Seven Years Before the Reunion at I-Island, I-Expo
The I-Expo gleamed under the sun, buzzing with holographic displays, chattering drones, and self-important scientists eager to pitch the next revolutionary rice cooker. For Tenya Iida, however, none of that mattered.
This trip was not about innovation. It was about closure.
And perhaps, quietly, about admitting that the love arranged by one's mother isn't love at all.
"I simply want to end things respectfully," Iida told himself, adjusting his glasses with robotic precision as he stepped off the docking pad. Behind him, Mineta and Sero followed, dragging rolling luggage and matching looks of suspicion.
Mineta, now miraculously over five feet tall[how don't ask] and dressed like a tourist going through a midlife crisis, wore a loud floral shirt and oversized gold sunglasses. He snorted.
"You brought us to I-Island... just to dump someone? Cold, bro. I've done messed-up things on dates, but even I have standards."
"You once ate raw garlic before a date so the girl would break it off first," Sero replied without looking at him.
"Exactly. Same thing," Mineta said proudly, skipping ahead. "Besides, I've got my own business to handle here."
Iida's brows furrowed. "Business? What business could you possibly have on I-Island?"
"Support tech expo, baby," Mineta winked. "I'm showcasing my lates..."
"Minoru Mineta, if the words 'surveillance goggles' or 'anti-slip lube grenades' leave your mouth, I will personally see to it that your Expo badge is revoked."
Mineta mimed zipping his lips and vanished into the crowd, moving with the slippery grace of a very committed and unusually horny ninja.
Sero watched him disappear and sighed. "Are we supposed to be concerned?"
"Yes," Iida answered automatically.
And from behind them, another voice agreed. "Yes."
BOOM
A sudden explosion rocked the harbor. Smoke billowed from a nearby maintenance shed, metal shrieked, and a series of alarms blared.
Without hesitation, the three of them bolted.
"Recipro Turbo: First Throttle," Iida barked, his engines igniting as he surged forward with blinding speed.
"Grape Hook," Mineta called out, latching onto Iida's back with his sticky spheres.
"Let's go," Sero shouted, flinging himself ahead with his tape.
They arrived at the blast site within seconds.
"Iida, wait!" Sero called out, but Iida had already raised his voice.
"Don't worry, we are here to..."
He stopped short.
Standing amid the wreckage was the exact cause of the explosion.
Hatsume Mei, covered in soot and grease, was holding a wrench and blinking through the smoke with an entirely unbothered grin. She looked like she had just stepped out of a factory explosion and enjoyed every second of it.
"Oh hey, Four-Eyes," she greeted, as casually as if they had run into each other at a coffee shop. "Didn't expect to see you here. What happened? Someone finally built a robot that runs on rules and guilt?"
"I am not a robot," Iida replied stiffly. "And I—wait, why are you even here?"
"Why else? To show off," Hatsume replied, gesturing over her shoulder at the expo hall. "Ever since that flying dome incident with Shigaraki, my reputation's been on fire. Now I've got international contracts, press interviews, and a lab full of interns I keep forgetting to pay."
Sero let out a low whistle. "Guess the tower design took off."
"Damn right it did," she grinned. "Though I didn't do it alone. I partnered with someone weird. Not an engineer. More of a business predator."
Mineta stood off to the side, quietly wondering why no one was talking about the explosion.
Hatsume ignored him completely. "He's kind of creepy, but he's got vision. And a lot of money. Mostly money."
"Sounds like someone you'd work with," Iida muttered.
At that moment, a blonde girl approached them, fanning herself with a lemon-patterned brochure.
"Hey, Mei. Lemonade?" Melissa Shield offered her a cup.
"Only if it's laced with caffeine," Hatsume said, snatching the drink. "It's hotter than Endeavor's temper out here."
Melissa laughed, then paused as her eyes scanned the group.
"No way… Iida? Mineta?"
"It's been a while, Melissa," Iida said, smiling politely.
"You look good," Mineta added. His tone was surprisingly genuine. Melissa had matured, and it showed.
"You two know each other?" Sero asked, clearly confused.
"It was at an I-Expo a few years ago," Melissa explained. "Before All Might retired."
None of them mentioned the I-Island Incident.
The fight, the near-catastrophe, and her father's involvement had all been swept under the rug by those with the power to bury truths.
Sensing the tension, Iida quickly changed the subject.
"Let's take a walk," Hatsume said suddenly. "I want to pick up a few things."
She reached for Melissa's hand and gave it a brief squeeze. The unspoken message was clear.
Melissa gave her a grateful look. "Yeah. Let's walk."
The group moved away from the smoking shed and into the cool, polished halls of the I-Expo. They talked as they walked, moving from booth to booth, pausing at demonstrations and engineering displays. The conversation ranged from supporting tech innovations to how capitalism ruins everything.
Then Iida suddenly slowed his steps, eyes narrowing.
"Melissa… you're wearing a ring."
Melissa blinked. "Oh. Yeah."
"You're engaged? Since when? Who?"
Hatsume groaned. "Here we go. The engine has rebooted."
"It won't stop till you answer the questions, Boy," she mimicked a sheriff's tone.
"Why do you always describe me like I'm a vehicle?"
"Because you run on internal combustion and stress."
Sero snorted. Melissa smiled, amused.
"I'm engaged, technically," she said. "Still go by Shield, though."
"You didn't mention Iida, what are you guys doing here?"
"He is here to break up with his fiancée," Sero pointed at Iida with a smirk," we just tagged along for the Expo."
"Wait," Hatsume said, turning to Iida. "You're here to dump your fiancée, and you're already asking someone else about their ring?"
"I am here to end an arranged engagement respectfully," Iida said with exaggerated dignity. "This trip was intended as a symbolic farewell."
"That's not a farewell. That's a funeral with refreshments," Hatsume replied.
"You don't understand the pressure of declining a proposal without upsetting multiple families."
"I once rejected a billionaire by mailing him a toaster with 'no thanks' burned into the bread. I understand plenty."
Sero glanced at Melissa and leaned in. "We should probably give them some space."
Melissa nodded, then paused. Her expression shifted.
"Wait… where's Mineta?"
Sero blinked. "I don't know. He was just here."
He looked back at where Mineta had last been. The space was empty.
Melissa glanced around, uneasy.
"Should we go look for him?"
Before Sero could respond, Iida's voice echoed behind them.
"You cannot just say I look like a broken air conditioner. That doesn't even make sense."
"And yet it fits perfectly," Hatsume replied. "Tell your fiancée I said sorry for her taste."
Above them, a support drone sparked.
It short-circuited violently.
A second later, it exploded.
Boom.