Their Hero Academia – Chapter 72: Summer Shorts Part 1

Shota Shinso in Student-Teacher Conference

At the knocking at his apartment door, Shota Shinso paused the video he'd been watching, a special counting down the top ten most amazing Hero battles from the previous year. The votes for the battles had come from an online poll, which he'd voted in, so they were probably a little on the biased side rather than being truly objective or anything like that. But he had to admit that most of the ones which had made the cut were the same ones he would have chosen.

Unsurprisingly, Uncle Izuku had made the list twice, for his fights against Doom-Fist and the Maximums. Shoto was on the list two times as well; Ingenium and Gale Force had both made it on there once, as had Kestrel and Rodeo. Red Riot and Real Steel shared a spot on the list. And then there had been Ground Zero's battle against Megastorm…

He'd had to fast forward through that. It had sent his mind flashing back to the day of the Nomu attack. He'd heard the sounds of tearing flesh and the Nomu's terrible scream. His hands had felt wet with Ground Zero's blood as he'd desperately tried to provide what first aid he could. His nostrils had filled with the coppery smell…

It had taken everything he had not to scream and destroy the apartment. At least with Mom and Dad both at work, there hadn't been anyone else around to see.

He'd been doing so well. He'd actually passed his exams at school and made good use of his Quirk during the Heroics final exam. He was able to be around Kirishima-Bakugo without flinching or expecting her to be mad at him. He only had nightmares about it every so often.

He hadn't counted on what actually seeing Ground Zero would do to him. Shota had been doing a good job of keeping himself from thinking about him. He'd hidden away his Ground Zero posters, statues, toys, and other merchandise. He'd set his phone and internet browser to screen any mention of him. If he kept himself from thinking about Ground Zero, then he could keep himself from thinking about what happened.

Shota knew what happened wasn't his fault. He'd been told that often enough now, had enough therapy that he could say it without feeling like it was a lie. But it was still like standing on the edge of a cliff. Somedays, it didn't take much to send him over the edge.

Dumb, really. He should have expected that Ground Zero would have been in such a video. His fights had always been amazing to watch. His Quirk, his strength, his skill, all of it was… had been simply amazing.

And maybe he wouldn't be anymore.

Because of him.

Dang it, he was supposed to be moving past this!

He shut his eyes right for a moment, doing the calming exercises Hound Dog had taught him. Deep breaths. Focus his thoughts on where he was, what he could see. Whoever was at the door knocked again, and his eyes snapped open as he got off the couch. "Coming!" he called out.

He opened the door before they could knock again.

"Hey, kid. Can we talk?"

…It was Ground Zero.

The park near his apartment was busy today, with lots of kids playing around, happy and carefree. He could see a group of elementary school-age kids using their Quirks to keep a Frisbee up in the air. One had some kind of wind Quirk, another an arm-stretching Quirk, and the third and fourth, who looked like twins, seemed to have some kind of telekinetic push and pull Quirks. He smiled, remembering doing the same kinds of games with Toshi, Shinji, Izumi, and the others as a kid. Of course, there was the time he'd hit the Frisbee with a sonic blast and knocked it out of the park…

Maybe they ought to bring that back. It'd be a fun game and good Quirk training!

He and Ground Zero sat on a bench, eating the ice cream they'd bought. Though lots of Pro Heroes, especially the Top Ten, went out in some measure of disguise when they were off the clock, Ground Zero didn't bother. He was very good at radiating "keep at least three meters away from me if you know what's good for you vibes." It was something his daughter was also extremely good at.

Ground Zero clearly wanted to talk, but Shota didn't have any idea what it was about. It was all he could do to keep from shaking and panicking. The ice cream gave him something to be present in the moment in, something else Hound Dog had taught him to do when he thought he was going to have a panic attack.

"So," he said quietly, "you wanted to talk?"

Ground Zero took a moment, as though sizing him up, then nodded. "How you doing, kid? Katsumi says you did pretty good during the exam." His voice lacked some of its usual hard edge. The question sounded sincere.

Kirishima-Bakugo had talked about him? And said he'd done good? He wouldn't have expected that. Shota nodded. "It was really nuts! Uncle Shota got actual bad guys to fight us! Even Shadow-Thief! Boy though, did Mom and Dad give him an earful about that! Mom really doesn't like her for some reason, maybe because Dad says she used to try and flirt with him whenever he'd try and catch her, but that's silly, because they've been married forever now… But yeah, I was one of the last ones left standing, and we zapped the big guy really good…."

