junie ᰔ

but that's the thing about megumi. call him antisocial because you can count how many friends he has at school on one hand. call him scary because he used to get into fights in middle school. call him mean because he'll deadpan and say no to every person who asks for his notes, even if they try bribing him with vending machine drinks.

there are many things people believe about megumi fushiguro. but the one thing you could never call him is unreliable.

that's why they put him in charge of the debate club without question.

that's why he always automatically gets assigned the role of third speaker every debate— the soft cushion landing. the saving grace. the final chance at victory. even if the entire debate had gone to shit, the team could always count on megumi to swoop in at the end and save it.

and right now, they needed saving. the yearly tournament was coming to an end. the winning team at the end of the season, which of course would be determined in next weeks' final debate, was to be handed a trophy and earned their school bragging rights for the year.

naturally, it's no wonder to anyone how jujutsu high's sitting comfortably at number one out of all the schools in your division this year.

well, perhaps not so comfortably anymore.

kyoto metropolitan girls' school. the only school jujutsu high had yet to debate this year.

and funnily, the school megumi's twin cousins happen to go to. he'd been glad he hadn't crossed paths with maki and mai all this time. as cousins do, they're both outstandingly good at getting under his skin.

but it was going to happen eventually. he just hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

their school sits just one point below jujutsu high. meaning the stakes are up. if kyoto win tonight, next week's match would become a tiebreaker for the winning spot. meaning jujutsu high had no choice but to lock in.

but it's fine, megumi thought. he works exceptionally well under pressure. and so far, the debate had gone smoothly in the negative's, a.k.a megumi's groups' favour; a well-done opening from the girls' team by kugisaki nobara, he believed she'd said her name was. he'd expected as much from the second place school. a minor slip-up in the beginning from yuuji, which hadn't been missed by mai, who just had been their second speaker. she'd smiled smugly at megumi the entire time she delivered her rebuttal, and he'd glared right back at her. then, yuuta had gone up and thankfully, cleaned up for yuuji quite smoothly before it could snowball into anything bigger, making megumi's job easier.

and then, his mental torment had begun.

the adjudicators called on affirmative speaker three.

the final speaker for the girls' team. the one whose speech megumi had to frame his entire rebuttal around. he needed to be sharp. prepared.

megumi lowered his eyes to his notebook. final speaker. last rebuttal. most important speech. he uncapped his pen.

the third speaker from kyoto walked onto the stage. he was still scribbling down one last point when the room settled. only then did he glance up.

you were already looking at him.

his pen stopped moving.

for a brief, impossible second, neither of you looked away.

then you smiled.

his entire body stilled when you locked eye contact with one another. without warning, a hot, tingling rush began searing its way up his body.

and suddenly, everything was in slow motion.

megumi swore he could hear sweet piano music. you flipped your hair over your shoulder and he just about sank to the ground to profess all the sins he'd ever committed in his miserable excuse of a life, because you were an angel, bathed in the stage lights.

somewhere between it all, you'd turned back to the front and started speaking.

"good evening peers, adjudicators, teachers and guests." with that cherubic smile of yours plastered over your face.

now, you're two minutes into the speech.

megumi still hasn't recovered. he's too busy rewriting everything he thought he believed about the divine. he's barely moved an inch.

well, that's an exaggeration. he has moved, to take notes, of course.

very relevant and important notes.

he looks down at what he'd scratched onto the page earlier. and freezes yet again.

'she smiles'

what does smiling have to do with anything?

everything apparently. because you're now three minutes into your rebuttal, and his heart is still pounding at the memory of that grin of yours. directed right at him. so warm and sweet and carefree, as if he hadn't just caught you staring at him like a creep. as if he was the one who'd looked at you first and not the other way around.

how long had you been staring at the top of his head, anyway? and why? is there something wrong with his hair? it is puffier than usual, now that he thinks about it.

he brings a hand up to pat down the fly-aways.

what the fuck?

since when has he ever cared about that?

he retracts the same hand halfway in disbelief and cups the side of his head, digging his fingers in, trying desperately to wake up whatever lives between his ears. if anything exists up there anymore.

megumi grips his pen tight. three minutes. usually, he'd have half a page filled out in three minutes, with at least three rebuttals prepared.

he looks down at his notes.

she smiles

fix hair

oh no

yuuji looks over his shoulder at the page, highly confused, clearly blissfully unaware that the rapture must be on its way, and whispers "dude."

