Chapter 4: A Growing Friendship

Izuku stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, unable to stop his brain from thinking about everything that took place yesterday between him and Jirou. In fact, the first few days of school already went beyond his expectations such as being treated like a regular person for the first time in years. A big improvement in his eyes. However, the biggest – and the most obvious – was his budding friendship with the pretty girl named Jirou. Deep down, there was some part of him unable to believe his conversation on the train after school with Jirou actually happened and was nothing more than some kind of twisted fever dream.

There was something sad about questioning the motives of people around him, wondering if they were going to treat his existence as a joke or bully him as many others had done before them.

Yet, he prayed to every deity in existence for his wish to come true. The yearning to know these people, his classmates for the next three years, were more interested in trying to become his friend like Jirou had done yesterday than turning out like a certain explosive blonde in their class. After what had happened with him, Izuku felt as if he was drowning in a bottomless ocean for years. No one to help him. No one to turn to for help. Like it was useless to struggle against the ever-rising tides.

There was a thought in the back of his mind. One that's been gnawing at him for years; maybe it might have been easier to simply stop trying and let go.

Knock! Knock!

However, Izuku was reminded about one of the few good things in his life. 'What time is it?' he looked over to his nearby digital clock and saw it was about time to get up for school. He nearly let out a groan after hearing the knocking on his bedroom door. There was some part of him regretting his decision to stay up late and write down some stuff in his latest journal, especially after his conversation on the train with Jirou.

Izuku rolled over on his side and stared at his bedroom door, 'Another day at U.A High. Can't believe I still got into this school and already made a few friends, including Jirou.'

His brain couldn't help but think about why he went to sleep late. A moment later, Izuku's eyes moved away from the door and towards a neatly kept pile of notebooks sitting on his nearby desk. It didn't take long for a blush to appear on his face as he recalled what exactly was keeping him busy for most of the night. The drawing...took longer than expected if he could be completely honest.

'If she ever sees the drawing, I think I will truly die from embarrassment,' Izuku wouldn't get another chance to think about it as the door to his bedroom started to open up.

"Sweetie, are you up?"

At the door, there was a somewhat short woman with green hair tied into a ponytail, bright green eyes, and a tired smile on her face. When she saw her son still lying in bed, Inko wasn't too surprised by the boy's exhaustion. It was pretty common to find Izuku scribbling into his notebooks at such a late hour. Truthfully, Inko would be surprised if it was for any other reason than his journals. She walked into the room and headed to the only window in her son's bedroom.

Inko opened the blinds, letting the rays of the early morning sun enter. She made a comment about the weather outside, "It's a beautiful morning."

The light hitting his eyes earned a reaction from Izuku, "Mom! It's too early and too bright for school."

"Sorry about that," Inko giggled as she walked over to his bed and pulled back on the covers. "But I trust you to get some sleep on a school night. Or did you get so invested in your notebook that you forgot about something as important as sleep?"

"…"

The older woman placed her hands on her hips and sighed, "Guess I wasn't too far from the mark."

He blushed in embarrassment while rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, mom. I didn't mean to stay up so late. Time...just slip by for me," Izuku never really bothered lying to his mother. Sure, there were a few things he kept to himself but his mother was one of the few people he could trust after all these years.

"Promise me you won't do it again," Inko knew her son was entering his teenage years. At that age, the ability to trust their word was questionable as the older woman recalled her high school years and everything that happened with her.

Izuku nodded, "I promise."

Neither of them exchanged another word as Izuku got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. This left Inko alone in his room. She glanced around her son's room, taking in the sight of the numerous posters on his wall. Most had All Might on them. Although, there were a few exceptions. Some science-related ones sprinkled throughout to break things up. All of these posters showcased Izuku's admiration for the larger-than-life hero. It caused Inko to subconsciously reach down to the gold ring on her finger.

'I can only imagine what Hisashi would say about Izuku's room,' the woman shook her head, knowing it was pointless to go down that path. Nothing good will come from it.

The posters, however, were another reminder about her son's unfortunate childhood. Quirks were pretty much the norm in their society, and it was becoming very apparent quirkless individuals like her son were going to be dying out in the next few generations. It still hurt to remember Izuku's reaction to the news from the doctor about how he'll never develop a quirk.

Or, he was supposed to be quirkless.

Either the doctor was wrong about her son's situation or Izuku must have gotten really lucky. Still, Inko couldn't help but think about what happened after they got home. The look of devastation on his face as a child was something she would never forget. At the time, his dream was crushed into a million pieces, and, no matter what he did, becoming a hero was entirely out of his reach.

