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"Great job, Yuji!" Gojo congratulated the first year with a proud grin and a clap of a hand on his shoulder. "You've gotten better at using those extra eyes of yours to watch your peripherals, and even better at channeling your cursed energy. I'm honestly impressed." He turned to his not-son with a chuckle. "And Megumi, good job on staying focused this time." Fushiguro huffed, looking down at the ground, chest heaving with the effort of regaining his breath.
It had been a month or so since he'd gained control of the extra set of eyes consuming the first finger of Sukuna had given him. He'd started to open them around the time he'd met Junpei, during his training with Gojo before the Exchange Event. It was pretty uncomfortable, and somewhat dizzying at first, especially considering his sight wasn't the clearest through those eyes. But now, he could open them at will, and see through well enough that he wouldn't immediately be disoriented by the added perspective. They did give him headaches still sometimes though.
"You alright, Itadori?" Megumi huffed, noticing how pale the other boy had suddenly become.
Yuji forced the eyes shut, hoping to block out the headache and incoming wave of nausea he was feeling. His sides hurt, and the pain around his torso and back was damn near unbearable. This sparring session took a lot more out of him than he was expecting. He only hoped he hadn't overdone it, Dr. Ieiri would kill him herself if he had. She specifically told him to rest after that mission he'd had a couple days ago, and resting he was not. He just couldn't, he needed to train.
"I'm alright, Fushiguro, just a little tired," he lied, trying to keep himself from losing his lunch. He really didn't want to worry Fushiguro more than he already had been. He hadn't been the same since the detention center. Always checking on him. There were a couple nights he would come into his room just to make sure he was still alive.
Fushiguro gave him a look that said he didn't believe shit, and Gojo seemed to be on the same page. Yuji reckoned he couldn't really hide much from the Six Eyes.
"Well, in that case, you two are free to go for the day," Gojo said. "Megumi, why don't you make sure Yuji gets to his room? Don't want him suddenly passing out from exhaustion." That weird smile of his spread across his face as he looked at Fushiguro, who didn't exactly seem thrilled about the idea, and had mostly recovered. Yuji said mostly, because Fushiguro was extremely flush at the moment. Must be the heat and the exertion.
Yuji didn't want to be a burden on him. He could handle himself. "Don't worry about me, sensei, I can make it my dorm." He mustered his usual bright tone, pulling a smile onto his face that couldn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm probably still just a little wiped out after that last mission."
"Even still, you should get some rest, Yuji," Gojo patted his shoulder, his jaw was set in an intense look of concern. "You two go on. Get some dinner and rest up."
Yuji nodded, straightening his posture and doing his best to covertly stretch out his torso. If there was one thing he knew he was good at, it was hiding physical pain.
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Junpei sat on the floor in the dorm living room, sorting through the DVDs he'd brought from his house. The first years were supposed to have a little movie night, or at least Yuji, Fushiguro and him were. Kugisaki was always a little picky in her movies, and Nanako and Mimiko were usually off following behind her like lost puppies. He'd be right there with them, if Kugisaki didn't still scare him a little. She was just so intense, and he was still getting used to how loud and sometimes rude she could be.
He perked up a little when he heard the front door open. He knew exactly who should be coming through that door. His heart skipped a little beat as he laid eyes on Fushiguro and...Yuji. Yuji looked like shit.
"What the hell happened to you two?" he asked, barely hiding his concern. He got to his feet and rushed over to the pair.
"I don't know, ask Itadori," Fushiguro quipped, turning an upset, but just as worried look to the sickly boy beside him.
"I'm fine, you two. Really," he rubbed the back of his neck, fiddling with the short hair of his undercut. "I'm just a little worn out. It's nothing."
"Just a little worn out? You look so pale! Are you sure you aren't sick?" Junpei asked, leaning forward to get a better look at Yuji's face, instinctively raising his arms slightly in case he fell.
"I'm sure! Don't worry about me, Junpei. I'm just tired."
Junpei shared a look with Fushiguro. Neither of them believed him. But they knew asking would get them nowhere at this point, it was best to just wait and do damage control, even if that was somewhat cumbersome and slightly annoying.
"Well, I was thinking about doing a movie night, but since you're kinda down for the count, maybe we can just save that for tomorrow." Junpei lingered close to Yuji, able to feel the heat damn near radiating off him. He definitely had a fever.
