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k-martins · 1 year

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Words: + 2K Prompt: Pocky Game Warning: We don't have many spoilers here, except that this takes place after episode 6 of season two. Maybe alert to swear words and Megumi's bad mood. A/N: I can say that I became obsessed with pockys after I saw them in that Yuji bag, and then I discovered this game and my hands itched to write something, although I don't know if I'll do a part two of this. If you don't know the game, it's more or less this: "The Pocky game is a party game played with Pocky, a Japanese chocolate- or candy-coated biscuit snack. Two participants place the Pocky between them “Lady and the Tramp” style, and try to be the last to hold onto the biscuit, often resulting in a kiss." So yes, someone needed to write this with ITFS!

“Did you spend all your money on sweets?” Kugisaki clicked her tongue as she looked inside the paper bag, looking irritated, but Megumi knew she had a wicked smile on her face. "What's wrong with you? Five years?"

“ Hey ! I need to be fueled up for the movie!” Itadori defended himself, throwing himself awkwardly next to Megumi, causing the table to shake. “They are promising that this will be the most exciting film in the saga. I have to be ready to face any anguish!”

As serious as Itadori's tone was, as if he truly believed this, Megumi had His doubts. There is little chance that a generic American horror film – which had as its main theme people with mutant loveworm genes, by the way – would be so exciting to the point that Itadori would buy a bag full of various sugary freaks. Honestly, this was much worse than the purchases Gojo made for home when he took care of Megumi, and the man with white hair and eccentric taste in facial accessories had soda flowing instead of blood through his veins.

Kugisaki shook his head lightly. She cast her sharp, questioning gaze at Megumi.

“Since you read about this thing and aren't a lunatic fan, respond. That is true?"

Megumi sighed audibly, ignoring for the sake of his sanity the delighted look Itadori had on his face. Instead of thinking about how the boy next to him seemed overjoyed with the information, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and opened the cinema's official website, turning the screen to show Kugisaki the information about the films currently showing . If the girl was surprised that he had found her so quickly, she didn't show it beyond a mischievous smile. It's not like Megumi has visited the site several times since Itadori mentioned how excited he was for the film, reading the synopsis and wandering through reviews of the previous films to find herself in the middle of the low-budget Hollywood mess. Of course he didn't do that. He just coincidentally had the site saved in his bookmarks bar.

“In an audience of thirty, twelve people gave a score equal to or above six.” He read it with a frown. Thirty people watched this? He expected a little less...

“Oh, that’s actually good!” Kugisaki praised, punctuating his words with a slap on Itadori's arm, which Megumi only escaped being hit by cowering closer to the wall. “Looks like your Worm Man movie isn’t that bad.”

“It’s a Human EarthWorm, Kugisaki.” Itadori whined, taking a pink rectangular box out of his – apparently inseparable – paper bag, with simple drawings of strawberries decorating the packaging.

“Oh, whatever.” Suddenly, the girl's chocolate brown eyes lit up in what Megumi could tell was pure ecstasy. He shrank further between Itadori and the wall. Somehow, that look was much more worrying than Kugisaki 's evil smile . “Oh, is that strawberry pocky ?! Give me one!” She jumped across the table, snatching the package from a very confused Itadori's hands, taking out one of the artificial strawberry flavored sticks. Her face was flushed with excitement. “Man, I was so excited to buy them! I've always wanted to try it ever since Saori mentioned the game, but my grandmother never let me. Something about 'being modest' or something.”

Kugisaki 's flawed and agitated logic . What did strawberry pockys have to do with games and her grandmother?

Beside him, Itadori laughed brightly as he pulled out a toothpick from the box, placing it between his lips like a cigarette.

“Ah, I know this game.”

"You?"

"It is clear!" The boy exclaimed, looking particularly offended by Kugisaki 's skeptical look . “I played this with my classmates in elementary school all the time. It was like a ritual throughout the party.”

Megumi is starting to feel uncomfortable with this conversation. Not that it was the first time he couldn't keep up with Itadori and Kugisaki 's energy and high spirits . Normally he would be content to just listen to the exchange and offer a shrug if asked about anything. Only this time, it really seems like these two are speaking another language.

As if he had read Megumi's thoughts, Kugisaki pointed the pocky at him, the broken tip over the separation between the strawberry topping and the chocolate rod.

“What about you, Fushiguro? Did you also play pocky when you were a delinquent ?”

“Can you not call me that?” He snapped, hoping he could hide his two friends' blushes behind his uniform collar. His times in elementary school beating up bullies weren't shameful after all, he never regretted it, but ever since Kugisaki and Itadori found out they both became insufferable about it. With a sharp frown due to the direction that strange conversation was taking, he questioned back: “And what the hell is this pocky game you guys are talking about?

