5

“First, that one lady flew up in the air like FWOOOSH, all pretty-like! And then that one lady had a giant face that was the same as her face! And the other one broke all that wood with her hand like KRAK KRAK KRAK! And then, and then …”

An excited Eri talked a mile a minute while Izuku Midoriya and Mirio Togata nodded encouragingly.

Midoriya had had quite a day already. He’d foiled a U.A. infiltration plan by Gentle Criminal—a self-styled “gentleman scoundrel” who was prone to uploading videos of his capers on the internet with the help of his partner in crime, La Brava. After stopping the villain, the boy had still made it back in time to join class A’s live performance—a showstopper that had succeeded in putting a smile back on Eri’s face.

Now that the beauty pageant was over, everyone was splitting up to enjoy the sights and sounds of the festival. Midoriya and Togata had promised to spend the day with Eri, and joining them were Ochaco Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, and chaperone Shota Aizawa—all of whom had joined the coalition to rescue Eri in the first place. Everyone present knew how much pain Eri had endured before they’d plucked her from her circumstances, so a simple smile from the small girl was enough to warm their hearts. And there was plenty more fun in store.

“Where would you like to go next, Eri?” asked Izuku, spreading out the festival pamphlet. Dozens of themed stalls and attractions dotted the user-friendly map, prompting Eri to squint and furrow her brow.

“Too many choices …”

“No prob!” said Togata. “We’ll just starting walking, and if something catches your eye, give a shout!”

“Uh-huh,” said the girl with a nod.

“Here, Eri,” said Midoriya, extending his hand. “Grab my hand so you don’t get lost out here.” It was a legitimate concern, given the hustle and bustle in the lane populated by food stalls, but Eri only stared at Midoriya’s scarred hand.

“Ack, sorry! My hand’s a little scary, huh?” he said, convinced that the scars had frightened the girl. But before he could pull it back, Eri reached out, grabbed his hand with both of hers, and shook her head back and forth.

“Not scary … It’s a really nice hand that helped me,” she muttered, catching Midoriya off guard.

“Oh, glad to hear it,” he said with a relieved smile that drew another smile from Eri.

“And, what? My hand’s just gotta be all lonely over here on its own?” said Togata.

“No way!” yelped Eri, grabbing Togata’s hand and beaming at him.

The two boys locked eyes, said “Heave ho!” and lifted Eri into the air as they started walking.

“Wheee!” cried Eri as she bounced along, thrilled to be hand in hand with her two favorite heroes in the whole wide world.

“Aww, they look like a family!” remarked Uraraka, watching the trio from behind.

“Like two older brothers? And their much younger sister? Ribbit,” said Asui.

Walking alongside the two girls, Aizawa’s expression relaxed ever so slightly.

It had been an uphill battle to hold the School Festival at all this year. If U.A. were attacked again during the big event, society would lose even more faith in heroes—faith that was already on shaky ground in light of All Might’s official retirement. And if people perceived that heroes lacked the stopping power they’d once held, villains would run rampant and society would devolve into chaos. Sensing this danger, law enforcement officials had strongly recommended that U.A. skip its festival this year, but Principal Nezu had argued that now, more than ever, the students had to believe in a bright future.

Even with that hurdle out of the way, it hadn’t been a given that Eri could attend, but Aizawa had secured permission for this special guest once the school had been officially assigned as her guardian for the time being. It was the adults’ job to protect the kids and their future, and Eri’s smile reaffirmed that thought in Aizawa’s mind. For both its newest pint-sized resident and the student body at large, U.A. had to be a bastion of safety and hope.

“Ooh, crepes!”

“What’s crehpz?”

Uraraka’s cry of joy upon spotting a crepe stall made a confused Eri whip around.

“You’re in for a treat, Eri! A crepe is like a really, really thin pancake, loaded up with fresh cream and topped with fruit! It’s the fanciest, heavenliest dessert around!”

“Crehpz sound yummy!” said Eri, practically with stars in her eyes.

“Why don’t we get some, then?” suggested Asui, approaching the stall.

The menu of plastic sample items displayed standard toppings like banana, peach, tangerine, and chocolate, but Eri stared and timidly asked, “Is there … one with apples …?” Sadly, there wasn’t.

“Don’t worry!” said Togata, trying to cheer up the crestfallen girl. “We’re still gonna find you a candy apple later!”

Midoriya twitched.

“Okay!” said Eri, the reminder of the candy apple bringing another smile to her face. As she deliberated over crepe choices, Togata made a declaration.

“Let me guess which one you’ll choose, Eri! This time … it’s gotta be peach! Peach, for sure!”

