Fame: the condition of being known or talked about by many people, especially on account of notable achievements.
"What if she doesn't like me?"
"Kirishima, she's your client, not your date." Taishiro "Fat" Toyomitsu responded with a chuckle. He had been sitting in the back of an SUV for the better part of four hours. Yet the biggest pain in his ass was his new hire's constant questions. Thankfully they were finally parked right outside the apartment complex of one his biggest client.
"I know, but what if she doesn't?" Kirishima leaned against the window staring at the skyscraper before him. The uneasy feeling he had in his stomach hadn't gone away since he sat down in the car, and he knew it wasn't from the gas station food they ate earlier. Fat let out a sigh and took out his phone to send a text to his client to meet them at the entrance.
"You're going to have to try real hard for that to happen buddy." After confirming they were on the way down he put his phone away and turned towards Kirishima once more. "Now, you remember my client's details correct?"
"You've literally asked me this 16 times. I know, because you've done it every 15 minutes on the dot for the past four hours." Kirishima scoffed. He felt like he could do it in his sleep at this point.
"Well I'm asking ya for the 17th time then!" Fat knew he was being annoying, but he had to make sure.
"Ashido Mina. 19 years old. An independent dancer who goes by the alias, 'Pinky'. Got her start as a backup dancer for some idol group, but stood out due to her pink hair and condition that makes her eyes black and pupils yellow. Went on to perform and win in various solo dance competitions, where she gained a huge following. Now she's touring with her own group to gain enough support to get onto a nationally televised show…" he trailed off when he noticed the subject of his conversation had appeared. A mess of pink hair was standing at the door of the complex while violently waving her arms around.
"Don't mind her keep going." Fat nonchalantly stated. Not even bothering to look at his client.
Kirishima looked back at Fat with a puzzled look but continued on, "She's recently received multiple letters from some anonymous creep who keeps saying that he 'deserves her love and will do anything to get it'. Which is why I'm here now."
Fat smiled, "Correct. Now, let's go and meet her, believe it or not she's excited to see what you look like ever since I told her about your hair." He moved to finally get out, but before he could open the door Kirishima held up his hand to stop him. Fat had a feeling he knew where this was going but turned towards the boy anyway.
"Fat, can I ask a question?" his eyes wandered away from looking directly at Fat.
"Sure kid, go ahead."
"Why me?" he said softly.
The response was the last thing Kirishima expected. Instead of some heartfelt explanation Fat leaned his head back and laughed. After a couple seconds, and a wipe of a tear, he looked Kirishima directly into his eyes and simply asked with a toothy grin, "Why not you kid?" Before Kirishima could respond Fat continued, "You graduated from UA Military Academy with top marks across all subjects. You've received personal training from a national hero like All Might, and part of a class that received national attention for being the best crop of students in over a decade. You're a no brainer."
Kirishima opened and closed his mouth trying to formulate a response. He had so much to say, but the only thing that could leave his mouth was, "But I wasn't the only one like that who applied." He breathed in and out to make his voice sound less desperate, "So, why me out of everyone else?"
Instead of an answer, Fat turned towards the door on his side and opened it to step outside. He looked back inside the car and with another flash of the smile he said, "I'll let you figure that one out yourself." He then closed the door leaving Kirishima to his thoughts. He sat there for a few seconds before he heard a tap on the window. He looked out and saw Ashido almost pressing cupping her face into the glass. Unfortunately for her it was only a one-way window for privacy, there was nothing she could see but her own reflection. So Kirishima took the chance to stare for a bit. Her eyes really were otherworldly, but still beautiful. Instead of distracting, the black that filled her eyes was enthralling. After a few seconds, he realized that he really should get out of the car. He tapped the glass back, which surprised Ashido, and she took a step back.
Opening the door, he stepped out right in front of her and noticed that while he was taller, it wasn't by much. Her eyes were at level with his nose. The same black eyes that stared right at him. They stood there for a moment. Just looking at each other. Kirishima was speechless now that he was finally face to face with her. He wondered if she would recognize him, he expected a greeting or maybe even a handshake. Instead, she put her fist on her chin and said, "What does a bodyguard need with bright red hair? Aren't you supposed to blend in or something?" Fat was howling in the background.
Kirishima raised a finger to argue, that in fact, he did not need to blend in. But Ashido continued, "Also you have like the sharpest teeth I've ever seen. Are you like part shark or something? Seriously though, the red is a nice color. But I gotta ask, does the carpet match the drapes?" Fat was in tears at this point. Kirishima's cheeks felt hot and he tried to say something back but nothing came out when he opened his mouth.
"Alright that's enough teasing." Fat said as he walked up to the both of them. "Let's head inside so you can check out where you'll be staying."
"You got it Fat!" Ashido exclaimed. While walking towards the entrance she turned back towards Kirishima, "By the way, I'm Ashido Mina. But you already knew that." She had a smirk on her face that Kirishima knew was going to be the death of him.
