Chapter Text
The fifth hour of studying passes without Megumi noticing. The kitchen table is covered in ripped out notebook pages, reused paper flashcards that still has marks from half-erased pencil marks from his high school classes, his two pencils, the homemade study guide based on the course material, and his half-dead laptop he is sure is about to die at the most inconvenient time.
He slouches to lean closer to the blue glow of the laptop screen, his whole back cracking with the movement. Not that it is his biggest concern at the moment. He looks back at the list of terms needed for the first anatomy test of the semester, all of them melding together even after the past five hours of reviewing and practicing.
Maybe it is because the silence of the house is louder today. Even the perpetual emptiness feels more poignant than usual. The small kitchen table has room for four seats, but he is the only one sitting. The kitchen still somehow feels cramped, expanding into the half-sized living room that only has him. His dogs, Kuro and Shiro, are asleep underneath the table by his feet.
The study guide is long, but it took him three days to put it together. He frowns at the list of one-hundred-twenty-seven vocabulary words. Honestly, he had taken Ieiri’s introduction to anatomy course because he thought it might be easier since he knows her, but how did she expect them to memorize all this just for the first test?
Pressing his palms into his eyes, he lets out a long sigh. All he really wanted to do was sleep and ignore the growing pile of things he needs to get done. But at the moment, this test was more important than any nap he could take later, especially since the test is tomorrow morning.
Besides, he would not have time to do this later. Not with early morning classes and work tomorrow. Either he did this now or it would not get done.
So he looks back at the glowing blue screen, the school course page open to Ieiri’s announcement about the test tomorrow morning during class time. No. He needs to focus. Focus on the study guide for now. He can take a break later.
Still, his gaze drifts over to the growing pile of dishes in the sink, waiting to be cleaned and put away. He still needs to wash them. It needs to be done before he sleeps.
On the table, his phone vibrates once.
He grabs his phone without really looking and glances at the notification. A simple notification from the hospital. His entire stomach flips. No. If something happened, they would call. They would not send an email. Megumi drops the study guide.
Bill for $400 due in two weeks.
A heaviness settles over him, as if his limbs were weighed down by bricks. Slowly, he sets his phone down. Another bill already? Didn’t he just pay the last one? There really is not enough money for extra payments. But either way, it still needs to be paid.
He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes.
Getting freaked out over another bill was not going to help anything. Calm. All he needs to do is stay calm. Either way, he has to figure it out. He has two weeks. He can figure something out in two weeks.
He opens his eyes and picks up another flashcard. The Latin words scribbled out in his cramped handwriting seem to blur together and he can not recall a single definition.
Last he checked, he was not supposed to get another bill this soon. Even then, it did not help since he started college two months ago that he was not able to take as many shifts as before.
Somehow having more classes in high school was manageable, even with homework, he was still able to pick up enough shifts that he did not have to constantly think about how to manage to scrape by paying the bills.
He was less concerned about grocery bills or internet bills. He can study at the library if there is no internet. But what would happen to Tsumiki if the bill was not paid on time? Would they stop treatment?
His phone buzzes, pulling him out of staring blankly at his laptop screen.
10 new assignments have been posted. Click here to view.
Carefully, he sets down his phone to take several deep breaths even though his heart is racing hard enough he can feel it pounding against his chest.
He buries his face into his hands. The familiar weight and churning of his stomach is back, as it always does whenever too much happens at once and he feels the intense need to hide in his room like a child to escape it.
Knowing that he should stay calm does not stop the sick turning feeling in his stomach. He tries to take deep breaths, but his heart pounds heavily in his chest.
Sitting here will not help anything. Not when he is not focusing.
Megumi stands up, pretending like his heart is not racing. Both Shiro and Kuro poke their heads out from underneath the table, watching him.
“I’ll be right back. I just need to clear my head.”
He talks to them as if his dogs would understand needing to clear their heads. But Megumi grabs his phone and shoves it into his back pocket. Then he puts on his shoes, old and half-worn through tennis shoes from high school to leave the house.
