"Hey Izuku."
"Oh Blake, hey, what's up?"
"Nothing just noticing I'm a bit short on books. Gone through all the ones I've brought to my dorm room to read."
"Oh I see. Going to get more from the library?"
"I usually get through those pretty quick when I'm just out and about... I like to keep a few books in my room for myself to occupy down time."
"I see. You really do like reading, huh Blake?"
"I guess."
...
"I was going to go to a bookstore in town that I usually buy my books from... would you like to come?"
...
In so many words, that conversation is what got Izuku out to the City of Vale with Blake, the two of them well on their way to a bookstore that the black haired Faunus apparently liked to visit. Izuku had to admit, it was a bit of a first for the two of them in a lot of ways. He had previously reached out to Blake on the Scroll before to set up a book club meeting but it had been the first time Blake had actually initiated a conversation with him over a Scroll. Second, it would be the first time the two of them hung out in the City of Vale together. Sure, Hunter's Day was a bigger occasion in his home town but it would be the first time Izuku and Blake as friends just hung out in Vale together without anyone else since... well, since Izuku first met her, he supposed!
His friendship with the Cat Faunus really had come a long way since he first ran into her with Ruby and pretty much immediately stuck his foot in his mouth, huh?
Next was the fact that Blake was taking Izuku somewhere to show him something that interested her. Now, the two had been reading books she was interested in reading before but that was more a mutual exploration of new reading material than anything else, but this would be Blake opening up about a place she liked to go and spend time at. While not as major as her revealing her secret to Izuku it was further proof that Blake really was intent on doing her best to open up more. Little by little, Izuku's friendship with her was getting more and more cemented.
Thankfully Blake didn't seem to be making a big deal out of it in the same way Yang might've. The golden eyed young woman was just looking ahead at the streets of Vale, occasionally engaging in small talk with Izuku to pass the time on the way to the bookshop, before the conversation would die down. It was a bit of a relief; as much fun as it was to hang out with Yang, and it was, Yang's trips tended to have a way of raising his pulse and leaving him red in the face. Here the only thing leaving them both red in the face was the slight bite of the approaching winter wind including both their ears and hers... well, just her human ears obviously.
Before long the both of them ended up turning a corner around a street and, with a slight smile, Blake pointed out a store down the way a bit. "There, that's the place." Izuku turned his head, his eyes following Blake's finger before finding the store in question. 'Tukson's Book Trade' huh?
"Looks like a pretty nice shop." Izuku offered, never having actually been to the place before, as Izuku looked at the lettering on the window as the both of them approached. "New and used books. Nifty."
'Who knows, maybe I can find something in here for me if I find the opportunity,' As Izuku began to approach the door, he felt a quick tug on his sleeve, his head wheeling around slightly to look behind him. Blake was standing a bit stiff in place, the young woman's eyes glancing down to the ground before she looked up at Izuku.
"Izuku... Tukson's a good guy but he can be a bit nervous about... new people. He usually takes a little time to get situated with strangers but he'll try his best to be friendly. Just... don't be too nervous if he acts a bit weird, alright? It's not you... necessarily, but it's just how he is. Just show him your best face and he'll warm up to you, for sure." Izuku smiled a bit as he scratched the back of his head at that, Blake's nervous expression having been cut with a slight grin at his reaction.
"Thanks Blake... but... well, why tell me this? It shouldn't be anything too big right? We're just strangers." Blake's gaze fell to the side a bit before she looked up at Izuku.
"It really isn't in my place to tell you much about Tukson. Let's just say that." Blake nodded slightly and, after a moment, Izuku got a slight idea that he might know what Blake meant.
Izuku thought for a moment... he was curious if Blake seemed to feel the need to actually stop him outside the store to warn him.
'Just what could be up with this Tukson guy? I mean, knowing what I know about Blake now, of course I have suspicions, especially if Blake was going to make a big enough deal to warn me about how nervous this guy could be in the first place,' Izuku's mind, so usually inquisitive and prone to asking all the questions he needed answered, or thought he needed answered at least, was of course pressing forward, wanting to know more.
