'Hi Go Away! Nice to meet you! ' Yuuji chirps, utterly clueless. 'Your sandcastle is cool. Can I help you build it? '

Maki blinks. Is this kid for real? 'No. '

'Cool! ' Yuuji plops down beside her. Somehow, his shoes are full of sand already, and he 's only been here for about six seconds. There 's another shovel about half a meter away from him, but he doesn 't even

glance

at it and instead goes straight to plowing through the sand with his bare hands.

Frowning, 'Didn 't you hear me? I said no, ' she repeats.

But Yuuji doesn 't seem like he 's listening anymore. Instead, he 's forming the damp sand into shapeless little lumps, weirdly focused.

Ugh. Maki sighs. If it 's one thing men have, it 's the

audacity.

'Did you just move here too? ' Yuuji asks after a minute or so, one eye glued to the sand and one bugging out to glance at her. Maki didn 't think that was biologically possible until now, and she would 've been perfectly content living her whole life still holding that belief.

It 's actually been a few weeks since she and Toji settled in, but she doesn 't really feel like elaborating. 'Sure. '

'Awesome! Me too! ' he exclaims, eyes brightening significantly. 'My grandpa and I used to live in Sendai, but the doctors said he could get better hospital treatment here. I kinda miss my old home and friends, but I 'm okay with it if it means he can get better! '

Okay, so he 's not a

terrible

person, but other than Toji, Maki feels like her bar for that is depressingly low. 'That 's nice, ' she replies, for lack of a better response.

Fortunately, Yuuji seems accustomed to mostly one-sided conversations. 'Yup! It 's really pretty here! I like the river and all the trees. I saw a really big fish jump out of the water the other day. It was as big as a dog! Or a horse! Or even an elephant! '

Maki quirks an eyebrow. There 's so much sand in his shoes now that he could probably build another two sandcastles out of their contents alone. 'That 's nice, ' she says again.

He jabs a stick into his sandcastle. Half of it crumbles. He doesn 't seem to notice. 'Do you live close to the river too? '

Maki nods. 'Pretty much right next to it, ' she says, and then because other than the invasion of personal space he doesn 't seem all that bad, she adds, 'There 's a family of ducks that lives across the street from me. They 're pretty cute. '

'Whoa! That 's amazing! I love ducks. All animals, really. And bugs! Do you like bugs? '

Bugs? Maki pauses. 'I don 't...hate them? '

'Cool! I found a really weird bug last week. It took up my whole hand and it was covered in black and white spots! And it had four wings! I tried to show it to my grandpa, but he didn 't like it, so he made me put it outside. '

There 's no way this kid 's grandfather is anything close to the monsters she grew up with, but the statement is enough like her father scolding her for climbing trees to make her guts twist with familiarity for a moment. 'That sucks, ' she replies.

'It 's alright! ' he says, and it seems honest enough that Maki 's worries are dispelled. 'I 'm sure I 'll find another one. Hey, maybe sometime we can-- '

'Itadori-kun! ' some kid calls, padding over to the two of them. He glances at Maki. 'And um '? '

She 's still using Yuki 's last name for school, but it probably wouldn 't feel right to be called it out loud. 'Maki. '

The boy smiles at them. 'Maki-chan and Itadori-kun! Do you guys wanna play tag with us? '

It 's probably perfectly normal, but actually being

invited

to participate still makes something ache in her chest. 'Sure, ' she agrees, at the same time Yuuji springs up and says, 'Yeah! '

'Okay! Follow me, we 're by the field! '

Maki shoves to her feet and carefully steps over her sandcastle to avoid squishing it. Yuuji isn 't nearly as careful with his, but he does stop himself at the last second before accidentally stepping on hers. Weird.

The two of them trail after their classmate towards the clump of children concentrated at the near end of the field. Maki gulps. She 's familiar with the

concept

of tag, but the closest she ever came to playing it was Naoya chasing her around the compound with his blazingly fast speed. Not exactly fun. Well, at least not for

her.

'Who wants to be 'it ' first? '

That 's the one who does the chasing, right? Annoying that she actually

learned

something from her asshole cousin. 'I can do it, ' she offers.

'Awesome, thanks! ' a girl replies. Maki should really learn their names at some point. 'Okay, three, two, one...go! '

The kids bolt off in a firework of directions, tearing across the schoolyard as fast as their pudgy little legs will carry them. Maki already knows she could outrun any of her classmates in her sleep with her legs bound together, but she 's not about to make them dislike her already. She has the full intention to at least wait a few seconds before she gives chase, until something else commands her attention.

