The Class A girls, including me, had all gathered at a family restaurant near school.
"So, I, Midoriya Souko, will be serving as organizer for this girls' gathering, and—"
"I'll be the vice organizer, Ashido Mina! Does everyone have their drinks?"
Looking around, everyone was properly holding a cup. Good, good.
"So, with the Sports Festival two weeks away—"
"A rally by girls, for girls, only for girls—"
"Let's begin the first UA High School First-Year Class A Girls' Gathering!"
"Yay!"
"Yeah!"
Ochako and Hagakure's energetic voices rang out.
The others didn't join in. Sad.
"What's wrong, what's wrong! Let's get pumped!"
"That's right! What's with you guys! Let's get hyped!"
"I'm hyped! Yeah!"
"Yeah!"
Ashido and Hagakure are going along with me, but the other girls aren't really getting into it. Even Ochako seems a bit embarrassed. Are they all shy?
While I was thinking that, Tsuyu-chan tugged on my sleeve.
"I've honestly never been to a gathering like this, so I don't know how it works. Sorry I can't get hyped, Midoriya."
"Don't worry about it! As long as we're having fun, that's all that matters!"
"Ribbit, thank you, Midoriya."
After chatting lightly with Tsuyu-chan, I asked Ashido to explain the main reason we'd gathered.
"So, as the organizer entrusted with explaining, I, Ashido Mina—aka Ashidon—will explain! UA's Sports Festival! I think everyone knows from watching TV, but the top finishers every year are always boys! There are various reasons like physical strength and mental fortitude, but there are always so few girls placing, right? So! To show that girls can place too, we're all going to unite and work hard together!"
"Yeah!"
"Yay."
"Ribbit."
This would be the perfect timing to whistle if I could.
Well, I can't, so I just said it.
"However, I've heard it's basically individual competitions. Is it really okay to cooperate?"
"Ribbit, that's true. It would deviate from the original purpose of competing with individual abilities..."
The two serious ones are negative about the gathering.
"Now, now! Talking about stuff like that is what girls' gatherings are for! Let's get hyped! Yeah!"
Hagakure's super energetic.
Being a mood-maker despite being invisible—how does that work?
Oh wait, maybe it's because she's invisible that she's the atmosphere itself?
"Such a waste. With a face like a celeb—"
"Whoa! I won't let you say it! Also, you still remembered?!"
Hagakure covered my mouth again.
Being invisible gives her such an unfair advantage.
Anyway, I feel like this is the first time really talking with the girls properly, so I'm not sure where to start.
For now, I sidled up to Jiro-chan, who was nearby.
"Whoa! You scared me! Midoriya, what?"
"I feel like this is our first real talk, so I came over! Let's chat, let's chat!"
"You really come on strong."
Jiro-chan looks troubled, but she doesn't seem genuinely annoyed. She's probably just not honest, so I'll go full force.
"So, are things going well with Kaminari?"
"Pfft!"
She spat something. Gross.
"Come to think of it, you do talk with him a lot. What's the real situation?"
Ashido suddenly wedged herself in.
"There's nothing going on! Romance-brain much?!"
"I seee."
"You both still look doubtful!"
Jiro-chan glaring at us irritably is cute.
This is the subtly popular type.
"But what about you, Midoriya?! With Bakugo—"
"If you say another word of that, I'll nom nom on your earlobes."
"Nom nom?!"
Jiro-chan quickly hid her earlobes.
Damn it, I was looking for an opening...
Jiro-chan said something crazy, so I reflexively rejected it. Damn.
"You're the most dangerous person to me."
"That's harsh."
"I've had people who wanted to touch my ears, but you're the first to say you want to nom nom them. If you come within a meter, I'm attacking."
"That's harsh."
She shooed me away like I was a dog.
"...Well, but, you know, romance aside, I do think he's interesting? No, romance aside. He's an idiot, so he's fun to watch."
"And then things gradually progress from there..."
"You're pretty persistent, Midoriya."
