Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia.

"The school pool?"

Ayame sat on her bed with mild interest, one hand held the silver smartphone and the other hand held the rectangular console, the word 'PAUSE' flashed in white on the screen. The soft electric hum from the fan by her bed continued to echo softly in the background, matching the birds singing outside the hot summer day.

"Un!" Ochako's voice agreed from the other line, "Momo-chan put in a request for us to use the pool tomorrow! This—isn't too short of a notice, is it? Are you recovered now, senpai?"

Due to all the recent attacks regarding U.A. High School, the students were advised to not take a long summer vacation for the next month. It has been a week since summer break and Ayame's summer internship has not began with Aizawa yet.

Also; Ayame glanced down at her un-bandaged ankle, twisting it left and right without feeling any pain and smiled to herself.

"I'm recovered! I can go tomorrow," Ayame reassured happily. Since she took a trip to the hospital with Shoto two days ago, her ankle had been healed since then. She can easily walk without assistance and there was no more lingering pain or numbness at every step.

"Great!" Ochako returned the enthusiasm and excitedly began to talk about the other girls joining them for tomorrow. And, she briefed Ayame about the time to meet up at school and after a few more chattering regarding their vacation so far, they hung up.

Her family was content with Ayame leaving the house again with a few friends. Last year, Ayame spent most of her time at home playing video games and catching up on some shows, only going out a few times with Hotaru and other class 2-A members before returning home. Seeing as how she already left the house more often in the first week of her break compared to a month from last year, Shiko urged her to go out more.

Once again, Ayame wondered to herself if her family thinks she does not have friends.

Ayame waved behind her as Suzume watched her leave the house. Seeing her little sister's lonely figure standing by the doorway, Ayame promised to herself to bring Suzume outside the house more often for this summer. For now, Ayame zipped up the casual jacket over her swimsuit and swung her bag around her shoulders, checking the time on her phone to make sure she would not be late.

Roughly thirty minutes later, Ayame arrived at the now-empty school with a few minutes to spare. Although the students were out on summer vacation, there were still a few supplement classes that others may take, teachers would still be arriving for work, and others, like Ayame and 1-A, would be using the many facilities offered in this prestigious school.

With a smile, Ayame entered the school grounds when her badge granted her clearance from the scanners. She headed to the changing rooms for the pool, sending a quick text to the girls that she had arrived—and received one from Hagakure immediately that they were already in the locker room. Ayame adjusted her bag and walked a bit faster, entering building and into the room to see six other girls already within.

"Hey!"

"Hello, Ayame-senpai!" A chorus of greetings rang out.

The older girl smiled and set her bag on the bench, unzipping the jacket and shrugged it off to reveal the standard girl's U.A. swimsuits, just like the rest of the students. Ayame took off the capris shorts next and shoved the items in a locker, then reached around to gather her hair.

"Thanks for inviting me out," Ayame said casually, brushing her long strands of hair with her fingers before putting it into a bun, "I don't think my parents would appreciate me wasting another summer away."

"Oh? Did you have no plans?" Tsuyu asked with a tilt of her head.

"Aizawa-sensei is supposed to train me in another week," Ayame shrugged, "For my summer internship. So, I don't have much to do besides waiting for him. Besides, we're not allowed to take long-term trips."

Not that Ayame can afford it. In all honesty, she was content with staying home in front of a cool fan and finally beat her video games. But, going out to see her adorable little kouhais didn't seem so bad.

"Ah, that's why we're here," Ochako giggled.

"I was supposed to take a trip to Venice with my family but due to U.A.'s request, we cannot go." Yaoyorozu informed. Ayame resisted gaping. She knew Yaoyorozu was possibly a rich girl based on the little stories Ashido had mentioned before but—she did not know the extent of her wealth. "But, hanging out with friends over summer vacation sounds just as delightful!"

The girls smiled at Yaoyorozu's pure excitement. Although Yaoyorozu was considered a 'rich heiress', she had the same innocence, if not more, as any other teenagers.

"Well, let's go!" Ashido exclaimed excitedly.

The seven of them headed towards the pool in a short walk. It was just the seven of them for the moment and they set aside the fluffy towels on a chair under the umbrella. They began to put sunscreen on their arms, legs, and face, all while chatting casually with another about mundane things.

It wasn't long until the door to the pool opened again. That time, multiple people began to enter within and Ayame blinked once she realized they were the 1-A boys.

What were they doing here?

"Oh! You girls are here too?" Iida greeted with enthusiasm, his short hair was hidden under a yellow cap and glasses were substituted into black swimming goggles.

"Hey!" They greeted back in mild surprised but just as excited.

"You guys requested to use the pool, too?" Ochako asked curiously.

"We're here for endurance training!" Kirishima pumped his fist up.

"We didn't realize you'll be here too," Sato blinked.

Ayame hummed. Wait; didn't this seem a little too much of a coincidence? She brought one hand up under her chin in contemplation; it felt like an important key was missing from this accidental meetup.

"Is your leg alright?"

But before she can ponder any longer, Ayame was startled out of her thoughts by a low, calm voice addressing her. She looked up, lilac eyes blinking at the heterochromia boy a few feet away approaching her. He was only wearing the U.A. issued school swim shorts, revealing his bare upper torso just like the rest of the guys. However, Ayame felt her eyes drift a little downwards to his toned abs before hastily darting away to the clear pool instead.

