Archive of Our Own ^beta

Being a teacher brought a lot of responsibility—shaping the youth’s minds with vast concepts and knowledge, molding their spirits to overcome the challenges that come with growing into adulthood, and being an unrelenting pillar of support when they inevitably fail. And with Gojo as a teacher, that failure came more frequently than what would have been preferred. Some may say that his hands-off method of teaching brought about the opportunity for critical thinking and character development… Others would say that he’s just a lazy idiot who shirks his responsibilities onto his students…

Maki fell into the latter category.

And this is where she stood tonight, lingering in the doorway of her teacher’s dorm and lamenting on the absolute waste of time that going to him had been in the first place. What had she even been thinking?!

“I’m sure it’ll work itself out.”

Typical.

What a moron.

The thing is…going to a school specializing in curses and cursed abilities meant always being prepared for unforeseen circumstances. Students enrolled at this school were constantly on the verge of being maimed or killed. They were ready to put down their lives to stop the evils of the world, even if it meant committing evil acts themselves. Doing bad things for good reasons and all of that jazz. And most of them did it without a second thought. But being a student at the sorcery academy also meant being faced with a lot of strange situations. Ones that they would never expect to encounter on the field. Strange situations such as… for example… being sleep-cursed by your fellow classmate because he apparently couldn’t keep his mouth shut at night.

Maki sighed in frustration, her fists clenching at her side.

“You’re absolutely useless!” She turned on her heel and stalked off, stomping back to the second-year dormitory where she knew her friend was desperately awaiting her return.

Turning the corner, she was instantly accosted by the fluffier of the second years. Panda was hovering anxiously in the shared dormitory kitchens. The second he saw her, his body straightened and his round eyes lit up with hope.

“Did you get him???” He looked around, standing on his haunches as if Maki were hiding something behind her back, moving her this way and that to look behind her.

“No. That lazy ass didn’t want to leave his bed.”

“What?! But… But Toge…”

“Yeah, I know.” Maki sighed again, her fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Panda stared at her, his body once again slumping in defeat. “…If Gojo-sensei won’t help, then what do we do?”

The weapons wielder bit her thumb. It was more of a habit than anything. She didn’t want to show her frustration and worry Panda even more, but she was getting nervous now. Without Gojo’s help, she didn’t know if she was strong enough to handle this problem. Even a hardass like her would admit defeat. But…there was someone who might be able to assist them...

“We could always call him…”

Panda’s fur prevented showing the tell-tale signs that humans would naturally show. It was both a blessing and a curse. He was great at hiding when he was sweaty from overwork, and he rarely ever got called out for being embarrassed. After all, pandas couldn’t blush. But if his body could naturally show off his pallor, he would be pale, his color draining from his face at the implications of what Maki was suggesting. But even with that feeling, a harsh cry from down the hall stiffened his resolve and he nodded resolutely. “Do it.”

The collapse of jujutsu society had made him busy… So busy… Not that he wasn’t busy before, what, with being forced to go overseas to escape a death sentence that would have most likely been carried out by the higher ups, under the guise of ‘a training accident’ no doubt. But now, with said higher-ups out of the picture, there was absolute chaos in the world. The stability, as false and misconstrued as it had been, was gone. Even with Gojo being released from the prison realm and taking over, the world would take some time to catch up to the sudden change. And that’s where Yuuta came in.

While Gojo stayed behind at the school to be the pivotal point for the new era of sorcery, Yuuta was out doing all of the dirty work—cleaning up the curses running rampant through the streets after the fiasco in Shibuya.

