The event was today and you were at the place where it was held. It was in a large theater with many, many seats, similar to the auditorium you saw at U. A.
The announcers had introduced the contestants and the prize of 250 thousand yen. You weren't aiming for the money, but for the fun and experience, especially with Hizashi.
You were backstage with your instruments, waiting for Hizashi. You were worried he wasn't going to make it. Trinket was in your hair, singing the song.
Suddenly, you felt someone ambush you from behind. "[Y/N]!
You looked behind you and saw a familiar brown-haired girl with a large, perfect smile. A boy who looked similar but with a smaller, less energetic smile stood behind her.
"Mabel! Mason!" you exclaimed, eyebrows raising. "I knew you guys would be here!"
"We knew you'd be here too!" the girl, Mabel, said. "Where's Rina?"
"She's sick," you said simply. "Since last year."
"Really?" The twins were surprised. "Who are you doing this with, then?"
"Hiza—" you caught yourself there. "Hisaki Yasuji. He's someone I've met a few months ago and we decided to work together."
"Awesome, and is this bird part of the band too?" Mabel poked the bird's beak, saying "boop."
"Yep, though the staff didn't really count it. Rina made it with her quirk."
"It's so detailed," Mason breathed. "Rina's quirk definitely improved a lot since we last saw each other."
"Where's Yasuji? I want to meet him!" Mabel jumped up and down childishly. "Are you two, ah, together~?"
You nodded.
"Darn." Mabel pouted. "I was thinking we could hook up. He sounds like a hot dude. And a musician at that."
You laughed. "I heard Mason's gotten a girlfriend before you."
"Oh shut it," Mason muttered, embarrassed. "We'd love to meet him anyhow."
"He's coming later," you said. "I told the host that I'd go last just in case he's late."
"I see," Mason mused. "We're going just before you then. What song are you playing? Your own or what?"
"I did a mashup of my song and his." Oops, you messed up. Satisfied was a popular song and they would definitely recognize it as Hizashi's. Oh well.
"Awesome, how are you splitting the instrumentals and singing?" Mason asked. "I see you're playing the drums."
"I am, and Hisaki is playing the guitar and piano. We're both singing different parts of the song." You pointed at the piano and guitar.
"Singing drummers aren't very common," Mabel commented. "That'll be interesting."
"There's plenty of leading drummers, Mabel," Mason said. "Ringo Starr, Levon Helm, and Roger Taylor were lead singers that played the drums."
"Nerd alert!" Mabel joked, rolling her eyes. You laughed as Mason elbowed his sister.
"Well, good luck with your show, we'll be looking forward to it!" Mason said.
"Yeah, and we're going to win this time!" Mabel exclaimed. "REDEMPTION!"
You laughed, then waved goodbye as they left to meet the other contestants.
Meanwhile, you knocked the wooden sticks together and then the drums. You didn't want to call Hizashi in case he was still in a meeting or doing some other work, but he was really starting to worry you.
The concert was going to start in just half an hour, and you could already hear hundreds and thousands of people. There were about 30 bands including yours, and if they each took around 5 minutes each it would take 150 minutes until your turn. Two and a half hours, you calculated. That should be enough, you thought.
You weren't sure what you would do if Hizashi couldn't make it.
~♬~
Only two more bands to display their talent until your turn. Hizashi still hadn't arrived. You had other people's shows to listen to and watch to distract you, but the worry came back as soon as they ended.
You called him once, but he didn't pick up. You texted him that your part was starting soon, but he hadn't replied.
"[Y/N]!" Mason called. "Take a look at this." He handed you his phone. It was displaying live footage of the news.
A live video showed two people—a bulky man in a suit and a weird face, and the number one hero you recognized as All Might. You saw him once in a while when you were visiting the school.
Now, however, All Might looked deflated and weak. He looked like the other man you often saw at the school but never got the chance to talk to him. Was he All Might the whole time? They did look similar.
The other man stood above him and raised his arm. The camera focused on the man and you saw his arm change into something scary.
Needles, muscle, nails, and other materials appeared on the arm and the man swung his arm to punch All Might.
You held your breath. Suddenly, All Might's bony arm raised and he buffed it up into a more bulky, muscular arm. The two fists collided and there was an explosion.
The camera work was shaky and you noticed that the camera crew was on a helicopter.
When the smoke cleared, you saw All Might on top of the other man, his fist in his face.
You let out your breath. You watched as he raised a weak, frail arm, hands balled into a fist, and inflated it as if it was a balloon.
"Gravity Falls!" You heard the announcer call. You handed the phone back to Mason.
"G-Good luck," you said to them, still amazed at what you just watched. That happened just now, and these people were here listening to music. All Might almost died.
Mabel and Mason got on the stage and you watched them. You could barely focus.
You knew All Might worked at U. A. He was probably helping the other teachers save the kidnapped student. Was Hizashi also somewhere around there helping out?
If so, he most likely wasn't going to make it here on time. You sighed and tried to focus on the twins' performance from offstage.
The only instruments on stage was Mason's violin. You knew their quirks enough to know that it was all they needed.
"Hey, hey!" Mabel called out to the audience, not even needing the microphone. "You know this band? Love it? I bet ya do! We love ya too!"
The crowd cheered.
"Boo for us!" Mason called out, smiling.
Half the audience let out either a confused boo or nothing at all and the rest booed confidently. The booing changed to cheering, whistling, and clapping immediately.
You knew this was Mason's quirk. He could alter sounds into other sounds. It usually only worked with onomatopoeia and not words, but it seemed like she practiced more.
"Let's go!" Mabel gripped the microphone hard and raised an arm to the air.
You heard different instruments even though all you and the audience could see was Mason's violin. It was Mason's quirk at work.
Mabel's quirk was like her very own auto tune. She could mimic different sounds, so that meant she could use other people's voices as her own.
(A/N: Pretend that it makes sense in the story context, like every other song put in the story.)
~♬~
You nodded your head to the rhythm and sang under your breath. Trinket bobbed her head on yours, somewhat singing it.
You looked at the audience, trying to spot Lina and Kaito, but instead saw a glimpse of a certain brown-haired woman with cat-eye glasses. You tried to remember who she was, then it came to you. Nala Hami, that woman from two months ago that Hizashi saved.
You shrugged it off, knowing that she was a fan of Hizashi and probably loved music, and came to the concert to listen to music like everyone else.
Nearing the end, you ran to the host, and cheerful man that waved as he saw you coming over. He was holding a clipboard with the names of the performers and bands.
"[Y/N] [L/N], yeah?" He asked. "You're up next, get ready!"
You nodded sadly. "Sorry, my partner won't be able to make it."
"What?" He exclaimed. He frowned, then looked over at the clipboard. "Do you think you could play at least something? We promised the audience something from a famous musician like you."
"You guys had Gravity Falls," you replied, still not accepting that you were famous.
The two of you discussed what to do, and you decided you might as well play something else while you were there.
You sighed again, then heard the audience cheer as Mabel and Mason's song ended.
~♪♫ ♪♫ ♪~
Chapter music question!
What would your band name be?