Play Hell With ✔ // MEGUMI X SUKUNA

[ 10 ] Pretend The Exchange Event Happens

Itadori didn't return from his mission with Nanami, and since the world was still standing, a variety of theories were proposed. None of them suspected Sukuna was in control, because if Sukuna was in control, surely the sky would have fallen?

Something isn't right about any of this, Megumi told himself as he moved back into his dorm room and left. His eyes lingered at the end of the hall where Itadori's room stood silent and haunting beside his own.

Impending horrors were a looming, constant activity at the back of his mind as his dom-riddled brain continued to fester and churn his drop onward. None of it made sense to Megumi, and his irrational concerns were growing louder.

And they said that Sukuna wasn't where he was supposed to be, and that was yet another worthy offense. The devil on Megumi's shoulder yearned to exact revenge, and Megumi's fantasies were wrapped in barbed wire.

The exchange event was still in effect, but the added tension of Itadori's absence was still felt. In its place, a peculiar and, to Megumi, unwanted interruption came in the form of a new neighbor to the right of his door. And that neighbor was now staring at him, mid-exit of his room.

Megumi caught his gaze the moment he shut his door.

This is the guy Itadori made a deal with Sukuna to save, Megumi thought, souring once again at the thought.

This guy was still a high schooler, swayed neither here nor there dynamics-wise, and was fresh to jujutsu to boot. His name was Junpei, and Nanami had returned with him instead of Itadori. Megumi couldn't forgive him for that.

And Junpei figured as much.

Junpei looked away, sharp with unease. The dense essence of Megumi's glare was worse than yesterday, and Junpei had spent the majority of his first night at the school awake in primal terror of Megumi's terrifying, domineering energy emanating through the walls.

"M-Morning," Junpei managed, shutting the door behind him.

Megumi fixed his eyes on the opposite wall and passed him, hand to his mask. It was a permanent fixture on his face in public now, but it wasn't enough to stop Junpei from freezing up until Megumi was down the hall and out of sight. Only then did Junpei move to shut his own door and follow suit.

With Gojo gone, Megumi couldn't help but wonder why every horrible thing to happen to Itadori tended to occur around Gojo's absence. Though he understood Gojo's lack of involvement in this most recent event, Megumi wished he'd stayed. If only for Megumi's sense of moral support when it felt like his brain was caving in on itself.

Nobara met him near the stadium with a low, impressed whistle. "You should be disqualified."

"Glares aren't considered against the rules," Megumi reminded her. Most sorcerers were expected to resist glares to some degree, and students were no exception.

"Yeah, but this is just downright unseemly. Almost feels like cheating."

"No kidding," came Maki's voice from behind. She was accompanied by Panda and Toge. "We'll have to default to Plan B."

They'd strategized in the event either Megumi or Itadori were nixed from the competition: Itadori, on account of being a sub, and Megumi, on account of being in domdrop. They couldn't participate at the same time, and secretly, Megumi had hoped his domdrop would dilute enough for the two of them to participate.

That was no longer the case, and Itadori was no longer in the picture. Not to mention, Junpei wasn't even in the running to fill Itadori's gap.

"By the way, there's some kid following you guys," Panda said, pointing off into the distance. Down the path, Junpei ducked out of view behind a tree.