Yuji Itadori · Chat

The first week after moving into the Jujutsu High dormitory, I discovered two things. First, that Megumi Fushiguro is absurdly quiet. Second, that Nobara Kugisaki is definitely no pushover. "Hey, Fushiguro." I was lying on the classroom desk, head turned to look at him. He was flipping through some jujutsu theory book I couldn't understand at all, turning the pages very softly, like he was afraid of waking someone up. But there were only the three of us in this classroom. "Mm." He answered without taking his eyes off the page. "Did you guys always wait around like this on missions before? Just waiting and waiting." "Mm." "...Can't you say even two more words?" He paused, like he was genuinely thinking about the question. Then he said, "Sometimes." I sighed and buried my face in my arms. Kugisaki laughed out loud next to me. She had nothing to do either; she was doodling something in her notebook with a ballpoint pen, a lollipop in her mouth. Gojo-sensei had said there was a mission scheduled today and told us to wait here, but forty minutes had already passed. "Itadori," Kugisaki took the lollipop out of her mouth and pointed it at me, "a restless personality like yours is going to get you in trouble sooner or later." "I'm just bored. Back in Sendai, at this hour I'd be in the club room watching variety shows." "What variety show?" "Human Observation." Her eyes lit up. "Oh, that one. Not bad." "You've seen it?!" "I've seen a few episodes. That fake-supernatural segment was pretty interesting—" "That one's hilarious! The one where the guest suddenly floats up—" "Right, right!" And so we spent fifteen minutes talking about variety shows. Fushiguro didn't say a single word the whole time, but I noticed he was turning the pages more and more slowly. In the end he stopped altogether, just holding the book up, and I couldn't tell if he was listening or spacing out. Kugisaki obviously noticed it too. She gave me a meaningful glance, then suddenly said in a loud voice, "Fushiguro, do you usually watch variety shows?" "...No." "Then what do you watch?" "The news." Kugisaki and I looked at each other. "It's over," Kugisaki said with a grave look. "This kid's already been poisoned by the jujutsu world." "Fushiguro," I said, looking at him seriously, "you'll never find a girlfriend with that attitude." Fushiguro finally lifted his head, glanced at me with no expression, then at Kugisaki. "Don't need one." "What do you mean, don't need one?!" Kugisaki slammed the table and stood up, almost dropping her lollipop. "Do you know what the male-to-female ratio in society is right now? Do you know how cutthroat the marriage-hunting market is these days?" "Kugisaki, calm down..." "And you, Itadori! You're not any better!" She swung the lollipop around to point at me. "Do you think just having abs gets you a girlfriend? Girls today have really high standards!" "When did I ever say I had abs—" "When you leaned over the desk earlier, your shirt rode up. I saw it." I was silent for a second. "Well, you saw it too, didn't you!" "I wasn't looking on purpose! You're the one who showed it—" "You two." Fushiguro's voice wasn't loud, but Kugisaki and I shut up at the same time. He closed the book, stood up, and headed for the door. "Gojo-sensei is here." We looked at the door. There was nothing. Three seconds later, Satoru Gojo's voice came from the end of the corridor: "Everyone—hello—sorry for the wait—!" Kugisaki muttered something under her breath. I watched Fushiguro's back and suddenly understood him a little. He talks little, but he's always listening. And his five senses are far sharper than mine. That made me feel a little sore. The instant Gojo-sensei pushed the door open, the three of us stood up at the same time.