Miko and Kohaku separated at the compound gates, where Enkai and Chinami joined her, though Miko was the only one in her school uniform. Their friends invited them out for a day at the beach and a possible sleepover. "Have fun with your friends, Miko! Glad to see you're actually hangin' out with people your own age!"

"Yeah, good to see you're actually normal, cuz!"

Miko scowled at her sister and their cousins. Kohaku's cheeky attitude always got worse around the twins. It was no small wonder she was Minakami's favorite niece. Though Nori may give her a run for her money. That girl was just too cute. "Yeah, yeah. Have fun on your day out. And remember to call if you decide to stay over!" They waved her off disinterestedly and Miko almost revoked her prayers to Benten thanking her for her family's unity at the BBQ at the action. She shook her head, she was getting way too soft. They'd made fun of her for wearing her uniform over break but she felt strange going to school without it; and with the watermelon she had in hand, she felt a little silly anyway.

The rest of the girls met her at the gates, eagerly waving her over with broad smiles. "We have a volleyball!" Miko shook the bag in her grip. "My family had some extra watermelons, so I thought we could enjoy it here."

"Wow thats great Tsukikawa!"

"Yeah it'll be great to cool down with some watermelon," Jiro said. Happy with her choice, Miko followed the group to the pool. Dressed in their school issued swim suits, they played across different lanes, enjoying the simplicity of a pool day.

"Hey, Tsukikawa, be on my team!"

"I call dibs on Tsukikawa's team!"

"You too, Tsu! Get over here!"

"Actually, why don't we skip the teams since whoever ends up with Tsukikawa or I will have more of an advantage?"

Said girl pouted to the side. "I was looking forward to a little friendly competition, but if you're sure Tsu."

Momo led their stretches at the pool's edge, and Miko got lost watching the small ripples in the water as she followed along mechanically. Every time she was by a pool, Miko always remembered the day her quirk manifested. It was dangerous and terrifying, and it took her a few years before she persuaded herself to get near one again, though she still refrained when she could help it.

"Oh hey Deku! And everyone else too! What are you guys doing here?" Uraraka asked. Looking up curiously, Miko saw that Midoriya had indeed arrived at the pool, followed by most of the boys in their class. Raising a brow along with the rest of the girls, she waited to hear their explanation. As far as she knew this was supposed to be a girls' day.

This time it was Iida who spoke up. "Midoriya here invited us for some endurance training!"

"You guys sure are dedicated," Jiro stated, her voice almost sounded impressed, if a little uneasy. No one should be training so hard during summer vacation.

They switched stretches in time with Momo, leaning their right arm over their heads and reaching. Hold, one, two, three— "Hey Mineta, Kaminari," Tsu greeted as the two charged towards the pool. Besides a brief nod towards the two, Miko didn't pay them much mind. Had she been the one here for a workout, she'd appreciate the same type of minimal distraction.

The water was refreshing, cool, and once again Miko experienced that same melting feeling she did on that fateful day. It clung to her like a second skin, melding into her form as if she were part of it too. Her hair in particular, appeared as if were a silver waterfall cascading into an ocean. Each movement she made, a jump upwards to set the ball, a lunge forward to bump, was matched by the water. It became more obvious the more they played, so much so that they rest of the girls began to notice, though respectfully didn't comment. The small waves Tsukikawa was unintentionally making made the game more fun, and out of all of them, she was definitely the most serious. She played with a tenacity they glimpsed at the sports festival, the difference being: she was actually enjoying herself.

As an athlete, she'd never been a team player. No, she was entirely too self-absorbed for that; but here, amongst genuine, kind people, it felt nice working as a team. Together, they worked hard to keep the ball from dropping, their quirks giving them an extra edge.

Not a single one of them paid any mind to the hardworking boys only two lanes over.

Said boys were not having such a grand time. Iida and Midoriya were just as intense about working out as they looked— and neither had time to come up with a workout plan! How they managed to think up such horrible exercises on such short notice was something Kaminari and Mineta were happy to never find out. It felt like ages had already passed by the time Iida called for a break.

"There is a god!"

"Mercy!"

"Oh cheer up you two. You worked hard! I'm sure you'll be seeing the fruits of your labor in no time! Meanwhile, why don't we all have some snacks?"

Across the way, the girls paused their game. "We could probably use a break too."

As they joined the boys, Miko grabbed her watermelon out of the bag, showcasing it to the rest of the group. "We can split the watermelon I brought. There may not be enough for everyone though." Iida smiled at her thoughtfulness.

"Ah Tsukikawa! Thank you for sharing. I know our presence wasn't exactly planned, but we appreciate your support nonetheless."

"What kind of person would I be if I refused you food?"

Ojiro was the one to smash the watermelon, and with a quick whip of his tail, it came apart easily. They spread out amongst themselves, lounging in the shade, sipping cold orange juice and nibbling on watermelon, enjoying a nice day out. Sun soaked, thoroughly spent, and surrounded by good company, the peace remained undisturbed. That is until Bakugo showed up.

"Deku!"

"And it was such a lovely day," Miko sighed into her watermelon slice.

He beelined for Deku, though he lacked his normal level of aggression, yelling about settling who was the best. Poor boy floundered to defend himself, but perked up when Bakugo made sure to include Shoto and Miko in his suggestion to have a swimming contest.

He pointed straight at her. "You too princess, quit goofing off and get over here! I'll beat your lazy ass!"

Miko inhaled sharply, trying to decide whether or not it was worth entertaining the boy and his extreme competitiveness, ultimately deciding that no, it wasn't. Pulling the most bored expression she could, and a deadpan tone, she said, "No, thanks." She took a bite of watermelon to prove her point.

