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"Ate... Ate his what?"
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Ahh, yes. Leave it to me to dig my own grave.
It seemed I had forgotten that if there was something Miura senpai loved more than winning, it was entertainment. We, his juniors, were his first choice for its source.
Before I could even protest, I found myself trailing behind Gojo inside an optical store. Yes, we were buying sunglasses and this was the thing he needed my opinion on.
"(F/n)-chan~!," he enthusiastically called. "What do you think of this?"
I didn't know much about glasses. All I could tell was that it was rectangular and had a really dark shade. The shopkeeper, whom I assumed was someone Gojo knew, chuckled and propped her chin on her palm. "You didn't bring Geto-kun with you?"
Gojo's ears perked at the mention of his bestfriend. He gave the mirror a smug smile, flaunting his overflowing confidence. "Nope, he said he has to visit his parents. I brought another friend, though."
The shopkeeper's brows strung together in disbelief. "You have other friends?"
"How rude, Aiza-san." Gojo pouted despite not looking offended at all. He continued checking his reflection in the mirror, waving his hand and beckoning me to come closer. "(F/n)-chan, don't I look extremely gorgeous?"
"Self-awareness is a good trait to have, but so is sense of shame, Gojo-san," I sighed. Indeed, he looked good in those sunglasses, but a part of me thought he'd fit whatever he wears. Though I would be found dead rather than admitting that out loud. "But you look too mature with them. Maybe when you're a little older."
Yeah, I sucked at commenting in things irrelevant to my studies and Jujutsu. I didn't care, anyway. It wasn't like Gojo cared about my opinion. He probably just brought me along to ruin my weekend and get back on me for the group battle we had.
Must be it. Why would he even ask for me to accompany him in the first place? We weren't even particularly friendly towards each other.
"You think?" Gojo bobbed his head to the side, examining his reflection once more. To my surprise, he took off the sunglasses and put it back. "I see. Do you have any suggestions, then?"
Wha-
"Ah... Well, here," I stammered, handing him some random sunglasses with aviator frame, and gradient lenses. I didn't know how I looked at that moment, but I obviously wasn't calm. Contrary to what I expected, Gojo was being cooperative. He wasn't trying to poke fun nor being the usual asshole that he was.
But he could've asked the others to accompany him instead of asking me, right? There should be a reason.
Gojo stopped admiring his reflection in the round store mirror, and fumbled on his pockets for his wallet. He ever-so-casually took out a card and slid it on the counter. "Taking this one."
Aiza's eyes nearly bulged while she flapped her hands, trying to get Gojo to notice him. "You... You're getting the second most expensive one we have?! No way, you youngster! You don't even need that! And...plus the fee for cursed energy filter!"
Ehh?!
"But (F/n)-chan picked it!"
I didn't know which fact I would be surprised of more. That I, for whatever damned luck I had, randomly picked out those sunglasses or that the storekeeper was actually a sorcerer who was making a business out of cursed eyewears.
"No no!," I stammered, reaching for the sunglasses on Gojo's hand. A stopping force halted me before I could even touch him. "I was kidding, Gojo-san! I think the earlier one looks better on you!"
"That was the most expensive!," Aiza exasperated. "Please, Ojou-san. Tell this boyfriend of yours to cut off on his spending or you'll end up broke before you even get married!"
"What nonsense is that, even?," Gojo defended, irked.
"You're correcting the wrong thing, Gojo-san," I groaned and pulled him away from the counter. "We're absolutely not dating!"
"Oh. We're not?"
I almost choked on the air. Clearing my throat, I glared at him in disbelief. "What?"
"What?"
"What do you mean what?"
"Eh? What do you mean by what did I mean what?"
I took his confusion as a chance, snatched the glasses from his hand, and scanned the rack for actual, decent-looking sunglasses that did not have out-of-this-world price tags. I picked out the safest choice- round sunglasses that somewhat reminded me of the main character from that famous sorcerer movie. That one with a magic academy and different houses.
Harry something.
"Here." I handed him the glasses and made him face the mirror again. "And what do you mean date?"
"Hang out, friendly date," Gojo answered while grinning idiotically. He knew he caught me on checkmate and wanted to make fun of my embarrassment.
"It's really a mystery how we have billions of nerves but you manage to get on every single one of mine." I gave him a bright smile, my eyes dead-on unamused.
"Oh, you're sulking?" He inched closer to me. "Do you perhaps... want a real date?"
"No and please stay away. I'm allergic to bullshit, thank you."
"Come on, you can put it in your achievements list," he said, grinning even more. He even extended his arms to make it seem grand. "Dating the great Gojo Satoru for a day."
"That sounds more like something I'd do when I'm drunk rather than an achievement," I retorted, pushing the card back to Aiza and forcing Gojo to finish the transaction before he even started buying the whole store. "Or something I was made to do against my will. Like now."
"Excuse me," a female voice called out. A group of five girl students, all presumably our age, timidly approached us.
"Can we take a picture with you?," the same girl asked Gojo directly, not even sparing me a glance.
Oh, come on. Will the universe ever give me a break? This timing is just too unrealistic!
