Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Megumi stood just outside the nurse's office, scrolling through social media on her phone, attempting her best to ignore the bustle of the lunch break, fellow peers walking by in conversation, only adding to the cacophony of voices throughout the long hall, that only exacerbated her own anxiety.

Megumi hadn't eaten lunch. Not like she could have. Not with a pang in her heart that has been there since the morning, that has grown into nervous jitters and lightheadedness throughout the day. Didn't help that her brain was progressing at what felt like 20 miles per second. She couldn't think straight; couldn't focus on anything. She was trying to calm her nerves by scrolling through social media, but that only made it worse, viewing the usual latest online discourse that she frequently ignored, but now it pulled her in, when she needed anything to focus on.

Megumi had come to the nurse's office for one reason and one reason only: to check up on Juro Izumi. It had only been a few days since she first met him, when he crash landed in the lake with that giant robot. Izumi was brought to Sakura High to recover, under the watch of Ms. Morimura. Megumi wasn't sure why Izumi was brought to Sakura High, rather than a hospital, but she figured it wasn't her place to know.

The memory of Izumi, laying on the ground with a painted expression, as if the entire world fell apart around him, incited a worry within Megumi. It hadn't left her brain since, and all she wanted was to ensure Izumi was doing okay — talk to him, even. She understood that Izumi needed a day or two to rest on his own, but now that days have passed, and Megumi's patience grew thin, she mustered the courage to finally speak with Izumi. But now that she was here at the nurse's office, with the doors only about a foot from her right, she couldn't do it. Walking to the nurse's office was the easy part. The hard part? Opening those doors and actually having a conversation with the boy that had been stuck in her mind for days.

All she had to do was step through the doors. Her stomach felt sick; her face was hot.

Why was it so difficult?

Normally, Megumi would confide in Tomi. She was Megumi's best friend. Tomi always had Megumi's back, always there to give her words of encouragement or advice. Whenever Megumi had a problem, she'd ask Tomi. This time, however, it was all Megumi herself, deciding to visit Izumi all on her own.

It was the first time Megumi had taken the initiative, always choosing to stand back, and letting the world move on its own. She was honestly surprised in herself, that she had the strength to do something on her own, without being pushed in the direction, but her pounding heart kept her grounded to her own reality. There was still much more to be done.

Just get through those doors, Megumi. Think later.

Breathe in. Breathe out. She swallowed, mouth dry as a desert, turning off her phone screen, she put it away, and with a hazy mind, she stepped up to the doors. Her shaky hand touched the handle, and slid it open, the door feeling like it weighed a ton. Megumi walked through, closing the door behind her. The boisterous voices and laughter nearly drowned out, her heartbeat becoming louder, now reverberating in her neck and ears.

Ms. Morimura was away for now, filling Megumi with just the slightest bit of courage. The room was silent, and a part of Megumi began to panic that maybe Juro Izumi wasn't here after all, and that she had wasted her time and energy working herself up.

That was, until she peered throughout the room, and found Izumi lying on a bed, soundly sleeping with a thin blanket draped over him. Without thinking, Megumi stepped towards Izumi, her steps nearly silent, going at a snail's pace. She could hear his soft breathing. Light of the afternoon sun emanated from the window, cascading over Izumi. His body was turned away from said window, left arm covering his eyes, likely to block out the rays of sunlight.

Megumi couldn't help but think of how much he reminded her of a cat. Cats were her favorite animal, she absolutely adored them. Her heart was filled with a warmth at the thought, and a smile appeared on her face, coming to the realization of just how cute Juro Izumi was.

And then it faded, just as quick as it came to her.

What was she doing? Why was she staring at a boy sleeping, thinking about how attractive he is?

What was wrong with her?

Megumi groaned in annoyance at herself. She turned on a dime, stomping to the office doors, deciding she'd leave in guilt and shame. Forget about it and maybe come back another day. Her hand reached the door handle, but before should could open it—

"Hello…?" A soft voice said behind her. Megumi gasped, jumping with such a start, it felt like her skeleton was going to leap out of her skin. She froze in place, mind going blank.

