"Uuuuugh... Slugger, aren't you tired of all this class work yet?"
"... Um... not really? What's up Yang?"
Izuku was a bit cautious in answering as, it was rather clear by that point, that Yang herself was quite tired of the class work. A rather rare happening for he and Yang, the two of them had actually decided that rather than do anything too active that weekend, they'd both just hang out. When the prospect of doing so over some homework, to ensure that the two of them got it done, came up Yang was hesitant but... agreed. Apparently she did have some work to do that she hadn't gotten caught up with yet and Blake was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile Tsuyu and Tenya were going over the design of her suit, apparently. Which had just left it to Yang to either go hang out with her sister's team which, well, didn't appeal because they all were apparently spending 'team time' together by order of Ruby herself.
Izuku's own team had been splitting off here and there to do stuff. Nora had insistently dragged Weiss off so that the two of them could get to know each other better as partners and Izuku and Pyrrha had already spent some time working together that weekend and she had some things to do on her own time as well. So it had sounded like a good idea to him...
Unfortunately it just seems like homework and sitting down for it wasn't Yang's forte.
"I just think it sucks. We sit in their classes every day and learn stuff and then they assign stuff for us to do on our own time when we should either be trainin' or living our own lives you know? Why can't they be like Glynda or Toshinori and just not give us homework?" Yang grumbled as Izuku just chuckled a bit nervously.
"I-It'd be kind of hard for Toshinori or Professor Goodwitch to assign us a live exercise or spar to do on our own time that they could verify, Yang." Yang just waved her hand dismissively.
"Bah, you and your logic Izuku." Izuku laughed a bit as Yang leaned back forward, resting her head on her hand as she looked over at him. "Okay so I get that we need to do this... but do we really need to do it right now? We could actually 'do' something, you know!"
Izuku raised an eyebrow a bit.
"What, like, go somewhere else on campus to hang out." Yang shrugged her shoulders.
"We could do that, we could do that... ooooor…" Yang grinned nice and wide as she leaned over towards him, "My baby Bumblebee is all ready to go! We could go out on the town in Vale and do all kinds of crap! With my ride we'd be zooming around in no time at all!"
"Really, I don't care what we do so long as its 'not homework'. Come on Slugger, even you have to be kind of tired of being cooped up in school for the past few weeks?"
"Well... I mean, I suppose that I really should be trying to learn more about the city I'm, ostensibly, living in now that I'm here. I really haven't gone out and explored much of Vale myself..." Izuku muttered a bit as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. In all honesty, he hadn't even left Beacon's Campus in the three weeks he'd been there so far. While it hadn't necessarily bothered him, he had to admit that it limited the sorts of things he could learn and what advantages living next to a city like Vale might be able to give him. A day out exploring and spending time with a friend would be a good way of fixing that. Plus spending some time with Yang in a way that didn't involve both of them trying to beat the other senseless was also a pretty cool idea, in his opinion. He hadn't exactly spent a lot of leisure time with a lot of his friends, after all. That could be a nice change of pace.
As Yang watched his face brighten as he thought of the possibilities her own grin widened, probably thinking that she'd managed to convince him.
"Alright, alright! Looks like we've got a biter! Meet me out by the airbus dock; you need to put these books away and I need to grab my baby Bumblebee. We'll meet there, get out into the city and then just have ourselves a good old time!" With that Yang slammed her hands on the table in excitement, causing most people around them both to shush her for making so much noise. Yang, of course, just waved them off before she excitedly bolted on off. Izuku picked up his books, supplies and notes, noting that Yang had at least grabbed her stuff before running off, and then quickly saw to it that he didn't leave her waiting too long. As much patience as Yang could show from time to time, he still wouldn't put it past her to leave him and just go out to have fun if he left her hanging too long.