Gojo snickered when he saw my disbelieving expression. "See, (F/n)-chan?"
What a flirt.
I just stood there, contemplating my life choices while the shameless guy mingled with the girls. Going back alone seemed like a good idea, but then, I wasn't very familiar with the streets of Tokyo. Never had I wanted to put a white-haired mop in a letter and mail it to Russia this much before.
"I have to go. My girl here is getting moody," Gojo said in an overly friendly tone as he approached me and draped an arm around my shoulder. My head snapped to him in an instant.
What?
His whaaaat?
I was pretty sure I looked somewhere between being horribly disgusted and wanting to smack the living idiot out of him.
The girl who approached for the picture looked away, rather embarrassed. The others greeted me awkwardly.
For some reason, I found myself holding on to Gojo's arm and smiling at the girls like I was claiming something they want mine. I had no idea where the confidence or the craziness to do something like that came from, but seeing everyone's reaction satisfied my petty inner self.
Well, he wasn't the only one who could play.
"Satoru, I'm hungry." I shot him the sweetest, shyest, most annoyingly cringe smile I could make- a smile that would probably make me throw up when I see on others. Gojo's grin widened without a trace of fluster. Excitement was visible in his eyes since he knew the chaos was just getting started. Even Aiza stiffled a laugh.
"What would you like to eat, honey? It's on me." He fully turned his attention to me, tucking some stray hairs behind my ears.
Fuuu- he's really on it!
I bit my lower lip, trying not to burst into laughter. When I said he wasn't a good actor, I guess I lied. It looked as if he was really fond of me that I could feel how soft his gaze was even through his glasses.
That just fueled the mischief, causing me to pinch his cheek a little too hard to signify fondness. He nearly groaned in pain, but I just widened my eyes at him. "Soba?"
Gojo nodded in agreement, his hand grabbing mine. He waved goodbye and winked at the girls, causing me to pinch his waist and send him a death glare. "Ow, scary! Hysterics won't win men, (F/n)-chan."
"As if! Who's trying to win you over?"
"Aren't you?"
I could only gape like a dead fish at his limitless confidence. "Wow. You're so..."
"Good-looking? Tall? Smart?"
I couldn't find the right words to describe how I felt at that moment. I didn't know someone could simultaneously feel annoyed, amused, giddy and weirded out, so I just kept silent. Letting my head hung in surrender, something else caught my sight.
Our hands...?
Checking on Gojo, he didn't seem to realize it or maybe he just didn't mind. He looked back at me questioningly, innocence etched in his expression. "What's up?"
"Ah, nothing," I replied, my eyes automatically avoiding his as my cheeks burned crimson. The urge to run away was strong, but I just couldn't move.
"Sure?," he clarified, his hand absentmindedly slipping off and letting go of mine.
"Yeah." It took all my self-control to actually stop myself from feeling disappointed. "It's nothing."
──❍──
"Yume-chan! Hurry and help me carry these, I don't have tentacles!"
"What do tentacles have to do with this, senpai?!"
As chaotic as ever, Kotone bustled around preparing drinks while the others sat around the bonfire they made. Haibara and Nanami were hanging out, joined by Kurusawa and Miura. Nanami seemed interested with Miura's assessment of his skills while Haibara showered the two seniors with compliments.
We were having a campfire to celebrate the end of the Goodwill Event.
"Grrr. Geto! Help me here, don't just-" Shoko was trying to increase the flames of the bonfire, Geto just watching with a small smile. The short-haired girl hurled a small stick on the infinity user's head. It only bounced off the field, of course. "Satoru, stop roasting mallows and help me!"
"Let's play two truths and a lie!," Kotone suggested, passing chips and sweets to everyone. They all seemed enthusiastic about the game so we all sat down to play.
Most sweets stopping at Gojo never came back. Since we couldn't sneak alcohol inside the campus, we decided that whoever got the most points in predicting the lies could command everyone for a day.
"I'll start!" Kotone raised her drink, acting like she was drunk on orange juice. "I have a crush on someone in here, I eat five hardboiled eggs everyday, I can play percussive instruments!"
"Eating hardboiled eggs!", Kurusawa shouted so fast that I almost fell off the log I was sitting on in surprise.
Geto chuckled and helped me steady my seat. "You okay?"
"Yup, thanks."
"The answer is... dun dun dun wrong! I eat five on a daily basis and can even eat more when I'm hungry! The lie is the third one!," Kotone announced.
Yume and I sulked. We both knew that, of course, but because Kurusawa answered so suddenly, we didn't get our chance. I turned to my right and to my surprise, it was already Gojo sitting next to me. "Do you want some candies?"
I looked at the variety of sweets on his lap. Now, I know where the sweets disappeared to. "What are my options?"
"Yes or no."
I glared at him and slapped his back, making him complain immediately, "that hurts!"
"That's the point, you idiot."
"(F/n)-chan, that's not very nice. You really think I'm an idiot?," Gojo asked, passing me a whole bunch of sweets. I passed the other half back to him and only picked the berry flavored ones, blueberry being the majority.
