Friend of a Friend (Ryuu)

While Yumi was oblivious to the compliment the boy before her had just given her in his head, she did at least get a nice warm feeling from the mere fact he seemed willing to talk. Turning her treadmill down just another few notches, she turned to her side to better address him, doing side-skips along the length of the treadmill for a few moments, trusting herself enough not to trip over her own two feet and meeting Ryuusei more directly with a bright smile as she tried her best to hold a conversation with him.

“Yumi is righto!~” She smirked, sticking her tongue out with a playful smirk for a moment. A light stumble of her feet however made he realize that while she could definitely do side hops on a treadmill safely, she couldn’t do that while talking and swiftly switched to jogging forward, though at a moderate pace still so she didn’t get too out of breath while talking, shooting Ryuu a bright if somewhat sheepish smile after her small accidental trip.

For a brief moment she took in his appearance much like he had hers. Yumi’s mind didn’t really grasp ‘beauty’ so easily…it was odd. Like, she could tell someone looked nice, which she could easily say Ryuusei did, but being ‘enthralled’ by someone’s looks was never really something she succumbed to. What she could notice however was this boy was drenched. Whether in his own sweat or something else wasn’t so easy to tell, but it did bring an ever so brief giggle to her lips as she wondered how hard he must be pushing himself to completely drench his clothes to that extent, never once did it even occur to her that he may have just used the sauna with his clothes on.

With the question she gave a bit of a cheeky smirk, what with her own observations, and simply dipped her head over his own body, gesturing to it given her hands were busy helping her keep a good form with her jogging. “Yeah, and something tells me you are too huh?~” Her cheeky grin just got a fraction or two wider and cheekier to boot with a little giggle filled cherry on top of it, shaking her head out and not meaning to tease him too much as she continued. “Seriously though, you must be working hard. Pretty sure I can almost hear your shirt begging for mercy there.” Okay maybe she wasn’t ENTIRELY done with her teasing but at the very least she felt assured that was funny enough to pass.

“You usually come here when it’s so empty?” She asked, a little curious given it lined up with her own habit for the day. “I don’t usually come here period, but ya know, I figured, what with the sports festival I may as well give it a go eh? And what better time to learn how all the equipment works when there’s no one around to laugh at ya?” She shrugged her shoulders with a light smile as she shot her gaze back to her new running buddy for the past few moments. “How about you? Come here often yourself? I mean I assume so what with you being on the sports team right?”

(won’t address it in post but just to be clear, yumi is supporting her running with the swinging arm motions that come with it, sorry for not making that clear. (just also don’t want to give the impression she needs the supports for some reason XD))

Yumi was easily the type to laugh at herself, at least when she wasn’t in paranoid mode, and since Semper Fi her defences against falling back into that mood had been risen significantly. It was like facing a cold. Sure, it felt like hell while you were going through it, but you tended to face the next cold with a stronger defence. It could weaken and it could wear over time, and eventually, bam, even Yumi was aware the depression could strike again, but for now she was living life with a smile and confidence, and of course, the ability to laugh at herself. Speaking of which, she was certainly glad it had gotten her impromptu running buddy laughing too, shooting him a bright smile as she started to jog more normally while they continued to chitter chatter.

Heck to be honest Yumi would have even just laughed it off if Ryuu had ‘rudely’ gotten the wrong name for her. Yumi could be immensely poor in remembering people’s names herself so someone getting hers wrong wasn’t so bad. Heck she even had a habbit of trapping herself into nicknames if her run in with the fluffiest little boy in support studies had anything to say about it. Oi vey, she really needed to ween him off the habit of calling her ‘Yummy’. She’d only suggested it as a joke, and it did make her smile, but she worried he was only doing it because she’d given the wrong impression that she preferred it…which she KINDA did, cause it was funny and made her smile but-

Okay. Overthinking for later. Back to the present where you’re running on a rubber strip that could sheer your skin off if you fall. Yeah. Best to focus on that. Oh. And the conversation you’re trying to have with it.

She saw him look a bit confused for a moment, but was glad to quickly realize he was the kind to laugh at himself a little too once he caught on. Heck he could even be witty about it too. Seemed that Darren knew how to pick his friends well. She did dart over a little on instinct when he tripped, yelping and nearly tripping herself too in an attempt to catch him, the two of them likely having a nice giggle at their own expenses, though much like her running partner Yumi now kept at least one hand on the treadmill to make sure that didn’t happen again. Sure that last one was definitely her own fault, but best to make sure it doesn’t happen again yeah?

