Chapter Text
Drowning.
That was the only sensation he could feel. There was weight over his body but his legs were free, as if he were floating down, down, down…
Eyes snapped open and air rushed into his lungs.
Where?
Yuuji gasped, choking with a sudden pain in his heart. A hand hovered over his back, patting.
“There there” The voice said, oddly young.
What had Yuuji been doing again?
“Would you like some water sensei?” The voice asked and a black blob floated into Yuuji’s line of sight. Why was a slimy blob talking? And where were Yuuji’s feet? He blinked and the haze left his mind the second time.
Oh. Right. Iori.
He coughed again, pushing down the bile that was rising to his throat with each breath.
“Iori chan, where’s?”
“They’re right here sensei,” Iori gestured to Yuuji’s feet. Oh yeah, he had those.
Two toddlers were clinging to his pants so hard that any sensation was numb there.
Yuuji closed his eyes. Think. Yuuji think.
A curse. In his estate. How? Forget that. Where was the curse now? And where were they?
Yuuji took a careful look at his surroundings and almost blanched. If his soul were any weaker, it would have left his body.
Iori gasped “Are you okay?” Oh. Perhaps the surprise had shown on his face. Iori had probably never seen him lose composure had he?
“Do you realise where we are?” Yuuji managed to speak, his voice raspy.
Iori was still looking at him with a face of concern, his eyebrows now had a permanent scowling look to them. But he heeded whatever Yuuji said. An obedient little student. Much better than Yuuji had been.
In this exact room.
It was the common kitchen that Yuuji had shared with Megumi and Nobara. Where he had taught Megumi to make ginger meat balls. Where they had eaten together. Yuuji had left this place and never looked back. Only now did he realise that he should’ve come back, at least once. To savour whatever had been left.
“I don’t know”
“This is the Tokyo school, the one your parents attended. Exactly as it was 30 or so years ago.”
Iori looked around in awe. The kitchen was very bland. But by the time Iori was 11, the Tokyo school had to be shut down. Iori had never seen the school in person.
Yuuji had taken over teaching but he hadn’t wanted to do it under the Higher Ups. So he had turned his estate into a school, and eventually when the Student body of Tokyo and Kyoto school turned to him, those schools had to be abandoned as they were.
People had put their trust in him. Especially after Sukuna’s defeat. They would have readily agreed to what he said and Yuuji had no shame in taking advantage of that.
Today had been a resting day. Holiday of sorts for every student. His second and third years had gone off who knows where and Iori had been the only one to stay behind. The two terrible toddlers had always given Yuuji a lot of trouble and he’d been willing to handle them by himself. But Iori had insisted.
The memories after that were hazy, did the curse come after he had served lunch? Or before? Where had they been in the estate?
Yuuji tried to squash down his rising anxiety and his cursed energy. In his despair he didn’t notice when his terrible two’s had started to squabble.
“It’s your fault!”
“Whaa? I didn’t do anything!”
“Shhh!!” Yuuji quietened them. He could feel a familiar cursed energy, a familiar soul – across the room and outside.
The lights clicked on and Yuuji almost fainted at the sight of his very much dead sensei.
Megumi Fushiguro liked his peace. Indeed, when Gojo Satoru had the gall to reveal that Yuuji was not, in fact, dead as previously presumed, Megumi had chosen to overlook it instead of jumping to violence, which had seemed like a viable option at the time.
After years of handling Satoru on his sugar high, Megumi had begun to appreciate the peace during the early hours of dawn. He would wake up as early as it could get, make himself a brew and sit in silence. The perfect way to start a day.
If he woke up too early, he would pick up a book, mostly non-fiction, though he had started dabbling in fiction after noticing Yuuji’s interest and read until the others stumbled into the kitchen.
Yuuji would most likely be the next to wake up; he would walk into the kitchen at some point around 8, bleary-eyed.
He would cook up a breakfast, or heat the leftovers from last night, and they would eat together on the counter. Afterwards, Megumi or Nobara could wash the dishes. It was a routine Megumi could get behind. At first it had been quite awkward. He had been used to lonely days with Satoru always gone for a mission. With Yuuji and Nobara, though, he had to admit – it was nice.
