Everyone did end up having their own idea of fun. Katsuki was eventually coaxed away from the arcade, but only a short time before finding his way back. At one point, Tsu and Jirou followed him to take a break from shopping with the others. Izuku and Todoroki also tended to stay at the arcade. At times, Izuku would actively avoid the others in hopes that he wouldn't be dragged back to the clothes shops to act as a beast of burden.

Maybe Todoroki found some zen in it. There was never a moment in the last two hours he wasn't smiling or otherwise at peace. He seemed so… willing to give his time and energy to help out the others, especially 'Yaomomo,' even if whatever it was they were doing didn't seem to be actively exciting him or gauging his interest. But now…

Todoroki's face… permanently determined. Such burning passion yet so cold. Funny to think he was fifteen days younger than Ochako. He seemed like such an old soul.

And was he really an inch taller than Yaoyorozu? And was Yaoyorozu really the same height as Katsuki? He always thought of her as extremely tall.

Todoroki's eyes darted away from him, to the granite floor. His hands were buried in his pockets. He was hunched forward. Every step he took, Katsuki could hear his heart beat a decibel louder.

He stopped immediately in front of him, sweat dribbling down his forehead.

There was something in his face. Something more than the permanent determination. More… dread and loathing. Like something he saw had made him horribly sick and he was about to collapse.

Katsuki would've caught him in his arms if he did.

"I need your help with something," Shoto said, "please… don't tell anyone about this."

…

The two of them stood in front of the claw machine, facing down twenty Doraemon plushies.

"Goddammit, Todoroki."

"Hey, it's not for me," Shoto whispered.

"And why can't you do it yourself?"

With a dry throat, Shoto swallowed nothing but his pride.

"You're good at this kind of stuff," he said.

Katsuki turned around to see if any of the others were watching. The coast was clear. But it wouldn't have been too bad if Ochako had caught them—

"Bakugou?"

"FINE… which one do you want?"

Shoto looked at the twenty identical plushies, as if seriously considering which one he wanted.

"They're all the same."

Katsuki put a few coins in the machine. What a great sound it made.

"How many times did you try already, rich boy?"

"Three."

"It's all about skill and precision. It's actually really complicated."

"It can't be that complicated, right?" Shoto's eyebrows furled in what looked like worry.

"Oh yeeeah, it takes a lot of time and practice and, again, raw skillage to master this shit."

Shoto looked Doraemon in the eyes, then at Katsuki from the side. He narrowed his eyes and his lips.

"Riiiight."

Completely ignoring him, Katsuki shifted the claw from its starting position. He watched intently as it swung with every jerk of the joystick.

"Go for the ones near the hole, so if they fall they'll fall in… and try getting ones from the top. The claw sort of gets shitty the further down it goes."

He positioned the claw over one that must've really caught his eye, stacked up like a king on a throne of the corpses of his fallen enemies; his evil clones, defeated.

Katsuki pressed the button and the claw descended upon Doraemon. The grip wasn't perfect—

"You're gonna lose it!" Shoto quietly 'shouted.'

"I won't. Come on, you blue bastard!"

Off in the distance, Izuku watched the two fussing around with the machine. He strained to hear what they were saying…

"Let me do it!"

"Oi! You asked me to do it so I'm doin' it!"

Katsuki pressed the button again.

"Did you just press the button again?"

"Placebo effect."

The grip tightened on the plush, but still not enough. The claw ascended, Doraemon's head held imperfectly. It slipped.

Shoto was about to pull out his wallet until—

KA-THUMP!

"Hm? Oh… you got it."

If he actually liked him, seeing Shoto's face light up would've made his day more than it was already made. Instead… it didn't feel like much.

Shoto held up the plush and looked it over. Was he checking for flaws?

"Um… thank you," Shoto said, and bowed.

"Don't make it weird," Katsuki crossed his arms.

"I… almost thought you wouldn't help me."

"I said don't make it weird!"

Shoto blanked… then turned to the side and walked off without another word. He didn't care to see where he'd run off to. Instead, he turned the other way where he found Ochako and Mina staring at him.

