A/N: Ah, I've waited for this one. I believe someone asked me if I'd make a 'Date Night' for these two a few weeks ago, so here we are, lots of fluff ahead! Review Time!
To my guy, Murtaito: It's good to see you're on the same wavelength in terms of Midoriya acting as a support as well as how ridiculously op SIVA and OFA together would be - hence why Yuki never became All Might's successor, she already has SIVA to achieve her goals.
Enjoy.
Chapter 29 - On This Perfect Night
It was nearly time. "Nope-Nope, I can't do this!" Yuki slammed her forehead into the side of her wardrobe, sighing through her nose. This was roughly the fifth time she had done this, and she was considering the blunt trauma was giving her short-term memory loss.
She felt nervous, excited, goosebumps ran along her arms making her shiver while her chest burned hotter than the sun. Scenarios of the good and bad swirled in a tidal wave in her head, crashing into logic and reason, eroding what little remained. This was uncharted waters, and she lacked a sail or a heading through its uncertainty. Yuki spent so long contemplating she came up with that little analogy to help stem her rampant thoughts.
This afternoon was the first time she or Izuku, her quirky, anti-social, fanboy of a boyfriend, were going out, just them, for a date. Yuki prided herself on her ability to be that support to lean on for people, she was everyone's friend or most annoying thorn if need be. But with the nerd that became her first friend in years she fell apart, he'd catch her off guard, cause her own emotions to become entangled when he was the one to actually purpose the idea of this date she almost couldn't process the information without tumbling down a flight of stairs.
After almost destroying her room in her confusion she came to a solid finalization on her appearance. A pair of silver earrings and her choker necklace. An azure blouse with a grey zip-up jacket she stole from Izuku, which only heightened her red cheeks further. A pair of black jeans with ripped knees, last was her comfortable black flats cleaned to a fine sheen. Overall, Yuki was pleased with the result.
"You look so cute! I don't think Midoriya will be able to take his eyes off you!" Her Mom beamed from the doorway, causing the mute to flatten her gaze, blowing a lock from her eyes
'You're not helping~' She made her note very clear with massive, bold letters, poking her finger at the line, then her finger slipped. 'I... I don't really know about this' Was she having second thoughts? Yes, for hours because it wasn't something she was used to
To her dismay, her Mom giggled, stepping into her room to unexpectedly placing her hands atop her shoulders, shifting the two of them into view of the mirror. Yuki saw her own anxious frown while her Mom wore a loving expression, tapping her chin to Yuki's head.
"I won't pretend to understand how you're feeling, this isn't something anyone can just know how to approach, which is why I know for a fact you both will have fun," Her Mom smiled gently, hugging her daughter tightly. "Both of you care about one another, you'll see, just stick to your plan and let the rest come along naturally."
| You'll be fine |
Slowly, her own smile adorned her face, tugging her mask closer to the side of her head. At least she had SIVA there for her too. Soon, however, a knock in the distance drew the girls to the calling card of the afternoon, still a bundle of nerves, Yuki slapped her cheeks, pushing out from her Mom's arms as she steeled herself and pressed for the main door.
"I can do this! Come on, Yuki, if Kyoka can do it so can you!" Twisting the handle she felt the lock-bolts click and the door swing wide, revealing the equally nervous Izuku standing by the doorway. Her sudden appearance snapped him out of his muttering but she did notice the constant tinge of pink on his cheeks. 'Someone's nervous... you look good'
"H-h-hey Yuki, t-thanks," Taking in his attire. A white button-up shirt under a blue jacket, a pair of black chinos, and his trademark red and white sneakers, it was certainly a contrast but a welcoming one in Yuki's eyes. For Izuku, he couldn't take his eyes off of the amazing girl in front of him, and a part of him questioned how he got this lucky to have met her, "Y-you look beautiful."
That brought a confident wink to her face. 'Gotta make a good impression, don't I?' That atleast brought them both out of the awkward shell surrounding them
"Now, I'm not gonna be that parent with the whole, 'embarrassing insinuations'," Akame bumped in from the side, crossing her arms while brushing a silver lock from her sharp eyes. "Just be back before midnight and have fun, God knows you kids deserve it before exams kick-off next week."
