𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒍.

𝐁𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 & 𝐉𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄,   itadori & fushiguro find themselves at a cross roads–  a four way intersection in what was once the heart of shibuya  ( though it would be hard for any native to tell anymore, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩).   a once vibrant town full of life was now a graveyard, and the guilt of that burden lays heavy on yuuji’s shoulders with each careful step  𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚜  & their companions make.  however, as all things seem in itadori’s life–  being careful was something that never turned out right, never quite working when he needed it to;  for, no—  danger followed him, death too   𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉   burning down the nape of his neck.  

that is what brings yuuji to their point at current,  𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝,  yuuji’s hand grasps megumi’s shoulder—  instinct beckoning his fingers to curl into the hollow above fushiguro’s collar bone, where neck meets shoulder, and stop him where the others had crossed;  𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙.   “  ... do you hear that?  “ 

the silence is what yuuji noticed first.  not even the settling of dust and hum of exposed powerlines echoing their travel through 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚊𝚐𝚎.  instead all was still, it was too ...   was too consumed by a silence that yuuji had only heard few times before in his life.  the only specific time he can properly recall, being the entirely occupied but too still of a hospital bed he had found, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅.  

           𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨,   with their pasts,   late nights like this are a common occurrence.   it’s why he looks so calm,   even when yuuji’s shoulder bumps his and then the contact remains.   he’s used to it.   so many times they’ve shared the weight of the dark,   stuck together when fear crept in where comfort should be.   this night,   something had felt off   -   almost like some part of megumi knew yuuji wasn’t talking to himself in the solitude of his room.  on the side of yuuji opposite megumi,   a black dog shakes its head,   and lays its head down on yuuji’s thigh.   

                            ‘   you missed,  like,   every single one.   ‘

“  𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐀𝐀𝐀𝐀𝐀— !?   there’s absolutely no way, i’ve been wrecking these guys for the past hour!  “   too bad yuuji wasn’t paying attention to the fact he’d been playing 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 over & over again, subtly  ( or not quite so subtly )  opting to press closer to the other instead;  the dark hair at his nape   𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎  as nervousness tinges with an added boost of embarrassment every time he thinks he sees fushiguro look over at him.

scrubbing the pink from his cheeks with the back of his hand,  𝒚𝒖𝒖𝒋𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚  that the game over screen that follows was the first one he’d seen this entire time, his lapse in attention leading to a rocket pummeling his ship into the stars.   as if a chorus following the sounds of explosions echoing dramatically as well as the disappointing trill of a losers fan fare to announce 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙛 “𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧”, yuuji groans miserably.  letting his head drop back against the bed, yuuji’s pity party does not end there as he raises his arms over his head, dropping the controller into megumi’s lap with a defeated whine.    “  you   𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎,   fushiguro!  i was doing so good—  gah!   you did that on purpose. “