Notes:
Sorry if I've kept you waiting, the truth is that as I said from the beginning, This story will be slow to update.
Still, I hope you like it ❤️
Without further ado, please enjoy this double "date" ❤️.
04. Double Dating? and A Problem at the Arcade
06:55 p.m.
In the center of Tokyo.
"Over here!" shouted Itadori as he lightly waved his hand from side to side above his head to alert those two girls who were on their way.
The drummer and the singer were waiting for them, leaning against the railing that divided the street from the sidewalk.
Both tried to go somewhat unnoticed with comfortable and casual outfits that let their personalities show.
Itadori wore a fashionable black fisherman's style cap in color yellow and red tank top and black jeans.
In contrast, Yuta had given up leather clothing that day.
That afternoon, the up-and-coming singer was a bit more casual. He was wearing black jeans, a white T-shirt and over it, a denim sweatshirt, but with gray sleeves and a hood of the same color. And over his eyes he wore a glasses.
"There they are!" said Nobara excitedly upon seeing those two, who were waiting for them at the place where they had been told.
She was the most excited, since she received that call she kept smiling and had even decided to dress up for the occasion since not everyone is lucky enough to go out on a "date" with her favorite singer.
For that night out, this orange-haired girl wore a comfortable dress in pale pink that fit her silhouette, whose length reached just a few fingers above her knees, that dress was accompanied by a sweater in a pink tone a little stronger. In addition, she decided to wear white sneakers with white socks.
Nobara had put on very light makeup and was only carrying a small handbag. She really looked like quite a model or influencer, the kind that are very popular on Instagram or Pinterest.
In contrast, her friend did not look at all cheerful.
Maki let out a sigh.
"Yes..." she commented with a whisper.
Maki, unlike her friend, wore dark colors.
She was wearing a leather jacket, a black sleeveless tank top which revealed her shoulders and covered her up to her navel, slightly revealing her marked abdomen. Due to the rush, she decided to wear blue jeans that reached her hips, as well as a pair of boots very much in her style.
Unlike Nobara, Maki looked tense.
And more than just two hours earlier, she had listened to the songs Yuta had written for her that had catapulted him to fame.
She even avoided eye contact with Yuta as they slowly approached them at that meeting point.
She really didn't want to go on this outing, but she was doing it for her best friend, so as not to leave her alone.
Maki felt like her heart would skip a beat, she wanted to run away from there, but they say the inevitable must always happen.
Was this how she always made Yuta feel whenever she came to him to bother him?
"Hello girls!" Itadori greeted with a big smile.
"I'm glad to see you both again" Yuta said, greeting them, "You both look very nice this afternoon" complimented.
Nobara had a big smile for that comment.
"Hello and thank you very much" a slight blush appeared on her face.
"Hello" Maki greeted curtly as she slipped her hands into her jacket.
"Hehe well, let me introduce you again" Yuta continued speaking while adjusting his glasses, "This is Itadori Yuji, although I think you had already met him the other day backstage"
"It's a pleasure to see you again, maybe you don't remember me hehe" the pink-haired man introduced himself with a slight bow.
"Of course I remember you, especially for that you are part of his band!" replied Nobara with a slight smile, looking first at Itadori and then at Yuta, "Thank you for inviting us to go out with you"
"Well, this outing was his idea since he wants to get to know Tokyo before returning to his hometown for a few days" Yuta explained, putting his hand on Itadori's shoulder.
"Yes, a little fun and relaxation after a long tour wouldn't hurt" replied the drummer with a big smile.
"And well deserved, your tour was a success" Nobara complimented. "Although I must say that I am surprised, I never thought I could meet you in a place like this" she looked around.
"Aren't you afraid that your fans or the paparazzi will recognize you in the Street?" asked Maki looking around him, "Why don't you have your bouncers watching out for you" she looked directly at Yuta while crossing her arms over her chest.
He let the air out in a slight smile as he looked at them.
"We artists also deserve to go out and have fun from time to time, besides we are using a "camouflage" for these cases"
"Camouflage?" Maki raised an eyebrow at such an answer.
At that moment, Itadori played a little with his hat on his head and Yuta moved his glasses a little on his face, besides he had his hair messed up on his forehead like in his high school years.
"Oh, I get it! They say that a good accessory and hairstyle can make all the difference!" said Nobara, catching on to what the two were trying to say.
"As someone who is always behind the drums and hardly ever on screen, I can go unnoticed more easily" Itadori point to Yuta "I'm just the drummer, he's the face and the voice of the band. So it's easier for them to recognize Yuta than me"
"Even so, the fans might recognize you, since many of them love drummers" Yuta answered while adjusting the glasses on his face.
Maki looked at Yuta and noticed those glasses he was wearing and adjusted hers in the process. She felt it was in bad taste. Maybe it was a way to make fun of her. she thought.
"What's wrong, is there something on my face?" asked the singer when he noticed that Maki was not taking her eyes off him.
