Like they had arranged, Izuku arrived at Dagobah Municipal Beach the following day. He had arrived half an hour before the arranged time. While he didn't need to, Mina wouldn't care all that much, and maybe make a little joke if he was a bit late.

"Heya Midori"

Izuku immediately recognised that voice. That, and the nickname. He looked in its direction and saw Mina skipping towards him.

"You're here early. Were you that eager to see little ol' me?" She said suggestively.

Ok, she was gonna poke fun at him regardless of what he was going to do.

"No, that's n-not i-it" he stuttered.

"Pfft..." Mina's cheeks puffed out, while holding a hand over her mouth. She then started giggling like crazy. "I'm sorry, you're just too easy" she said in between laughs.

She calmed down shortly after, and then grabbed Izuku's arm, hugging it. Izuku immediately tensed up, earning a couple of giggles from Mina.

"Calm down will you?" She then got close to his ear and whispered, "you're gonna show this naughty girl how to have some fun".

That did nothing to help.

Izuku blushed furiously. Mina could've sworn she saw literal steam. She let go while laughing before saying, "ok, that was a bit much, even for me. Sorry about that, I try not to go too far but with you I can't help it. Your embarrassment and your stuttering is so cute".

Mina froze at what she just said. It was now her turn to blush. Izuku's only grew. They stood there awkwardly until Mina broke it.

"Hey, maybe we should get going. We're losing daylight standing around here".

Izuku nodded, which was all the confirmation she needed. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him along while she ran. Izuku was surprised by this sudden burst of speed, but quickly caught up and matched her.

They decided to walk through town and go to Kiyashi Ward Mall. On the way there, they would talk about their usual topics. Likes, dislikes, anything that recently happened.

At one point, the topic of the entrance exams came up. Izuku was fairly confident in the written portion while Mina was in the practical. They weren't told how they were going to be graded, so they could only speculate what would happen. Since there wasn't really much to talk about in that regard, they moved on.

They reached kiyashi and immediately, Mina started dragging Izuku around showing him all the shops she would go to and anything and everything about this place. Izuku joked in his head that she was a walking encyclopaedia of this place. If she had that kind of enthusiasm for studying, she would be a star student.

A while after and Izuku was still being dragged all over the place. 'Where does she keep all this energy?' He asked himself. He swore she could run a nuclear power plant singlehandedly and still have some left over.

Then, Izuku's stomach grumbled. And his face flushed red. It was quite audible, even a few memebers of the crowd heard it. Izuku noticed the few glances he was getting, and dreaded it. Not because it was embarrassing, but because if they heard it, she heard it.

Mina slowly turned her head toward Izuku. She puffed out her cheeks and held a hand over her mouth in a futile attempt to hide her giggling, and her sly smirk.

"Wow Midori, that's quite the beast you have hidden away there". Izuku's blush just grew. He noticed the way in which her last sentence was worded, but wasn't going to comment on it.

"Well, I'm pretty hungry too. So, let's go find somewhere to eat".

Izuku would t have noticed that she let go of his wrist to giggle, if she didn't grab it again.

They settled on an American diner style restaurant. Mostly because Mina was curious and had been meaning to try it out for a while now.

They waited at the front to be seated. A waitress came shortly after and showed them their table, while giving them their menus.

They sat down and began browsing through their respective menus. Izuku chose a hamburger with chips and Mina chose a sub sandwich.

They ordered and talked to each other while they waited for their food to arrive. During the conversation, they started talking about Rico.

"Hey Midori" Izuku hummed in response, "have you ever noticed Hioni acting... off at all?"

"What do you mean by off?"

"I mean, like not acting like his usual smart ass self. Like he's holding something back"

Izuku took a moment to recall every interaction he's had with Rico, and seeing if anything stood out. Then he remembered something that did seem weird.

"Yeah I have. When we first trained together, I saw a scar on his cheek. When I asked about it, he seemed... depressed about it, and said he didn't want to talk about it".

Mina then took this information and started to think. "Well, Rico is generally very honest and doesn't hold much back. This is something that made him upset, and I doubt he would be upset  if he lost a fight".

Izuku hummed in agreement, "plus it seemed deeper than that. And I was told..." he was about to say All Might, but realised that may seem weird so instead went for, "by a mutual friend, that he had a rough past".

Mina was a little surprised by this. She had seen bully victims, and they didn't act like Rico. In fact Rico seemed confident most of the time. And like he didn't care what was coming out of his mouth. If he had a rough, she would've assumed that he would be closed off.

Izuku could tell what she was thinking, and responded as such, "Hioni, while he may not seem like it, is very caring and does care a lot about how he appears".

This caught Mina off guard, how is anyone like him worried about how they appear to everyone else?

