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zorostitties · 3 days ago

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Weak Point; 1

⤕ It's crazy how life can turn upside down overnight. In your case, life took a 180º turn the morning you discovered you were the weakness of the most powerful creature in the world.

From a normal citizen, you become Jujutsu Society's most coveted target. In a world where everyone wants your head on a silver platter, plagued by secrets of the past and struggling to balance what remains of your “normal” life, you are trapped in a situation you cannot escape.

And yet - amid the chaos, you slowly realize that you might be his weak point in ways that have nothing to do with sorcery.

pairing: gojo x (f) reader

genre: romance, fluff and humor, angst, forced proximity, slow burn, eventual smut, "oh no we have to live in the same house" trope, fix-it fic (kinda)

warnings: violence/blood, explicit sex (in future parts), grief, smoking, alcohol consumption, explicit language, me trying to be funny

rating: 18+

word count: 9k

A/N: HELLO WORLD!! First of all, thank you so much for giving this fic a chance!! - This self-indulgent mess starts a little before JJK 0. - Reader is roughly a year younger than Gojo. - We're gonna dig HEAVILY into grief, especially deceased parents, so beware if this is a sensitive topic for you! - This is an afab!reader situation, so no specific physical traits will be described. I am giving you a nickname tho, because I'd rather eat shit than pollute my text with "Y/N" ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻) - And as usual, English is not my first language. Enjoy!! <3

⤕ Masterlist: soon! ⤕ Also on AO3 ⤕ Taglist open!

It was a shift like any other before the kidnapping happened.

The emergency room is never a calm environment, of course, let alone of a big city. But the previous night, it felt that the gates of hell opened in the grounds of the Tokyo Metropolitan Hospital. It was that type of shift that let nurses with their hairs disheveled and eyes widened and doctors running from side to side and the endless noise of stretcher’s wheels around the halls and ambulance sirens and for fuck’s sake the coffee machine is broken again I will kill myself.

A shift like any other. Yeah.

There were two car crashes. Or three. You stopped counting after the third exposed fracture. A big festival happened in Shinjuku – or something like that – which always results in drunk people doing drunk people atrocities. There were a few cases of alcohol-induced coma, too, and a couple guys needing stitches on their faces because they got into fist fights. Also two heart attacks? Some old lady fell down the stairs of her home.

Yeah. Yeah, there was a lot of stuff happening at the same time.

Maybe that’s why you were so inattentive, that morning. The clocks marked 8AM; the sun had risen above the city and you hadn’t even noticed. Or maybe it was the coffee’s fault (or the lack of it, since the machine broke sometime past midnight). Or the energy drinks. Or the full pack of cigarettes you smoked. Or the salad you ate hours ago. Uh. There were a lot of things going on with you, actually, and not very professional on your part, but it was your second 24 hour shift that week, and you hadn’t really slept between the shifts, which meant you’d been awake for… huh… twenty hours straight?

Dad would’ve killed me if he knew, you thought.

Dad. Maybe you should’ve listened to your dad back then, when he said you should pick another specialty. A cardiologist like him, probably. Or a gynecologist. Some area that would allow you to work in a calm clinic, with a much higher salary and a more reasonable lifestyle.

It’s what anyone would want, of course, after years and years of studying: a respectable profession that gives you tons of money. But you weren’t like dad. You needed that adrenaline, and you needed the cigarettes and the coffee and the energy drinks, and you needed to be so overworked that your brain wouldn’t stop for a second to think about that other thing.

July 18th, 2017 – your phone screen showed. You only survived the 17th thanks to all of that.

Which didn’t mean your brain wasn’t reduced to jelly inside your skull at that point, of course.

“You look like you’re on cocaine.”

Remi stared at you with a mix of judging and concern in her eyes. She sat behind the nurse’s counter, while you leaned on it in front of her.

“I don’t.” You shrugged and took one more sip of the warm water from the plastic cup. Remi tightener her eyes.

“Your pupils are two black wholes. You look insane right now.”

“I’m fine.”

“How many energy drinks did you take?” Her perfect eyebrow quirked up.

“Not many.”

“This alone implies you had more than one. Are you trying to kill yourself?”

You shrugged again, half of your face hidden behind the plastic cup.

“Maybe.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed.

You weren’t annoyed at her. Remi was the responsible one, and you were the reckless one. This was your dynamic. It worked well. And she couldn’t really judge you, not while you spent the night in the seventh ring of hell while she spent her shift in the calm, silent inpatient unit.

“I’d rather be actually high right now, to be honest.” You admitted quietly. Remi nodded. She put some strands of honey blonde hair behind her ear delicately.

“Yeah. Me too.” Not so responsible. “Keito-kun was in Shinjuku… he sent me many photos.” A pout slowly took for in her lips. “He had invited me, you know. We were supposed to be there together.”

You tightened your eyes slowly.

“I thought you had stopped talking to him.”

“That was past week, darling. Things change.”

“Right.” Yeah, definitely not very responsible.

“But that’s not the point. The summer festival looked so fun! And there were so many hot guys there, too…”

“But weren’t you supposed to be there with Keito-kun?”

“I can multitask.”

You cackled. She followed. It was probably the first time you smiled that day.

You opened Mayu’s contact impatiently again. She had chosen some anime boy as her current icon. You tapped your index finger over the counter, trying to ignore the fact that your hands were shaking a bit.

“Mayu’s not answering me.” You mumbled. Remi typed something on her computer, not bothering to lift her eyes to you.

“It’s 8AM on a Saturday. No normal person is awake at this hour.”

“I think she went to Shinjuku behind my back.”

Remi pursed her lips and hummed. “...It’s the type of thing I would do as a teenager.”

“Me too.”

“So you can’t really judge her, can you?”

“Well, I’m supposed to be the responsible one now, aren’t I?” You didn’t plan on sounding exasperated all of sudden, and you didn’t plan on making your breathing get faster or your eyes widening, and maybe Remi was right, maybe you did look like someone on cocaine, and maybe you should really stop with the energy drinks – oh shit stop stop stop. One thought at a time. One thought at a time.

“Oh, come on. Even if she went there, Mayu is pretty level headed for her age. Much more than I was. I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe she’s sleeping right now and you’re overreacting.”

Yeah. Maybe. You’d call Aunt Junko later to make sure she actually slept there instead of sneaking out (Aunt Junko wasn’t that great with messaging apps. You had bought her a new phone, but she only knew how to accept and decline calls). But how could you not be anxious and overreact if yesterday was that day?

You knew – Mayu wasn’t as affected as you were. She was way too young when everything happened, after all. But still, now that most of the craziness of past night was slowly leaving your system, you felt guilt slowly grow inside of you. Was it a bit selfish to choose to work a shift in such a date? What if she was upset that you left her alone?

July 18th, the notification bar showed. Yesterday, July 17th.

July 17th.

Shit. Stop thinking about that other thing. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To not think about it. So don’t think about it. It was yesterday anyway. It’s over.

Remi yawned.

“When are you leaving?”

“At nine thirty.” You groaned and massaged your own forehead. “Shit. Just remembered I’ll have to go home by subway.”

“Thank God, I wouldn’t let you drive in this state.” She tightened her eyes at you again. It was funny to see her going mom mode, even though she didn’t have children. “You should take better care of your health, girl. An ER doctor trying to have a heart attack? You’ll enter this hospital as a patient one of these days!”

You nodded tiredly. “I know. My bad.”

To be fair, usually you wouldn’t be so reckless. In a normal day, just plain caffeine and a few breaks to smoke would carry you through a full shift smoothly. It’s just that… it wasn’t a normal day. But you didn’t have it in you to try to justify yourself, because if you tried, you’d have to talk about that other thing, and you didn’t want to do it.

Before any of you could say anything, the soft ring of an electronic bell caught your attention. You tiptoed over the counter to see the panel of alarm lights. The little light from Room 32 glowed in green.

“Mrs. Hamazaki’s room.” Remi sighed and got up from her chair, sending you a pleading look. “I know you’re on your break, but can you cover me for a while? Just until Misa-san comes back. If a patient calls, dial downstairs… but she should be back in five minutes.”

You still had thirteen minutes left. Technically you shouldn’t, but you decided to shrug and walk to the other side of the counter anyway. “Sure.”

Remi patted your shoulder as you settled on her chair and put the stethoscope around her neck, disappearing down the quiet hallway towards Room 32.

Quiet. Real quiet, here.

You sighed, suddenly feeling an invisible weight worth tons over your shoulders. Sleep was finally starting to take space inside your head. Just the thought that you still had to take the subway – even for just a few stations –, shower, eat something and probably scold Mayu for going to Shinjuku (you knew her too well) made you feel tired.

But it’s fine. You’d have the next three days off, thanks to the two consecutive shifts you took.

