Rule #35a: Always expect the unexpected
Toru brushed off invisible crumbs from her suit as she sat with her classmates (old & new) around the cafe table they had secured for lunch. With Kayano to her right and her UA classmates to the left, Toru felt like a bit of a buffer between the two. Although of course, this had been done in an order to deter her new friends from overwhelming Kayano—given her current stardom as a popular child actress.
Currently, the girls had gathered around one table whilst Midoriya sat off to the side. "Wow! You really got to work with Pro Heroes? Like out in the field?" Melissa—the unknown blonde—gushed.
"Just normal training and a few patrols" Ochako brushed off.
"I helped out with a hostage crisis, but only the evacuation part" Jiro added.
"That's still amazing!" Melissa replied in awe.
"Somehow I ended up in a TV commercial for hair products" Yaoyorozu sighed.
"Sounds like an experience! Lucky!"
"What about you, Toru?" Kayano piped up, "We never did hear about what happened at your internship"
"Uh, hehe…" Toru sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck as she remembered what happened to her, "Yeah…it was mostly training for me—a lot of setting stuff on fire, y'know…"
"Ooh! Did you bring s'mores?" Kayano wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Kay!" Toru teasingly shoved her friend, who laughed at their antics along with the others.
"Y'know, we were thinking about going to check out the pavilion where the Academy's exhibit is tomorrow" Jiro mentioned.
"I'm really excited!" Gushed Ochako, "Do you have something on display, Melissa?"
"Yeah, of course" Smiled the blonde.
"Is that…Mineta?" Ochako peered around Toru to look over at the two waiters who had been announced by Midoriya's call.
"What are you two doing here?" Jiro puzzled.
"They needed extra wait staff, and since it meant a free trip to the island, we applied to work, right?" Kaminari replied.
"We get to explore the expo on our breaks and we make some money" Mineta explained smugly, "Plus there's a chance we'll have passionate encounters with some of the cute—ooh! God! I think I'm in love!" He cut off having caught sight of both Melissa and Kayano.
"Are they always like this?" Kayano turned to the UA girls as Kaminari and Mineta hauled MIdoriya into a not-so-quiet perverted interrogation about the two girls.
"Yeah, pretty much" Toru sighed, sipping from her glass.
"Are they part of your Hero class too?" Melissa questioned innocently.
"That's right—!" Kaminari spun around and posed above Mineta.
"—We're basically Pros!" The two boys leered at the new girls.
"WHY ARE YOU TWO SLACKING OFF?!" Cried the resident speedster who suddenly zoomed in, "YOU WANTED TO MAKE MORE MONEY DIDN'T YOU?! BUT YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO WORK?!"
"Ooh! I know that voice!" Toru winced as Iida bounded into the scene
"Iida? You're here too?!" Ochako gasped.
"I come from a long line of heroes, it is to be expected that we received an invitation to the expo" Iida explained robotically. "But my family was busy, so it's just me"
"I wondered if you'd be here" Yaoyorozu spoke up, "I received an invitation because my father's a shareholder in one of the expo's sponsor companies. It's so fun to get to go to the preview!"
"Yeah! And she had a few extra tickets, so we basically gambled for them" Jiro explained. "So after an impartial game of chance, the two of us ending up joining the fun as her guests"
"Mmhm! The other girls are here too, they just can't visit the preview" Ochako ended.
"Oh! Are they really?" Midoriya asked.
"Uh huh, we're all planning to look around together once the expo opens up to the public tomorrow" Yaoyorozu explained.
"Here's a thought!" Melissa interjected, "Why don't I show you girls the sights?"
"Ah! Really?" The girls gasped.
"That'd be great!"
"You sure you have time?"
"Mmhm"
"We'd love to!"
"Please take us with you!" Mineta and Kaminari chorused pervertedly.
KA~BOOM!
"What was that noise?" Midoriya spun around to face where the noise and shaking had come from. Following the large plume of smoke to its source, the group found themselves faced with a partially destroyed battle arena, similar to the training ones at school.
"A CLEARANCE TIME OF 33 SECONDS!" Decreed the shocked announcer, "HE'S IN EIGHTH PLACE!"
"Kirishima?" Toru murmured as the plume of smoke cleared to reveal the red-headed hard-head of class 1-A.
"So I'm guessing he's from UA as well?" Melissa asked.
"Uh huh, he's in our class too" Toru nodded.
"PLEASE WELCOME OUR NEXT CHALLENGER!"
"Ah…Kaachan?!" Midoriya exclaimed as the fiery blonde strode out onto the field.
"THE VILLAIN ATTACK COURSE HAS BEEN RESET! READY…GO!" Powered by a series of large explosives, Bakugou exploded into the air, launching himself up the cliff face in front of him. One by one, robots fell to his fiery blasts and the familiar "DIIIIIIIIE!" rang out.
"Die?" Kayano titled her head in question, "Is he one of ours?"
"No" Toru shook her head, "He's just got this weird thing about destroying his enemies"
"So he could be one of ours?"
