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A strange feeling was embedded in Megumi's heart. He did not know why, in short Gojo Satoru is the best sorcerer of modern times! It is impossible for him to die during a war....
Sure at the same time there were many nights when he heard him crying the name of a certain 'Suguru,' perhaps he was the man he had told him about years before. Megumi did not know, he only knew that after his sister's sudden coma only he and Gojo were left, and hearing him cry at night destroyed him.
At first he didn't know what to do, it was distressing to hear him scream but he knew that if he ever entered that room Gojo would pretend nothing was wrong because he is the strongest.
Gojo had decided that Megumi would stay home the next few mornings: it was dangerous for sorcery users to go around without knowing how to fight, and the guardian did not want to risk Megumi ending up like Tsumiki.
Megumi sighed as another 'Suguru' left the man's voice, locked in his room. He looked at the time and read 3 a.m.
The 14-year-old boy stood up, walking down the small, narrow hallway that connected the two rooms, the bathroom and the living room. It was dark; the streetlights outside the bathroom window produced a faint orange light that allowed Megumi to walk without banging on the doorframes.
He knocked gently on the door to the room and slowly opened it.
"Gojo...may I?" asked Megumi uncertainly. The room was dark, the shutters were down so as to prevent any kind of light from entering the room. He could not see, but he heard the man wipe away his tears before sitting down to turn on the light. "'Gumi, are you all right?" asked Gojo worriedly.
Megumi was not the type to get all affectionate and he never went to him at night, even if it was a life or death situation.
"Can I— uh— sleep here?" asked the teenager blushing and feeling a strong sense of embarrassment. "uh?- of course you can Megumi...did you have a nightmare?" said the man surprised by the request "uh- yes, yes I had a nightmare,"
When tsumiki wakes up from that coma she has to thank me! I’m not good at this—thought Megumi. “So, can I?” He repeated again, waiting for an answer.
"Sure, come here bud," the man made room for the boy on the bed by hugging him shortly after. "What did you dream?" he said looking at the boy with eyes so thoughtful they looked like a father's.
What had he dreamed? Megumi hadn't thought about it. He had to come up with something as soon as possible!
“I— uh— I dreamt… I dreamed of you and me in the living room and after a while you fell to the floor, stopped responding and ended up exactly like Miki, but unlike her you were... dead”
Uh, I should tell lies way more often. Megumi thought, hiding a proud smile.
“Really? Oh ‘Gumi, I’m sorry. You’re scared that I’ll end just like Miki?” The man asked nicely.
"uhm- I'm actually scared, about the war. you know you've locked me in the house, you go off to fight now every day and come home exhausted...I'm afraid you won't be able to- survive" he was surprised that he had made up this story in such a short time.
Which then, to tell the truth, was not all a lie. He was indeed scared about a possible death of his legal guardian, but he would never admit it out loud. Well, he just did… But that was a lie so it doesn’t count, right?
He looked toward Gojo and found him with his eyes half wide open "oh Megumi," the man strained a smile.
"you don't have to be afraid for that, I am-" "yes you are the strongest. you have told me hundreds of times. But you are also human, I am not naive or stupid. I see your dark circles that darken every day, I see your worry about this very stupid war and then- I hear you the night. Whoever this 'Suguru' you're after is, I know he's hurting you!" said Megumi trying to keep calm but failing.
"As much as I'm trying to ignore it, I’m worried about you, I don't want you to die," the boy did his best not to sound like a child, but he probably sounded like one to Gojo.
"Megumi, this is a delicate and important matter," Satoru began in a tone he used very little, especially with the children he had raised, a serious one that contrasted his childish character "it's not just a 'I don't want you to die,' I'm not going to die and you know it, but this is a war against someone who will do anything to win it. Trust me," the man said as he looked Megumi in the eye.
"I'm sorry that this situation is worrying you too 'Gumi. I was hoping to keep you away from that world at least until next year," the boy sighed, clutching himself in Satoru's chest.
"When will the battle be?" the question was left unasked, Megumi not really wanting an answer too afraid of the latter. "Tomorrow, he took cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. I will be sent to Tokyo of course," smiled the man, stroking Megumi's hair.
The only response the teenager got was a simple “hmm” , "Gojo-san, do you have to fight that Suguru?" the boy asked.
The man remained silent a few moments, thinning his lips but continuing to slowly and gently caressing the boy's soft raven hair.
Getting no answer, the boy raised his head, looking at his legal guardian. "Got it, I'm right."
"You're a pain-in-the-ass little genius, you know that, Gumi?" the man said with a laugh. "Yes, he is, and there's nothing for you to worry about, okay? I'll be fine, I promise." The room grew quiet as both boys thought about the speech they had just made.
"Megumi, may I ask why you are so afraid for my well-being? I mean...you know I'm the strongest," Gojo asked, frowning a little.
"That's because I know you, even if I wish I don’t. A few weeks ago you came home with red, swollen eyes and I didn't believe the stupid flower allergy was the reason, you stupid idiot. I hear you every night having nightmares and I have also seen your eye bags getting darker and darker each time I see you. I'm not stupid, I know you're not well. And the thing that annoys me the most, is that you won’t accept any help because you’re a stubborn idiot." He looks at Gojo, he could feel his blue eyes studying his face with confusion and surprise.
As he said before, he wasn’t actually the type to get all affectionate.
"Thank you Megumi, but I'm fine. Of course, war is... well, it's a war, so it's never easy. But I'm sure I'll win. Now it's getting late, don't you think?" Megumi looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was a handful of minutes before 4 a.m. so he simply nodded and moved closer to him, knowing that it was a gesture they both needed.
" Tell someone about this and I'll kill you myself-okay?" the boy said, hiding his face on the man's chest. Gojo laughed, a real laugh from the bottom of his heart. "All right 'Gumi, good night" The white-haired man kissed Megumi’s forehead and settling down so as to have Megumi as close as possible.
"Don't die, please Dad," the boy said without thinking or reacting. The word 'dad' really struck Gojo. Megumi saw him as a father....
"I won't die Megumi, I promise."
Oh how wrong he was...