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The first time Nobara Kugisaki met Megumi Fushiguro, she thought that he was utterly uptight.
Just his name? Really? Even that potatohead Itadori gave a bit more information than that. Automatically, she assumed Megumi was the type of guy who liked shopping at Hot Topic and shaving defenseless cats.
The first time he surprised her was when she learned that he was up for a promotion to special-grade. Her mind started turning gears. Maybe if I befriend him, I can get a good promotion myself. He seems awfully close to Gojo-sensei too. Maybe…
The second time, he saved her from getting snatched by a curse. She’d stared up at him, noting for the first time the little specks of green in his deep blue eyes and the blush creeping up his neck the longer they locked eyes. Her heart fluttered in an unfamiliar way, and she had a horrible suspicion that it had something to do with the spiky-haired, selfless boy in front of her.
Ever since then, Nobara started noticing the little things. How Fushiguro (or Megumi, as he weirdly insisted on when they first met) smiled endearingly whenever Itadori cracked some baseless joke that made absolutely no sense. How his eyes visibly brightened whenever he was around her, Itadori, or Gojo-sensei. How his cursed energy felt akin to a blanket whenever she could feel it. How he was so willing to sacrifice his own life to save hers.
When the Exchange Event was over, she heard rumors that he’d helped Gojo-sensei take down a special-grade curse. For some reason, both of them vanished for a few days, unreachable.
She found herself calling his phone multiple times a day, a weed of worry nibbling in her chest. Itadori was visibly distraught, while Nobara preferred to hide her true feelings, even in her voicemails and texts.
When they returned, Nobara was surprised to feel…relief. Why? She knew he wasn’t dead, so why did she feel this way? It was honestly concerning.
She could pinpoint exactly when she started acknowledging how she felt. She vaguely remembered that she was returning a book she’d borrowed from him and had knocked on his door, muttering his name. It was the dead of night, so she didn’t expect him to be up anyway.
It couldn’t possibly hurt to just drop off his book and leave…right?
She swung open his door and was met with an impeccably spotless room; not an article of clothing out of place anywhere. A tall bookshelf was covered in nonfiction titles, some of them special editions. Nobara had an inkling as to who bought them for him.
She set the book down on his desk and turned to leave…when a small noise made her stop in her tracks.
She slowly turned to the bed (which she had avoided looking at for some reason), to find Megumi sprawled across it, clearly dreaming. His nose twitched like one of his rabbits, something akin to distress flickering across his face.
A nightmare.
Without first considering her actions, she swept his sweat-slicked bangs out of his face. What are you doing?! She chastised herself and was about to pull away…until she saw his face visibly relax at her touch.
She didn’t dare move as he unconsciously flopped his hand around like a fish, searching. Finally, his fingers brushed Nobara’s and tightened around them, locking her in an impossibly strong grip.
Nobara didn’t know what to do. If she pulled away now, he would definitely wake up, and she’d be caught. If she stayed…what would that mean?
Megumi muttered something under his breath, repeating it every few seconds. Despite her instincts screaming at her, she leaned closer to hear it.
“Nobara…”
She could feel her face redden, and abandoned all caution as she tore her hand away and fled from the room.
His voice echoed in her brain as she lay in her bed minutes later, twirling her impeccable hair with her finger. She kept lingering on the softness of his tone…something no one had when it came to her.
She didn’t realize until much later that that moment was when she’d first fallen for him.
So many things were happening at once.
The absolute madness of Shibuya (she escaped with barely a scratch, thanks to Nanami-san and Nitta-san), Megumi nearly dying in Shibuya (she couldn’t deny the absolute fear she experienced when she first heard the news), and then Sukuna reincarnating in Megumi’s body and snatching Itadori away.
Hearing that Megumi was from the future was just the icing on the cake.
She didn’t hear any of the questions the others had or his explanations. She just kept staring at him, something akin to betrayal running through her veins.
Why didn’t you tell me?
Hours later, she found herself outside his door, fist poised to knock. She bit her lip nervously. What are you doing? It was clear he wanted to be alone.
Something possessed her to knock and enter anyway.
Nobara had to admit, she couldn’t really remember the words that were exchanged. She could only remember the tension crackling between them like lightning, and she’d finally worked up the courage to ask the question that’d been weighing on her ever since she found out he knew the future.
