"So, Gojo, I think you guys released the wrong grade of curse. Yaga meant second grade, not special grade."
Gojo and Shoko turned around in shock from where they had been conversing quietly in her office. They stared at Y/N, who was now sitting up on her infirmary bed with a devious smile.
"Gojo, you need to stop adopting these crazy children and recruiting them." Shoko shook her head at her former classmate and moved him out of her door frame so she could tend to Y/N.
"It is not my fault that the crazy ones like me!"
Y/N giggled at their tiff. The pain meds were slowly wearing away and her mind was still foggy. Naturally, silliness and sarcasm were the only things her brain could still process clearly.
She had another joke lined up and was about to tell it when Gojo's eyes met hers. Even in her state, she could recognize that his normal playful demeanor was gone. He looked stressed and upset.
Her face must have shown her thoughts because Shoko began to comfort her worries.
"He's had a long day as well. We've been worn thin by today's events," Shoko leaned in closer to whisper the end of her sentence, "And seeing the state you, Megumi, and the rest of the students were in was difficult for him. He doesn't handle seeing his loved ones hurt very well."
Y/N just nodded. She understood the doctor's words, but the rest of her mind wasn't processing them fast enough to give a proper response. While Shoko checked on her injuries Y/N found herself zoning out while staring at Gojo who had taken a seat in one of the waiting chairs against the far wall of the infirmary.
She was completely unaware of his perplexed face.
Is she trying to read my mind...?
He waved his hand in the air to no response.
What on earth is she thinking about?
The instructor began to space out into thought as well. The observation room had gone up in chaos after the charms burned. Everyone split up into several directions, desperate to get to the students.
Gojo recalled the moment when he and Utahime discovered the anti-him veil. She, as well as everyone else, could pass through just fine. Only he couldn't. He had done his best to keep it to himself, but the panic that surged through his veins upon realizing the situation wasn't a feeling that frequented him. Fears flooded his mind and all he could think about were his students and what they were trapped with. The incident with the volcano head curse was undeniably connected to this attack.
But why keep me out now? If I'm their target, why not trap me inside?
A horrible thought crossed his mind.
Am I only their final target?
His desperate attempts to destroy the veil took much longer than he had wanted. With every second that passed, the danger for those on the inside grew. Eventually, he broke through and rose above the forest to survey the situation.
In the end, the special grade sorcerer had been able to defeat the three special grade cursed spirits that had been lurking around. Victory came with a heavy cost though.
Itadori and Todo recounted how they found Maki, Megumi, and Y/N with Hanami- the forest curse. The duo of the Kyoto and Tokyo boys were able to exorcise Hanami but had been ambushed by the other two curses. Gojo was both impressed and terrified by how talkative they were after such an ordeal, but they chatted his ears off as he walked them out of the forest and to Shoko.
"...jo. Gojo. Gojo!" Shoko snapped him out of his memories. "I asked you to come give me a hand."
"Yes, sorry." He made his way to Shoko's side between Y/N and Fushiguro's beds. While the doctor gave him instructions and medicines to bring to Kugisaki and Itadori he studied Megumi's peaceful face. Shoko had told him Fushiguro was the only one awake when Panda dropped them off. He'd been able to give her a basic description of events before the medicine carried him to dreamland.
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Fushiguro stood at the top of a large hill. Fields of green grasses and flowers rolled in the soft wind beneath him. The sun cast a golden sheen on the world for as far as he could see. He observed this strange place for what felt like hours before he heard a faint voice calling out his name.
His eyes instantly met hers as he turned around to locate the voice. A huge grin bloomed across her face and she kept running towards him. Just as she neared the top of the hill and reached out for him, she slipped and fell. Fushiguro chased after her and grabbed her hand.
Instead of letting him help her up, Y/N pulled him down into the grass and they rolled down the hill together just like little children in elementary school. Fushiguro felt his cheeks heating up and he watched her laugh and pick flowers at the bottom of the hill. She handed him a bundle of red and white flowers.
The flowers smelled like heaven and she smelled like flowers. She extended her free hand to him, inviting him to take it. He reached out to accept her offer but his hand went right through hers.
She disappeared faster than he could blink his eyes. The golden sun faded away and the flowers in his hand wilted, mourning her departure.
"No!"
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"No!"
Y/N jolted awake at his shout. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up properly in the chair she'd pulled up to the side of his bed.
"Megumi?"
His eyes locked on her and he reached his hand out to feel hers. Y/N was perplexed by his peculiar behavior but chalked it up to the medicine that was still wearing off. His hand squeezed hers ever so slightly. Turning away and hoping he wouldn't see her blush, she called out to Shoko to inform her that Fushiguro was awake.
He slowly sat up in bed with Y/N's help and allowed the doctor to inspect how his injuries were healing. The majority of his cuts had been healed, but the area where his stomach had been pierced would need a few days to fully recover.
Shoko released the two first years after a few more tests each with a warning to be careful. The pair walked silently out the door, not wanting to wake up Maki from her rest.
Y/N winced as the bright sunset hit her eyes. She'd gotten used to the dark and quiet atmosphere of Shoko's infirmary and adjusting to the vivid colors was a shock. Fushiguro waited for her to regain her bearings before they began the walk back to the students' wing of the school.
Silence between Fushiguro and Y/N was typically peaceful and natural, but the same couldn't be said in this case. As they neared the end of their walk, Fushiguro just blurted out his thoughts.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Shock mixed with sorrow on his face. He looked like he couldn't believe he'd actually said the words out loud.
Y/N was relieved he had been the first to talk and was quick to reassure him.
"Fushiguro, you did nothing wrong. We both did what we could."
