Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She sat on her bed, headphones covering her ears as she played back the track. The music flooded her ears as she scoured the track for any mistakes in her guitar. Finding none she added the lyrics she had recorded over the track, judging the way it sounded she hummed along drumming her fingers on her thigh. Rei deemed it to be suitable and took her headphones off, her short white hair falling in front of her eyes.

She glanced over at her clock and cursed, 2:45 am. She yawned, sleep suddenly slamming into her like a train. If she didn’t get any sleep, she would fall asleep in class again and then her parents would kick her ass. Metaphorically speaking of course, any marks and bruises would tarnish the great Himura name.

She gently moved her laptop to the other side of her bed flipping against the plush blankets and pillows that cover her massive bed. She decided she would just close her eyes for a moment, she would get back to work in a bit. But just a second would be nice.

~

Rei heard her alarm screaming at her at 6:00 am sharp. She groaned feeling her bones sinking into her bed, getting up seemed like hell and Rei would much rather just curl up in her bed. The soft blankets beckon her back to sleep and Rei would happily listen to them only to hear the shrill voice of her mother screaming at her to get up and get ready. Rei scowled and dragged her body out of bed running a hand through her hair. The knots catching on her cold fingers, gently pulling back and fighting against the movement. The hair felt as though it was wrapping around her fingers and holding her down.

Her scowl deepened as she yanked her fingers out of her hair. Frost creeped over her knuckles as she went through the motions of getting ready. She brushed out her short bob, it was the only short haircut her parents would let Rei have and she hated it, but she hated it less then her long hair. She did her best to style it in a more punk-ish way but it never turned out the way she liked.

She couldn’t wait until she was 18 and could move out of her parents house. Rei had been saving up a small fortune behind her parents' back to afford her escape. She had planned out her escape route, timed everything out, budgeted every last cent. She was going to get out and start her career in stardom. And her old folks won't be able to drag her back by the roots of her hair. Just two more years and she would be free.

She sat at her vanity and rimmed her eyes in black, the sharpness of the grey in her eyes reminiscent of a knife. She was going to get out, whether it was the last thing she did or not.

Hearing her phone chime, crying for her attention like a baby, Rei looked over and checked the notification seeing Mistuki asking what's taking her so long. She smiled and responded telling her friend that she would be there soon. Tucking her phone into her bag, the body covered in pins and patches Rei had found or made. She stood up and shoved her feet into her black boots, the same boots her mother hated. They were too masculine, too effeminate, and Rei loved them. She loved the aggression and the power that came from them. And they were solely hers.

Making her way downstairs she listened down the hallway, cautious of any sound to indicate her parents. She did everything in her power to limit the amount of interactions she had with her parents. The less she spoke to them the happier she was.

Quietly walking into the kitchen, Rei grabbed her lunch, stuffing it into her bag. Snatching an apple, Rei sank her teeth into the sweet flesh. She loved apples, they were one of her favourite pleasures in life and she always made sure to indulge when her house had them.

Hearing her parents bedroom door creak open, Rei made a beeline for the front door to leave the mausoleum that was her family house. She slipped through the front door and breathed a sigh of relief at the feeling of the morning sun on her icy skin. Hearing her phone chime out again, Rei dug through her bag to find it as she walked along the sidewalk, apple clenched in her teeth. Grabbing it she checked the screen, seeing another text from Mitsuki saying to meet at the corner store near hers and Inko homes. Typing a reply, Rei marched to the location munching on her apple.

She walked up to the corner, spotting Mitsuki and Inko, the two of them bickering like usual. It wasn't the bickering Rei was used to at home, it wasn’t the harsh sharp words that were meant to cut deep into the heart. No, this was friendly, it was loving. It was a game, Inko gently scolding Mitsuki for not putting her tie on correctly, the small pudgy girl using her quirk to pull the tie that had been tossed to the ground, back up to her hands as Mistuki laughed and pushed back against her childhood friend.

“It’s just a tie Inky!” Mitsuki huffed gently pushing Inkyo away, as the shorter of the two huffed and yanked the tie over the blonde's neck.

“Yeah! If it’s just a tie then put it on properly! Oh- morning Rei!” Inko smiled brightly, the freckles decorating her rosy cheeks lifting to her eyes as her smile stretched on. MIstuki, seeing her escape, wiggled away from Inko only to be thwarted by Rei getting the tie on the blonde.

“Morning girls,” She chuckled, earning a playful shove from Mistuki, “Are y'all ready for hell?”

“Oh god don’t remind me, I dont wanna fucking go.” Mistuki huffed, crossing her arms as the three of them walked towards their school. Rei falls in step beside Inko, noticing how the sun catches in her friend's hair making the green strands almost shimmer in the light.

“Like, I don't need algebra if I’m gonna be a seamstress!” Mistuki growled,

“Well what if you're running the company yourself?” Inko fired back,

“Masaru will do the math, easy!”

“What if you and Masaru breakup?” Rei asked, looking at Mitsuki. Mistuki stared at her for a second before howling with laughter. Inko giggled softly, and Rei seeing her mistake snickered along, “Okay never mind stupid question.”

“Yeah he's not getting away even if hell freezes over, that fucker is mine!”

