A/N: These all take place throughout January-March and are ordered chronologically! Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Two.
The Moments In Between II.
"He's more myself than I am. Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same." — Emily Bronte.
1. Winter Wonderland.
"It's the most wonderful time of the year….."
"Next!" the grumpy cashier yells over the holiday music, obnoxiously popping her gum as she throws another bill into her register.
Nudging at her friends, the teenage girl in line motions at them to follow her, "Hello," she kindly greets the older woman, giving her a polite smile.
Popping her gum once more, the woman rolls her eyes before asking, "How many?"
Originally expecting to hear some kind of festive greeting, the teenage girl is clearly taken back by the woman's rude attitude, "Four tickets, please," she says, timidly handing her the money.
Sighing, the woman carefully counts the bills, past experiences with teenagers causing her to be extra mindful of counterfeits, "Shoe siz—" the woman suddenly goes dead silent, gulping as she feels a cold chill run down her spine.
The reason for this was that behind the young girl, stood her towering boyfriend, who was currently glaring at her in a way that said, "Fix your attitude before I fix it for you."
"Sizes?" the teenage girl completes the question for her, unaware of what her intimidating boyfriend was doing behind her.
Frantically nodding, the woman plasters a grin onto her face, "Y-Yes! We have different colors as well, ranging from black, brown, and white," she rambles on, for the first time today, giving the option of choosing different colored ice skates.
Surprised at the complete change in attitude, Asami softly chuckles to herself, "Oh no, it's fine, we'll take any color," she says, truly naive to the world around her, "As for sizes, I'm a 23," she adds before turning to her infamous boyfriend, Satoru.
Eyes still narrowed at the woman, the infinity user quietly huffs out a, "28." From there, Suguru and Shoko give the woman their own shoe sizes while quietly snickering to themselves in the background.
Handing the four teenagers their pairs of skates, the woman bids them a kind farewell, "Have fun!" she excitedly waves at them, perhaps being a little too excessive with her goodbye. But honestly, who could blame her when she was being stared at like a lamb under a hungry lion's gaze.
With the teens no longer within eyesight, the cashier quickly wipes the sweat off her forehead before returning to her original attitude, yelling, "NEXT!"
Meanwhile, Asami and the rest of her friends walk towards the area of wooden benches, figure skates in hand.
"Tch, doesn't she hate her job," Satoru mutters to himself, tempted to go back in line and mess with the lady just for the fun of it.
Asami shrugs, "It's fine, really. Either way, I wasn't going to let a woman like that ruin my holiday spirit. Especially not when we're doing something so fun today," she childishly grins, kicking her shoes off in excitement.
Today, the group of teenage shamans had come to their local ice skating rink, seeing that there was no other way to kick off their winter break than to skate on some slippery ice. Luckily, none of them had any prior experience, meaning they were all starting off at a beginner's level.
Asami, who'd been looking forward to this for quite some time now, found comfort in knowing that she wasn't going to be the only one slipping and falling today. If anything, her acrobatic background would probably give her an advantage, meaning she was expecting herself to get the hang of it quite quickly.
Tying the laces to her white skates, Asami laughs as she stands up, "Well this feels weird," she says, shocked at how little balance she had. Especially considering she wasn't even on ice yet!
Attempting to lace up his own skates, Satoru squirms when he feels a tight pressure on his big toes, realizing that his skates were too small, "Gah, I think I might have to get bigger skates," he complains, cursing himself for having big feet. Though he loved his height, even he had to admit that there were some occasional downsides to it. One of them was of course having larger than average sized feet.
Glancing at the line for skates, Satoru grunts in annoyance, not exactly in the mood to wait, "Do you think they'll let me change sizes without having to get in line again?" he asks his friends, who by now had their skates on and were ready to get on the ice.
"Probably," Suguru shrugs, "Then again, with the attitude that lady has, who knows," he adds, referring to the grumpy cashier.
Scoffing, a mischievous smile appears on Satoru's face, "Well you guys can go on ahead then, I'll just meet you on the ice," he says, ready to go back and give the woman a hard time.
Sighing, Asami gives Satoru a disapproving look, "Don't be too mean," is all she says, aware of what her boyfriend was planning on doing.
"I won't, I won't," he raises his hands in his defense, "I'm just gonna give her a taste of her own medicine, that's all," he laughs, already preparing his nagging-customer act.
"Let me guess, you're going to complain about receiving the wrong size, even though she gave you the correct one to begin with," Shoko says, crossing her arms in amusement.
"You betcha," Satoru nods, shouting, "Don't fall too much!" to his friends as he makes his way back to the cashier's booth, determined to ruin her day.
Accustomed to Satoru's childish antics, Asami, Shoko, and Suguru simply shake their heads in dismay before heading towards the ice rink. Slowly getting used to walking on blades, the three teens grab onto nearby objects as they make line to enter the rink.
And as they wait, the trio observe those who were already on the ice. While some people were skating like pros, there were others who were holding onto the rails for dear life, their legs resembling that of trembling chickens.
Softly chuckling, Suguru whispers, "Let's just make sure that by the end of today, that's not us," to his classmates, secretly poking fun at those who were having a hard time.
Nodding, Asami and Shoko laugh as they prepare to step onto the ice, unaware that they were in for a reality check, "I mean, I'm sure it's not as hard as it l—"
Suddenly, the three teens find themselves desperately grabbing onto each other as they try not to slip and fall, karma smacking them right in the face.
"Stop pulling on me!"
"Grab onto the rail!"
"Will you move?!"
They all yell over each other, clearly in a state of panic as they try to reach out for the rail, having made the mistake of entering the rink without holding onto the wall barrier. Stiffly bending her knees, Asami somehow manages to lead them to the edge, trying her best to keep balance.
Panting for breath, the trio tightly hold onto the rail, becoming the people they had just been making fun of.
"Whose idea was it to come here again?" Shoko asks while finally standing up straight.
Gulping, a sweatdrop runs down Asami's forehead, "Look, this was expected. We're beginners!" she explains, successfully avoiding the question, "As long as we remember to keep our knees bent and shift our weight from one foot to the other, then we'll be fine!"
"And how do you know that?" Suguru asks.
Asami grins, "I was watching tutorial videos all day yesterday!" she says, giving her friends an enthusiastic thumbs up.
Exchanging looks of skepticism with one another, Shoko and Suguru soon narrow their eyes at the red head, "Okay ….. then how bout you demonstrate for us?" one of them asks, playful smirks appearing on their faces.
Scoffing, Asami rolls her eyes, "Oh come on, you guys are acting like we haven't done much harder things before! Since when are you guys scared of falling?! I mean seriously, we're…" she cautiously looks around, making sure no one was close enough to hear her, "...jujutsu sorcerers for God's sake!" she yells in a hushed tone.
"..."
"Fine!" she scowls, "I'll just have to show you two how it's done," she says, feigning confidence as she hesitantly lets go of the rail.
Fingers now shaking, Asami quietly whispers the how-to steps of ice skating to herself, "Hands directly out in front of you, keep the core strong, lift one foot, and glide by pushing in a T-shape."
Smiling when she moves forward by a couple of feet, Asami turns to her friends while playfully sticking her tongue out, 'Hehe! In your faces! I bet you two were expecting me to fall! Have you guys forgotten that I was once a professional acrobat! Balance is in my genes!' she obnoxiously thinks to herself, clearly feeling smug.
But what Asami didn't realize was that keeping your balance on the ground …. was much more different than keeping your balance on the ice.
Taking a deep breath in, Asami prepares to shift her weight to the opposite leg. Out of nervousness, her fingers begin to tremble, "Place your foot down…shift your weight…. and gli—w-woah—w-oah!"
Eyes widening, Asami somehow loses her balance, any control she had over her blades now in the hands of the ice. Whirling her arms in circles, Asami desperately tries to grab onto something, but sadly, she was already at the center of the ice rink. From there, out of sheer panic, the young girl accidentally shifts her weight backward rather than forward…..
The number one rule each tutorial video strictly told her not to do.
Feeling herself fall back, Asami shuts her eyes as she prepares for the impact of the ice. But to her luck, a familiar pair of arms manage to save her just in the nick of time….
"Didn't I tell you not to fall?"
Slowly opening her eyes, Asami cautiously looks around, sighing in relief when she sees that she's not in a pool of her own blood. Only then does she focus on the person holding her. That person being none other than Satoru.
"Well …. I'm waiting," he teasingly says, expecting a response from her.
Blinking at him in surprise, Asami takes a while to process everything. When she finally does, all she can do is nervously laugh, "Technically, you said not to fall too much."
Scoffing, Satoru playfully rolls his eyes, "Ah, I see. So I should just drop you then?" he smirks.
"N-No," Asami immediately tries to get up, almost slipping in the process.
"Careful there," he luckily keeps a firm grip on her, positioning her upright before she could make an even bigger fool of herself, "Do you really think I'd drop you?" he asks, an underlying hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Well no, but—"
"Then?"
Asami pouts, tightly holding onto his hand as she allows him to lead her back to the rest of their friends, "Tch, anyways…. Since when are you so good at skating? I thought you said that you had never ice skated before," she frowns.
"I hadn't," he shrugs, "Some things just come easy to me I guess," he says, knowing that in reality, the six eyes were the reason behind his success.
That's because with the six eyes, he was able to automatically perceive mass, speed, energy, and so forth, thus making trivial activities such as ice skating turn into child's play for him. Whether he was standing still or spinning in the air, Satoru knew the exact velocity, height, distance, weight distribution, and angle needed for every move. All in all, he was the perfect skater.
And to think this was someone who needed to get tutored for physical science….
Then again, there was a big difference between having something come as second nature to you, versus actually understanding a concept, writing it down, and explaining it with your own words.
Letting go of Satoru's hand, Asami grabs onto the wall once more, feeling like a complete noob. The only thing that made her feel better was that she had two other noobs right beside her.
Or so she thought…..
1 Hour Later.
"Come on Asami! It's easy, you just gotta keep your knees bent and shift your weight from one leg to another, remember?" Suguru shouts while smoothly gliding past the red-head, who after an hour of skating, was still somehow struggling.
Narrowing her eyes at him, Asami's unsure if he was making fun of her or not. Either way, it doesn't stop her from childishly mimicking him, "You just gotta keep your knees bent and shift your weight from one leg to another, remember? How 'bout you just shut up," she quietly huffs to herself.
"Woah! Look at him!" a kid with a lisp, sitting on the bleachers outside the rink, points at the spinning figure in the air.
From there, a whole bunch of "Oohs," and "Ahhs," follow. Pulling out their video cameras, the crowd of spectators watch the figure skater in complete awe.
Clenching her jaw in resentment, Asami rolls her eyes when she sees her boyfriend perform a triple axle with ease, "Show off," she mutters, bitter at the fact that she was still stuck holding onto a stupid wall, while he was putting on the show of a lifetime.
Frustrated with her inability to skate, Asami decides that she's had enough of today, having fallen on her knees over a hundred times. Luckily already near the exit of the rink, the redhead grumpily steps out, not bothering to inform her friends.
'Tch, as if they're even thinking of me,' she scoffs, quickly unlacing her skates. Changing into her shoes, Asami smiles when she feels the firmness of the ground below her, happy to be back in her own element.
Returning her skates, Asami makes her way towards the bleachers, realizing that perhaps she was better off watching. Propping her chin in the palm of her right hand, Asami stares at the ice rink with a dejected look in her eyes, her anger slowly beginning to turn into a feeling of failure.
That is until….
"There you are!"
Turning her head, Asami quietly sighs to herself when she sees the star of today's figure skating show, not exactly in the mood to deal with her boyfriend's teasing behavior, "Here I am," she feigns a cheerful tone, forcing herself to smile.
"Where are your ice skates?" Satoru asks, genuinely confused as to why she was sitting down all by herself, "Don't tell me you're done already?"
Asami shrugs, "I just didn't feel like ice skating anymore, that's all. It's not like I'm any good," she says in a self-deprecating manner, recalling the number of times she's fallen today.
Sensing her misery, Satoru frowns, "Asami—"
"What about you?" she interrupts him before he can even attempt to comfort her, "You seemed like you were having the time of your life out there, so what are you doing here? Got tired of showing off?" she sneers, trying to play her question off as a joke despite knowing that deep down, she was being completely serious.
Taken back by her comment, Satoru's eyebrows knit together, "What are you talking about?"
Rolling her eyes, Asami crosses her arms like a brat, "You and all your little spins. I mean seriously, we get it, you're the star of the show," she mocks him, giving him an unwarranted attitude.
She was being childish and she knew it, but she just couldn't help it. How is it that she was the one with years of acrobatic experience, and yet for some reason, she couldn't get the act of ice skating down? In her eyes, she had every right to be resentful!
Sighing, Satoru knows not to take her words to the heart, recognizing that she was simply being bitter, "Babe—"
"E-Excuse me," a timid voice interrupts.
Turning to the source of the voice, Satoru blinks in surprise when he sees a young boy with a notepad in his hand. Beside him, stood his mother, who softly nudged at him while whispering, "Go ahead, ask him," into his ear.
Gulping, the shy boy nods, "D-Do you think you can sign this for me?" he asks with shaking hands.
As a result, a flustered blush appears on Satoru's cheeks, "Oh, I'm not—"
"He'd love to," Asami suddenly cuts in, grabbing the notepad and pen from the young boy's hands before handing it off to Satoru.
"Right," Satoru fakes a smile, removing the cap of the pen, "Um, what's your name?"
"Yuudai!" the young boy gives Satoru a toothy grin, "B-By the way, I-I really liked the double jump you performed! I-it was really cool! H-How long did it t-take for you to learn that?" he asks, slowly beginning to feel comfortable.
'Couple of seconds really….' Satoru thinks to himself, nervously scratching his head as he tries to think of a lie.
"Uhh, years of practice," is all he says, "But um …. I'm sure a kid like you will get it down in no time," he awkwardly adds, assuming that the kid was a skater himself.
As a result, a giggle escapes from Yuudai's lips, "Oh, I-I don't skate, I wish I could though."
Satoru raises a brow, "What do you mean?"
"I suck at k-keeping my b-balance" he sheepishly laughs, "Isn't that right mom?"
Yuudai's mother nods, placing a comforting hand on her son's shoulder.
"I-it's fine, either way, I u-usually just like to watch." the young boy admits, "And w-when I do get on the ice, luckily I have the little s-seals I can hold onto, s-so I don't feel too left out."
"Seals?" Satoru tilts his head in curiosity.
Nodding, Yuudai points at something across the ice rink, a smile immediately appearing on Satoru's face when he sees exactly what it is. Excitedly turning around to tell Asami, the infinity user frowns when he sees that she's no longer sitting next to him, having left mid-conversation.
"Well I should get going," Satoru hands the notepad back to the boy, "It was nice meeting you."
"No, t-thank you!" Yuudai exclaims, politely bowing before waving goodbye, ready to rave to his mother about all of the figure skating moves he'd seen today.
Getting up from the bleachers, Satoru carefully scans the ice skating rink in hopes of spotting Asami, quickly climbing down when he does.
