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‘I’m gonna be a few minutes late to pick you up from school’
‘Don’t walk home alone’
The text from Gojo lit up Megumi’s phone but he didn’t bother responding. Gojo was just being overprotective as always. It wasn’t as if Megumi had never walked home from school without him before.
There was a time that walking home without an adult was the norm. It wasn’t like this was much different.
Megumi slipped the phone back in his pocket, his hands now gripping his backpack straps before he began his walk home alone. Usually, he would be walking with Tsumiki, but she was going over to a friend’s house this afternoon.
Megumi thought that it was probably for the best. If his sister was here, she would definitely make him wait for Gojo.
The walk home from the fancy private school Gojo had sent them to, was a lot different to the walk Megumi used to take from his old, much less fancy school. There were a lot more people and busy streets in this area, pavements lined with buildings that Megumi had to crane his neck to look up at.
It was a daunting place for any seven year old. But not Megumi.
Megumi would be eight in a couple of months anyway, so he shouldn’t be getting scared at such things. Gojo clearly didn’t know very much about kids if he thought that someone who was almost eight still needed to be walked home from school.
Besides, Gojo wasn’t exactly the most responsible adult. He was childish, immature, and very annoying. Sure, there were times where the white-haired man was helpful and surprisingly caring, but ultimately Megumi was much too old to need someone to care for him like that anymore.
He was almost eight anyway.
A small, constant buzz sounded from Megumi’s pocket as he continued his walk home. He knew it was probably just Gojo calling him, asking him where he was. He really didn’t feel the need to answer. Gojo should know by now that Megumi rarely answered the phone that Gojo had given both him and Tsumiki to stay in contact with him.
It had been a pointless purchase in Megumi’s opinion.
The buzzing from his phone stopped after a little while. Gojo must have gotten the hint and given up. Megumi began to wonder what the man’s reaction would be when he got home and saw that Megumi had walked home alone.
Would he yell? Maybe, it was a possibility.
Most likely it would be a lecture about how it’s dangerous to walk home alone or something like that.
Maybe being yelled at would be easier than being lectured.
Kicking a small rock along the ground, Megumi rounded the corner into an alleyway that led to a shortcut to Gojo’s apartment. The alleyway was much quieter than the busy street, giving Megumi a chance to catch his breath from the hustle and bustle.
But as he let out a small sigh, his breath caught. Goosebumps prickled along Megumi’s small arms as an overwhelming sense of dread enveloped him.
His gaze lifted as he tightened his grip on his backpack and a scream died in his throat.
A monster like nothing Megumi had ever seen before clung to one of the walls of the alleyway, hundreds to slit pupils turning to face where Megumi stood shaking.
A garbled cry came from the monster as it zeroed in on the small, trembling child.
A curse.
Gojo had only just began to teach Megumi about them, a couple days after Megumi had first summoned two small dogs from the shadows. Gojo had told him about the different grades of curses and how to tell them apart.
From his limited knowledge, Megumi could only guess that this curse was a grade 3 or 4. In other words, the curse shouldn’t be too strong.
But Gojo had also said that Megumi was still a child and if he was to ever encounter any curses, no matter how weak they were, he needed to call him.
“Your Demon Dogs aren’t strong enough to fight off any curses yet and neither are you.”
The curse stared down at Megumi as if scuttled down from the wall with its many spindly legs, its joints making terrifying clicking noises as it moved.
Megumi was very independent and mature for his age. He knew how to take care of himself, with a little help from Tsumiki. He had encountered his fair share of scary things.
But this curse…
This curse was horrifying beyond pretty much anything Megumi had ever seen in his short life.
His hands shook vigorously as he tried to ready them in the hand formation to summon his Demon Dogs. His reaction time wasn’t slow by any means, but the curse was quicker.
The curse sprang forward, knocking Megumi to the ground upon impact. Thankfully, his backpack cushioned most of the fall, but the curse had thrown him off balance.
Taking advantage of this, the curse grabbed Megumi’s wrist with one of its many legs, causing the child to scream out in pain and fear.
In retaliation, Megumi kicked at the curse repeatedly. It wasn’t enough to actually do any damage, but it seemed to annoy the curse enough that it let go of his wrist.
Megumi almost let out a sigh of relief as he began to scramble away, his wrist aching as he did so.
Unfortunately though, the curse was not going to give up at only a few measly kicks. Instead, it latched onto Megumi’s ankles, dragging the kid to the floor once again.