"I see you copied my style" she commented with some annoyance.
"Glasses? As far as I remember you never wore glasses..." she
commented with a grimace while putting her hands on her hips, "And that's all you're going to "disguise" yourself with?" she asked without taking her eyes off him.
"You could say that for this look I was a bit inspired by someone" replied Yuta, shrugging his shoulders and adjusting once again those glasses on his face.
"On the contrary! For these cases I bring one more accessory that is used by many artists"
Yuta took out a brown face mask from his sweatshirt and put it on, covering half of his face.
"Ready! With the mask, glasses and a hairdo, we artists change our appearance too much" he combed his hair back a bit, making it look more attractive.
Maki pursed her lips at the sight of him doing that. How the fuck could he still look so attractive even with half his face covered?
"How do I look now?" asked the singer, looking at his guests.
"You look great!" Nobara replied with a big smile, unable to take her eyes off him.
"This style definitely doesn't suit you! You look like a nerd or a geek!" replied Maki with some disdain and with the corners of her lips turned up a little.
"Maki, don't be rude!" Nobara mumbled.
"I'd say you look like someone with a lot of style!" Itadori replied with a slight smile and giving both thumbs up.
"Thank you Yuji" Yuta thanked his partner.
"Really Maki san, you never change in bothering me, do you? Hehe, like in the old days?" Yuta smiled slightly at that comment, turning his head to look at the green-haired girl.
"Don't believe him, you really look good with those glasses and it's a good technique to hide your face with the mask!" commented Nobara with a smile making Yuta turn to look at her.
"Thank you very much Nobara san, you are always so nice and kind!" he replied sweetly to the girl.
Maki just rolled her eyes at those comments as those two seemed to share chemistry.
"So, where shall we go first?" asked Maki, looking away from the scene between the two of them.
"Very good question, mmm, what do you say we go eat first?" suggested Yuta.
"I love the idea!" Nobara and Itadori said in chorus.
They even surprised each other by noticing what they said at the same time.
Yuta smiled at that timing.
And where would you like to go for dinner?" asked the singer when he saw the initial mood of those two.
"Let's go to the grill!" suggested Itadori.
"No, we'd better go for sushi!" Nobara commented, looking at the pink-haired man.
"Why sushi? There's a sushi restaurant on almost every corner in town!" commented Itadori in a squeak.
"Ah?" Nobara complained, "Rather, the question here is why go to a bland place like the grills when there are great sushi places around town?" she replied, looking at him as her hands went to her hips.
"And why not? Tokyo has excellent grill places!" commented Itadori looking at that girl.
"Tokio has great sushi places, too!" Nobara replied with a grimace.
"I say we go to a grill!"
"And I say sushi!"
"Grill!"
"SushI!"
"The grill sounds more fun!"
"But sushi sounds more elegant and varied!"
Those two started talking about why it was better to go to one place than the other. It seemed that their personalities were very contrary.
"Maki san! What do you like more for dinner, sushi or grill?" asked Nobara looking at her friend.
The green-haired girl was not interested in that. She just wanted the night to be over.
"The truth is that neither of the two options appeals to me" Maki commented with disinterest.
Yuta let out a slight chuckle at those words and put his hand over his mask to try to muffle the sound of his laughter.
"And what are you laughing at?" Maki asked, squinting her eyes.
"of Nothing!" the singer shrugged, "I just had deja vu with this situation" he replied.
Maki knew that Yuta had a big, stupid grin on his mouth behind that mask, but he better decided to ignore it.
Although she knew perfectly well what he was referring.
"What do you think, Yuta, grills or sushi?" Itadori asked.
"I don't know, both options strike me. Why don't you decide with a rock, paper, scissors?" he suggested, "We'll go to the place chosen by the winner of a single round"
"All right! Let's settle it that way!" Nobara replied, making a fist with her hand, "Okay Itadori, I'm going to throw paper"
"That's not cheating?" he replied, looking at the face Nobara was making. Even the girl's aura changed to one of competition.
Itadori just pursed his lips. Something told him that he shouldn't make that girl angry. And to confirm that feeling he looked at Yuta and Maki.
"Believe me, you'd better do it her way if you don't want to get beaten up by her" replied the green-haired girl with a shrug.
"And say I'm being considerate to you since I'm giving you the upper hand!" Nobara commented without unclenching her fist and even took a stance.
"Okay, here we go!" commented Itadori making a fist with his hand and also taking position in front of the girl.
They both prepared themselves. They stared into each other's eyes with the greatest concentration in the world, as if their lives depended on it. They both launched their move.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!" they said in chorus, waving their hands.
Itadori "believing" what that orange-haired girl had told him, made scissors, but in reality that girl made stone. Winning with that questionable way.
"That's right!" Nobara cheered.
-Nooooo!
Yuta smiled at the interaction between those two. Who seemed to be starting to get along quite well.
"Good!" The singer approached Nobara and offered her his arm "What Sushi place do you want us to go to?" he asked chivalrously.