You placed your phone standing over the desk, balancing it on the computer screen, and opened the front camera – just to immediately regret it. Jesus Christ, you really looked insane; your hair looked like a bird’s nest, dark circles under your eyes, your lips were chapped (you were so sure Mayu stole your lip balm)… everything about you was wrong. You immediately untied the loose bun and tied it again, trying to make your hair look at least a little more presentable. A small part of your brain tried to remember the last time you wore something nice, went to a hair salon or put makeup beyond just some soft mascara and blush… it was two months ago, maybe. Or three.

Fuck.

That’s the life you chose, right?

Nine minutes to the end of your break.

An annoying, familiar sound caught your attention. You frowned and got up to peek from over the counter.

Disgust immediately set in your stomach.

Other than the broken coffee machine or the new nurse that took ages to get a single blood sample or that old man that yelled at you because his case was sooo much worse than a car crash victim (he just had back pain) or the paramedic that gave you he wrong prognosis or the drunk patient flirting with you or that test result that arrived two hours late, that fucking thing on the floor was what made you truly feral the entire shift.

Except – you couldn’t sneak into the inpatients unit to complain about it with Remi, because apparently, no one else could see it.

It’s not as if you weren’t used to it. In fact, you were so used to it that you could fully ignore it, because that’s what adults do. Oh, you’re seeing a creature that looks straight out of Silent Hill? No, you’re fucking not. No one else is seeing it, so I’m not seeing it either.

It was also very unprofessional to be showing clear signs of schizophrenia and not being brave enough to confess it to a psychiatrist, sure. But it wasn’t a today thing. It was an always thing, because you’d always seen these things, and it was already so familiar that it didn’t shock you anymore. Maybe you could’ve done something about it when you were a kid, but now? At your big age? As you were so close to completing your residency? Fuck no.

This one wasn’t even as gruesome as the others you’d seen. But hell, how annoying it was.

“Chuuuuu…” the creepy little thing moaned. It looked like a rat – an obese, hairless, in advanced state of decomposition rat; its legs were too short and thin for the rest of the body, hence why it moved around slowly, dragging itself on the cool floor. And shit, it smelled so bad; its stench immediately overwhelmed the usual smell of antiseptic of the hall.

That fucking thing.

It kept chuuuu-ing in your ear the entire shift. It wandered around the ER room, and you crossed its slow path many times, trying to not look too insane as you avoided stepping on it. Even when you were far from it, you’d still hear the chuuuuuu and it was making you go nuts.

Again. Maybe it was the date or your maniacal mental state that made you so bothered with it. You’d see these things almost weekly at the hospital; they were all irritating, but they were also small and easy to ignore. You’d encountered far worse before. Yet, you just couldn’t stand it this time.

“Chuuuuuuu…” it repeated again. You grimaced.

“Shut the fuck up,” you finally hissed in something between a whisper and a yell, because you’d been holding back this entire time and now there was no one to witness you cussing at nothing.

Seven minutes to the end of your break.

The fucking thing looked at you.

It moved its hairless head slowly in your direction. Its eyes were white and empty. It… it lifted its head to look at you.

You froze in place.

You were looking at it, and it was looking back. It was looking. It was seeing.

That was new.

The thing screeched.

Like a rodent in a trap, but angrier. It… it looked angry, now. Its fat face retorted, exposing a set of sharp teeth, drool dripping from its mouth.

That was also new.

It changed directions. Before, it was crawling down the hallway; now, it crawled towards the counter – much faster than it was before. Towards you.

That was also very new.

“What the fuck?” You whispered, looking to your sides; the hallway was still empty. Your hallucinations were trying to attack you now? Shit, what if Remi was right and you were actually high? What if someone spiked your energy drink? Where the hell was that Misa-san she talked about? There’s no way– no way you’d deal with that alone.

The rat thing crawled closer. Closer. You got up from the chair.

“Shoo,” you tried, feeling a mix of urgency and disgust and sheer embarrassment because hey, were you trying to shoo a mutant rat that apparently only existed in your head?! You looked to your sides again, over the counter, waiting for anyone to appear – but the hallway was still dead empty.

It crossed the counter, screeching angrily. You stepped back and almost hit your back on a cabinet behind you. “Go away!” You whispered again. It only caused it to screech louder.

The thing opened and closed its jaws, biting the air around your feet. It was trying to bite you.

“No!” You tiptoed, trying to avoid it. The thing screeched so loud that it hurt your eardrums. It aimed at your ankles; its teeth were dead sharp, and it was drooling, and it was so much more disgusting from up close, and it smelled of rotten flesh, and it was going to bite your ankles, and– and–

“No!”

You stomped on it.

The thing exploded.

Its insides splashed around your right foot like it was nothing but a balloon filled with water, but instead of water it was purple rotten slime. You stood there, paralyzed, staring at your foot, the rat’s guts splashed on the floor – when suddenly, right before your eyes, its remains started to vaporize in black dust.

And then, in less than 5 seconds, there was only purple blood.

Or you thought that was blood.

That was all very fucking new.

“Ew!” A visceral disgusted groan erupted from your throat. You looked around again frantically (No one! Where the hell was that Misa-san girl?!), not knowing if you wished someone would see this or thankful that no one witnessed you murdering a… uh… rat? Rodent?

You were feeling its warm blood drip down your ankles and inside your socks, staining your white tennis shoe and the hem of your navy blue pants. That thing was real.

“Ew! Ew!” You whispered again. You hopped on one foot towards the paper towels on the wall, taking as many as you could and wiping the blood from your shoe the best way you could. I’m gonna get rabies, the thought crossed your mind, spiking your panic. I’m gonna get mutant rabies. I need to disinfect this. Disinfectant! Shit, I killed a wild animal or whatever that thing was– but I wasn’t expecting it to fucking implode like that! How did it get inside the hospital anyway?! Should I call animal control? How am I going to explain this–

“Excuse me?”

You yelped and turned around in a jump.

There was a boy.

He stood on the other side of the counter, eyeing you with a slight frown. His hair was a gracious mess of spiked black strands; he wore a plain white t-shirt and jeans. His eyelashes were ridiculously long (in a jealous tone), contrasting with his pale white skin.

Oh. Ooooh.

You eyed the identification sticker glued to the right side of his chest (remembering names is not a doctor’s forte).

“Oh. Hello, Fushiguro-kun. Good morning.” You swiftly threw the dirty tissues in the trash can under the counter, away from his eyesight. “How can I help you?”

Technically you shouldn’t help him because this was not your area and that Misa-san girl should be here already, but not only were you trying to not look so awkward and not let a visitor know you had just killed a wild animal inside the hospital – you had a soft spot for him. Everyone had, to be honest.

“Good morning, Mori-san.” You noticed how he didn’t look at your ID badge, he just remembered your name. Such a good kid. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just that… I thought I heard something.”

Great.

“Really? Heard what?”

Fushiguro tightened his eyes again. Why did he look so suspicious?

“Something strange.”

Greeeat. The boy heard me stomp on a wild animal. Fantastic.

“Must’ve been outside, I guess. It’s really silent here.” Years of calming hysterical patients made you perfect the ability of offering a calm, unsuspecting smile. “Can I help you with anything else?”

Which was something stupid to ask twice, because there was nothing you could help him with… and you had tried before.

You first met Fushiguro back in April.

It was your shift when his older sister, Fushiguro Tsumiki, was admitted to the hospital.

She came unconscious in an ambulance with a shivering, panicked friend of hers, both wearing school uniforms. You didn’t remember the specifics, but they were out of school doing something they clearly shouldn’t when Tsumiki blacked out, in her friend’s words. Your first assumption was alcoholic coma, obviously, even though her friend denied it vehemently (what teenager wants to get caught drinking in school hours?). She also stated that Tsumiki hadn’t hit her head anywhere, which was true: there were no signs of concussion or any other injury anywhere in her body. No convulsion, drooling or bleeding. Her vital signs were perfectly fine. And yet, Tsumiki wouldn’t wake up.

Around an hour after she was admitted, Fushiguro arrived. You remember asking where their parents were, but he was so frenetic that you decided to explain the situation to him before they could come. You told Fushiguro about her health status. You explained that she was going through a tomography at that moment and she still had more exams to take, but despite the unconsciousness, she was stable.

Your shift ended. You went home. The sight of that lonely, scared teenager stuck with you – maybe because he reminded you of Mayu.

The next day, you discovered that Tsumiki had been transferred from the ER to the ICU. She was none of your business anymore. And yet, during your break, you decided to check her test results out of curiosity.

There were no signs of alcohol or drugs in her blood.

No concussion, aneurysm, tumor or stroke. Her brain was perfectly fine.

And yet – Tsumiki would not wake up.

You were always busy with patients. It was hard to keep track of each case, and after someone was transferred out of the ER, you usually didn’t have time to check on them. But that girl intrigued you (and pretty much the entire medical staff). She was not brain dead; instead, her brain was working on a low frequency, as if she was simply asleep.