'Stop it. I-I already failed him once,' Inko took a deep breath and headed for the door. 'He's got a quirk now. Izuku...He can follow his dreams and prove everyone wrong, including me. I wonder what would you have done, Hisashi?'

Inko knew she would have to live with the guilt of thinking her son's dream was over. A feeling she'll have to live with for the rest of her life and Inko made a conscious effort to try to support him to the best of her abilities. It was probably the least she could for Izuku, her one, and only son.

She walked out of his room and tried to get her mind off the topic. 'Izuku would only get worried if he saw me right now,' Inko wiped away the tears in the corner of her eye before walking away.

Meanwhile, Izuku was getting ready for another day at U.A High. The fifteen-year-old boy never really showed all that much excitement during middle school, especially after the revelation of his quirkless nature. For years, he didn't seem to think about the future. Yet, his life seems to be turning the corner for the better. Friends, a mentor, and the power to accomplish his dream.

Things were changing in his life, and Izuku had to adjust to everything going on.

He didn't take long to head back to his room and put on the school uniform. 'Let's see...my notebooks are here. There's my textbook for Midnight's class and, uh, that homework assignment for Present Mic is due today,' the young boy checked through the contents of his book bag to make sure everything was there for the day. In the back of his mind, Izuku was actually looking forward to school and being able to talk to Jirou.

Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw his latest hero journal on the table. Last night came back in full force. 'God, I really hope I don't have to see Jirou on the train,' he thought. Izuku shook his head after a few moments while hoping the blush on his face would go away or he was bound to get questions from his mother.

When he grabbed his book bag and entered the common living area, Izuku was met with the familiar smell of his mother's wonderful cooking. The sight of bacon, eggs, and other items associated with a good breakfast was all that mattered to the young boy.

"I see you're finally awake," Inko warmly greeted her son. The green-haired woman put a plate of food for Izuku. "Eat up. I'm sure you wanna get going before you miss the train to school. Being late during your first week isn't something you want, I'm sure."

Izuku threw his book bag on the nearby couch before sitting down at the table. Without much warning, he started munching on his breakfast. It didn't take long for Izuku to finish his mother's cooking. This seems to draw a smile from the woman's face as she watched her son. Less than a few minutes later, her son was already walking over to the sink and leaving his empty plate in the sink.

"Thanks for the breakfast, mom."

"You're welcome," Inko was more than happy with the sight of her son's smile. Although, she couldn't help but notice the slight bounce in Izuku's step as he walked over to the couch and grabbed his book bag. Quickly, he headed towards her and placed a kiss on her cheek before rushing to the door.

He waved at her before stepping out the door like a madman, "I'll see ya later! Love you."

Inko waited for the door to close before saying a word, "Love you too."

Soon, she went back to washing the dishes in complete silence. The smile from earlier seems to have faded away as the only thing that remained was a frown. Unable to stop thinking her son, Izuku, hated her. No matter how many times he smiled at her or said he loved her, Inko worried it was nothing more than a facade to hide his true feelings towards her.

'I...I really am a terrible mother.'

(X)

(Around the Same Time)

There are many things to dislike about riding the train in the early mornings. Kyouka already had some mixed feelings about getting into a crowded, metal box filled to the brim with people as if they were a can of sardines. As for the people aboard, they ranged from energetic little kids being annoying to even full-grown adults being able to shut up as they constantly talked on the phone. It was almost impossible to avoid these situations since her quirk made it much easier to listen to the noise happening all around her. For a moment, there was a desire to use her earjacks and poke out the eyes of some of the people who were causing the noise.

What prevented her from saying anything was a simple mantra in her head, and playing some music on her phone to keep things from getting out of hand.

'Heroes are supposed to bring smiles to people's faces, not pain,' Kyouka has been repeating her mantra for the entire train ride. Thankfully, she wouldn't need to deal with crowds and loud noises for much longer. The next stop after this one coming up was supposed to be Musutafu, a small city on the coast as well as the location of U.A High.

The train started coming to a stop. Kyouka watched as there was a much smaller crowd waiting on the platform, but she managed to catch the sight of Midoriya. His green hair certainly made him stand out and the bright yellow book bag on his back. Soon, the train came to a complete stop and the doors slid open.

A large number of people stepped off the train and onto the platform. Unlike earlier, Kyouka was able to move around much easier, and it gave her a chance to move up to talk to Midoriya as he came onto the same train car as her.

