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Chapter Text

Junpei Yoshino opened the door to his relatively nice apartment.

He didn't even need to call out out his mother to know that she still wasn't home. He closed the door behind him and locked it before walking to his bedroom. A sigh escaped his lips as he flopped down onto his bed. He seemed to be exhausted, even though all he'd done today was skip school to go to his favorite movie theater (which is what he did everyday.)

He turned his phone on, popped his earbuds in, and clicked the thumbnail of one of his favorite songs. The song played after a short unskippable ad.

Junpei scrolled through YouTube as he listened to the song. The lyrics were happy, fun, and catchy so he found himself listening to this one often.

His dark green eyes always lit up at a specific part near the start of the song.

The music picked up as the singer chanted the lyrics as fast as possible. Until the music stopped so you could clearly hear the singer say the words - “Do you wanna be an idol?!”

Junpei smiled and thought the same thing as always. 'Of course.'

But that wasn't a possibility.

Idols were a whole different breed of human. They could sing, dance, keep their energy going, and they were pretty.

Junpei didn't fit that mold. At least, he didn't think so.

Whenever those crazy dreams started creeping into his head, all he had to do was look in the mirror. One glance was all it took to chase those thoughts away.

Junpei stared at his reflection disapprovingly.

He had dark brown hair that was just shy of being shoulder length. It was actually rather unique because it was styled in a way so that it covered the right side of his face. But Junpei never gave himself the credit of calling it special. His green eyes, though dark, held a certain spark to them. Those same eyes now looked down at the purple striped shirt and green sweat pants Junpei's reflection was wearing.

He smiled a bit sadly. 'Would an idol ever wear something like this?' He chuckled softly and turned away from his mirror. Even though he knew he'd never become an an idol, it wasn't wrong to dream.

He slid one of the drawers on his desk open and gently picked up the notebook inside. Once he'd sat down and gotten comfy, he flipped through the books many pages until he settled on one of the songs written inside. He set his phone to record and started singing the lyrics written on the paper.

Junpei loved music and singing, so he had written some original songs. And this notebook was full of them. He would never admit it ,but he was a really good singer. And you could tell, even with his phones crappy recording quality.

Junpei's low self-esteem was the main thing holding him back. He'd been bullied constantly for a lot of his life. It had gotten so bad, that he always had to cover the right side of his forehead so no one would see the cluster of circular cigarette burns underneath his bang. He had stopped going to school, because it was all too much for him. Suicide had crossed his mind a few times ,but he couldn't just die. He had his mom to take care of.

He was way too shy to share his music ,but there was nothing wrong with making music for yourself. Junpei didn't really know how to play any instruments, so he used the random things around him to make background music. It was alright. Not the best. But better than nothing.

The sound of the front door opening interrupted Junpei's solo performance. He quickly shut off his phone and put his book away.

“Junpei! I'm home!” His mother called from the living room.

Junpei glanced at his desk drawer one last time before leaving his room.

~~~ * ~~~

Junpei walked through the public park. He was heading to a less crowded place to sit.

The walk there would've been a lot more pleasant if his stupid blue duffel bag would actually close all the way. He constantly paused to make sure nothing had managed to slip out. Luckily, he got to his peaceful spot under the bridge without dropping anything. He sat down on a large rock and set his lousy bag down next to him.

Taking in the peace and quiet around him was always the first thing Junpei did when he stopped here. The bridge above him almost never had anyone using it except the occasional jogger. So the only sounds he heard were birds chirping and the wind rustling through the nearby trees. What made this day even better was the cloudy gray sky, Junpei's favorite kind of weather.

After taking in the peace and quiet a bit longer, he reached into his bad and pulled out his earbuds and phone. He popped an earbud into each ear and played one of the songs he'd written. He frowned a bit.
The volume was too quiet, even though it was at 100%. He had listened to this song before, and it sounded fine so it must be his earbuds.

'I'll have to buy some new ones.'

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a figure approaching him. Junpei wasn't that worried, though. Because as they got closer he realized they were just a boy around his age, maybe a bit younger.

Junpei removed on of his earbuds in case the boy talked to him. That's when he realized his earbuds hadn't even been plugged in. 'Crap!' He quickly paused the video and hoped whoever this was hadn't heard it.

The boy waved at Junpei. “Hi! Do you mind if I sit on one of these rocks for a minute?” He asked with a friendly smile on his face.

Junpei, who's face was now bright red, shook his head. “No, I don't mind.”

The boy said a quick, “Thanks!” before sitting down on one of the large rocks.

It was no mystery why Junpei noticed this boy so fast. He was wearing a bright yellow hoodie and an orange ushanka with black stripes. As Junpei looked at the hat more, he could now see it was a...
chibi tiger ushanka? It was actually pretty cute.

Junpei could already tell that this guy was an extrovert. He seemed to be really comfortable with talking to new people. This was made even more obvious when the boys brown eyes darted over to one of his shoes ,and he let out a playful groan. “Aw man! My shoe's untied!”

Junpei couldn't understand how some people could just talk without being nervous or awkward. He watched the boy tie his red shoe. And my gosh! Did those shoes look expensive!

Once the boy had tied his shoe, he looked at Junpei again. “By the way, that song you were playing before sounded really good! What's its name?”

Junpei's face reddened again. “Uh, I - uh... I wrote it. It doesn't have one yet...” He stuttered.

The boy's eyes widened. “You wrote that?! That's so cool! Can I hear it?” His eyes seemed to sparkle as he moved closer to Junpei.

“Uh...Well,” Junpei didn't know this guy ,but he seemed pretty nice. Plus, if he did make fun of the song, Junpei would probably never see him again anyway. “Okay, sure.” He plugged his earbuds into his phone and handed it to the boy.

The boy popped an earbud into each ear and quietly listened to the song. Junpei watched him anxiously. As he was watching, he noticed that this boy had pink hair. Did he know this guy?

The boy's face was pretty much unreadable throughout the whole song. He turned to Junpei. “So, you did everything? The writing, singing, music - all of it? Or did your friends help you?”

Junpei was about to explain that he didn't actually have any friends ,but he just said, “Yeah... I did it all myself.”, Instead.

Junpei looked to the side awkwardly. “I don't have all the fancy equipment and stuff, so it's not that g-”

The pink haired boy's face lit up even more than it had before. “It's incredible! If it sounds that good now, imagine how it would sound with professional equipment!” He started rambling on about what he could get Junpei to help boost the songs quality even more.

But Junpei was only focused on one thing.

“You - you liked it?”

The pink haired boy stopped his rambling to smile at Junpei. “Of course! Oh! I never got your name!”

Junpei smiled shyly. “I'm Junpei Yoshino. You can call me Junpei.”

The pink haired boy's smile widened. “Nice to meet you, Junpei! I'm Yuji Itadori!”

Junpei's jaw dropped. That's why he looked familiar. He was Yuji. The Yuji! The famous idol well known for his cheerful personality and amazing singing voice but even more well known for his stellar dance moves. Not to mention, he was also one of Junpei's favorite celebrities.

And he was right in front of him!

“You – you're the real Yuji!”

Yuji nodded. “Mhm! See.” He pulled his tiger hat off his head, revealing the spiky pink hair and black undercut underneath. “I wear this hat so no one can recognize me.” He said while holding his tiger hat in front of his face.

“I'm a huge fan of yours! Your song Wanna Be an Idol is one of my favorites.” Junpei smiled, happy that he was brave enough to tell him.

Yuji grinned back at him. “Thank you! I'm glad you like it!"

Junpei nodded. “Thank you... for saying those things about my song, too. Maybe some day I could save up enough money and buy some nicer equipment.” He quickly opened his duffle bag and pulled out his song book. The stupid bag wouldn't shut, of course. “I'd have to buy a new bag first, though. Heh heh... Anyway, could you please sign my song book before you go?”

Yuji smiled a bit smaller than before. “Sure.”

Junpei handed him a pen. Yuji signed the book just as fast as you'd think a celebrity could. He smiled and handed the book and pen back to Junpei.

“Thank you!” Junpei awkwardly put the items back into his bag. “Now, I'd better go. I don't wanna bug you anymore. O , I won't tell anyone about your disguise either.” He didn't even have a chance to stand before Yuji responded.

“Who said you were bugging me?”

Junpei blinked. “Oh, well, I...”

“And I meant it about getting you equipment. You have so much talent, Junpei. Can I ask you...Do you wanna be an idol?”

Junpei's eyes widened. Was Yuji offering what Junpei thought he was?

Yuji jokingly stuck out his tongue. “Ew! I just quoted my own song, oops!” He giggled.

Junpei clenched his fists. “I do! But... Do you really think I could be one?”

Yuji's smile was now filled with determination. “Of course! I'll help you!” He held out his hand.

Junpei hesitated.

It had always been his dream to one day become an idol. But now that his chance was right in front of him, he found himself unable to act.

'What if I'm not good enough? What if everyone ends up hating me? What if Yuji gives up on me?'

A million questions flooded into his mind. But all his doubts disappeared when he suddenly grabbed Yuji's outstretched hand.

'This is my one and, most likely, only chance. I can't just let it slip away!'

The two boys smiled at each other.

“It might be a bit hard to get used to ,but I'll be here to guide you every step of the way!” Yuji said reassuringly.

Junpei smiled with as much courage he could muster. “Thank you!”

That day Junpei's whole life changed. He knew it would be tough and even scary at times. But he was certain that Yuji would help him through those problems.

No matter what they were.