Get a grip! You're better than this! She doesn't even recognize you so why are you acting like a damn deer in the headlights? He mentally chided himself. He slapped his cheeks and shook his head and put on the biggest smile he could muster. "I'm Kirishima! Kirishima Eijirou at your service!"
Ashido turned to smiled back at him, and Kirishima stopped breathing for a second. They finally made it through entrance of the complex and were walking towards the elevators. Fat pressed the button and luckily the elevator was already on their floor. All three walked inside to find it was a bit cramped due to Fat's girth. Kirishima was silently dreading having to be stuck in the elevator like this for the entirety of the ride. He was already missing the SUV. But before he could even adjust himself the doors opened again and Fat said they were there. Kirishima looked at the display and had to blink a couple times to make sure he saw correctly. They were on the second floor. They took an elevator just to get on the second floor of a building with 32 of them. Can they not use the elevator cause of Fat? Couldn't be, he's big, but not that big. So then why…
"Here we are." Fat said in front of an unassuming door, breaking Kirishima out of his current train of thought. A bright pink sign that had the words "Pinky" displayed was the only indication that this was Ashido's apartment. After opening the door inward, the contents of the apartment were on full display. "This is where you'll be staying for as long as you're assigned to Mina." Fat stated while pointing towards the cramped space.
The kitchen was right next to the door and the rest of the space was occupied by an entertainment set, a coffee table, a couch, and a full-sized bed in the corner. Living up to its owner's namesake, almost everything in the room was a hot pink color. From the couch and sheets, to even the remote control for the television.
Before Kirishima could voice any of his concerns, Fat had already shoved him inside after Ashido entered. With a quick wave, and a reminder to Ashido to call him in case she needed anything, the door slammed shut and the massive man was gone. Kirishima stood in awkward silence, while Ashido had already made herself comfortable by plopping onto the couch after discarding her shoes. He had a multitude of questions, but the first one that came out of his mouth was the most pressing one. "Where am I supposed to sleep?" he finally managed to say. He doubted it was what he was thinking, but everything else had been a surprise so he mentally braced himself for the answer.
After muting the tv, Ashido turned towards him with a cheeky grin. "Hope you don't mind pulling out."
Kirishima froze. Before his brain could even try to formulate a response, Mina had already broken out into a giggle. "The couch, silly! It's heavy, but it's a comfortable enough bed thankfully. At least, that's what Tooru told me."
Finally exhaling a breath he didn't realize he was holding, Kirishima tried to compose himself. He assured her the couch was fine, and after checking the walls for any signs of cameras or holes (standard procedure) he figured the room was secure enough. After leaving his shoes in the front he plopped down onto the other end of the couch. Ashido, to his surprise, had put on the news and was watching with a smile on her face. It was a report about an upcoming conference from JAXA, which was going to be given one of its astronauts named Uraraka Ochako. Kirishima recognized the name, but couldn't remember from where. Finally, it clicked in his head once a picture of Ochako was shown on screen.
"Wasn't she part of your graduating class in high school?" he asked. He had perused her past classmates to make sure none of them could be the stalker. Ashido nodded. She was quite proud of her friend's achievements.
"She was one of my best friends back then. We've obviously gone our sperate ways due to how busy we both are, but we still keep in touch through LINE." Ashido said while holding her phone up with the app open. Kirishima noticed there were multiple chats that hadn't been answered. "Honestly, she's amazing. Everyone had expectations of me in high school since the dance team did nationals and all that. But she quietly got the best grades in the class, and ended up being accepted into JAXA's program at 18! Compared to my dream she's gone figuratively and literally above and beyond." Ashido was beaming at this point. Kirishima found it odd that she put her dream down so easily, but he ignored it.
"What exactly is your dream? Is it winning that Japan's best dancer show or something?" he questioned. He hoped he wasn't being too prying. Ashido only giggled in response.
"Nah that's only because I get money from that stuff. I actually want to open up a dance school! So I can teach kids how amazing dancing is!", she got up and gestured towards the room. "It's why I have this dinky apartment by the way. Most of the money I get from my sponsors and ads I've put aside to save for it. I actually wanted to save more, but Fat made me keep more so I could actually 'live comfortably' he says."
Kirishima smiled. He knew she had a good heart but this settled it, he was going to do everything he could to protect her and her dream. He got up from the couch and held his hand out. "Well then I'll make sure you're safe enough that you can open up your school with no worries."
Ashido looked down at his hand and immediately grasped and shook it. She then flashed what had to be the brightest smile so far and said "I look forward to being in your care, Kirishima."
Author's Notes-
Here's amazing fanart from Skeletor from the kirimina server based on this AU- post/171991583973/so-im-supposed-to-be-doing-other-things-and
and speaking of here's the kirimina server, join us in worshiping the horn buddies- /z49aqHC
Hope you enjoyed and I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. I'll be shifting perspectives almost every chapter between the ships and I'll add them to the tags afterwards, so look forward to that! Until next time.