-Sex, Solo Mission and Shock Therapy-
-From the perspective of Mayu Ryomen-
After what felt like an eternity – in truth, it had only been just under two hours – the world of sleep had released me from its embrace. Overall rating for this long power nap? Ten out of ten. Exactly what I needed.
Through the large window to my right, soft orange sunbeams fell in, bathing my spacious room in a warm golden glow and warming my skin. So, it was already quite late, which had messed up the evening. I would have loved to already have dinner served on the table and eaten together with the boys.
Leisurely, I headed for my desk—more precisely, the chair with my clothes on it.
I threw my dirty uniform over my shoulder, which had been resting on the back of the chair, and slipped into my cozy slippers.
I glanced at my phone, which I had left on the desk earlier. No messages.
But I had one to send. To Hitomi. My former coworker and friend from Shimoda, whom I checked in with from time to time—usually ending in a long phone call. I still absolutely had to let her know that I'd be back in town soon.
***Mayu: A very good evening to you, my dearest darling ← Yes, you know this tone ;D! Just wanted to let you know I'll be in Shimoda again the weekend after next. I'll stop by work to visit you all – shall we go out to eat after? I miss you!***
Her reply didn't take long, and before I knew it, the chocolate-brown-haired woman had called me.
"Yeah, tell me, I thought the earth had swallowed you up, Mayu," she greeted me joyfully with her melodious voice, colored by the dialect of her German grandpa, "weren't you supposed to be back already? Because of the arrangement with your H-parents?!"
H-parents. An inside joke she had coined after their first meeting. Hell-parents.
"Oh, you wouldn't believe how they gave me hell this morning when I told them about my delayed mandatory visit?! This time I called Yuna, not Akira, but with those Siamese twins, it really doesn't matter. I explained to her that I had completely forgotten the six months were up due to the move, and her? Ah... What can I say, Tomi? Complaining again and acting like they're the holiest beings who must never be kept waiting."
I heard her sympathetically exhale and smile through the phone.
"Awful... They really have zero understanding. I don't even want to imagine how they'll be once you're actually there. Want me to come with you? Stay with you, pretty girl?"
I smiled. More than one visit to my parents would've gone off the rails without Hitomi. It had only been a few times she'd joined me, but they'd meant the world to me.
"You're my heart, but this time I already have someone who's coming with me."
"Ohoo, who?" she asked, suddenly alert.
"Well, I bet you'll never guess," I teased.
Even though things had been hectic lately, I still managed to tell her plenty about my new life in Tokyo during those hours-long calls.
"Let's see. It surely isn't Megumi. You did say you two get along really well, but I'm not betting on him. Kento? He could barely survive a full day with you, gi–" I interrupted her, scandalized.
"Excuse me?! Why wouldn't he? I get along great with him!"
"Oh really? That sounded a lot less cheerful the last time."
I hurried through my thoughts, trying to remember what I had told her last time.
Cold. Ignored me. Looked down on me. Only spoke the bare minimum.
"A-ah," it clicked for me, "okay, yeah. No wonder you still think that, but I've cracked Kento's hard shell by now, and I think he's less skeptical of me. We even cook together sometimes and run errands too, but otherwise? He's pretty cold – but he's like that with everyone. So, I don't think it's just because of me."
That he occasionally took me along on his assignments to exorcise curses—I left that out on purpose.
"Well, I'm happy to hear that. So, he's still single and available, that goddamn hot guy?!"
What was I even thinking?! I grinned from ear to ear. I should never have sent her photos of all of us together. She was head over heels for Kento. Totally. She didn't even care about the distance. Granted, it was all just a crush, but ever since then, I had to keep feeding her pointless updates about him.
"Yeah, still single, and believe me, I'd bring him along for you, but that's sadly not possible."
"Oh, too bad. But I'll definitely come visit you in your new home, and then I hope I'll meet him. My future stallion."
We both burst out laughing. Hitomi never let anything go to waste. If it wasn't up in a tree by the count of three, it was under her—naked and breathless. Not that I'd ever been present, but by her stories, the girl was more than well-versed in the subject.
"Okay, so if it's not Kento, then the only one left is Satoru, right? You didn't have that close a connection to Shoko, did you?"
