At first, I was suspicious when Kaminari and Mineta video-called me about swimming together at UA's pool. Kaminari and I weren't that close, despite having similar Quirks, and I sure as hell wasn't close with that little freak, Mineta. However, I thought that perhaps the two perverts might not've been so bad if I spent more time with them, and so, I agreed.
Midoriya ended up coming with us, thankfully. He and I talked about how we'd implement our Quirks into our swimming techniques while the other two giggled and muttered to each other. Clad in swimwear, the four of us started for the pool's entrance. Mineta and Kaminari were like animals, drooling with rosy cheeks as they sprinted like predators toward the pool.
"I knew it," I said to Midoriya.
"Hm? Knew what?"
"Mo- I mean, Yaoyorozu mentioned that she and the girls were going swimming during the break. Those two must've overheard the girls talking about it. I guess today must be that day."
Midoriya chuckled and ran his hand through his green curls. "Ah, I see. So we were just brought along so that they wouldn't look suspicious."
"Exactly..."
"Well, unfortunately for them, I don't think things are going to go as planned."
"Why's that?" I asked him.
Midoriya smiled. "You'll see."
I noticed the boys stop and fall to their knees after they blasted through the door. When Midoriya and I walked through, we found Iida and all of the other boys stretching outside of the pool.
"Since we were doing endurance training, I figured, why not call the rest of the guys to come along with us?"
Kaminari and Mineta were mortified, trembling with what I assume was a mixture of anger and pent-up involuntary celibacy.
I started uncontrollably laughing at them both once they saw the girls wearing their full-body swimsuits. They looked so disappointed that they weren't showing even an inch of skin. Considering all the boys were wearing their school swimsuits, I have no idea why they thought the girls would be any different.
"Well, school swimsuits are still pretty hot..." Mineta said. "Especially Yao-"
Before he could even finish that thought, I webbed his mouth shut. "Stop creeping on the girls, dude. You're making us all look bad."
"Uh oh," Kaminari said. "Someone's defensive about their girlfriend."
I glared at him, compelling him to stand at attention like a nervous soldier bracing to be berated by his drill sergeant. "We're just friends. And I don't like hearing my friend being objectified by that little menace. That goes for all of the girls in our class, not just Yaoyorozu."
"He's right," Midoriya muttered. "I don't really like the way he talks about Uraraka and the others. It's kinda gross."
"Agreed," added Todoroki.
Tokoyami nodded along in agreement, as did the other guys. I've been waiting for the right time to call him out, and I'm glad the other guys felt the same way.
"Morales is right. The girls are our peers, and we should show them a little more respect. And by we, well, I mostly mean you two. Based on your reactions, you only brought Morales and Midoriya to ease suspicion on your would-be peep show, didn't you?"
Kaminari and Mineta said nothing, averting their eyes toward the water.
"So it's true, then. How disappointing."
"I say we make them train with us," Kirishima said, hitting his fist into his palm.
"Or we can make 'em do extra laps!" Bakugo yelled.
And so, that's what we did. While the girls played with a beachball and splashed each other, the boys did dozens upon dozens of laps. Once we were done, Mineta and Kaminari did just enough laps to where they nearly fell unconscious. We ended up fishing them out of the pool and tossing them onto the ground as we drank orange juice, courtesy of Iida.
I sat by myself, recovering as I sipped on my can of juice. To my surprise, Bakugo walked up to me and leaned against the same wall.
"I'm glad you said something. He was really getting on my nerves, but I didn't want to seem like a white knight or anything by bringing it up. But I hate guys who treat women like objects or like they're weak."
It was surprising to hear from him, but it made sense. I met his parents one time, and it seemed as though his mom wore the pants in the household — a strong woman like that more than likely pounded those beliefs into his head.
"That explains why you didn't go easy on Uraraka then," I told him.
"Yeah, when I fight, all I see is an enemy. I want to fight them with my full strength. When it comes to our classmates, you're all my opponents. I have to beat all of you if I want to be number one. You happen to be opponents that I somewhat respect. That reminds me..."
Bakugo kicked off the wall and started stomping toward Midoriya.
"Deku, you bastard! Face me right now! You and me, let's go!"
I could hardly contain my smile as he went back to the Bakugo I was used to. Before entering the hero program, I hated Bakugo, and I'm sure the feeling was mutual. By this point, that mutual disdain for one another had transformed into a mutual regard. I have Midoriya to thank for that; had he not humbled Bakugo, he'd probably still be the arrogant asshole that he once was — though he is still pretty brash.
The boys started discussing racing one another, but I wasn't really trying to go all out in the water. At least, that was until the girls said that they wanted to watch and referee the races. Though I may not have been a Mineta-level perv, I, of course, would always be down to flex my skills in front of the girls. I'm still a guy after all.
