SHRINE

Days pass, and Itadori can't stop thinking about the man who resides in the shrine, and he believes it's because they upset the man when Sasaki-senpai joked about his name being related to some deity.

He wants to apologize in person, but then what? What comes next? Is his main goal in visiting the shrine to apologize?

"No, it's more than enough reason to return to the shrine!" Yuji exclaimed, convincing himself.

"What visit, Itadori?"" Yuji almost jumps in surprise when he hears a voice behind his back.

"Fushigurou, you scared the crap out of me!" Yuji cried, clutching his chest as though his life had just flashed before his eyes.

However, Megumi simply smiles at him, making itadori feel soft because Megumi's smile is always unusual to witness, and he is the only one of their friends who only sees Megumi smile most of the time.

Itadori mumbled, "What a looker," and Megumi simply lifted his brows at him.

"A what?" Megumi questioned, and Itadori simply shook his shoulders.

"noothingg, but fushigurou, what brought you here?" Itadori asks Megumi, staring him in the eyes.

"Didn't you guys go to that shrine to investigate last time in exchange for our place with Sasaki and Iguchi senpai?" How did you find it? Was it a success? We need to submit our report to the history department next month," Megumi remarked, and Itadori groaned, saying that they didn't get to probe any farther, but they learnt something throughout the investigation.

"What exactly was it?" Megumi inquires

"It is the shrine of the Goddess of love, not the God of calamity, ryomen sukuna," Yuji explained, "and we also discovered that the caretaker of the shrine has the same name as the said, God." Megumi placed his palm on his chin and began to contemplate.

"Caretaker? "I've never heard anything like that, we looked into a blog last time with Kugisaki and there is no caretaker of that shrine, the people even have video filming of the said shrine, which is suspicious if there is," Megumi remarked as he sat near Yuji.

"Is that so? That's odd. Ume-chan stated that they have been caring for the shrine with their master." Yuji pouted his lips while attempting to stare at the azure sky.

"Let's look into this case further, Itadori," Megumi said, lightly holding Yuji's face and turning it to face him, peering at him eye to eye.

"Yes, we will. I'll video call you later, I'll be up researching this case," Yuji said enthusiastically, leading Megumi to glance away and conceal his face under a turtleneck uniform.

"yujiii! megumiii-channn!"

Both teenagers stare at the voice they hear as they turn around to find their instructor waving at them, accompanied by another teacher.

The white-haired man approached them enthusiastically, his arm around the other black-haired person, who was calmly looking at them.

"Saturou, could you please lower your voice, you are a teacher, remember?" said the black-haired guy to the white-haired man.

"eeehh?? I'm just calling out my precious student before they go home," the white-haired man begins to pout his lips while making a charming face with his finger on his cheeks.

Itadori returned their greetings and cast a glance at Megumi, who had an irritated expression on his face.

"Gojo-sensei... " Megumi mumbled, shaking his head and looking in discomfort.

"Pardon your childish teacher.." Getou-sensei apologizes to the two students, and Yuji simply smiles.

"It's okay, Getou-sensei, Gojo-sensei is just showing his affection the way he wants to," Yuji remarked, scratching his head slightly.

"Right?! Yuji, you are the one who understands me!" gojo hurried over to Yuji and held him hard.

Itadori just patted his teacher's back as he hugged Gojo back, but Getou became irritated and pulled Gojo on his arm, leading Yuji to giggle.

"Do you casually hug other men like this as well?" Getou demands, lifting his brows.

"hmm, what if I do what will you do then?" Gojo taunted Getou, and Megumi, who was witnessing the situation, pulled itadori.

"Let's go itadori, we're exposed to a public display of affection for today, enough of standing by here," Megumi said, tugging itadori along with him, and as usual, the young man itadori Yuji said farewell to the two young instructors and both waved back.

Yuji grins at them before turning away, while Megumi has already walked ahead of Itadori.

Before turning, he noticed Gojo kissing Getou on his cheeks closer to the lips, prompting the young guy who observed it to flush in shame. Nonetheless, he is overjoyed for them. Yuji smiles and walks away.

"Why are you smiling so brightly?" Megumi asks Itadori.

Yuji murmured "noothinggg" as he wrapped his arm over Megumi's shoulders and began walking in the same phase as him.

"Now, where is Kugisaki?"