If only you knew, Hitomi.
I simply couldn't tell her that I had been attacked by a curse spirit today and had escaped death by a hair's breadth. She wasn't a jujutsist and probably wouldn't understand a thing about it.
That I now lived here at the Jujutsu Academy—I had covered that with a shared apartment excuse.
Anything else, she wouldn't have believed anyway, and strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely false.
"Yeah, not really until earlier, but you know me. Clumsy me. Something always happens. So this morning I messed up my leg pretty badly, got a high fever, and had to be treated by Shoko. So, I wouldn't say I know her, but we talked more today than before. So nope, not Shoko either."
"God, what kind of stuff do you get yourself into?!", she asked, shocked, and I thought I heard a sound that resembled an electric crackle.
Hitomi sharply inhaled, and I could hear her flinch from the rustling of her clothes through the phone.
"... What?! So it is Satoru coming with you?!" she guessed—deflecting.
"Got zapped again?"
"Of course. When don't I?", she sighed in frustration, "feels like I've been cursed with this my whole life."
I chuckled. She wasn't wrong. You could tally how often she got shocked by something each day.
"Yeah. Satoru's coming with me."
Hysteria in 3...
"OMG! Really?! So are you two finally together?!"
"No!", I said louder than intended, "no. We're not."
"A-and why in the devil's name is he coming with you to your awful parents then?!"
I grinned.
"I suppose out of pity? Let me explain. Satoru took me out to dinner yesterday and we talked a little about our surroundings and eventually about our parents, and I told him a bit about mine. You know me, I don't hide too much when it comes to that, but I don't spill everything either. And yeah, he just flat-out told me he'd come with me."
Pause. Silence. Until Hitomi audibly inhaled through her nose.
"You. Were. On. A. Date?!"
"That's the only thing you heard just now, isn't it?" I laughed nervously.
"And you didn't tell me about it? Shame on you, Lady. Shame!" she scolded me playfully, making both of us burst into laughter. "No, but seriously now, like my grandpa always says: enough babbling. He just suggested that he'd come with you?"
"It wasn't a suggestion. It was simply decided."
"Dominant, huh?"
"Very much so."
"Ah, finally someone who challenges you," she said openly delighted. "Kei was way too soft for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Exactly what I said! You need someone who puts you in your place! From what you've told me, Satoru has just the right touch of dominance that you desperately need."
I furrowed my brows and leaned against the table, crossing my left leg over my right.
"I'm totally sweet though?!"
"Ha. Ha. Not even when you're asleep and I get hungry at night and see a deliciously prepared onigiri from you, which you mercilessly filled with wasabi and chili."
Oops! I pressed my lips together, caught, and pulled up the collar of my burgundy T-shirt. Memories flashed back instantly.
I had stayed the night at her place and we had cooked a delicious dinner together. When Hitomi left briefly to powder her nose and I had way too much wasabi paste left, I got experimental and made an extra spicy onigiri and put it in the fridge. I didn't like spicy food – but Hitomi did.
Except this one was way too fiery for her.
"Sorry," I said amused, "I didn't think you'd eat it in your sleep in the middle of the night."
"You almost killed me with that, darling! Almost killed me! You've never seen me chug a liter of milk that fast! And you know how much I love spicy food."
I broke out into roaring laughter again. I wouldn't forget that sight anytime soon. Oh – never again.
"And at first, I thought there was some monster wheezing in the room. Maybe even breathing fire."
"I was this close, Mayu. This close."
An unforgettable night. I'd never been pulled out of sleep so fast before.
"Whatever! I forgave you that prank among countless others! Let's get back to the point. So, Satoru!" Hitomi just couldn't help herself. "Are you two together now?"
"No. And it wasn't a date either!"
"Seriously?! Are you at least sexing each other?"
"Hitomi!" I grinned, noticing the heat rising in me.
"Oh, come on, Mayu. You said his quarters are right next to yours. Go to him at night. Naked. In a see-through robe. That's invitation enough. You always say how hot you find him!"
I couldn't help bursting into loud laughter again.