Bakugo won the first race, blasting over the water using his Quirk. The rest of us called bullshit since he didn't even touch the water at all; however, we never specified the rules beforehand, so it was fair game. This opened up the floodgates.
Todoroki and I went head-to-head in the next race. He slid atop the water using his ice while I slingshotted myself over the pool using my webs, landing on the other side without even a droplet of water touching me. It was a perfect tie, so we both moved on to the next phase. Again, the other guys complained about our tactics, but we simply pointed to Bakugo for setting the precedent.
Iida and Midoriya were the two stars of the last group. Iida boosted over the water using his engine Quirk while Midoriya actually swam. It was then that I noticed something strange about his power. Usually, when he used One for All, only a limb would have this green energy crackling around it. This time, it was crackling around his entire body, giving him better control over his Quirk.
So that must be what he learned during his internship. I was right to be upset about being unable to master my electric blasts, then. If it wasn't for the Sinister Six attack, I'd be falling behind.
Having been the winners of each race, Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugo, and I lined up at one end of the pool. The race between us four would be for all the marbles, and I didn't plan on losing, especially with Momo watching.
"You three better not hold back or else I'll kill you all!"
"You don't have to tell me twice," I told him, getting into position.
Our classmates all cheered on their favorite to win, of course, you can guess whose corner Momo was in.
"Alright, get ready!" Iida said, holding up one arm. "On your marks, get set, go!"
A four-way explosion of Quirks shook the entirety of UA; at least, that's what would've happened. Instead, the four of us fell face-first into the water, our Quirks deactivated.
"Time's up. The pool is closed," said Aizawa, rubbing his eyes after using his Quirk.
Everyone was disappointed, but we didn't dare express it; the scolding from Aizawa would not have been worth it.
That evening, Yaoyorozu, Jirou, and I went to the beach together, which Momo had rented out. Jirou originally wasn't going to come along, but I asked Yaoyorozu to invite her since I sort of felt bad. They'd always been friends since the start of the semester, but Yaoyorozu had been spending more time with me as of late. I didn't want Jirou to think I was stealing her away or anything.
When I got to the beach, they were already waiting for me underneath an umbrella. Yaoyorozu waved and ran toward me, catching me off guard with her crimson bikini. I guess it made sense that they weren't wearing their school swimsuits at the beach, but it just never crossed my mind.
Even Jirou was wearing one, though hers was more under the cute category. It was a yellow top with a frilled swimsuit for the bottom. Shyly, she followed behind Momo.
"Hey, Morales," Momo said, grinning ear to ear.
"What's up, Yaoyorozu. Jirou. How long have you two been waiting?"
"Not long. Maybe five minutes. We just got done putting on our sunscreen."
I nearly had a Mineta-level thought, but I pushed it aside.
The three of us sat under the umbrella while Yaoyorozu carried on the conversation between the three of us. It wasn't until the topic of music came up that Jirou and I finally started to bond.
"Any suggestions?" Yaoyorozu said, pulling out her speaker so we could listen to music.
"I'm down for whatever. What kind of music do you like, Jirou?" I asked.
"I like pretty much everything. Jazz, metal, rock, hip-hop, future funk, experimental. What about you?"
"Same, I'm down for pretty much anything besides country. You know, my uncle and I..." I paused for a moment as Uncle Aaron, being the Prowler, flashed in my head. "We used to make some music together."
"Really!?" Jirou said excitedly. "What kind?"
"Some jazz, hip-hop, gospel, and reggae. You know, real Brooklyn, New York type of stuff."
"Do you play anything?"
"Keyboard, guitar, and drums. You?"
"I can play pretty much any instrument. My parents both have sound-related Quirks, so music has always been a big part of my life."
"That's sick. Maybe we could make some music together sometime."
"We totally should! Oh, and you're from New York, right? I've always wanted to go to Radio Music Hall. Have you been there?"
"I have once, it's pretty cool. I usually visit New York about twice a year, maybe one day I could show you all the cool music spots."
"Really? Yeah, I'd be down. Well, I don't know if my parents would really let me go on a trip alone with a male classmate."
I noticed then that Yaoyorozu was staring blankly at me, as if still waiting for me to answer her initial question.
"How about some Chloe Bloom, then?"
I was worried that Jirou might've thought that I was stealing Momo from her; in the process of ensuring that this wasn't true, I might've inadvertently led Momo to believe that Jirou was stealing me away or perhaps vice versa. Though those feelings soon faded as the ice was finally broken and the three of us clicked as a group.
By the end of the day, I'd say Jirou and I had become good friends. We even exchanged some of our favorite albums later that night via text.
I gotta say, she has some pretty good taste in music.