Chapter Text
Musutafu Fest.
It’s an event long forgotten, held for a certain historic mall in Musutafu district. One that certainly doesn’t catch the eye as it did back in the mall’s heyday, where people would come in droves each and every year when the event was announced.
The last Musutafu Festival was 8 years ago, long enough for recognition to fall out of the public’s ears.
But this year is different. This year, they are reminded of the very existence of this event in a way so abrupt it can almost be called scripted.
Alas, there is no way for the trio of enthusiastic teenagers to get permission to go to the illustrious revival of the event because bureaucracy sucks.
“Rejected.”
“But senseiii! It’s not even that far out of the boundary!” Ochako insists as she points at the map she printed out this morning, showing that Musutafu mall is just a little outside of the ring of safety that the school wants their hero students to operate in. “Just a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny smidge outside of the circle. It’s not like there won’t be any heroes not patrolling in the area right?”
“Still rejected.” Aizawa replies with the most deadpan note ever, getting back to his paperwork with a final statement: “Unless you can get a hero to chaperone you to the place, as stated in the new summer-break guidelines, you can only go in areas that have been vetted as safe for student activity.”
“Aughhh!!!”
Ochako groans, covering her face with her hands— but secretly, she’s glaring at Izuku to do something about the situation, while Hitoshi is just sighing at the side. To be honest, Izuku is also a little out of his depth against this matter, since he knows Aizawa won’t budge against anything that can jeopardize the student’s safety, but he still should not be as hardass about it as he is bring right now.
Which can mean one thing. There’s a loophole, Izuku realizes, one that Aizawa doesn’t want them to discover.
Welp, too late then, as Izuku has already dissected the man’s reason for rejecting words-for-word and found exactly where the loophole lies. Heh.
“Yoohoo! You guys are here too?”
From the entryway comes Mineta and Kaminari, stepping into the room. Behind them is Present Mic, who is chatting with a lively looking Jiro and Tenya. The latter two seem like they didn’t expect to see the three of them, as indicated by their face looking unexpectedly, but delightedly in Tenya’s case, surprised. “Oh, Izuku and Ochako-san, and Shinsou-san too! What are you guys doing here?”
Now, here begins the gambit. “Oh nothing, just trying to get teacher’s permission for something.”
“We’re doing the same!” Kaminari pipes up cheerfully, his hand waving at the three of them lazily, “Remember the plan I told you about the other day?”
“Of course I remember, you talked about it until midnight!” Izuku chuckles and oh, would you look at that, a look of confusion has landed on Aizawa’s face, who has no idea what the fuck they are talking about.
“Well about that, the plan is a success!” Kaminari gives a thumbs up, adding even more confusion to Aizawa’s face; which is hilarious when he finds out what it is: “Present Mic sensei agreed when we met him in the hallway so he’s fetching the paperwork for us to fill.”
“Mic,” Aizawa enunciates every single syllable with a low, threatening voice, "Just what did you agree to with those kids.”
“Ay, Eraser, don’t glare daggers at me, the kids deserved to have some fun!” Present Mic deflects the question, as expected, and then has the gall to throw finger guns at the man. “Besides, it’s not like we can expect them to just stay at home the entire first two weeks right? The kids gotta do something, go outside, play a bit.”
“What the fuck do you mean-” Aizawa pauses before he could go into his full on yelling mode, barely keeping himself in check, and, perhaps as a final straw, begins, “Present Mic, you do realize what you’re breaking protocol, right?”
The blonde looks entirely confused at being accused, “Uh… no? What are you talking about? No it isn’t.”
“You fucking idiot— of course it is!” Aizawa glares at them, especially harder at Izuku, which is, so hot of him but get a grip Izuku, the ruse is not done yet.
“No it isn’t!” Still not realizing that something is wrong, Present Mic hands out the papers that look like forms to the awaiting quartet and says, “Here you go, just give it back to me when you’re done and I’ll lend you guys the key! Now let me deal with Mr. Mcgrumpus over here.”
Aizawa’s wrath halts at the mention of the key, “A.. key?”
“...Yeah?” Present Mic says in English, though in the next sentence he returns to speaking Japanese. “The key for the pool? I’m assuming that’s what your little trio are asking, right? The permission to use the pool?”
