Hey, hello! This chapter is ALL about the Cultural Festival!
Regarding my thoughts about putting this story on hold, I decided to do it. I want to let the manga advance more before I start implementing more of the plot I had in mind. Don't worry, I won't abandon this story, so hopefully you won't be too disappointed about my decision.
As for how many chapters before I put it on hold, I'd say about one or two depending on the chapter lengths.
Now, let's move on to the chapter.
"Hmm, hmm, hmmm, hmmm, hm~"
A woman long dark brown hair and gray eyes hummed a song while going through the files on her desk. A smile was stretched on her face as she came across the paper she was looking for. With her fingers, she plucked it on of the file and kicked back against the floor, forcing her desk chair to roll back to her computer. She slapped the paper onto the table and began typing away at the computer with her constant humming. She didn't even bother looking up when she heard several knocks on her door.
"Come in." she said monotonously.
The door opened, revealing two people behind it. The first person to enter the office was a woman and the second one was a man. The guy shut the door behind him once they entered, the woman walked up to the desk of the working woman and dropped vial on her desk. It was filled with red liquid.
"We successfully recuperated the blood from the raid, like you asked us to."
"Did anyone see you?"
"Nah," the guy replied as he walked closer. "It was easy to do it with my Quirk."
The brunette nodded, satisfied.
"By the way, did you get a good answer from him?" the woman asked the brunette.
"Yeah. My hunch was right." she gave them a thumbs up. "He really couldn't help it."
She looked away from her screen and retracted her hands away from her keyboard. She eyed the vial on her desk for a moment before holding it up to the light, wondering about what she was holding in her hand. Would this blood sample bring her closer to the goal she sought to achieve? Or was it a dead end?
"Tatsuki, Yuusei. Thank you."
Yuusei titled his head. "Shall we go get the things for the analysis?" he asked Tatsuki.
The brown haired lady smiled. "Yes. I'm eager to get an answer for those two." she answered for Tatsuki.
Tatsuki smiled back. "Okay."
The two newcomers left the vial with the computer woman and left quietly, leaving the woman to mutter to herself. "I just need to find the last pillar if things go right."
She set the bottled blood back safely on her desk before moving back to the computer.
"Who could it be~?"
The tapping of computer keys echoed in the quiet office once more. On top of her desk lied a professional triangular sign with a name engraved on it.
Shinketsu Kizuko (震獗 冀健)
After a failed attempt to try and come up with a plan for the Cultural Festival, Aizawa gave them the rest of the day to come up with an idea. If they failed to come up with something by the next day then a public lecture would be held for Class 1-A during the day of the festival. A threat the class knew they shouldn't take lightly. The decision would be left with those who weren't involved in the supplementary lessons. Fortunately for Mizuha, that was perfect. She didn't really have anything to contribute to the class, nothing came to mind during the whole class. One idea came up but she was sure it wasn't good enough for something the whole class could enjoy. It was quickly brushed aside. So, she chose to sit there wait for the class to come up with something. Hopefully, they came up with something by the time they finished their lessons.
She was sitting next to Kirishima when Aizawa suddenly said something that caught her full attention.
"Eri wants to see Midoriya and Mizuha?"
Aizawa nodded, "Yes. Strictly speaking, she's concerned about Midoriya, Togata and Hyoumei. Apparently, it's her first request since being admitted to the hospital."
Mizuha scratched her cheek. "Why would she want to see me? Togata and Midoriya were the ones who most likely left an impression on her."
Aizawa gave her a look. "You don't give yourself enough credit. It doesn't take much to have an impact on a child. Besides, you were there to protect her, were you not?"
"I mean… yeah."
She probably remembered that I literally had a frigging hole in my body.
Mizuha yawned while she entered her room and shut the door behind her. She finished her nightly shower, she felt refreshed and ready for bed. Her body would still function until two in the morning, but the supplementary lessons took longer than she thought. She felt drained.
She was greeted by Sho letting out a bark, causing her to shush him with a finger to her lips. The white dog seemed quite pleased when his owner started stroking his head. She smiled a little.
He's so cute.
Then she let out another yawn.
Sho did as well.
Mizuha let out a giggle at that. "Are you also tired, Sho?" she asked softly while still stroking. As if answering her question, he started nuzzling his nose against her palm. Her expression softened, she made up her mind.
She got up and turned off the light. While carrying Sho, she opened her bed and got in with him. She instantly snuggled up to Sho and then fell asleep.
Mizuha saw the car that Present Mic was going to drive. He was more than happy to drive them to the hospital when his friend asked him to. He wasn't too busy with school related matters anyway. As soon as Aizawa started getting into the passenger seat in the front, Togata was already on his way in. Midoriya looked at Mizuha and smiled, gesturing for her to get in next. Mizuha wasn't exactly blessed with what she liked to call 'stick-leg genes'. Thankfully, it didn't look like they were going to be squished together, especially with Togata's built.
Togata had a basket of fruits sitting on his lap during the ride. It was for Eri.
While the two interns from Nighteye's began chatting together, Mizuha actually dozed off and dropped her head on Togata's shoulder without meaning to. She just got bored of watching the scenery outside the window. Plus, she made it a point to not take out her phone from her pocket (unless she needed to check something) until she saw Eri.
…
…
…
"Sorry we couldn't come and see you sooner." Midoriya apologized with a smile.
Mizuha waved her hand.
"Here's a fruit basket!" Togata exclaimed. He held up for Eri to see. "Eat some if you'd like!"
Mizuha looked around the room and found four stools sitting in the corner. She went to get three by holding holding two and nudging the third with her foot. Midoriya saw this and quickly went to help her. She went ahead and sat right in the middle of the two boys, right in front of Eri.
As soon as they were seated, Togata gave her the basket of fruits. "Is there a fruit you like? Can I try guessing? It's peaches, right? 'Cause you're like a peach!"
Eri eyed the fruits in the basket. "Apples."
"Just like I thought!"
Mizuha glanced at the third year and let out a small chuckle. Togata took out the small knife he brought along with him and started cutting them into bunny shaped slices. Mizuha actually got caught up in his work, she never actually saw someone cut them into those cute shapes. Her mother usually gave her normal slices whenever she gave her some to eat.
It was only after eating a couple of slices that Eri started talking.
"This whole time, even when I had a fever, I was thinking… about when you rescued me. But I didn't know your name."
Mizuha blinked and tilted her head. Who was she talking to?
She turned to Midoriya. "I only knew Lemillion-san and Celsius-san. I wanted to know your name."
"I'm Midoriya Izuku. My hero name is Deku! Um, maybe since Deku is shorter, it's easier to remember… so yeah… Just call me Deku!"
"Hero name…?"
"It's like a nickname."
"Deku-san."
Midoriya nodded, "That's right!"
She slowly looked to the far left where Togata sat. "Lemillion-san," she looked at Mizuha. "Celsius-san," then she turned to Midoriya again. "Deku-san. And…" she lowered her gaze. "And... that man with the glasses."
The three stiffened.
"Everyone… were badly injured because of me. Because of me, you all suffered… I'm sorry."
Guilt. It was written all over her face. She was hanging onto that guilt. Mizuha was familiar with the feeling. She knew knew that Eri needed to let it go because it wasn't her fault. The older girl frowned when she saw Eri tear up a little.
"It… It was my fault that you lost your power, Lemillion…"
Before she could say anymore, Togata placed a gentle hand on her head as he smiled. Surprised, Eri looked up at the third year.
"Eri-chan. No one thought they were suffering. This is what we all think: 'I'm glad Eri is okay!'. There's no point in apologizing to someone who doesn't exist. Don't worry about it. Everyone fought because they wanted to see your smile!"
