A/N: Late Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all got a good time during the holidays and New Year's Eve. And I'm finally back with a new chapter. Sorry it took some time again. University is stressing me out. I had to work on two presentations I was holding yesterday and today. I literally finished shit tons of work like today and first thing I do is updating a chapter, so I truly hope you guys will like it. Still have to write a term paper though... Ugh! Studying is such a royal pain in the ass, no kidding!
Chapter Twelve: Byakko's Gala Evening
Masha and Kahono help each other to get dressed for the gala event properly. Both of them are excited and want to make the whole evening a great success for the animal shelter. The gentle blond woman with the hazel eyes wears a cream-colored ankle-length dress made of a silky, shining fabric and pumps which fit very well with it and don't have too high heels. She keeps rearranging her shoulder length hair in an up do hairstyle again and again until Masha tells her that it looks beautiful enough and that she should stop before she ruins it completely.
Kahono also helps her daughter to put her short and furry hair in some shape with a lot of styling gel. Masha wrinkles her nose about the sticky substance, but lets her mother do as she pleases. After the two of them are done with getting ready for the event, Kahono takes Masha with her in her bedroom where she searches for two pretty boxes.
"My mother left them behind for me", Kahono says and Masha twitches one of her tiger ears in great interest. She wasn't as lucky as to be able to meet her grandparents because they died long before Kahono adopted her. "We've never been rich, so it's everything I got left from my parents. I waited for a special occasion like that to show this to you. I hope you like it"
The young girl opens one of the boxes and her amber eyes begin to sparkle as she looks at the beautiful jewelry. Awestruck she touches the silver necklace with a white pendant in the shape of a little tiger and the matching bracelet and hair clip.
"Before I was born my parents lived in Nara for a very long time and my dad had Chinese ancestors, so they both worshipped the guardian gods of the four cardinal points a lot", Kahono explains. "Especially Byakko, the white tiger of the west who stands for strength, righteousness and bravery. He is a very strong fighter, but at the same time he is a protector and a preserver. I know I told you these stories very often when you were younger. After my birth we moved to Kyoto, but my mother never stopped telling me about the ancient mythologies and folklore. I remember that we've been to the Heian Shrine once and I could find the symbols of Byakko and the dragon of the east, the Seiryu almost everywhere on the temple grounds. My father was very proud of me that day"
The young tigress turns the silver bracelet with the many white and round pendants in her hands and eyes up the Chinese sign that is engraved in each of the small pearls. "It's tiger jade", her mother informs her and she looks at her questioningly. "White jade is also called tiger jade and it's a symbol of the Byakko. The Chinese character can be read as king and it's said that the Byakko has this sign on his forehead because he is the king of all beasts and animals"
The blond helps her daughter to put on the jewelry and beams as the necklace fits perfectly into the neckline of Masha's dress. Also hair clip and bracelet in silver and white match with the rest of her outfit for the evening.
"Thank you, mommy, I love it!" the cat girl assures her mother and gazes at the other box. "Is that one for you?" Kahono nods and opens the second box which contains a set of very delicate gold jewelry consisting of a necklace, earrings, a bracelet and a ring. The main focus is the pendant of the necklace in form of a tiger head with crimson red ruby eyes. "You think your old mother can still wear stuff like that?" she jokes and Masha starts to giggle along. "Sure! It matches well with your dress. You look really pretty"
Only a few minutes later the doorbell rings and Kahono opens the apartment door for Izukyun and his mother, aunty Inko. While her son wears a classical suit in white and black with a tie, Inko wears a dark green skirt suit in the color of her hair and eyes with a white blouse.
"Izukyun! Aunty Inko!" Masha cheers and hugs them tightly. "Wow, you two look great!" Izuku blushes after her compliment, but gives his best friend a genuine smile. The greenish dark haired boy watches the tiger girl closely as she spins in front of him and his mother to present her new outfit. Masha wears a tight-fitting, beaded light-blue lace-up gown with chest and hip cutouts, a slight train, thin straps and a long thigh-baring slit on one side and well matching sky-high sandals.