"Scared to lose?!"

Still chewing on the fruit, she answered with a full mouth. "I would. I can't swim."

A tick mark appeared over Bakugo's head. "What kind of water quirk user doesn't know how to swim?!" Hoping to distract him, she lazily gestured towards his other rivals.

"Since you've already beat me, why don't you defeat Shoto next? He looks like he could compete against a shark." Said boy gave her a droll look for setting the blonde on him, but Miko wasn't the least bit sorry. At least for today, better him than me, she thought. The diversion worked, and while they lined up for their race, with the rest of the girls on the sidelines alongside boys who weren't participating in this heat, Sero wandered over to Miko, who was still nursing a slice of watermelon.

"That was pretty smooth, Tsukikawa." He was talking about her not so subtle deflection of Bakugo's taunts. As the only [other] one smart enough to figure out how to do this, and considering Miko's own competitive tendencies, he was both surprised and impressed to see her so easily admit defeat.

Miko shrugged indifferently, watching as Momo blew the starting whistle. "It's how I distract my younger cousins, and I've had enough of entertaining children for the week." He chuckled a bit, though he did wonder why she didn't compete anyway, considering the allowance of quirks in the contest.

"But your quirk is perfect for this?"

"Sure, but I'm not a strong swimmer. And…I'm enjoying myself too much right now," she said, nibbling on more watermelon. Sero opened his mouth to question her further, but his attention was pulled away when his peripherals caught sight of Bakugo completely forgoing the water and instead blasted himself across the distance via explosions.

Completely appalled, Sero complained loudly. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"You didn't even touch the water!" Kirishima accused.

Bakugo let off a few explosions. "It's called freestyle swimming!"

Surprised by the unwittingly hilarious response, Miko spit out her watermelon, giggling heartily. "I don't know what I was expecting, but that certainly wasn't it!"

Those around her dropped their jaws, he made Tsukikawa laugh!

Mineta was the first to openly lament. "The first time we hear Tsukikawa's laugh…and it's because of a guy like him?!"

"No way, this really is the worst day ever," Kaminari groaned. Mineta put a contemplative finger to his chin. "She's definitely the tsundere type. With a possible hint of kuudere." Kaminari looked to the shorter boy with skepticism.

"Really? Isn't that a little outdated? She's just in a good mood today."

"Kaminari, I have a sense about these types of things."

The first three heats went by quickly. Excitement was at its peak when it came time for the last race. Coincidentally, it ended up being Bakugo, Midoriya, and Shoto who qualified for the final. They were all cheering on the competitors, even Miko who yelled out, "Use your ice, Shoto!" This time Iida blew the start whistle, and they cheered harder for their favored champions while the three leapt forward, determined to win. Only, their triumphant 'swim' across the pool was cut short by a certain pro hero and homeroom teacher. Cutting off their quirks with a quick blink, Mr. Aizawa kicked them out and sent them home. A quick cleanup and a languid goodbye later, the groups separated with the promise of seeing each other at the training camp.

Miko herself was walking beside Jiro with the rest of the girls who were all happily chatting away, though a little more subdued than they were at the pool. "It was a good day today," Jiro said.

"Yes, it was," Miko agreed.

"Though it was surprising to hear you turn down Bakugo's challenge," she teased. There was a questioning tone hidden in those words.

The silver haired girl stumbled with her answer. "Ah, well, I'm not the best swimmer," Miko said abashedly, putting a strand of hair behind her ear.

"That was surprising too."

Momo coughed politely, trying to get everyone's attention. "I actually wanted to ask you all about something."

Tsu perked up. "Oh?"

"What is it?" Uraraka asked.

"My family has been invited to I Island this summer and they gave me two extra tickets to bring along some friends."

Mina was the most animated. "No way I Island?!"

"Thats so cool! I've never been!" Said Uraraka.

Momo nodded agreeably. "But there's five of you and only two tickets…"

"Oh, don't worry about me," Miko cut in as they discussed the best method of choosing who got to take the extra tickets. Four heads turned to her with a mixture of confusion and hope. "My family was also invited," she caught Mina perking up. "…but I don't have any extra tickets. Sorry, Mina. You'll have less competition this way," she tried to console. It didn't have much effect. Glancing at her phone, she grimaced. "I'd hate to leave you all so abruptly, but I have to get home. Let me know who wins the tickets okay?"

Saying goodbye once more, Miko headed for the station, secretly hoping Jiro would be one of the two to receive the extra ticket. Managing to catch the train just before its doors closed, she remembered her promise to Kohaku. Oh, she thought. She could have asked Todoroki and Bakugo for their autographs. Oh well, there'd be time later. It wasn't like she had a deadline or anything.

Her sister was still out with the twins and their friends by the time she got home, so she had the house entirely to herself. For a while at least. Tossing her uniform into her dirty laundry pile, Miko took a moment to reflect. She never would have imagined herself hanging out with friends like this, or becoming close with any of them. Even when she competed in gymnastics she never made any close friends. It was always about the competition.

She wasn't aware just how much it consumed her until Jiro mentioned it earlier on their walk home. Was this what normal friendships were like? Enjoying each others' company simply for the hell of it? Maybe Bakugo was right to call me a freak. Never really the social type, Miko felt like she missed out on friendships after having been homeschooled for so long. A bitter thought crossed her mind. Would she ever stop feeling so inadequate compared to her classmates?

Admonishing herself for the thought, she picked up her phone in hopes of distracting herself with good news. The girls had been blowing up their private group chat, and after a quick scroll through Miko smiled blithely.

