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Megumi Fushiguro was a loser.
No matter how one sugarcoated it, that fact remained.
His black hair and dark clothing didn’t help that, nor did his ‘brooding aura’ as his sister called it.
In short, Megumi would not have wished his life on his worst enemy, and trust him, he had a lot of enemies to choose from.
The chilly morning breeze teased his hair as his groggy eyes fluttered open. His side was pressed coldly against the concrete beneath him, his large coat doing just about nothing to shield him from the biting cold.
It was no one's fault but his own that he awoke in conditions such as these. For as long as Megumi could remember he had been leaving the warmth and safety of his bedroom for a much less warmer and safer option: the roof.
He would never admit it to his elder sister Tsumiki, but sleeping on the roof was a form of punishment for being so mistakenly rude to those around him. It also made him feel the slightest bit connected to his mother, whose memory was cherished by only him and his sister after her passing.
His father on the other hand had run off with Tsumiki’s mother when he was in the first grade.
It had been so long, Megumi had forgotten his face entirely.
Megumi’s fingers curled into his palms, his knuckles scraping the concrete. He rubbed the sleep and remnants of dried tears from his eyes and stood upright, hugging his coat closer to himself as he did so.
His eyes naturally drifted to the royal blue guitar case which had been decorated with various stickers over the years. It had been a gift from his sister on his 10th birthday, which he had cherished ever since. Megumi knelt beside the case and ran his hand along the smooth case, his pale fingers brushing over an obnoxiously large sticker of a grinning horse.
Megumi sighed, his breath visible in the shallow cold as he slung the case over his shoulders and headed for the fire escape ladder, which had been frosted over earlier that night.
He stepped down the flights before sliding open the window at the third storey where he lived. The window protested as usual, but he managed to force it open eventually. Megumi tossed his guitar case on his bed as quietly as possible and clambered inside after it.
Unfortunately, luck was almost never on his side as his foot tangled in the blanket and sent him toppling off the side on the bed and splayed on the floor like forgotten laundry.
His room was exactly the kind of room a loser such as himself would live in. A small desk with a computer sat near his door, directly below his window was his bed which was pretty much untouched given his roof-sleeping tendencies. Posters lined the dark walls, posters of his favourite bands and random ones he had accumulated over the years.
A gentle unmistakable knock sounded from his door and a sweet voice called out after.
“Megumi? Are you ready? You’ve got school!” Megumi yelled a quick “coming!” Before scrambling over to his sad excuse of a wardrobe (a small cabinet stuffed with clothes because god forbid a boy is too busy to clean) and dug around until he found a somewhat presentable outfit.
He peeled off his original shirt and replaced it with a simple white one, paired with his default black jeans.
He didn’t bother trying to comb his unruly hair and instead slung his bag over one shoulder, casting a wistful glance at his guitar case before shutting the door behind him.
Tsumiki was in the kitchen, reading a book about biology, likely for her upcoming assignment. In her left hand was a ripe apple which had a bite taken out of it already. When she saw him she set her book down and scrunched her nose.
Megumi looked down at his comically basic outfit then back at her.
“What?”
She smothered a giggle as she waved vaguely at his outfit. “You look like an oreo.” Megumi rolled his eyes and muttered “seriously?” under his breath before grabbing an apple of his own to bite into before waving off to his sister. “A cute oreo!” She called again before he shut the door and made his way down the hallway.
The morning sun cast sheets of light that broke through the barrier of clouds as he trudged to school. His hands were buried deep into the pockets of the band hoodie he had stuffed into his bag the night prior.
It wasn’t that he particularly disliked school, it was just the fact that well… he didn’t have friends. It wasn’t his fault everyone ticked him off or didn’t even attempt to approach him! Or so he told himself.
The halls were empty apart from a few early students littered around their lockers, giggling at their phones. Megumi’s class was class 2B down the hall, mostly reserved for average and decently smart students. He stopped short of his classroom where his locker was and punched in the 4 digit code 8-9-7-0, before shoving his bag into the criminally small compartment.
The classroom itself was completely empty save for a few flies circling an apple on the teachers desk, Megumi took his usual spot, sliding into the first last table in the last row. He put his head down, feeling his cheek press against the cool wood as he stared out the window as all the students arrived, spilling through the gates like sheep into a paddock.
The day had started like every other, quiet and boring. However what Megumi Fushiguro was unaware of was that on the cold morning of April 2nd was that his life was going to change for better or for worse.