"You look amazing too, Masha. That's a very nice dress. But are you sure your feet won't hurt in these high heels?" Izukyun asks with a slight hint of worry on his face. Masha snickers about her friend always being so concerned. "Ask me after the event. Up until now everything's just fine, but I'm only wearing them for a few minutes", she answers lightheartedly. "By the way, I'm truly sorry that you were forced to do this opening dance stuff with me. I know you don't like to be the center of attention"
Although his blush increases and Masha can feel his nervousness, Izuku shakes his head. "It's fine, it'll be for a good cause and I helped with the voluntary work in our vacations as well. Not as often as you did, but I think they want to present as many future heroes in their staff team as possible" Masha nods and sighs. "It'll be more of a hero gala than a charity event for homeless pets, but we're gonna make it a great success anyway. I certainly do like your suite. Never thought something classical would look so good on you" The green haired rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, well uhm... Thanks. I also have a brown suit, but my mom said that it doesn't fit with the color of your dress, so we went to buy a new one. That's actually my first time wearing something formal like that"
The two friends follow their mothers out of the apartment and to Kahono's car. It's only a short drive to the City Hall where the event will take place, but for the young cat girl it feels like hours as she's not able to hold back her excitement anymore. Shortly after the small group has entered the huge hall through the back entrance, they get greeted by the rest of Kahono's colleagues and their boss. While Masha and Izukyun have to prepare for their appearance and the first dance of the evening and Kahono joins the animal shelter staff who have to go on the stage to support their boss during his speech he'll hold right after the mayor, Inko makes her way to the main hall where the other guests are gathering one by one.
After the inaugural address of the mayor and a short speech of thanks of Kahono's boss, the crowd suddenly starts to cheer and the two childhood friends share a confused glance as it would actually be their turn by now. As they hear a very familiar strong voice with a dark timbre boom through the whole City Hall, both of them smile from ear to ear. "All Might!" Izukyun exclaims happily. "He really came!"
And right after the famous number one hero the two students notice a second surprise that wasn't really planned or expected. "Alright ladies and gentlemen! That were some very heartwarming words from our three speakers..." the loud and always energetic voice of Present Mic shouts out to the gala audience. Masha chuckles amused. "There he goes our MC of the evening" Izuku nods along and holds out his hand to the cat girl which she takes as the two friends get ready to go down the stairs that would lead them to the dance floor. "Present Mic likes playing the commentator for almost everything right?" he laughs and they stop at the edge of the first step to wait for their announcement.
"And now we'd very much like to present you the hope of our young generation of future heroes! Not only have they both spent their free time of their vacations in the animal shelter to do voluntary work, they also got accepted in U.A. High School's hero course. Whether it is poor animals or people in need, those two will be able to rescue every member of our society flawlessly. From class 1-A of our hero course, Shirogawa Masha and Midoriya Izuku! Raise the roof you two! Oh yeah!" the enthusiastic English teacher finally introduces the two students, causing the crowd to cheer and applaud and causing Masha to facepalm. "Well... He does a great job, but I doubt that a classical dance is gonna make the dance floor quake or somethin'..." she deadpans while the green haired boy besides her has problems to stifle his laughter.
Together the childhood friends make their way down the stairs to the main hall and through some staff members to the center of the dance floor. The lights in the huge City Hall are dimmed and a spotlight is directed at the couple. Izukyun sweatdrops and his face turns bright red as he notices all the people staring at the two students. His body is rigid and his hands start to tremble. "Breathe, Izukyun!" Masha tries to soothe her best friend squeezing his hand. "It'll be over in just a few minutes. And remember it could never be worse than the last time we tried this"
Her remark makes the young boy giggle nervously, but the tiger girl can feel how he relaxes a little bit. Just in time as the music begins to play and they start their waltz. At first the two of them move a little stiffly, but after a few steps they are in perfect sync with each other, floating gracefully over the dance floor and even having fun while doing so. For a short moment both of the students are able to forget about the big audience surrounding them from all sides and they smile at each other as they remember dancing like this for the first time a few years ago.