Tsukikawa:

Congratulations Jiro, Uraraka. I'll be seeing you at the island!

Apparently, all the girls were going to be at the island, but Tsu and Mina would have to wait a day to hang out since their tickets only included public events. Their messages came in surprisingly quick succession, and Miko struggled to keep up with the frequently changing topics. Turning off the ringer, she was surprised to see a new message from Shoto. She was hesitant to open it, feeling awkward. They weren't exactly close, but they did agree to call each other by their first names as a sort of truce while they were living together during their shared internship with Endeavor, and he had shared some terrifying personal information regarding his family. Not to mention the promise she made to his sister. Her promise to take care of him. Biting her lip, she opened the message with trepidation.

Fortunately, her worry was unfounded. He was only asking if she would be present at the island, since he remembered the banquet and correctly came to the conclusion that her family would be in attendance.

"I Island sure is popular," she mumbled.


"Where's your boyfriend meeting you again?"

"Benten damn it— Yuuichi for the last time he's not my boyfriend!"

Said man jerked his luggage into the suite he'd be sharing with his father, lingering in the doorway. "Uh huh, uh huh. I meant boy friend. As in, a friend who is a boy. Ha! Language. You'd think I'm a STEM major," he chuckled to himself. His father nudged him further into the room.

"Yuuichi. Stop harassing your cousin." Miko let out a sigh of relief. "She won't want to introduce her boyfriend otherwise," he added slyly.

"Chiro, not you too!" Miko cried. While she and Shoto exchanged messages discussing their individual trips to the island, they'd discovered that they'd be on the same floor, only a few rooms apart. They were also arriving around the same time, and agreed to meet and hangout upon arrival. In her naïveté, she'd thoughtlessly told Yuuichi and her uncle that she was meeting Shoto before their business dealings took place, the use of his first name immediately catching the attention of her oldest cousin/brother figure, and inadvertently activating his protective mode.

Her uncle 'Chiro was exactly what you would expect a rich, suave, businessman to look like in a drama. Carefully styled silver hair, slicked back to look charming though still professional, and way taller than Miko could ever hope to be. Even after a long day of international travel had no effect on his appearance. Strict, rational, and pragmatic.

His eldest son, on the other hand, favored his mother's looks, inheriting her dark, navy hair and dark eyes. He was normally quite reserved, similar to his father, but like an annoying older brother, he enjoyed teasing her, unfortunately for Miko.

Aggressively keying open the door to her side of the adjoined rooms they were staying in, Miko left the two with an irritated huff. Her room was pretty spacious, which meant it was entirely too large for a single individual. Theirs was the Luxury Space Suite, and it was decorated with futuristic sci-fi in mind. Full to the brim with strategically placed LED lighting on the ceiling and select furniture, it really gave the room a hyperspace feel. Adjacent the king bed, adorned in galaxy print bedding, was an already bubbly jacuzzi, where right across from it were capsule bunk beds (also lined with LED lighting). Both the floor and ceiling were dark, and when she looked up, Miko saw that the ceiling was further designed to further resemble deep space as dozens of tiny, twinkling lights, glittered above her.

The artificial island was nothing like a real island. The walls kept out the ocean view, a shame, but she could feel it all around her as they strolled to their hotel. She heard the sea breeze call her name, felt it in her bones. She use to try so hard to keep it out, the overwhelming sense of water molecules that constantly surrounded her; but she could always feel its breath on her skin, heard its voice deep within, begging to be a part of her.

A knock sounded against the door that separated the room, and her luggage knocked to the floor when she moved to unlock it. Yuuichi opened the door. "Pretty cool huh?" Miko could see similar styling on their side as she peeked in. "Pretty cool," she agreed.

Moving away from the door, she allowed the two men entrance. Yuuichi sat on the king bed, whilst his father quietly leaned against the desk. Her uncle, pragmatic as always, got straight to business. "Now that we're settled in, we should begin reviewing our agenda. First, let's discuss your plans with your friends, Miko. When will you be meeting with the Todoroki boy?"

"I suppose whenever he arrives. We didn't decide on a—" a knock interrupted her. "Speak and he shall appear," Yuuichi grumbled. With a roll of her eyes, Miko crossed the room to the entrance, and sure enough, it was Shoto at the door. "Impeccable timing!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Miko was less so. "Shoto, nice to see you. Please come in." He entered quietly. Gesturing to the other men in the room, Miko introduced them swiftly and properly. Better to get this over with now. "This is my uncle Ichiro and my cousin Yuuichi. You remember them from the banquet. They're the whole reason we're here."

"Pleased to meet you."

Ichiro inclined his head slightly. "You as well, Todoroki," her uncle said evenly.

His son had no such decency. "You take care of my cousin now, you hear me? She's like a sister to me."

Said boy took this in stride, his expression never changing from it's cool appearance. "Yes, of course," Shoto replied. Miko pressed her lips together. "Yuuichi, is this really necessary?" She asked.

"Of course it is! Your first date and I get the privilege of instilling fear in the bones of your boyfriend."

"This is not a date, we are just friends, and if there's more business to be taken care of before meeting with investors, I'll gladly—"

Uncle Chiro cut in, looking at her imploringly. "You aren't expected to spend the whole day working, Miko. You are still a child, after all. Feel free to roam around with your friend- and Miko. Remember to mind your behavior while you're out."

"Of course, uncle Ichiro." Yuuichi winked at her before following after his father to their room and locking the door. Guess they were leaving them to it. It was silent for a moment before Miko decided she needed to speak. "I'm sorry about that. They usually aren't like this," she apologized.

