Okay I have no excuse for how long I made you guys wait for this chapter. I will admit that stuff has gotten somewhat hectic outside of writing. Can't say because it's personal, and things are still going on so I haven't had as much time or motivation to write more than a little each day. Also I will tell you all right now that this chapter was a bit of a struggle. For the most part I knew what I wanted to do, but it's such a big change that I was a tad nervous as to how it will be taken. But it's necessary because this will change the game a fair bit, to say the least. Anyways enough of me rambling, please enjoy.

Childhood Frog

Chapter Six:

Tsuyu's brow furrowed as she met the stare of her reflection. "I don't know about this." She told Habuko, in a rare show uncertainty. It was early Saturday morning and the two friends were currently in Tsuyu's bedroom. Tsuyu had been trying on a different array of outfits in preparation for today, but as time went on felt herself becoming more and more dishearten. "Maybe I should just stick with more casual clothes." Honestly she'd prefer comfort over trying to look pretty.

Tsuyu chanced another look at the unfamiliar girl in the mirror. She did like the green dress that was reflected in the mirror, but at the same time she felt that it didn't look right on her. If Beru had chosen that moment to walk in, the older woman would have exclaimed how beautiful her daughter appeared. However the less confident side of Tsuyu couldn't even begin to consider that statement. "Maybe it would just be better to forget about this..." The snort from across the other side of the room demanded Tsuyu's attention.

Piercing yellow eyes twitched slightly at Tsuyu's tone. Habuko briefly remembered the conversation she and her best friend had over the phone the previous night. "You and I both know that I'm not going to let you." She had promised Tsuyu that she would make sure she didn't back out of this. 'Tsuyu-chan needs to do this. Even if it doesn't go the way she wants it to...which I know it will.' The serpent like girl inwardly sighed as she thought about her two friends. "Also are you really going to deprive Midoriya-chan the treat of seeing you dressed up?" She asked with a playfully lighthearted wink.

Frowning Tsuyu walked over to her desk and picked up two amusement park tickets. "Maybe I will..." Tsuyu said looking down. She could feel Habuko's disapproving eyes on her, causing her to quickly crumble. "I can't really get out of this, I shouldn't even try to." Tsuyu said turning her dark eyes to Habuko. "I'm just really nervous." She admitted before sitting down on her bed.

The serpent-like girl smiled sympathetically as she lowered herself next to Tsuyu and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know, Tsuyu-chan. But I'm telling you, once you get it all out in the open, you'll feel better." Habuko promised with a reassuring squeeze on Tsuyu's shoulder. "Just remember the three basic steps we agreed on and you'll do just fine."

Tsuyu smiled at her friend's encouragement. "You're right, Habuko-chan." She agreed with her second ever friend. "The first part is showing him the tickets."

Habuko nodded, pleased with her friend's acceptance of their plan. "Right, then after a little bit of fun at the park, ride the Ferris Wheel, and confess." Habuko's held a mirthful gleam. "Then when he's all gob smacked, stick your tongue down his throat." She greatly enjoyed the moment that Tsuyu's face became the same shade as her flame colored locks.

Tsuyu frowned as she fought to control the flush of her face. "I-If I did that Izuku would die of a heart attack!" She cried out before croaking. "Gero." Tsuyu looked down, despite her reaction she couldn't help but picture how her friend's suggestion could turn out. The tips of her ears easily matched Habuko's crimson locks.

Habuko cackled at the rarity of seeing her best friend so flustered. It wasn't easy to get a reaction out of Tsuyu, something Habuko had learned during the many months they had been friends. However she had found that things relating to Izuku could elicit something of interest from her. "I'm kidding." She told Tsuyu who sighed in relief. "Let him stick his tongue down your throat, instead."

Tsuyu had to fight the urge to cry out that would never happen. Instead she took a deep breath and calmly explained why her friend's advice was no good. "There are at least two reasons why that probably won't happen." She intoned before elaborating. "Izuku is not exactly that forward. If any kissing," She tried to ignore the heat in her cheeks. Also something gave Tsuyu the impression that if they did start dating that she'd have to be the one to initiate certain things. Even with his improved confidence over the years Izuku would always be a polite person.

