Daichi rested his head against his paw as Aizawa droned on. He tapped his pencil against his desk, leaving marks. His textbook about world history before quirks were just words on a piece of paper. He dozed off every few minutes. The only thing keeping him awake was his growling stomach. He groaned as quietly as possible to avoid the wrath of his homeroom teacher. His heart jolted when he heard the bell ring.

"Be safe getting home, and don't forget your homework," Aizawa said as he grabbed his sleeping bag.

Daichi shoved his textbook and papers into his backpack. He was too sleep-deprived to care about the homework getting crushed by his books. He dragged his feet towards the exit. It felt like balls of steel were wrapped around his ankles, but the thought of curling up under his covers with a dozen bags of potato chips kept them moving. The door was getting closer when he felt something warm and firm bump into his chest. There was a muscular tail with a tuft of hair in his path. Mashirao pauses his conversation with Toru to look at Daichi.

"I'm sorry," Daichi said.

"It's fine," Mashirao said as he pulled his tail closer to himself.

Mashirao took that moment to take in the mountain lion's disorderly look. Toru peeked behind his shoulder.

"Are you okay? You've got some dark bags under your eyes/You look pretty tired," Mashirao said.

"Yeah, you could hold everybody's textbooks with those bags," Toru said.

Daichi ran his paw through his messy pelt.

"It was a long night," he said after his scrambled mind sloppily thought of an excuse.

"All right then, just making sure,"

As Daichi's hand hovered over the handle, his ears picked up their nearby conversation.

"Anyway, I thought we could go to the one downtown. I want to say hello to that calico again."

"The last time we went there, I found cat hair in my coffee," Mashirao said.

Toru's shoulders sagged.

Mashirao ran his fingers over his knuckles in silence for half a minute before finally saying, "Well, how about that manga cafe down the block?"

Hagakure shook her neck. "The food is pretty bland," she said.

Daichi pulled his paw away from the door handle. He cleared his throat when he was next to the duo. The two of them soon had his undivided attention.

"Um, if you guys are hungry, I can take you to this ice cream parlor."

"Ooh, ice cream sounds good," Hagakure chimed in. She turned towards Mashirao expectedly/expectantly.

"Well, I guess I could go for something sweet."

"Yes!" Hagakure cheered with a fist bump.

Daichi opened the door to the hallway. "I'll lead the way."

The mountain lion led his classmates through the street of bystanders. The shopping district was busy with people keeping the doors swinging.

"There it is!" Daichi pointed towards a small shop with a yellow sea lion sculpture next to the entrance. He grabbed Mashirao's arm as he walked toward the store. It was so close that he could already taste the soft dessert.

"Calm down, we're coming," Mashirao said as he pulled his arm out of Daichi's grasp.

"R-right. Sorry," Daichi said as he twiddled his thumbs.

The building was mainly white, which made the pastel colors pop out. There were tables scattered about with people licking their ice cream and sipping on their milkshakes. Some were enjoying a full meal of a burger and french fries. Those who weren't eating or drinking were gossiping. Toru walked over to the counter showing all the tubs of colorful ice cream. Mashirao and Daichi quickly joined her side.

"How can I help you?" asked the cashier.

"I want a caramel ice cream with cotton candy sprinkles and apple slices. In a waffle cone!"

"I'll have vanilla in a cake cone."

"Strawberry sorbet with blueberry topping in a cup, please."

After Daichi gave them their payment, the workers got started on their orders. He grasped the cold cup firmly, a small pile of blueberries on top of two circular red scoops.

Daichi took a seat on the cushioned booth on one side of the table while Mashirao and Toru sat next to each other on the other side. Daichi enjoyed his sugary treat with his teeth smashing the blueberries to a pulp. His tongue swiped over a bit of fur on his muzzle that got stained with blueberry juice. Toru quickly demolished her order with each lick of her invisible tongue. Mashirao was taking his time on his meal.

"Hey, Jinneko, would you like some water?" Toru asked while pushing a glass of water towards him.

"Sure. Thanks." He took a quick sip. Suddenly, his tongue burned intensely.

"Hot! Hot! Why is it so hot?!"

He shoved his ice cream into his mouth and bit down on the cup with his eyes shut. The intense heat cooled down with the ice cream. He pulled the cup away once his tongue stopped burning, only to find the cup empty. A single red droplet fell on the table. He placed a paw on his snout and felt the sorbet and blueberries attached to his fur.

