Lie 11:

"We're not Enemies"

Megumi's Point of View

Friday morning in the Tokyo Jujutsu International High means seeing some students, teachers, and school staff doing yoga in the Sakura Garden from early morning, probably right after sunrise. It also means some easy-listening music from the school stereo, baked caramel in the air from freshly made bread in the cafeteria, and some party invitations being thrown by popular kids to their selected besties. And apparently, I'm also in one of those categories.

Yuuji comes running and jumps at me once she sees me in the locker corridor. The cuteness of her white bodycon dress, red-white oversized baseball jacket, and red running shoes seem in line with the beaming happiness on her face. She smiles ecstatically with the gleaming stars on her big doe eyes. Her high twin tails bounce along with her joyous skips. She gallops to my arms and hugs me tenderly.

"Woah, what's happening? Whose birthday it is?" I say jokingly, trying to embrace her back with only my lower arms.

She squeals. "No one! But you wouldn't guess what just happened!"

I smile back at her; excitement has already been passed to me. "What?"

She pulls her head away from mine. I could see her cheeks blush beautifully. "My brother made me breakfast! And not just any breakfast, it was my favorite: yakiniku katsudon! And he asked me what I'm gonna do today, and he wished me luck, and, and, and…." She almost lost her breath from excitement. "You know the best part is? He didn't say a single insult to me! And he called me by my name, and we didn't argue, and we didn't hate each other. And we even walked to school together!"

I am speechless and dumbfounded. I don't know what it means but it wouldn't've because of what I said to him yesterday, right?

"Really?" I pretend to be surprised. "That's amazing!"

"No, it's suspicious!" She pouts. "Don't you think it's sus? I mean, he has been so mean to me all these years, so why suddenly now? And I asked him that! And you know what he said?" She makes a short dramatic pause. I am compelled to stare wider at her and shake my head. "He said, 'Nah, I just wanna be your brother,'" Yuuji imitates Sukuna's voice. "Like, what? My devilish brother actually said that?"

I shrug. "Maybe he really wants to make amend? I mean, isn't that what you always wanted?"

"Yes!" She jumps again on her feet, dragging me along with her little dance. I can sense genuine happiness spreading from her whole body as she hugs me tighter. I have no choice but to jump and laugh along with her.

"I can't believe it! I can't believe my brother finally cares for me!" she says while gasping for air, finally letting me go.

I take a step back and put my hands on her arms, looking intently at her. "I think he always cares for you, Yuu. I think he just… has different approaches to showing it. But hey, now he finally speaking your language. I'd call that a character development."

And she tenderly smiles. "You're right. I shouldn't have looked too deep into it. Just accept your brother loves you, Yuuji!" she says to herself, clenching both hands in front of her chest.

The song from the stereo now changes to Harry Styles', As It Was. Yuuji moves her feet up and down along with the rhythm while looking expectantly at me, clearly hoping I will move my body along with her. I shake my head at first, but her smile grows bigger and bigger until I can't help but giggle and finally nod. We dance in small moves while facing each other, singing along to the song like we're the only ones in the whole corridor.

Nobara walks in on us suddenly, looking exactly like Harry Styles with high-waisted ivory trousers, a white shirt under a yellow-ivory oversized jacket, camo shoes, and dark sunglasses. He immediately dances along with us, grabbing my hand and Yuuji's and spinning us around. While we're still busy moving our feet up and down, he asks, "What's the occasion?" and Yuuji spills him everything.

He justifiably looks surprised, but then opens his arms wide to hug Yuuji. The pink-haired girl accepts it with a glee, and they move their body right and left like two penguins. For a moment, I could take a step back and smile, thinking the two of them fit each other.

As the song ends, Yuuji cheerfully says, "Let's have a movie night tonight! We can do it at my place!"

Our 'movie night' is a sacred night of the week when we let loose by binge-watching every genre of movie in one sitting, possibly from dusk till dawn, so it's also can be considered a sleepover. Mostly we do it in Nobara's house because he has an unproblematic relationship with his older sister (unlike Yuuji) and a house big enough not to disturb the other family members (unlike me). It's the one night of our week when we can go on a late-night drive to get pizza, drink alcohol secretly with fake IDs, and gossip about anyone at school without even worrying about the consequences.

Yet, I have to grip Yuuji's hands tighter and painfully shake my head as I say, "I'm sorry, but I can't."

Her face suddenly drops. "But why?"