Habuko inwardly chuckled at Tsuyu's first reason, but quickly cut her off when she opened her mouth to state her next point. "Don't even give me that spiel about why you think Izuku doesn't like you, like that." The serpent-like teen quickly told her.

Tsuyu's frown turned into a slight pout. "I'm still going to think it." She stubbornly informed Habuko who rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, that's not the point. Whether Izuku likes you back or not," before adding the next bit under her breath. "which I argue he does," she cleared her throat. "Is irrelevant right now." Habuko lightly jabbed her index finger into Tsuyu's shoulder. "You pride yourself on always speaking your mind, and as your friend I'm going to make sure you speak your mind to him about this."

Tsuyu breathed a sigh. "This is what I get for asking you not to let me back out. Gero..."

Habuko smiled before patting her friend's shoulder. "Don't be so nervous Tsuyu-chan, this will all work out and you'll thank me in the end." She promised.

Tsuyu looked up to see Habuko's open expression. Despite her complaints she still couldn't help but feel grateful for the push her friend was giving her. "Even if I'm still not quite sure of this, I still appreciate your support." Tsuyu said, speaking her mind.

Habuko grinned in response before hugging her frog-like friend. "What are friends for?" She asked the other girl rhetorically. Tsuyu nodded and returned the hug, happy to have friends who cared about her. Not long after Habuko sent her friend off with the promise to call her later for details.

It was around noon that same day when Tsuyu arrived at hers and Izuku's usual meeting spot. She was nervously clutching the tickets in her large hands. Despite the pep talk Habuko had delivered that morning she was still a bundle of nerves for this. Eventually she caught sight of a blissfully ignorant to her feelings Izuku approaching from the other side of the park. The green haired boy noticed her immediately and did a slight double take upon realizing that she was wearing a dress. "That's a good sign." The frog-like girl muttered hopefully under her breath.

It took a few moments for Izuku to remember his surroundings and resume making his way toward her. He couldn't help the way his eyes were drawn to his attractive friend's figure. In the nearly four years they had known each other he had noticed her slowly changing form, becoming more developed. He had seen her in a form fitting shorts during their work-out sessions, but this was new.

Tsuyu was hardly the type to dress up, save for a rare special event. Izuku privately enjoyed the chance to see his best friend/crush in a dress for a change. Even if it did make him feel a tad underdressed in grey shorts and a t-shirt. Brushing away such thoughts he greeted her cheerfully and asked her if she had been waiting long. Tsuyu managed a friendly smile and told him that the wait hadn't been that long. "So..." He started out. "What did you have plan for today?" Asked Izuku, figuring that she had something in mind.

Tsuyu swallowed her nervousness as best she could before presenting the amusement park tickets. "I thought this would be fun." She told Izuku as his eyes quickly scanned the contents of his ticket. When he raised his gaze back to her and expressed excitement at the prospect of a fun day at a park she grinned in return and offered to lead the way.

The walk to the amusement park was filled with idle chit chat between the two friends. Izuku caught Tsuyu up on his progress with his training. Over three years since they had met and he was still adamant about staying on top of things. Tsuyu could admit that she had slacked slightly during the last six months, her hero studies had really piled up along with having to watch her siblings. This was actually the first time in over three weeks that she had managed to find time to come see Izuku.

Tsuyu was happy that her friend was still putting in the work to be a hero and told him such. "I admire your dedication Izuku, sadly I can't say that I've been able to keep to our schedule." She admitted with some regret. Even if at first the early morning workouts had been hard she had come to enjoy them greatly, mostly because it was something between her and Izuku.

Izuku beamed at her compliment. "I can't lie, it's been kind of hard doing it on my own. I miss coming to the park in the morning and seeing you." He told her, the tips of his hears turning red.

