Chapter Text
Fuyumi always considered herself plain.
Compared to her siblings, her father and her mother, it was true.
Fuyumi hadn’t inherited the beauty from her mother, or the talent, strength, power from her father. Those traits had to split between her 3 other siblings. Touya, before his death, was always so tenacious, which ultimately led to the tragic end to his life. Natsuo always knew what to say, when to say, but never truly how to say it as evidenced in the many fights that he got into with her father at the dinner table. However, he had more courage than she could ever muster to stand head-to-head with their father. Finally there was her youngest brother, Shoto.
The brother who used to follow her around the house when he was younger, at that age where he was not fully understanding what was going on, and everything was a new experience for him. He would stand in the kitchen waiting patiently as Fuyumi and her mother cooked, always being the first one to taste-test Fuyumi’s cooking. He was always so reserved, and sometimes, Fuyumi didn’t really understand what exactly was going through his head the majority of the time, but she still loved him nonetheless. Those small moments of normalcy quickly faded, as her father’s training overtook Shoto’s life, in her father’s effort to try and build the next number 1 hero. Before her mother was institutionalised. Before Touya died. Before Natsuo moved to the college dorms. Before her family was effectively torn apart and the only one left in this hollow shell of a house and a family was Fuyumi.
Suffice to say, Fuyumi Todoroki, compared the lives of her siblings and their personalities, was in fact, plain. Sure, she had a brief stint at figure skating, and if she actually pursued it further, it would’ve done her well. But that’s not how life goes sometimes. Sometimes, you're thrust into the maternal position of the family at just age 13, learning how to cook, clean and try to appeal to all members of the family without causing a fuss. Her life was selflessly defined by this desire to ‘try and keep the peace’. More often than not, her pacifist attitude ultimately led her to being a doormat, accepting her father’s neglect and Natsuo’s harsh words whenever the topic of her father was brought up. That’s why tonight she wanted to be more than ‘plain Fuyumi Todoroki’. Someone completely different.
Fuyumi stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She never really considered herself someone who would go out, but tonight she felt like something different and when she got the invitation from her long-time friend Hikaru to go to, in her words, ‘an ultra-fancy bar that only elites go to’, she couldn't really say no. She continued to stare at her reflection, assessing her outfit in great detail. She was wearing a halter-neck dress, with a v-neckline that tied-up into a bow at the nape of her neck. The end of the dress grazed her mid calf, and it was made out of a flowy chiffon pattern. Mix of reds, and shades of warm pinks, a wide-variety of vague floral shapes covered the dress, creating a detailed but subtle pattern. There was also an extra piece of extra fabric connected to the dress below her bustline, once tied, revealing the empire waistline of her dress and also provided her some noticeable cleavage.
She sighed at her reflection, trying to smooth out any wrinkles that could be on the dress even though she had steamed it three times already. She had ditched the glasses for this one night and wore contacts. Fuyumi forgot how much of a pain those contacts actually were until she attempted to put them in again without the help of eye-drops. How was she the only one in the family with compromised vision? She chalked it up to being bad luck, which seemed to be a moniker of her life at this point. Fuyumi also straightened her hair for the first time in a long time, the fizzy layers now staying in place with the help of a really hot straightener and a lot of hairspray and anti-frizz creme.
She was only ripped out of this daze when her phone buzzed, a message from Hikaru that they would be coming soon and that they had just picked up Mayumi. So that left her only around 5 minutes left to get ready. She spun in front of the mirror once more, feeling a bit more confident in her appearance than she did an hour ago. Fuyumi grabbed her black shoulder bag, quickly packing it with all the essentials for a night out. Mints, pads, phone, keys, ID, wallet, portable charger. If this night was to be like the other nights, it probably meant that Fuyumi was on baby-sitting duty while her friends all got drunk to different extremes. It wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be though, being the sober one almost always meant that you could remember everything, and Fuyumi always took it upon herself to use that leverage to her advantage, and bring up anything that was slightly embarrassing that occurred when her friends were drunk in a future situation. She got another message from Hikaru, telling her that they were turning into her street. Fuyumi left her room, sliding the traditional Japanese door behind her. She looked around the empty house.
Father must not be coming home tonight. She thought to herself.
Still, out of courtesy, she wrote a note on a piece of paper saying that she would be out for the night and will be coming either later or staying the night with either Mayumi, Hikaru or Sachiko. She only mentioned the names because she was well-aware of the fact that her father disapproved of her friends, and this was a small but fulfilling way to get back at her father for everything that happened.
Fuyumi heard a car beep outside her place, that must be Hikaru, she thought to herself, moving towards the door. She sat down on the front steps of the hallway, just before the door, tying up her gold kitten-heels criss-cross pattern that stopped just a bit above her ankle. Fuyumi slid the front door open, basically being blinded by the high-beams of the car. She triple-checked that she had locked the door before making her way to the back-door of the car. What she was greeted with when she opened the door was a flurry of welcomes from her three friends, all enthusiastic that she finally joined them on a night out.
