Lifeline. [itafushi]

୧ ‧₊˚ 🕯️ ⋅

First and foremost: manga spoilers through chapter 247, you are warned!

Secondly: Some nonexplicit suicidal ideation will be depicted as Megumi struggles to live. If this isn't for you, then that's totally okay - take care of yourself first and always! ^_^

Lastly: This was meant to be published in time for Megumi's birthday but my mental reminders are ass lol. — Megumi's birthday is December 22nd and Yuuji's is March 20th.
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December 22, 2007

Saitama

Fushiguro Megumi hated his birthday.

He has not had many, but he did know that his was not important. He deflected Tsumiki's pestering for weeks on end – What do you want for your birthday, Megumi? – and hoped that she'd eventually get the idea. It's not like she had the means to get him anything, anyway, and even if she did, he would have preferred that she get herself something or put it toward essentials.

Gojo hadn't been around for two weeks, so he started to brace for the inevitable night of crying that was sure to come from Tsumiki when she accepted the cycle would start all over again.

They would be alone once more.

He went to school on his birthday in clothes that actually kept him warm – an expensive, slightly too-big jacket and boots that crunched snow underneath each step, both items provided by Gojo just before winter set in and he set out. His teachers forgot that it was his birthday, and he didn't have friends to remember, so it ended up being just another day.

He was okay with that.

On his walk home, flurries landed in his hair and on his cheeks; he wiped them away and sniffled, taking a deep breath. He glanced around – he was alone as he cut through a park – and he brought his hands together in a shape that's becoming second nature.

"Divine Dogs."

Kuro and Shiro rose from his shadow, tails wagging at once. They flanked either side of him, bumping into his arms until he petted them.

His shikigami were not dogs, but he couldn't help the rapidly growing affection for them.

They were a part of him, after all.

He told them quietly about his day. The conversation was one-sided, but he took comfort in their presence, particularly when they turned onto his block. Thanks to Gojo's influence, the neighborhood was far nicer than the one they used to live in, but Megumi knew that once Gojo's funds stopped coming in, they'd have to look for a new place — if they could even find one.

"The idiot probably just forgot," he grumbled, earning a nudge from Shiro's snout. "Wouldn't be the first time for us."

He climbed the stairs with the Divine Dogs at his heels, stopping outside the apartment door on the third floor. When he stepped inside, it was dark, but he suddenly sensed a familiar, bursting presence of cursed energy. The lights are flicked on and –

"Surprise!"

He dropped his bag at the shouts; Gojo and Tsumiki were there beside the kotatsu, both wearing party hats and sunglasses – Gojo was in his regular dark, circular pair, and Tsumiki had pink star-shaped glasses.

"What are you doing?!" He demanded, shoulders rising to his ears. His dogs – the traitors – padded past him and betrayed his angry demeanor, greeting Tsumiki for licks before turning to Gojo for attention.