Nobara turned red at the invitation to take her favorite artist by the arm.
"I know a good place in Shinjuku!" she said taking Yuta by the arm and starting to walk together as they began to talk about more things between the two of them.
Maki watched the scene in silence. She couldn't believe her eyes either. Her best friend and the boy she said she hated, but in reality still seemed to feel something more for him, were together.
Itadori was the one who broke the ice with that green-haired girl, who had stayed many meters behind Nobara and Yuta.
"Maki, are you all right?" asked the pink-haired man as he saw her with a grimace on her lips and a slightly heavy aura.
"I am"
Itadori scratched the back of his neck.
"They're leaving us behind. Would you like to..." he couldn't even finish the question.
When he was about to offer his arm to go in the same style as those two.
The green-haired girl sighed. With her hand she gave him the signal not to do it or offer to do that kind of cheesy stuff like those two in front of them.
"Thank you, but I can go alone" Maki looked at him momentarily.
"Now let's go, they are leaving us behind" she commented with a grimace as she started running to try to catch up with those two.
She never imagined she would go after Yuta like that. Running after him while on his arm was another girl.
"Hey, wait for me!" shouted Itadori, catching up with the three of them.
07:50 p.m.
Those four had arrived at a popular restaurant in the Shinjuku neighborhood.
And thanks to Geto's contacts, those four were given the best table, somewhat away from the other diners to try to dine comfortably.
That restaurant, as Nobara said, specialized in sushi, so those four boys had ordered a wide variety and styles of this dish, as well as ordering a variety of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
That "double date" if you could call it that, seemed to be more of a love triangle.
Nobara was spending a lot of time with Yuta, whom he would hold his arm or hand and they would exchange smiles or talk about many topics they agreed on. Those two seemed like a cute couple.
On the other hand, Maki and Itadori barely spoke to each other at times. Especially, because Maki felt out of place being with those three, since for moments it seemed that Nobara was very well coupled with itadori, talking about interesting things and on topics that also coincided, but they also seemed to "argue" or be contrary with many other things.
It seemed that also between the boy pink and the girl orange there was some chemistry.
Leaving Maki all alone most of the time.
On the other hand, the green-haired girl tried to avoid looking at Yuta. She felt super nervous with his presence and even more so when he was looking at her with that peaceful smile.
He would try to address her politely, talking about some random topic, but she didn't seem to want to talk to him. It was hard for her to give in a little bit and more that she felt conflicted because of her feeling with him, her past and her songs.
And now that she was facing him at that table, she felt even more flooded with memories and feelings. Especially because she could not stop seeing his lips, sinking in the memory of a few days ago where they almost kissed.
Maybe she just had to attach herself to what Yuta had said a few nights ago "No hard feelings, right?"
Maybe she was simply to pretend she had never met him before and now he was a new person she was just getting to know.
But in part she found it hard to put her pride and her past aside.
"This is Delicious!" Nobara commented with a big smile, which formed as she took her first bite.
"You should try this combination" commented Itadori, who was sitting next to her.
"But that's a weird combination! What if I get intoxicated?" Nobara commented, wrinkling her nose at Itadori's suggestion of those ingredients.
This is because Itadori dared to put on her plate a striking combination that he specifically ordered.
The pink-haired man put the sushi in his mouth with his chopsticks. "Mmmm! Delicious and nothing happened to me! I'm telling you to try it, you won't regret it!" he commented with a nice smile.
Yuta also tasted that combination.
"He's right!, it doesn't taste bad at all!" he was surprised by the taste. "If I were you, I'd listen to him and try this"
Maki also tasted it and even opened her eyes a little in surprise at the taste.
"Not bad! Try it Nobara, this is Delicious!"
Nobara hesitated a bit, but decided to give it a picked up the sushi carefully with those chopsticks and tried that combination.
The orange-haired girl was surprised at such an exquisite taste in her mouth. "Wow!, this is delicious! How did you know about this? You don't look like someone who knows how to cook!" she raised an eyebrow.
Itadori scratched the back of his neck.
"Let's say I know something about cooking because my twin brother is a chef"
"YOU HAVE A TWIN BROTHER, AND HE'S A CHEF?" Nobara questioned with too much surprise.
"Yup!" Yuta said, "His twin brother is like a more 'egocentric' version of him" he laughed lightly, "But he does make good cymbals"
"Yes…" Itadori before speaking decided to take between his chopsticks another sushi with an extravagant combination of ingredients "Let's say that thanks to my brother Sukuna, I have learned some things about cooking like combining ingredients and those things"
"Wow!, So we have another twin brother here! Don't you think that's a great coincidence, Maki san?"she looked at her friend "You and Mai are also identical twins, aren't you?" she wanted her friend to join the conversation.
"Older twin or younger twin?" Itadori asked with a smile.
Maki finished eating the Sushi she had put in her mouth.
"Major for five minutes"
"I see! In my case I'm the younger twin by three minutes" commented Itadori with a smile as he pointed his thumb at himself.
