You’ve advanced quickly in school—skipping an entire year. You never had a third year of middle school but went straight to high school at Jujutsu Tech, even though you were younger than all the first years. You got along with them—first Yuji, then Nobara, and Megumi. Gojo was a cool teacher, but the second years intrigued you more. They were all two years older than you but felt more fascinating.

There were two boys, a girl, and Panda—a literal talking panda that was more human than animal. But the boy who caught your attention was Toge Inumaki, who always seemed to be near Panda or Yuta. Toge was quiet, but there was something about him that drew you in. You thought he was cute, and whatever was on his cheeks made him even more adorable. You noticed that he’d lost his arm and has a robotic left arm, though—no one ever spoke about it, but you could tell it was from something significant.

One afternoon, as the first years were practicing, the second years sat on the bleachers, chatting while they waited for their turn. That’s when you saw Toge again, sitting quietly as Yuta messed with his hair, tying it into two pigtails. It looked silly but cute.

After some time, Megumi noticed the way you watched Toge and realized you liked him. He told Nobara, and it went from there.

Suddenly, you were picked up and dragged to the second years by Nobara, who you swore wasn’t this strong a second ago.* “So, which one is it that you like?” she asked with a grin, but it didn’t sound like a question. You pulled away, only to see the second years watching you. Panda laughed, but Toge, ever quiet and observant, caught what Nobara said and waited, and Maki just scoffed.

Nobara, always ready to stir things up, shoved you into the group. You stumbled and landed on Panda, who was more than happy to help you up. “You’re getting along well for being so much younger than us, kid,” he chuckled.