A/N: Back with more Dekujirou. Now I was a little upset with how in the school festival arc, Jirou actually get a big cool fight. So I decided to tweak it a bit. And made it Dekujirou because... I can. So yeah this'll be a Deku and Jirou culture festival fic, enjoy.
Deku walked down the main entrance to the school campus alone. Dressed in a pair of simple running shorts and short-sleeved shirt, with a green zip-up hoodie. For while it wasn't quite the crisp autumn season yet, the early mornings had grown colder in the absence of the sun. On his hands, he was wearing the new addition to his costume, gloves that when combined with his quirk would assist in manipulating air pressure with his strength limit. It was dropped off for him in the middle of the night with some notes on how to use it from his friend in the development department, Hatsume.
The Green haired boy took in his surroundings, this entire entryway, as well as much of the campus, had been completely taking up by a variety of stands and stalls for the annual culture festival. It was five in the morning, and the green haired boy gave a groggy yawn. "Alright, gotta help Jirou with checking the music equipment." Deku said internally, repeating the instructions his fellow classmate had given him. The Class 1-A attraction for the special day was to be a musical performance, with Kyouka Jirou leading them with her musical expertise.
The night beforehand, Jirou had asked for a fellow student to help her with sound checking the equipment early in the morning before the culture festival started. The prospect of waking up early wasn't welcomed by many, but to their elation, Deku volunteered. Many rejoices were heard as his fellow classmates could enjoy a few more hours of blissful sleep. "She told me to be up early… Hope this is early enough."
Deku finally arrived at the auditorium where they'd be performing, but to his surprise, no Jirou waiting for him. A few moments had passed, and Deku expected to see his purple haired classmate show up any second now. The young hero-in-training itched the back of his head, realizing that this might've been too early, even for Jirou. Deciding out of idle curiosity, Deku tested the door and to to his surprise, it was unlocked.
Walking through the unlit corridor, the young man took in the sites of all the stage props that the 1-B students had left over night. These would likely be switching their class's props out with after the performance. Rounding the corner onto the main stage, Deku was shocked at the sight before him.
Audibly snoring on the center of the stage was another human being. Judging from the higher pitched volume of the snores Deku assumed it was girl, and upon closer inspection, Deku saw that it was who he had been waiting for, Jirou. The Hearing Heroine was sound asleep, currently using a black leather jacket as a makeshift blanket that didn't do too well covering her distressed leggings or short purple hair. Her usual pair of black boots were currently off, laying next to her, and poking out from under her jacket's collar was her signature earphone jacks.
Deku crouched down and gently shook his classmate awake. Resulting in a less than ideal reaction.
"I'M AWAKE, I'M AWAKE!" The earphone girl cried as she jolted up, nearly knocking Deku over and causing her jacket to fall to her lap. Jirou instinctively looked side-to-side, finding her volunteer slightly startled by her outburst.
With an audible sigh, Jirou collected herself, returning to usual lax composure. "Uhh… Midoriya…" She started, but as evident by her the faint dusting of pink present on her cheeks, the earphone girl was quite embarrassed with how she acted. "Thanks for making it."
"No problem, Jirou. But way were you sleeping in the auditorium?" Responded Deku. His question only made Jirou more embarrassed, as she shifted her eyes away from her classmate to the empty seats. The faint pink on her cheeks deepened to a darker red.
Jirou's eyes shifted back to Deku, neither of them had gotten up from their place on the floor. She then began to start fidgeting, taking her right earphone jack and wrapping it around her index finger. "I was here all last night." She admitted. "This whole performance has me so… jittery. I couldn't sleep at all last night, so I decided to get a headstart on tuning the instruments."
Watching the girl's colored cheeks began to fade, Deku felt himself empathizing with the purple haired heroine. Anxiousness had been a key feature of his life growing up. Not having a quirk for so long in a world of superpowered people didn't do wonders for his self-esteem, especially when he had associates like Bakugou. While he wasn't knowledgeable in music or worries of a musician had, Deku felt like he had to find some words of encouragement.
The green haired boy's concern was written plainly on his face, as Jirou ceased playing with her jack and held her hand out, waving it defensively, with her now free mimicking her movement.
