U.A. GROUNDS-CAFETERIA
Within the massive dining area of U.A., 1A got lucky today and managed to occupy a table big enough for all of them. So here they were, enjoying satisfying meals made by Lunch Rush and discussing amongst themselves.
Kaminari took another bite of his meal before a thought came to him. After swallowing he looked across him where Kirishima sat. ''Hey, Kirishima?'' He called out getting the red-haired teen's attention.
''What's up man?'' Kirishima replied with attention while the nearest occupants listened to the conversation. But beside him, Bakugou was distracted y something as he stared with his usual scowl.
Kaminari swallowed again before speaking up. ''Is cereal a soup?'' he asked with curiosity while beside him, Jiro looked at him blankly.
Her sentiments were shared as everyone looked to him like he had grown a second head. ''Uhhh what do you mean?'' Kirishima voiced everyone's confusion.
Kaminari shrugged. ''I mean soup is usually something you slurp up with a spoon, right?'' He asked like it was obvious while Kirishima slowly nodded in agreement. ''So with that in mind, isn't cereal and soup basically the same thing?'' He asked again with blissful curiosity.
After hearing his claim, everyone nearby was rendered speechless with how….unique his question was.
A few more moments passed before Jiro, who was sitting beside him, recovered from her state and snorted. ''You're such an idiot.'' She grumbled before going back to her meal while Kaminari whined at her statement and claimed that he wasn't.
Meanwhile, everyone else dropped the topic and decided to move on while Kirishima awkwardly chuckled at Jiro's bluntness but mentally agreed with her. ''You had that one coming bro.'' He muttered with an amused expression as he watched Kaminari continue to complain while Jiro skillfully ignored him by taking with Toru.
''The fuck are they doing?''
Kirishima turned his attention to the left, where Bakugou sat beside him. The latter staring in a direction with his usual scowl, only this one was more concentrated. ''What's up Bakubro?'' He asked with a light prod of his elbow to get his attention.
Bakugou didn't say anything and simply gestured ahead with a grunt, shifting Kirishima's curiosity to what he was looking at.
What he saw was Izuku and Mina, who were both wearing big smiles as they discussed something beside each other. The latter was then given a playful shove from Izuku, a gesture that internally surprised Kirishima and Bakugou. Once she recovered, Mina playfully narrowed her eyes before she pushed back, only to struggle when Izuku didn't move an inch.
Everyone always forgets how deceptively well built the hero nerd was.
As Mina continued to push with no progress, Izuku watched her with amusement, another rare thing for him to do. After finally giving up, Mina puffed her cheeks and looked to him with a pout. Which caused the the OFA user to let out a laugh and not being able to help herself, Mina soon found herself joining in the fun.
Despite the new behavior from the class cinnamon roll, Kirishima didn't see anything wrong. ''Seems pretty normal to me bro.'' He admitted getting a growl from Bakugou. ''Maybe Mina's been helping the little guy be more confident.'' It was no secret that Mina was the complete opposite of Izuku. The latter normally shy and timid while Mina was more outgoing and energetic.
Which made Kirishima's claim plausible.
''Oh yeah?'' Bakugou challenged getting Kirishima to look at him with a curious look. ''Does doing that come with the lessons?'' He asked with a knowing tone while Kirishima looked to the duo again.
They watched in silence as Mina used her chopsticks to take a piece of her meal and feed it to him. Izuku swallowed before smiling at Mina as he took a piece from his meal and fed it to her. The pink teen eager to receive the food before swallowing with a giggle while Izuku chuckled with her.
Ok, that was definitely odd. ''I, uhhh.'' He stopped himself as he didn't want to jump to conclusions. ''Maybe it is.'' He stated with some hesitation while Bakugou scoffed in disbelief. ''I mean, we all know how spontaneous Mina can be at times.'' He pointed out knowingly causing Bakugou to look down in silent consideration. ''Maybe you're just looking too much into this.'' He patted the explosive teen on the shoulder before going back to his meal.
Bakugou agreed with him, he knew how extreme Mina's plans could be at times. Which would explain why they were being so close right now, knowing full well that Deku wouldn't have the stones to suggest this kind of thing.
He would have let it go….if it weren't for that nagging feeling at the back of his head.
Deciding to get this whole thing over with, Bakugou growled before speaking. ''Oi Deku!'' The duo turned to him with confused looks. ''What the hell are you two doing?'' He impatiently asked in annoyance.
''What do you mean Kacchan?'' Izuku asked with honest confusion.
Bakugou scoffed at the statement. ''Some smartass you are.'' He turned his gaze to Mina who wore the same expression of confusion. ''Don't tell me you don't see it either.'' He grumbled, betting that Mina's social perception could at least see it.
To his chagrin, however, Mina looked lost. ''See what dude?''
A tic mark formed on Bakugou's head. ''Are you fucking serious right now?'' He ignored Iida berating him for cursing at the table. ''Don't tell me neither of you can't see how you look right now.'' He stated with exasperation and anger.
The duo looked at each other before looking back at the explosive teen again. ''What's wrong with it?'' Izuku asked with curiosity.
