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Yuji pushes the two wooden wing doors open with both of his hands. “I'm sorry I'm late,” he calls as he rushes into the training room, his training bag slung over his shoulder. “Won't happen again!”
Behind him the heavy doors fall shut again. The noise they make resonates through the entire room, as they reach from the floor all the way to the ceiling.
He bends over, hands on his knees, to catch his breath for a second before standing up straight only to find the training room empty, save Nobara.
“Wait, where is everyone?” he asks as he makes his way over to her. Nobara sits with her legs outstretched, bending her body to grab her toes. Nobara snaps up and leans back with her hands outstretched behind her body.
“They're having an argument,” Nobara says. “Didn't get what it's supposed to be about but Fushiguro threatened to unleash the dogs on him. Now they're somewhere arguing.”
“Oh,” Yuji says, “it's not too bad, is it though?”
Yuji doesn't even pretend to fully grasp the complicated dynamics of Megumi's and Gojo-sensei’s relationship. Even after months of spending time with both of them he's actually none the wiser what shared history connects Megumi and the Avatar and how deep it runs. Logically, he knows they must be close or at least know each other well given that Megumi lives with him. The literal Avatar. Sometimes Yuji still can't wrap his head around it.
Nobara pulls a grimace at him—something caught between a smug grin and an exasperated frown.
“Awe,” she smirks, “worried about your boyfriend?”
Yuji pulls his training bag off and kicks it at her, sending her falling to the ground with a thump!
“You can't say things like that,” Yuji whines, while Nobara shoves the training bag off of her body. “They could come back any moment.”
“It's true though.”
Yuji drops to the ground. He feels heat rush to his cheeks, desperately wishing he had a mask right now to hide the pink dust on his face. So, instead he goes for burying his face in his hands and groaning: “Please, shut up !”
At the same time, the eye slits underneath his own actual eyes, the ones Yuji likes to pretend aren't there for most of the time, pop open and a mouth opens up on his arm.
“You let the harlot speak too much,” the mouth on his arm hisses.
Nobara makes a faux sympathetic noise from the back of the throat.
“I don't think I'll be taking any words from half an Avatar,” she mocks just as Yuji slaps his other hand over the mouth, making it disappear before Sukuna can threaten to kill Nobara again. He does that way to often, even though usually Gojo is his preferred target when it concerns threat of murder.
Just like Yuji can't believe that he's spending actual time with the Avatar (who, to be honest, is a pretty silly and strange guy) and getting trained by him, he just as well can't believe that that's only even necessary because well, he has been possessed by an evil spirit.
That's not so great actually. His grandfather died. He got possessed by an anti Avatar, turned his life upside down and fifteen years after coming into this world he suddenly was able to water, and to a lesser extent, fire bend. To say the least, it's been pretty weird. Strangely enough, the Avatar is bothered by all of this the least. It's almost astonishing given that Yuji kind of knocked the balance of the world off its axis. Not that he intended to do that. People have been trying to kill him a lot lately which is not so great. He made some new friends though so that's nice.
Maybe it's a testament to his skills of avoidance and delusional negation that the evil Avatar possessing his body is not his biggest problem but pro-bending and Fushiguro Megumi certainly are.
“Sorry about that,” Yuji says and Nobara makes a throwaway gesture like she's used to it by now.
“Don't distract,” she says and lightly kicks at his ankle. “When are you going to ask him out? You know, he likes you, don't you? Like, you're not stupid, demon boy.”
Yuji wrings his hands together. On an objective kind of level Yuji sometimes thinks he might have shot. For instance, sometimes Megumi, who wears a perpetual scowl like a second skin, smiles at him for no apparent reason. He also really made Yuji feel better about that whole getting possessed thing—which might just be because Megumi is a genuinely good-hearted person even at his own insistence that he's not.
“I'll make you a deal,” Nobara says and holds out an anticipatory hand to Yuji, “if we lose and don't make it to the Championships, I’ll tell Fushiguro you have a big fat crush on him. If we win, you ask him out on a date.”
“Deal…– wait , hey!”
But it's too late, Nobara has gripped his hand by force and shaken it and just as Yuji is about to protest, the doors are propelled open by an unnatural gust of wind and Gojo comes waltzing in, scowling Megumi and his two dogs (his most beloved companions as he never fails to remind them when Nobara and Yuji, and especially Gojo get on his nerves again) in tow.
