Heroes of Tomorrow

Part 48~The Band

Uzu sighed as he walked down.

"You really still stuck on the make-up class? That sucks," Kaminari chuckled as Uzu groaned.

"I know. I want to be around you guys, helping the class make decisions and hearing my beautiful girlfriend sing." Uzu pouted as Jiro froze midstep, a blush on her face.

"It's really not that big a deal. It's more important that you can catch back up before the exam," Jiro announced as Uzu sighed.

"I would prefer to be here with you. Hey, I wanna be in the band! Promise you'll reverse me a spot?"

Jiro chuckled as she shook her head. "Sure thing. You should hurry up and prove yourself to Aizawa so you can return to us, though."

Uzu grinned. "You bet!" He rushed off as Jiro sighed happily.

"He's a moron."

~~~

"The school festival is one month away. We don't have much time. We should start making decisions right now," Iida announced as Hagakure nodded, though it was hard to tell.

"First, we need to pick out a song, right? What should we do?"

"I don't know much about popular music, so I'll leave that up to you guys," Ojiro muttered as Akiko stepped closer.

"We should let Kyoka or Mina choose. As they're going to be performing and organising the rest of us, they should have the final say."

"If we're doing this for everyone, shouldn't it be a song that most people know so they could dance and sing along with us?" Kaminari tilted his head as Mina jumped high.

"It should have a good beat! So we can get down!"

Jiro tapped her forehead as she came to a decision. "With those things in mind, I think I know what would make sense. A hardcore, four-one-the-floor club song. It'll be like a rave-meets-rock show. As for dance music, EDM would probably be the most popular. But you guys wanna play instruments, right?"

The class looked confused.

"Anyone play bass or drums or anything?"

Akiko hummed. "Well, technically, I can play the guitar, but I'm not good at performing under pressure, and I only play classical, so it's not a good instrument for a performance like this."

"I thought you said you could play chords too," Jiro piped up as Akiko coughed.

"Technically, yeah, but that's about four chords that I would play for the junior choir. It is not the same, and I've got a lot more anxiety since then. I think trying to play on a stage may cause a panic attack."

Jiro agreed that was not preferable. "Okay, well, I'd say that drums are the backbone of any band. I'd take on the responsibility myself, but honestly, I main the guitar, not percussion. Teaching a beginner to play an instrument while practising myself would be impossible to do in just one month."

"Hey! Didn't you accidentally admit your parents made you take music classes when you were a kid?" Kaminari turned to Bakugo as the class began cheering.

Bakugo was not up for it.

"Bet the drums are too much for ya," Kaminari began jeering as Bakugo growled. He took to the drum set, proving the kid wrong.

"Well?" Bakugo glared at the class as they cheered, claiming Bakugo as the drummer. "Huh. No way am I making a fool of myself up on that stage."

Jiro rushed forward, trying to stop Bakugo as he began his ritual storm off. "Bakugo, come on. Do it! If we rock this, everyone'll have a great time!"

"Don't you get what's gonna happen? I'll spell it out for you. We're doing this because we wanna let the other courses blow off some steam, right? But we're the ones who caused their stress to begin with. So we're just trying to make ourselves feel better. This is gonna seem like a slap in the face from the people they can't stand."

The class stared in a shocked silence. Hagakure was the first to break it, an annoyed tint to her voice. "Don't be rude. We're just trying to help."

"Yeah, that kinda thinking is what I'm talking about."

Iida frowned, looking at Bakugo sadly. "I see. Perhaps he's right. Did we think this through enough?"

"You didn't help us decide what to do, so you can't complain now," Todoroki scolded.

"Doesn't all this make you mad? It's not like we wanted villains to show up and ruin things for everybody. Why do we have to be so concerned about how these weaklings feel? Stop trying to get on their good side. We're not here to make friends; we're here to fight. If we're gonna put on a show, then we can't hold anything back! Let's murder everyone in UA with killer music!"

The class cheered, ignoring the terrifying motive behind Bakugo's words.

"So that's it," Todoroki muttered. "At the summer training camp, Bakugo was kidnapped by the villains."

"And ever since then, he's been carrying that burden with him," Iida finished as Akiko hummed.

"At least he had Uzu." The two nodded as Akiko sighed.

"Is something wrong, Akiko?" Mina tilted her head as Akiko laughed nervously.

"As much as I love this idea, I'm a little worried about my role. Even with therapy, being around loud, noisy is challenging."

"Hey, we'll find a job for you," Midoriya announced as Akiko chuckled.

"Yeah. I doubt Uzu will let me slack off." She smiled as the class continued their planning.

"This might help," Momo began. "As part of my classical education, I've studied the piano since I was just a little girl. I'd be happy to play in the band if you need me."

Mina grinned, an excited bounce in her step. "Aw, yeah! Momo'll totally rock those keyboards."

"I mean, we've gotta have someone on synth for the dance music," Jiro decided. "I think you'd be perfect for the gig."

"Then I'll do my best."

"Aw, I wanted all the girls to get together for a big choreo number, but you'll still look cute up on stage," Mina announced as Jiro hummed.

"Bass is my speciality, so now we just need guitars and vocals."

Akiko grinned. "Uzu said he wanted to do something in the band. He'll be more than up for learning an instrument, and he does have a better voice than most."

Jiro nodded. "He told me that too. He was trained in singing, right?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't like singing out front. His voice is still a little too high for his likely, so he gets put off." Akiko smiled. "That said, he is good at reading music, and I've taught him some basics on guitar. It won't be enough to throw him on stage right away, but it's better than working from scratch."

"I'll check with him later if he's still up for performing. We can practise in the mornings and at lunch and on days when he doesn't have extra class."

Akiko grinned. "You're the one who's gonna tell me."

"I don't think he'll mind," Jiro smirked as she crossed her arms proudly.