"Melissa, she'll be fine! Didn't you get your first out-of-country trip at her age?"

     "Yes, but when I was her age I was still two years older!"

     "Your math is so bad are you sure you're a genius inventor??" You watch as Jirou and the blonde continue to bicker, looking ridiculous with their masks that hid the upper half of their face. You didn't know why you were having a masquerade on a boat, but you didn't know a lot about rich people so who really cared.

     You chuckle at the image of Jirou wearing her white owl mask squawking at Melissa who wore her own bird-inspired mask. The only difference was that it seemed to flare with each dramatic move of her head, not doubting that she definitely tinkered with it quite a bit. You held onto your purse tightly with trembling hands, not knowing why you were so nervous at all. The party so far was. . . just like any other, in all honesty.

     The entire yacht seeped with that surpsisingly familiar rich-people smell, opting to stay at a distance but still being able to keep Momo in your sight. She was mingling with many of the guests, mask that of a. . . snow fox? You think? The dress you designed for this month's new line stood out nicely from the flood of equally expensive evening gowns and suits. She was to star in some sort of advertisement for a December theme park, asking for the designs of your line to have just that right touch of holiday cheer.

     It was hard in all honesty, struggling to strike a perfect balance of both Christmas and a dress that she'd be able to wear anywhere else if she so pleases without making her fall into the damned category of looking like one of Santa's ho ho hoes.

     God, speaking of Christmas. Was there gonna be another party? You were running out of creative juices on what to design next. Were you gonna go with an ugly sweater line? Normal sweaters? Scarves— are scarves even still relevant? What about hats, can you even make hats? When was the last time you sewed a beanie from scratch? Socks, maybe?? Ugh what'd be the point, people wear shoes! It'd just hide whatever great design you'd be able to bullshit in the middle of the night. . . maybe gloves. How much money can you make off of gloves with the face of reindeers on them? Goodness, can you even draw a reindeer?? Why was your passion a lot harder to do now that you're capitalizing on it?!—

     "This is L/N Y/N, number one sponsor and best friend," Momo laughs, but in a charming, professional sort of way. You snap out of your thoughts, sending one of your own work-like smiles at the man in front of you. Holy shit he's hot—

     Before you was one. . . God what was his name, you read about the guests earlier today! You bite your cheek to try and hide the nervous smile itching to be let on your features, beating yourself up on the inside trying to remember this gentleman's name. You thought you did a good job at hiding it as you held out a hand in greeting, but it seems Momo managed to catch on. "Y/N, this is Todoroki Shoto. He is the youngest and heir to their company," She winked discretely, mouthing a few words as though trying to hint at something but you ultimately failed at catching it.

     "I see you two have a lot in common," You joked, earning a polite laugh from both of them. The two-toned man grabs hold of your hand, leaning down to plant the softest kiss on it before pulling away and nodding. The fur of his mask softly grazed on your skin, tickling it as it slid slowly. "Nice to meet you, L/N-san." You were taken aback from that gesture, but smiled and nodded back in return. "You too, Todoroki-kun. How are you enjoying New York so far?"

     He laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck the slightest, "So far it's. . . an interesting experience to say the least, what with the time zone change and all. The people here are, uhm, kind enough, one can say? The buildings are not much different to the ones I see the most back in Japan. But the tourism is great! There are so many sights to see despite the similarities, and Central Park is a nice place to walk around on breaks—and the cafés! They are very. . ." He trails off as his eyes look past you, frowning for a split second before shaking his head with a nervous smile, "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to ramble."

     Momo was beside him, biting her lip in excitement as she mouths 'He's single! He's single!' over and over again to you. You try to ignore her, laughing softly in return. "It's okay, it's okay! I understand the excitement, I felt the exact same way when I first moved here. Your English is terrific, although, are you sure you just got here?"

     He laughs as well, shaking his head with poise you thought only Momo was capable of having, "Ah, yes, thank you! I have been studying English since I was young with the intent of traveling the world. I'm glad it's paying off at least." Raven still stood beside him mouthing random shit to you, halting and smiling innocently each time he even vaguely glanced at her direction. "Good choice, you're doing great!"

     He smiles in thanks, before looking past you once again. You try and look to where he did without making it obvious, the only person of interest that he could be glancing at being the tall, tall absolute giant of a man that made all the other guests look like little boys.

     The scales of a traditional looking dragon blended in almost seamlessly into his fire-y read hair, piercing cerulean eyes sharpened into a glare towards your new friend. You try to ignore the sense of familiarity from them, turning back to Shoto who had his hands clenched. "Is there something wrong, Todoroki-kun?" Momo asks, snapping him out of his gaze and loosening his fist. He smiles the best he can, shaking his head, "Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern, lady Yaoyorozu. Although, I must get going," He turns towards you, bowing his head, "It was a pleasure, lady L/N."

     You force out a chuckle, bowing in return, "The feeling is mutual, Lord Todoroki." He smiles at your playful tone, before politely excusing himself and disappearing into the crowd.

     You turn towards Momo, who had a look you recognized a little too well. "Raven. . ."

