Chapter 73 - Our Perfect Date
It was a normal weekend, well, despite the fact it was coming to the end of the Summer, it was one of those heatwaves so most just lounged about the common area lazily. Good thing they weren't working. Izuku just ate his breakfast in peace, thankful he pulled a few extra late hours to finish some more catch-up work since his Work Study was to be suspended until further notice.
The serenity shattered in mere moments, a finger prodding against his nose. "Wah!" He threw himself back from the counter, nearly launching off the stool from Yuki's burning gaze. "Y-Y-Yuki, good morning!"
"Mmm..." Her flat stare crept closer, or as far as the counter between them would allow. "I~zu~ku~" His body drained of colour. She was after something.
"Ye-yes?" He squeaked, no one was around to watch as he was silently begging for a hero.
"It's time to cash in that promise! Broccoli Head!" Her finger curled back to his face, making him go cross eyed.
...
...
"Eh?" Regaining his composure, he sat forward. "What do you mean?"
"Remember that promise back at the Summer Camp?" She egged on further.
'You can repay me with a date after the camp' Seeing her wink cutely, he went silent as she healed his finger. 'I want to go back to that arcade with you again, I still haven't beaten that top score'
Then the lightbulb flashed. "Yeah, we did promise, although you want to go to an arcade in this weather?" He raised a valid point, so Yuki tapped her chin.
"Hmm, fair, besides that does seem like a waste, maybe an outdoors date...?" But where seemed convenient for them both? Options that were easy to file a request through to Mr Aizawa on short notice. Her mood dampened, "I really don't want to be strangled by those binding clothes again..."
"Why not the beach?" Kyoka startled the pair, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, waving her jack between the two. "I and Akio went to a local beach pretty often for training before the Entrance Exam for UA, just a thought since Yuki's clueless as you are, String Bean." The purplette snickered at her best friend's reaction.
"Like you're any better...!" Yuki seethed through her teeth.
"Thanks, Kyoka, that's a good idea!" Izuku replied, the rocker giving them a quick salute of her jack before tossing an extra bottle to the wall, a shadowy hand grasping it before seeping away.
"Have fun." She went to leave had Yuki not spun around to catch her.
"Wait-wait, I need a favour!" She stepped closer out of Izuku's hearing to murmur her request. Kyoka slowly nodded along, looking upstairs then back again before Yuki stood back to see her friend smirk. "Think you can do that?"
"Believe me-" Kyoka pointed to her own ears. "-I've got experience, consider it done." The two fist-bumped, leaving Izuku baffled as Yuki hummed back to his side.
"What did you do?" He was curious, seeing the mischievous smile on his girlfriend's face, cute as always.
"Well; Nana's gonna start getting suspicious when we're gone, so she'll likely try to stalk us. So! Let's just say Nana's going to kill me later, but if things go well today It'll be worth it." Now Izuku felt bad for the young girl who, unbeknownst to her, was about to learn why you never trust a Nightmare who's friends with a musician.
Okay, scratch that, he felt like an accomplice to a villain.
|You are a monster|
"I know, fufufu." Yuki giggled.
Before leaving UA, Izuku offered to hand in the form that allowed the pair to leave campus for the day. Thankfully, it was All Might that was working a few extra hours. The skeletal man was pleasantly surprised once he read through the paper.
"You and Young Azuru are heading out today? What's the occasion?" He would approve of it regardless, today was a nice day to head out someplace.
Izuku fidgeted a bit before managing to find his voice. "W-well, A-All Might... we were planning on... going to... the... beach..." His words grew increasingly distant, the words settling into his teacher whose face became unreadable.
You swore a tumbleweed rolled by before All Might laughed triumphantly, spurting blood from his lips, freaking Izuku out. "Hahaha, you finally took the initiative! I'm proud of you, kid!" He patted Izuku's back, blue eyes curved akin to Yuki's when her mask was one.
"Th-thank you, sir." Izuku sweatdropped a smile. "I should probably withhold the fact Yuki asked first," He clenched his fist, One For All crackling in his bones. "No, I will do my best to take initiative!"