Gojo is in his usual air bender attire—golden yellow and rusty orange robes that sway with every light-footed step he takes. The blue arrow, that Yuji knows he has to have on his head, is hidden away by the white hair that frames his face. The only markings he ever reveals are the ones on his hands. He grins at them brightly as he approaches them.
“How are my favorite and bright students doing today?” he chirps as he comes to a stop before them. Megumi steps around him to sit down next to Yuji and Nobara. Before they get a chance to actually answer, he continues, “Unfortunately for you, I have to leave right away but our training session tomorrow morning shall happen as planned.”
“We have no training session scheduled for tomorrow morning,” Nobara says.
“Don’t we?” Gojo asks, still grinning. “I think we do, Nobara! Cheer up, I know you love to see your favorite sensei.”
Gojo is their only sensei, Yuji thinks. Maybe Ieiri-sensei could count but Yuji doesn’t think she would like to be called their teacher. She just takes care of their injuries at Republic City Technical School. She’s in fact very adamant about that so—Gojo is their only sensei. At least he’s Yuji’s only sensei. Maybe the other two, born and raised as benders, have multiple teachers. Nobara scowls at Gojo, copying Megumi’s scowl down to every last detail. Entirely undeterred by that, Gojo flashes them thumbs up before he spins around on his wheels and leaves the training room with the same flamboyant attitude he entered it, leaving only the three of them and the little board they have where they put down important information. While Shiro, endlessly attached to Megumi like he needs him to breathe, lies his head down on Megumi’s outstretched legs, Kuro comes to sit down next to Yuji, bumping his head against Yuji’s hand. A silent demand for some pettings. Of course Yuji complies and the dog makes a satisfied noise.
“Everything alright?” he asks Megumi. With you? Of course, Gojo’s departure implies he’s asking for him. Who wouldn't be asking about the Avatar? Yuji feels slightly mean for admitting this but after having met Gojo Satoru in person, Yuji decided that maybe being the Avatar was not that big of a deal after all. Because quite frankly, Gojo was kind of odd–somewhat whimsical. He's also kind of an asshole sometimes as in, there are no known bounds to the severity of his ego—at least none Yuji was allowed to bear witness to so far.
“Yes,” Megumi huffs, “don’t worry. Gojo’s just being annoying again.”
He strokes his slender fingers through Shiro’s white fur and Yuji finds it hard not to watch him. Or at least not be as obvious about it.
You’re pathetic, Sukuna’s voice sneers in his head. Yuji wants to bang his head against the nearest solid, preferably really hard, surface. Just to make Sukuna's ears ring for a moment. Though, that would harm him more than Sukuna unfortunately.
“Sorry for making you wait,” Megumi adds, an afterthought.
“How long have you been arguing for?” Nobara asks, completely skipping over anything they've said and when Megumi raises an eyebrow at her in suspicion she adds, “Just trying to figure out whether you've been at it the entire morning so I can have a guess whether you've seen who we're up against for our next match or not.”
For a moment Megumi's jaw works so hard that Yuji thinks it's going to shatter like glass. His silence is enough of an indicator of them indeed having fought all morning and that Megumi hasn't seen their opponents for their next match. Truth to be told, Yuji hasn’t either and he doesn't even have a good excuse. Surprisingly, Sukuna granted him one night of blissful comatose sleep instead of haunting him with visions, not quite real, not quite not real, of his wretched reality of the spirit world.
(Sukuna had ruined spirits for Yuji forever. Megumi had told him about a panda spirit once and not even that fact was enough to salvage Yuji's relationship with them. It's rather sad. Maybe pathetic, considering that Sukuna only lives in Yuji's head.)
His general excuse is the fact that he hasn't been doing this for as much time as Megumi and Nobara have. He knew of pro-bending, hell he watched pro-bending but actually participating is something entirely different. Gojo had proposed it after he had to knock Yuji out cold for the second time because in Gojo's words he had too much raw energy (too much juice was Gojo's exact phrasing) and he needed to exercise that in a healthy way. Luckily, Gojo knew just the sport to do that and just the two bright students to help him with that. Even though Gojo might deny it, he had actually called them insane. He might’ve been right because with fifteen and sixteen years they stood out in the crowds of seasoned pro benders like an air monk between earth benders.
