Chapter 5: Heavy Metal Riff, Part II

"Uh… well… she's a nice girl, and um… w-why do you ask?"

Just as Jiro had predicted, Midoriya turned into a red-cheeked, fidgeting mess immediately following her question, averting his eyes from hers as he fumbled for his words.

God dammit, why does he have to look so cute when he's doing that? Jiro bit down on her lip from the inside in a silent reprimand, doing her best to rein in the part of her that had wanted so desperately to kiss Izuku down on the dancefloor, that still wanted to kiss him now. Snap out of it, Kyoka. He's gonna make me say it- might as well bite the bullet.

Glancing down at her whisky, she lifted the glass to her mouth and took another deep sip before she continued, grimacing at the bitter taste. God, how did I let it all get this fucked up? When she was finally ready, she made sure to choose her words as carefully as she could, though even that was harder than usual given how much alcohol was currently flowing through her veins.

"I… know you two went on a date last week. And that you both really had a good time."

"I'm not so sure about that." He interjected, his expression downtrodden. "I mean… I absolutely did, but she…"

"That… wasn't your fault," Jiro replied, her tone insistent as she recalled Yaoyorozu's explanation of her behavior at the end of the night, how guilty she'd felt about her 'betrayal' of Ochako. "Look, emotions are complicated, and people are a whole other mess entirely. I know it may not have seemed like it at the time, but…" The next few words came a bit harder, but she pushed through them all the same- she'd given Momo her word, and one romantic dance with Midoriya didn't change that. "But she really likes you, Izuku. I mean, a lot. Head over heels, the whole nine yards. She was just… feeling guilty about moving on from Todoroki." The lie came to her easily, and she could see by the look of realization in Deku's eyes that he accepted it readily. As complicated as the situation already was, explaining the entire Ochako dilemma would only add more unknown variables.

"Oh… I see."

"But she's over it now," Kyoka made sure to add when she saw his crestfallen gaze. "I talked to her today, and… and I think she's ready to see you again."

"Oh. R-really?" His eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope, and Jiro forced a smile in response.

"Yeah, really. She misses you, so you better not disappoint her, loverboy."

"So if you only talked with her about that today…" he frowned, his brows furrowed in contemplation, then looked back up at her with curious eyes. "Then wait, why did you invite me to this half a week ago? Did it not have anything to do with that?"

"Does it have to? No real reason, to be honest, besides the fact that it had been a while. I saw you on the news after that fire rescue, and I thought catching up as friends would be nice."

That lie was less convincing than the previous one, but Midoriya seemed to buy into it just as easily, and gave her a wide, innocent smile.

"Well I think it's really nice to see you too, and I'm glad you asked me to come. It's so cool to hear about music from you! Do you think you could teach me some more about all the different bands and singers and stuff?"

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Kyoka grinned back at him, doing the best to ignore the slight flutter in her chest. His eyes are so damn green, it's gorgeous. How did I never notice that before? "What type of genre you like best? Rock, rap, electronic? If you say country, I'm leaving right now."

"That's a, uh… good question." He gave her another nervous grin. "Will you be mad at me if I say I have no idea? I mostly just listen to whatever's on the radio."

"Wha… are you for real dude?" Jiro's eyes grew wide, and her jaw went slack with shock for a few brief moments before she remembered it was Midoriya she was talking about here, the boy who'd never been to a concert before tonight at age twenty-one. "So no favorite artists or songs or anything? No go-to playlist for when you're on the subway or just chilling at home?"

"Hmm… not unless shuffle counts." He sipped contemplatively at his beer. "And I always forget to look at the song names too, so I can never remember them! But… there are some artists I do know. I've listened to all your songs, I really love your work!"

"You… huh?"

