Work Text:
Rain pounded against the windows like drums in the cold autumn air, with sombre black clouds shrouding the sky like a blanket. Gojo was staring outside his office window, his desk piled in stacks of paperwork, making the table look more like a city made of paper. It was one of the days where Gojo’s work consisted of signing his name, reading paperwork, writing reports, and inevitably, marking the students’ homework (which was due over three weeks ago.) His only source of entertainment was the small space between the towers of paper which revealed the window as well as the pattering rain against the glass.
Gojo tapped his pen against the paper that sat in front of him. It was veiled in an evil aura that jeered at him like the devil’s reincarnate, as if it were trying to tell him ‘if you sign me, you’ll have to sign the rest of them, and you can’t go back’. Gojo groaned and spun his pen around his fingers, leaning his head back against his plush chair. He wished that something, anything would entertain him, but it didn’t seem like that would be a feasible situation anytime soon.
All of the students and teachers were out on solo or pair missions, and Shoko was all the way in Kyoto to help the sister school. There was no one for Gojo to bother. Not a single soul in the entire school. Maybe there were a few dead bodies in the morgue or the little children that would play outside the school’s gates on their way home from school, but Gojo didn’t think that anybody– both the living and dead alike– would want to see a 190 centimetre tall man with a black blindfold and wild white hair.
Gojo was about to start bashing his head against the desk out of boredom (maybe his brian swinging around in his head would cause an unforeseen dopamine boost) before he suddenly heard his phone ringing somewhere between the city of papers that plagued his table. Using his Six Eyes, Gojo shuffled around the papers for barely a second before he found his phone vibrating, ringing and lighting up under a few reports. Gojo snatched his phone and checked the contact:
Megumi♡♡(>ᴗ•)
Gojo giggled at the little icon he had put next to Megumi’s contact, before his head was suddenly filled with questions. Megumi seldom called, and Gojo thought that Megumi had blocked his contact when he was in middle school, yet here they were now; Gojo’s phone ringing, practically begging to be answered. Gojo pressed the ‘answer’ button tentatively, while simultaneously putting the phone on speaker.
“Hello? Megumi, are you there?” he inquired through the phone. He waited a few seconds, but there was no reply. “Did you finish your mission?” He strained his ears, trying to catch any semblance of Megumi’s voice through the speaker, but to no avail. Gojo waited for a few more seconds, biting his lip, trying to give the haphazard call the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was a butt dial or Megumi decided to uncharacteristically prank call him. Gojo subconsciously tapped his foot against the floor.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy breathing travelled through the speaker. Gojo’s ears perked up.
“What? Megumi, I can hear you breathing, answer me,” he said anxiously. The sound of breathing got louder, and Gojo heard Megumi inhale as if he were about to say something, when he suddenly got cut off by a loud crash, a shriek, and the sound of rain drumming against a surface.
“Help me–”
The call was abruptly cut short. Gojo almost dropped his phone while he tried to ring Megumi back– one time, two times, three times. They all went to voicemail. Gojo slammed his phone against his desk, papers spraying across the floor and tears pricking his eyes. He tried to compose himself as he picked up his phone again (thank goodness it wasn’t destroyed) and scrolled through his e-mails, looking for the mission schedule. Yet for some reason, maybe because of his frenzied state, Gojo could not find it. Quickly, he gave up and instead started frantically scrolling through his contacts. It only took two scrolls before Gojo found the contact he had been looking for, and he clicked it fiercely, almost smashing the screen.
“Ijichi!!” Gojo shrieked through the speaker. He heard Ijichi make a startled ‘eek!’ through the screen. “Where are you?!”
“I–I’m waiting for Nobara to finish her mission in Hakone,” the supervisor replied nervously, his voice shaking.
“Where is Megumi’s mission?”
“Fujikawaguchiko,” he stuttered in reply. “Wh–what’s wrong?” Gojo ignored Ijichi’s question.
“Where in Fujikawaguchiko?!”
