Izuku grumbled as another school day came to an end. It might have seemed weird, but knowing that another day of training with Stendhal was coming, Izuku couldn't help but wince. Still, his training with the Vigilante was giving results. While he was never going to be as skilled with a knife or a sword as the man was, Izuku was finding remarkable improvements in other stuff. His resilience to pain and reflexes, first and foremost, which sounded really bad but he was sure was going to be important in Hero work. But also his hand-to-hand combat skills were showing a vast improvement.

In fact, All Might himself had mentioned that it was lucky: he had focused his all on reinforcing Izuku's body, so hadn't even considered combat among the list of skills for him to practice before UA. After all, not exploding the moment he received One for All came slightly higher on the list of skills he needed to possess, and UA would certainly teach him those skills.

Izuku agreed with the assessment, to be honest, but it was good to know that he wasn't going to be completely hopeless.

He grabbed his bag and was about to leave when four classmates stopped him.

"Ohi, De- Midoriya!" One of them called, "Are you coming to the karaoke night next week?"

Izuku blinked. "M-Me?"

"Yeah, you. The class is going out and we figured we'd ask since you never come."

Izuku looked at them in confusion. Yes, he never went, but that was mostly because he wasn't really sure of what he could even do. Most of his classmates either treated him like he didn't exist or actively picked on him, even if in a more casual way than Kacchan. One would have to be chronically dumb to not understand the message that he wasn't really wanted.

Not that either of those two groups were doing that anymore, now that he thought about it. Kacchan had been bad, granted, but nothing out of the norm. Just stalking him around every day like he thought he would find out something incriminating.

… Alright so maybe that was a bit out of the norm, but Izuku was slowly getting used to it- 'Dammit!' "Uhm… When is that?" He asked, with an unsure expression. He might not have gone, but at least he could see if…

"Oh, it's Tuesday night."

Izuku shook his head, "Ah, sorry, I can't."

"Oh." They all looked at each other awkwardly, "Can we ask why?"

"I already have another thing to do that night." He said, evasively. Last thing he wanted was tell everyone he had a girlfriend, to be honest. He didn't want the next six months and a half to be dedicated to dodge questions. "Sorry."

"What do you have to do Deku?" A voice asked from the hallway. Everyone turned to look at Kacchan.

"I- Nothing, just… A thing." He tried to be evasive and looked far, far away from Kacchan's eyes. He had heard people mentioning him as 'Katsuki of the Hundred Rejections', which he privately thought was pretty funny, but would never admit in public. A bit exaggerated, but it was true that at this point Kacchan had hit unsuccessfully on every girl in their year, in the year below and, according to rumors, even outside of school.

Pretty amazing he could find the pride to insist on that, to be honest. Typical Kacchan.

"Is it what I think it is?" He asked with a growl, and everyone looked at him and back at Izuku, now curious. He noticed even other students had stopped to look at him now.

"Y-Yes?" He stammered out.

"With that bitch again?!" He shouted, and a few people's eyes changed to confusion.

"D-Don't call her that Kacchan!" He shouted back, before covering his own mouth.

"What did he just say?"

"Her?"

"Oh boy…"

"It can't be…"

The one that dared ask the question was one of Bakugo's flunkies, the one called Oruda, with the quirk the extend his fingers. "Uh, Midoriya, do you have a girlfriend?"

If before only a few people were looking at him, now every single soul within hearing range had suddenly decided Izuku Midoriya was the most interesting to happen in this school since that one time a student accidentally turned a whole class into chocolate. Wild day that one.

Izuku looked out of the window, seriously pondering for a moment if he could survive a swan dive from it, all while burning bright red. He quickly grabbed his things and rushed to the door. "Ireallyhavetogobye!" He shouted as he ran away.

And then, from what he could hear, the class exploded.

-x-

"What the fuck do you mean Midoriya has a girlfriend?!"

"Are you shitting me!"

"Oh my god… I was beaten by Midoriya…"

"How?! How?!"

"Is it the freckles? Is the secret freckles?"

Bakugo listened to the grumbles and cries of his classmates. The boys were in disbelief – understandable, he had been too – but the girls… The girls just walked up to him.

"Bakugo, details."

"What?" He asked.

"Who is she? Is she cute? From this school or another?"

"Why the fuck do you care?"

"Gossip is gold." The girl replied, and Katsuki just sighed. Fucking extras and their stupid small mindedness. He was hunting a serial killer and they wanted gossip. He grunted, but surprisingly none of them budged.

"Not from this school. Name is Himiko."

"Cute?"

"Why the fuck would I know?!" He shouted.

"I mean, you saw her right?"

"Yeah." Bakugo pinched the bridge of his nose. For fuck sake, those fucking morons were going to bother him until he answered, weren't they.

