Being a Hero is just a Side Job (Shinsou x OC)

For You

The school festival was bustling with life and unrestrained joy. A multitude of costumes filled the hallways, everything from haunted houses to maid cafes were featured. The air tasted heavenly from the smell of every delicious snack ready to be shared with friends -or you could just eat them by yourself and not share. Sharing food is overrated anyway.

"Are you excited for our class concert?" Spinel asked as she took a bite of her Taiyaki. Everyone in their class -themselves included- had been working tirelessly to make sure the concert was perfect. They needed to make an impression.

"Honestly I'm super tired thinking about it." He smiled as he noticed a haunted house. "But I'm kind of looking forward to the results of our hard work." Hitoshi took Spinel's arm and gently steered her in the direction of the attraction. By the time Spinel finished her food and looked up it was too late. The pair were already in line and waiting for their turn.

"W-wait, no Hitoshi" She backed up a little, but Hitoshi held her tight.

"It won't be too bad; besides it won't be that long, it's just a classroom. How long can the route be?"

Spinel whimpered. She was never a fan of haunted houses or scary movies or horror anything if she was being honest. Suspense movies fell under that category no matter what everyone else said. Though, despite all this, he was right. Surely it couldn't be too scary. Far too soon it was their turn. Spinel held Hitoshi's arm in practically a vice grip as they took a step inside.

It was a frighteningly long path.

------

"P-periwinkle, that was so mean." She looked up at him, still holding tight to his arm. She wasn't a screamer but walking through that felt like an eternity and she most definitely screamed.

Hitoshi almost, almost felt a little bad when he saw her glossy eyes as small tears threatened to form. He had a feeling that it would be scary, but he honestly wasn't expecting that caliber of scary. The class did really good. The only downside was that he was now ninety percent sure he couldn't feel his arm. "Sorry Kitty cat. I just couldn't help it. Though you can release the claws now."

"O-oh, sorry, I didn't mean to squeeze that hard." She released him and gently tried to soothe the affected area. "Let's go to the stage area to watch the Talent show and play. We should have enough time to do that before the concert." Spinel glanced at the crowded path they had to walk through to get to their destination. It didn't look like any fun at all. She felt a large hand take hers.

"We won't be split up this way." Hitoshi smirked, though his face had a slight pink dusting of its own, he was pleased to see that Spinel was considerably more affected by his gesture than he was - if her mumbled 'yes' was any indication. Her hand fit perfectly in his, her delicate fingers completed the space between, the missing puzzle piece to his.

His hands felt calloused and rough, the proof that he worked twice as hard for everything he had. Surprisingly, she thought it suited him. She looked deep into his eyes, her cheeks reddening. His hands were warm in hers as he brought them up to his lips briefly kissing the back of her hand while their fingers were intertwined. "Y-yeah."

As the pair walked hand in hand Spinel's mind was on overdrive, she was so very not ready for that gesture. That meant she had a chance, right? Surely. That's it, I've died and gone to heaven. I'm dead, I've been killed. She was so worried and excited at the same time. It was one of those, 'Yay, I'm holding his hand, but no, what if my hands get sweaty? What if he can hear my heart pounding in my chest and ears. The last part was unrealistic, but it was still a fear – irrational as it sounded.

----TWO HOURS LATER-----

The talent show and play were both hilarious and amazing. But their concert? It blew everything else out of the water. The music blasted and made the audience feel alive. "WE'RE GOING TO ROCK YOUR WORLD!" The light strobed with every color imaginable that Spinel couldn't help but be reminded of a handful of candy.

"Thank you all for coming!" Jirou yelled into the microphone, her heart racing, her body quivering with adrenaline and excitement. A distorted guitar riff began the performance before the rest of the band followed. She took a breath and sang. She poured every last drop of conviction into her words; she sang like it was the last day on earth.

The performance was electrifying, the kind that sent tingles up your spine, and it wasn't from Kaminari's quirk either. Everyone was feeding off each other's smiles and moving to the crazy beat like they belonged to the music. In this one moment everyone was brought together. Izuku and Aoyama were perfectly in sync with the rest of the dancers before a quick drum solo burst out from the stage.

In that moment Izuku threw Aoyama in the air above the center of the stage. The cheers were deafening as Aoyama activated his quirk acting like a human disco ball for a second before Ojiro caught him. "WE GOT THEIR ATTENTION NOW! NOW KNOCK EM DEAD!" Jirou cried, as all her classmates started the finale.

Ice blasted from the rafters at the same time Tsu launched Uraraka around in the audience. "HIGH FIVE IF YOU WANNA HAVE SOME FUN!" Uraraka shouted as she held out her hands to the audience. She couldn't feel more alive if she shouted from the highest mountain top. The guests started floating up in the air as she activated her quirk.

Spinel and Hitoshi started to float backstage as Uraraka activated her quirk, they had forgotten that they had given her a high-five prior to the finale. "Well then, I guess we are included in the fun." Spinel giggled as the pair began to rise.

Shinsou cursed as he wobbled off balance and did an air tumble. "How are you so used to this?!" he shouted over the noise of the crowd.

"Uraraka floated me before in the final exams!"

"What?" Hitoshi had no idea what she was saying. Cheers and laughter emanated from the crowd as a few of them reached the icy beams. Every outrageous stunt was better than the last. Gold and silver glitter sprinkled from the air and danced in the cool breeze.

Spinel pushed herself closer, drifting lazily across the air before she collided with Hitoshi. He wrapped an arm around her waist to keep them together. "I said, Uraraka had floated me before."

"Ohh." Hitoshi nodded indicating his understanding. Hitoshi paused for a moment remembering what Mei had urged him earlier, 'You gotta wait for the right moment before you do it!' Hitoshi had no idea what would even be considered the right moment.

"Periwinkle? Did you hear me?" Spinel asked, a little pink dusting on her cheeks.

Truthfully, Hitoshi had no idea what she said. "Sorry, I missed it. What was it?"

Spinel sighed outwardly. Her effort was wasted by the sound of music and cheers.

"Hey, Kitty cat." Hitoshi spoke close to her ear to make sure she heard him. "I'm not really very good at the whole 'right time' thing, but...uh. I'm just really glad I met you. Honestly, you've flipped my life upside down and replaced the contents. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am now. You believed in me when no one else in the world did." Hitoshi was rambling at this point. "Sometimes you can be rather difficult and stubborn, but I suppose that's to be expected of a cat. W-well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that. I fell for you harder than a slip on black ice."

Spinel blushed brightly before she broke out in a small giggle. "That wasn't romantic at all. What you are supposed to say is something like..." The last part of her words were cut off by the guitar riff.

It was like time slowed down. They were the only people who mattered. Glitter swirled around the pair and danced playfully before it dispersed. Backstage and floating in the air, Spinel and Shinsou's fingers interlocked as they kissed tentatively, passionately then tenderly. It was sweeter than icing on a cake, softer than a cloud, but most importantly, the butterflies that plagued them for so long exploded into fireworks.

The lights flashed in different bursts of color over the audience. Everyone wore grins on their faces, and they danced like no one was watching. The students never felt more alive.

Hitoshi thanked his lucky stars that she was there with him. An apparently lucky keychain had managed to bring them together like a bad hallmark movie.

Reluctantly, they pulled away. Both their faces equally as red. "Before I met you, I never knew what it was like to smile for no reason."

"So, that's a yes?" Spinel grinned unable to stop herself.

"For you? A thousand times over."