Chapter Text
As itadori waited for the last bell to ring, she tapped the pencil she had stolen from Kugisaki on her desk while she bounced her leg.
Her track coach, Gojo, had asked to talk to her before practice, and she knew it had to be about something important.
The second the bell rang and she leapt up from her seat, wanting to see what was so important as soon as possible.
She quickly grabbed her book bag, leaving behind her now forgotten pencil, and walked through the hallway as fast as she could, getting caught in between groups of people and pushing through them, wanting to waste no time.
When she finally got to the track she was the only person there, save for Gojo Sensei.
“Oh, Itadori! Just the person I wanted to see,” her coach exclaimed, waving the girl over with a smile. Itadori jogged over to the tall woman, her short pink hair almost blinding her vision, and greeted her coach with a crooked grin.
“Gojo Sensei! What’d you need to talk to me about?” Itadori questioned, her eyebrows furrowing sincerely as she asked. She saw the other track and field members approaching the track, hoping that the conversation wouldn’t take too long.
“Hey uh, bad news. We might have to kick you off the team.” Gojo said casually, pulling her phone out from her pocket and shooting a text, barely looking up from her phone as if the news were nothing.
Itadori stared at her blankly, she was at a loss for words, which was saying something. She didn’t understand why she’d be exiled from the team. Maybe exiled was a little dramatic, but then again, would she really want to hang around watching her friends run knowing she could be out there too? That would be humiliating.
“I mean, have you checked your grades? Yeesh.” Her coach questioned with a grimace, shaking her head slightly. There was pity showing in her usually bright blue eyes, and Itador had a sinking feeling she was screwed.
Yuji shook her head as she stared at the tall woman in front of her dumbfoundedly. She knew she must look stupid, but she really didn’t know what else to do.
She racked her brain for something to say, eventually landing on, “I thought I was doing good this semester…” she forced out softly, scratching her neck with a frown as she looked down at the dirt shamefully.
“Well you better get those grades up if you wanna keep running this season. I know softball starts soon too, and if you don’t fix them you’re totally screwed.” Her coach shrugged, finally pocketing her phone, about to walk away and approach the rest of the team, before Itadori stopped her with a hand on the shoulder.
“Do you know any way I could get my grades up? Would you be willing to help me in your class?” She asked, puffing out her lips into a pout, trying her best to look like a sad puppy, hoping to guilt her coach into agreeing.
“I can help you in my class, but you’re not doing good in any of your other classes either.” Gojo replied, a look of realization flooding her face. “Well, I guess there is someone who could help you, but it’s not guaranteed she’ll agree.” She added with a sigh, a look of remorse flooding her face.
Itadori nodded, face lighting up with excitement, a bright smile on her lips, “Who is it? I’ll beg her on my hands and knees if I have to.”
She was greeted with a skeptical look, although her coach gave in and told her anyway, knowing Itadori was the key to her team winning their meets, her being one of the fastest kids in the school.
“Do you know Fushiguro Megumi?” Her coach asked with an eye roll, clearly a but annoyed at the girl before her for stalling practice. She could tell Gojo was assuming the answer would be no, but Yuji still wracked her brain, thinking back to all of her classes.
She couldn’t seem to remember the girl for the life of her, but just as she was about to say no, she remembered a girl with long black hair sitting in front of her in history.
“Oh, yeah I think I know her!” She replied enthusiastically, thinking it wouldn’t be too hard to convince her to help her out. She seemed nice enough anyway, and Yuji was pretty sure she lent her notes she missed without much trouble.
“Well, that’s probably who you should ask. I’m pretty sure she does dance after school, so you’ll just have to ask her tomorrow. I’ll let you skip practice today if you want to try and track her down or something. I can’t guarantee she will agree, but if you want someone smart enough to teach you, that’s your best bet.” Gojo relied with a huff, and Itadori tried to ignore the personal jab at her wits. She wasn’t that dumb.
She watched as Gojo walked over to the other students on the team, Itadori following right behind her after a few seconds of contemplation, knowing she wouldn’t be skipping out on practice.
When they finally reached the other students, Itadori found her way to one of her upperclassmen, Inumaki, and stood beside her.
