Chapter Text
Nobara woke with a splitting headache. Harsh white lights glared down on her and she groaned, squinting. Something moved next to her and Fushiguro’s face came into focus, bruised and bandaged. He was sitting in a chair next to her bed, eyes alert as she slowly came to.
"Kugisaki, how are you feeling?" he asked softly, but there was an intensity in his voice. Odd. She glanced around the room, there were three beds, crisp white sheets covering them, she was in one as well. She must be in the infirmary. She lifted a hand slowly to her head and felt rough bandages, the source of her headache. Falling through the floor to face the disembodied curses returned back to her, and she exhaled sharply, squeezing her eyes shut. Right. The exorcism. "Kugisaki? I'll go get Ieiri-san." Fushiguro pulled himself out of his chair, moving stiffly toward the door.
"Fushiguro, wait." God, her throat burned. The boy stopped, looking back. His eyes were full of something, but her pounding head couldn't discern what. "Light," she mumbled, shading her eyes with her hand. Fushiguro quickly flicked off the light switch and she sighed softly, hands falling back to her sides. Harsh white was replaced with greys and blacks, soft moonlight floating in through the window. The pounding in her head tamped down a little, and she tried to pull herself into a sitting position. Fushiguro returned to her bedside, hands out preparing to help her. She waves him away with one hand, the other clutching her side.
Her splitting head seemed to mask all her other aches, which quickly came to her attention - her ribs, her neck, especially. "I’m fine. Tell me what happened. Did you guys exorcise the curse?" Fushiguro stiffened, hands falling to his sides, eyes on the ground. "What, have you and Itadori not made up yet?" The last time she saw them, they were at each other’s throats. Speaking of, why wasn’t Itadori with them? If Fushiguro looked this bad, Itadori was probably worse.
His head snapped back up, but Nobara couldn’t make out his face in the dark. "What happened?" she repeated sharper this time, dread building in her stomach. Where was Itadori?
"Itadori, he..." Fushiguro's voice was rough, rougher than usual. Rough like tears had dried his throat out. How hadn't Nobara noticed that earlier? He sucked in one breath and the next two words followed his sharp exhale.
"He’s dead."
Her eyes are impossibly wide. “Dead? What do you mean, dead?" Immediately, Nobara kicks herself for saying something so stupid, but her throbbing head let the first thing she thought slip out. "Really?" she asks, much softer. Fushiguro sunk into the chair next to her bed, head hung low, fingers interlaced, gripping each other tightly. His knuckles were white in the dim moonlight, trembling.
Oh.
Itadori was dead. As in, not living, not breathing, not growing, not changing. She wouldn't see him again, wouldn't watch him dance through the hallway after class was over and trip over his own feet, wouldn't hear him again, wouldn't listen to him hum an odd tune in the kitchen as he chopped vegetables. The room blurred and she swayed slightly, her head pulsing. Fushiguro caught her shoulders before she slumped back, easing her back onto her pillow. “Sorry,” she murmured, but she’s not sure why exactly.
A little while later Ieiri glided into the room, performing one last healing for the night. Her cursed energy poured over Nobara’s head, the pain letting up slightly. Fushiguro was ushered into the bed beside Nobara's, he winced as she gently helped him up from the chair. "You two are going to stay overnight here, then you can go back to your rooms. I’ll need to see you guys first thing in the morning for another healing session," she instructs, glancing at both beds. "I’m sorry for your loss. Itadori Yuuji's body is in the morgue if you would like to pay respects in the morning."
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Disembodied voices fill her head. Nobara spins around, looking for its source, but only sees darkness. Chilling laughter sounds behind her, and she whirls around again, coming face-to-face with a huge white-masked curse. She reaches into her pocket for another nail but her hand grabs nothing. She's all out. The masked face leers over her and something grabs her neck, pulling her off of the ground. Her body aches, blood drips down her face, her hammer slips from her grasp and clatters on the ground.
A door opens behind the curse, and Itadori falls through. "Kugisaki!" he yells, reaching out a hand towards her. His face is covered in blood and his legs are missing, blood pooling underneath him. "Help me, Kugisaki!" His voice is weak now, and Nobara thrashes in the curse's grip, hands scrabbling for purchase against its hold on her neck. "Kugisaki, Kugisaki!"
“Kugisaki!” Nobara's eyes flew open and Fushiguro was standing over her, hands on her shoulders. "Kugisaki," he repeated, softer. She let out a shaky breath, realizing her blanket was knotted up in her hands.
Heat rushed to Nobara's face and her body stiffened as she tried to regain control of her emotions, her breathing, her body. Fushiguro released her and fell back into the chair next to her bed. She remained frozen, focusing on the square patch of light on her sheets, moonlight shining through the window. A nightmare, her mind had thrown her back into the dark, hung over the gaping mouth of the curse. Fushiguro had pulled her out once again.
"Go back to your bed, Fushiguro. Sorry for waking you up. I'm okay." The words came out sharper than she wanted. She bit her lip, desperately staring at the wonderful patch of light that bathed her blanket. “It was just a bad dream.” A soft mumble this time. She felt his eyes on her and she turned her head away from him, hands clenching her blanket.
He nodded slightly, still next to her. After a beat, he stood slowly. "Kugisaki, we have to watch each other's backs now."
It's just the two of us now.
She nodded in return, glancing at his face. Their eyes locked and she saw his eyelids were swollen from old tears. She already knew that Fushiguro had her back. He pulled her out of that curse's grip and out of her nightmare. Was she strong enough to have his back?
He slipped back into his bed, facing up at the ceiling. Nobara sunk back on her pillow, turning so she was looking at him. If she wasn’t strong enough right now, she would be. That was all there was to it.
"Thanks," she whispered, just barely. Fushiguro didn’t reply but he exhaled softly, eyes closing. Nobara focused on his face; she's not alone, she's not alone, she's not alone.