She walked over to Midoriya, oblivious to her presence, before bumping him gently with her shoulder. This seems to get his attention as the boy jumped slightly in surprise.

"S-Sorry!"

"Wow," Kyouka raised a brow with a slight smirk. "No need to be so jumpy. It's just little old me, and good morning to you too."

Midoriya appeared to have frozen for a moment before turning to face her. "M-Morning, Jirou," he said in a quiet voice with a hint of nervousness to it.

"You okay?"

He nodded furiously, "Of course. W-Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You don't sound so certain," Kyouka was a little curious as to why her friend was behaving so skittish. "It's like you're almost afraid to talk to me or something."

"No!" Midoriya immediately spoke up, waving his hands in front of him frantically. "It...It has nothing to do with you. I just...have a lot on my mind."

Kyouka tilted her head to the side, "Like what?"

"Uh...I was thinking about...asking Iida if he wanted to become the class president," Midoriya sounded unsure about his words as he revealed them to her. For a moment, it felt like it was just the two of them on the train. "Yesterday...during the whole incident...Iida proved to be a much better leader than me. He seemed almost perfect for the role of our class president. More than me anyway."

She thought about his words. In the short amount of time they've known each other, Kyouka would be lying if she didn't think Midoriya was lacking in the confidence department. Yet, there were flashes of what lay beneath the surface. The training exercise was a big one, but it wasn't the only one.

Their conversation on the train yesterday was another moment. He sounded confident about everything he said regarding quirks like no one could dispute what came out of his mouth. It was pretty impressive in her eyes, and people need to remember his behavior prior to the start of the training exercise.

As for his hesitance to tackle the role of being the class president, Kyouka thought it was pointless to keep quiet about it. She always preferred honesty over coddling someone.

"Midoriya, why are you so quick to give up the role?"

"What?"

Kyouka saw the confusion on his face and explained herself, "We've been at this school for three days. How can you possibly know you're not capable of being a good leader or doing what's necessary as the class president? If you were the dumbass blonde guy named Kaminari, I might've agreed with you but you're not. As far as I can tell, Midoriya, you just need a confidence boost."

"Confidence? We...don't exactly get along with each other."

The joke caused Kyouka to roll her eyes playfully, "Alright, I see you're a comedian now. Still doesn't mean Mr. Responsible is any better fit to be class president than you."

He let out a chuckle, "I'm sure Iida wouldn't appreciate that kind of nickname."

"Too bad for him. It fits the guy to a T."

"What about me?"

Kyouka raised a brow as she looked at him, "What about you?"

"I mean, don't I get a nickname too."

One of her earjacks tapped against her chin, "You know? Considering we're friends...you're not wrong about getting a nickname. Give me a bit of time and I'll let you know, Midoriya."

A small appeared on his face, "Thanks."

"So are you still going to hand the position over to him?" Kyouka asked him. "If you want my opinion, you should use this chance to build some confidence. Besides, you'll have Yaomomo next to you."

"Yaomomo?"

The confusion was evident on his face, and Kyouka realized her mistake. A slight blush could be seen on her face as she cleared her throat, "The girls...we, uh, made up a nickname for Yaoyorozu within the first two days, especially after the whole hero-vs-training exercise."

"Oh."

"You weren't there but she really seems like the kind of person you can rely on," Kyouka recalled how in-depth the raven-haired girl went into about each of the matches. Plus, the few conversations they've shared only reinforced that belief. "It's not like you would have to do everything all alone."

Midoriya seemed to take in her words as a serious expression appeared on his face. He turned to look at her, "Why are you trying to get me to keep the role?"

"Cause you could benefit from being in that role," Kyouka shrugged her shoulders "I'm just saying."

"Is that really why?"

A stray thought came to mind, 'No, your reaction from yesterday proved how much you don't want to be the class president.'

Kyouka let out a sigh, "Honestly, I remember hearing your heart rate yesterday when you stood up at the front of the class. It's pretty hard to think you would be up for the job after seeing how nervous and jittery you were up there next to Yaomomo."

She looked at him, who titled his head in confusion and explained. "Believe it or not, you are actually the first-ever friend I've made in this school. That also happens to make you my best friend by default, and I don't like seeing my best friend so terrified in front of the class. It doesn't sit well with me."

"You...You think of me as your best friend?" Midoriya appeared to be in disbelief. He kept a firm grip on the railing above him, fearing he might fall if he let go. "B-But we just met."