"Hey, I'm fine, really!" She stammered. "I should be apologizing to you, Midoriya. I mean, I told you to come and help me, but I already did everything myself. Sorry…"
Deku's concerned face suddenly turned to one of surprise, as it was now his turn to have pink form on his freckled cheeks. Jirou's response had suddenly reminded him that there was a little more to his volunteering than just letting is friends catch a few more minutes of rest. No, he initially volunteered after Mina, the leader of the dance portion of their live performance, had told him that he had to be cut from the dance troupe. For while his footwork was graceful in combat, it wasn't as so on the dancefloor.
It was truly embarrassing for the green haired boy that out of his classes contribution to the culture festival, an event meant to show the people of the city a fun time, he couldn't help. His face suddenly began to grow dour, eyes that were only a minute ago widening were suddenly narrowing, more empty. A sudden thought that he hadn't considered at first crossed his mind, not participating in the performance meant he'd be breaking his promise to Eri.
Eri was a little girl that Deku and his upperclassmen, Mirio, had recently rescued from the clutches of the villainous Yakuza, Overhaul. Overhaul had intended to use the white haired girl's quirk as the key to bring back organized crime and affirm him a the new overlord of Japan. Deku managed to save Eri, though he'd be lying if he didn't admit that Eri also saved him in a way, and now he and Mirio agreed to use the culture fest as a way to make her smile.
While Mirio filled the young child's head with thoughts of candy apples, Deku had opted to be more direct. Deku told Eri that he and his class would be doing a fun show and that he'd be in it. But now that wasn't going to happen. Mina made it clear that she didn't want to cut him, but given the recent pressure put on them by their fellow student body, she felt it best that Deku be cut as to not lower the performance as a whole.
"It's… Fine, Jirou…" Deku managed to mutter.
Jirou could see the change in his disposition. While she may have been busy with coming up with music and training the band portion of the performance, she was aware of Deku's recent removal from the dance portion. The earphone girl wasn't oblivious to the idea that Deku might've been feeling left out by this decision, she had even considered asking if he'd like to help out backstage with Todoroki. Unfortunately, most of the Class 1-A students who weren't on either the dance floor or in the band were left up to providing the stage effects. And no one could really come up with a way to incorporate super strength into the show, especially not with the deadline fast approaching.
"Well, I guess since you got up so early for no reason, maybe I'll buy you something' to eat?" Suggested Jirou, trying to lift the green haired boy's spirit a little. The earphone girl then forced a smile on as she tried her best to seem jovial, "Come on, I'm buying. Pretty sure you could've guessed I haven't had anything at all yet!"
A small smile began to form across the young man's face at his companion's attempt to make him felt better. His once empty eyes were suddenly reignited with their usual 'Midoriya charm.' His mind was now out of the gutter and he reaffirmed that what he was doing this for was Eri, and a long as she smiles that'll be enough for him. Jirou's suggestion had allowed a new thought to form in his brain, a thought that would definitely make Eri smile, even if he couldn't be in the dance portion. Deku picked himself up, returning to a normal standing posture, "Thanks for the offer, Jirou! But I actually just thought of something-"
The green haired boy was interrupted by the sound of the auditorium door being pushed open. Entering through it was an all too familiar pink skin and haired alien girl, Mina, and a tall young woman with her dark hair in a ponytail, Momo.
"Jirou! Midoriya! So sorry to leave you two with this grunt work, but we want you know how grateful we are for helping us out with this necessary chore." Gushed Momo, feeling bad at the thought of two of her classmate doing a menial task that while annoying, was a crucial to make sure nothing was out of order for their Class' big attraction.
"Yeah, we owe you guys big!" Piped up Mina. "In fact, Yaomomo made something special for you two today, show 'em!"
Momo had on a small purse that she soon unzipped and pulled out a thermos. Unscrewing the lid, Momo allowed the sweet, aromatic scent travel through the air. As the smell hit Deku's nose, Deku could already fell the richness of the the thermos' contents spread through his body. Momo then used her quirk to make two small cups, then poured a beautiful black liquid from the thermos. Both Jirou and Deku realized it was that Golden Tips Imperial tea that she had served them yesterday.
"Enjoy." Momo said cutely as she handed her cups to her classmates. Deku suddenly began to start blushing again as he took his tea from Momo.