Around the waltzing couple the other guests of the charity event, pro heroes and civilians alike, watch the two teenagers in awe, while the mayor left the gala already after his speech because of other duties. Kahono and the animal shelter team with Present Mic on the stage and also Inko only a few steps away from them puff out their chests in pride. Izuku's mother even has to pull out her handkerchief because she is moved to tears seeing her son and his best friend all grown up like that. Also the two hero course classes of the U.A. have arrived with their respective homeroom teachers Eraserhead and Vlad King, bringing along Present Mic, Cementoss, Recovery Girl and All Might, who unfortunately had to leave after his speech as well because he'd been out of time of his muscle form. Even Shinso Hitoshi and very few of his fellow general course students are sitting at the bar watching the first dance of the evening. The purple haired boy grins proudly looking at his kitty friend from middle school days. Class 1-A standing together as a group follows the movements of the dancing couple with great interest and the students root for their classmates as they spin and sway around in the middle of the hall.
"Wow, those two are so awesome, they're in perfect sync!" Ochako says with wide shining eyes, but nevertheless feels a slight sting in her heart. She wonders where that suddenly comes from. "Indeed. A splendid performance. As expected of two elite students", glasses Iida affirms sounding proud and moved at the same time. "Whoa! Who would've thought they're actually able to dance like that. Looks like they're doin' this every weekend or somethin'", the red-haired Kirishima states amazed with Sero nodding along. "But we all did a fantastic job with that dress. Makes me wanna fall in love", he comments lightheartedly. Kirishima laughs at him. "Oh, so ya didn't from the beginning already?!"
The two boys joke around for a while until the red head faces his friend seriously again. "No, honestly dude... I already told Kaminari that falling for her would be an overkill. We're no match for her in many ways. And besides that..." The crimson boy lowers his voice and comes a little bit closer to the black haired who listens to him curiously. "...I truly think that someone else has his eyes on our Masha. And that certain someone might also be able to handle her somehow" Meaningfully Kirishima throws a side glance in Katsuki's direction.
"What? Bakugo?!" Sero raises his eyebrows. "Seriously?! Can't even imagine him being interested in girls. Maybe he just wants to fight her 'cause she's got that damn cool shape shifting ability?" The two boys stare at their blond classmate. "Nah, look at him more closely. That's something... different. I noticed that during the USJ incident when Masha's around him he acts out of character. And how they fought together at that time... Their reaction time was just insane, bro! You really should've seen 'em. They'd be such a great match!" the red-haired boy insists causing Sero to show him an amused grin from ear to ear. "You're shipping them way too bad y'know"
Kirishima nods and pumps his fists eagerly. "I do! I wanna be his wingman. Are ya gonna join?" The black haired boy sighs but shrugs his shoulders. "Guess I've got no choice. Without our help that guy's never gonna make any progress even if he's interested in her" He turns to Kaminari and Mineta who gape at Masha with mouths and eyes wide open, fanboying about her new dress like crazy. "Man, that'll break Kaminari's heart. We'll have to support that moron as well when the time comes" But to Sero's big surprise Kirishima only shakes his head. "C'mon he's not that stupid. And Masha's not heartless. They both love messing around with each other, there's nothin' serious goin' on" The tape hero hums as an answer. "Let's hope you're right..."
Meanwhile Katsuki has focused his attention on damn Deku and the stupid cat. Seeing her in that dress made this weird disgusting feeling in his stomach reappear once again and noticing Deku's hands on her as they spin around together laughing like two idiots didn't help him in that kind of situation at all. He somehow tries to calm down his racing heart and his boiling temper as he questions his own reactions along with his sanity. Just what the hell's goin' on with him lately?! Of course he wants to fight and to crush both of these nerds showing them who's gonna be the unrivaled number one, but even the light blond hot head is very well aware that this is not the right time or location to do so. As if he'd attempt to attack them in a place like this and on top of it with such ridiculous formal clothes, not a chance! Besides the sports festival is just around the corner, so he's gonna get his opportunity anyways. Nevertheless neither the prickling on his skin nor the unknown sensation of a certain impatience are disappearing, so he shoves his hands into his pockets and watches the dance with gritted teeth and the growing urge to set the whole goddamn City Hall ablaze. Katsuki never wanted to attend this dumb charity event in the first place. Waste of time!