Gojo sensei told them to jog five laps around the track, and Itadori was glad she decided to stay, enjoying the prospect of an easy practice.
Itadori ran beside Inumaki and Maki, and the three fell into a rhythm. After running two laps in silence, she decided to ask them about Fushiguro.
“Hey, do you guys know Fushiguro Megumi?” She asked her upperclassmen, glancing over at them quickly as she ran.
“Ugh, yeah I know her, she’s my cousin. And a little shit.” Maki responded quickly, a look of distaste immediately forming on his usually untelling face at the mention of his cousin.
Inumaki nodded beside him, her long white hair getting in her face, and Itadori tried her best not to laugh at her fumbling to sweep her hair out of her face.
Maki spoke up again, “Why are you asking about her all of a sudden, she has been in all your classes like every year y'know? Why do you wanna ask about her now?” He questioned, sparing her a quizzical glance.
“Gojo Sensei’s gonna kick me off the team if I don’t get my grades up, so I thought I should ask her to tutor me!” Itadori responded happily, looking over at the two running beside her for reassurance once more.
The two both had looks of disgust on their faces, and Itadoris face dropped immediately.
“What?” She asked, starting to get nervous from their reactions and the way Gojo spoke about the girl.
“When I said she’s a little shit I wasn’t joking,” Maki replied with a scoff, as if that gave Itadori any more context on why everyone’s so put off by Fushiguro.
She looked at them with a confused expression, causing Maki to roll his eyes at her.
“You really don’t wanna work with her. I heard her dance partner quit because of how snobby and obnoxious she is. Besides, what makes you think she would be willing to tutor you, of all people?” Maki rambled, him and Inumaki sharing a look, Itadori rolling her eyes sassily when the green haired boy wasn’t paying attention.
She was so sick of people insulting her today.
Itadori furrowed her eyebrows when the boy was done with his tirade, genuinely trying her best to think of any reason the girl she’d barely spoken to in her twelve years of school with her would help her.
“Well I thought she would just be nice and help me, but now I realize that was probably wishful thinking..” she replied dejectedly, her hope of being tutored and the ability to stay on the team slowly dying.
She focused on her breathing and the pounding of her feet on the track, trying to ignore her embarrassment and convince herself everything would work out, hoping that cramming before tests and begging for extensions and extra credit would raise her grades.
Inumaki and Maki both let out hearty laughs, shaking their heads at the suggestion, or maybe the fact that Itadori used the word nice in a sentence speaking about the black haired girl.
“Listen, I’ll take you to her dance studio after practice to ask her to help you. I can guarantee you she won’t agree, but don’t say I didn’t try to help you.” Maki said, looking at the younger girl beside him with a mix of pity and amusement.
After they finished their last lap, the first of the team to finish, the others not too far behind, Gojo said that they could leave early, and told Itadori that she better ask about tutoring as soon as possible.
The three runners trekked to the school's parking lot together, Inumaki splitting up from her two friends when she reached her car.
Inumaki made sure to tell Maki to record Itadori and Fushiguros interaction in case she was rejected, for her own amusement of course, and then sped off as soon as she got into her tiny gray car.
Maki and Itadori walked a few spaces further, and when they reached Maki's car, an obnoxious red color, the tall boy got behind the wheel.
Itadori got into the passenger seat, Maki leaving the school as quickly as possible, adjusting the mirror while he drove. They were heading the opposite way of Itadoris house, and she really hoped it wasn't too far from her place, and if it was she would at least be offered a ride home.
She stared out the window, trying her best to enjoy the late winter scenery while Maki focused on the road, but she got bored of the half dead trees and grass very quickly.
She started to flip between radio stations, trying to find something to do other than go on her phone, and after she changed the station for the tenth time, Maki slapped her hand away from the radio.
After about five minutes, they drove into a small parking lot, four cars scattered around it. Itadori was expecting a further drive, noting how she had passed the small studio multiple times on her way back from the city.
When they pulled into a spot, Maki turned off the car and unbuckled his seatbelt, Itadori following suit, taking a deep breath as she got out, trying to encourage herself that things wouldn't go horribly wrong.
When they stepped out of the car, Itadori finally took the time to look at the name of the building she had passed many times, keeping the studio's name in the back of her mind in case she ever needed to know it, not sure if she would have to meet Fushiguro here if she agreed to tutor her.
