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Nobara never expected to scroll on her Tiktok and see Megumi’s face in a video. She never expected that the video would continue going, without any sound except for some cheesy love song, to show Yuji as well. They looked so happy. She ignored the text obscuring the image as the pair flashed by in bouts of smiles and happiness. Most of the videos were of Megumi until the camera would move and Yuji would get himself in the frame as well.
Yuji was always the one holding the camera, taking videos of every second like he always used to do when the three of them and Gojo-sensei had fun during the time around their missions. He always claimed he needed to document the happy memories for later. No one questioned him despite all of them having the same block in their minds.
The videos were filled with happiness. Megumi’s smile that he left in the past was plastered over every second of the film. It was a vacation they had taken together a few years ago, Nobara wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the exact dates because she made it necessary to her life to not remember things that did not include her. She regretted that decision not long ago.
The video had played all the way through multiple times before she actually chose to truly watch it. There were words over the video that sometimes obscured the view of Megumi and Yuji. Each clip had a new caption.
It started, ‘ I found this GoPro stuck between some rocks at a shallow water slide in China. The videos are time stamped for 2017 ’ the clip was Yuji and Megumi eating some ice cream. Megumi was forcing back a smile until Yuji’s hand popped into frame and he scooped up some of the whipped cream on the top of the sundae with his finger and wiped it on Megumi’s face. The camera moved and Yuji was talking to Megumi and laughing. Nobara imagined he was asking Megumi to let him lick it off.
The video switched, ‘ I found this footage of a trip of this young couple. They seem like they’re really in love. ’ Nobara felt sad looking at the caption. They did love each other a lot, a lot more than anyone seemed to realize. It would have been better if they hadn’t. The footage was of Yuji and Megumi in their swimwear. Megumi had a shirt on while Yuji was only in his swim trunks. They were lounging in the shallow running water.
The clip flipped to show Yuji flying down the waterslide, barely able to keep himself in frame. It now read, 'The first time down was a success! But the second one was where he lost hold of his camera,' Yuji went down the slide and that's where the GoPro slipped from his hand and tumbled through the water. 'There is about forty minutes of footage of the camera tumbling under water ,' the video explained.
The video switched again and it was Yuji and Megumi on a bench. Yuji was up in Megumi's business with his nose gently pressed against the other's cheek. Nobara could tell Megumi was telling Yuji to get up or to stop being annoying. But Yuji never moved and Megumi would never actually make him. Yuji kissed Megumi's cheek lightly and then said something, but Megumi shook his head. Judging by how Yuji was quick to lick up the side of Megumi's face then pop a kiss onto his lips when Megumi turned in shock, Yuji asked Megumi for a kiss. Yuji was often good at getting what he wanted. The text read, 'I would love to return this camera to the owner and hopefully give this couple their memories they lost,'
Nobara thought about a tally watching the footage with the audio and all and she began to cry. She let the video play on repeat and her head quickly became clouded with the loud noises of the sad and slow song accompanying the clips of Yuji and Megumi.
Megumi didn't have any social media. He was horribly out of touch and Nobara knew he would never know these memories were out there for him to retrieve. She took a few deep breaths and opened her clenched eyes to gaze down from the phone, almost exactly between her elbows. She let her eyes slowly move up as she prepared herself.
She clicked the like so she wouldn't lose the video and then chose the comment box. Her fingers hovered over the keys for just a few moments as she contemplated what she wanted to type. She was also limited in characters so she had to be short and sweet. She began typing
My best friend is in that video. Neither of them have social media. I would love to get this footage for them as a surprise. Now is an especially good time!
Nobara was unsure how she felt about the message,but she couldn't think of anything better. She knew it was vague and rather untrusting. But it was Megumi's story, not her own on the contents of that GoPro. She had no right to share any details.
Nobara stared at the comment for a few moments more before she chose to close the app and put her phone down on her bedside table. She decided the GoPro was something to worry about whenever she woke up the next morning. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her head enough to fall asleep.
***
When she woke up, Nobara's phone was riddled with notifications. All of them were from Tiktok and drowned out any other notifications on her phone. Her eyes blew wide at the onslaught of notifications that seemed to still be pouring in.
Nobara clicked on the notification banner and the app opened up. It pulled up the video of Yuji and Megumi. Her comment was now at the top with tens of thousands of likes and thousands of replies. They were asking countless questions about Yuji and Megumi. The creator of the tiktok had even responded.
