Work Text
“On the new white and blue Ingenium Motorsports beauty, the rookie…Tenya Iida!” yelled the announcer, the flamboyant DJ, singer and all-around personality self-styled Present Mic. “After a terrible accident a year ago, Ingenium is back, baby! Will the kid brother live up to the standard? Or will he end last place?!”Camie Utsushimi looked up from her busy Instagram account to look at the pilot mentioned, his face up on the big screens, some data next to him. The pilot was her age, looked a bit serious and…was handsome as hell! Too bad they cut him rather soon, replaced by a green haired pilot.“With the Alfa Romeo team, in a beautiful British Racing Green livery…Izuku Midoriya! They say he was trained by the biggest champion since Schumacher…Toshinori Yagi of All Might Racing! But what we really care about is the rivalry with…Katsuki Bakugou!” Camie was surprised to see Bakugou now on the screen, she had probably not paid attention when he had mentioned being a pilot…maybe she had tuned out when he had started yelling “Deku” and being angry?“Bakugou signed up last year with Scuderia Ferrari and his rivalry with Midoriya had us on the edge of the seat but, will this year be any different? Will the new Ingenium beat them? Or will Shouto Todoroki snatch the Grand Prix again from their jaws?” Now they showed a lad in red and white hair, his face marred by a huge scar around his eye. Camie inferred that the injury had not impaired his vision in that eye, or he wouldn’t even be able to race.“From Britain, Lewis Hamilton, the third, in the Mercedes AMG. Will he take back his grandpa’s place as champion, ever since All Might Racing ended Hamilton’s streak? From Australia, with Haas, Oliver Irwin…” Camie didn’t have much more time to listen to the pre-race introductions, she had an anthem to sing, so she took another selfie video with a panoramic shot of the Suzuka Circuit. It was unusual for the start of the Grand Prix to take place in Japan…but then again, she was here to have fun, no think too much about it.She walked from the box she shared with a few friends; Momo Yaoyorozu, who owned the box, Itsuka Kendou, the circuit’s champion in motorcycles, and a very suspicious girl called Himiko Toga, who despite her innocent, if slightly unsettling looks, was actually Camie’s bodyguard and friend. Camie’s manager had found her somewhere, and since then they had been inseparable, and Camie had enjoyed very safe tours and shows.“It’s my turn gals, y’all wish me luck!” she said, “As you are fond of saying, Camie, it shall be quite “lit”” said Momo in response, causing the more down to earth Itsuka to burst out laughing. “You really are one of the kids, Momo. Anyway, break a leg, Camie!”Shadowed by Toga, Camie walked out the box and into the stands, weaving through the crowd to reach the podium where she would sing. Of course, they were met with her fans, with Toga keeping the “less polite” ones well away. The smiling girl was particularly harsh with stalkers, but thankfully in this event Camie didn’t see Toga needing to use more than a stern word or two.“So, boss, I’m guessing we’re attending the pilots’ party after, eh?” said Toga after about a hundred selfies with her fans, when they reached a quiet corridor. “Ya know it, babe! It gets lit in ‘em parties, it’s my scene!”Her bodyguard flashed a smile that Camie still wasn’t sure if she liked, and said “I know why you really wanna go, boss. I can smell it!” Camie laughed it off, she was way past getting creeped out by Toga’s “sense of smell”, her bodyguard’s instincts were right most of the time.The corridor took them near the pits, though Camie’s path wouldn’t really cross with that of the pilots directly. And then she saw a marvellous sight; a pink haired mechanic in a Ingenium Motorsport race suit, the top tied around her waist, showing a very oil-stained tank top, followed around by a team of six of those robot dogs Camie had seen in a video once, but this ones had extra robot arms holding tools!“Babies! Walk in a straight line! Follow me, follow me, Babies!” said the mechanic in an energetic tone “Let’s show those human pit crews the true prowess of Hatsume Industries!” When the mechanic girl noticed a pop star and her bodyguard looking at her, she withdrew a pair of oil-stained presentation cards and gave them one each.“Mei Hatsume, greatest inventor in the world and mechanic boss at the Ingenium Motorsport team! Nice to meet you, pair of attractive strangers! If you ever need a jetpack, a set of wheels or to put a satellite in space, you call me!”“I’m not really sure if we’d need that, but it sounds lit! Nice to meet ya!” replied Camie, giving out a card of her own “You’re going to the pilot party tonight?”Hatsume the mechanic thought her answer for a moment, then said “Half of inventing is networking, I must meet new clients!”“It’ll be good to have a familiar face around! But, I gotta go! Mad props on ‘em bots, too!” with that, Camie and Toga left Hatsume to her work. For a moment, Camie worried a bit about a mechanic so young being in charge of that cute pilot’s car, and with robots, but she hoped it would be alright.Finally she walked up a set of stairs for the stage, which had been set up nicely with the microphone at the height she liked it, colour lights and a smoke machine already working as the DJ introduced her “…and to sing our national anthem, it is the great, the beautiful, the unmistakeable Lady Stardust...Camie Utsushimi!!!!!” She gave Toga a thumbs up and took her place at the stage, picked up the mic and started “I hope I make Japan happy with my song, I love all its people! Here I go! 3 2 1…Kimigayo wa…” From the pilot’s lounge, Tenya Iida looked on at the singer on the big screen. She was beautiful, and her voice…it was almost like a magical illusion cast with a superpower. He didn’t feel especially patriotic, though he loved his country and was excited to race in his homeland but this Utsushimi singer…the song brought a tear to his eyes.“Iida, I triple checked the car, everything’s ready. You up?” said a voice from beside him, but Tenya was too focused on the singer onstage. That dress, those boots… “Iida, if you agree that I am the greatest inventor ever, say “Sure Hatsume”.”Tenya was very distracted by Miss Utsushimi’s pouty lips and how they moved as she sang “Sure, Hatsume, whatever you said.”“I should have asked for a raise, a genius like myself deserves the finest life!” said Hatsume, and this time Tenya heard because the song had ended. “Hatsume, the budget was strictly measured with your own help! If you require additional funds, we should tell my brother!” he said, turning to his mechanic. “I was trying to make you react, mate. Even someone with zero people skill like The Hatsume can see that Miss Sing the National Anthem caught your eye. Did she?” teased Hatsume. At least it was better than breaking security norms in the Idaten Engineering workshop she used for the car…that thought sent a shudder down his spine.