Please Stop

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"Oh, Lilly... un autre?" Satoru's tone was filled with teasing affection, even as he shook his head. Lilly winked at him.

She cleared her throat. "So do you have a legal guardian? A father, perhaps...?"

Junpei shook his head no.

Lilly placed a hand over her heart, softening her smile. "If it's alright with you, I would like to become your legal guardian for the time being. Otherwise, a teacher will be appointed once you enter the school."

"You're... Yūji's mom?" Junpei anxiously squeezed his hands. "Are you... sure...?" He looked between Yūji and Lilly.

"Of course," said Lilly. "I would be happy to."

"She really means that," Yūji echoed with a grin on his face.

"In that case, yes, if you don't mind..."

Lilly was elated. "I'll take care of the whole process."

"Ce n'est pas la première fois, et pour une raison quelconque, je ne pense pas que ce sera la dernière fois," Satoru teased.

"Right?" Yūji echoed.

"Hush you two," said Lilly. "Eat up everyone. I'll make us some fresh tea. Junpei, do you have any allergies...?"

"Um, no."

"Fantastic."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Megumi stared at his phone. He idly scrolled through social media looking at memes. Yūji was posting a lot on his dummy account. Pretty risky for someone faking his death. Not that Megumi was going to snitch on him, but he did make a mental note; the next time his best friend decided to fake his death, Megumi would confiscate his phone.

"Why is everyone empty-handed?!"

Nobara's voice was uncharacteristically shrill. Megumi learned early on that while Nobara could get passionate, she was more of a growler than a shouter.

Megumi looked up at the same time his upper-classmates did as well. The four–now five with Nobara's arrival–were gathered near the front entrance of Jujutsu High. It was a warm summer day with a consistently pleasant breeze. The campus grounds were always well maintained so the foliage was a vibrant green and the air always smelled clean.

Maki put away her phone and raised an eyebrow at Megumi. Panda cocked his head, "Why do you have luggage?"

It was only then that Megumi noticed that Nobara had a suitcase and bag packed.

"Why? We're going to Kyoto, right?" she asked.

Why does she think we're leaving? Megumi thought to himself. He knew Gojō wasn't the best at explaining things, but he didn't recall any part of the explanation where he told them they'd be leaving. That'd be weird.

"A goodwill event in Kyoto...?" Nobara hesitantly tried out.

"A goodwill event with Kyoto," Panda corrected, "in Tokyo. The event's held at the school of the previous year's winner."

Nobara's face soured. "Ugh. Why'd you go and win? Idiots."

"We didn't participate last year," said Panda. "But Yūta got a chance to compete since there weren't enough people."

"It was a one-sided affair," said Maki.

"Gah!" Nobara fell to her knees. "I won't forgive you, Yūta Suzuran! Even though I've never met you!"

Megumi offered her a hand. "You'll get dirty if you stay on the ground."

Nobara accepted his hand with a sigh.