As soon as the shower curtain was out of the way though, he wasn’t really sure what he was looking at. You cowered in the far corner of the shower, the water not even touching your naked body as you shivered from the cold. Water droplets running down your skin and hair, eyes blown wide in horror as shallow breaths left your mouth that was still hanging open in a silent scream. “What the hell happened?!”

“Get it out of here!” A shaky hand pointed at something on the other side of the shower, right beneath the shower head. It was so tiny, he could hardly make it out at first. “Don’t just stand there and stare! Do something! Get it out!” You whined, lip quivering. When the spider moved again, another scream, this time quieter, escaped your mouth. “Satoru!”

“Oh my God! Are you serious?” Gojo wasn’t sure if he should laugh at the look on your face or be pissed at you for making such a big deal out of something so minor! For Christ’s sake! He thought you were dying in here! He thought he had to avenge your death and battle a heinous curse in the comfort of his own home! But that wasn’t even the worst part! He dropped his mochi for this! And not just any kind! The one with the whipped cream! This was a crime worthy of punishment. “You fight against curses every day, but you’re scared of this?” He shook his head in disappointment. “It’s just a daddy long legs.” Gojo rolled his eyes at your antics.

You squinted your eyes at him. “I’m not afraid of you, Satoru! I’m scared of that monster!” You pointed at the spider again.

Gojo blinked a few times, taken aback by your teasing comment. “If you’re still able to make jokes, then it can’t be that serious.” He was about to turn around in the hopes of salvaging some of his mochi, when you whined again.

“Okay, I’m sorry! Please, just take it out!”

He groaned. “Fine!” Gojo swooped up the tiny creature and placed it in the palm of his hands. For a brief moment he was inclined to dangle it in front of your face, but he thought better of it. Against all rationality, you were obviously scared of it. He just had to get back at you in another way.  

When Gojo finally left the bathroom, you were able to breathe again. Sure, it was a silly fear, but phobias could hardly be called rational. If anyone were to rob you, all they’d have to do was whip out a spider in front of your face and you’d give them everything you owned and your first born if you had to. But you couldn’t explain why you were so scared of them.

You began massaging your shampoo into your hair, savoring the smell of peonies that enveloped your senses, allowing it to calm your nerves… when suddenly the sound of a flushing toilet echoed off the walls. Before you could react and move out of the way, the water stream turned ice cold, making you yelp and bolt to the other side of the shower again, coughing up your shampoo that somehow found its way into your mouth. “Satoru!!!” You yelled. “You little shit, I swear-”

“You swear what?”

Gojo cockily peered around the curtain, an amused look on his face. That bastard!

“Is that payback for the daddy long legs comment?” You couldn’t help the smile that spread out on your face as Gojo’s amused expression turned into a slight frown. “And here I thought you liked it when I call you daddy.” You batted your eyes innocently, looking up at him through your lashes.

Gojo groaned. At first you weren’t entirely sure if it was because he was annoyed or if it was something else. Briefly he disappeared out of your line of vision and you thought he left the bathroom. You turned around again, letting the water rinse the shampoo out of your hair when suddenly the curtain was yanked back again and you found yourself pinned between two large hands, looking up at Gojo who was devouring you with his eyes.

Something shattered against his limitless technique. Well, not just something. It was a surge of pure cursed energy perfectly aimed and concentrated. The sheer force of the blast had his feet slipping slightly and any normal opponent would’ve been swept off their feet completely. Gojo turned around to see where the hit had come from, but the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach already told him everything he didn’t want to know.  The flowing cursed energy in the air, that perfectly aimed hit… it all led to one person and person only. You.

Another hit. This time he saw the bright flash of a glowing arrow connecting and disrupting on the outside of his protective infinity shield.

What the hell were you doing?

Another hit. The force of the blasts was increasing and Gojo sucked in air through his gritted teeth.

“Y/N, what the hell?! Stop hitting me!” Gojo complained, though, dread was spreading throughout his whole body. He could only hope that his suspicion was false. No, he forced himself to think it was false.

No way in hell, no way, no way. No. Fucking. Way.

“You should’ve run when you still could.” Your voice echoed off the trees in the confined space. Gojo had his back turned to the veil, trapping him like a mouse. He had yet to see your face. Your cursed energy was concentrated in a tree to his right. You must’ve climbed up there when you last hit him with one of your arrows made out of light and cursed energy. As if to prove him right – though, of course he was right – multiple arrows flew out of the tree crown, hitting and exploding upon impact. “I can’t stop, Gojo. I’m sorry, but I can’t stop.” Your quiet sobs reached his ears and he could feel his heart dropping to his stomach, slowly and painfully being digested by his stomach acid.

Finally, you jumped off the tree branch you’d been sitting on, landing on your feet gracefully and even in a situation like this, Gojo couldn’t help but admire you. Your eyes were bloodshot, red from crying so much. Your whole body shook with the force of you weeping and sobbing as a glowing sword materialized out of thin air, perfectly fitting in your hand.

Gojo didn’t say anything, he already knew what was going on. A bitter laugh escaped his parted lips. That fucking bastard. He had to hand it to him, though. It was one hell of a plan. Having you kill him or forcing him to kill you. Either way, it was a fight without victory.

“Satoru,” Your voice was earnest, pleading. “You have to do it! Please, you have to!” Your mouth was telling him one thing, but your body was acting on its own accord, swinging the sword with murderous precision at your sides. “It’s okay, I promise. Please! It has to be you!”

Were you seriously asking him to kill you?

“It’s fine, as long as I have my shield, you can’t touch me anyways. The veil won’t hold forever, that’s impossible. We just have to wait until someone from the college notices and helps with backup, then we’ll kill that sleazy bastard and the curse will be lifted. Simple, right? So don’t panic, it’s going to be alright,” Gojo tried to reason, voice calm and collected despite him being more anxious than he cared to admit.  Even to himself.

But it wasn’t going to be alright. Of course not. The curse user had planned it all out to the latter. He anticipated his own death already, but not before one of you would die as well.

“No, no, no,” you shook your head as if you could shake the impending words out of your mind. “I – I won’t. No. No!” Your eyes met Gojo’s which were blown wide in horror upon seeing you like this. The sight hurt more than any physical attack ever could.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, though, he doubted he wanted to know.  

“The… The trump card. Do you remember my trump card? The one I was never able to master?”

Of course he did. He was the one who egged you on to perfect the technique after all. Gojo nodded slowly. A big lump already forming in his throat, while his mind raced a thousand miles per minute, already planning out different scenarios.

“Well, he wants me to use it.” For a brief moment your eyes seemed to lose their murderous intent. “Please, Gojo, you have to do it. Now! I don’t know how much longer I can fight it!”

You lifted your sword in the air, pure cursed energy surging through your body, concentrating at the very tip of your sword. Though, everything within you willed you to strike him in the heart or cut his head off, you forced your arm to aim for his leg instead. It wouldn’t make contact with him anyway… or so you thought.

“Gojo! Gojo, what the hell?!” You screamed at the top of your lungs. Did he really just release his cursed technique? Why?! Why would he do that?! “You idiot! You idiot!” The sword in your hand shrunk down to a small but deathly dagger as you watched the blood spilling from the wound in his leg. Gojo stumbled and fell to the ground, grunting in pain, but he tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible. For your sake, you knew that. He must’ve been in tremendous pain right now. Your body moved on its own, hovering above him, dagger slightly raised above his heart. Tears spilled from your waterline, blurring your vision as you saw the adoring smile on his face. “You idiot! Put it back on! Put it back on!” You screamed. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. No. He wasn’t the one who was supposed to die.

It should be me. It should be me! Dammit!

Your body shook with your sobs, hand with the dagger inching closer to where it wanted to connect. You forced ever fiber of your being, ever cell in your body to stop, but nothing worked. Your body didn’t listen to any of your commands. All you could do was watch as the dagger inched closer and closer. “Gojo, please!” You begged. What was he doing? Why wasn’t he doing anything?! “Do something!!!”

Unexpectedly he reached forward, thumb brushing over your cheek affectionately and wiping away the tears from under your eyes. “I promised to protect you, didn’t I? This way I’m dying willingly. You don’t have to feel bad about it. I won’t force you to use your trump card and feel guilty for it for the rest of your life.” His hand still lingered on your cheek, the warmth of it flowing through your freezing body. “It’s okay, Y/N, I promise!”

“Fushiguro, can I come in?” Yuji knocked on the door three times. No answer. He tried again. This time more forceful. “Hey, Megumi! It’s me, Yuji! Do you mind if I come in?” Still no answer. Itadori sighed, but he pushed the door open anyways, peering into the dimly lit library of the Jujutsu Tech High school. Admittedly, he’s never been in here before. Yuji wasn’t really the non-fiction reader… or anything that wasn’t manga, really. But upon entering the room, he couldn’t help but gawk. The shelves were stacked to the max, piling up above his head in a seemingly endless supply of books. There were books everywhere. The amount of knowledge that was stored in here was immense. And all about curses and jujutsu? Incredible! Maybe he should’ve come here sooner. He bet that there had to be at least a dozen books about Sukuna here somewhere.

“It doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t make any sense.” Itadori was pulled out of his thoughts by the repetitive mantra that was coming from somewhere behind a shelf. He followed the sound that was mingled with quiet sobs and he had to force himself to keep walking. This was more terrifying than facing all the curses of this world together.

“Megumi?” He peered around the shelf, finding his friend sitting on the old wooden floor, frantically flipping through a book with yellowed pages that seemed to be falling apart at the seams. It must’ve been ancient.

“No sense, no sense, no sense,” he repeated over and over again as if that phrase was the only thing keeping him sane.

