Summer vacation meant many things to Itsuka. Most of them were boring. It meant waking up early with her father to see the sunrise, it meant doing chores, getting extra training, being bored out of her mind as the steamy summer heat suffocated her. It also meant wishing that she actually had a close group of friends to come and invite her out to do stuff.

Or for her to invite out to do stuff.

It wasn't that she was an outcast, rather she just didn't really belong to any one group. Most of the time it wasn't that big of a deal, she was normally to busy with the Dojo, school work or various other things. It just sucked when she had free time, like right now.

Maybe she should see if Izuku was free to do something. Assuming he could even stand straight long enough to do anything. Even without the 'extra motivation' her father wanted to use he was still training an insane amount and was tired constantly. She'll ask him when she saw him next, he deserved at least some kind of a break.

Before he trained himself into the hospital, at this rate he was going to be too tired to learn any martial arts to use for that tournament her father signed them up for.

Tightening up her shoes, and checking her phone one last time - surprise, no messages - turned on her music and adjusted her running gear. This was her first time going out before six for a run, but it was the best way to beat the heat and get out of the home and dojo.

That and it didn't cost any money.

"Okay!" She called, looking back half expecting her father to be looming behind her with some kind of a chore for her to do. He wasn't there, he might not have been in earshot. "I'm heading out for a bit! I'll see you later!"

"Oh?" Her father stuck his head out from the corner, his salt and pepper mustache was wild this morning, and his black hair was free falling past his shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Just a run," She smiled bouncing on one foot to the other. These new shoes felt pretty great "I think I'll head to the beach for a bit, I'll be back in time for class!"

She had a hand on the door before her father could try to stop her or worse. Join her.

"Bye! See you!" The door slammed shut behind her and she hit the ground running, clearing the three steps that lead into the dojo with ease. Normally she would head left to get the train and head to her school, instead, she went right, heading deeper into the Musutafu prefecture.

From there it was a mile of back roads until she came to a river she didn't know the name of despite rolling on its artificial banks as a child several times, then she'd follow it down stream until she found the beach. Once at the beach, she'd head right again, rulling along the pathway that stretched all the way to the next river. She'd probably turn around once she reached that beach that had basically become a junkyard.

Finding her stride was the hard part of running, going just fast enough to feel the burn, to get a runner's high without exhausting herself. She always wanted to go full sprint, to charge until the very end even if doing so would leave her panting for breath halfway through. That was the only reason why she didn't come in first during physicals this year!

"Gah!" She half panted half shouted taking a hard left at the river and following it downstream. Her speed was increasing and she glared ahead, her breath coming with every step to push her forward. Izuku was probably out there giving it is all just so that he could get into U.A. without a quirk. And she was just taking things at the same pace she always had.

If he was doing this to get in U.A. then why wasn't she? Just because she had a quirk? Just because she was stronger and knew how to fight already? What if he passed her up. What if he managed to beat her because he kept pushing himself harder and harder while she went on cruise control.

Fuck that.

"Damit!" She shouted, going past a casual run into a full sprint. She didn't want to just be another hero, she didn't want people to ask her name when she saved them, she wanted them to know, she wanted to be at the top. And that wasn't going to happen if she kept standing still! Stupid Izuku! Stupid father! Stupid everything! This was all her fault!

By the time she reached the end of the river her legs were screaming at her to stop, her lungs burned and her brow was slick with sweat, the T-shirt she had worn in favor of a tank-top was proving to be a mistake as it began to bunch up around the middle from her heavy movement. And her sweats were proving to be more of an annoyance than anything it was summer! She should have worn shorts!

But she wasn't going to stop! She was going to reach the end of the beach even if it killed her! In the space of a breath, she had just enough time to blame Izuku once again, apparently his motivation, discipline, or whatever the hell her father saw in the kid.

In reality, she was just a very competitive person and when she was a child got in a staring contest with her own reflection (she won).

Her legs were burning, her stomach was grumbling, her lungs were on fire, and her posture had all suffered fatal blows by the time she neared the end of her run. The walkway was ending and turned right to go up a hill but beyond that sat what once was a beautiful beach, now covered in trash.

