The giggling persisted and it was starting to grate on Izuku's nerves.
She was close to leaving the store and go home but she couldn't do that considering that her friend had driven them there with his car. So Izuku had no choice but to wait for her friend to finish signing autographs for his fans.
"My turn! My turn! Can you sign this for me as well?!" another fangirl demanded.
The girl was waving a black shirt at her friend, who simply accepted the shirt with a smile that Izuku noted was somewhat strained.
"Of course, anything for the lovely lady."
She heard him say while his fangirl squealed with delight.
Izuku wanted to shake her head in exasperation.
She briefly caught sight of the print on the shirt, which could only be her friend posing in all his half-naked, six-packed glory with his red wings spread behind him.
Izuku wanted to sigh when she saw the shirt's design. She had seen her friend in such a state so many times that Izuku no longer felt compelled to stare at her friend's impressive physique when he was shirtless. This also happened quite a lot when he sometimes hang out at her house to keep her company and so she was already immune to her friend's appeal by now unlike others who only knew him as the rising hero from U.A.
Even now, Izuku couldn't believe that her friend who had been constantly taunted for being overweight in their childhood years had grown into a fine, young man worthy to grace the front pages of every teen magazine.
To her increasing consternation, Izuku's best friend had become a heartthrob in the span of five years. The same person who had been her staunch defender against anyone who called her quirkless.
Ryu Tsubasa.
The Hellraiser.
"Thank you, Ryu!"
Izuku watched as the purple haired girl exclaimed in obvious joy as she clutched the shirt against her chest. Now, with Ryu's signature on it.
"You are very welcome," Ryu replied with a smile that was far too tight to be sincere.
I seriously don't have time for this. Izuku thought with mounting irritation. She needed to go home but how could she do that when the one who was supposed to help her last minute holiday shopping and drive her back home was far too busy with his rabid fangirls?
I shouldn't have let him tag along. She grumbled inwardly.
Either he felt her glare or Ryu must have sensed the negative aura emanating from her because he suddenly turned his gaze towards her.
"Izuku-chan!" Ryu said loudly and Izuku wanted to disappear on the spot when she was suddenly subjected to a number of stares from Ryu's fangirls the moment he addressed her.
Izuku watched as her friend hurriedly excused himself from his fans.
"Are you done buying the entire store?" He asked jokingly while he nearly half-ran, half-walked towards her in haste. Clearly, he didn't want to be around his simpering fans anymore, who was now glaring at Izuku with pure jealousy and hatred in their eyes when Ryu focused his attention on her.
"Yes, I am actually," She replied distractedly while she eyed the seething fans from the corners of her eyes.
Izuku was soon convinced that she was going to be visually murdered by Ryu's fangirls at the way they were glaring daggers in her direction.
"We need to leave now," She said the second Ryu came to a halt in front of her.
"Already planning on it," Ryu muttered to her just as he reached out to pick up the grocery bags from her hands. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Izuku-chan."
She just shook her head and said wryly, "I think I will go shopping by myself next time. I should have known that bringing you along would prove to be quite troublesome."
"I'm sorry, alright? It's not my fault that most girls find me hot and want a piece of me every time I go out," Ryu told her with a scowl on his face while they quickly walked towards the exit.
Meanwhile, Izuku pretended not to notice the looks and the whispers that followed them as they passed some of Ryu's fangirls.
"Is that his girlfriend?" one of them asked while the others were wondering out loud, "Who the hell is she?!"
"Look at her! She's certainly way out of Ryu's league! She looked like a plain seaweed with that green hair of hers."
"I hope she's not his girlfriend because I know Ryu could do better than that freckled and ugly nobody," someone said snidely.
At once, a scarlet flush suffused Izuku's face when she heard the other girls' conversation. The insults did not surprise her at all, but their assumptions of her and Ryu's relationship was really something that took her off guard.
Ryu, on the other hand, looked absolutely pissed when she glanced at him. He certainly didn't like the way the other girl's were talking about her like she couldn't hear their words.
He always reacts that way when someone says something that might hurt her feelings.
By now, it was almost instinctive that Ryu would defend her in any situation that he saw fit.
Izuku noticed how her friend's red leathery wings abruptly spread outwards in obvious agitation. She could also sense it when Ryu was trying to restrain himself from flying back and giving the girls a lot of verbal-lashing for insulting her. He might even perhaps start ripping the merchandise that he had signed as a retaliation if she didn't do anything to calm him down first.
Inwardly, she just sighed.
