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It had been a really bad day. That is to say, a little more unbearable than the bad days that made up Touya’s most recent years on his own. What had been a little side job to score some extra cash for rent this month ended up bringing trouble right back to his doorstep. Lucky for those thugs, Touya wasn’t inclined to torch his first stable home in months; unlucky for him, that meant taking a pretty nasty beating and losing his extra pay no sooner than he’d gotten it.
All on his twentieth birthday.
With a sigh, Touya swigged the last of his drink, expression hardening at the sour taste. Numbing his senses with some alcohol was a better alternative to acknowledging the pain of a busted lip, black eye, and whichever ribs could do with some real medical attention. Though Touya didn’t have the means or the motivation to take care of those wounds. He simply fixed the staples that had popped out of place, washed some blood off his face, and headed for the first bar in sight.
Good news: Touya was now a legal adult. One less lie he was telling every time he’d flash his fake ID. Bad news: The bar he managed to get into was actually a club. The bass from the speakers threatened to burst his eardrums with each shitty drop from the local DJ that was spinning that night. Though it wasn’t like Touya expected anything good to happen at a club on a Wednesday night in the first place.
Instead, Touya resigned himself to the bar by the front of the club and away from the music, lights, and people . God the last thing he wanted to deal with at this point was more people.
“What the hell happened to you!?” a voice yelled at him from his left. Touya immediately grimaced and rolled his eyes. Remind him not to give Karma any more ideas in the future.
Touya turned his head and got a look at the stranger that decided to ruin his night out. There stood a woman with bright green, flaming hair, done up in bright glittery makeup and a slimming outfit that really emphasized her cleavage—
She suddenly snapped her fingers toward him a few times until he blinked, confused back at her. “Up here, Staples.”
Touya spun his head to face the back of the bar again, dragging his glass to his lips before realizing there was only ice left. With a scowl he pushed the glass away and looked around for the bartender to help save him from the embarrassment.
The woman cackled and patted his back as she slid into the seat beside him. “Don’t have to get so flustered about it! It’s just a pair of boobs, I don’t care,” she said and leaned on the counter, not taking her eyes off Touya. “If it’s any consolation, I was staring at those scars on your face. We’re even?”
The way she phrased that last comment like a question, how she stared at Touya like she expected an answer, he could only glance at the woman with skepticism. Why the hell would some woman at a club be trying to chat with Touya of all people? Was it that slow of a night? Was she drunk out of her mind and he looked like some hero heartthrob? Was she trying to steal his wallet for some more drinks?
Okay maybe the last one was just the fresh wounds talking after his most recent run-in with other sketchy people. The thing was though, this woman seemed totally normal; friendly, even. Touya wasn’t used to friendly.
“Hello?” the woman interrupted his thoughts with a light laugh.
“What?” Touya finally responded.
She reacted like she just made some groundbreaking discovery: eyes bright and lips curled into a cheeky smile. “He speaks! For a second I thought I wasn’t actually saying anything, just sitting here staring like a creep.”
Touya snorted. “So you’re drunk?”
“Tipsy, Staples,” she corrected, finger pointed up, “there’s a difference.”
He feigned agreement with a nod and occupied himself with fingers tapping on the empty glass. God did he want another drink. Of course the bartender had to be flirting with some patrons at the other end of the bar. What did he expect though? Touya had been sulking in this corner for an hour—he practically created a black hole within the club, and no one wanted to get sucked into his moody pity party.
Which brought him back to the glitter bomb beside him. “So why are you hanging out over here with me instead of your friends?”
“Friends?” The woman shrugged and made a motion toward the bartender. As expected, he noticed her right away and headed for them both. Her body swayed slightly from side to side to the music and she said, “Came alone. I was hoping I’d find some hot girl to take home but no luck tonight.” She rested her chin on the back of her wrist, throwing a wink at Touya.
Clearly she wasn’t trying to hit on him, which meant she likely wasn’t trying to flirtatiously dupe him either. Touya relaxed in his seat a bit. “Not like the guys are much better.” He played along, a smirk peeking out from under his stapled skin.
“I’ll take your word on it,” she chuckled and ordered shots for them both. “So what’d you do to get all beat up like that?”
