-Shinobu's POV-

It was the day of mine and Shouta's first date to get coffee after work. I was super nervous, but was doing my best to play it off and act normal so that no one suspected everything. Also, I really didn't want Shouta to know just how nervous I was, so I decided to avoid dressing up directly, deciding instead to just wear my hero costume to work (minus my scythe) and bring a pair of high waisted light gray skinny jeans and a long sleeved black crop top that had a vneck that plunged just enough to show a bit of skin but didn't show cleavage much. Since the pants were high waisted, my stomach wouldn't show with the crop top. I planned to just wear my typical black combat boots with the outfit.

Looking at the sparse makeup I did actually own at Nightshade's insistence, I decided to bypass most of it, sticking to my typical jet black eyeliner and black mascara. The only thing different I did was add a very sheer peach lip tint so I didn't look quite like a walking corpse. My hair I left in its typical long and down style, not willing to look at myself in the mirror in fear that I would chicken out of this whole thing.

Ever since Shouta and I shared our first kiss in the training facility a couple of days ago, I found myself very nervous, almost giddy when thinking of the tired looking hero. He had texted after I had got home that night to tell me that he was cancelling my patrols for the weekend, so that I could catch up on my sleep. Despite my insistence that I was fine and that it was unnecessary, Shouta had refused to budge, going as far as to tell Zashi-nii to make sure I was resting this weekend. I was a bit indignant about that last part, not enjoying being treated like a child, but not really wanting to deal with confrontation, I'd let it go this time.

As soon as I made it to the school, I headed straight to the teacher's lounge feeling more relaxed and rested than I had since my first day at UA over a month ago. It was already 7:30am, so the teacher's lounge was already bustling with activity like teachers making last minute copies or having coffee while doing some grading or reviewing their lesson plans. When I came in, most teachers were too busy focusing on their own tasks to notice me. At least, they were until Midnight took one look at me and squealed.

"Oh my goshhhh! Shinobu-chan, is that your hero costume?!" she squealed in excitement, to which I just nodded with my typical blank expression before getting a bit worried. Is there something wrong with my hero costume? Are TAs not allowed to wear ours to work? Oh no! A firm hand was placed on my shoulder, knocking me out of my panic as a bored tone broke through my internal screaming.

"Midnight, knock it off. Shinobu's in her hero costume, as is everyone else in this room. Chill out," Shouta's bored voice scolded before taking his hand off of my shoulder as I nodded in greeting and thanks to him, trying to act like everything was normal and fighting a massive blush from spreading across my face when he muttered a tired "morning" to me. To most it would seem rude, but after a month of being practically joined at the hip since we both worked the same two full time jobs together, I'd long since realized, Shouta just really wasn't a morning person, since he didn't get nearly enough sleep.

"But I'm just so surprised! Her costume is so much more revealing than I imagined!" Midnight exclaimed before getting a sadistic glint in her eye that made me shiver uncomfortably, "It brings out my sadistic side!"

She went to reach for me, and in an intense need to not be involved in whatever the hell the R-rated heroine was doing, I caught her wrist, ducking under her arm before releasing her arm as I cancelled her sight and slipped past her in seconds before returning sight to her. If one wasn't paying super close attention, they would have just assumed they blinked and that I had moved ridiculously fast. I mean, thanks to my required combat training I was enduring, I was much quicker than before, but not quite that fast.

"Wow, Nobu-chan! You really are full of surprises today! You're so quick!" Midnight exclaimed reaching for me again to which I once again caught her wrist without looking before turning back to her and speaking, causing the room to go dead silent.

"Please, Midnight-san, do not touch me. I don't like it," I stated simply, my chartreuse eyes narrowing slightly while my voice remained quiet and calm, shocking the rest of the faculty into silence. They had only seen me nervously speak while stuttering, and many had assumed I had a sort of stutter that I couldn't help, which was I barely spoke. In reality, I just don't feel the need to speak all the time. Midnight's eyes narrowed for a second as I released her hand, before she broke into a huge sadistic grin.