This was importantly the reason the two planned the date to begin with. The class was all divided among themselves for studying. Bakugo was brute-forcing information into Kirishima and Ochaco. Yaomomo invited several to her place for studying, suffice to say both were dumbstruck by how filthy rich the studious girl was judging by the way Kyoka and Akio described it. And others took to their own methods.
For Yuki and Izuku, it was either studying at each other homes, with Yuki's literal bank of information and Izuku's simplistic yet informative methods study became a sinch. One day Yuki even invited not just Izuku, but Shoto, Kyoka, and Akio. She tried to free Ochaco but Dumb-Dumb was quick to yell through the girl's phone, and Iida preferred to work solo. Now, today was Saturday, and both decided to work off the stress lurking over them.
"I-I promise to bring h-her back on time, Miss Akame," That title still made the Sky Comet Hero chuckle as she watched the boy lead her daughter down the street, resisting the urge to snap a picture of how close to two were to one another
"Hmm, I can always count on you, Midoriya." With that and a gratified nod, she shut the door
Neither had a destination in mind, more so, Izuku couldn't quite think of something that would accommodate both their interests, there weren't any good movies to their liking out so that was out of the question. To rescue him from his ill-planned request, Yuki suggested they take a venture around town, and surprisingly, it was enjoyable.
Window shopping and Yuki's tendency to be mischievous made it all the more entertaining for the green-haired boy as she found very creative ways to make a joke out of their browsing, messing with a few interesting items and occasionally embarrassing the teen with her antics. He was shocked they hadn't been kicked out or Yuki wasn't banned from previous visits.
While strolling down the street, Izuku smiling with his hand in hers she stopped suddenly, body tilted back on one foot to peer into a large building's window, the flashy lights and music inside drawing her attention away like a child. He stopped, seeing her eyes widened to a size he only ever knew when she experienced something new, her lips curved into a cute 'O'.
"An arcade?" He mumbled, raising a brow to her. "You've never been to one?" One shake of her head made it abundantly clear how clueless she was
'I've heard of them but I never went to one' Her note dumbfounded him further, this is what Izuku imagined was where she'd love to go every weekend. This just made another bullet point on things that surprised him about Yuki, but a smile grew across his face, tightening his hand around hers
"Come on," Without another word he took her inside and couldn't withhold his growing amusement as she flicked her head across the area around her. From the flashing lights to the music, and the laughter in the air it practically made her vibrate in his hand, her arm tugging him onward eagerly
From Izuku's experience, she loved playing video games but it was strange seeing her playing arcade games, her eagerness to compete remained but with an enhanced level of curiosity as there were varying ages in rows and corners of the building. If he knew she'd be pulling him along like a string to an arrow he might consider coming here to work on his cardio. What kept his heart aflutter was just her face, the brightest smile she's worn to date, and the sparkle in her eyes with every game won with her silent triumph.
Soon, however, she slithered to her left, spotting a strange device to her uncultured eye. A strange device displaying a rhythmic step-by-step dance floor. Two identical pads with four arrows, and from the example on the screen it was a game where you mimicked the sequence, the higher the difficulty the faster and more frequent the combinations. Yuki furrowed a brow, it looked rather simplistic but it required serious foot coordination.
"It's a dance-mat game," She raised a brow to Izuku for clarity, watching as someone provided a first-hand example. He pointed with their locked hands. "I-i guess you already know how it works, huh?" She did but for his sake, she shook her head to hear him out. "O-Oh? Well, you have to match your footsteps to the correct arrows, you can either play solo or in a pair."
The person before them had inadvertently drawn a small crowd with his near-perfect performance. It was clearly a popular game given the onlookers. Now Yuki felt bubbling anticipation to try it herself, tapping her foot to the beat of the rock song that sounded totally up Kyoka's street. Had she known such a place like this existed in town she'd have come sooner.