“So, who are we up against?” Megumi eventually asks, instead of outright admitting he had fought with Gojo the entire morning. How did his sister handle all that? It seemed exhaustion having them bicker all the time even though Yuji admittedly found Megumi’s near-constant exasperation in the face of his… mentor–guardian? Father? mildly entertaining.
Nobara clicks her tongue at him.
“Trio of students from the other technical high school in the city,” Nobara says. “Aoi Todo, earthbender. Kamo Noritoshi, waterbender.” She looks up from where she's scribbling down the names on the little board. “From where do I know that name by the way? And finally, their firebender, Zenin Mai.” She gives Megumi a meaningful look.
Yuji catches the slightest twitch in Megumi’s eye. It could be weird that he notices all these things about Megumi, it's just that when he can, Yuji likes to watch Megumi the most. In all states—fighting or not.
“Aoi is going to be a tough one,” he offers, rather emotionlessly, while gazing at Nobara. “He has more experience than you and he was trained by Tsukumo Yuki.”
Nobara's mouth falls open in a silent gasp. Everyone knew Tsukumo Yuki. A shining star under the earthbenders with only few measuring up to her in skill and strength.
“I don’t think you can take him,” Megumi adds.
Nobara grits her teeth together but gives a curt nod, as if she has thought about this too and came, against her subjective want, to the same conclusion. At that, Megumi continues, “Noritoshi is not going to be easy either. He won’t be able to bloodbend though, so we at least stand a chance. Mai we should be able to handle.”
“Isn't bloodbending illegal?” Yuji asks, slowly sinking to the ground until he's laying on his back. Kuro slides down on his stomach alongside him. “How is he able to bloodbend in like… general?”
“Technically,” Nobara says and snaps her fingers at Megumi, “how could I forgot about these fuckers?” She turns back to Yuji. “The Kamo Clan kind of has a monopoly on it. Says they won’t use it except in exceptional circumstances but them being able to bloodbend in theory is necessary for continuous peace or if conflict ever breaks out again.”
Yuji pulls a grimace. That seemed suspicious at best and dangerous and threatening at worst.
“Yes, they all suck, can we move on,” Megumi cuts in, obviously referring to the big three clans that held control in Republic City–Kamo Clan, Zenin Clan and Gojo Clan. As far as Yuji knew the Gojo Clan, predominantly made up from Airbenders, had a long and troubled history of holding onto their power, an outlier in the generally peaceful Air Nomads and the Avatar being born to them was the only thing that pulled them out of their swindling power maelstrom. Zenin Clan was probably the most famous one among the nonbenders Yuji spent most of his life with. Fire Nation royalty without actually being royalty–respected out of fear more than anything else.
“Antsy to face off against your cousin?” Nobara asks and Megumi scowls at her, effectively dragging Yuji out of his thoughts.
“I’m confused,” Yuji says. How did the Fushiguros come into this now?
“Don’t worry about it.”
Right. That's also what Gojo had told him after he got possessed by an evil spirit. Don't worry about it, Yuji-kun, Gojo had said, your new magnificent teacher will take care of it.
“Soo,” he drawls, “what will our strategy be? Who's taking who?”
Megumi looks at him. “You'll have to take Aoi,” he tells him. “Against him you have the best shot with all your… strength. And that, you know.”
Yuji peaks up at the sound of his voice. He sounds a little strangled. He's saved by Nobara's interjection.
“I guess I'm taking Mai? Heard she's kind of a bitch.”
She eyes her nails, feigning disinterest.
“She had a shitty life,” Megumi says. Yuji peaks up at the slight hint of understanding in his voice. And Yuji really feels like he's missing a lot of the conversation going on here. It's not like someone sat him down after he got possessed and explained everything about the bender's world to him. He feels like someone–Gojo–should have. After all, his continued existence put the world out of its natural balance. There couldn't be two avatars living at the same time. That much they had told him when Gojo, and his healer friend, told him that the clans of Republic City, the higher ups from the other nations and about every bender would want him dead.
Nobara jumps up and steps over to the chalk-drawn arena in the middle of the training room.
“Alright,” she announces loudly and takes a fighting stance in her part of the arena field. “Hit me.”
