Chapter 91: Eccentric Attire
"Kyoka-chan, any sign of Yaomomo or Tsuyu-chan yet?" Below the All Might statue at the subway station entrance, Ochaco Uraraka looked anxiously at the time. "You don't think they got lost, do you?"
Jiro glanced at the stream of people rushing past. "Don't worry, Uraraka. The All Might statue in front of the subway station is a landmark on par with the Hachiko statue. They won't get lost. Something probably just held them up."
"Maybe..." Uraraka said with a wry smile. She then asked, curious, "Kyoka-chan, when did you first get into this kind of band?"
"It's because of my family," Jiro said, not trying to hide it. "My dad's a composer, and my mom used to be the lead singer of a band. He was obsessed with my mom's musical talent. He even got into a huge fight with his family, gave up his last name, and married into her family."
Uraraka said softly, "Your dad must really love your mom."
"Yeah," Jiro nodded. "After she got pregnant with me, my mom quit being a lead singer and started researching the old 'burned' songs with my dad. They call it 'music archaeology.' I grew up listening to it, so I fell in love with this style of music too."
"By the way, Kyoka-chan, if your parents love this music so much, why aren't they coming?"
Jiro glanced at Uraraka. "They're out of town on a business trip right now. So, if you hadn't invited me, I probably would have come alone."
Uraraka smiled. Suddenly, she raised her hand high in the air, her expression lighting up as she shouted, "Tsuyu-chan! Over here, over here!"
Like a lost frog, Tsuyu Asui was standing in the middle of the street in a plain dress, looking around in confusion. When she heard Uraraka's voice, she immediately ran over.
"Ochaco-chan, how long have you two been here?" Tsuyu asked, blushing slightly. "My little brother and sister were throwing a fit about wanting to go out and play. It took me forever to calm them down so I could leave."
Tsuyu's family had several children, and as the eldest sister, she had to bear more responsibility.
"It must be tough, Tsuyu-chan," Uraraka said with a sympathetic smile. "By the way, have you seen Yaomomo?"
"Yaomomo-chan?" Tsuyu took a step to the side, allowing Uraraka and Jiro to see the scene behind her. "She's been here for a while."
Momo Yaoyorozu, dressed in a gorgeous kimono with an intricate floral pattern, her hair pinned up like a noblewoman, stood there. She held a small handbag in front of her with both hands. Although she had already seen Uraraka and the others, the wooden geta sandals on her feet were making it difficult for her to walk.
After a long moment, Momo finally made it through the crowd and stood in front of her friends, who were all in a state of stunned silence. She gave them an apologetic smile. "Sorry I'm late."
"Y-You're not late... We set the meeting time an hour before the show," Uraraka was the first to snap out of it. She shook her head vigorously, then looked Momo up and down again as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "But, I didn't expect you to dress so... formally."
Momo Yaoyorozu looked down at her own clothes, confused. "Is this formal? My mother said that since this was my first time going out with classmates, I should wear something a little simpler."
This is simple!? The other three thought in silent unison. We really don't understand the aesthetics of rich people.
Uraraka forced a smile. "Well, since we're all here, let's head to the venue!"
According to the concert ticket, the event was at 8:00 PM at Seaside Park. That place had once been a filthy dump, but after All Might had come to U.A. to teach, all the trash had miraculously been cleaned up. Now, it had even become a popular spot for couples and the site of many open-air concerts.
As the person who had initiated this get-together, Uraraka had, of course, planned the route.
"We just have to get off at the next station and then take the bus to Seaside Park. It should only take half an hour in total."
Although they attracted a lot of stares on the subway, most people were just curiously looking at Momo's out-of-place attire. A few passersby recognized them as students from U.A., and even came up to talk to them.
"I didn't expect us to be celebrities now," Tsuyu remarked with some surprise after they got off the subway.
Uraraka, who was at the front of the group, suddenly spun around, an awkwardly terrified smile on her face. "We're only getting a little attention. But if we had been on the same bus as these people, I don't think anyone would have even noticed us."
Tsuyu and Momo looked up and instantly froze.
In front of them, scattered around the subway station, were dozens of people. There were well-dressed gentlemen, men with braided hair, punks in torn jeans with colorful mohawks, and even a few groups of middle-aged women in black biker-gang uniforms, holding wooden swords.
To put it in one phrase, it was a chaotic carnival, as if people from every walk of life had suddenly gathered here for a massive convention.
As the four girls walked out of the station, all of them turned to look.
"Hey, Jiro... they're not going to attack us, are they?" Uraraka asked nervously. Their wolf-like stares were terrifying.
Jiro glanced at them and said calmly, "Don't worry. This is normal. They're just trying to see which group we belong to."
A young lady in a kimono, two girls in plain clothes, and Jiro, still in her usual jacket.
Jiro walked to the front of the group, took the four tickets from Uraraka, and held them up between her middle and index fingers, showing the crowd that they were by themselves and not part of any organization.
Jiro's outfit blended in easily with this crowd. The others just glanced at her and, losing interest, returned to their intense discussions.
A bus pulled up to the stop, but only a few individuals reacted and walked toward it. The others just gave it an indifferent glance, apparently having no intention of getting on.
"Are the others not getting on? If they wait for the next bus, they might be late."
"Let's go," Jiro said. "Those people are waiting for the rest of their groups. Since most of them arranged this online, they probably haven't met many times in person, so they need to use signs to identify each other." She paused, then continued, "Besides, for underground bands like this, the show rarely starts on time. So, Uraraka, you don't need to worry about them being late."
Once they were here, it was as if this had become Jiro's home turf. She knew everything about the scene.
Uraraka, seeing the way Jiro's eyes were shining, suddenly smiled. "If you hadn't come with us this time, Kyoka-chan, we would have been totally lost, wouldn't we?"
Jiro's earlobes suddenly turned red. She quickly turned away, trying to act calm. "I was the one who wanted to come in the first place. It's no big deal. Let's just get on the bus."
The bus driver looked at the various bizarrely dressed people getting on the bus with a world-weary expression, as if he had seen it all. After Uraraka and the others had found seats, she suddenly overheard a conversation from the group of middle-aged biker women behind her.
"Hey, Boss! Congratulations on your son getting first place in the Sports Festival!"
"What's there to congratulate? That little brat called me an old hag today. Just because he got into U.A., his nose is so high in the air, he's probably forgotten how I used to straighten him out!"
Sports Festival champion... U.A.... Uraraka thought. It couldn't be that much of a coincidence, could it?
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