"And?"

"A-And what if you regret making me your best friend…"

Kyouka thought about the past few days. The training exercise, their talk in the nurse's office, and just about everything that went down yesterday. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy and pretty smart if the conversation about his hobby was any indication and the numerous questions he asked about her quirk in such rapid succession. Unfortunately, she recalled an unpleasant memory from middle school but she refused to think about it.

'I get nothing out of it. Besides, Midoriya seems like a major improvement over them,' Kyouka was not one to take a leap of faith after what happened but attending a place like U.A High is supposed to be about becoming a hero.

"Let me ask you a question; would you want to hurt a friend or family member by choice?"

His answer was quick and decisive. "No," his brow furrowed, "I wouldn't ever want to hurt my mother or any of my friends of for that matter."

"Then I won't regret making my decision," Kyouka gave a slight smile. "Anyway, I hope I didn't weird you out or anything."

"Not really," Midoriya scratched his cheek as he tried to remain calm as possible. "I-I never really had a best friend. So this is new territory for me."

"Well, I never had a guy as a best friend. Maybe this will be a good experience for the both of us," the purple-haired musician had another thought as a smirk appeared. "At least, it means I'll have a chance to introduce you to the wonderful world of music."

It wasn't long until the two first-year students saw the familiar sight of U.A High in the distance, and a part of Kyouka was slightly hoping Midoriya would take her advice about staying as the class president to help him out.

Suddenly, she felt someone accidentally bump into her. The force behind the push ended up causing her to lean against the closest person; Midoriya. At the moment, however, she didn't seem to recognize this and merely turned her head at the person responsible. "Hey!" Kyouka exclaimed angrily. "Watch where you're moving, idiot."

"J-Jirou?"

"Hmm?" Kyouka heard Midoriya whisper her name. "What is it?"

"You're...You're a little close to me."

The bright blush and increased heart rate were big indicators, but Kyouka looked down and realized the distance between them was nonexistent. Flustered, the young girl struggled to respond. Another thought came to mind as she saw her hand placed against his chest and was pressing up quite close to him, which happened to answer a question in the back of her head. 'Looks like that explains why it felt like my hand was pressed against a wall,' Kyouka tried to reign in her embarrassment and make things less awkward between them.

"Sorry," she cleared her throat while putting a bit of distance between them. "Uh, that was my bad."

"D-Don't worry about it."

Neither of them said another word as their respective minds went into overdrive, especially Kyouka's. She kept her eyes off Midoriya in an attempt to keep things as normal as possible, 'Come on, don't act like some idiot. His quirk is strength-based. It's, well, reasonable to think he's in good or more like great shape if I'm being honest after feeling where my hand landed,' she mentally groaned at the direction her teenage mind was going. 'Seriously, I can't even begin to imagine what he's probably thinking.'

For a second, her violet eyes glanced over at her green-haired friend. It was very easy to see he was just as flustered from what happened.

'Let's hope today isn't as awkward this moment right now.'

(X)

(Later that Morning)

Izuku struggled to keep his emotions in check after what happened on the train. His mind kept bringing up the memory of the incident with Jirou. He could barely focus in class as his eyes constantly landed on his purple-haired friend, wondering if she was still embarrassed about it. The lack of experience with girls was coming back to rear its ugly head, and Izuku was lost as to what to do to resolve the situation. Then, there was the 'teenage' part of his brain recalling the strange feeling of a girl pressed up against him at that moment. Quickly, Izuku shut down the thought before it got out of hand and went in another direction.

'Still can't believe she sees me as her best friend. We...We only met a few days ago,' Izuku went through most of middle school without making any real friends. To call someone his best friend? Some part of him was hesitant to place that level of trust in the hands of someone else. No one ever came close in his mind to be considered a friend, let alone a title like a best friend.

There was, even more, to think about as Jirou wanted him to remain as the class president. Izuku was not expecting someone to push him in that specific direction. Never before had someone suggested he try to make most of the opportunity. The closest example was All Might saying his effort for the past ten months was all him, not luck. His mother, surprisingly, came to mind as well.

Still, his mind took a minute to process everything spoken about on the train between them. It wasn't easy to think he could fulfill any of these roles; either as a best friend or class president. All Izuku ever wanted was to get through the next three years, get his hero license, and live up to the expectations on his shoulders as the next inheritor of One for All.

Saving people was his only goal in life, and Izuku was unsure about dealing with anything that didn't seem too relevant.