After the music finally stopped and Masha and Izukyun remain in their finishing stance for a short while, the excited crowd around them begins to applaud. Relieved the two friends bow in front of their audience and join their cheering classmates who wait for them to their left. "What a performance, ladies and gentlemen!" Present Mic screams from his place on the stage. "I hope everyone in this hall has the same warm feeling in your hearts as I do! And now that we've seen our prince and our princess from a beautiful fairy tale, I bet you all want to start dancing right away after so much inspiration. Alright, let's do this! The dance floor is all yours! And please don't forget to get in contact with one of our staff members if you want to donate for the pets this event is dedicated to. Have a nice evening and lots of fun!" Masha sighs and shakes her head as many other couples start dancing with each other. "I love that over energetic dude..."
The brown haired Ochako in her frilly and very girly and cute pink dress comes to hug and compliment the tiger girl with a beaming smile. "Deku, Masha, great job you two! You look awesome!" The teenage girl hugs her back and returns the smile. "Thanks, Ochako, you look really cute as well. Right, Izukyun?" She gives her best friend a little nudge with her elbow. "Oh... uhm yes, of course. Suits you very well, Uraraka", the green haired boy tells her insecurely. At least he doesn't stutter, but an embarrassed Ochako rubs the back of her head. "Oh no, you two! You don't have to flatter me!"
The class soon decides to stick together and they search for a place where they can have their seats for the upcoming dinner. "I'm just glad we didn't end up in a cake this time", the messy haired boy comments. "That's because the buffet is over there", Masha gives back and points over her shoulder where their dinner is being prepared. "Too far away for us to fall in and ruin it"
Ochako and Iida share a confused glance. "Excuse me, but I'm afraid we don't understand", the class rep states. He wears a dark blue suit that matches well with his hair color, a white shirt and a striped tie. Masha takes out her smartphone and shows her classmates some pictures where they can see the younger versions of her and Izukyun dressed up in costumes of a prince and a princess and sitting in the middle of some remaining rests of a big birthday cake.
"Ah! You still have them. That takes me back, how nostalgic", the greenish dark-haired boy says with a sweet smile. "You two are so cute!" Ochako fangirls with rosy cheeks. "That was my first birthday party after my mom had adopted me. She wanted to make it a theme party and since at that time this new movie just had come out and all the kids my age made such a fuss over it, I told her that I wanted to make the movie characters the theme of my party", the young tigress explains. "And of course like in many movies for kids, the protagonists were a prince and a princess. That's what you can see here. But what's actually the cutest thing about all that is that Izukyun took me to take a dancing class for this classical dance together because he wanted to make the party a special memory for me"
The young Midoriya boy scratches his cheek and keeps his green eyes focused on the table right in front of him. "Well... It turned out to be a special memory in another way..." She smiles at her friend knowingly. "He's still upset that we've messed up the last few steps, but it was very funny in its own way. After we had landed in my birthday cake, we decided to have a cake battle with everyone and we threw cake and cupcakes at each other until the party was over. The cake and our costumes were ruined, we were all dirty and sticky, but we had so much fun that I couldn't stop laughing the whole time"
Mina starts laughing and cheering happily. "A cake battle! I wanna do that too!" she squeals. Her purple cocktail dress stands in a beautiful contrast to her pink skin and the yellow eyes. "That explains why you guys are able to dance like that. No wonder after taking lessons together", Kirishima points out. The crimson boy wears a light gray suit with a red shirt, but no tie and Masha thinks that it suits him pretty well. Very Kirishima-like. Besides she's glad that some of her male classmates decided to wear something different than the classical black and white combination, because that's what the majority of the boys in her class are wearing. And not only in her class but in the entire hall as well. Actually the young tigress is quite surprised that Kaminari and Mineta chose to come in black and white too, because she had expected them to go for something that would attract attention, especially from the girls, of course, but they even wear bow ties. Way too conservative for those two. And the two toned Todoroki is the only one who is completely dressed in white and silver, looking like a mysterious prince appearing on a white horse to save the innocent maiden.
The classmates sit together and chat for a while as they wait for the buffet to open up. Masha watches some of the dancing pairs and lets her eyes wander through the hall until they land on the group of teachers who sit a bit aside from their students. Remembering her promise with Present Mic a mischievous smirk curls up her lips. "Uh-oh I know that look on your face... Masha, what are you up to on an event like this?!" Izukyun worries. His adorable big green eyes search for her amber ones in an attempt to stop her before she's able to do anything stupid. She gets up from her chair and pats her friend's shoulder. "Just another dance Izukyun, chill!"
