Their Hero Academia – Chapter 16: Tensei Iida Has No Idea What He's Doing

Tensei Iida looked himself over in the mirror and hoped that what he saw was good enough. He wore a white t-shirt that was tight across his muscular frame, specially tailored in the back to accommodate his Jetpack, paired with a pair of blue jeans. He'd pulled his pink, tubular hair back into a tight ponytail. Simple, but effective enough, he supposed. Not that he was sure he was the best judge of such things.

Considering it was the fifth outfit he'd tried on for his date with Takuma Sero, he really hoped he was making the right choices.

He turned to his friends, for their opinion. Like his sister's room, his was mostly cluttered with works in progress and blueprints, things he could work on without access to a larger workshop. Most were half or more finished; the allure of new ideas, not to mention the joint projects with his sister, kept everything in a state of near completion. That, however, left very little space in his room for other people. Sora was perched on the bed, while Toshi Midoriya leaned back against the wall. He had offered Izumi Todoroki the one chair that was not covered with other things, while Chihiro Kaminari and Asuka Tokoyami both sat on the floor.

"How do I look?" he asked.

Toshi gave him a thumbs' up. "Looking sharp, Tensei!"

"It is… a little tight?" Izumi said.

"A necessity," he said. "Fitting around my Jetpack requires additional tightness in another areas."

"And it shows off your muscles!" Kaminari piped in.

Asuka gave her a curious look, putting a finger aside her beak. "Why exactly are you here, Kaminari? You just walked in and sat down."

Kaminari's Extension Cords bobbed up and down in the approximation of a shrug. "I'm a sucker for a dress-up montage," she said. "Besides, I'm bored and Mika's sulking."

"Is she okay?" Toshi asked. Mika Mineta may have been… a bit much, but they were still all friends to some degree or another.

Kaminari laughed. "She'll be fine. She's just pouting because Iida here is, and I quote, "off the market and the menu.'"

"She did not know my orientation before now?" Tensei asked. "I did not believe I had made any secret of it."

"She did not," Kaminari confirmed. "Of course, neither did I. You don't exactly talk about your preferences like that. Even when Mika and me were making plans to seduce you and your sister, I figured I maybe had a chance with you. Of course, I was mostly humoring her…"

She gestured at Tensei, pointing at his abs. "But I figured it was worth a shot. Gave up after the first day, though. Got bored."

"You were what?" Sora gasped.

Tensei pinched the bridge of his nose. "I should be more surprised at this. But given the large swath of previous data points, I am not."

"Wait," Sora said, as more data points alligned. "Go back to the part where Mineta was planning to seduce me?"

"She tries to seduce everyone," Kaminari said. "It's kind of her thing. Except me, Kirishima-Bakugo, Todoroki, and Sero. And now you, Iida, I guess."

"Good to see she has some boundaries," Asuka said.

"Hold on a moment," Izumi said, holding up a pale hand. "I understand not trying to seduce you, her friend. And I understand not trying to seduce Tensei or Sero. And I know that Katsumi has threatened her enough to at least make her reduce her efforts to seduce her. But why am I on the "do not seduce list'?"

Kaminari gave her a look that Tensei could not entirely identify. "Please never say 'seduce' again, Todoroki. That just sounds weird when you say it."

"Nevertheless, you did not answer my question."

The electric blonde looked guiltily around the room. "I refuse to answer on the grounds that Kirishima-Bakugo will explode my head."

"She threatened her?" Toshi asked.

Kaminari nodded rapidly.

Toshi sighed. "Of course she did."

"Always looking out for me," Izumi mused, a small smile pulling at her lips.

As usual, it was Asuka who pulled them back on track. "When are you and Sero leaving for your date?" she asked.

"I am meeting him downstairs in," Tensei began, checking his watch, "five minutes ago!"

His heart seized up in his chest and he bolted from his room towards the stairs. Behind him, he could hear his friends calling out and wishing him good luck.

It was the first date of his life. He was going to need it.

"Okay, he probably just got distracted, maybe doing blueprints or something," Sero said to himself, as he paced in the Common Room. "He hasn't bailed on you. You still got this. It's only been six minutes. Seven. It's only been seven minutes."

