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Yuji genuinely didn’t comprehend what was happening until it had already happened and he was suddenly face first on the ground, spitting dirt out of his mouth as he attempted to get up. He made it to his knees before he was once more forced back down, arms giving out from beneath him, air rushing from his lungs with the force in which his chest hits the ground. He tries to lift his head, to blink away the amount of dirt particles in his eyes, but everything around him is fuzzy. His head is pounding and the moment he lifts it off the ground, he’s hit with a wave of dizziness. Despite being practically blind and dizzy to the point of his stomach churning, he forces his arms back beneath him and pushes off the ground. He makes it to his knees, using his hands as leverage to get to his feet.
The world around him spins as he finds himself once more face to face with the cursed spirit that he’d been sent (along with Megumi and Nobara) to get rid of. It was supposed to be simple, but from the mere fact that they sent all three of Jujutsu High’s current third years should have told them it wouldn’t actually be that simple. It wasn’t often anymore that they were all sent out together. Duos were common, solo missions every once and awhile when they were sure that it was an extremely low level threat. However all three of them together were rare, which really should've tipped them off.
Another thing that should've tipped them off was the inclusion of Nanami on the mission. Not that it was all that rare that the salary man turned Jujutsu High teacher would join on excursions. After everything with Sukuna, to say that he was a little overprotective of their little trio was an understatement. Most of the time when Nanami joined them it was by his own volition and not ordered by the higher ups (most of the time, it was actually frowned upon and Nanami had gotten himself in “trouble” quite a few times for joining them when he was explicitly told not to), but this was different.
This time he was ordered and that had caused a pit of worry to plant itself in Yuji's stomach from the very beginning. Regardless he tried not to think too much about it. Maybe it truly was simple, and the extra manpower was all because there were a lot of curse spirits to exterminate. That's all.
That was not all.
In fact, not even close. There were around three spirits, but they were strong. Insanely strong. A type of strong Yuji hadn't seen since- since his first year, that's for sure. It was terrifying how easy they threw not just him, but everyone around. Nanami had been the first line of defense, but the second he got tossed aside like he weighed nothing more than a grape, Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi had stepped in instantly.
Yuji, for his part, held his own. Mostly. Yes, they were stronger, but Yuji beat the king of curses, so they're truly small fry. However, he had been- lacking in his training in recent days. Not out of any sort of hubris of his skills but more in regards to the fact that things had been quiet. All missions were relatively easy, and at this point they were few and far between. Emphasis on few. So Yuji had gotten- let's say lazy. Because that's exactly what it was. He was lazy.
Which has ultimately led to his overly depressing downfall in the form of a seven foot tall spirit throwing him around like it was the easiest thing in the world. He blinked the dirt and tears away furiously as he attempted to unblur his vision. The attempt yielded minimal results but results nonetheless. He could actually see the spirit now. It's huge, a grotesque figure that's painted an ugly blueish gray color that resembles something akin to vomit. It has three arms and one gigantic eye that Yuji wants to punch it right in the middle of. It's standing far enough back and distracted enough by a moving figure that Yuji has time to catch his breath and assess- everything wrong with his body.
Every breath is a struggle, his ribs constricting painfully as a clear indication of broken bones. His nose is also most definitely broken, blood dripping down his face in an uncomfortable near constant stream. That's not the only part of his face that hurts, but it's certainly the most glaring pain. There's no doubt dirt caked into the cuts all over his face, causing them to sting that much more.
He doesn't get a chance to take any more stock before the spirit is decidedly undistracted and suddenly hurtly towards him. Instantly, Yuji takes a defensive stance, attempting to inhale a shaky breath that fails and leads him to exhaling a gasp just in time for him to throw a quick right hook that's quickly deflected. It's followed by Yuji watching as the spirit pulls back two of its hands and extend them out towards him and then-
Nothing.
—
When Yuji wakes it's to a pounding headache and a dim room. Disoriented doesn't begin to describe how the teenager feels as he attempts to blink away any remaining remnants of unconsciousness. The attempt is futile given the fact that Yuji still feels like he could sleep for literally years. He opens his eyes slowly, not allowing them to go any further than a small slit lest there is something waiting to assault his senses. As his eyes open he searches the room, confusion filling him when he doesn't find the nearly blank walls of his dorm. Instead he finds his lineup of Human Earthworm posters that Nanami had managed to find and had given to him for his 17th birthday. That's when he takes note of the fresh scent of eucalyptus and cucumber filling his nose.