An inexplicable coma?

The entire situation kept coming back to you, not just due to the sheer absurdity of it, but also because of the boy.

Fushiguro came to visit every day during the first month. Remi always talked about him. Other nurses talked about him, too, always in a heartbroken tone. You’d cross his path in the hospital sometimes, and when you did, you’d make sure to check on him.

Whenever you saw him, your heart tightened.

He did remind you too much of Mayu. It made you think of her in this state if you were hospitalized. It broke your heart even more after you learned they were orphans. The whole thing just hit too close to home.

It was one of these situations that made you wonder, if I had done something different when she arrived, would I have saved her?

These days, he visited the hospital once or twice a week, always alone – which made you genuinely worried for him, since he was orphaned. Who was taking care of that boy? You went as far as checking Tsumiki’s file again, only to note that they had a legal guardian (well, someone had to be paying for the medical expenses, right?). Remi explained that said legal guardian did visit her sometimes as well (and she didn’t forget to mention how hot he was, apparently), you just happened to never be there when he was.

Tsumiki was currently in a room down the hallway. The visiting hours started at 8 o’clock, and there he was, always punctual.

And still eyeing you with suspicion.

Boy, I like you, but you’re starting to piss me off right now.

“...No, thank you,” he finally said, stepping away slowly. “I guess it was nothing.” Fushiguro offered you a polite bow. “Excuse me. Have a good job.”

You watched him walk out of the inpatients unit through the door.

Only then did you breathe again.

Three minutes to the end of your break.

Shit. You were going to get late. Where the fuck was Misa-san?! In fact, where was everybody in this goddamn ward?! You rushed to grab the phone and dialed the infirmary extension, ready to yell at someone, taping your fingertips over the desk impatiently. You’d have to explain yourself about the mutant rodent later – and you wouldn’t bother to clean that blood, not after Misa-san pissed you off by being late. Is no one going to pick it up?!

Two minutes to the end of your break.

The soft ring of an electronic bell.

Great. Fantastic.

You eyed the panel of alarms over the desk angrily. I don’t even know who Misa-san is, but I already hate her.

But then – you froze.

The alarm light was glowing in red. Emergency.

Over each alarm, there were stickers with the names of the patients occupying the rooms.

Room 39.

Fushiguro Tsumiki.

Your stomach dropped.

You put the phone down and ran down the hallway.

Is this really happening? Is it a mistake? What if the alarm is broken–? It didn’t matter. It didn’t even matter that you were going to get late and that this wasn’t your job. That was Tsumiki, and her brother had just left the room barely a minute ago. What if a miracle had just happened?! You’d still have time to run after him to tell him the news!

Room 39 was at the end of the corridor. Without a second thought, you barged in.

You were greeted by darkness.

The curtains were closed. Barely any light from outside reached the room. You tattered the wall, searching for the switch. It didn’t turn the lights on.

But you could still see the outline of her body.

Laying on the hospital bed. The covers up to her chest. Sleeping peacefully.

And for a second, you thought it really was just a mistake; the alarm went off on its own for some reason.

Until you saw someone holding the button.

It was dark; you couldn’t really see. But your body felt it. Your senses. You felt it, with something primitive and instinctive inside of you, felt it with your soul.

There was something terribly, terribly, terribly wrong happening.

And it was like the world outside of that small hospital room didn’t exist anymore. You couldn’t hear anything behind that door; only the darkness that surrounded you, and the cold – it was freezing cold – creeping up your legs and arms like frost. Your lungs failed. Adrenaline pumped in your veins. You didn’t want to turn your back to that thing, because your instincts knew that was a bad idea. And yet, you knew you had to run.

You turned the doorknob in a swift motion.

But it was already too late.

You had time to feel an icy cold hand grip around your wrist.

Then – darkness.

Megumi felt himself fill with anger as he waited for The Idiot.

He tapped his foot nervously, bit his fingernails even more nervously. He’d been trying to stop with this habit, but these days it felt nearly impossible. Not after everything that had been happening.

And certainly not after what happened an hour ago.

Which is what made him angrier. At himself.

Because he didn’t feel that presence until it was too late.

Megumi was inside the elevator, making his way to the ground floor of the hospital, when he felt that. The undeniable, chilling cursed energy – so strong that he could feel it from the other side of the building; it appeared suddenly, made the hairs in the nape of his neck rise, made his eyes widen and his heartbeat spike. Made him press the floor button angrily as if it’d make the elevator change directions out of nowhere.

Then came the explosion.

It shook the entire hospital. It cut the energy. It made him get stuck alone in the elevator for solid three minutes. It took him another three to run upstairs.

But it was already too late.

The cursed energy had disappeared, but not the immense hole on the wall that it – whatever it was – created in broad daylight.

Inside his sister’s room.

Panic filled the entire complex building. He heard people yelling, running, nurses rushing to get patients out of the ward, the distant sound of sirens. There was no fire, however – what created that hole on the wall wasn’t normal. All of that was a blur inside Megumi’s mind.

A hole. Cursed energy. Something inside Tsumiki’s room, minutes after he left.

She was unharmed. Some debris hit her cheek, but other than a small bruise, she was “fine”. That didn’t calm him.

What just happened? Why it happened? Why her?

The hospital was packed with police, firefighters and reporters now. As expected, lawyers already tried to talk to him (desperate for him not to sue them), but it was no use talking to a minor. They wanted his legal guardian.

The Idiot.

If he even felt like coming, that was.

There’s no way he’s not coming, Megumi tried to calm himself. This isn’t just because of Tsumiki. Something strange happened here. He needs to check.

Though – maybe there was a tiny part of him wishing he wouldn’t come…

Well. That was too late.

The familiar black sedan peeked around the corner.

And there he was.

The Idiot walked out of the car with his usual nonchalant posture, holding an opened chocolate Pocky pack. Megumi half expected him to immediately hit him with a joke, or scolding passed as a joke, or downplay the situation–

But The Idiot looked in the direction of the East ward and hummed.

Megumi couldn’t see his eyes, but he knew the man was frowning.

Great. So he knows I’m not overreacting.

“Scandalous, heh?” The Idiot mumbled as he stepped closer. “Too many people here. I don’t like it.”

Ijichi walked out of the car as well, looking nervous as usual. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose while typing something on his phone. “Should I notify the school?”

“Yep.” The Idiot put a Pocky in his mouth.

He walked towards the reception, not waiting for anyone. Megumi saw Ijichi about to say something else – probably that The Idiot shouldn’t get involved before Jujutsu High took responsibility over the case –, but he kind of had permission to do whatever he wanted, so Ijichi stopped himself and pressed the phone on his ear with a sigh of defeat.

Megumi followed him inside the hospital shortly.

“What do you think it was?”

The Idiot shrugged. “Dunno. Gotta take a closer look.” Normal people weren’t allowed to walk in, but he simply ignored it. “Is Tsumiki okay?”

“Yes. She was taken to another room.”

He nodded while chewing. Megumi wanted to believe that The Idiot felt relieved upon hearing that, even though he had already said Tsumiki’s condition through the phone… but it was hard to tell.

“So, let me rewind it…” Megumi rushed to follow him into the elevator. “You were right here… and didn’t feel anything wrong?”

Megumi felt his ears get warm. He hated being reprimanded by The Idiot, and he hated failing, and he hated that it would give The Idiot material to tease him about it. The elevator doors closed.

“I did feel something strange… but…”

“You thought it was nothing?” The Idiot crossed his arms and pouted. “You let your critical thinking overrun your gut? C’mon, Megumi. I’m disappointed.”

“You can’t judge me. This hospital is infested with Grade 4 curses. You know it.”

“Oh, but I can judge you.” The Idiot pointed at him with a Pocky. Despite his words, his tone wasn’t harsh – it was carefree as usual, and perhaps that pissed Megumi even more. “You told me you were taking care of the weakling curses. You said everything was under control, isn’t it? Boooo.” He flicked Megumi’s forehead, which made him inflate with even more anger. The Idiot pouted like a child and stepped away from him, pressing the pack of Pockys over his chest protectively. “Don’t look at me like that. I ain’t giving you any.”

“I don’t want your stupid–”

Ding. The elevator doors opened. The Idiot walked out before Megumi could finish the sentence.

As expected, the hallway was packed with policemen and firefighters. The door leading to the inpatients unit was protected by Keep Out yellow tapes, but The Idiot simply lifted it over his head and walked in.

A guard from the hospital immediately intercepted him. “Sir, this area is forbidden…”

And maybe the fact that he was two heads shorter than The Idiot made his confidence deflate, or the off-putting blindfold, or the simple fact that The Idiot had this strange way of acting like he owned anywhere he walked into and it always made people question themselves. Megumi had seen this same reaction countless times before. The guard cleared his throat and made an effort to broaden his shoulders.

“Sir, you may not enter the area unless authorized. I must ask who you are.”