“Yeah that poor man,” Rei chuckled softly, “Oh- inky, did you get your acceptance letter yet?” Re asked looking at her. Inko’s eyes lit up as she pulled her phone out of her pocket that Mistuki had sewn into her skirt.

“I did! Look!” Inko squealed, showing her the acceptance email.Rei smiled and grabbed Inko by the shoulders and gently shook her. Mitsuki joining in,

“I know! Look at our little smarty pants becoming a lawyer!” Inko blushed, the redness flowing over her face as she squealed and tried to wiggle away from her friends to no avail. Rei stared at her slightly, Inko truly was such a beautiful person and it hurt Rei’s heart with how insecure her friend was.

“It wasn't that hard…” Inko starts,

“Shut up, that's what smart people say!” Mitsuki cut her off, squeezing her shoulders. Inko blushed softly and smiled, her head dipping down causing her hair to fall into a green curtain obscuring her smile. Rei, not wanting to miss any of Inko’s smile, gently brushed her fingers into her friend's hair, gently tucking it behind her ears. Inko blinked and looked up at Rei, her green eyes holding a million tears. Rei smiled and gently lifted her friend's chin.

“Don’t look down, you're too good for that…” Rei said softly, the eye contact burning into her soul. Grey eyes connecting with green, everything that has gone unsaid bubbled up in Rei’s throat. Not wanting to lose her closest friend she glanced away, that alien warmth creeping up into her cold cheeks.

“Okay, I won't then…” Inko smiled, gently linking her arms with both Rei and Mitsuki, “How’s the music writing going?” Rei glanced down at Inko, her cold thin arm entrapped in Inko’s thick warmth.

“It’s going fine, I finished a song last night,” She said offhandedly, it’s not like her songs where anything special, just regular old teenage angst. Her mind was a little too focused on the connection between her and Inko.

“Well you need to show us your shit then!” Mistuki squealed excitedly, Rei opened her mouth before Inko stopped her.

“I would love to hear it,”

“...Alright then, I’ll show you girls after school then. It’s on my laptop.” Rei said as the three of them approached their school. With a deep sigh, Rei walked inside following Mitsuki and Inko ito class to go through the hell that was math class.

~

The bell rang through the classroom, as the teacher dismissed them from class. Rei stood gently collecting her books and stuffing them into her book bag. She tugged her headphones on not wanting to listen to her classmates around her, MCR blared through the headphones as she hummed along walking out of her classroom.

Making her way through the halls she checked her phone, seeing the text from Inko telling her where to meet them before they head over to Rei’s house. She wasn't pay attention to where she was going when she slammed into a massive warm body. She scowled and stepped back quickly tugging her headphones off.

“OI! Watch where you are going!” She huffed looking up at the guy. He was massive, with rippling muscle over every part of his body, his hair a furious red and pointed towards the sky like a makeshift king's crown.

“Sorry, I didn't see you there,” He grumbled softly, Rei rolled her eyes, it's not like she was that short and her boots gave her at least another inch of height!

“Yeah well, maybe look where you are going instead of just plowing through people!” She stood tall sizing him up, Rei didn’t recognize him but he looked older, the start of a beard creeping across his square face. He must be a year or two older than her but Rei didn’t care.

“Like I said, I am sorry, I didn’t see you. Maybe you could look up instead of at your phone.” He grumbled crossing his arms. Rei’s hands curled into fists, there was something about this guy who was just pissing her off and why did it get so hot all of a sudden?

Rei felt frost creeping over her knuckles as she stared at the guy, flames beginning to dance across his shoulders.

Fire and Ice.

People began to whisper, whispers about the guys, whispers about her. Rei gripped her bag tightly and glared,

“Out of my way.” She demanded, his massive body taking up her exit. He widened his stance and met her eyes, the vibrant blue meeting the stark grey.

“No, ask nicely. Women like you should be more respectful.” He smirked, knowing she wouldn't be able to push past him. Rei felt her temper bubbling up,

“No, Now move.”

“No, ask nicely.”

“Get. Out. Of. The. Way.” She scowled, “Or I’ll fucking make you.”

“I’d like to see you try, little girl, you're what, 100 pounds soaking wet?” His smile widened, and Rei knew exactly what kind of guy he was. The whispers surrounding them grew louder, talk of him being in the hero course, of him being top of the class, Rei could care less about this guy. She just wanted to go home with her friends and play her songs.

“Fine then, your funeral.” Rei scowled, sizing up the boy. She looked at him, and swung her leg back and then forward, nailing her thick toe of her steel toed boots into this guy's knee. He must’ve not been expecting it, he yelped and crumpled cupping his knee in his fat hands.

“Next time, listen the first time I tell you to move.” She huffed marching past him, ignoring the curses falling from his lips and promises of kicking her ass, not caring she was younger and smaller. Rei didn’t care, she had places to be.

She walked over to the tree where she usually met Inko and Mitsuki and smiled waving at her girls.

“Hey guys! Sorry that it took so long, you’ll never believe what happened!” She laughed, linking her arms with Inko and Mitsuki, and they began to walk home.

“So what happened?” Mistuki asked, and Rei recounted the events of her being cornered in the hallway and how she nailed the guy in the knee. Inko stared at her like she had grown two heads.

