Escape to Reality (Gojo Satoru x Reader)

Chapter 31

⚠️  Manga scenes, may contain spoilers ⚠️

"Cut!" Yuta points his katana at Sukuna, attacking him with his own power.

"Oh? So you ate the last one," Sukuna observes, and Yuji takes advantage to strike him, receiving an attack from Sukuna in return.

As we approached the center where the fight was taking place, Satoru briefed me: Takaba is out of commission from his fight with Kenjaku, but Yuta managed to kill him with a clean slash to the neck. Kirara, Higuruma, Toge, Mei Mei, and Choso have gone with Hikari to finish off Uraume once and for all, while the rest of us: Miwa, Momo, Hana, Maki, Yuji, Nobara, Nanami, Yuta, Kusakabe, Satoru, and I are facing off against Sukuna.

"Angel!" Nanami shouts, giving the warning.

I approach as much as I can, staying behind the boys: keeping my guard up, I don't have my sword, Satoru is next to me.

Nobara manages to use her technique along with Yuji just before the angel uses Jacob's Ladder against Sukuna.

"Come on, Fushiguro!" Nobara exclaims.

And for a moment, our surroundings change, we are in a dark tank underwater. It's full of water, we're beneath it with a strong feeling of suffocation, but still able to breathe.

"Wake up, Fushiguro!" Yuji calls.

Megumi is on the ground, his knees against the ground, his arms extended over it, fists clenched, and his face hidden.

"Enough..."

"Enough... Itadori... Kugisaki."

"I'm... I'm tired."

His voice sounds contained and weak, as if he had been crying.

"Please, Megumi, don't give up," I speak to him softly, trying to approach him, but there's some kind of invisible barrier preventing me from getting closer.

I extend my hands over it and lean on it.

"I'm sorry for what happened to your sister and everything you've had to endure," I continue, taking advantage of his silence, "but you also have a family here waiting for you..."

"Megumi-chan" Satoru comes to my side and calls him, his voice calm, his gaze attentive to the young man lying on the ground in front of us.

"I told you, did you forget?" Satoru asks jovially with a small laugh  "You have as much power as I do, you're very strong, why do you think Sukuna took over your body?"

"It's all in your mind, Megumi," Satoru tells him, "Take control of your soul."

My breath catches as I see Megumi slowly raise his head. His cheeks are soaked with tears, and a few more trickle down his cheeks and dissolve when they reach his chin.

"Gojo-sensei..." his voice breaks, "N-no" he weakly denies "there's no way... my soul... the bath... Tsumiki-"

Satoru shakes his head, and I can't help but feel my heart break.

"Megumi-chan... you can overcome Sukuna," Satoru assures him with a half-smile, "the bath doesn't matter, I know you can do it."

"We'll miss your sister..." Satoru continues, and his voice sounds as clear and calm as a father talking to his child, another tear runs down his cheek, and my vision blurs. "but you have to live for her, I'm sure that's what she would have wanted."

Megumi's shoulders tense, followed by short sobs. He's crying profusely, and with effort, he manages to rise from the ground, sitting on his calves, his trembling hands clenched on his knees.