“Oh. Right.” The Idiot had the decency to shove the Pockys inside the pocket of his jacket, at least. His tone was a mix of nonchalance and passive aggressiveness as usual. “You were looking for this little guy’s legal guardian. Here I am. The legal guardian.” He patted Megumi on the shoulder rather aggressively. “His legal guardian and of the girl who almost blew up inside your hospital, you know.”

The guard went pale.

A middle-aged man wearing a suit nearby observed the conversation and rushed nearer. Megumi recognized him – one of the hospital’s lawyers. He pressed his hands together and smiled nervously.

“Eh, you must be Gojo-san, isn’t it? It’s a pleasure to meet you. We’ve been waiting for your arrival–”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The Idiot kept walking.

Megumi followed. The nervous lawyer followed, too.

The nearer they got to the room at the end of the corridor, the more people gathered. The Idiot towered over all of them, making his way unhurriedly while the lawyer babbled. As he stood in front of Room 39’s open doors, a policeman tried to stop him, but the lawyer hushed:

“This man can end our hospital’s reputation. Please, let him take a look.”

The policeman let him step inside. Megumi followed.

The Idiot whistled.

“What a mess.”

Megumi’s stomach dropped. The wall that faced outside was destroyed; the steel beams were retorted, the concrete cracked even on the ceiling. A hole with a diameter of at least three meters.They still had to verify if the structure of that part of the building had the risk of completely crumbling, though Megumi doubted it. Now, the view to the hospital’s back gardens and the street just ahead was totally visible.

To know that Tsumiki laid right there when whatever or whoever caused this much destruction was… to know that the debris could’ve caused her much more harm… Tsumiki, asleep, defenseless…

The man beside him hummed and held his chin. In moments like this, Megumi wished he could see through his eyes.

“Sloppy work. There’s residue all over the place.”

“So… you don’t think this is the work of a curse?”

“Nope.”

Megumi’s worst suspicions.

Curse users.

Whoever was behind this was intelligent. Had intent. So maybe… maybe Tsumiki’s condition had intent behind it, too…

“I just don’t get why Tsumiki was unharmed.” The Idiot said. “Why draw this much attention if you’re going to leave her behind?”

Megumi had been asking himself this the entire time. It didn’t make any sense.

He sighed and crossed his arms. “Well. I guess keeping her here isn’t safe anymore. Though I don’t think Shoko will be okay with moving her to the school…”

Megumi knew that. Jujutsu High didn’t have the necessary staff or equipment to accommodate a patient in coma; that’s why Tsumiki was in this hospital in the first place. They already knew that her problem couldn’t be solved by normal doctors. She just needed a place to be properly taken care of until they found a solution.

“C’mon. Where is Tsumiki now? Gonna take a look at her.” The Idiot turned around. Megumi frowned and followed.

“What about the cursed energy residue?”

“Just the usual. We gotta track it.” The Idiot shrugged and walked down the hallway back to where they came from. The middle-aged lawyer approached again, babbling about how he was so eager to sit down with him and settle the situation extrajudicially (Megumi wanted to punch him on the face. His sister could’ve died and all he cared about was not getting sued?!). Said lawyer got pale when The Idiot absently handed him a simple black business card and told him to talk to his lawyers (plural), as he had no time in his schedule.

They waited for the elevator. The Idiot started chewing his Pockys again, humming a tune and tapping his foot to the rhythm.

Megumi hated that.

How he couldn’t even pretend to be worried for Tsumiki.

That was when another voice caught his attention.

“You’re not listening to me, sir.”

“I am listening, ma’am.”

“Then why are none of you taking action?! I spent the last hour explaining the same thing!”

“And I have already explained how the protocol works–”

“I am telling you that my friend was taken!”

Ding. The elevator doors opened.

Megumi walked to the other end of the corridor instead. The Idiot tilted his head to the side, calling his name, but he ignored it.

That was Yoshida Remi. The blonde nurse responsible over this floor’s inpatients unit. Megumi already knew her well at this point. He noticed how her forehead had a small bruise, and there were band-aids over her forearms; she was hurt by the explosion? Her hair was disheveled, her face pale, and her expression a mix of concern and frustration. An unwilling policeman stood in front of her, looking like he just wanted to get rid of the situation.

“In fact, Yoshida-san, you have failed to explain exactly what happened.”

She gripped her own hair and groaned. “I… I already told you! She was taken!”

“By who?”

“I…”

The policeman sighed and made an appeasing gesture with his palms turned to her. “I understand you must be in shock, ma’am, after witnessing an explosion. I believe it’s best for you to calm down first and organize your thoughts.”

“My thoughts are organized! My colleague works here and she’s nowhere to be found!”

“Have you tried calling her?”

“I already said– I told you that I got her phone!” The nurse almost scrubbed a phone on the policeman’s face, shaking it angrily in his direction. “How could I call her?!”

“Excuse me, officer.”

Megumi turned his head to see The Idiot approaching as well.

He touched the policeman’s shoulder and opened a small smile. “I’ll take it from here.”

Anyone normal would question the guy with the blindfold, but the officer was visibly so tired of that situation that he decided to simply nod and escape.

The nurse was taken aback. “Fushiguro-kun? You’re still here?” He saw a load of guilt cross her face. “I am so sorry for what happened to your sister. You have checked on her already, right? Fortunately, she was unscathed…”

“Yes. Yes, I saw her.” Megumi nodded.

The Idiot stepped closer. “What were you talking about? Your colleague was taken?”

Yoshida Remi’s eyes traveled to The Idiot – and at the same rate she was visibly confused by the blindfold, she also blushed. Megumi tried not to roll his eyes. “Gojo-san? I-I didn’t know you were an officer.”

“Yeah.” The Idiot smiled, not bothering to deny it. “So? Can you explain to me exactly what you saw?”

She dropped her eyes and frowned; the nurse was so, so, so visibly confused. “I-I… I’m not really sure of what I saw. But I saw. I heard a noise coming from Fushiguro-san’s room, so I went there to check it, and…” She scratched her head nervously. “I saw someone, or something, grab my friend and take her away. Then the explosion came and I’m even less sure of what happened, but…” She looked up again with frantic, widened eyes. “But she disappeared! I looked for her everywhere! Look, her phone was left behind, and I found her badge on the floor, too…”

Megumi’s eyes widened.

“It was Mori-san?”

She nodded. “Yes! You remember her, don’t you?!”

Of course Megumi remembered her. He saw her just minutes before the explosion happened… and she looked suspicious…

Surprisingly, The Idiot took the ID badge from the nurse’s hand and looked down at it.

His smile had vanished.

So had his nonchalant posture.

“Megumi.” The black haired boy frowned at his tone – lower? More serious? “Let’s go.”

He also took the phone from the nurse’s hand and turned around without explaining anything.

“What? Are you making a police report?”

The Idiot threw her a thumbs up without looking back. “Yep! No worries!”

Megumi bowed at the confused blonde nurse politely before running after him. “Where are we going?!”

“We’re going to solve a kidnapping, silly. Ain’t it obvious?” He flicked Megumi’s temple again to his utmost anger. Luckily, the elevator’s doors were already opened, so both rushed in. The black sedan and Ijichi were waiting in the same spot.

“Good news, though.” The Idiot said while chewing more Pocky. “I don’t think this had anything to do with Tsumiki at all.”

“What…?”

The Idiot, as usual, did not elaborate.

Surprisingly, he sat on the passenger’s seat instead of the backseats, which for some reason made Ijichi sweat. While Megumi adjusted his seatbelt, Ijichi asked nervously:

“Where to next, Gojo-san?”

The Idiot hummed.

With his thumb, he pushed the black blindfold up to his forehead, exposing his right eye. His cyan iris seemed to glow faintly.

“...Hmm… Sanya, I guess.” He put the blindfold back in place and excitedly reached for the radio, immediately turning it up to an obnoxious volume. “I’m not picking any of your boring songs, Ijichi!”

The driver shivered.

One day, Megumi would land a much deserving punch on his face.

It was freezing.

All of your senses were slow as consciousness awakened again. No hearing, no seeing, no smelling or tasting. But you could feel that it was cold.

The second thing you could feel was your teeth chattering.

The third, a discomfort on the entire left side of your body: you were laying on a hard floor. Your neck hurt from the way your head hung.

The fourth was the fact that you couldn’t move.

You could feel your limbs, but there was no strength to them, as if the cable that connected your brain to your limbs was ripped off. Your body was useless.

That’s when panic started to settle in.

What the fuck was going on?!

Finally, you could see again.

The place was dimly lit by… candles? That was it, probably, judging by the way shadows flickered on the walls. Each breath of yours produced small clouds of steam. It was a relatively large room; the concrete floor under your body was wet. The place smelled like a butcher shop. Were you inside a meat locker? That should be it, judging by how stupidly cold it was. With your peripheral vision, you could see that there was a plastic curtain somewhere in the corner.