"Sero!" Tensei called out, as he burst out of the stairway. "My apologies! I lost track of time preparing for this date!"

Relief washed over the pink boy's face. He was wearing a loud, Hawaiian print shirt, which was garish and clashed with his pink skin, and dark pants and boots. His dark hair had been slightly spiked. Tensei did not know much about the ways of dating, but he did know what he liked, and he liked what he saw.

"Iida!" Sero said. "It's all right, sorry, I was just kind of freaking out. It's been a while since I've been on a date and I was making myself kind of nuts there."

Of course Sero had been on many dates before. Who could not help but fall for the cute, pink-skinned, dark-eyed young man? Even if he did not always understand the purposes of Sero's antics with Sato and Ojiro, the enthusiasm he brought to everything was contagious.

But Tensei? Tensei admitted he did not always understand the expected social conventions. He was much more at home with machines than people, or in the presence of likeminded individuals like his sister, mother, and father. These were things and people he could understand and predict. Having a clearly defined rules helped as well, something his father excelled at, even if his Uncle Tensei occasionally referred to him as being "too tightly wound." Clear rules helped define your responses and also allowed a clear opportunity for the necessity of invention, when you spotted the loopholes between them.

"Again, my apologies," he said. "I was having difficulty deciding what to wear."

"Well, you look good," Sero said, giving him a thumb's up.

"And you are certainly…" Tensei hesitated, trying to think of the best word, "interestingly dressed." Duplicity typically evaded him, but he was not certain honesty was the best option here either. So he settled for a somewhat neutral term.

Sero laughed at that. "Dude. You can say I'm an eyesore. That's the point. Show off the colors, make people notice you. First rule of entertainment."

"If you say so," he said. "I am not very "with it," as people say."

"No one says "with it" anymore, Iida," Sero said. "But that's all right. I'm "with it" enough for both of us. And speaking of entertainment…" He pulled his phone from his pocket. "Selfie with me?"

"Ah… sure?" Tensei said. If that was something that was "with it," then he could do that.

"Awesome, thanks." Sero stood next to him and put one arm around him (and didn't that make him flush!), holding out the phone with the other. "Smile!" he said, as he pushed the camera button. The phone made a shutter sound and Sero released him (too soon!), checking the picture.

He showed the picture to Tensei. "Perfect," he said. "Definitely making that my new lock screen."

Dinner was a quick bite, purchased from a ""Noodle Noodle, Come Get Your Noodle" cart, run by a man whose Quirk manifested in the form of a little blue goblin, probably somewhat similar to Tokoyami's Frog-Shadow. Sero had insisted on paying, in spite of his protest that he pay his own share. They found a bench to sit on while they people watched. All around, people were walking, while the air could be seen to be full of people flying, and even the "speed quirk" lane next to the sidewalk had quite a few people in it. The small relaxation of the laws on public Quirk use since their parents' generation had opened up a lot of travel possibilities, among other things.

"I asked you, out" Sero said, slurping noodles. "You can get next time."

That was certainly an optimistic proclamation! But Tensei nodded. "That seems fair," he said.

Tensei was bad at small talk, he knew, but Sero seemed quite able to fill the silences. "You know," Sero said, "when I asked you out, I wasn't sure if you'd say yes. I wasn't even sure you were into guys."

That seemed to be a common statement. "I have made no secret of it," he said. "But I admit, I have not exactly broadcast it either. Perhaps I should have."

Sero shook his head. "Nah, it's all right, dude. Everybody's different. Besides, what's life without a little risk?"

"Precisely!" Tensei agreed. "There is something to be said for venturing into the unknown, pushing boundaries, never knowing whether you might be met with success or an explosion! All part of the learning process!"

Sero tilted his head. "I… don't think we're talking about the same kind of risk, dude. But I still get it."

"Possibly not," he said. "I may have something of a unique definitely of acceptable risk. Father is always warning my mother, my sister, and me about the dangers of our experiments and projects. Sensei Power Loader does too, for that matter. I think they are overreacting. We always manage to put the fires out before they spread."

