I'm back! Again! Here I am!

Okay, so obviously there have been a few requests, but nothing too much. Today's chapter will be featuring Izuku... going on a date?!

HOLY SHI-

Well... you'll see...

Time Frame: Third-Year Izuku

Eri loved coloring books; it was the blend of warm and cool colors that instantly called out to her heart, and whenever she had free time, which was always, she'd probably be found, enraptured in delicately testing new color combinations. Usually, when the teacher assigned a coloring activity, some kids would groan, but Eri's quiet eyes would flash with excitement, and the smallest shred of a smile would crack her impassive expression.

And, of course, Izuku was more than happy to let her color to her heart's content.

So when he bought her a stack of coloring books and nervously ushered her into her room, she was overjoyed... but slightly suspicious. When she asked why, he just smiled and rubbed the back of his head, whilst replying, "I don't need a reason to do something nice, r-right?"

He didn't, of course, but that didn't mean she wasn't a bit curious why he was fussing over his hair in the bathroom...

"Izu?" Eri asked quietly, putting a finger to her mouth like she'd seen him do so many times in the past. She wasn't sure if it made her smarter or not, and Kota would often tell her it didn't work like that, but then, she didn't really mind. When the adults compared her to him, she would just smile, pleased to be compared to someone so pure. He would blush, but never deny it, and that made her even happier.

His not-so-quiet yelp, paired with his fumble of the hairbrush in his hands, made it obvious he was so focused on his task, that he hadn't even heard her push the door open. He turned to her, and bashfully smiled as his hair stuck up in more than unusual ways than normal.

"What are you doing?"

Izuku laughed, but Eri knew better. His normal laugh was light, and worked up from a gentle chuckle, to a full-fledged laugh. This laugh was forced, and seemed to waver several times before Izuku finally paused for breath. He smiled at her, albeit, nervously. "I-I'm just... trying something new!"

"I don't understand." A bead of sweat trailed down Izuku's forehead; sometimes, he forgot just how young she actually was, until she reminded him she was in her 'question-everything' stage of life.

"W-well... I decided t-to... maybe look a new way for a change of pace," Izuku said slowly. His eyes lit up at his words, and he began to pick up speed. "Y-yeah! It's like how I've changed my costume so much!"

Eri nodded slowly. "Okay, but..."

She looked up and down his body, her eyes brimming with the 'judgement-eyes' only a child could innocently possess. He'd opted for a pair of his black dress pants, which were admittedly smooth and the little girl wouldn't criticize that. But his belt was the wrong color, the dress shirt he'd picked was wrinkled and a bit too loose, and he'd opted for low socks, which Eri knew was a mistake if he was going with anything but dress shoes.

And with that attire, she wouldn't let him leave without them.

"You look like a mess."

"Is she innocent, though...?" he muttered, but smiled regardless. "Well... do you have any tips?"

She wasn't yet the age to take over a makeover, but she had talked enough about fashion with Grandma Inko, and she had come to adore fashion. She attributed most of that toward her lack of exposure to it as a child when she was under Overhaul's care, and once she learned exactly what fashion was, she began to see the contrast in colors, in addition to aspects such as the subtle sizing requirements certain clothes needed to look good, as well as what clothes went well with what occasion.

With a eager nod, Eri grabbed the brush from Izuku's hand, and smiled in a determined fashion that was not unlike Izuku when he was younger.

"Leave it to me!" She said confidently, and Izuku blinked.

Truthfully, he couldn't recall the last time he'd seen her this confident. She was a shy girl, and she never made it a habit to speak out much when she was in the presence of new people, or even familiar people, purely out of shyness. Her confidence was slowly being built up, and school was having a positive influence on her personal growth, but this was new level.

He couldn't be happier.

It took a few attempts, but Eri was able to jump up and grab Izuku's collar and yank him down to a low seated position so that she could reach the jungle on his head. He yelped, but complied immediately. Twice, Eri took some water and dampened his hair, before running the brush through the green locks, but frowned when they popped right back up.

She hummed in thought as she wet the brush again, and tried to smooth down the unruly hair again, her surprise flaring up when the hair shot back into place a third time. Running her hand through it, she couldn't understand why it was so rebellious- it was rather soft- and she realized water alone wasn't going to tame this beast.

From the doorway, a small boy had been watching the whole seen with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" As soon as he spoke, Eri snapped her fingers.

"Kota!" She said excitedly. "I need you to make some water - and douse Izu!"

"Wait, what?!" Izuku nearly shouted.

Kota shrugged nonchalantly. "Okay."

Using his quirk, a small stream of water came jetting from around his hands and immediately tunneled around Midoriya, coating him head-to-toe, and soaking him thoroughly. He shouted, but his voice was muffled by the water, while Eri watched in earnest to see if his hair could withstand this onslaught of water.