Your teeth chattered, but that was an involuntary motion. You could move your eyeballs and that was it. The rest of your body – numb.

A million thoughts per minute rushed in your head. A spinal fracture? Had you completely lost movement?

You were laying in fetal position: leg to leg, arm to arm. You tried your best to look down…

You were… mummified?

That was the only description. There was… paper wrapped around your body. Yellowed paper, old looking, with inscriptions that you couldn’t really recognize. From what you could see, only your head was free from it.

Panic really really really settled in.

Oh my fucking God. What is happening?! Where am I?! What happened– wait, try to remember. Try to remember. I was working. I was in the hospital. I stepped on a weird looking rat. My break was close to ending. I rushed to a room because the alarm was on and– and– what happened after that?! What–?

You heard steps.

It made your heartbeat spike up.

Shit. Shit. Oh my God. Oh my God. I was kidnapped.

It was more than one pair of feet – two or three people? You couldn’t be sure, as you couldn’t fucking move your head to see it, but the noise clearly came from over that plastic curtain. Low male voices. It made violent shivers run your entire body.

Fear. Fear. Fear. You were frightened. A type of fear you’d never experienced before. It was visceral, colder than the temperature, scarier than any weird creature you’d seen before. You were in an actually dangerous situation and you couldn’t even form a coherent thought.

I’m being trafficked I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m–

The second little person living inside your head slaps the first little person on the face. Shut up!! Focus! Try to think of a way out!!

A window–?! You couldn’t turn your head to see if there was one. If this really was a meat locker, there shouldn’t be any. A familiar sound?! Cars outside–?! Nothing. The only things you could hear were the low voices of the unknown men nearby and a constant quiet buzz. A board?! A flyer?! Anything that might tell you where you are–?! Nothing to see on your field of view.

The first little person living inside your head starts freaking out again. I don’t know where I am I don’t know how long I’ve been knocked out I might be paraplegic I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m going to die—

You’re not being useful!, the second little person yells, making the first little person recoil and shiver. You’ve watched these true crime documentaries! The probability of living if you don’t take action now are less than 10%! Do something now that we have a chance!

Right right right. They still hadn’t noticed that you were awake; you could only hope there was no one watching you from behind where you couldn’t see. You’d have to take advantage of this before anyone crossed the curtains.

You could feel your limbs and the pain and the discomfort, so a spinal fracture was less likely. Maybe they had anesthetized you and the effects were beginning to dissipate? What sort of anesthetic was that, by the way, to render anyone in this state? Gosh— if it really was general anesthesia, you were lucky to be alive to begin with.

Try to move. It felt silly to try to mechanically do something a body does on the automatic. You focused your senses on your left feet; the strange blood of the mutant rat had dried in your sock, becoming some sort of crust you could feel very well. You could feel that the shoelace was less tight than on the right foot. Try to move. Try to move. A spasm. A wiggle. Anything. Anything.

But nothing moved.

No matter how hard you tried.

Your breath became irregular and difficult as real, real, real panic spread through your system.

I am going to die.

Both little people inside your head were screaming now.

I can’t move. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know who these people are. I don’t know what they’re gonna do. I don’t have a way out. I don’t have an escape plan. I can’t contact anyone. I am going to die I am going to die I am going to die I am going to die I am going to die I am going to—

Mayu.

The two little people shut up abruptly.

Mayu.

Fourteen year old Mayu, waiting for you to come home. Acting nonchalant at first but then getting really worried when you don’t pick up or text back. Mayu, going back to Aunt Junko’s house, not knowing what to do. Mayu, Mayu-chan, Mayuka, lonely and frightened the way you saw Fushiguro Megumi the evening that his older sister was brought in.

Mayu.

You couldn’t allow anyone to kill you.

You couldn’t just leave her behind.

Another feeling grew inside of you, spread like fire on hay; made the two little people run and hide. Overwhelmed the fear quickly.

Anger.

Who the fuck these men thought they were to kidnap you?! What right did they have?!

Anger mixed with frustration pumped even more adrenaline through your bloodstream; tears welled up your eyes, tightened your throat. I can’t be dragged around like a garbage bag! I can’t allow it! I have to do something!

USELESS BODY!! DO!! SOMETHING!!

It started like a point of heat — right in your heart.

You didn’t know what that was. For a brief second, you thought it was cardiac arrest — that’s probably what it’d feel like. It was hot, piping hot, made your blood boil, your vision blur in white; it spread through your skin, from your toes to your scalp. It was heat, it was energy, it was anger—

It was fire.

It was black. The flames — they were black; they enveloped your body, and it took a second to understand that this was not your imagination; you were in flames. You’d have screamed if you could. It took you another second, however, to realize that these flames weren’t burning you… not exactly.

They set the papers that wrapped your body on fire.

You watched in utter disbelief as the inscriptions on the papers seemed to glow for a moment before burning down to ashes.

All of that happened in less than ten seconds.

The black fire extinguished as if it’d never been there in the first place.

The strange yellowed paper that once enveloped your body — gone.

And all of sudden — you could move.

The cable was reconnected.

You got up in a jump; your limbs ached and you felt dizzy, but somehow managed to keep your balance. Your heart pounded in your chest, you gasped for air as if you’d been underwater, your fingers were shaking, you felt a terrible headache— and on top of that, you were tired as if you’d ran a marathon.

None of that mattered. You could move. You could run.

You didn’t even have time to look around, however — because the curtains were opened.

There were three men.

They were all relatively tall. The one in the middle had long black hair, an ugly goatee and tattoos on his forearms. Their clothes were pretty unimpressive. They… didn’t look threatening, not exactly — the one in the middle looked like someone you’d have beaten up in middle school — but there was something in your gut yelling at you to be careful, that they represented danger you could not deal with. Not just because of the obvious fact that they were your kidnappers. Not even because the guy on the left had a fucking katana strapped to his hip.

It was that chilly, strange feeling that usually meant there was a creature nearby.

You’d never felt this for a person before.

The goatee guy hummed and measured you up and down.

“She broke the seals. You shoulda made sure these seals would work, huh, Hideki?” His voice was raspy. Was he talking like a stereotypical Yakuza member on purpose? Did he think he sounded cool doing that?

“Ain’t my fault. The seals were pretty tight.” The guy on the left replied. Why was he also talking like that?! He opened a smirk, exposing a set of the yellowest teeth you’d ever seen. “This only means she really is the one, right?”

“Uh-huh.” The goatee guy smirked too and caressed said goatee. “Just like they told us, aye?”

“This one’s gonna make us a ton of money.” The one on the right said with a stupidly high pitched voice.

“Who are you? Where am I?” You felt stupid — why would they answer? Why even ask in the first place? In fact — seals?! What were they talking about?!

“Knock her out again. And make better seals this time.” Goatee guy ignored you completely. The guy on the left stepped closer, which spiked your panic once again.

You could move now, but what difference did that make against three people? You were weak, standing pathetically, shaking from head to toe.

“No! No!” You yelled when he gripped your wrist and pulled you without any effort.

“No one’s gonna hear you. It’s useless.”

“Fuck you!”

You punched his face.

It was a sloppy, weak punch with your non-dominant hand — not enough to make him release you, but enough to make him angry.

He gripped your hair with his free hand and pulled aggressively; it felt like he was going to rip the strands off the scalp, making you scream again — in pain this time.

“Fucking bitch—“

And then you were on the ground.

And he was on the ground, too. And goatee guy. And the baby voice guy.

And everyone was on the ground, because the roof had exploded.

You didn’t have time to look up or scream or even properly register what the fuck had happened before you were shocked against the wet floor. It sounded like a bomb had dropped over your head, and concrete and steel cracked like paper, and the sound was deafening and disorienting and it felt like oxygen was sucked off your lungs, and just like that — in seconds — half of the roof and the wall were gone, and it was all white because— because— the sun is still up! The sun was up and your eyes weren’t used to the brightness, and there was dust in your mouth which made you cough, and your head hurt and you didn’t know what was happening— what—

What—

There was a guy.

And he was floating.

Your brain was overloaded with information. You had stepped on a mutant rat. You had been kidnapped. You spontaneously combusted in black flames. The place where you were exploded. And now—

There was a guy floating meters above you, from the immense hole caused by the explosion. Like, an actual person. Floating.

Your ears were buzzing, your eyes were still adjusting to the sudden sunlight; for some moments, all you could see was a silhouette. And for a second, one of the little people in your head breathed out in awe and disbelief: Jesus?

It wasn’t Jesus.

Jesus didn’t have white hair, as far as you knew.

You propped yourself up on your elbows, confused and disoriented, the extremely high pitched buzz still ringing in your ears; it felt that your head was underwater. Sounds were muffled. You didn’t really see the moment he — Albino Jesus? — got down, but all of sudden he was hovering over you — his torso leaning down to look at you closely, his feet on each side of you.

