Chapter 23: Attraction

"So, it's not a lunch date" Toru mused, as she slowly and carefully checked every detail, circling Mina, making sure everything looked just so. It Mina wasn't much into the typical girly things but on this occasion, she decided if there was ever a time for it then it was now and truthfully, though she would never admit it, she had always wanted to get 'dolled up'.

"That's what he said" Mina supposed, peering at herself in the mirror, looking this way and that.

"And the only other thing he said was to make sure you're comfortable moving" Toru recalled the cryptic clue with some consideration. "What do you suppose that means?" She puzzled

"Your guess is as good as mine" Mina shrugged "I don't think we're going to stadium or anything but whatever it is, I have a hard time imagining it's something ordinary." She smiled, considering her short yet seemingly packed history with him. Ordinary wasn't in his vocabulary.

"That's so Midoriya" Toru remarked with a sigh and a shake of her head. Mina smiled at the comment as she tugged at her outfit, making sure it was sitting on perfectly.

As a result of the efforts between all the girls Mina's entire outfit, including cosmetics, had been planned out. Word had gotten out so quickly and so far before the day of the proposed date, each of them had been making hints of curiosity as to the details or offers of help for the outfit. Mina caved pretty quickly and on Wednesday night they had a girl's night in where they discussed all the options. They soon realised without knowing what the date was they couldn't plan for anything which led to the raid. Midoriya had been quietly studying when he was ambushed by five of the six girls, Mina sitting it out in embarrassment, for details. The only clues he has yielded, despite the panic it had sent him into, were those two.

There were however enough for the beginnings of what turned out to be a two-day planning process with Friday afternoon being a targeted shopping spree, during which they acquired the decided upon outfit, makeup and even perfume. It was fun but completely nerve-wracking. She thought it had been even more so than the exams had been. Always asking herself a thousand question, was it too much? Was it too little? Was it her? Did it seem like she was making enough of an effort? Was it sexy? Should it be sexy? What were his actual tastes? Or should it be totally about her own tastes? Along with countless others, firing away in her brain over and over. She was so lucky to have such good friends that she could count on to help her out while she had her moments of panic in between the utter exhilaration that was her life right now. Who would have thought it? She, Ashido Mina, was going on her first date with Midoriya Izuku. She had to actively control herself not to squeal in delight each time the reality hit her.

They had planned on a shortish summery dress for her, the dress because it was feminine and the short because she was Mina and while the outfit she actually bought didn't exactly fit the originally planned look, it totally fit the description of 'Mina'. She knew it as soon as she saw it, happening upon it as she browsed half-heartedly as the girls ran around trying to fit the dress that fit their original plan. After trying it on in the store and showing it off all the girls gasped and smiled, it was unanimous, this was definitely it. Luckily, it hadn't been hard to find shoes that complimented the look either, despite the change to the plan.

Then came the somewhat less fun experience of being swabbed, padded and painted with dozens of different makeups. Mina had made it clear from the off that while she was willing to give it a go, she didn't want anything too much. Consequently, they had decided on what they called the 'natural look' which for Mina was a little different from normal but essentially involved using near-skin colours to highlight some features while detracting from others. In her case it was all about the eyes, apparently. She just had to trust her friends knew what they were doing because for the most part she didn't have a clue. They have picked out a lipstick that was little more than lip gloss as far as appearances went, some light foundation that matched her skin tone, not an easy find, and lastly for her eyes eyeliner and mascara as eyeshadow didn't really work due to her complexion and her black sclera. The nail polish had just been an afterthought, Mina suspected that it was entirely because they wanted to drag it out some more, not that she minded herself but couldn't help but think maybe they were now pushing it.

She had now spent the better part of the last hour sat in the chair as they applied it very carefully to her while she did her best not to move, this following her not being about to touch almost anything waiting on her nails to dry for almost two hours. She couldn't believe how much work went into it and was glad this wasn't something she had to do often. She supposed it wouldn't normally take this long if she were doing it herself or any of the girls were used to doing these things, but none of them really had been. As heroes in training, makeup just seemed like a waste of time considering that they were going to sweat enough to ruin any such things most days.

