Megumi, Yuuji, and Nobara decide it's not wise to go back to the school tonight. The fewer people who know what's happened to Gojo, the better. It's unfortunate that all of this has to be discussed in half whispers while a very reluctant child stares at them with clear apprehension.

None of them have much experience with children, but it's acknowledged without discussion that Yuuji's the one who Gojo has decided to trust. And so he's the one who crouches back down to Gojo's level, putting on a tired smile. "Hey Satoru," he says.

Gojo blinks back at him, his eyes filled with wariness. He may have decided the three of them are his best option, though it's more than likely because they're his only option.

"We're going to go to my friend Nanami's apartment tonight, okay? It's actually not that far of a walk from here," Yuuji continues.

It's actually a considerable walk, but a cab is out of the question given that Yuuji's jacket has been ripped to shreds and Nobara's covered in blood and curse residue.

"And tomorrow we'll go to my house?" Gojo asks.

Yuuji hesitates for a second too long and regrets it as soon as Gojo takes a small step back. "We'll try to figure everything out tomorrow. I promise."

And so the four of them make their way out of the relatively abandoned neighborhood. Gojo alternates between putting space between himself and the three of them and staying on top of Yuuji's heels. Every time he pulls away, Yuuji fights against the urge to reach and grab him by the back of his shirt and hang on tightly.

But he has to remind himself that to this version of Gojo, they're all essentially strangers.

Megumi shoots Yuuji a pointed look when Gojo starts to slow down after they've walked a couple kilometers. Yuuji shoots him a look back. He isn't sure what Megumi expects him to do about it.

But at some point, some kind of protective instinct wins out and Gojo doesn't object when Yuuji reaches down and picks him up. He's small and so, so light. It's hard to reconcile him with the sorcerer who was able to blast a hole through a building with his cursed technique.

It's harder yet to comprehend that he'll grow up to be their teacher.

Nobara glances back, taking note of the way Gojo's curled against Yuuji's chest, his eyes now closed. "So what do you think is going on?" she asks Megumi.

Megumi frowns at her. "I've never seen something like this."

"We weren't gone for that long," Yuuji points out.

"Long enough, apparently," Nobara remarks. "Well, if a cursed spirit thought he'd be easier to kill as a kid, I guess he showed them."

"That's probably what this is," Megumi agrees. "Some attempt at making him more vulnerable."

Yuuji feels Gojo stir against his chest and realizes with a sinking feeling that he's not as asleep as they all assumed. "It's not that bad," he tries.

"It's pretty bad," Megumi says gravely. "Gojo's got a lot of enemies."

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?" Nobara shoots back.

"I'm just telling the truth. Even among sorcerers, he doesn't-"

"Let's not worry about it for now," Yuuji interrupts. He can feel the way Gojo's gone from shivering to shaking, and he knows it isn't from the night's cooling temperature. He gives Megumi and Nobara a meaningful look, then glances down at the white-haired child curled against his chest. "We'll just see what Nanami thinks, yeah?"

"We're fucking screwed," Megumi says under his breath.

Yuuji makes a show of nudging Gojo's shoulder, and Gojo pretends to wake up once they're safely tucked away in the entryway of Nanami's apartment.

Given that all he got was a vague text from Yuuji about a problem they needed help with, Nanami stays remarkably composed while he takes in the four of them and introduces himself to Gojo. Gojo stays tucked behind Yuuji, his voice small when he reluctantly tells Nanami his name.

Whatever his thoughts are on the situation, Nanami hides them well.

"So do you know how to fix this?" Megumi asks.

"I wouldn't say that," Nanami replies, his tone measured. "Whatever's happened, I'm the wrong person to fix it. I'll have to try to get Ieiri back in town." He adjusts his glasses, appraising the four of them. "Are any of you hurt?"

Megumi and Yuuji shake their heads. "We're fine," Nobara says.

Nanami looks down at Gojo, who hesitates to answer but ultimately caves under the weight of Nanami's gaze.

"It feels funny like right here," he says quietly, using his thumb to point to his chest. "I think I used my cursed stuff too much."

Nanami nods seriously. "You're low on cursed energy. It doesn't feel good when you use almost all of it up, does it?"

Gojo frowns, pouting up at Nanami through thick white lashes. "I had to or a curse would have gotten us." He points his finger up at Nobara. "I could see she was going to be too slow. So I killed it."

"Exorcised it," Megumi corrects.

"For fuck's sake, Fushiguro, let it go," Nobara snaps. "And I had it covered."

"No you didn't. I could see," Gojo defends.

"You really think-" Nobara starts.

"Alright," Nanami says, putting an end to their verbal volley. "You all need sleep. You can use my bedroom. I'll be up trying to get in contact with Shoko anyway." He fixes the three of them with a look, the implied question clear: are they going to be able to handle taking care of a small child?

