Izuku stared long and hard at his phone.

A wall of text of his own creation stared back.

He had proofread his message once, twice, four separate times now. He put more care into this message than just about anything else he had worked on over the past year and a half.

And then he promptly deleted it.

The message was too long, too verbose, too everything - and she would probably miss the whole point. It needed to be more concise, while also sounding interesting and cool, and also not sounding like he was too desperate or too uninterested.

Suffice to say, he'd been at this for a while.

Izuku groaned. "This sucks…" he mumbled to himself.

At least he hadn't accidentally sent Nejire a half-finished message - the shame would probably kill him.

He sighed. Back to the drawing board.

Izuku placed his phone back down on his desk, turning his head towards the pile of crumpled up papers he had already gone through on previous iterations. His trashcan was near the point of overflowing, and it certainly seemed like it was only a matter of time before it spilled over.

He knew he was overthinking this, but he didn't care. It had to be perfect.

Pencil met paper. It was time to get back to–

His phone buzzed. Izuku was not proud of the way he yelped in surprise, nor the way he jumped out of his seat.

The trip to the ground wasn't very fun. He didn't really like the feeling of slamming into his floor.

The climb back up was nicer, though, because he knew only one person would ever take the time to text him out of nowhere.

Well, maybe not anymore. He'd gotten Amajiki and Togata's phone numbers back during their first time they dragged Izuku to the gym, and he had gotten Haya's at some point during the last two months as well, but Nejire was still far and away the one he talked to the most.

And sure enough, that was exactly who texted him.

Nejire

IM FREE

Izuku

Hi, Nejire

What do you mean?

Nejire

I FINISHED MY EXAMS ITS SUMMER BREAK!

Izuku

Congrats!

Izuku finished his exams last week. His school didn't really enforce normal scheduling, and his teachers constantly cut corners in lessons, so it made sense that Musutafu General got out for the summer a little earlier than usual. They also didn't have to deal with whatever Hero exams U.A. and other similar schools did, so there was even more leeway there.

Nejire

were thinking about going out somewhere as a group to celebrate. we havent decided where yet but we know its gonna be a BLAST
so are you in or are you in

Izuku felt the wind leave his sails at her words. Here he was, toiling over his desk to try and write a simple message while Nejire just blurted out the offer and just expected him to accept. He was almost jealous of how extroverted she was. Almost.

Still, it wasn't like he was going to say no.

Izuku

Sure, it sounds fun! What day were you planning for?

Nejire

i KNEW you would say yes

anyways im shooting for next friday, so the 15th

Izuku's heart dropped as soon as he read her second message. Next Friday.

Suddenly, he was a lot less open to going along with Nejire and her friends. Had all his preparation been for nothing?

It looked like the answer was yes. He had already agreed to go out with them - backing out would be rude, and wouldn't exactly make the third-years think very highly of him (not that he thought they would in the first place).

And if he did cancel, it wasn't like he'd be doing anything else if all his acquaintances were out having fun without him.

Izuku shook his head. There was no point in being so negative before it even happened. Nejire probably had a million things already planned in lieu of their victory over their classes, and the girl wasn't one to do things halfway. Maybe it would be fun!

Izuku

Sounds good!

He hoped it was. Even if it wasn't the outing with Nejire he had hoped for (and sort of planned), he was still going to be out with her and her (their? Izuku wasn't exactly sure where he stood with Amajiki, Togata, and Haya) friends.

It couldn't be that bad, right?

–

As it turned out, it could be.

"C'mon, guys!" Nejire said impatiently, pulling Izuku along in one hand and Haya in the other, "I want to ride as many coasters as we can!"

An amusement park. With two of the biggest adrenaline-junkies he knew, and probably in the world.

Izuku was going to die.

Togata laughed at the way the girl ran around like an overexcited puppy. "Calm down, Nejire!" His eyes twinkled in amusement as Amajiki stood in his shadow. "The place just opened! We have plenty of time, y'know?"

Nejire shook her head fervently. "Don't care!" She shouted, still dragging her victims along, "As many as possible means as many as possible!"

Her eyes fell on a black coaster that seemed to reach into the heavens. "Let's go on that one first!"

"The 'Spine-Splitter'?" Haya said slowly, brow furrowing, "That's a stupid name."

Izuku gulped, and Amajiki didn't look too thrilled about it either - though the purplette was nowhere near as shaky as he felt. "I heard someone got hospitalized on that one last year," he said.

"Who cares?" Nejire asked, "It's one of the fastest coasters in Japan! And it's tall! It'll be like whoosh, and wham, and woah!"

She made grand gestures with her hands as she spoke - without letting Izuku go - sending him spinning around her like a rag doll. If anything, it seemed like the scary name and alarming risk just made her more excited.

Haya was lucky, worming her way out of Nejire's grip and sending the girl a dirty look. "You need to get locked in a bookstore that sells nothing but tea for a few hours."

"You know…" Togata began coyly, nudging Nejire in the side with his elbow, "I heard that when they were testing this ride with dummies, on one run they all came back without their heads."

Her eyes sparkled. "Awesome!"

Izuku felt his heart drop. He was definitely going to die. "R-r-really?"

"Only one way to find out, Izuku!" Nejire giggled, "Let's get on that line!"

She ran ahead like a woman possessed - though the others weren't that far behind. Izuku himself would have been more than fine with being left in the dust, but it seemed like Nejire had other plans for him.

"Woohoo!" She whooped as they reached the start of the queue, "First ride of the day!"

"Y-yeah," Izuku mumbled alongside his friend. He took a deep breath. There was no point in freaking out already. This sucked, but he had some time to try and calm down before his heart rate was sent into the low thousands–

"Wow!" Nejire gasped in delight as they walked through the terminal. "No lines! That's the perk of being first into the park, I guess!"

Or not. "G-great."

Nejire giggled at his horrified expression. "Don't be so nervous, Izuku!" She gently teased, "It's gonna be great! We have a whole day of this ahead of us!"