"Yaoyorozu, you should really just be giving this Jirou. She was here all night making sure the equipment was good and it was perfectly tuned." Deku said, feeling guilty for accepting seconds of such a mouth-watering beverage.
Momo's face suddenly became distressed, as she turned her focus to Jirou, who had began to start standing as she enjoyed her cup of tea. Momo's usual over enthusiasm made her get close to her earphone friend and make sure she was alright. Jirou managed to explain to Momo that she was okay, but as that happened, Deku finished his cup of tea, said a few words to Mina and exited the auditorium.
After calming Momo down, Jirou noticed a small absence. "Where did Midoriya go?" The purple haired girl question as she scanned the auditorium to find that there was Deku present.
"Oh he left for a convenience store, saying that if he wasn't going to be needed here that he'd go run a 'special errand'" explained Mina.
'Wasn't going to be needed...' Jirou could feel herself frown at the use of wording Deku had used to excuse himself. Jirou looked back between her two close friends and began to feel a pit forming in her stomach. She had felt bad for Deku; feeling partially to blame for his situation given she couldn't find anything for him to contribute to their attraction in anyway. But she was also letting her nerves start to get to her too, the five hours before the start of the performance was starting to feel like an eternity. "Hey. I haven't eaten yet. If Midoriya is going out to a store, I'll go with him." Jirou said, returning to her previous stammering tone. "Momo, your in-charge of the band till I get back. Just make 'em do a quick rehearsal. Don't go all out yet."
Momo nodded in agreement, but her eyes were plagued with worry as she watched her friend and head of their band pick up her jacket, slip on her boots, and bolt out the auditorium. As Momo knelt down to pick up the teacup Jirou left behind, she could hear Mina snickering.
"Do find something funny?" Momo said raising a brow in confusion.
"You think she's got a crush on him.~" Mina said with a sly tone lining her voice. Her response definitely got to her ponytailed classmate, who suddenly became as red as a tomato at the suggestion.
Outside the auditorium, Deku walked by a few early birds who had only now started showing up to prep their stands. This was only a brief taste of what was to come, as the whole campus would be filled with tons of bustling citizens. The green haired aspiring hero stopped as he heard his last name called from behind, accompanied with rapid, heavy footsteps.
"Hey… You're still here…" Wheezed Jirou, as she slowly realized that sprinting wasn't the best idea. She had then began to bend forward slightly, propping herself up with her hands on her knees. This caused the green haired boy to lower himself forward slightly to make sure that she was okay.
"Jirou? Is there something you need?" Deku question, truly puzzled why the band leader would want to chase after him.
"Yeah…" the earphone girl said in a soft tone of voice. She lifted her head up just so she could look into Deku's eyes once more. With small gulp, Jirou returned to her usual tone, "I told you haven't eaten breakfast yet. Can't jam on an empty stomach."
For a moment, Deku seemed almost taken aback by how mundane Jirou's reason was, but he quickly reeled himself back in. Shaking off any notions that might make him think there was alternative reason for the purple haired girl to chase after him.
"Plus, Aoyama needs some kinda rope for his effect." Jirou added as she returned to normal form.
A small smirk appeared on the green haired boy's face as he tried to picture what his flashy classmate could want a rope for. The two then headed off, walking together as the exited the grounds of the campus.
"Soooo… Are you still buying if we're getting food?" Jested Deku.
"Oh so now, you're taking me up on my offer!" replied Jirou as a small tooth grin appeared across her lips.
The two UA students then enjoyed themselves a bit of banter on their way to the closest convenience store.
Elsewhere…
"Okay, Gentle. I have the laptop all prepped for today's big mission!" A young girl with red haired replied as she secured a black laptop in her backpack.
"Excellent work, La Brava!" Praised an older, flamboyantly dressed man. He was identified as Gentle, and he was decked out in a long tail coat, with an ostentatious collar. "But before we crash the little UA culture festival, we need some tea, do you know what I'm thinking?"
The young girl, known as La Brava, suddenly got a skeptical look in her eye at Gentle's little quiz. "Umm… No?"
"Golden Tips Imperial!" Proclaimed Gentle as he pointed his finger into the air to accentuate his answer.
A/N: That's all for now, if you enjoyed this fic, drop a favorite or follow. Also all feedback is welcome so please leave a review if you can. I will greatly appreciate it.