Edted by absolem!
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"How are you holding up?"
Megumi stiffened at the question.
After returning to Jujutsu High, Megumi had wandered the premise in thought.
It was a strange situation.
His best friend, who had unwittingly become Sukuna's vessel, was now faking his own death.
His best friend, who became Sukuna's vessel, was now playing dead.
His best friend. Sukuna's vessel. Now faking his death.
Now matter how many times Megumi repeated these facts in his head, he couldn't process them. It was an absurd situation. His dorky friend was the antithesis of the evil Cursed Spirit King, and was now not only serving as its vessel, but had to fake his own death?
Megumi knew the Jujutsu Society was already crappy, but to go so far as to try to kill his best friend?
After what happened with his step-sister–
He cut that train of thought.
Megumi's footsteps were nearly silent as he walked across the Tokyo campus. The roads were paved concrete with cracks in them from being worn down over time. The tall trees swayed in the breeze, the sound of the leaves rustling was Megumi's only company for his walk.
Until his phone rang and he saw it was Yūta Suzuran.
Megumi answered the phone after the first ring with a, "Hello?"
"How are you holding up?"
Megumi had stiffened at the question. Megumi's grip tightened on the phone. "Fine."
"It's okay if you're not," Yūta said sympathetically. "It can't be easy to see a friend become possessed."
"I'm fine. Miss Suzuran handled the situation promptly," said Megumi.
Megumi didn't know how strong Miss Suzuran was. He only knew that she had a hand in training Yūji and Yūta before they came to the academy. When he asked about her previous, both boys gave surprisingly cagey answers.
"Strong enough," Yūta had said evasively.
"She's… pretty cool," was all Yūji could say before insistently changing the subject.
Since she could handle a possessed Yūji, Megumi would guess she was at least First Grade. And she must be clever enough to force Sukuna to heal Yūji–how else would Yūji have survived? That's what Megumi would have tried to do.
Ah… his thoughts were jumbled.
Going back to Yūta's question, Megumi didn't feel he could answer it any other way.
It didn't matter if he wasn't fine anyway, so what was the point in admitting it?
"Mn." Yūta fell silent for a long moment. "I'm going to let Toge know about the situation–"
"Mr. Gojō said not to tell anyone," Megumi objected.
"It'll be fine, Toge can keep a secret," Yūta reassured Megumi. "If you want someone to talk to, and you can't reach me, you can go to Toge."
"That's not needed."
"Maybe," said Yūta. "But I'd rather you have the option nonetheless. How did the other first-year take the news?"
"Well enough, I suppose," said Megumi. "She doesn't know Yūji very well."
"Okay."
Megumi looked up at the sky. He debated with himself for a full minute before he gave in and asked, "... How am I supposed to act?"
"However you want," said Yūta patiently, his voice warm and kind. "Grief touches everyone differently, so how can they know that you're not genuine?"
"Did they tell you?"
"No; they'll probably try to keep it hidden for as long as possible. They ordered Gojō to keep silent."
"And they expect him to comply?"
"The fact that they give him orders at all means they expect a lot from him," Yūta pointed out. "Let them have their delusions. The more preoccupied with fantasy, the less likely they are to bother us."
Megumi smiled faintly at that.
"Megumi?"
"Yes?"
"It's okay if you're not okay."
Megumi didn't know how to reply. His mind blanked out for over a minute.
"I'll talk to you later," Megumi finally said.
"Okay. Take care, Megumi."
"Mn. You, too…"
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Megumi sat beside Nobara on the steps of their dorm. There was a plate of hanami dango between them, courtesy of Lilly Suzuran. The Suzuran matriarch had handed Megumi the plate a scarce thirty minutes ago, kissed both of his cheeks, and told him to make sure he took care of himself.
As soon as she teleported, Nobara rounded the corner and spotted the overly filled plate.
The two moved outside to eat. Thankfully there was a vending machine nearby so they were able to purchase drinks to wash down the sweet dangos.
"Who gave you these?" Nobara idly asked.
"Miss Suzuran," answered Megumi.
Nobara's brow creased. "Is she… okay?"
"She's fine," he said. "She's more worried about…"
He couldn't bring himself to say, me. While true, he didn't want to leave Nobara with the impression that Miss Suzuran didn't care about her "dead" son. Discomfort nettled in his chest. He fiddled with the juice can in his hands.
