Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

There’s only a few moments that Megumi can recollect of Satoru before they both actually grew up and (fell in love with him) became closer with one another.

When Megumi was six, she attended a fancy clan convention, her first one. Where every powerful clan came together to contribute for a party to flex whoever had the bigger dick (her father’s words, not hers) over one another.

The only reason why she’s here is because around the time she was born the Zenin clan made a negotiation with her father. Money for merely staying and having Megumi act as a child to be next in line; even when they had other children to be slaved over into that role.

It was something special in her curse technique.

But what was so special of it? Any other child of the Zenin family was more fit to lead than her.

The good news is that Megumi didn’t have to live with them, and instead lives with her dad. No matter how careless he is at times, she’d prefer him over them any day of her life.

The girl huffs, her tiny hand reaching up to fixate and tug slightly at her hair ornament. She knows her father half assed the placement of it and it tugs on her scalp in an uncomfortable manner. Her other hand flattens over the layered, sheer black and emerald ribbon tied around her waist as her colorfully, green and silver accented kimono sweeps down all the way to her feet.

She’s lost Maki and Mai somewhere within the crowd and luckily no one steps on her or over here.

She doesn’t bother to look ahead of her, half paying attention to the people around her and half looking for Maki or Mai.

There are so many people, and the place is so big, her little feet can only take her so far. It gets to the point to where she doesn’t bother to look where she’s going.

In a manner of seconds Megumi bumps against the chest of someone else, someone who’s around her age and yet taller and stronger.

She sends a particularly solid emerald glare to whoever walked into her, meeting the eyes of a crystal ice blue gaze.

They’re both holding a cold gaze at one another.

But there's something beautiful to his eyes, breathless and wild. Like something tamed that needed to be free. Though their eye contact is only brief, and less than warm. It's the most sincere thing Megumi has felt since coming here.

This is the first interaction Megumi has with Satoru.

When Megumi gets home she asks Toji who she stepped into. Describing his ridiculous Snow White hair and the glittery ocean eyes.

Toji scoffs, explaining the Gojo’s and their newest member of the family being Satoru. How Satoru was going to change the sorcerer world, how his birth shook the world, and how he was so powerful that he would change the clan power dynamics.

Toji says this all with a tinge of sourness, scorn and mocking.

So Megumi doesn’t take Satoru as seriously.

The second time they see each other again, it’s Satoru finding Megumi.

The young girl is walking home from school. She’s absolute adorable within her sailor uniform, and with her unruly, untamable bangs which extends into long threads of straight raven hair that are so light and airy that they trail behind her when she walks.

Satoru’s just ran away from his captors… also known as his body guards. Which he doesn’t need but his mother insists for his safety, as his abilities aren’t developed, yet.

He spots the familiar, Zenin girl.

The trail of pretty hair and tiny hands clutching onto the straps of her backpack that boxes her entire torso catches the young boy’s crystal eyes.

“Hm.” He hums, turning a disinterested eye towards her. Because he’s bored he’ll watch her walk back home.

From what he learned from his dad, the Zenin family are a bunch of nasty, weak people. Grubby, and power hungry elders pushing their own ideas and feelings on the youth.

A part of him thinks that little boy is living a poor, pitiful life.

“Stop looking at me.” She snaps, shaking Satoru out of his godlike reverie. His crystalline blue eyes are wide in shock.

“Watch who you’re talking to.” Satoru snaps right back. Unfriendly, cold and distant.

“If you were able to keep your eyes to yourself then I would.” She rolls her pretty green eyes before turning away and continuing on with her walk.

So irritated his nails dig into his palms. No way a stupid Zenin gets to tell him what to do.

“Stupid Zenin girl!” He yells out in frustration.

“It’s Fushiguro dumbass!” She yells back in equal irritation, eyes narrowed coldly.

A shock start occurs in Satoru’s chest; Fushiguro? He could’ve sworn it was Zenin, telling by the matte black raven hair.

He is once again, shocked out of his reverie by the contact of dirt, rocks and dust into his eyes. To which the boy flutters back and his eyes are muddled. With tiny fists he reaches to try and get the contamination out of his eyes. Stupid kid!

He makes a sound of resentment and by the time his eyes open again, the girl is gone.

The next time Megumi finds Satoru is when she’s out for ice cream with her dad. With much reluctance and conviction from his beloved only daughter, Toji took his Megumi to an ice cream truck.

Not with the popsicles or other assortment of plastic packaged ice creams, but the one where they’d scoop however many scoops you wanted into a styrofoam cup and a tiny spoon stuck into the ice cream with it.

Toji dubbed those ones better, as Megumi wouldn’t be able to eat the ice cream fast enough and then it would drip everywhere and she’d have to be taken home to be cleaned up.

Megumi orders a three scoops: strawberry, vanilla and matcha. Toji, though reluctant, is unable to handle his adoring daughter’s wide and fluttery dove eyes. He begrudgingly allows her to get three scoops while he receives a whole five scoops of three vanilla, two chocolate.

“Papa, you’re basic.” Megumi’s cute voice intones as Toji pays.

“You wanna pay brat?” Toji’s gruff voice huffs out, side eyeing his daughter while taking his card out of the worker’s hands.

“No,” Megumi shakes her head adorably, long stunning strands of hair following the shake of her unruly porcupine styled bangs.

“That’s what I thought.” Toji rolls his eyes but a grin plays on his lips as his daughter follows after him obediently and struggles to sit besides him on the park bench.

He helps her by taking hold of the area under her arms and tugging her upwards, all up until the second half of her legs dangle over the tall bench.

They wait until they’re called.

It looks comical with Toji’s hands basically engulfing the entire cup and his larger fingers holding the spoon. Compared to Megumi, her tiny hand barely being able to get a proper grip on the cup and her even tinier fingers holding the spoon in a grip instead of the two finger hold her dad has on the spoon.

Toji eats his ice cream faster than Megumi can finish hers. There’s a tiny pool of pink and green mixed at the bottom of her bowl as she tries her best to shovel the cold and creamy sweetness in her mouth.

By the time she’s done she gets off from the park bench to discard of the tiny plastic spoon and the styrofoam cup.

When she gets back to the bench she tugs on Toji’s hand before he can lift himself up off the bench.

Around them, mothers gawk at Toji’s largeness and visibly soften when they see Megumi’s tiny fingers wrapped around his large finger. But they pay no mind, to the both of them, they lie in their own world.

Megumi stands on her tippy toes to whisper into her father’s ear, the burly man leans down to give her leeway.

“Papa, Gojo Satoru is here.” Her soft hands cup around his ears.

Toji reflexively shifts, the muscles in his bicep tighten and the fingers around his knees curl in contemplation. Dark emerald from behind matted raven black bangs scour the vicinity before reaching a strange coloration of a glittering sky blue.

In the distance, standing by a baby tree in the park, is Gojo Satoru. Watching like a little rat.

Toji pulls back slightly from his little girl, her doe eyes looking up paired with her pouty frown as she studies her dad curiously. The older man grits his teeth, he has half the mind to pull out his blade and sha-shank this kid.

Or he could call the Gojo’s and tell them to go get their dog.

Toji runs his thumb over his lips in thought while he gets up, Megumi moving backwards to allow her father room.

Instead of heading towards Satoru, Toji takes Megumi's small hand and walks the opposite way.

Toji walks with a lumber and confident stride. The older man is so tall that Megumi's arms need to be held up higher to be able to properly grip his hand.

They continue walking until they get halfway close to home.

Megumi is unsure if his dad can feel it, but he certainly does--in some way--that Gojo Satoru is following them. The young girl doesn't bother to look behind him to check, for fear of seeming naïve or stupid for not knowing.

“What did you do to him?” Toji speaks low, he doesn’t lean over to Megumi, but only mumbles loud enough for his daughter to hear.

“… I didn’t do anything.” She lies.

Toji gives her an arched eyebrow, and a certain glare that makes her scowl and proceed to give up everything. “He wouldn’t stop looking at me.”

“Since when have other people looking at you stopped you from behaving well?” Toji scowls right back. “You do this and you cause more trouble for me. Specially when you drag unsavory people back home.”

Toji adds, for more teasing measure than anything else; “You don’t like him do you?”

She gives him an unamused frown instantly, “We only saw each other two times…” she grumbles as her eyebrows pinch together.

They continue to walk. Megumi is still unsure if Satoru is still following them.

It's only confirmed when Toji stops in his tracks, the sun midway down in the sky, forming a sunset, the orange burnt sky peeks through two buildings of an alleyway, illuminating Toji and Megumi in it's light.

“What are you going to do?” Megumi’s voice comes out unpleased and twisted as her eyebrows arch when she leans up and talk lowly to him.

“Kick his ass.” Toji states simply.

Megumi doesn’t actually believe Toji is going to beat up the Gojo heir. If he did, there’d be more consequences than he could handle and she knows her dad doesn’t have the patience to deal with that. Maybe he’d be stupid enough to do it, then run away for a couple months or so. But then the Gojo’s would be hunting him.

A whole lot more trouble than any of them bargained for.

“What are you doing here, kid?” Toji folds his arms over one another, the tension causing a pop in his bicep and pecs while he turns around.

Satoru stares up dully at Toji, bored. “I came here for Megumi.”

“You told him your name?” Toji grumbles, leaning down to Megumi.

She shakes her head and frowns hard. “No.” She snaps.

Toji straightens himself back up, “What do you want with her?” Toji pushes Megumi forward, nudging her with his large knee.

Megumi whips her head back, sending a particularly hateful glare to her dad. You’re selling me out.

He sends back a scornful quirk of his lips, and rolls his eyes. Your mess.

Megumi rolls her eyes before approaching the white haired boy. She feels Toji's piercing dark forest irises lasering into her back. Practically telling her You better not lose and all the other pretty words her dad had to say when it came to shit talking the Gojo clan.

