ch 2:star crash
It was early morning, at the Wild Wild Pussycats base. The sun was just rising over the mountains. perfectly sunny without a cloud in the sky.
The Wild Wild pussycats are about to spend the day at their yearly meet and greet event at the mall of Musutafu. A special event for the fans to meet their favorite cat heroes.
To the cat team, it was one of the many duties that came with the fame. After more than ten years, the excitement the team had for these events started to lose its magic. That nothing will make them the same for the team as they first started out, or so they thought…
Unlike the previous events that came before, this particular one will feature a new member who will for the first time make a public appearance. Truly a special event to not only the fans, but for the cat family as well.
before the team could make their way to the event. They unfortunately ran into a delay due to transportation failure.
Yawara, Ryuko and Tomoko were outside the home base working on their iconic cat car that they use on special events such as this. However, they appear to be having problems starting the car.
"And…done." Yawara whispers to himself as he shuts the hood of the pussycat car. "Try it now!" he yelled at Tomoko, who's in the driver seat.
Tomoko turns the keys to the car's engine and she isn't getting a response. "Nothing."
"No good, it seems." Yawara went back to working on the engine. Taking a look at the blueprints on the side to figure out the problem. "After 12 years of service, it would appear our noble chariot has just about reached the end of its lifespan."
"To think that the car would break down on the day of the meet and greet." Ryuko complained, as she was angry about the whole thing.
Tomoko turns to Ryuko with a surprise expression. "This might be the first time I see you upset about missing a meet and greet. Usually you would wish that you didn't have to go."
After many years of doing these events, it becomes very mundane for the heroes. Especially for Ryuko, as she was impatient compared to the four. Even though half the team still finds some enjoyment in these events, and of course they very much enjoy meeting their fans.
"Normally I wouldn't be upset about missing an event, but today's different." she soon started smiling. "It's the day my little one gets to finally appear in public as her own hero!"
"And you also promised her that we would let her participate in our events, if she reached the top 20 in the sports festival." Tomoko added.
"Yeah, and she managed to reach 7th place! She made me so proud. Now, it's my responsibility to keep my end of the deal." Soon her happy mood changed into anger. "But of course! This car decides out of all twelve years to break down, it chose this very important day!"
Ryuko gets out of the car and uses all her strength to kick the side of the car.
Not a bright decision on her part.
"Ow! my foot! Why you!" After she quickly recovers from that kick, she starts to use her quirk to gather large amounts of dirt from around her.
Once both of them see what she is going to do, the two by the cat quickly attempt to get out of the way. Tomoko went into a panic. "Wait-wait! Let me get out of the car first-ahhh!"
Ryuko made a small dirt ball and hurled it at the side of the car. Hitting it, directly on its side.
Tomoko cried a little as the dirt ball made the car slightly jump into the side for a brief second before landing back down.
Everyone looked shocked after witnessing their teammate's wrath. She was always the more hot headed one of the group, but this was beyond her usual limit. Before it would take a lot more to be angry. But ever since the adoption, whenever something becomes an inconvenience for her adopted daughter, she lashes out.
A moment of silence goes on for a short while until suddenly, the car starts on its own.
Immediately after the car started, Ryuko returned to her happy self again. "Huh, well the car is working now. Time to get ready, this day will go without any complications as it should. Little cub will have the best time at the event."
The other two were looking at her with frightened eyes.
(Minutes later)
four of the cat team members were putting all the supplies in the car. Packing everything they need for the meet and greet. No doubt that it was going to be the most important event. Especially for their most important fifth member. Who was getting ready in her room.
"One last box and… there. That should be everything. Time to go." Shino announced.
"Alright, I'll go get Himiko." Ryuko told everyone as she went inside the base to get her daughter.
Meanwhile, Himiko is alone in her room, in front of a large mirror, dressed in her cat hero uniform. A pink variation of the hero gear the team wore.
She had finished getting ready for the event. Now she was going to be part of the team event. Although she was the one that wanted to be part of the team with their events, there was now one problem.
She was starting to regret it.
"Oh man, today's the day!" She cried, after now feeling the pressure that she's about to meet her large numbers of fans that are going to be there. She went and jumped face first on her pink bed, burying her face into her pillow. She grabbed her phone, which had been resting on the bed, and she spoke into it. "I don't think I can do this."
"I'm sure it'll be fun," advised her young female friend on Himiko's phone, "After all, you'll have your family there to help you in case things get tough."
"I know, it's just with all the hype built up for me to show up, the people everywhere online have made it sound like it was a lifetime event. Putting a lot more pressure on me than it needs to be."
"Yeah, everyone is still talking about you back here in middle school. You're practically a movie celebrity to them since the sports festival. It's starting to get a little embarrassing seeing all of your merch flood the school's halls."
"It's not my fault that my charm has increased significantly since the sports festival."
"Either way, It is not helping me get over missing you back here in school. It's been less lively without you here."
Himiko completely forgets her troubles as she felt touched by her best friend's words. "Aw, I miss you too. Have things been difficult for you lately?"
"Not really, in fact the opposite. My dad had stumbled upon a new opportunity in his construction job. It should help us greatly. But enough about that, have you made any new friends over at UA?"
"Well um…Things aren't as simple in UA, as I originally thought. I fear that people won't accept me like you have. I don't know if I fit in with anybody."
"Hey, you got this. And besides, just an entire year left till I can join you in UA. then we'll have two years of school life together."
Despite the fears Himiko had, her friend was always there to support and cheer her up. Even though she wasn't here with her in person, her voice alone was enough to calm the cat sidekick down.
"Alright, but I still worry how people will act towards me at the meet and greet. I'm still not used to the attention from fans that isn't behind the screen. Or when they didn't know that it's me."