He tried to picture Himiko in his mind. What did she look like? Meh. A bit above average, he supposed. "7.5 out of 10. But bitch personality, so 0. Seriously, fuck her."

"Alright." They nodded, "thank you."

"Ugh, idiots." He turned around, "Let's go g…" He stopped as he looked at the group that was standing around the chalkboard.

"Alright, so we have five people betting she is ugly. Anyone taking the bet she is beautiful and Izuku really is a lucky bastard?"

Bakugo glared at every single one of the seven extras that raised their hand, before turning around and growling. 'Alright, time to figure out how to get rid of Toga.' He grinned, 'This is my best chance to do that.'

-x-

Izuku winced as he dodged another attack from Stendhal, before kicking forward. The man had been adamant that he wanted Izuku to use both his hands and his legs to fight, because in combat, in his word, 'You need all your limbs if you want a chance'. He wasn't sure that was valid when you had One for All and could level a building with a punch – and he still got giddy thinking at the fact he was going to be able to do that eventually – but he wasn't about to argue with the man with the sword, so kicking and punching it was.

"Good kick." Stendhal answered before bringing down his sword and hitting him on the side of the leg, "But you just lost your leg with that attack."

Izuku winced. "I would have retreated the leg earlier…" He tried to argue.

"Do it next time, don't just say it." The man answered. "You think I could be so successful if I didn't treat training like live combat?"

Izuku blinked. Stendhal, as far as he knew, was retired, so he wouldn't really call it successful. Then again, maybe he had just gone deeper underground? He had heard of some Vigilante acting essentially like Underground Heroes to the point they were virtually indistinguishable from the latter. He wondered if Stendhal was like that. "No sir." He replied.

"Good. Day is over. Do fifty push-ups and go home."

Izuku did as instructed, but as he left the room he was intercepted by Dabi, who quickly put a hand around his shoulder. "Hello, Midoriya."

"D-Dabi, hello." He said, confused. Dabi was never very approachable. Was this about something he ha done?

"Listen Izuku, I wanted to talk to you about your date tomorrow. Think you can come back here after a shower?"

Izuku blinked, then the reality set in. He had a date the next day.

With a girl.

Granted, it was for a false relationship. But still.

A date.

With a girl.

"Y-Yes, thank you so much!" He replied. Honestly, he was thankful. With his zero experience, there was no way he could run a proper date, and even if it was a false relationship he didn't know how to handle a friendly date all the same, given his absolute lack of friends. "I will gladly listen."

"Good, see you later."

-x-

The moment Izuku stepped through the portal, Dabi started running, rushing to the bar. "Kurogiri! Relationship advice, pronto!"

"I'm sorry sir?"

"I don't know shit about dating and you look absolutely dapper, you must have something for me!" He shouted. Frankly, he had looked up stuff online, but people were dumb fucks on average. When he had seen 'Pro Hero's Guide to Proper Dating written by Burnin and signed by Endeavor' he had just straight up burnt his phone, which meant he also needed a new one, and now he was ten, maybe twenty minutes from the time limit.

"I'm sorry sir but I fear I don't have any."

"Fuck!"

"Ahem…" Someone coughed behind him. He turned to see Compress sitting in the chair. "Don't you think you are choosing the wrong person? There is definitely someone more used to the needs of the ladies here."

"Right. Of course." Dabi nodded, "I'll go ask All for One."

"You stop right now, the last thing any of us need is asking the boss to try and look smart when he gives advice decades old. I was referring to myself."

"You?" Dabi snickered.

Then started to chuckle.

Then burst into laugh.

"Really? It's that hard to believe?"

"Man, I haven't even seen your face, yes, it's hard to believe-" Compress pulled off his mask and balaclava in one swift motion, revealing a quite handsome face that was also several years younger than what his voice made it sound, "Oh shit he is hot." Dabi blurted out.

"Indeed I am." The man said with a hint of amusement in his voice and the look of someone that had just proven undeniably that he was right, before putting back on both the balaclava and the mask. "Now, sit down and allow me to instruct you on the ways to reach a woman's heart."

-x-

Izuku felt pretty nervous as he walked out of the underground bar that formed the entrance to All for One's base, accompanied by the man he supposed was a Villain. "So, first of all, we have prepared the date for you, so you don't have to pick too much stuff." Dabi started, "We already chose the restaurant, the road to the next destination, and the arcade."

"The arcade?"

"Yes. Mustard's idea, and we agreed on it. We figure it's going to be easier for you two to relax if you don't go to a place that is too private or where you could only stay silent, like a cinema or a walk in the park. At an arcade at least you can have some fun before."

"Oh, right, of course." Izuku nodded. It made sense, even if he didn't know how good he would be at it. "I just don't know much about this dating stuff."

