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Kagome was accustomed to students—both her own and others—coming to her for private counsel and advice. Over time, she developed a reputation for being empathetic, kind, and insightful. It was in stark contrast to Satoru Gojo and Shoko Ieiri: two of her fellow faculty and long-time friends. Kagome even became used to students asking for her advice on romantic endeavors. She was flattered that so many young minds felt comfortable approaching her with their vulnerabilities and insecurities.
Despite her extensive experience in guiding young minds, this was the first time students pressed for more details on her personal experience. It was during her class' P.E. hour that a trio of young girls joined her on the sidelines of the outdoor training grounds.
"Kagome-sensei, can you tell us about your first boyfriend?"
"Yeah! How old were you when you got your first one?!"
"Please tell us, Kagome-sensei!"
Kagome's default warm expression collapsed into one of mild surprise and fluster as her lips parted and eyebrows raised. "Heh? You want to know about my first boyfriend...?" She repeated the request to stall for more time to gather an answer.
Truthfully, Kagome didn't need time to search her memory. Everyone's first partner was memorable, but hers was far from the usual. She was actually around her students' age when she reached that milestone in her life, but—.
She was sure that sharing her experience would do them no good. The circumstances did not fall into many teenage girls' laps after all.
It was an increasingly rare occurrence: an entire afternoon off from classes and missions. Naturally, Kagome spent the downtime relaxing with two of her best friends: Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto. She was just as close to Shoko but she was away practicing her Reverse Cursed Technique on a few fellow students who returned injured from their missions. Thus, the three of them were holed up in her dorm room. Her modest television was playing but unattended, merely providing white noise as they were captivated by their own devices.
After being visited by her three best friends numerous times, Kagome had invested in a king-sized bed to accommodate her frequent guests. Because of this, there was more than enough space to go around when she was entertaining. Despite the ample space, Satoru and Suguru never bothered to practice the rules of personal space and boundaries-well, it was primarily Satoru.
Suguru was at a respectful distance and was lying symmetrical with the mattress, his back against her upholstered headboard as he indulged in his current literary fixation. Due to the length of his legs and Kagome's lazy tendency to lay horizontally across her bed, their legs usually ended up crossing. It was never something that bothered Kagome, especially considering Suguru's gentlemanly way of allowing her legs on top of his for her comfort.
Meanwhile, Kagome occupied her time by delicately guiding her nail polish brush against her nails. She and Shoko recently purchased a variety set of polishes and the former girl was trying to determine her favorite color from the set. After a stroke of soft pink across her right index finger, the teen held her hand back to determine how the hue looked on her.
Last but certainly not least, there was Satoru—the young man whose every action and word cried "main character syndrome". As usual, he made himself quite comfortable with no regard for formalities or boundaries. The ends of his soft, ashen locks brushed against the back of Kagome's thighs as he used her plush bottom as a pillow—an action that she used to flush and argue with him over. He lied similarly to Suguru except for his position being inverted so that his sock-covered feet were resting near Suguru's head. His grin was all teeth as his shades reflected the blue light of his cell.
"Yo, Kagome," He suddenly called to her, "A little birdie told me that you've never had a boyfriend."
Kagome flinched, a slight rush of warmth to her cheeks. She inwardly groaned and knew that the culprit could only be Shoko. She had to wonder why she and Satoru were even talking about her relationship status.
"Yeah, so what?" Kagome quipped hotly, the touch of sass was supposed to portray indifference, but only piqued the interest of her two friends. She internally groaned again when she felt the weight of Satoru's head lift from her rear and the sound of Suguru's book closing. She scowled and repositioned herself into an upright position, bracing herself for the onslaught of teasing these two were infamous for.
Well, Satoru was the active teaser, but Suguru had his ways.
Once she was sitting on her instep, Kagome saw that Satoru had rolled over on his stomach. His cheek was propped onto his palm as he grinned like the cat that caught the canary. Meanwhile, Suguru's eyes and calm smile were also aimed in her direction.
Kagome knew that she was in for it now.
"Don't be like that," Satoru told her, pure mirth parading in his voice as he stared up at her, "We all know that you're a fucking babe and get asked out at least twice a week." His eyes sparkled with intrigue when more blood rushed to Kagome's cheek at his casual compliment. "What's stoppin' you from baggin' a dude? Spill."
Kagome's eyes flitted to Suguru.
He was usually the voice of reason to Satoru's tactlessness.
But of course. Of course. Suguru was wearing that expression. Most people would mistake it for the warm face of a sweet-mannered young man, but Kagome knew better. His eyes were expectant and his smile was sadistically entertained.
He was enjoying this line of questioning and would not come to her aid.