Or rather, some

one.

Yuuji?!

He launches off like a rocketship, so fast Maki swears she sees sparks literally kick up behind his heels. Chunks of grass uproot from the force of his footsteps, crushed blades and clots of mud streaming behind him in a flurry like a trail of fire. He reaches the seam between the sooty edge of the field and the splintered wood chips of the playground in less than three seconds, and it flips a switch inside Maki that can only be described as instincts.

She can 't help it. She follows.

Maki tears off in his direction, the cheerful shouts of the other children dying out around her as her focus narrows to a single point. The wind force of her own sprinting far outspeeds the gentle midmorning breeze blowing around her, whipping back her hair as sideswept bangs brush against the rim of her glasses. She just barely slows when she reaches the playground, her gait automatically adjusting to the new terrain as Yuuji scrambles up one of the slides. He whips his head around in surprise and something flashes across his eyes.

Something like companionship.

He doesn 't seem upset that someone is hot on his heels. Rather, he seems absolutely thrilled.

He lets out an exuberant laugh as he leaps up to grab hold of the monkey bars, twisting his body up and around them with a charge of strength to land atop the rungs with a metallic thunk. Maki grabs hold of the colorful pillar and swings herself around it, ignoring the slight burn in her hands from the friction as she gathers the momentum to pitch herself up across from him. She surges off the bars and pretends not to notice the way one of them dents a bit from the reverse pressure. Yuuji soars back towards the black and yellow platform and prepares to take off again -- but not quite quickly enough to escape Maki 's fingertips brushing the tip of his elbow. Yuuji whirls around.

'Wow! No one 's ever been able to catch me before! ' he exclaims, and a toothy smile dawns across his face like the first rays of sunlight after a long and lonely winter. 'I 'm it now, so you better start running! '

And so she does. It 's almost funny that her training with Toji kicks in now, as she backflips off the top of a slide and flashes Yuuji a bright smile that 's just a little bit crazed from where she hangs upside down in the air for a fraction of a second. Wooden dust clouds up beneath her toes when she impacts the ground, and she 's just barely quick enough to spin on her ankles before Yuuji 's right behind her.

He has about as much grace as a tiger cub stuck in a sock but his movements are

fluid,

continuous. Complete lack of order is a technique in itself. Not a very reliable one, but this kid makes it work for him. He finally catches up with her somewhere around the middle of the field, and she hadn 't even noticed she was laughing until his hand impacts her back and it ricochets off the giggles shaking her chest.

Maki almost feels bad that the two of them are virtually ignoring the rest of their classmates to chase after each other --

almost.

She 'd have felt worse if she couldn 't hear the other kids cheering them on from the sidelines, equally split between who they each want to win. The recess bell finally rings, so Maki and Yuuji topple down beside each other in the grass as they catch their breath.

'Wow! ' Yuuji says through gasps of air. 'That was so much fun! You 're so cool! '

Uh,

what?

Maki 's breath hitches. 'You think I 'm...cool? '

'Of course I think you 're cool! ' Yuuji says as he bounces back to his feet, energy already restored. 'You were like...zoom! And whoosh! And fwah! I 've never seen anything like it! '

Her energy returned as quickly as his did, but now she feels winded for an entirely different reason.

Cool?

Her family always looked at her as if she were mud tracked inside of the house, an irritating gnat they wanted to swat into a wall. They never hesitated to tell her as much, trying to break her iron resolve, waiting for the day she 'd crumple like tinfoil. The only person to ever say otherwise was Toji.

It isn 't long before the other kids crowd them, echoing excited sentiments similar to Yuuji 's. 'You were like Spiderman! ' one kid tells her, and Maki doesn 't really know who that is, but he 's looking at her like she 's some sort of superhero. 'Are you guys related? ' another girl asks.

Yuuji and Maki exchange glances and shake their heads, but they're smiling at each other. One of the teachers hollers at the cluster of children to come back to class, so they all rush back to the school building. Yuuji taps Maki on the shoulder.

'We should sit together! ' he suggests. 'What grade are you in? '

'Second, ' Maki replies.

'I 'm in first! ' answers Yuuji. It 's a small enough school that their classes are taught together, with a slight increase in difficulty between her studies and his.

'Okay, ' Maki agrees. The two of them scurry back to the classroom and settle into desks near the back of the class.

It 's a good thing Maki already knows this material too, because she can hardly focus at all for the rest of the day. Cool.

Her.

