I-Island

It was finally time to head to I-island. Estelle had mainly spent the day yesterday preparing for the trip and learning as much as she could about I-Island. Estelle had packed up her things and was dropped off by an ecstatic Nona at the airport.

"Make sure you have fun, okay, dearie?!"

"Of course, Nona, take care of yourself. I'll be back soon."

"Bring some souvenirs!" Nona shouted out of the window in reminder whilst Estelle headed to the entrance. Estelle snickered and gave a thumbs up to the enthusiastic woman. Even though she had never wanted to come, Nona spoke so much about I-island with awe that Estelle was curious to see the place.

Meeting up with Shoto, the pair checked in quickly and headed to the aeroplane.

"My dad booked a private jet", Shoto explained when Estelle inquisitively looked at him after being directed away from the mainline. "He has a lot of money."

Estelle had looked up aeroplanes on the internet after Nona told her she would be flying. The contraption frightened her. Why on earth would you rely on a big metal box to get you from one place to another? Estelle would prefer to fly there herself, but she was immediately shut down since the security wouldn't allow that when she had asked. Estelle was sorrowful about that.

Nevertheless, the two travelled onto the plane, where Estelle recognised that a private jet was just an aeroplane only for the two of them. She was even more perplexed. Why fly a metal box for only two people? Wouldn't that be bad for the environment? When she had raised the question to Shoto, he only titled his head in contemplation before moving on. She figured that she wasn't going to get any answers there.

The two sat in peaceful silence whilst the plane got ready to fly. Estelle held in her concerns that she would be in the air and have no control over it. The sweat built up at that. Estelle loathed the thought of losing control in every aspect. It was why she was particular about the things she could control. Grimacing to herself, Estelle was suddenly reminded of the statistics of plane crashes. Knowing her, her luck would probably run out in this metal tin can. Estelle was already regretting this.

"Are you okay?" Shoto asked with trepidation from the tension he could see within his classmate.

Feeling slightly vulnerable in the new environment, Estelle answered, "I've never flown before. I hate the thought of flying without using my quirk."

Shoto nodded in recognition. It made sense to him. Someone who flew under their own will all the time would understandably be cautious of flying in the trust of someone else. And knowing Estelle, she had little faith in anyone.

"Don't worry. I'll be with you every step of the way," He comforted her with a small smile.

Estelle nodded back in answer, still unconvinced of the whole experience but didn't show it. To her dismay, Shoto could see the hesitation in her eyes but did not comment. He was shocked she even joined him in the first place. She was so quick to decline that he wasn't sure if she would actually come when he heard her guardian agree.

"How come you changed your mind?" Shoto queried.

"Nona convinced me. It turns out she always wanted to go but never managed to. I couldn't say no to her."

Shoto felt a hint of dissatisfaction at that. He almost wished she said it was because he asked. Pushing down his irrational feelings, he scolded himself.

'It doesn't matter how she came; at least she is here.'

At that thought, the pilot announced that they would be setting off to fly. Estelle's grip on the handlebar tightened at the words, and she leaned back against the seat. Shoto, who was sitting across from her, quietly watched her nervous energy. He was strangely captivated by it. The cool, calm, and collected Estelle was there, but he could feel the unease that lay beneath it. He wondered if she always hid her emotions behind the wall he could clearly see at that moment.

The plane finally began to move and set off to soar. Estelle's body remained static as the plane started to go at a faster pace to gain momentum. Estelle bit her lip in discomfort, and it was the final straw for Shoto. The male moved from his seat to take the one next to her. Estelle gazed at him in perplexity from the action, which he pointedly ignored.

"I know that it isn't easy for you. So, I'm offering you my hand. No judgment. I won't say a word when we get off the plane," Shoto offered with his hand placed upwards on the handlebar between them. Estelle looked down at the proposal with discomfort. Hand holding? Was that a thing? She wasn't sure.

She disregarded the hand as the plane continued to move but was actively aware it was there. Shoto felt a little mortification because she didn't take him up on his offer but did not move in case she changed her mind.

It was only when the plane finally started to lift off the ground that Shoto heard Estelle suck in a deep breath. The feelings were wild inside her; she just wanted to jump off the plane and fly there herself. The insecurity of letting someone else roam the sky at the head was nerve-wracking. Her resolve had left entirely at this point so, Estelle grabbed the hand-laid out for her in hopes of squeezing the anxiety out elsewhere.

