Author's Note: This chapter sees a different take on Mina and Gigantomachia.

10: Odd Day Out

The following day that Izuku sold his designs was when the Midoriya household was completely empty. Both Hitoshi and Mei had to return home in order to finish up their school work, while Inko and Mitsuki took Himiko out shopping for the day.

Izuku, meanwhile, was being driven to his school to take his final exams.

Toshinori had arrived earlier and offered to take him since he'd let his mother have the car to shop. "Nervous?" The man asked as they drove along, "I'm sure that Aldera holds some fairly bad memories for you"

Izuku shook his head and smiled at his mentor, "No, Sir, I'm alright, really." He said, looking down at the Ultimatrix, "It may not be an actual Quirk, but the Ultimatrix is helping me achieve my dream of becoming a Hero...so they can't make me feel useless anymore." He smiled, "And I've been studying like crazy. It'll be great to finally get it over with and start cramming for U.A.'s courses."

Toshinori chuckled. It was good that the boy was so confident in his academics. Truth be told, when he had spoken to Nezu about the school in question, they had found out quite a bit that had been ignored. Not only was the Bakugo boy openly using his Quirk in classes, but so were other students. Not to the extent that Bakugo seemed to be doing, but unsanctioned Quirk use was unsanctioned Quirk use. That alone was enough to get the teachers in plenty of hot water.

But it had also been discovered that the school had a very biased view on Quirks and those without them. Izuku's file had been pulled by the principal, and the mammal had been shocked. It seemed that, on paper, Izuku Midoriya was viewed as a delinquent. While the opposite could be said of anyone that had a Quirk. Aside from the single Quirkless individual in their school, the other students were completely perfect little angels. Toshinori had scoffed at such a thing. He had walked through those halls, and found nothing but a cesspit of bad behavior.

After the school year was finished, he would ensure that the school was procured and restaffed. Nezu had mentioned once about broadening U.A.'s educational horizons, and setting up a middle school would be the perfect starting point. Toshinori thought it was a very good idea. The younger the potential students were, the better trained and educated they would become once they entered the high school.

There was another thing that Toshinori noticed, "According to what I've seen of your school records, your grades are just barely up to scratch," he muttered quietly, though the boy was able to hear him perfectly fine.

"But I'm pretty sure that I answered all of the questions on my homework right, I even checked the internet to be safe." The boy said with a huge frown on his face, "Why would they - ?"

Toshinori growled in the back of his throat, "Probably because they see you as a liability, even if you, technically, have a Quirk now." He said, "There's so few people that are Quirkless nowadays that the discrimination has gotten to near racial levels."

Izuku looked saddened by this. He tried his best every day, and to find out that his school was the biggest problem he had was worse than whenever Katsuki would berate him for his unrealistic dreams.

They pulled into the school not long after the revelation and parked. Toshinori was tempted to bulk himself up into All Might, just to scare the life out of the faculty members, but he resisted. No need to turn the whole thing into a media circus nightmare. He would settle for seeing his young apprentice graduate from this horrible school, and enter U.A. as the young Hero that he was.

Knowing that they were coming, Izuku's former principal was waiting for them outside of the school with a fake smile on his face which tightened when he saw the skeletal man next to him. "Wonderful to see you back, Mr. Midoriya," the man said, expecting a stammering reply from the boy, but was greeted with the coldest look he had ever seen on the boy's face before. "Erm, let's proceed to the testing room, shall we?"

Izuku nodded and stepped into the school. The man wasn't expecting the Hero Agent to follow behind him, "I'm sorry, Sir, but given the circumstances, I'm afraid that - "

"All Might has taken an interest in the boy," Toshinori said evenly, making the man pale. "Where do you think he's been ever since I pulled him out, hmm?" He turned on the man with a hard stare. He gestured to the boy next to them, "Look at him. Does he look the same as before?"

Izuku's training before he had been forced to slow down had seen the boy flourish. He was still lean, but his arms and legs were now strong, and sculpted with hard earned muscle. He was even slightly taller than he remembered at around five foot seven where he had only been an even five feet tall before. And there was a look in the boy's eyes that he hadn't seen before.

