Prelude
*Dokkiri: Live prank shows with hidden cameras.
*Katsudon: Consisting of rice and breaded pork ribs, katsudon is said to be Izuku’s favorite dish.
- - -
“A Succubus?!” Eijirou exclaimed with a glass of drink in his hand.
“Not just any Succubus… a firstborn.” Katsuki added to his friends’ shock.
“Wait- how do you know that?” Kyouka asked.
“I'm not sure, but that’s what she implied.” Katsuki said with a sip of his whisky.
“Do you think she can hurt Midoriya?” Mina asked worriedly.
“Not only she can… I'm sure she'll try to.” Katsuki watched his reflection on the drink in the glass before taking another sip. “I warned them both to stay away, but that Himiko chick will certainly go after him… although she already found her soulmate.”
“Really…? Who?” Denki asked.
“Tenko Shimura.” Katsuki stood to go fetch more whisky from the bar behind as he continued his speech. “Reborn’s representative and her new boss, but you must already know that.”
“Wait… if she knows who her soulmate is, why does she want Midoriya?” Eijirou questioned him confusedly as Katsuki returned and sat by his side.
“Something to do with not being happy with him.” The cupid explained with another sip of his drink.
“Hmpf… does that remind you of someone?” Denki whispered to Hanta.
“Do you have something to say, Denki?!” Katsuki shouted in a warming tone.
“No, no…! Actually… you know what? Yes, I do.” Denki stood up. “You're really weird, Katsuki… one time you're cheating on Midoriya behind his back, on the other you're gossiping about a cupid who can steal him from you… What are your plans, after all?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Katsuki questioned him, offended by the audacity.
“Actually, I’ll have to agree.” Kyouka raised her hand. “I’m sorry, Katsuki, Den can be very inconvenient, when he wants to.”
“Hey!” Denki protested.
“But he still got brains.” The black-haired Succubus added. “And this time he's right: if you don't want to accept your soulmate, why are you so jealous of him?”
A heavy silence fell upon the room, this time it looked like Katsuki’s friends managed to get under his skin.
“It's not like I have a choice…” The cupid mumbled.
Another moment of silence dragged by as his friends let his words sink in.
“I get it… in a way.” Eijirou spoke up. “Even if you don't want to give in to your soulmate, your cupid instincts scream for them all the time, it nears the edge of obsession.”
They all eyed him curiously.
“Wait… so you found your soulmate, Ei?” Katsuki questioned him.
“... Apparently so.” The redhead replied.
“When was that?” Mina asked.
“Some weeks ago, the last time we went to Moon Dance. Her name's Itsuka Kendou.” He explained with a shy smile.
“You seem to be happy about that.” Katsuki commented sarcastically.
“I was never against it, you know that.” The redhead replied.
Katsuki just scoffed and, with a last sip of his drink, he stood towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Eijirou asked.
“Where else?” Katsuki retorted as he fetched his keys and wallet on the bar. “You know I have work tomorrow.”
“Katsuki.” Eijirou stood after him.
“What?” The Incubus turned to him impatiently.
“Look, I know this subject makes you uncomfortable, but you can be sure that we'll keep an eye on that Himiko Toga girl and Midoriya, alright?” The redhead promised.
Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” Was all he said as he left.
- - -
Friday was, definitely, the worst day of the week for Izuku; given the fact that it was his coworker’s day off, he had to put up with his boss on his own, his only consolation was that he’d have a date, later that day.
Making it to the end of his shift, Midoriya waited for Hagakure by the company’s exit; not long after, someone poked him on the shoulder.
“You’re here!” The young woman mentioned joyfully.
“So are you.” Izuku said back with a smile.
“I hope you didn’t wait long for me.”
“Oh, no! I got here a bit ago.”
“Oh, good! Let’s get going, then?”
“Sure!” Izuku took the lady’s arm as he guided her out of there.