Luckily, she hadn't gone too far, choosing to stand near the edge of the rink and mope around by herself. By now, any bitterness she felt towards Satoru was long gone, as she had come to realize that it was unfair of her to make him her punching bag. Besides, it was hard to be spiteful towards him when his talents were putting smiles on little kids' faces.
Exhaling deeply, Asami watches Suguru and Shoko happily skate with one another, nothing but giant grins on their faces as they attempt to spin on ice. Consumed with a sense of longing, Asami decides to head outside, seeing that she was only making herself more miserable by watching. Tucking her hands into the pockets of her sweater, the young girl takes one last look at the rink, coming to accept that, perhaps, ice skating just wasn't meant for her….
"And where do you think you're going?" Satoru's voice stops Asami dead in her tracks.
Turning around, Asami musters up a tiny smile when she sees him and the look of enthusiasm on his face, "Oh, there you are," she says, quickly getting to apologizing, "Look I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I was taking my frustrations out on you and well …. that was wrong of me," she sheepishly admits.
Shaking his head, Satoru gives Asami a reassuring smile, "It's fine. I completely understand where you were coming from. I know if I were in your position, I'd probably feel the same. Fact is, not everyone can be as great as the Gojo Satoru," he playfully winks at her, resulting in her making a funny face.
Choosing to ignore him just this once, Asami childishly pouts before stomping over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and hugging onto him like a sloth that was desperate for comfort.
Softly chuckling to himself, Satoru quickly returns the hug, "Aw, don't be sad Asami," he attempts to comfort her by gently patting her head.
"How can I not be? It was my idea to come here and yet, I'm the one who keeps falling every ten seconds!" she complains, letting out a frustrated groan as she buries her head into his chest.
"Well….." a smirk soon appears on Satoru's face, "What if I told you there was a way I could get you on the ice and skating …. without falling every ten seconds."
Looking up from his chest, Asami seems visibly confused at his words, "What do you mean?"
"Let's just say I had an interesting conversation with that little boy…."
30 Minutes Later.
"THIS IS SO FUN!" Asami grins, tightly holding onto her children's ice skating aid as she prepares to do a spin on the ice.
The skating aids, which were in the shape of a blue seal, were usually marketed towards five year olds, but for people like Asami, that simply didn't matter. Was it embarrassing? A bit. Did she care? Not at all! It was definitely better than falling on her butt every minute.
Watching Asami push her little seal around, Satoru can't help but be endeared by the childlike behavior she was exhibiting. There was something about seeing the giant smile on her face that made him feel accomplished. It was almost like a confirmation that he was doing a good job as her boyfriend. For that reason, seeing her foolishly spin around on the ice felt ... rewarding.
"Satoru, it's your turn to push me!" Asami yells from where she stands, quickly making her way to the lower end of the seal. Luckily, the seals came with the option of sitting on them, so long as you had someone else to push you, something Asami had no qualms in forcing her friends to do.
Gliding his way over to her, Satoru grips onto the handles of the seal, "You sure are having fun with this, aren't you?" he laughs.
Asami vigorously nods her head in response, "This has to be the greatest invention of all—"
"Woohoo!" a kid, who had to be no older than ten, races past the couple with a seal of his own. In the rider seat was his younger brother, who also seemed to be having the time of his life.
Staring at the kids in wonder, Asami and Satoru slowly look up at each other, mischievous smiles immediately appearing on their faces, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Satoru asks.
Rubbing her hands together, Asami grins, "You bet I am!"
From afar, Suguru and Shoko simultaneously sigh when they hear the couple yell…..
"Hey kid …. LET'S RACE!"
2. Disneyland.
"In today's news, transit operators in the Kansai region have begun their roll out of the PiTaPa contactless fare card system. The cards can be used for nineteen train systems and eleven buses including the Osaka Municipal Subway and New Tram, the Keihan Electric Railway, and the Hankyu Railway. Usage of the card is—"
"BORINNNGGGG!" Satoru groans, throwing his head back as he changes the channel to the lounge TV.
"Satoru, obviously you're not going to find something that entertains you if you keep changing the channel every ten seconds," Asami sighs, currently sitting next to him on the couch while resting her head against his shoulder, feeling somewhat bored herself.
On the other couch, was Shoko, who was currently filing her nails out of boredom as well. And then there was Suguru, who was currently eating his favorite food, cold soba, while sitting on the floor, apathetic to whatever was going on around him. In other words, he was just as bored.
Perhaps that was the word of today: Boring.
It seemed that today was a slow day for the first-years of Jujutsu High. Due to the festive season, there were no curses for them to exorcise, as people were in constant high spirits. Of course, there was the occasional grief and sadness by those who'd lost loved ones throughout the year, but in the end, it wasn't enough to create that many curses. Not to mention, the four teens were still on their winter break, meaning that even if they wanted to take on a mission, they couldn't.
Aside from that, there wasn't a single "winter activity" left for them to do, as they had already gone ice-skating, made snowmen, had several snowball fights, decorated gingerbread houses, and were already beginning to feel like they had eaten at every single restaurant there was in Tokyo. In the end, they were slumped and out of ideas.
"So much for us having a fun-filled winter break," Satoru mutters to himself, knowing they were reaching the final couple days of their vacation, truly dreading the idea of going back to school.
"You didn't have fun this winter break?" Asami pouts, feeling as if she had the time of her life these past couple of days.
"I did, but," he sighs, suddenly getting up from the couch, "Look at us! We're doing absolutely nothing on a day where we should be doing something."
"Like what?" Suguru asks while slurping the final chunk of his noodles.
"I don't know," Satoru throws his arms in the air, "I just feel like we're missing something. Like we need to end this winter break with a bang, that's all."
"Hmmm…." Shoko and Suguru hum, trying to think of something they hadn't done yet.
Meanwhile, Asami uses the opportunity to grab the remote and change the channel herself, hoping that there was some kind of baking show she could watch. Smiling when she sees that there's one on, Asami patiently sits through the commercials while her friends continue to discuss what they could do today.
"We could go to the movies."
"That's the same thing as sitting here and watching TV."
"We could try and go skiing?"
"Tch, I'm not trying to go to another prefecture either."
"What about going to—"
"Ooh I love this commercial," Asami turns up the volume to the TV, humming along with an infamous tune…
"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you….."
Feeling the corners of his lips twitch up in excitement, Satoru immediately claps his hands together, "Asami, you're a genius!" he exclaims, confusing the red head.
"W-What? What'd I do?" she chuckles.
"I know exactly what we're going to do! I just can't believe I didn't think of this earlier," he grins, beginning to ramble on about how much fun they were going to have.
"Wait, where are we going? I'm so lost right now," she interrupts, genuinely clueless.
"DISNEYLAND TOKYO!" Satoru points at the TV, which was still playing the park advertisement.
"Disneyland?!" Asami feels her eyes pop out of their sockets, "Really?!"
"Yes, really!" he laughs at the bewildered look on her face.
"B-But how?" Asami furrows her eyebrows in disbelief, "When? Right now? With what money? Who's going to take us? I'm not even dressed nicely!" she motions at her sweats.
"Disneyland Tokyo? Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever been there. Not even as a kid," Suguru ponders to himself, trying to dig deep into his memories, "Eh, I'm down," he shrugs, having a reaction that was the complete opposite of Asami's.
Meanwhile Shoko continues to file at her nails, "I go wherever you three go so," she gives them a small smile, "Count me in."
"Wait! No one is answering my questions!" Asami frowns, crossing her arms like a child.
"Babe, you're acting like Disneyland is far from us," Satoru makes his way towards her, wrapping his arm around her as he explains their plans for the day, "It's just a single train away."
"But I'm not even dressed—"
"I think you're dressed amazingly," he playfully ruffles her hair, "But if you want, we'll wait for you to get ready. It's not like we're in a rush."
"Mmm," she hums, "Okay and what about the tickets? I don't have Disneyland kind of money and I'm not letting you pay for that—"
"Don't worry! We're not spending a single dime because I'm sneaking us in!"
"You're what?!" Asami yells, pushing his arm off of her.
"I'm sneaking us in," he repeats after himself, saying it as if it were the most logical thing in the world to do.
"Are you crazy? We can't do that! What if we get caught!" Asami places her hands at her hips, turning to her friends in the process, "Tell him he's crazy!"
Pursing their lips, Shoko and Suguru give each other an awkward glance, "Well…. We don't have Disneyland money either, but we want to go so….." one of them says, resulting in Asami rolling her eyes.
"I should've known," she mumbles to herself, as her friends were like three peas in a pod.
"Oh come on Asami! Don't be a buzzkill! All it takes is a little warp and we're inside!" Satoru says, "You know you want to go!"
Sighing, Asami's eyebrows curl in worry, "I don't know Satoru …."
"Think of all the pictures we can take and…." Satoru smirks, knowing exactly what he needed to say in order to convince her, "All of the Disney princesses you can meet," he whispers into her ear, as she had once mentioned that she had a secret soft spot for them, her favorites being Mulan, Ariel, and Belle.
Biting her lips in excitement, Asami quickly nods, "Okay fine!" she grins, "But you have to let me get ready!"
Giving her a thumbs up, Satoru smiles when he sees her squeal in excitement, their day of fun just getting started.
2 Hours Later.
"The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake. You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake. Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor. Such wonderful things surround you! What more is you lookin' for? Under the sea! Under the sea!"
"Tch, that shuttle sure likes to drive slow," Asami mutters to herself, stepping out of the tiny bus while applying some hand sanitizer.
"I still don't get why you couldn't warp us from the parking lot to the park," Shoko says to Satoru, currently tired from all of the walking they had to do earlier.
Satoru rolls his eyes, convinced that they were simply being dramatic, "Because, I didn't want to risk teleporting us to the wrong location, You know, I haven't mastered my technique yet so…"
"And whose fault is that, Mr. I like to take naps in the lounge rather than train?" Asami scoffs, shaking her head in dismay,
"How is it that we're in the happiest place on Earth and somehow you're still not happy?" Satoru quietly mumbles to himself.
"What was that?" she barks at him, giving him a deadly glare.
"Nothing, nothing," he fakes a grin, "Come on, let's just go inside already!" he says, leading his friends to a nearby tree, wanting to make sure they were out of public sight. Luckily, the theme park wasn't too full today, probably due to the extremely cold weather.
"Okay, are you guys ready?" he asks, making the hand symbol needed for the teleportation technique.
Grabbing onto random pieces of his shirt, Asami, Shoko, and Suguru nod, shutting their eyes as they prepare to vanish into thin air.
"One… two…."
POOF!
Softly landing on her feet, Asami smiles when she sees that her friends are standing only a couple of feet away from her, excitedly waving at them as she walks over to them.
"Hehehehe! I really am getting better at it!" Satoru grins, giving himself a pat on the back. Had this been a couple of months ago and the four teens would've probably been landing on the top of some rollercoaster.
"So this is Disneyland Tokyo huh?" Suguru casually observes the park, "Not bad," he says, smiling when he spots the Mickey Mouse mascot from afar, beginning to feel nostalgic. No wonder people called this the happiest place on Earth. It was an escape for both kids and adults.
"So what should we do first?" Shoko asks, choosing to follow her friends' lead, also known as Asami'.
Grabbing a nearby map from one of the stands, the red-head carefully studies it, "Hmmmmmmmmm," she purses her lips, "I say we first go buy our merch, then we go on some rides, eat, and finish the day off by taking pictures with some characters!"
Nodding, Satoru gives her a thumbs up, "Sounds good. Let's do this!"
And so the four teens head off into their adventure, buying several things such as Mickey ears, mugs, accessories, sweatshirts, and more. Though she claimed that she didn't have money for a ticket, it seemed that Asami had more than enough for her souvenirs. That's because when it came to shopping for materialistic things, her budget truly didn't exist.
"Aw, you look so cute!" Asami squeals, using her disposable camera to snap a photo of Satoru trying on his Goofy ears.
Sticking his tongue out, Satoru poses for the camera by giving a peace sign. Beside him, Suguru and Shoko try on their own pair of ears, the designs on each one managing to represent their personalities quite well.
Grinning from ear to ear, Asami puts on her own pair of Minnie ears, "Come on, let's all take a picture!" she says, quickly finding a cast member and asking them to take a photo.
Laughing at how silly they all look, all four teens give the camera a close-eyed smile. In the background, Randy Newton's, "You've Got a Friend in Me," plays through the park speakers.
From there, the first-years get in line for several rides including: Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. To make things more interesting, the four teens made a bet that whoever could pose with the funniest face when riding would win 9,000 yen. The winner was none other than …..
"Hehehehe, thank you very much, " Asami laughs, grabbing the bills from her three classmates, having made not only the funniest, but ugliest, faces known to mankind. What helped her was that she knew exactly where all of the cameras were placed on each ride, giving her time to prepare.
Stomachs now growling, the group of teens make their way inside a Western-style restaurant called, "Center Street Coffeehouse," which had a design based on the Art Deco style popular in the 1920s and '30s. Because it was western-themed, the four teens order themselves things such as burgers, pasta, soup, steak, and more. By the end of it all, they were all unbuttoning their pants, feeling as bloated as an air balloon.
"That was…." Asami tries to say something, but due to how full she was, she was now feeling queasy, thus making it hard for her to speak.
"...really good," she somehow manages to whisper out, beginning to regret ordering that final slice of cheesecake.
"Tell me about it," Satoru mumbles, for the first time in a while, feeling like he was going to vomit.
"Tch, it's a good thing we went on those rides before we ate," Suguru adds, thankful that Asami was in charge of things because knowing him and Satoru, they would've definitely chosen to eat before getting on any rides.
Sighing, Asami nods, "Well, there's only one last thing for us to do today, and that's just take pictures with the different attractions. I want to take pictures with the castle, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and the Disney princesses. I don't know if you guys wanna join me or…."
"Mm, I can do the first three, but I've never really been a Disney princesses' kind of guy," Suguru chuckles, having grown up watching things such as Spiderman, "Then again…." he begins to picture the lovely princesses, secretly having a thing for older women….
Recognizing the mischievous look on Suguru's face, Asami rolls her eyes, "You can flirt with them all you want, but it's against their contract to flirt back."
"Damn it," he snaps his fingers, "Well I guess I'll tag along for the castle and Mickey. What about you Shoko?" he turns to her, curious to know what she'd want to take pictures with.
"I think I'm just going to take a picture with the castle and call it a day. My feet are starting to kill me," she answers truthfully, feeling as if the soles of her feet were bleeding. Considering how much she's walked today, they probably were.
"And you Satoru?" Asami glances at her boyfriend, realizing he'd been silent for quite some time now, something which was unlike him.
Eyes narrowed, Satoru seemed to be focusing on something behind Asami, "Oh uh…." he tries to answer her question, but his attention remains on whatever he was staring at.
Turning around, the redhead tries to catch sight of whatever it is that has his attention, "Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just that…." he continues to squint his eyes, "I think that might be Masamichi-sensei….." the corners of his lips begin to twitch upward, recognizing the buff man's cursed energy. His smile grows even wider when he sees what ride the grumpy old man was standing in line for….
"Pooh's Hunny Hunt?!" Suguru immediately covers his mouth with a hand, having spotted their homeroom teacher.
