Work Text:
At the entrance of an aquarium stands Yuuji, scrolling down his social feed to pass the time as his jittery feet create a poor imitation of tap dancing against the concrete slab. Having arrived precisely twenty minutes earlier to avoid running late for his very first date, he constantly studies himself in the nearby display window to see if he’s dressed well for this outing. His clothing choice is courtesy of one Nobara Kugisaki. Subconsciously, his mind reels back to the vignette behind this attire.
(“Oh my God! Do you never get tired of hoodies, Bakadori?” Nobara yells in a personally offended voice—as if she has some vendetta against hoodies—after taking only one glance at his wardrobe. She is not entirely wrong, but it’s not like he wears hoodies for fashion particularly. They’re comfy enough and make up for his indecisiveness when it comes to everyday garments. Nevertheless, he does not bicker when she drags him and an unfazed Megumi to Harajuku.
It takes them approximately four hours to conclude their shopping spree because the girl spends more time picking clothes for herself than for him. When they return, Nobara compiles together an outfit—without seeking his opinion, but it does look dashing, so who is he to complain?—which ends up being a varsity jacket with cute motifs, a simple white fit, a shoulder bag, a pair of black cargo pants, and a pair of Jordan—the only branded shoe wear he owns.
Wiping her non-existent sweat away, she advises (more like berates) him to step up his game. “When you get there, compliment the girl no matter what!” She emphasises this by bringing up a whiteboard out of thin air that has some dating tips jotted down beforehand. “Even if she’s wearing a potato sack, you must let her know that she is beautiful and make her feel appreciated. You’re definitely not a prince (“What is this random slander?”), but you better treat her like a princess.”
Megumi, who has been reading an eBook this entire time, suddenly emerges into the conversation to counter her, “Just be yourself since that’s what Ozawa likes about you. There’s no point in drawing the longbow. You’d probably end up making her feel uncomfortable.”
Whistling gibingly, his redhead friend demands with an exaggerated pose of planting a palm over her chest, “Since when did you become the expert in dating?”
“I don’t need experience to have common sense.” Megumi’s deadpan reply rewards him with a pillow thrown to his face, hence commencing a pillow fight in Yuuji’s room. He doesn’t bother wondering whether they came here to help him or beat the crap out of each other. After all, Yuuji is more anxious about his first date.)
“—uji-kun!”
A pressing call to his name snaps him out of his reverie. He blinks up to see Yuko—in a high-waisted long skirt and a black blouse with floral embroidery—sauntering towards his way. They gawk at each other for a moment before taking a glimpse at their watches respectively, thus discovering that they have shown up earlier than the designated time.
“O-oh!” “Oh!”
Once again surprised by their accorded reaction, the teenagers share an awkward laugh together. Yuuji is the first to clear his throat. “Ah, Yuko, you um,” he rubs the back of his head, blushing hard—already fumbling—but recuperates fast, “look very pretty!”
Yuko peers at her feet demurely and looks back up following a beat. “T-Thank you. You look really handsome too. Pastel purple looks good on you!”
It is a genuine compliment that Yuuji accepts his own shy thank you while making a mental note of her last comment.
Despite the two entering the aquarium side by side, neither wields the courage to hold hands like last time. Yuuji offers, or rather, insists he will take care of the expenses of their first date. Yuko wanted their date at the aquarium, so it made more sense for him to treat her as her boyfriend (!!!). As he has anticipated, Yuko protests against this idea but eventually relents after he suggests she foot the bill on their next date (!!!).
Unlike the aquariums he had visited in Sendai with his grandpa, this one seems to be way bigger and more grandiose in every aspect possible. With a very diverse selection of marine life of different species and kinds, and some that are native to Japan, the famous jellyfish exhibit proves to be truly mesmerising in every way. He feels like a child again—eyes tracking the graceful manoeuvre of the many moon jellyfish that are engulfed by a vibrant, ethereal glow in the display aquarium.
However, this gorgeous sight also dredges up bittersweet memories undoubtedly of Junpei. Long has he made peace with his passing, but the pain of losing Junpei, the very first person he met and lost due to the cruel world of sorcerers and curses, is etched deep into Yuuji’s very soul. He ponders whether Junpei would’ve loved this place. Perhaps he had already visited it with his mom since the Yoshino family was from Tokyo. If not, and if he was still alive now, they could’ve gone together.
With a bitter smile, Yuuji shakes off the thought. He ought to be enjoying his time with Yuko, but here he is, thinking about his past regrets.