Nonchalantly the cat girl walks over to the teacher's table. "Good evening everyone. Many thanks for attending our little charity event. I know your schedules as pro heroes and faculty members are probably already packed enough", she greets her teachers respectfully and bows her head. "Yo, lil' sis!" Present Mic exclaims with a side glance on Mr. Aizawa who is still wrapped up in bandages. "A pleasure to be here. Ready to dance?" The blond pro hero jumps up from his chair offering the tiger girl his arm which she gladly accepts. Vlad King, Recovery Girl and Cementoss share confused glances while the aura around Eraserhead suddenly turns dark and threatening. "Hoooo, scary, scary! C'mon kitty girl, let's get outta here!" Suppressing her giggling Masha follows him to the dance floor. "He's so gonna make me pay for this", she sighs while being spun around and Present Mic agrees on the spot. "Yeah, but it was worth it. It's been a while since I've seen him that pissed" Remembering uncle Shota's glaring eyes they both burst out into laughter while dancing. "Be careful not to be killed when you return to your table", the cat girl warns her prank partner, but the blond doesn't seem too worried.
After her dance with Present Mic and after an extensive and really fantastic dinner with starter, main dish and dessert, the official and conservative part of the gala is slowly coming to an end. The atmosphere changes as the guests sit together in small groups, talk and laugh or start to get some drinks at the bar. Some of the pro heroes are busy with signing autographs or making selfies with fans and the staff members of the animal shelter still gather donations which seems to go pretty well. The classical music is soon replaced by modern and popular pop and rock songs from the charts and with the music of course also the way of dancing changes drastically. Just a few minutes later the gala evening could as well be called a lively party.
Masha visits Hitoshi and the few students from the general course to greet them and thank them for coming and after she spent some time with her middle school friend she also joins the B class, sitting together with Kendo, Awase, Juzo and Tetsutetsu much to the blond Monoma's displeasure.
Upon rejoining her own classmates the young girl notices that also the A class has scattered in different directions and searches for her best friend with the familiar messy hair but ends up being stopped by a brightly smiling Kaminari. "Hey, there you are Masha! You've been on the move a lot. Showing everybody how fantastic you look in your dress?" The electric blond winks at her and hands her a fancy looking cocktail. "I thought you could need something to drink. Non-alcoholic of course. We won't get anything else here" The tiger girl raises her eyebrows at her friend but accepts the drink with a genuine smile. "Sounds like you've already tried that out. To get something else at the bar" Kaminari snorts. "Nah, not me. Mineta", he clarifies causing Masha to shake her head in resignation. "Sure, who else..." she gives back and the two of them start laughing.
"Masha..." the blond begins again and rubs the back of his head insecurely with his cheeks growing slightly pinkish. "I'm not the one you should be asking, ya know", she interrupts him with a knowing smile, but the electricity hero only blinks more than confused. "Huh...?" The cat girl sighs and puts her hand on her classmate's shoulder. "Kaminari... I'm not the girl you should be asking to dance with you on an event like this. I'm pretty sure that there's someone else who is waiting for you to ask her" Kaminari's eyes widen in shock after her words and to Masha's great surprise the electric blond gets serious for once.
"Oh well, Kirishima has warned me..." he sighs sounding a little disappointed. Masha tilts her head. Kirishima? Warned...? "I kinda had a crush on you from the beginning. I mean I knew it wouldn't happen anyway and he also told me that, but... Maybe I got a bit too worked up about our teasing game. I really like the way how you interact with me. I always feel good being around you" The blond boy avoids her amber eyes and looks at the floor instead while the young tigress has to prevent her jaw from dropping. "Hey, Kaminari... I love you, ya know that?" she assures him with a warm and affectionate voice and his head jerks up dumbfounded with a heavy blush on his face. "It's just not the way of love you're talkin' about. I love you like I love Izukyun or Kirishima, ya know. I mean in a familial and not in a romantic way and I actually think that it's better that way. I don't think that I'm the one who could make you happy and you deserve to be happy. You're a handsome and very lovable guy with a big heart and a cool quirk. You're gonna be an awesome hero some day and I want you to find the love of your life. And that's not gonna change anything between the two of us or the way we interact with each other"
Kaminari's sunny smile reappears on his face and Masha smiles back at him, however still feeling guilty. "Sorry, Kaminari. I didn't notice you're a bit more serious about it than I thought you'd be" But the electric blond only shakes his head and waves that aside. "Nah, don't worry. It wasn't realistic and like I said I kinda knew that already, but it still felt good, so I didn't really care", he tries to explain. "By the way, what did you mean someone else is waiting for me to ask her?"
