Work Text:
Obligations
Sometimes Yuji pondered what his life would've been like if his birth had been just slightly different. He pondered what it would've been like to be one of those cursed fetuses in those tubes. No, he shouldn't call them cursed fetuses. Though, it did get a light chuckle out of Choso when he first said it. But still, he pondered it because he'd rather have his head in the clouds than deal with the shitshow down on earth.
He had a good life in his opinion but apparently his good cards got swapped out for the worst possible cards to be dealt. At least, it felt like it. Sometimes he wished he could go back and not eat that stupid finger. Finger...
Finger. Sukuna. His fault. It was all his fault. Everyone was dead because of Yuji. Because he couldn't hold him down. Because he was too weak. Because. Because. Bec--
"Yuji?"
His thoughts froze for a moment. Choso was watching him with intense eyes, burning with protectiveness. Yuji took a second to realize where he was. His hands were tangled in his hair down to the root, his knuckles white from his grip. At some point in his panic, he had clawed open his scars out of sheer terror. He choked out with a hoarse voice, probably earned through crying as there were tears still running down his face, "Ch-Choso?"
Choso blinked and walked over to where Yuji was curled with his back against a wall in the rundown convenience store they were hunkering in. The curse sat down next to Yuji, slowly trying to pull the teenager toward him. Yuji pulled away violently, "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to comfort you."
"Wh-Why?"
"Because I'm your older brother and it's my obligation to help you however I can."
"No, you're not. It was just... Just something I somehow fabricated to get you to not kill me."
Choso studied him with sad eyes, he looked almost hurt at Yuji's words. But Yuji didn't say anything more, just watched curiously as Choso rubbed absently at his own heart. Yuji didn't know that there was evidence to back up Choso's words. Choso didn't say anything, he just smiled and pulled Yuji into his side. The teenager sputtered, "What? I told you we aren't brothers!"
"I know what you said. I'm choosing to ignore it."
"Stop... Let go..." Yuji started to tear up out of frustration. He needed this, he knew he did. He really did. But whenever he's near someone all he can think of is Sukuna. Sukuna could do anything. He was afraid. All he can hear is-- All he can hear is-- All he can hear is the rip of flesh against the force of Sukuna's attack. The sloshing of hot blood against pavement. The cackles of a curse who was high off the feeling of taking lives with his bare hands. He can't do this. He can't handle this. It's too much. It's all too much. He just wants to go home. Please... The wind whipped up dust from the rubble as the screams died down. He stepped on a body and blood hissed out of the open wounds. He felt his lips curl up in a grin of satisfaction. He felt the reins being passed to him and all he can do is gag on bile rising up his throat.
He came back to reality with the feeling of cold hands combing through his hair and the sound of Choso murmuring against his head, "It's okay, Yuji. I'm not leaving you. I promise. You're all I've got left."
A sudden sob racked his body, "I'm s-sorry, Ch-Choso..."
"Don't be. I told you already. It was a misunderstanding. Don't worry about me, worry about you."
Yuji can only stare forward. It was so strange. Having someone solely focused on him. Someone completely disregarding themselves for him.
"...But why?"
"Because you're my brother."
"But I'm not..."
Choso puffed a breath into his hair, "Well, my instinct says otherwise."
Yuji blinked a few times, "Huh?"
"I'm connected to all my brothers. I feel physical anguish when they're critically injured. I felt that with you back during the fight, that's why I suddenly joined in the attack."
"Oh... So you really weren't on our side, you were just protecting me."
"I didn't care about anyone else there. You were the only thing that mattered."
At that, Yuji smiled for the first time in a long while.
Yuji still didn't quite believe that he was Choso's brother (Though, the curse tried to prove it by asking if his father had stitches on his head. But that line of questioning was left without an answer because Yuji couldn't really remember his parents.) but he gladly accepted the massive amount of affection the curse constantly threw his way. He didn't have anyone else so Choso tried his best to make up for the lack of social interaction. Yuji was glad he wasn't completely alone in this mess.
However, currently he was trying to desperately fight against a sorcerer way above his level. An upperclassman he had only ever heard of. And he was losing horribly. In the middle of combat, he blearily thought, I hope Choso is doing better in his fight than I am. Right when he got the opportunity to flee, he was grabbed by something that had the same vibe as Sukuna. And oh god. It's happening again. Everyone's gonna die. They're gonna die. Die. Die. Run. Run away. Choso don't try anything, I don't want you to die.