Walking along the coast by the road was a pleasant experience. Before leaving UA, the pair ensured to pack a healthy amount of drinks and snacks for the day. Yuki hid her swimwear under a pair of shorts and a light blue tank top with a firework pattern in various shades. A small white cap over her head.
Izuku copied much the same only sporting one of his odd white shirts with the word 'Shirt' in red. Something Yuki did notice with their hands locked was the new scar peeking above a black sling across his bicep. "Hey, when did this happen?"
Noticing her attention, he waved a hand to calm her worry. "It appeared after we beat Chisaki, maybe a side effect of Eri's Quirk? I'm not sure..." Nothing of that battle made much sense given the events that transpired. He rubbed his nape. "If I'm honest I'm not sure what to make of it."
"I could always heal it?" Yuki suggested, eyes fixated on the horizon over the ocean, but that tone felt the same as when she offered to mend his brittle bones while retaining his scars. "I hate seeing you injured..."
His heart felt fuzzy again, squeezing her hand before leaning in to peck her cheek, much to her surprise. "I'm okay, though I hope you're not still mad enough not to repair my bones," Izuku added, words spilling from his mouth. "I wonder what the effects might be now that SIVA's evolved? Would the effect be the same? What about the recovery rate? Consumption of energy, or-"
"Hehehehe," Yuki giggled behind her hand, admiring his mumbling, strangely she understood all of it quite well. "I think it'll be fun to see, so long as you don't mind being a lab rat for the day?"
"Of course not!" He said a little too loud, causing him to blush much to her amusement. "I-I wouldn't mind, I trust you, Yuki." More now than ever, feeling SIVA so close to his own body gave him a broader understanding of what happened inside Yuki every day.
She nuzzled his neck a little. "Ditto, Izuku." Then her eyes widened, arm outstretched. "Perfect timing - our destination, good sir."
"Why thank you, Milady." Izuku quipped alongside her, standing before a very familiar sight now teeming with locales once more. "This place again..." It couldn't be helped, the pair admiring the scenery before them.
Midoriya ran up and down the trash heap of a beach, unaware of the eyes tracking his movements until he tripped, inches before the sand had a pair of arms not caught him quickly.
He winced, blinking a few times as the figure sat him down on his knees, at first he thought it was All Might, but by the time he adjusted to the figure his face paled and he shrieked, falling back onto his ass. The LED lights belonged to a metal mask, the lights inside the eye sockets adjusting to appear confused since no mouth was present on the face.
It covered the person's hair too, while said person wore a blue tank-top with wrist bands strapped to their toned arms and a pair of grey shorts and white sneakers, knee-high blue and white socks too. It, from the person's figure, was a girl too.
"W-w-what are you!?" His response only made the eyes slant in annoyance, upon seeing this Midoriya waved his hand shakily. "No sorry, I-I didn't - not what I meant!"
His first introduction went as poorly as one could imagine. A girl unknown to him was someone All Might knew personally. And that mask, it was so shocking at first if you weren't prepared for it.
"Yes, but not to worry she's a good friend, and a big fan like yourself," All Might answered, while she rubbed the back of her head bashfully, eyes averted. With a pat to the head, All Might addressed Midoriya. "I'd like you to meet Yuki Azuru, another student of mine, but nothing like you in that regard."
Now Midoriya was more open-minded to the strange girl, holding out his hand with a small smile. "Sorry about that, I'm Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you."
At first, she looked to his hand, then to his kind smile, then hesitantly, her hand slowly reached out to shake his, eyes still dilated into an adverted gaze, but they changed to a normal stare upon feeling the warmth in his hand, and the smile he wore made her relax.
Takoba Municipal Beach Park was as clean as the day Izuku Midoriya completed his training in record time. In those ten months; He grew close to Yuki, his first and only friend. She shared in his training, talked with him, she made him feel wanted again. And now, they met right back where it all began.
Yuki's sly stare shifted to Izuku. "'W-w-what are you!', You had quite the way with words back then," Her reminder made his face pink, feeling her side press to his. "Well, you certainly have your charm."