Locking the door behind him, Megumi shoves his hands into his pockets to just walk. Even if he is just walking for the sake of walking, he still knows where he will end up.
It is much warmer outside even in the late afternoon, the sun slowly moving down. Warmer than inside, but he is still too hot, like a low fever. Vaguely, his hands shake in his pockets. Which is fine, he can deal with the physical part of it. He can just ignore it, but he cannot ignore his own racing thoughts.
He steps onto the uneven, broken sidewalks that were supposed to be to encourage more people in the neighborhood to walk. Not that many people go walking for fun in an overcrowded neighborhood. The house is small, only one floor and a small yard that is closer to a patch of brown grass than a yard. He still likes it more than the apartment his dad used to make them stay.
Maybe his dad was right. Maybe college was not the best choice for him.
Not when the bills are more immediate. If he does not pay, will they stop treating Tsumiki? Can they do that? Would it be worth it to drop out now to take on more shifts?
A failure.
Megumi steps around trash strewn around on the sidewalk.
Did he really think he could do it all on his own?
Go to college, get a degree, maintain scholarships, work enough shifts to pay for college, food, the house, and Tsumiki’s hospital bills? Out of those things, he knows what he would choose first. Would he really let Tsumiki stay in a coma forever just because he thought he could graduate college? And why? Because he likes animals.
No. That would be entirely selfish.
But what could he really do? He is only eighteen, what does he really know?
Megumi hunches his shoulders and keeps walking until he reaches the city. It is easier to focus on anything other than his thoughts when there is so much happening around him. People rushing off of work, cars honking at intersections, college students with heavy backpacks all walking as if their lives depended on it.
He stops, looking over at the small family-owned restaurant to his left.
The smell of spices and steaming dumplings drift out of the propped up door. The tables and chairs underneath the cover are mostly empty at this time of time, but he can hear the clanging of dishes from inside.
It looks slightly rundown with paint chipping off the sign and the building’s front, old, battered chairs and tables set up outside. Even if it looks old, he knows the store owners make the best soups and dumplings in the entire city.
The smell of seafood dumplings is almost enough to make him go inside, but he already knows exactly how much they cost. Anyway, if he bought them now, there would not be enough for next week’s grocery budget. Even if they were the best dumplings he has ever had.
Maybe his memory was just clouded by the lazy afternoons he spent with Tsumiki. Both of them sitting outside the restaurant in chairs too big for them, trying to do the homework packets as they shared one order of dumplings between them.
He keeps walking.
He walks past the tall city houses, the academic buildings on the edge of campus that are mostly empty this time of day, brightly-illuminated stores, and slowly filling restaurants.
The hospital is slightly tucked away in the city, hidden in the huge medical school building that surrounds it. The sliding doors barely manage to do their slow slide open for him to walk through.
He hates the hospital.
It is always too cold, too quiet. Filled with haggard doctors and nurses who barely glanced twice at anyone walking through the doors, let alone someone who has been consistently coming for years now. The smell of harsh acidic cleaners lingers in the air. But he walks inside anyway.
The air is colder inside, making him almost wish he had grabbed his hoodie. But he ignores the chill.
The older nurse at the front desk only glances up once at him, her eyes immediately go back down to her screen. The loud tapping of her nails follows him to the elevator across the lobby. Megumi hits the button. As usual, it takes the doors a while to open with a creaking sound that should be concerning. He steps inside and clicks the button for the fourth floor. The whole thing shakes as it meanders up.
The door pops open with a ding. Megumi heads down the right hallway, all the nurses ignoring him as he walks past. The air smells of less harsh cleaners on the fourth floor.
Stopping outside a familiar door, his hand rests on the doorknob.
Room 419.
He opens the door, squeaking as it swings open. The air is chilly inside. The door makes a small click as he shuts it behind him. He walks quietly across the room. He always feels bad making too much noise, even though he knows she’s not asleep.
The room is bare. Only a small rectangle window overlooking the city, a bed against the right side of the room, several machines surrounding the bed, and one chair beside the bed. And Tsumiki.
