Chapter Text
Yuuji had been bit before.
It was difficult to forget something so ingrained into his being. The sensation was always in the back of his mind, the fangs that sharply pierced his vein, like tiny knives digging under his flesh. The rush of pleasure that came immediately after, his legs shaking, caving under his body weight.
He remembered the sting of pain so well, and it was something he was desperate to fight against.
And yet...
"Your flesh smells delicious, hunter. It's been a long while since I've had such a delicious looking meal."
The creature hovered it's fangs just above Yuuji's neck, drool dripping onto his pale skin.
Here he was, just moments away from getting bitten again. Albeit, this vampire was far stronger than the first one he had come in contact with a few years ago, and admittedly, he had no one to blame but himself for this. Thoughts rushed through his brain, his mind scrambling to cling to one, searching for something to focus on. He should've listened to Gojou, and Fushiguro for that matter. Would Fushiguro even notice he was gone?
The creature grabbed his wrist, a second pair of eyes opening on his cheekbones. He slammed Yuuji's wrist against the wall, bones cracking, his hand now limp. The knife clamored to the ground in a pathetic display of defense; Yuuji hadn't even had a chance to use it, the demon had moved so fast.
"Dammit-!" Yuuji started to cry out, but the creature swiftly covered his mouth with another hand, pinning his head to the wall.
For a split second, Yuuji's vision went black, the scene slowly trickling back into his view. He blinked, small particles dancing in front of his vision.
"Sending a novice hunter?" The creature's hot breath tickled his skin. "Satoru is getting sloppy," he purred, running his tongue up Yuuji's neck. "I'll have to thank him later for delivering exactly what I need."
"Mmph!" Yuuji groaned, struggling against the vampire's grip. The wall was sharp on his back, the brick scraping against his head. His free, unbroken hand pushed at the creature's chest, attempting to shove him. Normally, he would have no problem kicking a vampire off of him, but this... he was different.
His eyes darted frantically about, attempting to take in his surroundings. Yuuji struggled to recall how the vampire had gotten him pinned against the wall of the alleyway. It all happened in a flash.
"You can struggle all you want, baby hunter. I will be taking what I need from you," the creature said. He trailed his long nails down Yuuji's lips, over his chin, and stroked slowly down his neck. "You can even scream if you'd like."
Before Yuuji could process a response, the fangs pierced his skin, his head rolling back against the brick. It was more painful than he ever recalled, the sting shooting under his flesh, as if pain had been laced into his bloodstream, trickling through every vein. His skin tingled, limbs twitching. He wished he could scratch at his body to try and dig out the pain.
Lips wrapped around the bleeding wound on Yuuji's neck, but they did nothing to ease his pain. His hand throbbed as he attempted to push against the wall, his fingers aching with the strain. The flash of pleasure was nowhere to be found and he whimpered, feeling blood gush from the wound.
With a loud growl, the creature pulled back, spitting the blood onto the ground. Yuuji's eyes fluttered, desperate to not lose consciousness.
The vampire wrapped his thick fingers around Yuuji's neck, nails digging into his skin, like needles digging into an open wound. Blood flowed like a river down the side of his neck, dripping to the ground, staining his skin.
"What the hell are you?" The vampire snarled, yanking Yuuji forward toward him. "You're not a damn hunter!"
He tried to focus on one set of eyes, but he felt dizzy, like his body could float away.
"H-Human..." Yuuji choked out. Blood had exited his body far too fast, exhaustion threatening to overtake him.
The vampire slammed Yuuji back against the wall. Blood spurting from his lips, his lungs struggling to pull in air.
"They're letting humans be hunters now? Pathetic!" The creature growled. Mouths opened on the side of his face, all of them grinning wide, baring his incredibly sharp fangs. "I think I know exactly what to do with you.
"It's time I send Satoru my regards. I've been awake for far too long without saying hello."
A new sharp pain shot through Yuuji's chest, like bullets piercing his flesh, curling through him and eating muscle and bone. Sharp nails ripped and tore through his innards, his body melting around the painful sensation. The fingers curled around his pulsing heart, squeezing. Yuuji gasped; he didn't dare look down. It was terrifying, what he might see if he turned his gaze down. Instead his eyes widened when blood spurt from his lips, and the vampire pulled his hand back, yanking the organ directly from Yuuji's chest.
"Tell him I'm looking forward to tasting real hunter blood," the creature smirked, holding Yuuji's pumping heart in his hand, blood wrapping down around his wrist.
His smile was the last thing Yuuji saw before his vision trickled out, the world turning completely dark.
~~
"Itadori's missing," Megumi stated, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Gojou spun around in his chair, clapping his hands together. "Very good, Megumi-chan! You noticed!"
Megumi immediately rolled his eyes. Leave it to Gojou to take a very serious situation... not seriously at all.
"Of course I noticed," he grumbled. It was difficult not to notice when the hotel's cafeteria had been disturbingly quiet all morning. There was no yelling about how delicious the omelettes were, or how twelve cups of coffee were needed so yawns could be quelled. He could practically hear Itadori's annoying voice yapping his ear. Fushiguro-san, can I please meet your dogs when we get back?"
Of course, Megumi would tell him to leave him alone, or push his face away when he got too close. When things were quiet this morning, he took a moment to enjoy the peace. However, the more time passed, the more annoyed he grew with the silence.
It was oddly disturbing.
