It was a rather chilly, grey morning and I was trying my best not to get my ass beat by the first years on your regular Monday morning "Aye! Easy on the shoulder!" Kugisaki rolled her eyes, now specifically aiming for my shoulder with her fighting stick "It's been weeks already! Don't be a baby." I clicked my tongue as I did my best to avoid her attacks. For today's combat lesson, I decided to train them in some general martial arts and self-defence without their cursed techniques or cursed energy in general. While I was busy doing that, an unwanted guest decided to show up "Y/n! First years! What are you guys up to?" I scoff at Gojo's question, turning to look at him briefly "Is that a rhetorical question?" And in my moment of distraction, I got tackled to the ground by the three students who had been trying to do so for the past half an hour, Kugisaki pushing her fighting stick down on my back while Itadori held me down and Fushiguro's demon dogs gnawed at my ankles.
I sighed before looking up at Satoru with a deadpan expression, struggling against the students' grip on me "Why are you here?" He laughed at my hostility, practically immune to it by now "You're needed for a mission again." The students collectively groaned at this, finally letting me go. Gojo offered me a hand which I reluctantly accepted. He proceeded to pull me up with ease "It still catches me off guard when you do that...weirdo."
I grabbed my water bottle off the bench, chugging it like I'd been in a desert for a week. Gojo just laughed at my statement before handing me the file regarding the case. I read through it and spit out my water when I saw I had been paired up once again "You gotta be shitting me!" He pretended to be innocent, a devious smile tugging at his lips. "It was you, wasn't it? I swear Satoru if this is your doing I will fight you right here and now." I pointed an accusatory finger at his chest, being stopped by his infinity. "Hey, now no need to get so violent." He cooed playfully, leaning in while throwing an arm over my shoulders "Besides, old classmates should spend some quality time together, no?" I roughly shrugged his arm off, my glare cold while I ran a hand through my likely dishevelled hair "Whatever man." I stuffed my hands into my pockets, a scowl painted on my features while Gojo just laughed at me. "Take care kiddos," I spoke while waving behind me while I headed for the exit. "Bye L/n-Sensei!" Itadori exclaimed after me.
Once I got outside I pulled out my phone to call Ijichi to pick me up "I cannot believe he pulled this shit again..." I mumbled, looking for Ijichi's contact. That was until a familiar voice sounded beside me "No need. I'm here to pick you up." I nearly jumped out of my skin, getting in a fighting stance out of habit "Fucking hell Nanami, don't sneak up on me like that!" I chuckled breathily, leaning on my knees while trying to catch my breath. "It's just me." He muttered indifferently. I placed my hand on his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh "Where are you parked, my man?" He gestured for me to follow him as we walked down the street.
"Sooo how've you been?" As we approached the car, he opened the door making an embarrassed smile grace my features "I'm not a lady you need to open the door for, ya know." Nanami shook his head, pushing me into the car while I laughed at his annoyance. "You don't have to be a lady to be treated with respect." He grumbled as he got into the driver's seat, starting the car with a deep rumble from the engine "And to answer your earlier question, I've been fine." I smiled softly "That's good."
I stepped out of the car, looking up at the tall trees of the ominous forest we'd been assigned to "Lovely..." I remarked bitterly, my eyes darting at every rustle and my heart beating in my ears. Nanami soon followed, his expression remained cold "Perhaps Leviathan would be a good call." I nodded in agreement, raising my palm with a purple light "Leviathan, I call upon thee." And there he appeared beside me, immediately showing disinterest in my summoning "I was busy." I laughed at him, shaking my head slightly "Too bad." He huffed, splashing the back of my head with a small stream of water "Oi! Stop messing around." He was one of the more difficult characters to deal with, and he proved that every time I called upon him.
As we ventured deeper into the forest, the weather started changing. Raindrops trickled on our skin and dampened our hair "Damn it..." I mumbled to myself while Levi laughed at me. "It's just a little rain," Nanami remarked dryly, his attention everywhere. "See something, Nanami?" He simply hummed in response, only worrying me more "I don't know. I'm noticing a lot of fungi in this part of the forest." I looked around at what he was gesturing at, having to agree with him. There was a lot of fungi spread through this part, in a particular pattern too.