Dabi sighed, "Alright, let's go in order. Restaurant first." He walked him to a place relatively close to it, all why Izuku found out their location was Kamino Ward. He was pretty surprised that they were just casually telling him that, but maybe they doubted he could do anything with the information.

To be fair, they were right.

They stopped in front of a homely Japanese restaurant, and Kurogiri pointed to the inside from the door, without entering. "There is already a table for two reserved for you at the name of 'Midoriya and Shigaraki'. Now, lesson one. Know in advance what to order." He said, pointing to the menu, "It makes you look dumb if the waitress walks up to you and you don't know what to take."

"Do they have katsudon?"

Dabi glanced at the list, "Yes."

"Then no problem there."

"Alright." Dabi nodded, "But you should also know what Himiko likes."

Izuku nodded. From what he remembered, Toga liked meat and ketchup. The latter was probably a lost cause, but the former… "Do they have any meat?" He asked, going through the menu, before quickly nodding. They had bot steak and Tataki, so he was fairly sure he knew what Himiko would like.

"Good. Now, for the rest, I suppose you know stuff like helping her seat, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, in that case…"

Dabi's advice went quite in depth about how to behave. He also suggested him to buy chocolate or flowers, not both for the first date, but on that one Izuku was way ahead of him: his mom had showed up with a bouquet of red roses for Himiko. Frankly, he was a bit embarrassed about it. Other stuff went into the conversation portion of the date, and that worried Izuku.

Although, as a friend, maybe it would be easy. They could just talk about Heroes… no that was a bad idea, even he knew that babbling about Quirks was a good way to make the night boring.

So, no Heroes, no Quirks, and possibly no school either.

Well now it was a problem.

"Dabi, what do I talk about?!"

"I don't know kid. Maybe let her decide and react as you go, right?"

Izuku nodded, and then the criminal took him down the road. He pointed out a few shops Himiko might like to see – clothing stores, jewelries, a butcher for some reason – and before they knew it they were at the arcade. "Alright kid, now here is what's important, you have to go upstairs and win her a prize."

"I-I have?"

"Yes. A romantic gift that you won for her is better, even if it's something dumb like a stuffed animal. Just make sure it's cute."

Izuku nodded again. Alright… "And how do I do that?"

"Well, points of course. Tickets." Dabi led him upstairs. Here, Izuku saw a lot of different games that were made to win tickets, mostly either rhythm games or ball games. "Alright. Choose."

"What?"

"Pick one, and see how it goes."

Izuku nodded, unsure. Truth was, he had never been to an arcade before with the idea of winning something. He usually stayed on the machines with Hero fighting games, like All Might Ultimate Battle VI. He looked around, and finally, unsure, picked a DDR machine that would give out tickets based on the points that the dancers would make.

Dabi smiled. "You know kid, maybe you aren't so bad. Start it then." He said, putting in a token.

The machine lighted up, and Izuku realized in that moment something very important.

He sucked at dancing.

-x-

Dabi frowned.

Then retched.

Then audibly gagged.

'Too slow. Too fast. Hold longer. Not that long. No. Stop. Ach, that was a basic jump. No. Alright that was- nevermind, he fucked the follow up. Oh god what is he doing… No, wrong pad!'

His mind of DDR master was utterly broken by the absolute failure that Izuku was. The moment the music ceased, he grabbed the measly five tickets Izuku had collected and stared him in the eye. "Izuku."

"Y-Yes."

"Call your mother to tell her you are staying out for dinner. We aren't walking out of here until you can move on that machine without making my eyes bleed."

"Sh-Shouldn't I try another game maybe?"

"No. It's personal now."

The kid whimpered.

Good.

-x-

No one could say Izuku didn't take any form of training seriously. The moment Dabi put him on the DDR machine, he did his absolute best to follow his instructions. Quite honestly, he thought he was starting to do well at Basic.

Then Dabi raised the song's level from One to Five, and the difficulty spiked, squashing that feeling.

"That's the level I want you at, got it? You need to be good enough to win Himiko that gift, and there is no way in hell you are managing that at Basic with a level one song. I'm not saying you need to be an expert, but at least you need to be able to dance like this." He paused, "Also, this is pretty good if you make her dance while helping her learn. See? Two birds with one stone."

Izuku would have liked to answer, but he was too busy jumping from arrow to arrow. According to Dabi, while there was a pro way to maximize points, it didn't look flashy enough to make Himiko like it, so he needed the other approach.

Namely, the actual 'dance' approach.

Izuku really wished he hadn't picked the machine now.

It was only four intense hours later, at half past nine in the night, that a wobbly Izuku and a somewhat satisfied Dabi walked out, heading to a ramen shop to get the teen some food before he went home. "Tomorrow you are coming by train." Dabi explained, "Not by Kurogiri."

