Izuku looked at the number in his hands after he got home. He was nervous to text Mina back. What would he say? He had talked to girls before, mainly Tsuyu and Ochako. However, even that could be awkward and nerve-wracking, and one of them was among his best friends. Still, after an hour and a half of putting it off, he nervously wrote her a message and sent it. "Hey Ashido-chan. It's Izuku." He typed. He then waited nervously for her response. He didn't have to wait long as he received it 30 seconds later. The conversation started thusly.
Mina: Hey Midori! Thanks for shooting me a text. Now I have your number. Also, It's Mina. :P
Izuku: Sorry, Mina.
Mina: You're forgiven, Midori. Lol
Izuku: So, what are you up to?
Mina: Playing Metroid. Talking to some dork with freckles. He's kind of cute. Don't tell him I said that. P
At this point in the conversation, Izuku nearly dropped his phone and was bright red from blushing so hard. He caught on that she meant him and it made his heart race. He was never the most popular kid before Yuuei and now he was being flirted with. He was torn between internally screaming and muttering to himself about how talking to girls on the phone was awesome. Before he could respond to Mina, she sent him another message.
"Hahaha dude I can tell you are blushing through the phone right now and it's probably really cute. Totes making a habit of this, Midori."
Izuku sighed. He could look forward to this now. He was a nervous, blushing, shaking mess who could barely hold his phone, yet he found himself enjoying this. The conversation lasted for about an hour before they called it a night. They planned to meet at noon and spend more of the day together. It would probably be more crowded, but that didn't bother Mina. She still made sure it was ok with Izuku before they cemented the plans and said good night. The two barely knew each other that well but they both went to bed with the other on their mind.
Just like last time, Izuku got there before Mina. He waited at the entrance of Dagobah Municipal Beach Park for her. He figured, based on a piece of their conversation from last night that she had slept in, so he was prepared to wait a little while. Five minutes later, he got his answer. In the distance, He saw Mina, wearing short acid green sorts, a white t-shirt with the logo of some sci-fi movie he had never seen before, hot pink star shades, and the same backpack from last night on her shoulders. In addition, she was carrying what appeared to be a brown cardboard box in both arms. The two walked on the beach, with Izuku looking rather perplexed but curious.
"Here's a good spot. We can put our towels and stuff here." She smiled while surveying the area, gesturing with her fingers.
She sat the box down, followed by her backpack. Izuku placed his next to hers and took out his towel, with her following suit. Afterwards, she pulled what seemed to be a wireless speaker set for a phone out of the box. She scrolled through until she found a playlist that made her grin from ear to ear.
"Ha-ha! Here we go!" the horned girl smirked mischievously.
Mina plugged her phone into the device, placed it on her towel, and broke down the box, setting it out close to the towels so that it resembled a mat. Once she was satisfied, she pressed play.
Mina started breakdancing, leaving Izuku baffled and flustered. Fittingly enough, the first song was called "Breakdance Beach." It must have been a favorite of Mina's as she was quite energetic in her movements, yet smooth in her funky flow. She was admittedly quite good, yet something weighed on young Izuku's mind.
"What is going on?" he asked himself.
This was quite unorthodox for a day at the beach with a girl, not that he knew all that much about how it was supposed to go. After a while, he started to let his guard down and even smile at this bizarre and, admittedly, very Ashido gesture. She did the worm, some fancy spin moves, and ended it on her side, propping up her head with her left arm, and making a gun signal with her right hand, firing it off with a wink. Several of the beach goers either payed it no mind, looked over in confusion or curiosity, or clapped. A small crowd even gathered nearby to watch.
Izuku was floored. Flirting, breakdancing, and cracking jokes with a huge grin. Izuku never expected it, but he was really starting to like hanging with Mina for some reason. She was his opposite in several ways, and yet she had a warmth about her, flustering him one moment and keeping him engaged the next. She was more outgoing than Izuku in every way, but she had her charms. Izuku snapped out of his moment of introspection and remembered something.
"Oh, r-right. Um, I brought some lunch with me. F-for the both of us." Izuku perked up as he remembered the food he had brought with him.
Mina's eye's twinkled and she nearly speared him into the sand with a thankful hug.
"Food! You rock, Midori! Hardcore!" she chirped in excitement while pumping her fist. Her left leg kicked up behind her while the rest of her clung to Izuku in gratitude.
Once again, Izuku was a blushing mess. He was grateful they weren't in bathing suits yet, as he probably would have melted into a puddle of awkward nerd goop, which would certainly hurt his prospects as a future hero. He sat down on his beach blanket and reached into his things. He produced two ice cold sodas from a small travel cooler and two homemade bentos. Mina dug in happily, taking Izuku by surprise at first but eliciting a small smile from him. The two teenagers ate happily, finishing up with two ice creams from a nearby vendor.
They sat and talked for an hour about classes and heroics before Izuku got up to change into his swim trunks. Mina had other plans though.
"Where do you think you're going?" she smirked, grabbing his arms gently.
"Um….to change?" Izuku looked at her like a cow in front of a train as he spoke. He was slightly confused and feared for the worst.
"Not yet, my student. I'm going to teach you how to breakdance, and school is in session." Mina took on a mock-meditative stance and folded her hands.
Izuku cursed himself for getting roped up in this, but he sighed and resigned himself to his impending death by embarrassment. He shambled over to the mat. Mina got behind him and touched his shoulders while instructing him.