“No. Tangerine.”

“That was my next guess! Hang on—you got something against peaches or what?”

After much deliberation of her own, Uraraka chose chocolate, and Asui went for banana.

“So sweet and yummy …” said Eri as she nibbled, with eyes closed in pure joy. Everyone felt their hearts grow a few sizes again.

Still eating their crepes, the gang entered the school. A live stand-up event caught Togata’s eye, and amid all the hubbub, Midoriya saw something that got his attention too.

“A hero quiz competition … And the prize is a board signed by all the pro hero teachers at U.A.?”

The event was put together by some other class, and surely enough, the grand prize was a board covered in hero autographs, starting with All Might himself. Even Aizawa had signed, as Eraser Head. Seeing the stunned Midoriya’s jaw drop, Aizawa said, “It’s just some autographs.”

“‘Just autographs’? You take that back, Sensei!” said Midoriya with an indignant snort, ever the hero fanboy. “This is a rare, one-of-a-kind collectible, featuring autographs from both All Might and Erasure Hero: Eraser Head, who rarely shows his face! And look—Present Mic, Vlad King, Midnight, Thirteen, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, Snipe, Power Loader, and Recovery Girl! Why, I’ve never even seen an autograph collection like this in Heroes Monthly!”

“Uh-huh. Sure,” said Aizawa, deftly deflecting Midoriya’s enthusiasm.

But I show my face to him every day of the week.

To Midoriya, there was apparently some sort of subtle, nuanced difference between Aizawa Sensei the homeroom teacher and Eraser Head the hero, whether the man himself understood it or not.

“Hey, they’re still accepting entrants for the quiz!” said Uraraka.

“Erm, but …” stammered Midoriya.

“Get in there, man! We’ll have a blast watching you, won’t we, Eri?” said Togata.

“Uh-huh,” said Eri with a nod. She was a little lost, but she’d understood that Midoriya might take home a cool prize if he won the contest.

“You can do it, Deku!” she added shyly.

“Well, that settles it! I’ll give it my best shot, Eri!” said Midoriya.

With Eri’s blessing, he marched up to the registry desk, got in line with the other entrants, and took a seat at a desk with a quick-draw buzzer button on it.

“Deku! Go for the gold!” shouted Uraraka.

“You’ve got this, Midoriya. Ribbit!” said Asui.

The student serving as quizmaster emerged to cheers from the audience. Once the excitement died down, the quiz began.

“Question one!” said the quizmaster. “Kamui Woods is a rising young star of the hero world. During his debut, what did he—”

Midoriya’s button lit up with a “ding-ding.”

“He captured a gang of bank robbers with his Preemptive Binding Lacquered Chain Prison!”

“Midoriya of class 1-A, youuu are correct! Moving on, question two! Flame Hero: Endeavor’s favorite food is—”

Ding-ding.

“Kuzumochi!”

“Correct again!”

The other contestants hadn’t stood a chance against Midoriya’s encyclopedic knowledge and lightning-fast reflexes, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

“Question eight! What does Present Mic call the devoted listeners of his show, Put Your Hands Up Radio?”

Ding-ding.

“Mic-ies!”

“Question fourteen! Just after her debut, the commercial that sent Mt. Lady’s popularity skyrocketing was for—”

Ding-ding.

“Lady Hair shampoo and conditioner! And the tagline was ‘For beautiful, shiny hair.’”

“Question twenty-five! In Laundry Hero: Wash’s commercial, what does he—”

Ding-ding.

“‘Washashashasha!’ And he says it five times total!”

Heading straight for victory, the unrivaled Midoriya was giving off an unusual aura. With bloodshot eyes and a tinge of bloodlust in his voice, he sat stone still except to slap the buzzer (for every single question, without fail) with laser precision and focus. The audience couldn’t help but shudder in mild horror.

“Not exactly a good role model …” said Togata with a straight face as he shielded Eri’s eyes from the ghastly sight.

“And our final question! All Mi—”

Ding-ding.

An eerie tension fell over the audience. Midoriya had barely let the quizmaster start the question before dinging in, and when he answered, he did so slowly, with a deadly serious expression on his face.

“Seven minutes and thirty-one seconds.”

The audience was confused by the cryptic answer to the unasked question. The quizmaster gulped.

“The question was, ‘All Might’s legendary debut video clip was how long, exactly?’ And … yes! Seven minutes and thirty-one seconds is correct! Our undisputed winner is Midoriya, of class 1-A!”

“Woo, I did it!” yelped Midoriya, transforming instantly from bloodthirsty quiz demon back into his usual chipper self as he accepted the autograph board.

