#Yuuji has to retrieve Megumi's soul

[aflockofravens]

@ellionwrites

I just had the MOST diabolical thought for an Itafushi AU that immediately made me cry thinking about it.

Despite everything I need to do today AND all the other unfinished fics I have, I wanna drop it all to write this.

If this post gets even 1 note I'm doing it

[dontcarehowlongittakes]

its me again!! For this one can it be megumi x reader, the reader is a bubbly, adventurous, curious and silly person but their extremely kind and witty. [also smart, and sassy at times] The scenario can be just them doing stuff together like baking, going to a playground, coffee date, its your choice!

— a taste of your love.

synopsis. megumi’s had his fair share of having people who’re energetic, loud and annoying— much to his distaste— though deep down, he knows he loves them; no matter how much he tries to deny it.

although, he just can't help but want a taste of you— a taste of your love.

genres/themes. megumi fushiguro x reader, fluff, golden retriever and black cat dynamic, baking with megumi!, megumi silently admiring reader LMAO, two idiots in love, megumi is learning to love the reader (precious boy omg)

yoi's notes. hello! senkyu for making this request ! < 3 i wanna feed shiro and kuro the best dog biscuits that ever exist, just wait till i summon them. (/j

... unless? LMAOO)

word count. 1.3k

megumi was still in the process of understanding you.

now, now— don’t blame him, that poor guy has been surrounded by highly energetic people all his life— be it tsumiki, his oh so nice sister— though, sometimes too sweet for her own good— or his friend yuuji— simply a ball of sunshine, that guy was; although he was a bit… naïve at times, or satoru— his ‘benefactor’ (also the guy he didn’t like to admit was his father figure) — often regarding him as an annoying, loud idiot.

but strangely enough, megumi had learnt to love them all the same— something that came from deep within, something that was hidden under his aloof demeanour.

and oh he simply despised to admit it to himself— to admit that he actually cared.

“ ’gumi, hand me the chocolate chips, will ya?” your voice said, drawing him out of his reverie— a simple blink and he was reaching up for the ingredient in the cabinet, hands strangely having a mind of their own.

dark green eyes searching your own as he placed the container on the kitchen counter, lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something—

yet no words came out. you always rendered him speechless, both literally and emotionally.

“aw, thanks!” watching your eyes light up in the way it always did whenever he did even the bare minimum— megumi didn’t try to notice how his heart skipped a beat, didn’t try to notice how he swallowed a lump in his throat that had formed without him realising.

didn’t try to admit how much he craved your attention— didn’t try to admit how much craved you.

“did you get the cakes for shiro and kuro? poor things, i can’t eat this infront of them,” you tut, stirring the brownie batter with practiced precision, and megumi didn’t miss how your eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly when you did so; how your teeth habitually dug into your bottom lip whenever you were focused— oh how he couldn’t help but notice every damn thing about you.

it almost annoyed him.

you turned your head to face him, the hint of a smile that was always there with you still playing at your lips— “oi, earth to fushiguro. what’re you thinkin’ ?”

keyword: almost.

“i have,” megumi answered, trying to sound stoic but even he didn’t miss the slightly hoarse undertone of his voice— making his ears turn a delicate shade of red. “don’t worry ’bout it.”

“ooo-kay, okay,” you chirped, letting out a small laugh— god, why were you even laughing?— now you’ve made his cheeks pink.

and yet, the boy wanted nothing but to hear the sound of your laughter again and again— until it would be embedded into his very soul, like some forbidden memory only he could reach.