~~~ * ~~~

Junpei's encounter with Yuji ended with them getting each other's numbers ,and Yuji learning Junpei's address so he could pick him up when they needed to practice.

Junpei thought it would take at least a week until they saw each other again. But Yuji had somehow managed to make room in his busy schedule to meet up with Junpei the day after their encounter.

So that's how Junpei ended up standing outside his apartment, waiting for his friend to pick him up. He fumbled with his duffle bag which was stuffed with all of his idol related journals and notes.

'Yuji told me to bring anything that would be useful for our practice. Maybe I went a bit overboard.'

Suddenly, a black car pulled up to the curb. Junpei wasn't an expert when it came to cars ,but this was definitely some kind of Limousine! A man in a black suit stepped out of the driver side door and opened one of the passenger doors.

Yuji practically jumped out of the car. He rushed over and shook Junpei's hand. “Hi! Nice to see you again! How are you?”

'He's acting like we didn't just see each other yesterday.' Junpei was surprised by Yuji's energy. In a good way!

“Hi! Nice to see you too. I'm doing well. How about you?”

“I'm great! Hope you're not tired, because we are gonna be singing and dancing like crazy!”

Junpei grinned. “Oh, I'm ready. Check out my yoga pants.” He lifted up his knee, showing off his green pants.

Yuji gasped and pointed at his own black yoga pants. “We match!” Yuji looked over at his driver. “Oh, this is Dai, by the way! He'll be the one driving us.”

Dai bowed slightly.

Junpei waved at him. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for driving us.”

Dai responded with a smile and an, “Of course.”

The two boys talked and joked around the whole ride to Jujutsu Studio.

Junpei hadn't had a friend in a long time ,but Yuji seemed to like him, so he must've been doing something right.

Once they made it to the huge building, Junpei starting to get nervous. Luckily, Yuji knew his way around the maze-like building. They got into Yuji's private studio room rather quickly.

Yuji gave Junpei a quick tour. All he really needed to show was his dance floor and recording room. Junpei was a bit embarrassed to sing and dance in front of Yuji. But Yuji had already heard him sing ,and Junpei's dancing couldn't suck that bad. So he got over it pretty fast. It was honestly the best time Junpei had had in years! Yuji was the greatest dancer of all time, at least Junpei thought so! Not only was he a great dancer, he was also a great teacher.

Junpei couldn't keep up with him just yet ,but he was already doing pretty good. And damn, it was crazy hearing his own voice in an actual microphone! Junpei couldn't believe that was actually how he sounded.

They had stopped to take a much needed break when someone knocked on the door. The door swung open and a tall, muscular man wearing a dark blue suit stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

His style was an odd mix of formal and punk. Formal because of his sleek suit ( he wasn't wearing a tie, though. ) and dark brown dress shoes. And punk because of his black circular earrings that stretched his earlobes and the black tattoos all over his face. The formal/punk theme even carried on to his hair which was the same shade of pink as Yuji's. It was spiky, too, but the front was slicked back and he had no undercut. Everything about him was intimidating, particularly his stern looking face and narrow wine red eyes.

If Junpei had to gues , he'd say this man was somewhere in his forties. He thought this man could've easily starred in one of those Italian mafia movies. He just gave off mafia boss energy.

Junpei had no clue why this man was here. Yuji looked puzzled too, but unlike his friend, he wasn't nervous. He rushed over to the man with zero hesitation. “Unc-kuna! What are you doing here? I thought you were busy.”

The tattooed man responded to Yuji's questions by patting the boy's head. “I made room so I could see you-” He turned his attention to Junpei for a second. “And to meet your friend.”

Junpei couldn't stop himself from muttering, “Unc-kuna?”

Yuji seemed to understand why his friend was confused. “Sorry about the confusion. I didn't expect him to come. This is my uncle Sukuna. Sukuna, this is my friend Junpei Yoshino.”

Junpei blinked a few times. 'That's Yuji's uncle?! I mean, I can see the resemblance now that I know. But I never would've thought his uncle looked like that.'

Junpei cleared his throat and smiled awkwardly as he walked up to Sukuna. “Hi. Nice to meet you, Sir”

Sukuna still had the same stern look on his face. “Likewise.”

Junpei felt like he was being judged.

Yuji could sense Junpei's nervousness. “We were just taking a break from dancing and singing. Junpei's really good!” Yuji grinned at his friend.

Sukuna crossed his arms and turned to his nephew. “So, you were serious about helping him. Are you aware of the responsibility that you'll have if you go through with this?”

Yuji stood up as straight as he could and slapped his hands to his hips. “Yep, I know! And I'm not worried about it at all, because me and Junpei are awesome!”

Junpei blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck while making a thumbs up gesture with his free hand.

Sukuna sighed and shook his head. But Junpei swore he saw the man's lips form a small smile before they went back to their original state. “Very well,” He waved one of his hands and sat down in one of the chairs near the door. “Don't let me get in the way of your practice.” And with that said, he pulled out his phone, completely ignoring the two boys.

Junpei didn't know what Sukuna was doing on there ,but he assumed he was answering work emails or something.

Yuji grabbed Junpei's hand, dragged him to the back of the room, and leaned closer to him. “Don't mind my uncle. He can be a little scary sometimes ,and he's never really approved of my choice to become an idol.” He whispered, sighing at the end.

Junpei glanced at Sukuna. “He doesn't seem so bad.”

Yuji grinned. “I'm glad you aren't too scared of him. I still wish he didn't act all grumpy all the time!”

He said the last part playfully and loud enough for Sukuna to hear. Yuji glanced at his uncle.

Sukuna didn't take his eyes off his phone ,but he did chuckle.

.

.

.

Yuji and Junpei ended up getting to know each other a lot better while they were resting. In fact, they were having so much fun they decided to talk instead of practice.

Junpei was really happy that Yuji liked movies, too. Yuji was the kindest person Junpei had ever met. He didn't make fun of Junpei or his cheesy drawings. Actually, Yuji seemed to really like them. His eyes were practically sparkling when he saw Junpei's idol costume design.

“Wow, that's neat! You want a mask?”

Junpei nodded. “I'm kinda shy and...” He trailed off.

There were plenty of things that he could say. Like - “I'm ugly” or “I'm afraid of getting bullied even more.” But none of those things really felt right.

So he just went with, “And I don't want anyone to see me. At least, not at the start.”

Yuji seemed to understand. “That's okay! Your idea is great. I can already tell it will look amazing on stage. Oh, oh, we can add lights! Do you mind if I hand on to this for a while?”

“I don't mind.”

Yuji got up and started running towards one of the rooms connected to the one they were in. “I think we have measuring tape in here somewhere.”