“Megumi?” Itadori tried again and finally Megumi’s head snapped up and he looked at Itadori like a deer caught in headlights… only way worse. His eyes were bloodshot with dark purple circles underneath them. A stark contrast to his sickly pale skin. Briefly, Yuji wondered if Megumi had slept at all since it happened. Tears were streaming down his face and it felt like they would never stop. An endless river of sorrow and despair. Yuji was sure he heard his own heart shatter in his chest as he looked at his best friend. He wished he could take some of the pain away. Even if it was just a little, but of course that was impossible. “The ceremony will start soon and-“

“That’s stupid!” Fushiguro cut him off harshly, his voice hoarse and quieter than usual. “Why would there be a freaking ceremony when she’s coming back?!”

“Megumi, she-“

“No! Stop it!” He yelled, throwing the book he was reading against the opposite wall. “Stop it! Shut up!” He pressed his palms against his temples as if he wanted to crush his own skull. “I’ll do it, you’ll see! All of you! You’ll see! I’ll bring her back! I’ll bring her back, okay?! I will – I will!” He repeated it over and over again and it was apparent that he wanted to proof himself right more than anything else. Maybe making him believe would help ease his pain? Should he encourage him? No. Despite wishing that he could provide some words of comfort right now, Itadori knew that false hope would be the cruelest thing he could offer. No matter how much it hurt, but Megumi couldn’t go on like this… searching for something that wasn’t real.

“Megumi, please. You’ll regret it if you don’t come,” Itadori tried again, picking up the book that Megumi had thrown away. He flipped through the first pages and he could already tell that the answers Megumi was searching for weren’t in this book. It was mostly about how sorcerers could reincarnate as curses if their dead bodies weren’t handled properly. If they died you had to make sure that the last hit was infused with cursed energy. Usually, that took care of things. However, if they died of natural causes, diseases or accidents there was a special ritual, a ceremony that made sure their bodies were put to rest accordingly. Kind of like a funeral, but then again, not quite. This was the ceremony Fushiguro refused to attend, even though it was highly valued among sorcerers. It was a way to pay your last respects, value their accomplishments and thank them for their sacrifice. He probably refused to go because that would make her death final and he would be forced to move on, no matter how hard it would be… and it was going to be very hard.

“SHE’S COMING BACK, DAMMIT!” Megumi yelled at him, reaching for another book that was stocked in a pile he’d built himself. The tower crumbled with the way he yanked it out, dozen books falling to the ground, scattering to their feet. It was eerily quiet for a second, Yuji didn’t dare to speak. The atmosphere so thick, he doubted even Maki’s demon blade could cut through it. And then, right when he wanted to say something, anything really to get rid of the suffocating silence in the room, Megumi started sobbing. Not like before. Impossibly, it was even worse. His whole body shook with the action, hands that were clinging onto the book were trembling and despite him hanging his head low, Yuji could see the frequent tears that were hitting the old worn out pages of the book, blurring the ink further, making it almost unreadable.

Hesitantly, he took a step forward, but he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Should he hug him? What could he even say? Should he call for someone? Gojo-sensei? Would he know what to do? Or Nobara? Or, wait! Y/N always knew what to do when it came to him… Oh, right…

Yuji slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. How could he forget?! It really didn’t feel real yet, huh? Itadori tried to swallow the big lump in his throat as he crouched down and gently took the book out of Fushiguro’s shaking hands. He looked so fragile, as if a single slap to the wrist could break his arm.

“I just don’t get it,” Megumi whispered. His voice sounded far away, as if he was underwater or as if Yuji had cotton in his ears, muffling his voice to a point where it was almost incomprehensible. “It’s just so unfair.”

Yuji placed the book on the ground beside him, skipping over the title “Resurrection and the balance of the world”, it read. He gulped again. Could it be possible?

“I know it is.” He laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and another muffled cry escaped Megumi’s mouth. Yuji had seen a lot over the course of just one year, but not once has he witnessed such utter despair. The sight pulled on his heart strings in ways he couldn’t even explain.

“She fought against the most heinous creatures every day and you’re telling me she died because some fucking asshole thought it was a good idea to drive while being absolutely shit faced?!” Some of his words were swallowed by his sobs, but Itadori understood him well enough. “I refuse to believe that! I refuse to accept that!”

Momentarily Itadori was thrown back to the moment they got the call, he remembered it all too vividly. The shock, the confusion and his scream…

“I’m sorry for your loss,” the nurse led them into the room. The air was chilly and it smelled like disinfectant.  The stench so unbelievably strong, Megumi thought he might throw up. It burned in his eyes and nose and he distantly felt his cheeks getting wet. He couldn’t tell if it was because of the smell or of what was to come… at this point, it still felt like a sick joke, some twisted game or prank. Just not real, like a dream, a nightmare he would wake up from any second.

There was a single bed in the middle of the room, the body underneath covered by a white cloth. Gojo, Nobara and Yuji gathered around it, hands clutched together in front of them as if they were silently praying. Megumi hesitated. He stood in the doorframe, looking at the scene in front of him and nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Everyone was crying. Even Gojo seemed more tense than usual and he was sure he saw a stray tear slip from underneath his sunglasses.

The room was silent, except for the door falling shut behind him as the nurse left them to mourn in peace. This was a dream, right? A nightmare? How could it be anything else?

Megumi’s footsteps echoed off the walls as he hesitantly approached the bed covered in white sheets.

This is just a dream. This is a nightmare. You’re going to wake up any second now. Just wake up. Wake up! Wake up, dammit!

But he didn’t wake up. Not even as he reached for the white cloth. And he didn’t wake up as he slowly lifted it up. He didn’t wake up when everyone sucked in a sharp breath. And he didn’t wake up as Nobara’s knees buckled and she fell to the ground sobbing. He didn’t wake up as he laid his eyes on your peaceful but lifeless face.

Megumi didn’t wake up. But God did he wish he did.

He stood there for what felt like an eternity. Studying your features. How your hair was softly flowing on the pillow, how your lips were slightly parted as if you would wake up at any given moment and tell him something important. But he also noticed that your cheeks lacked their signature pinkish tint and your lips were more blue than their usual vibrant red.

His hand inched closer to your face, connecting to your cheeks and adoringly caressing it. It was cold underneath his touch. Your skin feeling more like wax than it felt alive.

No one said anything, the only sound was Nobara’s quiet sobs that she tried to stiffle to the best of her abilities. Everyone watched Megumi and no one knew what to do. Neither of them has ever felt so helpless. Even Gojo was rendered speechless at the heartbreaking sight in front of him.

And then, everything slowly started to sink in…

She’s gone.  She’s gone. She’s really gone! You’re not waking up! Why aren’t you waking up?! Wake up!! No, no, no. This can’t happen. This can’t happen. This isn’t happening! Tell me this isn’t happening?!

Didn’t I just talk to her this morning? Didn’t we talk about going to the beach as soon as it got warmer? Didn’t we make dinner plans? Didn’t she boast about a new recipe she wanted to try? Didn’t this just happen? And you’re telling me that all of that is just… gone? Just like that? In a moments notice… poof?! Evaporated into thin air? You’re telling me that?

“Wake up, dammit! Wake up, dammit! WAKE UP!”

Everyone stared helplessly at Fushiguro. At first no one knew if he was talking to himself or you, but then he started desperately shaking your shoulders, repeating the words over and over again. “We wanted to go to the beach, remember? You told me you couldn’t wait! Come back, and I’ll drive us right now! Come back! Come back to me, please! Please!”

Gojo couldn’t bear the sight anymore. The way he shook your body as if that would change anything. With a few long strides he closed the distance between him and Megumi and pulled him away from the bed. He was thrashing at him, screaming in his face to let him go, but Gojo didn’t listen. He gladly took a hit or two if that meant Fushiguro could get at least some of his frustration out of his body. To Gojo, the room itself was a hard place to be in – for obvious reasons. The energy here made him feel uneasy and on edge. The amount of cursed energy gushing out of Megumi was immense and almost unbearable. He had to get his emotions in check or else…

Megumi continued to yell and thrash. “Let me go, you bastard! Let me go! I need to see her! I need to see her!”

“I understand that this is hard for you, but you need to calm down!” Gojo’s voice was stern. This was probably the first time ever that he actually put on the façade of a responsible adult. Nobara and Yuji watched the two with wide eyes, but didn’t interfere otherwise. “If you keep this up, you might end up cursing her! Do you want that?!”

“Let me go! Let me go!” Megumi wasn’t listening.

“Megumi, snap out of it!” Gojo’s palm connected to Megumi’s cheek, his flesh burning hot where it had connected. For a moment, the room was silent again. Only Megumi’s labored breaths broke through the thick tension.

“You bastard!” Megumi launched himself at Gojo with all his strength, but that was exactly what Gojo intended. It was better if he directed all his energy towards him than having it leak out of him uncontrollably. Otherwise he had the potential of manifesting a new special grade curse that neither one of them wanted to deal with, especially if you were to be reborn as said curse.

Megumi stopped his relentless attacks, knees buckling under his weight as a single agony filled screamed echoed off the walls…

Megumi slowly opened his eyes. His head was aching, blood soaring in his ears. What happened? He looked around himself. The room was dark, only illuminated by the moon light that peered through his partially closed blinds. He was laying in his bed, the room a mess just like he remembered. That was unlike him. Well, ever since that day he hasn’t been himself at all. Now, he more or less felt like an empty shell, existing but not alive.

He groaned, sitting up while he rubbed his temples, hoping to get the relentless throbbing to stop. Ah, that’s right. A few flashes of the previous events reminded him of what had happened. Megumi’s frustration and anger had gotten the best of him and he started throwing books, ripping them out of their shelves and even tearing some of them apart when he couldn’t find the answers he was looking for. Yuji had to call for Gojo and he in turn had knocked him unconscious.  

