pomegranate ink | y. okkotsu

xvii

a/n: so proud of myself for actually updating this fic for once LMAOAO

"What?" you hissed into your phone. Gojo raised his eyebrows at you, his glasses low on the bridge of his nose. You paid him no mind, nor did you look at Yuta's concerned frown. Your attention was solely on the boy speaking in a cold, clinical voice, as detached as you had ever heard it.

"You have to come back. Immediately," Megumi said again. "Or as soon as possible, anyways."

"We just got here," you said. "It's barely been a couple of days. What's going on? Do you really need us that badly? You know that you can ask Principal Yaga or Kusakabe for help, if it's so urgent."

"They're busy, and it's not like they could help even if they tried. The higher ups have taken advantage of you and Gojo being gone," he said. "So only you and Gojo returning can fix this."

"Of course," you said, grinding your teeth at the fact that even an entire continent away, the higher ups were messing with your relationships and personal life. "What are they doing now?"

"They've sent the three of us first years on a mission. It's supposed to be a routine exorcism, but...I don't know. I'm not sure that I like it," he said.

"Hm? That's just what being a sorcerer's like, though, Megumi. You'll have to go on missions," you said. At the mention of Megumi's name, Gojo's face cleared into a beaming grin, though Yuta cocked his head. You continued to ignore both of them.

"I understand that! It's not the fact that we have to go on a mission. It's just that I'm getting a bad feeling about —" Abruptly, his voice cut off.

"Hello?" you said. It was futile, though; there was a loud beeping sound as your phone declared that the call had failed, although Megumi had given no indication that he had been somewhere with bad service. "Great, just my luck."

"What's the matter?" Yuta said, wrinkling his nose at the phone you held in your hand. You shook your head, pocketing the phone and massaging your temples.

"The higher ups sent the first years on a mission, and Megumi seems to think something's up. I tried saying that that's just how missions feel, but he didn't believe me. Anyways, he's experienced in tasks like that, so I'm actually somewhat inclined to believe him when he says that not everything is as it seems. His cell service cut off before he could explain further, though," you said. Gojo furrowed his brow.

"That doesn't bode well. For Megumi to be calling for help means it's more serious than we realize; he's not the kind of person that likes asking for just about anything," he said.

"From you, maybe," you said. "I can hardly blame him for that."

"Pack up your things, Y/N," Gojo said, and the fact that he ignored your jab meant that things were actually serious. You nodded firmly. "I'll see when the next available flight is."

"Right," you said. Yuta followed you as you ran to his room, where you had been staying for the past few nights — Miguel only had one spare room, and all of you agreed that it'd be for the better if Gojo got to sleep alone. You had this suspicion that he snored, although there was no evidence to back it up. Still, you weren't about to be the one to test out your theory, and Yuta rarely got enough sleep as it was, so it ended up that Miguel rolled out a blanket for Yuta so that he could sleep on the floor while you took the bed.

"Don't forget these," Yuta said, folding clothes alongside you, tucking them into your bag at twice the pace. In his hands were the souvenirs you had bought for Maki and Tullia. You smiled and zipped them away in the bag's front pocket.

"I'm sorry for having to leave so soon. Ever since we saved that boy, Gojo and I have been under some serious heat from the higher ups," you said. "We have to take care of things before they get worse."