Archive of Our Own

Hizashi was currently sat on the floor, struggling to get some aux cables untangled and sorted so he could actually hook up some mics to the speakers and the rest of the audio system. "Goddamn it- why do all of these look so similar- They're probably getting more tangled as I go on...!" He whispered in frustration, though; seeming to try to keep himself relatively quiet. It was about 8 in the morning after all.

Shoto, who'd been silently setting up the buffet seating, was brought back to awareness when he heard the quiet whispers. He'd been dozing off as he worked, and had just started to fall asleep as he lit the small candles on each table. 

He was going to go back to his table work, but ultimately his curiosity got the better of him and he strolled over to Present Mic. 

"I heard you talking to yourself. Are you alright?" he spoke quietly, a gruff tone in his voice from how tired he was.

Hizashi perked up from his current spot, glancing back at the student calling his attention. "Oh-?" Seeing Shoto, his expression visibly brightened "SHO-" Hizashi was about to greet him, but he cut himself off quickly, hearing the loud echo already from the wide open room and wincing. He immediately quieted his tone to a reasonable level "Sorry- Shoto-san! Good morning!"

He pushed himself up from the floor and dusted off his clothes quickly "Just some cables frustrating me-! You're doing the royalty announcements right?"

"Good morning Mic-sensei." he mumbled. He looked down at the mess of cords, curiously, "I can help you untangle these. And yes, I'm doing the announcement, the results for royalty should be in momentarily, actually."

Hizashi let out a sigh of relief "Thank god- these things have been stumping me for the last half-hour. Whoever used them last and left them like this..." The voice hero was about to go on, but he just let out a sigh. 

"The results???" Hizashi inquired, stooping down to the pile of cords to pick them up. "Riiiight- ya think everyone got their votes in? 'F I remember right... there was a new category for the Ex-Villains, wasn't there?"

Shoto got on his knees, reaching down and beginning to untangle the cables, "Well, the deadline for the votes is in..." he looked up at the clock, "30 minutes, so I sure hope so." he continued untangling the wires, having made pretty decent progress so far. "And yes, there is. Since I was the one who did most of the planning for the event, I decided I wanted them to be included, and put them in. Though, in retrospect, calling them ex-villains might be a little rude... any ideas to another title I could call that category?"

Hizashi hummed, unsure as he fumbled with the cords, finally getting one out, and whispering a victorious "Yes!" to himself before clearing his throat.

Unsurely, he tried to list out a few options "Uhm... Reformed or reforming guests? Maybe just the guests... I'm not sure, probably better to ask them than me."

Shoto nodded as he spoke, listening intently, "Thank you for the suggestion, I've been having trouble picking a... appropriate term to refer to them as. I appreciate the input." As he finished speaking, he reached down, pulling out the final cord from what used to be a tangled mess, "Here you go." he said, handing the bunch of now untangled cables to his teacher.

Hizashi smiled "It's no problem, Shoto-san!"

He took the wires into his arms and gratefully nodded at Shoto "Thank you! Actually- If ya wouldn't mind helping me with one more thing, I gotta calibrate the microphone with the soundboard and make sure the crowd will actually be able to hear you!" Hizashi sped over to hook all the microphones up to the speaker system. "-Just that you're a tad more soft spoken than me! I'll help you out with the buffet table right after"

Shoto took a moment to think before shrugging, "Sure." He said quietly. "Where do you need me?”

Hizashi pointed towards the front of the stage as he connected the last few wires, having some to spare "Where that podium stand is, front and center! The sound board is across the floor, so give me a second to get there" He walked up to the podium himself, opening a compartment under the main mic stand. He rolled up the leftover wires and set them inside. "Just in here are the replacement mics and cords, in case any go out! I'll be at the soundboard the entire dance, so all ya need to know is that you match up the numbers on the end plugs of each cord, and the mics are all compatible with this main cord in the podium."

Shoto listened as he spoke, moving towards the aforementioned podium. He stood quietly, and grabbed the mic, "So do you just want me to... speak into this?" he said quietly, cringing as his words echoed through the speakers.

Hizashi gave a thumbs up as he stepped away from the podium "Say whatever you need to, I just need ya to be consistently talking- most preferably at your normal talking volume- Alright, I'll be back in a bit then!"

The voice hero, jumped down from the stage effortlessly, and hurried over to the soundboard at the edge of the room. He gave a thumbs up once he was settled, indicating Shoto to start.

"Uhh..." Shoto panicked slightly, blanking on what he should say. "Testing, 123. Hi... I'm shoto, I'm here to.. announce the 21 homecoming royalty.  Uh.. I like cold soba... um.. pinecones are cool... do you need me to keep talking?" he asked, after rambling nonsensically for a while.

Hizashi quickly adjusted a few things on the soundboard as Shoto spoke, before calling out "A few more sentences!" He walked out to the middle of the floor.

"Uhhhh- my bird is named Touya and he's really weird. Uno dos tres quatro Cinco seis site Ocho nueve diez... Feliz navidad... Feliz navidad... I wanna wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart... Christmas is in a few months," Shoto continued rambling on, saying whatever popped into his head. When he finally ran out of things to say, he looked up nervously, "Please tell me you're done..?"

As Shoto kept speaking, Hizashi determined the front speakers were just a tad too loud, and head back to the soundboard,  dialing down the volume a little. Looking up as he finished, he gave a confident thumbs-up "And that's it!! Okay- we can go finish the buffet now!" 

Hizashi hurried back to the stage, hopping up onto the platform and smiling at Shoto "Thanks for helping!"

"No problem, thank you for getting me ready to announce. It's not exactly my area, so I appreciate it." he spoke quietly, but the gratitude was clear in his voice. He redirected his attention to the buffet set up, mentally planning what he had to do next, "Alright, if you want to just go grab as many chairs as you can, I'll set up the tables."

—--

Regis: Holy shit, I feel like I have insane energy rn, and I have no fucking idea why. Like, I legit just woke up.

Regis: Who wants to help me fight god, because I feel like I could do so and win.

Tenko: Maybe not fighting anything today, its homecoming dance later today

Regis: Really? I didn't realize time had passed so quick. But my point still stands: I feel like I have way to much energy rn.

Shoto: woo. 🎉🎉🎉

Pikachu: I’ll help you fight god Regis!

Regis: Yesssssss!

Regis: I vote we replace god with Todoroki, Shigaraki, or maybe Aizawa-sensei.

Shoto: what did I do?

Tenko: I do bot approve of me being god- 

Tenko: Also, please call me Tomura

Tenko: not*

Regis: Aight, I'll keep that in mind.

Regis: And Todoroki seems like he'd be a pretty chill kinda god. Like, helping where he can and all.  Tomura, you seem like youd be the kind of "I'm always watching what you do" god, so nobody would dare do anything evil while you were god. Aizawa-sensei seems like he'd be a good god in every field except for having a good sleep schedule.

Tenko: That's more my dad than me... am I really becoming that similar-?

Regis: If you mean Nezu, I'd trust you way more than I trust him. Nezu scares me tbh.

Tenko: I've literally killed people without thinking about it

Regis: And? Nezu scares me way more than you do, no offense.

Dabi💙🔥: nezu is cool.

Tenko: He is, agreed

Tenko: Coolest dad I've ever had

Regis: He terrifies me. I mean, yall know him better than I do, but the dude is scary as hell.

Regis: You ever hear his 3 am chuckles through the vents when you cant sleep? The stuff of nightmares.

Tenko: No???

Tenko: I've never heard him in the vents.

Dabi💙🔥: why tf is he in dorm a vents?

Regis: I DON'T FUCKING KNOW. I JUST HEARD HIS CHUCKLES, AND JESUS CHRIST IT WAS TERRIFYING.

Tenko: Oh well, I've never had that problem, and I pretty much live in his office rn :/

Regis: I guess I could've been mistaken on who was chuckling, but it was still fucking terrifying.

Dabi💙🔥: Yeah, and I live in one of the extra rooms right down the hall-

Shoto: sorry it was me, I saw my dad get extinguished by some CO2 based villain and it was really funny.

Dabi💙🔥: send me that clip

Shoto: 👍

Tenko: Is that villain still alive?  Asking for a friend

Regis: Please never do that again- but also, please send me that clip.

Shoto: I believe so, he confused Endeavor when he put him out and I never saw the capture.

Shoto: I'm a thug, I will laugh how I like.

Shoto: fear me.

Tenko: This is the most threatening I've ever seen you Freezerburn

Regis: Can you at least not do it at 3 am? Like, maybe wait until 7 am to do your maniacal laughter, please.

Shoto: but 3am is when the mania hits.

Shoto: I think the scary echo is also cause of touya joining in on the laughter, by the way.

Regis: ............... Why does this not even surprise me? Oh, btw, did you see the latest incident Endeavor dealt with today? He got hit in the balls with a fucking stop sign.

Shoto: good.

Shoto: though, usually he wears some form of... protection, so sadly I doubt it will stop him from bioengineering more children.

Regis: And when I say stop sign, I mean one that was like, 10 feet wide. The villain had some sort of enlarging quirk they could use on objects. I don't think his protection worked to well against it, considering he was wheezing in pain for a solid 20 seconds while on his knees.

Regis: I'll send you the link if you want.

Shoto: go for it.

Regis has shared a link

Tenko: Oh my god.

Tenko: That's fucking gold

Regis: I know, right?

Shoto: someone send this to all might

Tenko: Ill do it-

Tenko: I have the entire staff directory on my phone. For emergencies

Regis: Neat. Tell us how he reacts.

Tenko: 

Dabi💙🔥: Nice.

Tenko: Nice. 

Dabi💙🔥: Nice.

Shoto: Nice.

Presentation Michael: Nice.

Eri: Nice!

Regis: Nice

Kuromom: Nice.

Regis: I've been meaning to ask! Excluding Nezu and All Might, who's everyone's favorite heros?

Tenko: Eraserhead- or I should say Aizawa-san probably..

Vantacat: Thirteen!

Shoto: all might cause dad hates it.

Dabi💙🔥: Hawks

Presentation Michael: I gotta say, Backdraft is making a great name for himself! And he's great in the local area. My vote is on him. 😎 Sho is the most handsome hero though, always has been 😌

Cannot Stop Twinkling: Uwabami has to be mine, absolutely stunning costume design 

Daichi: You’ll always be my favorite, Nii-san ^^  

Daichi: Or at least until Tomu makes it, might have to spare the spot then, eh?

Regis: I bet Tomura would be an amazing rescue hero.

Regis: My personal favorite hero, excluding my mom, as she's dead now, has to be either Thirteen or Ryukyu.

Dabi💙🔥: you really trauma dumped there, kid

Regis: That wasn't my intention, sorry.

   >| You’ll always be my favorite, Nii-san ^^

Presentation Michael: Very much appreciated!😄😄😄

Tenko: I-

    >| I bet Tomura would be an amazing rescue hero.

Daichi: Exactly! He’s perfect for it, right?

Shoto: petition to get Tomura into the hero course.

Tenko: Guys please-

Regis: Well, just think about it. Even without a quirk, I bet he'd be good at calming others down, and with some medical classes, I bet he'd be a good field medic. With his quirk, he can selectively decay debris away to help save civilians without needing to rely on heavy machinery or a hero with a strength quirk to arrive and move the heaviest debris.

