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Sunday, May 24th

Hitomi stared at her Ragdoll dakimakura. Sighing, she put it inside her closet along with the rest of her stuff she didn't want Izuku to see.

When she turned around, her father was standing in her doorway.

"What?" She pushed the closet door closed with her foot and crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's my question... What are you doing?"

"Tidying up my room."

"At 6am on a Sunday?" Hajime lifted an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Not related at all to your boyfriend visiting this afternoon?"

"He's not my boyfriend," she denied, wanting to avoid the teasing. "And no, I just felt like it was time to clean a bit."

They stared at each other.

"This reminds me of all those times I hid my porn stash under my bed when I had your mom over."

"Ew."

"Now, I don't hide it anymore and we happily keep a stash together like a happy couple−"

"Please, can you stop trying to give me nightmares?"

"Please, can you stop faking you aren't worried about this?"

She looked away. That was another point for him. 'Me - 2, Dad - 25.'

They were too similar for her to hide secrets from him.

"Fine. I'm having a little crisis over here. Is saying it aloud supposed to help me?"

"It will... In any case, why are you even worried? The old Shinso charm never fails. You have that boy in the bag already."

She blushed. "No idea what you are talking about... But assuming I did..."

"Yeah, go on..."

"What if I'm nervous because I know he likes me?"

Her father looked confused. "Please, elaborate..."

"Hypothetically?"

"Yeah, hypothetically..." He made quotation marks with his fingers.

"Izuku−" His father’s eyes glinted with amusement. "I mean, Midoriya; he backed me up with the principal about my transference to the Hero Course. I don't know if Eraserhead would have accepted to train me without his vouching. So I felt grateful and invited him over. But now, I'm fearing maybe that was a mistake..."

"You don't like him? It's that what you are trying to say?" His incredulity was painfully clear. "Because I doubt so."

"How do you know that's not the case?"

"Because you are my daughter." He took a seat on her desk chair. "First, you like to keep your feelings bottled and negate them fervently when someone points them out like I used to when I was your age... Second, have you realized how often you speak about Midoriya lately and how happy you sound when you do?"

"Do I...?"

"Yes, you do. It's as if you were finally enjoying your life like a regular teenager... You are happy. Midoriya makes you happy. So what's the problem?"

Despite how hard it was to recognize her fears, she said, "what if I ruin everything?" Hajime didn't answer. Hitomi took it as a sign to continue. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore, okay. I never thought I would meet someone I could like and trust so much. But I did, and now every time Midoriya is his darn cute and dorky self, it becomes harder for me to think clearly."

"It's as if I were about to lose control of myself and do something really stupid." She ignored the burning she felt in her face. "But I'm supposed to train to be a hero! I can't let myself get distracted or I could mess up the chance I just got. And if I do, I would not only disappoint Eraserhead, myself, and you and mom, but even Midoriya himself... But I don't want what I have with him to stop or get awkward. So what the hell I'm supposed to do?"

Hajime slowly smiled. "You are so much like me, it is not even funny... So I'll tell you the same thing your grandpa told me when I was passing through a similar situation" He cleared his throat. "'We, Shinso, are a bunch of pigheaded folks; stubborn and tenacious to a fault. It can make us unpleasant for some people, but it also means there's nothing that can stop us from getting everything we want and accomplishing all of our goals.'

"'Even if they seem incompatible with each other or unattainable. Even if the world itself tells us to give up and conform only to what is possible. Once we put our minds to it we can destroy all limits and logic to reach victory and be the ones to laugh in the end'... He also told me the story of the bees and the flowers, and the importance of protection, but I guess that's not what you want to hear right now...?"

"Please don't."

"Okay..." He shrugged. "Did the Shinso's wisdom help you at least?"

She would like to say it didn't, just to mess up with her dad, but he would know if she lied. "It did."

She was overthinking. Yes, romance was uncharted territory for her. But her relationship with Izuku had been developing nicely, so at least she was doing things right.

That didn't make it less scary. For years, her only desire had been to become a hero; not necessarily a famous one or the new Symbol of Peace like other teens her age. She simply wished to show those people that feared her and treated her like a villain they were wrong all along. But now she wanted Izuku as a part of her life too.

And as terrified as she was of failure, Hajime was right; she -Hitomi Shinso- wasn't going to conform to achieve only one of her goals. Hitomi wanted everything -she was that greedy- and intended to tackle every challenge and obstacle in her way and crush them to make all her dreams come true.

