Wilson Tokyo Hotel-Shinjuku, Tokyo- June 24th, 201X
Jeez, this place is ritzy. Good thing I'm a guest, I'd never be able to afford to come here otherwise. Not on my dime, anyway.
He could almost smell the money in the air, all the people around him practically reeked of it.
Most of them were older men, grey hairs, thinning hairlines, billfolds bulging from their pockets.
He was out of place.
The suit he was wearing was the most expensive thing in his wardrobe.
His hair, even after an extensive combing, was still untamable in his usual ponytail.
And in his pocket, a trio of Higuchi Ichiyō lay neatly folded inside of an All Might wallet.
The glasses he wore felt almost tacky on face. They were vanity specs, purely cosmetic.
He wasn't sure where he was supposed to be at that moment, but he figured his first course of action should be to find the one he was there for in the first place.
"I-If you don't see me when you walk in, just walk up to Reception a-and ask them where the lounge is. That's where we'll be."
"Yes, the lounge on this floor, down the corridor to my right. First set of double doors to your left."
He thanked the woman behind the desk and walked over to the hall she'd indicated.
"Your name'll be on the guest list, I'll make sure of it. They'll let you through without a problem… I think."
"Midoriya… Midoriya… Midori- ah! Here you are, please step right in, sir."
"Oh! And I may not be able to find you right away, but don't worry, just e-enjoy yourself. I'll make my way to you as soon as possible."
There were quite a few people in the lounge, all of them bedazzled and dressed to the nines. He fiddled with his tie as he stood in one of the less densely populated areas of the room. His aunt had helped him tie it, the knot always came out too big when he did it.
"A glass of Cider, sir?" A man in a catering outfit held a tray of tall glasses, all filled with fizzy, clear liquid. Izuku blinked and looked around, before realizing that the man was talking to him.
"Oh-uh, yes. Thank you." He delicately plucked a glass from the tray, giving the caterer a quick nod before retreating quickly to a wall, sipping lightly and feeling the light citrus pop and dance about his taste buds.
One deep breath in.
One deep breath out.
Get it together, Izuku. You're here for a reason.
He would've smacked his cheeks for good measure if not for the glass in his hand.
Or the fact that he was in public.
Alright, first thing's first: finish this glass.
He quite liked Mitsuya Cider.
The shit slapped.
With his glass drained and mind clear, it was time to initiate the next phase of his operation.
Let's start shmoozin'!
He scanned the room, searching for prospective victims.
Gray hair, dark kimono, stern look, he sat a bit further from where most of the attendees were, not interacting with anyone. He just sat there, judging.
Too old, that guy's had money for a while, he'd smell the middle-class on me before I even took a step. Hmmm, how about…?
Younger man, light brown hair, stark white suit, and incredibly pompous look on his face. He seemed almost like a host.
No. I'd probably punch him. Off the table. Alright, third time's the charm. Maybe...
Chatting with someone just out of Izuku's sight, was an older guy, middle-aged, blue hair with streaks of grey, easygoing smile while he chatted, and an expensive navy blue suit all pulled together with a… cat tie?
Well I guess I've found my winner. Alright Midoriya, put your game face on!
He walked briskly and with purpose.
A few people stood in his way, but years of running around Kamurocho have made weaving through tight groups like that all too easy.
He still winced when he remembered the chaos of the Dragon Quest release the year before.
So many elbows. So much pain...
Despite his grim remembrance of such savagery, he remained steadfast in his approach up until he was right to the side of the man who, now that he looked closer, seemed rather familiar.
Meh, probably just imagining it. Game face, kid! You gotta see this through.
"Excuse me, sir."
The man who had turned from his chat to address the greenette quirked his brow, seemingly in interest, "Yes?"
Despite the interest, Izuku could see the man slightly tense. He seemed wary of this newcomer.
It was understandable, but-
Well, that just won't do.
He gave the man his most charming smile, he watched the tension ease slightly.
There's the chink, now to just aim for the weak point.
He had the man's attention, he had a bit of trust, now he just needed to take control of the conversation with a killing opener.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I happened to see you from across the room and just had to come over and say that that tie is Purrrfect."
And he preened.
"..."
And remained preening.
"..."
He was growing concerned. Did he mess up? Were his pawesome puns purrsona non grata?
Well, he didn't know! Aoi hadn't filled him on that little tidbit. Matter of fact, all she did say was-
"Please just avoid my dad until I'm with you. He'll be wearing this cat tie that-"
Wait.
"cat tie... cat tie... cat tie…" The man also had blue hair, even if it was greying slightly. He only knew one person with hair that particular shade of blue...
It took all of his strength to keep his hands at his side, so as not to slap himself across the face.
So not only did he accidentally offend a man at a party in honor of Aoi's father, but the man he offended at a party in honor of Aoi's father was Aoi's father.
We Midoriyas really do have our own special ways of mucking things up.
So Izuku got ready to prostrate himself and apologize profusely before he heard something.
"Snrk!"
Huh?
"Hah! Hahahaha!"
The man was laughing, rather boisterously.
"Um, sir?"
"Hahaha!" They were drawing attention. That wasn't great. Though the man had tears in his eyes and didn't show any signs of stopping soon.
"Um, sir?"
"Ahaha! Ah, I'm sorry my boy. That was honestly so bad, it was refreshing. I haven't had a laugh like that in a nice long while."
Well, okay then. Recovery time, I guess.
"Oh! Well, glad to be of assistance."
The mood seemed lively now. Mission accomplished, then.
"Excuse me, Aoi-san." The person who Izuku had taken his girlfriend's father's attention from, a young man around Izuku's age who had clearly come from money, attempted to grab the man's attention once more.
"Oh yes, Sugimura-kun. I'll get to you in a moment, if you wouldn't mind ."
He was promptly dismissed.
The blue-haired man addressed Izuku this time.
"So, young man. Now that you've caught my attention, I must ask, who are you?"
Well, that was simple, this was easy.
"My name is-"
"Midoriya-kun?" Well that was a familiar voice. The older bluenette turned towards his daughter with a gentle smile.
"Oh, Chisato. There you are. You know this boy?"
The younger Aoi, clad in an elegant sea green ball gown, was a stunning shade of red.
"U-um, y-yes, this is my b-b-boooyo-fri-uh…"
"Your 'boyofriya'?"
"My booooyfffffffff-"
"'Boyf'? Is that some new slang I'm not aware of?"
Why does this seem so familiar?
"Frieeen-" Aoi seemed to be struggling… and flushing a rather deep shade of red, far deeper than she had been mere moments before. Izuku decided that action needed to be taken lest the poor girl burst into flames of… embarrassment?