“Aw poor shirt.” Yumi chimed in with a cheeky smile of her own, giggling a little. “Best toughen it up though. I mean if it can’t handle your normal exercise imagine what it would be like with your quirk.” She said, having no idea what his quirk may be like in the end. Though, it did lead her to joke about her own.

“My clothes used to hate me before I got control of my quirk. In the movies they always tend to gloss over how the fire guy or the electro girl don’t scorch through their own clothes. Me? Not so lucky. All my clothes that weren’t made special used to get fried whenever I used my quirk. Thankfully they can all sleep in peace. Now I only scorch them if I want to be dramatic~” She held her nose up as if almost having pride in the fact she could go through half a wardrobe a year on harsh electrical burns alone.

As the conversation shifted to the sports club and Darren, Yumi couldn’t help but snort a little, relating a little too hard to that vibe and giggling away as she recalled how it had been similar for joining the football team. “Ah tell me about it. I mean I love it about him, but I offered to help him train when I spotted him on the field. Next thing I knew he was treating me like I already signed up? I mean don’t get me wrong I had fun, and I would have joined anyway, but he can really get ahead of himself. And like, not in the rapey way of course, but ‘no’ isn’t really part of his vocabulary is it? Like I could never see him taking a no well in the face of something he’s excited for…like he’d take it well ENOUGH just not…’well’, ya know?”

Probably not, she had gone a bit into mindless babbling towards the end of that there. Ehehe…

At the question of what event she was doing, she answered. “Oh I signed up for the tournament for starters. I always wanted to be more of a rescue hero but my quirk just isn’t built for that, so I wanna show the pros I might be working for in the future what I’m made of. Plus…I know it’s gonna be tough, but I definitely think it’ll help my confidence.”

She continued. “Mainly though, I’m in it for the obstacle course. I recently figured out how to fly using my quirk so I’m totally gonna knock that one out of the perk, plus Darren’s been helping me with this new agile form of movement! It should go really well. How about yourself?”

Yumi couldn’t help but snicker for a moment as the boy beside her described having a quirk that was best used almost naked. For a moment she could think of questions as to what his quirk was but easily invisibility came to mind, or some form of camouflage at the very least. Other possibilities flittered in too, like quirks that required your skin to breathe like that odd woman from the metal gear games, or perhaps one that worked with expanding limbs? Would be pretty awkward trying to extend your arm in a punch but not being able to cause it got caught in a tight sleeve? No that didn’t really make sense. Easily invisibility was the main contendor, but whatever it was it was still a little funny to picture him in his boxers.

“I’m not so sure about being better naked since I got my power suit to help me handle it, buuuut that would definitely act as a good distraction tactic don’t you think?~” She snickered a little before continuing. “I mean picture it like a cartoon, distracting the bad guys so they get close then ZAPPO! I mean I’d never do it but it’s a little funny to think about don’t ya think?” Of course even with Yumi’s liberated sense of how she viewed her own body and those viewing it, even she wasn’t so crazy as to be some weird naked electro hero lady. Least of all when she could probably get sued for that alone. Heck even her current costume was kiiinda pushing the limits, albeit just a little.

She thought for a moment on asking about his quirk but felt she’d get the details in a moment. If she didn’t she’d be a bit too awkward to ask for it after the opportune moment to strike had passed, so she’d probably just ask Darren about it when she next caught him during a free period.

Yumi gave a bit of a nervous chuckle after her bumbled words, always finding it was a little too easy for her to get on a roll, difficult to stay on target, and nearly impossible to make herself stop, but most of the people around her seemed to understand at least. Sure you needed confidence and speaking skills as a hero, most of the time at least, but they were all still awkward teens. It was just commonplace for them all to trip over their own feet or catch their tongues on awkward conversations. She just shared a light chuckle at her awkwardness and moved on with a little.