They took the subway up to the agreed restaurant; they didn’t run out of topics as they spoke, given Hagakure’s cheerfulness. They avoided talking about work, seeing how that made Izuku uncomfortable, they then talked about their hobbies, Midoriya’s likes for drawing and their shared passion for fashion. Izuku even found out a bit more about her, such as her taste for dokkiri* and, once at the restaurant, the young lady also found out that katsudon* is Izuku’s favorite dish. For dessert, Tooru ordered an ice cream with caramel topping, since it was her favorite treat.
At the end, everything flowed naturally, that was a date to remember.
On their way back home, Izuku insisted on walking Hagakure up to her building; they went up to the lady’s apartment and turned to each other to say their goodbyes.
“Thanks for today, Midoriya, I had a lot of fun!” The young woman said with a bright smile.
“No need! It was your idea, after all.” Izuku laughed embarrassedly with a hand on his neck.
“And you agreed to it.” Tooru blushed.
“That’s true, isn’t it?” The greenette mentioned in a whisper.
The silence that followed afterwards gave out what went through both their minds. Not another word was spoken, they just touched each other slowly and approached for a long kiss of goodbye. Their lips danced in synchrony, turning to one side and then the other, finally backing away slowly. They exchanged loving glances before smiling at each other and Midoriya finally broke the silence.
“Good night.”
Tooru’s eyes smiled above her flushed face. “Good night.” She replied.
They turned to go their separate ways, however, before he could turn back for a last glance at the young woman, Izuku heard her calling to him.
“Midoriya.” He eyed her curiously. “See you soon.”
Izuku smiled wide at the comment. “Yeah… see you soon, Hagakure.” He said to the young lady’s content.
With a last exchange of looks, Tooru entered her apartment as Midoriya headed on his way out of there and towards the bus stop; he couldn’t hold back his smile all throughout the way, sighing and dreaming of Hagakure’s lips until he got home and slept tranquilly in his bed.
Since Saturday was his day off, Izuku took the chance to hang out with friends; his date was the main topic on the diner table.
“Whaaat? I can’t believe you kissed already.” Uraraka mentioned with a smile.
“Oh, well…” Izuku blushed.
“I’m really happy for you, Midoriya.” Said the bicolor by his side. “You overcame this situation you got yourself into.”
Izuku choked on his milkshake; sometimes Shouto really didn’t think before opening his mouth and, this time, the silence that fell upon the table made him notice his slip.
“I’m sorry… you’re still trying to get over it, aren't you?” He said, scratching his temple embarrassedly.
“Is alright, Todoroki, that’s part of your charm.” Izuku laughed, Iida and Uraraka joined him.
“Oh- fuck you, guys!” Shouto said annoyed.
“We’re just kidding, Todoroki, relax!” Midoriya smiled innocently.
Todoroki pouted. Sometimes it looked like the crush he had for Midoriya was still there; his friends messed with him over that, but they knew the boundaries for those kinds of jokes.
Suddenly, Izuku’s cellphone beeped with a message, he excused himself as his friends stared at him curiously.
Midoriya, I need to talk to you. Can you come meet me at Hanamigawa park?
Something in the bowels of his stomach froze; Hagakure seemed to be serious all of a sudden, nothing like her usually cheerful, laid-back self. His friends noticed it could be something bad and the mood on the table suddenly went heavy.
“E-excuse me, guys… I need to go now.” Izuku smiled awkwardly, standing to leave.
“Already?” Uraraka sounded a bit sad.
“What was the message about?” Iida questioned him.
“It’s Hagakure…” Izuku trailed off as he checked his pockets for his wallet and house keys. “We’ll talk later.”
“I’m going with you.” Todoroki stood after him right away.
“Todoroki… really?” Uraraka scolded.
The bicolor rolled his eyes. “I won’t stay there, I’ll just walk him up to make sure he’ll be fine. Besides, I don’t want to play the third wheel.” He raised a brow at the couple on the table.
Iida and Uraraka smiled at each other before turning back to Shouto.
“If it’s like that…” The brunette commented.
“Come on, Midoriya.” Todoroki left the diner, Izuku jogged up to him.