“How’d you know … just from ‘All Mi—’?” asked Uraraka.

“Clearly the fanboy god walks among us,” remarked Asui.

While the older girls seemed a little repulsed by Midoriya’s fanaticism, Eri gazed up at her champion in admiration and said, “That was so cool.” The boy returned her smile with an awkward one of his own.

At that moment, Kyoka Jiro and Momo Yaoyorozu were buying commemorative Cementoss tumblers. They were planning to meet up with Mina Ashido and some others later, but while that group was traversing class C’s haunted house, Jiro and Yaoyorozu were browsing the lane with the food carts and stalls.

“They did a great job making these drink holders!” said Jiro.

“And they appear to be selling quite well,” remarked Yaoyorozu, glancing around and seeing plenty of other students holding the tumblers.

The girls started sipping through the straws and realized that the tumblers were prefilled with coconut water.

“Coconut? What’s the connection between Cementoss Sensei and coconuts?” asked Yaoyorozu.

“None that I can tell,” said Jiro.

Still, the slightly sweet drink brought smiles to their faces. Looking for a spot to relax and drink, they wove through the crowd and sat on some nearby stairs. As they watched the milling crowds, Jiro and Yaoyorozu suddenly felt totally at ease, to the extent that they would’ve turned incredulous had someone reminded them that they’d put on a live musical spectacular just that morning.

Their first real breather all day. In that moment, it hit Jiro that their big performance was really over and done with. She stretched her back and let out a sigh.

“I was kinda worried I couldn’t pull it off, at first … But I’m glad I went through with it,” she said.

Seeing Jiro looking so relieved put a grin on Yaoyorozu’s face, but her expression quickly clouded over.

“I was … a bit disappointed,” she said.

“What? Why?” asked Jiro, shocked at Yaoyorozu’s declaration.

“Well … I would have loved to see you singing from the front row, Jiro.”

“Huhh?”

A visibly embarrassed Jiro scowled, and her “Earphone Jack” earlobes fidgeted, as if confused.

“And yet you were still a sight to behold up there in the spotlight, even if I could only view you from behind …” said Yaoyorozu, now grinning again. “So yes, it was all very worthwhile.”

“Cut it out, you,” said class A’s blushing rock goddess, using one shoulder to nudge Yaoyorozu, who—still smiling—leaned in.

Meanwhile, Ashido, Denki Kaminari, Minoru Mineta, and Toru Hagakure were quaking in their boots in class C’s haunted house.

“Whose bright idea was it to try out a place called ‘Labyrinth of Doom’ …?” asked Kaminari.

“Yours, Kaminari!” said Ashido.

“Get offa my leg, Mineta!” yelped Hagakure.

“Can’t help it … Too scared …” said Mineta.

Kaminari and Hagakure had thought “Why not?” initially, Ashido had been looking forward to it more than anything, and Mineta had only tagged along with 100 percent dirty intentions. However, his big mistake was underestimating how spooky a haunted house put together by amateurs could be.

The backstory was that this old house had seen its resident family slaughtered in grisly fashion fifty years back, and class C had spared no attention to the realistic details. The floorboards creaked as visitors walked through, and mountains of dust and cobwebs spoke to the house’s decrepit state. Even the crude crayon drawings on the wall—which might have come off as adorable in any other setting—took on an ominous feel.

“Yet, even half a century later, only the eldest son’s body remains missing … Though the house stands vacant, neighbors claim they can feel an unearthly presence emanating from its walls …”

Upon hearing the weighty narration at the start of the experience, the four members of class A—not yet scared out of their wits—had been mildly impressed. But then came the falling ax. And the door slightly ajar, behind which someone or something was peering. And the grandfather clock that wailed like a baby. And the red, infant-sized handprints staining the corridor that gradually traveled up the walls until they filled every surface. By that point, the group was trembling, and any pervy thoughts in Mineta’s mind had been cleanly replaced by pure, unfiltered terror. After Hagakure ripped the clinging Mineta off of herself, he scrambled over to Kaminari and held on to his friend’s leg for dear life.

“W-whaddaya say we throw in the towel …?” suggested Mineta.

“H-how, exactly?” said Kaminari. “Walk back down this hall in reverse? That’d be just as scary.”

Hitoshi Shinso was eavesdropping on the terrified group from up in the ceiling crawl space.

“Shinso, those class A kids are coming your way. Scare the pants off ‘em, ‘kay?”

“Roger that,” said Shinso with a wry grin, ready to play the part of the murdered son.

