how to win a guitarist's heart
chapter 1: normal's overrated
itafushi highschool au: megumi's in a band and yuji's one of his best friends. a slow burn anticipating the biggest disappointment of toji's entire life. 2.8k words total.
It was any other school day and for Megumi Fushiguro, it was literally any other day. Boring lectures, lunch with his two closest friends, and then band practice after homeroom. Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki have stuck by his side the entire school year. His band wasn't new, he's been in it since his first year. This is just the first time they've ever been good. They didn't have a specific genre of music, but they were rocking along with other high school bands just fine.
To deprive the expectations of his bum ass father, he keeps up with his grades and does his band too. He stopped wearing preppy clothes and started wearing things he could barely see the purpose of beyond visuals. Jeans with holes in them? Practically useless besides looking cool.
It was thanks to Yuta Okkotsu, their drummer. He was two years older than Megumi so he'd be graduating soon. He helped Megumi create the closet of every rebellious teenager's dreams with a pair of scissors and a couple of dollars from their summer shows.Their bassist and scream expert was Toge Inumaki, a year younger than Yuta. He was the one who showed Megumi how to keep up with the appearance and was the one who recommended a new hair gel for his spiky hair. Kasumi Miwa was their main vocalist and she had the voice of an angel up until Inumaki taught her how to scream. She usually helps the boys with their eye makeup for each show. The three of them all helped Megumi in his new journey in misbehavior just so he could stick to his father.
It was weird the things one would do to be noticed.
This day in particular was no different. Megumi had on the biggest pair of jeans he owned, a long sleeve shirt, and a band t-shirt on top of it. He walked into the homeroom like he would any other day, his friends waving him over.
“Fushiguro!” Yuji in particular had waved at him rather excitedly. “Come here!”
“Dude, I'm coming,” He shuffled his feet a little faster, slumping his shoulders.
“Wow, Megumi,” Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Gojo, clicked his pen on the edge of his desk. “Being rude to your good friend like that? What kind of person are you?”
“Really?” Megumi turned to look at his teacher.
His sunglasses had fallen to the edge of his nose and his blinding bright blue eyes peered over the edge, a small chuckle coming from him. His entire appearance was kind of terrifying as his hair was stark white and he was only in his 30's. At least, that's what Megumi assumes.
“Well, yes, because you know how I feel about you strolling into my class without a smile,” Mr. Gojo smiled big, raising his eyebrows.
“Right,” Megumi ignored him as he continued to walk to his desk, right beside Yuji.
“Mr. Gojo got rejected again,” The boy whispered to him. His appearance was quite odd too, with his fluffy pink hair in contrast to his dark brown undercut. Megumi never asked if he dyed it, but he kinda hoped he did.
Having natural pink hair was definitely different.
“I mean, of course he was,” Megumi slung his book bag to the floor and sank into his desk chair. “He can't approach Mr. Geto to save his life,”
“Hey! Not true!” Mr. Gojo spoke up, slamming his hands on the desk. “Plus it was not a rejection, Yuji. It was a mere redirection of my affection, thank you,”
Yuji began to laugh, giggling to himself. “Dude, you're terrible at this dating thing,”
“Mind you,” Nobara Kugisaki snapped her gum in her mouth, chuckling to herself. “They aren't even dating because Mr. Gojo can't find the courage to ask,”
Yuji turned around to face the girl, already laughing. He raised a hand up and the two high five, then dispersed into a flutter of giggles.
“You both are faithless, besides,” Their teacher shrugged and leaned back into his chair. “Who said that I didn't have the courage?”
“We all witnessed it, you asked Mr. Geto out on the first day of classes,” Megumi held back any laughter, smiling as he replied. “Wait, my bad, you tried to ask him out,”
The three of them laughed again, watching as their teacher spun into an angry, flustered fit. They were only so close because they had all been failing Mr. Geto's class on Classic Literature just last semester. The only one who knew anything close to the topic happened to be Mr. Gojo, who opened an improv study group that consisted of the three.
