Hitomi had barely fixed her tie before something caught her eye, running ahead of Mirio, Midoriya, and Eri and excitedly pointing out everything she saw.
"Look at this!! Oh, and that!! Wait, oh my gosh, what's that?!"
The three of them stared at the bluenette, Mirio scratching his head. "Kanetsukabe seems really excited."
Midoriya smiled sheepishly as he watched his friend. "She spent her junior high years in America, so this is the first time she's really gotten to participate in a school festival I think. I've never seen her so excited, honestly. She's usually a lot more laid back."
The three of them trailed after Hitomi as she stopped every few moments to point something out, amused at her excitement. Once they'd finally caught up to her, Hitomi rubbed the back of her neck, laughing in embarrassment.
"Sorry, I just can't help myself pointing everything out!" she told them. She opened her eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of a dragon. "What."
"Wha?!" Midoriya exclaimed, shielding Eri.
"Oh, sorry..." they heard someone mutter, only to see Tetsutetsu pop out from behind the dragon head. "Oh, it's Midoriya and Kanetsukabe from Class A!"
"What's this, what's this?!" a new voice shrieked, turning out to be Monoma from behind him. "For you to be idling around in a place like this... You don't have any work to do?!"
Midoriya placed a comforting hand on Eri's shoulder, checking up on her. "You okay, Eri?"
"I thought it was the person who fell from the sky..."
"Fell from the sky...?" Midoriya mumbled, before a look of realization crossed his features. "Oh, you mean Ryukyu."
"Oh, ignoring me?! You must be confident!!"
Hitomi's hand lingered over Eri's hair for a moment before finally settling to rest on her head. Eri stared at her curiously. "Don't mind him," she told the little girl. "He's a little, uh..." Hitomi held a finger up to her temple, moving it in a circular motion only for Eri to tilt her head in confusion.
Monoma's eyebrow twitched at the action, but he ignored it. "I heard Class A is doing a concert or something! You okay with that? This time, to put it bluntly, Class B's performance is going to be much more amazing than yours!"
Hitomi was almost afraid to ask. "What... are you guys doing...?"
Monoma smirked, holding his arms out. "'Romeo and Juliet and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Return of the King', a totally spectacular original fantasy screenplay from none other than Class B!!"
Hitomi sweatdropped.
Original, my ass, she wanted to say, but she held her tongue so as not to curse in front of Eri. Hanging around Bakugou all the time was seriously starting to affect her vocabulary. "Sounds... fun."
Monoma started laughing, an insane smile on his face. "You'll probably want to prepare... A handkerchief to wipe your tears when you're blown away by us, that is!!" He continued to laugh maniacally, before Hitomi noticed one of his classmates creeping up behind him with a large wooden stick in his hands.
Hitomi quickly turned Eri away and covered her eyes, with Midoriya covering the little girl's ears as a loud "WHACK!" was heard.
Monoma now laid face down on the ground, some hiragana that said "Awase" written in... blood? With his finger. Hitomi figured it was the name of the classmate who'd just put him in check.
"He seems even nastier than usual..." Midoriya said unsurely, he and Hitomi watching as Awase let the stick fall to the ground. They both pulled their hands away from Eri as the Class B student proceeded to pick up Monoma.
"Sorry, Class A," Awase said as he hoisted the blonde's arm around his shoulder. As he and Midoriya began to converse, Hitomi saw another boy approaching them, recognizing his dark brown, shaggy hair.
"What's the hold up?" the brunette said as he stopped by the group. Tetsutestu turned towards him and gestured to the scene. The other boy's face settled into a bit of an annoyed expression as he immediately understood. "Of course." His eyes then shifted to Hitomi, widening in recognition and making the bluenette tense slightly as Midoriya and Awase continued to converse behind her. "Oh, hey Kanetsukabe."
Hitomi smiled slightly. "Hey, Kaibara-san. Thanks again for those photos you gave me."
Kaibara seemed to stiffen, looking to the side and scratching his cheek. "It's really... nothing special."
Hitomi's mouth fell open and she shook her head. "What are you talking about??" she exclaimed, holding her fists up determinedly. Kaibara blinked at the closer proximity she'd initiated, surprised. "Those photos you took were really beautiful! You should be giving yourself more credit. I know night photography isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, especially when you have to deal with light pollution and all that. The fact you were able to capture the stars so well really says a lot about your skill!"