He moved to the blushing girl's side, lacing his fingers with hers, and flashed her father another charming grin.
The plan had long gone off the rails, the best he could do at this point was crash it into the station and apologize later.
So he squeezed the younger Aoi's hand slightly and let his words roll off his tongue smoothly.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya, sir. I'm Chisa's boyfriend. It's a pleasure to meet you."
A beat of silence.
He could feel an unbelieving stare burning into his temple.
He saw the older Aoi blink once, then twice, and then, almost imperceptible to the untrained eye, he… shrugged.
"Well, this is a surprise. Even so, it's a pleasure to meet you, Midoriya-kun. As you've surely surmised by now, I'm Chisato's father. Thank you for attending this party tonight." He put out a hand, which Izuku shook with his off hand. In the back of his mind, he noted that the despite the man's cool nature, he was tense again.
And Chisato Aoi stood off to the side, utterly baffled.
"That would make two of us. How did we even get to this point, Young Midoriya? You've skipped over a lot of details."
"Just wait. I'm tellin' the story this way, cuz it's more interestin' like this. It'll all come together soon."
"Yes, I understand. But Young Midoriya… hand-holding… Before marriage, even!"
"We do what we need to to succeed, now back to what I was saying…"
The evening passed by without incident for the most part.
After introductions were over and done with, Aoi-san excused himself to work around the room and mingle with his guests, while Chisato introduced her boyfriend to other guests about the room. And Izuku learned a lot that night.
He met Sugimura, the guy who Aoi-san had been speaking to before Izuku interrupted. He was a brunette in a white suit, Izuku had spotted him across the room before, his face seemed even more pompous (read: punchable) up close. He sneered at Izuku as they spoke.
"Yes, pleasure. Fine joke you made earlier." He then turned and leered at Chisato, "Ah, Aoi-chan, it's been a while. I hear you'll be attending Shuiichin Academy next year. Would you like for me to tell you a bit about it?"
Chisato seemed rather tense at the offer.
Almost uncomfortable.
Izuku squeezed her hand and closer to her, shifting their positions so that she stood behind him slightly.
He felt her squeeze back and saw her face, which had lost some of its color from earlier, flush again slightly.
He felt his lips curl up and quickly schooled his features to offer the snobbish prick kind gentleman and responded.
"That sounds lovely, Sugimura-san. I'm quite interested in Shuiichin, myself. I've heard the student council there is… interesting, to say the least."
It was clear that his interjection caught the brunette off-guard, "Um, well, my invitation was directed towards, Aoi-cha-"
"Yes, and as a fellow student and her significant other, I've invited myself. Is that a problem?"
He could feel his skin begin to crawl. Just a little bit of course, and he looked the older young man in the eye as he did so.
His smile was like a predator's, inviting his prey to rest between his jaws. He could see Sugimura begin to sweat.
The pompous asshole amicable fellow cleared his throat, "On second thought, I need to speak with a few of my father's partners about some… important matters. Have a f-fine evening Midoriya-san, Aoi-c-s-san." And with that, he scurried off with nary a word from either of the other two parties.
A shame, really. Izuku was interested in Shuiichin Academy; it was his second choice if UA didn't go to plan.
The look of awe and slight admiration from Chisato was enough of a reward for him though.
"A quick question, Young Midoriya."
"Hm? Sup?"
"That feeling you mentioned. That feeling of your skin crawling, you mentioned it before, when you fought those Mafia members. What exactly is it?"
"Whaddya mean?"
"When you mentioned it during the fight, I had thought it might've been a sort of 'battle sense' you had, relating to this "Heat" of yours and warning you of imminent danger. But in your interaction with Sugimura, there was no danger, so if what I thought was correct, that sense of yours had no reason to appear."
"Heh. Yeah, well, I guess you were sorta right. It relates to danger, just not in the way that you'd think."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. So basically that feeling of mine is 'Killing Intent'. The name sounds foreboding, but don't worry, it's not too bad. It's this sort of… social psychology, where during a tense situation, you focus malintent on someone, and they hyperfocus not only on whatcha say, but on how ya say it and your body language while yer sayin' it. Basically, durin' that situation with Sugimura, there was no actual danger present, but I made him perceive it with my Killing Intent. The feeling's a bit overwhelming for folks that ain't used to it, but I only gave him a taste of it, unlike those Jingweon scumbags."
"I see. And what if you were to be met with someone who held more 'Killing Intent' than you?"
"Well it ain't exactly quantifiable, but it'd depend on the situation. Half the effect of Killing Intent is the victim's mental state. If I wasn't in my right mind, chances are it wouldn't affect me much. But if I were healthy, I'd likely freak for a sec, before I got it under control. Case-by-case there really ain't a constant for that sorta thing."
"I see, well thank you for explaining. That was… enlightening."
"Don't mention it. Now, where was I…?"
He met Yaoyorozu-san, the current head of the Yaoyorozu Conglomerate. A kindly man with dark hair and steely grey eyes. He offered him an amiable smile and a patient tone as he spoke with him.
"A pleasure to meet you, Yaoyorozu-san. I'm Izuku Midoriya."
"The pleasure is all mine, Midoriya-kun. I must admit, I was surprised to hear that young Chisato had started dating already. I've known her since she was in diapers. Every day I feel like these children are growing far too quickly."
"My mother says the same thing every year. Do you have any children of your own, Yaoyorozu-san?"
"I do, my daughter. She's actually the same age as you and Chisato. It's unfortunate that she couldn't be here tonight due to her studies, but I suppose it can't be helped. Speaking of, she sends you her warm wishes, Chisato-chan. She appreciates the charm you sent for her recommendation exams."
Chisato nodded with a smile and they moved on to the next guest.
As they moved, however, Izuku had a question.
He leaned close to her ear, which, like most of her face that night, burned a deep shade of scarlet as his breath hit it and asked, "Recommendation exams?"
To her credit, Chisato's voice remained almost level (naught but a minor tremble) as she answered, "For U.A. The Yaoyorozu family's been deeply tied to pro hero work, among other industries, for generations now. So she was pretty much a shoe-in for the Recommendation Exam."
Ah, I see. Toshi-sensei mentioned that before. If you receive outstanding references from a pro or two, you've got a chance to take a special entrance exam. If I weren't set on beating Kacchan in the standard one, I could probably just ask Toshi-sensei. Hm, Yaoyorozu… I'll keep an eye out, she sounds interesting.
Next up was a suave looking man, wearing an ascot over a rather trendy suit. He introduced himself as Nick Ogata and offered Izuku a handshake with a smile. The greenette decided that he liked him instantly.