"Alright, Nobu-chan. Just know that when you act like this, it seriously gets me going," she cooed in a way that I guess was supposed to be seductively. Gross.

"Come on, Shinobu. We're helping with observing and critiquing the second year hero courses today," Shouta suddenly spoke up walking back to the exit of the teacher's lounge with two steaming cups of coffee. Nodding and waving bye to the rest of the faculty, I quickly followed after Shouta, happy to escape the uncomfortable stares in the teacher's lounge.

-Time Skip brought to you by my daughter's adorable kitty sweater-

Turns out, Shouta lied about helping the second years so he could help me escape. Instead, we had spent the whole day reviewing the subjects I would be expected to help with in the future. It was basically a giant cram situation which was honestly fine by me since I've always been much more comfortable with books than people.
Soon enough, it was the end of the day, and I was running to the restroom to change into my outfit for our date. Fortunately, Hizashi had been sent to a conference for Monday and Tuesday in Kyushu about the English curriculum for heroes. Weirdly specific for a conference, but in a world where people have dog heads and can fly and set things on fire at will, I guess it's not all that weird. Anyways, after changing into my outfit and packing my hero costume into a small silver backpack I had brought along to keep my other clothes in, I walked back to Class 1-A to see Shouta already locking the door before turning to look at me.

"Ready to go?" he asked, his bored tone still present as I nodded. He led the way off campus and to a small little cafe that seemed a bit hidden. The entire 10 minute walk was spent in a comfortable silence as we continued into what I thought was just a simple coffee shop. That was quickly proven incorrect as we walked in to be greeted with several meows and greetings from the staff. My eyes went wide and I let out an audible excited gasp at the site before me. It wasn't just a coffee shop. It was a cat cafe!

My gasp caught the attention of Shouta as he looked back at me in confusion before giving a small smirk at my now shining eyes and excited smile on my face. When my eyes met his onyx ones, I gave him a small grin and a near silent giggle when I saw a cat jump onto his shoulder and nuzzle his face.

"Hey, Machiko," he greeted the orange tabby with an affection scratch behind the ears. My face flushed slightly. Sure, Shouta was a handsome guy, but seeing him interacting with a cat and the way his face softened when he spoke to the feline just made him so much more adorable and a lot less intimidating if I was being honest.

After that adorable interaction, Shouta and I found a table in the back corner and sat down. We were quickly surrounded by cats that all seemed to be interested in cuddling or getting a head scratch from Shouta.

"So I'm guessing you've been here before," I teased quietly, finally breaking my silence with much more ease than I thought I would. Shouta let out a very quiet chuckle, and I couldn't help but blush as his eyes met mine.

"You could say I'm a bit of a regular," he admitted, keeping his eyes on me causing me to fidget a bit with my hands on the table until he reached across, gently grabbing my hand and giving it a firm squeeze, "It's okay. You don't have to be nervous. It's just me. No pressure." I huffed slightly at that. Yeah. It's just you. A super attractive hero who also happens to be Zashi-nii's best friend and be super kind and sweet to animals while I'm just-

"Shinobu, stop doubting yourself," Shouta stated bluntly, causing my eyes to widen in shock as he answered my next question, "Your eyes seem to fade a bit and you purse your lips when you start to think negatively about yourself or panic. Given the situation and your track record, it was logical for me to assume the first one was the case this time."

My eyes narrowed, and my mouth opened to argue right as a gentle nose prodded gently into my waist, sniffing me. Looking to my left in surprise and letting my hand leave Shouta's, I came face to face with a tan, black and white coated snowshoe cat with ice blue eyes. The poor thing seemed both nervous and curious, so I stayed completed still. After a couple of seconds, the cat pushed its nose into my side, trying to cuddle into my lap, which I gladly allowed and began lightly stroking the beautiful cat.