'Maybe I should think about it?' the young boy continued to take down notes as his thoughts kept going wild as usual. 'Jirou did go out of her way to try and convince me. It would be rude if I didn't even try to listen to my...b-best friend's suggestion. God, that's going to take some time getting used to.'

Before he could keep going through the endless madness known as his brain, the bell went off. It let the students know the period over. Mr. Aizawa, relieved by the bell ringing, finished his lecture and caught the attention of the class.

"All right," he said with a bored tone. "Listen up, brats, I'm only going to say this once; we'll be going to a facility located here on campus. Today, you will be getting another taste of what your education as a hero-in-training will look like for the next three years. So prepare yourselves for what's coming in the afternoon."

Everyone seems to perk up at the news about what was waiting for them in the afternoon. Izuku couldn't lie about being excited at whatever was prepared for them.

Mr. Aizawa rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Now, get out of here before I give you brats detention."

No one needed any more motivation from their homeroom teacher, and Izuku watched many of them leave the room in a hurry. He glanced over at the clock and saw it was time for lunch. There was a part surprised by how quickly the morning went. Although, Izuku was lost in his thoughts for most of them and mostly kept quiet throughout.

"Midoriya."

"Deku."

Izuku looked over and saw two of his other friends approaching from their respective desks. Iida was certainly a strange combination in the eyes of anyone. A serious person with an enthusiasm for the rules. The dark-haired teenager wasn't alone as someone was close behind him. Unlike Iida, Uraraka was a bit more carefree. Besides Jirou, these two were his other friends.

"Hey guys," he smiled slightly at them.

As per usual, Iida was never one to be normal about most things. The taller boy adjusted his glasses as he glanced down at the notebook on Izuku's desk. "Ah, Midoriya, I see you're prepared for whatever Mr. Aizawa has lined up for us down the road. Your dedication to becoming a hero is certainly to be commended with a notebook like yours."

"He's not wrong," Uraraka leaned down and looked at his notebook. "That's a lot of notes. I don't even think Yaomomo has that much written down compared to you."

Izuku was confused by what they were saying until he glanced down at his notes. At that moment, his entire world nearly shattered at the realization of what was written down. They weren't entirely stuff taken from their teacher's lecture but mixed with his personal thoughts about what happened with Jirou on the train. Everything from his anxiety over her finding out about his hero journal to Jirou saying he's her best friend.

"O-Oh, I...I guess I wrote down too much. Anyway, I think we should go to lunch," he tried his best to deflect the attention from his notebook, panicking internally about one of them getting too close and seeing what is truly written down on it. Thankfully, Iida didn't seem to notice his slight sweating and agreed with him.

The taller boy made a fist and hit it against his other palm. "Of course, Midoriya, we should follow the instructions left behind by Mr. Aizawa," he said in an unusually enthusiastic voice. "As future heroes, we must always be at the top of our game, and getting all the necessary nutrients into our body is going to be critical. Don't you guys agree?"

"You have a point," Izuku agreed with his rule-abiding friend.

"Of course, Mr. Responsible has a point. Isn't that his whole shtick?"

To their surprise, another voice interjected into their conversation. Izuku saw Jirou walking towards his desk while casually twirling one of her earjacks.

"H-Hey, Jirou."

"Sup, Midoriya."

Despite the relaxed tone behind her greeting, there was a small moment of hesitation from Jirou. Adding to the confusion was the light pink barely seen on her cheeks. It helped create a single thought from the young boy named Izuku Midoriya, 'Cute.'

Would you look at that? It only took me about a week to get another chapter out for you to read. It's certainly far from my fastest upload, but better than the recent weeks as I've dealt with the plague known simply as writer's block. Anyway, I think that's enough from me when it comes to complaining about the regular BS I go through.

Time to talk about the story!

Again, the chapter was talking between Kyouka and Izuku. There's nothing special about what's happening here. Let me know how you feel about how the characters were written and how they interacted with each other. If it's good, bad, meh, any kind of feedback is appreciated by those of you who read my stuff.

Another change is the whole 'class president' situation. Honestly, that idea was a flip of the coin for me. I said 'fuck it' and went with the idea of him keeping the role.

I don't got much else to say. Not really going to talk about my Cowboys. Our offseason has been pretty quiet with a few 'eh' signings here and there. I'm just hoping the draft is where we fill the rest of our needs, especially on our secondary and offensive line.

Alrighty, I'll see ya later!