She wonders if Toji will know who Spiderman is. She doodles a little spider in the corner of her worksheet, penned black spirals trailing out in a meandering web. She 's about to start trying to answer the problems before Yuuji leans over and points a figure at the inky arachnid.

'You should draw two, ' he says. Maki looks up.

'Why? '

'So the spider isn 't lonely! ' Yuuji replies. 'Uh...sorry for bothering you in the sand earlier, by the way. But you looked lonely, so I wanted to keep you company. '

Maki tries to draw up a response to that, but she finds herself at a complete loss for words. 'Thanks, ' she eventually replies, in a voice barely above a whisper. 'That was nice of you. '

'Of course! ' he chirps. 'We should have a playdate sometime! '

'A playdate? ' she repeats.

'Yeah! A playdate! We can hang out and do fun stuff together! You know, like jumping around in the mud and climbing trees! '

At his words, Maki 's breath snags in her throat. 'You like...climbing trees? '

'Yeah! I love it! ' Yuuji exclaims. 'There was this really big tree by my house where I used to live. It was as big as a house! Or a mountain! And there were hundreds--no,

thousands

--of branches, it was like a big maze in the sky! Each time I went up was a different adventure! ' He leans forwards onto his desk. 'Do you like adventures too? '

'Um-- ' Maki stumbles. 'Probably? '

'Awesome! ' Yuuji replies. 'Let 's go on adventures together! '

'Together? '

Maki breathes.

Yuuji nods. 'Together. '

The school day ends a few hours later and the two of them part ways, agreeing to ask their respective guardians when it would be alright to have a playdate. Maki knows Toji won 't make a fuss, but she doesn 't want to put any pressure on Yuuji. She strolls through the maze of the streets at a leisurely pace, letting her gaze wander between the mom-and-pop shops and various cafes in a mismatched rainbow of pastel colors. She hops up the staircase to her and Toji 's apartment with a spring in her step and lets herself inside. Toji forgot to lock the door, which is kind of typical.

When she peeks in, he 's lounging languidly on the couch like an alley cat while taking a long swig of beer, but when he catches sight of her, he sputters and leaps to his feet. 'Hey, kiddo, ' he greets, in a tone too strained to pass off as casual. There 's a faint pink smudge on his cheek that looks like it could be wiped-off blood, but Maki 's thoughts don 't linger on it. ' 'How was your first day of school? '

'Good, ' she replies, then she adds with a devious smirk, 'You were right. I made a friend. '

Toji lets out an embarrassing little squeak he tries and fails to cover up with a cough. 'O-Oh, ' he chokes. 'That 's real nice. What 're they like? '

'I 'll tell you more later, ' she promises. It was a good day, but it tired her out in a way that none of her training sessions with Toji have. Maybe her social energy needs improvement? 'I 'm gonna go relax in my room for a while. '

'Right, right. Well, sure. I 'll be here. Just chillin '. So come on out whenever, okay? No rush. '

His concern is almost as sweet as it is hilarious. 'Okay, see you in a bit. ' Then she pads off into her room.

A few moments later she hears him talking excitedly to someone over the phone, and she can 't help the smile that spreads across her face when she flops onto her bed.

The rest of the week goes on without a hitch. Maki never realized that popularity in elementary school was based on which kids can run the fastest and jump the highest, so she and Yuuji are the undisputed king and queen of the playground; Yuuji takes quickly to wearing a bucket as a crown, and Maki wields a plastic shovel as a scepter. Still, thanks to Toji, she 's got a better handle on her superhuman strength than he does -- she watched him try to play on the seesaw with another first-grader once, and he accidentally launched the kid clear into the sky. Maki laughed so hard she thinks she busted a blood vessel.

Thursday arrives and Yuuji tells her he has the all-clear to come over to her place for a playdate the next day. Maki spends the entire evening tidying up with Toji 's help, although he still sorta sucks at that kind of thing. He probably just wasn 't paying attention, but he ended up putting the jar of bleach in the fridge and the carton of milk in the cleaning cabinet.

That

would 've made for an interesting breakfast. Part of her wonders if he 'd have even noticed the difference in his cereal. She tries to picture it and has to stifle a laugh.

When the school bell rings on Friday afternoon, Yuuji yanks his backpack out of the cubbies and darts back to Maki 's side in a flash, bouncing up and down on his toes like a baby kangaroo. 'I 'm so excited! ' he says with a wide grin. He 's missing a small tooth on the left side of his mouth. 'This is my first playdate since moving here! What about you? '

This is my first playdate ever

, she almost says. But instead she replies, 'Yeah, me too. '

The two of them walk home at the speed of an average adult 's jogging pace -- although, they make many stops for Yuuji to pause and comment on the scenery, taking audible note of little flowers peeking out through the cracks in the sidewalk, mouth-watering pastries in the windows of a bakery, even a graffiti mural of a rabbit on the side of an old house. 'Bunnies are my favorite! ' he says, although he 's said that about most animals they 've talked about so far.

