Chapter Text
Saturday soon comes. With a handful of well-wishes and aptly-ignored requests for compromising photos from their smallest classmate, the well-dressed, anxious Iida leaves the dorm two hours before schedule.
Shouto would have told him off for leaving so early, but he figured Iida would panic more if he went there any later than that. Despite having the most awkward start, his friend seems to be coming out of his shell of his own will. And while it’s always expected of Iida to be earnest in everything he does, he has surprised Shouto in his efforts to change his usually inflexible self.
And it only took one encounter with Yaoyorozu to make that happen.
Damn.
Yaoyorozu Momo: a name and a face that he thought he left behind, along with the difficult stories of those years that he’s not ready to face again. What are the chances that it’s the same Yaoyorozu Momo from middle school? Maybe it’s a different person--Momo is a common name for girls, after all, and even though Yaoyorozu is unusual, it’s not unheard of for two different people to share an uncommon combination of names in Japan.
Shouto entertains his period of denial for exactly an hour after the reveal in Iida’s room, but a quick search on Google confirms the truth: there is only one Yaoyorozu Momo who goes to Shiketsu High School, and it’s the same one he knows. A piece in the lifestyle section of the local paper details how she got into the school by recommendation, how she was voted as class representative by a landslide, and how she’s presently the prodigy of the Classical Music Club, among other things. A photo of her with her hands flying above piano keys quashes any further doubt in Shouto’s mind.
It makes sense why Iida would be so enamoured with her on first sight. Back in middle school she’s already had this refined air about her that makes anyone stop and stare. In her latest photos she’s taller, more mature, prettier even. He could only imagine how different she appears in real life.
“Todoroki-kun?”
Shouto blinks out of his reverie to see a pair of concerned green eyes staring right at him.
“Oh, you’re back online,” Midoriya teases, freckled cheeks creasing as he smiles. “You okay? You’ve been spacing out a lot today!”
He grunts once, stares at his hands and the chopsticks laying dormant over his fingers. There’s a bowl of steaming hot tempura udon under his nose.
Oh, they’d been eating, haven’t they? Also, did he really get tempura udon? When did he order this?
“You said you’re getting what I’m getting.” Midoriya puts his soup spoon down and stares at him, now more concerned than ever. “You sure you’re okay, Todoroki-kun? You’re super distracted… ah, you’re mad at Yoarashi for not being able to make it, aren’t you? Please don’t… he really can’t help it that Pochi-kun got sick and he needed to take him to the vet…”
“Pochi-kun?” Shouto asks. “The St. Bernard?”
“No, the shih tzu,” he clarifies. “The St. Bernard’s name is Lisa-chan. The labradoodle is Mastodon. The golden retriever is Gachapon, and the three cute hybrid ones he adopted from the shelter are Nuggets, Cerberus, and Sumire--”
“Ah. It’s fine.” He isn’t interested at all in Yoarashi’s seven dogs, nor is he feeling miffed that the guy who forced him to eat udon when he could be eating zarusoba ended up ditching them.
To be honest, it’s kind of good that he couldn’t make it. It’s not that he disliked their loudest classmate. He quite likes him, in fact, as overwhelming as his presence can get. But Shouto thinks that he couldn’t handle having the boisterous Yoarashi around while his mind is in turmoil.
(Also, it’s nice to have some time alone with Midoriya once in a while. Despite what Monoma has to say about it.)
Midoriya goes ehh? in that cute way he does when he doesn’t believe what he says. “So why are you glum? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Shouto knows that his face doesn’t change, but Midoriya looks convinced that it does, and gasps dramatically. “You are! What is it, Todoroki-kun? Wait…”
Dammit, Midoriya can’t find out that he’s hiding stuff about Yaoyorozu. If he somehow wheedles out that they knew each other long ago, then he’d have to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions about when and how and why and why have things ended up this way and he isn't sure how Midoriya would handle all of that.
Also, he isn’t sure what to answer if he were to ask why he kept this all from Iida, because isn’t that the first thing he should have told Iida that night? Hey about Yaoyorozu, funny thing, when we were in middle school, we were actually friends until--
“You’re worried about Iida-kun, aren’t you? About how he’ll do today on his date with Hermes-san?” Midoriya asks, with an understanding smile.
Well. That’s one way to put it.
Midoriya reads something on his face again that makes him agree and go off into a ramble. “I get you, Todoroki-kun. I’m pretty worried about him too! He is our best friend and all, and this is such a big deal for him, and I just want it to go well, you know? I mean, um… I know that he’s a good guy and Hermes-san seems to be really good too so I just know they’ll get along, but…”
The green-haired boy begins to mutter as a sense of normalcy falls between them. This is something he appreciates about Midoriya. He seems all right doing the talking for the two of them even without Shouto giving a polite reply each time.
Shouto is content to leave the issue at that and waits patiently for the udon to cool off. While Midoriya rambles on, he looks out the window of the restaurant passively and sees a familiar shock of blonde hair.
Hey… isn’t that…
“--I’m sure he won’t start to lecture Hermes-san about the controversies of school uniform fashions, but sometimes you never know what…”
“Midoriya.”
It takes him one stern word in that tone to make Midoriya snap out of it. He looks mildly disoriented to be cut-off mid-ramble. “Yeah, Todoroki-kun?”
He points out the window. “That’s Kaminari, isn’t it?”
Midoriya blinks and stares at where Kaminari Denki is standing behind a telephone pole. He has a hood over his head, a pair of thick-rimmed glasses over the bridge of his nose and in general looks very, very suspicious. He doesn't seem to see Shouto or Midoriya from where he stands, as he is entirely focused on someone else along the street.
