pomegranate ink | y. okkotsu

xviii

a/n: i am on such a pomegranate ink updating roll recently

"Why is she staring at me like that?" you muttered to Maki, who shrugged, clearly as lost as you were. After taking care of the entire Itadori situation, you had rejoined the rest of your classmates under the excuse that Yuta had suddenly become incredibly busy and you had had to cut your trip short. You had arrived upon an interesting scene: Maki fuming at Toge, Tullia, and Panda, while a redheaded girl sat beside Megumi on the stairs with her chin in her hands.

This was normal enough, but that was not what made it interesting; the odd part was that, for some reason, upon seeing you, the girl's eyes had turned to stars, and she had not stopped gazing at you strangely since. You inched behind Maki, who stood in front of you with hands on her hips, like a bodyguard or something.

"You're Y/N L/N, right?" the girl finally said, voice high-pitched with admiration.

"Yes. Do you know me?" you said. "Wait, of course you do, I'm a Grade 1 —"

"You're the daughter of a famous model, so there's no way I wouldn't know you! Wow, you look just like her!" she squealed, tackling you in a hug and squeezing her arms around your waist. You yelped as she knocked you backwards and you crashed into the grass, though she paid no mind. "I'm Nobara Kugisaki! Please, call me Nobara, though! It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am!"

Nobara yanked you to your feet and shook your hand fervently. You blinked at her, unsure of what, exactly, was going on. Daughter of a famous model? Well, that was true, your mother had been a model before marrying your father, though that wasn't usually what you were recognized for...

"She's also a Grade 1 sorcerer, and the heir to the L/N name," Megumi said. "As well as being one of only two upperclassmen of ours that can actually be considered respectable."

"Who cares about all of that?" Nobara said. She still had that same, sparkling look about her, and you were genuinely worried she might drop to the ground and start kissing your feet at any given moment. "She's literally the daughter of that one model! Don't you know who I'm talking about?"

"No," Megumi said. Nobara scoffed.

"Of course you wouldn't. Boys," she said, rolling her eyes. "Ignore him, Miss Y/N! By the way, do you have any contacts in the industry? Woah, I did not think when I came here that I'd actually be able to find someone who might be able to help me out in such a big way, but I'm definitely glad I chose to come here now!"

"I don't have any contacts in the industry, no," you said slowly. "I guess my mother might, but she's been retired from modeling since she married my father, so I doubt anyone she'd know would be relevant in the current times."

"Do you think you could introduce me to your mother at some point? She's a real role model of mine," Nobara said.

"Um, sure?" you said. "She'd probably be happy to hear that you think so highly of her."

"Of course," Nobara said, bowing at you. "Thank you, my most respected upperclassman. You are definitely my hero for helping me in this way."

"Anytime," you said, casting about for someone to help you. Maki was your best chance, but she was currently stifling a laugh, which meant she was basically out for the count. You stuck your tongue out at her discreetly; she returned the favor promptly. You had to smile, then, despite the absurdity of your introduction to the final first year.

"She's definitely a little odd, but I don't think we can judge her for it," Tullia said later, as you, her, and Maki walked to the nearby convenience store. It had been a while since the three of you girls had done something together, and you had all unanimously agreed to at least take this small trip to discuss what was going on in your lives.