Junpei couldn't help but laugh. 'Yuji sure moves fast!'

~~~ * ~~~

Their meet up didn't last much longer after that. Junpei had to get home so he crammed all his items into his duffle bag best he could. Once he had everything, Sukuna drove him home. Yuji happily talked about his ideas for Junpei's costume on the way there.

The car came to a stop in front of the apartments. Junpei stepped out of the car and waved to Sukuna and Yuji. “Bye, thank you for practicing with me, Yuji. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Itadori.”

Sukuna said a simple, “Nice meeting you too.”

Yuji waved to his friend. “Bye! Don't forget that I'll be busy for awhile ,but I'll let you know when I'm free, okay?”

“Alright! Can't wait to hear from you.”

Yuji said one last goodbye before shutting the car door. Junpei watched their car drive away.

On his way up the stairs to his apartment, he thought about what his life could turn into. He was scared but also excited. This was a huge opportunity.

But the life of an idol can be as dangerous as it is glamorous.

~ Do You Wanna Be an Idol?: End ~

~ * ~

Chapter Text

Junpei was speechless.

It had been a little over a week since he'd last seen Yuji ,but they'd been in touch through text during that time. The last time they'd been together was also their first singing and dancing practice which had ended with them discussing Junpei's idol costume.

Yuji had seemed really inspired by Junpei's costume sketches and had even taken Junpei's measurements before he left. Junpei didn't expect that to come up again for awhile.

So he had no idea what to expect when Yuji had asked to meet at his studio again, adding the words - “I have a surprise! :D”at the end.

Now the surprise was right in front of him ,and he was speechless. In the best way possible!

It looked just like his sketch but even better! His costume consisted of a black sleeveless turtleneck, matching black yoga pants, plum colored arm warmers, and a pair of black boots. It even had a cool looking belt.

But the best thing by far was the mask. It was black and shaped like a slightly pointed hood, with large circles on the front that looked like eyes. Medium length tentacles hung around the bottom of the helmet.

It was exactly what Junpei wanted. A jellyfish!

Yuji held up the sketch Junpei had let him barrow. “Surprise! What do you think? If there's anything you don't like just let me know and-”

Junpei finally found his words. “It's perfect...It's- it's absolutely incredible! Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Yuji smiled. “You like it?! I'm so glad! Oh, oh, but that's not all!” He pulled out what looked like some kind of remote and pressed a button.

Junpei's eyes widened.

All of the black pieces in the costume now had a glowing stripe of neon blue or yellow. The helmet's tentacles glowed yellow and blue as well ,and the circular eyes were now a bright neon blue.

Junpei's face lit up the room even more than the lights did. “I've never seen something so cool! Are-are you sure you want me to have it?”

Yuji nodded vigorously. “Of course! I wouldn't want anyone else to have it! You wanna try it on?”

Junpei nodded. “Yes, I'd love to!” He picked up the items and walked to Yuji's changing room.

Yuji waited for him expectantly. The sound of the changing room door opening made Yuji turn his attention to the other side of the room.

Junpei slowly stepped into the room while wearing his entire idol outfit. “Ta-da!” His voice was still pretty clear with his helmet on.

Yuji's jaw dropped. “Wow, wow, wow! You look amazing! Does it feel comfy? Is it too tight? Can you move around well?”

Junpei moved around a bit. “It feels great! I'm just not used to it yet,” Junpei struck a few poses due to Yuji's request.

Yuji made a picture frame with his hands and closed one eye so he could see through it. “I can see it now! You on the stage singing one of your original songs while dancing like a pro! You'll be amazing!”

Yuji couldn't tell ,but Junpei was blushing like crazy under his mask. “Th-thank you!”

Yuji's smile faded into a calmer one. “You've heard of Tokyo Icon and Idol Con, right?”

Junpei removed his helmet and made sure his hair was in place. “Mhm! I've always wanted to go ,but never got around to it.”

Tokyo Icon and Idol Con was a large convention full of bands, YouTubers, and ( of course ) idols. The word Con also stood for Concert, in this case. The con had plenty of fun activities during the day ,but everyone knows the highlight begins in the evening.

That's when the stage show begins and bands and idols perform in front of a massive stadium that's filled with cheering fans.

Junpei had seen plenty of videos of these shows online. His favorite part was always the grand finale because it was usually Yuji who was performing. The performances leading up to it were always great as well. Even the announcer was entertaining to watch. It looked like a wonderful experience overall.

Yuji smiled. “Well, I was wondering if you wanted to perform with me there.”

Junpei blinked a few times. “Really?! Th-that would be so cool! Is there enough time, though?”

“Mhm! We've got time! But we're gonna need lots of practice. Are you up for it?”

Junpei was quiet for awhile ,but he finally made up his mind. “Yes, I'm ready.” He put his helmet back on

Yuji looked at his friend while holding up Junpei's sketch. Junpei's idol name was written right next to his drawing. “Today is the birth of Moon Dregs!”

~~~ * ~~~

The concert was approaching rapidly ,but Junpei wasn't worried because he and Yuji had been getting stuff done!

They had been practicing non-stop. Things had been going so well, Junpei got used to singing and dancing in his helmet super quickly. There was one thing nagging at him, though.

Telling his mom

It's not like he thought she'd disapprove. It was just difficult. Their whole lives were gonna change. But she didn't mind Junpei skipping school, so he was sure she wouldn't mind him becoming an idol!

.

.

.

The concert was about a week away now ,and Junpei was currently standing outside of Jujutsu Studio while fiddling with his busted duffle bag.

Junpei's idol costume usually stayed at Yuji's studio room ,but Junpei was going to show it to his mom today, so it was stuffed in his blue bag instead.

Yuji was saying goodbye to his friend. “Are you sure you wanna walk? Dai can drive you to the store.”

Junpei shook his head. “Thanks, but I'll be fine. The store lines up with my route home. Plus, I kinda miss walking.”

Yuji giggled. “Even after all that dancing?”

“What can I say? I gotta keep my legs strong!”

They both laughed.

Junpei waved at Yuji. “Bye! See you around.”

Yuji waved using his whole arm. “Bye!”

Junpei walked through the bustling city. The weather had been a lot colder lately ,but that didn't stop anyone from going outside. Junpei tugged his scarf a little higher. He'd gotten used to being around people. He had to if he wanted to be an idol. But he still enjoyed less busy areas.

That's why he was glad to see the empty alley he had to walk through. It was getting a bit dark ,but this alleyway was always well-lit and tons of people were walking just outside of it. Junpei stepped inside and casually walked through it.

He had made it about half way through when the zipper on his bag slid open even more than usual, allowing his helmet to somehow slip out.

'Crap!' Junpei cursed under his breath and reached for his now rolling helmet. Luckily, it didn't roll far at all.

Junpei glared at his bag while shoving his helmet back inside. ' Did anyone see that? '

He looked behind him and sort of panicked when he saw someone walking towards him. ' They totally saw me! '

Junpei tensed up as the person stumbled past him. He couldn't help noticing how unsteady they looked and how they smelled. It was a common smell for someone who walked like that. They smelled like drugs. Really heavily of it too.

The person made it to the end of the alley and collapsed on to the ground. Junpei thought they passed out and was about to check on them until they propped themselves up against the alley wall.

' I don't think they'll even remember that... '

That was a relief ,but Junpei was sad. Seeing people like that always made him sad. The man slumped against the wall looked young, probably in his twenties. Junpei was used to seeing people like that ,but it was just making him sadder than usual this time.

This man was obviously on drugs and might even be homeless. Not to mention how beaten up and disheveled he looked.

Junpei looked at the sky and frowned. ' I heard it might rain or even snow tonight. It will be cold and windy, regardless. '

He looked over at the people walking past the alley entrance. Some people glanced at the man sadly before walking by. Others looked at him in disgust. Most people didn't even spare him a glance, too caught up in their own business to care.

Junpei looked down at his scarf. ' I have extra money... ' He slowly walked towards the man, having made his decision.

~~~ * ~~~

Junpei sat at the dinner table nervously. He fidgeted with his hands as his mother, Nagi, sat across from him.

She brushed some of her short black hair out of her face. “Well, enjoy!” She smiled and reached for one of the beer cans on the table.

“Uh...Mom , can the beer wait? I want to tell you something.”

She withdrew her hand and frowned slightly when she saw her son's nervous face. “Sure, what is it?”

Junpei took a deep breath.

' She'll understand.'

“You know how when I was little, I would perform for you? And I'd say things about how I wanted to be famous?”

His mother nodded as he went on.

“Well, I met Yuji Itadori. He's a famous idol. And he said I had the talent to be one, too. So I've been training and practicing with him, and he's really nice, and I've even got a costume, and... And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner.” Junpei hung his head ,but when he looked up he saw his mother smiling.

She chuckled. “You know, I figured something was going on. You've always had big dreams ,and don't think I've forgotten about that whole ' I don't wanna be useless; I wanna get a job ' things you've said about yourself.”

She reached out and patted her son's head. “I told you not to worry back then, because I didn't want you to rush into something you weren't passionate about. And you aren't useless, either.”

She rested her hand back on the table. “But I can tell this is what you really want to do! So I'm very proud of you.”

Junpei's eyes sparkled. “Thank you! I'll make you proud.”

Nagi smiled and picked up her chopsticks. “I know you will. I can't wait to see your first performance.”

Junpei laughed nervously. “Heh heh, uhhhh... I'm performing in like a week...”

Nagi blinked. “Huh?”

~~~ * ~~~

Junpei slipped a headband on to keep his hair out of his face while also covering his forehead.

He was breathing heavily and his heart was beating like crazy. He was currently backstage, preparing himself for the show. It was crazy to think about ,but tonight Junpei's whole life would change.

He stared at his reflection, remembering the countless times he'd judged his bland appearance. His costume was definitely more idol-worthy than the clothes he'd been wearing back then.

Back then?

Funny, it wasn't even that long ago.

The sound of approaching footsteps broke Junpei out of his trance.

Yuji smiled at him. “Hey! If you're not busy I'd like you to meet a friend of mine.”

Junpei was still really jittery but anyone who was Yuji's friend had to be nice. “Yeah, I'd love to.”