As if that would bring him any comfort. Izuku hated roller coasters - more specifically, he hated roller coasters that turned his stomach into a pretzel and made him feel like his heart was in his throat. And what was he in for?

A whole day of nothing but the scariest roller coasters in Japan. Wow. That sure sounded like something Izuku would choose to do on today off all days. Did he mention he hated roller coasters yet?

Because he did.

Togata came up from behind them, swinging an arm that could level a city block around each of their shoulders. "Damn right!" He agreed eagerly, "And funnel cake!"

Amajiki sighed from behind the trio. "Funnel cake isn't even that good…"

"I can't hear you!" Togata said, purposefully loud, "I'm too busy fantasizing about all the powdered sugar and fried batter I'm gonna eat!"

"Powdered sugar? Count me in!"

Three guesses as to who said that.

They reached the front of the line in no time - literally. Because there was no one else even in the park yet, all they had to do was speed-walk up to the ride and the whole thing was theirs. They could choose any seat on the coaster, which was a small consolation prize for Izuku, who eagerly eyed the seats in the very back–

"Let's ride in the front, Izuku!" Nejire said, still holding onto his hand, "That's where we get the best view of the ground!"

He gulped, but didn't fight her will (not that he even could). Sitting next to Nejire was nice, but it would have been nicer if Izuku wasn't feeling like he was going to puke his guts out. Maybe it could have been bearable if he held his hand or wrapped an arm around his shoulders during the ride (as embarrassing as that would be), but he could already tell she'd throw her hands up in the air the moment they started moving.

Togata took the seat directly behind them, eagerly laughing like a madman all the while, while Amajiki and Haya took the final row in their car - the only two who looked completely at ease with the situation.

As the restraint system locked into place (it was a single bar that lowered onto his lap, doing nothing to make Izuku feel like he wasn't going to go flying out on the first drop), Izuku gripped it so tightly that he thought his fingers might fall off.

"I've never rode this one!" Nejire admitted excitedly, right before they took off, "That means it'll be even more fun than usual!"

He barely even registered the words. The first thing the coaster did was launch off at speeds that would make All Might jealous, all to help the ride slowly climb up the first - and tallest - hill in the ride. While they neared the top, Izuku silently prayed for a quick death - and a Quirk in the next life, because why not - as he looked out at the skyline that slowly revealed itself. The tallest trees surrounding the park looked like nothing more than toothpicks from the height they had reached, and Nejire was literally vibrating with excitement as they approached the crest of the hill.

Izuku felt more like crying.

He thought he might have been as they descended at speeds that made terminal velocity look leisurely. He was definitely screaming, at any rate, and Nejire was too - but for what was certainly a different reason than him, because the older girl was also laughing maniacally.

"YEAH!" Togata shouted, offering a third voice to accompany their screams, "THIS RULES!"

Nejire's hands were in the air. Izuku felt like his stomach was about to be, too.

Or maybe it would explode. Both seemed equally likely.

They hit the ground fast, immediately going back up into the air and offering the poor boy no respite as he was put through the wringer. Hill after hill was crested, each one making him think he was going to go flying out of the ride, and the corkscrew at the end made his eyes roll into the back of his head.

It ended far too late.

"It's over already?" Nejire cried as they came to a stop, "No way! That was way too short!"

The ride attendant (a tall, lipless teenager with tiny eyes, unkempt ash-beige hair, and a nametag that read 'Honenuki') shrugged. "No one else is here yet. You guys can go again if you want."

"Heck yes!" Nejire whooped, "Again! Again!"

Haya shrugged. "You heard the lady."

Izuku would have protested (or at least begged to be let off), but he could barely think right now - much less open his mouth and expect anything aside from his breakfast to come out.

He could only pray he passed out before they reached the top of the first hill again.

–

They rode the Spine-Splitter three more times before Nejire and Togata finally got tired of it.

Izuku stumbled out of his seat like a drunkard, nearly knocking Nejire off her feet as he fell onto the railing that led to the exit for support.

"Woah, are you okay Midoriya?" Haya asked, concern evident on her face, "Your face is greener than your hair."

It felt like it, too.

"I-I'm g-good," he groaned, "J-just, uh, l-l-let me find a t-trash can, just in case…"

His vision was swimming, so he couldn't tell, but Amajiki was giving him a pretty worried look. For good reason too, since Izuku looked like he was about to throw up his internal organs.

Togata rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "Yeah, maybe we overdid that ride a little," he said, "That prank probably didn't help, either."

He was referring to the end of their second ride. Izuku was trying not to toss his cookies, breathing labored like he had just ran a marathon, and then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Togata…

Without his head.

Now, under calmer, more rational circumstances, Izuku could understand that he was just using Permeation to mess with him. Maybe he saw how wound-up the verdette had become and was just trying to break the ice. But after his comment about dummies missing their heads, and the fact that Izuku was about as jumpy as they came, it just made him scream in terror.

At least Haya was kind enough to swat him on the back of his head for that one. He genuinely feared that he was going to have an ulcer by the end of the day.

"Where's the next ride?" Nejire asked eagerly, "People are starting to show up! I don't wanna wait in three-hour lines for all the good rides!"

Togata rolled his eyes. "Relax! We can go on all the rides today. We've only been here for a few minutes! Most people are probably still asleep, we have time to do everything."

"Nuh-uh!" She shook her head, pouting slightly as Nejire puffed her cheeks out. "You just want to get food already!"

He laughed. "Maybe!"

Haya stepped between them, a stern look on her face. "At least wait an hour or two before we start eating," she lectured, before turning to glare at Nejire, "And Tamaki has the map. I don't trust you to not send us to the Crucible first, and then three more times after."

Izuku blinked, curiosity briefly overriding his nausea. "The C-Crucible?"

"It's the tallest ride in the park," Amajiki clarified, holding onto a map of the park with one tentacle-hand so it didn't fly away, "And the third-tallest roller coaster in the world. Nejire's favorite, too."