He gasped when Yuta's broken sword rammed straight through his chest. He slowly realized that the thing grabbing him was making strange gurgling sounds that sounded vaguely appraising and sounded sort of like Yutaaaaaa... Loveeeeee youuuuuuu.... But before he could even question it, the world winked out.
He blinked open his eyes to a blinding light. There was a silhouette leaning over him. His chest bubbled with happiness as he reach out to a figure with hair just like his. He turned his head with a giggle and his gaze locked with a woman whose eyes looked just like the eyes he saw when he looked in the mirror. A wave of realization hit him as he swung his gaze from the woman, to the man lingering over him, and back to the woman. The man smiled down at him. The woman only stared blankly. There were stitches on her forehead but not his father's. Why was that significant? He couldn't make a connection to any important thought but the words half brother flickered along the edge of his mind.
He blinked and he was a toddler bundled up way too much in winter gear. He was happy though. His mother, her and her somehow significant stitches, crouched next to him in the snow. He giggled and walked towards her on wobbly legs, only to topple against her legs. He blinked at her with wide amber eyes, laughing innocently. She let a nervous grin fade onto her face, letting out halfhearted chuckles. She seemed confused, like she wasn't used to handling children. Or like she didn't particularly enjoy it. Not like she actually cared about her other nine children, right?
Yuji lifted himself to his wobbly feet and wandered a short distance away to play in the snow. He didn't catch the way she looked at him from a distance. A small, genuine smile crept onto her face. She wasn't used to actually caring about her offspring so this was a whole new feeling. He didn't realize that the look she was giving him was the same look Geto gave him when he said he was expecting a lot from him. And oh... Oh. That's the significance. His mother is Geto and Geto is Kamo, which means... Choso is his brother. He was right all along.
Choso trailed behind the mysterious sorcerer in white who was dragging Yuji around by the back of his hood. Choso quickened his pace, slowly getting angrier the longer the sorcerer dragged his brother like that. Though, he supposed he already disliked the sorcerer because his instincts had gone haywire a while ago. Meaning that Yuji was definitely either critically injured or he died but got resurrected. He snapped out between gritted teeth, "Who are you exactly?"
The sorcerer glanced at him, "Yuta Okkotsu. I'm Itadori's upperclassman."
Yuta lead him into a bunker where a boy Yuji's age was pacing. The teenager stopped when he spotted Yuta dragging Yuji, "You found him!" His gaze slowly shifted over to Choso, "You were followed."
Yuta gestured to Choso as he let go of Yuji, "He was traveling with Itadori."
The unknown teenager studied him in suspicion but he payed him no mind. Choso simply rearranged Yuji so he would be more comfortable and then sat down next to his sleeping form. The other two sorcerers sat down next to each other on the other end of the room, watching Choso carefully in case the curse suddenly attacked Yuji. Choso expected that, he didn't recognize either of them from the end of the fight at Shibuya where he was aggressively protecting Yuji from harm.
Yuji scrunched up his face and looked visibly strained. Choso hummed and gently raised a hand, (choosing to ignore the way the two sorcerers stiffened) running it slowly through Yuji's hair to swoop it away from his face. Choso froze as a soft smile started to replace the strained expression Yuji had and he found himself unable to hold back a smile of his own when Yuji mumbled, "Brother..."
Yuji's eyes cracked open and he smiled even brighter, "Choso?"
Choso tried to match Yuji's expression, "Yes, it's me."
And then the two sorcerer's ruined their sibling bonding moment, the spiky haired younger one jumping to his feet while saying, "Itadori, you're awake!"
Yuta budged in, "Sorry about killing you."
"Who exactly is this guy, Itadori?" The spiky one asked, studying Choso carefully.
Yuji sat up slowly, "Oh. Choso? He's my... He's my brother. Half brother specifically."
Choso blinked at him in surprise, wondering when Yuji changed his thoughts on him. But his surprise was quickly replaced with overwhelming adoration and he found himself tearing up, "Yuji..."
"Oh." The spiky one and Yuta said in almost perfect sync.
Choso suddenly blurted out what was on his mind, "What changed? You finally called me your brother, so what changed?"
Yuji stared at him for a moment before smiling, "I dreamed of a memory. My mother is your father."
His eyes went wide, "Oh? At least, this means you can't try to deny my obligations to you as your older brother."
"True. But now I get to experience being the annoying little sibling."
"Can't be worse than the other eight."
"Is that a challenge?" Yuji said with a mischievous grin.
"It can be if you want it to be."
Choso was happy. Yuji hadn't smiled this much in so long. So very long. He was glad to see Yuji happy for once. And if Yuji was happy, he was happy.