A fine coat of desperation clings to Megumi like a newborn child. He stumbles through the chaos with shaky legs. Buyo Jr. nudges him in the side, but Megumi pays him no attention. Not now. Not when he can barely make out what the hell is going on.

Where is Yuji?

Hell, is Nobara still alive?

He does not remember how they got separated. There was that volcano curse and some spider demons and then…Megumi stumbles and grips his head. The pounding grows stronger with every throb. It is as though his head is being split in two. He wants to give in and sink down into a fetal position, but he can't. This is no time for weakness. No time to acknowledge the pain. Keep moving forward.

Buyo Jr. jumps out in front of him and blocks his way. The nekomata puffs up his fur and stares him down.

"What are you doing? I need to find the others." Megumi stuffs down the irritation bubbling in his gut. Pushes it down along with the pain in his skull. The screams of burning civilians are scarred into his psyche. He wants to drown in this despair. Megumi tries to sidestep Buyo Jr. but the nekomata refuses to let him pass. Megumi's nostrils flare. Where does Buyo Jr. get off, keeping him from helping those in need?

He needs to find Yuji and Nobara and then contact Gojo-sensei. Surely someone has gotten into contact with him by now. He hopes so. Whatever is going on here, it is far more than the three of them can handle. Curses are one thing. But special grades and demons are devastating. The city, from what he can see, is on the verse of collapse. The damage is too high to count.

He does not have time to waste. And Buyo Jr. needs to get out of the damn way.

Megumi goes to move around Buyo Jr. one more time when the corpse of a spider demon lands in front of him. His eyes widen as he takes in the burned, still twitching, body. That answers one question, but raises so many more. Buyo Jr. growls and fluffs up his two tails. "Sorry for doubting you," Megumi says as he lowers into a squat. He pulls out another sword from the shadows. Maki is going to kill him once she finds out he lost another sword she took from the Zenin clan. "Can you smell Yuji and Nobara at all?"

Buyo Jr. tilts his head and then lifts his head to the sky. Megumi squares his shoulders. He's not expecting much with how shitty this day is turning out to be. But maybe there is a sliver of goodness out there somewhere in the midst of the burning buildings and piercing screams that will haunt him in his dreams. He's seen some fucked up stuff. Comes with the job. And yet, today has him more shaken up than when he came face to face with Sukuna. Buyo Jr. lets out a low whine and droops his ears.

That's a no.

The smoke must be too much for his nose to pick up on their scents. Megumi grits his teeth and turns to the left. The corpse came from that direction. Someone had to throw it. How far? Hell if he knows, but he's got nothing else to go off on. This time, Buyo Jr. trots beside him and does not block his way. Megumi glances at Buyo Jr. from the corner of his eyes.

As much time as he has spent with the nekomata, he does not know that much about him. He knows Buyo Jr. prefers his food raw, does not get along with Sukuna, and does not like to be waken up from his naps. Other than that, he knows nothing else about the nekomata.

Why is Buyo working with them and not his kind? Does he not feel the same oppressiveness the others have lamented on? Megumi blows out a breath. When this day is over and they have laid the bodies to rest, he needs to have a long talk with Kagome-san. She knows how these demons think. What makes them tick.

Buyo Jr. nudes Megumi with his head. A soft purr emits from nekomata. A calmness descends on Megumi as he rubs Buyo Jr.'s head.

Buyo Jr. may be a demon, but he has been by Megumi's side all this time. If he's not sleeping in Megumi's shadow, then Buyo is resting on his shoulders. If the nekomata was up to no good, then surely he would need time away to convene with someone. Megumi pushes the thoughts down and locks them away to unpack for later.

"Fushiguro!"

Megumi comes to a halt and turns to the left. His eyes widen. Nobara is alive? He dashes towards her. How is she walking? Those wounds looked lethal. Nobara meets him halfway. Sweat drips down her face. There is dried blood on her face and clothes. "Where's Yuji? Did you heal yourself?"

She shakes her head. "Sukuna is out."

… What?

"What do you mean, Sukuna is out?" He grips her arms and then lets go as if he's been burned. His heart is pounding so loud he hears it in his eardrums. Did Sukuna throw that spider demon his way? "Yuji should have control over him."

"That volcano curse fed him the fingers. It was the last thing I saw before…" She cuts off and shakes. Her hands tremble as she wraps herself in a hug. "I was dead."