Izuku again could tell exactly what she was thinking. "I think Hioni believes that he needs to deal with it on his own. So he puts on this persona so that people don't realise that he's not alright. He feels like there needs to be someone that people look to for protection. And he is trying to be that person".

"That's..."

Mina frowned. What Izuku said made a lot of sense. And if that was the case, why does he feel like he has to keep it in?

"Just... why?"

Izuku looked at her in confusion.

"Why does he think he has to deal with it on his own? We're his friends aren't we? Does he not trust us with it? Does he think we'll make fun of him if he tells us? Does..."

Mina was cut off "It's because he lost a lot when he was young, I think. That there are people like him, who need a pillar of support. He's trying to be that pillar so that everyone can rely on him. Even us".

Mina took what he said and sighed, "I just wish that he learns that it's ok to rely on other people as well. It's nice that he wants to support us, but friends support each other. I hope that he'll open up to us eventually".

Izuku nodded, "I hope so too".

Shortly after, their food arrived and they dug in. They both were thinking about their friend, and they did want to help him. But they couldn't be forward about it, they couldn't ask him to his face. He would push them away if they tried something like that. They would have to just let him open up in his own time.

Mina realising that the mood had become sour, decided to lighten things up again. "So, you and Hioni were friends before we met. How did that happen?"

Izuku gave her a curious glance. "I mean, he seems like a real pain to be around sometimes. I'm asking what were you're first impressions on him. Was it as colourful as I think it was?"

Izuku then recalled their first meeting. It was and probably the most lasting first impression he has or will ever have. Izuku was slightly overwhelmed then, but now after spending a month with the guy, he can look back on it and laugh.

And so he did. Izuku started to chuckle, it was now Mina's turn to give a curious glance.

"It was definitely interesting. I'd say he acted the same way he normally does, if not more so. He was blunt, but in a sarcastic way, and wasn't afraid to be honest, even if he was the butt of the joke".

"Really? Can you give me an example" Mina asked.

"Umm, the thing I remember most was that he had to tell me that he didn't do one night stands".

"Wait, he seriously said that?" Mina asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, according to him he's attractive to gay people, and finding out in the most awkward way".

Mina could not hold back anymore, she started laughing. Izuku laughed with her.

"Oh my God. To tell you that while making first impressions. To be honest, I wouldn't have believed you if I hadn't already met the guy myself"

Izuku chuckled at the comment.

"But enough about him. This is our date, so let's talk about you" she said with a sly grin.

Izuku sweat dropped. And blushed slightly at the mention of date.

"Tell me, you're trying to be a hero. Why?"

The question caught Izuku a little off guard. He was expecting something a little more personal.

"Uhh, well it been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid. I always thought heroes were cool, and I wanted to be one".

"Well duh, that's how every kid thinks. What I want to know is, what makes you different? What is the reason to be a hero? Is it fame, money, a chance to shine, popularity?" She then got close and continued, "to get lucky?" She said in a seductive tone.

Izuku blushed furiously at the implication. Mina then laughed at his expense, "but seriously, why do you want to be a hero?" She genuinely asked.

Izuku thought about how he was going to word it. "Well, I wanted to save people. To save them with a smile, and show them they don't have to be afraid. To help people, and to make them smile as well".

Mina smiled at that response. Of course he would have a reason like that. He was the kindest, sweetest and most genuine guy she had ever met. It didn't help the fact that he was really cute...

Mina blushed. 'Why the hell am I thinking that? I know this is a date but... I was treating it like a friendly hangout. I only said it was a date to get him to react. Him getting flustered was always cute...'

There is was again, Mina's blush grew. She instinctively put a hand over her mouth, even though she hadn't said anything. She did not trust anything she was going to say.

Sure, she liked the guy. But like that? They had only known each other for a month, was it too soon to have these sorts of feelings? She then realised this wasn't the first time either. When ever they would talk with Rico, he on occasion would say something to implicate her and Izuku. She thought he was joking so she played along. She guessed she never noticed it before, but those feelings would pop up then.

Was she really falling for Izuku? She didn't dislike the idea, so she guessed that meant she did like him to a degree. But the idea of them together did worsen her already noticeable blush.

Izuku noticed the change in hue on her face, and asked, "Hey, are you alright. You're looking a little..." He was going to say red, but then remembered that it didn't work like that for her, "...purple".

"Hmm, Oh I'm fine, totally nothing wrong. It's just a bit hot in here" 'oh you have no idea how true that statement is honey' she mentally slapped herself. She sometimes really hated her overactive imagination. This was one of those times.

"Oh good, I thought you were sick or something. Do you wanna go outside to cool off?"

She sighed quietly, 'Why did I have to fall for the dense one?' Her blush only grew, she really needed a distraction.