"It's fine now," Ayame mentally applauded herself to sound normal.

It has been only two days before they somehow met again but the last words Shoto left to her made Ayame think. Again. It was giving her unnecessary thoughts and expectations, something she taught herself since middle school to control. Two days were not enough for Ayame to completely flush out her previous thoughts and had turned to manga and games to distract herself.

"Ah—let's begin stretching!" Ayame turned to the girls with a bright smile—so casual and so normal that Shoto merely blinked at how fast Ayame left his side.

But no one else seemed to notice the shift in mood and Shoto did not say anymore. And so, the seven girls began to stretch by the edge of the pool, doing the routine stretches taught by their teachers and watched as more and more boys entered the area.

Once again, they were class 1-A boys and everyone began to do their own stretches or chatting while waiting for the rest to arrive. The girls switched from one routine to another before, at last, the door burst open to reveal an energetic blonde and a short purple haired boy bursting into the pool area.

"Oh, Mineta-chan," Tsuyu greeted casually.

"Kaminari, you came, too?" Jirou noticed.

At the sound of the two boy's name, something clicked in Ayame's head. Wait—were they the ones…that planned this?

Kaminari looked disappointed but Mineta was fully sitting down across the pool, smiling at them. Ayame felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Hey…don't tell me…"

But she trailed off when she saw Iida approach the two classmates with wide arms.

"Kaminari-kun, Mineta-kun! It was a great idea to suggest endurance training at school! I'm impressed! Now, why don't you come and sweat with the rest of us?"

Ayame snickered to herself and watched as Iida dragged the two of them to join the rest of the classmates to 'train'. But at that time, her eyes met mismatched ones of grey and turquoise again, causing the laughter to die down in her throat and heat to rush up from her neck. With a quick smile to him, Ayame avoided her gaze and watched as the girls jumped into the cool water one by one. Ayame grabbed the beach ball from the bench and tossed it to Ashido. Then, she proceeded to jump into the pool with a laugh.

I'm here to have fun, Ayame resurfaced and swung her head to fling away the little water droplets. What am I so worked up for?

And, Ayame did have fun. It did not take longer than a few minutes for her to lose herself in the simple game of tossing the beach ball around. At first, it was easy with controlling one ball between the seven of them but when Hagakure hopped out of the pool to get the second one, it turned into a mess trying to juggle two balls at once.

Kaminari and Mineta looked envious and depressed as they watched the girls laughing and playing on the side of the pool. They flopped onto the wet concrete with labored breaths, finally relieved to take a short fifteen minute break from their rigorous training. Mentally, they blamed Midoriya for always being so diligent. If it wasn't for him—none of their other classmates would be here!

"You know, I think I'm starting to see the appeal of the swimsuits, too," Kaminari said with a small sigh, his eyes sneaking glances towards the girls occasionally.

"I told you," Mineta grinned and attempted to keep his voice to a minimum. But, the way he leered at the girls and the subtle drool threatening to slip out indicated he has less than appropriate thoughts about his classmates. "The swimsuit shows off every curve of their body. Senpai's body is nearly on par with Yaoyorozu's—! Look at those le—"

An opaque serpent darted towards the duo, snarling and glaring despite no noises were emitted from its lips. Mineta clamped up and his eyes turned wide and white when the long serpent body slowly curled around the two.

"Do you want to finish that?" Ayame asked with a glare, one finger pointed up in their direction as black smoke wrapped around her arm to form the summon.

"N-n-no—no—no!"

Jirou and Ashido gave them a disgusted look while the other girls shied away. Iida approached the boys, a subtle 'you deserved it' flashed by his face before he turned to his upperclassman.

"Senpai! Would you girls like some refreshments?" Iida called out.

At that, the girls in the water perked up by the handful of drinks in the boy's arms. The serpent uncoiled around Mineta to approach Iida, shifting its body so Iida can put the drinks in it.

"Yes, please!"

Iida put the seven drinks in the body and the serpent returned to Ayame's side. They left the pool and passed the drinks to each other, sitting under the shade of the umbrella and waved to Iida happily as he approached Midoriya next.

"Hah, that was fun," Jirou said with a small exhale, grinning as the other girls lounged on the chairs.

"Those earphone jacks pack quite a punch!" Ochako complicated with a giggle, opening the can in her hand while Ayame took a large swig of hers.

"We should meet up more for the summer!" Hagakure suggested and they could tell she was excited by the can swinging wildly around. They laughed when she opened her own can a second later—only for a burst of soda to spill from the top before the invisible girl hurried to drink it down.

"You are all welcomed to my house!" Yaoyorozu suggested with a childish gleam, "We also have an indoor and outdoor pool at our residence. And, our chefs make the best fruity desserts to compliment tea time!"

One single thought ran through the six other girls' head as Yaoyorozu smiled innocently at them.

How bourgeois!

In the end, they laughed at the common thought they saw on each other's faces before nodding happily in the smiling girl's direction.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, Momo-chan!" Ayame was the first to speak up, leaning on Yaoyorozu warmly.

"Yes, please do!"

