Chapter 60: Laughter and Light

Eri gripped Sir's hand tightly as they walked up the hill. A short gust of wind blew at her face, but her new white scarf took a lot of the hit for her. Still, it was a bit chilly. She liked her new clothes, though. The boots were comfortable. It felt nice to wear colors for the first time. The nice lady said that the red dress matches my eyes. Is that the idea? Are clothes supposed to match colors?

She could see the gate up ahead. And beyond that, even further up the hill, glittering glass buildings. That is it. Those are the buildings from the photo. It was exciting to see them in real life, though. It was still quite far away, and all uphill, but Eri would not let Sir hear her complain. Besides, I'm going to be walking all day.

There were lots of people outside the gate. She felt Sir's pace slow, as their connected hands swung back and forth. She looked up at him; he was frowning behind those thin glasses.

"What is it?" she asked, suddenly worried.

He looked down at her, the frown vanishing in an instant. "I'm not sure," he said. "We don't have to go through the front gate anyway. The principal has sent me a card that will grant us access through the back entrance."

Eri blinked at him, watching his smile. She thought it seemed unnatural…well, most smiles seemed unnatural to her. Other than Deku's and Lemillion's and Everywhere's. He is hiding something from me.

They made their way further up the hill. Sir Nighteye was taking them across the street, to the right away from the gate. Another road was winding around the back of the hill, where Eri supposed this back entrance must be. But they passed close enough for her to get a closer look at the people out in front of the gate.

Some of them were holding signs, with writing on them. How many, she wasn't sure…she wasn't great at counting much higher than ten. Others were speaking into cameras with microphones in their hands, mostly women dressed prettily. Reporters. They had to be. She had just remembered the word upon seeing them.

And all these people looked unsettled. Some even seemed a little angry. That made her afraid. She gripped Sir's hand more tightly and matched pace with him, keeping him between her and the view of the people.

"Don't worry," he murmured, as if sensing her discomfort. "We'll just keep on going for now. They've got nothing to do with us."

As they passed the closest point, Eri could overhear what one of the reporter-women was saying. "...status of the students in the battle is unknown, but it seems that the villains have been captured and apprehended by UA's staff. It seems that the staff involved in the incident along with Principal Nezu are coming down to make a statement…"

Many of the words passed through Eri's ear and right out the other one, uncomprehended by her. But the ones she did understand alarmed her. Is there another fight happening? Oh no, I shouldn't be here. I have to stay away. What if I hurt someone…

"Eri," said Sir Nighteye. "You are going to be fine."

She looked up at him, lip trembling. "But how do you kno…"

A hand on her shoulder. His eyes flashed.

This time, when he smiled, it seemed natural. Real.

"Because knowing is my job," he answered, adjusting his glasses.

Eri felt a small warmth spread through her chest. It wasn't much more than a flicker of a candle, but it was a bit nonetheless. Enough to get her up to the top of the hill.

They continued their walk toward the back entrance.

…

Hanta Sero awoke with a groan.

"Jesus H. Christ," he gasped, trying to sit up. "That sucked."

Recovery Girl's wrinkled hands were on him, trying to push him back down. "Calm it, sonny. You're not ready to move yet."

He reluctantly obeyed, but he kept his eyes open, putting his head against the backboard of the infirmary bed. His head throbbed. I got blasted into a tree. Kamui Woods would love to hear about this.

His eyes went over to the bed next to him. Ibara was still out like a light, one arm in a cast, bandaging over part of her face. But mostly her face seemed peaceful. Angelic, even.

Hanta blushed. I used her first name, he thought. I told her I loved her.

And…she did the same right back at me! He blushed even deeper. Had that even been real? Was it just something that had pushed them along in the heat of battle? Oh, it was all so murky…he groaned.

"Take it easy, I said." Recovery Girl was hovering over him, tending to wounds.

"You caught the guy, right?" he grumbled.

"Not me personally, I'm afraid. But yes. Both intruders were captured."

"And…the mob outside, did they see…"

"Nezu has gone down to placate them, along with Midnight and Ectoplasm. I didn't get an exact update on the mood of the crowd. It seemed that some of them were quite upset, though. Something about UA forcing its students to fight battles instead of the teachers."

Hanta gasped. No. Oh, no, no, no.

He put his face in his hands, and suppressed a scream.

