Author's note: Some very minor manga spoilers with one of the techniques used in this chapter. Nothing plot relevant, or even really that spoiler-y, but I felt like I should say something just in case

They did, eventually, manage to get Uraraka down off the ceiling, though it took up most of the lunch period. A large part of that was due to Mina, rather foolishly in hindsight, asking Tsuyu for assistance. She'd managed to pull Uraraka down quickly enough, but the second that the pink-cheeked girl realized exactly whose tongue was wrapped around her waist she'd shot right back up to the roof and refused to come down. It had taken the combined forces of Mina, Iida, Lunch Rush, several assorted second-year students, and Midoriya to finally talk her down.

That last one had led to problems of its own, of course, because Mina found that she was feeling even more unsettled around him than she had before lunch. Talking with Uraraka hadn't resolved any of her questions, and had only just added more fuel to the confusing fire that was Midoriya.

What she did get out of the whole experience, however, was the realization that he didn't really have a problem being around girls in general, but a problem with Mina specifically.

In the midst of trying to lure Uraraka back to the ground with a plate of mochi Lunch Rush had whipped up, Midoriya's hand had brushed up against Mina's. He'd immediately jumped about a foot to the left and turned a brilliant red before hiding behind Iida, leaving Mina feeling like a little bit of a leper. That feeling was amplified not even a minute later when Tsuyu literally hopped on his back and used him as a ladder to get closer to Uraraka. He didn't even blush at the full-body contact, just asked her to be careful and get her foot out of his ear.

Mina just couldn't get her head around it. How could he be so calm around Tsuyu, and yet freak out anytime she got near him? She was fairly certain that Midoriya didn't secretly hate her or anything. They spent more than enough time around each other during their morning chats for that. Besides, Midoriya was almost always the one who initiated those in the first place, and he seemed to enjoy hanging out with her in the first place.

Try as she might, Mina just couldn't make sense of it. All she got was a vague sense that she was missing something obvious and a feeling of immense frustration. Thinking about it wasn't helping either, since she just kept going in circles over and over again.

At least that wouldn't be a problem come this afternoon. If Mina had been forced to sit through regular classes, she had a feeling that she might have gone completely insane. Heroics class, on the other hand, was never ordinary. It didn't really have a set schedule or units. Honestly it just felt like they did whatever Aizawa felt like having them do that day. Sometimes it was polishing their special moves in the gym, sometimes it was specialized training in some area of heroics like rescue work or VIP escort. They also did a lot of sparring with each other, in groups or one on one.

The training almost always left her bruised and tired, but Mina had come to really enjoy it. Sure, not every part of it was fun, but she liked the feeling of steadily getting better, overcoming whatever challenges lay in her way and becoming a better hero. And she was definitely getting better. She almost always won her spars these days, unless she was up against a real beast like Todoroki or Bakugou.

So, despite her continuing confusion over Midoriya's aversion to her, she made her way to class with a small skip in her step.

She arrived to find most of the class had beaten her to the classroom, and were up to their usual shenanigans. Bakugou was grousing about something while Kaminari and Kirishima prodded him to be more social, Tsuyu was smacking Mineta around for being a pain in the ass, Iida was giving a lecture on proper form, and Yaoyorozu was doing her level best to keep a semblance of order.

Mina briefly considered going over to help Kirishima out, but decided against it when her eyes caught on a familiar head of green hair behind him. She wasn't really trying to avoid Midoriya, but it just felt like a bad idea for her mental health to hang out so near him, at least until she managed to get her thoughts in order. And her stomach stopped feeling oddly tight when she stared at him.

She dropped into her desk with a sigh, wondering why life had to be so complicated all the time. She hated fighting with her friends, especially since the knowledge that they weren't getting along made the absence all the more painful. Not that she and Midoriya were really fighting, but it felt like they were.

She just wished there was some simple way to figure out what had gone wrong between them, and patch it up so they could go back to normal right away.

