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Izuku lightly rubbed his throat, staring down at the holes in the knees of his jeans. He wanted to keep singing, but he knew that would only wear his voice out more. It had been a long four hour session with his voice coach, but despite his best efforts, he was even more discouraged and disappointed than before.
"Rest your voice well." Mr. Shigaraki told him, handing him a bottle of water. "Don't even think about practicing when you get home."
Izuku had been thinking about it, but he did know better. He’d made the mistake once before to stay up all night singing and had completely lost his voice right before a performance. But he wanted to get better no matter what sacrifices he had to make.
"Remember to eat and sleep well. The healthier you are, the better." Mr. Shigaraki turned away, reaching for his cigarettes. He never smoked during their sessions, saying that it would be bad for Izuku's voice, but he always stepped out afterwards. "Your next lesson will be in two days."
"Actually, I don't think I'm coming back." Izuku said softly.
Mr. Shigaraki froze, unlit cigarette halfway to his mouth. He turned back to Izuku, white brows coming down. "Come again?"
Izuku took a deep breath to steady himself. "I… I'm really, really grateful for your lessons, Mr. Shigaraki, I really am. You've been so kind teaching me all this stuff but I think- I think you might be right. I'm not good enough. I'm never going to be a singer like All Might."
When he finally said it out loud, Izuku burst into tears. He'd been thinking it more and more lately, and after today's practice, he felt it was finally time to admit it. To agree with what everyone had always told him. Izuku folded over on himself, hiding his face in his hands, and sobbed. All he had ever wanted was to be like All Might. All Might was the most popular idol of all time, and Izuku's personal hero. He’d come far enough to be in All Might's agency in a group with some of his friends, but this was as far as he was ever going to get.
"Izuku, what on earth are you saying?" Mr. Shigaraki knelt in front of Izuku.
"Y-you said I would never be like All Might!" Izuku cried. "You say it all the time!"
"That's right." Mr. Shigaraki agreed. "You aren't anything like him."
Izuku cried harder. "What am I doing wrong? I w-want to make people happy! I want to make them smile! I want to have fun! I want to sing like him!"
"Izuku, you're never going to sing like All Might." Mr. Shigaraki said firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I can't allow that. You're much too talented to let something like that be your goal."
"What are you talking about?" Izuku looked up a little.
"You have the most perfect voice I've ever heard." Mr. Shigaraki said. "So much potential… that's why I've been trying so hard to help train you. You're made to be more than just another idol prancing around on stage."
It seemed like it was supposed to be a compliment, but Izuku felt another dig at his pride. "You've never said anything good about my singing before. You've n-never told me I did a good job."
Mr. Shigaraki's eyes softened. "I didn't mean to be so hard on you. I just want you to be the best you can be. I forget how young you are sometimes… Perhaps I should have been more encouraging."
"S-So you don't think I'm a bad singer?" Izuku clarified, drying his eyes.
"A bad singer? No, no, no, little one. In fact, you're the best singer I've ever heard. That's why I offered to teach you." Mr. Shigaraki dried away the rest of Izuku’s tears. "I'm sorry if I made you feel otherwise."
Izuku sniffled and straightened. "Th-Then will you come and see me tomorrow night? It's my first time with the lead vocals and I- I know you hate idols but I really want you to come."
Mr. Shigaraki hesitated, then smiled as he placed a hand on Izuku’s head. "Of course, little one. I would love to see your performance."
Izuku smiled and quickly dug into his bag for the extra tickets he had stashed there. "R-Really? Yay! Here, this is for you! A-And you can meet my mom and my teammates- and All Might is supposed to be there too! You're the best!" He gave Mr. Shigaraki a quick hug before he ran for the door. "Thanks again, Mr. Shigaraki!" He waved and closed the door, glowing with excitement.
Mr. Shigaraki looked at the crumpled ticket I'm his hand and gave a long sigh. "Oh, Izuku… my little songbird, how long will it take you to realize? You were made for something much more special than becoming one of All Might's dancing monkeys."
