The great thing about being a quiet, well mannered child is that you are gifted certain privileges pretty early on. Though I was only four, I was allowed to explore the campus as I pleased. I wasn't exactly the age for school yet, and everyone around this place was pretty busy, so those also contributed to my freedom.

The only places I was instructed not to go were either the offices of higher ups or the spaces reserved specifically for the students of Jujutsu High, who weren't here at the moment. That unfortunately left me with primarily the outdoors to explore. And I was cold.

"What are you doing in here, troublemaker~?" The white, or pale blue, haired lady from that meeting caught me sitting in one of the hallways outside the classrooms. I had just been snooping around when I decided to sit down, take my shoes off, and warm my frigid feet by rubbing them. I stood rather quickly as the woman approached, eyes shifting this way and that for a place to hide. The woman held a finger over her lips and shh'ed me softly. "It's alright.. I won't tell anyone you were here." I bowed to the woman for her kindness. "Just came here to make sure all the supplies I need is where I left it. Hate having to buy more materials." After sliding one of the classroom doors open and peeking her head in, she stopped and turned back to me. "...Say~ You have two strong arms.. Mind helping me out a bit? I forgot to unpack some things, looks like." The thought of getting to help someone excited me. I stood up quickly, shed my big coat and left it by my shoes. I followed the woman into the classroom. Together, we dug through a bunch of boxes set out on the desks and chair for later sorting. I was given very few specific instructions other than to bring unsearched boxes to her and then close up and carry away those she had already looked through. After a while if this, I realized we weren't really unpacking anything. "Ah, here it is~" The woman extracted a long, thin paper from a box. I hurriedly glanced her way, as she rolled up and shoved the paper into her dress pocket. "Thanks for the help. I knew that receipt would be in here somewhere.."

"...Huh?" I stared up dumbly at the woman.

She strode toward the door, stopping on her way only to crouch to my level and pet my head. "How about we make an agreement, hm~? You don't tell anyone I was here, and I won't tell anyone you were here." I quickly realized that maybe this lady wasn't actually a teacher. I pursed my lips and nodded briskly. She rubbed my hair wild as she stood again. "Good girl~" And without saying another word, that woman slipped again into the shadows. Nervously, I shoved on my shoes and coat again. It was probably better to not think about what really happened here. That might just get me into even more trouble.

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

Outside again, I watched my breath fly past as I jogged to the sound of trickling water. I ended up finding a creek half frozen over. I jumped a few giddy hops in excitement, then followed the creek to its source. After some time, I came across a couple koi ponds interconnected, a couple bridges arching over the thin parts. I plucked the fuzzy limb of an old weed and crouched near the pond, sticking the fluffy end of the plant into the frigid water. Though I waited and waited and waited, not one fish came to even examine the potential snack. I pouted and threw my bait into the pond. Immediately after, giggling sounded from behind. I spun around.

There stood a young lady with long dark purple hair tied lazily into loose pigtails. She covered her smile. "The fish all go into hibernation at the bottom of the ponds in the winter. Sorry, but you won't get to see any of them until it gets a little warmer." I sulked some more and kicked at a rock. "I haven't seen you around before! Are you somebody's kid?" I shook my head. Then paused. If I wasn't someone's, she might think I broke in. It didn't take long for the teen to catch on to my worrisome expression. Overthinking my problems to their fullest like usual. "Um, what's your name?"

I dipped my chin and whispered. "..Zeya."

"Zeya...what?" Instead of answering, I looked to the far right, zoning out some to ease my stress. The girl saw how nervous I was being and placed a hand on her chest. "Well, I'm Utahime Iori. Are you lost? Do you want me to help you find your home?"

My hands grabbed each other as I backed up, almost falling into the water. The girl hurried to tug me away from the pond. Keeping one hand behind my back, the girl continued to guide me away from the hazard. "I'm a third year, so I know my way around this place pretty well! You sure you don't need anything?"