"It's all right. They're just looking out for you," Shoto replied. Miko was glad he didn't make much of a fuss. Taking note of his hero costume, Miko pulled out her own from the UA issued suitcase. "Give me a second would you?"

They left the hotel in their hero costumes, deciding to explore the island a bit on their own before duty called. Walking side by side in their hero costumes, they calmly took in the sights of the island. It really was quite grand. Every ten feet there was a pro hero signing autographs for fans, exhibits showcasing revolutionary tech, and even rollercoasters.

Wandering the island with Shoto felt like they were back on patrol with Endeavor Agency; though this time, their wordless camaraderie was much more potent.

They weren't the best of friends of anything like that, more like comrades who'd faced death together. Somehow they knew each other's fighting styles, quirk abilities, bled and sweat together, but neither of them knew if they had a favorite color. It was a strange position to be in. He's never brought friends home. There was a twisting feeling in her gut as the words Fuyumi spoke to her in confidence echoed in her mind.

"Why don't we get some snacks?" She said before she could stop herself. The words came out rushed and clumsy. All Shoto said was a simple, "Sure." Miko was suddenly filled with a need to fill the silence. "Maybe some desserts? I heard their cafes have Michelin stars." When all he did was nod, Miko squirmed. Finding a cafe was easy, there were several different locations scattered around the island, and even a few pop up stands to accommodate the large crowds the expo would attract.

A waffle cone and a smoothie later, Miko and Shoto settled on a picnic bench, with a word yet to pass between them. Peeking at Shoto from behind her waffle cone, he didn't seem to mind the silence as he quietly sipped at his smoothie. Perhaps she was overthinking her promise to Fuyumi, and silence was the best course of action? Biting at the waffle, she jumped when Shoto suddenly spoke. "Are you enjoying your ice cream?"

"Ah, yeah. How do you like your smoothie?"

"It's a little sour. Maybe I should've gone with strawberry instead." Humming a bit in amusement, they allowed the conversation to end and continued eating their snacks.

It was actually quite enjoyable. The silence. Miko still felt like she had to check on him, but they were both capable of taking care of themselves so the pressure she felt was unwarranted. It was nice to just sit and enjoy each other's company without the pressure of an internship, school, or Endeavor hovering over them. Glancing over at him, she realized that she had never brought friends home either.

Suddenly, a large explosion set off in the distance. Looking at each other curiously, they headed towards the sound, passing by curious crowds until eventually upon what looked like a villain course, and none other than Kirishima, Bakugo, and Midoriya were on the leaderboard. Kirishima was in 8th place with a completion time of 33 seconds, Midoriya in 2nd at 16 seconds, Bakugo in first at 15 seconds.

Miko gave a sly smirk to her friend. "Wanna give it a try?"

He gave her a determined look. "Bring all you've got, Miko," he said, echoing the same words she said to him at the very beginning of their friendship and rivalry. A quick survey of the course and Miko knew they had it in the bag. "How poorly do you think Bakugo's going to take it when we both beat his score?"

Shoto was already walking onto the platform, leaving her behind to wait in the shade. "Poorly."

"AAh~~ this is insane! 14 seconds! This gentleman has jumped to the top of the pack!" In true Shoto fashion, all he did was freeze over the entire course with ice, overtaking Bakugo's score by a single second. He stood from his crouch, looking cool as ever, even as Bakugo blew himself off the viewing deck just to attack him.

"Outta the way icy hot bastard!"

"Oh. Bakugo…" Shoto wasn't surprised to see him this way. On the stands were more of his classmates he wasn't expecting to see so soon.

"You can't just appear outta nowhere and show me up!"

"I see the others are here too."

"Don't ignore me!"

The poor announcer tried to get them off the platform. "Um, the next person is waiting—"

"SHUT UP!"

Having enough of his outburst Miko walked onto the platform. "Quit being rude and get out of my way so I can show you up," she taunted. Kirishima grinned. "Tsukikawa! You're here too?"

She was friendlier with him, giving a grin. "Yep. Same reason as Todoroki. Now watch me beat all your scores." They moved to the stands, per the operators request and waited for Tsukikawa's run. Walking forward with purpose, Miko analyzed the reset course, finding every faux villain she could before the countdown, eyeing the pool surrounding the small mountain the robots were stationed on, and took a deep inhale.

"Start!"

Her quirk performance improved since the sports festival, so in a fluid movement, she spread her arms wide, lifting the water from the pool behind her, clapped her hands together so it surrounded the mountain before freezing it over. Not very unique, but it got the job done quickly. Wiping a bit of sweat from her hairline, she turned to grin victoriously at Shoto.

"Incredible! This young lady has set a new record of 12 seconds!"

"2 seconds faster," she boasted. It took less time to move the water than it did for Shoto to produce it, and she was feeling pretty good about the win. "Wow great job Tsukikawa!" Looking up, she waved politely to Uraraka, Momo, Jiro, and Iida. Bakugo leaned over the fencing, baring his teeth. "No way, I'll go again and burn your scores to ash!"

"Oh get over it, you sore loser! I was 3 seconds faster and you weren't, too bad." Since she didn't participate in the 50 meter race he could at least let her have this win.

He didn't. Instead, he ran through the course a few more times until the operator was forced to refuse him another turn. He didn't manage to finish before the 12 second mark, but he did tie with Shoto. She convinced Shoto to stay, if only because they had nothing better to do, as did Kirishima. They had to pull Bakugo away from the course, much to his bitter anger, but eventually he relented.

"Since you two are here, does that mean you'll be going to the reception later tonight?"