Tenko: I got enough problems to deal with rn- Education and training is like- the very last thing that will be on my mind

Daichi: Oh right, still have to get a license and stuff…

Daichi: Of course, of course… Well, you gotta start right after that’s all done!

Tenko: Thank you but I'm really not all that good at calming down others- I can barely calm down myself 💀

Dabi💙🔥: you usually can help me just fine

Regis: My other points still stand, though. Besides, if Gang Orca is able to calm civilians down, I'm 100% sure you can too.

Tenko: I've helped you?? I'm pretty sure you've been the one to help me-

Tenko: Okay but like- Gang Orca has confidence on his side

Dabi💙🔥: you have a calming presence dude

Regis: Have you seen his interviews? Dude is a nervous wreck!

   >| Okay but like- Gang Orca has confidence on his side

Daichi: …we’ll work on that

Regis has shared a link 

Regis: This was his most recent interview. Happened like maybe a month ago.

Tenko: Okay- Soon...? 😅

Tenko: He can still... keep himself somewhat composed...? And talk in front of the interviewer...?

Regis: He was shaking like a leaf, dude looked like he wanted to bolt the second it started. I'm sure that with some work, you'll be able to handle stuff like this in no time!

Daichi: We could do practice interviews! I did a couple for the journalism club, yeah?

Daichi: Just gotta be yourself, it’ll go great!

Regis: Btw, I know that the internships and stuff are usually for the hero course students, and I didn't even participate in the sports fest, but does anyone know if anyone is accepting management course work study students right now? I have to do them, apparently. I wasn't told of this until today. I will legit work for anyone.

   >| Just gotta be yourself, it’ll go great!

Tenko: Ah... I guess it might be easier if you're interviewing me-

Presentation Michael: I might know a guy! Stop by my office after homecoming and I could try to find someone!

Regis: Thank you! I owe you for this big time-

Tenko: Oh right- the dance

Tenko: Uh, Daichi? Ya think you might have time to attend??

   >| petition to get Tomura into the hero course.

Regis: I'll sign it.

Regis: After everything has calmed down on Tomura's side, that is.

Daichi: I, don't think your dad is gonna need much convincing there, eh?

Daichi: Probably will fast track you if anything!

Daichi: Dance? Oh! Homecoming, right - I'll make some if I don't! Wait, that's today -

Tenko: I'm just- a tad nervous...  

Tenko: Pretty sure Dabi's gonna be spending the whole time with Hawks, so I didn't want to be a third wheel or anything-

Tenko: Yeah I probably should've asked sooner…

Daichi: Of course, totally understand I'll stick around with ya no worries!

Daichi: Wouldn't wanna be caught in between an ex-villain and his boyfriend, eh?

Daichi: Oh, do you know how to dance, Tomu?

Tenko: Uh... No, I don't think so

Daichi: No worries, I don't either - guess we're improvising then, yeah?

Daichi: See what everyone else is doin. It'll be fun!

Tenko: If you think so- 😅

Tenko: if that doesn't go well- pretty sure we can just eat & chill-

Regis: I hope you enjoy HOCO. I'm not coming to it tbh.

Tenko: You're not?

Regis: Nah. Just doesn't seem like my kind of event. Plus, I don't know how to dance, so that would just make it awkward, since I think Shinso and Denki both know how to dance, so they'd be dancing with eachother, and Idk what I'd be doing.

Tenko: 👌

Tenko: That's chill- I'm just going because of the sense of normalcy in comparison to the rest of my life-

Regis: Well, I hope you enjoy it!

Tenko: Thanks! Hope you enjoy whatever you're gonna do!

Tenko: Ah, I should go. Gotta feed Arson and Assault before I get dressed-

Tenko: 👋👋👋

—--

Tomura pushed the door open to the main building, walking towards the entrance gate. Feeling a little more confident in his outfit, he idly walked back and forth; his long coat lightly trailing behind him. To be completely honest, Tomura felt much more than 'a little confident', but he would never admit that.

"I'll have my card next time, promised?" Daichi gave an apologetic grin to the guard as he was let through - an annoyed grumble serving as his response. He jogged towards the building - more out of lack of patience than lack of time - stopping in his tracks as he spotted Tomura. The blond gave of an impressed whistle. Waving to his friend: "Damn, well, going all out are we -" He chuckled. Jokingly, he tugged at his suit: "No fair, Tomuuuuu - gonna make me look inadequate, eh?"

A little embarrassed, he awkwardly grinned and stuffed his hands in his pockets "Don't blame me! Best Jeanist insisted on some of this- I only managed to keep my red shoes for it because he thought it worked with the color scheme-" He lazily stepped forward to gesture to the aforementioned shoes.

Tomura crossed his arms lightheartedly, humming "And you look completely fine, it brings out your hair really well; actually."

"Well, I'm sure ya had a say in it, eh?" Daichi chuckled, tapping Tomura's shoulder once he reached him, gesturing towards the building "How about we go in then... I wanna see Mic's reaction to this - you didn't show em yet, right?" He asked.

Tomura shook his head as he trailed beside Daichi, on the way to enter the building "Nah, as far as I know, you're the first to see this. On me at least."

"Aww, not even your dad? I'm flattered" Daichi teased, pushing the door open. Perking up at the sounds coming from inside: "Well... looks like we'rel a bit early, Mic's still testing the setup -" He murmured "Waddya wanna do, while we wait for the others, eh?"

He shrugged, muttering "I just fed the crime noodles, so they'll be tired... maybe we could get a snack from the cafeteria or try to find Dabi & Co.?"

"Oh - yeah, sure! It's been a while since I've seen em too!" Daichi said, adjusting his suit a bit "Ah... after you! I'll just get us lost again... Any idea where he could be?" he grinned.

Looking up from his phone, Tomura smiled and started to make his way down the hall "I just texted him, he's changing right now, so we can get snacks and meet up in the cafeteria."

Daichi glanced at his shirt, somewhat nervously "Well, wouldn't wanna stain this thing before the event even started, but -" The boy stopped, as his stomach let itself be heard with a loud grumble "Yeah, I guess that decides it, let's go" He chuckled "Maybe shouldn't have skipped lunch... happens when I'm excited about stuff sometimes, ya know?"

Tomura chuckled, with a tinge of worry "We can both remind eachother to eat, heh. Don't want ya skipping as many meals on accident as I do-"

“I usually grab somethin on the go when I realize it… a few hours later, eh?” he chuckled, waving it off “cliff bars, saved my life during exam periods, more often than I can count” 

The blond sighed dramatically, as he followed the other to the cafeteria.

Tomura hummed as they got to the nearly empty space. Lunch Rush was currently making some more appetizers for the dance, setting trays out along the cafeteria tables.

"Wow, heh. Kinda unbelievable that the last time I was here was like- when I was 10 or sometime near that-"

He caught sight of the hero, and changed the topic as he glanced back to Daichi "Ah- Dabi should be here in a few minutes, you wanna ask Lunch Rush if we can have an appetizer or two?"

"Yeah, we could do that! Ah.... Hey! Lunch Rush-san, would you mind if we -" Daichi shouted over to the hero, pointing at the trays. The chef looked at him a bit oddly, giving. curt nod before returning to his preparations. The blond cheered at the approval, grabbing a couple small plates "Thanks! Amazing as always, eh?" He said, grinning a bit sheepishly, before returning to his friend "Let's see what we got here..."

Tomura smiled, stepping closer to peer at the appetizers "Ooooo This looks great! What do we have here- Is that Tofu? Oh- I could take a plate for ya if you don't mind"

“Yeah, that would probably be a good idea, don’t think Lunch rush would appreciate if I drop something now…” the student remarked “Lost my first job as a server that way… anyways! They really put some effort into this, eh? How about we sit down somewhere maybe -“

"Respect for getting that job in the first place- I imagine carrying stuff like that is difficult- I could literally never-"

Taking a plate, Tomura nodded and started to look for a place to sit. "Uh... Good place... right there?" He gestured to an unoccupied table next to the entrance of a hallway.

“Nothing to be too proud of, barely lasted two weeks-“ He chuckled, very carefully placing plates down before relaxing into his seat. A few raw dishes - octopus in wasabi, shrimp, grilled mackerel, vegetables in Tempura batter… Daichi went to grab a piece of fried pumpkin - stopping himself abruptly, as he glanced over to the working staff in the room, before clapping his hands together - muttering his ritualistic thanks to the cooks. “Well then… wanna dig in?”

Dabi chose that moment to walk in, wrapped up in a coat so long it could easily compete with the length  of Tomura’s. Tray in hand he walked over to the two, slamming his tray on the table before speaking, "Holy FUCK this is colder than I thought it'd be-" he yelled as he shivered.

Daichi, absorbed into the food in front of him, jumped a bit at the. Lice coming from behind. Recognizing the man: “DABI! Great to see ya here, been a while, eh? We were lookin’ for you!” Somewhat concerned: “Ah… you want me to go fetch a scarf or something maybe? I’m sure Mic has at least couple in his office…” The blond said, glancing at the older’s attire. “Lookin great though, where did ya get that from? Almost as cool as Tomu!” Daichi teased, suppressing a smirk.

"This thing?" he said, looking down at his sack-esc coat, "Oh this isn't my outfit, just to keep me warm cause it's cold as shit for some reason and I don't know if I can use my quirk with my actual outfit. Thanks though, I guess." he said, with more energy than usual. "You guys look great, I like the suits."

Tomura chuckled, somewhat concerned as he questioned "Thank you- But are you okay, dude??? I know you said it was gonna be out there but you're shivering like a leaf-" 

He muttered "Well, at least, with the amount of people that are gonna be here, you shouldn't have any problems once you get to the dance floor."

Dabi looked down, noticing that the top of his jacket had come undone, revealing the top of his collarbone. He quickly pulled it closed, wanting to conceal his warmth. "I'll live,  just not used to being cold. It's not something fire users usually have to deal with." he laughed as he spoke, "I forgot I'd have to dance, shit..." he murmured quietly, yet his words were still audible. He shoveled some food into his mouth, trying to move quickly so they could get to the dance in relative time.

Tomura reassured, gently giving Dabi a pat on the shoulder "You're gonna be okay out there, bro. Me and Daichi don't even know how to dance. And I bet the same for most of the students- You'll do great out there."

Turning back to his plate, he muttered "Oh right, food-" And then promptly dug in, being careful not to get anything on himself.

Daichi had already started eating, carefully avoiding anything that could stain. He was gonna drop something, if he started thinking about it too much, so might as well focus on damage control, instead. Looking up at Dabi: “Oh, yeah, Tomu said you were gonna bring Hawks along, is he comin soon?”

Tomura admitted, shrugging "I'm not sure where Hawks is, but he's pretty damn fast, could probably get here within 5 minutes if he was halfway across Japan." 

"Could try and contact 'em though."

Dabi sighed, "I don't know if he's coming either, he's been busy as fuck lately." He reached down, gently playing with the feather he kept around his neck. "But until then, I'm just gonna wander around, bored as shit."

Tomura offered, gesturing to himself and Daichi "Ya sure??? Could just tag along with us. Help us learn how to dance while ya wait for Hawks, maybe"

Dabi looked up at him as he finished his plate, placing it down on the table, "I'll hang with you guys for a bit, but I'll probably just end up eating for most of the dance. I will help you dance though, God knows you'll fucking need it." Dabi laughed as he finished speaking, amusing himself by picturing their attempts to dance.