"W-Why?!"

"Because if you come by Kurogiri, it will feel like a normal occasion. You need to show up at the door, gift in hand, ready to accompany her around. Trust me, it always works."

"I… Thank you very much, Mister Dabi, you have been very helpful today."

"Oh, right, one last thing." Dabi grinned and pulled something out of his pocket, "Take this for any situation that requires it." He shoved the object in his hands, and closed them around it, "You might need it."

Izuku looked down.

He opened his hands.

He stared at the condom.

He closed his hands.

"W-W-W-W-Wha..."

"Just in case." The man replied, "You know, if after she handles other joysticks for a bit she goes for…"

Izuku grabbed with a hand the ramen he was handed in that instant, downed it in one swift motion, threw the empty bowl on the counter as gently as possible considering the speed, and put the money around it. "Thank you mister Dabi, see you tomorrow!" And with that, he ran away.

Dabi sighed in relief, "Well that's done. Give me a beer too."

-x-

Izuku walked into school the next day feeling every single pair of eyes within scan him like he was a mysterious being. Granted, he was Quirkless so he technically was, but that wasn't really the reason. Him and his big mouth.

He entered the classroom and sat down, hoping that no one would actually go up to him and ask anything.

"Ohi, Midoriya!"

'Dammit.' He turned around to see a few of his classmates look down on him, and felt a bit taken aback. "… Yes?"

"What the fuck?!" The tallest person in the class, a teen with a muscle quirk, asked, "How did you get a girlfriend?"

"What Yoshihiro wanted to ask…" Another student said, putting a hand on his mouth, "Is that we heard you have a girlfriend. Is that true?"

"I…" He glanced at the door, considering his chances of making it out and just skip school for the next several months.

Uh, you know, with his current grades, he might have managed that.

No, no, UA, right.

"Uh… I guess it is." He finally answered, more of a mumbled 'Igssts' than the full sentence. Amazingly, everyone had suddenly learned how to understand such a word, because they stared at each other in disbelief.

"Alright…" The teen looked unsure, before finally asking, "How?"

"I… I guess it kind of… happened? We met at a dinner between my father and hers and… well…" 'They forced us to get betrothed to save Japan from a gang war.' "I guess we liked each other?" Everyone was just staring now. Even a few students in other desks had just decided to turn around and listen in. Oh joy. "Can we stop now?"

"What does she look like?!" Another boy suddenly asked, "Is she cute?"

"Yes."

"Good morning class." The teacher said, walking in. The other students sighed but rushed back to their seats, and Izuku felt his heart beat in nervousness.

Every minute meant he was closer and closer to the date.

-x-

The moment class was over, Izuku rushed out of the class, before anyone could stop him, and basically sprinted all the way home. He couldn't help it. All Might had even agreed that today he would cut an hour off his training, so that Izuku could prepare for the dinner. Apparently, the man found the fact his student was going out on a date quite amusing.

With that in mind, Izuku ate his lunch – alone, because both his mother and father were out and to his relief Kurogiri was not hiding in his closet either –, changed out of his clothes and then rushed to the beach. All Might smiled.

"Good afternoon young Midoriya. I see you are very eager to train." He paused, grinning "Or is it more of a desire to distend your nerves?"

"I… Yeah, I'm a bit nervous." He said. A bit was the exaggeration of the century, and he didn't even know why. Sure, he was treating it like an actual date, but the truth was that both him and Himiko knew this was all part of their arranged agreement. They were just friends going out together.

"That's understandable, young Midoriya. It's a very big leap in your relationship." He patted him on the back, "I have a friend that would gladly give more advice, but myself? I was never much into dating of any sort. I'm afraid you will have pretty much more experience than the Symbol of Peace after this."

Izuku nodded. It was well known that All Might, as far as the public knew, had never dated someone publicly. It still felt odd though, because All Might was someone anyone would want to be around in his opinion. That no one had ever gotten romantically involved with him was weird.

'Maybe he just doesn't want a relationship.' He thought, pulling up a rusty bike with a missing front wheel and a bent back wheel, then paused. "Oh right, All Might, there was something I wanted to ask about?"

"What is it, young Midoriya?"

"Have you ever heard about…" He panted, pulling the bike up, "an HSPC assassin?"

All Might blinked, and Izuku noticed genuine surprise on his face. Well, that wasn't promising. "Where did you hear that, Young Midoriya?"

"Oh, someone told me about the rumor while at a family dinner. It seemed weird but they never really… elaborated."

All Might frowned, "I do remember that rumor, yes. It came around some years ago, but I thought at this point it was largely lost."

"I guess it still lives. But is it true?"

