Chapter Seven: A Night To Remember
Kyouka stared down at her phone with her heart beating out of her chest. She had really asked him out on a date, it was a bit unexpected of her to just jump into something like this, but perhaps the USJ incident had put her on an adrenaline high and boosted her confidence even if just a little. Though now she was seriously starting to regret it.
She glanced up and down from their designated meeting spot to her phone, hoping to get some sort of indication that he was nearby. Was he standing her up, or just stupidly late? Granted, it was only like 10 minutes, but still! He should be here by now!
"So what're we looking at?" A voice from behind her spoke, startling her enough to whip her jacks around behind her, attempting to attack her pursuer. Suddenly, she felt her jacks being caught by a familiar pair of hands, and she was swiveled around. She found herself being face to face with Izuku Midoriya, the person she had been waiting on for quite some time now.
"Watch where you're pointing these things, they could hurt somebody y'know?" Izuku said, whilst Kyouka stood in shock at how she didn't even hear the boy approaching. Was she that tuned out of her surroundings that she didn't even realize Izuku sneaking up on her?
"Hey Jirou, Sorry for being late." Izuku stated, releasing the girl's jack with a small smirk gracing his lips. The purplette blushed at his confident smirk, and quickly whipped her head away with an audible "humph". "Oh come on, don't be like that. At least I'm here now, Violet."
"Wh-What did you just call me!? D-Don't address me like I'm your g-girlfriend!" Kyouka stated, her jacks coiling aimlessly in embarrassment. Izuku's smirk widens, his teasing having the effect that he wanted. She really needed to stop giving him so many ways to tease her.
"Oh, why not? You did ask me on a date after all, or would you rather me call you eggplant or something?" Izuku teased, leaning closer to her face as she had turned away. The girl's blush deepened and she was now starting to regret this decision. He was seriously letting this whole "Date" thing get to his head.
"V-Violet's fine… Let's just go, we met up super late and I have no idea what you have planned." Kyouka complains, pulling on the hem of her shirt. Izuku actually takes a look at what she's wearing, causing a bit of a small blush to form on his face.
Kyouka was adorned in a white t-shirt and denim shorts, with a black leather jacket and choker to top it all off. It was fairly warm out, which made it more understandable for her to be wearing shorts, but he'd be lying if seeing her legs wasn't a treat. (Not that he didn't take peeks at her on the daily in school).
Izuku however was actually not wearing his usual casual clothes, instead he was adorned in an olive green button up shirt with black jeans and his trademark red hightops. Nothing fancy, but at least his arms were on display as his sleeves were rolled up. He still was wearing that beanie though.
"Hey… You look really good by the way. Like really good." Izuku said, walking off in a random direction. He was unable to look her in the face and say it directly, but he did his best to keep the sincerity in his tone. He wasn't sure if she had styled her hair differently or something, but she really did look stunning. Maybe it was just seeing her in something other than the UA school uniform for once.
"H-Hey! Wait up, prick!" Kyouka shouts, jogging lightly to catch up to the boy's stride. She had completely overlooked his compliment and tunnel visioned on the fact that he just started walking without even so much as a heads up. Sometimes in moments like these she really wonders what this green-haired bastard is thinking.
What's going on in the mind of Izuku Midoriya?
A question asked by many, but only one girl really let it fester in the back of her mind like now. Sometimes his gaze would turn distant and he'd stare off in a random direction as if he was thinking heavily about something, especially at certain locations in their little walk around the city.
"So what exactly are we doing out here? We've been walking for an hour." Kyouka questions, nudging her "date" with her elbow. Izuku smirks and points to a nearby theatre showcasing a movie about an American who's quirk activates due to an explosive catalyst.
"Mainly sightseeing for a surprise. But let's go see a movie, I'll treat you to dinner right after." Izuku replies, a softer smile from his usual smirk appearing on his face. "How's that sound, Violet?"
Once again, Kyouka's face erupted a deep red hue due to the new nickname he had for her. She wouldn't exactly say she hated it; quite the opposite in fact. It made her heart quicken it's pace even if just a little and nearly brought a smile to her face, but she opted to force it back down so she wouldn't be teased.
"P-Please don't call me that. Let's just go see this movie." She mumbled softly as the couple entered the theatre. Or rather, Kyouka did. Izuku stood outside of the cinema and stared up into the sky seemingly. He smirked, seeming to have come to deeper revelations about something he was pondering. He then locked eyes with Kyouka, the smile on his face was all too real, yet all too mischievous at the same time.
"Are you coming or not? That look on your face gives me the creeps." Kyouka said, glaring at the greenette. The boy simply pulled off his beanie and began to walk inside of the theatre right beside her. She stared at his hair, noticing that it seemed a lot more well-kept than she had initially thought.
"Oi! I'm not creepy!"