Izuku received a business card, and an interesting new friend.
Most of the night after that passed without incident, until Aoi-san asked Izuku outside for a talk.
Chisato seemed worried, giving her boyfriend's hand a firm squeeze for the first time that night.
Izuku squeezed back and gave her a smile, a small and kind one, before unlacing his fingers from hers and following the older man outside into the warm night air.
They walked out the back door and stood across from each other on either side of it.
Silence, aside from the noisy hum of the city around the two.
A silence broken by the elder of the two.
"Midoriya-kun, might I ask you something?"
That's what I was waiting for.
"Of course, sir." Another smile. As much as he smiled regularly, his face was starting to hurt.
Another brief silence. Another silence broken by the blue-haired man.
"Midoriya-Kun, how much did my daughter pay you to be here tonight?"
And Izuku, for the first time that night, was speechless. He could feel his smile drop.
"Pardon?" It was all he could think to say.
The father continued, "Whether you're a paid actor or someone from school that she's paying to be here, please, if you just go-"
"Sir.'
"I can pay you double whatever she promised for you to leave without a fuss, so-"
"Sir." His voice was firm now, tinged with steel. Aoi-san stopped talking and listened.
"I understand your concern. Really, I do. You and Chisa, you're clearly well-off, and I know for a fact that there are people who are looking to take advantage. Your suspicion is justified, but what you just said to me was out of line."
He could see the emotions flickering across the man's face:
Defensive to confused.
Confused to understanding.
Understanding to guilty.
Izuku saw it all. He pressed on.
"Implying that she paid me to be here like I'm some sort of rental boyfriend- that she'd need a rental boyfriend to bring to a party… I won't lie, sir. That kinda pisses me off."
The scene of a red-faced girl on a sunny afternoon, eyes clenched tightly shut as she called out to him with the utmost sincerity, it played over in his mind again and again, like a video on loop.
"PLEASE BE MY BOYFRIEND!"
To hear that and to think about what was just said to him, really rubbed him the wrong way in the worst kind of way.
Even so, he'd learned that just punching his problems wouldn't do much to help in the long run.
Even if he was angry, he was at the party as Chisato's guest, and even if it was done in private, slugging Chisato's father would reflect on her rather poorly to say the least.
And so, he pushed one last time, polite smile firmly in place.
"So sir, if you want me to leave, I'll do just that. Keep your money, I'd feel dirty walking out of here with that in my pocket."
He turned, beginning his stride towards the they had previously exited from.
He still had to say goodbye to Chisato.
Though as he reached out to open the door and step inside, he heard something behind him.
The sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
He turned to see what it was and was greeted with a strange sight.
The sight of Aoi-san in a perfect dogeza.
Huh?
"A-Aoi-san?"
"Midoriya-kun… No, Midoriya-san… Please… ACCEPT MY HUMBLEST APOLOGIES!"
I repeat. HUH?
The older man wasn't done there, "I completely misjudged you. I saw that smile of yours and wrote you off as another sycophant looking to use my daughter's innocence and lack of social skills-" Geez, tell me how ya really feel, pops. "To squeeze some favor from me. But I've not met a single person quite willing to dress me down the way you just did, especially for my daughter's sake. And the passion in your eyes as you did so… I'd never seen it. It seemed almost like you were holding back your entire being from knocking my lights out!"
Well, he's not wrong.
Still, the sight of such a proud businessman bowing so deeply to him was… strange.
"R-right, I… forgive you Aoi-san. It wasn't really me that I was offended for anyway."
The humbled father did not move.
"Um… Aoi-san."
The prostated man shook slightly, slowly rising until…
CRACK!
Oh dear.
Izuku slowly pulled out his phone.
Silence, once again broken by the older male of the two.
"Midoriya-san…"
"Y-yeah, Aoi-san?"
"I appear to have… broken something. If you wouldn't mind…"
"I've got 1-1-9 on the line right now."
"Thank you."
Substories 5
Be My Boyfriend 2: Romantic Boogaloo
END
"After that, Aoi-san had to be carted out of his own party by emergency services. Got his card before the paramedics carted him off though. We went for brunch the next week, talked about his business expansion into Yokohama, he also gave me a spot into the closed beta for an app his company's developing."
"Oh, well that's nice. And what about the younger Aoi? This is the first I'm hearing about you being in a relationship."
"Broke up the next day. Turns out hospitalizing your girl's dad isn't the best way to make a relationship flourish."
"Oh, that's… not so nice."
"Nah, it's cool. That was the plan anyway. The unfortunate hospitalization just made it easier."
"Okay, now you've lost me.'
"Chisato-chan and I were only dating that night. At most of the parties she goes to, there are assholes like Sugimura, usually a bit older than her but scummy enough to use her to get closer to her dad. This was the last big function her father had planned for the year, so it was pretty obvious the snakes would be in full force this time. She came up with the boyfriend bit to… deter them from such behavior. A few of 'em were pretty bold, but my overwhelming charm and possible penchant for incredible violence stopped that shit right in tracks."
The hero hopeful seemed almost proud of the fear that he inspired in people, if the grin on his face were anything to go by.
"Huh, well, that makes sense. But there's one thing that just isn't clicking for me."
"And what's that?"
"Why you?"
"Huh?"
"Why did she pick you out of everyone in your class?"
And the grin dropped, falling into a thin line on the boy's face as he looked up into the darkening sky.
"W-why you?"
"I mean, yeah. There's a ton of other guys that'd be willin' to help ya out with this, you're friends with a few of 'em, so why me?"
The blue-haired girl looked down, flushed once more. She had been fine mere moments before when she explained her plight to the boy sitting at the edge of the roof, sipping at a bottle of Staminan X as he watched the koi swirl in their courtyard pond below.
"Well-it's because… because I- I-" She struggled to get the words out.
Izuku took another sip of his syrupy sweet drink, turning his gaze to the girl behind him.
He knew what she was trying to say, she seemed so earnest too.
Eyes clenched shut.
Fists at her sides, squeezing tightly.
"I l-like-"
He knew exactly what she wanted to say.
Which is why…
"Chisato-chan."
He was by her side in an instant, left hand on her shoulder, right hand holding his empty bottle.
"I'd be glad to be your boyfriend tomorrow."
...he stopped her.
"Hm. I wonder why…"
He spoke too low for the blonde across from him to hear what he said exactly.
"What was that, Young Midoriya?"
The greenette shook his head, another smile spreading across his face as if it belonged there, as if it were there the whole time.
"Nothing, Toshi-sensei. But, hey, I noticed somethin' a while back."