“What is he doing?”
The street is crowded so it’s hard to see what he’s seeing. But he moves eventually, comically attempting to act natural and failing.
Shouto frowns. “Is he stalking somebody?”
Midoriya shakes his head. “Ah, I don’t think Kaminari-kun is capable of doing something so shady… Maybe he’s just--”
Kaminari jumps behind a garbage can, earning him uneasy looks from the people walking past him. He doesn’t seem fazed, however, and keeps his eye out to someone in front of him…
… a girl.
“Um,” Midoriya begins, standing up from his seat. “You know what, just in case, maybe we should keep an eye out for him? Just to make sure he doesn’t get hurt, or…”
Despite Midoriya practically living for it, Shouto hates meddling most of all. The green-haired boy believes that meddling in a situation when no-one asks you to is the essence of a hero, or something. He claims Yagi-sensei said something like that in the past when he was at the peak of his wrestling career. Shouto begs to disagree with something so irresponsible.
Midoriya leaves money on the counter and begins to move despite Shouto’s express silent wishes to do otherwise. The dual toned boy finds that he has no choice but to follow him.
And so they find themselves out on the streets. For being such a meddler, Midoriya is very poor at being discreet, hiding behind dumpsters and telephone poles and parking meters much in the same way as Kaminari and garnering a number of looks that make Shouto uncomfortable. Still, they do not rouse the suspicions of the blonde boy in front of them, nor the girl in front of them…
… who seems to be doing the same shady stuff that the two of them are doing, funnily enough.
How the hell did his not-date with Midoriya on a rare free Saturday end up in stalking a stalker who’s stalking a stalker? And who is that stalker stalking? Is it another stalker? Would he be surprised if it is? How far does this rabbit hole go?
“Todoroki-kun, why is Kaminari-kun stalking this girl?” Midoriya whisper-shouts indiscreetly as he flips himself behind a bus stop.
Shouto sighs. “It might be better to just go there and ask him. It’ll be easier to stop him if he’s doing something illegal.”
“But he’ll find out that we’ve been following him!”
It’s a miracle he hasn’t yet, really. Then again, Kaminari can be quite dense.
Anyway, there’s no more damage to be had revealing themselves to Kaminari, so without another word Shouto walks up to where he’s peeking behind a traffic light and prods his classmate at the shoulder. “Kaminari.”
The blonde screams and does a funny pose which was meant to be threatening. The effect is lost by the ridiculous look on his face and the way he clamps his mouth immediately, realizing how loud and high-pitched his scream is. It takes him a while to recognize Shouto, and then Midoriya after him when he catches up.
“Jesus, it’s just Buddyroki and Deku! My heart!” He lets out a relieved puff of air before he panics, and hides himself behind the taller Shouto. “What are you guys doin’ here? Ah, actually to be honest I don’t care, but why ya gotta sneak up on me like that, huh? I might lose the girl!”
The girl in question is still visible across the street, peeking at the edge of a nondescript office building. Shouto takes note of her appearance: 5’1” or thereabouts, probably their age, purple hair cut in a bob, asymmetric fringe covering triangular eyes, bulky headphones covering her ears. She’s dressed in a Deep Dope band tank, tattered jeans, combat boots, like she’s set to perform with her punk band at an illegal concert in a grimy tunnel somewhere.
“Kaminari-kun,” Midoriya says with a pleading wheeze, “We saw you following her and we were kinda worried about you? What’s going on, why are you following--”
“Ah, she’s on the move!”
As soon as the lights turn green Kaminari jogs across the street, with Midoriya squeaking and puffing behind him. Shouto does a leisurely speedwalk and catches up to them easily as they reconvene behind a My Neighbor Totoro mascot.
The girl, in turn, hides behind another building. Impressively, she doesn’t seem to be looking after anyone in particular, but just listens before she starts moving again.
“Kaminari-kun,” Midoriya practically begs as they hide behind another building. “What’s going on? Why are we following her? Do you know her?”
“Huh? Oh, no, this is the first time I’ve seen her ever,” Kaminari answers with a blink of his empty eyes.
Shady , Shouto is about to say, before Kaminari shushes them, and finally explains himself when Midoriya tugs at his sleeve and refuses to back down. “Ugh, fine. I was just around lookin’ for a place to buy a charger when I saw her hiding and stalking someone… she seemed interesting, so I started following her!”
The two boys stare at him. Kaminari sputters under their gaze.
“What--why are you looking at me like I’m trash? I’m not a creep!” he whines.
“Kaminari-kun,” Midoriya says with that disappointed tone of voice that anyone would be defenseless against.
The effect is plain on Kaminari, who begins sputtering defensively. “Between the two of us she’s the shadier one! I decided to follow her as a public service! You know, just in case she decides to murder someone after her stalking is done and someone needs to call the cops and--ahh!”
The girl turns into a major avenue, out of sight. Kaminari bolts ahead, Midoriya in pursuit. As Shouto follows them, he realizes that it’ll be hard catching up to the girl because they’re entering the Kiyashi Ward, at a high-end shopping district that’s always busy on Saturdays.
Wait. Kiyashi Ward. Isn’t that where Iida’s meeting Yaoyorozu?
Well… at least by the time they slow down Shouto thinks that he doesn’t need to worry about that anymore, because the street is crowded and Kaminari’s looking around defeated. “Damn! We lost her!” he cries in despair as he pulls on the electric-bolt on his hair. “I can’t believe how fast she moves! What is she, a professional creeper?!”
