The minibus pulled to a stop on a side street that branched off Takeshita Street. Rome could already hear the clamor of shoppers, the pop music blaring from storefronts, and smell the mix of street food that wafted through the air. Harajuku was alive and kicking, even on a weekday.
Ijichi gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. His glasses slipped down his nose as he turned to face them, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Please wait here. Gojo-san should be here... soon." Ijichi's voice cracked on the word 'soon,' like even he didn't believe it. "Do not cause a scene. Do not fight civilians. Do not... just, please stay put."
Rome raised an eyebrow. "Anything else you want to add to that list? Don't start a fire? Don't overthrow the government?"
"Y-yes! I mean no! I mean... just stay here!" Ijichi stammered.
Before any of them could ask more questions, Ijichi had shifted the bus into gear and peeled away from the curb, tires screeching as he fled the scene like he was escaping a bank robbery.
Rome watched the bus disappear around a corner. "So he just... abandoned us in the middle of the city."
"Gojo-sensei probably told him to," Yuji said with a shrug.
Megumi sighed. "We should stay put. Ijichi said to wait."
Rome looked around at the parade of fashion disasters and fashion icons strutting past them. Harajuku girls with platform shoes taller than some small children. Cosplayers with wigs in colors not found in nature. Tourists snapping photos of anything that moved.
"So now what?" Rome asked. "Do we look for them, or are we playing statues until our beloved sensei decides to grace us with his presence?"
"We should look!" Yuji's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. "Maybe they're shopping! I want popcorn!"
"We stay put," Megumi repeated flatly. "Ijichi said wait."
Rome opened his mouth to argue when a sweet scent caught his attention. Sugar. Caramel. Fruit. His stomach growled in response.
"I'm getting Boba," Rome announced. "My blood sugar is low, and I get violent when I'm hungry."
Megumi frowned. "You just ate a protein bar on the bus."
"That was fuel. This is pleasure." Rome started walking backward, grinning at Megumi. "Fushiguro, you can guard the sidewalk. Itadori and I are going to live a little."
Yuji needed no further invitation. He bounded after Rome like an eager puppy, already rattling off all the flavors he wanted to try.
Megumi watched them go. After a moment, he pushed off the wall and followed, muttering under his breath.
The Boba shop was a pastel paradise. Soft pink walls, mint green tables, and a counter staffed by girls in frilly aprons. The line stretched nearly to the door, full of teenage girls with shopping bags and tourists with cameras.
Rome walked past the line.
"Hey!" someone protested.
He turned, red eyes flashing. "Sorry, I thought this was the line for the bathroom."
Nobody argued further. He slid in at the front, ignoring the dirty looks.
The cashier blinked at him. "Um, can I help you?"
Rome studied the menu with the intensity of a surgeon reviewing a complicated procedure. "Mango Fruit Tea. Peach Jelly. Strawberry Popping Boba. 30% ice. 70% sugar. Don't shake it too hard."
Behind him, Yuji's jaw dropped. "Whoa! That sounds so good! I'll have... uh... milk tea?"
Megumi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just get me green tea. No sugar. No toppings."
"Boring," Rome coughed into his hand.
When the drinks arrived, Rome's was a masterpiece – layers of orange and red, with pink bubbles floating throughout. He took a long sip, closing his eyes.
"Ah. That is the good shit. Nectar of the gods."
"Is it really that good?" Yuji asked, watching Rome's face with fascination.
Rome handed him the cup. "Try it."
Yuji took a sip and his eyes widened. "Holy crap! It's like a fruit explosion in my mouth!"
"I know my Boba," Rome said, taking his drink back. "It's an art form."
Megumi just stared at his plain green tea, looking like he was contemplating his life choices.
Outside, Rome wandered slightly ahead of the others, sipping his drink and taking in the sights. He knew the moment he left the Boba shop that something had changed. It was the way the air shifted around him, the way conversations paused as he passed.
Rome didn't need to look to know what was happening. He felt their gazes like fingers brushing against his skin.
A group of high school girls whispered behind their hands, their eyes tracking him. "Ikemen," one whispered. "Is he a model?" asked another.
A woman selling crepes nearly dropped her spatula when Rome glanced her way, his ruby eyes catching the light.
