Chapter Text
The crowd’s cheers all melted together into one deafening roar as the show closed out. Izuku’s chest rose and fell with exhaustion, a lopsided smile on his face as he held a pose. He lazily shrugged off his jacket and carried it with his free hand while he walked up to the edge of the stage, the cheers becoming louder as he got closer to the fans. With one well-powered throw, the signed jacket went flying into the crowd for whoever managed to catch it.
“I love you, Hosu!” Izuku yelled into the mic, a cheerful cadence in his voice. “We’ve all shared some beautiful memories tonight, so let’s make some noise for everyone that made this show possible!”
He stepped back to hold hands with the rest of the dancers. They all did a bow together as a show of gratitude, the crowd becoming impossibly louder. The pure glee and adrenaline coursing through his veins started to settle down as the colorful lights dimmed, leaving exhaustion behind. The green gems on his ears were suddenly too heavy, the straps going across his chest and legs were way too tight, and he wanted to rip his shirt off and pass out.
Maybe the performance was done, but the show wasn't over yet.
Autographs.
Pictures.
Meet n’ greets.
“G’night, Hosu, and thanks for loving Viridian!” The lights fully dimmed and the stage elevator lowered, bringing Izuku and the dancers down below. Jun waited for him at the bottom, preoccupied by her tablet until she caught sight of him among the dancers.
“ Another hit show? And you haven’t face planted on stage yet? You’ve gotta watch the recap, you’re like a wizard on that stage, kid. We’re on a winning streak here!” Jun tucked her tablet into her jacket, occupying her hands by aggressively grabbing Izuku’s shoulders with a huge grin on her face. The dancers dispersed, giving the duo incredulous looks as they passed by. “I am proud. Really really proud. Which means All Might might be proud, which means Dekiru is here to stay.”
Something about “ Dekiru is here to stay ” felt…weird. Like he was being put in a box, cursed to never be able to thigh-straddle-takedown another villain again. Not that he’d be able to do that anytime soon, with Eraserhead acting like a helicopter dad and Nedzu being his only saving grace. Except, instead of getting grounded, he’d just be thrown in jail.
Eraserhead and Nezu. Both of them quickly became the main characters of his nightmares. He blamed them for the massive dark circles under his eyes.
“Rehearsals did, in fact, pay off. But Jun, please ” Izuku whined, leaning his full body weight against the woman. “These stupid straps have to go. Maybe beauty is pain, but this is just too much for me right now.”
Jun rolled her eyes and gently spun Izuku around to undo the accessories. “Do you have any idea how crazy everyone went over your outfit? Look!” She passed him the tablet, and surely enough, the performance was already trending. It was the good type of trending, if some of the unhinged comments he read were anything to go by. He wasn't doing a full tour for Viridian yet, but just a few scheduled appearances to take advantage of all the new attention and test the waters. As long as everything kept going good, AME would definitely push for a full nationwide tour. Thankfully, the first few performances went amazingly, save for the extreme exhaustion.
Jun finished removing the straps from his outfit and pulled her tablet back from Izuku’s hands.
“There, you better now? Don't think about removing any of the jewelry, the paparazzi are right outside the venue and you'll probably be doing some autographs after you meet with all the VIP’s.”
Izuku grimaced. The last bit of energy he'd expended during the performance was gone, leaving his body feeling like it was running on fumes.
“Jun, I’m literally about to pass out.”
“I know you don't feel like doing it, but they're your fans, alright?” Jun smiled at him reassuringly. “Stop looking so ‘done’, get those stars back in your eyes! You did great up on the stage tonight, you know that? I know I don’t have to remind you.”
“Right.” Izuku muttered. “I'll probably be fine, but if I pass out you’re paying for the clothes we stole from the billboard photoshoot.”
“I’d probably have ended up paying for them anyway. Now look straight ahead, you know the drill Dekiru.”
Jun grabbed his chin, tilting his face from side to side to get a close look at his makeup. It took every non-petty cell in his body to stop him from biting her hand, but he did not have the energy to deal with a grumpy manager.
