A/N: I wanna give a shout-out to August Rollins for being the first one to fave this fic, not to mention to elijahhedgemond for being the first to review it! I know BakuMina's not the most popular pairing, but still, it makes me feel happy knowing that there's a market for it.

Another morning came for Kacchan, but this time, he had a little extra pep in his step, knowing that Ashido had seen past his brazen exterior to embrace the good within him. Kirishima even asked about it:

"Hey brother! How did the date go?"

Kacchan shrugged. "It went well."

Kirishima smiled. "Really? Tell me more about it!"

"Remember The Station?"

"Oh, ya took her there? How'd she like it?"

"She loved it."

"Aw, hell yeah!" Kirishima gave a thumbs up. "Think you'll be goin' out with her again?"

Kacchan shrugged again. "Yeah, she wants to go bowling with me."

"Really? I didn't know ya were into bowling!"

"I did it a couple of times when I was younger, but I never really got into it. Maybe, just maybe, this time will be different."

"Hey, ya never know!"

On today's patrol, Kacchan was paired with Street Heat, whose hero costume consisted of a dark red vest over a white jacket, plus a matching helmet with wings on it, dark red pants and white knee-high boots

WALTER "STREET HEAT" HAYES:

QUIRK: Flame Run. Can run super fast, leaving a trail of flames behind him. However, he'll overheat if he runs for too long.

"Hey Ground Zero, you've been quieter today. Somethin' goin' on?"

"Not much, really. I'm actually in an OK mood today. Don't screw it up, though."

"I won't. I'd rather have ya like this than yellin' in everyone's face."

"Hmph."

For the next stretch, Kacchan and Hayes didn't do much except rescue a kid's stuffed toy from a storm drain and stop a runaway bus. Shortly after the runaway bus incident, Kacchan got a text from Ashido:

"Hey Bakugo, how's it going? ?😻😻😻

Kacchan texted back: "OK."

Then, Ashido texted back: "Wanna go out for lunch today? 🌸🌸🌸🌸

"Sure. Where?"

"Parson's Chicken & Fish, same one we met at yesterday. 🍗🐟🍗🐟🍗🐟

"OK. Mind if I bring a friend along?"

"Not at all! 😊😊😊

"I'll be there around 12."

"Great! See you then! 😽😽😽😽

Kacchan put his phone away.

"What was that all about?" asked Street Heat.

"Someone I know invited me to lunch, so I accepted her offer and told her you'd be comin' along as well."

Hayes raised an eyebrow. "Really? Can I ask where ya know her from?"

"Remember how we were paired up with heroes from Yoroi Musha's agency yesterday?"

Hayes nodded. "Yeah?"

"She was the woman I was paired up with. Actually, I knew her even before then. Hell, apparently Red Riot knew her longer than that."

"Really? It's a small world, I guess. Now tell me, where are we goin'?"

"Ever been to Parson's Chicken & Fish?"

"I went once, but it's been a while."

Eventually, lunchtime rolled around, and Kacchan and Hayes made it to the same Parson's Chicken & Fish where the former met Ashido yesterday, and almost as soon as they walked in the door…

"YAY!" Ashido ran towards Kacchan, arms wide open. "You made it!"

Kacchan slowly backed away. "Hold on, no no NO…!"

Despite Kacchan's alarm, Ashido wrapped her arms around him and kissed him anyways, causing him to fall unconscious, much to Street Heat's confusion:

"The hell happened to him!?"

Ashido scratched her head. "I dunno; he did this the last time I kissed him…"

"Man, that dude must think you're hot stuff if he fainted like that!"

Ashido giggled. "I aim to please!"

Kacchan groaned as he slowly clambered to his feet.

"You're awake!" Ashido kept smiling. "Good!"

Kacchan rubbed his head. "Yeah, thanks for tryin' to kill me."

"Hey, it's not my fault if you can't handle being kissed by a hot pink woman!" Ashido giggled.

"About that: I didn't mean to pass out. Thing is…you're the sexiest woman I've ever met."

Ashido smiled and clasped her hands next to her cheek. "Awww, you're such a sweetie! You're the handsomest guy I've ever met, too!" She turned to Street Heat. "Oh, sorry for not introducing myself! I'm the Ridley Hero: Alien Queen!"

"And I'm the Blazin' Hero: Street Heat."

"Nice to meet you!"

Hayes and Ashido shook hands. Then, the three heroes took their seats at a picnic-style table in the outdoors dining area, and a tall blonde waitress came by with some menus.

"Hi, welcome to Parson's Chicken & Fish! My name is Rita. Can I get you heroes anything to drink?"

"I'll have a Cheerwine," said Hayes.

"I'll have a Miller Lite," said Kacchan.

"Ya do realize we can't drink on duty, right?" said Hayes.

"Yeah, nobody needs a drunk, sloppy hero!" said Ashido.

