“This Charming Pretty Boy’s Gonna Steal Our Girls!” -Denki Kaminari
Happy Birthday! Yo Shindo x Reader
At the Provisional Hero Exam
UA’s finest hero candidates piled off the bus in an order much unlike the way the first year class president Tenya Iida had planned. As a senior student, you were selected as a volunteer chaperone to give the kids some advice before their exam and get them excited. Who wouldn’t want to go would have been a better question, with the chance to meet all the competing heroes, as well as some of the famous proctors! Maybe you’d even meet the next top up-and-coming.
You had hardly taken in the outside of the training arena when you were approached by some students around your age from a different school, eager to meet their peers and rivals. It had to be Ketsubutsu Academy. It was a rite of passage for them to harass the UA first years, a timeless tradition transcending any reason or rhyme. The girl of their group squealed something to the person in the front about the sports festival, and the leader smiled and clasped your hands in his, clearly singling you out as the person in charge of your school’s classes. It was nearly flattering, if he hadn’t touched you without asking, and done so abruptly. You looked down at his large veiny hands and frowned slightly.
“Hey, I’m Yo Shindo! The hero name’s Grand,” he started, shaking your arms in a firm and strong handshake. If he gripped even the slightest bit tighter, it would hurt- but it didn’t quite. Was he trying to be intimidating with how extroverted and up front he was being? As a representative of UA, you declared to yourself that you would remain unphased, and didn’t flinch away from his touch, and looked up to meet his eyes with a cold resolve to your enemy.
You didn’t know if you believed in love at first sight, but this was the closest you’d gotten. The man was an absolute stud. You were shocked your jaw didn’t drop on the spot like in some cheesy rom-com. This mean prettyboy was talking to you with such rapt attention? You could pass off his hands without too much of a second glance, but after you saw his face… how could you deny that any part of him was anything but undeniably handsome? He was large but far from chubby, tall, everything anyone could possibly want. Friendly, outgoing, charming, for sure. He seemed so openly sweet, but with yourself in his grip, you could sense the malevolent intent he had for you. It was clear in his dark eyes, which spoke volumes more than whatever bullshit he was spouting about honorable friendships. As idiotic as it was, you knew you would play right into his trap without a second of hesitation. He was just that good at playing the game. First impressions sure were important, and you didn’t think anything could ever beat the moment you noticed him.
A tic passed a bit too slowly without you reacting, and you saw his smirk lift ever so slightly, in a movement that would have been unnoticed by anyone else, too far away to see. Oh, he was good. Amazing at deductive reasoning, quick to catch on. No wonder Ketsubutsu had sent him. He was like if class 1B’s Neito Monoma had a sneaky, under-handed filter.
You straightened out your face in a grin, trying to match his, and shook his hands in return as he turned his gaze to your schoolmates behind you and prattled on a bit, making some mocking passive-aggressive comment about UA’s recent involvements with the League that you didn’t quite catch with how up-in-the-clouds you were, trying to clear your mind.
Before you knew it, his hands slipped away from yours and his class was off with a wave from him, his piercing eyes lingering on you for a millisecond too long. His finger had slipped against your wrist in such a light and fluid motion that none but you could have felt, but the touch had sent shudders down your body.
Damnit, he was fucking good.
After getting a long, cool glass of water, you sat down in the stands with the teachers to watch the events unravel. It wasn’t anything too crazy, but Gang Orca had a special guest appearance.
Although you knew you should be looking out for the other kids for UA, you couldn’t help but scan the massive rink for Izuku Midoriya’s hotter cousin. Everyone was little more than pinpricks where you stood, however, and he would be undoubtedly less recognizable in his hero outfit. Deflated, you scrunched down into the seats, and stared up at the sky, bored as a small dust cloud rose from a corner. A few minutes passed before one of the teachers handed an item to you, and you confusedly took it, knocking yourself out of your daydream state. When you turned to see what was going on, the person was gone. Binoculars. What perfect timing.
The person had undoubtedly thought you were saddened by coming all this way and being unable to see your peers. You almost let out a chuckle. Oh, you definitely should be thinking of them instead of some stupid boy. You shook your head and held the pair up to your head, before they were knocked out of your hand by a huge tremble. Luckily, you reacted quick enough to grab them by the strap before the glass snapped against the concrete stadium.