"What are you two looking at?"

"The beginning of something wonderful," Mina seemed to dream.

"Hey," Ochako said, "why don't you grab something for us now?"

"Do it yourself. Or better yet, let Izuku try. I wanna see how he does."

"Nah," Mina said, "he'd just smash the thing to try to get something out."

"He's not that dumb."

Ochako silently let him know that he'd hear about that later—

"And you'd have to be pretty dumb to use your Quirk on a dumb machine. And it's probably illegal."

They all thought about it… none of their Quirks could really be of use in that situation. Which one of them could cleanly and discreetly cheat?

Lemillion could put his arm through, grab a plush, and drop it down the hole.

Momo could just make her own plush.

"You think Kaminari would try to overclock the machine or something?" Ochako asked.

"Totally," Mina said, then giggled, "he'd probably try to hide the fact that he's cheating and then give whatever he gets to Jirou and say he tried really hard."

Katsuki was humored by that, a big dumb smile on his face. It made Ochako smile as well.

Then his face changed—

"Wait…"

He quickly pulled out his cellphone, almost flinging it into the air. Stunned by his sudden change in demeanor, Mina blanked for a moment before—

"Oh crap!" she scrambled for her cellphone, "We were supposed to meet them at the hotel, let's freakin' go already!"

The cellphone said 3:46 PM.

Katsuki knew the dummies wouldn't let him hear the end of it if they found out why he was running late.

"You sure bought a lot of stuff," Katsuki said, having accidentally peeked at the mess of shopping bags through the rear-view mirror.

"It's only two bags, Katsuki," Ochako said, meeting his gaze in the mirror, "and not all of it is clothes, mind you."

"I wasn't assuming it was just clothes."

"And not all of it is mine."

"What did you get?" Izuku asked, turning his head to the side to look in the back.

Ochako rummaged around in one of the big bags half her size. The sound of the paper crumpling was just annoying enough that Katsuki might say something about it. His mouth didn't say anything, but his face did.

"Um," Ochako pulled out a keychain with a little wooden thing attached to it, "I don't know what it is, really, just like a little guy with… a face and… stuff."

"I think it's called a tiki," Izuku said, "it's a Polynesian… uh, symbol. Like an American eagle!"

Katsuki wasn't sure if he was correct. He didn't care. What was bugging him was why Ochako had picked out something she apparently had no idea about. Was it just because it was something cheap?

Might as well ask…

"So why'd you get it?"

"If I'm gonna be traveling," she said with a smile, "I want something to remember my travels, like something I can give to my parents. If they can't travel the world with me, I want them to at least feel included."

I should try to find something… if she can't afford something nicer… what about the clothes?

"And the clothes?"

She gave him another look like the one from earlier.

"Shit, I mean…"

"Well, uh," Ochako rubbed the back of her neck, "it's not much. Just… enough to last the summer. I… um… what did you get, Tsu?"

Katsuki felt like closing his eyes again but fought against it. Driving off the road and causing an accident didn't sound like a great idea—

"Is something wrong, Ochako?" Tsu asked.

On second thought—

"What?!" Ochako jumped and shook as if she was a spring door stop that Tsu had pulled back and let go.

Tsu looked inside the bag of clothes and found nothing unusual. Nothing that might put Ochako on alert. Nothing that she might be embarrassed about.

"I told you," Ochako said, "just… what did you get?"

What the hell's going on back there?

Tsu looked at the other bag.

Katsuki wouldn't have noticed anything off about her face unless Izuku hadn't. Something he noticed made him turned around a bit more… made his eyebrows furl a little bit more…

Tsu reached into the bag and pulled out a plush frog. It looked so small in the palm of her hand.

Katsuki caught a glimpse of Ochako looking into the bag. It was the same bag that she pulled the keychain out of.

"Oh," she said, "is that all?"

A silence fell over the four. They did not fight it.

"What's for dinner?" Tsu asked, "Did you have any plans?"

