Chapter Text
“So there’s nothing you can do?”
“‘fraid not.”
The sound of Gojo’s barely muffled voice came through the phone speaker pressed against Okkostu’s ear.
“If the trains aren’t running, you’re just gonna have to stay put until they are again.”
Okkotsu did nothing to hide his disappointment.
“I was worried you might say that.”
It was raining.
A lot.
More than felt could even be possible.
Megumi sat quietly on the bench on top of the small train station platform. He was waiting because there was nothing else to do at the moment but wait.
Water poured down in a seemingly unending torrent, pooling on the ground in puddles that were bordering on becoming classified as ponds instead.
Megumi’s gaze settled on his hands before stretching his fingers out one by one and folding them into each other. He closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of his senpai’s voice and the pounding of the rain.
The mission they’d been assigned was complete. The curse completely eradicated. It was done. They were done .
A few days ago, Gojo cheerfully approached with a bounce in his step and a smile on his lips, asking in a way that was less asking and more telling that Megumi was to be Okkotsu’s support for said mission.
Megumi wasn’t exactly new at missions, per se, Gojo had overseen him before to varying degrees of success, so it didn’t feel unheard of for him to be given more direct hands-on experience, but the whole directive felt, well, a bit misplaced.
Okkotsu was, by Megumi’s own personal evaluation and not just by some stupid Jujutsu classification, a cut above the rest.
His senpai’s movements were precise, the use of his cursed energy, controlled in a way that felt advanced beyond his years. Okkotsu even managed to get his summoned shikigami to sync with him in a way that Megumi could only barely manage when both his dogs were being especially attentive, which, unfortunately, was less often than he’d like to admit.
(He was working on it.)
Megumi did not know what he could possibly offer that his senpai wouldn’t have been able to simply handle himself. Okkotsu did solo missions all the time-- most of the time, actually. It wasn’t like he needed Megumi’s help. Why was Megumi asked to go on this one specifically ?
That question caused a very poignant and precise pit to form in his stomach when he thought about it too hard. It was uncharacteristic, offsetting, and jarring in a way he’d never experienced from something before. Initially he wondered if it was some sort of sudden onset sickness, but he later concluded these aches were because of a mix of uncomfortable personal comparisons and unfortunate feelings of inferiority, particularly in relation to Okkotsu.
(He was trying to work on that too.)
After thinking it through too many times, and pushing down more uncomfortable stomach aches than he cared to admit, Megumi decided at the very least, even if he didn’t help at all, he would just have to make sure he didn’t hurt. It didn’t matter if he was needed or not, just as long as he absolutely did not get classified as a burden.
And he hadn’t been, luckily.
They had had no major issues.
Well, no major issues until now .
Of all the scenarios he’d imagined in his head, Megumi never expected the greatest inconvenience to come from something as simple as too much rain and, by result, too much mud. Paired with old infrastructure that was all but the standard in this little, rural, out-of-the-way town, it was only a few steps to understanding exactly how they ended up, quite literally, stuck .
“What’s there even to worry about?” Gojo’s voice sounded entirely unconcerned. “You think I’d send you out unprepared?”
Okkotsu made an uncertain sound in the back of his throat. “Well--”
“There are stipends for situations like this. Contingency funds. Available even for students to use. Get some cash. Rent a room for the night. Chill. Come home tomorrow as soon as everything is back up and running. Easy!”
“Easy?”
“ Easy . C’mon, you’ve fought curses that would haunt the depths of most people’s nightmares, one earlier today even! I know you can handle something like a surprise night away from home-- Ohhh !”
That exclamation resonated so loudly that Megumi wondered if Okkotsu’s phone had fritzed out. He opened his eyes and just managed to see his senpai fumble, caught off guard himself, only just stopping himself from dropping the phone all together.
“This is sort of like a fun little sleepover~ How exciting! You two can stay up telling each other secrets and talking about your favorite things, maybe even who you have a cru--”
Gojo’s voice was unceremoniously cut off as Okkotsu ended the call with a hard tap that made a soft bloop . He let out a deep sigh before reaching up and his fingers through his hair, pushing the long strands that had fallen forward out of his face. He pocketed his phone and turned his attention back towards Megumi.
“Senpai,” Megumi said, meeting Okkotsu’s deep blue eyes with his own green ones before the older boy could say a single thing. “You should really turn your phone volume down.”
“Ah…” Okkotsu paused, “Did… Did you overhear that?”
Megumi was sure the next town over could hear it, even through the pounding rain.
“Only a little.”
“I guess I don’t need to explain what’s going on, then.” Okkotsu reached up to scratch the side of his face with a single finger. It was a nervous tick, a subconscious display of embarrassment that Megumi had noticed Okkotsu do a few times when interacting with his classmates.
“We’re stuck?” Megumi offered, already knowing the answer.
“We’re stuck,” Okkotsu nodded solemnly, like he was breaking the worst news possible, then added a few moments later. “Sorry.”
Megumi’s brow creased. He disliked when Okkotsu apologized needlessly.
“It’s not your fault.”
Okkotsu shrugged and then gave a smile that did nothing to hide the unnecessary guilt underneath it.
“Feels like it is.”
Megumi shrugged back.
“You don’t control the weather… Right?”
“That’s...” Okkotsu blinked twice, considering, then broke into a polite smile, “That’s true, I don’t do that one.”
Megumi nodded once, conclusively. “Then there’s no need to apologize.”
“Well, I guess we should get going.” Okkotsu’s shoulders sagged forward then readjusted his katana bag. “Maybe the rain will let up soon.”
○○○
“I wish you could control the weather, actually,” Megumi stated flatly.
Okkotsu hummed affirmatively.