It had made him feel like he could actually do something right. It was a good feeling. He'd actually helped his friends when it had really counted.

"That's good," Ground Zero said, more indulgently than most adults did when he went on about something. "Sounds like you really kicked their asses."

Shota actually laughed a little bit at that. Ground Zero definitely had a way with words. "Yeah, I guess we did." He frowned a little. "What… what about you? Are you doing okay?"

Ground Zero went quiet for a moment, before he went on. "Getting better every day," he said. "Physical therapy three times a week. Hasn't been the challenge yet that can beat me. Glasses and Tintin's wives are working on a better prosthetic. I'll be kicking ass again before you can blink."

It sounded reassuring. But it was still a challenge he wouldn't have been facing if it hadn't been for Shota. If he hadn't been trying to keep him safe… Ground Zero looked down for a moment, at his leg, then over at Shota, then sighed. "You know this isn't your fault, right, kid?"

Shota frowned. He closed his eyes. "Sometimes," he said after a moment. "Maybe not all the time. But it's hard not to think it was."

"It wasn't," Ground Zero repeated, more forcefully this time. He tossed the remains of his ice cream in the trash and put a hand on Shota's shoulder. His grip was firm and strong. "Look at me, kid." He didn't speak again until Shota was looking him in the eyes, something that took more willpower than he thought he had.

"Listen," Ground Zero said. "You, Shota Shinso, are not to blame for what happened to me. Not one damn percent. You got that? Whatever sick f—er, bastard made that damn monster is to blame, not you."

Shota nodded, mutely. He'd been told that so many times, from so many people. Some days, he believed it. Ground Zero though, was one of the most direct and honest people he knew. If he blamed Shota, he'd have no problem letting him know. If he didn't blame him, maybe there was some truth to it.

"Good," Ground Zero told him. "And anytime that thought starts running through your head, I want you to punch it, hard, for me. You picture it, shout kill and let it have it. You got that?"

He nodded again, his head bobbing up and down quickly. He could do that!

Ground Zero looked him over again. He let out a puff of breath. "Look… I ain't good with words. So maybe I'm not gonna tell this real well, but… Listen, I have been exactly where you are."

"You?" Shota asked. "But you're Ground Zero! You're not afraid of anything! You're the most confident Hero ever!"

Ground Zero shook his head. "You remember Kamino? All Might's last fight with that masked potato-faced freak?"

Who hadn't heard of that? Uncle Izuku had told the story plenty of times of how he and his friends had gone to rescue Ground Zero from the League of Villains, while All Might had battled his long-time enemy. It was the climax of all kinds of documentaries about All Might's career. Everyone who was around and aware then had a story about where they were when they saw it happen. They studied it in school! He'd seen the video hundreds of times! Shota nodded again.

"I went through the same thing you're going through," Ground Zero said. He gazed off into the distance. "I blamed myself for causing All Might's retirement. I thought if I hadn't been so weak, hadn't screwed up and gotten captured, he wouldn't have had to use up the last of his strength to save me. I blamed myself, for weeks. Without even realizing it, it affected everything I did. I was even nastier and louder and angrier than usual. I was such a shit, I'm amazed any of my friends stuck around. But after I failed the Provisional License Exam, well… let's just say it took Deku beating some sense into me for me to realize what I'd been carrying around."

"Really?" Shota asked. He'd never heard this one before! "Uncle Izuku never said anything about that! And you always seem so confident! But you… you blamed yourself too?"

He knew Heroes got scared sometimes. Uncle Izuku had talked about it, so had Uncle Denki, even Uncle Inasa had. Uncle Shota even said that fear was a logical response sometimes. And he knew they had doubts and worries. But of all the Heroes in the world, he never would have expected Ground Zero would!

"Yeah, I did. And there's still times where I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been such an arrogant dumbass back then." He looked over and smiled a bittersweet smile, then gave Shota's hair an affectionate tussle. "So don't go letting me hear you needed Toshi or Katsumi or somebody to beat you up, okay? There's nothing wrong with needing help. Hell, you start feeling down, you call me, day or night, okay?"

Shota nodded rapidly again, the bad thoughts banished for the moment. He knew they'd be back. "Okay!"