He sat back down and continued smiling. There was moment of silence. The little girl started stretching her mouth, causing the three to look at each other. Then she started stretching her cheeks.
"… What's wrong?" Mizuha finally asked, speaking up for the first time.
Eri lowered her hands and looked at the bedsheet. "I'm sorry… How do you smile again?"
Ah…
Mizuha breathed out through her nose quietly before leaning forward to drum her fingers on the bed to get Eri's attention. The little girl looked at the older one.
"Don't worry about it. You don't need to force yourself to smile. It'll come naturally."
"… Do you really think so?"
Mizuha nodded. "I don't really smile a lot. I bet I haven't even smiled once since I came in here. I guess you could say I have trouble smiling. But sometimes, it just comes out without me knowing."
If I think about what makes me smile, then it should be something that makes me happy. I'm sure that applies to everyone. But what could make her super happy right now?
Midoriya suddenly shot up from his seat, startling Mizuha. Everyone watched as he went to Aizawa who was just leaning against the door, watching them. "Aizawa-sensei! Could Eri leave the hospital for just one day?"
"It's not impossible, but anyway, she's going to be transferred to—"
"Then, can Eri come too? To the Cultural Festival! Can Eri come, too?"
Mizuha gasped. "Right…"
"Cultural Festival?" she inquired.
Togata whipped around in his seat to face Eri. "Eri-chan! This is a great idea! There's this thing called a 'Cultural Festival'! It's a festival put on by our school! The student set up events and foods for other students to enjoy! And apples! They'll probably even have candy apples!"
"Candy apples?" Eri repeated, curious.
Mizuha put a hand under her chin. "Aren't those the apples on a stick that taste very sweet? Like candy-sweet?"
Togata nodded. "Yeah! That one! Sweeter apples!"
"Sweeter…" Eri whispered. She started salivating to the point where her saliva started dribbling down her chin. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and wiped her mouth, making Mizuha grin at the futile attempt.
"All right." Aizawa said after pulling out his phone. "Let's talk it over with the principal."
Midoriya went over to Eri. "Eri-chan, what do you think?" he asked with a grin.
"I thought… About the people who saved me… when I was saved… I thought about how I wanted to know more about everyone!"
"I'll tell you more than you want to know!" Togata said cheerfully. Then he looked at the two first years. "Let's work on the principal, too, to get him to say 'yes'!"
Midoriya nodded. "Okay!"
Mizuha frowned, "How? With cheese?"
"If that doesn't work then that's okay. We can still find other ways to convince the principal!" Togata reassured with pure optimism.
Wait… you actually considered it?! Man, he's really down to get Eri out of here for the Cultural Festival.
"I'm on a break from school right now, so I can stay with you the whole time on our date!" Togata said cheerfully.
Eri blinked and cocked her head to the side, "Date?"
Midoriya and Mizuha slowly looked at Togata.
"An outing taken by a man and a woman who are intimate!"
"An outing taken by a man and a woman…"
Mizuha deadpanned, "What the fuc—" Togata and Midoriya's eyes widened and they immediately pressed their hands on her mouth. She literally had four hands on her face. Through small gaps between their fingers, she gave them apologetic looks with her eyes.
Eri looked at her in confusion, wondering what she was going to say.
Midoriya and Togata looked at her in disbelief, shaking their heads. Mizuha muffled an apology before taking their hands off of her face with a sheepish look.
She needed put a tight lid on her inappropriate vocabulary for a while.
Uraraka shivered, "Aren't you cold, Mizuha?"
"That's a funny question." Kirishima mused, making the platinum blonde haired girl laugh next to him.
"It's just a little cold tonight!" Uraraka defended before pointing at Mizuha's top clothes. "And she's wearing the sleeveless jacket. So, I thought it she might be cold!"
"It's fall now." Midoriya said in agreement.
Mizuha tugged her long white sleeve, "I still have the long sleeves."
"It's not that much of a walk from the school to the dormitory." Tsuyu pointed out with a finger on her face.
Kirishima grinned, "Mizuha uses ice. And she is cold."
Mizuha snickered.
When they arrived inside the dorm, they found their classmates in the common room, most likely discussing about the Cultural Festival. They quickly joined them and got caught up with the others. They were glad to be finally done and caught up with their extra lessons. They were ready and eager to help their class.
They decided on doing a type of concert that involved dancing and stage effects. Jiro was on the bass, Yaoyorozu on the keyboard and Bakugo on the drums. Now, they needed to know who was going to sing.
"You're not going to sing, Jiro?" wondered Uraraka.
This made the music loving student jump. "Huh?! Oh no, we still haven't—"
"If it's vocals you want, I can do it! It'll make me popular!" Mineta exclaimed.
"I can be a disco ball and sing!" Aoyama proposed.
"Yeah! I can't play instruments, But I'm a pretty good singer!" Kirishima exclaimed confidently. He grabbed the mic from the stand. "CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP, YOU BASTARDS TOOK IT AWAY~!"
Mizuha and Byakuren cocked their heads to the side.
Suddenly, Mineta started screeching into the mic. Next thing he knew, he was slumped on the floor. Byakuren put down the mic stand while Mizuha sighed with the mic in her hand.
"Trying to make us go deaf?" she muttered before putting the microphone back where it was supposed to be.
"Can you sing, Mizuha?" Byakuren wondered. "Maybe I'm just imagining it but I think you said something about singing once…?"
The girl shook her head. "First of all, I'm not doing it. Second, I can't. I used to sing as a child for fun but I lost that ability years ago. Now, I probably sound like a dying whale."
Byakuren laughed.
Sometimes, when she was alone, she would start singing in the house. She wholeheartedly believed that she sang like something that just died. So, whenever she heard the slightest noise in her house, her mouth would seal shut. At the dorm, she had to constantly remind herself not to get into the habit of singing to herself. Thankfully, she wasn't foolish enough to forget that she had neighbours on the other side of her walls.
"I'm with Ochaco-chan!" Hagakure told Jiro. "I think it should be you, Jiro!"
Before she could even protest, Hagakure grabbed the mic stand and gave it to her. Jiro looked unsure for a moment, but the everyone around her watched in anticipation. It was so hard to refuse when everyone was asking for the same thing. Jiro sighed before stepping in front of it. She took in a deep breath. Then she sang a few lyrics of song she knew by heart.
"Amazing!"
"My ears are so happy!"
"What a husky, sexy voice!"
"Right? RIGHT?!"
"All right!" Iida exclaimed. "It's unanimous, then!"
"Okay then, that's that…" Jiro said while blushing. "Now, we still need guitarists! I want two!"
Tokoyami and Kaminari took on the role.
"Now for the Stage Team!" Iida announced.
Mizuha rubbed her eyes after she yawned. It was getting pretty late and it was nearly eight. They still needed to respect Aizawa's curfew if they wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. Mizuha didn't even notice that it became silent around her until a few seconds had passed. She lowered her hand and looked around. Everyone was staring at her.
Mizuha looked at them weirdly. "What?"
"You should totally be in the Stage Team!" Ashido exclaimed. "You just have to be in it!"
"She's the artsy one so she should be super creative with the stage effects!" Hagakure piped up next to her.
"I'll be in the Stage Team." Byakuren said with his hand up. "I've done some behind the scenes work in middle school."
Iida nodded, "That's great!"
"In that case, I'll do effects too!" Kirishima volunteered cheerfully.
Koda also raised his hand to volunteer.
"I'm more suited for effects." Todoroki said quietly.
"I will be the disco ball!" Aoyama declared.
"I wanna use my tape!" said Sero.
