Qian was out of breath by the time she reached Ueno station. Fortunately, there were not too many people so she was able to find some empty space by the main entrance, cautiously placing two of her bags on the ground. Stretching out her fingers to loosen her sore hands from clutching her bags so tightly, she glanced at the clock above the front doorway. She sighed in relief upon seeing it was only 7:50AM.
"You're here early." She looked over her shoulder and saw Megumi approaching, a single duffel bag strapped across his torso.
"G-Good morning, Fushiguro-san!" She whirled around to greet him, though the movement caused the bags to also swerve with the momentum. After a momentary delay consisting of waving arms and wiggling hips, she managed to regain her footing. She then gave a polite bow as if nothing had happened. "I-I didn't want to be late!"
The boy blinked, silently lauding her quick reflexes, before scrutinizing the baggage she was carrying. "I see…so uh, not to be rude, but don't you think you packed a little too much?"
"O-Oh! Not all of this is for me!" Qian replied as she tightened the straps over her shoulder.
Megumi furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you-"
"UGH GUNMA?! Why do we have to go to a boring-ass place like that?" A voice shrieked in annoyance. They both turned to see Nobara carrying a cute leather tote bag on her shoulder while dragging a stylish hard-cover luggage behind her.
"G-Good morning, Kugisaki-san!" Qian greeted once more with another bow.
"Kugisaki, you do realize we're not going there to have fun." Megumi reminded as the girl reached them. She plopped down on the bench next to them with a huge sigh.
"Yeah, yeah but it should at least have SOMETHING interesting to do there!" Kugisaki whined, holding a hand dramatically to her forehead. She then noticed Qian's baggage and raised both brows. "Damn, and here I thought I packed too much stuff."
"A-Ah it's not all mine!" Qian protested before clasping her hands together in excitement. "A-And Gunma isn't too bad! I went once with my family and they have lovely hot springs!"
"Ooooh hot springs?!" Nobara tapped her chin thoughtfully. "That doesn't sound bad at all… I could totally use a spa day."
"WHOA! Why's everyone already here?" Yuji jogged up to them, a measly drawstring bag clutched in his hands. "I'm not late, am I?"
All three of them stared at the bag.
"Itadori…please tell me that's not all you're bringing." Megumi grumbled, feeling a headache begin to form.
Yuji regarded his teammate curiously. "What do you mean? Why?" His eyes then caught on Qian's equipment. "HOLY CRAP. You packed so much stuff, Qian!"
"I-It's not all for me!" The girl asserted once again, waving her hands wildly in front of her.
Nobara meanwhile slammed her palm into her forehead in exasperation. "Itadori. You realize this trip will take indefinitely long until we figure out what happened to all those people right?"
Yuji blinked at her owlishly. "Yeah, that's why I packed like… 5 things of underwear and my toothbrush. Should be enough, right?"
While his other teammates groaned, Qian immediately shrugged off her backpack, kneeling down to unzip the front pouch. She reached in and pulled out a couple pairs of jogger pants, two pairs of socks, and a few t-shirts before holding them out to Yuji. "H-Here you go!"
"Wow, really?" Yuji grasped the clothes, shifting through each article with awe. "This is a huge help… and my size too! Thanks so much!"
Megumi quirked an eyebrow, staring at the girl. "What in the-"
"O-Oh I'm sorry! I-I promise I got your sizes from Principal Yaga! They keep a record of them based on your uniforms!" Qian cried earnestly, realizing the awkwardness of knowing their personal information.
"No, I don't care about that just-" Megumi pointed at her backpack. "What exactly did you pack-"
"Oh ho ho, looks like I'm the late one this time!" They turned around as Satoru approached them, a thick backpack slung over his shoulder. Unlike his students, he was dressed in a silk, black button-down shirt and dark jeans. His sunglasses reflected their annoyed expressions.
Megumi frowned. Why do I keep getting interrupted?
Nobara stomped her foot. "No fair, sensei! Why do you get to wear whatever you want while we have to wear our uniforms?!"
"Because you guys rock them better than me." He grinned cheekily, looking down at his phone.
"U-Um good morning, Gojo-sensei!" Qian squeaked, bowing down once more.
Their teacher seemingly ignored the girl. "Nice, it's only 7:55am. Let's go get tickets, the train we want should be leaving in 15 minutes."
As the team began to head inside, Qian couldn't help but let out a dejected sigh as she adjusted the bags on her back and grabbed her luggage. I knew this was going to be awkward…
She then shook her head adamantly, slapping her cheeks together to shake away any further negativity. No. I can't let it get to me- I gotta keep trying my best!
"C-Coming!"