“Kay! I'll go get em!” In a flash, Yuji ran out into the crowd of performers who were also chilling backstage. It didn't take long for Yuji to emerge from the crowd with a tall, lean looking young man behind him.

Junpei squinted. He knew he'd seen this man before ,and it started to hit him as they got closer.

' No way! Is it really him? '

“This is Junpei, the friend I told you about.” Yuji said to the man next to him.

“Nice to meet you, Junpei.” The man said with a bright smile.

He shook Junpei's hand. “I'm Satoru Gojo.”

Junpei's eyes widened.

Satoru Gojo was probably one of the most recognizable YouTubers ever. He had slightly spiky white hair and the most phenomenal blue eyes you'd ever see. He usually wore black circular sunglasses ,but he had star shaped ones on right now. His dark blue and light purple striped suit was a great mix of formal and fun.

Junpei tried to find his words. “It's awesome to meet you. I'm a big fan! Your videos always make me smile.”

Gojo's smile grew. “Thank you! I heard this is your first time performing. You'll do great!”

Junpei rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks, I'm a bit nervous ,but I have faith in Yuji's training.”

Yuji wrapped an arm around Junpei. “We'll rock it out there!”

Gojo pumped his fist. “Heck yeah! I love the star theme we've got going on, by the way!” He pointed at the star on Junpei's shirt and Yuji's star shaped eyebrow piercing before using both hands to point at his own star shaped glasses.

Yuji laughed. “Yeah! You're right.”

Junpei smiled and nodded.

He still couldn't believe that Satoru Gojo was right in front of him ,and he was just like Junpei thought he'd be – Really fun and nice!

Gojo was always cracking jokes in his videos ,and he was almost always smiling. It was nice to see that he acted exactly like he did in his videos.

“I am so hyped for all the performances! I had like six bubble teas, so I'm running on pure sugar! Can you tell? I bet you can't tell!” Gojo said jokingly while jogging in place.

“I told you not to drink so many!” A man with black hair tied in a bun and black earrings that stretched his earlobes called to Gojo, who just smiled at him and laughed.

Junpei recognized that man as Suguru Geto.

Geto made an appearance in quite a few of Gojo's videos and also did some work behind the scenes such as editing. But most importantly, he was Gojo's best friend.

His calmer attitude often clashed with Gojo's more chaotic one, which made the videos with them together very fun and popular. Geto was also a lot less flashy than his white haired friend, hence his dark gray sweat shirt and jeans.

Junpei turned to Gojo. “So, you're hosting tonight, right?”

Gojo nodded. “Yep! Hosting, hosting, hosting! I love hosting!” Gojo had the perfect spirit for a host. He was energetic, fun, friendly, and just the best!

“I can't wait to see you on stage in person!” Junpei blurted out with stars in his eyes.

Gojo's magnificent eyes somehow sparkled even more than usual. “And I can't wait to see you two on stage!”

Yuji's uncle Sukuna walked over to his nephew and was about to say something to him when a small commotion on the other side of the room interrupted him.

Everyone seemed a bit confused. They looked like they were moving out of the way so someone could get through.

That someone was a person with chin length white hair, a very large brown coat draped on their shoulders, and black heeled boots with silver buckles. They were wearing sunglasses, so Junpei couldn't see their eyes.

They handed their designer looking purse to a man in a suit and continued to strut forward. Actually, they were coming towards Junpei and the others.

Gojo smiled ,but Sukuna and Yuji looked surprised.

The white haired person whipped off their glasses and smiled at the group. “Are you surprised?”

Yuji smiled, whereas Sukuna stayed the same. But they both responded the same way. “Uraume?!”

Yuji ran over to them and gave them a big hug. Uraume hugged him back.

“Uraume! I missed you!”

“I missed you too. How have you been? I hope Sukuna wasn't too grumpy,” Uraume shot Sukuna a sly smile.

To Junpei's total surprise, Sukuna's cheeks turned a bit red. He looked a little – flustered? “I thought you were in France.”

Yuji had stopped hugging Uraume. They patted Yuji's head before strutting over to Sukuna. They stopped in in front of him, their right foot jetted out at an angle. “Oh, I was! But my work there is finished. Plus, we just couldn't miss Yuji's performance!”

Yuji blinked. “We?”

That's when Junpei noticed that someone else was standing not too far away from their group.

He had two spiky black buns on each side of his head. His small dark brown eyes were surrounded by red-ish eye bags that made him look sleep deprived. A black band-aid was laying across his nose.

He seemed to be wearing some kind of white robe with matching pants underneath one of Yuji's official hoodies, this one was red with a chibi tiger head on the front.

A pair of tiger print glasses was resting on the top of his head (they were another piece of Yuji merch)
And to wrap up his odd outfit, he was wearing a pair of black Prada boots.

Yuji's eyes widened as soon as he saw him.

The black haired man smiled at him with a toothy grin and held his arms open.

Yuji practically tackled the man with how fast he hugged him. “Big bro Choso! You came?! I missed you!”

Choso's grin grew even wider. “I missed you too!”

Junpei was obviously confused.

Gojo gently nudged him. “You must be confused. Let me explain. That's Yuji's older half-brother, Choso.” He said while pointing at the black haired man, who was still happily hugging Yuji.

“And that's Uraume who's helped raise Yuji and Choso ever since the two of them were little. If you ask me, Sukuna's definitely got a thing for Uraume! Ha ha!” Gojo laughed as he pointed at the two adults.

“I heard that!” Sukuna shot a short glare at him.

Uraume just giggled.

Junpei was kinda star struck.

Yuji's whole family seemed very important. Sukuna and Uraume were obviously very successful in whatever work they did. Yuji was a famous idol. And Junpei now recognized the name Choso Itadori, because Choso was an incredible fashion designer which kinda explained his odd getup.

“They're amazing.” Junpei muttered.

Gojo placed his hands on his hips. “Yeah, that's the Itadoris for ya!”

A very cheerful Yuji skipped towards Junpei. “Junpei! This is my big brother Choso and my mo- uh... and Uraume!”

Junpei smiled. “Cool! Gojo just told me about them.”

Yuji rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, heh heh!”

~~~ * ~~~

Their large group hung out backstage until it was show time. Junpei could hear the loud sound of hundreds of voices talking. The stadium was filled to the brim with fans. It was pretty nerve wracking.

Gojo was the announcer so he was up first. He gave his friends a wink and a thumbs up before cruising on stage. As soon as he was visible, all eyes were on him.

Gojo lifted his bedazzled microphone up to his mouth. “How's everyone doing today?”

The entire stadium erupted into cheers.

Gojo's blue eyes sparkled even more than the stage lights. “Wow! You guys must've had a real good time! I did too! I mean, I can't be the only one who thinks the food at cons just hit different, am I right?!”

The crowd responded with more cheers.

“Yeah! You guys know what I'm talking about!” He pointed at the crowd. “Now, no matter how cool talking about food would be, what we're actually here for is even cooler! I'm telling you, those guys backstage who are gonna perform, they are really talented. And a lot of them are still really new to performing. So make sure to give them a warm reception, alright?!”

Gojo grinned as the crowd cheered once again. These were some of Gojo's favorite moments. Just being around all these smiling faces warmed his heart.

“Now, I could go on and on about how amazing these performers are ,but no one wants to hear me ramble all day.”

“I could listen to you all day, Gojo!!!” A male voice called from the crowd.

“And I could listen to you guys cheering all day!” Gojo laughed. “Since these performers are so amazing, they're just gonna have to show you just how great they are! Everybody give a big round of applause for our first band - It’s Not a Phase, Mom!!!”

Gojo rushed off the stage as the band came on stage to perform for the cheering crowd.

.

.

.

The show was incredible. It was one big cycle. Gojo would yell out the performer's or band's name, they would perform, then Gojo would praise them before calling out the next name.

The show was going so well, Junpei almost forgot he was gonna be in it. But they finally reached the last performance of the night: Yuji and Junpei's.

Junpei's heart was beating a mile a minute. He had his helmet on now. Everything had been checked.
Everything was ready. All they needed now was for Gojo to call their names.

Yuji winked and said a comforting, “We've got this!”, to his friend.

Junpei just said a nervous ,“Yeah,”

That's when they heard Gojo's voice. “That was Sugar Cube Tina singing Killer Cookie! I could tell all of you thought that song was killer! All these performances have been spectacular ,but now it's time for the last one of the night! Everybody put your hands together for Yuji and his new friend Moon Dregs!!!"

Gojo gave them a thumbs up as he rushed past them.

It was funny how Junpei's costume was a jellyfish, because his legs felt like jelly right now!

Junpei took a deep breath. ' This has been your dream since forever. It's okay to be scared ,but you can't let it control you. It's okay. '

The glimmer in Junpei's eyes was brighter than ever. He was doing something he'd never gotten used to: Believing in himself.

The music picked up. He opened his mouth and sang like he'd never sung before.

Yuji's smile was as big as ever as he sang and danced with his friend. Junpei didn't want to be cocky ,but he just couldn't believe how natural it felt to be on stage.

Yuji's iconic red and blue themed outfit looked surprisingly good next to Junpei's black, yellow, and blue light up costume.

The performance felt quick, yet somehow felt like it went on for hours. However long it had been, it did come to an end.

The boys struck their final pose. They wrapped one arm around each other and pointed straight up with their free hand.

Even with his heavy breathing, Junpei could hear the deafening cheers from the crowd in front of him.

Yuji winked at his friend, silently signaling that their performance was a success.

The two boys waved to their audience as they walked off the stage,  their other arm still wrapped around one another.

Gojo flashed them a smile as he rushed back on stage. “That was Yuji and Moon Dregs singing a Moon Dregs original song Irukandji! Can you even believe that was his first time performing?! Weren't they both incredible?! It has been a wonderful night, but alas, all good things must come to an end. Let's get one last round of applause for all the performers and backstage crew for making this night possible!”

The entire stadium was filled with the sound of the audience's vigorous applause.

“Thank you all for coming out tonight! You've been a fantastic audience! Have a great rest of your night!”

The lights came on ,and people started making their way out of the stadium.

Gojo stayed on the stage for a little longer to say a few things. “Don't forget there's still karaoke. If any of you guys are going, I'll see you there! Good night. And I love you all!”

Having said what he wanted to, Gojo walked off the stage.