"She said she needed to go to that show where she was hired as a model, and I'm glad for her," Megumi remarked as he looked up at the sky.

"me too, I'm happy for Kugisaki to have a job she surely enjoys"

--------

Later that night, Itadori and Fushiguro began studying and investigating the shrine Itadori had visited previously. As Itadori investigates deeper, he realizes that much of the tale was invented and that much is different. He made the decision to contact Fushiguro.

Itadori discovered the same things as Fushiguro. However, he stated that the king of calamity had another shrine, which is not abandoned but is a tourist attraction located near the city, further away from where Itadori traveled.

"What should we do now?" Itadori asked Fushigurou, and it took some time for Fushigurou to respond.

"First and foremost, we must inform the history department," Megumi added.

"Right, why were we the ones who signed up for this research rather than the history club researcher?" Itadori said.

"Remember, you are not allowed in this club because the track and field coach wants you to join the club, and we, kugisaki and I, joined here to help our senpai survive this by submitting a report of a specific story, and school festival are soon to be held, and as a member of the student council. We must conduct the study and present it to the history club, who must corroborate and exhibit it. The study we will present will primarily likely be turned into a play. That's the major plan after all of this." fushiguro described, and itadori listened and nodded.

"I see. Well, thank you very much, fushigurou." Yuji grinned brightly into the camera, prompting Fushigurou to hide behind the camera.

"It's not a big deal, but we have to meet and talk to Kugisaki tomorrow. I suppose she'll be available after her shoot? "Our senpai will go to the tourist spot shrine," Megumi added, and itadori agreed before saying good night and retiring to bed.

While itadori is considering what he should do since he can't stop thinking about the guy from the shrine and the study they're doing, he comes across the question, "Who was the goddess of love the man talking about?"

Why does he speak in the goddess's name with such tenderness? Are they there because they are the god's ancestors or caretakers? Yuji is perplexed. If he needs to get there in his spare time before he and his friends decide to meet up and go to the shrine again. He doesn't want to go there uninvited like the last time. At the very least, he believes he wants to apologize and beg permission to invite his buddies around and ask some personal questions. If Ume-chan or their master refuses, they have cause not to pursue the inquiry.

For some reason, the young guy does not want to offend the man who resides within the shrine. He believes they should not disrupt their everyday life only to do research and have it shown or shortly be performed in the theatre.

Yuji groaned and positioned himself correctly before attempting to sleep, trying to expel the guy in his head.

"I don't know, I just want to see him one more time," Yuji whispered before falling asleep.

--------

"Ines!"

When the young man turned around, he was welcomed by a towering and massive man who hugged him fiercely. The tall man raised the guy and buried his face in the little man's body, enjoying the scent of the guy.

He looked at the young man and gazed at the golden eyes full of devotion, kissing the tiny guy's cheeks and smiling.

"I love you so much, Ines, and I will always love you no matter how many times you leave me," mumbled the peach-tall man as he looked tenderly at the tiny guy he called Ines.

"I wish I could be the one," the little man said as he approached the man who was still carrying him and softly brushed his hair and kissed the large man's forehead.

"You are my only one, Ines," the guy whispered as his lips touched his brow.

"You need someone who will give their heart and soul to you, Sukuna," the little man said with a smile.

"You did it, Ines." "Many times," the tall man says as he kisses the guy's cheeks, which are now crying up.

"I recall everything, Kuna. My love, I remember everything. "I'm so sorry," the tiny man sobbed, and the towering man called Sukuna grabbed him closely, hushing him in his massive arms.

"Shhh, no matter what, I will always find you." "I will always love you no matter what," he said as he passionately kissed the young man's lips.

---------

Yuji awoke with cold sweat and a heartbeat loud enough for him to hear in his silent room. He reached for his water bottle, which he usually had nearby, and began sipping while still trembling, causing him to wet his clothing.

To calm his anxieties and himself, he inhaled and breathed gently and placed his palm on his chest, feeling his heart, which felt strange.

'Did I cry in my sleep?'

Itadori murmured under his breath as he touched his face with his left palm, tears still flowing down his cheeks. His chest hurts weirdly, but not in the way that gives him chest discomfort. More like heartbreak.

Itadori started crying and sobbing out of nowhere, and he has no idea why; he simply feels the need to express himself.