"Come on, I'm sure it'll go well. Think of it as you're meeting people… but a lot of them. It'll be like how we met last year. You remember?"
"Yeah, back then nobody even had a clue that I was Singapura. I was worried about making friends because of my quirk. Until you show up one day at lunch, as I was studying under the tree."
"Yes, just think about that moment. It could be exciting to meet new people, and who knows, you'll probably find yourself a cute boy there."
Himiko blush at that comment, finding herself to like the idea. "Wouldn't that be nice? Wish I could find one that I like."
"Oh crap, I'm low on Minutes. I gotta go. Same time next week, bye Himiko."
"Alright, bye Ochaco."
Himiko hangs up the phone, as she looks at the mirror. She saw herself pretty cute in her hero outfit, and thought to herself of the last thing her friend said. 'I wonder what kind of boy he'll be?'
Then suddenly out of nowhere, multiple knocks came at her door. "Are you ready, Himiko?" asked Ryuko as she was behind her room door. The unexpected question scared her half to death.
"...Y-yeah, I'm ready." Replied a clearly nervous Himiko. She goes up to the door to unlock, and opens it. Showing her mom an obvious, nervous smile.
Ryuko noticed her fake smile, and she was having none of it, "Alright, out with it. What's wrong?"
"W-Wha? What do you mean?"
"Come on, after years of living in this house, you should know that fake smile never goes past me. That, and I…kinda overheard everything."
After being found out, the little one sighs as she confesses. "I think I'm getting scared of going to the event, I'm afraid of meeting the people in person."
Ryuko understands her reasoning, "Oh, little cub, there's nothing to be afraid of. After all, You're the highlight of the show. People all over the town will be happy to see you as one of us."
"Really?"
"Yes. And if people say otherwise, then they'll face my wrath!" her mother declared, making the teen laugh a little.
"Thanks mom, I feel much better now."
"No problem. Now let's go, everyone's waiting for us."
Over the course of the years, the two have gotten much closer. They have grown accustomed and comfortable around each other. To Himiko, her mom and the rest of the team were the people most important to her.
"Hey mom, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, what is it little cub?"
"How do I know if I like a boy?"
The grown cat woman stopped waking as she stared into the ceiling, with a blank expression, "So the time has come?"
"Huh?" Himiko got confused by what she meant.
Ryuko raised her claw hand up, suspiciously scratching two claws together, preparing it for something. With a calm and low voice, she asked her daughter. "So who's the boy? Is he from your school?"
"What? No, there's no boy. I'm just curious."
"Oh!" She puts her cat claws down and returns to happy usual self. "I'm sorry about that, what was the question?"
"How do I know if I have feelings for someone?"
After hearing her question more clearly, Ryuko simply answers her question. "Oh, To know if you like someone, that person is usually who you're thinking about all the time. That person will make your chest beat like never before and leaves you with all types of feelings. This is referred to as a crush."
"A crush? But, how will I know if I do have a crush?"
"Trust me on this, you'll know it when you feel it. Now let's go, everyone waiting on us."
Without any further answer to her question, Himiko wonders what kind of feelings she would experience.
While the two head out to the car, Ryuko can't help but think about the poor boy that will face her wrath for dating her daughter. 'Whoever this boy is, he better treat her right, or there will be hell to pay.'
Somewhere in Aldera Junior high, the classroom was going through its usual daily school activities. Today would have been just like any other day, except the special event that's being organized in their town was the news of the school.
Everyone was talking about Wild Wild pussy cats. But most noticeably, the newest member of the team. known as the new sidekick Singapura. Her real name used to be unknown to the public, until she participated in the sports festival, and made her official debut.
Each and everybody knows all about the newest sidekick. Her appearance in the media has already caught the hearts of all the younger audience.
Especially one boy named Izuku Midoriya. who is not only a fan of this new sidekick, but he totally has a crush on her.
It was still surreal to most people how a simple sidekick that hasn't done any public work or recognition besides the sports festival, is the talk of the school. It must be because she was the same age group as everyone in school that draws everyone to her. Including Izuku.
Of course there was an exception for one person.
"Bakago, what do you think about Singapura?" asked Yubi, the long finger quirk boy, who has long-haired, and is a 'friend' of Bakugo's.
"Pfft…who cares about that wannabe." Bakugo chuckled, not impressed by the cat mascot. "She hasn't scored first, so who cares about her."
"Aw come on, you have to admit, she's strong. Did you even see her in the first round?"
"Maybe, but she doesn't seem all to Impressive. especially since she doesn't have a powerful quirk to help her."
"You don't know that, she hasn't shown her quirk yet. It could be good."
"If it was good, then why hasn't she used it in the first place?
"I mean…" Yubi shuts his mouth, as he couldn't think of anything to say.
"Exactly my point, now stop distracting me with that wannabe. She is just another d-list hero. Within a few years, my fame will leave that weakling in the dust. She'll never be able to outclass me."
Only Bakugo's quirk and Intimidation alone was enough to remind anyone who's the real best is. His two goon friends that follow him even forget about the cat mascot they were just defending, only to worship back to him.
While Bakugo shown to be not impress, Izuku however was a total fan of her. He wasn't gonna let anyone tell him otherwise, she wasn't another hero to him. At least not to him, after knowing much about her. He thinks of her as someone special.
Izuku opens his backpack to briefly look at the 10th anniversary poster. That features the whole team with the newest recruit being teased.
(two years ago)
It was no secret that Izuku is a fan of heroes, most people would say that he was down right obsessed with the idea of heroes as a whole. Not that he made any attempts to deny it. He pretty much embraces the fact he likes heroes.
Even though All Might is his number one priority when it comes to collections, he will often make an exception to other heroes collections. Such as rare hero figures, limited supplies, and most importantly, anniversary events.