“Yumi!” Hikaru cheered from the passenger seat, her bright-orange bob bouncing as she turned to face her friend, “we’ve missed you! How have you been??”
Before Fuyumi could get a word in, Mayumi cut in, “Hikaru, it’s been two weeks since we last all saw each other.” Ever the blunt one, Mayumi, Fuyumi remarked to herself. Mayumi was sitting next to Fuyumi, squished in between Sachiko and herself. “Oh sorry, let me quickly shuffle so you can get your seatbelt on Yumi.”
“Thanks Mai,” Fuyumi quickly fastened her seatbelt, the clicking sound being heard throughout the car signalling Hikaru to tell the driver to continue driving to their destination.
“No, but seriously,” Hikaru spoke up again, “how’s everything been, especially after what happened with your dad…”
Right.
She was talking about when her father had defeated that Nomu, Hood, she recalled, just a week prior. She remembered watching the TV with Natsuo in the car, gripping the side of the seat so tight that her fingers started turning white and her quirk had activated, causing small crystals to appear on the leather. She continued to watch as tears of relief fell down her face when she realised that her father had survived, and that the Nomu was defeated.
“It’s been fine.” She lied, well not really, the atmosphere of the house had been tense after the fight, especially between Natsuo and her father. Not that it was ever not that way when Natsuo returned home. He only returned as he felt like he was obliged to after his father almost died on national TV, is how he put it. Fuyumi stared down at her hands that were calmly folded over her lap, not sure what to say after all she was met with was Hikaru’s sympathetic disposition that was on her face. Hikaru then turned her head, so that it was looking back out on the road, telling the driver some more details about where he should go.
“Hey Yumi,” Mayumi spoke up again, a comforting hand was placed onto Fuyumi’s hands, “no matter what, you know that you can always turn to us whenever something happens, right?” Mayumi’s deep purple eye’s sparked with empathy, dimly lit up by the streetlights that the car was passing.
“Of course.” Fuyumi smiled, Mayumi lifted her hand, turning to Sachiko. The light-brunette was quiet throughout the whole conversation. Her facial expression was lit up by the blue-light of her phone screen but it wasn’t her usually curved smile, it was a tight-lipped serious expression, a look that Fuyumi was not used to on the usually happy-yet-still-shy Sachiko. “You’ve been awfully quiet Sachi,” Mayumi remarked.
Sachiko sighed as she switched off her phone, “you can blame my publishers for that one. They’ve pushed forward my deadline for my next book by a week. That only means now I have to rush the sketches.”
“God, I actually hate your company,” Hikaru commented, “they do this all the time.”
Sachiko rolled her eyes, “don’t I know. They’re children’s books for crying out loud, not trilogy masterpieces. But, that’s out of my control. I bought some new watercolours anyways, maybe this could give me the opportunity to try them out.” Sachiko finished her aside with a tired, yet appreciative smile on her face, turning and slightly bending forward to face now Fuyumi. “I’m glad you’re okay after everything though, Yumi-chan.”
“Thanks,” Fuyumi replied, now turning to face the window, staring at the blurs of bright neon lights as the car whizzed past them. It was difficult to talk to her friends about the details of her life. But they knew. Hikaru was there to comfort her when her mother was admitted, when no one else could understand what she was going through. Sachiko rubbed her back in a calming circle motion while Mayumi held her hand as she broke down into sobs on the school rooftop shortly after Touya’s passing. They’ve seen Fuyumi at her best and her worst, but still, even then, they truly did not know everything. Even if they did, Fuyumi doubted if they could understand it.
The car came to a halt, stopping right in front of a row of high-rise buildings. Fuyumi was a bit confused about where they were but, judging from hikaru’s comments to the driver and her pleasant thank you, they must’ve made it to the bar. Fuyumi quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, opened up the door and helped both Mayumi and Sachiko get out of the car. Hikaru was already off to the side, talking to the driver through the window.
“I’ll text you when you can pick us up!” Hikaru said, smiling brightly, “thank you Shirogane-san!”
Her driver nodded, rolled up the passenger-window and swiftly drove away. Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to her friends once again.
“Wait!” Hikaru’s sudden yell made Fuyumi, Mayumi and Sachiko pause, “is that the dress I helped you pick out?”
Fuyumi blushed, tucking a piece of her face-framing bangs behind her ear, knowing that it would fall out again, “yeah it is.”
“It looks amazing on you Yumi-chan! The colours match your hair.” Sachiko commented.
For the first time, Fuyumi could get a good look at what her friends were wearing now that they were in better lighting.
Sachiko’s light-brown hair was pulled back into two loose plaits, curtain bangs swooping past her ears almost perfectly. She wore a matching baby-blue set that reminded her of the tropical waters of Okinawa, with a flowy, low rise asymmetrical skirt that stopped right below the knee, and a tight fitting tube top. On the hem of the skirt had purple tropical flowers that slowly disburse when it made its way to the top. She paired it nicely with some wedge sandals, and a white clutch.
