While making their way through the busy streets of I-Island, Melissa made conversation with three members of the group. The blonde couldn't help, but gasp at some of their stories, "You encountered smugglers?" She shook her head, "That's crazy."

Tsu shook her head, "I didn't do much myself." She put her finger on her chin, "It was mostly my mentor, Selkie."

Melissa twirled her finger, "Oh, you know, he'll be at the reception party tonight."

The Rainy Hero smiled warmly, "I wouldn't mind talking to him again."

Ashido grinned, "Man, you have such awesome stories, Tsu."

Yaoyorozu nodded, "Yes, you are quite lucky to have such encounters."

Tsu turned, "I wouldn't say luck, Yao-Momo."

The ravenette shook her head, "Still you have experience that I failed to find." She lowered her head, "I can't help, but feel as if I've missed out."

The acidic girl pointed at her finger-guns, "Even without that experience, you still kicked Ectoplasm's butt!"

Yaoyorozu lifted her head, smiling, "I suppose."

Ashido looked over her shoulder, "Right, Midoriya?"

The Quirkless broccoli locked his phone, tucking it away, "Yep!" His mind stressed, "Crap, I have no idea what they're talking about…"

Tsu turned, "What have you been doing here, Midoriya?"

He listed it on his fingers, "Upgraded the suit…" His mind blushed, "Went out on a date…" A shrug followed, "And meeting with another Quirkless Hero…"

Yaoyorozu blinked, "Oh, you've upgraded?"

Midoriya nodded, "Yes, for the fifth time, I believe."

Jirou smirked, speaking without addressing the broccoli directly, "Imagine: you built this amazing suit, do well in class, but you can't count."

He blushed, stammering out, "S-Sixth time!" He rubbed his brow before sighing.

The rocker leaned forward, poking her way into his field of vision, "Don't feel too bad, Midori~." She smirked, "Happens to best of us."

He couldn't meet her eyes, "Dammit…!"

Ashido raised a brow, "Well, can we see it?"

Midoriya blinked, "Oh, uh, Suit Zeta?"

Melissa tilted her head, "If we don't make her push super-sonic and have her fly just above the buildings, we shouldn't have any problems."

The Quirkless broccoli scratched his chin, "Should I notify Control?"

She nodded, "Of course."

He fished out his phone, "I need to make a call or two."

Ashido murmured, "Eh, all of this sounds kinda like a spy movie."

Jirou tucked her hands into her pockets, "Well, let's keep heading to that café."

Melissa nodded, smiling, "Hm," alongside an array of agreement.

Jirou sighed as she came onto a familiar sight, "You've got to be kidding me…" The sight was of the café that Kaminari and Mineta were working at. Of course, she couldn't see the two at the moment, but the mere knowledge was bothersome. Though, she may be in luck as the café was busier than she last saw it, so the pair might be too busy to pay them any thought.

The group of six took their seats at an outside table. They fell into small talk, but Jirou couldn't help but feel as if she was forgetting something. She blinked for a moment before her hall of memories clicked, "Midoriya told Kaminari that he invited me here…!" She sighed internally, "Damn it…"

A hand snaked to grasp hers—underneath the table and out of view. She blinked for a moment before looking up to see a concerned look from Midoriya, "Are you okay?" His voice was barely above a whisper as the rest of the group were lost in their conversation.

Jirou smiled, shaking her head, "Y-Yeah, just stressing out… over nothing…" She straightened in her seat, "I'm fine." Her hand squeezed his before slinking her hand away as they reentered the group.

Ashido shook her head, "I can't believe your dad made a flying city!" She rested her chin in her palms as she propped her elbows on the table, "That's so cool."

Melissa nodded, "And, we'll be having the reception party on it."

Tsu tilted her head, "Is that safe?"

The blonde smiled, "Of course." She tilted her head, "From what I understand it will launch at sunset and land at ten during the night."

A familiar voice entered the conversation, "Reception party, huh?" Kaminari placed a few drinks in front of members of the group, "Going without us?" With Mineta, providing some assistance.

Midoriya and Jirou were the first greet him, "Hey, Kaminari/Jamming-Yay."

He scowled at her before turning to Yaoyorozu's question, "What're you doing here?"

Mineta replied with a smile, "We got a part-time job here."

The two waiters slipped towards the Quirkless broccoli, whispering to him as they gestured to the blonde of the group, "Hey, Midoriya. Aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend over there?"

He blinked for a moment before turning to her, "Melissa, this is Kaminari and Mineta. They are our classmates from Yuuei. You might recognize them from the Sports Festival."

She blinked for a moment before nodding, "Ah, yes." She pointed to her fellow blond, "You're the one that fries his brain once you overuse your Quirk."

Jirou spat, choking into a bout of laughter.