It takes one to know one. Midoriya looks relieved that they finally lost the girl. “In any case, Kaminari-kun, you should really give up on stalking her. We might get in trouble if...”
“I’m not stalking her. I’m just watching what’s going on. That’s different,” the blonde protests, puffing his cheeks. “Wait… hey, maybe she went thataway?”
Before anyone can stop him, Kaminari moves towards the shadows. Midoriya is just about to run after him when a pair of hands with painted nails pulls him into an alleyway, followed by a distressed “WHEY! ” that makes the pair run faster.
When they get to the alleyway, they find Kaminari pushed against the wall by The Girl, who looks angry beyond words. One hand is on Kaminari’s neck, the other one posing the sharp point of… is that her headphone jack?... at the center of his neck.
“Who are you and why are you stalking me?!” the girl growls, poking him with the jack convincingly like a knife that makes Kaminari whimper.
“ Whey! Are you really gonna kill me with that thing?!” Kaminari has his hands up like he’s being asked for all his money. “Midoriya! Todoroki! I told you she’s gonna murder someone! Call the cops now!”
“What are ya talking about? This is self-defense, self-defense!” The girl glares at Midoriya, who squeaks as he fumbles for his phone. Was he really going to call the cops on this smaller girl? “Actually, I should call the cops on you creeps! You guys are more of her deranged fans, aren’t ya?!"
“N-no miss, I swear we weren’t stalking!” Midoriya stammers, desperately looking at Shouto for back-up.
He seems to be the only one there capable of logical thought and comprehensible speech, so he sighs and explains. “We aren’t fans of anyone. Kaminari saw you following someone, so he watched what you’d do. Midoriya and I tried to stop him.”
The girl doesn’t look any less incensed at that, so he adds, “Yes it’s ridiculous. Sorry we weren’t able to stop him.”
Kaminari looks at him as if he’d betrayed him. “I swear it was public service! I mean, I know, technically I was stalking, but you stalked first! I did this in a vigilante attempt to keep the peace in this town--”
The girl scoffs, but thankfully loosens her hold on Kaminari. “Vigilante my ass. I bet if I hadn’t caught your asses red-handed, who knows what you could have done to Yaomomo--”
Yaomomo?
“Hold it, I swear we don’t know who Yaomomo is!” Kaminari has the gall this time to point an accusing finger at the girl’s face. “And between us, you’re the shadier one who’s ackin’ like this Yaomomo’s stalker!”
“For your information, I’m Yaomomo’s friend. There’s nothing shady about making sure that my best friend is--”
“Oh~? Is that so?” Kaminari goes full whey mode and stares at her right in the eyes in a weird effort to be more intimidating. “So tell me, miss Yaomomo’s-best-friend, if that is your real name, what’s up with the creepy hiding-behind-buildings stunt you’re pulling, huh? It’s creepy how high and mighty you’re acting when you’re the one creepin’ like a megacreep!”
Kaminari really shouldn’t drop creepy a lot when he literally did the exact same creepy things, but the intimidation game seems to be working on the purple-haired girl. She snarls, “I’m not being a megacreep!! I had to make sure that Yaomomo’s okay, okay? I mean… she was acting like so weird in class, and she wouldn’t give me clear answers about where she’s going…”
Midoriya makes a sound of understanding. “Oh, I see! So you were just worried about your friend!” Bright and sunny and unassuming, he effortlessly cuts the tension between the arguing couple in half. “See, Kaminari-kun, she isn’t being shady! Ah, but miss…?”
He looks at the girl, who instantly looks at ease with him. “Jirou,” she answers.
“Jirou-san,” Midoriya says with a bow. He stammers a quick introduction for the three of them before continuing, “Is there a reason why you think you think Yaomomo-san might be in danger?”
That name again. Yaomomo. Why does Shouto feel a sense of foreboding when he hears it?
Jirou sighs in exasperation. “W… well… maybe danger is too strong a word?” She twiddles her fingers with her earphone jack before she mutters, “it’s just that, she has a lot of shady admirers, and she recently had bad stuff happen to her because of stupid guys, and then out of nowhere she tells me that she’s seeing this guy from some all boys’ school on the other side of town! It’s weird, the timing is too soon and I’m scared that she’s too sheltered to know that she’s being played, so--”
Shouto feels his stomach turn as slowly he answers an equation he doesn’t want to unravel. “Jirou. This might sound strange… but could you be from Shiketsu?”
Jirou turns pale, and he instantly knows that he’s hit the jackpot.
“Todoroki-kun… how would you know that?” Midoriya asks carefully.
He and Kaminari are gaping at him. Wait, does this make him sound like the stalker? Because it’s ridiculous, if anything he’s the only person in this alleyway who’s desperate to mind his own business.
By the slightly frightened look on Jirou’s face though, this situation just got really, really bad. He doesn’t know how to explain himself at this point, so he gives up on that idea and instead shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter, we aren’t supposed to be here. The three of us should leave now.”
“Wait, you can’t just--” Kaminari sputters, looking momentarily vindicated that he and Jirou aren’t the only creepy ones in that alleyway, “Hey, could it be that you know this Yaomomo personally?”
Between affirming their suspicions and denying it with a grandiose lie he can’t formulate right now, Shouto chooses to outright ignore his accusations. He should just stop wasting time and physically drag Midoriya and Kaminari out of that alleyway before--
Jirou, however, cuts him off with a minute squeal. “Keep it down! She’s here!”
Midoriya and Kaminari give him a look that tells him he isn’t off the hook yet, until they look in the direction Jirou has given her full, eagle-eyed attention to.