However Izuku just smiled at Blake as he nodded in understanding at her. "You're right Blake. If Tukson ever wants to tell me about... whatever, he'll do it himself. It's not my place to ask and it's not your place to tell me." Blake smiled slightly, ever so slightly, as he spoke. The Faunus Huntress just sighed a bit as she reached up a hand to her elbow, rubbing at it slightly.
"You're too good Izuku." Izuku chuckled a bit at that as Blake nodded appreciatively. "I will say that I can promise you that Tukson's in no way dangerous. I can say that much at least." Izuku nodded; if he'd already trusted Blake enough to concede to her previous point, then it was beyond easy to trust her now. Blake wouldn't lead Izuku into a dangerous situation without telling him in whatever fashion she could, after all. So with that the two of them turned and entered the shop.
The two of them entered the shop and, with the ringing of a bell, Izuku heard some solid foot falls. As they approached the counter Izuku saw a hazel eyed man with-
'Holy crap look at those mutton chops! I mean sideburns, but still, woah!' As the man approached the front of the shop and took notice of Blake first Izuku saw him smile.
"Well, if it isn't Bl-" His eyes soon enough caught Izuku just off to her side and the man fidgeted for a moment, "-ake Belladonna and company. Well, uh, welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun." The man nervously clapped his hands together, a smile on his face despite his initial trip up. "Now, what can I do for the little lady keeping me in business and this... young man?" For a moment Izuku watched as he brought up his arms across his chest lightly and-Gods, his forearms.
'It's like a forest of black hair! Did this guy just eat red meat his entire life? I can barely grow a beard and I'm seventeen!
"Hey Tukson, good to see you again. This is my friend, Izuku Midoriya. I met him up at Beacon." Izuku did his best to give a not nervous smile, something not easy to do considering how tall this guy was and how intimidating he could be just through presence along, but it was something Izuku managed. Tukson looked him up and down for a moment, his hazel eyes keeping a close look on Izuku as he gave his own smile.
"Well, well, well, Beacon must be a Hell of a school indeed. The stoic Blake Belladonna goes up there and not even a semester in she's made herself a new friend. A little... er, man at that Miracles never cease." Blake shook her head at that, sighing with a slight frown as Tukson gave Izuku a grin. "So, Izuku Midoriya huh? It's... nice to meet you fella."
'Okay, okay, okay, Tukson is clearly just as nervous in the moment as me. Whatever I might speculate about this, it is clear that he was pretty much on the same ground I am. It isn't an agitated or aggressive nervousness either, more of his own kind of nervous energy when around strangers. So... really, the both of us are just in the same place but, well, I guess he had it worse; this is his shop after all and I am the one walking in with a friend of his,' Izuku took a deep breath, steeled his spin, and gave his best smile as he spoke.
"A pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Tukson." Izuku offered a quick nod of his head, his own nervous demeanor buried just enough under the surface. "Izuku Midoriya... uh, that's my name... uh oh right, Blake already said that... uh, Hunter In Training. First Year. Same as Blake... uh, right, she said she met me at Beacon already, so that would probably already be pretty obvious..." Izuku saw Tukson's nervous energy seemed to be growing as Izuku's own introductions fumbled about, the man's eyes narrowing slightly as Izuku scratched the back of his head. "Uh... well so, Blake's told me she really likes this bookshop! Seeing as how Blake really knows her literature, I have to guess that means that this is the best book shop in Vale, right?"
...
'Gods, that was 'awful'.' Izuku was not sure what was worse; repeating basically everything Blake said or his own delivery of it, but jeez. Tukson himself didn't seem that much put at ease, the man's hazel eyes still narrowing as he looked at Izuku.