“Looking” was a bit of a stretch.

He was… blindfolded?

And grinning.

“Happy to see me?” His deep, lighthearted (?), excited voice reached your ears through the buzz. You couldn’t help but note how his teeth were so perfectly white, the complete opposite of katana guy.

“What—?” You managed to mumble somehow, still feeling the horrid taste of dust in your tongue.

“Nah, no need to get emotional. We ain’t got time for this.”

He offered his open hand in your direction, and for a moment you thought he was helping you to your feet… but you heard a strange zzuup, an inescapable attraction, and then suddenly you were off the ground without doing any effort – towards his palm. Your back was glued to it as if he was a magnet and you, a coin. You saw yourself weightless, floating beside his body.

You felt like a potato sack if potato sacks didn’t have weight.

No. A potato sack is too nice. He was carrying you like a dog.

Your stomach twirled.

You wanted to take a better look at his face (what was visible of it), but the three guys were up to their feet again and you went cold. What was worse: the three kidnappers, or floating Jesus?

However, their reactions took you completely off guard.

They took protective stances. Their expressions weren’t mocking or relaxed anymore… they were… scared?

Frightened, in fact.

“Oooh?” Floating Jesus hummed in that same excited tone again. His voice seemed to be naturally loud. “You want this nurse so bad that you’re willing to fight me for her?”

What?! I’m not a—

“This is fucked up, man,” baby voice guy stuttered. “It wasn’t on the contract that we’d have to face Gojo Satoru.”

Floating Jesus pointed his finger at baby voice guy.

“So you’re not willing to fight. At least someone’s honest!”

Your brain didn’t properly register what happened next, partly because it couldn’t believe it.

Space around baby voice guy’s body twisted; it was like looking at someone’s warped reflex on rippled water. But that wasn’t simply a warped reflex or an illusion. He yelled in pain, a yell that came from his guts — and you watched in real time as his arms and legs warped with the twisted space around him, heard the nauseating noise of his bones crushing in different angles, saw the blood splashing from his wounds and his body falling flat on the floor.

Your jaw dropped.

There was no time to let that image sink in. The other two guys ran in different directions – trying to flee.

Floating Jesus giggled.

Your stomach dropped with your jaw when he moved, dragging your weightless body along; fast fast fast, he moved too fast for your eyes to follow, making everything look like an incomprehensible blur. In the blink of an eye, he was floating again above countless roofs; it looked like a residential neighborhood — and you looked down, and you were too high, way too high, and he wasn’t even really holding you, your back was just glued to his palm and what if he dropped you— what if—

You screamed.

“Don’t shout in my ear, woman.” He whined.

“We’re gonna fall! We’re gonna—”

He had moved again.

You were closer to the street this time and at that point you wondered if your brain was lagging, because how the hell could you be in a spot in a second and in another spot a second later?! You found what he was looking for — katana guy, running down the street at a speed that didn’t even look human. And yet, it was still not match for Floating Jesus.

He stopped in front of katana guy.

“Boo.”

That thing happened again – warped space, warped limbs, screams and broken bones and blood. You wanted to vomit. And he did it again, and suddenly you were in another street, and there was a car? A black car? And a nervous looking guy in a suit standing near the car, and you didn’t know what the fuck was happening, and—

“Megumiii, the last one’s yours!” He said in a sing-song voice. “Don’t let him escape!”

And maybe you heard a familiar male voice saying “understood” before the sound of fast steps echoing down the street.

And then finally, your feet touched the ground again.

Your body had weight. It was heavy, it was tired. Your head hurt, your stomach was still doing twirls, you were dizzy and confused and something inside your brain felt about to explode—

“Case solved! We got the nurse back!” He said in an obnoxiously happy tone— and maybe if you hadn’t noticed with the corner of your eye that he was about to touch your arm, you wouldn’t have done it.

But you did it anyway.

You slapped him.

It was instinctive. Your palm found its way to his cheek with speed and strength that could only be fueled by panic. The slap echoed on the street, turned his head to the side abruptly, made his cheek burn in bright red.

The suit guy gasped audibly.

Even Floating Jesus seemed shocked. Not that you could tell for sure because of the blindfold, but his jaw was dropped.

Yeah, your brain was definitely lagging. You could’ve said a hundred things. A hundred questions. You could’ve tried to run away. You could’ve tried screaming for help.

And yet, the only thing you said – pointing at him angrily as if he had called your mom a bitch — was:

“I am not a nurse!”

That was around a second before your brain completely shut off.

You had time to see the ghost of a smirk on his lips.

And then—

Darkness.

A/N: AND OUR STORY BEGINS!!! GOSH!! So much stuff happens this chapter. But I wanted to start this story with adrenaline!! Next chapter we'll have time to sit down and talk (hopefully) ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊ If you read it this far, please don't forget to leave a comment or interact somehow! Feedback always motivates me to keep writing. Let me know if you guys are excited about the story too! 💞 Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! See you <3

#sr

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zorostitties · 3 days ago

Text

Weak Point; 1

⤕ It's crazy how life can turn upside down overnight. In your case, life took a 180º turn the morning you discovered you were the weakness of the most powerful creature in the world.

And yet - amid the chaos, you slowly realize that you might be his weak point in ways that have nothing to do with sorcery.

pairing: gojo x (f) reader

genre: romance, fluff and humor, angst, forced proximity, slow burn, eventual smut, "oh no we have to live in the same house" trope, fix-it fic (kinda)

warnings: violence/blood, explicit sex (in future parts), grief, smoking, alcohol consumption, explicit language, me trying to be funny

rating: 18+

word count: 9k

⤕ Masterlist: soon! ⤕ Also on AO3 ⤕ Taglist open!

It was a shift like any other before the kidnapping happened.

A shift like any other. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, there was a lot of stuff happening at the same time.

Dad would’ve killed me if he knew, you thought.

July 18th, 2017 – your phone screen showed. You only survived the 17th thanks to all of that.

Which didn’t mean your brain wasn’t reduced to jelly inside your skull at that point, of course.

“You look like you’re on cocaine.”

Remi stared at you with a mix of judging and concern in her eyes. She sat behind the nurse’s counter, while you leaned on it in front of her.

“I don’t.” You shrugged and took one more sip of the warm water from the plastic cup. Remi tightener her eyes.

“Your pupils are two black wholes. You look insane right now.”

“I’m fine.”

“How many energy drinks did you take?” Her perfect eyebrow quirked up.

“Not many.”

“This alone implies you had more than one. Are you trying to kill yourself?”

You shrugged again, half of your face hidden behind the plastic cup.

“Maybe.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed.

“I’d rather be actually high right now, to be honest.” You admitted quietly. Remi nodded. She put some strands of honey blonde hair behind her ear delicately.

You tightened your eyes slowly.

“I thought you had stopped talking to him.”

“That was past week, darling. Things change.”

“Right.” Yeah, definitely not very responsible.

“But that’s not the point. The summer festival looked so fun! And there were so many hot guys there, too…”

“But weren’t you supposed to be there with Keito-kun?”

“I can multitask.”

You cackled. She followed. It was probably the first time you smiled that day.

“Mayu’s not answering me.” You mumbled. Remi typed something on her computer, not bothering to lift her eyes to you.

“It’s 8AM on a Saturday. No normal person is awake at this hour.”

“I think she went to Shinjuku behind my back.”

Remi pursed her lips and hummed. “...It’s the type of thing I would do as a teenager.”

“Me too.”

“So you can’t really judge her, can you?”

“Oh, come on. Even if she went there, Mayu is pretty level headed for her age. Much more than I was. I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe she’s sleeping right now and you’re overreacting.”

July 18th, the notification bar showed. Yesterday, July 17th.

July 17th.

Shit. Stop thinking about that other thing. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To not think about it. So don’t think about it. It was yesterday anyway. It’s over.

Remi yawned.

“When are you leaving?”

“At nine thirty.” You groaned and massaged your own forehead. “Shit. Just remembered I’ll have to go home by subway.”

You nodded tiredly. “I know. My bad.”

You still had thirteen minutes left. Technically you shouldn’t, but you decided to shrug and walk to the other side of the counter anyway. “Sure.”

Remi patted your shoulder as you settled on her chair and put the stethoscope around her neck, disappearing down the quiet hallway towards Room 32.

Quiet. Real quiet, here.

But it’s fine. You’d have the next three days off, thanks to the two consecutive shifts you took.

Fuck.

That’s the life you chose, right?

Nine minutes to the end of your break.

An annoying, familiar sound caught your attention. You frowned and got up to peek from over the counter.

Disgust immediately set in your stomach.

Except – you couldn’t sneak into the inpatients unit to complain about it with Remi, because apparently, no one else could see it.

This one wasn’t even as gruesome as the others you’d seen. But hell, how annoying it was.

That fucking thing.

“Chuuuuuuu…” it repeated again. You grimaced.

