Chapter Text
—
10
—
Megumi walks with a purpose, hands shoved in his pockets. They all have a day off, everyone in the school. No curses to chase down, no homework to complete or training rounds. Yesterday was a festival day for the normals of society and filled to the brim with work for them all and so today is a well deserved day of rest.
And so Megumi heads into his sister’s hospital room.
Peace and quiet encompasses the space. Tsumiki barely moves, barely breathes. She is stable and no wires are connected to her, other than her feeding line. Megumi doesn’t do anything silly like talk to the coma patient, doesn’t know what he would say regardless.
But he has a free day. And he wants to spend it with his sister.
Megumi does what he would in his dorm room. He puts on some soft music, volume low to be respectful of the other people around. Then he grabs his book and begins to read aloud. It is a simple book, Megumi already has an educated guess as to what the end will be, but it is interesting with the writing style and the protagonist. The antagonist could use some work but he knows she is Tsumiki’s type.
Megumi reads to his not-dead-yet sister, page ruffling in a steady pace.
—
9
—
Nobara strides to the beautician, clean shoes clacking on the nice floor. She managed to get a little extra cash on the side by selling some of her older, less used clothes and Nobara wants to spoil herself. A nice haircut, manicure and pedicure are just what she needs to have some self-care after weeks and weeks of relentless curse hunting.
Dealing with the stupidity of so many people really takes a toil on a lady’s stress levels.
The beautician smiles at her, long beautiful hair pulled up in a high ponytail, eyelashes and makeup tastefully done. Nobara accepts the complements to her thick hair and clear complexion with a giggle, happy to talk about the more feminine things for a little while.
They trade gossip back and forth about celebrities and the worker talks about the date she went on for the festival yesterday, about the guy and how well he treated her. It is simple and vapid and so, so normal.
Nobara laughs lightly and in return tells the lady a funny story about Megumi and Yuuji being stupid - which, honestly, is lot of her stories about them, specially ones appropriate for non-sorcerers.
Hair cut and dyed blonde, Nobara relaxes into her chair, letting the lady pamper her. All the other worries in the world seem so far away like this.
—
8
—
Yuuji skitters around the corner, dust flying in his wake. A joyful chuckle is already on his lips as the furry tail of the dog darts just out of sight. The young boy and his family try to call the dog back but the chase is on. Yuuji grins, excited.
Easy, low stake activity. Catch the loose dog, get some pets in and maybe a few puppy kisses. A perfect way to spend the day off.
Yuuji isn’t even breathing hard when he swoops in to pick up the running pup, carefully supporting its weight evenly. The fluff ball whines and tries to nibble on his fingers. Yuuji speaks softly to the creature, hoping to calm down the rabbit fast beating of her heart as the family catches up to them.
“Thank you,” The tiny child beams, missing his front tooth. “Missy runs too fast for me.”
Yuuji smiles warmly down at the kid. “You’re welcome. Hold on tight to her leash from now on, okay kid? It’s up to you to keep her safe on walks.”
With a final pat on the dog’s head, Yuuji hands over the leash to the little kid. Yuuji waves at the family as he turns back around, heading for the mall. Going shopping to pick up some things with the little pocket money he has sounds fun.
It is nice to step away from the pressures of his normal life.
—
7
—
A shout and a scream echo down the hospital hall, interrupting Megumi’s reading. He frowns, eyebrows twisting as he stands up to curiously peer out the door to see the commotion.
—
6
—
A car slams on its breaks in the street outside the shop, the squealing of the tires proceeding the crash of metal. Nobara rests a calming hand on the startled beautician’s shoulder, rising up fast herself to see the accident.
—
5
—
The mall is chaos. People stream out of every exit, eyes wide and wet, fear clinging to their skins. Not even thinking to hesitate, Yuuji runs towards the danger.
—
4
—
A man is attacking the nurse right outside the door. Instinctively, Megumi’s arm snaps up and down, slamming hard into the man’s neck painfully. The man crumbles into a groaning ball on the ground. Smoothly, Megumi pulls the nurse out of range.
“Are you okay?” He asks her, eying the man warily as he withers on the floor, strange noises streaming from his mouth.
The nurse is bleeding profusely from her shoulder, her hand shakily putting pressure on the gaping wound.
“Oh my god, he bit me!” she says, shock colouring her voice. “The chart said the patient was aggressive but not like this.”
Other nurses are rushing over to her, checking on her wound. Megumi steps back with a nod to the security guard as he comes up to the unruly patient. The man on the ground twists with a snap of blood soaked teeth, chomping down on the guard’s forearm in seconds.
The guard screams and more people jump into action, trying to sedate the patient as he trashes, blood and muscle exposed as he refuses to let go of the guard’s arm. Megumi is helpless to do anything but watch as more and more security push into the scene, trying to rescue the guard.
Another shout and scream echoes down the hall, shivers running down Megumi’s spine as all his instincts start to scream at him, telling him to open his eyes and look -
A curse. A curse is growing before his very eyes as a nurse runs away from a pale young lady in an open hospital gown in hot pursuit. Her mouth and hands are red, her footsteps leading a trail of blood.