"...furthermore," you continue, "the opposition's model relies on an assumption that simply isn't reflected in reality."

you speak clearly. calmly. not a single stumble.

you have a nice voice.

it sounds like a bed of cotton, a celestial caress, warm milk and honey. like birdsong, or folk melody, or an ancient psalm. like something no one here should be able to bear their ears to, because no one in this room could possibly be holy enough to deserve it.

megumi almost adds that to his list of two-worded phrases of doom and despair before he realises what he's supposed to be doing and drops his head onto the table with a soft thud.

"they've created a framework that sounds effective in theory, but only because it ignores complexity."

you have a really, really nice voice.

"their argument assumes that people and situations can be organised into neat categories. unfortunately, reality isn't nearly that cooperative."

he tilts his head up to look at you again.

an angel. they expect him to debate with an angel.

and you continue. not a single word gets through to him.

his ears are ringing by the time you sit down.

and then the adjudicators call on him.

doom.

megumi's team lose by a landslide. a suffering, pathetic defeat.

he barely remembers any of what he'd said when he was called on. already a fading memory, just like everything else in his brain that must've turned into mush by now, all replaced with the image of you.

the few flashes he can remember look something like this:

"...good evening." he'd said, voice shaky.

his eyes flicked to you, and you'd grinned encouragingly and sugary sweet, mouthed 'good luck'. and he'd almost folded in half right there, on the stage.

he cleared his throat.

"the affirmative claims that complexity should always be accommodated."

pause.

"however... there still has to be..."

another pause, and it sounded almost as if there was a cough climbing up his throat which he was trying desperately to swallow down.

"...a standard. if... if every situation is treated differently..." he says slowly, "then..."

silence. he's definitely forgotten his point.

one of his teammates physically covers his face with both hands.

you bit your lip to conceal a snicker.

he should die. there's no other solution.

you laughed at him. at his misfortune, at his suffering, at his pain. and for some convoluted reason, he wants you to do it again.

he's currently stood in the parking lot with his team. yuuji, yuuta, toge, and his stupid teacher, who also happens to be his uncle.

they're all trying to make sense of it.

"how did this even happen?" yuuta asks, devastated "we were doing so well."

"salmon." toge says, pointing to yuuji. i blame him.

yuuji gasps, scandalised "MY FAULT?!"

"you did kinda mess up in the start, yuuji." yuuta agrees, humming softly.

"I MESSED UP?!" he exclaims, "what about mister loverboy over here?" he demands, jabbing at megumi's arm, "he saw one pretty girl and he forgot how to speak or something. he probably has a crush on her."

"pretty girl, gumi?" gojo asks, a completely insufferable grin etched from ear-to-ear. the only expression he ever has on his face when he's partaking in his favourite past-time: torturing megumi.

"okaka."

"i agree with toge," yuuta says, "that doesn't make sense. megumi doesn't like people."

"yeah, you're right." gojo concedes, relaxed as ever, "yuuji probably messed us up from the start." he says, patting the pink-haired boy on the back with a flashy smile, "it's fiiiine, guys. we still have next week to win this."

"you guys should've seen megumi's notes." yuuji mutters, sulking.

megumi's head snaps up quickly. "don't." he says, finally making his first contribution to the conversation that doesn't involve glaring at the pavement and huffing.

"oho," gojo grins, intrigued and far too amused by megumi's sudden defensiveness, "what'd he write?"

"yuuji." megumi says warningly.

yuuji grins, "they said—"

"hi!"

a feminine voice startles the entire group.

every voice stopped abruptly.

megumi knows that voice.

the voice that'd caused this. the real person at fault here.

not him waffling like an idiot through his speech.

not yuuji's mess-up at the start.

not even gojo's terrible excuse for teaching, which was usually megumi's go-to blame.

you. it's your fault.

everyone whips around. megumi blinks rapidly.

somehow, impossibly, you're even prettier up close.

"hi!" you greet again, waving radiantly at them all.

"hi..!"

"kelp."

"hey!"

megumi's silent. mouth slightly agape, not a single sound coming out of him.

your eyes find his immediately, "you're cute."

he goes rigid.

"can i have your number?"

complete silence.

every single person around him freezes.

megumi freezes the hardest.

you think he may have actually stopped functioning.

"...i think he died," his teacher says brightly, "you're probably gonna have to give him yours."

this man is weirdly close to his students.

you giggle.

megumi swallows.

you notice the pen clipped to his collar, and without asking, you take it, uncap it, then gently take his hand. he's warm.