Any paper-thin hope they might have had of the weather cooperating was quickly dashed as they stood in the station archway. Megumi was absolutely sure it had gotten worse, not better, since the last time they had really looked at it. He assumed Okkotsu had come to the same conclusion, considering the contemplative frown on his face.
“Want to just go for it?” Okkotsu suggested, turning away from the curtain of rain towards Megumi.
“No,” Megumi answered, honestly, “But I don’t think there’s any other choice.”
“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Okkotsu offered back, attempting to give a positive spin. “We have an umbrella at least.”
After fishing around in the miniature emergency pack the school had provided, they had, as fortune would have it, found a bank card Gojo had mentioned and, as fortune would also have it, a small, compact umbrella as well.
“Maybe.”
“It’s better than nothing,” Okkotsu said as he unwound and popped it open. After a few moments of consideration, he held it out towards Megumi, “Do you want it? It is sort of small.”
Megumi eyed the umbrella in Okkotsu’s outstretched hand. An increasingly familiar pain formed in his gut. It was probably meant as an act of kindness, but he decided didn’t want to come off like he needed to be coddled.
“Senpai, please .”
Megumi accepted the umbrella but then took a step in. Okkotsu’s eyebrows raised up as Megumi moved in closer, nearly bumping their shoulders together, as he adjusted the angle to cover most of both of them.
“It’s not that small.”
Okkotsu reached up and scratched at the side of his face. “I guess you’re right.”
○○○
“Here,” Okkotsu held a thousand yen bill out to Megumi. “You’re pretty selective about what you eat, right?”
Okkotsu tapped the toe of his sneakers on the mat inside the convenience mart, attempting to remove what excess water he could from his completely soaked feet.
After successfully withdrawing funds from a small ATM a few blocks down from the station Megumi had been ready to pull up directions straight to whatever the closest hotel was, but Okkotsu had grabbed his hand, pointed across the street to a 7/11, and requested a quick detour first.
“Uh,” Megumi looked from Okkotsu to the money being held out to him back up to Okkotsu before accepting it, “Sure.”
Okkotsu patted Megumi on the shoulder with a small smile. “This shouldn’t take too long.”
Megumi’s eyes followed Okkotsu as he stepped into the store. Megumi looked back down at the money now in his hand.
Okkotsu wasn’t wrong... He never found the school food particularly agreeable, instead often choosing to prepare his own food in his dorm. He mostly tried to keep that particular habit to himself lest he give Gojo the opportunity to call him out in front of everyone for being too picky.
Megumi’s ears picked up the squeak of tennis shoes and he saw his senpai’s half-damp black head of hair peeking over the top of one aisle.
But how did Okkotsu know that ? It hadn’t come up in conversations and they definitely didn’t eat together regularly or anything.
He frowned before shoving the money in his pocket, pointedly trying to ignore the single sharp twist of his stomach, which did nothing to entice his appetite while he decided he best find something to eat.
The store was incredibly picked over. They had clearly arrived late, behind the rush of other travelers stuck in similar circumstance. Megumi found a small, only half-squished, mostly fresh yakisoba sandwich shoved in the back of one cooler. He looked it over. It was… fine . He could probably eat it even if it was only a small step above something super processed. He snagged two packs of pickled ginger from the small add-on section and moved towards the register to pay.
He stood back by the door, not wanting to waste too much more time, but he realized he had perhaps been too hasty.
Or perhaps Okkotsu was just slow.
Megumi watched his senpai dart up and then back down the same few parts of the store like he couldn’t make up his mind about something… although he wasn’t sure what there was even to make up his mind about given how empty the entire place was. How hard was it to grab a few packages of whatever food was left?
“I didn’t know you had so much you wanted to get,” Megumi commented, eyeing the much fuller plastic bag Okkotsu had in his hands as he approached some minutes later, having finally paid himself.
“It’s just the basics.”
Megumi hummed, not entirely convinced of that, but let it go. He pulled out his phone to reopen the map app.
“Want to find a place to stay now?”
“I think so,” Okkotsu looked down into his bag’s contents one more time before popping open the umbrella again and making a dramatic motion towards the outside. “Lead the way.”
○○○
“It’s such a shame,” The hostess sighed sympathetically, resting her head on her hand as she frowned up at Okkotsu from behind the counter, “I don’t want to send you boys away, but we’re very limited on room availability because of the weather. We only have one left, and it’s a single…” She sighed again. “I could try to phone another hotel and see what’s available there. Although the nearest one is at least a half-hour’s walk away and with the way it’s been outside this evening…”
All three of them turned and looked at the window, back towards the storm. Unless an act of god or curses intervened, it absolutely would not stop any time soon.
Okkotsu raised his hand and gave a half-bow, trying to both accept and dismiss her apologies before turning back to Megumi. He reached and scratched at the side of his face again before asking,
“So, what do you think?”
Megumi could tell Okkotsu would rather just stay here, convenience winning out over comfort to whatever degree that might end up being. He could also tell Okkotsu fully expected him to veto the idea. An observation that was reinforced by the fact Okkotsu already had one arm fumbling with the bag they had stashed the umbrella in.
Another kindness paired with another twist of his stomach.
It was unfortunate for his senpai’s assumptions, but Megumi decided their sensibilities aligned this time. He felt the chilly dampness of his soaked socks creating uncomfortable squishy pools of water in his shoes. He felt the stiffness of his muscles, felt the exhaustion from the entire day catching up with him.
And if sharing a room meant they didn’t have to go back outside, that didn’t bother him at all. Not a single bit.
“A single is fine,” Megumi responded simply as he looked away from the needlessly concerned look Okkotsu was giving him and walked up to the hotel desk to claim the key.
“It doesn’t bother me.”