"M-m!" I shook my head and booked it out of there. Marshmallow on the move! I dashed away until I was out of sight. She could have easily followed me, but it looked like she had other things to do.

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

I entered the house and kicked off my shoes and threw my coat on the floor beside them. The sounds of clinking and clanking were coming from the kitchen, so I ran through the house to see what was up. As suspected, Yaga was busy cooking. The sound of my pattering feet drew his attention away from the pots and pan. He chuckled and smirked at my broad, transfixed eyes. "I thought you'd be hungry.. You've been outside all day." Without any response from me, the man returned to his work. I stood there impatiently waiting, then giddily jogged in place as he scooped the different foods onto a plate.

I reached my hands up for the plate, but he told me to wait a second. I would usually listen patiently, but the food smelled so good and I was SO hungry. I stomped my frustrations out into the floor as the man took the time to make himself a plate and carry the two dishes out of the kitchen. I stompily followed.

My caretaker set the plates down at the dining table and I, across from where the man sat himself, eagerly plopped onto one of the cushions to take my seat. I was handed my pair of training chopsticks and went to town on the vegetables section. Vegetables were a luxury growing up, especially ones this delicious! I scarfed down so much broccoli that I almost choked. Had to be told several times to slow down.

It was so quiet here. Mom usually turned on the TV while we ate, but there was no TV to be found in this place other than the man's bedroom. So the only sounds to fill my ears were of chewing and slurping noodles. Speaking of which, homemade ramen was SO MUCH BETTER than the cup noodle stuff!

I finished eating rather quickly and scooted my plate across the table, signaling that I wanted more. The man stood up and grabbed me seconds while I debated eating his while he was gone. I decided to be patient, waiting excitedly for more.

As he turned the corner, appearing with the new plate of food, the man spoke. "Winter break is ending, meaning more students will start to show up." He sat across from me again and handed over the fresh plate of food, which I promptly dug into, this time savoring the seasoned vegetables. "I'd suggest keeping your distance, especially from the first years."

"Mh." I hummed a little sound of understanding. I met a third year today, so, guess it was a good thing that I ended up running away. Teenagers were scary anyway. They're like adults with the minds of children, so I had no intention to get close to any of them. On the other hand, avoiding them outright would sure make me a lonely kid. I was never the most social at preschool, but I at least enjoyed interacting with kids my age from time to time. Whereas here, the only one close to my age was Panda, and he wasn't exactly interested in talking to or playing with me.

I pondered all of this even later that night as I prepared for bed... How was I ever going to make any friends?

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

I think he knew I was stalking him. Mr. Yaga, my caretaker. He kept looking over his shoulder, forcing me to jump into a bush or behind a corner. But I liked to tell myself I was just that good at hiding, he never noticed; even though he had in reality spotted me over a dozen times already. I followed him to the building I wasn't allowed to enter but had already been inside. Since school had started again, though, I really couldn't enter this time. So, instead I ran back to the house, grabbed my stool, and snuck around the outside, using said stool to help my prying eyes reach the windows. I checked just about every classroom before finally finding the one Mr. Yaga was in.

My fingers turned white with how tightly I pinched the windows' edges. Even standing on my toes, I was just barely tall enough to peer through the glass.

The room didn't look as full as a normal classroom. There were only three students! I mean. Guess the only time I had ever seen a school setting was on TV, but, like, weren't there supposed to be more?

Yaga stood at the head of the class, teaching like all teachers do. His three students sat at their desks with varrying levels of boredom portrayed through body language. One brown haired girl. One black haired boy, and another white haired boy. The white haired one had the least respectful posture out of them all. I took into question whether he was a really old man, but then remembered that one bright haired lady had a similarly odd condition. Not to mention the white haired boy had round sunglasses on. I think I heard about that disease once. Albertism, I think it was called. Poor boy, I hope he gets better soon... I heard that can cause blindness, or Pink Eye, I think.