Shoto felt immediate relief when Estelle finally took his offer. He winced slightly at her grip but tightened his own back in response. The two stayed that way for a while. Shoto found that her hands were rough, like a man who had done manual labour for years and had grit to their skin. He found it suited Estelle. She was strong and seemed to have worked hard to achieve that. Of course, her hands would reflect that.

At that, Shoto used his thumb to trace circles on her hand to help relax her. The attempt failed miserably since she tensed up even more. His hand was pretty much taking the brunt of her strength. Luckily, the more the plane steadied. The more she calmed.

Still, they didn't let go for the whole flight.

Estelle and Shoto spent their time traversing I-Expo as soon as they left their luggage in their quarters. Estelle found the island enthralling. It was like a whole different world; she almost had to pinch herself to double-check that she had not been thrown into a third planet. She had presumed that cars, planes and phones were the peaks of technology, but she was proven wrong. Shoto had been in place of his father many times, so he had no care for the sights around him except one.

Estelle.

He found it mesmerising to watch her eyes widen ever so slightly at the new projects and support gear. He hid his chuckles at her reaction to the skylines that transported people from one end of the island to the other.

Shoto found it endearing. Granted, she was still her usual stony Estelle most of the time. But those glimpses. The male felt his heart skip a beat when he caught the awe in her eyes. She couldn't hide it completely. Eventually, the two had decided to take a break. They stopped for some ice cream and slowly strolled around the area.

They had eventually come to a stop when they found a centre for taking down faux villains. Looking at each in sync, Shoto asked, "Do you want to go first? Or shall I?"

"You can go. Just make sure to melt the ice before I join."

"Of course."

And so, they went. Estelle stayed behind the gate to watch Shoto take down the robots with ease.

"Wow! Fourteen seconds! This gentleman had just jumped to the front of the pack!" The announcer shouted out into the microphone.

Quickly melting the ice, Shoto made his way to the side-line for Estelle's turn to finish.

"Next up, we have this fine woman! Let's see how she fares against all these men!" The woman cheered just before Bakugo could explode his fury onto the two-toned male.

Estelle marched out of the dark entrance with a scowl. Why did it matter if she was a girl?

The class were stunned when they saw Estelle walkout. It was the last person they expected to show up to the event. Estelle always neglected their messages, and she hadn't even opened the ones where they invited her to join them.

"Alright! Ready, set, go!"

Estelle raised her hands and inwardly smirked since every single robot was placed on a mountain of earth. Flicking her hands downwards, the rocks around the robots simultaneously collided with each other. Crushing them all underneath the debris. The class stood, frozen.

'She took them down without even moving!'

"Seven seconds! This future hero just topped the score by a mile!" The woman praised with amazement. Estelle moved her hands to morph the crumpled mountain back into its previous shape before heading her way to Shoto, who stood at the side. Before she had even reached the male, Bakugo had used his explosions to stand between the pair. His ruby red eyes glared at Shoto with vehemence.

"Out of the way, Icyhot bastard and Lioness!"

"Ah, Bakugo", Shoto retorted with a deadpan.

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

"I see the others are here too," Shoto commented, ignoring the violent male. Estelle just snorted silently from the sight. Why were they standing so close?

"Don't ignore me! What are you both even doing on the island, anyway?" Bakugo inquired, his face millimetres from Shoto's face. Talk about breaking personal bubbles.

"My father was invited, so I'm representing him. I managed to convince him to give me a plus one, so I invited Estelle."

The announcer spoke up since the group were stopping the others from participating. She was immediately put to a halt by Bakugo's yelling. Estelle hid her amusement at the woman's screams of fear from the blonds screeching.

"Everyone, please stop! You're going to make the world think UA is full of degenerates!" Iida yelled as he ran towards the tree in the centre. Bakugo's wrath only grew from the interruption causing Midoriya and Kirishima to jump into the arena to hold the blonde back. Estelle just stood by as she watched the scene go down with a glimmer in her eyes.

Estelle and Shoto were making their way back to their hotels to rest for a bit. The silence was abruptly interrupted by a running Iida.

"Hello! The UA students are convening and going to the Expo reception tonight as a group. Please meet us by the entrance at six-thirty!" Iida affirmed with a yell before speeding off. Estelle watched on with confusion before looking at the male beside her in query. Shoto coloured slightly as he explained, the calm tone of his voice a clear contrast to his face.

"I was going to mention it when we got back. There's a formal reception I have to attend, and I was hoping you could join me?"

"I don't have any formal wear, though", Estelle responded with uncertainty. She felt a little out of her depth here. Formal reception? She had never had to wear traditional clothes before. Was she supposed to act in a certain way?