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A himbo is a term of slang that refers to a physically attractive and athletic male who is surprisingly compassionate while also being just a little bit dim. In short, a kind jock who was blissfully unaware of his surroundings.
Yuji Itadori was a himbo.
He captained the school baseball team and constantly found himself surrounded in a crowd exactly where he felt he belonged. Aside from his enhanced athleticism and physical prowess, Yuji Itadori was part of the school band.
The band consisted of him, the drummer, second year Nobara Kugisaki, who played the flute, third year Maki Zen’in who played the piano and third year Toge Inumaki who wrote the songs and juggled around the base.
However, as any sane person knows, a good band included a guitarist. That was the one category Yuji’s band lacked. For months now he had been scouring the school for anyone who played the guitar, he would even opt for a ukulele at this point! Unfortunately, his luck was about as bad as his science grade.
Yuji wandered through the school gate that day hugging his bag as though it would magically start heating up. His class was class 2B, the same class that had started 10 minutes ago. For that reason he was practically sprinting down the hallway to his locker. He punched in the code as fast as his fingers would allow (8-7-8-6) before stuffing his bag inside and ripping the classroom door open so fast it nearly yanked off its hinges.
The professor, a stern old man who looked like he had been 50 when disco died, smirked and tapped his watch with one wrinkly finger.
“10 minutes and 13 seconds, Itadori, want to explain yourself?”
Yuji flinched at the professor’s immediate nitpicking and rubbed the back of his neck and looked everywhere but the professor. “Uhhh I was…. On a date?”
About half of the class erupted into silent laughter. The professor raised his eyebrows and tilted his head disbelievingly. “Oh is that so? With whom may I ask?” Yuji’s head whipped around the room before he raised one finger and pointed directly towards the last seat in the last row, occupied by a boy who was presumably asleep on his desk.
Yuji’s hand dropped the moment he realised who he pointed to, a burning blush began to bloom along his features. The boy he pointed to raised his head and for a split second their eyes locked, dark blue eyes staring into amber before the boy dropped his head back down and dozed off again.
“As if!” A girl called, a teasing lilt in her voice as the rest of the class exploded into a chorus of giggles. The professor chuckled deep in his throat before waving his hands, signalling the class to settle down.
“Detention, Itadori.” Yuji groaned and sauntered back to his desk. As he sat down he cast another glance at the boy in the last row.
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Megumi raised his head just enough for his eyes to lock with the boy everyone knew and loved, Yuji Itadori. He immediately snapped his head forward and pretended to be reading what the professor was scribbling along the width of the blackboard.
Oh boy, this class couldn’t end soon enough.
Megumi droned through the rest of his classes, history, biology, social studies etc. By the end of the day all he wished for was to sit down somewhere and play his guitar, so after class he wandered off to the music room and settled in a tattered black drum chair.
His hands brushed over the different guitars before he picked up the one that sounded somewhere between acoustic and electric (courtesy of the school because they broke asf). His fingers naturally guided themselves to the chords as he began to play ‘Island in the sun’ by Weezer, one of his all time favourite songs.
The melody floated around the empty room, filling in the air as he strummed each chord with expertise that would have made the Weezers proud. He soon lost himself in the music as he hummed along to the tune, forgetting that Tsumiki was probably worried about how late he was, forgetting about the stupid guy who pointed at him that morning and forgetting about every other unpleasant thing in his life.
He was so lost in himself that he didn't notice when the door creaked open…
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Yuji was serving his time for his earlier disruption to the class, his feet propped up against the desk as his chair rocked on two feet. It was about 4:40 so the sun was starting to sink in the sky, casting an orange glow on the classroom around him.
The professor tapped his ruler on the desk twice and muttered for Yuji to quit swinging on his chair. The minutes seemed to drag on as he went from swinging to slouching at his desk, smothering a yawn every few seconds.
About 8 minutes after he last checked the time the room was filled by the faintest trace of music from the room next door. Yuji stood bolt upright and practically yelled ‘bathroom!’ at the professor who dismissively waved a hand.
Yuji stuck his head into the music room where the familiar tune was flowing in from. Inside was a boy, with spiky black hair who was sitting on the piano chair strumming the odd guitar he had convinced the school to buy.
For a moment he was just mesmerised by the song but he snapped out of it when the boy set down the guitar and shot daggers at him, which he ignored. Instead, Yuji grabbed both the boy’s hands and clutched them like a lifeline.
On April 2nd two lives crossed paths. Because on April 2nd Yuji Itadori discovered the talent that was Megumi Fushiguro.