"Uh huh... thank you. Yes, it is the best book shop in Vale, I'd say. Every book under the sun and all that..." Izuku saw Tukson lightly tapped his fingers against his bicep, his arms still crossed, as he looked at the younger man. Before that little mess could go on, Blake put a hand on Izuku's shoulder in a reassuring manner before stepping forward herself.
"Come on Tukson... I think it's pretty clear he's just as nervous as you are. Don't be so hard on him... he's a good guy. He's my friend. I 'trust' him, okay? You have nothing to worry about." Tukson glanced at Blake, seeming a bit surprised before his eyes go back toward Izuku, suspicion clear in them. "He's just nervous when meeting new people is all. Trust me, he's 'terrible' with first impressions, he was actually just as bad when I first met him."
"It's true, I'm pretty bad at it." Izuku admitted, sheepishly, as Blake's lips momentarily break into a slight grin at that before she looks back to Tukson.
"So come on... cut him a little slack? For me?"
The silence hung heavy in the air for a moment. Tukson at one time seemed surprised and in disbelief, as if he's actively trying to break whatever illusion's been cast over Blake by staring intently at her. After a moment, that expression broke into honest shock. After that Tukson shook his head and sighed, looking back over at Izuku. He doesn't seem friendly in his gaze but, at the very least, he didn't look suspicious anymore.
"Sorry... business has been having a bit of an odd couple months. Lot of... weirdoes, let's say, have been passing through here lately. Neighborhood's gone to shit." Izuku blinked slightly at that but understood; given what he saw on the map with Kacchan concerning the crime rate in various parts of the Commercial District, he could understand that kind of sentiment coming from a store owner.
"Yeah, crime in the last year's been really spreading around, huh? I... didn't know much about it before coming to Vale. I'm actually from Mountain Glenn myself..." Tukson chuckled a bit as he shrugged.
"Lucky you. I hear that people don't even dare to take a piss on the side of a building because the police are so on top of things there."
"Well I wouldn't say it's that extreme..." Izuku muttered as Tukson shook his head.
"Sorry, meant that more as a compliment but... urgh. Listen, you're just kind of a weird kid so I was a bit worried about you strolling in here behind my best customer." Izuku flinched a bit at that but again nod.
"No, I get it. Sorry, I really messed it up..." Izuku looked down to the side at that and, after a moment, Tukson heaved a heavy breath as he scratched the back of his head.
"... Look, let's just... ugh." The man shook his head as he looked between Izuku and Blake. "Let's just forget that nonsense happened, alright? So, what are my best customer and her, uh, friend looking for, exactly? Like I said, we have every book under the sun and, by some poor fortune, if we 'don't' I can usually place orders pretty quickly." Blake just smiled and nodded and Izuku start to feel better at Tukson's intent on just moving on.
"I was actually running short on books for my dorm room, Tukson. I thought I'd stock up and I invited Izuku along just to see the shop." Tukson nodded at that, the man chuckling ever so slightly.
"Didn't I see you just before the semester started picking up a whole bunch of books for that, Blake? You go through books like a..." Tukson's prep for a metaphor seemed to die for a moment as he glanced over Izuku, before he quickly continued, "-like a fish goes through water. Nice and quick, yeah."
"What can I say, got more time to read these days than I used to." Tukson nodded in understanding.
"What about you, Mr. Midoriya?" Izuku was at first surprised with the formality he was referring to with but, understanding it as his attempt to move on, Izuku just shrugged.
"I thought I'd just browse for a bit, see if anything caught my eye. It's my first time here so I don't know exactly what to look for." Tukson nodded in understanding; it was easy enough to accept and hey, it was true. Izuku really didn't know if he wanted anything yet so why really lock himself into buying something? After a moment Izuku heard Blake hummed to herself as she stepped forward.
"Also, Tukson, I was wondering if you had anything new come in? Like, some good new books I could read?" It'd figure Blake would want to keep on top of the newest literature being published, given how much she consumed. Izuku watched as Tukson nodded his head, the man stroking his chin slightly as he moved up to the counter.
