We all sit in the room we started in and watch as Shoko heals Megumi. Choso still has a long road to recovery, but he's stable for now. Yuji is using his blood manipulation to help heal him. Since they're related, Choso can accept the healing from him.
Yuta is worse for wear, and so is Maki, but with the help of the Kyoto boy, I think they'll both make a full recovery.
Megumi is who i'm worried the most about. I think the total amount of black flashes he took was around 10? Not to mention how many unlimited voids and hits he took from Satoru. He's trained with him before, but nothing to this extreme. Shoko thinks she can save him, but it may take a while. Kugisaki sits impatiently beside him. I can tell how much she cares for him. They did hang out a lot before Shibuya.
Todo stands beside Yuji with his arms crossed. He's rebandaged his new hand and is waiting to hear the plan for the merger. So is everyone else. Kusikabe, Mei, Utahime, Ino, even the old man.
I turn and sigh as I hold Niko in my arms. I walk over to the windows and look out at the destruction caused by the biggest fight in history. Will we ever recover? It's going to take a lot, but I know we can.
"What's on your mind?" I hear Satoru ask as he comes up to me and taking Niko from my arms. He kisses our son on the forehead then me on the cheek.
"I just... I'm worried about Megumi. He got beat to death, lost his sister, almost lost everyone he loves. Our family's taking big hits Satoru." I say.
He sighs and pulls me in to him, "I know."
I begin crying thinking of everyone we've lost. Tsumiki is gone, forever. Our little girl.
"Tsumiki." I say weakly through tears.
"I know." Satoru says in a quivering voice. Satoru is a very strong man. The strongest in the world, hell he just proved it. But we lost our little girl. That's something that will make even the strongest break down.
We sit here and cry for a few minutes as we mourn the loss of our daughter. She wasn't our daughter by blood, but she was close enough. Satoru pulls my chin up to look at him and he wipes my tears away. His eyes are red and teary too. He smiles sadly and sighs.
"We have to keep moving. For her. We'll build a memorial, in her honor and to honor all of our fallen brothers and sisters." He says.
He's right. We've lost so many. When we rebuild Jujutsu high, we need to honor our fallen brothers and sisters. Blood or not, they were family. They deserve to be remembered, and respected.
We regain our composure after a minute or two and I sigh. I'm exhausted. Since Shibuya, it's been non stop fighting and stress. And we still have the merger to deal with. Only then will we be able to rest a little easier.
"So, what are we doing about the merger?" Kusikabe asks almost reading my mind.
He walks up limping but otherwise okay. He took a good beating, but no one here didn't.
"I have a plan." Satoru announces.
"Let's hear it." Kusikabe says.
"This better be good." Utahime says.
"Naomi, who did I hide from you preparing for this fight?" He asks.
"What? Well, Todo and Kugisaki." I say.
"Exactly, but that's not the only two I hid from you. Well and...everyone else." Satoru says.
"Who?" I ask.
"Yuki Tsukumo." Satoru says smirking.
"What?!" We all say collectively except for Shoko, Todo and Kugisaki.
"I thought she died trying to defend Tengen." Utahime says.
"She almost did. Luckily for her, her big brother was there to save her. He hid her from everything and came here. When we came back to prep for this fight, I decided to keep her hidden. Couldn't have Kenjaku figuring out a failsafe was alive. But now that him and Sukuna are gone, she should be safe. She's back at Jujutsu High." He says.
"Well, what does she have to do with this?" Shoko says.
"Wait, she's my sister?" Yuji asks confused.
"Not now." I tell him.
"Well, Yuki is a star plasma vessel herself. So, my theory is if we can get Megumi to wake up, then he can change the conditions of the merger since it's his decision when to activate it, and have Yuki and Tengen merge." He says.
"Is that even possible?" I ask.
"I think it can be. Kogane doesn't have Sukuna or Kenjaku to change anything. I think it'll work." Satoru says.
"I agree. I think this will work since there's no outside interference. Problem is, is if Megumi will wake up soon." Todo says.
"He will." I say.
"He needs time. His body is in shock. Like a coma. A few stable hours and he should be okay. Just need to finish his healing process first. I'm close." Shoko says.
I nod, "so that's the plan? As soon as he wakes up, try to get him to change the merger rules and have Yuki merge with Tengen?" I ask.
Satoru nods, "that's the plan. We need to do that then get back to Jujutsu High and activate the merger. Everyone good with that?" He asks.
We all nod and he sighs, "good. Now, let's all get some rest. We've had a long day. I know I have. We can pick this up in the morning."
We all separate to a little area on the same floor of the building we're in. It's a nice hotel building, but we don't feel comfortable leaving the floor to have our own rooms. With international militaries involved, we don't want to be too far away from each other.
Satoru and I take a corner of the room where I can still see Megumi. I'm not very tired. I don't want to miss him waking up. Satoru brings a blanket we took from another room and some pillows and piles them against the wall. It isn't the most comfortable place to sleep ever, but i've slept on worse. Satoru lays a sleepy Niko on his chest and pulls me in close rubbing my arm comforting me. He kisses me gently on my head as he rubs Nikos back.
