Chapter Text
Gojo Satoru was the most gifted student on the school grounds, facing anything that came his way with ease. He quite literally aced almost every exam and whatever team he was on, they would always win. Everyone liked him and everyone wanted to be close with him.
“You guys want to eat after studying?” Ieiri Shoko asks as she lands on some advertisement page in her magazine. She proceeds to show her friend, Geto Suguru, the cheapest items.
“Nah, let’s go to the convenience store and head to the park,” Suguru responds, leaning back in his chair.
Shoko and Suguru were the closest people to Gojo Satoru, they basically were his ride or die. He had hallway friends, class friends, people he would see in his neighborhood, but none could come even close to those two.
The trio was studying for their first exam in the school library. Notebooks and textbooks were splayed across their table along with a bunch of magazines Shoko bought. While Suguru and her were gossiping about them, Satoru stared out the nearby window in boredom.
“Is the break over? If we're not here to study anymore, let’s leave,” Satoru whined, but got no response in return. Instead of repeating himself, he got up and walked around the library to kill time for those “love birds.”
While exploring, Satoru would end up finding himself in the main entrance of the library, where most students reside. He skimmed through the books in the first few aisles while peering amongst the many students sitting down.
Most were studying, cuddling, reading, but one student caught his attention. She was sitting with another student, her eyes reading his paper.
Despite not knowing who she was, Satoru found himself grabbing a random book off the shelf, sitting down a few tables away, and watching her from afar. He saw how the light from the sun shined on her black hair and crimson brown eyes. A lot of girls on campus looked similar, but for some reason, she was different. And he didn’t know why.
‘Is this a sign of love at first sight?!’ Satoru’s inner thoughts questioned him.
Every minute that he sat there, his curiosity grew more and more. He was so close to just going up and asking her for her name, but he knew that if he did, it would draw too much attention due to his big status. Even though he usually loved when eyes are on him, he didn't want to scare her away.
And so he just watched her.
She opened her notebook, showing it to the other student. Every time he would make a mistake on her paper, she would laugh and this intrigued Satoru. Even her voice was intriguing.
“Here, if you just rearrange the equation… And do this… And this… You get this,” she says to him. ‘She must be a peer tutor,’ Satoru thought.
Satoru didn’t realize how much time had passed until he saw his two friends walking past that girl, heading towards him. And as he snapped back to reality, he saw that the other student had already left and she was packing her things up.
“Dude, what are you doing here, we thought you went to the restroom,” sighed Suguru, tossing Satoru’s bag on his lap. “Let’s go.”
The trio walked back in the same direction and this was a chance for Satoru to get a closer look at her. As they walked by, Satoru peered over and noticed she had a cute dog charm hooked on her schoolbag. When he wanted to peer more, she turned her head towards his direction, surprising him. Luckily it wasn't for him.
“Bye Ieiri-chan, see you in a few days,” she says, waving goodbye.
Shoko nods in return, “See you in a few days Utahime-senpai!”
‘Utahime-senpai?’
Satoru was so consumed by his thoughts and feelings to the point that he almost tripped on the way to the school's entrance. Just ahead, Shoko and Suguru turn around to look at him.
“You okay Satoru?” Shoko questions, raising her brow in confusion. “Did something happen when you decided to get up and ditch us in the library?”
Satoru chuckles as he shakes his head. “It’s nothing Shoko. And for your information, I didn't ditch you. Suguru and you were too caught up in whatever you guys were reading so I decided to take a stroll.”
Shoko nods her head slowly in response, calling out to Suguru to stop so they could catch up. As per Suguru's suggestion, they all head towards the convenience store. And after buying ice cream and snacks, they walk over to the park.
“Just say it Gojo Satoru,” Shoko demands, “Ever since we got to the convenience store, it looked like you were dying to ask me something. I can see right through you.”
Satoru laughs as he rips the wrapper off his ice cream.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
Shoko throws the stick of the lollipop she just bought at him and it smacks right in the middle of his forehead.
“OW! Okay okay,” Satoru yells, rubbing his temples.
He then looks off to the side, checking if anyone could hear them before whipping his head back. The other two both look at each other, questioning what is going on.
“Who’s that girl?” He asks.
Shoko looks at him with that same confusion as before. “Who? There are so many girls that approach you. Be more specific.”
Satoru scoffs at her remark before bringing up recent events. “That girl from the library, the one that said bye to you. What’s her name?”
“Huh..? Oh, Iori Utahime? That’s the girl?” Shoko questions, suspicious of him. “Why are you asking? Is it because she’s my peer tutor?”
“Oh, so she is a peer tutor!” Satoru exclaims, causing the other two to jump. “No wonder. I was watching her work with another student.”
“You were watching her..?” Suguru says, side eyeing him hard.
“WHAT! No no,” Satoru smiles back, “I was chilling at a random table and she just happened to be in my vicinity.”
“Yeah right,” Shoko says, hitting Satoru’s arm, “I’m being serious, though. She’s not someone you can mess with. She won’t be at your beck and call. Oh, and she’s your senpai, don't forget.”
Satoru smirks, looking towards the setting sun.
“Oh, don’t worry, Shoko… I was just asking because maybe I need a tutor too.”