This was no different from when a certain blonde haired boy had constantly mocked Izuku for being Quirkless. If Izuku hadn't moved to a new house and attended a new school many years ago, she was certain that Ryu would have clashed against the boy with an explosive quirk quite frequently, especially when she knew that Ryu would defend her to the very end.
As she recalled her past, Izuku would have to thank Doctor Tsubasa for prompting his grandson to befriend her instead of following Bakugou in the first place.
Now, their friendship survived throughout the years, even when Izuku had moved away and Ryu had entered U.A. in his pursuit to become a hero while she started attending a different high school for quirkless people like her.
Yet despite all these many changes Izuku had not lost contact with her friend. She often saw him every time Doctor Tsubasa sent Ryu to help her with certain stuff in the house during those days when the Doctor was managing the utility bills while Izuku's father was still overseas.
Even though Izuku's father had forbidden her to bring boys in the house when he wasn't around, but she knew that Ryu was an exception to the rule and the boy was always in his best behavior when he was inside the Midoriya household.
Apart from that, her father had also forbade her from dating or getting a boyfriend.
She remembered how her father had said that to her when she was fifteen years old and was on the cusp of womanhood.
Hisashi Midoriya had stated the rule with a smile on his face.
A smile that was far too deadly in her father's aristocratic features while his crimson eyes had looked almost terrifying beneath the light of the dining room.
"No dating or boyfriends until I deem you old enough to do so, Izu-chan." Her father said, "And I certainly hope you won't bring boys in this house while I am away."
Izuku, of course, just gulped and simply nodded her head in mute silence.
Afterward, she watched as her father gave her an eye-crinkling smile in return.
"Good," was Hisashi's only remark before he proceeded to eat the rest of his food with such delicate precision that showed his perfect manners.
If Izuku knew any better, she was quite certain her father wouldn't let her date or marry anyone until she was well past child-bearing age. Her father might even prefer that she grew to be a spinster with twelve cats to occupy her lonely and boring existence.
As she shifted her mind to the present, her attention returned back to her friend.
Ryu was her best friend, who now appeared conflicted whether to ignore the other girl's insults or give his fans a piece of his mind.
Ryu was practically seething. Izuku observed the muscle leaping on his chiseled jawline as he kept on clenching and unclenching his teeth in anger.
Izuku decided to stop him before he did something completely irrational which might put a stain on his otherwise impeccable reputation as a rising hero.
"Ryu, ignore them. I'm fine," She told him softly.
Ryu's attention shot back towards her and Izuku calmly met his amethyst eyes with her malachite ones.
"Their insults can't hurt me," She tried to assure him with a smile.
"But - " Ryu started to say but Izuku simply placed a hand on his arm and said, "I said it's fine, Ryu. Just please drop it and let's go?"
Ryu simply stared at her for a moment before he finally relented to her request.
"Alright," He said and Izuku noted the way his red wings seemed to droop down behind him. "If that is what you want Izuku-chan..."
"I just don't want to ruin the day with you fighting your fans Ryu," Izuku mumbled softly as they continued to exit through the sliding doors of the store and straight towards the parking lot.
"I'm sorry Izuku-chan," He apologized yet again.
This time Ryu sounded almost guilty.
Izuku shot him a curious look where she shortly saw the regret gleaming in his amethyst eyes.
"Perhaps you are right. Tagging after you was such a bad idea all along," Ryu said as they walked towards his red Porsche, which Doctor Tsubasa bought him the moment he turned eighteen a few months ago. A car that was modified to perfectly accommodate Ryu's wings, which she knew the car caused quite a lot of money.
"I know you don't like attracting scrutiny so I should have brought the groceries to your house like I usually do instead of tagging along with you today while you shopped," He paused to set the grocery bags down and searched for his car keys.
A few seconds later, Izuku watched as Ryu pressed his key to open his car, where he then deposited her grocery bags on the back seat.
Izuku didn't know what to say after she heard Ryu's statement. She wanted to say something that would lift Ryu's darkening mood but she was still processing about what happened that her already frazzled mind scrambled to find the right words to cheer her friend up.
Izuku was already anxious as it is, especially when she forgot to take her prescribed medication this morning. Doctor Tsubasa had advice her to take her vial of meds at a specific time of day. So if she even as much as lost track of time and missed taking her meds at those times, it would simply throw her entire medication therapy out of wacked. Doctor Tsubasa would have a fit if he found out about that, which she didn't plan to say anything at all because Izuku was certain that the Doctor would report the missed dose to her father and Izuku would rather suffer the effects than endure her father's constant rebuke and his cold, merciless glare.