When they arrive at Maki 's apartment to put their backpacks inside, Toji 's propped up against the counter, staring off into space. Maki 's been around him enough to become accustomed to his picture-perfect nonchalance -- and if it weren't for all their time together, she might not notice the stiffness in his shoulders, the tension in his back. He 's swapped out his usual beer for a bottle of apple juice, and when he takes a sip, he pulls a face and glares at it like it 's insulted him, as if he 's never had the beverage before until now. Wouldn 't surprise her if that was true.

'Hey, kids, ' he greets, turning his attention towards them. 'Nice to meet ya, Itadori-kun. I 'm Toji, Maki 's dad. '

Maki 's never heard him use an honorific before, literally ever. It almost sounds weird coming out of his mouth. He must

really

be nervous for her. Yuuji pads over and waves his hand excitedly.

'Thanks for having me over! It 's nice to meet you too, Tsukumo-san! '

'Whoa,

okay. ' Toji tenses up. 'J-Just Toji is fine, ' he finally chokes out, looking weirdly flustered. What the heck?

'Okay, Toji-san! '

'Just

Toji. '

'Okay, Toji-ji! '

'Oi, I said

just-- '

Toji cuts himself off with a sigh. 'Whatever. You 're my daughter 's first friend, call me whatever you want. '

Maki colors, embarrassed. Why would he

admit

something like that out loud?! 'Toji! ' she whines.

He seems to realize his complete lack of tact a moment later. 'Fu--uh,

whoops.

Sorry. '

At least he tried to curb his language around Yuuji. Maki has the restraint to avoid cursing in class, but Yuuji 's got the attention span of a walnut.

Fortunately, Yuuji doesn 't seem to notice. 'Maki isn 't my friend, ' he says, and Toji looks like he 's about to throw hands with a six year old, before he corrects, 'She 's my

best

friend! '

Toji 's eye twitches and Maki can tell his cheeks are straining to hold back a smile. 'Cool, ' he stutters, looking like he thinks this is the best day of his life other than the one he found her. 'You guys want anythin ' to eat or drink? We 've got some snacks and shi--

stuff

in the fridge. '

'I 'm okay for now, but thank you for offering! ' Yuuji says politely, resting his bag on the floor by the entryway. 'What do you wanna do today, Maki-chan? '

She decides to take a page out of Toji 's book. 'Just Maki is fine. '

'Okay! Then just Yuuji is fine for me too! ' he replies.

Well. Maki doesn 't really know what one is supposed to do on a playdate, other than what the name itself implies. 'What do

you

wanna do? ' she asks instead.

'Hmm...maybe we can play by the river? ' Yuuji suggests.

Maki nods. 'That could be fun. '

'Awesome! ' He turns towards Toji. 'Is it okay if we do that? '

Toji looks like he 'd let them murder someone and help bury the body. 'Yeah, sure. Just holler if ya need anything, I 'll be around. '

They wave to him again and head out towards the riverbank. It 's not far, only a couple minutes away and even less when they race each other there. Maki wins by only a hair 's width.

'It 's so pretty here! ' Yuuji pounces around on the damp grass beneath the shade of a bushy tree. He plops right down in the mud with zero hesitation, dirt speckling his white and navy-blue uniform. His signature hoodie is off today since the weather is nice and warm. 'Look at that boat over there! I 've always wanted to go on a boat. Have you ever been on a boat? '

It dawns on her then that she 'd never even seen a river in person before she moved here.

Man, that 's kinda sad.

'I haven 't either. '

Yuuji doesn 't seem dejected by that. Instead, his expression brightens. 'Maybe we should go together sometime! '

Shrugging, 'I guess it would be possible. I heard they rent out canoes a bit further down the Arakawa. I bet Toji would take us if we asked him. '

'Yay! ' Yuuji tosses up some grass in delight. 'By the way, why do you call your dad by his first name? '

'Because he 's not my real father, '

swirls in the back of her throat, but the words die long before they can reach her tongue. Because even if he isn 't her real father, she

wishes

he were, with every fiber of her tiny being -- so can 't she have this?