Furrowing her brows, Asami gets on her tippy toes, unable to spot him, "Hm? Masamichi-sensei? No way would he ever come here …. Right?"
Wrong. Because soon enough, she spots him as well.
"Oh my God!" her mouth gapes open, "That really is him! MASAMICHI-SENSEI!" she waves her arms in the air, not caring for the stares she was receiving. Meanwhile, her friends burst out in laughter when they see the look on their sensei's face, the man having gone blue due to utter embarrassment.
"MASAMICHIIIIII-SENSEIIIII!" she continues to yell, aware that he was trying his best to ignore her.
"Just two weeks, that's all I asked for," Masamichi mutters to himself, slowly removing his Winnie the Pooh themed Mickey ears out of mere shame.
Giggling, Masamichi's fiance happily waves back at the teens, giving them a friendly smile, "You know you love them Yaga," she says, happy to see that they were enjoying their winter break to its fullest.
3. Spa Day.
"Okay, two of us will have to attack from the left, while the other will have to focus on our defense! Got it?" Satoru yells into the mic of his brand new headset, carefully staring at the screen in front of him as he tries to scout for enemies.
Suguru and Shoji's muffled voices could then be heard from the ear cushion, the teenage boys shouting, "Got it!"
Smirking, Satoru sticks his tongue out as he prepares to end this multiplayer game once and for all, knowing he had the highest-kill count, "User-BobbyBigPlays and teammates, you're mine," he mutters to himself, reloading his ammo as he prepares to go berzerk. That is until….
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
"Satoru, it's meeeee. Open up," Asami pounds on the door, causing him to slightly jump in surprise.
"What the hell was that?" Shoji asks, but before Satoru can give a response, Suguru, who was in his room next door, gives an answer for him.
"It's Asami. Can she be any louder?"
"Door's open!" Satoru shouts, not bothering to get up from his gaming chair.
Practically kicking down the door, Asami enters the room with several bags in her hands, carrying an aura that screams excitement, "Are you ready for our spa day?!" she grins, hopping on his bed before unloading her newly-bought skin care products.
"Oh, that was today…"
"Of course! Remember, we agreed on doing this every Wednesday evening since it's smack in the middle of the week, meaning we're deep cleaning one half and getting ready for the other!" she says, pulling out a 24k gold peeling mask, "Gah, our faces are going to look and feel so smooth by the end of today!" she gushes.
Feigning a chuckle, Satoru nods, "Mmhmm yup," he hums, vigorously pressing on the buttons of his controller, managing to get a kill despite the … distraction.
"Nice!" Shoji cheers.
"Okay, now focus on securing the base. Shoji and I will fin—"
"Look what else I bought!" Asami stands in front of Satoru's screen, showing off some fancy serum while completely blocking his view, "It's supposed to make our skin glow."
Patience running thin, Satoru stretches his neck out like a giraffe, trying his best to get around her, "Mmhm, that's great Asami. I'm so excited," he tries to mimic her excitement, utterly failing in doing so.
Noticing his lack of enthusiasm, Asami frowns, "Satoru, I'm only here because you said to come Wednesday at six. If I knew you were going to be too busy playing video games then I would've never canceled my nail appointment," she pouts, glancing down at her unkempt hands.
Quickly glancing at her, Satoru tries to be as sympathetic as he can be, something which she was making extremely hard to be right now, "Babe, I know, I know. Just let me finish this round okay? Then we can focus on our spa day. For now, just step aside and chill on my be—"
"But Satoru," Asami's pout soon becomes a scowl, "You said—"
Cutting her off, Satoru sighs in annoyance,"I know what I said Asami, I just didn't know the game was going to take this long—"
Refusing to get out the way, Asami glares at him,"Either way, you should've told me you—"
"Asami move—"
"No!"
YOU ARE DEAD.
"Great, we're dead!" Suguru scoffs.
"Thanks a lot Asami!" Shoji yells into the void, for Satoru's headset was now on the floor.
Getting up from his seat, Satoru towers over the petrified red-head, the darkness of the room causing an intense shadow to cast over him, "Asami, don't you see I'm busy?! Because of you, I just lost to User-BobbyBigPlays and his loser friends!"
"Because of me?!" Asami angrily looks up at him, attempting to stand her ground.
"Yes because of you," he stares at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You and your need to nag me," he seethes, letting his anger get the better of him.
And at his words, Asami feels her breath hitch in her throat, quickly masking her hurt with a glare, "So I nag you?"
"Right now, yes," he answers truthfully, knowing he wasn't thinking straight. Running a hand through his hair, Satoru exhales deeply, "Let's just do this spa thing some other day, okay?" he tries to speak in a gentle voice, but sadly, his annoyance still seeps through.
"Fine!" she huffs while bawling her fists, "But don't go complaining when I find someone else to do this with!" she warns him.
Rolling his eyes, Satoru makes a yapping motion with his hand,"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure Shoko would love to join you."
"Tch," Asami scoffs before slamming the door to his room, taking her expensive products with her.
Plopping onto his chair, Satoru picks up his headset, "Now, where were we?"
2 Hours Later.
"Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm."
Humming to himself, Satoru happily climbs down the stairs of the dorm building, having won each round of the games he played. Not only that, but he also led the scoreboard all throughout it, even breaking a couple of his own records. Overall, it was a good gaming day. Of course, minus the part where Asami made him lose.
Speaking of which, now that he had cooled down, he knew he was going to have to look for her and apologize. Hopefully, she had cooled down as well, as he really didn't want this to be blown out of proportion. Telling himself that things were going to be just fine, Satoru walks down the lounge hall, headed for the exit of the building.
'Knowing her, she's probably at some cafe right now. No, she's probably in the kitchen baking something. Or maybe she ended up going to her nail appointment after all. Oh look, she's right there in the lounge doing a face mask with Inumaki Iwao,' he calmly passes by the lounge, still humming to himself until seconds later…
"SHE'S RIGHT THERE IN THE LOUNGE DOING A FACE MASK WITH INUMAKI IWAO!" he plasters his face onto the glass, ready to break it like a bull who had just been angered.
Inumaki Iwao, like the members of his esteemed clan, was a quiet, well-mannered boy. Due to the fact that he couldn't say much, he was usually just … there. Not only that, but as a fourth year student, he was often out on missions, well on his way to becoming a grade-one sorcerer. But the worst part of it all was that Inumaki Iwao was not ugly. Not at all. If anything, his looks could probably compare to that of Satouru's. He was just that … pretty.
All in all, Iwao was every girl's dream….. A cute boy who knew how to keep his mouth shut.
"Tch, it's always the quiet ones," Satoru mutters to himself.
"So this collagen mask is supposed to promote firm, elastic, plump skin. This plus the cleansing serum we used is going to leave our skin feeling amazing!" he hears Asami explain to Iwao, truly at a loss for words.
Unable to listen any longer, Satoru angrily bursts into the lounge, dramatically acting as if he had caught her cheating, "And what's going on here?!"
Making sure to keep her face stiff and still, Asami slowly turns to her boyfriend, "What does it look like we're doing?"
"Well… it looks like you're doing a face mask with another man!" he shouts, causing Asami to burst out in laughter.
"Okay …. I didn't realize it was the end of the world," she scoffs, removing her face mask in annoyance.
"Yeah well it is!"
"And why is that Satoru?"
"Because…." he pouts, pointing at the skin care products that were scattered across the table, "That's our thing," he mewls.
"It was our thing," Asami corrects him, "I told you I was going to find someone else to do this with, but you just shrugged me off," she huffs, pretending to look at her nails.
"Yeah because I assumed…." he stubbornly crosses his arms, embarrassed to say what he was thinking, 'I assumed you meant a female-friend. Not Mr. Fantasy Man.'
"Assumed what?"
"Nothing, forget it," he mumbles, "Anyways, I never said I didn't want to have our spa day. I only told you I was busy," he tries to turn the argument on her, knowing very well that he was the one at fault for all of this.
"No, no, no," she glares at him, "You said, and I quote, Asami, don't you see I'm busy, Because of you, I just lost to User-BobbyBigPlays! You then went on to say that I have a need to nag you and that we should have our spa thing some other day," she sassily crosses her arms, "Come on Iwao-san, let's go do this somewhere else," she motions at him to stand up, ready to head towards the door. That is until….
"You two aren't going anywhere! Not without me at least!" Satoru quickly blocks the door, truly unashamed of himself.
Placing her hands on her hips, Asami shakes her head, "Satoru, I warned you that I was going to get someone else to do this with me! You chose not to believe me and now you're reaping what you sowed! Boo hoo!" she attempts to push past him, but for the first time in a very long time, Satoru turns on his infinity for her.
"Tch," she scowls, "Turn it off Satoru."
"Nope," he pretends not to see her by turning his head away.
Realizing there was no use in trying, Asami smirks, "Fine. You can just watch us try the honey clay mask you like so much," she shrugs while turning and heading back to the couch.
"You wouldn't!" he gasps, ready to destroy all the products on her table. The only thing that was stopping him was that he knew it'd only piss her off even more.
"But I would," she mocks him by making a puppy-dog face.
"Asamiiiii," he throws his leg down like a child, "This isn't fair!"
"How is it not? You were the one who wanted to play your video games so badly! It's not my fault you're regretting it now."
"Because this is our thing," he repeats his reasoning from earlier, "Not yours and Iwao's. Satoru and Asami's! Me plus you," he dramatically motions at himself and Asami.
Unable to hide her smile, Asami knows she's won, "Fine, then say it."
Gulping, Satoru frowns, "Say what?"
Squinting at him, Asami opens the tube of clay, "Don't act dense Satoru," she hums.
Bawling his right fist, Satoru internally curses at himself, "Fine! I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I chose my video game over you, and I'm sorry that I said that you have a need to nag me. I was mad over losing my game, and I took it out on you. It will not happen again, I promise. There, are you happy?"
"Ecstatic," she laughs, pulling out a 5,000 yen note from her pocket before swiftly handing it to Iwao.
"Thank you," she smiles at him, "You may leave now, and don't forget to wash the mask off after twenty minutes."
Nodding, the black-haired boy gives her a silent thumbs up, saluting to a confused Satoru on his way out.
"Wait ….. what?" Satoru scrunches his nose, still trying to process what he had seen.
Pretending to pat dust off her shoulders, Asami grins, "And that my love, is how you get someone like you to apologize to someone like me."
"So you're saying that was all set up by you?"
Nodding, Asami plops herself onto the couch, truly proud of herself, "Yup."
"B-but—"
"B-B-But nothing!" she mocks him, "You were being a grade-A asshole earlier, and I decided that you needed to learn your lesson. It's just that simple."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to go pretending to throw yourself at some boy! A good-looking one at that! In my book, that counts as cheating!" he pouts, still hurt at the image of seeing her with another guy.
Rolling her eyes, Asami can't help but giggle at her boyfriend's childish behavior, "Yeah well that good-looking boy is more into you, than he is into me, if you know what I mean."
Confused by her words, Satoru stares at her with a dumbfounded look, "What?"
Shaking her head, Asami finds another way to say it, "He plays for the other team….you know…."
"Plays for the other team…." he begins to think long and hard, until soon enough the word, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh," comes out of his mouth, everything beginning to make sense.
"Yeah," she chuckles, "Serves you right."
No longer seeing red, Satoru takes a seat next to her, mentally drained, "You're a very evil person, you know that right?"
"Mm, I know. I've learned from the best," she puckers her lips, smiling when she receives a kiss from him as that meant he wasn't too mad at her.
"You're lucky that you're hot," he teases her, smirking when he sees her wink at him.
"So I've been told," she grabs her products off the table, "Now come on, it's time for us to have our official spa day!"
4. Karaoke Night (Part 2).
(A/N: This was supposed to be lighthearted and fun, but it ended up being a mixture of fluff, crack, and angst. To the point where this could've probably been a stand-alone chapter lol. But considering the major angst that's coming in later chapters (very very soon), let's just enjoy these moments while they last!)
4:00PM
"If I was a rich girl, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, see, I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy giiiirl!"
Waving her finger around, Asami dramatically sings "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani. Luckily, the karaoke rental was expiring soon, meaning this was going to be the last song of the day.
Grinning as he watches her dance, Satoru, like the supportive boyfriend he is, claps at the pattern of the beat. Luckily, by now, he was accustomed to her god-awful singing. Not to mention, this song came with a special little dance just for him, so who was he to complain?
Playfully swaying her hips side to side, Asami drags Shoko up from her seat, forcing her to rap Eve's part in the song. Meanwhile, Suguru scoots towards his best friend, whispering, "At this rate we're going to have to buy ear plugs if we want to keep our hearing intact."
Rolling his eyes, Satoru makes a dismissive motion with his hand, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys just love being dramatic. I mean, seriously, you guys act like she's the worst singer in the—"
"Cause I'd have all the money in the world, IF I WAS WEALTHY GIII-II–IRL!" Asami screeches the final line of the song, nowhere near hitting the note of it.
"...world," Satoru gulps, scowling when he sees the knowing look on Suguru's face.
"That was so fun!" Asami excitedly claps her hands together, "Should we get another hour?"
"N-No!" the three teens practically yell at the same time.
Attempting to save face, Satoru adds, "Asami, we have to study for finals later, remember?"
"Ah, you're right," the red head frowns, oblivious to the real reason behind her friends' insistence, "Okay then, let me just go and return the mics then. I'll be right back!" she says, from there, exiting the room.
Sighing in relief, the three teens comically wipe the sweat off their foreheads, "Disaster averted," they whisper to themselves.
"Satoru, when do you plan on telling her that her singing isn't exactly um …. Broadway worthy?" Shoko asks.
Scoffing, Satoru glares at his friends, "I don't get it. Why do I have to be the one to tell her? You guys are more than welcome to give her your opinions."
"Because you're her boyfriend, meaning it's your responsibility to do that," Shoko and Suguru both point their fingers at him.
"Yeah, and you guys are her closest friends, meaning you guys have the same responsibility," he retorts, crossing his arms in annoyance.
"Tch, at least we're not lying to her," Suguru mutters.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Suguru mockingly laughs at him, "Look, I get that you're trying to spare her feelings, but lying to her and putting her singing on some kind of pedestal isn't any better," he says with underlying righteousness.
"Oh please, as if sitting there and saying nothing makes you guilt-free," he counters back, "If anything, you're just as bad as me. Besides, you guys are acting like my compliments are going to make her professionally pursue singing or something!"
Exhaling deeply, Shoko pinches the bridge of her nose, "We're just trying to prevent this from biting you in the ass, that's all."
"Blah blah blah. Since when has a little white lie gotten anyone into—"
"You guys!" Asami suddenly bursts into the karaoke room, holding some kind of poster in her hand, "Look at what the front-desk employee gave me!"
Raising their eyebrows in curiosity, the three teens quickly take a look at the poster, eyes widening when they read the contents of it out loud, "Join us tonight for an all-out karaoke competition! Prizes include a 10,000¥ gift card to any Matsuya Chain Restaurant, free karaoke rooms for three months, and 50,000¥ in cash!"
"Sooooo," Asami excitedly grins, "What do you guys say?"
"Oh well um…." Shoko, Suguru, and Satoru all nervously glance at each other, "We don't—"
"Come on, it'll be fun!" she says, trying her best to convince them, "Think of the prizes we could win! Besides, I already signed Satoru and I up for it!"
