Hey, everyone. Hopefully the fall's been treating you all well. Last chapter had Izuku's elders weighing in on his relationship with Mina and this chapter will be building on that, while also including a moment I've been waiting to write for a while. Fluff and some plot development await this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy!

I do not own anything.

A Big Pink Ball of Sunshine

Chapter 6-Light up My World Pt.1

"Young Midoriya, are you sure you're…alright about all of this?"

The question actually didn't surprise Izuku. Self-awareness was fifty-fifty with him. He had a habit of mumbling to himself and swearing his emotions on his sleeves without knowing it. Other times he was practically hyper vigilant; those times were more often than not in the heat of battle or bad situations where his focus was turned up to the max.

Right now, Izuku felt like he was somewhere in the latter state. "I'm…I don't know if okay is the word that I'd use. Really, I'm not sure what I feel." As he spoke, he came to a stop and found himself standing on an island of contemplation. On all sides of him lay the blue oceans of the future. All it took was a single stray thought and the blue waters turned dark and stormy. "I guess a part of me is…happy that the relationship wasn't shot down."

"Your personal life is yours to live, Young Midoriya." All Might declared in a quiet yet passionate voice. The last thing he wanted his apprentice to feel was that he no longer had any sway over his life, his personal life. That was the last thing he wanted Midoriya to feel. He still had a life to live, a life that was his to shape as he saw fit…but that life was also going to be filled with unimaginable danger, the likes of which couldn't be over emphasized. Unfortunately, that danger had the potential of swallowing up everything else in the green-haired boy's life, including his social relationships.

Based on the look on his face, Izuku was picturing that; as with every other worst-case scenario, it left him paralyzed. "I've wanted to be a hero my whole life, and I'm…happy I can be. It's just…"

"You're still human, and we humans are social creatures. So too are animals." There was a brief smile on the teenager's face, something that made All Might happy. "Companionship is a vital part of life, for anyone. The truth of the matter is no one can live without it-friendship, family, coworkers, a family, those are the people that make life worth living. They're also the people that you'll fight the hardest for. While all of Class 1-A is that for you, it's clear that young Ashido has especially become that."

Looking at his mentor, Izuku's cheeks burned red. It was true and he knew that, but he ironically, that he struggled to picture in his mind. Mina wasn't a helpless civilian, she was a fellow hero-in-training like him. Regardless, if he saw danger coming her way, he knew he'd throw himself between the two, not letting so much as a speck of dirt touch her. A picture formed in his head, one so vivid that Izuku looked ahead and he could have sworn he saw it playing out right in front of him as a video. "I don't want anything to happen to her. If something did then…then…"

"Then you would be there to save her." His mentor finished for him. The young inheritor stared at his mentor with wide-yes. "Young Midoriya, you will go to great lengths for nameless strangers, already a noble act. However, when it comes to the people whom you personally know and care about, well, I believe that's when you're truly able to go Plus Ultra."

"I-I-I-I do? I-I-I mean, m-m-maybe I do that, b-b-but is that okay? I'm a hero who's supposed to be trying to save everyone equally! I-I can't play favorites like that! It's wrong, it's-"

"Natural." The blond cut in, again in the gentle but firm voice befitting of a mentor. "Young Midoriya, let me be a little more direct. Should danger ever attempt to visit itself upon Young Miss Ashido, I am certain you will be there to stop it. That said, stopping it can come in different forms."

Izuku looked down to the tiled floor. As usual, it was spotless, practically mirror-like. Izuku could have sworn he saw his somewhat distorted reflection in it. "Including…lying to her, for the greater good."

There was a short pause from the former Symbol of Peace. "Yes, I…that is another viable option, though one that she could not appreciate. She would be in her right not to."

"But at least she'll be alive to scold me." He knew that was coming, and frankly, Izuku could have taken the scolding. Izuku had seen Mina do it before, and he wondered what it'd be like to be the receiving end himself. Given their relationship, Izuku had a feeling it would probably hurt, but again, he'd welcome Mina scolding him as it meant she was alive. "I don't like lying to her…but I know it's probably necessary. I don't want her to get dragged into all of this. Into this," holding his right hand out, he stretched it up, envisioning the spark of power he'd inherited from his mentor. "Into this war that's lasted for practically a century."

"That's not at all an unlikely or undesirable wish, it's actually quite noble." All Might assured. "But to carry it out, you may have to make some tough choices, some of which will probably create friction between you two."

"I guess that'll be when our relationship will really be put to the test, huh?" Izuku inquired.

The retired hero nodded, a heavy look on his already worn face. Without saying a word, he confirmed to Izuku that he knew the couple were in for a tough time in the future. Relationships and hero work weren't easy to manage. Sometimes, it even provided impossible. Though widely seen as a symbol of hope and fortitude, All Might had seen his fair share of tragedies, some of which were of the personal and romantic kind. His heart genuinely ached at the thought of his protégé experiencing such a fate, but he was going to do everything in his power to help him avoid that path.

Reaching over, he placed a comforting hand on the student's shoulder. Izuku welcomed it. He felt his frantically working mind begin to calm itself. There were times he wondered if he'd become a pessimist; given what he'd gone through in life, maybe some part of him had. On overage, he was fearful of how Mina would react if she ever found out he was…Quirkless. The fear of the fallout from that seemed more horrific than that of her learning he'd been lying to her. In realizing that, Izuku quietly realized just how badly his childhood harassment had left him traumatized. He didn't want to think about that too much.

There were other things for him to think about. "All Might,"

"Yes?"

"If you have the time to, could you help me out with my training? Specifically with the Delaware Air Smash." He answered, his trademark look of determination on his face.

"Still practicing it, huh? Can't quite say I'm surprised. In order to reduce collateral damage, it's by far one of the safer options, not to mention less pressure on the rest of your body."

"Yeah, I know. That's another reason why I…put in a special order to a certain someone. In order to use One For All effectively, I'm going to need some good gear to help me out. I'm…I'm not quite like you, not yet anyway."

"Young Midoriya, your path to wielding One For All at full strength is going to be different from mine. I've seen enough to now realize that our roads while similar aren't one-hundred-percent identical. And that's probably a good thing." As he expected, the student's eyes widened and his mouth fell open in shock. "Everyone is different, Young Midoriya, it's one of the best aspects of life."