Recovery Girl raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It was all for nothing," he mumbled. "I just made things worse. Shiozaki and I fought our hardest and the two of them still got onto the grounds. All it took was a bit of gas from Midnight to take them out in the end, so that's all it would have taken anyway…we could have just stood by and not gotten involved. But when I saw him, I just panicked…I thought that if he got in, the unofficial festival would get called off and UA would be in even worse trouble…but now, because everyone saw our fight, those things are gonna happen anyway." He sniffled, rubbed a hand across his nose.

"Don't blame yourself, dear," she said gently. "You only did what your average dumb hero would have done. Most of the fool teachers at this school would probably have done the same. Besides, the security system was not tripped. The only reason Midnight knew to come, the only reason she was able to finish it so quickly…was because the two of you brought the fight to the cameras. We all saw it unfold on the news, and that's when we knew to take action."

"But…" he trailed off. He tilted his head sideways, looked at Ibara. She fought so hard. She fought because I accused the villain. I dragged her into this. If we'd just been more careful…

No. I have to make it right. If I love her, then I must take responsibility.

He looked back at Recovery Girl, a fire coursing through his eyes. "Heal all my wounds," he told her. "Now. All the way up."

She made a noise of indignation. "I cannot do that! Your injuries are too severe; to use my Quirk, I would have to drain nearly all of your energy!"

He grabbed her by the wrist. "I have more energy than you know," he snarled, "and if you don't heal me so I can walk out of here appearing unharmed, then this school is going to close, and you'll lose your job anyway."

Recovery Girl was silent, stunned and taken aback by receiving such sass from a student. But…it reminded her of something.

She sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you." She leaned forward, and kissed his forehead.

Hanta Sero felt a strange buzzing sensation, as his body's strength was redistributed, passing and concentrating into the areas where it hurt the most. Slowly, surely, the pain was drawn out, melting away, receding. Leaving only exhaustion. Lots of exhaustion. So much so that he nearly fell unconscious again.

No. I have to go. I have to do this.

He stood up slowly from the bed, and Recovery Girl backed off, watching him warily. "Son," she warned, "if you do something stupid like this…"

"It's not stupid," he said. "Well, maybe it is. But it's evening out the stupid thing I did before, so it's fine." He swayed a bit on his feet, and she jerked both hands out, as if to catch him. As if. I'm like three times her height.

Hanta closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. Alright.

Then, he took off at a run out of the infirmary.

Gotta hurry. Hurry, hurry, no time. Briefly, his brain went down a path of trying to figure out what he was going to say, but he banished the thought. The words must come naturally. I will let them flow from me.

He tore off his bandaging as he ran, abandoning all signs of injury. He would make himself look strong before these people. Unharmed. While it is not the truth, it may as well be. Gentle took away none of my resolve. He didn't hurt anything that mattered. And that is what I'm showing them.

The hallways were empty. All the students had been recalled to their dorms. Hanta didn't know what time it was, but surely the festival was meant to start soon. This situation had to be dealt with, if there was still a chance…

Luckily, the building was not locked from the inside, even if they were in lockdown. He barreled his way out of the front doors, nearly falling over, and made his way down the steps. Down the hill. Toward the gate.

Nezu and a couple of teachers were standing there atop the gate, just like Recovery Girl had said. And the crowd was harassing them.

"Show us the students that fought! What happened to them? Don't hide them away! Don't their parents deserve to know what happened?!" a protestor screamed.

Nezu lifted his paws. "We are not hiding them, but they are recovering…"

Hanta scrambled up the steps to the top of the gate. A reporter tossed Nezu a retort. "Recovering from injuries they didn't need to get! Have you resorted to using them for your guards, now? How much longer will the mistreatment of the children go on before…"

"SHUT UP!" Hanta roared, sliding to a stop.

Ectoplasm whirled. Midnight's mouth opened into a gasp. Nezu turned on a heel, grinning that pointed grin. "Here is one now," he said.

"Listen up," Hanta said, his chest heaving up and down. His body was threatening to give out, but he had to hold on. He pointed down at the crowd, at the cameras. "You all saw me fighting that guy, right? Everything is FINE! The situation is under control, see?" He lifted up his arms and shook them, swept his hair back from his head. "I am FINE. Nothing is wrong. The situation is dealt with!"

The reporters immediately began barraging him with questions. He lifted up a palm. "HANG ON, I'M NOT DONE!" he roared, and they all hushed. "I am NOT being mistreated, and neither is any other student here, so stop worrying about it."