"Yo-ou're cr-razy," I gasped for air, "he'd pull the blanket over his head out of shock and in the best case, throw a pillow at me and kick me out... You and your latent sex-addiction problem. I'd never do something like that!"
"Well, but?! What do you mean, he would? For you, eye candy?! I'm absolutely sure he'd pull you into bed first – or better yet, throw you onto it – before even thinking about covering up with a blanket, or just toss it to the floor. Besides – what man doesn't dream of that?! Or surprise him during training, he's always barely dressed there anyway, like you always love to say. Or the desk! Between his work and files he pushes to the ground without a care. The best setting ever, and I'm sure he'd reall—"
"No details!" I cut her off quickly.
Cherry red in the face – me. Why did everyone around me have to exploit my mental movie theater?! Satoru had already done that plenty earlier. And now?! AND. NOW?! I felt my lower abdomen tighten sweetly.
She had me.
My imagination right now was anything but PG. I favored the desk. How Satoru would press me back onto the desk. His knees pushing between my legs while his warm and soft lips kissed my neck. He pulled me closer at the waist, skillfully slid my panties aside, and slid inside me with his firm length. One of my hands buried in his silky soft hair, the other clawed at his open shirt as I moaned his name in arousal.
Hitomi's mocking laugh instantly shattered the unfolding scene in my head.
"Pretty hot, huh?"
"E-eey sh-shu'up alr-ready!" I stammered in Grandpa Fredi's dialect, which she knew meant I was serious, but she kept giggling until she pulled herself together again.
"Bed, training, or desk?"
"Desk," I hissed, eyes tightly shut, utterly busted.
"Knew it," she rejoiced smugly, "I know you, you naughty deep waters."
"...," I burst out, caught red-handed, "you beast! I'm not."
"No, no, no, no – you, Mayu? Not at all," she played out her little drama masterfully, "I'd almost say you're worse than I am."
"That's not true, and even if it is, only when I'm in a relationship!"
"Yeah, yeah. You and your principles... Anyway. If you're bringing him along, do I finally get to meet him?"
That wooden noodle...
"That... will be unavoidable."
"Yes! That's what I wanted to hear! I'm making him my personal lemon! Completely," she swore devilishly to squeeze him dry, "but, Mayuchen," she started sounding suspicious again, "if you're not getting intimate with him, would you mind if I borrowed him for a night—?"
"YES, of course!" I blurted out, way, waay too quickly, "... I mean. Uh. Yeah, I would..."
"O-okay! That was very clear. You just claimed ownership, huh," she said, pleased. "Alright, noted! I'd have stayed away from him anyway, since my best friend is already completely smitten with him. That was just a test question, my pretty one."
I closed my eyes in resignation. Any protest would've fallen on deaf ears with her anyway.
"You harbor doofus. I only said I thought he was nice and handso—", again she interrupted me.
"Handsome, strong, attractive, mischievous, extroverted, demanding, intelligent, hot and nerve-wracking, right? Yeah, I know. Everything in you is screaming that you see this guy as more than just your flatmate. Oh, and let's not forget – he's dominant too... And funny, I almost forgot. Erotic too?! Maybe I should take a look at my list about him."
"Yeah, no. You didn't really do that, did you?!" I just about fell out of the sky.
"No, but it's about time I do, because it's getting a bit much to keep track of everything about him."
I laughed mischievously. I actually didn't think I had gushed that much about him. Guess there was more than I remembered. What was wrong with me? I could usually remember everything like an elephant.
"That bad?" I asked quietly, almost shocked at myself.
"Catastrophic."
Our code word for the ultimate level of things. Shit... So excuses were definitely out of the question now.
"Alright," I sighed, "so shall we go out to eat together then?"
"With my future brother-in-law? As if I'd ever say no to that, sis."
I couldn't stop grinning broadly and mischievously. And it hit every emotion one could feel in that moment.
"I'm already looking forward to it," I tried to brush off the topic about Satoru and my crush.
"Me even more. And no, don't worry. Of course I won't embarrass you. You know me. I get my info faster than they realize they're already eating out of my hand."
"Well, let's see if that works on Satoru. You know – smart."
"Sure, challenge accepted. Gonna be a tough one. And you know I love that! Worked on you too, goddess of poker faces."
