Chapter Text
Today, Nanami’s hands ached. His eyes ached. His shoulders ached. His back, ached.
What broke him, though, was getting home and realising he doesn’t even feel it anymore. It’s there, just background noise.
I am in pain, he thought, distantly, reaching for pain meds, before stopping.
When was the last time I didn’t take meds?
His thoughts stuttered, then assessed the information. Every weekday, every week, for… years?
He wanted to say, that can’t be right, but the data said otherwise.
The nearly empty bottle, said otherwise.
It could be worse, part of him thinks, knowing coworkers who rely on harder drugs, sex workers, or alcohol to get through the weeks.
That rely on abuse of others, to feel, a little bit, alive.
He frowned.
This can’t be right.
There’s got to be a better way.
🔪🔪🔪
Eating his sandwich, Nanami looked at his phone.
At one contact, to be specific.
It made his back ache, a little less, to look at it.
Gojo Satoru.
He frowned, not appreciating his body’s response.
Fucking Gojo Satoru.
He continued to look.
His break continued to slip by.
Every day, it felt shorter and shorter.
🔪🔪🔪
“What would you do?”
His beloved bakery echoed with his unannounced question, his favourite staff looking at him and smiling, confused.
“Sorry?”
Nanami shook his head.
“Sorry,” he apologised.
He left.
Words slipping out of his mouth was not a good sign.
He frowned.
🔪🔪🔪
“Gojo.”
“Nanami~”
He almost hungup. He almost threw up. He almost threw his phone away.
Yu’s name echoed in his head, over and over and over again.
🔪🔪🔪
“Thank you for meeting me.”
“Of course, kohai-kun.” Nanami twitches. “Whatcha been thinking about?”
Gojo slurped some fucking boba tea monstrosity, knocking the ice around the plastic cup.
“I think we need to kill some people.”
Gojo goes still.
“Yes,” Gojo said, hesitating, but deadly serious, his voice like a smooth dagger to his jugular. I bet he tastes like boba tea, some distant part of his brain provides. “Who were you thinking about?”
Nanami frowned.
“I think I want to start with the clans. Old money, then the school’s higher ups, then new money.
That includes Gojo clan.”
Gojo grinned.
Nanami felt a shiver.
It felt like death, like life, like jumping off a bridge.
“I couldn’t agree more, Nanami-kun. Do you have a goal to all this? Or just blood thirsty funscapades with your old beloved classmate?”
“I think you know.”
“Perhaps. Indulge me.”
“I want the fuckers who killed Yu to die.”
Gojo hesitated.
“And?”
“And I want to see a world where the system doesn’t kill and abuse children. I think that starts with clan abuse, then wealth abuse, then power abuse. I think… we might have a better society, after that. For the children.
For all of us,” he added quietly. My back hurts and I don’t want it to, anymore, he adds.
My soul hurts and it - he shakes his head. Not important.
Gojo cocked his head, a soft smile playing across the deadly predator’s face before slipping back into playful, neurotic grinning. Gojo clapped, sipped his boba tea again, and pulled out his phone, the moment broken and shattered into a million, sparkling pieces of metal and glass and something that smelled like blood in the water.
“Let me introduce you to my students, Nanami-kun! I think they might play some defense while we go on some offense. You’ll love them. Maybe you can even teach them a thing or two, especially Itadori-kun.” Gojo texted something, read something, nodded and looked up.
Smiling.
Nanami did not like that smile.
But it made his back feel better, his shoulder relax, his hands warm against his black coffee.
This might all be worth it, Yu.
It’s a deal with a devil that might actually result in something.
Something good.
Nanami doesn’t smile, no.
But he doesn’t frown, either.