"Oh no, don't stop on my account!" Yuji beamed. "You and Fushiguro go ahead. Have fun. I just need to get some rest is all."
Well, his admittance of needing rest was an improvement at the very least. He glanced to Fushiguro again, noticing the little flicker of sadness in his eyes.
"Alright, then get to your room already. Lay down. I'll come by later with some food or something," Fushiguro lightly snapped.
Yuji chuckled. "You got it, Dr. Meg."
And with that, the pink haired boy was gone, slowly walking down the hall, clearly having trouble keeping from stumbling. Fushiguro and Junpei could only watch as he almost limped into his bedroom and closed the door behind him.
They couldn't imagine what would come later that night.
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Yuji didn't remember changing into more comfortable clothes, or tucking his bed and leaving some soft music playing. He didn't even remember making it to his room, nor the food on his bedside table. All he knew was that he was in a fuckton of pain.
A throbbing pain at his sides, radiating through his back and abdomen. It was fucking sickening. He tossed and turned, the discomfort forbidding him from lying still. He didn't know what was causing this, but all he could hope for was that it would pass.
The pain spiked, causing an unauthorized wince to leave his throat. The pain built, and built, until he felt his skin begin to move. He breathed heavily as he sat up, pulling his shirt from his body and trying to get a look at what the hell was happening. He wished he hadn't.
Just below his skin, wriggling under his flesh, looked to be...hands. With a horrendous split of flesh, fingers began to slip out of a new wound on his left side.
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Megumi and Yoshino had fallen asleep together hours ago, Yoshino staying with him, because he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep alone. Especially not when Itadori was clearly unwell. Yoshino seemed to have the same problem. He would decidedly not acknowledge the fuzzy, warm feeling he got, especially not when Yoshino had all but curled up to him in his sleep.
They damn near jumped from his bed when they heard it. A bloodcurdling scream coming from Itadori's room. Megumi had never heard him scream like that, not even when he'd lost his hand to that special grade at the detention center.
"Itadori!" he yelled, shooting up from his bed and to his door in record time, Yoshino following close behind.
"Yuji, what's going on?!" Yoshino yelled. Megumi wasn't sure Itadori could even hear them over his own screams. They rushed right next door, in time to see Kugisaki rushing down the hallway, worry written all over her face. The twins lingered in their shared doorway, seemingly unsure of what to do or how to help. It looked like Nanako may already be dialing Geto's number.
Megumi couldn't have been prepared for what awaited them on the other side of that door. The sight of Yuji writhing on his back and shaking on the floor, with a whole other arm having broken through his right side was something he couldn't have even cooked up his nightmares.
Yuji let out a pathetic whimper, all the screams torn from his throat as an identical, equally skinless arm fully broke from his right side.
Megumi was frozen. All he could do was watch his friend bleed on the floor. Not again. He had to help him. He could help him this time. He was only vaguely aware that Junpei had left his side, shoving past him into Yuji's room to kneel beside him on the floor.
"Yuji! Oh my god!" he yelled. He looked at his arms, panic seeping through in his every move. He cupped Yuji's face in his hands, dawing a blank as to any other way he could help. "It's gonna be okay, Yuji! You're gonna be alright!"
Megumi was at his other side now, his breath catching in his throat. There was blood everywhere. He didn't even need to see it, he could damn near smell it all over the room. "Yuji?"
Gojo appeared a mere two feet away from the boys, blindfold off, bedhead apparent. "You two, scooch a little, I have to take him to the infirmary." Megumi watched as his dad scooped Yuji off the floor, worry etched into the very molecules of his face. "Suguru will be here soon, hang tight." And just like that, he was gone.
Megumi looked back to Junpei, both boys were shellshocked. He stepped over and took the other in his arms, trying to still his own panic so he could help his friend. Junpei leaned into him, hands gripping his shirt like he was his only anchor in the world. As he shook and cried, all Megumi could do was pat his back and hold him tighter. His eyes found Kugisaki in the doorway. She looked like she might hurl at any second.
"What the hell was that?" she choked. "What happened to Itadori?"
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"Damn, brat," Sukuna growled. "Why do you have to go and look more and more like me every day?"
A pause.
"You really are the worst brother a man could ask for."