“Wanna know something cool guys? I designed the outfit that Sachi's wearing right now. Mhm,” Mayumi made her way over to Sachiko, placing both her hands on Sachiko’s shoulders, Mayumi’s head peeking off to the side, “aren’t I just that talented?” Sachiko playfully rolled her eyes, while Fuyumi and Hikaru let out a light laugh out at Mayumi’s antics.
Mayumi was the youngest out of the four, being born in February, and that shone through with her over-the-top, dramatic, chaotic personality. Tonight, she was a lot more fierce with her outfit compared to Sachiko. Her waist-length, sleek raven hair was blown out, large curls cascading down. She wore a black newspaper-boy hat on her head, with two different sized rings in the cap for extra-flair. Mayumi’s top was a sheer off-the-shoulder top. One that had lace accents throughout the top, especially along the long-sleeves. It was a deep-maroon colour that matched with her staple cherry red boots that were peeking underneath her black wide-leg pants. Her tanned-skin seemed to glow under the lights, with carefully placed sparkly eye-shadow shimmering and bringing out her violet eyes even more.
“And you couldn’t design something for me?” Hikaru teased, folding her arms over her chest.
Then there was Hikaru. If there was anything to describe Hikaru in one word, it would be bright or in-your-face. And tonight was no exception. Hikaru’s orange hair had star accessories all-throughout. Her bright yellow eyes shone through, coloured with gold shimmer in her inner-corners. She wore an amber-yellow one shoulder top, gold bangles on each hand, and a gold-chain necklace situated perfectly on her chest. Hikaru paired that top with an white premium leather mini-skirt that was accessorised with a star belt that sat unevenly on her skirt. Her brown leather boots matched the brown Chanel bag that she held in her right hand, still folded in front of her chest.
“Aww c’mon Hikaru!” Mayumi’s face twisted into a pout that Fuyumi found amusing, covering her smile with her hand, “I’ve designed for you plenty of times! Besides, you're not even wearing something that I designed tonight.”
“Tsk, tsk,” Hikaru continued to tease, “not an excuse.” Hikaru giggled, before unfolding her arms, reaching into her purse and unflipping her Samsung Z-flip phone, “now! Let’s have some fun!” She exclaimed.
Fuyumi followed behind Hikaru, unsure of where they were heading. She found herself next to Mayumi as Sachiko went off to talk to Hikaru.
“Do you even know where we’re going?” Mayumi questioned.
“No idea,” Fuyumi answered honestly, “but if Hikaru’s invited us,”
“It’s going to be fancy.” They said in unison.
“Sometimes I forget she has actress-privileges now,” Mayumi said, watching the two girls in front of them closely in case they made a change in directions, “weird that I now see her face on a lot of the billboards that I drive past in the city.”
Hikaru by now had become a full-fledged actress, starting her dreams in high-school. She started off acting minor background roles in J-dramas, but her ‘big-break’ when she was casted as the lead in a live-action television adaptation of a hit shoujo-manga. Her youthful aura and bright personality led to more and more casting opportunities being catered towards her, and thus, she landed more and more gigs.
“The main thing is that she’s happy though, the entertainment industry can eat away at your soul.” Mayumi finished her sentence, leaving Fuyumi to comment, but all she could respond with was a weak “Yeah.” She was in fact happy, actually the better would be ecstatic for her friend, but there was something nagging at her that couldn’t quite place her finger on it. Maybe it was just her paranoia getting to. It wasn’t until Fuyumi almost crashed into Sachiko’s side that the both of them realised that they had finally made it where they were supposed to be. She was faced with an extremely tall skyscraper, with dozens of windows that reflected the neon lights that this district seemed to be plagued with. Fuyumi followed Hikaru’s direction, who led the four of them through the revolving glass-gold trimmed door.
The inside of the building was decorated mile high with marble, and gold accents. Every single aspect just screamed RICH in Fuyumi’s face. You’d think that she would be at least exposed to this amount of wealth due to her family status but her upbringing was relatively humble. Immediately, Fuyumi felt out of place, a sentiment that she seemed to share with Sachiko and Mayumi who all stood back awkwardly as Hikaru talked to the receptionist. Hikaru turned back to face them with a warm smile, waving her hand in a “come” motion. The three of them followed Hikaru who was following the receptionist to the elevator. They stepped inside while the receptionist swiped his keycard and pressed the number 27, a small description attached to the side reaching; “Mile High Bar”.
The four of them thanked the receptionist, politely bowing as the elevator doors shut. The elevator trip up the 27 floors seemed to be almost non-existent as almost immediately the elevator doors opened once more and the women were greeted with a luxurious space. The place was warmly lit, and was a lot less jarring than the lobby. It was furnished with copper and wooden furniture, and on the opposite side of the elevator the walls were all lined with glass that seemed to give you a full-view of the city. There were booths lining the walls on one side, with small island tables scattered throughout the whole space. On the other side, there was an elaborate bar, with bartenders dressed in prim-and-proper uniforms, bow ties and all, already serving customers. Glassware; wine glasses, whisky, cocktail and shot glasses lined the walls, with a mixture of alcoholic mixers next to them.