Bakugou's eye twitched from the statement. ''You can't be serious.'' He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. ''Can't you idiots see what you're implying?'' He angrily asked with a tired sigh.
Mina raised an eyebrow at him. ''What's wrong with sharing food?'' She countered with some sass while Bakugou just looked at her with a glare. ''I mean…don't you and Kiri do that too?'' She pointed out while Izuku nodded I agreement.
''That shit's different.'' Bakugou snapped dismissively with a growl and a light blush. While beside him, Kirishima heard the statement but refused to talk about it as he continued talking with Sato with a massive blush on his face.
''Well, I don't have a problem with sharing my food with Mina.'' Izuku interjected, hoping that this will somehow clear things up with the explosive teen. The latter mentally surprised again when Deku didn't use his usual formalities when speaking about someone.
Mina happily nodded in agreement. ''Me neither!''
And with that, their discussion ended as the two went back to feeding each other. Blissfully unaware of the stares that are being directed at them.
After recovering from his earlier embarrassment, Bakugou huffed before lightly elbowing Kirishima to get his attention. ''Aren't you going to say anything shitty hair?'' He asked with an expectant look.
''Like what bro?'' The manly teen still wasn't sure what to make of it and his embarrassment didn't help either. ''I don't think they even realize how they look.'' They both eyed the duo who laughed together at something funny. ''Let's just leave it.'' He suggested before looking away, still embarrassed by Mina's earlier comment.
Sensing his discomfort, Bakugou reluctantly agreed to let it go. ''Fine.'' He grumbled, earning a thankful smile from Kirishima before he went back to talking with Sato.
Bakugou mentally sighed at the situation, maybe he was just reading too deep into it. He then decided to look at Deku's closest friends, perhaps they can clue him in on what's happening.
Only to be mentally surprised when the three looked just as lost as they were. Ida and Todoroki stared at them with thoughtful expressions while Ochako just looked curious.
U.A. GROUNDS-DORMS KITCHEN AREA
Momo loved drinking tea, everyone in her class can attest to that as they would often see her drink the beverage whenever she had the time to. And with the addition of it being the start of the weekend, it only added to the enjoyment of it as she flipped another page of her romance novel.
Currently, she sat comfortably in the dining area, as she peacefully read her book with a satisfied smile on her face. Joining her were Ochako and Toru who had shown interest in what she was reading. Needless to say, Momo was more than happy to share her collection of romance novels which served to hook them into the story as well.
''Oh, come on!'' Toru's outburst startled the two. ''Can't she realize that they're not meant to be together!?'' She huffed, her sleeves waving around in frustration.
''Shhh!'' Ochako reprimanded as she went back to her book. ''Don't say anything, I'm not there yet!'' Toru realized her blunder and quietly apologized.
Momo giggled at their interaction. ''Don't worry about it.'' She dismissed while the two looked at her. ''I promise it gets better from there.'' She promised with a knowing look as she held the latest copy of the story which only caused the two to increase their efforts in finishing their copies.
''What gets better?'' Mina's voice interjected from behind them.
''The story we're reading.'' Momo replied without surprise before looking over her shoulder. ''It's about…'' Her explanation was halted as her expression morphed into one of shock. Ochako and Toru noticed this and looked at her in confusion, they then looked to Mina to see what was wrong.
Only for their expressions to be stunned as well.
There stood Mina, wearing her usual casual attire, only the key difference would be the green hoodie she was currently wearing. ''What?'' She asked in confusion, not understanding why they were staring.
''Umm.'' Toru recovered, gaining her and everyone else's attention. ''Where did you get that hoodie?'' Although it looked like the answer was already presenting itself, it could just be a coincidence.
Now understanding the situation, Mina began explaining. ''Jiro, Kaminari, and I were doing a group study in Izuku's room.'' She admitted while everyone else nodded for her to continue, completely missing how she used Midoriya's first name. ''I had a feeling that it would be a bit chilly in there so I brought my hoodie, but it got messed up when Kaminari accidentally spilled his drink on it.'' They mentally sighed, knowing that sounded like something the electric user would do. ''Luckily, Midori was nice enough to lend me one of his hoodies while I brought mine to the laundry room. After that, I decided to get something to drink since I'm already down here.'' Everyone nodded again, seeing the story peace itself together.
Mina then brought a hand up to the back of her head with a sheepish expression. ''Last I checked, Midori's saving Kaminari from being chewed out by Jiro.'' She stated with an awkward laugh while making her way to the fridge. Meanwhile Ochako, Toru, and Momo didn't know whether to feel sorry for Kaminari or not.
After rummaging through the fridge, Mina emerged with a bottle of water before closing the fridge door. ''Welp, I better not keep them waiting.'' She announced, bringing them out of their thoughts. ''Have fun with your reading!'' They wished her luck with studying as she left the kitchen area.
Once things quieted down, the three went back to their reading.
But after a few moments of silence passed, Toru sighed as she couldn't help but be bothered by something. ''Something wrong?'' Ochako asked while Momo bookmarked her page and looked at the invisible teen as well.