“hm.”

slender fingers of his rested against the cool tiles of the kitchen counter as he turned his head in your direction as you worked, and for a moment, he couldn’t help but just stare— eyelashes fluttering so delicately against his pale skin that one might just think that he didn’t want to close his eyes.

and so he didn’t.

how could he? you were there. before his very eyes.

you and your pretty eyes which seemed to shine no matter how dark the world got, you and your kindness that stood out like a sore thumb against the crowd— you and your insufferable self—

you.

megumi’s gaze lingered on your form, eyes skimming over the smallest of details— every little scar, every little movement of your hand that caused a vein to twitch, every little, though barely visible, freckle or mole.

and for a moment, he wanted nothing but to just step over and bury his nose into his your hair and breathe in your scent, pull you into his arms and never, ever let go—

“you’re staring.”

and oh how he turned red— his breath catching in his throat whilst he blinked, looking at you with almost a comically bewildered expression— cheeks flushing such a pretty shade of red that you secretly vowed to yourself to do anything in your wits to make him blush like that again, and again.

“i— . . . uh,” megumi stuttered, mentally cursing himself for even falling for your unintentional charms— how he loathed, yet relished in that cheshire grin of yours, “ ’m not.”

“yeahh, sure you aren’t, ’gumi,” you cooed, a small snicker escaping your lips, and ah how the boy’s ears turned a deeper shade of red as he found himself growing more and more flustered by the passing seconds.

“don’t call me that.”

he tried to ignore the way your eyes lit up even more at his half-mumbled reply— grin widening even more in a way that almost made you look so dumb with how much you were smiling— but then again, that was one of the reasons why megumi was so hopelessly in love with you.

“oh? you don’t like it, hm?” snickering, you dipped a finger of yours into the rich brownie batter— holding it out to him in a silent invitation to taste it, all the while you held that damn smile on your face.

how he wanted to roll his eyes— like he usually did whenever someone else tried to pull a similar stunt— oh how he wanted to respond with a blunt retort that was somehow always oh the tip of his tongue, how he wanted to be annoyed by your teasing.

so, of course, he quietly stepped forward— gently bringing your finger up to his lips to taste the batter— of course he wanted to feel your touch on his lips for a little while longer.

it was always different with you.

“i have a name,” megumi grumbled, eyes looking anywhere but your face— fingers reluctantly letting go of your own, his free hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck. “the batter’s alright, by the way.”

“of course you have a name,” you huffed out a small laugh, transferring the brown liquid into a container, “though, i do distinctly remember you acting all grumpy when i called you megumi instead of ’gumi the last time we had a sleepov—”

“shut up,” he said in a slightly harsh tone, but you knew better than to take it seriously— partly because you were just too much of a light-hearted person to do so and partly because you knew that megumi needed time to process his feelings.

“mhm, okay,” you tittered, shaking your head as that smile never left your face— letting out a small gasp as you felt strong yet hesitant arms wrap around your waist from behind, and oh how your heart skipped a beat whilst you turned back to glance at him over your shoulder.

megumi nuzzled into the crook of your neck; dark locks spiking up in the same way which you adored so much whilst obscuring the view of his eyes in such a pretty manner that made your heart swell— arms wrapped in a tender yet firm grip, as if he was afraid to break you if he held on too tight— yet too frightened by the possibility that you might disappear the moment he let go.

“you’re so . . . annoying,” he mumbled against your skin, still refusing to meet your gaze, earning a hum from you in response.

“d��you hate it, though?” a small smile tugged at the corner of your lips whilst you tapped the container against the countertop, making the batter even out.

“yes,” he replied, but you knew better— of course you did, you always did— a pause of his movements, hands around your waist tensing up for a second before he spoke up again— “ . . . no.”

you could only let out a small chuckle in response.

“as i thought.”

understanding you and himself would take some time, he knew that.

but for once, megumi wanted to understand— wanted to know you, wanted to have a taste of you— a taste of your love.

☆ @dontcarehowlongittakes on tumblr. do not copy or post any of my works without my permission.

[fairuzfan]

Inumaki and Okkotsu: The Pattern that just keeps on.... Patterning

I always found it quite odd how Yuuta outright decides to kill Yuuji after the Shibuya arc. Sure he’s Sukuna’s vessel but he too was the subject of an execution order just last year. Surely he understands that the people the elders decide to kill are for their own benefit, people they see as a threat to their authority. So Yuuta should find a friend in Yuuji, even if he did cut off Inumaki’s arm. Besides, isn’t killing him a bit of an extreme reaction?