She lays still on the bed, her eyes closed. The rhythmic beeping of the machine is the only sound beside the shuffling of his feet as he approaches the bed. Megumi quietly sits down.
Megumi wraps his arms around himself and takes a deep breath. The metal chair is cold on the back of his legs. He tries to ignore it.
Tsumiki breaths slowly, the blanket rising and falling in a slow repetitive motion. Her skin is closer to a pale blue than anything else. A lack of nutrients, is what one of the nurses told him the first time he visited and saw the change in her skin tone.
The beeping fills the room.
“I think I’m selfish.” Megumi’s words are almost drowned out by the beeping. “I thought I could do it all. What good did that do? Nothing.”
He sometimes talks to Tsumiki, even though he doubts she can hear him. No matter what the nurses say. But it feels better than sitting in silence for hours with the only other sound being the beeping.
“I think I’m selfish.” Megumi closes his eyes. “And yet, all I want is to talk to you.”
The beeping continues.
“Dad hasn’t been home in a while. Not since his business trip started. He’s not been answering his phone either.” Megumi frowns. “I didn’t want to call and annoy him, you know how he gets when he’s working.”
It was an understatement. His dad’s ‘business trip’ had been going for months now.
Tsumiki’s hair has gotten longer, probably longer than she would have liked, or at least he thinks so. Megumi sighs and rubs a hand over his face.
“Maybe you would know what to do about Dad. You have so much more patience for him than I do.”
He sighs into the empty room, the sound echoing off the walls in the empty room.
“I went by the dumpling place today.” He pretends like his voice is not shaking while he talks. “I keep thinking about that one summer where the store owners gave us five servings of dumplings. And when it started raining, they turned on My Neighbor Totoro for us.”
Faintly, he smiles. “And when Dad got home, you asked him if we could get a cat bus. And he thought we’d gone crazy.” The room is quiet save for the beeping. “You always said it was your favorite.”
Frowning, he takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “I guess as much as I love it, I can’t go back. Sometimes I wonder if I think it’s only the best because you love it so much.”
He rubs his eyes and ignores the dampness from his eyes. He stares down at his hands. His voice shakes. “Everytime I go inside, I just wish you were there. I can’t even go inside anymore. Not without you.”
He feels a tear roll down the side of his face. “I can’t go back. Not until you wake up. Anytime I do anything, I miss you.”
He drops his face into his hands and cries, shaking from the effort not to make any noise. “It’s so lonely without you.”
The door squeaks. Megumi jumps and spins around. A nurse in bright pink scrubs steps inside and she freezes when she sees him. She blinks, her eyes going wide. Megumi quickly wipes his eyes.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize someone was in here.” she says, glancing at Tsumiki then back to Megumi with a hesitant pause.
“Sorry. Are visiting hours over?”
The nurse moves over to the machine beside Tsumiki and checks the numbers. Pointedly, she does not look at him. “Visiting hours are going to be over in ten minutes, but of course you are welcome to stay until then-”
Megumi shakes his head and stands up, still looking away from her and already heading towards the door. “No, it’s fine. Sorry.”
The nurse speaks up as he grabs the doorknob. “You know, I’m glad someone is visiting her. I know for a lot of coma patients, it’s too hard for people to see them. It’s good for them to hear their loved ones' voices.”
Megumi takes a deep breath and tries not to burst into tears like a five year old. “Have a nice evening,” he says quickly and leaves the room.
He had to remember why he was doing this. It was for his sister. His sister needs him. Nobody else was going to do this but him.
Megumi walks home.
Even if he does drop out, he needs to finish studying and memorizing terms. Then more importantly, he needs to figure out how he is going to pay the new bill. He will at least finish the semester then he can drop out.
By the time he makes it to the house, the sun is low and it is nearing nighttime. Turning the corner of his street, he almost stops when he sees two figures at the front door of the house.
Until he sees familiar short, choppy white hair and long, black hair.
