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"So you really do have his body..."
Gojo was calm, collected, and nowhere near as surprised as he should have been in order to get sealed into the prison realm.
"...But I know what you are."
Mahito couldn't even let out a sigh of relief, but he felt it wash over him nonetheless. He'd been working alongside sorcerers for the past few months, dropping pieces of information one by one, just to make sure he remained useful to them and they didn't decide to finish him off once they'd gotten everything they wanted from him. It was a cruel situation, but the one he had with Geto wasn't any less, if not more. On the curses' side, he didn't have a Nanami to protect him from Geto should he be done with him someday.
He hadn't exactly picked a side so to speak, but if he had to fall alongside someone, he'd rather it be Nanami. And so, he'd continued to meet with Geto — well, Kenjaku every once in a while just to bring information back to Nanami, who then reported it to Gojo and so on until it reached the higher-ups. Nanami had been reluctant to involve them at first, as he feared they'd get Mahito exorcized as soon as they heard of his existence. But the threat that Shibuya represented was too great to turn down such precious information, and the curse was tolerated until the outcome of this incident. Then, depending on the losses, they would determine the worth of his life.
A defeated smile spread on Kenjaku's face and he let out a hearty chuckle, throwing his hands up and turning to Mahito.
"You got me," He said to Gojo, "so before the end, I'd like to thank the curses who followed me until now. Especially you, Mahito."
The way Kenjaku had said his name made the curse's blood run cold.
"For joining us today despite carrying a sorcerer's child."
Gojo was the first to react. He jumped in front of Mahito who had begun to inch closer to him and ordered him to run and find Nanami.
Mahito barely had the time to see the reactions on the faces of his curse family, or to wonder how Kenjaku could find out about something even he wasn't aware of. He did as he was told and took off.
He had been running for so long it felt like he was going in circles. Nanami was nowhere to be found. Mahito only met curses and made a u-turn when he came across a small group of sorcerers before they managed to spot him.
Eventually panic overtook him and he collapsed into an empty photo booth, nauseous and out of breath — picking up the habit to mimick humans had backfired, and he developed an addiction to breathing.
His heart kept sinking deeper and deeper. How long had it been since Kenjaku figured him out? Was it a possibility that he'd been giving Mahito false information after he realized the curse would run and tell sorcerers everything?
His hands instinctively found their way against his belly, and he felt it. Not quite a soul yet, but a flicker of what would soon have one. How he hadn't sensed it before was beyond him, but it was the first time, how was he supposed to know what it would feel like?
He rubbed his abdomen and noticed it was a bit rounder than it normally was, but then again, there wasn't really any 'normality' with Mahito. He was ever-changing, so a few pounds more could easily go unnoticed.
He curled up onto himself and cradled his middle, studying the outline of the soul growing inside of him closer. It was like an empty nutshell, but not quite as dry and cold. He felt it flutter once, very faintly, as if it knew it was being watched, but maybe it was just Mahito's imagination.
What would Nanami say about it? He'd never mentioned wanting kids with Mahito, he probably hadn't even thought it could be a possibility. Mahito himself wasn't sure he could make it happen; but now that it was there, it could make for the most enriching experiment he'd ever conducted.
He brushed his thumb against the area on his stomach where his skin felt slightly tighter than usual. Now that he knew, it was like every piece of a puzzle he wasn't aware of were coming together.
He closed his eyes to fight the rising nausea and heaved a deep sigh. He tried to imagine the face Nanami would make when he'd break the news to him. He pictured those warm brown eyes softening, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, and open arms. He could hear his voice, but couldn't make words out. What would his first sentence be? Maybe he wouldn't say anything, and just hold Mahito. Hold him tight and engulf him into his strong arms, and Mahito would bury his nose into the fabric of his tan blazer, breathe in his scent, and they would go home. Surely Nanami wouldn't allow his pregnant curse to keep fighting, and couldn't leave him alone either. Gojo could definitely handle everything on his own. He'd get to prove he was the strongest once again. Everyone would be happy.
Well, the ones Mahito referred to as his family probably wouldn't get a happy ending. Mahito wasn't ready to abandon them yet, but his new family was on the way and the two couldn't coexist.
He didn't have much of a choice after getting his cover blown by Kenjaku anyway.
He was startled by the sound of metal grating against the floor. He peeked through the curtain of the photo booth and the smell of burned flesh filled his nostrils. His eyes were drawn to the source of the noise, and he stared breathlessly as the object clanked against each step down the station stairs. The black-spotted white cloth wrapped around the blade slightly reduced the noise.
Mahito felt like he was standing next to his own body, like someone had shaken him so badly his soul had fallen out of his cursed vessel.
He stumbled down the stairs, staring at the right side of the shirtless back of the man staggering in front of him, a feeling of dread overcoming him when he recognized the mole under the shoulder blade that still had skin.
He started running when he saw a group of minor curses swooping down on his human, and finally called out:
"Nami!"
The sorcerer glanced at him for an instant before wielding his weapon and slaying his enemies like half of his body wasn't reduced to cooked meat. Mahito felt his chest beam with pride.
That's my man .
The curse crushed the slashed remains of his own kind under his heel on his way to meet Nanami.
"There you are." Nanami breathed out.
But when Nanami turned around to face him, Mahito felt his legs ready to give out.
