#ineka

I’m tired.

Ineka looked to his right where Toge was sunbathing on the concrete, his hands tucked under his head for some cushioning, His eyes were closed. His ankles were crossed. Honestly, Ineka thought he was asleep until he heard Toge’s active thought of, I’m tired.

Ineka closed his book. “Why don’t you go back to your dorm, then?”

Toge smiled. Because it’s nice out here… with you. Why are you listening?

“Because I’m bored.”

Then perhaps you should go back to your dorm.

Ineka smiled, too, as Toge peeked his eye open to catch a glimpse of his friend. They both turned away from each other to hide their smirks— Toge even zipped his uniform back up to his nose so that his blush wasn’t visible. It was hard for them to keep their thoughts and feelings from each other when Ineka could effortlessly read Toge’s mind, and Toge could pry the truth out of Ineka whenever he wanted. It was their own fault, though. They became friends in the first place because Ineka was the first person that Toge could have full conversations with instead of just listening to people talk circles around him while all they got in return was onigiri ingredients. He was so sick of saying, “Sake. Tanaka.” With Ineka, all he had to do was think, and suddenly there were so many possibilities for him to communicate with another person in his life, so, naturally, they latched onto each other. Sure, it was hard at times. Toge still felt isolated from the other fourth years, and Ineka missed Toge when they went on separate missions. But they made it work the best they could. And in the process of growing so close, they had undeniably developed further feelings that Toge tried his very best to suppress when he was around Ineka because he didn’t want him to ever find out the truth and potentially ruin their friendship.

His hair… Toge whined happily with a deeper, obvious, audible blush.

Ineka laughed to himself. Sometimes he thought his hair was a little much, after meeting Yuuji Itadori who had colored hair, too, and was even more annoying about it; but Toge liked Ineka’s hair. Toge always thought about the way loose strands would fall in Ineka’s face and he wouldn’t move it out of the way simply because Toge was thinking about how wonderful his hair looked all disheveled like that. One time, he made Ineka promise him that he’d never cut it or be ashamed of his red colored hair again. Ineka agreed.

Ineka sighed and put his sunglasses back on. “Alright, come on.” He pushed himself to his feet.

Toge opened his eyes to see Ineka towering overhead, holding a gloved hand out for the white-haired boy. He relished how comfortable laying on the concrete in the sun was for another quick moment before he took Ineka’s hand, and they worked together to put Toge on his feet, too.

I was comfortable, Toge scowled as they walked together.

“Yeah, but you’ll be more comfortable in your bed.”

Toge had only returned from his solo assignment that morning, and yet he was trying to act like he was completely fine, and like his throat wasn’t killing him, even after all of the medicine he had chugged. They were used to this process. Solo missions meant Toge had to use his technique, which meant that whenever he got back to Jujutsu Tech, all he needed were his potions, some cough syrup to chase it down with, and lots of rest. No using his voice. At all. Even if it were for “Sake.”

Ineka was very strict about taking care of Toge after assignments because no one else was going to do it. The other students, and teachers, too, honestly, didn’t realize what kind of toll Toge really took on for their protection. If they knew, perhaps they wouldn’t have been so casual with him. Maybe they would have babied him as much as Ineka did. Or maybe it was just another “Ineka-thing” that everyone always talked about when he openly showed his worry for others after being stone cold the majority of the time. Megumi cracked the code one day. The “Ineka-thing” had to do with people Ineka knew in America before Gojou brought him to Japan to study Jujutsu and develop his already impressive cursed technique; and all of those people were ones he lost as a result of his decisions that he now regretted. Ineka didn’t realize until after Itadori “died” that those at Jujutsu Tech in Tokyo mattered to him. And it wasn’t until he became attached at the hip with Toge that he realized he couldn’t afford to lose any of them— Especially Toge, which was why he was unnecessarily protective.

They turned a corner that led them to the dormitories. There was a yelp and a stumble back, and when they looked up, they saw Seena Kiyomi in front of them, all flustered, pushing the skirt of her uniform down, and apologizing for not looking where she was going. Ineka looked over the top of his glasses to get a good look at her face.

They don’t know, See. It’s fine.

She laughed nervously. “I’ll, uh… I’ll leave you boys to it.” She started walking around them. Get it together, See. “Oh— Right— Inumaki-kun, we should probably talk about how today went after you’ve recuperated.”

