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Shouto huffed as he looked in front of the mirror in his dimly lit room, fixing the white cap on his head and the golden chain around his neck. He checked his appearance as he ran his hand through the back of his hair, not sure if he was trying to style it or somehow brush away his nerves as he went over the choreography in his mind. He heard a noise from down the hall that made his heart jump slightly as he quickly glanced at his door.
He had meant to turn down the music and remove the clothing before he walked in, but before Shouto could move, the footsteps had already arrived.
“What is that sound—“ Todoroki Enji snarled and barged into his room, and stopped short to look at his son with an incredulous look.
“What are you wearing? You look ridiculous—this better not be for school,” Endeavor spat. “You should be practicing yourenka music not this ‘pop’ crap. Only idiots like Toshinori enjoy this—“ he made a non-committal wave in his son’s direction, “—whatever the hell modern music is nowadays. I will not have you disgrace the family name—“
“It’s just a song—“
“Don’t you talk back to me, boy. Take that off and get back to ‘Kawa no nagare no you ni’ like we were practicing. And if I hear you even entertaining that song again, I’m taking you out of that school, do you hear me, Shouto?”
Shouto could feel a scowl and heat growing on his face. Before he could make a quick quip, his father was already trudging down the hallway, mumbling about how his alma mater was going to fail the next generation of idols, leaving Shouto to fume alone once more.
UA Music Conservatory was currently on break, but when he returned to school next week, midterm performances were expected to be polished and ready. Every one of his classmates was working hard on their outfits, choreography, images; and here he was arguing with his father, who wanted him to stick to traditional Japanese music. Shouto had nothing against the genre, but his father was really pushing him to follow in his footsteps. Just because he was currently the best enka singer in all of Japan with women and men practically throwing themselves at him, didn’t mean he was absolute.
He stared down at the piece of paper where the name of his song rested in his hand. He recalled the rhythm, and how starkly different it was from anything he had ever performed before. He held it tighter as he went over the assignment in his head. Professor Aizawa was right: they needed to leave their comfort zones and have new experiences with music if they were ever going to be decent idols. The music industry was evolving and being versatile in the field was something that could give them the upper hand, but his father didn’t seem to understand that notion. And besides, if Shouto had to admit it…
…he was actually having fun.
Shouto went over to his drawer and pulled out the Ray-Ban sunglasses he hid under his calligraphy scrolls. He placed the glasses over his eyes, and studied himself in the mirror, giving his outfit the final inspection. Even through the soft golden light illuminating from his floor lamp, he was distracted by how peculiar he looked; he didn’t even notice the small smirk.
If he was going to get pulled out of UA Musical Conservatory, he was leaving with a bang.
I feel like I have practiced enough, Shouto thought to himself as he experimentally tugged at the colorful shirt he wore, studying the smooth fabric under his fingers. He relished in the detail of how similar it was to his artist’s apparel. But just to be sure, tomorrow I should show someone what I have been working on.
Setting his glasses aside, Shouto reached in his pocket for his phone and scrolled through the list of contacts, until he found the name he was looking for, hovering for a brief moment with hesitation. I trust his judgement, he said, convincing himself to hit the name and typing his message:
‘I know this is sudden, but I have something I would like to show you. Is it possible you could meet me in one of UA’s dance studios tomorrow? Professor Aizawa said we have access to the studios over break just in case we needed to refine our performances. It is fine if you cannot, but your help is always appreciated.’
Midoriya Izuku replied almost immediately.
‘hey todoroki! are you alright? also yeah i can meet tomorrow, i’m free all morning :D”
Shouto couldn’t keep himself from smiling as a light feeling tickled his stomach.
‘Everything is fine, I just wanted to make sure I am on the right track with our midterm assignment. It is always good to have a second eye. If you want, I can also look over your assignment, too…?”
‘asjo fk s NO THAt’s oka’ Shouto quizzically stared at his phone for about ten seconds trying to decipher the meaning before assuming Midoriya must have sent his text prematurely. He was about to respond, but another message arrived: ‘no, it’s fine, i’m still not ready to show my assignment just yet. thank you for offering though!!! :D’
‘Oh okay. Well, I will see you tomorrow morning. Let’s meet at nine in dance studio three. Thank you again, Midoriya.”
Putting his phone away, Shouto headed over to his desktop. He had most of the performance together but he still needed to figure out what some of the words in the song meant.
For the life of him, Shouto was going to figure out what the hell “daisy dukes” were before he went to bed.
“This artist sure is rowdy,” he muttered to himself before sitting down and clicking away.
