Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia.

Loud cheering, thunderous clapping, and the clock buzzed at the last second to signal the end of the game. The basketball flew through the air and went through the hoop; the sound of the 'swish' was drowned out by the screams of the crowd by the last-second point gained by the home middle school.

Ayame screamed and clapped her hand wildly; lilac eyes wide and focused on the boy being hoisted up by his teammates in the middle. His laughter filled the air and striking green eyes searched the crowd. In a second, his eyes met hers—and lingered, his grin softened into a smile and waved back.

Her heart thump rapidly against her chest, the heat rising up even more to her cheeks but her smile was genuine. Ayame ran down from the benchers to meet up with him, excited and thrilled that her crush had won their middle school basketball game for the season.

But, as she reached down, dozens of others were already crowding the star player, drowning her in the mass as Ayame struggled to squeeze through. She told herself—even if she was unable to speak with him one-on-one, she wanted him to at least see her as she congratulated him along with dozens of others.

A part of Ayame knew she was being foolish. With so many people around him, cheering for him, there was no way he could spot her amongst the others. Even in middle school, Ayame did nothing to stand out against the crowd if not for her relationship to the sidekick, LullaCry. But, she had not spoken of her sister for some time now, hoping no one else would make the mindless comparison whenever they saw her brunette hair and purple eyes.

"Oi, Sasaki!"

There was something in his voice that commanded presence and attention to him. As soon as he greeted her—that he reached out to her first, the crowd became more bearable and air returned to her lungs as people parted the way for her. Ayame grinned, pride swelling at the recognition, and hopped over to him.

"Yo! Congratulations, Ishida-kun! You were so amazing out there!" Ayame gushed in excitement.

Ishida Yamato, the holder of Ayame's affection, grinned sheepishly and rubbed his short dark locks in return at the girl in front of them. They were the same height, Ayame was known to be tall amongst the girls, but her short tan hair and boisterous attitude often had others teasing her to be one of the boys.

"Thanks, Sasaki! I'm glad you can make it!" Ishida had smiled but his eyes were searching, although subtle and unnoticeable by the girl in front of him, his eyes had wandered the whole gym in search for brunette hair and violet eyes.

"Of course! How can I miss your big game!" Ayame was oblivious to his actions and Ishida returned his attention back to her, his smile softening but still just as kind.

"This was definitely a difficult game but—it was fun," Ishida laughed, joyful yet proud of his accomplishment.

Ayame's heart warmed by his laughter, all of her attention was solely focused on him and words of congratulation and affection were on the tip of her tongue. She opened her mouth to say more, the thought of confessing to him right here and now crossed her mind and—

"Ishida-kun—I—"

Someone stumbled into Ayame's back, causing a surprised yelp to leave her lips as she staggered forward. A large pair of hands reached out to steady her shoulders, large lilac eyes meeting dazzling green ones as their heads were merely a breath away.

Ishida's eyes softened, his head dipping slightly down and Ayame felt herself freeze in anticipation. Part of her screamed to close her eyes yet another part rationed to savor this moment—because he was so close and they were so close and—

"I'm sorry, Sasaki…but the one I like is your sister, Yume-san."

Lilac eyes slowly opened in a dazed conscious, observing the white ceiling without movement although she could hear shuffling of footsteps on the other side of the house. Ayame closed her eyes again and brought one arm up to cover her eyes from the brightness, feeling the warm summer air and the comfort of her bed slowly lulling her to sleep again.

"I'm sorry, Sasaki…but the one I lik—"

Well, time to wake up.

It does not happen often but Ayame does dream of him. It was odd; she had not that dream in over half a year's time but…it must have been the conversation from yesterday to trigger something within her subconscious for that memory. Funny; that ending was not the same day she had confessed but—dreams and memories tend to overlap each other, rewriting what had happened and what did not.

Ayame resisted the frown and lightly brushed the tan fringes away from her face. Although she was reading the labels intently on the travel-sized lotion, none of the words were absorbed into her mind. Having that dream about her old crush had definitely unlocked a few buried emotions. She threw the lotion into her basket and turned to walk away.

"Oh—excuse me," Ayame apologized, nearly running into a tall man and only managed to sidestep at the last second.

"I-it's alright."

She blinked, lilac eyes looking up to see the tall, skinny blonde teacher from U.A. Recognition flashed by both pairs of vibrant eyes before the girl took another step back to bow politely.

"Oh, sensei! Fancy running into you here!" Ayame straightened up with a smile towards the blonde.

"How do you do?" Toshinari smiled goodheartedly, taking in the tan hair wound up into a ponytail and washed out All Might tee. An amused smile made its way onto his face as he realized the shirt was probably from years ago, still showing off his old design with a cape.

