Ochako paced around her bedroom in nervous agitation. She avoided looking at herself in her mirror, all the while Tsu sat on her bed watching her.
"I just... I just don't know what to do!" Ochako exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air.
"I've never been on a date, I haven't even considered the possibility since I was a freshman! I was half-convinced this date wouldn't even happen to begin with! Hell, knowing my luck some crisis will happen before we even sit down!" She said, running a hand through her hair.
Tsuyu couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not that funny! I could throw myself at Nomu with fewer nerves, but this...! What should I do?!" She said, turning to face Tsu, desperate for someone to tell her what to do.
"Well for starters you need to stop wearing a line into your flooring, then you can take a few deep breaths," Tsu said, still smiling but managing to get her laughter under control.
Ochako paused mid-stride and glanced down at the floor before smiling sheepishly. She took a few moments to take a few deep breaths, willing her tense body to relax. It helped a little bit, but not by much.
"Better?" asked Tsu.
"Mmm... a little," Ochako mumbled.
"Better than nothing. Now sit down so we can figure out what you're going to wear." Said Tsu, as she herself got up and went to Ochako's closet.
Tsu spent a few minutes combing through everything before setting a small assortment of assorted clothes on Ochako's bed.
"You don't have a lot of clothes," she said, looking at the small pile.
Ochako shrugged, "I grew up in a pretty frugal home, I don't buy a lot of anything, and what I do buy is more practical than anything."
She looked at the small pile before continuing, "You're right though, I really don't have a lot. I should probably go buy some more at some point." she acknowledged.
"Well, first off, what's your general idea for what you want to wear?" Tsu asked.
"Uhhh... well, we won't be doing anything fancy, but I refuse to wear anything with short or no sleeves," Ochako said. Suddenly becoming all too conscious of the burn scars stretching across the right side of her body up to her right shoulder. It was for this reason that Ochako no longer owned or bought any dresses of any kind.
Tsu nodded, took another look at the clothes then grabbed three pieces.
"Try this combination," she said, handing off the clothes to Ochako before walking out of the bedroom.
Ochako examined the pieces, then slowly changed into the set. She looked at herself in the mirror, she looked fine to her eyes, the tan blazer, with a gold-colored blouse, and blue jeans that had enough room to make moving in them easy. If she got into a fight, they shouldn't prove a major hindrance.
She walked out into the other room to have Tsu take a look. Tsu looked her over with a critical eye but eventually shook her head. "Not as good as I was expecting, but I have another set in mind already," Tsu said, getting up and walking back into the bedroom and picking out three more pieces.
Ochako changed out of her current attire, then put the new set on. Walking back into the living room, Tsu looked her over before smiling and nodding.
"Much better, ribbit," she said happily.
Ochako looked down at herself, she was wearing a viridian blazer (a present from Momo, that she never had the opportunity to wear), with a pink blouse and khaki pants that were a bit more open than the previous pair.
All in all, she liked this combination more than the previous one.
"You think it looks fine?" she asked, twisting around to look at her back.
"You look great, ribbit. Smart Formal is pretty popular nowadays, and it's a good choice of attire for first dates," Tsu said.
"Hmmm... okay." was all Ochako said in response, still absorbed in looking herself over.
"If you'd called me earlier I could do some prep for you, but we don't have a lot of time until Izuku arrives so let's move on." Said Tsu standing up.
Ochako nodded and followed Tsu's lead. She had come to the revelation that she had no idea what to do to prepare for a date only hours before Izuku was set to arrive, so she had called Tsu in a complete panic.
"What would I ever do without you," said Ochako as they went back into the bedroom.
A couple of hours later it was about time for Ochako to head to the foyer and wait for Izuku to arrive if he hadn't already. Yet she lingered, strangely unwilling to get up from her seat at the dining table.
"You okay?" asked Tsu, taking the seat next to her.
"Yeah... I guess," she mumbled.
"Still nervous?" Tsu asked.
"Yeah but not as much anymore. I'm just thinking about what comes after," she said.
Tsu just waited for Ochako to continue.
"What if it goes well? What if we decide to go on more dates? what if-" she was stopped short by Tsu leaning in close.
"It will be fine," she said, putting just enough emphasis on each word to convey a level of confidence with them.
"But-" Ochako began to say, before being cut off by Tsu again.
"It will be fine," she said again.
Ochako stared at Tsu, a flurry of emotions going through her, before finally sighing. She didn't have it in her to try and correct Tsu. She'd just have to take her friend's words to heart and go into the date with a positive mindset.
Izuku was standing out front of Ochako's apartment complex. It was still a relatively new building and from what he could see the apartments were larger than average. The design was also quite modern, with rounded corners rather than edges where the building stopped. He wondered what the interiors must look like, more specifically he wondered how Ochako lived. She seemed like the sort of person to have a pretty well-kept home, but you could never tell until you actually saw it for yourself.
