The next day has come, when they got back to the dorm the other day Ciana talked a bit with her other friends and spent most of the remaining day studying in her room to make sure she doesn't miss out on anything she's supposed to know. Now their date has come and Ciana actually was a little nervous, she had a hard time deciding what to wear and blushing a lot from the thought of going on an actual date…
It was exciting but a little nerve wracking at the same time, Ciana took a shower to be more presentable and started putting her date outfit together… Ciana even styled her hair curly on the bottom part of her hair and applied a little makeup, now looking in the mirror. "Looks good enough… I wonder if this is too much though? Should I stick with just more casual wear? At least it's better than wearing a fancy dress."
Ciana commented to herself, hoping she doesn't look too weird. Now starting to wonder what they have planned for today? Probably just hanging out like normal, either way she was fine with that. Ciana smiled more as she was looking forward to doing something fun. "I hope the other girls don't catch me like this… I can't imagine how much they freak if they heard I'm going out on a date today, hopefully they won't notice as well as the guys if they are out doing their own thing…"
Mustering up the courage to step outside her room, Ciana shut the door behind her with a heavy breath, so far, not everyone had returned to UA yet, some staying with their families a day longer and returning late afternoon so it was the perfect window for her and Izuku to slip away unseen, for the most part anyway. After safely making her way down to the ground floor, she knew Izuku said he'd meet her outside the door to avoid suspicion so she had a clear getaway.
That was when she froze a bit mid-way through the common area as she felt two pairs of eyes on her the moment Ciana came into view. She craned her neck to the sofas to find both the electric user Kaminari and the perv Mineta watching her, the latter slack-jawed in... awe? Bliss? Was he drooling? She tried not to appear grossed out by that. As for Kaminari, his face went from peachy to red in a flash.
Ciana blinked her eyes twice in their direction, smiling sheepishly as she felt very awkward… wondering if her outfit was too much after all…? The way they were staring really made her flustered. "Um… e-excuse me!" She responds with a shy smile and wave, then starts moving again more quicker towards the front door. Trying not to look back in their direction as she moved out, feeling so red in the face right now knowing those guys saw her like this. "Oh god… this is so embarrassing…"
"What's embarrass... ing...?" Ciana had said this when she opened the front door, and the person in question felt their words die in their throat. Izuku wore a dark green button-up shirt with a lighter green shirt underneath, a brown wristband on his left arm, and a pair of tanned jeans and those signature red and black shoes of his. But his eyes were fixated to Ciana's figure as his face tinted red across his cheeks, eyes wide slightly. "Oh... wow..."
Ciana went for a simple white dress that came down to halfway up her thighs, the frill and neck woven to resemble flowers. A pair of dark grey jeans halfway up her shins and matching sandals. And her notable green butterfly hairpin visible atop her head.
Ciana looked up to see Izuku who she also thought looked really nice, she stood in silence for a few seconds as she took notice he was red and staring at her. Making her cheeks even more red as thought maybe she dressed too formal after all. Ciana smiled flustered while looking away and her hands went behind her back. "I-I look silly, don't I…? I-I knew I should have just stuck to dressing more normal…" she responds while freeing one hand to scratch her cheek, already she turned to put her hand on the front door handle.
"I-I'll just go back and fix myself to look less weird…" now very embarrassed as she already started to open the door slightly…
"N-no! It's fine, p-perfect!" He stammered, trying to piece his words together. "You, I-I honestly thought you could a-appear cuter..." He closed his eyes, forcing that line out as his cheeks darkened a bit before opening them to view her.
Ciana looked back when he spoke, her heart fluttering by his flustered compliment towards her. Though rose her brow in question at the mention of could have appeared cuter? Was he saying he didn't think she looked cute enough? Now facing him with a curious expression. "A-are you saying I don't look cute enough and expected better?" She mostly was joking when she said that, crossing her arms as she eyed him with her brow raised still and a sly smile.
"Huh? T-t-that's not what I meant!" He frantically waved his hands. "L-like you've always b-been cute but, um, like e-every time you do s-something like t-this you always seem to make y-yourself more breathtaking - ah, n-not that you needed make-up, or-or anything to look beautiful!" Slowly, his mind caught on her fake look of skepticism, and he slowly deadpanned. "...you were tricking me again, weren't you?"
"Maybe a little…" Ciana giggled but then smiled more at his comment, her cheeks becoming very pink as she then snuck a quick kiss to his cheek. "You look really charming as well! I-I honestly was worried maybe I was dressing too fancy for a normal outing… some of the guys in there were giving me an odd look so I wasn't sure." Referring to Kaminari and his pervy friend, looking down shyly as she can guess they thought she looked silly.
"It's perfect for a normal d-date, I think?" He cocked his head in thought, tapping his chin. "I'm not sure what the optimal clothing is for certain dates, but this seems a good standard, and it's a warm day so it's not out of place for the season..." Shaking his head, he offered Ciana his hand, reciprocating her kiss to her cheek quickly. "Ready to go?"
Ciana felt warm and giddy inside from the quick kiss back, her smile rose wider seeing the way he smiled and offered his hand. Gladly taking it as she giggled excitingly. "Hmph! Fly us away!" Ciana responded with a heroic pun and a squeeze to his hand, Ciana was still embarrassed that the guys will comment on their way back but hopefully the pervy kid is not viewing her too bland again…
[Transition]
Heading back into Musutafu for today, Izuku took Ciana down to the where all the shopping strips were, the streets bustling with people. He had no clue where to really begin, so it went with what he knew best, shops, then there were a few stops along the way that could be fun to see, all thanks to his hero analysis that he recalled landmarks around the city. Hand in hand, he looked to Ciana. "So, anything interesting stand out? Or should we window shop?"
Ciana looked around the city as they walked, reminding her back from her first day after school they explored some of the city. Smiling the whole way excitingly. "So much stands out to me as I'm still not used to being in another country." Ciana responds playfully. "Oh I know! Ciana pointed to a book shop, recalling Izuku mentioned he's a fan of manga. "How about we check out some of the manga here? I would love to see what you guys have compared to home." Ciana was definitely intrigued by what kind of anime and manga they had, manga from another world sounds so amazing to check out.
"As you wish," He did a silly bow of his head, causing her to giggle as he led her to the nearest book store. Inside the noisy city life became muffled by soft jazz music, the floor wooden with rows upon rows of bookshelves with various genres in a white sign above the shelves. There was even an upstairs. Izuku knew this one in particular so he brought Ciana upstairs to a red carpet floor with more books and topics, but specifically, manga, comics from overseas, light novels, the whole collection including some collectables from various fandoms. "I've come here a lot for my books when I have the time, they have a large selection, and a good price. two books and get the third free," He pointed out to her as her eyes twinkled in delight.
Ciana definitely thought that was a cool deal, already she was browsing through the collection with a big smile on her face. Seeing so many different kinds she's never heard of before. "This is so cool! I'm surprised I haven't come here with you sooner to check this stuff out, so many different stories here just makes this all the more exciting to want to check out!" Ciana says cheerfully, already she was having fun.
Behind the couple were a few guys, noticing the pretty girl with a nerdy looking kid. "Whoa, check out the hottie, what's she doing here with a guy like him?"