Her father had stopped reminding her about taking her medication and Izuku certainly didn't like the idea of getting nagged by her father every time she missed a dose.
So she decided to keep the fact to herself while she would fight through the terrifying nightmares that followed after a missed dose once again.
"Izuku-chan?"
She heard Ryu ask her and she realized that her mind must have wandered off again.
It always did that every time she forgot to take her medication. Her mind had a way of recalling past events and during the night, Izuku was always plagued with nightmares of dead people, blood stained floors and a strong antiseptic scent that reminded her of a hospital.
More than that, there was a growing part in her that Izuku recognized as apathy when faced with a situation that her analytical mind deemed as irrelevant.
Hence, she simply said to her friend, "Let's go Ryu."
Thereafter, she walked towards the passenger side of the car and slid inside without glancing at her friend.
Ryu followed after and entered the driver's side, where he then started the car and proceeded to brood throughout the fifteen drive to Izuku's house.
However, the silence within the car was soon broken by the sound of Izuku's phone ringing.
Swiftly, she took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller.
It was her manager from the Maid Cafe, which completely confused Izuku because she was certain that today was her day off.
So she didn't really know the reason why her manager was calling her.
Beyond curious, Izuku answered the call and greeted her manager at once.
"Good evening Mrs. Kanda. How may I help you?" She said and waited for the older woman to tell her the reason she called.
"Izuku-chan!" The woman exclaimed, who decided to forgo all pleasantries altogether and proceeded to voice out the reason she called. "I'm sorry to call you during your day off, but I have no choice on the matter. I really needed you here right now, Izuku-chan. The entire Maid Cafe has been booked on short notice for a private dining and our current patrons have made a special request for you."
"Me? Why me?" Izuku asked in confusion.
"I don't know but you seem to have grown quite a reputation since you started working here two weeks ago," Mrs. Kanda told her, "Can you come to the Cafe, Izuku-chan? If you do, you will get paid more than your normal salary."
"Really?" Izuku asked in surprised.
"Yes, so can you please come to the Cafe? We are doing private dining at the back. The patrons prefer the traditional theme and they are such a large group too."
"How many exactly are they?" She inquired.
"Well, I think there are more than ten of them currently in the room. I am not quite certain. We've been busy trying to serve them and I have lost count because there are more and more people coming in. All I know is that the different groups are an upcoming boy bands who work for the same company called 'Underground Anarchy Studio' and they are there to celebrate a recent acquisition or some such. At least that's what they told me," Her manager explained.
"Oh, if others are already serving them, why do you need me there for then?" Izuku pointed out.
"The group said that they heard of you and your impressive performance on the stage and so they want to watch you entertain them. They requested for you, Izuku-chan. They want you and you alone."
Izuku was puzzled.
In fact, she was more than puzzled.
She was downright suspicious now.
Izuku had not often participated in the Maid Cafe live performance every Sunday and when she did, she always had a small role to play. Like lip syncing the chosen song of the week and performing some cutesy dance moves in front of their patrons alongside her co-workers of that day.
Something about this entire thing didn't feel right but the only way she would figure this out was to go to the cafe and see these 'boy bands' for herself.
After deciding that, Izuku finally voiced out the pressing question she wanted to know.
"How much are you going to pay me if I accept?" Izuku couldn't help but ask.
She wasn't going to work that shift without knowing how much she was getting paid for.
However, the moment she heard her manager say the specific amount, Izuku's mouth literally dropped.
"That's a lot!" Izuku said, still boggled at the amount that her manager was willing to pay her.
"I know right?! But considering what the groups are going to pay me for sending you in, I am more than willing to pay what is your due, Izuku-chan. So are you willing to come in for tonight?" Mrs. Kanda said, sounding hopeful.
Izuku glanced at her friend Ryu, who was obviously following her conversation using his improved hearing.
"I'm in Mrs. Kanda," Izuku finally decided and she noted the frown that appeared on Ryu's brows at her decision just as her manager exclaimed excitedly from the other line.
"Thank you! Thank you, Izuku-chan! It's great that you are taking the shift! I will tell our patrons that you are coming soon. Are you able to be here within twenty minutes?"
"I can be there less than that Mrs. Kanda. In fact, I will be there within ten minutes since I have left my uniform there in my locker and I'll be ready to work at once."
Ryu shot her a surprised look at her statement.
Izuku was acting on the spare of the moment and it's probably due to the fact that she missed the medication that usually helped with her mental faculties and her moods overall.
