Upon arriving at school, Ruka and Izuku went directly to the principal's office to get their shackles removed and to get Ruka's quirk canceling cuffs removed as well. They knocked on the door and Principal Nezu let them in. Mr. Aizawa was already there. Ruka and Izuku stood there nervously since Ruka wasn't technically supposed to be outside of campus at night. There was an awkward silence for a while until Ruka decided to speak.
"I'm sorry I abused your generosity in letting me go out in public over the weekend! But things kinda went sideways and I couldn't contact you when it was all over and done with." Ruka said, bowing apologetically to the U.A. Principal.
"It's not your fault. You couldn't reach me when you needed to. Don't worry, All Might left a message filling me in on the details. There will be no disciplinary actions taken." Principal Nezu said as both Ruka and Izuku sighed with relief.
"Now let's get you out of those things." Principal Nezu said as Mr. Aizawa approached the two students with the keys and unlocked the shackles and the quirk canceling cuffs.
"Phew! Feels good to have my wrists free." Ruka said as she rubbed her wrists. Izuku nodded in agreement.
"Ruka, I'll escort you to the dorms so you can change into your uniform. I'll see you in class, Midoriya." Mr. Aizawa said as Ruka and Izuku nodded and headed out of the principal's office. Ruka and Mr. Aizawa headed to the dorm building while Izuku went to the boy's locker room to finish changing into the upper half of his uniform. When Ruka got to her dorm room, she changed out of her pastel yellow sundress and into her U.A. school uniform. Once she was all ready for school, Mr. Aizawa escorted her to the classroom where her classmates were waiting for them so the school day could start.
~Time Skip~
It was the end of the school day and Ruka was hanging out with the girls of the class. They talked about how they weren't allowed to go on any long distance trips over summer break. The girls were bummed out because they wanted to do things over the summer, not be cooped up at home the whole time they weren't at the summer training camp. Hagakure then came up with the brilliant idea to spend some time at the school pool over the summer. Ruka and the girls were totally on board with the idea.
~Time Skip~
Ruka had put on her school swimsuit and headed to the pool to meet up with the Class 1-A girls. She was surprised to see the boys there too. She saw Izuku and called his name to get his attention.
"Hey Izuku!" Ruka said as Izuku turned and looked in her direction. When he saw Ruka in her school swimsuit, a blush formed on his face. While her swimsuit wasn't really revealing, it did hug her body and show off her curves a bit. She approached him.
"I didn't know you and the guys were going to be at the pool." Ruka said.
"Yeah well Kaminari and Mineta invited me, saying that they wanted to use the pool for endurance training. I passed the message on to the rest of the guys, inviting them as well." Izuku said as Ruka got a suspicious look as soon as she heard that this was Kaminari's and Mineta's idea.
"What's wrong Ruka?" Izuku asked as Ruka sighed.
"I'm betting one of those pervs overheard us planning to go to the pool and came up with the excuse to use the pool for endurance training hoping to see us girls in bikinis. They did seem really disappointed to see us wearing our school swimsuits instead of bikinis." Ruka explained as a sweat drop started to form at the side of Izuku's head as he realized something while he thought about it some more.
"Oh I see. That does explain a lot. Kaminari and Mineta don't seem the type to train a ton." Izuku said as Ruka giggled.
"I know right?" Ruka said with a laugh. Uraraka was watching Izuku and Ruka talking from a distance. She had seen the way Izuku had blushed when he saw Ruka in her school swimsuit. And school swimsuits weren't even that sexy. Jealousy was starting to boil up inside her as she watched them chat. Hagakure then approached Ruka and Izuku.
"Hey, we are gonna play some volley ball. Come join us Ryuutou!" Hagakure said as Ruka wrapped up her conversation with Izuku.
"I'll be right there Hagakure. We'll talk later, okay Izuku?" Ruka said as Izuku nodded. She then followed Hagakure to the other side of the pool where the other girls were waiting. Uraraka sighed with relief now that Hagakure had gotten Ruka away from Izuku. The girls all got into the pool and formed teams. It was Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Asui, and Jirou against Ruka, Hagakure, and Ashido. It was Uraraka's turn first to serve so she served it and it flew towards Ruka (which was totally a coincidence, really, it was). Ruka then leaped and spiked the ball. It flew so fast that the girls on the other team avoided it completely, not wanting to be on the receiving end of it.
"Sorry guys. I guess I used a little too much strength." Ruka apologized.
"Were you using your quirk to enhance your physical strength? You know your Dragon Soul: Physical Enhancement thing?" Uraraka asked Ruka who shook her head.
"No, that's just my normal strength." Ruka told her the truth.
"Are you serious? That's crazy! I never knew you were that strong. I'm kinda envious of you." Ashido said as she grabbed Ruka shoulders excitedly.
"I'm glad you're on our side." Hagakure said to Ruka who smiled at the invisible girl.
"Let's continue playing." Yaoyorozu said as she picked up the ball, ready to serve it. The girls all got into their positions.
~Time Skip~
The girls took a break from their game of volley ball. Ruka was sitting on one of the platforms at the edge of the pool, looking over at Izuku who was talking to Iida about something. She smiled softly, remembering the kiss they shared at Izuku's apartment. Uraraka noticed Ruka looking over in Izuku's direction while smiling. She approached her.
"You like him don't you? Deku I mean." Uraraka said as Ruka turned to her.
"You could say that." Ruka answered as she paused for a moment. Uraraka's heart dropped when she realized that Ruka liked the same guy she did.