“I must admit she is rather…striking. And elegant. And she has a beautiful voice!” said Tenya, trying to keep his composure and get back in the mindset for the competition. “And besides, they said her name like three times there, Hatsume!”She shrugged “I’m bad with names. Actually, I think I met her on the way? Here, she gave me this presentation card!” Tenya couldn’t help but notice that Utsushimi’s phone number wasn’t smudged with Hatsume’s oily handprints. He took the card and placed it somewhere safe.“Knowing you, that card might end up exploding in your care, so I will safeguard it!” he said, moving his hand up and down squarely. He was about to say something else, maybe ask Hatsume more about meeting miss Utsushimi, when two of the drivers barged in to the “1A” Pilots lounge, which connected with the shops in which their vehicles were.One was taller, angry and blonde, dressed in a race suit in the red and white colours of Ferrari. The other was a bit shorter, green haired and less angry, and wore a race suit in British Racing Green with Alfa Romeo logos. “DEKUUUUU!” yelled the blonde, wielding what looked like one of the champagne bottles for the winners with murderous intent.“Kacchan, let that bottle down, I just told you that I’d beat you this year, you psychopath!” said the one who had been called “Deku”, defensively, but without backing down. “Kacchan” tossed the bottle to a sofa, thankfully not breaking it, and yelled “Fine! Then I’ll kick your ass like a man!”By that point, both Tenya and Hatsume had reacted, moving up to take the two racers apart. “Fellow driver, that conduct is completely unbecoming of a Formula 1 competitor!” said Tenya as he held “Kacchan” from behind, while the blonde pilot swung his arms wildly.Meanwhile, Hatsume had gone up to stop “Deku”, pulling him away as he threw a punch in “Kacchan’s” direction, but the momentum of the punch had spun them around, causing them to trip with some tools that Hatsume, in clear violation of safety standards, had clearly forgotten. “Deku” twisted around as they fell so Hatsume wouldn’t hurt herself, and she ended up on top of him.“Oh, hello! Would you like me to be your mechanic?” said Hatsume, with an expression Tenya had never seen on her face. The poor racer underneath her went red as a tomato and started muttering, clearly very flustered about the position he was in “Deku! Get your girlfriend off you and fight!” yelled “Kacchan”, but by then Tenya had a very good hold on him “Calm down, fellow pilot!”Thankfully, three more people appeared to help with the commotion; a tall blonde girl, also in a race suit, a buff guy with obviously dyed red hair and a girl that looked like a manager or an executive. The blonde rushed over to “Deku”, probably to remove Hatsume from above him, the other two helped Tenya restrain “Kacchan”.The executive girl shook her head, her brown eyes full of disappointment “Katsuki, you said you two weren’t gonna fight this year!” With a name, Tenya put 2 and 2 together and recognized the pilot as Katsuki Bakugou…that meant the other one was Izuku Midoriya. “I’m sorry, Ochako.” Bakugou said, finally calming down, so Tenya let him go.Hatsume, on her part, had helped up Midoriya and was already talking energetically with him in technical terms that Tenya could barely understand, with a bit of input from Midoriya’s blonde friend.“Well, thanks for restraining Katsuki” said the executive girl “I’m his manager, Ochako Uraraka, and this is our chief of security, Eijirou Kirishima” The security guy just said “Hey bro.”“I’m Tenya Iida! New pilot with Ingenium Motorsports!” he shook Uraraka’s hand and the Bakugou’s, who after the greeting said “Deku! Our fight will be on the track then! You better be ready!” With that, the three Ferrari team members walked to their workshop, leaving Tenya with Hatsume and the new two people.“I’m Izuku Midoriya, I’m running for Alfa Romeo this year, my friend’s Melissa Shield, she’s with Red Bull and uh…her dad is the head mechanic for both teams!” when the green haired racer said that, Hatsume took his hands excitedly, saying “THE David Shield? You’re gonna have to take me to meet him, Midoriya my pal!” Tenya was quite surprised to see Hatsume interact with a fellow human so happily…and most of all remembering his name!“I’m sure dad would like to meet you too, maybe after the race, Hatsume?” said Melissa, closing her bespectacled eyes in a sweet smile. “I wouldn’t want it any other way, Miss Shield Jr.!” said Hatsume, this time going for a high five with the taller girl.“Izuku, we should get to the cars, it’s almost time!” said Melissa, after checking a digital watch on her sleeve. Tenya checked his, and saw that there were less than ten minutes left. After Hatsume exchanged an awkwardly long handshake with Midoriya again, she left with Tenya, walking through the door to the car; the Ingenium Mk. 23.The entire pit crew, comprised of robots of every shape and size, all customized for a single task, looked up to Hatsume as they entered “At ease, Babies! Let’s show those meatbags how engineering beats up their fragile human hands!”As grand and smug as Hatsume was, Tenya decided to knock her down a peg, keep her humble for the race “It looked like you liked that meatbag’s fragile human hand back there, Hatsume!”“Oh shut up, Iida. I’m still rooting for you, that car is my daughter!” said Hatsume as she handed Tenya his helmet. It was a custom design by Hatsume herself, designed to be more breathable that standard racing helmets and to have a slightly bigger visor. The fact that it looked quite awesome was a nice bonus, too.Tenya sat himself on the Mk. 23 and did a last check; everything was in order. It would be a safe race as far as his car was concerned, the other drivers, however… It mattered little. Tenya knew the track, he knew his car, and he felt ready. Slipping on his Nomex gloves, Tenya gave Hatsume a last thumbs up and started the car, the immense amount of horsepower making his entire body vibrate with anticipation.A short, slow drive took him to the start of the race, where he was placed next to Midoriya's racing green car, behind Bakugou's red and in front of Shield, her livery dark blue, orange, white and red; with last year’s champion, Shouto Todoroki, to the front and left, in the red and white of McLaren-Todoroki. Engines roared around him idly, and the sound calmed Tenya’s mind. He had grown up around cars, had always enjoyed every aspect of motorsport. And above all, it had been the way he had bonded with his father, with his brother, with the entire legacy of the Iida family, since one of his great-grandparents had won a touring car race in Yokohama, so long ago.As the start lights above them started glowing red, one by one, Tenya’s mind calmed down completely. Everything was gone; the attractive singer Utsushimi, the unsafe and extremely annoying Hatsume, the squabbling pilots…Tensei’s accident. Nothing mattered, only the road and him.The lights turned green.Tenya Iida hit the gas, speeding off to victory.