He doesn't collect all the other common hero merchandise, mainly because it would be rather too difficult to collect everything. That, and his allowance say so.
So, he would only focus on special collectibles he could get his hands on. And because of his desire to obtain certain collectibles, is how he first discovered the newest member of the wild wild pussycats.
A young Izuku went with his mom downtown to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Wild Wild Pussycats. Their Anniversaries are the ones that he enjoys the most, because oftentimes they felt like parties.
The cat heroes sure paid large amounts to have their anniversary cat themed. Leaves something to be admired.
But the thing Izuku's love most is collecting their Anniversary posters. They put much time and effort into each poster they release each year.
He waited in line to receive his copy of the limited edition poster. Not only that, but the whole team was there to hand them out themself. Leaving a more lasting impact in the young boy's mind.
After getting his hands on a copy of the poster, he analyzes every single detail. The poster is about the team all together doing their icon pose outside the cat base, along with every tool and gear the team has ever used. The text over them said, 'Happy 10th anniversary everyone.'
Izuku was happy to obtain such a valuable collectible. It was definitely going to his secret collatable storage. Or at least until he noticed that the poster also had another artwork on the back side.
He turned the artwork around, and there he saw it. The art was about the four team members all gathering around a 5th mysterious teen in the center. She wore the same gears as the other heroes, except it was a pink version of it. She was young, at least somewhere around Izuku's age. Her hair was ash blonde with two crazy buns. Her yellow eyes resemble a feline trait, and so did her teeth with her open mouth smile.
Izuku's face became in awe upon looking at this mysterious person. She's definitely an unexpected surprise. And for some reason, he felt a small good feeling in his chest just by looking at her.
Who is she?
On the corner of the poster had text that read, "Bringing home, a new member of the family!"
Izuku looked at the unknown girl, and he had a feeling this wasn't the last he'll see of her.
(One year later)
Over the course of the year, the new unnamed cat hero was starting to appear everywhere in the media as hidden cameos. Anything below the pg-13 rating or especially related to the wild wild pussycats, she would be hiding somewhere.
Oftentimes people will get a glimpse of her hiding in the background, or in the corner of the tv playing with the station's logo. Her latest appearance had her head peeking out the corner of a manga page in the catlike way possible.
Just recently, her appearance has started appearing in commercials, brand names and even sweet foods.
Her introduction had left many of the fans wondering who exactly she was. Many people questioned this person, some even wondered if she was even a real person at all.
All the speculation went on for a while until an announcement about the new comic, with the new member as the main focus. With the mystery going around, it's no secret that people ordered copies to find out. Of course, all heroes' backstories in comics are very exaggerated compared to the actual events that occurred. So people took it with a grain of salt.
Nevertheless, people wanted to know more about this newcomer. And Izuku was one of those people.
When the comic came out, it was titled Singapura. Like most fans, Izuku checks the comic to see what it's all about. To his knowledge, the comic is said to be actually wholesome.
The comic turns out to be a rather fun and wholesome story that starts with Tomoko sitting on her chair with a book in hand. She was the narrator of the story and she was telling the events of how Singapura came into their lives.
The story started out with Ryuko going out in the woods of the mountain on her daily patrol. Walking around, hearing the birds, enjoying the mountain's fresh air day. It would have been another day, until she spotted a child staring right at her. She appeared to be in a terrible condition. Her hair was a mess, appears to be covered in dirt, and her clothes were old and worn out.
Instinctively, Ryuko tries to go over to her, until the unknown little girl gets scared and runs away. The hero went to find her, but no matter what, the little girl always managed to evade her everytime she got too close. The little girl's movements were too fast for her, as inhumanly possible.
After hours of chasing her, she went back to her teammates back at base. She figures that with all of their efforts they can help catch the little girl. Only to find that they still couldn't catch the wild girl living in the mountains. All of them were unmatched by the little one's swiftness.
Her teammates even spot the unknown child staking around the base from time to time, watching from afar. One time, she even managed to break into their food supply. Even catching her holding food in her mouth like a cat.
While the team were frustrated, Ryuko on the other hand was impressed by the wild one's ability to almost dodge anything. She was starting to like this kid, she reminds the hero of herself when she was young and wild.
The team soon set up a plan to capture the unknown girl. The team once again chases the little girl, But this time they will capture her. Thanks to the combination of quirk from the team and use of Ryuko quirk earthflow to corner her. They captured the little speedster.
Once she was caught, they took her to the proper authorities, and there they found out that she was an orphan. Not only that, but she appears to be an outcast by everyone in the orphanage, including the adults. The little girl cried, not wanting to go back.
Ryuko looks at this girl, and she grows fond of the mischievous wild girl. She truly had the spark as the wild member of the group. That's when she decided to adopt her into her family. And named her Singapura.
They raise the little girl as a family, as the years passed, they decided to have her be part of the team. Of course legally she wasn't allowed to work with them out on the field with them yet. But there were other ways to help.
Now, the sidekick, Singapura is currently operating the security cameras around the mountains to spot anything roaming around. She wishes to train and become a real member of the Wild Wild Pussycats, out on the field with the rescue team.
The last pages were with Ryuko hugging an all grown up Singapura. Like a mother would to her daughter. Loving and accepting.
The story ends with Tomoko, closing her story book while saying how much of a softy her friend Ryuko is towards her little one. She laughs for a moment right before Ryuko bursts into the room all angry, and ready to attack Tomoko for making her look soft. They both ran around the room with Tomoko dodging Ryuko wrath.
Ever since the release of the comic, her popularity skyrocketed as she gained quite a high number of fans. Safe to say, she attracted a nice following. Including izuku, although his reasoning at first was more curious.