The current members of the Stage Team looked at Mizuha who shrugged with her hands in her jacket pockets. "Sure. I don't mind."
"Don't give us any half-assed effects!" Bakugo warned her while pointing his drumstick in her direction. Her lazy attitude was no secret after all.
She stuck her tongue out.
It was 10 PM.
Everyone was asleep.
Except for the night owl of Class 1-A.
She was sitting on her bed tapping away at her laptop while a small light kept the room dim. Her thoughts after being put into the Stage Team was: how could she contribute to the performance? Everyone seemed to determined to get their concert to work the way they imagined it to be.
The concert needed to take place in one of the gyms on campus, especially if Aoyama wants to be a disco ball.
She went to U.A.'s school website and immediately checked out the virtual campus. She couldn't just run out in the middle of the night. Someone was bound to find her, especially Hound Dog.
Her screen currently had two notes open. One for the ideas she heard back when everyone was throwing ideas and another for the list of possible locations.
Her hand went under her chin.
Everyone in the gym should be enjoying the show. Our class and the audience. It should also be something that would be worth a person's time.
Mizuha's head shot up when she heard noise, thinking it was Aizawa walking in the hallway, she closed the lid of her laptop and tucked in under her bed. She was about to dive under her comforter until she saw Sho walking into her view.
Her right eye twitched.
She didn't want to try her luck any further.
Sleep seemed like a good idea now.
The Stage Team was in the common room at a table. Papers and computers were open and ready for note taking. Mizuha was sitting near Kirishima and Sero at the end of the table directly in front of the white haired boy. Her dog was sitting at her feet as she listened to what the others were saying.
"Perhaps we could move Aoyama around instead of keeping him in one place?" Koda suggested out of the blue as he looked at his notes. "It would be nice since he could shoot his lasers from different parts of his body now. We could spread him across the whole area."
Sero dropped his hand in his fist. "I see, that's a great idea! Let's talk to the dance team about it!"
Kirishima leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Ahh, but that means we don't have enough people. We need someone to move him around now."
Byakuren looked at the windows that allowed him to take a peek at the Dance Team outside. "… We need manpower for that."
"Then, Midoriya should do it." Todoroki proposed.
Koda nodded in agreement.
Mizuha lightly tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes. The new proposition for Aoyama seemed to fit well with idea she came up with last night. She thought about it while trying to sleep. She thought it would be nice to have bubbles of water floating around the gym. They would reflect the light as they float, creating a beautiful effect. She would know because she once tried it in her room when she had a color changing night light.
While the boys continued discussing, Kirishima realized that Mizuha still hadn't said a word during the whole meeting. When he looked at her, he found her thinking to herself. Her finger was taping against the table softly so it wouldn't make too much noise. The red head put a hand on her arm and shook her out of her thoughts gently.
"What are you thinking about? Got any ideas?" He asked with a smile. He was welcoming any ideas, especially if they were being considered by the creative student of the class. Mizuha stared at him, she bit the inside of her lip as she hesitated to talk.
"Um…"
"Don't be shy, go ahead. We could use some ideas." Sero encouraged with a grin.
The girl slightly puffed out her right cheek, unsure. But one of her hands, hidden from the others' view, loosened and she relaxed. She saw no point in shying away if she wanted to contribute. So she told them her idea. She even gave them a demonstration by floating water bubbles and lighting them up by using her phone's flashlight. While she did, she glanced at the boys and was glad to see how impressed when they saw something so simple become pretty. Kirishima was the first to exclaim that it was a good idea followed by the rest of the members of the team. She saw how Koda was nodding his head in agreement, he seemed thrilled by the idea too.
"We should reserve the gym we want before other classes do." Todoroki suddenly said when looking over the notes.
Byakuren nodded. "I'll run over to the Teachers' Office once we've decided."
Kirishima got up from his seat. "I'll go tell the Dance Team what we decided."
"I'll go with you. I wanna walk a bit." Mizuha said while stretching her arms back before getting up.
On their way to the front door, Kirishima kept commenting on her water idea, especially when he realized that it could reflect on the people below. When they opened the doors, they found Togata and Eri standing with the group they were looking for. The boy was the first to race down the stairs to join them.
"Eri-chan! Hey there! Wait, you don't know who I am, huh?"
When Mizuha saw Togata wave her over, she started jogging towards the group with Sho tailing after her. However, her dog started running past her when he noticed Togata from afar. Mineta was knocked over when the dog bulldozered his way there. He skidded to a stop in front of the third year and started barking happily. Mizuha, who was afraid that Sho might scare Eri, started bolting after him. She knocked Mineta away when he stood back up and got in her path.
Iida gaped. "Hyoumei-kun!"
"Hey, Sho!" Togata gushed before crouching down and petting the dog. He felt a tug on his shirt, causing him to look at the shy little girl. She seemed a little uneasy about the dog.
"Aw, don't worry Eri. This is Sho, he's a good boy." he assured her. "Try petting him, he's super soft."
Kirishima grinned. "Yeah, he won't bite!"
Mizuha hovered her hands since she didn't know what to do. Her dog was behaving so she didn't have to pull him away. The little girl didn't seem too frightened either. Her eyes widened a little when she saw Eri reaching her small hand towards the dog. She gently and cautiously landed it on the dog's head who was almost the same size as her if not smaller. When she sensed that the dog was calm, she started petting him a little.
Sho's tail started swishing back and forth.
Togata grinned. "He's soft, right?"
Eri nodded. "Yeah."
Togata looked at the girl in front of him and smiled. "We're going to walk around with Eri to let her get used things here." he told her while pointing at Midoriya who was running back to the dorm to change into his uniform.
Mizuha nodded. "Oh, that's a good idea."
"Are you coming too?" Eri suddenly asked.
Mizuha looked at her. "Hm?" she hummed and her eyebrows rose a bit.
"Do you want her to come?" Togata asked Eri curiously.
"If it's okay…"
Mizuha felt a surprised. It was obvious that Midoriya and Togata were much better companions since they were positive influences. Mizuha wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine. If she had to measure herself, she would situate herself in the center but a little towards Amajiki while Togata stood at the other side. Perhaps it was really because she had an impact on the child despite not doing as much as the two boys.
Mizuha shrugged and put her hands in her sweater pockets. "I don't mind." she said with a little forced quick smile. She turned to Kirishima and gave him a sheepish look.
"Naw, it's fine. Go ahead." he quickly said before she could even say something. "We'll fill you in on the stuff you missed."
At that, the girl then ran back inside the dorm and went to her room to go change into her uniform.
They first went inside the school to check out how things were going for those preparing things indoors before checking outside. There were many in hallways, some were in the process of being made while some were simply out to set them aside. Eri was walking while holding on Togata's jacket, looking around curiously. For some reason, she also felt at ease having Sho walk in front of her as a little bodyguard. The idea of having a soft animal bouncing around was appealing for Eri.
"Oh, it's Togata!"
They stopped when two third years from the Business Course approached them. The one holding box suddenly gasped when his eyes landed on Eri, causing the girl to move backward a bit.
"What?! A kid?! Don't tell me this is why you're on temporary leave from school…?!"
Mizuha watched as Togata only smiled in an enigmatic manner, leaving the student in a small panic. The student with lighter brown hair came up to her and handed her a flyer with a smile.
"You should come check out Class I's stuff during the festival!"
"Oh, uh, thanks." Mizuha said quietly before taking it out of his hand. She took a look and immediately saw a picture of Takoyaki. It seems like they were having a stand somewhere during the festival.
"Here, you guys too!" the Business Course student said while handing out two more Togata and Midoriya.