"Y-YOU WHAT?!" Satoru feels his eyes pop out of their sockets.
"Yeah!" Asami laughs, confused as to why he was acting so surprised, "I mean you're always telling me how much of a great singer I am, and well …. I thought, why not? And since you're an amazing singer yourself, if we perform a duet then there's no way we'll lose, don't you think?"
"Y-yeah but—But we have finals to study for, remember?" Satoru feigns a chuckle, desperately trying to talk his way out of this.
"Yeah, finals that are like….." she places a finger to her chin, trying to do the mental math, "...seven weeks from now!"
"I know, but—"
"But nothing!" Asami furrows her eyebrows, beginning to get irritated with her boyfriend's lack of enthusiasm, "You're the one always telling me to relax and not worry so much about studying, so I'm doing just that!"
"Okay, I get that…." he bites his lip, staring at his friends in a way that said, "Help me!"
Instead, they just mouth, "Tell her the truth!" causing him to simply scowl at them.
"But a 50,000 yen prize is nothing!" he throws his arms in the air, aware that he was grasping at straws.
"Tch, maybe to you, mister I just inherited my ancient clan's fortune," she mocks him, "But for people like me, who are stuck receiving the school's lousy 5,000 yen allowance, it's a lot of money!"
"Money I can easily give you babe," he pouts, deciding to go down the bribery route, unaware that his offer would only offend her.
"I don't need your handouts," she glares at him, "You know what? Fine! I'll just do the competition by myself! Since clearly you don't—"
"So, what song are we singing?"
"Hm?" Asami raises a brow, genuinely surprised at Satoru's sudden change in attitude.
"I said, what song are we singing?" he silently gulps, "I can personally see us singing—"
"Satoru, if you don't want to then it's fine. I don't want to force you—"
"But I do!" he quickly reassures her, "I just had my doubts, that's all. I've never sung in front of a crowd before, so can you really blame me?"
Narrowing her eyes at him in suspicion, Asami looks for any signs of lying, "Are you sure?" she asks with clear skepticism in her voice.
"One hundred percent," he nods, realizing that the only option he had left in this situation was to join her. At least then, he would be able to mitigate her embarrassment.
"Mmmm," Asami hums, still unconvinced.
Grabbing her hands, Satoru tightly squeezes them, "I promise you, I want to do this," he says, knowing that he was lying through his teeth.
With her frown slowly turning into a smile, Asami is unable to hide her excitement, "GAH! We're gonna have so much fun!" she squeals, giving him a quick kiss to the cheek before tugging at his hand and leading him out the karaoke room.
"Mhmmhmm, so much fun…." Satoru repeats after her, unaware of just how much trouble he was in.
2 Hours Later.
"No."
"Come on!" Satoru whines, having spent the last half hour trying to convince Utahime to help him out.
"I'm not doing it Gojou," the sorceress who was known for her singing voice continues to ignore him, not wanting to play any part in his schemes.
"You don't even know what I want!" he frowns, genuinely confused as to why she was being so difficult. Then again, he was forgetting that he was a constant nuisance to her, always reminding her that she was weak. That's because in his eyes, he considered his "teasing" behavior to be harmless, not exactly considering the feelings of others when doing so. Hell, even before mentioning that he needed a favor, he still felt the need to throw in a jab at her current grade-three ranking, something which was considered sub-par for a third-year.
"I'm sure that whatever it is, you can find someone else to do it!" she scowls, ready to slam her bedroom door in his face.
"You guys," Satoru turns to his friends, who were standing behind him and quietly watching everything unfold, "Tell her she's the only one who can help us!"
"Mm not us, you," Shoko corrects him, wanting to make sure that he understood that this was on him.
"Okay me," Satoru mutters before motioning at her to help him, as luckily, Shoko was close friends with the girl.
Pushing Satoru aside, Shoko decides to explain the situation for him, "Look, the loser has gotten himself into a tough situation with Asami. Because he refused to tell her that her singing sucks, she's now signed herself up for a karaoke competition. Satoru here, wants you to ..."
"Lip-sync for her?"
The first-years nod all at once.
Lowering her gaze, Utahime's attitude seems to do a complete one-eighty spin, "I don't know…." she sighs. On one hand, she would love to see Gojou get in trouble with Asami, considering it to be poetic justice. On the other hand, she was quite close with Asami, meaning she definitely didn't want to see her make a fool out of herself.
"Hey, either way, you still owe me for the whole dog on a leash thing," Satoru reminds her, side-eyeing Shoko in the process.
As a result, the purple-haired girl blushes in embarrassment, "That was a misunderstanding!" she tries to defend herself, knowing there was no use.
"Tell you what Utahime—"
"It's Iori-san," she growls.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you do this for me, I'll consider not getting revenge out on you," he smirks.
"Consider?!"
"Hey, it's better than me getting definite revenge on you, I'll tell you that much. Especially because I was planning on getting some fly heads to—"
"I'll do it," she huffs, raising her hands in surrender, "Either way, I've heard Asami sing before and well….." she grimaces, recalling the times they've gone to karaoke rooms, "I'm not going to let her sing like that in front of a crowd of people."
Grinning, Satoru claps his hands together, "GREAT! Who knew a cursed technique as weak as yours would come in handy one day!"
"RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!"
3 Hours Later.
9:00PM
"Oooh we're almost up," Asami looks behind the red curtain, smiling when she spots a certain someone in the crowd, "Look, even Masamichi-sensei came!"
"You invited Masamichi?!" Satoru, who was currently doing something with the mics, turns around in shock, wanting to take a look for himself. Luckily, the crowd was no more than fifty to sixty people, meaning it wasn't too hard to spot him. Not only that, but, who else was over six feet and buff as a bodybuilder?
"Yeah, why not! He said he and his fiance were looking for somewhere to go for their date night, and well …. I told them to come here!" she says, causing Satoru to internally panic.
'What's up with her wanting to make my life ten times harder?!' he thinks to himself, trying his best to remain calm.
Managing to keep a straight face, he instead says, "Ah, I see. Well uhhh … I gotta go take a leak, so I'll be right back!"
Shrugging in response, Asami begins to warm up her vocals, completely unaware of the plan that was being set into motion behind the scenes.
Running to the other side of the stage, Satoru awkwardly positions himself in front of some stage equipment, quietly hissing, "Psst, Utahime. It's me, Satoru."
Slowly peeking up from her crouched position, the purple-haired sorceress scowls, "What do you want?"
"Here, I have your mic," he whispers, handing her the wireless item, "We're up next."
"That quick? Are you sure you have everything ready?"
Satoru nods, "I have Suguru using a fly head to mess with the mic feeds, I have you hiding over here, Shoko has the transmitter belts for both microphones, and I have…." he pulls something out of his pocket, "This."
In his hand, were two pink in ear-monitors, normally used by professional singers in order to help them maintain their pitch. Not only that, but due to the transmitter's advanced technology, any loud noises around the singer were automatically muted, meaning the only thing they could hear through the ear-monitors would be their own voice.
By having Asami wear the in-ear monitors, she'd only be hearing her own voice while still holding onto the illusion that she was the one singing to the crowd. In reality, Utahime's mic would be the one getting transmitted through the speakers, whereas Asami's mic would be muted. In the end, it was perfect!
Skeptically staring at the ear monitors, Utahime sighs while shaking her head, "You better pray that everything goes as planned."
"It is, I'm sure of it," he says, choosing to ignore the bubbling feeling in his stomach, "Now just get into position and—"
"Satoru, where are you? We're almost up!" the sound of Asami's voice causes the two to panic.
"Go hide!" Satoru harshly whispers, practically shoving her behind the stage equipment.
Glaring at him, Utahime pushes his hand off, "I can't hide there. I have to stand behind the curtain, or else I won't be able to see her lip movement," she hisses.
Knowing he had no choice but to agree, Satoru frantically nods his head, "Fine, just go," he motions at her to move, sensing that Asami was extremely near.
Doing as told, Utahime quickly wraps herself around an extra piece of curtain, thankful that it reached the floor as it meant that she didn't have to put effort into hiding her feet.
"There you are!" Asami appears out of nowhere, "I thought you said that all you needed to do was take a l—" she suddenly stops mid-way through her sentence. Tilting her head in confusion, Asami seemingly squints at something behind Satoru, slowly walking towards him as she tries to fine-tune her senses.
Meanwhile, Satoru purposely amplifies his cursed energy in order to hide Utahime's. Luckily, the purple-haired sorceress didn't have a strong energy presence to begin with, so it wasn't like it was a difficult task. The real hard part was getting Asami, the girl who was trained to sense any and all cursed energy, to ignore the sudden amplification.
"Is something wrong?" Satoru secretly gulps, feeling as if his heart was working double-time. With Asami failing to respond, Satoru closes his eyes as he waits to hear the sound of a curtain opening. Instead, all he hears is the sound of her faint laughter.
"And I thought I was nervous," she chuckles, gently pressing her ear against his chest as she listens to his heartbeat, "Satoru, if you're feeling uncomfortable with all of this, you can always withdraw from the competition. I promise you, I won't be mad," she says, gently squeezing his bicep as a way to comfort him.
"No, it's not that…." he quickly dismisses her idea, taking a deep breath in as he tries to think of something to say. He knew that this was his one final chance to come clean. His chance to be completely honest. It was what she deserved. Especially because this whole situation was rooted in him not being honest right from the jump.
But then he sees her smile.
Her warm, heartfelt smile.
A smile that he knew would only grow wider if she won this stupid competition.
"...I'm just really excited to kick everyone's asses," he plasters his infamous grin onto his face, giving her two thumbs up.
Clapping her hands in excitement, Asami tugs at his sleeve, ready to lead them to the stage, "Come on, let's go!"
"Wait! I um …. I forgot to give you these," he stops her from going any further, revealing the in-ear monitors.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Asami grabs one of the ear pieces from his hand and stares at it in wonder, "What are these for?"
"This is so you can hear yourself over the music," he explains, "It'll also help you maintain your pitch."
"Ah, I see….so where are yours?" she asks out of genuine curiosity.
Having expected the question, Satoru quickly gives a response, "If I wear them, I'll only go into sensory overload," he points at his sunglasses, "I can only block so much."
Making an "Ooh" face, Asami is quick to accept his explanation, placing the ear pieces on and adjusting them to her liking, "Okay, let's do this!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, here are the next competitors for our competition, please welcome…." the announcer takes a quick glance at his cue card, "...Okada Asami and Gojou Satoru!"
Walking towards the center stage, Asami politely bows to the clapping audience, nudging at Satoru as she forces him to bow along with her. In the process, the two manage to spot Suguru and Shoko, who were now seated in the front row after pulling several strings backstage.
Quickly waving at them, Asami smiles when she sees them give her a thumbs up, unaware that it was the signal to say that everything was in place. She also fails to notice the nervous looks on their faces. Satoru, on the other hand, immediately does. He then makes a motion with his hand, signaling to them to turn around.
Knitting their eyebrows in confusion, Shoko and Suguru do as told, eyes widening when they spot their beloved Masamichi-sensei. Facepalming themselves, the two exchange nervous glances with each other, knowing there wasn't much they could do except pray that Masamichi wouldn't recognize the voice he was about to hear.
"So, what song will you two be singing tonight?" the announcer asks, pointing his mic towards the couple.
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee," Asami excitedly announces.
Laughing at her enthusiasm, the announcer nods, "Okay then, let's get this show on the road. Hit it!" he says, the instrumental of the song immediately playing.
Taking a final deep breath in, Satoru tells himself that everything was going to end up just fine while singing the opening line to the song, "Don't go breaking my heart!"
"I couldn't if I tried!" Utahime's voice comes blasting out from the speakers, perfectly in sync with Asami's lip movement.
Smiling in relief, Satoru glances at the audience, who seemed to fully believe that the voice coming out of the speakers was Asami's. In fact, everyone seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the performance. Everyone except….
"Wow, they're amazing!" Masamichi's fiance watches the performance in awe, turning to her future husband in hopes of seeing a lively reaction. Instead, what she sees is his grumpy old scowl.
Sighing, she crosses her arms, "What now, Yaga?" she asks, clearly annoyed.
Remaining silent, Masamichi closes his eyes, choosing to focus on the voices, rather than the faces, "That's….." he opens his eyes, having come to a conclusion, "... not Asami's voice," he says, his scowl only deepening.
Scrunching her nose in confusion, Masamichi's fiance frowns, "What are you talking about?"
"I've heard Asami sing before, and unless she's taken vocal lessons in the past few weeks, which I really doubt she has, then trust me, she sounds nothing like that," he explains.
"Yaga, I think you need to give Asami more cr—"
"Sana, listen to her voice and tell me that's not Iori Utahime singing."
With the use of her full name, Masamichi's fiance ultimately decides to take a better listen, seeing that he wasn't going to budge on his insane theory, "Fine…." she closes her eyes, taking a moment to analyze the voices herself.
Soon, a gasp could be heard escaping from her lips, "No…."
"Tch," Masamichi clenches his jaw, ready to get up and confront his students.
"Yaga, sit down," Sana hisses at him, "Deal with them later, not now! Not in front of everyone!"
"Why shouldn't I? It's a fitting punishment for a stunt like this," he says, ready to inform the owner of the karaoke bar about what his students were doing, "Honestly, I could expect something like this from Satoru, but Asa—"
But before Masamichi could even bother finishing his sentence, something above the stage catches his attention, "Is that a…." he squints his eyes, "...fly head?"
And it seems that he wasn't the only one that noticed the hovering creature…..
Looking up, Asami furrows her eyebrows when she sees the grotesque creature that was hovering over the stage, trying her best to ignore it.
"Woohoo, nobody knows it…."
Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.
The fly-head begins to flutter towards her, annoying her to no end. Making a swatting motion with her hand, Asami pretends that she's trying to push a mosquito away, noticing the odd looks she was receiving from the crowd. What she didn't realize was that people weren't looking at her for the motions she was making, but the sounds that were coming out of her mouth. That's because behind the scenes, Utahime was trying her best to remain in sync with Asami, faking the shaky vocals that came along with the movements she was making.
Meanwhile, Satoru turns his attention to his friends, giving them a look that says, "What the hell is going on?"
But by then, it was too late….
Almost like a chain reaction, every worst-case scenario began to occur one by one, unraveling a lie that was never meant to go this far.
With one final movement of the arm, Asami manages to strike the fly-head, unaware that by exorcising it, she'd only cause the mic feeds to go haywire. Wincing in pain, a loud screeching noise pierces into her ear, causing her to immediately rip the ear monitors off. Feeling as if she'd been hit with a flashbang, she then grabs onto the curtain in an attempt to keep her balance, but sadly, the throbbing pain in her ear was making it hard to do so. As a result, she accidently tugs on the flimsy piece of fabric, her sheer strength causing it to come flying down.
From there, what follows is nothing but complete silence….
"Gah, I'm such an idiot," Asami quietly mumbles to herself. In the process of tugging at the curtain, she herself had also fallen to the ground.
Quickly getting up, the red head pats the dust off her knees before looking up at the audience, nervously laughing as she prepares to apologize for the whole mess.