"Yeah, yeah I have some new books in the back. Been getting some interesting material in lately. Some good, some bad but nothing outrageous in either direction. Come on, I'll let you come back here and take first pick, like usual." At that Blake nodded as she walked forward to the counter, Tukson having lifted a small section of it to create a path through behind the counter. Izuku smiled slightly as he moved to follow them though that smile was replaced by slight surprise as Tukson lowered the counter. He didn't slam it but there's a definite 'click' as the mechanisms lock back into place.
"Er, sorry Mr. Midoriya. I don't actually do this for most of my customers. Blake here's just a good friend, we go back a ways, so I usually let her have first pick of the new stuff before I actually put it out on the shelves... please don't tell anyone about that, by the way, I wouldn't want customers to think I was playing favorites..." Tukson seemed to say that last part almost as an afterthought, like he was coming up with it on the spot. Izuku blinked slightly, his lips dropping into a slight frown before Blake waved for his attention.
"It'll only be a few minutes Izuku, probably not even that. We'll be right back out when I see if he's got any new books that'd be good to read, okay?" Izuku watched Blake for a moment and then nodded understandingly.
'If she said so, you supposed that'd be alright,' Blake gave Izuku an appreciative smile as she and Tukson disappeared into the back of the shop, leaving Izuku out in the front all by his lonesome.
'Well... I supposed if I were here to browse, now is the time to get browsing,' Izuku lifted his spirits as he looked throughout the front of the shop, carefully scanning his finger across rows and rows of books as he took them all in.
'Oh hey, The Thief and The Butcher, that is pretty neat. The shop had Violet's Garden... not just that, it had it in paperback 'and' hardback. Options are nice,' It wasn't just real, honest to goodness books either, but the front actually had rows of a lot of the current running comics like X-Ray and Vav and, no surprise, quite a few of the comics that people have made about Toshinori. 'Huh, no copies of The Third Crusade though. Not even in the history section. Guess if you wanted something like that you'd probably have place an order for him to import that in.'
'Ah well, even if it isn't every book under the sun, it would be pretty silly to take something like that literally, especially for a shop as small as this one. The guy clearly did have a lot of what was good and even some more obscure stuff anyway.'
With that Izuku tried to decide whether he was just wanting to browse and what book he'd want to buy... and what he'd want to buy it for.
In the end he just started loading up about as many books as he could fit in his arms. He started going through the shelves, looking for books that particularly caught his eye as either interesting in and of themselves or that were of interest to his as far as understanding various topics that he'd wanted to know about. Izuku ended up picking up The Violet Garden and The Thief and The Butcher as just books of interest to read on his own time, interested in the kinds of stories that are bound to be in their pages...
'Gosh, I guess I really have gotten more interested in reading ever since I started to hang out with Blake,' Though he could not sure how much Blake would be into the comic he picked up, a pretty thick volume called 'The Hunt', some kind of re-imagining or some kind of dramatization of Toshinori's early years at Beacon Academy. Izuku was honestly curious about how other people who didn't know as much about Toshinori as Izuku himself thought about his hero or what they thought Toshinori was like. It could be cool!
Izuku picked up a quick puzzle book, knowing that it was probably the best way for him to consistently train his perceptive abilities in order to help him out in the field and Izuku picked up two rather hefty tomes from another shelf. One being on the more basic principles of Dust and handling it, which just seemed like the best book on the topic judging by the size of the tome and the rather positive words written by other scholars on the back of the book and then pick up a book on Semblances. Izuku did so wondering if it might help him better understand his Semblance but, even if it didn't, it sounded like an interesting read just from the title alone. Now then... for Blake's gift. Izuku really wanted it to be nice so he was definitely going to buy her a hardback copy of the book but, more than that, he wanted it to be something she'd like. So he started glancing about the bookshelves, managing to raise a finger to his chin to rub at it thoughtfully even with all these books in his arms.