"Well, when it first came out I will admit I did look into it a bit. It's troubling to think the Hero Commission would stoop so low." He shook his head, "But I never found out anything. The new director didn't know anything, see, and the previous one had since died in a car crash."

Izuku winced. Not what his cousin had said. "Uhm… Isn't that a tad convenient?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, the rumor comes out and coincidentally the previous director dies?" Izuku raised an eyebrow, "It sounds like a cover-up."

All Might nodded slowly, "I… Suppose you are right, but I never found any hint that was the case. Still, I can try to ask a few friends that might know more, if it helps." All Might smiled, "Allow me to assure you of one thing though: if it happened, we Heroes had no words in it and certainly wouldn't approve of it."

Izuku hummed. Frankly, he didn't know what to think of the HPSC. There were rumors all the time about them, from them collecting children to turn them into government weapons to someone working for them to create bioweapons, but that was par of the course with government agencies, he supposed.

Still shady though.

He sighed, and suddenly the memory of what he was supposed to do later that day rushed back in, now that the discussion had died down. With a spike in nerves, he decided to focus more on cleaning.

-x-

Izuku stared at the clothes he was wearing. His dark buttoned-up shirt and long grey pants were elegant enough, he supposed, and he nervously fidgeted with the bouquet. His mom watched him walk to the door.

"Izuku?" She said, and he turned around.

'Please don't say something embarrassing mom… Please…' "Yes?"

"You look really cool."

Izuku smiled. "Thanks." 'Guess I got worried for n-'

"And remember to use protection if…"

"Moooooom!" He shouted, rushing out and ignoring the chuckle on his mom's face. From there, he aimed to the train station. He all but jumped on the train that would take him to Kamino, fidgeting nervously. He tried to occupy his mind with a phone, but after ten minutes of rereading the same news article about Mount Lady fighting a giant villain, he sighed and closed it, staring out of the window. It was odd to think how long it had already been since he started 'dating' Himiko. He and All Might had met in late April, and now it was already the beginning of August. Just a few more months and finally everything would happen. One for All, UA, the Hero Course… All of that was closer and closer.

But what was even closer was the Kamino station, and the train reminded him of that at every stop. He closed his hand around the bouquet, making sure to not crush it. What was he planning to do tonight?

Did he want to date Himiko?

Or did he want to go out with a friend?

He was supposed to do the former. He was supposed to be on a romantic date.

But he took a decision.

-x-

Izuku knocked at the door of the mobsters' hideout, and the one that opened the door was none other than Himiko's brother. Tomura stared at him, holding the bouquet, and then grumbled, letting him in.

The rest of the League wasn't around, but as Izuku entered the bar Himiko walked in too.

He had to admit she looked really beautiful. She had her black hair kept in a bun on the back of her head, had applied extra make-up, including red lipstick, and was wearing a black shirt that exposed part of her cl- and she was also wearing a blue skirt with stockings. Izuku had to admit, if he was really her boyfriend he would have been really lucky.

"Hi Izuku." She said, blushing a bit.

"H-Hi Himiko. Here, those are for you." He said, handing her the bouquet. Himiko stared at it, unsure, and Tomura groaned.

"Give it here." He said, unceremoniously grabbing it the moment Izuku let it go slightly toward him. To Izuku's surprise, the bouquet immediately fell apart into dust.

Both him and Himiko stared at Tomura, that just groaned, "Uh… sorry?"

"You asshole!" Himiko shouted.

"That was an accident!" The older sibling defended, and Himiko huffed, grabbing Izuku by the arm.

"Let's go." She hissed.

"Y-Yes. Bye Tomura!" He shouted, getting all but dragged outside. When they made it out, Himiko sighed, "Uhm, I- I'm sorry, maybe I should have…"

"It's not your fault, Tomura is just a dick." His friend smiled, "Should we go, Izuku? I guess this is our first date."

Izuku looked at her. She was clearly nervous underneath, unsure of what to do. Her hand was shaking a bit.

He nodded, "Before that, can we say something?" He asked.

"What is it?"

"I think… I think we should clarify if we are going on a date or… or if we are going as friends."

Himiko slowly nodded, "What… What do you think?"

"I… I think we should be going as friends." He replied. He looked at her, worried to see a sad look on her face, or another indication she wanted more of their first night out together.

And this time the smile that appeared on Himiko's face was genuine. "Then let's go, friend."

And the two walked toward the restaurant.

-x-

Bakugo snuck behind the wall, not losing sight of Izuku and Himiko Toga as the two walked away from what he assumed was her house. He hadn't seen who had opened the door, but it could have been Himiko herself. He pondered if he should knock, but decided against it. Not because he was afraid anyone could beat him, but because he wasn't dumb enough to try and walk in a fight he could avoid. He was here for Toga, after all.

