Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a dark and stormy night. Per usual, Gojo ordered a round of ridiculous requests for Yuji and Megumi to complete, this time being to sweep the porch and collect pails of water. Despite their complaints, they knew they had no say in the final decision.

Yuji hunches over the damped porch, desperately scraping at whatever disgusting muck was left over from other students with a rag.

“Megumi. Pass over the brush, will you?”

Megumi looks down. “None here. Go over to the shed and see what you can find.”

Yuji sighs, rubbing his eyes impatiently. Although he was more than grateful to have been accepted into Jujutsu High, he couldn’t help but admit that after months of training, nothing felt like a challenge to him anymore. He was so incredibly bored. For once, he wished danger would come to him as frequently as it did before he was an apprentice.

The wind howled and Yuji frowned as the rain continued to get him completely wet. What a pain…As he approached the shed containing multiple cleaning supplies, he paused. Something felt off. He looked around apprehensively and entered a fighting stance. “Who’s there?!”

All of a sudden, a figure emerged from the shadows and pounced onto Yuji, delivering a painful blow to his nose. Yuji kicked the stranger away from him before he could advance any further, feeling a sharp sensation ring through his skull. A warm trickle made its way outside Yuji’s nose.

Blood. Yuji licked the blood cascading from his lower lip and smiled. This’ll do.

His vision quickly corrected itself, and from the shadows emerged a man with damp, black hair and dark, cold eyes. Dark, red bags showed from underneath his enraged expression, and there was somewhat of an alluring charm to the man, Yuji thought.

“Quite bold of you to challenge me on school property. Just who are you?”

“Yuta. Yuta Okkotsu. Tell me where your master is.”

“You mean Gojo-Sensei? He’s a bit busy right now, but I'd be more than happy to take his place,” Yuji drawled, a smirk playing onto his lips, daring to take a couple steps closer to the mysterious man. The stranger frowned, annoyance evident on his face. He drew his katana from its sheath, pointing the blade towards Yuji's face.

“I’ll ask again. Where is your master?”

Yuji slowly lifted his hands up, eyeing the other boy carefully. Suddenly, Yuji swept Yuta off of his feet, disarming him and nearly causing him to stumble into the mud. Yuta quickly regained his composure, blocking a couple of Yuji’s punches with an unimpressed expression. Black locks of hair fell from his pale face as he spoke, “I don't have time for you, Yuji.”

Yuji froze for a second, a confused look gracing his face. “How do you know my-”

Yuta kicked Yuji’s stomach in with his knee, making him double down in pain. Yuta raised his head in pure contempt, as if to say ‘you’re no match for me’. With that, he turned to take his leave.

Yuta only managed to take a couple steps forward before Megumi came crashing down from a tree, kicking Yuta straight in the head and tackling him onto the muddy ground. Yuta wrestled Megumi off his back, an annoyed expression evident on his face.

Megumi quickly made his way between Yuta and Yuji, spitting a wad of blood onto the ground. “Oi oi…the hell you think you’re doing?”

Yuji looked up at the man above him, mouth slightly agape. He quickly regained his composure, taking a stand next to Megumi.

Yuta growled, rubbing the back of his head in contempt, now entering a fighting stance. Yuji huffed. What was with this guy? Why won’t he use his domain expansion?

Megumi threw the first hit, charging towards Yuta with a clenched fist. Yuta quickly caught his hand and delivered a painful blow to his side, kicking him into the mud. Yuji pulled Megumi up, coordinating a double attack to increase the pressure on Yuta.

Yuji attempted to kick Yuta in the stomach, but he quickly countered by grabbing his leg and spinning him in a circle before swiftly tossing the man at Megumi.

The two men crashed into a nearby tree, landing rather ungracefully. Yuji looked at Megumi to see if he was alright, but it was clear that he was rather dazed after Yuji practically landed onto him. Yuji shook his head, lifting himself off of Megumi and tackling Yuta into the mud.