"They're a bunch of talk."

"Bunch of pussy bitches, bark and no show."

"I'll beat the fuck out of them and I don't even have any cursed energy."

Megumi walks halfway of the distance between her and the Gojo heir. Letting the other pouting piece of shit walk the other half to her.

He doesn't walk, he practically teleports his way to her. He leans into her instantly, head tilted to get a good look from under the fray of raven bangs, right into the array of shining and confused emerald irises.

"You..." The Gojo heir frowns, then speculates by tilting his head the other way.

"You're just a kid..." He settles finally.

That irks Megumi, as if he's talking down on her. "You're just a kid, too." She scowls, concealing the urge to kick him in the shin.

The Gojo heir only lets out a mocking laugh, buckling down and pounding his knees as if it was the funniest thing ever.

"Shut up!" She yells, words her kindergarten teacher vehemently tells her not to say, as it's not ladylike.

"You can't say that, it's not ladylike." That causes a tick mark in Megumi's temple. "How does the Zenin clan expect to beat me with such a weak thing? You need your daddy to walk you around." Another tick mark, it's not like she chose to be exploited by the Zenins for her sorcery ability.

Megumi turns around instantly, walking--stomping--back to her dad. Almost having the childish urge to tell the burlier man to beat him up over saying and doing something stupid. Toji looks amused, somewhat, but more irritated and confused than anything.

Toji has one hand stuffed in his sweatpants, his cream sweater rolled up to his elbows as he tries his best to comfort Megumi without teasing her so hard.

"Got over you crush hard, did you?" He can't control himself, or the rising smirk present at the edge of his lips.

"There's no crush!" She yells.

"Don't worry, I called the dog catchers." Toji says as empty comfort.

In the next minute, the Gojo clan "dog catchers" come to haul Satoru back into his limo, an incredibly unamused and unpleasant pout present on his face as he's forced in.

The last thing Megumi thinks about going to sleep that night is what the Gojo heir meant by she was just a kid...

It's a few weeks before Megumi sees Satoru again, and when she does, he's within her home sitting on the kitchen and lounging around like he owns the place.

Megumi definitely knows that her dad isn't back home yet, seeing as how whatever time the Gojo heir came here and what time Toji comes home doesn't coincide, and the fact he isn't gone.

"What are you doing here?" The girl dryly quips to him.

"Bored." The boy replies dully. "Hey, what are these cookies called? I want more."

In the next second, Megumi swats the back of Gojo’s head so hard that the boy is flung forward onto the kitchen table. When the Gojo heir resurfaces, a stark red mark is in the center of his forehead.

Gojo is sent back home.

.

.

.

Gojo is persistent.

He comes back, and Megumi kicks him out again. He always happens to come around whenever Toji isn't home.

"Get out!" She yells, swatting him with a broom this time.

"Ow!"

This occurred more often than not and it got to the point where Megumi got too tired to attempt to chase him out. Instead she opts to ignore him in wait for her dad to come back home.

As planned, Toji comes back home and freezes when he sees the sight of a white haired monstrosity sitting in one of his ratty kitchen chairs. He looks around for Megumi with the same blank expression before looking back to the boy. "What did you do to my kid?" He had half the thought to say "kid" instead of "daughter" because saying the second would be too personal and vulnerable.

The Gojo boy frowns. "I didn't do anything! She said she'd be back!" He says defensively.

Toji rolls his eyes. Megumi has been telling him about the Gojo boy being at there house. Where he got the address? Not known, but seeing as he had money and possible sources, it was easily tellable.

"Megumi!" Toji yells, calling the young girl down to the kitchen.

The sounds of clattered steps come down the stairs, the appearance of the young girl appears through the doorway and her eyes look bleakly over to Satoru before turning over to her dad, arching a brow. Aren't you going to kick him out?

To which she is replied with a dismissive shrug, If you couldn't chase him off, then how can I? before Toji turns around and unpacks the brown plastic bag he was carrying coming in is set on the counters of the marble counter.

Megumi knows today is baking day. A rare day for daughter father bonding time; happens barely and only once every month.

"Come on," he urges the girl into the kitchen.

Satoru watches in interest, glittering icy blues looking back from the older Fushiguro, then to the younger one. At first he was unsure of what they were doing, and how the older man was gently, but firmly, directing the young girl to doing certain tasks.

It was only a bit longer before Satoru realized that they were baking, seeing the parchment paper and the pans that the older Fushiguro took out of the lower cupboard.

“Kid.” Toji turns around, the muscles flex under his tight, black shirt while he momentarily stirs eggs in the bowl before plopping it down—the mixture halfway finished—on the table. Right in front of Satoru.

The white haired boy gives a puzzled glance, looking from the back of Megumi’s head to Toji’s inexpressive and hardened face.

He gives a skeptical eyebrow raise, which earns an extreme eye roll and huff from the older Fushiguro.

“This kid’s apparently gon’ be the strongest, how can he be the strongest if he’s so stupid,” Toji murmurs before taking the bowl again and shoving it right into the Gojo heir’s hands.

“If you’re gonna eat our food, then you might’ve learn how to make it yourself.” Toji takes Satoru’s left hand and simulates the motion of stirring the eggs.

Satoru follows suit, not bothering to ask even if his ego felt a bruise from the disrespect.

After Toji turns around to do more tasks in their baking preparation, Toji looks over to Satoru, observing his whisking of the eggs.

Seeing as it suffices, the mixture seems smooth enough and the light sugar flavoring Toji added before handing the bowl off seems to mixed well; he takes the bowl from Satoru and stirs the flour, water and eggs together.

“Megumi, take out the chips.” Toji orders.

Megumi follows suit, he adorably short form taking the stool that she stood on to knead at the flour with water mixture by hand is moved to another area of their tiny kitchen to take a bag out of the cupboard.

Satoru watches the young girl take out a thick, unopened plastic bag colored in a rich brown color and brings it back over to her father, along with the kiddy stool.

From there, Toji’s flour covered hands take the bag handed to him by his daughter and snaps it open, beginning to pour the chocolate chips in without care until the small bag is halfway full.

He folds over the bag, assuring that the chips are secured and air tight before handing it back to Megumi. The younger Fushiguro takes the bag, heading to the fridge door to take a clip on magnet and clipping said magnet over the folds of the bag.

A part of Satoru is in awe, of how well they work together, how clean their relationship is. They barely speak to one another and barely hold any expressions to tell from one another. The type of understand and bond that’s developed through time and development of a personal connection.

Once the chocolate chips are well mixed in and the dough becomes a soft, waffle colored blob. Megumi takes a spoon to scoop at the blob from within the clear bowl to place into her mouth.

The most expressive tiny grin comes onto her face, showing Satoru the most positive emotion that he’s seen on any of them combined for the last few weeks.

She turns to the side, nodding to her father attentively when he gives her a skeptical look.

Satoru watches raptly, and now insanely curious as he steps out of the kitchen seat, and reaching over with a tiny pointer finger to get a taste for himself.

In a matter of seconds, Toji slaps the top of his hand and with a frown Satoru pulls back his injured hand.

“No dirty hands in the bowl. Megumi get him a spoon.” Toji commands.

Megumi rolls her eyes but does so anyway, taking a silver utensil from the cabinet and handing it to the white haired boy.

Satoru; though slightly butt hurt from getting slapped, tries again to taking a taste of the dough, instead with a spoon.

With the scoop of the butterscotch colored dough into his mouth, the sweetness blooms and practically bursts and explodes in his mouth.

He’s unable to stop the smile that spreads at the sides of his lips and warmth that blooms within his chest.

He looks back to the Fushiguros, though their expressions don’t hold any sort of change, a simple mood change has been established and they seem a bit pleased with themselves.

After that, the dough with chocolate chip parts are separated into little spheres and placed on the pan with parchment paper, then put into the oven to bake.

Then they wait.

.

.

.

When the cookies have been taken out and cooked to a certain point—though Satoru’s fingertips still dance and ache with the burn, he’s content and pleasant with the warmth and fudged taste of the treat.

After having one full cookie, Satoru is tossed out of the Fushiguro household with a small baggy of a handful of cookies. And a cold statement to not come back by Toji.

This time Satoru follows through.

When it’s only Megumi and Toji at the table, sitting in silence and eating their remaining pieces of cookie with a second batch baking in the oven, Megumi’s mouth opens for a question.

“Why did you let him stay?” She’s pondered that over the whole time. How uncharacteristically kind her father had been the entire time. How he isn’t even that way to his own daughter… sometimes.

Toji doesn’t answer, but she knows not to demand an answer of him, her dad’s just thinking. Telling by the contemplative and unemotional way his face holds.

After awhile Toji finally speaks. “Pity.”

Megumi looks up, slightly in shock. Pity? Was the Gojo heir so pitiful?

“He’s a brat, don’t get it twisted. No better than you,” he says snidely, earning a unamused frown from Megumi. “But he don’t got what you and me have.”

Megumi at age six doesn’t completely know what he dad means by that. What he and her have?

She knows her and her dad don’t have the most financially stable life, as the money the Zenins pay them are used up on the rent for the ratty one story apartment they live in and their promise of safety from being exploited. But they have something… special; she knows that much.

Before Satoru gets home, he makes sure to dispose of the evidence, of course not wasting the Fushiguro’s cookies—making sure to devour them all first.

When Satoru gets home he’s rushed by his body guards and his mother who places her skinny, and we’ll manicured claws all over his face, surveying for any damage.

“Satoru where were you?!” She cries. “Your father wanted you for a meeting today, how could you do this to him?” Her eyes crinkle.

A hint of shame and disappointment fills Satoru’s small form.

“Of course,” He says. More so to reassure her than anything else. “I will be sure to be there for him next time.” He ignores her question on where he was.