Toshinori then took hold of the man's lapels, reminding the man that, while his body didn't look it, Toshinori himself was far stronger than he appeared. "If this boy's scores are sabotaged in any way, shape or form, then not only will you face me, but the entire legal team that supports Might Towers. I'll have you behind bars in Tartarus before you can say I am here!"

The man gulped audibly, "Right, I-I assure you that nothing of the sort will happen under our care." He said rather meekly, "Now, if you'll follow me, please?" He shook himself free of Toshinori's grasp and sped down the hall to put some distance between them.

The pair followed at a slower pace, of course, Izuku taking the time to have one last look at his old school. There were still many students in the school, all of whom were taking the exact same exam that he was about to. He tried not to worry about them: it no longer mattered to him what happened to them after they graduated.

He didn't necessarily hate them, no, he couldn't. But there was nothing between himself and them that could make him want to care anymore. They were bullies. All of them.

"Here we are," the principal said as he brought them to an empty classroom. "I think you'll find this room satisfactory."

Izuku didn't argue as he entered the room, finding a solitary desk waiting for him. He was glad it was empty: he wouldn't have to put up with any questions, jeers, or jibes at him while he worked.

The principal followed behind him, and placed a yellow folder in front of him. "These are your exams for each class you've taken up to this point," he said, "You may take your time in finishing them, I'm sure you'll need it."

Before Izuku could open the folder and get started, Toshinori surged into the room and snatched it up. He pulled the testing papers out and looked them over, Izuku wondering why until he saw the principal losing what little color he had left in his face. Toshinori looked at the man then with a bright gleam in his darkened eyes. "I believe I told you to keep this fair, did I not?" He asked as he held up the papers. "These are for college students."

"W-Well, Sir, you see - !"

"Young Midoriya," Toshinori said with a deceptively calm tone. "I think an online test would be better for you." He gave the boy a small smile, "Now, why don't you go outside and wait by the truck? This man and I need to have a little chat." His eyes had a very dangerous gleam in them as he turned back to the principal, "I shouldn't be long."

Izuku chuckled nervously, and, honestly, he wanted to feel sorry for the principal...but he just couldn't quite make himself do so.

He went out into the hall and shut the door just as he heard his mentor begin shouting angrily at the man. He could almost picture Toshinori turning into All Might for a moment from the tone he was using, but apparently he was used to dealing with people like this.

He started down the hall and toward the exit, managing to get halfway there before he felt a familiar grip land on his shoulder. The grip tightened as he was forcibly slammed into the lockers, his hand flying to his Ultimatrix on instinct before he realized who his attacker was.

Katsuki Bakugo was standing there, looking more furious than he could ever remember. His teeth were clenched so tight that he could hear them grinding against each other, and his eyes were burning with pure hatred. His hands were already smoldering, ready to explode in a moment's notice. "You little shit," his voice was calm, "Do you have any idea what you've done to me?"

[Auntie Mitsuki must've confronted him,] the boy thought idley. But the boy that would have cowered before the explosive teen had long since been put away. He reached up and wrapped his fingers around his former friend's wrist, "Let go of me, Bakugo." The boy said. Katsuki's eyes widened at the teen. "Whatever you think I've done, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Katsuki hauled back and slammed him against the lockers again, which was actually starting to make him angry. "Oh, like you don't know!" He snapped, "Because of you, I've been made a laughingstock!" He growled, leaning in close so that he wasn't heard. "All these fucking extras that used to give me the respect I deserve won't stop talking about you! You and that stupid new Quirk of yours!" He snapped, "And you wanna know something else? The old hag even got on my case!"

"And you think that I'm to blame?" Izuku asked, surprising the blond as he wouldn't normally talk back to him, "It wasn't even me that told her about what you've done!"

"What I've done!?" A small pop went off at his palm, "The only thing I've ever done is made sure a loser like you knows his place: beneath my feet!"

"And who made you the one to decide that?" Izuku demanded, "Can't you even see what you've become?" The boy looked at his former friend with sympathy, "I used to admire you, Bakugo, because I saw the Hero you could be," Katsuki's hold on his shoulder loosened, "But the minute you started treating people like the didn't have any feelings...like they didn't matter...I couldn't just stand by and let you hurt people like some Villain!"

