"A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face." ― Maya Angelou
Putting on her casual clothes, Rumi blatantly watched as Izuku dried himself with a towel. The two had just emerged from the shower and Rumi was seriously considering licking all the water droplets off her boyfriend's skin. As Izuku called someone on his cellphone, Rumi could not help but grin as she remembered all the cute sounds she had gotten out of her boyfriend in the shower.
"-umi? Earth to Rumi…" Izuku said loudly.
Snapping out of her fantasy, Rumi blushed slightly as she tried to pretend she was doing anything other than ogling her lover.
"Huh?" She said as she tried to appear calm and composed. "I totally wasn't fantasizing about you...er..I mean umm...what are we doing again?"
Rolling his eyes but chuckling softly, Izuku put on a pair of jeans as he replied.
"We are going to visit Cassandra. I asked her for help so we can go out in public without anyone recognizing you. She has experience with those kinds of problems and we can trust her."
Nodding in understanding, Rumi put on a black hoodie, ripped jeans, and grabbed a pair of her custom-made sneakers. "Well I hope she has a way to hide the fact that one of my arms is made out of metal."
Putting on a t-shirt and light jacket, Izuku shrugged. "Either way, it is good to socialize with people. No offense, but you need some more friends besides Hawks."
Huffing indignantly, Rumi followed Izuku out of the bedroom. "Hey I have friends! Uhh...Endeavor counts as one right? I mean he helped me out when I lost my arm."
Smirking as they left the apartment and entered the elevator, Izuku spoke in a teasing tone. "Really? The best you can come up with is Endeavor? I read his file and he is definitely not the type of person you would associate yourself with."
"Oh whatever Izuku." Rumi said as she gently punched Izuku's arm in retaliation. "I can get friends if I want to."
Exiting the elevator together and walking to Izuku's car, the two lovers continued to bicker and tease each other good-naturedly. A short car ride later the unlikely pair found themselves in Cassandra's hotel.
As they rode the elevator up to the floor Cassandra was on, Izuku suddenly spoke up.
"Alright, I have a challenge for you." He said to Rumi with a smirk on his face. "There is going to be a woman with Cassandra. If you can become friends with her I will treat you to a slice of carrot cake from Lorenzo's restaurant."
Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Rumi weighed her options. On one hand, a slice of carrot cake from that super fancy restaurant was sure to be delicious. On the other hand, she knew that Izuku most likely gave her the challenge because he thought she could not do it. Eventually, Rumi's stomach won out and she extended her hand for Izuku to shake.
"Bet." Rumi said with a cocky grin. "Get ready to lose Izuku, because I can be super friendly if I want to."
Immediately shaking Rumi's hand, Izuku smiled devilishly.
"We shall see." He said cryptically.
A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened with a soft ding and the two lovers began walking to Cassandra's room. Unlike the last time they were here, there were no guards posted at the door. Frowning slightly, Rumi quickly tried to figure out why Cassandra would not have more guards if her psychopath of a brother was still roaming free. Stepping up to the door, Izuku knocked politely and a few seconds later the door opened to reveal a casually dressed Cassandra.
"Hey you two!" The brightly colored woman said cheerily. "C'mon in and make yourselves at home." The American singer then looked backward and spoke loudly to someone out of sight. "Hey Miyu could you make some tea for Izuku and Miruko?"
There was the sound of something (or someone) falling over followed by a slightly stressed female voice. "Sure! Lemme put on some clo-...I mean change real fast!"
Rumi arched an eyebrow as Cassandra grinned cheekily.
"Best bodyguard I could ever ask for." Cassandra said as she let Izuku and Rumi into the spacious hotel room. "She is so adorable when she gets flustered I can't help but tease her."
Giving Izuku a suspicious glance, Rumi followed him into the main living room and sat down in one of the plush chairs next to her boyfriend.
"Bodyguard?" Rumi said curiously. "Back when we first met I thought you said regular hired guards were not going to be enough."
Giving Rumi a slightly confused look, Cassandra gestured to Izuku.
"Well considering Miyu works with Izuku, and the fact that he personally recommended her, I feel pretty safe." Cassandra explained.
Looking at Izuku for confirmation, Rumi was met with a serious nod.
"She was actually part of my strike team during the warehouse raid." Izuku said. "She has plenty of experience with dangerous situations and I trust her completely."
Moments later, the woman named Miyu walked into the room holding a tray containing cups of tea. Almost as tall as Izuku, Bravo Two wore a pair of jeans and a navy blue turtleneck. Her body was well-muscled and her brown eyes were accompanied by short black hair. Her face was slightly red with obvious embarrassment and she nodded professionally to Izuku and Rumi.
"Hello Iz-...sir." Miyu said stiffly as she put the tea down on the table in the middle of the room. "I did not know you were coming."
With a teasing smirk on his face, Izuku gestured to Cassandra. "Just needed Cassandra's help with something, we won't be long. I would hate to get in the way of any plans you two had."
Rumi watched as Miyu's face flushed crimson as she stuttered out an apology and fled the room. Looking back at her boyfriend, Rumi could not help but be surprised at the slightly sadistic teasing.
That was definitely something they could explore back in the bedroom.
Pushing her fantasies to the back of her mind, Rumi could not help but bring up the elephant in the room.
"You don't care that the two of them are um...romantically involved with each other?" She said in slight disbelief.
Shrugging uncaringly, Izuku suddenly reached out and held Rumi's hand lovingly. "I mean considering I am with you I have no right to control Tanaka's personal life. I am not her parent, and I am happy that she has found something to involve herself in that is not work related."
Flailing slightly in surprise and shock, Rumi spluttered frantically as she pointed to Cassandra and tried to get Izuku to let go of her hand.