Looking at herself in the mirror now, she couldn't stop smiling, hoping that he would love this as much as she did, though she couldn't be certain if it was the look itself or the reason for the look that made her smile so uncontrollably. Very quickly after the girls had really taken over the course of her outfit, she had been worried that it would be too much, wouldn't be her and would just end up being a disaster. Seeing herself now she realised that they had known exactly what they had been talking about all long, she still looked very much like herself, just prettied up and the use of makeup with so subtle even she had to look carefully to see exactly what they had done, even she could scarcely see it, she just knew the difference. Hopefully Izuku didn't think it would be too much either.

"It's time" Toru whispered. Mina grimaced in fear for a moment, then smiled, the joy of the moment prevailing.

"You think he's as nervous as I am?" she muttered timidly. Toru giggled.

"Well, I don't know him as well as you do, but I'd say he's probably far more nervous than you are." She comforted her friend getting the door for Mina.

At that same moment Midoriya was stood where he usually waited for her, between the stairs and the door. He had settled on dark wash jeans, a grey t-shirt and a deep green checkered shirt, even trading in his usual red shoes for a pair of dark brown shoes that fit somewhere in between formal and casual wear. He was just hoping he had done enough, having never been on a date nor having anyone he felt comfortable in asking anyone, he had to wing it. It one just one of a dozen reasons he was currently almost frozen in fear. The biggest of which of course being he had really gone and done it. He had asked her out, he had asked Mina out! He was thrilled she had agreed but now petrified he was going to make a mess out of it and a fool out of himself. What if his idea wasn't fun or was too intimate? The only saving grace was that without how active the girls had been, including the invasion of his room during the week, he could at least be certain that she was still interested in coming.

Now all he could do was wait. Telling himself that he should try to relax, after all he had faced down villains already, one of which had almost killed him. He had fought Todoroki, whose raw power dwarfed even most pro's even if his control and overall abilities did not. Most of all he had fought Bakugo and didn't back down even a single step. As her face so close to his flickered back into mind he begun to think all of those things paled in comparison to how nerve-wracking this was right now. Then he heard someone coming down the stairs. He turned to see her, but not as he had ever seen her before.

She was wearing a black off the shoulder skater dress that had deep pink roses on the skirt complete with the same shade of pink on her converse shoes. Around her neck was his gift, the rainbow fluorite necklace. Her hair wasn't it's trademark fluffy, unruly self but a tamed version of itself, the lower half was still wild looking as it came out in spiky waves in various directions, while the top was loosely combed into some semblance of order and a fringe sweeping to the right side of her face, causing her horns to look a little longer than usual. As she finished her descent and approached him, he saw she looked different in the face too. Her eyelashes seemed thicker and her eyes had a hint flick of darkness from the corners of her eyes, her skin looking smoother than ever and her nails painted black with flecks of gold on them. The last thing he noticed was the scent she brought with her; he couldn't place which but to him the smell reminded him of flowers.

"You ready?" she beamed offering her arm. Midoriya just stared at her for a moment, seeming to not hear her. She felt herself flush under his continued stare.

"Izuku?" she asked, lowering her arm.

"Yes beautiful?" he responded as though in a trance, blinking he hastily corrected himself "I mean, Mina!" he burst, his cheeks pinkening. Mina's flush intensified as she giggled.

"So, do you like it?" she asked shyly, bringing her hands together at waist level, struggling to keep her eyes on him.

"Y-yeah, you look incredible" he stammered, earning a smile from Mina.

"You look pretty handsome yourself" she complimented quietly. Midoriya looked away as he ran a finger through the neck of his shirt, pulling it open for brief seconds at a time.

"Th-thanks…"

"So, shall we?" she grinned, offering her arm again. This time he took it, linking his arm with hers, his hands reaching down and grasping her hand in his own as well. As his hand brushed against hers, then took a hold of it she felt how warm and strong they were. A boy's hands.

Mina felt her a pulse of heat emanate through her, her heart beating that much harder than it had just a moment ago. She opened her hand, briefly pushing his off hers before entwining her fingers with his. She didn't dare look at him as she did it, just pursed her lips and looked head.

"L-let's go" he smiled, gesturing outside. She hummed in gentle agreement following his lead as they left the building and begun the walk to their destination.

"So, I don't suppose you are going to tell me where we are headed today either, Izuku?" she cooed playfully. His smile reignited into full force.

"Not a chance, I kept it a secret from everyone all week, there's no way I'm giving in at the last moment" he assured her looking at her hopeful expression, taking in how close she was, the feeling of her hand in his and his in hers. He looked back ahead, thinking to himself he'd have to learn to get used to this feeling, then further embarrassing himself at the notion of doing this so often so as to get used to it. She tugged lightly at his hand.