Try as he may, his sudden quiet demeanour does not go overlooked by Yuko. She asks him, “Yuuji-kun, is everything okay?” in a feathery tone as if he is a fragile porcelain.
His eyes dart to Yuko, who patiently waits for his response. Yuuji can’t help but open up to those expectant auburns. “I was just reminded of a friend… I think he would’ve liked this place.”
The grief must have seeped through his words, for her visage mellows in what he believes is sympathy. “Do you miss him?”
“I didn’t know him enough to miss him, sadly.” But I wish I could’ve, though. Not desiring to sombre the mood, he assures her with a grin, “It’s fine, though. I’m sure he’s at peace wherever he is!”
Yuko does not prod further but only squeezes his hand in return—a soothing gesture that gives him solace. Truly the epitome of understanding and kindness. He doubts if he deserves such a person.
They both stop to read the description of the types of jellyfish displayed there. “Wow, there are so many of them. Cannonball jellyfish…” He squints his eyes to find it but is easily overwhelmed by the influx of the many species that invade his field of vision. Thankfully his search cuts short when Yuko points at the aforementioned jellyfish. He takes in the big glob in awe and blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind, “They look like mushrooms.”
“Don’t all jellyfish look like mushrooms?” Yuko asks.
Wedging his chin between his thumb and index finger, he muses audibly after a contemplative silence, “Hmm, they do. I guess I never thought about it.” He then peers up at the aquarium again to find an elegant transparent jellyfish with long tentacles and looks back to the label to identify it. “What is this, Amakusa jellyfish… the scientific name is…” His eyebrows pinch up together at the intricate nomenclature. “Sanderia Ma… Malaysia?”
Letting out a silvery chuckle that has no right to sound that endearing (which he yearns to hear more over the course of their relationship), she corrects, “It’s Sanderia malayensis,” and follows it with a curious hum when she reads the rest of the description. “But you are not wrong, it says here that this species is common in Malaysia too.”
He snaps his fingers. “Oh, so that’s why it has the word ‘Malay’ in it!”
“Seems so!”
Just like that, they pass thirty minutes spelling out scientific names in the form of tongue twisters. And if they are to accidentally press their faces close—but not contiguous enough—to watch the bloom of jellyfish, neither utters a word about it.
The incident back at the jellyfish exhibition still lingers in the back of her head. The more she spends time with him, the more she can catch the melancholic aura that leaks through the invisible cracks of his persona. All these mysteries shroud him, yet nothing clues her in on what happened to him. She is more frustrated with herself than Yuuji but is willing to wait. Regardless of how naïve she may sound, Yuko hopes that one day she can understand him so that he no longer has to hide his past from her and that she can relieve him of whatever anguishes his mind.
Her train of thoughts breaks off when Yuuji—with no warning—gently but firmly tugs her by the hand, subconsciously linking their fingers together. Still, in her stupor, Yuko blinks several times to figure out where he leads her. All around them, sightseers gather to spectate the serene extravaganza led by the raft of penguins swimming across the large aquaria. The many coos of amazed children and adults reverberate in her auricles.
Even so, Yuko only pays attention to one thing: Yuuji, whose eyes also gleam in child-like astonishment as he points and cheeps at the penguins.
At that moment, her brain only functions to capture this memory for an eternity, for this sight is far more enthralling than the cute sea creatures.
At that moment, all the young girl can think of is—
I want to see more of his smile.
They stroll under the shark tunnel. The diverse marine life and beautiful coral reefs of every shade do not keep their captivation too long, for they both keep taking secret glances at each other. During this, they come across a group of sea otters drifting at their leisure. When the couple are about to go to next exhibit, a sea otter abandons its group to hover above them and peer at them. It does not leave as if it has taken an interest in them alone.
“Aww, look at this little guy!” Yuuji cranes his neck at the stray creature and warbles. “Oh, I think you got yourself an admirer, Yuko!”
A brush of crimson instantly paints her features as the poor girl stutters up a retort, “What?! But that’s not—!” The sea otter is definitely engrossed in both of them. But her protest ends prematurely from the heat rushing to her face.
Yuuji just titters in response, mercilessly adding more fuel to the fire that burns the teenage love-struck girl ablaze. “Wanna take a picture with it?” His question does not sound caustic as he digs out his phone.
Yuko sighs after a few breaths and approaches his side. “In that case, we should take a selfie.”