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Melissa Shield floored it, quickly taking her Aston Martin Red Bull Racing to its maximum speed. In an instant she had passed the driver beside her, Tomura Shigaraki from the All for One Automotive team, the old rivals of her “uncle Might”, Toshinori Yagi. Shigaraki was said to be a ruthless driver, quick to sense weakness in pilots and dangerous at exploiting them. In the later laps, the competition got even tougher, and mind games like that could make or break the race; Melissa was confident that she wouldn’t fall for any of that!She sped towards the first corner, a wide turn that would slow down a newbie who didn’t know how to properly take it, either by going too wide, entering too fast and having to brake or getting stuck behind another driver. With quick hand movements, she moved her steering wheel to make the turn just right…and then Iida in the Ingenium team car passed her, aiming to the minuscule spot available between Izuku and Bakugou.Izuku Midoriya…they had started as friends first, meeting in the Geneva Motor Show so long ago now. Back then he was a high school student and raced locally, and he had been found by Toshinori Yagi, who had become his mentor. Toshinori and Melissa’s father, David, had been perhaps the best pilot-engineer duo the world had ever seen, taking the small underdog team “All Might Racing”, from a shed in California, to defeating the favourite for the 2019 French Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton.After that, it had been victory after victory for Yagi, competing closely with the many drivers of the All for One Automotive team, whose owner seemed to have a grudge against Yagi. One hundred and ten Grand Prix victories had achieved Yagi in his years, beating Sebastian Vettel, with 52, defeating Lewis Hamilton, with 73…even besting the legendary Michael Schumacher, who had 91 Grand Prix wins!It had been then, in the height of glory, that Toshinori Yagi, the All Might of racing, had been diagnosed with cancer. That had been almost seven years earlier, and the year where Uncle Might had fought the disease had been a very difficult time for the Shield’s, he was a part of the family, and seeing the huge, jolly, powerful man lose bits of his stomach in surgeries just to keep the cancer from spreading, watching him grow thin and gaunt…it had been hard.Seven months into the treatment, Yagi had asked a nurse to take him to a race, any race, and there he had found Izuku. Their connection had been instantaneous, the boy had latched onto Yagi as his father figure in seconds, and his mother Inko, who raised him alone, had welcomed the retired racer into her small, broken family with open arms, offering her friendship when Yagi needed it the most.In the end, Toshinori had beat the disease, powering through with sheer force of will, and his first public appearance after that had been in Geneva, where he had taken his protégé and aspiring racer, 16-year-old Izuku. And there he had met a 17-year-old Melissa, who both excelled in engineering, and longed for the thrill of the race.It had been the start of a beautiful friendship. And rivalry, she wasn’t about to let that little green guy win this time!The S-curves were next, a series of quick corners that saw Midoriya overtake Todoroki for the lead, with Iida catching up with Bakugou. Shigaraki didn’t leave her tail, and the rest were just as vicious! Melissa held on to her spot, for now, but she knew it was of little importance on the long run; there were 53 laps in Suzuka!The soft Dunlop curve gave way to the harsh Degner curve, where racer Ernst Degner had crashed his car on the track’s first race. Melissa kept tight control of the steering, acceleration and braking, and kept moving up, over taking Bakugou and Iida after the hairpin turn, only for Bakugou to get ahead again after the spoon curve.And in the straight line, they kept places, Bakugou’s Ferrari holding up very well against Melissa’s Aston Martin. Her Honda engine screamed madly to the heavens that Melissa Shield was on the race, it seemed, as she stole third place again in the Casio Triangle turn. Now there were just 52 laps to go. Back again in Momo’s VIP box, Camie looked on intently as, lap after lap, the pilots traded spots, with Midoriya and Todoroki fighting for the first spot most of the race, Bakugou hot at their heels and, most interestingly, Tenya Iida making headway with ridiculously quick pit stops. The screens showed how the mechanic girl Hatsume led her crew of robots around the beautiful white and blue car, making some of the adjustments herself, but all around letting the bots do their thing.There had been very few crashes, so far. Tomura Shigaraki had cut a corner too greedily and spun a bit, smashing a bit of his front bumper and Oliver Irwin had lost a tire, but nothing major or causing injuries.And for some unknown reason, Hatsume kept eyeing Midoriya’s racing green car. Maybe rivalry with Midoriya’s engineers? Camie had no idea, even someone as perceptive as she liked to believe she was couldn’t tell everything from a single interaction.Camie kept watching the race as it neared the last ten laps, half heartedly listening to Momo and Kendou discussing how different the track was for bikes compared with cars. It didn’t matter too much if she missed on some gossip, she had already picked her champion. Would Iida feel embarrassed if she started adding the Ingenium hashtag to all her pics of the race day? Would it be weird if they met? Why did the idea of meeting him bring such a dumb smile to her face?She hoped he would attend the party, but then again, he had the most responsible looking face ever, so she couldn’t be sure. If only she had been among the people who gave the winner their trophy and champagne bottle she might ask, but… Why was she stressing over all of that? She was ridiculously famous and popular and…maybe it was a bit of an empty life, sure but still, she had tons of confidence!“Is that self-doubt I see on your face, boss?” said Toga, who had walked up behind her without making a noise. Camie hated it when she did that, it was…unnatural. “Hell no! I’m just wondering how the party will be, the music and all.”“You just want one person there, I know it. You know it. He’s just your type and you haven’t even noticed yet!” said Toga, being all too right about that.Camie tried deflecting the conversation back by saying “What about you, anyone you would be interested in?”Toga smiled enigmatically “Oh, there’s one but…my job is more important right now. And besides, I’m all about “sisters before misters” these days, you know?” Once more Camie wondered where the hell her agent had picked up the girl, had she been some sort of spy? A Yakuza? She was trustworthy, and that was the biggest thing but still, it made her rather curious. Maybe one day she’d ask, and Toga would tell her the true story, not just some wild Shaggydog story about being trained by aliens or raised by wolves.Now there were just five laps left, and at the front, it looked like anyone could be the winner; Bakugou had a slight lead, Midoriya behind him, Iida looking to overtake them, Shield right on their trail, Todoroki retreating to the pits!“Hey Momo, could you maybe get us close to the finalists’ podium?” Camie asked, a devilish plan appearing on her mind. “Sure! If I don’t use the Yaoyorozu fortune for my friends, am I doing any good?” she said. Momo gave away 90% of her income and had sold most of her family’s properties to do tons of charity, she did good indeed. Not that Camie was far behind, she enjoyed philanthropy enormously too and was involved with humanitarian efforts as much as possible.