“An abandoned warehouse in Kamikuishiki.”
Gojo immediately hung up before warping to the only warehouse he knew in Kamikuishiki, searching for Megumi’s cursed energy. Yet, there was nothing he could sense. He sprinted outside and looked around the surrounding area– there was a warehouse about a kilometre away. Gojo warped there immediately, and was suddenly standing mere metres away from an enormous curse with around twenty eyes and freakishly long legs, its body towering over tens of crushed trees. It was bashing a large claw against a spot against a tree, and Gojo felt his cursed energy before he even saw him; Megumi was leaning against the wall, blood pooling around his body as the curse mercilessly beat him up. Gojo saw red.
He warped in front of the curse, grabbing one of its limbs and pulling it off in one swift motion. It shrieked like banshee, but before it could attempt to counter Gojo’s brutal attack, the man ripped its head off, with not an ounce of mercy in his movements. Gojo threw its head across the room as the curse slumped against the wall, and he turned to face the boy who was lying on the floor. Megumi’s cursed energy flickered– it was barely there. As much as he wanted to torture the already deceased curse, Gojo snapped out of his rage and sprinted towards Megumi, who was now lying against the wet grass. Rain pounded down on the pair as Gojo kneeled over the boy, his eyes blown out under his blindfold.
Megumi was breathing heavily, blood pouring down his head and flooding into a deep puddle under him. There was a large gash running from the top of his hips to his waist, and his eyes were drooped and loopy. Another large gash was also spread across his collarbone, and there were purple and red bruises all over his cheeks.
Gojo ripped off his blindfold and dabbed the fabric over Megumi’s bleeding forehead, trying to be as gentle as possible. Megumi coughed, large amounts of red liquid spilling out of his mouth.
“Gojo,” Megumi wheezed, his eyes unfocused. Gojo placed the fabric gently over the boy’s eyes so the rain wouldn’t get into them, and the man gently cupped Megumi’s cheeks. “I–It’s cold.”
Before he could even think, Gojo peeled off his jacket and placed it on top of Megumi’s bleeding body. He was bleeding heavily, and mixed with the cold weather and rain, his body would quickly shut down from hypothermia.
“I need you to stay strong for me, alright, Megs?” Gojo said, his voice shaking. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the boy’s forehead, feeling Megum’s blood against his mouth. “I’m going to lift you up, okay?” Megumi barely responded, and instead started to paw at Gojo’s jacket. “I know, I know it hurts a lot, but I need you to stay awake for me, okay?” Gojo gulped down unshed tears as he lifted Megumi’s neck up, but he was quickly interrupted by Megumi whining and heavy breathing. He shivered violently as Gojo attempted to wrap the jacket tighter around his body. Gojo cupped his cheek in an attempt to comfort the boy and rubbed it gently. “Shhh, shhh…”
After a few more attempts, Gojo successfully had Megumi tucked into his arms, the jacket hanging over the boy’s frame. As soon as Megumi was secure in his arms, Gojo warped to the school’s infirmary and placed him gently on a bed near the doorway. Megumi was still shivering, and the white sheets were starting to stain red. Gojo could feel his own hands shaking as he peeled off Megumi’s clothes and his own jacket, and Gojo winced as the blood from Megumi’s body stuck to his jacket. He immediately threw it to the side before sliding off the boy’s pants and throwing them into Megumi’s ‘discarded clothes’ pile. Megumi curled into himself, still shivering like he was stuck in a blizzard while Gojo placed a fluffy blanket (that was probably Shoko’s) over him.
“Wait a moment, I’m going to turn on the thermostat,” Gojo said frantically, practically warping towards the thermostat at the doorway and turning it up. He then started to open all of Shoko’s drawers, disorganising his medical equipment and throwing random items out in a desperate attempt to find bandages. Gojo fished his phone in his pocket, dialling Shoko’s number with shaky fingers. He had to call her four times before she finally picked up.