“Shut the fuck up,” you finally hissed in something between a whisper and a yell, because you’d been holding back this entire time and now there was no one to witness you cussing at nothing.

Seven minutes to the end of your break.

The fucking thing looked at you.

It moved its hairless head slowly in your direction. Its eyes were white and empty. It… it lifted its head to look at you.

You froze in place.

You were looking at it, and it was looking back. It was looking. It was seeing.

That was new.

The thing screeched.

Like a rodent in a trap, but angrier. It… it looked angry, now. Its fat face retorted, exposing a set of sharp teeth, drool dripping from its mouth.

That was also new.

It changed directions. Before, it was crawling down the hallway; now, it crawled towards the counter – much faster than it was before. Towards you.

That was also very new.

The rat thing crawled closer. Closer. You got up from the chair.

It crossed the counter, screeching angrily. You stepped back and almost hit your back on a cabinet behind you. “Go away!” You whispered again. It only caused it to screech louder.

The thing opened and closed its jaws, biting the air around your feet. It was trying to bite you.

“No!”

You stomped on it.

The thing exploded.

And then, in less than 5 seconds, there was only purple blood.

Or you thought that was blood.

That was all very fucking new.

You were feeling its warm blood drip down your ankles and inside your socks, staining your white tennis shoe and the hem of your navy blue pants. That thing was real.

“Excuse me?”

You yelped and turned around in a jump.

There was a boy.

Oh. Ooooh.

You eyed the identification sticker glued to the right side of his chest (remembering names is not a doctor’s forte).

“Oh. Hello, Fushiguro-kun. Good morning.” You swiftly threw the dirty tissues in the trash can under the counter, away from his eyesight. “How can I help you?”

Great.

“Really? Heard what?”

Fushiguro tightened his eyes again. Why did he look so suspicious?

“Something strange.”

Greeeat. The boy heard me stomp on a wild animal. Fantastic.

Which was something stupid to ask twice, because there was nothing you could help him with… and you had tried before.

You first met Fushiguro back in April.

It was your shift when his older sister, Fushiguro Tsumiki, was admitted to the hospital.

Your shift ended. You went home. The sight of that lonely, scared teenager stuck with you – maybe because he reminded you of Mayu.

There were no signs of alcohol or drugs in her blood.

No concussion, aneurysm, tumor or stroke. Her brain was perfectly fine.

And yet – Tsumiki would not wake up.

An inexplicable coma?

The entire situation kept coming back to you, not just due to the sheer absurdity of it, but also because of the boy.

Whenever you saw him, your heart tightened.

It was one of these situations that made you wonder, if I had done something different when she arrived, would I have saved her?

Tsumiki was currently in a room down the hallway. The visiting hours started at 8 o’clock, and there he was, always punctual.

And still eyeing you with suspicion.

Boy, I like you, but you’re starting to piss me off right now.

“...No, thank you,” he finally said, stepping away slowly. “I guess it was nothing.” Fushiguro offered you a polite bow. “Excuse me. Have a good job.”

You watched him walk out of the inpatients unit through the door.

Only then did you breathe again.

Three minutes to the end of your break.

Two minutes to the end of your break.

The soft ring of an electronic bell.

Great. Fantastic.

You eyed the panel of alarms over the desk angrily. I don’t even know who Misa-san is, but I already hate her.

But then – you froze.

The alarm light was glowing in red. Emergency.

Over each alarm, there were stickers with the names of the patients occupying the rooms.

Room 39.

Fushiguro Tsumiki.

Your stomach dropped.

You put the phone down and ran down the hallway.

Room 39 was at the end of the corridor. Without a second thought, you barged in.

You were greeted by darkness.

The curtains were closed. Barely any light from outside reached the room. You tattered the wall, searching for the switch. It didn’t turn the lights on.

But you could still see the outline of her body.

Laying on the hospital bed. The covers up to her chest. Sleeping peacefully.

And for a second, you thought it really was just a mistake; the alarm went off on its own for some reason.

Until you saw someone holding the button.

It was dark; you couldn’t really see. But your body felt it. Your senses. You felt it, with something primitive and instinctive inside of you, felt it with your soul.

There was something terribly, terribly, terribly wrong happening.

You turned the doorknob in a swift motion.

But it was already too late.

You had time to feel an icy cold hand grip around your wrist.

Then – darkness.

Megumi felt himself fill with anger as he waited for The Idiot.

And certainly not after what happened an hour ago.

Which is what made him angrier. At himself.

Because he didn’t feel that presence until it was too late.

Then came the explosion.

It shook the entire hospital. It cut the energy. It made him get stuck alone in the elevator for solid three minutes. It took him another three to run upstairs.

But it was already too late.

The cursed energy had disappeared, but not the immense hole on the wall that it – whatever it was – created in broad daylight.

Inside his sister’s room.

A hole. Cursed energy. Something inside Tsumiki’s room, minutes after he left.

She was unharmed. Some debris hit her cheek, but other than a small bruise, she was “fine”. That didn’t calm him.

What just happened? Why it happened? Why her?

The Idiot.

If he even felt like coming, that was.

There’s no way he’s not coming, Megumi tried to calm himself. This isn’t just because of Tsumiki. Something strange happened here. He needs to check.

Though – maybe there was a tiny part of him wishing he wouldn’t come…

Well. That was too late.

The familiar black sedan peeked around the corner.

And there he was.

But The Idiot looked in the direction of the East ward and hummed.

Megumi couldn’t see his eyes, but he knew the man was frowning.

Great. So he knows I’m not overreacting.

“Scandalous, heh?” The Idiot mumbled as he stepped closer. “Too many people here. I don’t like it.”

Ijichi walked out of the car as well, looking nervous as usual. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose while typing something on his phone. “Should I notify the school?”

“Yep.” The Idiot put a Pocky in his mouth.

Megumi followed him inside the hospital shortly.

“What do you think it was?”

The Idiot shrugged. “Dunno. Gotta take a closer look.” Normal people weren’t allowed to walk in, but he simply ignored it. “Is Tsumiki okay?”

“Yes. She was taken to another room.”

He nodded while chewing. Megumi wanted to believe that The Idiot felt relieved upon hearing that, even though he had already said Tsumiki’s condition through the phone… but it was hard to tell.

“So, let me rewind it…” Megumi rushed to follow him into the elevator. “You were right here… and didn’t feel anything wrong?”

Megumi felt his ears get warm. He hated being reprimanded by The Idiot, and he hated failing, and he hated that it would give The Idiot material to tease him about it. The elevator doors closed.

“I did feel something strange… but…”

“You thought it was nothing?” The Idiot crossed his arms and pouted. “You let your critical thinking overrun your gut? C’mon, Megumi. I’m disappointed.”

“You can’t judge me. This hospital is infested with Grade 4 curses. You know it.”

“I don’t want your stupid–”

Ding. The elevator doors opened. The Idiot walked out before Megumi could finish the sentence.

A guard from the hospital immediately intercepted him. “Sir, this area is forbidden…”

“Sir, you may not enter the area unless authorized. I must ask who you are.”

The guard went pale.

A middle-aged man wearing a suit nearby observed the conversation and rushed nearer. Megumi recognized him – one of the hospital’s lawyers. He pressed his hands together and smiled nervously.

“Eh, you must be Gojo-san, isn’t it? It’s a pleasure to meet you. We’ve been waiting for your arrival–”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The Idiot kept walking.

Megumi followed. The nervous lawyer followed, too.

“This man can end our hospital’s reputation. Please, let him take a look.”

The policeman let him step inside. Megumi followed.

The Idiot whistled.

“What a mess.”

To know that Tsumiki laid right there when whatever or whoever caused this much destruction was… to know that the debris could’ve caused her much more harm… Tsumiki, asleep, defenseless…

The man beside him hummed and held his chin. In moments like this, Megumi wished he could see through his eyes.

“Sloppy work. There’s residue all over the place.”

“So… you don’t think this is the work of a curse?”

“Nope.”

Megumi’s worst suspicions.

Curse users.

Whoever was behind this was intelligent. Had intent. So maybe… maybe Tsumiki’s condition had intent behind it, too…

“I just don’t get why Tsumiki was unharmed.” The Idiot said. “Why draw this much attention if you’re going to leave her behind?”

Megumi had been asking himself this the entire time. It didn’t make any sense.

He sighed and crossed his arms. “Well. I guess keeping her here isn’t safe anymore. Though I don’t think Shoko will be okay with moving her to the school…”

“C’mon. Where is Tsumiki now? Gonna take a look at her.” The Idiot turned around. Megumi frowned and followed.

“What about the cursed energy residue?”

They waited for the elevator. The Idiot started chewing his Pockys again, humming a tune and tapping his foot to the rhythm.

Megumi hated that.

How he couldn’t even pretend to be worried for Tsumiki.

That was when another voice caught his attention.

“You’re not listening to me, sir.”