However, where the elevator was there was a velvet rope, separating the entrance and the actual main bar. The hostess was standing in front of a wooden podium, staring at the four curiously. Hikaru walked up to the hostess, introduced herself, and said something about a booking in advance and the hostess smiled, dotted something down on her pad, and opened the velvet rope, letting the four of them through. The three followed Hikaru throughout the bar, moving through winding paths and avoiding tables and people with drinks. Fuyumi's mouth was slightly agape, taking in the place as well as the people. Some faces she could remember from different television series, others were pro-heroes that she had seen in passing at the charity balls that she sometimes attended with her father. It felt like a whole new world that Fuyumi was very out of place being in.
They finally stopped near the glass-windows that provided them a scenic view of the city. An empty circle table, with exactly four high stool chairs, was there. Hikaru huffed and placed her bag on the table, sitting on the high-stool chair. Each one of them followed, Fuyumi shifting to get into a more comfortable position on the chair.
“Sometimes they make things too difficult,” Hikaru complained, running her fingers through the ends of her hair, trying to get rid of non-existent knots.
“Hikaru, it’s literally their job.” Mayumi responded.
“I knowww…” Hikaru conceded, now turning to Sachiko, “Sachiiiii, can you tell Mai to stop being so mean to me tonight?” Her eyes sparkling with amusement.
Sachiko blushed, rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. However, Fuyumi could tell there was a small smile of endearment on her face from Hikaru’s antics.
“You can’t just crawl to Sachi anytime someone disagrees or reality checks you.” Mayumi had a small smirk on her face, a small blush now appearing on Hikaru’s face. Hikaru wrapped her arms around Sachiko.
“I don’t! It’s just out of everyone here, Sachi’s my favourite.”
Fuyumi let out a disappointed wow, “so we’re not good enough to be your favourites anymore?”
“Fame really did change her,” Mayumi commented.
“Noooo!” Hikaru let go of Sachiko, letting Sachiko finally breathe for a moment, “you guys are all my favourites, but Sachi’s my favourite favourite.”
“What did we say about playing favourites?” Fuyumi teased, playing up her teacher tone.
“Stop!” Hikaru said in between laughs, “don’t try to use your teacher-tone on me, Todoroki-sensei!”
“Well sometimes a lecture is what you need.” Fuyumi jested lightly, she grabbed her bag and slid out of her seat, “I’ll go order us some drinks, what does everyone want?”
The group rattled off their orders, Fuyumi dotting it down on her phone in a random note.
“Alright! I’ll be back soon,” Fuyumi smiled at her friends walking away and towards the bar. In the background she could faintly hear a “put it on my tab!” coming from who she could presume was Hikaru.
Where they were sitting wasn’t too far away from the bar, so it was only a short trip. She stood at one of the empty places of the bar, not really aware of her surroundings waiting patiently for someone to serve her. One of the bartender’s seemed to notice that she was standing there, rushing over quickly to take her order.
“Hey, could I please get one Mai Tai, 2 Cosmos, and Shōchū Highball.” She was reading off the screen of her phone making sure that what they wanted to start off with for now.
“All of them for you?” An unfamiliar voice jerked her out of her thoughts, she looked up and she was met face to face with the number 2 Pro-Hero, Hawks. His red wings were spread out behind him. Fuyumi was shocked to see him 1. In the flesh, and 2. In something that wasn’t his work uniform. He donned a classic white button up shirt, with the sleeves of the shirt rolled up and cuffed at the half-way point on his forearm. A couple buttons were left undone on the front of his shirt, probably an aesthetic choice to show off his muscles. Honestly, he was a lot more handsome in person than on the screen. His golden curls were pushed back, but still some stray strands of her seemed to fall in front of his face. He looked like someone had came down from heaven and sculpted him, piece by piece. His mouth was curved up in a coy-smile, she was met with piercing-yellow eyes that had something behind the playful expression. Something she recognised subconsciously…
“Two Whisky Highballs,” Hawks said unexpectedly, putting up two of his fingers, motioning to the same bartender who hadn’t even begun making Fuyumi’s drinks. It seemed like Fuyumi was finally met with reality once again, rolling her eyes at the young Pro-Hero.
“No, they’re for me and my friends,” she responded, arms crossed now looking at Hawks with an annoyed expression. But not even she could hide her small smirk at his pleasantries. “Are both of those for you?”
All Hawks could do was laugh into his hand at Fuyumi’s feigned annoyance, she forgot how obnoxious some of these Pro-Heroes could be, especially ones who were new on the scene or on the top of the billboards. Unfortunately, Hawks was both of these things to Fuyumi. Hawks rested his head on his hand, gazing at Fuyumi with a certain curiosity in his eyes. “Hmmmmm, no they’re for me and a friend.” The tone of his voice was laced with this sweet-honey-like melody, entracing Fuyumi to continue the conversation.