The teenage girl giggles about the sudden change of mind but is nevertheless very glad that her friend doesn't seem to be hurt. She takes the blond by his hand and pulls him around the corner to point at a table where Jiro is sitting all alone and stares at the couples on the dance floor. The purple haired girl in a black mini dress and black laced boots with not too high wedge heels combined with an actually very classy dark violet leather jacket hasn't moved from her seat since she had been dancing together with the other girls from the A class. Besides that the shy girl looks like she's feeling uncomfortable somehow.
"Our little tsundere girly over there wouldn't admit it, but I'd bet that she'd feel much better if someone came and spent some time with her. So, go and be her hero tonight, will ya?!" Masha tells Kaminari who's eyes start shining instantly. Giving her a thumb up and a cute sideways grin he turns from the cat girl and walks over to Jiro to grab her by the wrist and pull her towards the dance floor without hesitating and without paying much attention to her reddened face and her protests. After being spun around a few times by the electric blond, Jiro begins smiling besides her still visible embarrassment and Masha exhales relieved.
Needing some fresh air after the shocking half serious confession from Kaminari the tiger girl decides to step out on the terrace and drink the cocktail that the blond boy had given her earlier. "That was a nice one!" someone comments lightheartedly from behind her back and the young girl turns around to notice Kirishima approaching her with his hands in his pockets. "It was you who told Kaminari to cheer up Jiro a bit, right? I saw you two talkin' with each other" Her cat like smirk appears and she shakes her head. "I'm just match making a little. Those two are super cute!" she coos, but it feels kinda forced. The red head seems to notice that too and throws her a worried side glance. With a twitch of her tiger ears Masha tells the crimson boy what happened with Kaminari just a few minutes ago and her friend hums understandingly.
"I kinda get what he means. To be completely honest I had the same thoughts at the beginning..." Kirishima blushes and the cat girl gapes at him flabbergasted. "Oh, c'mon Kirishima! Seriously?! You too?! I never thought my teasing would have such a bad effect... Now I truly feel sorry about that whole thing!" she complains, but the red-haired boy puts his hands on her shoulders smiling sweetly at her. "No Masha, you didn't get us right... It wasn't bad. Kaminari told you, right? That it felt good. And it still does. How can I explain it properly? From the beginning it just felt like more than a common friendship. I don't mean that in a romantic way necessarily. That was just an opportunity that maybe could've worked out at that time. Yeah, I have to admit that we both thought about it, Kaminari as well as I, we did have that in mind, but I realized pretty fast that this is not the direction where you want us to go. Our blond moron only needed a little bit more time to understand that too, but you don't have to worry. It never turned out to be a heavy crush or something so serious like truly falling in love. You never did anything wrong or anything that would've hurt us. Nevertheless I've gotta say that you're a fascinating girl. Maybe that's why we're so captivated. You're so damn strong, but also kind hearted and beautiful and being friends with you just feels natural and easy. Even with your teasing character it never was awkward. By now it actually feels like family for me. Like I've known you for ten years already or something"
The young tigress can feel her heart lighten up a bit. She smirks meaningfully and raises her eyebrows at Kirishima. "You considered goin' out with me?!" For her that's a huge surprise. The crimson boy rubs the back of his head and his cheeks grow dark pink. "Yeah... I did... I mean who wouldn't?" he admits. "But I was caught between two stools because... W-well... I mean before we even met I had... no, I have... U-uhm... Uh..." He starts stammering and avoids Masha's amber feline eyes. She snickers. He's such a cute guy. "You've actually got someone else on your mind already", the cat girl sings confidently causing Kirishima's jaw to drop. "Can't hide anything from ya, huh?" With her grin growing wider she crosses her arms over her chest and shakes her head. "Nope"
They both start laughing together and decide to return to the party. There Masha spots the other A class girls standing in a group and gives her red haired friend a push from behind. "You should ask her to come to the dance floor with ya. That girl loves dancing like crazy, right? So use your chance now!" Kirishima turns to her slightly seeming even more surprised. "Y-you know who...?!" But she waves her hands to shut him up quickly. "I know everything I need to know" The tiger girl winks playfully at her classmate. "Go, be a man, Kirishima. No excuses!" she commands lightheartedly. He shows her his typical wide grin and obediently makes his way through the crowd to go and talk to Mina. And of course, the pink girl cheers happily, pumping her fist high into the air and grabs the red head by his hand to pull him with her to the dance floor. Masha giggles amused. As to be expected of her.