"I must say that you two with your respective twins do have very opposite personalities" Yuta commented, looking at the two of them.
"Oh right! You went to the same high school as Maki san, didn't you Yuta kun?" asked Nobara with interest.
"SO YOU TWO HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER BEFORE?" Itadori asked in surprise.
"Shit!" Maki's mind screamed. She didn't want more people to know that.
"Yes" Yuta answered those questions calmly as he gave a quick glance at his companion in front of him.
"Maki and I went to the same high school, that's where I also met her twin" he answered with a smile. He seemed to remember something by the position his hands and face took.
"What were the two of them like in high school?" Nobara asked curiously, "Were they a popular duo?"
"Well..." Maki was interrupted.
"No doubt both were the most popular!" Yuta answered to that question, "I even remember that Mai once won the contest to be the queen of the school. In other words, Mai was the beauty queen while Maki was always the queen in sports, I remember that even she was the captain of the basketball team because of how good she was in that discipline, even in other sports she was equally outstanding" he commented with a smile looking at his classmate.
Maki was surprised at how good Yuta's memory was.
"Even now it could be said that both still hold their "titles" of beauty queen and sports queen" Nobara took a sip of her drink "Both may be physically similar but they are too opposite in their personalities" she replied looking at her friend.
"We were always very contrary, but in my defense, I personally never considered myself popular" said Maki, seeing that Yuta remembered that perfectly well.
"You were always popular, you can't deny that" Yuta commented before taking a sip of his drink.
"Well, that explains why Maki san is very good at sports, she knows a lot of them and even has her own gym" replied Nobara boasting to her friend.
"Double Shit!" she shouted inwardly once again.
Maki pursed her lips when she heard her friend reveal about her business. She wanted to keep Yuta from knowing about both her personal and professional life.
But it seemed that he did not pay any attention or importance to that detail at that moment since he did not say anything about it.
"Wow, really?" Itadori asked curiously. "Why should I say that I'm good at sports too"
"In short, I would say that you are also very good at all the sports I know, you could even break several records if you set your mind to it" said Yuta looking at his friend before eating another sushi.
"That explains why your Instagram is full of sporty stuff!" Nobara commented with a chuckle.
"What have you been stalking me with?" Itadori asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You could say that's my specialty!" Nobara smiled back, "And from what I saw" she took out her cell phone, opened Instagram and searched for Itadori's profile. Which was the first in his search. She slid her finger to show those pictures of him "It seems that you practice a little bit of everything, baseball, basketball, athletics, etc. Didn't you consider being a sportsman before being a drummer?"
"Yes, let's say I like sports a lot, and even before joining this band I played for a baseball team. But I could not miss this opportunity to play on stage in front of too many people" He seemed to remember something "Even my other older brother, Choso, supported me in pursuing this band. But personally I really liked practicing martial arts and it was always my forte" replied Itadori holding another sushi with those chopsticks.
"Really? Well we have that in common" replied Maki at last feeling that she finally fit into something.
"My specialty is also martial arts, with traditional weapons and self-defense. Mostly, the latter I teach to some of my clients. Although from time to time I also like to practice other sports like swimming" she answered before taking a sip of her drink, looking at those two guys.
"Wow, that sounds very interesting. That means you're still the cool sports girl" Itadori complimented.
"Thank you, and yes I still am" replied Maki proudly.
"But not the troublemaker" Yuta said with a smile before eating another Sushi.
"Well, I remember you as a great nerd and with those glasses you look even more so!" she replied with a smile before eating another sushi.
Yuta just adjusted his glasses a little.
"As I said, I borrowed this from "someone".
"And what was Yuta like in high school?" Itadori asked curiously
"Well, I..."
Maki now interrupted him.
"Ha! He was a complete "nerd" in his studies and by the way, he was the guy who was always in the library and in the book club. Although you could also find him in the photography club when there were practices or you could see him begging to join the music club, that makes me remember that he was always good at arts as his photographs always won some recognition. But he was the shyest kid I ever met and that made him very easy to pick on. Also, he was very scrawny, he could never run the full laps we were allowed in PE"
Yuta looked at her a little.
"Yes, I admit I was a bookworm, but thanks to me you managed to pass the literature course, do you forget that, although I can tell that over the years you haven't gotten over being a "troublemaker" using your physical strength, have you?" he commented before putting another sushi in his mouth.
"Ha, I don't know what you're talking about" Maki denied with a challenging smile.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about" Yuta kept looking her in the eye.
Maki pursed her lips at such provocative words. But she could not help but stare at him.
"But we had already talked about it, remember? We said no hard feelings and from scratch, didn't we" Yuta replied with a smile.
"Yes, "No hard feelings" she replied, challenging him with her eyes.
Itadori and Nobara noticed that reaction-attraction effect between those two. It seemed a strange combination of flirtation with some resentment. As if something else had happened between them.
Itadori cleared his throat at the tension.