 "Well, my job here is done then." Hajime put his hand over her head and dishevelled her hair, not affected at all by her glare as he exited the room. "See ya."

Her father was the most exasperating person in the face of the earth... And she loved him a lot, nevertheless.

Turning around, she found Mio sending her an inquisitive look from his bed, as if saying, 'what are you doing, my human? Stop being noisy so early and go to sleep.'

"Mio, can you promise me, you won't eat Midoriya alive?"

The cat rolled his eyes. 'I won't promise anything.'

(...)

Izuku was in front of Hitomi’s house, currently wearing his formal attire: a green vest over a white long-sleeved button-up shirt, black tie and shoes, and green slacks. Personally, he liked the outfit, but he would like it even more if he weren't so absurdly overdressed. He was going to hang out with a friend, not ask her for marriage -he felt just as nervous, though. Also, he had problems ignoring the stupid gel forced on his hair to -attempt to- tame it.

It was a mess and his mom’s idea.

No matter how many times he tried to convince her of the opposite, she remained stuck on the notion Hitomi was his girlfriend. But as much as he would like it to be the case, they were just friends... Kinda. 'Friends don't try to kiss each other on the lips.'

Besides, he had told the girl stuff about his past he hadn't told anyone else. They went past the line of acquaintances or regular friends a long time ago.

'Plus ultra, I guess.' Feeling courageous enough, he pressed the doorbell.

"Wait a second!" said a feminine voice, similar to Hitomi’s, but higher-pitched. When the door opened, Izuku almost thought he had time-travelled, because an adult Hitomi stood in front of him. She was tall. Ocean blue hair arranged in a bun, long strands escaping from it to frame her face. "Welcome! You are Midoriya, right?" Izuku was too dazed for a verbal response, simply nodding. "Great! I’m Mihoko, little Tomi-chan’s mom. Nice to meet you!"

He had been mistaken about Hitomi’s similarity to her father. The girl was absolutely identical to her mom. Apparently, the only thing she had inherited from the man was the sharpness and tiredness in her eyes, besides her stoicism.

"Nice to m-meet you too, ma’am," he said politely.

"Come in, come in!" The woman practically pulled him inside.

The house had a pleasant atmosphere, abounding pastel colors. "Tomi-chan, your boyfriend is here!"

"Mom, what the heck?!"

Despite the embarrassment he felt about being called her boyfriend, his mind went in overdrive when he saw Hitomi walking down the stairs.

It was the first time he saw her in casual clothes, and he liked what he saw. He liked it a lot.

He wasn't even sure what he expected. Maybe something dark, considering the cold aura she sometimes gave off. But no, she was wearing an utterly girly getup in shades of pink and purple. And she rocked it.

"Did I say something wrong? I mean, he is your friend and a boy, so your boy friend, right?" Mihoko asked innocently, making Hitomi’s eye twitch.

"Don't listen to her, Midoriya, she−" She halted as her eyes finally focused on him. "Wow. What happened to your hair?"

Izuku almost wished to have a hair clipper to cut it all off. Even being bald would be better than the way he looked.

"I t-tried to comb it."

"Yeah, you sure tried." Hitomi walked to him. "Let me fix it." Before he could react, her hands were in his head, and without any care, she tousled his hair, leaving it exactly as he normally carried it. "Hmm..." She backed off, and took a good look at him, smirking all the while. "Definitely better."

He tried to frown, but he didn't have the strength for it. Seeing her satisfied expression, he would gladly let her mess with his hair forever if that's what she wanted.

"Also, nice clothes. You look dapper." Her expression and tone of voice made him shiver.

"Y-you look, um," 'beautiful, gorgeous, stunning... hot...' "n-nice too."

They were too focused on each other to notice the way Mihoko was giggling.

(...)

Just as Hitomi feared, her mother had wanted to talk with Midoriya. Thank god, she had mostly just asked him about school stuff.

She felt relieved too soon...

"Mou." The woman pouted while sitting on the couch across them. "It's a real shame you aren't in Tomi-chan’s class! She needs to have more good friends like you around her." She shifted awkwardly as her mother grabbed her cheeks. "My cute daughter is such a diligent and smart child but people don't appreciate her."

"Mom, I don't need any friends!" She pulled away from her.

"What about Midoriya, then?" Mihoko's expression went serious.

