Weekend. The much awaited weekend was finally here. It was 11:00 a.m. at the Kiyashi Ward shopping mall Wookiees, and Izuku was ready. He had asked Jirou to come wearing....plain clothes. He was aware that plain left too much room for subjective interpretation, but there wasn't much that he could add in terms of specificity aside from telling her to use bland colors and coordinate them in a non-flashy way. Even over text messages, he could tell that she wasn't too keen on that, but was nonetheless excited for the first date in her life.
Taking long, deep breaths like he were doing a yoga exercise, he checked his phone for what was probably the twentieth time in the last three minutes. A slight tap on the shoulder made him flinch before turning around. There she was, in plain clothes, just as he'd hoped, which consisted of a white loose-fitting wide neck long sleeve with a big purple heart, blue jeans and boots. The neck area was so wide in fact, that it bared her right shoulder and a black strap. "Is this plain enough for you?"
"Um.....Y-yes." Izuku punched himself mentally as he stuttered a little. He should be over this by now. But he had to sigh in awe at his girlfriend. No amount of plainness of mere clothes could ever put any sort of damper on her beauty. Now it is known.
"So, what exactly are we doing here?"
"I was thinking we could give each other a makeover."
".....Run that by me again?" Jirou said as she tilted her head to one side and began lightly smacking her ear with the heel of her palm like her hearing disappeared when Izuku opened his mouth.
"I was thinking of giving each other a makeover. We go to some stores, pick clothes for each other and we buy whichever outfit the person doing the picking liked the most. But just one. Which is why I asked you to come in plain clothes."
"You want me...to pick clothes. For you? Anything I want?"
"Within the bounds of good taste, obviously. As long as you don't try to make me wear a dress, a Pikachu onesy or anything ridiculous like that, yes, anything." There were some boundaries that he was not willing to cross, and he needed to make that clear.
"And you want to do that for me....?" Her perplexed look turned into a smile that would rival the Grinch in terms of how diabolical it looked. "Oh. You. Are. On. I am going to have a field day with you, nerd boy. You won't even recognize yourself when I'm through dressing you up. But you better make me look good."
Izuku folded his arms across his chest, cocking an eyebrow. "Kyoka Jirou, are you issuing a challenge?"
"Hell yes. Who's starting?"
"Lady's choice."
"Worst time to be a gentleman in my opinion, but your funeral. Let's go." Taking Izuku's hand, Jirou navigated through the crowd of people with him in tow. With the maps placed all over the district as a guide, they eventually found themselves at a cosmopolitan ethnic clothing store. The letters on the sign had a strange geometrical twist in its design, but was still legible and spelled Dora Milaje.
"Really? Here?"
"Hey, I'm just following the date plan here. You don't actually have to buy anything. C'mon, let's suit you up." Jirou rubbed her hands together in anticipation as she pushed the glass door open, causing the chimes to jingle noisily. "Now let's see here....."
Izuku began browsing through the racks himself. He had spent about three days for a crash course on women's fashion styles, but in the end was forced to give up due to the plethora of categories and subcategories that push the envelope further.
"Looking for anything in particular?" A store clerk asked with a slight accent to her voice.
"Oh, yes. I'm....." Izuku stopped midsentence as he turned to the store clerk. The sheer explosion of colors emanating for her was like a flashbang going off right in his face, stunning him for a few seconds. Even with the height boosted with the heels on her pumps, she was at least a head and a half taller than him. Parts of her dark skin was covered in scales like a reptile, but even that seemed to give off a strange alluring sheen. Moreover, she looked absolutely stunning in her dress, covered in intricate patterns on the sleeves, around the collar, the hems, and even the sides as it ran down to the hip bones but otherwise an immaculate white. "Sorry. That....looks amazing. It's a....dashiki? Right?"
"Very good guess, young man. Yes indeed. I'm assuming you're here on a date?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good manners as well. Tell you what, let me give you a hand. You're looking for something to dress her in, but I'm assuming you're at a bit of a disadvantage when choosing women's clothing."
