"So, yer gonna be back by five?"
Lily nodded, blushing as she stared at Badd. Poppy and Zenko stood between their older siblings. They were in front of the busy mall, ready to go shopping.
"Yep," Lily replied, shaking. "5! Or maybe 4:59! Hahaha!"
Lily internally face-palmed. What are you doing, you idiot? she thought. He probably thinks you're some kind of psycho!
"See ya then," Badd said, lightly punching Lily on the shoulder, causing her to go scarlet. He kneeled down, kissing his sister's forehead. "Call me if you need anythin', okay, Zen?"
Zenko smiled at her brother. "Okay! Bye, big bro!"
He waved and walked away, bat over shoulder. Lily was still trembling.
Oh my God… she thought. He touched me. Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy-
"Lily?"
Lily was zapped out of her thoughts by her sister.
"Huh?" she asked. "Oh, right, shopping!"
Poppy shook her head. "Sis, why don't you just confess to him?"
"C-C-Confess?" Lily spluttered, almost dropping her staff. "What do you mean?"
Poppy rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."
Lily went red again. "I… I can't confess to him! He's an S Class hero, he's older than me, he's kinda scary, he… he probably thinks I'm weird and annoying…"
Zenko gasped. "Poppy! Imagine if our brother and sister got into a relationship! We'd be like…"
"... real sisters," Poppy realised, eyes lighting up.
"Sisters!" they chanted, jumping up and down. "Sisters!"
"No no no," Lily babbled. "I can't… I can't!"
"Yes, you can!" Zenko retorted. "I mean, you're only three years apart in age, right?"
"Mama…" Lily muttered.
Zenko gasped again. "I just got a great idea!"
"Oh no…" Lily muttered.
"What is it?" Poppy asked.
"We should set up our brother and sister on a date!" Zenko exclaimed.
"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!" Poppy cheered.
"THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA!" Lily moaned.
"Sisters!" Zenko and Poppy chanted. "Sisters!"
This can't get any worse… Lily thought, crawling into herself.
"I know," Poppy said. "Let's tell Blizzard of Hell and the Blizzard Group about it!"
Lily pulled her hair. "AUGHHHHH!"
What is this… Lily thought, staring at herself in the mirror.
She was wearing a long, glittery, cyan sleeveless dress with a diamond pendant around her neck. (She wasn't sure if it was a real diamond). Her shoes were white flats, and her hair was braided with lily flowers.
"Why did I agree to this," she moaned.
"You look great, sis," Poppy told her, giving her a thumbs up.
"Oh my God," Lily stared at her. "Poppy, what the Hell."
Poppy was wearing a ridiculous, obviously homemade camouflage outfit. Her face had been covered in green paint, and she was wearing a green beanie.
"It's my secret agent outfit," Poppy informed her.
"I'm wearing it too!" Zenko said, appearing next to Poppy. Just like she said, she was wearing the same ridiculous outfit.
"For the love…" Lily trailed off. Metal Bat is going to kill me, she thought.
"Lily!" Fubuki dramatically pushed the doors open, Mountain Ape and Eyelashes behind her.
"Miss Blizzard!" Lily gasped.
"You look wonderful, Lily," Fubuki told her, with a small smile. Mountain Ape and Eyelashes had prideful tears welling in their eyes.
"T-Thank you," Lily blushed.
Fubuki put her hand on Lily's shoulder. "Now, it's time to go on your date. The Blizzard Group will be backing you up."
Tears appeared in the corner of Lily's eyes. "Oh, Miss Blizzard…"
"Don't cry, dear," Fubuki sighed. "You'll ruin your make-up."
"Um," Lily coughed. "Sorry, Miss Blizzard."
Lily, the two young girls, Fubuki, Mountain Ape and Eyelashes got into the Blizzard Group's car and drove off. The whole way there, Zenko and Poppy chanted about being sisters. Fubuki, meanwhile, talked about recruiting Badd into the Blizzard Group.
Lily just stared out the window, feeling more and more nervous with every second. What if Badd thought she was stupid? What if he already thought she was stupid? What if she did something stupid?
Eventually, the car arrived at a fancy-looking restaurant. The Blizzard Group members (aside from Lily) clambered out, and headed inside the pristine building, listening to orders from Fubuki. Poppy soon followed, leaving Zenko and Lily behind.
"Big bro will be waiting at the front of the restaurant," Zenko told Lily. "Good luck… big sister!"
Lily blushed once more as Zenko ran off, chasing after Poppy. Lily forced herself to stand, shakily grabbing her staff. She stepped out of the car, and walked towards the front of the restaurant. It sure was beautiful, shimmering with golden doors and shiny windows. She felt like some kind of peasant standing nearby it.