It wasn't long before the both of them wound up on the airbus between Vale and Beacon Academy, her motorcycle loaded up in the back waiting to be able to touch the solid pavement at the city. He freely admitted to not knowing much about motorcycles, or even motor vehicles in general, but he did have to admit there was a certain 'cool' factor to Yang's bike that even he could recognize. When the two of them finally arrived in Vale... he had to kind of stop to catch his breath. Vale... was a lot different than Mountain Glenn, he suddenly realized. It was not like he didn't know it from his own studies and he had even briefly saw glimpses of Vale when arriving on the Glenn Rail, but that was the first time he'd really stopped to take a look at it without rushing off here and there. The tallest buildings in Vale were certainly a lot taller than anything he'd ever seen in Mountain Glenn and the city itself was so much larger; when he was looking at it from the sky, it went on for so many miles before reaching the Vale Walls which, themselves, stretched up many more hundreds of feet than Mountain Glenn's.
It... felt a bit claustrophobic, if he was being honest. Mountain Glenn these days had a far more open field; yeah it was walled in but the buildings tend to be further spaced apart and don't quite blot out the sun like a lot of Vale's do. As he was looking around, he heard Yang chuckle and turned to face her.
"Oh boy, do I know that look. 'Boonies kid coming to the big city for the first time'. Ruby and I were looking at Vale pretty much the exact same way the first time we visited from Patch." Izuku smiled a bit at the little anecdote, glad that someone understood how he was feeling. "And just like us, you have a totally awesome guide to help you through your first visit to the grand old City of Vale; we had our dad, you'll have yourself good old Yang Xiao Long... and 'unlike' us, you'll be riding in style." Indeed, it wasn't long after landing that Bumblebee was unloaded in all her glory. Yang cooed after her baby a bit, checking over to make sure she didn't get dented or scratched in the flight over.
Izuku didn't know why he followed Yang along in giving Bumblebee a gender but... well, it fit, in a weird way.
"Alright Slugger, hop on. I promise that, for today, I'll take it nice and slow to let you get settled in on riding my baby. Don't want you flying off when I'm making any cool turns after all." Izuku swallowed a bit of a lump in his throat, nerves suddenly coming forward that he hadn't 'quite' thought to consider when it came to riding a motorcycle. Still watching as Yang popped open a small storage space on Bumblebee to pull out two helmets gave him some sense of safety, at the very least.
"So, what's on the agenda there Izuku? It's 'your' first day in Vale after all and I'm playing guide for the most part. What sights, sounds and other glories of the great capital of our fair Kingdom do you have a mind to see?" He chuckled a bit as Yang adopted a grandiose and fluffed up tone of voice, playing the role of a stuffy tour guide. Still, it made him think as he caught the helmet Yang tossed his way.
"Well... I am starting to run short on clothes and what I do have is either old school uniforms, the Beacon uniform or... my really messed up gym clothes." Izuku scratched the back of his head during his confession, Yang just nodding as he smiled at her. "Maybe I could go shopping for some new clothes? Might not be a bad thing to start off with and I'd know where to find stuff like that in the future." Yang nodded her head as she sat astride Bumblebee, patting the seat just behind her.
"Sounds like a plan to me Slugger. Just hop right on aboard and we'll get going." Izuku looked at the bike somewhat nervously, still slightly worried about his first time riding a motorcycle. Still, trusting Yang's experience with driving, he took a deep breath and slide onto the seat just behind her. He spot a slightly wry grin on Yang's lips as she starts her motorcycle up, causing him to jolt a bit. "You might want to go ahead and slide back a bit Slugger and then hold on tight." Izuku nodded as he did that, blushing as...
Oh...
"U-U-U-Uh... wh-where do I put my hands?" Yang just bit out a quick laugh, a slightly predatory grin on her face as she looked back at him.
"Getting some ideas there Izuku?" Izuku buried his face in his hands as he blushed, Yang just barking out a laugh as she lightly slapped the handles of Bumblebee. "Relax Izuku, I'm kidding. Look, just put your hands on my sides. It'll be fine, it's how people ride passenger on motorcycles all the time." Izuku barely managed a slight nod as she reach forward and do as Yang said, thankful when she didn't start teasing him further as she revs up Bumblebee. Suddenly a small question popped up in his head.