"Wow," Shouta breathed, and when I looked up at him, he seemed to be in shock, "Kouri never lets anyone hold her." I looked down at the cat in my lap with a slight smile.

"Really?" I asked curiously just as a waitress came over to us before her jaw also dropped when she noticed the snowshoe in my lap.

"Kouri let you hold her?" she exclaimed in shock to which I just nodded, my brows furrowed in confusion, causing the waitress to explain, "Oh, Kouri is deaf, so she is very shy and distrusting of others. So it's just a shock that she allowed you to hold her." I smiled a bit to myself as I realized it was probably due to a cat's ability to sense when someone could understand them. Kouri just gave a loud purr and cuddled into my hand.

"Ah… Well I'm glad she finally warmed up to someone! My name is Kiko, and I'll be your waitress for today. Aizawa-kun, what can I get for you?" the waitress asked, turning to Shouta and completely ignoring me, her short brown curls bouncing as she turned. Something about this really bothered me.

"I'll get my usual," Shouta answered, turning his eyes towards me. After a couple of seconds where Kiko still didn't turn to look at me, Shouta cleared his throat and spoke again, "What are you wanting, Shinobu?" At his acknowledgment of me, Kiko turned back toward me almost reluctantly.

"Green tea with lemon and sugar please," I stated, my voice quiet. Kiko gave me barely a nod before turning back to Shouta before giving me a super flirty smile causing me to frown.

"Well if you need anythiiinnngggg, please don't hesitate to let me know," she cooed as she placed a hand on her shoulder as she walked away causing me to look at my lap, suddenly feeling like I was intruding. After a couple of seconds, Shouta got up, and I was afraid to look up and to see him going where I was afraid he was going to talk to the waitress. To my surprise, the side of the booth bench next to me dipped as Shouta sat beside me, taking my hand in his.

"Shinobu," Shouta called softly, tucking a piece of my silver hair behind my ear, "Don't worry about her. I'm not here with her. I'm here with you." Shocked by his sweet words, I turned to see him looking at me with a soft expression on his face as he laced his fingers in mine.

"Sorry, Shouta," I mumbled nervously, "I guess I just didn't like how she flirted with you like that. But I have no right to feel that way about it. It's not like we're together or anything." At that last statement, Shouta squeezed my hand, gaining my attention causing me to meet his now stern gaze.

"We're taking this slow so that there's no pressure, but that doesn't mean that I will be going after anyone else. I care about you and would not do anything like that to hurt you. Quit being so irrational," Shouta pointed out as he gently brushed his lips across my cheek.

The rest of our date passed by in comfortable conversation as Shouta kept his fingers interlocked with mine, gently rubbing his thumb in circles across the back of my hand anytime I seemed to get stressed or struggled with what to do or what to say. When Kiko returned with our orders, her shocked face gave me a sort of sweet satisfaction, and in a rare act of confidence, I leaned my head on Shouta's shoulder, causing Kiko to bow awkwardly and excuse herself as soon as possible after serving our drinks. After that, I sat back up with a small satisfied grin that Shouta either didn't notice or chose not to comment on.

After a couple of hours, it was time to go. We said goodbye to all the cats before Shouta walked me back to mine and Nii-san's apartment. When we reached the front door, he leaned down and gave me a sweet, chaste kiss on the lips, going slow to give me a chance to turn him away or tell him I was uncomfortable. That wasn't going to happen. Ever since our first kiss, I had wanted to feel that warmth I had gotten then once again. I was not disappointed. As soon as our lips met, that warmth spread through me once again, and it remained even after he had pulled away, pressed another kiss to my forehead, and took his leave.

As soon as I got into the apartment, I ran to my room, put my face in my pillow, and let out a quiet schoolgirlish scream. I had just gone on my first date. To a freaking CAT CAFE with a man who did not seem to mind just reading my cues instead of requiring me to speak all the time. And had my second kiss all in one day. And I was on cloud freaking 9.

Song: Keep Your Head Up Princess by Anson Seabra