I'll stop before I say anything more and get yelled at. Moderation is key in all things.
So I physically stuck my head into Momo and Tsuyu-chan's serious conversation. They were less surprised than I thought. Unacceptable.
"You startled me. What is it so suddenly, Midoriya?"
"Ribbit."
No, that's not a surprised person's reaction.
Well, whatever.
"You were having a serious talk, so I couldn't resist."
"Midoriya, you should live more seriously."
"When I try to live seriously, my other self... Gah, curse him!"
"Could it be multiple personalities...?!"
"Oh, sorry, I'm fine. Just kidding."
Momo is too serious to tease properly.
I'll try not to say random things.
"If it was a joke, that's fine, but are you really alright? We have a dedicated doctor at home, so if you'd like..."
"I'm fine, thanks for worrying though. But seriously, are you really planning to beat the boys?"
"Of course. As someone aspiring to be a hero, I cannot produce mediocre results!"
Super motivated Momo brought her arms together making fists, emphasizing her chest. I don't think she's doing it on purpose, but it's sexy.
"Ribbit. Me too—"
"If that's the case, me too!"
While talking with Tsuyu-chan and the others, Ochako joined in.
Her face looks scarier than usual. Not so uraraka.
"Everyone! I'm going to work hard! I'll definitely stand out and get scouted by a pro!"
"I don't really get it, but that's the spirit, Ochako! We'll show those boys!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm taking back my summer vacation!"
"That's just you, Midoriya."
"That's only you, Midoriya."
"That's so like you, Midoriya."
"Let's do our best at the Sports Festival!"
"Yeah!"
After that, we girls chatted excitedly for a while.
When we started running out of things to talk about, I told stories about Kacchan's past screw-ups, which were well-received. Does Kacchan actually have secret popularity?
They asked me to tell more next time, so I decided to hang out with Kacchan to gather more material.
◇◇◇
I'd been working hard through sheer willpower since starting high school, but here I was already about to give up.
Man, Kirishima Eijirou—I'm at my limit.
Looking up at the heavy atmosphere, stern-faced guys were lined up in a row. My head hurts thinking about how this happened.
I looked at the guy next to me for help, but—
"Hey, Bakugo."
"Shut up, I'll kill you."
—No, talk a little at least.
Sigh, I won't push it too much since it'll be scary later.
While thinking that, Kaminari sighed and collapsed onto the table.
"Why do we have to be in this stuffy place? I wanna join the family restaurant across the street..."
"Damn it, girls having fun at the family restaurant. The inevitable accidental panty flash. Trouble leading to boob touch. My ambitions!"
"No, Mineta at least stays here."
"Why?!"
That's way too dangerous.
If this guy was there.
"But do we really need to stay gathered here? Let's just disband."
"Yeah, yeah! Disband!"
"Weren't you guys the ones who tried to join the girls in the first place?"
The girls announced they were having a girls' gathering for the Sports Festival before lunch. Apparently Mineta and Kaminari were planning to secretly participate, but they accidentally got caught by Midoriya—and now all the boys in class are confined to a coffee shop. And I'm somehow being made to act as a monitor. By the way, we were told we can't disband until the girls' gathering ends.
"Can I go home?"
"I get how you feel, Todoroki, but please stay here. If she finds out we disbanded, Midoriya will seriously punch me later."
"What kind of relationship do you guys have?"
That's what I want to know.
"...Then, since we have the opportunity, why don't we exchange information we have about the UA Sports Festival?"
"Tokoyami!"
"Right? We're not like a friend group or anything. Kirishima, can you be the organizer?"
"Sero!"
"Yeah. It's painful just sitting here in silence. Why don't we make it a rally like the girls are doing?"
"Ojiro!"
After that, we had a halting discussion about the Sports Festival.
I couldn't call it productive, but my stomach didn't hurt, so I considered that good enough.
Before I knew it, the girls' gathering had ended.
Midoriya, send a message when you're done!
***
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