“Yes, yes. Makeup looks good. Still very pretty. Now go get changed to meet your fans, and remember, don’t-”
“-remove any of the jewelry.” Izuku interrupted. “Yes, I know Jun. Because it’s so important for my outfit.
She gave him a half-hearted pat on the back that nearly sent him flailing before leaving to chat with the security team. His feet felt like they were dragging as he navigated through the hallways and around the busy crew members. A swirling mess of thoughts were making it really hard to think about where he was going.
Eraserhead…
The U.A festival…
The entrance exam…
Jail.
Somehow, he made it to his dressing room. He slumped down into the chair, yanking out his in-ears and tossing them to the side. The make-up might’ve been covering enough to pass Jun’s inspection, but his eyes were still tired. Every time he closes them, Eraserhead is there with this smug smile, dangling handcuffs in front of him. And then there’s Nezu taunting him with a hero license like it’s a dog treat. All of the things that have gone wrong over the month lead back to the same thing.
He couldn’t let go of a childish dream.
The growing fame and the fans were all amazing; Dekiru wore it like a crown. Izuku though? He liked wiping the floor with villains and it landed him into nothing but trouble. It was only by some insane luck that Nezu would give him the chance he’d been dreaming of, no matter how much of a contingency it depended on.
Either way, he needed to sleep , and not have any nightmares about failing the UA entrance exam or getting arrested. The green gems dangling from his ears seemed more and more tempting to remove. A quick little Charm on himself would at least keep him up until he got home. The migraine from it though? Not worth it. A couple deep, concentrated breaths and he was back up, tediously stripping from his stage outfit to change into a baggy shirt and some cutout pants.
As soon as he cracked the door open, the ambience from outside flooded his senses. The crew running around and chatting in the hallways, muffled cheering coming from somewhere in the venue, glaring white fluorescent lights overhead. It was too much, but that’s what happens when someone is sleep deprived. Charming himself to get through the rest of the night suddenly didn’t seem so bad. Removing the green gems from his ears felt like picking the wrong path in a story game, as if every time he did it he risked severely messing something up. Everything he told someone without wearing the earrings had a risk of becoming true in one way or another. Beyond using it on villains who he had less empathy for, it didn’t get much use. And yet there he was, using it to keep himself awake for a few more hours.
His green eyes glowed eerily back at him through the mirror, like a bad omen telling him he was doing something wrong. “ I feel like I can put on another show” he muttered, “ As if I was never even tired at all!”
A genuine smile settled on his face, all of the exhaustion leaving his body and his head fog-free. In the back of his mind, he knew he messed up. Not because there would definitely be side effects for it, but because he couldn’t promise he’d be able to restrain himself from doing it again. All of the restlessness from the last few weeks, just gone . He managed to cheat out of sleeping.
The security Jun was talking to had followed her to the room where he’d be meeting the VIP fans, but Jun herself was nowhere to be found. She was probably making sure everything was in order for autographs, or something else that was out of the scope of her duties.
Ejirou held his phone up in front of his face, inspecting his pointed teeth. No food stuck! Breath was good, deodorant was still working, hair was reaching for the sky, and yet he still didn’t feel ready for the moment Dekiru would walk through the door. He clutched the hem of his shorts nervously, a mix of excitement and anxiety pooling inside of him. Five minutes with one of his favorite artists. He had five minutes to thank Dekiru for Viridian, and also restrain himself from gushing over him and making him uncomfortable. That would not be manly at all!
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long!” Dekiru chirped from beside Eijirou, a warm smile on his face as he got comfortable on the sofa next to him. Eijirou jolted backwards against the arm of the sofa as if he’d just seen a ghost. That wouldn’t have been too far off, the boy appeared out of nowhere!
Or maybe he was just…too deep in his thoughts to notice him coming through the door.
“It’s fine! I wasn’t waiting long at all”, Eijirou reassured the idol. “I’m Kirishima,” he smiled, flashing pointy teeth.
“I’m Dekiru!” The idol took Eijirou’s hand in his own as a kind gesture. “ Wow you’re really hard. And pointy! Is this your quirk?”
