Unravel; Sukufushi

4. The forgotten promise

                                  ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀ
                                ❝- 𝐔𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 -❞

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Megumi sat alone in his apartment, nursing a bottle of sake. He had always hated the taste of alcohol, though, but tonight he didn't care. He just wanted to turn his life off for a while.

Megumi's family was no longer by his side, and he often suffered from intense loneliness. To cope, he would bury himself in his books and projects, always keeping his mind occupied. But tonight, he couldn't take it anymore. He just wanted to numb everything and maybe get some sleep for once.

He had always dreaded nights. As soon as the sun set, fear and anxiety would creep up on him, preventing him from getting any sleep. He would lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing with all sorts of thoughts, both big and small. It didn't matter how much Megumi tried to tire himself out during the day, the insomnia always won.

This resulted in dark circles under his eyes, accentuating the piercing blue of his irises.

He also had never been a fan of sake, but he had picked a bottle anyway from the local store, suddenly in the mood for it. Actually, Megumi didn't like to drink much. His father used to force him to drink properly when he was younger, so he could get used to it and 'drink like a man' but no matter how hard he tried, teenager Megumi would always fake to drink the glass and then spit it out in disgust once he hurriedly reached the bathroom.

Now, as he sat in his room surrounded by stacks of books about Aristotle and other famous authors whose names looked distorted at this point. His head was blank, and his body ached for some rest. Desperate for some distraction, he mindlessly scrolled through his phone until he stumbled upon a new number in his contacts, one one he couldn't quite remember adding.

He didn't like to keep contacts anyway so that looked kind of odd on his screen. He hesitated for a moment before taking a chance and pressing the call button, he didn't know why he'd call for someone at that hour, his mind now too foggy to focus on anything else other than the rhythmically ringing.

In a matter of seconds a raspy voice was heard on the other end and Megumi gulped unintentionally.

'Fushiguro-kun, you called?' Sukuna's voice purred into his ear, causing Megumi's cheeks to heat up even more than the alcohol did.

Megumi nodded, forgetting that the professor couldn't see him. Sukuna let out a low chuckle, 'You're silent now? Do you want me to be the only one talking?'

At the sound of Sukuna's teasing tone, Megumi managed to force his voice to come out. 'I dunno,' he mumbled, taking another sip of sake and accidentally hiccupping. 'I just...I just wanted to talk to someone...'

'Oh, why's that you feel so lonely?' Sukuna asked, his voice softening.

'I-I don't know, I just...I'm just so tired of being alone all the time...' Megumi's voice wavered as he spoke. He hadn't meant to be so open with someone, let alone a professor, but the alcohol was making him blur the lines.

Sukuna's tone became sympathetic as he could hear the desperation in Megumi's voice. ' I'm glad you reached out to me. I can tell you've been having a rough time lately, isn't it Fushiguro-kun?'

Megumi hiccupped, 'Yeaah I just...I just wanted to stop thinking for a bit...maybe then I can finally..sleep?'

'I see...' Sukuna's voice trailed off before he continued, 'So you think alcohol can help?'

Megumi let out a weak laugh, 'Yup.. dad used to fo-force me, saying it would help me sleep...but I always hated it...I hated it all..'

'It's okay.. Fushiguro-kun. It's over now.' Sukuna continued, his voice taking on a more serious tone. 'Promise me you will call instead of drinking the next time, do it'

Megumi could only gasp in response, feeling a strange sense of comfort and safety.

'Promise me, baby?' Sukuna asked again, a trace of worry laced in his alluring tone.

Megumi almost let out a whimper at the older's choice of a nickname, his heart racing with excitement and embarrassment, his mind an equal mess. Sukuna could clearly sense his reaction through the phone and fully enjoyed it.

'Uh-huh.' Megumi confirmed, then he fell on his bed, his arm resting on his burning face. 'Damn it... I drank the whooole bottle. Throat burns so .. bad!,' Megumi complained dramatically.

Sukuna couldn't help but smile at the younger's drunken state. 'Such a shame. You only act this cute when drunk.. and I can't even see it'

'Pff you're always .. so annoying Sukuna-sensei,' Megumi slurred with his eyes closed.

Sukuna's laughter echoed through the phone, 'Why's that hm?'

'You.. you always acting cool and careless, and it's annoying, just... umph .. stop being cool ' Megumi babbled drunkenly.

Sukuna laughed even louder at the explanation. 'Oh my.. What can your sensei do to be forgiven then, cutie?'

Megumi couldn't help but giggle, 'I dunno...' He started playfully biting his arm's skin while talking. 'Try harder.' He then added quickly, feeling Sukuna's low chuckle tickle his ear again.

'Then for an apology.. What about I take you out for dinner tomorrow?' Sukuna suggested, his voice so velvety and smooth.

Megumi spoke nonchalantly, 'Uhmm..I like meat... I can't cook it, though... I never learned how.' He sounded comically sad, and Sukuna had to bite his lip at that adorable talk.

'You don't have to worry about that, baby. I'll make sure you get to eat the best meat in the whole country,' Sukuna promised, his tone gentle.

'Mmh..' Megumi rolled over and then closed his eyes with a little smile, his soft breath almost audible as he drifted off to sleep with the other's voice still soothing his mind.

'Sweet dreams.' The older whispered, but instead of hanging up he remained on the line for a good minute, listening to the soft breathing and unintelligible mumbling of the younger.

The next day, Megumi woke up with a headache, sweat all over his forehead, his phone trapped under his neck and just not remembering much from the previous night. He drank the disgusting and overly priced sake.. passed out fully dressed on his bed..and eventually got to rest for some good 5 hours. Well, mission accomplished then.

But then he grabbed his phone and forced his eyes to focus on the screen and a wave of panic rumbled through his guts, rushing all over his body. He sat up with his messy cloud of black hair and held the device so tight his fingers turned white.

Professor Sukuna's contact was full on display as an ended call and it didn't make the slightest sense to Megumi. Lot of things didn't make sense first thing in the morning.

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