Can 't

she? 'I dunno, ' she mumbles. 'Guess I just kinda do. '

'That makes sense! ' Yuuji says, even though her answer wasn 't really an answer at all.

'What do you call your parents? ' Maki asks.

'My mommy and daddy are both in heaven! ' Yuuji replies, with a smile different to the ones he 's shown her before. 'But it 's okay! I live with my grandpa and he takes care of me. He said that heaven is a really nice place, so I shouldn 't worry, because they 're both really happy up there. '

His answer hits Maki like a bucket of concrete. Guilt takes a bite out of her heart for every time she 's wished the same fate on her actual father, if she thought he 'd be going to the same place Yuuji 's parents did when he eventually bites the dust. 'Oh, I 'm sorry, ' she says in a small voice.

'It 's alright. I don 't really remember them, but I still kinda miss them. But my grandpa is kind to me! He 's in the hospital a lot though, so I 've gotten pretty good at cooking my own dinner. And I can do the laundry all by myself now! '

How can he

say

all that with a smile? It 's shocking how independent they both are, in equally heartbreaking ways. They 're more similar than she 'd ever have thought, but she can 't decide if that 's a good or a bad thing. 'I can too, ' she says. 'Toji 's not great at cooking or laundry, so I 'm trying to teach him. He 's getting better. Uh, slowly. ' She tells Yuuji about the milk-bleach mixup, and Yuuji erupts into a fit of giggles Maki can 't help but reciprocate. When their laughter dies down, Yuuji turns his attention to the long grass they 're sitting in.

'Have you ever made grass dolls before? ' he asks her.

It 's getting kinda depressing how many of his questions she 's answering

'no '

to, but Yuuji doesn 't seem judgmental in the slightest. 'How do you make them? '

'Let 's do it together! ' he says, ripping out a handful of grass and letting the blades fall into his lap. He bunches them together with surprising technique and begins wrapping a longer reed around the joints. 'Grass dolls are great for playing pretend. You can make them into whoever you want and come up with stories with your friends! '

Maki tentatively watches his example and does her best to follow. Her first attempt is a little shoddy, but it 's not

entirely

a failure. She 's heard Toji mumble

'whatever, close enough '

so many times that it 's part of her own vocabulary by now. 'What kinds of stories do you usually come up with? '

'I like action and superhero stories! ' Yuuji answers. 'You can come up with super awesome fight scenes and scary villains and people who save the day! '

Really?

Maki brightens. 'I love action stories too! ' she agrees. She finishes tying the joints on her doll a couple minutes after Yuuji does. 'I like when the hero no one expects to win swoops in and saves the day. '

Yeah, she might be projecting a little with that one. If he notices, Yuuji doesn 't comment. 'Do you have a favorite superhero? '

Maki pauses. She 's seen a lot of movies but never pays much attention to the titles or names of the characters. There 's that Spiderman someone said she was like, but Maki forgot to look him up. 'I don 't know, ' she says softly, then a moment later she adds, 'Toji is pretty cool, though. '

Softly, Yuuji grins at her. 'You must really look up to your dad, huh? '

To confirm, Maki nods. 'Yeah, ' she murmurs, smiling to herself. 'I do. '

'That 's awesome! ' Yuuji finishes another doll and places it by the first one. 'Let 's start a story together! I like to give my characters cool powers. Like being able to fly or breathe fire! Or have the power to talk to animals and blend into the darkness! '

'Like Ten Shadows? ' she says instinctively, then she clamps her jaw shut with an uncomfortable clack, biting down on her tongue until she tastes iron.

Yuuji cocks his head inquisitively. 'Huh? '

'Um--nothing, ' she backtracks. 'Yeah, that sounds fun. I think it 's fine when heroes don 't have any special powers too, though. '

'I agree, ' Yuuji replies, thankfully moving on from her slip of the tongue. 'But it 's still fun to think about stuff like that. It would be so exciting if magical powers were real, right? '

They are,

she says to herself.

But not in the way you think.

And she has yet to meet a sorcerer who 's anything

close

to a hero.

She hopes Yuuji never finds out about any of it. She 'd never want him to be dragged into that world. Somehow, despite what he 's been through, Yuuji has the personality of sunshine, piercing through stormclouds like a ray of hope. Even if Toji can 't remember whatever life he had with the Zen 'in clan, its aftereffects still mar his outlook long after his memory has failed him, leaving him jaded and sardonic. And as for Maki?

Sometimes Maki feels like those stormclouds Yuuji has to push past in order to shine.