His chin hit to concrete ground hard, the thin layer of skin torn as dark red blood dripped onto the pavement. Megumi thrashed and cried, trying to free himself from the grip of the curse that dragged him further away from the bustling crowds that he now craved more than anything.
He should have listened to Gojo.
He should have waited at the school.
Now he was alone.
All alone with no one to save him from the curse that planned to kill him.
Another cry left his body as the curse tightened its grip on his ankles, stopping him from thrashing them anymore.
Megumi knew he couldn’t fight. The curse was far too strong and he was only seven.
He never really liked asking for help; it made him seem weak in his mind. But right now, Megumi didn’t know what else to do.
Quickly, Megumi reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone Gojo had given him. Maybe now would be the time to put it to use.
His fingers shook as he pressed the call button, his wrist still aching from where the curse had grabbed it.
Almost immediately, someone picked up.
“Megs? Where are you? You weren’t at the school when I- ”
“Gojo!”
Megumi didn’t even let Gojo finish before he screamed the man’s name through the phone. His heart hammered inside his chest. He knew the curse would be alerted to his plan soon and he needed to act fast.
“Megumi! Megs, are you there? What’s going on?”
Gojo’s voice sounded almost scared through the phone. Megumi thought absentmindedly how strange that was, because Gojo didn’t get scared. He had said he never did because he was the strongest. He had nothing to fear as the strongest.
And yet Megumi could have sworn he heard the panic in the man’s voice as he spoke.
“Help me!” was all Megumi could cry back before the curse finally understood what was going on.
Reaching forward, the curse drove one of it’s legs into the screen of the phone, breaking the entire device with ease.
A sob escaped Megumi at the sight. The curse had destroyed his last chance at rescue. Gojo wasn’t coming to save him. Even if the man had wanted to save Megumi, there was no way he could possibly find Megumi in time to pry him from the grasp of this curse.
With one final attempt at escape, Megumi thrashed again, before collapsing back down to the cold, hard ground in defeat. He was too tired, too exhausted to fight back.
He couldn’t even summon his Demon Dogs, fearing that they would meet the same fate as him. His body ached, his chin stinging as blood dripped from it, his wrist and ankles throbbing from the curses tight grip.
It hurt, but it wasn’t just the pain.
It hurt to know that he had failed Gojo by not listening to him.
It hurt to know that he failed Tsumiki by not being more careful.
A single tear fell from his eyes.
Megumi had expected darkness to come when he eventually died.
Instead, he was met with a blinding flash and a deafening cry.
That was quite odd in his opinion. It didn’t make sense. If he really was dying, then surely this was not how it ends. And if he just so happened to somehow survived, then what was going on?
The pressure on his ankles disappeared, the curses grip no longer crushing and dragging him. Somewhere in the background, he heard the curses tortured scream ring out in the alleyway.
What was going on?
Megumi had concluded that he was definitely feeling way too many things for him to be dead. But then what had happened?
Had someone been kind enough to stop their brisk walking to help him out. They would have to be a Jujutsu sorcerer if they could see the curse.
Carefully, Megumi pulled his legs toward him, almost protectively, as he pushed himself upwards to a sitting position, his gaze landing on his saviour.
No. It couldn’t be.
Before his very eyes, Megumi saw the unmistakable flash of white hair, the unmatched aura of the strongest sorcerer swirling around him. The familiar piercing gaze of bright blue eyes held an anger that Megumi wasn’t sure he had ever seen before.
Satoru Gojo was fighting off the curse. The curse that tried to kill Megumi.
But how had Gojo found him? The curse had broken Megumi’s phone before he could even tell him what had happened.
But there he was, tearing the curse further and further away from Megumi, pulling it around a dark corner as if to try and hide the gore that Gojo aimed to cause. Megumi knew that that was Gojo’s plan from the distorted cries of the curse that now filled the air.
Megumi could hardly believe it.
He was so shocked he barely registered his bruised wrist and ankles and the blood that still dripped steadily from his chin.
Gojo had come to save him.
Gojo had cared enough to come and protect him.
But as a final strangled cry came from the curse, a new fear crossed Megumi’s mind.
Gojo had been so angry, angrier than Megumi had ever seen him. He had taken that anger out on the curse but what if he still had more. Would Megumi be his next target. He probably deserved it after not listening to Gojo about staying at school. Gojo would be angry at him because of that, surely.
As Gojo emerged from the darkness into the main alley, Megumi’s heart hammered inside his ribcage.