"What about him−?" When Hitomi looked at Izuku, his expression was painfully guarded. 'Fuck.' "No! That's not what I meant!"

"Eh?"

"You are−" '...more than a friend,' but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Luckily, Izuku understood what she meant. His expression relaxing.

"He is...?" said her mom, gesturing for her to continue. She was smiling like a kid in a candy shop.

"He is going to watch a movie with me." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, Midoriya. It’s this way, up the stairs." Almost paralyzed, Izuku didn't offer any resistance.

Her mom saw them go, pouting all the while.

Once in front of her room, Izuku finally reacted.

"W-wait, is this really okay?" He was nervous.

"What?"

"Going i-inside your room."

"What? Have you never been in a girl’s room?" she asked teasingly.

"To s-say the truth, I haven't."

"Really? Don't you and Kendo hang out often?"

"We do, but mostly just in the Dojo. I haven't v-visited her room or anyone else’s before."

"Well, isn't that nice?" She grinned until she remembered something important. "Wait, I almost forget something. Mio is inside my room."

"Oh." He didn't see what the problem was.

"Look, I was obviously exaggerating when I told you about him, but the part about him being wary of strangers wasn't a lie. So don't get too close or try to play with him unless he initiates contact, okay?" She doubted that would happen.

"Understood."

"Well, here we go." She opened the door and stepped inside.

A pair of feline blue eyes stared at Izuku from the small bed on the other side of the room.

"Okay, he is not ignoring your presence. That's good..." she said, immediately adding, "Or very bad. I'm not sure."

Izuku gave her a funny look and then turned back to Mio, noticing the cat was already out of his bed. None of them said anything as Mio approached. Surprisingly, the cat circled Izuku, rubbing against his legs while purring.

"This must be a joke," muttered Hitomi in bewilderment.

Smiling, Izuku carefully took the cat between his arms. Mio didn't make the least attempt to resist. "He doesn't seem that bad to me."

"He is never that openly nice. Not even with me." Hitomi glared at her cat, almost jealous. And she wasn't even sure of whom. "Traitor."

Izuku chucked while examining the room. "Your room it’s, um, really clean."

"What? Did you expect a mess?" she said, her hands on her waist.

"N-no, but it looks, eh, minimalistic...?" Oh, how she loved to see him squirm. "Would that be the word?"

"Because it's rather empty?" He nodded. "You are perceptive. I may or may not have hidden all my embarrassing things."

"You didn't need to do that."

She shrugged. "I didn't want to intimidate you with all the cat stuff."

"It can’t be worse than the t-tons of hero merchandise in my room," he commented sheepishly.

"Should I take that as an invitation to your house?"

"Ah- M-maybe?" Izuku was focusing all his attention on Mio, but he couldn't trick her.

"Perfect. Let’s bet then. The one with the more overwhelming room wins. And the loser will have to do what the winner says for a day."

"If we bet on that I’m going to win," Izuku said with a serious expression. It didn't sound as if he were presuming but stating a fact.

Ignoring her apprehension, she opened the closet, all her things sliding outside like a mini avalanche. "Are you sure?"

He barely reacted to the mess."I’m definitely going to win."

'Seeing Izuku’s room is going to be a spectacle,' she thought. "Now you are just trying to scare me."

"S-sorry." He didn't look sorry at all.

"Whatever. Why don't you choose a movie?" She pointed at the shelf as she crouched in front of the pile of objects. "Meanwhile, I’ll fix this mess."

"I can help you."

"I’m pretty sure there’s some of my underwear buried around here."

"I’ll l-leave it to you!" He left Mio in his bed and rushed to the shelf.

She snorted and started putting everything in its place.

"Ah. There’s a lot of romantic c-comedies in here," said Izuku. "Like, really a lot."

She didn't dare to gaze in his direction. "Yeah. Watching hopeless dorks struggling because they are in love with each other is fun. If you don't like that kind of stuff, I have some few action movies. Just keep looking."

"Okay... Actually, c-could I ask you something?"

"If you want to ask my favorite movie genre, I think that's obvious."

"No. It is about w-what you said before." Hitomi flinched. "The part about not needing friends."

Hitomi sighed. "I was just bluffing, Midoriya." She turned to him. "Some topics put me on edge and that is one of them."

"I know." He nodded. "I’ve noticed you a-acting uncomfortable every time friendship was mentioned around you."