“Where were you?” She demands again, pressing her clawed thumb under the sensitive skin of his eyes. “Were you at the Zenins again? I told you not to go around those dirty bastards—“

“No.” He snaps. Maybe too harshly. “Not the Zenins.”

He doesn’t want to tell her it’s the Fushiguro’s, for fear that he may lose a possible safe place.

So instead he says, “Mom, let’s make cookies.”

She pulls back, perplexed and curious.

“Later.” She replies curtly. “Your father wants to speak with you, perhaps after dinner if I’m not too busy.” She adds as an afterthought.

Satoru sighs, full well knowing there will be no time after.

The next time Satoru is back in the Fushiguro household is about two weeks later. When he enters the apartment, he sees that it’s only Megumi this time; meaning Toji is out at work.

Megumi is working on her homework on the kitchen table, even though she isn’t struggling, to Satoru she is taking a particularly long time.

He decides to be patient, even if for a little bit and waits silently on the other side of the table on the other chair.

“Come on Megumi-chan! You’re smarter than this.” Satoru teases after a few minutes go by, finally bored.

“Shut up,” she snaps to him, childishly.

Satoru grits his teeth, moving to the table where Megumi is sat at going as far as to sit on her, straddling her lap and pinching her cheeks.

“Don’t talk to someone older than you like that.” He teases her with a devilish grin, enjoying the smushed and irritated expression on her face when her cheeks are squeezed incredibly far.

“G-get off me!” She pushes Satoru hard against the table, he swears that the force will cause a bruise to harden on his back but he swears it’s worth it to see Megumi giving him some sort of attention.

When Satoru is finally pulled off of her, standing on his own he peers over the table on the work she’s doing. “Megumi… are you sure this is your homework?”

She looks at him, not saying anything, as if he’s stupid. “Of course it is, why would I be doing someone else’s homework?” She shakes her head.

“Why is it?—“

“The teachers wanted me to do more challenging work, the other things in the curriculum are too easy for me.” She explains, cutting him off in doing so.

The boy pauses for a short moment, in slight awe and admiration; though he'd never tell her that.

“Now leave me alone.” She adds snippily before going back to focus on her work.

In defeat, the white haired boy sighs and sits back on the table, making a dramatic and loud show of doing so when he practically collapses in the chair, bumping into the table. The action causes Megumi to slightly mess up when it comes to writing something midway, causing a jagged line in the middle of her paper.

She holds back a frustrated and irritated sigh, and maintains a patient and neutral expression. Going back to erase the jagged led line before wriitng once more.

They stay like that for awhile. Satoru is sitting bored while Megumi sits and works on her homework. Occasionally, the crystalline blue eyed boy will kick Megumi in the knee, earning nothing but a well practiced poker face in defiance and ignorance.

A sudden knock comes to the Fushiguro household’s door. The both of them in shock as they look from each other, back to the door.

Satoru, senses it being a familiar force, due to cursed sensory. He doesn’t hide but he does show some sort of reluctance, compared to Megumi who stands up and walks towards the door right away. Before she opens it, she looks back to Satoru who’s standing out of the doorway’s sight but still holding onto caution.

She twists the knob, and opens the door, in the entrance is familiar guards the emerald eyed girl has seen at Gojo affiliated galas.

But she’s not afraid, still maintaining a straight face she looks back and forth from the larger men.

The men remain silent in the face of the young girl, overall they look more confused than intimating trying to overlook the space behind the young girl, as if looking for something.

“What do you want?" She adds impatiently and curtly. The rising frustration and sourness from the Gojo's increasing ever so much in the annoyance meter in Megumi's head.

"Is Gojo Satoru here?" One of them asks finally, smoothing over his blazer.

"No." She says instantly, shutting the door closed. She locks the top and the knob before turning around and sitting at her place in the kitchen chair to focus on her homework.

Satoru is more puzzled than anything else. His pretty blue irises survey the young girl in attempt to observe or gauge a possible inference to why she wouldn't rat him out. That continues on for a few more moments until the young girl gets fed up with being stared at.

She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth before asking, emerald eyes still half focusing on her work and half paying attention to the Gojo heir on the other side. "What do you want?"

"Why didn't you tell them I was here?" Satoru's eyebrows pinch together.

"Did you want to go?" She redirects with an arched brow, her eyes are finally off her work and paying attention to the other.

The Gojo heir rolls his eyes, "Megumi-chan is being so fickle..." He pouts.

A moment's of time passes between them with silence. Satoru staring into the wooden table and drawing little circles with the pads of his fingers and nails while Megumi stares at him straight faced.

"Of course I don't want to go." He continues to pout.

"Then that's it." Megumi settles finally, going back to her work.

It puts a sort of awkward and comfortable silence between them. Awkward because of how vulnerable Satoru sounded earlier and comfortable because of the underlying understanding that somehow passed from Megumi to Satoru.

Megumi wants Satoru to remain... if a little longer, knowing that her dad won't come home until late night and by the time she see's him it'll be in at the crack of dawn when she has to wake herself up and go to school; so the Gojo heir's annoyance is somewhat welcome.

And even if she doesn't want to admit, Satoru learns that she enjoys his company, too.

It's when Satoru's twelve and Megumi, ten, (their birthdays are ten months apart to one another) when the older boy has a "brilliant" idea whilst the two are waiting for Toji.

A couple years have passed, in the meantime that Toji is gone off jobs, making money to make a living for Megumi. Satoru has filled the girl's pass times with his annoyance and occasionally, for every few months, he’s been with the Fushiguros during their cookie days. Not all of them, but some of them—Satoru likes to believe most of them.

Today is one of them. But Toji is taking incredibly long. It even makes Megumi restless, though maybe not for the same reason as Satoru is.

“Megumi-chan why do you look like you’re about to die?” Satoru ponders crisply, looking over with avid curiosity and confusion.

Megumi, wearing her signature expressionless look—almost scowl-like like her dad—gives him a simple eye roll at the nickname before answering. “He’s taking longer than he should be.”

Toji has missed cookie baking days before in the past, but not before letting Megumi know when he was going to miss them. And every time he did miss the days without warning; he would always come back with some sort of injury.

The answer Satoru is given is a lot more solemn and worrying than it should be, especially for a young girl like Megumi. He wants to lift her worries, he can’t carry her burdens but with his presence he wants to lighten them.

“If Fushiguro is going to take so long then we should just make it ourselves!” The white haired boy exclaims.

Spiky midnight hair shoots up from stone-like stupor and she gives Satoru is fixed stare.

“If you burn down the house…” she begins, already ready to dig into him with narrowed emerald irises and pinched eyebrows.

“Hey! Hey!” He combats, waving his hands in the air in rebuttal. “You’ve made it with him plenty of times already. Megumi is smart enough, she should know.” Satoru leans across from the wooden table, staring right into the midnight haired girl with conviction and excitement.

The urgency gets to her, and she begins to think. If she mixes the cookies now and her dad gets back home by the time they’re done mixing up the dough and adding in the chocolate chips… then that would cut off time.

But, if her dad didn’t come home by the time, then she and Satoru would have to set the oven temperature and watch the maturity of the treats by themselves.

The only positive she can see out of that is when Toji eventually does come home, he won’t have to be injured while baking. The treats will be there right for him.

… if she does it right… he might even tell her she did a good job.

“Fine.” She agrees.

The Gojo heir bounds up immediately, “Let’s get right to it then!”

They both scramble to the kitchen, hurriedly looking for the ingredients.

Megumi takes handle and care of making the proper measurements, as she isn’t as erratic and sloppy as Satoru is.

With the dough mixed up well in the crystal bowl and Megumi’s shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows, Satoru takes out the chocolate chip bits and goes as far as to take one for himself, plopping it in his mouth.

Megumi gives him a snide glance briefly but pays no mind. She knows that over the developed years with the Gojo heir, he’s developed a sweet tooth. She isn’t sure if that’s her and her dad’s fault or not.

When all is mixed and well, the residue of sweetness and flour lay over Megumi’s hands, wrist and forearms. Satoru is the one who takes the first swig off the cookie dough, not bothering to grab a spoon and instead taking a small ball rolls worth and eating it.

“Hey!” The young girl frowns.

With a shit eating grin and small chuckle, Satoru takes another small balls worth and holds it up to her mouth.

Even when she’s standing on the stool to reach the counter tops, Satoru still stands a few inches higher above her.

“Say ahh.” He orders with a innocent grin, looking nothing less with pleased with himself.

The emerald eye colored girl looks a bit reluctant. Fluttering dark midnight lashes look down to the ball of dough, one piece of chocolate chip in it; stuck out awkwardly in between Satoru’s thumb, to the Gojo’s heir’s excited, vivid, crystalline aqua eyes.

She finally decided to take the bite. Megumi leans down and while still looking at the ball of dough. She opens her mouth wide enough to take it, engulfing the entirety of Satoru’s thumb and the nail part of his pointer.

The exchange is incredibly awkward as Megumi’s emerald green’s look up to meet Satoru’s amazed and in awe expression with a bit of his fingers still in his mouth.

When she pulls back, a part of the chocolate heated up by Satoru’s thumb is bumped into the side of her lips.

“Hold on.” The albino pauses, holding a breathe behind pressed thin lips, his heart palpitates harshly at what he's about to do. But he plays it cool, the same general wide eyed blues looking right into in awed green as they drop down to the girl's lips. Satoru licks his right thumb, his eyes still remain on Megumi's lips where the melted chocolate was and moves over to brush his now clean thumb over the chocolate mark, too afraid to look at her eyes to gauged her expression.

In pulling back, Satoru turns around to face the crystal clear bowl, still full of the cookie dough and mixed chips. He slips his thumb into his mouth briefly to wipe away at the melted speckle of chocolate before saying, "Lets get these to the oven."

In return, Megumi doesn't say anything, only silently nodding to the crystal bowl before Satoru wordlessly turns around to receive the pan and parchment paper.