“Aw thanks.~” She chimed in at his encouragement after her little ramble, though this time she didn’t recognize it as one so easily given she didn’t stutter over her words or anything. Maybe she was a bit of a chatterbox but someone would kinda have to point that out to her at this point for her to even start to realize, and even then, can’t say it was a negative so long as she didn’t go overboard. Probably a good quality for a hero like her to have in the future. Bright, peppy, chatty!~

“Oh yeah! I noticed we couldn’t sign up for more than one so maybe on the time thing? But yeah same to you! I havn’t asked what Darren’s going for but I’m gonna bet he wants to fight the students from other schools no doubt yeah?” She smirked, knowing Darren’s skills lended him to the obstacle course, literally able to move himself sharply in any direction he wanted, but his sense of pride and determination lead to him battling against the other schools more directly most likely. She did hear about the quirkless aspect though, quirking her brow and wondering if she’d finally hear about his quirk.

Seems she got a direct demonstration instead and Yumi jolted a little (thankfully not trippijng this time) as it registered it definitely was invisibility, not only that but he could make other things invisible, and Yumi had to actually scoff in disbelief at the use of that in a rescue situation.

“Are you kidding me that’s amazing!?” With how down she made herself about her own quirk sometimes, Yumi spent a lot of time thinking about the potential of others in situations she wished she could excel at, like rescue to say the least. She stopped her treadmill entirely to talk more persistently, draping herself over the handlebar of her own treadmill tot alk. “Okay think about it, one of the most risky things in rescue can be finding a person and getting them out safely, pretty much the whole job really. You have the power to make rubble invisible and look through it. Not only will you be able to find people easier, but you can see everything else in the way! You’re like a walking hazard detector like that! Not only that, but if a villain is on the scene, you can make yourself and other civilians invisible to get them out of their more safely! How is that NOT awesome for rescue!?~”

Snickering at his warning not to do it, she simply rolled her eyes and kept jogging. Yeah she was open about her body but not THAT open. Besides she was pretty sure some of the first heroes had worn things so flashy that there’d been rules and regulatons put in place about their costumes to make sure they were ‘child friendly’, they were basically idols for a lot of them afterall and no one wanted to teach their nation’s kids it was okay to run around naked punching people…no you needed a silly costume and a license first. She snickered a little at the thought but mostly waved it off and kept jogging for now.

Yumi was glad the two of them had some common ground in seeing Darren from the outside. When she was infront of the ‘crazy blonde’ she had a weird sense of awe in regards to him with how confident and gung ho he could be about everything, but talking with a friend of his, viewing Darren from the outside? Yeah, with the best of respect, he could be a bit of a nut and Yumi was glad to at least use him as some common ground to find a new friend in Ryuu. She definitely still held Darren with the highest respect given their history as two of the longest standing students in their class, buuuuut…yeah. He could go a bit off the deep end sometimes.

“Yeah I mean, I’d never wish it on him, but he would be SO disappointed if he got knocked out before he faced any of them! You could see him coming into lesson with a pout and just kicking back in his desk. Heck he’d probably be so pouty he’d drag it even further to the back wall.”

Okay maybe she over-exagerated just a little there, but it was actually something she could totally see, again with respect but Darren could be such an expressive person when something rubbed him the wrong way that a borderline tantrum wasn’t entirely out of the cards for him. Yumi still loved him (as a friend) of course, it was just the sort of impression he’d left on her at this point.

Still that wasn’t all they had to talk about at least and Yumi was definitely eager to talk about their potentials for the festival. Yumi had been so into displaying what she thought Ryuu’s quirk could be good for that she’d realized in advance she definitely needed to turn off her treadmill to get it all off of her chest. Sadly however, it didn’t seem Ryuu had realized the same thing when he’d slowed down to address her in turn, the realizations of what his quirk could do setting in so hard he forgot he was meant to be running.

A hand clasped over her mouth, this time Ryuu leaving the treadmill in such a fashion that even her instincts didn’t reach out to grab him and instead just tried to restrain her shock, and soon, the urge to giggle. Seemed neither of them were really a strong hand, or foot, when it came to these machines, and as the boy started laughing Yumi couldn’t help but start laughing along with him, realizing how ridiculous that had just been no matter what angle ya looked at it from, and turning off her treadmill entirely as she hopped off and helped him to his feet, her giggles replaced by a warm smile as she steadied him up.

“You okay there champ?” She smiled brightly, making sure to hoist him to his feet. A little surprised she managed to pull it off really given how weak she was at the beginning of the year, but Darren’s comments a few weeks ago really had her noticing the difference even in the smallest of things, sharing a smile as she dusted Ryuu off a little and heard his offer to go check out the main alley with him, her eyes definitely perking up.