Kyoka wasn't aware that a face even could flush as red as hers did in that moment, as the mental image of Izuku blasting one of her punk anthems at the gym came to mind unbidden, of her voice crooning in his ear while he rode to work or showered or cooked dinner at night. Since launching her musical side-gig shortly after graduation, she'd always made an unconscious effort not to push her work on her friends, partly because she was still half-convinced that everything she produced was terrible, and partly because there was something oddly personal about putting her voice out there for the world. Aside from a few close friends like Momo and Mina and the others, who had always been her staunchest supporters, it still felt strange to consider the fact that people she knew might be listening to her lay bare her emotions at any given moment. Releasing her songs meant exposing a vulnerable part of herself to everyone she knew and everyone she didn't- the only possible solution was to not think about it, a conclusion she'd reached a long time ago. Midoriya's comment turned everything upside down, though, and she had to look away towards the dancefloor to make sure he didn't see her expression as she stumbled over her next few words.

"That's, uh… thank you, that means a lot. Do you have a, um…" She coughed briefly to clear her throat. "…A favorite one? Of my songs, that is."

Why the hell am I asking him this?! Part of her mind shouted, the part that wanted to steer this conversation back away from her music as quickly as possible. Abort mission, just run to the bathroom!

"That's really hard," he answered, and the sound of his voice froze her in place just as she was preparing to bolt. "But if I had to pick… I'd probably say 'Eye of the Storm'."

Of course you would, Jiro reflected, as her heart continued to pound in her chest like a drum. The one Midoriya had chosen was indisputably one of her most romantic songs, with the lyrics written in the form of a love letter from a dying soldier.

"Any particular reason?" She suddenly found herself asking. "I like that one too."

"Well I'd be lying if I said it wasn't super catchy. But now that I think about it… I think it's the one that sounds the most like you. N-not that the others don't sound like you too!" Izuku quickly stammered once he glanced down and finally saw her embarrassed expression, laying one hand tentatively on her shoulder as he gave his most reassuring smile. "Trust me, they're all amazing!"

"Wow, that's really sweet. I'm just gonna, uh… one second."

Pushed to her mental limit, she was a heartbeat away from turning and hastily retreating when an arm wrapped around her waist from behind, and suddenly she found her cheek being pressed up against Midoriya's, her shoulder on his chest.

"There you cuties are! Just look at you two lovebirds, it's so cute I could die!"

If possible, Rumiko returned even more bubbly than before, giggling as she squeezed them both in a tight hug, one hand conspicuously on Izuku's abs. He quickly began to stammer awkwardly in an attempt to greet her, but before Kyoka could even begin to process her response, they were both being led by the hand back to the bar, where another line of shots awaited them.

"Aw, Rumi, come on, I've already had a lot tonight…"

"M-me too…"

"It's just sake, you guys, no biggie! Don't worry about it, we're pacing things!"

The taller girl's amicable personality was so infectious that it was only a matter of seconds before they found themselves downing the liquor in one go, and Jiro's eyes shot wide open in shock and dismay when something much stronger and more bitter than what she'd been expecting washed down her throat, nearly triggering her gag reflex.

"You liar, that was shochu!" She coughed, glancing over as Deku went through a similarly distressed reaction.

"Same difference," the gyaru replied mischievously. "Hey Midoriya, boo, could you go grab us some paper towels from the bathroom? I think I spilled a little bit of mine."

"S-sure, no problem!" Izuku nodded vigorously before darting away, leaving Kyoka perplexed behind him- she cast a suspicious glance in Rumiko's direction.

"There are plenty of napkins here at the bar… and you didn't spill anything."

"Maybe so, but he's too much of a gentleman to point that out." Her lips still drawn in a devious grin, the gyaru wrapped her hands around Jiro's and leaned in close. "So give me the details, how is it going? Have you made out yet?"

"N-No, it's not like that! It's like I said, I'm just here to wingman for my friend Momo- I'm not getting involved with Izuku, she has dibs."

"Oh really… so what would you call that dancing, then? I saw you two, you were adorable!"

"That was just two good friends dancing." Jiro withdrew her hands and crossed her arms defensively, as excuses and solutions raced to mind. "I'm allowed to do that with him, right? Dancing doesn't have to be inherently sexual."

