Kyoka let out a small noise of effort as she hopped down into the sand, scattering grains all about. She bent over and quickly brushed off her bare legs as Katsuki jumped down from atop a washing machine to land beside her. The young man said nothing as he folded his arms across his chest and looked at the area around them. Of course they had ended up in the one place he had wanted to avoid…

"Why are we doing this again?" Midoriya whined as he put his entire body weight into flipping a giant tire end-over-end. The giant rubber wheel flopped down hard, spraying sand everywhere. Several grains splashed against Katsuki's legs as he sat atop a nearby rusted vehicle. "I have a power doubler Quirk, now. Doing this without it hurts!"

"Yeah, that's the point, dumbass," Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes. "It's a power doubler. Doubling zero still gives you nothing and doubling one or two out of ten isn't much. Your arms are weak. We're fixing that."

"Arm workouts… suck!" Midoriya complained as he flipped the tire once again, breathing hard. "And I'm trying! I've been training with you for almost two years, now! I'm not that weak, Kacchan!"

"Compared to the average person our age? Maybe not," Katsuki admitted as he slipped off the car and landed down in the sand. "But heroes aren't average people. Training with you is like a third of what I do weekly, if even that. You've got to step it up, no matter how many Quirks you just had handed to you. Otherwise, you're going to get yourself killed during an actual fight against career villains."

"I've got seven," Midoriya clarified breathlessly as he doubled over and held his knees. "Seven Quirks in total. Power doubler, blade limbs, lightning legs, float, blackwhip, muscle form, and… um…"

"…you don't even know the last one?" Katsuki said flatly, almost more a statement than a question.

"All Might didn't tell me about the last one yet!" Midoriya insisted. "He said it would be too much to worry about, and he's probably right. I still can't do his muscle form Quirk… but once I can, won't all of this training be totally pointless? I'll just buff myself, double my strength, and then I can clear the entire beach in an afternoon!"

Katsuki cast his eyes skyward once again while folding his arms and looking unimpressed.

"And I'm sure it'll be so easy for you. Until then? Manual labor and more combat training. There's no guarantee your body's going to take to all seven Quirks. We don't even know if All Might's did. We've only seen evidence that he uses two."

Midoriya straightened up, looking wary as he got his breathing back under control.

"You… think he might have been lying, when he told me he's used them all before?"

Katsuki didn't answer immediately, and instead turned his back on Midoriya.

"He's not working you hard enough," the blond declared before pointing to a heavy-looking appliance in the pile of trash on the beach. "That fridge over there. I want it gone."

"Kacchan!"

"Whoa…" Kyoka commented as she straightened up and looked out over the beach. "That's… there's a lot more open sand than I thought! We can actually walk the beach, for once. When did all this happen? How did this happen? This place has been a total dump since I was a kid…"

"No idea," Katsuki lied as he looked out over the shoreline.

True to Kyoka's word, nearly a quarter mile of beach along the water's edge had been cleared of trash. About fifteen feet of sand stretched between the ocean and the garbage heaps, which obstructed the view of the cleared-away area from the sidewalk. The piles had gotten much taller with the cleaning of the beach, affording the teens almost complete privacy from any passerby as they walked.

"I didn't think the government actually cared," Kyoka said flatly. "Maybe they're finally trying to clean this place up?"

"They don't, and I doubt it," Katsuki denied as he shook his head, walking alongside Kyoka. "This is what, like… a twentieth of the beach that's now clear? Not even? Probably some bored heroes throwing shit around to blow off steam or using this as a place for illegal money matches or something."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Kyoka admitted sullenly. "I was trying to be optimistic, but… since when has the government done anything to help us?"

"Not a fan of the establishment?" Katsuki asked sarcastically, only to earn a snort from Kyoka.

"Who is?"

"Not me," Katsuki answered. "They'll just be getting in the way more and more as we become heroes. Bunch of assholes in suits putting up red tape to regulate the lesser heroes who can't handle responsibility without causing incidents."