"I'm good! Just shopping for an upcoming trip!" Ayame answered. Curiously, she quietly glanced around the tall blonde but does not see the familiar moss haired boy. Usually, when she sees this teacher, Midoriya would be close behind.

"A trip?" Toshinari mumbled to himself, feeling this all too coincidental as he was also shopping for an upcoming trip.

"Yeah! To I-Island!" Ayame turned her attention back to the tall teacher, smiling widely and missed the flash of surprise in his vibrant blue eyes, "I'll be attending I-Expo with my sister, LullaCry! I wonder if All Might will be there?!"

Ayame had asked half anticipating the teacher's confirmation. After all, All Might does work in U.A. High School but she rarely seen him like her underclassman does. Plus, maybe another school facility teacher would know! Aizawa would not be the type to indulge Ayame with her curiosity regarding the Number One hero, calling her a stalker once and promptly ignored her.

Toshinari resisted the urge to step back by her excited gaze. This girl reminded him of Young Midoriya but, she was more expressive and straightforward with her thoughts. It was always fun meeting a fan and—even more when she does not know of his identity.

"I-I believe he accepted an invitation, too," Toshinari divulged that little information with a smile, watching the way Ayame pumped a fist in midair in unrestrained happiness. He chuckled softly, bringing one hand up subtly to push down the pain from his lungs. "You really like All Might, don't you?"

"Of course! Who doesn't?!" Ayame replied automatically. "He's the strongest hero—ever!"

Ayame rambled on, lost in her worshipping of All Might and oblivious to the teacher's amused smile. They may have met only a handful of times, Ayame seeing him in his true form more than his hero, but the girl was always the same. She has a strong sense of justice and duty, always trying to protect her kouhais and prove her worth.

"I think you might be getting up there yourself," Toshinari mused, breaking the brunette mid-ramble, "Your strong impression of him during the Sports Festival could almost rival his own powers."

What he had said was not an exaggeration. After his closing ceremony for the first-years, Toshinari had noticed all of the 1-A students run off to the second-year's stage. Even Aizawa had left to find his family and out of curiosity, Toshinari changed out of uniform and followed.

Watching the second-year battle was as interesting as the first. Toshinari can see why the Takarada and Shimizu heir were popular amongst the students. But, the surprising factor of the second-year weren't the reputable 'princes' as the school had dubbed them but rather—the underdog of the year emerging victorious in the end. The giant summon of All Might had surprised everyone, granting her a win in the grand finals against the large-scale gems attack that looked ready to pierce through the stadium.

At that time, Ayame was oblivious to all the wandering eyes and ran to her fallen opponent. She had no statement regarding the summon and had not revealed such power again. It left others wondering if her victory was truly a fluke or not.

But, it wasn't. A true hero could sense the overwhelming power from that ghostly figure, matching All Might at his prime with a punch that he perfected over many years. She had potential, Toshinari knew. It was just a matter of utilizing that potential. If Toshinari was a more suitable teacher, he would have loved to teach her. Unfortunately, his hands were already full with his successor, Midoriya Izuku.

"E-ehe, you're just saying that!" Ayame's flustered yet proud voice broke through his thoughts, "I still have a long way to go before I get to All Might's level but—one day—if I can fight alongside him—then that's all I can ever ask for!"

Toshinari's smile softened, unable to confirm what she had hoped for yet also could not disregard her. Ayame had said the same thing before; she had really wanted to work alongside the hero. But sometimes, he knew he could not make everyone's wish come true.

"Work hard, Sasaki Ayame-shounen," Toshinari said softly.

Ayame grinned and nodded her head, giving a verbal 'un' as the blonde gave her a brief pat on the shoulder before walking away. Ayame continued to shop and finished purchasing her items so she can head home. But, as she replayed that conversation in her mind, a small question had lingered at the end of their parting.

When did I tell him my name?

Ayame and Yume had prepared for their trip and said farewell to their family. Hiroshi promised to take more time off work to watch over Shiko and Suzume despite their mother's protests. The two elder sisters promised to return with presents for Suzume, earning a smile from the reclosed child and approval from their parents before they began to head off.

There was a private plane scheduled for them on the other side of town. Yume was not wearing her hero uniform, a rare occurrence considering how often Ayame seen her sister in the ballet hero outfit than regular clothes. Ayame had donned her U.A. school uniform, presenting that she will be accompanying Yume as a guest and U.A. student as per the documentation.

Ayame stretched, a soft yawn leaving her lips as she adjusted her earbuds. The car ride to the other side of Tokyo took over an hour. Even after that, they have to sit for another few hours on the plane to I-Island. Ayame had already prepared herself with music and a gaming console to waste the time away during the trip. Meanwhile, Yume was still working on her tablet.