“Oh I’d love to. I mean-“ She looked over her vaguely sweaty self, and the drenched boy before her. “We should totally get showered and changed first, but it’d be great to have some downtime and get to know ya more. Meet me by the entrance?”

She’d assume all was good, not realizing Ryuu felt he may have asked her out and not worrying too much herself either way, considering it just a friendly time out and about the festival booths as they got to know eachother. The red head broke into a light skip and a hop to make her way towards her own changing rooms and showers, scooping her bag up from some of the other equipment as she did.

Assuming Ryuu didn’t stop her, Yumi would enjoy a quick but energizing shower that helped relax her muscles even after the short stint on the treadmill. She never really got why some people could spend half an hour in a shower. For her it was always get in, scrub up, rinse off, maybe enjoy the warmth for a handful of seconds, and get out. What you needed a full half an hour for every time was beyond her but she’d just shrug it off knowing someone was waiting for her. She got dressed in a warm hoodie and cargo pants given the weather, and with her gym gear slung over her shoulder in a bag, rest her back against one of the walls outside the gym facilities, eagerly awaiting her new buddy to see what they could get up to checking out the festival.

This was…definitely nice so far. Ryuu seemed like a chill dude and they both knew how to laugh at themselves which was always nice. She wondered for a moment how much Darren had spread about what the two had gotten up to the other day, but given how nervous he’d been about it…yeah, he didn’t exactly seem like he’d be a blather mouth to her, and she was pretty reassured as she waited that no nasty rumors would have spread.

Yumi hadn’t been waiting long by the time her new buddy walked up on her, just toying with her phone with her bag slung across her torso, tending to prefer to carry a satchel even when what she was carrying didn’t really suit it. Like most people would slide papers of a folder int a satchel like the one she was wearing, Yumi had folded clothes and sneakers tucked into the dividing pockets of it. She lifted her eyes with the calling Yo and raised her own hand to make sure he knew she’d seen him, starting to walk with him as he came over rather than letting him stop to check in with her, sliding her phone into a zipper pocket of her satchel and nodding along with a smile.

“Yeah I’m all good!” She chimed happily. “I was just checking in with the UA chat to see if there’s any good suggestions on where to check out first, but I didn’t get any clear answers.” She gave a lightly nervous chuckle before continuing to walk with him. “Usually I just go where the wind takes me but I’m not so sure this time. You have any clubs you wanna check out the booths for?

(Sorry for the short one im never good at taking lead)

"I don't so much forget it's a thing more...I just can't keep up." She snickered a little at herself, feeling a little bad that she couldn't keep up like that but just shaking her head about it all the same. It was just a chat and she didn't need to keep up with it by any means but a lot of the time she definitely felt like she was left out of the loop on some things. Ah well. "I mean it's a fun place by the looks of things but between my books and my hobbies and...that. The pace of it when it gets going, it's just never gonna be something I can handle while still keeping a hand on my own things." She casually shrugged it off all the same and kept moving, though she was glad that for, whatever reason, she wasn't gonna be the only one out of the UA chat loop.

At the prospect of ice cream she was definitely eager. Yeah not the most healthy, might lead to cramps somehow Yumi had no idea how that stuff worked, but she was fairly sure she'd be okay and with the weather getting warmer and how hot she felt after exercising- "Yeah, it definitely sounds like a nice treat, so why not?"

She was a little short on conversation topics too. Usually people couldn't get her to shut up but Yumi did struggle when she was trying to make a new connection like this, not wanting to slip up and say the wrong thing or the like. Still they seemed to do the job for her and came up with something that could promote a conversation easily enough. Knowing eachother outside of just what they were as students would be good, and she'd start talking even as they likely reached a stall selling ice cream, getting out her wallet ready to pay for their choices.

"Oh er, well let's ignore any like, quirk stuff, any training...I kinda like to just try and keep up with the season's anime I guess?" She lightly scratched her cheek with a soft smile. "It dosn't always feel very er...fruitful as a hobby I guess, but it's kinda the luck of the draw each season I guess." She shrugged but had a warm smile on her, definitely not regretting her choice of hobby in any way, taking a large double-cone mr.whippy ice cream with sprinkles and a flake from the stall. "How about yourself? Any hobbies?"