Ineka stopped eavesdropping on his teacher’s thoughts. Toge replied to her with a nod. She was really the only teacher who knew the lengths Ineka went to for Toge, and what Toge had to endure on behalf of his curse, for that, they were both grateful, and a vocal answer from Toge was never expected. Instead, they both bowed slightly at the hip before she slinked away. She was still fidgeting with the bottom of her skirt.

Ineka looked over his glasses at Toge. What was that all about?

“Dunno.”

Together, they continued down the hallway, passing just a few doors until they were at Toge’s room. They removed their shoes, picked them up, and stepped inside one after the other, then put their shoes in a box Toge had by the door, and lastly just jumped on the bed so that there was an excuse to not wear slippers. Toge immediately laid down. He was exhausted and wanted to give off that vibe so that Ineka didn’t sense that he was really extremely tense having Ineka on his bed with him. Ineka had the same anxiety, honestly. He kept himself tucked at the foot of the bed, his back against the wall, his hip pressed directly against the footboard. It had been a long time since Ineka had been in Toge’s room. It was the first time they were even on the same bed. And all of those thoughts they had both been suppressing for so long suddenly flooded, taking over what little self-restraint they had.

He could kiss me now, if he wanted.

Ineka didn’t mean to hear it. His gaze had been shifting uncomfortably around the room to take in the details of Toge’s life that he had never seen before. The manga and mini-figures on his shelves, the monitor and gaming console he had set up so neatly on his desk, the posters on his walls from his favorite movie that he had yet to show to Ineka like he promised he would. When Ineka heard what Toge was thinking, he had been glancing over his glasses to get a good look out the window to see Kiyomi-sensei leaving the school with her purse that she immediately handed over to Megumi’s dad, Toji, who she recently revealed to have been dating for a while now. Megumi disliked it. Gojou-sensei disliked it. Everyone else was just confused. But what caught Ineka’s eye was the way Toji Fushiguro’s hand playfully made its way under Kiyomi-sensei’s skirt before she could smack it away. The act alone made Ineka instinctively look at Toge, and that was when he heard it.

He could kiss me, if he wanted.

If he wanted? Ineka couldn’t even begin to guess when he started wanting Toge. All he knew was that he had been dying for the day they either did something about their feelings or broke each other’s hearts before they could even get there. It made Ineka’s heart flutter to think that Toge wanted to kiss him— No, that Toge wanted Ineka to kiss him.

“I should probably let you rest,” Ineka said while already moving to stand.

“Stay.”

Ineka was compelled to stop in his tracks. “You aren’t supposed to be using your voice.” He returned to his spot on the bed and looked over at Toge who had the zipper of his uniform pulled down so that he could drink more cough syrup. “You could’ve just thought it.” He took off his sunglasses and gloves.

But then you wouldn’t have stayed.

“True.” Ineka reached out. “Hand.”

Toge warily accepted, unsure of where this was headed. They both felt it like a little zap. One second, Toge owned his curse entirely; the next, however, Ineka had a copy of it. Ineka wasn’t a big fan of using his powers around others after Gojou warned him years ago to not go around showing it off to everyone, but Ineka trusted Toge— And most of the students had already seen his technique in action during prior battles, anyhow, it wasn’t like Ineka was committing a crime by copying Toge’s cursed speech ability. He was doing it for the right reasons after all.

“Stop talking.”

Immediately, Ineka’s throat began to uncontrollably itch. He couldn't believe that Toge had to deal with it constantly. The nice thing, though, was that Toge was prepared with throat lozenges. Cherry coated Ineka’s tongue and throat as he looked at the clock on Toge’s bedside table. The command would wear off in a couple of hours— It was enough time for Toge to fall asleep and go to dinner without hurting himself more.

“Relax.” The ich turned into a burn that made Ineka cough and squeeze Toge’s hand.

Stop it, Ineka. Please. I get it. I’m done. Just stop, please.

Ineka nodded an agreement to his surrender while massaging his throat. This wasn’t the first time Ineka had ever borrowed Toge’s curse, but it had certainly been a while. He forgot how bad it could hurt. Even with the potions and medicines, it still hurt like a bitch, which was the real curse on its own. Ineka pitied Toge. Poor thing must have been in agony after his assignment.

Ineka… Toge tugged at his hand gently. You shouldn’t have done that…

Ineka nodded again.

Come here. A failed attempt at using his power even after Ineka told him he couldn’t speak? What was Toge thinking?