Katsuki looked across the parking lot of the hotel for a surf van surrounded by or containing morons.

"Kinda busy right now," he said, straining to see if he missed anything.

Mina was busy bugging Hagakure and Ojiro, who had just left the hotel lobby. Ochako, Jirou, and Yaomomo had tried their best to pry her off of them. Even Todoroki joined in at some point. Obviously, Mina was still talking their ears off.

"JEEZ PINKY, YOU EVER SHUT UP?!"

Mina looked over with a blank expression.

"Huh? OH YEAH, I should check—"

She pulled out her obnoxiously decorated cellphone, pressed some buttons, and strained to see the screen under the bright sun.

"Hm…"

Her eyes narrowed so much, Katsuki was afraid she'd closed them.

"Oh! They're down the waterfront by the beach."

"WHAT?! Damn it, Eijirou," Katsuki turned away from the group and walked down a narrow path towards the bay, "he better not have parked too far or I'll blow up the van for making us walk."

"Sounds fair to me," Mina said and followed him.

The others exchanged some looks and shrugs, ultimately following them down the path to the waterfront.

"Wait," Toru said, "we're going too?"

"I could meet up," Mashirao shrugged.

"Well no duh then, let's go!"

Izuku, Ochako, and Tsu watched the two come along, hand in hand.

Izuku remembered seeing Toru's face before, briefly, some months ago, and tried remembering what it looked like. Trying to imagine what her smile might look like made him smile. For a long time he never noticed anything about those two, but now that they were together it all started making sense.

The three of them, in eerie unison, turned their sights on Shoto and Momo. How perfectly adorable their names were together:

Shoto, Momo, Shoto, Momo. Todoroki, Momo, Shoto. Yaoyorozu, Todoroki. Shoto, Momo, Yaoyorozu.

Izuku could go on and on all day long.

And then they all looked to Kyoka Jirou walking alone. Was she feeling left out?

The three of them walked up beside her so she wouldn't.

"Hey Jirou," Ochako said with a friendly smile.

Izuku nodded along…

I almost forgot that, even with people she's close with, Jirou prefers people call her by her family name. That and just the way she talks and acts with others, she always comes off as standoffish or cold. I think that's what really makes her interesting to me. She can be mysterious but… she's really nice once you get to know her.

I wonder if that's what Kaminari likes about her.

"There it is," Mina growled at the sight of a white and yellow van with several surfboards tied to the top.

"I'm gonna kick his ass," Katsuki stomped forward.

It was getting close to 5 PM. That walk had wasted them nearly twenty minutes.

"Hey, don't kick his ass too hard. I want him to actually feel something when it's my turn."

"Deal."

Katsuki went to the back of the van. The windows on the back door were covered by curtains. He pounded his fist against the door and the entire thing shook.

"Oh shit, he's here…"

"I CAN HEAR YOU MORONS! OPEN THE DOOR OR I'LL—"

"Wait!"

After a moment of shuffling from within, the door opened. The sight of Eijirou's red hair was enough to drive him up the wall, through the roof, and into orbit.

"Hey! It's a rental so be careful!"

Katsuki was tempted to knock again—

"EIJIROU!"

"Mina!"

A quick and blurry flash of pink was all Katsuki saw before Eijirou was gone and pinned to the floor of the van.

"YOU JERK! YOU REALLY MADE US WALK TWENTY MINUTES TO GET HERE WHEN YOU COULD'VE PARKED IN FRONT OF THE HOTEL AND MET US FOR DINNER IMMEDIATELY!"

"Hey! Hey! Come on, twenty minutes is nothing… plus, it's good exercise."

"THAT'S IT! NO INTIMACY FOR A WEEK!"

"WHAT? That's ridiculous! A man's gotta keep his head clear!"

"TWO WEEKS."

"I—" Eijirou's eyes fell, and he sighed sorrowfully, "I'm sorry, that was really stupid of me, I promise it won't happen again."

He gave her a warm smile and softly caressed her shoulders.

"Aw, Eijirou—wait just a SECOND. DON'T TRY THAT SWEET STUFF ON ME! Consider that A MONTH without intimacy!"