Megumi did not think Nobara was bad, per say, but he didn't know her well enough to trust her with revealing Yūji's secret. She had to be kept in the dark to help convince the higher-ups.
How was he going to keep up this ruse…?
It doesn't matter. I have to. For Yūji's sake.
"Why are you two so glum? Did someone die?" drawled a familiar voice.
Nobara and Megumi looked up. Maki Zen'in stood impatiently in front of them, one hand on her hips and the other holding a bō staff.
"Yes," said Panda with a grimace as he approached her. "Yūta's younger brother died… Yūji."
"Yūji's dead?!" she yelped, her eyes wide in disbelief. "That's unbelievable."
"Bonito flakes," said Toge, his tone flat.
"Poor Yūta," said Panda. "No one's been able to get a hold of him either, his phone was apparently destroyed."
Megumi wisely did not correct that remark.
Maki's brow creased with concern.
A moment of silence washed over the group. Megumi resisted the urge to fidget uncomfortably. He exchanged an unreadable look with Toge before he abruptly looked away. He cleared his throat. "Miss Suzuran made these dangos… want some?"
"How is she?" Maki hesitantly asked.
"She's… coping," said Megumi vaguely. "Mr. Gojō is with her."
"That flake–where was he when Yūji died?" Maki snapped.
"He was called away, and shortly after we were given a high-risk mission," said Megumi.
"That reeks of suspicion," Maki muttered, her nose wrinkled in disdain.
"Salmon," said Toge in agreement.
Megumi cleared his throat. "What did you three come here for?"
"And who exactly are you?" Nobara asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, sorry, let me introduce you," Megumi stiffly apologized. "These are our upperclassmen, from left to right are Toge Inumaki, Maki Zen'in, and Panda. This is Nobara Kugisaki, our newest classmate."
Maki idly spun her bō staff. "With introductions done, let's cut to the point. We need you two to participate in the Exchange Event."
"Huh? Why us, first-years usually don't…?"
"The third years are still suspended, and we need more numbers. Already sucks that we don't have Yūta–and now Yūji–so are you in?"
"Yes," said Megumi.
"What exactly is this event?" Nobara asked.
Megumi shifted his posture to turn to Nobara so he could explain. "It's an annual competition between us and our sister school, Kyoto. It's split over two days: a team battle on the first day, and individual battles on the second."
"Hoooo…? Sounds interesting. Count me in."
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Seventy-two hours.
It took seventy-two hours for Yūji to complete his sensory training to Lilly's satisfaction. During that time, he did not sleep and he ate while he trained.
To call it grueling would be an understatement. She alternated between cutting off all of his senses entirely, and then overriding them with a dozen new stimulants. During that time, Yūji had to either spar her, track a target, or work on dodging her knives.
She was right. She healed him time and time again, so physically he never needed to stop.
Mentally, he was exhausted.
It worked, but damn was it painful.
The entire day after was a rest and pamper day, but the following day it was straight back into training.
And by that, Satoru Gojō had decided for Yūji to start taking on missions with another sorcerer he trusted. Satoru and Yūji were seated in the living room, a tray of half-eaten onigiri in front of them with a pot of tea.
"It's good you probably won't throw up in a domain anymore," his teacher said cheerfully, "but you need hands-on experience to get you back into the swing of things."
"Why can't I hunt solo?" Yūji dubiously inquired. "Or go to Africa and stay with Yūta? He's offgrid right now, right?"
"Has Megumi rubbed off on you and turned you into a reclusive?" Satoru clicked his tongue. "It's good to work with people outside your family, you know."
Yūji rolled his eyes. "I'm not against it, I simply don't agree with it." Then he shrugged. "But I trust you so I won't not do it, you know?"
Satoru mockingly acted bashful. "Awww, you trust me? You really, really do?"
"Yeah, you're my favorite teacher."
"Ooo, can I brag about that to Lilly?"
"She doesn't count, she's family."
"Well what if you counted her? Me or her?"
"It wouldn't really be a contest."
"Ahh… poor Lilly."
"No, no, that's not what I meant–"
Lilly entered the living room with a black box tied by a red ribbon. She handed the box to Yūji who gingerly accepted it. "Pass this on to your new buddy, okay?"
"Okay," said Yūji.
Lilly kissed the top of his head. "And don't worry, I know I'm the better teacher."