They were teammates, and they completed each other. Yuuji would head straight into danger, ready to save civilians, sticking his head out no matter how much Megumi scolded him. Nobara could handle the rear. She could handle anyone, period. One look in her crazed eyes and anyone would be rendered silent; he had no idea how curses survived that glare. And he was the one who generally avoided fights – if he could. It frequently came to bite him in the ass, but he couldn’t help it.
So, you couldn’t exactly blame him for ignoring a strange sundial-shaped artifact on the kitchen counter as he prepared his morning coffee. And you couldn’t exactly blame him if he chose to rush out of the kitchen when said artifact began to glow weirdly.
No thank you.
Curiosity pestered Megumi like an orange cat spirit until he gave in and peeked into the room. The sundial, instead of behaving like a normal inanimate object, proceeded to spin on its own. The absolute gall it had to ruin Megumi’s morning.
And if that wasn’t enough, 4 silhouettes appeared across the counter as if being pulled into being by an unknown force at work. It was dark, so he couldn’t make out their respective features, and Megumi wasn’t exactly keen on talking before he inhaled at least 4 cups of black coffee, so don’t blame him when he rushed out and locked himself in his room.
The amount of cursed energy that now emanated from the kitchen would be enough to scare any novice sorcerer. Which Megumi was not. Obviously.
Immediately struck by the fact that his morning today would not have any semblance of peace, Megumi thought it fit to dial Gojo.
As soon as the Curse energy had spiked, however, it calmed down to almost nothing. If Megumi were the sort of person to hallucinate, he would think for sure that was it. But it couldn’t have been. Could it?
With just a minimal amount of caffeine running through his body, he couldn't be so sure.
Hanging up his phone abruptly, Megumi tiptoed out of his room. The orange cat spirit in his head purred and urged him to stick his head back into the kitchen.
As soon as that intrusive thought entered his mind, however, a certain pink-haired, doe-eyed someone stepped out of their room, in black cat Pjs. A golden retriever wearing cat pjs. What a morning.
“Oh hey, Megumi!” The pink blob exclaimed cheerfully, “Good morning”
Megumi mumbled a morning back. He had just discovered that if he didn’t, the pink blob would get the saddest, most kicked-puppy expression on his face. Megumi would not like dealing with that in the early hours; that’s all. There was nothing more to it.
“I heard some noise,” Yuuji proclaimed, breaking his train of thought. With his enhanced senses, he probably could.
But now that Megumi was paying attention, he could hear it too. Childish voices squeaking indignantly from inside the kitchen.
“It’s your fault!” One proclaimed.
“Whaa? I didn’t do anything!”
What sins had Megumi committed in his past life to be burdened with such distasteful mornings? It better be murder and nothing less.
“Do we call Sensei?” Yuuji had some brain cells left, apparently, since he didn’t venture into the kitchen directly, but not enough to know to whisper. Megumi twisted his face into something complicated, which Yuuji translated into morning moodiness.
As soon as that was said, however, a strike of white hair plopped in front of them; Yuuji started, a scream beginning to build in his throat. Megumi slapped his hand over his lips. “Don’t,” He deadpanned. Speak of the devil.
“Gojo-sensei! You’re here!” Yuuji said, as if it wasn’t obvious.
“I felt a spike of cursed energy from the kitchen,” Gojo explained, a grin far too cheerful on his face. So it wasn’t a hallucination. “Stay here, kiddos. This isn’t something you can handle.” Not that Megumi was going to, but Yuuji looked thoroughly disappointed.
Gojo jauntily made his way to the kitchen, his expression frighteningly serious, while Yuuji and Megumi stood outside, their heads peeking through the screen, trying to make out what was happening.
The light was switched on, and the squeaky noises from the kitchen suddenly died down. It was the calm before the storm, however, as a particularly loud scream tore through the morning air.
Megumi and Yuuji stormed the door open, uncaring that they had been groggy seconds ago.
