Chapter Text
Heartbeat.
That’s all he could hear amidst the chaos that ensued. His own beating heartbeat. It was sickening. Why does his heartbeat continue to drum along? Why his only? He was meant to save people, so why did more and more lose their heartbeat? He can hear it. He could hear everyone's heartbeat. Drumming healthily, only to slowly lose their rhythm until coming to an inevitable stop.
“It’s your fault, brat.” He can hear in the back of his mind, barely audible over the sound of his own pounding, disgustingly beating heartbeat. Black, slimy veins crawling over his body, taking over him, “They’re all gone because of you.” Continued that grating voice. He didn’t deserve to be alive anymore. The things he’d done. The people he’d lost. He couldn’t move, perhaps it’d be better if he just di-
“YUJI-”
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6 months, it had been since Yuji Itadori woke up to unnatural powers after being bitten by what Satoru Gojo called a “radioactive spider.” He’d originally met Satoru Gojo while on a school trip to his famous lab, where he encountered said “radioactive spider.” Ending up going to the same college where he worked was just a coincidence, really, but he was able to gain a few answers as to what exactly happened to him (since apparently Satoru Gojo has eyes literally everywhere and found out Itadori’s secret pretty quickly). His powers include that of crawling on walls and shooting spiderwebs out of his wrists and super strength. Since then, he’d begun his crusade of vigilantism, swinging around the city of Tokyo in blue and red spandex by the name of “Spider-man”.
He’d only managed to save stolen bikes and put little sticky notes, hoping to contact the owner of said bike, and direct old ladies to the train station, but, overall, his job as friendly neighborhood spider-man was paying off! (At least for him.) He’d gained some traction on social media and perhaps he’d be aiming for higher heights soon enough…unless college kills him before a super villain does. See, Yuji Itadori was not the best student by any means, he held great fascination for the subjects that he was taking but when it came to balancing his college life and superhero life…well let’s say balance does not exist. Not only is college something to worry about but also his roommates, one of which he may or may not be actually in love with. But more on that subject later. To be frank, the only balance that Itadori can truly find in his life currently is the comfort his big brother brings him, Choso.
“Well, I’ll be coming down to visit soon enough, so you won’t have anything to worry about!” Itadori speaks to Choso on the phone, who is currently quite worried about his little brother’s transition into college life.
“As long as you’re sure…You know that me and Yuki are always available to talk when you need to, and we’ll see you when you guys are on break.”
Itadori can visibly hear the smile on Choso’s face as he mentions his girlfriend, Yuki. They’d recently gotten together andItadori couldn’t be happier for his brother to have someone like Yuki, and Itadori’s pretty good friends with Yuki after speaking to each other a few times so it really worked out. They’d met after Itadori moved in with Choso, running into each other at the gym they both happened to be working out in. Yuki was outgoing and extremely sociable while Choso’s actually pretty shy (always choosing to be a mile away from Itadori’s highschool when picking him up, to which Itadori still laughs about). Somehow with Yuki’s enthusiastic “What type of girls are you into?” Choso was immediately infatuated, answering a weak, “uhmm…you.” And the rest was history.
“Alright, alright. I’ll see you both soon, okay! Gotta go, bye bye bye!” Since moving to college, Itadori had made it a routine to call Choso every day or at least almost every day, updating his big brother on whatever had happened that day or things he was looking forward to. It was a source of comfort and grounded him in this time of stress. He lived with his big brother ever since their grandfather had died and left Itadori with his final words of, “you’re a strong kid, so help others,” moving into Choso’s place in Tokyo shortly after and starting his Spider-Man crusade, in the name of his grandfather’s dying words. Choso was always there for Itadori, through the good and the bad. Itadori puts his phone down, smiling to himself while pacing around in his room for a few seconds before realizing that he’s hungry and should probably make food for his roommates who cannot cook for themselves.
As he opens the door of his bedroom, he comes across Megumi and Nobara both sprawled out on the couch. Megumi seemed to be reading something that Itadori had no idea about and Nobara was aimlessly scrolling through phone, probably looking at some clothes to buy or planning a shopping trip for him to hold her bags for. His first roommate, Megumi Fushiguro, at first glance seems to be extremely gloomy and hates human interaction, but as you get to know him more his whole facade seems to crack away, at least that’s how it looks to Itadori, though other people would tell him otherwise. Megumi is also the roommate that Itadori may or may not have a crush on…Itadori still has some things to figure out in that department. Megumi also happens to be adopted by Itadori’s physics professor, Satoru Gojo (who knows about his secret identity and is also in charge of a huge scientific company), which makes communication between himself, Megumi, and his professor quite entertaining. His other roommate, Nobara Kugisaki, was quite explosive when they’d first met. It seemed as if no one would get along but yet again there was only a facade in front, Nobara was actually extremely kind underneath her aggressive nature and straight to the point attitude. She’d moved over to Tokyo after living in the suburbs for all her life, similar to Itadori, seeking an escape from such a traditional lifestyle. Itadori believes that Nobara’s found her place to be in Tokyo and he couldn’t be happier for her. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, food.