     "Oh, em, gosh! I'm telling you, Y/N— he's the one!" She excitedly grabs you by the arm, pulling you past many esteemed guests, greeting all she walks past as you sigh. "No thank you, I hardly even know the guy!" She chortles—it being the most unladylike thing she's done in all the years you've been friends—her heels' clicks somehow managing to stand out from the hustle and bustle of the party. "Oh please, as if that ever became a problem for you. He's a little awkward, and kind of dorky, but isn't that exactly your type?"

     You groan as you two reach a small flight of stairs, leading to a more secluded area of the boat as you still locked arms with the model. She laughs, but much softly this time, as you two reach the bottom deck.

     Melissa and Jirou greet you two from where they sat, a small table between as you had your own set of twinkling lights shining above the four of you. The sounds of the waters softly trailing behind the slowly moving vehicle blended in nicely with the soft music that played through the yacht's speakers. The musician was ranting about the chosen track, a large part of you expecting her to be crapping all over it.

     But you were mildly surprised upon hearing her praise it, the angry look on her face not exactly matching her positive choice of words. "And the way it swelled up in that last part earlier is literal fucking ear candy and it makes me so mad that not a lot of people are seeing it's potential and true beauty! That includes you, MELISSA,"

     "Christ, did she actually manage to find the alcohol?" You laugh as you sit beside the wheezing blonde, Momo taking her seat beside the ranting mess that was Jirou. "I've been dealing with this ever since you three arrived! I'm surprised I'm still alive to be honest."

     The model giggles, her presence somehow managing to calm the girl beside her as she huffs and takes an angry bite out of a fancy looking shrimp dish, "Don't think for a second that I'm done. The day I shut up about musical justice is the day I die!!—"

     "So anyway, how long will this thing last?" You ask, picking up a glass filled with wine. You weren't sure what type of wine it was, but damn did it sure smell like wine. "We'll dock near Harlem, I'm quite sure," Raven casually mentions, earning a choking cough from Jirou, "That far?!"

     The model laughs, rubbing a hand on the other girl's back soothingly, "Yes, now be careful! I don't want you getting regular-sick on top of being sea-sick." This makes the girl cough even more, her face red in a way you weren't used to seeing.

     "You wanna bet how long it'll take for them to start sucking each other's faces off," You whisper to Melissa while watching the scene in front of you, who only giggled in return, "I would've said it differently but yes."

• • •

     "Touchdown!" Toga laughed maniacally as she sat on top of the makeshift basketball ring, the ball bouncing quietly on the floor through the hoop and rolling to Dabi's feet, "Or, insert correct sports reference, whatever— are we done yet, Shiggy?!"

     The man in question ignores her, staying on his spot with the binoculars still held onto his face. The bright yacht was still a good distance away, twinkling and standing out despite the many lights of NYC. "You sure they're on it, fuck-face?"

     "Yes, Shigaraki," Dabi mumbles, tossing the basketball to an unsuspecting Mr. Compress, "You got that gun ready to go?"

     "Yes Shigaraki," The black haired man receives a glare as the tophat-wearing man throws the ball back, catching it in front of his face with gloved hands. "You sure it's loaded properly?"

     Dabi grunts, shooting it at the ring as it rang and shuffled with each hit it took. Toga hissed at him, the fact that it was about an inch away from hitting her making her snarl. The burnt man rolls his eyes, "Yes, Shigaraki."

     "Lord, you sound like a robot," Compress comments with an eyeroll of his own, yelping as he ducks right as the ball comes flinging towards him. It landed into the water behind with a plop, him taking a moment to look back at where it had fell into before sending another glare at Dabi. He shrugs, "Oops."

     "You two fuck up, I'm killing you both," Shigaraki glares as he lets the binoculars drop and hang around his neck with a soft swing, jumping off the railing and walking off. "I'll be back, don't follow."

     The three all share a look, before shrugging and going right back to whatever they were doing.

     It was a silence Dabi was currently enjoying, but it got rudely interrupted with Toga's annoying voice. "Y'know, Dabs,"

     "Don't call me that."

     "You never did answer my question," He narrows his eyes at her, as if challenging her to continue with whatever bullshit she had in mind. She scoffs, legs dangling off from where she sat, "About the job, dumb-dumb." She giggles, twirling a stray strand of her messy blonde hair as she licks her lips, "You still don't wanna do it, don't ya?"

     Dabi keeps glaring, his eyebrows furrowing even more. Mr. Compress sighs, trying to create some distance between him and his comrade who had psychotic tendencies when provoked, "Stop pretending you're a cat, kid. . !" He groans, "One word of this to DustyMcDust face and you're gonna find out pretty soon that you don't have nine lives. . !"

     The two ignore him, too focused in their staring contest for them to care. "I already gave you a pretty clear answer, no? Fuck, off," He emphasized the last two words in anger, hand itching to rip off his gloves and burn her right then and there. He was about to, he really was,

     but he stops.

     He clicks his tongue, turning away from the girl and walking off as well. "H, Hey!" Compress calls out, "Don't be chickening out now—!"

