With a grunt, Izuku was finally able to push the giant slab of concrete off of him. He forced himself to his feet, a hiss escaping his lips as he grabbed his side in pain. He looked down when he felt his fingers become slick from some kind of substance and watched as crimson liquid leaked from his side and started staining his fingertips. He winced upon seeing a bone sticking out from his side.

"Hello? Anyone there?" he called out, using his quirk to pick his shield up from the ground. He looked around, his vision blurry from all the dust. Fire flared from toppled cars. A nearby wall cracked and crumbled before falling to the ground. He started limping down the street, trying to remember what had happened while he searched for the others. Bodies of people he didn't know littered the streets. Some were ablaze, and the smell of burning flesh made him want to gag.

"D-Deku."

Izuku sighed in relief at hearing Kacchan's voice coming from behind him. Turning around, he grew confused upon not seeing his best friend. He felt something grab his ankle, causing him to look down and scream in terror. He jumped back and tripped, falling on his ass. He crawled backwards at the horrid sight.

It was Kacchan… half of Kacchan, anyway. The blond appeared to be on the verge of death as he crawled towards Izuku, hand outstretched for help as he left a trail of blood behind him, intestines rubbing against the ground as he moved.

"W-What happened to you?" Izuku whispered in horror.

"R-Run, b-before he g-gets you," his old friend warned before he fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck! Who did this?" Izuku shouted as he continued scooting away, but froze when he felt his hand touch something soft. It felt like…hair. Slowly turning his head, Izuku felt something in his gut twist as he took in the pink hair and unseeing golden eyes of Mei's severed head.

(Real Life)

Izuku screamed as he shot up in his bed, sweat dripping from his brow as his heart thumped against his chest like a rabbit's foot going a mile a minute. He panted as he looked around and took in his surroundings, slowly calming down upon seeing the smiling posters of All Might and other heroes plastered around his room.

"It was just a dream… it was just a dream," he told himself over and over again as he wiped tears from his eyes, trying to get his breathing under control. Even though it was only a dream, it felt so real; the pain from the bone sticking out of his side, the dust getting into his eyes, the-the feel of Mei's hair in his hand. He shuddered at the memory of her dull and lifeless eyes.

The flashing of his phone's screen caught his attention, and for a second made him forget of his terrifying nightmare. Reaching over, he plucked his phone off of his table and noticed he had gotten a few text notifications. He swiped to see who had texted him.

The Three Amigos!

Tenya Iida: Hello, dear friends! I would like to sincerely apologize, but I will be unable to come to the mall today. The timing of the event my family and I were going to attend has been changed to an earlier time. But please, don't let my absence keep the two of you from having a good time!

Ochako Uraraka: It's okay Iida, no need to apologize! Do you just want it to be the two of us, Deku?

While Izuku was saddened by the news that Iida couldn't come with them, for some reason the idea of spending a few hours alone with Uraraka made him smile. Looking at the top of his screen, Izuku noticed it was now 9:00 a.m. That gave him plenty of time to get ready and get to the mall.

Me: Sure, sounds good to me! I'll meet you there.

Tossing his phone onto his pillow, Izuku stretched before getting out of bed and heading towards the bathroom to brush his teeth. He hoped spending the day with Uraraka would make him forget that awful nightmare.

(Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall)

Uraraka's right leg couldn't stop bouncing, not even if All Might himself held it down. And how could it not defy the strength of All Might? She was nervous! More nervous than the UA entrance exams, and more nervous over this than the upcoming Sports Festival. What was making her so nervous, you may ask? Well, she was waiting for her date to show up.

Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya, the representative of class 1A and her best friend…

And the boy she currently had a ginormous crush on.

She prayed and prayed that she wouldn't make a fool out of herself, and while a part of her was delighted it would just be her and Deku, another part wished Iida was coming as well. At least with him around, things would be less awkward, and he could save her from any embarrassing situation she might find herself in. A third, quiet part of her believed Iida had lied about the event being moved to an earlier time in order to get her and Deku alone together. He was, after all, a self-proclaimed 'IzuOcha' shipper, whatever that meant, and quite honestly, she couldn't decide if she wanted to know.

So here Uraraka sat, at one of the benches at the entrance of the mall, a total nervous wreck. On top of all of that, she was nervous about what Izuku would think of her choice of attire. She was wearing an open red and black flannel plaid shirt over a plain white t-shirt , black jeans, and black and white sneakers. Something simple that wasn't too flashy or 'out there.' It was stylish and comfortable, just the way she liked it.

"Uraraka!" a familiar voice called out, and her head snapped up to locate the voice. Her heart thudded in her chest when she saw him towering over the people surrounding him, a bright smile on his face as he waved.