He admitted that he thinks she's very cute. But the comic made Izuku relate to her, mostly how he feels to be outcast by others. It makes him see himself in her in a sense.
Though comic aside, there was one thing that's been bugging him. It was her quirk, or lack thereof.
While the comic explained her somewhat backstory. it had never once mentioned her quirk.
He was not alone for thinking this, as people online were discussing what her quirk could be.
Much like All Might's mysterious quirk, it drove him to do more extensive research on her for the next few months.
At first, he brought all the comics that related anything about her. He analyzes the pages she's in, and tries to find anything. So far, he still couldn't find anything. But even then, he didn't want to stop analyzing her for some reason. He actually started to enjoy seeing her, despite not having done anything at the time.
Like he became a fan of her.
But he felt like he wasn't going to find out more about her quirk. Or so he thought, until a certain upcoming talk show would shed some light into her quirk situation.
(Weeks later)
The wild, wild pussycats went on a talk show, Singapura was making her first ever in person appearance. The four original teams were sitting patiently, waiting for the show to start.
Izuku was in his living room watching the tv, looking forward to this talk show for a long time now. As he wants to know more about this cat girl.
The show soon starts with the male host starting the event.
"Hello everybody. We are here with the well known team the Wild Wild Pussycats. Not only that, we have a special guess who will be appearing on the show. The new fifth member. Please welcome, Singapura."
Singapura appeared on stage, waking all happy and cheerfully. She then sat down right next to her mother in a little chair.
Once Izuku saw her, his chest lit up. He couldn't explain his feeling, but seeing her live felt somewhat different. Not only that, but she looked even cuter than before."
The host asked only simple questions about the new member, and what kind of person she was. Rather trivial to know all about her. She was bubbly and easy going. Very cheerful and sweet. Although it wasn't shown at first glance, she's shown to be somewhat clever.
After many questions all about the new recruit, the host tried asking the all important question.
"There has been people talking about Singapura's quirk, care to share any information about it?"
At that moment Singapura began to show the first signs of discomfort when the subject was brought up. That's when Ryuko stood up to speak for her. "Before I let this show go on any further, I would like to make one thing clear." She turns to Himiko and wraps an arm around her to comfort her. "My daughter has no intention of talking, nor using her quirk in the future. Don't bother asking, it's a personal subject for her. Until then, it's only when she's ready to talk about it."
This was by far not the answer the host wasn't expecting, it surely was a surprise to see that the new member of the team was not gonna talk about her quirk. That's when he asks something else.
"Just one more question?"
Ryuko looked at the host with a stare that could cut through a person's soul. "What's your question?"
The host noticed her look and could feel the murderous intent in the air. Which causes him to choose his question more carefully, "Does this mean she plans to be a hero, even without help from her quirk?"
When Izuku heard that question, he waited patiently to hear the response. As this subject is a personal matter to him.
"Yes." Ryuko placed her hand on Singapura's head for a tap. "Although she may not look like it, she's strong and talented enough to become one. Just wait and see."
After hearing that answer, Izuku's Interest in Singapura has risen significantly. Although he didn't know her quirk, the fact that she was about to do the one thing that is important to him more than anything was enough for him to take more Interest in her. More than all the other heroes, almost right behind All Might.
He felt just a moment of happiness come to him, or until he restrained himself. He didn't want to get ahead of himself, and think that anything was settled.
"No, not yet. Just give it some time Izuku."
Of course he had to think realistic, but he hopes that Singapura will prove to him that his goal could become a reality.
(Months later)
The day of the sport's festival has arrived. That day changed his view on her completely. And it was what began his crush on her.
On that day, Izuku was sitting in his living room watching the whole festival just like every year. This year's sports festival is different, as for some reason the number of students was lower.
Usually, he would just sit back and watch everyone go at it. However, that changed after knowing that Sinapura is participating in the festival. He couldn't help himself from cheering the cat hero on.
Throughout the entire festival, Himiko was performing phenomenally in many of the events that transpired. To much of Izuku's surprise, she managed to capture his attention more often than not with her set of skills. She accomplished each set of games within the top ten.
He read a bunch of comics about her and all the moves she is said to be capable of, but he never believed them until he saw her in action for himself. She was quite the surprise to him.
There was also another reason for why he watched her closely, and that would be her quirk. But no matter how much he looked, there was no sign of her quirk being used. Which means She was participating the whole festival quirkless. Never once had he never been so happy to not see a quirk before.
Soon, The festival has reached the final rounds of the games. The announcer was pumped and ready.
"Alright folks, here we have it at the final stage of the festival. Now we begin the first rounds of the tournament."
When the final rounds were starting, Izuku was pumped up to see how she'll do in the fights.
"You all know her as the new addition to the wild wild Pussycat, but here she is. Making her first ever known appearance in the public. Singapura!"
She entered the stage, ready to give it her all. Her first opponent appears to be a multi-arm mutation quirk.
No matter how many times he could predict the outcome, Izuku just couldn't see her defeating the multi arm opponent. Thinking that fighting would be useless.
Throughout the first few minutes of the fight, the two were exchanging attacks. Staying out of the way until suddenly Himiko went for a fail blow.
"Look at that! Singapura went for a leg sweep. Her opponent fell to the ground!"
She immediately dealt a final swift blow, knocking out the enemy and finishing the fight.
"Knock out! Singapura wins!"
Izuku jumped in excitement after he saw her win her first match.
The win was very unexpected, as it would appear that Himiko had a huge disadvantage. But once the fight ends, she manages to surprise everyone by her quick reflections and deadly strikes alone.
Even though she had succeeded in the first round, her upcoming fight wasn't successful. She ended up 7th place at the sports festival. It wasn't a notable highlight for an average student, but it's an outstanding achievement for another reason.