Most people were dishing about how in love Yuji and Megumi seemed. They asked if they got married or if they're still together. People called them cute and a storybook couple. Some people were just encouraging Nobara to get the footage from the creator for them, but those comments were very scarce surprisingly.
She moved her eyes to the creator's comment at the top again and read.
I would love to get this to you then! My DMs are open so we can discuss how to get you the camera.
A shiver ran down Nobara's spine. She hadn't expected the creator to be so lenient with her claim without being one of the people in the video. She assumed maybe the man scrolled far enough into her instagram to find the very few photos of Megumi because he was never one to take many photos.
Regardless, she moved to her DMs to compose a message to the man. She did have to admit that she appreciated him allowing her to contact first rather than the other way around. A random man in your DMs after you wake up is very creepy.
Her gaze fixed on the empty text bar as she thought of what to say. Nobara wasn't sure of how to really start the conversation and whether she needed anymore proof her claim wasn't a lie. She was unsure how she could avoid talking about them and their relationship given the circumstances. However, she still tried.
Hi. I want to say thank you again. For not only wishing to return the footage, but also for being so kind. It must be hard to trust my claims given I'm not in those videos, but I swear I know them. We all live in Japan and if you're alright with it, I would like it if you could just send it to my address. I'll pay for the shipping costs if need be. Thank you again!
She sent the DM and dropped her phone onto the bedside table. Nobara sighed and stared at the ceiling. She swallowed and it felt so thick in her throat. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply in then out in even increments. After doing that twice she opened her eyes and sat up.
Nobara got out of bed and walked to the kitchen of her apartment. She gazed at the empty coffee machine and sighed, wishing for the half full pot that she would wake up to every morning at Jujutsu Tech. However, all the benefits of living alone outweighed the costs. So she simply pulled a pod from the rack and placed it into the machine, clicking the brew button quickly after.
She stood silently leaned up against her counter with only the popping sounds and breathing of the coffee machine to fill the empty air. It was busy enough to let her keep her mind fuzzy and unoccupied. She wanted her head to be blank.
The coffee buzzer went off and like a robot Nobara moved to grab the mug of coffee and clean out the waste from the pot. She took a sip of the coffee and barely flinched at the feeling of the hot liquid burning her tongue. She felt mostly numb anyway.
Nobara left the kitchen and wandered back to her room. She set the mug on her vanity on a coaster that was hand painted with shifty acrylic paint. It was one of those craft store DIY projects. The coaster said 'JJT Occult Club' with a little picture of a cursed spirit from many years in her past.
Nobara walked to the bedside table and took her phone again with a deep breath, preparing to go back to conversing with the holder of the GoPro that used to belong to Yuji.
She had a notification from Tiktok saying she had an unread DM in her inbox. She opened the app. Nobara held her breath as she opened the DM. She was unsure of why she felt so extremely nervous. She read the message.
Don't even worry about the shipping costs! Just send me the address and I'll handle it all as soon as possible. I wish the couple the best and hope for an update!
Nobara typed a quick reply and exited out of the app. She thought about the request for an update and her spine shivered. She shook her head and sighed before moving away to get ready for the day and whatever mission she would be sent on now.
***
The doorbell rang and Nobara’s head lifted from the paperwork she was doing. She checked her watch quickly and raised her eyebrow curiously. She wasn’t expecting any people today and not much else came to the door. She stood regardless, unafraid if the other side would harbor some sort of enemy, confident in her abilities to handle herself in any situation.
She opened the door and was shocked at the sight of a delivery man with a small box in his hand. After a moment of gazing at the box it clicked and she felt her heart pump harder.
“Hi, if I could just get you to sign here,” the delivery man held out a clipboard and as Nobara took it, he moved his free hand to point at the line for her to sign. She nodded and smiled, pulling her stamp out of her pocket. She uncapped the little lipstick sized tube and stamped on the line where it belonged. He looked at the stamp quickly and held out the package for Nobara, “Thank you very much, have a nice day, Ma’am.”
“Thank you, have a nice day as well,” Nobara took the box with one hand and backed into her apartment, closing the door with her other hand. She looked at the shipping label as she walked back over to the table where she had left her work. Her eyes widened when she read it was shipped from Australia, which makes sense considering their exchange in English, but she felt bad for them paying those shipping costs to Japan. She knew exactly what the package held and was quick to pull her knife from her pocket and slice away the packing tape. She opened the box and pulled away the tissue paper padding the camera.
