Unlikely As It May Seem (An Izumina Fanfiction)

Ch. 4: Getting to Know You

Saturdays usually meant sleeping in for Mina Ashido. However, her excitement about going to hang out with Izuku again today had her energized for an early (for her) start to the day. It was just after 10 in the morning when she walked out of her room, ready for the day. The pair had agreed to a meet up at the mall, so they could do some shopping together, as well as continue with their project.

The mall was also a good idea since, if anyone saw the two of them, they could come up with the excuse that they had run into each other while shopping. A little more believable on Mina's end than Izuku's, but Izuku had told Mina the night before that he needed to do some actual shopping anyways, so his cover was good, and what had gotten them to decide on this being their next meeting for the project.

A little more informal than the 'cram session' they had the night before, but no less impactful to the ultimate goal. Of course, for Mina, she was actually starting to thank Aizawa for this project, since getting to know and hang out with people was what she excelled at. Though, she did start to ponder the meaning behind his selection process. Was it random? Or did Aizawa have a reason for pairing who he paired. Mina just shrugged as she continued her transit to the mall.

She had finally arrived, and began walking to the entrance. The agreement had been for whoever got there first to wait for the other near the entrance. Mina felt a pang of regret, though, when she realized Izuku was a fairly early riser. She groaned to herself at how inconsiderate she thought she was, and took her phone out to text him. She never did, though, as she saw a familiar mess of curly green in her view. She walked up to him. She didn't want to scare him, so she made sure she was in hearing distance when she called out to him.

"Hey, Midori! Fancy meeting you here," she said, her broad smile on her face. He turned to see her, and smiled back.

"Oh, h-hey, Ashido," he replied back. Once Mina got close enough, she dropped her smile a bit. Well, actually, quite a bit, as her previous thoughts came back to her.

"I totally realized how inconsiderate I was for having whoever got here to wait," she said. He looked a little confused. "I mean, I know how you like to be an early riser, so I don't know how long you've been waiting, or could have been waiting for me to get here. I'm-I'm sorry. I'm a horrible partner."

This was very un-Mina like, but, for whatever reason, she didn't want to act this way with Izuku. He was far too nice, and always considerate of others. Those reasons were just a few things Mina found attractive about him.

Wait, what? she realized what she was just thinking, but Izuku's response saved her from dwelling on it too much.

"Oh, you don't have to feel bad about that, Ashido!" he quickly interjected. "I haven't been here that long. I had my whole workout routine that I did this morning first. I should have messaged you when I got here. So, it's kind of my fault that--" Mina raised her hand to stop him. Trying to put the blame on himself always made Mina's heart sink.

"I won't have you doing that, now," she said. "This was my idea, so the fault is going to lay with me. No arguments." She finished her point as he was about open his mouth to try. He closed it, before sighing. He gave her a warm smile.

"Well, I still haven't been there that long, so don't feel so bad," he said, reassuringly. She giggled, since she knew he wouldn't entirely go down with letting her take the blame, at least finding a way to make her feel better about everything.

They soon found themselves going from store to store, sometimes just perusing, other times actually picking up an item or so. Mina was having a blast, and, if Izuku's face was any indicator, the One for All user was as well.

They had been going at it for a while, chatting and shopping, when Mina felt her stomach grumble. Apparently, Izuku's stomach decided to respond in kind, almost like they were speaking to one another. Izuku and Mina looked at one another, and just laughed at it. Mina finally stopped laughing long enough to put words together.

"Guess we should get some food, huh?" Izuku nodded at her idea, and they made a beeline for the food court. They ordered a fairly light lunch before looking for a place to sit in the now more crowded mall. They searched around for a bit before Mina spotted a bench, figuring it was their best option right now.

"Hey, Midori, I found a spot!" she called out to him. He smiled, as he made his way to her.

"That's great, Ashido!" He replied. "I'm surprised we were able to with all of the....people...." his voice trailed off as his eyes locked on to the bench Mina had found. His face started to pale, and he instinctively took a step back. Mina had almost sat down when she saw the look on Izuku's face. Her brows furrowed.

"Midoriya? You okay?" she asked, making her way up to him. His throat was parched, but not from thirst, as his eyes stayed glued to the bench. After a full minute of silence, he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Ashido. I can't sit there." There was pain in his voice. Mina gave him a confused look. Izuku had now broken his gaze long enough to see it. "That's where Shigaraki had me." It was a simple statement, but one that hit Mina like a truck. She let out a little gasp.

"Midori, I am so sorry," she said, sincerity in her words. Instinctively, she grabbed his free hand with hers, and started to pull him away from the area. "C'mon. We'll find somewhere else." Luckily for the pair, they found another table not that far off. They ate in relative silence for a few minutes before Mina spoke again.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry, again. I--" she was cut off as Izuku put up a hand. He looked at smiled at her reassuringly.

"You didn't know," he said quietly. "But, thank you. For everything." Mina nodded in return. She felt a little better, but still felt that maybe there was more she could do to cheer the boy up. But what was the real question. Soon enough, they were finished with their lunch, and began to walk around again, though they were much quieter.

Mina couldn't stand it. She wanted Izuku to be back to enjoying himself. Before she could say anything, though, Izuku spoke up.

"I'm sorry I ruined the day for you," he was saying. She gave him an incredulous look. "I really was having a great time. And then I totally killed the mood." She shook her head.

"No Midor-Izuku," she said, conviction in her voice. "If anyone is responsible for letting the mood down, it was me. Again. I'm sorry. I do a lot of things without thinking, and that's not fair to you, especially with something like tha--" she was stopped as she looked into his eyes. He was smiling in gratitude, but there was definitely a fire in his eyes.

"Ashi-Mina," he said, cutting her off by using her actual name. "You took the blame for earlier. Let me take this one. You couldn't have known." She closed her mouth. The air was definitely better about them than a moment ago. She let out an exaggerated sigh before smiling.

"Alright, Midori, let's see what else we can get in to today."

A/N: Apologies for the delay in this one. This chapter was definitely longer than I expected. It also dealt with a fairly heavy issue that may or may not come up again, though probably not in the way you think. ;)