As I stood there prying, the white haired one pointed me out to the others the moment their teacher had turned around. Soon they were all leaning backward or forward to catch a good look at me. I held my breath for a moment. Mr. Yaga turned around and finally caught on. "Zeya!" His muffled voice barked through the glass. I squeaked and fell backwards, off of my stool and onto my butt. A few seconds later, the window I'd been peering through pried open. "Are you hurt?"

"M-m!" I reassured, though I sat there rubbing my back and behind.

"Good. Now go back to the house before you get into even more trouble."

"Mh!" I hoisted myself to my feet, grabbed the stool, and ran off with it. Behind me, I could just barely hear the voices of some of the students tease or question the teacher about me, their voices shut out as the man closed the window again.

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

. . .

I was so B O R E D !

Had nothing to do. Panda had mastered the art of entertaining himself alone in his stuffy little room, but I just wasn't that kind of person. I wanted to explore! To go on adventures and see the world! To meet all kinds of people and learn all kinds of things! Now that I knew big scary ghosts were real, it was so tempting to run out there to try to find one! Now that I knew people with superpowers existed, I reallyreallyreallyreally wanted to meet some of them! But no! Instead, I was trapped inside this house doing nothing all day!

I covered the table in my sheets upon sheets of paper; on all the paper I drew ghosts and super powered beings as a form of coping in the meantime.

When Mr. Yaga arrived that evening, I didn't even acknowledge him. "What's all this?" He bent over the table and asked me, thankful I had drawn only on the paper and not the table itself. I almost drew on one of the walls that looked a lot like paper, but Panda has this sixth sense that always rats me out when I'm about to commit mischief, so he rushed my way and whapped me on the head. I learn what not to do pretty quickly while in his presence.

Yaga pointed at a paper with red scribbles all over it. "Is this..? Nevermind." It was of a demon eating a man alive. "Do you mind cleaning the table for dinner?"

"Mhm!" I was happy to scoot aside my masterpieces in exchange for a fine meal. Mr. Yaga always premade some sandwiches to leave here with me for lunch, but I just ate those right after he left -- even though I literally JUST had breakfast -- and went starving most of the day.

As the two of us sat there eating dinner, it was turning into another awkwardly silent meal until the man decided to speak. Clearing his throat first, "I know I told you not to interact with any of the students, but thanks to that little stunt you pulled, some of the first years have been asking about you nonstop for almost a month now." He clearly had one or two people in mind specifically. "It wouldn't hurt to bring you over there tomorrow so you can introduce yourself real quick. That sound alright with you?" I hesitantly nodded. Meeting teenagers was a little daunting, but as long as Mr. Yaga was there I should be fine. "Thanks."

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

When you're a little kid, you tend to obsess over the smallest of issues. Meeting the high schoolers was no exception. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but I had seen so many bullies in movies that I feared it would go down something like that. Not to mention, it's hard to tell a teenager apart from a grown-up when you're that young, meaning 'stranger danger' was somewhat involved. So, I orbited exceptionally close to my caretaker that morning on our way to the classroom.

Mr. Yaga pulled open the door, his large frame sliding through before me. "Class. Before we start, I want you to meet-- wait where is Satoru?"

"I'unno. Hasn't shown up yet." A young lady voice answered.

"T'hh.. It's only two minutes before class begins."

The teen rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair already. "Hey he's not my proble-- Wait is that her?!" Her torso swung forward the moment she saw me. I, only halfway through the door, jumped backwards and out of view. However, the teen girl seemingly teleported in the doorway, staring me down with a creepy, shadow-cast sort of smile. "Awwe, she's such a cutie! Your name is Zeya, right??" My feet shuffled around under me. My gaze met with the floor as beads of sweat formed on my skin.

"She seldomly speaks, so don't expect much out of her." The teacher stood there behind his student, meaning I was alone out here with nobody to cling to for support. Yaga noticed my freeze up and shoved the teen aside to reach me. He then offered his hand, which I took and allowed myself to be guided into the room. The teen with black hair was still seated at his desk. His head was tilted slightly, watching me curiously from afar. "Zeya, these two are Shoko Ieiri and Suguru Geto." He gestured first to the girl crouching beside me, then the boy at his desk.