It wasn’t always difficult. Most of it was medial work for someone of his caliber. Just the average low-level C grade curses wreaking havoc on the unknowing populous, not even worth a second of his time. If he was lucky, he’d get a stronger foe—maybe a class A monster to relieve his boredom, or if he was super lucky, a special-grade curse trying to overthrow this fragile new societal order, or better yet, something that had eaten one of Sukuna’s fingers—but that was rare. Usually, it was nothing he couldn’t handle. But it was time-consuming and tiring nonetheless. There were times where he went days at a time without sleep, on the hunt for the next artifact, the next curse, the next victim to his blade. He had to put even more work in considering the state of the jujutsu community. Plus, he still felt somewhat responsible for this, despite what his friends said. He deserved to be punished like this. He had to take responsibility for his choices, even if it meant suffering from overwork and exhaustion, which the prominent eyebags under his blue orbs were ample evidence of. If he had just been home… if he’d been there for his friends, even just a few days earlier… If he had stood by their sides as they fought, rather than arriving after-the-fact… maybe this could have been prevented. He could have done something. He could have changed the outcome somehow.

But he wasn’t, so he keeps busy. The guilt pushing him toward his next mission.

Not much could make him stop his goal of destroying these monsters causing pain and misery.

Well, that’s what he thought, until the perky little melody of a ringtone sounded throughout his makeshift campsite.

“What?” he answered, already reaching for his katana in preparation for his next assignment.

“…Okkotsu… it’s Inumaki… he’s---”

Yuuta tensed, caught offguard. All thoughts of curses and revenge fled his mind. “…he’s what? What’s going on, Maki?”

“You know I wouldn’t call if it weren’t serious…”

Heart dropping, Yuuta gripped the phone tighter to him, urgency seeping into his tone. “What happened? Is he dying? Was he attacked?”

“…he’s sick.”

Frowning, Yuuta stared out into the dark forest around him. “…I’ll be home soon.” Without waiting for a response, the swordsman ended the call and raised himself off the ground, the tip of his katana brushing the night floor. “Rika~~” a nasty grin worked its way onto his face, “it’s time to get to work.”

Yuuta’s arrival a few hours later brought upon both a sense of relief and a sense of dread to the other second years. As soon as he stepped through the doors, disheveled beyond all hope with his hair in windswept knots and looking dead-on-his feet, Maki released a breath that she didn’t even realize she had been holding. Yuuta Okkotsu was one of the most capable people in the world. If anybody could help her classmate, it was him. At the same time… Yuuta’s intensity was a powerful thing. Maybe it would cause more harm than good…especially what happened with the last person he was attached to. Well, only one way to find out.

“He’s in here.” She ushered him toward Inumaki’s new room, stopping a fair distance away with her hands over her ears, Panda hovering anxiously behind her.

Yuuta brushed past her without a word.

Opening the door, Yuuta let himself in, silently leaning his sword against the wall and closing the door behind him with a soft ‘click’. The moonlight shining through the curtains did little to abate the dark aura weighing in the air. The room was suffocating—the stench of sweat and old blood hung heavy, weighed even heavier by the pain radiating in the atmosphere. No wonder Panda wouldn’t venture into this room. The empath would probably be paralyzed from the negativity clouding the air.

“Stop…”

Yuuta involuntarily froze, Inumaki’s cursed voice bringing him to an abrupt halt. Ah. Nevermind. Maybe that’s why the others wouldn’t go into his room. Shaking off the feeble curse directed his way, Yuuta took careful steps toward the bed.

“Inumaki… it’s me.”

“Get crushed!”

The raven-haired boy flinched, unaccustomed to having such harsh words thrown his way from his classmate. He stepped forward regardless, a sudden urgency coming over him. Inumaki changed his whole persona to keep those around him safe, going so far as to shun his natural language to prevent injury, even at the cost of his own convenience and happiness. He would never curse his friends willingly. So this must have been really serious if he was spitting them out in his sleep.

“Inumaki, wake up.”

“No...No... Stop.... Don't... BLAST AWAY!”

Yuuta finally reached the edge of the bed, examining the boy in front of him.