Megumi huffed. Great. Now he was probably not permitted to go to the library again. He should really start thinking before lashing out like this. No, matter, though. If push comes to shove he’d find a way in and if it’s the last thing he did. He didn’t really care anymore anyways. What’s the worst that could happen? Expulsion? That was nothing.

He peeled the covers back, his shirt sticking to his body uncomfortably. Maybe he should take a shower before he went back again.

Reluctantly, he got up and walked towards his bathroom, mindful not to trip on anything that was scattered on his floor.

Once he was there, he turned the shower faucet on, letting the water heat up while he stripped out of his clothes. His head was still killing him and his whole body ached. He shivered, even as he got into the shower and the hot water burned his skin. He was still cold. For some reason he didn’t seem to be able to get warm anymore, as if you took all of his warmth with you, when you left him.

“Ew, stop doing that,” you laughed wholeheartedly as Megumi shook his wet hair in your face after coming out of the shower. “Seriously, are you a dog?”

“No, but I love hearing you laugh.” Megumi wrapped his arms around you, pressing your back against his naked chest as you both watched your reflection in the mirror. “I really love you, Y/N. So much,” he whispered in your ear, not taking his eyes off the mirror. He could see the faint blush on your cheeks and he placed a soft kiss to the nape of your neck to emphasize his words.

“I love you, too.” The smile on your lips and the way your eyes sparkled with joy, filled his heart with warmth and light. He could bask in it for all eternity and he would never get tired of it.

Megumi turned the water off, still shivering. It was to no use. His skin was burning red, though, and the whole room was filled with steam and yet, he had goosebumps all over his body. His teeth started clattering as he dried himself and he put on new clothes.

The clock on his bedside table told him that it was three in the morning. He felt like he forgot about something… something important. What was it again?

And then his eyes widened in shock. No, no, no.

“Hey, look!” Megumi felt your slender fingers wrap around his wrist, your warmth immediately warming his cold skin. You tugged him gently and he followed you. It didn’t take long for you to reach your desired destination and you stopped, eyes shining with awe in them as you watched over the city, lights sparkling and illuminating the darkness. Megumi couldn’t deny that the view was breathtaking, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from constantly looking at you instead. The way your face lit up, the way the lights danced on your face and how your cheeks were always tinted in their usual pinkish color, made him fall for you all over again. His heart hammered in his chest and his pulse picked up. Butterflies assaulting his stomach in the best way imaginable and he felt like he was floating above ground. Never has he felt so happy. “There! It’s starting!” You beamed at him as the first flash of light painted the night sky in a bright blue color, then it changed to red and then green. The sound of other fireworks being set off rang through the otherwise silent night. Here, on top of the mountain away from anyone, it was the most peaceful place he could imagine. But he wasn’t sure if it was only because of the view and the fact that no one was around or if it was because you were here. Whatever it was, he didn’t dream to fight it. The feeling so foreign yet so welcomed.

Suddenly your hand appeared in his line of vision and he didn’t hesitate to take it. What he didn’t expect was you starting to spin around. It took him a moment to catch up. “C’mon, Megumi, what are you doing? Don’t just stand there so stiffly! Dance with me!” You urged him on and Megumi felt his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. He could only hope that you couldn’t see it.

“There’s no music, though,” he said, trying to find an excuse to not make a complete fool out of himself. You see, Megumi wasn’t a dancer. Give him a choreographed fighting formation and he could do that no problem, but moving his feet to the rhythm of a song? Nope. That was sure to end in him tripping over his own feet and in the worst case break his leg or arm.

You rolled your eyes at him, but instead of saying anything, you reached into your back pocket to get a hold of your phone. It didn’t take long and the sound of the fireworks was mixed with the soft tune of a song that he didn’t know. “Better?”

Well, not really… Megumi scratched the back of his head, unsure. Better to come clean, I guess. “You see… I can’t really dance… like at all,” Megumi stammered.

“So what? I can’t dance either,” you laughed, spinning around and jumping up and down like it was the most normal thing to do. The smile on your face never faltered and you did another spin, throwing your hands up in the air, moving them around awkwardly. Megumi couldn’t help but laugh at your awkward movements. You looked so silly, it was hilarious. “See? Now it’s only fair that you make a fool out of yourself, too. You can’t leave me hanging like this!”

What the hell, right? Megumi started moving his feet, still super stiffly and anything but graceful, but he did it. He looked at you, following your movements and it didn’t take him long to get the hang of it… well, somewhat at least. He still looked really awkward and helpless, so you reached both your hands out for him again and he grabbed them without hesitation, just like before. You started spinning both of you in circles, giggling at the way his face lit up slightly. He joined your laughter, looking at you with the most adoring smile in the world. It felt… so easy. Everything with you felt so easy.

So now it was just the both of you, spinning around in fast circles, laughing at the night sky filled with stars while in the distance the sound of fireworks slowly died down. The music playing softly in the background, but you didn’t even care that the rhythm of the song didn’t match with your movements at all. Nothing mattered in that moment. Just the two of you. Together. Forever.

“Ah, I was wondering when you’d show up.” Gojo scratched the back of his neck, smiling apologetically. “Maybe I was a bit too rough, when I knocked you out. Sorry about that.”

Megumi stared at him sitting in the front row of lined up chairs. The room was only dimly lit by the candles at the other end. The soft light they cast illuminated a picture of you in a black frame. It was the same one he had saved as his phone background. Megumi gulped, feet moving on their own as he approached Gojo, though, he felt his knees wobble unsteadily. The air became thicker and thicker with every other step he took. It felt excruciatingly hard to breathe. It was suffocating.

Megumi sat down on a chair next to Gojo, forcing himself to tear his eyes off the framed picture in front of him. If he didn’t he was afraid he might break down again. So he shifted his attention to the man in the chair next to him. He was already looking at him, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses, as usual. There was a slight frown in his features, though, and his mouth was pressed into a thin line, a stark contrast to his normally giddy self. So Gojo could be serious, huh? Who would’ve thought? Bet you would’ve loved to see him like that…

“Megumi,” Gojo broke the silence first, his tone soft, but there was a certain sternness behind it that Megumi didn’t know he had until now. It left no room for interpretation. This was going to be a serious talk and Fushiguro didn’t know if he was ready for that yet. “I know that losing someone you care about is not easy and I’m not trying to pretend that I know exactly what you’re going through right now, but I’m telling you as your sensei and as a friend… you have to move on. And that means you have to stop looking for ways to bring her back.”

Megumi opened his mouth to tell him off, but Gojo just held a finger up to show him he wasn’t done yet. The crease between Megumi’s brows deepened, but he kept his mouth shut regardless. “The world works under a few distinct principles. Rules that cannot be broken, if you will. Like we know that after the sun sets, dawn will come. With darkness, there is light and no matter how harsh a winter might be, spring will always come next. And the pinnacle of those rules will always be that with life there comes death. We don’t get to choose when this’ll be or how it’ll happen, but from the moment we’re born we know without a doubt that we’ll have to leave this place at some point. Death is certain. It’s but one part of life and disrupting that cycle, breaking one of the unbreakable rules, would cause the whole system to fall apart. It would level the ground for mayhem and destruction, nothing would make sense anymore. The world would crumble. As sorcerers you know that we protect the ones who cannot protect themselves, but we also maintain balance and Megumi… while I do understand your desire to see her again, I have to warn you… even if there is a chance, I won’t let you do it at the expense of everyone else’s life.”

Silence fell between them again. Megumi had a hard time believing that these words really just came out of Gojo’s mouth. Deep down, he knew he was right. He knew it was a futile plan to bring you back. It was selfish and irresponsible, but he was so… desperate. So desperate to hear your voice again, so desperate to listen to you laugh or complain, so desperate to feel your delicate and warm touch on his cold skin. He was so desperate for these things; he couldn’t think straight. His mind felt foreign to him without you there. He didn’t know who he was, who he would be without you by his side. He didn’t know if he wanted to be in this world anymore with his source of warmth and comfort gone. They said, time healed all wounds but as of now that seemed impossible. Just a thing people told themselves to keep moving forward. A lie that was supposed to protect oneself from the cruel and harsh truth that the world didn’t stop spinning, that time passed by and that dawn always came… no matter what. The world moved forward regardless if you were here or not and it felt like a cruel joke to him. Nothing seemed the same. He didn’t recognize anything, looking at the world with different eyes. How could there be a world without you in it? Why was everyone moving forward while he was left behind? And how could they? How could they move on? Why didn’t the world stop spinning? It should. Because nothing felt right. Nothing was the same. And yet… that only held true for him.

Megumi wiped away his silent tears with the sleeve of his shirt. “But I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” he croaked out. It was the first thing that came to his mind. He replayed the morning with you over and over again and he couldn’t remember if he said goodbye to you when you left that fateful day. Did he? Did he not? In any case, he would’ve never thought how final of a farewell it would’ve been in the end. “I don’t even remember the last thing I said to her,” he sobbed.

He felt beyond guilty for not being able to recall it clearly. Did he say ‘I love you’? Did you say it back? He wanted to believe he did, but he just wasn’t sure and it drove him insane.

“She knew that you loved her very much, Megumi. I’m sure she knew until the very end.” Gojo patted his shoulder a few times, before he got up. “Take all the time you need.” He left the room, closing the door behind him, but not before he turned around one last time, looking at Megumi with worried eyes. “But remember, Megumi… You have to move on eventually, no matter how hard it is. For her sake and your own… Just know that you have people in your life that you can rely on any time, okay?”

Megumi nodded and Gojo let the door fall shut behind him. The silence that ensued was almost deafening. Finally, Megumi let his tears fall freely, sobbing like a child and sucking in air after shallow breaths.

