28 What Happens Next?

Shouto adjusted his beanie one more time before entering the train station to make sure it covered all his hair. His scar was a bit more difficult, but thankfully in this age of quirks, it wasn't terribly odd to see someone wearing an oversized eye patch. He got a few weird looks, but no one started gasping or screaming about a member of the league of villains, so he figured his disguise must be at least somewhat convincing.

He picked a random bench within sight of the platform and sat down, reading a newspaper. He was all over the front page, but then again, he knew that already. He and Dabi had wanted to make an impact, so he would have been disappointed if they'd failed. Part of him wished he was like Izuku though, a faceless villain who could go about daily life without worrying about being arrested. Before long a student in a UA uniform came and sat down next to him.

"Do you really think it's a good idea for you to be out and about right now?" Monoma scoffed. "You might not be in 1A anymore, but you're still an idiot."

Shouto rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, 1B is superior and all that, spare me your superiority complex, I got enough of that from Bakugo, thank you very much. What have you got for me?"

Monoma shrugged, "The school's being careful right now. They're planning the school festival, which my class is totally going to win by the way, but I'm pretty sure Gentle and La Brava called disrupting that, so the league going as well would probably just get everyone caught. Other than that, I think they've started suspecting there's a traitor, they'd be idiots if they didn't, but they're looking into the teachers first, so we don't have anything to worry about on that front. How are things at the league? I heard you guys lost Kurogiri. Tough luck there."

Shouto groaned, "The new base is too small and we're running low on funds. I'm pretty sure most of the money used to come from All for One, but the heroes froze a lot of his assets when they arrested him. We were doing fine still when Kurogiri was around, since he could just warp money in from literally anywhere, but it's a lot more complicated now. So far, we've been robbing some rich looking houses, but a lot of them are fronts for cults and the like so they don't have a lot of sellable assets either."

Monoma looked at him like he was an idiot, "With all the powerhouse quirks you've got, are you telling me you haven't even tried robbing a bank?"

Shouto huffed, "We thought about it, but part of the reason we're so big right now is because of the ideals we embody, and those will crumble if we openly turn to petty crime."

"Then just find a bank that does something sketchy or whose CEO is racist or something." Monoma said haughtily. "You can say you're only attacking those who go against your ideals or something, but at the end of the day, you still have cash. It's a win-win!"

Shouto thought about that for a moment, "That...would probably work. But how would we know which banks to attack?"

Monoma stood, "That, my dear Shouto, is above my paygrade. Good luck. Do try not to get caught."

Shouto mumbled an affirmative as Monoma hurried off to catch his train. Rob a bank, huh? If they could find the right target, it might even further their cause. He was sure Izuku or La Brava could probably point them in the right direction if they got a cut. And that'd give him an excuse to talk to Izuku again. Not that he was trying to find reasons to talk to him. Why would he do that?

Either way, he got out his phone and dialed Dabi. He should probably call Shigaraki for something like this, but the guy still got on his nerves. He hadn't been allowed to play videogames growing up, so half the time Shigaraki may as well be speaking greek for all Shouto could understand him. His brother was much easier to talk to.

"Don't tell me you got caught?"

Shouto huffed, "Come on, Dabi, try to have a little bit of faith in me! I haven't even been recognized."

"What? Do you want me to give you a pat on the back or something for doing your job?"

"No." Shouto said. "It's just the copycat gave me an idea on how to get funds and I need to talk to Izuku about it, so I won't be home for a while."

"You could have just said you had a date." Dabi laughed.

"It's not a…"

"Wait, you've got a date!?!" Toga had apparently stolen the phone. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't tell you because it's not a date!" Shouto growled. His face was turning red and he was starting to get strange looks. He stood up and started speed walking out of the train station. Even if they didn't recognize him, he still didn't need an audience to his humiliation via annoying older sibling.

"Yeah, sure." Dabi drawled. "It's not a date just like you don't perk up everytime you hear about Mastermind on the news. Gotta hand it to you, Shouto, you sure set your sights high."

Shouto groaned, "Shut up! We're just friends."

"Sure." Dabi laughed. "Well, be safe, use protection!"

Then he hung up before Shouto could yell at him. Shouto glared at his phone for a long moment before checking the time and calling Izuku. He should have just gotten home from school, unless he'd let his bullies chase him around today. The phone rang a few times and Shouto was just about to hang up when Izuku answered.

"Hiya, Shouto! Sorry it took so long for me to answer, I had to lose my daily thugs."

Shouto sighed, "I don't understand why you still let them bully you, Izuku. You could kill any of them without even breaking a sweat."

