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Megumi had not wanted to come on this stupid survival training trip in the first place, but even less now that the Kyoto students were here as well. Though he knew they were meant to be allies in the grand scheme of things, he couldn’t forget that they had tried to kill Itadori less than a month ago. He did not want to work alongside them all week. When he, Itadori, and Kugisaki had encountered them he had been hoping their groups would continue their separate ways.
Something in the universe must hate him, because instead of going their separate ways, they were now setting up camp together. And to make matters worse, it seemed both his classmates had essentially ditched him. Kugisaki had disappeared the second they started to set up the tents, and Mai had followed shortly after. And of course, Todo was currently taking up all of Itadori’s attention. He didn’t get why Itadori was so friendly with that guy, he was insane. Running around, asking people their types, and beating up those whom he didn’t agree with. And then there was the fact he seemed to think he and Itadori were brothers with some dramatic shared past. Something wasn’t right in that guy’s head if you asked Megumi. But when he mentioned that to Itadori, his friend laughed, and said Todo was ‘just like that’.
With both of them occupied with other things though, that left him with no way of avoiding interacting with the remaining Kyoto student on this trip. Kamo was quick to attach himself to Megumi’s side once they made camp, and he had yet to shake his company. With Itadori and Kugisaki being as unhelpful as they were by ditching him, he had no excuse not to hang out with his senior.
“Fushiguro,” Kamo said, “The two of us can go down to the river to collect some water.”
Megumi glanced over towards where Itadori and Todo were setting up the tents, hoping that maybe his friend could catch the hint he didn’t want to hang out with Kamo and come over to interrupt their conversation. Itadori was still with Todo, listening to the older boy as he talked about something without so much as a glance over in Megumi’s direction. It may as well be as if he didn’t even exist.
The thought filled him with a deep rooted sense of annoyance. Itadori had known him longer than Todo, and their relationship was much deeper than whatever nonsense Todo had made up in his mind. Yet the older boy loudly proclaimed Itadori as his ‘best friend’ and Itadori never bothered to correct him. Now he was actively choosing to spend time with him over Megumi.
Whatever, Megumi thought bitterly to himself. If Itadori preferred to hang out with his best friend Todo now, then he’d have to deal with Kamo for the time being. He nodded his head minutely before following Kamo down the hill towards the river, silently hoping the other boy wouldn’t bring up any clan nonsense again.
————
Yuji watched Fushiguro follow after Kamo with a frown, trying to listen to Todo as he ranted about their ‘middle school days’ at the same time. Yuji had lost what he was talking about when he started talking about how this reminded him of the camping trip they took the summer before Todo’s final year of middle school. Itadori was positive that hadn’t happened, but trying to argue with Todo about it never amounted to anything. Plus, he was a good guy in the grand scheme of things. A little weird for sure, but a dependable ally as well.
The only problem right now was that Todo was taking their ‘deep bonds of brotherhood’, as he called it, too far. The moment their groups had met up, Todo had thrown an arm around him and demanded they catch up. He had been fine with it at first, but as time dragged on and he was unable to escape the conversation he had started to grow frustrated. Now that Kugisaki had run off somewhere, Fushiguro was left talking with Kamo.
The same Kamo that Fushiguro had seemed so annoyed by in the past. Why did it seem like they were friends all of a sudden? Kamo had been smiling, and getting far too close into Megumi’s personal space in his opinion. It really pissed him off. And obviously that was because Yuji knew that Fushiguro didn’t like others crowding his space, unlike Kamo apparently.
“Brother!” Todo’s voice boomed, making Yuji reluctantly drag his attention away from Fushiguro’s retreating form, “now that the tents are set up, let’s go train for a while!”
Yuji frowned at the prospect. They were supposed to stay here and wait until Fushiguro and Kamo got back, then all four of them would go find Kugisaki and Zenin if neither girl had returned. Training with Todo was an intensive process that would take up way too much time. Plus Fushiguro would be worried if he returned to camp to see him gone as well.
“I don’t know, we’re supposed to wait here until Fushiguro and Kamo get back,” he voiced his doubts to Todo with a sigh.
