Chapter Text
You were six years old, looking at paint set when you first discovered what that strange grey was actually called; red.
It was common knowledge that people lacked the ability to see the colour of their soulmates eyes. But it was more often than not greens, blues or browns that people couldn't see. Red was unheard of.
Older relatives would say you were lucky, telling you that red was a colour of love and passion, and that perhaps it was a sign of good fortune. At first it didn't matter much to you, but as you grew older, it started to weigh on your mind more; just who the hell was your soulmate? A demon? It's not like red was a very common eye colour, you were at least aware of that. From time to time you'd see grey eyes, and wonder if they were actually red, but a friend - someone who'd already met their soulmate - informed you that grey eyes are pretty common, too.
You envied people with grey eyed soulmates. Imagine being able the see the world in bright, vibrant colours.
But for you, you were stuck with the blues and greys of your cool-toned world. Not that you minded that much, but now that you were entering high school, you kind of wished you'd be able to meet your soulmate soon. Not just because the secondary colour of your school’s uniforms was red, just because you were dying to know who you were destined to be with.
And you were dying to know just what this colour looked like.
As you rode the train to school on your first day, you'd recounted something your friend had told you years before. ‘Imagine a colour halfway between orange and pink,’ she'd said, though that only helped you a bit; the red bled into those colours enough to dim the contrast, so your idea of what red looked like was dusty and surely skewed.
A sigh escaped you as you adjusted your tie - apparently red despite blending right into the blazer for you - and exited the train. You quickly put those thoughts aside though, lifting your head high and putting in a smile; it was your first day at UA as a support student, and you were more than excited to take the next step forward in your life.
Or at least, that's what you thought, until about halfway through homeroom.
“Alright class, you will all be responsible for the maintenance, creation, and modifications of Class 1-A’s uniforms. You've each been assigned a student, who you'll learn about momentarily, and it'll be your job to keep their gear and costumes in top condition,” your teacher had explained, every student sitting eagerly at the edge of their seats. “Your first assignment will be to have their uniform finished by Friday morning, as they'll need them by then.”
There was an audible sigh from the class, but you didn't back down; why shy away from a challenge? Your teacher then began handing out folders to each of the students, and with your seat being near the back of the class, you were one of the last to receive your folder from her.
“They've submitted requests for styles, colours, and overall themes. Some included sketches, others included images of existing hero costumes,” she explained as she handed the folders out. You took yours from her hand, peering down at the name listed on the tab.
Kirishima Eijirou. Quirk - Hardening.
You flipped open the folder and your eyes scanned the pages, handwritten on lined paper, with small, rough, obviously unpracticed sketches in the margins. Some were scratched out, others were circled with exclamation points and arrows pointing to them, and you laughed a little. Somehow, you were able to gauge their personality just through this.
It was once you got to the third page though that you realized you were in for a real challenge.
The only colour this guy wanted on his costume was red.
You rubbed at your temples, laughing incredulously as the teacher went on, though you'd stopped paying attention, too focused on just how incredible your luck was. The rest of your morning passed in a haze, with most of your time spent wondering just how you were gonna make this happen.
And just the same, the rest of the day went by without much ado, you spent lunch with some of your classmates and discussed the students you'd been assigned to. You'd told your classmates that you were in charge of making a costume entirely in the only colour you couldn't see, and they laughed along with you, giving you words of encouragement and offers to help you out with choosing colours. While it did stress you out a little, you felt better knowing there were people who’d help you.
It sent you back to the first-year dorms with a smile on your face, knowing you had classmates who were willing to help you out. You'd stayed back to take care of some class duties and so you were heading back to your room alone, enjoying the quiet spring evening. The sun had begun to set, the sky behind you yellow and grey as the sun crept towards the horizon, casting a long shadow in front of you as you walked down the sidewalk. In front of you, the sky was still a light afternoon blue without a single cloud in sight; the leaves on the trees reflected the light from the setting sun and scattered glints of green, bright and cheerful; and the flowerbeds hat lined the sidewalks outside the school were filled to the brim with different coloured flowers, all in full bloom against a backdrop of rich, dark soil.
Even without being able to see red, nature was truly beautiful.
You'd stopped for a moment, taking it all in when your silence was broken by a group of boys, a fair distance behind you despite the volume you could hear them at. With a quiet sigh at your moment lost, you continued on your way, pace slow as you nudged a pebble along with your toe.
“No, no, He definitely scored higher than you in one category! But does that really matter? Come on, man, that’s--”
“Whoa, watch it Kirishima, I think he’s about to actually explode!”
You listened to their banter absentmindedly, smiling as they laughed and carried on about what had presumably happened on their first day at UA-
Wait a minute…
Kirishima?
You turned around quickly then, stopping in your tracks, to look at the group behind you. The grey skies were illuminated by the setting sun, rays of light obscuring your view of the group of boys, but you knew for sure one of them was Kirishima; what were the odds there was more than one first year with the same surname?
You caught sight of the boys, two blond and one with grey hair, before they caught sight of you. Though the speed you whipped around caught their attention, and they stopped their banter, looking expectantly at you - though one of them looked far more annoyed than anything.
“Oh!” You squeaked, startled by the sudden silence. You looked at them each in turn, a sheepish smile on your face. “Sorry, i-it's just that- I'm a support student, and the hero assigned to me is named Kirishima Eiji--”
The moment you made eye contact with the boy on the far right, you were sure your heart stopped.
Colours you'd never seen before suddenly bloomed into your vision, his grey hair becoming a bright, warm tone, the sun setting behind them turned from dull and bland to the most burning, brilliant sky you'd ever seen, reflecting off the glass windows of the school and casting a brilliant glow over everything in sight. And his eyes - his eyes were that same shade, bright and burning.
Red. This was red.
You brought a hand to your face, trying to cover the dumbfounded look you were sure you had as you blinked up at the boi, a similar expression on his face. But (e/c)... it’s nowhere near as shocking and vibrant as this new, beautiful red was, yet he still wore a look of wonder on his face, those beautiful red eyes shining in excitement.
He was the first to speak, after a long moment of silence, smiling brightly at you as his cheeks became tinted with a rosy hue, almost vibrant enough to rival his hair. Neither of you had noticed his friends had continued on, leaving the two of you in each other’s company.
“Were you perchance looking for Kirishima Eijirou?” He asked, but by the confident, charismatic was he asked, you knew it was him. An even wider smile broke out on your face, and you nodded eagerly. He laughed then, reaching out and wrapping an arm around your shoulder, walking along with you and grinning ear to ear.
“Not only is my soulmate in my year, but she's also my mechanic, and incredibly cute to boot… I really lucked out, huh?”