The door slid open and Mina glanced up instinctively to see Aizawa trudging into the room. Conversations instantly ceased as everyone dove for their seats. Aizawa simply looked on, a small smile crossing his face at their haste.

"They can be taught…" he muttered before moving to the front of the room.

"Alright, you all know the drill. We're on ground Beta today for combat training. Grab whatever gear you think you'll need and meet me there. If you take longer than twenty minutes, expect to work twice as hard as everyone else."

And that was all the instruction they were getting. Before anyone could do more than raise a hand to ask a question, he turned on his heel and walked back out. Mina just shrugged. That was Aizawa for you. Never give a proper explanation if you could leave people hanging, and just explain it away as being more "logical." Not that any of his logic ever made sense to Mina. Mostly it just seemed like him having fun at their expense, or just confusing them for no reason. Not like there was anything she could do about it, though.

With a sigh, Mina rose to her feet and filed in behind the rest of her classmates as they trooped down to the locker room to get ready.

They had the place to themselves that day, which was a little disappointing. Mina did love to have a good chat with some of the 1-B girls, in the locker rooms or otherwise. A few of their members were pretty withdrawn, but Tokage was usually a riot and Kendo was super nice. Plus Mina enjoyed being able to connect with her fellow female heroes-in-training. Their regular classes barely ever gave them a chance to hang out, after all.

Mina had just finished slipping her body suit on when Jirou spoke up, poking her in the shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey, so what's going on with you and Midoriya? You two fighting or something?"

Mina frowned and turned to face Jirou. "What gave you that idea?"

Jirou snorted. "You're not as subtle as you think. I saw you keep looking back at him during class this morning. Plus I could hear him muttering your name a bunch during class. Not that he doesn't do that all the time, he just does it more when he's upset. So, what happened?"

Mina felt a bit of heat creep into her cheeks. She hadn't realized she'd been that obvious, but she hadn't been able to resist a few glances Midoriya's way during their morning classes. Maybe more than a few, now that she thought about it.

"I don't know," Mina said with a sigh. "He was acting really nervous this morning, even more than usual, and he's been like that all day. Then I realized he can't even touch me without acting like he's been burned, and I've been slowly driving myself insane all day trying to figure out why."

She might have said that a little more loudly than she had meant to, given that the other girls were all now staring at her. Uraraka and Yaomomo in concern, Tsuyu with her usual blank look, and Hagakure's unknowable but probably concerned as well.

"Seriously?" Jirou said. "Come on Ashido, he can't touch you because he's the most innocent person to ever live. Seriously, I think he makes Mineta more tolerable just by being around him. When my pants tore mid-combat a couple weeks ago, he apologized for seeing my thigh. Seriously. He wasn't even perving or anything. Just saw some leg and instantly started apologizing. I'm not surprised he's freaking out over holding your hand or whatever."

Mina frowned as she considered the idea. It wasn't a bad explanation, all things considered, but it also felt like it was lacking something.

"But then how come he lets Tsuyu climb all over him without batting an eye?"

"He got used to me, kero."

"Plus she doesn't make him all nervous like you do," Jirou said with a small shrug.

"What? Why do I make him nervous?"

Jirou stared at her in open confusion. "You're kidding, right?"

"She's not," Uraraka cut in. "We were talking about it at lunch. I was surprised too."

"But, I mean, come on! How?" Jirou said.

"Everyone has their blind spots," Yaomomo said.

"Okay, but that's one serious blind spot," Jirou said.

"Hey, can you not talk about me like I'm not here?" Mina cut in. She knew they weren't really doing it on purpose, but it felt a little insulting to be talked over like that.

"Sorry Ashido," Yaoyorozu said quickly. "That was rude of us."

"Sorry," the others chorused as well.

"S'okay," Mina said. "But can you please tell me this obvious thing I'm supposed to be missing? I don't like feeling dumb. Dumber than usual anyway."

"It's nothing to do with intelligence," Yaomomo said gently. "Like we said, everyone has blind spots. And when you're too close to a problem, or it's presented in the wrong way, it can be easy to miss things that other people find obvious."