Izuku wore a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and his signature red sneakers. The t-shirt was tight on him, showing off all the progress he'd made while training.

Was the mall getting hotter?

"D-Deku!" she called back, standing up and walking towards him, meeting him halfway. "You-you look nice!"

"Thanks, and so do you! You kind of remind me of a character from this one game I played. Ever heard of 'Life is Strange'?"

"Bay or Bae?" she asked. "On three. One, two, three."

"Bae!" they answered simultaneously, causing Izuku to sigh and Uraraka to grin. Looks like they had something else in common besides school and training to be heroes; remastered versions of games made a couple hundred years ago. This was good.

"Wanna start walking around? I've heard there's a few new stores, and I want to see if anything catches my eye," he asked, causing her to smile and nod, eager to start this… what was this? Just two friends hanging out? Or was this a date? Was it smart to put a label on this? Would it only add to her nerves?

They started to walk together side by side, trading small talk and a few jokes here and there, each eyeing the stores as they passed. The mall was quite big, so they were sure something would catch their attention sooner or later.

And sooner was correct. They noticed it at the same time, the 'it' being a large cardboard cutout of 13 standing outside of a small shop. Through the windows, they could see tables with figures and statues on them, each showcasing different heroes. Some they could name right away, like All Might, Endeavor, and Present Mic. Others only Izuku knew the names of, since they were underground heroes like Eraserhead who didn't get a lot of screen time on TV. And one Izuku had never seen before; it was a green figure, with black hair and giant, bulging muscles. The figure looked quite intimidating with the angry look it had on its face.

"Let's check it out, Deku!" Uraraka exclaimed before grabbing his wrist and dragging him over to the store. He allowed himself to be pulled into the store, where they saw even more figures of heroes. Some seemed to be straight out of the factory, while others seemed to have been collecting dust for a while.

As Izuku was eyeing different figures, unable to decide which one to add to his ever-growing collection of heroes, Uraraka only had eyes for one figure in particular. The figure was of 13 herself, fingers of her suit opened to allow use of her quirk. Two small children, a boy and a girl, hid behind her, clutching onto her legs. A small plaque gave a brief backstory behind the scene, one Uraraka remembered.

She had seen the exact pose in a documentary of 13 she had watched as a kid. The heroine had managed to enter a burning building and locate two children, but debris had started falling around them, so 13 had used her quirk in order to carve a path through to safety. This was back in her earlier days, right after 13 stopped being a sidekick and became a full-fledged hero.

But as she eyed the price, her mood soured a tiny bit. The thing cost over 6,500 yen, which was way too steep for her. Food mattered more than plastic, after all, even if the plastic was of her favorite hero.

"Oh cool! I remember reading about this back when I was young, when 13 was just starting out! Are you planning on getting it, Uraraka?" Izuku asked after making his way over to her, noticing the direction of her intense stare

The brunette let out a small, awkward laugh while rubbing the back of her head. "I wish, but 6,500 yen is a little too steep for my pocket." She sighed, but kept a smile on her face. "Oh well! Let's keep walking around and see if anything else catches our attention."

"Actually, why don't you wait for me outside? I have to talk to the cashier about something," Izuku suggested, causing Uraraka to blink in confusion. Nevertheless, she nodded and agreed before exiting the store.

It was a solid minute or two before Izuku walked out, bag in hand and a smile on his face. Uraraka cocked her head in confusion.

"What's in the bag?" she asked. Her confusion grew when he stretched his arm out and tried handing her the bag.

"A little gift," he answered simply, his smile never leaving his face. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together; it was obvious what he had done. But to be sure, Uraraka looked down and stared at the bag's opening and saw the top of a box. On it was the face (or helmet) of 13 herself.

"Deku! I can't accept that! You spent so much, it wouldn't feel right," she protested, causing him to frown for a second. But an idea came to him, causing him to grin.

"Hmm, well, since I can't find a good home for it, I could always give it to Kacchan. I'm sure he needs new objects for targeting practice…" he trailed off, noticing her look of horror at the thought. "If only I knew someone in close proximity who loved 13. I wonder where I can find someone like that?" he asked innocently, causing her to huff in annoyance.

"Fine. I'll accept it," Uraraka grumbled, a small smile forming as she took the bag from Izuku before grabbing his wrist again and leading him away. "Let's find some more cool stores!"