Still, Ineka couldn’t help but obey. Regardless of the fact that no order had been given to compel Ineka to follow Toge’s orders, Ineka willingly went with Toge as he tugged his hand closer, forcing Ineka to sit on his knees between Toge’s thighs. It was too intimate. Ineka was beginning to panic.

Stay with me, won’t you?

“Takana.” [“You’re supposed to be relaxing.”]

I’d be more relaxed if you stayed. Toge continued to pull at Ineka’s hand until Ineka had no choice other than to roll onto his side so that he was squished next to Toge on the small mattress, otherwise he would have ended up laying right on top of him. Toge immediately went limp. See?

Ineka smiled. “Sake.”

Though, Ineka was anything but relaxed now. Between having to watch what he said for fear of accidentally using his temporary cursed technique on Toge and being so close to Toge that they could indeed kiss, Ineka didn’t know what to do with himself. For lack of a better term, he was freaking the fuck out. If anyone saw them like that, they’d be in the rumor mill forever. “Are you and Inumaki a thing?” “Is that why you guys spend so much time together?” “Oooh, Ineka and Toge, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage—“ Ineka would have smacked Gojou-sensei before he could finish the rest. It wasn’t like they would be judged. Ineka knew well that no one would have actually cared, they would just tease Ineka and Toge about it to hell and back— And with Toge unable to stop them, really, he was worried about how annoying people could get. Maybe they could use Toge’s power to make people forget or stop talking about it… Or maybe Kiyomi-sensei would intervene like she did with most rumors and incidents of endless teasing— Ineka realized he was really overthinking something that hadn’t even happened yet. He just needed to breathe.

What is it?

Ineka shook his head. “Okaka.” [“Nothing.”]

Toge let out a shaky breath. Ineka’s order to relax had done more than bargained for, including letting Toge’s guard down, giving him the bravery to say what had been on his mind for forever. You know… You could kiss me… If you want… He only realized afterwards what he had just said. If Ineka hadn’t told him to relax, he would have never been so forward with his best friend; yet there they were.

“Takana?” [“What?”]

Toge wasn’t capable of feeling anxious because of Ineka’s response. Only if you want. I don’t mean to make things awkward. I’m sorry I told you to stay.

Because it wasn’t like Ineka could leave now. He had been told to stay, so now he had no choice but to stay in that bed with Toge until the curse wore off.

“Okaka.” [“Don’t be sorry.”] Ineka gulped.

He really wished he could have told Toge, “Are you sure? If it’s the curse talking, then maybe we shouldn’t.” And he wished there was a bigger vocabulary for him to say, “I don’t mind that you told me to stay. I’m glad you did. And I’m glad that I bring you comfort.” But there wasn’t anything he could do but nuzzle into Toge a bit more to show his interest and appreciation.

Toge tapped Ineka’s shoulder, prompting him to look up again. I’m sorry—

Ineka couldn’t contain himself any longer. Missing Toge while he was gone on his solo assignment, then worrying about him when he came back, then being stuck on the same bed together, it all boiled over into Ineka losing all control of the self-restraint he had kept steady for years. He kissed Toge. It was unexpected for both of them. There was too much shock at first for either of them to really do anything, but after a moment, Toge did as he always wished to do: He tangled his fingers in Ineka’s hair.

So this is what it feels like—

Ineka smiled against Toge’s lips before pressing against him harder. His face was hovering over Toge now, their sides closer together than before. It felt nice to finally do what he had been dying to do forever, and he relished knowing that Toge liked kissing him and playing with his hair— And he loved the feeling of Toge’s fingers pulling gently at the pink strands that had fallen in Ineka’s face. Toge tasted like cherries. The potions, the cough syrup, and cough drops, they were all the same flavor, and they all enhanced the cherry flavor Ineka already had in his mouth.

Finally, they broke apart to breathe. Toge opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but he was stopped by the command Ineka had given him, making him huff with frustration. Ineka nudged his nose against Toge’s. It was to say he was sorry because onigiri ingredients just wouldn’t cut it. Part of him hated that he made it so Toge couldn’t speak after what had just happened, but the other part of him was reminded that it was for the best.

Why’d you stop?

It was Ineka’s turn to huff now because there wasn’t anything he could say. Onigiri couldn’t tell Toge, “Because I’m worried that I’ve overstepped, even though you told me this was fine; but I’m still afraid that this will change things… And what are we supposed to do now when I can’t leave this bed until both of our curses have waned?”