Both Kugisaki and Itadori – after all, they were definitely sharing the same neuron before they even met – looked at each other in a silent conversation before gasping in surprise and dramatic scandal, with their hands on their chests like Victorian virgins and wide eyes. They learned that from Gojo , obviously.

“Fushiguro, how come you don’t know the pocky game?!” Itadori asked, loud enough to make Megumi's ears feel hot. “This is the most popular game among us normal teenagers.”

Normal teenagers? Megumi could retort against that.

“You, as a popular delinquent at school should know!” Kugisaki followed, nodding as if he couldn't believe what he heard, feigning Oscar-worthy desolation. "Deplorable. When I thought you were a little fun….”

With that, Megumi was one wrong word away from ripping off those damn pink pockys from Kugisaki and punching Itadori in the head to get that mocking smile out of him, but after noticing the looks of two eavesdropping couples, he was content with just crossing your arms over your chest and sulking. He's not going to give these two any more reasons to publicly embarrass him. That ridiculous scene of hugs and needy whining whenever he talks to some random girl is enough .

“Are you going to continue acting like children or are you going to explain to me what you’re talking about?”

If he noticed the bite and harshness in Megumi's tone, Itadori didn't show it. In fact, he boldly laughed as he rested his face in one hand, a chopstick between his fingers.

“It's just a silly joke. You put a pocky between your lips and try to eat it with small bites.”

Megumi waited longer – something really interesting and worth noting – but apparently Itadori had already finished the explanation, diverting his attention to the spinning movements he was making with the pocky between his fingers. Megumi wasn't the type to notice other people's abilities outside of battle, but there was a certain beauty in the way Itadori could handle the fragile stick without breaking it.

His attention was distracted by Kugisaki who was extending the pink box towards him.

“Live a little, big boy! Get one and try it.”

Something is wrong. A little voice in Megumi's mind whispered.

Kugisaki 's almost genuinely docile smile – and when it says 'almost', it means that Megumi doesn't believe in the softness of the girl in front of him at all –, or maybe it was Itadori himself sitting next to his with an amused and kind of curious, seeming really interested in his next move, which made the hairs on the back of Megumi's neck stand up like those of a skittish cat.

Something is very wrong.

Hesitant and perhaps too suspicious, Megumi took one of the pockys and placed it cautiously between his lips, feeling the sweetness of the glass on the tip of his tongue. The taste was predictably sweet and artificial. The strawberries were lost in the exaggerated amount of sugar, but the memory of them was still there, a note just for memory. Maybe it was a little greasy and easily too cloying for his taste, but it was a bearable sweet treat. It would hardly become his favorite snack, but the vanilla and dark chocolate cookies were delicious.

Kugaisaki 's smile grew, now revealing white teeth, cheeks pushed up.

That's when he realized his mistake.

Honestly, Megumi was waiting for something terrible to happen. He waited for the taste of pepper, or Kugisaki 's loud laugh as she revealed that there was no game of pocky , that she only invented it to see Megumi eat the sweet stick like a rabbit devouring a carrot. Anything like that. However, he was caught off guard by Itadori's palm manipulating the back of his neck so that he was looking at his face from just a few centimeters away.

The dirty glassy lips opened to bite the other end of the pocky , inching just a millimeter towards Megumi's own lips. It was a very close call that their noses didn't touch, but Megumi could still feel the ghost of Itadori's breath mixing with his own, even hear the clicking sound as the boy's teeth closed the distance and devoured the toothpick between them. Two more bites and Itadori would touch his lips. One more and then Megumi would taste the taste of strawberry glass directly from Itadori's sugary lips.

The world seemed to catch fire around them.

Maybe it was, because when Megumi jumped back, his mouth open in shock and shame, his entire face seemed to have been licked by flames, putting embers in his ears. Even though there was now quite a distance between Itadori and him, the vivid memory of honey-colored eyes sparkling with amusement and flirtation still echoed in Megumi's vision, painting his face the same shade as the strawberries drawn on the pocky box . His heart beat wildly inside his chest and cold sweat ran down his back.

What the fuck was that?

As if that wasn't enough, Megumi's breath caught as he watched Itadori, who hadn't looked away from him, finish the pocky , greedily devouring the part where Megumi's lips, teeth and tongue had touched. The pink-haired boy finished by wiping his lips with his thumb. He had a satisfied smile.

“Mm…” Itadori hummed. “Looks like I won.”

“Huh , what?” Megumi stammered uselessly, having a faint awareness of how pathetic he looked with his face red and his mouth open like a fish out of water. Damn Yuji Itadori !

A click and a flash were what took him out of that limbo.