Megumi folds the parchment paper into the curves of the pan while Satoru rolls the dough into palm sized circles and placing them in incremented distances. Megumi following suit.

They stay in that silence for awhile.

After they’re done putting the balls of dough in the pan, with some leftover in the crystal ball for a second batch, the raven haired girl moves her stool over to the side of the oven and surveys the temperature buttons. The white haired boy scooting in right besides her to observe what she presses.

Thank goodness at that moment the knob of the apartment door turns open, startling both Megumi and Satoru.

They’re greeted with the sight of Toji, slightly bloodied with dried and wet blood scattered at parts of his body. The dried blood being on his skin and the wetter blood being on his skintight shirt and baggy pants.

“The hell are you kids doing?” Toji snaps, an unamused brow raising over his dark jade colored eyes as he turns around to lock the door.

“Making cookies!” Satoru pops in cheerily when Megumi’s still in her stupor.

“Are you trying to burn the house down? Stop.” Toji orders, to which Megumi—with her stool—and Satoru step away from the oven.

“It’s not a house.” The midnight haired girl adds snidely under her breath as she watches her dad walk towards the kitchen, still caked in blood as he observes the counters and such.

There’s much more of a mess than what Toji would make when he’s at home, but everything seems orderly enough to make him grunt dismissively before turning around to the doorway leading to the living room and stairs.

Before he fully leaves he says, “Don’t do anything. I’ll be back.” Then muttering, “to see if ya kids fucked anything up.”

Satoru and Megumi wait wordlessly, hearing the sound of Toji’s large footsteps walking away.

They turn to one another.

Satoru’s eyes are greeted with the most brilliant and breathtaking smile. It leaves him in awe.

Megumi’s just glad that her dad came back home more or less okay… at least not utterly in agony.

Satoru finds Megumi on the steps of her own apartment outside, littered in tiny wounds; bruises and cuts.

The albino haired boy rushes to her instantly, tiny sneakers hitting the concrete. Megumi holds her head high but lip turned into the same emotionless facade as she looks up to greet Satoru with blank emerald eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“Having fun!” Satoru replies teasingly, a stupid smile on his face. Then his expression turns puzzled, he tilts his head off to the side.

“You don’t look like you’ve had much fun though…” his eyes narrow and fixate on observing every wound on her body.

The raven haired girl scoffs. “Of course I had fun.”

“Doing what?” Satoru challenges with a smirk, though there’s no hiding the care and worry in his glittering ice blue eyes.

Megumi turns small, almost as if she’s hunching in over herself as she pours and answers nonchalantly. “Beating people up…”

Satoru rolls his eyes. “It’s not any fun if you lose.”

The girl’s eyes shoot up right to him. “I didn’t lose.”

“Yeah, right.” The Gojo heir grins snarkily. “Then what’s all this?” His fingers reach out to pinch at her cheeks, one with a particularly nasty cut on it.

The girl riots instantly, cringing into her shoulder and trying to get out of the hold of Satoru.

“Ow! Bastard!” She cradles her cheek in one hand while staring right into Satoru’s piercing blues that survey her reaction with rapt interest.

“What’d you do that for?” She frowns with a particularly hostile and wary look as she stares right up at him. Defiant emerald greens staring into his pleased, striking blues.

“It hurts doesn’t it?” He asks cryptically.

Megumi doesn’t reply, but the silent and minuscule nod and swiveling of her eyes say all Satoru needs to know.

“Who are they?” His tone switches from cheerful and light to dark.

It gives Megumi so much whiplash, her emerald irises shooting up instantly to give Satoru a look of confusion and skepticism.

You can’t kill them she wants to say but why would the great and powerful Gojo heir kill anyone for her? So instead she asks, “Why?”

“No reason, I just want to talk.” He grins cheerfully, even with that base of darkness still apparent in his tone.

“No.” Megumi combats, grabbing his wrist and pulling him down to her level of sitting. “Let’s just…” she stops midway, thinking of something to say.

“Let’s just help me get cleaned up.” She settles. Pulling the older boy by the wrist and tugging him inside the apartment.

Almost instantly, Satoru sets the girl down onto the kitchen chair. Without words and only hardened ice blue crystalline irises ordering her to stay put as he walks off.

The next moment Satoru hauls along the cream colored medicine kit. She knows it’s fully stocked now because she recently forced her dad to restock on the antiseptic and bandages for himself.

With precise care that she wouldn’t expect from the Gojo heir, he takes alcohol and dabs the liquid onto cotton balls. Then placing the bottle to the side before his other hand reaches to snatch at the girls chin and place the cotton brown directly onto the cheek he punched earlier.

The emerald eyed girl pulls away, her cheek turning the other direction, away from the strong stench of the liquid upon the cotton ball. She knows it’s going to sting, she can practically feel the sensation already just by the hovering of the item.

Sensing Megumi’s reluctance, Satoru tuts with a grin that may seem teasing but speaks sincerely to his heart, “Megumi-chan,” he tuts, he grins with a light tone. “I won’t hurt you.” The tone shifts dark, and serious.

The girl’s emerald gaze turns sharp as she glances to him from the side.

“You liar.” She snarks. “Earlier—“

“—As a joke.” He reiterates sharply, shocking Megumi into silence.

“I won’t ever hurt you purposely.” His tone is neutral, neither light and airy or dark and heavy.

Megumi’s muscles do not tense. She becomes pliant under the grasp and hold of the Gojo heir as he gently adjusts her face to dab at the cuts on her chin, cheek and the bruises under her eye.

After a moment or so, when Satoru discards the cotton ball onto the table and opting for a new one, Megumi murmur’s “… promise?”

It shocks Satoru. He stops, pausing. Always assured glittering ice blue eyes gone wide now stare into vulnerable and unsure emerald greens.

Megumi looks so unsure, looking down with her loopy pout and furrowed brows. He finds that she looks the cutest like this; holding back her emotions.

With a teasing and devilish glint in his eyes and mouth, he extends out his pinky right under her eyes.

The girl’s face turns up, something akin to hope in her eyes whilst her lips remain neutral in a facade to stay impenetrable.

With her other hand, she brings up her pinky, hooking it onto Satoru’s. Their small fingers curl over one another, signifying their promise.

Now, Satoru’s fifteen and Megumi’s thirteen.

The Gojo heir is in high school and doesn’t show up as often to the Fushiguro household anymore.

It leaves Megumi feeling… more lonely than usual.

She knew a time like this would come. Not all good things last forever.

But it’s not like Satoru would disappear completely.

He comes around more often than not saying that he has a new best friend, even though he also says Megumi will forever be his childhood best friend; which is different from a best friend. His logic not hers… though it does comfort her somewhat. It makes her feel special.

This best friend of Satoru’s is Geto Suguru. Someone Megumi doesn’t envy but does hope to meet when she does enter high school… just a little longer she supposes.

That’s not the only thing the raven haired girl suspects the teenager to be thinking about but she doesn’t pry.

But it makes her heart brighten a little more knowing that he finds time in his day to come every week. Though the time of the visits getting shorter.

Megumi expects today to be where Satoru will spend a little more time with her but he leaves earlier than usual saying that his parents have some duties for him to do.

Megumi understands, she has Zenin duties as well, now that she’s getting older.

But Satoru leaves like it’s nothing.

She doesn’t know what hurts more: him leaving at all or leaving like she doesn’t matter.

Now Satoru is seventeen, and Megumi’s fifteen.

She’s eligible for the Jujustu high school; the same one Satoru is attending.

In her class she has only two classmates; Kugisaki Nobara and Itadori Yuuji.

They’re both their own brand of wild, completely contrasting Megumi. Nobara is blunt, rude and has a no bullshit attitude that Megumi can respect because her dad is the same way. Yuuji is just a bit absent minded, dull in the head, but he’s whole hearted and means well.

They’re good company Megumi concludes, just annoying.

Because Megumi doesn’t have any classes or jobs with Satoru, she barely gets to see him in any other times besides lunch or passing by one another in the hallway. Or at times, when she’s walking down the hallway and can hear the Gojo heir talking in his classroom.

The one, lucky time she does pass by she hears Satoru uttering on excitedly about one of their senpais and how pretty she is.

“Suguru, she smells so good! Like plums! Like her hair too and the color—it’s also super soft and silky.”

“Too bad that Utahime-Senpai thinks your weird.”

Satoru makes a “pfft” noise with his mouth before shaking his head. “I’m the strongest and the best. Haven’t you heard that the best people are a little bit crazy?”

“So you agree you are crazy?” Megumi can’t see him but she’s sure that she can see Suguru raising his eyebrow.

“Yeah, for her.”

That makes Megumi’s heart palpitate. It pauses, then rushes faster. She finally decides to stop creeping in on their conversation from the door, finally walking down the hallway away to her own class.

Plums.

Utahime-senpai smells like plums and has the hair color of plums. It’s also smooth and silky.

Megumi takes a self conscious look at her own hair.

Her hair isn’t the color of a soft dark burgundy like a plum like Utahime-Senpai’s. In fact, Megumi’s hair is only black, like the midnight sky; boring and bleak.

Her hair isn’t the texture nor does it look soft, silky or smooth. Megumi’s bangs are spiky and erratic, albeit soft but no one would know without touching and Satoru certainly doesn’t pay enough attention to her to touch her hair anymore. The rest of Megumi’s hair is straight, going down her shoulders and back pin straight and ending just above her skirt.

The young girl feels a certain sorrow in learning this. Is that why Satoru doesn’t come around as often anymore?

Because he’s caught up with her?

.

.

.

It’s lunch time.

Megumi always sits with Satoru, Shoko and Geto. They all welcome her, though Satoru doesn’t talk to her as much. She just sits and eats as she listens to Satoru talk to his friends while occasionally politely answering the simple questions that her senpais ask.

She sits with him so often that it gets Yuuji and Nobara questioning her.