Before he could say something, the call ended. It took him a while after that to lower his phone, deep worry lines edging themselves into his forehead as he tried to make sense of what just happened.

“Everything alright?” Ichiji asked and brought him back to reality.

“Stop the car,” Gojo commanded. His tone left no room for interpretation: he was pissed. So pissed, in fact, Ichiji was sure there was smoke coming out of his ears. He immediately pressed down on the brakes, not willing to stand between Gojo Satoru and his wrath. That was a sure death sentence. Whoever had been on the call, must’ve really set him off in the wrong way. What a fool!

“What – what about the – the meeting?” Ichiji stammered as Gojo yanked the door open and got out of the car.

Before closing the door again, he leaned down slightly to look at Ichiji, mouth pressed into a thin line, eyes hidden behind his usual black blindfold. “I don’t care about the damn meeting. Send the principal my regards, I won’t be coming! If he has a problem with that, he can take it up with me later!” He slammed the door shut and Ichiji accelerated the car almost immediately after. Despite not being sure what just happened and why his demeanor did a full one eighty in a second, Ichiji knew one thing and one thing only, he needed to get away as fast as possible. A pissed off Gojo Satoru was no laughing matter. Whoever angered him had one hell of a storm coming for them.

Gojo bit the inside of his cheek as he watched Ichiji drive off into the distance. What the hell was that call all about? It was apparent that you were in trouble, but they didn’t even give him a location or anything. What’s up with that whole thing anyway? A hostage situation to get to him? Highly likely, but still… a lot of questions remained. How did you even get caught? You were a special grade sorcerer, no low level could’ve done this. Maybe this guy had an especially tricky technique… And what did he want with him? A curse user who wanted to make a name of himself by defeating the great Gojo Satoru? Or was it something different entirely?

Gojo scoffed. This sucked! So many questions were bouncing around in his head and no answers in sight. Where was he even supposed to start looking? He scratched his head in order to remember what you’d told him about your plans this evening. You had wanted to run some errands, but you were so cryptic about it that he never really got a straight answer. He believed that you wanted to buy him a gift or something – his birthday was coming up after all - and didn’t press on further. Now, he really regretted that.

“This was exactly what I was afraid of!” he mumbled, fingers wrapping around his phone in a deathly grip and right before he was on the verge of breaking the device, he got a notification. Your name lit up his screen and he almost sighed in relief, thinking this was probably just a stupid prank and you finally wanted to come clean… but when he clicked on your message, his blood froze momentarily. There was a picture of you attached, standing stiffly like a statue. He couldn’t see your eyes, because they were hidden behind a blindfold. From the background it looked like you were standing in a park and upon zooming in on the picture he immediately recognized the pond in the upper left corner.

[7.33 pm] Y/N: You better hurry xoxo

At this point, he wasn’t just pissed off. No. He was seething. Blood boiling in his veins with hot rage, he was afraid he could explode. Whoever did this, would pay dearly. Preferably with their life.

Not wasting any more time, Gojo warped himself to the location, appearing in front of the culprit and you in mere seconds, materializing out of thin air.

“Ah, there he is!” A man with a scar on his cheek appeared from behind you, clapping his hands together in delight. “For a second I was afraid you might not show up. That you actually didn’t really care about her.” He laid one hand on your shoulder and Gojo wanted to eliminate him right then and there but you’d be in his immediate line of power, so all he could do was stand there and listen to this psycho. He guessed that he knew that Gojo couldn’t do anything for as long as he stayed close to you.

“What the hell do you want?” Gojo asked through clenched teeth. “Do you have a death wish? I can help with that.” His voice was dripping with malicious intent; one could almost taste the blood lust in the air. Gojo reached for his mask, tearing it off his eyes. Immediately his senses were flooded with all kinds of information about his cursed energy and technique. Gojo hissed. That bastard! Mind manipulation. It was a rare technique and a real pain in the ass when you were at the receiving end. Good thing, it didn’t work on him. His cursed energy barrier protected him from mind tricks like these.

“What did you do to her?”

“Ah, right. You already know everything there is to know about me and my technique.” The guy smiled mischievously, perverse glee shining in his eyes. Gosh, did he have to be any more annoying? “Good, saves me time explaining. Sadly, I can’t stick around for the grand finale. You’d just kill me, right? So you understand that our ways part here.” Seriously what was with this guy? “Well, Y/N, dear?” Gojo took a step forward upon hearing him say your name. It made him sick. If he just moved one step to the right he could blast him into oblivion and be done with it! So move, bastard. Move! “You know the plan?” You nodded.

Immediately you lifted two fingers up in the air. “Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness, purify that which is impure,” you said. And while Gojo was relieved to hear your voice, he didn’t like the sight of the veil coming down from above.

“Now, then,” the guy ripped your blindfold off. Your eyes flitted over the area, taking in your surroundings until finally they settled on him. He tried to smile, reassure you that everything would turn out okay. Your mouth was pressed into a thin line and your eyes had lost their usual glimmer. All that remained was a blank expression.

Suddenly your eyes opened wide, as if something within you had woken up. Something that wasn’t there before. Tears were streaming down your face immediately after and a raspy scream ripped through your throat. “No! Gojo, run! Run!”

What the hell?

But you already knew it was too late. The veil was almost completely down now. This would be the place in which one of you would find their end. You hoped with all your heart it wouldn’t be him.

The guy whose name you never knew laughed in the distance. The sound sending chills down your spine, not fitting the situation in the slightest. “At last! The grand finale, ladies and gentlemen!”

***

Without much thought you yanked the shower curtain back, revealing a completely naked and utterly confused Gojo Satoru. His hair was still soapy and he scratched his ear where some of the foam had gotten into. He opened his mouth to say something right when you heard a familiar clicking sound coming from the door. Without wasting any time, you jumped into the shower, not caring that your pajamas were getting soaked. You pulled the shower curtain back and pressed your hand against Satoru’s mouth, holding a finger up to signal him that he better kept his mouth shut.

The both of you had been in a secret relationship for a few months now and whereas he didn’t care that the others could find out about it, you opted to wait for another three months until you’d finally graduate and there was nothing to frown upon anymore. And today, out of all days, Gojo had stayed overnight, although you told him that this could backfire so easily. All he did was wave you off with a simple “Yeah, yeah,” not even listening what you were trying to tell him and now look where that had gotten you: fully clothed with a butt naked Gojo Satoru pressed against your shower wall. Although, you had to admit that, you didn’t mind the sight at all. You couldn’t keep your eyes from wondering and Gojo raised his eyebrows in amusement, but stayed quiet otherwise.

The bathroom door opened and your heart started racing. Gojo’s ears perked up and he seemed to finally catch up with the situation. Before, he was probably too preoccupied with the shampoo in his ear. Was he a toddler?

“You probably didn’t hear me in the shower, but can I please borrow your hair dryer?” Kugisaki asked again.

Your hand was still tightly pressed against Gojo’s mouth, not trusting him one bit. As much as you loved him you also knew that this man took every chance he got to test his boundaries. He really was a toddler, huh?

“Yeah, sure!” You called over the running water. “It’s below the sink.”

“Thank you! You’re a lifesaver!”

You heard her roaming through your bathroom drawers as you felt something on your hand. “Quit licking my hand, you idiot,” you hissed in a low voice, feeling his smile grow against the palm of your hand. Of course, he didn’t stop.

“What? Did you say something,” Nobara asked and you shot Gojo a threatening look.

“Uh, no, no!” You held your eye contact with him. Two could play that game, right? Your free hand slowly traveled down his toned stomach, feeling his muscles tense beneath your featherlike touch. He shivered slightly and now you were the one grinning from ear to ear. “Just how I’m not looking forward to have that idiot Gojo substitute for Wang-sensei today.”

Kugisaki groaned. “Tell me about it! I thought we left the first years to deal with that societal menace of a teacher.”

You really weren’t setting yourself up for making the ‘Ah and guys? Gojo and I are dating’ talk, but it was definitely worth seeing the offended look on his face. You couldn’t help but giggle and he shot you an annoyed look. His eyes briefly looked down at the hand resting on his mouth: a reminder that he could still throw you under the bus.

“You wouldn’t dare,” you mouthed and Satoru just shrugged nonchalantly. That little shit.

“Yeah, right?!” You answered Kugisaki, squinting your eyes at Gojo in a silent warning.

“Thanks again for the hair dryer! I’ll bring it back when I’m done, promise!” Nobara shut the door again and you were finally able to exhale. Yeah, no… you’d definitely have to go over to her room and bug her to give your hair dryer back to you. You loved Nobara to death, but the concept of lending things from others was fairly lost on her. She still had at least a dozen t-shirts and dresses in her possession that at one point belonged to you.

“Societal menace, huh?” Gojo asked as you finally released his mouth. “Is that also what you think of me?” The mood shift in the confined space of the shower was all too apparent. His eyes glistened more than they already did when he took a step forward, pressing your back against the shower wall this time.  You pajamas clung to your body uncomfortably and the white material of your shirt was almost certainly see through now.

“Well, you’re definitely a menace to me.” Your breath hitched in your throat when he leaned down and lightly nipped on your earlobe with his teeth. His voice turned raspier as he whispered in your ear.

Suddenly an uneasy feeling swept through your body. A shiver ran down your spine and the hair in your neck stood up. A familiar sensation overwhelming your senses. Blood running cold in your veins, freezing still, numbing your nerves. The chill of the night was suddenly no longer noticeable on your skin. Instead, the breeze felt almost warm now. This was the presence of a curse. An acidic taste spread through your mouth, making you swallow hard as you subtly roamed your eyes around the neighborhood, trying to find out where the curse could be hiding.

