Chapter Text
“No, seriously,” the blonde boy complained again. “I already told you, I don’t like it. Find someone else.”
A few days ago, his friend Rumi had begged him repeatedly to go with her to a concert in their city.
A relatively unknown rock band called “League of Villains.”
They were mostly known for the appearance of their members, since they never let themselves be seen outside their concerts. If it weren’t for the small number of fans they had, no one would have cared enough to try to discover what they really looked like.
Rumi was a fan of that kind of music.
Of that band.
Especially its vocalist, who went by Shigaraki.
She had posters, pictures on her phone, CDs…
She had even gotten the signature he had once drawn for her tattooed on her arm.
As far as Keigo was concerned, Rumi was their number one fan.
“Come on, there’s nothing wrong with trying!” the white-haired girl begged, bouncing around him. “I need you to come with me. Besides, I already bought the tickets.”
“I don’t care. Find someone else,” the younger boy huffed.
“I’ll buy you dinner in exchange! You just have to go and give it a try. Maybe you’ll like it.”
The younger boy raised an eyebrow at her.
He liked the idea of dinner.
He thought about it a couple of times.
Several times, actually.
He didn’t like the idea of being surrounded by a crowd of people jumping, screaming, and moving around, especially if he couldn’t even join in by singing along to the songs they were going to play.
“Fine… But I’m not settling for just one dinner.”
The girl’s smile appeared immediately, and she hurried toward the café, the younger boy following behind her.
They sat down, and after ordering, Rumi spoke again.
“Wanna see them?” she asked.
He merely shrugged.
Rumi immediately pulled out her phone and started typing.
A moment later, she placed it on the table.
A picture of the band filled the screen, and Keigo looked at it.
His eyes moved from one member to the next, taking in what each of them looked like.
“Who’s this one?” he asked, pointing at the guy wearing what looked like an incredibly uncomfortable suit.
“That’s Twice. He’s the bassist.”
The boy nodded and pointed at another member.
This time, it was a girl with two buns.
“She’s Toga. Vocalist and pianist, depending on the song.”
“Okay, she’s pretty,” he replied, nodding.
His finger moved to another person, this one wearing a mask and a hat.
“Mr. Compress. He plays several instruments.”
A small laugh escaped Keigo.
He found it hilarious that someone had such a fancy name.
Then his eyes landed on a guy he couldn’t stop staring at.
Maybe it was the intense look he was giving the camera.
Or his sharp jawline, covered in what looked like burn scars.
Was it makeup?
Or maybe it was the tongue piercing, along with the typical expression rock musicians seemed to have.
Or perhaps it was his hands wrapped around a guitar, making his arms look really good.
God, he didn’t know what it was, but that boy was really hot.
Several scenarios ran through his mind.
Of course, none of them were exactly appropriate.
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
Rumi’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Keigo nodded.
“That’s Dabi. Lead guitarist and second male vocalist.”
Keigo nodded once more and handed the phone back.
He had no interest in asking about the guy wearing the reptile-like mask behind the drums.
His role was pretty obvious.
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Keigo ran his hand along the barricade.
It didn’t look like it could hold that many people.
They were already there, standing beside his friend, who was practically bouncing with excitement despite the band not even being on stage yet.
Unfortunately for Keigo—and to Rumi’s delight—they were in the front row.
Fuck.
He really didn’t like this.
Still, it was better than being in the middle of the crowd, where he’d have to deal with people pushing against him or using him as a way through.
He looked over the stage.
Nothing particularly impressive.
He hadn’t expected much, considering they weren’t exactly famous.
Still, it wasn’t bad.
There weren’t too many people, but there weren’t too few either.
Thankfully, the crowd wasn’t being loud before the band came out, so Keigo stayed on his phone without any trouble.
After several minutes of waiting, the lights finally went out.
A loud sound made him look up from his phone.
The stage setup immediately caught his attention.
Smoke poured out from the sides of the stage as the vocalist, Shigaraki, appeared.
The fans’ screams filled the venue.
Including Rumi’s.
Smoke spread across different parts of the stage, revealing several members of the band with their respective instruments.
Except for one.
Instead of smoke, blue flames erupted from the sides of the stage.
Beautiful.
The flames revealed the guy with the scars across his face.
“Dabi.”
His guitar hung against his chest, his hands resting on it as he looked out at the audience.
“Good evening, Musutafu!” the vocalist shouted, grabbing the microphone as the entire crowd responded. “Are you ready for the show?”