The stereo is now playing another funky song. I need to grab her hand and pull my head closer to her so she would hear me amidst even louder music and a tighter crowd. It feels like we're in a concert now and I don't even know how. "I'm going to Kyoto tomorrow with my family."

"Oh, right!" She becomes cheerful again. "You're helping your sister move to college!"

"Yeah!" I subconsciously kinda shout. "And we're gonna use a car, so we need to set off early in the morning."

I actually could find another way, the middle way. That is joining the movie night till only the first movie, but then falling asleep while they continue watching the next one. But it's impossible! They would definitely be too loud for me to doze off, or too exciting for me to miss. So, I know agreeing to her invitation means I would get swept up in the situation and end up waking up late—or worse: didn't get any sleep at all. Then I would be grumpy during the whole car ride and possibly ruining the last days I have with Tsumiki before we get separated.

So, with an aching heart, I have to put an apologetic smile for Yuuji. "I'll join in another time, though." I look to both Yuuji and Nobara. "Meanwhile, you guys can have fun without me."

Yuuji is now looking expectantly at Nobara, batting her eyelashes at him with her big puppy eyes. Nobara stares back at her and looks like about to laugh, but his face is slightly blushing. "What are the movies? If it's Hunger Games again, I don't want it," he says.

"No! It's almost Halloween, so we're gonna watch every horror classic there ever is!"

I gasp. "No way! You cheat! No! Not when I can't join!"

Yuuji laughs at my face and Nobara joins in to mock me. We make quite a ruckus as we keep talking and arguing. Even after the first-period bell rings, and we walk together to Mrs. Quanxi's class of Mathematic, we are still inseparable and talking loudly to each other.

-:-

My last period is Law, Politics, and International Relations with Mr. Higuruma Hiromi. I'm not really fond of it, but it doesn't bore me enough to even yawn at his presentation. At least he always keeps the explanation brief and precise, and always cuts directly to the chase with multiple example cases we could immediately relate to, like he's a lawyer trying to win our favor by always making us excited.

Once the bell rings and he packs his things, I dash out of the class to the teacher's floor. But then I stop on my track, remembering I need to come there with Sukuna or else I would have to unnecessarily lie to explain why I didn't bring him with me. And an unnecessary lie is another good excuse poorly spent, so I'd rather not.

I decided to wait right below the staircase, impatiently looking down on my watch from time to time. But five minutes almost pass and I'm yet to see his tall and muscular body pop up.

It shouldn't be that hard to notice him. He has dark pink hair on his head, and he always walks like he owns the place. And when he walks down a corridor, whatever crowd there is, they always split in two like he's Moses breaking the Red Sea. You would always notice his smirk first-those thin lips would slit like a crescent moon showing the white teeth and fangs of a predator. And when you catch him walking straight to you, the time would move in slow-motion and the songs in the stereo would be ironically clearer in your ears.

And that's exactly what happen when I look up from my watch and notice him walking to me. Not only does the crowd in the corridors move out of his way, but there's also an illuminating light coming from behind him. A song Take My Breath Away from EZI suddenly plays slower. And as he stands up before me, his smirk widens as he says, "Damn, Fushiguro Megumi. Anybody would think we're a couple now."

And I need to blink multiple times to snap out of my mind. I look down in his eye direction, who apparently looking at my outfit's ups and downs. I'm wearing a black crop-top hoodie, white cargo pants, and my dad's black military boots. Then I look at him, who apparently wearing the exact same style with only a color swap: a big white hoodie, black cargo pants, and white running shoes. His bag slings from his shoulder and I notice a black onyx stud on his ear. The whole outfit fits him so well they make out his whole personality.

My eyes widen in disbelief. How could this even happen? Did I unknowingly outfit-coordinated with him?

"No, we're not a couple," I eventually say, as sternly as possible.

"But we might." He winks at me seductively.

I say, "No." And turn around to start climbing up the stairs with he's right behind me.

We reach Mrs. Geto's office and are immediately welcomed by Mrs. Tsukumo's warm smile. Mrs. Geto is sitting behind her desk; both of our scripts are before her. I'm standing expectantly in the middle of the room, already waiting for their judgment. But Mrs. Tsukumo and Mrs. Geto ask us to sit down first and offer us a drink. We obediently agree and now I'm sitting with a cup of green tea in my hand, and Sukuna sits right beside me. I could faintly smell his masculine body mist amidst the green tea's vapor; it smells like freshly brewed coffee.