"Yes. The three day crash course isn't....really helping me much right now. Coming here was a major curve ball."
"Well, your efforts are admirable nonetheless. Come with me." She took Izuku to the corner wall rack and within a few moments, pulled a dashiki dress like her own and a black, sleeveless dress with yellow patterns printed all over it. "I think....one of these two will make her happy. Go on."
"Thank you so much." Izuku whispered as he accepted the hangers and walked over to Jirou who was patiently waiting in front of the fitting room. Showing her what he wanted her to wear, a dust of pink materialized on her cheeks.
"Really? Sheath type?"
Izuku nodded in reply with a sly smile. "You wear a lot of solid colors, so I want to see you go fwoosh with more than just singular colors on one garment. These are the options I'm offering you. Pick one. Or both, if you're feeling gutsy. What'd you get me?"
"This." She held up an outfit that was almost entirely black: a black long sleeve shirt and pants, a tunic with infinitely complex white embroidering complete with a vest that reaches his knees and leather sandals.
"What the.....alright. Alright, fine." Exchanging the clothing they picked from each other, they disappeared behind the curtains of the changing room. Izuku lightly tugged at the tunic that went up to about a fourth of the neck. It fit well enough and the fabric didn't cause any discomfort as it hugged his figure, but looking at himself in the mirror just made him want to go die in a hole. Honestly, this looked more like he was doing cosplay than anything else. Stepping out of the changing room, he stood face to face with Jirou, who immediately began reeling in laughter upon seeing Izuku.
"Oh...my God.....You look....." She couldn't even utter complete sentences as she was gasping for air.
"Yeah, what's that say about your sense of style?" Izuku muttered. "But you look amazing though." It was true, she did. The tone of her skin could almost melt into the dress, and made her seem more.....radiant. Vibrant. And it most certainly brought the color of her eyes and hair out.
"Y-you think so?" Jirou alternated between looking at the mirror and Izuku. "I mean, I can move around a little more in this one, and the dress has pockets which is very important.....but....I dunno. Still feels weird. Guess I'm just not used to this sort of style."
"Oh and you think I don't feel weird?" Izuku snorted as he pointed at himself.
"Weird is your thing."
"Different genre of weird. But anyways, that was round one. Before we move on to two, can I take a picture?"
".....I really wanna say no, but only if I get to snap one of you."
"Fair enough." Promptly pulling out their phones, they both quickly snapped a picture of one another. Once that was done, Jirou disappeared into the changing room again, almost happily.
"Would you mind keeping this dress for me?" Izuku whispered to the store clerk. "I'm most likely going to come back at a later date to buy it." She nodded happily and gave him a thumbs up, mouthing a thank you to him.
Now it was Izuku's turn as he gently took Jirou's hand and walked through the mall in search of something that would be the polar opposite of her tastes. "You're not too much of a fan of dresses, are you?"
"Eh.....not much, I guess. I mean it's just one article of clothing so it's less of a hassle, but it's also.....boring. There's no room for experimentation that can be done aside from footwear and an extra layer. What about you? You seem like a fashion noob with those shirts."
"Hey!" Izuku frowned, a little hurt at that statement. "I have a simple taste, okay? There's nothing wrong with that."
"I know," Jirou giggled as she hugged his arm to herself. "But I have literally seen you wear a T-shirt that says 'Bathrobe' on it. Some people would take that as a personal front to the concept of fashion itself."
"Like Ashido?"
"Especially Ashido. Which is why we are having this trailblazing of new borders to expand our palate and wardrobe. I'll pick something less....you know. What you wore just then."
"Is that a promise?"
"Eh...." She thought for a bit before giving him a kiss on his cheek and snickered, "Don't count on it."
Izuku felt his face grow warm and the corners of his mouth twitched as he desperately tried to stifle the dumb grin that was undoubtedly forming. "You uh...you wanna try that place?"
"Hm?" Jirou's eyes followed where his finger pointed, which was the unisex boutique SAPPHO. "Huh. Never been there before. Sure. We can look artsy together."
"Of the two of us, you're the artsy one as far as I'm concerned."
