The sound of feet hitting the metal stairs could be heard echoing as the two women made their way up to the next floor.

"I'm so excited, Yuriko!" the woman said, blowing a strand of light brown hair out of her face. "Just imagine, you and me as Elphaba and Glinda! We have to do our best and get those parts!"

Yuriko smiled, laughing at her friend who was basically bouncing as she walked. "I know! I was so scared when we sent in our audition tapes. I thought I wouldn't hear back. I'm still a little nervous though, Aimi. I know that Chinen recommended us to the director, but I'm just nervous. I'd love to get this role, but-"

Aimi threw a finger up at her friend, silencing her. "No buts, Yuri! We're going to do our best and we're going to land the parts! We have to practice strong and finish strong. We've got this!"

Another laugh came from the other woman as she fished her keys out from her purse. "Yeah, yeah, Aimi. You're right, I'll stop the negative talk."

"Umeda!"

Yuriko and Aimi glanced up and over. Coming from the apartment next to Yuriko's was an elderly couple. The man was tall and lanky, hunching over just a bit as he walked. The woman next to him was shorter and stout, coming up to about the man's stomach. A cane was in her hand helping her walk. Both had smiles on their faces, the woman a little more beaming than the man's, but smiles nonetheless.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe!" Yuriko greeted, offering a small bow of the head to the elders.

"Hello, dear!" Mrs. Watanabe exclaimed, scurrying over to the young women as fast as she could. Her husband shook his head, a puff of a laugh leaving his lips as he followed his overly excited wife. "And Kikumoto as well! Hello, dear, how have you been?"

"Hi!" Aimi greeted, smiling brightly at the couple. She offered a small bow as well. "I've been wonderful! How have you two been?"

"Fantastic! Just enjoying the good weather we've been having this week," the elderly woman said. She turned to Yuriko, the smile on her face growing making the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes more prominent. "Umeda, great news! My tomato plant is starting to grow tomatoes!"

Yuriko couldn't help but to return her neighbor's excitement. "That's great, Mrs. Watanabe! I'm sure they'll taste amazing. You've been tending to it for months now trying to get it to grow."

Mrs. Watanabe beamed and waved. "Be sure to tell Hawks. That boy needs to eat something healthy other than that fried chicken he's always eating." She shook her head, clicking her tongue. "For a hero, he doesn't eat healthy."

Holding in her laughter, Yuriko nodded and elbowed Aimi who started giggling. "Thank you, I'll be sure to tell him."

"Yori," Mr. Watanabe said, placing a hand on his wife's shoulders. "Don't harass the boy. He's a hero, he can take care of himself."

"Oh Saburo, hush," Mrs. Watanabe said, waving her cane and gently smacking her husband's leg. "The boy is still young and needs to take care of his body. If he keeps eating all that greasy food he won't be able to do his heroics. He needs to eat better. That's why he has Umeda taking care of him."

Aimi was laughing loudly at this point while Yuriko gave a small smile and eye roll.

"Yeah, trust me, I've tried," the young woman said, placing a hand on her hip. "He does eat fairly healthy when he's not doing patrols. Claims fried chicken is just the easiest thing to grab when on the go." She laughed, seeing the scowl on the old lady's face. "I'll be sure to tell him about the tomatoes though. He'll love cooking with those."

"Good," Mrs. Watanabe said with a firm nod. "Now then, what are you two young ladies up to today?"

"We're practicing for an audition!" Aimi exclaimed, her green eyes shining. "It's for Wicked. Yuriko and I are going to audition for Elphaba and Glinda!"

Mr. Watanabe nodded, smiling at the brunette's enthusiasm. "They brought that musical back? I remember seeing it a few years ago in Hosu. Took Yori for our fiftieth anniversary." He smiled fondly down at the short woman before turning to the two friends. "Beautiful music and story. When is the audition?"

"Next week," Yuriko answered.

"Oh exciting!" Mrs. Watanabe said, giving a large smile to the two women. "You two will do great. You have such lovely voices. Please keep us up to date on what parts you get."

"Of course!"

"We will, don't worry, Mrs. Watanabe."

