The rest of the week flew by with minimal interaction between the two students besides a greeting or a wave here and there. On Saturday morning, the common floor of the Class 2-A dormitory was clear of any students besides Tokoyami who sat on the couch, scrolling aimlessly on his phone as he waited for Asui. Occasionally, he would pull up the camera on his phone to check his appearance and debate if he should change. "Quite fussing! You look dashing. Asui is not going to be able to resist you," Dark Shadow said internally.
"Don't start, Dark Shadow," Tokoyami groaned.He stared at himself in his reflection. After changing his outfits many times, he landed on a simple white-button down with dark skinny jeans, black converse and a black vest to match. He also had a fleece black jacket in his arms as the weather was starting to cool down for the year. I hope this is presentable.
"For someone who insists this is not a date, you sure are acting like it is."
"I still need to look decent. We are going to be going out in public, you know. It would be rude to not put in any effort."
"Sure, whatever you say ol' wise master of mine."
Tokoyami rolled his eyes as he checked the time. 10:28 am. Asui should be here any minute. Unless…she decided to back out at the last minute. We really haven't talked much this week. Oh no, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I should…"
He jumped as someone poked his shoulder. He glanced up to see Asui staring at him with a confused look in her eyes. "Sorry!" she said. "I said your name, but you didn't seem to hear me."
The boy blinked a couple times before jumping out of his seat. "My apologies, Asui. I must have been too deep in thought." He took a moment to observe what she was wearing. The frog girl had on a floor length mint green sundress with sheer puffy sleeves. Pigtail braids replaced her usual hairstyle, and beige flats finished her outfit. She also had a wicker picnic basket in her hand. Cute. A blush formed at that thought. "You look very elegant, Asui. Did you buy that basket for today?"
A light pink hue appeared on Tsu's face while she glanced at the basket. "Thank you and no, I got this from home actually, ribbit. You also look quite nice, Tokoyami."
"Thank you," he replied.
Dark Shadow appeared from the bird boy's back. "I helped pick it out!"he said.
"Hello, Dark Shadow, you did a very good job. He looks like he could walk a runway."
Tokoyami rubbed the back of his head. "I wouldn't say that," he said meekly.
"Just take the compliment," Dark Shadow said.
"That's enough of you! Return at once."
"Okay, okay." Before he did, the quirk turned to Asui. "Have fun! I promise I won't come out unless asked to or if he's really struggling." Asui pressed a hand against her lips to suppress any giggles as the quirk openly laughed while disappearing back into the embarrassed boy.
Pressing his hand against his forehead, he shook his head. "I'm sorry. Sometimes he's just a lot," Tokoyami said.
"It's okay. He's just looking out for you," Tsu replied.
"More like embarrassing me," Tokoyami muttered.
Asui chuckled and pointed to the door. "Ribbit, we should get going."
"Lead the way." The pair gathered their belongings and headed to the door. Tokoyami took a couple steps ahead of her, so he could open the door for Asui. She bowed her head, and they made their way to the city.
As they were leaving, the rest of the 2-A girls ran down the stairs and to the windows to watch them leave campus. Ashido fistbumped the air. "Go Tsu, you got this!" she exclaimed.
"Be the first of us to snag a boyfriend!" Hagakure added.
When they could no longer see the pair, they all went to sit in the living room. "You really think that's going to happen?" Jiro asked.
Uraraka nodded. "I think so! Asui wanted to use this time to confess, so if they are not dating when they come back, she either backed out or class 2-A is going to have another vacancy," she said with a scary gleam in her eyes.
Yaoyorozu held up a hand. "Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm sure she will be fine," she said.
"Yeah, this is Froppy we are talking about, you guys," Ashido added. "She's the cutest, kindest, and most honest student in our class. But just in case, we should come up with a way to get rid of Tokoyami if he rejects her."
All the girls nodded in agreement, even Yaoyorozu, and prepared for any outcome.