"Hmm... that should be good," Eri advised, and Kota complied, halting the stream of water, and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

One second passed.

Then another second.

And a third second.

And then...

"Huh?!" Eri exclaimed as all of Izuku's drenched hair popped exactly back into its previous style. "T-that's...!"

Kota just watched in partial amusement. "You guys are being weird."

Folding her arms, Eri huffed, a rare look of frustration on her face. "Not... fair..." she muttered.

All the while, Izuku was just shivered and dripped wet, a look of shock still plastered on his face.

"Okay, so that didn't work..." Eri mused, looking over the newly dressed Izuku. She had been disappointed the pants were soaked, but thankfully, he'd had a second pair in his possession, and they managed to look just as good.

The young girl hadn't hesitated to change the style of his shirt he was wearing previously, opting for a soft teal dress shirt with a black sports jacket he'd pulled out. She wasn't quite sure why he was so insistent on the sports jacket, especially since the whole style change was such an abrupt and... strange thing for the usually combat-oriented young man to think about. Eri had never seen him really consider how he looked in the past... so she wasn't sure what changed.

"Maybe I just need to turn up the water pressure?" Kota suggested, but that was met with immediate protest from Izuku

"T-the hair is really fine, Eri. I don't mind how it looks, actually. I just wanted to see if I could... y'know... pull off something else?"

Eri smiled, and accepted Izuku's decision. She liked his hair how it was, anyways. It was messy, sure, but it was him, and she didn't think she'd ever get used to seeing him without the "poofy" hair he'd come to be trademarked with.

"Besides, I think she likes it, anyhow..." Izuku mumbled to himself, but as soon as the words came from his mouth, he froze. So did Eri. And even Kota went rock solid.

"I-I-I didn't mean that!"

"S-she?!" Kota shouted.

"You have a date?!" Eri squealed excitedly.

"I-I... w-wait!" Izuku stammered, but it was too late.

The damage had been done.

"Who?!" Kota asked loudly. Eri would pretend she didn't notice the glimmer of excitement in his eyes... at least for now.

She knew how much having a mother meant to her foster-brother. They were both grateful for Izuku's kind and caring disposition, and his fatherly instincts were as impressive as his combat abilities, something that shocked nearly everyone from his class, as well as those outside his class, from what Eri had heard. They'd known Izuku grew up without a father, and because of that, he'd relied entirely on his mother, which she was completely okay with.

And it showed, because he was able to do everything a father should do, while also supporting them in the ways a mother should. Obviously, he couldn't do everything, but as time went on, Eri, and eventually Kota, realized they didn't need that extra stuff with how much tender love Izuku poured out to them daily. They were more than happy with just him, if that's what it came down to.

But the both of them had the occasional dream at night where they'd have a full, functioning family like the ones on television. Sometimes, in school, Eri would hear about her classmates and how they were hanging out with both of their parents and doing some fun, family-oriented activity. Obviously, there were several problems with this in Eri's case... with how her 'father' was training to be a professional hero, for one, which mean he also had homework and studying to do during these free times.

At the end of everything, Eri couldn't help it: she just wanted to know what it was like to have a mother.

"I won't say!" Izuku said, before folding his arms and turning away. Eri giggled; her 'dad' could be really funny sometimes with his antics.

"Okay." Kota said simply.

Izuku frowned. Something was up...

"I'll just ask Grandma."

"WHAT?!"

A doorbell, followed by a knock, silenced everyone, as Izuku paled instantly. Two sets of eyes slowly turned to stare at Izuku as sweat began to slide down his face like rain down a window as his eyes widened and his jaw clenched from fear.

Eri felt a wave of sympathy wash over her, and she gently grabbed Izuku's larger, scarred hand. He immediately stopped sweating and looked at her in surprise, but didn't say anything.

"You'll treat her great... there's nothing to worry about!"

Kota nodded in agreement. "Y-yeah... you'll, you know, be cool. She likes you, right?"

Izuku blushed and nodded slowly.

"Then... just be yourself... and she'll probably still like you."

It was such simple advice, but the words slowly sank in, and the fear slowly dissipated from Izuku's face. Judging by the fact that Eri could no longer see the pending heart attack he was close to having, she smiled, and gently guided him toward the door, making sure he looked good, with a quick one-over. Minus the hair of doom, he looked... great, she thought.

Definitely like a hero should on their night out.

Just as they got to the doorway, a loud exclamation was heard from the living room.

"IZUKU IS TAKING YOU OUT?! A-AND HE DIDN'T TELL ME?"

"So that's why you didn't want me asking Grandma..." Kota mumbled.

"It's going to be a long night..." Izuku sighed, but with Kota and Eri by his side, he made his way toward his date.

And overly tearful mother.