He lit up his cigarette and took a long slow draft. As he blew it out slowly, he said to himself. "I've already waited this long… I think it's been long enough."
***
Izuku fiddled with his new costume. He was out back, taking a few minutes by himself to try and get the nervous jitters out. They were worse than usual today. Perhaps because it was his first solo, or maybe because All Might was watching. Or maybe because Mr. Shigaraki said he would come. Maybe all of it.
"Feeling nervous, kiddo?"
Izuku turned quickly. "A-All Might!"
All Might smiled and motioned for him to relax. "I told you, Izuku, All Might is just my stage name. You can call me Mr. Yagi, or Toshi if it makes you feel more comfortable."
Izuku blushed. "Wh-What? I could never do something like that!" His voice came out as a squeak, and All Might gave his large, room shaking laugh.
"Still a fanboy, hu? I thought my rough edges would have disenchanted you by now." All Might ruffled his hair, then quickly drew his hand back. "Oops, you've probably already had your hair styled. Didn't mean to mess it up, kiddo."
"Th-th-th-that's fine!" Izuku stammered. "It's always messy!"
"Yes, it's part of your irresistible charm. How did you like the costume? I designed these ones myself. They're actually based on one of my first costumes."
"I knew it!" Izuku blurted, then quickly covered his mouth. "I mean, I thought the design looked familiar!"
"So do you like it?"
"I love them!" Izuku gushed. "Even more if you made them!"
"It's my first time taking such an interest in one of my groups before." All Might admitted. Without thinking, he placed a hand on Izuku’s head again. "I suppose the talent reminds me of my younger days."
"Yeah, Kacchan is really good!" Izuku agreed.
All Might cocked his head and smiled. "Yes, he is, but I was talking about you. You remind me of myself the most."
Izuku froze. For a moment, his brain stopped functioning completely. All Might chuckled and rubbed his head a bit more gently.
"Izuku? Are you all right?"
Izuku blinked as his senses returned once more. "Me? Are you sure? Why? I'm not as good as-!"
"It's not a matter of talent." All Might cut him off. "It's about intent. When I watch you perform, you always have the brightest smile on your face. And by watching you, I can tell that you want that smile to spread to everyone else. To me, that's the most important thing about being an idol. This line of work, it's your calling and your passion. I- no wait, don't cry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-!"
Izuku shook his head and quickly wiped his tears before they could ruin his makeup. "No, I'm just s-so happy! I've always wanted to be an idol just like you!"
"I would rather you be a better idol than me." All Might said. "You're already improving so much. Those vocal lessons have been paying off. I was very impressed while I was listening to your final rehearsal. Though, if you don't mind me asking, I thought you said you couldn't afford private lessons?"
"Oh, I don't pay for them!" Izuku shook his head. "My teacher heard me practicing one day and he offered to teach me for free!"
"How generous of him." All Might smiled.
"He's coming tonight!" Izuku told him.
"That's wonderful news!" All Might beamed at him. "I'm sure he'll love your performance. I know I'm looking forward to it. Good luck, kiddo."
"Um, All Might?" Izuku called after him.
All Might paused and looked back. "Yes?"
"Is there anything you think I can get better at?" Izuku asked.
All Might paused to consider it. "Perhaps a few dancing lessons could help you out."
"Right." Izuku nodded. He couldn't afford vocal lessons, there was no way he could private dancing lessons. Perhaps he could beg Kacchan or Shoto to let him join in on one of their lessons, or maybe he could have Mina teach him some more moves.
"So I was thinking… we could start next Monday?" All Might said hopefully, breaking Izuku out of his train of thought. "As long as it doesn't conflict with your vocal lessons."
"Y-You mean- you? Teach me??" Izuku gasped.
"Did you have someone else in mind?" All Might asked.
Izuku shook his head. "No- no! All Might, I'd love to! Gosh, you really mean it?"