"Like Yaomomo and Kendo!" Hagakure said, a teasing smile evident in her voice.

Yaoyorozu flushed slightly. Neither Mina nor Hagakure would let her forget that she had gone on a date with Kendo without realizing it, until the other girl had gone in for a kiss at the end of the night. It had been adorable to see the prim and proper Yaoyorozu turn into a blushing mess as she suddenly realized Kendo had been trying to woo her for the entire evening.

"On that note," Yaoyorozu said with just a hint of venom in her voice, "Perhaps it would be best to allow Ashido to work this out for herself?"

"Wait no!" Mina cried, "Tell me, tell me, tell meeeee!"

Her pleas fell of deaf ears as Yaoyorozu looked down on her with a gentle smile and slowly shook her head. Mina turned to the others, but found no help. Jirou was openly laughing at her, while Uraraka had a similar smile to Yaoyorozu. Even Hagakure, the traitor, was just laughing at Mina, one of her gloves covering her mouth while the other was holding her shaking stomach.

"You guys are mean," Mina pouted.

"Hey, are you girls coming?" Kirishima shouted from outside of the locker room.

Everyone in the locker room jumped slightly. They had gotten so caught up in the drama and teasing each other that they'd nearly forgotten they were on a timer. Mina definitely had. If Kirishima hadn't said anything she might have missed class completely which would have seriously sucked. Aizawa was not nice with his punishments. She still remembered the horror that was remedial lessons with the man.

A flurry of movement followed as the girls threw on what remained of their costumes and dashed out of the door. Mina only barely managed to get her jacket on in time, having to pull it on as she was heading out of the door to not get left behind. For once she was jealous of Hagakure's costume. She had to do so little to get ready that she was finished before anyone else and helped some of the girls pull on particularly annoying parts of their costumes.

Together, they headed for the training field, hoping that they had made it in time.

"Nineteen minutes, thirty seconds," Aizawa proclaimed once Mina and the rest of the girls arrived. "I'm tempted to mark you all down for taking so long, but I suppose you did obey the letter of the law, if not the spirit."

Mina didn't rise to the bait. She, and the rest of the class, had long ago figured out that while Aizawa loved his "logical ruses" and biting words he was actually pretty fair when it came to grading and assigning work. He would work them hard but never make them do something that was totally impossible, even if it sometimes felt like he did.

"Exercise today is urban combat training," Aizawa said, "You'll be in teams of two, one side acting as villains attempting to protect a bomb for ten minutes while the other side will be the heroes trying to stop them."

Iida's hand immediately shot into the air, causing Aizawa to sigh and point to him.

"Sir, this seems similar to the scenario for the battle trial from our first year. Are we to assume the rules are similar as well?"

"Not similar, the same," Aizawa replied. "This is an exact repeat of the battle trial scenario, with the only difference being who you're partnered with. Rules, win conditions, and even location are the same as before. What's being tested is your growth. How far have you come since the first week, have you developed new strategies or abilities, that sort of thing."

He flashed them one of his deranged smiles, the kind that sent shivers down Mina's spine no matter how many times she saw them.

"And you'd better be sure to come up with some new strategies. Try and do the same thing as last time, and I will be handing out some remedial lessons."

Mina's back straightened just a little bit. If she hadn't been motivated before, she sure was now! She'd fight Todoroki on a glacier, insult Aoyama's sparkle, get into a fistfight with Bakugou, anything to avoid having to go through that hell again!

Aizawa then drew out a familiar looking box, and Mina immediately darted forward to the front of the group, eager to get first crack at partner selection. She hoped that would give her the best chance at avoiding remedial classes. If she could get an awesome partner like Yaomomo or someone super strong like Todoroki then she was almost guaranteed to pass!

With a triumphant motion, Mina yanked her arm free and inspected the card she pulled. A large, blocky "A" greeted her, and Mina smiled. A for Ashido. That had to be a good sign, right?