"Good luck girls," Mr. Watanabe said, offering one last smile and a wave before he turned around to head down the hall.

"I'll stop by later and drop off some dinner for you two," Mrs. Watanabe said.

"Oh sorry, Mrs. Watanabe," Yuriko said. "I'm actually going on a date with Hideaki tonight."

"No worries, I'll drop it off before you leave. You can have it tomorrow. I'll leave some instructions for you to cook it." The old lady gave one last smile before turning and following her husband.

"I love them so much," Aimi said as soon as the couple left. "Can they adopt me and be my grandparents?"

Yuriko laughed as they stepped into her apartment. "I'm sure they'd love that. Come on, we need to practice and figure out our song list."

ooOOoo

"See you, Aimi," Yuriko said as she shut the door, laughing when she saw Aimi trip over her feet as she turned to wave back. The purple and pink haired woman always questioned how her friend could dance so well and understand movements on the first try, but trip over air while walking.

Stretching her arms above her head, she padded back over to the living room. She grabbed her phone, checking the time.

"Two hours before Hideaki gets here. That's enough time," she mumbled to herself as she made her way to the bathroom.

She smiled as she quickly got the shower ready, humming the songs she and Aimi had just practiced as she went. She was relieved to have her list of songs ready for the audition. It was one less thing to worry about and just focus more on getting them perfect and ready.

Her heart fluttered thinking of the audition. Excitement and nerves. That's all she felt at the thought. All she wanted was one big role, even if it was a minor one. Just something to get her further into this career. That's all she wanted. All she needed. Just one role that would prove her efforts weren't for nothing.

With the squeak of the shower head turning off, she stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry off before grabbing the pink robe that Daichi, Takahiro, and Megumi had gifted her on her birthday last year. She glanced in the slightly fogged up mirror, chewing her lip as she looked at herself. "Hideaki said it was a nice restaurant, but what makeup?" She sighed as she looked at her makeup bag. Last time she went to dinner with Hideaki was during one of his business dinners and she had worn too much from what Hideaki had commented on the way home. But this was a date between the two of them, it couldn't be too much to have some color, would it?

"It was a little much for dinner, Yuri," Hideaki had commented on the drive back his place after that dinner. "Mr. Nakaya is, how do I put this?" He paused, tapping his finger on the steering wheel. "Traditional. A red lipstick is a little too flashy for him. But I think we were able to land the project with him. He seemed interested and plans to go forward or not should be announced Monday."

Yuriko had remembered wiping that red lipstick off first thing when they had gotten back to Hideaki's apartment. The next day she had buried the tube of lipstick under all her other makeup as well, frustrated with her boyfriend and the stupid dinner.

Her eyes landed on a tube of light pink lipstick. One of her favorite shades she had picked during a shopping trip with her sister. "That could work!"

Going about the bathroom, she grabbed her curling iron, getting it ready. She took her phone and turned on some music, starting up humming once again. Once the curler's light was blinking she began curling her hair. Enjoying the quiet aside from the music, she got through half her hair and ran a hand through the curls to loosen them a little.

Her hand stilled, the curling iron stopping just before it touched her hair. For a moment Yuriko thought she had heard something, but after a minute of silence she shook her head and turned back to the mirror. Grabbing the piece of hair she wanted to curl again, she clamped the curler and twisted to wrap the hair around the barrel. The woman counted in her head, watching the piece of hair. Unwrapping the hair, she smiled when the curl bounced down and ran her hand through it before grabbing the next section

"I'm liking the curls."

Yuriko yelped, jumping back as she whipped around. "Ow!" She quickly moved the curler from her neck and slapped her hand on the spot that got hit. "Keigo!" she yelled, glaring at the smirking hero who was leaning against the door frame. "I just burnt my neck thanks to you. Now I have to cover this up." Tilting her head, she looked in the mirror at the mark. A small and bright red spot was on the left side of her neck. "Thanks…"

"Aw," Keigo cooed, stepping into the bathroom. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?" He leaned towards her, lips puckering as he lowered to her neck.

A hand shot out, smooshing into the hero's face as Yuriko glared at him unamused. Keigo grinned under his friend's hand.

