An Insecure Violet (IzuJirou)

Best Friends (By Default) -Part 2

...~AIV~...

'Her holding my hand doesn't mean anything, right?'

Izuku's hand and Kyouka's hand had been clasped together since they began roaming through the shopping district of the city. The two teens were just outside the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, and Izuku's mind was running a mile a minute.

His hand felt like it was burning up...but oddly in a good way. A really good way. Should he say something? Was it a friend thing? If so, friends held hands?

Okay, he knew it definitely wasn't a friend thing, but his mind needed some sort of rationalization as to why he hadn't just let go yet.

He hadn't had a friend in...Well, basically ever. So he had no idea what to think.

He looked down at Kyouka and saw a perfect smile adorning her face, and she didn't seem aware of the predicament their hands were in. Izuku knew he was probably just overthinking things, and Kyouka was just taking charge of the day. Leading him through the crowds to help him keep up.

She seemed fine with it, so Izuku wasn't going to complain. Well, he would rather his heart not be beating faster than All Might on ten energy drinks. But he mentally made the compromise that being able to hold the hand of a gorgeous young woman outweighed the chances of a possible heart attack.

Hmm...it seemed that every time he thought about Kyouka, he had to put some sort of complimentary adjective in front of her.

Eh, it was probably nothing.

...Okay, it was definitely something and he knew what it was. Or, at least he knew what it was likely leading to. However, he decidedly ignored it for the time being. It would be better that way. He sometimes really hated having the mind of a teenager. He would just casually slip his hand free when the opportunity arose.

He just hoped his hands weren't sweaty.

.....

'Boy, his hands sure are sweaty.'

The two teens entered the mall and gazed around at the pure vastness of it. Shopping malls such as Kiyashi were a dying brand in the Pre-Quirk Age. But, the sudden need for custom made clothing, accessories, household items, and more due to body changing quirks, the need for special stores and companies to make such things skyrocketed. For instance, they passed a clothing store with items specifically for people with horns, talons, or other sharp body parts. And with that only being one of the thousands and thousands of possibilities of quirks...Well, that meant the mall was pretty damn big.

"What exactly do we do?" Izuku asked, slipping his hand out of Kyouka's, doing his best to be as casual as possible about it.

Kyouka lifted a brow at him, sarcasm dripping from her tone, "Do you not know what a mall is?"

"I-. Yes, I know what a mall is," Izuku deadpanned, "I just meant this place is huge. Where do we start?"

"I don't know. I don't really come here often. You?"

"Never."

The girl turned to her companion in shock, "Seriously? Not even once?"

Izuku shrugged, "To hang out? No. Not a whole lot of friends, remember?"

"Is that gonna be your excuse for every social activity you haven't done?"

"Is it a bad one?"

"Nah, nah I'm just asking. Oh, hold on." Izuku was tugged by his sleeve to the left, and soon found himself in a music shop. Guitars and basses lined the walls, and keyboards, brass instruments, and woodwinds all were sectioned off in their own areas. Drum sets, albums, musical notebooks, cords, and more were everywhere across the store covered wall to wall with band posters.