"Then let's plan our next hangout!" Ashido chimed in and clapped her hands.

"Ah—I'll be free for one more week though," Ayame made a mental count in her head, "Aizawa-sensei will begin my training soon."

"Ohh—! Aizawa-sensei will be personally training you?!" Ochako gasped in surprise.

"Our summer camp would not begin for another two weeks," Tsuyu pointed out, "Will you be joining us, senpai?"

Ayame shrugged. Her uncle had not told her the specifics yet but if she would be interning under him, that meant she would be following him, too.

"Yeah, I think so," Ayame said with a bright smile.

Their conversation was interrupted when the door slammed open again, causing everyone to turn their attention to the raging ash blonde that had just arrived with Kirishima shaking his redhead behind him.

"There's no way I'd lose to a damn nerd like you!"

Obviously, Bakugo's attention was on poor Midoriya but everyone knew that he was referring to the others too. Ayame propped one hand to her chin and watched Kirishima holding Bakugo back from tearing Midoriya apart.

"I was wondering why it was so quiet," Ayame hummed.

"There's never a break with Bakugo-chan around," Tsuyu added.

The girls shared a small laugh again and watched as Kirishima greeted the others. However, Bakugo's attention was still on the short boy as he raised his sparking hands up in the air, crimson eyes menacing and challenging.

"Hey, damn Deku! You wanna decide things right now? Huh?" Bakugo taunted.

"N-no…uh—"

"It's true that just training isn't that interesting." Iida noted to himself, "Everyone, do you want to see which of the boys can swim 50 meters the fastest?"

"Yeah!"

"Sounds fun!"

The boys agreed to the challenge and sharing one look with each other, Ayame and the rest went up to the class representative.

"We can help," Ayame volunteered with the rest of class 1-A.

Iida gave them a grateful look. "Thanks!"

"What about Quirks? Can we use them?" Ojiro asked next.

"We're at school so there shouldn't be any problems," Iida answered. But, at Bakugo's wild grin, he quickly added, "However, you cannot cause damage to any people or buildings!"

With the basic rules down, everyone seemed confident with their abilities. Bakugo approached Midoriya again, glaring at the short boy who look determined to not lose.

"I'll crush you, Deku!" He whipped his head around to where Shoto was sitting against the wall, crimson eyes narrowing at the calm boy. "Of course, I'll crush you, too, Half-and-Half Bastard!"

Ayame watched as he only gave a small nod in acknowledgement but based on the serious look in his eyes, she knew Shoto was taking this little competition seriously, too. Since the Sports Festival, many challenges had sparked in them as they saw their classmates battle against each other. Although Bakugo had won against Shoto, the blonde was upset that he did not use his full potential against him. And—with Midoriya taking first place in the obstacle course race, that had bruised both powerhouses' ego.

Yaoyorozu created a whistle with her Quirk and took her place at one end of the pool where a few others had gathered. Jirou and Ashido had helped separate the groups already to see which heat would compete first and the others waited their turn. Ayame walked over to the other end just so she can have a clear look at who would reach the finish line first. Thinking to herself and at the uneven view of the lanes, Ayame created the medium size tengu and flew up.

"Ah, a bird's eye view is certainly the best," she said to no one in particular and watched as the others took their place.

"Then, on your marks..." At Yaoyorozu's voice, the first pool consisting of Mineta, Tokoyami, Koda, Bakugo, and Kaminari prepared themselves, "Get set…"

The whistle sounded and everyone jumped into the water.

Well…not everyone…

"Explosive Speed Turbo!" Bakugo used his explosions to fly through the air and landed on the other side of the pool easily—without touching the water once. "How was that, you extras?!"

"What do you mean 'how was that'?!" Sero screamed and pointed back at him.

"You didn't even swim!" Kirishima echoed back and pointed at him.

"It's freestyle!" Bakugo argued, hands flaring up again.

Ayame stayed agape on her tengu as she watched them argue below. Just—what the heck?! Ayame rubbed her forehead; in a way…that…counted?

"Alright, who's next?" Ayame asked when the remaining students finished swimming to the other side.

Sero, Aoyama, Shoto, Sato, and Kirishima took their place. Yaoyorozu began her count again and as soon as the whistle blew, everyone sprang into action. Sero immediately shot tape out of his arm to latch onto the other side, sliding over the water with ease while Aoyama fired his navel laser backwards to propel himself through the air.

Shoto had created ice under his feet to slide over the water and it seemed as though he was faster using his ice over water than concrete ground. Kirishima and Sato were the only ones swimming but they stood no chance against Shoto's Quirk and the competition dwindled when Aoyama crashed into Sero by accident with the loss of control.

The ice stopped forming and Shoto hopped off effortlessly at the end, giving a small glance at Ayame as the referee and she gave him a helpless smile and a small shake of her head. Just like Bakugo, he won without even being in the water.

"You're supposed to be swimming!" Mineta and Kaminari cried out in anger.

Shoto only shrugged.

"If we gave a pass for Kacchan then Shoto-kun is the same," Ayame defended from above.

Reluctantly, the others agreed and waited as Sato and Kirishima finished to the end. Aoyama and Sero were already done considering how Aoyama had slammed into the other boy. A few minutes passed as the last heat made their way to the springboard. Iida, Midoriya, Ojiro, and Shoji took their marks and Yaoyorozu readied her whistle.