Seemingly satisfied with that, Ground Zero nodded. "Which is kind of why I wanted to talk to you in the first place, kid. You know how All Might's taking over from Nedzu as principal?"

"Oh yeah!" Shota said. "He's gonna be really awesome at it, I just know it! He said he might still teach a few classes, but that we're gonna get a new Heroics' teacher! He said they were looking into some people, but he didn't really know who it was going to be…"

Ground Zero cleared his throat and interrupted him. "It's going to be me."

"Oh, wow!" Shota said. It was only then that he realized what Ground Zero had actually said. "Wait, what?"

A smile passed over the Hero's face. "It's gonna be me. All Might offered me the job before you all went off to Ponytail's island."

"Oooh," Shota said. "You'd be really good at that! I learned a whole bunch when I was your Intern! And Kirishima-Bakugo's really super talented, so you must have taught her a whole lot too, and you're one of the most awesome Heroes around, with one of the best fight records and…"

Ground Zero held up his hands. "Breathe, kid. Breathe. I know I'm pretty awesome. So you're damn right I'll be a damn good teacher. Even if I have to drag some of your classmates forward kicking and screaming."

Shota didn't know who that would be. All his friends and classmates worked so hard and had such amazing Quirks! "But… why would you want to talk to me about that?" he asked. He wasn't family or anything.

Ground Zero gave him a small, sympathetic smile. "Because I knew you were probably still blaming yourself. Even though I told you not to. I didn't know how you'd take it if you had to see me every day."

"What?" Shota asked. The question didn't make any sense.

"Kid," Ground Zero said patiently, "you practically had a damn panic attack when I showed up at your door. You're going to be seeing me every Heroics Class if I take this job." He tapped his knuckles against his knee. It made a small metallic clang. "And you'll be thinking about this."

"That's not," he started to say, but stopped himself. He can't help but stare now, his eyes wide and wet. What if Ground Zero was right? "Maybe."

This got him a nod. "That's what I thought. But here's the deal. If I'm going to be a teacher, then I've gotta look out for my students first. Which means I have to look out for you, before I even teach a single class."

Shota felt his eyes growing wet. "But… but…"

"Aw, for the love of…" Ground Zero started, waving his hands rapidly. "Don't cry, kid! I cannot deal with crying! You're worse than Deku, I swear…!"

Shota sucked in a breath and fought back his tears. He couldn't just cry like that in front of one of his heroes! He wasn't a baby, even if he was a little younger than all his classmates. He was training to be a Hero. He had to be strong!

Ground Zero was being a Hero. He was thinking of someone else, Shota, putting his needs first, even if it meant he didn't get to be a teacher. Shota… Shota couldn't take that away from him! And he'd be a good teacher too, he knew it!

And if he knew what to expect… then maybe he could be ready for it! He could psyche himself up! Hound Dog said that getting in the right mind space was important! He'd even know him all kinds of exercises for how to do it.

"A Hero's got to be brave," he said finally. "I can be brave too!" He was almost sure he meant it. He could do it! He could do it! He was getting better every day! He had his bad days, but maybe if he really worked on it…

Then Ground Zero held his gaze and if Shota hadn't known his Quirk was Explosion, he would have been certain he was reading his mind. "All right," he said. "I believe you. But I'm going to be watching you. And I'm going to hold you to telling me if you start having trouble, got it? You're going to be a damn good Hero someday, kid. Especially with me in your corner."

Chihiro Kaminari in Kiss and Make Up

"Chihiro! Chihiro! Watch! Watch me!"

Chihiro looked over to where her eight year old sister, Hikari, was playing on the monkey bars. The purple-haired girl was hanging on by one hand, her other limbs dangling in the air. "Okay, okay," she said, "I'm watching."

"Okay… Watch!" Hikari released all her fingers and Chihiro's heart lurched. If her little sister got hurt on her watch, she was going to be in a load of trouble! She started rushing forward only to realize that Hikari wasn't falling. Despite her fingers not touching anything, her palm was still flat against the bar and she wasn't falling.

Chihiro's Cords perked up as she got closer, tiny sparks dancing along their tips. There was enough electricity flying about that she could feel it. The fact that Hikari's hair was standing straight up was another clue. She crossed her arms. "Let me guess, Spark Plug," she said. "You're using your Quirk?"

