Work Text:
3rd POV :
Trees outside shook from the wind blowing harshly. It was colder than usual in January, meaning drinking hot chocolate to keep warm was the forte. A tall seventeen-year-old student shivered slightly, pulling his uniform closer to him. Next to him, an even taller eighteen-year-old walked around, unbothered by the wind - no doubt using his cursed technique to block out the wind.
The younger teen hummed quizically, "Whose house are we going to, exactly?" His friend had decided to drag him out of his warm room from doing homework at seven am, using the excuse that no one should be doing schoolwork this early.
His friend kept walking, "Megumi's." Well, that was an unexpected answer.
"The kid you're watching over?" Gojo had taken in Megumi and Tsumiki Fushiguro to receive financial aid from Jujutsu Tech in return for training Megumi to become a sorcerer. The kid had shown potential with what he had previously known, yet he wasn't as enthusiastic about training under the emotionally irritating man.
"Yep! I'm stopping by his home to make sure he doesn't freeze to death."
"How thoughtfully nice of you." Was Nanami's sarcastic response.
"I know, right?~"
Nanami sighed. "So what was the reason for bringing me, then?" He barely knew the kid, only speaking with him on a few rare occasions.
"Megumi's nicer around you. Otherwise, he'd slam the door in my face." The shorter thought back to their first interaction. Gojo had followed the kid home, calling him to complain about the kid's attitude when Fushiguro slammed the door on him. It had been quite funny at the time.
"Maybe he has a reason to be mean to you."
"Hey, what are you implying?"Gojo exclaimed.
The pair continued to walk in the cold to see the kid.
Megumi woke up to a loud knock on the front door. He ignored it, flipping over and tugging and blanket around himself tightly. A large blanket from his sister swallowed him, much bigger than he was. The knocking sounded again, louder this time. Tsumiki wasn't home, meaning he was the only one who could open the door, but he didn't feel like getting up. He was too cold and his head has had a consistent throb since yesterday evening after his sister abandoned him. He had summoned his shikigami dogs earlier, but they weren't able to stay out for very long before he got tired again and they disappeared.
"Hellooooo?~" An annoying, familiar voice was muffled through the door, but he knew exactly who it was. An even better reason not to open the door, he thought. He could go fuck himself.
Megumi flipped around once more, then he was fast asleep.
Nanami sighed as Gojo tried to pick the lock. "Are you sure he's even home?"
"Of course. Where else could he have gone?" It was the truth. Megumi really didn't have anywhere to go. He didn't have any friends like Tsumiki did, so there was no one to hang out with.
Rustles of a plastic bag were heard next to them. "Um, excuse me," a neighbor said. The two turned to the lady. "Do either of you live here or are you trying to break in?"
Gojo smiled politely. "No, we actually babysit the children who live here, but one of them locked us out." He wasn't completely lying, Megumi genuinely wasn't letting them in. The lady was skeptical, but gave up and left anyway.
Such an amazing neighbor.
"Gojo," Nanami sighed, "Is Fushiguro's sister even home?"
"Nope, Tsumiki is at a sleepover. She told me last week."
Nanami sighed for the umpteenth time. "I highly doubt Fushiguro will let us in." He paused, looking around. "Do you think one of them left a house key outside?"
The older student rolled his eyes underneath his tinted glasses. "Dude, I doubt any of them are stupid enough to leave a k-"
"-Found it."
The shorter grabbed the key from the top of the doorframe - not exactly the best place to hide a key - and unlocked the door. Gojo blinked. Huh, maybe the kids are stupid enough. Most likely because they're too short to see the key all the way up there.
The two of them stepped inside. Nanami flicked the lights on and shut the door. He pulled his jacket tighter and frowned. "Why is it so cold? Do they not have a heater?"
His companion also frowned. "I suppose not." He paused, glancing around. "Megumiiii~" he called out. "We're insideee~"
Silence trailed out in the apartment. The silence was quite loud. Nothing in the apartment indicated that the young seven-year-old was even home. It had been a while ever since Gojo first showed up and abducted him into the program. During that time, Megumi had turned seven.