"Don't worry so much, I'm nervous too ya know?" she chuckled, the nerves apparent in her laugh. He looked back to see her observing him with an unsure yet curious expression.

"S-sorry, it's just…" he began

"There's nothing to be sorry for, silly" she teased ticking a tongue out with a wink. He could only smile again with her.

"K-kinda feels like old times" he mused. Mina looked up in thought.

"That's true, you have a history for apologising for no reason. One time I even got a gift out of it" she grinned, her free hand reaching up and touching said gift dangling from her neck.

"W-well it was hardly for no reason…" he admitted sheepishly. She nudged him with his own hand.

"It's not like I was holding it against you, you know." She playfully scolded "But to tell you the truth, I'm glad you did…" she added quietly, trailing off.

"Why?" he asked, confused "Is it that nice?" he wondered, grinning at the idea that his gift had been such a good one. She rolled her eyes, shook her head at him as she let loose a contented sigh.

"Yes, but that's not what I meant" she reluctantly confessed.

"Then why?" he asked again, confused by her cryptic response.

"Because it was after you gave me this that… well, that I realised" she spoke softly, looking to her left, away from Midoriya. He frowned as he tried to understand what she meant.

"Realised what?" he pressed. She turned her head back to him and prodded him again, using their joint hands to do it.

"Realised how I felt about you. Jeez, learn to read between the lines a little!" she grumbled as her cheeks visibly darkened, even to Midoriya's eyes. He grinned at her reaction and expression.

"S-sorry… a bit" he joked.

She turned to him sharply and regarded him, then in clicked and she did a slow blink before a smile broken out anew on her face. Sorry but not sorry was it, Izuku?

"You are getting too good at this"

"I learn from the best" he stated, then added "or at least, I hope to"

"What does that mean?" she puzzled, looking up at him in a bemused frown.

"Who can say…"

She sighed as she continued to just smile at him. It was a little frustrating, but she had to admit, at least to herself, that she loved the way he was with her. Keeping her on her toes, playing games, able to have some banter and always thinking of some new surprise. Speaking of…

"You realise you owe me a surprise still, yeah?" she reminded him.

"Of course, why do you think I'm not telling you where we are going?"

"I'm not sure a date counts as a surprise" she challenged, grinning, liking her odds at getting another surprise out of this if she played her cards right.

"This one is" was all he replied with, a secret smile in place as he looked ahead. She made a show of considering his position, rubbing her chin with her free hand.

"Well, I guess I will judge it when I see it" she decided, trying to sound thoughtful.

"If you saw it coming then I will give you two surprises" he boasted, grinning down at her. She blinked as she regarded him. He really did seem like a totally different person from that guy she first asked to partner with. During that first study session he could barely even look her in the eyes.

"Big talk, Izuku" she lightly squeezed his hand "I will hold you to that" she promised.

"Of course, just remember you owe me a selfish act" he countered, glancing at her, then around before back ahead as they crossed the street.

She continued to look at him, only glancing ahead when mounting the curb. She realised that she was surprised that he was keeping his cool. She half expected him to be a stuttering mess for the first part of their date. Heck, she half expected herself to be a stuttering mess throughout at least the first half of the date. She had been more nervous speaking about the date to her friends than she had been talking to him now. It seemed so strange to her. Though, so much of what had happened, of what had changed over the past few weeks was strange too. Like how quickly these feelings had taken a hold of her and how powerfully they now gripped her. If he had asked her out that day five weeks ago, she would have awkwardly declined. Now, her heart felt like it might burst at any moment being so close to him.

"J-just so you know, I started feeling that way about you a little before then" he blurted out.

"Eh!?" Mina gasped at the sudden revelation, turning up to him and finding her face feeling hotter than ever.

"W-well, since I kinda made you say it… feels only fair" he murmured, seeming to keep his eyes fixed ahead, determined not to look at her.

She reached up absentmindedly and stroked the necklace as she her mind revisited a question she had asked herself the morning after, and then again occasionally most days since then.

"Say, Izuku?" she asked, slowly, curiously.

"Yeah?"

"When you gave me this I assumed it was like, a token of our friendship… was it meant to be anything more than that?" she kept her eyes on him, it was only a guess, a hope even, but it was also a question that had nagged at her ever since.