"I'll definitely go!" Togata said cheerfully, already excited.
"This is a really nice flyer…"
They walked around a little more before deciding to take their little tour outside. By the time they did, they had three different flyers that were folded and tucked away in their pockets. It was much livelier outside considering how there was much more construction going on.
"Can you hand me those nails?"
"Hand on! Don't put a poster up there!"
"Careful now!"
"A little help over here."
Midoriya looked around in amazement. "There's still a whole month to go, but everyone's really busy!"
"Everyone's trying to do something cooler than last year." Togata explained. "They're trying to make it 'Plus Ultra!'"
All of a sudden, they were met with a dragon's face, mouth open and baring its teeth at them. This made the little group gasp in shock before moving back a few steps. Sho immediately started barking at the dragon.
"Oh, sorry!" Tetsutetsu said quickly when he saw them. He was holding the dragon with a classmate. "Oh, it's the rude girl from Class A! And Midoriya too!"
Mizuha sighed. "You're still calling me that?"
"My bad, force of habit."
Monoma stepped out from behind the prop and started his usual routine. Mizuha quickly looked at Eri and crouched down. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I thought it was the big lady that fell from the sky…"
Mizuha tilted her head. "Big lady?" she repeated.
Midoriya dropped his hand in his fist in realization. "Oh, you mean Ryukyu."
"Ah."
"Oh, are you ignoring me? You sure that's okay?"
With a sigh, Mizuha put her hands on her knees and pushed herself up. She grabbed her dog's attention by snapping her fingers, and then pointed at a stick that was lying somewhere close by.
"I heard Class A is doing a concert or something. You okay with that? This time, to put it bluntly, Class B's performance is going to be much more amazing than yours!"
Sho came back with the stick in his mouth. Mizuha patted his head before taking it out of his mouth. Then she saw Awase holding up his hand, silently asking her to pass it to him.
"It's called 'Romeo and Juliet and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Return of the King'. It's a completely original script written by us, a super spectacular fantasy play!"
Mizuha watched as Sho delivered Awase the stick without Monoma noticing since he was to wrapped up in his talking. Midoriya quickly turned Eri away from Monoma and covered her eyes.
"You should probably go prepare a handkerchief to wipe your tears when you're blown away by us, that is! HAHAHAHA—"
Awase swung to stick behind Monoma's head, successfully knocking him out. The blond just ended folded up the ground.
Mizuha laughed before calling over Sho. "Good boy!" she cooed before ruffling him with affection. Eri turned around after Midoriya lowered his hand.
Awase dropped the stick and went over to his fallen classmate. "Sorry Class A. Kendo isn't around, so there's no one to stop him."
Midoriya turned his head to try and see if Kendo was nearby. "She's never far from Monoma, though…"
"Not today, She's going to be in the Beauty Pageant."
"Beauty Pageant?" both Midoriya and Mizuha repeated together. This was the first time they were hearing about it.
Awase started carrying away Monoma. "Yeah, she was entered against her will."
Midoriya and Mizuha looked at each other. They both seriously had no idea that the school was school a Beauty Pageant. Their teacher never said anything about it.
"Speaking of Beauty Pageant, she's also really into it this year." Togata suddenly said, gaining the first years' attention.
Togata brought them over to the equipment room. The first thing that caught their attention was Hado. She was floating in the air thanks to her Quirk. The posture she had, it seemed like she posing for something, a camera. As soon as they fully entered the room, the blue haired girl looked surprised. Amajiki looked confused when she wandered away from the camera.
"Ne, ne, why is Eri-chan here?" she asked excitedly before floating downward to approach them. "It's so strange! Why? Why?"
Midoriya looked away from Hado with haste. "Your Quirk is flashy, and with your looks and b-b-" Mizuha raised an eyebrow. "—bo-bo-"
"Body proportions." Togata finished the word for him.
"Even with all that, you were still only the runner-up?!"
"Yeah, listen to this! Are you listening? Every year, I keep losing! There's this other girl who's amazing! The Beauty Pageant champion— Kenranzaki Bibimi from the Support Class 3-G!"
The bubbly third year went on and explained who exactly this champion usually presented herself in order to win the contest. It seemed like Kenranzaki was an expert in displaying flashiness. Mizuha frowned a little. She really wasn't the type to prefer flashy stuff. She liked seeing little details that made things extraordinary. Flashy was good, but having less could be even better.
"This year's pageant," Amajiki suddenly spoke up as he approached the group a little. "also includes Kendo, who gained a lot of secret fans from being in a commercial. Hado is also going all out. Just thinking about performing… in front of so many people…" Amajiki dropped on his knees and wrapped his arms around his stomach as he started trembling. "Ugh… feeling nauseous."
Mizuha went over to Amajiki since her dog started jumping around him. The anxious boy at least made the effort to pet Sho before returning his arm around him. Mizuha picked up her dog while she rested on her knees. Curiously, she peered at Amajiki's face.
Oh, he looks like he's going to pass out just at the thought of it.
"But you're not the one on stage…"
Amajiki only lowered his head further. "The more I think about Hado on stage… I can literally feel myself up there. It's horrible just thinking about it… Ow…"
She thought it was ridiculous that simply imagining the stage fright was enough to send Amajiki into a spiral of anxiety. However, the sudden itchy sensation on her arms said otherwise.
After paying a visit to the equipment room, they went on to the Development Studio. That visit was cut short since one of Hatsume's inventions began exploding out of no where. Clearly, they needed to get Eri the heck out of there before something worse happened. They brought here to other places but there wasn't much going on so ended up stopping at the cafeteria once they got close. Figuring she wanted something drink after walking, Mizuha went to fetch her some apple juice. She didn't know where to look but thankfully Togata knew where drinks were being held. Once she had the drink, she dropped in a straw that she found.
Mizuha pulled out the chair in front of Togata and slid the drink in front of Eri. "Here you go."
"Thank you." Eri mumbled before quietly sipping.
Midoriya smiled. "Are you used to it…? I mean, how was it?" Midoriya asked the little girl.
The girl didn't reply immediately. She just sipped a bit more before lower the straw away from her mouth. "I don't know… but… there are a lot of different people working hard, so I wonder how it'll turn out…"
Mizuha saw Midoriya and Togata exchange wide smiles, this made her laugh a little.
She didn't even notice the Principal and Midnight sitting in the cafeteria until they spoke up. The latter explained to them that the Principal worked hard to make sure the Cultural Festival was still green lit. There was a catch though, no one from outside the school (except those who got permission like Eri) could enter U.A. because security would be even tighter. If the school alarm were to go off, the festival would be cancelled immediately.
Midnight gathered up her tray. "Oh, yeah, Class A's performance is causing a stir in the faculty lounge, too! Do your best at living your youth!"
"Yeah!"
"Mhm."
"Deku-san and Celsius-san, what are you doing?"
"We're performing a dance with music!" Midoriya replied enthusiastically. "I'll be dancing! I'll do my best to make it fun for you, so make sure you come watch!"
Mizuha suddenly remembered what her team decided to do for the performance. She wanted to tell him that they needed him for stage effects, but seeing Eri's eyes lit up with childish glee made it hard to bring it up. She would probably bring her down.
Eri looked at her with her curious red eyes. "Are you going to be dancing too?"
Mizuha snapped out of her thoughts. She then chuckled to herself. "No, I won't be on stage at all. Sorry."
"…Oh."
"You must be working behind the scenes then, huh?" Togata guessed, making Mizuha nod. Eri wouldn't be able to see Mizuha at all during their performance. Perhaps that was a little disappointing.