A protestor at the front furrowed their eyebrows. "But…"

"MY job, as an aspiring hero, is to worry about YOUR problems! So stop worrying about ours. UA is not using us as guards. My companion and I were in that fight because we were already outside the school this morning going shopping, and we confronted the villain ourselves. We took it upon ourselves to stop him because we LOVE OUR SCHOOL, and WANTED TO PROTECT IT! DO YOU HEAR ME? ARE YOU LISTENING?" He stared into the cameras, looked at all their shocked faces. "We love our school," he repeated, "and if you keep attacking it with your words, then you're no better than villains. Criminals like that guy want to take advantage of your feelings. They want to use them as openings to destroy this school and destroy heroes. You can't play into their hands like that!"

Another protestor seemed appalled. "But…we're not…playing…we're not villains!"

"I don't believe that you are!" Hanta replied back with equal intensity. "You just see problems you want to fix. Well, we're going to fix them. But we need your help, alright? And this…this, what you're doing now, it's not exactly helpful, alright?" The words, they were flowing. He rubbed his eye. Stay awake. Stay upright.

"But you're just a kid!" a man shouted up. "You don't know what you're talking about! Your parents are the ones that should get a say in this! The parents…"

"Are you a parent of a hero student, sir?" Hanta asked him, staring right into his eye.

The man wilted, averted his gaze. "W-well, umm…no…"

"Then you cannot speak for them. Our parents knew what they signed up for when they let us attend a hero school in the first place. This is the world we live in. As I came up the hill to rejoin the battle, I saw how this whole crowd reacted to my companion, the girl, and her fight against the villain. You just stood and watched, letting yourselves be used by the villain. Shiozaki told you to flee, to get clear, and you didn't listen. For people who claim to care about the safety of kids, you sure didn't make her job any easier."

Stirring and murmurs in the crowd. "But we…"

"No. You've been poisoned. You're used to just watching these hero villain fights like they're spectator sports, where All Might comes in and saves the day without getting a scratch on him. Well, we're in a different time now. All Might is gone. Heroes will fight and they'll get hurt. Some of them will be young. But remember that we're fighting for you! We have made this choice as to what to do with our lives, so stop worrying about our safety. That's all I have to say. I hope you all have a good rest of your day."

Hanta Sero hopped down off the gate and began to walk back up the hill, ignoring his teachers' stunned glances.

The crowd was going wild now, but the sound of it was rapidly fading out of the back of his ears. His pace was getting slower and slower, his vision caving. Gotta…get…out of sight…

He went around the first tower of UA, putting the building between himself and the public. He immediately swayed, staggered.

Footsteps racing up to him. Coming from the grassy path, the path that led from the dorms.

"Sero!" Katayama's voice. Doko Katayama. "We saw the news, are you okay…"

"Help," he croaked. "Healed…too fast…"

He fell into Katayama's arms. The last thing he saw was the boy's worried face, along with Ashido's…and Tsu's, and Hagakure's, and Shoji's…all his friends.

…

Aizawa's clearance card swinging from the lanyard in his hand, Doko Katayama walked down the hill.

The crowd that had been in front of the UA gate was gone. Dispersed. Disappeared without a trace. He could hear police sirens from somewhere. Dealing with the two criminals, I imagine. He could see the path of destruction along the road, where Shiozaki had pushed the villains with her vines. He followed it.

Not sure if this errand has much point to it. But I gotta stay hopeful, don't I?

Doko had watched the news with the others from the locked-down dorm, terrified. Shiozaki's resolve had reminded him of their battle during the sports festival, but he'd never seen Sero fight like that. It had almost reminded him of Kamino Ward. Watching All Might fight All For One in the distance…powerless to help…

It could have been anyone sent down to pick up the stuff from the hardware store. But it was him. No use dwelling on what could have happened if I'd been there instead.

Then, Sero had made that speech to the cameras…and the lockdown had been lifted. Doko and Mina and the others had rushed up out of the dorm the moment that they could, and had picked him up…

He's a moron, really. What was he thinking with that speech? It was reckless and crazy and…and yet…Doko didn't think anyone else in the class could have pulled it off besides Sero. Maybe Mina. But those two were definitely the best "talkers" in the class. I'm glad it was him, then.

And apparently, it had worked at least a little bit, since all the protestors were gone.

Doko continued to walk forward down the sidewalk, scanning the ground for what he was looking for. A text buzzed on his phone, from the group chat.