None of them are quick to reassure Nanami that they'll have it handled, but then again what choice do they have? With something muttered under his breath about how of course this is the first time in nearly a year that Shoko's out on an assignment, Nanami leaves them be.

Exhaustion hits hard, and it hits fast. Without the adrenaline that came from fighting against curses, it's impressive that any of them are still standing. They won't be much longer without some rest.

It's a misguided instinct amplified by fatigue that leads them to assume that their teacher will want privacy, even now. "So Gojo can have Nanami's bedroom," Nobara suggests.

Yuuji doesn't miss the way Gojo's lower lip trembles. "Yeah. We'll take Nanami's bedroom and have a sleepover," he adds. He's not sure how much his presence will help, but he hopes Gojo sees it as better than being alone.

"And I'll take the futon," Nobara continues.

"What about-" Megumi starts.

"The floor's yours," she says brightly.

It's not as if Megumi and Nobara have been particularly helpful with Gojo, but all the same their presence has been a buffer. When he's left alone with Gojo, Yuuji suddenly feels less confident in what he's doing.

"You're pretty tired, right?" he asks Gojo.

Gojo shrugs. "You're supposed to brush your teeth and put pajamas on before going to bed. This feels weird."

"Yeah, this whole night's been pretty weird, huh?" Yuuji agrees. He contemplates, then decides Nanami won't mind if they take some of his clothes. "I promise it'll be fine if you don't brush your teeth for one night. And we'll borrow some stuff from Nanami."

"How do you know him?" Gojo asks as Yuuji opens the drawers of Nanami's dresser.

"He's a sorcerer. A strong one."

"A special grade?"

"Nah, not quite." Yuuji shrugs out of his ruined jacket and into one of Nanami's shirts. It's too big on him but better than nothing. He keeps sorting through the contents of dresser drawers, though it's a pointless task. Everything's going to be too big for a kid.

"Yuuji," Gojo says quietly.

"Yeah?" Yuuji pauses his search, turning to face Gojo.

"Did those curses show up because of me?"

Yuuji frowns, unable to follow Gojo's train of thought. "Why would they?"

"Cause it always happens."

"What do you mean?"

Gojo looks down at the ground. "If I stay somewhere too long, the curses start coming. And special grades too."

Yuuji's heard other people talk before about how strong Gojo is, how curses became stronger because his birth tipped the balance of the jujutsu world. He'd never considered that people were talking literally. "Nah, I don't think those curses were looking for you," he lies. "Don't worry about it."

Gojo looks hesitant but he says, "Okay."

Yuuji holds out one of Nanami's shirts. "It's gonna be way too big for you. But it's better than nothing, yeah? We'll make it work for one night."

Gojo nods, and Yuuji turns back around to face the wall while Gojo gets out of his clothes and into the tragically oversized nightshirt. He manages to not laugh, to not even grin, when he turns around and takes in the sight of the tiny kid drowning in fabric, though if he weren't running on empty, he'd probably have a harder time containing himself.

Gojo crawls up into the bed. He meets Yuuji's eyes, watching him closely. Yuuji half wonders if those intense blue eyes won't glow in the dark after he shuts the lights off.

"I think it's okay to trust you," Gojo finally says. "Even though I'm not supposed to."

Yuuji's unsure how to respond. He settles for saying, "Yeah. Let's get some sleep, okay?"

He turns off the light and makes his way through the dark back to the bed. It's large enough that two adults could comfortably share it and have plenty of space. Gojo's so small, but still, Yuuji keeps to his edge of the bed, wanting to give Gojo as much space as he can.

Sleep has almost caught Yuuji when Gojo curls up next to him. "I don't like this," Gojo says quietly.

Yuuji isn't sure what part of their current situation Gojo is referring to, whether it's the fact that he's been left with no choice but to trust a bunch of strangers or is having to spend the night in an unfamiliar bedroom without a night light. So he says, "You're being really brave, you know?"

"I am?"

"Yeah. You took out that curse like a pro."

Gojo exhales loudly. "It wasn't a strong curse."

"But still."

Gojo dips his head, burying it in the fabric of Yuuji's shirt. "I'm supposed to be the strongest one day."

"Who told you that?"

"Everyone."

"Ah." Tentatively, Yuuji reaches out, wrapping an arm around Gojo. "Well don't worry about that for now, okay? We've got you." When Gojo doesn't reply, he continues on. "You saw Megumi's shikigami. He's got a bunch more he can summon too. And Nobara's the strongest girl I know. She's kinda scary sometimes, but she won't let anything bad happen to you. And I'm...well, I'm still kind of new to everything. But I've got a great teacher. I haven't known him that long, but he's been teaching me a lot."

Gojo doesn't reply. Yuuji opens his mouth to continue rambling, then realizes Gojo's managed to fall asleep.

Yuuji releases a long breath, closing his eyes too. "We'll fix this, Gojo," he says quietly. "I promise."