As they walked in Yuji heard a faint bell ring as they opened the door, breaking her out of her thoughts.
She glanced around the space, looking at the comfortable looking seating area, assuming the few bags on the seats and shoes scattered around were the different dancers.
When Itadori looked directly in front of her, there was a room with a huge window so you could see right in, the space seeming extremely welcoming.
There were two people in the room, an older looking woman with black hair and a ton of piercings, who Itadori assumed was the teacher, and Fushiguro, her long black hair pulled back into a neat bun.
She heard faint music coming from the room behind the windows, and watched the girl she’d barely spoken to dance elegantly, starting to feel like she was intruding.
The girls lanky limbs carried her gracefully as she turned and lept, Itadori finding it absolutely entrancing, and she wanted to watch the girl dance forever.
After the girl finished her dance, the teacher stopped her music and gestured toward the seating area she and Maki were watching from, telling the girl something as she looked toward the window.
She watched as the girl rolled her eyes when she saw her cousin, begrudgingly walking out of the room and into the seating area to speak to them.
“What do you want?” Fushiguro asked as she crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe lazily, looking at her cousin with an unamused expression.
“I’m not here to talk to you, she is.” Maki said, gesturing to Itadori who stood beside him, adjusting his glasses with the finger he used to point at the girl.
Fushiguro dropped her arms, relaxing slightly, as if speaking to her cousin was the worst thing ever.
Itadori greeted her with a bright smile, which was not returned.
“Hey, I’m Yuji Itadori.” She began, stepping forward extending her hand for a handshake, not really knowing what to do.
“I know who you are.” The girl replied curtly, clearly not happy with the unexpected visit, nodding her head slightly in acknowledgement.
“Well anyway, I know you’re super smart and I was wondering if you could tutor me?” Itadori asked nervously, pulling her hand away after her offer for a handshake was ignored, wiping her hands on her baggy shorts, finally realizing why everyone responded the way they did when she mentioned Fushiguro.
“And why should I?” She asked, eyebrows quirking up in question, crossing her arms once again, her tight black shirt bunching up at the motion.
“Well, if I don’t get my grades up I’ll get kicked off the track and softball teams. This really means a lot to me, please.” She pleaded, hands making their way from her shorts to her baggy shirt, fidgeting with the fabric anxiously, wanting the girl to agree more than anything.
The girl in front of her thought for a moment before speaking again, “Fine, I'll do it, but you’ll have to help me too,” Fushiguro agreed, eyeing Itadori up and down before she continued, “I need you to be my partner for my dance.”
Itadori stared at her, the slight smile from the girl agreeing to tutor her completely disappearing, nerves flooding her senses at the request,
She had never danced a day in her life, and now she has to dance with someone she has barely spoken to, who was also supposedly rude and demanding?
“See, I totally would, but I’ve never danced before..” she replied with a wry chuckle, trailing off towards the end of her sentence.
She looked over at Maki, who gave her a look of encouragement, or what could be considered encouragement for him.
“I mean, guess I can try. I don’t think I’ll be any good, though.” She said with a laugh, quickly changing her response, Fushiguro shaking her head.
“I’ll be teaching you the dance, and my teacher is great, so you’ll be fine. I'll talk to you more about it at school tomorrow, and we can study after.” She replied with confidence, turning around and heading back into the dance room.
“I have practice again tomorrow,” Itadori mentioned, causing Fushiguro to turn back around.
“Meet me in the parking lot after your practice then, and make sure you have all your school books.” She said, turning around and fully walking into the room, ending the conversation once and for all.
Maki and Itadori walked outside silently, only speaking once they got back into the car.
“Listen, I don’t know how you did it, Itadori, but be warned. She’s a hard ass, and if you think you’re getting let off easy, you’re dead wrong.” Maki spoke, starting the car and pulling out of the nearly empty lot, heading in the direction of Itadoris house, a familiar route for the two, Maki occasionally agreeing to drop Itadori off on their way home from practice if the girl pleaded enough.
“Aw, I can’t wait…” Itadori replied sarcastically, leaning her head onto the car window, trying hard not to think of what may be her own personal hell waiting for her tomorrow.