"Thank you for having me."
Kyouka watched as the greenette fell into a deep bow, his guitar falling slightly as though mimicking the motion.
"Please, it's our pleasure."
Her mother reciprocated the gesture before leading the teen deeper inside the house and into the living room.
The family alongside their guest seated themselves, the postures of the former rigid and anxious as they tried to maintain an aura of refinement in front of the latter.
"I'm truly grateful that you've allowed me into your home. Thank you again for that."
Until he spoke.
Kyouka felt her body relax against her will as her temperature rose, tinting her face in a light hue of pink.
One glance at her parents and she could tell that they were in the same boat as her.
So much for refinement.
"No need to thank me, Izuku. If anything, I should be thanking you for letting me tag along free of charge."
Her father then offered the greenette a bow from his seat on the couch, one the boy fervently dismissed.
"It's nothing. You've been doing the whole promotion thing so well! Lord knows I suck at it."
The boy then laughed, her father doing the same soon after, causing the once tense air in the room to thin.
Her father and their guest fell into conversation, the main subject being the upcoming tour alongside efforts from her father in regards to promotion.
All in all, pretty boring stuff.
While she could definitely understand the technical aspect of a music career, Kyouka was far more interested in actually playing the songs.
If she was good enough, the fans would find her.
"Do you have your setlist?"
The question courtesy of her father drew her attention back to the conversation at hand, curiosity brimming within her eyes at mention of a setlist.
"Basically. But I do want to add a new song. That way any returning fans have something fresh to hear."
Stroking his nonexistent beard, Kyotoku thought the singer's words over, his eyes switching from the greenette to his daughter.
Almost as if he was-
"You're scheming."
The lavender-haired teen furrowed her brow as irate coal eyes settled on her father.
The blonde man only offered a smile before turning his head to the side, the motion unable to hide the familiar twinkle dancing behind his eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about. On a completely unrelated note, I have to call and double-check with the venues."
The man then shot up before pointing a finger at their guest, that god-awful twinkle still in his eyes.
"How about you and my dear Kyo-chan get to know each other? She might even be able to help you with that new song of yours."
Then and there, Kyouka was reminded of how insufferable her father could be sometimes.
Regardless, there was some good to come from the situation.
At the very least she'd be able to gain further insight into the life of an up-and-coming musician.
And at the very most, she'd be credited on a new song by a future superstar.
On second thought, nice going Dad.
"Alrighty! If anything happens, please let me know."
Her focus was pulled back to the present as she watched the teen stand from his seat, his sheathed guitar rising alongside him.
As though sensing her eyes on him, the boy turned his head away from her father before settling his emerald eyes on her, a smile accompanying them.
Immediately, the interview with her father came to mind, a section in particular taking center stage.
"He really does have a pretty face."
Shaking the thought from her mind, Kyouka stood, ready to potentially learn more about one of her desired fields.
"Lead the way."
The tone of his voice nearly caused the teen to trip as her mind struggled to process the words amplified by them.
It was hard to explain quite frankly, as the words themselves seemed to beam at the girl, they themselves happy to be in her care.
"I guess that's why he was semi-popular before Dad started promoting him."
Humming in agreement with herself, the lavender head continued walking, a bubbling greenette hot on her trail.
"Make yourself comfortable."
As the teen nodded, Kyouka couldn't help but watch as his verdant locks bounced excitedly, visually expressing the emotion welling within the singer before her.
Turning on her heel, the lavender-haired girl made her way to her bed, flopping down onto the soft, welcoming mattress as the singer set his black hoodie on the dresser beside her bed, leaving him clad in a white T-shirt.
The latter then made his way to the desk, tucked away in a corner on the opposite side of her room.
What followed was stale, deafening, unbearable silence as the singer sharing a space with her passed the time on his phone, a variety of faces occupying the screen as the singer texted what she assumed to be his bandmates.
"I could call Yaomomo..."
Her own thought trailed off as she subconsciously dismissed the idea.
After all, she was still eager to speak to the singer.