The other guy looked towards Izuku with some resentment on his face. "Lucky bastard… wonder how he managed to capture the heart of a babe like her?"
Without turning his head, Izuku stiffened up at the voices, "They're talking about us?" He glanced at Ciana, she was far too engrossed in picking what to look through to notice. What should he do? He couldn't really confront them, and they were safe in a public building, there were others around too. "I don't need this ruining today for her, okay, think, what's the best way to just avoid the situation?" With a little thought, Izuku had an idea, it was bold, stupid, and will definitely raise a question or two from Ciana but it might help. "Please, God, give me strength,"
Gone was Izuku's timid nature, if only by forcing it down with false confidence. He wrapped his left arm around her curved waist, bringing Ciana against his side. "There's a good selection over here I think you'd like," His face was dangerously close to hers that he could smell the flowery scent on her skin. Then, without waiting for a reply, led her away and around out of sight, a few others sitting around on some arm chairs giving Izuku that clear confidence they weren't going to be spied on for a while. "See?"
Ciana was startled and very surprised by the sudden grab of her waist, blushing very red while looking up at him in confusion. Ciana didn't think Izuku would do something like this especially in a public store and wondered what suddenly got into him, looking around where she was suddenly dragged to. The area looked very comfy to sit and read, though her attention went back to Izuku as she blinked her eyes in confusion.
"T-this looks like a perfect place to sit and read, but what was that all about Izuku?" She now asks in a little confusion. "Didn't you want to find anything you like to read yourself?" Ciana was still browsing before so she didn't expect Izuku to come to this part already.
"I... t-there was just some guys talking behind us, a-and well..." He knew what she was going to say next even if he finished his explanation, but the thought alone still bothered him. "...Sorry," He rubbed his neck shamefully.
"Huh?" That only peaked her curiosity more, tilting her head at the mention of the guys. "They were? Why get so worked up about that? Not like they can cause any problems for us while we're in a store, right?" Ciana wasn't sure why some random strangers were talking about them unless it was someone Izuku knew.
"It was l-like what we talked about before, p-people complimenting you, and... well, wondering why you're with me," He shrugged, then shook his head. "Trying not to let that get to me, a-and I didn't want it to bother you,"
She was a little surprised by that, she still didn't think she was that attractive. But this only caused her to laugh a little. "That's all? Izuku that just sounded like they were jealous of you, you should feel proud your with me rather than bothered. Guys like that say stuff like that cuz they wish they would have an attractive girlfriend, goes to show you're more charming than you appear to them if you're with a girl that's pretty to them."
Ciana smiled wider when she said this, happy to be with someone who treats her right rather than guys who just like her for her looks or a rumor how cool her quirk is.
He wouldn't say 'proud' but rather 'happy' that Ciana chose him over anyone else, not that he wouldn't be happy for her, but the fact it was him who she loved continued to make his heart tick faster, that memory often replayed and it made him smile for no reason. "Yeah... yeah, you're right, sorry," Izuku sighed, then looked to the shelves. "Though... this is the section I do look at most, Shonen-type manga," He admitted. "There's also, as I said, light novels behind us."
Ciana was right, who cares?
Ciana smiled more seeing that he perked up, now eyeing the section Izuku is more familiar with. "Oh really? Are there any ones you would recommend reading?" She asked him while looking through the shelves as well. It's funny to her… being in a world full of quirky superpower people in Japan… she could see this world becoming a manga and an anime story… Ciana giggled just imagining that, that's something she totally would get into.
"There's one about, well... sorta like you?" He worded strangely for a moment, pulling a book from the shelf. "It's an isekai, in a strange way, that's basically what happened to you. But that's the only similarity - the story's pretty bog-standard at first but the protagonist doesn't have any real powers just his wits that he uses to get through tough situations as he learned new skills in a world of magic and such, but as I said, it's all down to how he out wits and plots how to proceed more than overwhelming strength," He went into detail, Izuku's eyes lighting up as he spoke about it. "It's got a good portion out already, I'd recommend it or maybe something like a crime-slash-mystery?"
Ciana eyed the book he recommended as she listened and looked over the cover, already her own eyes were perking up with interest. Now looking back up at him with an excited grin. "That sounds so cool! Just hearing about the plot reminds me of my situation like you said, this would be fun to look at during my me time. Hey! Now that you mention it, I actually have a comic book I happened to have in my backpack when I first came here. If you like I could show you it when we get back."
Ciana recalled she was reading a Marvel Batman comic as it reminded her a little of her when the hero lost his parents, thinking maybe Izuku would like that since he's a hero that doesn't have any superpowers.
"A comic from another world? Yes, I'd love that - I'll take good care of it too!" He vowed, nodding his head vigorously. "Wow, A piece of literature from a whole different dimension, this breaks every law of physics in history, I'm getting tingly just thinking about it!" Izuku had the face of a child fanboy, getting giddy at the idea.
Ciana chuckled with a big smile on her face from Izukus adorable excitement, her smile became warm and happy just being together like this and having fun. "It's in English so I'm not sure if you know the language fully, but I can always explain anything you don't understand if it helps."
"Mmhm, absolutely!" He grinned, then looked up to a higher shelf and pointed. "Oh, there's this one too. It's a magic-science fiction type, about a war between people with the ability to unlock the power of their soul that wage a war against these machines. The first book is about this near endless swarm of machines, the one leading them the size of All Might, it's really good!"
She looked over his shoulder to see the front cover, still smiling in awe from each book Izuku showed her. "Wow now that one sounds intense, reminds me of those robots we had to fight during our big test to get into UA." Ciana chuckled at that memory. "It felt like the city was being invaded by robots then, man! That sure was unexpected."
"I still haven't gotten an answer from All Might about how big the school's budget is to make several large-scale cities, robots, and who knows what else..." Izuku shook his head in dismay, still unable to wrap his head around it all to this day. "Still, have a look around, I'll probably take a few myself to bolster my collection."
"The people here just keep surprising me everyday by what they suddenly plan out." She said with an amusing shake of her head, then smiled and nodded at Izuku. "Alright! I'm already getting pumped and eager to see more of what this place has in store, literally." Ciana giggled before taking off with an excited grin on her face, looking like she's already having a good time.
Izuku sat down with a book of his choice while Ciana continued to look around, smiling as he glanced up at her every now and then. Her hair was curled at the tips, the rest framed perfectly over her back and shoulders, standing out against the white dress she chose, even her emerald eyes as they wandered, wide with wonder and glee. His heart picked up again, stuck between choosing to look at his own book or stare at her in wonder.
Ciana thought every book she's seen so far is fascinating as they all are stories she's not familiar with, it still stuns her that she can read the Japanese language. The world she's suddenly in would definitely make a great story for a manga, once again chuckled at the idea. As her thoughts turned to Izuku, she glanced over him to catch him peeking up at her… making her feel a bit flustered inside but Ciana gave him a bright smile his way. "The way he's sitting and reading looks so him, it's cute knowing he's also a fan of this stuff like me, especially how excited he gets around superhero stuff."
Once their selection was made, the two headed to pay for their items, with Izuku putting their books away into his yellow bag he brought just in case they bought anything. His forward thinking aside, they went on their merry way, this time, Izuku had a destination in mind, recognizing the street they were on. He tugged on Ciana's hand, pulling her to the left side of the street to stroll past various stores and clear brands of this day and age.