Toshinori ignored the deflection, "What's that, Young Midoriya?"
"Ya ever notice we've got all these different ways of saying [I love you] in Japanese, but we hardly ever use 'em. I mean, we've got 'shuki', 'suki da yo', 'daisuki da yo'. And that's not all, there's a ton of other ways, my favorite's 'tsuki ga kirei desu ne?' There's a lotta romance in it, don't ya think?"
"I never figured you for a romantic, Young Midoriya."
"Cuz I'm not. Not sure if I'll ever be. And if I am, can't imagine hero life clashes too well with relationships."
Toshinori wanted to refute him, but the boy wasn't wrong. A romantic life was hard to manage, even with another hero, and if the boy wanted to be number one like him, it'd be near impossible.
"You're not wrong there."
Izuku's smile shifted again, slightly bitter this time.
"Figures."
Izuku was hardly big on dating anyway. He'd had a crush on exactly one person in his life and the kids at Morning Glory didn't let him live it down for a full year when it got out.
At least Ayako-nee was good-natured about it, even if she didn't feel the same way.
And since then, especially after another experience against a villain, he'd realized that he couldn't just rope a civilian into his lifestyle and hope for the best.
And heroes… well, it would probably be a bit easier on the protection front, but on the social front that was a no-go.
He couldn't even begin to fathom the mountain of problems that would come from dating another hero, especially if he reached the number one spot in rankings.
But who knows, maybe if he found the right person…
...or maybe if he just bit the bullet and asked Mei out. Her dad had been hinting at it pretty hard lately.
Does Mei even know what sexual attraction is, though? And she doesn't, do I really wanna teach her?
He decided he'd put a pin in that for later.
Toshinori watched as the boy exited his thoughtful state, he'd seen this quite a bit in the eight months they'd been training together.
The boy would fall deep into thought(sometimes muttering, sometimes not) and he would just... sit there.
It intrigued the hero. This boy who was loud and proud and oh so excitable a good ninety percent of the time, just sitting there and thinking.
It showed a side of the boy that he doubted most other people saw.
Something genuine behind that 'Mad Dog' persona of his.
He was honored to be trusted with it.
Izuku looked at the sky again. It was getting dark out.
He turned back towards the blonde skeleton across from him.
No words need be said, the next story was the last for the day.
Izuku took a breath, cleared his and began with, "So about a month ago, I got a call from Chief to come into the office..."
Sky Finance-Kamurocho, Tokyo- November 17, 201X
12:30 P.M.
"I'm sorry, you want me to do what?"
The moneylender didn't even hesitate, "I want you to dress up as a maid."
Substories 8
Maid-To-Order
"I quit."
"No you don't."
"You can't stop me."
"I just did."
"I feel like this is a major breach of my rights."
"Send your complaints to HR."
"Very funny."
"Aren't I?"
The greenette sighed, looking over towards Mariko-san and the mystery woman on the other side of the office. The latter was a stranger to him, short brown hair and dark brown eyes, but something about her seemed almost familiar.
They both looked rather pleasantly amused at the situation, Izuku envied them.
Oddly enough, Hana, the chief's secretary, seemed to be out again. Maybe for her lunch break.
Turning back to his employer, he sighed, before moving over to the couch and plopping down hard on it. When he was settled, he asked the one question on his mind at that moment.
"Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why do you need me to dress up as a maid, Chief?"
"For our new client, of course. One Rio Suzuki. Who wants to open a maid cafe in Musutafu of all places. A pachinko buddy of mine happens to run the only maid cafe here in Kamurocho, figured he wouldn't mind if I used it for a test.
Huh, I almost forgot that Chief has as many weird friends as I do. Guess it just comes with the territory.
"I wanna see how she handles running things, after all if you can't handle things on the managerial level, how could you handle being at the top? But I also don't want to look over her shoulder."
All good points, reasoning's sound, only one issue though.
"Why's it gotta be me?"
That gave the older man a brief moment of pause.
"Well… who else would it be?"
"Hana-san."
"..." No words need be said.
"Alright, you make a good point. But still, I don't wanna be a maid and you don't pay me nearly enough to pretend that I do."
And with that, the moneylender grinned. Izuku immediately decided he didn't like where this was going.
From the man's pocket, a key was procured. A key that he used to unlock and open a drawer behind his desk.
And from that drawer, a holy item was retrieved.
Izuku watched as it glowed warmly with divine light.
"That's-"
Shit-eating would best describe Akiyama's grin at this point.
"That's right. So tell me, this worth the price?"
Izuku lamented his weakness, he would've punched the man if not for the holy relic in his hand.
Instead, all he could do… was nod in agreement.
And Akiyama set Mariko-san and the other woman, Saya, he called her, to work.
Half an hour.
Thirty minutes.
1800 seconds.
That's how long it took for the two women to Izuku into someone else completely.
Someone far more... feminine.
Saya, a hairdresser as he learned later, took his hair out of his ponytail, letting it flow down to his waist freely. She didn't do much to the curly verdant mane laid out before her, but Izuku had to admit, the bunny hair clip she gave him to complement the halo of hair that now framed his face was rather cute.
Mariko-san was up next on the make-up front.
A bit of foundation to hide his freckles. A bit of blush atop that to add some more color.
She went easy on the eyeliner, said something about his lash base being big enough.
Whatever that meant, he didn't know, nor did he care to find out.
She topped it off with a bit of lip gloss. Why Izuku couldn't have applied that himself, he had no idea, but he didn't really question it.
When he looked in the mirror, he felt almost like he was looking at a younger sister of his, rather than himself.
Though, the effect was ruined a bit by his clothes.
His battered old stajun, as much as he loved it, contrasted heavily with his new feminine looks.
That was where Akiyama came in. He handed the boy a package and herded him into the back room.
"Don't worry, there should be some instructions for how to put everything on in there. Now chop-chop! Your shift starts at two."
And on the other side of the door, he heard the sound of Mariko-san and Saya making their exits.
In the dimly lit room, he saw a mirror and sighed, before opening the package and getting down to putting on its contents with one thought on his mind.
This better not awaken anything in me.
1:12 P.M.
The ensemble was oddly comfortable.
Easy to move in, exceptionally breathable.
The shoes had a small heel at the back, but he hardly noticed.
If it weren't for the fact that he didn't really want to be seen in any part of the frilly get-up, he'd wager that he could probably pop into a brawl and absolutely slaughter any opposition.
Hypothetically, of course.
Akiyama was napping when he walked out, directions to get to the cafe he'd be working at for the day. As much he would've loved to smother the man in his sleep, he still had use for him.