Izuku eventually found his way into the fiction segment which, honestly, did seem like it would be one of Blake's favorites. Izuku scanned through the rows of books and tried to center down on something that Blake might enjoy... which was a little harder than it seemed because Blake was such a well read person. She didn't seem to have a lot of book types she didn't enjoy as the ones they both read were pretty varied, all things told. Still, fiction was definitely one and it seemed like she liked more adult books or, at least, books that dealt with adult themes. Little To Do With Something did show that she could enjoy lighthearted books and even romantic ones to a certain degree provided they were well written and, despite the slight bit of red it put on Izuku's cheeks to do so, these thoughts ended up dragging him over to the romance genre section of the store.
Squirming just a little bit as Izuku wandered what someone might think if they saw him scrawling through this, especially if they found out it was supposed to be a gift for a girl, Izuku's eyes trailed through titles. Some looked really cheap and kind of doofy, which probably wasn't Blake's kind of romance so Izuku generally took to avoiding those.
'Man, if only there was a book series that combined stuff that Blake liked; adult themes, dark tones but something with a little romance tossed in to make it a more complete package.'
...
'Oh, hey. Tukson's labeling is really helpful; a part of the romance genre section has a little section for adult books, so that might work!'
After a while, because Izuku had to browse through more silly looking books which seemed odd given that it was the adult section of the romance genre, he came across a pretty interesting looking book that, apparently, was some kind of hot commodity given the little stickers and rewards on it. Ninjas of Love II: Electric Boogaloo.
Ordinarily he'd have been pretty put off by the title as it seemed a bit silly; what even 'was' an electric boogaloo anyway? However, given the accolades the book had apparently gotten judging from its cover, Izuku decide to pick it up and look it over.
'Oooh, apparently it is a real mash up of genres;' the back of the book described the continuation of an adventure story featuring a ninja protagonist from the previous book, a female one at that, who had fallen in love with a member of an enemy clan. Now that they'd gotten together they had to deal with the fallout of it, managing the relationships between their two families while ensuring that their love didn't destroy everything.
'That sounds exactly up Blake's alley!' It even has some recommendations and awards for having been a great adult book, according to the sprawl on the back. Izuku decided to crack it to take a look, wanting to make sure it was actually quality before he ended up getting it to Blake.
Izuku flipped through some of the pages and came to a part somewhat earlier in the book. The two main characters have secreted away into a small section of forest, looking to get away from their families and spend time with each other without the watchful eyes of their clan judging them and keeping them from acting upon their feelings. Izuku blush as the scene gets, admittedly, a little heated. It wasn't anything major, it was definitely clothes on stuff all the way through but... well, it was a little more than what he was used to reading, to say the very least. Izuku quickly close the book and put it on top of the pile, having solidified his decision about buying this. Yeah, he was pretty sure Blake would like this! It had serious themes, adventure, adult tones and a romance that seemed to take itself pretty seriously! At least, he hoped she'd like it.
Finally, after having spent the past several minutes looking through books and picking out your selection, Izuku heard the door to the back open as Blake and Tukson walked back out. They're whispering slightly at the last moment before they both turned to look at him, your arms full of books. Tukson gives a short laugh while Blake sighed a little, a small grin on her face.
"Hah, didn't know if you were buying books huh? Well, can't wait to see what you look like when you 'do' want to buy some of my books." Izuku chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head, carefully balancing the books in his other arm.
"Y-Yeah, I guess I just got a little excited with everything that was on display. I just really wanted to buy some..." Blake shook her head slightly at that, walking up.
"Well wouldn't do to leave you standing around waiting. I'll go ahead and pick out my own books and then we can go back to Beacon." Izuku nod with a grin, though he immediately gave a quick 'oh' as he rebalanced the books in your arms.
"Speaking of, Blake, I... I actually thought I'd go ahead and buy a book for you, as a gift." At that, both Blake and Tukson perked up, both their eyes opening up slightly and blinking in some surprise. Izuku watch as Blake's expression settled into one of her calm ones, though a look of pleasant surprise is on her face, while Tukson just looks flat out surprised and... well…
'Amused?'