The screams immediately became painful to Keigo’s ears.
He looked at Rumi, who was far too focused on the long-haired guy on stage.
His eyes traveled across all the members until they landed on Dabi.
Keigo tensed slightly when he noticed that the guitarist was staring directly at him.
The fuck?
How long had he been looking?
Was he looking at him?
Maybe he was looking at Rumi.
Was he cross-eyed?
Keigo held his gaze for a moment and was startled when Shigaraki spoke again.
“What do you want to hear tonight?”
Keigo glanced back at Dabi while the crowd shouted out the names of different songs he obviously didn’t know.
Dabi wasn’t looking at him anymore.
So Keigo decided to clear his mind and assume that the guitarist had simply been looking randomly into the crowd.
He just happened to be standing in the front row.
Before he knew it, smoke filled the stage again, and the band quickly started playing.
The music wasn’t bad.
The vocalist’s voice was rough, but it fit the songs perfectly.
The guitarists moved around the stage, occasionally looking at each other before stepping in front of the vocalist and taking over the spotlight.
Several times, Twice started messing with Dabi whenever his instrument wasn’t part of the notes in certain songs.
Twice would point at Dabi as if judging him, laughing underneath the mask covering his face while Dabi continued playing the guitar, slowly shaking his head.
After several songs, the concert was coming to an end.
The final song surprised Keigo when it started with Dabi taking the microphone and singing the opening lines.
His voice was neither soft nor rough.
It had a deep, steady tone that held every note perfectly.
As Dabi sang, his eyes moved across different parts of the audience.
Until, suddenly, they landed on Keigo again.
He knew it now.
Dabi wasn’t cross-eyed.
He wasn’t looking at anyone else.
He was looking at him.
And he stayed that way.
Dabi seemed completely in control of everything he was doing.
Playing guitar.
Singing perfectly.
Looking directly at Keigo.
Once his part was over, he stepped away from the microphone and out of Keigo’s line of sight, playing the guitar hanging from his chest more intensely.
The rest of the band continued moving around the stage while Toga took her part after Shigaraki.
Keigo had to admit that he liked the band’s energy.
The final applause filled the venue as the members bowed.
A calmer song played in the background, and Keigo finally heard his friend speak, her voice slightly hoarse from singing so much.
“It’s now or never. They’re gonna throw picks and other stuff into the crowd. We have to grab something.”
She sounded incredibly excited.
Keigo simply laughed.
The members quickly formed a line near the edge of the stage.
Toga sat at one end, high-fiving as many people as she could and forming a heart with her hands.
The guy in the uncomfortable suit stood beside her, doing the same thing before throwing the pick he’d used toward the people farther away.
Shigaraki crouched down near Rumi, who desperately tried to touch his hand.
Keigo found the whole thing amusing.
And, like something straight out of a cheesy romance novel, Dabi sat down directly in front of him, resting his elbows on his knees.
For some reason, there weren’t many people trying to get his attention, so he simply took the opportunity to stay there and pay attention to the fans who actually wanted it.
Keigo pretended he didn’t have Dabi directly in front of him and stared at his phone, waiting for the concert to finally end.
He could feel Dabi’s eyes on him.
But he refused to look up.
Something hit him directly in the forehead.
Keigo looked up, only to realize Dabi had thrown his guitar pick at him to get his attention.
“I didn’t see you sing a single song. You could’ve just stayed home.”
His slightly breathless voice carried over the noise.
Keigo found it strange that he was talking to him, but he only smiled and shrugged.
“I came for her.”
Keigo pointed at Rumi, raising his voice because he could barely hear himself over the screaming crowd.
Dabi climbed down from the stage and stepped behind the barricade.
He picked up the guitar pick from the floor and held it out toward Keigo.
“For your friend.
Or for you.”
Keigo thanked him with a small smile.
Dabi winked.
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They walked home with Rumi practically bouncing beside him.
“Didn’t you like it? It was incredible! I touched his hand, Kei!”
Keigo laughed and nodded.
“It wasn’t bad. It was… interesting.”
He slipped his hands into his pockets and felt the guitar pick inside one of them.
He didn’t take it out.
He simply left it there.
“You were staring at the bassist a lot,” Rumi said, looking at Keigo. “I didn’t know you liked bass.”
“Nah. He was looking at me,” Keigo replied, giving her a wink.
“Could be. I heard he’s kind of a flirt.”
Keigo laughed softly and looked at his friend.
“Don’t worry.”
“He’s not my type.”