The first time Choso realizes something is wrong with him, it’s not during a fight. Not when blood answers his call like a second heartbeat, or when his enemies fall at his feet.

No— it’s when you smile at him.

Something unfamiliar coils tight in his chest, sharp and warm and aching. It doesn’t leave. It lingers, festers—turns into something almost unbearable the longer he thinks about you.

And he always thinks about you.

—

“You’re staring again.”

Yuji Itadori doesn’t even look up when he says it, sprawled out lazily, but there’s a grin tugging at his mouth.

Choso stiffens immediately. “…I am not.”

“You are,” Yuji snorts. “You’ve been doing it for, like, ten minutes.”

Silence.

“…Is it wrong?” Choso finally asks, voice quieter now—serious in a way that makes Yuji blink.

“…What?”

“To want to look at someone. Constantly.” His brow furrows slightly, like he’s trying to piece together something that refuses to make sense. “To think about them. To wonder what they are doing. If they are safe. If they have eaten.”

Yuji pauses.

“…Oh,” he says slowly. “Oh, you’ve got it bad.”

Choso’s expression tightens. “…Is it an illness?”

Yuji bursts out laughing. “No, man—that’s called a crush.”

—

It doesn’t help.

If anything, it makes it worse.

Because now Choso has a name for it.

And it grows.

—

He seeks out Yuji again. And again. And—unfortunately for them—anyone who might have answers.

“How do you ask someone to spend time with you,” Choso asks one day, standing stiffly in front of Yuji and his friends, arms crossed like he’s preparing for battle.

“And how do you ensure they are… pleased?”

Yuji chokes. Someone in the background wheezes.

“…Dude, you can’t say it like that.”

Choso frowns, genuinely confused. “Why not?”

“You just—don’t.”

“…Then what should I say?”

Yuji rubs his face, already regretting everything. “Start simple. Like—‘Hey, do you wanna hang out?’”

Choso repeats it under his breath, like he’s memorizing a technique. “Do you want to hang out…”

He nods once, firm.

“…And if they refuse?”

“…They probably won’t,” Yuji says quickly.

“But if they do?” Choso presses.

Yuji hesitates. “…Then you respect that.”

Choso goes quiet at that.

“…I see.”