"Erm, well…" he faltered "I mean, it is a token of our friendship, but… I guess that's not all it was when I gave it to you. I wanted you to smile but I also wanted a to form a connection with you that would outlast the exam. I can't say that I planned it out as a r-romantic gift or anything but I guess you could say it was my effort to create something longer lasting with you…" he trailed off, his cheeks a very healthy rose colour.

Her smile grew uncontrollably, and she had to force herself to look ahead herself so that it wouldn't consume her entire face. She squeezed his hand lightly for just a moment.

"Thing is…" he continued "It's not just that I l-like you… ever since we started working together, I started to see just a little of who you really were as a hero. You kind of remind me of Kacchan."

"Ugh!" Mina hissed, turning sharply from her dreamy look to one of disgust "Please tell me you are going somewhere with this!"

"Y-yeah! It's not like you scream at people or are super violent or anything!" he insisted, holding up his other hand defensively "But to me Kacchan is like, the symbol of victory. He doesn't lose because of his willpower, strength and perseverance. In a similar sense, to me, you are the symbol of kindness. You have this goal, not just to save people physically but from each other in ways the rest of us just hadn't even thought of. And it's not just that you want to, you have the ability to do it too. You absolutely have the power to bring people together and to put them at ease, like you did for me during our first study session. To someone like me, who isn't like that at all, that's like a super quirk all on its own. To me, you're incredible."

As he spoke Mina went from looking ahead to looking at him, he didn't stop to look at her, he was looking ahead and thinking as he spoke, or feeling. Like he was feeling his way through it. This wasn't some practised speech but a revelation of his feelings as he spoke them out loud for the first time. He shot her a look then flush and returned his gaze ahead.

"S-sorry, I guess I'm rambling" he admitted, but Mina tugged on his arm.

"Yeah, a bit" she joked. "But I liked it"

"I didn't even get to the part where I started to see you as more than the hero either" he thought as he checked on her to see her cheeks, pinker than usual.

"Hearing you say that of all people, it's kind of validating, you know?" she admitted "I mean, when I first saw you at the door with Iida and Ochaco I figured you just for one of the class shy-guys. Then when I saw your battle with Bakugo… you really changed everything, I'm not sure you really realise that" she chuckled to herself remembering the electricity in the room after that battle concluded and each of them remaining realised their turn was coming.

Midoriya just listened, looking down at her in surprise. He'd never given it any thought, he was so focused on the battle and then on recovering fast enough so Aizawa wouldn't expel him.

"You were just this normal seeming guy, facing down a total powerhouse like Bakugo, even kicking his ass for a while. It was really cool." She grinned to herself as she recalled his counter to that first attack, avoiding the highest ranked student without even using his quirk. "It was kinda like proof that anything was possible, and that for the rest of us all we had to do was reach out and take it. So, with a dream like mine… it was the coolest thing ever!"

"I-I see, I never thought about what it was like for you guys watching" he remarked, taking her shocking words in. It was hard to believe his desperate attempt to battle Bakugo had inspired those feelings.

"Then you kept doing it!" She chuckled "That's why I always kinda thought of you as the class enigma. When the assignment was announced and Asui mentioned you as a partner I seized the change. I wanted to get to know you."

Midoriya kept silent, not really sure what he should say to that. It wasn't exactly an unfair assessment given how unstable yet powerful his quirk was and how his use and development of it had changed so radically in a relatively short amount of time.

"So, hearing you say those things about me… it's like if you can see that in me then I can't be going too far wrong, probably" she said as she smiled to herself. Her heart was still beating fiercely in her chest and she felt nervous, but she was beginning to feel and understand why she could still get her words out, why talking to him about things was never a problem. It was simple. Whenever she was with him, he always gave her the feeling of ease, of comfort, like everything was going to be fine. They were together after all, and in those moments nothing else seemed to matter so much.

"I think you're amazing… in a way I couldn't even write about in my notes, it's like-"

"Not really something you can put into words?" Mina offered quickly

"…Yeah" he agreed, feeling his cheeks burning.

"Trust me, that's going around" she whispered, looking to the left so as to avoid eye contact. Midoriya's cheeks reddened.

"L-looks like we're here" he muttered, looking down the street.

Mina's eyes shot up and followed his gaze, looking at the sign.

"Oh, Izuku…"