His classmates were observing from behind the scenes, feeding timed cues to the jump-scare actors via walkie-talkies. Nearby, the one in charge of dripping blood from the ceiling gave Shinso a thumbs-up before setting about their own task.

Drip …

“Huh? Is that blood …?” said Kaminari.

Drip … Drip … Drip drip …

“Why’s there blood raining down on us?” said Mineta.

Drip drip drip … Drip … Drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip …

The blood gushing from the ceiling soaked the floor, leaving the group frozen in place. That was when Shinso—covered in fake blood himself—flopped from a ceiling panel to hang upside down, right in their path.

“Take me from this plaaaace …” he moaned.

“Gyaaaaaah!”

“Whoa, really?” said Shinso.

He’d been doing his best to scare them, of course, but their extreme reaction had caught him off guard and made him break character. Without even pausing to think, the group of four ran through the rest of the house screaming, half in tears.

“This Labyrinth of Doom is baaad news!” cried Mineta as he ran.

The screams faded. Shinso and his classmates were stunned yet thrilled to have scared members of class A so effectively.

“Now they know that General Studies means business too,” said Shinso with a smile.

Once outside, the four scare victims collapsed in a heap, but after a quick breather, Ashido and Hagakure laughed and said, “That was awesome!”

Nearby, Mashirao Ojiro was up against an obstacle course. It was a race against time, featuring a number of creative hurdles including a steeply warped wall. Hanta Sero and Eijiro Kirishima had already run the course, and beside them stood Katsuki Bakugo, looking as sour as ever.

“Up … I go!” grunted Ojiro as he tackled the final obstacle, the warped wall. His “Tail” Quirk gave him the extra boost he needed to push up and over and press the timer button on the dais above.

“Fifteen seconds! Same time as me, dude!” shouted Kirishima.

“Looks like I win!” said Sero, chuckling. “Me and my thirteen-second record.”

Sero’s handy “Tape” Quirk had allowed him to sail past the obstacles with ease. All three boys had done well, but they hadn’t even come close to touching the best time posted at the registration desk, which was an impressive five seconds.

“You’re next, Bakugo! Show us what you’re made of!” suggested Kirishima.

“What a pain. Nah, cuz even without trying, I know I’d win,” spat back Bakugo, who stood up and started to walk away. But a nearby conversation caught his ear.

“Y’know that best time? I heard it was All Might who set the record.”

“Wow! When he was a student here, you mean?”

“Yup. And nobody’s touched that record since. There’s no beating All Might, I guess.”

Upon hearing this, Bakugo spun around and glared, as if to say, “Who says I can’t beat him?”

“Aw well, let’s just go check out the food stalls … Huh, Bakugo? Oh, you’re giving it a shot after all!” said Kirishima, seeing his friend stomp over to the registration desk without a word. Ojiro—who had missed the earlier exchange—rejoined the group and nonchalantly asked, “Bakugo’s gonna try?”

Standing at the starting line, Bakugo stretched his arms and wore one of his trademark indomitable grins.

“I’ll be the one to beat All Might’s record, just watch me.”

The starting buzzer sounded, and he was off. Bakugo vaulted over the initial obstacles with ease, clambered up the warped wall, and smashed the timer button.

“Well?” he said, supremely confident.

Ten seconds.

“The hell? That timer’s gotta be busted! Lemme try again.”

Unwilling to accept defeat, Bakugo ran the course again, but All Might’s record time was still out of reach.

“Grr! One more time!”

“I … But … Argh! Again!”

“How’d that guy manage five seconds anyhow?”

Despite dozens of attempts, the coveted five-second record remained unassailable.

“How about you call it a day?” said Ojiro.

“The more tired you get, the slower you’re gonna go!” said Sero. Both boys had noticed Bakugo wearing himself out and were concerned for their classmate, but Bakugo said “Shaddup” before racing back to the starting line yet again.

“I’ve gotta be the one to beat All Might’s record!” he said, a bundle of pure determination.

“That’s our Bakugo! So freaking manly!” said Kirishima, moved almost to tears by this passionate display of guts.

Bakugo would keep running the course until closing time, shouting “Lemme try tomorrow!” when they finally had to shut the operation down.

Elsewhere, Yuga Aoyama hummed a tune while munching on his Pont l’Évêque cheese. As he strolled down the lane of food stalls, he spotted Mezo Shoji and Rikido Sato running a takoyaki stand for some reason.

“Bonjour! ✫ What brings you two to be doing this?” he asked.

“Oh, hey, Aoyama,” said Sato. “We ended up in charge of this little operation for now.”