Sho, who was resting on her lap, yawned, causing his head to be visible to the little girl. Eri's were instantly attracted to the little animal on her lap. Mizuha took notice of this.
…
…
Mizuha suddenly had an idea. She held up Sho in her hands and brought him closer to the little girl. "Do you like Sho?" she asked with a grin on her face.
Eri got a little startled from the sudden closeness. But she nodded her head clearly before reaching out to touch his tail.
"Then that's all I need to know." Mizuha said before settling Sho back on her lap. "I'll make sure you enjoy the show. You'll be able to smile that natural smile. I promise. So, look forward to it, okay?"
Her words made the little girl's eyes sparkle. "I-I will…"
A show that entertains everyone, the performers and the audience. I'll make sure it happens.
When realizing that Midoriya's break was over, Mizuha also took that as her cue to leave and head back. She didn't want to miss out on much, especially now that she had her heart committed to preparing the show. Unfortunately, her group had already wrapped up the meeting. She felt a little bad about it. Aside from the Band Team, no one was in the common room. She didn't bother their practice, so she slipped away quietly. She decided to go ask Kirishima what happened after changing out of her school uniform.
When she arrived on the fourth floor, she was met with the sight of Todoroki opening her door and taking one step into her room.
With a confused expression on her face, she quietly followed after him. "Snooping around?" she teased.
This made the boy freeze in his tracks. He stepped out and saw her catching up to him. He stepped back out and apologized for entering her room without her permission. Apparently, Byakuren was the one who gave him the permission to enter, saying that Mizuha wouldn't mind him going in to drop the papers on her desk. The white haired boy couldn't exactly do it since he ran off to the Teacher's Office to submit their reservation. Todoroki agreed since it was better than slipping the papers underneath her door.
"It's okay." Mizuha said with a grin. She saw the papers in his hand. They were probably a copy of some notes that they took during her absence. Todoroki handed her the papers and stayed a little just to make sure she understood the notes completely.
The new ideas that were discussed were quickly getting registered into her brain. All the things they need that were necessary for the performances. They all had written down what they thought as their first brain storm. And each item on the last was already being associated with a new idea in her head to improve it.
"These are good ideas. None should actually be thrown away if we use them in different ways than what you guys originally thought." she said before looking up at him.
Even if her face didn't show it, he could see the excitement shinning in her eyes.
"You had some good ideas too." he said, referring to the paper she brought with her and left behind when she left with Midoriya. "Many ideas." he remarked with a smalls smile.
"… Well, I want to have a good contribution for our class performance." she said while looking away from him, focusing on her doorknob behind him. "It's the first time that I'm actually helping out for a Cultural Festival. I never did back in middle school." she admitted while watching Sho enter her room. "I want to make something worth it."
Todoroki nodded in agreement. "I do, too." he said with a soft smile. "I never really enjoyed Cultural Festivals back in middle school because I was too narrow minded back then." he also admitted.
This festival was a first for them. It would be something that they would enjoy and share with others around them. And they were very much looking forward to the result even if their excitement wasn't as obvious as their classmates.
Mizuha blinked. Her eyes had spotted something on his hair. She pointed at his head, "You got something on your hair… something white." she muttered the last part while narrowing her eyes.
He frowned. "Here?" He asked while brushing the white side of his hair. His eyes looked at her face for confirmation while keeping his hand hovered above his head.
"You were completely off." she laughed. Her hand gently moved away his before carefully aiming her flick. The top of her index finger stayed planted on her thumb for a moment, then she flicked the unknown entity off his head. "There we go." she pulled her hand away and started looking around if she could see where it went.
Unbeknownst to them, a certain pink haired girl was peeking in on them from her door. She had stayed to observe when she was on her way back down to rejoin her assigned team.
"Thank you." Todoroki said softly with a smile. He brushed left side of his hair just in case she flicked a hair and left it standing.
Mizuha laughed. "Don't worry about it. And no need to pay me," she gently knocked her fist against his stomach. "My cleaning services come free of charge." she joked with a silly grin. He simply chuckled at her little joke.
Ashido looked away from the scene and jumped on her floor. Her hands flew up to her mouth excitedly. "I just—oh! Could this be a new ship?! Maybe…! Wait, I shouldn't jump to conclusions when it's Mizuha though."
…
…
…
School had already ended. Many students were still in the building working on their own projects since the festival was slowly approaching. Kirishima and Mizuha were getting ready to leave school. They had lagged behind since a teacher was asking for some help. Thankfully, it didn't take too long.
Like a good friend, Mizuha waited for Kirishima to finish gathering his things while going through her phone. She heard him mumble an 'oops' followed by the sound of something falling on the ground. The girl moved her phone away from her sight and found his wallet near her foot. His student ID card had slipped out due to the fall. She got down and set her phone on the floor before picking up the fallen items.
"Ah, thanks."
"No probl…em."
Mizuha gave him his wallet but her eyes were glued on his card.
Month 10. Day 16.
Hm?
Wait…
Immediately, Mizuha snatched her phone off the ground and checked the date to make sure.
3:58 PM
October 16.
It's today?!
"Um… Mizuha, what's—"
Mizuha showed him his card with a surprised look on her face. "It's your birthday!" she exclaimed.
Kirishima blinked. He wasn't expecting her to react like this over his birthday. She seemed a more disappointed in the tone of her voice compared to the surprise on her face. He smiled at her and took his card back, tucking it back where it belonged. "Yeah. What, I never told you when it was?"
Mizuha shook her head rapidly.
"Sorry." he grinned while rubbing the back of his head. He shut his shoe locker. "It's my birthday today." He pointed out the now obvious fact.
Mizuha pulled out her wallet from her bag and started taking out some change. "You want a drink?! I'll get you a soda! Where's the closest vending machine… Come on! You said you were thirsty earlier!" she said before running off to find a vending machine. Kirishima had his mouth open with a hand stretched out, he stilled while watching her disappear around a corner. He wasn't expecting her to get all excited over his birthday. A second later, he quickly bolted after her with a happy grin on his face.
After catching her in his sights, he found her already sticking her arm inside the machine. When he stopped in front of her, she lightly pressed the cold drink against his cheek.
"Here ya go.
"Thanks! Whoa, how'd you know I liked this one?"
"Observant owl over here."
"Right."
Mizuha laughed softly to herself. Her fingers twitched by her side as she held herself back. Her body nearly acted before she even thought about what she was about to do. She wanted to give him a hug. She wanted to hug her friend… but she was feeling shy about it.
So instead, she settled with her words.
"Happy birthday, Kirishima."
Kirishima smiled. "Thanks, Mizuha."
It was almost November. The day of the Cultural Festival was getting closer.
Mizuha and Byakuren were walking back to the dorm together. They had left to go check on the equipment in the gym now that it was theirs for the festival. The others were getting ready for a final practice back at the dorm. On the way back, Byakuren ended up talking about the Beauty Pageant, saying stuff about how Kendo was keeping him up to date with how things were rolling for them. That made Mizuha wonder how he knew that. He replied by saying that he knew how to communicate with others despite not being a social butterfly unlike someone he knew (he gave her a look, causing her to shove his side). He was actually the first after Mizuha and Midoriya to find out about the contest. When he reported the information to his class, Mineta went nuts. Aizawa thought it would be a waste of more time if they learned about the pageant considering how they couldn't even come up with something to do for the festival.
"But y'know… your Quirk would be so appealing for the Beauty Pageant."
"Excuse me?"
Byakuren gave her a fox smile. "Think about it. The idea you suggested with the water. You could make things look super nice with water droplets and stuff." he told her while making water-like movements with his hands. "Water floating around while you do something wearing… probably a blue dress or something."