"It really, really is unfortunate," Mrs. Geto speaks, giving dramatic pause to scrutinize both of us one by one. Cold sweat breaks all over me. Then she smiles slyly. "That we absolutely, terribly in love with both of your scripts."

I let out the breath I unconsciously held. But I still understand nothing of what she's trying to say, so I decided not to say anything yet.

"Sukuna, good job as usual. I never seen a court case more interesting than this. The confusion of the characters is the same as the readers! Nobody is reliable in this narrative, and we love it!" Mrs. Geto opens and closes his script. Sukuna just smiles and nods. "And Megumi, this is an interesting take on Lady Macbeth's life. You're not making an entirely likable character, but a morally grey, vicious, and vindictive female character who also is the main villain. Such complexity is rarely ever seen in a woman. Very interesting! Good job, both of you!"

I could feel a weight lift off my shoulders. Happiness and pride rush through my veins and I can barely contain it. I turn my head slightly to Sukuna—and imagine how surprised I am to see him looking back at me with such a child-like smile.

"And because we really, really, can't decide which one is better," says Mrs. Tsukumo as she leans over to us after she casually sits on the table. "We will let the whole school make the decision." And my brows knitted deep in confusion. She continues, "We will have you present your script, main theme, characters, morals, and general ideas to the whole school. The presentation is on Monday, so prepare yourself well over this weekend!"

My jaw drops as low as it can get, cold sweat and fear running down my body in a heavy stream. No way I thought it would be like this. I thought I just needed to write the script anonymously, do some revision if needed, give it to them, and let them handle the rest. No showing up in public moreover make a presentation. And now I need to convince all students in this school my script is better than Sukuna's new take on Hamlet? Like, really?

Noticing my silent disappointment, Mrs. Geto looks at me and asks, "What's wrong, Megumi?" Her question draws both Mrs. Tsukumo and Sukuna's attention to me.

I gulp. "Can I… uh…." I don't know what I should say. Should I just admit I hate public speaking? Are they gonna immediately see me as a coward? Are they gonna eliminate my script just because of that? In a split second, I decided my blood, sweat, and tears that had been poured while writing this script would go to waste if I backed out now. So, I say, "Nothing. It's just I'm going to Kyoto over the weekend, so I don't know if I can make the presentation."

"You don't need to make it over the top, Megumi," Mrs. Tsukumo tries to reassure me. "Plain presentation will do. The main point is that you can deliver your thoughts and ideas to others."

"Or don't use PowerPoint at all," Sukuna cuts in. When I turn to him, he smiles at me with his fangs peeking out. "Just do it speech style, or better yet, like a stand-up comedy. I know you can do it. You're Fushiguro Megumi."

"Easy for you to say," I retort back to him. "I'm not well-versed in speaking in front of people. If you haven't noticed, attention is my worst enemy and we're at peace with that."

"Oh?" His voice raises in a melodic tune as he says that. "I thought I was your enemy."

I shake my head. "We're not enemies."

"But we're not lovers either."

"Can you shut the fuck up?" I hiss at him.

Mrs. Geto let out a loud cough. "No need to start your romantic arc here." Mrs. Tsukumo gives her a sharp look and whispers to her, "Do you really need to stop them? I wanna see the drama!" but Mrs. Geto completely ignores it. Instead, she stares at me with a serious gaze and says, "So, what do you want to do, Megumi? Let Sukuna do your presentation for you?"

"I wouldn't mind if she lets me." Sukuna smirk and winks at me.

And my blood boils instantly. "No need. I'm gonna do it. Being on the road all day is not an excuse; my bad. I'm gonna do the PowerPoint presentation and all."

Satisfaction is now apparent in both Sukuna's and Mrs. Geto's faces. And I just realized I'm being provoked by them. Yet, I also can't take back what I said.

They dismiss us soon after they wish us a good weekend. I just roll my eyes out before walking out of the room, trying to disappear as fast as possible. But the dreaded thing still happens: Sukuna catches up with me as I walk down the stairs to the first floor.

"Why didn't you text me?" He jumps in front of me, and I immediately stop on my feet. There are two steps between us. Those ruby eyes entrapped me as I stare down at him. "Did you not save my number?"