"Dammit," he dropped his head onto the floor, "so, uh, hey."

Katsuki climbed into the back of the van, instantly noticing the smell. The smell of stupid. It was the distinct odor of unwashed armpits, trendy cologne, soy sauce, and… shrimp chips.

The back was completely decked out like Denki's gaudy pad back at Heights Alliance. Colorful carpet, cheap knickknacks and miscellaneous articles of clothing haphazardly thrown about. Absolutely no structure or sense of taste.

"What the hell were you doing anyway? Where's the other two dumbasses?" Katsuki asked as he sat down on some kind of soft surface… a bed? A chair?

Denki was in the front, peeking out from behind the passenger seat.

"Down by the water," he said, "testing the waves."

Eijirou, who was now sitting with Mina across from Katsuki, looked over at him with his unbreakable, energized smile.

"You up for it? Tomorrow morning?"

"Whatever," Katsuki shrugged.

Not expecting any more word from him, Eijirou turned to the open door. There he found himself stared down by a group of very unhappy and tired eyes.

"Oh hey, everyone," he waved politely, "uh… sorry about parking so far away from the hotel."

"It's fine," Katsuki said, "it's Sero and Mineta you should be pissed at! They're down by the beach, go get 'em!"

"Not what I had in mind, dude!" Eijirou clenched his fists, "But… thanks."

"Shut up."

Eijirou could only muster a wrinkled face and promptly turned away.

"Hey Midoriya, Todoroki," he said, "you wanna catch some waves tomorrow?"

"No thanks," Shoto said.

"That's okay," Izuku said.

Katsuki probably would've laughed if he were actually listening. Instead, he was too focused on the two morons beyond the windshield. Minoru Mineta and Hanta Sero must've heard the hubbub and decided to check it out.

"Quick," he said, "everyone in before they come back!"

Only Kyoka and Shoto humored him and climbed in the back. Momo gave them both a smirk.

Now that there were five people in the back of the van, Katsuki was realizing just how dumb his initial idea to have them all driven back together was.

Fourteen. Almost the entire class. He thought about the other six and where they might be at this very moment. Iida and Sato were helping in organizing the concert so… they were probably doing that—

"Hey!"

"GODDAMMIT!"

Looking to his left, he found Hanta saying his hellos to everyone with a big, dumb, toothy smile. Him and Minoru were still dripping wet from taking a dip in the bay.

"Hey ladies," the little runt said, trying way too hard with the flexing.

"Now that we're all here," Tsu said, completely ignoring him, "what are we gonna do?"

"I'm starving," Katsuki said.

"Hey!" Denki shouted, "There's this 'taco' place down the road. I've heard it's really popular in America."

He gesticulated with his fingers, making this "tako place" sound like some real fancy fare. The comment about it being popular in America was strange. Katsuki thought Americans tended to shy away from eating stuff like octopus.

"Whatever," he said, "as long as it's close."

"We're hungry," Mina said, "so do whatever you want."

"Um," Denki short-circuited, "how are we gonna get everyone there?"

Katsuki got out of the back, "I'll walk."

His eyes immediately landed on Ochako, who immediately noticed and got into the back of the van.

Shoto, not to be outdone, got out as well. And then bowed.

"Show-off," Minoru whispered.

I agree.

Instead of calculating and 'logisticating' the logistics of who should get in the van and how many people could actually fit in it, Katsuki began walking off down the waterfront; despite not knowing which direction he was supposed to be going.

"Wait up!" Eijirou yelled after him.

"Is this the right way?"

"Yeah, actually. Hey, come on, guys!"

"You should go with him, Izuku," Ochako said.

Shoto nodded and went after Katsuki and Eijirou.

"Come on," he said.

Minoru climbed into the van, his feet dangling off the edge as he struggled to pull himself up.

"My legs," he struggled to say between breaths, "are too small to make the journey."

"Stop being so dramatic," Tsu said as she hopped into the back, shaking it rather violently.