Mezo: Sero is now sound asleep in his bed.

Doko: thanks man

Doko: why didn't you just leave him on a couch downstairs?

Tsuyu: The common room is cleared out, remember

Tsuyu: for the concert

Doko: oh right.

A concert which may or may not happen now.

Toru: btw katayama kun, aizawa says u better hurry back or hes gonna push u until u faint at the next training

Doko: jesus, ask the old man what the hell he needs his card for so badly

Doko: i have no idea where these two might have set their shit down. give me a few minutes, damn

Toru: i cant say that to him im too scared

Doko: dont actually say it, obviously

Doko: where's mina?

Fumikage: She went up to the school. I believe she is talking with the principal.

Tsuyu: i have a bad feeling about this.

Doko sighed and put his phone away. If Mina was negotiating with Nezu, then that was about all that could be done. Maybe if we got all the people working on the festival to come together at once and tell him. He did want that majority after all. But…no. If it gets cancelled, it gets cancelled. There will be very little negotiation process. Mina will receive a confirmation, yes or no, and she'll be forced to accept whichever.

Tough, but that was how it was. Especially if Sero's speech had somehow backfired. Doko knew he could look at the live news updates as they happened, as new opinions and reactions to the incident came streaming in all over social media - but that was too stressful.

His foot brushed up against something soft. He looked down, and saw a pair of plastic bags, left abandoned on the sidewalk. They would have blown away, but they were both carrying heavy things that had nailed them down even in the wind.

No one stole them. Of course not. Crime rate was incredibly low in Musutafu, around the hill where UA sat on its perch.

Doko picked up the rope that Sero had bought, and reached into his pocket once again, briefly glancing at the surroundings. This is where the confrontation began. Is that a little tea shop over there? Weird.

There were a few new notifications.

Mina: just talked with the principal and

Fumikage: ?

Toru: pls

Mina: ITS STILL ON BITCHES! FIRE UP YOUR PARTY ENGINES

Toru: YESSSSSSS

Tsuyu: oh my god

Mezo: Brilliant.

Fumikage: Sero would rejoice to hear it if he was awake right now.

Doko swayed on the spot, letting a grin wash over his face. He let out a deep, gratifying exhale. Thank you, he mouthed to the sky. Thank you.

The festival was still going to happen. Eri would get her happy day, and so would all the students.

He quickly typed his own update.

Doko: Mina, I love you.

Toru: oop

Fumikage: O_O

Mina: not in front of the kids…

Doko: i knew you could do it, dear. with that being said, i have found sero's rope. coming back up now. you can tell aizawa to stop crying

Toru: i will not be doing that

Mina: oh btw doko, pick up shiozaki's stuff too. kendo just came by. class b needs it for their play

Doko: oh right

He grabbed the other bag and tucked it under his arm. His spirits were soaring as he headed back up the hill. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be alright.

…

A scant twenty minutes later…

Many students had gathered in Class 1D's dorm common room for the first festival event of the day, the pancake breakfast. A line had formed out the front of the building, and inside several long white tables had been set up, with the students of 1D serving the flat, round cakes to everyone. Further down were toppings galore: syrup, of course, as well as berries and other weirder things like sprinkles and chocolate chips.

"Not the healthiest thing ever," Doko muttered as he and Mina joined the line.

Mina smiled brightly. "It'll be perfect." She sniffed the air. "Smells nice, doesn't it? The promise of a great day ahead."

"All I smell is syrup."

She laughed, and that drew some attention to her from the others in the line.

"Oi, it's Ashido!"

"Ashido! Hey!"

"Thanks for planning this!"

"Yeah! Whoo!"

A cheer rose up through the line, and even some applause. Mina blushed lilac, and Doko nudged her.

Some others in Class A came up behind them, and seemed surprised to hear the applause. Doko turned, and saw Tsu and Tokoyami, as well as Jiro, Kirishima…and Bakugo.

"It seems you've already lifted everyone's spirits, ribbit," said Tsu to Mina.

Tokoyami nodded in assent. "Indeed. Although, one wonders how much the food has to do with that."

Kirishima grinned. "This is gonna be great, Pinky! Oi, Bakugo, what are you gonna get on your pancakes?"

"Why do you care?" he grunted. "Probably some berries or something. Fuck knows they're unhealthy enough already."

Jiro smiled at him. "You should let loose a little, Bakugo. Get some whipped cream or something. It's festival day after all."