He pulled up the hoodie and the black face mask. It made him look like some sort of creepy stalker, but he would take it over being recognized.

And if anyone dared to say that he also wanted to see if Izuku's date would go well or not and he could be a better boyfriend he would murder them.

-x-

Mustard hid in the crowd, making sure to go unnoticed by the two lovebirds-to-be. His boss had been clear that he wanted him to keep an eye on them. The logic was that Mustard was better suited than Compress, who refused adamantly to take off his mask, and Dabi, who stood out even in a mutated crowd thanks to his piercings. Mustard, on the other hand, was short for his age and, with Willy changing his hair and eye color to blonde and golden, while changing some portions of his face, so he could be less noticeable.

Granted, he was still fairly sure he was recognizable, but not as recognizable as the guy that was clearly trying to sneak behind them. With a black face mask and a hoodie pulled up, the teen was awkwardly attempting to keep up with the couple by a few meters, unknowingly making himself more noticeable by pushing aside most of the crowd.

He glanced at the two. Izuku and Himiko didn't seem to have noticed, too busy talking about something. He nodded. Good, awkward silence dodged. With that in mind, he started making his way to the teen, while the restaurant came into view.

Aaand a Pro Hero had stopped him. Mustard frowned, but decided to casually walk closer and listen in, leaning against a wall casually and pulling out his phone.

"I'm not a fucking stalker!" The teen was screeching. Yeah, sure buddy.

"Then why are you following that couple." The Pro calmly replied. Mustard paid attention.

"I'm not following a couple, I'm following a goddamn…" He paused, "I'm not following anyone."

"Mh. Kid, you should know better. Jealousy is not…"

"I'm not jealous!"

"Sure… Listen, the point is, we can tell you were trying to tail those people. You aren't subtle about it to begin with, and anyway we would notice. So be aware of that before you try a stunt like this again."

The teen growled, but then turned around and marched away after fishing back his IDs from their hands. Mustard frowned. Did Himiko have a stalker? That seemed unlikely, she was almost always indoor or training in Musutafu. A stalker couldn't really follow her home from Izukun's apartment.

So did Izukun have a stalker instead?

Uh, he'd have never guessed that.

He discreetly looked around, but the guy was gone. So with a yawn, he put away his phone and walked on.

-x-

"And then he said 'Is it about the homework folder? I can delete that!'" Himiko said, and Izuku almost choked on his dinner.

"He really said that in front of everyone?!"

"You should have seen the other's reaction."

"And what did your dad say?"

She puffed her chest in the best impression she could make of All for One, "This isn't about your homework folder, son. Though if you could delete that it would be great. I hope you know t-tentacles don't work… work like that…" She was starting to lose it, and as soon as she finished the sentence they both roared into laughter.

"Oh my god." Izuku laughed, "I.I thought my dad was embarrassing."

"Tomura is soooo weird. He spends all day tucked up in his room unless dad calls him out, and when he does it's always 'Yes, Dad', 'Of course Dad', 'Allow me to kiss the ground you thread upon, Dad'." She sighed, "And he just ignores everyone else."

"You would like him not to?"

"Well, see, I thought having an older brother would be more… fun. Like I could actually have someone to talk to about problems. But Tomura isn't… that."

Izuku nodded. He didn't have siblings, older or younger, but if he had one he thought he would have liked a good relation with them. He could still sympathize though. "I guess it's like the relation with my dad."

"Is it?"

"Well see, I never saw dad much before." He took a sip of water, "He was always in America to… work. And I was always happy to see him, of course, but he always felt a bit distant. Like he was trying to keep me on the border of his life." He sighed, "I guess he was."

"He really never told you about the Yakuza clan?"

"No!" Izuku groaned, "I found out the night we met, actually."

"Must have been one hell of a truth bomb." Himiko chuckled, finishing the last piece of her rare steak.

"I tried to call the police on him." Izuku admitted.

"Oh my god, really?!"

"What was I supposed to do? He had just confessed he was an international criminal."

Himiko bit her lip, "Would you still do it? Call the police, I mean."

Izuku looked down at his empty bowl of katsudon, winching. "I don't know…" He groaned in the end, "That would bring my family under scrutiny. I doubt my mom ever did anything bad, but I… I would never get into UA. I would never get to be a Hero. I know, it sounds a bit hypocritical…"

"Yeah, it does."

"Hey!"

"What? I'm not saying it's wrong." She pointed her chopsticks at him, "You are simply choosing the best option for yourself. Whatever you do, you are the son of your father, and there is nothing else you can do about it. But you can still be better. Honest, kind… I guess you can be a Hero."

Izuku's eyes went wide, and he stared at her. "You… You think so?"