Nanami stalked down a narrow hallway with multiple doors along it, frowning at the condition of the home. "Gojo, why haven't the Fushiguros moved into the school dorms yet? Wasn't it promised with Fushi- Megumi's recruitment?"
Said teen shrugged. In all honesty, Gojo hadn't been around to help them move in and he was the one responsible for the two in the first place. It was a terrible (according to Nanami and Shoko) idea, but not much could be done to change that. He made his way to the kid's bedroom, knocking thrice.
"Hey, Megumi~" No sound came from the room. "You in there?"
Gojo hesitantly twisted the knob, head popping into the room. All he saw was a tiny ball huddled in the bed, shivering slightly. He tip-toed in, Nanami choosing to stay in the door frame.
"Megumi?" The eighteen-year-old nudged the kid gently, flipping him over. He didn't wake, breathes coming in light puffs. Gojo frowned, pushing his hair out of his face. He placed the back of his hand against Megumi's forehead. His skin was hot to the touch, face pale and clammy.
"Uh, Nanami... Could you call Shoko, pretty please?"
When Megumi woke up, the first thing he did was go back to sleep. Then get interrupted.
"Kid, you awake?" Something about the voice was familiar. The voice had a hint of I-love-annoying-people-for-fun-and-for-my-enjoyment-and-watching-them-become-increasingly-more-annoyed-and-find-me-difficult-to-deal-with to it.
Something cold and wet was placed on his face. It felt nice, the heat was starting to become slightly unbearable. Megumi tried opening his eyes, only to get blinded by some oh-so-wonderful light. He hissed, turning to his side.
"Megumi," a different voice tried. "How do you feel?" This voice was gentle and soft. It reminded him of his sister. "...Tsumiki?"
"No, sorry," the gentle voice said. "Your sister isn't here right now." The wet feeling was gone, in its place, a warm hand. The voice tsked. "Your fever hasn't gone down. Would you mind sitting up for me, please?"
Megumi groaned. He didn't want to get up right now.
"It's only for a little bit, I promise." Oops, looks like he said that out loud.
The seven-year-old sat up, much to his dislike. He opened his eyes. A woman around the same age as Gojo was eyeing him carefully. Speaking of Gojo, the annoying young adult was sitting in a nearby chair, arms crossed. He looked...concerned? No, that couldn't be right. When has Gojo ever cared about him before?
"Megumi." The kid's attention turned back to the lady. She handed him a glass of water. "How are you feeling?"
"Hot." He said immediately after taking a big gulp. "And tired."
She nodded and began to take his vitals. As she did so, he realized he was no longer in his room. Instead, he was in a bigger bed in a much more modern room. There was a flat-screen tv, large windows with pretty curtains - pulled back, Megumi added bitterly - a desk with paperwork on it, and a fluffy couch. On the walls, a few framed pictures hung there. Most of them featured Gojo, Nanami, this lady, and another dark-haired teen. This room was certainly someplace he had never been before.
"Where am I?" He asked.
Gojo shifted. "You're in my room. You wouldn't wake up, so I brought you here."
Oh, Megumi thought. But why not just leave me there for my sister to deal with?
"Shoko, how is he?" Gojo asked, addressing the lady.
She wrote something down on a piece of paper. "He'll be okay. Just make sure his fever doesn't go over one 'o four (104) again. Better yet, one 'o three (103)." Shoko handed Gojo the paper. "These are the medications you should give him. Make sure he's hydrated and fed, as well as well-rested."
The brown-haired lady rose to her feet, picked up a thermometer and a few extra tools, and headed to the door. "I'll visit again in two days to do a check-up. Feel better, Megumi." Gojo nodded, not saying a word, but Shoko knew he was thankful.
Once she left, Gojo patted the boy's head. "Well, you heard what she said, Gumi. Back to sleep you go." He didn't have to tell Megumi twice. He was back asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
"Gojo, the kid hasn't been eating," Shoko said.
Said male groaned, rubbing his face. "I knew I should've visited more, but I've been busy," he admitted. "That isn't an excuse, though, I know."