"Feeeee!"

The whistle blew and the four jumped into the water. Ojiro and Midoriya looked even in their swimming style, fighting for first and it finally looked like a real swimming match. However, Ayame noticed from above at how Iida balanced on the floating borders of the lane and used his engine to sped past everyone.

"You too, Iida?!"

But Ayame was paying close attention as Midoriya activated his Quirk, glowing the same lightning green as before and swam with more gusto. Iida noticed the competition catching up and soon, the two were neck to neck. She hovered above them with wide eyes, making sure to not lose track of any of their movement because finally—this was what a real race should look like!

And then—a hand slammed onto the other end of the pool. Ayame gasped and floated down, the tengu disappearing into smokes around her before she helped lift Midoriya out of the pool.

"Deku-kun wins!"

"Wow!"

"Good job, Midoriya!" Sero cheered.

"You were so close, Iida!" Ashido followed up.

Midoriya blushed from the attention and the cheering from his fellow classmates. Ayame was still holding onto his hand before he carefully pulled it away, trying to prevent his cheeks going from pink to red at her intimacy. She seemed to have not noticed anything and the two moved to help Iida up from the pool.

"You beat me, Midoriya-kun," Iida had admitted but he was not disappointed.

"Iida-kun, you were amazing too," Midoriya smiled.

Ayame giggled to herself. These two were seriously good friends and stay humble even when they win or lose. However, her eyes drifted to the heterochromia boy near the back, his mismatched eyes quietly studying them and were thinking of something she could not decipher. With the four of them here, Ayame couldn't help but remember the last time the four of them were together, they were fighting against the Hero Killer; Stain.

Everyone gathered around as the competition neared the end. While most were upset with their losses, it was also expected that the grand finalists were Bakugo, Shoto, and Midoriya. While Iida would have been an obvious choice, his Quirk was better suited on the ground than in water.

"The winner of each heat—Bakugo-kun, Todoroki-kun, and Midoriya-kun—will race for first place," Iida said, "Will that be alright?"

"Yup," the three of them agreed instantly.

"Hey, Half-and-Half Bastard! Don't hold back like you did at the Sports Festival," Bakugo scowled. "Come at me seriously!"

Shoto took his proclamation with a stern nod. He was not willing to hold back anymore.

"Alright."

"You too, damn Deku!"

"A-alright, Kacchan."

The three separated and Ayame flew back onto the tengu. Iida replaced Yaoyorozu at the starting line while Ayame waited at the back. The three of them looked focus on this little competition and quietly, Ayame wondered who would win. Bakugo and Shoto had always been strong but lately, Midoriya was stepping up his game against the others. Considering how Bakugo and—even Shoto and Iida consider him a rival, it shows how high of an importance they put on him.

"Then, the 50-meter freestyle race will begin now!"

"Go, Bakugo!" Kirishima cheered.

"Don't kill the other guys!" Kaminari added.

"Todoroki! Don't lose!" Sero yelled.

"Do your best, Deku-kun!" Ochako called out.

"Everyone, fight!"

Ayame smiled and waved a little. Although she should not cheer as prominent as the others considering how she was a 'referee' now, her gaze lingered on Shoto for just a second longer.

"On your marks," Iida raised one hand and the other held the whistle, "Get set…"

Bakugo's hands were sparking with explosions. Shoto's right arm was covered in a thin layer of frost already. Lightning green sparks coursed through Midoriya's body in preparation.

The whistle blew, signaling the three to begin and all of them jumped. But, before they even landed in the water, their Quirks did not activate and all of them froze by the sudden shift in momentum. Ayame's eyes widened—there was only one person capable to do that—but before she can greet her uncle, her summon also disappeared beneath her.

"How did I get dragged into this?!" Ayame hollered and fell into the water with a huge 'splash' right after the three students.

Summer was hot and the water was cool but Ayame did not appreciate dunking into the water without warning. She swam upwards and gasped for air, flinging the water from her face and wiped it from her eyes. Aizawa strolled over to the group with his Quirk still activated, glancing at Ayame once before turning to the students.

"It's 5 P.M. Your pool use time has now ended. Hurry up and go home," Aizawa instructed.

"C'mon, Aizawa-sensei!" Kaminari tried to argue.

"We just got to the good part!" Sero pointed towards the three students in the pool while Ayame climbed out.

Aizawa's eyes flashed red again, glaring at the two that had spoken.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing, sir!" Everyone agreed.

Ayame laughed quietly and took the towel from the bench to dry herself. The girls gathered around to collect their things and together, they made their way to the locker.

"I can't believe it's already 5!" Ochako's voice echoed in the locker room as she changed in the shower around the corner.

Everyone had their own shower to change in and Ayame was no different. She shed the wet suit off her body and took a quick shower to wash off the chlorine.

"Ne, do you guys want to grab a bite to eat now?" Hagakure asked excitedly, already changed into a tank top and shorts.

"I'm down!" Ashido called out from her shower.

"Me too!" Ochako echoed back.

Ayame turned the shower off and began to dry herself. She quickly put on her undergarments and slipped a tank top over her head. She wore her capris shorts again and threw the towel around her long hair before stepping out.

