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“Hey Megumi-chan!”
The nine-year-old winced slightly at his mentor's rough voice.
“So…today I’ll have to have someone else pick you up from school since I’m…you know…incapacitated,” said Gojo, barely able to get the words out before breaking into a fit of coughs.
“Sick. You’re sick, Satoru.” Megumi provided blandly, handing a glass of water to the doubled-over man.
Gojo nodded in thanks and gulped down every drop of water before clearing his throat and lying back down in the bed, arms crossed behind his head. “So anyway…the higher ups have provided a sorcerer named Kimura Touma.” Gojo coughed a bit and popped a pill in his mouth, swallowing it dry. “He’s a grade-four, but it won’t matter cause he’ll just be driving you to…ahem…school and back. I tried to have someone I know better do it, but everyone’s tied up. The higher-ups trust him though.” Gojo groaned and rested his arm on his hot, sweaty forehead.
Megumi shifted uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to seeing the incredibly powerful sorcerer looking so…vulnerable. He knew that even in his weakened state Gojo would be able to take down curses left and right with the snap of his fingers, but still it was…unsettling.
“I could always just stay home from school and make sure you don’t choke on your own vomit,” Megumi mumbled.
Gojo laughed brightly before pounding on his chest as another coughing fit overtook him. “Aww my little Megumi-chan does care. That knowledge is healing for the soul.”
Megumi just rolled his eyes and shifted his backpack around. He stood there in silence for a moment before both his and Gojo’s phones buzzed.
“Ah, he’s here,” Gojo said. “I gave him your number too,” He said in explanation to Megumi’s confused look.
“Uh…okay then, bye,” said Megumi as he headed for the door.
“Ciao! Remember, don’t get into any strange cars!” Gojo joked merrily. Megumi just brushed him off and headed outside, immediately spotting a sleek black car that obviously belonged to his escort. Wanting to invite as little social interaction as possible, Megumi climbed into the back seat of the car.
“Heyo!” Kimura greeted him cheerfully.
“Hello,” Megumi offered.
“Don’t worry, I think we’ll get along just fine! And besides, it’s only a short drive to your school, we’ll be there in no time!” With that, Kimura started the car and the two were off, not sensing two piercing blue eyes watching them as they drove away.
___
The ride to Megumi’s school was slightly awkward, but still bearable. Kimura was clearly doing his best to make conversation with the nine-year-old, who clearly wasn’t having it. To fill the silent gaps, Kimura would go on and on about the different techniques he was learning and his extensive training regiments. Megumi was also subjected to listen to complaint after complaint about Kimura still not being given his first mission. Sometimes Megumi would give the courtesy of ‘hmm’ in reply, but most of the time he didn’t speak at all.
Never before had the nine-year-old been so excited to see the front entrance to his school.
“Ah, here we are!” Kimura exclaimed. “I’ll see you again at 3, is that right?”
“2,” Megumi corrected. “Thank you for the ride.” The kid clambered out of the car and made his way into the school, nodding to Tsumiki when she happily waved at him. She had been staying at Shoko’s house for the past few days so she could have some girl time. Whatever that meant.
During math class, Megumi wasn’t paying attention. He was tapping his pencil on the desk and thinking.
If I leave the school during lunch and skip my evening classes, could I walk to the pharmacy and pick up some medicine for Gojo and be back in time for Kimura to pick me up?
Megumi scribbled some numbers on his paper and calculated the distance to the store and approximately how fast he walked, to come to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be able to make it back in time.
During Japanese culture and language class, he wasn’t any more focused. This time, he was resting his head on the desk in such a way so he could peer down at his hands and practice the different shapes that Gojo was teaching him. It took quite a bit of coordination for a nine-year-old, but he was getting pretty good at the divine dog's shape.
Lunch time was a rather low point in the day because he realized that he had forgotten to make his bento box that morning. Gojo being sick had really screwed with his morning routine more than he had thought. Megumi didn’t feel like bothering Tsumiki to ask for some of her lunch, so he just elected to go without.
Afternoon classes were always the worst. Usually he would be struggling to stay awake in the warm classroom with a full stomach, but having no lunch messed this up. Instead, his stomach would rumble every few minutes, leaving him blushing furiously. It got so bad that his science teacher even offered him a red bean dorayaki, but he politely refused.
Two o’clock finally came and Megumi couldn’t be more pleased. He could finally go home, get something to eat, and maybe read a book in Gojo’s room. Just as planned, the familiar black car pulled up near the curb and the window rolled down, revealing Kimura smiling and motioning for Megumi to hop in. Once again, the kid settled himself in the backseat and prepared for a talkative ride back.
However, his prayers seemed to be answered in the form of Kimura’s phone ringing. The man quickly answered and immediately began speaking in hushed tones. Megumi didn’t comment on the fact that he was on the phone while driving, he just peered out of the window. Unfortunately, his peace and quiet was interrupted by Kimura hanging up the phone and pressing down on the gas pedal aggressively while swerving the car to the right, ignoring the left turn they were supposed to make.