Izuku kept it to himself, but he knew being different wasn't always a good thing. He'd been different from his friends and classmates growing up-being Quirkless. In spite of that, his mentor's words were still rather correct. People were different from each other, it's what gave everyone their own identities. Some romanticist claimed that Quirks were signs of people's individuality, one of the reasons why they became celebrated instead of reviled. For Izuku though, his Quirk wasn't truly his own, it had been inherited.

Yet at the same time his mentor's words still rung true. Though they wielded the same power, they were still different. For All Might, mastery had came naturally and near instantaneously. For Izuku…not so much. Because of that difference, he'd had to take a different route to mastering it, and thus developing his own techniques such as his Shoot Style. In addition to that, he needed specialized gear. All of those things were unique to him, unique to Izuku Midoriya, formerly Quirkless but now an aspiring young hero like so many others, like his classmates, his friends, his girlfriend. At the mere thought of Mina, his mind became filled with images of her-her bright smiling face, her pink skin, her horns, her eyes. Everything that made her unique and stand out from others, Izuku loved it all.

But will she still feel that way about you when you tell her you've been lying to her? To everyone else? The cynical and borderline side of himself again pressed.

Rather Izuku liked it or not, it was a question he was going to get an answer to. What that answer was though, terrified him. He had no control over what it would be.

Shaking his head, he looked back at his mentor, his face not showing fear of quiet determination. It was an expression that the former Symbol of Peace had become used to seeing, and it always warmed his heart when he saw it.

Young Midoriya, it hasn't been easy, but you're certainly learning. The now retired hero thought as he and his student continued walking. Izuku was quite easy to read, something that he debated on rather or not he should admonish him on. When he was in deep thought, it showed, it really showed. All Might knew his successor was a thinker, but getting to know him had showed him just how much of a thinker the boy was. That could be both a blessing and a curse.

"Don't overthink it too much, Young Midoriya. So far, you're on the right path…as both a hero…and I'd say as a boyfriend."

Serving his head to his mentor, Izuku's cheeks turned red. "U-U-U-Um, a-a-a-about t-t-the second one, A-A-All Might," he began with his nervous tick of chattering teeth and wide eyes.

"Heheh, like I said, I never quite had any serious relationships." The blond responded. Sometimes, he couldn't help but find himself more than a little amused by his protégé's antics, including his less than stellar ones. "Young Miss Ashido…I believe she's attracted to the kind of boy she needs will be reliable…and, I suppose, lovable. You are definitely those things, and I'm sure you won't lose them as you continue down the path of the hero."

Autumn sunlight hit the faces of the pair. It was nothing like the warmth of the spring or summer, something that Izuku sometimes missed.

"If she finds out that I used to be…Quirkless, do you think she'd still-"

"Was your Quirk the reason why she agreed to date you?" The veteran hero asked point-blank. Izuku went silent as he stared back, then shook his head from side to side. "What attracts people, what truly can ignite the sparks of romance…is this. Just like this same thing is what defines a true hero." With one boney finger, he pointed to the green-haired boy's chest.

Looking up at the black and blue-eyed man, Izuku found himself reassured.

The pair would continue onto their usual training spot with mutual smiles, and their hearts at ease again.

Late Night…

When Mina heard the first rumor that Izuku and All Might were training, it took some considerable will power on her part to stay focused on the dancing. It was going to be her major contribution to the festival and she wanted to make it count. She wanted to do that…buuut, she was also curious as to what sort of training her boyfriend and his mentor were getting up to, not to mention she wanted to see what they were like when they were training together.

It wasn't unusual for younger heroes and students to be placed under pro-heroes whose Quirks closely resembled theirs. Albeit exceptions to the rules existed, like Todoroki, who was a special case.

But when it came to Izuku and All Might, Mina found her mind racing with thoughts of how close they were. Obviously, they were student and teacher, a good working pair. It was just her intuition told her that the student-mentor relationship had a strong backbone; Mina suspected it was because of their Quirks. They were remarkably similar to each other. Sometimes when Mina thought about it, they seemed too similar.

She was supposed to be focusing on the dance performance she and her classmates were set to give at the U.A. Festival, instead, here she was looking at past videos of the former number one hero. Mina felt like she was copying her boyfriend as she knew Izuku had done this sort of thing before. Admittedly, she got a laugh out of herself. Mina knew herself pretty well-she was excitable and when something caught her interest, she followed it. That's one of the reasons she'd fallen for Izuku. He'd caught her interest and held it with a vice grip, and she was confident that he would continue to do so.

Mina was sure that one day, there'd be kids her age in this same position looking at videos of her and her classmates. Her pride did get a little stroked whenever she pictured videos featuring the Acid Hero Pinky with nine, ten, and perhaps even twelve digit views. It was something that every aspiring hero joked and laughed about, though some made it a genuine goal for their superhero careers.

Sadly, those were the kinds of students that she was sure would be marked for death by the Hero-Killer Stain, albeit the madman was now thankfully locked up. Mina always shuddered to think about the nose-less maniac who'd gone on a hero-killing spree for the sake of his twisted ideals. The shuddering grew worse when she thought about the fact that his rampage had hit close to her-her classmates. Iida's brother had his hero career cut short thanks to him, and Iida himself almost lost his life to him. Not just him, Todoroki and Izuku.

"I wonder if I asked him for the details about that, he'd tell me." Mina didn't have any intention of prying him for details. She knew she could be nosey, but Mina at least tried to keep a limit on her curiosity. Most of the time.

Leaning back in her seat, she decided to shelve the topic. It was only a guess, but Mina was sure Izuku didn't want to relive the memory of confronting a serial killer, especially when the School Festival was only a few days away. It would have been a total mood killer. Lastly, Stain was locked up and unlikely to ever see the light of day, which was something the world could breath easier about. It could also breath easier knowing that the dreaded menace that had been the mastermind of the League of Villains was also locked up. That had been a fight that had been broadcast the world over, and heralded the end of All Might's career as a hero. Mina's face darkened as she remembered that it also marked the end of an era. All over the world, there were still some people struggling to adjust to that.

Guided by her curiosity, she got up and searched through her collection of books. Being more of a "party girl", she didn't keep too many history books. Now, history books for school? That was a different topic altogether, she had those, but remembering the information in them sometimes came as a challenge. It'd gotten easier, especially since she had Izuku tutoring her. Her boyfriend certainly knew his hero history, as expected of a hero-worshipping nerd. He was now her nerd.

Sitting back on her back, Mina cracked up the book and flipped through the pages, her normally bubbly face taking on a more subdued expression. She never liked reading up on the darker age that her grandparents and even great-grandparents had to live through. That said, she knew her history, and she was proud of them for weathering through it. If they hadn't then she wouldn't be here, neither would countless others including her siblings and cousins and dozens of other people with mutation-type Quirks.

