Prey; weak, foolish creatures who pathetically live to be devoured by the strong- predators. Those without the strength to survive will be crushed and eaten by others. Pity the weak, and be distrusting of the strong. No matter how kind the predator...
Golden rays of light stain the pink skies as the sun sets, an orange glow pouring into the classroom. Aizawa had filled in all of Class 1-A on the mission tonight and they were more than excited to join. Yaoyorozu took it upon herself to specially design dresses for all of the girls in a flexible material that would allow us mobility. The boys went and got suits for tonight- of course, all of our attire in different shades of red to fit the Scarlet Banquet's name. All of us were to meet up at the school at six o'clock before we depart.
"Wow! These are so pretty, Yaomomo!" Ochako exclaims as she twirls in her sparkly, red dress with a poofy skirt.
"Really? Thank you! I tried to make something you would all like." Yaoyorozu states from her own dress that somewhat resembles her hero costume, but with a longer skirt.
"We all love them." Jiro responds while slipping on a black and red blazer over her short, dark crimson dress.
I take a look in the mirror that Yaoyorozu had created for us to take a look in. I examine the deep, scarlet dress made from a soft and flexible fabric. The top loosly hugs my arms, leaving my shoulders exposed. The skirt is loose and stops just past my knees. My eyes fall down to my white and gold combat boots from my hero costume. Although our shoes don't exactly match, it would be hard to move around in heels if anything were to happen, so we all decided on using the shoes from our hero costumes.
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A knock sounds on the classroom door. "Are you girls finished?" Aizawa's voice calls from the other side. We had kicked all of the guys out of the classroom so we could change.
"Hopefully no-AH!" Mineta says as the door opens a crack before being slammed shut again.
"Be careful, or else you will be kicked off the mission." Aizawa warns in a threateninng tone.
"What the hell is your problem?!" Bakugo's angry snap is heard loud and clear through the door.
"Too far, man. Too far." Kaminari mumbles.
Mina sighs as well. "Why is mineta even coming?" She mutters under her breath.
"We're coming out." Tsu calls out as we slide open the large door and meet the faces of the boys and Aizawa who were also all dressed up. My eyes immediately fall on Shoto who wears a white slacks and a white blazer with red on the underside. Underneath, is a black collared shirt with a red tie and thin, black suspenders. His two-toned hair is parted on the left side and tucked behind his ear.
'Woah.' I think as examine him. He looks good on a daily basis, but seeing him all dressed up like this really makes my heart pound.
"You guys look so se-" Mineta is jabbed in the ear by one of Jiro's earphone jacks.
Aizawa glances towards the watch on his wrist. Even he dressed up in a nice black suit with red accents. "We need to get a move on." He says. "Aoyama, Ashido, Asui, Iida, Uraraka, Ojiro, Kaminari, Kirishima, Koda, and Sato go into Limo A with Midnight."
"L-Limo?!" Ochako stammers. "Aren't those really expensive?!"
Yaoyorozu shrugs. "If my family has five, I'm sure the school can afford two for group A and B."
My and Ochako's jaws drop. "FIVE?!" We exclaim.
Aizawa continues, ignoring Ochako and I. "Shoji, Jiro, Sero, Tokoyami, Todoroki, Hagakure, Bakugo, Midoriya, Mineta, Yaoyorozu, and Utano come with me in Limo B with me." He states. "Remember, we're fishing for information. We want to find out who's hosting the banquet, what the 'test' they mentioned is, and most of all, if they know anything about Mirroress' whereabouts." He says. "Let's go down, now. We don't want to be late."
We all make our way down the stairs and out the front doors of the school to see two, shiny black limousines parked outside. Midnight emerges from the one in the front wearing a dark, velvetty dress and her hair and makeup done so extravegantly that she's barely recognizable. "Alright Group A, let's get a move on." She opens the Limousine's doors as half the class follows her in.
"Come on." Aizawa says as he holds the door of the limousine in the back open for us.
'Woah.' I think as I enter the dimly lit and surprisingly spacious limousine. I take a seat on the soft, black, leather seat. The dull pink lights under the seats cast a warm glow on our legs and feet as we sit down.
Although it's dark, I can make out who sits down next to me through the light coming from outside the tinted windows. My heartbeat quickens slightly as my arm brushes Shoto's. "Can you move over a little." He whispers to me, his breath tickling my ear.
"Y-Yeah." I stammer and quickly shuffle to the side as everyone else piles in. The limo's doors close and we begin to drive off.
Aizawa clears his throat. "Everyone, we'll be approaching in about an hour. Please remember not to consume any of the drinks or food at the banquet. We don't know what those villains could be up to." He explains. "Don't engage in combat unless necessary, we want to keep a low profile." He gives Bakugo a look. The latter looks away, clicking his tongue with an angry look that does not suit his red and black tux and tie. "And please don't run off. If anything is to happen, we need to be able to regroup as quickly as possible."
Midoriya raises his hand. "Mr. Aizawa, how will we be able to reach each other?" He asks. "And if villains from the League will be there, won't they recognize us from USJ?"
Aizawa reaches down and pulls out a cardboard box from under his seat. He opens the box to reveal several fox masks similar to my previous one except they only cover our eyes and nose masquerade-style. "Take them." He says as we all reach in to grab a mask. I turn it over to see a small speaker the size of a fly on the side of the mask.
"There's an earpiece. If you tap it, you'll hear a beep and everyone will be able to hear you. Double tap it, and it will be off again, but you'll still be able to listen in." He explains. "If you are in trouble, say the code phrase, 'What perfume are you using?'" He states. "One of the pro heroes will come get you and we'll leave as swiftly as possible. Got it?"
"Yes, sir." We all respond. I stare at the white mask in my hands, running my fingers shakily across the smooth, red patterns painted on it. An unsettling feeling bubbles up from the bottom of my stomach as the mask seems to stare into my eyes. "Weak." I could hear the words of the fox whispering to me, mocking me, laughing at me as its eyes bore into me. I gulp as a horrible, dense weight forms in my chest and my hands shake. 'Calm down.' I tell myself, but even my own voice in my head comes out nervous and feeble.
A warm hand lands on top of mine and I don't even need to look to know that it's Shoto's. His hand grasps mine firmly and gives mine a gentle squeeze. I take a deep breath and tear my eyes away from the mask to look at Shoto. He faces forward as if sitting mindlessly and it's too dark to see his face clearly, but his sentiments are conveyed successfully without visuals or spoken words. I relax in my seat and turn to face the window. 'It's okay. I'm not the same girl who hides behind the guise of a fox, anymore. I'm somebody more, and maybe....
'somebody to him.'
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A/N:
Thank you all for 2K!!! I'm so happy this book is getting reads! I'm really putting in effort to the story, and hopefully you're all enjoying it so far!