Kaibara's cheeks began to turn a very slight shade of red, but it went unnoticed by Hitomi who was too preoccupied talking about his photos. "...I guess you're not wrong about that..." he muttered.
Hitomi clasped her hands together, smiling at him. "Seriously, I'm glad you gave them to me. I got a small photo album for them so they'd be in a safe place, since I wanna take good care of them. So... thanks again, really!"
Kaibara didn't say anything in reply, only rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. Soon Awase walked past them, Monoma's feet dragging across the ground as he carried him away.
"I'm not Monoma, but let's go all out!" Hitomi heard Tetsutetsu call, likely to Midoriya. She guessed the conversation with Awase was over now. Tetsutetsu nudged Kaibara with his shoulder. "C'mon, the class is waiting to get this dragon head." He gave Hitomi a friendly nod, wearing a toothy smile. "See you guys around!"
Kaibara and Hitomi watched as he turned around to follow after Awase, the former dropping his hand to his side. "Guess I'll get going."
Hitomi nodded, turning to Midoriya and the others as she kept her eyes on the Class B student. "Right. Good luck with your play," she said with a small laugh.
"Good luck to you too with your performance... I guess."
Hitomi gave him a small wave goodbye before she rejoined with her group, the four of them making their way to the inside of the school building.
...
Tetsutetsu eyed Kaibara slyly as the Class B students walked back to where the rest of their peers were.
"So... Kanetsukabe, huh?"
Kaibara stared back at the silver-haired boy, squinting at him. "...Shut up."
Tetsutetsu only laughed in response.
...
"Well, that's about it," Mirio said cheerfully.
Hitomi leaned back in her seat back at the lunchroom, sighing as Eri sipped a cup of juice. They'd just finished seeing as much of the festival preparations as they could, including a visit to Nejire and Hatsume.
"Are you used to it?" Midoriya asked Eri, leaning back in his seat as well. "I mean, how was it?"
"I don't really know..." Eri mumbled. Hitomi noticed Midoriya and Mirio seem to deflate slightly. "But..." Their heads snapped back to her, anticipating what she had to say.
"...there are a lot of different people working really hard," Eri mumbled into her straw, "so I wonder how it'll turn out..."
Hitomi saw Midoriya and Mirio beam at each other, her eyes softening.
"That's what people call 'getting excited.'"
The four of them looked around for the source of the new voice, seeing Principal Nezu and Midnight a few seats away, the mouse hungrily chomping down on a block of cheese. He finished it quickly, sighing to himself as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I'm also excited about the school festival! So many students are working hard and having fun in order to make it the best and to let people enjoy it!"
"The police also had stuff to say about it," Midnight added on somewhat gloomily.
"Now, Kayama." Nezu hopped off his seat, holding his paws together behind his back. "Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it to your heart's content," he hummed, walking away.
After he was out of earshot, Midnight finished off the last of her meal, getting up from her seat. "I won't tell you the details, but it looks like the principal worked hard. As a result, the security is even stronger... And if the alarm sounds, even if it's a false alarm, we had to agree to cancel it and evacuate, otherwise we can't have it."
"That sounds strict..." Hitomi couldn't help but remark.
Midnight sighed. "Of course, to keep that from happening, we're also beefing up our defense. We're even releasing Hound Dog around the vicinity of the school. Oh yeah, Class A's performance is causing a stir in the faculty lounge, too!" She turned to leave, walking away from the table. "Do your best living at your youth!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Hitomi and Midoriya both called after her.
Eri turned to them, a timid look in her eyes. "What will your class be doing, Deku?"
"We're performing a dance with music!!" he exclaimed, giving the little girl a grin.
Hitomi leaned forward, grinning as well. "I'll be up on stage singing, and Midoriya's gonna be dancing!!"
"That's right!" Midoriya nodded, giving Eri the softest smile Hitomi had ever seen. "I'll do my best to make it fun for you too, Eri, so make sure you come and watch!"
Midoriya's phone suddenly buzzed, the boy pulling it out. Hitomi saw his eyebrows raise slightly as he scanned his phone. "Oh, sorry, guys!" he said, getting up from the table. "Our break's almost over." Hitomi got up from the table as well, pushing her chair in.
