The Beach Episode: Part 1

"...And before I let you all go today, Inigo asked to speak to the class." Miss Rosethorn says as she offers the front of the class to Inigo. The class seems to await some loud prank as he steps up to the front of the room.

He strides up with his usual confidence and speaks with gusto and courage as he pins a flyer talking about buried treasure being pulled out of the ground on a nearby beach tomorrow to the board.

"My friends, my honored and in many cases extremely attractive classmates, what we have here is an opportunity for a memory to last a lifetime! I suggest we all meet up for the raising of the buried treasure and just... enjoy the beach for the day. Rosethorn-Sensei even got some people to be willing to drive some of us there and back! And pro heroes at that!" he says with excitement as parts of the class share it, and other parts roll their eyes.

"Come on, show some enthusiasm! It'd be a total waste not to grab life by the horns now and live!" the boy continues, his cheer infectious as people check their schedules and make room, looking toward crushes or current lovers as they plan out how they're going to be arriving.

Only two party poopers remain: The American Gun Nun who slumps back in her seat, irritated that Inigo got the other girls somehow excited to get ogled, and the "Mirror Devil", who laughed off the idea of showing up as he put some last additions into his notes.

Noah turns back to Sally, offering her a disarming and positive smile. "You should come. Even if you're late, Noah is sure everyone will prefer to have you there!" he says, speaking in third person as he always has done.

Sally rolls her eyes. "I have church in the morning and... errands in the afternoon." she says, unable to hold her usual hard edge against the bright light of the Archangel's smile.

"The grocery stores are usually open late, and it would be really fun to have you with everyone." Noah says, giving her a good-natured smile.

"It's probably gonna rain or something tomorrow, Noah. We may as well just stay home."

Noah shows her the forecast tomorrow has 0% chance of rain, and the girl looks away with a flushed face, running out of good excuses to say no.

"We've got church. Don't tell me you're planning on skipping."

"Of course not, you and Noah can just arrive late." Noah says as he waves off his other friends who are heading home.

"I-It'll be my time of the month tomorrow, so I'll probably not be in a swimming mood." she says with embarrassment in her voice, having to fall back on her last line of defense.

"You could play volley ball, watch the buried treasure get dredged up, bring a book and read in the sun and sand; a lot of other things if you won't be in the mood for swimming." Noah says as he looks into Sally's eyes for a moment, but she draws her own away. She tilts the bill of her uniform cap over her eyes, putting her bag in her hand, and stands up quickly. "I'm busy, sorry." she states as she rushes out before Tame can ask her about Spongebob again and make her nerdier side come out.

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Sally awakens early the next morning and freshens up. She treated her "nice" clothes with the kind of reverence usually reserved for a family heirloom, since they often were due to the expense of getting to a place that sold nice clothes. A lot of her church dresses are 2 generations old, simply fitted to her just like they were to her mom to save money and time on an expensive trip to the city.

The prairie style grew on her a little over the years, especially when she used to listen to short bible stories in Sunday school before being allowed to play with the other kids in the field behind the church. The ladies who watched them would always remind them to be careful of their quirks, and even gave bibles with passages about pacifism bookmarked that she did actually read as a little kid.

The next order of business was her hair, and today she put her hair in a ponytail with a feather hair tie and got some cereal for breakfast, turning on the news to test if she could understand the fast-talking anchormen words just by ear. Her hair is long and wavy, irritating to get perfect leading to her everyday hair style being a simple ponytail. She can't help but do a spin in her dress, still feeling that joy of wearing something pretty that every little girl has.

Sally slips her nice shoes on and grabs her bag, making sure to lock her apartment as she heads for the train station. She'd never live it down if someone saw the hard-edged American in her cute hat and a vintage dress. The only person who she gave the right to see her as she dressed for God was Noah, who went to the same services (or Mass, as the Catholics who ran the building called it).

She sits down in a spot in the back of the church, crossing her legs as she kept her hat on the seat next to her. She noticed Noah come in with his father, both having brilliant white wings like angels as they sat in the sat in the front. She looked away, towards the hole at the base of her hand which marked where her gun barrels would form. In a lot of ways, he was prettier than her in mind, body, and spirit. She'd taken lives, albeit justly in her eyes, but that marked her as impure to the God that watched over her. She stands up as the procession starts, following the Mass and getting used to its more rigid structure. She prayed for peace and self-control while offering 1,000 Yen to the church, knowing it was not much compared to the rest of the congregation.