The look in Bakugo's eyes turned wild, "Villain? You think I'm acting like a Villain?!" He looked down at his wrist, spotting the Ultimatrix with Izuku's hand hovering near the dial. He gave the boy a wild grin, "What about you? I bet you're itching to get some payback on me, aren't you? Come on! Let's see what you're made of!"

Izuku's hand almost touched the Ultimatrix...but he let it fall to his side. Katsuki glared at him. "A few months ago, I would've taken you up on that." Izuku said as he shook off the other boy's hand, "I wanted so much to show you that I'm not the useless boy you used to beat up all the time...that I'm not a Deku"

"So what?" Tiny crackling explosions came from Katsuki's palms. "Come on and show me what you've got, Mister I've-Gotta-Quirk-Now."

Izuku just shook his head and walked away from him, "I've got nothing to prove, least of all to you." He said, which only made the boy angrier, "You were never really my friend, I know that now, but I don't...I don't hate you...but from this point on I want nothing to do with you, ever again." With that, the boy walked away, leaving a completely dumbfounded Katsuki behind him.

Toshinori, having finished talking with the principal, had heard part of the conversation and was grinning ear to ear. [Maybe those other kids are actually helping with his PTSD?] He thought hopefully as he moved to catch up with the boy.

Katsuki, meanwhile, ignoring the man passing him by, was seething. [That little shit!] His teeth were clenched so tightly that he could taste blood, [Fine. If that's the way you wanna play this, then just wait! I'll destroy you!]

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

"This really is a nice car," Mitsuki commented as they drove toward the shopping center, "It's lucky that Izuku's Quirk lets him build stuff like this. Think of all the free stuff he could build out of garbage." She laughed.

Inko gave a light chuckle herself, "Oh, I don't think we're going to have to worry about paying for things for some time," she reminded her friend, "What with my half of everything from my divorce and Izuku selling those blueprints, I think things are going to be looking up from now on." She looked back into the back seat where Himiko was sitting quietly, sipping on a cup of synthetic blood. "Which means you don't need to feel guilty about anything we buy for you today, Sweetie."

The girl chewed on the straw nervously, "I still don't know what's supposed to happen to me after all of this is done." She said, "I mean, do I just get passed around in foster care until I turn eighteen?"

Inko looked outraged, "Absolutely not!" She snapped turning almost fully around, forcing Mitsuki to grab a hold of the wheel, "You've been through far too much to go through nonsense like that! I'll adopt you before they even think of passing you to another family!"

"Inko, the road!" Mitsuki yelled as the position the woman was in forced her foot deeper into the exceleration.

While Inko turned back around to get the car back under control, Himiko was actually feeling more stunned than she had when she found out that her parents were no longer going to hurt her. "You'd really adopt me?"

"Of course!" She said adamantly, though her tone was much softer now as she looked in the rearview mirror, "I told you that I've always wanted a daughter, Sweetie, and now I kind of have one...provided you'd like to stay with us?"

Himiko nodded very slowly, "I think I'd like that," the girl admitted whilst hugging herself.

Inko smiled at her from the rearview mirror as they pulled into a large shopping center, "I know that I would love that," she smiled as she parked the car, "Now then, Mitsuki, where's this should-be-famous clothing store of yours?"

Mitsuki grinned at her widely, "Oh, honey, wait 'til I show you what I've got!"

Twenty minutes later...

When Himiko thought about buying more clothes, the last thing she expected was to be thrust into a shop that sold dizzyingly expensive dresses made of satin, silk and some of the softest cotton she'd ever felt. They were all very pretty, that much she would readily admit, but there was just one problem...

"You don't like any of them?" Mitsuki's face fell as if someone had just told her that her store was closing. The clerk was no better, even though she had tried to pick out dresses that matched her skin well, nothing really stuck with her.