The GoPro was dirty, covered in dried sludge from the water it sat in for over four years. The plastic casing was scratched and cracked, Nobara knew it had definitely seen better days, but as long as the footage was still there, everything was fine. They didn’t need the camera anymore.
Nobara gently picked up the GoPro, she wasn’t completely sure why she was being so careful. The camera had gone through much more than picking it up could ever do. Despite that, she felt the need to be so careful as she pulled it out and walked to her laptop. She tossed the box on the floor by her trashcan to be recycled later. She opened her laptop and set the GoPro down next to it. Nobara walked to the token junk drawer and rummaged through until she found her SD card adapter for her laptop, thankful that she still had it.
She sat down at the laptop and plugged in the hub. She took the GoPro and snapped off the plastic outer casing. The loud crunch scared her as it popped off and she was half convinced she shattered the plastic, but it still somehow held together. She opened the SD card slot and plugged the card into her laptop. A dialogue box prompted her to download the contents and she did. She waited, staring at the progress bar as the videos downloaded onto her harddrive. She could have finished her work while the bar loaded, but instead she chose to sit there slowly watching the green bar move.
In an instant the download finished and a folder opened up labeled something like DCIM and some random numbers. It was filled with video files, titled only with a series of numbers and each one dated for 2017. The thumbnails were enough to give Nobara a timeline of when Yuji was taking videos.
It was more than just his vacation with Megumi on the SD card, there were thumbnails with Gojo, Maki, Panda, Nobara herself, and others in the Tokyo branch of Jujutsu Tech. It made sense looking at this why the creator trusted she was telling the truth so easily. Nobabrs made a note to watch the other videos later, maybe even invite others over to watch them too so they could all relive the memories together. She clicked on the first video of Megumi and Yuji’s vacation. It started with Gojo-sensei dropping them off at the airport as if he was a dad while Megumi continuously told him to shut up.
Nobara watched through the videos one by one. She found herself cackling, practically falling over at some parts, rolling her eyes at others, but crying by the end. She was never much of an emotional person or empathetic whatsoever, but watching those videos still managed to break her heart by the end. Yet she still went back to the beginning and began piecing together the clips into the perfect narrative. She was unable to cut out just about any of the footage, but condensed the trip down by about five minutes total, not counting the over forty minutes of tumbling water. The moment she clicked export, Nobara picked up her phone and texted Megumi.
Me
You’re coming over Saturday at 6
Megumi didn’t respond, which she didn’t expect. Nobara knew he would leave her on read and show up even though he probably didn’t want to. If he couldn’t come he would text a simple no when he read it. As far as Nobara could say, he was coming over Saturday.
***
Nobara set down a plate of food in front of Megumi and sat down next to him at her table. They both said their thanks in sync and took their chopsticks from the table before eating.
“Why did you want me to come over?” Megumi asked. His tone was grungy and annoyed, like he always is. It would be hard to believe that Megumi was actually her best friend, but even he would say so. He just was not the most personable person. At least he wasn’t for most people.
“I would just play it out to be some sort of act of kindness or love, but we are both smarter than that,” Nobara said bluntly, she saw no reason to pretend she wanted him to come for them to catch up. It wasn’t what their relationship was. They just weren’t those types of people, “I have something I need to show you.” Megumi rolled his eyes and sighed.
“Is it really that important?” He groaned and Nobara looked away. She looked down at her food and picked at the next bite. She sighed.
“Yes, Megumi,” his eyebrow raised at her change in tone. Nobara was never one to sound soft or sad, especially when she spoke to Megumi, “It’s very important,” she emphasized. Megumi was easily convinced by how serious she sounded, lacking all of her nonchalant attitude.
“Okay,” he said and they ate in silence. Nobara’s downtrodden mood had spooked Megumi. He was unsure of what to say if he should say anything at all. The silence was luckily not uncomfortable and didn’t produce any unwanted tension, despite Megumi still remaining confused by Nobara’s attitude.
Nobara stood from the table and took her plate with her. She went to the sink and began washing the dishes. She was efficient, but still maintained a blank stare into the water. Megumi stood and placed his plate next to her and grabbed a dish towel from the handle on the oven. He began drying and putting away the dishes she washed. It was always like this. One would wash and the other would dry. It was a mutual agreement they never really made, but it stayed.
