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The park was lush with greenery, summer flowers overflowing from flower beds situated near benches located under groomed trees.It was a truly lovely place, a bubble of tranquility in the middle of the city, right in front of a hero agency. Usually establishments like that had some features broadcasting what hero they belonged to - a banner
, a motto, a sign above the main entrance. This one was only a bunch of colorful posters on a board next to the doors. A five story building with blue walls could not be more inconspicuous, but ask anyone on the street and they’d tell you it was the Twin Star Agency.
Rin sighed, trying to take in as much of her surroundings as she could. She was sitting on a bench facing the agency building. She was so close and yet so far.
Today was a special day. There was a meet and greet event at the agency, fans were already waiting in a queue extending from the front entrance down one of the sidewalks. Rin couldn’t really see the gathered people, they were a fuzzy, hard to decipher mass like a multicolor shadow of blurred pixels cast across a picture. Unconsciously she reached to the side, where her white cane was propped against the side of the bench. She took a deep breath, not letting her hope die. Her friend Miroku was inside the agency now, hopefully talking to someone on the staff, asking for a favor for her. The crowd was big though, a lot of excited people, there was no telling if she’d get extra time with the heroes and in a more secluded space so her senses wouldn’t get overwhelmed. There were so many fans wanting to see the Wonder Duo.
“May I sit here?” she twitched when she heard a voice to the side and she instinctively turned that way. She couldn't see the person there, but the voice was female and kind.
“Oh, of course,” Rin nodded and scooted a bit closer to her end of the bench. She was blind, but her quirk allowed her to perceive the world around her in a way, but with a delay. It would take a minute or two before she could ‘see’ the woman. And things that moved a lot would also appear to her mind blurry.She started to play with the strap of her bright orange bag, listening to the woman sitting down on the bench and setting some crinkling plastic bag at her side.
“Are you a fan of the Twin Stars?” the woman asked in a conversational tone. Rin nodded and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Um, yes, I am,” she said softly, brushing her fingers over a collection of pins adorning her bag.. The woman hummed, probably admiring them.
“Are you going to the meeting?” she inquired politely. Rin nodded.
“Yeah,” she turned her face towards the agency building. “I mean, if I can..”
“Why couldn’t you?” the woman asked. By now Rin could see her. She was a middle aged plump lady in a dark blue cardigan and with dark hair pulled in a loose bun. Her big green eyes and round face looked familiar, but Rin was fairly certain she hadn’t seen her before.
Rin sighed.
“Um, well, I need a minute or two for my quirk to let me see things,” she explained. The lady seemed nice enough and talking to her was better than to just sit there nervous and uncertain, waiting for Miroku to come back. “And big crowds are a bit too much.”
“Ah, I see,” the woman probably nodded as she spoke. “Well. then. My son works at the agency, I’m sure that I can ask him to arrange a more private meeting space for you and the duo.”
Rin stiffened at that and groaned inwardly. Scratch her previous assessment of the lady. She has dealt in the past with people like her. The kind that was nice and wanted to help the poor girl. And it seemed the lady was one of those who thought that it was a good idea to introduce their - assumedly - awesome and nice son to a girl was a sure fire way to get said son a girlfriend. She had dealt with far too many boys expecting her to go on dates with them only because they had helped her without her actually asking for help.
“Erm, lady, it’s not nece-”
“I got katsudon, come get it,” she heard the lady chirp. She wasn’t listening to her, no, she was probably already on the phone with her son. “I’m in my usual spot.”
After that short message the lady started shuffling in her bag. Rin took a deep breath.
“Listen, lady, there was no need for that,” she said, trying to sound assertive. “My friend is figuring out the issue and…”
“Katsudon!”
Whatever Rin was about to say fled from her mind at the sound of that voice, at the sudden sensation like some invisible force was pressing against her whole body. A smell similar to ozone wafted in the air and Rin almost forgot how to breathe.
The woman’s son worked in the agency. Sure he did.
“Hello, dear. Here's your lunch,” the woman sounded amused. She shifted on the bench and a person sat next to her. If Rin outstretched her hand she could touch his shoulder.
Something in the back of her head was screeching since the second she heard that voice and she wished with all her heart she could already see the man sitting between herself and the lady who had summoned one of the most famous people in Japan with a promise of food.
“Um, miss, is it okay if I eat here?” the hero asked and Rin managed to nod, blushing in excitement. She turned her head away from the sound of a food container being opened and a quiet, happy ‘thank you’.