"This way, please," a man in a black flight attendant uniform directed to the sisters, motioning to a smaller plane off to the side. He confirmed with Yume regarding the flight paperwork and identity before security allowed them on.

Ayame adjusted her little backpack as she followed Yume to their seats. She looked down to adjust to her music, one earbud off to listen to Yume and was only half-focusing on the plane around her. There were less people than she expected, so it was quite spacious in the plane. Plus, since this plane was for heroes invited to I-Island, sections of the flight were divided so each would have their own privacy.

"Oh."

Ayame blinked, lilac eyes looking up as to why Yume suddenly stopped and even said something. She followed what held her sister's gaze to the front and immediately froze, her phone nearly dropping from her hand as she gaped at the boy sitting next to the window seat.

Shoto had one hand propped on his chin as he stared out the window, one earbud stuffed in his ear as he waited for the plane to ascend. Dressed in the standard U.A. uniform as well yet not accompanied by anyone, Ayame was in a daze as the question of 'why is he here' rang through her mind.

When he noticed the soft gasp and two figures not walking past him, his mismatched eyes shifted over to see the pair of sisters. The hand under his chin twitched, eyes opening a millimeter in surprise as Shoto focused on the younger of the two sisters. Ayame looked more surprised than he was, mouth still parted in silent disbelief and a part of him wondered—did she not want to see him?

"Todoroki-san," Yume stepped in to greet once she realized the odd mood between the two teens, smiling at the boy in question as she put her bags on the cabinets above her. "What a surprise."

Shoto finally moved his eyes away from Ayame to regard Yume with a small nod. Briskly, Ayame put her bag away as per her sister, mentally screaming at herself to calm down from this unexpected surprise.

"Hello," Shoto greeted calmly, slowly, as he hesitated one more second before his eyes turned back to his upperclassman, "Senpai."

Ayame barely resisted the urge to flinch by his quiet tone, closing the cabinet closed and sat down on the aisle seat since Yume stole their window seat away from her when Ayame had clearly stated she wanted that an hour ago in the car ride! Although they were not close to each other as this compartment was pretty spacious, Ayame still felt flustered by the intensity of his eyes just a few feet away.

W-well! At least he's wearing clothes this time!

Ayame immediately froze in horror, nearly slapping herself by that spontaneous thought and the image of the bare-chest Shoto popped up in her mind from their pool day. Her face flushed a crimson red and would have run away to the bathroom if not for the pilot announcing over the intercom that the plane would begin its flight in five minutes.

What is wrong with me?!

She mentally screamed again, purging the thought of the half-naked boy away from her mind. Yume gave an inquiring look, one fine eyebrow arched upward in amusement though sating Yume's curiosity was the last thing on Ayame's mind. She cleared her throat and prayed her voice won't betray her when she turned to Shoto again, hoping she looked as calm as he did.

"Hey—! I didn't know—you are going to I-Expo, too?" Ayame may have not stuttered but the weird change of octaves in her voice alluded to her unease.

Shoto quietly moved his gaze away, wondering if he was the reason for her odd reaction and nodded his head.

"My old man couldn't make it, so I took his place," Shoto explained briefly.

"Oh—my sister, too. I meant—she's invited—obviously since she's right here—but I mean I came with her—because the invitation permitted it—so uh, yeah, here I am!"

Yume forced back a laugh next to Ayame, putting one hand up to her mouth to spare her sister the embarrassment. Quietly, she wondered to herself, what had happened between these two since she last saw them? Yume had been the one to suggest Shoto to take Ayame to the hospital and since then, she was clueless to anything that had transpired between them.

"Ah…" Although he did not want to cause her more anxiety, Shoto could not help but turn to her again. Seeing the crimson tinting her cheeks at her poor explanation was amusing though his face revealed no such thing. "I guess…we'll be seeing each other around."

"Um—yeah," Ayame calmed herself down to answer, feeling the slight shift of tone in his voice. It was calm as always, soft yet low that held something within which Ayame could not decipher. It felt…distant, or aloof?

She was not completely sure and yet felt discouraged for reasons unknown to her. She looked down, lilac eyes reading the song titles and artists on her phone yet could not pay attention to the upbeat song through the earbud of her right ear. With a frustrated frown at herself, Ayame put the left earbud back into her ear, turned the volume up, and closed her eyes.

"Annoying."

Noeru stared out the window, his arms crossed and expression emotionless but Yuu caught onto the tight grip he had over his arm. An amused smile crossed his pale lips as icy eyes turned to the door across from them, unable to block the whole conversation away and only caught onto the familiar voices.