Inumaki Toge, a renowned cursed speech user with hundreds of curses under his belt despite being a mere second year student, a boy with such heart and charisma that he managed to charm everyone he meets, even without speaking, and most importantly, Yuuta’s very best friend in the world (apart from Rika, who would always hold a special place in his heart) and longtime crush… Said boy was laying in sweat-soaked sheets, shining with perspiration, shaking with intense bouts of a fever. He was definitely sick. Yuuta gently brushed the bangs sticking to the boy’s forehead aside, pressing the back of his fingers against the fevered skin to get a read on just how sick he was.

The light-haired boy flinched away from the cool touch, a sharp inhale leaving his cracked lips.

“Di---”

Yuuta clapped his other hand over Inumaki’s mouth. “You really don’t want to do that, Inumaki,” he whispered softly as he lowered himself onto the bed beside him. He began taking mental notes of the boy’s condition. Fever, profuse sweating likely leading to dehydration, a gaunt pallor to the skin despite the high temperature, ragged breathing… It looked like signs of infection.

What worried him more than that though, however, was the shaking… Sure, it was likely a result of the fever. But the slight hitch in the cursed-speech user’s breath, the furrowed brow, and the tight grip he had on the blankets made Yuuta’s heart break in two. Inumaki Toge was having a nightmare. And one hell of one if the soft cries and tear stained cheeks were anything to go by.

Yuuta kept his hand clamped over the other boy’s mouth as he lifted the blankets. First, he needed to assess the damage.

Once again, Yuuta’s heart dropped. He had seen the aftermath of the Shibuya incident for himself and had even been with Toge after it had occurred. He knew exactly what happened. He had already killed (and revived) the Sukuna vessel that had taken his friend’s arm. But it didn’t stop the painful ache that clutched at his heart as his eyes scanned over the wrapped remains of the missing appendage.

As gently as possible, Yuuta ran his fingers over the bandages, frowning even more at the dampness seeping through the bindings. He could see the signs of infection already, painful red blotches racing up the pale skin surrounding the edges of the sealed cloth. He would have to replace those immediately. First, though, he needed to check for more injuries. Time had passed since the Shibuya incident—around a month, if Yuuta was recalling the dates correctly—so the young sorcerers were back to their daily lives of training and missions, regardless of injury. Maybe the boy had been hit too hard? Maki certainly wasn’t kind with her blows, even during training. Was this the residual effects of a curse? Possible, but doubtful. 

Cautiously, as if afraid to cause his classmate more discomfort, Yuuta skimmed his fingers over his torso, prodding at various intervals with spikes of his own reversed cursed energy. Satisfied that Inumaki wasn’t in danger of broken ribs or internal bleeding, he shifted his attention back to the hand covering the cursed-user’s mouth.

With a deep breath, the special grade user lifted his hand. Inumaki’s lips were coated in blood. This wasn’t exactly uncommon for him, considering the nature of his ability, but it shouldn’t have been the case in the middle of the night. Just how long had he been cursing people in his sleep to tear his throat apart? Did his other classmates get caught up in it?

“Inumaki.”

No response.

“Inumaki,” A more forceful tone and a gentle shake. “Come on, wake up.”

A groan and a deep rattling breath.

Yuuta frowned and shook him a bit more forcefully.

“Toge!!”

Purple eyes shot open with a sharp intake of breath. The cursed-speech user sat up, glancing around frantically, eyes darting from side to side with fear before clenching shut as the pain of his movements caught up with him. “Ngh…” His right hand reached toward his left shoulder, clawing at it with a muffled groan. His body curled in on itself, arching to protect his vital organs and shield himself from the pain, and he sat there panting, fresh droplets of blood falling from his chapped lips, soaking into the blankets pooled at his waist. He sat there for a few steady moments, just breathing. His body felt like it was on fire, embers burning in his veins and coursing boiling liquid through his organs, settling like lava under his flesh.

Yuuta carefully wrapped an arm around his friend. “Toge, look at me…”

Inumaki flinched and his eyes shot to Yuuta’s, as if just realizing he was there for the first time.

“…Yu—”

Yuuta smiled, bringing his thumb up to brush away a stray string of bloody saliva that was clinging stubbornly to his friend’s mouth. “Shhh… It’s okay, don’t speak,” he whispered. “Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?”