“Fushiguro-kun! I hope you don’t mind if we make a quick stop on the way back to your house, I have a mission!”
Megumi gulped. He couldn’t imagine Gojo being too happy if he ends up hearing that Kimura took the nine-year-old to a mission without his permission.
“What level is the curse?” Megumi asked. He couldn’t help but be curious as to what they were about to encounter.
“Curses,” Kimura corrected excitedly. Megumi didn’t understand how the other sorcerer could be looking forward to the scene they were about to arrive at. It was possible that the curses had already taken lives.
“There are two grade 4 curses that we’re coming up on. Apparently the location is a notorious suicide spot. A bridge about two minutes away from us now.”
Megumi nodded. It made sense as to why there would be a couple curses lingering about. It didn’t seem like this would be too taxing of a mission…maybe he could even help. However, the kid's hopes were soon crushed when Kimura screeched the car onto the side of the road, not even close to what most people would consider a ‘parking job,’ and proceeded to exit the vehicle and yell behind him, “Stay in the car! I’ll be back in a few!”
Megumi crossed his arms and pouted. He was tempted to call Gojo and tell him that Kimura had taken him to a cursed location so he could get this guy in trouble, but he didn’t want to subject himself to his guardians' inevitable worry.
After sitting still for an impressive amount of time for a nine-year–old, Megumi crawled over the seats and looked out the window, trying to see what was going on. His eyes widened and hand flew up to his mouth at what he saw.
Three curses had surrounded Kimura, all laughing and grinning down at him in a taunting way. Kimura was clearly in way over his head, as he was slashing his sword with no clear aim or direction. Megumi could see that he was already bleeding from his side and it was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to take much more of this.
Megumi wanted to call Gojo, but he was sick and there was no way he could bother him. Nanami flitted into his mind, but Gojo had said that everyone else was occupied with other things. It was up to Megumi to save Kimura.
Megumi clenched his fists and took a deep breath, collecting all the bravery that he could, and violently pushed the car door open. He leapt out and sprinted towards the three curses, yelling at them.
“Hey, over here!”
The shout gained the attention of the curses and Kimura, who looked on in horror as the child ran towards him.
“Get back to the car!” Kimura yelled, not realizing his words would never register in Megumi’s mind.
“Divine dogs!” Megumi slid to a halt and formed his hands into the shape, forcing all of the cursed energy he could into creating the shadows. He was more than a little shocked when two furry creatures appeared on either side of him, snarling at the curses. Megumi’s eyes narrowed in on the first curse and let the side of his mouth twitch up into a grin.
“Attack.”
The dogs growled and leapt forwards, jaws snapping. Megumi watched on in awe as their sharp claws shredded the skin of the first curse, letting purple goo slosh out of the wounds. While they were working on the first curse, Megumi focused his attention on the second one. It looked slightly weaker and smaller than the first one, so he assumed he would be alright fighting this one on his own.
He rushed forwards, ducking as the curse swept its arm at his head. Megumi slid past the curses line of sight and focused all of the cursed energy he could into his fist, without deactivating the dogs, and punched as hard as he could. The curse screamed in fury and turned around, smashing it’s fist down on top of Megumi, but he dodged to the right, though his footing became unstable from the cracks forming in the concrete. The curse opened its mouth and let itself fall towards Megumi, trying to crush the boy in its teeth. It would have succeeded if it weren’t for the two dogs showing up and tearing this curse apart just like they had with the first one. Megumi spared a moment to pat the dogs on their heads, before whipping his head around to try and spot Kimura and…there he was.
Megumi’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the third curse. This one was much larger and was emitting the most foul and evil essence. It had one of its gnarly hands around Kimura’s throat and the other around his head. The curse laughed maniacally and bounced from side to side.
Megumi met Kimura’s eyes and felt his heart stutter at the absolute fear and terror that was present in them.
“ Run,” Kimura mouthed.
Megumi shook his head. He refused to leave, but at the same time, he had no idea what to do. The boy felt his shikigami press close to him on either side. The more time he had them active, the weaker they would both get. Megumi had never had them both active for so long and it was draining all three of them.
“ I a m ti ii re dd d” the curse moaned and directed it’s disgusting gaze down to the top of Kimura’s head.
Horror flooded Megumi when he realized what was about to happen.
He’s gonna snap his neck.
Megumi couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t move a muscle, he couldn’t even look away as the curse moved its arms in opposite directions viciously and let Kimura’s limp body drop to the ground.
___
Megumi screamed.
___
Gojo had never considered himself to be a worrier. He was sure that someone like Shoko or Tsumiki or even Megumi would say that he tended to be a mother hen, but Gojo would deny it every time.
However, when Megumi still wasn’t in his apartment ten minutes after when he was supposed to have arrived, Gojo…well, he was worried.