But the thing is, for Yuuta, it’s not. And if their positions were reversed, if Megumi had been hurt by Yuuta’s actions, then Yuuji would probably react in a similar manner too.

In an earlier post, I mentioned how Panda says that Inumaki and Yuuta’s circumstances are similar, in that their cursed technique has had such a profound affect on their relationships with others. This sets them up to be foils and rivals, much like how Yuuji and Megumi are as well as Gojo and Getou. 

And with each of these pairs, the pattern that keeps repeating is with one character being far more focused in their goals and their interactions and the other being more world minded with the people around them. 

Gojo and Megumi are shown to only be concerned with the people directly around them, not really sparing much thought about the people they don’t know. Yuuji and Geto are so sympathetic to the people they haven’t even met, people they may not even make a connection with, making it a central point in their character’s conflict. 

With Inumaki and Yuuta, it’s far more complicated because we haven’t really seen the point of view of one of the pair but I’ll try. I’ll probably add more to this post when we learn more about Inumaki but until then...

Toge is described by others as a kind person, someone who cares about how his cursed technique will affect others. He’s similar to Yuuji in that regard, someone with a power they have no real control over but try their best to contain it. Yuuta, who has had far more internal reflection and development, is also afraid of harming others because of Rika. 

But for Yuuta, he’s only concerned at the hint of an instance where something might happen, like when those bullies were pushing him around in Volume 0. 

This isn’t a negative thing really. I mean, you can’t really predict every time something might happen that may cause Rika to lose it. So him only being concerned about this when it happens is quite reasonable. And it’s not like he never tries to stop these things from happening. He tried isolating himself for most of his life and realized that it’s just not possible. It isn’t until he comes to terms with Rika that he feels more comfortable interacting with others. 

Toge, however, still isolates himself in a way. He limits his speech, while still being friendly with others, but never truly connecting though words out of fear that he may inflict something terrible to the people who talk to him. So even to people he doesn’t know well, he keeps his distance out of concern for them. 

But Yuuji and Megumi never had this problem, not really. Getou and Gojo didn’t either. Each pair has their own central struggle they have to deal with. 

Gojo and Geto’s is perception of self as it relates to others. Megumi and Yuuji’s is morality of protection of life and its overall importance. 

For Yuuta and Inumaki, their struggle is the need for connection while under the understanding that connection implies mutual harm and how to navigate that without isolating yourself. 

And their cursed techniques are a perfect depiction of this. They both have potential to do great harm and try to avoid it. But the only way to avoid it is to distance themselves.

Because of this, they see each other as similar souls, people they’re concerned for. That’s Yuuta becomes so angry on Toge’s behalf. 

And it’s not just that Yuuta is trying to get justice for his friend.  Yuuta become protective of Inumaki because he cares for him, but also because they’ve gone through the same things. Yuuta sees himself in Toge in a way that he doesn’t see himself in anyone else.

Someone who was so thoroughly affected by their cursed technique that they couldn’t fully connect with others the same way everyone else did. Yuuta’s trying to get justice for himself. 

And there’s something else I found odd here. The “I don’t care if he’s Master Gojo’s pupil.” Right away, he closes himself off from a connection to someone he could relate, and he realizes that. He basically admits “If I got to know him, I’d probably like him and become friends with him since we had similar circumstances.” He refuses the possibility of connection, something that motivates Yuuta’s entire character, in favor of vengeance, which, by the way, we aren’t even sure Toge wants.

Like Megumi, Yuuta chooses the people directly around him, people he’s already made that connection with and forgoes a new connection because of the destruction Sukuna caused towards his friend. Yuuta’s acting on his own personal conscious, not the ideal of what’s right or wrong on the grand scheme of things.