"you're not gonna have some crazy allergic reaction if i do this, right?" you ask with a laugh.

he nods.

then shakes his head.

then nods again.

you tilt your head, "hmm?"

the pink-haired boy grins, then slings an arm around megumi's shoulder, "nah, he's fine. i draw on him all the time." yuuji pokes his cheek. "he's just shy."

you laugh again.

that laugh.

the one that had ruined his entire debate.

you write your number on his palm.

and a little smiley face beside it.

he doesn't stop you, he physically cannot.

you put the pen back exactly where it was on his shirt, then beam at all of them. "really good debate, you guys!" you point at him, "i know you'll kill it next week."

then turn.

and skip back over to your team.

behind you, chaos erupts

"SO IT REALLY WAS ABOUT HER?"

"tuna mayo!"

"MEGUMI PULLED!"

someone claps him on the back.

"megumi, you dog!" his teacher grins proudly. you raise an eyebrow.

yeah, that guy is way too close to his students. no wonder your teacher, utahime was glaring at him earlier. strange.

you'd have to ask her about it at the ice cream place she'd promised to take you girls to after to celebrate your win..

you glance over your shoulder once.

megumi fushiguro is still staring at his hand in disbelief.

his face is completely red.

you grin.

cute.

𑣲masterlist | 𑣲chapter 1

syn. megumi has always been serious and put-together, especially when it comes to his academics... until he verses your school in debate club and practically starts foaming at the mouth when you speak.

cw/tags. nerd!gumi x nerd!reader, debate club, kinda academic rivals but not a lot of rivalry, shy loser virgin failure megumi, popular and confident reader, (can u tell i'm watching horimiya), forced proximity/summer camp romance, dirty/suggestive humour, kys jokes. fanart in banner drawn by me!!

[ a/n ]. im sorry this is so long i rewrote it like seven times trying to cut it down enough IT WAS ORIGINALLY 4K WORDS i did my best. also listened to heaven can wait by micheal jackson on loop while writing this can u tell LMFAOOOO n e ways if ur reading this right as im posting this, chapter 1 will be out in like the next 5 mins so stay seated bby

but that's the thing about megumi. call him antisocial because you can count how many friends he has at school on one hand. call him scary because he used to get into fights in middle school. call him mean because he'll deadpan and say no to every person who asks for his notes, even if they try bribing him with vending machine drinks.

there are many things people believe about megumi fushiguro. but the one thing you could never call him is unreliable.

that's why they put him in charge of the debate club without question.

that's why he always automatically gets assigned the role of third speaker every debate— the soft cushion landing. the saving grace. the final chance at victory. even if the entire debate had gone to shit, the team could always count on megumi to swoop in at the end and save it.

and right now, they needed saving. the yearly tournament was coming to an end. the winning team at the end of the season, which of course would be determined in next weeks' final debate, was to be handed a trophy and earned their school bragging rights for the year.

naturally, it's no wonder to anyone how jujutsu high's sitting comfortably at number one out of all the schools in your division this year.

well, perhaps not so comfortably anymore.

kyoto metropolitan girls' school. the only school jujutsu high had yet to debate this year.

and funnily, the school megumi's twin cousins happen to go to. he'd been glad he hadn't crossed paths with maki and mai all this time. as cousins do, they're both outstandingly good at getting under his skin.

but it was going to happen eventually. he just hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

their school sits just one point below jujutsu high. meaning the stakes are up. if kyoto win tonight, next week's match would become a tiebreaker for the winning spot. meaning jujutsu high had no choice but to lock in.

but it's fine, megumi thought. he works exceptionally well under pressure. and so far, the debate had gone smoothly in the negative's, a.k.a megumi's groups' favour; a well-done opening from the girls' team by kugisaki nobara, he believed she'd said her name was. he'd expected as much from the second place school. a minor slip-up in the beginning from yuuji, which hadn't been missed by mai, who just had been their second speaker. she'd smiled smugly at megumi the entire time she delivered her rebuttal, and he'd glared right back at her. then, yuuta had gone up and thankfully, cleaned up for yuuji quite smoothly before it could snowball into anything bigger, making megumi's job easier.

and then, his mental torment had begun.

the adjudicators called on affirmative speaker three.

the final speaker for the girls' team. the one whose speech megumi had to frame his entire rebuttal around. he needed to be sharp. prepared.