Oh, the face that Aizawa makes when he’s been bamboozled. The way that the man’s eyes open disbelievingly at the sight of his own friend, betrayed like one’s backstabbing ally at war. Ah, Izuku wishes he had a perfect memory quirk just so he can remember this moment for a long, long time.
But before his thirsting can ruin the setup that he already painstakingly built, Izuku let out a little chuckle, causing all of that null energy to turn into embarrassment and thus, resulting into Aizawa finding his first victim/outlet for all that energy, which ends up with Izuku being smacked on the head. “Ow!”
Then, with rehearsed practice of crying-on-command that he has perfected his whole life to, Izuku runs to where Present Mic’s desk is sobbing out loud and putting his hand where he was hit by Aizawa. “Waaah, Present Mic-sensei!!!”
“Tsk tsk, Eraser! How can you just hit your student like that?!”
“The little shit deserved it.”
“Yeah but not that hard! He’s going to get brain damage!”
As expected, Present Mic with his soft bleeding heart opens his arms to comfort Izuku and pats where his head got hit, gently soothing it. “There there, Eraser is a little cranky today because of paperwork so you shouldn’t aggravate him even more.”
“Uuuuu…” Izuku still sobs even as he feels the calming presence of Ochako, whose hands are shaking at his back from holding back laughter for sure, and the hot glare that must be Aizawa on the back of his head like a laser from a firing sniper rifle. “I was– I just wanted to ask for permission…”
Present Mic bites the bait and, with a proud peacock-like attitude, he thumps on his chest and smiles wide for all of them to see. “Let me hear it then! Maybe Present Mic can help where Eraser can’t!”
Just as expected, hook, line, and sinker. Now Present Mic has no way out of refusing like Aizawa did, since he cares more about the students wellbeing in words more than action, which often gets him to unsavory kinds of deals— like this one they’re about to make.
So, that is how Izuku secured a chaperone to a mall event where their good friend, Moneda Shingo, is going to work part-time as backstage crew and admin intern. “Alright, is everyone here?”
“Yes!”
Counting from one through four, the group for today’s outings are Izuku, Ochako, Hitoshi, and Jiro, who tagged along at the last minute after hearing what their plan was.
Though, to be fair to Yamada-sensei, he only let them go on the condition that those who went won’t be joining the pool party, so that way, those who heard of the news will have to choose between going to the festival or playing with the pool all day long. Most chose the latter, and that’s how we end up with a 5 man crew waiting at the commuter line to go to the mall.
“Anyway, I’m curious about that thing on your back.” Jiro asks once they’ve all tapped in and are waiting for their train to come.
“Oh, this?” Hitoshi points with his eyes at the bag that’s hanging on his back. “It’s something I borrowed from Shingo’s friend, and he’d be there today for a contest so, I’m returning it back to its owner.”
It seems that neither Jiro nor Yamada-sensei expect that Hitoshi plays, as the two eyes him with a look that can only be described as sparkling curiosity. “Wow, how long have you been playing, Shinsou-kun?”
“A couple of months.” Hitoshi didn’t specify since he looks embarrassed enough to be asked in the first place. “I’m still not really good at it.”
“Naw, I’m sure you’re doing your best! Just keep practicing and you'll be great someday!” Yamada-sensei taps Hitoshi’s shoulder a couple of times, each tap missing the guitar case perfectly. “I believe in you!”
“Mhm. Thanks.” Hitoshi is now resorting to only one line reply, the guy must be way too embarrassed huh?
“Izu-kun, pocky?”
“Here you go.”
In the meantime, Izuku has become the default person to carry the snacks and drinks for Ochako, so immersed in his role that he doesn’t even bat an eye when the request comes from her. It’s only when he feels the eyes of the two other people in this space that he realizes he didn’t offer them the same, “Want some snacks? I brought a lot.”
“Do you have more pocky then?” Jiro doesn’t stand on ceremony and asks straight to the point, at which Izuku fetches the other pocky case that he has on hand, “Milk banana flavor, if you want.”
“I’ll take that, thanks.”
