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Akiko was sitting quietly in the school's hospital. She was tapping her feet on the cold vinyl flooring. Ieiri had healed her wounds which meant she was as good as before she went into the detainment centre. She felt kind of pathetic that she just let Sukuna take over, and she saw the way he treated An. If she could, she'd have her word with him but obviously, that couldn't happen. Plus, she'd get her shit handed to her if she tried.
Whatever. That didn't matter now. She had her hand back and most importantly, she still had her heart. There was a blurry memory in between sukuna taking over and waking up. Something important probably happened, but it's like her to forget. She heard the door open and perked up, hoping to see An, only to see Gojo. Her shoulders sank back down before lying back down.
"Heyyy, you seem happy to see me!"
Akiko grumbled something under her breath. She thought for a moment then looked up. "When do I get to see my friends again?" And by friends, she mainly meant An. She had been itching to see her again.
Gojo grinned "Wellll, Shoko told me you're good to go! So that means you can go see t-"
Akiko didn't even let him finish before quickly getting up and almost sprinting out the door. She was so excited to see An. Just as she was about to get to the door, her hood got tugged and she fell backwards, straight onto her back.
"Shit..! Ow, what the fuck?!" She yelled, turning behind her. She was glaring daggers into him.
"Heyyy calm down! You'll be able to see her soon." Gojo winked, causing Akiko to start grumbling. "Alright.. Tough crowd. But I'm just gonna need to catch you up on school work."
As if she wasn't already frowning, she swore she looked like a kid who got coal in their sack for christmas.
"Just a little bit! C'mon it'll be an hour at most!" Akiko was still staring daggers into him.
Reluctantly, she started following him to one of the empty classrooms, grumbling to herself. How the hell was she supposed to last an hour with this... geezer.
Whilst Gojo was talking, Akiko was doodling in her book, mind elsewhere. Everything this man says goes through one ear and out the other. Sometimes she thinks about all the different possibilities she could have if she didn't eat that damn finger. She probably wouldn't have had to have her heart ripped out right in front of her best friends, literally. She could briefly remember An's expression. That wasn't something she'd ever want to see again. She was snapped back to reality when Gojo tapped her table with the ruler.
"Kid, are you listening?" He said trying to look serious but failing miserably. She rolls her eyes.
"Not really."
"I'm wounded." He said, putting a dramatic hand over his heart. "Well I've covered everything and you're lucky I don't feel like going back over it."
"Mhm."
An was sitting in her room, staring at the ceiling. She really wasn't being social to anyone else, not to her other classmates not upperclassmen.
Instead, she was replaying something over and over again in her head.
"Shinonome..." An muttered, shocked.
"Don't call me that little punks name. You know, she didn't even want to try and front." Sukuna smirked. "She was too busy crying."
"..." An's eyes widened, her hands shaking. That isn't like her at all...
"She wouldn't say that, you liar! Give her back!" She repositioned herself ready to fight, but her nervousness was evident. There was no way she could fight against the literal king of curses, let alone him in her best friend's body.
The last thing she could remember was being thrown against the wall, bleeding as she watched Akiko standing there, a hole in her chest right where her heart was, wishing An a long life.
An sat up, looking out the window. It was roughly 4pm. She sighed, she really should start practicing with her classmates for the exchange event. She decided she would have a quick smoke outside then go greet them.
She was crouched against the wall, next to a vending machine. She was lighting a cigarette that she didn't want to explain how she obtained.
She had never understood the appeal of smoking before she met Ieiri. She understood it even more after watching Akiko die. Sometimes she'd go to Ieiri for smokes.
She was beginning to get lost in her thoughts before hearing an oddly familiar voice. Wait...
She looked up, before spotting Akiko looking at her. An immediately scrambled to get up and got ready to fight.
"H-hey wait! I'm not a curse! Uhm..." Akiko rambled awkwardly scratching the back of her neck. "Gojo didn't want me to see you guys before the exchange event, whatever that is, for like.. surprise or something stupid."
An was still wary though. "How are you alive though, no one can live after loosing their heart, even with reverse curse technique..."
Akiko gulped and shrugged. "I got no clue to be honest. But you can go ask Gojo or Ieiri... Even Ijichi watched me wake up!" She was desperate to make An believe it was her.
"..." An was at a loss for words. She pinched her own cheek then pinched Akiko's cheek, causing her to go bright red. "Yup, you're Akiko for sure."
"Is that seriously how you're making up your mind?!" She grumbled, her ears red.
"Yup!" An cheekily grinned. She thought for a moment before she threw her arms around her. "...I missed you."
Akiko mumbled something incoherent, burying her face in An's hair. She missed her too. "You should've been more cautious though... Cuz if I was a curse-"
"Yeah yeah... No need to lecture me. C'mon, let's just go to my dorm. Y'probably don't wanna practice for that exchange event right now anyways." An said cheerfully, even if it was mainly to get out of it herself, a part of her just wanted to be with her and make up time.
"hm.. alright." Akiko said softly.