Author's Note:
Greetings!
Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites, and follows! I greatly appreciate them!
According to the votes, including the last minutes and the 'up-to-you's, here is chapter 17! For that special of ShōMiko, I decided that I'm going to type it up then save it until it's time. I really want to show you now, but... I guess the plot is more important!
This chapter is yet to be rechecked or edited so I'm sorry if there's any mistake. It's 3.38 a.m. but I can't wait to post it so here it is! So, without further delay, happy reading!
I just realized that I've been missing the disclaimers LOL
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia.
The Eyes Flirt The Most
Chapter 17 – Promises
She felt like she was floating. There was a familiar feeling of being surrounded by wind and heat.
"—your aunt has also showed her concern. She contacted me because she saw you coming out of a shady pub in Soho. She said you were surrounded by suspicious people. I told you over and over again to be careful with the places you go to and the people you hang out with. Why do you never listen to me?"
Words after words continued to pass through her ears. They went into one ear and out the other. Even though she was still quite out of focus, she realized that she was receiving a sermon. The tone the sermon was delivered was unpleasant. The deliverer was clearly furious.
"Are you listening to me?"
She did. Perhaps? She didn't know. The words spoken sounded weird in her ears. It sounded foreign—almost—but understandable at the same time. It was a different language to the one she spoke daily, but it was a language she understood better.
Odd.
It sounded like English.
With a British accent even.
"Lilith!"
She jumped at the sharp yell. Her eyes blinked, clearing, and she raised her eyes to meet a familiar pair of slanted brown eyes. "…Mother?" she muttered in a confused tone, the English language rolling smoothly off her tongue.
"Have you or have you not been listening to me, Lilith?" Her dark brown hair tied back into a tight low bun, not a single hair out of place, and dressed in a formal suit, Junko looked no different than the strict mother in her memory.
"Yes, Mother."
She was in the same living room—brown walls, red carpet, numerous bookshelves, antique lamps, a fireplace—as the one in her memory. Looking to the side, amber met amber; except it was not the shade of amber that she remembered. It was darker and it missed a certain light within. Reaching up, she gently brushed her brown hair aside, curled into perfectly loose beach wave style.
She was Lilith.
Ah, that's right, Junko called her 'Lilith' earlier.
Turning away from her reflection in the window, Lilith pinched her arm hard. It hurt. This was not a dream, even though it felt so much like one. Lilith knew that this was not the life she led now.
She died, didn't she? Then she was reborn into the world of My Hero Academia, became Midoriya Izuku's sister, obtained her own Quirk, befriended a lot of characters she had no idea was in the actual series or not, and…
Her name was Midoriya Mikoto.
She pinched herself once more. It still hurt. Then was she just daydreaming before this? Was that new life she led a mere dream?
"…What…"
"Lilith! I'm talking to you!" Junko snapped, "Have I ever raised you into someone who can cut others off when they're speaking? What happened to your manners? Your mother is speaking to you, young lady!"
"Yes, Mother." The answer came almost automatically out of her mouth. These two words were instilled deep within her.
Anyway, this was no time to ponder of which life she was living. Her mother was delivering her sermon and she was trained to listen. Otherwise, she would never get to leave her family estate and back into her own flat. She remembered that she had a gathering to attend to in the evening.
Massaging her temple, Junko sighed loudly, making it a point to show how frustrated she was to her daughter. "What did we do wrong raising you? Why did you suddenly turn like this? You were our pride before, Lilith." She sat down on the sofa across from her.
"Mother, let me pour you tea." Lilith dutifully poured the hot lemon balm tea into her mother's cup. It was the perfect tea to cam her down.
"The nightlife these days is even more dangerous than the past." Ignoring the tea Lilith had poured, Junko continued on preaching, "Drugs, frauds, rapists, drunks, street brawls… there all kinds of dangerous out there, yet you continue to prowl around." Instead of taking the tea, Junko picked up several newspapers and threw them in front of Lilith. "See these news? See how dangerous it is?"
"Yes, Mother."
"And those friends of yours… I have always had qualms about your relationships with them. That Margot girl ran away from home to open her own boutique and Peter," Junko sighed, "He was a nice boy, but he refused to inherit his own family's business and he got a boyfriend on top of it all. Your friends are all troublemakers. No wonder you turn the way you are now."