Right on time to see the arrival of Deku on the scene. She saw one of the windows on the fourth floor open and a flash of green lightning arc above the street. In awe she observed the man landing on the pavement not more than five meters away from her. His quirk manifested as lightning that danced across his skin and arched from his hands to his wrists, along his legs and chest. He was in full suit, his mouth guard hanging around his neck to reveal a freckled face lit up with almost childlike excitement. His eyes went from poison green to a softer hue, wide and alert, full of life. He stepped towards the woman, lightning fading around him as he went, making grabby hands at the plastic container of food the smiling woman was offering to him. Now, side by side, Rin could see the similarity.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a not so small voice screeching that she was sitting next to the number four pro hero of Japan, listening to him happily munching on his mother’s cooking. Her heart was beating so fast in excitement and awkwardness. She wasn’t sure what to do with the miracle that was granted to her. Would it be invasive to talk to him? Ask for an autograph? It was usually frowned upon to approach pros who were actively doing their work or eating during a patrol; that was probably why no one from the giant queue was storming towards him right now. She still could hear excited voices from over there, even if she didn’t pay them any mind, too focused on watching the afterimage of Deku.
Oh gosh, she was sitting next to Deku. She tugged at the strap of her bag, her palms sweaty.
“Miss?” It was always a bit jarring to hear someone address her while she was observing what they had been doing a minute ago. It was always stressful when there were more people around, she had trouble keeping up with what her quirk told her and what her hearing was picking up. Rin felt her cheeks get hot at the realization - not a new one by any means - that the person she had been staring at was talking to her. She berated herself for not being subtle in her observation, her friends had told her many times she looked weird and appeared to be staring at people. And now she had been staring at the pro hero Deku, who sounded hesitant and sat just next to her. She immediately dropped her gaze, her fingers toying with the strap of her bag. “This bag, it isn’t an official Dynamite merch, right?”
“What?” Rin blinked, her embarrassment gone at the question. She smiled awkwardly and smoothed her hand over the top of the bag, tilting it a bit in case the hero wanted to see it better. “Oh, no, I made it myself.”
“Really? That’s so cool!'' The man sounded enthusiastic and genuine and Rin couldn’t help, but relax and preen a bit at the praise. “I was concerned I somehow missed the release of new merch.”
Rin could hear Deku’s mother snicker from his other side.While the hero inspected the design of explosives and grenades on the flap of the bag Rin’s quirk provided her with the image of him curiously glancing at the bag while finishing his food. Deku’s excitement was contagious, because soon Rin found herself telling him how she worked on the bag and how she could see thanks to her quirk, but had to sew the item by hand because using a machine would be too dangerous. Deku peppered her with questions and Rin forgot about her anxiety, too busy answering them. At some point, to her delight, the famous notebook made its appearance and she giggled when she saw that his pen was the same she had - orange and with a small explosion dangling on a chain from the cap. She immediately reached into her bag to show him her pen and somehow got herself an autograph. She was so happy when the hero, a bit cheekily, offered her his notebook and asked for her autograph on the page dedicated to her quirk. She took the book reverently and did her best to write neatly. It was the notebook of legends, full of Deku’s thoughts and observations. And, when she lifted her hand from where she’d made the last stroke of her name, her happy bubble exploded.
“What the fuck?” growled a new voice and Deku squeaked, jumping in surprise almost as high as Rin did. She tensed in panic, but it was short lived when Deku touched her shoulder in a calming gesture.
“Kac-chan!” he scolded.
“Hello, Katsuki-kun,” Deku’s mother greeted him. “I brought Izuku’s lunch over, he forgot it this morning. I have some for you too.”
“Tch, figures,” the explosive hero was in front of them, but Rin still couldn’t see him there. But boy, she felt his presence, his voice commanding attention like no one else’s. She could imagine him standing on the path with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring. “Who’s the chick?”
“Um, I’m Hikariko Rin,” Rin rushed to bow and when she straightened her back again she could finally see the blonde hero walking up to them and assuming perfectly the same position she’d imagined.
“And she’s a fan,” Deku added in a happy chirp. “She even sewed this neat bag, look how cool it is!”
Rin flushed apple red and fumbled with the notebook, handing it over to Deku before she could put her bag in her lap, showing it awkwardly to the explosive hero. She wasn’t sure what to expect, Dynamight was notorious for cursing and easily getting annoyed with fans. It was widely believed that only Deku stood between his hero partner and a major PR disaster. As it was, Dynamight was highly effective, highly unpredictable and always loud.