"Ya gotta loosen up. Flow with it, dude." Mina guided him.
Unfortunately, between the gentle touch of an admittedly cute girl and the onlookers on the beach, loosening up was not in the cards. Izuku froze up like he was hit by half of Todoroki's quirk. Mina noticed his shoulders tense up, so she took a risk, something that would either inspire confidence in him and allow him to loosen up, or fluster him further into a stiff mess: she whispered softly into his ear.
"It's ok, Midori. Don't focus on them. Focus on the music. I've got your back. Literally, in this case." She encouraged.
Izuku went a little red at first, but exhaled and closed his eyes. He would end up looking like a fool, but he would try anyway. That's what learning was essentially, right? Learning from mistakes. Besides, more fluid movement wouldn't hurt his technique with One-For-All. Izuku closed his eyes, relaxed his shoulders, and listened to the waves of the ocean, doing the best he could to drown everything out. He wasn't 100% effective with it, but it was a start. Finally, he was ready.
"Ok, Mina. Teach me." Izuku exhaled, a hint of hesitation still in his voice. Still, he was ready.
"That's more like it, Midori!" the fluffy-haired acid-quirk user cheered. She pressed play and stepped back. "Let's begin!"
Izuku failed over and over. Mina did not want to laugh. She wanted to encourage him and have fun sharing one of her hobbies with the boy. Unfortunately, his awkward movements and lack of apparent rhythm made that hard. Still, she did her best before deciding with Izuku that they should try again another time when people aren't watching. Izuku was grateful for this as, he would feel better if the populace weren't judging him. He knew Mina only laughed in jest and not out of maliciousness. He got that sense from her. The other beachgoers just made it too hard.
"Better luck next time, Midori. We'll try in private sometime." She winked, flustering her green-haired pupil.
After dropping the box off in a nearby recycle bin, Izuku and Mina walked together to the changing booth. They walked comfortably side-by-side, though both felt a bit awkward, exchanging glances at each other, wondering if this was a date and if they should hold hands. Mina was far more outgoing and confident. She often just did things, rather than worrying about them. She had never dated anyone before though, and all she had to go on were manga, movie, tv shows, and maybe the experience of friends or family. Besides, as funny as it could be to get Izuku to turn into a blushing mess, she never would want to make him legitimately uncomfortable. She was a bit weirded out by how awkward she was being, a flush of lilac filling her cheeks.
After changing, the two stepped out and looked each other over. Mina was wearing a bikini with the same color scheme as her hero costume this time, while Izuku had swim trunks in the color-scheme of All Might's silver age costume. Mina couldn't help but snicker at how cute and wonderful Izuku was. She had enough. She was going for his hand.
"What's so funny?" Izuku chuckled nervously.
"You are such a nerd! Come on, let's go swimming!" she giggled, dragging him towards the towels so that they could drop their stuff off and apply sun tan lotion.
They took turns applying it to each other. Izuku barely survived the contact. It was both a nightmare of awkward embarrassment and one of the greatest moments in his life. His mind debated over which one it was before settling on a mix of both.
"No need to be so nervous, Midori. It's just sunscreen…unless you like what you see." She waggled her eyebrows and stuck out her tongue. Izuku's blush soon mixed with laughter. He couldn't help himself. "Last one in has to give Mineta their number." Mina joked.
They raced for the water, with Mina making it in first, boogie board in hand. The occasional whistle of the lifeguard added to the lovely cacophony of this trip to the beach. Izuku wasn't sure if this was a date or not, but he was having fun regardless.
After hours of swimming, sunbathing and building a passable sandcastle of the Yuuei campus, Mina and Izuku stood on the dock jutting into the water, watching the sunset together again.
"I never get tired of this." Izuku smiled confidently. He was an awkward mess when it came to certain social situations and he was still getting the hang of his quirk, but he could say with pride that he loved watching the sun as it sank into the horizon.
"Cheers to that, my dear Midori." Mina said in a fake posh accent, holding up a can of soda from Izuku's cooler. Izuku, bashfully offered his up as well and they clanged the cans together, laughing softly.
Most of the beachgoers went home, save for more couples and one or two painters. It was a lot less crowded and way more comfortable now, especially for Izuku. He sipped absentmindedly from his soda while gazing at the sun, his eyes drifting towards Mina now and then, unaware that she would do the same until they both got caught in the act. They gazed at each other and Izuku swallowed hard.
"M-m-mina?" he finally manged to spit out.
Yeah, Midori?" Mina said, with a dreamy look in her eye.
"W-was this a date?" Izuku struggled as the butterflies completed their conquest of his stomach.
"I don't know. It seems like one to me. Did you want it to be?" She smiled softly.
Izuku felt time freeze as he debated with himself. He didn't want to blow things by muttering off observations to himself. What would he even be screwing up though? A potential friendship? Something more? No. He wouldn't mutter. And he didn't. Instead, much to his embarrassment, he awkwardly honked. "Yes!"
Mina tried holding in the laugh, but her face contorted until she couldn't hold it in.
"God, you are such an adorkable fluffball." She chuckled. Her face soon shifted to one of warmth and light, like the sunset itself. "Yes, Midori. It was a date."
Izuku smiled softly out of relief. "Good."
The two slowly locked fingers and stared at the ocean as Mina rested her head on Izuku's shoulder. In that instant, everything felt right.