"No!" he insisted. "I can't eat junk and slack off because I know for a fucking fact that Deku isn't gonna…"

He closed his mouth. Doko snorted.

"Oi, was something funny, crackhead?!"

"Yep," Doko answered. "But hey man, eat whatever you want. Berries sound pretty good, actually." He turned back toward the front of the line, leaving Kirishima and Jiro to tease Bakugo.

Tokoyami put a hand on his shoulder. "Sero still sleeps," he reported.

"Alright. I hope he at least wakes up to do a few things. He deserves to have fun since he saved the whole damn thing."

"And Shiozaki has a role in 1B's play as well," said Mina with concern. She furrowed her eyebrows and pulled her clipboard up, scanning it. "Let's see, if she recovers by noon, and then goes immediately to get ready…"

Doko gently pushed the clipboard back down away from her eyes.

"Hey!"

"Stop worrying," he told her. "You set this up for everyone to have fun, so you better have some fun too. No looking at the clipboard for the rest of the day."

Mina wilted. "But…"

"No buts!"

Tsu let out her throaty laugh. "You two are adorable."

Doko looked back at her and Tokoyami, who'd arrived here together. Perhaps I could return that comment. But he didn't, out loud.

They acquired pancakes about ten minutes later. The small seating area that 1D had set up was like a pleasant French cafe. Aoyama would approve. But it was already filled up, so the Class A students went to eat outside in the grass. It was a pleasant day anyway, temperate, with a touch of cool autumn breeze.

As they sat and ate, quite a few people came by to congratulate Ashido, and forgive Class A for thinking bad about them. Mostly second and third years. Bakugo snorted through all of these. "Ingrates," he muttered, but Doko could tell he was satisfied.

"Just wait until the concert," Jiro said, looking at him, then Doko and Tokoyami in turn. "We'll blow them away even harder."

"Not feeling the nerves at all?" Doko asked her.

She blushed and looked down at the grass, chewing a pancake. "Well…of course I am! But that's just part of the process. Besides, don't pretend like you aren't nervous either."

"I confess that the darkness of fright is gnawing at the back of my mind," Tokoyami muttered.

Tsu put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I am a bit anxious about the dancing, ribbit," she said.

"Ah, don't worry, Tsu-chan." Mina grinned. "You're one of the best in the dancing group. We'll knock 'em out."

"Not literally, I hope," said Kirishima, glancing sideways at Bakugo. "But anyway, I think you guys are gonna do great. I'll try to do my best filling Sero's role, since…"

A silence fell over them. "I'm sure he'll be awake by then," said Doko.

"Moron," Bakugo muttered. "He should have just gone for help. That fancy villain was way out of his league."

"Oh? What would you have done?" Jiro asked with mocking interest.

"Kicked his ass myself, obviously! It's not the same! All dude has is tape! He should have been smarter about it…"

"Nothing you can do about it now," said Doko, chewing. "After all…"

"Katayama!"

Doko stopped talking and turned his upper body around, since his legs were crossed against the grass. Coming up the path toward them was a group of people. Leading them from the front was Mirio Togata, his blue eyes shining, a smile on his face. Waving at Doko.

"Oh, hey Togata." Doko swallowed his last bite. Next to Mirio was Midoriya, and Nejire Hado. "Hey to you guys, too."

Midoriya lifted his eyes toward the shrinking line for the pancake breakfast. "Oh, did it already start? Man, I'm kinda hungry…"

"No kidding," said Nejire, nudging him in the side playfully. "I've been listening to your stomach growl for the past ten minutes."

The two of them smiled at each other, and Doko raised an eyebrow. He briefly glanced at Mina. She had a similar intrigued expression.

"But anyway, hey everyone!" Nejire waved at all of them in turn. "Good to see you, Tsu-chan!"

"Likewise, ribbit," Tsu answered.

"And everyone else, of course. Even the grumpy blonde one."

"WHAT?!" Bakugo roared.

"But sorry, anyway, we're just here for Katayama," Midoriya said apologetically. "But…" he looked back. "If she wants to say hi to everyone quickly…that might be good…"

"Huh?" Doko stood. Standing behind Midoriya, Togata, and Hado was Sir Nighteye, dressed in his suit like always. Holding his hand was Eri.

"Oh!" She's here already. Oh my. Doko walked up to her and leaned down. "Hey, kiddo," he said with a smile. "Remember me?"

She nodded, her face pensive. "Everywhere-san."

