Chapter Text
——— Autumn; the shade of uncut emeralds.
Onyx, spiky hair sticking out. That‘s the first thing that catches his attention.
It‘s Yuuji‘s first semester at Tokyo Prefectural High. Of course, a week after transferring, he has already made his first mistake.
He was never particularly interested in books. Or even literature in general. He mostly read manga if they sounded interesting enough.
And like every average high school kid, he was far from a bookworm.
So, when someone asks him, 'Yuuji, why did you choose a literature course?'
He won’t have an answer.
Because he has never, ever stepped foot into a library in his entire life.
The sound of his sneakers stomping against the concrete fills the air as he approaches the building. Despite it being an autumn day, it’s still quite sunny outside. Yuuji‘s wearing a pair of jorts, along with his favorite sunglasses. The trees surrounding his school campus try their best to hide him from the sun, but daylight still sneaks in through the leaves, leaving the ground dappled with traces of it.
The library itself isn‘t that large or extravagant. He was shown it on his first day, by a girl named Ozawa, but it does have a nice vibe to it. Rows of dark green ivy climb the side of the brick walls; an antique-looking and frankly massive wooden door in the middle. It reminds Yuuji of those 2000s romcom movies Nobara liked to force him to watch.
The interior is pretty much the same. Lined with old and new books, most with yellowed pages from over the years of use. It smells of old paper and coffee.
He makes a right turn towards the classics section— a new assignment from his literature course. He just thought he‘d try the course out, because damn, why not?
As said, he was never really interested in libraries.
…But if someone told him that people this level of gorgeous frequented libraries, he would‘ve probably gone to one a long time ago.
But nobody did, so when Yuuji sees him for the first time, he is…
„Can I help you?“
„Holy fuck. You‘re gorgeous.“
The stranger pauses where he sits. He‘s surrounded by mountains of books on his wooden desk, a cup of coffee sitting neatly beside them. He peers up at Yuuji with widely blown eyes.
„Eek—oh my God, I am so sorry that was totally impulsive of me I didn’t mean that! I mean yes I did— but I didn’t mean it not in that way at least— I mean I‘m so sorry you‘re totally breathtaking but uh not in that way—Argh you know what just forget it am i talking a lot? I feel like I‘m talkingalot—”
Yuuji‘s doing anything except looking at the beautiful stranger. But when he does, he‘s met with a sight he won‘t forget for life. The boy is sat next to a window, and with the sunlight shining on him, his eyes—the shade of uncut emeralds and lush green gardens in spring. His lips look soft, and they‘ve got the slightest hint of a smirk on them.
„Hey, calm down. I didn’t mind it.“
Heat crawls up his neck. „Ehem. Right.“
Yuuji should probably die. Crawl into a hole and die there alone. Nobody will know what happened, right? Right? He reaches a hand to his nape, scratching it awkwardly.
But suddenly, the stranger starts to giggle.
And God, he thinks, he could hear that laugh all day long.
„Hah—Who are you?“ He gets out between giggles, „I‘ve never seen you around here before.“
„Yup! That makes sense, I‘m a new transfer student!“ He flashes the stranger a grin. „Itadori Yuuji. I‘m into girls like Jennifer Lawrence!“
„Hm, not into black haired boys then?“
He blinks. Once, twice.
Yuuji decides, right then and there, that literature may be both the worst and the best decision he has ever made.