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During the day and after training, Yuji smells like sweat and sunshine. He's an energetic, 15-year-old boy with high metabolism due to all his compact muscles after all.
He was also the type to never care much about fashion and the likes before. He grew up on a limited allowance with Wasuke's pension money as their household's sole income, so he had never used or bought any perfume or cologne before.
Hence, he didn't know what good cologne to use on a daily basis, which one fit his age and activities more, and stuff like that.
When he got to the Jujutsu Tech, the first one he met was Gojo-sensei, who always smelled so good, manly, luxurious at any time of the day or night, and smelled even better than the high-end men's corner he sometimes passed while going shopping with Nobara. And then there was the prim and proper Megumi, who also smelled like a young master, despite himself trying not to be too obvious about it.
Now surrounded by these high-class men daily, Yuji somewhat and can't help but be more self-aware about his own body and perhaps sloppy appearance, despite rarely being concerned about it before.
Perhaps what Nobara mocks him about so often off-handedly has some truth to it?
It's not that anyone ever points out that he smells bad after a hard and long hours of training or anything, it's just that he can't help but be a bit self-conscious surrounded by all these cool guys.
Perhaps now that he gets a monthly allowance on top of bonuses from difficult missions from the school, he should start paying attention to this thing, too? At least he can afford some stuff he couldn't before while living off his Grampa's savings.
Since he mostly wears a uniform all day long and the school doesn't allow accessories, a nice, branded cologne will definitely boost his fashion, right? Just like Gojo-sensei?
So he begins searching for the men's cologne.
But the problem is, he has zero clue what is what, or which brand is worth the price.
So it seems they can also be customized? And that any fragrance will be different depending on who wears it? And what the fuck is with these 3-tier of notes? Man, he has no clue from top to bottom.
Asking Nobara or Megumi is too embarrassing, so he has no choice but to muster up courage and ask his Sensei instead. Gojo-sensei is his teacher, so he won't make fun of his cluelessness, will he?
But he instantly regrets once the question escapes his mouth.
"Why? I like Yuji's current scent, though!" he exclaims, between laughing his annoying ass off.
"Stop lying, Sensei! I'm not even wearing any cologne, I just smell like sweat!"
"Ehh, really?? Then it must mean I like the smell of your sweat."
Yuji cringes at the words, yet his heart flutters, though he's not sure why.
Then Gojo-sensei goes off laughing some more.
At this point, Yuji is already used to his Sensei's teasing remarks. Gojo-sensei rarely means it anyway, when he's being annoying. It's just his way of getting closer to his students, who are much younger than he is. But this time, for some reason, Sensei's boisterous laughter irks him too much.
"Never mind then, if you're just gonna keep making fun of your poor student, then I'll ask Nanamin!" He puffs out his cheeks to show his indignation.
"No need, no need!" Gojo-sensei interrupts, "Nanami doesn't know how to have fun, so his choice gonna be boring and won't match Yuji's natural body scent."
Is there even such a thing as a boring scent? Yuji is honestly not sure, but then again, if this walking top brand fashion mannequin is the one saying it, then maybe it's the truth. He's the one with zilch knowledge about it, after all.
"Just leave it to your Sensei, I'll take care of it for you tomorrow! I have this regular place I always go to."
"Really??" Yuji beams, "But Sensei, don't choose your usual pick, the expensive ones, okay? Choose one that a student like me can afford with my student budget, okay?"
"Of course! I have a member card there, so they'll give me discounts and everything. If you go to Nanami, you won't get the same treatment."
Feeling relieved hearing it, Yuji can only say his thanks sincerely.
The next day, when he returns from his mission, a lavish wooden box wrapped in a beautiful goldish-red satin ribbon sits in the middle of his desk.
There's no card or anything, but this can only be from Gojo-sensei. He unwraps and opens the box to find a simple yet elegant sapphire glass bottle inside. There's no price tag or any receipt, so despite his delight in finally having his first-ever cologne, he gets a little bit worried since just the bottle itself already screams like it will be a major threat to his hard-earned savings. Not daring to try it on yet, he takes a picture and sends it to his Sensei, saying his thanks and asking how much it costs so he can transfer the money.
[It's a gift for Yuji's hard work for this month, and for being such a good student, but don't tell Nobara, kay~😉] is the immediate reply, glaring from his screen.
Suddenly, Yuji feels a weird heat creeping up on his cheeks. He complains that that wasn't their agreement, but Gojo only says that because he's a regular of the store, they give him a humongous discount.
Yuji is doubtful, so he looks up the brand and the name of the store. Surprisingly, it's not an imported brand, and despite highly specializing in perfumes, colognes, and other fragrances, and situated in a high-end area of Tokyo, the shop is owned by a local company. It doesn't even seem to have branch stores in another city.
And if his Sensei said he got a big discount, perhaps it could be affordable to him, Yuji simply thinks.
Yuji once again says his thanks and asks how he can at least repay him for the gift, to which Gojo only replies with: [just work harder in training, 'kay 😉]
Now that, is something he can totally do. And it's a small price for this expensive-looking thing. Feeling delighted, he promptly tries the cologne and is immediately surprised that it smells exactly like Gojo-sensei.
He wastes no time calling him this time and asks for clarification, "Sensei, is it really okay for others if we wear the same perfume?? You said not to tell Kugisaki, but there's no way she thinks I can afford any of your poshy stuff, y'know!"
"Eh, does Yuji not know? Even if it's the same fragrance, if a different person is wearing it, then when it mixes with your sweat and natural odor, the scent will be different from one person to another. There's no way anyone can tell."
"Is that so?" Yuji once again feels doubtful, but can't refute because he really doesn't know.
"Yep, even mass-manufactured products are like that, let alone customized ones!" Sensei sounds nothing but convincing, so he can only believe him.
"If Yuji is worried, not every note on each tier is the same as mine. I tweaked some fragrances to fit your scent better. Trust me, it will definitely match you."
Yuji just nods, says his thanks again, and hangs up the phone.
He starts wearing the gifted cologne the next day. As expected, Nobara straightforwardly questions him about it while Megumi throws a suspicious glance at him, yet nobody makes a fuss after that, so Yuji feels relieved and becomes more confident. Honestly, he already loves the fragrance, and Sensei must've been telling the truth that he chose the notes that mixed well with his natural body scent. As expected from an adult's knowledge and experience combined with a specialized store, Yuji thinks.
The thought never even crosses Yuji's mind that his Sensei just simply customized the same perfume notes he always wears to give him so that Yuji will smell exactly the same as him.
Just like how a male animal, the alpha of the pack, would scent-mark to state which things or territories belong to him, so they wouldn't be snatched away by another alpha male.
Unbeknownst to any of those ulterior motives, Yuji happily wears the fragrance every day.