Doko laughed. "Sure. Have you been walking around with this lot? They been giving you any trouble?"

She wrinkled her nose. "They're a little loud, but I can deal with it."

"Hey!" Togata protested. The others laughed.

"Who are these friends of yours, Everywhere?" Sir Nighteye asked loudly.

Doko stood up, and met eyes with his former employer. The man was nodding intently toward the rest of the group, sitting on the ground.

He wants Eri to meet them. Ah. I see. Doko looked back and forth, briefly lost. "Well, uhh…"

"Hey, Eri!" Kirishima leapt up to his feet first. "I only saw you from a distance, but I helped in the mission to rescue you!"

"Same here, ribbit." Tsu came up next to him, and they both leaned down to look at her.

Eri looked back and forth between them. "Nejire-chan told me about you," she said to Tsu. "You're…Froppy, right?"

Tsu smiled and nodded. "Ribbit!"

"And you're…" Eri narrowed her eyes in concentration at Kirishima. It almost looked like she was suspicious of him, which Doko found funny. "Suneater?" she guessed.

"HA! No, I'm Red Riot. Suneater is my partner, though. Say, where is Amajiki?" Kirishima looked back at Mirio, who shrugged. "Maybe hiding away somewhere. I'll have to kidnap him later."

Eri's eyes widened in shock at that. "What?"

"Just a joke!" Mirio waved his hand. "Amajiki isn't much for big events like this, but if he's with me he'll be fine. Anyway, what about the rest of these guys?"

"Hello, Eri," Jiro said with an uneasy wave. She hadn't stood up. "I'm…well, I guess you can call me Earphone Jack."

"Jack?" Eri tilted her head. "Isn't that a boy's name?"

Mina laughed at that, and Jiro blushed, averting her eyes. "Anyway, I'm Mina!" Mina said, standing up and going up to the girl. "You can call me Mina-chan, or Queen Pinky if you like. I don't know why everyone else is only giving their hero names, but…"

"They're easier for me to remember," said Eri, matter-o-factly. "But I'll remember Mina. You're really pretty." She said the last sentence somewhat under her breath, looking up at the pink girl as if dazzled.

Mina's cheeks went lilac again, and she giggled. "Why, thank you! I love your outfit, too!"

"Thanks. Mr. Aizawa bought me a different one, but it was an ugly cat sweater. He ended up having to get help from some green-haired lady."

"Huh?" Mina raised an eyebrow, then looked at the other Class A students. "This lady…Ms. Joke?"

"That was her name," Eri said, gasping as she remembered. "She kept bothering him at the clothing store. At least, that's what it seemed like."

Are they actually dating after all? Doko and Mina shared an amused glance. "Anyway, Eri, Mina here is the one that organized this festival. So, if you have fun today, don't forget to thank her."

Eri nodded seriously. "Okay. I won't forget." She puffed up her cheeks.

Nejire looked toward Bakugo and Tokoyami. "Just you two left, come on and introduce yourself!"

"I am Tokoyami," Tokoyami said plainly. Then, Dark Shadow uncoiled itself from the boy's back. "AND I'M DARK SHADOW!" it boomed with a thumbs-up.

Eri let out a frightened squeak, and Tokoyami angrily pulled his Quirk back. "Can you just stay in pocket for one day?" he hissed. Tsu laughed at the antics.

"That's just his dumb Quirk," Bakugo said loudly. "Don't worry about it." He stood up, still chewing on a bit of pancake, and swaggered his way over to Eri. "You're the kid they rescued, right?"

Eri nodded slowly, looking up at him with perhaps a bit of anxiety. "...Yes. Deku-san, Lemillion-san, and Everywhere-san rescued me."

Bakugo's face twitched. "So you like heroes, huh?"

Eri considered it for a moment. "I'm not sure. I like those three. They're my favorites, especially Deku."

Midoriya blushed, and Nejire looked at him with an amused smile. "Do you hear that, Izuku? You're her favorite."

Bakugo forced a smile out through gritted teeth. "That's...great." Then, he turned and began to stomp back down the path.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya called after him sternly.

"Sorry," Doko said to Eri, as the boy continued to walk away. "He gets like that."

Eri made an O face. "I see," she said.

"Dude!" Kirishima called after him. "Come back and pick up your trash, at least!"

Bakugo stopped, and came back to do that, muttering under his breath the whole time. Mina, Nejire, and Tsu were trying to hold back laughter.

