A/N: This chapter was reposted due to a typo that had to be fixed, otherwise everything else is the same as before.
School had just let out for the day at UA, so the Class 1-A students were headed back to their dorms. Jirou led the group back to the dorms, running up to her room before anyone else had even reached the building. Once she was in her room, she sat down on her bed and checked her phone for a few minutes.
"I just need to wait until the coast is clear…" Jirou thought.
She waited around ten minutes before she got up from her bed. Now ready to go, she picked up her case that contained her bass and left the room.
No one was in the hallways or the elevator as she went to the first floor. Once a week, Jirou got permission to leave the campus to return home for a few hours. One of her parents would teach her a musical lesson, whether it was singing, the bass, or another type of instrument, and she would head back to campus the next day after enjoying a home-cooked meal.
On days where it was only singing, it was easy enough to leave without being noticed. But today was a bass lesson. And she had to carry around her clunky, black case that people would unmistakably know holds an instrument if they knew anything about music. She was now in the lobby area, ready to leave, when she noticed a figure standing at the door. Tufts of green hair bobbed up and down as he entered the building, holding the door open as another figure joined him.
Jirou's pulse intensified and she turned around, "Crap, where do I - "
"Oh, hey Jirou!"
"Jirou, how are you doing?"
Jirou looked back towards the entrance of the dorms. Midoriya and Uraraka stood next to each other, both smiling as they greeted themselves to Jirou.
"Hey. I'm just going home for the night. See you all tomorrow in class," Jirou said quickly, as she walked past both of them.
"I'm going home today too, actually!" Midoriya said
Jirou stopped in her tracks and gritted her teeth, "oh, you are? Did you, um, get approval?"
"I did. Just for tonight, because my mom needs some help around the house. I'll be back tomorrow morning," Midoriya said.
"I'll see you later, Deku!" Uraraka said, as she left the room.
Jirou then exited without saying another word. Midoriya decided to follow her despite his uncertainties, catching up to her after a few large steps. He then noticed the bulky case she held in her left hand.
"Where do you live, Jirou?" Midoriya said, causing Jirou to jump.
"Woah! Oh, Midoriya, I didn't see you there. I, um, live in Shizuoka Prefecture, about five minutes from here. You?"
"I live there too! I'm also about five minutes from school so we must live pretty close to each other!"
"I'm surprised we've never seen each other around before."
The two walked together towards their homes, without talking to each other much. Yesterday had been the first time they had ever even interacted, but still, Midoriya did not want to seem rude by being quiet.
He again noticed the case that Jirou carried. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sticker with white letters on the side of the case, which read 'Deep Dope.' He had never heard of the phrase before and wondered what the word 'dope' even meant.
"Um, Jirou, if you don't mind me asking, what's in the case? And what does Deep Dope mean?" Midoriya asked, now looking at Jirou.
"There's nothing s-special in the case! It's just, um, um, something! Yeah, something personal of mine I'm taking home. Oh, Deep Dope! They're this punk rock band I listen too. You probably wouldn't like them, but they're my favorites," Jirou said, her face now cherry red as she had forgotten about the case that she had tried to hide from him.
"Deep Dope… I've never heard of them before."
Midoriya was surprised at Jirou's nerves once again. Yesterday it was Kaminari's remarks, and now today it was about her case. Why was she getting so flustered over small things? He decided to ignore it and instead focused on Deep Dope, since she seemed calmer talking about them.
"They're kinda niche. You know, one of those bands that has a smaller fanbase, but almost every fan is hardcore dedicated!" Jirou said, cracking a smile for the first time on the trek home.
"Maybe I'll listen to one of their songs and see if I like it!" Midoriya said
"Oh, um, you might - "
"There's my Kyouka! Welcome home, dear!"
The two students looked ahead now to see an older woman standing on the sidewalk in front of a house, with the gates of the driveway reading "Jirou."
"Hey mom," Jirou said, as she walked towards her and leaned in for a hug.
"And who's this with you? A new friend?" Mika said.
Jirou looked back at Midoriya, who waved towards them with a smile. She had never thought of him as a 'friend' before considering they were barely aquatinted, but the two had gotten along well over the past two days, and she even was able to talk to him about Deep Dope. She was more close to him than over half the class at this point, anyways.
"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya. Jirou and I were partners in a training session yesterday, and I was walking home with her since I live nearby."
"It's nice to meet you, Izuku. Feel free to come inside for a refreshment if you want!" Mika said.
"I wish I could, but I-I have to go home as soon as I can. My mom needs a lot of help with some things around the house, and she'll be worried if I come back late," Midoriya said.
"Oh, how responsible! Maybe I need to do that with you too, Kyouka? Anyways, are you ready for your bass lesson?" Mika said.
"Mom!" Jirou said, quickly grabbing her earphone jack to twirl it.
"It was nice meeting you, hopefully I'll see you around!" Midoriya said, as he took off down the street.
Once he was out of sight, Jirou turned around and grunted as she walked into the house. Mika followed her in, amused at how her daughter was still embarrassed by certain things.
After completing the intensive chores that Inko needed assistance with, Izuku plopped onto his bed in his own room. He turned the TV on and there was a documentary playing about Gang Orca. He smiled as he thought about all the times he would rush home from junior high to watch the hero shows. Unfortunately, he had less time to do so at UA, but he had seen them all at this point, anyways.
