Zero Hero ||MHA||

14. Date, Start!

"Why didn't you cancel the date? You should've said you were sick," Hiro said, his voice blaring from the phone. A few passersby eyed me, and I quickly lowered the volume.

"Well, it's a little too late now," I retorted. "I'm already at the meetup spot."

"I should've spoken with Mom... That way, maybe I could've found a way to convince her to not let you go." I heard him sigh. "You don't even know who you're meeting up with. What if it's someone dangerous? How am I supposed to—"

"Uh, I think you're overreacting a bit," I interrupted. "It's Mrs. Gin's nephew that we're talking about. I mean, I've never seen him, but I'm sure she wouldn't set me up with someone weird."

At least, I think. She's kinda an oddball but that doesn't necessarily mean her nephew is gonna be like that. Even if he is, I'm used to it. I'm always surrounded by weird people.

This whole ordeal wouldn't have happened if I didn't go to the post office with Dad. Mrs. Gin decided to swing by my humble adobe. When Mom answered the door, she proposed that I should go on a date with her nephew, and in return, she'd give Mom a $300 gift card to her favorite sushi restaurant. There was no way she would've known about that, except if Mom was thinking about sushi and she read her mind. Since neither Dad nor I were home to object, Mom happily agreed. Not gonna lie, it kind of hurt that my own mother got bribed to send her daughter on a blind date.

Hiro was still rambling on about how this date was a bad idea as if I didn't agree with it. Peering at the giant billboard screen on a building, I saw that it was almost time for the date. Seeing that, I told Hiro that I had to go.

"If anything bad happens, call me. Your big brother will come to save—"

Beep. I hung up on him before he can get his last word out and turned my phone on silent. Taking only a few steps and turning the corner, I saw a tall boy waiting by the entrance of Gin Co. At a distance, I saw that he had raven-colored hair. He wore a navy-blue button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves. He wore warm gray pants and casual loafers. He was muttering to himself, his glasses glinting in the sun.

Before approaching him, I switched on my camera to look at myself one last time. The edges of my curled hair were a mid-neck length. I wore a red headband with a bow. Mom helped me put on some makeup too. My lashes were much more noticeable now, and my cheeks finally had some color to them with a tint of pink blush. Clear lip gloss was applied to my lips. I tucked my pastel pink shirt into my white chiffon skirt, puffing the collars of my shirt. Then smoothing out a few strands of hair, I stuffed my phone into the small shoulder bag. Clasping it shut with the sakura clasp, I took a deep breath. I approached my date gripping the leather strap of my bag. Okay, Rin. It's just for two hours. You can do this. You've been through worse.

He heard my footsteps when I walked over. He gave me a wave.

"Hello! You must be the girl my aunt was speaking about. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Iida Tenya," he said, moving his hand around in a rapid motion. Arching his back exactly 90 degrees, he bowed to me. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Although I may not have much experience with dates, I will with the best of my abilities to make this outing a success!"

Now that he was up close, I realized how mature he looked. Not to mention, that he looked even taller upfront. He must've been in high school already. People around us began to stare. I grew a bit hot, so I quickly bowed back to him. He inspected my face for a moment. Then gesturing to me with a stiff hand, he said,

"I noticed that you are wearing cosmetics. Particularly, mascara, lip gloss, and rouge. The rouge on your cheeks adds color to your complexion thus maximizing your appearance. A clever and stunning idea!"