"Oh, we should probably get going then."
"We're heading off!"
...
Hitomi sighed as she and Midoriya entered the dorms, loosening her tie.
"Oh, Hitomi, you're back!" Jirou exclaimed, halting her playing. She noted Midoriya and Hitomi's uniforms, her eyebrows raising in curiosity. "You were out for a while. What were you guys doing?"
Hitomi plopped onto the armrest of the couch as Midoriya ran upstairs to change, pulling her tie off as she flopped back onto the cushions. "We went to go see the festival preparations with Eri and Togata-senpai. Everything looked amazing!" She suddenly sat back up, leaning over the backrest as her tie got crumpled in her hands. "Did you know Class B's doing a play?"
Kaminari grumbled to himself, shaking his hands after he'd played the wrong chord. "Ugh! Fingers spazzed out..."
"Kaminari. Check lesson two," Jirou told him, before turning back to Hitomi. "What kind of play? Are they doing a classic or something?"
Hitomi shook her head. "Monoma-san called it 'Romeo and Juliet and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Return of the King'. They said it's an original screenplay, but the title should tell you enough."
"That sounds like such a mess I almost want to check it out," Jirou sweatdropped, before continuing to strum her bass. "Well anyways, we've been making progress. If we continue at the rate we're going, I think we'd be ready for you to sing with us in a day or two!!"
Hitomi spluttered, feeling her face heat up. "So soon?!" She let out a sigh, patting her chest. "Waah, the idea of singing in front of you guys makes my heart kinda race..."
Her eyes drifted to Bakugou briefly before looking away.
"There's no need to worry, Hitomi!" Jirou assured her. "Your voice is really pretty and I would still totally love for you to be lead, but I know you don't want to and I won't push it."
Hitomi waved her off, smiling at her friend. "It's all good. Everyone agrees that your voice is the best, after all," she said cheekily.
Jirou blushed, giving her a wobbly smile. Right then Kaminari went off-key, leading Bakugou to slam his drumsticks down as he pointed at the blonde. "Dunce Face!! Keep up with the tempo, you idiot!!" Bakugou's gaze shifted to Hitomi, his eyes narrowing. "Moon Face!! The hell are you still doing here?! You should be practicing your damn exercises! I know Ears has got her part covered, but I've only ever heard your quiet-ass humming! Get your voice in shape so we can murder UA's eardrums!!"
Hitomi smiled sheepishly, getting off the couch as she pulled off her blazer. "I suppose you're right. I'm gonna head upstairs so I can practice in my room."
"Ah, see you later, Hitomi!" Jirou called after her as she made her way to the elevators.
Hitomi waved, giving them a bright smile. "See ya."
----------
"So you'll come in here," Jirou told Hitomi, pointing at a specific line of lyrics before moving down to the bottom of the page, "and then we'll harmonize at this part. Then you'll be doing the chorus, as well as the parts I've highlighted." Jirou then turned the page, pointing at another line. "You'll sing up to here, and I'll pick up from there. You got all that?"
Hitomi nodded, a determined glint in her eye. "I think so...!"
"Do you have the lyrics memorized?"
Hitomi shook her head, smiling sheepishly. "Not really. I've been focusing more on the vocal exercises than the actual song..."
Jirou waved her off, slinging on her bass. "That's okay!! We've got three and a half more weeks, so you've got plenty of time."
"Are we getting started yet or what?!" Bakugou grunted.
The two girls turned to see he had his arms crossed while his leg was bouncing, with Kaminari, Tokoyami, and Yaoyorozu all standing ready, their instruments already tuned.
"Ahh, one sec...!" Jirou told him. She grabbed the music stand that was resting against the couch, setting it in front of Hitomi and propping Hitomi's notes on top of it. "You can have the lyrics in front of you until you memorize them for now."
"Right." Hitomi smiled, grabbing the mic Jirou was holding out to her. She took a deep breath, although it did nothing to calm her rapid heartbeat. Her cheeks flushed, feeling nervous that she was finally going to be singing along.
"Ready, guys?" Jirou asked the five of them, everyone nodding in reply. Bakugou tapped his drumsticks together, launching the band into the beginning of the song.
Hitomi could tell they missed a few notes, but the beat was there. She bounced along slightly, her grip tightening on the mic as they approached the first few lyrics. She turned to look at Jirou, the girl nodding at her before Hitomi turned back to her notes.
