xvi. aftermath

                                    

                                          
Everything seemed to get worse the farther I descended down the stairs. Air slowly turned to smoke. 
I don't even know if I was thinking straight. As soon as I'd felt that explosion, I knew Sukuna had done something awful. Of course he had. The stupidity of me to even think for a second that I could feel sorry for him. He was only capable of heinous acts. It was clear to me now.
I made it to the first floor and bursted through the ballroom doors... only to my dismay, I was welcomed by a horrifying scene.
Chandeliers sat like shattered planes on the ground. Specks of glass were everywhere, among other wreckage. Pillars laid askew, people screamed in horror, desperately aiding each other in the ruins.
I stumbled through the hall, my heart was beating out of my chest. I could hardly see through all the smoke, I squinted for sharper view. There was only one person I was searching for in that moment...
"Megumi! Megumi!" I yelled. My voice was yet another holler into the abyss of cries. Drowned out by everyone else.
Tears swelled up in my eyes, muddling my view. I started to sweat. The fabric of my dress clung to my skin. 
"Megumi!"
My heals crunched over broken glass and rubble.
With each passing second, my hope would fade. I felt a sinking feeling inside myself. That squeamish urge you get right before you vomit. However, this was long lasting, it stayed with me the entire time.
I pulled out my phone. The lockerscreen was flooded from missed calls and texts from Gojo and Megumi. Probably from when I was off with Sukana on the roof. I dialed Megumi as my phone shook in my hands.
The audio beeped until it led me straighter to voice mail, "It's Fushiguro, leave a message." 
I called again, as I stood with the phone to my ear, I heard a nearby cell phone ring while I was calling him. I hung up and dialed again, I wanted to see if it could've been his phone ringing. I followed the sound, it took me towards the corner of the ballroom. And that's when I saw Megumi.
Unconscious with a football sized shard of glass poking out from his rib cage. I rushed to his side and kneeled down. His lips were scarcely parted with his eyes shut. He had various cuts on his face, leaking blood. 
I held his cheek, "Megumi, hey Megumi! Please it's me."
Hot tears dripped down my chin and neck. My voice cracked. "Wake up. Megumi!"
This couldn't be it. After everything. Everything he'd done for me. He didn't deserve to die. 
"Megumi please."
If anyone, of all people, he deserved to live. I looked at the shard of glass in his torso and gritted my teeth. I latched onto it, causing cuts along my own hands. I yanked it out from him and unbuttoned his shirt. The wound was bad. Dark red blood pooled in his skin. It was almost purple. I ripped off a piece of fabric from the bottom of my dress and tied it around his stomach, wrapping the wound.
"Y/n?" He murmured weakly.
"Megumi!" 
I let out a deep sigh. 
"Thank god." I whispered.
"You have to get out of here y/n. If another explosion goes off-."
"No, are you insane? I'm not gonna leave you here. We're getting out of this, together."
"It not safe, that explosion was pure cursed energy. It had to have been by Sukuna. If he wants you, he'll find you. You need to run now-."
"Remember our promise? You said you would protect me. Although, right now I'm going to protect you. We protect each other, that's what friends do."
We both paused and stared into each others eyes. It was tense.
Megumi faintly chuckled. "Friends huh? I thought we were, dating?"
"This isn't the time to crack jokes! You're literally-."
The two of us idiots paused again. This time, we were smiling at each other, on the verge of laughter.
"—you're literally bleeding." I continued.
"It appears I am."
"Yeah, genius. Now can you walk? I'll help you."
Quick foot steps came from behind. I turned around, it was Gojo. 
"Oi! Megumi! You okay?"
"I'm alright." He said lowly, you could hear the pain in his voice. 
"Y/n, get Megumi out front on the main driveway. I'll run to the garage and pull the car up to meet you guys. It's too dangerous to bring him all the way through the school and down there. Those medics are taking far too long." 
I nodded. Gojo took off through the doors as I helped Megumi up. His torso was dripping blood. The slice of fabric I'd used to halt the bleeding was already stained in red. I had to move quick. I lugged his arm over my shoulder and tried my best to keep him upright.
He was heavier than I expected. I was definitely not cut out for this but I didn't care. His labored breaths were a stark reminder of how much he needed to get to the hospital. We headed for the door. 
"Hey..." He mumbled. 
"You should save your energy." I replied.
"I'm sorry you had to see all this y/n. I know it's not particularly your ideal night out."
"Well, massive explosion triggered by some sociopathic, one thousand year old spirit sounds,  splendid."
The two of us chuckled.
"I'm serious though, you shouldn't of had to see this tonight."
"Megumi... Don't worry yourself with my feelings, alright? I'm apart of this world now no matter what and... I can't runaway from the tragedies, they follow me."
"I'm gonna make this right." He grunted. I scanned his face— deeply furrowed brows as if he was focusing on something, in his own little world.
He started to cough up blood, bits sprinkled against my chest. He struggled to keep himself up. I could feel him slowly beginning to lean more weight on me as we walked. 
My knees buckled, I stumbled, quickly regaining balance. I wasn't strong enough, but I had to keep going. Megumi coughed up another round of blood. That glass must've stabbed something important in his body. He was bleeding internally. All the more reason for me push through the impending collapse of my own body.
His voice was low and gargled by the pooling blood in his mouth. "I-... I can walk alone... I'm hurting you y/n." He slowly let go of me but that's when I pulled him right back against myself, throwing his arm over my shoulder again.
"Don't let go of me." I whispered softly...




☾