MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
Shortly after the match that determined the first and second place finishers of the Sports Festival, another match was held to determine third place. O, at least, that's how it should have been.
Unfortunately, one of the semi-finalists, Midoriya Izuku, was unable to participate in the match for third place due to a concussion he sustained during his match with Tatsuo. As a result, Akatsuki, who lost her match against Katsuki, won the match by default.
So, after about half an hour, a stage was set up in the middle of the Sports Festival stadium and All Might presented each of the three, Tatsuo, Katsuki, and Akatsuki, gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively.
After that, Alfonzo brought Rumi and Ryuko to his apartment to join in the party that would be held to celebrate Alfonzo's and Akatsuki's top three finishes. Naturally, Sakura was invited as well. A number of students from both Class 1-A were invited, as well. And the group spent the night enjoying themselves to celebrate a job well done.
The next day, however, was not as relaxed as the previous night. At least, it wasn't for Sakura… and Akatsuki by extension.
"Seriously, Sakura-Chan…" Akatsuki said in a tired tone. "We've been at this for, like, two hours. Do you even have any more clothes to try on?"
"You don't get it, Akatsuki-San." Sakura said while holding up a shirt to her chest while standing in front of a mirror. "This is my first date with Tatsuo-Kun. I have to look my best. I want him to think I'm beautiful."
"Well, he's not blind." Akatsuki said while rolling her eyes. "So, I'm sure that even if you showed up in a tattered sack, he would still think you were beautiful. He'd probably have something to say about your outfit, though."
During the party the night before, Tatsuo and Sakura decided that they would strike the iron while it was hot and have their date today. And after that was decided, Sakura immediately, while blushing to the tips of her ears, rushed over to Akatsuki and asked her to spend the night at her house to help her pick out an outfit for the date.
And after waking up the next morning and having breakfast with Sakura's family, Sakura dragged Akatsuki to her bedroom so the latter could help her choose an outfit. However, thanks to Sakura's nerves, she was never satisfied with anything she tried on. Thus, the two hours Akatsuki mentioned before passed without a decision being made.
"That's the problem, Akatsuki-Chan!" Sakura squealed in embarrassment at the thought of going out dressed in only a sack. "I want him to think everything about me is beautiful. Not just my face."
"And your body." Akatsuki said while waggling her eyebrows. "I mean, I'm not even into girls… but damn… what do you have to eat to get a figure like that?"
As she spoke, Akatsuki crept up to Sakura and playfully grabbed at her breasts and hips. However, before she could even lay a finger on her friend, the shadows in the room began to move before wrapping around Akatsuki and pulling her away.
"Please don't do that, Akatsuki-San." Sakura said with a somewhat sad expression on her face. "I don't want anyone to touch me again until Tatsuo-Kun has a chance."
Knowing about Sakura's past, Akatsuki's expression turned from playful to solemn. She then waited until Sakura's shadows were retracted before getting up and rummaging through Sakura's clothes.
"Here, put these on." Akatsuki said in a solemn tone as she handed Sakura a few articles of clothing. "Wear these and you'll definitely blow his socks off."
Skeptically, Sakura looked down at the clothes Akatsuki handed her. She then looked at the clock and realized that she was running out of time. So, with a resigned expression, she started changing clothes, hoping that she would look alright in the outfit Akatsuki picked out.
A few minutes later, Sakura was standing in front of a full length mirror wearing a black V-neck t-shirt under a short sleeved white summer jacket with a matching, pleated miniskirt, knee-high black socks, and white shoes.
"There." Akatsuki said, sounding proud of her selection. "You look perfect. And I don't think showing a little cleavage is a bad idea, either."
"Really?" Sakura asked nervously as she tugged on the hem of her jacket. "Are you sure I look okay?"
"Stop doubting yourself." Akatsuki replied as she slapped Sakura on the back playfully. "You look great."
Taking a deep breath, Sakura tried to smile confidently. But it was obvious that it was false confidence. Even so, she did not contradict Akatsuki.
"Now, it's about time you get going." Akatsuki said as she turned towards Sakura's bedroom door. "Otherwise, you'll be late. And I'm gonna go home. After the festival, the party, and staying up with you talking about the date, I'm exhausted. *Yawn~~~~*"
"Huh?" Sakura exclaimed in surprise. She then turned to look at the clock on her night stand and… "Kya~~~~~~~~~~! I'm gonna be late!"
Then, at her top speed, she dashed around the room, picking up her purse and smartphone before blowing past Akatsuki and running down the stairs towards the front door.
"Alright… I'll see you later…" Akatsuki said in a dry tone. Then, she shrugged her shoulders. "Looks like another case of misters before sisters. Oh well, I'm going home."
Meanwhile, Sakura hurried out of the Matou residence and made her way to Tatooin Station, a bullet train station, to meet Tatsuo. Along the way, she could not help but want to use her [Quirk] to travel between shadows to shorten the time. But since she did not have a Hero License, she did not want to chance getting caught.
That's not to say she was afraid of getting in trouble with the police and Heroes, though. Rather, she was afraid that being held up by the authorities might lead to her not getting to go on her date with Tatsuo at all.
Eventually, Sakura reached an overpass surrounded by a number of billboards, most of which featured ads featuring professional heroes. And those billboards let her know that she was close to her destination.
Not long after that, when she reached the stairs leading to the top of the overpass where the station was located, Sakura came to a stop when she saw Tatsuo standing there waiting for her while looking at his smartphone.
Leaning against the railing running up the stairs, Tatsuo wore his hair in its usual ponytail, a black polo shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, a gold watch, and a pair of black sneakers. And from the distance, Sakura could see that he was drawing a lot of attention, despite the fact that he was not doing anything. And most of that attention naturally came from the girls and women in the area.