With a small, amused smile on his lips, Megumi follows her request.
Yuji sits back, now sandwiched between the dogs and gets ready to enjoy the show. Or to be more specific–to watch Megumi. Because watching Megumi bend was simply magnificent. Watching everyone else react to his bending was downright glorious and instilled a gleefulness in Yuji that only could be measured up to in the rarest of days. Because Megumi, firebending prodigy, at his core moved like an air bender and no one ever saw it coming until hit with the full intensity of it and by then it was too late.
Megumi's fire comes to life in the same cold and blinding blue it always does at his fingertips. It's supposed to be a rarity, if not an anomaly, the blue fire which so starkly contrasts with Yuji's, or rather Sukuna's, own warm orange fire. Quickly, he assembles the finger in a ring around himself that cuts across his shoulder to his torso and back up. Megumi kept that ring of fire around himself at all times during their training—an exact replica of the ring of air that Gojo used—from which he would draw fire blasts and arrows. Sometimes he would engulf his entire body in a wall of blue fire–another replica of Gojo who used walls and cloaks of air to stop things from reaching him as he pleased.
Nobara attacks first, sending one of the rock discs into Megumi's direction. Her strength is in her speed and she hits at him relentlessly. Megumi dodges, evading the discs with ease. It drives Nobara furious—his tendency to not engage with her discs but to simply evade, dancing around her until she tires herself out to strike at her.
“Hit back,” Nobara growls, as she sends another disc flying at his ring of fire. “Is this how the Zenin bitch is going to fight me?”
“No,” Megumi responds easily. He brings a foot down in a heavy strike, something common in other firebenders, just not Megumi, and hits her with a fist of fire and then another one, sending her stumbling back. “This is how.”
Pro-bending focuses on upper body strength, which made Yuji a natural candidate for the game, so Megumi keeps going at Nobara with fists swinging. She puts up a good fight, hitting Megumi with multiple discs at a time. When Megumi fights like this, it's easier to gain a ground on him as this is not his preferred style.
They keep going back and forth and Yuji cheers every time one of them lands a hit on the other one. Ultimately, Megumi sends Nobara flying to the ground when he jumps up, and spin kicks a whiplash of blue fire at her. He lands at the ground with a satisfied smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.
He extends a hand towards Nobara who takes it and lets herself get pulled up.
“Your turn,” Nobara quips at Yuji and Yuji perks up. She points her thumb at Megumi, who eyes him expectantly.
“S-sure,” he stammers out, quickly jumping out. “I'm ready.”
“Only water,” Megumi says and Yuji gives a curt nod and takes his fighting stance. It's the element he's restricted to when they’re pro-bending.
Yuji knows he can't beat Megumi in a fight that would come down to good old technique. He knows though that he can beat Megumi when it comes to brute strength. Megumi likes to keep his distance when fighting, so naturally Yuji likes to keep him close.
Nobara claps her hands together and announces, “Start!”
Yuji is the first to attack. His hands pulsate with energy, fingers itching to bend the water that flows under the training room. It's why Gojo recommended him for Pro-Bending in the first place.
Whenever Megumi tries to draw away Yuji lets the water whips shoot up behind him and at his sides to keep him close. Obviously, Megumi isn’t stupid, he knows what Yuji is trying to accomplish and actively fights against it, eyebrows pinched with concentration whenever one of Yuji's water whips closes an opening he had sought out. Whenever he tries to gain distance on Yuji, he reigns Megumi in. Enough for Megumi to start abandoning his preferred fighting style in favor of coming at him with swinging fists like he did with Nobara. Megumi fights like a caged animal when not given the opportunity to put distance between them and then it's easy to overpower him—when his movements and attacks get a little frantic and a little less precise. Now that's a fight Yuji can win. He strikes again.
That same recognition flashes in Megumi’s eyes. Yuji engulfs his hand in water and hits him square in the chest. That's it. Yuji grins. He likes winning. Sue him. But then–Megumi is a mirror of himself, baring his teeth at him and it's so uncharacteristically for him Yuji knows he's made a mistake.
One time Gojo watched with Yuji as Nobara and Megumi sparred on a narrow wooden blank. Something Gojo made them do these things to train their balance, reflexes and what not. Gojo, prone to sensory overloads and plagued by frequent visions of his past lives, drew his black blindfold down and looked at him.