Oh. That didn't sound good.

At all.

Haya sighed at the horrified look on his face. "We'll save that one for later."

"Phooey." Nejire looked defeated. "Well, where to instead?"

Izuku tuned out Amajiki as he listed off a half-dozen roller coasters within two minutes of walking distance, more concerned with not falling onto the ground in a daze.

It didn't look like he was going to have fun today.

–

The day wasn't over, but with each passing second Izuku's theory was being proven correct more and more.

Case in point, right now.

Togata was scarfing down the equivalent of four funnel cakes (he asked the person working the stand to just make him a really big one, uncaring of the strange looks he received in return) like there was no tomorrow, and Nejire was doing similar damage to her own funnel cake. Tamaki was merciful enough to settle for a relatively normal plate of chicken tenders and fries, and Haya was happy to just get a salad, grumbling something about how unhealthy all the food was here.

Izuku, for his part, could barely stomach his cup of water.

Going on five more thrill coasters (and two regular roller coasters) did that to him, he discovered.

Of course, he could have assumed that already, what with his disdain for things that made him feel like he was going to puke, and the fact that he had never ridden a coaster that was anything like the ones at this amusement park, but what was he supposed to say? 'No, I'm good, go have fun while I wait at the exit like a pansy'? Izuku briefly toyed with the idea, but ultimately decided against it, choosing to preserve what little dignity he had instead of keeping his body from feeling like crap.

And he really felt like crap.

"Are you sure you aren't hungry, Izuku?" Nejire asked between bites of funnel cake, her lips stained an off-white color by all the powdered sugar, "This stuff is pretty good!"

Haya rolled her eyes. "No, it isn't. You guys just eat like a pack of wolves because your Quirks demand it. Me and Midoriya aren't slaves to our desires like the three of you."

"S-so preachy," Amajiki muttered.

Togata laughed as he vacuumed up his own funnel cake abomination. "She's just jealous that we can eat this much and look as good as we do!"

"Of course I am," Haya sneered, "It's like you three are bottomless pits! If I ate a tenth of what you did I'd be like three times your weight!"

Nejire shook her head. "Nah, Mirio's pretty heavy!" She tapped a hand against her chin in thought (inadvertently smearing more sugar across her face). "It's really weird, actually."

"It's because of all my muscles, baby!" Togata laughed, "I'm as dense as a stone–"

His habit of talking while eating came back to bite him as he temporarily choked on a particularly large piece of batter that got lodged in his throat. Amajiki was quick to start slapping him on the back, and soon all five of them were treated to the sight of Togata spitting up a piece of funnel cake onto the table.

Izuku gagged, and he wasn't the only one - but he was the only one to immediately rush for a trash can. If the dozens of coasters didn't make him physically sick, Togata's eating habits would have been his second choice.

And what a fine second choice it was. It certainly did the trick - if the trick was making Izuku hurl.

It wasn't a very enjoyable one.

–

Izuku felt a little better after emptying his stomach of all the things that had been trying to make their way out for the past few hours, but not by much - and that feeling was immediately evaporated by their next destination.

Nejire's favorite roller coaster. The Crucible.

Apparently, the name didn't mean anything - it was just meant to sound intimidating. To be completely fair, it did make Izuku afraid, but it wasn't like anyone cared about what he was feeling today. It was like Nejire and Togata were feeding off his despair and using it to fuel their adrenaline rushes to new heights. Haya didn't seem to be having quite as much fun as those two, but behind all her bluster and hot-headedness (usually directed at, surprise surprise, Nejire and Togata), she seemed to be having a good time too.

Even Amajiki looked like he was getting an enjoyable experience out of it, which was saying a lot since he never seemed to show too much joy on his face. The crowds made him hesitate constantly, but a friendly push by Togata always seemed to do the job for him.

If only that worked for Izuku. It had pretty much the complete opposite effect on him when Nejire tried to be encouraging.

Not that it deterred her. With each passing ride, it seemed like the girl was leaning even further into the experience.

Good for her. Izuku still hated it.

He looked up at the sleek white coaster in terror, watching yet another ride commence and launch another hapless group of teenagers into the stratosphere.

Nejire noticed his staring. "Pretty awesome, right?!" She asked, bouncing with excitement as they stood in line together.

It was just the two of them, at least for the moment. Amajiki weaseled his way out of the ride by saying something about the height affecting his Quirk (which was almost definitely bullshit), while Togata had been prohibited from joining the line due to the frankly insane amount of food he was carrying around. Izuku hadn't even heard of half the things the muscular teen had ordered.

As for Haya, she said something about not wanting to ride alone, since each row held two people, but Izuku caught the weird smirk on her face - something that just made him confused.

Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat. "Y-yeah," he agreed, putting on a brave face that he had no illusions about standing up under scrutiny, "A-a-awesome."

Nejire wasn't really paying attention to him, though - she only had eyes for the coaster that flew by them at speeds that sent her hair flying in the artificial breeze despite the coaster being some thirty feet above them and half as many meters away. It accentuated her beauty, but also the fear in his heart.

"I wish this line wasn't so long though!" She whined, "It feels like we've been stuck here for hours!"

"W-we've only b-been here f-f-for, like, eight minutes…" Izuku mumbled, "I w-wish we did g-get s-s-stuck though…"

That last bit was muttered under his breath, quiet enough for Nejire to completely miss it. He was getting desperate enough that he was willing to try and speak things into existence.

He had no such luck. There were no technical issues, no problems with guests, and the ride was as seamless as could be. It was practically the perfect storm for riding roller coasters today.

And it really fucking sucked.

The line flowed like water. One moment he and Nejire were at the tail end of the queue of people waiting to get on, and the next they were being strapped into the sleek, aerodynamic coaster - in the front again, of course, because why wouldn't they get a front-row view of their deaths?