Touya had nearly forgotten she even asked. Easing into the conversation more, and with a shot of vodka shooting sparks under his skin, he explained, “Just got into it with some shitheads, nothing unusual. Happy birthday to me, right?”
He didn’t think much of how he blurted out that fact—it’s not like he was dropping his name or anything—but the reaction it won from the woman was even more surprising. She stared back at him with a stunned look on her face and laughed incredulously.
“It’s your birthday?” She pointed to herself. “It’s my birthday!” She couldn’t control the laughter that erupted from her at that coincidence. “This is so weird! How old are you now?”
Touya stuttered in reply, “T-Twenty.”
“Holy shit! Me too!” Suddenly her face was even closer in Touya’s personal space as she leaned toward him and tugged at his arm in excitement. “We’ve gotta celebrate together! We’re like twins!” She motioned for the bartender again, holding up the empty shot glass at him while she clung to Touya. “Another round for me and my twin here!”
Touya wasn’t going to say no to free alcohol, though the woman’s sudden enthusiasm left him a little speechless. All he could mutter out was a “Thanks.”
“I’m Kamiji by the way,” she quickly added. Guess now that they were birthday buds, that meant they had to be properly introduced. When Touya didn’t show her the same courtesy—the less she knew the better—she playfully smacked his shoulder and said, “So you’re the mysterious type huh? That’s fine. Guess it matches your whole aesthetic.” She laughed so loud it made Touya wince at her side. Though he couldn’t help smiling to himself either.
“No point in getting all friendly,” Touya droned, “not like we’re gonna see each other after tonight anyway.”
Kamiji hummed, then suddenly snapped her fingers at a realization. “Like ‘Cinderella’!”
Touya burst out laughing at that. Even he didn’t expect the cackle that came out of his mouth and quickly tried to save face. To no avail though, as Kamiji was already cheering from the seat beside him.
“So he isn’t just the brooding, shadowy figure at the bar! He laughs!”
“It wasn’t that funny.” Touya retorted. “Besides, they meet again after the ball, remember?”
Kamiji covered her mouth to hide the teasing chuckle that threatened to escape as she blubbered, “So you actually know the story that well?”
“Shouldn’t everybody? It’s not like some obscure story. It’s a stupid fairy tale.” Touya defended himself, which only won more laughter from the woman.
The bartender returned with their next order of shots and Kamiji didn’t hesitate to snatch hers and hold it up toward Touya.
“What?” Touya looked from the shot to her,
Kamiji rolled her eyes. “What’s it look like? A toast!”
“It’s a shot…”
“Same thing!” She winked and moved the glass in circles around his face until he picked his up as well. “Happy birthday to us!” Clinking their glasses, she said between laughs, “And not turning into pumpkins after midnight!”
They both downed their drinks and Touya clarified, “Cinderella doesn’t turn into a pumpkin, that’s her carriage.”
“Same thing! Geez, what’s it matter?!”
“Matters to me.”
“You’re a weird one.”
Three more rounds of shots later and the two found themselves crammed into the corner of the ladies’ room, giggling at how the last group of girls looked at them on their way out.
“Did you see the blonde one?” Touya sat stiff on the counter, legs hanging limp off the side and chin tilted up within Kamiji’s grasp. She had insisted that in order to really have a good time, the first step was to make him look the part.
Kamiji mumbled while she focused on perfecting his eyeliner. “I’m a little busy y’know.”
Touya held back a laugh, as to not disturb her work or get stabbed in the eye on accident. “She had this face like she thought I was gonna eat her or something.”
“That’s because I’m going for the bad boy look.”
“Sure it’s not because you screwed my face up?”
“Those guys that gave you that black eye already beat me to it.” With a flick of her wrist she finished the edge of the wing and pulled her hands away, admiring her work. “There. Now those eyes of yours really pop.”
Touya hopped off the counter and turned to face the mirror. The face that stared back at him was… surreal. It wasn’t bad by any means—Kamiji had some fantastic makeup skills—it was just strange to see his face so cleaned up; his eyebrows looked full, the small apples of his cheeks were dusted with a soft cherry tint, and his eyes were decorated with glittery shades of violet eyeshadow and sharp, thick liner. She even went so far as to give him fake lashes and comb through his hair. For once, Touya forgot about all the scars and staples on his face. For once, he looked… alive.