The two teens come out of the theatre laughing. The movie was actually quite nice, but Kyouka had some tripes about the main character which made Izuku laugh at her antics.
"I'm telling you, you act just like that Delsin guy! You're both cocky pricks with dumb powers!" She exclaimed, scowling at Izuku who simply laughed at her complaints of his character. "Don't laugh!"
"Pffft! I'm sorry, you just seriously had to connect it back to me and start complaining? You know you loved him, I saw your face! You were so invested!" Izuku proclaimed, causing the girls jacks to coil in embarrassment. She had been caught red-handed.
"Oh, shut up! He's definitely way cooler than you, grass-for-brains!" Kyouka pointed out, smirking at the lighthearted insult at the boy's hair. Izuku rolls his eyes with a smile on his face and pokes her in the side, causing her to jump and glare at him. "Quit it! You know I'm right!"
"Yeah, yeah. You wanna get some grub? It's starting to get dark and I want to show you the surprise after we eat." Izuku said, pointing to a nearby restaurant in the distance. Kyouka nodded in agreement and the two walked down the street towards the restaurant.
'There he goes mentioning that surprise again..' Kyouka thought, staring at her green-haired friend. He had mentioned that he'd have a surprise for her multiple times on their walk, but when she asked about it he would only smile and ignore the question. He was acting a bit more ominous than usual, it was a bit more…
Enticing. Izuku was very enticing, and he knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to keep her interested, wanting to show her a bit more to who "Izuku Midoriya," was. And he thought of ways on how to exactly do that before eventually gaining an incredible idea, though it would definitely come with a huge risk.
"So about that surprise, I know you won't tell me what it is, but why does it have to be so late in the night?" Kyouka questions as the duo enter the restaurant. Izuku looks a bit hesitant to answer, but before he can answer, a waiter walks up to the two of them and has them seated. Izuku notices the man gives Kyouka a small wink, causing him to scowl at the man.
'This guy…' Izuku thought, silently wishing he could use his neon abilities to burn the waiter to a crisp. He couldn't exactly blame the guy though, Kyouka really did look stunning; but he still needed to learn to read the room. 'We came here together dude, back off.'
"..riya… Oh for fucks sakes! Izuku!" Kyouka exclaims, kicking the boy underneath the table causing him to hiss in pain. He quickly grabs the leg that she kicked and glared at her.
"What the hell, Jirou!?" Izuku exclaimed, his leg aching in pain from that kick. She really was blessed with powerful legs. The girl scowls and rolls her eyes, this guy will space out and not even realize he was doing it?
"You spaced out. I'm still waiting for an answer to my question!" Kyouka stated, frustrated that it took him so long to, "wake up". Izuku's face fell into a more serious expression as he pondered the answer to her question. He couldn't say too much without revealing what it was, but perhaps he could curve the answer a little.
"Yeah, sorry… Say, how well do you think you know me?" Izuku said, answering her question with a question. Kyouka looked at him skeptically, she grew curious as to what exactly he had in mind when asking that question.
"That's quite the question…" Kyouka exclaims through a sigh. She looks down and twirls her jack around her finger as she thinks about just what exactly she does know about the boy in front of her. "Not much to be honest… You don't really talk about yourself too much, I've only really picked up on your personality and even then it always seems like… Like there's more to know. You're a pretty mysterious guy, Midoriya." She then looked down at her jacks and tapped the ends together. "But I guess that's why I find you so interesting, both because of your quirk and heroics, but also because you seem to have so much layered deep within you."
Izuku's eyes widen. She was either really good at reading people, or Izuku was really bad at putting up a front. Kyouka quirked a brow as Izuku gave a genuine smile to her, for some reason her heart began to thump loudly in her ears. Was she having a heart attack? No, it didn't hurt, but there was definitely something wrong with her.
"I can't really say that you're wrong. There's a lot that I hide, but I guess that relates to my surprise. I want you to understand me a bit better, maybe even give you a new perspective of 'Izuku Midoriya'." Izuku reveals, using his fingers to simulate quotation marks.
He then scratches the back of his neck, a soft exhale escaping his nose. "But I guess I want to do that because I feel like you're someone I can trust. That's honestly really rare to come across, but I also just want to know you better as well. What better way to do that then to show you who I am? That's the surprise; showing you what you're getting into."
Kyouka blushes softly, her jacks wiggle slightly and she avoids Izuku's gaze. He was never usually this earnest with her, and hearing such nice things from his mouth was an oddity, yet it wasn't unwelcome. It made her feel warm inside to know that he put such trust in her, but it also made her all the more curious on what he had meant. "Showing you what you're getting into."? What could he want to share with her?
"Alright, have you two decided on what you'd like?" The male voice of the waiter speaks, suddenly appearing before them. Izuku scowls slightly, earning a confused glance from Kyouka.