Todo scoffed, “let those boring men hang out with one another. Us real men will use this chance to grow stronger and strengthen our bonds of brotherhood!”
“Fushiguro’s not boring,” Yuji defended his friend, he wasn’t quite sure why Todo seemed to dislike Fushiguro so much, but it bothered him whenever the other boy brought it up, “I don’t know why you think he is,” he added at the end.
“His type is one of the most boring ones I’ve ever heard, of course that means he’s a boring person as well,” Todo explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Yuji latched onto one thing in that statement, “wait, Fushiguro told you his type?”
“Of course, I asked him before the exchange event, I had heard he was a promising sorcerer and decided to be the judge of him myself,” Todo boomed, “I gave him the benefit of the doubt and he still proved to be utterly boring.”
“What- what was his type?” Yuji asked before he could stop himself. He felt bad the moment the question left his mouth. When he had asked Fushiguro the other boy had refused to answer, he shouldn’t pry behind Fushiguro’s back when his friend clearly hadn’t wanted to tell him. Even so, he didn’t speak up to take back the question before Todo could reply, burying the guilt in his gut. Clearly if he told Todo then it wasn’t meant to be some big secret anyway, right?
Todo made a disgruntled noise, “All he said was ‘people with unshakeable character’ can you believe how boring that is?”
People with unshakeable character. Yuji smiled slightly to himself, that was so Fushiguro. He couldn’t understand why Fushiguro had been so embarrassed about telling him that. If anything, Yuji thought it was a sweet sentiment.
Todo must have taken his silence for agreement, “Enough talking about those losers though! Let’s train brother!”
Without so much as waiting for his response, Todo started purposefully marching into the forest and away from their camp. Yuji sent a frustrated glance between his upperclassman and the camp before chasing after Todo, “Todo, wait up! We’re supposed to wait here!” he called after him, “And don’t call Fushiguro a loser!”
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Megumi couldn’t help but feel that Kamo was being weirdly nice to him. Not that the elder boy had ever been mean to him before, but now he seemed strangely… complementary. Ever since they had left camp, Kamo had been carrying the conversation, praising Megumi for his skill as a sorcerer and his leadership over his classmates. Megumi didn’t think he had displayed any signs of good leadership over his classmates, which made the whole thing even weirder.
After collecting all the water they would need for the evening, the two of them left to head back to camp. Only when they arrived, both Todo and Itadori were gone. Even better, it didn’t seem like Kugisaki or Mai had returned either. He sighed deeply to calm the growing bubble of annoyance.
“Well time certainly flies when I’m talking with you,” he heard Kamo say, but all Megumi could think about was where Itadori had gone. No doubt Todo was with him wherever he was, given the fact the older boy was also absent.
“This is the camp right? I told them to stand by, didn’t I?” Megumi grumbled to himself. Why hadn't Itadori told him if he was going to leave camp. Did he not even consider Megumi might be worried about him? But he supposed Todo was with Itadori, so what did he have to worry about? His cool new friend, one of the most talented young sorcerers of their generation, of course Itadori would want to hang out with him instead of waiting in camp for Megumi to get back.
“Hmm, I suppose, but there’s no one here,” Megumi had almost forgotten about Kamo’s presence, lost in his own thoughts as he was. And his senior certainly hadn’t provided any helpful information with that response.
“How can you remain so calm,” Megumi snapped slightly, frustrated about the whole situation and taking it out on the only person nearby.
Kamo didn’t seem bothered by his clear agitation, waving off his concerns like this was a normal occurrence, “you have to remain calm, it’s the trick to getting along with weirdos.”
Megumi was about to protest that Itadori wasn’t a ‘weirdo’ like Todo. But given his idiot friend had willingly wandered off with him in a cursed spirit infested mountain range, he was a little too pissed to defend him right now.
“Let’s just go find them,” Kamo offered, “after all Mai and Kugisaki haven’t returned yet either and there’s a dangerous cursed spirit we’ve yet to identify in the area.”
Megumi nodded sharply and the two of them departed from camp once again to try and find their missing classmates. They predictably ran into plenty of small fry cursed spirits in the process, which Megumi helped Kamo dispatch with brutal efficiency. He was impatient, worried and annoyed with Itadori at the same time. But more than anything eager to find him and get this over with.