"Tch. Why would I wanna go to a party? It'll just be a buncha geezers giving speeches," Bakugo said. Kirishima perked up, giving Shoto and Miko a thumbs up. "Don't worry we'll be there," he assured them confidently.

"You underestimate the power of networking," she told Bakugo.

"I don't need to kiss ass to be number one, princess," he glared. Miko glared back. "It's about making a name for yourself," she argued.

"I won't need to introduce myself. No one'll be ready for me when I go pro. I'll blast'em all away!"

Miko rolled her eyes, "If you say so."

They separated once the sun began to set, and the island's security AI announced its closing and curfew. Iida instructed them to meet at lobby 7 of the central tower at 6:30pm, which didn't give them a whole lot of time to get ready.

Back in her hotel room, she pulled her formal wear outside of her luggage, bracing herself for the long hours ahead. Chiro and Yuuichi had already prepared for the reception and left her to meet with her friends—another surprise for the girl. She was expecting to be put to work, but Chiro had taken pity on her.

She'd been given different sets of outfits to choose from, and according to Kohaku her best bet was an emerald gown her mother once wore as a teen, tailored to fit her daughter's much smaller stature, of course. She laid the gown across her bed, taking it in.

After watching some YouTube videos to give her some kind of idea of how to prepare herself for the evening. Even if she preferred keeping a bare face and wearing comfortable clothes she also knew that she would be at a party with pro heroes and people of importance, she had to look good.

She was glad Kohaku was already interested in makeup and let her borrow some items for her trip, otherwise she would be totally hopeless. She managed to apply some light eyeshadow and struggled to apply mascara onto her eyelashes, but overall she followed the tutorial decently. After all the time she spent trying to pick and choose a makeup tutorial to follow online, she decided to let her hair fall naturally. It…didn't look terrible. A little dirty from this afternoon's excursions, but she was pretty sure that she was running out of time already and couldn't sneak in a quick wash. As it was, she was barely slipping into her dress when she heard a knock at her door. "Are you almost ready? It's time to go."

Todoroki was dressed handsomely in a white suit with a muted blue button-down shirt and a red tie. "Oh yeah. I'm just finishing up." She straightened up to zip up the back of her dress. "Would you help me out?" She held up a thin black velvet chocker to Todoroki. He nodded in affirmation and took it from her small hand.

Todoroki kept a cool gaze when Miko turned slightly to give him access to the nape of her neck, pulling her hair over her shoulder. He lightly brushed stray hairs away from her neck before reaching over and clasping it on a link that wouldn't constrict her breathing. "Thanks. I always struggle to get it on the right hook." He kept his gaze on her as he watched her slip on nude heels and held her shoulder to keep her steady when she started to wobble.

Without a word he lead the way out and Miko followed behind him with sure footsteps. Walking in heels really isn't as hard as some people make it seem. "Miko." Todoroki paused in front of her and offered his arm to her. When she hesitated to respond her calmly explained his chivalrous action. "Your cousin did say to treat you nicely." Miko's chest seized and she knew she was blushing lightly. He took that way too seriously. Nevertheless, she placed her arm in his and let him walk her to the meeting place, heart pounding the entire way.

When they reached the area they agreed to meet their friends, the first thing that Miko was greeted by was the yelling of Kaminari and Mineta who were still dressed in their uniforms- which was likely the most formal clothes they owned. "Even someone as buff and manly as Tsukikawa can clean up pretty well!"

Miko was wearing an emerald green floor length gown that carefully didn't drag across the floor. Her sleeves rested off of her shoulders and her sternum was exposed by a deep V neckline. The bodice wrapped around her under bust and cinched at the waist. The A-line skirt fell to the floor beautifully, and two pairs of eyes trailed down to see a single small foot with black nail polish on the toes in thin, nude, ankle strap heels peeking out from a thigh high slit.

Lots of leg makes up for small boobs, Mineta drooled. Kaminari was little better off. She was the first of the girls to arrive, and he grinned as soon as she walked with holding Todoroki's elbow. Some guys just get all the luck.

They waited a while longer for the rest of their group to show up, and Iida was getting more antsy by the second. "Don't any of you have respect for time?" He complained as Midoriya and the other girls appeared, giving various apologies and excuses for being late.

"Tsukikawa your gown is lovely."

Miko grinned prettily under Momo's kind words, "Thanks. It also has pockets." Suddenly the announcer they've been hearing all day spoke, "This is an announcement from the I island security system. We have received a report that an explosive device has been found on the island. I Island will now be in high alert mode. Your safety…" They looked around uncertainly. The lobby's doors and windows sealed themselves off automatically with metal barricades

"I'm not getting any signal looks like my service is completely blocked." Shoto said.

"The elevator's not working either," Jiro added. Melissa, Midoriya's American friend also seemed bothered. "It's strange that the system went on high alert. That's not the protocol when explosives are found."

"If that's true then something must be going on," Miko replied.

"Iida, let's go to that party," Midoriya said. "That's the place we'll find All Might," he added when Iida didn't follow his line of thinking. That didn't ease Miko's worry at all. "Melissa, do you know anyway we can get down there without the elevator?" They all turned to Melissa, who pointed to a set of door behind them. "Yeah sure. We can use the emergency stairs. That will at least get us close."

"We'll follow your lead then," Midoriya said. Melissa led the small group of students through the stairs, leaving the rest of them hidden in the stairwell to twiddle their thumbs and hope everything would work out while Jiro and Midoriya gathered intel. When they returned, it was with bad news. Villains had taken control of the security system and the island hostage.