“The number 2 hero has friends?” Okay, maybe her teasing was getting a bit bold at this point, but it was a rare opportunity that she wasn’t recognised by someone and had to uplift this picture-perfect reputation as Endeavour’s daughter. So, she was going to indulge in this opportunity and let the mask slip for just a moment.
Surprisingly, instead of being offended, he snorted and continued to laugh, “Yeah,” he said once he had stopped laughing, “shocking I know. Even I can’t believe it sometimes.” She could practically taste the playful sarcasm dripping from his tone.
“Well you learn something new everyday,” Fuyumi winked at Hawks, who seemed to be a bit taken-aback from her boldness. Fuyumi was well aware of the reputation of Hawks in the media, and the complaints she had to hear from her father. ‘Playboy’, ‘disrespectful’, ‘young, up-and-coming star’, ‘nuisance’, ‘dashing’, were just a few adjectives that appeared in her brain when now staring at the winged hero in front of her.
“You know,” Hawks straightened, a stronger smirk now on his face, “I’ve never seen you around her before, enlighten me, what’s your name?”
Instead of answering the dreaded name question, Fuyumi dodged it instead asking him playfully, “oh, so you come here frequently enough to know who comes and goes?”
Hawks quirked an eyebrow at her side-stepping the name question, but paid it no attention, deciding to play along, “Mhm, one of the only places where I can unwind away from the public eye. Media’s a nuisance and here, only select people are let in.”
“Seems like a good time for a Pro-Hero then.”
“The best a place could offer for people like us. So what brings someone like you here?”
“Someone like me? Am I really that plain looking?” Fuyumi couldn’t help but laugh at Hawks' slightly embarrassed expression from how she interpreted his comment. Before he could try and redeem himself, Fuyumi began talking again.
“I got dragged here by my friends, well, only one invited us all. She seems to be living life to the fullest now she ‘fulfilled her dreams’. So that’s why I’m here. She also wanted to cheer me up after a few things happened. Odd place for an elementary teacher to be, but what can you do sometimes?”
Hawks lightly hummed in response, Fuyumi noticed that he did that a lot, “well this odd place seems to suit you, maybe I’ll see you again.” Their conversation, if you could even call it that, it was more like an exchange, ended there as the bartender slid over the six drinks, two for Hawks and the other four for her. At this moment, Mayumi came up behind her.
“Yumi, what took you so long? I thought you might have some trouble with carrying all of the drinks so I thought I could help you.” Fuyumi turned her back towards Hawks, now facing her raven-haired friend who seemed to not realise that she was talking to the number 2 Pro-Hero, “also, Hikaru just informed me that tonight there’s an open-mic karaoke, so after we finished these drinks, I’m gonna order us a round of Soju shots and it’s straight to the microphone for me! You’ve gotta join me for at least ONE song!” Mayumi moved closer to Fuyumi, picking up the two Cosmos’.
Before Fuyumi could say another word to Hawks, he breezed past her, holding his drinks and left saying, “See you around Yumi-san.”
Fuyumi was stunned into silence just at the mention of her nickname. Well, keeping her name a secret went out the window at that moment, at least he didn’t know her full name yet. Mayumi looked at her weirdly and then followed the trail left by her eyes, quickly the pieces started falling into place in her head.
“Oh my fucking God,” she exclaimed under her breath, “was that Hawks?!”
Fuyumi just nodded wordlessly. She didn’t really know what to say. That she had basically flirted with the Pro-Hero out of boredom and spite? She picked up the Mai Tai and the Highball, and followed Mayumi back to the table. She looked back, passing Hawks’ booth where he was sipping on his drink, with his eyes glued on her. Her head snapped back forward, trying to ignore the hairs standing up on her neck and the slight heat that she felt on her cheeks. Thank God Hikaru had chosen a place in the far back corner, away from him. It also gave her a great view of the night sky that seemed extremely tempting at this moment. Mayumi and her placed the drinks onto the table, and Fuyumi let out a huge sigh, running her hands down her face, the embarrassment finally sinking in. She grabbed her Mai Tai and took a huge sip, almost drinking half of it one go.
“Mayumi,” she finally said at the chorus of stares she was met with, “I’m going to take you up on your Soju rounds offer, might have to have an extra one at this rate.”
“Yumi-chan?” Sachiko was the first one to speak up, “are you okay?”
“Yeah, surely nothing much could’ve happened in the 15 minutes you were gone?” Hikaru agreed with Sachiko.
“No, just our lovely little Yumi was chatting up number 2 Pro-Hero Hawks.” Mayumi’s smirk only grew wider, with Fuyumi’s blush on her face becoming stronger as she tried to hide her flustered nature behind her glass, sipping on her Mai Tai.
“WHAT!?” Hikaru exclaimed while Sachiko choked on her Highball.
“He’s a jerk anyways.” Fuyumi said bluntly.
“A jerk you still flirted with.” Hikaru pointed out, taking a thoughtful sip from her Cosmos.