"I'm so—" Asami furrows her eyebrows, confused as to why everyone was so … quiet.
Not only that, but why did it look like they were focused on something behind her….
Hesitantly turning around, a shaky smile slowly forms on Asami's lips, "U-Utahime?" she faintly chuckles, desperately wanting to ignore the heavy feeling in her stomach. But how could she do that, when there was a mic in Utahime's hand and a look of guilt on her face.
"W-What are you—" Asami gulps, unable to get her mouth to work as everything slowly begins to click for her.
The mics…
The ear-pieces…
The fly-head…
The nerves…
Absolutely everything.
Closing her eyes, Asami tries to repress the forming tears in her eyes, instead choosing to clench her jaw. Veins protruding, she tightens the grip she has on her mic before slowly walking towards the purple-haired sorceress.
She needed confirmation. She needed proof.
"A-Asami I only did what I was t—"
"Utahime, I know," she softly hums, surprised by the hoarseness in her voice, "May I please see the mic in your hand?"
Doing as told, Utahime hands Asami the mic, her gaze fixated on the ground as she whispers a faint, "I'm sorry."
Taking a deep breath in, Asami slowly taps onto the grill of her mic, not exactly surprised when she fails to hear anything come out of the speakers. She then taps on Utahime's mic….
TAP! TAP!
The sound echoes across the room.
Biting her lower lip, Asami shakes her head before turning to the mastermind behind all this.
"W-Why? Just why Satoru?" her voice is filled with nothing but disbelief. That's because at the end of the day, she wasn't angry, she was hurt.
Anger was simply the way she expressed that hurt.
"Asami, you have to understand—"
"Understand what? That you had her singing the whole time? That you lied to me?"
"It wasn't supposed to go this far," he says, and to that, she laughs.
"I'm sure it wasn't," she scoffs, trying to overcome the shakiness of her voice.
"Asami, we just didn't want you to get your—"
"We?" her eyes widen, the young girl coming to a sudden realization.
'Utahime hates Satoru…. She hates him so much that never in a million years would she agree to doing something like this. At least not with a plea from him. The only way Utahime would ever agree to doing something like this would be if….."
Asami turns to Shoko and Suguru with widened eyes, "You guys knew, didn't you?"
"Asami—"
"You knew, and yet, you didn't say anything. Instead, you chose to help him in this stupid, idiotic plan of his," she bitterly laughs, feeling as if she was on some kind of prank show. No, not feeling, wanting to be on some kind of prank show.
She was ready for Ashton Kutcher to come out and tell her that she'd been punk'd, and that everyone in the crowd were just paid actors. That there was no way her friends would ever go this far for some stupid lie. Especially because the last thing they'd ever want to do is embarrass her like this …. right?
Wrong.
Catching a glimpse of the audience, reality slowly begins to set in for Asami.
She was standing in front of a crowd, having been exposed for lip-syncing. Lip-syncing that she wasn't even aware of to begin with. She'd been deceived by not only her boyfriend, but her friends as well. She'd been lied to and made a fool out of, not by the people standing in front of her, but the ones who she considered to be closest to her.
The world was a big place. That she knew. But in this moment, it felt small….
It felt small and suffocating.
Feeling her lower lip tremble, Asami quickly runs off the stage, ignoring the voices that were calling after her.
"Damn it," Satoru mutters to himself, ready to chase after her until….
"And where do you think you're going?" Masamichi asks with gritted teeth, causing Satoru to halt dead in his tracks.
Turning around, the teenage boy gulps when he sees his sensei holding Shoko and Suguru by their collars, realizing he was in big trouble, "Uh oh…."
20 Minutes Later.
"God, I'm so stupid!" Asami throws the pebble in her hand, currently sitting on the staircase of a nearby park, having ran to wherever her feet could take her, "So, so, so STUPID!" she yells into the void, thankful that there was no one in the park to hear her, or so she thought…
"No, you're not."
Balling her fists, Asami quickly stands up and begins to climb down the staircase, recognizing the voice to be none other than Satoru.
"Asami, where are you going? Come on, don't be like this!" he follows after her, sighing when he realizes that he was being given the silent treatment, "Babeeeeee pleaseeeeeee," he dramatically stomps down the stairs, aware that she had every right to be mad at him.
Childishly crossing her arms, Asami continues to ignore him, 'Like pestering me is going to gain him any points! Just who the hell does he think he is? It's gonna take a lot more begging for me to even consider list—'
"Asamiiiiii," Satoru suddenly stands in front of her, having warped himself so that she'd be left with no choice but to face him. As a result, she accidentally bumps into him, only further irritating her.
"You are so annoying!" she shouts before turning on her heels and climbing back up the stairs, "Leave me alone Satoru! I mean it," she huffs.
"You know I can't do that Asami, especially not when you're mad at me," he teleports himself once more, sighing when he sees her turn around.
"Babe, we can't keep doing this," he tries to reach out for her hand, but Asami quickly pushes him off, choosing to go down the stairs again.
From there, a childish game of cat and mouse begins, Asami repeatedly going up and down the stairs as Satoru continuously warps himself to stand in front of her. But unlike Satoru, Asami didn't have an infinite amount of cursed energy, nor did she have an infinite amount of stamina, meaning soon enough, she was panting for breath like a hounddog that was in desperate need of some water.
Muttering a string of curses under her breath, Asami ultimately gives up, feeling as if her legs were made of jelly. Slumping down onto the staircase, the red head deeply sighs when she sees him sit next to her.
"Finally tired I see. Next time, let's try to do sixty flights of stairs," he attempts to poke fun at her, the light-hearted "joke" coming out a little too awkward for his liking.
Faking a laugh, Asami turns to him, deciding to join in on the light-hearted fun, "And how about you just leave me alone? …. Please," she fakes a kind grin, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Not until we talk," he frowns.
"Tch," she rolls her eyes, "There's nothing for us to talk about. You lied in my face, came up with some stupid plan to coninue that lie, and still ended up getting caught in it. End of story," she nonchalantly shrugs.
"That's not what happened!"
"Oh really, it's not? Then please tell me, Satoru, what exactly happened? Come on, the stage is all yours!" she throws her arms in the air.
Satoru nervously scratches the back of his neck. Now that he thought about it, the story was quite accurate…..
"Okay, so maybe that is what happened, but you don't know why it did!"
"Nor do I care," she retorts, and to that he scoffs, beginning to get annoyed with her attitude.
"So what? You just expect me to get on my hands and knees, and beg for forgiveness all night? Is that what you want? Because if that's what it takes for you to listen—"
"...Yes. Yes, I do," she interrupts him, a smug look appearing on her face, "Chop, chop."
As a result, Satoru makes a funny face, not exactly expecting her to agree, "Have a little more compassion, will ya?"
"Tch, then why bring the idea up?" she immediately scowls, "Ah, wait! That's your motto right? Saying things and not actually meaning them? Also known as being a BIG FAT LIAR!"
Satoru sighs, "Asami—"
"No, no. Don't Asami me! You lied to me, Satoru!" she finally explodes, "You lied and made me look like a fool in front of everyone! I mean seriously! I can't ever show my face in that karaoke bar ever again! And for what? Because you didn't have the guts to tell me that my singing is trash? Not only that, but you went behind my back and created some elaborate scheme, hoping that I would never find out about it! But guess what? I did! And now I feel like a complete idiot!"
Panting for breath, Asami quickly turns away, vision now cloudy. She wasn't going to cry. Not in front of him at least.
"Asami, I'm sorry. I really am," he whispers, genuinely feeling remorseful over what he'd done.
Silence.
Taking a deep breath in, Asami takes a moment to look up at the sky, no longer feeling as suffocated as she had earlier, "You don't have to do that, you know?"
Satoru slightly raises his eyebrows in confusion, "Do what?"
She sighs before turning towards him, "Spare my feelings all the time."
"Oh…"
"I mean seriously Satoru, what happened to us being our complete selves? To us not letting our relationship get in the way of how we normally act with another? The old you would've had no problem telling me that I suck," she chuckles, her voice no longer as attitude-filled.
"I know and I don't! It's just that this lie of mine goes back to when I still had a crush on you, so once we got together, I sorta just kept going along with it…"
Placing a finger to her chin, Asami tries to think of past karaoke sessions, making an "Ohh I remember," face.
"I just never expected it to go this far," he sighs, running a hand through his hair.
"But why Satoru? Why go this far?" she asks, still feeling hurt.
"Because…" he gives her a small smile, "You looked happy."
"Whenever I'd compliment you on your singing, you'd get so excited and cheerful, almost as if hearing that made your whole day," he begins to stumble with his words, "And then you signed up for the competition and you got even more excited and I just—"
"Satoru, slow down," Asami lets out a faint laugh, endeared by her boyfriend's frantic state of mind. That's because she knew that he was trying his best to put his thoughts and feelings into words, something that didn't come as easy to him as it did for everyone else.
"I just wanted to make sure that you stayed that way," he exhales, "That you stayed happy. Because for me, as long as you're happy then I am as well. And if I have to move mountains just to see you smile then …. I will," he shrugs, saying it as if it were the most logical thing in the world.
Unable to hide her smile, Asami hums, "I see…"
"And you know, technically speaking, I sorta can."
"Can what?"
"Move mountains, soooo if you ever need me to do that, I'm your guy," he winks at her, causing her to playfully roll her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she laughs along with him, making him believe that all was well until….
SMACK!
"OW!" he yells, immediately rubbing the sore spot on his head, "What'd you do that for?!"
"Because what you just said doesn't excuse what you did," she sassily points her finger at him, wanting to make sure a situation like this would never happen again, "You should've been honest with me from the beginning, especially since you had several opportunities to come clean, but—"
"Yeah, but did you really have to hit me right on the head!? Masamichi just finished putting his own round of whacks on there!"
"Good! You deserved it! Just know that!" she bitterly huffs, "Now will you let me finish?"
Continuing to rub the bump on his head, Satoru pouts before nodding, keeping his gaze lowered.
"But despite all this…." she sighs, a small smile appearing on her lips, "I can't be mad at you," she admits, taking him by complete surprise.
"You can't?"
"Nope," she pops the "p".
"Uhh…. why not?" he makes a funny face, unsure whether he should celebrate or be concerned.
Laughing, Asami ultimately gives him an explanation, "Because," she shrugs, "Your heart was in the right place. And to me, that's all that matters."
"R-Really?" he asks, clearly in disbelief.
"Yeah, I mean, as long as your heart isn't shrouded in jealousy or hatred when doing this kind of stuff then…." she chuckles, recalling today's events, "Then I think we'll be just fine, don't you think?"
Nodding like a child, Satoru stares at her with a soft look in his eyes, remembering just how lucky he was to have someone like Asami in his life.
"I think we'll be…" he suddenly boops her on the nose, "...perfect," he grins.
Playfully shaking her head in dismay, Asami yawns, "Well we should get back to the dorms now. After everything that's happened tonight, a good night's sleep would be nice. Plus, I still need to talk with your co-conspirators."
"Oh uh ….about that," he nervously laughs, "I can probably walk you back to the dorms, but I still need to head back to the karaoke bar. After you left, Masamichi forced Shoko, Suguru, and I to apologize to the owner and well… now we're stuck on cleaning duty for the rest of the week ..."
"Can't say it isn't deserved," she smirks.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Either way, just as we were about to start, I um…."
"Warped yourself here?" she successfully guesses, "And so now you're in even bigger trouble with Masamichi-sensei."
"Basically," he smiles from ear to ear.
Rolling her eyes, Asami playfully hits him on the shoulder, "I guess I'll just tag al—" she suddenly looks up at the sky, having sensed cursed energy.
"Is that a …. Flyhead?" she squints her eyes, trying to make out what's in its mouth, "… with flowers?"
Slowly making its way towards her. Asami hesitantly grabs the bouquet of flowers, smiling when she sees that they're purple hyacinths, flowers which symbolize regret and the asking of forgiveness.
Turning around, she's not exactly surprised when she sees Shoko and Suguru standing atop of the staircase, holding a small (and clearly very last minute) sign that reads, "Forgive us?"
Making her way towards her friends, Asami decides to poke fun at them, "Well if it isn't the other two stooges," she says, giving them a wry smile.
"Hey, don't group me with these two losers," Shoko frowns, causing her to receive a glare from her classmates.
Giggling, Asami takes a whiff of the flowers in her hands, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought hyacinths only bloom during the springtime," she ponders, curious to know how they got them.
Nervously glancing at each other, Shoko and Suguru feign a laugh, "Uhh, let's just say we pulled some strings," they say, the mental image of them breaking into a flower shop's archive appearing in their minds.
"Anyways, we felt really bad over what happened, especially knowing that we played a role in it," Suguru explains, lowering his gaze out of guilt.
"I see," Asami hums, "I just don't get why you guys felt like you couldn't tell me the truth. I mean yeah, Satoru's an idiot for coming up with the plan, but for you two to sit there and watch him pull it off doesn't make you any better. If anything, you guys helped him!" she scolds them the same way she did with Satoru, beginning to resemble some kind of headmistress.
"We know. And we had told Satrou to tell you about your singing for months, but he didn't want—"
"Yeah, but why couldn't you two tell me?" she asks, putting them on the spot.
Behind her, Satoru secretly sticks his tongue out at his friends, making fun of their failed attempt to throw him under the bus.
"Because…"
The two sigh.
"We thought since he's your boyfriend and all, you'd take his opinion more seriously than our own," Shoko sheepishly admits, Suguru nodding in agreement.
As a result, Asami stares at them as if they were crazy, "What?!"
"Come on Asami, you're really going to tell us that you don't value Satoru's opinion more than our own," Suguru scoffs, giving her a knowing look.
"I don't!" she adamantly denies, "I-I mean obviously there are certain things that I'll take more into account when it comes to him…" she blushes, referring to her physical appearance, as well as other intimate things.
"But, you guys are my closest friends, meaning your opinion holds just as much weight as his," she frowns, beginning to understand where they were coming from, "Especially because Satoru here occasionally has opinions and ideas that suck," she shoots him a glare, causing him to immediately stick his tongue back in, as he was now back in the hot seat.
Exhaling deeply, Asami decides that it was time to let bygones be bygones, "So, from now on, just be honest with me you guys, okay? Even if it slightly hurts my feelings because trust me, it's a lot better than me having to get caught lip-syncing in front of a crowd of people, I'll tell you that much. Okay?"
Nodding their heads, the three teens give her a thumbs up, promising to never put her in a position like that again.
"Well," Suguru claps his hands, "We should head back to the karaoke bar," he says, causing Satoru to raise a brow.
"Wait what? I thought you two were here because you guys finished…."
"Tch, you wish," he rolls his eyes.
Meanwhile, Asami places her hands to her hips, "Don't tell me you guys snuck out as well."
"We just asked Masamichi-sensei for a five minute break, that's all," Shoko shrugs.
"And let me guess, it's been about thirty?"
With silence being their answer, all Asami can do is shake her head, knowing that Masamichi probably had a dreadful punishment waiting for them. Of course, not that she would get into trouble or anything. Hell, if anything, she was the innocent victim in this situation!