Turning the next corner brought them onto a street with two storey buildings, only a few steps more and their destination was in view, "W-want to try this?" He smiled meekly at his totally not last-ditch-effort to understand the contents of a 'date between romantic partners'. It had a black border along the middle between the first and second floors, big bold letters reading the bog-standard name for the entertainment. 'Arcade'. Inside, as it was a walk-in arcade, were various games, ones with visible prizes, others for ticket gathering. Practically all ages were visible inside the large, open space.
Ciana was in awe as she witnessed the Japanese version of an arcade here, it was even bigger and more entertaining than the version she had at home. Cianas eyes literally sparkled with excitement and her mouth dropped open in more awe, nodding her head very eagerly. "Wow! Heck yeah I want to try this! This looks absolutely fun!"
Ciana expressed excitement, basically speechless since her version at home isn't as big and entertaining looking as this version. She had never even seen so many claw game machines before, having no idea that's a big thing in Japan.
Happy she seemed eager to try them out, Izuku brought her inside as the cool air hit them, voices travelling over music and the ambient racket of games. There were an abundance of choices. From your standard arcade machines lined up in two rows, to claw machines and other tests of luck for prizes. Ones that gave you mountains of tickets if you were lucky, their selection was endless. "Um, lemme see... ah, here, I'm good at these!" He drew Ciana over to several claw machines stuffed with distinct differences in prizes. "Your pick, and I'll do my best to win,"
Ciana's choices from the plushies were, Heroes, Animals, fantasy characters from a show or something, and... Pokemon? That one made her brow shoot upward.
It really amazes Ciana that they actually have a Pokémon here… wonder if they call it something different here like pocket monsters? She noticed there were some pro hero plushies including All Might, Ciana chuckled noticing that and even wondered if Izuku had one of those. Scanning the prizes, Ciana caught her eye on a stuffed animal that stood out to her… which was a green rabbit, reminding her of a certain somebody… smiling very wide at what she wanted, Ciana now looked to Izuku with a bright smile on her face as she pointed it out. "That one! The little rabbit…"
"Ah, alright," He nodded, slotting in a coin as he scratched his cheek bashfully. "I-I'm not like Kacchan, as I don't like gloating but, I'm really good at these, n-never lost from the first coin," One coin equalled three tries like anywhere else in the world, and while close he never lost. A strange skill courtesy of his analytical side. "Okay, here goes..." Without thinking of it, Izuku used Total Concentration as he eyes fixed themselves to the glass, and beyond it, that green rabbit plushie out of reach.
The claw moved, Izuku making the red controller twitch in his hand as he eyed his prize. Leaning it forward, he hit the button to let the claw dive. Ciana watched intensely as the claw pinched one of the ears, causing the plush to tilt to the side. "You missed..." She murmured.
"Lining it up," Izuku replied under his breath, going back for another try. The second attempt was again the same, he did very small adjustments before the claw hooked the head, pulling it slightly from the pile only to flop onto its stomach. Izuku had one last try. Now, his eyes slit as he watched the claw jiggle with each twitch and subtle adjustment.
He edged the claw back, three paces, then four, then half an inch more. His eyes shot wide, there! He tapped the button, the claws falling as it sank its talons around the main body of the rabbit, hooking at an angle that the claws almost touched beneath its body as the prize was airlifted to safety. Izuku held his breath, waiting... waiting... the claws tilted with each sway, the rabbit's form looking ready to slip...
And it did... right into the hole.
Izuku let out a heavy breath, bowing his head. "Hah, still got it," He smiled to himself, silently praying to the Gods for giving him luck in this dire hour.
Ciana cheered for him when Izuku finally caught it. "Wow, nice going Izuku!" She praised him with a clap of her hands and an amusing smile. It wouldn't matter if he got it or not but she enjoyed watching him try, Ciana especially liked that he actually praised himself for being good at something as he rarely ever does that, Ciana liked when Izuku gets confident.
"Claw machines are always pretty tricky, sometimes they are even rigged. But what I loved about watching you win the most is how you don't ever give up." Ciana comments to him with a big smile, always admiring how he never lets anything stop him from achieving his goals.
"That's why I did it, because t-they are rigged," Izuku explained as he retrieved their prize. "See, there's a lot of math to it but basically I j-just apply my analysis to math and well... ta-da," He held up the stuffed animal, cocking his head a bit. "As you wanted, one green... rabbit..." Slowly, his brain stared at the item in his hands, then to Ciana, then back to the stuffed animal before he gave her a flat stare. "This is about my early costume design, isn't it?"
Ciana just gave him a big playful smile, turning her head with her arms behind her back pretty much looking more guilty. "Maybe…" Ciana giggled as she went to accept it now, looking it over as she looked more happy with a pink blush on her cheeks. "It just reminded me of you and I couldn't resist." She held the rabbit close, her head tilting, eyes closed and smiling even more. "Now whenever I look at it I'll think of you even more, I'll always treasure this."
"Cute..." She made it really hard to try and pretend to be annoyed. Izuku felt his cheeks heat up as he rubbed his neck shyly, happy she felt that way even if only over a small gift like this, but if it made her happy, so be it. "Ready to try and win some more?" He offered her a raised knuckle sheepishly.
Ciana wasn't expecting more which surprised her a bit, but he made it hard to refuse as she put on a confident grin and a bump to his knuckles playfully. "Let's show these machines whose boss!" Ciana declared with a raise of her fist higher. "Say, how about I win you something this time? I'm actually pretty good at these myself back home so is there anything you like or don't have already?" She asks with a tilt of her head.
"Well, um..." He looked around, spotting the counter where you could cash in your tickets for prizes. Then his still red cheeks darkened. "There i-is one thing, but it's... hefty, the tickets I mean," He coughed.
"Oh really?" She leaned forward in curiosity of that, eager to know what he wanted exactly. "Well what is it? Doesn't hurt to check it out first." She asked with her usual smile, Ciana didn't expect he would turn red but guessed it might be an All Might doll or another pro hero.
Somewhat reluctant, he led her over just to the end of a few arcade machines as some went up with their lot of tickets. There, in the display cabinet at the front was the prize that eluded him for over half a year, primarily due to his training. It wasn't what Ciana expected. It was a dark grey bracelet with several deep green emeralds, four at the front and two on the back. The price of tickets was... 75,000.
"I-I have around over three quarters that amount s-saved up with t-this," He then held up a black card meant to be used for this arcade. "A-Anything over a certain limit you scan this before playing to keep tabs o-on your 'tickets' so to not waste time and paper, b-but as I said, I have exactly 52,750 points... so yeah, b-but I can go for something else since that's w-way too much, it's more o-of a personal goal an-anyhow," He gulped, realizing how out of range it was, and he'd never put that kind of burden on Ciana.
Ciana definitely never expected he wanted something like this, her head tilted in a surprised and wondered manner to what he wanted, what really surprised her was how much it was for something like this. But… surprisingly Ciana put on a confident grin, secretly she figured out these angles at home, Ciana looked up at Izuku as she showed no sign of worry on her face.