Lilith felt an urge built up within her. She gulped, the inside of her mouth itching, a feeling she quickly tried to wash off by drinking her own tea. Even lemon balm tea couldn't calm down the rapid drumming of her heart. Every beat seemed to send electricity current through the course of her blood.
It was a weird feeling for Lilith, but it was a feeling she had grown to be familiar with.
Her lips—painted a bright red colour—parted, trembling ever so slightly, but before she could let out any sound, the double door opened. Both occupants of the room turned to find a tall, lean older man walked in.
Lilith straightened, stiff, and the words that were about to be said were replaced with a respectful, "Hello, Father."
Her father took one glance at her appearance, shook his head, and uttered, "Embarrassing the family name." under his breath. He passed them without another word towards one of the massive bookshelves lining the walls.
Lilith's relationship with her father was even more strained than with her mother. He was sterner and he never failed to make it clear to her that he abhorred her life decisions. He didn't sugar coat when he told her that he was ashamed of her.
This had happened countless times. Normally, she would keep her lips sealed and silently listened to everything her mother had to say. Today, something was different with her.
Her heart beat even faster, but not out of fear or uneasiness. It felt like every drop of her blood was alive and dancing within her veins. There were butterflies tickling the inside of her stomach. The inside of her mouth itched once more. Words gathered at the tip of her tongue.
"I understand that you underwent a lot of stress, however it isn't something we can't fix. I know a lot of psychiatrists who are very professional and very good at what they do. Let me introduce one of them to you. There is still a chance for you to go back on the right track, Lilith, and I—"
Ah, fuck it.
"Mother!" Junko stopped mid-speech. Lilith's eyes widened ever so slightly. She couldn't believe that she herself raised her voice and cut her mother off, especially after being scolded about it. Lilith felt the rush, heard it, and used it to steel herself and continue. "Thank you very much for always being concerned about me. I really appreciate your thoughts and care, but I'm fine. Even though I've disappointed both you and Father, I've never even once been ashamed of this life and wished I could change back to the old me."
Even after she changed, she had never cut her mother off. Usually, she would listen quietly, behaving, letting her mother finish before she excused herself and left. This was the first time she resisted. Junko was also stunned to the point of silence—not an easy feat.
Speaking your mind felt great. A great weight was taken off of her chest.
It was true that she wished she could patch her relationship with her family, but it was also true that she had never once been ashamed of this life she lived. In fact, she loved this life. No longer having to hide behind a fake obedient persona made her freer than she had ever felt. Her life at the moment, surrounded by good friends—no, family was a blessing she would never take for granted.
"Because, Mother, that old Lilith is no longer me." Her mother's eyes stayed wide, her mouth stayed agape, her posture stayed tense. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that her father hadn't looked up from a book he was reading, but his hands had stopped flipping through it. "I have no regret."
Then, without waiting to hear her mother's response or waiting to gauge her father's reaction, Lilith picked up her bag and bid them goodbye, smiling as brightly as the sun.
Nobody stopped her.
Lilith heard her name being called the moment she stepped inside the karaoke bar. It was a bar she occupied often with her friends. The place was family-owned, quaint, and private. It was not as well known as other bars and thus wasn't every crowded.
"Lithy! Over here!"
"Yes, yes, I heard you once." Smiling at the present faces, Lilith took the empty seat next to Margot. Across from her was her best boy friend—Peter—smiling warmly at her. There were also several other faces. They weren't exactly people she was as close to as Margot and Peter, but they did hang out quite often together.
"Lithy," Margot leaned in to whisper to her ear, "How was your visit? Did your mother yell at you?"
Peter seemed to know what Margot asked because his smile vanished. His brows furrowed and he crossed his arms atop of the table, leaning forward so he could listen.
Lilith smiled at their worried faces. A bright smile bloomed on her face as she replied, "I think it was the best talk I've ever had with my mother."
Margot and Peter sported similar surprised looks on their faces. Lilith chuckled and ordered her drink, ignoring their prodding gazes. Finally, the two looked to each other, understood, and let go of the topic. Their relief was palpable and they were affected by Lilith's good mood.
