Work Text:
“What a waste of time,” muttered Katsuki. Halloween had its upsides, but helping elementary schoolers make jack-o’-lanterns wasn’t one of them.
“On the contrary,” said Four-Eyes. “Community outreach is important for a Pro Hero! For our hero licensing, we should…”
Katsuki tuned out the extra’s lecture and walked over to the students. They used plastic knives to carve the pumpkins awkwardly. Pitiful. Even when they cut true, they followed the stencils dutifully, giving each pumpkin the same boring design as the others—destined to be extras.
Lighting the jack-o’-lanterns was tough. It was a bad afternoon for it, with a cold wind blowing through Musutafu from the coast. The school’s shoddy safety matches would barely be able to light even at the best of times. The teacher was helping one group light its incredibly boring jack-o’-lantern. Lame.
Another child, alone in the corner, was determinedly striking match after match. His pumpkin was turned around, its carved face hidden from the class. Katsuki walked over, eager to see what he was hiding. Was the kid embarrassed?
What he saw was a work of art. This pumpkin was no extra, it was the star of the show. It had sharp teeth, wide eyes, a spooky grin, and bold lines carved skillfully into pumpkin flesh. It was unique, beautiful, and much more interesting than all the stenciled crap.
“Give me that,” said Katsuki, snatching the candle from the child’s hands. He placed the unlit candle in the pumpkin, carefully cupped his hand around it, and lit it with a small explosion.
Done.
“Th-thanks-” began the kid, his eyes wide, but Katsuki had no patience for it.
“Don’t let those extras upstage you,” he said. “And don’t be shy about your skills.”
He turned the jack-o’-lantern around, revealing its bright face to the world.