“Then let’s go or we’ll miss the last laps as we move!” said Kendou, waving her fists around. The girls moved as quickly as their heels allowed them and were let through by a young safety officer whose badge said “Tetsutetsu” and Itsuka immediately recognized. “What the hell?!? Tetsu! What are you doing here?”While the biker champ caught up with her acquaintance, Momo and Camie made their way to the front, where the press had the closest view of the finish line and they would see the pilots walking up to the podium. At grabbing-for-a-selfie distance, no less!With the musical, powerful roar of engines, the pilots crossed the finish line, as a tired man with long hair waved the checkered finish flag. “And my pal Aizawa in the finish line just waved the flag! What a race! And that finish, OH MY GOD!” yelled Present Mic over the speakers, just as car after car crossed. A few mechanics had run over to check on their teams, and Camie spotted Hatsume’s distinctive pink hair bouncing about as she ran to expect the results “First; fastest lap! With a time of 1 minute, thirty-one point fifty-two seconds, just a wee bit under the record…Katsuki Bakugou, for Ferrari!”Camie cheered with the crowd for her friend, who raised a triumphant fist from his car as his team ran to him. “But the real winner is the one who got through the finish line first, and that…is Izuku Midoriya! Second place Tenya Iida, a second behind! Melissa Shield, third place, a tenth of a second behind Iida, you made us break out the super-high-speed cameras, miss Shield!”At the point where the cars had finally halted, most teams were already helping their pilots out, or talking with them about the race. Camie saw Hatsume send a couple of bots towards Iida…and then she went off to talk with Midoriya, looking determined and confident up until the last couple of meters, where her legs started shaking and she clearly gave a very awkward greeting to the pilot and his lead engineer, David Shield, who had overseen his daughter’s car too and had already helped her out of her vehicle.Some race staff then ushered all three finalists towards the podium, and, since Iida was alone, Hatsume talking with Midoriya instead, Camie took her chance, extending a hand in his direction. “Hey…Tenya Iida, right? I loved your racing, I was on the edge of the seat, fam!” the moment he saw her talking to him, all colour drained from Iida’s face “I…uh…YES! I race!” he said, moving his arms robotically in the absolutely cutest way possible.“How about we take a selfie? I was rooting for ya all along!” she said, taking out her phone and beckoning him to come closer, as close as the barrier separating the track and the stands allowed.“I would be most honoured! I…eh, I enjoyed your song a lot!” he said, as the colour returned to his face in a blushing vengeance. Camie passed an arm around his wide back and pulled him close, moving up her phone to take a great picture.“Say “I’m Camie’s champion”!” she said, teasingly, but Iida could only babble a bit and smile for the camera. “I’ll see you at the party?” she asked, still not letting the racer go.“I shall do my utmost to attend, miss Utsushimi!” he finally managed.“Go get your prize then, champ!” she said, seductively, into his ear. And then she kissed his cheek, to make sure he’d never forget the occasion. The racer that walked to pick up the second place trophy was a flustered mess, and Camie knew she’d see him that night.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“I must certainly will!” Mei turned on her heels, ready to quickly jog to said shops, and almost bumped into a slightly plump woman with green hair. “Oh, excuse me, ma’am! I was too caught up by the calculations of my jogging speed when tabulated with Miss Bunny’s instructions that the dress shops were nearby, so I didn’t see you!”The woman smiled kindly, and said “I was actually going to ask about a similar situation, I didn’t think my son would want me around in that fancy party, but he does and I have no dress!”“Have no fear, madam! I have an approximate knowledge of the store’s location, I can guide you there!” And perhaps this nice lady could help her pick a dress!“I would hate to impose, miss…” began the lady “Hatsume! Mei Hatsume at your service! In case you ever need a cold fusion reactor, a ray gun or a baking soda volcano, I’m at your service!” Mei shook the woman’s hand “And I would like the company, I have a newfound interest in humans again and it can help if I practice with talking to people again!”The nice lady smiled “That energy reminds me of how my son gets when he talks about racing and cars, I think you’d be good friends.” That sounded quite interesting for Mei, talking shop with anyone was pretty much the only conversation she could reliably have, and if the last day had taught her anything, apparently green hair was her type.Mei walked with the older woman at a pace much less efficient than she had originally intended, but the woman had a very calm atmosphere around her, which sort of eased Mei into talking with her. “So, I want to see if I can sell some robots or parts to the other drivers, one in particular I think is very very interesting, this Izuku Midoriya guy; not only did he win, but he also knows cars! I mean, my contract with Ingenium isn’t forever…I wanna talk with this guy, ma’am!”For some reason, the woman was smiling a lot! “That reminds me of something my son told me, about this passionate engineer girl that instantly caught his eye and he didn’t know how he would talk to her or see her again, the way she described her as a genius even when they had just met a few hours before… I think I kind of see where you are coming from, girl.”Mei felt her face grow hot…was it some sudden fever? Perhaps heatstroke? Unlikely, given the favourable climate conditions… “Oh, my son also mutters like that!” laughed the older woman, causing Mei to stop a moment, a bit embarrassed “Apologies! I tend to discuss my theories with…uhh, myself. Sometimes. Yeah!” That had been a brazen lie, mumbling was a bit of a habit Mei had, perhaps born from her little interaction with people.“Don’t worry, child! Ah, look, we’re here!” Indeed they were! It looked like a mid-range store, not too expensive, but still acceptable for the gala. And extremely intimidating for Mei, who had not stepped foot in a “girly” clothes store since…perhaps 4th grade? She didn’t remember, what she did remember was attending her high school graduation in cargo pants, an ugly tank top and heavy work boots, same thing she wore when graduating university, except with a new tank top that time.“Uhhh…ma’m? How do I shop here? Do they sell by medium and large and all that? Like supermarket underwear?” she asked the nice older woman, whose name she either had asked and forgotten, or forgotten to ask?“No, sweetie, they sell them by different sizes. Do you need a lot of help?”Mei had no pride to swallow in such a situation, she was clearly out of her depth “Yes, please!”