The boy concedes as he aligns the front camera to take the picture of them but fails since the sea otter is out of the shot. Stretching his arm here and there (Yuko internally panics when his hair tickles her ear at one point), he tries to adjust the angle, which does nothing to help.
“I can’t—” he attempts a different angle only to bumble incessantly, “—get a good angle!” Finally, he slumps and groans in ill humour.
Feeling a little disappointed at the position of their supposed admirer, who’s still peering at them, she tries to console him only to get interrupted by a stranger behind them.
“Do you guys need help?” says the masked stranger with pigtails—Huh?!
(The moment Yuko steps into her classroom, she is immediately jumped by a high-spirited Kazumi and her onslaught of questions. Left with no option, she devotes their free time before the first class to explaining what happened yesterday.
“Oooh,” her best friend grins devilishly. “So not only your Itadori-kun had been promoted to Yuuji-kun, but he also became Yuu-kun.” Clasping her hands together in mock of a prayer, her melodramatic friend chants his name with a dreamy look.
Swatting at the gesture, “Not so loud, Kazumi-chan!” Yuko reprimands her before harrumphing and makes herself clear. “And I haven’t even addressed him like that.” Though, she can’t say that she doesn’t want to in the near future.
As if she has read her mind, the pigtailed girl slams her desk and shows no chagrin in barking a series of laughter, which grants them some probing looks from the other classmates, so much that Yuko wishes the ground to swallow her whole. After recovering from her hysterics, Kazumi queries, “Well, when are you going on this aquarium date with him?”
“We haven’t talked about it yet.”
“Oh well, let me know the time and place after you decide.”
“Why?”
Kazumi huffs with a ‘duh’ frown. “To pick the most gorgeous fit for you, of course!”
Yuko nods but still wonders why she needs to notify her about the place too.)
Well, now she has her answer. She can recognise the cheeky voice of Kazumi anywhere, and that hairstyle is a prime giveaway to her identity—no one wears pigtails with mismatched lengths like that. Horrified, Yuko wonders how long she has been stalking them. The taller girl suppresses the audible gasp that threatens to leave her at that thought.
Kazumi’s eyes narrow, covertly smiling under the mask, whereas Yuko, for all, stands there speechlessly. Her reaction does not faze her boyfriend as he flips his head from the phone to acknowledge the stranger. “Oh, hello! Um, you don’t mind taking our picture?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Kazumi utters in a deep voice (Is she trying to intimidate him?), “Not at all. I’m the one who offered, right?”
Impervious to Yuko’s internal perturbation, Yuuji bows and hands Kazumi his phone before standing beside Yuko. “Thank you! Ah, and please make sure to include the sea otter.” Yuko can’t help but wonder if the said animal is in this ploy too.
“Okay.” Again with the intimidating tone. Kazumi falls a few steps back and peeks her head away from the camera. “Can you two stand closer?”
Obviously, there is no reason for that, but Yuko can see her game. That little troublemaker…! However, Yuuji is oblivious to this and turns to her for permission with a slightly worried gaze, which hits her heart bullseye (because how can one get any more gentlemanly than this?). The girl nods. She hopes her blush will not be so prominent as she feels when his clothed arm brushes her bare one.
On the other hand, her sadistic friend emits a satisfied hum, clearly enjoying this, and gives back Yuuji’s phone only after five clicks of the camera and three prompts for different poses. Kazumi—the little devil she is—doesn’t leave without throwing one last remark at them, “You two look cute together. Have fun.” Her fake voice cracks at the end and doesn’t conceal her levity.
The couple ends up flustered. So Yuuji does what he does best, busying himself with waving at the marine celebrity, who swims away as if done with its business. That somewhat confirms Yuko’s suspicion of its involvement.
Time well spent at the aquarium, the young teenagers are tired and famished from all the walking and immediately seek out a restaurant. Yuuji, as promised, pays for their lunch, much to his girlfriend’s hardly masked disapproval. They have their Western-style lunch between idle chatters about school and other mundane things. After a satisfied stomach, they naturally fall back into a friendly chat and share the pictures they have taken with each other.
(“Yuko, look at these eels! They’re clearly family!”
“Are you sure?”
“Hell yeah, they literally look like copies of each other.”
“Well, they are from the same species.”
“But look at how close they’re to each other. At the very least, they should be friends.”
“Alright.”
“What—why are you laughing?! If humans can communicate and make friends, I’m sure eels can do that too.”
“Right, right. I agree.”
“...”
“Wait! Yuuji-kun, I'm sorry! Please, don't sulk.”).