It's then that he's hit with the fact that he's home. In the home he shares with Nanami and Gojo. A sense of relief fills Yuji, tension that he didn't even know he was carrying just slipping off his shoulders like it was nothing. He melts into his mattress, finally taking a moment to appreciate the warmth of his blankets around him. He feels his eyes slipping shut on their own accord, his body more than a little tempted to just slip back into the sleep that's practically screaming at him
Those plans are quickly interrupted by someone clearing their throat. The sound is quiet and nearly imperceptible, but the concussion that Yuji no doubt received from the fight earlier makes everything sound like it's ten times louder than it actually is. He cracks his eyes open once more, turning to find the offender standing next to the bed.
Nanami looks just about as tired as Yuji feels, which is saying something because Nanami always looks tired, but this is a whole new level. The last time Yuji saw him with eye bags this deep was in the aftermath of the Shibuya Incident when Nanami spent every waking hour in excruciating pain. And every hour was a waking hour because of just how badly he hurt all the time. At the time, Nanami would have been lucky and more than grateful to get three consecutive hours of sleep. More often than not he was taking fitful naps that only came when the exhaustion was just far too overwhelming. A pang of sympathy makes its way through Yuji's chest as he further examines his teacher turned surrogate father. His right arm is in a sling, and there's a bandage around his chest, peeking out from beneath the loosely buttoned shirt he has on. Other than that and a deep bruise across his cheek, he doesn't look too terrible, but Yuji still feels terrible nonetheless.
“Hey.” Yuji croaks, almost on instinct. His throat feels dry and the motion causes a spike of pain in his chest.
“Hey.” Nanami replies, stepping closer to the bed, but not before reaching out with his left arm to grab Yuji's desk chair and drag it towards the bed. The action in itself is still so wildly impressive to Yuji still, several years after everything happened. Yuji made it a point to stay with Nanami throughout his recovery process and watching him go from not being able to even walk or use his left arm, to moving freely and doing almost everything he'd been able to do before is still so astounding. “How are you feeling?” Nanami asks, sinking down into the chair with the slightest grimace on his face as he cradles his injured arm.
“Like I got hit by a train.” Yuji answers dryly. Nanami lets out a small laugh and nods his head.
“Might as well have been.” He huffs, face dropping slightly, seemingly at the mention of the events that had landed them in this position. “Shoko said you'll be fine. Some broken ribs and a concussion she didn't feel comfortable working on right now. Maybe in a day or two.”
“Is everyone else okay?” Yuji can't stop himself from asking. It's instinctual, to worry so much about the others that he simply doesn't really care about himself.
Nanami sighs, crossing one leg over the other and nodding. “They're fine. Kugisaki has some scratches and Fushiguro injured his leg but they're fine and resting.” A sigh of relief leaves Yuji's mouth at the knowledge that his boyfriend and best friend are okay and safe. Then, he furrows his brows slightly.
“Back at the school?” Nanami nods. “Why am I here?”
The question causes Nanami to pause and drop his shoulders slightly, almost in shame. “For my own selfish reasons, I suppose. Satoru insisted I rest up at home, but I didn't want to be where I couldn't watch you. We argued about it a little bit.” Yuji lets out a little laugh, because yeah that sounds about right. “And when he realized I wasn't going to leave you he offered to bring you back here while he stayed and watched over the other two.” Yuji understands instantly and a flicker of a smile appears on his face.
“You were worried about me.” He teases in a sing-songy voice that elicits an instant eye roll from the adult. The action is filled with fondness and no real malice that Nanami instantly follows up with a nod of his head.
“I suppose I was. It's not very easy to watch your son get thrown around by a giant monster.” Nanami's voice is so sincere and honest and Yuji- well it makes Yuji's heart melt almost instantly. There's a part of Yuji that wants to begin going on about just how much Nanami means to him and the works, but he knows better. He knows that Nanami is already aware of all that he means to Yuji and if he doesn't Yuji is sure he has some sort of an inkling.
“I guess that's fair.” He settles on a simple response, a teasing smile still on his face. The smile is quickly replaced by his features morphing to house a yawn. He blinks back at Nanami blearily, an unnamed emotion filling his chest at the absolute fondness present on his mentor's face. “What ‘bout you? You ‘kay?” He asks, words slightly mumbled and slurred with sleepiness. Nanami leans forward, using his free arm to tuck Yuji's blankets closer to his body.
“Don't worry about me. You just sleep.” The blonde man responds, settling back into his chair. Yuji wants to argue, wants to
insist
that he needs to know how Nanami is doing, among eight million other things he wants to ask. However, the need to sleep is overwhelming him and he can't help but give in to the oh so wonderful call of blissful peace that comes with being asleep. A soft “Sleep well, Yuji.” is the last thing that fills his ears before Yuji drifts off.