There, seated in her room, seated at her desk, was someone her age with their foot halfway through the metaphorical door to stardom.
Granted it was infinitely more complex than that but still.
This was possibly her one chance to speak with an, almost, famous musician her age, she'd have to be an idiot like Denki to pass that up.
It'd be like declining one-on-one training with All Might.
"Your room is amazing. I'm kinda jealous, to be honest."
The sudden interruption threw the teen for a loop, causing her mouth to open slightly as her coal eyes settled on emerald green ones.
As though ignorant of her current state, the greenette punctuated his sentence with a light chuckle, sending sparks down the girl's spine.
With a roll of her shoulders, the girl dismissed the odd feeling before refocusing,
She had a guest to respond to.
"There isn't anything special about it, to be honest. It's just a bunch of my instruments lying around."
The smile she received was almost enough to convince the girl he didn't need any promotion.
"That's part of the charm, no? Seeing someone's passion displayed like… it makes me happy."
His sentence ended with a light smile, one that sent waves of warmth throughout the room and straight into Kyouka.
Like clockwork, the girl felt her muscles relax as images of his bewitching smile flashed in her mind, raising her temperature exponentially and forcing her eyes to seek anything save for him.
"There's no way a smile has me like…this!"
He was pretty, definitely, but there was no good reason someone she knew only via mentions from her father should have her flustered to such a degree.
And from a smile?
Unbelievable.
In an attempt to alleviate her newfound heat, Kyouka tugged down on the collar of her black T-shirt, allowing cool air to grace her pale skin.
Her coal eyes drifted as she did so, falling on a flushed singer whose emerald eyes seemed to be avoiding her, just as hers were prior.
"He was fine 2 seconds ago. What happened?"
Her newfound confusion allowed any prior embarrassment to vanish and her body to cool as she moved toward the edge of the bed.
Whatever it was could be figured out some other time.
"So…why'd you start playing music?"
The question seemed to break the spell of embarrassment that befell the singer, turning his attention back to the girl before him as the pink tinting his cheeks faded.
Chewing the inside of his cheek, the teen took a moment to think over his answer, a noticeable scrunch in his brow.
Before long, his expression relaxed as his smile returned, emerald eyes settling over the form of Kyouka.
"If I'm being honest, it started as a way to just pass the time. But the more I played and the more I saw people just like me succeed, the more I wanted that for myself. There's a lot more to it, of course, but that's the abridged version."
His voice was its usual light, almost feathery, tone.
However, beneath that was apprehension, as if the whole truth brought with it emotional pain so bad it bordered on physical.
Turning her coal eyes toward herself, Kyouka felt a smile spread across her features.
However, that smile was devoid of mirth, instead being fueled by a prodigious melancholy that served to sour her once relatively high spirits.
Whatever it was that he was hiding, the real reason he turned to music, Kyouka felt as though she could relate.
Be it the pain hiding beneath his ethereal voice, the aforementioned so light that, had she not had hearing better than most, the girl was sure she'd miss it, or the sense of despair welling behind his emerald, Kyouka was certain that something dreadful welled within Izuku.
Despite the implication, however, she couldn't help but feel a little happy.
In a way, a twisted, self-deprecating way, she felt closer to the teen she currently shared space with.
It made talking to him a helluva lot more bearable.
"I can relate. My family encouraged it, definitely, but music was something I grew to love over time."
Her answer caused a smile, a genuine one, to tug at the corners of his lips as the murky sadness rumbling behind his eyes lifted, revealing winsome emeralds.
Instantly, Kyouka felt her own dejection fade, being replaced by a familiar comfort,
One that was beginning to grow on her.
"So, green, what instruments do you play?"
The nickname was unconscious, however, the chuckle that arose because of it was something the girl was fully aware of.
"I'm really only good at guitar, but I'm learning bass and piano in my free time."
Bass?
She could play that.
"I can play bass. Want me to teach you?"
The offer came out with more eagerness than she would have liked, however, if the singer minded he didn't let it show.