"Because the whole concept eluded me for an absurdly long time."

Izuku frowned. "What do you mean?" He moved closer, sitting in front of her.

"I told you when I met you that I had no friends whatsoever. Well, the truth is I used to have a lot but lost them all when I obtained my Quirk. They were too scared of me after that."

"Oh. But they w-were just small kids. They didn’t know any better."

"I know. But that didn't make it hurt any less. And nothing changed when I grew up. The fear and wariness were still there. No one ever apologized for how they treated me. And their few attempts of kindness were lukewarm at best and fake at worst. Mostly, they came too late, once I wanted nothing to do with other people anymore."

Noticing Izuku’s sad expression, she added, "I had a friend in middle school, though."

"Y-yeah?"

She nodded. "But don't get too happy. She was like your total opposite."

"Opposite in what sense?" He looked worried.

"You don't fear my Quirk or think it is villainous. You see me for who I am... But that girl thought my Quirk was villainous and considered me cool because of it."

"What tha-? That doesn't m-make sense!"

"It does." She snorted. "You are a hero fanboy, right? Well, she was a villain fangirl. Totally crazy, I know. But I felt lonely as heck and let her get close to me because at least she was nice."

"What happened?" By his expression, he understood things didn't end up nicely.

"One day, while we were going home, a truck almost hit her as she crossed the street. I had to use Brainwashing to make her dodge it."

"And...?"

"That’s it." Izuku made an incredulous expression. "She started avoiding me a few days later."

"W-why?" His confusion was understandable. Hitomi had been confused as well. She needed a while to understand it.

"Despite liking my Quirk, she found it terrifying like everyone else. She just didn't mind it because she thought I would never use it on her. But when I did, she took it as 'treason'. And that's how our friendship ended."

"That's awful."

"What can I say? People are awful."

"But... You understand n-not everyone is like that, right?"

"Obviously." She snorted. "You showed me that. Yao-momo and Kendo too... Hell, even Todoroki wasn't a complete asshole the last time we talked to him. And since the Sports Festival, even the people in my class aren't that bad anymore." Izuku beamed. Looking at him, she felt as if her heart would stop at any second. She remembered her earlier conversation with her father and made a decision. 'Why not? Let’s see what happens.'  The warmth in her chest gave her the courage to act. "In any case, they are one thing. But you? I don't think just the word friend is enough."

He reacted as expected. "W-what?"

"Izuku, you supported me and were nice to me from the start despite my less than stellar attitude. Besides my family, you are the kindest person I've known. Besides, you are also smart, strong, and cute."

"C-CUTE?!"

"Cute, handsome, who cares? You pull both off... My point is, I enjoy being with you. Talking with you." She crawled closer to him, like a lioness to her prey. "And more important than anything else, I trust you. Calling you just a friend would be an understatement. Besides, the word itself still makes me cringe a little. So we should find a nicer term, don't you think?"

Izuku seemed hypnotized, his gaze not leaving her face. "Y-yes."

"Any idea?"

She was only teasing him, but to her surprise, he actually answered, "p-partners...?" She gawked at him. "I mean-"

"No... That one is perfect." She approached slowly, giving him the opportunity to back up if he wanted. Instead, he also moved forwards...

"I almost forgot!" yelled Mihoko. They separated as her mother entered the room, not knocking at all.  "Midoriya, you aren't allergic to anything, right?"

He denied, hiding his face.

"Okay! I'm preparing some cookies for you two. Just give me a few minutes and they'll be ready!" The enthusiastic woman left as suddenly as she appeared.

Izuku sighed, relieved Mihoko hadn't noticed.

Meanwhile, Hitomi was seething. That was two times already someone ruined the mood when they tried to kiss. Two failures.

No way she would allow it to continue.

In a rush, she closed their distance. Everything stopped as their lips connected.

It felt as if her whole body were burning; her mind fuzzy. 'Is this how my Quirk feels?'

For someone like her, proud of being in total control of her emotions and never showing any weakness or vulnerability, there existed no more frightening situation.

And yet, she didn't care. She felt too exhilarated to stop the kiss. If it were up to her, she would stay like that forever.

She wanted more. She wanted everything. That was Shinso's greatest blessing and curse.

Sadly, human beings had certain overrated necessities, like breathing.

(...)

When they separated he needed a moment to relearn how to breathe.

'W-we kissed! WE ACTUALLY KISSED!!' He felt like sailing in a rocket at the moment.