"Okay I understand the... the hand placement but... why did you ask me to scoot back?" Yang just grinned again though with a slight trace of red on her cheeks.
"Vibrations."
There wasn't even a moment for him to ask what she meant before suddenly-
vvvvvVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-
If it weren't for the helmet he had on, Izuku knew that the wind have whipped his hair to and fro as the it just blazed past his face, him being forced to close his eyes for a moment before adjusting. He hadn't gone that fast since Tenya had thrown him up to the Giant Nevermore back in the Emerald Forest and that was only for a short burst... and he was being swung wildly from side to side as the motorcycle dipped into each turn. He kept from screaming out loud as Yang sped down the streets of Vale, her ride practically gliding from lane to lane as the two of them made good time through the city.
"SO! WHAT EXACTLY HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO THOSE WORKOUT CLOTHES OF YOURS ANYWAY SLUGGER, SEEMS LIKE WE DON'T WORK OUT OR SPAR HARD ENOUGH FOR THE KIND OF DAMAGE YOU'VE DONE TO SOME OF THEM!"Yang called out over the road of Bumblebee's engine, Izuku lifting his head up slightly in order to speak back.
"IT'S MY SEMBLANCE! WHENEVER I CHANNEL IT 100% ANYWHERE, IT TEARS UP AND DESTROYS WHATEVER CLOTHING I'M WEARING ON TOP OF IT!" Yang nodded her head as she kept her eyes on the road.
"WOW, KINDA SUCKS! GLAD MY SEMBLANCE DOESN'T DO THAT; I ACTUALLY LIKE MY WARDROBE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Izuku's head went beet red as his imagination ran with that mental image. So, instead of talking, he just nodded his head and waited out the rest of the ride to the shop. After several minutes of cutting around corners and nearly screaming for his life from the experience they finally had come across some small clothing shop in Vale, a nice little store tucked right on the corner of a busy intersection. Yang quickly pulled up and, taking off her helmet, shook her voluminous hair out, not a sign of helmet head to be seen.
"Woo! Gotta say, feels really good to be back on the road! Been a hot minute since I last rode my baby around... feels good to have the wind through my hair again." Yang declared with a wide grin as she got off her bike, turning to see Izuku... frozen in place, his hands having gone from gripping Yang's sides to gripping the metal of Bumblebee as he shook a bit. "Yeah, everyone's first time on a motorcycle is pretty intense. Trust me, when you get used to it, you'll love it." He just nodded slowly, accepting her advice without questioning it, as he slowly wrenched his hands away from the motorcycle and up to his helmet, unbuckling it and sliding it off his head...
...
"... Pfffffffffffffffffft..." He looked up from his position on Bumblebee to see Yang with a hand over her mouth, cheeks puffed up with contained laughter as a clear amount of mirth dances across her eyes. At first he was curious as to what was so funny... and then he caught his reflection in one of Bumblebee's rear view mirrors...
'Wow I look stupid.'
Reaching a hand up he quickly shook his hair around as he tried to get it out of its matted state and, eventually, his mess of hair was, once again, messy.
"Damn, I wish I took a picture... ah well, I'll have an opportunity to get another one before the day's through." His cheeks went red in embarrassment as he scratched one of them, slipping himself off of her bike as they both stood out in front of the store. "Alright there Slugger, we're here. What do you have in mind?"
"I'm just really looking for something practical, you know."
"Pssh," Yang just wagged her finger, "That's no fun. We should really try to give you yo-"
"Um," Izuku cut back in, "Not today. I just need a few more sets of clothes."
Yang just stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head, and then sighing.
"Take all the fun out for me why don't ya?"