To your surprise, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. The only thing that was ticking you off was that there were no longer any people in sight. It was just you and the man in front of you now. Everyone else had suddenly vanished. Cursed energy was flowing through the air, probably causing everyone else to feel uneasy too, hence why they left in a hurry. People relied on instinct much like animals did. So even though they might not know why, they could definitely tell when something bad was about to happen. Much like how animals could sense when a storm was approaching. Therefore, this really wasn’t all that surprising.  What surprised you was that everyone else had been quicker than you to notice the alien presence in your midst. It was almost like someone had been concealing it from you specifically. That was what was worrisome. And then it hit you… the lack of a curse running around, you alone in an empty neighborhood with only one other man right in front of you and the fact that you had only been able to even sense the cursed energy floating around the moment you had reached out for him… This was a trap. A trap specifically designed for you.

Everything inside of you was screaming for you to run away. Just run. Run. RUN!

But you couldn’t move.

You couldn’t even retract your hand that was still outstretched to help the stranger get to his feet. You looked down at him. The shock in your eyes as the realization hit you must’ve been obvious, because as soon as he noticed the fear glimmer in your eyes, a menacing smile spread across his face. It almost looked like he was bearing his teeth at you.

Without breaking eye contact, he got up from the pavement, ignoring your hand and dusting his pants off.

“Ugh, the look on your face,” he laughed. “It’s truly hilarious, I wish you could see it.” His eyes lit up and he held his index finger in the air as if he just remembered something groundbreaking. “Wait, hold on. A right,” he laughed again, “as if you have another choice.” He stalked around you, reaching for your back pocket, hand lingering on your ass longer than was necessary in order for him to get your phone. Bile was rising up in your throat as you send a million death threats his way. You wanted to scream at him to tell you what he wanted, but even your tongue remained unmoving, pressed to the roof of your mouth. It felt like you had transformed into a stone statue.

It was obvious that the man in front of you wasn’t a cursed spirit. So he either had to be a curse user or, like Yuji, swallowed a cursed object and absorbed its power. Whatever he was, whatever he wanted, though, by the way he looked at you, it wasn’t anything good.

“Okay, now say cheese.” He held your phone in front of your face. It was close enough for you to reach out and swat it out of his hands, but much to your dismay, your body just wouldn’t listen to your commands. Everything you could do was stand there helplessly and watch as he did whatever he pleased. “Ah, right. Almost forgot, you can’t talk,” he shrugged unimpressed. “Well, no matter. This’ll do just fine.” The clicking sound of your phone camera rang through your ears. The sound completely out of place compared to the eerie silence that surrounded you.

The man turned your phone around to show you the picture he’d just taken. At first glance, you almost didn’t recognize yourself. Your eyes were blown wide in horror, mouth slightly opened in a silent scream.

“So, what do you think’ll happen if I forward that little picture of you and send it… let’s say, to your boyfriend?” He raised one eyebrow in amusement, gauging your reaction, obviously toying with you. “What do you think he’d do if I’d do that?” This guy evidently knew who you were and he also knew who your boyfriend was… Then why did he sound so delighted at the prospect of Gojo – the Satoru Gojo – coming here and probably tearing his limbs off? It seemed to you that he was almost counting on it. That he, in fact, looked forward to it.

Okay, so this guy wasn’t actually trapping you. You were just the bait and Gojo seemed to be his real target. Which got you thinking… Was he just another egomaniac thinking he could take on Gojo and defeat him and in return make a name for himself? Did he have a death wish? Or could he be that one in a million to have an actual chance at defeating him?

“It’s really not any fun when the conversation is this one sided,” he complained, scratching the back of his neck in thought. “Okay, because I’m in such a good mood today, I’ll let you talk. But no funny business, alright?” He held a daunting finger up in the air as if he was an adult scolding a child for misbehaving.

Suddenly your tongue felt loose again and you could move your mouth, though, the bitter taste remained. It felt like someone had poured acid down your throat, leaving your tongue to feel like sandpaper in your mouth. Except for that, everything remained the same. Not a single muscle in your body would follow your commands of making a run for it or, at the very least, get a good punch in.

“What the hell are you doing to me?” You croaked out, voice hoarse and cracking at the end. “What do you want with Gojo?”

“Uh uh.”  He shook his head in displeasure, though, the sick grin on his face remained. “One thing at a time, love. Don’t get ahead of yourself or I might revoke your talking rights.” The way he referred to you as ‘love’ made you physically sick. And the way he talked so happily, as if you were old friends catching up on lost time, made you want to punch him all the more. What was his goal? What could he possibly want?

“Just spit it out!” Your patience was wearing very thin at this point. And though, it might be reckless to talk to this visibly crazy man in such a manner, you didn’t really care. You always had a problem with your temper.

“My, you’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” The man cooed in delight. He was still holding your phone tightly in his hand, looking through God knew what. Ugh, now you really wished you had put a password on it, but before now you never really had a reason to. You weren’t hiding anything in it, but still, it felt like he was roaming through your head while you had no idea what he was searching for.

“Aren’t you two just adorable?” He dangled your phone in front of your face again, fake sweetness dripping off his words like poison disguised as honey. On your screen was a picture of you and Gojo where he was kissing your cheek. Your face was flushed, totally embarrassed when Gojo made Fushiguro take the picture a couple days back. But still, there was this love drunken smile on your face, eyes glistening in a way that radiated pure joy. You remembered how happy you were that day. Actually, you were always happy when you were around Satoru. “You’re so cute together, it makes me sick!” He stood up straight again, nose wrinkling in disgust as he scrolled through your phone some more. “You know, you’re a hard woman to get alone. You’re always with him… Frankly, it was quite frustrating to watch you two be all lovey dovey. But here we are at last, right? So I guess, it was worth it in the end.” A throaty laugh escaped his throat, causing every hair on your body to stand up. So this guy has been watching you? Following you around for God knew how long? A shiver ran down your spine at the thought of all your intimate moments being tainted by some weirdo watching you from afar.

“So, what is it that you want from us?”

“Right,” he clicked his tongue, shoving your phone in his back pocket and out of sight. A small sigh of relief left your lips. Finally, it didn’t feel like he was digging through your head anymore. “You see; I was in love once, too. We were as happy as you can imagine. Our future together was already within reach.” Suddenly the man reached forward to hold onto your shoulder. At first it seemed like he needed the additional support to keep himself upright, but as his fingertips dug deeper into your skin, you guessed this wasn’t all there was to it. He needed a vent to release some of the anger that was burning in his eyes… and you just so happened to be the closest thing nearby. “Everything was perfect. Suki was pregnant and we were planning to get married… Everything was perfect,” he repeated. There was a strain on his voice now as he talked about the woman that he loved. But you were still confused as to what that had to do with you. “Suki was a good person. The best, in fact. There wasn’t a single bad bone in her body and still… and still, someone cursed her. And not just any curse… No! They turned her into one! Into a monster! My Suki! MY SUKI!” Describing him as furious wouldn’t even come close to the burning hatred you saw searing in his eyes. The grip on your shoulder impossibly painful at this point.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” The sincerity in your voice caught him off guard. You could feel his grip loosening ever so slightly, but the flame in his eyes seemed to blaze more intensely than ever before.

“You don’t get to say sorry!” He spat in your face. “Because your precious excuse of a boyfriend was the one to kill her! HE KILLED HER WITHOUT BATTING AN EYE! WITHOUT EVEN TRYING TO FIX HER! HE KILLED HER! AND HE DID IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! SO, YOU DON’T GET TO SAY YOU’RE SORRY!”

Suddenly everything clicked together. Everything started to make sense. This was a man with nothing to lose and he was out for retribution. If you weren’t scared before, you were definitely scared now. People with nowhere to go, people who didn’t fear death or didn’t care for it were the most unpredictable ones. He probably already knew that there was no way for him to defeat Gojo… and that in turn meant that he must have something planned that would make him suffer the same way he had. Because what do you do if you can’t kill your opponent? Right… You make them wish they were dead. And you had the dreadful feeling that the role you’d be playing in all of this wasn’t merely to lure Gojo in.

You tried to gulp, but a lump was forming in your throat that made it hard to swallow or even breathe. You didn’t care about the things that could happen to you, but if you were to be the reason Gojo had to suffer, you would never be able to forgive yourself.

The wheels in your head started turning, eyes blown wide in horror. The man in front of you could visibly feel your distress. He wet his lips in anticipation. Almost like a famished animal waiting to finally feast on its prey.

“Please, I beg you… just let me go, okay? Please!” It was a pathetic attempt, you knew that. There was no way in hell he would let you go now, but you still had to try, at the very least. “This won’t bring her back, okay? Torturing me won’t bring your Suki back… So please, I beg you… just let me go.”

His head fell back in his neck as a bitter laugh ripped through the night. His whole body shook with the action. The sight caused your heart rate to speed up, hammering against your rip cage like the wings of a hummingbird. This was a mad man with nothing to lose and with nowhere to go.

“Torture you? No, no!” He shook his head, finally letting go off your shoulder as he clasped both his hands together in pure delight. “I have something way better planned for you… You see, my cursed technique is mind manipulation which you might have already noticed.” Ah, now it made sense why you couldn’t move and only talk once he allowed you to. “It’s a rather straining technique, but that won’t matter…” The smile on his face didn’t falter, if anything, it got even bigger. His eyes almost sparkling with perverse glee as he hungrily looked you up and down. His hand reached for his back pocket again, getting a hold of your phone. The screen illuminated his face, highlighting a single scar that traveled across his right cheek. “So, I’ll call your boyfriend now, okay? I think you two have a little catching up to do.” He winked at you. “But before that…” He lowered your phone slightly, intently looking you in the eyes and capturing all your attention. Even if you wanted to look away – and you did – you couldn’t will your body to do so. Never in your life have you felt so helpless. “Y/N, when you see Satoru Gojo’s face again, you’re overcome with the sudden and unbearable desire to kill him and you will stop at nothing until you accomplish your task… or you die trying.”