“…o-okaka…”

“Yeah, I know it hurts. But I need to change your bandages.”

Yuuta smiled more as his friend slumped against him, too exhausted in that moment to put up a fight. With the same care that went into lifting a newborn baby from its cradle, Yuuta dipped his free hand under Inumaki’s knees, lifting him up from the bed and pulling him close to his chest, enveloping him in as much healing cursed energy as he could to make the process somewhat less painful.

Despite his efforts to sooth him, Inumaki hissed between his clenched teeth and buried his face into Yuuta’s collarbone.

Once again, Yuuta was reminded of the fever sizzling beneath his friend’s skin.

“How about a cool bath?”

“…Okaka. Mentaiko”

“Why? What’s there to be embarrassed about?”

Yuuta quickly whisked Inumaki off to the shared bathhouse, trying to get there before Inumaki could refuse more. His priority was getting the boy properly cleaned. He didn’t stop to focus on the embarrassment that would inevitably follow.

“…katsuobushi…”

Sliding open the door with his foot, he kicked off his shoes and stepped in, carrying the smaller boy toward the shared baths. “Just bear with me for a little bit, alright?” Yuuta gently placed him on a small stool and quickly set the temperature of a nearby bath once his hands were free. “Let’s wash up while the bath fills.”
He kneeled down in front of Inumaki, his hands coming up to rest on Inumaki’s waist bandaged waist, just high enough to brush the edges of the boy’s ribs. “…Can I remove these?”

Inumaki just looked at him, eyes glossy.

Deciding to take the lack of response as reassurance, Yuuta made quick work of the bandages, gently unwrapping them from where they’d become plastered to the ashen skin of his friend. He tried to focus resolutely on the task. Nothing would be more awkward than being caught checking his friend out, especially under these circumstances. His teeth worried his bottom lip in concentration as he worked.

Discarding the bandages into a dirty heap at the side (he’d probably remember to come back for them later…), Yuuta turned his full attention to the curse-master’s body. “…You’ve lost weight…” he murmured absently, sliding his fingers along Inumaki’s newly-exposed ribs. Inumaki had always been pretty petite, his body lithe with muscle but still short and compact. For Yuuta, it was one more charming thing about the boy. He just wanted to pull him close and protect him from all harm. But even this, the skin pulled taut over his wiry frame, was a bit too close to fragile for Yuuta’s taste.

Inumaki’s face flushed bright red and he dipped his head to hide it.

Yuuta, catching the reaction, blushed bright red himself. “N-Not that it’s a bad thing! You’re super healthy looking. Uh, not that you were fat before either. I mean…”

A soft chuckle pulled Yuuta out of his anxious monologue.

Inumaki stared at him, his eyes full of…something. Yuuta couldn’t really place it, but it seemed like it was a mix of fondness and exasperation? Still glossy though… maybe a lasting effect from whatever nightmare had tormented the poor boy that night. And there was more than a little pain trapped in those bright orbs.

“…Tsuna?”

“Nevermind. Let’s clean you up…”

Yuuta bit his lip, pausing in the process of undressing the younger boy. It’s not like he’d never seen him naked before… All of the students had shared a bath at some point or another. Being on the constant verge of death and pushing yourself to exhaustion had a way of making trivial things like nudity completely standard. They didn’t really have much time to fret over a shower schedule in the dorms, after all, and being out on missions meant they had to watch each other’s backs at all times anyway. But somehow, it was different this time… Physically taking his clothes off… that was a little too intimate for the special-grade curse user.

Luckily, Inumaki made the decision for him, wriggling out of his pants and undergarments before Yuuta could linger on those thoughts.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Yuuta quickly stripped himself down, mindful to leave his own boxers to keep himself somewhat decent.

He pulled up a stool behind Inumaki and gripped one of the shower heads. “I’m going to wash you, okay? Just try to relax. If you feel sick, let me know.”