And who they see is exactly who Shouto expects.
Yaoyorozu Momo, taller and more regal than he last remembered her. She’s in a ruby red dress paired with low heels and a jacket. Her trademark spiky ponytail is as spiky as ever, swaying charmingly as she moves elegantly within the crowd. Her whole person practically shimmers under the lamp lights.
“Pretty,” Midoriya breathes. The people who pass by all seem to mumble the same thing as they cross paths.
“Damn, that’s ‘Yaomomo’?” Kaminari whispers with a low whistle. “What the hell, is she really in high school? Is she really from around here? She looks like an angel, that’s not right!”
Jirou pinches his arm, making him whimper. “You’re right about her being an angel, but also, shut up. She’s going to meet the guy any second now.”
Shouto wonders about the chances of Iida being late to this date. Or for anything in this world, for that matter. He knows that practically speaking the chances are smaller than small and that there’s no way that he is, unless a meteor were to fall from the sky in the next few moments.
Which doesn’t happen. Yaoyorozu’s face lights up in recognition as she waves to a familiar square-shaped friend, who waves back--
“Wait… that’s Iida-kun…?” Midoriya stammers, rubbing his eyes.
Jirou turns to Midoriya with a scandalized look in her purple eyes. “Yeah, that’s his name! Wait… you guys know the guy Yaomomo’s dating?!”
Kaminari also rubs his eyes in disbelief. “Oi, oi, oi. Are you telling me that the Prez… that Hermes-chan... that they’re…?” He looks at everyone, dull eyes barely comprehending anything going on. “Wait, what universe am I in right now?”
Shouto doesn’t know what else to do but put his palm to his face. “Yeah. I figured,” he mutters with a sense of defeat.
In front of them, Yaoyorozu bows politely, and Iida bows many more times than necessary in perfect 90 degree angles.
“Here are stargazers, Yaoyorozu-kun! In the Victorian language of flowers, they mean purity, spirituality, and the celebration of the 30th year wedding anniversary of couples!... but that’s not to say--i mean, we are not a wed couple, so--”
Everyone expects her to cringe, but Yaoyorozu practically glows. “Thank you, Iida-san. They’re lovely, and the chocolates, as well…”
“Yes! These are recommended highly by my schoolmate, a self-styled Francophile who has a taste for French and Belgian pastries-- seriously, what kinda people go to your school?! And by the way, why are you still hanging ‘round here?!”
Jirou stops her impromptu dub/lip-reading session to glare at the boys spying next to her. It’s a little disconcerting that she stopped midway, because to be fair she’s good at it. Shouto almost forgets that they actually can’t hear what the two are saying from this distance.
Kaminari makes a face and presses forward despite Jirou shoving him away. “We’re looking after the Prez of course! I mean, now that I know that the company Hermes-chan keeps comprises of punk rock stalkers with shady motives--”
“I could say the same thing about this Prez of yours,” Jirou grumbles.
“--it’s our duty as his faithful subjects to protect him from dishonor!” Kaminari finishes with a flourish and looks to Midoriya and Shouto for support. Which he does not find immediately, causing him to falter. “... really, you guys? Are you just gonna let Jirou sabotage the Prez’s date like this?”
Shouto stares at him sharply. “We’re already sabotaging his date by being here. We should all leave.”
Jirou goes pfft. “Well, I’m not leaving. I don’t care if it’s sabotage. I’ll sabotage any date if it means that I can keep Yaomomo away from shady boys from shady high schools like you guys.”
Kaminari gasps in offense. “So that means I’m not leaving either! I won’t have anyone sully the good President’s name like this--”
As the two continue to bicker, Midoriya tugs on Shouto’s sleeve. “We can’t just leave Kaminari-kun here,” he mutters with wide, anxious green eyes. “I mean… what if he does something, you know, Kaminari-like, and Iida-kun and Hermes-san see?”
“That won’t happen,” Shouto tells him confidently. Yaoyorozu and Iida speak with the maitre’d of the restaurant and are soon escorted inside. Shouto thinks that their problems should be solved at this point, because there’s no way that any of them are getting in such a fancy, popular place like Awase’s without a reservation.
That is, until he realizes that Jirou and Kaminari have inexplicably gone from being on the verge of beating each other senseless to plotting as if they’re longtime partners in old-timey crime. “Okay, so I pretend to see a bee and start screaming and while they’re preoccupied, you look at the guest list, pretend that you’re one of those yuppies, and then we--”
Shit. Midoriya is right. He can’t leave these two alone in good conscience.
He sighs. He can’t believe that things have come down to this. So much for a quiet Saturday with Midoriya. He steps forward, fumbling for the wallet in his back pocket, and motions for them to follow him quietly.
The three look at each other incredulously, but follow him like quizzical baby ducks. Shouto walks past irritable adults waiting in line and heads right to the maitre’d. “Good evening,” he says, ignoring how the maitre’d wrinkles his nose at them, “We’d like a table for four people.”
“This place is reservation only,” the server says, not being subtle about his distaste for the group’s manner of dress. He doesn’t blame him, this really isn’t a t-shirt and jeans kinda place, and the fact that they look like a group of rowdy teenagers up to trouble must be unsettling.
“I understand, but,” Shouto says, taking out his ID. “Chef Awase has assured us that we can come here anytime regardless.”
