mamoritai | f. megumi

十

"Over here?"

"Yep"

As Ino parks the car in front of Hakushu Teppanyaki in Shibuya, Momoka swiftly removes her seatbelt and then extends her arm out to reach for her duffel bag placed in the back of the car. "Thanks so much for taking me here!"

"Well, your dad kind of made me your chauffeur." Ino replies, smiling widely. "Say hi to Gojo for me!"

"Will do!" Momoka bids, getting out of the car, waving her hand to him before entering the restaurant where Gojo had instructed her to go to.

To be inside this high end restaurant, Momoka thought that Gojo must have asked the others on what they want to eat. Sitting comfortably on a table booked for five people, Momoka patiently waited. And as she waited, she wondered what kind of classmates she has. She had heard from Gojo that they were-

"There you are!" Gojo suddenly spoke in a cheery tone, placing an arm around Momoka's shoulders from behind. Momoka, jumping from her spot at Gojo's sudden appearance, couldn't help but swing her left hand from behind and slap him. But mid way, Gojo had activated his technique so Momoka couldn't slap him. 

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Momoka shouts, standing from her seat.

"Now, now, Momoka. If you shout at guys like that, you won't be able to get a boyfriend!" Gojo teases.

"So what?! I'll just keep working my butt off then!" Momoka grumbles, dropping her hand to her suit, fixing her slightly unloosened black tie.

"Woah!" A boy with salmon pink suddenly came into Momoka's view, looking at her uniform. "Did you customized her uniform too, Gojo sensei?"

"Yes I did!" Gojo smiles, clasping his hands together. "Momoka's fate is already sealed! When she graduates, she'll become an auxiliary manager!"

"That's so cool!" The boy with salmon pink hair suddenly gushes, pointing his index finger at himself. "I'm Itadori Yuji! I'm from Sendai!"

It was not before long that Yuji was pushed away and a girl with short, brown hair marveled at Momoka like she was a new kid in the neighborhood playground.

"You're so pretty! I'm Kugisaki! But call me Nobara!" Immediately, Nobara engulfs her into a hug. "It's so nice to finally see a girl! These two are snot picking uglies!"

"Hey, I didn't pick my nose today!" Yuji defends himself.

"Nice to meet you too, Yuji from Sendai and Nobara!" Momoka smiles with her eyes closed. But as she opened them again and saw a familiar face to her, Momoka's heart fluttered inside her chest again. It was like the memories and feelings of the past began to surge their way back into her.

"Megumi?"

"Momoka?"

The two stared at each other in disbelief, unable to come out any words nor a single alphabet from their mouths.

Megumi, who turned his head away and lightly rubbed the back of his nape, begins to speak first. "I-It's nice to see you again..."

Momoka, who also had her head looking away from him, hand holding her cheek, replies. "It's nice to see you again, Megumi..."

"The lovers have been reunited!" Gojo cheerily announces, clasping his hands together. "Seriously there was even a time that Megumi looked so-"

Before Megumi could even march up to the older male, Momoka held his arm, preventing him from doing so.

"I did not!" Megumi fires back.

"Oopsie. Momoka, these slipped out of your pocket!" Yuji says, picking up a deck of cards and then handing it to her. In which Momoka takes it in her hand.

"Your cards...weren't just normal ones, huh?" Megumi asks, taking a seat besides Momoka on the reserved table, eyeing the box of cards. Momoka could only nod her head yes in response to his question.

While Gojo was busy looking at the menu and asking Momoka on what she wanted to eat, Megumi on his phone, Yuji and Nobara held the menu pamphlets up on their faces and began to whisper between themselves.

"Hey, don't you find these two suspicious?" Nobara asks

"I know. They're on first name basis." Yuji says, glancing at Megumi.

"Just classmates from before, my foot. They probably kissed before." Nobara says

"Do you think they were each other's first kiss?" Yuji asks

"I want to know that too!" Nobara whisper shouts, giggling.

. . . . . . . . . . ♡

Once dinner is over, Gojo called Ijichi to come pick them up and drive them back to the school's dormitories.

With all the sushi and steak that Momoka ate, she could feel her eyes slowly falling down on her. Her eyelids slowly begins to fall on her, her body slightly swaying left to right as she began to be drunk on sleepiness. Before Momoka could fall back on the side walk, she felt a hand on her back, steadying her.

"You can lean on me." was what Megumi says.

And Momoka took up on his words, she stood closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes afterwards.

As Momoka slept soundly by his shoulder, Megumi had a lot of questions he wanted to ask of her. Why was she afraid to admit she too can see and feel curses? Why did she need to find it from him?

So many unanswered questions yet so little answers to each of it. But for tonight, he'll let it pass them by. He is definitely going to ask her a lot of questions when another time comes. And while in the middle of being thankful for being reunited with Momoka, his phone screen suddenly lit up, bringing it closer to his face to see what the text message is about.

From: Nobara
To: Megumi

Make a move or else. pm 7:11

Furrowing his eyebrows, he turned his head to look at Nobara and Yuji who both had their thumbs up at him. Their teasing furthered when Yuji made kissing faces and Nobara tried to keep her laughter to herself.

If only he could hit Yuji's head, he would've done so. But since Momoka was sleeping on his shoulder, even the smallest of his movements would stir her to wake up, and Megumi didn't want to wake her up. It didn't bothered him at all about the idea that he needed to maintain this stiffening posture, the girl whom he has feelings for is finally with him.

And all he wanted to do is to enjoy this moment. A moment that suffices all the days, weeks and months that he didn't get to see and talk to her.

Because of Momoka falling asleep on his shoulder, Yuji is spared and lived another day.

edited: 121222