“Then I hope I'm not interrupting by coming in?” A smooth, deep voice floated into the room. “Apologies, if so,”
The laughter died down quickly as their eyes locked on the door, seeing their previous Classics teacher there.
Mr. Gojo gasped and scrambled to compose himself, standing up rapidly. “No- No, not at all. What did you need?”
“I'd actually like to speak to you, Satoru,” The other teacher said quietly, holding a clipboard close to his chest. “It won't take long,”
Yuji and Nobara began to egg the teacher on as he walked to the door of the classroom. As Mr. Geto turned his back, Mr. Gojo shushed them with his finger before closing the door.
“Watch, they're going to make out and be like ‘I didn't know you were the love of my life!’ and then ‘Me neither!’” Yuji began to imitate the two kissing with his hands, making himself laugh over and over again.
“Like Mr. Geto would! Mr. Gojo needs some advice and I think we could all help him out,” Nobara gestured to the three of them, wiggling her eyebrows.
“I am not helping that guy,” Megumi shook his head. “He's a grown ass man,”
“He's just in love so he's acting stupid, you know?” Yuji scratched his head. “I mean, I don't know if the three of us could help him. He's doomed,”
“He is so not doomed,”
“He is so doomed, Kugisaki,”
“Hey,” Another voice interrupted them. “Megumi, are you still on for tonight?
It was Miwa. Her hair was a bright, pastel blue and her makeup was dark. She was probably the sweetest girl Megumi had ever met, but her appearance served her well in intimidating others.
“Yeah, I'll be there,” He replied back, thinking back to his guitar at home. “I'll probably have to stop at home though to grab my guitar,”
“Damn, do you always forget that thing?” Yuji interrupted.
“No. It was Toji's fault this time,”
Toji was Megumi's father's name. He wasn't worth the title of Dad or anything close to it. It was a first name basis between the two of them because Megumi refused to see the man as anything more than just a roommate.
“How was it his fault?” Miwa leaned on Nobara's desk, looking at the girl before winking in her direction.
Nobara smiled at her before giggling. “Your makeup looks so good today, Miwa,”
“Aw, thanks cutie!” She giggled before looking at Megumi.“So?”
“He was complaining about a headache this morning and just being an overall asshole,” He sighed, reminiscing on his morning. “I mean, I didn't tell him to go drinking and spend all night at the bar. Didn't matter because he still found a way to bitch about it in the morning and toss my name in it,”
“Damn, I'm sorry,” She said quietly. “You know, we can keep your guitar in the practice room. I'm sure Yuta could ask Ms. Utahime,”
“No, it's really fine,”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded, “Absolutely,”
The group got quiet and Megumi hated that. He hated talking about his father for this reason exactly. The way the room got quiet and got awkward, it was suffocating.
Thankfully, a very joyous Mr. Gojo re-entered the classroom, practically skipping to his desk. “I realized I forgot to call roll so, we're going to do that now,”
The room’s suffocating air seemed to dissipate at his glee as he took his seat back at his desk, smiling wide.
“Well, I'll see you at practice,” Miwa said before walking back to her own seat.
“See you,”
Mr. Gojo pulled out a stack of papers and hummed as he read down all the names, his eyes peering over the stack every now and then. He had a crazy good memory, maybe even photographic. It was almost superhuman even how easily he could recall where objects were, people's faces, or other small details. It was almost like he was psychic.
“Roll is done!” He exclaimed as he plopped back down in his chair, rolling himself in circles. “Now, since I have nothing important to tell you and grades to put in, go ahead and study for your other classes! If you have any questions or need anything, don't be shy to come up and ask,”
“I'm convinced we never have to do anything in here,” Yuji mumbled, turning to Megumi. “I mean, Junpei says Mr. Geto always has them filling something out,”
“Yeah, but I like it,” Nobara commented.