“It wasn’t even flirting, it was like a normal exchange. Not sure why he started talking to me anyways.” Fuyumi rolled her eyes, placing her drink on the table again, “you wanna know how he started the conversation, “are those all for you?” Who says that?! Did he think I was some-kind of alcoholic??”
Mayumi and Hikaru cringed while Sachiko bluntly said, “Well obviously him. He probably didn’t have any malice behind those words though. He probably thought you were pretty Yumi-chan, which is true, and wanted to strike up a conversation.”
Fuyumi huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, “But why? Even worse, he then had the audacity to cut me off while ordering. Forgot how big-headed some heroes can be.”
“Well then,” Hikaru said tensely, sipping on her cosmos, “I think that round of Soju shots is in order. We’ll finish up these drinks and then get a round.”
“And then Karaoke!!” Mayumi exclaimed, chugging who took a swig of her cosmos, finishing off in one go.
“Mai-chan! Slow down! You haven’t had any water yet either.” Sachiko warned her friend, who was practically bouncing off to the bar to order the next round of drinks.
******************************
Hawks held both of the drinks in his hands, walking to his booth, but the only thing he could think about was that woman he had just met rather than focusing on not spilling the drinks. Originally, he didn’t plan to strike up a conversation with the random stranger, but something about her intrigued him. From first glance, she looked radiant underneath the amber lights, those same lights picking up the crimson highlights that were sprinkled throughout her snow-white hair. Turquoise-blue eyes captivated him, shimmering with kindness while she talked to the waiter. And, for the first time, when he made a move towards this woman, she didn’t swoon. She fought back.
That was unusual.
Hawks was so used to anyone who he talked to immediately agreeing with him, or not questioning why he was talking to them. Majority of the girls he used the same tactic he used on this woman, Yumi, was what her friend seemed to call her, practically ended up throwing themselves on top of him. It was great for one night, but then that attention seemed to fizzle as they realised that was in fact, a human, behind the Pro-Hero facade.
However, she was different. She questioned him. She made fun of him, even though she was well aware of his status. She stood her ground, wasn't scared of his reaction, and that to Hawks, only made her more intriguing.
“What took you so long?! Got me waiting for a drink that should’ve been here and empty ten minutes ago!” Miruko, who had dragged him to this bar for some ‘unwinding’ after all that has happened in the last couple of weeks, was there waiting for him. She placed her phone down on the table and reached out for one of the Highballs in Hawks’ hand.
“No reason.” Hawks’ responded smoothly, taking a sip of his drink while looking up and seeing a blur of reds and pinks walk past him. He watched carefully as the same girl he saw at the bar turned to face him, made direct eye-contact, widened her eyes and quickly snapped back forward and walked to her friends like nothing happened. It was slightly amusing to watch. His small smile remained on his face when turning back to look at Miruko. The expression on her face though, was anything but happy. It twisted in some sort of mixture of disappointment and annoyance, something which Hawks was used to at this point.
“Don’t tell me you're trying to get into another person’s pants right now.” Miruko said, shaking her head. She took a sip of her Highball, “that’s not what I meant by ‘unwinding’, by the way.”
Hawks just laughed, “I gathered. But no, maybe when I first talked to her, sure, I was bored and wanted the usual one night. But, something about her is different…”
“Found someone who didn’t stroke your ego?” Miruko raised her eyebrows, letting out a low whistle, “colour me impressed. She wasn’t swooned by your number 2 charms?”
“Nope,” Hawks replied, popping the ‘p’, “she actually matched my energy.”
“She didn’t take any of your shit? Well, thank the Lord some else that isn’t me doesn’t. Well, I can’t always be the only one to humble you so I’m thankful to that woman for bringing you a little closer down to the rest of us on the ground. Even if it was for a short moment.”
“Ha ha,” Hawks responded dryly, taking another sip of his drink. He could see the group of girls from his booth, albeit barely, the top of the booth covering most of his vision. Miruko rolled her eyes at his ‘lover-boy shit’, perking her ears up, twitching as she tuned in to listen to the sounds of the bar.
“HA!” She exclaimed suddenly, taking another, larger sip of her Highball.
“What?” Hawks replied confused.
“She just called you a jerk.”
“What?!”
“And she said you had a massive ego. Cut her off while ordering.”
“I didn’t though! She had already finished ordering when I put mine in.”
“I haven’t even met this girl yet, and already, I love her! Who knew that there was someone other than me who can see past your charms.”
“Ugh,” Hawks responded, running his hand down his face, “did I really ruin it with only 3 sentences?”
Miruko raised an eyebrow at that one, “‘Ruin it?’ Was there anything there in the first place? Besides, thought this one would end up like all the rest of your failed pursuits of ‘love’”
“They didn't fail, I just didn’t continue. I saw nothing with them in the future.”
“Yeah because of the fucking commission that still have their strings attached to you.”
“You wouldn’t get it Rumi.”
“Trust me I know I don’t get it, but it’s gonna get you in the future if you're not careful.”
“Yeah, yeah, you always tell me.”