“Do you know what Megumi's biggest trump card is?”
“No? I don't think so,” Yuji responded.
When he looked back at Megumi and Nobara, only fists flying nothing else, Nobara kicked Megumi's one foot out from underneath him while striking at the other.
“He's very calculating. He may not be able to win,” Gojo said, “but he will always make sure his opponents will lose too. If he ever goes down, he's taking everyone else down with him.”
As he went down, Megumi delivered his last blow at Nobara with enough precision to knock her off the blank as well. She lands right on top of him.
“Weak!” was the hiss Sukuna granted them in return.
The memory flashes before Yuji's eyes as Megumi sends a fire blast straight over his head. He ducks out of the way and Megumi kicks the point where his foot meets his shin hard –hard enough to send Yuji stumbling forward. He comes crashing down on Megumi, hands bracing the fall at either side of Megumi's head, just seconds after Megumi's back hits the ground. Yuji feels his chest deflate when Megumi lets out a soft oomph.
Yuji breathes hard, heart hammering against his chest. Underneath him Megumi is flushed with exhaustion and the thrill of the fight. His dark eyelashes flutter against his cheeks and Yuji wants to drown in the deep blue and green of his eyes. One eye of each color. He looks pretty. Probably the prettiest boy he's ever seen.
“I win,” Yuji says, a little out of breath, from the fight or everything else he doesn't know.
“You lose,” Megumi says at the same time. Bold words from someone pinned under his body.
Yuji's eyes move down to Megumi's mouth entirely on their own just in time to see him close it after the last vowel. He blinks. When he looks back up he can tell Megumi has followed his gaze. Heat shoots to his cheeks upon realizing that he has been caught and Megumi seems just as flustered.
“You have an interesting way of defining winning and losing, Fushiguro,” is what Yuji settles on ultimately, just to tease him a bit. But mostly, it's to distract from the situation at hand. He could also just get up.
“You fell,” Megumi responds. “I fell. If I lost due to that then so did you.”
Sometimes he can be a bit insufferable. Still, Yuji allows himself to smile at him while his brain screams at him to finally get up. Their legs are still entangled with each other. Finally, he picks himself up and Megumi follows swiftly. There's meaning in the glance Nobara shoots his way after both of them have gotten up from the floor.
“You will be fine against Aoi Todo,” Megumi tells him and Yuji grins at him.
“Thanks, Fushiguro. I'm sure we'll all do great.”
“We'll kick their asses ,” Nobara says, brash as ever. The dogs bark, as if in agreement.
Two weeks later, Yuji is rocking back and forth on his feet, standing in one of the private viewing suites of the Pro-bending Arena in Yue Bay. They're high up, best seats reserved for none other than the Avatar of course. Nobara and Megumi lean at the railing as they talk quietly and overlook the arena.
Gojo lounges on one of the comfy couches, with his arms spread across the backrest. Next to him Tsumiki has folded her legs into a cross-legged shape while she chatters with Gojo. Sometimes Yuji thinks Tsumiki might be Gojo's best friend. He wouldn't blame him of course. Tsumiki is great. She's kind and fun to be around, plus Yuji feels strangely connected to her because after all she's a nonbender too, only one with a much better handle on all of this than he. She's also dressed like Gojo–not in the Air nomads’ gowns of course but in the same warm and rusty colors. They suit her well.
“Yuji-kun,” Tsumiki says, and cranes her neck over the backrest and Gojo to look at him. “Are you excited?”
Yuji stops bobbing back and forth, as if he has been caught.
“Nervous, I think.” She smiles at him. It's very similar to Megumi’s smiles, like a heavy and warm blanket across his body. Only Tsumiki's smiles are easier to come by.
“I'm sure you will be great,” she insists. Something sly , something more Gojo-akin, crosses her face. “Megumi speaks of you only in the highest of tones.”
Gojo snickers and Megumi wipes his head around, the scowl on his face telling Yuji that he's ready to squabble with his sister and by extension his mentor.
Before he can get a word out, the door opens–Yuji promptly jumps away from it and backs away towards the couch with Gojo and Tsumiki, who have gone curiously quiet. Odd thing for Gojo to be.
