My Hero Academia: Romanticise Like A Raven

TOWN - Part 2

The shop was playing some of that good, acidic grunge music. It dissolved my negativity and it all danced around me, no longer able to bother me. A deep breath made me feel comfort. Looking around made me feel normal.

The first aisle contained mostly CDs and records, but since I streamed most of my music anyway I just used this time to hunt for releases I'd missed. Thankfully, I hadn't missed anything. I was far too perceptive for that to happen.

Suddenly, I spaced. I found that I was just looking at album covers and not actually buying anything, so I moved on. Next was the clothes, which I saw were all different flavours of angst.

There was one in the corner which stood out, and so I grabbed it and bought it over to the mirror to see. I held it up to my chest and the cutesy demon was sweet. I tickled its chin as if it were a living thing which would appreciate as such, and then frowned.

"Do you think that Shoto would like it, Dark Shadow?" I asked them, turning a little bit to help visualise it in my mind.

Out of nowhere, Shoto replied, "I quite like it, yes."

I jolted and Dark Shadow withdrew. I turned to see that my flinch had caused Shoto to jump too.

"Sorry. You just... asked..." Shoto's face flushed and he looked down, embarrassed, "If I may ask, why were you wondering what I thought?"

I took a deep gulp of air to cool myself, "I just picked a name at random. Don't think too much into it."

Shoto looked doubtful, but he wasn't one to push. He shrugged and thought, "We should probably shop in here a little bit before we find the others. They're probably still doing the same."

Suddenly, I felt my finger twitch and an uncomfortable feeling rose in my chest, like heartburn. I didn't know if I could stay in a shop with a cute guy for so long, especially Shoto. What if I said something stupid? Even worse, what if I didn't say anything at all?

Dark Shadow squeezed me reassuringly from under my shirt, and this gave me some strength. I rubbed one arm with the other.

I took Momo's advice and forced a smile, "Of course."

I ignored my burning face and turned away sharply, joining Shoto in searching through hoodies. I picked out an oversized black one with a skeletally white, dead tree on it. Something about it resonated with me, like I was the dead tree, and so I held it up to Shoto.

"What do you think of this one, Todoroki?" I asked quietly.

"Again, why do you want my opinion? I think you look good in most things." Shoto admitted.

A loving smile flashed across my face. He was too sweet! He didn't need to say that, and yet now he had any trace of a bad mood I'd been having was gone in a second. In fact, less than that.

Dark Shadow appeared with my thoughts on their lips, "It's your opinion which matter most to us!"

My smile died. I batted Dark Shadow away and they faded again, but Shoto had definitely heard. His face was flushed and his eyes were wide with confusion.

"Really? Is that true?" Shoto gasped subtly.

Well, there was no lying now. I grimly admitted, "It's true."

I didn't expect Shoto to smile so genuinely after that. It was almost as if he'd been waiting for me to say that all his life, "You should've just said so. It looks great."

I smiled a little bit too, and my smile was just as real, if not more so.

***