After the event, she ended up with an increased number of fans that found her fight Inspirational.
Especially for Izuku, he had just now learned of a girl his age in UA who just reached top 10 in the festival without the use of a quirk. This moment was more than just news to him… It was undeniable proof to him that someone without a quirk can become a hero.
.
Izuku was still annoyed that he still didn't know what her quirk was, but it settled one thing for the green haired boy. His feelings for her went from a small simple fan to a full on crush and admiration for her.
For the first time since forever, he felt happy. Knowing that it is possible for someone like him to do something great without a quirk.
Witnessing her predominance at the sport festival meant a lot to him. A lot more than anything.
She was… all the things he could be. Could be? No, he wants to be… to be his own hero without a quirk.
Singapura gave him the one thing he desperately needed.
The example he needed to prove that his dream is not useless as people think it is. He will improve himself to become the hero he dreams of and help people, the way he dreamed it.
From then on, Izuku felt the hope that was once lost return to him. Making some changes to better himself and to become a student in UA. not even Bakugo's words will bring him down, he was dead set about his decision.
He looks back to the cat girl on the TV. who was going home with her family.
If it was possible for Izuku, he would like to meet her one day, and thank her for giving him a newfound hope he long sought for. To let her know how much her performance at the sports festival impacted his life. If he was brave enough to tell her that is.
(Present day)
Izuku boarded the train heading towards his destination. His heart began beating more and more each stop as he drove closer to the event. He was going to meet Singapura herself in person, and truth be told, he's terrified.
Because now he had to face the hardest part. Actually meeting and asking for her autograph, without a doubt this was his biggest social challenge yet.
"Alright, don't beat yourself up over it, Izuku. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of other teens like me will be asking for her autograph, I'm not different from anybody."
He starts to calm down, thinking to himself that he wasn't such a total fanboy for this hero girl. Or at least he thought to himself when he remembered all the collectibles he had relating to the new member.
"Ok, just don't think about it. I must stay fouse."
He opens his bag to take out the most important clothing disguise that will help him overcome his fears.
"No going back, it's time to suit up."
Inside the town mall was crowded with people wanting to meet the cat hero team. The team sat behind a large table with Himiko in the middle. A line was unlike anything they have seen before, it would appear to have a larger amount of younger audience then before. Almost half of them went to just meet the little new recruit.
Himiko was sitting beside her mother, acting very nervously about her first in person appearance with all her fans. The greeting hadn't started yet, but she was all the more scared.
Ryuko noticed her shaking and Asked her. "What's wrong little cub?"
The sound of her conceded mother snapped her out of it. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that…there are so many people here. There's even people wearing my merch."
"And how could they not? After all, you're just about the cutest thing in this whole mall."
Himiko blush at that statement, she alway tries to find a way to embarrass her.
"Hmpf. I'm not cute! I'm fierce!" Himiko proceeds to show her mom her scary face, to prove that she is a little menace that should be feared. but it backfires and causes the fans waiting to take photos.
"See, cute."
Himiko cries in frustration.
Soon after their brief conversation, the Meet and Greet began.
The fans were coming in to ask the team for their autographs and photos. So far, Himiko's fans were more polite and well behaved than she originally thought. Not one unpleasant moment came from meeting them. Insead, they show appreciation and gratitude for meeting her.
But unknown to her, Ryuko was giving everyone who approached her a mean look to tell them to treat her right or die. Scaring all the fans to behave. Although this might hurt her reputation, but seeing her daughter happy made it all worth it.
"How are you enjoying the event little cub?"
"I love it! thanks for taking me, mom!"
Although Ryuko doesn't show much emotion, she is happy to raise a wonderful happy girl, "No big deal. I'm glad you're enjoying it."
After hours of the meet and greet, the cat team were about to go on their first lunch break, right after they finished with the last remaining amount of fans. Until then, they continue signing autographs and talking to their fans.
Meanwhile, in the back of the line, one fan was having trouble getting a hold of himself.
'Ok, I can do this.' Izuku struggles to calm down as he prepares himself to meet the cat hero.
While he waited in line he was now wearing his small disguise to help him with his social anxiety. Nothing too much, just a face mask, sunglasses, a casual button green shirt, and a baseball cap to cover any trace of people identifying him. It's a bit much, but it helps him communicate with his heroes, and hopefully with this disguise he'll be able to talk to a girl.
…Or so he thought, until he finally saw her in person.
She was a bit far, but he finally saw Singapura. She was the cutest girl he had ever seen. Just seeing her in real life was making his heart start beating rapidly.
With each step going closer and closer, he was able to get a much clearer view of her. Her cat-like smile, the sound of her cheery voice, and her adorable double bun hair. Unfortunately for Izuku, it just made him more shy towards her.
"Next!" shouted Yawara, as he alerted the next person in line to come. Making Izuku much closer to the front of the line.
He turned around to find out that he was the last person in line. His stomach started feeling sick, he wasn't feeling up to it. Maybe if moves now, he could sneak away from here.
"Next!"
'No! I can't give in just yet! I need to do this. If I'm going to be a hero, I need to overcome his shyness and ask Singapura for her autograph.'
"Next!"
'I can do this! I can do this! Just go up and ask her.'
"Alright, last one."
Izuku finally made it to the table, there was no turning back. He stood a couple feet in front of them, with a poster on hand. Now is the time to act, the only problem is that he just remembers one important thing. He didn't even have a clue how to start. He just stood there without an idea on how to ask her.
The whole team looked at the last middle schooler standing before them with a poster on hand.
"Well hello there, little rascal. What can the wild wild Pussycats do for you?" Ryuko eagerly encourages him. Getting the shy boy to get a hold of himself.