"Search my answer up in the dictionary. It's next to the word 'obvious'."
I could hear Geto's and Shoko's chuckles from behind us while Gojo made a pouty expression. We all stopped chatting when Haibara suddenly spouted something controversial.
"Wait. Does that mean you have a crush on someone here, senpai?!", the innocent wide-eyed boy exclaimed. Everyone's eyes darted on Kotone, except for mine and Yume's. The two of us looked at each other knowingly.
"Hey, wait!," Miura interrupted. "How come you can't play any percussive instrument at all? That can be anything as long as you can bang on it."
"Who are you crushing on, senpai?!", Haibara pried, ignoring Miura while going around Kotone in circles. Nanami pulled him back by his jacket and forced him to sit down. "Behave yourself."
"I-it's...uh..."
Our eyes widened.
She's seriously confessing? Here? Now?
I grabbed the drink Gojo was having and examined it. "Does this juice have alcohol or something? Is she drunk?!"
"It's Nanami-kun."
Goodness gracious.
Poor clueless Nanami choked on his drink and started coughing so hard. His shock might've reached the level where he felt too embarrassed that he had to hide under the pretense of dying by choking from orange juice, causing Haibara and Kurusawa to panic.
"Haibara-kun! Call 119!"
"S-senpai, what's 119's number?!"
Seriously?
The game continued with a flustered Nanami and a regretful Kotone. Everyone was having a good time, as if we did not just fight each other to death few days ago.
"Gojo-san! Last, it's your turn!"
Gojo thought for a moment. "Uh... I am a human, my hair is white and I never tried eating Suguru's balls."
Huh...?
Everyone's attention darted to Gojo in horror, including the usually disinterested and calm Nanami.
What did he just say? Eating what?
"Please tell me the lie is that he's a human," Yume commented, visibly shaken.
"YOU DID WHAT, SATORU?!"
Gojo questioned back our expressions, looking real innocent. "Those black balls. Purified curse spirits," he cleared, referring to the product of Geto's curse technique.
Oh... The curse manipulation balls that Geto ingests.
We all went back to doing our own things, acting as if nothing happened once it was clarified. Geto tried hitting Gojo's head, only to be stopped by his infinity. "Oi! Why the hell would you try eating that?"
"I'm just curious! I didn't continue 'cause it looked disgusting!"
"It IS disgusting!"
"But you always eat those balls, don't you?" Gojo wiggled his brows. Sure enough, he was being suggestive, but I bet he would tease Geto later on if he falls into his trap.
"Fuck off," Geto just laughed it off, knowing perfectly how to deal with his mischievous friend.
"Don't be shy, Suguru-kyun~"
Pft...idiots.
Before I could back away, Gojo was already inches before me, studying my amused expression. "Look at you enjoying the show. Are you getting turned on, milady?"
I stared back at him, smiling but with dead eyes. "Thy libido has not riseth, milord."
"Okay, hold on! So the largest sum of points belongs to Yume-chan. Congratulations!," Kotone announced while clapping along with us. "Now, please think of what you'd like each and every one of us to do. But no extortion of money, please."
Yume giggled. She stood up and scanned the circle, probably searching for her first target. She, then, started requesting the weirdest and most nonsensical things from the others like making Haibara sing a cute song or asking Shoko to do her homeworks for the next 2 days.
"Gojo-san! Go on a date!"
Equal expressions of shock occupied our features because of Yume's ridiculous request. Geto was the first one to react. "Yume-san, I'd pity the girl he's going to date. Satoru and dating doesn't really fit in one sentence."
"Then date a boy!"
If we could facepalm harder, we would've already. Her inner fujoshi was obviously resurfacing that I had to step in or else it would be the topic all night.
"I'm pretty sure it won't be so bad to date a girl, Gojo-san. Give it a try," I commented, half-assed. I didn't really care. I just wanted to pull Yume away from all her yaoi story escapades. She loses her sanity talking about them sometimes and she describes their love scenes in such awfully detailed way.
"Sure," he agreed so fast that we all wondered what happened to that Gojo who would take every opportunity to prolong things and purposely annoy someone. "Try it with me."
Eh?
I felt goosebumps traveling from my arms up to my neck, making me shiver along the process. "Please stop, that's seriously disgusting."
"You two! Flirting from the exchange event until now. Give us a break!"
"Please respect those who choose to abstain from worldly temptations!," the male seniors added while making bodhisattva faces.
"It'll be more like babysitting a man-child than an actual relationship."
Gojo's response garnered different reactions from our schoolmates. Most of them were of disagreement while others took that rare and enjoyable chance to slander him. He just let out a carefree laugh.
"But really, consider dating seriously, Gojo-san. Who knows? You might like it," Yume finalized. Geto and I accidentally met gazes. It seemed as if he was also thinking the same thing. Yume looked so persuasive about this, contrary to her usual nature of being awkward and flustered around Gojo.
"Relationships? Don't you know? Coaches don't play, Yume-chan."
"Oh my god," I muttered in annoyance. "By having limitless, I wonder if they were talking about your shamelessness or your lack of braincells."