"I mean, he is your date, you admitted it yourself. And it was pretty intimate… seems like you're really testing the boundaries of friendship to me, EJ." Rumiko's counterattack struck with a vengeance, and when Kyoka was left at a momentary loss for words, she wasted no time following up. "And speaking of this whole dibs thing, it seems pretty vague to me… I don't know if I believe in it at all. No one gets to just say they claim someone who's still single and expect everyone else to listen. They have to put in the work themselves."

"But he and Momo… they already…"

"Fucked, yeah, so what? I don't see Momo here tonight, just you. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't have to feel bad about doing what you want- I never do." Rumiko stood and promptly started off toward the stairs, beckoning for her to follow. "Now come on, the second set is about to start!"

"Guys?! Uh, Jiro, Rumiko? Where'd you all…" Midoriya's eyes flit back and forth in a panic as he stood at the bar with a small stack of paper towels in hand, searching the crowd of people for the two girls he'd left there just a minute before. In the end, it took him a good twenty seconds to finally spot Earphone Jack where she was waving at him over by the stairwell.

"So do we still need these?" He called as he jogged over.

"Nope, the bartender cleaned it all up." Rumiko shot him a wink that did more to confuse him than to resolve the situation, then turned and started back downwards. "Now come on, we gotta hurry if we want to find good spots!"

As it turned out, the concert's second set was much closer to Jiro's signature style than the first: a local punk-metal group, famous enough that even Midoriya had heard of them. Kyoka used her phone to type out a few of the details he needed to know as they started their first song, but as the music picked up, he couldn't help but notice that she was a bit more standoffish than before, not quite as enthusiastic as before with her movements and expressions. By the time the second song rolled around, he found himself wishing she'd start dancing with him again. Just as he was about to extend a hand, though, his thoughts drifted back to Momo, and out of instinct, he suddenly backed away. Thanks to the alcohol, much of the night still seemed like a dreamy haze- what Jiro had told him about Yaoyorozu still hadn't properly sunk in, until now, pressed up next to Kyoka with his hand outstretched to try and dance with her.

Oh god, is this… everything tonight… is it cheating? She said Momo really likes me, and I like her, so what the hell have I been doing here? Am I already technically in a relationship with her? How does all of this work?!

Suddenly his head was spinning, half from the drinks and half from the sheer insanity of the situation. Now, beside him, it was Jiro's turn to ask if he was alright, holding up her phone's notes app with concern painted on her face.

"I just… need some air," he leaned in and mumbled into her ear, shivering involuntarily when he inhaled some of her perfume in the process- it was an entirely different scent from Yaoyorozu's, piney and fresh and sharp, but not at all unpleasant.

"Okay," she replied hesitantly, as the solution came to Midoriya all at once like a lightbulb.

Call her, I've got to get outside and call Momo. Then I can fix everything.

When he turned to look for a way out of the crowd and back to the exit, though, it rapidly became clear that there was practically no way out. Yelling enthusiastically, the concert-goers all around them were growing increasingly rowdy as they jumped up and down to the beat of the song, which had become a bit too hardcore for Izuku's taste. Frowning, he tried to push his way out of the tightening mob, only to jump back in shock when two men in front of him slammed into each other at full speed, laughing at the top of their lungs. Then it happened again to his left, and a third time to the right- it took Midoriya a few moments to realize that he was standing in the middle of a widening circle of people doing the exact same thing. What the hell is going on here?

A blow to the side nearly knocked him off his feet before he could resume his escape, and as he stumbled forward, coming dangerously close to faceplanting on the sticky concert floor, he felt a hand tighten around his wrist, and knew instinctively it was Jiro. Turning back towards her once he had his balance again, Izuku glimpsed a look of panic on her face as she leaned in and shouted in his ear.

"We gotta get out of here, we're in the moshpit!"

"What's a moshpit?!" He asked frantically, but she merely shook her head in reply, and seized him by the hand before starting out towards the edge of the circle, buffeted on all sides by flailing bodies.

Just before they could make it to the end of the pit, though, a tall, leather-clad man slammed into both of them from the side, reeling back and away from the group that had pushed him. One of his elbows struck Midoriya full in the stomach and promptly knocked the wind from him, while the other, to his horror, landed squarely on Jiro's face and sent her stumbling to her knees.