"He's certainly got the attitude for it"
"LOOK AT THAT TIME! ONLY 15 SECONDS! FIRST PLACE!"
It didn't take long for the blonde to take notice of Midoriya hanging over the edge of the railing and unable to resist asserting his (supposed) dominance over the teen, launched himself up to the railing and began to holler in his face. "DAMMIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE DEKU?!"
"Oh hey there, Kaachan!" Midoriya sheepishly replied as he slowly backed away.
"Is this normal for him?" Kayano asked.
"Yeah, pretty much" Toru sighed despondedly, "We're a class of weirdos"
"So, not much has changed then?"
"Ha ha!"
"There's our stars!" Suddenly Kayano and Toru were yanked together as Nakamura Rio appeared out of the blue.
"Ack! Rio!" Toru cried, face slamming into Kayano's chest and receiving a mouthful of blonde hair as she hugged her two old classmates to her, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, dearest cousin of mine over there—" Rio nodded over to Bakugou who was still raging at Midoriya, "—was invited because he won UA's Sports Festival, and mother dearest was offered a modelling gig with one of the sponsors. I just tagged along"
"Oh that's right, your mother does advertisements, doesn't she?" Kayano nodded sagely, stepping out of the squishy hug.
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Toru shook her head as she became fixated on the other half of the explanation, "That's your cousin?"
"Uh huh" Rio nodded.
"The fiery cousin with his head up his ass?"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Bakugou bellowed making Midoriya pale as the fiery blonde caught the tail end of the girls' conversation.
"That's the one" Rio ignored her cousin.
Inevitably, Bakugou challenged Midoriya again, and the two battled it out on the villain course. Midoriya passed with a time of 16 seconds, however that was quickly outdone by Todoroki who had appeared and passed the course with a time of 14 seconds, much to Bakugou's chagrin.
"THE I-EXPO PREVIEW WILL BE CLOSING AT 6PM" Intoned the intercom, "THANK YOU FOR COMING! ENJOY YOUR NIGHT!" Dusk had fallen by the time the group of 1-A and 3-E students had returned to the cafe they had stopped at for lunch; the pathetic scene they found in front of the closed doors made Toru giggle. Both Kaminari and Mineta—neither of which were gung-ho about the expo anymore—were slumped in front of the cafe's doors with exhaustion written across their features.
"Hey Mineta! Kaminari!" Midoriya called to the two.
"Heh?" The boys chorused.
"How did your shift go?"
"You should be proud of the work you've done today" Iida added as he thrust two tickets into their tired faces.
"Mm…what-what are these?" Mineta queried.
"Invitations to the big expo reception later tonight" Yaoyorozu sang.
"T-there's a party?" Mineta stammered.
"Th-these are for us?" Kaminari tacked on in disbelief.
"Melissa took pity on you, for some reason" Jiro explained.
"She figured you could use a break!" Ochako smiled.
"I had a few extras" Ended Melissa, "Please! I'd love for you to have them!"
"Kaminari!~" Mineta warbled.
"Mineta~" Mirrored Kaminari, latching onto his small friend.
"A beautiful angel has rewarded us for all our hard work!" The pair cried into each other's arms. Toru just rolled her eyes at the display. Drama Queens!
"I heard there'll be quite a few Pro Heroes attending tonight's party—" Iida stated.
"Ugh! Not to mention all the big-time sponsors we'll have to schmooze!" Rio complained under her breath as she referred to her mother's career.
"—It's imperative we don't blemish UA's reputation" Iida continued, pretty much embodying his role of class president even outside of school, "We'll change into our formal clothes and go in as a group—"
"Won't your entourage be wanting to go in earlier?" Toru turned to Kayano.
"Yeah" She sighed, "But I've slipped them once, I can slip 'em again"
"—Everybody meet in lobby seven of the central tower at 6.30pm sharp!" Iida commanded, "Don't you dare be late! I'll contact Todoroki and Bakugou and share this information. Thank you, you're dismissed" And with that, he zoomed off into the sunset.
"You're right, Toru" Kayano coughed, waving away the smoke that the speedster left behind, "Your class is full of weirdos"
When 6.30pm rolled around, all three of the Kunugigaoka alumni girls were dressed in their formal wear and riding the elevator down to the allotted lobby. To her right stood Rio who had dressed herself in misalign off-the-shoulder cocktail dress in a navy blue that brought out her eyes, printed with decorative lotus' and matching heels.
To her left stood Kayano who had adorned herself in a simple lolita-styled ballgown. With tight emerald sleeves cut at the elbows and framed by a small ruffle; the only major detail on the dress was the corseted front which was lined in golden embroidery. With matching emerald knee-high heeled boots, she looked like she could kick some serious ass and look good doing it.