What would Gojo do to him? Surely he wouldn’t hurt him?
No, Gojo wouldn’t hurt Megumi, Megumi knew Gojo. But it was still hard to get the image of it out of his head, especially with the fierce glare that the man now bore as he turned his attention back to the child who sat shaking on the cold pavement.
Instinctively, Megumi curled in on himself even more, protecting him from… something.
He wasn’t entirely sure what he was more scared of; Gojo’s anger or disappointment. He deserved both of them anyway, so maybe it didn’t matter.
His dark blue eyes were fixated on bright blue ones, the contrast between the two even more stark with Gojo’s anger and Megumi’s fear. But to Megumi’s surprise, his dark blue eyes watched as the anger dissipated from the familiar bright blue eyes as Gojo rushed toward him.
Another involuntary flinch.
Another terrified gasp.
A patient boy awaiting his well-deserved punishment.
A punishment that never came, which should be expected by now.
“Megumi!”
Megumi couldn’t blame the phone for any misinterpreted tone anymore. There was no mistaking the fear that crept into Gojo’s voice.
Gojo. The Satoru Gojo was scared.
Megumi lifted his head once more to watch as Gojo knelt before him. He had a few spots of purple on his clothes. Curse blood.
The sight of it didn’t scare Megumi as much as he thought it would. It almost made him feel safer, knowing that Gojo had taken care of the curse.
Gojo had protected him.
“Where did it hurt you Megs, I need to see.”
Gojo’s voice pierced through the silence of the alleyway.
The area had gone from being so full of screams and cries, to being so deathly silent that it was almost jarring. However, Megumi almost found comfort in the silence, favouring it over the distorted cries of the curse that had mixed with his own sobs.
Not really knowing what to say, Megumi simply held out his injured wrist to Gojo and pointed to his chin. Gojo took his wrist gently in his hand and carefully tilted Megumi’s head up so h could get a better look at his chin.
He gave a slightly concerned hum, before turning his attention to Megumi’s ankles. Megumi hadn’t even told him that they hurt but Gojo must have witnessed the harsh grip that the curse had had on them while it had dragged him across the ground.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” Gojo spoke after a few minutes of looking over Megumi’s wounds, “They should all heal by themselves, but I’ll get Shoko to have a look at them to make sure.”
Megumi decided that he didn’t like the kind smile on Gojo’s face. In fact, he hated it.
He hated the way that it made his vision blurry and his throat tight.
He hated the way that it stopped him from speaking out of fear of choking on his own words.
It was too confusing. Gojo should be mad at him for not listening to him and making him run across the city just to save him. He shouldn’t be smiling at Megumi.
“Why aren’t you angry?”
Megumi’s voice was barely above a whisper, his words so quiet that they might’ve just blown away if even the smallest gust of wind had come along.
His words were so quiet that even Gojo, who sat very close to Megumi seemed to fail to hear them.
“Excuse me?” Gojo asked, a confused look crossing his face.
Megumi took a deep breath, trying to stop his emotions from bubbling over. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt tears pricking at the corner of them.
“I said, why aren’t you angry?” Megumi repeated much louder this time, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke.
“I am angry,” Gojo replied, the calm tone of his voice contradicting in words, “That curse tried to kill you, of course I’m angry at it.”
Gojo didn’t understand. Or maybe Megumi just couldn’t understand Gojo. Megumi had deliberately ignored Gojo’s warnings and walked home by himself and look at what had happened now.
All of this was Megumi’s fault, and Gojo still didn’t seem mad at him.
“I mean at me,” Megumi started, looking down at his bruised wrist, “Why aren’t you angry at me?”
Megumi didn’t look up to see Gojo’s reaction. He didn’t want to.
It’s not like he wanted Gojo to be mad at him. Quite the opposite actually. But Megumi knew that his actions deserved to be met with anger. He just wanted Gojo to get it over with.
“Why would I be angry at you, Megs?”
Gojo’s words seemed like a taunt, despite how genuine they actually sounded. Megumi didn’t want to say it all out loud. He was afraid that if he started to do that, he might start crying. He never liked crying.
A gentle hand came to rest on Megumi’s cheek, guiding his face up to meet Gojo’s. The child felt tears brimming in his eyes at the very sight of the boisterous man looking at him so kindly.
“I didn’t listen to you,” Megumi whispered, sniffling quietly, “I ignored you and made you come and save me.”