"Would you like any more dishes?"
"I do! I want you to show me another one of your weird combinations!" Nobara answered, seeing how those two were getting out of those tense looks.
And for the rest of the dinner, Maki and Yuta continued to see each other discreetly.
08:30 p.m.
After dinner, those four decided to go to an arcade that was in that same part of town. They wanted to go and play a little while they made time for their last stop, Karaoke.
The most excited to be there seemed to be Itadori and Nobara. They wanted to try out all the games on the three floors.
So they decided to take the opportunity to play as much as they could.
First they started with a machine to hit a boxing pear. This was because Nobara presumed that her best friend had too much strength and that her punch was the strongest of the four.
In contrast, Yuta admitted that Itadori was the strongest in the band.
So they wanted to see which of those two had the better fist. That's why they had decided to start with that machine.
Nobara started hitting that pear, but her blow and he barely managed to move the.
Then Yuta hit that sack, which shook a little but not enough for the bar to reach the middle of that force meter.
"Not bad" commented Maki with a smile, lightly rubbing her knuckles once those two finished their turns, "Watch how it's done Little Princesses" she said, looking at them with a challenging smile. "Watch and learn" said preparing to hit the pear.
After taking a slight breath and preparing himself, Maki gave a strong blow on that small bag. It shook violently and the bar that measured the intensity of the blow rose almost to the top.
"That's it Maki, show them who's in charge!" shouted Nobara excited to see the result.
"mmm not bad, I see that your great strength and physical prowess have not changed at all" commented Yuta in a tone that sounded like a compliment combined with some mockery.
"Thanks, I guess I could still kick some ass without difficulty" she commented, stepping to the side of her friend but not taking her eyes off him.
Those glances were charged with an attraction that she had not felt with anyone else for years.
"Are we flirting? Shit, no!" screamed Maki's mind. Shaking her thoughts to stop looking at him.
"It's my turn!" Itadori commented, slamming his right fist into his left palm.
He also prepared himself, took a breath and then hit that pear, which also shook too hard, making that meter a tie with Maki's result.
"Not bad, you have my respects" said the green haired girl, patting Itadori gently on the shoulder.
"Thank you, I could say the same about you" he replied kindly.
"Well, what other game are we going to play now?" asked Yuta, looking around.
"To the racing simulator!" Nobara and Itadori said in chorus.
Once again, they were both surprised by the synchronization.
"Well, let's go play racing" Yuta replied, happy to see those reactions. For some reason he felt that those two made a good couple.
And so it was, those four first went to a game where there were several Mario Bros-themed cars to simulate racing by looking at that screen in front of them.
In that game, Nobara proved to be very good. Winning several times.
They then moved to the Just dance, where both Itadori and Nobara seemed to be in sync stomping hard on those arrows that lit up while Maki and Yuta just watched those two having fun.
Then they moved on to more games, like shooting baskets with a basketball. Where Maki showed why she was the leader of her high school team.
After playing a little more, going through some machines where you have to follow the rhythm by tapping the screens and some others where you have to make teams of two like in air field hockey, where they made teams of boys vs. girls, where they won with a final score of 7 vs. 4.
Now they were spread out in pairs as they continued to play on different machines.
Itadori had decided to practice on a game similar to a real drum set, where on the screen you had to follow a sequence of notes in order to reach a score to unlock more songs.
"Don't you think this would be cheating?" commented Nobara who was sitting next to him. As she ate a small candy she had taken from a vending machine.
"Why would it be?" Itadori asked as he moved the drumsticks between his hands to warm up a bit.
"Because you are the drummer of the band and you know how to play this instrument and by the way, aren't you afraid of being recognized while practicing in this place" she asked, gently tilting her head to one side.
Itadori smiled at that consideration.
"Not really, since there are much better people than me who play this instrument in this place and if I make a mistake people might overlook me and just look at me as another ordinary boy who came to play" he tapped one of the drums to warm up.
"Also, I don't want to think about the band right now, I just want to have fun for a while and by the way, I doubt that anyone will recognize me" he sounded very confident about that, he returned his eyes to the screen and started to play a little those tom's to the rhythm of the game.
Nobara was surprised by that answer, she began to see Itadori in a different way, maybe he wasn't such an idiot after all.
"I don't find fault with your logic and by the way, do you think I can call you by your name?" she asked looking at him with a smile.
"Of course you can!" he was distracted by her for a moment, losing in that first round, "And does that mean I can call you by your first name too? Or should I keep calling you by your last name?" he asked, moving the drumsticks between his fingers again.
"For my name is fine. Besides, it looks like we're already friends" she said with a smile before drinking from the bottle of water she had also bought.
"I'm glad to hear that!" replied the pink-haired man smiling back.
Once again, Itadori tried to concentrate and play a little with the machine. At first Nobara was amazed at how well he played the cymbals and toms. That is until something else caught her attention on the other side of where she was sitting.
She stood watching as Maki and Yuta were on the side of the grabbing machines, where some prizes could be taken out with the tongs operated by a lever.