“Satoru? Why are you so de–”
“Where are your bandages? And your antiseptic?” Gojo interrupted. There was a muffled sound on the other end before Shoko responded.
“There’s a medical table with gauze in the third drawer, what’s wrong?” she yawned.
“Megumi’s bleeding really badly, and it’s cold out,” Gojo replied, shoving his phone between neck and ear, before sprinting towards the medical table that Shoko had mentioned. He heard Shoko swear colourfully through the speaker.
“Have you just gotten him into the room? Focus on the bleeding first, and then make sure he’s warm. The bleeding’s going to cause rapid heat loss.”
“I didn’t know I had to stop the bleeding first!” Satoru yelled, and he cursed as he pulled open the drawers with unnecessary force before he finally found the gauze, to which he made a small delighted gasp.
“Well, stop it NOW!” Shoko yelled through the phone. Gojo sensed Megumi's cursed energy flicker, and he set the phone on speaker before placing it on the bloodstained sheets. “Use my blanket on the chair to keep him warm.”
“I already did,” Gojo mumbled to himself, but he instead focused on Megumi, who was still trembling. Gojo peeled off the blanket to gain access to Megumi's bleeding body, and the sight in front of him made him want to vomit.
Megumi was curled up in a ball, blood staining his knees, and his teeth chattering from hypothermia. There was now vomit mixed with blood staining the sheets, and Megumi's eyes were glazed over and unfocused. Gojo turned the boy over onto his back and gently lifted him up so that he could wrap the boy's stomach in gauze.
“Gojo, it hurts, please,” Megumi begged, trembling fingers gripping onto Gojo's arm. “It's so cold…”
“I know, baby, but I need to stop the bleeding,” Gojo whispered, rubbing Megumi's cheek as he placed the boy into a sitting position. With as much gentleness as he could muster, Gojo wrapped Megumi up in multiple layers of gauze before lifting him up and placing him in another bed. Crimson liquid quickly soaked through the bandages, but it seemed that enough pressure had been placed on them so that Megumi's body could naturally clot the blood. He wrapped Shoko's blanket (that had also been stained with blood) and a hospital blanket around Megumi.
“I’ve booked a bullet train to Tokyo, I'll be in by evening. Make sure he stays alive and try to keep him warm while monitoring his cursed energy. There's not much more I can do until I get back,” Shoko muttered. Satoru hummed in reply before hanging up, turning his attention to the young teenager whose life just flashed before his eyes. Gojo used the leftover gauze from a roll to wipe the vomit and blood away from Megumi's mouth and neck. He watched the boy’s shallow breathing as he sat beside the boy, offering his body as support. Megumi leaned against his chest, obviously too exhausted to deny. Gojo kissed his cheek and rubbed the boy's stomach lovingly.
“Just relax, that's all you need to do. I'll protect you, okay?” Gojo mumbled. He wrapped the blankets around Megumi's shoulders. He dug his nose into the crook of Gojo’s neck, and closed his eyes. Usually, Megumi would’ve preferred to stay miles away from Gojo, but with his injury (and the fact that Gojo was probably warm), the boy cuddled up close to his teacher, tired out.
****
The rain continued to drum down onto the school when Yuji had arrived back. Gojo could hear him calling out everyone’s name as he skipped down the hall. He hugged the sleeping boy closer to his body, and felt the layers of Megumi’s gauze rub against his stomach.
“Ieiri-san?” Yuji asked, a few metres away from the infirmary. “Are you back from Kyoto yet?” He opened the door, and Gojo braced himself for Yuji’s abundance of questions. He looked up, his blue eyes out in the open, and Yuji stared at the teacher, his eyes wide like a fish. “Hi sensei, what’s under all those blankets? Your new girlfriend? Hookup?” he asked.
“It’s Megumi, he got hurt,” Gojo said quietly, as to not wake up his ward. Yuji sauntered closer to the bed, eyeing the bloodstained bed that Megumi had previously been lying across. When he had finally crossed the short distance between him and Gojo, Yuji merely gawked at Megumi, who was still buried under the two blankets.