~~~ * ~~~

The rest of the night was kind of a blur for Junpei.

He remembered Yuji and his family saying how great he'd done. Gojo complimented him in a very Gojo-like way, so lots of dramatic hand gestures.

The moment Junpei remembered best was when his mother hugged him. She wouldn't stop talking about how proud she was. It was kinda embarrassing ,but he didn't care.

This is where Junpei's story truly began!

.

.

.

Everyone in the audience seemed really happy with the show. They smiled, laughed, and chatted about their favorite performances.

However.

There was one person that felt – troubled?

Seeing the performer known as Moon Dregs on stage had left them with a burning question...

“Who are you?”

~~~ * ~~~

.

.

.

Gojo Sataru was sitting in front of his camera, recording one of his favorite types of videos –

A fan mail video!

“Thank you for the fan mail, once again!” Alright, let's see who the next one is fro–” Gojo's smile instantly turned into a look of horror.

“Oh no. I– Guys, I thought we'd escaped.” He said while looking back and forth between the camera and the box that caused his panic.

“It's from Getiweti.”

* ~~~ The Beginning?: End ~~~ *

Chapter Text

Celebrities.

Whether it's a singer, actor, YouTuber, etc. Everyone likes at least one person who can be classified as a celebrity, right?

“Regular people” adore these celebrities, treating them like gods in some cases. It is all too easy to see these celebrities as gods who must be worshiped ; even though they too are human.

Satoru Gojo fell into this 'celebrity' category. Even before his YouTube videos took off, some of his classmates were so enamored with him they sometimes considered him a god among men.

However, believe it or not, Gojo was still a human. And there's a lot more to him than just being a funny and handsome YouTuber. He was a kind person even when no cameras were recording him,
and he never went out of his way to flaunt his good deeds. He certainly had his flaws ,but he was overall a good person.

His outgoing personality made him very popular everywhere he went. That was the reason he had so many friends ,and it had even helped him meet his best friend Suguru Geto.

Gojo's YouTube career had started off when he was a teenager ,with him posting fun videos of him and his friends hanging out. As he got older, his videos ganged more popularity until he became the celebrity he is now.

~~~ * ~~~

One of Gojo's most popular series of videos were his 'fan mail' ones. Gojo loved opening fan mail ,and his audience loved seeing his reactions. These videos were fun enough as they were ,but one video changed everything.

It was already a great video. Gojo had received lots of thoughtful gifts, one being a Slurpee themed lamp. (The person addressed as Mya who'd made it and sent it to him must be very happy because that lamp is still proudly displayed in Gojo's room.)

Gojo was all smiles as he reached for the next box. His smile only grew when he read the name. “From Getiweti, huh? Well, thank you for sending fan mail, Getiweti! Let's see what you got in here.”

Gojo's eyes were met with a piece of paper with a chibi comic drawn on it as soon as he opened the small box. The comic showed a cute chibi character going through his daily routine ,but every step the character went through somehow involved Gojo. Whoever drew this was a really talented artist.

Gojo thought the comic was innocent enough. Plus, the style was cute. The little guy in the comic was cute, too. He reminded Gojo of Suguru just a little bit ,but it obviously wasn't supposed to be him.

The innocent comic lulled Gojo into false sense of security which made the next picture in the box even more shocking.

“Uhhhh, heh heh... Well, this is- interesting,” Gojo chuckled a bit awkwardly.

The picture was ship art of Gojo and the character in the chibi comic in a much more realistic style.

“I'm not sure if I should show this to you guys,” He said to his viewers while keeping the photo facing toward himself. “It's of me and who I'm assuming is Getiweti kissing.”

Gojo started laughing ,and in the end , the situation was brushed off as a troll and a pretty funny one at that.

But that wasn't the last of Getiweti.

Ever since that first package, Gojo had received dozens more.

Each box always had a rather obsessive note saying something like- “I wish I could buy your sweat!”-
, some ship pictures of Getiweti and Gojo, and a chibi comic or two.

As weird as it may sound, part of Gojo looked forward to three packages. Even though he could do without the explicit art, he really did enjoy opening his boxes.

The fans were happy, Gojo was happy, and he was sure Getiweti was happy, too.

Of course, not everyone was happy about it.

~~~ * ~~~

“That's some weird sh*t, man.”

Gojo was practically cackling at his best friends words.

Suguru narrowed his eyes. “I'm serious!” He barked.

Gojo finally stopped kicking his feet in his seat and calmed down. “I know. I know. You gotta admit it's kinda funny, though,” He smiled as his still unimpressed friend. “Plus, it gets great views. Just look at it!”

Gojo practically shoved his phone in his friends face, showing off his last fan mail video which already had millions of views.

Suguru scooched back to avoid Gojo's cellular device and sighed while rolling his eyes. “Whatever.”

Gojo pulled his phone back over to himself ,and started scrolling around on it. “I'm telling you, fans love those vids.”

Suguru just took a slurp from the chocolate milkshake in front of him without responding.

Gojo scooted closer to his friends while holding his phone up for a selfie with one hand and lifting up his own milkshake with the other. He snapped about dozen pictures in mere seconds before retracting his arm back again. “I'm gonna post those all over.”

“Don't do it now. That's how you get stalked.”

Gojo raised his hands up in fake-surprise. “Who do you take me for, man? I only post pics right away when I want people to know where I am,” He took a long slurp from his strawberry shake.

“Good. That's what I thought. Glad to see you've learned your lesson.”

Gojo's jaw dropped. “That was one time, dude!” He angrily sipped on his milkshake which calmed him down fast. “And about the whole fan mail thing...” He smirked and tipped his sunglasses. “Gotta give the people what they want.”

Suguru looked at him for a little before turning away. “If we really wanted to give the people what they wanted we'd start dating.”

Gojo started laughing even harder than he had earlier. “You're funny when you say your jokes all serious like that!”

Suguru smiled a little as Gojo's laughter died down.

“Heyyy~”

Suguru's smile faded. Gojo's flirty sounding “Hey” couldn't be good news.

“Speaking of dating... How have things been going with you and Riko?~”

The image of the black haired woman known as Riko popped into Suguru's head. He narrowed his eyes. “Why would that have anything to do with dating?”

Gojo dramatically flung his head back. “Aw, you know I've been shipping you two since forever!”

Suguru, being all too used to his friends antics, sipped his shake. “Drop it,” He stated plainly.

Gojo's head shot back to normal. He leaned closer to his tired looking friend. “Someday, mark my words, you two are gonna date. I know it!”

Suguru gave Gojo a light shove. “You still act like a teenager.”

Gojo laughed.

He turned his attention to the city in the not too far off distance.

Gojo loved the hustle and bustle of the city ,but he also enjoyed the peace and serenity that came with sitting on a more secluded park bench like this one.

He was about to pester Suguru again ,but he could tell his friend was taking in the quiet.