Megumi walks faster, feeling his shoulders relax. Gojo and Geto are both waiting at the front door, carrying handfuls of what looks like plastic takeout bags from a restaurant.
Gojo kicks the door repeatedly while Geto hits the doorbell with his elbow. It is a familiar sight, the two of them standing on the front steps of the house.
He walks up behind them, crossing his arm and trying to sound annoyed. “What are you two doing here?”
Gojo whips around, already beaming. He holds up his bags as a form of an answer. “Megumi!”
Geto turns, smiling as well. “We were nearby and thought we’d stop by with food.”
Gojo is wearing his stupid circular sunglasses again and wearing something he probably thought was fashionable. A pink and yellow striped button-up, rolled up jeans, loafers, and a long belt that hangs down.
“And you’re not allowed to try and pay us back,” Geto adds before he can say anything, with a faint smile. Like usual, Geto is wearing a dark gray blazer and a black turtleneck shirt with dark pants. “We’ve talked about that.”
“Yeah! We’ve talked about that.” Gojo says mockingly and Geto smacks his arm the best he can while carrying the bags of food, “Now let us in, I’m starving!”
Megumi rolls his eyes, but still gets his keys out to unlock the door. The moment he pushes it open both Kuro and Shiro are bouncing and barking at the door. He pauses to pet them.
Gojo waltzes right past him, kicking off his shoes that bounce off the wall like he always has. He is fairly sure there are permanent marks on the wall.
“I told you to stop doing that,” Megumi sends a look at Gojo.
Gojo cackles as he goes into the kitchen, dropping the takeout bags onto the table with a loud thud. Megumi follows him, Geto right beside him. Immediately, Megumi starts to gather up all of his school supplies into a stack to move to a counter.
Geto sets down his bags as well as Gojo slowly looks around the kitchen like he is searching for something. Megumi feels strangely judged.
Then, like nothing happened, Gojo pops off a lid of Lo Mein noodles. “We got Chinese takeout! I asked for extra ginger on the chicken just for you, so I think I deserve your fortune cookie, Megumi.”
He rolls his eyes again. The food smells amazing and he remembers that he has not eaten anything all day. “No, you don’t deserve it. Also, I know you asked for extra cookies.”
Geto reaches for the high cabinets, taking out the couple dishes and puts them out for the three of them. “He did. I can confirm.”
Megumi tries not to look at the fourth empty chair.
They both sit down, Gojo directly to his left and Geto beside him. Gojo scoffs and waves them both off. “Come on, I even remembered the dumplings this time.”
“You did not.” Geto punches his arm. “I remembered, as usual.”
Gojo rubs his arm, pretending to pout.
“See? You don’t deserve my fortune cookie.” Megumi tries not to laugh and takes the container of ginger chicken noodles and pops the lid off. It was true that the smell of ginger was stronger than usual.
Like a child, Gojo sticks his tongue out at him and rips open one of the cookies, but Geto takes it away from him. Geto turns towards Megumi, though his eyes look around the house with a more subtle look than Gojo. “Where’s your Dad?”
Megumi shrugs. “He’s out on a job right now.” To be honest, he did not even know where his dad was at the moment, other than that he was overseas somewhere.
Gojo and Geto exchange a short look before he can even ask what it was about.
“Is he trying to prove someone cheated on their spouse again?” Geto asks, slightly amused. He has always said the idea of Fushiguro Toji wasting his time on investigating people’s adultery is funny. Megumi still thinks working as a martial arts instructor made the most sense for his dad.
“He’s investigating some big businessman who’s apparently involved in fraud or something,” he shrugs. “Or that’s what he said.”
Not that his dad had left much information before he left. And not that he would expect his dad to talk about his job very much. It was pretty usual for him not to know what his dad was doing or where he was for days on end sometimes. He has long since stopped asking.
Gojo shoves a whole soup dumpling into his mouth. “You’d think being a private investigator would come with more perks like more free time or flexible hours.” He grins and steals the container of ginger chicken from Megumi. “But hey, at least we get to hang out with our favorite grouchy boy.”