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Yuji eyes fluttered open, squinting in the light of the infirmary. A dull pain at his sides persisted, but he couldn't glance down to see what was the matter. Not when he saw the worried, sleepless faces of Junpei and Megumi at the side of his bed.
"Oh my god, Yuji, you're awake!" Junpei cried, relief softening the panicked, rigid posture of his face and body.
Megumi stared blankly at him, but relief and determination danced behind his eyes. "I'll let Shoko know." He got up and sped out of the room.
"Yuji, what happened? You scared us! You scared me!" Junpei sobbed, laying his hands on one of Yuji's shoulders.
"I don't know," he managed. His voice was rough and groggy from all the screaming. "I just remember waking up, and my sides were hurting a lot."
Dr. Ieiri quickly made her way into the room. She studied Yuji intently, like she was trying to burn the details of the boy's condition into her mind. "I'm glad you're awake, Itadori. How are you feeling?"
"Shit," he croaked.
"I'd imagine so. I think anybody else who just grew an extra set of arms would feel the same way," she said, busying herself fiddling with his IV drip.
He finally got a look down at himself, and what he saw made him want to gag. His entire torso was bandaged up, as were the two extra limbs jutting out of his sides. He made a face, and he tried to do something utterly stupid. He tried to move one. He managed a single twitch of a finger of his new right arm, which ended in pain shooting up his arm and torso. He could move them.
"Don't try and move them," Megumi snapped, glaring at him...protectively? He wasn't quite sure what that look meant.
"Fushiguro is right, you shouldn't try and move your...new arms...until you're properly healed up," Dr. Ieiri stated.
"What counts as healed up in this case?" Yuji asked. He was scared as shit of this, with the faintest bit of excitement underneath. Mostly scared. Would he ever be able to move without pain again?
"Well, the good news is that once I started RCT, new skin started to form on the arms," she grimaced. She may have been used to all sorts of blood and gore, but that was a new one, that was for sure. "It's likely they won't be pure exposed muscle forever, and will develop skin of their own in due time. Don't expect to move around a lot anytime soon, it'll probably take at least a month before you can move on your own without assistance, and you shouldn't go on any missions off campus for a long while. I might give you some exercises to do to strengthen your new limbs and keep your torso muscles active, but that should be the brunt of your movement in a day. I'll discuss all of this with Satoru when he gets here."
Yuji breathed a sigh of...relief? He couldn't tell. Relieved he wasn't gravely wounded, still generally horrified by all this. How was he even supposed to process this? How would the others see him after this? It was already weird to have 4 eyes, but at least he could hide those. He couldn't exactly hide an extra set of arms.
He looked to Megumi and Junpei. The worry that ate through him subsiding when he saw the soft looks in both of their eyes. These two wouldn't leave him behind over something like this. He knew he'd get an earful from them over not telling them he was in pain though.
Dr. Ieiri left the room when Gojo and Geto showed up, leaving the three alone.
"Yuji-" Megumi started.
"Please, don't yell at me," Yuji cut him off. "I know, I should have told you something was wrong. I should have talked to Dr. Ieiri, but I didn't. And I'm sorry."
"Yuji, let m-"
"It was stupid, I know. Just please, I don't want-"
"Yuji! Listen to me." He looked to Megumi, the shame burning his eyes and throat. "We're just glad you're okay," he said. He took Yuji's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"You did scare us though, and the girls!" Junpei sniffed, a humorless chuckle leaving his throat.
"I'm so sorry, Junpei, next time I plan on growing another set of limbs, I'll let you know in advance," Yuji laughed.
"Asshole," he chuckled, stroking Yuji's cheek gently. Junpei looked to Megumi, eyes still glistening with old tears. Megumi returned that look, and placed his free hand on Junpei's shoulder.
"We're all gonna be alright," Yuji soothed.
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Dr. Ieiri came back into the room a while later, the teachers/not-parents in tow. She squinted slightly at the three boys, and Geto and Gojo shared the slightest of looks with each other before smiling slightly at them.
"Well, Yuji, would you like to hear our working theory on why and how this happened?" Gojo asked.
"Every day I wake up and thank the universe that you are not a doctor," Dr. Ieiri said.
"Satoru, some sensitivity, please?" Geto said, casting a slight glare at his husband.