It was actually a really quick visit as they strolled through, find some new workout clothes, try them on and then check out. Nothing high fashion he'd look for an opinion on or to see how he looked, just some workout clothes to give him a bit more breathing space and that would stay together for a while. Yang still helped him pick out some good gear for what he'd be doing as a Hunter-in-training and, before long, he was forty-five Lien poorer but a small wardrobe of workout clothes lighter.
"Alright Slugger, Izuku smiled a bit as Yang said that, though a small frown formed on his face.
"Well... I was actually thinking..." He saw Yang blink as she leaned forward on the handles of her bike, watching his response. "The only reason we'll have so much time to visit so many places in Vale is because you offered to give me a ride on top of hanging out today. I know you want to play tour guide... but I feel like I also owe you a good time instead of just checking out places I want to go." He gave her as genuine a smile as he could as he beamed at her. "So how about this tour guide: you show me around to a Yang Xiao Long spot before I pick another spot? Someplace I wouldn't think of going on my own!" Izuku offered and, for a moment, he saw Yang's honestly taken aback by his offer...
Before a wide grin settled on her face, a glimmer in her eye.
"You know what Izuku, you're a good guy. Hop on, I know exactly where we'll go next." Izuku nodded as he placed his new clothes into Bumblebee's compartment and slid on behind Yang, scooting back a bit away from her and, tentatively, putting his hands back on her sides before they both sped off.
"I have to admit, when you mentioned that the place was going to have a bar, I was expecting a club of some kind..." He swallowed nervously as both he and Yang entered a small bar in Vale, the bell clinging just above the door as the customers turned to see the newcomers before turning back to their drinks.
"Psshaw. Not for nothing Izuku, but you're nowhere near ready for a club scene. You'll get eaten alive." Well, she's definitely not wrong. Izuku nodded in agreement with her and chuckled sheepishly, Yang just grinned as she picked them both out a seat at the bar. "So I chose a nice little bar I know about around here in Beacon. I don't come out to places like this too often, you are right the club scene is more my thing, but I figured some place calm like this would be pretty good for a guy like you." Izuku nodded appreciatively as he watched the guy running the bar take someone else's order... and admittedly he started to feel nervous.
"Yang... are we allowed to be in here? I mean, I know that we're old enough but... well... I mean, we're students, and-"
"It's cool Izuku. Like you said, we're old enough and I've been at bars and clubs like this even while I was a student as Signal... heck, things got pretty rowdy this one time. I'll have to tell you about it sometime." Yang said with a bit of a nostalgic beam in her eye as she shrugged. "Plus we're Hunters-in-training. We have our Aura's unlocked so even if we drank a little much, it'd be a pretty simple fix to just purge it out with some good old-fashioned Aura healing. Even if people would look sideways at kids a year younger than us coming in, they won't even blink when it's clear you're prepping to be a Hunter. One of the unsung perks of training for the job, according to my Uncle Qrow."
... So was Qrow Branwen her uncle? It was clear from her last name that she was related to Taiyang Xiao Long... that would've made Raven Branwen her mom! Before Izuku could even start internally freaking out or muttering about how amazing such a family would be for Hunters, Izuku watched as the barman came over.
"Strawberry Sunrise, no ice... oh, and if you have those little umbrellas?" The barman just nodded as Yang grinned in satisfaction. "Great, stick one in." Yang turned to him and gave a bit of a predatory smile. "I take from your little question earlier that you've never drank before, right Slugger?" Izuku just nodded sheepishly as he looked down at the bar itself, Yang just barking out a slight laugh as she patted him on the back. "Then consider this my treat. Go ahead and order what you want."
Izuku looked up at the menu and, honestly, he felt a little daunted.
"Ummm... well... I... hmmm..." He began to just stare blankly at the menu, before finally sighing and admitting defeat.
"Hey, Yang?" Yang looked over at him, a slight quirk to her brow. "I honestly have no idea what I'm doing right now... what would you suggest as a first drink?" Yang nodded, as if having expected something along this line, before turning to the bartender and slapping the counter.