"Someone's jealous. You'll be on my level soon enough, don't worry." They entered the store, promptly beginning their search amongst the other shoppers. A rapid, incomprehensible conversation was going on in the back from a door behind the check-out line. Jirou could easily make it out thanks to her Quirk, but she could only hear certain phrases due to the speaker being so quick with his speech. Something about not what he wanted, more photographs, and cover page worthiness.
She and Izuku paid no attention to it until a man dressed in a monochrome tiger patterned jacket and indigo bell-bottom pants burst from the door, which made everyone whip their heads around. Aside from the music playing from the speakers, the entire establishment went dead silent. Tapping his red leather-gloved fingers together, the man scanned the room and quickly walked towards Izuku and Jirou. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but you two are students attending UA, no?"
"Um.....Can....we help you?" Jirou asked cautiously.
"Actually yes. I am a fashion designer. Yukio Fletcher. I own this place and I was wondering if I could have...thirty minutes of your time to be models."
"M-models? Me? Us? I...um....we...." Izuku blinked with a slack-jawed gaze at Fletcher at the sudden proposal.
"Wait. Wait a minute. Fletcher? As in Fletcher 'The Flash' from SaffoRaxas? The lead vocal and bassist?"
"Oh, you know my discography from back then? I'm quite surprised. It wasn't.....well, pretty in the end."
"GODDAMIT FLETCHER THE FUCKING FLASH! I am so sorry, I...I had to get that out. I don't mean to gush, but I absolutely LOVED. YOUR. MUSIC." She jumped in place like a small child in utter glee, without a care that literally everyone was staring at her. "I mean, you got me interested in music and playing bass in the first place. And yes. Hell to the yes, we would be honored to help you and be your models."
"Wha-Kyo-" Izuku was forced into silence as he winced in pain from Jirou's shoe digging into his foot. "Aah...Yes...let's....let's do it.....oww...."
"Wonderful. Follow me to the back." With Fletcher leading the way, Izuku was more or less dragged forcibly into the back as the door closed and locked behind them. There was an entire photo studio set up with cameras, lighting and other equipment at the ready.
"Now then, this will only take a moment." Pulling a tape measure out of his jacket, Fletcher began taking their measurements with the speed and dexterity that could very well match Aizawa in combat. Walking up to a rack of clothes seemingly in no particular order, he quickly pulled several off the rack along with a pair of black leather shoes and whisked Izuku away into another changing room. Jirou entertained herself by listening to the sporadic squeals and shouts of her boyfriend. In exactly five minutes, Izuku walked out, making Jirou's jaw drop.
He was wearing a gray shirt with matching pants. The top two buttons were opened and the sleeves rolled up to show his toned arms, the scars adding to the emanating presence. A dark red tie loosely hung from his neck (tied properly). On top of that was a gray vest of a darker shade lined with black fabric which was visible due to its unbuttoned state and was wearing black half-palm leather gloves, complete with several studs around the knuckle area. Even his hair had been styled to show his entire forehead and he had some eyeliner on.
Jirou couldn't utter a word. He looked...evil and hot. That was it. There were no other words in the world that exists right now which could possibly describe him accurately. He was generally more on the dorky, adorable side, but by some miracle he maintained that and managed to look like a Villain out of a comic as well. How that was even possible, she knew not, but that mattered little right now because Izuku looked undisputedly sexy right now. And just looking at him was turning her on hard.
"I believe it's your turn now, young Miss. I've already picked out the clothing for you while you were gawking at him. My assistants will fit you out."
"Oh....right. Right....I'm-I'm sorry."
"Oh no no, please. Stare away. It means I did what I intended to do." As Jirou was ushered into the changing room to be fitted out, Fletcher turned the camera on Izuku for some solo shots as he instructed him to sit on the easy chair with a leg crossed over the other. "Now then young man. I want you to give me....a voracious smile."
"Vo-voracious?" Thinking quickly, Izuku did his best impression of an elated Bakugou during a fight that was going well for him, but was immediately met with rapid tongue clicks of disapproval.