“Sorry, who was this guy?” Inko asked quickly,

“I didn’t catch his name but he was fucking massive, must be on steroids or some shit, he had this red hair that like stuck straight up and he had a fire quirk”

Mitsuki and Inko both stared at her like she was crazy, which wasn’t totally untrue.

“...What?”

“That was Enji Todoroki!” They shrieked in unison, Rei furrowed her brow not recognizing the name.

“You nailed Enji Todoroki in the knee?!” Inko shrieked, clutching Rei’s arm tightly.

“And you told him to listen to you?! Do you have a death wish?!” Mitsuki shook Rei,

“I don’t see the issue here,” Rei mumbled, staring at her friends. What did this guy do to make people so scared of him? Seems like a douchebag to Rei, but she didn't say that since Inko looked ready to pass out.

“He’s in the hero course, he’s known to kick people out of the way literally and brags how he is going to surpass All Might!” Mitsuki explained, confirming Rei’s belief that this guy was a total douche.

“Sounds like a douchebag,” Inko promptly passing out as soon as the words left Rei’s lips. Shrieking both Mitsuki and Rei launched forward to catch the poor girl. Gently laying her in the grass, Rei and Mitsuki sat on either side of her chatting about classes as they waited for Inko to wake up again. There’s a reason Rei had Inko saved as “Goat” in her phone. She had a habit of passing out at any feeling of pressure, it happened often enough that Mitsuki and Rei had a routine for if it happened. Which was often.

Rei gently carded her fingers through Inko’s hair as she waited, the softness of her hair enamored Rei. She smiled softly, as Inko’s eyes slowly opened as she adjusted to her surroundings again.

“... I did it again, didn't I?” She muttered as Rei and Mitsuki giggled and nodded. She giggled along leaning into Rei. The warmth of her body against Rei's made her heart flutter for some unknown reason. She pushed away the thought of how close Inko was to her and how much they were touching, that was for her to handle later. 

“Need some water Inky?” Rei offered, holding out her water bottle. Inko smiled and nodded gently while taking the bottle. She lifted it to her lips, drinking it slowly, water dribbling down the side of her mouth and running down to her chin. Rei couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight as Inko gently tipped the water bottle back down. Licking her lips softly, the plush pink damp from water and saliva, the remnants of her lip gloss staining the mouth of Rei’s water bottle.

“Thanks Rei,” she smiled, handing the water bottle back to her. Rei nodded, words escaping her as she stared at her best friend slightly, The unfamiliar warmth creeping into her chilly cheeks, Mitsuki glancing between the two.

“Well we should get going, you feeling good enough to stand Inky?” Mitsuki asked hopping up from where she sat. Rei nodded standing up and gently held Inko’s hand helping her up. The warmth of Inko’s hand made Rei’s heart stutter and she didn’t understand it. She smiled softly as the three of them linked their arms together once more and continued the trek to Rei’s house once more.

Making her way up the stairs of her house she quietly slid the key into the lock, checking to make sure her parents' cars weren't in the driveway. She opened the door and stepped inside, Inko and Mitsuki close behind. The cold dead silence of her house weighed heavily on Rei’s shoulders. She hated her house, she’d much rather the warmth of her friend's houses, but she made a promise to show her friends the songs she had written.

Mitsuki and Inko quietly toed off their shoes, not making any comments about the empty mausoleum that Rei lived in. The one solace that came of her parents working most of their days away was that Rei got to see less and less of them. And the less she had to interact with them, the better.

“Cmon, up to my room.” Rei murmured, her voice sounding alien in the cold quiet that filled the icy halls of her house. The three of them quietly made their way to Rei’s room, afraid to break the shaky peace that settled in the empty halls.

Flinging her door open, Rei was greeted by the warmth of her room. Her walls lined with paintings, posters and whatever else she could find to fill the empty spaces, opposite of the bare walls that lined her house. The warm glow of her lamps and fairy lights, a stark contrast to the bright white lights that lit the rest of her house.

She pranced into her room and flipped through her record collection before finding one of her favourite Bowie records. An artist from pre-quirk times, she tugged her record player from its usual spot and adorned it with the record letting the needle trace the lines of the record. Bowie's voice floated through the room as Inko and Mitsuki made themselves at home on the beanbag Rei had found at a local thrift shop and her bed, covered in quilts and plush blankets she had been gifted from her grandmother.

“Okay, I know I’ve got Bowie playing but do you girls wanna hear my music? I’ll give you the headphones.” She asked, flopping on the bed beside Inko.

“Absolutely we do!” Mitsuki shrieked from her spot on the beanbag. Rei smiled and yanked her laptop from its spot on her bed and flipped it open, typing and pulling up the recording she had finished last night. She plugged in her headphones and turned the volume up giving Mitsuki and Inko their own earbud.

“You two ready?” she asked smiling. Earning two nods she hit play and the song she had dubbed “Bourgeoisieses” began filtering through the buds as Mistuki and Inko smiled listening. The funky twang of the beat began to play as Mitsuki giggled and tapped her fingers along to the beat.

I want to be with the Bourgeoisieses!
I want to see how the Bourgeoisieses party all night!
I want to see how the Bourgeoisieses la-di-dee da!
Want to be with with the Bourgeoisie!