“Thanks for worrying about me, Todoroki, but you don’t have to.” Izuku said, leading the way to the park. “I’m just going to see Hagakure, that’s no big deal.”
“I’m not worried about her.” The bicolor said plainly, Izuku eyed him curiously. “Well, we can’t be sure if her phone was stolen or something like that; besides, with Bakugou on your back, who will you meet there…?”
Izuku eyed the ground with a frown. “Did you really have to remind me of that?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t trust him… and I worry about you. I feel like there’s something really wrong with that Bakugou guy…”
Izuku looked at his scarred face curiously. “That’s still a possibility, right…?” He mentioned it awkwardly. “Thanks for worrying.”
Todoroki smiled back at him; they soon made it to the park and Midoriya spotted those lime-colored strands from afar and waved at her; Hagakure waved back with a forced smile, only making him more nervous.
“Well, I guess I’ll take it from here. Thank you for walking me over.” He turned to Shouto.
“Won’t you introduce us?” The bicolor smiled insistently.
Izuku paused. “Is that really necessary?”
“We would meet sooner or later, right? It’d be an honor for me to be the first one.”
The greenette looked from Todoroki to Hagakure uncertainly. “I guess a quick introduction won’t do bad…”
Shouto smiled victoriously and Izuku guided him up to the lady unwillingly. Before he could introduce them, she spoke. “Hello, Midoriya… who’s your friend?”
Izuku nodded with a crooked smile. “Hagakure, this is my friend Shouto Todoroki. Todoroki, I told you about Hagakure.”
“Right. Tooru Hagakure, isn’t it?” Shouto scanned the young woman from head to toe.
“Oh- right!” Hagakure replied right away.
“It’s nice meeting you, Midoriya said really good things about you.” Shouto bowed.
“Oh- of course! Nice to meet you.” Tooru bowed back automatically.
“Well, I’m off; we’ll talk later, Midoriya. Bye, Hagakure.” Shouto waved at the lady with a friendly pat on the greenette’s shoulder, they both said their goodbyes back at him before turning to each other.
“Why did you bring your friend along?” Hagakure commented in a fun tone.
Izuku held his neck awkwardly. “Sometimes he gets a little overprotective, sorry about that!” He laughed.
“Hm…” She mumbled slowly.
Izuku gulped; he had a bad feeling. “So…? What do you want to tell me?” He asked, concerned.
Hagakure paused; she looked like she was holding back her tears with all her strengths so that she could open her mouth without starting to cry but, in the end, it was no use.
“I wanted to ask… for us to stop seeing each other…”
Izuku went quiet; that was exactly what he feared to hear. “Well… I won’t try to convince you otherwise, if it’s what you want, but… may I ask why?”
Hagakure sobbed. “I don’t think that two coworkers should be seeing each other… like that.”
Izuku widened his eyes, noticing exactly what that was about. He sighed to try and control his anger and not take it out on her. “You’re not doing this because you want to…”
“I’m sorry… I’m really sor-!”
“It’s not your fault.” Izuku cut her off softly. “In this case… may I ask if we can still be friends?”
Hagakure lowered her head and sniffled. “I’m sorry, but… seeing you will only remind me of how I feel and…” She sighed shakily. “I’m being selfish, aren’t I?”
“No.” Izuku said firmly. “You’re not, you have the right to it. If it’s what you need, I can understand.” He forced a smile.
Hagakure sobbed again as she heard that. “Midoriya…”
“I guess this is goodbye, then… It was nice meeting you… Hagakure.” He said softly as he caressed her lime-colored strands. “Goodbye.”
The young woman couldn’t get herself to say anything else as she watched Midoriya leave, he just looked behind as he heard her crying fit had worsened. The greenette eyed her in pain, then he shut his eyes tight and turned away.
Izuku had to drag himself up to work on the next day, making it to the office in a gloomy mood that made his coworker worried.
“Is everything alright, Midoriya?” The redhead questioned him.
“Yeah, I guess so…”
“Come on…” Kirishima insisted, not believing his melancholic tone.
Izuku sighed. “It's just Bakugou.” He confessed.