"Your mask wasn't exactly a good selling point at first," He admitted, the two heading down to the beach. "And you were right in my face too."
"I could've let you fall face-first, but that's not 'heroic' by All Might's standards," She moaned in a tough-guy tone that almost doubled Izuku over in laughter.
Once on the hot sand, they found a spot to set their bags down, taking the time to remove the clothing covering their swimwear. Izuku just threw off his shirt, wearing dark green trunks with a pair of black sandals. Turning around, he swore something hot trickled down his nose.
Time itself was suffering from a relapse. Izuku's world tunnelled, centring around the breathtaking person smiling back at him. Wearing her blue and white striped swimsuit with a transparent blue sash covering her right thigh partially, her body was again refined, every curve defined, muscles toned perfectly. Admittedly, Izuku briefly stared down at her soft mounds hidden by her two-piece suit. And of course, her mask sported a white bow.
Yuki held her right arm high, folding it behind her neck with a seductive smirk. "Someone's in awe?" Her words shook him from his stare, turning scarlet when she giggled. "You know," She approached him, lifting his chin so he could see her scarlet-blue irises. "You can look all you want - just so long as it's only me."
"I have to be dreaming again! How is this happening!?" "I um, y-y-you look b-beautiful," He pushed out, failing again to return her flirting though she brightened at the compliment, tapping her knuckle to his bare chest.
"You're something yourself, Zuzu," She winked before setting their stuff down, sprinkling a few blue nanomachines over them for good measure. Taking his hand in hers, Izuku was lured toward the water. "Now stop drooling and let's make the most of this rare occasion!"
He smiled, closing his fingers around hers. "Y-yeah!"
"Aaah I feel revived...!" Yuki sighed with her head above water, drifting against the gentle current with Izuku floating beside her. "Think it's weird this is nearly Fall and it feels like Summer's nowhere near over?"
"Yeah..." He agreed, eyes staring up at the sky with her. It was so peaceful. The distant laughter of others who had the same idea, the slosh of the coast, even the seagulls above. A bonus? The amazing girl at his side is here with him. "...Kyoka was right about this."
"Mmhm," Then a small splash alerted Izuku into turning to the ocean beyond. Yuki disappeared.
"Yu - gah!" He was dragged under instantly, thrashing around to find whatever pulled at his leg to find the smirking girl swimming under the waves with him. He glared disapprovingly but she just did a small reenactment of his sudden freakout. Then his eyes lit up, smiling slowly. "Maybe I can..." He curled up his fingers, sending a rippling sensation through the water, alerting Yuki who saw his hand locked to her chest. "One For All... Full Cowling..."
Yuki paled, waving her hands sheepishly before the energy could be unleashed. The mint green bolts congregating around his fingers "Delaware Smash!" The shockwave spun through the water, slamming into Yuki's stomach, tossing her out of the water with a yelp. She soon splashed down on her back, sinking down slightly to hear Izuku laughing not far from her impact site. "Pfft hahahaha!"
Spitting out the saltwater, she dawned a challenging glare. "So you want to play rough? I'll bite, Deku." She gurgled once submerged, performing a backflip to strike her boyfriend with a large wave manifested by the air pressure. His laughter ceased with a resounding splash seconds later.
Once his curly head flew above the water, he mirrored her grin. "Alright then, here comes - St Louis Smash!" His leg overclocked beneath the water, causing a small riptide to pull Yuki backwards, forcing the girl to dive, using a small amount of SIVA to burst through the waves like a torpedo, snatching his ankles behind her shoulders, dragging him for a ride until she twirled, dragging him under.
When he focused again, a waterproof note was signed in her fingers. "Perfected Burst." He cringed, seeing the small water mines dotting the sea, releasing small sonic bursts that flung him back above water, coughing in between fits of laughter. Unfortunately, Yuki was nowhere to be found.
"She's hiding somewhere..." He kept himself on guard, watching his blindspots and any abnormal disturbance in the water. "Compared to Asui, she's not as adept at fighting in the water, I've got a basic understanding myself but if she's to mimick Tsui then she'll..." His pupils shot right behind him, striking the water with his hand. "Got you!"