“Megumi, why do you sit next to Gojo-Senpai all the time?” Yuuji questions innocently while they’re sitting in the classroom, bored out of their minds while waiting for something to do.

Megumi replies back nonchalantly, while staring out the window at the third year class sparring with the second year class.

Third year class being Satoru’s class and second year being Maki and Mai’s class.

“I don’t know.”

She can guess it’s because she’s known him for longer. She’s found comfort in him more than she’d like to admit while waiting, lonely, for her dad to come home every night.

She just wonders if the older boy feels the same way. Seeing as he doesn’t show the same interest as he used to and he doesn’t come by as much anymore.

.

.

.

Later today, the midnight haired girl follows the Gojo heir out of the school gates. He walks in the same direction as Utahime-senpai is, and Megumi can tell oh so cruelly that he’s ignoring her in favor of trying to get their senpai’s attention.

“Utahi—“ Satoru calls out from behind but is silenced quickly when Megumi intercepts. “Satoru!”

She jogs up besides him, right as Utahime’s turned around to scan them skeptically.

“Can you walk me home?” The ravenette adds, tugging onto the older boys elbow sweetly.

He looks reluctant behind his circular black lenses. Usual inviting and welcoming vivid ice blues now looking at Megumi like she’s a nuisance.

“If Megumi doesn’t feel safe then you should take her.” Encourages Utahime with a gentle older mother-like smile.

Through oozing frustration gritted teeth Satoru nods. But he doesn’t do anything to show the sort of comfort he would towards Megumi back before high school.

Now he just walks off, as if Megumi will just follow him as he “walks” her back home.

The Gojo heir walks with such a slouch of great disappointment and dissatisfaction that Megumi actually begins to feel bad.

So then she begins, “Satoru—“

“Don’t call me that.” He snaps to her.

The younger girl doesn’t flinch or show any sort of weakness that would express the emotions she wouldn’t usually show. She only remains stone faced.

Even if really she’s hurting and her heart is thumping a million miles an hour and her blood is gushing to her ears. Even if she’s afraid, Satoru would never hurt her.

His expression shifts into something worse; shame and regret. His hands that are burrowed deep within his uniform pockets lift back out and become free again.

A long and awkward silence ensues between them.

The girl finally speaks up. “My dad brought a new game for us to play… would you like to stay over and play it?” She keeps her voice still, to contain any excitement, possible preparation for disappointment or sadness.

Satoru doesn’t reply, but she thinks that he’s pondering. What would he need to be pondering about? Usually, before high school, he’d say yes within a heartbeat.

The albino haired male turns to her with a shameless and cheerful smile, though there’s a hint of stiffness and jaggedness in his mannerisms. “Sorry Megumi! I can’t. I have plans after this!”

The girl merely hums in response; as expected of him.

They barely talk anymore. Megumi doesn’t want to look like it, but she is beginning to look like it… “it” being the one to initiate contact with Satoru but always being brushed off.

It’s shameful, vulnerable and embarrassing.

It shouldn’t be but it is. It’s like she’s always chasing him.

The next time she sees him again is when another clan convention is around. This time, Maki and Mai aren’t attending as they aren’t even considered for being next in line. The only person Megumi knows is Kamo Noritoshi, but they aren’t close so she can’t take comfort in him.

The next best choice is Satoru, but ever since he’s entered the third year he’s been distant.

Off in the distance, to the middle of the room, Megumi can spot Satoru’s towering form hanging off the shoulder of an unknown man with a champagne glass in hand.

She has half the thought to approach him and take companionship besides him but she doesn’t know the other person he’s conversing with. And she doesn’t want to ruin the euphoria he’s feeling.

His eyes glitter in happiness and his expression is one of much more joy than the last few weeks—months—that Megumi’s been around him.

Is it to do something with her?

Somehow Megumi doesn’t believe that to be true… or she’s so far into denial that she doesn’t want it to be true.

“Hey.” Toji speaks up, staring straight at Megumi who’s just come back from school. “Where’s the Gojo kid?”

He’s sitting languidly on the couch, his left ankle folded right over his right knee. The remote is in his right hand while he gives Megumi a certain skeptical and demanding glare that he does with his dark jade eyes.

Megumi stops in her tracks, just barely being able to toe off her shoes.

“Satoru is busy,” is all she says before ascending up the stairs.

“Well, tell him to bring his ass back here!” Toji yells right as she breaches out of his sight,

Megumi isn’t sure what to tell him. It’s complicated and he’s going to demand all the nuances of the situation; things she isn’t ready to tell or explain.

“My dad wants you to come over.” Megumi walks alongside Satoru in the hallway. The hand closest to his drifts down, her imminent urge to reach over and link pinkies with his is stumped on when he lifts his arms up to place his hands behind his head,

“Toji-san? No way. Did he really say that?” Satoru smiles victoriously, giving the black haired girl a side glance from behind his black lenses glasses.

“Yes.”

“I don’t believe you.” Satoru grins. Even from behind the glasses Megumi can tell that his eyes are holding neutral even with the shit eating grin he has, so pompous and proud. “Are you sure it isn’t just you who’s missing me Megumi-chan?”

He obnoxiously reaches over to pinch at her cheeks.

“So cute! Like a kid.” He comments as her face scrunches up instantly.

“Ewwww. Why do you look like that?” Now his voice turns confused and slightly disgusted—though jokingly. “Megumi’s not so cute anymore.” He teases.

“You stupid idiot,” she curses out. Dear God she hopes no one can hear her. “Fine then! Don’t come!”

She’s finally able to get his fingers off of cheek and with a furious blush and frustrated look on her face she turns away.

Satoru, grabs her wrist instantly, pulling her back. “Don’t be like that Megumi-chan. Of course I’ll come.”

He indulges her with a grin, leaning close to the shell of her ear. “Toji-san asked me after all.”

Her heart flutters. Neck feeling heat and face shifting red. But she holds her unyielding impassive frown and doesn’t look Satoru’s way in fear her eyes will betray her.

“I’ll make dinner then.”

A gleeful smile enters his expression. Half of the emotion hidden by his dark, circular sunglasses. Satoru pulls back and happily claps. “Yay! I’ll be eating good!”

Megumi’s heart softens just slightly, out of the hurt even if it remains in the majority of her heart. The contrast of his tall physique and cutesy nature makes his boyishness extremely charming.

“When?” He wonders with an adorable tilt of his head.

“Tomorrow night.” She responds poker faced. Even though it completely contrasts how she’s truly feeling.

“Same time?”

She nods.

With a cheesy smile, Satoru sends a thumbs up with both hands before disappearing behind the sliding door of his classroom.

As soon as Megumi gets home she quickly puts away her backpack, slinging off the entire pack by the clothed handle. She flings it onto her bed from the doorway and then hurries back down.

She knows she doesn’t need to start now but… the rapid excitement and urgency she feels is stronger than her thought of rationality.

Satoru usually shows up before Toji gets home so Megumi hopes that he’ll be here before her dad gets home so that he can surprise the older man. Even if she can’t read her dad entirely all the time, she can tell with an inkling that her father misses the annoying Gojo heir.

.

.

.

She decides to prep one ginger type dish for herself, and then three others that she knows will be agreeable for her dad and more so likable for Satoru.

The focal point of tonight’s dinner is the deserts right after. One of them a lemon cake and whipped cream based desert; chocolate cake with hot fudge; and the classic cookies they’ve baked over the years.

When Megumi looks at the clock she finds that it’s passed the time which Satoru would usually be here, and Toji would be back home soon.

A flicker of disappointment fills her, but she pushes it off. Maybe he’ll get here when Toji gets here. Or maybe a little after.

He’ll just be here. No matter at what time, he’ll come.

.

.

.

Toji comes home.

The burly man lumbers throigh the door, hunching down slightly to enter the door and close it behind him.

When he turns right around he spots the sight of Megumi sitting neatly on the chair, in front of the dinner table they both share.

He’s skeptical at first, but able to pick up the signs quickly. Megumi is dressed nicely, casual but not too casual, nice and formal but not too far. Along the table are an assortment of multiple dishes, one ginger; token to the girl. And others that Toji wouldn’t find to be utterly displeasing but are irregular for him.

But just to make sure. “What’s the special occasion?” He mumbles, pulling a chair out and dropping himself into the seat.

His hand reaches over to take a swab of the meat with his thumb and pointer (just coming out of the job has made him ravenous) but the back of his hand is quickly swatted away by the girl.

Toji’s eyes whip to Megumi’s instantly, dark jade staring into emerald. The frown on her face is intensified and firm. “Not until Satoru comes home.” She states bluntly.

Ah, so that’s it.

Toji pulls back his hand, still maintains a firm frown while he rolls his eyes and leans back into the chair.

He can wait.

Megumi on the other hand looks absolutely delirious.

Others wouldn’t be able to tell, but Toji can, simply because he’s lived with his daughter long enough to tell that her poker face isn’t always what she’s feeling. The key is the shine in her eyes that appear brighter or dimmed out.

In this case, her eyes are completely brighter. Teeming with unimaginable wait and excitement.

Toji doesn’t want to do anything to ruin it. So he doesn’t state how it may be too late for the Gojo heir to be here.

.

.

.

Long moments pass by.

First it was ten minutes.

Second it was fifteen.

Now twenty.

It’s almost two thirds of an hour before Megumi gets a text.

Her hands whip to her phone instantly. The bright text shining up on her present screen.

Sorry! Can’t come tonight. Sorry for the sending this late

All her hope dies. There’s only disappointment that remains.

She’s too ashamed to tell her dad anything. She feels bad. So bad.

Guilty for making him wait so long to eat when she knows his job takes a physical toll on him as much as it does mentally. Guilty for making him think Satoru was going to be here.

There are tears threatening to glitter at her eye ducks and her eyes beginning to dry up and redden.

She gets up, catching Toji’s attention.