So he grabbed the directions, punched them into his navigation app, and he was off.
There were a few stares, he didn't blame them.
Despite his reservations, he was still pretty damn cute.
And so, he preened until he reached his destination. The one maid cafe in Kamurocho.
'Maid in Heaven', huh? Well, it's an odd place for it, but it looks nice enough.
There was an outdoor dining area for the warmer weather, the sign was elegant, especially in comparison to the gaudy and (at times) tacky Kamurocho, and there were even a few ladies in maid outfits handing out flyers up and down the street.
The place would've been perfect in Akihabara, which had been completely moe-fied in the past eight years, but in Kamurocho, it seemed a little too cutesy.
Though, who was he to judge? He loved visiting that little cat cafe on Senryo in his off time, and lord knew that that joint was out of place.
Even so, he'd get nothing out of standing outside and staring at the place, he was supposed to be working after all.
So with a deep breath and proud gait, he began his foray into the world of maidhood.
"Ah, so you're the one that Akiyama-san sent. I never thought he'd send me a cutie like you! Hah!"
Smile. Just smile. You're a maid right now. Professionalism is key.
If he punched the manager for an innocuous comment like that, what would he do to the customers?
"T-thank you, Owner-san." It was almost concerning how feminine his voice sounded, puberty should've made it way deeper. He was a man, dammit! Not at that moment. But, most of the time!
"So polite too! I can tell that you're gonna be popular here! You sure you can't work more than a day?"
"Very sure. Sorry, but my schedule's really hectic most of the time. I'm here today because I owe Akiyama-san a very big debt," And he holds the holy relic "and he told me that if I helped out here today, it'd be paid off."
"And responsible too. Heh, I almost feel like I'm robbing you today, with how much you'll be making for us."
"O-oh, not at all, sir. Just happy to be of service."
"Just so modest. What was your name again, little miss?"
Shit. A name? Uh…
"Oh, it's-'
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Ah, geez, sorry this must be our temporary floor manager. This'll just take a moment. Ahem, come in! "
The door slowly inched open, and through the crack it created, in came a slip of a woman.
Not really much to look at, she was quite plain honestly, in the nicest way possible.
Brown hair, unremarkable face, dark eyes, it felt like you could just look out onto the street and find ten more of her in any direction.
He held these thoughts, but wisely kept them to himself as the cafe owner addressed the new arrival.
"Ah, hello there… Sasaki-san?"
"Suzuki, Owner-san."
"Right! Suzuki. So, Akiyama-san told me you'd be our manager for today. He really talked you up, so I'm expecting great things from you."
Wow Chief, way to lay on the pressure. I almost feel bad for the lady.
"Right, sir! I won't let you down!" The room's other two occupants flinched at the sudden rise in volume.
My friggin' ears!
"R-right, I wouldn't really mind if you let your volume down a bit, though."
The plain woman blushed a pretty pink at that, "S-sorry, I've been known to get a bit loud from time-to-time. I didn't mean to startle you or anything."
The owner cleared his and waved her off, saying, "Oh, I wasn't startled at all. I was just speaking out for the sake of this young miss here. You gave her quite a fright, it seems."
Bullshit, you jumped too.
The woman finally seemed to notice the other lifeform occupying space in the vicinity.
"Oh! Hello, I'm Rio Suzuki. I'll be the acting floor manager today. It's nice to meet you, miss…?"
She then trailed off, causing the greenette to mentally flail about once more as he struggled to come up with a half decent pseudonym.
Shit, um, Izaya? No, that's crap. Izanami! No, that's worse. Uh… how about…
When he looked in the mirror, he felt almost like he was looking at a younger sister of his, rather than himself.
Sister? Izu...OF COURSE!
"Izumi. My name is… Izumi Terasawa. I'll be in your care, Suzuki-san!"
At this, the newly christened Izumi grinned at her current superior.
[?]
For the sake of clarity, for as long as he assumes this persona, Izuku Midoriya shall be henceforth referred to as Izumi Terasawa. Pronouns will be changed to reflect this.
Thank you for your patience.
The brunette seemed to be taken aback by the new maid's sunny disposition , but she seemed to get over quick enough, offering a small shy smile and a nod.
Plain or not, Izumi liked her already.
And then the owner ruined the two girl's moment of peace.
"So, what say we get you two ladies set up?"
Three Hours Later…
4:48 P.M.
"[Bye-bye, Master!] Hope to see you again soon!"
"B-Bye-bye, Izumi-chan. I'll request you when I come back."
Please don't, you'll just disappoint yourself.
Izumi let out a sigh as she returned to the back of the cafe to take her break.
The owner was right when he said that she'd be popular. Half of the 'masters' that she served in the past several hours had been absolutely smitten with her.
The other half was kinda creepy, but she shut that down with just a tiny drop of killing intent.
Sometimes customer service was just so easy.
She wondered what the real test was. Despite it being pretty busy that day, there wasn't really much that Suzuki-san would need to do. And as cool as he was, Akiyama wasn't the type to just give away cash, especially the amount that someone would need to start a business.
So what's the angle?
She passed by the manager's office and heard voices coming from the cracked door. She didn't recognize one of them, but the other was clearly Suzuki-san. She sounded… stressed.
Not usually one to eavesdrop, but all too curious about Sky Finance's newest client, she leaned in and kept an ear close to the opening in the doorway.
"-really sorry for calling you all the way out here, I know you've gotta be pretty busy especially with the end of term coming up and him coming home soon."
The voice that she didn't recognize spoke up next, saying, "It's no problem Rio, I just pushed half of my work on Shota anyway, so I'm hardly overbooked. Besides, we've been friends since Junior High, of course I'd come running if you called… Especially since you were on the verge of tears when you did."
Oh, that doesn't sound great. I didn't think she'd be under this kinda pressure.
"Y-yeah. Sorry."
"Hey, don't worry about it. I still remember how great of a friend you were to me when I was in a bad way. There's no way I wouldn't repay the favor now that you need me."
"T-thanks, Nemuri."
Nemuri… huh. Pretty name.
"Don't mention it. Now, since that's out of the way, why don't you tell me how you got here? You went to get a loan for your cafe, but you ended up managing someone else's? What's up with that?"
That, my dear stranger, is the essence of Sky Finance. Don't ask why, I don't understand why either.
"Ah well, Akiyama-san, the owner of Sky finance, he doesn't really check your credit when you apply for a loan. Instead he gives you a test, and if you pass it, you get your loan without any interest or collateral."
"..."
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"..."
"Nemuri…?"
"Rio, that sounds incredibly shady."
Yeah, she's not wrong.