Eijirou pulled his hand back, a pink blush rising to his face. Really, Ei? Suddenly you can’t even control your quirk?
“Yeah, it is. But uh, this… ” Eijirou glanced at his hardened body, struggling to turn his quirk off. “...has never happened before.”
The idol looked at him sympathetically, like there was something he wanted to say but couldn’t. Now that he thought about it, Dekiru never really announced what his quirk is. If he was okay with talking about it, he probably would’ve already done it. Eijirou wouldn’t ask.
“Hmm…could it be that I’m making you nervous? I’m sorry if it’s my fault.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong!” Eijirou reassured him. “Sorry if I poked you”
Dekiru let out a light laugh, and any sort of tension Eijirou was still feeling melted away. His quirk finally turned off.
“Don’t worry, I’m a lot tougher than I look!”
And Ejirou didn’t doubt him for one second. The oversized clothes did a great job at hiding his figure, but he knows a gym rat when he sees one. Dekiru was doing some sort of intense exercise at least. Like, there’s no way he got those legs out of nowhere.
“Nah, I didn’t think you were weak for one second. You do look pretty manly.” the red-head smiled. It was Dekiru’s turn to look shocked for a moment before he quickly went back to smiling, a light blush creeping onto his face.
“Don’t start, Kirishima,” Dekiru teased. “What about you with your hardening quirk? How much tougher can you get? Tell me about it!”
Eijirou hardened and unhardened his body, now that his control was back (hopefully for good). “I can make myself extremely durable- durable enough to take point-blank explosions or even bullets. My dream is to become a hero that can stand in the face of danger without any fear, so I can keep everyone safe.” Eijirou’s expression dropped a bit. “But I’m not really doing a great job at it…I’m going to be attending UA soon, but I still tend to freeze up when something bad happens. I’m sorry to ask, but do you think I’d make a good hero? Even when I get scared?” Eijirou asked hopefully, glancing back up at Dekiru. Eijirou sucked in a sharp breath, panic setting into his body.
“I think……I-”
Something was terribly wrong.
Dekiru’s eyes were…flashing? Bright green light pulsed from his eyes, like some sort of warning.
“C- Call Jun …. please” the idol muttered, the light from his eyes fading out. His eyelids drifted shut as his body went completely limp. Ejirou caught the boy with an outstretched arm before he managed to crash into the floor. He was out cold, but still breathing. He’d just fainted out of nowhere!
“Five minutes are up! Sending the next person in, Dekiru!” a security guard called out from the opposite side of the door.
Shit! Shit shit shit! Dekiru would not want a whole bunch of fans seeing him like that! Eijirou started to panic and it was really not the time for him to start freezing up.
He cleared his throat, mustering the best Dekiru impression he could manage. “Uh- just another minute, please!” he cringed. That did not sound like Dekiru at all.
“Alright, another minute.” he heard the man mutter.
It worked!
“ Call Jun ” Dekiru’s voice echoed in his head. Right.
He urgently fished around in the boy's pockets and tried his best to not feel like he was being a thief. Every second that went by with Dekiru unconscious just added onto his panic. The right thing to do would be getting the attention of the guard outside, wouldn’t it? But the boy said to call Jun… maybe she knows something that they don’t.
The phone was in his left pocket, in all its All-Might bedazzled glory. Jun was the first (and only) emergency contact listed. It didn’t take three rings before the woman picked up.
“Izuku? Oh, you better not be telling me you can’t do the meet n’ greets. Last I heard from security, the crowd out there got pretty wild! Can you imagine how insane the UA festival is going to be with a little show like this going so well? Anyways, I’ve got one of the new AME chefs at the apartment cooking for when we get home, and the food looks amaz- “
“ Dekiru is in trouble” Eijirou blurted through the phone, trying to ignore everything he’d just heard, including a UA festival he knew nothing about?
“Who is this and what’s wrong with Dekiru” the feminine voice suddenly sounded a lot more serious.
“My name is Kirishima, I’m one of the VIP fans he was meeting with. I don’t really know what happened- we were talking and then his eyes started glowing and he passed out? He’s still breathing but-“
“Did anyone else see it happen?”