You stopped breathing, blood freezing in your veins as your brain absorbed these horrible words.

No. No! NO!

This was a fate worse than death! Not only did he make you fight his sick battle, he probably counted on Gojo having to kill you which would… break him. If you can’t kill your enemy… make them wish they were dead. And God did you wish he would’ve just killed you and left you for Gojo to find you. This would’ve been more merciful.

“Oh, he picked up.” Your eyes snapped up to see he was already holding your phone flat against his ear. “Gojo Satoru, I believe I have something of yours in my possession. Please be so kind and pick it up, okay? She really can’t wait to see you.”

***

Sure, he was excited and he really couldn’t wait to see Kugisaki’s and Fushiguro’s bewildered looks when he stands in front of them again. Safe, alive and in the flesh! But he couldn’t deny that he was also feeling a little anxious. The coffee run was just an excuse. He didn’t even like coffee all that much to begin with, but as soon as they drove past the little café, something within him remembered that place and he bugged Ichiji for another five minutes until he finally turned the car around and gave in. At first, Yuji didn’t know where he knew the place from. It seemed familiar somehow and upon seeing the little neon sign at the top, an overwhelming urge to go inside overcame him. Once seated at a table and looking at the menu with all different kinds of teas, pastries and coffees he remembered Fushiguro mentioning this place a couple times. It was always pretty random. Itadori remembered that he found it odd that he’d sometimes bring it up like…

“What are you eating there, Gojo-sensei?”

“Oh, this? This is just one of the best egg tarts you’ll never have,” he laughed while devouring the thing in one bite.

Tsk, right… Gojo never shared his sweets… not even a little bit.

Then Fushiguro would go: “Actually, the best ones you can eat are from a tiny café called Mima.” He would say it so casually, not even looking up from his book. He also remembered Gojo giving him one of his looks, but he didn’t say anything else after that. This more or less happened a few times since he’s known him and for someone like Fushiguro - who was more on the loner side of things, who didn’t disclose personal information or express his feelings - this was a little odd to say the least. Or maybe not odd, but it definitely stuck out enough that even Itadori was able to pick up on the quirk. Yuji even asked him once if he wanted to go there sometime since he talked so much of that place he must really like it. All Megumi said was “No”, then he left without saying another word.

And as for the coffee run being an excuse, he just didn’t know what to say to both of them just yet. He hoped this could buy him some more time to think of something better than “Surprise! I’m not actually dead!”.

The girl with the Flyhead clutched tightly around her shoulders approached their table. She wore a smile on her face, a tired one. Due to the curse she probably didn’t get a lot of sleep, if any. On top of that she walked as if she was in pain. Outsiders probably weren’t able to pick up on her slightly delayed movements, but Yuji could tell that she was suffering. “Can you honestly look at her and say it’s not our concern just because it’s not going to kill her? I mean, by the way it looks it might as well do it.”

Ichiji sighed. Of course, he should’ve known that there was no point in arguing with Itadori. He was sitting in a café after all, instead of driving him to their meet up. So, what the hell, right? On top of that, she really looked worn out. At least, this was a better excuse than to say they just stopped for coffee. While Gojo might not actually care if they’re late… I mean, does he even have the right to talk about someone being unpunctual when this is basically one of his main personality traits? Nanami, who was also waiting, was a different story. Ichiji had a lot of respect for the man, so he hated the thought of gaining his disapproval.

“Okay, you’ll exorcise it. But please be smart about it and don’t raise too much attention! Here are a lot of people after all.”

Itadori gave him an earnest nod. “Yes! Will do!”

“Hello, my name is Y/L/N. Do you already know what you want to order?” The girl smiled at both of them.

“Uhm, what do you recommend?” Itadori asked.

“Well, we’ve been told we sell the best egg tarts here, so probably them.” Her smile stayed on her face, but something flashed inside her eyes that Itadori couldn’t pinpoint. The curse around her neck, suddenly increased its pressure around her throat and he could see that she gulped hard, probably feeling the pressure as a lump in her throat. “As for tea or coffee, I personally love the Matcha or Chai.” Damn, she was a good actress. Smiling through the pain like it was an Olympic sport. Itadori couldn’t say if he was impressed or terrified. No matter what, though, it made him sad. She seemed like a genuinely nice person. He’d be damned if he didn’t exorcise that freaking curse!

“Then I’ll take an egg tart and the Chai, please.” She wrote his order down in her little notebook.

“And for you, sir?” She turned to Ichiji.

“Just a black coffee, thank you.” Hell, now he was in too deep anyway. Might as well enjoy a cup of a well brewed coffee.

“Sure thing. It’ll be right up!” The girl turned on her heal and went to another table to get their order as well.

“Damn, this thing looks like it’s got its fangs into her pretty deeply,” Itadori remarked and Ichiji nodded, having seen the same thing Yuji had. Yuji was right. They couldn’t leave her like this. At this rate, it might strangle her in the future.

“Although it’s just a Flyhead, it seems like it’s been growing on her shoulders for some time now. And did you see how it reacted to a certain trigger? I actually believe she unknowingly put the curse on herself,” Ichiji concluded.

“On herself?”

“It’s rare, but it does happen. If something unforeseen happens in a person’s life and they continually blame themselves for it, unable to let the past go, they’re able to curse themselves. These creatures then feed and grow on their pain, making it even harder for them to move on and find happiness again. Some go mad, others actually kill themselves and in especially rare cases these curses are able to advance their level and spread to people closest to them.”

“So, you think that’s what happened to her? She cursed herself?”

“It seems like it. Just now, when she talked about the egg tarts, the curse reacted instantly. It probably reminded her of whatever the reason for her misery is. Through reminders like that, the curse grows stronger and more cunning. Though, the Flyhead is still no match for a Sorcerer, they’re still a real pain, once they become more cunning.”

Itadori nodded, listening and absorbing every word. Okay, he needed to get her alone somehow and punch that curse right off her shoulders. But how could he do that?

When he looked around the place, he noticed that the toilet stalls were right by the kitchen entrance. There were barely any tables in that area and the few ones there were unoccupied anyways. He should be fine if he could catch her there. But what would he say? Or should he say anything at all? I mean, he couldn’t just punch the air right next to her face. Well, he could, but that didn’t seem like the right option.

He pushed his chair back as he saw her from afar… on her way to the kitchen entrance. “I have an idea,” Yuji told Ichiji. Though, admittedly, it wasn’t a really good one and he might come off as a little weird, but it was still better than having her run around with a cursed spirit slung across her neck. So what the hell… Here goes nothing.

“Do I even want to know?” Ichiji buried his face in his hands. Maybe looking away could grant him some amnesty.

 “Hey! Y/N was it, right?” Itadori called out for her before she could disappear behind the door that read “for staff only”. He tried to seem as friendly as possible, a bright smile on his face, though, he had to admit that the sight of that particular Flyhead made him more than just a little uneasy. It looked even more absurd from up-close and although he wouldn’t necessarily say he was scared of it, the very thought of the girl being in enough misery to load that thing onto her shoulders made him shudder.

“Uh, yeah that’s right.” She stopped and turned around to face him. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Yuji rubbed the back of his neck, realizing that his plan wasn’t actually that planned out after all. “Uh, it’s nothing… I just – I just…” It wasn’t really like him to stutter. “I just wondered if you’re okay, that’s all.”

Upon hearing him say that she cocked her head to the side a little. Confusion written all over the place, but not in a way that told him his question was inappropriate, she looked more like someone caught in a lie. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine… What makes you ask me that?”

“You just look really tired and your shoulders seem a bit stiff, so I just wanted to check in and see if you’re doing alright.”

Yuji half expected her to brush him off with a polite excuse. To his surprise, though, the happy smile on her face fell and her shoulders sagged as if her social mask had come undone. “You can tell, huh?” She averted her eyes as if she was afraid of how he would look at her.

“Yeah… you’re good at hiding it, though, but I kind of have a sixth sense when it comes to things like these.” If it weren’t for the obvious curse, he doubted he would’ve seen through her act.

“I see,” she hummed. “Well, thanks for checking in, but there isn’t really anything you can do about it.” She was already turning on her heel again. “I appreciate it, though.”

Before she could walk away, Yuji held onto her wrist, keeping her from moving forward. “There might be something I can do!” She turned around again, a puzzled look on her face. Why was he trying so hard? Why did he care?, were thoughts that ran through her mind.

“Turn around again,” Yuji told her, his voice firm, not leaving room for much debate. She obliged and he rested both his hands on her shoulders. “This might sting a little,” he warned and then he clutched his hands around that thing, concentrating his cursed energy and forcing it to flow into his hands while he squeezed the creature in his fist. It didn’t take long for it to explode into thin air.

There was a short pause. Neither of them said anything, nor could he tell what she was thinking by the way she stood there, unmoving. Finally, she lifted her shoulders a little, touching them with one hand as if to make sure they were still there. “H-how…? What – how did you do that?” She asked incredulously, moving her shoulders up and down to get rid of the remaining stiffness.

She turned around, the look on her face was different now. There seemed to be tears pickling behind her eyes, causing her eyes to gloss over, but not enough that they would spill over her waterline. The way her eyes looked at him, in pure fascination and curiosity seemed much more lively than before and Yuji couldn’t help the proud grin that spread across his face.

You’re a strong kid, so help others.

The words of his deceased grandfather resounded in his head. He was glad he was at least able to save you. It didn’t lessen the pain of the one’s he hadn’t been able to save or the ones who had fallen at his hand, but at least, it made him feel somewhat useful.