"You aren't making sense. If you were dead and came back, you should be a vengeful spirit." His head pounds. He must have gotten knocked out because he recalls nothing Nobara is saying.

"Look I was dead and then I wasn't. That Sesshomaru guy was there one moment and then the next thing I know, I'm getting sent flying." She drops her hands and, like a switch, her expression turns maniacal. Megumi takes a step back. There is something not right with the twinkle in her eyes. The spider demon must have done more damage than he thought. Clearly, Nobara's brain cells got rocked in the process.

"We've got to exorcise those bastards before anyone else gets hurt," Nobara continues. "And pay it back in blood." She cracks her knuckles.

Megumi sucks his teeth. Fighting Sukuna again is not something he wants to even entertain, but do they have time to wait for Gojo-sensei? He reaches into his pocket. Fuck it, it doesn't hurt to try. But no one picks up.

He tries a third time. Same response. Nothing.

"No answer?"

"He must already be here. We need to find Sukuna and get Yuji to take control again." Easier said than done, but leaving Sukuna to rampage is also not an option.

"We can't take on Sukuna," Nobara points out. "We'd be better going after the smaller curses and then checking on Yuji. I doubt Sesshomaru will kill him."

"We don't even know the guy. Why would some demon lord care about saving the life of one human?" To him, saving Yuji is important. He is one of them. And the more available sorcerers, the more fighters they have to get to the root of the problem. "Not all the demons are working with those special grades. Let them fight each other while we focus on saving Yuji."

Buyo growls and brushes his head against Megumi.

"Fine, we'll focus on the enemies we can take out for now," Megumi accedes.

"You listen to your cat more than me?"

Megumi rolls his eyes. "Buyo has a good point. Sesshomaru-sama won't kill Sukuna because Yuji is important to Kagome-san." Not like he knows if Sesshomaru can kill Sukuna or not. Regardless, Yuji should be safe and hopefully the demon lord is strong enough to hold Sukuna off until Yuji regains control.

"Too bad the same can't be said for the two of you," a voice says, followed by the sound of someone stomping. Warning bells ring out in Megumi's mind.

They turn and Megumi's heart sinks to his feet. On top of a grotesque monster is the patched face special grade Yuji told them about. The patched face curse smiles gleefully down at them from his position on the curse - demon? Cursed energy and demonic mingle together and Megumi isn't sure what he is looking at.

The thing opens its mouth, and a tongue laced with needles sticks out. Its mouth is full of nothing but teeth. Every inch is lined with sharp razors. Its breaths are heavy. The green scales look as hard as armor and its eyes are slit like snakes.

"You like my half breed?" The curse asks, patting the monster. He leans back and swings his feet. "Guess he is a full one now. You know, demon souls aren't that different from humans. Easy to manipulate once you get your hands on them."

Megumi grips his sword. A fine bead of sweat drips down to his brow. So much for going after the smaller curses. Where is Gojo-sensei when you need him? He sucks in a breath and wills himself to calm down.

Now is not the time to worry about anything other than the danger in front of him. No one is coming to save them. Jujutsu is a solo sport. Doesn't matter how many allies he has around him. When his time comes, no one will be there with Megumi when he dies. He has to save himself.

"Getting real sick of you bastards," Nobara says, with her hammer in hand.

"Perhaps I'll keep you around," the curse says. "I wonder if the soul is more fragile after death."

Nobara scoffs, and in the blink of an eye, she goes on the offensive. The curse sighs loudly as the demon swipes out with its tongue. Megumi swallows down the bile. The demon drools as its tongue continues to lash out. Steam rises from the streets. Its tongue is laced with poison.

"Nobara, watch out!" he yells right before the hit knocks Nobara back. Her scream pierces his ears. She convulses on the ground next to him, ripping at her uniform as the poison eats away at her. Megumi drops his sword. There's no other choice. The two of them cannot take these two on and that's if Nobara can neutralize the poison somehow. "Hide in my shadow," he commands Buyo Jr. as he begins the summon.

No one is coming to save them. That's fine. The life of a sorcerer is usually short. But these curses and demons aren't surviving this encounter either.


A/N: JJK is coming back this THURSDAY! Believe we will be getting the Shibuya arc in August. Counting down the days until Kagome and Satoru are reunited. Thank you everyone for sticking with this crazy ride. I hope you are doing well and taking care of yourself. I'm off to go write something fluffy now. My poor little romance heart is breaking with every recent chapter.