"Barkeep, get my friend here some Hard Cider, the good stuff from Patch if you have any." The somewhat burly and mustachioed barkeep just gave a quick nod as he walked over to his store of liquors and various other alcohols and begins pulling various glasses and cups from their places. As Izuku waited he kicked his legs a bit nervously as he watched the man go to work, a slightly nervous lump forming in his throat as a fine sheen of sweat formed on your brow. "Getting a little nervous there Slugger?" His gaze snapped over to Yang as she gave him a nice, wide grin, he just nodded his head slowly and pulled at his collar.
"Y-Yeah... like I said, I've never drank before so this is kind of going to be a new experience for me. I'm... kinda nervous because I think I might mess it up or look pretty lame. Plus if my mom ever found out I think she'd faint right on the spot."
'Going out in the town with an attractive blonde friend and having my first alcoholic beverage while doing so?' he just internally shook his head, 'Yeah my mom would probably freak out and it'd take a lot more than just one phone call to convince her that nothing was happening.'
Yang just laughed a bit as she leaned forward on the table.
"I'm guessing your mom's the protective sort, eh?" Izuku gave a nod slightly as he chuckled.
"It's not that she's the protective sort... honestly, given that we both thought I was a Moon Child, she let me get away with a lot more than your 'protective' sort of mom might. Especially letting me go to a Combat School where I could get hurt." Yang nodded slightly as he spoke and... well, a slight smile came across his face. "My mom just worries. She wants me to pursue my dreams and live my own life and she supports me... but she's kind of like me. Worries a lot and... well..." he blushed a bit as Yang's grin widened slightly.
"Cries a lot?"
"Yeah I definitely get that from my mom." he heard Yang laugh a bit as he lowered his face to hide the shade of red on it.
"Sounds like you've got a good mom Izuku. Worries about you but doesn't keep you from pursuing your dream... sounds great even." Yang nodded as she said that, while his smile grew; it wasn't much of a direct compliment to him, but he'd be more than glad to have his friends think well of his mother. Even in spite of that night... his mom really did do her best to try to make up for it, especially now. He really did love her, when all was said and done.
"What about your mom Yang? What was she like?" He saw there was a slight hitch in Yang's form, a moment of hesitation where it seems like her lips quirked a bit. Still, the moment came and went as Yang just grinned.
"Dude... Summer Rose was pretty much the best mom anyone could ask for. She was like super mom; just as good as baking an amazing batch of cookies as she was killing an entire horde of Grimm with little to no thought put into it. She's pretty much Ruby's entire inspiration for becoming a Huntress and... well, not for nothing Izuku, I know you think Toshinori's the #1 Hunter but... well, I gotta agree with Ruby and say that it was Summer. She wasn't around as often as we might've liked, being a full-time Huntress and all but... well, when she was around... man. Those were the days." Yang said with a wide, nostalgic smile as she ran her finger across the counter.
...
'Wait?'
'Summer Rose?'
Izuku blinked slightly as he ran that through his mind again. 'But, Qrow Branwen... maybe they just refer to him as 'Uncle Qrow' because he was a teammate of their parents? It makes sense, but it just seems slightly off somehow.'
'Might...need to think about that.'
Soon enough their drinks arrived; the barkeep swinging around and places before Yang a nice little glass with an umbrella in it with some pinkish concoction swirling around the umbrella. In front of Izuku a small mug of what at first glance could be mistaken as apple juice. The only sign that he had that it wasn't just some apple juice and he was being pranked was the fact that he'd gotten it off the same shelf as the rest of the alcohol. Yang gave a quick and appreciative nod as she took her drink and sipped on it, drinking it slowly as she let it slide down her throat. Her eyes were on Izuku as she did so, apparently wanting to see his reaction to his first drink. Izuku swallowed a bit nervously as he took the mug of cider in hand and lifted it up, staring at the beverage for a moment as his nerves almost got the better of him.