Just one look at Todoroki makes the maitre’d pale and gape and choke on his spit and transform into the most hospitable servant in the world in the span of 2 seconds. “Of course, Todoroki-sama. Right this way--”
He feels his three companions gape at him stupidly as they’re suddenly flanked by two other servers who are suddenly ready to wait on them hand and foot. Before they are brought to their seats, Shouto instructs them to bring them to the quietest corner of the restaurant, and so they are lead to a booth at the darkest part of it with a full view of the rest of the place. The four of them shove themselves unceremoniously over the luxurious seats, with Midoriya significantly flustered and Kaminari and Jirou mildly impressed.
“Seriously, who are you?” Jirou asks in suspicion. “Are you like a prince or something?”
“And this place is seriously fancy, Buddyroki,” Kaminari says, gingerly holding a page of the menu, with its ostentatious meals and exorbitant prices. “Can we really…”
Shouto nods. “Yeah, just order whatever. I’ll take care of it as long as the two of you don’t cause a scene.”
Kaminari looks like he’s about to do a scene-causing victory whoop but is immediately silenced by Jirou’s elbow. “Shut up, Jammin’ Whey, don’t forget our targets!”
“J-jammin’ Whey? And duh, of course I haven’t forgotten about the Prez…”
The two immediately proceed to spy on their so-called targets behind their menus. Midoriya looks at Shouto in disdain, fully realizing that his attempt at meddling has come too far. Well, there isn’t anything to do about this now, is there?
With that, they watch quietly as the clueless Iida and Yaoyorozu take their seats and begin to talk.
*
Objectively speaking, the date is a disaster so far.
To think that the evening began relatively well. Iida made a fool of himself when he first saw Yaoyorozu Momo-kun outside. She’s breathtaking in every way, more than he ever remembered, and he felt his brain functions come to a literal stop when she directed her angelic smile at him. He managed to present her with flowers and chocolates as Aoyama-kun had instructed him, along with a lot of unnecessary information that thankfully seemed to entertain her. They had gone to the restaurant without any troubles and even obtained a nice seat near the stage, where a jazz band is set to perform later that evening that Yaoyorozu-kun seemed to be looking forward to.
And that’s all the good that has happened to their date so far.
As soon as they take their seats, Iida tells himself to ‘un-square,’ as his classmates have insisted, but he soon forgets what that means. Does he loosen up or straighten out? Does he round himself up like a cat, or stay perfectly still so he doesn’t embarrass himself? What will he do? Does he look superlatively square right now? Is Yaoyorozu-kun off-putted by all of this?
“I’m looking forward to this,” Yaoyorozu-kun tells him with a beautiful smile, and he responds with utter nervous silence that makes her falter.
He stares at the menu. All the dishes were written in a smattering of foreign languages that makes little sense in his mind. He knows he ought to ask the server about them, but when one of them comes to take their order, Yaoyorozu takes the lead in ordering about six dishes in a fluent mix of French and German which leaves him mesmerized and speechless.
“And for the gentleman?” the server asks, already disconcerted about how silent he’s being.
He swallows and asks, “Would you happen to have… beef stew?” because his brain can come up with nothing else.
The server blinks. “We have beef bourgignon, blanquette de veau, as well as callos…”
Iida stares at him blankly for some time until Yaoyorozu clears her throat politely and says, “The beef bourgignon should be good, thank you.”
“Lovely choice,” the server says, looking relieved as he leaves. This leaves him alone with Yaoyorozu, who is still smiling at him, albeit less brilliantly than before.
“Are you alright, Iida-san?” she asks, concerned. “You seem a little anxious.”
“Oh not at all! I am fine, completely fine!” Iida blurts out. Unfortunately one robot arm breaks free of his control and karate-chops the air between them in a very Square-like fashion, enough to startle her.
She leans back, eyes wide, and Iida is left helpless to do nothing but gape at his hand and curse at his stupidity.
She clears her throat again to break the awkward silence between them. “Well, if you say so.” She tries another smile that he doesn’t deserve and asks, “So do you like the restaurant? It’s one of my favorite places!”
It is indeed a nice restaurant. High class in every way, but not pretentious despite the Michelin star it has been awarded with. Iida wants to say so, yet all he is able to manage is a stiff, “Yes. Quite.”
“Oh,” Yaoyorozu says, ponytail deflating. “I’m glad you think so.”
Iida desperately tries to sift through the non-square conversation starters that Aoyama-kun has taught him the night before but comes up with nothing. Yaoyorozu seems to attempt to do the same thing, but coming up with an interesting reply to her polite questions suddenly becomes too challenging for him to do.
Oh, what a disaster this is! Iida, why are you such a failure at being anything other than a clumsy square?
The food finally comes, relieving them of the uneasy stretch of silence between them. The server places the beef bourgignon in front of Iida and six dishes in front of Yaoyorozu. Instantly, the grave air between them brightens as she looks at all her food happily. “Oh… all of these look lovely!” she exclaims with genuine excitement.
She looks so bouncy as she daintily appreciates all the food in front of her that Iida softens. Miraculously erases all anxieties in his square heart, even.
“Indeed, Yaoyorozu-kun! What an impressive amount of food!”
She stares at him with an unreadable expression on her face, and he realizes that once more he has committed a square-ish blunder. He begins to sputter, “No, I do not mean to insinuate that it is too much --I mean, just that a young woman with a constitution such as yours, I certainly did not expect--”
Oh no, he’s done it, he’s insulted her and what’s more, his hands are doing that embarrassing square thing. This date is unsalvageable at this point, Yaoyorozu-kun is rightfully insulted and would never wish to see him again, and--
She giggles at his comment. “It’s fine, Iida-kun! I do eat a lot, don’t I? Mother tells me that it’s unladylike, but...”