Gojo pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and lightly dabbed the graze on Megumi’s chin as if it was the most normal action in the world. He didn’t seem deterred or surprised by Megumi’s words, but he also wasn’t outright agreeing with them either.
“It is true that I did warn you about walking home alone and I did tell you to wait for me,” Gojo began, folding up the slightly bloody handkerchief and shoving it unceremoniously back in his pocket, “but that doesn’t mean I’m mad at you. I’m just glad I got here in time to save you.”
Megumi felt his bottom lip quiver. He wanted to yell, to scream at Gojo. He wanted to tell him that he should be angry at him for not listening and that he should be mad that Megumi wasn’t strong enough to fight off the curse himself.
Instead, he simply stated, “I broke my phone,” almost in some form of attempt to get any reaction out of Gojo.
But Gojo just chuckled, giving Megumi a raised eyebrow.
“Since when do you care about that phone?” he teased, reaching out a hand to ruffle Megumi’s spiky hair, “I’ll buy you a new one if you promise to actually use it to answer my calls and messages from now on.”
Megumi knew it was a tease, but he still felt a lump in his throat as he nodded his head. He blinked away the tears as he ducked his head away from Gojo once again.
Gojo hadn’t even yelled at him and he was still crying. It made no sense. Was he really that weak?
Something like this would have never made him cry a couple of years ago. Maybe it was Gojo who was making him weak?
To only further prove Megumi’s point, Gojo gently brushed a few stray hairs out of Megumi’s face, causing the boy to let out a quiet sob.
“Oh, Gumi,” Gojo cooed, bringing his hand back down to Megumi’s cheek, “It’s alright, I’m not mad at you.”
Megumi was right. Gojo was making him weak. More sobs began to wrack his body as Gojo took his bag off his back, careful to not hurt his wrist in the process.
Furiously, Megumi whipped his eyes with his good hand as Gojo swung the backpack over one shoulder before he pulled Megumi’s hand away from his face.
That familiar, warm smile greeted Megumi once more as Gojo brushed away his tears. He carefully wrapped his arms around the kid and picked him up, sitting Megumi on his hip.
Despite Megumi almost being eight, Gojo seemed to have no trouble picking him up.
Almost instantly, Megumi threw his arms around Gojo, burying his face in the crook of Gojo’s neck.
Gojo shushed him quietly as more soft sobs escaped Megumi, bringing a hand up to run through his hair once more.
“You wanna go home now?” Gojo asked, to which Megumi nodded.
He did want to go home, and he wanted to go home with Gojo.
He could hear Gojo chuckle again as Megumi tightening his grip on Gojo as they began walking back home together.
“Thank you for calling me, Megs,” Gojo said as they began to walk.
Megumi simply hummed in acknowledgement, utterly exhausted from the fight against the curse. Except his exhaustion dissipated slightly when a question burned in his mind.
“How did you find me?” Megumi mumbled into Gojo’s neck, “I never even told you where I was.”
“Well, these Six Eyes aren’t just for decoration, kid,” Gojo joked, lightly poking Megumi in this side to make him squirm slightly, “I could sense your Cursed Energy and tracked you down that way.”
“Oh,” Megumi replied, unsure what to say next.
Megumi knew that using his Six Eyes too much hurt Gojo. It was why he usually wore sunglasses or blindfolds, even indoors. Knowing that Gojo used his Six Eyes to find Megumi gave the child a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. This time, the feeling didn’t feel as uncomfortable as usual.
“So, if you are ever in danger or feel scared, I will always be able to find you,” Gojo continued as they stepped into the bustling street once again, “I’ll always protect you.”
Despite the noise of the street and the large crowds that Gojo weaved in and out of with Megumi in his arms, the child felt safe. Even with the looming threat of curses still on his mind, he knew that Gojo would be there to protect him until he learnt to fight for himself.
“Thank you,” Megumi whispered, lifting his head slightly to look up at Gojo, “for keeping me safe.”
Gojo smiled down at him, his eyes now covered with a pair of sunglasses.
“Of course,” Gojo replied, placing a kiss on his forehead.
Megumi knew that Gojo would probably tease him about being clingy later on or make jokes about him breaking his phone but right now he didn’t care.
He simply tucked his head back under Gojo’s chin and let the man carry him back home, the unfamiliar warmth of safety engulfing him with each step Gojo took.
Megumi had decided that Gojo was definitely making him weaker. But maybe that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
As Gojo would say, he was still just a kid anyway.