"There is! Just look at your face!” Kugisaki cackled, turning the phone screen to Megumi. In the small illuminated rectangle was displayed for all to see the red, pathetic mess he had become, a reflection of his state of mind. Humiliating. “I'm going to send this to Maki-san ! Let’s put it in our graduation video!” Before Megumi could give any response to that – what, he doesn't know, but he would think of something at the moment – Kugisaki slammed both hands on the table and stood up. “It’s our time! If we don't want to miss the worm man movie...”

“Human EarthWorm, Kugisaki !”

“Alright, you crazy fanboy , let’s go!”

Megumi barely registered what was happening. He couldn't have imagined what had just happened. Or can you? He was so tired after that mission and being dragged by Kugisaki to meet that girl – Ozawa I-don't-know-what – who could very well have hallucinated with Itadori's face so close to his, their noses almost touching, their lips mere centimeters away?

Maybe Megumi should go home.

Take a long nap and think about anything other than the way Itadori's lips look shiny with glass . Would it taste as sweet as it looked?

Then, as the world hated Megumi and his entire family generation, the said boy with strawberry pocky hair and bright smile, turned to him with the most delighted and amused expression he had ever seen. Much happier than any memory that a past crush could generate – not that Megumi was being petty about it.

“Aren’t you coming, Fushiguro?”

Oh yes. They were going to see a movie.

Megumi needed to get his head on track.

“ Su-sure .” He stuttered, hoping that his quick movement in standing up had hidden his still red face.

It didn't work, as Kugisaki elbowed him, his feline smile even wider.

“ Wow . You didn't really know the game. She looks like a schoolgirl.”

“Shut up, Kugisaki .”

The response he received was just a loud laugh before she went off to buy popcorn, probably intimidating the attendant looking for a discount on the themed buckets .

As soon as Kugisaki was out of earshot, Itadori leaned into Megumi's space, his voice low and warm near his shoulder, while his caramel-colored eyes still continued to stare at him with amusement.

“You don’t need to be shy, Fushiguro.”

“I’m not shy.” Megumi retorted, perhaps too quickly and defensively.

That's when Itadori let out a bright laugh that certainly didn't make his heart skip a few beats.

Of course!

It's just the heart attack taking him early.

“Ah, fuck .” He grumbled, turning towards the exit.

That was it. Megumi was leaving.

Fuck Yuji with his movie and Nobara with the pockys .

“ Hey ! Wait!"

Itadori grabbed Megumi's wrist, his grip firm yet surprisingly gentle.

The pink boy looked genuinely sorry as Megumi looked at him, his tanned face contorting into a kicked-puppy expression that would have been adorable, if Megumi hadn't been fuming with embarrassment, anger, and distrust.

Nothing good came when Itadori looked at him like that.

As if noticing Megumi's emotions, Itadori smiled tenderly.

“Sorry about that. I wasn’t trying to embarrass you.”

“You didn’t do a good job.”

“Okay, I think I deserve this.” Itadori scratched the back of his head, before his countenance radiated with a dangerous glow. “Hey! If you want, I can teach you how to play later. That way you don’t have to run away like a scared cat every time you play.”

“Do you want to get punched, Itadori?” Megumi huffs, impatience beginning to throb. He pulls his wrist from Itadori's grip, who wisely steps back with his hands raised defensively. “I will not participate in your silly games with Kugisaki. Forget it."

"Okay, okay. It was just an idea.” Itadori hummed, crossing his arms over his head. His gaze didn't leave Megumi's face for a second as he added, more carefully: "But, if you want, the invitation is extended."

Megumi sneered.

Why would he accept this invitation? He didn't mind Kugisaki and Itadori's childish pranks as long as they didn't harm him. Playing pocky will be no different. Plus, it's not like they have many parties to go to or opportunities to play these types of games. It wouldn't make any difference. Kugisaki and Itadori can stay with their games while Megumi stays with his books, completely at peace, without thinking about how Itadori's lips looked unbearably seductive when tilted towards him, nose almost touching his, brown eyes burning with a different fervor. and totally chilling. No, he wasn't thinking about that, much less about how easy it was for Itadori to handle him easily, firm despite the tenderness of the touch, his calloused palm holding Megumi's neck as their faces got closer and their breaths mixed.

No, Megumi definitely wasn't thinking about that.

In fact, he was starting to find Itadori's worm man poster very interesting, completely forgetting that brief moment when Itadori wiped his lip, insatiated after devouring the indirect kiss with the taste of strawberry pocky .

Yes, he totally forgot about that...

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moongothic · 10 months

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The worst part about trying to figure out what Crocodile's deal is that because he's so fucking irredeemably evil in Alabasta... Like... Yeah he's just irredeemably evil. Like I love him but he did cause countless casualties, a ton of pain and suffering and literally attempted to blow up a million people

Like no amount of theoretical "trying to do it to save his son from the Government" or "trying to stop the Government from hurting anyone else" or just "doing it for the greater good" is going to make him any less of a mass murderer

But also Robin absolutely 100% helped with all of that shit simply because she wanted to read the Poneglyph for herself.