"Hey!" Deku shouted, his hands balling into fists. Before he could even grab hold of the offender, though, the man had already melted back into the crowd, calling out a faint apology as they disappeared into the throngs of people.

All the same, Izuku was fully prepared to chase after him, but Kyoka caught him once more by the arm, and shook her head. Her other hand was still cupped over the lower half of her face, and when she finally lifted it, everything beneath was soaked in blood, with a steady stream leaking from her nose.

"I-I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"Holy shit," Deku breathed, his protective instincts swiftly coming to the fore as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and elbowed his way through the remainder of the crowd as politely yet efficiently as possible, given the circumstances. Once they were safely off to the side, he grabbed her by the shoulders, his face deadly serious.

"Everything's gonna be okay, Jiro, don't worry. Do you think it's broken?"

"I've got no idea, but either way, it's definitely gonna hurt in the morning." Earphone Jack held her sleeve up instinctively to soak up some of the blood, then swore and pulled it away again when she realized how badly she was staining it. "Oh god, that's gonna be a bitch to get out…"

"Looks like you could really use those paper towels now, huh?" Deku asked, grinning despite himself. They both broke out into laughter for a few brief moments, until Jiro winced again in pain.

"Ow… okay, yeah, good point. I'm gonna run to the bathroom and get cleaned up. Don't worry about me, alright? It's fine, I've dealt with way worse than this at a concert before."

"Alright, if you're sure. I'll, uh… be here, I guess?"

"I'll be back before you know it." She gave him a brief grin, then started off toward the women's restrooms, and in her absence Izuku suddenly found himself wishing he still had a beer in hand. What a night… If she wants to go home after this, I'd completely understand.

Leaning up against the wall alongside a handful of other concertgoers taking a break from the dancefloor, it only took a few brief seconds for him to mimic them in checking his phone. He had two new texts: One was from Aoyama- a picture of his new French poodle, just back from the groomer- and the other from Ojiro, asking if they were still on for their patrol team-up on Monday. There was a missed call and voicemail as well, from his mother- probably about her technical difficulties setting up the new cable box- but still nothing from Uraraka- or Yaoyorozu, for that matter. I should text her, he knew, his thumbs hovering over the keyboard as he stared down Momo's last message. 'Apologies, but I'm a bit busy with work today! I'll get back to you later.' Reading it now was just as painful as it had been four days ago. After tonight's conversation with Jiro, though, everything was different- where earlier there had been only despair, he finally felt a bit of hope welling up inside him again.

What should I even say, though? He still had no answer to that question. Hey, so I heard you actually like me after all? No, that's so conceited. Texting won't work, it has to be in person. After sending brief replies to Yuga and Mashirao, he shoved the phone back in his pocket with a sigh, What was I even thinking, trying to ditch Jiro and call Momo in the middle of hanging out with her? When did things get so damn complicated? From there he quickly launched into a tirade of muttering about the various social implications of being on a date with someone- just as he was getting to the fine details of how he should treat Kyoka with regards to her personal space on the dancefloor, she promptly reappeared in front of him, her hands shoved in her pockets and a wide smile on her face.

"Hey, you! What are you doing still moping around over here, I thought you'd be back in the crowd by now!"

"H-Hey, Jiro! That was really fast, are you sure you're okay?"

Though it had only been a minute or two, her nose looked completely normal, without a trace of blood remaining.

"I'm totally fine, it wasn't actually that bad once I got around to cleaning it up. And by the way, Izuku, please, call me Kyoka."

"I-If you say so!" Deku stammered, his face flushing involuntarily as she took him by the hand once more and led him back towards the center of the pulsating crowd. The moshpit had already dissolved, but rather than returning to their previous spots, Earphone Jack led them even deeper into the mob of people, near the front. It was all Midoriya could do to hear what she was saying when turned back and spoke.

"Dance with me!"

"O-Okay, sure! If you want to, uh…" He trailed off as she seized his hands with a knowing grin, pressing her body up against his as the crowd closed in tightly around them- maneuvering away was practically impossible, and now her face was only inches away from his own. When she leaned in close, he could feel her breath hot in his ear.

