From The Ashes

A Branding To Remember

Kendo found herself walking down the streets of Tokyo with a little extra pep in her step. Today was the day Midoriya was going to let her drive the track, so obviously she was going to be in a good mood. Sure, her dad may have tried to talk her out of it and he was less than thrilled that she was going to be hanging out with Midoriya after. As far as she was concerned, that was just her dad doing dad things.

Even though she was ecstatic about getting to drive, she was also a little nervous. It wasn't because she was worried about driving, it was because she was going to be with Midoriya. Even though she came to the conclusion that she was interested in Midoriya, that didn't make it any less nerve wracking; in fact it had the opposite effect. Because she had put her feelings into words, she was now overthinking every action she did with him.

'Alright Itsuka, this isn't a date. It's just two friends hanging out. But what if he thinks it's a date? Do I want him to think of this as a date?'

Even with her inner thoughts going haywire, she never took the happy expression off her face. She decided to treat situations like this as practice for when she had to keep a confident demeanor while in dangerous scenarios, as a hero. Thankfully for her, she didn't have to deal with this for much longer as the shop was just around the corner. With a deep breath, she made her way in with as much confidence as possible.

Sitting behind the counter, Ken looked up with a scowl as the doors opened. His look turned to a smirk when he noticed who it was.

"How's it going, Little Red?"

Kendo raised an annoyed eye. "I've told you multiple times: it's orange not red."

Ken shrugged nonchalantly as he looked back at the computer. "Does your dad know you came here all by yourself?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't overly happy about it."

Ken looked back over with peaked interest. "Why's that?"

Kendo twirled the end of her ponytail. "Because I came to hang out with Midoriya."

Ken leaned forward with a smirk. "Sounds like he's worried that his little girl is growing up."

"Like you would know anything about that."

Ken leaned back. "Yeah, you're right."

Kendo sent him a glare, before fiddling with the end of her hair again. "So is Midoriya here?"

Ken went back to his computer and gave her a nod to the back with his head. "He's out back, just go the same way you did last time."

Kendo gave him a nod as she made her way out. "Thanks."

While she was leaving Ken just shook his head while he stared at the screen. 'What have you gotten yourself into, kid?'

Out back Kendo took a deep breath, the smell of hot asphalt and an engine never got old to her. After taking in the smell, she looked around to find Midoriya crouched down next to a bike. She stopped and watched from a distance, as he carefully wiped down the bike. A smile came to her face as she felt a heat rise in her face. 'Oh God it's gonna be a long day.'

With a quick shake of the head to get rid of her thoughts, she made her way over to him with a whistle. "Looking good."

Midoriya turned around to see her approaching. With a smile, he wiped the sweat from his face. "Are you talking about me or the bike?"

Kendo came to a stop and awkwardly scratched her chin. "I uh... both...?"

Midoriya gave her a confused look, before turning back to the bike. "Thanks."