He then noticed the dozens of eyes staring at him. It went dead silent for a good minute, enough that a single berry falling to the ground sounded like a rock going through a window. Then the laughter started. Cackling hyenas surrounded him like prison bars. He ran out of the building as fast as he could. The people quickly moved out of the way before they got mowed down by a mountain lion running at top speed. He ran into an alleyway to avoid the judgemental eyes boring into his soul. It felt like even the bricks were staring at him. He eventually stopped running when he reached a dead end.

Daichi gasped for air like a fish. His entire body was shaking from the shock and exertion. His stomach was spinning around with the little bit of sorbet he ate sloshing around inside of him. Daichi searched through his frazzled mind for a solution, and he soon remembered his tactic for panic attacks. He stared at the walls, the windows, the bricks, the ground, and the sky above him. He touched the ground, the wall, the individual bricks, and a window. He listened to the birds tweeting, the people talking, and the doors swinging open in the shops. He smelled the teriyaki sauce from the nearby restaurant and the sorbet still clinging to his snout fur. And finally, he tasted the sorbet that was also on his teeth. With each check of his sense, his shaking lessened, and his breathing evened. Once his body calmed down, he realized that the laughter had gone silent. He curled himself into a tight ball in the darkest corner he could find, muffling his sobs into his knees.

"Jinneko?"

He peeked his head over his knees to see Mashirao and Toru standing in front of him. He continued to stare at them with watery eyes.

"I'm sorry about the hot sauce in your drink, I couldn't help myself." Toru scratched the back of her head with her invisible hand.

"I think what Hagakure is trying to say is that she is very sorry for humiliating you in front of a bunch of people," Mashirao interjected. "Right, Hagakure?" He nudged her with his tail.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that."

Daichi sniffled. "It's okay."

"Really?" Toru asked.

"No."

Toru looked crestfallen.

He hid his face behind his knees again.

"I thought you would laugh, too."

He tilted his head a little.

"It was a prank. I thought you would find it funny too, but I was wrong. I should have asked you first." Toru rubbed her sleeve sheepishly. Even though he couldn't see her head, he could tell that she was hanging her head in shame.

Daichi sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll quit the waterworks." He wiped away his tears even though more fell out.

Toru did a little jump with her shoulders bunched up like she was holding her hands.

"But I'm still mad at you."

"Aw, man!"

"Okay, come on, let's go before someone asks why a bunch of teenagers is standing in an alleyway," Mashirao said.

The three of them made their way back onto the street. Mashirao took the lead this time. By now, the sun was setting in the sky.

Daichi lightly punched Hagakure's arm.

"You are going to get it in training tomorrow."

"I'd like to see you find me."

He chuckled at the remark.

"Seriously, though, please don't put that whole incident on the Internet."

"Relax, we won't."

"Come on. We really shouldn't be up here."

Eventually, the three of them walked down Daichis's street.

"Well, this is my stop. See you guys tomorrow."

"Thanks for taking us out for ice cream," Mashirao said.

"Thanks for coming with me," Daichi commented, waving goodbye.

Mashirao and Toru continued walking without Daichi. He continued to wave goodbye until they were out of sight.

He turned the knob to the door. After walking inside, he flipped the light switch with his tail while placing his backpack next to the couch. His ear flicked.

"I know you're there, mom," he said.

Haruko walked down the stairs leading into the living room.

"What took you so long getting home?" she asked.

"I got some ice cream with some classmates."

"Oh. How come you've never told me about these friends?"

"I just met them, mom."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going out with these friends?" as she said this, she got close to Daichi. Close enough that their shirts brushed against each other.

"I told dad. I assume he would tell you." Daichi takes a step forward.

"Well, he didn't. You need to tell me where you go, too. For all I know, you could have been kidnapped." Haruko takes two steps forward.

Daichi suppressed a growl.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, I'm listening. Look, mom, I'm really tired, and I have homework to finish, so can this wait until dinner?" He made his way up the stairs, dragging his backpack behind him.

As soon as he was in his room, he locked the door. He took a seat at his desk and took his crumpled homework out of his backpack. The knob jiggled a little, but then it soon stopped moving. His pencil scribbled the answers on the blank lines, occasionally using a calculator.