There was a beat of silence.
“You have an Edgeshot pin,” the blonde didn’t actually yell or growl. He sounded closer, as if he stepped towards her to inspect the array of pins that adorned the bag where the design didn’t reach.
“Um, yeah,” Rin brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “ I think he was awesome.”
“Ow, ow, ow, Kac-chan!” Deku whined and there was some movement to her side. Rin paused and tensed, not sure what was happening. Then she heard something thud in front of her and someone sat in the spot recently vacated. When Deku spoke he was most certainly not sitting next to her. What she saw was Dynamight leaning in towards her bag, his red eyes narrowed as he took in her pin collection. “What was that for?”
“Go to the agency,” Dynamight said imperiously. “I’ll be there in a few.”
“But…” Deku started.
“It’s my lunch break. Right, auntie?”
“Of course,” the middle-aged woman sounded on the verge of laughing. “Go on, dear, I’ll make sure Katsuki-kun joins you before the event starts.”
Rin was too preoccupied with watching the blonde reaching over towards his hero partner and grabbing him by the ear to drag him out of his seat only to drop him on the ground and sit in his spot. Deku’s mother was just amusedly observing their antics, but she was reaching into her bag, presumably to produce another food container.
“Alright, alright, eat your rabbit food,” the green haired hero gave up. “See you around, miss. Thank you for sharing about your amazing quirk.”
“Thank you for your time and hard work, Deku,” she beamed.
Deku rose to his feet and dusted himself off with a pout. Then he smiled down at his partner, who was already opening the container with a more vegetable-based meal. Green eyes turned Rin’s way and Dynamight glared up at him. Deku lowered his head in a little bow. With that done. Deku turned around and jumped in the air, floating towards the same window he had left through not too long ago. This time there was no lightning and he moved much slower, as if not really fancying going back alone. The crowd at the front of the agency cheered and he waved a hand before ducking inside and closing the window.
“Good riddance,” Dynamite grumbled around a mouthful of his food. “So, you made this bag, right?”
“Oh? Um, yeah,” Rin nodded. She felt a bit anxious now, was the hero displeased with her creating it? It wasn’t like there weren’t many official bags.
“How much would you take for a commission?” the blonde hero asked bluntly. “For the nerd. He likes that kind of shit.”
“Katsuki,” Deku’s mother chastised gently. but the man only huffed. Rin could see him casting another look at the bag and then observing her with calculative red eyes.
“I… Well…” Rin couldn’t believe her ears. There she was, sitting next to hero Dynamight asking her to make a bag for his hero partner. She wanted to squeak out that she’d make it for free, but paused. Neither of the duo liked to get things handed to them. They were ambitious and hard working, especially Dynamight was well known to get angry if he didn’t earn his win, no matter how small it was. Offering to make a bag with nothing in return would be a surefire way to get him annoyed or even drop the idea entirely.
And she really liked the idea of Deku having her Dynamight bag. But it felt so weird to take money for her work, it wasn’t like she was a professional or made them as a hobby. She had just made hers based on some cutouts and patterns from the internet, purely for her own enjoyment and to show her love for the pro. Who was sitting next to her, in his hero suit, chewing on some salad.
“Um,” she bit her bottom lip for a moment. “I guess I could make one.”
“Price,” he replied immediately, confirming her assumptions.
“I can’t really take money for that,” she started and heard a distinctly annoyed scoff. “But if you had the limited edition debut Wonder Duo figures. that you don’t need.”
Was it okay to ask for that? The figures weren’t the rarest of items, one could find them online for a relatively medium price.
“Deal,” Dynamite pushed a square of paper in her hand and rose to his feet. “Contact me when it’s done.”
“Oh… Okay” she replied, blinking at the sound of footsteps stomping away. It took a moment for her vision to show that yes, she was holding a business card of the hero, who was already nearing the doors to the agency, barking at the queue to move so he could get inside and start the shitty meet. Beside her Deku’s mother collected the empty food containers and stood up as well, amusedly wishing Rin a good day and walking off without drawing anyone’s attention.
Rin stored the card carefully in her signature notebook right where Deku’s autograph sat.She ran her fingertips across the design on her bag, already planning to make the second bag better thanks to all the mistakes and redos she had made with the first one.
What did she agree to?