Yuji rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a talent of mine,” he shrugged dismissively.  

“Wow, thank you!” In her relief she grabbed his hand without thinking, holding it in both of hers as she beamed at him with utmost gratitude. “My shoulders feel so much lighter now. I can actually breathe! Is there anything I can do to thank you?”

Yuji blushed and shook his head. “It was no trouble really. You don’t have to thank me.”

“Y/N! What about the orders?!”

Y/N flinched as her manager’s voice rang through the air, calling out for her.

“Yeah, I’m on it!” She turned back to Yuji, the smile on her face finally looking genuine. “I have to get back to work, but I’m really really grateful for whatever it is that you did. Thank you!”

“No problem.”

 “So, how did it go?” Ichiji asked as Itadori approached their table again. “Were you able to exorcise it?”

“Yeah, I was.” He sat back down and not long after that he saw a familiar shade of y/h/c hair walk around the corner, tray in hand which was loaded with all kinds of pastries and drinks. She walked directly towards Itadori, the smile from before still on her lips.

“Here you go!” She sat his tea and egg tart in front of him and handed Ichiji his coffee. “It’s on me,…”

“Itadori. Itadori Yuji,” he introduced himself. “But that’s really not necessary!”

“No, please. I insist!”

Yuji’s cheeks heated up a little. He figured there was no point in arguing over pastries and tea, so he thanked her again and dug into his egg tart… and damn, they really had the best one’s he’s ever had. Fushiguro wasn’t kidding.  

 ***

“Why are you staring at your phone like that, idiot? I’m talking to you!” Nobara complained and Yuji contemplated if he should just ignore her. But he knew that wouldn’t work with Kugisaki. She’d just get on his nerves even more.

“It’s nothing,” he tried to brush her off but she gave him a look – the look – that screamed ‘bullshit’. “Fine,” Itadori sighed. “This girl I met a few days ago just messaged me on Facebook asking to meet up.”

Nobara’s eyes were practically jumping out of their sockets as she looked at him with utter disbelief. Should he be offended? Even Megumi lowered the book he was reading, his interest also piqued.

“A girl? You met a girl and didn’t tell us?!” Nobara almost screamed, but he didn’t know if it was in excitement or rage.

“Well, there wasn’t anything to tell, really.” He scratched the back of his neck, recalling the events. “She put a curse on herself and I exorcised it… That’s pretty much it. She must’ve found my name on Facebook. We didn’t exchange contact information or anything,” Yuji explained.

“Cursed herself, huh?” Nobara asked more to herself than expecting an answer.

“Yeah, apparently. At least that’s what Ichiji said.”

“Okay, so now she wants to meet you again… Why?” She made a face. Okay, he should definitely be offended!

Yuji rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. She didn’t say. Just that she wants to talk to me about something.”

“Well, you should go,” Kugisaki pressed on. “Who knows? That might be your only chance ever of getting a girlfriend!”

“Hey!” Yuji exclaimed with a pout on his face. “Why are you so mean to me?!”

Nobara stuck her tongue out and Megumi resumed his reading, not adding anything to the conversation which was to be expected. Still, Yuji somehow doubted this was going to be a date. Well, whatever it may turn out to be, he liked her well enough when he met her, so it couldn’t hurt, right?

Yuji clicked on your message and gave a quick response, asking for a time and place to meet up.

Even if he didn’t really expect this to turn out to be a date, he definitely didn’t expect this…

 ***

*Your point of view*

It was a little uncomfortable at first. Both of you sitting on a bench in a park near the place you worked at.

“So, uhm, Itadori?”

“You can call me Yuji,” he offered and you nodded.

“Right. Yuji, then.” You played with your fingers nervously. How do you even initiate a conversation like this? Better just straight to the point. There was no need in dragging this out any longer than need be. “So, uh… I guess there’s really no easy way to say this, huh? But… the other day, you know? When we met… Was I… Was I cursed?”

Yuji’s eyes went wide. Before you could withdraw your question and tell him that you know it sounded crazy he surprised you by nodding. “How do you know?” He asked, confusion in his voice. “You couldn’t see the curse back then, right?”

“Well, I heard you and the man you were with talking about something called a Flyhead, sorcerers and I think I also picked up the word curse…” You looked down at your hands again. “At first I thought it was utter nonsense or that you were part of some cult or something… But then you came up to me and did whatever it was that you did and it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders and I felt a million times better in an instant… You know, I was able to sleep through the night for the first time in forever that day! Food didn’t taste as bad and the sun felt somehow warmer… I couldn’t help but be a little curious, so I looked the things up you were talking about and there was a lot of crazy stuff on the Internet talking about cursed spirits and exorcisms and the likes… And I thought that you’d probably be the best person to ask about that sort of thing.”

It was silent after your monologue. You were afraid to look up from your intertwined fingers. Anxious to see him look at you with an expression that would tell you, you were crazy. But when you did look up, Yuji was staring into the sky, obviously deep in thought. Briefly you wondered what you could say, but right when you opened your mouth, he averted his gaze and looked at you.

“To be honest, I don’t really know how much I’m allowed to tell you about any of this,” he scratched the back of his neck and squinted his eyes a little. “And I’m fairly new to this myself, so I might not actually be the best person to ask.”

“Hm, I see…” You sounded disappointed.

“However,” he held one finger up in the air, “I could introduce you to my friends. Both of them have a lot more experience than I do, so they can probably help you out a lot more than I ever could.”

“Really? Are you sure?” Yuji really was too nice for his own good.

“Yeah, absolutely!” He gave you a reassuring smile and you relaxed a little.

“Okay, then I’d love to meet them!” Suddenly your alarm went off. “Oh, shoot! I have to get back to work.”

“Sure! I’ll just text you the details later, okay?” You got up from the bench and nodded.

“Sounds good!”

“Hey, Y/N!” Yuji called after you, causing you to turn around. “Are you afraid…,” he paused. “Now that you know that curses are real, I mean?”

You thought about this for a moment. “Honestly, I don’t know.” You shrugged. “I guess to me they still seem surreal given that I can’t see them… but now that I know they’re out there,” a sudden shudder travelled through your body, “I just want to be prepared, I guess.”

Itadori nodded. “Makes sense.”

You said your goodbyes and Itadori made his way back to Jujutsu Tech, already thinking of all the ways he would get yelled at by Fushiguro for dragging an outsider into the mess that was the world of curses and sorcerers. For some reason, Megumi had a deep aversion for getting outsiders involved. He made that abundantly clear a number of times, but never really specified the reason. Whatever it was, Yuji was sure he wouldn’t hear the end of it. But Yuji reasoned that it was better to tell her everything now and maybe teach her one or two things about jujutsu so she could defend herself in the future. So, whatever Fushiguro had to say, he believed he was doing the right thing after all.

 ***

“Oh, there they are!” Yuji took your hand and practically dragged you to where his friends were waiting for you. This obviously hadn’t been your idea. To say you were nervous was an understatement. You could imagine that they wouldn’t be too happy about Itadori dragging an outside into this and being bombarded with questions. It was to no use, though. Yuji insisted you’d meet them, even if it meant just meeting his friends and not talking about curses or jujutsu. They were still normal teenagers after all. “You’ll be fine, Y/N!” Yuji reassured as if he could read your thoughts. “They’ll like you, you’ll see!”

“Hm, sure,” you mumbled, not convinced in the least.

You felt Yuji slowing down and eventually coming to a stop. Your eyes remained glued to the ground. Normally you weren’t that shy but from the things Yuji told you these people basically had superpowers and who wouldn’t be intimidated by that, right?

“So, guys this is-“

“Y/N?!” Your head snapped up immediately upon hearing a very familiar voice saying your name. This couldn’t be real, right? Just as you thought you’d shaken off the hallow feeling of his voice still ringing in your head, here you were, hearing voices again like someone going mad. But when you looked up, the thought of going crazy suddenly seemed more enticing than the reality you were confronted with. It was him. There was no doubt. His hair was a little longer than what you remembered, his voice a little rougher but his eyes still held the same glint in them. Yes, undoubtedly it was him. Megumi Fushiguro. Your ex-boyfriend. Suddenly, these dreadful words from that night echoed in your head again. Words that you had successfully pushed aside for some time now.

I don’t think I ever really loved you.

You were convenient.  

Just forget about me.

Tears prickles behind your eyes, hands trembling at your sides. It hurt. It still hurt so much. The ache in your heart was unbearable. It felt like someone ripped it right out. Tearing the stitches open that took so long to heal. Everything came crumbling down again. All of it. The misery of the last year you had experienced, trying your damn hardest to forget him, to stop thinking about him. And now, when you finally had some sense of normalcy (as normal as it could get with the knowledge of curses being real and all that, anyway) in your life and your body didn’t ache in the same way as before anymore, Megumi stood right in front of you, breaking down the walls that took so long to build and repair. All your efforts were for naught. You were back at square one.

“You two know each other?!” Itadori pulled you back to reality. You blinked rapidly, noticing that you must’ve been staring at him a little too long.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Megumi’s voice was low, calm on the outside but you knew he was furious. The twitch in his left eye gave little room for interpretation. He made it very clear that he didn’t want you in his life anymore and yet, here you were. He must’ve hated that.

Yuji scratched the back of his neck. “I told you, didn’t I? She wants to learn more about curses so I brought her here… But if you already know each other then that’s all the better, right?” Itadori tried to sound cheerful but even he could sense the sudden hostility in the air. Fushiguro was always more on the reserved side, so usually it was hard to tell what he was thinking, but right now, Yuji was sure that he made a mistake of some kind.

“What’s wrong with you out of a sudden?” The girl next to Megumi complained and whacked him over the head as a sign of disapproval. He rubbed the spot with an annoyed frown on his face.