“I tell you because I know I’m right.” Miruko took another swig of her drink, finishing it off and placing the glass back down on the table. “Look, if you really want to get with this girl, here’s something for a start. Treat her like an actual fucking human being rather than just another girl who you bring to bed. That should get you somewhere.”
Hawks rolled his eyes, “wow, like I didn’t think of that before.” He finished off his drink, “I’m gonna order us a round of sake shots, and when I get back, we’re gonna talk about something other than my depressing-ass, pretty much non-existent, love life.”
“Whatever you say bird-boy!”
Hawks shimmied out of the booth and made his way back to the bar, ordering two rounds of shots. He looked around the establishment, noticing that she was still there in the far-corner. It seemed that they were posing for pictures from the way that the familiar looking ginger haired woman snatched the digital camera from her other friend in the blue. Her chin was resting on her head as she dreamily looked outside the window at the skyline before her. He made sure not to stare for too long, to try and not bring any attention to himself, but he really couldn’t help it. It was like he was drawn to her, for literally no reason. Well, actually a couple. She was really beautiful, in a bookish-charming way even with the dress that she was wearing, and her personality was only more alluring, especially if she was able to easily play along with him rather than concede. She was also so…
Normal. Something that he was infinitely jealous of.
He picked up both the shot glasses and made his way back to the booth. He slid one over to Miruko, sat down and raised his shot glass in the air. Miruko followed suit, the glasses clinking, as he downed the shot in one go.
His throat burned from the sensation of the alcohol, his face twisted slightly from the after-taste left on his tongue. Every time he went out to get drinks with Miruko, he was reminded of the fact he really didn’t like alcohol. Whether that be because it reminded him of his father or the Heroes Commission grooming him since childhood to be alert of his surroundings, something intoxication would prevent him from doing so. Miruko, on the other hand, drank alcohol on these nights like it was water, and she did not handle her alcohol well. Knowing how these nights go, he’s probably gonna have to look after her, or cut her off if she tries to get another drink once she’s reached her limit.
“By the way,” Miruko spoke up, “your object of affection-”
“Weren’t you literally just telling me to treat her like a human?”
Miruko ignored him, “is here with Awaya Hikaru, the new actress who had her big break. That might answer your question as to why she got in here despite being ‘normal’”
Right, he felt like he recognised the woman with the orange bob who was taking the photos. That made sense as to why and how an elementary teacher was let in here.
“She’s also been dragged to the karaoke machine right now by her friend who seems to be way drunker than she is now as we speak.”
Hawks’ head perked up, “Tonight's karaoke night?”
Miruko nodded, sliding out of the booth, “half the reason why we’re here, listening to people sing while drunk and shittily is one of my favourite sources of entertainment. Besides, it's tradition at this point. I’m getting another round.” Miruko walked off to the bar, leaving Hawks alone in the booth.
She was right. Ever since they became friends after last year’s billboards, they would come to the Mile High Bar on the open-mic karaoke nights specifically and make fun of the people singing. Some were good, others were seriously bad, and some would end up with a person sobbing on the floor belting out a 90s pop ballad. In those rare moments, Hawks would turn to Miruko and attempt to hold in his laughter, but he wouldn’t be able to once the person on the microphone voice cracked. He’s seen Pro-Heroes, actors, actresses, influential people all fall victim to the open-mic karaoke and it seemed like sweet Yumi would be next as he watched her reluctantly take the microphone that her raven-haired, hat-wearing friend shoved in her hand.
He watched at the edge of the booth’s seat, the karaoke setup was in front of the windows overlooking the city, situated exactly in the middle, meaning from where he was sitting in the booth, Hawks had a perfect view. Already, the orange-haired one, Awaya, if he recalled correctly, had her phone out, ready and recording while their other friend looked over Awaya’s shoulder, her face trying hold back a laugh at Yumi’s awkward stance and how she seemed to mouth the words ‘help me’ in their direction. She tried to side-step off the platform and back to her friends when the hat-girl, that’s what he’s calling her now, realised, grabbed her arm and dragged her back, trying to work the playlist and choose the song. He could feel the dread radiating off Yumi from this far away, both of their backs facing him as it seemed like hat-girl had finally chosen the song they were gonna sing, much to Yumi’s dismay.
That’s when a 2000s pop, R&B song suddenly started blaring throughout the speakers. The picking of the acoustic guitar premated the instrumentals, with a soft percussion leading the beat. Hat-girl tapped the microphone to check if it was working before being shocked at the echo and letting out a surprised giggle, a sound that reverberated off the walls of the bar. She began to sing the first verse of the song alone, swaying to the beat of the song, only slurring her words slightly. Surprisingly this girl had a pretty good singing voice, it was sweet and suited the melody of the song, matching the original’s tone quite well. Her movements started to get more enthusiastic when the build-up of the chorus happened, with her bouncing and her arms moving in time with the music when the chorus finally hit.