"Is that all? Well if you trust me enough, I'm pretty sure I can win this for you no problem if you really want it." Her fist raised confidently, not worried at all about failing strangely…
"But how?" He gaped, counting with his fingers. "If by using the games that give out the most tickets based on both time and multipliers, not to mention the cost of certain games will reduce the number of games we can switch between to keep things fresh so we don't suffer from burnout, and-" Her fingers tapped his lips, holding them for a second. "...a-are you sure?"
Ciana didn't even have any second thoughts to this, her hands now on her hips as she nodded confidently. "I'm positive, but I'll only do this if you really want this, believe it or not I actually have my own secret trick to win complicated prizes like this, took me years of practice but I managed to figure out the angle." She smiled again with another tilt of her head, Ciana is very confident she can do this but that's his decision to make if he wanted her to do this or not, either way she understands.
"...okay," Worried, he still held out his arcade card to her. "I'll trust you,"
Ciana smiled more as she took his card, giving him another smile for encouragement. "Step aside and watch how I work my very own superpower…" Ciana playfully says. Ciana took on her first challenge, a simple basketball game. The second she paid for the game and tapped the card to the reader she cracked her knuckles, and gone was her carefree expression, something hard and serious overtaking her face as Izuku felt his heart skip a bit as the game began, and Ciana moved her hands like a well-oiled machine, grabbing and tossing balls into the hoop the second they came back, throwing consistently and with perfect aim in only seconds. The timer lasted a whole minute and a half, and her score went to 100... then 120... 180... 250... nearly 500!? Every one-hundred market increasing the multiplier until her score skyrocketed.
The timer blared, leaving Ciana to exhale as her score topped at 1150 exactly. That exact number transferred to the card. Ciana took the card back, smirking slyly at Izuku's slack-jawed face, the same he'd make fanboying over heroes everyday. "My girlfriend's an Arcade Goddess..." He blushed as she slotted in again, muttering something about it 'not being her best score'. "That wasn't her best!? Hahaha..." Izuku might actually blow a fuse if she scored any higher. And with only one game so far!
Ciana chuckled more at Izukus expression, she could tell she managed to wow him with her own skills she considers a superpower. Cianas focus went back to the basketball game, this time she had to keep her eyes off Izuku's reaction to do more… starting again, Ciana already started grabbing the balls as she began shooting them in once again. Not once did she miss… Ciana tried to shoot quicker this time to make sure the score keeps going up, all her time in the arcade at home really paid off… Ciana is pretty proud of herself knowing she's a pretty skilled arcade gamer.
Eventually, after playing several games, top-scoring all of them, the pair walked away with another 12,000 digital tickets. Ciana moved onto the next target. Bowling. Rather, bowl the small balls into certain holes, the center provided a big chunk of tickets but it was the smallest one, able to fit a ball if landed perfectly, like darts without the sharp point. Ciana again hardened her focus, something that was both intimidating and very much hot to Izuku though he kept that internal fantasy to himself as he stopped gawking and started helping to accumulate a few more points himself to hasten the progress, Ciana's fiery resolve kindling his own.
Once more, Ciana dunked every center hole without any form of frustration, bowling at the right angle and speed to land them perfectly, while Izuku went for the easier targets as to not waste time on the middle hole, he got it a few times in the past but that was by pure chance, only now he realized just how lucky he was considering how easy Ciana made it. Once time ran out, Ciana simply started again, swiping the card on autopilot.
Ciana was having fun doing these games with Izuku, she laughed a few times how wowed he got, the bowling game they were doing together Ciana cheered and gave Izuku a thumbs up for his score of points. Ciana was having more fun just doing these games with Izuku, it was more fun doing this with someone rather than playing by herself… Ciana remembered she always liked to come to the arcade whenever she felt down and needed a good game to play to even her stress, she never had many friends to play games with unless you count winning claw games for little kids to give them their prizes they wanted, doing that always made Ciana happy to make kids happy but enjoying this with someone by her side made this all the more entertaining.
Several more games, plus two more rotations, and Izuku stood there, completely bewildered and yet pumping with energy and excitement. The significance of the bracelet was simply the fact Izuku thought it looked good, it matched his eyes and hair tint so what's not to like? Now? Now he had a real, genuine purpose, he'd play these games alone, earning a number of points each time. Yet, this final stretch that would've taken him another couple of months was swept aside in only an hour and a half, and it was the best time of his life.
"In total... 78,528 tickets," Izuku muttered, now holding his prize and a near-empty card with a handful of points. Izuku opened the box to inspect the bracelet, it was genuine metal, not cheap plastic meant to appear if it was, and the gems, while not the quality you'd find in a jewellers, and especially not the real-deal emeralds, still were clean cut and polished to a shine. "Over half a year of work... and you made the last stretch look like nothing, you... you slaughtered it entirely,"
Ciana smiled and giggled proudly with her arms around her back, very happy to have been able to do something for Izuku after all he's done for her. "Well when you spend all your days at an arcade, your hard work really pays off." Ciana responds with a proud tone. "Consider this my thanks to you for all you have done for me, but what really encouraged me to do this more is the thought of seeing you smile."
Ciana tells him with a shy but happy blush on her cheeks, Ciana felt bad she used up his card for this but is very happy to have given Izuku what he wanted.
"I... really don't have words right now," Izuku smiled graciously, slipping the bracelet on. "It might not mean much, but, because you helped me get it, I feel it has more value than if I had achieved this alone, so thank you for helping me," He hugged her a little to show his affection, or what he could now.
Ciana smiled more warmly at his words, gladly returning the embrace with a quick squeeze. Her heart fluttered happily seeing him so happy. "It was my pleasure, I'm glad to have done that for you. Plus it was a lot of fun, I don't get to play many games with other people much. I'm more happy knowing it was you I got to have fun with." Ciana expresses happily while also hugging the rabbit Izuku won for her.
"Then we should come back here next time, but for now, ready to see some more before our final stop for a late lunch at this rate?" Taking her hand, he waited for her reply.
She nodded happily, squeezing his hand tighter with a bright smile. "You bet I am, but actually… There is something I've been meaning to do recently that I never got the chance to do."
"O-Oh, sure, what is it?" Izuku let her lead this time, wondering what she wanted to do next.
"I've been saving my allowance up for a while now, so I was thinking of checking out the cell phones." Her smile became wider at the idea. "I don't have one that works for this world and I think it's about time I find myself one so I can keep in touch not only with you but for emergencies."
"Right! How come that never came to mind before...?" Realizing the massive error of judgement all this time, Izuku facepalmed but quickly recovered. "Y-yeah, okay, I know a store a few blocks away that we can visit,"
Leaving the arcade behind, the two made for the nearest phone store. Again, a company Ciana didn't recognize but that wasn't important. Unfortunately for Ciana, getting a new phone set-up was as mind-numbingly boring as it was in her world so that was a chore. Ultimately, she went with what Izuku suggested since he was more familiar with this model and said it was reliable.
Ciana looked it over once they had visited the store, looking a bit different than her own she normally uses. "Didn't expect them to be a little different here, ah what else is new…" Ciana chuckled playfully. "The price seems right for my budget so I'll go with what you recommend, I'm already excited that I'll finally get to keep in touch with you more Izuku." She glanced at him with a wide and excited grin, plus if she ever decided to sneak into his room again she would give him the heads up this way… Ciana still couldn't believe she was bold enough to do that.