'Well, waste not want not.'
Izuku quickly slammed the mug back as he took his first drink, Yang barking out a quick laugh as she carefully pulled her drink away from her lips to keep from spilling it. "Easy there Izuku, you don't need to go shotgunning Cider to look good! Just drink it normal!" Following her advice he pulled back and took a deep breath after swallowing, panting slightly at having tried to force so much of it at once. He felt a slight burn in his throat from having drunk it but... well, it really was 'very' minor at best and probably just because it was his first.
In all honesty... it wasn't bad. The comparison to apple juice once again came to his mind when it came to the texture of the drink but it was hardly unappealing. The sweetness of the apples and the cut of the alcohol made it a very different kind of drink to the ones he'd had before... and that certainly wasn't a bad thing. He took a far more normal swig of the drink and verified that, yeah, it wasn't half bad and he didn't even feel any burning when he was not trying to slam back the entire mug of Hard Cider all at once.
"There ya go Izuku. Take your time. These aren't shots you need to force yourself through. Just relax and enjoy your drink." Izuku nodded as Yang took another sip of her own Strawberry Sunrise, following it up with another swig of his cider. "So, now that I've popped your bar cherry, what next on the agenda Izuku? Got anything in mind or are you gonna let good old Yang take care of you again?" She asked with a wide grin, chuckling slightly as his face went a bit red at her turn of phrase. Honestly, he had been of a mind to get something to eat while he and Yang were out, figuring, quite correctly, that they wouldn't make it back to Beacon in time to get to the dinner spread. He took a moment to think as he ended up, surprisingly, finishing his mug.
"I was actually thinking of going out somewhere to eat. I figured we'd be out late enough to miss dinner back at Beacon anyway, so I figured why not stop somewhere to grab something to eat?" Yang nodded as she took another sip on her Strawberry Sunrise, grinning slightly as he ordered a refill on his Hard Cider.
"Hmmm, that does sounds like a plan to me. Putting some food in yourself after drinking is a very fine idea. Plus, I'm just flat out hungry." Yang chuckled as she took another sip of her drink, giving a refreshed sigh before she turned back to Izuku. "So what are you thinking there Slugger? The bar here does serve some pretty good food if you're looking for something good that's also on the relatively cheap side." He nodded in understanding but then move to take a drink of his refilled Cider.
"Well, I was actually thinking that I'd prefer to find someplace I'd be able to take my team out to if we ever got some money put together for a group outing. Plus a restaurant just seemed like it'd be the better bet for something good for dinner, if you feel me." Yang just grinned a bit from behind her glass as she nodded understandingly while he just scratched at the back of his head. "Also, Yang? I appreciate you having bought me these drinks and for, ya know, driving me out here from the beginning. So I was thinking that I could pay you back by spotting you for dinner. My treat." Izuku saw that wide grin become positively predatory as Yang Xiao Long leaned a bit against the counter.
"Ooooh? Is that so?" He nodded slowly, a slight bit of red creeping onto his cheeks form the way Yang was looking at him as she gave a wink. "Gee Izuku. Going out clothes shopping, letting the lady take you out to drinks and then offering to buy her dinner once she'd gotten a little Sunrise in? You sure play the long game... I can't help but feel like I've been caught in your web. Is this how you ensnare all the pretty girls?" Yang pouted her lips slightly as she frowned. "I feel so taken advantage of Izuku... is this what you've been aiming for the entire time?"
His face immediately glowed red as he waved his hands defensively.
"W-Wait, I don't mean like that, I'm just really grateful is all and I wanted to pay you back, I'm not trying to hit on you or anything or make you feel like this is a date, I was just-" By the time Yang busted a gut laughing Izuku realized she was just teasing him his face was glowing an even hotter shade of red as he immediately turned to try to bury his face in his drink.