Inko giggled and looked at Rei, “You are the bourgeoisie!”

Rei rolled her eyes, that was the point of the song, she was poking fun at her own upbringing. It was a silly goofy beat she came up with,

“It’s really cute, I like it!” Inko assured her, smiling brightly as she hummed along.

The men at war,
They draft the poor,
No time to mourn,
I’m on the dance floor!

Inko smiled and taped her fingers along to the beat as Rei waited impatiently for the song to end so she could hear her friends' full thoughts. She had been forced to attend one of the formal galas her parents adored going to and the overconsumption and the exaggeration of everything gave her the idea for the song.

“This song would be really fun to dance to!” Inko squeaked, Mitsuki nodding along,

“Oh yeah! This is really fun! You should like post it online or something Rei!”

Rei shook her head, she couldn't do that. She doubted people would like her music. It's not like it's anything special, it was just her way of expressing the way she felt about her screwed up life of extreme wealth to desperation.

“Nah, it’s not that good-” She started before Inko cut her off,

“Rei, You should post it.” And that settled it for Rei. If Inko believed in her then that was all she needed,

“It's just me and my guitar, it’s kinda plain…”

“I’ll add my drums then and Inky here knows bass! We can be your band!” Mitsuki assured her, eyes bright in excitement. Rei felt her heart jump into her throat they didn't have to do this for her.

“Oh guys I don’t-”

“Rei, your music is really good. Let us be your band! It’ll be okay!” Inko smiled reaching out to grab Rei’s hand, she felt that unfamiliar warmth creep into her cheeks once again at every one of Inko’s touches.“... Okay.”

“... Okay.”

Chapter Text

She stood in Mitsuki’s garage, a makeshift stage for the beginnings of their little band. Inko stood to Rei’s right, bass in hand and hair tied up in a loose bun, a few strands falling into her face. Mitsuki seated behind Rei at her drums, twirling the sticks between her nimble fingers. Rei standing at the front, guitar in hand, her calloused fingertips pressing against the hard wire.

“Ready? I’ll count us in,” Mitsuki said, beginning to bash the wood against the drums setting the pace for the song. “5, 6… 5, 6, 7, 8!”

Rei began to strum her guitar according to the pace set by Mitsuki, her fingers stumbling along the pacing, not able to keep up. She glanced at Inko who was plucking her strings quicker then the pace set by Mitski to overcompensate. It was an incoherent out of pace mess and Rei could feel her temper bubbling up to the surface again, she really didn't want to snap at her friends. She had to stop them before she threw something at them.

“Okay, stop, stop! this isnt working, Mitsuki you're going too fast,” Rei huffed rubbing her forehead, “It’s not, dadada, it's da, da, da. Do you hear the difference?” Her annoyance laced into her words, she was trying to quickly stomp down her rising anger and from the look Mitsuki was giving her, it was obvious.

“Yeah, sorry, I’m trying to slow down, but your songs are just so slow!” Mitsuki whined, “Why don't we try something quicker paced? Like a cover!”

“Yeah I need a break from this song, it's just not working.” Inko stepped in gently resting a hand on Rei’s shoulder. Rei nodded and pressed the heel of her hands into her eyes.

“I’m sorry guys, its- its just, y’know…”

“You're a raging perfectionist and you struggle with not being perfect within the first few tries? We know babe.” Mitsuki supplied, Rei huffed and nodded, carding her fingers through her hair.Inko squeezed her shoulder and smiled.

“I think for our first time trying to play together we aren't completely terrible. We could be so much worse, but we arent. We are still in tune so that's something!” Inko told her, Rei nodded and softly looked at Inko. She always knew what to say to help dissipate Rei’s temper, just her warm presence was enough to calm her down and Rei could never be angry at Inko.

“Yeah, yeah you're right. It’s okay. We can play something fun like, uh…” Her thought process was interrupted by the creak of the door entering the garage, creeping open. Masaru peeking his head in, a platter of snacks and drinks in hand.

“Hey girls, I got some snacks and such for you guys.” He said softly,asaru was a quiet man, he balanced out Mitsuki’s brash loudness perfectly. They worked surprisingly well together and Rei could tell that they were absolutely whipped for each other. They even shared a similar passion for fashion and had plans on creating their own fashion brand from the ground up.

“Aw thanks sexy!” Mitsuki called out, Masuru chuckled as he bent down to place the plate on the stack of boxes that the girls were using as a makeshift table. Rei snickered as Mitsuki wolf whistled at her man as he bent over earning a playful eye roll from him.

Inko gently tugged her bass off, and made her way to the plate of snacks, bushing past Rei in the cramped space of Mistuki’s parents garage. Rei’s heart skipped a beat at the casual touch, Inko not realizing the effect she had on her friend. She made Rei’s head spin, like she was on a rollercoaster of emotions, spinning and dipping and making Rei’s stomach twist threatening to puke.

The confusion of why Inko made Rei feel like this made her sick. She had to be crazy, girls don't get butterflies from their best friends but yet here she was, wanting to know what Inko’s lips felt like on hers. Were they warm? Soft? What did her hands feel like? Did she have the same callouses Rei did? Her grey eyes watched Inko grab a jelly packet, her eyes bright as she laughed at something Masaru said, Mitsuki saddling up beside him wrapping her arms around him. Rei stood beside Inko, watching, watching the way Inko existed. The way she existed in the same space as Rei, how she took up space, it enamored Rei.