The ride operator had a sick smile on her face as she pulled the lever that sent them off. Thankfully there was a little more protection on this one than the Spine-Splitter, with an overhead grip that left him feeling a little less certain about flying off the ride, but it wasn't much in the way of comfort.

"Are you ready?!" Nejire asked eagerly, reaching out to nudge his hand as they climbed the first hill at a painfully slow rate.

Izuku felt nauseous again. His head was spinning and he squeezed his eyes shut. "Ready to die."

She laughed. "That's the spirit!"

After an eternity of gut-wrenching incline, the ride came to a near-complete halt at its peak. Izuku tentatively opened one eye, worried to death about if the ride had broken on them, only to realize that it was just giving them a brief view of the ground before they went splat.

"Ooh…" Nejire crooned, "Can you see any of them down there? I think I might be able to see Yuyu, but I can't tell!"

Izuku grimaced as he looked down, spitting in the face of every single one of his nerves screaming at him not too. He felt funny as everyone appeared as less than an ant from the height, and not in a good way. "I d-don't think s-s-AGH!"

He screamed bloody murder as the roller coaster suddenly plummeted, rocketing back towards the Earth at speeds that seemed impossible.

Nejire screamed too, but she was doing so because this was fun for her.

Izuku was screaming because he couldn't control his fear at a ninety-degree drop that made him feel like his feet were in his ears and his skeleton was turned inside-out.

He couldn't even close his eyes as death rushed up to meet him.

Of course, he didn't die, but it sure felt like he did as they shot across the straightaway waiting for them at the bottom of the coaster. His head slammed back against the seat and his vision went dark for a moment, only to come back right as they turned upside-down on the coaster's first of five vertical loops.

The next four came immediately after. Again and again and again and again.

If Izuku had anything left in his stomach by this point, it would have come up. As it was, he had to settle for dry-heaving as he screamed.

The coaster shot into the air once more, only for the ride to suddenly begin to twist them around on a corkscrew trajectory during the way up. On the way down, they began to swirl around in a horizontal loop, almost like the roller coaster was a marble slowly circling around in a funnel.

Izuku lost track of what was happening after that. It went on for too long.

By the time the coaster rolled to a stop in the station, he wasn't even sure he was alive. He was pretty sure he could smell sounds. As the safety harness released them from its clutches, he slumped against the front of the cart and fell into the sweet embrace of–

Nejire picked him up with one hand, her face deadly serious.

"Izuku," she said sternly as she held him up, "We're going on this one again."

He was in hell.

But he nodded anyway.

–

"I dunno about you guys," Nejire began airily, staring out at the slowly dying sunset, "But I'm having a great time!"

Togata laughed. "We're all having a good time!" He elbowed the nearest teen. "Right, Tamaki?"

The boy shrugged. "No complaints from me."

"Even if I'm not as insane as you two," Haya hummed thoughtfully, "It was still nice to get out for the day and come here."

The periwinkle-haired girl laughed. "I know, right? I still can't believe we got to go on every roller coaster I wanted! Right, Izuku?"

He liked it better when no one called on him. It was easier to pretend that he was having a good time that way, and not completely miserable. Unfortunately, Nejire seemed keen on getting him involved in the conversation at every opportunity.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered out shakily, "T-that was, uh, a l-l-lot."

Amajiki spared him a glance, but no one else seemed surprised by his response.

"You were pretty pale after our third time on Skull Cavern, you know!" Nejire teased, "See any ghosts in there?"

"O-o-only m-my own…"

Skull Cavern was an indoor dark roller coaster, but that just meant Izuku couldn't tell which direction the track was going to launch him in. He was also worried about his head being taken off by a stray piece of pipe or track, which may have been a little ridiculous, but when everything is black around you there's some extra leeway in what you're allowed to be paranoid about.

Togata stretched his arms over his head, groaning happily as he heard a satisfying pop come from his joints. "What now?" He asked, twisting from side to side to make his body sound like a piece of bubble wrap, "Even I'm a little tired of all the thrills now. I don't think there's any coasters we've forgotten about, are there?"

"No." Amajiki shook his head. "We've basically rode everything that requires a height limit for safety."

"And if you looked at Nejire you'd think we just showed up," Haya snorted, "You're terrible."

The aforementioned girl just shrugged happily. "What can I say?" She asked, "I never get tired of roller coasters!"

"Yeah," Togata snorted, "We know. Remember when you got us all in trouble trying to stay here after hours last year?"

Her face flushed, a rare display of the girl's embarrassment. "Miriooo!" She groaned, "That was one time! Don't bring it up in front of Izuku!"

Amajiki suppressed a shudder. "The park jail was so c-cold… our parents were really mad."

Haya sighed. "If only I was there to knock some sense into your heads."

The girl rolled her eyes as Nejire suddenly reached over to tussle her hair. "That's why you're our favorite, Yuyu!" She snickered at the way the shorter girl suddenly tried to swat her hands away. "Anyways, when I was still planning this a few weeks ago, I was scrolling around on their website, and I saw that the park was apparently holding a special event today! Lucky us!"

"What kinda event?" Togata asked, interest piqued.

Her eyes sparkled. "A concert!" Nejire said excitedly, "Apparently they booked The Jirous! It's not quite the same as riding roller coasters all day, but I can't say no to a good pop concert!"

"They do pop?" Haya questioned, "I thought it was punk."

Togata raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that all just different versions of rock?"

"Whatever it is, it's good music and I'm gonna go and listen!" Nejire declared, "So are we ready to go? It's being held out by the lake near the back of the park."

Haya shrugged. "Sure, why not," she replied, "Their music is pretty good, but I don't know why they'd hold a concert at an amusement park of all places."

"An amusement park frequented by teenagers and young adults," Nejire clarified, "AKA their target listening audience! It's ingenious!"

"Me too!" Togata readily agreed, "The party's not over yet! I can still feel the spot where All Might punched me for our Advanced Hero Studies exam."

For some reason, everyone's eyes turned towards Izuku next. Which made him all that more miserable.