“N- no, just me.
“Good. Make sure nobody comes through the door until I get there. He’ll be okay, don’t worry.” the phone signaled the call had ended, and Kirishima put it down with a sigh of relief- not before putting his own number in the boy’s phone. Not because he had a crush, or anything! He’s a celebrity! He just wanted to make sure he actually ended up being okay. Not even a minute later, the same feminine voice from the call rang out over the speakers in the building.
“Attention, Dekiru fans! Due to unforeseen circumstances, the rest of Dekiru’s Hosu appearance has been postponed, including VIP meetings and autographs. Please keep an eye on your email for updates or refunds. Follow the directions of security to clear the building in an orderly manner.”
Kirishima gently laid Dekiru down on the sofa before he got up to push a desk in front of the door so nobody would barge into the room. His shoulders finally relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing could’ve prepared him for how badly a simple meet n’ greet could spiral.
Even though he was unconscious, Dekiru still looked distressed. People always say not to meet your idols, because there’s a good chance they could be a bad person in their personal life, but Kirishima couldn’t bring himself to believe that about Dekiru. Something about Viridian just made him seem so vulnerable- it had to be real. And yet, Dekiru made it through whatever caused him to create such vulnerable music so that he could dance happily on stage. That’s why Eijirou felt so comfortable opening up and asking the boy if he thought he’d make a good hero. He never got an answer, but that’s alright. Judging by everything that had happened, the idol had his own issues to think about.
Eijirou only realized how useless the table was until after the door was easily kicked open by a woman with longer blunt-cut hair and piercing blue eyes- Jun, he assumed. She barely spared him a glance before rushing to kneel down next to Izuku, with paramedics close behind her.
“You said his eyes were glowing?
“Flickering, really. And then all of a sudden they dimmed out and he was gone”
“Quirk exhaustion..” she mumbled to herself, just barely loud enough for Eijirou to hear. It didn’t help his growing curiosity about Dekiru’s quirk one bit.
The paramedics scooped up the boy's limp body and carried him out of the room, both Jun and Eijirou watching them with worry.
“Do you have a safe way to get home?” The woman suddenly asked.
“I- not really? I asked my dad if he could pick me up around the time everything would be over..but, now that everything’s done early he won’t be able to come for another two or three hours. I could just take the bu-.”
“I’ll have a driver escort you home safely if you don’t mind waiting a minute or two” she interrupted, already notifying someone on her phone. She got up from where she was kneeled to leave the room.
“Thanks for helping him. Both by calling me and making sure nobody else saw him. Y’know, he’d probably love to thank you himself. Do you have a number he can call you by?”
Eijirou flushed bright red. How was he supposed to admit that he already put his number in his phone while he was unconscious!
He gave her his number just to avoid the awkward admission. It wasn’t until she’d already left that he finally let himself be proud. He helped Dekiru, and he was going to be okay.
Peace is a privilege, Izuku quickly realized after he’d opened his eyes to find Jun hovering over him. He didn’t actually need to stay in the hospital for too long, as his level of quirk exhaustion wasn’t actually that big of a deal. They doctors were limited in the tests they were able to do because he refused to allow them to take his earrings off. Honestly, they were probably the only thing that stopped his quirk exhaustion from being much worse. It turns out just making yourself feel like you aren’t tired doesn’t make you actually not tired. The backlash from using Charm along with his exhaustion kinda just knocked him out.
While he was still in the hospital, he decided it might be a good idea to let his mom know what was going on- even though she’d have no reason to worry if he just never mentioned it to her- and that’s when he noticed a new contact in his phone. Kirishima Eijirou . Izuku smiled to himself, deciding to ignore the fact that the boy could’ve gone through his phone while he was unconscious. He really needed to add a password. The red-head was also super attractive, but he wouldn’t admit that in front of Jun, especially with idols not being allowed to have relationships with fans and all that.