“One of the Business Course classes started this stand, but there’s a more popular takoyaki place right over there,” said Shoji, pointing with one of his “Dupli-Arm” tentacles. “Business wasn’t doing well, so these guys decided to run off to hold a strategy meeting and scout the competition. We happened to be walking by, and they asked if we could hold the fort.”

Aoyama glanced where Shoji’s tentacle was pointing and saw a crowd lined up for a different takoyaki stall.

“How terrible! ✫ So you agreed to hold the fort, but why are you actually preparing the takoyaki?”

Surely enough, Shoji and Sato were clad in aprons and grilling up takoyaki. While the former adroitly poured the batter into the molds, the latter deposited chunks of octopus and other ingredients into each little pool. Shoji then used another dupli-arm to flip the cooking balls, as needed.

“Well, they told us we could do some cooking if we wanted,” explained Sato. “Shoji’s a big fan of takoyaki to start with, and I was in the mood anyway.”

“Uh-huh,” agreed Shoji as more of his dupli-arms popped the finished balls out of the mold, drizzled them with sauce, and topped them with bonito flakes and dried seaweed.

“Want some, Aoyama?” he asked.

“Non. ✫ My cheese is plenty for me. ✫ Are you only cooking takoyaki, though? I smell a sweet aroma.”

“Since we’re here, I figured why not make some choco-yaki too. Want one?” said Sato, holding up a takoyaki-sized cake pop covered in chocolate.

“Non, ✫” repeated Aoyama. “I have my cheese. ✫”

“Cheese, huh … Can I get a piece?” asked Sato.

“You wish to try some? Here, if you must. ✫”

But instead of eating the Pont l’Évêque, Sato popped the morsel of cheese into one of the pools of takoyaki batter. When the ball was done, he offered it to Aoyama.

“Tell me how it tastes.”

“If I must, ✫” said Aoyama, looking mildly shocked but agreeing to try the culinary creation.

“Ow, oww!”

“Well, of course the cheesy-yaki’s still gonna be red hot,” quipped Shoji as Aoyama struggled to swallow the snack without burning himself.

“Hmph. My cheese is as delicious as ever. ✫”

“You can just admit it’s good, y’know,” groaned Sato.

By this point, a number of other students had gathered, attracted by the smell.

“Did you just say ‘cheesy-yaki’?” asked one of them. “Lemme get one of those!”

“Hey, me too.”

“I’ll take the chocolate one.”

“But we’re just filling in for now …” said Shoji, trying to turn away the potential customers.

“Why not let them eat what we’ve made so far, at least?” suggested Sato. “Who knows? Maybe they’ll enjoy what we’re offering.”

Sato’s Quirk gave him a power boost every time he consumed sugar, so his hobby of cooking sweets (which he had a knack for) had a practical side to it. And there are no sweeter words to a chef’s ear than “That was delicious.” Intuiting Sato’s mind-set, Shoji relented and said, “Fine.”

But their takoyaki and choco-yaki were tastier than even they knew, and the blend of savory and sweet aromas wafting from the stall worked as effectively as word of mouth. Before the two boys knew it, they had a crowd of customers lined up to place orders, forcing them into production overdrive to satisfy the demand. Aoyama left them some more of his cheese as thanks and attempted to leave, but the mob had him blocked in.

“Hmph! I cannot pass! Form an orderly line, you rabble! ✫”

“Hey, thanks for taking over line-management duty, Aoyama!” shouted Sato over the din.

Just as the Business Course students were returning from their strategy meeting to find that the takoyaki business was booming, Tenya Ida, Shoto Todoroki, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Koji Koda were riding a miniature locomotive in a pint-size amusement park area.

“How amusing! Wouldn’t you agree, Todoroki?” said Ida.

“Sure. Feeling kinda cramped though,” said Todoroki.

Which made sense, since these attractions were typically rented out for children’s events. Besides the train, there was also an incredibly short roller coaster and a panda-themed ride that might have been plucked from the roof of an old department store. Ida—who tackled even amusement in a serious way—was determined to enjoy every attraction available.

“Wonderful! Let’s take photographs over there next!” he declared, pointing to a novelty photo board with holes cut out over an image of the U.A. school building and Principal Nezu’s face.

“Which cutout would you prefer, Todoroki? Our fair school or our esteemed principal?” asked Ida.

“Does it really matter?” groaned Todoroki.

“I suppose not. But since I’m taller, I will assume the role of the school.”

Ida and Todoroki stuck their faces through the panel while Tokoyami used their phones to snap a few pictures.

“Now I will take photos for Tokoyami and Koda!” said Ida.

“No thank you …” said Tokoyami, but Dark Shadow had other ideas.

