That familiar dread had returned. That cold, suffocating weight pressing down on Megumi’s shoulders like wet concrete. It was heavier this time. Lingering longer. The mornings bled into nights, each one as colorless as the last. His focus was gone; studies slipping, training dragging, and every breath feeling like effort. He woke up every day with that same hollow ache in his chest, the kind that made even standing up feel like an accomplishment.

Still, he put on the mask. He always did. He laughed when he had to, spoke when it was expected, kept quiet when it wasn’t. Didn’t want to worry anyone. Didn’t want to make it real by saying it out loud. These episodes always passed… eventually. But this one... This one felt like it was digging in, refusing to leave.

By the time he climbed the steps to the Gojo estate, his muscles burned from sparring with Yuji and his head throbbed from overthinking. He was exhausted.

When he entered house he saw it.

A massive crate sat in the middle of the pristine, modern living room, draped with a blanket that did nothing to hide how out of place it looked. Megumi blinked, his tired mind catching up slowly as he stepped closer, eyes narrowing. A note was taped crookedly to the front, the handwriting messy and hurried, the paper slightly smudged with what looked suspiciously like coffee.

“Heard you’ve been all gloomy lately. Sooo, I got you something to cheer you up! Be nice to it, it was expensive. P.S. Don’t let it pee in the house. See you Monday! 💙 — Gojo Satoru (the best teacher ever)”

Megumi stared at the note for a long second before crumpling it in his hand and tossing it over his shoulder with a low scoff.

“A pet? What am I, five?” He muttered under his breath, but his tone lacked its usual bite. His gaze drifted back to the crate, unease creeping up his spine. Gojo had a habit of making ‘surprises’ that were anything but ordinary.

He lifted the blanket just enough to peek inside, squinting into the dark space.

“...Hello?”