Megumi rolls his eyes and looks at Geto. “Please control your boyfriend, he’s embarrassing.”
“Trust me I’ve tried,” Geto says, but still turns to look at his boyfriend. “He’s not grouchy. Not everyone has as much energy as you.”
While Gojo and Geto bicker, his phone vibrates in his pocket. Absently, he glances quickly at it. Another email from the hospital. Frowning, he clicks on it.
Dear Fushiguro Megumi. We are considering a new treatment plan for Tsumiki.
And his phone is plucked from his hands, dangling just inches from his face. Gojo frowns at him, waving the phone around in front of his face. “Pay attention to us, Gumi!”
Megumi scowls at him. And Gojo starts poking his face. “Why're you so grouchy today? You look extra tired today which is saying something. You’re like a zombie. What’s up?”
Megumi swats his hand away and tries to reach for his phone, but Gojo just hands it to Geto who puts it on the counter behind him with a calm smile. Like a perfect team. Megumi sighs. Sometimes he forgets that Geto can be just as bad as his boyfriend. Exactly why they are so perfect for each other.
“I’m only tired because you keep assigning more work.” Megumi shoves a piece of chicken in his mouth, but his voice is accusing. “No wonder your Rate My Professor is so terrible. Your course materials are terrible.”
Gojo comfortably leans back in his chair, putting his hands behind head. “You don’t have to do it all, you know. It’s only your first semester of college. Most of the assignments for my class are optional.”
“And your mental health is more important than grades,” Geto adds, handing him the container of wontons and the fried rice. Megumi scoops some onto his plate.
“Tiredness is temporary and grades are forever,” Megumi says, flatly. “Either way I have scholarships to worry about.”
“It’s temporary until you get burnout,” Geto frowns just a little and Megumi has to look away. Geto has been telling him this for the past couple weeks, mentioning several times he is worried Megumi is going to burn himself out. The last thing Megumi needs is for Geto to realize that he is close to being correct.
“Are you okay?” Geto keeps looking at him with that look of concern that is almost enough to make Megumi want to tell him everything. “Despite Satoru’s rude comments, you do look exhausted.”
Medical bills, grocery bills, housing bills. Thoughts of his dad and his lack of communication. Tsumiki laying still in a cold room. All the images come to mind.
But who else was going to do this?
Tsumiki did not have anyone else. There was only Megumi. Sure, he could talk to Gojo and Geto about it, but he should not have to put his problems on them. They already did too much for him.
He leans back in his chair, not quite looking at either of them. “I’m fine. I just started college, I think it’s pretty normal to look perpetually tired in college.”
This time, it is Gojo who tilts down his sunglasses to give him a narrowed look. Geto raises one eyebrow. But they do not say anything else, even if they are both still looking at him. Megumi moves the food around on his plate.
The house is suddenly too quiet again. The faint humming of the fridge is all he can hear while he keeps messing with the food on his plate. Maybe he should talk to them about everything.
Finally, it is Gojo who breaks the quiet. “I mean I never looked perpetually tired during college.”
Some of the tension leaves him at the familiar joking tone.
“That’s because you religiously used eye makes,” Geto rolls his eyes, “Honestly, you’re probably responsible for at least ten percent of world pollution alone.”
Megumi snickers. Gojo scoffs and points an accusing finger at Geto. “Listen, between you and Shoko pulling all-nighters and not caring for looks. Someone in our trio needed to be the looks. I volunteered myself.”
Geto rolls his eyes and Megumi smiles faintly at their bickering. It was a familiar sound at this point. After the years he has known them, the bickering between them barely phases him. He used to think they were just weird, now he knows they are weird, but he has accepted that fact.
Gojo pops a fortune cookie into his mouth. A small pile of cookie wrappers gathers on the table in front of him. Geto hands Megumi the last cookie.