"Yep!" Hikari said proudly. "Daddy and I worked real hard on this one!"

Hikari's Quirk was called Static. It let her absorb ambient static electricity and release it and apparently also stick to things with it like a balloon. She had to laugh a little bit though. She and Dad had certainly driven Mon to yelling at them more times than she could count for doing dumb things with their own Quirks. Her younger brother Reylo got yelled at less often, but only because his Quirk was sound-based and Dad couldn't teach him anything dangerous.

Chihiro gave her a thumb's up. "Cool trick," she said. But she noticed that Hikari's hair was starting to settle back down. Her Cords were starting to spark less too. She took a few steps forward and held out her arms, letting Hikari fall into them.

"Off!" Hikari said, looking surprised and annoyed. "How come I fell?"

"Ran out of juice," Chihiro told her. "You don't make your own electricity, remember?"

"Oh. Right! I knew that."

Chihiro just laughed again and set Hikari down on the ground, letting her run off to the next piece of playground equipment. Well, at least her little brother Reylo had half a brain. One Kaminari ought to have at least half a chance.

"Stay where I can see you!" she called out. "And that goes for you two too!"

She looked over to where her other charges (Heh. Charges. Why was she always this funny when no one else was around?), a small brown-haired girl and a blond boy: Mako Midoriya and Tai Kirishima-Bakugo, both five years old. When the kids' regular sitter had bailed, she'd volunteered to watch them. She was already watching Hikari anyway and didn't have any plans. Plus she was getting two thousand yen each for the two of them. They gave her a friendly wave.

There were also, she would readily admit, advantages to living in a gated community, including a private playground. Almost all the families that lived here were Pro-Heroes, though there were also a few Support Company officers, and a few other careers, such as Mom's split career as Hero and musician. The kids certainly seemed to enjoy it anyway. She'd already been ten by the time they'd moved in and was starting to get too "cool" for that kind of thing.

Of course, to hear Mom tell it, the reason they bought the house was all Dad's fault. Dad had brought home a Great Dane puppy instead of groceries… somehow. Since Sparky was going to quickly get too big for their apartment, so they'd gone house shopping. Of course, to hear Dad tell it, Kirishima-Bakugo's dad had nearly flipped a gasket when he'd found out they were going to be neighbors…

Chihiro let a smile spread across her face as she watched the kids play. Hikari was making herself dizzy, spinning around on the merry-go-round, while Mako and Tai were playing on the teeter-totter. It was nice. Peaceful even. She could quietly zone out just a little bit.

"Stuck on kid duty too, Kaminari?"

Taken by complete surprise, she let out a cry of alarm as she turned. Her Cords shot out and unleashed a mild pulse of electricity the second they made contact with… something.

"AAAAGGGGGGGGGGG!""

Shiro Monoma hit the ground with a small thump.

"You killed him!" Hikari shouted. "Mom and Dad are gonna be so mad!"

Chihiro shot her sister a fierce look. "No, I didn't!" she protested. But as she quickly turned her attention back to Monoma, she wasn't so sure.

"He's still breathing," Monoma's younger sibling said, sounding disinterested. Takeru, right. That was their name. And non-binary too. Important to remember. Chihiro thought they were the same age as Tai and Mako, but they sounded like they were going on forty. They gave him a look which suggested they'd long grown bored with seeing accidental misfortunes befall their older brother.

"She really made him go zap!" Mako said. "He lifted up and then… Bzzzzt!" As she talked, her hands copied the motions Monoma had gone through.

"Yeah!" Tai agreed. "I saw sparks! It was so cool!"

Chihiro gulped and looked down at Monoma. He was still breathing. That was good. She probably hadn't hit him with that many volts. He'd just surprised her.

"It's not my fault!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air as she paced back and forth. "He snuck up on me!"

"Uhhh." A noise from Monoma caught her attention instantly. His eyes fluttered open. How could someone be electrocuted, fall in the grass, and still be so damn pretty? Especially while wearing a t-shirt and shorts? "What hit me?"

"You snuck up on her and she electrocuted you," Takeru told him flatly.

"I did no such thing!" Monoma protested. He ignored her hand up in favor of bouncing to his feet under his own power, dusting himself off once he landed.

"You were doing that thing where you don't make any noise," Takeru said. "No wonder she didn't hear you coming."