“You two act like you study at all, of course it means doing nothing,” Megumi rolled his eyes at them.
“Okay, Mr. ‘I'm at the top of my classes,’” Yuji mocked, making air quotations. “I'm pretty sure the only class I've ever seen you almost fail was Mr. Geto's,”
“Yeah,” He glanced away awkwardly. “He's a tough grader,”
“Our little academic weapon,” Nobara cooed, reaching out at Megumi and poking his cheek. “Aren't you a smart guy?”
“Don’t fucking touch me,”
“Woah! Megumi!” Mr. Gojo turned away from his computer and shook his head. “No cussing in the classroom. I won't make a big deal out of it this time, but don't let it happen again,”
Nobara and Yuji snickered as Megumi complied, muttering a “Yes, sir,”
“Good! Thank you,” He smiled widely. “This is unrelated to the foul language, but I'd like to see the three of you after class, okay?”
The three of them glanced at one another, the laughter stopping immediately. They didn't say anything to each other as they tried to communicate to one another what they could've done to be called after class. Their eyes shared quick glances at one another in that attempt, yet nothing rang a bell.
“None of you are in trouble before you start doing, whatever it is that you are trying to do,” He spoke up, frowning a little. “You guys look like you’re conjuring something,”
“Oh okay,” Yuji said. “My bad,”
“I mean, you're not in trouble unless you guys did something,” Mr. Gojo added, throwing in a wink.
“Yeah, we would never do anything wrong,” Nobara said confidently. “Right, guys?
The two of them nodded.
“Also, Yuji, please send an E-mail to Ms. Utahime. She won't stop nagging me about you joining the baseball team,” He complained, typing something furiously.
“It's not my fault I don't want to play!” Yuji responded, crossing his arms.
This specific conversation has occurred many times. Under the hoodie Yuji wears all the time, he's extremely fit. Megumi hasn't asked if he works out, but it had to have been the case. He's been asked to play lots of sports for his legacy of breaking records and then breaking those records. He's only really liked the paranormal club, everything else seemed to bore him. What a weird guy.
“C'mon, Yuji,” He ran a hand through his white hair. “Have some fun, won't you?”
“Yeah, I'll think about it,” The boy muttered. “Even though, Ms. Utahime should mind her business,”
“You know she's always trying to recruit someone,” Nobara butted in. “She's been trying to get me to join drama to help them build sets. She thinks I have a calling towards woodwork all because I happen to know how to use a hammer and nails,”
“That's basically torture,” Yuji laughed. “Then you'd be repairing and building forever,”
If anyone would believe it, Nobara is extremely skilled at crafts. She makes her own things all the time and it always leaves Megumi in awe. She, however, has stayed consistent on her one dream career despite how their guidance counselor has told her repeatedly that it was unrealistic.
“I know, plus I don't think it's for me. I'd rather focus on building my portfolio so I can be a model when I graduate,” She flipped her hair.
“That's gonna be interesting. Won't it, Fushiguro?” He asked, laughing to himself.
“Hey Ass- Itadori! I said Itadori,” She stuttered as she caught herself.
Mr. Gojo briefly glared in her direction, right before continuing to work.
“Stop judging me!” She shrieked, hitting him on the shoulder.
“I didn't do anything!”
“Then what do you mean, ‘that's gonna be interesting?’”
“Nothing! Nothing!”
Megumi watched as the two began to bicker back and forth, which was a normal daily occurrence. He couldn’t wait for practice, but then he'd have to go back to the house. That was the worst part of his day. However, how coincidental that Mr. Gojo needed to see the three of them after class. It would only make him later for practice.
Class had ended not too long after and the three of them pushed and shoved each other all the way up to his desk. What could he possibly want from them?
