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He is a monster. Either that or he isn’t himself; because never—not even in his wildest dreams—would Yūji have done any of the horrendous things he sees himself doing right at this very moment, never would he have committed any of the atrocities he watches unfolding before his very own eyes. A human would not kill like he does in this moment; they would not take one life after another without as much as batting an eye. But it surely is he who is doing this. Because in his ears, he can hear his victim’s confused and terrified voices loud and clearly, their agonizing moans and screams. He can feel their warm blood sprinkle onto his skin, the different shades of red mixing with one another as they paint a dreadful picture onto Itadori’s skin. He sees them before his eyes with their frightened expressions, but only for a short moment, barely a second before their bodies are torn apart. He is doing this. He is killing all those people while the stars glimmering and shining in the dark night sky above his head look down on him, judge him. They know what he is. He is a monster.
Yūji screams in agony as he sinks to his knees. Tears flood his eyes, but even as they fall they don’t blur the images of dead, massacred, and exploding people that keep flashing through his mind.
He is a monster. All those people, those innocent civilians, they shouldn’t have died. It is he who should’ve perished instead.
It is only when a familiar voice reaches Yūji’s ears that the pictures turn blurry—entirely to his surprise—as well as the world around him. The crater he had seen before him mere seconds ago now turns into a white ceiling as the young man blinks away the tears. The realization finally hits him that he is not kneeling under the dazzling night sky, that he is not surrounded by destruction but instead by the familiar four walls of his bedroom. He has just woken up from what seems to have been a dream, a nightmare.
Yūji sits up in an instant, his eyes immediately locking onto Megumi who is standing in the doorway to his room, his face painted with a worried expression. The light that finds its way into the small room through the partially opened door illuminates the young man from behind, causing him to appear like something divine, like an angel, who just saved Yūji from this horrifying dream ...
It has been just a dream, right?
“Megumi,” Yūji gets out, his voice trembling in the same way his body is as he fights himself out of bed and onto his feet before he stumbles towards his friend. Fushiguro finds himself tumbling a few steps backward as Itadori throws his arms around him even before he can say anything. “Please, tell me it was just a dream. Please, tell me I didn’t kill all those people.”
It is obvious that not just Yūji’s words but also the state he is in worries Megumi since he doesn’t hesitate—not even for a second—to put his arms around the younger man. One of his hands swiftly disappears inside Itadori’s messed-up hair while the other settles onto his back, in an attempt to show his friend that he isn’t alone, that he is there for him. Fushiguro seems unsure about how to answer though; he is somewhat overwhelmed by the state his friend is in, with his body trembling furiously while tears fall from his eyes and onto Megumi’s skin—never before has he seen Yūji like this.
“You had a nightmare,” he then says, his voice soft and gentle, the words spoken in a reassuring manner. “Whatever it is you saw in that dream, it never happened.”
There is no time for Itadori to provide Fushiguro with a response to what he has just said when the voice of his second roommate can be heard coming from behind them, and Nobara rushes to step right beside the two of them the moment she speaks, “Yūji, Megumi, what’s wrong?”
The young woman sounds worried as the words leave her lips, meanwhile, the touch of her fingers on Yūji’s back feels gentle and the simple contact provides Itadori with the assurance that she as well is there, that he isn’t alone.
“Seems like he had a terrible nightmare,” Megumi speaks as his fingers tenderly stroke through Yūji’s messy hair and across his trembling back. Occasionally, they bump into Nobara’s who is now doing the very same, their touches and words aiding him to calm down. Still, Itadori doesn’t need to close his eyes to see the imagery that has been portrayed in his dream, that has materialized inside his head, the pictures having etched themselves into his mind.
It is only when Yūji is no longer sobbing against Megumi’s shoulder, his body having ceased to tremble uncontrollably beneath his friends’ fingers, that Fushiguro brings some space between the two of them. And although Itadori doesn’t want to let go of Megumi, he doesn’t protest as he and Nobara guide him into the living room.
The touch of their hands on his shoulders feels light as they push him into the soft fabric of the couch. Fushiguro settles down right next to him, leaving Yūji’s side for not even a second, while Nobara exits the room, but only for a short moment to get her friend something to drink.
Although the pictures are still in his head, his friends’ actions help Yūji to steady himself in reality and to recognize the nightmare he just has experienced as such when he finally begins to remember who he truly is. He isn’t some monster. He isn’t a killer. And he especially doesn’t possess the kind of powers he called his own in his dream, the powers he used to kill all those innocent people. No, that isn’t him. He is Itadori Yūji, a mere university student who is stumbling through life with his two best friends by his side. His dream is nothing but a dream.