"I have that covered. Will you join me?"

"You prepared clothes for me? Sure, I mean we are going with the class, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Okay."

Estelle looked down at her outfits in dismay. Shoto had dropped them off at her room and instantly left without a word. When he said formal wear, she didn't think that they would be dresses. She honestly would have preferred a suit.

It seemed that he had come prepared since he had bought three outfits for her to choose from. She smirked at the thought that he most likely stole his father's card just like he did when they both went out for soba during their internships. Estelle had agreed, so she had to fulfil her word. She tried to never go back on them.

Trying on all three dresses, Estelle landed on the matte black outfit. Mainly due to the slits on the side, which would allow her leg room to move but still cover her decently. The dress showed off some of her scars, but she never cared much for it. Estelle was never self-conscious about them; she was a warrior.

She was thankful when he had given her the option of heels and flats and immediately opted for the latter. She had never walked in heels in her life, and she wasn't starting now. Keeping her face bare and her hair down. Estelle was ready.

Looking at the mirror, Estelle felt odd. Most of her life until this point was within the mud and dirt. Her outfit was always the least of her worries when her life was on the line. The dress was exquisite, but it wasn't her.

Stepping out of her room, she found Shoto standing in his own suit. Estelle once again craved that she had one herself and decided that next time she had to wear something formal, it was damn well going to be a suit.

Shoto looked up from fixing his cuffs to find his eyes on Estelle. The corridor was quiet, causing Estelle to look away uncomfortably. Shoto was dumbfounded. Estelle tended to wear clothes a size too big when she was out of school. The change was something he grappled with finding words for, and his mouth dried up when he tried to.

"You look beautiful", Shoto stated candidly after the silence had settled in for too long.

Surprised at the unexpected response, Estelle hid her pale blush and nodded. "You don't look bad yourself, now come on. Let's go."

Staying silent, Shoto walked beside Estelle while the two made their way to the meeting place. Unsurprisingly, the only people there were Iida, Kaminari and Mineta. Estelle glowered when she saw the drool drip from Kaminari and Mineta's mouths as they gawked at her.

"I appreciate you both arriving on time!" Iida started with a hand chop. Ignoring Shoto's response, Estelle made her way to the side of the room. It was not long after that Midoriya rushed in with an apology at his lips.

"I'm sorry for being late! Wait, where is everyone?" he wondered.

"They are late!" Iida asserted with another chop.

"Sorry, I'm late! It took me some time to get ready," Ochako stated apologetically, walking into the room.

"Best night ever!" The perverted duo yelled out.

"Sorry, we are late. Jiro was feeling shy," Yaoyorozu stated, Jiro hiding behind her.

"Jackpot, yes!"

"This is fancier than anything I've ever worn before," Jiro remarked, the pair joining the rest of the group.

Estelle chimed in with a grunt, "Tell me about it; I feel like an alien."

"You look amazing!" The girls reacted back. Estelle truly did. To them, the dress seemed to lift off the intimidating aura that surrounded her, which made her look all the more beautiful.

The group talked amicably as they waited for Iida to try to contact Bakugo and Kirishima. Midoriya had then taken the time to introduce the new girl called Mellissa to Estelle. Not wanting to ruin the mood with her harsh words, Estelle nodded back to the blonde politely.

The girl seemed kind, but Estelle wanted no part of it. She never thought she could find someone more naive than Class 1A, but Melissa seemed to beat them by a punch. Estelle pointedly ignored her words to Midoriya about the scars scattered across her skin.

Estelle suddenly felt a pull at the bottom of her dress and scowled when she looked down. She found Mineta on his hands and knees in an attempt to look under her skirt. Estelle wished she had heels on for a moment to amplify the pain he felt when she pressed her foot against his face and crushed him into the floor.

"You think I wouldn't have put shorts on under this dress? Moron, look at what you've gotten yourself into."

Those around her viewed the scene with a sweat drop whilst Estelle bestowed punishment onto the creep. They changed their minds; she was still threatening. Shoto stood beside her, staring down at Mineta with a deadpan. His own displeasure increased from the perverted actions of his classmate.

Estelle froze with her foot still on Mineta's face when the announcement rang out throughout the island.

"An explosive device has been discovered on I-expo. I-Island will be on high-alert mode. As a precaution, most of the building will now be sealed off." The announcement chimed while the walls around the building slowly closed off with metal barriers.

Estelle groaned out loud in defeat.

"Can't I catch a break? Seriously?"