Shoko leaned her whole body to get a better view of my face and poked my cheek curiously. "Hmm, she's not a Cursed Corpse.."

"No, she's all human." I stared up at the teacher. What was a cursed corpse?

"She yours?"

"I'm her designated caretaker until she graduates. Both of her biological parents are dead."

That seemed to satisfy the young lady. It was like all her excitement was suddenly drained out of her. Though keeping a calm, friendly smile, the teen stood and turned back for her seat. Everyone's attentions were pulled to the clock as it ticked the last few seconds before..

Tick.. tick.. tick..

"I'M HERE!"

チ-----! (Alarm sounds idk)

Less than a second before the alarm blared, the white haired teen slid down the hallway and stuck his head through the already open door. "Ahah! And without a minute to spare~" He waltzed right on in, three steps in finally noticing me so near and dear to the ground. His mouth flew wide open into a smile. "You actually brought her!!"

"Satoru, you need to take coming to class on time more seriously-"

"-What's your name!?" Crouching right in front of me and lowering his chin, the teen peered through his bangs at me with the bluest eyes I had ever seen! "It was something like Cherry, right??"

"Satoru!! Listen to me while I'm talking to you!"

"Alright! Alright! I heard you the first time!" The teen then reached out and planted his big hand on my head, messing up my hair by rubbing his fingers through it. I just stood there absolutely frozen. "So what's her secret, huh? It isn't often schools hide children on their campuses.. unless there's something no one ever cared to tell me."

"Gojo..." His teacher growled.

The playful one sprung to a stand again. "Okay I get it!. Don't need to expell me for asking a question." He nonchalantly moseyed back over to his desk and plunked himself down into the uncomfy seat.

Suddenly, the room was much quieter, and everyone's eyes were on me. I stood there stiff as a brick.

"Hh. Satoru, since you were late-"
"-was not!!"
"-I am going to let your classmates answer all the questions you have about our guest over lunch. Everyone, keep in mind that she scares easily and suffers from Selective Mutism at the moment. And as for why she is here, she's on track to become a Sorcerer someday and needed a place to stay... Zeya, you can go home now." I bowed politely to the teacher, before scampering off, away from here and to a place where I felt much safer.

I was so excited for all that to be over.

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

I ate my lunch too early again...

But, now knowing the teenagers weren't too bad, I built up the courage to sneak into the cafeteria and grab some lunch for myself. Hehehe~

I was doing pretty well so far. I purposefully staked the place out, watching the students inside through the window until all of them had cleared out. Then, I snuck in through a back door and skuttled to what was left at the little buffet table they had set up. The soupy pot of udon was still steaming. I could smell it from across the room..

Thwp-

Two bright blue eyes were suddenly less than a foot from mine. I shrieked and fell on my butt. The white haired teenager, still crouching low, started laughing aloud. He then turned his gaze to the hallway entrance. "See, Suguru, I told you the orphan was waiting to steal some food!" I scooted away until my back was pressed against a trash bin, already wide eyed and breathing heavily as I stared at the teenager ahead of me.

The black haired teen casually strolled into the room with his hands in his pockets, scrutinizing his friend with thinly slit eyes. "Didn't Yaga just tell you not to scare her?"

"Please! I didn't even do anything scary!"

"Yet there she is curled up on the floor..." There were no close exits, no places to run and hide. The realization that Mr. Yaga wouldn't be here to save me this time slowly set in. I knew I shouldn't have tried coming here! Lesson learned!

The Gojo kid jumped to his feet, placed his hands on his hips, and bent dramatically my way. "Hey, kid! what's your cursed technique? Is it powerful~? What clan do you come from?"

"Satoru, I doubt she even unlocked her ability yet."