Kamo did not seem to share his sense of urgency in their search, “we work quite well together,” he smiled as they pushed through a section of brambles in their pathway.
“You think so,” Megumi deadpanned, not in the mood for a conversation right now.
There was a hum of agreement from Kamo at the statement, “Just as I thought, we are the same.”
“I already said we’re not,” Megumi snapped back without hesitation. He had almost been coming to not mind Kamo’s company that much before he started pulling this bullshit again. Just because Megumi had some blood ties to the Zenin clan, Kamo seemed to think they were kindred spirits destined to rule their respective clans one day. A fate like that was the last way Megumi wanted his life to end up.
Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a loud yell, “Hey, stop it!” Megumi was thankful for any distraction that saved him from that conversation with Kamo. Especially since he could recognize that voice anywhere. But the words that followed the yell had his blood turning to ice and his face twisting in a scowl-
“Wait, Brother! It’s freezing here… let’s train to endure the cold!” Todo’s booming voice echoed through the forest, “Just come into my arms!”
Oh hell no. Megumi and Kamo quickly chased after the voice, knowing they would find their missing classmates there. Megumi tried not to be bothered by Todo’s words, it’s not like he was interested in Itadori, he was just weird like that. And even if he was interested in Itadori, it’s not like Megumi had a right to be mad about that. He didn’t have some kind of claim over Itadori.
Still, when they entered the clearing and Kamo immediately went over to scold his classmate, Megumi leveled Todo with a fierce glare, “Kamo-senpai, I’m sorry for leaving camp!” Itadori scrambled to explain himself. Megumi walked over to Itadori, bumping into his shoulder a little harshly as he did to remind his friend that he existed too. Really what was with Itadori today, was he ignoring Megumi for some reason?
“Where are Kugisaki and Mai,” Megumi asked tersely, “Haven’t they met up with you yet?”
Itadori startled slightly as he looked over at Megumi finally, “Eh- I don’t know,” he replied quickly.
Megumi sighed deeply, clearly the answer was ‘no’ based on that response from Itadori, “Then let’s continue searching for them.”
“Ok!” Itadori grinned at him, the same bright smile that always made Megumi’s heart skip a beat, and almost made him completely forget that he was mad at Itadori right now.
He was reminded of his anger quite quickly when Todo decided to but his head into their conversation, “It seems there is no choice but to suspend our special training for now. What a pity, brother.”
Megumi rolled his eyes. Yeah, what a pity their special training was interrupted. If they were all lucky it would never resume either. Itadori laughed awkwardly, “It’s more a relief than a disappointment… Thank goodness you came at the right time Fushiguro.”
“What?” Megumi questioned. If Itadori really didn’t want to train with Todo he could have just left in the first place instead of waiting for him and Kamo to come find them, “Let’s just go find Kugisaki,” Megumi grumbled.
---------
It was a good thing that they decided to stop waiting and go find Kugisaki and Zenin, somehow the two of them had managed to get lost and run into the dangerous curse that had been roaming the area. With the six of them working together, it wasn’t much trouble to take down, but if Kugisaki and Zenin had been on their own they would have struggled a lot against a curse that powerful.
Now all of them were finally back to their makeshift camp for the night. Itadori had been delegated to cooking duty with some of the supplies they had been given by Gojo before the training exercise started. Apparently no one else in the group really had any experience cooking, so it was left up to him. He was glad he was making something as simple as stew, if it was anything more complicated he, no doubt, would have ruined it at this point with how distracted he was.
Fushiguro had almost seemed annoyed with him ever since they had met up again. Was he really still this mad about Yuji leaving camp when they were supposed to stand by? Kugiskai had done the same, yet Yuji didn’t see Fushiguro giving her the same cold shoulder.
Even worse, he was still hanging out with Kamo. It was cold this time of year in the mountains, all of them were huddled around the same fire that Itadori was using to cook their dinner. Kugisaki and Mai were wrapped in blankets, warming their hands against the blaze, but keeping as far a distance between each other as possible. Kamo on the other hand was so close to Fushiguro their shoulders were practically brushing. And when he spoke to him he leaned ever closer.