Geto gets up, collecting all the dirty dishes. Before Megumi can say anything or move to stop him, Gojo throws an arm over him to keep him from moving. “Oh, Suguru! You should tell Gumi about your class! He’d appreciate hearing all about the colorful group of students you got this semester.”
Geto starts washing the dishes, even the ones from before their little dinner. Megumi tries to say something, but Gojo shoves a dumpling into his mouth.
Gojo tries to hug him and Megumi shoves him away.
Gojo pouts like a child, instead of the fully grown man he is. “Why do you hate me so much, Megumi? You look sad. I thought a hug would help.”
“I don’t even like hugs,” Megumi mutters, fiddling with his notes and notebooks. It was not exactly a lie. Hugs were not exactly common, except between him and Tsumiki, so they were strange. But honestly, it was probably just because Gojo is clingy and likes to latch onto people like an octopus as a form of affection.
Gojo pouts again.
“Don’t force him,” Geto says, drying off a plate and putting it back into the cabinet with practice ease. “Megumi’s never been big on hugs.”
While Geto talks about his class, which does sound like an interesting group of students, but he can barely even focus when all he can think about is how much he wants to sleep. Even though he knows when Gojo and Geto leave, he needs to study for at least another hour or two before he can even think about actually sleeping.
But either way, he needs to study. Even though their voices fill the house with more sound than he has gotten used to over the past few months. Even though he knows it might be just a little bit selfish, part of him just wishes he did not have to be alone in the house all the time. He does not say this out loud even after Gojo and Geto have to leave.
The door closes behind Gojo and Geto and Megumi sighs. The house is quiet again. The humming of the fridge is pervasive in wake of them leaving.
Sometimes it feels like what he imagines having two annoying older brothers would be like. Or something similar. He never knew exactly how to categorize his relationship with them, going from being babysitters to something closer to family friends, but even that did not sound quite right.
It was not like his dad likes them or would call them friends. If anything, he seemed to dislike them. And not like Megumi ever knew why his dad dislikes them.
Megumi puts all the leftover food into the mostly bare fridge. It was almost time for him to make his bi-weekly trip to the store. The lack of fresh food is even more noticeable now than it was a few days ago.
No fresh vegetables. Just a few containers holding the soup he made last week to last until the next cooking night.
He closes the door. But now with the leftovers he might not even have to go to the store for a few more days.
Taking a deep breath, he sits back down at the table and opens his email account. He opens the email from the doctor.
We are considering a new treatment plan for Tsumiki. We have been consulting with experts and they all agree that this treatment could potentially increase Tsumiki’s likelihood of waking around 50%. This treatment plan could also lessen potential long term brain damage and lessen chances of long-term memory loss. It would also involve one or more potentially invasive surgeries to remove any potentially cancerous tumors in the brain and brainstem. If Tsumiki regains consciousness, it would also involve long-term monitoring for development of new tumors, though lessened by the new treatments. The only negative side is that while this treatment is more likely to be effective, it is also more expensive. The treatment could be anywhere from $10,000 and upwards, depending on various factors. Please feel free to set up a date to discuss plans with our staff. We also advise that you discuss this decision with other people involved with Tsumiki’s health. This is an important decision and should not be rushed…
Megumi lowers his phone.
He stares off at the dingy kitchen, the single overhead light has always been a slight greenish color. Even right now with the normal treatment plan he has been struggling to keep up with the bills. Could he even play for a new treatment plan? But what was he supposed to do? Not go ahead with something that would help Tsumiki?
A heavy, familiar weight settles on his chest, making each breath harder and harder to breathe.
No. Panicking would help him get anything done.
He needs a plan or he needs to do something. It was not as if he could say no to the treatment if it could so drastically help Tsumiki. It was fine, he just needs to find a way to make it through this one semester and pay all these bills on time.
And he sees the stack of papers on the counter. He still needs to study for tomorrow’s test. Swearing under his breath, Megumi grabs the test materials and puts it on the table again.
The various latin words on the flashcards all swim together. Does he even know any of this?