"If you want, there's a few places I can think of if you want to take pictures of?" Izuku suggested now that she was giving her new phone all the love and attention that he found adorable and rolled his eyes at with a smirk.
"Oh really? Let's go see them then! Though don't be surprised if I ever snap a picture of you doing something I find cute…" Ciana smirked, knowing there's a lot about Izuku she finds cute when it comes to his muttering, his fanboy reaction and his shy bashfulness.
Stammering a blush at her teasing, their date continued. Izuku led Ciana around with his fanboy knowledge of the city, drawing her attention to any notable landmarks, passing through a park with community pieces too, it gave her ample time to test out her phone as well as take really embarrassing photos of Izuku when he wasn't looking and mindlessly doing something out of habit.
Taking a stroll through a quiet park, Ciana hummed along to her own tune as she toyed with the photos on her phone, half of the world, half of Izuku, much to his embarrassment as they walked. "S-see, there's a few other places that might be nice to check out before we go for lunch, "like... uh..." Izuku's words slowly but surely trailed off and died in his throat as his grip on Ciana's hand felt a little clammy.
Raising her head to look at her partner, his face was warped with panic, fear, and anxiety. Ciana regrettably looked forward to the culprit and her own heart shifted slightly given it was not one, but Two people they recognized. The first, the carefree mother of a certain ash-blonde student they knew all too well. And said brat standing with her carrying a few bags of shopping with a bemused expression until his brow raised slightly at the sight of them.
"...h-hi?" Izuku gulped.
"Hey, Izuku, Finley, twice now this has happened, huh?" Mitsuki grinned, earning a brief glare from Katsuki as he then stared straight at them. Clearly, he didn't know. "You two look great, special occasion?" Now she had a look of a cat that swallowed a canary.
Ciana was actually very embarrassed Bakugo caught them like this especially when she's all dressed up… probably finding that weird is her guess… it was nice to see his mom again though, despite feeling flustered Bakugo is here and guessed he is visiting his mom… Ciana put her smile back on with a shy wave of her hand. "Hi Mrs Bakugo! It's nice to see you again as well!" Ciana was embarrassed but she still kept her cheerful side on.
"Yeah you can say that, Izuku is showing me around the city more. He was also helping me pick up a new phone so he's even showing me nice places for me to take pics of." Her attention now on explody fists… she can guess he thought she looked silly, but still gave him a warm smile. "Nice to see you again too Bakugo, judging by the bags I assume you been out shopping with your mom?"
"What about it, Blank?" He grumbled, then earned a smack on the back of the head from Mitsuki, causing him to erupt with rage. "Ack, the hell was that for you damn hag!?"
"Quit being a hardass and answer nicely to your friends, that's what you brat!" She too shared his explosive expression when angry.
"Deku and that damn Blank aren't my friends - ack!" He was struck again. "I'll freakin' kill you!"
"Tch, I'd like to see you try you little brat!" She snapped back, then smiled to the pair watching the ordeal as her fist slammed into Katsuki's head like a mallet. "Sorry about him, mouthing off all the time, but that's sweet of you showing a girl around, Zuzu, you've been looking after her?"
"Ye-yes ma'am," He nodded quickly.
Ciana blinked and stared at their childish fight for a bit before starting to giggle how funny they were, they really are mother and son. It looked like a love hate relationship and couldn't help but smile more from this. "It's alright, I'm basically used to his behavior by now so it doesn't bother me." She gave another smile towards Bakugo.
"Glad to see you're still doing well Bakugo, I really like your mom. She's really nice and definitely reminds me a lot of you." She ended up commenting with a brighter and warmer smile, not offended by his usual insults toward her.
"Yeah, well, difference is he's so stupid talented that he built an ego to boot from his quirk and smarts," Mitsuki shrugged, tousling his hair as Katsuki looked ready to blow a fuse. "But I'm much more restrained, unless someone pisses me off."
"I don't need to be lectured on how I do things, and who gives a crap what Deku and Blank get up to when no one's looking!? Except for Raccoon Eyes and that human charger," Katsuki scoffed, picking up the bags to stomp on past the pair. "Out of my way,"
"N-nice to see you again, haha..." Izuku shifted slightly to avoid Katsuki's path, sighing as the blonde made his way forward. "It was nice seeing you again, Aunt Mitsuki,"
"Hehe, hearing you say that's more than worth the trouble that brat puts me through," Mitsuki faked a dreaded expression. "Even with my quirk I feel my age might start to show, hah!"
"Will you hurry up already!?" Katsuki yelled back.
"Can it you twerp, I'm wrapping things up! Don't forget you came along with me first!" Mitsuki snarked at her son's grumbling, flashing the pair a sharp smirk before moving aside. "Enjoy your little date, I'll try not to rile him up too much before you're back in class," With a wink she waved to the couple.
Ciana giggled again at their behavior, still smiling as she waved back at them both. "Thanks! Have fun yourself!" Ciana knew Bakugo will want to kill her for this… but she couldn't resist wanting to tease him as she now smirked and shouted out to him. "Oh and Bakugo… you looked really cute as a little kid! You haven't changed a bit!" Ciana ended up telling him, remembering that she peeked at one of his childhood photos…
"Stop looking into my past, you damn creep!" He was practically ablaze as a few sparks went off in his free hand. "I'll blow you to pieces, I dare you to say that shit to my face again, Blank!"
"Hahahaha!" Mitsuki on the other hand, punched his head again to shut him up and was practically crying with hysterics. "Oh God, Inko must've shown her, that's priceless~!"
"Da-da-da, we're dead," Izuku whistled with a smile of complete bewilderment. "We survived an encounter with both of them, Kacchan is one thing, but both of them when they get heated I wasn't sure how we'd survive..." Izuku felt his life flash before his eyes.
Ciana just ended up laughing from his immature blunt behavior, she knew he be angry but it was totally worth seeing him embarrassed. Now wiping a tear from her eye as she kept smiling toward their direction. "Honestly… I find their behavior towards each other really adorable, though I'm kinda surprised Bakugo didn't comment about how I'm dressed. Figured he say something like… 'What's with the weird getup Blank?!'" Ciana tried to imitate his gruff attitude but then giggled again just trying.
"I'm not really afraid of how he will confront me next time but seeing him stiffen up from what I said was so worth it…" Ciana really finds Bakugo amusing when he's not actually trying to kill you for real…
"That was a horrible impression," Izuku snickered, guiding Ciana along. "...though not inaccurate."
The pair laughed at the blonde's expense on the rest of their trip through the park, their final destination in mind from about halfway through their date.
Ciana kept smiling as they continued their walk, she was having the best time of her life, more than she ever had at home. During the walk Ciana ended up hugging Izuku's arm and her head laid on his shoulder, she wasn't the scared young girl she first was when she arrived in this world anymore. Now Ciana smiles as bright as the sun itself and that's all because of the boy beside her.
Their final stop in their day out was a familiar sight, but the whole way Ciana kept herself latched around Izuku's arm, holding him affectionately as his body buzzed with energy just from the tender feeling. There were no real hiccups, those that he considered were drowned under Ciana's presence before they could take root. Moving forward, Izuku once again opened the door to the Dicey Cafe for Ciana, the bell ringing above.
