"You asked if I had a moment?" Joshua said, smiling to the pink-skinned girl. She smiled back, her grin wide.

"Yep. I wanted to see if you'd like to walk home together," she said. It kind of caught Joshua off guard, as he wasn't used to girls being this forward with him. Sure, he had girls back home that would talk to him, but none of them had really piqued his interest. He didn't blow them off, and was friends with most of them, but nothing more. With Mina, it was different.

He felt a connection to her almost immediately. Not just the initial physical attraction, either. Her demeanor and personality were really something, and it made him smile at how energetic she was. And then there was what she had said during the Quirk Assessment Test, wanting to be involved. Her dislike for bullies. She was a good person, and Joshua looked forward to getting to know her better.

Which is what she had pretty much asked him to do, in walking home together. He smiled to her, as he responded.

"I'd like that," Joshua responded. "I don't live that far from the school. How about yourself?"

"Oh. I live in the Chiba Prefecture," she replied. Joshua started wracking his brain, trying to remember his geography of the area. He knew it wasn't far, but couldn't quite place it's location. He gave her an apologetic look, but she waved it off. "I'm not upset if you don't know where that is. By train, it's about a 15 minute ride home. Walking takes about an hour, since I can take other routes than the main ones."

"Well, then, I can walk you home, before getting back on the train back to mine," Joshua replied with a smile.

"You don't have to," Mina said, lilac tinting her cheeks. "I know it'd be out of your way."

"But then, we really wouldn't be walking home, since I'm like 5 minutes from the school. That wouldn't be fair to you, and would make your whole idea moot." Mina looked up to Joshua and smiled widely.

"Okay!" she said, her pep back in her step. "And, if you're up to it, I don't have to head straight home. We can stop at a few places a know along the way. Show you the sights. Hang out a bit."

"I'd like that," Joshua replied. "A little after school date." The words left his mouth before he processed saying them. He became unusually nervous after, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. That's not what you meant, I'm sure. I apologize for being so forward, and..."

"Would you like it to be a date?" Mina asked, her own nervousness showing. True, they had only known each other for a day, but it wasn't like they were professing their love for one another. "If you don't want to, I totally understand..."

"I'd like that, if you're up for it," Joshua cut her off. Her smile was sweet, and the lilac really blended well with her skin as she nodded.

It turned out to be a rather simple date, as it had kind of been a last minute "confession" that the two realized they liked one another. They stopped at a few shops Mina knew of, one being a sci-fi/comic shop. They stopped and ate an early dinner, which Joshua insisted on paying for (even though he felt the USAHA wouldn't be too happy if he delved into his stipend for a date), but Mina brushed it off, saying that it was okay to split the bill.

They enjoyed the rest of the day before it got late enough that Mina had to call it, since her parent's were wondering where she was. They finished the track, just chatting and getting to know about one another.

Mina found out that Joshua was living alone, since his parents had stayed in America with his younger siblings. Mina talked about her younger siblings, and how they could be pains, but she loved them. Joshua laughed, agreeing with her on that end.

They teased each other about things, and got along great. They shared quite a few interests, but were different enough that it wasn't weird or boring. They also delved into their Quirks more, with Mina making fun of Joshua for "copying" her during the 50 meter dash.

"You totally did!" she was saying. "You saw me skating along, and then used your force fields to give you the extra slide. Don't deny it." She giggled as Joshua made a faux offended gesture.

"I would never," he said. "That implies I would need ideas from someone else to be great." He was, of course, joking around, and they shared a laugh at it. "Seriously though, one thing I've started training my Quirk on a lot lately has been mobility. I've tried many different methods. Yes, yours was an interesting take, so I may have stolen the idea."

"I knew it!" Mina pronounced, jumping up and down. "What other kinds of movement have you been working on with it?"

"Well, my current favorite is, and don't be jealous, but, um...flight." Mina gasped, mouth wide agape.

"Seriously, dude?! You can fly?!"

"Well. Kinda," Joshua admitted. "I'm still working on it, so it's fairly basic right now. I think at this point, levitation would be more accurate."

"Still. That's awesome! I wish my Quirk were that amazing."

"Are you kidding? Your Quirk is so much more naturally versatile than mine is." He then went on explaining it's different applications, to include both rescue and combat. "I've had to develop a whole technique with my Quirk to even think about being combat-oriented, and not just a rescue hero. Don't get me wrong, rescue heroes are great, but I want to be more versatile. Protect others in any situation. I can't do that if all I'm doing is putting up a wall."

Mina was surprised at how sincere his words were. Sure, she knew she had a powerful Quirk, and that it had many different applications. But it wasn't as flashy as some, so she never thought of it as amazing. But Joshua did. And it made her feel good.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at Mina's home. It was a modest, two-story house. They stood outside for a minute.

"So...I really enjoyed tonight," Mina was saying. Joshua smiled.

"I did, too," he replied. "And I would like to keep doing stuff like this, if you're interested, and see where it goes?" She grinned widely.

"Me too. Here," she said, " give me your phone." After a few seconds, she handed it back to him. "Now you have my number. Text me when you get back home safe." She winked at him, before skipping to the front door. She gave one last look back, and a wave, before going inside. Joshua sighed contentedly with himself as he headed to his apartment. He was really looking forward to this year.