'Yeah, ' she mumbles. 'I guess. '

Yuuji looks a little concerned, and it 's kinda sweet that his automatic reaction is to try to cheer her up. 'That 's what playing pretend is for! ' he says, giving her one of his dolls. Somehow, he 's already made four, which is honestly impressive. 'Yours can be your dad, and you can have one of mine too! '

'Thanks, ' Maki says as she accepts the doll. Her mood lifts a little just from how much she can see that Yuuji wants it to. 'Let 's get started! '

They end up starting a story about a ragtag group of heroes who band together with their mismatched powers to fight a big group of villains that tried to cast them aside. The main antagonist is an evil old man who can light his weapons on fire -- yeah, no need to guess who served as

that

inspiration, but Yuuji is none the wiser and Maki prefers it that way. Feels more satisfying than she can put into words to have her Toji doll stomp Ogi 's face into the dirt. She might get a little

too

into that, but Yuuji matches her energy and they fashion more dolls as needed, adding characters to their epic tale.

When the blanket of dusk begins its descent upon the Arakawa, Yuuji ruefully informs her that he 'd promised his grandfather he 'd be home by dinner, so they decide to pause their story and continue another time. Maki 's heart swells when he extends the offer and says how much fun he had playing with her, and they agree to try to hang out again in a few days. She bids him farewell and watches him skip down the sidewalk back towards his home, watching until his silhouette disappears into the twilight.

Maki flits back to her room and puts her dolls in the desk drawer. She pauses right before she 's about to close it, reaches a hand in, then puts the Toji doll on her nightstand instead.

She and Yuuji spend a lot of time together after that. He often stops by after school to continue their story and play by the river, frolicking around in the mud of the riverbank and chasing each other up trees like a pair of lemurs. They often tire themselves out like that, until they 're out of breath and their stomachs are rumbling; the first time Yuuji stays for dinner, Maki scrounges up the ingredients to cook vegetable tempura and Yuuji asks with delight if she can teach him how to make it too. She agrees eagerly and Toji offers to take them to the grocery store together, which Maki thinks he does half because he loves her and half because he still can barely cook anything above ramen for himself. Hey, learning to be a chef is an uphill battle.

It 's not until the third time Maki visits Yuuji 's apartment that his grandfather is actually home instead of at the hospital. He 's not an unkind person, but he 's not exactly warm, either. He looks at Yuuji as if he 's seeing someone else in his grandson, and Maki isn 't sure that Yuuji picks up on it. But Wasuke seems to care for him, even if he isn 't great at showing it, and he offers Maki a grunt of thanks for being Yuuji 's friend.

Still, they 're at or near her place far more often than they 're at his. Yuuji teaches her how to make flower crowns and Maki shows him how to cook traditional dishes -- much to Toji 's delight, as their official taste-tester.

Yuki stops by one night, after Maki and Yuuji have finished a chilled soba noodle dish.

'Oh hey, ' she greets as she wanders through the door, as if she 's stumbled upon them by accident and not because Toji was furiously texting her from his barely concealed hiding place while they were cooking, because he 's totally lame and she 's his only friend. Girlfriend? Maki still isn 't sure. 'You must be Yuuji! Toji 's told me a lot about you. I 'm Yuki Tsukumo! '

Yuuji 's eyes widen. 'Tsukumo? ' he repeats. 'Nice to meet you, Maki 's mom! '

Oh, dang. Yuki 's jaw drops. Maki 's breath hitches. Toji trips on -- air, or something. He almost face-plants into a wall. Missed opportunity, that would 've been pretty funny. 'Uh, ' Yuki begins eloquently. Her eyes meet Toji 's with a frantic expression, but he just shrugs at her as if to say,

'you 're on your own with this one, lady. '

Yuki clears her throat. 'Something like that? '

'Cool! ' Yuuji chirps back, clueless. 'I was wondering when I 'd finally get to say hi to you! '

Yuki blinks at him owlishly. 'Sorry, I--I go on business trips a lot? ' she responds, with a cadence more like a question than an answer.