And as if it heard us, the elf benches jumped off the tree and merged into one being. Spores rose from the ground, joining the growing ball of fungi. "Shit!" I swore before putting up a wall of water between us and the curse, just to be sure. Nanami pulled out two pieces of fabric from his pocket and handed me one. I hesitantly took it, raising a curious eyebrow "They mentioned it affecting people's airways in the case file. I wanted to be prepared." I smiled in appreciation before quickly tying the cloth around my face, covering my mouth and nose before the ball of fungi exploded onto the water wall. It sucked up the water, growing exponentially. "Oh fuck of course! Mould grows from humidity." I quickly lowered the wall before it could consume the entire thing.
The curse stood up straight again, screeching violently as it recollected itself. It was honestly a slightly disturbing sight. "You're dismissed, Levi." He grumbled before returning to a light in my palm. I didn't know who to summon. I mean, what demonic entity is good for Funghi? You tell me.
Nanami jumped in, using his Ratio Technique to cut off one of its limbs. Testing the waters on how this curse was wired. We now stood on both sides of the curse which of course regenerated immediately. This was the perfect weather condition for it to thrive in after all. That's when I got an idea "Avatar of Gluttony, Beelzebub, I call uppon thee!" An orange light emits from my palms as the demon spawned in front of me with a soft growl "What is it, Y/n..." I ordered him to consume the curse behind him which he hesitated with at first but his hunger quickly overtook him. Making him happily oblige
While the forever-starving glutton chowed down at its front, the curse used more fungi from the forest to attack Nanami. Since his mask was soaked by the rain, the curse's disciples used that to pull the mask off his face before spraying him with spores, infiltrating his lungs. It went so fast that Nanami couldn't even react before he was on the ground coughing "Nanami!" My callout was almost guttural as I attempted to rush over to him, all while summoning another Shikigami "Lucifer!" The avatar of pride got the memo and did his best to keep the curse in place while Beel ate his way through it.
Before I could attend to Nanami, the curse attached a few mushrooms to my back which was turned to it. Now that I had summoned Lucifer, I had access to his weaponry which meant I carved the spores out almost immediately. A pained groan escaped me as the blades hit my back, taking chunks of flesh along with the fungi. I exhaled shakily, gritting my teeth through the pain. My vision started spotting but I had to hold on. For him.
I finally kneeled beside him, worry evident on my features despite my own injuries. He was turning bleak, almost like he was decaying. It was like the fungi were treating him like a corpse. He got weaker and weaker while I held him "Nonono please Nanami." My voice was desperate as I pleaded for him to hold on a little longer. "It's gonna be okay, Y/n. Just help me stand." I shook my head defiantly, knowing full well he was bluffing "I can't lose you too, not like this!" I cried out, my hand gripping his desperately. Was I going to lose the only person I had left today? I simply couldn't. Not after Haibara.
He sighed softly, a small cough hidden beneath it while he squeezed my hand back. His breathing became raspier by the second, my heart sinking at the devastating sound.
As tears prickled at the corner of my eyes I knew I had no other choice left and what I was about to do was technically going to risk my life. "ASMODEUS PLEASE, I NEED YOU." I screamed desperately, a pink light emanating from my palm while a displeased entity appeared before me. "You know you're not allowed to summon me if you didn't fulfil my desire." His tone was threatening and his gaze was cold. Unusual for a lust demon. "I need you to use your reversed technique, please. Not on me, just him." My voice broke as I held onto the weakening blond tightly. Even in this state, he looked at me with worry. It only shattered me more. The only thing stopping me from passing out right then and there was him. I couldn't live with myself knowing I didn't save him. Having history repeat itself would absolutely break me.
The avatar of Lust sighed, circling me like I was one of his prey "I could kill you, you know. You're already weak and...if I'm not wrong, dear Y/n, your sister is having another baby soon. It might be the next best thing." He was egging me on and I knew it. "Stay away from that child."