''Aren't you bothered by it?'' Toru asked getting confused looks from them as she looked to Ochako. ''Mina being close to Midoriya?'' She clarified while Momo looked to the gravity teen with the same silent question.
Now understanding the problem, Ochako waved her hand. ''Not at all.'' She admitted getting shocked looks from them. ''Before the school festival was announced, Izuku talked to me and wanted to know how I felt about him.'' She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. ''It was awkward, but I eventually managed to get the message through.'' The two girls leaned in anticipation, eager to hear Midoriya's response. ''But he gently turned me down, admitting that he never felt that way towards me and it was just a crush.'' The girls slumped from how anticlimactic but very Midoriya the rejection was. ''It sucked, but we managed to talk it out and now we're still friends.'' She shrugged with a smile, not showing any animosity.
While Toru looked bummed out, Momo applauded Ochako. ''That was very mature of you two.'' She praised while Ochako beamed at her.
Toru however wasn't satisfied as she crossed her arms with an invisible pout. ''Speak for yourself.'' She complained grabbing their attention. ''You're not the one with a sunk ship.'' She grumbled while Ochako apologized with a sheepish expression.
''Well, what's done is done.'' Momo stated with a wise tone as she opened her book again. ''The best thing we can do is learn from it and move on.'' She sipped her tea while Ochako wholeheartedly agreed to her advice.
Suddenly, a devious thought entered Toru's mind. ''You're right.'' She agreed while Ochako and Momo didn't like her shift in tone. ''Instead of talking about a sunk ship.'' She turned to Momo who was confused by her gaze. ''Let's talk about your pending ship with Todoroki.'' She ended her statement with a knowing giggle while Ochako couldn't resist and decided to join in.
And with that, all composure and color drained from Momo as a massive blush formed on her face. ''W-What?'' She stuttered before clearing her throat in an attempt to recompose herself. ''What i-is there t-to talk about?'' She asked with poor ignorance as she shakily reached for her cup of tea.
Ochako laughed a bit at the statement. ''Oh, come on Momo.'' Her teasing tone caused Momo to freeze mid-sip. ''You're not fooling anybody, I'm pretty sure everyone can see it apart from him.'' Toru couldn't help but giggle at the irony.
''I-Is it really that obvious?'' Momo muttered before realizing what she said and placed her cup roughly on the table. ''W-Wait a minute!'' She turned to her mischievous friends with maximum embarrassment. ''WHY IS THIS SUDDENLY ABOUT MY LOVE LIFE!'' She shrieked with steam emanating from her head while Ochako and Toru continued to laugh at their friend's cuteness. This caused Momo to bury her face in her hands with an embarrassed whine.
U.A. GROUNDS-DORMS COMMON ROOM-THE NEXT DAY
Sero and Sato climbed down the stairs of the boys' side of the dorms, the latter chuckling with a shake of his head. ''So, let me get this straight.'' The sugar quirked teen started while Sero listened in amusement. ''Not only do you have an unexpected room design, but you also know how to cook Teriyaki?'' He asked with an impressed tone.
''Yup!'' Sero confirmed with a hint of pride. ''Being full of surprises is what I'm all about!'' He proudly claimed.
Sato inwardly chuckled with a slight shake of his head. ''And here I thought I knew everybody.'' He joked getting a laugh out of Sero. ''Mind teaching me the ropes?'' His request got a questioning look from the tape user causing Sato to shrug. ''Figured it might be time to learn to cook something, other than sweets that is.'' He admitted getting a nod of understanding from Sero.
As they reached the bottom of the step, they stopped as Sero thought about it. ''Hmmm, sure. What's the harm?'' He agreed, getting an excited grin from Sato. ''But we need to check the fridge, see if everything we need is there.'' He shrugged. ''If not, we'll just have to buy what's missing.'' He pointed out as he looked at the muscled teen.
''Sounds good to me.'' Sato nodded before pointing a thumb in the direction of the kitchen. ''Let's go.'' Sero nodded to him and followed.
As they passed the common area, they caught sight of Izuku Midoriya sitting on the main couch. The latter with his back turned to them as he casually read his notes. ''Yo Midoriya!'' Sato called out causing the teen to jump a bit before quickly turning to them with a finger on his lip.
This caused the two teens to freeze in place and become silent. Izuku gave them an apologetic look and gestured them to get a closer look to see why he wanted them to be quiet. Sero and Sato nodded and carefully made their way around the couch to see what was going on.
Only for them to be stunned in place.
Turns out, Midoriya wasn't alone. Mina Ashido slept soundly with her head resting on Izuku's lap like a pillow. The latter drooling a bit as she squirmed and cuddled in her place.
Once they realized why they were silenced, Sato immediately looked apologetic. ''Sorry man, I didn't know.'' Izuku waved it off, saying that it was fine. ''We'll just leave you two alone now.'' He stated before continuing to the kitchen.
''Wait.'' Sero's voice stopped him in place, causing everyone to look at him in confusion. ''I need to ask you something.'' He stated in a whisper while Izuku nodded for him to continue. ''Are you two…together?'' He asked while Sato looked at the green teen.