Rome kept walking, unbothered. This wasn't new. Since he was fifteen, he'd had this effect on people. The loose uniform jacket showed just enough of his fighter's physique. The white gauze around his forehead added mystery. The red eyes sealed the deal.
"Dude, those girls are totally checking you out," Yuji said, catching up to him.
"They're not looking at me," Rome replied. "They're looking at what they think I am."
"Which is?"
Rome smirked. "Someone who gives a shit."
He stopped abruptly, causing Yuji to nearly crash into him. A small storefront had caught his eye – a retro record shop squeezed between two trendy boutiques. Through the dusty window, he spotted a flash of navy blue.
Navy blue like his uniform. But the person wearing it wasn't wearing it like a uniform at all.
She stood with her back to the window, flipping through vinyl records. Pink hair cascaded down her back, the same bubblegum shade as Yuji's but longer, styled in loose waves. Her uniform jacket had been cropped short, exposing a strip of tanned skin at her midriff. The standard-issue skirt was there, but shorter, paired with baggy white socks and brown loafers.
"I think we found one," Rome said.
"One what?" Yuji asked.
"One of our missing classmates."
[Image]
Rome pushed open the door, the bell chiming softly. The girl turned at the sound, and he got his first good look at her face.
Electric blue eyes. Full lips coated in glossy pink. Features that would've been cute on their own but became striking with her confident expression. She held a vinyl record – A Tribe Called Quest – in manicured hands adorned with rings.
She looked him up and down, her gaze cool and assessing. There was no blush, no giggle, no lowered lashes like the girls outside.
Her eyes landed on his Boba cup.
In three steps, she'd crossed the distance between them and invaded his personal space. She smelled like vanilla and hairspray, with something electric underneath that made his nose tingle – cursed energy, carefully controlled but unmistakably present.
"Yo! Is that the Mango-Peach from Bubble?" she asked, leaning in to examine his drink. "That line was insane."
Rome stirred his drink slowly. "The line is for people who don't know how to merge."
She snorted, a genuine laugh that contradicted her polished appearance. "Fair. I'm Sakura Kishimoto." She pointed a long, intricately decorated nail at his cup.
"Lemme get a little taste, fam. It looks mad good."
Rome stared her dead in the eye. He took a long, loud slurp, maintaining eye contact the entire time.
"Hell no. Get your own."
Instead of being offended, she threw her head back and laughed. "Cold! Ice cold! I respect it though." She tucked the vinyl under her arm. "The uniform's a giveaway, but it's the attitude that seals it," she said, her voice dropping a little.
"Only cursed kids got that much spice. Regular boys would've let me sip."
The bell chimed again as Yuji and Megumi entered the shop. Yuji immediately lit up.
"Hey! Are you one of the first-years too? I'm Yuji Itadori!"
Sakura's eyes widened. "Okay, pink squad!" She high-fived Yuji, their matching hair colors creating a surreal mirror image. "Love the energy! You're gonna be my bestie!"
Megumi hung back, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"And you, tall, dark, and broody?" Sakura called to him. "Got a name?"
"Megumi Fushiguro," he replied flatly.
"Sea Urchin," Rome added helpfully.
Megumi's glare could've melted steel.
"And you?" Sakura turned back to Rome.
"Rome Hoshino."
"Like the city?"
"Like the empire."
She grinned. "Cocky. I like it." She set the vinyl down and stretched, her cropped jacket rising to show her pierced navel. "So where's our sensei? I got a text saying to be here at 1:30, but no one showed."
"Join the club," Rome said. "We got dropped off and abandoned."
A commotion outside caught their attention. The street had suddenly cleared, pedestrians pressing themselves against storefronts. A man in a blindfold and sunglasses strolled down the middle of the road, eating ice cream and completely ignoring the chaos he was causing.
"Speak of the devil," Megumi sighed.
Gojo spotted them through the window and waved enthusiastically, ice cream dripping down his hand and made an exaggerated gesture for them to come outside.
"Is that... our teacher?" Sakura asked, squinting through the glass.
"Unfortunately," Rome confirmed.
"He looks like a K-pop idol who got lost on the way to a concert."
"Trust me, his personality is even worse than his fashion sense."
Sakura grabbed her vinyl and a small shopping bag. "Well, this should be interesting at least. Let's go see what the blindfolded wonder wants."