Tomura huffed a little "Hey, I'm sure I'm not that bad, Dabi... I'm sure it's not ballroom dancing, so how hard could it be?"

Daichi perked up, excitedly: "Ohhhh, you could teach us, that would be great! Where did you learn it from? Maybe we should practice, first, that might calm Tomu's nerves a bit..." He chuckled, giving the boy in question a pat on the shoulders. Looking around: "How about now? We're only ones here, aside from the cooks, and plenty of room in this place as well, eh?"

Dabi shrugged, "I trained in ballroom and hip hop for like, 3 years each when I was maybe 12-15. My dad made me, but it was actually really fucking fun and one of few good memories I have." he rambled, for once excited to talk about his past. "But yeah, if you guys wanna learn, I'll teach you some basics."

Almost excitedly, Tomura pushed himself up from the table, a small smile on his face "Definitely-" He glanced to Daichi again. Tomura hesitated for a moment before, somewhat less confidently offering his gloved hand to help him up from the table. "This is all gonna be new information so... practically impossible to embarrass myself here more than you, right?"

Daichi grabbed the hand, heaving himself up "Exactly! And only Dabi here to see us fail, that's not too bad, right?" he chuckled, making his way to the center of the room "And Lunch rush, and your dad, maybe, can never really exclude that... but who's counting, eh? So what're we gonna learn today! How do we start?" The blonde stretched his arms, bouncing on his toes a bit impatiently. He looked over to Dabi, waiting for instructions.

"Well," Dabi started, "Since we're on a tome crunch here, I'm gonna teach you the most basic shit of all, the box step." he explained. "Alright, go ahead and stand next to each other. First you gotta pick who's gonna lead, and who will follow, got it?" he asked, looking at the two of them patiently, waiting for them to move.

"Ah... like, side by side? Facing each other?" Daichi asked, shuffling around a bit "I could lead if ya wanna, whaddya prefer Tomu?"

Tomura paused for a moment, before muttering "We could try both out? I mean, it's gonna be a pretty long event... You lead first, then I try?"

"Sure!" The blonde agreed immediately, before turning to the older boy "Ah... what does "leading" mean?"

"You guys can face each other or not, it really doesn't matter for this first step." he explained. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, shoving on some music before placing it on a table. "The 'leader' is more traditionally the masculine figure, but thats really the only defining feature, other than some differing hand positions." Dabi did his best to clarify.

"Okay, try to find the beat of the song, it's okay if it takes you a second.."

Daichi straightened himself, tapping his hand to the beat. Easy enough, so far…

Tomura attempted to tap his shoe along to the beat. Within a few moments, he found himself in sync with Daichi. His expression brightened slightly at the connection.

Dabi noted how they'd both found the beat, and moved onto the next step. "Okay, now that you've got a feel for the music, I'm gonna teach you the steps, okay? So for the leader you're going to start with your left foot, and to the follower, it's the opposite. This is a dance with six steps, and the first is simple. Take your starting foot, and step foward. After that, bring your other foot forward and to the side." he demonstrated quickly, and looked back up at the 2 of them.

Daichi followed the steps, a bit hesitantly, eyes glued to Dabi's feet. Up, Up and right... He hummed along with the music, not wanting to lose track of the beat "Alright... so far so good?"

"Ok, now that your feet are a little spread apart but next to each other, what you're gonna want to do is bring your dominant foot over to your other one so they're closer. After that, you're gonna want to take a step back with your non dominant foot." he said, before once again doing what he said.

Daichi trailed along, briefly checking that Tomura was indeed following along, before returning his attention to Dabi "And we return back to where we started?"

"Almost. You're gonna want to bring your dominant foot diagonally to the side before meeting it with your non dominant foot. Then you just repeat, and you've got the footing down" Dabi explained to the best of his ability, demonstrating the new moves for the somewhat last time.

Daichi completed the last two steps, before very slowly repeating the entire sequence "So.. in front, corner, to the side, down, back and back" A bit more confidently: "One, two, three, one, two, three... - alright, I think I got this - Tomu? Yeah, think we both got it!" He cheered.

After a minute, Tomura managed to get one full rotation of the steps, albiet slowly. Looking up after he fully got the steps a few times through. He cheered "Yay! We got it!"

"You got the first bit, atleast." Dabi waited a moment before he interrupted, letting them celebrate. "Your next step is to learn how to do it together." He explained, motioning for the two of them to shuffle closer. "Ok, Daichi, grab Tomura’s right hand with your left. Place your other hand on his back, more near his shoulders than hips." Dabi addressed him clearly, and waited for him to follow his instructions.

Tomura chuckled nervously, a slight hesitance to offering his right hand as he adjusted his gloves "Haha...! Oh god, I haven't held someone's hand in a while- Alright then-" He was definitely on guard, probably more because of the reinstilled fear of his quirk; due to the Reversal quirk than anything else.

A bit hesitantly, Daichi place his right hand around Tomura’s back, before slowly placing his other hand beside his friend’s, keeping them apart. “It’s fine, Tomu -“ He whispered - slowly closing the distance, as he gauged his friends reaction. Once they made contact, the student guided their arms into position, grinning as he turned to Dabi for further instructions. “Something like this?”

Dabi looked at the two of them. They were doing better than he had expected, honestly. "Yeah, you've got it." He said quietly, "Now Tomura, take your free hand and place it on Daichi's upper arm. Take a moment to get comfortable, and then you can try to follow the step movement whenever you're ready." he took a step back, giving the two of them space to practice together.

Following the instructions, Tomura gently set his hand on Daichi’s arm and whispered "You're so lucky you're the only person I'd trust enough besides like... Dad or Kurogiri to do this with me- I'd completely freak out if it was with anyone else-"

He seemed to be intent on looking down at their feet, so he could track movements and wouldn't misstep... as easily.

"Well, luck's always been a good friend of mine, eh?" Daichi chuckled, giving the boy's hand a  squeeze "I'm glad"

The blonde swayed with the music energetically, dragging his friend along - confidence compensating for his clumsiness.  Taking a wrong step, he caught himself from falling - quickly laughed off, before continuing "Well, this is kinda fun, honestly! Should've given it a try earlier, eh?"

Tomura really didn't seem to expect his hand being squeezed, almost stumbling. Recovering from the slip-up, Tomura flashed an apologetic smile.

Eventually gaining the ability to look up, He laughed a little in return. With a short nod, his own form seemed to improve the more they repeated the steps. "Yeah! I mean- didn't have much time before- things kinda got hectic- I'm just glad we're learning this now!"

“Now we just gotta make sure we don’t mess up too badly in front of the crowds” Daichi chuckled. Grinning at the older boy: “So… whaddya think, sensei? We passed the test yet?”

Dabi came back to awareness at the other boy's words. He'd been kind of zoning out, trying to give them some privacy. "Oh. yeah, you're doing good, especially for just starting." he smiled back at the man, giving him a quick thumbs up.

"Whenever you think you're ready, you guys can stop and we can head over to the dance. I'm just gonna go grab something to drink real quick, I'll be right back." He reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out his phone. Leaving it on the desk, he quckly headed out of the room. All that dancing had made him thirsty.

Tomura’s gaze flipped back over to Daichi after Dabi left, a wide; genuine smile on his face. Been a while since he's looked that excited, or happy to be honest. "Hell yeah-! We're doing great!"

"Told ya! We're gonna be awesome on stage, eh?" The blond grinned widely, as the music came to a halt "Glad you're enjoying yourself then" He said, genuinely, before slowly letting go of the other. Looking over to Dabi's phone "Another round, or do ya wanna take a break?"

Tomura glanced to the clock in the room as he adjusted his gloves; which had rollen up slightly during the dance "Looks like we don't have much more time until it starts... Take a break until Dabi gets back?"

Dabi chose that moment to walk back in. Noting that the two of them had separated, he spoke up, "You guys ready to go? We’re gonna be late if we don't head now." he asked, grabbing his phone off the table.

"Aaaand there goes our break" Daichi sighed light-heartedly before giving the older villain a thumbs-up "Ready as we'll ever be, right Tomu?" He nudged his friend with his elbow.

"Oh- That was quick" Tomura muttered, glancing over to Dabi for a moment to nod; the smile on his face didn't seem ready to fade anytime soon.

Looking to Daichi at the nudge, he chuckled, turning towards the hallway they came down "Yeah! Let's hurry, then! Don't wanna miss too much-"

Dabi grinned to himself. He was really happy to see his brother so smiley. It was the first time in a long time he'd seen such a big smile on the man's face, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could. 

He quickly lead them to the dance, having learned his way around the UA halls in the many months he'd been there. Making his way through the entrance doors, he gave them a thumbs up. "I'm gonna go drop my coat in one of the back rooms, see you in a sec."

"See ya! And, thanks again for the help" Daichi waved. He looked at the his surroundings like a child in a sweetshop, giving off a low whistle "Man, they real went all out on this, huh? This setup is incredible!"

Tomura seemed to be in shock, pupils wide as he took in the atmosphere "Holy shit...! Do most schools do this much for celebrations like this??? Who did the-"

Tomura was quickly cut off by a very enthusiastic Present Mic in a suit lined with glowing green, running up to greet them "Daichi, Tomura-san!!! I saw you peek in a while ago, what's up!?"

"Mic-Nii! Lookin flashy, cool as always" Daichi greeted, just as enthusiastically "Just gotta outdo yourself every time, don't ya? Tomu and I were just done practicing for the dance - should've seen us! Well, guess you'll have to wait now - you know when this thing's gonna start?"

Hizashi adjusted his glowing tie with a smug grin "Of course I do! It's my trademark, at this point!"

He chuckled "Dancing, were ya??? Well, it officially starts after Shoto-san announces royalty." He gestured up to the stage "But nothing's closed! Do whatever you want! I'll just be behind the soundboard over there-" He gestured to the booth near the back corner of the room.

A little confused, Tomura asked, looking to the stage "Freezerburn's announcing? Not any other teacher?"

"Props to the kid, he volunteered to do it, so why stop 'em? Earns a bit of extra credit in my class too, for presentation!"

After hanging his coat, Dabi emerged, his outfit visible for the first time that night. He was wearing none other than a floor length gown. It was long and black, with a deep v cut front, and blue flame decorations coming up from the bottom, as if trying to mimic the dress being on fire. 

"Hey guys, Mic." he opened with, walking over quickly.

Tomura glanced to Dabi, casually "Oh hey Dabi-" He then had to pause for a moment to process before a grin widened on his face "Woah- Holy shit, Dabi-! No wonder you were cold!" A few laughs in slight disbelief came from the former villain, as he took in the sight "You look awesome dude! At the bottom, too- wow" He warily crouched down to look at the fire-inspired detailing.

"Thanks," Dabi started, "It was either this or a suit, so congrats, this was your pick." He did a little twirl to show all sides of the dress, almost excitedly. He'd never worn something like this, and he actually quite liked it. "But yeah, this shit is cold as fuck. I'm not used to my legs being so exposed-" he joked, his voice growing loud with excitement.

Tomura’s smile still seemed to persist as he stood back up again, nodding "Next time something like this event happens, I'll totally join ya in the dress club!"

Hizashi popped in to respond, vaguely gesturing as he spoke "I remember wearing something similar to my Second Year Homecoming here on a dare! Props to ya for pulling it off so well on your own!" The voice hero laughed a little "But yeah, I think most wear leggings or something under it so the cold isn’t as bad, guess the staples make that a bit difficult, eh?"

