Kotoba Ijō 言葉以上 ⋮ Fushiguro Megumi

Chapter 9

There's some turbulence on the train that makes your head roll off of Megumi's shoulder. The sudden, unexpected dip startles you awake. It wasn't until you jerk up that you realize you had fallen asleep on him.

Your eyes gape, then you awkwardly lean the other way. You're surprised he hadn't moved you, "Sorry...."

Megumi seems to be staring off at nothing. The guy seems unbothered. He looks at you briefly before he looks elsewhere again. He doesn't say anything.

You exhale audibly through your nose before you turn to look out of the window. It seems he's still not speaking to you. There's a part of you that wanted to speak up in hopes to resolve the thick tension, but you also didn't want to presumably make things worse. So, you keep quiet.

Some time passes.

The overhead speakers along the train finally announce the arrival to Hakata Station in Fukuoka. The train rolls to a stop. You feel something pulling at your jacket, prompting you to turn from the window to Megumi. The man tugs gently on your jacket to get your attention. He looks at you before jerking his head towards the nearest door of the train and then he gets up. It's his silent way of telling you that it's time to go. This small action makes you feel slightly better about the situation. At least he's still acknowleding your presence. You follow him off the train.

Megumi digs his hand into the pocket of his pants and pulls out his phone. His thumb taps and scrolls against the glass screen. The guy continues to walk through the crowded train station while looking up the notes that Gojo had sent him. Notes that let him know exactly where to go and what to look for.

The sun no longer sits at the highest point in the sky. In just a few hours, the sky will soon welcome the beginnings of night. You continue to walk behind the raven-hair slowly. He leads the two of you out of the station and onto a side street, where it's much more quiet.

Fukuoka is the largest city in the Kyushu region and the sixth largest city in all of Japan. You trail behind Megumi as you take in your surroundings. There were tall buildings left and right. It wasn't anything you haven't seen before. But being away from the concrete jungle for some time and away from civilization in the privacy of Jujutsu Tech made the city feel almost foreign.

Your attention is everywhere except for the things immediately in front of you and your inattentiveness causes you to run into Megumi. He had stopped walking just a few seconds before you collided into him.

"Sorry!" You say as you take a few steps back.

But Megumi didn't budge. He also, doesn't say anything. The raven-hair continues to scroll through his phone with a thumb. It makes you sigh quietly to yourself. At this point, you may as well be invisible. The raven-hair shoves his phone into the pocket of his pants and waves down a taxi that just so happened to turn down this empty street.

"Uhm..." there were many things you wanted to ask. Such as, where the two of you were headed or what this job entails. But the taxi's already here.

Megumi gets the door. He turns to look at you. Finally. More acknowledgement. The man obviously wanted you to get in first. Because he's a gentleman. And he'll stay true to his character, despite whatever mood he's in.

But you weren't sure. So you hesitate, "Are we...." You point with a thumb, "....getting in?"

"It's 15 minutes by car." He says, "Unless you intend to walk an hour by foot."

That was enough for you to slide in.

Megumi joins you shortly after. He closes the door and looks at the cab driver, "Mushiroda Junior High School, please."