Gojo smiled and sat there silently, taking in the quiet, too.

~~~ * ~~~

“Huuuh?!” Junpei was sitting in Yuji's studio and staring at his phone, a shocked look on his face and a slight sparkling in his eye.

“What is it?” Yuji asked, peeking over his friends shoulder in an attempt to see his phone.

Junpei turned around, held the phone up to Yuji, and pointed at it. “P-people are complimenting me!”

Yuji tilted his head and smiled. “Why wouldn't they be? You were awesome up there!”

Junpei lowered the phone back over to him self. “Yeah, I guess, but...”

Junpei had done really well ,and he thought so. He just wasn't used to receiving any kind of compliment from someone other than his mother and recently Yuji.

It felt weird. A good weird.

Yuji plopped himself down right next to his buddy on the couch. “We're gonna have to get you some Moon Dregs merch.”

Junpei blinked. “Uh, isn't that a little fast? I only performed once.”

Yuji wagged his finger. “Haven't you seen merch come out for the first episode of shows or the first chapter of games? It's never too fast! Plus, wouldn't it be cool to have your own merch?”

Junpei nodded. “Yeah,” He scrolled through the positive comments on his phone. His smile grew a bit more. He decided to stop before he reached an inevitable hate comment. Junpei always had a habit of thinking negatively, particularly towards himself.

“Hey, let's talk about our future performing plans,” Yuji said, bouncing with excitement. “I kinda already have a spot for us in That's My Icon, though.”

Junpei's jaw dropped. “You got us a spot somewhere already? And in an event that cool?!”

Yuji grinned. “Yep! You're a fan of That's My Icon?”

Junpei nodded. “Yes, I've always envied everyone who got to attend!”

That's My Icon was similar to Tokyo Icon and Idol Con in that it also had a concert. But That's My Icon was especially known for having tons of meet and greets, trivias put together by fans, food stalls, and merch of any star attending. What Junpei wouldn't have given for a chance to go there and meet Yuji.

Funny how Yuji was now his idol partner and good friend!

“I always thought the meet and greet and merch aspects were really cool,” Junpei said, reminiscing about how much he'd dreamed about it in the past.

“Great! Then you'll do great at our meet and greet.”

This was to be expected ,but Junpei still couldn't help but feel like a bomb got dropped on him. “Wha- what do I do? What do I say?”

“All you have to do is shake the persons hand and sign the item they want you to,” Yuji said with a playful wave at the end.

Junpei had to admit that didn't sound too hard. “Okay,”

Yuji's smile brightened as a nonexistent light bulb lit up over his head. “We'll get you tons of merch, too. Things like t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, stickers- You know, the basics.”

'The basics?!'

Yuji's eyes suddenly started to sparkle. “We've got to get you custom penlights! 'Cause of your glowing costume!”

It was always magical when a huge crowd of people waved their penlights (or glows ticks) to the beat of a song. Just imagining a crowd waving his branded penlights to one of his original songs made Junpei feel electric.

“That would be so cool!”

Yuji and Junpei spent the rest of their time together talking about ideas for Moon Dregs merch.

Junpei was having so much fun, he hadn't even noticed how late it was until he checked his phone. “Oh geez, I need to get going if I'm going to make it home in time for dinner,” Junpei stuffed his phone into his pocket and stood up. “Thanks for hanging out with me. See you later.”

Yuji stood up, too. “I'll walk you outside. You planning on walking home again?”

Junpei nodded. “Uh-huh,”

“Alright, you sure you don't want a ride?”

“Yeah, I feel like stretching my legs. I was gonna buy a new scarf on my way home, anyway.”

A cold breeze blew through the two boys as soon as they stepped outside of Jujutsu Studio. Junpei zipped his coat all the way up to his neck, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets afterword.

“Bye bye! Tell your mom I said hi!” Yuji called while waving to his friend.

“I will. See ya!” Junpei said happily before turning around and walking away.

Snow wasn't expected ,but judging by the gray, cloudy sky and the wind that constantly sent a chill up Junpei's spine every time it blew past him, snow felt very likely. Junpei didn't mind at all, though. He loved when it was chilly.

Taking a deep breath of the sharp, cold air felt oddly refreshing. Junpei walked on in peace ,and his mood was even better when he exited the store with his brand new dusty blue scarf.

He was continuing his rout home when his calm mood suddenly shattered.

He'd sensed someone's gaze.

He walked on, unsure if he should look back or not.

The feeling didn't go away.

Junpei, unable to take the stress any longer, decided to take a chance.

He whipped around.

His eyes darted every which way in search of any pursuers.

No one.

'Was it all in my head?'

After glancing around a few more times, Junpei slowly turned back around. He took a few steps forward. His walking quickly shifted to running. 'I'm not risking it.'

The feeling of being watched started to fade ,but Junpei's nerves clearly wouldn't because he kept a fast pace his whole way home.

~~~ * ~~~

A shadowy figure peeked out of an alleyway, watching the brown haired boy run off into the distance.

The figure let out a shaky breath. They rubbed their shoulder that they'd accidentally slammed into the wall when they'd ducked into the alley to avoid the boy's gaze.

They stopped massaging their arm and started fiddling with their dirty looking pocket knife instead.

Their dead eyes narrowed. 'What do I want?'

A sudden gust of wind caused them to shove their closed knife back into their pocket while tugging their scarf higher.

Their harsh gaze softened as they looked at the warm piece of cloth wrapped around their neck. A much calmer yet still shaky breath escaped their lips.

'I guess I'll gave to figure it out.'

.

.

.

~~~ * ~~~

Sukuna drove Yuji home about an hour after Junpei had left. Yuji had been a bit lonely without his friend ,but he'd passed the time by practicing a few of his dance moves.

Now nice and comfy back at home, Yuji was lying across the length of the couch and scrolling on his phone for more merch ideas.

His uncle sat on a reclining chair near his nephew. Sukuna crossed his arms and closed his eyes. It was funny how his face looked stern even while resting.

Uraume was in the kitchen ,and Choso was in his old bedroom which he still occupied every time he stayed over.

There was always an extra bit of cheer in the air whenever the whole family was together. Everything always flowed naturally. There was no need to be awkward or stiff. They were family after all.

“I know that look, Sukuna. Did something happen at work?” Uraume asked, watching Sukuna from the connected kitchen.

Sukuna opened his eyes and let out a sigh. “Well-”

Yuji only picked up on a few parts of their conversation. It sounded like someone had messed something up and Sukuna had spent a long time trying to fix it. Yuji wasn't really paying attention. He was too focused on all the amazing merch ideas for Junpei.

Choso strolled out of his room with his phone in hand and an earbud in each ear. His eyes widened when he saw Yuji. “I didn't know you were home,” He said, removing one of his earbuds.

“Oh yeah. I didn't tell you 'cause I didn't wanna bug you,” Yuji replied, sitting up and scooching over so he wasn't hogging the couch anymore.

Choso sat next to him. “How's Junpei? Did your practice go well?”

“He'd doing good. We had a great practice. I'm gonna teach him how to handshake and sign autographs like a pro!”

Choso smiled a his brother's enthusiasm. “I can tell you're excited for That's My Icon.”

Yuji pumped his fist. “Heck yeah! TMI!”

Choso snorted. “TMI? Well, that's an abbreviation.”

A short, disapproving huff from Sukuna prompted the brothers to turn their attention to him.

“Still don't like TMI, huh?” Yuji still wasn't sure why Sukuna disliked meet and greet focused events in particular.

“Eh,”

Yuji and Choso both mentally sighed at their uncle's habit of vaguely responding then not elaborating further. The brothers shot each other an amused eye roll before continuing their previous conversation.

Sukuna's face remained serious ,and he appeared to be uninterested in the two boys' conversation. However, he glanced at the now laughing boys. He smiled softly for a second.

Yuji and Choso were his nephews- Well technically, Choso was his step-nephew ,but no one cared about that. No complicated titles were needed. Even if someone wasn't related to anyone, they were still considered family. Uraume was considered an Itadori despite no relation. Choso was Yuji's big brother. Therefore, he was also Sukuna's nephew.

Sukuna loved both his nephews. So much so that he'd sometimes see them as his own sons. It made sense, considering how long he'd bee raising them.

Sukuna didn't know it ,but Choso sometimes saw his as a father figure and Uraume as a sort of mother figure. Yuji certainly felt the same way, even more so. Why wouldn't he? He hardly knew his parents.

Sukuna had been caught up in his thought when he suddenly noticed a smell coming from the kitchen. A really good smell. It could only mean one thing.

“Dinner's ready!” Uraume called to them.

Sukuna got up and headed to the kitchen. Yuji and Choso were right behind him.

The four of them all eating together was something they all hadn't realized they'd missed so much until now.

~~~ * ~~~

Suguru opened the door to his apartment.

He let out a long breath.

Don't get him wrong, hanging out with Gojo was great. They were best friends, after all. But their hang outs could also be exhausting.

'Why did I let him talk me into getting milkshakes when it's how cold outside?'

Suguru removed his shoes and slipped on some gray slippers. He glanced at the picture frame on his built in shelf near the entryway. “I'm home, Ken,” He muttered before stretching his arms above his head.