Itadori feels guilt grab hold of him once he realizes that, with his actions, he seems to have ripped his friends out of their previous activities—maybe he has screamed in his dreams and had so attracted Megumi to his room, Nobara following shortly after since she hadn’t been able to overhear his friend’s crying.
Spread out on the table as well as on the ground between the couch and the TV his eyes spot countless books and hand-written notes that indicate how at least one of his friends had been studying—probably Megumi. Meanwhile, the turned-on TV as well as the controller resting on the table close to a bunch of the notes suggests that someone else had played a video game—Yūji thinks that one to be Nobara.
It is rather late, but that his two friends have stayed up for so long isn’t too surprising—and if Itadori is honest, he himself has only gone to bed so early because the day has tired him out; his actions now cause him to wish he would’ve just ignored the feeling.
“Sorry, for being such a nuisance,” Yūji apologizes and his words are the reason Nobara slumps against his side, her head finding its place on her friend’s shoulder as a reply swiftly leaves her lips, “Don’t say that. That must’ve been a horrifying dream if it got you feeling all worked up like this.”
Megumi can only agree with her words before he asks Itadori if he is feeling better now. The younger man nods but does so with hesitation. Because although he has managed to assure himself that this right here is reality and that his dream has been nothing but—well—a dream, he still sees frames of it appear before his vision. The gruesome images torment his mind.
“I do,” he then speaks and the exhaustion is clearly audible in his quiet voice, “but I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep again tonight.”
Both Megumi and Nobara know that staying awake like Itadori is probably planning to do is a bad idea. They have classes at university tomorrow, and if Yūji falls asleep during one of them and gets tormented by another nightmare then that would be even worse than if he has one at home. (But of course, none of them wishes him to have another one even if it is ‘just’ at home.)
“You should though. We have classes tomorrow—nope—today,” Megumi reminds him, and quickly Nobara follows up with a suggestion, “How about that; we all sleep together tonight? Then you don’t have to be alone and Megumi and I can keep the nightmares away.”
“And how do you intend to do that?” Yūji asks. He appreciates his friend’s suggestion but is visibly curious about her answer.
“They are scared. If they see Megumi and me, the nightmares won’t dare come after you!”
Nobara’s reply causes Yūji’s lips to curl up into a soft smile, one that only grows upon hearing Fushiguro’s next words, “We should sleep in your room then. You have a dreamcatcher as well, right?”
“Oh, so that is your secret,” Itadori throws in, and he can’t deny that the revelation of his friend having a dreamcatcher is a surprising one. (But hey, maybe it really would help him.)
Yūji laughs in amusement as his two friends keep on bickering and the sound causes both, Megumi and Nobara, to feel somewhat relieved since Itadori is now no longer shaking and crying as he has done so around half an hour ago.
It is when a yawn fights its way across Kugisaki’s lips that Megumi rises from the couch while he grabs the controller resting on the table before them, but only to give it into Nobara’s hands, the words “Let’s go to bed.” leaving his lips as he does so.
Quickly, the young woman turns off the game and TV before she gets up as well. Both, her and Megumi, now grab one of Yūji’s hands and pull him with them off the couch and out of the living room into Nobara’s room instead.
Kugisaki’s bed is big, but still, for the three of them there is barely enough space; luckily that is something that doesn’t really bother any of them.
Nobara is the first of them to lie down and Yūji follows her not even a second later since the young woman drags him with her into the soft cushions of her bed. Fushiguro is the last one to lie down after he has turned off the lights.
Kugisaki’s body feels warm behind Itadori as she throws an arm over him and Megumi; the older man does the same a mere moment later, the two of them now trapping their friend in between them, but Yūji doesn’t mind. Instead, he simply enjoys their closeness and their warmth, their soft touches and the feeling of home they provide him with, their warm breath that tickles his skin and causes goosebumps to spread across his body.
Between the two of them, Itadori feels safe. As if no nightmare would ever dare to torment his mind and no evil could ever befall him.
“Good night,” he whispers as Megumi pulls the blanket over their exhausted bodies before he cuddles even closer to his friend who simply revels in the sensation.
“Good night,” Fushiguro answers and his voice is as quiet as that of his friend; Nobara follows shortly after, “Sleep well.”
“Through the power of the dreamcatcher,” Megumi mumbles, and his remark earns him a response sides Nobara, the simple words “Oh shut up” leaving her lips while Yūji can’t help but chuckle in amusement. It is shortly after that they fall quiet, and while Kugisaki is the first to doze off swiftly followed by Fushiguro, Itadori is awake for much longer, unable to fall asleep.
And so he simply enjoys his friends’ closeness as well as the feeling of comfort they provide him with until he too finally drifts off into slumber with the stars shining and glimmering brightly in the dark night sky. They are no longer judging him; because they know who he is.