If there was anything Izuku hated more than roller coasters, it was concerts.

Being crammed into a small space with a thousand other people pushing and shoving around him?

No thanks. He was claustrophobic enough as it was.

Doing that all while eardrum-shattering music was being blasted all around him?

Definitely not.

And he knew who the Jirous were - a husband and wife pop-punk band. A pop-punk band who were very fond of using fireworks and explosives during their shows.

And if there was one thing Izuku hated more than anything, it was explosions.

It was like God himself carefully curated this day to make Izuku as unhappy as possible.

"O-okay."

And he agreed anyway. Because even if this entire day was nothing but sucky and miserable and he was wishing he'd just stayed home instead he'd grit his teeth and act like he was having a good time because he'd rather hate every moment of today than leave and be seen as ungrateful and not get invited out again. Even if this was the one day he felt like he should have some right to be selfish over he'd go to that crappy concert and hate every second of it just so Nejire and the others didn't think he didn't want to hang out with them.

Besides, even if he said no Nejire would still probably ask him to go while giving him puppy eyes and his will would crumble instantly.

Nejire clapped her hands together happily. "Great!" She cheered, "And Tamaki makes five, right?"

Amajiki blinked as Togata and Nejire's eager eyes turned on him. "A-actually," he began hesitantly, eyes constantly darting back towards Izuku for some reason, "I think I'll pass."

–

Tamaki Amajiki wasn't exactly the most outgoing person in the world. In fact, if someone outright called him antisocial, he wouldn't bat an eye.

But being antisocial didn't mean he wasn't observant. Far from it.

And Midoriya's behavior was ringing a lot of alarm bells in his head.

"Huh?" Mirio blinked in surprise.

Nejire's smile dipped. "Why not?" She asked, "You usually like concerts!"

"Remember when he wore mascara and eyeliner for that one 'Black Night' concert?" Yuyu snickered at the memory.

He blushed. That was something he didn't like to remind himself of.

"I'm, uh, just feeling a little off after all those rides," Tamaki admitted, "I don't know if all that loud noise and flashing lights is gonna do much to help."

Mirio nodded in understanding. "Ooh, yikes!" He grimaced sympathetically. "Yeah, skipping this one might be for the best, man."

Yuyu nodded in agreement, and even though Nejire pouted he knew his friend understood his plight… or would have, if he was being honest.

Tamaki felt fine. It'd take a lot more than a roller coaster to make him unwell. Or at least a lot more force. He'd crumple like paper if he had to talk to people he didn't know.

His eyes sneakily glanced over towards Midoriya, waiting to gauge his reaction. The youngest member of their little troupe looked surprised, and maybe a little hopeful, but chose not to speak out about whatever was floating around in his mind.

Unfortunate, but unsurprising. In the time Tamaki had come to know the kid, he was just about the most reserved person he'd ever met - even surpassing himself, which was a real achievement.

He was also very skittish, awkward, a litany of other things that would give Hound Dog an aneurysm if he tried to catalogue them all.

Now, Tamaki was no stranger to these issues - half of them could also be used to describe himself, for one - but Midoriya was an entirely different breed from him. He'd kind of noticed it any time they hung out, but it wasn't really his place to say anything - plus, he didn't notice how bad it was today. But the guy wore his heart on his sleeve and was an open book to those who were really trying to get a read on him.

Most of the time you didn't have to do that though, since Midoriya was hardly a dishonest person. He blushed, he stuttered, and he liked hanging out with Nejire and the rest of them. A pretty open and shut case on his personality, all things considered.

But today he looked completely despondent, and he was hiding it really well. To the others, at least - Nejire was having a really good time, and there was no way she was going to come down from that high any time soon, while Mirio seemed more preoccupied with keeping himself and Yuyu entertained as Nejire traipsed around with their green-haired friend. Speaking of Yuyu, she might have noticed some of the stuff Tamaki had seen too, but it took a special kind of understanding to find what he did.

It takes a miserable introvert to know a miserable introvert, after all.

And if there was anything Tamaki was, it was an introvert. Maybe not so miserable anymore since he'd met Mirio, but that wasn't important.

What was important was the way Midoriya looked physically ill at the mention of the concert, how he had been hiding a downcast look in his eyes since the moment they arrived, and how after every ride he secretly looked more and more upset.

"Well," Nejire sighed, "The concert hasn't started yet. Should we find something else to do instead?"

"I-It's fine," Tamaki said quickly, "I don't want to ruin your fun, y'know?"

Mirio slung an arm around his shoulder. "Nonsense!" He said sternly, "We have fun because it's all of us together, not because of what we're doing!"

"Some of it is what we're doing," Yuyu coughed into her fist.

The boy ignored her. "So if you're not feeling well we can just go do something else!"

Tamaki frowned. As nice as that option sounded, that wasn't why he was opting out of going to the concert. "It's fine," he insisted, "R-really. You guys go on ahead, I think I'm just gonna sit down for a bit and then leave."

Mirio frowned, but relented nonetheless. The guy was all too familiar with Tamaki's social battery, and was well aware he might have hit his limit for the day. "Alright, if you say so."

Nejire nodded, though her spirits were clearly slightly dampened. "No problem, Tamaki! It just means there's more music for the rest of us, right?"

"That's not how it works." Yuyu flicked the taller girl on the neck.

"F-feel better, A-A-Amajiki-sam," Midoriya stuttered out. As he said it, though, the purple-haired teen couldn't help but notice that his eyes contained a small amount of… envy?

That settled it.

"Alright team," Mirio ordered, pointing towards the back of the park, "Move out! Feel better soon, Tamaki!"

The girls each gave similar words of comfort in their goodbyes, and the quartet slowly moved out. Tamaki realized he had to act quickly, so he gathered up all his remaining social skills and made his move.

He tapped Midoriya on the shoulder, making the smaller teen jump in surprise from beside Nejire. "Actually," he began awkwardly, "C-can I talk to you for a moment, Midoriya?"