Kagome scoffed, almost rolling her eyes at the situation she was in. "There's nothing to spill," she insisted as she twisted her nail polish brush back into the bottle to secure the contents. "There's just no one who caught my eye," she answered matter-of-factly.
It was mostly true so the statement rolled off her tongue easily.
Satoru didn't bat an eyelash at her answer. In fact, he seemed even more amused by it as if he was expecting it. "Bullshit. What you really mean is that none of those losers are good enough for you, right?" He tilted his head, not so much to appear innocent but to get a better look at her face.
"That's not what I mean and you know it!" Kagome barked, part of her was irritated that he had gotten under her skin so easily—again.
"Come now, Satoru," Suguru finally spoke up as he tucked one arm beneath the other. Kagome felt a rush of relief when he finally chimed in. "You can't blame her for setting standards..." his smile widened, "Even if they're so high that she hasn't landed a boyfriend by now."
Kagome's brow twitched.
Of course, Suguru had to join with that lopsided smirk.
"Oh, shut up," Kagome didn't hesitate to verbalize how fed she was. "I'm just waiting for the right person, okay?" She gave a slight shrug to emphasize how normal the sentiment was.
"Yeah, right," Satoru still wasn't convinced. He pushed himself off his stomach and into a position where he could crawl on his hands and knees. Within seconds, he was in Kagome's space, an action that almost made her reel back. They were nearly nose to nose. Satoru's breath was on her lips as his eyes dared hers to submit—to avert and look away. "Bet my last yen that you've got the hots for one of us," his grin only widened.
Kagome lost the proximity challenge. She flinched away, her mouth hanging open as she blushed furiously.
It was only after Satoru and Suguru watched her reaction in silence that Kagome realized that she slipped up.
It had been a joke—a part of Satoru's usual teasing.
And yet, Kagome's internal functions ground to a halt.
The dead air prompted Satoru and Suguru to meet each other's eyes. Their conversation was brief and wordless.
"Wait—." The gears in his head were churning. "You for real?!" Kagome hated herself for the way Satoru's briefly surprised expression quickly returned to a wide grin as he snapped his fingers and pointed toward her, "You do!" Both Satoru and Suguru broke out into hysterics.
It was fight or flight time and Kagome chose flight.
With her skin on fire, Kagome shot up, standing up in the middle of her bed. She knew that she couldn't save the situation, but a quick trip to the bathroom could buy her time to cool her head. Well, that was the plan, but before she could make her escape, a firm yank on her wrist sent her tumbling backward.
Kagome's butt landed on uncharted, unfamiliar terrain before she was locked in place by a pair of strong arms wrapping around her body from behind. "And just where are you going, hmm?" Suguru's smooth voice queried as he pulled her back into his chest and rested his chin on her shoulder.
Satoru seemed more than pleased with the predicament that Kagome was in. He smiled appreciatively at his best friend's handiwork. "Chiiiiiiiill, it's just us," he reminded her, but not without the same gaiety and mischief from before. "So," He emphasized the first word as he planted himself in front of Kagome. "Who's it gonna be...?" His eyes flashed to his best friend, "Suguru...?"
The raven-haired teen behind Kagome gave an unnecessary reminder of his presence with a light squeeze. Suguru chuckled out a huff as his nose nuzzled her skin, his touch was as light as a butterfly and left an electrified trail from her lower jaw to her cheek.
"Or me?" Satoru was cut from a different cloth from Suguru. Satoru's touch was in stark contrast to Suguru's—it was brazen and resolute—as his hand moved to grip Kagome's chin. His grin widened to a smirk as he brought their faces close together. Kagome's heart hammered in her ears as Satoru smothered her beneath his smoldering gaze. "Of course, if you choose Suguru, then you obviously have bad tastes."
Kagome would have deadpanned if it weren't for how vulnerable she felt.
How did it end?
Well, one thing led to another—a spat between the two besties led to Kagome sampling both of their lips. The nature of their relations changed, depending on who you talked to.
Fast-forward to now, life shook them up to the core.
But through the chaos, there remained two constants: Shoko's friendship and Satoru's affection—the latter seemed to grow over time.
Speak of the devil, Kagome spotted him casually strolling across the way. His hands were loosely in his pockets as he strutted around as if he owned the place. For a moment, Kagome's eyes lingered on him.
Despite the significant distance, her gaze didn't go unnoticed. Satoru's pace halted as he turned his blindfolded eyes towards her. He subtly used his head to gesture towards the detached changing rooms. It wasn't a command, but he knew she'd meet him there.
Kagome coughed, a light blush dusting her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, girls. I have an urgent need I need to attend to," She told the students, "Can we pick up this conversation later?"