But her goal was in sight, a lone truck half-way filled with junk was parked in front of the entrance to the beach turned junkyard. Just a few more steps. All her energy was drained from her when she touched the truck, a few dying steps were all she could manage before she fell onto the well-maintained grass.

The sun was still low in the sky, but she didn't have the faintest idea of what time it was, nor did she have the energy to check. "Way to go Itsuka, you wore yourself out." she flopped onto her back, enjoying the cool sea breeze and warm sun rays for a moment. "And now you have to go all the way back."

Her legs threatened to cramp in response. At least her feet didn't hurt, new running shoes were a success.

With a groan she slapped herself on the forehead, wiping off the gallon of sweat that must have been there before she let out a laugh - that hurt - and a smile. That also hurt. "I can't believe I basically just sprinted five miles because of Izuku."

She wasn't going to stop though.

"Come on you blind fanboy, we've been at it for an hour and the truck is still half full!" The voice was harsh and cut through the air like a whip. "Your summer vacation is almost over isn't it boy? We still have a lot of work to do if you want to get into U.A!"

"Coming!" another voice replied, though she had to strain herself to be able to hear it over the waves. "I'm not giving up! All Might!"

All Might? Wait, she recognized that whiney voice! It was Izuku!

With a second wind that was barely strong enough to get her to her feet she looked out onto the beach, there was a swath being carved into the junk, and in the center of that swatch was a gangly blond man that looked familiar wearing a black tracksuit, and further down the beach wearing a green tracksuit was Izuku.

He was struggling to carry an appliance that must have weighed at least one hundred lbs made only worse by its awkward shape and size. She looked around, why did he say All Might? Who was that man? Was he cleaning the beach? Why? Maybe it was part of his training, didn't the blonde man say something about U.A.?

Stepping down onto the beach she walked towards them, hands behind her back as she stretched into the warm sun and cool sea breeze. Summer mornings were something magical. At least until the unbearably wet sticky heat left the entire country covered in sweat.

"Izuku?" she asked standing near that familiar old man, she'd seen him somewhere. "What's going on did you get some kind of a summer job?"

The appliance gave a soft thud when it fell to the ground embedding itself loose sand. "Itsuka! Wha-what are you doing here?"

She shrugged, letting out another pant as she caught her breath. "I went for a morning run," he didn't need to know that it was because she had nothing better to do. "And heard you two from the street. Do you need some help?"

"No!" Izuku nearly shouted, flailing his arms about and taking a step back. His cheeks were red, he must be pushing himself hard. "I umm, no, that is, I umm,"

"This is part of his training," the blonde haired man spoke groaning as he ran a hand along the back of his neck. "If he follows my workout plan and manages to clear this beach of trash he'll be that much closer to going to U.A."

"Uh-huh," this didn't sound fishy at all. "Who are you?" She looked back towards Izuku, "And didn't I hear you say All Might? Is he around?"

"Oh, uhh, well that is, I," He took another step back looking between her and the man. "I was just,"

"You misheard, he was calling my name, though I don't think we've been introduced properly" The man smiled, something that sent a chill down her spine, and gave a small and rather lackluster flex that sent him into a coughing fit, "I'm Small Might, All Might's personal trainer."

All Might has a personal trainer? And it was this guy? Were they like family or a childhood friend? She needed to be less judgemental of new people, it wasn't healthy. Wait, All Might? "Oh, I think I saw you when All Might saved Izuku from that slime villain."

"That's correct," Small Might clapped his hands in front of him and smiled like an over eager shop keeper. "I recall seeing you then as well, and how you stood up to those Heroes for bad mouthing young Midoriya's bravery."

"So, why are you training Izuku?" She looked around the beach and gestured towards the mountains of scrap. "And why by cleaning up the beach?"

"Two birds with one stone," He shrugged shaking his head. "This beach used to be a beautiful spot, so cleaning it up is good charity work and a good work out, and I'm training Izuku because I was impressed by him and his desire to go to U.A." A spark seemed to flicker in the man's sunken eyes as he looked towards Izuku. It was the same glare her father would get when he was excited about something. "I believe that going there would help him and other even if he doesn't have a powerful quirk."