"You know, Izuku you're really pretty cute."

"Y-you think so?" Suddenly all the air had left his lungs at once, and he could feel his heart pounding loud and insistent in his chest. All the emotions he'd felt while they were dancing earlier were slowly building back up inside him as she nuzzled her head against his neck, and guided his hands until they were squarely on her hips.

"I know so. Now like I said, dance with me."

What came next was several degrees more intimate than anything that had transpired during their first round of dancing: pressed together, their bodies practically moved as one to the beat of the music, all while Midoriya's inebriated mind raced at a mile a minute to try and figure out exactly what was happening. I-is this okay?! He wondered frantically, his sweaty hands still wrapped gingerly around Kyoka's lower back as she clung to his shoulders. This is more than just friends should do, right?! Should I say something?! Or would that only make it worse?! As her delicate frame squeezed tighter and tighter against his own, it was growing more and more difficult to conceal a problem of another nature beneath his waistband; when it did finally press against her inner thigh, her reaction was a far cry from the shock and disgust that he'd feared. Her grin only deepened, and she pressed back in turn, eliciting a grunt of surprise from Izuku.

"Someone's happy to see me," Jiro whispered in his ear- the sound of her voice taking on such a seductive tone was practically enough to knock him flat then and there, but he managed to keep hold of his bearings, shuddering involuntarily as her hands began to trace gentle little circles on his back, steadily moving lower and lower.

"I, uh… K-Kyoka, are you sure this is okay? What about… I thought that…"

"What about Momo?" She finished, pressing her fingers tight into his back. "Well, I did some thinking about that. Maybe she does like you, but she isn't here right now, and there's no such thing as calling dibs on someone. Let's just live in the moment, okay? You and me, together."

Then she leaned in and pressed her lips softly against his own, and his brain promptly short-circuited.

"Oh… I… uh…"

"Just shut up and kiss me, okay?"

"Okay."

After two hours of worrying and thinking and worrying more, Midoriya gave in, and did what felt good. Grabbing hold of her back, he drew her even closer and kissed her back, letting out a soft groan as one of her hands shot down to his crotch and the other clamped down on his ass. She was more aggressive than Momo, and made more use of her tongue, but he didn't mind- rather the opposite, he found himself responding in turn, as a sudden shift in the crowd sent them stumbling back out of the center of the mob and toward the wall. Despite her smaller size, she soon had him pinned up against it, stroking his chest and stomach beneath his shirt with one hand as she grabbed onto his hair with the other. It felt like ages before they finally broke apart, and after taking a moment to sigh in ecstasy, Jiro stroked his cheek with one thumb, a predatory gleam in her eyes.

"Hey, wanna go ahead and get out of here?"

"A-already?" Her question finally snapped Izuku back somewhere a bit closer to reality, and while he kept an arm wrapped around her waist, he felt a bit of the sobriety returning. Kissing her had been dreamlike, but going back together meant something else entirely, and memories of the end of his night with Yaoyorozu flashed though his head. "But don't you love this band?"

"I can listen to them online anytime. There won't ever be another moment like the one we're sharing right now."

"Oh, w-wow. That's a good point, but, um…"

"…But?" Jiro pouted, her expression suddenly the picture of innocence.

"But… I need to think about this. There's just so much going on, and…"

In an instant, Kyoka's face went from doe-eyed to crestfallen, her gaze sinking down to his chest and her eyes beginning to water.

"I guess I'm just not pretty enough for you, huh? Not in comparison to Momo."

"Wha… t-that's not true at all!"

Before he could continue, Jiro let go of him all at once, and turned away.

"I need to go," she declared, and before Midoriya could reach out a hand to stop her, she had already vanished into the crowd. The sight of her receding back sent a pang of pain shooting through his heart, and Izuku laid his head in his hands, his eyes screwed shut in frustration.

Oh god, I did it again. I played with someone's feelings, and now I've ruined things with another friend! He glanced down to his phone once more, to all of his missed calls and unanswered texts to Ochako. I have to fix things, starting with Kyoka.