Inko glanced over and caught Rei’s eyes and flashed a smile, as she grabbed a jelly packet, cherry flavoured.

“What song should we try next? Mitsuki suggested we do a cover of a song.” Rei nodded along, Mitsuki smiled and nodded.

“Yeah I was thinking we would cover a song we all know and like, like uh… ‘Let’s be friends!’” Mistuki chirped,

“God that's a good one!”Rei said, her excitement bubbling up. She slurped the jelly packet down as she looked on her phone, digging through the internet to find the chords they needed. Finding the right sheet music, she sent the music to the others. Looking it over together, they discussed the way they needed to play for it to flow together.

Rei stood at the front, with Inko beside her and Mitsuki at her back. They had done a few practice rounds before deciding to play the whole thing. Rei heard Mitsuki count them in, setting the beat, Inko smoothing it out with the bass as Rei strummed her guitar letting the music flow over her. Slipping into the stage persona she had begun to create in her head, she began to sing.

Hey, what's your name?
I think I like you
Come a little closer now
Wait, what'd you say? Is that your girlfriend?
Think I'll be turning that around

Masaru sat on the folding chair in front of them, softly clapping along to the beat. Rei bobbed her head in accordance to the beat Mitsuki had set, her drumsticks twirling and slamming down into the drums.

Don't you wanna?
Don't you wanna?
Don't you wanna know, what it would feel like?

Rei glanced at Inko beside her, watching the way Inko’s hair swung around her in a veil of green. Her body moved to the music as she played along. Rei’s smile widened as she approached the chorus, making eye contact with Inko.

Let's be friends so we can make out
You're so hot let me show you around
I see what I want and I wanna play
Everyone knows I'm getting my way
It doesn't matter what you say

Rei bounced as she sang the chorus, fully embracing the unabashed campy-ness the song exerted. She strutted and sang and played as Inko and Mitsuki indulged in Rei, encouraging her to go farther and farther from her usual self, screaming at her to embrace the stage persona that was blossoming.

Inko bounced right along with Rei, strutting up beside her, pushing the lines they had drawn in the sand that pronounced their friendship. Green eyes watching grey, the air electric with energy. Rei could hear Mistui’s laugh somewhere in the background, the sound of Masaru’s hands clapping faded as Rei stared at her friend. The chorus flowing from her throat, the words wrapping around the two girls.

Let's be friends so we can make out
You're so hot let me show you around
I see what I want and I wanna play
Everyone knows I'm getting my way
It doesn't matter what you say

Rei finished out the song, feeling herself slip from the headspace she had just existed in. She heard Mistuki behind her saying something, but the roar in her ears was deafening. She saw Masaru clapping and standing up, Rei could feel herself smiling, but her head was foggy. She could think straight, she could think period.

Someone gently touched her arm and reality snapped back into place, looking to her left she saw Inko gently holding her arm, her mouth moving but Rei couldn’t make out the words.

“-at, Rei? Hey! Earth to Rei! Come back to us space cadet.” Inko giggles softly, rubbing her arm. Rei smiled and nodded,

“Sorry I just spaced, I’m here, that was really good!” She smiles, running a hand through her hair. Mitsuki stood, stuffing her drumsticks in her back pocket.

“Good?! That was incredible! With some more practice we could go on stage!!” Mitsuki shrieked, wrapping her arms around Inko and Rei. She laughed and leaned into Mitsuki, her energy electrifying the space, her arms bringing Rei and Inko closer than what their friendship could take.

Masaru stood nearby, gingerly holding his phone working for their girls to finish their fangirling and squealing over their own work. Rei pulled away first and looked over,

“You good?”

“Mhm, I filmed you guys if you wanna watch it back.” He offered, Rei hadn’t even noticed his phone out, she was too caught up in the way Inko had played and danced around her.

“Uh fuck yeah, let’s see it!” Mitsuki announced snatching her boyfriend's phone, Masaru chuckled softly and sat beside her with Inko and Rei behind each of them. Mitsuki typed into his phone pulling up the video, flicking the volume to full, the four of them watched in silence as the sound of their cover filtered through the rough speakers.

As the video played, Rei could feel Inkos eyes on her. The soft green boring into her head, Rei couldn’t bring herself to meet her eyes. Keeping her own trained on the phone as she watches herself sing at Inko, the lyrics cutting deep and revealing something inside Rei that she wasn't ready to handle.

Let's be friends so we can make out
You're so hot let me show you around

The song finished out and Rei didn’t even realize she was holding her breath. She gasped softly, her lungs filling up once again. Mitsuki’s infectious excitement spread across their small group.

“We should like, put this online!”

Rei felt her heart leap into her throat at those words, sure she had confidence in her abilities but not that much confidence! She glanced over and saw Inko smiling softly, nodding along.

“We need a band name though!” Inko squeaked, Mitsuki nodded excitedly as she grabbed her notebook plopping in the beanbag. Inko curled up beside her with Rei on the other side as Mitsuki prepped the page for brainstorming. Masaru smiles softly and mutters something to Mitsuki before kissing her head and heading out.