Their momentum leads them to a desolate part of a park, a paradise tucked away from the pedestrians. A moment of silence stretches between the teenagers until Yuko comes to a stop, causing him to halt as well. She looks up and graces him with a smile so bright that it can compete with the sun itself. “That was really fun, Yuuji-kun. Thanks for coming and paying for the whole day even if you didn’t have to.”
The boy beams with the biggest grin he can put on and waves his hand dismissively at her last words. “I had fun too! And please, Yuko, no need to thank me for paying,” and without a second thought, he adds, “After all, I am your boyfriend!” It is too late when his brain processes the words that leave his blabbering mouth out of instinct. They both instantly find themselves immersed in deep shades of red.
“I-Is that so?” Yuko doesn’t look at him in the eyes when she asks but it’s not like he is any better since his eyes are more preoccupied with the maple trees behind her.
Although they are dating, the boyfriend-girlfriend term seems foreign to him. He suspects it is the same for Yuko too. Chewing on his lower lip, he says after a while, “Y-yeah. So it’s fine for me to pay for you. Don’t think much of it. Haha.” He forces a laughter, which just ends up coming off cloddish.
And... curse him. His traitorous eyes wander to her face, and at the same time, her pretty ones dart up to his. He feels like someone has punched him right in the gut, except the pain feels too gratifying to be accounted for an offence.
“I…” Yuko begins but stops herself, shyly looking down again to continue, “I guess this is where we call it a day?”
Oh, yeah. Right. Though, for an unknown reason, there is an emptiness swelling and swirling gradually inside the cavern of his heart. It feels like something is missing here. He nods nonetheless. “Yeah… See you next time. Stay safe, Yuko,” he ends lamely with a small wave.
“See you too, Yuuji-kun, and take care,” she mutters and, with a nod, walks away. He turns to do the same (briefly wonders why he’s walking in the opposite direction when the exit is in front, but eh—) and only stops when she abruptly calls out his name with a tinge of urgency.
Yuuji pivots to her at once and waits… and waits. Wait he does, but the brunette facing him does not move an inch. At that, several questions begin to pop up ceaselessly in his mind. Did I say something wrong? Did I do something wrong? Is she upset? Was the food not good? Is she gonna call off our next time?
However, all these questions dissipate among the dust particles in the sunlight that bestows upon them because at one second, Yuko is a good distance away from him, but the next, she’s up close, breathing the same air as him. Yuuji involuntarily flinches but holds his position and stares with bated breath as her hand comes in slow motion to perch upon his left cheek.
“Can I…?” Her question hangs in the air, incomplete and uncertain, but Yuuji has seen enough romcoms to understand what she means.
What she asks for.
Even though his lips part to answer, his vocal cords barely performs, only slipping away a small pathetic whimper. All that his working muscles can afford is a single nod.
Yuuji Itadori is but a frozen statue when her perfume—a floral scent that tethers towards lilac, pleasant and not too overpowering to one’s senses—wafts as she tiptoes and gets as much closer to his face than when she was at the jellyfish exhibition, so much that he can feel her breath hot on his cheek.
The kiss is as light as a peck from a bird—a velvety tender touch on his dry skin, though he is far too shocked to feel insecure about his skincare. Her lips dally only for a few seconds before abandoning him. The tiger-cane boy with a heart that beats a mile a minute is too afraid to chase it—he can only blink away the want.
“Goodbye!” the villainess squeals as she sprints away in a trice (how—?), not even giving him a moment to revive from his transitory petrification and bid farewell as well. Belatedly, he lifts a single hand to stroke his warm cheek. When he peers down, a faint lip gloss stain glistens on his fingertips, winking at him. The pinkette does not recall how long he stands there, dumbfounded.
No thoughts. Head empty. Only lilacs.
Omake:
With the sunglasses and caps making them stick like a sore thumb, Megumi tries to ignore the sceptical looks sent their way. “This is insanity,” he thinks to himself as the three of them watch the pink-haired teenager and his girlfriend from afar.
He is not supposed to be here in the first place, spying on his friend like a bunch of lowlifes. Alas, he cannot will himself to refuse Gojo’s offer to leave him alone for two weeks. Since Nobara is unreliable at times, Megumi deems his presence should be sufficient for damage control if any is to rise. The least he can do for his friend is prevent his date from getting ruined by a meddling fool and an unpredictable force.
“Formation A!” Gojo announces loud and firm, akin to a captain, well, an obnoxious one at that. With all his willpower, Megumi resists the urge to bang his head on the giant pillar that covers them. “This is a tailing mission. Keep in mind that at no point should you approach the target or reveal your position. We are to only follow them and observe what they’re up to.”