Focus. He needs to focus. There is no time to waste on panicking, he just has to get it done. So he sets a timer for two hours. It is 11:45 at night now, it will be 1:45 when he is done. He can make that work. That is still five or six hours of sleep.
So Megumi leans over the table and forces himself to study. Two hours later, his phone rings from the alarm.
1:45 am already.
He needs to sleep. Megumi quickly locks the front door and trudges to his room. The small hallway connected to the kitchen leads to four small, cramped rooms. One is his dad’s, empty for the past few months. One is the singular bathroom. One is Tsumiki’s room, the door is always closed. One is his room.
The room is small. Just big enough for his bed directly across from the door and shoved into the far corner of the room. A single bookshelf that is overstuffed with books, textbooks, and old notebooks on its three shelves. A small desk that he got from a thrift store for only five dollars when he was twelve, covered in notebooks and studying materials, and the half-broken lamp that does not work half of the time.
The whole room is a mess. The books are unorganized and in stacks on the floor, unmade bed, his clothes thrown around and laying in piles on the wooden floor. The small plastic chest of drawers where he stores his clothes is a mess too, the clothes are just shoved inside without a care. He never really has time anymore to fold them or care about folding them properly. He used to care.
He walks past the piles of clothing and textbooks and notes to his bed. Megumi falls flat onto his face. All he wants to do is sleep. It was already too hard to keep his eyes open.
He tries laying on the bed on top of the blanket for a long time, his eyes too heavy to open. But he keeps thinking about the new treatment plan.
How was he going to pay for it?
Slowly, he sits up and blinks blanks in the dark. Without much thought, he reaches for his laptop from the end of his bed. Squinting at the sudden bright blue light, he starts typing.
First, he searches on the college’s job website and applies to every job he qualifies for and some he does not. He did not care what he had to be doing, he just needed the extra money. He hit apply again and again. And sends his resume too and uses his premade cover letter whenever necessary and tweaks it if he needs to. He does not have time to write a deep, in-depth one for each and every job.
He applies until his eyes hurt and struggles to just remain sitting upright. Rubbing his eyes with one hand, he clicks apply to the job again. He was already not looking forward to tomorrow.
He does not even remember falling asleep.
Megumi’s head feels heavy as he slowly, blearily opens his eyes. He is not even under his blanket. Right in front of him Kuro and Shiro are sitting in the middle of his room, both watching him.
Slowly, he sits up, supporting himself with one hand. His laptop is still open on his bed, the screen dark.
Did he wake up before his alarm? He reaches for his phone. That was rare.
7:40 am.
Immediately, he launches himself out of bed. Only twenty minutes before his first class starts and he still has to walk to campus. Megumi rushes into the kitchen and rips open the lid to the dog food. He pours a large amount into the bowl and he runs back to his room. Quickly, he grabs his backpack and stuffs it full of his school stuff for the day. Not even bothering to change out of the clothes he slept in.
Megumi runs out the door, locking it behind him. Running to campus, he passes by the older couples who walk in the morning, long since used to the judging looks they give him. He could not be late for class. What would be the point of staying up all night then? He refuses to fail because he slept in for forty minutes instead of waking up to his alarm like he was supposed to.
It only takes ten minutes to make it to campus, but he keeps running until he sees the science building where his anatomy class is held. He ignores the looks he gets from the other students. They were all in college, they had no right to judge.
He runs up to the lecture hall and throws open the doors. He has five minutes left. He runs up the stairs and down the hallway. He stops outside the door and takes a deep breath, then walks inside calmly. The whole room is packed, as usual whenever there’s a test. He goes straight to the first open seat he sees. He sits down quickly and begins to pull out all of his study material to review once more before class.
He half-runs into the lecture hall, only two minutes before class starts. He ducks his head, already knowing that Ieiri is looking at him. The last thing he needs is for her to tell Gojo and Geto about him almost being late and looking like a mess in their group chat. His usual seat is taken so he slips into one of the back aisle seats. There is only one other person sitting in this aisle.
He slouches over and tries to stay awake.