“Follow me, I think I can help you pick a dress that will fit you!” Mei was incredibly thankful for this stranger’s kindness, maybe she’d repay her with a free drone or something. The woman took her to a section where they had some black dresses.“This, young one is a Little Black Dress, always in season, stylish and attractive. You can combine it with your grungy look and it will be marvellous!” Mei didn’t know if getting called grungy was good or bad, but maybe that meant she could wear the dress with boots.Mei looked at a few of the dresses and picked one with thick shoulder straps, the last thing she needed was to have to keep tugging the dress up all night so her built-in airbags wouldn’t greet the public and embarrass her to death. They motioned for an attendant, a cheery girl who introduced herself as Nejire, and a dress was sent in what the older lady calculated was Mei’s size. She had a good eye, it fit perfectly! In the mirror, Mei found herself really attractive, not just cause she knew she was awesome, but also because she looked the part!“I’ll buy it!” she told the Nejire shop assistant as she put back on the lower half of her race suit and her tank top, a clean one this time, at the insistence of “Manual” from public relations at Ingenium. With the dress in a bag, she accompanied her older friend to choose her own dress, which didn’t take long as the lady seemed to know exactly what she wanted; a very flattering cheongsam dress that made Mei realize this distinguished lady had been quite conventionally attractive all along!“Alright then! We should get back to the hotel, ma’am! I heard they have chocolate in the buffet and I could use that for my blueprints!” A normal girl might watch a movie or check her phone while waiting for the party to calm her nerves, but Mei preferred going every single detail of the planned Ingenium Mk 33 car for next year instead.“Yes, let’s go!” The green haired lady followed her, also with her dress in a nice bag, and they were soon back at the hotel lobby. “Oh, and by the way, you didn’t ask for my name, young Hatsume! I’m Inko Midoriya, mother of Izuku!” Mei felt like a fool then, an embarrassed fool who had just spilled the beans on her weird crush on his mother!“There are Babies to make!” she said as she fled, her entire face red. “Izuku and I will see you at the party!” said Mrs. Midoriya, her voice fading away as Mei escaped to her hotel room. Izuku Midoriya had been trying to tie a tie for the better part of an hour when his mom returned, and the entire time the tie had been too short! That was why he wore polo shirts in everyday life, he told himself with a defeated sigh, dropping the emerald tie on the bed. Maybe he was just distracted? He could focus so well on the race…he had won! His third Grand Prix, won in his homeland, and yet all he could think of was that mechanic girl from the Ingenium team.How she had fallen on top of him, how amazing her ideas were, even if he had just caught a small glimpse into her mind in their short conversation after the race, when he had been whisked away for the podium. He wanted to see her again, but he didn’t know when that would be. Next race? Maybe before? Maybe after? It was a schoolboy crush, a huge schoolboy crush, he had fallen in love with her genius! Not that she was any less pretty, yellow eyes had always been his thing, for some reason, pink hair too.Maybe he should ask Melissa some advice? His friend was extremely smart, she could have easily been designing the cars she chose to drive…maybe she would know what to do? “Izuku…I’m home!” said his mom as she barged into the hotel room they shared. As an adult, he might have objected to having his mom there, but it was the Japanese Grand Prix, the only one Inko could afford to visit with her own budget, and she was stubborn in doing that by herself, so Izuku brought her along proudly.And with how close Izuku’s mom was with Toshi Yagi, it was almost a given that she would be here! “Uh, hey mom! Did you find your dress alright?” Izuku had volunteered to help her, but Inko had said he could stay and try to make his own tie.“Yep! A very nice girl helped me, though a bit crazy. You and her would get along great!” Why was mom looking so smug? Izuku had no clue, so he just kept talking with her “That’s great, mom! What was her name?”Inko seemed not to have heard her son’s question “She was a big fan of you, it seemed, even mumbled a thing or two about “cute freckles” when she didn’t think I was hearing!”“Mom, don’t tease me like that! And I asked you about her name, don’t just make me curious and let me hanging!”“Alright, alright! She was Mei Hatsume.” Izuku felt his heart beat faster “And she’s going to tonight’s party in a nice black dress!” Izuku didn’t know how to react; should he be nervous? Excited? In the end, all he could do was smile. He was seeing Mei Hatsume again!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Katsuki Bakugou was pissed off. Nobody who knew him could have imagined any other mood for him after losing the race! Fourth place, beaten by a guy in glasses, a girl in glasses! Him, Katsuki Bakugou, with 20/20 eyesight! But that wasn’t the issue, it wasn’t even that he had been beaten by Deku, his lifelong rival and frenemy; he had broken his promise not to fight again, and now Ochako wouldn’t speak to him.Was it his fault resorting to violence when that Shigaraki asshole had insulted Toshinori Yagi? Yes, completely. But what had anyone seriously expected when that dry-skinned, wannabe-prettyboy had said that THE All Might could still die any day? Katsuki admired the old racer like no other person in the planet, and the thought of losing his idol…it had been too much.A punch that could only be described as “explosive” had knocked Shigaraki to the ground, and he would have stomped on the bastard’s long fingers too if Ochako hadn’t stopped him. And then she had slapped him. Said he hadn't kept his promise. Left, running away, tears in her eyes.Katsuki hated seeing her upset, but most of all he hated being the cause of it. Ochako was perhaps the best thing that had ever happened to him, even better than being born with natural skill, intelligence and charisma. Or at least some people said that about the charisma, surprisingly enough he seemed to actually have friends who weren’t just bootlicks in love with his money.Ochako was his manager, his best friend, the only one who really tried putting up with all his shit, all his issues and, most of all, she was the woman he loved. He loved her courage, her drive, her ambition, he loved the positive energy she brought to everything in her life. He loved how she cut through all the bullshit and made him feel valued.But Katsuki knew he was a very flawed man, and, even if Ochako had the patience of a saint, he had just pushed her away. Even if it was for an extremely justifiable reason; Katsuki knew that Deku would have fucked up Shigaraki even more for even using that tone about All Might. The issue had not been the fight, it had been his promise. The promise he had broken.He knew he had to do something, make things right. He would ask