He walked into the kitchen, swung open one of his cabinets, and looked through his dinner options. 'I want something fast, warm, and easy.'

Once he settled on noodles, he debated between beef or curry flavor before ultimately going with curry.
His noodles were ready fast.

Suguru grabbed his food and chopsticks and sat down on one of the tatami chairs surrounding his table. He scrolled around on his phone as he slurped up his noodles. A new post on Gojo's social media caught his eye.

It was the photos Gojo had taken of himself and Suguru with their milkshakes. The caption, “Me and Suguru decided to shake things up!” with an excessive amount of emojis sat above the pictures.

Suguru cracked a smile at his friends goofiness. It made him happy to see so many people appreciating Gojo's talent in making fun content.

A slight feeling of unease started to settle over Suguru ,but he shook it off. 'It's fine.'

Thinking of fans had brought up Getiweti. Nothing had or probably would come of the mail ,but that didn't stop Suguru from being uncomfortable.

The thing was, Suguru knew he had to be the one to worry, because Gojo certainly wouldn't. Well, he might but wouldn't say it. Gojo was just like that. It was easy for him to laugh things off and miss the darker meaning behind them. Suguru wasn't like that at all. If something seemed weird to him, you'd know pretty fast.

Suguru sighed and looked at more of Gojo's posts to take his mind off things. I was funny to think about how soon Gojo would be posting all about the next event he'd be attending: That's My Icon.

Meet and greet based events brought out all kinds of people.

'I wonder if Getiweti will show up.'

Yep, all kinds of people turned up at those places. Knowing this would make anyone wonder-

Just who was going to show up?

~ Behind the Scenes: End ~

~ * ~

Chapter Text

The event That's My Icon was only a few days away, and tickets had been selling fast. It was no mystery why. One look at the Featured Icons section of their official website told you everything. There were so many recognizable people who'd be attending.

The brightly colored website on the computer illuminated the pitch black room eerily. The person using the computer lazily scrolled through the list of who they considered nameless nobodies. How had they even gotten to this site? They didn't remember or really care. They didn't care about anything.

Sighing, they scrolled back up. That's when something caught their eye.

“Yuji will be joined by his friend and brand new idol Moon Dregs!” was plastered right underneath a picture of a pink haired boy wrapping an arm around a boy with a black, blue, and yellow jellyfish helmet.

“How'd I miss that?” The stunned person mumbled. Their bloodshot eyes locked onto the masked boy in the picture. After a few minutes of staring, the person jumped in their seat. “Ah- I gotta get a ticket,” They exclaimed quickly going to the Tickets section.

After selecting a standard ticket, an issue quickly arose. “Oh, sh*t – I need a card,” They muttered, having somehow forgotten that a credit card was necessary. “I should have on back- somewhere.”

They continued muttering to themself as they scrounged around their messy apartment.

You'd think turning a light on would be a good idea, but that never crossed this persons mind. After digging around for much longer than they should've had to, they finally found a wallet. “A wallet” because it didn't actually belong to them.

The person carelessly dumped the wallets contents onto the floor. “Ah- found it.” They picked up the credit card off the floor before creeping back over to their computer.

They tossed the credit card to the side the second it was no longer needed and printed out their ticket. Luckily, this person's brain hadn't gotten too fried from all the drugs they took, allowing them to successfully purchase a ticket.

A grin spread across their face. “This is my chance!”

~~~ * ~~~

Junpei's heart was pounding. He had been so excited to finally attend That's My Icon, but now that he was actually there, his nerves were shot.

He was currently sitting in his and Yuji's shared private room. 'I've been practicing with Yuji a lot, but I'm still worried.'

As if he'd read Junpei's mind, Yuji walked up to him and held out his hand. “I'm a big fan of yours, Moon Dreggs!”

Junpei's nervous expression turned into a smile as he shook Yuji's hand. “Thank you! It's nice to meet you!”

Yuji smiled back. “Yes! You nailed the greeting and handshake! Now...” He whipped out a piece of paper. “Will you please sign this for me?”

Junpei clicked the pen Yuji had given him earlier. “Of course!” In the blink of an eye, the paper now had the words “Moon Dregs” written on it.

Yuji pumped his fist. “Yeah! What did I tell ya? You've got it down!”

Junpei was starting to feel a lot more confident, thanks to Yuji. He smiled, his cheeks a bit pinker than usual. “Thanks! Oh, I was gonna take a short walk around the private lounge. You wanna come with me?”

Yuji nodded. “Sure!”

The two boys hung out in the lounge by themselves for a while, but they ran into Gojo and Suguru pretty fast.

“Heyyy! Nice to see you two again,” Gojo greeted them energetically.

Suguru nodded and smiled.

“Nice to see you guys, too,” Yuji and Junpei said together.

“So, you excited for your first meet and greet?” Gojo asked while turning to Junpei.

“Yeah, kind of nervous, though.” Junpei's face suddenly changed like he'd just remembered something. Then he went back to smiling shyly. “Uh, I don't wanna bug you, but I never got to ask-” He pulled his song book out of the duffle bag he'd brought. “Will you two please sign my notebook?”

Gojo's smile widened. “Of course!”

“Me too?” Suguru asked. He didn't get asked for autographs nearly as much as Gojo did. But maybe he was just better at not getting noticed out in public.

Junpei responded with a nod and a, “Yes, please.”

Junpei was about to fish out a pen for them when Gojo pulled not one- but two seemingly out of nowhere.

“Blue for me. Black for you!” Gojo handed his mildly stunned friend a black pen while holding onto his own sparkly blue one.

“You just have a pen for me?” Suguru gave his friend a weird look.

Gojo gave him a, “Well, duh!” face back. “Yeah! Picture this- some fan wants both our autographs and I only have one blue pen.” He said this like it would truly be a conundrum.

Suguru's weird look only intensified. “Then we'd both use the blue pen.”

“But it's not your signature color. What's my signature color?- Blue. What's your signature color?- Black or gray or something- Not blue!”

The two men menacingly moved closer to each other like they were about to get into a high school boy level argument about pens.

Luckily, Yuji distracted them by waving his arms. “Hey! Don't forget why you started talking about pens!”

Junpei was glad Yuji spoke up because he surely wouldn't have.

Gojo rubbed the back of his neck, but Suguru's face looked much more embarrassed than his companion's. “Right...”

The two men signed Junpei's note book on the same page Yuji had signed when he'd first met Junpei. Suguru did end up using the black pen Gojo gave him to do it, too.

Junpei's eyes sparkled as he stared at the three signatures. “Thank you! Wow, this day can't get any better! I wonder if I'll get any more signatures some day.”

“Hey, you haven't gotten Moon Dregs' autograph yet!” Yuji pointed out.

Junpei blinked. “You think I should get my own autograph?”

“Yep!”

Junpei giggled at the silly suggestion. “Okay. Let me get my pen.” He was once again stopped by Gojo.

“Wait. I think I might have one in your shade of blue,” He said while patting himself down for one.

Suguru looked even more astounded. “There's no way. Do you carry a pack of them with you?!”

While the two men bickered about pens, a sudden booming voice made Junpei jump. He seemed to be the only one startled by it, though.

“Brother!!!”

Yuji whipped around towards the yelling person, and before Junpei knew it, he was yelling the same thing while running towards them.

Junpei stared in shock and confusion as Yuji ran up to this very muscular guy and started talking with him very loudly.

Junpei observed this new comer from afar. The first thing Junpei noticed was his booming voice, but appearance-wise it was his height and muscles. I mean, this guy was ripped! And he was around the same height as Gojo. He had a tan skin complexion and black hair tied in a bun atop his head. He had on a purple shirt, black jacket, and martial arts pants and slippers. Not to be rude, but this guy was sweaty looking. Junpei didn't recognize him as any kind of idol or performer.

Yuji seemed to be getting along with him great. The strangest thing about the situation was them calling each other brother.

Junpei stared at the boys and debated whether or not to say hi to the new guy. He was quickly distracted by a teenage girl who walked past Yuji and his muscular friend, giving them the side-eye as she did. Her amber eyes locked onto Junpei.

Junpei's cheeks reddened. 'Holy woah! It's Mai from The Straw Dolls!”

The Straw Dolls was an idol group consisting of three girls- Nobara, Maki, and her twin sister Mai. They were great singers and dancers. Not to mention, they were all really pretty.

Mai had short dark green hair with bangs swept to the right. She was currently wearing a sleeveless turtle neck, a long skirt with long slits on both sides, exposing her hips, and a pair of flat pumps, all of these pieces were black.

Junpei's eyes darted away so he wouldn't look like a creep staring at her. He glanced towards her and went stiff as a board when he saw her coming towards him.

“They're rather loud aren't they?”

There was no mistaking it, Mai was talking to him! “Uh, y-yeah. I didn't know Yuji had a brother besides Choso.”

The flicker of confusion on Mai's face quickly changed to realization. “Oh, that's just Aoi Todo. They aren't related, they just call each other brother, for some reason.”

Junpei blinked a few times. “Oh...” He couldn't help but feel under-dressed in his dark sage sweater and brown pants even though Mai was also wearing casual clothes. He suddenly realized he completely forgot to introduce himself.

“Ah- I'm Junpei Yoshino, by the way,” He managed to stutter out while holding out his hand.

Mai smiled and shook his hand. She seemed to be taking in Junpei's appearance. Little did he know, she liked what she saw. “I'm Mai. Mai Zenin,” She said with a flirty wink. “It's nice to meet you.”

Junpei smiled. “Nice to meet you, too. I'm a big fan.” He'd kinda blurted out the last part so he hoped he didn't come off as weird.

Mai didn't seem to mind, though. “Thank you. Are you a performer? I can't say I've seen you before, and I definitely would've noticed you.”

Junpei wasn't sure how a star like her would've noticed him. “I am. Actually, Yuji's my partner.”

Mai looked surprised. “Ohhh, you must be Moon Dregs, right? My, my, what a first performance that was.”

Junpei blushed. “Y-yeah that's me. Thanks. Oh! Uh, if you don't mind, would you please sign my notebook?”

Mai smiled. “Of course.”

Junpei handed her his book and pen. She signed the book just as fast as Yuji and Gojo had.

Junpei looked at it as soon as Mai handed it back. His heart rate accelerated the moment he saw the tiny heart at the end of Mai's signature. 'Calm down, Junpei. She probably does that for everyone.'

“Th-thank you so much!” He beamed.

A light blush formed on Mai's cheeks. “My pleasure! I can get the other girls to sign it for you, sometime.”

Junpei's smile widened. “Really? Thank you!”

Junpei and Mai were broken out of their own little world by Yuji and Todo yelling and laughing really loudly for a reason only they knew.

Junpei wasn't mad about Yuji for hanging out with someone else, because he knew Yuji would come introduce him to Todo soon. He just gets a bit carried away sometimes, which is understandable.

Mai knew that, too. So she made her move to get Junpei out of there. “I bet those two are talking about girls with big butts again,” Mai scoffed.

Junpei blinked. “What?”

“It's just something they do.”

Before Junpei could ask her anything else, Mai had linked arms with him. “Don't worry, I'll get you out of here before Todo can ask you your 'type'. Even though I wouldn't mind knowing.” She winked again and started leading him away.

Junpei was 99% sure his face was as red as a tomato by now.

The pair walked away, arm in arm, leaving a still bickering Gojo and Suguru and an oblivious Yuji and Todo behind.