"Nice try, Bird Brain," Yuriko said, pushing him away. She rolled her eyes as he chuckled.

"What? I can't try and heal my Songbird? It is my fault since I scared you." He gave a shrug, raising his arms, and a grin.

"No," she said, glaring at him as she turned her head to the side to look at the spot one more time. "You can't. What you can do is not get me burned again." She sighed as she picked the curler back up, going back to finishing her hair.

Keigo smiled as he watched Yuriko curl her hair and gave her a cheeky grin when they locked eyes in the mirror. "You're looking beautiful as ever, Songbird!"

"Thanks," Yuriko said, offering a small smile before her eyes went back to the new piece of hair she was curling. "I'm trying to get ready for my date with Hideaki and I have like thirty minutes until he gets here. I don't even know what I'm wearing."

Keigo's smile fell once Yuriko's gaze left him. He threw on a strained smile and gave a short laugh. "That date is still going on? I thought it was canceled since we couldn't do the double date?"

Yuriko's eyes scrunched up as she gave her friend a look. Turning the curler off, she grabbed a makeup blender and foundation from her makeup bag. "What do you mean? Of course it's still going on. Hideaki and I haven't had a date in a while because of our schedules. I want to see him."

"Right right," the young man said, nodding his head. He pursed his lips, glancing out the bathroom and to the living room. "What about that blue dress? The one you wore to your last after party?"

"Oh that's perfect!" Yuriko said, face lighting up as she put the last touch of blush on her face. She smiled into the mirror and switched the blush for her mascara. "Thank you, Kei!"

"No problem," he said, watching as she closed the mascara and rushed into her room.

Once he heard the click of her bedroom door shut, he strolled into the living room and plopped down onto the couch. His face fell into a neutral expression as he grabbed the remote and began flipping through channels. Another wacky game show, this time featuring Was, Mt Lady, and Present Mic. Mt Lady didn't look too thrilled seeing as she was in last place out of the three while Wash was in a five hundred point lead to Present Mic. The next channel wasn't anymore promising. Just a news report on a rescue All Might had done at a bank hold up. Hostages saved and villain captured.

"What do you think?"

Keigo looked over his shoulder at the sound of Yuriko's voice. His light smile faltered as he looked at her. He did his best to keep his mouth from hanging open as he stared. Yuriko was standing behind the couch with her arms out in a gesture to show off her dress. It was a royal blue dress that slightly hugged her curves and had draping layers. The neck draped a little below her collar bone as well. The dress was simple, but gave off a formal air.

All the man could do was stare. The blue made Yuriko's eyes stand out more, the magenta hues shining with the blue dress. The shoes she wore were simple nude colored heels that complimented the color of the dress. Her hair was lightly curled, her curled bangs framing her face and the rest pulled back slightly. The pink lipstick she had chosen also paired well with the blue dress, the only color of makeup amongst the simple look she had gone for.

"Hello?" Yuriko called out, snapping her fingers. "Earth to Keigo."

Keigo blinked, eyes snapping up to meet hers. His friend had gotten closer to the couch, waving a hand in his face. He hadn't even noticed her moving.

A blush overtook his face. "You look-" He cleared his throat, a hand coming up to cover his mouth for a moment before speaking. "You look great." The smile on Yuriko's face made his heart flutter and he cursed himself for letting it happen.

"Thank god," Yuriko sighed, taking a seat on the couch next to him. "I was worried this wouldn't look good and I'd have to try something else on. Thanks again for the suggestion."

"No problem," Keigo replied, offering a small smile.

The sound of slow music came from the TV grabbing the attention of the two friends. They turned their heads to the TV and Keigo could only groan as soon as he saw the commercial. Of all the times for it to come on, it had to be now.

On the screen red feathers floated around, gently falling as they landed around a bottle of cologne. The voice of the narrator, a woman, was smooth and soft, matching the choice of music.

"Make their heart flutter with Red, a new fragrance for men by Touma."