Her heart clenched at the imagery of dozens of mutation-type Quirk-users like herself fleeing for their lives as they were set upon by dogs and drones. Just as she and Izuku had discussed during detention, the early days of Quirks hadn't been easy, especially for those who possessed powers that physically manifested across their bodies. Whereas some Quirks had been accepted, those like hers had taken a bit longer to reach the same.

People like her had been called everything from demons to hellspawn to just and simple freaks. Even by other Quirk-users.

If there was one thing that always got under Mina's skin, it was Quirk users calling out other Quirk-users with mutations. Something about the accusations and racism just bothered her, especially since in the end, they all had their Quirks.

Unfortunately, there'd been those who prayed upon those differences, sometimes for twisted ideology and sometimes for their own twisted gain.

"Kind of can't believe I'm doing this. I'm supposed to be getting psyched for the festival." She muttered to herself while scrolling through lines of text. How some people remembered enough of this to actually teach it at professional lives, Mina would never know. What she did know was that watching the videos of All Might's last fight with his final enemy had sparked something in her. For better or for worse, she couldn't be able to go to sleep until she did something to satisfy that hunger now within her. Sometimes she hated her curiosity. "Okay, here we go. The Mutant Morph Riots of 2100. Riot leader…Hidemasa Hanazono." Mina felt a stone drop in her stomach. Even a non-historian girl like her knew the name. One of the most famous mutation-type Quirk-holders in history, he'd been both activist…and an extremist responsible for the deaths of over six-hundred people. He'd have killed more if he hadn't been stopped. Even if he was a murderer, Mina could never deny his motives had been sympathetic-equality for people like her. How he went about though…

Was shown in the next page, images of battle-torn streets stained with blood. Photographs almost a century old depicting damage done I the Morph Riots. A less flattered term used at the time was the "Monster Parade". To this day, Mina came across the name, particularly in anti-mutation circles. Sighing, she rubbed her forehead. This seriously wasn't the sort of thing she wanted to be thinking about, but it's where her train of thought had led her.

Not to mention she still had that burning curiosity that told her there was something going on.

Flipping through the pages, she found the section pertaining to the interviews Hanazono did when he was finally captured. He'd torn through whole armies of law enforcement and early heroes who'd tried to stop him. His rampage had indeed been memorialized, though not exactly for admirable reasons.

He'd had bizarre mutation Quirk that gave him the horns of a buffalo, a stone-like hide, and superhuman levels of strength to go with the appearance. Mina stared at the photo of him, bright green eyes that were said to have burned with great intensity. Then there were the photos of Hanzono during his rampage.

Originally, he didn't have wings, but the images she was looking showed him with great avian wings that could whip up stormy gusts powerful enough to send cars flying like leaves. His stony-like hide had scales and he breathed fire as if he were transforming into a dragon. That contrasted with reports where he attacked through the water having aquatic scales and gills and the ability to create gigantic tidal waves. There had been no evidence prior that his Quirk included such abilities, a mystery that had quietly baffled several for decades until the riot was shuffled off into the dustbin of history.

So why was Mina looking up this story from almost a century ago?

Call it her intuition, call it a gut feeling, call it something that defied all logic. Hanazono originally had only one Quirk that granted him a monstrous appearance and super strength and durability and stamina, but during his final rampages he'd gained more.

"Mysterious shadow," Mina whispered in the solitude of her dorm room. When he'd finally been defeated Hanazono could barely talk-he'd been shot, beaten, burned, and electrocuted before finally going down. By the time he was detained, his body had begun to break down from the damage, but also from the power overload. His fellow extremists claimed that they'd been "gifted" new power by a mysterious benefactor. At the time, authorities had attempted to follow up on the lead, but found nothing thus the investigation was dropped. That phrase, "mysterious shadow" was the catch-all term all the Morph Rioters used to describe their benefactor.

Someone that can enhance Quirks beyond their normal boundaries. That or…is it possible to actually give a person an entirely new Quirk? As soon as she thought of the idea, Mina instantly dismissed it as being too outlandish. Then again, there were people who could copy others Quirks, so they could technically count. There were also those whose sole Quirks were enhancing others. Had Hanazono and his Morph Rioters met someone like that? If so, had that person or persons been involved with All Might's final enemy, who seemingly displayed multiple Quirks in their last battle? Izuku might know…but that's not something I think he wants to talk about. Hell, why am I even thinking so hard about this? Izuku is Izuku, if he knows something, he'll tell me. Even if it takes a little while. Or I could always wiggle it out of him.

The last thought made her break out in giggles that was ended by a yawn. It was getting close to midnight, well past the time she should have been sleeping. "Alright, that's enough history for tonight." Mina said to herself closing the book.

"Gentle Video!"

Too tired to focus, she closed up the page and turned off her laptop.

As she went to sleep, she immediately moved away from the somewhat dark and dreary topic of the bloody past. Smiling, she dreamed of the future, of videos of herself and her classmates as pro heroes. There was her, Pinky, and there was Izuku, Deku.

Who knew what the future held, but Mina was optimistic. Maybe even they could form a superhero partnership, a duo of pink and green. Would it be an odd mixture? Probably, but she loved being odd, and she when it came to oddities, those brought out the best surprises in life.

The Next Day, Class 1-A…

"Izuku, we need to talk."

Almost immediately, Izuku felt his heart stop.

Now, when it came to romance, Izuku knew about as much as penguin did about flying the sky. That said, he'd seen some movies and TV shows so he at least knew a little.

Whenever one half of a pairing said, "we need to talk"…it generally didn't mean anything good. It meant something bad, something more often than not very, very, bad. The downtrodden looks on his classmates who stood behind Mina only furthered that bad feeling. Then there was Mina's own face, her solemn expression was so…un-Mina.

T-This is it. She's breaking up with me. She's figured it out. His still heart began to grow icy cold as the truth dawned on him. W-W-W-Well, i-i-it was good while it lasted. I-I-I mean, h-h-hopefully she had a little bit of fun on our date. I-I-I'm just going to have to move on. T-T-This i-isn't the end of the-

Throwing her arms around him, Mina let out a not entirely honest sob of regret. "I'm going to have to let you go from the dance team."

CRASH!

Quickly pulling her face away, Mina took immediate notice of the shocked expression on her boyfriend's face. "But don't worry! You're being reassigned, and it's to a position that you're going to do great at!"