Shoko sighed. "No, it isn't." When Gojo contacted her, the first thing she told him was that she wouldn't be able to help much. They were merely students, she could only work with what she knew. But Gojo had sounded worried, saying Megumi's temperature was hotter than it should've been.
And if Gojo was worried, then of course she was too.
She told Gojo to take Megumi back to his room and wait for her by putting a wet rag on his forehead. When she arrived, she took his temperature.
"How high?" Gojo asked, uncharacteristically anxious.
Shoko pulled the thermometer out of his mouth once it beeped. Oh, shit. "He needs a lukewarm bath. Now."
She flipped the thermometer around to show a whopping one 'o four point 2 (104.2) degrees. Gojo immediately rushed to the bathroom and turned on the water. While waiting for the water to warm up a bit, Gojo asked, "Why not an ice bath? Aren't those better?"
The shorter shook her head. "That's just a myth. Cool water can cause shivering, which raises core body temperature. It defeats the whole purpose."
Gojo nodded mindlessly. He went to retrieve Megumi from the bed and slid him into the water. The two of them had a mutual agreement to simply leave him in his clothes and just exchange them for others later.
"What caused the sickness?" Gojo asked.
Shoko hummed, sitting on the taller's countertop. "A mixture of things. Being exposed to the cold for an extended amount of time, not having enough nutrients, etcetera. Basically, a bad growing environment for a kid."
The young adult man winced. He knew he really should've taken better care of Megumi, but he just doesn't know how to care for a child. Sure, he was already pretty dependent without his help, but he was still a kid. He didn't know how those things worked.
"I suggest moving him into the dorms, or at least get the kid and his sister a better place to stay," Shoko said calmly.
Gojo would certainly figure something out.
The next time Megumi woke up, it was to the smell of congee.
"Megumi~" Gojo sang in an annoying voice. "I have food for you~" The seven-year-old groaned, flipping over to his stomach.
"And you surprisingly didn't burn it," Megumi muttered.
Nearby, Nanami scoffed. "That's because he wasn't the one who made it."
"Mm, makes sense."
Gojo held a hand to his heart, "Oh, how you two wound me. Have some more faith in me!"
"No."
-
After Megumi finished his food - which, thankfully, was made by Nanami - and took his medication, he sat curled up in a small ball in the corner of Gojo's bed. The older had put on Mickey Mouse, to which he got kicked in the groin for. Megumi then changed it to some random American TV show that involved murder and many, many cuss words.
Gojo appeared from his bathroom, wearing a black sweatshirt and grey sweatpants with his tinted glasses. As he walked over to Megumi, the boy commented on his outfit.
"You have terrible taste."
The man merely hummed, sitting at the edge of his own bed. He studied the show Megumi was watching for a few minutes, blinking a few times when the main character's friend got attacked by some unshown monster.
"And you have terrible taste in shows." The boy rolled his eyes, not taking them off the tv. Who cares about Gojo's opinions? They're trash anyway.
Gojo watched Megumi out of the corner of his eye, observing the way the young boy shivered ever so often. He had moved out of the blanket, refusing to use it any longer after he woke up. Gojo thought over what Shoko had said about shivering causing increasing body temperature. He sighed and climbed into bed, pulling the blankets halfway up. He patted the spot next to him and Megumi gave him a confused, wary look.
"Come on, Gumi. Sit with me and watch your weird show."
"It's not weird," Megumi grumbled, but he crawled over and sat in the spot, nonetheless. Gojo took that as a win.
Eventually, the kid relaxed as it turned later into the night, so Gojo slipped an arm around the boy and pulled him ever so slightly closer, tugging the blanket up. They continued to watch Megumi's murder-infested horror show until sometime later, he fell asleep.
Gojo sighed and turned the tv off. He then got out of bed and tucked Megumi in, patting his head gently. He went to retrieve the thermometer he bought and stick it in the boy's mouth. 102 degrees. It wasn't the best, but it was better.
The tall student left a glass of water next to Megumi on the side table. "Night, Gumi," he whispered. And he left to go sleep on the couch.
It had certainly been an eventful day.