Kaminari sighed, tucking his tray underneath his arm, "Heh-heh, that's uh… not how I want to be remembered."

Midoriya patted his back, "Things will get better."

A few patrons of the restaurant called out variations of, "What's that?" as the roar of repulsors filled the air.

The Quirkless Hero pushed out his chair before standing, "Ah, Suit Zeta." The exo-armor of green, silver, and black landed with a metallic thud before it stood stiffly. Midoriya straightened his clothes before walking over to the hardware before turning his back to it. Panels shifted open, revealing the inner workings of the suit, while his helmet was collapsed into his collar-piece before he back-stepped into the armor. The armor closed over him, locking into place with a hiss. He rolled his shoulders as he checked the screen on the inner part of his forearm.

Kaminari grinned, walking up to him, "Whoa, man! Hell of an upgrade!"

Midoriya tapped on the screen, "Yeah, well, everything's a work in progress."

Ashido examined him from afar, tilting her head, "It's very you."

He blinked with a smile, shrugging, "I can assure you that I have no idea what you mean by that."

Jirou laughed before she crossed her arms, "I'm sure it was a compliment."

The acidic girl nodded, "Yeah, definitely!"

Yaoyorozu smiled, "It is fascinating how far your technology has progressed."

Melissa brought her hands together, "How infinite in faculty is man."

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, "I wouldn't go that far." Which he regretted slightly as segments of his armor pinched his skin. "O-Ow…"

Another familiar voice shouted into the air as the familiar roar of Quirk-based engines closed in on the group, "Kaminari! Mineta!"

The waiters fell to the ground as he rushed in, "AAAHHH!"

Iida gestured strangely at them as he always did, "You two are the examples of Yuuei! You shouldn't be lollygagging while there are so many customers!"

They shouted in reply, "AH! Sorry!"

He spun on his heel, "And Midoriya!" He pointed, "You damaged the pavement! You should be more careful with your technology!"

The broccoli stumbled, "S-Sorry, Iida!"

Tsu let out a ribbit as Yaoyorozu helped Kaminari up, "Iida, why're you here?"

Iida pushed up his glasses, "My family was invited." He seemed to calm down, "I will be attending the reception party with my brother."

Kaminari dusted off his apron, "Eh, does everyone get to go to that thing?"

Melissa tapped her chin, "Well, I suppose I can arrange for a two extra tickets."

The waiters turned to her excitedly, "Really?" Though, Iida pushing his glasses made the two flinch.

The blonde clapped her hands together, "Sure!"

The two grinned, shaking her hands individually, "Thank you, Melissa!"

A woman poked her head out from the café, "Kaminari! Mineta! Get back to work!"

They saluted for some reason, "Y-Yes, sir—ma'am!" The two rushed off as Kaminari spoke, "We'll be on break in half an hour so if you want to hang just swing by!" As they slipped back into their roles, a loud crash roared through the air and a rumble shook the ground.

Jirou blinked, "The hell?"

Melissa snapped her fingers, "Oh, that must be the arena event for Heroes." She explained to the group, "A timed combat sim: destroy a certain number of robots."

Ashido grinned, "Ooh! We should check it out!" She flexed her arm, patting her bicep, "And maybe even compete! We don't get to use our Quirks outside of school that often anyway."

Tsu tilted her head, "It would be nice to test ourselves."

Yaoyorozu nodded, "It has been awhile since we've utilized our Quirks for combat." She smiled, "I would like to push myself as well."

Midoriya rolled his shoulder, "It would be nice to run Suit Zeta through its paces."

Iida nodded, "That impact was quite worrying as well."

Jirou eyed the arena from their distance, "Yeah, definitely. I wonder who did that."

Melissa smiled, "Then, shall we?"

-\ XXX /-

"T-That was Mount Lady, everybody, at thirty seconds!"

The announcer woman chuckled nervously as the gigantification Hero shrunk down to her normal size. The rocky, mountainous terrain that once held her robotic opponents was now, in large part, a crater. It was to be expected considering her Quirk, but there was a question of how the next contestant was to participate. Of course, that concern didn't fall upon the ears of Mount Lady's fans who were drowned in her merchandise. They cheered and cried out as she grinned, waving her hands.

She turned back to her microphone and the crowd, "W-While we set up for the next match, why don't we meet our next contestant!?"

The young redhead walked up to her in a red and black Hero costume, "Heh, I don't think I'm gonna do that well compared to her."

"Why don't you tell the crowd your name?"

He smiled warmly as he spoke into the mic, "I'm Kirishima Eijiro!"

She put a hand on her hip, tilting her head, "You seem too young to be a Pro."

"I'm a student from Yuuei."

"Ah, I see!" She raised a brow, "Do you have a Hero name in mind?"

Kirishima grinned, "Oh, uh, Red Riot!"