Just like his body, half of Nanami's face was burned to a crisp. Mahito had seen and done so much worse to other humans without feeling anything close to discomfort, but the sight of the empty eye socket made his stomach turn.
Still, he ran to Nanami, eyes watery and feeling overcome with relief. Despite barely recognizing him, he'd found him at last.
"NANAMIN!" came a voice to their side.
Mahito reached out his arms, and Nanami took one step forward before surrendering himself to the curse's embrace. They slowly sank to the floor together and footsteps came running towards them.
"Let go of him, Mahito!" Yuji threatened as he halted a few feet away from them, keeping his distance with Mahito knowing what the curse was capable of with a single touch.
Mahito was cradling Nanami's head in his lap, hand pressed to the burned side of his face, and Yuji concentrated cursed energy into his fist.
"I said get away!" He cried out, and Nanami raised his scorched hand.
"Itadori."
Yuji froze, feeling sick at the sight of blackened flesh stopping him dead in his tracks.
"Nanamin…?"
"He's not hurting me." Nanami simply said, and Yuji noticed that, unlike what he would've expected, Nanami's face didn't grotesquely swell and turn purple where Mahito was touching it, and instead healed into a healthy, peachy flesh tone. The shade didn't exactly match the skin that was undamaged, but it was nothing like the unnatural color Yuji dreaded.
The curse started working on Nanami's burned arm next, and Yuji could only stare as Nanami wiped away the curse's tears with his unharmed hand.
"Did Jogo do this?" Mahito asked, voice tinted with anger and the feeling of being torn apart.
"Doesn't matter. I'm here with you now." Nanami replied while looking up at Mahito with so much love in his single eye.
"Sukuna killed him." Yuji said flatly as he inched closer. "He cried too, right before Sukuna finished him."
"Good." It was obvious it didn't exactly sit right with Mahito. "If he hadn't found you first…" he added, looking down at Nanami and lacing their fingers together as he worked to heal his hand. "He probably would've done the same to me."
"What do you mean?" Nanami asked with a frown, fighting the burning pain in his hand to give Mahito's fingers a squeeze.
"Yeah, can someone give me a fucking explanation too?!" Yuji finally snapped.
"LITTLE BROTHER!"
Three heads turned to the side to see Choso come running, and Yuji got into a fighting stance.
"Who are you calling "brother"? Why are you looking at me? What is wrong with you all?!?"
Choso came to a stop at a safe distance from the little group and he glanced at Mahito for a moment.
"Did you find your human?" He asked, and Mahito nodded.
"Why are you here, Choso?" Mahito asked him in return.
"Because I know how important family is, and I respect you for choosing to protect yours. Congratulations, by the way." There was a moment of silence, broken by Yuji once again.
"Family? Congratulations? What, is Mahito pregnant?! "
Mahito had to stifle a laugh as he exclaimed:
"See, you understand more than you thought!"
It was Nanami's turn to stare wide-eyed at the curse as Choso ushered Yuji to the side to provide some much needed explanations.
"Are you really…?" Nanami asked in utter disbelief, and Mahito chewed on his bottom lip.
"Mm-hmm. Kenjaku knew before me, but then I checked and felt it too."
It was unlike him to worry about anything, but he'd never taken something as seriously as his relationship with Nanami, and they'd created an entirely new anxiety together.
"How is it possible that-…"
"I have no idea either, he just announced it in front of everyone and blew my cover. Thankfully Gojo was there, but if Jogo and Choso managed to get away I don't know if he-"
"No." Nanami cut him short as gently as he could, and his healed hand found its way against Mahito's belly. "I mean that you can get pregnant. Curses can't…"
Mahito looked down at Nanami's hand, how softly his fingers brushed against the tight skin, and suddenly all of his worries flew away.
He could feel the way Nanami's soul reacted to the touch of the unfinished soul of the embryo, and he finally broke into a genuine, relieved smile.
"... Well, I've never really been like the other curses, have I?"
Mahito's heart fluttered when he heard the sound of Nanami laughing; his voice was a bit hoarse and scratchy, but he'd found him in time. The curse curled onto himself to wrap his arms around Nanami's upper body, pulling him closer to his belly until Nanami's cheek was pressed against it. Nanami wrapped his own arms around Mahito's middle and heaved a deep sigh.
He was nearly fully healed, and although his eye would take a little bit longer to recover, it would be functional again soon. Good thing Mahito had studied human anatomy books so thoroughly.
Mahito ran his hand through Nanami's hair. One big patch would require some time to grow back, and as efficient as Mahito's technique was, it was likely that Nanami would keep some scarring on his body and face, but it didn't seem to bother him. At the moment, Nanami was more busy with pressing soft kisses to Mahito's belly, eliciting giggles from the curse.
As inviting as it sounded, they couldn't remain locked together on the ground of the station for too long. Gojo may have won against Kenjaku — though it wasn't certain yet, — but hundreds of curses were still roaming Shibuya.
"Can you get up?" Mahito asked, and Nanami hummed, but didn't stir.
"Can we stay like this for a little bit longer…? I'm so tired."
Mahito cast a glance over his shoulder to see Yuji and Choso nearby, still deep in conversation. No curse would take them by surprise as long as these two were around.
"Sure. Get some rest, soulmate."