On their way to the farmer's market, Tokoyami and Asui chatted about the rest of their week. They were accompanied by warmer temperatures and a clear sky. Any awkward feeling between them seemingly vanished into thin air. "So how did you hear about this market anyway?" Tokoyami asked.
"Oh my family and I would go when I was living at home," Asui said. "It only comes around once a month, so that was our special trip. I haven't been here since I moved into the dorms, so I'm excited to see what they have now. You can get really good foreign snacks here too."
"Well I'm honored to be your special guest today," he said while bowing his head slightly.
"Ribbit, of course!"
It wasn't long before they got to the wall of stands and tents full of bustling salespeople and customers. The pair crossed under a sign that read, "Welcome to Market Under the Sun!" Each stand looked so colorful and had items from food to jewelry to clothes to small furniture. Tokoyami was so busy looking around in the middle of the makeshift aisle that when he glanced up Asui was gone. A panic instantly took over him. "Asui! Asui, where did you go!" he said.
He almost summoned Dark Shadow until he felt a hand on his back. He turned around and let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize you weren't following me," Asui said.
"No, I wasn't paying attention. Plus it's so busy here." He then held his arm out. "I know it's old fashioned, but it will prevent us from separating."
Before she could overthink it, she intertwined her arm with his. "I'll lead," she offered.
He nodded and offered his other hand. "Then let me carry the basket. It's the least I can do."
"What a gentleman," she said as she gave him the basket.
Tokoyami shrugged sheepishly. "I try." They shared a laugh as they continued onward.
The students went from stand to stand, trying all the samples they could, especially the ones from foreign countries. Asui's eyes lit up when she saw an assortment of jams and jellies at one stand. "I have never seen so many before!" she exclaimed.
"I didn't know you like jam so much," Tokoyami said.
The girl smiled meekly as if she noticed how overly excited she was. "Oh yeah it's my favorite food." She turned her attention back to the stand. "What flavor sounds the best to you?"
"Whatever you decide is fine with me."
"Hmm let's go with blackberry jelly then! I'll also get us a couple bagels with it. Americans love this stuff."
Tokoyami watched her in awe as she talked with the salesperson and giggled along to whatever they were saying. A smile formed on his lips. He was glad to see her so happy and light. He could watch her interact with others all day. She was so good at social things unlike him. She was better at a lot of things. "Tokoyami?"
He glanced up and saw Asui staring at him with a bag filled with bagels and jam in her hand. Eyes widening, he opened the basket. "Oh sorry, my mind drifted again."
Tsu placed the food in the basket and looked up at him. "Are you feeling okay? Should we go back?"
"No!" He coughed to try to cover up that sudden outburst. "No, let's keep going." He held his arm out again.
She gave him a concerned look but took it. They kept walking until a gleam caught his eye. A jewelry stand. And right in the middle of a piece caught his attention. He slowed to a stop and quickly looked around. Luckily, the bathrooms were only a couple stands down. "What's up?" Tsu asked.
"I need to use the restroom. Would you mind getting a couple apples for our lunch? I think we are coming up on the produce section."
"Sure, do you have a preference?"
"Red apples please."
He handed the basket over to her and walked towards the stalls. "I'll be right here when you get back!"
Tsu gave him one more quizzical look before shrugging her shoulders and walked towards a stand with apples. With her back turned, he ran back to the jewelry. He scanned all different types of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces until he saw the one. The pendant was in the shape of a pink water lily flower and attached to a gold chain. This would look gorgeous on Asui. He glanced around to make sure she wasn't around before getting the shopkeeper's attention for the price.
Asui took her time to pick out the two perfect red apples in the stand, one with no bruises or soft spots. When she got back, the jet black hero was leaning against a stall near the bathrooms, staring out into the crowd. He looks so cool. She couldn't help herself from pulling out her phone and snapping a quick photo. She then ran up to him. "Hey Mr. Cool Guy," she said.
"Huh?" he said. She held up her phone to show the picture she just took. Warmth filled his cheeks as she handed him the basket. The mischievous girl turned to continue walking through the market. "Hang on! Delete that, please. I look scary in that photo."
She looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue. "No, you look cool. No one else in our class can pull this candid off." She held arm out like he did at the beginning of the market. "C'mon, let's get some drinks and something sweet to finish this picnic off."
Tokoyami chuckled and intertwined his arm with hers. "Okay, but you just opened the floodgates with that little stunt."
"Ribbit, let's see who can take the best photos by the end of the day."
"Deal," he said, smirking.
As they continued from stand to stand, a candid photo war began. None of them knew when the next photo would be taken. The shopkeepers watched as they chased each other through the market. What a cute couple, they all thought. After getting some soda and a few more items, they reached the desert section.
Slightly winded from their escapade, a temporary truce was declared. "We should get something small and can handle not being eaten right away," Tsu said.
"So no ice cream today," Tokoyami said as he pointed out an ice cream stand.
"Unfortunately," Tsu replied. She glanced at the one next to it. "Hey they got cookies! That would be light and easy."
"Let's do that."
The two walked up and took their time deciding what cookie they wanted. Chocolate chip, matcha, red velvet, too many to choose from! They landed on miso butter cookies and as Tokoyami paid for the desserts, a little girl started yelling, "This is my ice cream, Kenzo!"
Tokoyami and Asui looked at the ice cream stand where a boy was chasing an even smaller girl around. "No, that's mine! I ordered first!" the boy yelled.
The students looked at each other as the children continued to fight. "Should we step in?" Asui asked.
"I'm sure their guardian is around somewhere," Tokoyami replied as he placed their cookies in their basket. In a flash, the little girl ran into Tokoyami's side and fell onto the ground along with the ice cream. As soon as she saw the frozen treat melting on the ground, she bursted out into tears.
Kenzo ran up to them. "Look what you did, Miri! You ruined it." he said.
As Tokoyami helped the child up and wiped the dirt off her clothes, Asui walked up to the boy. She held a finger up. "You are much to blame for this too. If you two were not fighting, this wouldn't have happened," she said. The boy opened his mouth to argue, but was overtaken by the cries of his little sister. She now openly wept in Tokoyami's arms, much to his chagrin. The boy folded his arms, grumbling. Asui knelt down to his level. "Did you get an ice cream?"
"No, cause she took mine. I am the oldest. I should get it first!"
"You know there's also a saying that ladies should go first?"
Kenzo's eyes widened. "There is?"
"Yes," Tokoyami said. Asui peered behind her to see now Tokoyami carrying a sniveling Miri as he walked up to them. "You should always strive to be a gentleman and a good older brother. Also, Miri has something she would like to say."
He placed the little girl down and she wiped her remaining tears away. "I-I'm sorry Kenzo. You ordered first. That was your ice cream."
Now tears welled up in his eyes. "No, Miri, I was being stupid. I'm sorry," he said as he gathered her in a hug.
Asui stood up. "Remember this you two. Fights may happen but you should always look out for each other's best interests." She surveyed the area. "Where are your parents?"
"Our dad is running the jewelry stand a few ways down," Kenzo said. Chills went up Tokoyami's spin as he patted the necklace that was in his pocket.
Tsu took out her wallet. "It looks like I have just enough left. If you two promise to be better to each other, I'll buy you two new ice creams," she said.
"We promise!" they said.
Tokoyami watched in awe once again as Asui bought new ice cream for the children, making sure to give it to them at the same time. Kenzo said they knew where they were going and thanked her. The pair watched the kids walk back to their parent's stand hand in hand. Tokoyami held out his arm. "You handled that well," he said.
She took his arm. "I think we both did," she replied, patting her stomach. "Well that made me really hungry, want to go find a spot in the park?"
He nodded in agreement, and they walked out of the farmer's market together.
A/N: One more chapter to go! So I based the farmer's market off a real one in Japan called Market of the Sun, and yes I did name the little girl after Buddy Daddies lol. What do you think will happen next? Will Asui confess to Tokoyami? Will Tokoyami reciprocate those feelings? Subscribe to find out!