     "I'm gonna piss, fuck off," He calls out with his finger flipped up, not having to see to know that the man was on the verge of having a mental breakdown. He wasn't, Dabi just needed an excuse to be alone. This whole thing was already stressing him out, and Toga wasn't exactly helping his case. He scoffs once again, taking out a cigarette and lighting it up with his finger in an impatient huff.

     This night was gonna be a real fucking long one.

• • •

     "I found pizza!!" You holler as you reach the deck where your friends cheered, carefully placing the tray on the cleared-out table, "We got four different flavors here, girls. Only the finest!"

     Jirou takes interest in a particular part of it, the section looking like an overgrown garden with all of the vegetable messily spread on top of it. "Oh fuck yeah, meatless pizza!" She picks up a slice, and with the same amount of enthusiasm announces; "Vegetable!!"

     Your face scrunches up at the thought of your roommate going vegan, shuddering as the mental image of your kitchen filled with nothing but leaf pops into your mind. You shake your head as you hear your friend's laughter, letting out one of your own as you sit beside Melissa. "I don't think I'll ever get sick of pizza," the blonde chuckles, taking a slice of her own.

     Momo nods, wiping the corner of her mouth with a napkin in true Momo fashion. "Indeed! My, you can basically put in any ingredient and it would still taste good!" You all toast to that, your laughter echoing out into the night sky and dark waters. "I'm surprised they aren't looking for you, Raven." You comment, earning a nod from both the other girls, "But don't go though! It'd be boring without you."

     She awes, shaking her head, "Thank you, thank you, but I don't think I'm ready for another round of socialization just yet." Jirou scoffs playfully, "No, am I hearing this right? Momo Yaoyorozu, not wanting to talk to people?" She shakes her head, the alcohol still definitely giving her some sort of high, "Propaganda!"

     "At least she actually socializes, Kyoka-chan, what's your excuse?" You earn both laughter and a glare, leaning back as though to avoid whatever punch she decides to throw at you.

     "Momo! There you are," You all turn to a familiar voice laughing, your face dropping slightly as Taro descends the stairs. "Nee-san! What are you doing here?" She laughs, turning her head towards him as he slows down to a halt beside where they sat. He chuckles, placing a hand on her shoulder as your breath hitches the slightest bit. "I should be asking you that, silly. Mom and dad are looking for you."

     Who knew that beneath that charming demeanor, wolf mask and good hair would be a psychopath willing to order someone to kill his sister for whatever petty reason he had that you weren't sure of yet. You snap out of your thoughts as Momo stands up, adjusting the fashionably small fur jacket on top of her dress, "Sorry ladies, I guess the rest of our pizza would have to wait."

     "So that's where one of the pans went," The musician and the blonde both laugh at his joke, trying to force one of your own as naturally as you could. "Come now, dear brother, we can't let the guests wait any longer," She waves to you goodbye, and you were about to wave back before realizing that without you, the only person who knew she had a literal target on her back, she'd be out in the open.

     Yes Dabi assured you thst he wouldn't do it, but you didn't want to take any chances. "Don't think you're getting rid of me, I am gonna be watching your speech," You tried to play it off the best you could, catching Taro on your peripheral holding a look. Raven seems genuinely surprised, "Oh, really? Are you sure you wouldn't be bored?"

     Oh wow you can't believe that actually worked— and that she did have a speech. "With you talking? Yeah no," You link your arm with hers before she could her brother, hoping that no one will notice your certainly strange antics. "Wait you have a speech? Why didn't you tell us!" Melissa laughs as she stands with Jirou following right behind, glancing discretely at Taro to try and see how he'd react.

     He only smiles softly, chuckling as he leads the way up. You still held onto that soft glare on his back, your grip around your friend tightening as you reach the upper level of the yacht.

     The crowd looked a lot more suspicious than you'd hoped, each glance and even-slightly out of place movement making you on edge. You make your way past the parting crowd as though awaiting their queen and really clingy subordinate, looking like a monkey clinging tightly onto a branch as though your life depended on it.

     Or moreso, the branch's life depended on you.

     You tremble slightly as she unlinks herself from you, sending you one of her award winning smiles before walking to the slightly elevated part where she would be talking. Your heart pounded against your ribcage, finding her a little too out of your reach and too out in the open. Behind her was Manhattan, the boat slowly moving a little too close to shore as you swallowed a forming lump.

     You bite your lip and clenched your fingers harder around your purse, almost jumping with a yelp as you feel Melissa's cold hands touch your very exposed shoulder. Jirou sends you a look, to which you shook your head and looked towards Momo once again. She was conversing with someone as the surrounding chatter slowly lessened, sure that with how quiet it was they'd be able to hear your heart slamming against your chest with each pump.

     Your eyes dart around wildly, trying to look for a spot in where Dabi might be able take his shot. And despite the distance and darkness, with enough desperation, you manage to find him on the shore, set up on. . . something that elevated him off the ground. A gun was lined up directly towards Momo's back, and you just knew that no matter what he said, he will be pulling that trigger.

note ; 5 bucks to anyone who can name all the rottmnt references lmfaoaoaoaoaibdivddib