The intro to a popular peppy pop song started and Margot jumped to her feet. "It's my song! Be right back!" and she was off, everybody cheering after her.
Lilith received her drink and she shot it down in a blink of an eye. The burn of vodka and the sweet yet tarty taste of strawberry were pleasantly missed. It felt like ages since she had sipped any kind of alcohol. She put her glass down and blinked in surprise at the new glass of strawberry berryoshka in front of her.
"I took the liberty to order one more for you." Peter grinned knowingly, "After this, you'll switch it up to a gimlet right? Want me to order that for you too?"
"If you don't mind."
Peter never went back on his word. He ordered for her while she gulped down her cocktail. "So, Lith," Lilith lifted a brow and eyed him over her glass, "I have someone I want to introduce to you."
She put her glass down. She had a feeling she knew where this was going. "Who?"
Grinning attractively, Peter wiped his hand on a piece of napkin before he placed it atop of another hand belonging to a man sitting beside him. "This is Cameron. He's my boyfriend."
"Ah, the one you're always talking about." Smiling in a friendly manner, Lilith stretched out a hand for a shake. "Pleasure to meet you, Cameron. My name's Lilith."
"Hello." Cameron's smile was shy and bashful, but the way he shook her hand was surprisingly firm. "I've heard a lot about you too."
"Good things, I hope."
"Err…"
Lilith's smile darkened. Peter sweat-dropped and hurriedly diverted the topic. "A-anyway, it's good that you finally get to meet each other. Cameron's an artist and he also teaches art classes at a university. Lith's used to modelling for Meg so maybe she can model for you too when you need it."
"That would be helpful."
"Wait, are we talking about nude painting or no?"
"Yes, for my class—"
"Sorry, but refused."
"Why not?" A blonde slung an arm over Lilith's shoulder—Seth. "Don't you wanna be painted like one of those French girls?"
"Very funny." Lilith removed his arm and shooed him. "I don't mind being a model, but certainly not the nude one, especially for a bunch of people. If people," by people she meant her family, "find out, I'm fucking dead."
Cameron didn't seem to take offense to her refusal. He nodded in understanding. "If we need clothed models, we hope you won't mind helping out."
"Sure. Just be sure to contact me before so I can arrange my schedule."
"Lilith's bloody famous with her magic hands. She's got a lot of requests so she's usually really busy." Seth supplied to Cameron, who nodded. Lilith had a feeling Cameron probably already knew of her job and schedule. Peter was the type to wag his tongue when he fell for someone. "I'd love to try out Lilith's magic hands too one of these days."
"Sure, Seth. Just set an appointment and I'll redo that pompadour for you."
"Hey! That's not what I meant!" The table laughed.
Cameron laughed and Peter watched him fondly. Lilith was glad that the artist seemed to be enjoying himself. He didn't seem like the type to go to places like this and hang out with crowds like theirs, but he had Peter to worry about him so Lilith felt a little better.
Geez, she was like a mother hen, to a stranger even. There was no changing this naturally nurturing way of hers.
Soon, Cameron and Peter were in a world of their own. Lilith was happy just seeing how happy they looked together. It also made her strangely satisfied that she finally met Cameron. She felt like she finally accomplished a promise.
She was receiving gossip from the girls, drinking her gimlet, when Margot came. The green-eyed beauty shoved the microphone in Lilith's face. "Go, Lithy, it's your song next!"
"Huh?" Lilith blinked in confusion. "I don't remember picking a song."
"Well, I picked for you! Go on! I really like this song so you better sing it well!"
"If you like it then why don't you sing it yourself?" she asked, but Lilith still took the microphone from Margot's awaiting hand.
"Cause I want to hear you sing it! Go, go, go!"
"All right, all right."
"You're going on stage, Lilith?"
"Wait, someone record it!"
"Whoot, whoot!"
"Stop it! You're all so fucking embarrassing!" Lilith hissed, blushing, but nobody was convinced when she herself laughed. She stood up then went on stage with her friends' cheer in the background.
Ah, what a good day.