She could have opened those sliding doors. Leave without acknowledging the voice behind her. But here she was, standing like a deer before getting hit by a car. It was too late to back out now, and so Megumi slowly turned, meeting the source halfway with her eyes.

And as expected, it was Juro Izumi who had only just woken up.

"Uh…" Megumi forces out, voice broken, attempting to find anything to say, pulling whatever she could in her empty, yet mile-a-minute brain. And of course, her efforts to put together some cogent thought was useless. She just stood there silently, face brining as she watched Izumi wipe away the sleepiness out of his eyes with his arm through her peripheral vision.

Izumi looks up to her, the sun shining over him, "Oh, you're that girl I met the other day," he says, Megumi's heart beats even faster, completely frozen once more. He continues, "What was your name? Sorry, I couldn't ask."

"Megumi," she says in almost a whisper, voice tiny. What was she doing, only giving her first name? "M-megumi Yakushiji."

"Yakushiji…" Izumi says to himself, like he's committing it to memory. For some reason, her heart skips a beat at that, "Well then, Yakushiji," he slips his shoes back on, stands up and fades her, continuing, "Let me introduce myself, since we didn't have time before. I'm Juro Izumi."

"H-hello." She felt absolutely silly over how awkward and forced that sounded, but with how Izumi smiles at it, it seemed he didn't notice or care. She blushed at that.

"Did you need something from the nurse?" Izumi asks.

She averts her eyes from his, feigning looking at the clock above the nurse's desk, not wanting to initiate eye contact in how it made her feel nervous, "N-no I just wanted to see how you were doing. I was worried."

"Thank you, Yakushiji. I appreciate it."

"I-it's nothing…" Megumi goes silent, mulling over in her head if what she wanted to say next would be too weird. She scrounges up the bit of cottage she needs, and decides to go for it, "...do you mind if I visit you again tomorrow, Izumi?"

Izumi chuckles, the sound makes her face blush, "Not at all, but please, call me Juro."

"O-okay." For real this time, Megumi looks up the clock, and realizes that lunch break is over, "Class is starting. I'll see you tomorrow, Juro."

"Yeah. I look forward to it." Juro says, sitting back on the bed, looking down at his feet.

Without another word, Megumi hurriedly leaves the nurse's office, walking faster than she ever had in her life.

Megumi honestly couldn't believe that she mustered up the cottage to talk to someone all on her own without guidance. A boy no less.

Relief and pride filled her heart, that stressful floatiness disappearing.

Well, that would be until she had to talk to Juro again tomorrow.

***

The time was just a tad past midnight, and Megumi was wide awake, brain still wired from her encounter with Juro essentially 12 hours ago.

Megumi should have been asleep already, so she'd have a good night's rest for school tomorrow. She did attempt to fall asleep about two hours ago, but slumber ultimately her, giving up 30 minutes in. Simply put, she was giddy, excited — nervous. All Megumi could think about were the events of the day, and what tomorrow may bring. She kept turning in her head, over and over again, thinking of what she'd say to Juro. What they'd talk about.

So it was that Megumi continued to turn over in her bed, with her phone flashing its bright screen in her face, amidst the near-complete darkness of her room. Idly, Megumi scrolled through social media, not really paying attention to any videos on her feed, especially not when her volume was set at 0.

That was, until she came across one particular video. It was a singing video posted by Tomi only today. Megumi remembered Tomi mentioning something like a new video three other days when Juro first arrived. It had completely slipped Megumi's mind.

It wasn't the video in particular that caught Megumi's attention. Rather, it was that she realized she hadn't talked to Tomi at all since the morning walk to school. Usually, they'd walk home together, since they live in the same apartment complex, but today Tomo had stayed after school. And yet, not once had Megumi ever texted Tomi to check up on her. Talk about their day at school. Their classes, homework — the usual.

Megumi checked her messages with Tomi, and saw that Tomi hasn't texted since the last messages in the morning.

Megumi felt guilt creeping in, believing herself to be a shitty friend, feeling terrible for not texting her best friend. But she might as well answer back, and talk with Tomi, if she was still awake. It was the least Megumi could do.