Mizuha scoffed. "You'll find me dead before you see me in a dress. I would never participate in something like that."
"I'm just saying."
Out of habit, Mizuha looked behind her and found a lone person farther away while walking in the same direction as them. It was the student who was with Aizawa when she was sitting under the trees. She looked back in front of her to not run into anything by accident. But then she happen to hear some trash talking about her class' upcoming performance. Byakuren had to drag her away back inside the school quickly before she found out who said it. He knew that she was working hard to make sure that the performance was going to go well, and hearing someone shit on her work was never a good thing unless they wanted to sleep in water at night. He's seen the consequences of her wrath in the middle school.
Mizuha found Todoroki sitting outside on a bench so she decided to wait outside with him while Byakuren went back inside. He greeted her while putting away a letter he was reading.
"Oh, if you wanted to read it alone, I could go inside."
"No, it's fine. I was already done reading it."
"Is it a letter from your mother?" she asked while taking a seat next to him. He nodded with a soft smile. "I was a little upset that I couldn't visit her as much… thankfully communication through letters makes up for my lack of visits."
Mizuha found it rather sweet that they were communicating through an old fashioned way. In this modern age, people could easily send a message through text or through the internet. Sending letters seemed to have more sentimental value considering how thoughts and feelings are hiding behind each word on the paper.
"She actually mentioned you in this one."
Mizuha gave him a surprised look. "Huh? But why? Don't tell me my brother dropped by unexpectedly again?!" she freaked in a panic. She was ready to get out her phone and scream a whole novel at him.
Todoroki shook his head. "No, she was responding to how I described the way you used your ice which I used as inspiration for my extra lessons." he looked her with a small smile. "She said you must be very creative. She also said that she hopes I am getting along well with you."
That last bit made Mizuha laugh a little. "You made a rip off of my ice or something?" she asked in a joking manner. Todoroki opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off when her phone started ringing out of no where. Curious, Mizuha took out her phone. It was her brother, and he was requesting for a video call.
"Wonder what he wants…" she muttered before gliding her finger across the screen.
"Mizuha! Hey! How are you doing?"
"Good."
Todoroki peeked at the screen, revealing himself to the older Hyoumei.
"Oh! Hey, Todoroki!"
"Hello."
"Did you need something?" Mizuha asked curiously.
"Nah, I was just wondering how things were going with the preparations for the Cultural Festival… since y'know? I can't come and watch."
"It's going well. Do you want me to set up a camera somewhere so you can watch a recording of our stuff?"
Shiran shook his head with a smile. "Nah, nah. It's fine. I don't want you going through the trouble when you're busy. I'll be looking forward to hearing about it. So, just enjoy yourselves." He said with a grin on his face. "By the way, why are you and Todoroki sitting outside in the afternoon like anime characters?"
"What? We can't get some air?"
Before Shiran could say something, Todoroki and Mizuha heard a door open in the background, prompting Shiran to whip his head back.
"Oh, Endeavor!"
"There you are. I know you're on a break but— Shouto?!"
Mizuha saw Endeavor freeze up when he saw his son on Shiran's screen. He immediately looked delighted to see him. "Shouto!"
"Hang up." Todoroki grunted.
"Huh?"
The last thing Shiran and Endeavor saw was Mizuha looked at Todoroki with a startled expression. Todoroki pressing his index finger on the red 'hang up' button.
Todoroki looked away with a frown on his face.
It was brief. But she saw his face. It did not look the same as the one saw she during the Sports Festival. He didn't look obsessed with something. He looked different. She could even hear it in the tone of his voice. Endeavor was different from the Endeavor she saw months ago. She was sure of it.
"… Hey, is it just me or is your father different from back during the Sports Festival?"
He sighed. "I guess you could say that."
"Does he want to change?"
It took a few seconds for him to reply with a good answer, "He wants to be a father that I can be proud of."
Mizuha tucked away her phone in her pocket. "That's good." she said with a nod. "It's actually better than not doing anything at all."
Todoroki nodded his head once. "I am actually wondering how he'll change." he admitted. "I know it's possible. People can change."
Mizuha closed her eyes and nodded. "That's true."
The next day…
It was finally time for the Cultural Festival. Mizuha had woken up early to make a final check of the lights in the gym to make sure they were all functioning (and to make sure no one tried sabotaging them or something). She also brought Sho along with her since she didn't really have time to walk him around afterwards. On the way back to the dorm, Midoriya was already on his way out to buy a new rope. He quickly reassured her that he wouldn't take too long.
When she returned, everyone was anxious and panicking.
"Has anyone seen my shirt?!" Kaminari yelled.
"You're wearing it!" Mizuha shouted while picking up a box.
"Oh right."
"Everyone! Gather all your things together! We need to be at the gym in less than ten minutes!" Iida instructed with a loud voice.
…
…
…
"Mizuha! Can you help me tie my tie!" Ashido whined while holding the article in her hand.
"Ask Byakuren, he knows how to tie one properly."
"Thanks!"
The show was starting very soon. Everyone was behind the red curtain backstage. Most of the boys were taking a peek outside to watch the gym slowly fill up with students. Chatter could be heard everywhere. Mizuha was looking over everyone to make sure everything was alright.
She found Bakugo twirling the drumsticks between his fingers with an impatient look on his face somewhere in a corner. Her eye twitched in annoyance when she saw something out of place. Her feet immediately marched over to his corner. Bakugo sensed her incoming presence and scowled, asking what she needed with his face. The girl didn't say anything, she only reached for his neck and started pulling out the collar of his black long sleeve shirt underneath the orange short sleeved one.
"Oi! The hell—?!" he tried batting her hands away. But she only shook him by the collar to stop his fidgeting. "Stop moving! I'm fixing your damn collar!"
Bakugo lowered his hands and looked away. "Since when were you such a damn perfectionist, Mole Face?"
"Since I heard talk people talk shit about our performance." She retorted while sharply tugging his collar. The first image that popped in Bakugo's head were the two students he saw talking about them. It instantly made him roll his eyes in annoyance. "Those shitheads won't know what hit them once we start playing."
"Exactly. The music and effects are perfect. Don't give them an excuse to find a flaw." She scoffed before removing her hands away from him. "There, now don't touch it." she warned him while poking her finger in his chest. He narrowed his eyes at her and then watched her fuss over Hagakure.
Yaoyorozu and Byakuren, who were watching Mizuha move from one classmate to another, smiled together.
"She's really serious about the performance." Yaoyozoru remarked.
"Of course," Byakuren put his hands in his pants pockets. "It's the first time she's putting her heart into a class collaboration. She doesn't want it to go to waste."
"She was on top of everything." Todoroki joined them. "There was a lot to remember to for the performance… but she remembered every single detail."
Byakuren nodded. "Right?" he chuckled softly as he watched Mizuha smooth down Kaminari's hair. "She can be pretty amazing."
Mizuha bit her lip and watch the back door anxiously. Midoriya was still missing. The gym was getting much more people than they thought. It was almost time to start too.
Gah… I can't believe I let the possibility of Midoriya being late slip my mind. We should have came up with a plan B if things didn't work out… Damn it…
A wave of relief washed over her when she saw Aoyama and Midoriya rush into the gym through the door. She nearly hugged the life out of the green haired boy.
"Hyoumei-san! I'm here! I'm sorry for worrying you!"
"Don't worry about it. Just hurry up and get changed." Mizuha instructed before joining her team above.
Kirishima glanced in her direction when he saw her come up. "He's here?"
"Yeah!"
"Finally." Sero slumped his shoulders in relief.