"So, this the place my lil' sis was talkin' 'bout?"
Lily tensed up, noticing Badd standing beside her. He had his usual pompadour, but he was also wearing a black tuxedo and black slacks. As usual, he had his metal bat over his shoulder.
"I… I guess so," Lily coughed, awkwardly. "Um… I like your… suit!"
"My sis made me wear this stupid thing," Badd told her, pointing at it. "Somethin' or other 'bout lookin' nice."
"Ha ha…" Lily coughed. "Yeah. Ahaha."
He looks so hot in that, she thought. Nonono Lily stop thinking-
"So, we goin' in or what?" Badd asked.
"Uh, yeah!" Lily chirped. "Yeah, yeah! Let's go in!"
The two headed inside the restaurant. It was extremely posh and proper, with a lavish red carpet, tables covered in white silk, and fancily dressed people. A waiter in a white tuxedo came up to the duo. Lily almost spluttered, realising it was Eyelashes in disguise.
"Good afternoon," he said. "Table for two?"
"Yep," Badd replied.
Eyelashes lead them over to a table by a window, which was overlooking a scenic river. On the table beside them were Fubuki and Mountain Ape in disguise, wearing large hats and sunglasses. They were pretending to read the newspaper, but briefly glanced up at Lily and Badd as they sat down. As well as them, there were two large plants behind Badd's chair. Lily spotted two youngsters in 'secret agent outfits' hiding behind them, and tried not to burst out laughing.
"Here are the menus," Eyelashes handed Badd and Lily some pristine sheets of paper. "I will be back soon to collect your orders."
He walked away, leaving the teens by themselves.
Badd leaned back in his chair, glancing over the menu. "Better be some good food here, or I'm leavin'."
Lily just laughed awkwardly, staring at her own menu. She felt the heat rising as her eyes scanned the golden text. She wasn't sure if she was calm enough to even eat anything.
"The hell is a 'creamy bruley'?" Badd asked, frowning at the menu.
"You mean crème brûlée?" Lily asked. "It's, uh, basically custard with burnt caramel on top."
Badd scrunched up his nose. "Is it good?"
"It's okay, I guess," Lily shrugged. "I'm… not a big fan of custard, but… you can have it if you want."
Badd tch-ed, reading the menu again. "The hell… hey, they got mochi here… and gold leaf? The Hell is that?"
"Edible gold," Lily replied.
"You can eat gold?" Badd asked, sitting up.
"Yep," Lily said, quickly.
"Pretty expensive," Badd scoffed, looking at the menu again. "Must taste good."
"Actually, from what I've heard…" Lily coughed, "it doesn't really taste like anything. It's just for the aesthetic appeal."
"Pfft, what's the point of that then?" Badd asked. "Why would ya spend 4000 yen on some crap that doesn't even taste like anythin'?"
"Yeah…" Lily agreed. "It does look nice, though."
She heard a faint giggle from one of the plants, and another furiously shushing them.
Badd turned around. "The Hell was that?"
Lily began to panic. "Uhhhhh-"
Eyelashes returned before Badd could get up. "May I take your orders?"
"Just gimme yer best udon," Badd told him.
"Um…" Lily coughed. "I'll have the special soba noodles, please."
Eyelashes bowed. "Of course."
He walked away, leaving the two alone again.
"Ya heard somethin' just then?" Badd asked. "Sounded like gigglin'."
Lily shook her head. "No, I didn't hear anything…"
Fubuki and Mountain Ape shifted uncomfortably.
"Whatever," Badd lounged back once more. "Udon better be good."
"Yeah…" Lily coughed. She stared at her hands, as the two were caught in an uncomfortable silence. Fubuki and Mountain Ape began making wild gestures at Lily, while trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
"Um…." Lily breathed in. "So… how's life?"
Oh my God, she mentally face-palmed. I can't believe you asked that…
"Alright," Badd replied. "Same old shit."
"Must be hard… being an S Class hero…" Lily commented, scratching her head.
Badd shrugged. "Pisses me off when they call me out for long-ass meetings or when I'm hangin' out with my lil' sis. Y'know how many of her piano recitals I've had to miss 'cause of that crap?"
He seems more upset about not getting as much time to spend with his sister than anything, Lily thought. She really does mean everything to him… she's probably the entire reason he even came at all...
"You know…" Lily gave him a small smile. "You're a really good brother." She looked away. "I wish… I wish I had the same relationship with my sister that you have with yours. But…" She frowned. "Metal Bat-sama, can I… tell you something?"