Yuji comes face to face with who he assumes to be Zenin Mai, a girl almost as tall as him with short cropped hair and hazel eyes staring at her with something akin to a sneer on her face. Next to her are two men–one old with long gray hair and someone younger, with blond hair and a sharp grin. Yuji recognises them both—because they very well run the city. Zenin Naobito and his heir, Naoya.
“Hello,” Mai says, “you're the demon brat.”
Yuji is a little too stunned to speak. The air around them is tight and he seems to be the only one who's out of the loop. Classic.
“Leave him alone, Mai,” Megumi says flatly.
“Children.” The old man extends his hands in what's meant to be a soothing manner. “Be civil with each other.”
Megumi's scowl deepens, if that's even possible at this point. All while Yuji feels like he's missing a majority, and also a vital part, of what's going on. Nobara is uncharacteristically silent and he's never seen Gojo quite serious like this–he was still cracking smiles and jokes when he beat up Sukuna in Yuji's body the first time.
“Mastered your lightning bending yet, Nephew?” Naoya turns to Megumi and Yuji's mouth falls open. Nephew? He turns to stare at Nobara, who shrugs her shoulders in silent apology.
“No,” Megumi says. On the surface he doesn't appear to be bothered by it. For all Yuji knows, Megumi couldn't care less whether he was a bender or not. He cared about Tsumiki, and his pets, and Gojo whether he wanted to admit it or not. Yuji hoped he cared for Nobara and him like that too. Still, he didn't like bullies and to be confronted by them and Zenin Naoya seemed like a textbook bully.
“I wouldn't have expected that,” Naoya says and jerks his head into Gojo's general direction who still only watches them, silently and cautiously. “Given who is training you of course.”
The air around them simply drops to a noticeable degree. Somehow it gets harder to breathe and the way Tsumiki sends an elbow flying into Gojo's side, he's the one responsible for it. Of course he is.
“You're really pissing me off now.” All of them turn to Gojo, arms folded into the wide sleeves of his robes, as he smiles at them with his eyes closed. He looks positively threatening. He pops one blue eye open. “Don't push it.”
Naoya continues smiling, only partly agitated after being somewhat threatened by the Avatar. He winks at Megumi.
“See you at the next family function, nephew,” he says. Zenin Naobito doesn't seem all too bothered by his son, just ushers him and Mai out of the room.
“Don't think we'll go easy on you,” Mai chirps over her shoulder and Yuji can see the split second in which Nobara decides to jump her–Megumi does too because he shoots out his arm and grabs her by the back of her collar to pull her back. Naobito doesn't follow his clan members out of the room just yet.
“Avatar.” He nods at Gojo. “Pleasure to see you.”
“Can't say it has been for me,” Gojo responds airily. Naobito's face forms a scowl. Then he leaves.
“Uhm,” Yuji says as soon as the door closes behind him, “what was all that?”
“Nothing,” Megumi huffs, already brushing past all of them to leave the suite behind.
“I thought this was supposed to be a private suite.” Tsumiki frowns. It reminds him of Gojo.
“Don't let them intimidate you.” Gojo claps his hands together and it sends a small gust of wind through the suite as if to ruffle them awake, quick to steer the topic in another direction. “Don't embarrass me out there.”
Yuji imagines that he would wink at them if he didn’t have the blindfold on. To Gojo's left Tsumiki gives them a round of thumbs up.
“Tell Megumi good luck too.”
“You will need it,” Gojo chirps and Tsumiki attempts to retaliate by jamming her elbow into his side. She's stopped by the invisible barrier of air he keeps around himself this time. “Now go shoo.”
“Don't boss us around, old man.”
Nobara grabs him by the elbow and drags Yuji out of the suite. He waves goodbye to Gojo and Tsumiki.
“Oi, I'm your teacher!” Gojo yells after them as the door falls shut.
“That was weird,” Yuji comments. They walk through the halls that have been deserted by now, everyone already on their seats and waiting for them to come up. Every last nerve in Yuji's body buzzes with anticipation for the upcoming fight. Nobara makes a noncommittal noise from the back of her throat. She has buried her hands in the pockets of the training suit.
“Just bat your pretty eyes at him and he'll tell you.”
“Shut up!”