As the narrator spoke, the camera panned on a woman in a short black dress walking up to a man and Keigo's bright red wings appeared on screen. Like the woman, he was decked out in all black with a red tie to match his wings. He smiled at the woman, placing a hand on her hip as he leaned his head towards her.

Yuriko's face lit up as she looked at her friend. She cackled as she saw the look on Keigo's face. "Your commercial finally aired!"

"Bad timing," Keigo mumbled, pulling the collar of his jacket over his face.

"Oh no I think this is perfect timing. I'm liking the commercial, Kei," Yuriko teased, poking his side. She giggled when he smacked her hand away.

"Please stop."

"'Make your heart flutter'," she said, her voice switching into the woman's voice from the commercial. She quickly switched it back to her voice as she said, "Is that the line you use on the ladies now?"

Keigo slunk down in his seat, groaning before he glared at the pink and purple haired woman. "Hilarious."

Yuriko laughed again as she looked back over at the TV. In seconds, her smile fell and her face heated up as she saw the image on the screen. Her best friend was shirtless now with only the black jeans and a grey background that made his wings stand out. The woman was still by his side, leaning against him with her hands on his shoulder as Keigo held the bottle of cologne. His yellow eyes shone brightly as they stared into the camera.

At this point Yuriko's face felt like it was on fire and it only increased as she heard a chuckle coming from next to her. She glared at her friend before turning away from him, crossing her legs and folding her arms over her chest.

"Are you liking the commercial, Yuriko?" the hero teased back, grinning as he watched the woman's cheeks flare up even more. He smirked, seeing Yuriko nearly squirm in her seat as she tried to keep her gaze away from the TV and him. He chuckled again as the commercial ended. "Yeah, I'm not too thrilled about that commercial. They always make fragrance commercials so over the top."

"Then why take it?"

Keigo shrugged. "Touma had asked if I wanted to partner up with them for a new fragrance and just thought it'd be interesting. At the time I didn't think about having to do a commercial for it."

Yuriko nodded, watching as her friend sat back up on the couch and slung his arm over the back. "So did they give you a bottle of the cologne?"

The smirk was back on Keigo's face as he leaned towards her. "Why? You want to smell like me?"

With a roll of her eyes, the woman shoved him away. "No, Bird Brain. I want to know what it smells like. Maybe Hideaki would like it."

The hero's smirk was gone in an instant and it only deepened into a frown when there was a knock on the door. He saw Yuriko's face light up as she jumped up and quickly made her way to the door. He watched as Ito was revealed in the doorway, greeting Yuriko with a kiss.

"Hey, Hideaki!" Yuriko said, giving her boyfriend a hug.

"Hi, love," Hideaki said, lifting Yuriko into a hug. He gently placed her down and gave her a smile. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I just need to grab my purse." She turned to head to her room and smiled at Keigo. "Hey, Hawks. I'll see you later." She rushed off, disappearing down the small hall and to the other room.

"Oh, Hawks is here," Hideaki said, his smile falling as he looked over at the hero. He gave a quick nod to him. "I hope today was eventful for you."

Keigo looked at the man. His tall stature always made it where he had to stare up at him and the look Hideaki always gave him made it feel like he was looking down on him. Literally and figuratively.

He gave an easy smile and raised a hand in a small wave. "Hey, Ito. Pretty good day. Just patrol the city and saying hi to a fan or two." He stuffed his hands in his pocket as he stood from the couch. "I'm sure your job was more eventful than mine. I bet you had so many meetings to sit around and listen to. Pretty eventful, right?"

Looking at the man he couldn't help the twitch his lips gave when he saw the irritated look in the other man's blue eyes. The taller man was dressed in the typical suit Keigo ever saw him wear. Never a variety with him. Always some dark colored suit with some dull colored tie. The outfits were always pressed and sharp. He'd give the man that, but it was always the same. And his black hair was always swept to the side in a perfect part. Never any hair out of place.

"Okay, ready!" Yuriko announced as she stuffed the tube of pink lipstick into her purse. She walked up to Hideaki, grabbing his hand in hers as she smiled up at him. "Ready, honey?"

Her boyfriend looked at her and quirked a brow. "You're not wearing the red lipstick?"