Yuji abruptly let the spoon he had been using to stir clatter against the side of the pot, drawing everyone's attention to him at once. The image of Kamo’s face only a few inches from Fushiguro’s playing on repeat in his mind and filling his veins with ice. He didn’t know why it seemed to annoy him so much that Fushiguro was friends with that guy. He didn’t feel anywhere near the same when Kugiskai or their seniors talked with Fushiguro. But then again, they didn’t seem to hang off his side and look at him like they wanted to eat him.
He froze at the thoughts in his own head, where was this coming from? It wasn’t his business who Fushiguro spent time with. And right now he was acting like some possessive asshole just because his friend was having a conversation with one of their seniors, “I’m gonna go for a walk real quick, someone watch the food,” Yuji said through gritted teeth. He needed to clear his head and think about where these thoughts were coming from. He had never felt anywhere near this angry when Kugisaki talked to other people, so what made Fushiguro different?
Once he had made his way outside of camp he found himself walking around a clearing frantically turning over the events of today in his head. He took a breath to calm his anger before addressing what had caused him to be so furious.
It was obviously Kamo being so close to Fushiguro that had caused his frustration- jealousy. That was the better word, Itadori was sure that was the case now. He was jealous of Kamo for getting close to Megumi.
He had never been jealous like this before of his friends having other friends. Nor had he felt it when he saw Kugisaki and Megumi interact. So what made Kamo different?
Well, for one, how much Kamo seemed to invade Megumi’s space, he thought bitterly as he remembered how close their faces had been before he left camp. And how he looked at Fushiguro. There was something different about it than how Kugisaki or their seniors looked at him. It was like Kamo was a starving man and Megumi was a snack laid out before him.
The comparison only served to make himself more mad, and his blood practically boiled at the images his mind conjured up. But, he should have no reason to be upset about someone else having a romantic interest in Fushiguro unless…
Oh.
He liked Fushiguro too. Yuji found himself pacing more quickly as his mind frantically played with the idea, looking at it from different angles. He had been so caught up in everything that happened recently from becoming Sukuna’s vessel, to dying, to the exchange event that he had never paused to think too deeply about his feelings for his classmates.
If he did, he might have picked up on how differently he viewed Kugisaki and Fushiguro. Both were his friends. But he didn’t get mad when he saw Kugisaki making heart eyes at Maki. While the very thought of Fushiguro returning Kamo’s obvious feelings had Yuji’s blood boiling with jealousy.
“Itadori,” the voice of the same boy who had consumed his thoughts rang out through the clearing he was in.
--------------
Megumi watched Itadori storm out of the camp with a frown. He had seemed really annoyed about something all of a sudden, but he couldn’t figure out what might have elicited such a dramatic reaction from Itadori.
“Don’t get killed by curses!” Kugisaki called after him.
Something about this whole situation was bothering Megumi, and it was also a perfect chance to finally escape from Kamo, who had been intent on chatting his ear off since they arrived back at camp, “I’m going to go after him,” Megumi spoke as he stood from his spot by the campfire, “it’s not good for any of us to be traveling alone on this mountain with all the cursed spirits.”
There were a few small noises of agreement from his classmates, and Megumi was quick to make his exit. Once he was away from camp, it wasn’t hard to find Itadori. The other boy was pacing, a frustrated scowl on his face, “Itadori,” Megumi called out once he saw him.
Itadori’s head whipped up in surprise, “Fushiguro, what are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Megumi parroted back, “why did you just storm out of camp. It’s dangerous to go anywhere alone, I thought you would have figured that out earlier after you ran off with Todo,” he tried and utterly failed to keep the annoyance out of his tone, and Itadori immediately picked up on it.
“Why are you so mad about that?” Itadori groaned in frustration, “I already said I’m sorry for leaving camp- and I explained to you it was only so Todo wouldn’t run off on his own! I didn’t actually want to go!”
Now that the lid on that particular issue had finally been opened, Megumi couldn’t stop himself from adding, “well you sure seemed to be having fun training with him,” he scoffed, “and the way he asked you to ‘go into his arms’ you would think all his talk about tall women with big butts was nonsense and he actually has a crush on you!”