He shifted his eyes to Yumi, who looked extremely uncomfortable realising that it was now her turn to sing the second chorus. She started off soft, only getting more comfortable with singing the lyrics of the song once hat-girl took her hand, holding it and started swaying with her, in an effort to hype her up. Yumi’s laugh could be heard, a sound that only made him more and more captivated. Her voice was pleasant to listen to, saccharine like honey even though she wasn’t a show-stopping singer. It reminded him of the signing you would come to as a child from your loved one. It was comforting and homely. He watched with a love-sick smile on his face as hat-girl spun Yumi around, even more giggles rang throughout the bar. Their voices melded together at the bridge of the song while they continued to dance, creating a pleasant harmony.
Hat-girl, in her alcoholic stupor and as a result of the adrenaline from performing, started clapping her hands to the beat of the song, encouraging others to follow suit. Even Hawks couldn’t help but join in, lightly tapping his hands together. By the end, both Yumi and hat-girl erupted into a fit of laughs, he could see the wide smile of Yumi's face from his booth and his chest welled with an unfamiliar warmth that he wanted to remain forever. He didn’t realise that he was zoned-out until Miruko came back, frantically waving her hand in front of her face.
“Oi,” she said, slightly slurring her words, “you enjoying the show?” She was wearing one of those all-knowing smiles on her face.
Hawks’ face went flush, only for a brief second before regaining his composure. “Yeah, yeah.”
Miruko downed another shot, “you know you should totally go for it.”
“And that’s how I know that the alcohol is talking rather than you. I’m cutting you off.”
“Like you have any control over that bird-boy” Miruko stated.
“You say that as if I’m not your ride home, and I would very much like you to not throw up.”
“Boringgg.”
Hawks sighed, “I’ll be right back.”
Hawks got up, and walked towards the bar, asking one of the bartenders for some paper. The bartender complied with his request, tearing him a piece of the receipt roll and passing him a pen as well. He quickly dotted down a couple of sentences and folded the paper up, tucking it away in his shirt’s front pocket. He returned to the booth, with a glass of water, passing it over gingerly to Miruko, who looked at him distastefully before having a couple sips of water.
The night continued onwards with Miruko and Hawks conversing about work, entertainment, Miruko’s own “love-life”, not there was much of one in the first place, and trying to hold back laughter as more and more people got on the microphone to sing. It seems like whatever Yumi and her friend started spiralled into even more acts tonight. It was amusing and a distraction from all the other stuff that the Heroes commission was hounding him with. He looked back at Yumi and her friends, and there was that nagging thought at the back of his head. Is that what it looks like to live a normal life? To not be plagued with the tears, bloodshed, and trauma? To live life like an actual twenty-two year old rather than being a lap-dog to a tyrant?
No. He shouldn’t be complaining. Some people kill for this lifestyle, the fame, the money, the adoration. The Heroes Commission took him in at his worst, when he was all alone and abandoned. Gave him a home when no one else could. More importantly, gave him a purpose to live.
That’s when he realised that Yumi and her friends were getting ready to go, considering hat-girl started swaying and couldn’t even walk straight, relying on the woman with braids to support her to the elevator. Right this was his chance.
Hawks pulled out the folded piece of receipt paper that he had scrawled on earlier. He pulled out one of his feathers from his wings and carefullying placed the paper on top of the feather. Right as Yumi passed him, the feather slipped in and out of her bag, dropping the note inside. She didn’t seem to notice, casually talking to Awaya about the state that hat-girl was in.
“So you made a move?” Miruko wiggled her eyebrows.
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”
******************************
Fuyumi woke up that morning, head pounding. She didn’t even have that many drinks, it seemed like the adrenaline and fun really took a toll on her. She looked around her room, putting on her glasses. The dress was discarded on the floor, shoes haphazardly sprawled on two different sides of the room. Bag left on the dresser. Great, now she was going to spend Sunday morning cleaning up her room. She stretched her arms out, her joints clicking from the pressure-realise. Hopping out of bed, she slipped into her slippers, moving towards the dress to hang it up. She grabbed the shoes and put them back into the right box, shoving it into the corner of her wardrobe with the rest of her ‘formal’ shoes. Fuyumi held back a yawn as she started unpacking her bag from the night before.
Lipgloss, pads, mints, ID, nothing was missing, but there was something else that she didn’t pack and she was sure she didn’t take anything home. It was a neatly folded piece of paper, which was odd. She tried to recall a moment that she was given this piece of paper but she was drawing a blank. Fuyumi unfolded the piece of paper, and its contents left her mouth slightly agape from the shock.
“Hey, if you ever want to see each other again, let me know.”
Hawks
He signed his name with a feather next to his name, and below was a phone number scribbled out on the paper. Fuyumi’s hand began to slightly shake from the shock. No way. No way that someone like Hawks was interested in someone like her, even after all that she said. However, sometimes your frontal lobe stops working, and your hands are reaching over to the phone, typing in a number and a message that you know that you will regret in the future. But hey, you’re only twenty-two once.
******************************
Unknown Number
Hey, it’s the girl from last night.
My name’s Fuyumi by the way.