"No no no no no. That is not you. I want your smile. I want to capture....the primal nature, if you will, of a person. No matter how well we dress, how much we think we elevate ourselves above others be it aesthetically, spiritually or otherwise, we are still animals with instincts. I want you to bring that basic nature to the forefront. Imagine something..... you want. Something you want from the bottom of your heart so desperately that you will undergo any means to win and covet it, fearing neither noose nor fire, forgoing no expense. Show me the face of desire."
"Okay....okay...." Taking a breath, Izuku concentrated. Something....no someone he wanted. Jirou. Kyoka, beautiful Kyoka, strong, artistic, affectionate, everything that someone even remotely attracted to females would want in a girl and more. And the aftereffects of going cold turkey had certainly turned a switch inside Izuku. He opened his eyes just as the curtain of the changing room rustled, and Kyoka emerged. His heart stopped. His lips curled and twisted wickedly as a spark compelled his pupils to dilate.
"Yes!" Fletcher shouted as pressed down on the shutter from multiple angles. "That's the smile! That is what I am looking for! Genuine! Perfection! No, beyond perfection! Now hold that a little longer please! Take liberties with the posing too! All that matters is that smile facing the camera!"
Izuku just moved without any thought, lounging on the easy chair however he pleased like a spoiled cat. His smile widened into something....pure. Pure want. With a finger, he beckoned Kyoka to come closer. Who was dressed in white and blue: a strapless thigh-length dress bordered with royal blue around the hem, the waistline with a ribbon, and around the top. Her shoes had been replaced by sandals with ankle straps and on her head was a white beach hat adorned with a blue bow and corsages made from lace which she was using to shield Izuku's gaze from her.
"Kyoka.....let me see you. Please." His voice came out in a semi-growl as he outstretched his hand. From where he was sitting, the beautiful girl in white was just out of reach by mere fingertips.
"O-okay....." Taking a shuddering breath, she let go of the hat and looked up at him. Fletcher's assistants had applied a light layer of makeup and a subtle amount of lip gloss on her. She was like a flower. A newly bloomed lily or an edelweiss accentuated with blue.
"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Now that the stage is set, the actors are in place, we can move on. Switch with her, please."
"Right...right..." Izuku stood up and let Kyoka sit in the easy chair, but never took his eyes off of her.
"For you, I'm thinking prim and proper. Think of several....posh poses." This wasn't too hard for Kyoka, considering her best friend was quite rich and posh, but bubbly at the same time, and Fletcher was absolutely ecstatic at how well it was going. "Now, for the finale: the theme is possessiveness. I will give you free reign for this one. Give me magnificence."
Izuku immediately walked over to Kyoka on the chair and whispered, "Sit on my lap."
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing that special." As she sat down on his lap sideways, Izuku's arm curled around her stomach, while his fingers traced the outline of her face, his own merely inches away. He glanced towards the camera.
"Oh, yes. Very good. I can see the beast acting up. Excellent. One more. Give me a big bang!"
"Do you trust me, Kyoka?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah..." She had a worried look as the grin on Izuku's lips slightly unnerved her.
"Great." Turning her to face away from him, Izuku wrapped one arm around her stomach while his fingers of the other hand lightly curled around her throat. He peered from behind Kyoka to the camera lens. His eyes alone seemed to enunciate loud as a shout that she was his alone, and anyone who dares to challenge him on the matter will incur his wrath. She gasped slightly as the cold feeling of leather closed around her throat, but the warm breathing hitting the back of her neck reassured her nothing was going to harm her, and her earphones extended, wrapping around his wrist to keep it in place.
"Bravo. Bravo! This is nothing short of excellence. Magnificence! Thank you both so very much for your cooperation. My hope has been restored. Today will be a good day. It's half past noon now, so I say that's lunch.....And the elapsed time is exactly half an hour."
"Great."
"Wow...that was...a lot more exhausting than I ever could have imagined. Whoof...." Standing up, the couple breathed a sigh of relief but could not help admitting they did have a little bit of fun. Even if it was by accident.