Tsuyu felt her heart flutter in agreement. As much as she liked her new school and Habuko, she did miss spending most of her time with Izuku. "I miss that too. Maybe that has something to do with why I haven't been able to keep up with it as much as I want to." Tsuyu mused while tilting her head in thought. "Habuko-chan is a great friend, but she's not interested in being a hero." Her serpent-like friend would never care to spend a few hours working out like she used to alongside Izuku. On the bright side making a new friend had allowed her to broaden her horizons. The frog-like girl remembered how Habuko had managed to drag her to a karaoke club one day after school, and that had been a lot of fun.

Izuku nodded at his friend's response before rubbing the back of his neck. Looking ahead he caught sight of what he believed to be the park entrance. "Oh, I uh think we're here." He said, prompting Tsuyu to follow his gaze. Tsuyu smiled as she did her best to ignore her own nervousness. Grabbing Izuku's hand, and pretending her heart wasn't beating a like a drum, she quickly led him to the ticket booth, Izuku murmuring nervously the whole way.

With it being after lunch time on a Friday the wait ended up being fairly long. The two teens didn't really notice, so engrossed in their conversation that they unintentionally held up the line. An impatient man with sunglasses quickly tapped one of Izuku's shoulders before pointing forward.

The pair had the decency to look embarrassed before moving forward and presenting their tickets. The person running the ticket booth, a bored-looking teen, glanced at the two teens before quickly ushering them in. Izuku thanked the older teen as he told them, monotonously, to have a fun time.

Once in the park Tsuyu turned to Izuku and asked. "Is there any particular ride you want to try first?" The frog-like girl smiled as she saw Izuku looking around, trying to gauge what would be fun for a first ride.

Izuku would admit that he wasn't a huge fan of super fast intense rides, but he knew that Tsuyu enjoyed them. So figuring that it would be best to get those kinds of rides out of the way before lunch, and so that he wouldn't lose his lunch, he suggested as such. "How about a couple of roller coasters?" He pointed to an attraction that was in sight.

Tsuyu followed his gaze and grinned when she saw a purple structure that had a coaster with six links on it going through a series of loops. The frog-like girl knew that her friend didn't particular care for these kinds of attractions, but she did appreciate him picking one out for her. "That one looks like fun, let's get in line." She told him before grabbing his wrist and leading him.

Izuku gulped inaudibly as he allowed his friend to lead him along. As they made for the ride his stomach started doing backflips, and it wasn't just because of fear for the upcoming ride. Doing his best to pretend that he wasn't nervous Izuku managed a small smile as he and Tsuyu stood at the back of the line.

While waiting Tsuyu asked Izuku if he had added any more entires into his database. At her question the green haired boy nodded excitably as he rambled on about some of his latest additions. Izuku was in the process of telling her about a hero who could immobilize his targets by stepping on their shadow, right as they made it to the front of the line.

Almost immediately Izuku stopped talking as they were led to the their cart. Gulping he allowed Tsuyu to slide in first, and then sat next to her. The door closed and they were strapped in, when his hand found hers he wrapped it in a tight squeeze. As the ride slowly started to move Tsuyu turned to look at Izuku and figured that his strained expression had to do with fear of the ride. Offering an encouraging smile she kept her hand in his.

Izuku didn't return her gaze, instead focused on the track before him, but he appreciated her attempt to comfort him. The slight jerking of the ride inching forward made him gulp as the roller coaster trudged along at a subdued pace. Looking ahead he saw the very large incline, that once they passed it would be high speed adrenalin for the rest of the ride. The moment they went over the hill the ride instantly sped up he, and everyone else screamed in excitement, though his screams were more akin to terror.

Tsuyu had the decency to look apologetic as Izuku stumbled off the ride and steadied himself by hanging onto a nearby trashcan. To her relief he wasn't puking up the contents of his stomach, but he was panting excessively. "Sorry Izuku..." She said as Izuku shook his head.

Letting go of the trashcan he found that despite his shaky legs he was able to stand. "N-No..." He managed once he caught his breath. "I'm o-okay..." The trembling of his shoulders slowly subsided. Tsuyu didn't say anything, but she didn't look completely convinced by her friend's assertion. Seeing that the frog-like girl still appeared skeptical Izuku reaffirmed his statement.