"It has to be pink! Pink, okay, Lithy? Cause I wanna dye my hair pink after this and I want'em to match!" Margot slurred, waving her right hand crazily in the air, the other hand stretched out over the coffee table so Lilith could paint the nails a bright neon pink colour.
After the gathering that lasted until well past midnight—because Seth decided they should go bar hopping and dancing after drinking themselves silly, everyone went their own ways. Margot couldn't handle alcohol as well as Lilith could, and thus she was out before the gathering even ended. Lilith had no choice but to drag her best friend to her flat. When she awoken, she had stretched out both hands, refusing to clean up until Lilith did her nails.
"It's pink. Can't you see them? And stop waving them. It's gel."
Margot stopped waving her hand and stared at it unseeingly. "Oh, you're right, I guess."
"You're so drunk." Sighing, Lilith dipped the brush into the bottle, "Why do I have to take care of you?"
Margot stretched her right arm and settled on the coffee table, face-planting on it. "Cause Caleb's too busy cheating with Cindy—Catherine—Cody, whatever her name is… Fuck that guy. I'm breaking up with him this time for sure."
"Good for you." Lilith answered blandly.
"No, I'm serious, Lithy. I've had enough of men cheating on me. I'm too good for them, don'tcha think?" Margot mumbled into the glass table. Lilith was surprised she could even understand her. "I'mma break up with that arsehole first thing in the morning. I promise."
Lilith chuckled. "All right. I'll be sure to remind you, in case you forget."
"Hmph. I won't."
Lilith wished she truly wouldn't. Margot had had bad luck with men all her life. It was like a curse she inherited from her mother, who hopped from a man's bed to another. When her first boyfriend cheated on her, Lilith had remembered dragging Margot to the bastard's place, beating him up until he apologized to Margot. The same thing happened three more times. Caleb was her latest victim, but unlike usual, Margot was actually still in a relationship with the sleaze.
"After you break up with him, let's steal all his Barbie underwear and hang them in the street."
Margot howled with laughter. "Great idea! I have photos of him wearing them so he can't deny that they are his!"
"Good job, Meg."
"Hee-hee…"
Lilith finished on the last nail and gently pulled Margot's hand into the UV lamp to dry the gel polish. Hearing Margot's promise to never settle on the wrong guy and doing her manicure like this, it made her feel like she had managed to accomplish another promise. Her shoulders felt light.
Something changed within her today. Whether it was a dream, or whether her other life was a dream, all that mattered was that she managed to fulfil a bunch of promises today. She managed to tell her parents that she was fine, she managed to meet Peter's boyfriend, and she managed to hear Margot's promise of changing her love life and gave her a free manicure. She couldn't remember exactly why she felt like these were things she owed them, but she knew that they were her debts.
Today, she genuinely felt happier, freer, and braver than she had ever felt.
The UV lamp died and Mikoto checked to make sure the nail polish was dry before she put it away. "There. All done."
"Yayyyy~"
"You're not gonna check?" Lilith asked when Margot didn't lift her head.
"Hm," Margot hummed in thought. Then she shook her head and giggled into the table. "Nope. You'll be gone after I see them."
"Excuse me? Whose place do you think you're at?" Margot only giggled in response. Lilith sighed at her friend's weirdness when she got drunk. "Hey, c'mon, look at them. I feel insecure when my job isn't approved."
Margot slapped the table a few times. "No, no! You gotta change this habit!" she huffed. Lilith pinched her to stop her from slapping her glass table. "Lithy, you has to—"
"Have to."
"—have to stop thinking that you can only get praises when you do a good job!"
Lilith blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You don't have to fake perfection to get people to look at you! There's nothing wrong with having flaws! So what if you want to have ice cream for breakfast or if you don't eat your bell peppers? Veggies are gross anyway!" Margot went on a rant. Once again, she began to slap the table. "In the first place, your parents are too strict on you! When we met, you didn't even know what a Pikachu was!"
"Meg, what are you talking about?"
"You're so smart, but you're also the dumbest person I know! Screw being perfect! It never makes Petey and I happy and wanna praise you when we see you acting all smiley and fakey. Like, like, you're so perfect or something!" Finally, Margot lifted her head, those bright green eyes shining with unshed tears and frustration. "If you're fine, say you're fine. If you're not, then say you're not! Lithy has to learn to be more honest. Promise me!"