"I guess we'll be running into Ayame," Yuu hummed to himself, though he knew Noeru was paying attention.

"Hm."

It was no concern to Noeru what his classmates did. Since he was invited to the island on behalf of the Takarada investments along with the Shimizu corporation, Noeru planned on learning more about the tech behind the heroes on this trip. However, he had least expected his classmate would be attending as well despite Ayame having more of a reason to.

Noeru frowned as he usually does when the mention of the brunette was involved but he was unsure if his own foul mood was due to the classmate in the section next to him—or the boy she was with.

Ayame jolted awake.

The lingering effects of drowsiness left her as her wide eyes took a quick glance around, remembering the last she was awake was within the airplane ready to transport them to I-Island. She looked down onto her lap, taking the phone off to change the music to something upbeat again.

It was just a dream, Ayame reassured herself quietly, clenching her fists and refused to look at her sister from one side while oblivious to the silent gaze on the other side.

While the dream had been another distorted memory, mixing her sister and old crush together—changing to anonymous faces ridiculing her powers and Quirk, the last she remembered were a pair of mismatched eyes regarding her with contempt and disgust.

Ayame raised one hand to her temple; a soft sigh left her lips before brushing her fringes back and calmed down. The pilot announced their descent soon, stirring Yume awake from her peaceful slumber to glance out the window.

"Look, you can see the island," Yume lightly patted Ayame's arm, pausing for one second to turn to her little sister at the coldness of her skin. "You're cold—are you okay?"

Ayame smiled in reassurance, nodding her head and leaning over to glance out the window. No matter how different the Yume in her dream and the real one was, Ayame knew her sister always prioritized their family over herself.

"Just a bad dream. I'm okay," Ayame said carelessly before excitement filled her voice; whether it was forced or not, they did not know. "Wow! Look at that! It's literally—a moving island! Yume-neechan, have you been to I-Island before?"

Yume gave her one more glance over before shaking her head, smiling again in her gentle manner as she returned to watch the island approaching closer than ever, their descent beginning.

"No, never. I rarely travel outside Tokyo for my missions and—even if I did, you would be the first to know where I'm headed considering how often you ask," Yume teased.

Ayame stuck out her tongue though she did not deny Yume's tease. She had pestered Yume before regarding her mission and her sister usually never gave her full explanations. This time, Ayame was just happy she was taken along—and to I-Island no less!

In a few more minutes, the plane descended and landed on a busy airport. The pilot gave a few other instructions to the passengers and they began to gather their bags. Yume read through the papers for their hotel accommodation along with the map, already making plans to settle down first while Ayame put her earbuds away.

At that time, she saw Shoto gathering his bags of belongings as well. She knew she probably had been a little odd to him lately and if Ayame wanted to prove to the others that they were friends—avoiding him was the worst thing she could do.

"S-Shoto-kun!"

He looked up, glancing at the brunette looking at anywhere besides him and spoke louder than usual considering they were still inside the airplane. Ayame straightened up and forced herself to look at him without blushing, offering a small smile to the boy.

"Where are you headed now? I think we're going to the hotel first—are you also in the same one as us?"

Shoto glanced down at the paper in his hand. Enji barely briefed him of what he was supposed to do once on the island but the papers given to him was more than helpful. Since they had taken the same plane to the island together, there was a chance their sponsors also booked the same hotel for the guests.

"The hotel," Shoto answered, "The Amanemu."

"What a coincidence," Yume chimed in with a smile, "Us, too. Shall we go together?"

Shoto blinked at the sudden invitation while Ayame stared at her sister, hard. What was she doing again?! Not that Ayame did not want him to go but—a warning would have been nice! He hesitated to answer, his eyes turning back to Ayame and she realized she must have looked weird again.

"Yeah, come join us," Ayame added, "You came here alone, right?"

She held his gaze this time, not once wavering and Shoto decided it may not be too bad to join the sisters when Ayame was trying to include him. With a small nod, Ayame smiled brighter by his approval and followed Yume they exited the plane.

Whether it was purposeful or not, Yume was leading the charge as she guided them through the security checks to leave the airport and left Ayame and Shoto to walk side by side. It wasn't long until they left, exiting the airport exit doors and towards the entrance of the island. The buildings nearby looked like a huge amusement park and off in the distance, they saw buildings resembling a city in the center.

"Wow!" Ayame gasped in astonishment, admiring the view and hopped forward. "C'mon! Let's set our stuff in the hotel and go!"