"But still-"
"No buts. Remember what you said about the Todo situation? No guilt."
He gave a sheepish grin as she caught him with his own advice. Silence only stuck around for a second longer before they both released their awkward laughs and let the tension melt away.
"MEGUMI!"
Both students looked up to see a very happy Gojo running down the hallway at them. Fushiguro turned to run in the opposite direction but was held back by Y/N.
"Shoko said no running!" Her signature devilish smile returned as Gojo wrapped his lanky arms around his unofficially adoptive son.
I can't tell if he'd make a terrible father or the best father.
"L/N! You sacrificed me!" Fushiguro cried out as their teacher showered him with questions on how he felt and if he was alright.
"Are you positive you are alright?" Y/N had never seen Gojo so worried. It was oddly endearing to see how much the man cared about not just Megumi, but about all of his students.
"Satoru," Gojo stopped his fretting at Fushiguro's use of his name, "I am okay."
"Megumiiiiiii, you called me Satoru again!"
"Only so you would stop talking."
"That's so mean," Gojo pouted. "In all seriousness, though, I'm glad you two are both okay. I'm so sorry this happened."
"It's not your fault, Gojo."
"Still, they were after me and Jujutsu High got caught in the middle."
"Regardless of what happened, it's in the past now. It matters more that we are all alive." Fushiguro's diplomatic demeanor had returned impressively fast after such a serious injury.
"Everyone is alive, right?" The images of Kamo and Inumaki laying on the roof flashed in Y/N's mind.
"Yes, everyone is alright. You three took the worst of the beating. Inumaki, Itadori, Kamo, and Todo all had injuries as well but they are all awake as far as I know." Gojo's confirmation lifted weight from Y/N's shoulders. She made a mental note to personally visit everyone the next morning and check on them herself.
"That's good to hear. Thank you, Gojo."
"You two should both get some rest. I'll talk to you all more tomorrow when we are all together with Itadori and Kugisaki." The white-haired sorcerer ushered his students to their rooms and gave them cheery goodnights.
As he heard the doors close behind them he took his leave and started the walk back to talk with Yaga. The two men met outside and stood on the porch of Yaga's office building. Gojo leaned on the railing and stared into the remains of the sunset. Stars had begun to crawl into the sky and exhaustion was starting to dig its claws into his body.
"Satoru," Yaga gave the man a concerned look, "Are you alright?"
"Of course I am."
"Be honest."
"I... I can't believe this happened. And I feel responsible."
"Did you summon the curses? No. You didn't ask for this and it is not your fault in any way." Yaga wasn't the best at comforting people, but he tried nonetheless.
"I understand. I just can't get rid of all the 'What If' thoughts. What if a student had died?"
"The temptation to indulge those thoughts is strong. Don't let it win, though. 'What If's are meaningless. They are 'What If's because they didn't happen. And because they didn't happen, they don't matter. All they will do is drag you down, Satoru."
Gojo took the man's words to heart. A moment of silence passed between them as the night air settled in. With one last look into what was a battlefield mere hours ago, Gojo turned to where Yaga stood in the doorway back inside.
"Do you have any sweets?"
Yaga smiled faintly at the odd request. He'd known Gojo long enough to know that the man was a chronic sweet tooth. Even the strongest sorcerer in the world deserves a treat after a long day.
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Y/N had been tossing and turning in bed for at least half an hour now. Nothing she did helped her fall asleep and she had tried it all. Opening her window, listening to music or a documentary, daydreaming fake scenarios, even trying to say the alphabet backwards. All of it was useless.
After another failed attempt and at least a thousand counted sheep, Y/N gave up and snatched her pillow and blanket to take with her. She opened and closed her door as quietly as she could and made the groggy walk down the hall to the common room. Originally she thought some water or a snack might help, but she opened the door to see that someone else was already here.
"Hello?" she gave a tentative greeting, unsure of who was here.
"L/N?" Kugisaki's voice replied.
"Is that L/N?" Another figure with Itadori's voice popped up out of nowhere.
"L/N's here?" Fushiguro's sleepy voice asked from somewhere Y/N couldn't even see.
"All of you are here too?" She was surprised that her classmates were all here, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Kugisaki held up her phone flashlight and walked over to Y/N. Before she knew what was happening, Y/N was embraced in a hug. Itadori joined too and Fushiguro stood up from where he must have been laying on the floor to see what was going on.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see a small smile on his face.
"We're so glad you are okay," Kugisaki mumbled from where her face was squished into Y/N's shoulder by Itadori.
"Don't ever almost die again," Itadori said, "And that goes for you too, Fushiguro."
"You say that like you didn't play with death today too."
They all chuckled. Nobara brought Y/N over to where the other three had set up a massive pile of blankets on the floor in the middle of the box made by 3 couches and the TV wall.
"So you all couldn't sleep either?" Y/N added her blanket to the pile and laid down in the open space next to Fushiguro.
"Nope! Itadori was here first watching a movie and I crashed his party. We made a blanket fort!" Kugisaki brought Y/N a snack from the pile they had accumulated on the table.
"I came here for water... and the whole 'I don't want to be alone right now' thing." Fushiguro wrapped himself in another blanket and closed his eyes.
Itadori was swaddled like a burrito on the couch facing the TV and Nobara eventually curled up in the space between Y/N and one of the side couches. The comfort of having her friends nearby and the background noise of the movie lulled Y/N to sleep. She took one last look at Megumi who was sound asleep beside her before closing her eyes and drifting away.
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Another day, another chapter!
That short scene with Gojo and Yaga was unplanned but I love it so much.
I'm going to try and get another chapter out today, but we'll see how that goes!
cya next time :)