"Katsudon, and could you bring me a cola, please?" Izuku replies, not even turning to glance at the man. He was polite, but the waiter rolled his eyes at Izuku's order and wrote it down begrudgingly. Smoke began to emanate from the boy's fingertips, perhaps it was a signal of intense emotion?
"Right. And for you, gorgeous?" The waiter questions, his flirting being painfully obvious to both teens. Granted, he probably was only a year or two older than them, but it was seriously cringy to see his attempts at trying to get with Kyouka. Hell, Izuku could do way better if he tried hard enough.
"I've got a boyfriend, thanks. I'll have Yakitori and some sweet tea." Kyouka replies, her blank face never leaving as she stares down the man, and gestures to Izuku. The waiter takes the hint and walks off, leaving the two to continue their conversation. As Kyouka turns to Izuku she realizes her mistake as he's now smirking smugly at her, causing blood to rush to her face.
"So, I'm boyfriend material now?" Izuku questions, his smug tone causing Kyouka to both scowl and blush like crazy. Why did she have to say that!?
"Shut it!"
"Well, aside from that shit waiter, I'd say it was a good place to eat." Izuku said, holding the door open for Kyouka. She was a bit upset that Izuku hadn't let her pay for her own meal, but the boy insisted that he paid this time around. His mom had raised him to be a gentleman after all.
"Yeah, yeah. Now, what's up with this surprise?" Kyouka questions, checking her phone for the time. It was getting to be late and they should probably head back home soon. Izuku clicked his teeth and shook his head, she really shouldn't be so concerned over the time right now.
"Don't worry about the time. I've only got one question for you; do you trust me?" He questioned suddenly, walking so close to her they were nearly touching. Kyouka could smell the scent of a fireplace off of him, she was unsure if it was from his quirk or some kind of cologne.
The girl's heart began to race. She was really concerned with how serious and mysterious Izuku had been today, but if she wanted to get to know him she had to trudge through these unknown waters. But that intense gaze he was giving to her, it made her feel as though she should be fearful of what's to come.
"U-Um… Yes..? Yeah, I-I trust you." She stated, stuttering as he was causing her to feel a bit nervous of what's to come. Izuku smiles and takes her hand in his.
"Good, cause you're going to want to hold onto something." Izuku warns, causing Kyouka to grow confused before she's suddenly shot into the sky, Izuku carrying her so that she doesn't suddenly plummet. He had used his smoke to propel them into the air and was now somehow floating?
"AHHHHHH! WHAT THE FUCK!? MIDORIYA, PUT ME DOWN!" Kyouka screeched, flailing about in a panic, causing Izuku to both chuckle and struggle to keep a firm grip on her as her random flailing was gonna be signs of trouble. He needed to get her down on solid ground and fast.
"Alright, alright! Just quit flailing!" Izuku exclaimed, gliding them down with his smoke towards the roof of the theatre that they were at not too long ago. Civilian onlookers choosing not to even bother questioning a couple of kids acting up, it seemed to be a regular occurrence in the city.
As soon as the duo landed on the ground Kyouka shot herself out of Izuku's grasp and stumbled to the ground, panting due to her panic and screaming. Once she regained her composure she turned to glare at her green-haired assailant, only to find him staring up at a billboard on the roof of the theatre.
"Fuck you, prick!" She shouts, using her jack to bring Izuku to his knees and wail in pain. She huffed in annoyance and took the chance to look at her surroundings. The moon was above them, shining down and illuminating both the rooftop and the billboard. Off the edge of the roof was a neon sign that read the name of the theatre, and then there was Izuku, who was sprawled out on the roof writhing in pain. Fucking prick.
"I gave you a warning!" He exclaimed, bringing himself to his feet. He rubbed his ears that still rang due to the vibrations; seriously it was like she ruptured his eardrum! Kyouka simply scowled at the boy and shook her head angrily.
"You should've said what you were gonna do, grass-for-brains!" Kyouka continued to berate. Izuku was going to reply, but decided to just let her be right. It wasn't worth their time, he had a surprise for her anyways.
"Whatever." He said, making his way over to the edge of the roof. Kyouka watched as he began to absorb the neon light from the sign beneath his feet, his arm beginning to glow with a bright fluorescent neon green. It was that same ability from before, that neon light.
"How are you even able to do that? What happened to the whole smoke thing?" Kyouka questioned, stepping towards him. Izuku shrugged, pausing before he gave an answer to admire his hand emanating the green light.
"I guess I should start off with the fact that my quirk isn't just the smoke quirk. My quirk is called Verbatim, it lets me obtain and use any sort of quirks I see fit so long as they aren't mutant types." Izuku explained, staring up at the moon. Kyouka couldn't believe what she was hearing, he had a quirk that let him use and keep other people's quirks!? That was seriously unheard of! "Before UA, I had gotten the smoke quirk from a villain. Then during the USJ… I fought a villain with the neon quirk."
