Rule #19b: Clothes make the woman, or lack thereof
The first weekend back at school was a hot one. Even as the sun continued its ascent into the sky, the students of 1-A lay melting in various spots about the ground floor. "You good there, Tsu?" Toru rolled her head over towards the frog girl who had pretty much taken up permeant residence in the chilly bin Todoroki had managed to find, in an effort to keep cool. In turn, the invisible girl sat sprawled across the kitchen floor, face down on the cool tiles as an equally hot Ochako sat at her feet against the kitchen cabinets with Mina practically bathing in the sink.
"It's so hot, ribbit" Asui croaked miserably as Mina splashed some water on the poor girl.
"When will this heatwave end?" Ochako despaired, fanning herself lazily with a scrap of paper.
At some point earlier that morning, most of the girls had dominated the kitchen as their safe zone, leaving the boys high and dry to suffer through the heatwave on their own. Yaoyorozu, being the sweet soul that she was, had produced an electrical fan or two before retreating to her air-conditioned bedroom and Iida had procured some cold drinks which had quickly disappeared upon arrival.
"Eurgh! I wanna do something!" Mina sulked as she splashed in the sink with her legs dangling over the side, "I don't wanna spend my whole weekend in the sink!"
"So why don't you go to the beach or something?" Bakugou grunted as he slipped passed the girls (giving them weird looks at their positions) and stuck his head in the fridge to look for something to cool down. "Just quit whining!"
"That's actually a great idea!" Jiro perked up from where she sat beneath the sink, just barely safe from Mina's wayward toes. "I mean, it was bound to happen eventually, but—"
"—Hey!"
"We could finally cool down!" Ochako cheered.
"Are you okay, Ochako?"
"I'm melting!"
"And Mina, you'd be able to wear that swimsuit you've been going on about" Toru added.
"Which one? The pink one with the frills? Or the blue polka-dotted one with the halter?" Mina beamed, her eyes gleaming as she warmed to the idea. "Oh! It doesn't matter! I've got the perfect one in mind!"
"So, it's settled!"
"BEACH DAY!" Mina suddenly hurtled from the sink, sending water droplets everywhere. "I'll go get Momo!"
"Wow, she's never moved so fast before, ribbit" Asui joked as the pinkette rocketed off towards the bedrooms, leaving wet footprints behind her much to Iida's chagrin.
"Mina! Wait! Take me with you!" Jiro lazily called, refusing to move from her spot on the ground as Bakugou finally emerged from the fridge.
"What the hell just happened?"
"Summertime! The ocean, ribbit!" Tsu cheered, practically bouncing up and down in her excitement as the girls of 1-A lined the uppermost top ridge of the sand dunes. "Water!"
"Oowaah!" Mina cheered in agreement, arms spread wide. "This was the best idea ever!"
"Oh yeah, baby!" Kaminari drooled, although his own gaze was more so on his summer-clad peers than that of the crowded beach.
"The bikinis!" Mineta leered as his own gaze flickered rapidly between the wet and suntanned bodies spread about the sand. "Woohoo! Let's hit on chicks! Oh man! I LOVE THE OCEAN!" Tsu barely even blinked when her tongue whipped out to smack them around the head, sending both boys head over ass down the slope where they wound up with a mouthful of sand.
"Well, they had that coming" Jiro smirked, highly enjoying the despair on Kaminari's face as a torrent of sand fell from his mouth like a waterfall.
"Easy for you to say" Bakugou groused as he and the other boys trudged up the small sandy ridge completely laden with several layers of beach accoutrement that the girls had saddled them with.
Where the explosive blonde had been laden down by several beach bags, Midoriya and Iida were trying their utmost to wrangle several inflatable toys and floaties that Mina had insisted on bringing. Though, to be honest, they were more or less being suffocated by the items. In turn, Todoroki wobbled beneath a small stack of chilly bins—likely in the hopes that his icy side could keep them cool so that the food didn't thaw too quickly—and Tokoyami (with the help of Dark Shadow) bore several folded parasols, and so on. They certainly looked quite the sight and Toru couldn't help the petty smile that pulled at her lips because of it.
"C'mon!" Ochako tugged at Toru's arm, pulling her down the sand dunes "Let's go get changed!"
