The day after my death sentence was handed down.
I found myself spending my precious, healing break time staring down a single sheet of paper.
The cause, of course, was the Parent-Teacher Observation Day that Mr. Scruffy—Aizawa—had announced yesterday. Since I'd failed to get the event canceled, it was now a mathematical certainty that Mom would come to school and witness my daily life. In other words, my doom was inevitable.
There wasn't much I could do. I could either apologize sincerely or perform so perfectly during the Observation Day that whatever bad behavior she heard about would be overshadowed by my brilliance.
To achieve the latter, I needed to craft a masterpiece for the "Letter of Gratitude" assignment—a work of such profound emotional depth that it would leave the entire classroom in a sea of tears. The problem? It was impossibly hard.
I mean, come on. My essay grades have been hovering at the "barely passing" level since elementary school. This is too much pressure!
I considered just "forgetting" to give the printout to Mom, but... there was the Kacchan factor. The moment Kacchan gave his copy to Mitsuki, it would only be a matter of time before Mom found out. That would be the worst move possible. It would basically be telling her, "I have a very specific reason I don't want you at school." She'd grill me for the reason and probably throttle me before the Observation Day even started.
I'm cornered...!
"Niko, you look so desperate... your face is doing something really weird," Ochaco said, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts.
Ochaco didn't seem to have any issues with the Observation Day; she was acting completely carefree. She'd apparently finished her letter ages ago, and an aura of "I'm prepared" was practically radiating from her.
I'm so jealous.
"It's easy for you to say, Ochaco. I don't know what Mom will do to me depending on how good or bad this letter is... eek."
"Maybe if you were a more serious student in the first place, you wouldn't be in this mess... Fine, fine. I'll help you with the letter."
"Wait, really?! Thank you! Please make it something that'll make the whole world cry!"
"Don't ask me for world-class results! I'm only going to help you touch it up a bit!"
Ochaco leaned over and began reading my draft. As she scanned the lines, her expression slowly started to sour.
"Well? Personally, I think I nailed the 'Silver Medal for Best Book Report' vibe."
"Wha—?! Are you seriously being for real?!"
Her reaction was the exact opposite of what I'd hoped for. I felt a cold chill. What's that supposed to mean?!
"Well, I mean... your feelings definitely come across. It's very 'you.' It's... emotional. And original. Yeah. Original."
Hmm? Is that a compliment? I stared at Ochaco's face, but she immediately looked away. Then, she started summoning the girls. Jiro, Tsuyu, and Momo—who were all in the room—approached us with curious looks.
"What's up, Uraraka?"
"Is something wrong, Ochaco?"
"Did something happen?"
Ochaco showed my half-finished letter to the gathered girls. It wasn't like it was a secret or anything, so I didn't mind them seeing it... actually, wait. It was a bit embarrassing. No, it was actually very embarrassing. I'm blushing. Don't look! Don't look at my terrible writing! STOP LOOKING!
As they read the letter, their faces clouded over, just like Ochaco's. Okay, enough! If you have something to say, say it! I'm dying over here!
Noticing my gaze, Jiro and Momo both looked away.
"...It's certainly... unique," Momo managed.
"I mean, it's a 'Midoriya' style of writing, if that makes sense. I'm not great at essays either, so I can't really talk, but..." Jiro trailed off.
I wasn't getting any positive feedback here. As a last resort, I turned to Tsuyu, the girl who would always say exactly what she was thinking. She tilted her head, looking troubled.
"Ribbit. I think this is actually worse than the letter my six-year-old sister wrote for our mom the other day."
"I lost... to a six-year-old?! Guh—!!"
"Whoa! Niko!"
Tsuyu's "Honesty Strike" pierced my heart. It was a critical hit; I lost all strength and slumped onto my desk. If Ochaco hadn't caught me, I probably would have smashed my forehead into the wood. Also, my legs were shaking like a newborn fawn.
"I-I'm sorry. But I thought there was no point if I wasn't honest... ribbit."
I told the apologetic Tsuyu not to worry and turned back to the paper. I could only see despair in my future, but I couldn't stop now. I didn't want my allowance cut, I didn't want cucumbers hidden in my dinner as punishment, I didn't want "housework duty" to become mandatory, and I definitely didn't want my gacha spending privileges revoked.
While the girls were offering me gentle words of encouragement and sympathy, a large shadow suddenly fell over my desk. I looked up to see Iida standing there.
"Midoriya, do you have a moment?"
I didn't, really, but I figured staring at the letter wasn't getting me anywhere, so I decided to listen as a change of pace. I gestured for him to speak, and he slapped four amusement park tickets down on the desk.
"Do you remember... Native?"