"Anyway, that's everyone!" said Togata, clapping his hands together. "I'm sure you'll meet more of Class A later on. They're having a concert tonight."

"A concert? Like, with music?" Eri tilted her head again.

"Yep! Jiro here will be leading it!" said Mina, pointing at the purple-haired girl.

Jiro's blush deepened. "Yeah, I…we hope to see you there, Eri."

"I've never been to a concert before," Eri said.

"It's gonna be great!" said Nejire. "Anyway, we got more stuff to show you. Katayama, you coming with? You're one of the three she requested, after all."

"And you aren't," Doko said to her plainly. "Why are you here?"

Nejire grinned. "Izuku invited me!" She nudged Midoriya in the side again, and the two of them shared a playful, bashful glance. Okay, something is definitely going on.

"It's okay with me that Nejire-chan is here," Eri said. "But I want you along too, Everywhere-san. Please?"

"Yes, of course I'm coming. Just a moment." Doko turned back and picked up his trash off the ground. There was a bin set up a few yards away in the field.

After that, he briefly met up with Mina, while the others waited behind him. "Have fun, you," she said.

"You too. Don't forget to not look at the clipboard." He looked pointedly at Tsu. "Make sure she doesn't look at the clipboard."

"Understood." Tsu nodded. Mina sighed, and then leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Find out what's going on between Midoriya and Hado-senpai."

"One step ahead of you," he whispered back. They turned their heads and shared a brief kiss before backing away from each other. "Bye," he said, waving.

"Bye!" she called. "Bye!" Kirishima echoed, and Tsu and Tokoyami waved.

Doko joined Mirio, Midoriya, Nejire, Nighteye, and Eri as they walked away, continuing Eri's tour of the school.

The little girl was looking up at Doko with a blush on her face. "You kissed her."

"Yeah, she's my girlfriend."

"Oh. Okay." Eri briefly looked back at Mina, who was rapidly shrinking in their vision as they walked away. "You're very lucky."

"And I never forget that," he replied.

…

"That's the girl everyone's been talking about, that we're trying to cheer up?" Jiro asked in a low voice, when the group had left earshot.

Tsuyu nodded. "Yep." She remembered my name, at least, the frog girl thought. She wished she'd been able to do more at the raid to directly help Eri, but she'd gotten caught up in her own battles…

Jiro picked grass out of the ground absentmindedly with her fingers. "I didn't know how to deal with her," she muttered. "And now I'm supposed to make her happy with my music?"

"Hey, you're gonna have our help," said Mina. "Don't take on all the pressure yourself."

"Right." The girl sighed, her shoulders relaxing. "Of course."

Someone's footsteps could be heard behind them. Tsuyu turned. "Oh, hey Ochaco, ribbit."

The brunette had walked up to their group, but her eyes were on the one that was walking away, growing smaller and smaller in vision. Specifically, her eyes were on Midoriya and Nejire.

"Ochaco?" Tsuyu waved a hand in front of her face. "You gonna sit down?"

She started. "Right! Sorry." She looked over toward the shrinking pancake line. "Are there still any pancakes left?"

"Not gonna know unless you go up there," said Kirishima, chewing on his last.

"Right. I'll go look. Don't leave without me," she said, and went to join the line.

Tsu and Mina exchanged a glance as Ochaco walked away. "She's gonna be okay, right?" Mina asked.

Tsu shrugged. "I hope so."

…

Before we end, a brief note that I feel I have to include, due to this being one of the more political chapters in the story.

It is not my intent to make this fic into any kind of political allegory. The politics featured here are only ideological in the context of the BNHA universe, and are not intended to have any real-world equivalent. I feel that it's necessary to say this because this fic, and this chapter in particular, has utilized situations and buzzwords that may remind some people of real-world events.

So, while the ideology on display here reflects my opinions about the politics of the BNHA universe, there is no connection to the real world. It is not my intent to create an overly political story, and this will be the last arc in which politics feature so heavily. (There is one more upcoming chapter that will delve into these matters and that will be that.) I recognize that Horikoshi continues to have political interplay be a part of his story, but I am walking a different path. The climax of this story will be fantastical in nature. That's all I have to say for now.

If you don't care about any of this, or find it stupid, good. Stay that way. Because it probably doesn't matter all that much in the end. I just felt the need to make these things clear, and if you've made it this far, I hope I can continue to entertain you.

Next time: most, if not all, of the school festival.