"Hey, seriously—"
"Promise!"
Lifting both hands in surrender, Lilith shook her head with a defeated smile. "All right, I promise I'll be more honest. Now will you go clean up so we can go to bed?"
Margot's eyes narrowed at her. "Really? You really promise? You'll be honest? Even when Petey and I aren't there to keep you in check?"
"I promise."
There was a long silence. Dark amber and peridot green stayed in contact for a long time. Until Margot finally blinked, her tears gone, and her lips stretched into a wide grin. "Great!" then she stood up and ran to the bathroom.
Lilith stood up as well to clean up.
"Don't forget your promise!" Lilith shouted, the shower running in the background.
"I won't!" Lilith shouted back, "And close the door next time! I'll hit you if you wet the floor!"
"So, Lithy…"
"Go to sleep, Meg."
"It's important!"
Lilith sighed. "What?"
"Are you going to be fine?"
"Hm?"
"Are you going to be fine even if you don't have Petey and I to take care of you?"
Lilith smirked into the darkness of her bedroom, lit only by the moonlight. "At this point, it's more like I take care of the both you."
"Well, that's true…"
There was a shuffling noise then Margot was suddenly plastered to her side. Lilith opened her eyes and turned her head to the side. Margot was gazing up at her. Those bright green eyes seemed to hold their own light in the darkness.
Lilith's eyes unknowingly softened. Green was a memorable colour for her. Green was a colour of love and warmth.
"Meg, your eyes are really beautiful."
Margot blinked. "Are you flirting with me?" she scrunched her nose. "Lithy, I'm technically still in a relationship and I don't cheat. I technically still have a boyfriend."
"A cheating boyfriend."
Margot pouted and rolled onto her stomach. "Well, at least I don't sleep around." Lilith laughed at that, but didn't deny. It was true. She did sleep around. "What's your type anyway? You're with different people each time and they don't seem to have any similarities."
Lilith mulled over it then answered seriously, "I don't think I have a type."
"How can that be?"
"I just don't really care for appearances."
"Hmm…" Margot crossed her arms under her chin then she counted, "That guy from three months ago was a musician right? The next one to come was a teacher. Then it was a nurse in training and the next one had neon green hair. The next one was a banker, I think. Then it was that guy who obviously had plastic surgery. Next was a cook."
"I love breakfast in bed."
Margot rolled her eyes. "Then it was a stripper, right? The twins? I can't believe you're actually with the two of them." Lilith laughed loudly. "The next one was… what, a firefighter?"
"Wasn't he a police?"
"How can you yourself not remember?"
"I do remember that his stamina's really great and his—"
"Ew! I don't wanna know that!" Lilith's laughter got louder when Margot glared at her.
"But as I said," Lilith repeated when her laugher finally calmed, "I don't care much about appearance. Stuff like that doesn't matter to me."
"But there has to be at least a quality you appreciate right? If not the appearance then what about the personality? Someone kind? Smart? Hard-working?"
Mikoto hummed in thought. Things like romance and type weren't something she thought about often, especially at her age. She herself had decided to just live a free single life and showered all her motherly love to her best friend's children in the future.
She closed her eyes and thought about it for a long time. The impatient Margot was actually patient for once as she waited in silence. Ultimately, an answer finally came to mind when she remembered a recognizable giddiness bubbling in her chest. She remembered the courage, warmth, strength, and the bizarre desire to cry and laugh at the same time.
"Well," she began, lips curling back into a smile, "If I have to spend my life together with someone, it'll be nice if that person is someone who can accept me for all I am."
Margot's jaw dropped. Her eyes widened. "Lithy, you're surprisingly romantic."
"I'm not."
"You totally are!" Margot twittered in joy. "This is great! I'm going to tell this to Petey and we're going to join hands to get revenge for all the teasing you did to us!"
Amused, Lilith knocked her knuckles to the back of Margot's head. "You guys are welcome to try." Pulling the comforter higher up, she shifted to a more comfortable position then closed her eyes. "All right. Now go to sleep."
Margot puffed her cheeks as she pouted. "You're so not fun!" but she rolled over on her back and pulled the comforter up to cover herself. "Goodnight, Lithy."