I could practically hear her winking through the phone. No doubt, I was terrified of this meeting, but I also really wanted to see it happen. Desperately!
"I won't keep you any longer, Tomi. I'm already looking forward to seeing you again and going out to eat together."
"Same here! And if you ever need someone to talk to again, you know where to find me. Love you to Saturn and back. Talk soon, fluffball."
"Right back at you, bunny. Love you more. Catch you later."
And with that, I happily let my phone sink slowly against my chest and mentally ran through the call again.
This meeting could only end in a total disaster, right? God, did I really want to know how it would go down? Shouldn't I have just backed out while I still could? Honestly – no. I wanted to see my Hitomi again! Satoru would just have to deal with it since he decided to come along.
I sighed and allowed myself another smile.
This was going to be an intense weekend. Emotional rollercoaster deluxe, special edition. Black tracks and in the dark.
Finally someone who can challenge you.
If only you knew, Hitomi. If only you knew... What we just experienced in the bathroom yesterday... And how he challenges me – almost painfully so.
Still, Hitomi's bright and melodious voice had been exactly what I needed after today. My calm anchor, bringing me back down to earth. Or, well, the opposite. Okay. A mix of both, but at least she helped get my thoughts and emotions back where they belonged, instead of partying wildly all over the floor.
I placed my phone back on the desk and turned my back on the spacious room before heading into the laundry basement. Here I did the same with my uniform as I had earlier with Satoru's jacket. I put it in a salt bath to soak.
In the meantime, I turned my attention to the washing machine and immediately noticed that it was already done and also... emptied?! Confused, I looked into the empty drum and mentally retraced everything.
I hadn't been the one to empty it. I'd been fast asleep. So someone from the guys must've come and grabbed the laundry?!
I shrugged my left shoulder and looked again for dark clothes so I could wash them together with my uniform.
Once again, I wrung out the bloodied clothing like I did earlier, threw it into the machine with the other clothes I found, and left the laundry room once the machine started its cycle.
My next stop was the kitchen. Not only had my empty stomach lured me here, but probably the others' too. Once there, I was immediately surrounded by the fine aroma of delicious food. I was just about to grab a pot from one of the lower cupboards when I spotted a small note next to the stove.
Hungry? I already cooked for us so you can rest.
Check the oven.
Kento
I frowned slightly but instantly started to grin. When I opened the oven, a warm and deliciously fragrant wave hit me. God, that was good! I didn't have to worry about cooking anything, nor did I have to wait — I could dig in right away.
This shared-apartment life I'd faked for Hitomi and secretly never wanted had definitely paid off. As I prepared a plate, I heard familiar footsteps approaching, so I glanced toward the door.
"Megumi," I said happily as I saw the person I'd correctly guessed standing in the doorway.
"Mayu?! I was just coming to bring you some food."
"Oh, really? Why? Is something up?"
He scratched his head — a gesture he always made when he was a bit embarrassed — and headed for the coffee machine.
"I wanted to check on you. Your last message was during your mission today."
Oh dear. And it was already well into the evening. In other words, he'd been worried about me this whole time. What a scatterbrain I was! I should've at least texted him that I'd retreated to my room.
"I'm sorry, Megumi. I should've at least let you know I went to bed. A lot happened. Shall we go to your room?"
I found the kitchen and adjoining dining area too impersonal to talk with him about what had happened.
"Sure," he replied and took his steaming cup in hand, "you too?"
I shook my head, "Thanks, but I'll have one later, when I go back to Satoru. Otherwise I'll be up half the night."
"As if you don't already do that when you go to him in the evenings."
I gave an angelic grin while picking up my full plate.
"Well, he's only home tonight, then he's gone for three days," I mentioned, following Megumi into his room.
We sat together on his comfy couch, he sipped his black coffee, and I started to eat.
"A lot happened, huh?" he came right back to the topic I had hinted at.
"Oh yes. But let me start from the beginning. I told you that it worked with your hellhound. Thank God, Megumi. It was a huge support for me. I wasn't alone, and he helped me in several situations."
A faint smile crept onto his lips. I shifted sideways in my seat to turn toward him. I could clearly see that far too many thoughts had piled up in his head.
