A/N: I apologize for this very sporadic update schedule :( Unfortunately, the business I tend to on Wednesdays has increased throughout the week, and I'm only able to update once a week now. The chapters will come out on the very original schedule I had it at - every Sunday.

*Except for Season Three, each title will follow the episode in which it was adapted

Game Start

"Relax."

His words were dangerously close.

"If you fight back too much, my hand might just slip and…"

The darkness weighed heavily on Ai's body. Every time she closed her eyes to rest, they were waiting for her. Every hand grappled on with a deadly squeeze. Every word spoken echoed throughout her mind.

"Poof."

No matter how hard she fought, they always came back.

"Ai-chan."

The toughest hand was the one on her neck. It held on with one less finger, but its force was stronger than anything that Ai could muster to rid her of its hold.

"Ai-chan?"

As the others disappeared, its grip merely tightened. It extended into the form of a human body that loomed over her. His voice was raspy yet perfectly clear.

"Do you want to die?"

She grabbed his arm. She pushed him away. She screamed at him. Every attempt in making him disappear was futile. He would do the same thing over and over and over again, waiting for her to cave in. Then, when she was the most exhausted, unable to protest as he leaned in, he would repeat this statement at the end of every nightmare.

"See you soon."

"Ai-chan!"

The dazed girl snapped out of her trance, met with three different gazes as the four students arrived at the entrance of their designated training area. Not only had she been quiet the entire walk to UA's swimming facility, but she was also unresponsive to all of Midoriya's attempts to get her attention.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Midoriya-kun."

"Are you okay," Midoriya asked, not noticing how Kaminari and Mineta were anxiously bouncing on their toes, waiting to burn the images of their bikinied peers into their brains forever. "You look tired. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"Yeah," Ai stammered, flustered by his bombardment of concern. Before she could explain herself further, however, Kaminari and Mineta were already sprinting off to the doors.

"Come, let us go," the two exclaimed, unaware of how they were simultaneously voicing their fantasies. "To our paradise!"

Ai couldn't help but snicker at them, which earned a relieved sigh from Midoriya. The best friends glanced at each other with a smile before entering the pool area themselves, bombarded by the sight of their entire class. Almost immediately, Ai could feel her face heat up. However, it wasn't because of the sight of the shirtless boys, but more so of how all of the girls were in school issued swimsuits.

"Ai-chan," Uraraka exclaimed, continuing to stretch with the other female students. Uraraka watched as Ai approached them from the other side of the pool, hugging herself tightly.

"I didn't realize we were all going to wear the same bathing suits," Ai said, feeling out of place with her oversized shirt covering her personal bikini underneath.

"That's fine," Uraraka said, waving for Ai to come over. "There's an extra swimsuit for you so- Ai-chan!"

Instead of walking into paradise, Kaminari and Mineta were plagued with the nightmare of endurance training under the strict supervision of their class representative. It chilled them to the core. However, as Mineta glanced over to witness the girls' conversation, a lightbulb came over his head.

"Yes class rep," Mineta exclaimed, giving Kaminari a knowing glance. The electric boy caught on and returned a grin in agreeance. "To warm up for our endurance training, I'll go run some laps really quick!"

"Mineta-kun!" Iida's hands were flailing as his concern quickly grew. "You're not supposed to run at a pool! You could hurt yourself or others!" His voice heightened as soon as Mineta ran into Ai's back, knocking the girl forward into the water. The echo of the splash along with Iida and Uraraka's exclamations mixed in caused the entire class to look over at them. Midoriya was quick to help Ai out of the water, making sure she wasn't hurt as she brushed her wet bangs from her face.

"Oops," Mineta said, feigning ignorance as he and Kaminari were nearly drooling. "Sorry Shuzenji, I'll make sure not to run again." He gave an innocent chuckle and toothy grin, though the sparkle in his eyes gave away his intentions.

Ai was a tomato at this point, but she sighed more so out of disappointment because the shirt that clung to her figure was the only clothing she brought that she had intended to keep dry. The other girls had come to the same side as the boys, and they were livid.

"Mineta, you little perv," Jiro growled, being held back by the arms from Uraraka and Mina.