Himiko felt bad for disappointing her, "It's not that I don't like them," she mumbled as she looked at herself in a extra satiny red dress with spaghetti shoulder straps. "I just...I don't see myself wearing this just to go to the park, or hang out with - "

Inko was giggling, "She's right, Mitsuki, all you've been showing her are clothes she'd need for a fancy night out on the town!" Her friend gave the woman a light glare, "Honestly, Sweetie, some of these dresses look ready to fall off of her!"

"That's sort of the the idea, in some regards," mumbled the fashionista, her arms crossed under her chest, "Ugh, you're right, Inko - oh, don't act so smug!" She snapped halfheartedly as the woman just grinned at her, "Once you've lost some weight, we will be back here for you!"

"Are you kidding?" She asked as she looked at a dress that used to be her size, "If I put one of these on, my breasts would fall out!" Himiko snickered at that mental image while Mitsuki coughed to hide a blush. "No offense, Dearie, but don't you have any everyday clothing?" She asked the store clerk.

"But of course, Ma'am, just follow me," she led them toward the middle of the sizable store where Himiko's face lit up with delight.

Inko giggled, "Now this is more like it, thank you, Dearie," She laughed as Himiko took off through the rows of jeans, sweaters, shirts and shoes.

Mitsuki just pouted, "A girl with her looks needs at least a couple of dresses."

Inko showed her some of the clothes the girl had tried on before, "I at least kept the black and red cocktail dresses," she reminded her with a small giggle, "I admit, she looks lovely in those colors."

That did make her friend feel better as Himiko bounced back to the three of them with an absolute armload, "Wait a minute, how am I gonna pay for all of this!?" She asked in a near panic. She liked her kind-of-mother, Inko and Mitsuki a lot at this point, but she was still skittish: part of her hoped that this wasn't some form of joke.

Mitsuki just looked at her, "Honey, I thought you knew?" She gestured to the clerk, "I own this store, so you can just take whatever you want," she grinned at the girl and gave her a small wink, "But just for today, alright?"

Himiko blinked at her, "B-but that's stealing! Papa said stealing was - !"

"Papa shmapa," Mitsuki grinned at her, "This is me giving you a gift, Sweetie, a gift that you more than deserve after what you've been through, so consider this," she thought for a moment, "A really big birthday gift!" She grinned as she reached out and took the clothes from her before she handed them to the clerk, "Go ahead and bag these up, Michiko, she'll need shoes, too."

"Yes, Ma'am," the woman laughed, "And don't worry, young lady, this store's sales are pretty high, considering the only competition we've had has been from the stores owned by Uwabami," she giggled as she headed for the front desk, "Just bring anything else you find up to my desk, okay?"

Mitsuki and Inko smiled indulgently as the young girl was once again close to tears. "Ever worn heels before, Sweetie?" Mitsuki asked while Inko just groaned.

"Just no stilettos, please," the portly woman begged, "Those things are absolute death traps in disguise!"

Mitsuki ended up convincing Himiko to try on a pair of the high heeled shoes, and the poor girl instantly regretted agreeing when she tried to keep her balance. "I don't...think these are my kind'a - whoa!" When she had tried to stand up in the shoes, she found that the tiptoe way it held her feet up was exceptionally uncomfortable, not to mention the sudden increase in height gave her a dizzying headrush. Had it not been for Inko standing next to the girl, she would have toppled over and fallen flat on her face. "Yeah, I don't think these are my thing?" She said with no small amount of embarrassment.

"I didn't think so," Inko giggled as she set the girl back on her feet, and helped her sit back down to take the shoes off, "If you want her in heels, then at least give her something lower, like ballroom heels, or even a ballerina flat!" She said to her friend, who agreed with her rather quickly after seeing the girl's near mishap.

A few minutes later, Himiko was carrying four different boxes, "Uh, isn't this a little much?" She asked, "Really, a pair of sneakers would've been fine!"

Mitsuki looked at her like she'd grown a second head, "Now, that right there is ridiculous! I bet your mother owned at least this many pairs of shoes!"

"Uh, no?" Himiko mumbled, "Papa never liked her spending too much money of things he thought we didn't need."

Mitsuki's eye began twitching quite manically, "Your father...is a schmuck."