"So Mio – yes, I gave him a name," I revealed, with both of us giggling at the same time and Megumi shaking his head with a smile, "you gave him a solidly large amount of cursed energy. Way too much. Didn't you mention he couldn't attack?!"
I deliberately played on his words from this morning, where he raised an eyebrow and rested his elbow on the arm of the couch.
"Yeah, well, but I also mentioned you'd be my guinea pig today."
"Oh yes, that I certainly was. So Mio seriously injured the cursed spirit, contrary to your comment that he works similarly to me. But I'm endlessly grateful that you did give him too much cursed energy. I don't even want to imagine how it would've ended without that."
He frowned, troubled.
"Well, now at least I know what to watch out for next time. Were you hurt?"
I nodded and turned my right leg so he could see the fine scar.
"Holy shit. How did that happen?!"
He traced the delicate, barely noticeable scar on my shin with his index finger.
"Oh, really stupid," I began, "I was searching for the curse. Mio occasionally pointed me to residue, and when we finally got closer, I froze in shock. I'm telling you, Megumi... Next time I'm dropping everything and just calling it quits. You know those ugly faces from The Ring or The Grudge movies, right?!"
"Of course. They look funny."
"Funny?! That was anything but funny... Ugh, I hate those figures. In movies, at least I know they're just made up with makeup and effects, but this one?! That thing was real! Anyway, it was standing in the entrance of the store and then saw me. Ugh, no. I still get the chills thinking about it."
I demonstratively stretched out my arm to him, where a pronounced goosebump pattern had formed beside my slightly red spots. He started to laugh. Typical. That kind of guy always laughed at stuff like this.
Apparently scared of nothing and no one.
"And of course, you already pissed yourself," he joked.
"Don't even... I should've run away. Or rather, I wanted to, but I just stood there like I was turned to stone," I began to mimic the scene with my cutlery, "everything in me screamed to take my legs and run, but no. I stood there rooted to the spot and I bet you'll never guess. What did it do?!"
"Did it say hello?", he joked again, making me laugh briefly.
"No, that would've been sweet, but I swear, Megumi! I almost screamed! It collapsed in on itself, tearing its clothes in places, and then started rushing toward me in this unnatural way!! Twisting unnaturally and crawling toward me on all fours! Fast!"
That made Megumi burst out laughing. Even though for me, it was anything but funny, I couldn't help but laugh along.
"I'm serious, Megumi. It came at me with a speed, in those unnatural movements – anyone else would've broken every bone in the process."
"You poor thing," he laughed on, "what happened next?"
"How else could it go on but cliché? I instinctively tried to back away, but I fell. Like in every damn horror movie. No idea over what, but my legs just wouldn't move and what had to happen at that moment?! I threw away the cursed tool that Satoru gave me for defense – a scythe. Just tossed it aside," I said, making fun of myself while still waving my fork, "and yes, feel free to keep laughing."
I looked into his eyes, damp from laughing.
"That sock idiot just flattened me!"
That was too much. Megumi couldn't stop laughing and clutched his stomach. I loved these kinds of outbursts and used them, so I began to narrate my movie-worthy disaster further.
"I can already picture it," I began, still gesturing with my fork in hand, "imagine there was a Jujutsu sorcerer newspaper or app. With all kinds of info, gossip, new members, and so on. Believe me, I would've graced the front cover of the newest issue. Headline; Special grade sorceress – flattened by third-grade cursed spirit."
"Ma-ayu," Megumi managed between loud laughter, wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye, "sto-op it. That was your first mission after all. But yes, you'd be on the cover."
"Of course I would," I kept mocking myself, "but seriously, how stupid is that? I felt so dumb. So incredibly dumb. The special grade in the scythe, I bet it was like; 'okay, bye everyone! I'm out of here for this crap! I'm off! Going back to professionals who know how to use me,' and lay out of my reach because I threw it away in the heat of the moment. Well, not exactly, but I dropped it because–"
"Because you were just overwhelmed with the situation," Megumi finished my sentence sympathetically, still chuckling.