Needless to say, he had heard the rumor of them being together from Kaminari. The latter retelling the story of how he and Jiro were witnesses to Izuku letting Mina borrow his hoodie. Not only that, but they also heard some gossip from Jiro, stating that Toru had noticed them being closer as of late.
But without proper proof, nothing was confirmed.
To their surprise, Izuku didn't look bothered by the question and was about to say something. That was until Mina started making noises of discomfort in her sleep, causing everyone to look at her.
The pink teen started whining and pouting in her sleep, while Sero and Sato thought that they caused the discomfort. Izuku knew what was wrong and calmly placed his free hand on her head, this caused Mina to go silent with a smile as he petted her. ''Sorry, sometimes she wants to be petted.'' Izuku stated with a smile, indirectly admitting that this was a common thing between them.
Deciding not to risk waking her up, Sato grabbed Sero's arm. ''Never mind man, let's go.'' He advised as Sero looked like he wanted to protest but decided to agree to it. Izuku waved them off with an apologetic look before going back to his book while soothing Mina.
U.A. GROUNDS-DORMS KITCHEN
As the pair entered the kitchen, Sato breathed a sigh of relief. ''Man, that was close.'' He commented before chuckling in amazement. ''But wow….Midoriya and Mina huh?'' He grinned. ''Can't say I saw that coming.''
''I don't know dude.'' Sero stated with doubt getting a confused look from Sato. ''I don't think they're together.'' His statement shocked Sato. ''I mean, I heard from Kirishima that Bakugou thought the same thing, but they ended up not confirming anything.'' He added.
Sato crossed his arms with an eyebrow raised. ''What's there to confirm? It's obvious those two are together.'' He gestured to the living room where they left the duo. ''I don't think there's anything platonic about what we saw back there.'' He pointed out like it was obvious.
Sero looked in the direction of the common area before eventually sighing. ''I don't know, but I say we just leave it to them to tell us.'' His offer was met with a curious look. ''I mean, I think it's best to hear it from them than jump to conclusions.'' He advised before his expression became deadly serious. ''We don't need another Mic x Aizawa theory incident.'' He reminded with a grave tone.
Upon hearing his reminder, Sato began sweating a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. ''Fair point.'' He cleared his throat while Sero nodded with a satisfied expression. ''Let's just focus on the Teriyaki.'' He suggested, hoping not to bring up horrible memories. Sero was on the boat as they went to check their supplies if they had everything they needed, luckily, they did.
The teriyaki made that day was amazing.
U.A. GROUNDS-1A CLASSROOM-THE NEXT DAY
Within their classroom, the students of 1A wore their hero costumes as they mentally and physically prepared for another training exercise by Aizawa. Not that it bothered them in the slightest, if it meant being a great hero, extra training was more than welcome. And since extra training was a common ritual with their homeroom teacher, they had all grown accustomed to it. To the point where the build-up to the actual training would always be causal.
Unfortunately, these were not one of those times.
The current atmosphere of the room consisted of curiosity and rumors. Needless to say, each student had their encounter with Izuku and Mina's rather close interactions. Which of course lead to them speculating or concluding that the two have been together. But without confirmation, their theories were left unanswered, even if the evidence was obvious. Some wanted to get their answers directly, but something would always interrupt them before Izuku or Mina could answer their question.
Speaking of, Izuku stood in the front as always whenever it was time for more training, making sure his equipment was fine while being oblivious to the occasional stares or whispers. ''Izu!'' Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Mina happily skipping towards him. ''You ready?'' She asked with an excited grin, not noticing everyone observing the duo.
''Yep.'' Izuku smiled before adjusting his gloves. ''How about you?'' His lack of stuttering and casualness in talking with the girl surprised everyone.
To this question, Mina pumped her fists with a big grin. ''You betcha!'' She did a little twirl getting a short laugh from Izuku. Before the latter frowned when he finished his adjustments causing her to frown in concern. ''You alright?'' Her caring tone felt different compared to how she would use it for everyone else as this one felt more intimate.
Izuku twisted himself a bit, his expression showing discomfort as he did it. ''Hmmm.'' He stopped and checked his sleeves with an analytical expression. ''I think Hatsume needs to make another adjustment, it feels a bit tight.'' His observations caused everyone to subconsciously check if their outfits were tight as well.
Knowing that her outfit was fine, Mina didn't bother checking. But that didn't stop her from smiling mischievously as an idea came to her. ''I think I know the problem Izuku.'' Her knowing tone caused the latter to look at her curiously as she stepped forward and gently grab his arm. ''Maybe it got tight from all the muscles you got.'' She purred as she trailed her finger on his forearm before releasing it with a giggle as he playfully rolled his eyes with a smile.
Their interaction didn't go unnoticed as the majority of their classmates gawked at them, both from Mina's boldness and Izuku's immunity to her gesture. Mineta however felt nothing but jealousy from watching the whole thing. ''That bastard!'' He mentally shouted with an eye twitch. Behind him Kaminari looked at the duo with envy causing Jiro to roll her eyes before jabbing him on the ribs, making him yelp.
