𝖲𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇

chapter seven

And how rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist

Present day

Megumi can't quite remember much after that last night between Yuuji's arms.

Or perhaps he just doesn't let his mind retrieve the memories that aren't warm.

Yuuji Itadori was exorcised at exactly 8:37 in the morning the next day. He was sent off from this life by Megumi's own hands.

He had to fight Sukuna right after, through his own tears and rage, in order to make him one of his shikigami.

To this day he still suspects the king of curses didn't actually put up much of a fight, though he doesn't really want to think about why. He summoned him a few times looking for Yuuji in him but as soon as his heart and his soul realized he wasn't there anymore, he stopped.

He settled on leaving everything in the past where it belonged.

There are glimpses that still haunt him but never on days like today.

Today is like slipping back into that last week of their lives every single year.

And for 24 hours Megumi feels back at home, he almost feels alive and fine and warm - but the reverie ends as soon as the sun goes down and he's back into his empty, cold flat alone.

Full of shadows, and full of regrets.

It's like he doesn't belong in his own life ever since Yuuji left.

With a deep sigh, Megumi runs his fingers one more time over the letters making Yuuji's name on the grave and smiles small, looking up to blink away the tears.

It's unusually hot considering they're just a few weeks away from winter, but there's still clouds hiding the sun.

In a few days, Nobara will probably ask him what he wants to do for his birthday. And he'll answer the very same thing he has been asking for these past years - for Yuuji to come back.

Then she'll start bickering about how he's acting like a weeping widow again and he'll argue that he is and then they'll laugh. And cry a bit, probably.

It always goes like that.

Megumi can't believe there was a time when they didn't even talk about what happened, about the missing presence between them - about Yuuji being dead.

And just when they started doing it Gojou came and broke the news to them: how he managed to reverse Yuuji's death thanks to Shouko, and how they sneaked him out of Jujutsu Tech, changed his name and set him off to heavens know where.

And of course it took Gojou three whole years to tell them this.

Megumi still doesn't know the full details of it, though, doesn't know where Yuuji is, doesn't know his new name, doesn't know if he'll ever come back to him.

But it's a little bit easier and a little bit less sad every passing year.

"Well, I should be going, I promised Maki I'd help her move some stuff into her new flat." He scratches his head, lightning a couple more of incense bars so the scent of orange blossom overpowers the sakura trees'. He toys with the lighter between his nimble fingers after he's done, picking the ashes spilled on the marble to throw them away. "She's fine after the whole Zen'in mess, actually looking forward to Nobara and Mai's wedding. Nobara is so happy about it, you should see her, she beams whenever the conversation leads back to Mai. I know you technically know she's happy with her because you saw that before leaving us but still... she's fine, I thought you'd like to know that."