They both seemed to be talking about something.
Both the orange-haired girl and the pink-haired boy could feel the tension between these two, accompanied by knowing glances.
"Do you think anything else happened between Maki and Yuta in their high school years?" asked Nobara, not looking away as Maki clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes at Yuta's comment.
Itadori stopped playing when he heard those questions.
"Why do you say that? I only just found out that those two were acquaintances"
"I don't know how to explain it well, but!" Nobara brought her hand to her chin, "I don't know if you can perceive a "tension" between them, it's like that perception that two people give you as if they had been sweethearts or something similar in the past" she tilted her head a little.
"Yes, I could also feel that tension since you two arrived. They're even behaving as if they were ex-boyfriends" commented Itadori, looking at the two of them. They were close together at that moment, while pointing at the contents inside the machines, "Did they say anything to you about that on the night they went to dinner together" he returned his gaze to the game and continued playing.
Nobara looked at the screen where Itadori was playing, "The only thing I found out that night was that she teased him in high school, to the extent that he called her the girl who made him suffer too much. Apparently Maki hurt Yuta in several ways from what he implied backstage and at dinner"
"Are you saying that she was his bullying?" asked Itadori, raising his voice in surprise and stopping playing.
Nobara covered his mouth with her right hand so they wouldn't attract attention "Don't shout! And yes! Something like that I understood from what he said at that dinner!" she whispered.
Itadori looked at those two once again. Itadori carefully remove Nobara's hand from his lips.
"That sounds serious.."
"Too much, but at the same time I don't know if I believe what they say because of the way they behave" Nobara looked at those two in the distance, "When you look at them well, it seems that the opposite happened, it doesn't seem that those two have a grudge, but on the contrary, it seems that they still like each other..." commented looking at Itadori.
"Now that you mention it and looking from afar, it seems that between them there is a strange chemistry, a bit sexual I would say for how they behave, although for how they answer each other and for what they said earlier at dinner, maybe she did bother him in those years of high school but it seems that they already settled accounts" Itadori returned to give a few blows with the drumsticks on the toms "Besides, it seems that they do not hate each other"
"Why do you say that?"
"Because if they really hated each other, they wouldn't talk or look at each other as they "do" in these moments, besides, when you loved someone in the past you can still notice it in the present. And they say that where there was fire, ashes remain, besides it could be that your friend has already changed and now she is not that bullying of before" he looked at the screen and followed the notes she was asked to read.
"What has changed?" asked Nobara curiously.
"Yes, I say that because one; people don't get to know completely those who say they are our "friends" and two; there are also people who after being "bad with someone" their karma comes to them in the least expected way and maybe that is happening between your friend and Yuta, maybe the reunion is her karma" his hands moved nimbly "Or maybe they just matured, in high school one can commit a thousand stupid things and even more when one thinks he "loves or hates" someone"
Nobara sighed a little at the first answer, she didn't know much about Maki's past and couldn't fully judge her at that moment and maybe Itadori was right, maybe everything that was happening to her friend was her karma.
Nobara thought that perhaps their reunion was her fault. She might have been the key to the whole thing because, if she hadn't asked Maki to accompany her that night, she might never have caught Yuta's attention.
"Let's just let time dictate what should happen between those two"
Itadori played the cymbals with rhythm before stopping to pass the drumsticks to Nobara "Would you like to try it?" he smiled and changed the subject.
She smiled at that gesture of the pink-haired man. "All right, I want to try it and by the way, let's see how it progresses between the two of them"
Itadori began to explain to her how to play those drums.
While Maki and Yuta watched them from those machines.
"It looks like those two are having fun together" said Yuta watching his friend and Nobara talking and arguing a bit about the drum set they decided to practice on.
"Yes, it seems so" replied Maki, looking inside the machine, which was almost full of small key rings in the shape of teddy bears.
"And you seem to be having fun too, although, I don't know why I get the impression that you're avoiding me" answered Yuta with his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt.
"Maybe I'm avoiding you so that I can continue having fun without having to remember that you are here" replied Maki coldly as she put a coin into the machine and began to move the lever that guided the claw.
Yuta just watched Maki's first attempt at that machine.
"I've got you!" she said, pressing the button to bring the claw down for her prize.
But on that first attempt, she failed to get anything out.
Yuta only smiled slightly at that failure.
"What are you laughing at?" she asked, looking at him with a very annoyed grimace.
"Of nothing" Yuta replied with a shrug.
Maki clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Idiot!" she said, as she put a coin back into that machine, but to her bad luck she lost again.
"Stupid Machine!" she growled as she reached into her jacket for another coin.
"I know I can do it!" she put in one more coin, but being very upset she didn't know which way to place that claw.
"You're doing it wrong, this is actually how you should move the clamp" Yuta intervened by putting his hand on Maki's hand and began to gently guide her through the machine.