"I can stay for food," Ayame headed towards her locker and sent a quick text to her father.

"I would love to join you all," Yaoyorozu was combing her hair by the bench and Tsuyu nodded her head in agreement.

"Sounds fun," Jirou confirmed as last with a small smile, "All that playing made me hungry."

Quickly, the others began to finish up and worn the extra clothes they had brought along. Ayame tied her jacket around her waist for the moment as the weather was still humid and together, they walked out of the locker rooms and to the entrance.

Along the way, they saw a few other 1-A boys still around and chit chat with them. They had told them of their plans to eat but when Kaminari and Mineta asked if they could join, Jirou immediately scowled.

"This is a girl's day only!"

The two sulked and the others laughed. Ayame brushed back her damp hair and patted Kaminari on the back.

"Maybe next time."

As they neared the entrance/exit, they saw a few others lingering around. Ayame felt herself froze at the sight of the half-and-half boy leaning against the wall with Iida and Midoriya around him. When they neared them, Ochako had greeted Midoriya loudly and the three's attention had turned to the girls.

"You guys are still here?" Jirou asked casually.

"We saw Todoroki-kun waiting here and decided to wait with him!" Iida said and suddenly, their gaze landed on the stoic boy. But, his attention was not on them when he looked at the quiet brunette, slightly tilting his head to the exit.

"You ready?"

Now, they turned their attention to Ayame. In 1-A, it was no secret that Shoto would walk their upperclassman home before. A few others had seen them journey to and from school a few times already but it was not something they cared to disclose. But, before they left for summer vacation, they had clearly seen how their stoic classmate escorted Ayame to and from school due to their injured ankle.

That was why; no one was surprised to see Shoto ask that question. But, they were definitely amused, curious, and maybe a little expectant of Ayame's answer.

She felt the gaze around her and smiled uncaringly—because, they were making a big deal out of nothing. Although she felt the initial flutter of her heart by such an innocent question, Ayame reminded herself to don't be an idiot.

"I'm going out to eat with the girls!" Ayame replied in her usual, cheery manner. It was so natural that the others suspected nothing of it but—Shoto narrowed his eyes nearly a centimeter.

She was avoiding his gaze.

"Tch, at least Todoroki got rejected, too," Mineta mumbled to himself as a way of comfort.

"C'mon, guys!" Kaminari recovered the previous 'heartbreak' and turned to the boys, "We will have our own 'boy's night'!"

Shoto opened his mouth to protest but Kaminari already swung an arm around his shoulder. The girls giggled and began to walk ahead first. Ayame glanced back and waved behind her.

"See you guys next time!"

The girls made a left and the boys turned to the right.

They arrived at a café Hagakure recommended just a train stop away. Ayame called Hotaru to join them since it was near her house and the firefly hero arrived at the café first to save their seats. With a happy greeting, Ayame sat next to Hotaru on the table made for eight, facing the four other girls across from her.

Ayame spoke with Hotaru about the break so far and how they had played at the school pool. She had wanted to invite Hotaru earlier in the day but the girl was busy babysitting her younger siblings and was not free until now. Together, the large group of eight girls discussed with each other about the meals and drinks, all ordering an assortment of entrees to share later.

It was a mix of traditional Japanese cuisine in a modern setting. While the food followed the usual sense of common meals shared by families, the chefs also added their own unique flair to the piece. It also helped that the menu was reasonably priced, something the teenage girls can afford as they picked to their liking.

In a collected yet animated state, the girls recapped the events of the pool competition and fun to Hotaru. The short girl took in the explanation with amazed interest, trying to imagine the 1-A students she barely familiarized and connected to the stories told by their classmates.

Yet, when Ayame casually mentioned the responsible class president, Hotaru's freckles glowed in a faint spark and the brunette resisted the snicker in the rise of her throat. Noticing her friend's not at all subtle show of her teasing, Hotaru huffed and nudged Ayame in the side.

Ashido caught onto the minor interaction, the wheels turning in her head by the flustered state of Hotaru and gasped. She glanced in Hagakure's direction and although the pink alien could not see her friend's reaction, she knew the invisible girl was just as excited by the waving of her chopsticks.

"Ne, ne, Hotaru-senpai!" Hagakure spoke up with a small gasp, "Are you…curious about our class president?!"

Well, 'curious' was not the correct term to use for Hotaru but Hagakure did not feel close enough to tease her upperclassman like so. It was one thing teasing Ayame-senpai since they see her more often, but they still tried to keep polite regarding Ayame's close friend.

Immediately, Hotaru's cheeks flashed more, her eyes glowing faintly under the yellow lights in the restaurant and the remaining girl's attention turned to her. Jirou and Yaoyorozu looked slightly taken back by the sudden shift in conversation. Tsuyu and Ochako broke from their light chatter and while the former's expression did not change, the brunette felt a sudden flush to her cheeks at the direction the conversation had headed.

But, the worst of all was Hotaru, her mind blanking and cheeks reddening by the seven pairs of eyes on her form. Although Ayame had often mentioned Iida in passing, she would not openly ask her until the girl herself was ready. With the tactless question by Hagakure, whom she knew held no harm, Hotaru still felt embarrassed and—possibly a stuttering mess in her denial.