"Look, I've seen a lot of Heroes in my life," 'Usually pursuing me', "But I think that you can be better than most of them. It doesn't matter anyway. It's not who your parents are that decides who you are."

"Just like you, right?"

Himiko squirmed a bit on her chair. "Yeah. Just like me."

Izuku meant it positively, like she could be a Hero despite her father being a Villain, but she could only think of her actual parents.

'Disgusting…'

'Demon child…'

'Why can't you just be normal…'

"Yeah, I suppose I don't have to let my parents decide who I am." She replied, with a fake smile.

She didn't want to consider the fact she was letting her current parent decide too.

Her hand closed a bit on the knife she had been given with the steak.

-x-

"Stupid idiot…" Bakugo grumbled, leaning against the wall. It had taken him two attempts to shake off the Hero that was keeping an eye on him.

Just because you are following a childhood fr- acquintance during his date with his girlf- a serial killer you are suddenly a creep that needs to be kept under control! He was still fuming. Luckily, he had managed to reach the restaurant in time to see them walk away.

This time around he was more careful, not pushing or forcing himself forward but trying to follow the crowd.

He looked at Deku smile and laugh with the serial killer that could cut his throat at any moment. That idiot! He looked so fucking happy, like he wasn't just a useless hostage.

Bakugo pushed forward.

He was going to save that useless moron by beating the shit out of his date or die trying.

-x-

"The steak isn't bloody. I repeat, the steak isn't bloody." Mustard whispered in the earpiece he was wearing.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Dabi asked.

"I- What? We talked about it, it means Toga hasn't stabbed Izukun." Mustard whispered.

"Why can't you just say that?" Shigaraki groaned.

"Because I'm in the middle of the fucking crowd, I can't just shout that out!" He shouted back in the phone, earning a few glares.

"Whatever. How is it going?" Shigaraki asked. Mustard frowned. Why was he so interested? It seemed out of place. But still, he had to answer.

"Well, I think? They are holding up a conversation."

"What about?"

"Uhmmmmmm…" Masutaro knew, of course, he had followed their talk by following Compress advice and sitting behind Izuku in the next table, with his back turned to them. Different air color, different clothing, no gas mask, they hadn't spotted him.

Still how do you tell someone they were talking about his porn folder?

… What? That was what it was, he wasn't going to sweeten it. "Well, training, and daily life, and UA."

"Did they say something about my training?" Stain asked.

"Yes. They actually complimented it." Mustard nodded, though they couldn't see him, "Izukun said something like 'He is giving us excellent basics on how to survive real combat, and it's not bad for any Hero to know how to use weapons too'."

Stain huffed, "Good." Mustard decided to not mention anything about the other comments about him being too violent and tending to go on rants about real Heroes that Izukun didn't really understand.

He was a good friend, after all.

"They have been walking for a while, watching storefronts and talking, and now are entering the arcade, by the way." He said, and true enough Izuku had pointed out the building to Himiko, who after a moment of hesitation nodded.

"Follow them." Dabi and Shigaraki said in unison. Mustard sighed and moved forward.

Man was he feeling creepy tonight.

-x-

"Want to try that?" Izuku asked, pointing at the DDR machine. Himiko looked at it. She was familiar of course, she had gone in an arcade many times with her classmates, but had never actually tried one.

"I don't know how to play…"

"I can teach you. A… friend taught me how to do it." He winced, and Himiko wondered why.

But eh, trying couldn't hurt, right? "Sure."

They walked on it, and Izuku selected the lowest difficulty for the easiest song. She should have felt offended, because her physical skills were good, reflexes especially so, but then again, she wasn't sure how those translated into stepping on arrows following a rhythm.

And sure enough, it went to shit fast. Izuku was doing well, but when they raised the level past the very beginners she was constantly stepping too early or too late. 'This shouldn't be so hard!' She thought, but apparently 'I have good reflexes at dodging attacks' doesn't translate into 'I have good reflexes at stepping on arrows'. As soon as the song finished, she compared their scores, and winced noticing Izuku had gotten almost three times her points.

"Uhm, sorry."

"Don't be. I can… teach you, I suppose." He said, starting the song again. According to Dabi, he should have picked this one because both sides used very similar arrows, so he could actually explain how to do it.

"Alright, so. Let's start."

He gave her pointers whenever she missed an arrow, and she noticed she was doing better. With her reflexes honed by her training and her time on the run, once she picked up the trick she started to get into it.

-x-

"What. The fuck." Bakugo groaned. "They have been on those things for an hour!"

"I mean man, there are more." A nearby extra said, hearing him.

"I didn't ask you anything!"