Megumi: How was school?

She sat there for a minute, then 'Tomi is typing…' popped up. Tomi was awake.

Tomi: boring
ur up late
u good?

Megumi: Yeah. Couldn't sleep.

Megumi contemplated if she should talk about Juro, feeling a tad awkward about it. After all, he was literally someone they only met a few days ago — under strange circumstances no less.

But Megumi figured it couldn't hurt.

Megumi: What do you think of Juro Izumi?

Tomi: idk
didnt talk with him

Megumi: I talked to him during lunch. He's nice.
And really cute.

…Maybe a bit much.

Tomi: oh wow
u shuld go 4 it

Go for what?

Megumi really wasn't sure how to respond, too tired to think of what Tomi could mean. She laid on her side, phone mere inches from her face, screen still turned on, emanating bright light. But Megumi closed her eyes, mind growing doggy, eyes heavier, head floating. Content, Megumi at last fell asleep, the last thought in her head before drifting off, is what her and Juro would talk about tomorrow.

Chapter Text

"Took you long enough!" Tomi blurted out, followed by a chuckle. She was standing just outside the apartment building, dressed in her Sakura High uniform, schoolbag in her right hand.

It was the morning, about 30 minutes before school started. Tomi had been waiting outside for Megumi for 10 minutes, clearly growing impatient with how many texts Tomi had sent her, asking Megumi if she was ready.

"Sorry, I woke up late." Megumi said, her steps hurried, walking to where Tomi stood. Both fell in line, adjacent to one another as they walked at a brisk pace, intent to not arrive at school late, now that they were 10 minutes late from their usual routine. Living in the same apartment building meant they always traveled to school together — a distance that normally took them 30 minutes, Megumi's tardiness pushing them to go that much faster from their typical speed.

Megumi was always the one ready for school first, but certainly not today.

"Hey, did you see the new video I posted?" Tomi asked, breaking the ice so they'd have something to discuss on the way to school, "I wanted to post it days ago, but couldn't cuz of y'know."

"I didn't watch it. Too tired last night," Megumi responded, guilt washing over her, "Sorry, Tomi."

"It's fiiine, you're good."

Eventually, they made their way to the river that the giant robot had fallen from the sky into. When they first met Juro. They walk by the river often, seeing as how it's an efficient route to school , but now it felt different. However, it wasn't because of the fact the robot was still in the water, completely covered by a tarp. Rather, it was something else that Megumi couldn't quite wrap her head around. What she did understand, was that her meeting Juro, filled her with a feeling that perhaps fate does exist.

It was silly, Megumi thought. She wondered what Tomi would think.

"Hey, Tomi."

"Yeah?"

"What does 'fate' mean to you?"

"Dunno," Tomi said, humming in concentration, bringing her right hand up to her braid, twirling the end with her finger. After a moment, she said "Never really thought about it much. Always felt like a thing only for movies and games."

Megumi considered Tomis response, and as much as she wanted to agree — to write off fate as nothing more than fiction — Megumi has always believed that fate exists to some capacity. It was part of her being a hopeless romantic, after all. That love is a force of the universe that is inevitable, and that everyone has someone out there waiting for them. A part of her wondered if Juro that person for her, and her him, but she quickly let that thought die, not wanting to convince herself into perceiving something that wasn't there.

"Why do you ask?" Tomi said.

"It's just…" Megumi pauses, heat rushing to her face, "When we met Juro the other day, it felt real. Like it was destiny."

"Oh, so that's how it is," Tomi said, suddenly snapping her head to Megumi, darting her eyes at her friend, "Wait a sec, repeat that.'

"R-repeat what? The part about des—"

"No, before that. The name."

"Juro—"

"See? You're calling him by his first name!" Tomi yelled out in excitement, staring at Megumi with a wide grin on her face, "Geez, what did the two of you do in the nurse's office yesterday?"

Megumi's face went as red as a tomato, "N-nothing! He just asked me to call him by his first name!"

"Uh-huh," Tomi said with a devious giggle, taking Megumi at her word, knowing she couldn't lie to save her life, but Tomi saw it as an opportunity for some fun trading "Whatever you say, Megumi."