Yuriko's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? I thought you didn't like that color? I just wear it when I'm out with friends now."

A chuckle came from the man as he grabbed her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. "No, Yuri, I love that shade on you. You looked gorgeous when you wore it last time. I just didn't think it was appropriate for the dinner. I should've told you that beforehand."

"Oh well, I can go put it on now if you want."

He shook his head. "No no, don't worry, Yuriko. It's fine. This shade is lovely on you too." Hideaki leaned down, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, "But it doesn't really matter what you'll be wearing later tonight."

Red washed over Yuriko's face as she looked at him. She giggled and smacked his arm, earning a cheeky grin from her boyfriend. "Stop," she whispered back, the smile still on her face.

Behind them, Hawks watched the two interacting. There was an unreadable expression on his face that slowly turned to irritation when Hideaki locked eyes with him. Hawks saw the look on his face, one of triumph and mockery as they had their stare down. But the hero quickly put on a smile as Yuriko turned around.

"I don't know, Ito," Hawks said, still smiling. "I think the pink suits her too. But I guess you can't really tell what colors are good, judging by that tie you chose to wear." He gestured to the green tie the other man wore with his grey suit.

Yuriko's eyes widened as she looked from Hawks to Hideaki. Anger was starting to flood over Hideaki's features and Hawks just continued to smile, but there was a glint in his eyes that didn't match it.

"Hawks!" the woman hissed through gritted teeth. "Don't you have a night patrol you have to get to?"

Hawks raised a hand, smiling at his friend. "Nope. I put Swift on patrol duty tonight."

"Well then I guess that gives you enough free time to go find another model you can charm for a week and get bored of," Hideaki sneered.

Yuriko's mouth fell as she stared back up at her boyfriend. "Hideaki! That was uncalled for. Just because it didn't work out with him and Hironaka doesn't give you the right to make that comment. He's not constantly going after girls."

"No, just mine," her boyfriend mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing," he sighed. "Look, we're going to be late for the reservation." He placed a hand on her lower back, leading her to the door. "Let's get going." He glanced over his shoulder, giving a smirk to the blond man. "I'm sure you can find something to entertain yourself tonight, Hawks. We'll see you around."

Yuriko turned her head, giving her friend a small smile and wave as she said "See ya, Hawks!" before turning back. She grabbed her key and took Hideaki's offered arm before heading through the door.

Hawks watched the two head out, hearing another hissed "Hideaki" from Yuriko as the door shut. His brow furrowed as he turned on his heel, heading for the balcony. He was out and in the air in seconds, hands clenched at his side as he flew home.

ooOOoo

"You know that was really uncalled for, Hideaki," Yuriko said as she placed her napkin on her lap. She glanced at her boyfriend, rolling her eyes at the disgruntled look on his face.

"Hawks is like a child," Hideaki said, taking a drink from his water. "He always has some sort of comment to make whenever he sees me."

"And yet you respond," his girlfriend said. She opened her menu, glancing at the selection of dishes. "You know he just wants to see you get mad. And it always works."

"He likes to put his nose in other people's business where it doesn't belong. He does it every time he sees me."

Yuriko reached her hand across the table, placing it over his. "Babe, I know it gets annoying, but all you can do is just ignore him. I do it constantly." She smiled when HIdeaki turned his hand over, wrapping it around hers. She gave it a squeeze. "I don't want to make you mad and talk about this. I'd like to spend time with you tonight."

Hideaki sighed, bringing her hand up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "You're right, darling. This is our night and I've been looking forward to seeing you." He smiled at her as he let go of her hand and grabbed his menu. "How is everything? How's the family? You mentioned you had visited them again recently."

"Yeah, I did!" Yuriko smiled as she thought of the family dinner. "I got to see Reika. She's starting to show and she and Kaito are excited to have a younger sibling for Kenji. Daichi and Takahiro have their hands full now that Megumi has her quirk and has been using it nonstop. She's a sweetheart, but chaotic."

Hideaki chuckled. "I can only imagine. A late bloomer like her is probably trying to catch up to her classmates."

