6: Very Pretty

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"Get up, dorks," Kugisaki's bold voice comes from behind us, effectively scaring the hell out of Itadori and I. "We're going out."

Gojo assigned me another afternoon of movie watching with the cursed corpse after a long morning of training the next day. Itadori offered to join me, which I gladly accepted. He of course showed up with two armfuls of packaged snacks and a few Jennifer Lawrence movies, and then we settled into yesterday's arrangement on the couch.

We're in the middle of the second Hunger Games movie when Kugisaki makes her grand appearance.

Itadori turns to look at her, curiosity twinkling in his eyes. "Going out?"

"Yeah, to the city. I need new clothes." Her eyes fall onto me and she raises a brow, placing a hand on her hip. "You in, new girl?"

I shake my head, waving a hand to tell her I'm fine to stay behind. This only earns me a frustrated huff accompanied by the most dramatic eye roll I think I've ever seen. It doesn't intimidate me the way I know she wants it to. Coming from the dance world, I've dealt with my fair share of snobby, egotistical girls. And it isn't that Kugisaki is either of those things. She's just fierce and extremely self-assured. Her appearance alone is more than enough to convey that she isn't one to be tampered with.

Kugisaki doesn't have a single soft physical feature. She has an athletic, slightly muscular build. Even her haircut is sharp and precise, ending in a straight line right along her jaw, but still framing the hardened features of her face. Her gaze is intense and scrutinizing, like she's trying to look straight through me.

"Look, I'm not gonna beg you to have fun like I have to with Fushiguro," she asserts. "You're going."

Itadori gives me a reassuring smile, which reveals a hint of unhidden excitement. "It'll be fun! Our first outing together as a friend group of 4!"

Friend group...and I'm included?

Kugisaki, who absolutely would have voiced her opposition to this idea had it existed, speaks up again. "Be ready in 5."

So, I end up in the back seat Ijichi's car between Fushiguro and Kugisaki. Itadori won the game of rock, paper, scissors for the front seat, where he sits with his chest puffed out and a victorious smirk on his face.

Looking up ahead, I notice that we're about to pass the theater I'd performed in just a few days prior. Construction workers are on high ladders on the side of the building, patching up and painting a particularly blackened area—the one I'd left smouldering. My stomach churns at the sight of it and the candies that Itadori forced me to try earlier threaten to come back up. Memories of the competition resurface and a depressing, hollow feeling seeps through my body.

Everyone's eyes travel straight to it and I immediately bow my head in shame.

"That was pretty badass," Kugisaki murmurs to me, nodding toward the damage.

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