Yuta stood behind her, his head was on her shoulder, it was as if he was hugging her from the back, but without sticking to her body, his hands were on Maki's hands, which were on the lever and the grip button.
He was gently guiding Maki's hand so that she could understand how she should move that lever.
"Always try to take out the objects that are closest to the exit bar" explained Yuta, looking into the machine.
Maki turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder, on her face appeared a slight blush at such boldness on the part of this boy to take her hand and help her with that machine and by the way, she was too surprised that they were both very close to each other in that position, where she supposed that Yuta moved unconsciously.
"When you have centered your target, you have to press the button and that's it, you have more advantage to get something from this position" Yuta continued explaining.
Seeing him so close made Maki's legs and heart tremble. She couldn't help but look at his lips, which were so close to her face, as Yuta was explaining over her shoulder.
Maki's breathing collided with Yuta's lips and cheek, which made him aware of the position he was in.
Their gazes met, their lips were attracted like magnets, which wanted to meet again after a long time. They both wanted once again to feel the sensation of a kiss between them. They wanted to feel that soft, moist touch, just like the last time they kissed many years ago.
And even Maki could swear that he noticed Yuta's nervousness, since he noticed how he swallowed saliva in the same way he did when something made him nervous, even his face had a slight blush, which was barely noticeable under those lights, which were cold and in contrast to the neon lights of the games and machines in that area.
At that moment their eyes began to close, first Maki's and then Yuta's as their bodies acted by inertia in slowly getting closer, while Yuta's hands rested on Maki's abdomen and she caressed his hands feeling how he had glued his body to her. It was hypnotic as their lips grew closer and closer, both could feel the warmth of their bodies calling to each other and their breaths touching the skin of their cheeks.
Maki wanted to kiss him and felt that he wanted to finish what he started in the alley, and when the tips of their noses were already touching, Maki reacted believing that it was wrong. Thinking that she no longer deserved him after all the damage he had done to her.
Once she came back to reality, she opened her eyes, looked at how close Yuta was to her lips and pressed the lever to get out of that awkward moment as she pushed him away with her elbow and turned her face to the side.
Yuta was aware of what had happened until the moment where he felt Maki's elbow make him turn away from her as it gently hit him against his rib. Bringing him back to reality.
"If you claim to know how to get this out, then you do it!" she said, changing her tone of voice to sound annoyed, as she stepped aside.
Yuta smiled as he rubbed his side, "I'll gladly " he put in a coin and began to move that lever to move the metal arm hanging inside the machine.
He first gave a few flicks of the wrist and then centered that pincer in such a way that once he pressed the button, the claw went down to grab a panda bear-shaped keychain. He pulled it out on the first try.
"How the hell are you so good at this?" asked Maki with her arms crossed.
Yuta had a big smile on his lips "Practice, it's the same as with singing, you have to practice to get the best notes, but in this case, two years ago when I worked in a bar, we had some machines of this kind and I helped some drunk people to take out some toys and that's where I learned" he answered taking out that key ring "it's for you Maki!"
She initially refused the gift with her hand.
"This you should give it to Nobara... she is your date tonight..."
But Yuta insisted, "I want to give it to you and by the way, so you can see that I really don't hold a grudge, please take it as a gift of peace" he said with his hand outstretched.
Maki's chest heaved a sigh.
"Really, you don't hold a grudge? You don't hate me for everything I did to you?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"I told you. I don't hold a grudge and it's kind of hard for
me to hate you despite everything you've done to me in the past, although I think forgiving you completely is still up for grabs"
"Something is something, I guess" she said with a slight shrug.
"Yes, let's say that the leaf has already been turned and the best thing to do now is to pretend that none of that has happened, so I want you to take this as a sign that there are no "grudges" between us" he said, giving her the gift.
Their hands touched gently once Maki took that small keychain.
"Thank you..."
Yuta smiled at those words, but at that moment his face tightened and his eyes focused on another girl who had approached them and was watching them from the side of the Machine.
Yuta's face reflected a bit of panic, as he felt that this girl was a fan who had discovered him, since the singer committed the imprudence of not wearing his mask and only wore his glasses on his face, but even so there were people who were very observant and could recognize the artists if they paid attention.
He felt that this girl wanted to get close to him, it seemed that she would start screaming at any moment.
In addition, that fan had her cell phone in her hand, it looked like she was recording or taking pictures, as her flash was illuminating them.
Maki saw that change of attitude in Yuta and quickly turned to where Yuta was looking and there she saw that girl. Seeing her turn around, the fan gave a little jump.
"Did you lose something?" asked Maki annoyed, looking at the girl who was staring at Yuta in a hypnotic and silly way.
The fan kept pointing her cell phone at those two "Oh my God! It's Yuta! He sings..." she was interrupted by the green-haired girl.
Her cell phone was abruptly snatched away, falling to the ground and then being crushed by Maki's boot, causing the device to break in two.
"You're rude to do that!" the girl shouted, starting to attract the attention of some of the people around her.