“I want a picture!” it cried.

Koda put his face through the school hole, and Dark Shadow became Principal Shadow while Tokoyami stood off to the side, looking awkward. For Tokoyami, being in proximity of the entire ridiculous affair was nearly as embarrassing as actually sticking his face through the panel.

“Fumikage! I wanna drink that!” whined Dark Shadow, noticing students carrying the Cementoss novelty tumblers. It was a fair request—they’d worked up a thirst in the course of running around from one kiddie attraction to another. While Tokoyami and Koda went off to buy the drinks, Ida and Todoroki sat down at a nearby table.

“It’s quite a thing, seeing our campus so transformed,” remarked Ida, excitedly surveying the scene. Weeks of steady preparation on the whole school’s part had led to this one day, so everyone present was letting loose and having fun. For one day, they could put their studies aside and even forget that this wasn’t the norm. It was a welcome relief to have from time to time.

“I do hope Midoriya and the others are enjoying themselves,” added Ida after a pause.

“And that girl … Eri, right? I wonder if she’s having fun,” said Todoroki, earning a profound nod from Ida.

The image that arose in both boys’ minds was that of Midoriya growing increasingly gloomy as his work study had progressed. They now knew about how it had all gone down, roughly, and they could tell in retrospect that Midoriya had been swallowing a lot of grief, unable to put his feelings into words. Being a good friend was about more than knowing every last detail of someone’s life, but Ida and Todoroki still found themselves wishing that Midoriya had trusted more in their connection.

They also knew that Eri was a big part of the feelings Midoriya had been holding back. Without a doubt, her smile would mean the world to him.

“But that Midoriya is always pushing the envelope! Like how he nearly didn’t make it in time to our performance this morning. What would we have done had he failed to show up?” said Ida.

“He said he tripped and fell while out shopping,” said Todoroki.

The teachers had decided to cover up Midoriya’s battle with Gentle, so as far as the rest of class A knew, he’d just had an accident while out shopping for Aoyama’s rope. Not that that had placated them when Midoriya showed up mere minutes before their live performance.

“It really was like ‘baby’s first errand,‘ as Sero put it!” snorted Ida, growing frustrated just remembering it. “Oh? If it isn’t Ida and Todoroki.”

“Hello, Tsuyu,” said Ida, spinning toward the approaching group, which also included Uraraka, Togata, Eri, and Aizawa.

“What’re you guys doing?” asked Uraraka.

“Tokoyami and Koda are buying us those drink receptacles in the shape of Cementoss Sensei. Wait a moment?” said Ida.

“Wasn’t Midoriya with you guys?” asked Todoroki.

Uraraka made a face.

“He said he had some business to take care of,” she said. “Then he ran off somewhere …”

“I dunno where Deku went …” added Eri, looking dejected.

“Don’t worry!” said Togata with a wide grin. “At the speed he was going, I bet he just needed to take a tinkle! He’ll be back before we know it!”

“Oh. Okay …” said Eri, seemingly aware that Togata was just guessing in an attempt to cheer her up. Observing this, Aizawa leaped into action.

“Eri, do you like cats?” he asked. “How about we try the Cat People Cafe?”

“Wait, are they cats or are they people?”

Despite her confusion, Eri’s interest was piqued by Aizawa’s thoughtful suggestion.

“Hey, if you bump into Deku, tell him we went to the Cat People Cafe, okay?” said Uraraka to Ida and Todoroki. As soon as the group had walked away, both boys voiced their thoughts.

“I somehow doubt that Midoriya really left them simply to use the restroom …” muttered Ida.

“Knowing him, he’s probably sticking his neck into something weird again,” added Todoroki.

They looked at each and realized that they were both picturing their friend diving into danger without a second thought.

“That Midoriya—I swear he doesn’t know the first thing about ICE!” said Ida.

“Uhh, is that something I could help him out with?” said Todoroki.

“No, not ice. I-C-E. An acronym standing for ‘inform, communicate, explain.’ When he dashes off without informing us where he’ll be, communicating with us along the way, or explaining what’s happening, naturally we’re prone to worrying! Like in this instance! Baby’s first errand, indeed!”

“He just forgets when he’s in a hurry,” said Todoroki. “Maybe we could try tracking him with GPS?”

“But he often leaves his phone behind, as is the case now. We’ll need to put him in the habit of remembering it!”

“Guess so.”

How could they race to their friend’s aid in times of trouble without knowing his location? Their frustration was palpable, though of course it came from a place of caring. There was more to friendship than keeping constant tabs on a friend, but that didn’t mean that Ida and Todoroki weren’t concerned for Midoriya, as a mother might be. In the meantime, Tokoyami and Koda returned with the drinks.