"Oh yes. You said it. And then that pale bedsheet of a curse crawled over me. Slimy and cold," I shivered again, "but that was the moment Mio bit the curse spirit's shoulder hard. Like really painful," I circled back to the cursed energy he had lent, "the shoulder was hanging by a thread, bleeding like crazy, and then it lashed out and unfortunately hit Mio with its claws. Like you said, he disappeared into the shadows, and I tried to find the scythe again. Guess what – that's when it scratched my leg and left me a loving souvenir."
I traced my finger along the large scar on my leg. Starting from my thigh all the way down to my ankle. Megumi immediately fell silent and gave me a compassionate look.
"Then you must've picked up the cursed tool–"
"And sliced the curse spirit right in two. Yep, I did. It fell to the ground in its two severed halves, even looked at me pitifully, and then dissolved into thin air pretty quickly. But from that point on, Megumi, everything spiraled out of control..."
Megumi pressed his lips together, his eyes wide with shock, giving me his full attention.
"The curse spirit dropped a brown-red finger, with a purple fingernail."
His eyes sparkled in that moment, flashing, "Sukuna's finger?!"
I nodded.
"Holy shit! Where was Satoru the whole time?!" he immediately raised the alarm, as if the finger had just now appeared.
"Outside the mall."
"Is he insane? Why wasn't he with you?", he burst out furiously.
"That's on me, Megumi. We agreed I'd call him if things got dicey. Nothing really happened, just my dumb accident that the curse spirit got me. And Sukuna's finger, whose major threat I didn't know. If I'd known beforehand what that cursed object brings with it, I would've called Satoru right away, of course, but it was really strange."
He crossed his free arm under the one holding his half-empty cup. I noticed he wasn't too pleased and didn't understand.
"What didn't sit right? That he didn't even come check on you?"
"Megumi," I soothingly placed my hand on his forearm, "he really isn't at fault. I was stubborn and didn't call him because I was proud I'd managed it on my own. Until the finger showed up, that is."
"Yeah and that thing attracts every other curse around!", he snapped a bit louder.
"I noticed," I admitted honestly and looked into his dark blue eyes, "but that's when it really got weird. I expected them to tear me apart in that moment. To kill me, and in seconds. But that didn't happen."
His forehead cast even deeper and darker shadows than before.
"What exactly happened? Did Satoru finally come in then?"
I shook my head with a smile, "no, he didn't – I didn't call for him. I mean, I felt it was insanely important to pick up the finger and take it with me. And the curses? They immediately kept their distance from me! Some of them came closer, but then fled straight away again – as if it were some sort of dare. Satoru noticed it too, when I finally got out of the mall."
"And… how does he explain that?! That's unspeakably weird. They all should have attacked you immediately to get the finger."
I shrugged my shoulders.
Apparently, it was more of a phenomenon than I had realized, right?!
"No idea, but could it maybe be that the finger even protects you?!", I considered the most impossible idea.
"No. That's completely out of the question. Because everyone who's ever held that finger was mercilessly tortured to death by curses to get the finger."
…!
I could hardly believe my ears.
"No exceptions?!", I concluded in horror.
"Except for you. Yes."
I took a deep breath and immediately paused. Why were they seemingly making an 'exception' with me?!
"I don't get it," I admitted bluntly.
"Does Satoru have an explanation for that?"
"No. Neither does he. But there's something else that was very unusual, Megumi. Because the tip of the iceberg is only reaching its peak now."
Again, Megumi looked at me in shock, took another generous sip of his coffee, and waited without interruption for me to continue.
"When I eventually took the finger with me, I got incredibly dizzy and really hot. Like a fever, only with the difference that it felt different."
I could clearly observe how his perplexed thoughts flipped over in his face.
"What exactly happened then?"
"I had major trouble staying conscious. I can only remember how Satoru dismantled the horde of curse spirits, wrapped my leg in the car with his jacket, and finally carried me to Shoko at the infirmary. I hardly noticed anything at all. Shoko healed my leg with her curse energy and checked my vital signs. And they kept getting more and more out of balance. I only remember how fast the beeping of my heart rate was and how Shoko gave me an IV. From that point on, everything went black for me. When I woke up later, Shoko told me that I had been practically dead. Despite the IV, my kind of fever kept rising. I eventually had a body temperature of 41.6 degrees, massive blood pressure drop and an excessively fast pulse, while my oxygen saturation crashed. I was long overdue for the intensive care unit. To not speak as a medical assistant – it's a miracle that I apparently survived that."