Ryuko entered with Rumi and tow and quickly stepped towards the group of men, nodding to them as she approached "Hello everyone, you're all looking splendid this evening!" She spoke brightly, giving them all a soft smile.

Mic smiled widely, excitedly greeting the newcomer "Ryuko!!! You look amazing too! How have you been since we got back here??? I've been a little behind on updates while I was preparing for this!"

Ryuko replied "I've been fine, just dealing with a few things here and there and Rumi and I got engaged! How about you?"

Hizashi applauded a little in excitement "Oh my god-!!! Congrats, Ryuko!" Continuing, he slipped his strictly aesthetic-value sunglasses down the bridge of his nose so he could make proper eye contact "Like I said a bit ago, I've been preparing for this event like- night and day! But, there was this like- absolutely hilarious villain I took on the other day who had a sorta air trampoline quirk- Almost let him get away a few times because he just kept making me laugh-"

After a while of making sure he looked ok, Aizawa finally made his way down to the event, wanting to find his husband first. When arriving he saw the group and approached. "Hey guys"  he smiled

Hizashi rushed over to Aizawa immediately, excited "Sho!!! Finally! What took you so long to get here?" He hugged onto his husband in a clingly fashion. 

"I've been stuck here setting up without you all day- It was torture!" The blonde claimed overdramatically.

"I'm sorry for the such horrid torture you had to go through love" He said sarcastically. "I would have been here sooner but I ended up going to war with the tie I didn't end up wearing.  Fucking things are impossible"

Ryuko chuckled at the pair, an arm looped around Rumis waist "Regardless Zawa, you still look good this evening, tie or not"

Hizashi chuckled a little, shaking his head as he relaxed his hug to just wrapping an arm casually around his shoulders. "Clip-ons exist, y'know? I dont really know how to tie them either!"

—--

Nezu came in through a, back door (fire exit, but exceptions could be made if you were the principal), adjusting his tie and wiping off a few stains on his fur as he entered the room. He sighed in relief as he looked around himself; it appeared, he hadn't arrived quite as late as feared. He made a mental note to thank the staff for the admittedly, quite impressive preparations. 

The rodent popped a pill, washing it down with some water. It wouldn't do to be at any less than his best for this, with all the effort that had been put into it! Now, he had some people to find.

Shoto took a deep breath,, making sure the table was perfectly clean before looking up from where he was cleaning. He'd become a little neurotic trying to make everything perfect. This was the first big thing he had done, and he wanted it to be something he was proud of.

He scanned the crowd, taking a look at everyone's outfits. They all looked great, clearly having put much effort into picking their attire. As he looked, his eyes landed on a small figure in the back, none other than the UA principal himself. Shoto quickly put down his cleaning rag, and walked over. "Hello Principal Nezu," he started, "How are you tonight?"

"Shoto-San! Very nice to see you indeed. I don't think I could be better, on a night like this!" The principal cheered, approaching the student "I see that you're still hard at work, diligent as ever! Excellent job on the preparations I must say, you've been a big part of that I believe, yes?" he mused, giving the boy a polite bow, smile on his face "I do apologize for my tardy arrival, I hope that hasn't caused any greater issues."

Shoto bowed back at the mouse, appreciatively. "Thank you, me and Mic-sensei worked very hard on this event. I did most of the decorating, and some of the promoting." he was very excited someone had recognized the work he put into this. "Though, Mic-sensei was better at that part, as I expected." he rambled on, his sentence finally coming to a close. 

"It's alright that you were a little late, it was probably for the best, regardless. Gave people a little longer to pile in." Shoto added.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that! Nonetheless, I wish I could have helped a bit more, yes? Please do tell me if there is anything that comes to mind!" Nezu shook his head 

"I believe, you were to make the announcements regarding this little, competition we had?"

Shoto nodded at the question, "Ah, yes I am," he started, "On that topic, I was wondering if you'd like to help me with something, regarding the competition. The winners of the event get to be titled, 'homecoming royalty' and are then crowned and given a sash. Would you be able to help me with that? You are a figurehead of UA after all, and who better to crown the royalty than the metaphorical king?" he asked, almost shyly. He'd been wondering if Nezu would be interested in aiding him in this, but he hadn't wanted to bother the busy man with something so trivial.

"Naturally" The principal nodded, approvingly "I'll accompany you to the stage, in that case? When do you intend this to occur?"

The corner of Shoto's lips pulled up just slightly, a small smile coming to his face at the fact that Nezu would be joining him. "We can do it whenever you're ready. Me and Mic-sensei have everything set up and ready to go." he explained. "We can even go now, if you'd like."

"Excellent idea!" The principal grinned, taking out a small device out of his pocket. With a small jingle, the intercom turned on "Attention please. All students and faculty are requested to make their way to the auditorium immediately. An announcement regarding the Homecoming event will be made shortly. Thank you." 

Putting the device away, Nezu looked up at his student, satisfied "There, that would be sorted. You are prepared and ready, I presume?"

Shoto reached into his suit pocket, pulling out a small stack of index cards, "Yes indeed, I pre-wrote these so I wouldn't falter on stage." he shot Nezu a stoic thumbs up, starting to make his way out of the back corner and towards the stage. "Thank you for calling over the announcement system, that was very efficient." he added, offhandedly.

"Excellent! Let's get going then, shall we?" Nezu stated, some excitement showing "I must say, I've always quite enjoyed these types of announcements..."

—--

Hearing the announcement system, Hizashi paused and let go of Aizawa. "Ah, sounds like I gotta get myself  over to the soundboard! Have fun, guys!!" He waved shortly, before hurrying over to the audio booth.

Daichi stayed at Tomura's side, hands, sunk into his pockets "Students and staff... guess that's not us, but might as well see what they're planning there, eh?" He grinned* "Who knows, maybe ya won something!"

Tomura chuckled nervously, "I just hope I don't have to go up there."

"Why nooot? You'd do great! Ya didn't buy that fancy suit to go hiding in a corner the whole time, right?" The blond chuckled, patting his friend's shoulder.

Tomura clapped along with the crowd as Shoto walked onto stage, "Everyone can see me fine from right here, I'm okay, hehe."

Shoto made his way up the stage stairs, making a beeline for the microphone. He looked at the crowd in front of him, and took a deep breath before he began. "Testing, 123. Alright. Hello everyone, thank you for joining us for the first annual UA Homecoming." his voice shook as he spoke. He wasn't used to speaking in front of so many people, and it was showing. "If you don't know me, My name is Shoto, I'm a hero student in class A, and I'm going to be announcing your homecoming royalty for this year."

"We have 9 people from various categories who will be crowned UA royalty today, all picked by student and staff votes." Well, and a few exceptions, but they didn't need to know that.

Nezu looked at the scene from behind, curiously, standing in front of a table lined with crowns and sachets

The students’ dancing stopped for the most part, moving to gather at the base of the stage, staring up at Shoto, some with excitement, some with nervousness and some with boredom.

Shoto flipped to the next index card from the stack he was reading, "Getting right to it, In class A with 50% and 58% respectively, we have Katsuki Bakugou and... me." Shoto paused, surprised, "Um, I don't know what to say about that... thank you to those who voted for me.." he coughed, awkwardly. He was kind of baffled people voted for him to begin with, but also strangely grateful. He didn't have time to think about that now though, and moved on.

Nezu clapped excitedly from behind

Taking a deep breath, he started again, "Anyways, from class B and AC, we have 3 winners. With two of them tying with 21% of the vote, and one with 39%, congratulations to Lumen Vekard, Evelyn Reynolds, and Alice Delpher." He paused again, letting everyone clap for the winners. He was excited to see his friend's name on the list. Lumen tended not to get enough appreciation, so to see him win brought a smile to Shoto's face. Plus, he’d been down lately, maybe winning would cheer him up.

"For our non hero course category, we only have one winner. With 77% of the vote, our new general studies royalty is Shadow!" Shoto grinned, seeing another one of his friends win.

Nezu nodded approvingly. Perhaps a bit one-sided, but the student deserved it certainly, in his opinion. Quite an impressive amount of progress made as well, for the fact that they had no proper education prior.

From the spot that Shadow was standing in, they froze to process this. Absolutely baffled, the Gen Ed student let out a little laugh to themselves and clapped in accordance with everyone else in the crowd.

"We're now approaching our second to last category, that being the teachers of UA High. With how hard they work, we decided they needed to be celebrated as well. So with 42% and 58% of the vote respectively, can we please have a big round of applause for Eraserhead and Principal Nezu!" While not surprised, Shoto was pleased to see Nezu on that list. He truly did deserve to be celebrated.

"An honorary title goes to Present Mic, for coming in 3rd and for being our DJ of the night." he added on. He appreciated everything Mic had done to make this dance fun for the attendees, and decided to use his power to make sure he was mentioned too. 

There was a very enthusiastic, and loud "YEAH!!" from the audio booth across the room.

Nezu gave a quick bow, a satisfied smile on his face. Not surprising surely, but always nice to hear.

"Now, our final royalty for the night comes from our rehabilitation program. Everyone in that branch deserves to be royalty tonight with what they've overcome, but the people have spoken, and they've chosen well. With 73% of the vote, can we please congratulate Tomura!" Shoto clapped enthusiastically at the results. He was so happy with the people chosen tonight, they were all so deserving of the recognition. 

"If everyone who won could come up onto the stage, it's time for you to receive your sash and crown, which will be presented to you by Principal Nezu." he finished. He stepped away from the podium, and made his way towards Nezu.

"Woo! Go Tomu!" Daichi cheered "See? Told ya you'd win! Not that close either, eh?"
He cautiously pushed his friends back, encouraging him to get to the front "It won't be that bad, eh? Don't need me to go with you I hope" He joked.

Tomura chuckled nervously, glancing to Daichi "A-Ah.... what...? Okay-" Very stiffly and reluctantly, he stepped away from Daichi with a short wave and started to make his way to the stage, in tandem with several other students.

Daichi gave Tomura a quick thumbs-up before clapping along with the crowd.

Nezu stepped forward from his table, crowns and sachets slung around his arms, and quickly placed a stool in front of the line of the podium. Climbing on top "Congratulations, to all of you! Very well deserved indeed! If you could be so kind to come a bit closer..." He held out a crown, waiting for the winners to approach

Bakugo did not seem to be attending, from his visual searches amongst the crowd, so Shoto walked up to Nezu, a little shakily, "How'd I do out there?" he asked, a nervous smile on his face.

Nezu smiled brightly, slinging the sash and placing a crown on top of the boy's head, and  (even with the stool, a bit of a stretch) "You did great, Shoto-san! Certainly very professional, I would say!" He stated, genuinely, reaching out with his paw for a handshake "Congratulations, and thank you for your good work, today and elsewhere!"

Shoto grabbed the other man's paw, giving it a good shake before letting go. There was a wide grin on his face, and he looked happier than he had in a long while. "Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it." he bowed carefully, not wanting to lose the crown on his head. "Well, I'd best not hold you. Thank you again!" and with that, he walked off, going to go stand on the other end of the stage.

As baffled as he was, Aizawa made his way up to the stage to accept his crown. A "GO DAD!!!" sounded from Shinsou in the crowd, bringing up a slight smile on the teacher’s face.