Izuku laughed, "Oh, but that wouldn't be nearly as much fun as letting them think they're stronger than me. Besides, it's not like I don't know what I'm doing. It's all part of the plan."

Shouto pouted slightly, "Fine, have it your way, still doesn't mean it makes any sense to the rest of us, genius." He paused for a moment. "Hey, is there any way we could meet up for a coffee this afternoon."

There was silence on the other end for a long moment, "Is this about business or is the great Freezerburn asking me on a date."

Shouto knew he was bright red, "Umm… business." Izuku didn't respond and Shouto took a deep breath, "But, um, it can be a date. I mean, if you want it to be. What I'm saying is that, if you wanted to see it that way, then, um, I guess I wouldn't be opposed?" Shouto cringed. Well, if Izuku had wanted it to be a date, he certainly wouldn't now.

"Oh Shouto!" Izuku said finally. "You sound so cute when you're nervous! I think my habit of rambling's rubbed off on you, though."

Shouto smiled sheepishly, even though he knew Izuku couldn't see it, "So, um, about that coffee…"

"I can make it to that new cafe on Hero Boulevard in twenty minutes. Does that work for you?"

Shouto looked at where he was, it should only take him about fifteen minutes to make it to the cafe. "Yeah, that works."

"Ok!" He could practically hear Izuku's bright smile. "It's a date!"

And to think that Shouto had been finally starting to regain his original color, "Y-yeah. It's a, um, a date."

"See you soon Shouto!"

Izuku hung up, leaving Shouto frozen, listening to a dial tone as he tried to process what just happened. Finally, someone bumped his shoulder and yelled at him for just standing in the middle of the sidewalk like an idiot, which jarred him from his thoughts enough to get him moving again. He dialed yet another number as he started walking toward the cafe.

"Hi cutie! This is Himiko!"

"He said it was a date! What am I supposed to do?!"

Toga squealed, "Oh my goodness everyone! Our little Shouto's going on a date! Shouto, you're on speakerphone, come on! What happened? I need details, now!"

"Slow down, Toga." Dabi groaned. "You're gonna make him freeze up!" He sighed. "So Shouto, what happened."

"I don't even know!" Shouto whined. "I was just trying to meet up to talk about business and then he asked if I was asking him out!"

"Please tell me you said yes!" Twice exclaimed. "You should've turned him down!"

"Um, I said no…"

"What?" Toga yelled. "Dabi, kick some sense into your brother!"

"Kick it into him yourself." Dabi grumbled. "But seriously, Shouto, you're an idiot."

Shouto groaned, "I know, but then I said that I wouldn't be mad if he thought it was a date."

"Nice save." Shigaraki said and everyone was silent for a long moment. "What? You guys are being loud. If you didn't want me to be involved you should've had this conversation somewhere else."

"Aww, Dusty." Dabi teased. "I didn't know you cared about our dear Shouto's love life."

"I don't!" Shigaraki denied. "Like I said, you guys are just being loud."

"So, anyway," Shouto said, "then he gave me a time to meet him and said it was a date. So that means it's a date, right?"

"Aww! Our cute little Shouto's becoming a man!" Himiko squealed.

"But what am I supposed to do? I'm just...I'm gonna ruin this!"

"You're not going to ruin it, Shouto." Dabi said. "He asked you out, so he's not going to just drop you just cause your a dork."

"Gee, thanks."

"You'll do amazing!" Twice yelled. "He's going to hate you!"

"You should stab him!" Toga said. "Tell him how cute he looks in blood."

"Do not listen to anything Toga says." Shigaraki groaned. "Play video games with him."

Shouto got more and more overwhelmed as they kept throwing out more and more ridiculous suggestions of how he should get Izuku to notice him.

"Enough!" Spinner growled. "Just be yourself, Shouto. If he didn't like who you were, he wouldn't be asking you on a date. Just go and talk with him how you always do and ignore the rest of these idiots. Good luck."

He hung up and Shouto put the phone away and tried to calm his breathing. He was pretty close to the cafe now, which wasn't helping his nerves at all. He had to resist the urge to take off the hat and fix his hair. Izuku wasn't going to see that his hair was a mess, but Shouto would get caught if anyone else saw and then he wouldn't be able to go on his date because he would be too busy running from the heroes. He took one final deep breath before opening the door to the coffee shop. It was busy but not terribly so. Izuku waved to him from one of the tables and held out the coffee he'd bought him.

"I could have bought my own coffee." Shouto mumbled as he took it. "You didn't have to do it."