“Where are you going?”

She steadies herself, trying her best to hide the ache in her voice. “To do homework.” She pauses. “You can eat now.” She adds as an afterthought.

Without another word between them, Megumi leaves to her room. Not to do homework but to cry.

Toji remains downstairs, to eat the food his daughter worked so hard to make.

She doesn’t talk to Satoru for the next week. The other boy not bothering to confront her about such; but he notices.

How she doesn’t sit by him anymore. How she doesn’t try to show up at his classroom. How she avoids Suguru and Shoko.

Satoru isn’t stupid. He has an idea of how he messed up, just, he doesn’t understand why Megumi is so upset about it.

“Why is Fushiguro ignoring you?” Suguru whispers into his ear, the fifth day of the week where Megumi hasn’t sat next to Satoru. Instead the girl opts to sit next to Itadori and Nobara who are conversing on the other side of the room.

Satoru in return shrugs. “Probably just something in her water.”

The other two don’t look convinced, they look the opposite of convinced.

They all remain silent, but with measurable amounts of pressure coming from the both of them, Satoru finally cracks.

He huffs. “I had a plan set up with her but didn’t follow through with it.” Ending the sentence with a long sigh.

“Why?” Shoko raises a sharp brow. A cigarette is in between her pointer and middle finger that she gains occasional breaths from.

“I had plans with Utahime-San.” Satoru admits guiltily under the preying eyes of Suguru and Shoko.

“Before or after planning with Fushiguro?” Suguru continues to interrogate.

“Of course after!” Shoko intercedes before Satoru can answer. “Only the is idiot’s scummy enough to do something like that.”

“Hey! It’s not scummy.” Satoru shouts back defensively. Making his point by slamming his hands on the table and pulling himself closer to the two of them opposite of him.

“I just…” He begins. “Took an opportunity.”

Satoru doesn’t see it but Suguru rolls his eyes. Sharing a pointed and frustrated look with Shoko.

“What are you going to do about it?” Suguru prompts in assistance to easing Satoru’s pain.

The idiot only continues to dramatically mumble, head placed at the edge of the table as he looks into his lap.

“My sweet sweet Megumi doesn’t want to see me anymore…”

“Where did my sweet sweet Megumi go?”

“Oh my sweet Megumi-chan…”

“Spoiled piece of shit brat…” Shoko utters with a disbelieved shake of her head.

Satoru pops up instantly, a horizontal, semi red marking of where the edge of the table pressed into his skin shows slightly from under his matted silvery white bangs.

“That’s it!” He brightens instantly.

“I’ll take Megumi out for something special.” Satoru settles, bright and self assured smile reaching the eyes of his two classmates who look more in disbelief than anything but don’t say another word.

Satoru spends the rest of the day pondering on what to do for her.

It’s out after school when they’re all coming out of the gate that Satoru finds out what he wants to do for her.

Star gazing.

He has everything he needs for it. A car, a blanket he had requested one of the butlers to put in the backseat.

Being from a rich clan, the Gojo’s were full of money and Satoru took all he could from them as compensation for his heavenly existence.

He texts Megumi; Come to the school gate! I have something special for you! :D

There’s no reply, but from the messaging app Satoru can see that the emerald eyes girl has read the message. He then pockets his phone away, awaiting gleefully.

As Satoru leans his back against the wall, awaiting for the young girl to come out, he spots Utahime conversing with Yaga. Ah, must be for a job.

Satoru’s intrigued now. If he leaves now, he can intercept the conversation the two are having and possibly pester the both of them enough to where he can convince Yaga to let Utahime and him take a another mission together.

But what about Megumi?

He had already left her last time for Utahime…

She must’ve been so disappointed! Seeing as how today she didn’t bother to even give him the time of day. And there’s no doubt that Toji-San might have his head if he skimped out on her again.

His heart aches. From not being able to decide between making it up to Megumi, his childhood friend, or being with his crush—soon to be lover.

Oh the agony.

The answer is already decided for him when Megumi exits out of the doors, making eye contact with him from afar and heading towards his way.

From the corner of Satoru’s eye, Utahime has already left, leaving through the other gate of the high school.

Perhaps next time he’ll be able to bug her.

“Megumi!” He jeers as soon as she reaches his side. The girl folds her arms over her chest, looking at him fixed with a serious expression.

“What do you want?” Her eyebrows furrow.

“Me? What do I want?” He teases. “It’s you who wants something! Or else why would you have come to me?”

The black haired girl frowns deeper if possible, unamused completely as she rolls her eyes and turns away to leave.

Satoru intercepts her instantly, long hand outstretched as he chuckles.

“No need to be so feisty Gumi-chan,” He coos. “I have a surprise for you!”

Then he stops. “You have to wait, though.” He looks up to the sky. He supposes it’ll take about five hours for the sun to set and for the drive out to the country to be enough time for it to get dark and for the stars to come out.

He’ll just have to pick her up from home, then drive out to the countryside.

“It only happens at night!” He adds childishly.

The girl looks more confused than serious. She tilts her head to the side, than back to the other side, then straight again.

“Are you going to kill me?” She says… so seriously that Satoru pulls back instantly confused.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Why else would you need me in the dark?” Megumi says as if it’s the most common thing ever.

“No way!” Satoru refutes, shaking his head erratically. There’s no way he would harm Megumi… plus he doesn’t think Utahime takes lightly to killers anyway.

“Just trust me, I’ll pick you up in four to five hours and I’ll take you somewhere special.” The crystalline eyed boy urges excitedly. Cheeks upturned and the corners of his mouth pressed up so high in a way of persuading the girl.

Then he adds, with a sincere smile. “I’d never hurt you.”

She huffs, then smiles lightly. “Fine.”

“But I’m still mad at you.” She adds with a frown soiling her expression right after.

“Don’t worry~” Satoru smiles back. “This is your apology present.”

Megumi sits in the passenger seat.

It’s been four to five hours later when Satoru came to pick her up. He’d been ridiculed by Toji for not coming to the dinner. It’s the most indirect way the old man is saying that he misses him. It flatters Satoru.

They’ve been only driving for about twenty minutes and Megumi’s turned to putty in Satoru’s presence. She must’ve missed him too because she’s never this vulnerable and soft around him.

Her head neck is bared to Satoru as her head is rested on the backrest of the car chair. She’s dressed nicely, a cute skirt, not too long, not too short with a tee shirt. Her jacket is folded over her arms while both it and her hands are in her lap.

Satoru wishes he could take a photo of her. It’s been so long since they hung out, just the two of them.

In fifteen more minutes they arrive at their destination.

The empty country space is full of pine trees that smell fresh and semi block the view of the deep purple and blue mixture in the sky.

But Satoru knows farther along ahead there’s a patch of empty grass that’s good to lay on with a blanket—which he brought and simply stare up into the sky while laying down.

“Megumi~” Satoru coos when he opens up the passenger side of the car. It rouses the girl instantly, and Satoru almost feels regretful of waking her from her slumber.

“It’s time!” He whisper yells to her.

She nods while yawning, adorably so. The Gojo heir moves away so she can step out of the car.

There isn’t much to carry so Satoru holds the blanket tucked under one arm while all Megumi has to do is clutch her jacket and follow him into the woods along the trail.

.

.

.

Once they get to the site, Satoru opens up the blanket, both hands at each end and he fluffs it high into the air to let the air gust under the sheet as he brings it down to the grassy floor.

It lands perfectly straight, much to Satoru’s glee and he’s the first to take a seat down.

He looks up to Megumi, who comes along to sit down. She tucks her long tendrils of black hair behind her ear and sits next to Satoru.

“Why did you bring me here?” She asks him. More curious than accusing.

“For fun.” He smiles. “Look,” he points up to the sky. Within the vast sea of cool colors are glittery speckled ornaments.

It awes Megumi for a moment. Then the breeze catches her attention.

It’s a bit chilly for her taste. The fall bites at her bare skin and she regrets wearing a skirt to try and be cute—be cute, ha, how silly. There’s no way Satoru would think of her as cute… not one he has Utahime to compare her to.

She lays her jacket over her legs, even if her arms are cold, she can handle it.

“Are you cold?” Satoru notices instantly, taking off his hoodie without another word and hands it to Megumi immediately.

Megumi looks at the piece of clothing speculatively. It’s not that she doesn’t want to take it… but isn’t it strange?

“Take it, it doesn’t bite.” Satoru teases.

She takes it. Putting on the large garment with a serious expression to mask the giddy feeling she feels.

Did Utahime-senpai wear this? Megumi doesn’t think so.

Did Satoru plan something like this for her? Megumi doesn’t think so.

… she feels a little more special. To Satoru at least.

In the next moment, Megumi’s stomach growls.

Her face enlightens with heat and she thanks that it’s dark out because she doesn’t want Satoru to see her vulnerable like this.

The boy simply laughs. A deep, hearty chuckle all the way from his belly to his mouth.

It’s a full sound that Megumi can’t get enough of.

“I’ll make sure to bring food next time.”

Next time

Next time?

NEXT TIME?

He planned to do this with her again?

Megumi’s heart warms. Just as warm as the fluffy warm hoodie that engulfs the entirety of her figure.

They spend the next long moments laying down and staring up at the sky.

Two weeks later, just about, Megumi and Satoru haven’t had time to be able to have a proper talk with one another. Only through distant and dry texts do they ever converse.

The girl disappointed by it but understands overall that Satoru’s clan duties come first.

She’s lucky that she isn’t a first heir to the Zenin clan or else she’d be just as busy as him.

It’s the time after lunch, and by that time everyone is still cleaning up their lunch. Megumi finished eating early so she decides to walk back to class early.

She’s about to round the corner when she hears the familiar sound of Utahime-senpai’s voice. Soft and chime like… so incredibly pretty. It’s no wonder that Satoru likes her.