Just in time, the commuter line arrives and the 5 of them step into the monorail and sit as the door is closing. It’s not like the cabin isn’t full, but it’s not like it’s empty either, the perfect timing for them to have ridden the commuter line to even be able to get a seat.
The AC of the cabin immediately dissipates the mild heat of the beginning of the summer, melting them away into a comfortable temperature as the five let out a sigh in their own way for the shade and the AC.
Hitoshi is getting more looks from the passengers, more so than usual, since he’s dressed like a punk would be, with his gray and black getup. Not to mention that he’s carrying a guitar case… no wonder he's the first to get some attention.
Jiro is next, as she’s wearing casual wear but one that sports a jacket emblazoned with a couple of metal band insignia on the front and back. She’s also wearing light make-up today, mostly just an eyeliner that emphasizes her sharp sanpaku eyes, pretty stunning for strangers for sure.
As for Yamada-sensei, he’s third since the man looks like a rock-and-roll musician in his civilian outfit. The leather jacket doesn’t help dissuade that impression either, only strengthening it, and with how youthful his face still is, Izuku would bet that the trio are mistaken as some sort of a band. His guess got validated by some passing high schoolers who asked what band they’re in.
Present Mic immediately starts laughing, which gives him away quite instantly to most people in the cabin– but with Jiro also laughing and teasing Hitoshi, it becomes clear that there’s no way for Izuku to get him out of that situation.
“Come on Shinsou, you should play us at least one song.”
“Yeah Shinsou-kun, let me hear you play for a little hm? Consider this my chaperoning fee!”
The only handful of people in the train seem to either agree or neutral towards the suggestion, but due to the needling of the two, Hitoshi finally relents and opens the guitar case with so much reluctance it physically hurts to see.
“Fine. I can’t promise I’ll give a good show though.”
As the case starts to open, it reveals the sight of a nylon, acoustic guitar. The wood is dark, almost black thanks to the lacquer, though it seems to have seen plenty of use in the hands of both its original owner and Hitoshi’s.
Izuku knows firsthand how much Hitoshi has practiced with that guitar, and for anyone observant enough, it’s easy to see from the calluses on his hands that the boy had done his utmost with the guitar.
And to think this happened all because Ochako had said that Hitoshi should pick up an instrument… the way that life works is sometimes a mystery even for a time-traveler like Izuku.
“Izuku, Ochako, back me up with this.”
“Ye~s. What song are you thinking of?” Ochako sits straighter, rubbing her hands as she’s going to be the backup percussion as she beatboxes the beat. Izuku will only just to help add the ambiance with chorus parts if needed, but he mostly leaves it to the two professionals to pull this off.
“Flamingo.”
With a song selected and the backup accompaniment (as minimal as it is) ready, Hitoshi starts playing the guitar with all his might.
“Shunned and alone in the twilight,
Showered in sorrow in this hazy spring.
A jaded town without any hospitality whatsoever
My nose drips with loneliness, and I laughed foolishly”
Hitoshi’s fingers dance around the string expertly, his posture slowly becoming more and more relaxed as he focuses on the performance. Along with his voice, carrying a magnetic charm to those who are listening, the song is as good as being owned by the two of them at this moment.
“But you are a fla-fla-fla-flamingo,
A brilliant fla-fla-fla-flamingo,
when you dance.
Wandering away, smiling, never to return.
All that you leave behind is envy.
Well, thanks for stopping by. Make sure to treat the next one better.
Shunned and alone in the twilight of this hazy spring.
Laughing foolishly in this inhospitable, jaded town. Hmmm…”
Once done with his performance, there is a moment of silence that permeates throughout the cabin.
It’s soon broken by the enthusiastic claps from Yamada-sensei, followed by Jiro, Ochako, and Izuku before soon spreading throughout the whole cabin.
Somehow, Izuku gets the feeling that maybe, that has helped a little with Hitoshi’s confidence, as he ends up smiling at the highschoolers and at Yamada-sensei, who proceeds to blush with pride and taps Hitoshi’s back endlessly while he heaps praises at the young, but a little bit flustered boy.
Hm? Wait a minute. Blush with pride? Flustered?
Hmm. Another thought to consider regarding the future. Let’s keep it for another day, they have an entire day to dedicate to meandering around after all.