"Ooh! Momo! I love your bikini!" Mina bounced around the taller girl in their little corner of the women's changing room.
"Oh! Thank you, Mina!" Yaoyorozu flushed as she fiddled with the tie of her crimson bikini top for the umpteenth time to make sure that it was properly knotted. In turn, Mina's own ivory bikini was simple, bearing only a ruffled skirt and a top that tied in the front. It was simple, but it suited the pinkette; even if it had taken her forever to choose it. Toru quickly dropped her gaze from the cheery pink girl adamantly denying to herself that it wasn't because of the incident with Oishii that made her unable to look at her friend for too long, least she be reminded and spiral into dark(er) thoughts.
Letting her feet swing a few centimetres above the ground as she clutched to the edge of the damp bench in which she sat, the invisible girl let her gaze flitter over to Tsu who bore a green and white-striped one piece that clung to her like a second skin. Next was Jiro who, much like Yaoyorozu, wore a classic plum bikini. Only her suit lay hidden beneath an oversized sheer band t-shirt which she had knotted at the hip.
Then there was Ochako who wore a peach bikini top which tied in at the front and a deep blue sarong that was slung around her hips in order to provide a small amount of coverage. Finally there was Toru herself who wore floral board shorts (with pockets!) and a yellow one piece suit with a triangular cutout beneath her bosom which gave the impression of a two piece.
Trickling from the changing room with giggles and smiles, the girls returned to the spot they had picked (after much deliberation and a quick kick up the ass from Bakugou who looked about seconds away from setting someone's parasol on fire) under the shade of a fluffy wax myrtle tree which bordered the park and the beach.
Dumping her bag next to the others where they created a multicoloured mountain, Toru studied what the boys had done in their absence. Fluffy towels had been laid out on the sand, beneath a couple of parasols which were impaled into the ground and provided them with a bit more shade than the tree was willingly to provide. All of the tubes & floaties were already dotting the water and several bottles of sunscreen lay nestled amongst abandoned shoes & shirts. "C'ME ON TORU!" Mina waved from the water where she sat straddling a large blow-up flamingo. "THE WATER'S GREAT!"
It was only once the sun had begun to set that the students returned to UA alongside the crowds of families that had spent the day at the beach too. Tucked into the crook of one of the many couches, Toru happily flipped through the many, many photos on her phone from the day as some English comedian played on the TV in the background. The images at her fingertips showed a day full of fun and laughs as they all relaxed in the summer sun. From Mineta & Kaminari getting buried in the sand and being turned into mermaids with ridiculously large breasts and sea shell bras—the pair of boys kept egging them to make them bustier in a sort of competition that had started out as building sand castles.
Moving on from that, there were several action shots of the class engaged in an all-out water fight that had bulging water balloons and oversized water guns firing on them at every angle. Toru had several before and after pictures where someone had been drawn into the fight, much to their chagrin. Her lips pulled up into a smile at the sight of Sero looking like a drowned rat as Mina went to town on him with her orange and green water gun—it was almost the same height as her! Other shots included a very brief beach volleyball game where Bakugou & Kirishima had challenged Midoriya & Ochako. The brunette had been against the idea at first, but then her competitive side had taken over until she had almost mirrored Bakugou in intensity. It had been a little frightening, if Toru was being honest.
Flipping further, Toru found ones of Todoroki wearing a pair of novelty sunglasses that Ochako had slapped on him at some point. The polka-dotted heart shaped eyewear was certainly a sight to behold on the heterochromatic boy; especially as he had been put in charge of setting up the bbq. Sato, who sat next to him wearing a 'Kiss the cook' apron was practically in tears—particularly when Todoroki posed for the camera. Other notable ones showed Iida in full mother mode with a strip of sunscreen across his nose and straw hat broad across his face as he worriedly watched from the water's edge, fiddling with the shiny red whistle around his neck.