After having matched two of her favorite shipped couples successfully, the young tigress finally discovers Izukyun again, sitting on a table with Iida, Sero, Mineta, Todoroki and Ojiro. With a certain plan in her mind she joins the remaining girls admiring Yaoyorozu's light mint green ankle length evening dress and has to stifle her laughter upon seeing the floating short dress of the invisible Hagakure in a glittering lilac. Only the cute frog like Tsuyu surprises the cat girl in a rather traditional but nevertheless very beautiful kimono like robe in many different green and black tones. Masha convinces the girls to go dancing as a group and to invite some of the boys over to have some more fun together. They somehow manage to drag along Izuku, Todoroki and Ojiro, however Tsuyu decides to rather stay with the remaining boys at the table because she's not into dancing that much. On the dance floor the group also reunites with Mina and Kirishima and also Jiro and Kaminari again. For the first few songs Masha stays with her friends, but as soon as she sees an opening in the dancing crowd, the tiger girl uses her chance to sneak away.
Sitting at the bar she orders a new cocktail without alcohol and watches her classmates. Her plan was a great success and she grins triumphantly. Ochako & Izukyun, check. Jiro & Kaminari, check. Mina & Kirishima, check. Yaoyorozu & Todoroki, check. Hagakure & Ojiro, check. Only one left would be Tsuyu. But with whom could she be paired up with? Masha's gaze moves to the table where the frog girl sits together with the others. Sero? Iida? Nah, not quite... And Mineta is totally beyond all question! Shoji maybe? Would that be a match? And what about her own feelings? Tsuyu never seemed to be interested in anyone up until now...
"Oi you damn loser, are you done with your stupid lil' game?" an angry voice pulls Masha from her deep thoughts and her head jerks up to face Katsuki standing at the bar right next to her with one arm leaning on the counter and one hand pushed into his pocket. He looks like he didn't make any effort at all for a formal outfit. He wears the black pants of a suit and matching black shoes as well, but no jacket and no tie, just a black shirt with the first two or three buttons wide open. Being dressed completely in black really does make a strong contrast to the boy's light blond hair and his fiery red eyes. Wow... The young tigress blinks multiple times before her brain starts working properly again.
"Whoa, Katsuki! Just look at you! You look damn hot!" she blurts out sounding utterly impressed. The spiky haired boy widens his eyes profoundly and for once he's absolutely speechless. He gapes at the teenage girl with a slightly opened mouth, but no words or other sounds are coming out. For a very short moment Katsuki only stares at Masha while his face is growing red and she is completely taken aback by that kind of reaction from him. She would've expected something like Yeah, of course. I'm hot as hell! or at least that he starts yelling at her demanding that she should shut up. But to her second great surprise Katsuki just turns his head away from her. "Tch. Yeah, whatever!" he grunts displeased, however his voice sounds even more dark and raspy than usual.
"Wait a sec... You do know that you look good, right? I mean you got a mirror at home and stuff?! I'm pretty surprised 'cause you're actually so overly self-confident", the cat girl teases noticing the light blond clenching his fists in annoyance while his face heats up even more. "The hell do I care, stupid cat! I've got better things to do than caring for my looks!" he suddenly explodes causing some other guests to shriek. The white and black haired girl laughs at his outburst. "And there he is! My Katsuki like we all know and love him. I'm relieved you're back to normal" Oh no... Just wait... Did she... Did she really say m-my Katsuki?! No, no, no! Hell no! How embarrassing... Fortunately for the young tigress her angry classmate doesn't seem to have noticed and glares at her furiously. "Stop talkin' trash already! Rather tell me what those two damn extras wanted to talk to you about for so long!"