Yume chuckled softly by her amusement and nodded her head. When they arrived, it was barely afternoon, giving them plenty of time to explore and prepare for the event at night. Yume had her own schedule to go through as she was invited as a hero but, she could give some leeway time for her younger sister.

It did not take long for them to hail a taxi and have it drive the three of them to the hotel in the heart of the city. Ayame nearly pressed her cheek against the glass to look at the passing buildings, similar to the modern society of Tokyo but with a mix of a theme park added in. Yume sat in the passenger while chatting casually with the driver, smiling when the driver recognized her as the famed 'LullaCry' outside of her uniform, and was thrilled to receive an autograph after.

When they did get inside the hotel, Yume took care of checking in while Shoto checked in on his own. Ayame quietly observed the lobby, thinking to herself that it was another high-class hotel based on the expensive decorum.

Yume and Shoto returned back to her when she was lost in thought about one thing or another. Yume gave a quick glance to the boy, smiling as she tilted her head towards the elevators.

"We should check out our rooms first," Yume said, "Ayame, you can go explore afterwards. There's still some work I have to take care of."

"But you're always working!" Ayame blurted out in disbelief.

Although Ayame had fallen asleep first on the plane ride, she knew Yume must have worked a bit on her tablet during the flight. For a hero with the power to put others to sleep, Yume rarely does that herself. It sometimes reminded her of their mother. There were more nights Shiko had to climb out of bed to face a villain than she had to put young Ayame to sleep.

"It's just some preparations for tonight," Yume smiled, "Besides, you can walk around with Todoroki-san instead. You won't be alone."

Ayame froze and Shoto looked up by the sound of his name. Was this what she was planning again? Yume was becoming less and less subtle with her plans. Shoto quietly studied the older woman but Yume kept the polite smile on her lips that would not accept any refusals.

"I—"

Ayame stopped herself, not finding any excuse for protest or—why she would want to. There was not any reason for her to avoid him and Ayame could not understand why she always felt flustered around him. She glanced at Shoto hesitantly, waiting to see if he had any input but he looked calm as always, proving to be difficult to understand his thoughts.

"It's only if you want," Shoto finally said, giving a casual shrug to her as the elevator stopped at their floor.

Yume stepped out first, glancing at the two once before walking ahead after a smile in parting. Ayame took a step after her, pausing at the doorway to turn to see his aloof expression again. While he had said it offhandedly, Shoto was the one giving her a choice to accept or not. And—seeing his expression like so—normal and uncaring, Ayame realized any answer she may give would not change his mood.

"I'll—" she bit the inside of her cheek before smiling again, "See you in a bit."

Ayame took the invitation straight on, mentally scolding herself for overthinking again. This was becoming a bad habit whenever it involved the half-and-half boy. Since they came to the island together then—they should also enjoy it together.

"Un," Shoto said quietly, his shoulders relaxed just the slightest by her acceptance, unnoticed by the girl.

Around the corner, Yume glanced back again to look at them.

"Don't forget, you can wear your hero uniform and use your Quirks at parts of the city here. Have fun!"

Ayame quickly caught up with her sister and waved to Shoto. The elevator closed again and slowly ascended to bring him to the next floor. Once alone, a small sigh left his lips as he recalled those startled lilac eyes, expressing complicated emotions Shoto was not used to seeing, not knowing if it was a good sign or not.

"Did something happen between you and Todoroki-san?"

The door slammed closed behind them, not intentionally, but Ayame jumped by the sudden noise and question. She turned to her sister in shock, wide lilac eyes meeting calm violet's inquiring gaze. Ayame clamped up and shook her head, setting the suitcases aside so she can pull out her hero uniform.

"N-no! Of course not!"

Yume arched an eyebrow. Her sister was a terrible liar.

"Are you sure?" Yume asked again.

"Wha—how can I not be?" Ayame asked back. Why were they even talking about him in the first place?

"Just a speculation," Yume shrugged. She walked over to Ayame with a smile, patting her sister on the shoulder despite them being the same height. "He's a good kid. Go easy on him."

"'Go easy on him', how?" True confusion appeared on Ayame's face as she looked at Yume with furrowed brows. What did she mean by that?

"Well, if he's interested in you," Yume stated as if it were the most obvious thing.

Ayame immediately jumped back in alarm, eyes wide and mouth parted in disbelief but her brain cannot work faster than her mouth's stuttering refusal. She wondered why, now, it was her sister who was giving her advice on their relationship—when it was just friendship!

"He—we—it's not—wha—onee-chan!"

Yume laughed, not bothering to spare her sister this time as she returned to her suitcase to pull out the ballerina outfit. Her violet eyes were twinkling in amusement by the flush over her sister's face, trying and failing to explain herself.