They arrive at their changing room with twenty minutes to spare until their match. Upon arrival Nobara immediately departs into her part of it, a separate room from the one Megumi and he use—separated by a common area from which they can see the arena in the middle. Yuji knocks before he enters their part of the dressing room before slipping in. By then, Megumi is already dressed and leaning at the open balcony part, observing the current match. It travels up to them in the form of shouting and water splashes whenever someone is eliminated.
Yuji doesn’t announce his presence when he steps up next to Megumi, who slightly inclines his head towards him to acknowledge it nevertheless.
“Hi,” Yuji says, looking at Megumi’s side profile. His eyelashes are unfairly long. It’s not the first time Yuji noticed this about him. In fact, it’s one of the first things Yuji had stored away in his brain in that specific section reserved for Fushiguro Megumi and everything that was important, and pretty and nice about him. Given that he’s been hiding half a family, Yuji has a lot more to learn.
“Hi,” Megumi says back. On the field the firebender, which Yuji recognises to be Kashimo Hajime sends two of his opponents flying over the edge and finishes the match. His team wins. Yuji knows he’s one of the most proficient lightning benders out there. Their luck is that he isn't allowed to use that inside the arena.
“Ready to face off against the others?”
“As ready as I'll ever be.” Megumi nudges Yuji with his shoulder. It’s silent gratitude that he hasn’t asked what just happened in that suite. Though, he also knows Yuji well enough to know that he will ask eventually, just not now when they have other things to focus on. “You will be fine though. You can hold your ground against Aoi.”
“You have a lot of faith in me,” Yuji says, when even on his best days he's not sure he has that much faith in himself.
“Why wouldn't I?”
And Megumi sounds so earnest it makes his heart hurt in unprecedented ways. Without him, Yuji wouldn’t even be alive right now. Without sweet sweet Megumi who believes in him, Yuji and half of Avatar Sukuna would be six feet under right now.
“Itadori—hey! Everything alright?”
Yuji blinks when Megumi’s fingers connect with his forehead to flick it. Oh, he must have been staring at him a little too intensely.
“Mh?”
“I asked if you’re ready?” Megumi stares at him expectantly and Yuji realizes he really should get dressed because they’re up next for the game of their life. In the past hour Sukuna has gone over to psychological warfare by telling him he would never make it. Confined to the barriers of his skull, Sukuna cackles. But Yuji will not be bullied by a bodiless and soulless asshole. (Only sometimes, when Sukuna really manages to get to him.)
And Yuji likes Megumi so much it scares him sometimes.
So—before he can really think about, and allow for the possibility to decide against this, which very well may be the crux of all of Yuji’s problems, he leans in and plants a kiss on Megumi’s cheek. When he pulls back, part of him anticipates a hit following within the next few seconds. Megumi kind of has the monopoly on hitting him. He does that a lot, now that Yuji thinks about it and for lesser things than this. Instead, he finds Megumi staring at him wide-eyed.
“What was that for?” Megumi asks, face flushed a pretty and bright pink.
“Just for good luck,” Yuji mutters. “And morale.”
Megumi coughs. “Do you go around giving all your teammates good luck kisses?”
Yuji freezes and immediately straightens out his body. He scratches the back of his head. Think!
“Oh, uhm. Yeah!”
“Okay,” Megumi says slowly. Does Yuji want him to be disappointed right now? Is Megumi disappointed right now? How disappointed would Yuji be if Megumi weren’t disappointed? “Uh, thanks?”
Yuji smiles shyly at him then squeaks, “Yeah sure thing!” He gestures behind himself. “I’m gonna go get ready—so yeah. See you out there.”
Megumi gives him a slow, rather confused wave while Yuji retreats into the private corners of their changing area. Maybe he’s stupid.
“So,” Nobara drawls later on when Megumi steps forward, as their somewhat unwilling team captain, to shake hands with Kamo Noritoshi. “Where’s my good luck kiss?”
Yuji blushes.
“Shut up,” he groans.
“Remember.” Nobara shrugs as Megumi turns on his heels and comes marching back to them. “After this match, either you or me are telling him. He was very shy about asking me what your good luck kiss thing was all about, he’ll probably explode if you ask him out for real.”
When Megumi stands back in line next to Yuji, he nudges Megumi’s hand for just a second. He smiles when he gets a nudge back before the gong rings and the fight begins.
Yuji’s feeling pretty good about it.