Once the person before her finished she was impressed that they managed a near-perfect score on a song called... 'Through the Fire and Flames', "Oooh, that could be a fun one, I like the beat." She hummed and stepped forward, handing Izuku her bag while giving a wink, slotting in a token to start up the machine
I have looked into it | It is a song renowned for its difficulty | Both with instruments, games, and apparently, dancing games it seems
"A challenge then, hehehe," Scrolling down to the song, she saw the somewhat wary look on Izuku's face, and a few whispers forced her to draw her mask over her face to keep her concentration. With a short bow to her partner, she set the game to its highest difficulty
Cracking her knuckles and giving her legs a quick pop, she felt the beat rise to her eardrums, drawing her heart into the beat as hers and Kyoka's music would when they played together. In seconds of the arrows soaring down from the top left of the screen, Yuki felt her muscles relax, then, she broke into the rhythm. She was a UA student, if she didn't go Plus Ultra it would be an insult.
Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left Left, Up, Right, Left and Up, Right and Down, Criss-Cross, Verticle Criss-Cross. Her flow was fluent, SIVA didn't help her nor did her mask mess with the game, she just zoned into her own little world, her feet moved to the beat of the drums and the strum of the guitar. The beat to her bones, the lyrics flooding her ears, it was all so perfect for her motions to follow with elegance.
"-So far away we wait for the daaaay~~!" Yuki sang in her head, keeping up even as a fire started to burn in her muscles, but she wouldn't stop, not when she felt her adrenaline begin to soar to the point that she reached what was considered the 'hardest part', that being the ridiculously epic guitar solo.
Drawing her eyes to the screen she left it to muscle memory to copy the tiles, if she lost her flow now she'd lose more points than necessary, she, of course, made a hiccup here and there, she was still human after all, but for the most part the combo she lost came back nearly as perfect, her feet on fire with every step but she was enjoying it to the fullest now.
To say the audience was impressed was an understatement, she was coming close to the end of the seven-minute song without losing her grove, and by then a number of spectators recognized the girl and the boy she was with who observed with wide eyes and a matching smile. The song came to an end, and the girl flopped back, caught by the boy while she panted, holding up a peace sign.
Her score wasn't perfect, but Yuki was fine with second place, lord knows she wanted to meet the man or woman with the insanity to master this perfectly, it left even her begging for mercy where Villains and Kovik could not. 'That... was... awesome' She dropped her note while Izuku helped to hold her up, her legs buckling, leading to her leaning against his side while his cheeks reddened.
"You're the two that fought in the Sports Fest!" "I thought you two looked familiar! That was amazing~!" "You nearly broke the record in one go, what the hell!?"
"U-um, t-thank you..." Izuku replied to some of the comments directed toward him while Yuki gave a few good gesture signs to people, opting to keep her mask on
'Guess fame never truly dies' Yuki mused with Izuku bashfully rubbing the back of his head, holding onto Yuki supportively, making her nuzzle closer to his body to steady herself
Later that night, the couple had made their way to a small restaurant that was rather unique compared to other restaurants. First, it wasn't a long waiting time as the two got seated relatively quickly, and two, it had a great atmosphere and entertainment fitting for young adults and up. They sat in the back on an elevated point in the restaurant, the bar taking up the main floor, their table of two facing a black wood fence, the open floor, and the bar just ahead of them.
"How'd you know about this place, I think I might have passed here a few times?" Izuku started after the two contemplated what to order. Yuki stopped playing with the straw in her mouth, taping a note to the table
'My Mom and I come here for my birthday, sorta a tradition between us, I like it, especially if there's a sport of some kind on, now that's a riot' She smiled thoughtfully at the memory, her Mom really competitive one year and it was up to a fourteen-year-old to try and keep her from spending all her money on bets
That piqued his curiosity. "Is that why you were out that night?" She gave a nod, pulling out her phone to show him the result. He nearly broke into a laughing fit upon finding Yuki running a hand down her deadpan mask while her Mom sunk against a table, yen, and chips pulled away from her side of the table. "I-I didn't think y-your Mom was t-that bad!?" He snickered
Yuki rolled her eyes playfully. 'And you wonder why I find it infuriating when she's called in as a substitute teacher at UA?' Izuku now understood 'why' entirely
Not long after their food arrived and both immediately dug in, enjoying the music and the food happily. What started as an awkward and night completely foreign to the teens became light-hearted as it's always been, seeing Yuki's beautiful smile and skill at an arcade first hand was breathtaking, she even got him to lighten up when they joked around looking at stores.
