Mrs. All American (Aizawa x femaleOC)

Joke

Walking through the mall with Ramona, the confidence from lunch begins to dissipate and the gravity of my decision to play this game begins to weigh on me. Ramona is competitive by nature- an American trait- and the memories of the incredible feats of humiliation she achieved in high school made my small victory against the waiter look like nothing. I'm most likely in far over my head.

We arrive at the first store, and all is going well. She frequented these kinds of places for herbs, incense, and other all-natural wellness commodities. Remarkably, Mona hasn't even hinted towards purchasing anything for hemorrhoids, rashes, lesions, or any other ailments she could imply I struggle with to those around us.

She casually browses a few shelves of incense and candles, all labeled as helping with various things.

"Do these things actually work?" I ask.

Ramona shrugs, "The Stress Relief one smells kinda soothing." She says, "I'd need at least ten after patrol though."

I chuckle, "Oh, there isn't enough scented wax in the world."

"Can I help you folks with anything?" I turn and see a small sales associate smiling at us.

In this moment Ramoa decides to strike the first move of the game, glancing over the shelves she spots a purple candle.

Taking it she asks, "Do you have any more of these in stock?"

I feel my face go red when I realize which one she selected. It's the last one on the shelf, labled Fertility.

The kid takes a look at the candle, shaking her head, "Oh, no I'm sorry. We don't receive another shipment until Tuesday."

"That's a shame," she says putting it back, "I suppose we can hold off until then." She slips her arms around my midsection, pulling me up against her.

"I mean," she continues, "It's just so hard sometimes."

It's hard right now.

"Haha, yeah..." The sales girl gives half-hearted laugh, looking a little uncomfortable. She tells us to just ask if we need anything else before making a hasty retreat back behind the counter.

Mona grins at me, her eyes are bright and alive. She's set the tone for the rest of the game. What have I gotten myself into? Why do I do this to myself?

"Your move." She teases me as we move on to the next store.

Great. What the hell am I going to do to counter this? The next store is a small hero supplies shop, you have to show a hero license to purchase most of the merchandise but they cater to police officers as well.

Ramona peruses the selection of belts and holsters while I hang back, recovering. No one I know is in the shop today, so at least I don't have to worry about that.

"ERASER!"

I spoke too soon. I turn and see her, Miss Joke, standing at the counter in front of an oblivious teenage cashier.

"Wow, what are you doing here on a day off?" She asks, her high pitched voice draining what's left of my soul from my body.

I sigh, "Obviously I'm here to buy cat food."

Joke spouts off, her ear shattering laughter filling the whole shop and my head is pounding like it was earlier this morning. It's not that I hate Emi, it's just that her laughter is infectious. Like cholera.

"Oh, man, Eraser, you're a riot! Let's get married!"

"No." I say flatly.

"Hey, so I heard The Mystic is visiting from the States. How's that going?"

"I'd say it's going pretty well." Mona answers, she smiles and reaches forward to shake Joke's hand. "Ramona."

"Emi Fukukado." Joke replies. "So, you're teaching quirk-less combat at UA this year, huh? Must be tough getting those kids to hold back."

Mona shakes her head, "I'm sure it would be, but that's not what the course is about. Whether they use their quirk or not they need to put there all into it, fight to win, and win every time no matter what it takes."

Joke nods, but I don't think she really understands what Mona is talking about. She developed her quirk later than most, and was well on her way to becoming a police officer when it suddenly appeared in high school. I got the feeling more than once over the years that she resents not following through in the academy, in a way.

"So what are you two doing out? Together?" Joke asks pointedly.

Oh, yes. I know now what I must do. We're standing in front of the display of handcuffs and restraints, so I casually reach out and take one of the single packs of spare handcuff keys. My vengeance will be swift and thorough.

"I lost the key to my handcuffs," I tell Joke, jingling the key subtley "Just need a replacement."

Joke turned her head to the side, "I didn't know you carried cuffs on patrol."

I look her in the eyes, the same way I looked at the waiter at lunch, and as I slip my arm around Mona's waist I say "I don't."

Joke's face goes blank for a second, and then as it hits her she flushes deep red and her eyes go wide. I look at Ramona and see I've achieved the same reaction from her. I'm in the game now.

"Well we should get going," I say, "Good seeing you, Emi."

She says nothing as I pull Ramona along with me, frozen in place, not even breathing by the looks of it. I leave the merchandise on the counter since she's not looking, and Mona and I exit the store. As we continue through the mall I lean into Mona's ear and whisper, "Your move."