"I need to send this out as quickly as possible. Oh and do please keep the clothes you have on for yourselves, my token of gratitude for making my day. I left my card if you ever find the need to contact me later. Adieu!" Before either one of them could say anything, he was gone like an arrow from a bow
"I guess.....that's a win for us?" Izuku asked Kyoka.
"Like free food, free clothes is always a win. We both got an entire outfit from Fletcher 'The Flash' so yeah. Today is a motherfucking win. You uh....you look...you look great, just so you know. I know I didn't pick the clothes, but still. This...new you is....I like it." She was desperately fighting her near out of control libido. There was nothing more Kyoka wanted in the world than to let him have his way with her right now. This date deserves that much at least.
"Y-you too....really um....p-princess-at-the-beach like." Izuku mumbled, the blood flushing his face and lighting his head up like a Christmas ornament.
"Me? A princess?" Kyoka couldn't help but laugh at that idea. Not that it sounded bad. Not at all, especially if the boy in front of him was the prince. "Since when was corny sweet-talking part of your repertoire?"
"I'm aware it's corny! I couldn't think of a better phrasing, okay?"
Kyoka pressed her glossy lips on his cheek and forehead with the most beautiful wide smile Izuku had ever seen. It instantly healed his scarred ego. "You know what? I don't feel like changing out of these yet. Mind escorting your princess a while longer?"
"Not at all." Wearing his newly found voracious face on, Izuku pulled Kyoka up to her feet and they collected their respective clothing which were somehow already in a bag along with Fletcher's business card. Kyoka put on a smug face as the shoppers looked on at them in awe as they strutted out of the boutique.
"I have never, ever seen you fangirl like that before. Seeing it was cute and bizarre at the same time."
"Say what you want, but in terms of music, that man is the equivalent of All Might to me. And.....wait. Oh, fuck."
"What? You forget something over there? We can still go back."
"No. They....I kinda heard their conversation through the door. Something about photos, a cover page. I couldn't understand all of it, but it definitely has to do with a social outlet. And we just got pictures taken. And he probably knows us from the Sports Festival so we'll definitely be credited. By name."
Izuku felt his blood turn to ice as the bag fell to the ground, the strength in his fingers leaving him. "Oh, shit.....Oh no. Oh my god, once that magazine or whatever gets published and circulates, everyone is gonna see us..."
"You know what? It's fine. We've managed to do this for almost two weeks. That's about long enough, I think. Besides, literally slightly less than half the class knows about us and the rest already had speculations going around, although it has cooled down a bit since....you know, going cold turkey. But I'm done doing that. After this date, we might as well make out in front of the class."
"Ooookay....being in front of the camera has clearly distressed your mind. Are you sure I can't persuade you?" Izuku asked, a nervous bead of sweat rolling off his face.
"You said you'll wait for me, and I'm saying I'm ready. Don't back out on me now, nerd boy. Get your newfound voracity on. By the way, what did you think about exactly when you pulled that face?"
"You." Izuku answered simply, but with the unmistakable voracity Kyoka spoke of burning in his eyes. "You and nothing else."
"I-um.....thanks....." She only wished the hat was bigger so she could hide behind it.
"Are you hungry yet?"
"Yes, and as luck may have it, I know a place where we can go. I'll tell you where, so keep your word and escort me. It's a recent find for me too."
"Alright, here it is." Kyoka indicated toward a neon sign after about a fifteen minute walk.
"The Shark Fin? Really? That's so....."
"What?" She glared, daring him to badmouth the establishment.
"It's, j-j-just.....I-I dunno....doesn't really seem like a name for a restaurant and café with a terrace. More like a...a seedy bar that's a biker gang hangout. Or a place that serves really expensive Chinese food. Ow!" Izuku received a punch in his shoulder for that.
"It's named after a kind of guitar pick, you insensitive clod. I asked so I know."
"How the heck was I supposed to know that? I'm not a musician like you."
"You are now, I taught you how to play acoustic and electric, so shut up. You're still guilty for bad mouthing my favorite hangout."
"Would you forgive me if I buy lunch for the both of us?"