"I'd rather get it over with now, better to know why now so I can prepare for other stuff later," Yuji said. He felt Megumi stiffen, and Junpei grip on his shoulder tighten.
"We believe it's because of Sukuna," Dr. Ieiri said. Taking a drag of her cigarette, which she definitely wasn't supposed to have in the infirmary.
"I get why he might be involved, but how?" Junpei asked. Glancing between the doctor and Yuji.
"Yuji, remember how I told you that Sukuna's influence on your body would give you access to his cursed techniques?" Gojo said, strolling over to the unoccupied side of his bed. "Well, it just so happens that just maaayyyybeeee he's having a bit more of an effect on your body than we previously thought!" He stilled, his look sobering just slightly. "In all seriousness though, we've never seen anything like this, a vessel taking on aspects of the cursed object they consumed, even while fully in control, is practically unheard of."
"But, not impossible," Geto piped up. "I think we should be prepared for other features of Sukuna to appear on your body in the future."
"Like what features?" Yuji asked, curiosity more than concern driving his question. Whatever it was couldn't be much worse than a traumatic birthing of arms from his sides.
"I mean, we know Sukuna can spawn mouths on you, so maybe you'll get another mouth somewhere!" Gojo said, excitement filling his voice. He was clearly thrilled in a way by this development. Yuji would be too if he weren't bedridden. He could only imagine how many things he could do with more arms. How many groceries he could carry! "Or maybe you'll get his tattoos?"
Megumi scanned Yuji's body, his eyes lingering on the places he knew Sukuna's tattoos could appear. He stopped at Yuji's chin, before biting his lip slightly and looking him in the eye. He looked away quickly and sheepishly, his face reddening a little. Yuji thought it was an odd thing to be embarrassed about.
"I kinda fuck with the tattoos, so I wouldn't be too mad about that I don't think," Yuji chuckled.
"Language," Geto chimed.
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Yuji blocked the punch sent his way by Junpei, catching him in the stomach with his second left arm. That set him on his ass, and he took the chance to pin the other boy to the ground, thus winning the sparring match.
It was just him, Megumi, and Yuji out, taking advantage of the nice weather to train some. Kugisaki was only minorly pissed about this development, given she'd lost her pack mules for the mall trip she'd planned with the twins, but she seemed more amused deep down. He couldn't quite figure out why.
He laid beneath Yuji, panting from the effort of the match. And how close he was to the other. He really shouldn't get this worked up over close proximity with Yuji, or even Megumi for that matter. They were all really touchy with each other. So why did this feel different?
He tried to regain composure, as Yuji and Megumi talked over the match, discussing ways Yuji could use his arms in combat, and ways Junpei could account for an opponent with extra arms. When Yuji finally looked back down at him, his face went blank. His eyes softened, roaming his body and face before stopping on his lips. His grip on Junpei's hands tightened, and he relaxed his second set onto his torso. Making a boy's heart flutter with a touch that gentle should be illegal.
"Yuji? What are y-" his question was cut short by Yuji's lips on his. Yuji pulled back quickly, a horrified look on his face as he stumbled to his feet.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! I'm so sorry, Junpei," he sputtered, pulling him to his feet. "I don't know what came over me! I'm so sorr-"
It was now Yuji's turn to be cut off by a kiss.
"Uhm..." Megumi said. The sight that greeted them was cute. Megumi fidgeting with the collar of his shirt, face flushed. A realization dawned on him, and after a shared glance with Yuji, it seemed he'd gotten the same idea.
"Get over here, Meg," Yuji called teasingly.
Megumi walked over stiffly, deliberately avoiding eye contact. "I can just come back la-" Yuji pulled Megumi by his shirt and kissed him.
"No one gets to finish their sentences, apparently," Junpei commented. Megumi broke their kiss, face red as a fucking tomato. He glanced over to Junpei, the strange want he'd seen in his eyes before blaringly obvious now. He all but pulled them both to the ground as he yanked him by the shirt and kissed him. The kiss broke once they remembered their need for oxygen.
"Now that we've all shared spit, what the fuck just happened?" Megumi asked.
"I don't know, but I'm hungry and want cuddles," Yuji said, stuffing his primary hands into his pockets, smiling brightly at the other two.
"Fair enough," Megumi said, releasing Junpei's shirt. Junpei took his hand, and then Yuji's, pulling them along.
"Lunchtime, then."