~~~ * ~~~

Crowds of people were rushing all around the busy convention building.

Some people were gripping plastic bags filled with all kinds of merchandise of their favorite celebrity attending. Others were holding different foods, using both their hands so nothing dripped on their idol branded t-shirts. No matter what they were holding, they had most likely spent a ludicrous amount of money on it.

Not like the man sitting on a lonely folding table had any room to judge. He had lost track of all the money he'd spent of Gojo merch. Not to mention, he'd just spent 3,153 yen on the piece of pizza he was eating. Not his fault con food is so pricey.

The man sighed in boredom. Cons had their ups and downs. Unfortunately, he was currently in the down stage. The reason? Well, because there was no Gojo to be seen, of course! Why oh why must he always be in the staff only room?!

The man pulled out his Gojo phone cased-phone. He turned it on, showcasing a Gojo lock screen which revealed a Gojo wallpaper when unlocked.

The man lazily took a bite of his pizza while scrolling through numerous videos he'd recorded (without permission) of, no surprise, Gojo. After a minute of that, he let out another sigh, glancing at a staff door longingly, silently praying Gojo would come out of it. No such luck.

The man could've tried to participate in the fan-run “Satoru Gojo Quiz”, but it was only fare to let someone else win for once. Though, attending as an audience member did cross his mind. Perhaps, Gojo would show up? That would be nice!

Other than the quiz, the rest of the con would be a long slog to the hand-shake and signing, and then another long wait till the concert starts.

The man was debating on going to the quiz or moving to the signing area so he could be there right when it started since Gojo's line is always one of the longest, when another man walked over to his table.

Pulling his hoodie down a bit more and looking up from his phone, the Gojo fan eyed the stranger.

“D-do you know when the signing thing starts?” The stranger asked, their voice coming out rather shaky. This man looked shifty due to his fidgety demeanor and black surgical mask. The only parts of his face visible were his slightly droopy eyes and the long scar running down his right one.

“That won't be starting for a while, buddy. There's a sign over there that tells you all the event times.” was the reply the fidgety stranger received, as the other man pointed at a nearby sign.

“Ah- thanks.” With that the stranger walked away.

'The times for events are everywhere. Either that guy's an idiot, or he'd just loopy.' The Gojo fan smirked as he watched the guy he'd just spoken to look at the sign, stumble to one of the room's walls, sit on the floor, and start fiddling with his scarf.

'Definitely loopy.' He chuckled.

~~~ * ~~~

Junpei's time with Mai had felt like a dream.

It wasn't too long after they'd met that they'd both decided to put on disguises and check out the con. Technically, only Mai needed to hide, but Junpei thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

Their time together was the closest Junpei had ever gotten to a date. And it was just as fun as a date should be. They talked, bought some food, and even watched the “Satoru Gojo Quiz”.

Gojo and Suguru watched it, too, also in disguise. It was honestly a miracle no one recognized Gojo because you could probably piece together that it was him if you were paying close enough attention. He was just a bit too Gojo-y to be anyone else.

Overall, Junpei's time with Mai was great, but they had to split up and get ready for the signing, eventually.

Now he was all decked out in his costume sitting next to an equally glammed up Yuji (They had both awkwardly explained what had happened earlier and had a good laugh about it.)

Junpei kind of felt stupid for being nervous about this when he'd literally sang on stage, but what could he say? He gets nervous. He tried to calm himself down by looking around at the other tables.

Gojo and Suguru were sitting together at one; their line would most likely be the longest. There were tons of other idols, musicians, YouTubers, and even rappers that Junpei recognized. Yuji promised to introduce him to a bunch of his celebrity friends sometime which was exciting.

The Straw Dolls were all seated at their own table. Mai smiled and waved at Junpei.

Junpei shyly waved back at her. He was grateful for his helmet because he just knew his smile would've looked so goofy.

It didn't take long for the signing to start, and just as expected, Gojo and Suguru's line was hopping. That didn't mean the other tables weren't getting traffic. A line formed in front of Yuji and Junpei fast. Junpei tried to to ease his nerves by reminding himself about all his practice and most fans were probably here for Yuji anyway.

So imagine his shock when people genuinely wanted his autograph and hand-shake just as much as they wanted Yuji's. Luckily, the experience wasn't actually hard or scary. All that training had really pulled off! And after the first few people, he had gotten the hang of it.

It was cool seeing all the different kinds of people wanting their stuff signed. Somebody in particular really looked unique.

They were a young man with long, almost dirty looking hair, a black mask, and a brown scarf wrapped around his neck.

Yuji greeted the man right away, signed his paper, and shook his hand. The man never took his eyes off Junpei, though. Junpei almost sensed something familiar about him. Maybe he felt it, too.

Even with all that and the fact that no one could see his face, Junpei still put on his best smile as he signed the man's paper and shook his hand. “Thank you for coming!” Junpei beamed. He felt even more confident in his training after that.

Because that guy looked at him like he'd hung the stars in the sky.

Junpei felt like he was radiating pure confidence and joy as he and Yuji worked their way through the line of exciting fans. And the line was only getting longer.

~~~ * ~~~

Meanwhile, Gojo and Suguru were dealing with their own line.

They both smiled at the man in front of them, Gojo's smile was big and bright whereas Suguru's was much calmer.

The man received hand-shakes from them both and had Suguru sign his paper normally, but he paid the extra fee for Gojo to write a quote. “Can you please write, 'It's from Getiweti'?”

Gojo burst into laughter while Suguru awkwardly chuckled a lot less enthusiastically.

That's a good one! That's a good one!” Gojo laughed and signed the paper with the requested quote.

The man left, smiling down at his autographed piece of paper. 'Worth it! Ah, if only he knew...' He looked up and noticed a familiar person stumbling away from some idol kids' table. 'Oh, it's the masked freak from earlier.'

He often didn't give anyone else besides Gojo and Suguru much thought, but attention. Perhaps, it was his grimy appearance, or the way he stumbled around. Or maybe it was the way he stared at his hand like an angel had come down from heaven and touched it. No matter what it was, there was something they had in common.

Somehow, someway they felt connected.

~ Everyone's Icon: End ~

~ * ~