He freezes, surprised that she doesn’t seem insulted in any way. “No, there is nothing unladylike about eating to your capacity! In fact, as I have said, it is quite impressive! It shows a passion for food that you should pride yourself!”
“You think so?” She begins to look different at this time. Less uneasy, less self-conscious as she takes one of her first dishes closer to her. “Is it obvious that I’m a foodie?”
“A ‘foodie’?” Iida asks.
She looks amused, and he wonders if it’s because he’s a silly fool who knows nothing about modern slang. “A person interested in food. In my case, obsessed with it. I go out of my way to try out new restaurants when I can, even though Mother tells me off a lot for wanting to try places that aren’t rated by a European system.”
“Really? That’s unfortunate that your mother disagrees with your interests!” Iida declares honestly. “While I do understand concerns about sanitation and safety and such, and implore you to at least look at the health inspector ratings of a certain restaurant and scout its location, you should have the freedom to explore your interests without fear!”
She laughs. “You’re a pretty thorough fellow, aren’t you, Iida-san? Being concerned about cleanliness and order and all…”
“Ah!” Too square, too square! Remedy this immediately! “No, that’s--”
“No, it’s okay! I’m relieved that you’re finally relaxing,” she says with a grin. “Please don’t worry too much. You can be yourself around me.”
He’s in danger of forgetting himself the way she’s just sparkling in front of him like the purest Boddhisatva. As expected of Yaoyorozu-kun! You truly are amazing!
They begin their meal and thankfully slip into a conversation that neither feels forced nor awkward. Yaoyorozu tells him about her life as a student and he does the same. He finds out that apart from student council work, she plays the piano for classical music club. She, in turn, finds out that he can run really fast.
It doesn’t sound interesting in his head, but she’s genuinely fascinated by this. “I never would have guessed that you were such an accomplished athlete, Iida-san. I couldn’t imagine myself going through such strict training!”
“Ah! But it isn’t as impressive as what you can do, Yaoyorozu-kun!” he declares. “To be able to command such a technical instrument as a piano, and to regularly perform concertos for your school isn’t something to scoff at!”
Strangely, her smile in response to that seems… pained. “I suppose so?” She looks left to right before half-whispering in a playful, conspiratorial way: “Between the two of us, though, I’d really… rather not .”
He blinks in surprise. “Oh! That’s…”
“I know, I’m terrible!” She says with a self-deprecating smile. “I mean, I don’t hate music… I grew up with it. Mother used to be a star in the opera world so I have no choice but to like it.”
He looks at her carefully. “Could it be that you dislike the piano? Perhaps you prefer a different instrument?”
She shakes her head vehemently. “Oh no! I love the piano! I don’t think I’d be myself if I’m unable to play anymore!”
Iida makes a thoughtful sound. “If not the piano, then is the source of your displeasure the type of music you play?”
She bites her lower lip and nods quietly, as if she’s suddenly ashamed to admit as much. “Yes… and my parents dislike it. It’s silly to want to play something else, I know, but--”
“No, I do not find this silly at all!” How strange it is to see her like this! Iida feels more conflicted than he ought to as he tries reassuring her. “Music is music, and music other than classical music should be considered as such! You have nothing to be ashamed of, Yaoyorozu-kun!”
Hearing him say something that sounds so simple to him makes her brighten up considerably. “Iida-san... you have no idea how happy I am to hear that. No-one has ever...” she says with emotion.
He smiles at her. “Out of curiosity, what sort of music do you prefer to play, Yaoyorozu-kun?”
“Jazz,” she answers easily, with a twinkle in her eye that tells him that this is something she loved with all her heart. “It’s definitely far from what people are used to hearing from me, but I do love how it sounds…”
He eyes the piano at the stage and says, “Amazing, Yaoyorozu-kun! Were I to have the opportunity to do so, I’m sure it will be an honor to hear you play the music that is close to your heart!”
She shakes her head. “Thank you for your sentiment, Iida-san, but it’s impossible. I can’t--”
“Why the hell not?” someone says from behind him. “Play somethin’, that piano’s not gonna play itself.”
Yaoyorozu looks up in pure surprise before breaking out into a smile. “Awase-san, hello!”
He looks behind him and sees a boy their age with dark hair, sharp eyes, and a giant headband covering his forehead. He regards Iida with some interest before turning to her. “Hey, Yaoyorozu. Long time. And, nice to meet you, Yaoyorozu’s date.”
“It is, indeed! Oh, by the way, Iida-san, this is Awase Yosetsu-san, a friend of mine from way back…”
Awase-san… Awase-san?
“Ah! The owner!” Iida stands abruptly, almost knocking down Awase in his haste. He babbles an apology at the flabbergasted boy and bows in front of him. “I apologize for my rudeness! I am Iida Tenya, 15 years old, and tonight I am accompanying Yaoyorozu Momo-kun for dinner in your highly esteemed--”
“Whoa, easy there buddy!” Awase says with an amused laugh. “No need to be so formal, okay? I’m not the owner, my dad is. I’m just his dropout kid who likes messing around with instruments from time to time.”
A dropout! Iida wants to declare in shock, his blood pressure momentarily rising due to this boy’s disregard of a formal education.
“Please don’t describe yourself as such, Awase-san,” Yaoyorozu tells him sternly. “He dropped out of regular schooling to study in a conservatory. Did you know, Iida-san, his band is already gaining fame in the city? And they’re our age! Amazing, right?”
“Indeed!” Iida agrees, relieved that this Awase Yosetsu cares about education after all. “You are performing tonight, I suppose! Set to play in precisely five minutes, I believe! I look forward to listening to you and your cohort!”
