Love's Curse - Megumi Fushiguro x Reader

Breaking news

- Chapter 14 -

I awoke to the feeling of pounding- someone pounding on my back. My eyes were still sewn shut, but I soon came to realize that I was still where I was the night before, on the cold floor of my dorm. The pounding continued, this time vibrating into my body. It was my heart. My heart was pounding so hard that I could feel and hear it deep within my body.

Not only was it my heart, but I could also distantly hear someone pounding at the door. The two rhythms almost syncing perfectly, my heart throbbing while the pounding at the door echoed. I almost couldn't make out which one was which.

The memories of that curse at the cafe suddenly flooded into my mind and I opened my eyes as quickly as possible, cowering away from the door. I still couldn't stand, but I attempted to scoot myself away from the door, only making it a few inches away. The only image that my mind would allow me to picture was the curse, pounding and kicking at my dorm door trying to get in.

"Y/n are you in there?" a voice called.

I couldn't picture that voice to be anything except for that curse, trying to barge in and torture me. I didn't want that thing anywhere near me. My heart began to race and pound even faster than it already was.

"Don't you dare come near me! Stay AWAY." I used all of my might to yell out. In my current state of mind, it was that damn curse behind the door. I was too traumatized to think otherwise.

"Y/n. Y/n! It's me. What is going on? Are you okay?" the voice called again. It had a familiar tone to it, a certain smoothness that could never match that of a curse. A curse would also never worry about my well being or ask if I'm okay.

That's when it all clicked for me. I now pictured Megumi behind that door, softly knocking like he always does. There was never any hostility like my mind had drawn it out to be. I pictured a worried look on his face, nearly bringing me to tears at the thought. I didn't mean to yell at him. I didn't mean to say go away. I didn't mean it. I hope he understands.

I scooted myself to the door, my legs almost completely numb dragging behind me, and used all of my will power to lift myself up and turn the lock on the door. "I can't open the door but it's unlocked, come in," I said with a haggard breath, absolutely drained from even doing a simple thing like that. I collapsed back onto the floor, my cheek slamming hard onto the cold wood. It was honestly quite frustrating that he had to see me like this again. I was still weak, back at square one.

He slowly pushed the door open, taking a step into my dorm, his shoe stepping right in front of my face. I watched him from my place on the floor as he quickly glanced around my dorm, a sliver of confusion lacing his expression. Then he looked down at me. That's when I saw a certain expression cross his features. One that I'd never seen before. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly agape, his eyebrows slowly beginning to furrow.  It was a mixture of worry, sorrow, and most of all... rage.

He quickly crouched down to where I was on the floor, immediately taking his coat off and placing it over me, its warmth engulfing my cold skin.

"Jogo. That volcanic bastard," he mumbled gruffly.

Jogo? Is that the curse? Better yet, how does he know?

The word volcanic struck something within me, the memories of my burning skin flooding my mind again. The feeling of searing, blistering, and boiling on my flesh caused shivers to run down the length of my spine, making my stomach flip. Without any realization, warm tears were already streaming down my face. I shut my eyes closed and buried my head into the warmth of his coat, sniffling, attempting to hide my cries.

"Damn it," he slightly mumbled as I heard his voice and footsteps trail away from me, then stop at the coffee table in the middle of the room. I heard the t.v click on. The sound of the frantic news reporter's voice echoed through the room, putting me on edge.

"Breaking news! 14 deaths were reported this morning from the outskirts of Tokyo when a small cafe caught on fire. We are still working on figuring out the details, but nobody currently knows the cause of this fire. Families have now crowded around the rubble, mourning the loss of their loved ones-" then the t.v flicked off, the final syllable of the woman's voice echoing throughout the room.

14 deaths.

14 deaths.

14 deaths.

Mourning the loss of their loved ones.

I heard the news reporter's voice replay in my mind as I began picturing the families crying and hurting over those they loved who were victims of the fire. There are children who are going to have to live without their mom, their dad...

But why me? Why did I survive? Why didn't I save them?

I felt an overwhelming wave of tears crash onto me like a boulder had fallen on my chest. It became hard to breathe and I gasped for air, making all kinds of crazy noises as cries and screams escaped my lips. I was truly heartbroken.

"It's all my fault. It's all my- my fault!" I cried, pounding my fist into the wood floor. I cried and yelled into his jacket, the warm fabric muffling my voice. I heard his footsteps quickly inch their way toward me and then stop as they reached my place on the floor. I heard a few muffled sounds as he had sat down next to me.

I felt a firm arm snake around my waist, followed by the feeling of myself being slightly lifted and dragged closer to him. I felt myself being lowered onto something soft and cushiony. I uncovered my eyes and revealed that I was sitting in his lap. He was sitting down, back pressed to the closed door, and arms wrapped around me as I sat curled up on top of him. He simply did nothing but allowed me to cry in his arms, which was all I needed at this moment.

I stuffed my face into his neck and continued to cry, hot tears stinging my eyes.

"It- it's all my f-fault," I sniffled. " I could've- I could've... killed that curse. I'm a sorcerer, damn it!" I felt a pang of anger roll throughout my body, causing me to punch him in the chest without thinking. He slightly groaned, but said nothing and moved his hand to stroke my hair.

"No, y/n. Don't blame yourself. Stop that," he said sternly, his breaths warming the crown of my head.

At his words, I couldn't help but burst out as another wave of tears weighed on my chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, that being the only way I could find comfort. Then I adjusted myself, moving my legs to wrap around his torso, and continued hugging him as tightly as I could, feeling our bodies press firmly to each other. His arms snaked completely around me and tightened around my back, his warmth entirely engulfing me. We were so tightly pressed together, it almost felt as though we were inseparable. Like we were glued together and nothing could ever rip us apart.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the thought of children crying over the loss of their parents in the fire. The barista who was always so sweet to me, the people in the cafe who curiously watched me as I frantically stumbled out. All of those people are dead now and I could've done something to prevent that. I truly feel horrible. I feel broken.

But in this moment, no matter how hard I cried, no matter how badly I was hurting, he was here with me again. Here to cradle and comfort me.

What did I do to deserve him?