Moving before his mind even had time to catch up with his body, Midoriya started off in the direction he'd seen her disappear, determined to catch up with her before she left. As it turned out, he didn't need to search long: Jiro appeared in front of him just moments later, a look of relief on her face.

"There you are! Finally, I was getting-"

"Kyoka, listen to me." His heart was still pounding, but Izuku remained absolutely certain of what he needed to do as he took Jiro gently by the hands and looked her dead in the eyes. Luckily, the second set had just ended, so it was a moment of relative quiet on the dancefloor as the next band came onstage. "You're a gorgeous woman, and don't let anyone ever tell you different, alright? You don't have to compare yourself to others, because you're beautiful all on your own. I've thought so for years, not that I ever had the courage to say it back in school."

"W-what? What are you-"

"And look, I know things are really complicated, with everything that's happened this past week… but if you want this, then I'm willing to figure things out, okay? Maybe I'm not a hundred percent sober right now, but… being with you feels good. So…" Entirely at a loss for things to say, he sufficed by leaning in and kissing her. Much less aggressive than the first time, she was slightly hesitant at first, but quickly reciprocated. Somehow, this experience felt even more breathtaking than before, and when she let out a soft groan of pleasure in response to him pulling her body tight against him, the sound nearly drove him mad then and there. Thanks to her smaller chest, he could feel her rapid heartbeat through her shirt as she broke away and met his gaze, her entire face the same shade of scarlet as her eyeliner.

"A-are you sure this is okay, Midori… Izuku? I… I don't know what to do…"

"Well… do you know what you want?"

"…Yes," she replied quietly, and kissed him again.

In the end, they spent most of the remainder of the concert kissing, huddled together on a section of the metal catwalk that ringed the dancefloor, with a perfect view of everything happening below. The third and final band was another of Kyoka's personal favorites, but aside from the handful of times they came up for air, she hardly listened to a single note they played, far too distracted by Izuku and his lips and tongue and neck. His arms were a marvel too- strong and scarred and muscular, but not too outlandishly large, like some cartoon bodybuilder. Whenever he wrapped them around her, she felt safer and more secure than she ever had within memory, like nothing could possibly disrupt the harmony and bliss of this moment.

Jiro still wasn't entirely sure what had brought about the sudden change in Midoriya's behavior, only that he must have done some serious thinking in the time between when she left to clean off her face and when she'd found him again afterward. When she returned to the spot they'd agreed on, Deku had been nowhere in sight, and it had taken another few minutes of searching until she finally ran into him. He probably panicked and started looking for me, she mused, nuzzling her chin into the crook of his neck. Like most of the rest of the skin above his collar, it sported smudgy black stains from her lipstick, which had been entirely rubbed off by now. The last song of the night was on its final few notes, but as far as she was concerned, the good part was still just getting started.

Kyoka had been taken aback at first by his uncharacteristic forwardness, certain that she'd finally managed to set aside her own desires for the night. But in the end, he was just too sweet, and living in the moment was just too tempting. For the past ninety minutes she'd agreed with herself to only think about the present, and so far, it had been working without a hitch,

"Sounds like it's about to wrap up, huh?" Midoriya nudged her gently, then planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Any ideas for what to do next?"

"Well, I guess I could go for some food."

"Oh, is that so?" His hand curled gently around her side and slipped beneath her shirt, coming to a rest on her stomach. "Any particular preferences?"

A lightbulb flashed in Jiro's head, as her mind returned to the image of Deku in her kitchen, clad in a chef's apron. Her cheeks flushed red again out of instinct, and she guided his hand further up her chest as she turned to look him in the eye.

"Uh, well… I've heard on the grapevine that you're not a half bad cook."

"Have you now?" He grinned, and began to plant a series of kisses down her neck. "I'm not sure whether that's actually true, but if you'd like, we can find out."

"…My place?"

"Sure."

"Want to head out before it ends, get ahead of the mob?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Well then, lead the way."