Once again, Yuuta took the lack of answer as permission to start. He turned the faucet and tested the water temperature on his own arm before spraying it across Inumaki’s back. Despite the lukewarm temperature, Inumaki shivered. Yuuta watched in fascination as little goosebumps started prickling up on Inumaki’s skin. “Sorry… Is it too cold?”

Inumaki shook his head. “Okaka.”

Nodding slightly, Yuuta continued. He was careful not to hit the younger boy’s left side directly, instead wetting the area with rivulets of water cast off from Inumaki’s collarbone and shoulder. He gently wet Inumaki’s hair, carding his fingers through it with the utmost care, like petting a newborn puppy that could break with the simplest touch. “It’s okay… it’s okay…” he murmured softly. He wasn’t sure if the words were directed to himself or to the cursed-speech-user, but at this point, he didn’t care. He was completely focused on the task at hand.

“First, your hair.”

Yuuta picked up some shampoo and began lathering it through his friend’s hair. He was always amazed by how soft the snake-and-fang user’s hair was. He didn’t often find himself able to touch it, but when he could, he truly savored every moment.

“Tilt your head back.”

The sword-wielder strategically directed the stream of water at Inumaki’s hairline, aiming the water back toward himself as he massaged the shampoo suds through his hair and rinsing them out. He was completely lost in the sensation of the other boy’s hair running through his fingers. It was like silk, sliding between his fingers with ease. Over and over, the tendrils as soft as a bunny. He spent a few extra moments just combing his fingers through the wet locks under the guise of washing them, pressing down with slight pressure into his scalp, absently massaging the boy’s now-clean head and savoring the pleased groan he got in response for his efforts. He continued the action, sliding his hand down to the nape of Inumaki’s neck and pressing soft circles into the flesh, drawing a quiet moan from Inumaki’s mouth and a groan from his own. The groan pulled him out of the trance and he was instantly hit with mortification. He…He was taking advantage of his friend… Oh god. His face flushed with shame.

He should be able to get ahold of himself, dammit. Even with his massive crush on the boy before him, he should be able to handle himself gracefully. Especially considering the situation.

“Tsuna?”

“I…I-I ’m going to scrub you now…. It might hurt a little…”

He picked up a soft cotton towel lathered with soap and began running it over Inumaki’s back and shoulders, scrubbing away the days of grime that had accumulated since his last bath. The thought brought a spike of jealousy crashing through Yuuta’s chest. Who had helped him last?? Hopefully not that Sukuna brat. Yuuta might actually finish the job if that kid touched Inumaki.

Shaking himself out of it once again, he resolved to speed up the cleaning process, if nothing else but to get out of this intimate setting a little faster.

Yuuta dragged the cloth along every corner of the other boy he felt comfortable with, handing the cloth to Inumaki for the more private areas. As Inumaki tended to his own cleaning, Yuuta quickly washed himself down so that he could easily enter the bath.

“Shake!”

“Oh? Finished?” Yuuta glanced over. His poor classmate was struggling to control his breathing from the sudden exertion, his body teetering dangerously close to falling off the bath stool.

Yuuta stepped over to him and laid a stabilizing hand on his good shoulder. “I know you’re tired. Just a little more. Then you can rest.”

Now came the part that Yuta had been dreading. The infection in Inumaki’s left shoulder was red and oozing, meaning he’d probably neglected cleaning it properly for a while. Yuuta was positive that it was tender to the touch, but he knew that Inumaki probably wouldn’t complain about it. He was too considerate like that… Never wanting to burden others with his feelings or concerns.

“You really should see a doctor about this. I’ll talk to Iieri after this,” he murmured softly as he gently wiped the surrounding area with a soft cloth. He tried not to use a lot of pressure. Just enough to clean the surrounding skin and take away any residual dirt and blood. He slowed his pace as Inumaki tensed, pain written across his features. “Just a bit more…” He bit his lip and wiped the surgical site as gently as he could. The strangled scream that left his friend’s mouth caused him to grit his teeth together and pause.

