Chapter 16. First Years

Gojo and I walked through the street towards the three figures across the road. My heart warmed with a wave of excitement as their distinct silhouettes came into focus. Any wonder I had about Gojo's charismatic smile faded as I braced myself for contact. First impressions are crucial, after all.

I was about to meet my future classmates - Yuuji Itadori, Nobara Kugisaki, and Megumi Fushiguro.

"Don't forget what I said," Gojo reminded me as we approached. "Express a simple emotion to manage your aura."

I nodded and took a deep breath, deciding to give it a try. I plastered a smile on my face, hoping it looked natural. Gojo had assured me that a genuine smile could go a long way in making a good first impression.

We approached three figures standing by a street vendor. As their faces came into focus, I felt another wave of excitement wash over me. Yuuji, with his pink hair, was leaning casually against a grill, while Megumi stood next to him, looking as stoic as ever. The third figure, a girl with orange hair, caught my attention immediately. But something about her didn't quite fit the description of Nobara Kugisaki that I had in my mind.

"Sorry for the wait," Gojo greeted the three students with a wave.

"You stood us up," Megumi grumbled, his voice low. "As usual."

"Hey! Gojo-sensei! Nice to see you," Yuuji said, straightening up and giving Gojo a big grin. "Megumi thought you'd ghost us, but he didn't want the third first-year to be stranded in busy Tokyo on the first day."

"Umm…" Gojo smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"So, we came anyway - wandered off a bit but eventually came across her," Yuuji continued. "This is the third student." He pointed to the girl standing next to him, who gave a cheerful wave.

Gojo's nervous smile turned into a more perplexed expression. "Umm…"

I blinked, trying to process what I was seeing. The girl Yuuji was pointing at was not what I had expected. She was shorter and rounder than the image of Nobara I had in my head. Her dark blue uniform could have easily been mistaken for a Jujutsu High outfit, but the bright pink bow on her head and the stuffed animal she clutched were glaring indicators otherwise.

"That can't be her," I finally spoke, though with a low tone.

Gojo finally managed to say, "Umm, Yuuji, that's not her."

Yuuji looked confused. "What do you mean? She said she is a first-year at Jujutsu High. She even showed us some moves!" The girl smiled and gave a little wave, her pigtails bouncing as she did.

Megumi sighed deeply. "I kept telling him she wasn't the third student, but he wouldn't listen. Somehow, he's bonded with her, and they've become big brother and sister."

Yuuji's face turned red. "But she is so nice, and she knows about sorcery stuff! She said her name is Yumeko and that she is excited to meet new people."

'Yeah, that sounds nothing like Nobara,' I thought deeply. 'Nobara is the strong-willed type.'

Gojo chuckled, clearly amused. "Yuuji, you really should listen to Megumi more. This is Jamal, your actual new classmate."

"Nice to meet you all," I said, trying to keep my smile in place. The confusion and comic relief made it easy.

Yumeko giggled and waved at me. "It's nice to meet you too, Jamal!" she said brightly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Yumeko," I said, smiling at her.

"It was nice meeting you too, big bro Yuuji," Yumeko turned to Yuuji, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "I'll tell all my friends about you. I'll be going now."

Yuuji laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Thanks, Yumeko. Take care, alright?"

Yumeko nodded vigorously, her pigtails bouncing as she left. "You too! And good luck with your training, everyone!"

Yuuji continued scratching his head, still looking embarrassed as he watched Yumeko bounce off. "Well, this is awkward. I guess I got a little carried away."

Megumi sighed again. "A little?"

Gojo clasped his hands to recapture attention. "Well, now that we've sorted that out, why don't we find the actual third first-year."

"I thought there were only three this year," Megumi said, glancing at me.

"Slight change of plans," Gojo announced cheerfully. "Instead of three, there will be four first-year students this year.

"The principal had no issue with that," Gojo remarked nervously.

"Your uniform should arrive soon too, Jamal," Gojo addressed me, then looked at Yuuji. "I saw yours already came, Yuuji."

Yuuji perked up, his embarrassment fading. "Yeah, it fits perfectly!"

"It looks custom-made," I said, noticing the collar color was different from Megumi's. "Will mine be custom-made too, Gojo-sensei?"

"You bet!" Gojo said with an unsettling grin.