“Coconut! Yummy!” said Dark Shadow, clearly in a good mood.

“Glad you like it,” mumbled Koda.

“What’s the matter with you two?” asked Tokoyami, sensing that something was off.

Ida explained that Midoriya had once again run off on his own, and Tokoyami said, “We just saw him running toward the dorms.”

“Hey, guys, what’s going on?” said Midoriya as the group of boys ran up to him in the Heights Alliance kitchen. On the counter beside him was an apple, a bag of sugar, and a small bottle of red food coloring.

“What’s going on, Midoriya, is that when you sneak off to the dormitory on your own, you must inform somebody! That’s what’s going on!” chided Ida.

“What is the apple for?” asked Tokoyami, who immediately noticed his favorite food on the counter.

“Well, you see …”

Midoriya explained how he had promised Eri—another apple lover—a candy apple, but according to the festival pamphlet, there were no stalls selling them. So he had bought an apple during his shopping excursion that morning and returned to the dorm to prepare the treat.

“I see … So this is all for that little girl,” remarked Ida.

“She was really looking forward to a candy apple, so I just had to make it happen somehow,” said Midoriya with an awkward grin. Ida and Todoroki glanced at each other, and their mutual smiles seemed to say, “What are we going to do with him?” Of course their friend had once again run off for someone else’s sake, so their exasperation looped back around to pride and admiration.

“So the girl is fond of apples … She and I might get along,” said Tokoyami, looking intense.

“Yes, you have that in common!” said Ida, nodding and remembering the time he and Tokoyami had eaten apple pies at a theme park. “You could be apple-loving chums!”

“But can you really make a candy apple, Midoriya?” asked Tokoyami.

“It’s simpler than you’d think. Even I can’t screw this up, probably. Look!” said Midoriya as he loaded up a candy apple tutorial video on his phone. The video showed someone sticking a chopstick into an apple, boiling a batch of sugar water, adding red food coloring, and finally dipping the apple in the sugary mix until it was coated.

“Ooh,” said the group of boys, impressed with how simple the process seemed.

“I started to panic when the convenience store didn’t have the red dye, but then it turned out Sato had some on hand.”

“I would expect no less from our resident confectionary master!” said Ida.

“Red eye? Like a flight that leaves late at night?” asked Todoroki.

“Not red eye! Red dye! Like food coloring,” explained Midoriya. “All right, time to do this,” he added, pumping himself up. Sensing Midoriya’s determination to brighten Eri’s day, the rest of the boys stood by and encouraged him.

“Be careful not to stab the chopstick all the way through,” said Todoroki.

“Midoriya! The sugar solution has started to boil!” said Ida.

“Here’s the dye, yep,” offered Dark Shadow.

“Spin the apple carefully now …” said Tokoyami. “Like a dance at a banquet of darkness.”

“It’s done!” exclaimed Midoriya.

His candy apple, with its glossy red coating, looked just as well made as one from any festival stall. Upon inspection, the group was satisfied with the final product.

“Whoops, gonna be late! I’d better run!” gasped Midoriya, glancing at the clock.

“Godspeed!” said Ida.

“Don’t trip and fall again, or it’ll all be for nothing,” added Todoroki.

As he ran, Midoriya turned back, smiled, and waved to his friends.

Outside, the setting sun had dyed the sky as red as the candy apple he held.

The School Festival, with all its excitement, was over. The stalls and booths and equipment—still warm from use—lay scattered throughout the school building and across the grounds outside, but cleanup could wait until the next day. After that, life would be back to normal at U.A.

Once he’d delivered the candy apple to Eri, Midoriya started walking back across the silent grounds to the dorm. He felt a slight tingling pain in his fingers—mild inflammation. It was similar to the pain in his heart, he found himself thinking.

What had become of Gentle Criminal and La Brava after their arrest? Midoriya recognized that his life might have gone the way of Gentle’s had he not encountered All Might that fateful day, so he found himself wishing only good things for the criminal who had fought so very hard.

While heroes got to bathe in the light of glory, standing in their shadows were countless men and women who’d reached for those lofty heights and failed. That’s why heroes couldn’t afford to lose. That’s why heroes had to shoulder so much and always be ready to race toward someone in need.

With that determination driving him, Midoriya clenched his aching fist.

“Hi, guys,” said Midoriya as he stepped into the dorm, and the group hanging out in the first floor common area welcomed him in.

“Well, Deku? Was Eri thrilled?” asked Uraraka, who’d heard about the candy apple.