Would he really be just a fan if he also ended up being his future classmate? He’d have to check the details about the program in the packet Nezu gave him…
After a promise that he’d get some rest and a bit of nagging from Jun, he was discharged from the hospital. That left one very silent, very awkward car ride before they both arrived at the apartment. It remained silent, even after they’d both sat at the dinner table to enjoy the food that’d been mysteriously waiting there for them when they got home. Seriously, is that what it’s like to be a part of AME? A full dinner just waiting for you?
“So,” Jun started, finally breaking the silence. “What made you so exhausted that you were desperate enough to use your quirk on yourself? Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you’ve been acting. Whenever you have something to hide- you get all skittish like a scared rabbit.”
Izuku paused mid-bite, looking at her with wide eyes.
“And that giant cut you had the other morning? I didn’t question it at the time, but I’m not dumb, Izuku. And that isn’t even the worst of it. What the hell is-” Jun pulled out the packet Nezu gave him. “- this? Criminal reform program? Explain. Now.”
One time, Izuku told himself that if shit hit the fan, he could just Charm himself out of it. But, looking at Jun who was probably only angry out of care for him, he couldn’t do it.
And so he admitted everything.
She stayed respectfully silent throughout the whole thing, but her expressions were telling enough. She was taken aback, hearing about what he’d been up to for the past months. Unsurprised when she found out Mei Hatsume, the crazy daughter of the CEO of Hatsume Industries, was supplying him with gear. And then shocked again when she learned Eraserhead set him up at Mic’s studio, leading to the deal he made with Nezu.
She didn’t say anything for a while after he was done rambling, which had him clenching his fists with anxiety.
“Being a hero. It was your dream from the beginning. You wouldn’t have been going through all this if it wasn’t.” her voice came out steady and calm.
Izuku was shocked she wasn’t yelling at him. All he could do was nod.
“The way you went about all of this is extremely stupid, but I’m sure you already know. You already almost went to jail. You could’ve died .”
“I- I’m sorry-”
“-Don’t be sorry now, there isn’t really anything we can do about it. I want to be mad at you but I can’t. You’re getting a chance at your real dream.” She smiled and held Izuku’s hand, the last thing he would’ve expected from her.
“Besides, if you fuck up, you go to jail and I lose my job! “
Izuku’s heart was thrumming, but not out of anxiety anymore.
“What about the contract with AME?”
“Unless you plan on dropping your idol career, there shouldn’t be an issue with any contracts. There’s nothing in there about being banned from becoming a hero last time I checked.”
“Dekiru is here to stay, just like you said earlier,” Izuku smiled. “I didn’t plan on quitting anytime soon.”
Jun couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I’m glad. We’ll discuss the rest of the details tomorrow. I’m ordering locks for your windows, a nd you will not have the key to them. Also, don’t be surprised when your whole schedule gets rearranged and you actually have to start waking up on time.”
“Huh? Why’s that?”
“...To make some time for you to be training for heroics? If you’re gonna put everything on the line to become a hero, you’d better be a damn good one. I’m gonna go home, and you need to go to sleep. Do me a favor and don’t go hopping out of any windows tonight.”
With that, the door clicked shut and Jun left to go home. Izuku was left by himself in his lonely, oversized, too expensive apartment. All alone to process that interaction which went nothing like how he expected it to go. A bit of the weight on his shoulders- the weight that pushed him to Charm himself- seemed to be gone. There were a lot less lies for him to keep up with now, but he still had things to do. One of them would be to visit his mom for the first time in a while, and at least partially explain the situation to her. He’d probably need her consent in the end to go through with Nedzu’s reform program. And also, more importantly, he had to figure out what to do about All Might. His hero and idol lives would be completely separate. As far as he cared, only Jun and some of the UA staff would know about his secret. Keeping it from All Might though…that would be kinda pointless. The man would probably find out eventually.
Putting those thoughts to rest, he decided to take Jun’s advice and just go to sleep so he could deal with it all tomorrow.
Right before going to bed, he opened up his phone and hovered over the contact of a certain red-head who’d saved him a hell of a lot of controversy.
- I want to thank you in person for saving me today. Would you maybe like to go out to a cafe or something? I also never got to answer that question you asked me. No pressure! - Dekiru
He got a response before he even closed his eyes.