"W-well, what choice do I have. My credit's awful! I went to the bank, and they laughed me out of the building! I didn't even get the chance to show them my business model…"
"You could come to me for help if you need it. You know I wouldn't mind."
"You're on a teacher's salary!"
"I have a lingerie and perfume line."
"That's still your money…"
"That I'm offering to you."
"That I'm going to have to refuse.'
"Why?"
Silence for a beat.
"...Because this is something that I have to do on my own."
"Why, Rio? Why?"
More silence. Straining her ears, Izumi could hear the sound of a deep breath being taken, before the manager in the room began to speak.
"Nemuri, do you remember my cousin Yuki?"
"Yeah, in Sotenbori, what about her?"
"You know she just turned 50 this year?"
"Where are you going with this, Rio?"
"She just turned 50, doesn't look a day over 20. She never had a husband either, but when you look at everything she's done, she doesn't really need one, does she?"
Her tone was an odd one. Obvious admiration, with just a dash of… bitterness.
"Rio…"
"Top hostess of the number one cabaret club in Sotenbori at 21. Legendary hostess in Sotenbori from ages 22 to 38. Owner of the new top cabaret club in the country at 39. She's lived a life. A life that I've heard about extensively from my parents whenever my uncle called them up about it. 'Yuki-chan did this', 'Yuki-chan did that' , 'Hey, Rio, why can't you hang the moon and stars, like Yuki-chan can?'"
Yeesh, that sucks.
"I know I'm pretty plain, Nemuri. You could point outside and probably ten people like me. My bad credit's just as about the only interesting thing about me. I'm 30 and single, with an undergraduate degree in business and obsession with moe and maid culture. Where do I even stand next to you and my cousin who have already done so much more than I could dream of doing. Hell, your ex-con boyfriend's got more to bring to the table than me, and I used to look down on him. What do I even- eep!"
Izumi heard the sound and got ready to bust in before she heard the unknown woman, Nemuri, begin to speak.
"Rio… I'm sorry. I never knew you felt like this. You've been holding onto this for so long and I never noticed. Listen, I'm your friend and I want to help, but I understand how important this is to you now. So, I'll back off for now, but I think I'll stick around for a while. It's been a while since I've been to a place like this, and some of those girls out there are so cute!"
"Nemuri… Thank you." A sniffle, and then sound of a throat clearing, "And uh, enjoy yourself. All of the girls here are great. Especially this new girl, Izumi-chan! She's so cute! And she speaks english too, she's been showing it off to some of the customers and they just eat it up!"
Right, sounds my cue to le-
She heard footsteps rapidly approaching from the front of the cafe and turned to see one of the other maids, Mi…. something or other rushing towards the manager's office.
She barreled past the greenette with a quick 'sorry' off her tongue and barged straight into the office and peeking in, the young Terasawa watched the two occupants scramble to move apart at the appearance of the new arrival.
"Huh? Misa-chan? What's the problem? What's the rush?"
"Trouble, Suzuki-san! Up front! Guys harassing Chika. Help, please!"
"What?! Lead the way, Misa-chan!"
And with that, the maid and the brunette were rushing to the outside of the cafe.
From the room, Izumi noticed a rather pretty woman with long purple hair and blue eyes wearing a fine pinstriped suit and skirt combo step out.
Though, if this humble narrator were to be honest, it wasn't her eyes that the greenette drawn to at first.
Though sake for sake of brevity and tact, we shall simply summarize item(s) of interest in a single term.
Boing-Boing.
And within seconds the woman, Nemuri, as the young maid realized, as the young maid soon realized was gone. Following after the duo who had just departed.
Clearing her head, she figured that she should do the same and followed swiftly after.
"C'mon baby, just take a walk with us. Give us some real good… service."
"Let me go and leave me alone!"
"Hey now, that ain't any way for a maid to talk. Especially when my buddy here's been so nice to you."
"Just-"
"It's just poor manners, my feelings are hurt. How 'bout you… kiss 'em better?"
"Hey! Leave her alone, you scumbags!"
If anyone were to say mere hours ago that a tiny unintrusive slip of a woman would would stand up to a group of young thuggish looking men in defense of a maid, Izumi would ask what color the mushrooms they ate were and then proceed to call them an ambulance before they died from poisoning.
But if they said it would happen to Kamurocho, she'd just be forced to nod her head and say 'good day'.
Stranger things have happened.
Nemuri stayed backed, reaching into her purse for… something, while Suzuki-san, defying all sense of logic and reason, marched right up to the group of men harassing the maid and snatched the girl away from them, putting herself between the girl and the punks in one swift motion.
It was bold, especially for someone who had recently been crying about their lot in life.
It was almost admirable.
The thugs harassing the maid, understandably, did not agree with the sentiment, their leader getting in the brunette's with a sneer.
"Huh? Who the hell are you, bitch?"
Izumi could see the woman shake, but still, she stood her ground.
"I'm the manager here. A-And I want you to leave these girls alone!"
Right on, Suzuki!
The green-haired maid moved a bit closer to where the altercation was occurring, standing in the middle of the outdoor dining area and laying her hand on one of the many chairs.
Hm, metal. Nice.
"And what'll you do if I don't… Hag?"
The punk leader seemed almost amused by the diminutive woman's demand. His friends laughed behind him.
SLAP!
Oh, damn!
The petite manager smacked the punk across his face. The laughter stopped right then, the leader no longer seemed amused.
"Y-you, bitch!"
He was certainly not amused, this was made especially clear as he raised a hand to strike the woman who dared strike him.
TONK!
A fist that never had a chance to fall as a chair flew in from the dining area and sent him flying, likely unconscious, into a wall across the street with a harsh slam! and a concerning crack!
There was no movement from anyone after that. It seemed like everyone was just trying to process what they'd just witnessed.
A flying chair.
A flying chair that flew into somebody's temple and sent them flying.
A flying chair from the direction of the cafe's outdoor dining area…
Where one green-haired maid stood and was approaching from, dragging another chair behind her by one of its legs.
This seemed to shock a few people out of their stupor.
One of them was Suzuki-san.
"I-Izumi-chan?"
The greenette grinned at the woman, "You did a great job, Suzuki-san. But for now, I think you should let me handle this. It's a maid's job to take out garbage after all. And a lady's civic duty to keep it off the street."
That drew attention from the aforementioned garbage.
The conscious ones, at least.
"H-Hey, ya little psycho. Who do you think you're callin' trash?! Don't you know who we are?!"
The young maid was nonplussed, "I don't. I also don't particularly care to find out. But I assume you're going to tell me anyway."