Admittedly she wasn't a fan of acting the villain, but it was just for the purpose of the exercise. Plus Iida had shown the first time that you could have fun playing the villain. He had treated it pretty seriously, but Mina figured she could probably have a good time acting like an over the top cartoon villain. Or, now that she thought about it, maybe she could play the part of the alien queen that Midnight had so cruelly stolen from her!

She was just figuring out the best way to crawl around in the vents so she could scare people when the team selection was finalized.

"Team A, get down to the field and start preparing. You'll have five minutes to relocate the bomb anywhere in the building. Move it after that time and you'll fail the exercise. Team B, you'll have the same time to prepare your entrance strategy. And, while I know it's tempting, in the spirit of fairness, no listening in ahead of time Jirou."

Jirou shrugged at that, not seeming too put out that she couldn't eavesdrop on her opponent's plans. Then again she'd probably start listening once the match started anyway so the extra few minutes probably wouldn't matter either way.

Mina had to admit she was nervous, being up against Jirou. The class's resident punk queen was no slouch in a fight, and her sonic attacks really packed a punch. And then there was the fact that Jirou was teamed up with Tokoyami who was also super strong in a fight. Even if he couldn't bring out Dark Shadow's full power without bringing down the whole building, he still had his shadow cloak-y thing that made him hit like a freight train.

It was a pretty unfair match to begin with, and Mina would have accused Aizawa of setting her up to fail, if it weren't for her partner. One of the strongest people in their class, easily the most inventive and knowledgeable fighter, and, for today at least, the absolute last person she wanted to be teamed up with.

Midoriya.

The walk over to the building was about as awkward as it could have been. Mina was trying to actively keep her distance from Midoriya, since she didn't want to upset him accidentally, and she could tell he was doing the same thing. Twice he looked like he wanted to say something, then closed his mouth and just kept walking. It totally sucked, and Mina really wished he would just get it over with. Leaving things as they were was just prolonging the pain.

But, as they finally reached the bomb, it became apparent that he was never going to take that step. So, it fell to her to push past the awkward atmosphere and get things moving, for both their sakes but more importantly for the sake of not having to take any extra lessons!

"Okay, so what's our plan Mr. Strategist?" Mina said as jovially as she could manage.

"What?"

"Our plan," she clarified. "You know me, I'm no good at thinking these things out. But you're super good at it. You're always coming up with new ways for people to use their Quirk, or cool super moves we could pull off. I bet you know my Quirk almost as good as I do, and you're super great at strategy too. So, if anyone can come up with a way to win this match, it's you. Lay it on me, Midori!"

There was a brief moment of hesitation where he looked torn between being embarrassed, arguing with her, and a bunch of other emotions she couldn't begin to identify. But then, to her relief, he took a deep breath and set his jaw in a very familiar way.

She'd noted it before, but Midoriya in battle mode was a sight to behold. He looked confident, determined, and super cool as well. In that moment, he really looked every bit the hero he was training to be.

One quick moment of intense concentration later, and he nodded to himself before beginning to speak.

"Alright. Jirou's going to know where we are from the start of the match, unless we counter her hearing in some way. And even if we do, they'll just start searching the rooms one at a time until they find us. Our best bet is to hide the bomb somewhere and keep well away from it. If we stick nearby they'll bypass us and go for the bomb, since it's easier than fighting, and I don't think we can stop them both from touching it. We could try and misdirect her about the bomb's location though, by talking about the wrong location. She might not fall for it though."

"I can try," Mina said, "She knows I'm dumb enough to make a mistake like that."

"You're not dumb," Midoriya said offhandedly, more focused on the plan of attack than what he was saying, "You're not the top of the class in academics but you're good at tons of other things, like teaching or rescue work. Plus UA's standards are way higher than other schools, so it makes sense your grades are lower here."

For the second time that day, Mina was taken aback by how high of an opinion Midoriya seemed to have of her. It was sweet, how quickly he leapt to her defense both that morning and now, as if he'd been thinking about what to say in such a situation for a while and it had just slipped out in the heat of the moment.