"That's great! And I will tell the other girls to help you with your make-up and other things to make you presentable before your performance." Her manager informed her.
"What did they want me to perform exactly?" She couldn't resist asking.
"Oh, the group just wanted to listen to you sing that's all."
"Any particular song they wanted me to sing?"
"Well, they wanted to hear you sing the song called, 'All For One'. However, if you are not familiar with that song we can always negotiate something else that you are - "
"I am familiar with that song." Izuku was quick to correct Mrs. Kanda. "That's my father's favorite song actually. He had me sing that song multiple times during his birthdays and at every opportunity when he is in a certain mood ever since that song came out."
"Oh thank god you know that song," Mrs. Kanda stated with relief. "And that's your father's favorite song?! I didn't even know your father liked pop music! How is your father by the way?"
Izuku wanted to roll her eyes when she noted the woman's drastic changed in conversation and her interested tone.
Mrs. Kanda certainly had keen eyes. She must be one of the many women who find Izuku's father attractive.
Izuku always knew that her father was considered a handsome man, especially when he was wearing those expensive suits of his and with his hair that often gleamed like molten silver beneath the sun, which he managed to tame the unruly locks with some hair product that made it looked sleek and silky. And combined with his aristocratic features, Hisashi Midoriya's certainly had a devastating effect on the women he encountered.
Izuku remembered the conversation from the girls in her school a few months back regarding her father after the Parent Day, which she would rather scrape clean out of her memories.
Her father might be well past thirty but Hisashi certainly did not look like it. In fact, he didn't look like he had aged at all, which Izuku started to find quite problematic, most certainly when they went out to eat at a restaurant every time he came back in the last year. As a result, Izuku didn't know how many times she had to clarify to people who assumed the worst when they saw the two of them sitting across from each other.
With their totally different coloring, people always assumed that she wasn't his daughter and they immediately came to a different and disturbing conclusion after that.
This could all have been avoided if her father just took a new wife, but nope. Her father decided to remain single and focused on his work and raising her by himself.
It still surprised Izuku the reason why her father had not taken a new lifetime partner or even introduced her to anyone for that matter.
However, she began to suspect that her father might be interested in someone else after she had often caught sight of him watching news that featured either the third or the first hero, Endeavour and All Might respectively with that intense look on his face.
If her father had a hots for either of the two heroes, that was her father's prerogative and Izuku wasn't going to go against her father's choices if he finally decided to admit the truth to her or do something about his infatuation.
"Izuku-chan?"
She suddenly noticed that her mind had drifted off again and quickly rectified her lapse of attention, "Yes, my father is fine. He's actually coming back to spend the holidays with me."
"That's great to hear!" Mrs. Kanda said, "Send him my best regards when he returns alright, Izuku-chan?!"
"I will," Izuku replied.
"Well, I will see you in a couple of minutes from now then," Her manager said.
"Yes, Mrs. Kanda. I will see you soon," was her response.
A moment later, she listened to the dial tone as the call ended.
Izuku hadn't even moved an inch when Ryu suddenly rounded on her with a frown of disapproval on his face.
"Are you seriously going to take that request for just the money, Izuku?" Ryu asked in a demanding tone.
"You know I need the money Ryu," was all she said to her friend.
"Yeah, I know that...but I told you I will give you some. All you need is ask me."
"And I will decline your offer once again. I need to do this on my own, Ryu. My father might have given me a lot of allowances all throughout the years but I prefer to earn my money from sheer, hard work. Not through inheritance and most certainly not through charity. I hope you understand that Ryu. So can you drop me by the Cafe while you can go to my house and put away the groceries? Please Ryu?" She told her friend, who sighed in response to her statement.
"As you can see, I'm already driving you to your workplace," Ryu stated.
She looked outside and realized that she was about three minutes away from the cafe.
"I can see that. Thanks Ryu," She said to him.
There was a brief pause right before her winged friend remarked out of the blue, "You know that I will do anything you say, right princess?"
"I know," was Izuku's reply with a tinge of sadness.
She knew that Ryu would do anything for her and defend her from everything that might harm her even to the point of dying.
That's how loyal Ryu was to her.
Author's Notes: Happy New Year Everyone! In case you are confused, the last Wielder of One For All is Nana Shimura. She died before she could past on OFA. Also, Toshinori was born with a Quirk on this one. I also made a lot of .gifs and photo edits for this fic. You can check them out within the story itself in my AO3. Thanks so much for reading!