"O-Oh. Well... that's a surprise." Blake remarked as she brought up a hand to rub at her other arm. The black haired Faunus tilted her head to the side, a curious expression on her face. "What's the occasion Izuku?" Izuku shrugged as he looked down a bit, admittedly finding this situation a little embarrassing now, though thankfully the grace with which Blake was handling this was helping him along... though it would only get more embarrassing when he revealed he was gifting her a romance.
"Oh, uh, no occasion Blake. I just thought, you know, since you went through the trouble of bringing me out here and showing me this shop that it'd be nice if I got you a book you'd like. A way for me to say thanks." Blake actually chuckles slightly at that, shaking her head slightly.
"Of course, I shouldn't be surprised..." The girl reached a hand up to carefully comb a strand of hair behind her ear while watching him. "Izuku, you don't have to buy me a book to thank me. I... asked you along so you could see this place and so that we could, you know, hang out. I don't need a present for that..." Izuku nodded in understanding. He got that, really, but...
"Well... I just kind of want to get you something, then. Even if you don't think you need a present for doing this, I'd like to give you one." At that Izuku saw that Blake's human ears went ever so slightly red, her mouth making a slight 'oh' as she looked down to the side for a moment.
"Ah, well, if that's the case then... I suppose there's no sense in saying no." Blake said before looking back up at him. "So... what book did you get me?"
"Oh, it's great, I think you'll really like it! It has all kind of accolades on the front and it seems like a mix of the stuff you've liked to read. It's got this pretty interesting narrative about this relationship that splits these families apart and the politics that goes into that, them trying to be together despite it all, and it takes the romance pretty seriously! It seems like a pretty good book with the kind of adult themes you like." Blake just smiled at that, somewhat perked up by seeing he was so excited to present this book. Izuku fiddled around with your grip and then, finally, pick Ninjas of Love II off the top of the stack to present it. "It's called Ninjas of Love II. I know the title sounds a little goofy but I cracked open a part of it and it looks like a good read!"
...
Izuku watch as two things immediately happened simultaneously. First, Tukson immediately brought his forearm up to his face and Izuku hear choking and chortling sounds hidden behind it as the man coughed aloud into his arm. "Sorry, allergy season, you know how F-Fall is..." The man barely got it out between rapid, shallow breaths as his eyes threatened to water and, to be frank, Izuku knew a stupid excuse when he heard one...
Especially because of Blake's reaction. Immediately the usually stoic's girl face turned a deep, cherry red, all the way from her neck to the very tips of her ears as an embarrassed expression plastered itself on her face, her eyes immediately going wide.
'Oh Gods, I knew it!'
'It really is some big embarrassing thing to give a girl a romance novel for a gift!'
Izuku immediately go red in the cheeks yourself from this reaction, scratching at the side of his head as he looked down to the side. "I know it's probably a little weird to get a romance novel as a gift-" Izuku heard Tukson again choked as he threatened to burst into laughter, causing his blush to deepen. "But... you know, it's like I said, it really seemed like it'd be up your alley. It sounds like it's got a good plot-" Tukson sounded like he was going to stop breathing at any moment, "-interesting characters and, well, the romance seems well written..." Blake's face just went a deeper and deeper shade of red at that, the girl's mouth opening and closing like a fish's before she seemed to gain some resemblance of control.
"A-Ah... I-I see... I-I-Izuku, um, the... 'romance'... what... what did you read, exactly?" Blake seemed like she was sweating at this point and, well, his face was more and more resembling hers in terms of how red they both were.
"O-Oh, uh, well, they were going off into the woods in order to be away from their families. It wasn't anything explicit or anything just some... ah, heavy petting and kissing. It was all clothes on but it was... well, it was a little more intense than w-what I was used to reading... but I guess that's why it's in the adult section, right?"