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Across the street where we stood, a commotion unfolded. A girl with orange hair was confronting a middle-aged man, aggressively demanding to know if he thought she was beautiful with a frightening tone.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"That's definitely Nobara Kugisaki," I murmured to myself, not really understanding why I was feeling intimidated by her in that brief moment. She exuded a strong, determined aura that didn't feel as if it came from her cursed energy. It was clear she wasn't someone to cross lightly.

Yuuji chuckled nervously beside me while commenting. "That's embarrassing."

Megumi sighed and shot him a look. "You're the one who's embarrassing, Yuuji." Then he turned his gaze to me, his expression softening slightly. "Both of you."

I glanced at Yuuji and felt a bit sheepish. It was true that I had let his enthusiasm sweep me up during our walk. We'd stopped at almost every interesting stall and vendor, trying out strange snacks, posing with oversized novelty glasses, and even buying name-sculpted goggles meant for kids. Yuuji's infectious energy had made it hard to resist.

Besides, how could I resist 'R-O-O-K' goggles?

"Hey, we are over hear," Gojo called out to Nobara, and she turned to look at us.

"Mffh," she straightened her face as she prepared to cross the street. With each step she took, I vividly recalled something I knew about her, and it filled me with a mixture of happiness and sadness.

Finally, Nobara approached, her gaze prideful as she assessed each of us in turn. I breathed, trying to maintain the smile Gojo had encouraged me to wear, though I couldn't shake the worry that she would instantly judge me as foolish.

"This is Nobara," Gojo introduced. "Nobara Kugisaki."

"So, you're the new boys, huh?" she declared, her tone expressing a sense of superiority. "Consider yourselves honored. I'm the only girly in this group."

"Don't be shy, guys," Gojo persuaded us. "Introduce yourselves."

"I'm Jamal, Jamal Freeman," I introduced myself with a confident smile. At the back of that smile, there was a curiosity to know if she was comparing me to a potato. "I'm from California, US."

Nobara gave a curt nod, "Hmph. We'll see if you can keep up."

Yuuji stepped forward with an ear-to-ear grin. "I'm Yuuji Itadori! Nice to meet you!"

Megumi followed suit, calm and collected, and nearly a mumble. "I'm Megumi Fushiguro."

"Aah, this is what I get to work with? Great, just my luck," Nobara complained after looking at each on of us more intensely.

"Don't care," Megumi mumbled removing his gaze from Nobara.

"You'll warm up to us," I said to Nobara, bravely, boldly, and confident with what I had said.

"Excellent," Gojo said cheerfully, intervening in our introductions. "Now that you are all properly acquainted, it's time to unwrap that special surprise I told each one of you about."

"As you know, we were initially supposed to meet at Harajuku up until this morning," Gojo explained. "But there was a slight change in plans that ended up ruining my special reveal moment."

"Your message also said that there would be only three of us students, but I count four," Nobara claimed, causing me to smile nervously. "Who is crashing the party?"

"No one," Gojo replied. "Everyone currently here is meant to be here."

"But one in particular will determine the fate of our Tokyo trip," Gojo continued. Even still blindfolded, I could feel his gaze on me and the butterflies starting in my stomach.

"Who is it??" Both Nobara and Yuuji asked too strongly.

"I was really looking forward to going to Disneyland!" Nobara argued with too much energy. "Tokyo Disneyland!"

"Idiot, Disneyland is in Chiba!" Yuji argued. "Let's go to Akihabara instead!"

Even in an unexpected situation, the two immediately dissolved into bickering about where to go.

Megumi watched on without appearing amused, while I tried my best to keep it together, worrying what Gojo meant by saying one of us would determine the fate of the trip. Did he mean me? And if he did, did that mean that I would be the one to let down Nobara and Yuji if they realized that Gojo never meant for us to go in any of those places?

I shuddered imagining how they would strangle me, and hoped that it wasn't me.

"I shall now announce the culprit," Gojo declared.

Nobara and Yuji stopped their bickering and knelt down dramatically looking at Megumi and I, eyes wide with plea.

"What if we just went to Roppongi?" I spoke quickly before Gojo could reveal. "I hear there are nice restaurants there and I am dying to eat something from Japan."

"Hm?" Gojo didn't reveal anything, but just wondered inside quickly, wondering if it was a coincidence that I had chosen the same location he had in mind.

Yuji and Nobara's eyes lit up at my words and I knew I had worn them over. Now all I needed to do was keep them from having to go to the exact location Gojo had in mind, and I would be there best friend for life.

"It's been decided," Gojo agreed. "Roppongi it is."

"Great," I said excitedly. "I call shot gun on the first restaurant we enter."

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