"To be fair, we'll also be assholes in suits, soon," Kyoka joked. "Just different, tighter suits that look a lot cooler."

"Did you already draft yours?" Katsuki asked.

"Yup, sent my papers in yesterday," Kyoka replied. "Pretty simple. One pair of support items to work with my Quirk, and otherwise… they're disguised as street clothes. A jacket with Kevlar padding just to be safe, a little bit of leather, and other than that? Whatever shirt I happen to be wearing at the time with a thin vest hidden underneath. How about you?"

"Not too far removed from yours, actually," Katsuki let on. "One pair of support items, and the rest is just… mostly functional. I sent mine out this morning. It's minimalistic, other than the mask."

"Huh. I guess a mask does make sense for you," Kyoka considered.

"How's that?"

"You don't like letting other people know what you're thinking."

Katsuki hesitated for a moment, only for his upper lip to twitch in annoyance.

"…it's like a domino mask. My eyes and mouth are still visible…"

"Doesn't matter," Kyoka said with a wave of her hand. "It's still a barrier between you and others. Even if it isn't a particularly effective one… sometimes, having something small between you and other people is enough to make a difference. Not judging. Just observing."

Katsuki let out an annoyed grunt. After a moment of consideration, he sucked in a breath and began to talk as he kept his eyes on the sand below.

"…my parents split recently. Mom's trying to patch things up, but it's… I'm not ready for that yet."

Kyoka stopped walking immediately and turned to give Katsuki her full attention. Her eyes widened at his words, and her face fell into an anxious frown.

"…shit, man… I'm so sorry…"

"It's…" Katsuki started, only to shake his head. He briefly spared Kyoka a glance, before returning his eyes to the sand as he put his hands in his pockets and offered her a shrug. "It's whatever. They're both… they were both assholes to each other, and assholes to me while I was growing up. Drinking problems, drug problems, cheating on each other, and me in the middle having no idea of any of it for years while dealing with the anger and tension from both sides. I'm not ready to just pretend everything's fine now that my dad left to… wherever."

Kyoka wrung her hands, looking incredibly uncomfortable as she listened intently.

"That's valid," Kyoka reassured as she looked up at her companion. "You weren't lying when you said your family is fucked up…"

"I don't lie," Katsuki boasted as he set out to begin walking again. "That's what's been on my mind, and you now know exactly what I'm thinking. No mask. Happy now?"

"…yes and no," Kyoka said cryptically as she began to walk again. "Happy that you trust me enough to fill me in, unhappy that you're dealing with that. Dude, that's rough… and it explains a lot. Want a hug?"

"No," Katsuki replied immediately.

"Are you s-"

"I said no," Katsuki interrupted, his tone much harsher as he gave Kyoka a dirty look. "And I don't want to talk about it any more than that. Deku knows, you know, and I want to leave it at that. I'll deal with my problems on my own. Let's go back to being distracted."

"Fair enough," Kyoka said with a shrug as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. "If you ever do need to vent, though… just let me know. I'll listen. You did for me."

Katsuki said nothing in return, leading to an awkward minute as the pair continued to walk along the beach.

"So… uh, hey, have you ever met The Big Three?"

"Huh?" Katsuki looked over at Kyoka in confusion. "I spoke to Togata briefly before the written test, but it was… a little weird."

"Weird how?" Kyoka asked, tilting her head.

"He acted like he knew m-"

"Hey!"

Katsuki and Kyoka both snapped their attention in the direction of the high pitched voice, only to find a familiar figure jumping up and down and waving their arms a good thirty feet down the beach. Mina Ashido stopped jumping and cupped a hand around her mouth as she called out again, beckoning the pair to her with the other hand.

"Guys, come join us! We've got food and stuff!"

"Fuck," Katsuki muttered under his breath as he stopped walking, causing Kyoka to raise a brow and follow suit.

"We don't have to," the girl said hesitantly as she looked back at Mina. "We could make an excuse and say we're just passing through…"

Katsuki mulled it over for a moment before pinching his nose and taking a deep breath.