And finally the last few images showed a few of the girls tanning themselves as Dark Shadow stood watch nearby, if only because Tokoyami had fallen asleep with a book on his face. This also included the few Toru had managed to snap on the train which showed Tsu, Midoriya & Todoroki asleep on each other with Ojiro and Kaminari acting as bookends for the three as they sat squished on the train ride home. Other ones such as this included, Toru herself, sandwiched between Bakugou & Kirishima as she tried to stay awake; or Sero practically kissing the pole he had claimed and fallen asleep against. And so many more photos—memories of the afternoon flickered beneath her fingers like a slideshow as she surfed the class group chat in which they had been shared.
Tapping her sock-clad feet in time with the bubbly mechanic ad on the television, Toru glanced up just in time to see her cat bed socks become squished by Bakugou's ass as he sat on her feet. Kirishima—who barely ever left the blonde's side, these days—slumped over the back of the couch and both bore unusually concerned expressions that set Toru on edge. "Ca~n I help you?" Toru hedged, sitting up as she tugged on the hems of her yellow flannel pyjama shorts in a subtle effort to de-wedge.
"Yeah" Bakugou grunted, sparing a glance towards the stragglers who sat huddled around the television like toddlers. "What was up with that whole Yoshiwara thing, the other day?"
"You mean the market thing?" Kirishima puzzled, clearly wanting to support his friend but not quite sure what he was talking about. "I thought that was fine…"
"No, shitty hair, the other one!"
"What other one—?"
Pulling her feet out from beneath the blonde and tucking them up against his exposed shins, Toru nibbled at her lip and fiddled with the hem of her oversized Electoplant t-shirt as she stalled for time. "—I told you" She started quietly, catching their attention before they could go any further, "I had to pick up my things before the next tenants moved in"
"Not that bit, sunshine" Bakugou grit out, clearly trying not to blow up as he was want to do. It didn't take a genius to tell that this was hard for the blonde—he was not typically one for soft gestures or a good bedside manner outside of a select few. Toru wonder if she should feel honoured at being included inside that small group; although that was a little hard in the moment as she felt like she was being interviewed by the principal or a disappointed parent than her own classmate.
"Uh, do you mean the, uh, apartment complex? Because that's pretty typical for that" She tried to appease, only to sink back into the cushions when the concern increased. Nervous fingers shifted from her shirt to her phone which had collapsed against her chest only moments before. Anxiously spinning the device around and around, Toru focused on the glitter inside her phone case as it danced with each spin and tried her best to think of what to say without digging her own grave any further. Of course, this was rather hard with the two pairs of eyes burning into her soul.
"Gimme that!" Bakugou snatched the device from her fingers.
"Hey—!" Toru whined, reaching for the device which was held up out of her reach, far above his head.
"You're not listening!"
"We're just worried about you, T—" Kirishima tried, a little softer than his friend. That was until he was cut off by the cell phone singing its ringtone.
"Hn?" Bakugou grunted, pulling the phone back down to see who was calling without so much as a care in the world when Jiro hissed at him over her shoulder to turn it off.
"Uh, who's 'Auntie Might'?" Kirishima read out the contact name over the blonde's shoulder.
"Er, she—she's my aunt" Toru stammered, a little off kilter from the sudden change in topic. "It's my Grandfather's nickname for her. Auntie Might's had so much botox that she looks like All Might—she looks perpetually constipated like someone's shoved a stick up her ass. Look can you just—"
"—We're not done" Bakugou refused, easily knocking away her outstretched hands and hitting the end call button.
"Look, what do you want me to say?" Toru sighed, a little defeated as she sunk back, wanting desperately to hide behind one of the large couch cushions despite knowing she was invisible. "It's not like I'm living there anymore, anyways"
"Tch—!" Bakugou hissed in frustration before bodily dragging her from the couch and out on the front steps, away from prying eyes and ears. Of course, Kirishima followed the pair like a spiky red shadow, but remained stationed close to the window, playing look-out.
"…What?"
"You—you've got a Yakuza pin! You brushed those dead bodies off like they were nothing and you took down those thugs like a killer without a second thought! That's not normal!"
"It is for Yoshiwara"
"That's not helping! Just what the hell is going on with you?!"
"Heh…" Toru sighed, hugging her legs to her chest in an effort to conserve heat against the cool night as Bakugou angrily paced back and forth in front of her, throwing his arms about with each ranting word. When he says it like that, it makes me sound like a villain! "I really was just moving out"