“What did he do, this time?”
The greenette hesitated. “Hagakure… I don’t know how he found out we went out together, and told her to stay away for the sake of her job.”
Kirishima looked nervous; he adjusted his collar with a forced out cough. “Well, I mean… you are coworkers, after all.”
Izuku eyed Kirishima, surprised; he really couldn’t lie. “You told him?” He asked in a shadowy tone.
The redhead hesitated. “It's just that I saw you two by chance last night. I told him without thinking-”
“I don’t want to hear it, Kirishima.” The greenette cut off and eyed the computer screen in front of him, ignoring his coworker.
At that moment, as it seemed, Kirishima had lost a good chunk of his trust.
The day went by under an uncomfortable silence after that “discovery”; Midoriya didn’t even look at the redhead anymore. He thought he could trust Kirishima but, in the end, maybe he couldn’t have believed the closest friend of the one who ruined his life, and he felt stupid for thinking they were different.
Kirishima himself really felt very bad for breaking Midoriya’s trust, he learned to like the greenette after all, and considered him a friend. He just wanted to do something to make up for him but, after that slip, the redhead couldn’t think of something to fix the situation nor did he know how to approach, especially so soon.
Damnit! He just wanted to bring his cupid friend closer to his soulmate and see them happy; in the end, he really couldn’t force a ruined relationship, if there even was any kind of relationship between the both of them.
At the end of their shift, Midoriya left without saying goodbye as Bakugou approached Kirishima, but the redhead ignored him so that he could catch up to the greenette.
“Midoriya!” He called, but the small one kept going. “Midoriya…” The redhead grabbed his wrist as he caught up to him, forcing him to listen. “Look… I really am sorry for what I did-”
“I thought I said I don’t want to hear it.” The greenette cut off as he tried to free himself from the grasp on his wrist.
“I just want to know if there’s something I can do to redeem myself…” Kirishima asked, hopeful.
Izuku faced him with a sarcastic smile. “Let me think about it.” Was all he said before yanking his hand from the grasp and marching away from there.
“Ei… what was that about?” Katsuki asked sternly.
Eijirou paused. “I-is that… I did Midoriya wrong-”
“That’s not what I’m talking about, you ignored me over that little shit.”
Eijirou furrowed his brow at his childhood friend and huffed impatiently. “Sorry.” He couldn’t avoid the sarcasm in his tone.
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go.” Katsuki rolled his eyes and marched towards the elevator with Eijirou following right behind.
The redhead wondered if those two would settle themselves someday, it’s what he wanted the most.
Days went by and then weeks, the mood between Midoriya and Kirishima was heavy; it was impressive how the greenette hadn't quit yet because of him, especially with Bakugou on his back.
The redhead kept trying to easen up the situation for them, but Midoriya didn’t even look at him anymore. It took a lot of effort to get his attention, but one day the greenette finally responded.
“Do you want me to hang out with you and your friends that badly?” Izuku asked him monotonously.
“Of course! Anything to make it up for you.” Kirishima replied in all seriousness.
Izuku scoffed. “If you think that’ll get you to make it up for me…”
“Is that a ‘yes’...?”
“Why not?” Izuku smiled sarcastically.
Even though the redhead was still uncertain about Midoriya’s words, he was still relieved to have an answer this time.
“Great…! In this case, why don’t you show up at Moon Dance at around 10? Anything you want is on me!”
“Moon Dance…?” Midoriya mentioned thoughtfully.
“You know that club?” Kirishima asked curiously.
Izuku showed about a dark smile. “It’s perfect.”
“Oh, good…!” The redhead cleaned his throat. “So? Will you make it?”
Midoriya looked at him from the side-eye. “I’ll see what I can do.” He said in monotone as he went back to his tasks.
Kirishima forced out a smile. After breaking the greenette’s trust, he had full knowledge that he couldn’t and didn’t deserve to expect much from Midoriya, but he still wanted to believe that that could be a restart for all of them, however, why did he have such a bad feeling?
Author's Note
TS4 players got the reference o/
7