"Oh, he's so cute." A young woman, looking to be the same age as Tatsuo and Sakura said.
"You should go ask for his number." Another young woman said with a giggle.
"I bet he's already got a girlfriend, though." The first young woman said.
"So? If he's not wearing a ring, he's fair game." The other young woman said.
"Absolutely not." Sakura said with quiet intensity. "Tatsuo-Kun is mine…"
The angry expression Sakura was wearing at that moment was enough to make some of the males in the area who wanted to come talk to her think again. At the same time, the shadows in the area began to waver with her emotions. But before things could get out of hand, Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"He's mine for today, at least." Sakura muttered as she started walking towards Tatsuo. She then forced a happy smile onto her face as she started waving. "Tatsuo-Kun, sorry I'm late! Did you wait long?"
Sakura's call drew most of the eyes near the station to herself. That naturally included Tatsuo and the two girls who were talking about asking him for his number.
Recognizing the voice, Tatsuo raised his head from his smartphone and looked in Sakura's direction with a smile. Meanwhile, the two girls who were approaching him froze in place. They then shot glares at Sakura, clearly jealous that she was taking the piece of eye candy for herself.
As for the other people in the area, they nearly unanimously clicked their tongues in jealousy, whether that jealousy was directed at Tatsuo or Sakura.
"I didn't wait long." Tatsuo replied. "In fact, I just got here a minute ago."
And that was actually the truth. Because both Tatsuo and Akatsuki figured Sakura would take forever to get ready thanks to her nerves, they decided that Akatsuki would text Tatsuo when Sakura was finally ready to leave the house. And when Tatsuo received the text, he used his [Quirk] to open a tear in space near their meeting place so that he could wait for her to arrive.
Hearing that, Sakura smiled brightly, completely unaware that Tatsuo was telling the truth. She was just happy that he had not left. Especially since she was nearly half an hour late.
"So, are you ready to go?" Tatsuo asked as he held his arm out to Sakura.
"Mhmm." Sakura hummed affirmatively.
"Alright, then." Tatsuo replied as Sakura took his arm. "Let's go."
With that, the two climbed the stairs leading up to the station, leaving a number of jealous men and women behind. Then, they bought tickets to Tokyo where they would have their date.
MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
The trip from Musutafu to Tokyo, which would take about two hours on the Metro, did not take long. And before it got too late, Tatsuo and Sakura were stepping off the train.
"You said we're going to the mall in Kiyashi Ward, right?" Sakura asked as the two stepped through the ticket gate.
"That's right." Tatsuo replied.
"But this mall is mostly for [Quirk] related stuff, right?" Sakura asked. "With Alfonzo-San, do we really need to go there?"
"We're not here to shop." Tatsuo replied. "We're here to spend time together in a different place."
Hearing the words "spend time together" was enough to make Sakura smile brightly while her cheeks were dusted slightly pink. However, only a second later, her smile cramped as one of her eyebrows started to twitch.
"Calm down." Tatsuo said as he held Sakura's hand softly. "This could be just what we need."
Despite knowing what Tatsuo was talking about, Sakura found it hard to calm down. Because she knew that what she just sensed was going to ruin her date. And in her book, that was something worthy of the death penalty.
And she did not mean that figuratively, as Sakura was in no way against killing.
"Anyway, just pretend like he's not here." Tatsuo said. "Regardless, we're here for a date. And no matter what he does, he won't mess that up, okay?"
Hearing that, Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself down while retracting her killing intent that was making the normal civilians in the area feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, I'll try to not think about that insect." Sakura said while trying to smile as naturally as she had been before. "I'll just focus on my date with you, Tatsuo-Kun. Hopefully, he won't interrupt us and make me do something that I might regret."
'Yeah, if she kills him, there's no way she'll regret it.' Tatsu thought to himself while smiling back at Sakura as he led her towards the mall.
Meanwhile, a young man with messy light blue hair watched Tatsuo and Sakura leave the station, completely unaware that he had been detected.
"To think, I only came to Tokyo to buy a few new games." The young man, Shigaraki Tomura, said to himself as he narrowed his eyes while staring at Tatsuo's back. "It's such a coincidence that I came across the kid Sensei wants. I'm really lucky today, Hehehe."
After speaking, Tomura pulled a smartphone from his pocket before dialing a number.
{"Tomura-Kun, is something the matter?"} All for One answered from the other side of the phone.
"No, not at all, Sensei." Tomura replied gleefully. "Actually, I called to tell you some good news."
{"And what might that be?"} All for One asked with a hint of interest in his tone.
"While I was on my way to Akihabara, I saw the kid you wanted." Tomura replied with a smile widening across his face.
{"I see."} All for One replied before falling silent.
"Sensei?" Tomura asked after a few moments.
{"You intend to capture him, correct?"} All for One asked.
"Of course." Tomura said confidently. "He caught me off guard last time. But now that I know what he's capable of after seeing his [Quirk] at the USJ and during the Sports Festival, there's no way he'll be able to surprise me again."
Hearing that, All for One fell silent once again, making Tomura nervous.
{"I understand."} All for One said after a few moments. {"Just remember, you won't be able to get backup while that boy is conscious. That will make escaping much harder, as well. So, be careful."}
"I understand, Sensei." Tomura replied. "I won't let my guard down. And I won't draw attention to myself, either. Nothing will get in the way of your plans, Sensei."
{"I'll trust you."} All for One replied before cutting the line.
The fact that All for One said that he trusted him made Tomura ecstatic. He then put his phone away before following Tatsuo and Sakura through the streets of Tokyo, looking for a chance to abduct Tatsuo without being seen. And if that was not possible, in a place where getting rid of all the witnesses would not be too difficult.