The sun glimmered against UA’s school windows, and reflected on the smooth floor of the dance studio. Shouto looked out of the window, finishing his warm up stretch while watching Izuku earnestly run through the school gates and down the main path, happily waving at Professor Ryo Inui standing by the security gates. Less than five minutes later he could hear the boy huffing up the stairs and footsteps rapidly approaching to the dance room.
“Sorry! I’m a little bit late, my mom made snacks—“ Izuku stopped to catch his breath and hold up a thermal lunch bad of what could only possibly contain two bento boxes, but that seemed to now actually be the least of Izuku’s worries. His black t-shirt appeared a little disheveled as a pink blush dusted his face, and his brain tried to process Shouto’s attire. “I-is this the outfit K-kirishima helped you with?”
Shouto glanced at his outfit, the gold chain’s light winking at him in the mirror’s reflection as an inkling of insecurity crept into him. “Yes… does it not look okay? Should I change it…?”
“No! It’s fine! It actually fits your artist’s style,” Midoriya said wildly waving his hands in haphazard directions, nearly dropping the thermal bag before stealthily catching it again. “It’s just, a lot to get used to, seeing how these are not our usual genres… you know?”
“Oh, I see,” Shouto said feeling a bit of relief wash over him. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was already nervous for his performance. However, he also wanted to look the part, so he put a lot of time and effort into his image, too. If anything, he wanted to prove his father wrong, and Shouto knew it would talk a lot of work to even begin chipping away that man’s ego practically larger than Mt. Fuji itself.
He walked over to the wall and plugged his phone into the speaker and scrolled through his playlist until he found the one that stuck out. “Thank you again for coming this early, Midoriya. I wanted to show this to someone I feel has good judgement. I believe I have made significant progress, but I would like you to be honest and tell me what you think.”
Izuku’s heart fluttered with pride, nodding eagerly as he took a seat in front of the mirrors with Shouto opposite him. To think his friend, Todoroki, could regard him in such a high manner made him a little light headed from the responsibility and expectation, but nevertheless excited with happiness. “Okay. Thank you for trusting me with this, Todoroki. I’m sure it’s going to be good!”
Shouto nodded, put down his phone, and shook his hands free of any tension. It was going to be the first time someone saw such a performance and he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy, even if he was only performing for one person. He closed his eyes thinking of his artist’s movements and rhythm for the last time, taking a final breath in and out, and visualizing himself performing well.
Shouto reached over to click the play button, hearing the familiar tune begin.
He smoothly turned his body around to face Izuku and the mirrors where he could see his reflection.
She got to shake her little something (shake her little something), ooh
Throwing that thing from left, right, side to side
She got to have her own money (she got her own money), oh yeah
Shout out to the girls that pay they rent on time
Once Shouto began, it was as if there wasn’t a jitter in sight. He cockily smirked doing his best to convey how the people of his artist’s entourage presented themselves; they acted as if they owned the rooms they walked into in all of the music videos he viewed. Even though Shouto himself never acted in such a way, he wanted to make the performance as credible as possible, especially considering how strict Professor Aizawa could be with his grading. He was going to fake it until he felt every ounce of his being filled with that confidence which commanded attention and admiration from those who watched.
If you ain't here to party take your ass back home
I've been searching everywhere and now here you are
He paused in his step, leaning slightly to his right and shot his head up with a piercing stare over his sunglasses when the beat picked up again, while rolling his shoulders.
Ooh, chunky
Looking for them girls with the big old hoops
That drop it down in daisy dukes
(I wanna get down)
Yeah, them the ones I'm tryna recruit
I'm looking at you
Yeah, you baby
As Shouto pointed at Izuku, he pretended he was his artist, Bruno, smirking at the prettiest girl in the room. Shouto didn’t feel like he was blushing because it was surprisingly easier to hide behind the act of another man’s intentions instead of his own. Izuku’s brain faltered and the blush creeped back onto his face as he tried to comprehend the whole situation, but one thing stood out for sure: Todoroki was good.
Now let me hear you say you ready (I'm ready), oh yeah
Girl, you better have your hair weave strapped on tight
He ran his hand through his hair and fluidly rolled his body as he stared intensely into Izuku’s eyes over his sunglasses. Shouto inwardly questioned if his friend was enjoying any of the performance. Was Todoroki becoming the ‘playboy’ (whatever that meant) that Professor Aizawa was branding him to be? Shouto could only hope by studying his friend’s reactions to his moves.