Still a gapping mouth and frozen face with his pupils having been erased from the mortal eye.

"I think you broke him." Tsuyu interjected.

"Agreed. Um, maybe you should have found a nicer way to break it to him, Ashido. I mean, aren't you two dating now?" Sato remarked.

"Hehehe, y-y-yeah. You guys definitely have a point." The pink-haired girl admitted with a nervous smile. Words didn't seem strong enough to describe just how right her classmates were. Ironically, that gave her an idea, one that she got her excited. "Izuku," She wasn't surprised when he failed to respond. Smiling, she moved her right hand to his cheek. Next, she leaned in, gently pressing their lips together. Mina was aware of her classmates watching them. She didn't mind giving them a little show, or did she mind letting them see her and Izuku. She was proud to call herself his girlfriend and she knew he felt the same in being her boyfriend.

That showed as he finally regained consciousness-kissing her back. Mina would have liked for the kiss to go on a little longer, but she knew they still had some things to talk about, oh, and air.

Separating, she kept her focus on Izuku, whose freckled cheeks were blushing redder than Kirishima's hair. Mina knew it was only a matter of time before her friend took a chance to tease her. Hell, she was blushing herself.

"Was that the kiss of a girl who's breaking up with you?" She innocently questioned.

"H-H-H-H-How, d-d-d-did you…I-I-I-I-I-I mean, I-I-I-I-" The green-eyed boy stuttered, much to the amusement of his girlfriend and the rest of their classmates.

"I think he's still broken, ribbit." Tsuyu offered, a subdued smile on her face.

"Um, Midoriya, we did some talking last night and decided to make some changes." Sato added, his cheeks bright red. He had to admit, he hadn't been expecting that kind of reaction from dropping the news on Izuku.

"You've been reassigned to the special effects team!" Mina proclaimed.

"H-H-Huh?" Izuku murmured. His mind was still struggling to keep track of everything that had happened over the past three minutes. Was that how long it'd been? Was he still standing? "I-I-I'm being…reassigned? T-T-To the special effects team? Why? I-I-I told Eri I'd be dancing."

Moving her hand down to his, Mina gently guided him to the nearest seat. "They wanna make it so Aoyama swung around enough so that the whole room's lit up."

As relief washed over him, Izuku's brain began working, albeit in a new and more safe direction. He looked to the blond boy who'd quietly terrorized him for a couple of days weeks before, yet in the end turned out to be quite sympathetic to his plight. "I'm…pretty sure that everyone's going to be able to see him. His Quirk is one of those…eye-catching types."

"Heh, yeah it is, but we don't have a fly system in the gym." Mina replied. "Not to mention there's not time to install one. Instead, we're going to have to do it manually, and that's going to take someone with a power Quirk, like yours!"

All signs of distress had vanished from Izuku's face. "O-Oh,"

"At the beginning of the performance, I shall transform from a dancer into a disco ball. It's the perfect job for mou!" Aoyama declared with sparkles highlighting his smile. It was clear that he was fully onboard with the change of plans. "So, you'll help us?"

Inside, Izuku was actually rather happy for him. If there was someone who could create a speckle for people to marvel at, it was certainly Aoyama. As happy as he was for that, this change of plans was going to come at a cost. "So…I'll be behind the scenes where people can't see me." He clarified with apparent sadness.

Kirishima bowed his head and clapped his hands together while stepping forward. "Sorry. We know it'll waste the dance practice you put in, but could you please do this? We don't want people to lose interest."

Looking back to his girlfriend, he saw that she'd given some thought to this too, and she was on board with it. She was asking if he would accept it as well.

People losing interest would be the worst thing imaginable, especially since we've already gotten a little too much attention. It wasn't easy being the class who tended to have the absurd and the crazy stuff happen to them. None of them particularly asked to be caught up in so many wild adventures, but Izuku realized their class was like a magnet for activity. They'd saved people…but the festival would be their chance to make them smile. There was one person in particular that Izuku wanted to see smile above all else. Could he do that though being support? "If I can dance while doing it, I won't have lied to Eri."

"Dancing while carrying me? That is a magnificent idea!" The laser-shooting blond declared, his violet eyes gaining several sparks around them. Frankly, Izuku wasn't surprised he was so onboard with the idea. If it were him in that position, he'd be a little more cautious about potentially being swung around in the air.

"So, you'd trust me, Aoyama?"

"Yes, with my very life, Midoriya." The French-speaking student affirmed with a wink.

"Then I'll do it!"

Cheers of excitement and relief exploded amongst the group. Kirishima stepped forward and threw his arm around him and thanked him. It lasted for a few seconds as he was very aware that there was someone else waiting to thank him as well. Stepping aside, he barely contained his laughter as Mina smiled at him. Izuku smiled back.

Then, the next thing he knew, her arms were wrapped around his neck and her body pressing against his. Izuku didn't hesitate to hug her back. He was glad that he was conscious of the hug from start to finish, and the kiss that went with it.

When I'm with you, everything else, all of my doubt and unease just…burns away. It's all thanks to you, Mina. Izuku admitted in his head.

"Sorry about dropping this sort of bombshell on you out of the blue." She whispered upon separating from him. "And sorry about putting your promise to Eri in jeopardy."

"It's fine. We found a way to make it work, didn't we?" He responded with that warm smile that made Mina's heart flutter.

That fluttering took complete hold of her, spurning her into kissing him on the lips again. "More like you found a way to make it work. You did the impossible just like you always seem to do. Really makes me-"

"Glad that we're getting one hell of a show, but maybe it should wait until after we've practiced for the day." Called the voice of the class's resident redhead. The grin on his face was everything that Mina had expected it to be. "Not that I want to cut into your couple's time, but we still have work to do."

Izuku blushed as did Mina, though she added some giggles in as she pulled away from her boyfriend. They both knew Kirishima was right. They could talk about this later, after they'd done heir part to help prep for the festival. There was no doubt they had a dauting task ahead of them, but they were future heroes, whenever a challenge presented itself, they rose to the occasion.

-O-

"You're looking great, Izuku, just keep it up!" Mina shouted from her place on the groud to her boyfriend.

He took her words to heart ad continued to step forward and back, to dance, while suspended atop the high-beam. It wasn't the highest up he'd ever been, his battle with Overhaul had been almost a dozen times the twenty to twenty-four feet he was currently up at. The ground was visible as were the people standing on it, especially Mina.