The plants rustled, while Fubuki and Mountain Ape turned to stare at Lily. There was a tense silence.
"Go ahead," Badd told Lily.
"I'm… I'm a coward…" Lily admitted. "And I'm not a good sister, either. My whole life, I've been… running away from looking out for Poppy. I was so scared of outlash from my mother that I busied myself with jobs, just to get me away from my responsibilities. I joined the Hero Association to try and feel better about myself, that I was doing something positive in the world, but in reality I've just been… a coward. I've been hiding. And look what happened. My little sister turned into a monster, and it's all my fault. I realised my mistakes too late. I'm trying to fix our relationship, but there's so much bitterness and negativity that it's hard to connect with her. Our relationship is broken into a million pieces, and it's all my fault.
She wiped her eyes. "Do you know what I really admire about you and your sister? You're so brave. Your sister is a million times braver than I am. She's the one who inspired me to save my sister. If she hadn't been there, Poppy and I would both be dead. Even after Poppy hurt Zenko, Zenko still wanted to help her. And you… you're amazing, Metal Bat-sama. Not just because you're an S Class hero, but because you're such a good brother. You'd do anything for Zenko. You even told off my mom, something even my dad couldn't do. My whole life is changing for the better because of you and your sister. Same with Poppy. I get to live with Fubuki-sama and see my dad, and Poppy gets to stay friends with Zenko. I don't have to worry about my mom anymore. I'm even in the top ten of Class B, something I never dreamed of achieving.
"That's why… I'm… I'm really grateful to you. Thank you. You saved my life. It's not perfect, but it's better than it was before. I mean, over all of this time, I've been really grateful to meet you, and I've… I've… kind… I've kind of fallen in love with you. I mean, you probably just see me as some weird Class B kid. That's fine. That's okay. I don't know. I'm fine with being 'just friends' as well, if you're okay with that. If we're even friends, I don't know how you see me... I… I just… I love you, Metal Bat-sama!"
There was a silence. Even Fubuki and Mountain Ape were still.
"Ya talk a lot," Badd told Lily, after a while.
Lily blushed. "Sorry, Metal Bat-sama… I kind of started rambling…"
"So, yer into me?" Badd asked.
"Um…" Lily coughed. "Maybe…?"
"Tch," Badd stared at the table. "Yer not the first, kiddo."
Lily was about to reply, but Eyelashes returned with the food on steaming plates. Everyone was glowering at him.
"Um…" Eyelashes coughed. "Enjoy your meal!"
He walked off in a rush.
"Heh…" Lily awkwardly stared at her soba noodles. "Um, looks tasty!"
Badd picked up his chopsticks. "Hey, Lily."
Lily perked up. "Huh? What is it, Metal Bat-sama?"
"Call me Badd," he told her.
"Oh, uh, of course!" she fumbled with her chopsticks.
There was another silence.
"Hey, Lily," Badd pointed at her with his chopsticks. "Yer a weird kid."
"Oh…" Lily said, looking down. "Sorry."
"Didn't say that was a bad thing," Badd replied. "Yer alright. I'm not into ya, but yer alright."
"I see..." Lily coughed, slightly disappointed. "So, are we… friends?"
"Guess so," Badd said, giving her a small smile.
Lily turned bright red, while her eyes watered in happiness.
"AWW C'MON, I WANTED THEM TO KISS!"
"ZENKO, SHHHH!"
Badd whipped around, staring at the plants. He pulled them apart, revealing Poppy and Zenko kneeling down.
"Aw, phooey." Poppy groaned.
"The Hell are you two doin' there?!" Badd demanded. "And what in the Hell are you wearin'?!"
Fubuki stood up, taking off her disguise. "I suppose that's enough."
Badd stared at her. "The Hell? Yer here too?"
"This was… slightly planned…" Lily admitted.
"Planned?" Badd asked. He glared at Fubuki. "Ya tried to set us up?"
"Actually, it was us, big bro!" Zenko cheered, grabbing Poppy's arm. "Poppy and I want to be sisters!"
Poppy nodded enthusiastically.
Badd's anger dissipated. "Aw, Zenko, ain't I enough for ya?"
"Of course you are, big bro," Zenko said. "But I want some sisters too!"
Badd pulled his hand through his pompadour. "Ya damn kids…"
Lily blushed as she looked away. All in all, this date had been successful.
"No one's going to eat the food?" said a person in a trash can. "Oh well, guess it's mine…"
Welp, this story's been going on for a while now right? I'm thinking about what I want to do for the finale, but I can't decide. Do you guys want something action-packed, or something more slice of life, like a party? We'll see. Please leave suggestions!