“Luckily you’ve got some decent clothes on already.” Kamiji eyed him through the reflection, “Not the best, but not like there’s much I can do about that.”
Touya leaned closer and got a better look at the details while she shuffled her materials back into her little makeup pouch. He felt something strange start to well up inside himself but before he could dwell on it, Kamiji was already pulling at his arm and leading him out the bathroom and back onto the club’s main floor.
She shouted back at him over the music, “There’s something you’ve gotta do at a club when it’s your birthday!” Next thing they knew, they were standing at the side of the DJ’s platform. Kamiji had whispered something into the ear of a staff member who looked her up and down, then let them both through. Touya followed after without much thought, more preoccupied with how loud it was at this side of the club.
Kamiji tugged at his sleeve and pulled him up to the DJ’s station before leaning in to his ear. “Tell him what song you wanna hear! Since it’s your birthday!” Her voice was barely audible, but with a little push, Touya was facing the DJ without a second to even think. Coming up with a good song on the spot like this that wouldn’t get him booed off stage was harder than he imagined.
The DJ looked back at him, slipping his headphones off and letting his two extra arms deal with all the intricacies of the soundboard in front of them. In a normal circumstance, Touya would’ve let his scornful personality get the best of him and walk away when he realized how the guy’s quirk was similar enough to the bastard who gave him a black eye. He was a pretty petty guy and something as simple as similar quirks to someone that pissed him off could completely sour his mood. Yet there was something different now that made Touya completely ignore it.
“What do you want?” the DJ shouted, head still bobbing to the rhythm.
Touya glanced from Kamiji to the DJ, then stepped forward and gave the guy a name of some big pop song he’d heard on the radio recently. That had to be fine, right? Might as well play it safe. Not like it was a bad song either; despite his looks, Touya was a fan of some catchy earworms. Listening to them was pretty relaxing sometimes. Gave him that feeling of being normal like everyone else, with no worries or pain or regrets that ate away at him.
“It’s my—” Touya paused, then corrected, “it’s our birthday today. Both of us.” He motioned toward Kamiji and the DJ nodded, then flashed them a thumbs up.
What Touya didn’t expect was how the guy grabbed the mic at the top of his soundboard and spoke loud and clear over the music, shouting, “Looks like we’ve got two birthday stars today, so how’s about we really party!?” The music spiked in volume as a new song started and the crowd met the noise with equal fervor.
Touya watched them all dance, laugh, and drink between all the flashing neon lights. The longer he stared, the more he felt—
“Come on! Let’s dance!” Kamiji shouted and pulled on his arm again. In seconds she had dragged him to the middle of the dance floor and the two of them were lost in the music.
The only times Touya ever danced was in the privacy of his apartment when he was too drunk to care. Maybe he was drunk now. Was that why he felt so weird? No, that wasn’t it. Touya closed his eyes while his body moved and it was then he realized how much he was smiling .
Touya was having fun .
When was the last time he really enjoyed himself—forgot everything that was wrong with his life and just let loose like this? He certainly couldn’t recall the last birthday that felt this good.
The song picked up pace as the DJ added his own flare to the melody, and Touya started laughing. All of a sudden, the past, the future… none of it mattered. He was here dancing to some stupid pop song he secretly loved with a complete stranger who—
All those feelings subsided when he opened his eyes again. In the middle of the crowd, Kamiji had stopped dancing and a man was right behind her, his hands smoothing over her body. Touya could feel the scowl return to his face when he saw Kamiji’s disgusted expression; the fire burning hotter in its fragile shell at the sight. Touya stepped forward and grabbed one of the guy’s arms, yanking him back.
The man looked to Touya as if to say something, though Kamiji didn’t give him the chance. If her heel on his foot wasn’t enough, the knee to the groin sure did the trick. The guy keeled over on all fours, surely groaning and cursing in pain though Touya couldn’t hear a thing over the music. Instead, he just smirked back at Kamiji and leaned to her ear as they walked away toward the bar again.
“Didn’t know you were a brawler,” Touya teased.
Kamiji answered, “ Please . That was hardly a fight.”
Remind him not to get on this woman’s bad side.
They joked some more, ready to order another round of drinks when some security approached them. Turned out that the guy Kamiji had beat up was some big shot at the club, with enough money and rep to get them kicked out after embarrassing him. Touya glared at the guy on their way out. The bastard looked so damn smug it pissed him off.
