Megumi x Y/n | Set In Stone

25 - Plan B

You walked through town, the sun starting to rise over the horizon. The first rays of daylight hit buildings and lit up the atmosphere. You made your way past signs and stores, many of which weren't open yet, passing by a bakery. The smell of fresh pastries and treats being made wafted through the door as the baker put an 'open' sign outside.

"Can't we stop to get something to eat?" You asked Megumi.

"No," He replied sharply, "We need to pick up the finger as soon as possible."

"But I'm really hungry..."

He looked at you and his eyes softened. "Fine, but we have to be quick."

He pushed the door open for you and the two of you walked in. He bought your snack of choice and the two of you continued along the path.

You pulled a few coins out of your pocket. "Here."

"Y/n, I didn't pay that much," He argued, "Keep it."

"But I still owe you from that breakfast you payed for when I first came to school."

"Seriously, are you still going on about that!?"

"Please take it, or I'll–"

You were abruptly stopped when you felt a pair of lips hit yours, making you gasp a little. As he kissed you, he held your hand with the coins in them and carefully took them from you, slipping them into the back pocket of your pants. 

He pulled back and took out his phone as if nothing had happened, his face with a pink tint to it but he managed to keep his composure. "Alright, the finger's one more block away. Let's go."

You looked around to see if anyone had seen, but it was still seven-thirty. No one was around yet. You jogged to catch up to him, your face feeling hot with embarrassment.

–––––

"Why would they put it near a school?" He wondered as the two of you walked beside a fence bordering a school oval. You shrugged, scanning the surroundings for a Stevenson screen.

You caught sight of one at the back of the yard, near a classroom. "Is that the one?"

Megumi checked the map, then nodded.

As you both approached it, you asked him, "What if it's not there?"

"Don't worry, it was dropped off last night. The chances of someone finding it during the night are pretty slim." But he still hesitated when he went to open the door of the Stevenson screen, his finger hovering over the latch.

When he opened it, he stood there and stared blankly.

"Is it there?" You asked, trying to see around him.

"Fuck."

Megumi frantically searched around the wooden box, looking under it, on the sides and sticking his head in it.

"Megumi?" You said, your voice quiet with fear.

"It's not there," He said, confirming the worst, "Let me call Gojo."

He pressed on Gojo's contact and there was a long silence broken by the ring of his phone. After way too long, Gojo answered.

"There's nothing there," Megumi told him.

"Huh?"

"The Stevenson screen's empty."

"For real? That's hilarious."

"I'll punch you."

"Well, no going home until it's recovered, okay?"

Megumi hung up and looked up. "I'm seriously going to punch him next time. Anywhere but a Stevenson screen would have been safer than this."

"Nothing's changed," You said, the feeling of fear bubbling in the pit of your stomach. "And nothing's going to change."

"No," He said, frowning at you, "Don't worry, we'll find it–"

"No we won't. It's set in stone, Megumi." Tears threatened to spill, the pressure of them building behind your eyes. "Everything's set in stone! It doesn't matter if we know what's going to happen, or not, it's going to happen, no matter what. The pink-haired boy has already taken it..."

"We don't know that, Y/n," He said, forcing you to lift your eyes from the ground to meet his by placing a hand under your chin.

"We are changing things, ok? Gojo would've sent us tonight rather than this morning if you didn't say anything about it. You've given us an extra day."

"But it hasn't changed the outcome, has it? The cursed object's still gone."

"Don't lose hope yet. What you dreamed of hasn't happened yet, ok? We still have time."

He took your hand to lead you along with him, heading back the way you came. "Let's go look for it. You said someone with pink-ish hair has it?"

"Mhmm."

"Ok, let's go find him."

Megumi's phone started ringing. "Just a minute," He said, answering the call and pressing the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He said.

The voice at the end wasn't Gojo's voice. It was the voice of a woman, quiet and monotone. You couldn't hear clear enough what she was saying.

"But why?" Megumi asked. After the woman on the phone responded, which you couldn't hear, he said, "Ok. How long will Gojo be?"

After she answered again, he said, "Ok. Make sure you take care of Y/n."

He hung up.

"What's going on?" You asked, "What do you mean 'take care of me'?"

"Ieiri-san told me Gojo's picking you up and taking you back to Jujutsu High."

"Why?"

Megumi took in a deep, shaky breath. "Don't let Gojo force you into doing anything you don't want to, ok?" His hands gripped your shoulders. "If he's putting you in a dangerous situation, you need to let him know."

"What do you mean?"

"He's going to put you in a... a state of unconsciousness. Ieiri-san thinks it will give us more information about what's going to happen in the future. She reckons if we can put you into a state where you can constantly dream without interruptions, you might be able to tell us more about it."

"Constantly dream, huh..."

"But you have to be careful. In this state, you're able to dream so strongly you'll feel every sensation you feel in the dream. If you get hurt in your dream, you'll hurt when you wake up. A-and if you die in your dream..."

"No..."

"You don't have to do it. Tell Gojo you don't want to–"

"No, I have to. We need to know more."

"But what if you die!?"

"I'll be fine–"

"No. You don't have control over yourself in the dream, you won't be able to stop yourself from dying."

"My dreams tell the future. If I die in the dream when Sukuna attacks me, it means I was destined to get killed soon, anyway."

"You promised me you wouldn't die. You said you wouldn't do that to me!"

Megumi held your shoulders tighter, afraid of letting you go.

"If you think you're in danger, you need to tell Gojo to pull you out of the trance. Promise me you'll do that."

"Ok. I'll be ok, Megumi."