'Cause once we get going, we rolling
We'll cha-cha 'til the morning
So just say alright (alright)
The beat was catching up to Izuku as he felt Shouto’s performance radiate throughout the room. His friend seemed like a totally different person than what he usually presented himself to be. Even though he could see him clearly, with his hat, gold chain and Ray-Bans, the person in front of him by all means was Todoroki Shouto… but he wasn’t Todoroki Shouto? It was as if someone suave and untouchable had invaded the young man’s body, making him perform with the utmost precision to the rhythm thrumming from the speakers. It was new, it was thrilling and most of all it made Izuku’s stomach do backflips.
Izuku thought to himself about how hard Todoroki must have worked on his performance to convey such a fresh dominating presence. He wanted to somehow express how well Todoroki was doing and immediately thought of an idea as he began snapping his fingers, while rocking side to side with the beat.
If you ain't here to party take your ass back home
If you getting naughty, baby here's my phone
Slide with your boy to the bar
Slide with your boy to the car
I've been searching everywhere and now here you are
When Shouto did his final slide of that verse and smoothly pointed him, Izuku pretended as if he didn’t know who he was indicating. He put his hand to his chest delicately looking around the room, and then pointed at himself as if he couldn’t believe his friend was talking about him –of course, the only other person in the room. It was then that Izuku stood to his feet to put his plan in motion.
Ooh, chunky
Looking for them girls with the big old hoops
That drop it down in daisy dukes
Midoriya heard the song on the radio enough times to be able to mouth the background singer’s part as he slid in time with Todoroki’s movements.
(I wanna get down)
Shouto’s eyes only slightly widened for a second as he tried to not appear confused. Midoriya grinned at him, and he couldn’t help but smile right back.
Yeah, them the ones I'm tryna recruit
I'm looking at you
Yeah, you baby
Izuku turned to him with bright emerald eyes that rivaled the beauty of the sun shining through the windows. At that moment, it took all of Shouto’s brain cells to remind him they were in the middle of a performance. He still couldn’t believe how well the other had fallen so well into his dance routine, both of them twisting and jigging around each other without a misstep. He was really doing it wasn’t he? He was performing!
He cast away his sunglasses to the windows as he continued to slide and spun around in place, imitating how Bruno had done so once before.
37-27-42
Shouto’s boldness swept over him as he took a chance and pointed at Izuku’s chest, then his waist, and then his hips while singing the numbers. He did his best to flirt with the playful glint in his eyes and pursed his lips in glee.
Ooh, squeeze all of that into my coupe
Girl, I I choose you
Shouto adeptly side-stepped Izuku and looked down at him as if he were the finest treasure he wanted to steal, recalling it again, as something Bruno would do. Well… he may not have been acting... the lines were blurred at this point he couldn’t tell anymore, but it was an interesting sign as the movements increasingly came more easily to him. He snapped his fingers and stepped with the rhythm, and bobbed his head from side to side.
Chunky
Looking for them girls with the big old hoops
That drop it down in daisy dukes
Midoriya raised his eyebrows in amusement and sang his part with a playful sneer.
(I wanna get down)
Yeah, them the ones I'm tryna recruit
Once Shouto was done walking a full circle around Izuku, pretending as if he were checking him out, he stopped in front of him and locked their eyes. Izuku tried to suppress the blush, noting how unprepared he was for that moment as the other boy leaned in close and tilted Izuku’s chin up, making no mistake he was referring to him.
Izuku’s brain must have short circuited, because Shouto was the only one who didn’t miss the next chorus as he slid right in with the beat once more, not noticing how his partner suddenly didn’t follow. The only thing Izuku had to process that Shouto had pulled away was the fact that his chain glimmered in the light as he glided on his feet, and practically flashed him out of his trance. Before Shouto could detect the lost presence, Izuku picked up his pace and fell right back into step.
Chunky
Looking for them girls with the big old hoops
That drop it down in daisy dukes
(I wanna get down)
Yeah, them the ones I'm tryna recruit
Hey, I'm looking at you
Yeah, you baby
As the song came to a close they both slid away from each other, while Shouto pointed at Izuku, and lifted his chin in a mock salute, the same cocky grin still on his face. He could feel the sweat sliding down his forehead as he began to finally catch his breath, both of them staring at each other in the tense silence, as if the other were too scared to move and break the eye contact first.
Once Shouto realized he actually finished, he went over to the phone and paused the music before the song could play again. Once he gained his composure and took a spare towel from his bag to wipe his forehead, he felt his alter ego’s arrogance wear off as he sheepishly turned to face his friend standing in the middle of the dance floor.
“Um… how was it—“
“That was amazing!” Izuku beamed before he could complete his thought. “How did you come up with that choreography, those stares, that attitude—no wonder you got a recommendation into UA! I just—Todoroki, how?”
