Chapter Text
“Dance with me.”
The words had appeared on Fuyumi’s wrist when she was just a child, back when she couldn’t even understand what that bold text said.
Her mother had read the words out loud to her, with a smile on her face.
Fuyumi didn’t know if the feeling in her heart was from the words, or from the look on her mother’s face.
“How sweet of him. Your soulmate must be a romantic, and a bold one at that. You’ll have your hands full with a man like that.” They were meant to be reassuring, but the words had felt wrong, to Fuyumi. It was just an instinctual feeling for her, so when she realized what was wrong about the wording she had no issue with asking her mother about it.
“Why can’t it be a lady?” Fuyumi's words had surprised her mother, though she only let her smile disappear for a short few seconds.
The young Todoroki's question went unanswered, though, her mother instead suggesting that they speak with her father about some dancing lessons.
At the time, she hadn’t understood why it had to be a man. She always found the ladies on tv prettier, and when she went with her mother to the store, the lady that worked there was always so nice. And the nice old lady down the street always gave her candy when she saw her, unlike the grumpy old man that lived across from her. He always yelled at her and Touya when he thought they were being too loud.
Wasn’t her soulmate supposed to be nice? She was sure that her soulmate would be pretty as well, it was her soulmate after all.
And if that was the case, then it’d just have to be a lady.
She got her first dance lessons when she was 10. She hadn’t told her father the truth for why. He’d banned all talk of soulmates a long time ago, making his children cover up whatever marks they had gotten. So instead, she’d said that she wanted to be able to come with him to the hero Gallas he went to.
Of course, it was a good way to take away some pressure from Touya, and let him have some rest at home. He had done badly at those events on purpose, leaving him with even more bruises when he had gotten home.
She had lied to herself as well, trying to ignore the guilt she felt for doing it only for her soulmate.
She had ended up being Enji’s child of choice to take to the social gatherings, as long as Shoto was not able to go.
That had lasted only a few years, up until Shoto started to take every small revenge against their father that he could manage. Then Enji decided it was safer to bring his daughter, who never dared to go against him.
His thought process on her being “safer” definitely didn’t involve her meeting her soulmate. The only people she ever met with him were other heroes who he wanted to brag to, or people he worked with.
A lot of the time he didn’t really feel like dragging her along, leaving her to sit at their table, alone. No one ever approached the table, never being interested in Endeavors shy daughter.
And that was how the hours went by, Endeavor leaving her by herself, talking to heroes on his own.
She regretted not bringing her phone, even if it’d be rude to pull it out like this. But she had been alone for at least an hour at this point, and people watching got boring quickly when one already knew who everyone was. New faces were even rarer than someone talking to her, which was rare. And never did they happen at once.
But Miruko was an exception, of course.
They’d never talked, the number 5 hero wasn’t usually spotted at such events, but Fuyumi would recognize her anywhere. She had watched many of her fights and interviews, but that wasn’t the only reason she could spot her easily.
The hero looked like she was pulled straight from Fuyumi’s dreams, the face and body almost too much for the shy Todoroki to handle. The dress she wore was long and sleeveless, with a slit going up the long skirt. It looked perfect on her, and Fuyumi could barely tear her eyes away from those legs of hers.
But she couldn’t exactly keep staring, not with the way the hero stood in front of her, hand outstretched for Fuyumi to take.
“Dance with me.” Miruko probably didn’t even think about those words before she said them, but it was different to Fuyumi. Her face went bright red immediately upon hearing them, looking up at Miruko with wide eyes.
She could barely put together a coherent thought, much less keep herself from nodding and taking hold her hand.
For the first time in so many years, Fuyumi could barely keep up with a dance partner. It wasn’t because it was a difficult dance, either, it was just that every time she looked into Miruko’s eyes, her mind just went blank. It didn’t seem to bother Miruko, though, if she had even noticed.
It was ignorant to expect that the number 5 hero would miss something so obvious, and Fuyumi only realized that when she was put on the spot about her stumbling.
“You okay there, princess? I know you’re a better dancer than this.” The words made her even more nervous, and she couldn’t stop herself from tripping on her own feet. She would’ve been fine with the fall, of course, it was her own mistake. It’d be embarrassing, and she was sure her father would chastise her for it, or possibly even yell at her for wasting all those dance classes she took.
Yet, the fall never came. Before she knew it she was in the strong embrace of a hero, who moved gracefully enough to make it seem purposeful. At least, that was Fuyumi’s guess from how she was being dipped, one of Miruko’s strong arms on her waist being the only thing keeping her from falling.
She found herself looking straight into red eyes, far softer than she had ever seen them before.
The hero was silent, though she looked almost humored by Fuyumi’s nervousness.
“Am I dreaming?” The words just slipped out of her, no thought gone to them at all. For a second she thought that the other hadn’t heard her say them, as she didn’t seem to react.
Those seconds could’ve been hours for all she knew, but those after that were almost non existent. It was so sudden, that she only really realized what had happened when they were pulling away, even with their arms still wrapped around each other.
She had just kissed the number 5 hero, Miruko. On the lips. At a galla she was attending with her father.
“So it’s you.” The quiet and confident words silenced even her father’s distant anger, end she found herself smiling at the hero, even as she knew that her father was approaching.
She couldn’t care less about her father though, not when she had a soulmate to kiss.