And... now!!
She and Jirou both started singing, Hitomi surprised at how loud and clear her voice came out. She read the words highlighted in her notes, trying to keep up with the music everyone was making.
As they went further into the song, Hitomi could feel herself getting immersed in the music despite the occasional incorrect note or wrong chord. She started unconsciously swaying along to the beat, her skirt swinging with her as she sang.
Hitomi and Jirou harmonized, their voices creating an enchanting sound. Hitomi could feel her heart beating in her chest as she continued singing, turning the page for the rest of the lyrics. As she approached the end of her chorus, she could feel herself running out of breath, sighing as she finally finished her part. She watched as Jirou, Bakugou, Kaminari, Tokoyami, and Yaoyorozu's music picked up, the song reaching its climax.
Hitomi swayed along, smiling as she listened to Jirou's beautiful voice. Her friend trailed off, the music being the only sound as Jirou gestured to Hitomi. The bluenette turned back to her notes, bringing her mic back up to her mouth to sing the closing lyrics with Jirou. As they sang the words, the music slowly died off, the band approaching the end of the song. The last sound was the strum of Jirou's bass, the note hanging in the air for a moment before finally fading off.
Hitomi sighed, placing a hand on her chest as she felt as if she could finally breathe again. Behind her she heard soft clapping, turning to see Kaminari and Yaoyorozu doing just that.
"Amazing, Hitomi!!" Kaminari grinned.
"Your voice goes really well with Jirou's."
"For a first run, that was great, Hitomi!!" Jirou exclaimed, smiling at her.
Hitomi felt herself blush, feeling as if her heart was ready to leap out of her throat. "Ah...! Thank you..."
"I noticed you were getting out of breath though, so keep working on your exercises, okay?"
"Right!!" Hitomi held her throat, setting the mic down as she gave Jirou a sheepish smile. "That was nerve wracking... My heart can't stop racing and my throat's kinda dry..."
"Ah, in that case," Yaoyorozu started, stepping away from her keyboard, "I suppose it's time for a break. I'll go make today's tea!!"
Jirou slung her bass off, Kaminari and Tokoyami doing the same with their guitars. "Yeah, we've been at this for a few hours now, anyway."
"I'll go get the dance squad!" Kaminari exclaimed, setting his guitar down and running to the front doors.
"I suppose it's practically dinner time, isn't it?" Tokoyami said, before making his way to the kitchen.
"Oh, better get all the plates out then!" Jirou followed after him, leaving Bakugou and Hitomi alone with the instruments.
Hitomi glanced at Bakugou shyly for a second before looking down at the ground, fidgeting with her hands. "...Great job today, Bakugou. I honestly had no idea you were this good at drumming."
Bakugou set his drumsticks down, looking away. "Music lessons go a long way," he grumbled out. Hitomi saw him run a hand through his hair, before he got up from his chair. "...I could say the same about your singing," he mumbled.
Hitomi looked at him confused, unable to hear what he'd said as the dance squad had just come inside. "Huh? Could you repeat that?"
Bakugou huffed, walking towards the dining tables. "Nothing."
"But I saw your mouth move!" Hitomi protested, trailing after him.
"I didn't say anything worth repeating," Bakugou scoffed, grabbing a plate from the stack Jirou and Tokoyami had set out, along with some utensils.
Hitomi puffed her cheeks out, doing the same as she followed after him. "If you say so..."
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A/N: Pretty sure this chapter used to be two separate ones 🤔 but anyways, a bit of Hitomi/Sen!! Tetsutestu knows hehe 👀
BTW, main fic chapters will be on pause for a bit again since there's a side story that takes place in between this chapter and the next one! Hopefully this won't end up like last time where I didn't update for like almost 6 months bc of school LMAO. I think I'm a bit better adjusted to it now so I'll try to fit my fic stuff into my schedule more.
BUT I'd highly recommend reading the side story when it comes out! A character that's had a few mentions already here in the main story shows up there. You'll finally get a better and more in-depth understanding of him :3 Technically, he does already have a side story but this one'll serve as his proper introduction since it was originally meant to come out first 🫶🏼
(P.S. no it's not about Ghost lol)
It'll be in the side stories titled "Serendipity"! Stay tuned for it ❤️