Kacchan crossed his arms. "Fine, I'll have a ginger ale."

"Coke for me, please!" said Ashido.

Rita left to get their drinks.

"So tell me: how long have you two known each other?" asked Ashido.

"About five years," said Street Heat. "In all the time I've known him, he's pretty much been the meanest son of a bitch I've known."

Kacchan crossed his arms. "That's because pretty much everybody and their mother sucks."

"Now now, everybody can't be that bad, can they?" said Ashido.

"You're right. I don't hate my best friend, and I can kinda tolerate you."

Ashido giggled. "Ground Zero, you're so silly!"

"Hold up!" said Street Heat. "You're tellin' me ya actually like somebody BESIDES Red Riot?"

"I said tolerate; I didn't say 'like'."

Ashido giggled again. "Oh, Ground Zero, you know you love when I…wait, you know Red Riot, too!?" She put her hands on her cheeks. "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!* We HAVE to hang out together!"

"Well…if you're that insistent, I won't say no."

Rita returned with their drinks.

"Are all of you ready to order?" asked Rita.

"Yeah, I'll have the Hot White," said Kacchan.

"I'll have the ½ chicken, please," said Ashido.

"And I'll have the chicken and waffle," said Street Heat.

Once again, Rita left to put in their orders.

"So, Raccoon Eyes, did ya have any thoughts on where ya wanted to hang out with me and Red Riot?" asked Kacchan.

"First of all, stop calling me 'Raccoon Eyes'! Second, hmmm…" Ashido stroked her chin. "That's a good question. Why don't we both ask him? Then, next time, when you and I meet, we can come to a decision!"

Kacchan shrugged. "Whatever. It really makes no difference to me."

"You've changed, Ground Zero," said Street Heat. "I ain't heard ya yellin' at anybody today."

"Like I said, I'm actually in an OK mood today. Don't fuck it up."

"I won't."

"Good."

"To be honest, I like you regardless, but I like you better when you're not yelling because it makes me think you're happy, and that makes me happy, too!" said Ashido.

Kacchan quickly covered his face before anyone could see him blushing.

"What's wrong, man?" asked Street Heat.

"Yeah, there's no reason to be shy!" said Ashido.

Kacchan shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry, I…I'm just not used to people liking me."

"What's wrong with people liking you? Doesn't that mean you're a good person?"

Street Heat elbowed Kacchan. "She's got a point, ya know."

"Well…I am a hero, I guess…" said Kacchan.

"Also, you can take your hands off your face!" said Ashido. "It's not that ugly, you know!"

"Fine…"

Trying his best to wish all the redness to go away, Kacchan uncovered his face, and Ashido gasped.

"You're BLUSHING!? OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS*, THAT IS SO CUTE!"

Kacchan pulled his hair. "I HATE THIS."

After another day of hero work, Kacchan had a bite to eat at home before heading out to Lucky Strike in Wrigleyville. One of several bowling alleys to bear this name, this particular Lucky Strike was state-of-the-art, with two video walls, leather couches, 4K TV screens, plenty of neon and LED lighting, an extensive arcade and a bar area. Kacchan didn't mind bowling, but he hated having to rent those damn shoes. Nevertheless, he did it because he was looking forward to seeing Ashido again, and she likewise looked forward to seeing him:

"Glad to see you again! Ready to bowl?"

Kacchan nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be. You're probably not ready, though."

Ashido laughed. "Oh, you're so silly! Now, let's do some 'Rock Paper Scissors' to see who goes first!"

"OK."

Kacchan and Ashido did 'Rock Paper Scissors'. Kacchan picked "rock", while Ashido picked "paper".

"Paper covers rock!" Ashido put her hand over Kacchan's fist.

"NO! Rock rips through paper!" Kacchan put his fist over Ashido's hand.

"Hey, no cheating! Everyone knows paper covers rock!"

"HOW THE CRAP AM I CHEATING!? THAT'S SO FUCKIN' STUPID!"

Ashido frowned and put her fists on her hips. "Do you wanna bowl or not?"

Kacchan growled. "Fine…"

Ashido giggled and ruffled Kacchan's hair. "Hey, don't be such a sourpuss! We're here to have fun, right?"

"I guess…"

"Now let's bowl!"

Ashido stepped up to the lane, and giving it all she had, she rolled the ball. For her first roll, she got a strike.

"YEAH!" Ashido pumped her fist. "I FEEL GOOD!"

Kacchan took his turn next. For his first roll, he knocked down nine pins, and on the second roll, he missed the remaining pin. For the next four frames, things seemed to proceed smoothly. Having hung out with Ashido a few times already, Kacchan found that her presence no longer made him want to throw himself in front of an oncoming tractor-trailer. In fact, he even enjoyed hanging out with her a little, though he was still quite a ways away from totally changing his foul attitude. Still, he did think she was the sexiest woman he'd ever met, so he'd give her that. On the sixth frame, Ashido bowled another strike, but she was over the line, so Kacchan marked her as "0". Then, it was his turn next, and…

"Hey Bakugo…"

Kacchan stopped short of rolling the ball again and turned to face Ashido. "What do ya want, Raccoon Eyes?"

