After getting Melissa to reboot from her Eri cuteness overload we leave to rescue the people being subjected to Mei's… Mei-ness, getting a couple of cheers in the process. Surprisingly there are also a few calls for us to bring her back, but I choose to ignore those. It took a lot of effort to get her trapped in the umbrella I grabbed from some random table and I have no intention of letting her out just because she mind broke a handful of inventors! She bites ya know!
"Has she had her shots?" Himiko checks with me while staring at the inventor's thrashing outline. "Because I don't want to get something weird when I drink your blood later if she hasn't had her shots."
I shrug, still in a dress and thus still using a feminine voice. "I think so, but knowing her she probably made something that made them moot."
Mei's thrashing manages to tear a hole through the umbrella, where she pushes her head out to glare down at us lowly non-inventors and Melissa, who is looking on with an air of bemusement as we walk. "I work with mechanical and electronic babies, not biological ones! Of course I wouldn't mess with my shots!"
I give her an unimpressed look. "So you wouldn't try and turn someone into a cyborg?"
"That's mechanical, so of course I would!" She answers without a hint of hesitation, clearly offended by such a 'ridiculous' claim, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Cyborgs are mechanical and biological. How else are you going to make sure that all the fleshy bits work like they're supposed to?"
"Then I'll just make an android and transfer a human mind into it!" She shoots back like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"…I can't tell if she's joking or not. Should I be concerned? Because I-Island made conscious transference illegal a decade ago." Melissa says with a look that speaks a lot more towards curiosity instead of worry like it should. Mei, meanwhile, looks like she's contemplating my previous offer to join the villains more seriously than she has in the past. Wait a minute, ten years ago…
"…Didn't you mention that you were going to trap one of your bullies in a nightmare simulation around that time? Are you the reason for that law?" I accuse the blonde with narrowed eyes, seeing her look away and whistle suspiciously. She's totally the reason for that law! Before I can press her for details though - purely out of curiosity and not at all to try and convince her to make something for me to do something similar to others - she points at something behind me.
"Oh look, a distraction!"
"A distraction? Where!?" I whirl on my heel, almost dropping… 'Mei' Umbrella (heh) while Himiko snickers and Eri tilts her head to the side, evidently not understanding why I would allow a distraction to distract me. I'll have to teach her proper distraction etiquette later, but for now, distraction! "Oh, is it that area where a giant iceberg just appeared?"
Getting a nod of confirmation from my cousin I lead our group to said location, which is evidently an area where people use their quirks in a simulated combat area to take out a series of robots as fast as they can. We get there just in time for the female announcer to declare this the fastest attempt today, with the participant taking only six seconds to eliminate all the enemies. A quick peek down and… yep, that's Shoko.
She looks up at where we are as if she can sense our eyes on her, so of course I give her a wave and congratulations. "Good job!"
She doesn't bother using the stairs that the area undoubtedly has, instead opting to ride a pillar of ice up to the railing where she gently hops down next to me. This is quickly followed by a moment of hesitation and a one-armed hug, which is great progress for getting her to start initiating physical interactions with people! She doesn't even have a hint of a blush anymore, which is a vast improvement to when she would run away not long after holding hands for a few seconds.
"Hello, Izuku. What are you doing here?" She gives Himiko and Eri a nod before her shoulders tense and she fixes her eyes on Melissa, who gives the dual-haired girl a wave in greeting.
"Hi, I'm Melissa. Izuku and Izumi's cousin." The tension in her shoulders dissipates and Shoko gives a wave of her own.
"Hello, I'm Shoko Todoroki. Izuku and Himiko's… friend. And classmate."
There's a few moments of awkward silence that I interrupt with a clap of my hands, drawing everyone's attention to me. "Anyways, I'm not sure why you're here, but since you are, why don't we look around the expo together?"
Shoko nods immediately, along with Eri, while Himiko shrugs noncommittally. Out of the five of us only Melissa looks uncertain, eyes darting between Himiko and Shoko for a few seconds before voicing her own acceptance. That's all that's needed before our I-Expo montage begins!
There are a lot of inventions on display, most of which is admittedly geared towards hero work, though more generalized as opposed to being specialized for specific heroes. There are also a wide variety of transportation methods, with a prototype version of one of Melissa's own inventions! I don't know why she decided to make a collapsible super pogo stick instead of sticking the springs and stuff into a pair of boots, but she's really proud to show it off to us so I don't say anything. Especially since she probably has an actual reason for it that I'm just not seeing.