Himiko had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at her while she turned around and headed for the front desk, "Uh, Miss Midoriya?" Inko turned toward her, "I...don't mean to pry, but - "

"What is it dear?" Inko asked.

Himiko blushed, "I...I was just wondering...I mean I noticed her blushing around you a lot, and..." Inko still looked a little confused, "Are you and Mrs. Bakugo...dating?"

Inko's brow shot into her hair, "No. What ever gave you that idea?" She asked, genuinely surprised, "We have been friends since we were children, but we both got married and had our sons. Besides, I just went through a divorce, and Mitsuki has a very nice husband."

"Oh," the girl said, nodding, "I'm sorry, then. I just noticed that she was blushing a lot."

Inko giggled, "Oh, she's probably just embarrassed that she picked the wrong clothes for you, Sweetie," she said with a giggle in her friend's direction, "And I'm willing to bet that she's pretty happy today as well. We haven't really had a chance to spend time together like this in a long time. I just started having dinner with her and Masaru again not that long ago, so she was probably excited that I asked her along on this little trip."

Himiko nodded again, though she still wasn't so sure.

When the reached the front desk, it was to find Mitsuki and Michiko talking animatedly with a very unique young lady. Inko thought it made her all the much more lovely in her opinion. She was a girl with pink...everything, really. At least from what she could tell. She was just a little bit taller than Himiko was, with fluffy pink hair, and a lighter shade of pink skin.

"I'm sorry, Dearie, I didn't know we were keeping you from your regular customers." Inko smiled at the girl, who turned to her revealing the most beautiful set of eyes that the woman had ever seen. [Oh, my, what a lovely girl!] She thought as she saw the girls golden irises surrounded by an unusual but beautiful black sclerae.

Michiko shook her head, "Think nothing of it," she smiled, gesturing to the girl, "Miss Ashido here is actually quite the frequent customer."

The girl beamed at her, "You better believe I am! This place sells some of the best clothes, and I can actually afford them, not like Uwabami's place!"

"Yes!" Mitsuki suddenly crowed, "Thank you! That puffed up woman never sells anything low enough for us commoners to wear!"

Inko giggled, "You're a former fashion model, Mitsuki, so I'd hardly call you a commoner," she laughed as Himiko placed her shoes on the desk. "Speaking of modeling, this young lady looks like she could be an up and coming talent!"

The girl just blushed a lovely shade of lavender, "Aw, shucks, I don't think I'm model material," she gestured to herself, "Pink skin isn't exactly all the rage these days."

Mitsuki gave the girl a calculating eye, "Hmm, I wouldn't sell yourself short so quickly, young lady," she smiled while the girl blinked at her, "Your skin is a lovely shade that would go quite well with most any color dress you wear, and you have quite the nice figure for someone as young as you are."

"Mitsuki!" Inko admonished her with a slap on the arm.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," the woman grinned at her, "What I mean is that she has a healthy body, not like some girls who think a french fry equals an extra twenty pounds they have to barf up later."

Inko nodded, noticing that Himiko was standing slightly behind her, as if almost afraid of being near the girl. The woman smiled, reaching round to hold the girl's hand comfortingly.

"Yeah, I like my fries," Ashido giggled with a little embarrassment, "Maybe a little too much," she admitted while bringing her hands up and touching her fingers together, "But thanks for the compliments. I always love it when someone appreciates my pinkness. But I'm also trying out for U.A. in February, so modeling is kind of a no go for me. Sorry!"

"Well, what a coincidence," Inko said in delight, "Our sons are trying out for U.A., too!"

Mitsuki sighed in exasperation, "Against my better judgement after I found out what that little hooligan of mine's been up to." She said, leaning over toward the girl, "Do me a favor, if you run across a kid with the name Bakugo, give him a good ass-kicking for me, 'kay?"

Ashido started giggling again, "I'll keep that in mind," she said before taking a small bag from the desk and skipping toward the exit, "Well, it was nice meeting you guys! Hope I get to meet your boys in school!"

"Hmm," Inko was already imagining how the girl would look next to her son.

Mitsuki saw this and flicked her on the forehead, "No matchmaking until school starts!"