He splashed nothing.
"Shaaaark!" She hissed in his ear, embracing the freckled boy from behind tightly. His panic settled immediately for a strained cry. Everything from the neck up was red, steam whistling from his ears upon feeling her chest smoosh against his shoulder blades. "Fufufu, I am the master of deception! The Archon Yuki!"
"I think I'm dying and winning at the same time~! So soft..." His training did not prepare him for this moment at all, slowly sinking with the fishes.
"Just so you know, Izuku, I'm not holding back!" Yuki declared.
"So Kacchan is the exception?" He countered, seeing her double back giggling.
"You said it, not me!"
Back at UA...
"Achoo!" Katsuki nearly threw himself forward on the sofa, startling the others.
"Bless you," Ocha replied in passing toward the kitchen.
Katsuki balled up his fist, eyes jagged with rage with red ticks. "Who the hell is talking about me!?"
Back on the beach, Yuki leapt high to slap a volleyball toward Izuku's side of the pitch, forcing him to reach wide to thresh it over the net again. Yuki effortlessly knocked it back as her partner recovered, using both hands to knock it forward, higher than what Yuki anticipated, stumbling on her heels to catch it. No Quirks meant she had to rely on her own eyesight to predict its trajectory.
"Got it!" A random girl saved Yuki, knocking it back where a guy joined Izuku's side, returning it.
"Mind if we tag in?" Yuki blinked at the girl's offered hand, smiling graciously, returning the gesture.
"More the merrier." She turned to Izuku who seemed on board with the sudden team-up.
Running forward, Yuki dove over the girl's head and slammed the ball with all her might between Izuku and the other guy, scoring the first point. "Always take advantage of the chaos!" The girl cheered, high-fiving Yuki.
An unexpected change of events | Time to innovate | Point Yuki
"Knew you couldn't resist playing the third wheel." She mused, hearing the Splicer huff.
|Hardly|
"Okay, I got a really bad joke - Siva found it," Yuki squeezed in, sipping on her lemonade at a small outdoor cafe not far from the beach. The pair had sat down for lunch and were currently trading jokes... not all of them good. "Ahem, 'Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."'."
"'"I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes," replies Watson.'," Yuki elaborated further.
"'"And what do you deduce from that?"'."
"'Watson ponders for a minute, then says, "Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe. But what does it tell you, Holmes?"',"
"'"Watson, you idiot!" Holmes says. "Someone has stolen our tent!"' Hahahaha...!" Yuki nearly spat her drink out as Izuku slowly caught up on the joke, chuckling a bit, causing the bluette's own snorting to increase. "You only just got that!?"
"I-It took me a second, yeah." He smiled, rubbing his nose. "I don't know if I have any good ones though..."
Yuki waved her hand. "Anything, hell, I'll take a pun if you've listened to All Might long enough," She grimaced, placing her finger on his parting lips. "No, wait, please don't use his jokes... he's worse than my Papa was, ugh."
Suddenly; one sprung to mind, but Izuku immediately bit his cheek. "I... can't say this one out loud, it's... it's really bad; I heard Kacchan say it once." Izuku was regretting that as she leaned over the table to listen giddily. Shrugging, he leaned forward to her ear. "It goes like this..."
Izuku relayed what he heard, feeling his stomach knot at the many fearful speculations that could arise from Yuki once he reached the punchline. When he did, she threw herself back in shock. He almost went to apologize but saw her cover her mouth to stifle her laugh. "Holy crap, Izuku! That's... oooohohoho that's really dark! Wow! Hehehe..."
"I-I told you, it's n-not mine." He inwardly winced due to the fact there was some level of humour to it. "I think Kacchan said dark humour isn't bad per se just another form that some people take too literally."
She closed her eyes, sipping on her drink again through a straw. "I dunno... sounds too considerate of Dumb-Dumb if we're talking about his humour." Yuki bowed her head. "I admit defeat, I can't top that; If I did I'd probably be sent to hell."