She grinned, "Well, Red Riot, your goal is to battle twenty-five robots!" She elaborated, "You'll be timed and if you do well enough, you may get your Hero name on the scoreboard!" The screen that displayed over the entire arena shifted, unveiling the names of those previous participants. Mount Lady's name was the top of the board of the current day's winnings.

His fists hardened as he slammed his knuckles together, "Gotcha!"

The announcer bowed, "The stage is yours." She chuckled awkwardly, "It was once a mountainous range, but… you'll be fighting in a crater now."

The redhead lowered his body, readying for the fight, "Ready!"

"GO!"

-\ X /-

"Midoriya?"

Midoriya turned to see a familiar, dual-colored classmate, "Todoroki?" He, alongside Yaoyorozu, Tsu, Ashido, and Jirou, were in a tunnel that led to the arena of the combat simulation. As Melissa couldn't compete, she left for the bleachers to watch alongside Iida.

Ashido tilted her head, "Eh~? What're you doing here?"

Todoroki shrugged, "I was invited to the Expo both because of my position in the Sports Festival and…" He frowned slightly, "My father."

Tsu ribbited, "You're competing, huh?"

The icy/hot teen shrugged, "I thought I'd test my mettle."

Yaoyorozu smiled, "You as well?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

A familiar voice scowled, "Deku?"

Midoriya turned, blinking at the sight of his childhood… acquaintance, "Ah? Kacchan?" The blond had just walked out of a waiting room of some kind, kicking the door behind himself.

Bakugo looked the broccoli up and down, "You upgraded your suit."

He looked down at himself, smiling proudly, "Yeah."

"The old one looked better."

Midoriya visibly flinched, blinking, "Ah…" He put a hand on his chest, speaking with slight confusion on his tongue, "That… That was the worst. That hurt a lot for some reason."

Jirou chuckled, "Damaged your pride?"

Deku shook his head, "No… Just… my feelings…"

Bakugo rolled his eyes, "Get the fuck over it." He looked past them, spotting his once-upon-a-time opponent, "Eh? So, the Canadian flag's here too?" He walked beyond them, moving towards the insulted party.

The rocker coughed, covering her mouth, "Pfft." She hid her giggle, shaking her head and turning away, "S-Sorry."

Midoriya smiled, whispering to her, "Enjoying yourself?"

She shook her head, recomposing, "I just didn't expect it."

He shrugged, "You know, it wouldn't be too hard." He teetered his head, "Red, white; big maple leaf on his chest." He whispered as if he was one of those Super Sentai announcers, "Captain Canada~!"

Jirou covered her mouth, "Pfft."

He smirked, "Soba pancakes." He swung his arms with his body, speaking with a strange dialect, "My Hero name used to be Shoto, 'ay."

She shook her head, "It's such a bad joke."

Midoriya laughed, "Yeah, it's pretty awful, huh?"

Bakugo brought the pair's attention back to the group, "What're you two laughing about?"

The broccoli shrugged, turning with a smile, "Nothing."

Jirou blushed, coughing, "N-Nothing."

Ashido tilted her head, "Eh?" "Come on! What's so funny?"

Midoriya put his hands up, "Nothing at all, Ashido."

She pouted in response, "Hmph."

"Next contestant!"

Bakugo pushed his way through the group, "Move it, extras." Tsu and Yaoyorozu walked after him to observe while Midoriya danced around Ashido's questions. This left Jirou and Todoroki to make up the caboose of the group as they pushed on. The blond rushed into the arena, leaving the group behind and introducing himself with an explosive clap.

Ashido slowed her pace as Midoriya joined Tsu and Yaoyorozu in their observation of Bakugo's performance. She pouted as she turned to the rocker, "Midori's acting weird."

Jirou rubbed the back of her neck; a slight smile on her lips, "You sure he isn't just nervous or something?"

"What were you two laughing about?"

The rocker blinked, "Huh? Oh, nothing."

The acidic girl's pout became in combo with a furrowed brow.

Jirou put her hands up, "What? I don't know what to tell you." "It was just a dumb joke."

Ashido crossed her arms, "Fine. Don't tell me."

"I just did!"

The acidic girl picked up her pace, leaving the rocker behind, "Hmph."

She sighed, rubbing her brow, "That'll be a pain later…"

Todoroki turned to her, "Is there something between you and Midoriya?"

Jirou blushed, "E-Eh?" Sh waved her hand, "N-No, it's nothing. It really was a dumb joke." Her mind finished, "At your expense, no less…"

XXX

AN: Howdy, everybody! Gonna keep this simple. I'm safe and fine. I hope that all of you keep yourselves fine and healthy as well. I'll try and maintain my current posting schedule and I'll keep everyone updated if something happens on my end.

And so, criticize away, leave your comments and thoughts in a review, and thank you for reading!