After all of the dishes were put away Nobara smiled at Megumi, which was again unusual, especially considering her behavior the entire night. She nodded at him to follow her and she moved to the living room. Megumi watched Nobara turn on her TV from the remote while she grabbed her laptop that was on a nearby desk. She connected it to the TV and her desktop popped up on the TV.
Megumi felt his stomach twist at the picture of Yuji, Nobara, Megumi, and Gojo on graduation day. He stared at the smiles across everyone’s faces except his own, choosing to remain stupidly stoic. Gojo was front and center taking up all the attention, despite it not being his graduation. Megumi’s mind cleared when the screen was filled with the file explorer window.
“Sorry,” Nobara whispered. Megumi’s eyes moved to her and saw she was looking over her shoulder at him. He shook his head.
“No, it’s fine,” he insisted, “What are we doing?”
“Just sit there on the couch,” Nobara pointed, “we’re watching a video I found.” Megumi felt unsure of the video she spoke of. He felt the same twisting of his stomach again and despite everything telling him to refuse he slowly took a seat where Nobara had pointed. Her sad expression from dinner flashed through Megumi’s mind and he felt it was important he did this for Nobara.
The video was pulled up on screen. Megumi didn’t catch the thumbnail before it started on a black screen. Nobara paused it and took a deep breath. She turned and looked at Megumi.
“I want you to know that my intent isn’t to hurt you, Megumi,” she said, the serious tone back again, “I would never do something like that to you.” Megumi was curious as to what she meant, but before he could ask any questions, Nobara stood up from her laptop and clicked play before she walked to the couch to sit on the opposite side of Megumi.
“Thanks for dropping us off, Sensei!” that voice. Megumi would never forget that voice. His breathing halted while the shaking camera showed nothing much other than a bag and streaks of scenery. It stabilized and Gojo-sensei was smiling at the camera as if he was a celebrity. Megumi felt his mind matching the video up with memories in his head.
“Make sure you two are safe on your trip!” Gojo said.
“Shut up,” Megumi recognized his own voice.
“If you need anything at all you can call me,” Gojo said.
“Shut up,” Megumi groaned.
“Don’t do anything nasty,” Gojo said, “And if you do, I left condoms in your bag Yuji.”
“Shut up!” Megumi growled, but the audio was taken over by a bright cackle. Megumi could never forget that laugh. Even if he wanted to, it would always live with him. Megumi knew what was coming, but he still couldn’t prepare himself for the camera spinning around after their true final goodbyes to Gojo.
That was the moment Megumi felt his heart stop and his ears felt as if they were filled with cotton. He expected it, but the moment he saw Yuji’s face, his eyes pricked with tears. Yuji’s messy pink hair that was worse because he refused to style it for a plane ride. The bright smile that never left his face. The stupid Kumamon face sweatshirt he refused to ever get rid of no matter how creepy it was. Megumi missed it all more than he could truly say. The entire way through the airport that Yuji recorded, present day Megumi was stuck in a state of shock, focused only on Yuji.
Nobara was watching Megumi while the video went. She even recorded him from the beginning to save his reaction. She made the excuse that it was to show Gojo-sensei so he could gush, but it wasn’t really for that. She expected him to freeze up like he did. His eyes didn’t move and his breath was shallow. It almost hurt her to see him like that. She knew he was upset.
The clip switched to Megumi sleeping on the plane. Yuji moved over toward Megumi and pointed the camera at himself. He mouthed something completely indecipherable into the camera before going back to the original angle. Yuji’s pinky popped into the frame and he stuck it into Megumi’s ear. Megumi jumped and woke from his nap and the camera shook, no doubt from Yuji’s laughing that was just barely audible over the sound of the airplane.
Yuji leaned in to Megumi again and smiled at the camera while Megumi glared. His tired glare was a lot less intimidating and looked more puppy-like. You could tell Yuji felt the same because of how he moved his free hand to gently hold Megumi’s cheek and he looked up at him. The sweet, ‘I’m sorry’ was easy to make out.
Nobara saw Megumi absent-mindedly move his hand to gently stroke his own face, just as Yuji had in the video. She could see the longing in his eyes and she already felt bad, seeing how the video was bringing Megumi more sadness than happiness. She was hoping he would be reminded of happy memories rather than overtook with mourning and grief. She should have known better. She had the urge to stand up and stop the video. She was prepared to drop in front of Megumi and beg for forgiveness for hurting him, but she couldn’t move.