A kid their age stood there, with droopy eyes and flicks of hair framing his face, looking a lot like a certain senpai. His mouth was open in a half-scream, and as if suddenly realising that he was the cause of all this commotion, he slapped his hands over his mouth, looking sheepish.
Megumi narrowed his eyes, his mind racing through all the possibilities. Deep in his musings, he missed the biggest sign, standing right next to the kid, wearing a grey hoodie that covered a large part of his face, with two screaming toddlers near his legs. It must’ve been the morning drowsiness that made him miss the mark. Megumi later blamed.
Yuuji let out a tiny squeak; his eyes squared on the tiny kids who were clinging to the man.
“Protecting yourself with kids?” Gojo mused, his grin mocky “The lowest have fallen even further.” His hand shot out in front of Megumi and Yuuji, pushing them back.
The teen kid scowled. “You’re the one to talk! Using the corpse of Sensie’s sensei for protection!!”
Um. What. Megumi’s half-addled brain struggled to keep up.
The hoodie guy placed his hand on imposter Okkostsu. “Relax, Iori, I’ll handle it.”
Megumi looked down at the toddlers who were still hanging by the hoodie guy’s side. Was this a hostage situation? Why would this man reveal himself in the school of all places? The one place where you could always run into Satoru Gojo? Did he have a death wish? Even with the kids as Body armour, he wouldn’t get far. And what was the deal with the glowy sundial? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. His mind rattled off. This wasn’t the time to contemplate theories. That could wait. He had to get the kids to safety first.
Perhaps even the teen, though he appeared highly loyal to the hoodie guy.
Could he summon Nue from behind and get the kids? Or was that too risky? What if hoodie guy was special grade – the way he seemed way too lax in Gojo’s presence certainly seemed to suggest so.
The man, however, didn't give him much time to think.
“I don’t like games”, He said, removing his hand from his pocket.
Gojo chuckled “Well, I’m sure I could introduce you to something that suits your tastes” He took a careful stance, pushing Yuuji and Megumi behind him “You know my students are watching, so I gotta show off a little. Do you mind?”
“You’ve matched his demeanour well”, the man said, a hand rising in a dismissive wave. Which again. Made no sense. “Unfortunately for you, this farce won’t last for long.” The hoodie guy rotated his fingers, and an orb of blood appeared right above his palms, floating.
It took Megumi approximately 0.3 seconds to realise what the man was about to do. Driven by pure adrenaline, he instinctively grabbed the back of Yuuji’s tee and forced him to duck with him. A strike of piercing blood rushed over their heads, and it should’ve hit the wall as piercing blood does. Megumi knew it wasn’t possible to spin the arrow of blood in whichever way you wanted, it was quite hard so he hadn’t expected the Hoodie guy to subvert his expectations. Megumi barely dodged it again as it rebounded and got caught in a blob in the man’s hand.
“That’s a handy trick”, Gojo laughed, though it seemed more cutting than genuine; the blood hadn’t grazed him at all, Infinity doing favours, of course. The man seemed struck by this, his head tilted in confusion.
Why? Infinity and Limitless were well-known techniques, since Gojo had been arrogantly boasting about them since the day he got out of the womb.
“Yours is too,” The man said “I don’t have time for this, though. You’re lucky I’m not willing to endanger my kids.”
Gojo scoffed, his hands already moving, but the man struck first again, his hands moving in a mudra “Domain Expansion”, He uttered.
“Behind me!” Gojo grabbed them by their clothes. Megumi braced himself, his hands summoning the divine dogs – already expecting a sure hit.
He waited a moment and then opened his eyes to stare; this domain was unlike any other.
They were in a serene estate that overlooked the mountains. The estate was built in an old traditional style, something that could have been inspired by the military houses in the Heian era.
The wind (Could that be a domain’s work?) was cold as it rushed through them, ruffling their clothes and hair; as soon as it did, though, the hoodie guy relaxed, no longer posing in an attacking stance.
Megumi turned to Gojo; his mind was muddled, and he couldn’t focus or make sense of the situation. Gojo had removed his blindfold and was now staring at the hoodie guy with renewed vigour.