"A-anyways! It's nothing! A-and if I was ever—interested in anyone—I can't talk to you about it!" Ayame said in a huff, turning around to grab her clothes and ran into the bathroom.

Yume blinked as her sister run away. She also walked towards the bathroom and leaned against the door, watching Ayame spray cold water over her red face.

"Why not?"

Thinking back, Ayame never did confide in Yume regarding her love life. Her classmates and friendships were easy; Ayame loved to share stories from school. She also loved to talk about her latest video games and the plot of it, also sharing manga she had read before to her sister to enjoy when Yume had spare time. The last time Yume could remember Ayame mentioning anything about a boy; it was when she was in middle school, gushing about some basketball player Yume could not remember the name of.

And then, when the middle school year ended, Ayame stopped saying anything regarding him—or other boys.

The only vivid memory that stood out in Yume's thoughts was…when Ayame returned home with tears trailing down her cheeks. Ayame seemed to have not realized she was crying in the first place, eyes wide and dazed and only refocusing when Yume ran up to cup her cheeks together. Then, she bawled—harder than any other times Yume had seen of her sister in years but she refused to say anything, only hiding her red face behind closed fists and unable to hear any comforting words from Yume.

Afterwards, Ayame pretended nothing had happened. She pretended she had not just collapsed on her knees on their living room floor, had not cried a river yet with no explanation to the cause. Ayame locked herself in her room for hours before revealing herself again with swollen eyes and a lone smile, lying about one thing or another that Yume knew was not the real cause of her breakdown.

"Cause it's embarrassing," Ayame answered through the muffled towel, breaking Yume from her reverie about her dear little sister. "Besides! You never tell me about your relationships!"

"Because I have nothing to tell," Yume answered naturally.

"Yeah, right," Ayame rolled her eyes. "You're too much of a workaholic to consider a relationship even when it's thrown into your face. You can't tell me all the flowers and chocolate you bring home from work was just 'obligatory chocolates'! You get those like—once a week! It's not even Valentines!"

"Oh," Yume blinked back at her sister's outburst, not in anger but in disbelief.

She hadn't realized Ayame felt that strongly about her own life. But, Yume was simply not interested in dating right now. She knew that she received fan letters and gifts from civilians often but Yume never assumed it was more than gratitude gifts by them. Her co-workers had mentioned in passing about her oblivious attitude to flirting but Yume only thought the others were just being friendly.

"Wait—don't tell me—you didn't know?" Ayame gasped at the clueless expression on her sister's face. When Yume said nothing and only offered a half-smile, Ayame groaned. "I should lend you the few shoujo mangas I have. Those poor guys!"

"Huh, the others said the same thing before," Yume hummed in contemplation. Especially after when Yume would dismiss someone in favor of catching up on paperwork.

"Then it's settled!" Ayame said happily, pleased to have turned the conversation around. "You should worry about yourself first before thinking about me—which, may I remind you, is nothing at all!" Then, while Yume was distracted, Ayame pushed her sister out of the bathroom. "I need to change now! Go, go!"

Yume blinked as the door closed behind her, turning to the closed bathroom door and shook her head.

Ayame let out a small sigh of relief once alone. Besides the fact of not wanting to discuss her relationship status with her sister, Ayame always felt...inferior compared to Yume. After all, Yume was older, more mature, prettier, and so much more. She doesn't even know if Yume had fallen in love before. Her casual attitude towards the interested party could be considered polite but distant.

Whereas Ayame…

"I'm sorry, Sasaki…but the one I like is your sis—"

Maybe, if Shoto would permit himself to admit it, he took a little longer than usual to change into his hero uniform. A part of him wondered if she would uphold the agreement to wait for him as the handful of times he had waited for her.

Ayame had agreed to tour the city with him, albeit hesitant but agreed nonetheless. She's been acting weird, weirder than normal and for once, he cannot discern why. He believed that she would return to normal after a few more days but—no, nothing has changed.

A slight frown was on his lips at that thought, finding his thoughts wandering to her again for the past couple of days. Even with this surprised I-Expo trip, they still, somehow, ended up in each other's presence.

Similar to a pre-destined meeting.

A serendipitous encounter.

Shoto halted in his thoughts.

That was—almost—romantic.

At that moment, he looked up to see the object of his focus. Ayame was also changed into her hero uniform, the starry cape shining underneath the hotel lights, dancing off the red skirt and creating the mismatched colors to bounce off each other. The shines were not as obnoxious as Aoyama's, Shoto quietly noted, and it even gave a soft sparkle to her loose tan hair.