The video switched again. They were in a shrine in China, well, walking up a mountain to get to one. Yuji was complaining while Megumi rolled his eyes.
“Do they put shrines on mountains to test you?” Yuji gasped for breath. Present day Megumi let out a small breath of a laugh, remembering how Yuji claimed he was being cursed by the gods with tiredness. Megumi tried to explain it was actually just amplitude sickness.
They were quiet when they got to the top of the shrine and the video cut to after they had prayed at the shrine. Even Yuji was smart enough to not set up a GoPro to watch him pray. The video did start again at them at a wall where you could write down wishes.
“What did you wish for, Megumi?” The sound of his name coming from Yuji’s mouth meant everything to Megumi. Yuji was the only reason Megumi stopped hating his name and eventually accepted it. Except for when Gojo called him by his name, Megumi still found himself beyond annoyed with that man’s voice.
“Gojo to get a life,” Megumi spat and put the card on the hooks. No he didn’t. Megumi lied to Yuji’s face, but he was very well aware of what wish he made on that block.
“I wished they wouldn’t kill him,” Megumi suddenly said, talking over Yuji explaining his wish for a cursed technique that would blah blah blah something cool. Nobara was shocked to hear Megumi make a comment. He looked over to her for a reaction or acknowledgement. She looked into his eyes that were turning red from the tears that were sitting there, waiting to fall.
“So that’s why you don’t go with us to the shrine on New Years,” Nobara gave an awkward chuckle. She didn’t really know what to say. She still didn’t understand what was too far for Megumi. He was her best friend, but she didn’t completely understand him, there was only one person that did and that same person is why Nobara is only considered Megumi’s best friend by default.
The video switched again and it was of the two of them on a beach at a lake. They were wearing matching shirts that Yuji made them wear while Megumi was very much opposed to the idea. However, he was also weak to Yuji’s puppy dog eyes and caved fairly easily. They were mostly talking about how pretty the view was, nothing very interesting was going on. Except how they were sitting. Megumi was in between Yuji’s legs, basically laying on Yuji and Yuji had his free arm wrapped gently around Megumi and holding the tip of his shoulder. They looked so comfortable together. Megumi looked happy and he had a sweetness in his expression that was rare.
They went quiet and Yuji looked down at Megumi while the latter looked up. They smiled at each other and as Yuji bent down, Megumi lifted his head up and they kissed. It was short, but the dazzling look in Megumi’s eyes explained all you needed to know about what that kiss meant to both of them.
There were more moments on their trip that filled up the video that was actually very long. Nobara was surprised Yuji could record so much, but Megumi silently thought that he remembered Yuji recorded more. Megumi even wondered if some footage was on another camera or SD card.
The end of the video came and Megumi laughed out loud at the moment he saw him and Yuji at the rock formation used as a waterslide. Nobara was shocked to hear Megumi laugh, he rarely did so openly.
“He dropped the camera this day,” Megumi laughed and explained. Nobara was very aware of what happened to the poor GoPro Yuji lost. It went through all the scenes Nobara remembered from the Tiktok and from her time editing. It was just as beautiful as the first time to see them having fun together, just like the rest of the trip, then Yuji lost the camera and Megumi expected that to be the end. Nobara had taken some liberties while editing and moved one of her favorite moments to the end of the video instead of where it was on the trip.
It started with Yuji fixing the camera on something next to them so he didn’t have to hold it. It was a somewhat offset angle, but it worked well enough. Yuji sat down by Megumi and took Megumi’s hand. The sun was setting and their skin was painted gold by the light. It was some of the most beautiful imagery in the entire trip.
“I don’t want to go back,” Megumi mumbled in the video and he looked down at his hand that Yuji was holding. Present day Megumi swallowed a lump in his throat. He remembered this conversation very well. He remembered everything from this trip very well.
“We’ll just go back to kicking ass together with Kugisaki,” Yuji said, Nobara smiled thinking of when she still called him Itadori while she was Kugisaki respectively. They have grown a lot since then.
“It’s what comes after,” Megumi said. Present day Megumi felt his heart clench at those words, he wished he could just force the past self to stop dwelling on the future so much. He wished he would have lived in the moment more than his own head. Megumi felt a tear fall from his eye and he clenched them shut.
