Izuku got along well with his fellow students. He was a good student, and he had a strong, if not unusual and masochistic quirk. He mostly stuck with his closest friends Iida and Uraraka, and perhaps Tsuyu after the villain attack. However, after the Sports festival, more people began to take notice of Izuku. He was probably a bit crazy to break his limbs like he did against Todoroki, and he certainly had room for improvement so that he didn't kill himself, but for an awkward nerd, he could show how strong, determined, and heroic he was. His classmates liked him well enough, but they really took notice after that.

Mina was one of these students. He was certainly cute. She remembered thinking his freckles were adorable while talking with the other girls in class, but nothing really came of it. She wouldn't say she had a crush on him at that point. He had his impressive moments, but his fight with Todoroki is where it all came to a head. He was an awkward, shy nerd, but he was kind of crazy to put himself through all that pain. More importantly though, he seemed to embody what being a hero was all about: helping others, at risk to himself, taking a stand, and inspiring people. He would no doubt make a great hero someday. Despite that, he wasn't cocky or arrogant, he was just this adorable nerd with fluffy hair and freckles. Mina didn't know why she had started thinking about him. She just did. It was kind of weird, but she didn't pay it any mind

Mina decided to walk around her old haunts as usual on the weekend after the Yuuei Sports festival. Here were so many places to check out. Who knew? She might bump into one of her friends, like Kirishima or Tooru. She bought a soda from a vending machine o the corner. She did end up seeing someone she knew, but not who she expected.

"Is that Midoriya? " she asked herself

It was him. Dressed in blue jeans and a grey hoodie, he had the unmistakable fluffy, green and black hair and those pinchable, freckly cheeks. He was walking into the bookstore across the street. She considered just walking away and letting him do whatever he planned on doing. But that wasn't her style.

"Yo! Midoriya-kun!" She shouted and waved at him.

She couldn't help but chuckle a bit at how flustered and surprised he was. He certainly didn't expect her any more than she counted on running into him.

"H-hey, Ashido-san. What's up?"

"I was bored, so I decided to hit up some of my favorite spots this weekend. Never thought I would see you here. I'm kind of surprised." She said with a genuinely surprised smile.

"O-oh. Yeah. I came to get some comics and stuff. This is my favorite store, but it moved recently and I haven't had much time to go until now."

"You're such a nerd. But you're a cute nerd."

"T-thanks, I guess."

"No sweat."

Izuku blushed intensely. He didn't know where it was coming from, but at the same time, what little he knew of Mina was her outgoing and excitable personality. She was Izuku's opposite in pretty much every way. Her calling him cute made his insides feel like he had shoveled several hundred moths into his mouth and swallowed the, whole. It was a bizarre metaphor, but being around pretty girls made him feel that way, so it was apt.

"Mind if I tag along? I kind of wanted to pick some things up here as well."

It was ok if he said no. She didn't have a gun to his head, but she wanted to get to know this boy more. There was something about him that just caught her attention. Besides, there was nothing wrong with making friends with one of your classmates, especially when they demonstrated on several occasions just how great and pure a person they really were.

He nodded. He was used to either being on his own or hanging with his close friends, but truth be told, he liked the idea, even if it was just sort of sprung on him. He wasn't really used to this. He had been recovering from his injuries and now he was spending time with a girl he barely talked to. It was odd, but not entirely unwelcome. He might end up working with her, either in some sort of team building exercise or in the field when they became heroes. It wouldn't hurt to start building that professional relationship and becoming more familiar with more of his peers. Perhaps he was overthinking things though. Mina seemed to agree.

"Um... Dude? You're muttering."

He had a habit of thinking out loud to himself. It was kind of weird, but harmless. Regardless, he straightened up and apologized while blushing.

"S-sorry Ashido, san."

"Don't worry about it. Also, call me Mina. No need to be so formal, Midori."

"A-are you sure? I don't wish to be rude. Also, Midori?"

"Relax, man. I wouldn't ask you if I didn't want you to call me that."

She slapped him on the back playfully.

"And yeah. Midori, as in Midoriya. It's cute, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

"I think it is. Shall we?" She said with a bow.

This elicited a genuine giggle from Izuku. This might turn out to be a good night. They entered the book store and walked towards the comics and manga. They had a good selection, Izuku had explained, so this was Izuku's favorite store. Mina smiled. He was such a dork, but when he got excited about something, it was endearing and she appreciated his energy when he opened up like that. She decided to take his hand and drag him to some books she thought he might enjoy, and some she enjoyed herself. She spotted some collectibles, including one of All Might, so naturally, she pointed them out to Izuku. He probably already had most of them, but she found them neat at least, even if she saw the guy often enough when he taught classes at Yuuei. She imitated the pose and tried doing All Might's voice. It wasn't exactly pitch perfect but it made Izuku laugh.

Izuku had learned some interesting things about his classmate. They both used the same brand of shampoo. She also collected manga and loved hip hop and electronic dance music.

"I took dance for a few years as a kid. I kind of knew I wanted to be a hero and do cool hero things, but I also love dancing, you know? I try to incorporate it into my moves."