Tukson at this point actually bit into his arm, his cheeks practically inflating as he did his best to stifle himself. Blake finally brought her hands up to her face, covering it as it seemed like her 'entire body' is actually turning red. Oh jeez, he really overstepped here. Now she was gonna think he was a creep!
"I-I understand, um, if it's not exactly your taste... uh, sorry, this was awkward... like I said, it read like something you'd like and I thought... well, I guess it doesn't matter. It's a sequel anyway s-so it's not like you'd be invested in the story of this. I'm sorry, this was dumb..." Tukson finally worked his way away from his arm, taking a deep breath as he looks over at him, the man thoroughly tickled as he started to speak.
"Look kid, it's fine. You know, Blake here, she-" It seemed like Tukson was getting ready to sweep it away for the both of them, to try to make things less embarrassing. To try and just get past it...
"Umm... actually, Izuku..." Tukson stopped and Izuku raised their head, Izuku's diatribe broken as Blake slowly shifted her hands; they're still covering her eyes but now they're moved in such a way that it's not covering her mouth. "I... I actually do have Ninjas of Love... it's... a good book, yeah, one that I like..." Both Izuku and Tukson looked surprised, though Tukson was 'definitely' more surprised than he was by a 'wide' margin. Izuku gave a quick 'oh' as he looked off to the side.
"A-Ah, I see. Well, that's good then, I guess I didn't get it quite so wrong..." Blake nodded slightly, taking a deep breath as she lowered her hands.
"I was... actually thinking of buying this for myself but... well, it doesn't... really fit my image. Plus..." Blake stopped herself, her face still very red and her eyes still practically wide as plates as she glanced off to the side.
"Well... I think it sounds interesting, and it sounds like it has good themes and a cool story... so I think it fits you just fine Blake." Blake's face went a darker shade of red at that. "Look, I know it's probably really off-putting for me to get you a gift like this but... well, I just thought you'd like it..."
"I don't think you'd be wrong... and, it isn't off-putting because you're getting me this book Izuku... uh, it's just, like I said, kind of a weird thing for how people usually see me." Blake's mouth seemed like it was dry at this point as she scratches at her arm. "It's just... you know, I can buy this myself, that'd be fine. You don't have to buy it for me..."
"I know, like I said, I just wanted to get you something Blake..."
...
"Okay then." Blake said, surprisingly firmly, as the girl took a deep breath. She was still 'very' red in the face but she did her best to give Izuku a friendly smile. "Then... thank you Izuku. I'll... enjoy reading this." With that a wave of relief flows through him, glad to see that Blake at least seemed genuine about that as Izuku nodded. Soon enough, with Tukson still looking at the both of them with that surprised and unreadable expression on his face, Izuku rang up his books and pay for them. A moment later, with only a little embarrassment, Izuku handed Blake Ninjas of Love II and she took it; embarrassed as she is about it, she was also pretty clearly excited to get her hands on it.
"Thanks Izuku, really... um, listen, give me a minute while I pick out my books? You don't have to wait here just, I dunno, you can go outside and get a head start? I'll catch up with you in a moment." Izuku nodded slightly as he put all his books into a bag, giving Tukson a polite nod as he waved goodbye.
...
Indeed, not even a minute later, Blake was outside of the bookstore with Izuku, a full bag of books hanging in one of her hands with, presumably, Ninjas of Love II placed squarely in there. The trip back to Beacon was decidedly more quiet than the trip to Tukson's Book Trade, with there still being definite signs of red on Blake's human ears which matched that which still dusted Izuku's face. Still, he and Blake did still manage to have a bit of small talk on the way back and she did seem pretty happy.
So, hey, embarrassed as they both were, it looked like it all worked out well.
EN: This chapter is filth.
FILTH!
-Wind-Waker
You just don't like the ship.
-Shovern
a/n: In fairness a lot of people didn't by the end of the Shipping Race, it seems like. Catnip just had a core of diehards that ended up managing to form a pretty impressive voting block from update to update. The race itself... well, the readers will see in good time.
-gorilla_fingers