Quite the opposite actually.
Unprecedented excitement bubbled to life in every part of the greenette, causing his eyes to widen and his grin to sparkle.
Kyouka never knew what her type was in all honesty, it was something she never poured much thought into.
After seeing that smile, however,
She had an idea.
With a shake of her head, the thoughts were gone.
The blush, however, remained.
Standing from the bed, the lavender-haired girl allowed her coal eyes to pour over the various basses spread across her room in an effort to select one for the boy to start practice with.
Before long, those same eyes settled on a bright red and orange Rickenbacker 4003 which ended her search.
Grabbing the instrument, Kyouka made her way back to her mattress before plopping herself down on it.
"C'mon, all the gear is beside my bed and I don't feel like moving it."
Patting the space beside her to further emphasize her request, the lavender-haired teen patiently waited for the now-blushing singer to comply.
Before long, the aforementioned stood before walking as calmly as possible, which looked like a mini seizure to Kyouka, and sitting beside his new teacher.
After plugging in the instrument and making sure it was in tune, the rocker girl handed the instrument over, a grin threatening to split her face.
"So what am I learning first?"
She couldn't hold it back anymore.
"0 3 5, 0 3 6 5"
"Are you sure you don't want credit?"
Kyouka shook her head as she all but shoved the greenette from her room, his bright red Stratocaster alongside his brand new Rickenbacker adorning his back.
"I'm sure. I'd rather not have your future super fans tracking me down because their celebrity crush made a song with a girl."
The way she emphasized the last word caused a chuckle to rise from the greenettes throat, his right hand hovering over his t-shirt-clad stomach as he did so.
"I get what you mean."
The singer suddenly stopped before turning about face and resting his hands on the rocker girl's shoulders, his bright green eyes staring into her dark coal ones.
"Thank you Jirou, for everything. Because of you I have a new song and can kinda play half a bass line."
That's not fair.
Right when she thought she could drive him out of her house, the growing feelings she had for him in tow,
He just had to thank her.
And it just couldn't be a normal thank you either.
No.
They just had to be the most genuine words of gratitude, punctuated by a smile so heartwarming that Kyouka might have melted then and there.
Not fair in the slightest.
Trying her hardest to fight a full-body blush, something she knew by now was futile, Kyouka continued to push the teen from her house, ignoring the brief exchange of words between the boy and her father as she did so, before closing the door.
She was finally free.
"Sooooooo. How did it go-"
"It's like you want me to hit you."
"Shutting up now."
Walking past her father, the lavender-haired teen returned to her room, closing the door tightly before throwing herself onto her mattress, exhausted.
Kyouka never considered herself a fangirl or anything remotely similar…
Buuuttttt,
Spending an evening with Izuku, an artist her father was actively promoting, was simultaneously fun and frustrating.
Fun because she got to feel a sense of familiarity with the boy, as though they were in the same boat.
And frustrating because the boy was just so…so… so damn sweet.
His smile, his voice, the way his eyes seemed to sparkle whenever he for excited.
They all just caused the girl's stomach to flutter and her face to flush whenever she thought about the singer.
Turning to her right, the rocker girl settled her eyes on the pitch-black hoodie resting on her dresser, the garment seemingly staring at her.
"Of course, he forgot it."
Laughing to herself, the girl reached over and grabbed the garment, bringing it closer to her eyes.
Upon closer inspection, the hoodie seemed to be covered entirely in a variety of signatures as the words "SWEET BOY" stood out in white marker in the center of the hoodie.
His first show hoodie.
Dropping the clothing item over her form, the lavender-haired girl raised her arms, clutching the garment closer to her body as her eyelids dropped.
As sleep overtook her body, Kyouka couldn't help but smile as her mind replayed her time with Izuku on repeat, the memory serving as a lullaby, one better than any the girl had prior.
In tandem with those memories, one other thing permeated the girl's mind, this one a mantra now associated with the boy and his hoodie.
"He really is a Sweet Boy."