"Native? Who?"
"During the Hero Killer incident... the hero that Endeavor saved. The one you were calling 'the Indian.'"
"Oh! The Indian!"
That useless guy? The "King of Slacking" who just laid around the whole time we were working our butts off?
"Apparently, he wanted to say thanks. These were delivered to me through my brother's agency."
"Why to you, Iida? If Endeavor solved it, shouldn't they have gone to Todoroki?"
Ochaco's sharp question made Iida break into a sweat. This guy is such an idiot; he's a terrible liar, yet he always tries to use half-baked excuses. I mean, he can't exactly tell the truth, but surely he could have thought of a better line.
I decided to bail him out before he spilled the beans.
"...Oh, Ochaco. See, we helped with the rescue, remember? He probably felt bad when he found out we were just students later on. That's probably why."
"Really?"
"The reason he gave them to Iida is probably because Iida was the first one on the scene to help."
"Oh, I see! Nice one, Iida! Spoken like a true Class Rep!"
"A-Ah, yeah. It was nothing, really."
Thanks to me, Iida managed to navigate the crisis. He let out a breath of relief and turned back to me.
"Anyway, there are exactly four tickets, so I thought I'd invite everyone who helped with the rescue. —Ah, Todoroki! Perfect timing! Could you come over here for a second?"
"Iida...? What is it?"
Iida called over the returning Shoto and gave him the same explanation. Shoto looked completely uninterested.
"...And that's the situation. What do you think? There are four of us: myself, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Midoriya. I think it would be quite fun for the four of us to go together."
"...When are we going?"
He's in?! Are you serious?! He looked so bored! Does he secretly love fairy-tale theme parks?
But wait, setting that aside...
"The tickets expire next week. So I was thinking next Sunday..."
"Hold on a sec, Iida."
"Yes? Is something wrong, Midoriya?"
"I'll pass."
The room went dead silent. Everyone froze. I was actually the one who was confused by the sudden reaction. What? What happened?!
"Midoriya... turning down an amusement park?!"
"Are you sick, Niko?! Wait—is this essay that's worse than a first-grader's work actually a symptom of some brain fever?!"
"Niko! I told you not to eat weird things just because they looked 'interesting'!"
"What's wrong, Midoriya?! Did you hit your head?!"
You guys! What do you think I am?! Is it really that weird?! Is it so unthinkable that I wouldn't want to go to an amusement park?! Grrrr!
While I was fuming, Shoto asked a normal question. "Do you have other plans?"
Since that was the most logical response out of the group, I gave him a straight answer.
"No, I don't have plans. I just don't want to go to an amusement park with three guys."
When I said it like that, Iida looked visibly crushed.
"Y-You don't want to?"
"Of course not. Let me flip the script: if I was planning to go with Ochaco and Tsuyu, and I invited you as the fourth person, would you come?"
"...I would have to think about it."
"Exactly."
Iida seemed to accept the logic, though his shoulders slumped. I've noticed lately that he's stopped seeing me as a girl. In the beginning, he was always yelling about "indecency" and such, but he hasn't done that once lately.
Leaving the moping Iida aside, Shoto spoke up again.
"I figured you'd go anyway, Midoriya. Don't you like the attractions?"
"I love the rides. I hate the lines, but chatting with the people I'm with makes the wait fun. ...But honestly, Sunday is a bit of a dealbreaker. It'll be packed."
"True..." Shoto nodded before looking at Iida. "Sorry, Iida. I can't go on Sunday either. I have to visit my mother in the hospital."
"What?! I—I see!"
So Shoto isn't going either. Well, I might as well tell him the rest.
"And for the record, Kacchan won't go either. He hates crowds and loud places."
"What?! Then no one is going! Native's kind gesture will be for nothing... Ugh."
I mean, it is what it is.
"Why don't you take Ochaco?"
"I'll pass. I don't have the money. What about you, Tsuyu?"
"I can't go on Sunday. I have to look after my siblings. ...What about Kyoka?"
"Huh? Uh, pass. I hate crowds. Why not Momo?"
"Me? For an amusement park, I would need to get permission from both my mother and father... and while my mother might agree, my father would likely disapprove."
So, basically, everyone here is a "no."
A distressed Iida wandered off, muttering "What should I do?" I guess he really didn't expect a total rejection. I wonder what will happen to the "Indian's" feelings. Stay tuned for that tragedy, I guess.
As I prepared to get back to my letter, I noticed Shoto was still standing there. Why is he still here?
I looked up at him, and he finally spoke.
"Midoriya. Next Sunday. If you're free... would you mind hanging out with me?"
...?
OH?
...WHATS?!
***
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