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

Mina Ashido had just had the coolest time after meeting the owner of her favorite clothing store. Not only was the woman nice, but she like the way she looked and thought she had what it took to be a model! She was squealing with joy both inside and outside as she practically danced along the street. She was barely paying attention to anyone else in her excitement as she pranced along...that was until a large shadow loomed over her.

"Excuse me," the voice was low, yet loud enough to rattle her down to her core. She hadn't even seen who was speaking to her and she was already breaking out in a cold sweat, "I'm looking for the Springer Hero Agency," she turned her head very slowly to look...up at the giant that was glaring down at her. "Could you tell me where it is?"

He was twenty feet tall, easily, and had his face and body mostly covered in an overly large tarp, but his glowing white eyes, and his tusks were very visible to her when she looked high enough. She froze, her body trembling violently.

When she didn't answer, the giant stretched out his arm from beneath the tarp, easily as thick as a tree, and dug his fingers into the building behind her, concrete falling away as he gauged it out. "Did you not hear me? I would like to know where the Springer Hero Agency is."

When the debris he had created fell next to her, she fell on her butt, terrified. [Just tell him!] She screamed at herself, [He'll go away if you just tell him where to go!] She tried to talk, but it just came out as a small sound. [Why can't I speak?!]

"Mmm," he sounded like he was getting angry. "You're being very rude. Why won't you answer?"

She wanted to, she really did, but she couldn't! There was nothing that could snap her out of the fear induced stupor she'd been caught in. Not the sounds of horns honking. Not the faint green flash of light she saw out of the corner of her eyes. All she could think was that she was going to die if this behemoth didn't get his answers.

Suddenly, a large, red blur appeared in front of her, "If you're looking for the Springer Hero Agency, then you need to go down this road," the large muscular red...man?...said, pointing down the road with his left arms (he had four of them), "Take a left at the next four way intersection, and you should see it right in front of you. It's a really gaudy building that's nearly impossible to miss."

#4 - Four Arms: This muscular behemoth's name speaks for itself! He's got enhanced strength and durability that put him near the same level as All Might in terms of power. His tough and thorny hide make him bulletproof, blade proof, and even fireproof! But thanks to his large muscle structure he's not the fastest alien around.

"Thank you very much." The giant withdrew his hand and started on his way. The red man stood in front of her until he was certain that the monster was not coming back before he turned to her, and touched an hourglass-like symbol on his chest.

In a brief flash of green that made her cover her eyes, the red four-armed man was gone, and replaced by a...boy...a boy not much older, maybe even a little younger than herself. He knelt down in front of her and offered her his hand, "Are you alright?" He asked with concern lacing through his voice, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

His tone was so gentle and comforting to her in that moment that she immediately snapped out of her stupor...and broke down. "WAAAAAAAH! THAT WAS SO SCARY!"

Across the street, a certain blond man was close to having a heart attack as she phone the police, "I'm telling you guys, this was Gigantomachia! He's heading for the Springer Hero Agency, get someone over there to warn them right away! And get ready for some real damage!" He said and looked back toward the boy as he was freaking out over the crying girl, "Just hug her already." He grumbled just as he saw Inko, Mitsuki and Himiko running toward them, "Hoo, boy, that's not gonna look good."

Ultimatrix Playlist #1:

#1 - Fasttrack

#2 - Water Hazard

#3 - Ultimate Echo Echo

#4 - Four Arms

#5 - ?

#6 - ?

#7 - Upgrade

#8 - Big Chill

#9 - Diamondhead

#10 - ?

Ultimatrix Playlist #2:

#11 - Blitzwolfer

#12 - ?

#13 - ?

#14 - ?

#15 - ?

#16 - ?

#17 - ?

#18 - ?

#19 - ?

#20 - ?

LOCKED - ?

LOCKED - ?

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long on this one, amigos, but it's out now, and we finally have Mina in the mix. I kind'a stole Mina's big bravery scene, but since she was alone, and not trying to save any of her friends this time, I felt it was only natural that she'd freeze up when faced with a walking calamity like Gigantomachia.

Anyway, hope ya like it. If ya wanna see what happens next, ya know what to do!

Adios Amigos!