—-
"So, Qian… it's kind of a weird name right?" Yuji pondered absentmindedly, leaning back in his seat with both arms resting behind his head.
An hour had passed since they got on the train. Megumi had been sitting by the window, reading a novel resting on his lap. Beside him was Nobara, who seemed fixated on her phone and constantly swiping her thumb down the screen. Across from them sat Qian and Yuji. Satoru, meanwhile, was fast asleep in the seat across the aisle.
Nobara immediately kicked him hard in his shin and he doubled over in a painful groan.
"You idiot, that's so rude!" She hissed.
"O-Ow…Kugisaki…why…" Yuji pouted, clenching his eyes shut in deep pain. .
"A-Ah it's ok! It is a very weird name, for sure!" The girl cried empathetically, waving her hands wildly. "M-My mother gave it to me, she's Taiwanese and wanted my brother and I to have Chinese names since we'd be taking my father's last name."
Megumi raised his brows, peering up from his book. "Oh, so your father's Japanese?"
Qian nodded before faltering, placing a finger on her chin. "A-Actually my father is only half Japanese. My grandmother was American."
"Ehh? That's so cool!" Yuji exclaimed, bringing a leg up on his cushioned seat to rest an arm on it. "I bet they miss you knowing that you're on this field trip with us!"
Qian gave an awkward smile. "M-More like concerned… they shouldn't be, but they're abroad right now and my mom tends to be a worry-wart. S-She constantly calls my brother and I to make sure we're okay."
"Wow, so you're living here in Japan all by yourself?" Nobara asked curiously, flipping her hair as she leaned back against her seat.
"N-No I live with my older brother! He's a lawyer at Suzaku Minamoto."
"The biotechnology firm?" Megumi glanced up from his book with a quizzical eye.
The girl nodded. "Y-Yep! That's the one!"
"Whoa, your brother must be loaded. It says here they're up to number 30 in Japan's Fortune 50." Nobara read out loud, scrolling through her phone.
"A-Ah I don't think he is- he's just starting out so I don't think he makes that much…" Qian responded with a nervous chuckle.
"WAIT!" Nobara gasped and sat up in her seat, shoving her phone in their faces. "It says here that the building is right next to that high-class French restaurant-"
"FOOD! HOLY GOD…WHERE IS THAT SNACK CART?" Yuji flipped around in his seat, hanging both arms off the back as he scanned the aisle with a huge whine. "I'm SOOO hungry and need to eat something!"
Qian perked up, clasping both hands together eagerly. "O-Oh! I brought some snacks if you're interested!" She immediately reached up into the overhead compartment and dragged her duffel bag onto her lap. Opening the zipper, she plucked out three bags of potato chips, a bento box, a container of cookies, five granola bars, and a carton of apple juice.
All three of their eyes bulged out of their sockets.
"AWESOME! You're the best Qian!" Yuji cheered as he grabbed one of the bags and ripped it open before shoving a handful of chips into his mouth.
"What in the world-" Megumi murmured in awe upon seeing a beautiful arrangement of onigiri when opening the box. Feeling his stomach grumble, he popped one in his mouth, his eyes widening in shock upon the delicious flavor that spilled on his tongue.
Nobara reached over and took a chip as well, carefully inspecting it with a fascinated eye. "Are you telling me that all the shit you packed-"
"O-Oh just a couple of little things here and there…" Qian reached back inside and pulled out a tube of plastic cups. She opened the package and poured some of the juice into each cup before handing them to the students.
"MAN. This is amazing! I was so parched as well! " Yuji gratefully took a cup and swallowed it all in one gulp, giving the girl a wide grin. "Thanks so much Qian!"
Nobara took a sip of her juice, relishing the refreshing liquid washing down her throat. She gave a rare smile, turning to the girl. "Wow, this is actually just what I needed."
"You really outdid yourself." Megumi agreed, taking a bite of a cookie. "These are quite the treat."
"I-It's totally no problem!" She blushed in pride, feeling a sense of accomplishment upon seeing their happy expressions. She then turned to their teacher, who remained seemingly asleep in his seat with his arms crossed.
"D-Do you think we should wake him up, in case he's hungry?" Qian queried softly, not wanting to disturb the man.
Megumi waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, let the old man sleep. We'll all need our energy once we get there."
"Ha! 'Old man' - I'm definitely using that from now on!" Yuji chuckled as he popped another chip in his mouth. "OH that reminds me! When we get there-"
As the three of them continued chatting away, Qian glanced back at the man and hesitated. Before long, she quietly stood from her seat and reached up to the compartment above him to unzip the man's backpack.
…Just in case he gets hungry later…She stuffed one of the potato chip bags inside, slipping a few granola bars into the side pockets.