While the two conversed with each other, their classmates snapped out of their shock and went back to what they were doing or began discussing with their respective groups. ''Oi Bakugou, I thought you said they weren't dating.'' Kaminari questioned while eyeing the smiling duo.
''They're not.'' Bakugou growled as he glared at the electric user, causing the latter to take a step back. ''They were like this before during lunchtime last Friday.'' He pointed out as he narrowed his eyes at the pair. ''They didn't confirm shit when I asked them.'' He huffed in annoyance, calming down a bit when Kirishima placed a hand on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, with the girls, Toru and everyone else grouped up with Ochako. ''Has Midoriya said anything about dating Mina?'' she asked with barely hidden excitement while everyone else looked at the gravity user.
''Nothing.'' Ochako shook her head before looking at the pair with uncertainty. ''Or at least….not that I know of.'' She added which only caused their confusion to grow.
Now being the usually blunt person that she was, Tsuyu wasn't one to beat around the bush and let things drag on longer than it should. And it's because of this attitude that encouraged her to separate from the group and calmly approach the pair. The girls saw this and tried to call her back but to no avail while the boys saw where the frog quirk user was going and quieted down to observe the interaction.
After laughing a bit, Mina calmed herself before becoming serious. ''But jokes aside, I think you should get Mei to check on that as soon as you can.'' She advised with a concerned expression while Izuku listened to her intently. ''The last thing we all need is for you to get caught in the open out there.'' She looked up into his eyes, silently relaying a message to him.
Izuku understood the message and smiled gratefully at her. ''I will.'' His promise caused her to beam at him. ''I'm not really a fan of making people worry about me.'' He admitted with a sheepish expression. ''Even though I'm the one that causes everyone to worry.'' He muttered the last part causing Mina to giggle.
''Kero, excuse me.''
The duo turned to the voice and saw Tsuyu standing there with her usual expression, behind her was Toru and everyone else who all grimaced while beside their group, the boys looked intrigued by their conversation which confused them. ''Am I interrupting?'' Her question brought their attention back to her.
''Nope.'' Mina answered as the two gave her their full attention now. ''What's up?'' She asked while Izuku silently asked the same question.
Tsuyu nodded gratefully at them and placed a finger on her chin. ''Are you two dating?'' She asked with blunt curiosity.
''TOO BLUNT!'' Their other classmates thought with a mental facepalm as they comically did a face fault.
Once they recovered, they looked at the duo and was shocked that they weren't taken aback by the question. But rather, they looked more confused than anything as they looked at each other before nodding their heads at Tsuyu. ''Uhhh, yeah we are.'' Izuku answered like it was obvious as he wordlessly held Mina's right hand while everyone froze in place. ''We're dating.'' He raised their intertwined hands for emphasis while Mina looked happy, glad that he wasn't shy to reveal their relationship.
And just like that, the world seemed to have come to a stop. Nobody moved or breathed as everyone stared at the surprising couple with blank expressions, apart from Tsuyu who wasn't bothered by the info as she eyed her frozen classmates. Meanwhile, the couple started to get worried, thinking that their classmates had stopped breathing and was about to call for Recovery Girl.
But stopped when their classmates' brains rebooted as the reality of the situation dawned onto them and a frenzy broke out. ''EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?'' They screamed in unison, all wearing mixed expressions varying from surprise, disbelief, anger, and jealousy (you can guess who). Jiro winced from the shouting but that didn't stop her from looking at the couple in shock.
''…huh.'' Todoroki said blandly after a while as Ida's glasses fell a bit from his shocked face.
''Kero, I had a feeling that this was the case.'' Tsuyu stated in her usual matter of fact tone.
''Horse shit!'' Bakugou roared in outrage while Kirishima just gawked at them.
Tokoyami recovered from his shock and went back to his usual demeanor, but the same couldn't be said about Dark Shadow as he emerged from behind his master. ''We didn't see this coming!'' He claimed in surprise while Tokoyami began scolding him for abruptly appearing. The quirk wasn't fazed in the slightest and stated that he was just as part of the conversation like everyone else.
Sato didn't say anything and merely accepted money from a depressed Kaminari with a smug expression. Beside them, Jiro sneakily took a picture of the exchange, reveling at Kaminari's misery.
''Sa·cré bleu.'' Aoyama exclaimed in French with surprise and sparkles. ''Love is truly full of surprises.'' He stated passionately with a fabulous pose.
''YOU BASTARD!'' Mineta cried out in powerful envy with bloody tears, thankfully he was restrained by Sero and Shoji.
Seeing their reactions, the couple looked even more lost. ''Wait…'' Mina slowly spoke. ''You guys didn't know?'' She asked for confirmation, although it appeared that she didn't have to.
''Obviously not!'' Toru shot back as she and the girls approached the couple. ''You've been holding out on me girl!'' The invisible teen didn't even try to hide her disappointment as she waved her sleeves. Beside her Ochako said something similar to Midoriya, expressing how betrayed she was, dramatically of course.
Izuku was put off by their reactions as he scratched his hair with his free hand. ''I thought they knew about us?'' He thought out loud.