“You guys know what you wanna eat?” He calls out to the two forms sitting on the couch, both glancing up at him. They look at each other for a split second, seeming to communicate through their minds before shrugging.
“I’m sure you can figure out something, Yuji.” Nobara remarks before going right back to scrolling on her phone. “Whatever you make is gonna be great, so anything’s fine.”
Megumi nods, agreeing with Nobara. “Maybe something with ginger in it too…if you want though, I can help make the food.” Megumi muttered the first part but Yuji was already planning on adding ginger into his meal anyway, knowing it’s his favorite. Although, Yuji did perk up at the last part of his sentence.
“Yeah sure! I’ll get the ingredients out and call you over whenever I need an extra hand!” And thus began Itadori’’s journey of making dinner that night. He wanted to make something quick and easy which meant meatballs and soup. It was extremely simple, to the point he could teach Megumi and Nobara this specific recipe. It was a fan favorite in the household. Humming quietly to himself while cooking he found himself extremely comfortable, living like this. He lived with his best friends in the entire world, living in Tokyo nearby his older brother Choso, cooked meals freely to an audience that (hopefully) enjoyed his meals, and he was able to carry out his duties as Spider-Man with relative ease. Other than the college stress, he lived in a warm and comfortable atmosphere. He couldn’t be happier with where he ended up in life.
Eventually everything was prepped and it was time to shape the meat into balls. He’d done this process a million times before but it wouldn’t hurt to get a little help so it’d take a little less time. “Megumi! If you want to, you can come help me shape the meatballs! I can teach you how to do it with spoons.” Itadori smiled, filled with the comfort of the smell wafting through the air. It felt just like how it did back with his grandpa back in Sendai, warm.
“Alright.” Megumi got up from the couch, putting the book he was reading down (Itadori didn’t recognize the cover), and walked over to where Itadori was standing in the kitchen. This became standard procedure sometimes, while Itadori cooked Megumi would sometimes wander into the kitchen and sit down on the counter, providing each other with comfortable silence or quiet conversations. This time though, Megumi was standing right next to Itadori, body heat emanating from both of them. If Itadori’s face started turning a bit red, Megumi didn’t say anything (perhaps because his face was also turning a little red). Instead, Itadori slowly started teaching Megumi how to shape each meatball, Megumi following Itadori’s example.
It was a quiet moment between the two boys, completing their respective tasks with idle chatter here and there, only the sound of Nobara’s incessant typing in the background. Soon enough, the meatballs were done and cooked in the pot. Dinner was ready to be served. Since they’d moved in together, Itadori, Nobara, and Megumi had made it a tradition to sit and eat together with the TV on in the background, although mostly ignoring it and having light conversations in between eating. It was Itadori’s favorite part of living together, being able to eat in the comfortable atmosphere of his home and friends.
“You guys did good with these meatballs, I will admit.” Nobara begrudgingly admitted, although she did have a warm smile on her face. Itadori simply smiled in response, saying how ‘they’re actually really easy to make!’ and Megumi nodded in response. Nobara’s attention quickly switched over to the TV, noticing that something out of the ordinary seemed to be playing, the news channel. “Hey, isn’t that close by? What’s happening?” She inquired, Itadori quickly recognized the location, surrounded by firefighters, fire trucks, sirens blaring in the background from a bunch of police cars . If Yuji focused on his hearing, he’d actually be able to hear the sirens themselves without the TV, but the only sound he could hear was the beating of his own heart, beating faster and faster.
“Geez, I wonder what happened.” Itadori started speaking, trying to keep his voice leveled and not let any panic seep into his voice, he really didn’t need Nobara and Megumi suspecting him of something right now. Eventually the scene disappeared from the TV and Itadori could hear everyone’s (except his own) heartbeat slow down into a calm rhythm. Relieved, they all finished up eating and Itadori began gathering their plates, getting ready to clean up.
“You cooked, so I’ll clean.” Megumi offered with a slight smile that if Itadori hadn’t already gotten used to, he would’ve missed it. Itadori beamed at him, offering one of his many smiles.
“How about we clean together? We’ll get it done faster that way!” He can hear Nobara’s groan in the distance from where she moved back to the couch, mumbling something like ‘gay asses..’ to which Itadori completely ignored (and if his face got slightly flushed that’s only for him to know). Megumi nodded, smiling a little more, which Itadori didn’t mention, just in case it’d disappear. Seeing Megumi’s smile was comparable to just about the rarest sight in the entire world, something to be cherished.
Cleaning the dishes really didn’t take that long, and in fact wouldn’t have taken long in the first place with just one person cleaning. Aside from the slight panic from earlier, it was a calm sight, warmth radiating from the two boys standing next to each other, washing dishes. As it was getting late, soon enough Megumi, Itadori, and Nobara had each decided to head off to sleep. With quick goodnights, everyone went off into their own rooms, calling it a day.
Well Megumi and Nobara had actually gone to sleep, Itadori on the other hand had a certain…duty to get to. He opened the window in his room, making sure that everything he needed was inside his bag, a certain red mask staring back at him, before leaping out of the open window.