"Goodnight, Meg."
Right before she truly fell asleep, she felt Margot shifted, felt a warm kiss to her temple, then heard a sweet praise, "The nails look great, by the way. Thanks, Lithy! Love you!"
She managed to mumble, eyes glued closed. "Love you too..."
She was shaken awake. Bright lights hit her right in the eyes, causing them to water and closed. "What the hell?"
"Are you okay?!" a panicked male voice inquired to her face.
She wasn't the type that woke up all fuzzy and confused. When she woke up, her brains were always ready to start the day. It was weird that she felt so disoriented. She felt light-headed and fuzzy—like she had just drunk a lot of alcohol. She reached up a hand to rub her eyes, shocked to a stop when she felt them wet and sticky.
Finally, she opened her eyes. In front of her was a familiar rugged face, twisted in worry. "…Tora?"
"You okay?"
"What happened?"
"You fell asleep after lunch and started crying all of a sudden." Tora explained as he backed away. He took her hand and checked her pulse. "I thought you had a nightmare or something."
She blinked several times to fix her sight. The TV was off and she could see her reflection.
She was Mikoto.
"I made cold compress." Shūko's familiar high-pitched voice broke her confusion. The blonde came out of the kitchen to give Mikoto her cold compress. "Here. For your eyes."
"Thanks." Mikoto took them dazedly.
"Did you have a good nap?" Shūko asked. She seemed to be in a really good mood. She was practically skipping as she cleaned the living room. "Tora was being a worrywart and disturbing your sleep. You should apologize, Tora."
"For what? I did nothing wrong." Huffing, Tora crossed his arms and turned away from her. He sat down on the other couch across from her. Discreetly, he tried to wipe his cold sweat.
"You disturbed her sleep! Still think you did nothing wrong?" Shūko scolded. "If you had let her sleep longer, maybe she could have unwound some more of those chains!"
Mikoto frowned in confusion. "Chains?"
Shūko pointed to her own chest. "Yeah, those chains around your heart I told you about?" Mikoto placed a hand on her chest. She felt her fast heartbeat. "They were making a racket just now. Some of them started to unwind like crazy." Mikoto was surprised. Shūko winked, grinning like she just won the lottery.
The cold compress felt nice against her heated eyes. Mikoto leaned her head back when she felt the tears building up.
Even if it was merely a dream, being able to meet her parents, Peter, and Margot again was… wow, how could she put this feeling into words? Knowing that, even though it was only a dream, she at least managed to fulfil all those uncompleted promises and said all she had wanted to say was otherworldly.
No pun intended.
Her lips quirked up into a bright wide beaming smile. She had a really good dream.
She reached out both hands blindly and wriggled her fingers. "Hand!"
"Huh?" Her two older friends chorused.
"Hand! Hand! Hand!" she chanted.
"What's wrong with you?" Tora was confused, but he placed his big hand in hers. It was rough and the skin was callused, but it was very warm. Tora's hand made her feel safe. "You're acting like a kid."
Shūko giggled. "Well, it's kinda cute." She teased then she placed her hand on Mikoto's other hand. "You're really happy right now. Was your dream that good?"
Mikoto didn't answer the two of them. She only grasped their hands tightly in hers. She brought their hands closer and held them tightly to her chest. "Thank you." She said in a soft whisper. "I'm really blessed to be born as Midoriya Mikoto."
Tora and Shūko didn't understand what she was talking about. They knew she had a good dream and she was happy, but they didn't have the ability to read minds. They didn't know what exactly transpired in her dream to make her so happy.
"I don't get what's happening, but you seem to be in good condition. We'll go back up the mountain in ten minutes."
"It makes me happy to see how you've grown over the year. Shall I take out the strawberries later?"
Mikoto laughed merrily. "Okay. I'm fine now."
Thank you, God, for bringing her into this world.
Time passed in the blink of an eye. Before she knew it, winter changed to spring. Mikoto was finally in her third year of junior high school. A lot of things happened in these three years. There were a lot of good, but also a lot of sadness and anger.