"Y-you bet we are, ya little bitch! We're Keihin Gang, under Kenta Kasai, y'hear?!"
Yawn!
Fury. White-hot in its intensity burned across the men's faces as the young lass had the nerve to yawn at them, one eye closed while the other lazily scanned the lot of them.
"That's it! You're gonna get it, ya little skank! Don't think we'll hold back on ya just you're fuckin' kid, we'd kill ya for less!"
Izumi yawned again, slightly widening her stance. In the corner of her eye, she could see yellow flame flicker to life around her.
She stepped forward, raising her off hand in front of her, palm facing up, index and middle fingers pointed up towards the sky.
She twitched them back slightly, leaving no room for interpretation in what she was saying.
Bring it on.
The new leader screamed out and rushed forward, ready to clock the middle school girl making fun of him.
And the fight was on.
Keihin Gang
She nimbly dodged to the side, sweeping the back of the chair into the current punk leader's ankle.
All of the forward momentum he'd built charging at her sent him sprawling at the point of impact.
He rolled a few times, yelping in pain with each impact, before stopping and laying sprawled a few feet away from the maid who'd tripped him.
The maid who was by his side in the blink of an eye, chair raised high above her head.
The man's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen, he stretched out a hand as if making a feeble attempt to try and stop her, but, well the chair was already, and it was pretty heavy.
TONK! TONK! TONK! TONK! TONK!
He was rendered unconscious by the third blow at least.
Izumi could hear somebody coming up behind her, it couldn't be anyone friendly, so she swung the chair as hard as she possibly could while spinning around, and-
CUH-RACK!
"AGH!"
At least two broken ribs. Maybe more, if I keep swinging.
Before she could though, she was forced to turn the chair and thrust it, legs first, into another mook that was rapidly approaching. She let go and it went flying, sending the rubbish in its way flying as well.
It was a sight to behold, a grown man taken completely off his feet by an ornate cafe chair coming at him like a rocket. He cut through the air and when he landed, he skidded across the concrete, the chair landing upright and scraping overtop him as he did.
Damn, I'm good!
Post-violence celebrations were soon halted as the maid felt a harsh pull on her hair and stumbled back in the arms of the punk-ass she hadn't knocked out before.
She saw another clod rushing at her, hoping to capitalize the chance and take her down while she was restrained.
Izumi almost felt insulted.
These fuckers are really taking me lightly.
The Heat in her body flared, as she felt her eye twitch.
[!] Armsmaster Style Heat Move: Essence of Retribution
She slammed her head back into her captor's nose, listening to the satisfying CRACK! as his nose yielded to the impact.
Feeling his hold loosen as his friend drew closer, she waited for the right moment to slip away.
When he got close enough to strike her, winding up for what was sure to be a knockout punch, she slipped out and dodged to the side right as the man's fist impacted his friend's chest.
THUD!
"AGH!"
"Oh shit, sorry br- EEK!"
His sympathy for his friend's pain was soon forgotten, as a heel-clad foot introduced itself to his groin.
The two wounded men fell together in a heap, groaning from two different types of pain, but in pain all the same.
Izumi sneered at them, before walking back over to where Suzuki-san and Nemuri stood, both wide-eyed and slack-jawed at what they'd just witnessed.
It was understandable, as far as they knew, she was just a sweet young girl that happened to be working for the day as a maid.
So why would she be such a proficient street fighter?
Of course she couldn't tell them that she was actually a fifteen year old boy, who happened to dismantle a yakuza family five years ago, that likely wouldn't be received well.
So instead, she thought up the most succinct and reasonable explanation possible. And as an added benefit, it was even close to the truth!
So she drew closer to the two women, but as she opened her mouth to say something, she was interrupted by the sound of someone behind her, screaming bloody murder.
She turned and saw the first thug she knocked out(the one she threw the first chair at) standing, oddly enough.
Despite the situation, she gave the guy a bit of mental applause, he was a trooper.
Though when he came rushing at her with the chair that she'd thrown at him, she had to rescind.
She took up her wide stance again, she didn't have a weapon anymore, but she could make do with her hand.
[!] Cooperative Heat Move: Essence of Punishment
"Izumi-chan!"
Huh?
Turning back to look at the ladies behind her, the rookie maid was forced to catch an object that she found tossed her way.
When she looked in her hand, she found a… whip?
No, not just a whip, she'd seen it a… special type of movie before. It was something called a… flogger?
Who the hell would throw a flogger at me?
Of course due to the nature of the situation, which included a chair that was on a collision course with her skull, the maid chose to ignore the absurdity of someone throwing a whip at her and put it to good use.
She ducked under the heavy object being swung at her and repositioned herself behind her assailant.
She pulled back the flogger…
SMACK!
...and brought it down hard against the man's buttocks.
"AHHH!"
Despite the situation, or possibly even because of it, Izumi couldn't help but say aloud,
"Ara Ara…"
And she could feel the fear in the air become palpable, as the thug dropped the chair he was holding and try to make a break for it.
SMACK!
She cracked the whip at his ankle and watched as he tripped and tumbled.
When he lay flat on his back, she looked him in the eyes, seeing terror overtake him.
She licked her lips before walking over to him and leaning close to his ear.
She could feel her skin begin to writhe.
She whispered so that only he could hear.
"Now listen up, you pig in human clothing. I'm only going to say this once."
A pause, to see if he would interrupt more than any need to gather her thoughts.
Seeing that he would keep quiet as she spoke, she continued, "I don't care what fuckin' gang you're in, Kamurocho belongs to the people. Back in the day, the Tojo Clan would've kicked your ass and sent you back to whatever hole you scumbags crawled out of, but even if they can't do that right now, I can and will do worse. So I'm gonna tell you exactly what you're gonna do when I let you up. Okay? "
Silence.
"...Nod your head if you understand, pissant."
A very stiff nod followed.
"Now, when I let you up, you're gonna grab your shit-stirring friends, walk over to Suzuki-san, the brunette that slapped you, and you're gonna apologize for being total wastes of skin in front of our cafe. And none of that 'I'm very sorry' bullshit. Hands and knees, head bowed. I wanna see a full dogeza, shitbird. Capisce?"
Another nod.
"Good, and after that, you're gonna take your loser friends, and get outta my sight. Don't let me catch you doing this again, or next time…"
She whispered even, leaning even closer. When she leaned back, the sheer terror in the punk's face was almost perfect for a horror movie poster.
Izumi's face however, was as cute as ever.
"PLEASE, ACCEPT MY APOLOGY! I SHOULDN'T HAVE ACTED THAT WAY!"
"Um… A-alright, just don't do it again?"