No amount of her intending to betray Crocodile from the begining and sabotaging his plans erases the fact that Robin also caused countless people to starve to death and die in the civil war. Her sabotages only succeeded out of sheer luck, and only spared the lives of the people at the final battle. She has the blood of countless innocents on her hands. Because she wanted to read history.

But her crimes were swept under the rug because she has a sad backstory and her sabotages worked out just at the nick of time by sheer dumb luck

So Croc??? Just??? Is there a chance??? At all???

But also he did literally intend to sell Buggy into slavery

Like, fuck Buggy, but jesus

What's also killing me is that we like. Don't know what Luffy thinks of Crocodile right now. Which really is like. The thing that will decide how we, as the readers, are supposed to feel about Crocodile. Luffy is our POV

Like we don't know what Luffy's opinion of Crocodile is after he helped save Luffy (and spared Ace once) during the Summit War. Like Luffy clearly fucking hated the man in Impel Down and the two interactions they had during the War weren't like positive (in the sense that Luffy himself didn't think of the interactions as particularly positive. Defending Whitebeard from being attacked once and then being like "wait what HIM?!" when Crocodile defended Ace. To be fair, in the midst of the chaos, there wasn't much time to spend on Pondering On Such Things because Ace needed to be saved, and Oda goes out of his way to not show us what's going on inside Luffy's head, because it's all meant to be out in the open anyways. Regardless, these weren't like "yay it's Crocodile! :)" moments for Luffy is what I mean)

But also Luffy was very grateful of Law for saving his life and was willing to put his trust into Law for their alliance- of course, they weren't explicitly enemies to begin with, rivals at most, but still. Luffy respects those who help him.

But also Luffy grew during the timeskip. Like he's not that clueless anymore (like he finally understands Hancock is in love with him etc), and similarly Luffy gets that Buggy is an absolute loser now. But also Buggy did also help save Luffy's life (even if it was by accident), and while IDK if Luffy is aware of that, I don't think that helped improve Luffy's impression of Buggy

So like. The fuck does Luffy think of Crocodile, at this moment? Even with the Cross Guild reveal, he didn't even really comment on Croc and just focused his energy on being confused about Buggy being "the leader" of CG. IDK it feels almost intentional or something, that we don't know what Luffy thinks?? Especially since we did get Zoro's opinion on Mihawk in the situation?? Or am I delulu?? (Sidenote. I'd love to know what Robin would have to say about Crocodile helping save Luffy's life. What Jinbei might think of the final words Crocodile left him with before blasting them out of Akainu's reach. But mainly just Robin's thoughts)

Like IDK my best guess would be that Luffy still hates Crocodile just the same but is like grossed out by technically owing him one??? In the classic

-kinda way, you know? And that he'd be just kinda confused about it?

Because I can't fucking imagine Luffy being like "oh we're cool now" with Crocodile, let alone "Yay Crocodile :) He saved my life!". But also like. Luffy does kind of owe Croc one. Kind of. And Luffy is usually very respectful of that kind of thing. Aaaaaaaa???

(Also does. Does Luffy even know it was Crocodile who yeeted him and Jinbei out of Akainu's reach to begin with. 'Cause he was unconcious. Knocked the fuck out. Does. Does Luffy even know. Did anybody tell him???)

I just.

There's the reasonable part of me that knows Crocodile is an irredeemable evil dickbag and everything he has ever said and done up to the most recent chapters support that. He is too far gone.

And then there's the absolutely delulu part that loves a tragic villian who gets a heartwrenching redemption that's looking for any fucking sign that could indicate Crocodile could maybe be one

#Moon posting #OP Meta #OP Spoilers #Sir Crocodile #Crocodad #Haunted by thoughts of one (1) evil middle aged man #IDK I was rereading Punk Hazard today while on the train and just. God there's like no difference between Alabasta Croc and Ceasar #I mean there is but no there isn't. Dude was doing essentially the same shit just this time with much more child abuse #And we all agree that Ceasar is scum of the earth and irredeemable.#But also he was doing everything PURELY out of self-interest without ANY sad backstory to counter balance it #I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK ANYMORE MAN I AM LOSING MY MARBLES #Kuma Flashback I Love You but I need to know what the fuck is happening with Crocodile so bad pleeeaaase #There's also like that note about Kuma saying he'd be wiling to make a deal with the devil just to protect his daughter #And If Crocodad Real. What a greater evolution of that but being wiling to BECOME the devil himself to protect your child #Also sorry about the Buggy slander but also not sorry. All that man is good for is being a punching bag for comedy as far as I'm concerned #He's very funny I'll give you that. And I'm looking forward to him and Shanks getting married

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