"N-no-no-noo!" Hotaru barely squeaked out, "I-I l-like hearing stories—a-about everyone!"

A few of them relaxed but Ashido had a knowing grin on her face. Seeing her upperclassman flounder around was interesting and—cute—in her opinion. The neon glow to her cheeks and eyes were captivating and more than just the girls at the table were staring at Hotaru.

"Is that so~?" Ashido asked in a sing-song voice, fully intent on teasing the poor girl even more if not for Ayame finally stepping in.

"Okay, Mina-chan, that's enough for now," Ayame lightly admonished but it held no ill-will. She shielded Hotaru with half of her body so her friend can take a few seconds to calm herself. "You have to share something about yourself if you want to hear more."

That did not alleviate their curiosity from Hotaru but it was enough to distract their attention to Ashido. The girl in question pouted just the slightest and leaned on her hand set on the table.

"I have nothing to share!" Ashido answered, "The boys aren't interesting enough in our class. But—I don't mind trading class presidents if you agree, senpai!"

Hagakure laughed in agreement while Ayame looked bewildered by the suggestion.

"You know that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Ayame mused to herself—receiving more laughter from the girls around the table. Everyone in school already knew of Ayame and the Takarada heir's terrible relationship. Although they do not know the cause of it, they merely speculated that some people just had conflicting personalities with each other.

"How about we trade Todoroki-kun, too, for the two class reps?" Hagakure threw out, receiving a high-five from Ashido for the promptly asked question. The other girls looked surprised by the offer before turning to see how their upperclassman would reply.

"What? Why?" Ayame asked with furrowed eyebrows, trying to resist the pout on her lips by the girl's teasing.

"Because you two just get along so well," Ashido sang again, alien gold eyes gleaming with glee.

"Ohhh, that's true," Ochako agreed, not in the sense of teasing but—to state the facts, "Todoroki-kun had walked Ayame-senpai to school a few times already!"

Ayame turned to Ochako in disbelief, not appreciating the way the younger girl reminded everyone of the past couple of weeks and their growing friendship. Ochako giggled sheepishly by the mock-betrayed look by her upperclassman.

"Friends can walk each other to school!" She felt a sense of déjà vu hit her as she said those words. Wasn't it just recently she had said nearly the same thing to Suzume? "Like—like—if Deku-kun suddenly began to walk Ochako-chan to school often, does that mean they're interested in each other?"

Quickly, Ayame threw the question back to Ochako. Now, it was the younger girl's turn to flush and waved her hand wildly in denial. She mentally blamed Aoyama for planting that little question in her mind during their final exam, not completely able to forget the simple 'do you like him' whenever she saw the moss haired boy.

"N-n-no! O-of course not!"

At Ochako's blatant refusal, Ayame blinked and paused. Maybe…she hit that question a little too close to Ochako's heart for her to react…nearly the same as Hotaru. The girl had finally calmed down and instead, was keeping track of the conversation but said nothing. She'd rather not have the talk of love be shifted back to her.

"Oh-ho~ That's not suspicious at all," Ashido snickered.

"C'mon," Jirou finally spoke up with a helpless smile, her attention were on the two rowdy girls who knew no bounds when it comes to teasing, "You guys act as if this is the only romance you've ever heard of."

Since Jirou spoke up, their attention shifted to the punk and she immediately regretted helping. Jirou raised up her hands in defense, staring at Ashido pointedly as if warning her to begin teasing her.

"Before you ask; no, I am not interested in anyone nor do I want to," Jirou stated.

They shared another laugh that despite Jirou's absolute denial, there was still a tint of pink to her cheeks.

"I agree with Kyoka-chan," Tsuyu said in her usual calm tone, wide eyes looking at the rest of the girls, "I want to be a hero first before a relationship."

"A high school romance does sound fun," Yaoyorozu giggled behind her hands, "But, now may not be the time for one."

"Boo," Ashido pouted at their refusal, saying in an exasperated tone, "We're at the prime of our youth! Yet you guys are thinking like adults!"

"Maybe I should introduce you to Aiko-chan and Eimi-chan. They never stop talking about love," Ayame laughed.

"Ayame-senpai, you still haven't admitted your relationship with Todoroki-kun yet!" Hagakure pointed out.

The brunette paused—before sighing dramatically. Why wouldn't they let this go? First it was the boys and now—here they were.

"Shoto-kun and I are just friends. It's not anything romantic you guys are imagining," Ayame said curtly, the serious tone in her voice caused the others to lose the playful atmosphere. "I confessed to someone once but he didn't feel the same. Since then, I've decided not to pay attention to those things."

Ayame ended that brief heartbreak with a shrug, showing a disinterest to her first love. She would not admit how that had scarred her confidence over the years, did not mention how his rejection tore something apart that was more than her heart.

Quietly, Hotaru glanced at her friend without a word. She knew, the more offhanded Ayame appeared about a subject, the worse it had actually affected her. This was the first time she had heard such a thing from her friend herself and—Hotaru wondered if there was more to the story than Ayame let on.

Ayame arrived back home without any incidents. After her little sharing during dinner, she realized how heavy the mood had become and swiftly changed the topic. Sometimes, it was just so easy for her to change her tune back to the happy, simple-minded girl everyone sees her as. She had been doing it for years. It was just a way for others to not mind too much about her and not for her to dwell on useless things.