'Whoa, you travel? ' Yuuji replies, eyes sparkling. 'Where? '

'The whole world, really, ' she replies, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. She crouches down to meet his gaze with a mischievous glint in her eyes. 'You seem like the adventuring type, aren 't ya? ' She taps once on his chest. 'Takes a lot of heart to be an adventurer. You seem like you 've got what it takes, though. I can always tell when I meet someone. What kind of-- ' she pauses, as if rewriting her following statement. 'What kind of things do you want to do with your life? '

'I want to help people! ' Yuuji says earnestly. 'I 'm not sure how yet, but I know I want to do something like that. Maybe I could be a firefighter or a lifeguard! Or an EMT! '

Yuki chuckles and ruffles his hair. 'Yep, I was right, ' she says softly. 'You 've got the makings of greatness in ya. The

why

comes first, the

how

can come after. You don 't have to have anything figured out just yet -- don 't try to grow up too fast, because there 's a lot you can only learn by being a kid. But if you 're confident in who you are and stick to your convictions, that heart of yours can take you anywhere. ' She stands back up casually, as if she hasn 't just dropped a metric ton of wisdom onto Yuuji 's unsuspecting chest. 'Hey, something smells good. '

It takes a moment for Yuuji to snap back to reality, but he does so with an extra spring in his step. 'Yep! Maki and I made soba. We 'll get you some! ' He grabs Maki 's hand and drags her over to the countertop to plate the meal. When they 're both behind the counter, he whispers excitedly, 'Wow! Your mom is totally amazing! '

Carefully, Maki glances over at Yuki. She and Toji are smiling while whispering to each other with a look in their eyes Maki can 't quite name, other than that it makes her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 'Yeah, ' she says breathlessly. Might as well go along with it, right? 'I guess she is. '

After dinner while Yuuji and Maki are cleaning up, Yuki withdraws a light-colored canvas bag from her purse and plants it into Toji 's lap. It makes a faint metallic thunk muffled by some sort of tissue paper; it seems heavy. He peers into it and raises an eyebrow.

'The hell is this? '

he whispers under his breath. Maki has to strain to hear him over the sound of running dishwater.

'Kept this around for ya after Gojo kicked your ass, '

she murmurs with an affectionate grin.

'Took a while to fix it up. You 're welcome for that, by the way. '

Maki blinks.

Gojo?

Toji looks equal parts concerned and confused.

'How the fuck do I even use it? '

he replies.

Again, Maki glances at Yuki from the corners of her eyes. She 's still smiling at him softly.

'I 'm sure you 'll figure it out when the time comes. '

Yuki stops by more often after that. Somehow they end up falling into a weekly storytime tradition where the four of them will cook dinner and feast together out by the river, Yuki sharing wild tales of her travels with theatrical style. Yuuji always hangs onto her every breath as if he 'll suffocate without them, like her words fill in his blank map of the world with brilliant splashes of vivid colors. He and Maki will often stay up late after that, adding onto her stories with their own imaginations.

That 's another thing she picks up from Yuuji: how to dream.

Other than the freakish strength, they 're really nothing alike -- where Maki is calm and collected, Yuuji is like a jumping bean in a microwave. Maki aces all of her tests and Yuuji tears up when the teacher calls him up to the board to answer

'3 + 4. '

Maki tries to hold up her hands to tell him the answer, but he just draws a picture of her on the whiteboard instead. And not a very good one.

But that doesn 't stop them from spending every second they can together.

Inseparable

is the word she overhears a few of the teachers using, and Maki kind of loves it. If either one of them is out of sight, it becomes common knowledge around the school to just ask the other. Yuuji 's not great at reading yet but he has lots of books, so she 'll often read them out loud to him while he acts them out with their grass dolls, drawing pictures into the riverbed with little branches.

When winter finally arrives, snow blankets their town in delicate crystals, and the air takes on a crisp edge like pine needles and white linen. Every breath tastes fresh as the chill nips at Maki 's tongue, flushing her nose and the tips of her ears a subtle raw pink. Yuuji runs like a fan in the dead of summer, his body consistently the temperature of a hot coal furnace. He only wears his heavy winter clothing if Maki nags him to. It 's a symbiotic friendship.

'Have you ever had a snowball fight? ' Yuuji asks her one day after school, while they 're relaxing indoors over two cups of hot cocoa. Yuuji 's mug is more marshmallow than chocolate by a comical amount.

Maki shakes her head. 'I haven 't, ' she replies. 'But it sounds pretty self-explanatory. '

Yuuji perks up. 'Yeah, but knowing what something

is

and actually

doing

it are two totally different things! ' he says, shoveling a half-melted marshmallow into his mouth. It smears all over the side of his face. 'We should go have a snowball fight! '

Quirking an eyebrow, 'Right now? '

'Right now! '

He doesn 't need to ask twice. They slam down their mugs in perfect sync and bolt out the door, racing each other down to the riverbed. The Arakawa isn 't entirely frozen over where she lives, but it 's chilled enough that slabs of ice mixed with wilted plant matter bob up and down in the waves like buoys. Maki watches as Yuuji skids across the snow and swoops low to the ground, scraping up a fistful of slush and compacting it together with his hand in one fluid motion. Before Maki can imitate, he hurls it at her with full power until it collides with her jacket in a powdery blast.