The verdette looked between Nejire and himself nervously. She nodded encouragingly. "We'll wait for you outside the crowd, don't worry!"

Midoriya gulped. "O-okay. Um, w-what is it, A-Amajiki-san?"

Tamaki waited until the others were out of earshot to speak, subtly waving his companion over to a more secluded location in the meanwhile. He didn't look thrilled about it per se, but Midoriya wasn't one to say no to people, as he had figured out.

They stood beside one of the park's many lampposts, offering its patrons dim lighting even as the sun disappeared from the sky for the day. "U-um, d-did you need s-something, or…"

Tamaki took a deep breath. Time to act like Mirio.

"A-are you alright, Midoriya?" He asked bluntly, "You seem k-kinda off today."

Midoriya looked surprised, but Tamaki didn't miss the way he shifted uneasily. "I-I'm f-f-fine!" He said quickly - too quickly. "U-um, w-w-why d-did you t-think s-so?"

Was he supposed to press the issue now, or let it be? He was in a safe space and still insisted there was no problem…

Wait, no, this was Midoriya. He'd say that he was fine even if he was missing a leg. Plus, he still didn't really know Tamaki all that well. He mostly only talked with Nejire and Togata, only really speaking up when prompted in group discussions. He had to be more assertive.

"A-are you sure?" Tamaki pressed, "Um, it's alright if you're n-not."

This was so awkward.

Midoriya shook his head defensively, eyes darting rapidly between where Mirio, Nejire, and Yuyu had walked away and himself. "R-really!" He insisted, "E-e-everything is a-all g-g-good."

Tamaki sighed. This would be so much nicer if he was a clam. Time to play bad cop, if you could even call it that.

"Y-you have a tell when you lie, M-Midoriya."

His eyes shrunk to pinpricks. "N-n-no I d-d-don't!"

He put his hands up in surrender. "I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable," he continued, well aware of the way Midoriya was closing in on hyperventilation, "I'm only trying to help. You've been, um, kind of a m-mess all day, and it looks like you've been having a horrible time. You don't have to hang out with us if you don't want to, you know…"

Midoriya took a deep breath. Actually, he took a lot of them. Tamaki gave him as much time as he needed, mostly because he didn't know what to do instead. The boy looked very vulnerable as he tried (and failed) to meet Tamaki's eyes.

"T-t-that's n-n-not it!" He said quickly, before realizing what he had just admitted with a groan. "U-um, I r-really like h-hanging out with you g-g-guys."

"So what's the problem then?" Tamaki pressed (something that went against just about every single social norm he preferred).

Midoriya swallowed thickly, eyes darting towards the paved pathway beneath them. "I-It's n-nothing," he mumbled, "R-really. I-It's just s-something s-s-stupid."

"It's not stupid if it bothers you."

Tamaki couldn't have known it, but Nejire had told Midoriya that same exact thing once - and it was like a skeleton key to get him to tell all.

Midoriya rubbed his arm slowly. "Uh, w-well," he began slowly, "I-It's just that, um, I g-guess I'm not the b-biggest fan of amusement p-parks and roller coasters… b-but I didn't want you guys to think I didn't like hanging out with you or anything! I do, but, um, if I said no I f-figured you would t-think I was u-ungrateful or s-something, which isn't true because I really a-a-appreciate the invites Nejire gives me, n-not that I only want to be seen as 'N-Nejire's friend' even though I kind of am b-but I don't want to be i-invited just t-to mope a-around b-b-but I guess that's been a little harder for me to do today because it's my birthday and I really didn't want to something I knew I wouldn't like–"

"Today is your birthday?!"

Midoriya slammed a hand over his mouth faster than Tamaki could blink. "Um– no– I mean–"

He was stuttering more than a faulty car engine. "I-If today is your birthday, why did you come to do something you clearly don't like? Why not just hang out with your other friends–"

In hindsight, it was pretty obvious. The wince Midoriya offered him was the nail in the coffin.

Midoriya didn't have other friends. That was why he never said no to anything, or why he always agreed to do things and go on outings (including ones that he hated, apparently) - he was afraid he'd get dumped the moment he refused. It was why no matter how bad of a time he was having, he wasn't going to speak up or leave.

Was Nejire seriously the first person to befriend him? What part of him was so unappealing to others that he wouldn't have friends for the first fifteen years of his life? Tamaki wasn't an idiot - he could see the signs of abuse that Heroes were taught to look for in Midoriya, plain as day, but that didn't explain why.

But that was just how it was, sometimes. People didn't need a reason to hurt others, and kids could be especially cruel.

"You could have just, uh, told us it was your birthday…" Tamaki trailed off.

Midoriya sighed. "I t-tried, um, to tell Nejire, b-but, uh, s-she t-texted me about this first, a-and I d-d-didn't want to ruin y-your plans."

He sighed. "Well, at least we can tell them now." Tamaki eyed the spot where Yuyu, Nejire, and Mirio once stood. "If we hurry we can probably catch them before–"

"N-No!" Midoriya's outburst took him by surprise, and the smaller boy immediately looked apologetic. "I-I mean, e-everyone looked like they r-really wanted to go to the c-concert, I d-don't want to s-s-suddenly ruin their fun by making it about m-me… p-plus, it's already pretty l-late. T-There isn't m-much point in telling anyone…"

Tamaki stared at him incredulously. Was he being serious? There was antisocial, and then there was whatever the hell this was.

"It's fine, Midoriya," he stressed, doing his best to appear friendly, "I'm sure they'd all feel really bad that we kind of, y'know…"

Tamaki rubbed the back of his neck. What would he even call this shitstorm? Ruining Midoriya's birthday? Maybe, but they didn't even know it was his birthday - and Midoriya hadn't even planned on telling them.

That didn't stop him from feeling like a massive failure for some reason.

He shook his head ardently. "W-Which is why t-they don't n-n-need to know. I d-don't want to r-ruin their day over n-n-nothing…"

Nothing. Damn. He really had zero self-confidence, huh? What was Tamaki supposed to do about this?