It was also kinda weird. Mina knew she was dumb, everyone in class knew that from the very first test that she had absolutely bombed, and there was no use pretending otherwise. She'd learned to deal with it over the years, laughing along with everyone else at how bad she did, even as she was silently a little jealous at the praise those who did well got.

Maybe that was why Midoriya's words sent a burst of warmth through her. Or maybe it was just her being ridiculous again, Uraraka's words at lunch coming back to her suddenly. It was the kind of honest support that Mina would have found incredibly endearing and lovable in a boyfriend, and she couldn't help picturing it for a moment.

It was kind of nice, actually. Midoriya was a great guy, sweet and caring with a kind of "boy next door" charm, even if his fashion sense left a lot to be desired. Honestly, out of pretty much everyone in the class he was closest to being boyfriend material. She just hadn't entertained the idea since he and Uraraka seemed perfect together, and Mina didn't want to do Uraraka dirty like that.

But if she really was interested in Tsuyu instead…

Before her thoughts could go any further Mina mentally slapped herself. She was trying to stop thinking about Midoriya, not fall deeper down the rabbit hole!

Thankfully she wasn't the only one who had been distracted. Somehow Midoriya had gotten sidetracked during his analysis and was now muttering about how Jirou's Quirk could best be utilized against opponents who were under water. It was kinda interesting, but not really that relevant to what they were doing.

"Hey, we should probably get moving," Mina said, giving his shoulder a quick poke to get his attention before realizing what a bad idea that was.

Predictably he jumped about a foot into the air, but he didn't look too freaked out after he landed, at least. It seemed more like he was surprised at having been interrupted than from having her touch him.

"R-right!" Midoriya said, rising to his feet. "But, um, I need to ask you something."

"Shoot!"

"Do… do you trust me?"

Mina didn't even have to think to answer that one. No matter what personal issues were between them, she trusted Midoriya completely.

"C'mon Midori, do you even have to ask?"

As they waited for their opponents to arrive, Mina shifted nervously from foot to foot. Even knowing that their plan was solid, she still couldn't help but freak out a little. There was a ton riding on this, plus she wasn't a huge fan of the dark.

They had killed the lights in their chosen room, turning the whole thing into a dark cave with only the barest hint of light coming in from the hallway. Thankfully Mina's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she could just barely make out Midoriya's prone form on the opposite side of the room, lying atop a cushion of highly viscous acid that would hopefully make it harder for Jirou to hear him moving or breathing.

He was hidden from sight for most of the room thanks to a chest high concrete wall that covered a good portion of the room. The whole area looked like it had been taken straight out of one of the video games the boys liked to play together in the common room sometimes, all bare concrete with chest high walls and pillars to provide plenty of cover to hide behind.

Mina, meanwhile, was standing in the center of the room, the first one anyone entering the room would see or hopefully hear. She had the pivotal role in their plan, and she hoped that she was up to performing today.

She stiffened as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. It was hard to tell, but she thought she could hear two sets, which was an excellent sign. Midoriya's plan had hinged on getting both Jirou and Tokoyami into the room with them.

"She's in there," Jirou whispered, her voice just barely carrying to Mina in the near total silence of the empty building. "Be careful, though. I still can't hear Midoriya anywhere."

Well, it sounded like part one of their plan was working. With a small smile, Mina drew in a deep breath, then put on her best villain persona and got to work on part two!

"Oh ho ho! Is that a hero I hear creeping around the building? Come to foil our dastardly scheme?"

"Please tell me you're not going to keep doing that," Jirou said, not bothering to whisper this time.

She still wasn't visible, and neither was Tokoyami, but Mina had the feeling that they were both out there, plotting what to do. Which meant it was her job to keep up the banter and keep them distracted for as long as possible. Time was on her and Midoriya's side, so the others would have to act eventually.

"Oh, but I am!" Mina called, "After all, what kind of villain doesn't take the time to monologue when she has the chance?"

