atrament. (mha x reader)

8: Ramen

The bell above the ramen shop door chimed as you entered, fatigue catching up to you. You felt like crying, but no tears would come out. This had happened often; a sense of numbness where your emotions should have been showing. Was this the price to pay for becoming a villain?

You sighed and pulled your hood off your head, sitting at the table in front of the kitchen. The burly middle-aged man who ran the shop, Michio Uchida, popped his head out from behind the wall, grinning at you.

"Well, if it isn't Akichin! Back the same day every week, as always, eh?"

Aside from your secret life as a villain, you took some time out of your schedule to transform into a normal citizen. It was convenient for you and the League; since you were a lesser-known member of the organization amongst the pro heroes, you could easily keep up on current news in the outside world. According to your fake ID, your alter ego was a broke college student working part-time at a convenience store. Akira Hakozaki was, in all aspects, perfectly normal.

A large smile painted your face and you nodded vigorously, trying to look as excited as possible. "Yep! Budget's been low lately, and I gotta eat. Plus, who can resist your ramen?"

Michio laughed boisterously, ruffling your hair before practically stomping through the kitchen. "As honest as ever, Akichin! I'll throw in some extra meat just for you!"

You laughed and fixed your hair to where it was previously, relaxing a bit. You didn't have to put on much of an act in this place. It was refreshing to you. It was also close to Sakura's apartment, which was a bonus since you could keep an eye on her.

The bell chimed again as Michio set your bowl of ramen down, the older man's eyes widening along with his smile.

"Well I'll be damned, it's the number one hero! What's got you running around on this side of town?"

An unsettling feeling spread across your entire body and you turned around slowly, your heart dropping and your pulse starting to quicken.

Standing right beside you, looking right at you, was none other than Izuku Midoriya.

✧ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ✦✧✦ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ✧

'Fuck. Stay calm. Stay calm.'

Izuku broke the eye contact first, turning to Michio and smiling sheepishly. "Ah, well, a friend recommended this place to me...I figured that I should try it out!"

Your hands shook a bit as you broke apart your chopsticks, a bead of sweat dripping down the back of your neck. Sakura had definitely said something to him, fuck! You swallowed hard, trying your best to ignore him. God, you wished that you could just disappear.

"Your friend has good taste! Anything specific you wanna order?"

Izuku glanced over at you, then spoke.

"Whatever the person next to me is having, I'll have as well."

You flinched with this, almost choking on your noodles. There's no way that he would have recognized you. It's been seven years, and you looked way different than you did back then. God, had your heartbeat always been so loud?

"Coming right up! Even though you're a pro hero, you still gotta pay full price, though!" Michio disappeared into the kitchen, laughing with his usual cheeriness. Izuku laughed along with him, sitting beside you.

"There's plenty of empty seats, you know?" You blurted the words out without even thinking. Izuku turned to look at you, surprised. Your face heated up as you silently cursed yourself, but you kept yourself composed, willing yourself not to look back at him.

"Ahaha, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable..." Izuku started to get up, smiling apologetically.

"Heeeyyyy, Akichin, be nice! I know how you feel about heroes and such, but two's company, ya know! Come on, number one, sit back down." Michio chortled as he set Izuku's bowl down. God, sometimes this old man needed to shut up. You forced a smile and nodded as Izuku hesitantly sat back down, trying not to lose your shit as Michio disappeared back into the kitchen.

"I'm really sorry again, I'll move still, if you want..." Izuku whispered to you, guilt laced in his tone. You pursed your lips, then sighed, shaking your head.

"...That old dude's never gonna let me hear the end of it if I went against his wishes. You...you can feel free to stay."

There was silence as Izuku opened his chopsticks, and you broke your vow of not looking at him. You glanced at him as you slurped your ramen, slowly absorbing his older appearance. It had been a while since you last saw him (he was barely on the news, too shy to do interviews), and you were too flustered to pay attention to his face when he came in earlier.

But God, he aged well.

Somehow, his face was sculpted yet youthful at the same time, peppered with the same freckles you remembered him with. His eyes were as vibrant as ever, glimmering like emeralds. Hair was still fluffy as ever, too, except it was paired with an undercut. Uncharacteristic for him, but it fit. You wondered if his smile was the same, too.

It had been a long time since you had seen him smile for you.

His eyes flickered to meet yours and you quickly looked away, your face reddening. Fuck, Y/N, this was not the time to be reminiscing. If he figured out who you were, you would be fucked.

"...Excuse me, this may come off as strange, but...you look a lot like someone that I used to know."

Fuck.