"Uh…huh." More noodles disappeared into Sero's mouth. "Worst my dad gets up to is wearing socks with sandals. Mom tries so hard to make him be cool, but he just doesn't get it."

"That is… a sartorially incorrect choice?" Granted, the times when a person would wear both were probably limited, but it was not something he had enough data on to make a determination on.

Sero laughed. "Oh, dude. Funny." He stopped when he saw the confusion on Tensei's face. "Oh, wait. You're serious. …Ah, sorry."

He looked so forlorn that Tensei could not help but forgive him immediately. "Do not worry about it."

"Okay, if you say so," Sero said. "But yeah, major fashion error. It's even worse when he combines it with cargo shorts. If they're going anywhere together, Mom doesn't let him leave the house unless she pre-approves his outfit."

"That seems harsh."

"Trust me, dude. He deserves it."

"I will take your word for it." Tensei smiled. "Father sometimes attempts to exert control over Mother's choices like that as well, usually when he feels she is not eating or sleeping enough."

"Is she?"

"That," he said, "is an interesting question with many variables to the answer, including statistical averages for humans, which admittedly have been highly skewed due to the wide variety of Quirks…"

"I'm gonna take that as a "maybe" and not ask any more questions. About that, anyway. I have plenty more questions in general."

"I am happy to answer any I can. Provided I am also allowed to ask questions." Tensei certainly wanted to know more about the handsome pink boy. True, all of the children of the former Class 1-A knew each other to some extent, but there were also small if somewhat variable cliques within that group, just as there had been with their parents. His and Sero's had not been especially close, so they were not as close as he was to, say, Izumi or Toshi. Granted, Toshi was probably a bad example, as he was close to almost everyone.

Probably for the best, however. It gave him an exciting and new set of possibilities, with plenty of uncertainties. A brand new venture into the unknown.

"Sure, dude," Sero agreed. He finished the last of his noodles. "You 'bout done, though? I've got so much I wanna show you at the arcade."

Tensei popped the last of the noodles into his mouth and nodded. "I am ready!"

Sera helped him sit down on a chair in the arcade's small café, easing him down gently. "I am okay," Tensei said. "I just… need a minute… for the room to stop spinning…"

"Dude," Sero said. "I am so sorry! I just figured that with how you zip around," he made various motions through the air with his hands, "that the virtual roller coaster wouldn't be a big deal."

Truthfully, Tensei had not expected to react so poorly to it either. He had often pushed his body to the limits, flying through the air. While he was best at traveling in a straight line, he could execute rapid turns when he had to, even barrel rolls and loop de loops. As he grew, so too would his Jetpack, enabling him to execute even more precise maneuvers. So a virtual roller coaster should have been nothing more than a bit of excitement and a chance to tightly hold hands with the boy that he liked.

It had not worked out that way.

Instead, he had felt overwhelmed almost immediately after the first hill and drop, letting out a sharp scream. He was also pretty certain he had squeezed Sero's hand painfully tight. He had emerged from the VR pod disoriented and dizzy, ready to drop. He was just grateful he had not thrown up. Tensei was pretty sure that throwing up in front of or on your date was a very good way not to get a second date. And he very much wanted a second date.

Nevertheless, it was still quite embarrassing.

Tensei shook his head. "It is not your fault. I had no statistical framework to in which to predict that that would happen."

"If you say so…" Sero said, though he sounded uncertain. Tensei wished there was more he could do to reassure him.

Fortunately, Tensei's recovery was rather quick. "Perhaps something… a little less intense?"

Sero brighted, his dark eyes sparkling with the light of an idea. He snapped his fingers. "I know just the thing."

Sero's eyes had been growing steadily wider. "How," he asked, "are you so good at this?"

Carefully and with the utmost previous, Tensei maneuvered the claw with the joystick, dropping it only when he was absolutely certain it was in the right place. He might not have had his mother's Quirk, but his vision was very good and years of working with precision tools in his mother's workshops had given him a very deft hand indeed. It dropped, easily snaring the Froppy plushie and depositing it in the hole. Tensei fished the plushie of the prize slot and handed it to Sero, whose arms were already quite full with plushies of Tentacole, Tailman, Lemillion, Phantom Thief, Chargebolt, Pinky, and Cellophane.