The floor pulled my gaze towards it like a magnet. Describing my own emergency in such detail again felt like I was reliving it. Megumi also fell silent. Even his breath was tense as I noticed from the side that he was staring at me, completely overwhelmed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his half-full cup start to dangerously slip from his hand, which I caught reflexively at the last moment.
"... W-what?!", he whispered, utterly dismayed, "how… How could that happen? All after Shoko healed your leg?!"
He also knew perfectly well about Shoko's healing abilities. And yet I had felt miserably sick.
"Yes. There's simply no plausible explanation for it. First the curses that didn't attack me, then my consciousness problems, and then that I nearly died despite treatment. And all of that must have something to do with Sukuna's finger, but what? Also worth mentioning is that I was the only one who felt unwell. Satoru and Shoko were fine the entire time, while I was really struggling."
"And... How did Shoko manage to save you?"
I shrugged my shoulders again. Just like Shoko did with me when I asked her the same question.
"She just mentioned that my condition rapidly stabilized the moment Satoru took the finger away."
He shook his head slowly in disbelief before placing his hand on my shoulder, as if to reassure himself that I was really sitting in front of him.
"But you're okay now?"
"Yes, of course. I mean, overall, yes," I reassured him and lifted my shoulder so I could touch his hand with my cheek.
It definitely hadn't been my intention to scare him so badly, which is why I shifted the topic in a less heavy direction.
"But I do wonder where that came from. Even Shoko and Satoru have no plausible explanation for it. At least they're not letting one slip. No idea, maybe it's exaggerated imagination, but I had the feeling the whole time earlier that they were hiding something from me. You know that feeling when someone doesn't tell you everything they know, right? And those looks they were giving each other… That was really strange."
"I don't think so, Mayu," he denied, "no. I think they were being honest with you and maybe asking themselves the same questions about Sukuna and your condition."
"You think so?", I didn't let myself be completely reassured and mentally threw myself back into the earlier conversation.
I let my shoulder sink again, which made Megumi withdraw his warm hand.
That simply couldn't have been possible. That short pause between them when I reentered the room after my brief break had been clear and unmistakable.
Also how Satoru responded to Shoko. Defensive. Clear. Partially rushed, although he usually had full control over his emotions. I would've loved to question what that was all about, but there are just certain topics or conversations one shouldn't get involved in. Unless I'd been told what it was about, but like this?!
"Maybe you're just right," I decided to skip that chapter for now – but not to let it rest.
"Don't think too much about it. The main thing is, you're okay again," Megumi said, visibly relieved, "still – I'll confront Satoru later and ask him what he was thinking, leaving you alone!"
"What?! No. You'd have to take my head off. I didn't summon him. Besides, I wasn't entirely alone. I had Mio with me."
"Yeah, which only worked out by chance, otherwise you definitely would've been alone. And that's not okay. Not as long as you don't possess cursed energy. He did the same thing with me back then too, only difference is that I had cursed energy and already knew how to use it."
"What? What do you mean he did the same thing with you back then?"
"Well, he also threw me in at the deep end often enough and just let me do my thing."
"Hold on – what do you mean by back then? You're only like fifteen?!"
That hit me out of nowhere – to me, the word back then implied a time span of at least five years.
"Yes, that's true. But I've known Satoru for ten years already."
I stopped in my tracks.
"Ten years?! You were barely five then?!"
He nodded, "to be exact, five and a half. I've been more or less familiar with my cursed technique since I was a child, like I already told you – the thing with the ritual and the shikigami. Back then, Satoru occasionally took me along on his missions against curses. In the beginning, and only on a few, Suguru Geto was there too."
Suguru – up to now, I only vaguely knew that he used to be Satoru's best friend. But what had happened to him and how remained a mystery to me. But judging from the picture that stood on Satoru's desk, at least I knew what he looked like.
"He was my best friend...," was his icy and abruptly ended reply just recently when I dared to ask who the man next to him in that photo was.