Awase makes an uneasy face. “Yeah, about that… you guys are gonna wait a bit. Tsuburaba and Kaibara--the guy on trumpet and drums--they’re gonna be late. We definitely won’t be able to entertain this joint with just me and the singer.”
“Oh no… and I was so excited to let Iida-san hear your band!”
He shrugs. “Shit happens. But we don’t have to keep the audience waiting in silence, ya know.”
He looks meaningfully at the piano on the stage, back at Yaoyorozu, and raises his eyebrows. In turn, Yaoyorozu shakes her head and lets out an exasperated sigh, and begins to turn away. “No.”
Awase sighs. “Come on, are you going to deny these people good music?” He gestures to Iida, who squares up instinctively. “You wanna hear her play, right Iida? I specifically heard you say that it would be an honor to hear her play, or somethin’ like that.”
He looks at Yaoyorozu, who has her arms crossed, hands hidden protectively within. “Well, it certainly would be, but… if Yaoyorozu-kun is uncomfortable… I understand if she does not want to.”
While he would probably float to the heavens watching Yaoyorozu do something she really loved, he would never force her to do anything she’s uncomfortable with. Amidst Awase’s complaints, he notices her soften, ponytail twitching in interest as she slowly turns to him and carefully examines his face.
He wonders whether he has developed a strange growth on his face for her to stare at him so intently. But another beat of silence later, she suddenly opens her mouth to speak. “... if Iida-san wants me to play… then I will.”
Awase cheers, while Iida looks on in shock. “Well, do you or do you not want to, Iida? You wanna see this piano genius play, right?”
“Y… yes, of course I do, it’s an honor, a true honor!”
“You know it--Yo, Pony, get up here! We’re on in a few!”
Suddenly abandoning their half-eaten meals in favor of the stage, Iida finds himself trailing behind an overexcited Awase and a somewhat reluctant Yaoyorozu. A blonde girl, who was having a milkshake at a booth somewhere, gallops her way to the stage and looks up to Awase questioningly.
“ Geez, Yosetsu, what are you talking about ?” she says in English, with an American accent. “Are Tsuburaba and Kaibara already here? Oh,” she says, finally noticing Iida and Yaoyorozu and giving them a pretty smile. “ Howdy, y’all! Are the two of you jamming with us?”
Iida shakes his head vehemently. To his surprise, Yaoyorozu does the same. “Awase-san! I was just planning to play Pachelbel while waiting for the others--”
“What? Why would I ask you to play somethin’ boring like that?” Awase says, as he takes out a violin out of its case and begins to tune it. “You’re playing with us, of course!”
As the two other band members prepare themselves, Yaoyorozu tugs Iida’s sleeve and looks at him with pure anxiety shining in her dark eyes. “Iida-san,” she whispers, voice trembling in a way he didn’t expect her usually confident self to, “I’ve never played jazz in front of a crowd before."
She really does look uneasy. Iida feels a twinge in his heart seeing her so. “If you don’t want to play, that’s fine! I am content to hear you play another day, if that’s what you want!”
“Really?” she says. She looks just about ready to stand up and leave the stage, and Iida would have assisted her back to their seats if that were the case.
“But,” he finds himself saying suddenly, before she could make another move. “I have a feeling that everyone here will be amazed hearing you play the music that you really love.”
She stays still on her seat, eyes shining meaningfully at him. She looks at her shoulder, where he had placed his hand as a comforting gesture (ah, when did he do that?! The audacity!).
This comforts her, though, and somehow she’s able to smile at him and nod. “All right. I believe you, Iida-san. Please watch me.”
He smiles at her, and steps to the side of the stage.
“So, Momo,” the singer named Pony says, microphone in hand. “Me and Yosetsu can pretty much play most of the standards. What do you want to play?”
Yaoyorozu inhales nervously and tells her, “Well, one of my favorites is Lullaby of Birdland. Is that alright?”
Awase and Pony look at each other and grin. “You got it, sugar! Anytime you’re ready!” the blonde says brightly.
The rest of the restaurant suddenly fall silent when they realize that they’re about to start the set. Iida feels the weight of their gazes and worries that Yaoyorozu-kun might be overwhelmed.
She takes a deep breath, looks at Iida one last time. She smiles at him nervously, and he does the same.
And then, she begins to play.
Lullaby of birdland, that’s what I
Always hear when you sigh
Pony’s voice floats over the restaurant, sweet and hypnotizing as she sings each note clearly. All eyes are on her, and Iida hears everyone murmur about how enrapturing her voice is.
Never in my word-land could there be ways to reveal
In a phrase, how I feel--
But all Iida can focus on is Yaoyorozu Momo-kun, her fingers on the keys, the notes that she plays. Nervous at first, fumbling for the rhythm. But as the song goes on and the tempo rises, she visibly relaxes, and allows the music to take over.
The notes become more playful and upbeat, and with each note, Iida sees Yaoyorozu smile more and more, her eyes glowing in excitement. After a few more verses, Awase joins them with his violin. Iida couldn’t understand the structure of their song immediately, if there is one, but all the notes are perfect and in-time with each other.
Most important of all, Yaoyorozu looks like she’s truly enjoying herself.
He catches himself clapping in-time to the song. He’s the first one to do it and he’s embarrassed to realize so, but then Pony joins him with a laugh, and soon the rest of the restaurant claps along with them.
The song ends with much applause all over the restaurant. There were calls for encores from some of the guests, and very loud bravo, bravo, bravissimos! that made the musicians on stage falter.