Maki laughs when the ice sticks in her hair. 'Oh, it is

so

on! '

With the two of them locked in a snowy battle, the calm riverbed quickly turns into a winter warzone. With their equal strength, neither of them have to hold back on each other -- Maki throws with force that could knock out an elephant and Yuuji reciprocates with flings that could take down a truck. Eventually Yuuji rips off a branch from a dead tree and uses it like a baseball bat to decimate her snowballs, so Maki pulverizes a nearby rock to use as a shield. When they 're both exhausted, they flop down beside each other in the snow, now tainted with a smattering of twigs and pebbles.

'Lemme show you how to make a snow angel, ' he exhales, and starts flapping his arms and legs gracelessly until his hazy outline marks the crushed ice. Maki follows and discovers that his complete lack of technique is actually the proper way to do this.

'Why don 't we make a snowman? ' Maki says as they admire their handiwork. Yuuji responds by gathering up as much snow as his little arms can carry until they 're trying to outdo each other again, forming balls of snow that weigh far more than both of them combined. Height becomes more of an issue than upper body strength, so Maki stands on Yuuji 's shoulders as they hoist the snowman 's parts together. Maki scrounges up some pebbles to form eyes and a mouth and Yuuji sticks on a twig for a nose. They stare at it contentedly for a moment before Yuuji flits back to pick up another stick and uses it to slash a scar onto the right side of the snowman 's mouth.

'There, it 's perfect! ' he declares proudly. 'Now it looks like your dad! '

Yuuji and Maki both crack up at that, and they laugh even harder when they get home and Toji gives them a weird look and says, 'Oi, what 's so funny?! '

-----------------------

Toji never really thought he would give a shit about a kid that isn 't his own, but he 's gotta admit that Yuuji is pretty damn adorable.

First of all, he 's pretty sure the guy is made of pure energy, from how he 's always bouncing off the walls like a pinball machine. The only time he isn 't smiling is when he 's stuffing his face with food, and even then he always talks straight through his meals between mouthfuls of rice. The kid 's got a heart of gold so bright it shines straight through his eyes, lighting up any room he wanders into like a ray of the sun. He thinks the world of Maki, and Maki thinks the world of him. Toji 's never seen her act her age more than when she 's with him, and he knows that Yuuji is the reason why she 's finally started opening up more and exploring what it means to truly have a normal childhood.

So not to be dramatic or anything, but Toji would literally kill for this kid.

That said, he makes Toji look like a world-class genius. He 'd beaten Maki home one day while Toji was still drenched in blood from his day 's work, and if the kid were anyone else on the planet, he never would 've gotten away with saying it was ketchup. Sure didn 't

smell

like ketchup. He 'd made the kids burgers that night just in case Yuuji tattled on him about it. Fortunately, Yuuji 's no snitch. Toji likes that in a person.

Yuuji is over at his and Maki 's apartment after school more often than not, and he sleeps over at least once almost every weekend. His grandfather is an okay guy -- bit of a crotchety old man, but he has mostly good intentions. Toji 's gut instincts say he 's hiding something, but he 's not gonna push it. Wasuke 's kind enough to pitch in on food Toji gets for the kids, and the few times Maki sleeps over at Yuuji 's place, he always makes sure to give Toji a call to let him know she 's doing fine.

Yuki is around more often, which is--nice. She 's good company, okay? No one can blame him for appreciating that. His job is still shitty and he 's constantly almost broke, but for the first time, he can confidently say that he 's...

happy.

When the kids get out of school for winter break, some combination of the four of them is almost always around the house, which means Toji is pretty much never lonely. So yeah, what a long way he 's come from waking up naked and half-dead on a surgical table.

And then, because Toji 's life can never be too good for too long, something comes along and shatters his peace like a wrecking ball, just two weeks before Christmas. It 's an almost moonless night, when all the wolves of the mountains have gone into hiding, having nothing at which to howl. There is absolutely no warning -- just the front door of his and Maki 's apartment ripped clean off its hinges, clamoring first against the metal staircase and then onto the snow-covered ground below.

'Yo, ' an airy voice says from behind him, and Toji 's stomach drops through the bottom of his foot. 'Long time no see. '

Toji turns around. Icy blue eyes pierce straight through his soul from behind a fan of white lashes and black sunglasses.

'For real? '