“Don’t be like that,” Yuji was serious, the closest thing to anger you could ever hear from Yuji when it came to Megumi, “That’s a long time from now and maybe even never.” Yuji was always too hopeful.
“But-”
“No, we have three more days left here on vacation and we’re gonna have fun. Then we are going to go back home and kick some ass. It’s that simple, Megumi,” Yuji explained, “Stop living so far ahead of me.” Megumi looked away from Yuji and the video was silent save for the ambient sounds of the world around them. Yuji smirked and leaned in quickly. He licked up the side of Megumi’s face and when Megumi’s face snapped over in shock, Yuji planted a kiss on Megumi’s lips. It was shocking how often Yuji licked Megumi to trick him into a kiss. Megumi relaxed into the kiss and Yuji pulled away after a moment, but still stayed close. He brought his hand up to Megumi’s cheek and gently caressed the skin with his thumb.
“Are you with me now?” Yuji asked and Megumi nodded, “I love you, Megumi.”
“I love you too,” Megumi said and they kissed again and the video ended, courtesy of Nobara’s editing.
She looked over to Megumi and felt her heart drop, he was crying. Not just crying, but sobbing. She hadn’t seen Megumi so distraught in a long time, but yet there he was gasping for breath as he sobbed and frantically wiped the tears from his face.
“Megumi!” she said, panicked. She was scared when he got like this. It was so out of his normal that she never really knew what to do. It was another reminder she didn’t know him as well as Yuji did, “Fuck, I’m so sorry,” she cried and scrambled over toward where he was on the other side of the couch.
“Talk to me, Megumi, don’t hold it in,” Nobara tried, but he just pulled further into himself. She racked her brain trying to think of what Yuji would do in this situation and her body moved before she could think and she pulled Megumi into a bone-crushing hug. It was accidentally more violent than she wanted, but she held him tight. Nobara gasped when she felt Megumi’s arms wrap around her back and hook over her shoulders. He pulled her closer and he cried, but it was less violent now. She felt a moment of relief at the sound of staggering gasps from him.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, not sure of what else to say. Like she said at first, Nobara never meant to hurt Megumi. She was hoping he would find happiness from those memories. They sat in silence in that position until Megumi’s sobs subsided into only heavy breathing. It was probably at least ten minutes. Nobara felt accomplished helping Megumi through a panic, but she was still on edge.
“Don’t be sorry,” Megumi suddenly whispered. Nobara was confused, she had already forgotten what she had told Megumi, but of course he had not, “It was a great trip and I missed seeing him, it just hurts a lot sometimes,” Megumi explained and Nobara sighed, she completely understood what he meant.
“I know. It feels so crazy to know that he is actually gone,” Nobara said. Megumi pulled away from her and nodded. They didn’t move from where they sat. Their legs were practically on top of each other and they were looking at each other. At this moment both of them felt closer to the other more than they ever had before.
“I still can’t believe they weren’t able to be swayed by Yuji after all those years of him giving everything to them. His life was so hard, but he was dedicated to living something he couldn’t regret. He sure was amazing,” Megumi said and smiled slightly.
“He taught me a lot about empathy,” Nobara offered, “I still don’t understand his goals or purpose completely, but I feel sympathetic so much more now than I ever did before I had met him. I think he helped me see that there was good in people.”
“All I ever watched was to be able to live my life with him,” Megumi said, “I would give up just about anything to still have him here with us.” Nobara nodded in agreement and they fell into silence again.
“How did you get this? Yuji lost the camera and the footage. I never thought I would see that again,” Megumi said and Nobara laughed awkwardly. She tucked a stray hair away to occupy her hand.
“Someone posted a Tiktok about how they found the GoPro and I retrieved it for you,” Nobara explained quickly, “Everybody wants and update video on the couple from the video now,” she laughed and immediately felt like slapping herself in the face.
“What’s a Tiktok?” Leave it to Megumi Fushiguro to be so clueless.
“Short videos on an app made for short videos,” Nobara roughly paraphrases and Megumi nodded.
“You took a video of me at the beginning, right?” Nobara’s eyes widened, she didn’t think Megumi had caught her. Her expression told him all he needed to know, “You can show them that and tell them everything, just make sure you let them know who Yuji was. He deserves for people to remember him at least. He was a hero that no one would know by name or face, but maybe this way someone will know him.” Nobara hadn’t expected Megumi to offer up his private life so easily. It was at this moment she truly was able to understand how important Yuji was to Megumi. Beyond something as simple as the person he loved, Megumi saw Yuji as the definition of ideals.