As for herself, Toru wore a kimono-styled cocktail dress with only one sleeve, and left one shoulder bare. The pebble-grey material was printed in streaks of silver, white and lined with ribbons of black that hugged her figure just right. The black ankle-booted heels that she wore matched the obi on her dress and the wrist-length lacy gloves she wore. Not one to usually wear darker colours, the dress was a nice change that looked good on her. All three girls had piled their hair high atop their heads, and decorated their ears in earrings that dangled close to their chins.
"You're late!" Iida reprimanded as the trio stepped off the elevator.
"A lady is never late—" Toru began, mockingly offended.
"—She arrives exactly—" Kayano smirked, continuing the phrase drilled into them by Bitch-Sensei.
"—When she is meant to" Rio finished with a chuckle. Iida appeared affronted but did not say more. Casting her gaze of the group of boys in front of her, Toru saw that they all (sans Bakugou and Kirishima) were gathered there. Both Mineta and Kaminari (having not planned to attending the party) remained in their waiter's getup with black vest and tie. Midoriya wore a burgundy pinstriped suit that seemed almost box-like on him; the custard-yellow dress shirt he wore beneath seemed almost white against the colour of the suit and matching bowtie.
Todoroki was dressed in a mostly white suit that was accented with navy lapels. The blue dress shirt and red tie he wore underneath complemented the boy well; but showed Toru that even when choosing clothes, the boy never went for a monochromatic colour scheme. Finally there was Iida who stood smartly dressed in a deep blue suit, with black vest and a mustard yellow tie. The simplicity of it practically screamed 'Iida!'
No sooner had the three girls emerged from the elevator to Mineta and Kaminari's crowed appraisals, did the other girls arrive, lead first by Ochako. The gravity girl wore strappy red heels and black tights under a off-the-shoulder pink dress, which was decorated in lines of ruffles and matching headband. "Sorry I'm late" She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, "It took me a while to get ready"
"BEST NIGHT EVER!" Cheered Kaminari and Mineta as another elevator pinged open to reveal Jiro hiding behind Yaoyorozu.
Yaoyorozu wore an elegantly mint-green gown that flowed around her figure and brushed against the floor as she walked. Her long black locks had been piled atop her head and secured with a bejewelled butterfly clip. Behind her, Jiro wore a very punk-themed dress. The pink and purple dress was hidden beneath her black leather jacket and was matched with red fingerless gloves and black tights. In turn, her own hair had been styled so that a pink floral hairlip pulled back the right-hand side of her fringe.
"Apologies for the tardiness" Yaoyorozu flushed, "Jiro's feeling shy"
"This is fancier than anything I've ever worn before" Jiro murmured anxiously, side-eyeing her classmate's elegant gown. "It feels like a costume"
"I'm just glad you're not in a t-shirt!" Kaminari flashed a thumbs up towards the girl.
"Even the jacket can't ruin it!" Mineta gasped. Both boys were predictably electrocuted by said girl for their perverted comments.
"Shut up!" Jiro turned on the two.
"What'd ya do that for?" Kaminari whined as Mineta collapsed to the floor, "It was a compliment!"
"No it wasn't" Jiro huffed while Ochako blushed furiously at whatever Midoriya had said.
The elevators dinged behind them once more to reveal Melissa dressed in blue sweetheart dress and curled hair tied up into a high ponytail. "Oh good!" She grinned, "I thought I was gonna miss you guys! Let's get downstairs to the party!"
"The headliner has arrived!" Mineta wailed off to the side.
"Mineta! I can't take this much beauty! I think I might actually die!" Kaminari wept.
"Hey where's your hot-blooded cousin?" Kayano turned to Rio after counting all the heads there.
"I dunno" Rio shrugged, "He kinda just stomped off when the party was mentioned so I dunno if he's even coming. Knowing him, he's probably just blowing off the party"
"Yeah, that does sound like him" Toru nodded.
Suddenly the lights around them began to flicker and a warning siren rang out across the island; every single screen on I-island displaying the same message:
WARNING! EMERGENCY!
"THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE I-ISLAND'S SECURITY SYSTEM" Intoned the calm intercom, "WE HAVE RECEIVED A REPORT THAT AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE WAS DISCOVERED SOMEWHERE ON THE I-EXPO GROUNDS—"
"Oh, Katsuki what'cha do now?!" Rio muttered under her breath, well aware of the blonde's fiery almost homicidal temper.
"—I-ISLAND WILL NOW BE IN HIGH ALERT MODE. YOUR SAFETY IS OUR TOP PRIORITY. RESIDENTS AND TOURIST SHOULD RETURN TO THEIR LODGINGS AND RESIDENTS TO THEIR HOMES. ANYONE REMAINING ON THE STREET AFTER TEN MINUTES WILL BE IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW. PLEASE CLEAR ALL PUBLIC AREAS. AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE, MOST OF THE EXPO'S BUILDINGS WILL NOW BE SEALED OFF—" All doors and windows were sealed shut one-by-one as thick metallic walls slid down, blocking off any hopes of escape. Fear was tangible in the air, mixed with the anxiety over what would happen next. And still the intercom droned on. "I REPEAT, WE HAVE RECEIVED A REPORT OF AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE…"