"…no. We'll be seeing her every single day pretty soon. Blowing her off now would just make things awkward later. Besides… you want to say hi, don't you?"

"…kinda," Kyoka admitted as they both began to walk once again. "Think of it as an opportunity to get to know people you'll be working with, soon. Then, it's at least a tactical thing?"

"…whatever."

"Fancy meeting you two here," Mina joked with a wide smile as the pair approached. The pink-skinned girl was wearing a two-piece bikini with a dark green and purple camouflage pattern. "We were just talking about U.A. and everyone that made it in."

"Yeah, good to see you guys," Eijiro Kirishima added as he sat up. He was atop a beach towel, with Mina's vacant strip of cloth laying atop the sand next to it. Eijiro was shirtless and wore red swimming trunks with a dark blue stripe down the side, as well as a pair of cheap sunglasses that had been tipped up to rest upon his forehead. His bright red hair was down for once, giving him a more laid-back appearance. "C'mon, sit with us!"

"Good to see you, too!" Kyoka said with a small smile. "What is this little place you've got going on here…?"

Mina and Eijiro had set up a small area for themselves within a literal alcove of trash, completely hidden from the sidewalk and most of the beach at large. Along with their towels was a pair of small coolers. One was closed, while the other had an open top and was filled with ice and several beer bottles.

"It's a little getaway that we found a while ago," Mina said with a shrug as she plopped back down onto her beach towel and scooted aside to make room. "Good spot to drink without getting caught, since you can just toss the bottles into the trash heap if a cop comes along… not that they would ever bother, out here. Also a pretty good spot to make out and stuff."

Eijiro laughed nervously and dropped his sunglasses down over his eyes as Kyoka sat next to Mina. Katsuki sat at the opposite end of his towel as the girls struck up a conversation immediately. Eijiro cleared his throat awkwardly to catch Katsuki's attention.

"H-hey, man," Eijiro tried with a sharp-toothed smile. "What's up?"

"…nothing," Katsuki answered as he eyed the open cooler suspiciously.

"Oh, yeah," Eijiro replied awkwardly. "Alright. Did you uh… y'know, get my text?"

"Yeah," Katsuki replied without looking at the other boy. "It's… fine. Whatever. Not worth talking about."

"Oh, cool," Eijiro acknowledged with a nod as Mina turned to look at him curiously. "Yeah, I didn't think… a-anyway! So, what have you guys been up to?"

"Just walking," Kyoka said as she put her chin into her palm. "Getting out of our houses to take our minds off stuff. Nothing big."

"Yeah, there's a lot going on lately," Mina agreed. "And not all of it is fun. Hey, you guys wanna hang out and drink with us? It's cheap shit, but it'll be way harder to get away with it in the dorms."

"…I haven't had any in like… a year," Kyoka admitted with a blush. "My friend and I managed to sneak some from their parents' wine cabinet at a sleepover. I'm down, as long as we keep a lookout…"

"Pass," Katsuki said as he waved a hand. "Already broken enough laws just getting here, and it seems pointless."

"If you're sure…" Mina said as she nodded to Eijiro. "Do your thing, babe."

Eijiro plucked three beers from the cooler and set two of them down atop his towel. Quite suddenly, his other hand hardened, his fingertips becoming almost bladed and angular. Without ceremony, he placed a digit beneath the cap of one of the bottles placed his thumb on the other side before twisting his hand forward and popping the bottle open with ease.

"…dude," Kyoka remarked, clearly impressed. "That's a badass party trick…"

Eijiro merely chuckled as he handed the newcomer the freshly opened bottle.

"Don't I know it."

"You wouldn't believe what that boy can do with his fingers," Mina teased, causing Kyoka to very nearly choke on her first swig of beer.

"Mina!"

Katsuki merely rolled his eyes as he watched the other boy begin to crack the next bottle. He couldn't help but think it was going to be a very long night.

Author's Note:

Next time- more beach stuff, and also… another thing.

-RD