Ciana remembered this being their own special place where Izuku and her come by after school or the weekends, it was nice to be able to come back after attending UA. Ciana can still smell the nice aroma of the treats they were serving. "It's been a while since we came here! Last time we came we were celebrating our accomplishment of getting into UA."
Ciana smiled at the memory, it was a lot of fun then and happy knowing Izuku's hard work paid off like she always believed.
"I thought it would be a good choice, at least for a first date that is," Izuku replied, taking their usual seat as the lady at the counter beamed with delight at their appearance.
"Hey, it's been a while, Midoriya, Finley, howya been?" The young beautiful woman had straight black hair that she had fall over her right shoulder, and deep red eyes, Yumi.
Ciana smiled brightly at the familiar lady, always a pleasure to see familiar friendly faces again. "Hey! We have been doing great so far, despite some setbacks in school but it sure was exciting for all of us." Ciana replied. "We're on break from school so we decided to come back here for lunch."
"Yeah, heard about that - who hasn't at this rate?" She muttered then waved her hand. "Don't worry about that kinda attention, I won't pry,"
Izuku waved a little to her. "Is Mr Hanzo not in today?"
"Nah, me in-charge while my uncle's out" She shrugged then gave them a pleasant smile. "Order when you guys are ready, 'kay?" Then she winked. "Oh, before I forget, you two look so cute together," Yumi cooed, cupping her cheeks briefly before humming along to her workload again.
Ciana expected that comment to happen but still caused her to blush shyly, keeping on her smile at least since they are official now. "Glad to see things haven't changed here." Ciana giggled.
"I don't think there was ever a time people haven't assumed we were a couple in the past." Ciana playfully comments, even in the middle school they were in students thought they were a couple but they found it more strange than cute.
"We really weren't subtle, bet our new teachers think the same..." Izuku sighed, standing up with a smile. "So, want what we had last time?"
Ciana she nodded, they are her favorite treats here and plus it will bring back some fond memories before they started UA. "Yeah that would be good, are you going to have the same yourself or something different?" Ciana tilted her head when noticing the mention of the teachers thinking they were a couple too then, did that bother him or did they look down on him too which concerned her…
"I'll probably have the same since it's been a while and I don't normally get something this sweet often," He replied, going up to take their order. Upon approaching the counter to ask Yumi, he opened his mouth only for her to interrupt without taking her eyes off the touchpad in her hands.
"Your order from the last time you came here," Yumi smirked, looking up at Izuku who again parted his lips while the ravenette tapped her pointed ear. "Bat hearing,"
"R-right, I forgot that's your quirk," Yumi's quirk, Bat, was self-explanatory, anything a bat can do she can do. That included eavesdropping.
"Besides, gotta keep an ear open for customer favourites, it's how we bring back regulars, y'know?" She giggled before getting a tray ready. While Izuku got out his wallet to pay again she mindlessly asked in the comfortable atmosphere. "You really look sweet together, reminds me of my girlfriend, you can't take your eyes off her, hehe,"
The greenette blushed a bit at her remark, nodding shyly. "S-she's really special to me,"
"Aw, that's so sweet, hehehe," Yumi murmured, taking Izuku's payment. "Have you had fun then?"
"I-I took her around town, s-showed her a few stores or anything t-that caught her eye, even a large arcade I used to go to in my f-free time, she...completely defied all expectations," He flat out gave Yumi his honest take on that ordeal, hand subconsciously rubbing his new bracelet.
"Hm, classic but effective, well, can't say you failed the 'spontaneous date', good work," She patted his head gingerly like she was his older sister or something. "If it helps your overthinking head, she's totally hooked on whatever you've been doing, don't look now but she's staring~" Yumi teased as his face burned hotter, much to her amusement and his chagrin. "That handsome face of yours looks so cute when you blush, probably a good point,"
"I-I-I've been t-told," Slowly, the tray was filled before long. "Th-thank you, Ms Yumi,"
"Anytime, Midoriya, have fun~" She waved, chuckling to herself.
"Okay, that was both informative and embarrassing..." Now his heart was all over the place.
Ciana started to blush when she noticed the girl noticed she was looking their way, making her quickly adverts her gaze from them with a brighter blush. "I-I'm guessing they are commenting about me and Izuku again… that never seems to get old here." Ciana giggled, now pulling out her new phone as she scrolled through the pictures she took today.
Ciana smiled wider at the places Izuku took her and the ones she took of Izuku, it wasn't hard to catch him when he's acting all adorable. Ciana even secretly took a picture of Bakugos reaction when she commented to him about his cute childhood pictures… causing her to chuckle more just seeing his hilarious angry expression. "I'm probably going to be dead for this when I come back to the dorm but he's just too easy to get going…"
"You found something funny?" To break her daydream, Izuku set the tray down, handing over Ciana's cake and tea.
Ciana perked her gaze back up when she heard his voice, showing off her smile again toward him. "More like captured something funny, when I was teasing Bakugo before I snapped a pic of his angry reaction." Ciana held up her phone to show him the picture she took of him… no way is she ever going to tell him what she did or otherwise she's sure he break her phone.
It was admittedly funny to see the fury caught permanently on screen but Izuku still felt sweat trickle down his forehead. "Yeah... I think I'll leave you to dance with death on this one, sorry," Once sat back down, Izuku got to work on his own food and drink, quickly putting his hands together. "Thank you for the food,"
Ciana chuckled at his cute Japanese culture thank you gesture, she didn't think that applied to restaurants too. Now taking a few sips of her tea. "I'm not afraid of how that guy will react towards me, believe it or not, I met people much worse than him back home." She ends up sharing, now taking a bite of her cake.
"Not that I don't believe you, but... well, that's a little frightening to believe," Izuku quirked a brow, sipping his tea with a content sigh.
Ciana frowned a little at the memory, but she tries not to let it get to her. "Like I said, I grew up in a rough part of the city, you come across gangs here and there… some were much more ruthless that actually doesn't hold back hurting you. I stepped up to people like that a few times and surprising I'm still alive, dad always yelled at me for getting involved with them even when I'm trying to help someone."
She ends up sharing more… looking down at her reflection in her cup of tea in hand, it was rough but Ciana still wanted to stay strong…
Hearing this made a small pit form in Izuku's stomach, staring back at her for a time. "It... might not be my place to say, but, when concerning things like gangs, you are lucky to have gotten away without losing your life, something that dangerous could cause ripple effects to the people around you," Her gaze didn't leave her mug. "At the same time, people often are oppressed by groups like that, and too many turn a blind eye, obviously not wanting to bring harm to the people around them sometimes for themselves, so when someone does, I dunno, I think that's pretty heroic, because in the end, you, and anyone else in your shoes, wanted to change things, even if only a single person is saved, that too can cause a ripple effect. So... it's reckless, but the right thing to do."
Ciana looked back up at Izuku now, her smile coming back as she nodded at his words. "Whenever I saw anyone showing the same fear in their eyes I had when I was little… I didn't want to leave anyone in trouble like that even if it was dangerous, a lot of people said I was being too reckless but I couldn't turn a blind eye." Her eyes become a bit more serious now what she believed and spoke.
"Even when I get hurt in the process I wanted to help others not to show any fear no matter what. After all, you're only powerless when you do nothing. I just wanted to make a difference where I lived. It's always worth it for me when I can do something to avoid others getting scared and hurt." She smiled more after saying that.