"Right, right. It is possible Yuuji-kun had a late night," Gojou hummed, tilting his head back and forth. He pressed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, swiping his bleach white hair off his forehead.
"Tch." Megumi snorted, folding his arms over his chest. "He always stays in and watches T.V."
Gojou pushed himself out of the chair. Tucking his hands behind his back, he strode over to Megumi, leaning toward him. "Well, well, well, you seem oddly concerned! And here I thought the two of you didn't get along!"
Megumi's cheeks flushed and he turned away. "It's not that."
"It's not?"
Frowning, Megumi narrowed his eyes, glaring at the elder hunter. "He's a novice hunter and you've been warning us about Sukuna's awakening. Why wouldn't you be worried about him potentially being caught?"
Gojou shook his head. "Megumi, do you even listen to me?"
"Unfortunately," he muttered, his response promptly ignored by the white-haired male.
"Because, I've mentioned many times to you that Sukuna can't regain his powers fully unless he drinks pureblood hunter blood. Yuuji is human so Sukuna has no reason to target him. He would come after you or Maki or Mai. Or me, I guess, but he knows how idiotic that would be." Gojou's lips pulled into his signature smile and Megumi clenched his fists.
They shouldn't be taking this lightly.
"I'm going to search for him," Megumi said, stepping away from Gojou and his desk.
"Oh, Megumi... there's no reason to get upset! If I'm not worried about it, there's absolutely no reason you should be!" Gojou urged.
Megumi couldn't stop the frown that tugged at his lips. "You not being worried just makes me even more concerned," he growled, storming out of the makeshift office Gojou had set up for himself.
The group had come to the area anticipating the awakening of Sukuna, the King of the Vampires. It wasn't something to take lightly, and just because Gojou was the one to put him to sleep one hundred years ago, didn't mean he was guaranteed to be able to do that again.
This was their second week here and so far there were no signs of Sukuna's awakening. Vampire activity in the area hadn't even been high, still... Itadori not coming to breakfast worried Megumi more than he cared to admit.
He had gone to Itadori's room first, but when he hadn't come to the door, Megumi immediately went to report it to Gojou. A lot of good that had done him.
Making his way to the lobby, he noticed Kugisaki and Maki sharing a table over by the cafe near the front entrance. Kugisaki, as per usual, was sipping her milk tea through a straw, scrolling through her phone, while Maki chatted to her, licking at the jelly oozing out of a doughnut.
"Hey," he said, approaching the two girls. Neither of them were pleasant to deal with, especially in the morning, but it was possible they could've seen Itadori.
"Mornin'," Maki said, while Kugisaki simply nodded, continuing to scroll. Her bored expression was unchanging.
"Have either of you seen Itadori?" He asked, glancing around the lobby once more. Empty, besides the three of them and the staff.
The question got Kugisaki's attention. Glancing up at him, she narrowed her eyes. "Isn't he normally attached at your hip, like some lovesick puppy?"
Megumi frowned, wishing just one person would take the situation a little more seriously. "No," he snapped, rubbing at his temple. Though he couldn't deny that Kugisaki wasn't wrong to an extent. Normally, Itadori had breakfast with him after going for a morning run.
"Seriously, Fushiguro, if he's not with you, I have no idea where he is," Kugisaki shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm sure your boyfriend will be back soon."
"He's not... that's... ugh. We're not a thing, but it's worrisome if he’s gone," he grumbled. "You both know what Sukuna is capable of, not first hand but..."
Glancing up at him, Maki frowned. "Did something happen?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him all morning. He didn't answer when I knocked on his door either," Megumi explained.
"I saw him leave for his evening run last night," Maki said, gently tapping her chin. "I don't remember seeing him come back, but I went up to my room early last night."
"Shit," Megumi cursed. His mind tumbled as he tried to analyze the possibilities. Perhaps Sukuna would use Itadori to lure the rest of them out. Or maybe he had already killed Itadori when he realized he was just a human and not a pureblood hunter. Or maybe...
Or maybe Megumi was completely overreacting...
There was a slam at the front entrance to the hotel, a loud bang as the hotel doors were smacked open by the palm of Itadori Yuuji.
As Megumi feared, all was not right.
His palms were covered in blood and one looked to be limp, dangling loosely by his hip. Blood was streaked across his neck, an open wound still on the side. However, the most alarming thing was the blood stained on the middle of his chest, his hoodie completely soaked through with a large circle of blood.
"Itadori!" Megumi's eyes widened, immediately rushing to Itadori's side to brace him. Maki and Kugisaki weren't far behind. He gently slung Itadori's arm around his shoulder. He was unsure of where the wounds were, and didn't want to reopen any. On his other side, Kugisaki gently pressed her hand against his shoulder. The guy was paler than Megumi had ever seen him before; he didn't look good.
"F-Fushiguro..." he croaked out, his voice hoarse and dry.
"What the hell happened?!" Megumi snapped.
"I-I-..." He stammered, barely moving.
"He needs help!" Maki said. "He's lost far too much blood. I'll get Gojou-sensei. Nobara, call Shoko-sensei."
"Right," Kugisaki nodded, pulling out her phone.
"I-I need to talk to Gojou-sensei," Itadori choked out before his eyes fluttered shut and he slouched, collapsing against Megumi, small droplets of blood dripping onto the shimmering dark wood floor.
Just as Megumi suspected, something had gone very, very wrong.