By the looks of it, they already know they have a shy one. It was nothing new to them to get shy fans, they didn't judge him, it was a normal occurrence for them. They continue smiling and try to make him feel welcome.
"I would like an…" Izuku's voice became lower and lower until he started speaking nothing.
"What was that? We can't hear you."
"I would like an autograph."
"Well isn't that nice. From who?"
"From…" Izuku tried with all the will in his body to say the little cat girl's name. But it was hard with all the team members looking at him, especially the young girl herself. She was looking at him with those adorable yellow eyes, fixated on him. For some odd reason. He feels like prey being tracked by a predator.
'Come on, Izuku. Just say her name. This is your chance to take a step out of your rabbit hole.'
His mind was clear on what his intentions were. His body however, chose a different path. He just stayed quiet, while standing there in front of them. He didn't know it yet, but he was experiencing cold feet.
'Just say her name.'
The whole team watches this boy trying to get a hold of himself. While Himiko was the only one confused by what's happening. But before she could say anything, Shino used her quirk to talk to her with telepathy.
'It's ok Himiko, I'm pretty sure he's just overwhelmed to meet us. Just smile and make him feel welcome.'
After being informed, she continued looking at the boy with a smile. He appeared to be having a tough time. And yet, there was something oddly cute about it.
A long while of awkward silence finally caused Izuku to take a new course of action, and try to forcibly take control over of his body and take his first steps towards them. 'Ok, just walk towards her and hand over the post-'
Just as he was about to go towards her, he accidently tripped over the table. 'Oh no!'
*slam*
Izuku fell slightly to the edge of the table. He wasn't hurt, as he was able to catch himself before he hit the ground, but it sure made a bit of a fool out of himself. He picked himself off the table, and he saw his sunglasses and face mask fell off him and were scattered all over the floor.
His face was now fully revealed.
"Hey, are you alright?" asked Himiko as she got closer to him.
Izuku instinctively looked up at Himiko. When he fell, he managed to end up right in front of her across the table. Now their eyes were locked in each other's faces.
Izuku was paralyzed like a deer in headlights, unable to even think. He had never been this close to a girl before, and he was left speechless by her looks alone.
Then there was Himiko, who took a long, good look at the unknown boy in front of her. Once the disguise was off, she was taken aback by his appearances. His fluffy green heir, adorable fickle face, and his cute bright green eyes.
Soon, the cat girl suddenly had an all new kind of feeling that made her feel all wonderful just by looking at him. The feeling only grew more and more the longer they continued staring. That's when she asked herself.
'Is this what having a crush feels like?'
After a few seconds of exchanging each other's glance, the embarrassment soon kicked in, causing Izuku to blush hard. He Immediately panics and starts to pick up his disguises from the floor and runs away.
"Hey wait!" Himiko yelled to the shy boy, to get his attention.
But unfortunately he was out of sight.
"Well…that happened." Ryuko pointed out as she began to stand up from her chair.
"It's unfortunate that we weren't able to bring joy to his day." Yawara weeps as he was sad to not fulfill the shy boy's dreams.
"It's unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do now. We should start looking for a place to eat. We only have about an hour break before we have to resume back to the event." Shino announced.
"Oh! I want sushi!" Tomoko cheered.
"Hmm…There should be one around here. Himiko, do you want some sushi?" Shino didn't get an immediate response as she normally would have gotten from the small one. "Himiko?"
After Shino called her name the second time, the team checked around them to make sure she didn't wander off. They all calmed down after they saw that she was now crouching down on the other side of the table.
"Oh you scared me for a second there. What are you doing?"
"Sorry, I saw something fall from that boy earlier, and I was just picking it up. It looks like a notebook."
The team gathered around to take a look at it, "huh, so he dropped his notebook. Maybe we should turn it over to mall security, the boy will pick it up from the lost and found."
"Yeah, I think that would be for the best." Ryuko agreed.
While the team found a logical solution for the notebook, Himiko had other plans.
"Actually, would it be alright if I could bring it back to him?"
Everyone was quite surprised to hear that. That's when Ryuko wanted to get to the bottom of her daughter's decision
"You want to bring the notebook back to the boy? Why? He's probably long gone by now. It would be easier for mall Security to handle this."
She didn't receive a clear answer, Himiko just insisted as she became persistent. "It's because I want to."
"Want to? What does that mean?"
The whole cat team was trying to figure out why Himiko was so determined to return the notebook. Their concerns were slowly building up, until Tomoko figured it out.
"Is it because of the boy?" asked the curious Tomoko. She was the first to figure it out. Once the team heard her question, they all turned their heads to Himiko. Especially Ryuko, as she too quickly figured out what it could mean.
She said nothing, not wanting to let everyone know her feelings. But the large red blush forming across her face was all the answer they needed.
At that moment, every single one of the cat family is showing different reactions to this new revelation.
"Himiko has a crush!"
"The little one has finally grown up!"
"Crush?! Oh no! I don't think we've covered that topic!"
Yelled out Tomoko, Yawara, and Shino respectively as they showed quite the excitement for the little recruit to find herself someone she likes.
While the others have shown to be supportive of her little crush. Her mother had a worried glance on her face. She raises her hand up to ready her claws for something. "So the day has now come."
Sure enough, Himiko was getting Increasingly embarrassed with her family teasing her about it.
"Ok, I like him. And I want to…know him. Can I please go and see him?"
Shino wanted to help, but she feared it might be too late. "I don't know, I fear that he might already be-"
"Well sure!" Tomoko interrupted Shino as she began using her search quirk to pinpoint the boy's location. "Found him! He's in the middle of a park, across the street from the mall, and he doesn't appear to be moving from his location. two minute walk."
With the location of the boy being made aware, the cat family thought that it wouldn't hurt to try. After all, it is for himiko's sake.