"Compared to setting micro-circuitry," Tensei told him, "this is quite easy." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Though perhaps that makes it a bit unfair, both to the arcade and anyone else who would want to try."

"Ah… maybe?" Sero said, with a small shrug, struggling not to drop the plushies in his arms. Tesei reached out and took a few of them from him, then they started walking out of the arcade.

"Can I keep some of these? I kind of want to taunt Mom with the one of her. She's never been happy with it. She thinks it makes her look fat. She's made it her mission to find as many of them as she can and dissolve them in her acid."

"Keep as many as you like," he said. "The skill challenge is reward enough."

"Really? You sure, dude?" Tensei nodded in response. "Well, thanks. Baby sis will love these, especially."

"Ah, that is right," Tensei said, "you have several younger sibling, don't you?"

Sero nodded. "Yeah, three brothers, one baby sister. Mom likes to say Dad's just that irresistible, but she only does that when she wants to see us squirm."

Tensei wasn't sure he followed all that, but he decided it wasn't worth questioning. "That seems like it would make for a very crowded household."

Another nod. "You have no idea, dude. The dorms are the rest time I've had my own room in years."

"Sora and I shared a room for many years," Tensei told him. "Until we were about twelve. After that, it a modicum of privacy became necessary. Not that either of us slept there more than forty-percent of the time. Usually we slept on cots in the workshop. Or simply fell asleep over a workbench." Not something their father had been especially happy about, but he had his ways of navigating around it.

"Man," Sero said, "I could not do that. I am a sleep-a-holic"

"A waste of perfectly good time that could be better spent working," he replied.

Sero made a face, putting a hand to his chest. "That was painful, dude. Absolutely painful. Never say the word "work" around me again."

Tensei had a general feeling he was joking, so he smiled. "As you wish."

Tensei had walked Sero back to his room, which was as unusually decorated as Sero was dressed. The walls were covered in what he would have called leopard print, except that the prints were all bright pink instead of a golden-yellow, and there were multiple lava lamps. From what he could determine, the bed appeared to be a waterbed, which must have been quite the feat to get inside. His desk had been set up with multiple monitors and multiple webcams, obviously to further his efforts to become an internet sensation. Not a goal Tensei understood, but Sero certainly seemed devoted to it. They dropped the plushies in a corner.

Sero seemed much more uncertain than Tensei could ever recall seeing him, save perhaps for when he had asked him on this date. He was usually brimming with confidence and showmanship.

Sero rubbed the back of his head, nervousness radiating off him. "So, I, ah, I had a good time tonight, Iida." He smiled and Tensei could see that it reached his eyes.

Tensei smiled, and he realized that his own heartrate was quite elevated. "As did I, Sero."

"I, ah, don't suppose you'd like to do this again some time? Maybe go see a movie or something?"

Tensei was aware he was given to a certain amount of impulsive behavior, but in this case, he already knew the answer. "Absolutely."

"Great!" Sero said, perhaps a little louder than he intended. "I mean, great. And, ah, you know, if you, ah, really wanted to… you could call me Takuma. Since we're, you know, dating. If, ah, that's what we're doing."

Tensei realized that Sero—Takuma—was very adorable when he was nervous. He was vaguely aware that he and his sister could make other people nervous. Toshi had gently reminded them of this from time to time. But this seemed to be very different from those scenarios. He had never made anyone nervous like this before; he found it somehow flattering.

"I believe that is what we can call this," he said. "So, please, if you wish, you may call me Tensei."

"Tensei it is," Takuma said. "I'll, ah, see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Tensei agreed. "Good night, Takuma."

"G'night, Tensei."

He left and started to head back to his room. And for the moment, Tensei was feeling pretty good about life in general. He had successfully completed one date and now he had another. He was officially "dating." He knew his sister would be expecting a full account of the evening, but for once in his life, he did not care about analyzing results or accumulating date. He was happy just the way things were.