"....Fine. Plus dessert."
"Yes your highness."
After lunch, they went to watch a movie when they happened to be doing a re-run campaign of old movies, one of which was Scott Pilgrim vs The World which Kyoka insisted Izuku watch with her, and they did. While it had its utterly ridiculous moments like the game effects, onomatopoeias usually seen in comic books and the premise of having to go through a string of people by rendering them into leaning towers of quarters, it was thoroughly enjoyable. He was even nodding and tapping his foot to the songs every now and then. Aside from the action, the story itself was compelling and deep, particularly about the hardship of romantic relationships, the power of love, and self-respect, albeit with a comedic flair.
"Kyoka, I am never going to be able to get over the fight scenes." Izuku shook his head with a smile. "It's just.....too many damn haymakers. It makes Kacchan's look better in comparison."
"Oooh, someone's finally throwing shade at that pretentious dick." Kyoka chuckled. "Now all you gotta do is say it to his face. But it was funny, right?"
"Yeah. It was." The arm around her shoulders tightened a little. "But....man, all those quarters! You know how rich Scott would be if he actually took the time to collect all of those with his band?"
"Not exactly the point of that artistic choice, but okay. The bank tellers would backhand you across the face if you showed up with that much loose change. I know I would."
"Probably."
"So? Any favorite songs that were in that movie? As you know, mine is――"
"Threshold. I actually want to be able to play that song now, to be honest. And sing that."
"Singing you can do with me anytime. As for playing, all in good time. I'll teach you when you get better, 'kay?"
"Fair enough." They stood in front of the dorms as they took a breath. "Well, we're here now. You want me to tell them, or do you want to?"
"Mmmm...We'll let the situation decide."
"Fair enough. Here we go." Walking through the doors, the majority of their classmates stared at them with a slack-jawed gaze at the couple looking like supermodels straight out of a magazine.
"Daaaaaamn, Midoriya! Looking good! I didn't know you could pull off sleek and stylish! Why the hell didn't you do that more!?"
"It's...it's a new trail I'm blazing for myself. And...you know what, I actually might do that. I'm having fun with it." Izuku gave Kirishima's extended hand a high-five and a strong grip, the 'manly' way that he prefers.
"Alright, alright! I'm likin' this new you, bro! And Jirou! Ho-ly shit, you....I can't find the words. You look great."
"It's....don't worry about it."
"Jirou, can the girls present here talk to you in the stairwell really quickly? Like, right fucking now?" Ashido grunted through gritted teeth. With a shrug and a sigh, Kyoka followed her, Yaoyorozu, and Hagakure. It took barely ten seconds before she screamed at the top of her lungs, "WHY THE FUCK DOES MIDORIYA LOOK SO DAMN DARKLY HOT AND SEXY NOW!?"
"....Rabble-rousers." Tokoyami muttered as he was sipping tea (First Flush of Earl Grey acquired courtesy of Yaoyorozu) before taking a bite of the leftover pie.
"Who the devil is screaming so loud, for goodness sake! I'm trying to study!"
"Sorry Iida! But you need to come down here right the fuck now with anyone you can grab and see Midoriya and Jirou in all the glory of their makeover!" In about ten minutes, the entire class of 1-A (even Bakugou thanks to the persuasion of Kirishima) was there. Several of them were taking pictures of the two.
"Weeeell, I wasn't counting on Ashido bringing down the entire class, but you know what, who gives a shit." Izuku's words made everyone froze.
"Did....did Midoriya just curse?" Kaminari said to nobody in particular.
"Yeah. I blame Kyoka, her foul mouth is rubbing off on me significantly. Not that I mind too much."
"Wait....Midoriya, you just called Jirou....Oh, my god. The speculations were true."
"And the truth shall set you free, Sero. Just so you know, we came back from our first date. Also, guess how my foul mouth rubbed off on him?" With a smug smile, Kyoka pulled Izuku close by the tie and kissed him right on his lips (with tongue) in full view of everyone. Holding up a peace sign, she declared, "Just like that. PDA for the win, bitches."