''Apparently not.'' Mina shared similar confusion as she looked at him with a bewildered expression before looking back at Toru. ''I honestly expected you to tell everyone about us.'' She admitted with surprise.
''E-Eh!?'' Toru shrunk from all the stares suddenly being directed at her, even if she was invisible. ''How would I know about you two being together?'' She squeaked out, suddenly feeling very small.
Mina raised her eyebrow. ''Umm, because I told you how I felt about him?'' She stated like it was obvious and tilted her head curiously, knowing full well that Toru would have gossiped that information to everyone by now since word travels quickly with them.
But this only caused Toru to frantically claim that she had no idea what she was talking about, which only raised the confusion.
Seeing this, Ida did his part as the class representative and stepped in to defuse the situation with an audible clearing of his throat. ''Perhaps it would be best to shine some light on the subject for everyone.'' His suggestion was met with silence before he and everyone else looked to the couple expectantly.
''Starting with you telling Toru.'' Momo suggested sagely, taking her role as the vice president of the class, meanwhile everyone else voiced their agreement to her suggestion.
The couple nodded to her suggestion as well, they then looked to each other and silently asked who would be the one to tell them. Finally, after a few moments, Izuku smiled and nodded to her, knowing full well that she loved telling this story. This caused Mina to smile back before looking at their classmates. ''Okay, so it all started when we were preparing for the School Festival…'' Everyone leaned in, eager to hear her tale.
FLASHBACK-PREPARATIONS FOR THE SCHOOL FESTIVAL
Toru huffed as she found a nearby spot in front of the wall and sat in front of it. Once settled she took out the hand towel she brought with her and proceeded to wipe away the sweat on her head and invisible arms. And when she finished, she draped the towel behind her neck as she leaned her back against the wall to recover her breath.
She, along with others who were assigned with her, was currently taking a break from their dance rehearsals. What they lacked in numbers was made up by their enthusiasm and determination to give the best performance they can for the world to enjoy.
A bottle of water came into her view, looking up she saw Mina standing with her usual smile as she offered the drink. ''Tired already?'' She teased, not looking as tired as most of her classmates. Which made sense since dancing was a part of made Mina well….Mina.
''You wish.'' Toru replied with a laugh as she gratefully took the drink. Immediately uncapping it before taking a sip while Mina took her place beside her, taking a sip of her drink as well.
Toru hummed in contentment as she finished drinking, making sure to save some for later. ''Thanks.'' She set her bottle aside while Mina merely gestured her with a thumbs up as she finished drinking as well. ''They're a lot more enthusiastic than I thought they would be.'' Mina looked at her in confusion as she set aside her water bottle. ''I meant them.'' She pointed with her sleeve, Mina followed her sleeve and saw that she was referring to her classmates that were assigned to be the dancers of the show.
''I know what you mean.'' Mina giggled in agreement. ''Honestly, I didn't expect them to be okay with their position.'' She admitted, fully understanding if they didn't want to do this, considering that they'll be performing in front of countless people across their country. ''But I'm glad they are, it makes teaching them all the more fun.'' She added with sincerity while Toru nodded in agreement. It was honestly fun watching people who didn't usually dance, make an honest effort to make things presentable.
The two then went into a comfortable silence, their eyes would periodically watch an interaction between their classmates and other students 1B or 1C when they crossed paths with each other.
A few more moments of silence passed before Mina sighed. ''You know I can trust you with stuff.'' Her statement got a confused look from the invisible teen, but she nodded in agreement. ''It has something to do with Midoriya.'' She admitted after a few moments.
''Really?'' Toru asked with confusion, her curiosity peaked as she scanned the area for the green teen. Eventually, she found him, timidly talking to Ojiro. ''What about him?'' She asked before her focus switched to Ojiro, who was demonstrating the steps that Midoriya struggled with.
Mina suddenly looked shy, an expression that was very uncommon with the energetic teen. But she knew she was going to do this again eventually, so she decided to bite the bullet and practice with her best friend. ''I…'' She hesitated before clearing her throat. ''I like Midoriya.'' Her face was a darker shade of pink now as she braced herself for the teasing she was about to receive.
''…''
''…''
''…''
''…Why?''
Though very surprised with the lack of energy and teasing, Mina didn't dare to face her friend as she explained herself. ''W-Well…'' She internally cringed at her stutter. ''How could I not like him?'' She countered like it was obvious. ''I mean, have you seen him? The guy's the most determined to be a hero out of all of us!'' She pointed out before she began counting her fingers. ''He's strong, brave when it counts, smart, and a total sweetheart.'' She sighed wistfully as she ended her counting before shrugging. ''Sure, he's timid and a little bit on the dorkier side, but that just adds to the charm.'' She added as her gaze locked on Midoriya, her heart already hammered from her confession and only increased as she continued to stare at the teen in question. The latter wearing an expression of concentration as he observed his classmate's movements, one of many expressions that were always endearing to her.