"I never told you this, but, when I saw Kacchan being suffocated by that Sludge Villain, I don't know what came over me, I was weak, scrawny, powerless, I had my dream shot down by the person I admire most," He didn't frown, instead, he just looked proud at that memory. "I ran headfirst when other Pros stood around unable to do anything but watch, All Might saved us and then told me what I did was what a real hero would do, I can't tell you how many times he apologized for what he said, but in that moment I felt... content, the Pros scolded me but praised Kacchan, and yet, it was All Might that nailed it home how significant my actions were. It was the proof I had always wanted that even without a quirk a person can do good,"
Ciana was surprised to hear what she's been told, remembering the video he once showed her of the incident. Izuku was there then? She stared at him for a few moments before smiling again. "From what you showed me in that video that looked terrifying to get yourself involved in… but hearing what you said and what you tried to do, I really admire that." She tells him with a tilt of her head and a wider smile.
"Situations like that I be really scared of you getting hurt… but I admit I would have done the same thing, I never really listened when anyone told me what I was doing was reckless but like how you felt, I couldn't leave someone to get hurt or die. But for you despite how harsh Bakugo treated you, you still went out to help him. That's one of the things I love about you." She surprisingly expresses with a happy pink blush on her cheeks.
"I... a-and same to you," He replied bashfully. "I've spent years bordering on if what I was doing was all for naught, but you kept pursuing exactly what your mom taught you, that level of dedication and fortitude is what I-I love about you,"
Cianas heart fluttered happily and warmly at his words toward her, her gaze became more loving and overjoyed towards him, her cheeks becoming more redder. "I'm really happy knowing you see me the way I always felt, I couldn't be anymore grateful that I got to meet you." Ciana tells him with a lot of joy in her voice, she wasn't sure if she could be any happier right now.
"By the way, I couldn't help but wonder… When did you exactly start having feelings for me, Izuku?" She ends up asking in wonder of that with another tilt of her head.
He had a feeling she'd ask this eventually, he just didn't want to think of it. "I... w-well probably, um, just..." Taking a breath, he answered, face starting to grow hotter. "T-three months after we m-met, it was during training, I had fallen from a misstep and you offered y-your hand to me - j-just how the sun framed your face a-and your eyes, e-everything just sorta clicked in my head and those weird feelings I-I kept having made sense, s-so... for a while..." Admitting to how badly he had fallen for her without warning honestly felt a little sad but seeing as she felt the same way it lessened that internal blow.
Ciana really blushed more of what she's hearing so far as she now had a look of surprise, Ciana never thought Izuku would see anything special about her enough to fall for but the way he described how he felt when she helped him out in that moment… not only was she touched but he made her feel beautiful, her gaze turned away shyly but could still see the warm smile on her face.
"I-I guess that would explain why you took a moment to stare at me before taking my hand…" Ciana chuckled, now looking up at him. "I never realized how much of an impact I had on you… I mean I know you were grateful for all I did to encourage you, but hearing that you saw me in the light rather than someone plain and boring really means a lot… I'm really touched because that made me feel beautiful…"
"You're so much more though..." He thought to himself, but instead gave her an easy-going grin and nodded. "I wouldn't s-say it if it wasn't true," Looking down at their tray, they still had quite a ways to go so Izuku moved on to eating his slice of cake, content to enjoy the atmosphere.
Ciana chuckled from his usual bashful state, feeling very happy inside just hearing what he said about her. "Hey after this there's actually one last place I like to go before we officially head back if you're still up for doing a little more." Ciana suddenly suggested as she was starting to look more cheerful.
"Sure, what did you have in mind?" He asked between mouthfuls, seeing her elated grin at whatever idea was beginning to form.
Ciana only giggled as she took another bite of her cake, showing off a bigger grin. "You'll see…" she ends up saying, just like how she first responded to what she wanted to do for their last trip after school…
After eating, Ciana ended up leaving Izuku to wonder what it was she had in mind, holding his hand again on the way there as she kept smiling the whole way as she led. Turned out… Ciana led them to the beach like last time, seeing that the sun was setting as they arrived.
Unlike the many months before training until their bodies wanted to break and their lungs threatened to collapse, the beach had not one speck of trash left on its pale coloured sand. It gave them a great view of the big blue sky and sun above their heads as a cool wind carried the salty air with it.
"The beach?" Izuku asked, more so out of curiosity for this final pick.
Ciana nodded to confirm her destination with a big smile. "Yep!" Now going down the steps, looking up at Izuku once she made it down. "This place looks a lot nicer now that you cleaned it all up, I was still amazed how you did all this by yourself." She giggled.
"But now that your hard work all paid off, this gives us a nice way to come back and look at the hope you're bringing for a better future." She responds and comments as her gaze stays on him up the stairs.
His odd expression returned to a resting smile, following her down. "Don't sell yourself short, you helped as much to clear it too," He eyed the gazebo to their left, holding her hand once his feet touched the sand.
She smiled more playfully now towards him as she locked her fingers back in his hand. "True but you got started way before I did, glad I was able to pinch in to help though. I never liked seeing a dirty beach."
They took a stroll down the beach toward the gazebo, walking slowly to enjoy the fact no one else was around, at least nearby. Leading up to the concrete walkway, the pair walked to the end of the path where the gazebo shaded them as they sat down at its edge, the water a few feet below as it sloshed gently against the wall. Ciana took the opportunity to rest her head on his shoulder again, feeling the weight of Izuku's atop hers.
Ciana felt so happy being here in this beautiful moment with Izuku, her smile never leaving her face as she stayed laid on his shoulder. Cianas never been on a date before but she can definitely say this is the best she's ever been on. "We sure had a lot of great memories here, this is a place I'll know I'll treasure forever since meeting you." She responded happily, nuzzling her head more on his shoulder.
His heartbeat ticked faster, closing his eyes to enjoy this moment longer. "Me too..." It was the days he spent training alongside not just his idol and mentor but also the person he cared for as much as he did his dream, now he could share that same vision with her. What more could he ask for?
Ciana does the same, taking in this moment with him by her side as well as feeling the breeze that blew past her hair. "Maybe next time we come back we should grab our swimwear, with how nice the beach looks now I would love to swim in the waters at this point." She suddenly suggested, knowing how fun the beach can be, especially swimming in the clear cool waters.
He perked up at the suggestion. "Yeah, with how clean the beach is, more people have started showing up, even before I finished the last segment," Then his words fell silent for a moment as he tried very hard not to think of Ciana in swimwear, scratching his head quickly. "Let's d-definitely consider it! I-it be a waste if we cleaned the whole beach a-and didn't enjoy it, yep!" He rapidly nodded, putting on his best poker face.
Ciana looked up to him in a little surprise and confusion when she felt him tense up and his bashful sate coming back, but that just brought a giggle out of her. "I'm sure everyone is grateful and happy knowing what you did for this beach, but hopefully they won't go back to throwing more junk around…"
Ciana dreaded they continue doing that especially from how hard they worked to get this beach clean. "Maybe our friends will want to tag along too, it would be more fun for all of us in a group to hang out here." She expresses happily and excitedly at the idea.