As the service ended, Sally stands up and straightens the skirt of her dress out, not noticing Noah before he's in conversation distance.

"Hi Sally, today's was a lovely service, right?" he asks with a welcoming smile, his wings fluttering.

"Y-Yeah... I didn't really understand the part in the middle of the homily though. He was speaking really fast."

Noah nods. "He was relating some verses in Mark to old testament punishments for idleness."

"Oh! That... makes more sense then what I was getting. I thought he was talking about gathering up the lazy and making them follow you."

"Learning by force is a sad reality of this world, but one Noah thinks everyone can work through." Noah says to Sally's confusion.

"But without force, your words mean nothing to an opponent." the girls says with a gloomy voice.

"All you're teaching them is anger towards a tyrant when you think like that. To be merciful and understanding will impart real lessons, while being cold and cruel will only impart fear and incite grief and anger." Noah says to an apprehensive Sally.

There's an awkward silence between the two as Noah's father walks behind them, smiling as he gives the two space.

"...Anyway, Sally, Noah wanted to know if you were coming to the beach with everyone else this afternoon." Noah asks.

"I-I..." Sally starts thinking about lying to make up an excuse, but she just sighs to avoid lying in God's house.

"...I don't think anyone really wants me there..."

"That isn't true. Noah is sure Takara would love to see you there, same with Inigo." Noah says gently towards the girl as she holds the door for him.

Sally bites her lip, looking at Noah's pure smile as they stand in the small courtyard. "...Fine. But... you have to stay by me so Inigo doesn't bother me. I'm on thin ice with quirk use lately and I know I'll get mad if Inigo grabs me in a swimsuit."

"That's alright, you and Noah can share a blanket if it makes you comfortable." He says back with a glowing smile that melted a bit more of the defensive ice on Sally's heart.

"H-Here's my address, I'll ask Inigo if we can join that carpool the others were talking about." she says with small, shy smile.

"Noah will you see you there then!" Noah says as heads out with his dad.

Sally sighed, a fluttering in her heart. Her apprehension at wearing a swimsuit because of the ogling was being stifled by her want to have some time alone with Noah. She steeled herself for a rough day as she walked home to ready her things for whichever car was coming for her.

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Akagi took a drag from her cigarette as she waited for her last straggler to get in the rental van, an American girl who was 20 minutes out of the way. It didn't really matter. Rosethorn was paying for the gas, and thus the beer and cigarettes. Akagi had taken out an old white summer dress to go out in, figuring she could at least try and look like a responsible adult while she kept an eye on the un-sanctioned school gathering. A part of her thought she could find a potential apprentice among the kids, but these were Shiketsu students. These kids had a future under heroes who's names actually meant something, not a has-been who's power worked once in a blue moon.

The girl comes out with a big gym bag, wearing a white bikini with Teva sandals. She quickly settled herself in the on top of another girls lap as Akagi checked her mirrors and put her cancer stick in an ashtray, reversing into the street and driving down towards the beach.

She could hear the chatter of eager students, and tried to keep down her irritation at cringe-worthy nature of the gossip. She was really starting to regret doing this favor for Ryusei. At the same time, she was internally conflicted about how none of the kids seemed to take a second look at her once they got into the van.

Well, whatever. Even if she said anything, even if people somehow recognized her as Popsy, why would they care? She burnt her chance at the top 10, failed to do her job right, and can barely do it at all now.

She tried to keep her mind on the road and the beer waiting for her on the beach instead of in the dumps of her past. Therapist says she needs to break that habit anyway.

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The beach was lively with workers, archeologists, and guests attracted by the highly publicized treasure discovery. It was speculated to be anything from a Mongol ship that never made landfall due to a storm to the remains of a yacht that crashed on the coast between the World Wars. Most of Shiketsu's class of 1-D had taken Inigo up on his offer of a day in the sun, many having come with friends or lovers as they enjoyed the beach activities.

Hifumi and the flyers have an impromptu diving competition. Inigo, Christopher, and Orochi were acting as judges and watching the class do quirk-assisted high dives, much to the irritation of lifeguards.

Popsy and Smokin' Sexy keep an eye on the calm scene with 48 cans of beer between them and an ashtray as backup.