Surprisingly enough we also run into some of the other members of class 1-A who are also here for the expo. They greet Shoko and Himiko easily enough, though they become a bit awkward when addressing me. Most of them do, at least, but the few that I'm closer to don't have any problems. One group of such classmates consists of Momo, Kyoka, and Denki, who ask if we'd like to head to the fancy ball that's happening tonight together. But before I can shrug and answer in the positive, Denki asks me why I'm carrying a shredded umbrella, causing me to look up and sigh at the sight.
"Welp, Mei's loose again." I pause and tilt my head, trying to see if I can hear any screams or explosions and shrug when I don't. "Oh well, she can be someone else's problem until she gets arrested." I look back at Momo's worried expression and give her a smile. "Yeah, let's meet up at the ball, see the three of you tonight?"
We exchange goodbyes before our two groups separate to find more exhibits, though I think ours is better off since we have Melissa to show us the more interesting areas. Like the not advertised area where the large weather machines for the artificial island rise from the ground to tower over the residents! They aren't active all the time due to the immense power requirements, only meant to keep the island safe from the more dangerous weather phenomenon that could threaten the residents or stability of the island.
That's how the day goes, more sightseeing, more gushing over the technology from Melissa, and the occasional cute question from Eri, like if anyone on the island made anything that would let anybody stab someone easier. Surprisingly there have been a few inventions like that, though the inventors were quickly taken in for psych evaluations and the inventions placed in a secure holding area where they wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. Coincidentally, that is also the area where Melissa's quirk enhancement device ended up, though the I-Island council or whatever they call it is still under the impression that it was designed by her father, David Shield.
A couple hours before sunset Melissa lets us know that we should start getting ready for the ball, especially if we want to get there early enough to meet up with our friends. So we wave goodbye to Shoko who has to go to her hotel room to get dressed before following Melissa to where our luggage is. Which, apparently, is in the main tower where all the important scientists have their own rooms. The central tower not only functions as residence, but also has floors dedicated to various other functions, and even has the ballroom where the ball is being held on the bottom floor. Something about how holding the ball in the most important building shows their confidence in I-Island's security measures.
We ride the elevator up to Melissa's apartment/lab, apparently just missing her father who is looking for her, according to a porky man with suspenders and thinning hair. Unfortunately, he also lets slip that All Might is on the island, apparently having wanted to catch up with his old partner. On a more pleasant note, it seems like their relationship has taken some damage after the news reached David about how Yagi essentially abandoned me to focus on Izumi. The porky man even said that it looked like David was going to punch the hero!
It puts me in a good mood, knowing that I have an uncle like David. A good mood that lasts up to the point where the door to Melissa's apartment opens and I turn on my heel with my hands in the air. "Nope, not dealing with that."
Contrary to my declaration, both Himiko and Melissa hook their arms under my own and drag me into the home, with Eri telling me that I don't get to run away. Which is obviously the most ironclad declaration that can be made, for who can argue against the Word of Eri?
Still, that doesn't mean I have to be happy about seeing Izumi awkwardly sitting at the counter with a cup of tea, evidently waiting for us. Sure, we're cordial to each other and occasionally make small talk, but I still don't want to spend more time in her presence than I have to. Especially when it's clear that Melissa plotted whatever this is with my girlfriend! When did she even have a chance to do that? We've been together the whole- nope, I was dead for a while when we first got to the island, they probably came up with it then.
Izumi stares at me without reacting at all when the girls drag me in, and I have a minute to wonder why before she opens her mouth and gives me the answer. "…Why are you in a dress?"
…I may or may not have forgotten how I'm dressed. That would explain all the awkward looks the 1-A residents gave me… I probably should have asked Himi if she had a wig so I could just full on pretend to be Izumi for the day. Oh well.
I give her a shrug. "Clothes got ruined and this is what Himi gave me."
She blinks slowly at me as the information processes for her before seemingly deciding not to ask, instead turning to Melissa. "Well, I'm here. What did you want to talk about?"
Our cousin's eyes dart between each person in the room, thoughts clearly running a mile a minute before she nods. "I want to tell you all the truth about quirkless people."