“I am listening, ma’am.”

“Then why are none of you taking action?! I spent the last hour explaining the same thing!”

“And I have already explained how the protocol works–”

“I am telling you that my friend was taken!”

Ding. The elevator doors opened.

Megumi walked to the other end of the corridor instead. The Idiot tilted his head to the side, calling his name, but he ignored it.

“In fact, Yoshida-san, you have failed to explain exactly what happened.”

She gripped her own hair and groaned. “I… I already told you! She was taken!”

“By who?”

“I…”

“My thoughts are organized! My colleague works here and she’s nowhere to be found!”

“Have you tried calling her?”

“I already said– I told you that I got her phone!” The nurse almost scrubbed a phone on the policeman’s face, shaking it angrily in his direction. “How could I call her?!”

“Excuse me, officer.”

Megumi turned his head to see The Idiot approaching as well.

He touched the policeman’s shoulder and opened a small smile. “I’ll take it from here.”

Anyone normal would question the guy with the blindfold, but the officer was visibly so tired of that situation that he decided to simply nod and escape.

“Yes. Yes, I saw her.” Megumi nodded.

The Idiot stepped closer. “What were you talking about? Your colleague was taken?”

“Yeah.” The Idiot smiled, not bothering to deny it. “So? Can you explain to me exactly what you saw?”

Megumi’s eyes widened.

“It was Mori-san?”

She nodded. “Yes! You remember her, don’t you?!”

Of course Megumi remembered her. He saw her just minutes before the explosion happened… and she looked suspicious…

Surprisingly, The Idiot took the ID badge from the nurse’s hand and looked down at it.

His smile had vanished.

So had his nonchalant posture.

“Megumi.” The black haired boy frowned at his tone – lower? More serious? “Let’s go.”

He also took the phone from the nurse’s hand and turned around without explaining anything.

“What? Are you making a police report?”

The Idiot threw her a thumbs up without looking back. “Yep! No worries!”

Megumi bowed at the confused blonde nurse politely before running after him. “Where are we going?!”

“Good news, though.” The Idiot said while chewing more Pocky. “I don’t think this had anything to do with Tsumiki at all.”

“What…?”

The Idiot, as usual, did not elaborate.

Surprisingly, he sat on the passenger’s seat instead of the backseats, which for some reason made Ijichi sweat. While Megumi adjusted his seatbelt, Ijichi asked nervously:

“Where to next, Gojo-san?”

The Idiot hummed.

With his thumb, he pushed the black blindfold up to his forehead, exposing his right eye. His cyan iris seemed to glow faintly.

The driver shivered.

One day, Megumi would land a much deserving punch on his face.

It was freezing.

All of your senses were slow as consciousness awakened again. No hearing, no seeing, no smelling or tasting. But you could feel that it was cold.

The second thing you could feel was your teeth chattering.

The third, a discomfort on the entire left side of your body: you were laying on a hard floor. Your neck hurt from the way your head hung.

The fourth was the fact that you couldn’t move.

You could feel your limbs, but there was no strength to them, as if the cable that connected your brain to your limbs was ripped off. Your body was useless.

That’s when panic started to settle in.

What the fuck was going on?!

Finally, you could see again.

Your teeth chattered, but that was an involuntary motion. You could move your eyeballs and that was it. The rest of your body – numb.

A million thoughts per minute rushed in your head. A spinal fracture? Had you completely lost movement?

You were laying in fetal position: leg to leg, arm to arm. You tried your best to look down…

You were… mummified?

Panic really really really settled in.

You heard steps.

It made your heartbeat spike up.

Shit. Shit. Oh my God. Oh my God. I was kidnapped.

I’m being trafficked I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m–

The second little person living inside your head slaps the first little person on the face. Shut up!! Focus! Try to think of a way out!!

But nothing moved.

No matter how hard you tried.

Your breath became irregular and difficult as real, real, real panic spread through your system.

I am going to die.

Both little people inside your head were screaming now.

Mayu.

The two little people shut up abruptly.

Mayu.

You couldn’t allow anyone to kill you.

You couldn’t just leave her behind.

Another feeling grew inside of you, spread like fire on hay; made the two little people run and hide. Overwhelmed the fear quickly.

Anger.

Who the fuck these men thought they were to kidnap you?! What right did they have?!

USELESS BODY!! DO!! SOMETHING!!

It started like a point of heat — right in your heart.

It was fire.

They set the papers that wrapped your body on fire.

You watched in utter disbelief as the inscriptions on the papers seemed to glow for a moment before burning down to ashes.

All of that happened in less than ten seconds.

The black fire extinguished as if it’d never been there in the first place.

The strange yellowed paper that once enveloped your body — gone.

And all of sudden — you could move.

The cable was reconnected.

None of that mattered. You could move. You could run.

You didn’t even have time to look around, however — because the curtains were opened.

There were three men.

It was that chilly, strange feeling that usually meant there was a creature nearby.

You’d never felt this for a person before.

The goatee guy hummed and measured you up and down.

“Uh-huh.” The goatee guy smirked too and caressed said goatee. “Just like they told us, aye?”

“This one’s gonna make us a ton of money.” The one on the right said with a stupidly high pitched voice.

“Who are you? Where am I?” You felt stupid — why would they answer? Why even ask in the first place? In fact — seals?! What were they talking about?!

“Knock her out again. And make better seals this time.” Goatee guy ignored you completely. The guy on the left stepped closer, which spiked your panic once again.

You could move now, but what difference did that make against three people? You were weak, standing pathetically, shaking from head to toe.

“No! No!” You yelled when he gripped your wrist and pulled you without any effort.

“No one’s gonna hear you. It’s useless.”

“Fuck you!”

You punched his face.

It was a sloppy, weak punch with your non-dominant hand — not enough to make him release you, but enough to make him angry.

He gripped your hair with his free hand and pulled aggressively; it felt like he was going to rip the strands off the scalp, making you scream again — in pain this time.

“Fucking bitch—“

And then you were on the ground.

And he was on the ground, too. And goatee guy. And the baby voice guy.

And everyone was on the ground, because the roof had exploded.

What—

There was a guy.

And he was floating.

Your brain was overloaded with information. You had stepped on a mutant rat. You had been kidnapped. You spontaneously combusted in black flames. The place where you were exploded. And now—

There was a guy floating meters above you, from the immense hole caused by the explosion. Like, an actual person. Floating.

It wasn’t Jesus.

Jesus didn’t have white hair, as far as you knew.

“Looking” was a bit of a stretch.

He was… blindfolded?

And grinning.

“What—?” You managed to mumble somehow, still feeling the horrid taste of dust in your tongue.

“Nah, no need to get emotional. We ain’t got time for this.”

You felt like a potato sack if potato sacks didn’t have weight.

No. A potato sack is too nice. He was carrying you like a dog.

Your stomach twirled.

You wanted to take a better look at his face (what was visible of it), but the three guys were up to their feet again and you went cold. What was worse: the three kidnappers, or floating Jesus?

However, their reactions took you completely off guard.

They took protective stances. Their expressions weren’t mocking or relaxed anymore… they were… scared?

Frightened, in fact.

“Oooh?” Floating Jesus hummed in that same excited tone again. His voice seemed to be naturally loud. “You want this nurse so bad that you’re willing to fight me for her?”

What?! I’m not a—

“This is fucked up, man,” baby voice guy stuttered. “It wasn’t on the contract that we’d have to face Gojo Satoru.”

Floating Jesus pointed his finger at baby voice guy.

“So you’re not willing to fight. At least someone’s honest!”

Your brain didn’t properly register what happened next, partly because it couldn’t believe it.

Your jaw dropped.

There was no time to let that image sink in. The other two guys ran in different directions – trying to flee.

Floating Jesus giggled.

You screamed.

“Don’t shout in my ear, woman.” He whined.

“We’re gonna fall! We’re gonna—”

He had moved again.

He stopped in front of katana guy.

“Boo.”

“Megumiii, the last one’s yours!” He said in a sing-song voice. “Don’t let him escape!”

And maybe you heard a familiar male voice saying “understood” before the sound of fast steps echoing down the street.

And then finally, your feet touched the ground again.

Your body had weight. It was heavy, it was tired. Your head hurt, your stomach was still doing twirls, you were dizzy and confused and something inside your brain felt about to explode—

But you did it anyway.

You slapped him.

The suit guy gasped audibly.

Even Floating Jesus seemed shocked. Not that you could tell for sure because of the blindfold, but his jaw was dropped.

Yeah, your brain was definitely lagging. You could’ve said a hundred things. A hundred questions. You could’ve tried to run away. You could’ve tried screaming for help.

And yet, the only thing you said – pointing at him angrily as if he had called your mom a bitch — was:

“I am not a nurse!”

That was around a second before your brain completely shut off.

You had time to see the ghost of a smirk on his lips.

And then—

Darkness.

#sr

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