Masha tilts her head questioningly. "Huh? Ah, you mean Kaminari and Kirishima. Well, that's... uhm... They kinda confessed? I think?" Katsuki who's just about to take a sip of his drink suddenly starts coughing. "I mean we talked about our feelings and came to the conclusion that it's more than friendship, but not in a romantic way. More like family ties or something", the cat girl continues her explanation without paying much attention to the halfly suffocating blond boy. "Goddamn idiots!" he curses as soon as his voice is working again and Masha twitches her tiger ears in a lack of understanding. Why would he call them like that? Not that he never does. Just why now? Because they talked about things like emotions and stuff? Understanding guys certainly can be a challenge.
"Wanna dance?" she asks already knowing the answer. "Hell, no!" the spiky haired boy shoots back. "You mean you can't?" Masha starts teasing him. "Don't worry I won't be mad if you step on my feet" Katsuki rolls his red eyes. "Shaddap, damn cat! Why in the world would I dance with ya?! Over my dead body!" The young tigress sighs but sees her classmates leaving the dance floor together. Nice timing! "Alright I'm gonna go ask Izukyu..." But before the young cat girl is even able to finish her sentence or to leave her chair at the bar, a strong hand clutches onto her wrist to stop her.
"Dontcha dare!" Katsuki growls and the teenage girl raises her eyebrows at him. That again...? What's wrong with that dude? She gives him a questioning look and glances briefly at his hand on her wrist but instead of letting her go like last time, the spiky head only tightens his grip. "You stay!" he insists. "You're not gonna leave me sitting here for that goddamn nerd!" Masha starts giggling and shakes her head in disbelief. Honestly? That's his problem?! "Aw, Katsuki. No need to be jealous. I like you too, ya know..." she coos with a honey sweet smile. Finally the light blond lets go of her with a prominent frown on his face. "I'm not jealous!" he fumes, but she's not willing to stop teasing him yet.
"With that kind of attitude, you'll never get a girlfriend even if you're sexy. You're gonna scare them away with your anger issues. Shouting at girls isn't very nice!" Masha watches the blond boy amused as his rage takes over and he pants for air with a bright red face. It's difficult to tell if it's embarrassment or pure wrath, probably a mixture of both. "Wha- I don't want a damn girlfriend! For what should I need somethin' stupid like that?!" The cat girl smirks and suppresses her laughter. "Need... huh? Do I actually have to explain...? Like, for what you'd need a girlfriend...?" Astonished the blond gapes at her again. "Honestly, what's wrong with your head, damn cat? Did ya smoke somethin' before ya came here?!" He avoids her gaze and her mischievous smirk that still remains on her face. The tiger girl shrugs. "Most guys our age want one. That's common", she states matter of fact. "I'm not like most of the guys our age. Don't lump me together with those losers!" Well, he does have a point here. He's... special. In many ways. "Yeah, that's true", she agrees nodding her head.
Katsuki throws her a long and kinda thoughtful glance. "Unfortunately I wasn't able to get rid of you... You're a weird one!" he comments calmer than before clicking his tongue in annoyance but still following the topic of the conversation that she actually just set up to make fun of him. "'Cause I like you as you are. No need to change anything 'bout you", Masha answers genuinely making Katsuki hold his breath. "But that also means that you're stuck with me for the time being"
He shows her a wicked grin and scoffs. "We'll see after the sports festival, stupid cat!" the light blond boy threatens, but isn't able to prevent himself from watching the young cat girl from the corner of his eye for the rest of the evening. Even as their classmates come and join them at the bar, he can't stop throwing her side glances until the event is finally over and everyone is taking their leaves.
A/N: Like always thanks a great bunch for dropping by and reading. I hope you had fun with cheeky lil' Masha and her match making plans for her friends. Next time we're gonna dive in head first into the whole sports festival arc, so better be prepared and look forward to it :) Always feel free to fav, follow and review.
xoxo
Jacky