Nezu handed the man his crown and sash, saying his congratulations. Truly, he'd been through a lot; again, the award was well deserved. Maybe, he could also get him something else, in private, once this was said an done, for his recovery.

He also took the occasion to quickly put on his own awards. He had to admit, there was something satisfying about the headwear...

Shadow stepped up to the stool, looking to Nezu; they chuckled a little "I should stop by your office more often, shouldn't I? Maybe you could let me know when you're free for that?"

"Oh, certainly! I could use the company" Nezu smiled genuinely, as he arranged the items. Much easier, for someone of this height. "Any time, Shadow. You'll always be welcome in my office"

Shadow bowed for a short moment "Thank you!" Then straightening their posture, the student smiled and met up with Shoto at the other edge of the stage.

Evelyn stepped forward next, giving the principal a huge grin.

Well. At least someone didn't seem to have too much anxiety from the spotlight. The confidence was good to see, certainly something a hero could need... perhaps it would rub off on some of the others. Tomu definitely could need a bit more... "Well done, Evelyn-San!" 

Nezu placed the sash over the girl's shoulders, crown on her head - a bit more effort required than for Shadow - before handing her his paw "Very well deserved... I do hope to see you in my office as well some time, yes? For something other than fights with other students, that is." He grinned.

"No promises Nezu!" She grinned again before joining the line of other crowned royalty.

Tomura took a breath to try and calm his nerves, attempting to try and compose himself as he stepped up to Nezu. Crouching slightly so it was easier for his dad to reach, he awkwardly chuckled "You didn't skew the votes or anything, did you? This is... unbelievable, heh..."

“Oh, I didn’t find a reason to” Nezu joked (?), a delighted smile on his face “I’m… proud, Tomu. You’ve come a long way, winning a popularity contest in a hero school? Who would’ve believed that, a year ago…” He chuckled. The principal’s eyes glistened a bit in the spotlights, as he placed Tomura’s crown onto his head “I hope you’re proud as well. You’ve earned your place here, in UA, and on this stage today, yes?” 

The principal pondered a moment on what to do, before sticking out his hand again, as he did for the others.

Tomura almost seemed to tear up, as he smiled; extending his hand slightly for a moment. But, he let out a little sigh and chuckled, his hand dropping again as he said in a lighthearted tone "Don’t ya know, dad? I don't do handshakes."

Briefly, he hugged Nezu, whispering, "I love you, Dad"

Not wanting to embarrass his dad more than he likely already was, he let go and did a small bow "Thank you" He said, a bit louder, before walking to join the rest of the winners on the other side of the stage.

Nezu's fur bristled, as he watched his son walk back. He stood still on his stool for a few seconds, dazed, before quickly shaking himself and returned to address the audience. His voice wavered only the slightest amount, as he spoke into the microphone "In - the unfortunate absence of our last winners, that will conclude our ceremony. Please, a round of applause!" 

The principal waited for the cheers to settle, before continuing "Thank you for your patience. With that: in the name of U.A. High, I wish you all a most excellent homecoming!"

—--

As the awards ceremony came to a close, Tomura navigated himself behind the curtains of the stage. He was shaking a little, if he was honest. Pulling that, in front of nearly all of UA definitely shook him up, but he was happy. He didn't regret it at all, one of his rare spur of the moment decisions that he was actually... proud of.

Nezu made his way to the back - his eyes widening somewhat as he spotted Tomura there. He approached the boy, a small smile on his face. Looking up: "Well then. And here I was worrying that you wouldn't have enough confidence..." He chuckled "Thank you, Tomu. I, may have needed that. But - I'm a bit surprised to see you here now, you're not going to your friends? I'm sure Dabi-San will want to congratulate you" The principal frowned, inspecting his son "You're not sick by any chance, are you? You look a bit unsteady there..."

Looking up from his hands, he caught sight of Nezu and smiled "Oh, I'm okay, just a bit shaky- I just don't wanna worry them too much, so I'm chilling back here for a minute or two" He stuffed his hands in his pockets, mumbling as he pulled over a spare stool within arms' distance to himself to sit on. "And... I-I was a bit worried, I didn't embarrass you too much, did I? I know you're pretty strict about how you present yourself 'n all... Hope I didn't shock you too bad with the hug either... Probably should've asked..." He trailed off, his thoughts getting to him for a moment.

"Oh! I..." Nezu looked somewhat taken aback "Don't worry about such things, Tomu. I do not intend to hide that I have a family now. It will just have to be part of the presentation, here on out" He stated, impassively

The rodents gaze turned to his feet, as he continued, averting his son's eyes "Perhaps - make sure that I can see you first, yes? I'm not always the best with surprises. But, otherwise - this is not something I will ever begrudge you for."

Tomura seemed to relax a little, nodding as the smile on his face grew to look less unsure. "Of course, I'd never sneak up on you or anything- not even sure if that's possible. I just didn't... really know how you felt about hugs, so I figured... after you instigated them a few times and then... When I was 13 in that Reversal quirk..." He shook his head, before clarifying "Nevermind that, I'm rambling- Just-"

He paused for a second "Thanks... for answering that."

"Of course, of course" The principal stated, distractedly. After a moment of hesitance, he looked up again, smiling "I love you too, son"

As the silence settled, Nezu continued hurriedly: "Perhaps, we should get back now? There will be people! Yes. For the both of us"

Tomura’s smile widened, as he nodded along; getting up with much more stability than he initially looked like he had a few minutes ago "Right- Yeah- I should get back before Daichi worries if I've somehow gotten myself injured again-" He let out a chuckle, before heading his way towards the stage exit.

—--

Kurogiri spotted Dabi, along with Daichi closeby, deciding to walk over quietly and greet them "Haven't seen you two in a while."

The portal villain hummed, smiling "Hello there, Dabi; Daichi-san."

Dabi's head whipped back, surprised. "Nether portal?" he asked. After realizing it truly was who he thought, he spoke, an excited tone in his voice, "Hey, how'd you get in here, Nezu invited you?" he almost wanted to hug the man, to reassure himself that Kurogiri was okay once again. Sure he knew he was fine, but deep down, some part of him would always remember the anguished yell Tomura let out, declaring the man standing in front of him dead, and how his stomach still sunk at the thought.

Kurogiri shook his head briefly "Hawks did, actually. Stopped by the bar for old times" He glanced around for a moment contemplatively "And then, I just used my quirk to get here. It appears that my faint memories of UA are enough to teleport here."

Dabi tilted his head at that, "From the USJ? I didn't know they had you do such intense surveillance for that attack, or whatever shit they had you do so you could teleport here." he said, a little confused that he'd been in this room before. "Whatever, I guess. I like your outfit, nice cape."

Kurogiri clarified "Ah- I mean from before I got turned into a Nomu. There's less blocking my memories now that I've broken free of All For One's long term mind control quirks." Lifting his cape slightly to show it off a little "And, thank you!"

Evelyn spotted Kurogiri from the stage and immediately teleported to his side, another huge grin on her face. "Hello Kurogiri!" she almost shouted, obvious excitement in her tone.

Kurogiri then looked to Evelyn, bowing slightly in greeting. "Hello Evelyn-san. Congratulations on being crowned as Homecoming royalty! Are you enjoying the event so far?"

"Thank you! I am! It's good to see you well and don't worry, I've forgiven both you and Toga for the whole kidnapping thing" her tone was genuine as she smiled and then turned to Dabi, waving "Hello"

Dabi came back to awareness quickly, having zoned out with the new presence. "Uh, hey." he said, shortly. "You're the girl from the groupchat, right? The less bitchy one?" he asked in a quiet tone. New people weren't exactly his forte.

"If the bitch that you're talking about is Ace then yes, I'm lesser of two evils. Ace isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea" She chuckled a little, looking around for her frenime to make sure Ace wasn't in earshot "How are you enjoying UA, aside from the people?"

Kurogiri stated, impossible to tell the tone of his voice "I'm enjoying the food a lot, definitely. Lunch Rush is an amazing cook."

"I mean, they feed me, and give me a bed. Yeah I get some shitty glares in the hallways, but it's a fuck ton better than what I had before." Dabi chuckled almost darkly as he spoke, "Alleyways and the leagues old couch were survivable, but, and as much as past me would fucking hate it for me to say this, I think I'm safer, here." he admitted, hesitantly.

Evelyn nodded "You probably are. Out there you run the risk of being arrested but here, everyone either trusts that Nezu knows what he's doing or is too scared of him to go against him... or doesn't know what's going on and those are the people you should avoid. I've had my own issues with the league, but if Nezu trusts you all enough to let you on school property and wants to help then I'll do my best to be respectful and help you all if you ever need it. And if Ace starts getting on your nerves again, let me know and I'll teleport her into a pool."

Dabi snickered at that, "Good to know. I'll take that into account next time she tries to start shit with me." 

He paused, taking a second to go back to mention what she first said, "And don't worry, at this point in so indebted to UA and Nezu and all the shit he's done for my sorry ass, I wouldn't hurt him or the stuff he’s worked for if you paid me. And Tomura... well he's practically a hero in training already." He stopped, chuckling quietly, "How the mighty have fallen, huh?"

"You haven't fallen, merely been given the opportunity to improve your lives with the least amount of collateral damage involved. Aren't you dating the Top 2 Hero in Japan?"

"We met when we were kids, and ended up back in contact cause he was on a really fucked up mission to like... infiltrate the league. I wasn't even at UA yet when we got together." he resigned from mentioning that he came to UA the day after, the fine details were irrelevant…

Evelyn gaped at him "Seriously? That's so cool!" Evelyn jumped up and down a little "So Hawks has been helping this whole time but not in a bad way?"

"Not.. really? Dont let it get out that he was involved, I'm trusting you kid. But no, he really kind of just... showed up sometimes. He was never a part of any of us coming here" He did his best to explain, while leaving some things vague. He didn't want to get Keigo in too much trouble if this shit got around. 

"That was all on Tomu over," He twisted and turned his body, looking for the distinct white hair in the crowd. When he laid his eyes on him, he pointed, "There. If it weren't for his crusty ass, I'd still be raising hell out on the streets.”

"Well then you were clearly meant to be heroes from the beginning. People don't just come to this school without wanting to do better. And if not heroes then at least not running around in trashy alleyways. I know what that's like and it’s not fun."

Dabi's head tilted at the girl. What did she mean by, 'I know what that's like'? "Nah, being a hero just isn't for me, My old man drilled that into my head enough. I kinda just came here for protection. I thought they were gonna take me into custody right when I arrived, but even then, better to be arrested than tortured for information by fucking AFO, you know?" 

Quietly, somewhere in the back of his head was whispering about how he'd wanted to protect Tomura and himself, and that he hadn't cared what happened to him, as long as AFO couldn't pick his brain. "Tomura though... I can agree with you. I don't think he knows it yet, but he's gonna make one hell of a hero."

Speak of the devil, the white-haired wonder was stumbling through the crowd to get to them. Finally arriving, he pointed up tiredly, but in a victorious fashion. One could almost suspect it could be in homage to All Might "I'm-... not injured! Don't worry!" He panted, slumped over with his hands balancing his upper body on his knees "Sorry- ..I took so long-! Damn, that was.. a bigger crowd than I expected.."