Kirishima, his security chief and his closest friend after Ochako; surely the big guy had fucked up too in his own relationship with that MMA girl, the one he always called his “little frog” in a strange term of endearment Katsuki couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Or maybe ask Camie, she was also around and was a goddamn social butterfly, it would probably be easier than asking any of his other friends. At least Kaminari would suggest some idiot idea like a fucking moonlight serenade.But that needed to wait, he was too angry at the moment, he wasn’t thinking clearly. Luckily, his hotel had a well-stocked gym, with a boxing area full of punching bags. So, he wrapped his hands, took off his shoes, and started punching and kicking and elbowing the heavy bag, screaming his anger in the open. Whatever other occupants may have been in the gym left because of that, and he didn’t care; by the time some fat rent-a-cop came over to try and nag him, he’d probably be calm.He punched and yelled his frustration over the race, he kicked and let out his feelings of frustration and sadness at having made Ochako upset. He attacked the bag with renewed power, born of fear that the future he wanted with Ochako would be lost due to his stupidity, due to his anger. “FUCK! WHY AM I LIKE THIS?” he yelled, and noticed that his vision was blurry, were those…tears?His blurred vision caused him to mess up the next punch, either that or being too upset, so he hit the bag at an awkward angle and it sent a flash of pain down his forearm. “Oh, did the mean punching bag give you an ouchie?” asked a cold voice that had sneaked up on him. “Step back, I’ll teach it a lesson” Bakugou held his aching hand and took the step back, a bit confused, and with tears about to flow as freely as Deku’s had back in middle school.Then he saw Camie’s bodyguard, the creepy blonde with the golden eyes, throw a flying kick to the punching bag, which tore it of the chains that held it and smashed to the ground a couple meters away. She looked at him with focused, narrowed eyes, and said “Not even inanimate objects are allowed to hurt friends of my friends. You alright, Asshole Ferrari Guy?” Bakugou half-hated her stupid smug smile, but perhaps someone being a dick to him would help him get in a better mood.“Fuck no I’m not alright. I fucked up with Ochako and I have no idea how to apologize to her!” Katsuki had no idea why he was being so open with the creepy bitch, but it still felt good to say out loud his problem.“Well…that isn’t really my area of expertise, being a merc with a shady past and all…Still, your friends are looking for you. They lost track of you for an hour, thought you’d do something stupid, sent me to find you. It took me all of seven minutes, but they’ll be happy you didn’t go and fight an actual human.” It had already been an hour? Katsuki could hardly remember it, just his dark thoughts and somehow arriving at the hotel’s gym.“With “friends”, who are you talking about?”“Your shitty security chief and my boss. You should seriously fire Kirishima, I could have murdered you ten times already if I had been an assassin. And you know how cutthroat some fuckers in this industry are, that Tensei Iida thing? Not an accident.”“He’s my friend, I’d never fire him!”Her usual creepy smile faded “Then stay glued to him, god damnit. Now let’s go, Camie really wants to go to that party so I need to change into my “breaking stalkers’ legs in two” pants.” Katsuki huffed in response, but followed her. If she was telling the truth, Kirishima and Camie would be in the same place and he could get the help he needed to apologize.“By the way, what you were screaming about that Ochako girl, objectively speaking…sounded quite romantic.”“I said that out loud? And why were you eavesdropping? Fuck you!”“Fuck you too. But…you are really serious about her, right? I’d give you my usual “I can smell people in love” shtick but, to be honest, you reek of sweat at the moment, so it would be a huge lie.”“Good thing, cause you creep people out with that. And yeah, I’m serious about Ochako. I want to propose.”Toga stopped on her tracks and looked at him with perhaps the first genuine smile Katsuki had seen on her face “Guess that you wanted to be the winner the day you did that? You got a pretty shitty deal today, pal.”“Deku and the others beat me fair and square, but yeah, that…that was the plan. And then I fucked up. And if you ever tell anyone that I said that Deku won fair, I’ll kill you!”Toga laughed and held up her hands in an “I surrender” position “Oh no! My legs shake in fear! You are such a bundle of sunlight. Let’s just get you there.”They made it to the hotel lobby, where that insane mechanic girl from the Ingenium team rushed by, flustered and covering her face, perhaps wanting to avoid people recognizing her. A fool’s hope, thought Katsuki; there was only one person in all Formula 1 that had both such a shitty fashion sense and that pink hair.And apparently, the crazy engineer was running from…Inko Midoriya? “Auntie Inko?” said Katsuki, rushing in to meet the woman. Even when their friendship had become extremely competitive and strained with Katsuki’s anger issues, Deku had never stopped inviting him to his home. The Midoriya household had been good to him, and, in his idiotic pride, he had never thanked them as much as they deserved…what even were these thoughts? Where were they coming from? Ochako had him really thinking deeply.“Katsuki! So good to see you!” said Inko as she gave him a big hug “You look sad, Katsuki. Everything alright?”“I’m…I made some trouble for myself. But I think I’ll listen to my friends’ advice for once and see if I can’t fix stuff up.”Inko gave him a big smile and said “I believe in you! You can do it!”Katsuki thanked the good woman and met Kirishima and Camie in his room, where they were waiting for him.“You weren’t even gone twenty minutes, Toga. You really work fast!” said Kirishima as they walked in.“My previous work experience was not as a glorified club bouncer, mate.”Kirishima pouted like a small child, and replied “Are you ever gonna tell us what you actually did?”“Not likely. But you should really focus on Angry Boy here.”Katsuki used that to start talking, to really ask for help “I want you to help me plan a way to apologize to Ochako. And then to propose to her.