Noticing the frown on her face, Satoru playfully rolls his eyes while wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "What are you looking all glum for? We all know you're Masamichi's favorite. You swear he's going to punish you."
Scrunching her nose, Asami says, "That's not true!"
"Yes it is!" her friends simultaneously yell, from there listing multiple examples where she's been shown clear favoritism, immediately shutting her up.
Scoffing, Asami crosses her arms, pouting in silence as the group of four now walk alongside each other.
"So… how much do I suck?" she asks out of nowhere, thus confusing her friends.
"Hm?"
"Like how much do I suck at singing? Like from a scale of 1 to 10."
"Oh…" they all give each other wary looks.
"Oh come on, I'm sure it can't be that bad! Just tell me! I can take it," she gives them a confident smile, not exactly prepared to hear….
"-1000."
"0."
"You sound like a dying whale."
With her jaw hitting the ground, Asami places a hand to her chest, feeling as if her ego was bruised for eternity, "A DYING WHALE?!" she yells.
Realizing that he had perhaps been a little too honest, Satoru scratches the back of his neck, "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, you're my dying whale," he says, causing Suguru and Shoko to burst into laughter.
Cocking his head, Satoru purses his lips in wonder, "What? I was being serious," he says, eyes widening when he sees a hand swinging his way.
5. The Shopping Spree.
(Warning: This drabble, along with number 6 and 8, all fall under the T rating, but there are some implications of um …. teenage h word-ness. Drabble #8 especially.)
"Oooh, this is nice!" Asami pulls out a sparkly dress from the clothes rack, eyes practically sparkling when she sees that it's one of the last in her size, "Oh, I am definitely getting this!" she grins, tossing the dress to her personal butler (as well as her credit card) of the day. Of course that person was none other than …. Satoru.
Sighing, the teenage boy tightens the grip he has on her loads of shopping bags. It wasn't that he had a problem with the price of them or anything, nor did he have a problem with their weight, it was just that he was beginning to grow impatient with how long her little shopping spree was taking. Then again, this wasn't his first time shopping with her, meaning he should've expected this, "Asami, do you really have to look at every rack?"
Observing the low-rise jeans in her hands, Asami doesn't bother to turn back and look at him, instead choosing to roll her eyes, "You were the one who agreed to this. Hell, you were the one who proposed the idea of coming here!"
"I know, but…."
He sighs, knowing he was beat. It was true, he was the one who proposed this idea of a shopping spree, saying that this would act as his punishment for the whole karaoke stunt from a couple of weeks ago.
Originally hesitant to accept the offer, Asami only agreed to let him buy clothes that amounted to the first-place cash prize from the karaoke competition. Of course, by now she was going way past the budget, handing Satoru an olive-green Juicy Couture tracksuit.
Realizing that the only reason he was beginning to grow impatient was because he was bored, Asami decides to propose an idea of her own, "Okayyyy, how 'bout we ring this up, and we go shopping for you instead?" she grins, as she was the kind of person who liked shopping for both herself and others. That's because as long as she was spending money, she was a happy woman.
Pretending to dwell over the question, Satoru purses his lips in hesitance, "Mmmm…. Okay, only if you say so!" he grins before practically running to the cashier register.
40 Minutes Later.
"Mmm, I don't know…."
Narrowing her eyes, Asami tilts her head as she observes Satoru from where she sits, having accompanied him to the men's dressing room.
"If I'm being honest, I don't really think red is your color…" she says, "At least, not this bright of a shade…."
Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Satoru pouts, "What do you mean red isn't my color?! Um helloooooo…are you forgetting that ummmm…..." he points at her hair before motioning to himself, "Clearly red looks amazing on me! Not to mention, it's the color of my greatest technique! Cursed Technique: Revers—"
"Hey, don't go blowing this place up either," she cuts him off before he can finish, knowing that he hadn't mastered his technique yet, meaning there was a 50% chance that he could activate it without meaning to.
Rolling his eyes, Satoru glares at her, offended at her lack of faith in him, "I didn't even do the hand symbol."
"I know, I know, but still," Asami quickly gets up from the visitor's ottoman, giving him an apologetic kiss to the cheek, "Let's just play it safe for now."
"Anyways, back to our original topic. Obviously, my shade of hair looks amazing on you," she comedically poses as if she were in a commercial, even winking at the imaginary camera, "I mean not to boast or anything, but it's pretty hard to find a shade my hair doesn't go with. While I don't think white would be my first op—"
"Asami."
Realizing she was rambling, Asami nervously smiles when she sees the annoyed look on his face, "Right," she awkwardly chuckles, "Point is, this bright shade of red does not go with you or your complexion," she says, handing him a pale blue dress-shirt, "Now go try this on instead."
"Mm fine," he mutters, grumpily snatching the shirt from her hands.
Clapping her hands, Asami makes her way back to her seat, expecting Satoru to return to his dressing cubicle. So imagine her surprise when he instead begins to take off his shirt in front of her…
"W-W-What are you doing?!" she immediately covers her eyes, aware that her face was now hot.
"Uh … changing?" Satoru laughs, confused as to why she was making such a big fuss.
"Y-Yeah, well you're s-supposed to do that in there," she points at the dressing room while still actively avoiding eye contact.
"Yeah I know, but it's just quicker if I change here. Besides, it's not like anyone's here," he shrugs, motioning at the empty cubicles which currently had all of their doors open. Not only that, but the sales associate who was usually in charge of counting and keeping track of the items was nowhere to be found, meaning the store was most likely understaffed.
With his shirt only halfway off, Satoru gives Asami a puzzled look, "Soooo …. Am I allowed to change or…."
"Um y-yeah," Asami continues to stutter, eyes widening when she "accidentally" catches a peak of him and what seemed to be his six-pack. Clearly his workouts were paying off if that's what was underneath his shirt.
Quietly gulping, Asami closes her eyes for a second, the word 'Boundaries,' repeating in her mind over and over as she waits for him to finish changing. Taking a deep breath in, Asami asks, "Are you done yet?" before beginning to count down her numbers.
"Gah," Satoru tries to remove the shirt, but sadly his biceps were giving him a hard time, the shirt refusing to lift over his head, "Babe, I think you're gonna have to help me. I didn't realize how small this shirt was from the arms."
"Help you how?" Asami asks, a smidge of panic in her voice.
"You're going to have to help me lift up this shirt," he groans, his final attempt at taking it off accidentally causing him to cover his face with the fabric. He was now stuck with his arms in the air like some tree.
"B-But—Gah!" Asami internally curses at herself, knowing she had no choice but to help him, "Fine, but you're going to have to bend—bend—bend….."
"Bend what? Bend down?" Satoru asks, unaware that his girlfriend was now fully malfunctioning.
Jaw having dropped to the floor, the teenage girl slowly blinks as she takes in the sight in front of her. From the subtle veins on his wrists to the faint v-line that leads to his….
Allowing a tiny gasp to escape from her lips, Asami quickly covers her mouth, her intrusive thoughts getting the best of her, 'It's just a male body. A fit male body. That's it.'
Who was she kidding? This boy had a body chiseled by the Gods themselves! And as a teenage school-girl, it'd be wrong of her to not ogle over his body … right?
Soon enough, heart eyes appear in Asami's eyes as the word, 'Mine. Mine. Mine,' repeats over and over in her head, feeling as if she'd hit the jackpot. Biting her lip, Asami makes a grabbing motion at her boyfriend, treating him like a piece of candy, 'God, I'm so l—'
"Hellooo, Earth to Asami?" Satoru suddenly calls after her, confused as to why she'd gone silent out of nowhere.
Immediately breaking out of her trance-like state, Asami quickly wipes the drool that was forming on her lower lip, now feeling embarrassed.
"R-Right, I'm sorry, I um… zoned out," she nervously laughs, hesitantly making her way towards him as she helps him remove his shirt, "You're going to have the bend down a bit," she timidly whispers, realizing just how much of a pervert she'd been. How shameful!
With the help of Asami, Satoru manages to swiftly remove his shirt, laughing when he sees Asami's beet red face, as it was now clear as day as to why she was so flustered, "HA! You're all red! Don't tell me you've never seen a guy shirtless before," he teases her, purposely flexing his muscles and posing.
Crossing her arms, Asami stubbornly rolls her eyes while faking a scoff, "Of course I have," she scowls, trying her best to ignore the twisting feeling in her stomach.
"But not one like me, huh?" he smirks, purposely inching towards her.
He was close. Too close. By now his lips were barely brushing against the curve of where her neck meets her shoulder, teasing her in the most torturous way he possibly could.
Choosing to remain silent, Asami feels her body instinctively heat up, breath hitching as she tries to play it cool. Then again, how could she do that when he was staring at her as if he wanted to devour her. Staring at his lips, Asami finds herself licking her own, realizing that this intoxicating feeling that was taking over her body was what one would call …. lust.
A feeling that had almost nothing to do with the heart, but instead had everything to do with the body.
Wanting to relish this feeling, Asami slowly snakes her arms around his waist, hesitantly allowing a single hand to roam across his warm skin.
Meanwhile, Satoru feels several chills run down his spine as he carefully studies the sultry look on Asami's face, gulping when he hears her whisper, "Definitely not one like you."
Cupping her jaw with his hand, Satoru tilts Asami head to face towards him, his self-control beginning to slip as he prepares to kiss her, unsure if that's all they'd be doing today.
Sensing his hesitance, Asami tightens her grip on him, "Satoru, just kiss me," she mewls, softly rubbing circles on his back as her lips slowly begin to near that of his. And just as their lips are about to meet with each other ….
"10-4. Headed towards the dressing room now."
The sound of a muffled walkie talkie breaks all of that up, as the two had somehow forgotten that they were in a public dressing room at a public store. Feeling the color drain from their faces, the two immediately begin to panic.
Quickly pushing Satoru into his dressing cubicle, Asami practically slams his door before leaping onto the Ottoman, getting back into her original cross-legged position. Heaving for breath, she feigns a grin when she sees the store associate walk in, politely greeting them as she prays that the redness in her cheeks was no longer visible.
"Satoru, are you almost done?" Asami asks, wanting to get out of the dressing room as soon as possible.
"Yeah, just give me—" he grunts, "a sec."
Soon, the door knob to his cubicle is twisted, Asami already up on her feet and ready to go.
"So, what do you think?" Satoru steps out wearing the pale-blue, and not to mention extremely …. fitting, dress shirt that Asami had given him.
And if Asami's jaw wasn't on the floor already, it sure as hell was now, "I-I-I—"
Asami .exe has stopped working.
Staring at the undone buttons of his shirt, the teenage girl practically drools at the sight of him, his exposed collarbone for some reason driving her into a state of frenzy, "I thought you were changing into your original clothes," she says, grinning like an idiot.
"Yeah, but you told me to try this on earl—"
The sound of a sudden gasp catches their attention. Turning around, the teenage couple see the male store-clerk, who'd been grabbing any left-over clothes in the empty cubicles, practically choke on his own spit when he catches sight of Satoru.
Feeling slightly flustered, a faint blush appears on Satoru's cheeks as he watches Asami and the store clerk unapologetically fawn over him.
"So … I'm assuming it looks nice?" he asks, laughing when he sees the two nod their heads like children while also letting out a dreamy sigh, nothing but hearts in their eyes.
And so that day, Gojo Satoru would not only buy one, but ten pale-blue dress shirts, the shirt becoming a staple in his closet for years to come.
6. The Swimming Lessons.
"I cannot believe I let you convince me into doing this!" Asami yells at her boyfriend, shivering as she rubs her legs, desperately trying to create some kind of friction, "I'm literally freezing to death!"
"Hey, I told you we could do this tomorrow. You were the one who said you wanted to get it over with," Satoru says,
"Oh yeah, because the weather is magically going to change in one day!" Asami sarcastically counters back with, rolling her eyes as she watches him peacefully float on his back.
You see, today the infamous couple from Jujutsu High had come to the school's nearby swimming lake in hopes that Asami would finally learn how to swim. Of course, Asami being the stubborn person she was, initially refused to come, stating that she was just fine not knowing how to swim. It wasn't until Satoru reminded her of her little prior "incident"that she began to feel bad, as he had gone on to say….
"Asami, you need to learn how to swim, no ifs, ands or buts. Do you not remember what happened last time? If I hadn't jumped in that damn lake, if Nikushimi hadn't—" he runs a hand through his hair, remembering the events from that day, "You almost died Asami. All because you didn't know how to swim, so if you think I'm going to let you walk around this summer not knowing then—"
"Fine," she huffs, crossing her arms in feigned annoyance, "We'll go on Saturday, okay? I'm only agreeing because summer is coming up and I don't want to feel left out when you guys are in the pool and stuff!"
With the corners of his lips turning upward, Satoru tackles her in a big hug, "I knew I'd get you to agree! I'm gonna be the best teacher, I promise! By the time our lessons are done, you'll be swimming laps around Michael Phelps!" he exclaims.
As a result, Asami rolls her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah…."
"Tch, I still don't get how you could be shirtless in this weather!" she scowls. Then again, it wasn't like her choice of attire was any better. Though she wasn't in a bikini, she was wearing nothing but a fitted long-sleeved rash guard with some tiny black short-shorts.
"Asami, it's not even that cold. If I remember correctly, it's only like…." he places a finger to his chin, trying to remember today's weather forecast, "Sixty five degrees? Now come on, it's time for you to get in the water! I swear, it's not that bad!"
With her jaw now on the floor, Asami internally shudders at the thought of stepping in, "S-Sixty five degrees?" she repeats, her teeth chattering, "T-That means that water has to be like 30 degrees!"
"Yeah, but you're with me, meaning it'll be extra warm," he winks at her.
Muttering several curses under her breath, Asami stands at the edge of the wooden dock, taking a deep breath in as she hesitantly brings a foot down.
"Atta girl! Come on, just grab my h—"
"OH MY GOD!" she suddenly jumps in the air, her big toe having touched the ice-cold water, "Nope, nope, nope! I'm not doing it Satoru! I am NOT stepping into that water!" she yells.
"Why not?!"
"IT'S FREEZING! I'm going to die of hypothermia!"
"No you're not," he sighs, "Babe, come on! It gets warm once you're in here for a while, I promise!"
Asami shakes her head, "We should've just gone to a local pool!"
"They're all closed due to the winter season."
"Oh like that's stopped you before," she scoffs, reminding him of the night they got drunk.
"That was different," he says, aware that he was losing this debate, "Asami, you're being dramatic and you know it. Now put on your goggles and get in the water."
Sensing the change in his tone, Asami knew that his patience was wearing thin. Knowing him, he'd probably push her into the water if she didn't hurry up.
Pouting, Asami stubbornly pulls out her hot-pink swimming goggles, an embarrassed blush appearing on her cheeks as she snaps them on. Meanwhile, Satoru attempts to stifle his laugh, finding her to be adorable.
Exhaling deeply, a look of determination appears on her face, "Okay, let's do this," she says, tightly grabbing onto Satoru's hands as she slowly enters the water, secretly scared for her dear life.
Guiding her in, Satoru senses her nervousness, "Asami, you're going to be okay," he whispers into ear, wanting to reassure her. Still in a grumpy mood, the red head only grunts in response, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she goes deeper into the water, wincing at how cold it is.