"Hm, that would be a great idea," He reinforced, staring back out to sea for a moment. "Ciana? Y-you want to stay here like this f-for a little longer?" I mean, they were in no rush say by risking more of their friends seeing them return together as the afternoon dragged on. But Izuku just couldn't find the will to move from his spot.
Ciana was enjoying her time too much to move ether, her head laying back on his shoulder. "There's no hurry… I admit I like to stay out a little longer with you…" she responds with a soft tone, having her hand placed down on his again.
Staying as they were, Izuku voiced one last thought while they spent a little more time watching the sea. "When we get back, do you want to head to my room or yours to wait until the inevitable heat dies down to make it seem like we hadn't gone out," He then he added quickly. "Not to sound rude, but I doubt anyone would take Mineta and Kaminari about them seeing you leave abruptly."
The moment he brought up going to one of their rooms, Ciana thought he wanted to do things again as her face became beat red… but catching on that it was more to avoid others seeing them had her calm down a little. "Um… I-I'm not sure… I-I guess maybe mine to avoid those guys eyeing us, say speaking of them… have they ever pestered you about my presence around you by any chance?" Ciana now asks in wonder of that, knowing they get jealous and girl crazy when a friend hooks up with a girl.
"Not really? I mean, I doubt the mentioned two want to ask since I... kinda frightened them," He still felt really ashamed about that, well, only a little toward Mineta but it still felt so out of character for him. "W-why? Have the girls said anything? O-or is that private between girls?"
"Ashido and Jiro pretty much tease me with the same thing of us looking cute together, not much really but Ashido still tries to get more info out of me with you." She shrugs and smiles amusingly. "I'm still pretty stunned you frightened that poor kid bad…" Ciana chuckled. "That kid still gives me the creeps but I heard you and Mineta worked together when we got separated and you were in the ship area." Ciana at least doesn't view him too badly despite being creeped out by his pervy fantasies.
"He doesn't sound too bad, also Kaminari is really nice so there's no reason for me to dislike him. I actually overheard him say he thought I was cute… which was surprising but flattering to hear he thought that way of me." Ciana blushed a little as she scratched her cheek flusteredly, not used to being praised like that.
"If it helps, he was against the whole peeping on the girls considering all we went through," Izuku pointed out, then added. "Oh, I'm not sure if you heard but Ms Midnight's the one that handles therapy, so she wants to have an individual chat with all of us once we're back in class, I'll admit, the stuff that happened it... really wasn't easy to swallow, more so the severity of it than anything else,"
Ciana forgot about the others hearing about her situation as she was pretty taken back by what she heard, now her expression became anxious as she looked back out to the sea. "Oh, right… the teachers found out my situation with that villain…" Ciana was pretty nervous of the idea of what they will say or how they will judge her, she wanted to be viewed as an equal still rather than someone different.
"I forgot all about that… I still can't believe my identity was announced to all our friends and even the pros… at that moment, I was terrified I couldn't go back after that…" Ciana remembered having a hard time deciding what she wanted to do, afraid everyone would think she was a freak at that point…
"I wouldn't worry, honestly," That brought her gaze to his. "As I said, Kirishima kept the guys from bothering you until you wanted to talk about it, and none of the teachers will view you differently, in the end, you helped All Might, so even if you are from another world, you're still a student at UA to them, no different than anyone else,"
That brought her some relief as her smile was brought back a little. "You really think so? Well, if that's true then I'm very grateful to everyone for still viewing me as part of them… still though, I'm sure I leave a lot of questions to them where I exactly come from and how dangerous my power could be…" she stared at her lap as she said this, but then looked back up at him with a look of guilt on her face.
"I never got a chance to say this… but I'm really sorry for getting you involved in my problems… I never meant to lead you to any trouble just from sticking with me… you ended up having to watch over me and make sure I was okay all of a sudden since we met, I wouldn't blame you at all if you got tired of me at that point… but even if your not I still wanted to apologize for all this." She smiled sadly now at him as she told him this.
"That's stupid," Izuku responded harshly, staring directly into her eyes. "Why would I ever get tired of you? Ciana, I helped you that day because I wanted to, not for any other reason beyond helping you, I don't care how big this ends up becoming, how many times or how many people Meru Zena sends after you, I won't turn away from this, from you or anything you have to face. You've helped me so much in trying to be more confident in myself, to make friends and accept how strong I am. Well, I'll do the same for you, you boost me up and I'll return the favour."
Ciana was very surprised by his serious tone which made her gaze shot up after first hearing him speak, listening to everything he was saying just had her stare at him for a minute in the end. His touching and comforting words not only brought her smile back but some tears appeared in her eyes. She felt so warm inside just hearing how much he cared for her. "Y-you would have still been fine without me… b-but it means a lot to hear you say that…"
She sniffled a little, wiping her tears away with her hand. "Y-you always made me feel so safe whenever I'm with you… after knowing what I was meant for in this world, I don't get how I became so lucky to have come across you…" Ciana says with a smile again while some tears leaked out of her eyes.
He gripped her right bicep to hold her close, "No matter the circumstances, I'm lucky too to have met you," And he meant that sincerely.
Ciana chuckled happily, touched by his words and comfort, her smile rose more happily and lovingly. Gladly returning the hug as she held him more closely and tightly. "Izuku… when you told me when you started having feelings for me… do you know what made me feel the same for you?" She now asks him with a smile in her voice as well as her face.
"No, what?" He whispered in her ear, feeling her squeeze tighter.
Ciana had her head placed on his shoulder, her smile staying as she spoke out softly. "When I told you how my mom died back when we walked along the sand here… you didn't pity me like most would, but when you took my hand and told me how my mom was a hero in that moment… the kindness in your eyes and the warm comfort of your hand in mine then, I couldn't describe how I felt in that moment… but you were so admirable in my eyes and I felt really happy enough that my heart began to flutter strangely… since then, I became more drawn to you than I ever had in the beginning." She expresses happily with a wider smile now.
That he remembered well, but Izuku couldn't have guessed that's what made her become so fixated on someone plain as he was. "I'll say it again, your mom really is a hero, and, like we discussed before, while she did die, her actions weren't for nothing, because she had someone she loved to carry on what she taught, in a way, that's another important aspect of her that you carry with you,"
Just hearing what he said brought the flutter back in her heart, Ciana closed her eyes and smiled more from what he said. Ciana didn't have any words for how to respond to that but instead… her gaze looked back up to him, brought both her hands on Izukus cheeks, leaned forward and immediately pressed her lips against his…
His eyes blinked rapidly for a moment, then, he slowly closed his while pressing back just as much, his body feeling warm all over as his right hand cupped her cheek, wiping away a tear that fell from earlier. They held the kiss a little longer before parting, staying nose to nose.
The moment Ciana opened her eyes once they separated, her eyes once again glowed in a sparkly glint. Her eyes now gazing back into his as her smile rose back lovingly towards him, chuckling a little happily while staying close to him. "I love you Izuku… I really do." She tells him in a whisper, her heart pounding like crazy just telling him how she felt.
Staring into her eyes again, Izuku briefly became enraptured by how a power that he saw first hand be used for a sinister intent could be seen as something beautiful in the hands of a person from the opposite side of the coin. "I love you too, Ciana," Letting out a breathy chuckle, he knew their day out had to come to an end, but he would never forget it.