Looking up, Mikoto smiled and inhaled the fresh air, her eyes appreciating the beautiful sight of the cherry blossom blooming. The pink petals scattered with the wind. Some were stuck in her hair, looking like little hair decorations.
She stretched her arms up high, going to her tiptoes, before exhaling and finally relaxing. Turning to look over her shoulder, Mikoto called out, "Shō-chan, hurry!" Shōto quickened his pace until he reached her side. Then they continued walking. "As I was saying, we can't go home together for some time starting tomorrow. I got casted for another commercial so I'm going to spend most after schools shooting."
"Will you be fine? It's almost U.A's entrance exam."
Mikoto had asked Tora if he would recommend her to U.A, only to get a hit to the head and a raise in her training schedule. Tora was really merciless.
"Well, I'm well prepared for the written exam. As for the practical test," she paused to blow the pink petal that landed on her nose, "I'm confident. Tora praised me yesterday. He said he could see my improvement."
"That's great." Shōto nodded. "Congrats."
"Thanks!"
They continued walking, Mikoto's chattering about all kind of stuffs, Shōto listening and nodding along. The wind swept over the cherry blossom trees once again, blowing the pink petals and landing them in their hair. None of them did anything to remove the petals.
"Riri seems really happy these days."
Mikoto chuckled. "I am."
"Did something good happen?"
"A lot of good things happened." She confirmed with a satisfactory nod.
"That's good."
"Indeed." Shouldering her bag, Mikoto stepped closer to her best friend, grinning. "It's all thanks to Shō-chan."
Shōto was baffled. "I didn't do anything."
Mikoto shook her head in disagreement. "The reason I am the way I am now is because of Shō-chan. I'm really glad that I met you." she stopped, Shōto following after. Raising both hands, she squished his soft cheeks. Her eyes turning into crescents, she beamed brilliantly at her best friend, "Thank you, Hero!"
Shōto's eyes widened. His lips parted, but he didn't make a sound for a long minute. His eyes were fixed on her face, unmoving, unwavering. He almost didn't blink.
"Riri," he eventually said, "You look like an angel."
She maintained her expression into a pout. "What? I don't always look like an angel?" No reply. Shōto cleverly shut his mouth and looked aside. She squeezed his cheeks in punishment. "I take offense."
"My bad."
It really was hard to hold back her laughter with Shōto. "You're so cute, Shō-chan." She teased. Letting go of his cheeks, she linked their arms together and dragged him onwards. "Okay, let's go. If we continue dilly-dallying, we'll be late."
"Riri was the one who stopped."
"But didn't you stop as well?"
"You stopped first."
"What matters is you followed." She rebutted. Shōto's lips pursed into a little pout. Most people wouldn't be able to discern it from his usual blank expression, but Mikoto would be able to see it from miles away. "All right, I'm the one who stopped first."
"You are."
"Shō-chan, a gentleman shouldn't hold grudges over small things." She lectured playfully. "Hey, let's go to a karaoke after school. I'm really in the mood to belt my heart out today."
"I've never been to karaoke before."
"Then today is your first time. Let's sing a lot together."
"Okay."
"It's a promise, then. Now let's go. We're really going to be late."
"Mn. Let's go."
To Be Continued…
And with that, we closed the curtains to the second arc! I wonder what this arc should be called. The Acceptance Arc? The Growth Arc? But Mikoto still had a lot of growth to go through... Maybe just the Acceptance Arc then! Cause the most important thing in this arc is Mikoto finally being able to accept herself and taking a step forward because of it.
So, I guess the next time we meet we'll be the start of the canon arch, yeah? Wow, I can't wait.
By the way, Rain Sennin mentioned in their review that I should try to get a fanart for Mikoto. So how do I do this? Should I just ask for volunteers?
If any of you would like to draw Mikoto, please DM me and I guess we can discuss the details more? Maybe I should draw like a draft or something as a base. In return, I'll of course give you a shoutout (if that means anything LOL) and maybe I can dedicate a chapter for you? Maybe I can take up a request (as long as it's within my capabilities)?
Well, in any case, please DM me and we'll just go with the flow, okay? Thank you very much! I hope I'll actually get people actually volunteering for this XD
Thank you for reading, everyone! Please leave me lots of love this time as well!