Shouto had to suppress his embarrassment as if minutes ago he hadn’t spent half of a dance giving Izuku suggestive looks paired with fluid body rolls. He tried to formulate an answer as the shining look in Izuku’s eyes made his heart swell with pride. “I really researched this man, Bruno Mars, and his friends. They’re pretty rowdy and I wanted to do well…” he took a chance glance at his friend, who eagerly waited for him to continue as if he were taking a million mental notes. “It’s just…my father thinks I can’t handle this genre…what do you think?”
Without hesitation Izuku retorted, “I think your father’s an idiot.” And he immediately covered his mouth realizing that he insulted one of Japan’s most famous musicians, and his friend’s dad. “I’m sorry, I—“
“It’s fine. I agree,” Shouto admitted. He looked down at his gold chain it’s twinkling, like his father’s attitude, mockingly telling him out of place it was. “My father believes this school is losing its foundations and I’m going to corrupt our family name by doing this. Midoriya… he said he’s going to take me out of this music conservatory if I perform this for midterms.”
Izuku made an incoherent squeak in protest, “He can’t—he can’t do that!”
“But he can,” Todoroki stated as if it were fact everyone should have known. “He has power in the music industry, there is nothing stopping him from taking me out of this school and training me himself… but I…”
Izuku walked closer to Shouto hearing how he stopped short, the young man unsure if he should confess what he was about to say as he stared out of the window.
“But you don’t want to leave and train under him,” Izuku continued for him understanding the situation with new perception. “You’re having fun at UA, and you want to perform with everyone else, because it’s something you never got to do before?”
Shouto silently nodded his head, not even the least bit surprised Izuku could read how he felt. Not like the boy was a mind reader, he was just empathetic like that. Yet, even with his friend by his side to reassure him of his performance, he felt a slight pang in his chest which let him know he couldn’t figure out what do—
“Your father needs to see this performance.”
What?
“I can’t invite him to midterms,” Shouto said as his mouth formed a thin line.
“Todoroki, please trust me,” Izuku shortened the gap between them and put his hand firmly on Shouto’s shoulder. Izuku stared into his eyes as if pleading for him to listen. “When your father sees what you can do, despite what he believes, he’s going to eat his words. You were phenomenal and your hard work clearly showed in your performance—your show is going to bring the audience to life.”
Shouto could feel warmth begin to spread on his face. Who, but Midoriya, could just unashamedly rattle off compliments to someone else’s face in an effort to console them?
“I’ll think about it…” He averted his eyes to the thermal bag by the mirrors. “You said your mom made us some snacks, yes?”
Izuku followed Shouto’s gaze to look at the bag over his shoulder and immediately perked up as if he had forgotten its existence. “Oh yeah! Come on let’s go sit on a bench, it’s nice outside today – we can’t exactly eat in the dance room.”
As Todoroki took off his hat and gold chain they made their way to the doors. “Thank you again for helping me with this, Midoriya. I really do appreciate it. I’m sure your program will prove to be great as well.”
“Actually, I really l-liked your performance so much that… I… I kind of do actually want you to see what I’ve been working on—if you want,” Izuku said nervously adding the last part a little jumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as his face took on a deeper shade of red.
One of Shouto’s eyebrows lifted by a fraction as he pondered the thought of Midoriya dancing to his artist…what was their name again…Rihanna? He still wasn’t sure, it was hard to keep up with the myriad of artists presented to their class. He noted how Midoriya was quite the hardworker—he had no doubt the young man’s efforts would deliver anything less than interesting.
“I don’t mind seeing what you have. My schedule is quite empty today.”
As they headed down the stairs Izuku handed him a juice box from the container and found it difficult to hide his small smile.
“A-alright I didn’t bring my heels with me today, but it should still be okay. I hope you’re ready.”
If Shouto was going to be completely honest with himself, he highly doubted that he was.
“Midoriya, do you know what a “daisy duke” is? The word appears in my song, and I have researched it, but I’m still not exactly sure I can pinpoint its origins or meaning…” Todoroki pondered before biting into his onigiri. Izuku’s mouth formed a frown, as his eyebrows knit in confusion. He finally shrugged after some thought.
“You’re asking the wrong person, Todoroki,” Midoriya settled. He sipped on his juice box and stared across UA’s grounds, his curiosity spiking with every passing moment he contemplated the words. “I think we can ask Ashido, she seems to know a lot about this stuff.”
Todoroki was fine with that and decided it was, yet again, a mystery for another day.