“Alright, can you stand?”

“…O..ka..ka…” Still coming off of the latest bout of pain, Inumaki panted, reigning in his breathing in an attempt to get a grip on his pain.

“No worries. I’ll carry you!” Yuuta plastered a reassuring smile onto his face and lifted the frail boy into his arms once more once he caught his breath. “I’ll try not to drop you.”

“Okaka!”

“Okay okay. I promise I won’t drop you. Geez… You act like I’ve dropped you before.”

“…shake. mentaiko. ikura.”

“…Okay. You’ve got me there. But that was a joke.”

Yuuta made his way over to the steps of the shared bath and eased the speech-user into it, following him just seconds after. He shimmied himself up against the wall and pulled Inumaki’s back against his chest so that he could support him as they relaxed. The water was cooler than he would have preferred, but hot water most likely would have made Inumaki even more sick.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Just sitting in silence, letting the water release all of the tension from their muscles, lost in their own thoughts. Inumaki tilted his head back to lean against Yuuta’s shoulder, his breathing slowly evening out as he relaxed in the water.

“…Hey… Inumaki?” Yuuta found himself saying after a while. “…This might be a little bit too personal and feel free to ignore me. I mean, it really isn’t even that important at the moment. I probably shouldn’t even ask….”

Inumaki let out a loud huff and pinched Yuuta’s leg.

“Ow! Hey!”

“Sujiko!”

Yuuta rubbed his thigh. “Fine fine… I was just gonna ask… What were you dreaming about earlier?”

Inumaki’s body instantly tensed up. Yuuta could feel the muscles in his back coil against his chest.

“I mean… it must have been a pretty bad nightmare, right? You were cursing in your sleep… and I’ve never known you to do that, even when you’re sick. So…”

The cursed-speech user flinched and brought his remaining hand to his mouth, covering it tightly.

Yuuta’s eyes softened and he wrapped his fingers around Inumaki’s wrist, gently prying it away from his face. “Hey… it’s fine, Inumaki. You didn’t hurt anybody. And you know your spells don’t work on me,” he said softy and laced their fingers together, squeezing his hand in reassurance. “Everyone’s fine. I just thought… maybe if you talked about it… you’d feel a little better?”

Inumaki stared at their linked hands.

“B-But you don’t have to, of course!! I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable…”

“…okaka.”

The swordsman stared at him sadly. He sighed and swept his thumb over the other boy’s knuckles, slowly and rhythmically, following the relaxed tempo of his heartbeat. “It’s okay. Forget I mentioned it…”

Inumaki leaned back to relax once again against the dark-haired boy’s chest, his cloudy eyes staring at the water in front of them. Unlike before, the atmosphere between them was heavy with thought. Purple eyes stared lifelessly into his reflection in the water, not actually registering what was in front of him at all.

“Hey… Inumaki… I think we should head back…”

Purple eyes glanced up, meeting deep blue irises. “Okaka.”

Sighing heavily in defeat, Yuuta shook his head and reached over to turn on the faucet again. It was more of a distraction than anything, but he could play it off as an attempt to heat up the rapidly-cooling water surrounding them. “Alright. Take as long as you need. I just want to help.”

Inumaki stared at Yuuta’s face, his eyes tracing the features so deliberately that Yuuta froze and ducked his head, refusing to meet his gaze again.

The cursed-speech-user shook his hand free and tapped one of the seals on his cheeks, drawing Yuuta’s attention back toward him.

“…Your…curse?” Yuuta asked.

Inumaki nodded.

“You…dreamt about your curse? Is that what you mean?”

Inumaki paused for a second, but nodded again, a little less sure.

“…Okay. Panda told me before that you’ve unintentionally cursed people… Is it about that?” Yuuta’s full attention was on him now. If anyone could understand this pain, it was Yuuta. He had hurt more than his fair share of people before he understood what was happening. Their screams, the splashes of blood hitting the ground like wet paint, the haunted look in their eyes as their corpses thumped against the floor… those painful images stuck with him, dragging themselves from the protected corners of his mind when he was vulnerable with the vestiges of sleep. He could understand how dark memories like those could trap you in a debilitating nightmare.