"Why am I even friends with you?"

"Cuz I'm just that adorable!" Mina said, dropping her villain voice for just a second for her cutesy answer.

The banter was fun, as always, and caused Mina to relax just a little bit. That proved to be a mistake, however. Right as she finished speaking Dark Shadow burst out from around the corner and lunged straight for her. It was even larger and more eager than usual, strengthened by the nearly pitch black room.

Mina dove to the side as quickly as she could, but Dark Shadow twisted in the air to intercept her. She slammed into the ground with Dark Shadow on top of her, pinning her in place before she could retaliate. At the same time she heard loud footsteps from the corridor, probably Jirou or Tokoyami coming to capture her.

She risked a quick glance towards Midoriya and saw that he was halfway to his feet, getting ready to leap to her aid. If there had been more time to think, she might have admired the sentiment, but as it was all she could do was react instinctively.

Her arms were pinned, but her legs were still free to attack with. She kicked forward as hard as she could in the direction of the hallway, letting loose a stream of mild acid in her boots. It sprayed across the room, and Mina heard Jirou curse and dive to the ground to avoid being splashed.

She'd trained with Mina enough to know how problematic her acid had become. Tokoyami, on the other hand, was not quite as experienced with it, and didn't react in time. Mina heard him yelp in surprise and irritation and a moment later Dark Shadow released its grip on her to go help its master.

Mina allowed herself a small smile. Her acid had become extremely effective recently, thanks to an observation from Midoriya. He'd noted that while being able to make super potent acid was useful, a mild acid that irritated the skin would be far more powerful in fights. And he was totally right! Plenty of people in their class, Midoriya being the prime example, could concentrate and fight through crazy amounts of pain. Crazy amounts of itching, on the other hand, was enough to distract anyone.

She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could, but was almost immediately blasted by a wave of sound that drove her back to her knees. She couldn't move, could barely even think with it pounding against her eardrums and pulsing through her body.

She did feel it when Dark Shadow lifted her up and pinned her against the wall, though. For a moment she was sure that Midoriya's plan had failed and she was about to be captured. Then, to her relief, the sound of Jirou's Quirk faded and Mina could concentrate again.

Dark Shadow was completely wrapped around her body, pinning both her arms and legs against her body, as well as the wall. Even still, Jirou and Tokoyami were keeping a healthy distance away from her. Tokoyami in particular was about as far back as he could get, and was scratching furiously at his arm. It seemed like he'd managed to wipe most of her acid off with his cloak, but the effects were still irritating him.

"Well, that's one down," Jirou said. One of her jacks was plugged into the floor, probably searching for Midoriya's location. "But I still can't hear Midoriya anywhere. No idea how he's doing that, and I'm very curious to find out when this is over. Any chance you're willing to tell us now, Mina?"

Mina smirked. "Yeah, actually. I'd be happy to tell you where he is."

Jirou did a double take. "You… will? Uhhhh, okay, where is he?"

"Right behind you."

There was an extremely brief moment where Jirou's eyes reached almost comically wide proportions before she tried to throw herself to the side. Tokoyami tried to do the same, but it was far too late. Midoriya was already preparing his attack before they even reacted, having timed his finger flick exactly at Mina's line.

A blast of air slammed into their opponents, and Mina as well. She was braced against the wall, though, and had a much easier time of it than the other two who slammed into the concrete at high speed. It even took Dark Shadow by surprise, its grip loosening enough that Mina was able to wriggle one of her arms free.

As soon as she could, she lobbed a glob of itching acid at Jirou. Dazed as she was, Jirou was completely unable to avoid the attack, and took it full in the face. Mina winced a little at that. She'd been aiming much lower, and felt horrible for messing up that badly. It had to be horrendous for Jirou, and she'd have to make it up to the girl after the match was over. And end this quickly so she didn't have to suffer more than she already was.