Dabi 'Pfft-'ed to himself at Tomura’s worn out state, "You struggling there, Crusty?" he teased, playfully slinging an arm over the other man's shoulder, "Congrats on being 'Royalty'. You're fucking popular now, I guess." Dabi reached up to the crown on Tomura’s head, and skewed it to the side.

Evelyn snorted "Your highness" she bowed to him "Welcome to the group of people who are surprised to win because they didn't think they were popular enough."

"Speak for yourself-" Dabi added quietly.

Tomura huffed in response to Dabi's teasing "Navigating through hundreds of dancing highschoolers is difficult, okay-?" He let out a short chuckle "Thanks, Dabi"

Turning to Evelyn, his chuckle turned a little nervous "Yeah... And not even, like... 30 or 50%... 73%- I mean what the fuck?" He let out a small sigh, still in blissful disbelief "I thought Dad messed with the votes at first- but no, apparently-"

"Nope. You've actually made yourself quite popular around here. And it's a good thing." She nodded.

Lightheartedly, Tomura asked "Okay, but like... How? What did I do besides being adopted by Dad-?"

"Great question, I have no clue but honestly, I think its because of how hard you're working to get away from your past. You're here, training to be a hero. Everyone's probably impressed"

Tomura stuttered slightly at Evelyn's response already "I-I'm not really training to be a h-" Then as he was promptly cut off by Dabi, he realized that was a pretty stupid question of him to ask.

Dabi stared at him, blankly, "You're kidding, right?" 

When he decided Tomura was in fact, not being facetious, he looked at him incredulously, before going on a rant, "Well 1, as Evelyn here said, you're working fucking HARD for redemption. 2, you were the best option on the survey. 3, the Principal of their fucking school trusts you and clearly cares about you, something they've never seen from him. 4, you've been nothing but kind to everyone, and 5, I don't know if you forgot, but you literally beat the most dangerous supervillain to ever exist in your literal DEBUT as someone who was no longer a villain." 

Dabi huffed as he finished, "So is THAT enough reasons why?"

Almost speechless, he argued "Uh- I-I mean every former league member option could've been a completely valid" Tomura paused, before sighing in defeat, and nodding "... Yeah, that's enough..."

"Glad you understand. I don't know how I got it either considering the crap I've pulled so honestly, let's just enjoy the win, learn from the past and try to avoid getting called to Nezu’s office for doing something stupid"

Idly, Tomura mumbled "Usually I'm just called to his office if someone else did something stupid...-" He sighed a little "That's why I'm even staying here in the first place, actually-"

Evelyn nodded "I get called in for getting into fights... and joining the Russian Mafia... and for various other things" her voice trailed off and she awkwardly grinned.

Nodding along, Tomura mumbled comedically "Usually I only get called in if All For One targets me directly... It's happened a lot since I left"

"I'm sorry, I think we're brushing over the fact that this hero student is in the Russian Mafia-" Dabi was... truthfully confused by this whole conversation. This was someone who was supposed to be a pinnacle in society, talking about being in on of the toughest crime syndicates in the world. He supposed this did prove the anti hero society ideology, but he didn't mind this girl, which made him extra confused.

Tomura mumbled, glancing to Dabi "I'm gonna be honest, absolutely nothing has phased me about these students ever since the entire groupchat started admitting that they'd committed murder-"

"Hey hey! Congrats on winning royalty Eve! You as well Tomura" Luka smiled, resting her elbow on Eve's shoulder as she waltzed up to the group. "Anywho, what about murder?"

"Dabi is shocked that a high school, in-training hero is in a crime syndicate, and Tomura isn't. Do you reckon I should tell them about the Vigilante past?" Evelyn half whispered the last part to her friend, giggling.

"I'm sorry, can you fucking blame me?" Dabi crossed his arms in front of his chest, angrily.

"True..." Evelyn looked nervously at him, stepping backwards slightly "why are you getting so heated up about it?" she let some defensiveness come into her voice, on edge from his reaction.

Tomura looked a little nervous as he saw tension start to build, looking to Dabi "Um... Are you okay, Dabi...?"

Dabi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, "Sorry, I didn't get to medicate today. My emotions are all out of fucking wack and there's nothing I can do about it. I'll try to be better, okay?" He spoke genuinely, almost guiltily, his tone getting calmer as he went on.

Evelyn looked between all of them, and then to the floor "I'm just going to go to the bathroom" She muttered, turning on her heel and striding away.

Tomura relaxed a bit, offering "You want a hug, Dabi?" In an attempt to lighten the mood a little, he added on in a lighthearted tone "I've gotten pretty good at them lately, lots of practice."

Dabi nodded minutely, walking over to his brother and opening his arms. "Thanks... probably doesn't help that I let myself get all touch starved and shit again, so yeah, I could use a hug."

Tomura smiled a little, hugging onto Dabi with little to no hesitation, though careful not to mess with his dress too much. "Yeah, probably not." He chuckled a little.

Luka glanced between the two and gave a slight nod before doing a full 180 back into the crowd to go find either a spiked punch bowl or someone she knew, preferably her friend or girlfriend.

Dabi gave him one final squeeze before letting go, grateful for the contact. He could feel the tension in his muscles start to relax as he calmed down, and let his shoulders slump from the once tense position they were in. "Okay, now that that shit is over with, what's the plan?" as he spoke, he noticed the 2 now missing members of their group, "It looks like we lost 2 people-"

Tomura glanced back to the others, a little concerned about the two missing students "Ah... There was a plan...?"

Remembering, Tomura muttered to himself "Oh- right-" 

The former villain turned to Daichi, chuckling as he offered "We still haven't tried out what we practiced on the dance floor didn’t we, you still up for that now???"

Daichi had been going through his camera, sorting through the, perhaps slightly excessive number of pictures he'd taken from the ceremony. Some disappointment came to him, as he listened in on the conversation; he'd really hoped that people would just get along a bit, today...

The blond perked up, hearing his friend address him. Putting his device away, a mischievous grin appeared on his face "Of course, whenever you are ready, your highness!" He gave a dramatic bow, not quite managing to suppress a chortle as he came back up.

Dabi turned away, trying to give them some time together to just... have fun. "I'm gonna go grab something to eat, I'll see you guys later, yeah? Text me if you need any help." he smiled and waved at them, before walking away.

Tomura turned to wave back to Dabi, before turning back to the other. "Pff- Daichi-" Fixing the crown on his head so it wasn't offset anymore, he rolled his eyes in a humorous manner "We can head over to the dance floor right now, then?" Tomura offered out his hand, "If we can't pull it off- Oh well, we just gotta practice for next time, right?"

—--

Evelyn stood in front of the table, assessing the food and drink selections with a frown. Deciding on one drink, she picked up a cup and ladled some in before taking a sip, grimacing at the taste of cheap alcohol mixed with fruit punch.

Dabi walked over and got in line for the buffet. As he walked through, he grabbed different foods he wanted and filled up his plate, excitedly.

Evelyn took another sip, her eyes glancing to the side, narrowing as she realized Dabi was next to her. She quickly chugged back the rest of the drink then picks up a cupcake and turns to face him. "I wouldn't have any of the fruit punch if you're against illegal activity." she spoke matter-of-factly.

"Is it spiked already? Jesus they move fast." he commented, grabbing a cup and filling it with the liquid. "It's a good thing I'm well above the drinking age." he took a sip, and almost immediately spit it back into his cup, "Fuck, they didn't even use the good shit.." he sulked, mournfully taking even smaller sips of the nasty drink.

"What you said was rude." Evelyn spoke evenly, bringing up the conversation from earlier while fixing Dabi with a cool stare. "I get that I'm training to be a hero while also being a part of that group but you do not get to judge me when some of the shit you've pulled could've been just as bad and you don't know my past. Just like you, I'm trying to do better."

"...Why don't we go sit and chat, hm?" Dabi offered, moving over to a table in the corner of the room.

Evelyn scooped up more drink into her cup and followed after him with a huff.

Sitting down in the chair, Dabi began to speak, "Listen kid," he started, "I'm sorry if I.. hurt you. I think.. God this makes me feel fucking old to say, hearing you talk about all the shit you've done.. it just reminds me of myself when I was younger. Obviously I wasn't in the mafia," he chuckled softly, "But just.. crime in general." He took a deep breath, "Look, I would've killed to be in your spot, I kind of did.. So it just makes me angry to see someone who has everything I wanted, everything that would've saved me from going down the route I did, still getting involved with crime." He took a deep breath, and sighed, "But that's not my place, and I shouldn't have brought it up, so.. yeah. Sorry."

"At age 9, I was sexually assaulted because of who I love. I only got away because of my quirk. I then trained so that the next time something happened to me or someone I knew or even a stranger, I could stop it. When I was 14 I was recruited by a Vigilante and dropped out of school, cutting off contact with everyone including my mum. 

I lost the person I trained with who became like a father figure to me after he was killed in an attack by Ace when she lost control of her quirk and was then convinced to join UA by her team that’s run by the hero commission to go straight. 

I still do some Vigilante work on the side and being a part of the mafia is to do with that. And through all of this, the only reason why I've done what I've done is so that others don't go what I went through." 

Evelyn took a large gulp of her drink, giving Dabi time to process what she'd said. "Not once have I ever done something like rob a bank or try to level a city. All of my work has been for good, albeit with some murder here and there. 

I've killed to be here Dabi so please do not look at me and think I've had this handed to me. I might be younger than you but I've had my fair share of rough starts and shitty situations. I went down that route and the only reason why I stopped briefly is because I lost someone important to me and didn't know what to do with myself. 

I get that you're angry and I think you deserve to have gone to this school and I think if you had, you would be up in the top 10 heroes. But don't get angry with me when you don't know my situation." She finished with a sigh, leaning back in her chair, playing with the end of her usual braid.

Dabi blinked at her, more than a little shocked by the outflow of words, "I'm... sorry, kid. I didn't have your exact situation, obviously. But.. I do get it, more than you'd think. My father was one of those eugenics assholes. 

I was the first of 4 bioengineered children. He thought I was worthy, atleast at first. He'd tell me every day how great of a hero I'd be, how I'd beat All Might and how I was his masterpiece. When I got my quirk, he was less excited, but still had hope. It wasn't what he wanted, but my flames were hotter, stronger than his, so he tried to train me still, hoping his next 'experiment' would be a success." He spoke fast, as if he had to get it all out. 

"That all went downhill when he realized I didn't inherit his fire resistance. He tried to still train me, to build up a resistance, but after years of the same abuse, making me use my fire for hours until the skin on my hands were all one big burn, shooting his own fire at me until you could see more bandaids than skin, he finally gave up. 

In a last ditch effort, he sent me to a commission training facility. They pushed me harder, but then, after a year and a half, they too came to the conclusion that I was a lost cause. He told me I was worthless, that I could never be a hero. I begged him to keep training me, I just wanted to be what he'd always wanted me to be, wanted to be perfect, and eventually, he agreed. One more try. 

For the next few years he tried, getting angrier and angrier as I failed to make progress until finally... he burned me. Worse than he ever had. That's when I got the first of these," Dabi lifted his arms shakily, raising them into a defensive position, one that brought him back to that very day. He turned them as he spoke, showing the old grafts. 

"After that, I spiraled. A few weeks later, my brother got his quirk, the perfect quirk, and, well, father was done with me. I kept training by myself, I'd be a hero, it was my destiny, and finally, the UA entrance exams came and went.