“Alright let’s brainstorm girls,”

The three of them poured over names, until they had their top 7.

Rei and Addicts
Rei and the Nymphs
HoeDown Showdown
Nymphs in Chains
R. I. M.
Rei and the Bimbos
Rei and the Bimbo Nympho

Rei looked over them, the words piecing together in her mind. This name is what’s gonna encapsulate their sound, it’s what people will associate their music with. It had to be perfect. She hummed slightly, rolling the words over in her mouth.

Bimbo…

Nymphos…

It hit her like a train,

“Guys! What about ‘The Bimbo Nymphos’?!” She screeched standing up in excitement, “Hear me out! Just say it out loud!”

Inko tilted her head and slowly said it out loud, the word rolling off her tongue. Mitsuki followed suit, their faces splitting into massive smiles.

“I think we just found our band name!” Mitsuki squealed, standing up and knocking the notebook out of her lap. Inko giggles softly, using her quirk to pull the notebook to herself to keep it from spilling onto the filthy floor. Rei smiles brightly, feeling hopeful for the future for the first time in a while. Maybe this little idea of hers might actually be viable.

“So are we gonna post it online?” Inko asked, looking up at them. Rei glanced at Mitsuki who looked back at her.

“Yes we are, The Bimbo Nymphos need to make their debut at some point!” She smiled, Rei could feel her excitement flowing under his skin, itching for that adrenaline rush of performing. It was like a drug and Rei knew she was hooked, she was a hopeless addict and that was okay with her.

Inko helped Mitsuki set up their YouTube channel to post their cover, not wanting to only have one song up, the three of them covered a few more songs. They did some ABBA, (at the request of Inko) which was genuinely fun but ultimately decided to hold off on posting those.

But they put up their cover of “Let’s Be Friends”, the group teeming with a mixture of anxiety and excitement at their newest prospect. Feeling accomplished with their mission of starting their little band, they agreed to meet everyday after school to practice. Rei grabbed her book bag and stuffed her books and such into it, leaving her guitar with Mitsuki. She didn’t want to have to lug around a big bulky guitar case, it was a pain.

She called out her goodbyes with the promise of texting when she made it home safely, Rei began her trek back home.

~

Silently, Rei entered her house. Straining her ears to listen for her parents, hearing the quiet shuffling of her mother, the rustling of her fathers newspaper, the small sounds of life in her lifeless crypt. She toed off her boots and scooped them up, not wanting to leave them out in fear of her mothers disdain. Her socked feet quietly padded against the hard wood of the floors as she shuffled to her room not wanting to alert her parents to her presence. It was easier that way.

“Rei? Is that you?” Her fathers voice snipped, Rei froze and silently cursed to herself.

“Yeah,”

Where were you? Come here.” His voice demanded, her father commanded authority, her body compelled to obey. It was beaten into her at a young age to conform to her father, to the way she was supposed to be.

To her father she was going to be nothing more than a housewife like her mother. But Rei had plans, and he wasn't about to stop her. But for now she needs to keep this charade up. She made her way into the living room and stood in front of her fathers arm chair waiting to be addressed.

"How was school?”

“Fine,”

“Your studies?”

“Straight A’s”

It always went like this, back and forth surface level questions, her father never pushed for more. It made things easier for Rei, but then whenever she heard Inko or Mitsuki talk about how much their parents cared, she couldn't help the jealousy that flared up within her.

“Good, keep it that way.” He did not lower his newspaper once their entire talk, “I’ve been looking at suitors for you. There are some lovely boys.”

Rei felt her heart stop, her body turning to ice at his words.

“You said we were going to wait until after highschool.” She said, keeping her tone even. She couldn't give away her emotions for fear of her father using her “Womanly emotions'’ against her. Rei saw what happened to emotional women in her family, she just had to look at her mother.

“Hm yes, but no harm in looking now, just to prepare for after.” He hummed, talking like her future was nothing important, no more important than the weather.

It pissed her off.

“Of course father, I am going to finish my homework.” She said, turning to leave. Her father hummed in response, she hated that man. She hated the way she was nothing but cattle to him. She didn't want to marry a man she had never met before. Rei wasn't going to let that happen, she was going to be gone before then anyways.

Just two more years.

Walking into her room, Rei flipped on her lamps and hit play on her record playing letting whatever she had left in it play. Laying on her bed she replayed the day over in her head. Especially the moments with Inko. There was something about her that made Rei’s heart flutter, the way she smiled at the small things, or laughed at Mitsuki’s jokes, or the way her hair fell around her face.

She was such a beautiful girl and Rei couldn’t tell if she wanted to be her, or be… be with her. Rei rolled in bed and pressed the heel of her hand into her eyes trying to not cry. She didn’t want this, these feelings that have swarmed her heart. She couldn’t be in love with her best friend, but the way Inko had looked at her as they sang…

“No!” She shoved her hands into her hair, gripping the white strands as her mind ran around the thoughts of Inko. She didn’t understand why she was feeling this way, and she hated it. The confusion and vitriol bubbling up into her throat made her queasy. Sitting up she grabbed her laptop and decided to turn to the internet. There had to be a solution to this-this problem.

She yanked her hand out of her hair and began her search. Reading post after post about the same things she was feeling, posts all screaming at her, the answer staring into her face. But she couldn't, she can't, it’s not right. She is not allowed to feel this way.