He knew it was ridiculous before he said it, Todo definitely didn’t have a crush on Itadori with how he seemed to have deluded himself that the two of them are long lost brothers. But those words had been stuck in the back of his throat since he and Kamo interrupted their ‘special training’ earlier that day. Itadori outright laughed at the accusation, “Todo? Having a crush on me? We both know that’s ridiculous!”
The response only made Megumi feel stupider, which he translated into anger, crossing his arms defensively, “Cuddling for warmth in each other's arms isn’t normal behavior for friends,” he grumbled bitterly, his face heated in embarrassment at the very thought of it. He was aware of his own crush on Itadori, and had been ever since the incident at the detention center. Seeing Itadori die in front of him and having to face the reality of his death had made him realize how he felt in the moment went beyond what a person would feel for their friend.
Even after that realization he had tried not to dwell on it too much, hoping if he ignored the feelings they’d go away on their own. They would only bring him pain. No matter what, their relationship would end in heartbreak. Itadori would be executed one day, there was no getting around it, and the stronger Megumi’s feelings for him were, the harder it would be when that day inevitably came.
“Oh come on, you know Todo’s just like that,” Itadori sighed, “besides, why do you seem to care so much!” This felt dangerously close to his own feelings being revealed, and he could feel the panic starting to rise in his chest.
Before he even got a chance to respond, Itadori continued, “If anything you and Kamo have been much more buddy-buddy than me and Todo. It practically looked like he was going to lean in to kiss you before I left!” Itadori huffed out.
“Me and Kamo?!” Megumi sputtered, disgusted at the very thought of it, “as if I’d ever like him like that in a million years. I barely put up with him to begin with!”
“Sure doesn’t look like it,” Itadori grumbled to himself, “you’ve barely left each other's sides all day!”
“That’s because Kamo won’t leave me alone, you think I want to talk to him,” Megumi replied, feeling like this whole conversation had devolved into absurdity at this point.
“What else am I to assume when you spend all day with him,” Itadori mumbled more to himself than Megumi.
A wild thought entered his mind, “Are you… jealous of Kamo?” Megumi asked, staring at Itadori with wide-eyes.
Itadori froze in place at the accusation, “are you jealous of Todo?” He asked back in lieu of responding to Megumi’s question.
There was a long beat of silence, both of them frozen at the respective accusations. Megumi was uncomfortably aware of how quickly his heart was beating and how short he was of breath. Itadori was certainly jealous, there was no denying that now, not with the way he was acting and how he had dodged Megumi’s question. A small, selfish part of him hoped desperately that might mean his feelings were reciprocated- consequences in the future be damned. But a larger, more logical side of him knew that Itadori’s jealousy likely came from a place of friendship and not romantic interest.
Itadori seemed to be coming to his own realizations across from Megumi. His eyes widened impossibly further, “unshakeable character!” He suddenly exclaimed, a grin forming on his face.
“What?” Megumi blinked in confusion, unsure where the sudden exclamation had come from, and what Itadori had meant by that.
“When I spoke to Todo, he said, you said your type was ‘unshakeable character’,” Itadori spoke a little breathlessly, “I couldn’t quite figure out why you seemed so annoyed that I was spending time with Todo. And then I thought about it-”
Megumi did not like where this was going, he was feeling the panicked urge to escape from this conversation before Itadori revealed the very thing he had been trying so hard to keep secret.
“My name can be interpreted as meaning ‘unshakeable character’. Fushiguro, do you… like me,” Yuji asked bluntly, “like, like me,” he then clarified at the end as if his words held any room for doubt in what they meant.
“I-” Megumi’s mouth felt dry as he scrambled to find a response. What does one even say to a question like that? There was no tact or delicacy, it had been asked so bluntly as if a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ could so casually be given as a response to a question of that magnitude. Should he try to deny it at this point? Claim he was only jealous in a friend way and not a romantic way?
That would be quite difficult to do at this point with how obvious he had been with his crush and how easily Itadori seemed to have figured him out. God, why did he ever entertain Todo’s ridiculous question about his type in the first place? And why had the older boy told Itadori?