"Yeah!" Chihiro said, pointing at him. Maybe she could spin this as his fault after all! "Why do you gotta ninja around all the time?!"

Monoma seemed offended at that, putting a hand to his chest. "I did no such thing! I do not "ninja around!'" He wilted under her glare ever so slightly, however. "Well… perhaps I do have a bit of a silent tread. I can apologize for that, at least. I'm sorry."

Great, how was she supposed to be mad at him when he was apologizing? Completely unfair! She didn't want to be thinking about him at all! "Yeah, well…," she said, "I probably shouldn't have zapped you. You okay?"

He produced a flick comb from his pocket and fixed his hair. "No harm done, I suppose," Monoma said.

Chihiro realized the children were all watching them still. "Okay kids," she said, waving her hands vaguely in the direction of the playground. "Show's over. Go play!"

Hikari crossed her arms. "Aw, I wanted to see you zap him again!"

"Go!" Chihiro repeated, pointing more dramatically this time. Her little sister turned tail at that. Meanwhile, Takeru was being dragged off by Mako and Tai under half-hearted protests.

"So…," she ventured, looking back at Monoma. This was definitely awkward. Why the hell didn't she keep the kids around? Now all she could think about was how he'd kissed her and how Mika had said she should date him! Maybe she should shock him again, run away, move to a new city, start a new life on the run singing for coins on street corners…

Okay, maybe not that bad.

"Um, yes," Monoma said, and she was somehow glad to see the awkwardness was mutual. It was so rare to see him as anything less than composed that she considered it a victory even in embarrassment.

And then he said the most dangerous words of all.

"Can we talk?"

They were far enough away that they wouldn't be overheard, but not so far away that they couldn't keep an eye on the kids. Hikari had met up with one of her friends and Chihiro gave a wave to the kid's parents before giving Monoma as much of her attention as she could.

"So," she said. Her Cords make small circles through the air, as she crossed her arms. "You wanted to talk. Talk. I'm listening."

"Ah, yes, well," Monoma began. Alarm bells were already ringing in her head. Granted, her guard was always up around him. Sure, she'd eat lunch with him with Mika, Koda, and Fukidashi or Tetsutetsu. He was tolerable in small doses. Especially if he kept his mouth shut. But she'd never seen him as at a loss for words as this.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have just kissed you like that without asking. It wasn't very gentlemanly of me. I was… overcome with emotion at resolving some of my own issues, and let my exuberance get the better of me."

Chihiro blinked slowly. She definitely hadn't been expecting an apology. Even with the one he'd given a few minutes ago, she wasn't even sure he really knew how to apologize. But she looks over and he was so earnestly apologetic that even her background level of irritation at him started to fade. "It's, ah, it's fine," she said. "You were excited. Happens."

He looked a bit surprised. "That's happened before?"

She had to laugh at that. "No, that one was definitely a first." Her left Cord shot out and gave him a soft poke in the chest. "Definitely wasn't expecting my first kiss to be you though."

He looked offended at that. "That was not a first kiss. All I did was kiss you on the cheek!"

"A kiss is a kiss!" she shouted at him, moving closer. "Doesn't matter where it was!"

"You're out of your mind!"

"I thought you were apologizing!"

"I did! You were the one who tried to turn it into a semantics argument!"

"It's not semantics if I'm right! That! Was! A! Kiss!"

Their faces were mere centimeters from each other now. His eyes were big, blue, and ever so close. He really was just too ridiculously pretty for his own good. Probably spent more time in front of the mirror than she did. About the only person who might outdo him in the hair and skin care regime was Aoyama.

"That wasn't a kiss!" Monoma snapped. "If I'd really wanted to kiss you, I'd have done it like this!"

Before she could blink, he'd reached out and put his arms around her, spinning her around into a low dip, before planting his lips on hers. Her eyes went wide as he held the kiss for a long moment, before spinning her back into a standing position.

"What the hell?!" she snapped. "What the hell was that?!" Her Cords flew about her head like angry snakes, sparking with electricity.

"I… I don't… it just happened!" Monoma said, backing away from her nervously. He looked ready to run and hide. Good! Who did he think he was, kissing her like this was some made for tv romantic movie where they yelled and kissed?!

She pointed her Cords at him aggressively, taking aim, her face flush with anger. "I oughta just take you out!"