Not let him sulk through the rest of his birthday, at bare minimum.

He took a breath, banishing as many negative thoughts and antisocial tendencies as he could, and grabbed Midoriya by the arm. "C-Come with me."

The verdette froze. "W-W-What?" He gasped out, "B-But N-Nejire and–"

"L-Let me deal with that," Tamaki said quickly, marching towards the exit like a man possessed, "We're gonna go and do something else."

He pulled out his phone with his free hand, Mirio's contact on screen as he started racking his brain for an excuse to take Midoriya out to do…

…Something.

The fact that he barely knew what Midoriya liked to do, or even what hobbies he was interested in after three months of interacting with the guy made him feel like a really bad friend.

And that all of them had failed him.

–

Izuku didn't know how it happened.

One moment, they were still at the amusement park, and Izuku was going through his own personal hell as he failed to keep his big mouth shut and spilled the beans about what today was to Amajiki of all people.

The next?

Amajiki had taken (rescued) him, and instead of having his ears bleed as he was pushed around in a sweaty crowd at a pop-punk concert he was standing beside the purple-haired teen as the two watched some fish swim around in their tiny tanks.

He had brought them to a pet store of all places, leading Midoriya through the aisles until they stumbled upon the store's rather large selection of fish. Some were local, some exotic, and some weren't even fish - they had a small number of tanks containing tiny crabs, frogs, and even bivalves like clams and oysters for some reason.

The quiet yet ever-present retail music radio played overhead, and the bright fluorescent lights shined overhead made it feel like the middle of the day.

"Um, I don't really know what you like," Amajiki mumbled, having let go of his arm like it was a hot stove the moment they arrived at their destination, "But when I have too much to deal with I come here and stare at the fish for a while. They just float around without a care in the world, and I like watching them. Sometimes I pretend I'm just a fish and it helps me relax, and by the time I leave I usually feel a lot better."

Izuku just nodded slowly, unsure of how to respond. His gaze was fixed on a small red-and-white striped crab, hardly more than a few inches wide, that was spitting sand at the glass between itself and him.

Amajiki caught his gaze. "That crab isn't very friendly. I've seen him do this before."

"...I see."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the taller boy frown. "S-Sorry," he said, practically in reflex.

Amajiki's frown just deepened. "Y-You shouldn't apologize," he mumbled, eyes turning towards a tank full of piranhas, "Um, if anything, it should be me saying sorry."

Izuku blinked. "Huh?"

He pressed on despite the way his body trembled slightly at the fatigue of speaking so much. "I mean, we've been hanging out for months now and I don't even know what you like aside from katsudon and working out, if you even do like that…" Amajiki took a deep breath. "I mean, we literally took you out to do one of your least favorite things and didn't even notice that you hated it until we were finished for the day."

Amajiki leaned his forehead against the glass tanks, breath fogging up the aquarium in front of him. "I guess, uh, what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't think that you have to hang out with us," he reasoned, "Um, we all like you, Midoriya, and I cancel plans I make with Mirio and the others all the time. It's not like they don't enjoy hanging out with me because of that, though, it's just how I am. I'm sorry that you felt like you couldn't say no when we invited you out, or that you didn't think you should speak up when you weren't having a good time…"

The shorter boy barely even registered that his eyes were starting to get misty. "I-It's n-n-not y-your fault, A-Amajiki-san!" Izuku said quickly, "I-I–"

"Yes, it is," Amajiki interrupted, "You're a good guy, Midoriya, but we haven't been very good friends."

Izuku just kept his mouth shut. What was he supposed to say? Everytime he thought of opening his mouth, he shut it just as quickly. He kept his eyes glued to the little crab spewing sand angrily in his direction, and kind of wished it was him inside that little cage.

"I don't know why you'd want to," Amajiki sighed, "But you can call me Tamaki, if you want. H-Happy birthday, Midoriya."

Maybe staring at the fish worked for Tamaki, but by the time Izuku left the store he felt about as conflicted as possible.

–

Nejire pouted as she stared at her phone, eyes scrunched up in confusion.

Why was Izuku being so… weird?

She didn't like using that word to describe his behavior, because he probably got enough of that from his jerk classmates to last a lifetime, but she couldn't really call it anything else. Ever since their celebration of the end of the semester (and presumably Izuku's own as well), Izuku had been kind of dodgy and hard to get a hold of. She hadn't even seen him since Tamaki suddenly kidnapped him when he should have been rocking out with her to the Jirous - which was an awesome time, by the way - and even if it had only been a few days since Nejire could tell when something was going on with Izuku.

It reminded her of when he had been avoiding her after the Sports Festival. And if he had another situation like that on his hands, Nejire swore there'd be hell to pay for the people who were making her friend miserable.

Mirio caught her intense stare. "No luck, huh?"

Nejire shook her head, a sour taste in her mouth. She was joined by Mirio and Tamaki - or rather, Mirio was joined by them - at a local diner at the bright and early time of five-thirty in the morning.

Which was a little ridiculous, frankly, especially for a random day in the middle of their summer break, but Mirio was awake at the ungodly time of four in the morning for some reason and had invited them out a little after. Nejire, despite generally being a very deep sleeper, was woken by the sound of their texts, and so here she was.

The sound of footsteps caused her to look up from her phone momentarily, only to glance back down when she realized it was just Tamaki coming back from the bathroom.

"Have you figured out what you're going to order?" He asked Mirio, who shrugged as he nursed his cup of coffee.

"I'll probably eat half the menu if I think too hard about it," the blonde said easily, "I was asking Nejire about what was up with Midoriya."

She frowned. "Did something happen after we left, Tamaki?" Her tone held a dangerous edge, making the Manifest user sweat slightly. "He seemed just fine before you asked to talk to him, and all of a sudden you're texting Mirio saying he's not feeling well either and you're gonna take him home…"

Nejire trailed off, a pointed look on her face. Mirio sweatdropped, but before he could say something Tamaki cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I t-think it's something you should ask him about." He pulled at his collar. "It's not my place to say."