Some other pros play "friendly" games of volley ball, including the buxom Localoca, and some almost literally groundbreaking spikes from Impakt as he mixes some games in with his exercise routines.

Sally lays down a blanket from her apartment and secures it with a lawn chair as Noah comes back with an umbrella. She blushes as she notices people looking toward her.

Noah sets the umbrella up in the middle of the blanket and sits down. "It's a great day out."
"Yup." Sally replies.

The two stare at each other awkwardly, Noah's red eyes meeting Sally's amber ones.

"...You want to go diving with the others?" Sally asks.

Noah shakes his head with a nervous smile. "Noah's feathers make swimming a bit of a pain, sadly. But if you want to swim, Noah is willing to float around with you."

"Ah... yeah, sure"

The two pass by the diving judges' blanket. Sally earns herself a whistle from Inigo, which earns him a raised middle finger in return as she and Noah float around the shallow salt water. It's peaceful, even as the sounds of heavy machinery echo in the distance. The two close their eyes and let the will of water support them.

"Do you... know why I'm in Japan?" Sally asks as they drift.
"No, Noah doesn't believe you've told anyone."

"...I'm being punished for... vigilantism that I committed back in the USA."

"What happened?"

"...Saw 3 robbers on the way home from midnight prayer vigil robbing a storefront. I shot 2 dead... 1 lived to sue me."
Noah is quiet at the grim confession for a bit. "...Did you think they deserved death?"

"...At the time, yeah... but now... it's a grayer line." Sally says.

"Got sent here cause the judge was convinced I could still make something of myself if I learned to control my quirk... and I still believe that."
Noah nods as they drift a bit closer. "Hold onto that. Divine justice shouldn't be lethal, and Noah knows you can make that into a reality."

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Sally and Noah eventually find their way back to their blanket, with the boy excusing himself to change into shorts. Thankfully, the men's side of the bathroom has no line, unlike the girl's side. The only separation between the spaces was a thick paper screen that didn't go all the way to the floor. Apparently these were the old bathrooms, and the beach is renovating the fancier new ones. He decides to take a leak in one of the stalls while he's here.

He had put his things in Sally's gym bag, covered with cute patches from American cartoons she watched as a kid that must have been sewn on by hand.

Takara Tame had happened to be changing in the women's side when the bag is accidentally nudged over to her, and she almost can't speak as she sees the precious convention patches from 2005, some of which were only given out in very small numbers, like the My Life as a Teenage Robot and Dexter's Lab ones which adorned the otherwise dark gym bag. She pulls it closer to herself, enraptured by the lost item, even though it had have some stuff in it that the owner might want back.

In the wake of her discovery, her frilly white skirt bikini falls out of her own bag, and gets knocked over to Noah's stall as the boy starts to realize the bag's been taken. Panic overtakes him as he realizes his other clothes were still in the bag that had just disappeared.
As if sent by God, a miracle his way was sent, albeit in a form he did not like: A frilly white skirt bikini.
He couldn't fathom streaking across the beach to explain to Sally he lost her bag, so he slips the girl's swimsuit on. It clings to his hips as he puts the top on, the gentle fabric making him feel all the more exposed as he gathers his courage to step out of his stall.

Noah tugs at the short hem of the skirt as he notices the same kind of eyes on him that he saw go toward Sally. He tries not to return most of the looks as he finds Sally lying back in her lawn chair.

She lifts her sunglasses upon seeing Noah in the cute swimsuit, his wings making him look like a flat chested angel.

"Uh... Uh... Uhm... Noah... you're..."

"Yes, Noah realizes... It's a long story but you and Noah need to find your bag. Noah thinks he lost it, or someone took it by mistake."

"Oh, yeah..." Sally says as she walks beside the short boy.

"You look... cute... like really cute... in that" she says with beet-red face.

The two look awkwardly away from each other as they go looking for the beach bag bandit....

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A inconspicuous woman puts her blanket down near the treasure dig site, or at least as close as she was allowed. She seemed to be watching the time very carefully as she counted the workers, and took notes in shaded spots.

She grins to herself. "Almost showtime for Broad Daylight..."

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Will Sally get her bag back?
Will Noah get his dignity back?
Who will be proclaimed Diving champ of 1-D?
And who is Broad Daylight?

Find out on the next part of Beach Episode!