"Why did you mark me as a zero?"

Kacchan put the ball back on the rack and headed towards her. "You were over the line. That's a foul."

"As if! I'm marking that as a strike!"

"Uh, excuse me, mark it zero! Next frame."

"No way, Bakugo! I'm marking a strike!"

"Raccoon Eyes, this is not hero work; this is bowling. There are rules."

Ashido kept smiling. "Hey, so my toe slipped over the line a little! Big deal! It's just a game!"

"Oh what? And murder is just a game, too? I said there are rules! Am I wrong?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't…"

"Am I wrong?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't over! Let me at the terminal, Bakugo; I'm marking it a strike."

Kacchan stepped towards Ashido with a deadly glare in his eyes. "Raccoon Eyes, my girl, you are entering a world of pain."

Ashido smiled nervously. "Bakugo…"

Kacchan got closer and closer to Ashido. "You mark that frame a strike, and you're entering a world of pain."

Ashido backed away a little. "I-I'm not…"

Kacchan got in Ashido's face. "A world of pain."

"Whoa, take it down a little!"

"Has the whole world gone CRAZY!? AM I THE ONLY ONE AROUND HERE WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THE RULES!? MARK IT ZERO!"

Ashido frowned and made a pushing motion towards Kacchan. "Hey, calm down! Somebody's gonna call the cops!"

Kacchan thrust his finger at the scoreboard, unaware of people who'd stopped bowling to watch their little argument unfold. "MARK IT ZERO!"

"Do you realize how childish you sound when you yell?"

Kacchan grabbed Ashido by the collar. "YOU THINK I'M FUCKIN' AROUND HERE!? MARK IT ZERO!"

"That's it, Mr. Angry Face!"

"WHAT THE…AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ashido's smile returned. "Yeah, you wanna mark it zero now, Bakugo?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT TICKLES!"

"Yeah, well it's gonna continue to tickle unless you drop the whole 'mark it zero' thing!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHP, YOU BITCH!"

"Oh, now you made the tickles worse!"

"OK! OK! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MARK IT A STRIKE! MARK IT A STRIKE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ashido stopped tickling Kacchan and smiled.

"See how easy it is to cooperate?"

Kacchan didn't respond; he simply glared at Ashido for a brief moment before returning to the game, still not caring about anybody staring at him.

It was a close game, but in the end, Ashido had a slight win over Kacchan, who lamented the whole thing:

"Ya know, if that one frame had been marked zero, I woulda won."

Ashido ruffled Kacchan's hair. "Oh, don't be such a sore loser! You had fun, didn't you?"

"Actually, that was pretty fun, except the part where ya tickled me."

"What else was I supposed to do, honey? You were all angry and yelling, and that's pretty scary."

Kacchan blushed. "Hey uh…listen…I didn't mean to scare ya. I just hate when people cheat, but uh…sorry…I guess?"

Ashido smiled. "Apology accepted!"

Ashido gave Kacchan a big hug, which he accepted and returned without complaint. At this point, he still kind of hated her guts, but he really appreciated the fact that she was being so nice to him and reminding him that he had value in this world. That, and wrapping his arms around her soft, cuddly body was relaxing in and of itself. Soon enough, she let go.

"So Bakugo, I had so much fun with you tonight. In fact, I love you enough that I'm inviting you over to my place tomorrow night! Wanna come over?"

Kacchan dropped his jaw. This was probably the first time in his life where a woman whom he was genuinely attracted to had offered to invite him over to her place of residence, so there could be no doubt in his mind as to the answer…

"OK, I'll go."

"Grand! Let me text you the address…"

Ashido texted her address to Kacchan.

"Thanks," said Kacchan.

"You're welcome, honey! See you tomorrow night!"

Ashido gave Kacchan another kiss, and once again, he fainted, much to her concern:

"Bakugo!" Ashido lightly slapped him on the cheek to wake him up. "Hey, Bakugo!"

Bakugo groaned and slowly got up.

"Hey, are you OK?" asked Ashido. "I know you said I was the sexiest woman you ever met, but are you sure you don't have any underlying medical conditions?"

Kacchan rubbed his head. "I'm pretty fuckin' sure. Maybe I'm just not used to hot women kissing me."

Ashido giggled. "Then I'm sure you'll get accustomed to me sooner or later! Have a good night!"

"You too."

Kacchan and Ashido parted ways. Even if he still wasn't totally enthused with society, Kacchan was hotly anticipating being able to go to Ashido's place tomorrow.

*Once again, the phrase "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS" is a registered trademark of KagamiPINKAgreste, used with permission.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.