"And that's when he threw you into the deep end?", I asked with a wide grin – it all sounded very familiar.
"Not directly. At first he did help me and annoyed me while peeking over my shoulder, but eventually he just let me do it alone. He was still there, but in the background – like he was with you today."
That came completely unexpected. More than unexpected, that the two had already known each other for over half of Megumi's life. That brought up a lot of questions for me that instantly burned on my mind.
How did they find each other, or come together?
Megumi mentioned Satoru occasionally took him on his curse hunts – I wanted to know everything! How did those go? What ranks did they have ten years ago? How did little Megumi handle it?
What about his parents? Were they okay with him walking such a dangerous path with Satoru and tagging along on missions?
Also, my interest in Suguru was growing. At least in the context of being Satoru's best friend, whom Megumi must've also known – or at least noticed as a child.
And many more questions that now swirled in my head.
"What did he annoy you with?", I buried my mountain of questions deep into one of my drawers and first focused on the superficial stuff.
"Oh, you know him – the mischief king," Megumi began, "I can't even tell you how often he annoyed me. Either he'd suddenly stand behind me to whisper something stupid in my ear or take selfies in the middle of a fight. No wonder I learned early how to tune people out."
With each revelation, he got another laugh out of me – that was just so typical of Satoru.
"But one prank I'll never forget. That idiot. He once let me go after a curse and made me believe it was blind."
I pressed my lips together tightly, unfortunately able to picture it all too clearly.
"And then?", I asked, nearly bursting.
"So of course I snuck up on it, while it stared directly at me and almost ate me in the last moment."
That was too much for me! My most gleeful laugh of the day escaped me.
The image of little Megumi sneaking up on such a monster because he thought it was blind, only to get completely ambushed at the crucial moment. That made my heart melt.
"Believe me, I would've smacked Satoru for that. For you," I laughed heartily and laid my hand comfortingly on his broad shoulder.
"Mind you, these are only a few of the pranks I'm telling you about. There's one I'm still mad about to this day. He once rubbed fake blood all over himself and pretended a curse had gotten him – just to see if I'd 'react emotionally.'"
"Holy shit – he did not really do that?", I burst out.
"Oh, he did. I didn't even look at him with my backside for three days."
"Well, that was emotional enough, and he was probably totally crushed, wasn't he? But seriously, he always says he's invulnerable because of his Infinity. So that shouldn't have even been possible."
"Yes and no, that's not entirely true. Yes, he could use Infinity at that point, but he hadn't mastered it. It was still leaky and flawed quite often, so I believed him."
Did I just hear more than a prank in that story? That definitely sounded like Megumi had been seriously scared for Satoru. Why else would he have ignored him for three whole days? Sure, it was a prank, but half a day would've been enough. And three days?! That meant they had to be seeing each other at least every two days. How deep was their relationship anyway? And Satoru? He must've still been a mini-Satoru himself, just discovering his Infinity, huh?
"Understandable that you were mad at him," I said, quietly slipping into my thoughts.
"I wasn't just mad. That was just way too much. I gotta admit, though, he really went all out for that. Nailed it perfectly."
I could hear it clearly between the lines. My guess was absolutely right. My curiosity wanted to grab me by the collar, throw Megumi and me onto an interrogation chair, and start firing off all the questions forming in my mind.
"Satoru never does things halfway. I've already noticed that more than enough in these past two months."
"Exactly," Megumi confirmed, leaning further into the couch.
"But tell me, Mayu. How do you feel being here with us?"
Once again, I began to grin and told Megumi honestly how I felt. Let him know how comfortable I'd grown to feel, even though I never imagined this could one day be part of my everyday life or even a living situation that could've worked for me – after having been raised to be fully independent.
We talked about other topics too, which unfortunately no longer had anything to do with my curiosity, but still made it very clear that I got along exceptionally well with Megumi. And so many more minutes passed of the late evening, in which we sat together comfortably and chatted.
Hello there, lovelies.
Since the story doesn't seem to be particularly well received, this will be the final chapter for this website.
Still, I want to thank those of you who at least took the time to read it.
Ciao,
Cocolina