Mizuha went to her spot where Todoroki, Sero and Kirishima were and looked down below, waiting for Midoriya to take his place before dimming the lights. The cheering of crowd soon died down, silence fell upon the whole gym.
"LET'S GO, DAMN IT!"
Mizuha flinched when the light of Bakugo's explosion went off. That was the signal. By the time Byakuren blew away the smoke, the music was already and playing and their classmates began dancing. Mizuha was drumming her fingers against the rail, anticipatingly waiting for the chorus to start. When it did, Yaoyorozu created confetti, and when Todoroki and Sero used their Quirks too, Mizuha let out a stream of water that separated and become scattered water droplets. They were reflecting light thanks to Koda's work with his birds, making light flicker softly as they passed through the water.
Eri blinked when she saw ice flying towards her. In her eyes, she thought saw a little fairy. When it got closer, she realized it was a little ice dog… shaped like Sho.
From above, Mizuha could already see the girl. She caught sight of Eri's smile when she looked up to follow the flying ice dog with her eyes.
Eri pointed at Mizuha and smiled while saying something to Togata. The blond student looked up at her and waved a hand with Eri.
Mizuha smiled widely. There it is.
Mizuha and Bakugo were together at the outdoor sinks, they were helping with getting rid of the ice by blowing it up and melting it.
"Did you see those guys who talked shit about our performance yet?" Mizuha wondered curiously. Bakugo only shrugged with scoff. "They probably ran away in shame or something." he grunted before blowing up the huge ice in front of him.
"Class A!"
Mizuha and Bakugo looked behind them. There was a lot of students walking past them and complementing their show.
"We had a lot of fun!"
Kirishima stopped pushing the ice cart. "Oh, thanks!"
"Yeah… it was fun. Good job."
Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the student with long chin who spoke. Mizuha didn't like the look at that guy's face. He didn't have the happy looks that the other students around him had. Neither did that girl next to him... But all of a sudden...
"Sorry!"
"We watched it to criticize it! We're really sorry!"
The two scampered away in shame, leaving a trail of dust behind them. Mizuha scoffed with a smirk on her face. "Hah! Take that!" she stuck her tongue out.
"Hurry up and finish cleaning up all the ice!" a familiar voice yelled followed by some quick footsteps.
Before Bakugo and Mizuha could even turn their heads to see who spoke, there was a splash of warm water… that was a little too hot for comfort. The two students at the sink let out a simultaneous shout.
"Ughh! What the hell?!" Mizuha hissed angrily. "Fuck!" she quickly chilled her arm.
"I'll blow you away!" Bakugo shouted at the shorter purple haired student, seething with rage.
"I just wanted to— GYAAH!"
It took six people to hold back Bakugo and Mizuha from destroying Mineta.
"I know where you sleep Mineta!" Mizuha threatened as Kirishima and Iida pulled her away.
After attending the Beauty Pageant that Mineta was so eager to see (and willing to risk his life against Bakugo and Mizuha's wrath), Mizuha ended up hanging out with Byakuren for a while. Eri seemed a little disappointed that she was not sticking around but Mizuha promised that she would join them later. The girl actually wanted to enjoy herself a little before going around with Eri. Byakuren literally dragged her away with how tight he was holding onto her wrist, practically whisking her away with his Quirk.
First thing on their list was to grab some food. When Mizuha and Byakuren lined up for some food at the stall that was on the flyer that Mizuha got from that Business Course student. Mokuen happened to be right in front of them. Turns out that Class B's play was happening at the same time as Class A's performance. The maroon haired girl was so disappointed that she missed it.
After parting ways with Mokuen and getting their food, Byakuren stretched his arms and smiled as he stared up at the sky. "Man, I can't wait to go around! Are you ready?"
Mizuha yawned. "Pretty tired after that whole performance."
Byakuren looked at her.
…
…
…
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
Byakuren was pinching her cheek. "You're not going anywhere, young lady."
Mizuha slapped his hand away. "I'm not going anywhere! I'm just saying I'm tired."
The white haired boy sighed, baffled. "I don't get how you're not bursting with excitement for these things. What did you do the whole time during Cultural Festivals in middle school?"
"… Well, after I got some food... and after you stopped dragging me around… I would probably wander around the school to find a quiet place. The roof, the library, an empty classroom… I just found it a little boring."
Byakuren put an arm around her and dropped his hand on her head, ruffling her head. "Well, you're not doing that this time. I promise, you're going to have fun."
Mizuha chuckled softly, she poked his side. "Don't worry. I want to enjoy my first high school Cultural Festival."
He snickered. "Well said! Let's go!"
Mizuha ended up winning some manga markers and a stuffed animal. Byakuren got them some oden to eat while they went around. They went just about everywhere. They even watched as Bakugo repeatedly tried to beat All Might's record in a game, he failed each time. Obviously, they didn't stick around with Kirishima, Sero and Ojiro who kept watching Bakugo.
"Hyoumei!"
Byakuren and Mizuha looked around for the person who called. It sounded like Togata.
"Over here!"
They found Aizawa, Midoriya, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Togata and Eri standing in a less crowded area. The blond third year was waving at her vigorously with a smile on her face. Eri was standing next to him with a balloon tied around her wrist. Mizuha went over to them and waved.
"Are you having fun?" Togata asked cheerfully when he spotted the plastic bag she was carrying.
Mizuha nodded with silent excitement. Her eyes were wide and she a grin on her face. Byakuren laughed and pulled out the stuffed animal she won from the previous booth they visited. "She even won this stuffed animal! She seriously wanted it because it looked like Sho!"
"Ooh! It does, doesn't it?" Togata looked at Eri. "What do you think?"
"I thought it was Sho." Eri replied while staring at the white fluffy stuffed animal. This caused Byakuren to get down on his knees and hold it out to her. "Wanna hold him?" he offered her with a gentle smile. Eri stared at the stuffed animal, reaching her hands out hesitantly. Her red eyes looked at Mizuha for confirmation. The older girl only nodded with a small smile.
Eri hugged the stuffed dog with a happy smile.
"You can have it, Eri."
Eri looked up at the girl in surprise. "Really…? I can?"
"Yeah. It's not the real thing but at least you can have a Sho too."
Eri smiled sweetly. "Thank you."
Mizuha gave her a small smile in response.
Uraraka bounced over to Mizuha. "Get this, Midoriya entered a Hero quiz earlier. He went all fanboy on it and answered all the questions correctly!"
Mizuha looked at the green haired boy. "Seriously?"
Uraraka nodded. "He even answered a question before he could even hear it." she added before doing her best impression of the fanboy Midoriya she witnessed. A deadly serious expression on her face with bloodlust in her eyes. "Seven minutes and thirty-one seconds."
Midoriya covered his face. "It was All Might's legendary debut video…" he explained. "I've seen it so many times as a child…"
"It was clear that the fanboy god walked among us." Tsuyu remarked.
Byakuren suddenly let out a boisterous laugh. "Oh my god! What a coincidence! You'll never guess where she won," Byakuren fished out the manga markers in her plastic bag, causing Mizuha to look away. "These! There was an anime quiz somewhere over in the back! She entered for Whiten and got all the answers right!"
Mizuha snatched the markers out of his hands. "Yeah! And I'm proud! I watched that show before my teenage years and I loved it! I basically grew up watching it!" she defended herself before anyone could make a fangirl remark about her.
She nearly backed out of that quiz twice. Byakuren, seeing how his friend's eyes were fixated on the manga markers, kept her in the quiz by staying by her side like a parent. After the game, however, Mizuha ended up rubbing her sleeves against her arms when they walked away. Needless to say, it freaked him out since he didn't know about it. He went hunting for Recovery Girl.