They passed by Rumiko and a group of her friends at the bar on the way out, and Kyoka nearly died of embarrassment when the girl shot her a suggestive wink, then proceeded to lift up her hands and mimic sex with her fingers. Thankfully, Izuku didn't seem to notice, and they plunged ahead to the door without further incident. Now that the sun was all the way down, the quiet backstreet was aglow with neon and bustling with people of all types, as late-night restaurants and bars finally shed their metal coverings and opened for the evening. After taking a moment to marvel wide-eyed at the changes, Midoriya gave her another innocent grin before starting off, and she tightened her grip on his hand out of instinct as they weaved their way through the crowds.

Before she knew it, they were at the nearest subway station, her head on his shoulder as they waited for the next train on one of the benches. After a minute or two of scandalous public cuddling, he fished into his pocket for his coin pouch, and nodded toward a nearby vending machine.

"I think I'm gonna go grab a water, do you want anything?"

"Hmm… I could go for an espresso."

"Sounds good, I'll be right back!"

Blinking in the harsh light of the platform, she cracked her neck and stretched once he was away, then gently felt at her nose again with two fingers. The point of impact was sore and slightly bruised, but judging from how little it hurt after just an hour or two, it almost certainly wasn't broken. There was still a faint outline of dried blood on her upper lip, but thankfully it hadn't been too noticeable the last time she checked. But the lighting was so dim in that bathroom, I'd better make sure that I'm not walking around looking like a domestic violence victim… Sniggering quietly to herself, she lifted her phone out of her pocket and opened the selfie camera like a mirror. The result wasn't quite as bad as she'd feared; there were still a few faint black smudges around her mouth from the remnants of her lipstick, and the spot beneath her nose was a bit red from the dried blood, but none of it was too noticeable from a distance, thankfully. Fishing some wipes out of her bag with one hand, she exited out of the camera and pulled up the train schedule, looking for their line. The next one's only a minute away, huh? Finally, feels like we've been waiting here forever.

Then her phone buzzed in her hand, and Kyoka's stomach sank like a stone.

Yaomomo: So how did the concert go? Did you tell him everything's alright between us?

Never in her life had something sobered Jiro up more quickly than the text that was sitting on her screen, complete with Momo's avatar picture staring her down beside it. All at once, her mouth dried up, her palms grew slick with sweat, and the breath vanished from her lungs just as the color drained from her face. Her emotions skipped over shock and embarrassment entirely, and landed straight on guilt and remorse- their conversation from earlier today began to play unbidden in her head, and suddenly Kyoka couldn't escape the mental image of Momo's blissful expression as she described how much she liked Izuku.

I feel sick.

Her stomach heaving and her head spinning with regret, Jiro rose to her feet just as Midoriya returned, their two drinks in hand.

"Here you go! Ah, looks like the train's finally here!"

It was all she could do not to visibly tremble as she turned to face him, her gaze fixed somewhere on his chest- looking him in the eye was impossible.

"I-I'm sorry. I feel sick. I think I need to go."

"Sick? Are you okay? Is it something you ate?"

Jiro couldn't see his face, but she knew exactly what it looked like right now- wide-eyed, full of concern, earnest and trusting. He believed her without so much as a second thought, and that was what hurt the most.

"Maybe, I'm not sure. It just came on all of the sudden. I'm super nauseous, I think I need to go lie down."

"I can come with you, make sure you get back alright! Trust me, I don't mind being a nurse!"

"No, that's okay. I don't want to risk giving you anything if it's contagious. You're too busy with work to risk getting sick."

Kyoka's hair whipped in the wind as the train pulled in behind her, and the friendly announcement to stand back from the edge of the platform echoed through the station, nearly drowning out Deku's response.

"It's no big deal, really! I've got a strong immune system!"

While she waited for the doors to open, Jiro reached, into her bag, fished out a dark grey sick mask, and pulled it swiftly over her mouth.

"I don't want to be a bother to you," she mumbled through the fabric, fighting back the urge to cry. There were entirely too many emotions swirling around inside her, and right now all she wanted was to be alone. "Don't worry about it, Deku, really. Thanks for tonight, it was a lot of fun. I'll call you."

