...

"You can do it, Izuku! Only 8 more!"

Nejire bounces around the gym as Izuku continued his push-ups, while Mirio and Tamaki downed a bottle of water each, having finished their own workouts.

"43...44...45...46...47...48...49...50!"

Nejire smiled widely and immediately bounced next to Izuku with a glass of water once Izuku sat down, exhausted.

"You're doing good, Izuku! You're so much more fit now!" She encouraged cheerily.

Izuku sighed. "I still have a long way to go. I'm not improving as much as you, Mirio or Tamaki. I'm still far behind..."

Nejire then shushed him, putting a finger to his lips as she pouted at him. "Izuku, what did I say about comparing yourself?" She reprimanded.

"...Not to..." Izuku mumbles.

"Exactly. As we said, stop putting yourself down. Your confidence needs to be built back up. So chin up, mister!"

Although Izuku sighed, a smile could still be seen on his face. "Ok, ok. Calm down Neji," he said, using the nickname he had developed for her over the last few years.

Although he didn't see it, Nejire's cheeks turned a little pink upon hearing the nickname. "F-Fine. But don't you forget what I said, Izuku!"

Mirio and Tamaki chuckled when they saw her pink face.

After Izuku finished his workouts, he said his goodbyes to the other three and left the gym to go home.

The minute he left, Mirio saw his opportunity and turned to Nejire, with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Is it possible that you have a little crush on our broccoli haired friend, Nejire?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Nejire instantly went a deep scarlet, and started failing her arms around. "M-M-Mirio!! D-Don't say something like that!!" She squeaked frantically.

Tamaki have a small chuckle. "Aww, are you embarrassed, Nejire? I didn't think that possible." He teased. Over the years, Tamaki grew increasingly more comfortable with his friends, to the point where he could even take part in teasing without getting uncomfortable. Unfortunately, in a public setting his shy personality would still take over.

"Not helping, Tamaki! Stop teasing me!" She said, pouting like a kindergartener, face still red.

...

"Any idea how he got out, detective?"

"No. This has to be the work of villains. That new rookie that joined a few days ago...they just vanished, and took a ton of weapons and all their identification with them. They were probably a spy working on the inside to bring him out. My question is why...why him of all people? What connection does he have to them, or does he have something to offer them?..."

Detective Tsukauchi stood in front of the in-station jail at the police station, with one of the head guards beside him. Two guards were slumped over unconscious beside the cell, which was pried open.

Tsukauchi took a walkie talkie out of his pocket and patched in to the front desk. "Contact the chief. We have an escaped prisoner."

"Which one, detective?"

"...number 253."

"Number 253...oh. Oh. That one."

"Yeah. That one..."

"I'll call him immediately. That man is dangerous...and insane. A terrifying combination."

Tsukauchi's head turned as he hung up and gazed out the window, eyes filled with worry.

...

"POWEEERRR!"

Mirio popped out of the ground from behind Izuku, and then threw him over himself into the ground.

"Ow!!! Mirio, you need to not put so much force into that move!! Jeez..."

Nejire immediately skipped over to Izuku and knelt down next to him, and pressed some ice to his back. Mirio sheepishly smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, Izuku! But we gotta give it our all improve, right?"

Izuku sighed, but did not object. He wasn't exactly wrong. Whether it's a spar or not, they needed to do their best.

They were now 13 years old, and their training regimen for U.A was still in full swing. They only had two years left to prepare, and they were nowhere near short on determination.

"You'll be alright, Izuku, but you should probably rest for a few minutes before we continue," was Nejire's diagnosis.

Izuku smiles at her. "Gotcha. Thanks, Neji."

Nejire blushed a little yet again as he walked away towards the benches. Mirio and Tamaki smirked at each other, but decided not to comment. "Anyways, you're up next to face me, Nejire! You ready?" Shouted Mirio excitedly.

Nejire grinned at him. "You bet!" She said as she assumed a fighting stance.

Izuku smiled as he watched the two of them spar. While he may be quirkless, it turned out Nejire was right-he could still help his friends reach their dreams, and that made him happy. He didn't need his old friends that turned out to just be bullies, like Bakugo. The feeling of being blissfully ignorant from the insults was amazing, and he focused his attention to his real friends.