Although he was happy to be in his own room for the first time in a while, he thought about Jirou and their conversation they had earlier. Deep Dope, a punk rock band. He had said that he would listen to one of their songs.
"Let's see here…" Midoriya said, looking online.
The first result that popped up was a music video called "Heroes are Dope." Midoriya put on his headphones and allowed the music to take him over as he laid in bed, finding the lyrics of the song to be quite different from anything he had heard before. But despite this, he tapped his foot rapidly to the beat of the song.
"Wow, this is really good! I'm surprised I've never heard them before, but I guess that's why they're 'niche.'"
He listened to a few more songs before he decided to download the album that "Heroes are Dope" was on. It was by far his favorite song by the group, although he enjoyed each of the six songs he listened to. After he was done, he remembered how her mother mentioned how she was going to begin her 'bass lesson.'
"A bass lesson… maybe she plays the bass. Hey, that's another thing I can talk to her about!" Midoriya said while grinning to himself.
"And… there."
Kyouka finished playing the song "Heroes are Dope" on her bass as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. Generally, Mika's lessons would consist of generic music sheets that she composed herself, but she occasionally let Jirou choose her own song to finish off the lesson with.
"That's your favorite song by them, right? I can tell by the passion you put into it," Mika said.
"It's my favorite song, period! I love Deep Dope, but even this song is a step above anything else I've heard by them," Kyouka said.
"That's great, honey. I just wish you were this enthusiastic about your passion with your friends and classmates, too."
Kyouka's smile faded into her trademark expressionless face. She got up from her seat with a grunt, packing the base back into it's case after two hours of hard work.
"It's just a hobby. It won't help me become a hero. I love playing, but that's all it is. No one else needs to know," Kyouka said.
As Kyouka walked away from the music room that her parents had made in a spare bedroom, Mika briskly got up and blocked the doorway from her daughter.
"Kyouka Jirou! Who cares if it's just a hobby? It might not be your profession like your father and myself, but that doesn't mean you can't tell anyone!"
"No one likes punk rock, mom! All that people in my class care about are pop and hip hop. No one listens to Deep Dope for crying out loud! They don't need to know what my stupid passions are, and they wouldn't care anyways," Kyouka said.
Kyouka wedged herself through the doorway and escaped the room before Mika could counter. Kyouka ran upstairs to her bedroom after she dropped her backpack and bass case on the floor. Mika sighed. It was yet another moment of embarrassment for her daughter, and for what reason?
"She needs to learn that being unique is cool. She could make so many people smile through her music… she has too much talent to hide," Mika said as she shook her head.
Now upstairs, Kyouka laid in her bed on her stomach. She stuffed her head into her pillow as she put music on her headphones full blast, trying to forget about everything that had transpired. Her heart was enraged, but she could not blame her mother. Mika did not realize how things were when it came to her music taste. Kaminari and Yaoyorozu did not even know who they were, outside of seeing a few posters in her room from the move-in day and the occasional t-shirt she wore.
But then there was Midoriya. He had caught her Deep Dope sticker on her case, and she could not believe that she failed to hide it better from him. She was somehow able to squirm her way out of giving into discussing the bass, but she was not so lucky when it came to Deep Dope. But she did not let that bother her, though. She doubted Midoriya even remembered something so insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
"Mom, Deep Dope is so cool! They have so many amazing songs, and some about heroes too! Have you ever heard of them?!" Izuku said.
He was now in the living room area with Inko, watching tv now that all of the chores were done. Inko scratched her head before giving her reply.
"I've never even heard of them before, but I'm glad you like them! How did you learn about them?" Inko asked while taking sip of water.
"Oh yeah, one of my friends from class really likes them! They told me about them after school and now I'm obsessed! This may sound embarrassing but I kind of want to get a shirt or poster or something," Izuku said, hardly believing he already wanted merchandise from the band.
"Maybe that's what Jirou meant about every fan being hardcore," Izuku thought.
"You can go to the local store and see if they have anything. Just make sure you're back in time for dinner!"
"That sounds great, thanks mom!" Izuku said. "I won't be gone too long, I'll just go to that one store down the street."
"Izuku! Before you go, tell me. Did All Might approve for you to go to his convention?" Inko said.
"He did! And I can't wait!" Izuku said as he waved goodbye.
After an hour or so of laying in bed, Jirou finally sat up. She grabbed her headphones and threw them onto the floor as she stretched her arms skyward. There were several Deep Dope posters, along with various instruments, records, CD's, and speakers all throughout her room. Jirou had always been interested in music through all forms, basically being a collector despite listening to them all the time when she was home. Seeing all of the merchandise in the room gave her a thought.
She got up from her bed and changed into casual clothes, with her shirt being Deep Dope themed. She walked downstairs to see Mika coming down the hallway while holding two bags.
"Are you feeling better now, Kyouka? I'm sorry if I was being pushy earlier," Mika said.
"You're fine. I'm going to cool off by going to the record shop down the street. Maybe I'll find a new poster or something. I'll be back later," Kyouka said, exiting the house.
A/N: So Midoriya has a new favorite band! No wonder he would love a band that believes 'Heroes are Dope.' And now he and Jirou are going to look for some merchandise… find out what happens next Wednesday! Thank you for reading, favoriting, following, and commenting, I really appreciate it!