"Aw, I know Mizu-chan." Byakuren placed a hand on his chest and patted her head.
"Get off, Byakkun." Mizuha groaned.
Midoriya looked at the time on his phone and gasped. "Um… hey guys. I need to go somewhere real quick."
"What's wrong?" Togata asked.
"You're leaving?" Eri asked sadly.
"No, no! I'm coming right back! I just need to go somewhere!" Midoriya quickly said to reassure the girl. "I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, Eri-chan! Don't worry!"
"…Okay."
"I'll be back soon! I just need to take care of something first!" he said before dashing off to who-knows-where.
Byakuren decided to leave Mizuha with the group since it consisted of people that Eri already knew. He felt like an outlier. He went back to find Bakugo's little group that was probably still waiting for him to beat All Might's record.
…
…
…
Eri's group ended up running into Todoroki, Iida, Koda and Tokoyami.
"Wasn't Midoriya with you guys?" Todoroki asked when he saw no sign of the green haired boy. Uraraka frowned and glanced at Eri. "He said he had some business to take care of… Then he ran off."
"… I don't know where he went." Eri said dejectedly while hugging plushie-Sho.
Mizuha and Togata exchanged looks. She shrugged, expressing that she didn't know how to cheer her up. The latter quickly brought a smile to his face. "Don't worry! I bet that at the speed he was going , he just needed to go to the bathroom! He'll be back before you know it!"
"… Oh, okay."
Mizuha sweatdropped. Yeah that didn't work.
"Eri, do you like cats?" Aizawa suddenly asked. Mizuha actually forgot he was there from how silent he was. "How about we try the Cat People Café?" he proposed in an attempt to cheer her up.
The name already piqued Eri's interest. "Cat people? Are they cats or people?"
The students that were accompanying Eri all nodded.
"Hey, if you bump into Deku, tell him we went to the Cat People Café!" Uraraka told Todoroki and Iida before walking off with the others.
According to Aizawa, one of the second year classes were holding the Cat People Café. Mizuha didn't imagine that she'd be seeing males in maid outfits and cat ears. She nearly ran out of the place laughing. Upon seeing Togata and Aizawa, some of the second year males started running away to hide in the backroom screaming about how their reputation was ruined, leaving Eri confused.
Eri immediately wanted to try the apple pie that was displayed on the big menu at the entrance. The apple pie was enough to temporarily distract her about Midoriya's absence. The girls of the group took that chance to try some of the sweets that they had. Tsuyu and Uraraka got crepes while Mizuha got a piece of vanilla cake with blue icing.
"It's so good!" Uraraka gushed.
"It's so sweet." Tsuyu smiled.
"It's a combination of my favorite things… Vanilla and blue." Mizuha laughed to herself before taking a bite.
"How's the apple pie Eri-chan?" Togata asked the child while she chewed.
"Yummy!"
"Ah, Eri…" Mizuha grabbed a napkin and wiped Eri's chin.
Midoriya returned after making a candied apple back in the dormitory kitchen. It took him a pretty long while to finish it. Thankfully, Todoroki was the one who informed Mizuha, when she called, about Midoriya. She secretly told Aizawa to not leave just yet so that Midoriya can see Eri off while giving her the treat he made her. They both watched her leave in the car before returning to their respective dormitory. The girl had to fill in on what they did during his absence since he was eager to hear about Eri's enjoyment at the Cultural Festival.
Many booths and stalls were left deserted around campus, the cleanup could wait for the next day, everyone was tired from the fun day. After showering, Mizuha joined the rest of her class in their little toast for their hard work for the past month. Instead of drinks, they ate candied fruits that were gifted to some people in their class for helping out with a stall.
…
…
…
"We went to the haunted house!" Ashido exclaimed.
"It was super scary!" Hagakure flailed her arms. "Right, Kaminari?"
"Uh-huh! I swear… that Shinsou from the General Course was freaking dripping with blood! Scary!"
"I nearly pissed myself…" Mineta mumbled.
"Where did you two go?" Tsuyu asked the Yaoyorozu and Jiro.
Mizuha's could barely keep up with everyone's own story from the day. She was sitting between to the arm rest of the couch and Kirishima. Uraraka and Hagakure convinced her to stay down in the common room to hang out a little longer to exchange their experiences. Bakugo, Tokoyami, Shoji and Byakuren were the only ones who went to bed, tired from the long day. She was tired too. She felt ready to head to bed after brushing her teeth, the long day was getting to her too since her eyes were starting to close without her consent.
She figured they were talking about Bakugo's group since she heard his name. But she couldn't quite catch what they were saying… she was… just...
"What did you do with Kyouran, Mizuha?"
"…"
When they heard no reply, they all looked at the girl who was supposed to say something. Jiro, who was sitting diagonally from her, caught a glimpse of her face that was shadowed by her sweater's hood. The short haired girl quickly looked at the others and held up a finger to her lips. Mizuha was sleeping. Knowing how Mizuha was such a light sleeper, everyone quietly tried to look at the sleeping girl's face. They never could actually see her sleep from up close since her ears picked up every damn thing be it breathing or even blinking.
The pink haired girl smiled. "She's probably tired from having so much fun today."
"Yeah," Uraraka agreed. "Byakuren said she had a lot of fun when they went around."
"I actually saw her and Byakuren bumping into each other while yelling when they played in front of a booth." Sero whispered. "They were probably playing a competitive game."
"She was running around too!" Hagakure added. "I saw her hiding behind Amajiki-senpai while Byakuren and Mokuen chased after her. She was all giggly!"
Ojiro laughed softly. "She was like a little kid on a sugar rush."
Tsuyu smiled with her eyes closed. "She always carries around such an apathetic face. It's nice to know that she can let loose with her inner child. It's cute."
Carefully, Kirishima lifted his hand. His hand slowly reached her the end of Mizuha's hood and pinched it. Slowly, he pulled it off her head. All of a sudden, Mizuha's eyes shot open, scaring Jiro and a few others.
"Oh shoot." Kirishima frowned. "Mission failed."
"Kirishima, you…!" Ashido started hitting him on the shoulder, making him yelp in pain. He tried fighting her off. "What did I do?!"
Mizuha took that as her cue to head to bed. She excused her self while drowsily yawning into her long sleeve. Followed by Todoroki and Satou who also decided to go to bed since they were also tired.
"Good night, you guys— ow!" Kirishima held his head and cowered away from Ashido who's eyes were blazing.
Once the three students were out of earshot, Ashido dropped herself on the couch and looked up sadly. "We just missed the chance of seeing Mizuha being carried away to her room like in a shojo manga."
The rest of the girls in the common room exchanged exasperated and knowing looks with each other. Ashido was always up for anything romantic since she never got to experience anything like it. Seeing it up and close was like the best thing she could get. Unfortunately, Mizuha's nature simply defied all her imagination and dashed all her hopes.
"Hah?" Kamnari frowned. "That's impossible. Mizuha wakes up so easily."
"You never know!" Ashido wagged her finger.
This chapter. was. fighting. me. I had so much trouble writing the second half even though I had everything planned out in a separate file. Thank god I finished it before finals squeezed the life out of me. I guess I could also blame the fact that I've been getting so hooked on Bleach again that I've been considering making a story for it... but anywayyyy... (Whiten was a reference to Bleach haha).
About how Byakuren telling Mizuha that her Quirk would fit the Beauty Pageant, have you ever seen the dance of Aqua/Azura from Fire Emblem Fates? Yeah, you could picture that since that was the first thing that came to my mind.
I'm glad people enjoyed how Class A worried over Mizuha in the last chapter!
I'll be looking forward to your reviews! See you in the next chapter~!