But Inumaki shook his head. He tapped his mark again, a little harder.

Yuuta frowned. “So it’s not about the people you’ve cursed in the past… Was it about cursing your friends? Like me or Panda or Maki?”

Inumaki’s eyes widened and he shook his head violently. The action caused him to wince and double over as a stabbing pain shot through his left shoulder and up his neck. 

Now Yuuta was feeling concerned. He rarely felt frustrated with the lack of speech since he always felt he could understand the cursed-speech-user even without words. But right now, in such an important moment, he hated his own inability to understand. His friend was trying to tell him something important, and it just wasn’t sinking into his head. Why couldn’t he get this?

Inumaki opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, pointing to his tongue, then his pointed teeth.

“…Your mark? Your…clan…?” he asked, hesitation seeping into his tone. He didn’t know much about the Snake and Fangs family. Inumaki never seemed comfortable talking about them, and Gojo-sensei just brushed it off any time it came up. On top of that, speech-users were rare. Yuuta had never met another one throughout all of his time traveling. He just assumed there wasn’t much information there about the clan due to that rarity. Surely a super special ability like that would be kept quiet to avoid power struggles between clans.

The sadness that lingered in Inumaki’s eyes made Yuuta’s heart ache.

“…W-What happened to your clan?”

Inumaki’s eyes darkened.

“No… That’s not it, is it? …What… W-what did they do to you?”

“…” Inumaki averted his gaze and stared bitterly at the water.

“They hurt you, didn’t they?” Yuuta asked, catching Inumaki’s chin and forcing him to lock gazes. “…Toge, please…I---”

“Takana…shake shake...”

“What?! No! It’s not okay!” Yuuta moved his hands and clamped them both on Inumaki’s shoulders, immediately feeling guilty for the pain that laced the other boy’s features but pressing on regardless. “Don’t say that! You didn’t deserve it!”

“Mentaiko!”

“No, you didn’t. You don’t deserve pain, Toge.”

“Shake! Ikura!”

“Stop saying that! I will fight anybody who dares to tell me otherwise, even you!” He was panting heavily, gripping Inumaki as if trying to shake some sense into him, trying desperately to get his point across. “Nobody has the right to hurt you. I don’t care what happened or who they are… If someone hurts you, they will die by my blade. Do you understand me?”

Inumaki stared at the boy in front of him. Coming to a decision, Inumaki closed the gap between them, crashing his mouth to the swordsman’s. It wasn’t eloquent or gentle by far, like a rock hitting a concrete wall, hard enough to leave a bruise if not careful, but filled with all of the feelings Inumaki couldn’t express aloud—pain, anger, humiliation, regret. Every negative feeling surrounding his memories balled up and sent crashing into the other boy with everything that he had.

And, still full of pent-up anger on Inumaki’s behalf, Yuuta kissed back, just as ferociously. It was a battle of wills that Yuuta refused to back down from. He would show Inumaki how much he was valued, even if he had to shove it down his throat. He pinned Inumaki to the edge of the bath and gripped at his wet hair, forcing his head into a different angle to have better access to his mouth. He kissed like he fought, with all of the intensity and passion and every bit of emotion he could muster thrown into it. He bit down on Inumaki’s lower lip harshly, forcing his lips to part before darting his tongue into his open mouth, instantly taking control, entangling their tongues in a vicious battle of dominance. Their teeth clashed, bumping against each other as they twisted and turned, trying to maintain control only to be beaten by one another time and time again.

They were each snarling into the kiss, staring each other down and rocking against one another, trying to gain the upper hand and wrestle their way into winning. But a stray tear from Inumaki’s part drained all of the fight from Yuuta, softening his stance.