Speaking of dancing, they had stumbled across an arcade while walking from the bookstore.

"Hey, Midori. Have you played DDR before?"

"I-I actually haven't played a lot of video games before. Also…. I…. I can't dance."

He certainly had moves on the battlefield, but Mina would see how well he could move on the dance floor for herself.

"Bummer. Oh well. There's a first time for everything. It'll be fun!"

He protested at first, but inevitably relented. It couldn't be that bad. He would try it out at least and see if he was wrong about both his skills at video games and his dancing ability. He was not. Mina snickered a little. Izuku couldn't help but fear he had made a fool of himself.

"Wow. You weren't kidding. Fear not, Midori-kun. Class is in session with Professor Ashido! Watch me."

He watched her intently as she put the coins in, and selected her song. It was Red Zone. He was in awe. He couldn't peel his eyes away. She had said she enjoyed dancing but it was another thing to see her in action. He mentally took notes, but filed them away under "Might be useful but likely useless as I would rather save myself further embarrassment. When she finished the song, she looked at her score. Number 2. Not bad. She was a little disappointed she wasn't in the top spot, but she got over it quickly.

"A-Ashido-san! That was amazing! You make it look so easy!"

"What can I say? Years of practice." She said with a bow.

"I can teach you if you would like."

Izuku gulped and nodded. Was this a date? No. They had never really interacted before this, outside of class, and even that was rare. Regardless, he was enjoying himself. She demonstrated the game with just a few mock steps, then played it again at a lower difficulty so he could observe again. After that, he was ready for another go. He placed at the bottom.

"Not too bad. You'll get there with practice, Midori." She said encouragingly.

"Thanks. "he nodded.

They moved about the arcade and played a few other games, Izuku being attracted to one.

"THEY HAVE THE ALL-MIGHT PINBALL MACHINE!"

All-Might was the number one hero. His name being attached to anything wasn't exactly a rarity. Still, Mina had found out that this table had been particularly rare and was one of the first few pieces of licensed items to be released towards the start of his career. It was also the first pinball machine Izuku had ever played.

"I haven't seen this in years!"

"Cool. I never actually cared for pinball. Not really my thing. I'll watch you play "

Izuku tried it out a few times. His first few runs at it were rather unspectacular. It was his 3rd playthrough of it that had both Izuku himself and Mina shocked. Once Izuku had gotten reacquainted with the machine, he dominated it with ease. It was like a reunion with an old friend, and they were still getting along well. Izuku got the top score, prompting a mutual cheer from both Yuuei students.

"That was awesome! Check you out, Pinball Wizard!" Mina high-fived Izuku and gave him a thumbs-up. After they had their fill of the arcade, it had started getting dark, so they decided to get some sodas before they took their trains home and parted ways. They made it to the train station and got on the train together. It looked like Mina's transfer was at Izuku's stop, so they decided they would sit and talk until they got there.

"That was…actually pretty fun. We should do this again some time."

Izuku agreed. It was totally random, out of nowhere, and he had started out a little uncomfortable, but this night had warmed him up. He needed this. There was something infectious about Mina's exuberance and her flirty, playful nature that was refreshing. She was like his opposite, sort of like Bakugou, but way cuter and nicer.

"H-hey. Ashido-sa…. I mean, Mina…why did you come up to me? N-not that I'm complaining. We just don't really talk all that much."

That was a fair point. She didn't really know that much about him other than what was readily apparent, like his awkwardness or his emotional outbursts, or what a nerd he was, or how he really did embody what it meant to be a hero, the more she gave it thought.

"I guess, I just felt like getting to know you. We never really interact that much, but you seem genuinely likable. I thought we should be friends. "

She stretched out with her hands behind her head, her fingers lightly playing with her fluffy pink hair. Truth be told, the acid-quirk user was attractive. She had this smell of strawberries and lilacs about her (probably her shampoo). She was wearing a black halter top under a purple jacket and short shorts, showing off her toned legs. Izuku was getting flustered by this, but he tried to calm down. She was a classmate asking to be friends. Nothing to get worked up over.

"I still can't believe we bumped into each other. What are the odds?"

"Y-yeah. Funny how things work out I guess."

"Hey, Midori?"

"Yeah, Ashido? I mean Mina. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. You got it the second time." She grinned nonchalantly

"Thanks. Anyway, what did you want to ask."

"What's your number? We should keep in contact with one another. This night was way too fun to be a one-off thing."

Izuku blinked at first. Was this happening? Uraraka was a contact on his phone, as was his mom, but having contact with a girl was still such a rare thing for him and it was making his heart race a little.

"S-sure."

He recited his number to her and she plugged it into her phone.

"Got it! Thanks!" She smiled and gave a thumbs-up. " One more thing."

She gently took his phone and tapped on the screen before handing it back.

"Here you go. Now it's sealed, Midori. I hope to hear from you soon."

She winked at him and then left to get her train. Izuku was stunned. He had gotten a girl's number. Without even really trying. In his head, he was screaming incomprehensibly. Little did Izuku anticipate that this was just the beginning.