"Geez, I was just helping." The guy said, walking away. Bakugo sipped from the cola he had bought for his stakeout and watched the idiot and the murderer dance-off again and again.

Fucking extras ruining his perfect stakeout.

Fucking Deku and his fucking girlfriend fucking around all night, he was supposed to fucking train for fu- for UA.

Fuck.

-x-

Mustard sighed. The stalker was still there, and so was he. Stuck at an arcade watching his best friend and his… other best friend/possible future boss/girl that lived next door literally dance together on the arcade machine. At this point they had a mountain of tickets on their left, but they were having too much fun he assumed.

'You know, that's actually a good date.' He thought. Though he wasn't sure if either Izukun or Himiko were really treating it as such. For one, Izukun seemed a bit too relaxed for this having any lovey-dovey undertones.

Still, nice for him, he supposed.

'It also looks fun. I should ask Dabi some pointers.'

Finally, the two supposed lovebirds took off, picking up the tickets and walking to the counter. Izukun let Himiko pick her prize – oh joy, she chose a small knife, why the fuck was that even a prize? – And started walking outside. Mustard sighed and stood up.

-x-

Bakugo studied the DDR machine the two had just left empty. There, near the bottom of the highscores for that specific setting, he noticed Deku's name. He grimaced.

"Fuck it, I'm coming back later and kicking him out of that list." He decided, before walking outside after them, now that he had taken an absolutely-not-petty decision.

Except he had lost them.

"FUCK!" He roared, rushing outside.

-x-

Mustard looked around some more, but there was no sign of the stalker. Guess he either got tired or lost them- oh nope, there he was, running on the street. He sighed and raised his hand, emitting but a small amount of gas the moment the dude passed next to him. He watched as the guy stumbled and fell to his knees.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"What the…" He was staring at his hands and legs, confused. Mustard knew that just a quick whiff only made for a very faint effect, but it still did numb someone's legs and arms. "Let me go you extra."

"Uh. Sorry." He quickly said.

"Mustard, is everything going well?" The voice of his 'dad' asked.

"Oh yeah, I was just dealing with something. I'll be back soon." He said, looking at the guy on the ground cough. "Are you ok? You should probably just take off the mask and breath some fresh air."

Numbed by the gas, the guy did, breathing in. Mustard smiled, finally able to see the stalker's face- Oh fuck that was Katsuki Bakugo.

-x-

"It is mandatory you don't touch this child." All for One had said, pointing to the picture of a teen, clearly taken in secret.

"Why?" Mustard asked.

"He is under the protection of the Green Valley Clan. But he doesn't know that, according to I- Miss Mido- my source." All for One shuddered, "Don't go after him. Don't touch him. In fact, maybe don't even look at him for too long."

-x-

Shit. Alright, no problem, he just needed to leave.

Immediately.

And he did exactly that, leaving the teen behind.

Absolutely not suspicious.

-

Izuku, in the dark about the whole situation, sighed in relief as they reached Himiko's house.

"So eager to let me go?"

"Ah, n-no, I just-"

"I'm joking Izuku, I'm joking." Himiko replied, "It was fun though. I guess going out as friends is a lot less… stressful."

"Yeah, I guess it was." He smiled, "It was a nice night. We should do it again-" He froze, "I-I mean, as f-friends, not like…"

"Y-Yeah, sure, we sh-should definitely bring Mu- I mean, Masutaro next time, right?"

"Yes, definitely, ahahah."

Himiko coughed in her fist. Izuku looked away.

"Alright, so I guess, uhm… Goodbye?"

"Goodbye, yeah."

They looked at each other, unsure what to do. A hug? A handshake?

A kiss?

Izuku shook his head and just shaking Himiko's hand, before waving and walking away. He had finished his first date with a friend.

He felt extremely happy for some reason, more than he had been for a long time.

He didn't notice - or he chose to ignore - the small feeling of longing he was feeling under the happiness.

-x-

Himiko looked at the knife she had bought with the tickets they had won. It was basically a toy, a silly little thing that would probably break the moment she stabbed somone.

She would have probably thrown it away.

But after all, maybe she could keep it, right?

As a friend's gift, of course.

She didn't notice - or she chose to ignore - the hint of bloodthirst she felt as she stared at it.

-x-

Bakugo kicked a can on the way home, roaring in disappointment. He had fucking lost them. What if she was murdering Izuku right now? Well, he was fairly sure she wasn't, but she could have been!

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the smoke he had sniffed was a trick from some ally of Himiko.

So she had allies, uh? Then he needed to get even stronger to take them all down.

Six months to UA, a school that would prove he was the strongest.

He nodded.

The beginning of a plan started forming in his mind.

(xx)

And thus ends the first date of our dear false lovers. Hope you liked it as much as they did.

Also Mustard remains the best wingman.