The sky was dark but a few rooms in her home were illuminated with the fluorescent lights. She could tell based on the lights that her parents were still awake in the room and someone was still in the living room. Since their family could be considered large for the five of them, it was not unusual in Ayame's eyes to see her family awake.

Still, she quietly opened the door to their house and locked it behind her, rounding the corner of the entrance to the living room. Yume was sitting on the couch with the tablet on her lap, the television playing some news on the background in a low volume. At the sight of her sister entering, Yume turned her head towards her with a smile.

"Okaeri, Ayame."

"Tadaima," Ayame smiled in return.

The younger sister headed towards the couch and flopped down to sit next to Yume with a content sigh. Ayame peeked at the open tablet, catching more news and articles and nearly rolled her eyes. Her sister was such a workaholic, even at home.

"How was dinner?" Yume asked casually, subtle locking the tablet closed so her sister would not snoop anymore.

"It was good," Ayame leaned back on the couch to stretch, "I was catching up with Hotaru-chan and the 1-A girls. I might go out again depending on their schedule for the next meet-up."

"Oh?" Yume smiled again with slight amusement, "I was hoping you'd still have time for your dear onee-chan this week."

At that, Ayame grew curious by her sister's teasing tone. She sat up straighter and turned to her with a tilt of her head. If Yume was taking the initiative to be playful—then there must be a surprise waiting for her!

"I do! What is it?" Ayame asked excitedly.

Yume's smile turned wider, almost yet not exactly a grin, as she took out a letter behind her. It was addressed to the hero 'LullaCry', one full page of words and documentations that Ayame could not bother to read.

"I'm invited to I-Expo on I-Island for 2 days and…the invitation said I can bring one more person with me," Yume said slowly, deliberately, as she watched Ayame's lilac eyes focused on the letter then—wide on her.

"Me—! Are you—can you—onee-chan!" Ayame was a mess trying to recommend herself to go with Yume, stumbling over her words that could not even be a complete sentence while looking at her older sister admiringly.

Yume laughed at her little sister's enthusiasm and raised one hand to pat the long tan hair. Whenever it came to hero activities, Ayame never failed to be excited about every little prospect.

"I already submitted you as my plus one," Yume confirmed.

Ayame gasped, eyes wide with glee before laughter burst from her lips and tackled her sister onto the couch. Yume laughed when her back hit the couch, carefully setting her tablet aside while Ayame continued to shout words of gratitude.

"We leave the day after tomorrow. Make sure to pack what you need by tomorrow," Yume calmed down to inform. "Also, bring your hero uniform. As a student of U.A., you have the privilege of wearing it beside me."

Ayame nodded her head repeatedly. Although she was unable to return to Yume's agency due to her mishap with the Hero Killer, she could still stand beside her sister again like a hero. With another thanks, Ayame quickly ran back to her room to prepare.

She brought out the rarely used suitcase from the closet and opened it on her bedroom floor. Making a mental list to herself, Ayame began to shift through her closet to see which outfit to bring. Although she would be wearing her hero outfit for the majority of the day, Ayame still wanted to explore the night life of I-Island.

I-Island…an artificial moving island made for the purpose of thousands of scientists to study Quirks in safety. The island would never linger in one place for long, keeping their location a secret from those who wished to infiltrate it. It was an honor for LullaCry to even obtain the opportunity to be invited on the island. And the best of all—Yume had invited Ayame.

The brunette giggled to herself in a giddy manner. She could not wait to go! Although the creation of support items and the technological advances behind it was something too complex for Ayame to even comprehend, she enjoyed seeing the works in action by heroes.

As she packed most of the things she needed, Ayame realized there were still a few things she needed to buy. Extra toothbrush and toothpaste, for example, sunscreen, and other hygienic supplies were something she was running low. Deciding to go to the store tomorrow for a purchase, Ayame finished up and plop down on her bed with her phone.

It was then she realized there was one unread message on her notifications. It was sent around half an hour ago, the sender was none other than Todoroki Shoto…asking if she had arrived home safe.

Ayame stilled, silently reading the short message a few more times without a reply. The conversation from dinner floated in her mind again as the girls teased each other regarding their romantic life. Ayame stood by what she had said back then. Shoto and she were just friends. If someone else was in his place instead—if it was someone else that had the same route as her to school, then Ayame firmly believed she would act the same way.

It was merely a coincidence that all of their meetings so far were accidental. Ayame had picked a different agency from Endeavor and still end up meeting the Flame Hero. Ayame had gone to and from school at her own pace but—it was Shoto who waited—no, he merely met up with her at the same time. If anyone else had the same route as her, Ayame would gladly welcome them.

So, no, Ayame refused to let her thoughts ponder and imagination to run wild. She was intent on proving to the rest of the 1-A students that she was merely friends with the stoic boy. There was nothing else to it.

'Yup! Home now!'

He glanced at the message blinking from the phone, forty minutes after it was sent. Shoto set aside the book he was previously reading to replace it with the smartphone, unlocking the device to see the message from his upperclassman.