I waited by the mailbox everyday, waiting for the letter to come, but the one day I wasn't there, my father got to it first. He screamed, so so loud," 

Dabi raised his hands to his ears, cupping them as if to block out the yells, "How dare I have gone behind his back like that? Didn't I know I was worthless? He pushed me to the ground, and stormed out. 

When I heard my little brother’s screams, he was so young, just a child, I knew I had to get out of there. I ran to an old training ground and started sobbing, shooting fire everywhere, when a kid, couldn't have been more than 15, came up to me. He thought I was my father. He started ranting and raving about how cool End- my father was, and I couldn't take it. I killed him." Dabi started gasping, he'd been speaking so fast, reliving so many memories, he forgot to breathe. A bloody tear slipped down his face, seemingly unnoticed as he continued.

"I ran away, obviously. I'd just killed someone, I couldn't stay. I'll never really know, if I got in or not, but it's not like that matters now. After that, I lived on the streets for 9 years. I only just got by, having to do some... really bad things to make it. 

I still have nightmares, to back then. The streets aren't kind to kids, and neither are those who inhabit them. 

Eventually I got the rest of these fucking grafts, and joined the league. And that's all there is to it, to me." Dabi took a deep breath, placing his hands on his face and running them up and through his hair. He'd never told anyone that, not to that extent.

"Shit, I kinda.. dumped on you there, kid. Sorry. I just heard your story and figured.. maybe you'd understand, at least a little. I'll just.." He stood up from the table, getting ready to leave. "I'll just go, yeah? Don't tell anyone what I said to you, please." he pushed in his chair, and tried to walk away, his thin frame shaking.

"Hey" Evelyn spoke softly and stood with him, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking away. 

She hesitated for a moment before gently hugging him "Your father is a piece of absolute crap and doesn't deserve the amount of praise he gets. You went through hell Dabi." 

She released him, stepping back and scratching at one of the old scars on her arm "And before you go asking, how do I know who your dad is, going off of what you told me, it's not hard to guess. Your secret's safe with me I can promise you that and I'm guessing Shoto doesn't know?"

Dabi's body shook as she talked to him. He flinched when she hugged him, but quickly settled into the comforting touch. "No... Shoto knows. About a year ago, during the last dorm attacks, he found out. I'd been having a bad pain day, so I self medicated, if you know what I mean. Didn't know there was an attack planned that day, and I get manic when I'm using. Some part of my subconscious told me to tell him, and we'll, that was that." he explained, quietly. He'd regretted telling Sho the moment he'd done it, but some things you just can't take back.

Evelyn grimaced "Maybe not the best way to tell your brother. If you want to compare on how our families found out though, my mum saw a news report after not talking to me for 4 years and then called me to have a go." She grinned and shook her head in amusement, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Our relationship is a lot better now thankfully but I wish she'd found out in a better way and not through a report about how I may or may not have chopped someone's leg off..." 

Dabi nodded as she spoke, trying to be attentive. "Yeah, shit man, I imagine that would suck. 'M happy you're in contact with her though, I haven't seen my mom in.." He took a moment to count on his fingers, "12 years, give or take. I'm not even gonna get into the... chopping someone's leg off. Whatever makes you happy, I guess." he chuckled quietly, slowly coming back to himself.

Finally arriving, the bird with the crimson wings walked into the auditorium, he was wearing a tan suit with red feathers peaking out of his pocket, a corset fit perfectly around his waist, accentuating his more feminine features. His winged eyeliner popped as his hair was pulled up into a wavy bun while two strands of hair dangled in his...beautiful face. His golden eyes scanned the room as he felt... anxious. He had never really been to... a dance. He barely remembered it since he was... only young when he attended one.

"Well looks like someone decided to be the best dressed here" Evelyn pouted and fiddled with the trim of her own corset.

The moment he saw, Dabi felt his heart speed up. He'd missed him so much, it was so nice to see him again.

Evelyn looked between the two with a degree of jealousy "Well, this has been sufficiently awkward. Thanks for the chat Dabi, enjoy your evening." Evelyn turned and quickly walked away, heading out of the dance altogether and back to her dorm.

—--

Daichi stood at his friend's side, at the edge of the dance floor. At its centre, people were slowly coming to a halt as the music quieted down. "We're joining the next round, yeah Tomu? You feelin ready?" The blond offered, excitement showing. "Nothing to be too nervous about, we're crushing this!" Offhandedly "And besides, probably not the only ones doin this for a first time here, eh?"

Tomura chuckled, nodding along with Daichi "Y-Yeah! I'm just gonna try to use the adrenaline from being on-stage to help me out a little-" He shook out his hands a little, in anticipation; letting out a small laugh "I'm still a little shaky from that...!"

Spotting someone leaving, near the front, the student tugged at his friend's coat "Alright, let's do this then!" Confidently, the blond strode onto the dance floor - waiting for Tomura to join him.

The volume slowly settled, as people around them got into position. Daichi offered his left hand, suppressing a giggle "If his majesty would do me the honor?"

Tomura couldn't help it as a smile slipped through his attempted cool demeanor, taking Daichi’s hand as he approached.

He quickly stepped into place, setting his other hand on Daichi’s arm. Half-jokingly, Tomura teased "If you don't stop calling me that, I'll call you 'my knight' for the rest of the year-"

The blond smiled back, placing his own arm behind Tomura's shoulder "Well then, good thing we only got three weeks left your grace, eh?" Daichi hushed, as the music started. He started the dance, following the practiced steps. At first, cautiously, making sure to move in coordination with his friend (and out of the way of any other swinging arms), slowly growing more confident as they continued.

Tomura commented idly, still in a teasing tone "That's still a pretty long time, you sure?" 

He kept his gaze focused down for the first minute or so to make sure nothing went too awry too soon, Then, he raised his focus back to Daichi "Woo-! We didn't mess up the start!" He said jokingly, acting as a vocal checkpoint of their progress.

"Hmmm... I think I'll take my chances, Sire" Daichi teased back, chuckling. Cheerfully: "No need to sound so surprised, eh? We're awesome - of course we're smashing th- ah, sorry ma'm!" The blond narrowly avoided bumping into a teacher.He moved them slightly off to the side, before continuing, just as energetically. A couple students were gawking at them, from the sides, Daichi flashing them a grin. 

"See? Even got yourself an audience" He winked "This was always gonna look awesome with that costume of yours, eh? The crown fits in pretty well too, honestly!"

Victoriously, Tomura whispered as he refocused his steps to accommodate for the falter "And that's why I take my small victories"

He mumbled to himself, a bit quieter "It's sad that I have all the dazzle here, you should get something too..." Letting out a small laugh, he said "A knight has to look presentable, in accordance to the king, right?"

Daichi straightened himself, slowing his steps with the music. With a serious tone: "Albeit my lord! I fear, my meager wages shall suffice for no more than this humble attire!" 

The blond managed to keep a solemn expression for barely a second, before laughing out loud, wavering somewhat in his steps. Feigning annoyance: "You're distracting me, Tomu! Almost lost balance there again" He huffed.

Tomura laughed, more openly this time as he slowed his own steps in time with Daichi "I didn't mean it in that way, Dai- You don't gotta spend any money. I already have what I need, just wait until the end of this round" 

He apologized, lightheartedly sighing "Ah, sorry!"

Sighing: “I suppose I can accept the apology, coming from you” the blond stated, dramatically “your majesty” 

Daichi slowed down further, coming to a halt, as the music subsided; waiting for the sound to disappear completely before letting go. Enthusiastically: “Well, that was a lot of fun, eh? And barely had any accidents!” he released his breath “That got me winded though, think I might need a break already…” he said, a bit sheepishly “Man, never knew this was so much work!”

As they slowed to a stop, Tomura let out a small laugh and hugged close to Daichi for a few moments before letting go "Yeah-! Surprisingly tiring-" 

Tomura glanced behind them, before hurriedly mentioning "Let's hurry before the next round starts!" He smiled widely "I got something to give you-"

Daichi’s face was visibly red, though he’d write it off as physical exhaustion. He sunk his hands into his pockets as they stepped off the dance floor. He glanced at his friend, somewhat confused. “Something to give me?” He repeated, a bit awkwardly “Tomu, we’re still 2 weeks off from Christmas, ya know?”

Tomura shook his head, laughing a little to himself "Nah, I'm still thinking on that. Something else-"

Tomura pulled off the sash he had on carefully and presented it to his friend, a wide, genuine smile on his face "Here- Now you can have a little dazzle! I already have the crown anyways!"

"You sash? You won that!-" Daichi gave off an audible sigh, before taking the item with a small bow "Well, if you insist - I shall humbly accept this charitable offering, Sire" 

He chuckled, as he draped it over his shoulders. "So....waddya think? Fits me?" The blond asked, a genuine smile on his face "Thanks a bunch, Tomu!"

Tomura nodded enthusiastically, complimenting "It looks amazing on you, Dai! And, no problem at all!"

Continuing; "You're like, half the reason I'm even here anyways; you deserve it."

Daichi waved it off "You got yourself here. Don't sell yourself short, Tomu." he reprimanded, lightly, before conceding; "Annnd your dad, I guess. Pretty sure he's the reason I know ya in the first place - always has something planned out... But, that crown? That's all on you, eh?" 

The blond nudged his friend, cheerfully: "So - waddya wanna do now? One more round, before we get somethin for dinner?"

Tomura argued back, lightheartedly "I guarantee you, I wouldn't have made progress this quickly without you." He smiled to himself, his face flushing slightly as his tone got a bit quieter "But, thanks anyways"

At the nudge, Tomura questioned teasingly "You've recovered already?"

"Alright, then! One more time, then dinner" He agreed, holding out his hand in an invitation.

"Well, I gotta show off my awesome new outfit, don't I?" The blond laughed, taking Tomura's hand, before guiding him to the dance floor 

Daichi placed his other arm over the boy's shoulder, waiting for the music to start "Let's see if we can get through this without any stumbling, this time" He whispered, grinning excitedly.

—--

As soon as their dancing subsided, the pair head over to the collection of tables. Tomura approached the table, in awe of the sheer variety of food prepared "Wow, this looks amazing...! I've only seen Kurogiri make something like this for holidays, and that was tiny in comparison"

Daichi trailed the boy from behind; somewhat exhausted, but cheerful as always. "Yeah, U.A. does really go all the way with everything they do, don't they? Ain't gonna complain, all the dancing's got me starving!" 

He chuckled, scanning the room for a seat. "Where do you wanna sit, Tomu? Oh, maybe we could join Dabi over th-" spotting the man seated next to said ex-villain "Orrr maybe he might appreciate if we leave em alone for now. Ah... Let's just get some food first, yeah?" He grinned

Tomura nodded enthusiastically at the first remark, before turning to check the arrangement of tables to sit at for a brief moment. "Yeah, we can deal with where to sit after-"

Tomura then began to go along the tables, and serve himself a plate; though hesitant to serve too much.

Daichi took his own plate, quickly following behind his friend to the buffet stations. Glancing over his shoulder: “Not too hungry, Tomu? Don’t think they’re running out of food any time soon, ya know” the taller boy quipped, piling on a slightly more generous portion for himself, before heading to an empty seat some distance away from Dabi and Hawks.

Tomura trailed behind Daichi, admitting with a slightly guilty tone in his voice "Ah... I gotta be careful 's all, forgetting to eat often, and then suddenly eating a lot; doesn't really mix well."