A total of three hours passed before Izuku and Uraraka had traveled throughout about 90% of the mall. They visited dozens of stores that sold products ranging from clothing to action figures and statues of heroes to video games to movies, and so on. They each were holding a multitude of bags, with the brunette blushing brightly from everything her green-haired friend had bought her. He had been very adamant about buying her everything that had caught her eyes: clothes, food, accessories, etc. After a while, and using every excuse she could think of to not accept his gifts, she gave up and accepted them without a fight. She felt bad about him wasting all of his money, but was overjoyed with how hard he was trying to make her happy. It showed he cared for her, which made her heart thud against her chest.

"Are you sure you're fine with buying me all of this stuff, Deku? We haven't left the mall yet; we're still allowed to return everything…" she trailed off, hoping he'd reconsider. She was honestly afraid to go home and look at the receipts to see how much he had spent in total. He'd bought stuff for both of them, but the stuff for her outweighed the stuff for him.

"Yes Uraraka, I'm sure. Everyone deserves something nice once and a while, even you. I'm just happy being the one that can give you these nice things," the hero-to-be smiled, showing that he was being honest.

How could someone be so nice?

"But what about you? Don't you deserve something nice?"

A few things went through Izuku's mind at that moment. Should he try to flirt and say she was all he needed? Maybe ask for another date? Ask for a kiss perhaps? Countless options drove around his mind before whatever god existed decided to help him out.

"Don't forget to catch the Perseid Meteor Shower, a dazzling meteor shower that can be watched in the upcoming weeks!" a newscaster announced as they passed a cell phone case kiosk, where the owner was watching the news.

"Meteor shower? Awesome! I haven't watched one since I was little with my parents!" Uraraka exclaimed, literal stars in her eyes. She blushed under Izuku's stare and laughed awkwardly. "S-sorry, I guess I'm a bit of an astronomy nerd."

"No need to apologize! I did the same thing before my dad went overseas. Meteor showers hold a special place in my heart," he said with a smile. "You know, maybe that could be my 'nice thing.' Would you want to watch it with me?"

"Of course!" Uraraka beamed brightly and nodded enthusiastically, loving the idea of having another… date(?) with the greenet.

(One hour later)

"As much as I appreciate your help, I would've been fine on my own."

"Yeah I know, but I wanted to help!" Izuku gave another one of his warm smiles as he shifted more bags from his right hand to his left, causing Uraraka to playfully roll her eyes.

After spending a few more minutes walking around the mall, the duo had decided that they had had enough for today and left the mall. Izuku offered to help her home and carry most of the bags, and while at first she was hesitant due to him already being so generous from buying her stuff, the greenet wouldn't take no for an answer. So here they were, on the sidewalk going towards Uraraka's apartment.

"I'll never understand how someone can be so nice. Like, how are you literally the nicest person I know?"

"My mom raised me right, I guess." He shrugged, causing the brunette to giggle.

"Well, remind me to thank her for raising you right whenever I meet her," Uraraka said as they walked up to the door to her apartment complex. "I had a lot of fun today, Deku! I still feel bad for you spending so much though…"

"Me too! And like I said, don't worry about it! Think of them as…tokens of my appreciation? Yeah, let's go with that." He nodded to himself while handing Uraraka her bags. "Are you sure you don't want me to help carry them to your apartment?"

"Yes Deku, I'm sure. You're such a mother hen sometimes," she joked, causing Izuku to grab his heart, feigning pain.

"You wound me," he accused, and both of them laughed at his bad acting. "So, I guess I'll see you Monday?"

She nodded and watched as he turned and started walking away. The brunette bit her lip, trying to think of a way to repay her friend for giving her such amazing gifts and an overall fun day. She had an idea, one she knew for a fact Mina would wholeheartedly support.

"Deku, wait up!" she called out, setting her bags onto the ground before running to catch up with her friend. She would be fast: get close, give a little peck, say her thanks, and run back inside. It was simple and literally nothing could ruin or further complicate it, and it would only be a bit awkward.

What Uraraka wasn't expecting was for Deku to turn as soon as she leaned in, and before she could pull back, their lips had crashed into one another. The two teens stared into each other's wide eyes, their cheeks turning on fire at the sensation of soft lips pressed against their own.

Even though they stayed connected for a few seconds, it felt much longer. Uraraka was the first to pull away, her whole face a dark shade of red from the mistake. They stared at each other, unmoving, neither knowing what to say.

"See ya in chemistry!" Uraraka suddenly shouted before zooming back to the apartment complex and ramming through the front door. Izuku watched her run away, a large and goofy smile forming on his face before he turned and started walking away while whistling a happy tune.

He had another 'date' to get ready for, after all.

Boom! First date chapter done! These next few chpaters are gonna be date chapters, with chapter 24 being the one where the actual story gets continued. Hope you don't mind! Idk what else to say lmao, hope you enjoyed!

I have a discord server, DM for the invite link if you wanna join

See ya in chapter 21!