"Still. She's here because she's valuable, isn't she? Entire schools don't usually take in orphans~ So, what is it?" Last I remember, I was told not to talk about my ability. Though to me it felt like my very existence was being interrogated here, I did what I do best and kept my mouth shut. I shook my head violently. A clear 'no.' "Oh come on~~ Pretty please~~" I shook my head again so he pouted. What I failed to consider was that shaking my head so strongly flung my bangs around, allowing a brief glance at my forehead. "Wait a second. Is that..?"

"Satoru.." Geto frowned as his friend crawled down to my level and folded my bangs up off of my forehead. His hand was so cold! He gasped, head turning to his friend.

"Hey, wh-what was that clan called?! One of the deceased clans we learned about last year?!"

"What? What is it?" The dark haired one stepped closer and leaned over his friend, also getting a good look at my sweaty forehead. His eyes widened slightly. "Three eyes? That was the Shumui Clan, I think."

"Right, right! They could see through time I think it was?! Heh, why did you get so scared of me, then? Couldn't you see me coming??" His bright blue eyes landed on me and I froze up again.

"She probably doesn't know how to use it yet." Suguru stood still leaning with his arms crossed.

"Awh, that sucks. We could use a fortune teller right now, especially with that exam coming up!.. Hey wait, three eyes is halfway to six eyes! Ahah! Must be half as cool as me too!"

Geto rolled his eyes.

"What does your third eye look like by the way? Can you open it for me?" I shook my head stubbornly. But the teenager scooted a little closer until he was practically hovering over me and grabbed the side of my head. "Come on~ Just a peak~?" My eyes tore past my attacker to the other standing behind him. Geto was leaning in, clearly interested as well but apprehensive about getting so close, unlike his friend. He mumbled a minor warning, but had no interest in directly stopping the white haired one. And for that I hated him too.

With one hand the teen held my head in place and with the other he pried at my third eye. I was weak enough against a normal person, so breaking free was hopeless! Still, I wiggled a little and tried to escape. But he won this fight.

He managed to pry my third eye open, which like usual fidgeted like crazy, unable to focus on any one thing. "Wow, it actually looks pretty cool! Look, Suguru!" Suguru leaned around the other to get a better view. The two studied with great interest. Defeated, I started to tear and choke up. I should have never come here!

"Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto!!!" Mr. Yaga stomped dow the hall my way. My teary eyes turned to him, hope washing over me like a mighty storm. He. Was. P#ssed! "Let go of the girl!" Gojo released my head and backed up to give me space to crawl to my feet and race to the teacher. I hugged the man's leg once I reached him: another testament to how terrified I was. Yaga rubbed my back as he glared at the boys. "Detention for both of you!"
"What??"
"Both of you!"
"But-"
"I don't care. You two blatantly ignored my instructions not to scare her!" The boys tried to argue a little more, but failed. They dragged their feet out of the room, leaving me alone with the teacher. "Now why are you here?" I let go of the man's leg and held my hands together tightly. My gaze wandered back to the food. "...Hhh, of course. Did you lose your lunch or something?" I shook my head. "Ate it too early?" I nodded. "Well, alright.. No wonder you're always so hungry by dinner." Mr. Yaga then got me a bowl of lunch, which I thanked him for and ran back to the house with, never intending to visit that school again.

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

A little phobia had gripped me. I never entered the school buildings again. It steadily got warmer, so I could stay outside longer without problems. I hung around the outside like a haunting ghost, occasionally staring at the places I was too afraid to go. About a week after the incident, I saw the first years outside playing some kind of game. The moment one of them pointed me out and all three spotted me, I booked it out of there, back into the forest.

Now, I was too scared to even go near the school. I hung around in the woods or around the house. Three days after being spotted, however, I heard the three waking weeds as they forged their own trail through the foliage. Again, the moment they spotted me, I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me to the house.

So utterly terrified of running into those teenagers again, I became a shut-in, never leaving the house. Day by day, my condition got worse and worse, until I was right back to the state I was while in that hospital. An almost vegetative state wherein I never left my bed, and I only ate, drank, or went to the bathroom if someone made me.