Twirling on his right toes, he held firmly onto the lead ball that would tomorrow be his violet-eyed classmate and friend. Yaoyorozu had created it after taking Aoyama's weight measurement so Izuku would know what he would have to work with. That had been step one. Step two was being able to carry such a weight around on a tight beam while dancing, something that proved…challenging.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed. I never figured Midoriya to be the graceful type, but he's making it work." Ojiro commented with a smile on his face. Truth be told, he was a little nervous with the change up they made. He was strong, but the kind of strength and precision needed to hold up Aoyama while so high up was something that the tailed teen knew was probably beyond his current level.

"You two must have spent a lot of time dance practicing." Tsuyu added giving Mina an aside smile.

She flashed the froggy girl a big grin. "Oh, we haven't practiced that much, but Izuku's one of those guys that when he tries his hardest, he can do it! Just like he's doing now!" Pumping her arm up, she shouted, "Alright, Izuku, now try ad do a flip!"

"What?!"

"A flip? Hmm, I agree! Midoriya, raise me up while performing the most magnificence flip you can!" The laser-shooting student proclaimed.

Izuku's face comically fell as he stared down at his friends and girlfriend. He knew there was no way of dissuading them. Deep down, a part of him was actually thankful for their encouragement as he knew that he needed it. People said he could do great things once he pushed past his nervousness, this was apparently going to be one of those times. Besides, if he did fall, there were multiple safety mats down below waiting for him, not to mention he was sure no one would laugh at him. That last fact gave him a great deal of comfort.

Sucking in a breath he shouted back at them, "One flip, coming up!" Looking back at the lead block, he emptied his mind and tried to picture the next ten seconds unfolding in his head. He pictured Aoyama having activated his Quirk, bluish-white sparkles dancing about in the darkness. That was something else he'd have to prepare himself for-not getting distracted by his partner's Quirk.

You can do it. It's just a matter of staying absolutely focused and doing what you gotta do. And do it with a smile too!

"H-H-Huh?" Whipping his head around, Izuku searched for the distinctively female voice. It sounded so…familiar, and comforting. Though he didn't know who it belonged to, the advice was sound and he subconsciously tried to follow through on it. J-J-Just focus on what I've got to do. A flip.

You could do more than that, ya' know.

Stop breaking his concentration. He needs as much of it as he can muster.

I'm trying to help him!

"Uh? Hey, Izuku? Are you okay up there?" Mina shouted from the ground. She could tell something was wrong with her boyfriend, as could everyone else. He was whipping his head from side to side as if he were searching for something, or someone.

Evidentially, her voice managed to reach him. "I-I-I'm fine! J-Just trying to focus myself!" He shouted back.

For some reason, Mina didn't buy it, but she chose to let it slide.

Izuku jumped up from the beam, still holding onto the rope that would come tomorrow be hold Aoyama. His green hair stood out as he executed a perfect flip. The jaws of the onlooking students fell and their eyes lit up with amazement, but none more so than Mina. Her arms shot up in glee as her boyfriend stuck the landing. Sure, he was a little wobbly, but the important thing was that he'd done it. That residual wobble was something a couple more hours of practice would fix.

Taking several deep breaths, he fully regained his balance. Sticking his thumb out, he heard the hum of approval from his friends on the ground.

"Alright, now let's try it with the real thing!" Mina shouted. "Aoyama, you're up!"

Several minutes later and Izuku was back on solid ground, a little grateful for that. Mina gave him a quick hug and a kiss that made him blush. Aoyama stepped forward and threw his arms out, allowing for the others to fasten the rope and harness around him. Being the attention-magnet he was, he loved it, and was quite giddy with excitement.

"Don't worry, Midoriya, I have absolute confidence in you." He said flashing him a spark-studded wink.

"T-T-Thanks, Aoyama. I promise I won't let you down! Literally!" Izuku responded before making his way up the latter back to the top of the stage. Once more, he had a view of the entire gymnasium. Those voices in my head…no, don't think about them. Just focus on what's in front of me. It's my job to keep Aoyama up, I can't let him fall. Sucking in a breath, he took hold of the rope as it was tossed to him. He pulled and Aoyama rose into the air, quite effortlessly on his part and Izuku's. It genuinely amazed him how easy it was to lift him up. Maybe all of his workouts had yielded more results than he'd imagined.

"Alright, Izuku, that's pretty good, now try some dance moves!" He heard his girlfriend call from on the ground. Her voice reminded him that he wasn't going to be stationary. Locking eyes with her, Mina smiled at him. A silent exchange between the two of them ensued, ending with the green-haired boy smiling himself.

Aoyama was a silent observer to the couple. Down on the ground, Mina showed him the moves and Izuku did his best to mimic them. He was quite happy to be swayed back and forth thanks to his motions. At times, he even struck a pose. In his mind, he was picturing an awe-struck crowd, utterly captive by the performance, he, no, their class was putting on. It would no doubt linger in their minds for ages to come. Tomorrow was definitely going to be a spectacular night for all of them, that was for sure.

Most importantly though, Aoyama, as did several others, know that it was going to be a fun day for the dancing couple. The buildup to it had already been incredible, yet they knew they had nowhere to go but up from there.

It was well past dark when they finally stopped, or rather, when they were forced to stop by Hound Dog. He reminded them that it was getting close to nine, which was the curfew for all students to be back in their dorm rooms.

On the walk back, practically everyone was teeming with excitement.

"I'm really, really sorry about dropping that bombshell out of the blue on you!" The pink-haired and pink-skinned proclaimed, having grabbed her boyfriend's hands and holding her head down. "I'll be honest, I totally forgot about Eri and how much you want to make it this festival a hit for her!"

"It's going to…I'm really hoping she's going to enjoy it, and I'm definitely going to do that with the part that I've been given to play." Izuku responded with a soft but resolute voice. "Besides, it's fine, Mina. Like we worked out, I'll…do my part when it comes to holding up Aoyama. I'm more confident I can do it because you just spent almost two hours helping me."

Looking up at his face, Mina was taken back by how cute Izuku looked. He had such a bright and an amazing smile, something she'd quietly treasured even before they got together. Just looking at him always made her feel so relaxed and assured, especially when something was nipping at her. All the research she did the night before was pushed further back into her mind as she smiled back at him. She didn't want to bring any of it up, she just wanted to enjoy this moment that they had here and now.

"You know, when you put your mind to it, you've got a pretty good sense of balance." She remarked.

"Only because you took the time to help me find it. Really, I've only become at least somewhat capable at dancing because of you, Mina. In fact, now I…kind of have an interest in it."