"That hurts," Satoru playfully whined.
"The truth often does," said Yūji.
"You're no longer my favorite student."
"Lying won't change my mind," said the pink-haired boy with a dismissive tone.
Satoru ruffled Yūji's hair. "Cute boy. Come on, let's go do dangerous stuff!"
Yūji grinned. "My favorite kind of stuff."
"Have fun," Lilly said happily.
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They were to meet the Sorcerer in an underground shrine. Yūji had no clue where it was, as Satoru used the magical door in the cafe to transport them there. It was disorienting to go from warm tea shop, to cold tunnel. The transition made Yūji shiver.
The duo did not need to walk far. At the end of the tunnel was a shrine, and an adult man waiting for them.
Satoru Gojō slung an arm around the tall man with blond hair styled with a neat part. He was dressed in a cream-colored business suit with a leopard-print dye, and wore a pair of weird sunglasses that only stuck to his nose.
The man in question stood upright, with his arms folded across his chest. Yūji could feel the spike of irritation from his cursed energy, and noted how contrasting it was to Satoru's. The man was an oxymoron of stiffness and softness.
Rule-abider with a soft spot? Yūji hazarded a guess. He wasn't an experienced sensor, so he had no evidence to back that up. It was purely an intuitive leap from what he felt.
Satoru boisterously introduced the man. "This is Kento Nanami, the ex-salaryman Jujutsu Sorcerer!"
"Please don't call me that," Mr. Nanami cut in sharply, his voice deep and soft.
Satoru was nonplussed as he continued, "As you know, plenty of us sorcerers are oddballs but since he worked for a company, he's got a good head on his shoulders. He's a First-Grade Sorcerer, too."
Mr. Nanami adjusted his glasses. "I'm sure no one would want to hear you saying that about them."
Satoru grinned and stepped away from Mr. Nanami.
Yūji blinked. The glasses were already strange, but the fact that the man wore them underground made Yūji think there was something special about his eyes. That was why Satoru wore the blindfold, after all.
Yūji presented the box to Nanami. "My m–er–"
"His mom wanted to give this to you as thanks for looking out for her son," said Satoru, slapping Yūji's back.
Mr. Nanami wordlessly accepted the box. He opened it to find it filled with hand-made baked delicacies. His expression gave nothing away as he flatly said, "Not needed, but thank you. We should greet each other now." Mr. Nanami stiffly bowed. "Nice to meet you, Itadori."
"Oh, uh, yes, nice to meet you," said Yūji, feeling uncomfortable at the formal greeting. He couldn't remember the last time someone was so formal with him. Actually, he couldn't remember any adult being that formal with him. It was weird. Polite, and kind of neat to be treated like an equal that way, but weird. Yūji cleared his throat. "Thank you for looking after me."
Mr. Nanami said, "The gratitude is appreciated, but not necessary. Satoru explained the situation and I have decided to evaluate you myself. That's all. This introduction has dragged on long enough, it's time to leave."
"Right. Missions. Dangerous stuff," said Yūji. "Fun times ahead of us, huh?"
"Please do not take after Satoru and use fun and dangerous as synonyms," Mr. Nanami dryly muttered.
"But he's my teacher, shouldn't I take after him at least a little?"
Satoru cheered. "Back to number one for that remark, Yūji."
"Come on, Gojō. We both know I never left."
Satoru laughed.
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Bonus:
Satoru: honey
Satoru: mochi
Satoru: sweetie
Satoru: babydoll
Satoru: love
Satoru: bbyyy
Satoru: cutie
Satoru: plum pie
Satoru: my little angel
Lilly: Yes
Satoru: would you please bring me some milk tea?
Lilly: Are you okay?
Satoru: no
Satoru: i'm dying of thirst
Satoru: *coughs weakly*
Lilly: Where are you?
Satoru: in bed
Lilly: And you don't wanna get up?
Satoru: i'm so comfy :(
Satoru: honey plzzzzzzz
Satoru: i'm dying over here
Satoru: DYING
Satoru: take pity on me
Lilly: You're lucky you're cute.
Satoru: :p I wouldn't try this if I wasn't
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Took a break for the holiday. It was nice to zone out and reset.
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Answer: Sukuna & Satoru stuck together and unable to attack each other. I just want to know the dialogue between these two.
Question: Favorite student from Tokyo JJK?
Reviews are love!