Tsuyu relented and allowed her worry to recede. "If you're sure..." She replied. "What ride do you want to try next?" She asked before looking at the assortment of rides. As her friend studied the different attractions she tried to direct him to something a little more relaxing. Even though she preferred high speed adrenalin inducing rides, she knew that Izuku would appreciate something not too intense.

Over the next couple of hours the two teens spent trying a variety of rides, ranging from heart stopping roller coasters that left Izuku panting for breath to relaxing boat rides that made the teens become highly flustered. "I-I did not realize it was the t-tunnel of love..." And embarrassed Tsuyu said honestly. "Gero..." When Habuko heard about this she was going to laugh her head off.

Izuku swallowed nervously as he nodded in response. "I-It's no b-big deal, i-it was just a relaxing b-boat ride..." And if during the entire ride he had fought an intense internal battle whether or not to wrap his arm around her, then she didn't need to know that. "Wh-Where to next?" He asked, hoping to put this awkwardness behind them.

Tsuyu cleared her throat and looked around before finding a map of the park. She saw that the Ferris Wheel wasn't too far from their current location, but blanched at the idea of doing that at the moment. 'After that last ride, no thank you.' She inwardly groaned before pointing at an attraction purposely on the other side of the park. "We could try this one." The frog-like girl suggested.

Izuku followed where Tsuyu had pointed and grinned upon seeing that it was the Zero Gravity attraction. "That sounds like fun." He said, excited at the prospect of being able to fly around and feel like a superhero.

Tsuyu, having allowed herself to put recent events out of her mind, returned his grin. Grabbing his wrist she quickly led him through the park until they arrived at the Sci-Fi attraction. An uneventful wait in line later and they were allowed in, floating and flying through air proved to be a fun way to pass the time. Thankfully the Gravity Chamber had very few people right now, so the two were able to enjoy the attraction to the fullest without bothering anyone.

Not too long after their fun at the gravity attraction the two decided to stop for lunch. The concession stand proved to be somewhat pricey, but the teens were able to afford it so they bought their food with little complaint.

Eventually the pair had been on just about every ride, save for the Ferris Wheel. Tsuyu's voice had a slight hitch as she suggested this particular ride. However imagining Habuko cheering her on made getting through her request a tad easier. Her face heated only slightly as she recalled her snake like friend's teasing remarks. Izuku seemed keen on the idea of a relaxing Ferris Wheel ride and agreed. "At least it should be easy on my stomach..." Izuku had quietly said.

Tsuyu smiled at her friend as the came to the end of the fairly short line. Before long they were led to their carriage and settled in across from each other. A few moments later the ride began and their carriage was lifted off the ground. The two teens sat in silence as the looked out the window to see the entire park. It was much later in the day, and the park was now a nice shade of orange. Izuku chanced a glance at Tsuyu and was surprised to see her looking at him.

Almost in sync the two turned away from each other and breathed out awkward laughs. Izuku rubbed the back of his neck while Tsuyu hesitantly looked back at him. After another moment of silence Izuku's eyes met hers. The two teens held each other's gaze until the Ferris Wheel came to a stop at the top.

Izuku breathed out a strangled gasp as Tsuyu, unprepared for the sudden jerking motion, fell into his lap. Almost instinctually his arms wrapped around her small frame as he tried to help her back into her seat. The male teen stiffened like a board upon hearing Tsuyu mutter something.

When he didn't immediately respond to her muffled words Tsuyu glanced up at the red faced boy. "I like you..." She said, her own face aflamed. "...A lot." She added as Izuku started babbling nonsense. Izuku knew that he was completely flubbing this up, but when he finally managed to regain enough of his wits to shut up he was dismayed to see that they were back to ground level. The door opened and he and Tsuyu simply stared at each other. They remained this way until a park employee politely asked them to get off.

The pair made the silent agreement that it was time to leave the park. After that particular incident there was no way that they could go back to blissfully enjoying the theme park.

The walk to the train station was filled with the worst kind of silence. Tsuyu knew that Izuku wasn't good at interacting with members of the fairer sex, it had taken him at least a couple months after they first met before he fully dropped his nervousness with her. He still occasionally stuttered with Habuko when she was around. Though Tsuyu could pin that to Habuko having a rather forward personality.