"You and me both," He sighed, rubbing his neck. Again, he admired Yuki staring off into space at times, it was honestly sad how easily he just became lost in her eyes, like some high school cliche. Every time she caught him she just smiled back with a fang poking out at times.
"You know I had another reason for all this; the date I mean," Yuki spoke up, still facing the shore not far from their view. "I really did want to spend time with you given how much work we've had, but I did it to help you smile more." His eyes widened a little, he flinched when she stared back into his eyes. "Nighteye's funeral isn't far away now, and I know a part of you is still beating itself up about his death... I am too."
He wanted to say the opposite but she was already looking at her mask, rubbing it in her hands. "This new strength has set me back to where I started; It's stronger and even at ten percent I... I couldn't do anything to save him," She shut her eyes. "He fought so hard to change the fate for me, you, All Might, so was him dying the price for that? I dunno..."
Now it made sense; it did seem very out of the blue, even by Yuki's standards though the day was nice for a change. It was hard to just move on, he would do his best for Nighteye, to give Eri a better future when she was okay. Still, a small part of him felt if he were faster, maybe if he worked alongside Nighteye against Overhaul it would've been different. Yuki... she must've felt it was her fault considering the recoil of her evolved Quirk incapacitating her to taking injuries that slowed her down.
Reaching for her hand, Izuku knew what to say, "I want to save everyone, and be strong so no one will have to worry about me-" Her pupils grew, holding his back, feeling the warmth flood her arm.
"-To always win, yeah, I remember," Her expression was warm, closing her eyes. "I will master Siva, become a hero-"
"-Who will reach out a hand to everyone in this cruel world." Izuku finished, sharing her smile. The pain would linger, neither had anything to worry about though, for Sir's wish, they'll smile for a hopeful and bright future, together.
Later that afternoon, hand-in-hand they stood at the end of the pier with a gazebo at the end, staring out toward the water peacefully. Luckily, no one was around to bother them as they sat on the edge of the concrete with the gentle slosh of the wave below.
"This was fun," Yuki murmured, head against Izuku's shoulder. His cheek against her temple.
"Are you sure this is enough? We still have a lot of time before-" Her head moved with the grace of a viper to snatch raspberry flavoured lips against his minty ones briefly.
"More than enough with you." She whispered against his lips, enticing him to inch closer, feeling hot under the collar.
Their lips met with that familiar zing, urging them to pull each other in deeper, melding into a rhythm of their own. It wasn't anything scandalous like the times that made their faces hotter at the memory. Something like that was burning deep down but that wasn't for today. Instead, they parted with a small smack, resting their foreheads together, enraptured by one another.
"I love you," Yuki murmured, her mask hiding their faces from the world.
"I love you too," Izuku returned, leaning in to kiss just one more time, his hand resting against her bicep with both of hers hung over his shoulders.
Today was a fantastic day.
The train ride back to UA wouldn't take long, especially since everyone was taking the time to be outdoors meant the couple weren't cramped like a sandwich the whole way home. With the events of their date successful, they would return with a pleasant feeling for the remainder of the weekend.
Izuku was fast asleep against Yuki's side, one earbud in his right ear, the other shared by Yuki who too was out cold. Neither were bothered until SIVA would alert them of their stop. Their hands glued together while music lulled them asleep, their faces pressed up together the whole way back to campus.
Operation Smile | Bond Increased | Date Successful
To Be Continued...
Just something I feel was long-awaited before we kick off with more light-hearted moments with Class 1-A. And I did it... I made a beach episode... to the best of my ability, I'm not good at this. Ahem, self-burns aside, I hope you enjoyed it, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Heroes!
Next Chapter: Perfection in the Making
Yuki: You look like you fell down some stairs.
Izuku: I-I'm fine, just not enough sleep...
Rayla: Well; wish me luck today, Tekres!
Tekres: You do not require 'luck' for today.
Rayla: I - you really need to work on your turn of phrases.
Yuki: Next! Perfection in the Making.
Izuku: Go *Yawn* beyond...
Girls: Plus Ultra!