...

After another hour of training, Izuku was walking home with a bright smile. He was always happy to spend time with friends, and his mother was making katsudon tonight for dinner. Who couldn't take delight in that?

"Hey, hey! Izuku!"

Recognizing the voice, Izuku turned happily to face the energy empress herself, Nejire, with her eternal smile on her face and her infectious optimism almost seeming like it was rolling off in waves. However, something seemed off. Her face was a little red. Does she have a fever?

"Hi! You feeling alright? Your face is red," Izuku remarked.

At this statement, Nejire's face went a shade of darker red. "I-I'm fine! Completely fine! I just wanna ask you a question..."

Izuku's eyebrow was raised so high it was almost in his hair. She was stuttering. Nejire Hado is stuttering. Izuku was extremely confused, but he plowed through. "What's the question?"

Nejire began to shuffle around in a shy manner, which made Izuku blush. "That's cute...wait, no! Don't think that Izuku. You're not a creep!"

"Uhhhh...wouldyouliketogoonadatewithme?"

Izuku blinked. "Ummm...what?"

Nejire somehow became an even darker shade of red. "Oh no no no no no! No he's gonna think I'm an idiot! Why didn't I say it clearly??? Why can't I be calm???" Nejire stressed internally for a bit before composing herself.

"W-Would you like to go on a date with me?" She asked with what Izuku finally realized was an intense blush.

Izuku's brain shut down.

The words didn't mix.

Izuku.

Nejire.

Date?

Having the analytical mind he did, he tried to process this development. He started with a question:

"Why me?"

Of all people to pick, why me? I'm not as enthusiastic and optimistic as Mirio, or as powerful and strong willed as Tamaki. By these standards, why me? I'm as ordinary as you can get, and I'm quirkless. I've just been following you guys and helping where I can. What could be viewed as endearing about me?

"Stop that."

Izuku's intense and spontaneous internal debate ended instantly with the voice that he suddenly realized sounded so melodic. He looked to Nejire, who had a serious face on and arms crossed, as the sun reflected off her skin, illuminating her in golden light.

"I can tell you're doubting yourself. You're face is scrunched up, so you're stressed and confused, you're not muttering, which means you're debating in your head, and you have a frown on your face, so you're not thinking positively about yourself. Stop thinking that."

Izuku sighed. "Am I that easy to read? How ironic, considering you guys call me the analytical one."

This caused Nejire to smile a little.

"I'm gonna be honest, I don't know why you picked me. I thought that if you would pick anyone to go on a date with or chance a relationship with, it would be either Mirio or Tamaki. Why not them?"

"Because they're not you."

The blunt and simple answer startled Izuku. Not the answer he was expecting.

"You're a lot more special than you think, Izuku. You are the one that always helps the three of us. Think of it like a play. Me, Mirio and Tamaki are acting. While you may be backstage, you're just as important. You make the play what it is. Without you, we're not anything either. You are important, Izuku. You help us and also hang on to your dreams of being a hero, and you don't let the setback of being quirkless discourage you. You're really nice, not to mention cute(Izuku's face burned red at this compliment). I wouldn't want to go on a date with anyone else."

Without anything else to object with, Izuku gave a shy smile to her. "Thank you, Nejire. I'll happily go on a date with you."

Upon hearing those words, Nejire squealed in happiness. She bounced over to Izuku and wrapped her arms around him with a big smile on her face. "Yayyyy! That makes me so happy, Izuku. Does Friday sound good?"

Izuku could only smile at her wild happiness. "Yeah, sounds great."

A short distance away, Mirio and Tamaki grinned at each other happily as they quietly walked away. Their friends were finally together, and the connection the four shared would only get stronger from now on.

...

Izuku scrambled around his room as he searched for his buttonshirt. He had picked one specifically to use for his date with Nejire, and that date was today!

Izuku was still surprised that Nejire had asked him on a date. It seemed like such a surreal thing to imagine, yet it was happening. Who would've thought.