"I love you both so so much." He whispers to us.
"We love you too." I say grabbing his hand rubbing my arm and squeezing it.
"I'll be honest, I wasn't sure if i'd be here." He says.
"What?" I say confused.
He chuckles, "yeah. I got pretty nervous even before the fight. I didn't know how it'd go. I'm confident in myself of course, but there was that little voice in the back of my head nagging me. Asking what would happen to both of you if I did lose." He says.
"Well, you're the strongest sorcerer. Not because of your abilities, but because of who you are. That's what won you the fight. Not your abilities. You're talented. I honestly believe if it was anyone else, they would have lost." I say.
I feel him kiss my head and sigh comfortably, "I love you more than anything, you know that?"
I scoff, "duh, what's not to love."
He chuckles, "alright alright. Good one dork."
We sit and watch out the window for a while longer. Niko's little snores begin to make my eyes heavy. But I promised myself I wouldn't fall asleep until Megumi's awake. I sit like this for a few hours. Drifting off then jolting awake, trying to keep my eyes open. Satoru rubs my arm, surely trying to help me sleep but I can't. Not yet.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" He asks.
I look up at him and see his blue eyes glowing. His infinity is on, and I doubt he'll sleep until this is all over.
"I could say the same for you." I say.
He smiles and looks at me lovingly, "i'll be fine. Go ahead my love. Get some rest."
"I can't." I say laying my head back on my chest, "not until Megumi's awake."
Satoru sighs and shakes his head above me, "stubborn."
I sit and listen to our son sleep. My eyes betray me once again and grow heavy. It's almost quiet. Excepting Shoko's movements every now and again. I look around and see Yuji sleeping near Choso, finally resting. Kugisaki won't leave Megumi's side and waits for him to wake up too.
Todo is at a window looking out near Yuji and Choso. I don't think Todo would ever leave Yuji's side. He's a loyal brother. Even if they aren't really related. Although, I have my suspicions about that. Another thing to look into at another time.
Kusikabe, Mei Mei, Utahime, Ino, and the old man all find their own respective corners to sleep in. They deserve the rest. They all worked hard to support us when we needed it.
And Maki is like Kugisaki. She won't leave Yuta's side. He looks like he's woken up, and is holding Maki's hand as she has fallen asleep resting on her arm. I watch for a while and eventually see Yuta gently take her head and place it on her chest. She's knocked out asleep. But he dares not to wake her. He smiles as he runs his fingers through her hair.
I smile looking around at everyone. Not everyone made it through, and that hurts my heart deeply. But I'm grateful to have those who did make it. And we need to live on, for them. Tell their story. Share their sacrifice and bravery. Because if we don't, the memory of them will die. And that's not honor at all.
Eventually, I see Megumi's eyes creep open. I sit up quickly and am about to say something, but stop myself. I see Megumi look around the room as he see's Satoru and I and smirks. I smile widely with tears in my eye, happy he's awake. Shoko's been working tirelessly through the night, so once she see's he's awake, she sighs exhaustively and sits down. She deserves a break.
I look at Satoru and smile widely. He wipes the tear from my face and we hug each other. We're both thankful to have him back. I can tell Satoru wants to get up, but Niko is so comfortable that he gestures for me to go.
"Go, I'll see him in a bit when Niko wakes up." He says.
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"I'm sure." He says as he looks back at Megumi. His jaw drops as he taps my shoulder quickly.
I look at where he's pointing and see Megumi holding Kugisaki's hand, looking at it lovingly.
"No way." I whisper to Satoru.
Kugisaki looks back up at him and smiles with a tear in her eye.
"I thought I lost you." She says.
He scoffs, "yeah, I thought I was gone too. But I had some help getting back on my feet." He says looking to Yuji for a moment then back at her.
"Well, now that you're back, I believe you owe me something." She says smugly.
He chuckles and rubs the top of her hand with his thumb, "oh yeah. How could I forget."
He looks at her in the eyes and brings his hand up to her cheek. She leans into his touch and she leans in for him. They both look in each other's eyes and are mere inches from each other. They look unsure, but then Megumi looks at her lips and smirks. He kisses her, softly and gently. She grabs his wrist, holding him there for a second, savoring this tiny moment together. When they finally break apart, Megumi smiles as they rest their foreheads on each others.
"I love you, Nobara." He says.
She smiles wide with a tear leaving her eye, "I love you Megumi."
I have to pick my jaw up off the ground. No way I'm seeing this. Our little boy, all grown up. I look at Satoru and he's got the same expression. We both want to go give him a hard time and slap him on the back, but everyone's asleep and this is their moment. We should let them have it.
"We're so talking about this with him later aren't we?" I say smirking.
"Absolutely." Satoru agrees with a devious smile.
I lay back down and decide to give him and Kugisaki their time. My eyes grow heavy and sleep comes shortly after. The Merger comes tomorrow, but right now, we finally have a moment to breathe.