“There’s a lot of blood everywhere. And it’s really warm here. What happened?”
“Got beat up by a curse. And with the weather and how much blood he was losing, desperate times call for desperate measures,” Gojo replied. There was an awkward silence between the two, and Yuji scratched the back of his neck. “He looks a little thin, don’t you think?”
“He drinks ginger tea for dinner, so I figured as much,” Yuji mumbled. Gojo chuckled as he brushed against Megumi’s cheek again. Yuji stood with his feet rooted into the same spot for a moment, before he started to ineptly take the sheets off of Megumi’s previously occupied bed. Gojo tracked his movements as he adjusted Megumi’s body in his arms. Yuji folded the sheets in his arms before picking up Megumi’s sopping wet clothes. “Shoko called me earlier, and she said she’d be back soon,” he said politely, before rushing out of the room, probably to put everything in the washing machine. Gojo stared into the previously occupied space before he sighed and snuggled against Megumi’s head, his chin rubbing against the spiky bristles of Megumi’s hair.
****
Gojo woke up to a weight being lifted from his arms and he immediately shot up from his sitting position, ready to fire a Hollow Purple. Instead, he was met with Shoko moving Megumi to another bed.
“You’re awake. I thought you died,” Shoko said apathetically, pressing a hand against Megumi’s flushed cheeks. Gojo swung his legs so that they hung over the bed, and he gave Shoko an inquisitive look. “You did a better job than I expected.”
“I’m just good like that!” Gojo cheered, before heaving himself up from his previous position to stand beside Megumi’s bed. Shoko began to slowly unwrap the gauze wrapped around Megumi’s body, which earned a wince from the boy. He cracked an eye open, and Gojo instinctively placed a hand on Megumi’s cheek. Surprisingly, Megumi leaned into the touch, even with Shoko around.
“Good evening,” Shoko mumbled to the stirring teenager. “I’m going to clean and rewrap these, so stay calm for me, alright?” She continued to unwrap Megumi’s bandages, which earned another wince that he tried hard to swallow. Gojo pecked the top of his head.
“Shh, you’re safe now, I said I would protect you, right? Just stay calm,” Gojo whispered. Tears were threatening to spill out of Megumi’s eyes, yet he nodded quietly. Gojo wondered if he was high. Megumi usually acted more apathetic.
****
When Shoko had finally cleaned and rewrapped Megumi’s bandages, he practically started clawing at Gojo’s sleeve. Gojo sat beside him and opened his arms, and Megumi crawled into his lap. Gojo wrapped his arms around the boy, rubbing his back soothingly and kissing his forehead again. He quickly fell asleep.
“I checked his heartbeat earlier. It’s steady now. Hypothermia’s no longer a threat,” Shoko whispered, sitting beside Gojo and handing him a blanket. “You did a really good job, like I said,” she added. Gojo smiled against Megumi’s head as he took Shoko’s offering, wrapping it around Megumi’s bare shoulders. Shoko watched fondly, placed a gentle hand on Megumi’s bony shoulder. “He trusts you a lot, you know? I’ve never seen him act like this, not even when he was a child. Gojo tried to hide his grin in Megumi’s hair and instead kissed the boy’s hairline.
“So you’re praising my parenting skills for once?” he questioned, smirking. Shoko rolled her eyes.
“Don’t get used to it.”
“I never get too used to these things. Tomorrow, Megumi won’t even let me inside the room,” Gojo replied. Shoko chuckled, giving Gojo a small smile as she stood up.
“Enjoy it while it lasts, Gojo.”
****
Gojo was lying across the mountains of skulls, one hand fiddling with his blindfold and the other laying across his stomach. It wasn’t uncomfortable, per se, but Gojo felt himself instinctively lifting his hands up to rub the air. Yet his palm only met cold air. He swallowed down unshed tears, but ended up choking on them instead.
“Please be safe, Megumi. I promised I would protect you.”