And that night Rei made a promise to herself to never let anyone ever know about this, she would take this to her grave.

Laying back down in bed, Rei felt the trickle of icy tears slipping down her temples as she stared at the glow in the dark stars above her bed. A cold emptiness filled her gut as she stared at the ceiling until the morning sun slipped through her window.

~

Rei made her way through the hallways at school, quickly stepping around people trying to make it in time so she could head out to lunch with her friends but some flaming asshole decided to piss her off.

It really wasn't Rei’s fault that his head was so far up his ass he was spewing shit, but yet here she was, face to face with the flaming asshole who calls himself ‘Endeavour’. (A stupid name if you asked Rei, like seriously, ‘Endeavour’? How does that tie into your hero persona at all?)

Rei was walking through the halls, when ‘Endeavour’ stepped in front of her. Seriously, what was this guy's problem?

“... Move, and why are you still in that tacky get up?” She scowled as he bent down, red eyes sharp and daring.

“No, and it ain't any more tacky than that shit you're wearing!” He boomed and Rei felt compelled to roll her eyes, but decided against it.

“You mean the fucking school uniform? Wow, so tacky.” She scoffed, pushing past him. Todoroki let her push past him, but soon fell in step beside her. She wasn't expecting him to move for her but she didn't think too hard.

“Ya know I just got off patrol, beat up a few villains, the usual.” He boasted, flexing his arm. Well this was a whole 180 on their last meeting. This time she did roll her eyes, which Todoroki laughed at. His loud laugh rolled over the halls, suffocating them in the sound. The sound roared in her ears, taking over heer thoughts, keeping her from thinking straight.

“So you hurt a bunch of people? How heroic.” She scoffed, trying to speed up to get the guy to leave her alone. Well at least he wasn't in the hero’s course for nothing as Todorki easily kept up with her.

“Well, they were villains, thieves and just dicks. So yes, very heroic. Probably more heroic than All Might!” Todorki smiled, his teeth unnaturally white, why was he trying to impress Rei? She had no idea.

Rei continued walking towards her and her friends' meeting spot as Todorki marched beside her bragging about all the ‘Villains’ he beat up today. It made Rei sick thinking of all the pain that Heroes play off as ‘morally good’. It was really messed up how much ‘heroes’ were celebrated for hurting or even killing people, when most villains were trying to make ends meet, or they were thrown out onto the streets for things out of their control, such as their quirks. It disgusted Rei, and only made her disdain for heroes stronger as she grew up and learned more about the dark underbelly of society.

“Are you going to keep following me like a lost puppy or are you gonna go ‘be a hero’, some more?” She glared, stopping and staring at him. Todorki froze and looked won at her,

“What? Don't want me to keep you company? Someone's gotta keep girls like you sa-!”

“Girls like me?!” Rei scowled, cutting him off, frost spreading over her shoulders. “I do not need your pathetic protection! I do not need some- some man! Telling me that I need protection! Fuck you, Todoroki! Go beat up some more poor people!” She snapped, slamming her foot down, ice spreading to Todorki and creeping over his feet. The boy was too stunned to speak as Rei marched over to her friends.

Mitsuki was smiling at her with Inko’s eye’s bugging out of her skull.

“Hey girls, are you guys ready for lunch?” She asked, smiling, feeling infinitely better with her girls. They nodded and the three of them made their way to one of the nearby cafes for lunch.

“So I've been keeping up with our little cover video and people seem to really like our covers! We’ve gotten like 200 views!” Mitsuki told them, pulling open her phone to show them, “Maybe we can post that rich kid song you made!”

“Bourgeoisieses?” Rei offered,

“Yeah! You’ve got it all recorded and such! Inky can make a cover for it!” Inko blurred softly, her hair was tied up in a bun today.

“Well if guys want, I can. I’ve got a few ideas.”

“That would be awesome Inko,” Rei smiled walking into the cafe, finding a seat for the three of them. Inko sat down beside her as Mitsuki went up to order for them. Inko pulled out her sketchbook and showed Rei the ideas she had for the cover art for her song before they posted it online. Rei smiled looking over the sketches as Mitsuki made her way back over to them, hands full of coffee's, tea and food.

Rei gently grabbed some of the items helping Mistuki set them down and hand them out to herself, Inko and Mitsuki. The three of them sat together and gossiped over the students in their classes, enjoying a nice quiet peaceful lunch. They were so enveloped in their own world that Re didn’t notice when someone had entered the cafe looking panicked.

“Someone help! Please! I didn't do anyth-!” The guy screamed, the desperation in his voice clear as a massive figure appeared behind him. Rei watched in horror as ‘Endeavour’ grabbed the guy and dragged him out of the cafe and slammed him into the concrete. The guy screamed out in pain as his arm was twisted behind his back, Endeavour's heavy knee digging into his back, flames licking across the guy's body as Endeavour stared down at him.

Blood roared in Rei’s ears as she watched. Mitsuki and Inko staring, mouths agape and eyes bugging out. The man cried, begging Endeavour to listen as he was manhandled, his face bloody and bruised from eating concrete.