"You like him too, don't you Uraraka?" Ruka asked Uraraka whose face got really red.
"Me like Deku? Oh no no no no no. He's just a close friend of mine! Ahahaha!" Uraraka said in a flustered panic.
"Your words say he's just a friend, but your actions tell me you want to become more than friends. I don't know if I've told you this, but you can't hide your true emotions from me. I can see the smallest movements of your facial expression and body language and read your true feelings despite what you say. I can tell if you're being genuine or if you're lying or putting on a brave face. You can't hide anything from me." Ruka revealed, her crimson eyes piercing into Uraraka's brown eyes as she stood there frozen, her blood running cold. Ruka sighed.
"I know you don't like me. You do a very good job of hiding it from everyone else. But I can see it clear as day. Can't say I blame you though. I was an infamous villain with kill count to back up my reputation. But I'm genuinely trying to put that life behind me and become a hero. I'm sick of people being afraid of me and who I was in the past." Ruka said as Uraraka started to feel bad that she had been hating on Ruka all this time just because she had a villainous background. She really was trying to become a hero. Not just so she can avoid being sent to Tartarus, but because she genuinely wanted to leave her past behind. Uraraka stared at the scars on her back where her swimsuit didn't cover.
"Hey, I'm sorry I still haven't warmed up to you. I guess I just can't get over the fact that you were a well known villain." Uraraka said as she sat down on the ground next to the platform Ruka was sitting on.
"I understand. It's not like one turns over the villainous life that easily. But deep down, I've always wanted a normal life. I just lived the life I did because I didn't know how to escape it, it was all I knew. And now that I've had a taste of normal high school life, I've realized that I never want to go back." Ruka said as Uraraka reached over and put a hand on her shoulder.
"You know Ryuutou? You're really not that bad." Uraraka said as Ruka chuckled. She could tell Uraraka was being truthful. All of the sudden, they heard Bakugo's loud voice. He wanted to have a contest to see who was better. Iida seemed to approve and the boys held a race tournament. During the last race, right as Izuku, Todoroki, and Bakugo jumped off the platforms, their quirks were canceled and they fell flat into the water. Mr. Aizawa had arrived and told them that it was 5:00 PM and their authorized pool use time was over. Everyone was disappointed. Ruka approached Izuku as he was drying himself off with his towel.
"You were quite impressive during the race. You managed to beat Iida. It's a shame that you couldn't do the final race because of Mr. Aizawa. I bet you would've won." Ruka said as Izuku finished ruffling his hair with the towel.
"Thanks Ruka. But I don't know. Both Todoroki and Kacchan have impressive quirks." Izuku said as Ruka bopped him on the head, making him wince.
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You literally have the number one hero's quirk!" Ruka said in a hushed voice, making sure no one else heard her. Izuku chuckled as he rubbed his head where she hit him.
"I guess you're right." Izuku said as Ruka leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Izuku blushed as she did so.
"I'll see you later Izuku." Ruka said as she slung her towel over her shoulder then walked away. Izuku couldn't help but keep staring in Ruka's direction. Uraraka was watching them from a distance again. She saw Ruka kiss Izuku and she saw the way he stared at her as she walked away from him. Were they already dating? Ruka did confess to liking Izuku, but she didn't exactly say that they were dating. But the way she acted just now was starting to make her think that they were. She had to find out, to get closure.
~Time Skip~
Izuku, Uraraka, and Iida were walking to the train station together to go home like they normally did. Usually the three of them talked among each other, but this time Uraraka was unusually silent all the way to the station. Iida's train arrived first and he left, leaving Izuku and Uraraka alone.
"Deku?" Uraraka said to get Izuku's attention.
"Yes Uraraka?" Izuku responded.
"What do you think of me?" Uraraka asked as Izuku answered without missing a beat.
"I think your a wonderful person. You have an amazing quirk. You're cheerful, empathetic, and warm-hearted. And you're one of my closest friends." Izuku said, not exactly giving the answer Uraraka wanted.
"No I mean... how do you feel about me?" Uraraka asked Izuku realized what she was asking.
"Oh umm. I like you... as a close friend." Izuku said.
"Only as a close friend, huh?" Uraraka said as Izuku sighed.
"Yeah..." Izuku said, averting his gaze to the side.
"Is there anyone you do like?" Uraraka asked next as Izuku looked her in the eyes.
"Yes, there is." Izuku said as Uraraka's heart dropped.
"It's Ryuutou isn't it? You're already dating Ryuutou, aren't you?" Uraraka said with tears starting to well up in her eyes as Izuku sighed again.
"Yeah... Ruka and I... are dating." Izuku revealed as Uraraka's heart sank even further as the tears started to flow from her eyes.
"I knew it... I could tell by the way you act around her, the way you look at her." Uraraka turned away from Izuku as she rubbed her eyes, but the tears kept coming.
"Uraraka..." Izuku started to say.
"Why couldn't it have been me? Why...?" Uraraka said through her sobs. Izuku then wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace.
"Uraraka, listen. Just because Ruka and I are together, doesn't mean you don't matter to me. You are my first friend. I never really had any friends before I met you. So no matter what happens between me and Ruka, you'll always have a special place in my heart." Izuku said as Uraraka started to calm down a little.
"Really?" Uraraka asked as Izuku nodded.
"Really." Izuku said as his train arrived at the station.
"My train is here. I have to go now. See you later, Uraraka." Izuku said as he let go of Uraraka and got onto his train. He waved goodbye to her as the train left.