''Uh huh.'' Toru responded in a vague tone as all of her focus had been on Ojiro the moment her eyes landed on him. She watched him intently as he expertly showed Midoriya the steps he struggled with. His clothes clung onto him from the built-up sweat, allowing Toru to have a glimpse of his well-built body that was possible through hard work.
Mina snapped out of her daydream and continued with a sigh as she looked to her lap. ''At first, I thought it was just a crush.'' She admitted as she brought her knees up and hugged them to her chest. ''But as time went on, those feeling grew every time I watched him do something heroic.'' Her eyes then immediately locked on the scars on Izuku's hand. ''And why it always hurt whenever he got injured.'' She stated with a worried frown, wishing she could have been there to ease the burden on Midoriya and his body.
''Mmhmm.'' Toru nodded absentmindedly as she watched Ojiro demonstrated the dance with grace and professionalism. His muscles flexing with every movement while sweat dripped from his face. His tail moved with him, which only added to the graceful display.
Mina's expression then became serious. ''It was impossible to ignore how I felt so I…'' she looked to the side. ''Asked Uraraka how she really felt about him.'' She then chuckled a bit with a sheepish expression. ''Strangely enough, she said that she'd rather just be friends with him.'' She shrugged. ''I don't know what happened, but it felt like the universe was giving me the all-clear to go for it.'' She looked up at the sky with a thoughtful look. ''So here I am, harboring these feelings, not sure what to do with them.'' She admitted with a hint of frustration.
Toru dumbly nodded, barely paying attention now. She bit her lip as Ojiro began wiping the sweat off his arms and the back of his neck, his strong arms bulging as he did this. Izuku praised his demonstration, causing Ojiro to raise his tail in pride. Toru idly wondered what it would be like to be held by his strong arms and tail.
Mina was thankful for the silence, concluding that Toru was allowing her to think. She looked to the ground with a frown. ''It's ironic, isn't it? I'm usually the more open one.'' She chuckled without humor in her voice. ''And yet here I am, afraid of saying anything because I'm not sure if I'm good enough for him.'' She wasn't blind, she knew that her grades weren't exactly the greatest. Not only that, she wasn't exactly the most normal-looking girl out there.
Plus, there was the possibility of her being too open, which could be too much for Izuku's timid heart to take.
Ojiro's looked tempted to take his shirt off from the heat but opted not to since he remembered where he was. ''Why not go for it?'' Toru mumbled with disappointment as she watched Ojiro keep his shirt on as Izuku praised his movements and asked for advice.
''I can't.'' Mina shot back with frustration as she buried her face with a groan. ''In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have that much in common.'' She pointed in a bitter tone, not willing to look at her friend.
Now that she thought about it, they were complete opposites no matter what angle you look at it. She was an energetic individual who would openly socialize while he would keep to himself and speak when needed to, only going out of his shell if it was hero related. He would dutifully take down notes and analyze them with great efficiency which made his grades excellent while hers was well….you get the picture.
His mind was laser-focused on being the best hero while she would often get distracted and goof off when she got lazy. Admittedly she did work hard on her quirk control and she would proudly show her results. But with Izuku….he was something else entirely, it wasn't just his quirk control he worked on. But rather, he worked on the entire package, brains, and brawn while she only focused on her best skills. Which would lead her to not grow as much.
With all these points, it would seem impossible for them to be together.
…
…
…
But then again….she wasn't going to get her answer if she did nothing.
And with that thought, she looked up with a look of realization. What was she doing? She was Mina Ashido, the pink teen of energy from class 1A! A person that wore her heart on her sleeves and was never afraid to speak her mind.
So, what was she doing bottling it all up and hiding in the first place? It wasn't like her to shy away from things related to emotions and romance! And if he rejected her feelings, that's fine, they could still be good friends by the end of it. She knew Midoriya never had it in him to truly hate anyone and neither did she.
And with that final morale-boosting thought, Mina abruptly stood up. ''You know what? Screw it!'' She bravely declared as she placed her hands on her hips. ''Who cares if he rejects me? I'm never going to find out unless I try!'' She turned to Toru with a grateful look. ''Thanks for listening to my troubles, you're the best.'' She looked ahead and spotted a mop of green hair in the distance which caused her to smile. ''Here we go, wish me luck!'' She called out before marching in Izuku's direction with determination.
Her voice snapped Toru out of her daze. ''H-Huh?'' She looked to Mina with a slightly confused expression. ''Good luck!'' She wasn't sure what she was wishing her friend luck for, but apparently, she was feeling better now so that's all that mattered and let it go.
With Mina gone, Toru looked to where Ojiro and found him socializing with Pony from 1B causing her to pout. She then came to a mental freeze as she realized something crucial.
She forgot that she had her phone with her.
Toru then began mentally slapping herself for forgetting to use her phone to take pictures of Ojiro during his demonstration. She totally could have saved them and gushed over them with Mina, but oh well.
At least she had a nice view for her memories.
PRESENT TIME-1A CLASSROOM
''…He was pretty shy when I told him but he accepted my confession.'' Mina directed a sly look at Izuku who looked away with an embarrassed blush. ''Eagerly, if I may add.'' She grinned as his blush intensified.