“We get it,” Nobara tsks beside him, yet her eyes are busy swarming on the unfortunate couple. “You can stop roleplaying now.”
“Alright~!” Gojo chirps. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m very curious about this Ozawa-chan. I mean, this is Yuuji-kun. The kid never stops yapping about his Jennifer Lawrence that I was sure he’ll score himself a Caucasian beauty.”
“Ozawa is way better than that American actress,” she contributes unhelpfully to this unnecessary discourse. That’s Nobara for you.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to steal her from Yuuji-kun the second you get the chance, you homewrecker!”
Nobara rapidly colours at the obvious bait. “What the hell? I’m not that much of a horrible friend.”
“Aha! So, you do agree that you’re horrible!”
“Why you—”
Having enough of their silly squabble, Megumi cuts her off, “Can you please stop? We’re supposed to ‘tail’ them.”
“Oh, right!”
“Holy shit! Are they holding hands?” Nobara notes after a while of stalking them into the aquarium. Megumi returns his gaze from the colourful swarms of fish to verify this speculation.
“How adorable? Oh, to be young!” Gojo croons and wastes no time taking pictures of—what?!
Megumi and Nobara lour in unison, with the raven head the first one to voice their concern, “Why are you taking pictures of them like a creep? I’m not intervening if someone calls the cops on you.”
Gojo lifts down his candid camera. “First of all, they’re standing in front of the penguins, so it looks like I’m taking a picture of them, not them. Secondly,” he dramatically tears away his sunglasses and smirks like he has figured out a new equation, “I’m saving these for their wedding.”
“Wedding?!” Nobara all but shrieks.
“Yep!” He pops the p. “Ozawa-chan waited since junior high to confess to him. Imagine how deep her love must be for Yuuji-kun. I won’t be surprised if he shows up with a wedding invitation in a few years.”
“Wow, that’s a new level for your crazy assumptions,” the redhead says, but Megumi suspects she does entertain the idea. She once prattled on for hours about how her dream marriage should be. Who’s to say she isn’t interested in her friend’s? “But, why the pictures?”
“Have you never seen a wedding reception, Nobara-chan?” The teenagers roll their eyes together as the former teacher tuts, shaking his head. “Wedding receptions usually display a slideshow of pictures of the bride and groom. Some couples, especially from love marriages, include pictures from their prior meetings too! This is where I come in, the kind and trusty Gojo-sensei, who has prepared these pictures in advance. I’m sure Yuuji-kun will thank me for being so thoughtful.”
Megumi can’t help but poke the hole in his plan. “What if he asks about how and where you got them?”
“Eh, he’ll forgive me. Hmm, but can’t say the same about Ozawa-chan. It’s okay, I’ll win her heart in no time!” Gojo gives them both a thumbs up and carries on with taking pictures.
Their tailing mission has its pros, though. Their time is mainly spent sightseeing rather than spying, with Gojo tuning in and out to flaunt his collection of random trivia about marine biology.
(“Ever wondered how Cnidarians like jellyfish—”
“No.” “No.”
“—eat their fill? You see, their tentacles have specialised cells called cnidocytes on them that contain capsulised nematocysts, which can secrete toxins when discharged to paralyse the prey. Cnidarians then use their tentacles to grab the prey and swallow it via the mouth and into the gastrovascular cavity. The crazy part is the mouth is the only opening to the gastrovascular cavity, so it also acts as an anus. Revolting, isn't it?”
“Please shut up.”).
When Yuuji and Ozawa disappear into a restaurant, Gojo takes them to a fast food chain nearby, avoiding the closest KFC for some reason. They eat their hamburgers outside just in case the couple leaves before them. The trio then follows them into the secluded part of a park and conceals their presence discreetly behind a huge tree trunk. Although Megumi cannot hear any of it, he can certainly tell they're saying goodbye to each other.
Strangely enough, Ozawa walks away only to suddenly halt and return to Yuuji again. That’s when Megumi’s instincts alarm him that something is about to happen, something not meant for their eyes. Judging by the gasp that leaves Nobara, he is sure she shares the same stance.
“Okay, that’s enough. We can go now.” Megumi turns to leave before his curiosity gets the better of him.
“I agree,” says Nobara, doing the same.
“What? But they haven’t ended their date.” Gojo protests with a petulant whine, but Nobara and Megumi use all their combined strength to drag the grown man away.