"Relax Izuku, I'm kidding! I know you're just tryin' to be cool. I respect that." Yang lifted her drink back up, finishing it with a satisfied sigh. "Be careful you don't end up being a little heart breaker though there Slugger. A lot of girls out there might've gotten the wrong idea and started swooning their hearts out. I know I was certainly light-headed for a second there." At that he turn his gaze over to Yang... only to frown again when he saw the nice, wide smirk on her lips. She was poking fun at him again. "Just kiddin' Slugger. It'd take a lot more than one dinner date to get old Yang Xiao Long feeling butterflies in her stomach."
"Very funny Yang..."
"Eh, I've had to work on my other forms of comedy in order to make up for the fact that I can't make puns around my partner. I'm a little rusty but, hey, I still think my skills are... bar-able." They both guffaw at her pun, a slightly groan escaping his lips as he shook his head. "Nope, still got it." With that Yang set her glass out in front of her. "In more seriousness, I do appreciate it Izuku, but I know that you're pretty strapped for cash right now so I'll go ahead and pay for my own food. Trust me, I'm doing alright."
"I figured... I just thought it'd be the right thing to do after you paid for my drinks is all." At that, Yang snorted a bit as she grinned at him.
"Just a real sweetheart aren't ya." Izuku grimaced a bit as Yang reached over and pinched his cheek, Izuku doing his best to work out of her grip... now he had sympathy for how Ruby felt. "Besides, I already said it was cause this was an occasion; your first time out drinking. I probably won't spot you in the future there Slugger, no matter how hilarious I think seeing you buzzed would be." Izuku just nodded his head as he finished his drink.
"So, after dinner, what are you thinking of next? Figured we'd might as well plan for it so we don't spend too long sitting around."
"I was actually thinking of passing it back to you. Figured fair was fair." At that Yang nodded as she grinned again.
"I figured you'd say something like that." With that Yang took out her Lien Card and, after the barkeep swiped it, she got up. "Alright, just give me a second to get my head straightened out with my Aura and i'll be good to drive. You hold on good and tight now; don't want you slipping off just cause you had a couple drinks." With that Izuku rolled his eyes slightly as, without any trouble at all, he managed to stand up.
"I think I'll be fine Yang. It wasn't that bad." Yang watched him walk around a bit and, indeed, while his movements might be a little bit slower than usual, they were still coordinated and feeling pretty much fine. Yang watched that and, after a moment, gave a grin.
"I guess it wasn't. If I ever treat you again I'll have to get you something a little stronger than Hard Cider." With that Yang clapped him on the shoulder and the both of them walked off. "Let's go get some grub and then move on. As far as where I want to go... hmmm... well, you mind humoring me while I do my own errand?" He tilted his head to the side as Yang turned to face him. "Tenya and I made sure my baby's up to stuff for right now, but we have some upgrades in mind. I was thinking of running down to a little motorcycle shop that I frequent to see what they got on hand. Figured that you could look around at some of the prices for stuff there while I do my business. It's not quite 'hanging out with your friends' material but I'd appreciate it."
"Sure thing Yang. I dragged you clothes shopping so I don't see why I can't go to this bike shop with you." Izuku smiled warmly as he spoke, Yang's own grin widening as she patted him on the shoulder.
"Appreciate it Izuku. Now let's grab some of that grub before we get going. I'm starving." Izuku wasn't exactly far behind Yang as the both of them agreed to get a move on.
While neither location was quite as utterly new and, to be honest, foreign to Izuku as the bar Yang took him to, the restaurant and the bike shop actually ended up being interesting locations in and of themselves. Not just for what they were individually but what he ended up finding there either posted on a bulletin board or, in the case of the bike shop, on its show floor; work and goods. The restaurant was actually a rather nice dinner all things considered. The food was good and the service is definitely not something he'd complain about. Despite dealing with a few more teasing remarks from Yang about taking her out to such a nice spot, he was not going to lie and say that the atmosphere was probably better than the bar had been or some fast food joint would've been. While their talks don't get much heavier than they did over at the bar, the food was solid and the small talk is amendable.