“You’re thinking too hard,” Itadori’s voice was far closer than Megumi remembered, and he startled slightly when he noticed that Itadori had moved closer while he was lost in thought. Their faces were only inches apart now, both of their cheeks flushed red, “I like you Fushiguro. Like that.”
This time the clarification was very much needed, because Megumi couldn’t quite believe the words coming out of Itadori’s mouth, “Can I kiss you?” Itadori asked, causing Megumi’s breath to catch in surprise. This was happening, this was really happening. Itadori knew about his feelings and reciprocated them, and now he was asking to kiss him.
A simple yes or no question had seemed so daunting to him before, but this one left no hesitation in his mind before he was replying breathlessly, “yes.”
The two of them remained still for a moment, as if both of them didn’t quite know what to do next. Then Itadori inched forward at the same time as Megumi did and their lips pressed together in a quick, awkward kiss.
It was clear neither of them had any experience in this by how clumsy the first attempt was. Their noses had bumped together and there was no finesse in the kiss itself. Just the simple act of their lips pressing firmly against each other for a few seconds before they pulled away.
Even so, it was exhilarating and perfect in Megumi’s opinion. He had kissed Itadori and Itadori had kissed him back. His feelings weren’t unrequited, Itadori liked him.
————
Feeling Fushiguro’s lips on his own was a euphoric experience. He had never kissed someone before, but he tried to do his best to make their first kiss a good one for Fushiguro. Even though it was a little awkward and stilted, he felt his stomach explode with butterflies.
They both pulled back, still staring into each other's eyes, Fushiguro was the first to speak, “Itadori-”
Suddenly the sound of his surname from Fushiguro’s lips was unbearable. He wanted to hear Fushiguro call him by his first name. The thought of not hearing his voice saying ‘Yuji’ instead of ‘Itadori’ felt like an unforgivable sin, “Call me Yuji,” he asked desperately.
“Yuji,” Fushiguro complied instantly, “Yuji,” he repeated.
Yuji was pretty sure his heart skipped several beats in that moment, “you should call me Megumi as well,” Fushiguro added with a small smile.
“Megumi,” Yuji rolled the name over his tongue like a treasure to be savored, “Can I kiss you again, Megumi?”
Megumi’s only response was to move forward to initiate the kiss himself. This time their faces slotted together more naturally as they both tilted their heads to avoid bumping their noses. Megumi’s lips moved against his this time instead of both of them just remaining frozen as they pressed their lips together. Yuji eagerly returned the gesture, quickly adapting to the new style of kissing and matching Megumi's movements.
The two of them only pulled apart when they started to run short on breath, leaving them both breathing heavily- their faces only inches apart and their breaths mingling in the air.
“So what are we now?” Megumi asked, breaking the silence between them.
“I would think it’s obvious,” Yuji replied with a grin, “unless you kiss all your friends like that.”
Given the fact this whole conversation had started due to their mutual jealousy, the comment elicited an eye roll from Megumi, “no, only my stupid boyfriend,” after he said the last word he looked at Yuji, waiting for him to agree or disagree with the terminology.
Yuji didn’t need to be asked twice, or once for that matter. Megumi had called him his boyfriend and never in a million years would Yuji deny that. His heart was practically beating out of his chest with excitement.
“We should get back to camp,” Megumi said suddenly, glancing behind them further into the forest, “there’s cursed spirits all over the place and we’re bound to attract some if we stay here much longer.”
Yuji pouted, he didn’t want to return to the others. He wanted to stay here and keep kissing Megumi, his boyfriend, forever. But he reluctantly had to admit that Megumi had a very good point, and the two of them started to make their way back to camp.
When they arrived back at camp, everyone was eating already, the food must have finished while they were talking. Honestly it was a miracle one of them didn’t manage to burn it while he was gone.
Most of their classmates gave them a brief glance before returning to their food, but Kamo followed their movements with curious eyes. His gaze flicking between Yuji and Megumi as he took in how close they were standing to each other.
Yuji couldn’t help but be a little smug at that. Maybe he was still a little jealous even if he knew it was irrelevant. Megumi liked him, he was the sole recipient of Megumi’s affections. And though it’s not like Kamo was any competition, Yuji still pointedly sat between him and Megumi after the two of them got their serving of the meal.