Lucifer gave Asmodeus a warning glance, clearly not on the same page as his brother. He rolled his eyes before crossing his arms "And what's in it for me, hmmm?" He leaned in close, tipping my chin up provocatively. I spoke through gritted teeth, glaring up at the Avatar of Lust "If you don't do as I ask, I can't fulfil your desire." The demon frowned before eyeing me thoughtfully. Finally, he sighed dramatically in defeat "Fine. But this is the one exception I make because it benefits me. If you try this shit again, I will kill you, understand?" I nodded shamefully, not daring to meet his gaze. But that was short-lived before he grabbed my throat, his flames engulfing me "I said, do you understand?" I exhaled shakily, struggling against his tight grip "I understand." I hissed breathlessly, tears forming in my eyes from the loss of oxygen and the burning sensation on my skin. That's when he roughly released me and bent down to Nanami, running a tentative hand down his cheek before kissing it, activating his reverse cursed technique "I'll see you around, handsome." And with that, the demon returned to nothing but a small, pink light in my palm.
I immediately went to check on Nanami again, my heart beating out of my chest, a ringing sounding in my ears "Are you okay?!" He sat up with a soft grunt, his breathing sounding a lot better now "I'm okay." He placed a reassuring hand on my thigh, right when my remaining Shikigami exercised the curse. A sigh of relief escaped me as I rested my head on his shoulder. I was too stressed to care anymore and just embraced him tightly, wrapping my arms around his neck "Don't ever do that again." He was caught slightly off guard, his hands slowly rising to my back. "Right." He gently moved them over the wet fabric of my jacket, a light chuckle escaping us both when we realized how much of a mess this was.
My self-inflicted injuries finally caught up to me as unconsciousness took over. When I went slack against him, worry struck him while he pushed me back a little to check on me "Y/n? You gotta be kidding me..."
"Oh come on, D/n! He couldn't have been that bad?" Haibara chuckled, watching me sit down dramatically beside them. "Trust me, he was. When I got there he immediately commented on my figure, like who does that?!" The brunette just shook his head while the other boy remained silent. I wrapped both my arms around them with a content sigh "If romance doesn't work out for me, I know I'll have you guys." Haibara returned the side hug with a bright smile, even Nanami couldn't help but show a small smile. "Hey, maybe you can even marry one of us, huh?" Yu teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Hmm, well despite being Mister Grumpy, I bet Nanami would make an excellent husband." I teasingly kissed his cheek, flustering the boy who immediately pushed my face away. "Whatever..." Haibara broke out in laughter "Really dude?! The prettiest girl in school just kissed you on the cheek and you're totally turning red!" Nanami denied the accusations, walking away to the vending machine while Haibara and I held onto each other as we tried to catch our breath from laughing.
An engine rumble woke me up, we hadn't driven away yet so before he could I stopped him, confusing him slightly "Y/n?" I sighed deeply, my eyes remaining closed while I turned my head towards him "Let's just sit here for a little while." He looked at me in disbelief, moving my hand from the steering wheel "May I remind you of your injuries?" I shushed him, making him shake his head "Please?" I finally looked at him, a certain glossiness to my eyes. My voice was softer than usual, a certain vulnerability sounding through. What was up with that memory...
"Are you okay?" Of course, Nanami noticed immediately. "Yeah. I just...had a weird dream." I turned onto my side in my seat, feeling the burn of my back injuries but not caring about it at that moment. "Tell me about it." His voice softened as he copied my action. I took a deep breath before talking again "It was more of a memory, really..." He hummed softly, letting me know that he was listening.
"You, Haibara and me were hanging out after I got back from a shitty date. You guys could tell I was upset without me explicitly saying anything and just distracted me. I...still appreciate that till this day." Nanami chuckled softly, making me look up curiously as I met his warm gaze "I remember you two teasing me relentlessly." A chuckle escaped me, that same energy from back then returning to the air "I remember kissing you on the cheek and you getting so flustered you walked off." He ran his tongue over his teeth while looking to the side "I also remember getting you both a drink." I clicked my tongue, shaking my head slightly "Avoidant till the end, huh?" It felt just like back then, harmless teasing and no worries in the world. Maybe we could be okay after all.