Grinning, she leaned in close. "So, that's a definite confirmation we're going to have more dances in the future, right? Beyond tomorrow?"

"Y-Y-Yeah! I promise, I'll keep on working on my dancing for you!" She seemed able to force words straight from his heart straight out of his mouth. Izuku was happy that he was rewarded for that. Mina gave him sweet kisses, especially on the cheeks.

Upon returning to their dorm room, they all changed out into their pajamas. No one had any serious intentions of staying up late for they knew what awaited them tomorrow. They were going to need all the energy they could get. Part of that though was having a hearty dinner and maybe a few snacks just before going to bed. Everyone would be going to bed excited though, very excited.

"Woah! I can't sleep!" Kamninari shouted alongside Mineta.

"Yeah, I know right! I'm stupid excited!" The purple-haired boy yelled in accordance.

Albeit some were struggling to even make it to the bed.

"Hey, not so loud! People upstairs are trying to sleep!" Mina advised to the two pumped boys. She wasn't too surprised. Kaminari and Mineta could at times be two boundless bundles of energy, quite like her to be honest. Mina, however, was more self-aware than either of them could be unless reminded, like ow for example.

Sitting beside Jiro, Iida took it in strides. "I just hope the audience will be that enthusiastic." For one of the most grounded members of their class, he had an uncharacteristically optimistic look on his face. It was actually quite pleasing to see; the up incoming festival was having an effect on everyone.

Especially Jiro. Anyone with eyes could see the girl was a buddle of excitement and anxiety. She had every reason to be both, but one could only hope the latter faded away as the hour of her performance drew near. "It's probably better we don't think about it very much." She attempted to sound nonchalant about it, but again, her nervousness was plain to see. Jiro then showed it by clasping her hands atop her chest. Her cheeks had a slightly red tint to them. "Being embarrassed, worried what others are thinking, that'll kill our vibe. We should focus on having fun; that's what really matters."

"Yeah, says the girl who was super scared to front the band!" Kaminari shouted, showing he'd been paying attention.

Jiro wished he hadn't been. "Shut up. That was a totally different situation." She tried to defend. Through that defense, she felt that he was right. It was ironic that she was encouraging everyone to just have fun when at first, she'd been scared out of her mind to perform.

Izuku sympathized with her. "Exactly. What Jirou said is good advice for not just the performance."

"Oui. When you try to make others feel good, you end up raising your own spirits." Aoyama concurred still doing inventory over their equipment for tomorrow.

Izuku's gaze met Mina's. They both knew the value of having fun, they were going to have fun. Together. It'd be their second official date. When Izuku thought of that, his mind spun with how they'd came together literally days before the School Festival, talk about incredible timing.

"Exactly, huh?" Upon closer examination, Izuku noticed the wear and tear on the rope, as did Aoyama. "Oh no. The rope is so frayed."

Expecting the rope, Aoyama agreed, albeit he had dual feelings looking at it. "We did put it through quite some abuse during practice." His mood then did a couple one-eighty. "It's physical proof of our blossoming friendship!"

"Heheh, I guess that's one way to look at it." Mina offered. She looked at her boyfriend, recognizing the thoughtful look on his face. There was no way he was going to use the frayed rope, primarily on account of it not being able to withstand the strain they would put it through tomorrow.

"It's dangerous. I should have noticed it before." He commented. Yep, there was no way that he was going to use the rope in hand.

"Whelp, time to go get Yaoyorozu, she'll make you a new rope, and some tea too." Kaminari offered.

"No." Mina said almost immediately. "She's in bed already, and she could use the rest. And Don't treat her like she's your own personal factory."

"But people use me as a phone charger on the regular." The electrokinetic blond shot back with a depressed face.

"That's because men get no respect." Mineta comforted.

Mina shot both boys dry stares. Okay, to Kaminari's credit, they did regularly make use of his Quirk. She definitely did.

"Nah, I'll go buy a new one in the morning." All eyes went to Izuku, especially Mina's. She was surprised, though a tiny voice in her head told her that she shouldn't be. "I should have noticed how much strain we were putting on the rope, so I'll go out and get a new one. And this'll work out since I'm up early for training."

"Um, okay-"

"Izuku," Mina cautioned. "The performance is at ten and most stores around here don't open until nine." One of these days, she was going to have to tell him there was such a thing as being too helpful.

Though it probably wasn't going to be today, or rather tonight. "It'll be fine. There's a hardware store about fifteen minutes from UA. That place opens at eight AM so I'll hit up and be back in no time."

Kaminari caught the troubled look on Mina's face. "Still cutting it kind of close…" His gaze moved to the rope. Walking over, he examined it himself. While he was no expert, he could tell if they tried to replicate what they'd spent all afternoon doing, it wouldn't end well. Glancing to his right, he saw Mina was reaching the same conclusion.

"It'll be fine, guys." Though he was addressing them all, his gaze was directed toward Mina. "I promise, I'll be back before you know it. It's just a quick walk down the street and back."

"You know, he's got a point." Jiro offered. "I mean, it'll be early in the morning when most people will be at best just going to work. Or trying to get to school after sleeping in or something. What's the worse that could happen?"

She's got a point. He'll be back in time for us to get ready. Mina sounded off in her head. The festival started at ten and the hardware store would be open almost four hours earlier than that. "Alright then, guess we have a plan." Izuku smiled at her. Stifling a yawn, she leaned forward and pecked him on the lips.

"Duuude, I'm so jealous." Kaminari whimpered having a front-row seat of the action.

"I have this feeling as soon as we all turn in for the night, they're going to do a lot more than just that."

"M-M-Mineta!" Izuku yelled with a blushing scandalized face.

"Oh come on, if we were going to do something like that, we'd wait until tomorrow. After we've had a totally awesome and successful festival. And Izuku got to check out all my sick dance moves, and I got to see the fruits of all of our private practice sessions." Mina seemingly corrected.

"P-Private sessions!" Kaminari and Mineta screamed in unison. "So you two have been seeing each other before a couple of days ago!"

Why was it the concept of sleep grew further and further away with each passing second? "N-N-No! T-T-That's not it at all! M-M-Mina!" His plea dried up in his throat as he saw his girlfriend's snickering face. He was either going to have to develop some sort of defense against it or get used to it. The odds of the former happening seemed slim to none as he simply stared at her with a scandalized blush.

Temporarily getting her giggles under control, Mina pulled him into a quick hug, accented by another kiss. "Just don't strain herself while you're out tomorrow morning, we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Plus, I don't want you falling asleep on our date."