Shino let out a defeated breath, and gave in to himiko's wishes. "Alright, fine."
Himiko starts to smile as she is going to meet her crush. "Thank you."
Tomoko led the way, as Yawara and Himiko followed behind her. Shino was about to follow them, until she realized that Ryuko was still sitting by the table. Sharpening the claws on her paws.
"Ryuko? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just preparing for something. Just in case something goes bad. I'll catch up in a second." She answered her with a low tone, with malicious intent. Enough for Shino to stop pressing for information and go ahead with the others.
The whole cat family went to the park where the green-haired boy is said to be. Thankfully, the park appears to be lacking people today. It'll make this much easier for the two to meet. They all follow Tomoko all the way to the place. Once they were near, Tomoko soon stopped her pursuit.
"Over here." Tomoko whispered to everyone, as she led everyone right behind some bushes. "He's just behind this bush."
Everyone raises their head from behind the bush to find the boy. He is currently sitting all by himself on the edge of a large water fountain with a sculpture of All Might. He appears to be sad about something.
At that moment, when Himiko saw him again, her heart began to fluster just by seeing him. Her cheeks turn bright red with only a look alone. There was no denying it any longer, she definitely has a crush on him.
"There he is, are you sure you want to meet him?" asked Shino
"Yeah, I'm very sure about this."
"Little cub, wait." When Himiko heard her mom call to her, she turned her head towards her mom. Ryuko bends down to her level to talk to her.
"Before you go and meet this boy, we first need to have a talk about relationships."
Himiko listens in, curious as to what she is going to say. "What is it, mom?"
"When first going on a date with someone, it's a huge opportunity for something big to happen. And with every opportunity, there are risks involved. Love is a very beautiful thing to experience in a relationship, but it can leave a lasting painful feeling when it 're free to go on dates, as any person would. I just want you to know one important thing that you should know before you decide to date this boy."
"What is it, mom?"
"That no matter who you chose to be your boyfriend, I will alway act disapproval of them."
"Huh?"
"He can be wealthy, famous, heck even the top student at school and it will still not be enough. I can't stand the idea of you being emotionally hurt from a break up. So until I see both of you in a caring and happy relationship after a few months in, or until he puts a ring on your finger, I'll act harsh on him."
Himiko remained silent as she was confused as to where all this was coming from, as she didn't understand it one bit.
"This isn't because of the dates you were on years ago, right?" asked Tomoko as she pointed out the obvious.
"No! It's not that!" Ryuko began to turn her head over to the boy to take a look at him. "I don't know much about how things will go with this boy, so for now, I would rather not get attached yet. He'll need to prove himself to be worthy of my blessing."
Himiko felt like her mother was already pouring a lot of pressure on this boy. But she isn't stopping her from seeing him, so it wasn't all bad. "Ok, I'm going now. Wish me luck."
Himiko walks over to meet the boy with his notebook in hand. Everyone except Ryuko were closely waiting for these two to interact.
Izuku sat by himself next to the park's water fountain In front of the statue of All Might. His train ride home wasn't for another half hour, so he sat by himself to think about the events that transpired.
How could it have happened? Not only had he messed up, but now they saw his face. Now he feels embarrassed. All he wanted was for a simple autograph, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.
'Well, at least no one I knew was there.'
He tries to look on the bright side of things, but in the end it doesn't seem to be helping. He turns around to look down at the waters in the fountain to see his reflection. Thinking about how his life has been going and how it will turn out.
'I'm no different from everyone, and yet I can't help but be incredibly shy. Why is it so difficult to talk to someone?'
He looks up at the All Might statue in the middle of the fountain. His hero that he admired, thinking how amazing he is at everything. His powerful presence that he displays, the amount of strength he possesses, and the charming charisma that Izuku can never in a million years hope to match.
He looks back down at his reflection, thinking how poor his social skills were. Even with all the ways to hide his face, he still couldn't ask for an autograph. Let alone talk to a girl. The thought alone was enough to make him sad.
He wonders if there's a girl who would even be with a guy like him.
"Hey? Can I talk to you?"
After hearing a girl's voice sound so close to him, Izuku opened his eyes. He saw in the reflection of the waters next to him, was none other than Singapura herself.
Izuku stood still in shock knowing that his hero crush was right next to him. He gently turned around to face her.
It was really her, appearing right in front of the green haired teen.
'Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! She's really here!'
Izuku tried to ask her what she was doing in front of him, but he was having trouble getting the word out of his mouth.
"I-I… you are." Her surprise appearance alone has left him speechless. Before he could talk to her more, Himiko presented something to him.
"You drop this back at the table. I came here to give it back."
After looking at his lost notebook, Izuku managed to finally form a sentence."My notebook! I didn't even know I dropped it!"
"Yeah, I noticed it after you left. I thought it might be important to you. So I came to return it back."
She handed the notebook back to him and he became happy.
"Thank you very much, please forgive me for making you come here to give it back to me." he thanked her as he bowed to her.
"It's no problem, I'm happy to help."
Once the notebook was returned, they both began to stare at each other now. Not knowing what to do next.
Himiko hasn't thought this far ahead, she never had a plan on how to go through with the whole relationship thing. She hardly even knows how a loving relationship works. 'Oh crap! I didn't think this through, what do I do? What should I say?' She wants to meet him and wishes to know who he is, but she doesn't know how to put it into words.
'She's still here with me, come on Izuku, say something to her.' Truth be told, he wanted to talk to her more, he had a lot of things to say to her. Genuine emotions about her that he has bottled up that he wants to express. But he fears that his presence alone was bothering her, and he didn't want to be a nuisance to anyone.
Over by the bushes, the team notices both of them are struggling to say anything to each other.