“Mm-hmm,” said Midoriya with a smile.

“How wonderful, Midoriya!” said a beaming Ida, joined by Todoroki.

“Thanks for helping me out earlier. Wait, what’s that smell?” said Midoriya, noticing a sweet scent wafting across the first floor.

“They’re ready, everyone,” said Sato, carrying out a platter of candied apples, strawberries, mikan, grapes, and other fruit. The cute, colorful assortment of bite-size treats practically popped off the plate, like something out of a fairy tale.

“Wow, what prompted this?” asked a shocked Midoriya.

“We were gifted all this fruit,” explained Sato, “as thanks for helping out at the takoyaki stall. And since you made that candy apple earlier, I thought, why not do the same with all this, for everyone?”

“It’s a candied fruit wrap party!” said Ashido, hopping into the air with Hagakure at her side. Nearby, Mineta chuckled ominously.

“If you ladies like, I’ve got a special candied banana just for you! One condition, though! You gotta focus real hard on licking. No teeth …” he said, guffawing as he approached the girls.

“Lick your banana yourself,” said Asui, using her own tongue not to lick, but rather to lash out some punishment.

“Ooh, which one do I want?”

“I’m going for a strawberry!”

“Gotta be an apple for me.”

While most of the class leaped up to choose a fruit, Bakugo alone remained seated on the sofa.

“Don’t want any, dude?” asked Kirishima.

“Sweets? Not my thing,” said Bakugo with venom in his voice, but Sato walked over and offered him a long, slim red treat.

“Thought you’d say that, so I whipped up a candied chili pepper!” said Sato with a wink and a thumbs-up. Everyone knew that Bakugo loved spicy food.

“Quit going outta your way for me! And what’s the point of mixing spicy and sweet?” said the enraged Bakugo, detonating a small explosion in the palm of his hand.

“C’mon, the big guy made it just for you,” said Sero, grabbing the pepper and forcing it on Bakugo. From a few paces away, Midoriya watched the scene play out with a nervous smile.

“Hey. Deku, you dweeb …” said Bakugo, approaching his classmate. “Didja give that obstacle course a shot?”

“Huh? Which obstacle course?”

“Apparently, All Might set a record that nobody’s ever beaten,” explained Ojiro. The color drained from Midoriya’s face.

“Eh? I never heard about that! You’re saying All Might himself once ran this course?”

His stunned expression was that of a fan who’d missed the opportunity of a lifetime. Meanwhile, Bakugo’s satisfied smirk only twisted the knife deeper.

“Bakugo challenged it over and over and over all day, but he still couldn’t beat All Might’s record,” said Kirishima, looking disappointed.

“Nobody asked for the exposition!” said Bakugo, shoving Kirishima before turning to point the pepper at Midoriya.

“Listen—you’re gonna give it a try at next year’s festival, so then I can beat All Might’s record and yours.”

“Great! But I won’t go down without a fight!” said Midoriya, stepping up to Bakugo’s challenge with clenched fists. Beside them, Ida leaped up and clapped his hands together decisively.

“You both mean to challenge All Might’s record? Spectacular! Why don’t we all attempt it? That will serve to engender a competitive spirit that motivates us and creates a greater sense of unity within the class! It sounds like this obstacle course could further our education as future heroes!”

“Great idea, Ida!” said Kirishima.

“No better motivation than a record to beat,” added Sato.

“I might … be interested in such a challenge …” said Tokoyami.

“Athletic Grounds Gamma would be perfect for obstacle course training,” suggested Uraraka.

“Sounds like it’ll do wonders for my waistline!” said Hagakure.

“Everyone …” said Yaoyorozu. “Planning for next year is all well and good, but why don’t we officially bring this year’s festival to a close first?”

“Fair enough. I’m ready to eat this fruit,” said Asui, staring intently at her chosen treat.

With fruit in hand, class A formed a circle; Kirishima even yanked a reluctant Bakugo over.

“Ahem, in preparation for today’s festival,” began Ida, “we all sacrificed days’ worth of time, energy, and sleep. However, it feels like only yesterday that we struggled to decide what our featured event would be … When we were unable to choose, Aizawa Sensei stepped in, scolded us, and …”

“Skip the flashback, man!” blurted Kaminari. “Keep it short and sweet!”

“Pardon me,” said Ida, clearing his throat again and lifting his fruit. “Short and sweet, yes … Amazing work, everyone! Cheers!”

“Cheers!” echoed the group, treats held high. They finished the pseudo toast by chowing down and enjoying the blend of sweet sugar and slightly sour fruit as it melted in their mouths.

A delicious blend befitting this season of their youth.