"WOAH!" Denki shouted from the driver's seat, "Be careful back there! It's a rental!"

"Oops, sorry."

"I'll go sit in the front," Kyoka said rather nonchalantly, though still managing to earn a look from Mina and maybe Toru.

As it was, the boys (save for Denki and Minoru) had to make the journey by foot.

"Nice going, dumbass," Katsuki said to no one in particular, "this tako better be to die for or else I refuse to die before I can shove your face in the sand."

"Why don't you just use your Quirk?" Shoto asked, "To get there quicker?"

"You challenging me to a race?!"

"Maybe."

"Oh come on," Eijirou drooped his head down, "how am I supposed to keep up with the rest of you?"

"Consider it punishment."

"Are we actually going to race?" Shoto asked, sounding surprised.

"No shit, Todoroki. Whaddya say, Izuku?" Katsuki turned to him.

Before he could say or do anything, the van whizzed by. They all watched as Kyoka waved out the passenger window at them, shouting something that none of them could quite make out.

"SCREW THIS!" Katsuki held out his arms and blasted off down the waterfront.

"BE CAREFUL KACCHAN!" Eijirou and Izuku yelled in unison.

Shoto continued walking at a leisurely pace down the waterfront, breathing in the ocean air and soaking in the afternoon sun as the others stood still and watched.

He looked like the hero of some long-winded and tumultuous story who had finally reached the end of his journey, free to enjoy the peace he'd been pining for all along the way. Free to be, free to walk off into the sunset.

"Well, hey!" Hanta shouted, "Aren't you gonna go after him?"

Shoto turned around and shrugged.

"Why?"

"You…" Izuku thought about it for a second, "you just wanted to get rid of him?"

Shoto gave him a cold look and kept walking…

"If you're afraid he's going to be mad that I threw the race… he'll get over it. It's not like there's anything at stake, anyway. Just something to get him out of our hair."

Izuku now walked in step with Shoto, making sure to keep his voice down.

"You didn't have to," he said sheepishly, "he's been—"

"He's just—huh?"

They exchanged an awkward glance and the sweat came pouring down. It was quiet enough that Izuku could hear the others' equally hushed conversation. It was something about manliness and intimidation. Mashirao didn't seem to understand what either Eijirou or Hanta was talking about.

Izuku tried not to focus on them, and instead focused on the sounds of the waves crashing against the beach. But the sounds of the beach just reminded him of summer… of the heat…

It's a hot day… and Shoto is hot—literally! But… what's making me so nervous? Just standing up for Kacchan?

"Hm," Shoto murmured, "you go first."

"N-no, you… please."

"Well… he just seemed a bit on edge, is all."

More than usual? Shoto should know by now that Kacchan tends to be like this. Maybe it wouldn't hurt…

"He's… he's been trying his best. I can tell he really wants to."

"You saw us at the arcade, right?"

Izuku didn't know exactly why but… he laughed. It was that boyish giggle, the one you wouldn't hear if he was laughing at a really funny joke… but rather excited about something.

Shoto gave him a confused smile.

"You okay?"

"Oh, s-sorry… I just…"

"Hey!"

Izuku felt a rough hand clasp his shoulder and jumped.

"You shouldn't have to apologize for such an awesome smile!" Eijirou… encouraged him?

It was a bit strange. Sweet, but strange.

But thinking back to that moment…

I want to believe that Kacchan helped Shoto because he was trying to be friendly. But… what if Shoto had basically forced him to help him? I couldn't really make out what they were saying to each other and I didn't get the whole story so… that's possible.

What if Kacchan only helped him to impress… who? Mina already has a boyfriend and the only other person there at the moment was… Ochako.

Does… does Kacchan like Ochako? Is that why he's been… on edge? Did Shoto notice something I didn't? I guess I really haven't been paying attention, then.

He felt that heat again. Egg in the microwave. His face a tomato. His entire skin sweating off.

"I-I SHOULD GO AFTER HIM! SEE YOU THERE!"

And for the first time on this entire trip, Izuku broke out One For All.