"Of course, kiddo." All Might smiled. "Have fun today, okay? You're going to do great."
"Thank you, All Might! I-I mean, Toshi! You won't regret it, I promise!"
"I'm looking forward to it." All Might agreed, smiling down at him. "Best of luck, kiddo."
Izuku was left beaming after him. He couldn't believe it! All Might wanted to teach him? He'd never tutored anyone before! And he wanted to teach Izuku?
"How lucky for you. Your idol finally noticed you."
"Mr. Shigaraki!" Izuku spun, not sure how someone else had snuck up on him so easily. "How did you get back here? How long have you been there?"
"I just got here." Mr. Shigaraki smiled. "I just caught the end of your conversation. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. Still, how exciting for you? This is what you've always wanted, isn't it?"
"W-Well, sort of." Izuku nodded sheepishly. "I just wanted to be like him. I didn't think he'd actually want to teach me anything!"
"You seem excited." Mr. Shigaraki noted. "Aren’t you nervous?"
"Yeah, but not anymore!" Izuku shook his head. "I was scared about you and mom and All Might watching, but now I think I'm actually going to do better with you here!"
"It's good to be confident." Mr. Shigaraki nodded. He paused, looking at Izuku more closely. "Are those… stars on your cheeks?"
"And sparkles!" Izuku smiled, flashing his best performance grin. "Cute, right? It matches my outfit!" He spun so his teacher could get a good look at the sparkles and stars All Might had patterned into his outfit.
"Yes, very cute." Mr. Shigaraki nodded. "It suits you nicely. And the tails?"
Izuku spun again so that the pink, green, and blue glittery tulle tails would sparkle. "I'm a shooting star! So people can wish on me and have their dreams come true!"
"That's very nice, Izuku."
"Thanks! I'm so happy you finally came to watch me!" Izuku grinned. "I should get in place, we're going to be starting soon."
"Ah, then before you go." Mr. Shigaraki produced a large bouquet of roses from behind his back. "I was going to give them to you after the show, but I suppose now is as good as later."
Izuku’s eyes lit up and he reached for the flowers. "Wow, they're so pretty! Thanks, Mr. Shigaraki!" He buried his face in to smell the flowers. "They smell so sweet!" Izuku took another big sniff. "R-Really sweet."
"Easy now, little songbird." Mr. Shigaraki placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him.
"Um, they smell really-." Izuku staggered a little and his words began to slur. "Nice. Smells nice."
Mr. Shigaraki supported Izuku as the roses fell from his hands. Izuku fell against him, fingers weakly scrabbling to find purchase on his teacher's suit to support himself. "Easy, songbird, easy. It's all right. I've got you."
"Mmm… Mr. Shig… raki?" Izuku slurred, his head falling against his chest.
"Hush, it's all right." Mr. Shigaraki ran a hand through Izuku's hair. "We're just going to take a nice, short trip. I've prepared a special cage for you, songbird. It will be nice and safe, and I'll take special care raising you."
"Mmm?" Izuku whined in confusion, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Don't worry." Mr. Shigaraki lifted Izuku up and cradled him to his chest. "Just let the toxins do their work. It will just be a short nap."
He bent down and picked up the flowers with his gloved hand. Izuku moaned and closed his eyes, head rolling limp against Mr. Shigaraki's chest.
"Sorry to miss your show." Mr. Shigaraki said, turning and carrying Izuku away from the stage. "I was looking forward to your performance tonight… But I can't lose you after all the time I've invested. You'll understand soon enough."
Izuku twitched in his arms, but stayed asleep. Shigaraki could hear the crowd cheering. They would be looking for Izuku soon, but he would be long gone by then. It was a shame Izuku was going to miss his big performance. He would be disappointed about it, but he would get over it. He would learn. And Shigaraki was patient, he could wait for Izuku to come to terms with things. After all, he'd waited this long to find a voice as beautiful as his brother's, and he wasn’t about to lose that. He would protect Izuku, and his perfect voice. His perfect little songbird.