Although the preview had already notified him of the contents, Shoto still leaned back to observe the simple message. It was late already; Shoto had sent that message when he arrived home before considering his upperclassman. He wondered if Ayame really had arrived home just now or she had seen the message late.

He leaned on his hand, the coolness from it matching the same as his cheek. Yet, he paid no mind to his Quirks as he waited, and waited. But there was no follow-up message or reply. It was short, simple, and—as Shoto continued to read it for the fifth time, it was unlike Ayame to not say more than three words.

Thinking back, she had been acting odd today. He was the one to approach her during the pool, wondering about her healed injury and was inwardly relieved she was. But then, she turned around without anything, leaving him to stare at her back in bemusement.

Shoto had waved it from mind then. He believed she was there to play whereas he was invited to train. Nothing else had happened and before they knew it, Aizawa was kicking them out of the pool. He figured since he had time, he was going to walk Ayame home again. Midoriya and Iida saw him waiting behind and waited with him, speaking about the competition though Shoto only offered a few words in return.

And then, Ayame had rejected his refusal due to the spontaneous dinner plan with the girls and Shoto accepted it without question. The only odd thing was that…Ayame avoided looking at him the whole time. Or, even if she did, it had been brief and fleeting—as if she would rather look at the stone wall to the side as if it were made of diamonds.

Is she…avoiding me?

That thought had popped in his mind and left him wondering throughout his whole dinner. Even though Kaminari and Mineta were rowdy, Iida reprimanding them every fifteen minutes, and Midoriya's nervous yet amused laughter, it still did not distract Shoto completely from his thoughts regarding the brunette.

Did I do something?

Their last interaction was two days prior during their meeting with his mother. Afterwards, Ayame had appeared the same as always.

Even though Shoto replayed the conversation within his mind, he cannot find anything out of the sort with it. He thought they had finally reached a level where playful teasing and light touches were permitted. Although he was normally not the type to initiate any of those, Shoto was certain that he was only helping her because she had helped him plenty before.

A soft sigh left his lips, his right hand reached up to rub the temple of his forehead from the minor headache beginning to form. He never once cared for relationships like this. But, many things had changed since Midoriya had knocked some sense into him, literally, as Ayame would put it. Trying to maintain a decent friendship with his upperclassman was harder than he thought. It had been easy with his own classmates but…

"Shoto."

A knock and a firmed voice came from the other side of the sliding door. He schooled his face back into a nonchalant expression, watching as the door quietly slid open to reveal his father on the other side. Although Shoto was not glaring at him as he once use to, he did not appreciate Enji entering without his consent.

"What do you want?" Shoto stated rather than questioned.

Enji took a step in, a quick glance sweeping over the simple yet barren room of his youngest son, before returning his turquoise eyes to the boy on the futon. Shoto stood up lazily and waited, wanting him to quickly state his interruption.

"A letter came in the mail for me," Shoto finally took note of the white envelop in his hand, waiting for his father to continue, "It is an invitation to I-Expo on I-Island. Unfortunately, I have a prior conference with another mission and cannot go. I would like you to represent me there."

The letter was handed to him after the explanation. Shoto took it without much change to his expression but was inwardly surprised by the offer. I-Island was a place he had wanted to visit once he was a prestigious hero but…maybe having the Number Two Hero, Endeavor, as his father had some benefits.

But, just barely.

"I'll go," Shoto agreed after glancing at the date on the mail. It was soon and before his training camp. At least, going to I-Expo will kill some time before the training camp. Also, this was a helpful distraction from his previous musing.

"Un," Enji had expected this result. "I've filled out the forms necessary for you to replace me. The invitation will inform you of the private plane used to transport you to the island."

Enji hesitated, the words 'call me if you run into trouble' were on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it down instead. He was in no position to offer that assistance. Enji knew he had not done anything warrant of Shoto's respect but slowly, he had hoped to change. For now, his pride was still too stubborn to cave in first when Shoto was still regarding him with those contempt heterochromia eyes.

"I got it," he dismissed, his tone alluding to the end of the conversation.

The Flame Hero spared another glance to his son before turning away to the door. Without another word, Enji closed the door behind him and left Shoto alone.

Inside, Shoto sat back down again to examine the letter. Going to I-Island will prove to be a fruitful endeavor. As an aspiring hero, he wanted to receive as much experience possible to familiarize himself with the line of hero work.

Plus, the minor vacation may be something he needed to clear his mind.

As if on cue, his eyes wandered back to his phone again, her message still opened on screen. Shoto then scanned over the invitation mail again, seeing the additional line of one other guest may be invited upon acceptance and—

Forget it, Shoto turned away from his phone and got up to pack, I'm thinking too much.

A/N:

Sorry for the delay but here is an update! The plot is kinda moving forward and these two teens are slowly noticing their feelings with each other but…taking a different turn with it. It's gonna be a slooow burn.

I'm going to try to keep the movie chapters relatively short…like 2-3 chapters max since I want to move onto season 3 but…there's still going to be scenes after the movie plot for summer vacation and AHHH I HAVE A LOT I WANNA CRAM TOGETHER. Hopefully, it'll still be interesting with Ayame in the mix! Like this, I try to extend the little pool episode for the girls to spend some quality time together.

Reviews are greatly appreciated! Please send some support!

P.S. It's my birthday today so yay here's a chapter.