Chapter Text
An electric buzz filled his ears, eyes slamming shut tightly, vision blurring as stark white lights threatened to blind him. Hushed whispers stalled around him, anticipation growing in the air. Desperately trying to claw his way back to consciousness, he snarled with frustration as the darkness pulled him back once again.
Shoko stood in the doorway, clicking one heel against the cold tile methodically. Gojo hadn’t moved in hours, only twitching minutely every couple of minutes. She frowned, stepping forwards cautiously, desperately thinking of what to do. He hadn’t been this unresponsive since the incident with Toji.
A sigh escaped into the room as she rubbed her aching eyes with one hand, assessing her options. With luck, he’d manage to heal himself, but when was luck truly on her side? It wouldn’t be fair to the students to simply stand by helplessly. As much as she hated to admit it, they cared about the prick, and maybe she still did as well.
Footsteps pattered across the hallway, startling her out of her musing. Two sets of wide eyes stared back at her as she whipped around. Pale yellow shirt, sickly looking in the artificial lighting, swished as the boy picked his way over hesitantly, taking care to not jostle the cold metal tools strewn about, usual pink mane sagging as if it, too, was weighed down by trepidation.
Accepting her defeat, Shoko waved Nobara in tiredly from where she was hovering, feeling a twinge of sympathy as she noticed her squinting in the sudden brightness. She really should consider installing better lights. At the very least it’d help her constant headache, though she doubted it’d ever release its claws after today.
The students had shifted, sitting on the bench, pressing themselves against each other as much as they could. A touching show of friendship, had the circumstances been different. As it was, the lack of edgy teenage angst left a gaping vacuum in the room, Megumi’s usual dark demeanor missing noticeably. At least he would recover, the gaping wound having been easier to heal than look at.
Lights flickered overhead.
Glancing at each other, the three straightened up, not noticing the subtle blue glow starting to fill the room. Only once the lights had dimmed completely, leaving a measly one or two fighting for their life as they sputtered helplessly, did they register the new pressure in the room. It pushed on them from all sides, overwhelmingly solid, yet malleable.
Gojo twitched on the narrow bed, muttering faintly under his breath.
Watching as a cart full of equipment was violently pushed from the safety of the bed, Shoko quenched the rising tide of helplessness threatening to overwhelm her. Infinity stretched and writhed around Gojo, seemingly alive as it whipped around the room. The eerie stillness from before was tossed aside violently as the invisible force cut through the air, having behind gusts of cold wind.
Shaking herself out of her disbelief, Shoko sprung up, dashing to the now dented door, trying the handle desperately. It didn’t budge, and as she spun around to face the students, she could make out their shell-shocked expressions as they struggled to comprehend the sudden change of events.
Itadori stood shakily, forcing himself to Gojo’s side, spurred on my sheer will. Extending one trembling hand, he reached out towards the eerily still body, only to be pushed back the second his hand ghosted along a ghostly pale cheek. Startling backwards, he failed to recover his balance as a second wave of Infinity slammed him into a crumbling wall.
Still frantically trying to grasp the situation, Nobara slammed the light switch, praying it hadn’t fully broken. Flickering wildly, the lights claw their way back to life, once again flooding the room with a cold glow. Shoko would’ve never thought that she’d be glad to hear the incessant murmuring of electric bulbs.
On the narrow bed, brilliant eyes flew open, ready but unwilling to face the world once more.
He could feel tears forming at the edges of his vision as he started determinedly at the overwhelmingly bright lights. Forcing his eyes open, fighting against the darkness still creeping up from behind was harder than any battle he’d fought, any curse he’d bested. Pain flared through his head, ensuring a blinding headache once this was over.
As information rushed to his head once more, he could make out a tentative silence overtaking the chaos from moments before. Where was everyone? Shadows danced before his eyes as he renewed his efforts, determined to sit up.
Body protesting every step of the way, Gojo managed to prop himself against the stiff mattress, uncovered eyes sweeping over his surroundings, taking in every detail, from Nobara’s open-mouthed expression to the skid marks on the tiles.
The room stilled further, the occupants holding their breaths, as if scared to disrupt the air itself. Wide eyes roved over startlingly blue ones, taking in the raw power exuding from one man. While unconscious, Gojo had relinquished his hold on most of his cursed energy, allowing it to reign free, twirling around the room as if giddy to see the light of day once more. It stole the student’s breath away, even Shoko herself trying not to back away.
Turning to face the three, Gojo cocked his head, tiredly assessing their steadily loosening defensive stances.
“So, what’d I miss?”
Voice ringing off the tiles, it cut through the slowly dissipating tension. Forcibly clearing her throat, Shoko stepped forward, unconsciously shielding the students. She opened her mouth, bewildered at the flippancy of the question, ready to scold him but her mouth, having betrayed her, was curious.
“What happened?”
A pause.
Gojo inhaled sharply. Glancing at Itadori and Nobara, who were still looking at him strangely, like he was a foreign being, he bowed his head slightly.
“Not in front of the kids. Hey kiddos, could you let the parents speak for a bit?”
They froze, gazes flitting to one another, communicating silently. As the seconds ticked by, they nodded, striding to the doorway purposefully. Once out of sight, they huddled behind a cabinet, pressing up against the old metal, straining to listen in.
Shaking his head minutely, Gojo let out a breathy laugh. Of course they wouldn’t leave, they were smarter than that. Still, he hoped they wouldn’t be too put out by his words. One slip up could be fixed, two might be fatal to their relationship.
“Care to explain what happened?”
He scoffed, pinching the bridge of his nose with one pale hand.
“How’s Megumi?”
“Stable, stop deflecting.”
A sigh escaped parted lips. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Shifting to the side, his gaze flitted to the remains of what used to be a cart, now laying crumpled against the wall.
“Something’s off. Curses have been multiplying like rabbits. Even Yaga is concerned, and that means a lot.”
Her gaze softened as she picked up on the underlying meaning. Of course the idiot had to risk his life instead of simply telling his students he cared. She shook her head, snorting softly. Of course.
Eyes snapping back up, she studied his face, trying to find any cracks in the perfect mask, though the longer she looked, the more she felt something was off.
There.
The blood in his hair, having dyed the snowy strands a dark russet, was starting to drip down, one droplet startling Gojo as it landed on his nose. Eyes crossing comically at first, slowly becoming more horrified the longer he stared, a whispered curse filled the air.
Shit