Unfortunately, before she could do anything to help her friend, Mina felt Dark Shadow tighten around her again. This time, it didn't stop at pinning her arms, but completely engulfed her in a shadowy cocoon that left her completely trapped in the dark.

She idly splashed a bit of acid against Dark Shadow, but it didn't do a thing to the mass of darkness. As Tokoyami had proved, there wasn't much that could hurt Dark Shadow, aside from bursts of light, which made his capturing technique extremely effective.

From outside the cocoon, Mina could hear some muffled voices. She strained her ears, and just managed to overhear the conversation going on.

"It appears we are both down a companion," Tokoyami said carefully, "Though I believe that is more to my detriment than yours."

"Sounds right," Midoriya replied. It might have been the muffling from Dark Shadow, but he sounded distracted to Mina.

"And I suppose a prisoner exchange is out of the question?"

"I think Jirou's out for good, so probably not."

"Then I suppose there is nothing left for us to do but battle."

"Not exactly," Midoriya replied. "Ashido, go for it!"

Mina had just enough time to snap her eyes shut before Midoriya initiated the final phase of their plan and turned the lights back on. Bright light filled the room, and Dark Shadow retreated instinctively back towards Tokoyami's shadow, freeing Mina from her imprisonment. She gripped her capture tape in both hands and lunged in the direction that Tokoyami's voice had been coming from.

She slammed into his midsection and immediately started grabbing for his arms to capture him. He struggled valiantly, but in the end Mina's flexibility won out, and she was able to pin him against the ground and wrap the capture tape around his arms. That done, she glanced around the room, her vision having adjusted to the light once more. She spotted Jirou lying nearby, arms wrapped in capture tape and looking thoroughly miserable. She must have gotten caught by Midoriya while Mina was being trapped by Dark Shadow for the second time.

"Match is over, villains win," Aizawa's voice sounded from the speakers a moment later. "And without any serious injuries this time. Nice to know Chiyo won't be on my ass today. Pick yourselves up and head back to the observation room for debrief. Team C, head down and start prepping."

Mina leapt to her feet with a victorious cheer. Everything had gone perfectly, even if there had been a few surprises along the way, and now she was guaranteed to get a good grade for the class!

Before she could think it through, she bounded over to where Midoriya was standing and pulled him into a tight hug.

"We did it Midori!"

"Y-yeah we did," he squeaked out, red as a strawberry.

Suddenly, Mina's worries from before the battle came rushing back to her, and she realized why Midoriya was so stiff in her arms. She quickly disentangled herself from him and stepped back. It seemed to help a little bit, since he started moving around. Admittedly it was mostly fidgeting nervously, but Mina would take what she could get at this point.

"Sorry Midori. Didn't mean to grab you out of the blue like that."

"N-no it it it's fine!"

"It's not fine," she insisted. "I know you don't like getting touched by me, even if no one will tell me why, so I'll try to not do it. But I'm not good at remembering stuff like that, so—"

"Willyoupleasegoseeamoviewithmethisweekend!"

Mina's brain ground to a halt as she tried to process the burst of words that had just come out of his mouth. "What?"

"I-I wanted to ask this morning, but we got interrupted and then it was time for class, and I couldn't, so… T-this weekend, would you want to go see a movie? I have tickets! Not that it means you have to go, but I thought it would be better to get them in advance so they didn't run out. But if you can't go, or you don't want to go out with me, I'll understand and I won't talk about it again…"

"I… Midoriya, are you asking me out on a date?" Mina said, scarcely able to believe what she was hearing. There was no way he was actually asking her to—

"Y-yeah, I… I am. I really like you, and want to go out with you."

And that was the point where Mina's brain officially stopped working.

Author's Note: I apologize for both the length of time this took, and the overall quality of it. I'll try and do better with the next chapter, which will be a lot less action heavy and more romance focused. It's also next on the chopping block for me. Speaking of, as of the current plan, there will be two more chapters to this fic. One covering the aftermath of Midoriya's admission, and another covering the date itself. That may change as I go, but that's the current plan for now.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have an excellent day