"Y-Y-Y-Yes, g-g-got it." He responded with still-red cheeks.

The red blush would stay on his face ten minutes later when he finally settled into bed. When he finally closed his eyes, he dreamed of dancing, dancing with a pink-haired and skinned girl. He dreamed of her meeting Eri and bonding with her.

He was going to make those dreams a reality.

Day of the Festival, 6:38 AM…

"Hmm, oh, hey! You're that acid-shooting girl from Class 1-A, Mina Ashido, right?"

Crap! Just because Mei Hatsume hadn't slept in days (which she probably hadn't) didn't mean that she was deaf to her surroundings. Evidently, her Quirk was still working fine as she was able to make Mina out in the bushes. "No point in staying hidden." Stepping out into view, she waved at her boyfriend and his mentor and her fellow UA student. "Yo, morning, everyone."

"M-M-Mina? H-H-Hey, good morning." Izuku responded. Though he was surprised to see her, he didn't look angry in the slightest. In fact, his face melted into a smile showing he was clearly happy to see her.

"Young Miss Ashido, I'm assuming you wanted to watch Young Midoriya train?" All Might asked. Sometimes it still threw her for a loop seeing him looking so…skeletal. That said, the kind twinkle in his eyes always got her, always made her feel safe as surely as his more muscular form did.

"Yes. I remembered how early Izuku gets up for training and decided I'd just come see for myself what it's like." The decision had actually been rather spontaneous on her part. Throwing on a shirt, and a bright green windbreaker along with some sweet pants. "Looks like I showed up just as you were about to get started."

"Yep, you showed up for the test run of these babies!" Her exhausted eyes gleaming with pride, she presented a set of tan gloves with green highlights to Izuku. Mina walked up beside her boyfriend to get a closer look at them. She was thoroughly impressed, as was her boyfriend.

"Hatsume, these are…they're perfect! But you could have waited until after the festival to give them to me." Izuku said.

"I could have, but I knew how much you'd been waiting for them, not to mention it's better to deliver them in person! Besides, when it's over with, I'm going to sleep for thirty-six hours." The support team member proclaimed.

"You deserve every wink of sleep for these. They're awesome!" Though never quite having an eye for support items, even Mina knew she was looking at quality equipment. They were also no doubt perfect for her boyfriend, and they'd compliment the rest of his outfit as well. She was already picturing how they'd go with the rest of his outfit.

"Here's the manual." Hatsume said holding it up for Izuku. "Now, see ya'!" Within the first second of him gripping it, she took off in the direction she'd came from.

Mina chuckled. "Girl looks like she's ready to pass out any second, but still has the strength to run like that. Kind of reminds me of you, Izuku."

"T-Thank you, and good luck today!" The freckle-faced teen called to her. He wondered if Hatsume had heard him; he hoped she did. "Y-You really think so?" He asked in direction to Mina.

"True. Both of you tend to push yourselves to the brink for your goals. It can be admirable, and a little frightening sometimes." All Might remarked. "Alright, let's give them a test run while we've got the time. See what they can do. Young Miss Ashido,"

"I'll be right here watching! Do your best, Izuku!"

It was interesting to think about. Just a couple of days ago, they were training side by side. They'd only been classmates, friends at best, and after that afternoon they'd gotten closer. Mina had seen Izuku's training up close and personal. She now got to see it again, and better results as her now-boyfriend had the equipment that he needed.

His shots were much more focused and precise as a result of the gloves. She noticed that was always a thing with Izuku's powers-they possessed enough force to shatter steel, but control was always an issue. Even looking as far back as their first days at UA. He'd gotten better in intervals, sometimes including the use of support equipment. She'd witnessed that again with these supposed Air Force Gloves. They were a fitting name as that's what their function was, helping concentrate the air pressure he was firing off. The more Mina watched, the more she thought of her recently developed Acid Pistol. After the festival, she wanted to work on it as well as a couple of other moves. Her heart fluttered with excitement at the thought of Izuku helping her along the way.

Something else she took note of was the retired hero who watched over them. Izuku was mimicking all of his old moves, and All Might himself gave in-depth pointers on each of them.

One For All.

The name of Izuku's Quirk. It was a fitting name for a guy who aspired to be a hero for all to marvel at and depend on. Not to mention it was just downright cool looking. When activated, his body glowed with arcs of emerald electricity dancing across his body. Up so close in the early morning, it was…awe-inducing. His frequent blasts of air rung in her ears further helping wake her up. Mina knew that there was no way that she would be able to go back to sleep after the first ten minutes of watching him.

Those ten minutes turned into a near full hour before either of them knew it.

"Craaap! Crap! Crap! Crap!"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Mina!"

Their feet pounded against the pavement as they ran back in the direction of UA. It was funny and irritating how a simple plan could go sideways. Some days though, that made the difference between life and death. On a day like today, it could mean the difference between Class 1-A rocking the School Festival and failing so hard they'd never be able to live it down.

Luckily, they were on the path to ensuring that didn't happen.

"Hey, don't sweet it! I should have said something sooner, and don't you dare blame yourself for us having to go to another store." The hardware store that Izuku had been banking on turned out not to have any rope in stock, which had forced them to search elsewhere. Lady Luck again smiled on them as a convenience store a few blocks down had exactly what they needed. "Besides, this is definitely getting us in shape for the festival, don't you think?"

Looking beside her, he smiled. "You know, that optimism of yours really is infectious."

"I could say the same about your work ethic." She laughed back.

The couple gradually slowed themselves down to a jog as they came within the last stretch of their supply run. They still had time, plenty of time to get around, and maybe nab another bit of breakfast on the way. Even though it was still rather chilly, the sun was out with only a handful of clouds in the sky. They had a clear way back to UA.

As they jogged, the couple stole occasional glances at each other, smiling as they did so.

"Dear me!"

"Oh!"

Both teenagers temporarily stopped to look at the coat-wearing duo that they'd almost ran into. They stood to their left, dressed up rather thickly even if it was fall, masks covering their faces, hats, and sporting shades. If they were trying to blend in, they were doing a poor job at it.

"We're sorry, we were in a little bit of a hurry." Izuku apologized.

"Do be careful. You almost ruined the aftertaste of the Gold Tips Imperial! A travesty I will not be able to ignore." There was a brief pause from the man while the two teens stared a them. "Come, let us go, La-I mean honey."

"Honey? Oh, yeah. Yes, that's me." The second individual, and far shorter one, said.

Mina cocked an eyebrow as they walked away. "Okay, that's a little weird."