"My family. Did you see them?" Miko urgently asked. Midoriya shook his head regretfully. "There were too many civilians. I couldn't catch a glimpse fast enough." Turning away in fear and frustration, Miko's thoughts raced. They wouldn't hurt civilians would they? What do the villains even want? Without her noticing, her friends huddled together in the dark stairway, and Iida was the first to reject Midoriya's instinct to fight. "We received All Might's orders loud and clear. He's our teacher. I suggest we follow his instructions and escape this place. Otherwise we'd be going against his will."

Momo hung her head. "I'm afraid I have to agree with what Iida is saying. We're still only students. We can't fight these villains if we only have our hero licenses."

"Why don't we get outta here and tell the heroes outside?" Kaminari suggested.

"It's not going to be very easy to escape," Melissa said. "The security system here is on the same level as that of the Tartarus prison which was created to keep the most dangerous criminals in the world."

Taking all this in, blood slowly drained from Miko's face. "I have to find my family." She gathered her skirts and made to run back to the lobby, only to be stopped by Midoriya. "Wait, Tsukikawa! You can't just run off. We have to help the heroes!"

She scoffed in his face. "I have to help my family. I'm sorry, but you're on your own." She made to leave again, but this time it was Shoto who stopped her.

"We have to help them. It's not right for us to do nothing at all," he said calmly. Grinding her teeth, Miko shook her head. Damn him and Midoriya, neither of them had personal stakes in this. Biting her tongue, she said instead, "Shoto, this is exactly the same thing that happened in Hosu. Momo's right we can't get tangled up with villains again." They might not be so lucky this time.

"That's it! We just have to find a way to save everyone without coming into contact with villains."

"Do you really think it'll be that simple?" Miko and Kaminari asked. Midoriya blazed on, "We don't have to fight them. We just need to think of a way to rescue All Might and everyone else at the party without facing them. We can save everyone!"

For just a moment, Miko saw another with the same ridiculous idealism as the boy in front of her.

"Are you sure?" Uraraka asked slowly. Melissa cut in determinedly, "I know where the security system is. It's on the top floor of this tower. If these criminals manage to take control of it, then the authentication locks and passwords have probably been disabled. We should be able to restart the system ourselves— we just have to stay off the villains radar until we can get to the top floor. If we do that the whole island will be safe!"

Miko sat back, ruminating. The whole plan was easier said than done, but not impossible. Shoto was right they had to do something to help, they couldn't sit around and wait for someone else to take care of it. Besides, she thought, resetting the security system would help free her family, and realistically whatever plan she could come up with would do more damage than good. Chiro and Yuuichi's fates where in their hands. Nodding to herself determinedly, she agreed to help her friends. There were 200 floors they had to travel up, and it was going to take a while.

Away from the rest, Miko shamefully apologized to Shoto. "I'm sorry for acting like that…it was incredibly selfish of me." Shoto shook his head at her. "It's alright. You're worried about your family. But don't worry, everything will be fine. We'll make sure of it."

Wait for me, uncle, Yuuichi. We'll save you.


Moving up the stairs was an exhausting feat, but they managed to make it to the 30th level until Melissa began to fall behind. The girl refused Uraraka's offer to use zero gravity on her, instead, opting to ditch her heels, continuing to run until they reached a sealed door on the 80th floor. Unfortunately for them, Mineta foolishly opened another door, setting off the security system and alerting their presence to the villains.

They rushed forward, there was no turning back anymore. As they ran down the hall, gates began closing, cutting off any escape they may have, almost trapping them until Iida rushed ahead to kick down a different entrance, leading them to a plant factory they hoped to cut across to reach a new set of emergency stairs. "Wait!" Jiro threw out her arms, stopping them from moving further. "The elevator is going up."

Terrified, each one of them trembled as they watched the numbers get closer to their floor. Jiro pulled them behind thick bushes to wait out the incoming villains, and Miko held her breath until the elevator doors opened and two men in vests stepped out, Midoriya recognizing them immediately as villains from the party.

Her chest began to squeeze painfully, her teeth ached as she clenched her jaw, but her breaths came in slow, steady, inhales and exhales as she tried to remain silent as possible. Please, don't notice us, please, she prayed. Tension threatened to expose them, and she froze when the villains spoke.

"Hey we see you stupid kids!" Gripping the skirt of her dress, Miko prepared to run.

"What'd you say you bastard?" Bakugo?! What they hell are they doing here?!

The villains hadn't attacked them yet. A good sign? "What are you two doing here?"

"Heh, that's what I wanna know too," the blonde replied. Kirishima quickly interrupted his friend before things got messy. "Just leave this to me, okay? We kinda got lost looking for the party. Do you think maybe you could point us in the right direction?"

"How did they get all the way to the 80th floor looking for the reception?!" Mineta whispered incredulously.

Suddenly, the taller villain threw at attack at the two boys. "Don't lie to me or you'll regret it!"

No!

A giant slab of ice cut the villains, blocking the attack aimed at Bakugo and Kirishima, stemming from Shoto who reacted the fastest. "The three of us can keep them busy down here," he said, turning to them as he knelt on the ground to lift them up on an icy platform away from the villains. "Find a way to get to the top! I'll be right behind you after I clean up this mess."

"You're an idiot if you think I'm leaving you here!" Miko said fiercely, preparing herself to jump. "I may not have reacted fast enough but I can still help!"

Deciding that being forcefully kept out of the fight by Shoto was definitely stupid, so she let herself drop through the column of ice Todoroki used to elevate her and the others onto a catwalk, channeling the ice into water as she fell. She could hear the boys fighting off the two villains.