“Maybe I went a little overboard there,” Kamiji said, “I mean, you kinda did enough. Guess I might’ve had too much to drink.”
Touya retorted, “No, he deserved it. Screw that asshole.”
That made Kamiji chuckle again and soon enough the two were standing on the side of the street, drunkenly laughing over nothing. It was when Kamiji yawned and spared a glance at her phone that she realized how late it was.
“Why do I have to go in to work tomorrow,” she whined before hailing a cab.
“That bad?” Touya watched the smoke come out with his breath in the frigid air. He wondered for a moment how Kamiji wasn’t freezing her ass off right now, but with her fiery hair he assumed she must’ve had some sort of fire quirk. The thought they shared the same exact birthday and a fire quirk nearly made him chuckle.
“No, I love it. My boss is just a bit of a hardass,” she explained, then laughed a bit. “He’s great but let’s just say if I come in hungover tomorrow I think he’d make my workload even more intense.”
“Well damn, tell him to cool it then.”
She snickered at that. “No promises.” As the cab approached, she glanced at Touya with her red, drunken face. “Y’know what, you’re kinda the same. Let loose a little more and don’t be so emo.You look good when you’re all happy and smiley.”
Touya rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, avoiding her eyes like he wanted to avoid her advice. “No promises.” A little smile still made its way over his lips regardless.
Kamiji giggled and slid into the back of the cab. Though before the car pulled off, she rolled down the window and stuck her head out with a huge grin on her face and shouted, “And you’re a good dancer by the way! Happy birthday!”
Then she was gone. Touya was left on the sidewalk alone as the soft smile faded from his expression. He stuck his hands in his pockets, ready to head home when he felt a little folded note inside. He was sure this wasn’t there before and opened it up to read:
“if you need a hero’s help: 011-XXXX-XXXX”
Touya frowned. Karma had to pull one last little trick on him before his birthday passed. Kamiji’s outgoing personality and fighting skills made a lot more sense now. Not to mention that damn insistence to help strangers like Touya; naively trying to make their days better with meaningless gestures or niceties and shining so damn bright that everyone got pulled into their light like flies to flames. Clicking his tongue, he motioned to burn the note and forget about how he’d been having a good time and fraternizing with a hero of all people. Then he hesitated. He rubbed his thumb across the paper while the streets clouded his head with more white noise. Folding it back up, he stuck it back into his pocket intact.
His birthday might have passed but there was still something he wanted to do to celebrate.
It was around three in the morning when that bastard from earlier finally stepped out of the club. He made his way down an alley beside the club building toward his imported car, a woman under each of his arms. Figures he’d be that kind of douchebag. He was cackling obnoxiously and shouting in drunken stupor when Touya had interrupted:
“Look at that. The trash is taking itself out.”
The guy slowed to a stop and turned to face Touya, the women beside him looking more nervous after seeing all the scars and staples under the less-than-flattering streetlights. Touya cocked his head to motion the girls to leave, and they quickly obliged. At least they were smart.
The guy, though? Not so much.
“Didn’t I kick you out earlier? What, you’re so upset about it you waited for me?” The man clicked his tongue and rolled up his sleeves, stepping closer toward Touya. “How creepy. Even your face…” He suddenly lunged at Touya as blades popped out of his forearms, aiming straight for his head. “I can’t stand looking at you!”
Touya felt a wicked grin split his lips and adrenaline pump through his veins. The rush he felt as he grabbed ahold of the guy’s hands with each swing at him had made his words come out with a laugh, “That makes two of us, huh?” And without another word, Touya lit fire in his palms and watched the man’s face contort in horror as his own hands were horrifically burned.
The man fell to his knees, then curled up in himself as his arms shook in pain. The smell of burnt flesh and screams of shock filled the alley, but it was nothing new to Touya. Instead he reached around and dug the wallet out of the guy’s back pocket. The amount of cash this guy had on him more than made up for the money Touya lost earlier that night.
“Since I’m feeling good today I’m not gonna waste my energy to kill some trash like you,” Touya said, “but I can at least make sure you don’t have some hands to go touching what’s not yours anymore.” He smirked down at the guy, their eyes meeting a moment before Touya spun on his heel and left, waving his hand on the way out.
It turned out to be a pretty good day after all.