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Camie Utsushimi turned heads everywhere she went. Sh was already used to it, but it always felt quite satisfying to hear people talk about her dress or her shoes in hushed tones, girls envying her makeup, guys wanting to meet her and make a good impression; sadly, she just followed YouTube tutorials, and she didn’t like hook-ups, she wanted a proper relationship, which shallow guys would never get with her.Camie only wanted to turn one head tonight, the rest were not her concern. But it wasn’t the only thing, as she had been caught in her pal Bakugou’s “girl troubles”, had given a ton of advice and would most definitely see some drama tonight.That and trying to talk Yaomomo out of trying again to get together with last year’s champion, Shouto Todoroki. Pretty much everyone saw that they wouldn’t really make a good couple, the two didn’t have a lot of chemistry, and if Camie was being honest, Todoroki was a lot less the “sad, tortured soul” that Momo wanted to care for and more just a boring dude with one skill, racing, and really nothing else. Maybe it was just being overprotective of her friend.Her other friends, Kirishima and Kendou, both had no drama to sort out, thankfully. Kirishima’s girlfriend Tsuyu Asui, reigning UFC champion was perhaps the chilliest person Camie knew (and one of the very few women that had legs that Camie envied), and Kendou’s longtime girlfriend Yui was pretty much the paragon of a loyal, caring girlfriend. And then ther was Toga, but she was cryptic and vague about her relationships, and Camie didn’t feel like prying.And thus Camie walked in on the nightclub where dozens of socialites and Formula 1 people had gathered to party, wearing a gorgeous purple dress, both elegant and seductive, and most flattering of her curvy figure. And it instantly had its desired effect, as she saw Tenya Iida almost choke on the champagne glass he had been drinking.And good god, was he looking handsome! His dark blue suit matched his dark hair, he had a couple of buttons on his shirt open, just enough to tease Camie’s imagination. Then again, with how ripped he looked in that suit, Camie thought she’d need a pretty large shirt to even close around his neck. And thinking a bit more, Camie thought that she would gladly exchange her dress for his shirt, if things went their way.“Okay squad, we have our missions!” said Bakugou beside her, tearing Camie away from increasingly lewd thoughts. “Kirishima, would you back me up, man? I will never ask for help again after that.”“Bro, asking for help is manly, but yeah, let’s go!” The explosive pilot stalked away confidently, not looking anything like the vulnerable boy he had been a few hours earlier when he had finally asked for help with Ochako. Kirishima and Tsuyu followed him, laughing at some inside joke that had to do with an elegant Winnie the Pooh. Maybe it was a new meme? Camie sometimes didn’t get those until she vlogged her meme reviews.On Camie’s other side, Momo was hyping herself up, despite Kendou telling her to not waste her time, and the two left, Itsuka wanting to control the damage. If Yui had been there she’d probably have helped by physically restraining Momo, it would have been a fun sight to see. Hopefully Momo wouldn’t go and get her heart broken.“Ready for our part, boss?” said Toga behind her. Perhaps the only woman in the room with flat shoes, Toga looked even shorter than usual to Camie. But no less deadly, she was probably carrying a couple of weapons on her, hidden under her red dress.“Damn right, babe, let’s go!” They would go around casually greeting people and then bump into Iida, Toga would then make sure they could talk in peace without fans or other partygoers bothering them. At least that was the plan, until a whirlwind of pink hair rolled straight at them, wearing a nice black dress and the ugliest pair of boots Camie had ever seen.“HELP!” said the girl urgently, which Camie finally recognized as Hatsume the mechanic, much better dressed and not wearing the grime from the last time she had seen her. “Sorry, Pretty Singer that Iida likes and Scary Girl, I don’t know who else to ask!”Camie didn’t know whether to enjoy the nickname she had been given, laugh at Toga’s, or remind Hatsume her name, so she just asked “What’s the problem, fam?”“He’s here, and I didn’t expect humans to make me feel all weird like this. Should I get a drink? Maybe I should, I read a cowboy book once where they called alcohol “liquid courage”!”“Slow down, fam! Who’s this he?”“Midoriya, the pilot!”Hearing that, Toga licked her lips “I can totally see why you’d like him, friend” That was a Toga-smile Camie hadn't seen before! “But sisters before misters, dear Hatsume. Why don’t you take us a bit with your friend Iida while we make a plan to get you closer to Midoriya?”“Sure, he’s over there, speaking with that crusty pilot from AFO Motorsport.” Indeed, Iida was talking with a very dry looking guy, and the conversation didn’t seem particularly friendly.Hatsume took Camie and Toga and barged in on Iida, interrupting without a care in the world. “What’s up, Speedy Boi, random pilot number 4” she just said.The pilot looked at them and his eyes went wide when he saw Toga…in fear? Toga shook her head discreetly and the pilot’s face turned back to its normal, surly self, apparently, and he excused himself quickly.“Hey Champion” she said, winking at Tenya when the other guy was finally gone.“Uhh…Miss Utsushimi! He-hello!”Camie liked talking to people, she was naturally an extrovert, good at communicating and always enjoyed meeting new people because it gave her new ideas to interact with in conversation, new personalities to explore. And as she discovered more and more of Tenya Iida’s personality as they talked, she liked him even more.As Iida eased into the talk, Toga had been quietly encouraging Hatsume, and had finally set her off as Camie and Tenya discussed their shared love of orange juice. “Good luck, Hatsume!” said Camie as the pink haired girl walked off.“Anyway, how about we get a booth so we can talk a bit more comfortably, my Champion?” Tenya went completely red at her fluttering eyelashes, but he agreed. “What were we talking about? Well, what do you think of pets? Which are your favourite animals?”“I must admit I adore big dogs!”“Then you’re gonna love this floofy boi!” said Camie, taking out her phone and showing Tenya a few pictures of her and a pair of Alaskan Malamutes her aunt owned. It also helped that she had a very cute pair of shorts in that picture, too!“They are tremendous! What a fine pair of animals!”And there, Camie had just pulled off one of her master plans “Would you like to meet them? My aunt’s ranch is in the countryside”For a moment, Camie thought she might have pushed Tenya a bit too far and too fast with that, but then he smiled “Yes, I’d love to! And spending time in the country before the next race will surely be most beneficial to my health!” Success!“Then it’s a date, Tenya!” Izuku Midoriya was not at ease in parties. He much preferred to talk with close friends with some quiet music, being able to listen to everyone, to enjoy the anecdotes or the jokes. Parties, the kind where hundreds of people danced in a cramped dancefloor and he ended up half deaf for a couple days afterwards, where people bought alcohol worth what an average person would make in a year and end up breaking stuff or getting into fights…Maybe he had not been lucky enough to go to the good parties so far.Gladly for him, he wasn’t alone, he had Melissa with him. His best friend in the entire world, and the sister he had found through his mentor, Toshinori Yagi. At least it could be seen that way since Yagi and Melissa’s father had been in pretty much a relationship for some ten years now, and Yagi had been the biggest father figure in Izuku’s life.