"Yeah, just give me some time to cool off. I'll be back in a bit". She then got up, and made her way to the bathroom.

Izuku sat there slight confused, if not a bit worried. She was acting strangely, was she ok? Maybe she just needed her space on something. Or maybe she was feeling just as nervous about this as him. Izuku while he would like to believe that, didn't. There was no way she liked him like that, even if they were on a date. He was sure she said it was to mess with him.

Mina took this time to splash herself at one of the sinks. "Pull yourself together girl, you can't be acting like this" she mumbled.

"You alright there?"

Mina turned to the new voice. It was a woman who looked to be in her early to mid twenties. She had purple wavy hair and similarly coloured eyes. There was nothing suspicious about her, so Mina didn't mind conversing with her.

"Yeah... just had to clear my mind is all" she answered.

"Hormones?" She asked nonchalantly

Mina blushed slightly, but nodded.

"I get it, I was your age once. You meet a guy you like and suddenly you have all these strange thoughts and feelings".

"Yeah, this was just a friendly hangout. I was just trying to get to know him better, while at the same time teasing him. It's so easy, and then this happened"

"Wow, he must be something. To get a strong, confident girl like you all riled up. I actually saw you two, I thought you were already a couple. I guess I was wrong, but you two did look cute together".

Mina remained silent, she honestly didn't know what to say.

"All I'm gonna say is if you like him tell him. Cause if you don't, some other girl might take him".

Mina did not like that thought, "Well, I'm not sure if that would work. He's the type of guy who wouldn't believe it, even if I kissed him on the lips".

The woman chuckled, "so he's that type of guy. Wow, and I thought I had it hard. Still, you should tell him straight, if he's that dense then teasing him won't help, it's just gonna make him question if you really like him or not".

Mina thought about it, that was the only way to do it. The way she's been acting is only really confusing him.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind"

"Well, this has been a nice talk. Good luck, but I don't think you really need it".

Mina looked at her curiously, "something tells me, it'll work out for you".

And like that she walked out of the bathroom.
Mina took a minute to gather her things, before going back to her date.

When she got back, Izuku was still patiently waiting for her.

"Are you alright now?"

"Yeah, I've had some time to cool off"

"Ok, you were spending a long time in there, I was getting worried".

"You don't need to worry about me. What did you think was going to happen, that I'd get stuck in the toilet seat?"

"Well... not really".

Mina raised an eyebrow, "Midoriya you are many things, but a good liar is not one of them".

Izuku had a guilty face, "pfft, oh my god. That's both hilarious, and at the same time adorable. Don't worry, I'm not that clumsy".

Izuku shared a nervous laugh. They had pretty much finished their meals, and were now waiting for the bill.

Once it came, Izuku offered to pay it which Mina declined. Eventually they came to a consensus, and paid half of it together.

They left and hadn't noticed that it had already gotten dark. Time flies when you're having fun.
Once they had, they thought it would be best to end it there.

"Well, this has been fun. I'm looking forward to the next one" Mina said with a slight blush.

Izuku blushed at the notion that there would be another date, but smiled anyway, "I had fun too. It's getting late, do you want me to walk you home?"

Mina couldn't help but smile, he was so considerate and generous. "I'm a tough girl, I can handle myself. But thanks for the offer" she said while blushing at the last part.

"Ok then, I'll see you soon" Izuku waved as he started to walk away.

Mina didn't want it to end like this.

She grabbed Izuku's shoulder and spun him around. She then wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him in for an embrace. She did this while giving a small but passionate peck on the cheek.

Once it was done, she let go of him and saw him with the biggest blush she had ever seen. He resembled a strawberry with his green hair and freckles.

She smiled while winking, "see you later Izuku" she said right before skipping off.

Izuku was still in shock. Nothing on the world could have prepared him for that. Once it had finally sunk in that, yes she did kiss him. Izuku slowly walked back home. It had sunk in that it happened, but Izuku still couldn't believe it.

He remained silent, not knowing how to properly react, or what it even meant.

You'd think after getting to know someone you'd understand them better. Mina was the exception to that rule.

[Author's notes]
I'm so sorry that this took so long to upload. I'm not used to writing fluff, or romance stuff. So it took a while for me to get ideas. Plus it isn't easy writing your own scene.

But, things have moved more quickly than I had thought. For those of you who don't know, I write as I go along, with very little planning on what I'm going to be writing about. I let the characters decide what they do, and this time it turned out like this. Well, their relationship just got a whole lot more interesting.

And before I go, I made a promise that I was going to do this, so I'm gonna give a shout-out to Vermillion-Summers and their book 'Shifting' I don't usually do this so I think you can assume it's a good story, which it is. So go check it out.

Anyway, that's all I got time for today. I'll see you guys in the next one. Peace.