Ah! There it was. Izuku held up the buttonshirt, having found it among the clothes closet in his room. It was a nice smooth green colour, and went well with the black jeans he would be wearing. He wanted to wear something slightly sophisticated, because he had reserved two seats for the restaurant "World Cuisine," a well-reviewed four star restaurant close to where they lived that sold food from all around the world. It was decently expensive and fancy, so he didn't want to look like a student who had wandered into the wrong restaurant instead of a cheap store nearby.

As Izuku said goodbye to his mother and left home, it felt like a short while until he found himself in front of World Cuisine, situated within a beautiful and massive square plaza lit up with lights, TV's, fireworks, and several other attractions. Glancing at his watch, it read 5:57 PM, so he was a few minutes early. He sat at one of the benches and waited. He reflected.

2 more years...that was the time left between now and applying for U.A. Time was flying fast, and soon they would be swamped by the responsibilities that came with hero training. They wouldn't be able to be so carefree anymore...but becoming heroes had always been their dream, and nothing would st-

Izuku's brain immediately shut down upon seeing Nejire turn the corner and head towards the front of the restaurant. She had a beautiful red dress on that went down to her knees, sky blue high heels that matched her eyes, vivid red lipstick, and a white flower was tucked behind her ear. She was breathtaking.

When Nejire caught sight of him, her face brightened and she walked towards him(no running because of her heels), and when she reached him, she embraced him in a hug, which a blushing Izuku returned.

"Hi, Izuku! You ready for our date?" She asked cheerily.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied with a smile. With that, they entered the restaurant.

"Hello, you two. Do you have a reservation?" Asked the receptionist.

Izuku nodded. "Table of two under the name "Midoriya." The receptionist glanced down at her list, then nodded. "Please follow me." The receptionist got up and walked towards the dining area, and Izuku and Nejire followed behind.

As they sat down and read over the menus, they signaled a waiter to come over.

"Hello, you two. What can I get you tonight?"

Izuku responded with "Ceasar Salad, New York strip and a bread pudding for me."

Nejire went right after that. "Garlic breadsticks, Oyyakudon, and red velvet cake, as well as a cup of jasmine tea."

After the waiter left, Izuku and Nejire took a minute to gaze at each other, both lost in the eyes of the other. When their food arrived, they ate and talked, recounting memories made over the 4 years of experiences with Mirio, Tamaki and themselves. As they left the restaurant, Izuku took Nejire to Musutafu Mountain, which was a mountain for sightseeing, and was known for its amazing views.

As they reached the peak of the mountain and sat at one of the benches in front of the sunset, they gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. But neither was tired of it, and were entranced with the other's eyes.

"Hey, Izuku? Said Nejire softly, which was unlike her.

Izuku shook his head a little and refocused on her. "Yeah?"

"How do you feel nowadays? As we get closer and closer to the day of U.A entrance exams, you seem to get a little sadder. You do know we won't leave you even if you don't make it in, right?"

Izuku seemed to deflate a little. "I know you won't. But it's not very encouraging to think that your three friends will make it into the hero course almost guaranteed when you don't know if you can get into the school at all. I'm still rooting for you guys, don't get me wrong. I'm just a little frustrated."

Nejire frowned. "I can see why that might be a problem for you. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about it. Life dealt you the hand of the quirkless, and people will always judge you for that. All we can do is stick together. And trust me, I'll be by your side no matter what. I'm not leaving you, Izuku. Not after all these years we've spent together."

Izuku gave her a million-watt smile, which contrasted the frustrating situation he was in. "Thank you, Nejire. Thank you so much..." he trailed off as yet again, the two gazed into each other's eyes. 1001 times...but this was a little different. After a few seconds, Izuku could feel himself inching closer and closer, and Nejire could feel the same. Before they knew it, their eyes were closed, noses touching...

...And their lips met.

A/N

(Chapter two done yeet)

So there's chapter two finished! This chapter I mainly used to develop Izuku and Nejire's relationship and establish the sort of friendly environment Izuku, Nejire, Tamaki and Mirio share when together. The main storyline will begin very soon with One For All and whatnot, but with twists to fit the theme of the story. I hope you enjoyed!

Also, thank you for the positive reviews on last chapter! I appreciate it! :)

Please review and have a great day!