It wasn't long before either he and Yang finished; Izuku, after all, was used to much bigger portions served up by his mother as part of Toshinori's 'Beacon Dream Plan' and woofing those down as quickly as possible in order to make sure he'd have even more time in his day while Yang didn't seem entirely bothered by table manners herself. That was, she wasn't some uncouth slob that people took notice of but Weiss would probably have a few things to say about how she acted at the dinner table... and the only reason he'd taken note of it was that Weiss had been doing her level best the past few weeks to try to make sure everyone's manners were up to snuff... and failing to do so with Nora.
Which all things considered, was rather predictable.
When the two were finished and the checks paid he was 15 Lien lighter but good food heavier which, combined with the good company, he considered a worthwhile trade.
The bike shop was next and... well, he couldn't really say much. Not because he wasn't awestruck because, hey, he was as much a hot-blooded young teenager as anyone. Seeing all those motor vehicles laid out before him tickled some instinctual part of his brain somewhere and made him a little bit excited. There were just a few things keeping him down; the first was that he really didn't have a ready understanding of engineering and so really couldn't comment on the motorcycles much more than 'they look pretty awesome'. The second was price range; even the smallest little moped scooter for sale here that could ferry him from one end of Vale to another in a more timely manner than his feet was about 200 Lien, and he knew for a fact that it wasn't so fast as Bumblebee, nor did the especially cheap models come with extra seating. No, for that he'd have to pay even more... and that really wasn't money he had on hand.
The third was that he was a bit blown away listening to Yang talk parts with the man running the store as she haggled for this bit or that bit that she and Tenya had, apparently, discussed in upgrading Bumblebee. However much Yang knew about fighting she also knew about maintaining her bike and talking parts... and if Tenya was to be believed, she and Tsuyu were also fairly good cooks, the former backed up by Ruby even. It... really did speak to how little he'd actually been hanging out with his friends that he was still learning about all this information about them after having known them for a few weeks. Personal stuff he wasn't surprised, like he said, it'd only been weeks... but even stuff like hobbies or what most of them liked was still a bit up in the air in some cases to him.
Finally as Yang's business concluded the clock ticked down and, yes, it was about time for the both of them to head back to Beacon. They both quickly remounted Bumblebee and, one long drive back to the station and an airbus ride later, they were both back on campus.
"Well Izuku I gotta say, dinner and drinkin' wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I sure as Hell am not gonna complain. Plus you're a pretty generous fellow there. We'll have to do this again sometime Slugger." Izuku smiled back at Yang and nodded his head, a wide grin stretching across his face.
"Yeah, we really will... this was a lot of fun." And he meant it too; it had been a lot of fun. Yang quickly rode off to put Bumblebee back in Beacon's garage while him, with only a slight buzz in his fingers from his first drinks ever, walked right on back to his dormitory. The afternoon and evening had, after all, been quite the event.
E/N: A social so big it took up an entire chapter. Fitting since this entire weekend Phase was so big that it caused so much damn lag I had to break it into two sheets instead of the normal 5 chapters per, thing I had going on.
-Shovern
A/N: Thought I'd take the time to mention once again that this fanfic is a edit done by Shovern and Wind based off of work I did on a Quest on SpaceBattles, as that seems to be a mistake that pops up in reviews from time to time. If you want to see where the Quest has gone, well, let's just say there's a lot of material on SpaceBattles. Just search up the name of this fic and you'll be sure to find it.
In addition, now that we're far enough into the fanfic's publishing by sheer volume, I thought I'd mention that I do have a P atreon page (Google the site and Inkasters or gorilla_fingers, you'll be sure to find it either way) for anyone who'd be interested in supporting the Quest, the fanfic or even in supporting me writing more side material for it that you'd be able to vote on.
-gorilla_fingers