“So…does anything happen between…us in the future?”
She wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and die.
“No,” he murmured. Could she detect…regret?
Hope flowered in her chest as she moved closer, a smile spreading across her face against her will. “I guess you were just as much of an idiot back then, huh?” she teased.
His eyes widened as he stared at her. “I guess so.” Wait. Was that also…hope flickering in his eyes?
She took it one step forward, deciding to be the one who would push. “Oh, for the love of Gojo, kiss me already.”
It was supposed to be a joke, but that intention quickly crumbled as he did. Her body melted into his arms against her will, but she couldn’t really bring herself to be embarrassed about it.
For some reason, she felt like she could truly be herself around Megumi.
Even when the kiss finally broke, they stayed wrapped in each other’s arms, neither letting the other go.
When the sun set, Megumi murmured in her ear, “We should go to bed.”
She raised her eyebrows teasingly. “Wow, Megumi. At least take me out to dinner first.”
His face instantly reddened. “No — that’s not what I meant —”
She put a finger on his lips. “Oh, hush. I’m just joking.”
After quite some bickering (Nobara kept saying she’d sleep on the floor, but Megumi wasn’t having it), they finally came to an agreement: Nobara would take the bed, and Megumi would sleep on the floor.
She lay awake for quite a few hours even after his breathing deepened, tracing her lips with her fingers and smiling faintly. She couldn’t even bring herself to be mad about how girlish she was acting.
She’d just started dozing off…when she heard his breathing quicken. Almost frantic.
She rolled over and stared down at him, watching intently. His face contorted in a nightmare she couldn’t see. His head thrashed against his pillow, and faint mutters were coming from his mouth. His whole body was continuously shuddering underneath his covers.
Nobara got down on the floor immediately, brushing Megumi’s bangs back from his forehead even as his body quivered uncontrollably. “Megumi.”
No response. The idiot…her idiot…continued to thrash, almost throwing off her hold as he whimpered faintly. Something inside Nobara broke. “Megumi,” she hissed louder.
Zilch. She gripped his hand in hers. “Wake up!” she said loudly, almost prepared to slap him if he didn’t.
He bolted upwards, eyes flashing open. They darted in erratic movements before they finally found Nobara’s face.
His hands gripped her face, callouses scratching against her cheeks. “Is this real?” he gasped.
Nobara’s hands settled over his. “Yes,” she whispered.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but his body was still shaking like a leaf. With no warning, he hugged her tightly, burying his face into the crook of her neck. Small sobs made their way out of his throat, but it was clear that he was trying to cover them up.
She wrapped her arms around him, settling her face against his shoulder. “What happened?” she whispered.
“No…” he moaned. Nobara took that as her answer and gripped him tighter. “Whatever you saw…it wasn’t real. Everything will be okay.”
His quivering started slowing down, and she kept her arms around him until he’d completely calmed down. Still, his face stayed on her neck as he whispered, “Thank you.”
They pulled back at the same time, but Nobara kept Megumi’s hands in hers. She met his eyes. “Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together. For as long as I can tolerate you, that is.”
A small smile curled his lips. “Typical Nobara.”
She laughed uncharacteristically softly and hugged him again, leaning against his chest.
Everyone saw Nobara Kugisaki as some uncaring, heartless woman who saw herself as the main character in every story.
Megumi couldn't lie; he thought the same thing when he'd met her the first time. He was glad to be proven wrong, as evidenced by how she held onto him after he’d woken her up.
His cheek brushed her hair, but it wasn’t enough.
Every time he blinked, he saw the same thing.
Satoru. Nobara. Toge. Nanami. All of them…dead. Blood spilling onto his shoes, dyeing them crimson. In the center of it all…Sukuna, wearing Yuji’s face, laughing maniacally as their lifeblood painted his palms.
It was all over Megumi, too. Spreading into his every crevice, infesting his soul, filling his head with the screams of the dying —
Then he’d woken up to Nobara, alive and well, comforting him just like Satoru did when he’d first told his family the full truth.
Call Nobara whatever you like…but nobody could deny that she was incredibly selfless. And he would do anything in his power to keep her safe tomorrow.
Nobody will die. Not her, not Satoru, nobody. If they did…his soul would be as good as dead.