shirt, as if interrogating him. ”SENSEI! I’m so sorry! I can’t do it!” Miho would yell belligerently as large tears burst from her eyes. ”Th-they told me everything! I-I didn’t know! A-and n-now I’m gonna die! Th-they’ll find me!” Whatever the hell she was talking about had her completely torn apart, just like every other day. Another one of her strange fears no doubt and someone had been up to no good making it worse. ”Is it true?! Is it really true?!” With zero context he was sure to be confused.

Chuku couldn't help but chuckle a bit as the girl started panicking a bit at the idea, especially when in a moment of levity Shichiro confirmed that what he'd said was true, even if he immediately retracted the statement to add a bit of sanity to the conversation. This didn't work, however, and the moment that their frustrated teacher made his presence known in the hallway Miho escaped the relative safety of the closet. The pinkette ran screaming straight to the poor bastard, crying her heart out and all but begging him to deny that the sun itself is a Cursed Spirit, although she never actually said it outright.

Oh, how the teen hoped the older man would confirm it like an absolute legend!

If the chess player were honest, this was probably a weekly occurrence. His classmate would get freaked out by something or another, and it would be made worse, either by a lighthearted prank or a random event that is immediately taken as a sign or omen. Hell, last week a book fell from a shelf, and it had all but confirmed her thoughts that there were spy cameras hidden to catch students doing student things. The higher-ups were a frequent subject of her paranoia, and it made him wonder what the hell had happened there.

Thoughts for another time, but this was about to be hilarious.

Shichiro just couldn’t have predicted that his joke might have gone this poorly. He had severely underestimated Miho’s ability to overreact. Before he knew it, she had burst right back out of the room to confront their incredibly frustrated looking sensei with this latest delusion. He shook his head and decided to try and side-step the inevitable backlash from all these shenanigans but knew that ultimately his fate was already sealed.

Hayate was almost as startled as Shichiro had been when Miho burst forth to grab his shirt and demand answers. “Huh!? Sun?” He squinted, stepping back to peer out a window only to stare directly at the offending, luminous creature. “Can’t be, I would have noticed.” He peeled his gaze back to Miho. “You should worry less about the Sun and more about the lunch that you’re replacing!”

Shichiro was dumbstruck, first at their sensei staring down ‘the sun’ but also humouring this ridiculous situation. “You know what, don’t worry about the role model thing. Sensei has it covered already.” The third-year shook his head with a sigh. “Can we all just calm down?”

Hayate seemed less than enthused but would probably be reasonably easy to calm down if promised. “Anyway, why are you all slacking? Field trip is coming up.” He shifted topics as quickly as ever once he managed to get Miho loose to brush himself off.

Well, Hayate-sensei seemed more than surprised when Miho came tramepling down the hallways and grabbed his shirt like a madwoman. Although, it seemed he was as confused as she would have expected if her mind had been clearer. He peered out of the window and squinted at the sun with Miho following behind. She had to see what it was he was looking at. However, it seemed that he was just looking at the sun with his next expression. ”Can’t…. Be….?” Miho would ask as her mind raced through the embarrassment and anger. That damned Chuku. The girl would release her sensei as she clenched her fists at her sides listening to his complaints. She had the perfect solution for this.

Miho would smile deviously as she looked up at Hayate with an expression of sadness. ”Forgive me, sensei! I swear I didn’t mean your lunch any harm! But you know it was really all Chuku’s fault that I was in such a rush. He’s in the closet and he said he’ll pay double price for your food! Shichiro and I were just going to… prepare. Yeah. COME
ON, Shichiro!” Miho would say with a nervous laugh before taking off in the opposite direction of the angry teacher. If Shichiro was smart, he would follow along and leave their classmate for bait. He was used to it, after all.

(Exit)