“What kind of a friend would I be if I let him down?” Nobara joked, but it was more of a promise. Not just to Megumi, but to Yuji as well. The room fell silent again.
"They day they executed him," Megumi started and paused after just a few words, "I wanted to die so badly. I thought of all the ways I could die as soon as possible. Most were just being reckless and not caring about my life anymore, I just wanted to be with Yuji again." Nobara felt shocked by Megumi’s confession. She knew it was hard on him, they had been dating for about 4 years at the time and Yuji was the only person Megumi has allowed himself to get so close to. Even knowing Yuji’s inevitable fate, Megumi let himself fall into the perfect love story fantasy, but the council didn’t care.
“I’m glad you didn’t die,” Nobara started, “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost both of my best friends. The first time he died I was so distraught and it didn’t make sense to me, but now it all does. Megumi, I’m a selfish bitch and if you ever leave me alone I will never forgive you.” Nobara’s tone was threatening and her gaze matched. Megumi nodded in understanding.
“It goes both ways, Nobara,” he said, “I’m not giving up. Yuji wanted everyone to die a proper death. I still don’t know what the fuck he meant by that, but now that he’s gone, it’s my job to continue that.”
“Mine too,” Nobara affirmed, “We’re a team forever.” She held out her pinky finger and Megumi laughed. Yuji was always a fan of pinky promises. Only Gojo took them seriously while Nobara and Megumi tended to laugh it off and comply.
Megumi smirked at her outstretched pinky and took it with his own. They silently shook on it, reaching a mutual understanding with just a look. It was a look that affirmed everything they just spoke about, but one that also agreed that they would die whatever a proper death was in the eyes of Yuji Itadori. They agreed they owed it to him to do so.
***
Nobara clicked the post button on the Tiktok and waited patiently as it loaded. As soon as it uploaded she watched it again. It started with her alone and she waved curtly while the subtitles on screen told the story.
Hi, some of you may know about this video of a lost GoPro. My best friend is this one — she pointed at a picture of Megumi cropped out from a group photo at Jujutsu Tech. My other best friend is this one— she opened the crop and pointed to Yuji who was next to Megumi. We met in our first year of high school at a private trade school in the mountains in Tokyo and Megumi and Yuji started dating after some rough times in the first semester that revealed emotional feelings .
Nobara avoided talking about Yuji’s first death and Megumi’s almost death, and Megumi’s second almost death, and the whole Shibuya incident. That would be too much for the average Joe to handle. The video then switched to some other clips of the three of them, but mostly Yuji and Megumi. Some were from the GoPro and others were from the rest of the dropbox library Yuji left for them all.
Megumi and Yuji stayed together throughout high school and I third wheeled the entire time. Soon after graduation they got married.
Nobara showed pictures from their very impromptu wedding in the woods next to the training grounds at Jujutsu Tech. It was the day after Yuji’s execution date was set. Everyone who felt as though Yuji shouldn’t be killed came. It was just about every sorcerer that ever had the blessing to talk to Yuji, but unfortunately, they were not the ones who made the decisions. This was the moment where Nobara began stretching the truth extra far.
Very shortly after, Yuji was killed in an accident. Megumi still wears a ring on his finger and I don’t think he’ll find someone to love again like he did Yuji. Just look at how he acted as soon as he heard Yuji’s voice.
The video of Megumi’s first reaction to the vacation tapes played. Under the video, Nobara put text affirming that she had permission to post the video as well as all other information about their relationship from Megumi, knowing many people would get mad at her for sharing this private information, even though part of it is her own story to tell. When that short video ended it went back to clips of the happy memories Yuji worked to capture throughout their years together.
Yuji was like no other and he made it his life goal to make as many friends as possible by helping as many people as possible. He wanted to be able to die with friends all around him and in spirit he did. It was more than a beautiful love story, but just a tragedy at the end. Don’t be sad, though. Yuji wouldn’t want anyone to mourn his death like that, he was the type of person who only wanted people to be happy. Please remember his happiness and not the sadness of his death. If you want to do anything for him or even me or Megumi, just live your lives to the fullest so that when you die, you don’t look back and regret the way you live. Yuji always said he may have regrets, but he would never regret the way he lived and that is more true than I can say. Thank you for caring about his story.