As soon as she emerged from the ice with water propelling her forward, she used a water lasso to grab a huge purple beast and fling him into his partner. They crashed into each other in a splash of dust and water, and didn't seem to be getting up anytime soon. Calling the water back to her, Miko ran to Shoto and Bakugo who stood back to back. "Are you guys all right? Where's Kirishima?" she questioned worriedly.

"Tch, that idiot got blasted into a wall taking a hit for me!" Bakugo answered. She turned to look him over, he was slightly disheveled, but appeared uninjured from the attack. Shoto seemed fine as well.

Bakugo was worried. He and Kirishima were only searching for that stupid party and all of a sudden the island was under attack and they didn't even know about it because they were off doing fuck all in a maze! Now their friends pop up out of nowhere and here was princess in a full on fucking floor length dress. "Tsukikawa, get the hell out of here, you're not dressed to fight! You'll only get in the way, dammit!"

Offended, she was about to scream at him for not taking help when he needed it when the villains she attacked started picking themselves back up. A tall, pale villain with facial hair that looked like fins screamed out from the dog pile, "You kids know how to fight, don't you?" The large purple beast got up and prepared to fight again, "Right, where'd you come from?"

The blonde let out a malicious smirk, "Right, like we'd tell a couple of weak ass villains." Todoroki's tone was the same, "Why would we tell you anything?" Miko pressed her lips into a thin line as they rushed them. The giant garden they were in had an endless supply of water to keep the flora alive and Shoto was here providing extra support for her by creating large structures of ice as he attacked them. She knew she was at an advantage but these two men were different from the villains they fought at the USJ.

Her onslaught of water whips and giant waves did nothing as he kept blasting through her attacks. Gliding on water, almost dancing as she weaved in and around Shoto who moved similarly on his ice, she circled the tall amphibious looking one and dropped a small flood at him before throwing a flurry ice daggers, hoping to catch him off guard.

"He's not making matter disappear! He's displacing it!" Shoto yelled as he conjured more ice to try and immobile the villain.

Growing increasingly more frustrated, Miko threw herself into the air with a jet propulsion. She let her heel dangle off her toes as she brought her leg up high for a kick. Bringing her leg down with a forceful swing, the dainty shoe flew off her foot and landed heel first directly into the eye of the amphibious man. "Displace that." The water user allowed a self satisfied smirk to grace her face.

"Aarghh! You little brat!" He painfully clutched onto his useless eye but recovered quickly when Bakugo used his ultimate move, Howitzer Impact, on his partner, the size of the impact knocking him unconscious. Partner now down for the count, the remaining villain raised his web like hands and displaced the matter of Bakugo's sleeve, as well as the sweat on his palm, leaving him temporarily unable to harness his explosions.

Bakugo, cheeky as ever, yelled to him, "That's the sweat from my palms. It works like nitroglycerin." Taking his cue, Shoto blew a blast of fire from his left side at the villain, igniting the sweat that transferred over to him. The fiery inferno blew his body back and Miko quickly used the surrounding water to capture him in ice before he managed to get up again.

Once they had secured the villains, the group ran over to Kirishima, who was still embedded in the wall. "Kirishima!" Worried about the well-being of her friend, Miko quickly approached to ensure he was still able to move. Her hands hovered over him when Todoroki asked, "Are you okay?" Kirishima winced, "I can't move. Can you get me out of here?" Miko quickly put her hands on his torso, "Of course!"

Bakugo snorted loudly. "Are you that stupid? Just turn your damn quirk off, you idiot." That was a solid answer. In her haste to ensure his well-being, Miko didn't even think twice about pulling him out herself instead of thinking that he could get out on his own just by turning off his quirk.

Kirishima sheepishly conceded, "Oh. Right. Guess I shoulda thought of that." Miko quickly released her hold on him. Deactivating his quirk, he easily pulled himself out of the cement. "I'm just glad to see you're not injured," Todoroki spoke from behind her. "Yeah same to you guys," Kirishima's voice was both tired and sheepish, still embarrassed that he didn't think to turn off his quirk once the villains were dealt with. He had been stuck in the wall for a short while and the adrenaline was still running through his veins.

As soon as he was sure Kirishima was really all right, Bakugo scoffed and turned to walk off before unexpectedly thanking the red head. "Thank you," he bit out grudgingly. Surprised by the sudden admission of gratitude from the normally unappreciative blonde, Kirishima couldn't help but tease, "Whoah where'd that come from? Don't worry about it." Ever the prickly person, Bakugo was quick to shoot down Kirishima's humility, "I'm not worried!"

Ignoring his outburst, Kirishima turned to Miko, who to his surprise was wearing makeup, a full emerald green gown, and only one shoe. "You look great!" Miko jolted at the sudden change of topic, but preened as she removed the single shoe she had on, it was better to run barefoot.

"Right, let's catch up with the others," said Shoto. "Don't order me around!" Bakugo yelled furiously as they took off running.

"Alright, time to give us some details you guys," Kirishima said. Just as Shoto was about to reply, red security drones jumped from a balcony above them and surrounded them. They weren't even close to the exit. Shoto's tone was grim, "Looks like they've gotten serious."

"It's nothing we can't handle," Miko said as they each readied their attacks. Taking the lead, Miko flooded the surrounding area, and raising it to capture the security bots in ice. "Let's go." They made quick work of the bots as they continued to rush them. "Our priority is to get to the top of the tower!"

"You got it, Todoroki!"

"We'll blow these robots to ash in no time!"

Miko continued to sweep them with small floods, alternating between freezing them where they stood, and piercing them with sharped water. All together they made quick work of their assailants and took off towards the emergency stairs. Adrenaline pumped furiously through her veins and without the bots around to distract her, Miko's thoughts shifted towards Chiro and Yuuichi.