He recalls having a dream involving two men holding each other passionately.

Itadori only observed them from a third-person perspective; he can't engage with them or go closer to them, but he hears the tall man's voice, which sounded familiar and he presumably heard someplace but couldn't recollect where.

'It was definitely full of affection,' Yuji recalled as he reached for his bottle of water to re-drink. Yuji tried to inhale and exhale again, but he is now sobbing so hard that he can hardly breathe through his nostrils.

He grabs some tissues, tries to rise up, and goes to his bathroom, where he notices he is red. He cleanses his face and wipes it before returning to his bed.

He calms down and feels a bit better than before, falling asleep again quickly tired his eyes out by sobbing, and the sadness he felt gradually subsides.

--------

"My kuna," Esme whispered gently.

"I've come for you, Esme, my everything."

"You shouldn't have, My Kuna," Esme said as he walked back down, still carrying Saturo on his arm.

"Let us escape from this filthy prison, my love; I have come to rescue you," the enormous male with four limbs grasped the goddess's wrist, attempting to convince her.

"No way, Kuna. It is not prohibited. I must stand on that trial and prove to myself, you, and all living beings, no matter what they are, that all of us are deserving of love and will not be abandoned." Esme stares at the four-armed creature, who is still bursting into tears.

"I don't need those, Esme! You don't have to stand there getting spat on and harassed by all these scumbag gods!" the guy exclaimed but the goddess shook his head and tried to hide in his arms by covering the tiny child's ear.

"I hope you understand; I'm doing this for you, my kuna," the goddess said with a grin.

"Fuck that you're doing shit for me, Esme!" the man said, trying not to seem frightening in front of the goddess by not increasing his voice.

"Kuna, this is the hardest thing to do, to leave someone you love-"

"If you love me, come to me, Esme."

However, the goddess just gives the four-armed monster the brightest smile he can manage.

"My love, that's not how love works. I don't want to go, but deep down within, I know it's the best thing to do." the goddess sobbed as the little kid carefully took the goddess's hand from his ear and hugged the goddess, wiping the goddess's tear.

"Goddess, please stop sobbing... or you're going to make me cry if you keep weeping," stated the small boy who is now sobbing.

"I wish I could be the one to shower you with love, my kuna. The type of love you require I wish I could tell you that I'll always be there for you, but that's not me, my kuna." The goddess strove not to fall on his knees as he caressed the man's cheeks as he whispered those words.

The man looks at him and embraces the goddess and the child. "Please, Esme, accompany me. I'm begging with you, Esme; I love you. I guarantee I will not harm anyone, so please come to me. Let's run. Live somewhere tranquil. Esme, my love. I beg you not to leave me."

The man began sobbing while clutching the goddess on his arm, and the kid on the goddess's arm began crying as well since he was overwhelmed by the two divine beings' tears.

"We have the right to love, at the wrong time, my kuna," he said, carefully burying his face in the man's arms.

"I realize I'm just hurting you by leaving and not coming to you. You need someone who is prepared to devote his entire heart and soul to you. And I'm not the one you need." The goddess pushed the four-armed monster slightly and looked at those four pairs of eyes full of sincerity.

The man began shaking his head, refusing to accept the goddess' declaration: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, Esme, my love, it can't be, please no, Esme."

The man began to fall to his knees as he held to the goddess's clothing, pleading with him to remain and flee together.

The man's voice shakes up as he says, "Please, Esme, choose me."

"However, I have chosen you." Not in the way you want me to." the goddess smiled as he attempted to hush the kid and get to the same level as his beloved, who was kneeling in front of him.

"I am the goddess of love; I love everyone and want everyone to be love fair. I want to save you. However, if I can rescue anybody by saving you, I will do it. Then I must save you and everyone else. Kuna, my love," the goddess whispered quietly as he dragged and pushed the guy closer to his wailing arm.

"Please, Esme.." cried the man.

"Goddess Esme, hic why are you all crying.." the child wept, and Esme drew the child closer to him, hugging both of them in his arms.

"Hush, hush, hush, my babies."

"You are such a crybaby, my kuna, for someone who is feared by all," he hummed as he brushed the man's hair.

"Your hair is so soft," he says as he kisses the man's forehead, nose, ear, cheeks, tears, and finally the lips.

"I love you, Goodbye."