Izuku was looking elsewhere, namely at the small house nestled beside the hardware store. "Oh, interesting. I guess if he had tea that house must be some kind of café."

Following his gaze, Mina looked the place over. "Well, it's certainly not winning any appearance awards. Looks more like a straight house to me. Gold Tips, can't imagine a rundown place like that serving-"

"Yohohoho! You must be familiar with Gold Tips Imperial for you to have this realization!" Turning back to the front, they saw the larger of the pair approaching them, looking quite happy at that. His companion on the other hand seemed to be shaking in nervousness. "You're obviously a pair of refined taste! It's always a pleasure to meet fellow connoisseurs, even if you two are rather young."

"Um, actually, we don't know that much. Our friend just made it for us recently." Izuku clarified.

"She's really into that high-society stuff, which is normal since her family's kind of rich." Mina added. Okay, this is getting even weirder. We really need to be on our way back to UA. It's practically just a block or two away.

While she was thinking about that, the superstrength user was thinking about somethine else. His memory had been jogged with all the things that the masked stranger was saying. I feel like I've heard all of this before.

"A friend you say? Rich? Then she undoubtedly runs in high-class circles, and she knows the pleasures of-!" His body tensed again like he realized he was saying too much. "Y-Y-You have wise friends."

"Yeah, she's wise alright." Mina concluded. Shooting a side glance at her boyfriend, she noticed how he'd gone still too. He was thinking about something, the gears in his head turning fast. "Um, sorry for almost running into you, and, um, thanks for the tea compliments. I personally thought it tasted pretty-"

"No way." Izuku whispered. The mood transformed in an instant. Beside him, the pink-haired girl looked to him, eyes wide and her mouth agape. She recognized that voice, it was Izuku's serious voice. Looking back at the pair, she saw they'd gone deathly still too. "Tell me something, that tea was a part of your ritual, right?"

With every passing second, Mina felt herself slipping further into a combat ready stance. "Ritual? For what?"

"Their crimes." Her boyfriend clarified, still not looking at her. That further solidified Mina's cautionary stance. She now looked back at the pair with unease and alarm. "Izuku, are these two…villains?"

The older of the two removed his mask and glasses. "La Brava, it's time to bring out the camera."

"Please," Izuku pleaded, still not looking at either of them. "I saw your video…please, you can't do this. Not today. I don't care what you have planned. I-"

"We won't let you near our school, not today!" Mina shouted, her black and yellow eyes suddenly blazing with determination. Her face was entirely serious now. Even if she didn't know who these two were, her boyfriend did, and his reaction was proof enough. "Whatever it is you're planning, drop it now!"

Far from intimidated, the criminal pair seemed to be bracing for a confrontation. There was no way they planned on abandoning their plans, which involved UA. If those plans proceeded then the festival would be imperiled at best and canceled at worst.

"Mina, take the rope and go." The inheritor of One For All declared.

The acidic heroine did a double-take. "Huh?"

"Take the bags and get back to UA. I'll stay here and deal with them." Everything about Izuku's posture reminded her of a predator getting ready to strike, namely a tiger assuming a pouncing position against an adversary. "I'll deal with these two while you head back to UA, I'll be right behind you."

"Oooh, beckoning this young maiden to go on ahead while you attempt to thwart me? How chivalrous young lad." The taller man commented with a glint of amusement. "I'm afraid though that now that she knows of my plans, I cannot allow her to-wah!"

SPUUURT!

The patch of pavement in front of the man sizzled and dissolved from the acid bullet.

Lifting her finger up, Mina fixed him with hard eyes, "That was your warning shot." Mina's voice was as hard and tight. While she didn't have her boyfriend's glowing electric aura, she could definitely be intimidating when she wanted to be. "The next shot won't be."

Just like that patch of pavement, any hopes of a peaceful ending to their early morning supply run dissolved.

To Be Continued…

Okay, time for the author's notes. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took me a few weeks longer to get it out. There was a family medical emergency that ate up a chunk of my time. That was one reason for the delay.

The second was that I genuinely had to figure out what I wanted to do with this chapter. I went back and forth with a lot of ideas that I almost went forward with only to scrap. First and foremost, I wanted this chapter to be a bit lighter and softer after the intensity of the last segment of the last one. In addition to that, I wanted it to focus on Mina, that focus ended up playing a big part in the direction I chose to go with.

As shown last chapter, Izuku's not to tell anyone about One For All or any of the backstory surrounding it. That said, everyone else finding out about it bit by bit is still fair game. In canon, Bakugo more or less started making his own dedications. I actually toyed with him making an appearance during some late-night training and he and Mina having an exchange, but that was one of the ideas I scrapped. What I ended up doing was having Mina do some history searching after taking a little more about Izuku's Quirk. That gave me the chance to do some more fill-in-the-blank on the backstory of Quirks in the MHA universe.

It's stated in canon that society practically collapsed when Quirks first appeared to the point things regressed. Given how powerful some Quirks can be and how marginalized Quirk-users were, I don't think it's too far-fetched to say that some of that regression was caused by anti-Quirk hysteria and Quirk-users fighting back. Amongst them I think those with mutation-type Quirks had it particularly hard (and some parts of the series has shown they still do). In addition to that, I like to think that All For One helped spread that chaos and conflict between the two groups. Using All For One he could have bolstered multiple sides for his own gain, and being the mastermind he is, made sure no one ever identified. At least not in things like public history books. You can say this is some foreshadowing for what I have planned in the future.

Speaking of foreshadowing, yes, Izuku heard the voices of his predecessors, namely Nana. I just can't help but picture her being the supportive maternal member of the One For All predecessors, and Blackwhip's the loud and supportive one. While thinking out this chapter, I was tempted to have Izuku start channeling Float, but decided it wouldn't quite work. Instead, it was a further exercise in him learning how to control his strength and practice his dexterity.

Ultimately, what I did decide on was Mina joining him on his morning run which made him encounter Gentle and La Brava, probably the first big canon divergence of this story. I decided on it after thinking over my other idea: having Mina not go with him but just get worried about Izuku when he doesn't show up on time. After thinking it over, I thought the idea was a little too boring and it'd be a waste since I haven't shown Izuku and Mina actually fighting together as a couple/duo. Foiling Gentle's plot and secretly saving the School Festival from cancelation seemed like a good first time. That'll cover the first half of the next chapter.

Next chapter I promise will include the actual festival and some more fluff for our favorite couple. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you all thought of it and see you next chapter!