“Help,” the new nurse screams, panic building in them all as the guards are bit one by one by the crazed man in their distraction. “Help, Help! She ate him, she ate him!”
Someone sticks their head out of their hospital room just as the lady is passing by and she grabs him, biting into his neck in a huge spray of arterial blood.
The curse wiggles happily, morphing grotesquely.
Minutes - seconds, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter the witnesses or the site or anything. Megumi centers himself, fingers twitching. He can’t let this continue. He can’t let the curse or the illness of these people keep hurting others.
His wolves jump out of the shadows, their teeth aiming for the fledgling curse first, snapping it into pieces. Then they twist on the spot, tackling the sick lady to the ground, the other man falling, already too late to save his life as his blood splatters on the floor.
One wolf holds her down as his other grabs the leg of the man still gnawing on the guards, pulling him back out and away from the victims.
Another scream sounds, cutting off suddenly from deeper in the hospital. A second, a third, a forth. Megumi swallows back bile, staring as the bitten nurse goes pale and vomits. The guards follow, one by one, each with a vivid red bite.
“Call the police,” a shaking doctor shouts as he puts his hand on the man who bled out. “Sedation isn’t helping. We need order. These people are very sick. We have twenty admitted with these symptoms.”
His wolves are sitting on two infected, not allowing them to move. Nurses scramble, patients cling to the walls and door frames. Chaos takes over the ward, people panicking and bleeding, the ill uncaring and still grasping, their blood soaked maws wide and inhuman.
Something is wrong. Even when facing multiple near death battles, Megumi has never felt this overbearing instinct of danger - of his dogs whining in trepidation.
Megumi wants to run away, the want foreign to him in all ways.
His sister is here. Megumi turns on his heels, grabbing the wheelchair from the hallway. Her safety first, then he will deal with the trouble brewing in the hospital.
She is slim and easy to transfer over, Megumi hurriedly tossing her medicine into his bag, covering her lap in a nice warm blanket. He needs to move her out of here.
Megumi wheels her to the safety of the street as harried policemen hurry into the hospital, their radios overactive and constantly buzzing.
Even in the fresh air outside there are still more shouts, blood curling screams in the distance.
Megumi shivers, pushing the chair towards the train station.
Something is very wrong.
—
3
—
The car ran into the light pole. Good Samaritans are already pulling the ill looking driver out, checking him for injuries. A few other people are sitting on the ground, dazed.
A man who is helping the driver starts to scream, punching the driver on the head as the driver attacks him suddenly. The driver lets go, lunging at the person who pulls him away, teeth snapping at them too.
As a whole, the crowd backs away, scrambling back from the man. Nobara covers her mouth in horror at the sight of the man’s bloody teeth ripping into the skin of people within range. People are shouting at him, screaming for the police. The beautician cries big tears of terror, squeaking at the blood, the pain in peoples voices as they deal with the biting man.
Nobara itches to grab her hammer, want to put him down but she can’t - he is human, and obviously sick, mentally and physically.
Luckily, a big guy, bigger than Todo, slams the biter to the ground, head hitting the concrete with a crack. The smaller guy tries to move but big dude is unrelenting in his force, refusing to move an inch. The biter is pinned fully now and the crowd gives a huge sigh of relief.
Nobara stretches her back and hustles the other lady back into her shop.
“Was that - will they be okay out there?” The beautician whimpers, her perfectly manicured hand daintily holding a pale cheek.
Nobara grimaces. “I don’t know, that was very weird.”
Nobara’s gut twists and she starts to gather her stuff with a thin smile to the obviously shaken lady. The beautician bites her lips, nervously twisting her fingers together, both of them unsettled on a deeper plane.
A bloody hand slams against the glass window of the shop, screams ramping up from outside loudly.
Without thinking about the consequences, the hammer appears in Nobara’s hand. She plants her feet, hurrying the screaming beautician behind her as the glass starts a spiderweb of cracks, the palm hitting hard and uncaringly.
It brakes and three sets of hands try to enter the window at once, blood pouring from their limbs as the shards of glass cut. The people seem unbothered, their hands searching desperately for Nobara and the other trapped lady.
But they are still human. Nobara can tell, can feel it in her bones that they are not curses, no energy - not even the usual hum of a persons aura. She doesn’t want to hurt them.
Her eyes trail around the room spotting the back exit.
The beautician is crying, trembling. Nobara grabs her roughly by the arm, towing her along. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Nobara doesn’t wait for the response. She pulls the lady with her out the back exit, hammer raised in defence as they hurry through the alley way. Sirens whirl in the distance, echoing in the sounds of shattering glass and running footsteps. People are screaming, shouting.
The air is thick with something. Nobara spots an inky black splotch curving on the gutter just on the other side of the road. A new curse brewing in the turmoil.
Nobara swears, turning to look at the scared woman’s face. “How far away is your place?”
“Ooh, a few blocks away, not - not too far.” she replies, voice quiet as she hurriedly wipes at her wet cheeks.
Nobara nods, glaring at the curse. Another guttural noise sounds from the vacated store just behind them and Nobara knows they need to move.