The sirens of police screamed out as their cars zipped past and slid to a stop. Police officers exiting their cars, guns drawn, the man still begging and pleading to be listened to. Rei watched as Endeavour slammed his fist into the guy's head, his body going limp. Vomit bubbled up in her throat as she watched the man's body get stuffed into the back of the police car. People around her were cheering, chanting Endeavour's name. Why? He hurt that man, did he truly deserve that? The brutality was branded into her mind, fully setting the seed of hate for heroes.

He felt Inko grab her hand bringing her back down to reality. The gentle squeeze helped Rei focus on her friends. Her mind was still racing as she watched the police cars speed off, Endeavour standing in the middle of a crowd of people celebrating him. Why were they celebrating?

“We should head back to school,” Mitsuki offered, but Rei shook her head.

“I’m going home. I’ll text you girls later.” Rei said, running a hand through her hair. She couldn’t sit in her classes and focus, not after what had happened. She was too angry, too frustrated, she had to do something, so she was going to do the one thing she was good at.

Her friends told her goodbye as Rei marched home quickly, her mind playing the events back, lyrics forming in her head, beats and guitar riffs playing in her head.

She walked into her house not bothering to be quiet, she couldn’t force herself to be silent, not while her mind was so loud. She stormed up to her room and shut and locked the door. She grabbed her notebook, dragging her pen across the pages exploring lyrics, exploring sounds. She wanted it fast, it had to be angry, she was angry.

She sat down at her keyboard, she experimented with sounds, riffs, tempos, notes, but it wasn’t sounding the way she wanted. She needed her guitar, but it was with Mitsuki. She groaned and slammed her head against the keys hearing the discordant sound, letting them ring out.

“Shit…” She grumbled, rubbing her face. She heard her father banging on her door yelling at her to keep it down. Rei scowled and ignored him, frost peeking out from under the door. Her fathers ice quirk spread under the door threatening as if Rei didn’t have the same quirk, just better. It pissed her father off that Rei had the stronger quirk, it messed up his view of women being weaker.

“Stop that!” Rei yelled, grabbing her hair dryer to melt the ice.

“Turn that shit off!” He yelled, Rei turned her hair dryer on, flicking the switch to the highest heat setting and the highest speed as she sat at her door and melted the ice. The loud roar of the hair dryer drowned out her fathers yelling, the frost melting quickly since that was all he could produce.

She could still hear her fathers yelling but the frost just wouldn't stop, she rolled her eyes and pressed her palm to the floor and felt the shiver of ice run through her body as she put up a wall of ice over her door, to a) keep her father out of her room and b) to show off how much stronger she was then him. Pulling her hand away she smiled at her work and sat back down at her keyboard, flicking the switch to get the sound of an electric guitar. It wouldn’t be exact but it was close enough for now. She sang the lyrics to get a feel for the song as she played around with the sound.

Punch your lights out, hit the pavement
That's what I call entertainment
Causin' problems makes you famous
All the violence makes a statement

Her fingers slamming against the keys, roughing up the sound. She smiled, feeling the words letting herself slip into the performance to her pile of teddy bears in the corner of her room.

Who the hell said any of you get a taste?
Do you ever wanna get up all in your face?
And nothing you can do could ever make me go away
Poor baby, I'm gonna make it all okay

She wrote the full song out, sitting at her keyboard. Completely throwing herself into the music, letting the sound take over. Her phone buzzed in the background, but Rei ignored it, she had to finish her work. She had to show the world the reality of heroes.

Rei opened her laptop and recorded the song she had dubbed “Lights Out”. Moving towards her bed with the recording, she plopped the recording into her sound mixer and played around with different beats and distortions finding the right feeling. She smiled and glanced at the time, she had been working for the past 6 hours, not noticing the time. It was getting late but Rei needed to finish this, she had too.

Opening her video editor, she grabbed videos online of heroes beating up villains, attacking them, hurting them. It was inhumane, there had to be better ways of dealing with this. But Rei pushed that thought of her head right now, she just had to finish this.

She layed the videos of the heroes over the song, letting the video speak for itself. The videos of heroes being celebrated for their brutality, the videos of people being beaten within an inch of their life layered with the song.

Rei looked through the video making sure her point was clear, it was a hard video to watch but it was enthralling. It made it’s point clear, it was exactly what she was imagining.

She grabbed her phone and texted Mitsuki, asking for the login information for their YouTube channel. She waited impatient for Mitsuki to send her the information.

Mitsuki: y do u need the info?

Rei: cuz i did another song, look LightsOut.mp3

Rei waited for Mitsuki to watch the video and then send her the information, the little speech bubble with the dots taunted her.

Mitsuki: We shud tell Inky before we post it, shes in the band 2

Rei: Good point,

Rei swiped over to the group chat the three of them had, and rubbed her eyes. Tiredness was starting to take over but Rei wasn’t going to fall asleep until the video was posted. She had something to say.

IceQueen: LightsOut.mp3

Inky: Whats this?

IceQueen: Song I wrote about earlier

Temper: Rei wants to post it, made a video adn everything

Inky: Its very aggressive, but its very good Rei,

Inky: I think you should post it,

IceQueen: Okay, I will :)

Rei smiled and posted the music video to their YouTube channel. Their first original songs debut. Hopefully people will understand what she is trying to say.