"Satoru, it's cold," she whines, this time being genuinely serious. Not only that, but her fear was beginning to become more apparent, as an audible gulp could be heard coming out of her as she looked down at her feet.
Knowing he had to think quickly, Satoru does what he knows best….
He kisses her.
And it wasn't just any kind of kiss either.
It was the kind of kiss that one could only describe as …. lewd.
Cupping the back of her head, Satoru kisses her as if it was his last time doing it, feeling nothing but greed overcome him. Swiping his tongue against her bottom lip, he smirks when her mouth instantly opens to him, immediately melting into the kiss.
Breath hitching, Asami feels her heart rate quicken, mind now fuzzy as she relishes the burning sensation that was spreading from her lips to her toes. Placing a hand onto his bicep, Asami closes the distance between them, pressing her chest further against him as she runs her other hand through his wet locks of hair.
But like all kisses, this one would have to come to its end, as the two would have to catch their breaths at some point. Pulling away, Asami goes red when she sees the dangling string of saliva that was connecting the two, any coldness she had felt now completely gone. If anything, she felt quite … hot.
Smugly wiping the saliva off his mouth, Satoru can't help but laugh at the look on Asami's face, "Better?"
She gulps, more than ready to begin her swimming lessons, "Better."
7. Nap Time.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Babe, are you in there? I think I left my charger with you," Asami stands outside of Satoru's room, her phone currently on its last little battery bar. Knocking once more, Asami sighs when she's met with nothing but silence. Not only that, but there was no trace of his cursed energy, meaning he was either out doing God knows what or….
"He's at the lounge," Asami whispers to herself, quickly making her way downstairs, smiling when she senses his cursed energy. Entering the room, Asami prepares to greet him,"Satoru, do you think you can—"
"ROOONC shshshsh!"
Sighing, Asami shakes her head in dismay as she towers over his sleeping figure, "Of course you're napping here. And then you wonder why you can't sleep at night. Your sleeping schedule is all messed up. Tch, not to mention all that candy you eat," she quietly mumbles, ranting on about his terrible sleeping habits. Of course, it all came from a place of care rather than actual anger.
"Then again, I can only imagine what it's like to wield those eyes of yours …." she frowns, knowing that even though he'd never admit it, the pressure that came with having the six eyes was overwhelming to say the least.
"Still, I wonder what it is that you dream abo—"
"Mhmmm," Satoru suddenly begins to shift in his sleep, rubbing his arms as he curls up into a ball, resembling that of a cat.
Looking up, Asami sees that the air vent is right above him, realizing that the boy was cold. Pursing her lips, she debates whether to wake him up or not. She really did need her charger…..
Preparing to wake him up, Asami begins to reach her hand out, ready to shake him awake. That is until….
"Asami, you're so cute," he whispers in his sleep, a small smile forming on his lips as he hugs himself a little tighter, "So, so cute…."
Cupping her now blushing cheek, Asami smiles as she carefully observes the peaceful look on his face, "Ah, so that's what you dream about," she softly chuckles, silently exiting the lounge, heading back into her room, and grabbing a blanket.
When she returns, she gently wraps the salmon-pink blanket around him before softly running a hand through his hair, "Mine," she hums, tempted to just kiss him. Instead she settles for a simple peck to his cheek, deciding she'd work on some homework till he wakes up.
But just as she's about to leave, Satoru does something that stops her from leaving….
He grabs her hand.
"Satoru," she turns around, believing him to be awake. In reality, the young boy was still well asleep, having grabbed her arm out of instinct.
'Have his hands always been this soft?' Asami ponders to herself, comparing the sizes of their palms as she faintly rubs her finger against his skin. But even though his hands were soft, it seemed that his grip was quite rough, as getting him to let go of her was beginning to pose a challenge. Using her free hand, Asami attempts to pry his hand off, her efforts only making him grip on even tighter.
Realizing he wasn't going to be letting go of her anytime soon, Asami awkwardly sits beside him on the couch, trying her best not to get in the way of his sleeping position, "What will I do with you Gojou Satoru," she lightheartedly sighs.
Yawning, Asami finds herself in a sleepy mood as well, tempted to lie down next to him and take a nap of her own. Then again, what would he say? It wasn't like the two hadn't cuddled in the past before. In fact, one time they did sleep beside each other, over at Nikushimi's house. Though technically speaking, sleeping upright on a tiny hospital bed didn't really count in her book.
Either way, these days the two were often exploring and crossing each other's boundaries, learning about the things they liked and the things they didn't. In some sense, sleeping next to him was something that was bound to happen at some point. Still, Asami couldn't help but find the act to be quite … intimate. There was just something about sharing a bed with someone you cherish that felt vulnerable. Almost as if you were giving a part of yourself up to them, trusting them to keep you safe.
Slowly positioning herself next to him, Asami feels her fatigue begin to take over, today's back-to-back errands beginning to catch up to her. Eyelids drooping with exhaustion, the young girl takes a deep breath in, absentmindedly running a finger along the stretched column of her boyfriend's neck while basking in his sweet scent. Though this wasn't her first time seeing him this up close, she still found herself admiring his gentle features, counting each one of his uniquely-colored eyelashes one by one.
Ready to succumb to her exhaustion, Asami frowns when she wraps an arm around him, 'No, this is wrong,' she tells herself, suddenly beginning to second guess herself, 'It's too early in our relationship for us to be doing stuff like this … right?' she sighs, ready to get up from the couch until….
"You've changed your shampoo scent, haven't you?" Satoru groggily mumbles, wrapping a single arm around her waist as he pulls her closer to him, "It smells good, but I like your strawberry shampoo better," he hums, letting out an airy laugh when he sees her go red.
"Pretty girl," he whispers while staring at her in a daze. Call him biased, but in his eyes, Asami truly was the prettiest girl in the world. That's because who else had a smile that could get his heartbeat acting all funny? Who had eyes that often stared at him like he was the greatest person on Earth? A nose that he could pinch all day and lightheartedly make fun of?
And though he was still half-asleep, he could still make out each one of her special little features. From the tiny little scar on her cheek, to the faint mole under her lip. Perhaps it was because he was around her all the time, but somehow he knew her features like the back of his hand. Well enough that if he were to go blind today, he was confident that he'd still be able to paint an exact portrait of her.
Shifting to the side, Satoru makes extra space for her, wanting to make sure she is comfortable, "My pretty girl," he corrects himself, booping her nose in the process.
"Your pretty girl," she repeats after him, softly smiling as she buries her head into his chest, welcoming her slumber with open arms.
8. Second Base.
"...so remember, the human ear can detect frequencies ranging from twenty to twenty-thousand hertz. Any sound with a frequency below 20 hertz is known as an…."
"Infrasound."
"And any sound with a frequency above twenty-thousand hertz is known as an…"
"Ultrasound?"
Clapping her hands, Asami feeds Satoru a piece of candy, "Oh you are definitely passing this science final!" she grins while turning the page of the textbook.
Feeling proud of himself, Satoru smugly crosses his arms behind his head, making himself comfortable on Asami's bed.
Today, the couple were studying in her room, preparing for their upcoming science final which was in three weeks from today. Luckily, there wasn't much studying that needed to be done, as Satoru clearly understood first-year physics by now. Either way, Asami still wanted to do a basic rundown of things, living by the idea that it was better to be over-prepared than under.
"Okay, next question. Why does the speed of sound travel faster at sea level than somewhere that's above sea level, for example, the top of a mountain?"
Pretending to think hard, Satoru taps his finger on his chin, "It's because sound waves are pressure waves, meaning the speed of sound will always be influenced by the pressure of the medium through which it is traveling. The air pressure on sea level is higher than on a mountain, meaning sound will ultimately travel faster," he answers in a know-it-all voice.
Sighing, Asami shakes her head, "Wrong."
"WRONG?!" he scowls, his mind immediately going haywire as he tries to pinpoint where he went wrong.
But soon enough, Asami could be heard teasingly singing, "Just kiddddingggg," while dangling a piece of candy in his face.
Squinting his eyes at her, Satoru playfully shakes his head, "Oh you're paying for that."
"Am I?" she smirks.
"Definitely."
Soon enough, a full on tickling war commences on her bed, Satoru lunging at her as he aims for her stomach. Meanwhile, Asami attempts to block him, her face turning red as she laughs like never before.
"S-S-Satoru!" she tries to tickle him back, but his large stature makes it hard for her to succeed. Soon, Asami finds herself pinned by the wrist, giggling like a fool as Satoru blows raspberries onto her neck.
"S-S-Satoru s-stop!" she manages to breathe out, and immediately he does, using the opportunity to catch his breath.
Chests heaving, the two stare at each other in silence, quietly gulping as the tone in the room suddenly shifts. From there, it takes less than a second for the two to start making out, Asami quickly pouncing on him as he positions himself onto her bed, grabbing his favorite fluffy pillow of hers in the process.
You see, by now, this was a routine for the two teens. They'd study for an hour or two before initiating some kind of game (such as a tickling war), only to end up making out in the next couple of minutes. Of course, this didn't happen all the time, but nowadays, it was definitely something that was frequently occurring. Especially because Satoru would secretly study on his own just so he could fly through her list of questions, thus giving them more time to, as they like to call it, "practice kissing."
With this practice came the obvious exchange of saliva, the whisperings of little sweet nothings, and fits of childlike giggles. That's really as far as it ever went if he were being honest, as he always kept his hands at a respectful place, whether it be on the curve of her waist or on the nape of her neck, always ignoring the little devil in his ear that would tell him to go further down.
Honestly, it was probably because he was scared. Scared to go past the realm of what men liked to call…
First Base.
That's right. Gojo Satoru was stuck in this grueling base. Not that he was complaining or anything ….
Maybe it was because he was a quick learner, but to say that the temptation of moving his hand down a little further wasn't excruciating sometimes would be a big fat lie. Especially when Asami's pleated school-skirt would occasionally rise up whenever she'd straddle him, thus revealing her underwear of the day which would vary from patterned granny-panties to the holy grail that is …. black laced panties.
Whether she'd wear them on purpose or not was really a mystery to him. All he knew was that its effect on him was embarrassingly profound, as the first time it happened, he had short-circuited and ended up accidentally biting her lower lip, causing their makeout session to end on an embarrassing note.
Luckily, by now, he was used to catching glimpses of her underwear. What he wasn't used to was seeing the curve of her … bottom asset, which would practically taunt him every time she'd arch her back. Don't even get him started on her upper assets, which would often press against him whenever they'd do stuff like this.
Oh how tempted he was to just….
"I think," Asami suddenly tries to speak in between their little make out session, "We should get back to—" she slowly begins to pull away from his lips, "studying—" he tries to deepen the kiss, but she ultimately ends up separating herself from him, chuckling at his unamused reaction, "Don't you think?"
"Mmmmm," he pretends to think long and hard, placing a finger to his chin before shrugging, "Nah."
Letting out an airy laugh, Asami shakes her head in playful dismay, "Oh come on, you still have a whole bunch of treats to win," she says, dangling a piece of candy in his face.
"Ehh, I think there's a better treat you can reward me with," he reaches out for the boombox on her nightstand, turning up the volume to the music that'd been playing in the background, his way of saying that study-time was over.
From there, he flutters a kiss right below her ear, gently nibbling on the spot before peppering kisses down the column of her neck, fully aware of the pull he has on her.
Tilting her head back, choppy exhales creep out of Asami's plush lips, the sensation making her eyes roll to the back of her head. Biting her lower lip, Asami gulps when she feels a coil in her stomach, a sign that a feeling she was becoming all too familiar with these days was beginning to make its treacherous appearance.
Arousal.
And to think that just a couple of months ago, the mention of doing lewd stuff like this had her choking on her own spit.
"Mm, I didn't let high school stop me from having a little fun," is what Mei Mei had said at the time, Asami now completely understanding what she meant by that because trust her, she wasn't letting it stop her from having fun as well.
Looping her arms around his neck, Asami discreetly rubs her thighs together, allowing him to lick his way into her mouth as she curls her fingers around his hair, the amount of saliva that was building up on the corners of their mouths only increasing until soon enough, he's pulling away with a wet pop.
It was lewd. It was slick. It was dirty. Asami loved it.
Mewling to herself, she pouts, desperate to feel his mouth on hers again.
"Still want to study?" he hums, softly brushing his lips against hers as he stares at her with eyes that were hooded with lust, proud at the swollenness of her lips.
Hypnotized by the soft smirk that graces his lips, Asami uses her fingers to trace over the muscles of his arms, slowly allowing them to meet at the base of his neck, "Mmm… nah," she dumbly repeats his words from earlier, her tongue mindlessly swiping over his lips.
Adjusting her position, Asami pushes herself closer to him, unaware that below her, the skirt that had been taunting Satoru for weeks now was beginning to slowly, but surely, bunch up at her waist. Soon, he finds himself staring at her baby-blue panties while she goes to town on his neck, too distracted to even notice.
Quietly gulping, Satoru tightens the grip he has on her waist, unaware that it'd only make his situation worse as Asami instinctively arches her back even more. If he wasn't suffering before, he sure was now. That's because not only was her bottom now pressing against him, but so was her chest.
Feeling his fingers slightly twitch, Satoru desperately tries to ignore the devil on his shoulder that was screaming, "Do it! Just do it! Stop being such a chicken and do it!"
Meanwhile, Asami plays with the hem of Satoru's shirt. Though she wasn't bold enough to completely take off his shirt, she did like to occasionally snake her hand under his shirt, their prior shopping spree making her more than comfortable in doing so.
Muscles growing weak from her touch, Satoru goes red when he feels her slide her hand against the firm portions of his stomach, truly feeling as if he were on cloud 9. Since when was she this daring? Did this mean he could touch her … you know?
"Satoru, kiss me," Asami whines, noticing that he wasn't being as bold as before. If only she knew that at this moment, he wanted to do a lot more than just kissing.
Languidly pressing smooch after smooch against her smooth skin, Satoru slowly trails from her neck to her lips, his jaw clenching as he tries to think of what to do. Would she smack his hand? Would she think he was some kind of closeted perv? Would she never want to make out with him again? Gah, this was hard!
Realizing that it was either now or never, Satoru's kisses begin to shift from long ones to repeated short ones, "Asami, c-can I—"
But before he can even finish asking his heartstopping question, the choir of angels suddenly begin to sing.
Grabbing the hand that had been resting on her waist, Asami slowly guides it down her backside, to the hem of her skirt, and finally…. to her ass. From there, she grabs his other free hand and places it on top of her chest, allowing him to fondle with them while she continues to kiss him.
Gojou Satoru had officially reached second base.
Soft. That's what her butt felt like. Almost like two velvet pillows. So, so soft.
And her chest. Oh, her plump chest. There was no word that could describe what Satoru was feeling. Not a single one. This was it. He could officially die a happy man.
Basking in the rush, Satoru flicks his tongue against her lower lip while squeezing his new best-friends, eyes widening when he hears….
"Mhghmm."
It was like music to his ears.
Pulling away in embarrassment, Asami snaps out of her trance, a small gasp escaping from her lips as reality begins to set in for her. What the hell was wrong with her? Where the hell had her sense of shame gone? Oh right, it was nonexistent by now.