'Of course, I saved it,' my mind automatically answers. 'You put a spell on the ink so it can only be erased after I write it down on another surface and pronounce it out loud.' But that sounds like I'm being vulnerable by showing my emotions, so I say instead, "I don't see any reason to text you. You're not a kid so I don't need to remind you." I walk down pass him.

"Why don't you let me be your friend?"

I immediately turn my body to him. His voice was quite loud almost everyone in the corridor now looking in our way. Embarrassment sips into me while I'm glaring at him.

"I didn't notice you wanted to be my friend," I say, trying my best to sound calm. In my mind, I add, 'It seems like you're more hellbent on being my lover, for some reason.' And I can't help to feel weird and uncomfortable about that, so I don't know how to behave around him.

He steps down the stairs one step at a time, saying, "I didn't notice friendship with you has to be uttered verbally."

"Well, friendship is a relationship. And relationship needs consent. You wouldn't know that because you don't have any real friends."

"Ouch." He touches his left chest with a pained expression. "That's brutal even for you, Fushiguro Megumi." He looks genuinely hurt and it makes me feel bad. I avoid his gaze out of guilt, thinking whether Makima or Eren really like his company or are they just pretending. But then he stands right before me and offers me his hand, saying, "Then why don't you be my first real friend?"

I look into his eyes, trying to seek the usual sly maliciousness, but instead, I found solemn seriousness reflected in those dark rubies. "Why would I?"

"I can teach you magic; element magic you haven't been able to use—and even, if you're really lucky and talented, maybe also black magic." That catches my attention immediately. Then I realizes he only says things I want to hear to get into my best side. He quickly adds, "Though, it's very rare for a light witch to use dark magic. It might even be dangerous to do so."

"Friends would never put each other in dangerous situations."

"No, but friends would face any dangerous situation together. And I promise I will be with you all the time; you have my guidance and supervision, and I will try my best to keep you safe."

Students and teachers pass us by like we are the only ones stuck in time. It took me a literal one minute to consider his offer, constantly shifting my gaze between his open palm and his eyes. Then I remember I was thinking of looking for someone to teach me other types of magic, and how dumb I would be if I just toss away this opportunity just because of some slight discomfort I could try to get behind.

So, I sigh and grab his hand, saying, "Only so you can teach me necromancy."

Then his face lit up from the inside out—his smile blooms widely and his eyes glimmer like stars. He is the splitting image of Yuuji when she was genuinely happy, emitting a luminous aura like a heavenly light shining upon him. My heart somehow beating too fast for my own good and it makes me flustered.

"It's a deal, then, Blessing," he says, one octave higher full of joy, shaking my hand up and down.

"Oh, no. I'm starting to regret it," the joke immediately slips up my mouth.

"No retreating. It's sealed." He grips my hand firmer and shakes it harder. I couldn't help but giggle. "See you Monday, then?"

"What? For the teaching session?"

"Well, that also would do. But I mean just you in general."

"Oh, yeah, right. See you Monday."

"Enjoy Kyoto, my new real friend. Text me when you get there. I know some cheap restaurants and secret tourist attractions."

"What, you become my tour guide too now?"

"That's what friend is for, right?"

And I giggle again.

We spend some awkward moments just shaking hands while facing each other in the corridor that gradually becomes more vacant. It makes me notice the callouses on his fingertips that grazed my skin and his palm that somewhat rough to touch. His skin is a couple tones darker than mine, a little darker than Yuuji and she's in the track-and-field club. It makes me wonder what he does to get such a complexion, or maybe it's just genetic.

'Or maybe I'm the pale one, duh,' I say to myself.

"Don't miss me over the weekend, Blessing," he suddenly says, and I absentmindedly lift my gaze and I catch him staring down at me with such amused smirk and a tint of blush in his face. Then I realized we've been shaking hands for quite a while, and I immediately pull my hand away from his.

"I won't," I mutter under my breath. I hide my hand in my pocket and blurt out goodbyes. I dart out of the school like an arrow and ride my bike home with my heart still beating out of my chest.

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To Be Continued

Hi! It's Audrey Lea.

I think Sukuna would have very, very attractive hands. And I think Megumi would be very, very into attractive hands. Because I do too. I'm projecting. It's a kink I didn't know I would have and neither does Megumi, but here we are, lmao.

So, what do you think of this chapter? Please be kind and share your thoughts in the review/comment box. You can also find some cover art I made, the wardrobes of the characters, and their 'actors' on my Twitter and Tumblr: ladyambrose2.

See you in the next chapter!