Izuku laughed, "I wanted to. Besides, this is a date, and I can afford to treat you."

Shouto blushed again at the reminder and he cleared his throat, "So, um, how are you today?"

"I'm good." Izuku said softly. "Um, sorry if you didn't want this to be...you know…"

"No!" Shouto winced at how loud he was, but it made Izuku laugh, so it must not have been too bad. "Um, I, um, I'm happy you said something. I guess I was too nervous?"

Izuku nodded and sipped his coffee, "It makes sense. With your upbringing, I'd imagine it's kind of hard to openly display emotion."

Shouto nodded and Izuku gave him a bright smile, "Then I'm glad I said something! So, you did say you wanted to talk shop too, right?"

"We don't have to do that today." Shouto said. "It can wait for another day."

Izuku gave him a look, "We're both nervous, Shouto. Business is good for breaking the ice, since it's something we're both comfortable with. Unless you'd rather sit here in a meaningless loop of endless small talk because neither of us has ever been on a date before."

"Wait, you've never been on a date before?" Shouto said, shocked.

Izuku chuckled wryly, "Quirkless, remember? Turns out, not many people want to date the freak of evolution."

"I don't think you're a freak."

Izuku smiled, "Thanks Shouto, but it's ok. I get it. I'm not as evolved as the rest of you. Still, I always wished people could see me as more than just a quirkless kid." He took a long drink of his coffee. "And now they do! So it's all good!"

Shouto nodded and smiled, "I was wondering if you knew of any banks with corrupt or abusive CEOs? The...our group is a little short on funds right now, but we don't want to do anything that'll go against our ideals. We'd be willing to give you a cut as payment for the info."

Izuku hummed, "I think the real question is which banks don't have terrible CEOs at this point. I'll do some digging, though, and see what I can come up with. Will you be wanting a full plan?"

Shouto shook his head, "I don't think so. As long as the place isn't super secure, I'm pretty sure my brother and I can handle it. He can melt through most metal and I can easily keep people from escaping."

Izuku nodded, "I'm so proud of you, Shouto! I was scared that you might lose your conviction after your father's death, but you seem to really be coming into your own. You really are amazing."

Shouto blushed but gave a small smile, "I'm not really that special, Izuku. I mean, I haven't even accomplished anything compared to what you've done. You're already one of the most powerful people in Japan and you're only my age. And you're so caring…" Shouto trailed off when he realized he'd been rambling and hesitantly looked at Izuku, who was staring at him like he'd hung the stars. "Um, it just means a lot, you know," Shouto said, "that, um, you were willing to help me out of that house and help me go after what I want. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you."

Izuku smiled brightly, "I don't want you to pay me back, Shouto, I want you to be happy! As long as you're living your best life, that's all I need. And that's what you're doing, so it's perfect!"

Shouto smiled, an action that was becoming easier the longer he was out from under his father's thumb, "Thanks for helping me."

Izuku nodded, "So how are you adjusting to your life now? I can imagine it's probably kinda difficult."

Shouto shrugged, "I can't really go anywhere, so there's that, but I couldn't really go anywhere before either. It's just higher stakes now."

Izuku hummed, "That's not really what I meant…" He thought for a moment. "You don't have to answer this, you know, if you don't want to, but I know that when I first made this...career choice...I felt really guilty for the first few months. Has that happened to you?" His eyes widened. "Not that it has to! You know, everyone's different and there's not really and good or bad and I'm sorry if I made it seem like…"

"Izuku!" Shouto interrupted. "It's fine! My brother's already kinda talked to me about it, and, honestly, I don't really know. I don't really feel guilty for what I did, you know? He deserved it. Even the media deserved it, because they're the ones that put him there." He shrugged. "I think the hardest part's been adjusting to the idea of the future. I'm afraid that one day, I'll have to hurt someone who doesn't deserve it, and then what'll I do? What happens if I freeze up? If it comes down to me or them, will I be able to do what I need to to stay free, you know?"

Izuku looked at him softly, "I understand completely. I mean, maybe not completely because I never really had that moment of truth. Pretty much everything early on, it wasn't a matter of who deserved it as much as it was if I was capable, but maybe that's why I felt so guilty until I embraced my role." He gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry I don't have anything better to tell you. This life is messy, it always has been and probably always will be, but at least we get to make our own decisions, right?"

Shouto smiled and lifted his cup, "I'll drink to that."

Izuku laughed and raised his own. Yeah, Shouto thought, it might not be the most conventional conversation for a first date, but it suited them just fine.