“He took me out to this secluded area and when we got there, there was candles and food set up.” Utahime gushes. “And a pretty lamp.” She adds with a tone Megumi can only assume has her expression softened and in a certain manner of angelic.

“The blanket we were sitting on was incredibly soft, too.”

“Gojo is whipped for you.” That’s Shoko-Senpai’s voice.

Megumi can’t help it. Hearing Satoru’s surname has her interest piqued. She sticks to the corner, out of sight but still in listening distance.

“The stars were incredibly beautiful, too. You can’t find anything like that within the city.”

The emerald eyes girl pauses.

Stars?

She can’t help but think back to those two weeks ago that Satoru took her out stargazing as an apology. But now Utahime-senpai has the same experience with him only that it was planned in advance?

…

When Satoru was referring to next time, did he mean with her?

Obviously not. Seeing as how Utahime’s recalled experience was better than Megumi’s.

It’s the thought that counts, a part of the girl intercepts. Just because Satoru made his and Utahime-senpai’s outing more pleasurable doesn’t mean hers is any less.

But there’s that gnawing feeling that Megumi’s been used.

“Okay kid, let’s talk.” Toji sets Megumi down in front of him, side to side. Her father’s burly form dwarfing her’s somewhat.

Megumi raises an arched brow. “About?”

Toji huffs, lost for words. The area between his thumb and pointer runs down the top of his nose to the bottom of his chin. “You know what I mean.”

“No I don’t.”

Her heart is palpitating in small jumps at intervals she can’t control. Megumi can feel sweat building up at the back of her neck and warmth flushing throughout her entire body.

She knows she’s been… off, lately. It’s because of Satoru’s absence, she knows that. But to mention and talk about it with her father? A whole new can of worms.

“Don’t try to act smart with me; it’s about the Gojo kid, ain’t it?”

Megumi is silent.

“What about him?” She finally says, nonchalantly.

“He hasn’t been around often.” Toji quips.

“Maybe you miss him.” Megumi deflects.

“I never said anything about missing him.” Toji says. Then looks to the ceiling, a certain contemplative look in his unemotional expression.

Toji gives her a certain look. One of utter focus and concentration. Then he says, “Is that it? You miss him?” Just like his point has been proven.

No.

It’s her first thought. But there’s something else aching inside of her to let it out. That it’s her dad, it’s okay.

It doesn’t matter, she can be open about missing him. Just not vulnerable. He just has to know she misses him, not that she harbors some feelings of unrequited love.

Even in the end, if she thinks all this. She still replies with, “No.”

Toji’s expression turns from a soft emotionless to his usual flat and unimpressed emotionless. “What? Does he have a girlfriend now?”

“No.” Megumi shakes her head. “But he is interested in someone.”

Toji quirks a brow. A certain, intrigued glitter appeared in his eyes. His jaw twitches as if he wants to say something but pauses to think of what exactly to say.

Why did she say that?!

“Are you jealous?” Toji’s eyebrow quirks up even higher. A now more salacious, teasing grin entered his expression.

Megumi blanches, even if it pings her heart momentarily. She hides it all that well.

“No!” She swats her dad’s shoulder, smacking the hard, muscled flesh. Refuting his claim and ending the conversation there.

Even though he’s right. At times she does really think about how much she and Satoru grew so close with one another but as soon as they grew older… more into their respective roles, more distance appeared between them. Not to mention, she also heavily ponders about the differences between her and Utahime-senpai.

Her senpai’s hair is a beautiful plum shade of black. Even Megumi admits that she’s a little jealous—though she’d never say it out loud. She’s just so mature. Practically a different world from Satoru.

”You’re just a kid.”

Utahime-senpai might be so special that she might change the upper class world of the sorcerers…

Half of Megumi fears that Satoru will use his stance as Gojo’s most beloved to place her and him coded to one another… though the other half ridicules her for thinking as such.

Satoru would never… he would earn Utahime’s affection on his own right. With his own ability. With such sincerity, there’s no way that their senpai would turn Satoru down.

But if all that does happen… what will Megumi do?

The ground of the second floor shakes.

Megumi grabs the ledge of the wall, right where she can see out of the window pane. Within the inner corners of her eye she spots a black blob looking figure sweeping into through the gates of the school.

It’s entire form engulfs the street and mattes it opaque as it floods further into the school vicinity.

A flood of adrenaline races into her heart. She feels blood beginning to pump into her ears along with the muffled ness of her heartbeat clouding her senses.

Fuck. Get it together.

She thinks about her dad. How if—don’t think like that—everything goes wrong, he’ll be left all alone. Her beloved dad, rough around the edges but so soft and loving for his daughter.

A part of her wants to curl in on herself but she shakes herself and thinks logically, within reason. She’s just come back from the bathroom, within empty hallways. There has to be Yuuji and Nobara somewhere around here—heck even the Senpais.

Satoru.

Is he okay? Does he even know this is going on? He must have. His ability must allow him to do so.

Wait—he’s on a mission today. Along with Suguru-Senpai. They should be safe.

Relief fills Megumi. She hopes they won’t be back soon—at least until later later today. When this is all resolved.

The teachers. She settles that they must know about this now.

The best thing for her to do is to find her friends and get them to safety, preferably with a teacher.

.

.

.

Megumi finds herself outside the school. She wasn’t able to find anyone. She figures that they’re either dead or there could be a possibility that there are more curses.

The only thing to do now is defend the school until there can be more directions from a chain of command.

Up ahead is the familiar sight of Utahime-Senpai. Her body leaned forward and her form haggard with her tussle of beautifully colored plum hair strayed in multiple directions.

Megumi instantly runs to her senpai. Catching the older girl as she falls forward just of slight, the both of them narrowly evading a quick shot of black glop.

“Senpai,” Megumi formally addresses, a soft tone stuck in her throat while she looks over the wounds whilst tucking the girl’s neck into the curve of her elbow.

“Fushi…” The plum haired breathes out, barely a whisper. Her lip is cut, a part of her eye is blackened and mottled with a developing bruise.

There’s probably more wounds behind her miko outfit that Megumi can’t address.

“Get out…” Utahime exhales, before her eyes fall back and her entire body goes limp in Megumi’s arms.

“Senpai!” Megumi now erratic shakes her by her outer shoulder.

There’s a gust of wind that surpasses right past Megumi’s neck, then a flicker of delayed pain that inflicts on her senses the next second.

An incredible sense of pain that flows from her left shoulder and reaching to her back weakens her hold on Utahime instantly.

Megumi needs to act now or else she won’t be able to greet her dad at all for the rest of her life. Nor ever bake cookies with Satoru ever again.

Pressing her shaking hands together with a furious look in her eyes as she turns around and elegantly as such, her shadows fall upon in front of her. Two intricate dogs materialize, one black and one white come out of the depths snarling.

She doesn’t know where the rest of her friends or the teachers are but she’ll stay here until someone comes to fully exorcise this curse.

… Megumi would do it… but she doesn’t think she can.

It seems to be entirely a whole different level from her.

It’s murky ink like color surrounds to a middle point, circling like a whirl pool then delving high into the sky like a large tsunami wave.

The first thing Megumi does is dissipate her dogs. She knows she already put them out but she doesn’t think they can survive this, along with how she doesn’t think she could even survive.

The next thing Megumi does in a rush is grasp onto Utahime, no matter if she aggravates her Senpai’s wounds. The goal is to get them both out of this alive.

The wave of ink sweeps over to the left side of the yard whilst Megumi with Utahime in her arms are quickly vaulted to the side.

The only thing she can do is play for time… play for time until someone stronger comes to save her.

Satoru.

She shakes her head. There’s only a brief chance for that. She’ll have to hold out for a teacher.

She sends out Nue with Utahime-Senpai in tow. Hopefully holding Nue on like that and switching between her demon dogs on and off won’t take a toll on her.

The next fifteen minutes are spent with Megumi switching out her Divine dogs.

There’s a fleshy laceration that stings whenever Megumi moves her muscle that lays over her right calf. And the blood from the cut from earlier soaks right into her jacket. From the pain, Megumi can tell the cut starts from her left shoulder, straying over her scapula down to her love handles.

She only hopes that her cursed energy won’t fall out.

The curse in response has left dark coatings of itself over the yard and any open areas left that Megumi has to step on are behind her… but behind her is the other entrances to the school.

Other possible areas that she could put other people in danger.

But what can Megumi do?

Fifteen minutes isn’t enough.

The only choice is to run.

So she does.

In the midst of running, just briefly over one corner to the other while the curse chases her. Megumi’s heel screams at her to stop, the cut being exacerbated more by the two cuts of flesh sliding against one another.

But she perseveres.

In the distance, she spots the color of rusted copper—Nue—and a vanilla cream colored jacket. Okkotsu-Senpai. Along with Maki. The lump at the floor Megumi can only assume is Utahime, the two younger figures hunching over her are Yuuji and Nobara. Yuuji’s bright pink hair peeking out to Megumi’s eyes along with Nobara’s copper brown.

“Megumi!” Maki exclaims, eyes wide from behind her framed glasses as she spots her cousin. In that moment Megumi knows the older has already scanned her.

“Run!” Megumi yells. She feels the heat and biting flow of the curse getting stronger as she refuses to be caught by it.

In an instant, Okkotsu scoops up their senpai and Maki pulls up the two first years as they round the corner into a larger yard. The one where they all train in.

Megumi gathers into their crowd once they all stop. Her blood pumping harder into her ears then it did before and her hand clutches onto her aching left elbow.

“Megumi.” Maki looks over to Megumi, her eyes surveying the girl quickly before reaching over to grasp at her left shoulder.

Megumi evades the girl’s touch. “It doesn’t matter. How’s Utahime-senpai?”

It’s Okkotsu who answers. “No good.” He shakes his head firmly.

“We need to find Shoko-Senpai.” He states.