“You’re okay, Izuku? That’s the third champagne glass…”“Yeah, I’m just…you know this isn’t really my thing, right?” He let out a big sigh. It wasn’t just the size of the crowd or the loud music making him nervous, and Melissa could definitely see that.“I’d prefer to be behind the wheel as much as you, I know we prefer that kind of stress. But really, you look nervous.”He considered telling Melissa everything about how he had felt about Hatsume, how nervous he was that he would somehow screw things up, but he was interrupted before he could even begin to get his thoughts in order “Midoriya! Hello! It is I, Mei Hatsume, the genius mechanic!” She was there!“M-Mei! Hi!” he said, feeling like a bumbling fool.“And also greetings, pilot friend of Midoriya’s! Here’s a business card if you ever…oh wait, you were Miss Shield, your dad is cool. But I digress! I have a business proposition for your ears only, Midoriya!”Melissa gave Izuku an “onee-san smile”, like she knew everything that was going on “I’ll leave you two together, then. I’ll go see if I can find Dad, Uncle Might and Auntie Inko, check they are doing alright. See you guys in a bit!”Izuku dreaded an awkward silence, he never knew what to say in those. Thankfully, Mei said something “Could we errr…go somewhere else? I…kinda hate crowds. And this type of music. And when I tried drinking alcohol to get braver, it tasted extremely horrible. I think I could brew a better beverage if I tried it! Maybe I should write that down, do you have a paper or something?”Izuku passed her his small moleskine notebook, which was always on his pocket, to write down any new observations on the Alfa he drove, if he had an idea to make it better or if he had seen something cool on the street, even if it wasn’t a car. He passed Mei a pen branded with all his team logos, which she examined curiously.“Huh, you even got Tesla to sponsor something for you, Midoriya? What did they put on your car?”Talking about the car was easy for Izuku, but the Tesla anecdote was even easier “They sent us one of Elon Musk’s old flamethrowers! They really only wanted their name on a car…”Her eyes shone and her smile shook Izuku to the core “A flamethrower? You’re gonna have to tell me all about it…And here, I have written down a recipe for alcohol that tastes good and will allow me to talk with handsome guy, maybe. Wait, I didn’t need it. Anyway!” She flipped a few pages on izuku’s notebook, squinted at a doodle of a car, and said “I can’t see that much in this light, and I’m screaming so you can hear me, so let’s be away!”“Let’s go, I hate parties too!” Her entire face lit up and she laughed, then she took Izuku’s hand and pulled him to the exit, and then off to a quiet spot that hadn't been claimed yet by smokers.“You were also there to represent your team?” asked Izuku, as his ears adjusted to normal decibels again.“Something like that, or at least that was the official version!” She laughed nervously, and opened Izuku’s notebook again, probably hoping to change the subject “You aren’t half bad with a pencil, Midoriya. Can I call you Izuku? Was I already calling you Izuku? Is that weird?”“I-I’m not sure if you already called me Izuku but…yeah, I’d like that!”She let out a sigh and looked away “I’m really bad with people, you know? I was always…weird, and people didn’t like me. I…I’m sorry, this is also weird…Just forget I said anything, okay?”“Mei, it is alright, you don’t have to interrupt yourself like that. I…would like to know you better, so please tell me!” Izuku felt extremely selfish then; he had been worrying about how worried he was, and not even considering if Mei was nervous too.“I…I don’t think anyone had asked to know more like that before. Huh. Well, it’s not too complex, I guess. I was always smart, a genius even, and I ended up a few school years ahead. My classmates never liked me. I’m an only child, you know? Mom’s a surgeon, dad’s an engineer, and I was this kind of wise child always talking about grownup stuff with my folks and grandparents. So the other students always said I was pretentious and a know it all whenever I tried telling them fun facts, or tried to suggest how they could improve. Hell, I’m not sure when it stopped hurting and I started to become proud and revel in the isolation.”“Mei…I don’t know what to say. But I do know that I do want to be your friend.” He put a hand on her shoulder, empathy overwhelming his uncertainty.“T-thanks…that really means a lot. I don’t know why, but I…I just trust you a lot. It’s illogical, I know. And…look, I have not cared much about what other human beings thought about me for years now. I became proud and maybe a bit obnoxious and even weirder. And even worse at judging people’s intentions. I…my biggest regret probably has something to do with that.”Izuku asked himself what he could do, Mei was trusting him with very personal things, she was breaking a façade and trusting him to vent.“It’s alright, I’m here for you” he finally said, unconsciously appropriating Toshinori’s “I am here”.“I’m sorry to vent like this, I wanted to talk about other stuff, maybe cars or something but…I haven’t told anyone, and it eats at me! Last year, Tenya Iida’s accident happened because of me!”“Wait, what?” Izuku was shocked, he just couldn’t imagine such a thing.“On that race, a new guy joined. I don’t remember his name, only the nickname Iida told me later; Stain. I don’t know if he was a corporate saboteur, or a killer for someone with beef with the Iidas, but that man waltzed right into my workshop, and I was too busy selling a design for brakes that day, and I didn’t notice. And the thing is…I think anyone else would have noticed the Stain guy.”“Mei, you couldn’t have known…”“I should have. If I had been…normal, I would have noticed.” A tear slid down her cheek. “That is why I only have robots on my team now. I…the Iidas should have taken me to court, as the head mechanic it was all my fault! And they kept me on the team. So I feel like I need to avoid the same mistake and all, but I keep being me, and I don’t…”“Wait a second, Mei. It is alright to be you, I…I think you are interesting, and smart, and easy to talk to when I’m not all nervous, and with a pretty smile and…the you I want to get to know is, well, you.”Their eyes met, for a long moment. Mei looked like she wanted to say something, then she changed her mind, and then finally said “Maybe you’re just as weird as me. Or do you like me or something?”“Well I actually do”Mei’s eyes went wide and she looked into the distance, in a state of shock “I did not account for the possibility of mutual attraction happening in all my equations. It is very unusual for my math to be this wrong…I have no idea what to do next.”Izuku took a deep breath and said “I…I think I could have an idea! We can go and do something we both like as a date, like going to a hardware store!”She smiled brightly at that “YES! That would be splendid!”“So, since I already managed to somehow get the courage to ask you out…can I say that I love the dress-and-boots look? It has so much more personality than high heels!”Mei looked extremely proud, even doing a spin so Izuku would appreciate all the dress. In all honesty, it drove him wild. “Good to know, yet another chance to not buy heels!” she said.