Yuji straddled Yuta between his waist, forcing him into the thick and heavy mud. “Who are you?” He shouted, grabbing onto his white coat and pulling him closer to face him. Yuta furrowed his brow, pushing Yuji and causing them to switch positions.

Before he could attempt to fight back, Yuta pinned Yuji by the neck and moved his face to be mere inches away from his. “Do you seriously not know who I am?”

Yuji clawed at Yuta's arm, desperately trying to release his grasp with a purple face. Yuta looked at him coldly and pushed his head farther into the mud. ” I was sent here to kill you and Gojo,” he whispered low into his ear, “though I would’ve liked to see the other bastard dead first.”

Yuji choked for air, using the last of his strength to push Yuta away from him. He heaved for a moment, before reminding himself that the fight wasn’t over. He wasn’t going to listen to another damn word this stranger told him. He let go of his neck, which was still throbbing in pain, and took a deep breath.

“No…chance.”

Yuji jumped into the air, managing a punch onto the young man’s face. Yuta stumbled, grabbing onto the handle of his katana and narrowing his eyes in focus.

Amidst the rain and fog, Megumi saw this action, his eyes widening. “Yuji, don’t-!”

Around them the clouds lifted, and the rain turned into a light drizzle. For a moment, Yuji felt nothing. That was until he began to feel everything.

His stomach was warm, wet. He looked at Yuta carrying his blood-stained katana, then down at himself. For a moment, he wasn’t sure what he would see.

A large, ugly gash began to show itself from underneath his jacket, pouring crimson onto his muddied navy uniform. Yuji looked up at Yuta, and he could’ve sworn he saw his cruel expression softening into pity.

“What...?”

The last thing Yuji saw was Megumi preparing to use his domain, then pure darkness.

Chapter Text

The first thing Yuji was met with upon awakening was Megumi hovering over his limp figure. First an expression of relief showed on Megumi’s face, then slight annoyance.

“Jeez, you’re finally awake.”

Yuji slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. Bright lights blurred his vision, and he quickly noticed a clean sterile smell in the air. Underneath him was a small cot, along with some fresh thin linen. A dull pain radiated throughout his stomach, and he nearly cringed.

“Am I in a hospital?”

Megumi nodded, crossing his arms and taking a short breath before continuing.

“You took a pretty rude beating back there. Luckily I was able to get you out of there before things escalated further.”

Yuji’s head snapped towards Megumi, as if only now realizing what had happened prior to his waking up.

“Where is Yuta? Did you manage to..?”

Megumi's lips thinned, causing Yuji's shoulders to drop instantly.

“After you passed out, he just.. left. If I had to guess, he’s still somewhere around the area. Gojo is patrolling the grounds for him right now.”

“What? We have to go help him!”

Yuji sprang up, as if immediately forgetting the large wound that had practically perforated his abdomen. He flinched back, curling into himself as a familiar burning sensation radiated within him. Megumi nearly rushed to help him relax, but Yuji motioned for him to stop with his left hand.

Damn it… how could he be so reckless? So weak? He sighed, fixating on the things that could’ve changed the tide in their favor.

“I’m sorry, Megumi. If it weren’t for me you could’ve taken down the bastard.”

Megumi looked at him with a small look of concern, then exhaled. “Don’t be an idiot, Yuji. It couldn’t have been helped, so I won’t have you sulking over it. He just caught us off guard, that's all.”

Yuji interlocked his fingers “Even still… There was something off about him. Something I just can’t pinpoint.”

Hesitantly, Megumi placed a hand over Yuji's arm. His expression looked lost- confused as to what he was doing. “Hey, don’t worry about it so much,” Megumi finally spoke, retracting his touch from the other man.

“You’re right. But I promise you this… I won’t stop until I figure out what’s the deal with this Yuta character.” He smiled, regaining his usual cheer.

“You never know when to surrender, huh Yuji?”