Shaking himself from his thoughts, he pressed on. The foyer was immaculate, with a concrete brick motif it looked more like a hotel lobby than an apartment complex. He took it all in for a moment, then found a chair to take a seat in while he waited.
It made him feel a tad inadequate when he thought of his home.
Then he heard the elevator start to move and he stood up. As the elevator got closer, he nervously tried to make his hair a little less unkempt, but without applying large amounts of gel, it just did what it liked. He was mainly nervous about his attire though. He had discovered to his horror that he didn't actually own anything appropriate for an occasion like this, or really any occasion of formality. He did own such clothes once, but it had been years since he had worn any of them and he had long since outgrown them. The best he had was his bartender attire, which he felt didn't quite fit. Still, it was the best he had, so he had decided to forgo the tie and put on a light jacket to try to make it less formal. He doubted Ochako would be showing up in a dress or anything of similar formality, but he couldn't but panic internally. His panic hit a fever pitch as the doors opened and Ochako walked out with Tsuyu Asui.
His immediate irrational panic ebbed as he realized she was not fancily dressed but felt a new kind of nervousness rise within him as he drank in her appearance. He'd only ever seen her in casual wear, and she was very pretty and quite cute with just that. This, however, was a step up, she was beautiful. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"I hope you didn't wait too long, ribbit," Said Asui, smoothly cutting through the silence that had fallen between Ochako and Izuku.
Izuku started, closed his slightly agape mouth, and focused on Asui as he felt himself redden in embarrassment.
"No, no, I only just got here myself," Izuku said hurriedly.
"Good, well I'll be heading out. Have a nice night you two." Said Asui, heading towards the door.
When Asui left, it meant Izuku was left alone with Ochako. He looked at her, reddened again, but managed to keep his wits about him enough to say, "You look incredible." He managed to say.
Ochako blushed and smiled, "You look great too." she said.
There was a pause as the two fumbled mentally on what to do next.
"So... We should probably go out for that dinner," said Izuku eventually, gesturing toward the doors heading outside.
"Yeah," said Ochako, following Izuku out of the foyer.
They started making their way down the streets, they made short conversation as they went, but Izuku's attention was split between interacting with Ochako and keeping a habitual eye on his surroundings. His training stuck with him even now, and its certainty allowed him to calm down.
Izuku had put some thought on where they could go for dinner, he wasn't particularly wealthy and so fancier or more expensive places were automatically ruled out. So he had decided to take Ochako to a small family-run restaurant that had been around since before the age of quirks. It was a bit out of the way, but Izuku loved the homely feel of it. Mr. Sasakura had taken Izuku there as a means of celebrating his new employment, and the food and general atmosphere had been amazing. He had noticed that Ochako's way of speaking included a few colloquialisms that one mostly saw in people from the countryside or suburban areas that were close to it. That had been the deciding factor for him, he was sure she would enjoy the restaurant, probably more than he himself did.
Izuku guided her down several roads she had never actually been down before, they passed several restaurants, and Ochako's curiosity had been piqued. She was curious to know what kind of place Izuku was taking her. He seemed sure of himself though, he never wavered or looked apprehensive, if anything he seemed to grow more confident as they went. She herself felt her own nerves start to ebb as they walked, she was keeping an eye on Izuku and their conversation and another on the environment. Her constant training to keep her environment in mind helped to focus her thoughts and calm her.
About ten minutes of walking later, they found themselves in front of a small out of the way restaurant with a traditional wood exterior. It was a bit out of place in comparison to everything around it, but it looked nice. She liked the look of wood exteriors, a lot of the buildings around the area she grew up in used it.
They walked into the restaurant and Ochako felt her mood brighten. The restaurant must be pretty old because she didn't do interior designs like this in cities very often. It was a nice blend of classic Japanese interior aesthetics, and modern sensibilities. The wood furniture was also pretty aged, which was the biggest clue. She figured the place was probably a family-owned and run restaurant. Her parents had taken to restaurants like this in the past, so she had a lot of love for places like this.
"This place is amazing!" she said happily, looking around.
"I'm glad you like it, Mr. Sasakura took me here a while ago, and I thought you might like it as well since you're from the countryside or close by." Said Izuku relieved.
Ochako turned to Izuku in surprise, "How'd you know I was from the countryside?"
"The way you talk, you don't have any particular accent but you use words that people typically associate with those areas." He said.
Ochako couldn't help but laugh, "That's amazing! I'm from the Mie Prefecture specifically, nearer to the Ago Bay area."
Izuku was about to respond when an employee popped up next to them. "Welcome! How many are part of your party tonight?" She asked brightly.
"Just us," said Izuku.
"Then please follow me!" she said, guiding them to a table.
When they were seated she set out menus and informed them she'd be back in a moment.