… oh. That’s him, he’s the one screaming and clapping the loudest from the side of the stage. He blushes at his audacity and momentarily considers crawling underneath the floorboards in shame, but Yaoyorozu’s grateful smile makes him change his mind.
Ah, how lovely it is to see her so happy! Truly an experience in itself!
“That’s Yaoyorozu Momo on the piano, ladies and gentlemen!” Pony cheers, and more applause come. “The TsuburaBand will come on stage soon, so I hope you stay and listen! We love you!”
“We really gotta work on our band name,” Awase mutters as the three of them reconvene with Iida. “But you killed it back there, Yaoyorozu! Nice!”
“Really?” Yaoyorozu says, blushing. “I thought I didn’t have enough swing at first…”
“But you were amazing, Momo!” Pony gushes happily. “You should jam with us again, please? Yosetsu plays the piano for us too, but he isn’t as good as you~”
“I agree!” From behind them, two other boys their age walk up to them, looking equal parts harried and amazed. The one with very wide eyes practically stumbles over his feet and bows in front of Yaoyorozu. “Hi, we haven’t met before, but I’m already begging you to join our band, please, piano goddess--”
Yaoyorozu stammers at this and looks at Iida for support. He’s just as speechless as her, however.
“Tsuburaba, you’re overwhelming her,” the other one with sharp eyes scolds. He holds his hand out to Yaoyorozu and shakes her hand. “I’m Kaibara. And I agree, that was pretty amazing. It’d be nice to play with you too.”
“It’s nice to meet you! I’m honored that such a talented band would think that way of me,” Yaoyorozu answers bashfully. “I didn’t think I could do it, to be honest!”
“Yeah… and it only took me years to convince you to finally play something other than classical,” Awase says in fake exasperation. “Ah, correction. I guess all we needed was emotional support from your boyfriend all this time, huh?”
Something in Iida’s brain sparks and causes a system-wide malfunction. “B-b- BOYFRIEND? Y-y-you misunderstand, Awase-kun, Y-yaoyorozu-kun and I are simply getting to know each other--”
In the midst of his wild gesticulations and blatherings, Yaoyorozu blushes just as wildly as he does, but does little to deny anything. “Please don’t tease us! It’s just as Iida-san says,” she says.
Is that a bashful smile she hides behind her mouth? The band may be laughing at his expense at this point, but that little smile makes Iida want to leap to the moon.
“I like this guy!” Awase says, patting Iida on the back. “Anyways, you two should sit back, relax, get back to your date… and let us blow your minds, all right?”
Awase signals for the band to start setting up, and Iida and Yaoyorozu come back to their seats. He observes her as she catches her breath, one delicate hand coming up to the center of her chest, as if to stop the racing of her heart then.
She turns to him questioningly. “Was it really alright, Iida-san?”
“You were wonderful, Yaoyorozu-kun!” he answers without hesitation. It’s probably the most marvelous sound he’s ever heard. He’s sure that more marvelous sounds are to come.
She smiles at him brightly, and his heart feels like exploding once more. How many of those smiles will catch him off-guard like this?
The music plays once more, and they sit by each other’s side, content with their close proximity.
*
Eventually, the two of them leave the restaurant, with Iida fretting over the logistics of Yaoyorozu’s journey home. They pass the doorway, not sparing a glance to the noisy group shrinking themselves into the darkness of their secret booth.
Jirou releases a loud breath when the couple is out of sight. “Oh my god I can’t believe it! That wasn’t bad at all, wasn’t it?”
Kaminari imitates her, dramatically collapsing over the table next to a stack of empty plates. “Yeah! That went unexpectedly well!”
Midoriya imitates them both and rubs his green perm. “You’re right! I thought their date looked awkward at first, but then they weren’t and then Hermes-san started playing on stage and that was so amazing and Iida-kun was just so supportive and cool and… they just, they look good together, don’t they, Todoroki-kun?”
Todoroki hums in agreement. Mutterings aside, Midoriya summed up their date pretty well. Iida exceeded his expectations, that much is obvious. What he didn’t expect more than that was Yaoyorozu stepping up like that. It looks like she changed a lot since they last saw each other.
Jirou scoffs. “Yeah, this Prez of yours seems like a good guy and all, but I was actually talking about spying on them and watching out for evil boys,” she says, narrowing her eyes at Kaminari.
Kaminari also scoffs. “So you continue to distrust our President? Aren’t you convinced that Hermes-chan is in good, square hands with him?”
Jirou humphs and straightens up. “It is only the first date! My mission is not yet done!”
“Then my mission isn’t done yet, either!”
“Is that so!”
“Yes that is so!”
“Fine!” Jirou shoves her phone in Kaminari’s face. “Gimme your LINE and tell me about their next date!”
“Fine!” Kaminari rapidly types his number in the phone, and similarly shoves his phone in Jirou’s face. “Your turn! And put a cute emoji next to your name!”
Shouto wonders if they’re actually still bickering or flirting aggressively at this point. He rubs his forehead free of the headache that threatens to form there when Midoriya tugs on his sleeve again.
He meets focused green eyes and a questioning glance. “So… about earlier… you definitely know Yaoyorozu-san from before, right?”
He’s at least considerate enough to ask this in a soft voice so the other two won’t hear. Shouto sighs. “I’ll tell you about that later. Give me some time.”
Midoriya seems geniuinely baffled by his response, but lets him be. The bill comes after, one that will have Endeavor’s blood pressure rise to Everest levels that only makes Shouto cringe a little.
“Oh well,” he says, putting in Endeavor’s credit card in the sleeve. One problem at a time.