Mina giggled before turning back to her audience. ''So, we went on a date when nothing would distract us and well…'' She trailed off as Izuku went behind her and wrapped his arms around her. While she allowed herself to be brought close to his chest and happily leaned against it.
''Everything just clicked.'' He completed with a warm tone as he nuzzled the back of her head, causing Mina's heart to swell as she blushed while tenderly holding his arms.
The sight caused Tsuyu to look at them with a big smile.
Meanwhile, everyone else directed blank looks at Toru. The latter suddenly very thankful for her invisibility, as it prevented everyone from seeing her bury her very red face in her hands with an internal groan. Needless to say, she vividly remembered that day now and also remembered what distracted her.
Ojiro felt very flattered but didn't' know why.
Mina saw this and decided to help her friend out. ''I doubt you guys even needed her to say anything.'' She reluctantly separated from Izuku's embrace as everyone turned to her in confusion. ''You can't seriously tell me that you guys haven't noticed how close me and Izu have been lately.'' She wore an incredulous expression as she placed her hands on her hips. ''I mean, that alone should have been an obvious sign to everyone that we're together.'' Izuku placed his hands on her shoulders and tenderly gripped them, which helped calm her.
While this was happening, her words caused everyone to think back to when the school festival ended. Now that they thought about it, and I mean really thought about it. They have noticed how close they were, not only that, they would often catch them giving each other bashful glances during classes.
There were also moments where they would efficiently protect each other whenever there were combat or disaster exercises. The amount of worry they had whenever one was injured should have also been a dead giveaway. There were also moments where they've seen the two talk more than they ever have. And if that wasn't enough, Izuku had been more open while Mina would openly hug him whenever she got the chance, with surprisingly no resistance from him.
After recalling everything, they concluded that it was painfully obvious that they were dating.
Being the first to react, Bakugou's eye twitched as he pinched the bridge of his nose. ''Motherfucker.'' He growled while Kirishima patted him in the shoulder, the latter awkwardly laughing with an embarrassed expression.
Momo rubbed the sides of her temple. ''All this knowledge and I still couldn't see the obvious.'' She sighed with embarrassment.
''Man, and I thought I was dumb.'' Kaminari thought out loud with his arms crossed while those nearby gave him a look. Jiro had to resist clocking him from the idea of being called dumb by him of all people.
Only Tsuyu didn't appear to be bothered as she looked amused by the situation. ''Kero, this is hilarious.'' She admitted with a small laugh and happy croaks which only increased her classmates' embarrassment.
After recovering from her embarrassment, Ochako looked at the duo with a smile. ''Um, congratulations.'' Her statement was followed up with everyone else expressing the same thoughts and support for them, apart from Bakugou who was pissed at himself for being oblivious. The latter being assured by Kirishima that he wasn't the only one.
The couple smiled at their kind words and held each other's hands. ''Thanks, guys.'' Mina thanked them while Izuku nodded at them. ''Your support means a lot-''
''If you all have the time to gossip, I suggest you use it for more training instead.''
Everyone jolted from the voice and stood in attention. In perfect sync, they stiffly turned their heads to the entrance and saw Aizawa leaning against the doorframe with a stern expression. ''I instructed you all to meet me at the training area in 15 minutes.'' He held up his watch. ''It's been 16 already.'' Everyone grew nervous as he calmly took a step into the room, causing the atmosphere to become tense.
''Now unless you want to make up for lost time…'' He continued as his expression grew dark, causing Mineta to hide behind Shoji's leg. ''I strongly suggest you all get down there.'' His hair rose as he activated his quirk, making him look more intimidating. ''Now.'' It wasn't a request and they all knew it.
''Yes Sensei!'' They answered in unison before quickly making their way out of the room, some to make up for lost time while others just wanted to escape the wrath of their teacher. But as Izuku and Mina ended in front of their classmates, Toru and some others took the chance to bombard the couple with questions about their relationship.
Toru and the girls would ask Mina about their first date and how things have been going while Izuku had to deal with Mineta's whining and Kaminari asking him for tips. Which earned the latter an earphone jack jab from an annoyed Jiro. Thankfully the nonsense was drowned out by the others congratulating him and Kirishima calling him manly, much to Bakugou's annoyance.
Aizawa watched them all hastily leave in stern silence; once they were all gone and couldn't hear them in the hallway he sighed tiredly. ''Teenagers.'' He muttered before allowing himself to smile a bit before making his way out of the room too. As he left, he mentally congratulated the pair as well.
Author's Note:
Just a little something I thought of. I admit it could have been built or executed better but this was admittedly the best I can do. So, sorry if some of you weren't satisfied with how I did it.
Author's Message:
[I'll be blunt, 2020 sucked for the most part.
But somewhere between the horrible things that happened, I know that some good came out of the year. So please, if possible, don't let all the negativity eat you up and turn you into someone bad. Just keep your head up and keep moving forward!
I know it's not exactly the wisest or the most helpful message, but I thought it would be best to just remind you all that there are things in this world worth living for.]
Thank you again for reading!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
PLUS ULTRA!