"It's okay, really," Ai said, waving her hands up between the cowering purple boy and her other classmates. "I was planning on swimming in this anyways, so…" Her fingers cupped the hem of her shirt, and as soon as she peeled it off, Mineta and Kaminari were met with towels thrown straight to their faces. The other boys looked away, and the girls surrounded Ai as she did her best to wring out any remaining water.

"You look cute, Ai-chan," Tsuyu croaked.

"I agree," Yaoyorozu added. "We should all bring our own swimsuits sometime!"

"When there aren't any boys around," Mina said, making a face over at Kaminari and Mineta who were being chastised by Iida.

"Thank you everyone," Ai said, giving her peers a warm smile. "I should probably go change now." Although the boys weren't intentionally trying to stare, the side glances they stole made a certain hot-headed teen's blood boil. However, someone else had beat him in approaching Ai. Once she grabbed her school swimsuit from a folding chair, she turned and collided with a shirt that was held up to her shoulders. "Ice King?" The material came down to her mid thighs, and Ai accepted when Todoroki placed it into her free hand. She was just grateful that her blush was still prominent from before, otherwise it would have given away her… other feelings. Todoroki's eyes didn't wander, but the continued silence made Ai acutely aware of her increasing heartbeat. "D-Did you need anything else?"

"Well," Todoroki started. He remembered back to a conversation he had with his mother after the day he and Ai had visited together.

"Mom," Todoroki had said. "How do you get girls to smile?"

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden, Shoto?" Rei's grin overlapped with her curiosity, and there was a twinkle in her eyes along with the assumption of who her son could be referring to.

"Well…" Todoroki's voice trailed, and though the blush was faint, it was the first time in a long time – or even at all, that Rei had seen him so flustered. "I have a friend…"

"Mmhmm," Rei hummed.

"And I really like her smile," Todoroki said. His filter was already normally lowered around his mother, but now, he just spoke without thinking. "But sometimes she loses it just as quickly as it comes. I want to know if there's anything I can do to keep her happy."

"I see," Rei said. She intertwined her fingers over her lap as she crossed her legs. "Shoto, you of all people should know that happiness isn't a constant thing, and when it comes to girls, it gets a little more complicated." She couldn't help but smile at Todoroki's disappointed pout, followed by his deepened intrigue upon her next words. "But when it comes to Ai, you should just keep being yourself. You shouldn't have to change for a girl to be happy with you, Shoto. Everyone has different circumstances that aren't your responsibility, but the smiles that she shares with you are at least within your control."

Todoroki was in a slight daze, contrasting against his usual confident bluntness. He was still calm though, unwilling to look away even as Ai stared up at him like a lost puppy. "I wanted to say that I think you look cu-"

"You look like a damn idiot!"

Both Ai and Todoroki glanced to the side, watching as Bakugo stomped up to them with a nervous Kirishima following close behind. Ai scrambled with the swimsuit and shirt in her hands, holding them closer to her body as Bakugo approached. Though however red her expression, she was still able to scowl up at the blond.

"At least I can change," Ai yelled back, "but you'll always look like a stupid jerk!" The two had continued their training together ever since summer break started, becoming more accustomed and comfortable with reciprocated insults.

"You're the stupid one for listening to Dunce Face and Purple Balls," Bakugo retorted, unable to step any further due to Kirishima's arm in front of his shoulders. "And now you're taking Icy Hot's shirt like he's your damn boyfriend or something?!"

"Ice King's just being nice, unlike you," Ai said, "and even if he was, is that such a problem?!" Her final exclamation made both Bakugo and Todoroki pause, and the sudden awkwardness that settled among them made Ai's face ignite like a kettle. She shoved Todoroki's shirt back into his hands and raced off to the changing rooms.

"Shuzenji-kun!" Iida was on Ai's tail, flailing his arm up and down at her. "Running around the pool is dangerous!"

"Y-You're doing the same thing, Iida-kun!" It was the last thing Ai said before slamming the door shut behind her. Ugh, Ai thought, her words to Bakugo repeating in her mind like a broken record. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read and giving your opinion (: You can also find this story by searching its title on these other platforms, or going to my profiles:

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