Was I bad?

“No!”

Ineka’s eyes shot wide and he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. He shouldn’t have done that. He should have been more careful. If he had said anything else, they could have been in trouble. He could have hurt Toge. Ineka didn’t even care if anything he said hurt his own voice or harmed himself, he cared if it impacted Toge negatively.

Are you okay?

“Sake…” [“Yes.”] Ineka sighed.

We’ve really created a problem for the two of us here. Toge laughed.

Ineka chuckled quietly. “Sake.” [“Yeah.”]

Without warning, Toge leaned up and kissed Ineka again. Ineka cupped Toge’s face. They kissed only for a short moment, yet they were both holding onto each other.

I’m tired…

So, relaxing paid off, it seemed.

“Sake.” [“Good.”] Ineka ran his thumb over Toge’s tattoos on his cheeks. “Sleep.”

i think 90% of the headcanons in this fandom can agree on one thing: toge would learn sign language in order to communicate better with others. the nice thing about being with ineka, though, is that he never has to use sign language or onigiri ingredients because ineka can just read his mind and then reply out loud, which makes everything so much easier and relieving for toge. and i bring this up because sometimes in sign language you can make a sign for people's names based on a feature of theirs. and i think that toge would want to come up with a name for ineka-- and the one he lands on is using his pinkie for "I" (we're gonna go off american sign language cuz it's what i know, and ineka's american, so it all works out ok) and then runs his pinkie down the insisde of his forearm from elbow to wrist to represent all of the watches ineka has to keep track of the curses he's copying at any given time.

so let's skip a whole lot of plot and yoink us into the culling game arc. toge and ineka got split up shortly before shibuya because toge was required under the veil to help with the evacuations while ineka got caught up with trying to distract the elders back at the school. because of this, long story short, the elders send out ineka to kill itadori before toge can return, wounded, missing an arm. ineka has no clue what's happened to toge. he doesn't even know if he's alive. so during the culling game, when they find out that he's okay, he's just being cooped up in the school by the elders, ineka's a bit relieved because at least toge's safe.

skipping a bit more so we get to the good stuff ok.

towards the end of the culling game, seena and toji sneak into the school to retrieve some weapons; and seena asks megumi to use his new shadow technique to find toge in the school and ask him to come meet them in the weapons shed so that they can talk. when toge gets there, he's so relieved to see his teacher, and she's beyond words with how happy she is to see him- but her heart drops when she sees his missing arm and the dried blood that's clinging to his chin. she asks what happened while desperately trying to scrub the blood off his face. he signs to her that the elders have been using him for his technique... they don't care about the toll it's taking on him. he's pretty much lost his voice altogether at this point. but they keep telling him that it's all he's good for now that he doesn't have two arms and can't fight-- which is bullshit, and seena knows it; but this poor kid's been broken down by the elders and all the sorcerers in the school.

"come with us," she pleads.

with the scratchiest, croakiest voice you've ever heard, he refuses with, "okaka."

and while trying to go in circles begging him to leave with them, seena says that they're with ineka, he's okay, and he misses toge dearly. if he came with them, maybe everything would be alright. and there's a slight jolt in toge's shoulder like he's trying to sign ineka's name but he can't anymore. he pouts.

"i can't," he insists while signing with one hand. and then he points to his hip. "a tracker," he explains. the elders want to keep track of him because he's their golden ticket to surviving the culling game when all he has to do is say one word and he can destroy anyone or anything.

so, reluctantly, seena and toji have to leave him behind. it's not a pretty sight, though. seena's still begging and trying to hold onto toge while toji grabs her and has to drag her away, keeping her quiet with a hand on her mouth so that they don't get caught; and then they get back to ineka who's so confused as to why seena's so upset until megumi and toji have to explain to him that they saw toge, that they offered him a way out, but he refused in order to keep ineka safe.

ineka is the most protective and possessive motherfucker you've ever seen is2g.

this dude goes FERAL when he hears this. he tries to make a run for it to the school, but they hold him down. he tries to steal megumi's cursed energy so that he can use his new shadow technique to get into the school, but megumi covers himself up enough that ineka can't make contact with him. he begs toji to show him the secret wat into the school. he's even shaking itadori to try to bring sukuna forward to make some kind of deal with him.

"you can't go back there, ineka, because that's exactly what the elders want," megumi explains. "if you go there to see him and you get caught, we're all fucked."