“You guys go find her.” Maki orders, looking to Nobara and Yuuji. “Get Megumi fixed up as soon as Shoko-Senpai’s done with Utahime-Senpai.”

Yuuji nods, instantly taking to Megumi’s side, taking to the girl’s side with her uninjured arm and hooking it over his neck.

They find Shoko outside the building, in the court of the third gate. There’s black goop that’s coagulated into tiny puddles around the floor, remnants of a exorcised curse.

By that time Megumi’s called back Nue.

Shoko is knelt over Utahime who’s red and white kimono is soaked in blood, deepening the red into a brown-red color and the white into a soiled thing with red bleeds of blood with dried brown rims.

“You next, Megumi.” Shoko looks up to Megumi through the side of her bangs.

Megumi shakes her head. “Save it for the others first, I can cope.”

“You’re barely able to stand!” Nobara snaps, looking down to Megumi’s feet where the blood from her right calf has bled on to.

“It’s fine, I’ll clean it later.” Megumi looks down to the same area that Nobara’s gestured to.

The third gate is where their lockers are closest to. In this case, Megumi decides that she can use her extra clothing to wrap up her own wounds. They’re encased in curse energy but she can care for the physical part now; Utahime-Senpai needs the help more.

… Megumi wouldn’t want Satoru to worry too much about Utahime-senpai.

But she can’t walk to her locker… the laceration in her leg hurts too much and the flesh has swelled up in that area.

Her vision sways.

“Megumi…?”

She rights herself instantly. Then with a full head of porcupine hair she whips her head to the three of her school mates. Her strands of black tresses soaked in dried blood, shifting in the motion. “I’m fine.”

Distantly there’s a shout, “Shoko!”

Geto-Senpai is here.

That means Satoru is here.

Relief instantly fills in Megumi’s chest. A glow of hope filters into her beating heart.

Itadori follows through, he cups his hands over his mouth and shouts. “We’re here!”

In the next few minutes, Geto is running his way to them the instant he sees them. Satoru, his head of Snow White hair trails right behind.

“Are you guys okay?” Geto surveys all of them, seeing no scratches on Nobara nor Itadori. But when his eyes reach Megumi they widen.

“Shoko why aren’t you—“

“—She’s so fucking stubborn.” Shoko snaps back.

“Utahime…?” That’s Satoru’s voice.

He’s kneeled down next to her unconscious form, voice desolate and expression void of anything other than shock and awe.

“Sato—“ Geto tries to approach but in that moment they’re all blown back. The force of cursed energy flying them back across the yard and for some, into the brick building of the school.

A small crater appears after Megumi’s body slides off the wall. Small pools of blood sticks to the brick, new and old after she falls to the ground.

Geto looks up instantly, in the center, in his own crater, Satoru cradles Utahime’s limp bloody body. Her head of plum colored bangs cover over her eyes, her head is held gingerly to his chest.

The black circular glasses that Satoru wears are cracked and broken, falling to the ground as he looks up with such a vicious glare.

Crystal icy blue eyes are now mottled dark in an ocean color, void of any light.

“Satoru!” Shoko’s firm and tone full of frustration fills everyone’s ears. Except Satoru who’s still glaring at all of them, surveying them like a predator. All while clutching Utahime protectively.

Megumi’s lifts her head up from the it’s place in the dirt. Distantly, she spots white blurred hair—Satoru. When her vision becomes clearer, from the other side of her is Shoko shielding Itadori and Nobara from the sheer force of Satoru’s cursed energy.

Suguru knees are bent and his firm placement with his feet on the floor shuffle more and more toward the brilliant force of light and bent earth of Satoru’s self made crater.

In the center, Satoru is clutching onto Utahime’s body.

“Satoru stop! You’re going to hurt her!” Geto yells over the bristling wind.

“No!”

A pang of hurt and softness enters Megumi’s heart.

He’s only protecting the one he loves. He didn’t mean to hurt any of them.

The cursed energy isn’t effecting Utahime because she’s wrapped in his Infinity.

He’s only hurting because she is.

But if Satoru doesn’t stop… a lot more damage can be done to the others. His cursed energy is too strong for them.

She feels as if the world will fall on her when she attempts to get up.

The heaviness of her wounds now fully hit her. The lacerations that come from her back and calf that went uncared for are now screaming. Stinging in extreme and utter pain.

But she still gets up. Barely being able to resist the force of Satoru’s gust of cursed energy that washes over her. If Geto-Senpai couldn’t be able to push past it in uninjured, how can Megumi?

She still tries anyway.

Every step forward. The pain increases more.

“Fushiguro stop!” Suguru yells, right when Megumi’s halfway close to the center of Satoru’s blistering cursed energy.

It causes momentary cuts that inflict and cut through her clothing and her skin.

“Satoru…” Megumi breathes out. All her strength to keep herself resistant against the force of Satoru’s cursed energy and to keep her knees from giving in. She uses both arms, no matter how much the tug of her flesh is on her left shoulder hurts, to shield her face.

“Don’t come any closer!” Satoru whips his body to hers instantly, glaring in such a manner that it might’ve intimidated her to go back… but she’s gone too far now. Fallen too deep.

Megumi uses the remaining bits of her cursed energy to shield herself from his onslaught.

“It’s okay,” Megumi says. Low, unsure if Satoru can even hear her,

“Utahime-senpai is okay.”

Megumi isn’t afraid, even if Satoru’s hurting her, it’s okay. He didn’t mean it, he’s not thinking correctly.

Satoru would never purposefully hurt her.

When Megumi gets close enough, to the edges of the crater, right where it dips in, Satoru let’s Utahime down, in such a gentle swift motion.

It gives her a false sense of security, thinking that Satoru is back to normal, right before his two large hands rip past her arms and gripe at her neck.

Her airflow is cut off and her toes can barely touch the ground now. She’s gasping and writhing in Satoru’s touch… not in the way she wanted to be when he touched her.

Her two hands, now past the point of caring about old physical wounds, clutch at Satoru’s hands that cup around her throat. Her fingers prying around his own to try and get them off.

Rapid and urgent emerald eyes stare into ocean crystal blues. Once again, Satoru’s own eyes are void of any coherency or cognition. Only the neutral and tight pressed lips that remain that way in concentration.

There’s no recognition. No sign of him stopping soon.

There’s more shouting, incoherent from what Megumi can hear. Only thing she feels is the pain and sinking realization in her soul.

Her vision blinks black. Spots of color dotting it.

Her blood pounds so hard into her ears that she’s afraid she might begin to bleed from them.

“Liar.” With the last bit of strength she has, Megumi may not be able to speak the words as no breathe is able to go past her throat, but she knows Satoru can feel her throat move from under his tightening fingers.

The girl falls unconscious under the pressure put to her windpipe. Satoru feels the way the girls body goes limp in his hands. She’s no longer supporting any of her weight through a rigid fight for life.

The cursed energy around the area falls silent and null.

The Gojo heir’s crystalline eyes cloud up with a vivid brightness. Coherency enters his expression once again when his face falls instantly.

The next second, Geto’s fist collides right into Satoru’s cheek. As the white haired man topples to the floor, Megumi’s body falls limp down to the grass. Utahime’s carefully laid body is pulled out of the way by Shoko, Yuuji and Nobara while Geto tends to Megumi.

Instantly, Geto’s fingers reach to the girls pulse… feeling nothing there. The brief hints of her cold and lifeless body reach his form, sending shivers down his spine.

Satoru watches, wide eyed with rapt attention how Geto’s fingers lace together, placed over the girls chest while he pushes up and down in succession with reaching over to thumb at the girls chin and exhale into her mouth.

The white haired man is unable to do anything. Everything is happening so fast.

How Geto’s lips touch Megumi’s and how her lifeless form isn’t responding to his attempt at life saving touches.

The only thing Satoru can really pay attention to is the fact that Geto’s lips and Megumi’s touch. A deep resounding bitterness swells in Satoru’s heart every time it happens.

Even if he knows he’s the cause of such thing happening.

Geto’s motions repeat until the girl is gasping loudly, sputtering in breathes and heartbreaking sobs.

It’s only when Geto tucks and pulls her up into his arms, her head against his chest that Satoru notices the mottled and dark, ugly group of bruises that bottle around her neck.

The bruises resemble the tight grip on her neck he had before. The blur of his fingertips are padded purple upon her skin, along with the brief line of the width and length of his fingers.

She breathes so heavily, chest heaving and visibly getting smaller and larger from under her sorcerer uniform.

A shiver goes down Satoru’s spine. Megumi could’ve died… by him.

He gathers himself immediately, getting on his knees and shuffling closer to Megumi’s form sobbing—rasping—into Suguru’s chest with such broken cries.

“Meg—“ Satoru’s soft voice begins but a shudder released from Megumi the moment he tries to teach her shoulder.

To which Suguru slaps his hand away. “Stop!” He snaps. “Can’t you see that she’s done?!” He bites, with dark eyes staring into Satoru with such a hard look that he peels away apologetically.

Yuuji comes around, taking Megumi in his hold, out of Geto’s arms. The girl’s neck gently supported by her friend and the rest of her body following shit.

After that little motion, Suguru’s hands come across to slap at the other side of Satoru’s face.

Satoru is sent back onto the floor, his back scrawled on the ground while Suguru gets out of his kneeling position. Standing up and approaching Satoru with such vexation.

“What were you fucking thinking?!” Suguru screams, his large hands are hooked tightly on Satoru’s collar, clenched tightly almost causing an uncomfortable lack of airflow to the Limitless user’s neck. His friend basically throttles him, hunched over Satoru's own lain and shocked figure.

But Satoru can only focus on Megumi’s bloodied and weak body being carried away from behind the black haired boy. If he ignored his own rushing blood in his ears, he can hear the faint thrumming of her heartbeat after being barely brought back by Suguru.

And the feeling of immense pain and regret aching in his chest.