He laughed, standing up straight with both hands on his hips. "At least it worked out for me!"

Oh, now it made a bit more sense. "But, why haven't I heard about you before? Wouldn't All Mights personal trainer be highly sought after?"

"We thought it was best to keep it a secret." Then why tell her? He clapped his hands and motioned towards Izuku, a frown back in place. "Now then, that's enough of a break! Get back to work!"

"Yes sir!" Izuku chirped, grabbing the appliance and shifting it until he was under its weight. "Sorry Itsuka, I'll uhh see you later?"

"Uhh yea, sure." She stood there watching him slowly walk towards her, the extra give of the sand making a simple trip that much more difficult while the stairs would also add to the challenge. It actually might be a good workout. "Oh, wait, when you have free time do you think we could hang out? When we're not training or something? It's been kind of a boring summer."

"Oh! I, umm, I'm-" there he went stuttering again, shame they couldn't train a backbone into him. "I might not have the -"

"There's a fireworks festival this friday, why don't you two go?" Small Might nodded, folding his arms. "Yes, that would be a good way to relax before the exam season starts up and then you really won't have any free time, I'll even see if I can't get All Might to make an appearance."

"Yea! That sounds like fun!" especially since it was actually doing something. "But, let's not dress up for it, a Yukata is so not my style." That and she didn't own one. "What do you think Izuku?"

His face was beat red and he looked out of it. "A fireworks festival?" he squeaked, adjusting the appliance. "I umm, yea! Just the two of us. Right. Yea! Sounds fun!"

Operation make her summer vacation not completely suck was a success.

XXXX

It was not a date. They were just two friends, wearing casual clothes, going to a fireworks festival. It was not a date. It was not a date. It was just them, a boy, a girl, hanging out, at a fireworks festival. Nothing more, nothing less, there was absolutely no way that he could even think of it as a date.

Which was why his stomach had been upset since he woke up, and he showered twice and kept staring at the clock wondering how early he should go there and how long he wanted to wait around incase Itsuka was late. But what if she was early? How long would he keep her waiting? She was a naturally early person, made she was already there and hadn't texted him yet?

It was not a date.

Izuku groaned running his hand through his still wet hair. Hopefully he didn't smell like sweat right now. Not that Itsuka probably cared to much about that considering how most of the time he was around her he was drenched in sweat. Or in some kind of pain. What was he supposed to talk about? What was he supposed to do? The only time he went to the fireworks festival was with his mom! And they haven't done that in a few years!

It was not a date.

Should he comb his hair? If he did what would she think? Would she think that he was trying to dress up to impress her? What if he didn't comb his hair but she didn't? What if she put in an effort and showed up with a cute hair-do and a flower in it? No, that wouldn't happen, this was Itsuka, she didn't really do girly stuff like that. Well, at least, that's what he thought. It just didn't seem like the kind of thing she'd do, her nails were always rough, and he'd only seen her wear her school skirt, but that wasn't really enough to go off.

Drumming his finger along his shorts he glanced up at his All Might clock. He still had a while to go. A long while. Maybe he should be training again? A little bit of extra weight training wouldn't hurt anything - or at least he hoped it was normal to be in a constant state of soreness. Besides it might help him relax and take his mind off the not date he had with Itsuka.

His phone buzzed, tearing his attention away from the hand dumbbells and back into a state of panic. Was she canceling? Was All Might going to make him do something? Was it a death threat from Kendo-sensei? He seemed like the type.

It was a text from Itsuka and his heart sank.

"Hey Izuku, do you mind if we meet up a bit early? I'm bored out of my mind here and I think my dad is trying to think up chores to give me."

Oh, he was worried over nothing he was still going to go on his not date with Itsuka. "Yea, sure, same place?"

It took him a bit longer to text that than it should have, considering how his hands were shaking so much that he hit the buttons several times.

"Awesome!" She put in a smiley face emoji. "I'll see you there!"

It wasn't a date, it wasn't a date, it was not a date.

They were just friends going to the fireworks festival alone.

Slipping on his shoes, he told his mom where he was going and slipped out the door before she could start making assumptions.