"More rude of you is to record someone without their consent and in this case, your fucking camera was pointed at me! Get the fuck out of here or the next one to end up as the screen of this phone will be your face!" said Maki in a challenging tone.
"I wasn't doing anything wrong!" the girl shouted.
"You are invading my personal space and I resent gossipy people like you!" She replied, annoyed by the presence of this intruder. I knew I had to get her away from there. "Now get out before I call security!"
That girl felt intimidated by the rude attitude of that green-haired girl, so she ran away from there.
Yuta was surprised to see how Maki defended him from that girl.
"I guess she was a fan... I think we'd better get out of here before we get caught…" whispered the singer, and even more so when he felt other people staring at them.
"It seems that they have already discovered us" replied Maki, looking at him with concern.
At that moment, the euphoric screams of several girls began to be heard.
Maki and Yuta turned to watch as Itadori began to be surrounded by those female fans.
They had recognized him by the way he played and incidentally by his pink hair.
Those four had to get out of there. That trip to the arcade had become a big problema.
Itadori got up from where he was sitting and smiled kindly to those fans, who started screaming with excitement for wanting a picture with him.
He even protected Nobara from letting those fans get too close to her so as not to make her feel uncomfortable.
"Can we take a picture with you?"
"Yuji I love you!"
"Did Yuta come with you?"
"Yuta must be around here somewhere!"
"Where?"
"Who else from the band came with you?"
"We want your autograph!"
"Can I hug and kiss you?"
The screams of those fans began to be heard and they started to look for the singer while they started to disturb more people inside that floor who started to approach him.
Itadori wanted to be a good artist and give his friend time to run away, so he took some pictures with those fans and let himself be hugged and kissed on the cheeks, while Yuta covered half of his face with his mask and covered his head with the hood of his sweatshirt.
"Let's get out of here before they discover you too!" Maki took Yuta's hand to start leaving the place, since it might not take long for the fans to notice her presence there.
Yuta was surprised by how Maki acted to get him out of there. She looked like a bodyguard or maybe a jealous girlfriend.
"You're welcome! Now I have to go, girls! It was a pleasure! Let's go! This way!" Itadori quickly took the orange-haired girl's hand and both of them also started to walk away from there.
Nobara felt embarrassed to hold Itadori's hand, but it was surprising how Itadori passed his hat to cover her face and prevent the fans from trying to take pictures and video of her. All of a sudden they had more and more people wanting to get closer to the two of them. Surrounding them like hungry paparazzi trying to get a premise.
Itadori continued to protect Nobara as he pushed those fans away, trying to be courteous and trying not to use too much force against them when pushing them away.
At that point they began to bombard them with questions.
"Itadori, who is she?"
"Is this the mysterious girl Yuta went out with the other day?"
"What is your name? Who are you?"
"Are you dating Itadori and Okkotsu at the same time?"
The girls began to insist as they filmed and chased them.
Fortunately, they were soon lost among the machines on the second floor.
"HERE!" Maki waved to them, as she and Yuta were hiding near the emergency exit door on the second floor.
Nobara and Itadori quickly caught up with them and left through that alley.
The four of them ran as fast as they could.
Maki holding Yuta's hand and Itadori holding Nobara's hand.
When they were several blocks away, the four stopped to catch their breath.
"Well..." Maki started to speak "Their costumes are really bad!" she said putting her hands on her hips and looking at those two artists.
"Too much! And by the way, you're a liar!" commented Nobara catching her breath "They won't recognize me"-she faked her voice making it thicker to imitate Itadori "See if you have fans, idiot?"
Both Yuta and Itadori were catching their breath as they were scolded by those girls.
"Won't deny that it was fun to run away" Yuta replied with a smile.
"We are famous!" replied Itadori, also with a slight smile.
"Well, where will we go now?" asked Maki, "It must be a place where they won't be recognized"
"Karaoke!" said Nobara and Itadori at the same time.
"Hehe, then Karaoke it is" said Yuta smiling and turning to look at those three. Although deep down he felt surprised by what Maki did.
The night was not over yet, so the four of them laughed at the situation and without objection decided to go to Karaoke as the last stop of that "double date".
Notes:
I hope you liked it ❤️
How are you guys liking this story? 👀
The night between these four is not over yet and the Karaoke is still to come, because they say that singing expresses many things 🎶.
Tell me, what songs do you think these four will sing? You can leave your suggestions and maybe the next chapter will feature a verse of one of those songs. Any duets? Any solo songs?
You can also leave your songs that remind you of any of these four or songs that remind you of these ships.
Anyway, I think I've already left you a clue as to what Maki's Karma will be in this fic, but if you didn't manage to detect it, don't worry, you'll find out in the next chapters.
Yuta is already seeing the price of fame with the fans, who, I assure you, will not leave him so easily.
I hope I am capturing well the chemistry between these two ❤️
Also, that it looks like something will also be coming up between Nobara and Itadori 👀.
Anyway, we'll keep reading ❤️