megumi lowered his eyes to his notebook. final speaker. last rebuttal. most important speech. he uncapped his pen.

the third speaker from kyoto walked onto the stage. he was still scribbling down one last point when the room settled. only then did he glance up.

you were already looking at him.

his pen stopped moving.

for a brief, impossible second, neither of you looked away.

then you smiled.

his entire body stilled when you locked eye contact with one another. without warning, a hot, tingling rush began searing its way up his body.

and suddenly, everything was in slow motion.

megumi swore he could hear sweet piano music. you flipped your hair over your shoulder and he just about sank to the ground to profess all the sins he'd ever committed in his miserable excuse of a life, because you were an angel, bathed in the stage lights.

somewhere between it all, you'd turned back to the front and started speaking.

"good evening peers, adjudicators, teachers and guests." with that cherubic smile of yours plastered over your face.

now, you're two minutes into the speech.

megumi still hasn't recovered. he's too busy rewriting everything he thought he believed about the divine. he's barely moved an inch.

well, that's an exaggeration. he has moved, to take notes, of course.

very relevant and important notes.

he looks down at what he'd scratched onto the page earlier. and freezes yet again.

'she smiles'

what does smiling have to do with anything?

everything apparently. because you're now three minutes into your rebuttal, and his heart is still pounding at the memory of that grin of yours. directed right at him. so warm and sweet and carefree, as if he hadn't just caught you staring at him like a creep. as if he was the one who'd looked at you first and not the other way around.

how long had you been staring at the top of his head, anyway? and why? is there something wrong with his hair? it is puffier than usual, now that he thinks about it.

he brings a hand up to pat down the fly-aways.

what the fuck?

since when has he ever cared about that?

he retracts the same hand halfway in disbelief and cups the side of his head, digging his fingers in, trying desperately to wake up whatever lives between his ears. if anything exists up there anymore.

megumi grips his pen tight. three minutes. usually, he'd have half a page filled out in three minutes, with at least three rebuttals prepared.

he looks down at his notes.

she smiles

fix hair

oh no

yuuji looks over his shoulder at the page, highly confused, clearly blissfully unaware that the rapture must be on its way, and whispers "dude."

"...furthermore," you continue, "the opposition's model relies on an assumption that simply isn't reflected in reality."

you speak clearly. calmly. not a single stumble.

you have a nice voice.

it sounds like a bed of cotton, a celestial caress, warm milk and honey. like birdsong, or folk melody, or an ancient psalm. like something no one here should be able to bear their ears to, because no one in this room could possibly be holy enough to deserve it.

megumi almost adds that to his list of two-worded phrases of doom and despair before he realises what he's supposed to be doing and drops his head onto the table with a soft thud.

"they've created a framework that sounds effective in theory, but only because it ignores complexity."

you have a really, really nice voice.

"their argument assumes that people and situations can be organised into neat categories. unfortunately, reality isn't nearly that cooperative."

he tilts his head up to look at you again.

an angel. they expect him to debate with an angel.

and you continue. not a single word gets through to him.

his ears are ringing by the time you sit down.

and then the adjudicators call on him.

doom.

megumi's team lose by a landslide. a suffering, pathetic defeat.

he barely remembers any of what he'd said when he was called on. already a fading memory, just like everything else in his brain that must've turned into mush by now, all replaced with the image of you.

the few flashes he can remember look something like this:

"...good evening." he'd said, voice shaky.

his eyes flicked to you, and you'd grinned encouragingly and sugary sweet, mouthed 'good luck'. and he'd almost folded in half right there, on the stage.

he cleared his throat.

"the affirmative claims that complexity should always be accommodated."

pause.

"however... there still has to be..."

another pause, and it sounded almost as if there was a cough climbing up his throat which he was trying desperately to swallow down.

"...a standard. if... if every situation is treated differently..." he says slowly, "then..."

silence. he's definitely forgotten his point.

one of his teammates physically covers his face with both hands.

you bit your lip to conceal a snicker.

he should die. there's no other solution.

you laughed at him. at his misfortune, at his suffering, at his pain. and for some convoluted reason, he wants you to do it again.

he's currently stood in the parking lot with his team. yuuji, yuuta, toge, and his stupid teacher, who also happens to be his uncle.

they're all trying to make sense of it.

"how did this even happen?" yuuta asks, devastated "we were doing so well."