It was then that Tomi continued to crack jokes at Megumi's expense, getting a kick at how flustered Megumi had gotten. Though Tomi felt she may have been taking her fun a little too far, she could tell Megumi didn't truly mind. In fact, she could tell Megumi was attempting her damnedest not to smile.

For how melancholy Megumi had been the last few weeks, Tomi was happy that Megumi had found a new strudel.

And with only 10 minutes to spare, Megumi and Tomi finally arrived at school, just outside the front gate. Without missing a beat, Tomi turns to Megumi and says, "Hurry to the nurse's office, and you'll miss your chance before lunch."

"R-right!" and with that, Megumi shoots off like a rocket, sprinting at full speed.

Tomi couldn't help but laugh at Megumi's enthusiasm, yelling out at her friend, "Don't have too much fun!"

Megumi groaned at that, though Tomi was too far to hear it.

***

Once again, Megumi stood in front of the doors to the nurse's office at a loss. This time, however, that sense of uneasiness and anxiousness that consumed her last time was nearly gone. She still felt it within her, but it was a ghost of its former self.

Unfortunate that it may be, Megumi knew those emotions would never truly dissipate. They'll always worm its way inside her heart, like a parasite, but she could work through it.

Just like she did yesterday.

It's easy. Open the doors. Walk through. And you're done. Like yesterday.

Megumi inhales a long breath, and exhales one just as long. She puts her hand on the door's handle, and slides it open, closing the door behind her once she's inside the room.

Unlike yesterday, her and Juro weren't alone. Ms. Morimura stood by Juro, wearing her usual white lab coat, seemingly having just handed something to Juro. He quickly pocketed it, so Megumi couldn't get a good look, but it appeared to be a bottle of some kind. Pills, probably. Painkillers, maybe?

"Oh, Yakushiji." Ms. Morimura exclaimed, Juro's head turning to Megumi's entrance. Perhaps it was her imagination, but Megumi swears she saw Juro's face light up when he noticed her, "What brings you here?" Morimura continued.

"H-hello," Megumi said awkwardly, standing closer to Juro and Morimura, beginning to fidget with her hair, "I just wanted to see how Juro was doing."

"I'm doing great. Thank you for coming, Yakushiji," Juro said, turning his head to Megumi with a smile.

"Juro Izumi should be ready to take classes by tomorrow." Morimura said.

"Where will he be living? Since he's not…" Megumi asked, curious.

"There's a Shikishima owned apartment complex close enough to the school. Same one you live in, Yakushiji." Ms. Morimura said.

Megumi felt her heart drop at that one.

Juro is attending the same school as her, but is also supposed to live in the apartment complex as her? Megumi felt taken aback, daydreaming of the two of them walking home together, discussing their day, their hobbies, favorite foods

Then it hit her. Juro was from the future, filling Megumi's head with a myriad of questions. How different is the city he comes from? Does he eat the same foods? What shows, movies, manga, video games does he enjoy that she might not see until 40 years from now?

Megumi felt giddy at the idea — a chance to learn about the future, and to be with Juro, to know him better as a person. She supposes she should ask Tomi about it. Since they usually walk home together from school, Megumi at least doesn't want to leave Tomi hanging like yesterday. Additionally, Tomi was better at social interaction than she was; Megumi's brain always being reduced to a pile of nervous mush, when she had to converse with a person all on her own. She has certainly gotten better at it, she thinks, but it couldn't hurt to get some pointers from Tomi.

She'll ask Tomi during lunch.

In her stupor, the morning bell rings, signifying the start of the school day. Megumi is startled, jumping at the sound that returns her to Earth, heart temporarily pounding in her chest, "I-I have to go to class," she said.

"Oh, Yakushiji," Morimura said.

"Yes?'"

"Come by after school, and bring Kisaragi with you. There's something we need to discuss."

"A-alright," Megumi said, curious as to what it may be.

"See you later then, Yakushiji," Juro said. Megumi smiled at him, then toin her leave from the nurse's office.