Finding Itsuka was the easy part, her orange hair made her stand out even among a crowd of mutation quirks, though it was probably just because of how often he looked at her hair that he was able to find it so easily among the loose crowd of people that was gathering as twilight approached.

She was wearing a simple a jean jacket that went to her waist, and a light blue sundress that went all the way to her bare knees, and boots. Heavy duty boots, the kind that would suck to get kicked by and were made more for climbing a mountain than walking around a festival. But she was also wearing a dress - a sundress was still technically a dress.

A smile broke out onto her face when she saw him and she waved him over while heading right towards him. This wasn't going to be one of those cases where he thought someone was excited to see him but it was actually someone behind him. He still checked behind him. "Izuku! Hey! How's it going?"

Words failed to come out of his mouth. He wanted to say that she looked cute, but that might be to much, was he supposed to say that to a girl? A girl that was just his friend? He never had a friend that was a girl, hell he barely had a friend that wanted to do stuff with him in middle school.

"You're wearing a dress." That was what he managed to say.

Itsuka snorted looking down at her outfit her hands still in the jacket pockets as she shrugged. "Do I really come off as such a tomboy? Really when I start worrying that my nails might break when I'm practicing, then you can worry about it."

"Yea," he mumbled, fidgeting with his fingers. "I can't see that happ-" he paused looking up at her. "What happens to nail polish when you use your quirk?"

"Falls off," she shrugged pulling out one of her hands to show him, "helps me clean them though, just grow them a bit and the dirt falls right now. But enough about that, let's go enjoy ourselves before school starts up again!"

She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into the corridor of stands. They went with the crowd, pausing at every stand that caught their interest, there was a Takoyaki, Taiyaki, even a few candies, all of which Itsuka was quite happy to eat and force him to eat.

It was the game booths were the real fun was had, attempting to catch fish - neither one of them were good at that game - ring tosses, baseball throwing, and more, it felt like that they went through every single game stall before the sun even set, and another half by the time the fireworks were supposed to start.

"Hey," Itsuka pulled on his arm again pointing at a path that lead up hill do a flat area, the Ryukyu mask she had won sitting on the back of her head. She had been smiling ear to ear since the festival started. "Let's go watch the fireworks up there, I bet we'll be able to see the fireworks pretty good."

"Yea," he let her take the date, never more than a few steps behind her as they walked the winding trail up the hill top. It was subtle, but there was a change in atmosphere, the groups of people they encountered were growing smaller, from families with children, to groups of friends, until once they reached the top, there was nothing but couples. "Uhh Itsuka?"

"Hmm?" she asked barely looking back as she bounded over to the railings, placing both hands on it and jumping up. If she noticed the other couples around them, holding hands, kissing, and the romantic atmosphere around them, she didn't care.

And why should she, it was not a date after all.

"Thanks for uhh, inviting me out tonight, it's been a lot of fun." Even if All Might was going to push him hard tomorrow, and probably Kendo-sensei.

"Yea! thanks for joining me, it would have sucked to go out on my own." She hopped up onto the railing, twirling her legs so that she sat on it and gestured towards an empty spot next to her. "We should do it again sometime, as important as training, studying, and practice is, I think we need to relax a bit every so often."

A firework exploded, lighting up the night sky with All Might smiling face, followed quickly by Endeavour and the rest of the top ten heroes in order. He might have missed his birthday training, but this was as good as any.

"We have six months until the U.A. entrance exams, and only three before that tournament," he kept his eyes on the sky, watching as the fireworks went up and exploded, his voice carried over the booms easily. "I want to give them my all."

"I'll do the same, I don't plan on letting you out do me anytime soon."

AN: Slow burn is slow. Part of me is wondering why I'm doing all this extra stuff, and part of me thinks that I'm doing it so that I don't have to write all the canon scenes. (I won't by the way, I'm not going to rewrite canon because that's kind of boring.) Once we get to U.A. I might be skipping things (Such as I won't write the first Deku vs Kaachan fight or even the U.A. evasion arc.) and will instead be focusing on Itsuka and Izuku.

... and U.A. is still like two chapters away. Holy crap this is a slow fic. Normally by now someone would have a crush on somebody!