"salmon." toge says, pointing to yuuji. i blame him.

yuuji gasps, scandalised "MY FAULT?!"

"you did kinda mess up in the start, yuuji." yuuta agrees, humming softly.

"I MESSED UP?!" he exclaims, "what about mister loverboy over here?" he demands, jabbing at megumi's arm, "he saw one pretty girl and he forgot how to speak or something. he probably has a crush on her."

"pretty girl, gumi?" gojo asks, a completely insufferable grin etched from ear-to-ear. the only expression he ever has on his face when he's partaking in his favourite past-time: torturing megumi.

"okaka."

"i agree with toge," yuuta says, "that doesn't make sense. megumi doesn't like people."

"yeah, you're right." gojo concedes, relaxed as ever, "yuuji probably messed us up from the start." he says, patting the pink-haired boy on the back with a flashy smile, "it's fiiiine, guys. we still have next week to win this."

"you guys should've seen megumi's notes." yuuji mutters, sulking.

megumi's head snaps up quickly. "don't." he says, finally making his first contribution to the conversation that doesn't involve glaring at the pavement and huffing.

"oho," gojo grins, intrigued and far too amused by megumi's sudden defensiveness, "what'd he write?"

"yuuji." megumi says warningly.

yuuji grins, "they said—"

"hi!"

a feminine voice startles the entire group.

every voice stopped abruptly.

megumi knows that voice.

the voice that'd caused this. the real person at fault here.

not him waffling like an idiot through his speech.

not yuuji's mess-up at the start.

not even gojo's terrible excuse for teaching, which was usually megumi's go-to blame.

you. it's your fault.

everyone whips around. megumi blinks rapidly.

somehow, impossibly, you're even prettier up close.

"hi!" you greet again, waving radiantly at them all.

"hi..!"

"kelp."

"hey!"

megumi's silent. mouth slightly agape, not a single sound coming out of him.

your eyes find his immediately, "you're cute."

he goes rigid.

"can i have your number?"

complete silence.

every single person around him freezes.

megumi freezes the hardest.

you think he may have actually stopped functioning.

"...i think he died," his teacher says brightly, "you're probably gonna have to give him yours."

this man is weirdly close to his students.

you giggle.

megumi swallows.

you notice the pen clipped to his collar, and without asking, you take it, uncap it, then gently take his hand. he's warm.

"you're not gonna have some crazy allergic reaction if i do this, right?" you ask with a laugh.

he nods.

then shakes his head.

then nods again.

you tilt your head, "hmm?"

the pink-haired boy grins, then slings an arm around megumi's shoulder, "nah, he's fine. i draw on him all the time." yuuji pokes his cheek. "he's just shy."

you laugh again.

that laugh.

the one that had ruined his entire debate.

you write your number on his palm.

and a little smiley face beside it.

he doesn't stop you, he physically cannot.

you put the pen back exactly where it was on his shirt, then beam at all of them. "really good debate, you guys!" you point at him, "i know you'll kill it next week."

then turn.

and skip back over to your team.

behind you, chaos erupts

"SO IT REALLY WAS ABOUT HER?"

"tuna mayo!"

"MEGUMI PULLED!"

someone claps him on the back.

"megumi, you dog!" his teacher grins proudly. you raise an eyebrow.

yeah, that guy is way too close to his students. no wonder your teacher, utahime was glaring at him earlier. strange.

you'd have to ask her about it at the ice cream place she'd promised to take you girls to after to celebrate your win..

you glance over your shoulder once.

megumi fushiguro is still staring at his hand in disbelief.

his face is completely red.

you grin.

cute.

𑣲masterlist | 𑣲chapter 1

syn. megumi has always been serious and put-together, especially when it comes to his academics... until he verses your school in debate club and practically starts foaming at the mouth when you speak.

cw/tags. nerd!gumi x nerd!reader, debate club, kinda academic rivals but not a lot of rivalry, shy loser virgin failure megumi, popular and confident reader, (can u tell i'm watching horimiya), forced proximity/summer camp romance, dirty/suggestive humour, kys jokes. fanart in banner drawn by me!!

[ a/n ]. im sorry this is so long i rewrote it like seven times trying to cut it down enough IT WAS ORIGINALLY 4K WORDS i did my best. also listened to heaven can wait by micheal jackson on loop while writing this can u tell LMFAOOOO n e ways if ur reading this right as im posting this, chapter 1 will be out in like the next 5 mins so stay seated bby