Kyouka put a hand over her mouth in awe. He had stolen quirks from two separate villains? Then that would mean-
"Yeah… I've built my heroics off of villainous quirks. I'm essentially one of the most vile heroes-in-training out there. Probably even a little worse than that grape haired idiot in our class. I might as well be a villain in the eyes of the laws in place for heroes." Izuku revealed, looking down and causing his hair to drape over his eyes. He pulled out his beanie and fit it back atop his head, a sigh escaping his lips as he did so.
He had these kinds of thoughts plaguing his mind for quite some time, he had been trying to ignore it and prove himself wrong so that he could be a hero, but then came another quirk. Another quirk from a villain, a quirk that had been used to probably kill many. He felt disgusted by that fact alone; disgusted by his own abilities. He couldn't be one of them.
Kyouka watched as the boy grit his teeth, but he exhaled softly before turning to her with a pained smile. "But because of them… I saved you. So maybe I am doing something right, right..?" Izuku then turned to the billboard and held out his hand. He fired off a long stream of neon, causing Kyouka to flinch in both surprise and fear.
When she looked back at the billboard the image that remained was a neon mural of what appeared to be a boy on his knees staring at his glowing hands. It was sloppy, but the message would get across very easily. Honestly, Kyouka was more surprised that he had tagged the billboard with his powers alone.
"Perhaps you wouldn't want to know about this side of me, but… I-I felt I should've said something. I've been called a useless copycat nobody for years because of my quirk, but I don't need any sympathy…" He said, letting his hand fall to his side. Kyouka watched as that pained smile on his face fell, a single tear fell from his eye. "I just need to tough it out. That's all I've ever done, and that's all I can do, Jirou..."
The two of them stood in silence, Kyouka staring at Izuku who's eyes were covered by the hair that stuck out of his beanie. She hadn't realized all of these thoughts had plagued his mind so constantly, but she also was left speechless. He was a savior to many, but always went without thanks until that one fateful encounter with All Might. But in this moment, he didn't need to save anyone… He needed to be saved himself.
"Kyouka." She corrected, taking steps towards the boy. Izuku's lone eyebrow raised in confusion at the correction; why her given name? "At least when we're alone like this, call me Kyouka. I can't even possibly imagine what you've gone through in your life but…" She wrapped her arms around the boy, her head only coming to his chest despite the fact he wasn't even that tall; Kyouka was just short.
She embraced Izuku tightly, an act of comfort he didn't even realize he needed. "You'll never have to experience it again… And don't you dare compare yourself to those vile villains, you've taken those quirks and you'll make them your own so that you can excel as a hero! You've already proven yourself worthy enough to be a hero, don't give up…"
A small chuckle followed by a sniffle came from Izuku. He embraced the girl in return as she finished her ramblings of Izuku as a hero. "Thank you… I'm honored you think so highly of me, heh."
Kyouka slapped his back in response to his light-hearted joke, earning another chuckle from the boy. "You can call me Izuku anytime you want. We've already gotten this close after all." He said, rubbing the girl's back, causing her to get a shiver up her spine as well as an increased heartbeat.
"R-Right…" She said, releasing the boy from her embrace. The two separated and Kyouka looked up at Izuku's face, only to be completely surprised to see such a… Real smile on his face. It made her heart skip a beat.
"You know you can rely on me as well if you need it." Izuku said, locking eyes with the girl. A light tinge of pink appears on her cheeks and her ears coil in embarrassment, but she nods nonetheless. "I seriously thought you'd be disgusted by me after I told you about Verbatim…"
Kyouka lightly slapped him and pouted, earning a chuckle from the boy. "I would never! Besides… Verbatim sounds like a cool hero name."
For some reason those words stuck with him. He hadn't really thought of any good hero names, but the fact that Kyouka thinks his "copycat" quirk would also double as a good hero name… Hell, he might be sold on the idea.
Izuku nodded in agreement and gave the girl another genuine smile, before she backed away from Izuku and cleared her throat anxiously, the realization of the situation that they were in setting in.
"I don't mean to ruin the mood, but… How do we get down?"
And here's chapter seven of Switch The Colors!
This update took a minute because I struggled a lot on date ideas for the two of them, because on one hand I wanted to have them go to a karaoke place, but I also wanted them to do something a bit more personal to Izuku as a means to improve their relationship and trust.
Also, due to that, we get to see a bit more of Izuku's angsty side in Switch The Colors, so I hope you guys enjoy!
Also, if you guys want to hangout in a server that's really big on IzuJirou, please feel free to join this discord server: /NuT8DhGMDk
Anyways I hope you guys enjoy, I've got a new fanfic coming out soon, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!