Her frown deepened. "So something did happen."

"Like I said, ask–"

Nejire downright scowled. "I've been trying!"

A few heads turned their way at her shout (and the way she slammed her hands against the table, making Mirio suddenly pick up his mug of coffee), but she didn't care about any extra attention. "Izuku has barely been responding when I message him," she whispered angrily, "And when I asked him about coming with us to Yuyu's fashion show yesterday, he left me on delivered! So if you said something to him that made him upset–"

"He was upset way before I talked to him," Tamaki said suddenly.

Mirio blinked in confusion with Nejire, who looked like the wind had just been taken from her sails. "Huh?"

Tamaki crossed his arms. "He was miserable the whole day."

"What?" Mirio said, "I mean, he looked pale as a ghost half the time, I'll give you that, but I'm pretty sure going on every coaster in the park doesn't qualify someone as 'miserable'."

"Is Midoriya the kind of person who would tell you if he was upset?" He countered, acting strangely bold, "Nejire was too busy dragging him around, and you were too busy with your funnel cake, but me and I'm pretty sure Yuyu could tell he wasn't having a good time."

Nejire leaned forward, a retort on her tongue, but she hesitated as she marinated over her friend's words. Izuku had been sort of jittery the whole time, but the girl had chalked it up to the fact that he'd said something about never being there before - plus, Nejire got jitters when riding roller coasters, but they were good ones! Was he really just hiding the fact that he hated it?

Mirio looked to be considering the thought for a few moments as well, before slowly shrugging. "Even if he didn't like the coasters," he reasoned, "There's no way he was miserable for the entire trip! I mean, we did more than roller coasters, and Nejire told us he was on board the moment she told him about the trip!"

She hesitated. "To be fair…" Nejire began slowly, "I didn't tell Izuku about where we were going until a few days before. I hadn't confirmed our plans when I messaged him."

"And Midoriya would agree to go out with us if we told him we were going to ditch him in the middle of Tokyo," Tamaki sighed, "You act like he isn't the world's biggest people pleaser."

Her eyes darkened. "You shouldn't insult him like that–"

"It's not even an insult," Tamaki said matter-of-factly, "It's just how he is. And we completely step over him all the time."

"That's not true!" She protested, "What are you talking about?!"

Whatever spirit had possessed her friend today seemed dead set on this idea. "Remember two weeks ago when we all went to your favorite ice cream place, and you dropped your cone? Before it even hit the ground he was offering you his own, and you took it without a second thought." He interrupted Nejire before she could even defend herself. "Or how about that time you forgot your water after we got to the gym, Mirio? Midoriya practically threw his at you before you could even think about buying one from the vending machine. Even the oyster ramen thing counts!"

Mirio looked pensive. "But those are–"

"Just him being nice, yes," Tamaki agreed, "And if it happened once or twice, maybe that would be it. But this is all the time with him, and we don't even blink at the behavior. Is it really that much of a stretch to think that he would hide his feelings about something if he thought it would upset you guys?"

Nejire immediately went to disagree, but then she thought about the time Izuku had forgotten his wallet at home the time they went out to a bowling alley a little ways out from Tokyo. He didn't have his train card on him, nor the ability to purchase one (or anything at the bowling alley for that matter), and so she had simply bought a ticket for it for him. Izuku was nearly moved to tears at the gesture, and reminded her a gazillion times that he would pay her back immediately, while simultaneously telling her she didn't have to pay for his slot at the bowling alley and that he'd just watch. Of course, she did not let that happen, but not for a lack of Izuku's trying.

Tamaki went for the jugular. "We've been bad friends," the purplette stressed, "I mean, it was literally his birthday on Friday, and he didn't tell any of us because he was worried that we'd think he was trying to make the day about him and didn't want to ruin your fun."

Nejire gasped. "You– you're kidding. You can't be serious right now."

Her stomach sank faster than the Titanic. The look in Tamaki's eyes was anything but joking.

"He literally asked me to not tell you guys," he said seriously, "And the only reason I know is because he accidentally started mumbling about it."

She felt sick.

Mirio didn't look much better.

"I need to go," Nejire said suddenly, standing up fast enough to make her head spin, "I– I should–"

"Hold on," Tamaki stressed, "If you go running to apologize without thinking things through, you might just make it worse."

Mirio nodded, though he wasn't thrilled. "Tamaki's right," he urged, "We already messed up one, if–"

"We?" Nejire hissed, hatred in her eyes - though it was fully directed at herself. What kind of friend, let alone Hero, was so ignorant of the way someone so close to her suffered? What right did she have to act like she could handle all of Izuku's problems when she was one of them? "No, this is my fault. I should have paid more attention, or–"

"We're all his friends," Mirio countered, "So it's all of our faults. You weren't the only one who didn't notice. If you want to be the one who makes it up to Midoriya then fine, but we can at least help you out in figuring out how to make it up to him."

She said nothing, but slowly returned to her seat. "Fine," Nejire relented, "But I already know what I want to do to try and make it up to Izuku."

As the conversation continued on a similar trajectory, Nejire's resolve hardened. She may have ruined her best friend's birthday, but she'd be damned if she didn't fix her mistake.

She owed that much to Izuku…

…Besides, she wanted to see him smile again. Izuku's adorable little shy grin had really grown on her.

—

A/N: I have committed crimes against stuttering.

In case you couldn't tell, this one is a two-parter. Not gonna just end on that sad little note, and I was tempted to smush it all together into a single chapter, but I feel like that would take too long and be super bloated (on top of an already sort of bloated chapter).

Also, this is like the fifth iteration of this chapter, and the one where I ruined everything the least. So if you didn't like this chapter (because even I'm not sure how I feel about it), just know it could have been a LOT worse lol. Please let me know what you thought, though!

Hope you enjoyed! See you next time!