Panda finally started caring about me. At least, he started caring for me when no one else could, making sure I did the essentials for survival. Mr. Yaga, meanwhile, started talking to the elders about returning me to the hospital, or better yet finding me a proper family to stay with.

I had no real ambitions. No desires or goals. Not even the will to keep on living.

I felt like I was right back where I started. Sitting in that pile of trash, my mother's car burning just around the corner...and the cold water's slowly drawing learner.

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

The door opened to the bedroom. It was light outside. Other than that, I had no idea nor cared what time it was. Not like I knew much about time at my age.

My head turned somewhat to view who was entering. Strangely enough, even though I saw that bright white hair and tall, lanky body, I didn't react much beyond widening my eyes a little. It was a stuffy room. I felt as though I was suffocating on my own breath. That was a more pressing issue in my mind than any physical presence. The feeling of slowly being crushed by the air around me.

"..She...doesn't seem scared of me anymore.. eheh." Gojo looked back to his teacher standing on the other side of the doorway.

Yaga sighed. "She hasn't moved from that spot voluntarily for almost a week now."

"Really??" His blue eyes darted back to me. A new expression shown. Some mix of curiosity, regret, and empathy. "..I heard it was bad, but... That's just terrible."

"Apparently, she acted this way in the hospital as well; right after her mother died...which wasn't even a full three months ago."

"I...I see." After a moment of stillness, the teen tiptoed over piles of toys to reach my little corner. I watched him intently, unblinking. Since I wasn't reacting negatively, the teenager wound up sitting on the floor near the foot of my bed. His shoulder was what faced me, the front of him aiming at the door instead. His legs were crossed. He started looking around at what was in my own little corner. All alone in my own little square.🎶

He picked up a drawing from the stack of paper under my small, plastic bed. "Did you draw this??" He looked at me, showing me my own work. I didn't even nod. "It looks pretty good! Are you an artist??"

"...Mm.." I stared down at my lap, hands massaging each other.

"Hey." He had my attention again. "Don't know if it helps, but.. I'm sorry. I promise I won't scare you like that again." I barely even heard him, my interest was souly in the rare gentle look in his eyes. A warm and kindness that reminded me so much of my mom. One that was so foreign in a place like this.

It was here that I realized I still wanted to live.

I was crying. The tears slipped free in a falling stream. I stared at the boy's face as the look of my mother died slowly, replaced with concern. Gojo turned quickly to his sensei. "Wh- what should I do???"

Yaga shrugged. "This could be a good thing. She hasn't cried once since she arrived."

"Really?!" His face swung back to me again. "That's weird for a kid her age." I was sniffing, wiping my face, and sobbing. Even started to hiccup. Gojo wished Geto were here. He'd know what to do.

The only thing he could think of to comfort me was to place his hand on my head and ruffle my hair a little. My sobbing instantly quieted. Unlike before, his hand was warm and gentle. The first touch of real comfort I had felt in several months. When he thought I had quieted down enough, the teen lifted his hand off of my head, but that's when I moved suddenly. I reached up, grabbed his departing hand, and placed it on my head again. The boy chuckled, scratching his fingers through my hair as my little hands held his in place.

"Awe, look! She's like a cat!" The kid pointed out to his teacher, who leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed, rolling his eyes. If I really were a cat, I probably would be purring. A standoffish as I had been since arriving here, I really was in want of affection.

I really had to go to the bathroom. Had been holding it in for a while.

I released the teen's hand and stood up, crawled out of my bed, and skipped across the room. Yaga gasped, for a moment thinking I was hurrying his way to offer him a hug or a thanks. He smiled and reached out a little. "I'm glad to see you're doing bet--er..?" However, I just squeezed past him in my race to the bathroom. Gojo's laughter roared throughout the room after I left.

From that moment on, I started to get a little better. I left my room more often, then the house more often. I couldn't entirely comprehend why that was the case, but, I had hope. And that was all I needed.