"Relax Miruko." Cassandra said knowingly. "I already know about your relationship with Izuku. Honestly I am very happy for you two. You guys are practically made for each other and I have no intention of revealing your secret to anyone."
Slightly out of breath, Rumi tried to give Izuku an angry glare but only succeeded in pouting unhappily.
Chuckling in amusement, Izuku leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Rumi's cheek.
"Sorry Rumi, I just wanted to mess with you a little." The handsome field agent said honestly.
Standing up, Cassandra gestured for Izuku to follow her. "I have the stuff you asked about in my room. Let me show you and then we can figure out what would work best for your beautiful girlfriend."
Rising from his seat, Izuku smiled at Rumi in a way that made her heart skip a beat. "Remember our bet." He said before following Cassandra out of sight.
Moments after Izuku had Cassandra had disappeared a flustered Miyu quickly entered the living room and sat down on the couch across from Rumi. Clearly the embarrassed woman was making sure to avoid any further interaction with Izuku and was fleeing the area so as not to be talked to.
For almost a minute it was silent, and Rumi wracked her brain as she tried to think of a way to start a conversation.
Should she just start out by asking the woman's name? Maybe break the ice with a joke? Compliment her clothes?
Giving up, Rumi decided to just do things her usual way and be straight to the point.
"Hi." Rumi said suddenly. "Umm...my name is Miruko...shit, you probably already knew that...um...what is your name?"
Flinching like she had been zapped with static electricity, Miyu avoided meeting Rumi's eyes and nodded respectfully. "Tanaka, Miyu Tanaka…"
Trying her best to be friendly, Rumi forced a smile and continued the conversation.
"So how long have you worked with Izuku?" She asked honestly.
Miyu was silent for a few seconds before answering quietly. "Almost three years."
"I see…" Rumi said slowly as she tried to think up another topic of conversation. "Do you enjoy working wi-"
"How did you get Midoriya to fall in love with you?" Miyu said suddenly.
Thrown for a loop, Rumi struggled to come up with an answer to the question.
"Huh?"
"Great job Rumi." The pro-hero thought sarcastically to herself. "At this rate Izuku is definitely going to win the bet."
Still staring at the floor like she was a lowly servant in front of royalty, Miyu sighed in a depressed manner. "I just...I wanted to know if there was some way to be more...attractive."
Frowning and not quite sure where the conversation was going, Rumi scratched her head in thought. "Umm...well it is a long story. To be honest it was more like I fell in love with him. The way you are saying it makes it sound like I planned the whole thing. Honestly it just sorta...happened."
Miyu simply nodded silently, and Rumi could see that the flow of the conversation was starting to end.
"What do you mean to be more attractive?" Rumi asked in a desperate attempt to keep the conversation going.
Miyu was silent for almost a full minute, and Rumi started to think she had failed Izuku's challenge.
"I mean…" Miyu said quietly as she wrung her hands together. "I tried flirting with him and he said he wasn't interested. I just...I don't see why Cassandra likes me…"
Like a figurative damn cracking open, Miyu began to speak faster as she stared at the floor.
"I am just a nobody, why would Cassandra even be interested in me if Midoriya wasn't? I'm not even that girly. I'm just some musclebrain who hasn't worn a dress since middle school. I don't even have a cool quirk. I really like Cassandra but I am afraid of getting more involved with her because I know she will eventually leave the country and I will be stuck here. I…"
Miyu put her head in her hands and groaned in shameful embarrassment. "And for some reason I am telling all my personal problems to fucking Miruko of all people. Just kill me now…"
Standing up, Miyu made a beeline for the hotel room door. "Sorry, I should just leave."
Feeling bad for the woman who had such low self-esteem, Rumi immediately got up and followed Miyu out the door.
"Hey hold on a sec." She said in an attempt to get Miyu's attention. "You don't have to feel bad for talking to me. I mean, I can honestly relate with a lot of what you are saying. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve Izuku after all the shit I put him through."
Stopping with one hand on the doorknob in front of her, Miyu spoke in a shy voice. "You...you do?"
Seizing the opportunity to continue the conversation, Rumi nodded emphatically. "Yeah! I mean this is Izuku Midoriya we are talking about right? The guy who can do anything and look good while doing it. I may be a pro-hero, but I don't know jack shit when it comes to relationship stuff."
Seeming to have stopped her escape attempt, Miyu awkwardly stared at the floor as she let go of the doorknob. "So...what do you think I should do? Cassandra is the first girl I have been with and...and I feel like this is all a dream that I don't want to wake up from."
Slowly approaching Miyu, Rumi put on her best friendly voice. "Well first I want you to turn around and look at me." She said in an attempt to inject some levity into the conversation. "You keep talking to the floor and I like to see the face of who I am talking to. Just...think of me as a co-worker or something. Y'know, equals."
Slowly turning around, Miyu peeked her eyes upwards and continued to anxiously wring her hands together. "Sorry, I just...I have never talked to someone as famous as you before."
Giving Miyu a friendly smile, Rumi waved away the woman's concern. "Trust me you are fine. It's actually kinda nice to talk to someone normally for once. Let's start over."
Extending her flesh and blood hand for Miyu to shake, Rumi smiled warmly as she felt some of the tension leave the air. "Hi, my name is Usagiyama Rumi. You can just call me Rumi though since we are friends now."
Looking at Rumi like she was some kind of angel, Miyu slowly reached out and gave her hand a single shake. "Umm...hi. My name is Tanaka Miyu. Please take care of me."
Smiling happily, Rumi nodded. "Same, now you are no longer allowed to call me Miruko. I don't care if we are out in public or at work, if I see you I am gonna talk to you like we have known each other for years. Got it?"
A small smile formed on Miyu's face, and for the first time Rumi could clearly see the awkward agent's many shark-like teeth.
"Got it Miru-...I mean Rumi."