Worry and fear crept into her heart, and her chest began to tighten. The longer they ran, the more the adrenaline began to wear off and so did her patience. "Shoto," she panted. "Think you have enough energy to help make another platform? This is taking too long and we don't know where the others are." She pulled a stray strand of hair from her forehead, her hair was beginning to drip down her back and she didn't bother trying to keep it from falling to the floor.

"Yeah. I think we can manage." Nodding to each other, they slowed to a stop on the 110th floor, separating so one of them was on each side of the stairwell. At the same time, they reached over the empty space, covering it completely with a thick sheet of ice.

Shoto looked to Kirishima and Bakugo who scowled. "Get on."

"Don't tell me what to do icy hot." Grumbling all the while, the blonde got on quickly enough and without a moment's hesitation Miko and Shoto set to work. The group's knees buckled under the force as the two feed the rising platform, all the while the only girl in their makeshift team grit her teeth trying to focus on the task at hand. They'd already spent so much time warding off those drones, how much longer until they made it to the top? What if the others weren't there? Her family was depending on them! Silently cursing their naïveté, Miko wished they discussed a backup plan but none of them had the foresight to think of such things.

"Princess, calm down. That stupid look on your face is getting on my nerves. If you're so worried work faster!"

She gave him a look, but did as told, focusing instead on the numbing of her bare feet on the ice. "What do we do if the other's aren't there yet? Melissa is the only one who knows how to reset the security system," she asked. Bakugo scoffed, grinning menacingly. "We just beat the hell out of the villains until they do it for us." They all rolled their eyes, but didn't try to correct him.

With their teamwork, they quickly rose to the top of the tower. Stopping in their movements, they scrambled off the icy platform and sprinted for the exit— spotting more security drones approaching a defenseless Uraraka. Immediately, Bakugo leapt forward and blew up the first wave. Right behind him, Miko and Todoroki froze the rest in ice, the latter of who ran to check on the girl.

"That was close. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I used my quirk on Deku and Melissa. They should be able to reach the top!"

Glancing at the two, Miko noted they were slowly floating upwards near where the wind power generator stood. Taking a moment to observe their surroundings, Miko took a breath before she joined Bakugo and Kirishima in battle. Considering they were so high up and also in the middle of the ocean, the amount of water in the air was easy to channel.

A stray gust of wind veered Deku and Melissa off course and away from their desired landing deck, and Shoto was quick to come up with a solution. He tore the left sleeve off his shirt. "Bakugo, aim the propellor quick!"

"I told you not to give me orders!" Even as he complained, he did was what asked of him with a large explosion that tore away one of the giant propellors from the building.

On the other side of the area, Miko yelled at the top of her lungs, "Get out of the way!" Kirishima and Bakugo turned to her in confusion before rapidly backing away from the drones they were demolishing. The silver haired girl sunk to a low squat on her left leg, stretching out her right leg. Her hair, heavy though it was with water, whipped around her as she spun on her heel, sweeping her right leg in three successive wolf turns, creating a massive rotating wave that pushed a majority of the drones off the roof. A small victory, and too soon celebrated. More and more drones clambered onto the roof and no matter how many they destroyed, they just kept on coming.

"There's too many!" Suddenly, the drones stopped moving. "I Island security system is now operating in normal mode…"

"They did it!" Miko grinned. They saw All Might fly towards the helicopter, and in a single punch, completely obliterate it. "We should check on Melissa and Midoriya." Now that the security system was back to normal, they made it to the control room easily. The leader, a monstrous looking creature made of sentient metal, aimed to kill All Might. In synchrony, Bakugo, Miko, and Shoto each let out their own counter attacks to keep the swirling metal limbs from piercing the number one hero.

"How can you let yourself get beat by such a lame final boss? Hurry and take him down!"

"We already set you free, now do your part!"

"We'll do what we can! We'll help you!"

Miko rushed forward.

Courage, her mind whispered. I am afraid, but I am fighting anyway. Rest easy, Chiro, Yuuichi. You can count on us.

The others were fighting off the random debris and limbs in a series of blasts and glaciers.

"What're you doing ya damn princess?! Fight!"

She took a long, deep, inhale, summoning the largest influx of water she'd ever used, bigger even then the vortex she made at the sports festival. She saw Midoriya and All Might flying around the creature, destroying everything the villain threw at them. There's plenty of water, just have to concentrate on the molecules and freeze it all at the right moment. Her muscles tensed and her lip began to crack, water was flowing freely from her hair. If she could freeze it just before their attack hits, the metal might be brittle enough to shatter upon impact.

As the girl concentrated, the air surrounding the villain and his armor began to shimmer, becoming denser as All Might and Midoriya neared.

Now!

A split second before their fists touched metal, the entire thing froze over, and once their Smash hit, shattered in thousands of glittering pieces.

"They did it! They saved our lives!"

Her knees wobbled, and she let out a shaky smile. Exhausted, Miko collapsed.

"Miko! Are you alright?" Shoto caught her. Her eyes were half closed and her lips were split and bleeding. Cradling her lolling head, he formed a bit of ice the same way he did at the USJ. "Here. Are you strong enough to melt it on your own?"

Miko weakly pulled at the ruined skirts of her gown. Well, this was a waste of money, she thought. Mom's gonna kill me. "Midoriya…my family," Miko rasped.

"We need to get her help. Quick!"


AN: Sorry to leave off on a cliffhanger. I meant to finish the movie arc in one chapter, but it's 3am and I'm tired of writing. This just means a longer chapter next month!