Once again, Shoto caught himself wandering of miniscule things, a habit he had not realized he develop around his upperclassman. Ayame did not look as if she noticed him, her back still turned to him as she watched the news talking about I-Expo on the large television. But, since she was here, waiting for him, meant that she had not ran away as a part of him thought she would.

It was ridiculous, he knew, but it still does not help the way his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her.

"You're here."

If Ayame had paid attention, she would have realized Shoto had not meant to say that out loud. He was someone guarded with his words, would not speak if it was not analytics or suggestions. For him to state the obvious, as rare as that was, felt to be a blunder on his part.

Ayame turned around at his voice, would have jumped if not composing herself at the last second, and instead, confusion found its way onto her face. Shoto was studying her again, quiet yet firm as his eyes never wavered from her form. She wished she could be as composed as him, not knowing he was not as calm as he appeared.

"Of course," Ayame answered normally, "I agreed, didn't I?"

He tried to shrug off his earlier slip-up yet the curiosity took over the majority half of his brain. The questions he has now could only be answered by her.

"Aren't you avoiding me?" He asked as naturally as he can, eyes lingering on hers and Ayame was the first to look away.

The sudden question took her by surprise, her gaze darting away again because Shoto always seemed to be able to read through her. She had admired his bluntness before but—she had wished he would not use it against her like this.

"I—uh," Ayame glanced at him again, guilt eating up within her because she knew she was being unfair to him.

It was not his fault that she was reminded of the boy she once pined for, where conversations accidentally turned to him by her friends and family whenever the mention of love was involved. It was because they were close, Ayame justified, that people were teasing their friendship.

"…sorry."

Shoto continued to stare on, waiting for Ayame to continue with her quiet whisper. There was a small smile on her lips, lonesome and distant and so different from the ones he was used to seeing that he felt his hands twitch to reach up—to pull at her cheeks so something more genuine would surface.

But he didn't.

"I was reminded of something lately," Ayame confessed with a dismissive laughter, the urge within Shoto continued to grow stronger. "And I guess—I was accidentally taking it out on you. I didn't—mean to avoid you. I just…wanted to clear my head."

It was vague and confusing but Ayame did not want to disclose more than she was willing. Already admitting to avoiding him was nerve-wrecking enough and it wasn't until she spoke of it did Ayame feel the jumpy thumps within her heart that—what if—it would be his turn to avoid her next?

What if—Shoto was the one avoiding her?

She—didn't like that.

"What was it?" Instead, Shoto decided to ask more, wanting her to elaborate because what could have been so bad that she was outright admitting to avoiding him? Was it something he did? What can he do to avoid it in the future?

If Ayame knew his thoughts, she would have possibly cried over his consideration.

"I—" Ayame blushed, her face turning into the familiar pink he had known to associate her with.

This time, she was nervous for a whole another reason because—it was downright embarrassing to tell him what the others had teased her about! What if—he gets the wrong idea? What if—he finds it repulsive that people associated him with her and such?!

"It's—uh," well, it wouldn't be good if she avoided, too! "Just—an old…crush?" Ayame squeaked out. "I mean—it's because the others kept teasing me about one thing or another which was over-exaggerated because we're friends but they assume otherwise! You're also immensely different from Ishida-kun but then again, they never met him anyways—so it doesn't make sense how Kaminari-kun or Sero-kun always teases me about the same thing!"

Ayame ranted, half in embarrassment and the other half in exasperation once she remembered how the past couple days had been. While she does understand why people could misunderstand, seeing as how Shoto was such a quiet boy with attractive features that people could not help but be drawn to, why must they drag her into it?

Shoto blinked, mild surprise evident on his face by the slight opening of his lips. People…were teasing her about their relationship? 'We're friends'; it was as simple and obvious as how Ayame explained it to be.

Then—why did he feel, almost, disappointed—by that statement?

And—who's Ishida-kun?

But, one thing was for certain that—Ayame had avoided him because…she was reminded of her old flame? Because of him? But she was the one that said they were different from each other. Somehow, Shoto does not like being compared to anyone within her mind. Not her class president and definitely not an old crush she obviously still remembers.

"What happened?" Shoto asked, unable to stop himself from wondering, "Between you and…Ishida."

The name felt foreign on his tongue, a sour feeling lingered at the end note. Shoto suppressed the frown threatening to emerge, leaving him a blank façade instead.

For possibly the third time already, Ayame froze by his questioning. His name had accidentally slipped out during her rambling and—speaking about him—for once in over a year, still left a tremor in her heart. She blamed the dream she had earlier regarding him, blame how even now, she was still affected by his rejection.

"Nothing happened," Ayame answered with another smile, one that was too distant, too unfeeling, too—casual that a frown did appear on Shoto's lips. "I wasn't what he wanted so…that was that."