We aren’t given Toge’s viewpoint of the issue at all. We aren’t shown his resentment or forgiveness. We just show the physical consequences of when Sukuna went hogwild and made him lose his arm. Yuuta makes the executive decision to kill Yuuji, speaking on Toge’s behalf.

For all we know, Toge could hold no resentment towards Yuuji and not want to see him dead (which is where I think this is headed. I sincerely hope for a physical confrontation between Yuuta and Toge, where Toge forces Yuuta to admit that significance of Yuuta’s existence rather than just the threat of Sukuna’s.). Or it could result in Toge supporting Yuuta and turning against the first years (which, imo, goes against the core of Toge’s character but I could still see that happening and breaks the pattern of opposing viewpoints between best friends. We haven’t really learned much about Toge from himself and mostly have had secondhand accounts of his personality.)

Which now, I’d like to go back to my earlier point. I kept likening Megumi to Yuuta throughout this but I said that if their positions were switched, Yuuji would do the same thing as Yuuta. 

Yuuji has been shown to be protective of the people around him and that’s been exacerbated through the Shibuya arc. When Naoya mentions his intention to kill Megumi, Yuuji get’s defensive. 

But like, who wouldn’t? Some random guy says he’s going to kill your best friend. But this is a little different from Yuuta wanting to avenge Toge, since Naoya outright states his ill intentions.

 And... that’s kinda not the point, either way. Yuuji has been watching so many people he’s been close to die around him despite wanting to give them a proper death. So as it builds up, his resolve to not “kill” anyone and preserve life, slowly starts to disintegrate. 

So they start to fight. Yuuji with the intention to protect his friend but coincidentally Yuuta comes in about to start fighting him as well. Now we got Yuuji fighting to defend Megumi and Yuuta fighting to avenge Toge. Two sides of the same coin. Maybe they both have the same intentions too, with Yuuji wanting to kill Naoya to counter Yuuta’s intention to kill Yuuji. 

Don’t get me wrong, Naoya is not a likable guy and personally I can’t wait for his reckoning, it will be oh so sweet. But he’s still human. Yuuji seems to have drawn a (very faint) line that he “kills” curses but will not do so to people. He confronted Noritoshi Kamo only with the intention of retrieving his Sensei, not anything else. But with Naoya, who imo embodies so many aspects of humanity that it’d be better off without, he’s genuinely a selfish guy.

He’s like... Mahito. He does things for his own benefit and doesn’t really care how that affects others. We know Yuuji ended up having no qualms about wanting to kill Mahito. 

And then Yuuta, well, he basically sees Yuuji as Mahito. To Yuuta, Yuuji’s a guy who chooses life, the selfish choice, over giving that life up to protect others. In Yuuta’s mind, Yuuji does more harm than good, but that’s only because he hasn’t gotten to know him. Yuuji may have the King of Curses within him but he’s a genuinely caring person who wants to help people. Yuuta only sees the consequences of his actions, albiet quite destructive consequences.

And Megumi and Toge, both the people that they’re fighting for, are, surprise surprise, nowhere to be seen. Yuuta’s probably worried about protecting Inumaki so he doesn’t want him to come along. Yuuji’s ashamed and unwilling to face Megumi so he distances himself. And they’re both fighting on someone else’s behalf, someone they aren’t even really communicating with.

So now we got the whole Mahito vs Yuuji situation two times over. But a strange twist of fate is making Yuuji into a Mahito to be exorcised, despite his visceral hatred of him. Yuuta’s probably going to fall into the same pattern as Yuuji, where he’s forced to confront the humanity and importance of life that he’s wanting to extinguish. 

Yuuji and Yuuta both need to work on their communication with the people around them before continuing in their path, lest they fall into the same pattern as Getou who’s constant stewing made him go insane. All three are well intentioned people who care so deeply but because they decide to take on everyone’s burdens by themselves, they distance themselves more and more from the people they’re trying to protect.