This seemed to set off Imposter Okkotsu as well, who scowled yet again “Don’t you dare look at sensei like that!!” The toddlers nodded their pea-sized heads “Yeah!”
Gojo didn’t pay that statement any heed as he continued to stare, his lips forming the word “Sensei” as if in wonder. Okay. The one person Megumi was hoping to depend on was also proving useless in this situation. What a headache.
Surprisingly, Yuuji was the one who put it into words.
“It’s me!” He almost screamed, pointing at the hoodie guy. Megumi whipped his head to stare. Huh?
The hoodie guy finally removed his hoodie, looking – like the exact image of what Yuuji had guessed the man to be — himself.
“Morning, Sensei” The man smiled, soft pink hair falling over his face like tendrils and … Megumi finally declared himself insane.
“What a domain you have, Yuuji” Gojo looked around.
It was Yuuji, though … older. If Megumi had to guess, he would say around 26 or 28, Gojo’s age. There were scars over his eye and near his lips, none under his eyes, however. The ones that declared Sukuna’s presence. Had Sukuna been exorcised out of him? Or was this even Itadori, like Gojo, believed?
“There is nothing that the Six Eyes don’t see, apparently”, adult Yuuji let out a long sigh “It’s a domain of souls; no one can hide their true form here. Not me either, but not many possess the ability to distinguish souls as I do.”
“A Non-lethal domain, that's so like you, Yuuji” Gojo smiled; it was genuine this time. The younger Yuuji looked around in wonder at the domain. His eyes flitted over the adult one “Call me Yu”, the hoodie guy said “The names will confuse the kids”
Megumi was starting to connect the dots.
“You mean to say that the sundial thing brought this man – who’s apparently Yuuji – from the future?!” Now that he had put it into words, it did seem quite baffling, so Gojo turned to Yu for answers.
“I was with the kids when we got attacked, curse’s work. Perhaps I forgot to maintain a barrier around the estate?” He scratched the nape of his neck, wondering.
It was just like him, Megumi thought in despair, not even his influence had cured Yuuji’s eternal stupidity, it seemed.
Yu raised his hands again and the domain dissolved around them, turning into the bland kitchen. Personally, Megumi was enjoying the scenery in the domain, but he wouldn’t say that out loud.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” A loud voice cut through. The toddlers jumped, squealing into Yu’s legs. Nobara stood near the doorway, her eyes as wide as saucers, bits of glass shards scattered near her feet.
______
“Okay, so you're telling me that this dweeb?” She pointed at Yu, at which the loyal imposter Okkotsu opened his mouth as if to debate, but Kugisaki spurred on “Is our dweeb?” She pointed at Yuuji “But from the future.”
“In short, yes,” Yu said.
“And who are you?” Kugisaki turned to the teen “His dumb, loyal follower?”
“I’ll have you know that I’m Sensei’s student”, He said haughtily.
“Iori”, Yu said gently “No need to get so fired up every time”
“But Sensei – !! She’s insulting –”
“Sensei?” Yuuji stared, as if becoming a teacher was more of a surprise than actually surviving. By the way things were going he had assumed that Yuuji would be executed eventually. If Megumi had his way though, he would hide the last finger away forever, so the execution never took place. The way things seemed in the future however, suggested that Sukuna was no longer a problem in the future. Yuuji’s cheek split open as lips formed, signalling Sukuna’s presence. The devil has a way of knowing when people are reminded of him, Megumi guessed “How surprising. Does the brat have teaching capabilities in him, or has the quality in teaching dipped so low…?” Sukuna’s voice was snide and filled with distaste. Megumi had half a mind to slap his hand over his mouth.
“Sukuna”, Yu’s voice was slightly amused, with a tinge of nostalgia. “I must say, always having to put up with your assholish self is one thing I did not miss”
Gojo chose to butt in before Sukuna could take this moment away from him “You’re a teacher now?!! I can’t believe Yuuji-kun followed in my footsteps” He wiped away a fake tear “I knew you loved me the best out of all my students.” Yu shook his head in faint amusement as Megumi muttered a small “We don’t love you at all”