Daichi looked at him unhappily “Tomu… I’m not gonna have to start sending you reminders, am I” he half-joked. The student took a seat, waiting  for his friend to answer; concern showing in his eyes.

Tomura awkwardly chuckled as he took a seat next to Daichi "Ah... Maybe..." The former villain let out a sigh "I can tell you, back at the apartment; it was so much easier to remember. Mostly because there's so much less to do there, less to distract me- Y'know?"

"... I probably need to head back at some time to get something, anyways." He added on, muttering.

“I’ll take that as a yes” The blond gave a resigned sigh. “But, glad to hear I’m getting my neighbor back!  Was getting lonely there, I mean, the others are all lovely people, but they’re also like, twice my age, ya know?” He chuckled

“Also, definitely better for my peace of mind. God knows what kind of dangerous stuff you get yourself into when you’re off somewhere…” the blond grumbled, lightheartedly.

"Then, all there's to worry about is if Dad will be chill with it." Tomura chuckled to himself, taking a bite of his food "Wouldn't wanna leave him too lonely, after I've stayed here so long."

Replying to the second remark "Still might do a few... Mission-Esque type things, but that depends on if Dad will let me help with it or not." He added on, comedically "Mostly, because of that."

Daichi had started his own meal. He frowned at the mention of more missions. Thinking about an answer, he joked; "Well, I guess your dad's gonna have to learn to share then, eh?" He chuckled "He's old enough, I'm sure he can handle it every now and then. And definitely isn't short on things to do..." 

Sighing: "I guess there are some things you just gotta do, whether I like em or not, huh? Just, do your best to stay safe and-" 

He paused, searching for words "Tell me if I can help with anythin, yeah? I know, I know, I probably can't do much if ya get in fights or something like that, but... for other stuff!"

Tomura chuckled as he took a few more bites. Thinking of how to respond, he waited a few moments before nodding along "Yeah, maybe... It'd still be a risk of you getting hurt, no matter how harmless it may seem... So only if you're up to deal with some pretty harsh situations."

Looking contemplative, he hesitated. "The mission's Dad's sent me on have not been for the faint of heart even without just the plain violence, and I'm just used to being in high-stakes regularly like that. So... Don't let my own input lead you to believe it isn't... As severe as you expect..."

Genuinely, he looked over at Daichi and smiled "You don't deserve to deal with that shit just because I do, and if I'm honest- You help so much just by being there at the end of the day. I'm not even being dramatic or anything-"

Daichi looked rather uncharacteristically downcast, as he poked around his meal, distractedly. Ater an uncomfortable period of silence, he answered. "Yeah... I figured as much. Was really hoping it was just some... really bad luck that you always ended up that battered after the job, eh?"

"That, was always gonna be unrealistic, in retro. Can't pretend I like it one bit to leave ya out there riskin your life, while I'm sitting at home behind some textbook or something! But... I guess, a hero's gotta hero, huh?" He chuckled, morosely - coughing a bit. A small, fond smile creeped up the blond's face "And don't you dare start with that "not a hero" nonsense now, I don't care if it's not official." 

"Well... I guess if ya don't want me gettin involved with those... jobs your dad gives you... I'll leave ya be. But if you ever have anything else that's troubling you - you're telling me. Promised?" Daichi stated, tone serious.

He admitted lightheartedly "Yeah, those bigger injuries are more bad luck- But in comparison to the barrages of gunshots I could've taken instead..." He made a vague gesture, laughing a little at his own misfortune. "Always seem to be conveniently disintegrating a load-bearing wall by accident..." He added, quickly "Maybe that's what you could do, help me figure out what walls I can't destroy before I go-" 

Tomura rolled his eyes for a moment, before reluctantly accepting "Yeah, Yeah... You can call me that all you want, but I am not, until I get a license- Or, just get in the course."

He sighed, softly, breaking eye contact before smiling at him again; still genuine "I'm already ahead of ya on that one, Dai. I've told you about nearly every problem I've had since we went to Yakitori with Aizawa." He leaned onto his friend a little, seeming content. "And it'll stay that way, promise."

Daichi grimaced at the mention of past injuries. As his friend leaned in; "Tomu-" Daichi protested, half-heartedly, before letting himself relax, giving Tomura a light pat on the back. "Alright, alright... but I'm holdin ya to that, eh?" 

Noticing the crown sliding off - the blond caught the item, readjusting it on top of the others head. Playfully: "Wouldn't wanna lose that now, your majesty" He held a thin smile; slowly, regaining his usual cheerful demeanour.

Tomura nodded, smiling back up at him as he helped keep the crown on his head "Of course, swear on my life!" He paused, awkwardly "Maybe that isn't the best thing to swear on, here-" He laughed a little.

"I think, you may have chosen the least convenient person to be friends with... But I'm sure as hell not gonna make you regret that choice, Daichi."

The blond gave Tomura a deadpan "Not very reassuring that that's the first thing you're wagering" He sighed "But, thanks. Really! Don't think I'd ever regret bumping into ya, so don't ya start worrying about it" Daichi grinned brightly, ruffling his friends hair - the crown barely managing to stay in place "Can't have everything in life be convenient, where's the fun in that, eh? Just, don't wanna lose you" 

Crossing his arms: "Enough of that though, you still got a meal to finish, mister" he admonished, lightly.

Tomura chuckled a little, turning back to his food "Yeah, yeah... I getcha, I'm eating, don't worry." He took a few more bites, emphasizing them to prove his point.

Seemingly satisfied, Daichi dug back into his own meal "Jsusht checking!" A bit embarrassed, Daichi covered his mouth and swallowed. Feeling his phone vibrate, the blond quickly checked his messages, a wide smile appearing on his face as he typed back. Excitedly: "They're actually gonna give - man, didn't believe this would work in a hundred years!" 

Glancing over too his friend: "Think you can convince your dad to let you go for a bit next week? Wouldn't wanna bother you for Christmas, of course... buuuut, just for half a day, maybe, before after?" He said, tone pleading "Really gotta show ya something!"

Tomura looked up from his place, swallowing his last bite quickly while he nodded "-Of course, yeah!" 

He smiled, wiping off his mouth with a napkin. "Where at-? To meet at least- Your apartment, or...?"

"Yep! Well... probably, not completely sure how this'll work" The student frowned pensive "Well, ya can come over either way. My place - don't think I ever invited ya over properly, did I?"

Chuckling, Tomura shook his head "Nah... I think I popped in for a second to help you carry in groceries, but that's it. Never really got to look around."

"Then it's settled! You're definitely coming over, then. Can't just keep popping up uninvited at, wherever you're staying every, can I? " Daichi stated firmly. Finishing his own meal, he put the plate away, content "Soo... waddya wanna do now, eh?" He quickly suppressed a yawn, looking a bit sheepish.

Tomura corrected playfully, his signature catlike grin showing itself "What are you talking about??? You're always invited, by me!"

He paused for a few moments, turning to his finished plate "Hm... I mean, there's not much left to do, here at least... I still got my console set up in the Teacher's lounge...?"

The ex-villain shrugged "But I'm perfectly fine just talking and chilling out with ya here!"

“Teacher’s office it is!” Daichi answered  “I’m glad ya appreciate my company and all, but I still gotta get my revenge” 

Daichi took both their trays, quickly bringing them back to the kitchen, before returning to his friend, upbeat “Orrrr…. We I ask Mic-nii if we can borrow the stage projector real quick, and set up a game there!” he grinned “Gives it a bit of an atmosphere, eh? Could see if anyone else wants to join in!”

Tomura chuckled, shaking his head for a few moments as he pushed himself up from the table. 

"Daichi, that'd just be adding like, a ton more competitors for you to go up against. You're already struggling to beat me " He pointed out lightheartedly.

“Tomuuuuu-“ Daichi pouted, as they made their way to the exit “I’m not that bad - you’re just really good. I think.” He nudged his friend, a smirk on his face 

“I’m totally still winning today though. Well… one round at least. Might take a bit but…” The blond laughed, as he held the door open - giving the villain a theatrical bow “After you, your majesty”

Tomura hummed confidently "I guess we'll just have to see."

"I just don't want'cha to bite off more than you can chew! There's likely dozens of students here that are better than me."

He giggled a little at the theatrical gesture, bowing a little himself in return, as he stepped through the doorway "Why thank you, my prince."

"Better than you? Nope, never, not a chance" Daichi denied, seemingly genuinely confused with the idea, that someone would outclass him even harder than Tomura already did.

—--

Hawks approached his lover with curious eyes, the honey blonde seemed to almost float across the room with such elegance towards his love. A smile tugged on his soft lips as he waved nervously at Dabi. "Hello, hummingbird, fancy seeing you here" he said in a soft, melodious tone.

Dabi snapped to attention at the sound of Keigo's voice. It'd been so long since he'd seen him, and in his emotion driven state he felt his eyes start to water at the sheer relief of seeing him once again. "Birdie.." he whispered, before launching himself at his boyfriend, wrapping his arms tightly around Hawks's waist, "I missed you, how have you been, Love?"

Hawks' eyes seemed to water as he wrapped his arms around his lover, he gazed into Dabi's brilliantly blue eyes. "I missed you too.. I've been.. Okay. Honestly wishing to just quit my job as a hero to spend every moment with you..." he let out a soft laugh as he reached up to brush his thumb against Dabi's rough cheek.

Dabi chuckled at Hawks's words. He was so happy to be in his lover's arms again, and felt himself quickly relaxing from his once distressed state. "Oh noo, don't do thatt!" he whispered, sarcastically.

"Have you been... okay, lately? I've been really worried about you." he unwrapped one of his arms from Keigo's waist, bringing it to his neck to play with the feather. It'd become a nervous stim for him ever since his love left, and he surely wasn't going to try to break it now. It made him feel closer to him, almost grounding.

Hawks giggled softly and smiled up at him, "Ill be okay.. I'll... Give more details later but for right now.. Can we just enjoy eachothers company?" he said his voice...softly cracking in a way he was almost begging.

He had been through a lot and all he wanted was to be with Dabi. Have no other cares in the world other than to just be them. Hawks always felt Dabi stimming. He made the feather lift up and brush Dabi's cheek, affectionately. He then buried his face into Dabi's neck his heart racing as he tried to calm himself down and get rid of the memories and thoughts in his head.

Dabi tittered at the feeling of the feather on his face. He turned his head, and pressed a soft kiss to the side of Keigo's head, taking in the comforting smell of his hair. "Alright, darlin'. Want me to just talk about what I've been doing lately, get your mind off things?" he offered, talking quietly into Keigo's ear.

Hawks nodded slightly before raising his eyes to look at Dabi, "Please, id love to know how you've been... and what you've been doing" he had to restrain himself from curling into his lover because they were at a formal event and he couldn’t really do that.

Dabi pressed another kiss to his temple. He could feel how tense his body was and he wanted to help. "Well," he started, "You know how Tomura and Daichi have... whatever going on with them?" he waited for Hawks's reply before continuing, "Wanna guess who I just taught to ballroom dance together?" he laughed, "They're so oblivious, it's almost funny at this point." he hugged Keigo closer, giving him a little squeeze and smiling down at him. "They're so far in their denial, remind me a little of us, before." he chuckled again. Thinking about it now, it was like a reality show, a will they/wont they situation. Regardless, Dabi thought it was pretty funny.