He brought one of his hands to cup Inumaki’s face and gentled his mouth against the other boy’s chapped lips, pouring a different kind of passion into the slow movements of his mouth. Instead of the quick, strategic attacks, he moved his mouth to a slower tempo, coaxing Inumaki’s tongue to follow his dance instead of fight. It took a minute for the light haired boy to catch on, but when Inumaki finally submitted, kissing back just as slowly and carefully, the anger draining from his shoulders like a cascading waterfall, Yuuta parted from him.

Their breath mingled as they stared each other down, foreheads touching.

“…I really like you, Toge,” Yuuta whispered breathlessly, his lips brushing Inumaki’s ever so slightly in his admission. “So please…please don’t think so lowly of yourself. You don’t deserve pain… and if anybody hurts you again, I’ll kill them. I’ll do anything to keep you happy. That’s a promise.”

Inumaki stared at him, eyes darting between the cerulean orbs and the dark lips that had just been ravishing his own. “…shake,” he whispered back.

Entwining their fingers, Inumaki lifted their hands up between them and brushed his lips against the back of Yuuta’s hand, his mouth curling into a smile of delight against his skin as a blush rapidly filled Yuuta’s cheeks, painting his neck and stretching all the way up to the tips of his ears.

“Yuuta~”

“Y-You don’t have to do that… I mean… Please… don’t feel pressured!! I just… I’d always protect you if I could, you know? No matter what! You don’t need to---“

“Yuuta!!”

“…You l-like me too?”

Inumaki smiled softly, placing a soft kiss on Yuuta’s hand once more. “Shake.”

Elation filled Yuuta’s chest. He felt like he was flying on clouds. His chest was so full it was painful, but it was worth it if it meant he could see that smile on his friend’s (boyfriend’s?) face. His eyes lit up with happiness and he pulled Inumaki forward into another passionate kiss, much softer than their first.

“See? I told you it would work out!!”

Inumaki and Yuuta both jumped, surprise filling their features. “Gojo-sensei?! Panda? MAKI?!!” Yuuta squeaked. He stood abruptly, stepping in front of Inumaki to hide him from view, not that it really made a difference since they’d already been caught. “W-What are you doing in here???”

Gojo stood there, a teasing smile on his face. “I was told that our dear little Toge was sick. I’ve been worried about him. Guess he can’t be too sick if he’s sucking face with you, huh, Yuuta?”

Inumaki pouted and tugged on Yuuta’s arm. “…Yuuta…tsuna.”

Yuuta glanced down at his blushing boyfriend (yes, he’s decided that’s what they now are. Inumaki didn’t seem to be against it, after all) and blinked. “…Of course, Toge,” a wicked smile came to his face as he returned his attention to the three intruding on their bath time. “I promised, didn’t I?”

And if Inumaki stared at the swordsman’s ass as he sprinted out of the room, chasing the three laughing idiots down the hall with a storm of cursed energy, nobody had to know know.

Inumaki touched the seals on his face and smiled sadly.

Yeah… there’s a lot of things people shouldn’t know…

END

Yuuta came back a few minutes later, fully clothed and carrying a large fluffy towel, still muttering under his breath about three idiots he had to skewer. “Toge!! Let’s go back. Sitting in a bath can’t be----”

As he approached, he smiled softly, seeing the light-haired boy resting quietly at the edge of the bath, head perched on his remaining arm. He pushed up his sleeve and reached his arm into the depths of the water to pull the bath plug, then slipped it around the sleeping boy’s waist and hauled him over the edge of the tub and into the awaiting towel.

The snake-and-fangs user stirred slightly, but a soft shush from Yuuta calmed him immediately.

“You’ll be the death of me, you know that?” Yuuta whispered and pressed his lips against the other boy’s forehead. A wide smile found its way onto his face. Good, his temperature had gone down a bit. Now he just had to get to a doctor and get some medicine into his body. And probably a decent meal.

Yuuta wasn’t the best in the kitchen, but he supposed he could make something edible for his new boyfriend…

Well, only one way to find out.