Tsuyu could admit that she was rather awkward too, but in a different way. She could get embarrassed like any other girl, but she always tried to push past it with her blunt honesty and penchant for speaking her mind. In fact her hesitation in confessing to Izuku felt rather unlike her. Despite the horrible awkward air currently exiting between them she was glad that she had gotten her feelings out in the open. She just wished that Izuku would respond, either positively or negatively. Tsuyu's feet came to a stop and Izuku continued walking for five seconds before also stopping.

When he turned to look at her, eyes hesitant, she spoke. "Please give me an answer Izuku. I don't like this hanging over us." Izuku's eyes became saucer plates, but his vocal cords refused to cooperate. Tsuyu stepped forward. "This was supposed to be a date," Her admission prompted Izuku's voice to start working, but he was only capable of babbling murmurs. "I wanted to tell you how I felt today." Tsuyu continued, ignoring his babbling. Izuku's quiet murmurs continued on for a few minutes. The frog-like girl felt her face heat up as she swore she heard the word "cute" hidden somewhere amongst his mumblings.

Finally when it seemed like his murmuring wouldn't stop Izuku suddenly cried out. "I like you too, please go out with me!" His eyes clenched shut as his arms remained stiff at his sides. Tsuyu stared at him, wide eyed at his proclamation, it actually took her a moment to react. Tsuyu's lips slowly curved into a wide smile and, much to Izuku's surprise, enveloped him in a tight hug.

The two teens quickly broke apart when the hug lingered for loner than they were comfortable with. Even Tsuyu could admit that the stares of the few random passerby's were unnerving. "Probably shouldn't have done this out in the open..." The teal haired girl muttered as she and Izuku quickly left the area.

The remainder of their walk was also enveloped with awkward silence, though it wasn't as tense as earlier. Both teens, highly inexperienced with confessions and romance had no idea how to proceed from here. Izuku had opened his mouth a couple times, intending to break the silence, but kept chickening out as he realized he didn't know what to say.

By the time they had gotten to the train station for Tsuyu to head back home, he still hadn't managed to say anything. The green haired teen was still lost in his own head, trying to fine the right words, when he felt a soft peck on his cheek. Mouth gaping he looked up to see a pink faced Tsuyu who was smiling at him. Tsuyu's grin widened at her friend's fish-like expression. "I'll text you went I get home. Gero." She told him before heading off.

Izuku stood in place watching her until she was out of sight, and even then he didn't move from his spot. He actually remained standing in place for so long that one of the station employees came over to ask him if he was alright. Registering someone shaking his shoulder Izuku shook his head before looking at the mildly concerned man and stuttering an assurance that he was okay.

The station employee didn't seem to completely buy his words, but shrugged and returned to his duties. Izuku turned and left the station. Halfway to his house his phone vibrated, a text from Tsuyu. Before unlocking his phone he felt his palms becoming sweaty and his heartbeat picking up. Taking a deep breath Izuku opened her message and nearly dropped his phone.

{Next weekend, let's go on an actual date.}

At the end of her text was a winking frog emoji. Izuku gulped nervously before composing his reply, expressing his excitement at the idea. Once he sent his message he pocketed his phone and ran home to tell his mother of this amazing news. Next week he had a date with his childhood friend, and while he was nervous he was also ecstatic.

And there's chapter six. So yeah, bit of a development. I know that having Tsuyu and Izuku get together at this point in the story might seem unexpected and early, but it's also important to remember that at this point they've been friends for three years. And Tsuyu always speaks her mind, I don't think she'd keep something like having feelings for him hidden for long. Also I wanted to try something different, so this way when they go to UA they'll already be together and this will make for a more changed dynamic.

Edit: Went back through and made a few adjustments to try and clean things up a bit. Story is still the same, but I caught a couple mistakes and tried to make it flow a tad better.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I have no idea when the next one will be up, as it is slow going. But I will endeavor to do my best. Plus Ultra!