"Oh no! I don't think she got this!" Shino
"Shino, Quick give her some advice!" Tomoko yelled
'Himiko, it's Shino. I can tell by long silence that you don't know what to say. Follow my advice.'
The small cat girl waited for her smart auntie to help guide her through this. Her intelligence will help her crush.
'Try talking to him about his interests.'
'His interest?' try as she might but due to the peer pressure, she couldn't think of anything. For the life of her, almost nothing seems to be present. That and she can't think in the heat of the moment when it comes to socialization.
"Oh no, she's panicking. I don't think she got this." Shino panics as they believe they fail her.
"What do we do?" Tomoko asked, thinking of anything to save this moment. But so far, they have none.
Ryuko noticed her daughter was not prepared at all to ask a guy out, let alone talk to one. Of course she knows that it had more to do with her quirk that caused her to be more distant with other kids her age.
Especially her first year in Middle School, back when Singapura didn't even exist yet. That year turned bad as most students showed disinterest in her. Leaving next to zero room for her to Socialize with kids her age. People are often not accepted by her quirk, and Ryuko fears that this boy would be no different, so she doesn't get attached.
But even then, her little cub wants to know this boy. Even if he's a really shy fella. That's when she decided to step in and help. As she appears behind Shino.
"Shino, transfer all this to her." Ryuko whispered all the information into her ear.
Back at the fountain. Himiko was panicking on what to say next, and that she didn't want him to leave. Or so she thought, until she received another telepathy from Shino.
"Himiko, Ryuko has something for you. She wants you to repeat this."
Izuku was sitting, being very shy around the cat girl. Not knowing what to say to her. Or at least until she spoke to him.
"I'm sorry, it's my first time actually socializing with a boy before, and to tell the truth I'm really nervous to talk to you."
Those words managed to catch Izuku's attention, as he looked up at her. 'Really? Is she just as nervous as I am?!' Without a second delay, Izuku reassures her. "No, it's alright. I understand."
Himiko pauses for a sec to hear the rest of the transmission from her auntie. "The real reason I came here is something else."
"Really? What's the reason?"
"When I first saw you back at the mall, I have…" she stopped her words halfway as she's too scared to say what next. A dominant blush appeared on her face.
'Come on Himiko, say the words. Trust in your mom on this.' Shino told her, asking her to have a leap of faith.
Himiko gathered up all of her strength as she yelled out her words.
"I have developed a crush on you!"
Once those words registered into Izuku's mind, he went blank for just a second. Before his head starts a soft reset. His ears began ringing, but even so he still perfectly hears the last words she confesses to him as they echoed clearly in his mind.
"A crush…on me?" Izuku slowly whispered, still not believing it.
Himiko nodded, Confirming on what she told him.
After being clear on what he had just been told, Izuku couldn't even find the words to speak. Let alone the letters to spell them correctly. He was just making unintelligible noises with his mouth.
Himiko just simply watched it all happen, she didn't mind it at all. Because she would have been the same if her mother wasn't helping her. And yet, she can't help but find it cute in his own quirky way.
After a few seconds, Izuku began to finally make some words.
"I–I, crush. me?"
"Hey," Himiko stopped him midway as she began to speak again with the help of her mom. "I realize that this is all too sudden for you. Which is why I'm wondering if we can start small as friends such as texting and casual hangouts to get to know each other better. Then we could see where things could go from there. If that's alright with you?"
At that proposal, Izuku found it to be a lot more pleasing to his pace. He stops his pointless rambling as he uses all of his strength to properly answer her, "Y-Yes. I would like that."
"Great. Let's exchange numbers." Both of them pull out their phones. Ready to exchange their phone numbers, "Oh, by the way. The name Himiko Tsuchikawa."
"My name is Izuku Midoriya."
They exchange numbers as Himiko acts all cheerful "It's nice to meet you, Midoriya. I'll text you tonight." She ran off, leaving the Quirkless boy by himself.
Izuku sat there in awe as he looked back at his phone contact list, as he pieced together what just happened. 'Singapura, the person i've been admiring just gave me her phone number. And she potentially asked me out.'
Himiko walked back to where her family was behind the bushes. She felt happy that she successfully talked to him. Already thinking about all the things they were going to do together. The thought of it makes her heart pump faster.
It was all thanks to her family that helped her make this happen. Most importantly, her mother's advice got her and Izuku together. Once she made it back to where her family hid, she extended her arms and hugged her mom lovingly.
"Thank You, mom! You're the best!"
"Don't mention it, just promise me that you'll behave yourself around that boy."
"Aw, why not?!" Himiko cries, finding it to be unfair. "Can't you see he's perfect?!"
Everyone peeked their heads to look over the bushes, to see Izuku putting all of his electronic devices into his bag and leaving it on the floor. He walked a couple of steps away from the fountain before he started running back. Suddenly, the boy fling himself carelessly into the waters of the large fountain. Few seconds later, his head emerged from the shallow water. "Yup. not dreaming."
Yawara, Shino and Tomoko find the boy rather innocent, Ryuko wasn't all too impressed. Himiko just simply laughs at his antics.
"Well it's time to go out to eat. Let's go." Shino announced, as it was about time to leave.
Everyone went to find a nearby restaurant before going back to the mall. While Ryuko was unsure about her little one dating, all she cares about is her happiness. Even if it means letting her explore and go on dates.
But one thing is sure, that Midoriya boy better not do anything to hurt her. Or he'll be acquainted with the receiving end of her claws. As a matter of fact, she should put in a request for new claws. Something to make the boy think twice before hurting her little one.
While the team left the park to enjoy their lunch break. Izuku walks back to the train station all wet. But for the first time in his life, he was going home with a new found smile on his face.
For he had made a special friend.
TO BE CONTINUED…