“Yo,” the person to his left leans over, whispering even though he does not need to. “You okay, bro?” He sounds legitimately concerned even though he does not know Megumi.
Megumi glances over. He has short pink hair and is staring with concerned eyes. Megumi does not even know him, really, he did not know anyone in any of his classes. “Uh, yeah. I’m okay.”
The boy narrows his eyes like he does not believe it at all. “If you say so man, but you look like you could sleep for days.”
Megumi could, but he’s too tired to try to have a conversation. “Yeah, I could.”
He turns back to his study materials, quickly flipping through the most important materials. Ieiri is answering some questions about muscles at the front of the classroom. He is suddenly grateful that Geto had given him advice for Ieiri’s class. So he should have to study before the test since she apparently only does it halfway through the class.
The boy leans over again. His voice is quieter than before and he sounds nervous like he is expecting terrible news. “Hey, uh, do you know if we had any homework for today?”
Megumi slowly looks up and makes a face. “We have a test today. The first one of the semester. It’s worth twenty percent of our grade.”
The boy’s face morphs into a look of pure, unadulterated panic that he has only ever seen from the realization of imminent failure on a college test.
“Oh shit.” The boy says under his breath and pulls his notebook out of his backpack in a flurry of panic.
The boy looks like he is ready to face death, almost close to tears. Megumi knows that face, he has felt it many times before class. Before he can even think it through, Megumi sighs and holds out his flashcards and condensed study guide. The boy slowly takes them, a questioning look on his face.
“It’s not everything, but it’s a condensed version of the study guide and the vocabulary list. She only does the test in the second half of class. You can use those to study until then.”
The boy’s eyes go wide. And he breaks out into the biggest smile of just pure relief.
“Dude, thank you so so so much. You may have just saved my life. You have no idea.” His smile gets even wider. “My brother would flay me alive if I failed on my first test of the semester. He’s super scary, you don’t even know.”
The boy smiles again. “Seriously, though. Thank you.”
Megumi just nods and looks back to his notebook and reviews his in-class notes. Honestly, if Megumi did not know it by now, then it would not help to study now. And Ieiri begins to answer questions before the test.
It is a relief that he is able to answer most of the other students’ questions in his head. That gives him at least some semblance of relief. He glances at the time. As soon as class is over, he will have to rush over to his first shift of the day. The owner of the gas station was not strict but Megumi still wanted to keep his job.
Ieiri hands out the tests and sets a timer. Then she sits down and says they can start. Megumi looks down at the paper. He takes a deep breath and begins answering questions. And the very moment he is done, he stands up and heads to the front of the classroom. He hands Ieiri his test.
She raises an eyebrow at him, taking the test. As per usual, she looks about as tired as Megumi feels at the moment. “You’re already done, Megumi?”
“I studied a lot,” Megumi shrugs, putting his backpack on all the way. Ieiri looks suspicious of this, but he quickly says goodbye. He just hopes that Ieiri does not mention something to Gojo and Geto. She has a tendency to tattle on him to them in that group chat.
He half-runs to the gas station just outside of campus. The whole place only has three gas stations, old and worn. The automatic doors no longer work, so he has to push them open. The inside is just as dingy as the outside. The fluorescent lights are distinctly green.
There is nobody inside except for the other cashier. He tossed him the keys and immediately left. All Megumi knows about them is that he is also a student and that he is not friendly. He has never said anything to him.
Megumi puts on his nametag and steps behind the counter.
Sure, Megumi may not be friendly, but he is not rude at least. He is just quiet. And despite what Gojo says, quiet is not the same thing as rude. Gojo is pretty rude most of the time, honestly. And his dad, his dad is pretty rude almost all of the time.
He pulls out his textbook and sets it on the counter to read for the rest of his four hour shift. Luckily, while he is working at the gas station he can get work done. That is the other plus of working here. He just needs to make sure to use his time widely. He still has a lot to get done before his shift at the animal shelter.
As much as he hated it, he reminds himself why he needs these jobs.
Because nobody else was here to take care of Tsumiki.