His first course of action was, of course, to call Megumi. When he didn’t pick up, he wasn’t necessarily too surprised. The little shit had a habit of ignoring his calls. Next, he called Kimura. The guy seemed to be a bit of a pushover, so Gojo expected him to pick up quickly. So when he didn’t, Gojo’s worry spiked drastically. He quickly pulled up the website he had installed in both his and Megumi’s phone so they could track each other. Ok, so maybe he was a bit of a mother hen, sue him.
When Gojo saw where Megumi’s phone was…where Megumi was, he was confused and even a bit panicked. He was at the suicide bridge. Gojo wasn’t dumb, he knew that the kid was quiet, but that didn’t mean he was suicidal. Gojo knew that it was a common occurrence for curses to pop up there.
Over the day, Gojo had started to slowly feel better. Sure, he wasn’t at 100%, but he was certain that he would have enough strength to warp to Megumi’s location. He would force himself to be able to do it. If he wasn’t able to…he didn’t want to consider the possibilities.
___
Megumi collapsed to the ground, shikigami disintegrating down with him. He was drained from the earlier fight and horrified at what he had just seen. He had to fight though. He had to protect himself if no one else would.
His brain was a little fuzzy, but he was able to see when the curse lunged at him, teeth bared and claws shining with blood from past victims.
Megumi rolled away from the first grab, but wasn’t able to escape the second hand that wrapped around his torso and lifted him up.
Megumi cried out and struggled to escape the tight grasp, but to no avail. Hot, searing pain then tore through his side’s as the claws pierced his fragil, soft skin. The boy couldn’t help the tears that began to stream down his cheeks.
Then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw movement. A slight glitch in the air. Megumi gasped as Gojo appeared out of thin air right in front of him. The man brought his hand down at lighting speed, severing both of the curses arms. Megumi felt himself drop to the ground, but Gojo was there to catch him. Megumi had never seen the other man look so angry before. He wouldn’t even meet his eyes, he just stared at Megumi’s wounds for a moment before setting him down to the side and approaching the curse head on. It was barely a level three, something that Gojo could eliminate with the snap of his fingers, but for some reason he didn’t. He took his time. He made it painful. Megumi closed his eyes, but he could hear every bone snap as Gojo tore the curse apart.
___
When it was finally over, Megumi felt Gojo’s hand on his knee.
“Hey, open your eyes for me, will you?” Gojo asked, fear prevalent in his voice. Megumi had heard it enough times now that he wouldn’t be able to miss it.
Megumi stared into Gojo’s striking eyes and somehow he found the cold, ocean blue of them comforting.
“I need to get you home, ok? I’m gonna pick you up now and warp us home.”
Megumi nodded and reached out his arms, whimpering a bit as the movement jostled his wounds. He buried his face into Gojo’s neck and held onto him tight as they warped back to the apartment.
When he opened his eyes next, he was lying on Gojo’s bed with crisp white bandages wrapped around his torso. Gojo was beside the bed on a chair, watching him intently.
“Satoru…” Megumi began.
“Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?” Gojo asked, brushing the kids black bangs away from his forehead.
Megumi ignored the question and averted his eyes as tears began to well in them.
“I couldn’t save him,” he whispered.
Gojo shook his head and got up onto the bed beside Megumi. He leaned against the headrest and slowly carded his hands through the kids' hair.
“Megumi. What happened today wasn’t even close to being your fault. You didn’t ask to be taken to a cursed location. He never should’ve taken you in the first place. And the fact that you got out of the car to help him…you didn’t need to do that either. But you did. And kid, you did so well. I’m really proud of you. It wasn’t Kimura’s place to endanger you like that.”
Megumi looked up and saw Gojo clench his fists before taking a deep breath and relaxing them.
“He didn’t deserve to die though,” Megumi said quietly.
“Of course not,” Gojo said. “I never said he did. Megumi, he made a mistake and he ended up dead because of it. I don’t want to sound harsh, but in the world of Jujutsu Sorcery, mistakes can end up with people dying. Things like this happen. It’s hard, I know. Especially seeing someone die for your first time. I’m just…I’m really glad that it wasn’t you. It so easily could’ve been.” Gojo trailed off into silence.
“Are you feeling better?” Megumi asked.
Gojo chuckled lightly. “I’m not the one with stab wounds here, but yeah I’m feeling better. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re worried.” Gojo teased, testing the waters.
Megumi just rolled his eyes. “Right.”
“Once you get all healed up, we can do some training with your shikigami if you want,” Gojo offered. “I can even teach you some new one’s.”
Megumi nodded and shifted so his head was resting on Gojo’s arm. The older man knew that it would fall asleep and start tingling soon, a feeling that he hated, but he let the boy lay on it anyway. Gojo decided to follow Megumi’s example and lay his head back to rest his eyes for a little bit. Soon enough, both of them had drifted off into a peaceful slumber.