“Run there,” she tells the beautician. “Do not talk to anyone, do not bring any attention your way. Your only goal is to get to safety. Do you understand?”
The lady nods, face pale as another scream sounds. “Come - come with me.” Her hand rests on Nobara’s bicep. “Please, you need to get to safety too.”
Nobara twirls her hammer, smiling gently at the lady. “I’ll be fine. I need to make my own way home.”
The lady hesitates. Then they hear it.
Thump.
Thump.
Nobara jumps to attention. A bloody mess of a man missing half his face huffs at them, teeth exposed down to the gums in his mouth full of red.
Nobara pushes the lady behind her. “Run!”
The beautician whimpers and listens, her foot steps hurrying away. Nobara settles her shoulders and hopes that the girl can make it, can reach the tangible safety of her apartment.
The man growls and charges. Her hammer swings true, faster than any ill human, bashing the destroyed face into further carnage. He doesn’t move as he slumps down into a heap, skull cracked open. Nobara frowns, her hands shaking.
The curse hisses at her from the road and it is easier to swing the second time.
Bloody nails yet hair still perfect, Nobara sets out for the long, dangerous walk home.
—
2
—
In today’s world, there are so many reasons for people to be running from the mall in a panic.
Yuuji’s life isn’t worth much, realistically. He is going to die sooner rather than latter and for good reason. He is strong and fast and wants to help as much as possible until the time for his execution. But he knows he will be executed at some point. He is waiting for it with open arms.
And if he gets to die protecting someone, that is a good death.
More likely though, his thick constitution means that he can help put down the threat that is making these normal people panic. Thanks to Sukuna, he heals fast.
Yuuji runs, dodging the people streaming out. Some are bloody, some are crying. Sukuna rumbles with dull interest, Yuuji feeling him shift in his sternum.
The inside of the mall is in chaos. People are on top of each other, hands clawing at exposed skin, ripping away fabric as the victims howl in pain. Yuuji’s mouth drops open in shock at the grotesque sight of flesh being eaten - eaten! Actually, totally being chewed and swallowed right off the still screaming human.
Shock doesn’t stop Yuuji for long. His fist shoots out, hard and fast to push the cannibal away. The guy rolls as the victim curls to his side, vomiting with a wet, smelly splat on the blood stained ground.
There is another altercation happening a few feet away and Yuuji swings around with his foot, slamming it into the gut of the attacker - she goes flying, teeth left behind in the shoulder of a catatonic teen girl.
He keeps moving, instincts driving him forward, deeper into the horde of assaults. A father is trying to run to safety, a kid in his arms as a bloody mouthed mess chases him, stumbling blind due to missing half of their face. Yuuji intercepts, putting the injured person into a lock.
The father nods gratefully and runs out of the building, leaving Yuuji there. The person shakes in his grip, rattling noises huffing out their mouth.
“Hey, hey!” Yuuji shouts at them. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but you are bleeding everywhere. Stop trying to fight me and relax so we can get you some help.”
The person groans and doesn’t listen, teeth snapping into the air.
Yuuji searches around for help, for guidance on his next step as he stays steady with the wiggling person in his hold. Another injured person, his arm dangling on his red-wet side starts to walk towards them.
Yuuji smiles, relaxing. “Hey, dude! What the hell happened in here?”
The man doesn’t reply and something twitches inside Yuuji, curse energy building automatically as the shadows on the wall start to ripple. Yuuji blinks as he realizes there must be a curse affecting all these people.
“Here, hold on to this guy for me, I gotta go do a real quick thing.” Yuuji carelessly tosses the person he is holding on to the other guy, hoping they will get along while he quickly rushes to the center of the slowly growing curse. It takes a single punch, the curse new and small. Hardly any more effort than punching the attackers.
He turns around and stills.
Twenty or so people stare at him. Their eyes are dark, unblinking. All of them have red mouths, bloody and torn clothes. Injuries range from mild to loss of limbs. Yuuji doesn’t dare move. His heart flutters strangely. Usually, Yuuji would be spouting off some kind of words, something to break the building tension but.
But.
His instincts are going wild. He feels… he feels like a mouse. Like prey.
The group moves forward as one, swaying up and into an eerie sync. The mall is saturated with the sharp smell of fresh blood and Yuuji feels his heart skip, his lungs shuddering.
“What the hell is happening to you people…” Yuuji murmurs, eyes tracking the groups closeness to him worriedly.
Sukuna’s mouth pops up on his cheek, voice as oily as the blood on the floor. “This infection… there is no recovery. Kill them all.”
Yuuji snarls reflexively, taking a half-step back. “Fuck you, I won’t.”
The first person reaches him - and then it is an avalanche of grabbing hands and snapping teeth, Yuuji dodging and kicking out hard, tearing his sleeves off, forcing them back and away. Each time one is pushed off, another takes it’s place.
The people don’t stop trying to bite him. To eat him. Yuuji fights on as Sukuna cackles about the downfall of humanity.
With shiver, Yuuji finds Sukuna’s words sincere.
—
1
—
On this day, the outbreak is declared. Shelter in place. Do not interacted with the ill, wounded and dead.
Lord, have mercy.