The sight of several battered men kneeling and begging a confused Suzuki-san, was one that warmed Izumi's heart.
While that situation unfolded though, she was approached by a certain purple-haired bombshell.
The older woman offered the maid a smile, "Hey there."
For the first time that day, she was tongue tied, yes she'd met a lot of pretty women in her fifteen years, but so few were as effortlessly good-looking as the one speaking to her at that moment. Not only that, but for some strange reason, she looked so familiar.
Nemuri didn't seem to notice the young greenette's struggle for coherency, opting instead to speak to
"So listen, I'm gonna need that back." She pointed at Izumi's hand.
Need… what?
It was then Izumi looked down and noticed that she was still holding the flogger.
This belongs to… her? Wait a minute…
Purple hair, blue eyes, incredibly voluptuous, flogger…
This woman was-
"Midnight-san?"
The off-duty pro hero grinned sheepishly.
"Yep, that's me. But it's Kayama when I'm not in costume. Nemuri Kayama."
Holy shit, I just used Midnight's whip. Oh! Right.
She quickly relinquished the weapon to the purple-haired woman,who accepted it and swiftly concealed it in her purse.
"Thank you. What you did there was impressive."
Eh, not really. Beatin' the shit outta some schmoes is kinda just a regular pastime in Kamurocho. Well, far less so now, what with the police being way more active, but that's beside the point.
"Oh, you think so?"
"I do! The way you moved, especially in that dress, was incredible. I know some heroes that would have trouble moving the way you did, even in their costumes."
That's some real high praise.
Izumi preened just a bit. Though as much as she enjoyed meeting yet another pro hero that saw her in a positive light, she still had business to take care of elsewhere.
"Thank you again. Um, if you don't mind, could you tell Suzuki-san that I'm clocking out now? I have to go take care of something personal that just came up."
"Oh, um, no problem. Is it anything you'd need a hero for?"
"No, no, not at all. Just some family issues."
The hero stared down the young girl, as if trying to find any untruths behind her words.
After a full minute, she seemed satisfied with what she saw and sent the young maiden on her way.
And on her way she went…
Straight to the Matsugane Family Office.
Sky Finance- Kamurocho, Tokyo
6:27 P.M.
"Anyway, I went there and they said they'd take care of the problem."
"Wow kid, way to take initiative."
"Pfft, don't gimme that. You knew exactly what you were doin' when you sent me there, jackass."
"Nonsense. Like I told you, I just wanted somebody to supervise Suzuki-san's test. How could I have known that the Keihin Gang's been causing trouble in that area and that my pachinko buddy's employees have been getting harassed around there too?"
Hmmph, cheeky bastard.
"Whatever. So what about Suzuki-san? Did she pass the test?"
"With flying colors. Not that many people willing to go to bat for their employees like she did, poor lady was shaking like a leaf when she did it too, so extra marks there."
Well, at least least that worked out. After her little outburst in the office, his heart genuinely bled for the woman. So he was happy that she was on path to being a bit more happy with her lot in life.
That's a great note to end the day on.
So with that in mind, he took the divine item in one hand, sliding it into his stajun pocket, clutched the paper bag in his other, and began his departure.
"Wait, Izuku."
He halted his approach to the door, when he heard his employer out to him.
He turned back and raised a brow.
"What's up?"
The president of Sky Finance stared into the boy, amusement dancing in his eyes.
And he asked one question that made the young teen's blood freeze.
"Where's the dress, Izuku?"
"..."
"Izuku?"
"Fuck you."
And like that, he was through the door and gone, hearing only the beginnings of a full blown guffaw from the man left behind in the loan office.
Izuku soon departed. Maid outfit neatly folded in a paper bag, while a pristine condition Dragon Quest III cartridge sat snug in his pocket.
He didn't notice until later that the latter had the word 'Ichi' written atop it in marker.
Substories 8
Maid-To-Order
Transgressed With Finesse!
Takoba Municipal Beach Park-December 24th, 201X
6:20 P.M.
"Hah!"
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I fuckin' killed it though."
"I'm sure you did, Young Midoriya. I'm sure you did."
"Yeah, well, anyway. That's pretty much the last interesting thing that happened to me this year. It all feels so long ago now…"
"That's just how time feels. You get used to it."
"Sure, thanks… Old man."
"In the spirit of the holiday, I'll let you have that one."
"Hmph."
A brief, comfortable silence between student and mentor.
A silence broken by the latter. Who stood up and offered a hand to his companion.
"It's getting late, you should head home."
Izuku took it.
"...Yeah…"
The greenette seemed almost hesitant, like he had something to say.
"I'll see you later, Young Midoriya."
And the blonde began to walk off.
The green-haired boy seemed to make his decision then.
"Toshi-sensei, hold up!"
Toshinori halted, turning back to see what his pupil needed.
When he did, he saw a strange sight.
The boy seemed almost... shy.
He was twiddling his thumbs and refusing to meet the man's eyes as he spoke.
"So… look. My mom, my aunt, and I are gonna be watching Yakuza Sunset Kiwami tonight after dinner. And well, you're totally free to turn the offer down, I won't be offended. But I remember that you like Yakuza Sunset and you said that you haven't watched the Kiwamis yet, and well, we've got plenty of space on the couch so, if you're not busy, maybe you could…?"
"I could…?"
Izuku took a deep breath, "Maybe you could come to dinner and watch it with us…? If you're not busy, of course! If you are, I totally understand."
Toshinori thought for a moment.
It had been years since he'd spent Christmas Eve with anybody.
He'd feel pretty bad for intruding on someone else's holiday, especially in his pretty dour-looking true form.
As it turns out, coughing up comical amounts of blood is a pretty efficient mood killer, especially around the holidays.
But, as he looked at the young man in front of him and saw the earnest hope in his gaze, something in him just wouldn't let him refuse.
"I'd be glad to come, Young Midoriya."
And the boy's face lit up like Christmas came early.
And Toshinori Yagi felt like a million bucks.
Hero Analysis and Notes for the Future:
Fighting Style(s): Armsmaster(Inspired by Taiga Saejima and Tatsuo Shinada/ partial credit to Death Arms)- Sometimes my fists just ain't enough. Sometimes a bat works just as well. Or swords, nunchaku, tonfa, etcetera. And if I can't find one of those, whatever else is on hand works too! Improvisation is key!
Heat burns yellow when I use it.
Author's Edit: By the way, since I broached the topic in this chapter with the mention of relationships, feel free to recommend a pairing you'd like to see, if you want to see one.
And if it's not too much, tell me why you'd like to see that particular pairing. You don't have to, I'm just curious.