"Oh she is," the multicolored haired woman said with a laugh. "She's also using this as an excuse to draw more pictures of her and Hawks and have them come to life. She's obsessed."

Hideaki hummed, nodding his head before thanking the waiter as he poured them each a glass of wine. "And what about your cousin, Shinso? He did pretty well in the Sports Festival. I'm surprised he made it to the matches. We don't normally see students from the business course."

"That's because he's not in the business course, Deaki," Yuriko said, raising a brow as the waiter came by. She greeted him with a smile and quickly gave her order before addressing her boyfriend. She folded her hands on the table. "Hitoshi's in general studies. But he wants to be a hero. You know this."

"Right, right," Hideaki laughed. He placed a hand on Yuriko's, giving her a smile. "I know that and I know his dream. But there's no shame in not following through with being a hero. I had that dream once, you remember." He smiled when she nodded and gave him a "I remember". The waiter came back, carrying the bottle of wine Hideaki had ordered and began pouring them each a glass. Hideaki smiled at him before continuing to Yuriko. "There's plenty of heroes out there and he'd be amazing as a businessman. He's young, but he talks so easily with people. If he just smiled a bit more and wasn't so harsh with some of the things he said he'd be amazing. And with a quirk like his, imagine all the people he'd be able to convince to partner up with any company he works at." He gave a laugh, taking a sip of his wine after the waiter left.

"Hideaki," Yuriko said, a warning look in her eyes. "You know how Hitoshi feels about his quirk. He wouldn't want to use it to get what he wants. Hitoshi is already good at talking with people, but he's at UA in the general course, not business. He wants to be a hero and I think with the right training he'll be a great one."

"Yes, Yuri, I was only joking," Hideaki said, a good natured smile on his face as he waved a hand. He took another sip of his wine. "What about you? Are you still working at that store?"

"As of right now I am," Yuriko replied, fiddling with the bracelet on her left wrist. Her heart jumped when she saw the look on Hideaki's face. It was one of hopefulness. She gave him a smile.

"'As of right now'?" He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table and folding his hands. "Are you looking for new work? I've heard one of the companies we've partnered with has an opening in one of their departments. I think you'd do great over there."

Yuriko laughed. "No. I'm still working at Koboyashi's store. But I'm auditioning for a new musical!" Her face broke out into a smile as she thought over the audition tape she had made and the practice she and Aimi had put in today. "Wicked is casting right now and Aimi and I are auditioning for the leads!"

"Oh." Hideaki leaned back in his seat, the smile gone and a look of disinterest replaced it. "You're still doing those musicals? I thought your recent one was your last one?"

A soft scoff came from Yuriko followed by a laugh and a wave of her hand. "I never said that, Deaki. You know I'm trying to get a bigger role. I'm going to do everything I can to make that happen."

"But, Yuriko, love," her boyfriend reached across the table, grabbing her hand in his and running his thumb over her knuckles. "So far you've only been ensemble. I think you should just stop now. You might not be cut out for a bigger role."

The smile fell from Yuriko's face. She took a deep breath through her nose before offering a smaller smile this time. "Well I think I am. And I have a good feeling about this one."

"I just want you to be happy, Yuriko," Hideaki said, giving her a concerned look. "Chasing a dream is good and all, but if you just keep getting the same results I'm worried you'll get burnt out. You'd do better with a steady job. I don't think working at that shop and doing musicals is financially stable. You'd be so successful."

"But I am successful. I make enough money from both jobs. I can live comfortably." Yuriko sighed, shaking her head. "I don't want to discuss this. We usually just go in circles about it. I want to enjoy tonight with you. Please?"

Hideaki gave a sigh of his own before offering his girlfriend a smile and a squeeze of her hand. "Of course, Yuriko. I love you." He raised her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it.

Yuriko smiled, returning the hand squeeze. "I love you too."

I'm very surprised I got another chapter out fast than my normal one year later streak. But here it is and I'm excited! All thanks to a group of friends I've been throwing my ideas at. You all know who you are.

Let me know what you all think! I'd really appreciate any feedback :)

If you want to see any edits, WIPs, and commissions for this story and other stories of mine, check out my tumblr water-writings.