Mr. Gojo clasped his hands together tightly before scanning behind them, watching as their fellow peers scurried out of class. “So…”
“Can we hurry this up?” Yuji interrupted, raising his hand a little. “Paranormal club starts soon, I don’t want to be late,”
“Let me finish my thought and maybe it won’t take too long, yeah?” He snapped back, then sighing. “Mr. Geto thinks that I’m not worth his time, but he’s going to give me a chance to win him back,”
“Wait, win him back?” Nobara interjected, leaning on his desk. “Did you guys already try this and break up? Did you cheat on him?”
“No! No, of course not! Oh my-” Mr. Gojo placed a hand on his chest and used the other to fan his now flustered face. “Why would I, Satoru Gojo, cheat on someone as wonderful and kind as your classics teacher?”
“We don’t know, hence why I asked,” She snapped her gum in her mouth again.
“You know, I really don’t think you should be allowed to chew that in here,” He mumbled.
“Can you get to the point? I’m with Itadori on time here,” Megumi groaned as he checked his watch. “I could’ve already gotten home and back with my guitar,”
“Okay, basically because he’s giving me a second chance, I need you three to put in a good word for me, yeah?” He smiled widely, nodding his head.
“Yeah, right,” Nobara flipped her hair. “What’s in it for us?”
“Great question,” He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “If you guys successfully help me win him over, I owe you one,”
“What does that mean?” Yuji squinted at him, crossing his arms. “Are you going to swindle us?”
“Dude, you’re grown. You do it,” Megumi facepalmed. “We’re high school students, what are we going to do to help you here?”
“Just you wait, Megumi,” Mr. Gojo rubbed his hands together and leaned back into his desk chair. “Now, say you’ll help me and I’ll let you all go,”
“Isn’t that kidnapping?” Nobara whispered.
“Agree and I’ll let you all go!” He yelled, then coughing softly before lowering his voice. “Please?”
“Okay,” Yuji shrugged. “I mean, I really don’t see a con to this, I just also don’t see any pros either,”
“Love is the pro, Yuji,” Mr. Gojo sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
“Whatever,” Megumi muttered.
“Yeah, see you, Mr. Gojo!” Nobara waved as she walked out first. “Oh, and you guys too,”
“Bro!” Yuji threw his hands up. “Anyway, Fushiguro, when you leave practice, do you want to help me with my math homework? I’m like really stumped,”
The two of them had walked out of the classroom and down the opposite direction Nobara had walked down. She was waiting on her ride outside the front of the high school, so it meant they split up here. Yuji just so happened to enjoy following Megumi.
“That’s your own damn fault,” He muttered.
“Aw, please! You’re so good at it,” Yuji begged, nudging at the boy’s arm.
“Fine! Can we do it at yours though? I really do not want to see Toji longer than I am forced to,” Megumi replied, seeing the opportunity to avoid his father a little longer.
“Yeah, of course! Me and my brother are staying with my uncle right now though,” He mumbled to himself briefly, sounding as if he was calculating their social capabilities. “Eh, you and Choso will get along super well,”
“Choso?”
“Yep, he’s my bro,”
“...Okay,”
“Anyway, text me when you leave practice! You know the club always has me here late to explore the abandoned buildings and stuff,” He rambled.
“Like that’s safe,”
Yuji scoffed, playfully punching Megumi in the arm. “It is so safe, but thanks for worrying, Fushiguro,”
The two of them walked a little further before bidding their temporary farewells, the pink haired boy skipping off into the distance. Now, for the hardest part of Megumi's afternoon.
~
a/n here is this BULLSHIT i made
there is another chapter fully written but i probably won't post it unless this does well and people want to read it (because that means finishing it and to be honest, the ending is not sunshine and rainbows)
anyway! here u guys go to hold it down before thursday :333
this series does get official tags sooooo find any future updates or parts under how to win a guitarist's heart and htwagh fic!!!
okay guys baiiiii
UPDATE!!! it is now 7/26, and dw we DID get a mostly happy ending. in better news, there is another chapter out!!! you can access that here
thank u so much for supporting my writing :333