His eyes widened in surprise, but then he smiled that same smug, irritating, and entirely too good looking smile. "Well.. Why not?" he asked. "I am finding your company surprisingly enjoyable, even without Mika as a barrier. Pick me up at seven tomorrow evening then?"

Her mouth dropped open. She could feel her mental footing slipping away as she shifted lanes from furious to baffled in the space of an eye blink. Mika's advice to give him a chance came back to her. And she definitely wasn't about to admit that she'd really enjoyed that kiss. But the other hand, he was absolutely infuriating. And sure, he'd shown her a more vulnerable side back at school…

Her Cords sagged, the sparks fading. "…What?"

"That, ah, that is… if you want to," he said. Awkwardness replaced the smugness. And now he had his hands up, protecting his face, as he backed up. "We could go on a date. And I promise no more kissing."

The words unless you want to hung silently in the air.

"Why me?" she asked, after letting him squirm uncomfortably for a moment. "I know Mika's your ex. Going from her to me has to be a pretty steep downgrade."

He looked puzzled for a moment, until his eyes widened in realization. He crossed his arms. "You do remember I used to date her before she, ah, blossomed. I'm not so shallow as to be purely attracted to… that."

Okay, he did have a point there. "Okay, but the first question still stands. You're all fancy pants and I'm… me. In fact, up until you kissed me, I was pretty sure you didn't even like me."

A blush spread across Monoma's face and he smiled sheepishly. "Mika insists I have a thing for women who can beat me up. You do fall into that category, of course, but the fact remains that you are a fascinating and attractive woman. You're talented, with varied interests, and you are entirely willing to call me out to my face when I'm being a pretentious asshole. After some rather blunt conversations and realizations… I'm… trying harder not to be that person anymore."

Okay. That was… actually pretty respectful sounding. Which was definitely a first for him when it came to her. Sounded like somebody had called him out. Mika, maybe? Or Tetsutetsu? Koda was too nice to have done it…

"Okay, fine," she said. She tried to project with her tone that she was doing him a favor, not that she was actually possibly maybe kind of interested in him. "We can go on a date. On one, no, two conditions."

He seemed surprised at that. "All right, I completely understand if you don't wish to…. Wait, what?"

"One, no more kissing me out of the blue. You try it, and I'll shock you so bad you'll never get your hair to look right again."

He chuckled. It was actually somewhat pleasant when it wasn't paired with taunts. "A tremendous threat. Very well. And the other?"

"Don't you dare tell Ojiro about this. Or put it on-line or anything where she can somehow find out about it. I'll never hear the end of it."

Monoma nodded. "I suppose that's reasonable. So long as you do the same with regards to Fukadashi. I don't need her comparing me to some anime or manga more than she already does."

He had a point there. Fukidashi was weird. And given the company she kept, that was saying something. "Deal. It's a date."

"YAY!"

Chihiro's head snapped around and she saw that the kids were staring at them. Hikari was the one who'd shouted, but they all looked enthralled. Well, everyone but Takeru did.

"How long have you been watching?!" she demanded.

"Long enough," Takeru said. They looked over at Chihiro. "You should have shocked him again. Otherwise he won't learn anything."

She had to laugh at that. "Okay," she said. "You, I like."

"Yay! A date!" Mako said. "My big sister went on a date too! With Haruto Sero!" She danced about as she talked, kicking up a little bit dust. "Ah… ah… choooo!"

Chihiro's eyes went wide as Mako's Fire-Breath Quirk went active with her sneeze. Instantly, she tackled Monoma to the ground, as a blast of flame went through where his head had just been. Her face went flush as she realized how close they were again. Hastily, she shoved herself up and off him.

She offered Monoma a hand up and this time he took it. His hands weren't anywhere near as soft as his pretty boy imagine would have suggested, she realized. "Sorry about that. She doesn't have full control of her Quirk yet."

"Quite, quite all right," Monoma said, sounding a bit shook from his near-fire experience. He was blushing too, she noticed. He dusted himself off. "But seven, tomorrow then, if that's agreeable to you?"

"Yeah, all right," she said.

Great. That gave her more than a day to figure out how to explain to her dad she was dating a Monoma.

One date. Not dating.

She definitely wasn't thinking about kissing him. …Dating him! And she wasn't thinking about that either!

…Crap.