They took a moment to look at what was available and Ochako's eyes spotted Tekone-sushi, an old regional dish from her home prefecture. It was relatively easy to make, and her parents had greatly enjoyed it. She stared at the name as a wave of nostalgia washed over her. She remembered the meals she and her parents shared together where Tekone-sushi was the main dish. She was suddenly brought out of her reverie when her name was called. She took a deep breath and looked up. Izuku was looking at her, a frown on his face, the waitress back at the table.
"Oh, sorry, I'll have Tekone-sushi and a light Tataki Salad with Ginjo Sake," she said hastily.
"All right! I'll be back with some water and Miso Soup in a bit." said the waitress, heading off to another table.
"Everything all right?" asked Izuku.
"Yeah, I was just reminded of my parents. I haven't gone to a restaurant like this in a long time. Tekone-sushi is also an old dish from Mie Prefecture, my parents loved it and it was pretty easy to make so my mother would often put her own little spins on it." she said, the ghost of a smile on her face.
"My dad owned a construction company, and would on occasion be gone for several days in a row depending on where his latest project was located. So my mother would often make that dish for him," she continued.
"My mother did a lot of cooking. It was one of her favorite things to do. She didn't work so that left her with a lot of time to devote to other things. I helped out where I could around the house, and with it only being us two, she was never stressed over time." Izuku said.
"Reminds me of my own mother, except she liked gardening. She'd read books about plants and such when she had free time. She'd often help my dad by providing landscaping tips, it was more of a part-time thing for her but she loved doing it. We had a really nice garden around our house, plenty of flowers, a few vegetables, and fruits. She loved working outside." Ochako said, reminiscing. Ochako herself never got the love for gardening her mother had, she'd been too distracted trying to become a hero.
"I feel like our mothers would have really gotten along." Said Izuku, laughing.
Ochako laughed too, "They probably would."
"So I assume you grew up in a house then?" Izuku asked after they calmed down.
"Yeah, but we moved when I was about nine. My dad had a house for us built by his own company. It cost a lot of money, and since we lived in the countryside there wasn't a lot of work for new construction. It was something he always wanted to do, I guess it was his dream, and he managed to do it." she said.
"He sounds like an amazing person," Izuku said.
Ochako remembered then that Izuku's father had left him when he was a child.
"Oh, right, sorry." She apologized.
Izuku shook his head, "It isn't a problem. He may have run out on us, but at the very least he always ensured we had enough money for anything we needed. I don't know what kind of agreement he and my mother came to, but he deposits regular payments into her bank account. He still does actually, even now that she's gone, he still does it. Maybe he thinks I live there and that I need it. I can best describe my relationship with him as I tolerate it." Izuku said, sighing and leaning back into his seat.
The conversation slowed down, and they sipped their water and Miso Soup while they waited. Eventually, their food arrived and they began to eat. It was as good as Ochako had hoped, and she actually felt almost overcome by nostalgia when she started on her Tekone-sushi. She even felt herself get a bit teary-eyed.
Their conversation drifted back to more mundane topics, where Ochako finally learned that the magazines or whatever they were in Izuku's living room were comic books from America. She had precious little experience with foreign pop culture, that was closer to Mina's wheelhouse. He was about to explain more about comics in general when she heard a noise coming from her purse.
She frowned and pulled out her phone, which was making a constant alert noise. She froze when she saw the name attached to the incoming high-priority call.
Nezu.
High priority calls from Nezu meant something had happened, and he was using the tower at U.A. to route the signal. Everyone in 1A had had their phones configured to allow calls from Nezu via the tower no matter the setting. With blood now turned to ice she answered the call.
"What's wrong?" she asked, deadly serious as she mentally switched gears to work.
"There's been an incident, come to U.A. immediately," he said before promptly hanging up.
She put the phone back into her purse and got up.
"Something happened." Said Izuku, also getting up.
"Yeah. I'm sorry but I have to go. Don't worry about paying, I wasn't going to let you anyways. Gods know I don't spend enough of it anyway." she said making her way over to the nearest employee and handling payment.
When they got outside, Ochako almost sent herself flying automatically but restrained herself. She turned to face Izuku instead.
"Thanks for taking me dinner Izuku, I'm sorry it had to end like this, but I really enjoyed it," she said, putting as much earnestness into it as she could.
Izuku just smiled, "These things happen, it's part of your job. I really enjoyed it too, maybe we can do this again?" he said, phrasing the last bit like a question.
Ochako could see the sadness behind it though, and she felt the same. She didn't want to have to leave like this.
"I'd love that, and maybe it'll be sooner rather than later. We have a lead on where Zeus is, so if we're lucky, maybe this'll all be over soon." She said, trying to cheer him up.
"If we are lucky, yeah. I'll see you later then." He said.
"Later," she said, before launching herself into the sky and towards U.A.