What the hell was that? An earthquake? The trembling stopped as soon as it had begun, the ring fractured into pieces from the movement. Would they stop the exam, or just dismiss it as ‘something a hero should be prepared for’? You looked back at the other onlookers, and a woman with an orange headcovering gave the biggest smile, and another sighed. Could that possibly have been… a quirk? You fumbled with the magnifier before bringing it up again.
Scanning the area, you found the source of the quakes right at the intersection of all the lines in the earth: an incredibly hot and muscular man with a smug grin. Yo Shindo; the hero Grand. Truly living up to the name. Was there anything he couldn’t do?
“Damn, if I was that kid with the quaking quirk, I would have shown off my muscles too. Did you see the size of those-” Eijiro Kirishima went on, flexing his chest for emphasis.
“Dude, you literally don’t wear a shirt either. Your outfits are actually pretty similar,” Denki Kaminari responded, having a point for the first time you had ever heard.
“Oh, yeah, right I guess. Duh. He’s just so manly though!” He yelled into the air with gusto, striking a pose. Great, the bastard had continued the tradition of Ketsubutsu outshining UA, even to their own students who were in the exam!
“Speaking of the devil…” Froppy, who’s real name you couldn’t quite remember, trailed off with a finger to her lip as Shindo slid his white shirt back on over his shoulder armor as he walked nearby all-too-conviently.
“Came to gloat, Mister-I-move-mountains?” You scoffed, crossing your arms at him.
He slung an arm around your shoulder in a side hug in a power move, looking down at your underclassmen, asserting his dominance over the situation. Your nonchalantness crumbled along with any semblance of coolness you had just mustered, and you knew you’d just embarrass yourself further if you tried to regain the upper hand and dish it back out. In a moment, you were sure it’d be clear your face was as red as a person who had just seen another naked.
“Not at all, precious!” (If only he’d call you that without humiliating you in front of your school!) “I just stopped by to congratulate everyone who passed! I’m sure one of them could live up to be a sidekick to a great hero one day!” He waved, smiling to the crowd before pivoting around and, since he was holding you, by default smoothly turning you with him away from their eyes. His smile fell, and so did his tone as he walked, giving you no choice but to go with him, his strong hold over your body. “...And you, brat, would look prettier without all the attitude?”
You snuck a glance back at your shoulder, but no one seemed to have noticed the villainous demeanor under the humorous mask he did well to use, but your own danger senses had been tingling from the start. He was terrifyingly close, yet so above you and out of reach, no doubt precisely where he wanted to be. His scowl turned into a gleefully malicious grin, as if trying to hold in a laugh after someone had made a fool of themself. His eye from the side of you darted down and met yours. The intensity of the stretching silence deepened, and there was another beat when you said nothing, utterly lost in his web.
“My, my, my, cat got the UA student’s tongue?” he teased, stretching your school’s name like it was an insult. “Well, that is better, I suppose. I like them obedient.” He flicked your chin as he released you. “Not going to misbehave again now, are we?” He turned to leave.
You stumbled back, as relieved as you were disappointed. He sure got you every sort of excited. “How about you make me?” Your words came out louder and more challenging than you expected, and before you could think to try and stop them and think through where they may land you. A few heads shot up in your direction, clearly interested in whatever was going on between the two of you.
“Oh?” He shot a predatory glance downwards, crossing his arms. At this point, you were wondering where the hell this conversation would get you.
Any trace of venom vanished, and he suddenly became as friendly and innocent as when his fingers had first met yours. “Let’s restart this. You like mochi?” he asked, as if you were old friends catching up.
“W-what?” you replied, taken aback and confused at the switchup.
His smile dwindled a bit. “I said, you like mochi?” he repeated, a tiny bit of tenseness seeping into his voice the second time.
“Yea, I… guess?” The hell is he getting at here?
“Great, it’s my birthday… today,” he said quietly, sheepishly holding the back of his head as if he had admitted a secret.
“Oh, uh, happy birthday. You… you doing anything?” you tried playing along.
He smirked, the kind that didn’t quite reach his eyes, as if he had already planned exactly what you would say. Nevertheless, his smile was the most gorgeous, even if it was stretched. “Well I was thinking, maybe, mochi?”
You could hardly breathe, how could such a basic conversation be so intense?
“What about your classmates, aren’t you doing something with-”
His gray eyes pierced your soul as he cut away your words, and there was no point in questioning further.
“I want to spend it with you.”
Happy birthday in 2026, Neito Monoma and Yo Shindo! 5/13.