His eyes however found themselves on the black choker necklace covering her scar, the very one that made Yuki who she was today. He blinked when the blunt end of her fork booped his nose, startling him. 'Out of all my countless injuries my vocal cords are the one thing SIVA struggles to repair, the complexity is alot, even for his abilities, and the added backlash and injures of everyday life also put a damper on production speed' In a nanosecond, she had utterly deduced his train of thought.
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to-" Again she poked him, holding a sincere smile
'It is what it is, y'know? Actually, here, as a 'thank you' for suggesting this date' Yuki changed the subject, absentmindedly running a hand over her throat while picking up her phone. She had given this little idea some thought but this was a few years ago, one of the few things she still had from her old life. 'Have a listen, Zuzu'
Taking her phone carefully, he saw it was a recording, pressing play, Yuki ran a hand over the side of her neck nervously looking away while the video played, and her heart raced at the familiar tone and pitch she could recall from way back.
"Would you - How the hell did you - give me that!" A young girl with light blue hair, a tinge of white meshed in growled. Her eyes sky blue while holding onto a guitar that looked all too familiar to the fanboy. She was very young, probably eight or nine by their appearance. "Why do you have my phone, dumb-dumb?"
"No reason," Another voice squeaked with mirth, holding it sideways to capture the young girl in the frame while her face heated up slightly, hands clutched around the instrument. "Please don't break my baby?"
"Keep recording and I will." Was her snappy reply, so the one holding it sighed, setting the phone down but angling it under her leg with the record still on. "Right, so, what did you want to hear?"
"Oh-oh, Summer Paradise, pleeeease!" The enthusiastic recorder demanded of the girl with the instrument, seeing her blow the messy lock from her eye as she slanted her gaze, focusing on tuning the guitar. Not a moment later she started to play away with ease, humming soothingly
My heart is sinking
As I'm lifting up
Above the clouds away from you
And I can't believe I'm leaving
Oh I don't kno-kno-know what I'm gonna do
But, someday
I will find my way back
To where your name is written in the sand
Cause I remember every sunset
I remember every word you said
We were never gonna say goodbye
Singing la ta ta ta
Tell me how to get back to
Back to summer paradise with you
And I'll be there in a heartbeat
I'll be there I'll be there I'll be there
I'll be there in a heartbeat
And I'll be there I'll be there I'll be the-
"YOU RAT!" Soon the girl tackled the one still secretly recording and the video ended.
When it ended, Yuki took her phone from his hand, but his eyes were frozen in place, ears unable to focus as he realized that the girl singing was Yuki, or atleast when she was much younger, her mannerisms haven't changed much. Her voice was soft, hitting high notes with a tender octave that made his heart race.
'Now you know what my life was like before a little more, the 'Rat' is my younger sister, she's worse than me when it came to her antics' Her note sounded sarcastic but a touched smile rested on her face, hand on her cheek. 'I'll save her, one day, when I've mastered SIVA I'll bring her out of her coma, by hook or by crook'
"Your voice was amazing," She blinked at his honest reply, he didn't stammer or blush but looked directly into her eyes. "Your sister's Quirk is amplified by her musical talents, but you're just as endearing to listen to."
That wasn't the answer she expected, but it was a welcoming one at that and it made her night even sweeter as she moved from her seat, causing him to stammer as she sat on his lap, putting an arm around him while holding her phone out to take a picture with her tongue sticking out jokingly, Izuku holding himself close to her with a wavy smile of his own.