Kissing Hitomi felt better than anything he ever dreamed. And he dreamed a lot about her.

Despite his embarrassment and lingering nervousness, Izuku didn't want anything but to kiss her again and again.

But what made him happier was what the kiss meant: Kendo was right about Hitomi's feelings. He had been a dense bastard to have doubted her and not acted sooner upon his feelings. 'So now Hitomi is my girlfriend... Oh god, my mom is going to have an attack.'

Once he stopped daydreaming, he noticed her looking everywhere but him.

"S-shinso-san?" When he tried to approach she lifted her hand.

"D-don't look at me, please." Her voice was breathy. "I need a moment to collect myself." He could only distinguish the red in her cheeks and ears.

"Sorry b-but no!" He said with enthusiasm. "You look just too c-cute right now-!" His attempt to take a look at her face failed as he felt himself paralyze. Even in the dizziness Brainwashing caused, it amused him to know Hitomi could get as embarrassed as him.

"Tsk. I'm the o-only one allowed to do the teasing. That's non-negotiable."

A moment later, the clouds vanished from his mind. Hitomi looked as calm as always, but he wondered if it was real or just a front.

"W-what?" His staring had made her self-conscious again. She covered it with fake exasperation. "Why are you looking at me with that goofy expression on your face?"

He smiled. "I love you too, Shinso-san."

"Tsk." Her expression was the most adorable and kissable thing ever. "W-what did I tell you before?!"

"I was t-too distracted because of your Quirk to notice." He wasn't. But knowing she was bad at being teased, there was no way he would stop.

By her expression, she knew he was lying. "Right... Also, it's Hitomi."

"Ah?" Suddenly, he felt the tides shifting.

"What? Unless that silly confession of yours goes to my mom, or worse, to my dad, I think you should start calling me by Hitomi instead of my family name." Slowly, she was regaining her usual boldness. "That's what I'll do. Now we are partners, so there's nothing stopping me from calling you Izuku, even in public if I want to." Her smirk was back at 100% of its power. "So you should do the same, I-zu-ku."

He gulped but refused to back up. "I g-guess you are right, Hitomi-san."

"No way! D-drop the honorifics!"

"H-Hitomi-chan?"

That soothed her. "Fine. That's fair. For now... Then, did you at least find a movie to watch? Or were you too distracted because of my loveliness?"

"B-both." He showed her the movie-box he had set apart before. "What about this one?"

"That's The Princess Bride," she answered, unimpressed.

"Is it good?"

"Filmed during the Pre-Quirk Era by Rob Reiner, and based on the best-seller by William Goldman. The Princess Bride is the tale of the beautiful Buttercup and her lover, the brave Westley, fighting against the forces that'll try to separate them. Along with them, the charismatic swordsman Inigo Montoya and the affable brawler Fezzik. A spectacle of action, comedy and romance, expertly threaded to create one of the greatest movies ever made." After a pause to take a breath, she added, "So, yeah. It's a decent movie."

"I-I see."

"I'll start the movie. You sit down." She took the box and walked to the movie player.

Looking around, he discovered a lack of chairs. Which was weird, considering Hitomi had a desk in her room.

"Shi-, I mean, Hitomi-chan, there are no chairs here."

"No?" She looked lazily in his direction, as the movie menu appeared on the TV. "What an unimaginable mystery? Guess we'll have to sit on my bed, then." Now she had him trapped in her net.

"A-Ah. I could-"

"Looking for a chair downstairs is out of the question, my dear broccoli."

"B-broccoli?"

"I can't believe I never called you that before. No time like the present, I guess. Broccoli was always my favorite veggie."

Her smile sent all his nerves into a state of alarm. Which only increased as he carefully sat on her bed, Hitomi joining only a second later, Mio between her arms.

"Try not to let me distract you too much from enjoying the movie, would you?" she murmured close to his ear.

He could play that game too. "S-same, Hitomi-chan."

She was right. It was a good movie. The warmth of his partner by his side only made it better.

---

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Hitomi: My dear broccoli...

Izuku: Could you please not call me that?

Hitomi: Sorry, but can't do, broccoli-kun.

Izuku: If you continue, I'll start calling you eggplant-chan.

Next Chapter – Boring June. The exams are coming!

Hitomi: Eggplant? Like green and purple... Are you trying to tell me something dirty?

Izuku: EH?!