Moonlight On The River [ SukuFushi ]

Chapter 12: Somethin' stupid

An ungodly hour, the streetlights outside the window buzz with an electric hum, winking rivulets of pale light through a gusset of curtains.

For some reason or another, Megumi stirs awake.

Something is wrong.

His fingers flex over crumpled sheets – long gone cold.

As if he slept alone.

Shifting in the bed, the covers over him are tight, secure. He's been tucked in. Nobody is holding him. Only blankets. He shifts some more, kicks out his legs wide and doesn't hit another pair. Too much space. Another thing out of place.

Sleep-addled brain slow on the uptake, Megumi suddenly sits up straight, ignoring the aches in his muscles and the gooey, stretched feeling in his tendons from last night. His heart skips one-two, one-two.

Megumi blinks, slow to fast, eyes catching on the streetlights, the pre-dawn sheen, the bed.

That's all it takes.

It's as if a demon takes over his body. Hysteria possessing him – he grabs at the sheets, lifts them up, rips them around, frantic, like he'll find something hiding from him underneath. He finds nothing, there is nothing.

A heavy breath knocks out of him. Panic sets in.

"Kuna?" He calls.

There's no answer. Just silence.

Wide, moon-eyed, his gaze darts around the room.

Why is he...why is he alone?

"Kuna?" he repeats, and it sounds pathetic – it is pathetic.

Dazed, disoriented, he rubs at his eyes, an attempt to remove the sleep, the confusion. He looks around again and the dread settles in crueler with the clarity.

Sukuna's satchel is missing. His gunbelt. His boots.

His things, GONE.

Why – what does that mean – it can only mean one thing –

Sukuna is...

Suddenly, there's a noise, a noise at the door, a glimmer of hope. Megumi clutches to it, turns. He finds only Kuro. The dog presses his wet nose to the door's underside, giving a feeble scratch. Kuro sniffs loudly, whimpering. Searching.

"What?" Megumi rasps, a terrible crack in his voice. Kuro lifts his head, all droopy puppy eyes and a whine. "Did he – where is he?" Like he expects an answer from the canine. "Did he leave?"

No.

No.

Why?

For a lingering second, Megumi has a hard time believing it.

It isn't until he reaches up to press a palm against his chest does he finally feel it, and he presses the heel of his hand down harder – a damned effort to slow a broken heart, anything to stamp it down.

Megumi looks around again, blinking, a stoppering of his eyes.

The sheets are cold. All at once, too many thoughts. Old childish fears, the one thing Megumi's been fighting against, loneliness and being alone. How long has it been? When did Sukuna leave? Where is he going? How far is he now? Will Megumi be able to catch up? Why did he leave?

The idea of it cuts.

No.

No, he didn't. Don't be stupid. He wouldn't.