'Zuzu you have yet to learn, if it's a war of embarrassing the other you better be ready to step up your game'
Now late at night the two strolled down the streets of the suburban area, hand-in-hand while taking, or one of them did, about the upcoming Summer Camp taking place after something All Might told them was a surprise he'd share after the finals, it was alot of pressure but they felt their hearts and minds at ease with the revising and training they had put in either together or separately.
While Yuki spotted her house not too far away from the park they strolled through, she found herself admiring the quiet park, the ambiance of the nightlife, and the clear, star-filled sky above, even a small lake just down a small green bank. She realized it was the cheesiest, romantic setup possible.
Both came to a stop, admiring the setting straight from a painting, captivating the duo in their strange lives. 'Tonight was fun, I had a great time'
"Same, w-we should do it again after the training camp," Izuku suggested and it wasn't a half-bad idea in her mind, she'd certainly want to beat that guy's high score given how close she was to beating the dance game. "So, um..."
Yuki raised a brow.
"W-what happens now?" She was unsure herself on the next step. "I-I mean we're together and all, b-but I don't know if maybe we start trying to be more r-r-romantically involved-"
'Izuku' Her note went unnoticed
"-I mean, I-I've never been in this situation before, so I guess I was kinda going through the motions and-"
'Izuku' This time she shoved the note in his face, grabbing both his hands tightly while staring into his eyes with a stern look
He deflated. "S-Sorry, I guess I ruined the mood, huh?" A single shake of her head dismissed that thought
'If I'm honest I'm no expert either, I know, shocker' She rolled her eyes at his blank look, nervously letting go of one hand to hold up another. 'This is new, these feelings these moments, so... let's just do it our way, how we feel, okay?'
With his easy-going smile returned to its fullest he took Yuki back home, stopping just outside the wall as he felt his palm tighten around hers. Both turned to say something, again, one of them atleast, but they couldn't think of what wasn't already said. Yuki's gaze was caught in his emerald eyes without realizing it, feeling her fingers hold tightly to his own.
Neither had any idea of how to act even as they went with how they felt, moments like this were abundant and would only persist with each new step. Slowly, they felt their heads lean in, a strange emotion bouncing between them with each inch closer.
Then they stopped, feeling just the warmth of their breathing tickle their faces before retracing their steps. 'I-I don't know if... sorry...' Now it was Yuki who felt like she just played Izuku along
"I-it's fine, I-I'm a little unsure, it..." She helped to finish his sentence
'Didn't feel like the right time' He was happy she felt the same, it may have been stupid on his part but tonight he still, even after all this time, was unclear on how he felt toward the cute mute he called his best friend and girlfriend
"Yeah, but," Before Yuki could say goodbye for the night, she froze as a warmth of lips brushed to her cheek, catching the rather sharp girl off her game for a second, the blush on her face intensifying, biting her lip as his lips left her cheek. "I'll wait for you no matter how long that may be, Yuki."
Without another word, he left her side rather hastily for home, his face cherry red while trying to maintain conscience. Yuki on her part stumbled down the path to the front door blushing with a goofy smile on her face as she popped the door open weakly, humming to herself the same melody from her years-old recording.
"When we're ready... It'll be fucking worth it." Was all she could think or feel, ignoring the snoozing hero on the couch
Her failure to properly inspect the surrounding area overlooked the deep blue eye that observed the mute shamble inside looking like a giddy schoolgirl.
To Be Continued...
I am a tease with that final scene, but our boi Izuku has picked up a few things from the tactile mute while she's adopted some of his traits. This was all uncharted waters for an introvert like me which worked out in clarifying the rather bit-of-everything date the two shared. Now, I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support, seeya in the next chapter, Plus Ultra!
Next Chapter: Valor and Perfection
Izuku: The Written Exams are over!
Yuki: Yeah, but... we're up against the teachers!?
Valstrax: You can't hold back, you got that, kids?
Yuki: Atleast make it fair on me!
Izuku: Next time, Valor and Perfection
Yuki: *Sigh* Go Beyond...
Izuku/Valstrax: Plus Ultra!