“You guys do whatever. I’m out of here.” Megumi turned around and left the three of you standing there perplexed. Well, the others were perplexed, you… not so much.  Of course he would hate to see you. Of course nothing had changed in a year. He made his feelings abundantly clear back then.

“What’s his deal?” Itadori asked the girl and she shrugged.

“Hell if I know.  You know how he can be sometimes.” She turned her attention to you. “Kugisaki Nobara,” she introduced herself with a slight bow which you returned while stating your name. “So, you know Fushiguro?”

You averted your eyes again, looking at the ground and kicking a lone pebble that laid by your feet. The small stone scattered across the asphalt. When it came to a stop, you sighed.

“I knew him. That was some time ago, though.”

“Well, you must’ve left quite the impression on him for him to react like that. He’s so emotionally constipated, I sometimes forget he actually does have feelings,” Nobara said and Yuji nodded in full support.

“Yeah, totally! He’s like a rock or something!”

“Right?!” Kugisaki and Itadori both high fived each other and something told you that roasting Fushiguro was a common occurrence between them. She turned her attention back to you. “So, what’s the story here?”

“Well, uhm…” You could tell them right? It wasn’t like it was a huge secret or anything, so what’s the matter? “We were together.”

Nobara and Yuji’s yaws hit the floor. “What??!” They both yelled in sync.

“Like together?! As in together together?” Kugisaki yelped.

“Like… he was your boyfriend?” Itadori asked.  

You blushed. You were afraid your voice could betray you, so you just nodded.

“Wow! Now would you look at that?!” Nobara shook her head in disbelief. “That jerk!” She balled her fist in the air, the sudden change in demeanor had you feeling uneasy. Did you just make his life a living hell? “How can he – dead-eyed Fushiguro - have a girlfriend before I ever had a boyfriend? I swear, he’ll pay for it!”

“I can name at least five reas-“ Nobara smacked Yuji upside the head to shut him up.

“Like you have any room to talk, idiot!”

Both of them stopped what they were doing when they heard your laughter. You couldn’t help it, but seeing them like this caused something within you to snap. You missed this. Lightheartedness, teasing, friendship and laughter. You couldn’t remember the last time you laughed this hard and carefree. It felt good.

It didn’t take long for both of them to join in on your fit of laughter. This was nice, you thought to yourself. Despite the waging war inside of you upon seeing Megumi, this was worth it. Out of the corner of your eyes you looked at Yuji and you thanked whoever that you got to meet him, that he was part of your life now and you of his. You were really grateful for him, albeit you’ve only known each other for a couple weeks. 

“Okay, but seriously, I need the whole story,” Nobara said after calming down.

“Me too!”

“Well, I still have a few errands to run, so let’s meet up at the school in an hour?” She proposed and Yuji nodded eagerly.

“Yes, sounds good! I can show her around and explain a few more things there!”

“Alright,” Kugisaki clapped her hands together. “I’ll be quick! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!” She sounded so exited, but what was there to even talk about? You didn’t know if you could tell them about the way things ended… or even list all the happy memories you had together.

I don’t think I ever really loved you.

Yeah, the happy ones felt even worse to relive somehow. Because after what he told you, these memories suddenly felt like a lie. Every kiss you ever shared was a lie, because… he didn’t really love you, right?

“See you then.” Yuji waved goodbye and you watched her disappear into the crowd of people.

Yeah, what was there to tell when all you could recall were a bunch of lies?

 ***

*Megumi’s point of view*

Megumi sighed. He was laying in his bed, eyes trained to the ceiling and his thoughts were running wild. He wanted to shut them up, turn them off somehow, but he already knew it would be a futile attempt. There was nothing in this world that he could do to shake your face out of his head, to forget the look of pure shock you had given him upon seeing his face after so long. The way your eyes slowly widened and how your breath hitched in your throat ever so slightly would forever be ingrained in his mind. But aside from that, he couldn’t necessarily say it made him sad. Well, that wasn’t true either. It felt more bittersweet than anything else. Because at the end of the day, he got to see you again. Something that he didn’t think possible, something that he didn’t even dare to dream about. He knew he shouldn’t feel like this. After all, it was him who decided to break things off so suddenly, but yet again, he never got over you. The way you trembled by the door, how you clutched your arms so tightly around yourself as if you could fall apart at any given moment… those were images that still haunted him every other night.

With another low sigh he turned around in his bed to look out the window. The clouds on the horizon were turning darker and an occasional flash of light would tear the sky in half. A storm was coming. He scoffed cynically, “How fitting”, he thought. But the force of a natural storm would still be no match to the one raging inside his head. Why did it have to be you? Why?

Was this an act of punishment? Was this karma? Well, whatever it was, it sucked.

He broke up with you in an attempt to keep you safe and now you thrust yourself into the world of curses at full speed.

Megumi ran his left hand down his face. Gosh, were you a magnet for disaster? Luring people in that would inevitably turn your life into a freaking shit show? Tear you away from the light and condemn you to darkness? Ugh! This is what he didn’t want! The only thing he really cared about! And now what? You still somehow found your way back there. Back to the edge where the last puddle of light was slowly dying out.

Go back, go back, go back!

Once you’d cross that line, there was no return. A solemn thought told him, though, that you already had one foot in. That it was too late now. His attempt to keep you away had failed. He had failed.  

Failure.

Failure!

You goddamn FAILURE!

His thoughts were screaming at him.

Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!

He pressed both his hands against his temples, willing the relentless screaming to stop. Hoping this was nothing but a nightmare. When he forced his eyes shut and slowly opened them again, everything remained the same, though. This wasn’t a dream. This was real and there was nothing he could do about it now. Maybe he should’ve looked out for you in a different way, or keep tabs on your whereabouts or…

“It’s no use,” he mumbled almost incoherently. What ifs didn’t matter now. Thinking about what could’ve been or what he should’ve done differently wouldn’t change the past. All he could do now, was focus on the future. What could he do to keep you out of this?

His mind rattled and rattled and then he remembered something that should’ve been very obvious, but that he somehow forgot about… The reason why you came in contact with Itadori in the first place… He remembered Itadori telling Kugisaki and him about some poor girl being really worn down by a curse that she apparently put on herself. That was you. You had been cursed. Or rather, you cursed yourself and that all because of… him?! In an effort to keep you safe, he made everything worse for you. He couldn’t even imagine how much you must’ve suffered, nor did he want to think about it.

Your fault, your fault. This is all your fault! Failure! Look what you did! Now you have to suffer the consequences!

And while he liked Yuji well enough. I mean, they were friends after all, right? Megumi would even go as far as to say that Yuji was probably the first real friend he’s ever had. But… he was also Sukuna’s vessel. And while that wasn’t really a problem with him – well, except for that one time he almost died – he couldn’t help but feel uneasy when he thought of the two of you alone together. What if he came out? What if he hurt you? He was the king of curses so there really wasn’t a worse person you could’ve picked to be friends with. He huffed… Was that really the only reason, though? Or was it something else entirely? His stomach turned and twisted uncomfortably at the idea of him making you laugh, of him being the reason why you were feeling better and not Megumi and of him being there to comfort you when he couldn’t… Yeah, this was definitely something else.

Ugh! He hated this! All of it! For a second he contemplated about grabbing his pillow and screaming in it, but right when he reached behind him to get a hold of it, there were voices bouncing off the walls in the hallway. Megumi listened intently as they came closer. Low giggles passing by his door and incoherent chatter.

“This is Fushiguro’s room, by the way.” Itadori, he recognized. “And this is mine.”

“I see.” Your voice! This was your voice! Megumi bolted upright. The bed squeaking with the sudden movement. He listened intently, waiting for the door that lead to Yuji’s room to open and falling shut again, but the sound didn’t come. Did he miss it? Were both them in Yuji’s room right now? Alone?

Ugh! His stomach acid seemed to be boiling inside of him, making him feel nauseous.

Should I go over? Should I knock? What would I even say?

“Ah, there you are!” Another familiar voice came from outside, causing Fushiguro to instantly grind his teeth together. Could this day get any worse?! “Itadori, just the man I was looking for,” Gojo said cheerfully. “Huh? And who might that be?”

Oh no, oh no! Itadori was bad enough, but Gojo?! This had to be the universe laughing right at his face.

Megumi clutched his hands into fists, willing them to stop trembling. It didn’t really work.  

You can do this. Just get her out of here. Gojo is bad news in more than one way. You weren’t able to save her and keep her away from curses and the jujutsu world, but the least you can do is keep her away from Gojo. So do it, idiot! Do something!

Forcing himself not to think of what would happen next, he jumped out of his bed and darted for the door. He yanked it open and was instantly met with all three of them looking at him with confusion written all over their faces. Except for Gojo… there was something else in his smirk, Megumi could tell even without seeing his eyes.

“Come with me,” Megumi said, grabbing you by your wrist without waiting for an answer. In your shock you didn’t even think of fighting him, instead, you let yourself be dragged through the hallway.

“That’s not very polite, Megumi!” Gojo yelled from behind. He sounded more amused than annoyed. Fushiguro rolled his eyes, but ignored him otherwise.

Once they reached the doors, he inhaled deeply and pushed them open. The air had cooled off drastically, but that didn’t really matter to him. He dragged you along further until you dug your feet into the ground, finally catching up with the situation.

“What – what are you doing?” Your voice was shaking. “I mean, why – why…” You tried to string the words together, but your sentences remained a blabbering and incoherent mess. So you just gave up. What did you want to ask anyway?

“I think it’s time for us to talk,” Megumi answered, but he didn’t turn around to look at you. Instead, he let go off your wrist and kept on walking alone. You knew that this was his way of telling you that it was up to you if you wanted to hear him out or not. It was your decision to follow him or turn back around again…