Meanwhile, a lopsided grin appears on Satoru's face, the teenage boy still trying to wrap his head over what he just heard.
'Did she just moan? She just moaned. Holy shit, SHE JUST MOANED. All because of me!' the chibi version of himself begins to celebrate in his head, his ego at an all time high.
Biting down on her lower lip, Asami quickly gets to apologizing, "I-I'm sorry I don't know what came over me and—"
"What?" he bursts out in laughter, "What's there to be sorry about?! That was amazing!" he yells in excitement, causing her face to go beet red.
Soon, she finds herself laughing as well, their hands now intertwined as their euphoric high begins to die down, "So much for studying," she chuckles.
Smirking, Satoru shrugs, "There's always next—"
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
Immediately jumping off the boy, Asami practically falls onto the bedroom floor, the loudness of whoever it was behind the door taking her by complete surprise. It isn't until she hears their voice that her heart begins to pound even more.
"Asami, I had you scheduled for your training evaluation at three. It's four now."
Glancing at the clock, Asami shudders when she sees the time, turning to Satoru in complete panic, "It's Masamichi-sensei!"
"Huh?!" Satoru quickly gets off the bed, "What do I do?!"
"I-I don't know," Asami tries to keep her voice as low as possible, "I completely forgot that I had a scheduled evaluation with him! Damn it!" she scolds herself, trying to think fast.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
"Asami, I don't have all day," Masamichi taps his foot in annoyance, eyebrows furrowing when he hears the sound of shuffling feet.
"I should just warp myself out of here," Satoru says, ready to vanish into thin air until…
"No, no, no!" Asami quickly stops him from making his hand symbol, "If you activate a cursed technique, you'll only leave residuals, meaning he'll know for sure that you were just in here!"
"Gah! You're right!" he anxiously runs a hand through his hair, "So what the hell do I do?"
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
Masamichi frowns, secretly beginning to grow worried, "Asami, is everything okay—"
The door suddenly opens, revealing Asami, who was currently sporting an artfully messy bedhead.
"Masamichi-sensei! Sorry for the wait, I took a nap and must've overslept!" she grins.
And just like that, any worry the man had felt is gone. Instead what it's replaced with is pure irritation.
"So, should we get going?" she says with innocent doe-eyes, unaware that she was in big-trouble, "I'm not going to lie, I'm still a little sleepy but—"
"Asami."
"Yes, Masamichi-sensei?"
"You are aware that it's against the rules for you to have someone of the opposite sex in your room, right? Though it's not exactly strictly enforced, it's still a rule. A rule that's punishable if caught breaking it."
Gulping, Asami nervously laughs, "Of course I am Masamichi-sensei! I'm aware of all the rules, and that one is certainly one I'd never break!"
"I see," he hums, "So then tell me Asami, what the hell is that on your neck?"
"W-What," Asami instinctively reaches out for her neck, wincing when she feels an aching soreness, almost as if she had some kind of bruise on there…
'Oh no…' Asami goes pale, realizing that what was on her neck was in fact …. a hickey.
"Masamichi-sensei I—"
"Satoru, I suggest you come out of that closet. Now," the man says with gritted teeth.
Opening the closet door, Satoru sheepishly steps out, giving Masamichi a nervous smile as he walks toward the door, "Hey, if it isn't my favorite sensei! Have I ever mentioned how great of a teacher you are?" he awkwardly laughs, internally shuddering when he sees the death-filled look in Masamichi's eyes.
"I'm giving you a five second head start."
Gulping, Satoru nods, bolting out of the room as the so-called fists of guidance soon chase after him.
9. Camellia.
"Mmm these are good!"
Munching on his vanilla-bean flavored mochi, Satoru gives Asami a big thumbs up, ready to grab another piece as he quickly swallows down the one in his mouth.
Laughing at his enthusiasm, Asami smiles, "I'm glad you like them! Originally I wasn't going to put that much sugar, but then I remembered that it's you we're talking about," she playfully teases him, taking a bite of her own mochi while sitting in a cross-legged position on their picnic blanket.
Today, the couple were on their very own picnic date, Tokyo's weather finally allowing them to comfortably sit outside without freezing to death. The reason for this was that today was the first day of March, meaning winter was coming to its end. Soon the flowers in the garden would be in full bloom and the birds that had migrated south would begin to chirp again, something Asami was definitely looking forward to as spring has always been her favorite season for as long as she could remember.
Stretching his arms over his head, Satoru leans against the tree behind him, manspreading his legs so that Asami could sit in between them. Quickly making herself comfortable, Asami giggles when she feels him wrap his arms around her waist, giving her several sloppy kisses to the cheek, "Aren't you in a good mood."
Pulling away, Satoru pouts, "What? Is that weird?"
Asami immediately shakes her head, "No, of course not. I'm just curious as to why."
He shrugs, "Because I'm with you, pretty girl," he chuckles, "Plus the weather these days has been really nice, and we aren't being overloaded with missions by Masamichi. Not only that, but I find myself looking forward to class sometimes, even if Suguru and I occasionally butt heads. Perhaps it's because I know that at the end of it all, we'll all go on some crazy adventure. Lastly, to top it all off, I have a picnic basket full of sugary mochi."
Realizing he was rambling, Satoru sighs before timidly shrugging, "I don't know. I guess these days I'm just feeling really …. "
He pauses, trying to find the right word for what he was feeling, almost as if it were uncommon for him, when in reality, the answer was quite simple.
"Happy?" Asami says for him, a soft smile now on her face.
Feeling flustered, Satoru looks up at the cherry blossom tree above them, "Yeah … happy."
Intertwining her hand with his, Asami turns to give him a quick peck to the lips, "Me too," she hums, laughing when she sees a petal land onto his hair. Picking it off his head, Asami shakes her head in feigned dismay, "Sigh, that's a cherry blossom for you."
"Hm?" Satoru raises a brow.
"It hasn't even completely bloomed, and yet it's petals are already falling," she says, observing the tiny pink petal in her hand.
Looking up once more, Satoru purses his lips, "It hasn't?" he frowns.
"Nope," she tosses the petal onto the floor, "It probably still needs a week or so. But once it blooms, after about two weeks, all of it's petals will have dropped to the ground and the tree will have withered."
"Wait…. really?" he asks, seeming genuinely confused. That's because all he knew about cherry blossom trees was that they were the national flower of Japan, they were pretty, and that every year families and friends would unite for the century-old tradition of hanami. Besides that, he was absolutely clueless when it came to not only the flower, but the plant world in general.
"Yeah! You've never noticed? Well actually, I can't really blame you if you haven't. The country plants so many that when one withers, the other blooms," she chuckles, "Did you know that cherry blossom trees were once believed to carry the spirits of mountain deities down to humans? For that reason, the people of that period would travel to the mountains every spring to worship the trees, praying for agricultural reproduction. Soon, the trees would be transplanted to the mainland, or what we now know as, modern day Japan."
Blinking in surprise, Satoru slowly tries to process the loads of info she just gave him. Meanwhile, Asami continues to ramble about trivial facts on the tree.
"Sakura trees are said to have originated in the Himalayas and have over two hundred different varieties. Japan's most popular variety is Somei Yoshino, whereas western countries like the US have Yoshino hybrids. Not only that, but as we all know, cherry blossoms represent renewal and—"
"Wait, wait, wait," Satoru interrupts her, "How do you know all this?" he asks with an amused tone in his voice.
Asami shrugs, "I don't know, I just do…." she pauses, cheeks tinged pink, "Well actually, aside from baking, my mom likes to garden," she laughs, timidly scratching the back of her neck.
"And what? She'd have you carry her shovel?" he says as a joke, but surprisingly, Asami nods.
"Basically! And while she'd garden, she'd go on and on about the flowers, talking about what they represented, as well as other trivial facts about them."
"I see…" Satoru hums, "So that means you know a lot about flowers?"
"Uhh, I guess. Like I said, mostly trivial things. I don't really know much about planting them and stuff. I'd usually just let my mom do all that," she sheepishly admits.
"Okay, so…" he suddenly points at the garden that was across from them, "What does that flower represent?"
Squinting her eyes, Asami tries to get a good look of the flower, "Mm, which one? I can't really see…"
"That one," he makes a twirling motion with his finger, as if that was supposed to somehow make whatever it was that he was pointing at clearer to Asami.
Groaning, Asami tugs at his hand, "Come on," she says, leading him to the school garden, "Now, which one is it?" she asks.
He then motions at a blue flower which only carries five petals, of course, secretly thinking of himself when choosing it.
"Ah, the periwinkle," she chuckles, placing a finger to her chin as she tries to look into the database that is also known as her brain, "If I remember correctly, periwinkles represent lifelong friendships and sentimental memories. It's a flower that conveys everlasting trust in someone."
"Hmm okay, what about…" he looks around once more, this time choosing a white flower that resembles a trumpet, "That one!"
"The classic white lily," Asami says, frowning when she sees that they're only a few, "Looks like they're not fully bloomed yet, but I guess it only makes sense considering we're not officially in spring yet."
"Soooo, what do they represent?" he excitedly asks, clearly fascinated by their current topic. Not only that, but there was something soothing about hearing Asami talk about flowers.
"White lilies are often used in funerals because they symbolize the innocence that has been restored to the soul of the departed. In other words, it's a flower that represents sympathy and the celebration of a life well lived," she smiles, running a finger along one of its petals, "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"More like depressing," Satoru huffs, crossing his arms, "Why do all of these flowers have such sad meanings?"
Asami shrugs, "I don't know. Ask the person who created the language of flowers," she says, "Or may I say peop—"
Ring. Ring.
"Hm?" Asami pulls out her phone, frowning when she sees the Caller ID that reads, "Masamichi-sensei."
"Hello?"
"—"
"I see," she sighs, "Okay, we'll be there in a bit. Bye."
"Let me guess, he has a mission to assign us," Satoru groans, rolling his eyes when he sees her nod her head yes.
"Well I guess we should start packing up," Asami glances back at their picnic setup, ready to head back until…
"Wait!"
Turning around, Asami raises a brow, "What?"
"One more flower," he says while giving her the puppy dog eyes, "Please."
Endeared by his interest in flowers, Asami walks back towards him, "Okay, which one?"
Biting his lower lip, Satoru carefully looks around the garden, several plots being filled with nothing but stems. This was due to the fact that certain flowers were still in the process of growing.
"Hmmm," his eyes skim through the field, nothing in particular catching his attention. Ready to point at some random flower, Satoru shrugs, "That—" he pauses, suddenly changing the direction of his finger, for something had caught his eyes, "No, that one."
Grinning from ear to ear, Satoru walks towards the flower he's chosen, completely enamored by its appearance. Not only was it bright in color, but it was big and eccentric, just like him. And it seemed to be a flower that was somehow fully bloomed as well, as the plot in which it was planted was filled with several of them.
"This one is pretty," he smiles, carefully pulling out the biggest one before handing it to a blushing Asami, "Just like you."
But what he didn't know was that even before he handed her the flower, Asami had already been blushing, for this flower had a special meaning. Keeping her gaze lowered, Asami timidly accepts the flower, mumbling a faint, "Thank you."
"So, what's this flower called?" he asks, eager to know it's meaning.
Softly smiling, Asami slowly looks up at him, "It's called the Camellia, and it's a flower that represents eternal love."
"O-Oh—" he stutters, as it was now his turn to blush.
"Well actually, I guess you can say it all depends on the color. You see, a white camellia represents patience and innocence, a yellow camellia represents longing and nostalgia, and a pink camellia represents desire and gentle, unreserved love," she lifts up the flower in her hand, a faint glimmer appearing in her eyes, "But this one is red."
"Like most flowers, red tends to represent passionate love and deep desire, but with the camellia, it's love is even more intense. That's because unlike other flowers, when it's petals fall, so does the calyx," she points at the green leafy part of the stem, "It's what holds the petals together, as the calyx exists to not only reinforce, but protect and nurture the flower in all of its beauty."
"In China, florists compare it to the union between two lovers, the delicately overlain petals representing the woman and her divine femininity, whereas the calyx represents the man who protects her with all his will. When the flower wilts, the calyx and petals always fall away together, meaning the two are always joined together, even after death. This is why red camellias represent long-lasting devotion."
And just like Satoru did earlier, Asami picks out a red Camellia before handing it to him, wanting him to have one as well, "Not to mention, they're one of the very few flowers in Japan that can bloom in the winter. That's because like love, it conquers all. So I guess in some sense, you're right, it really is a pretty flower," she concludes, avoiding eye contact like a fool.
Taking a better look at the flower in his hand, Satoru smiles, its meaning making it that much more special, "Yeah, it is," he hums, staring at her with a soft look in his eyes, having come to a conclusion of his own, "But just not as pretty as you."
Soon, he feels the sweetness of her lips through his. Hands intertwined, the two slowly pull away, close-eyed smiles now adorned on their faces as they exit the blossoming garden, feeling nothing but pure bliss.
A/N:
Hope you guys enjoyed these! Sorry these took so long for me to upload butttt it's for a good reason! While I was writing this I also went back and rewrote (?) Chapter 2 - "New Beginnings." When I say rewrote, I basically just corrected any major mistakes, added more details/dialogue, and rearranged some things. So much so that the chapter went from an original 5k words to 9k.
Of course, it is completely optional to reread the chapter. Like I've said before, as I do my rewrites, nothing that has already been established will change, nor will I be adding any new concepts. If anything, I just added dialogue that helps with the flow of things and has made future reveals a little more obvious. There is one scene in the chapter that I will say went through a bit of a change (I just added an extra chunk of vague dialogue) but either way I'm going to include it in a future chapter so again, completely optional to go back and read it.
New chapters will now include a little quote at the top that I believe summarizes the theme/message of every chapter. An indicator that a past chapter has been rewritten will have a quote on top, as well a music recommendation at the bottom. I will also include a link to the originally published version of the chapter for those who….
1. Prefer the original
2. Are bored and want to compare the two. If you fall under this category, you are more than welcome to give me feedback! In fact, I encourage it!
Not only that, but for future reveals I don't want it to seem like I went back and retconned anything. Consider those links to be my proof that almost everything was planned from the beginning.
Also, I finally decided to give Masamichi's fiance an official name. As you can see, I chose Sana. For anyone who isn't aware, the official fanbook said that Masamichi is a one time divorcee, but Gege hasn't really delved into that. I assume that in the future he will, especially when we explore more about Gakuganji and Panda (and why he was created). I just don't think it's coming anytime soon (sadly) soooo for now, I shall call her Sana! If her real name is ever revealed, then similar to Madame Ogechi, I will come back and change it! I just really got tired of calling her "Masamichi's fiance" lmao.
Also this is extremely random but I was thinking about it the other day, who do you guys imagine VA'ing Asami if she were a real character within JJK? I personally really like Jolyne's VA, Fairouz Ai, as her voice goes from deep to occasionally playful when needed. I'd love to hear your guys' opinions as I'm curious as to what you hear when you read (if that makes sense?)
Anyways, let me know what you thought of this chapter! Which prompt was your favorite and why? What do you guys predict? Etc. See you next chapter! Daily-ish updates will once again be posted on my profile!