She rubbed the back of her long tan tresses, remembering how she had once done the same motion but with short brown hair after being rejected by the boy Ayame had admired for over a year. Briefly, she felt as if nothing had changed. She had grown out her hair, had focused on gaming media to distract herself, but at the talk of Ishida, Ayame fell back into old familiar habits of dismissing herself about something that had tortured her so.

And, Shoto knew that. He understood, now that Ayame had explained the reason for her distance, he understood the little minuscule actions by her meant she was rejected. They did not date, her confession was a failure, and she still referred to him as an old 'crush' and not 'boyfriend'.

It had both relieved yet annoyed him at the same time.

Crush. Boyfriend.

Who cares what he was then? What matters was—he was not around now to distract her even more.

Shoto sucked in a breath. Those thoughts were too—protective—too staggering of a reaction towards a boy he has never met.

But when he saw the dismissive, self-deprecating attitude from Ayame, he felt like he was not expressive enough.

We're friends, Shoto reasoned with her words for his unnatural state of thoughts, friends…protect each other. He may be new with that concept but, he would be sure to uphold it.

"He is a fool," Shoto reprimanded without thought but as the words left his lips, he believed them to be true.

The urge to pinch her cheek was too strong to hold back, his right hand reached up to the soft skin, and pulled. It was not to hurt, but just hard enough to startle Ayame into staring at him with bulging eyes and a crooked smile. He felt satisfied by that as a small smile slipped up, knowing her attention was fully on him.

"But that doesn't mean you should be one, too, for remembering him. He's not worth the trouble."

We're friends, Shoto repeated within his mind again, so, this is fine.

"S-Sho-to-kun!" Ayame whined, her cheeks reddening again by the one-sided pinch yet her heart was beating too fast to subdue.

He was giving her the comfort she never once asked for. Whereas Ayame dealt with the problem by changing herself and never once confided in someone about it, Shoto was telling her—Ishida was the one wrong. And that—gave her such an overwhelming relief and warmth that she could not contain her eyes from watering and her lips from smiling wider than it possibly can.

Shoto nearly stumbled back in shock when the warmth of her body collided into his, her laughter—clear and twinkling like bells, echoed in his ear while her arms were wrapped behind his neck. He readjusted his hands, lightly—ever so lightly—grasped the small of her back and settled on her waist in an embrace he had not received in a long, long time.

"Thanks," she whispered, her breath lingering by the shell of his ear he could not ignore, "I will…try."

"Un," he hummed just as soft, "You will."

Because even if Ayame does not, Shoto decided he would be the one to remind her. There was no point in remembering a ghost from the past but he understood the difficulty in taking the first step. He may have never loved—liked—someone as Ayame did but he knew how difficult it would be in moving forward.

So he would be there to help her when she cannot. Because we're friends, Shoto thought once again but somewhere, in the depths of his mind, he wondered if that was what he was trying to convince himself.

"Ah, c'mon! Enough about that!" Ayame was the first to pull back, her smile genuine and bright as Shoto remembered. He gently let his hands fall away from her but it wasn't long until she reached out to grasp it again, turning around and marching forward, "We should go check out the island now!"

With her vigor renewed, Ayame proceeded to drag Shoto around. It was as if they never had an awkward fallout, her mistake in the first place, but she relished in the fact that he was willing to forgive. The whole time, he was worried about her—that was why he had asked those questions. Without realizing it, Ayame had felt comfortable enough to tell him the truth of her first heartbreak.

Those once dazzling green eyes were replaced by mesmerizing grey and turquoise ones, calm yet intense when she turned around to glance back. Ayame knew—Shoto was wholeheartedly regarding her with that look, not like the distracted gaze Ishida once looked at her with.

Shoto was right. She should not dwell on someone that had hurt her like so. Not when he never gave her half the attention she gave him. Ishida was a good guy but—he was not the one for her.

And, Ayame wondered, when would she find the one for her, then?

I have decided back then

to be there for you

whenever you regress back to him.

I hadn't realized back then

I had already fallen for you.

[Entry 7]

A/N:

I did want more scenes with Toshinari and Ayame so here is a small one! I didn't plan on dragging on Ayame and Shoto's awkward tension but it would not always be fluff either. They don't realize it but slowly, they are falling for each other.

Yume has her own love interest which is Ume-sensei's younger idol/detective brother but I would not be writing him in the story as it would conflict this already OC-filled AU too much.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! There's finally information regarding Ayame's old crush which is still affecting her now. Would he make a return in the future now that I've given him a name? Well….

Reviews are much loved! I cannot do weekly updates anymore as I am burnt out but I still hope to update every other week!