The doors opened behind her with a pleasant ding, and she stepped inside; the car was crowded and the seats were all taken, so she was left standing just a few feet away from him, her eyes still fixed on his chest as he stammered out a reply.

"O-okay. If you're sure you'll be okay getting home. Text me when you do, alright? I hope you feel better soon!"

Jiro nodded.

"Yeah, me too."

"I had a lot of fun tonight too, by the way! The bands were all so good! You really-"

The doors closed before he could finish his sentence, and within moments the train was speeding away from the station, out into the pitch darkness of the tunnel. Faced with a twenty minute ride, she checked her phone again out of pure instinct, only to be confronted once more by Momo's text.

'So how did the concert go? Did you tell him everything's alright between us?'

'Pretty boring,' Jiro typed, 'nothing special. Yeah, I told him.'

Then she turned off her phone, leaned against the steadily rocking wall, and closed her eyes, a silent shudder wracking her body.

God, I really fucked up.

Two Days Later

Shinsengumi Tap House

Tokyo, Asakusa City

"I'm just saying, it sucks she couldn't even make it out here tonight! Are you sure we shouldn't have just waited? I think we should've waited."

"Kyoka was very insistent that we shouldn't cancel or postpone on her account," Yaoyorozu replied, giving Setsuna a sympathetic look. "I don't feel good about it either, but it's what she wanted, and this is the only night that works for all of us for the foreseeable future. She didn't want to inconvenience us."

The group's third outing had come together rather quickly; they were meeting just two days after Jiro's concert date with Midoriya, at a different venue this time. Everything had looked perfect logistically, until Earphone Jack texted their groupchat just thirty minutes before the time of the meeting, explaining that an unexpected conflict with work had come up, and to go ahead without her. This bar was a bit different atmospherically from the last one, much cozier, with more traditional décor- Yaoyorozu was delighted with it so far, but her co-conspirator's absence still weighed heavy on her mind. I hope she's alright. She's been acting odd these past few days, after all.

"Well ain't that ladylike of her." Bakugo growled, his arms crossed. "Well I, for one, am glad we don't have to listen to another bullshit story about Deku suddenly becoming a fucking Casanova."

"You can go sit in the corner if you don't want to participate, sweetie. Believe it or not, some of us actually want to hear what went down." Mina rolled her eyes in Katsuki's general direction, then took a sip from her mai tai, her gold-pupiled gaze shifting to Momo.

"So, what's the tea? We all know she tells you everything, what did she say about the date?"

"I'm betting on a second home run, personally," declared Tsuyu. "Midoriya seems smoother than we gave him credit for."

"I'm kind of hoping we don't make that a trend, to be honest…" murmured Itsuka, hiding her expression behind her beer. "I don't want to be the one to break the streak when it's finally my turn."

"And why are you so certain that you won't end up going all the way?" Tokage teased, one arm wrapped around Kendo's side.

"Well, I, uh… I think I just wanna take things slow, you know? I did just get out of a three year relationship, if you'd forgotten."

"Fair point," added Shinso, "but you never know how these things are going to go. No one goes into a date completely certain how it'll end. Well…" he threw a skeptical glance in Ashido's direction. "Not most people, at least."

"What can I say?" Mina shrugged, a smug grin on her lips. "Not everyone has my level of skill. But back to the question, Yaomomo!"

"She did tell me a bit about it when I asked," Yaoyorozu replied, scrolling back to the text in question for reference. "But if you're all hoping for something salacious, I'm afraid you might be disappointed. It seems it was a fairly ordinary evening: After the concert, she wasn't feeling too well, and went straight home."

That was only half of the story, of course; Kyoka had also confirmed with Momo that she'd cleared up the situation between her and Izuku, and put in a good word for her as well. She'd been somewhat reticent when describing his reply, though, and to make matters worse, Midoriya had been slammed with hero work ever since, on assignment with Monoma and his team in Kansai. After consideration, Yaoyorozu had decided that it would be improper to interrupt him with petty distractions like romance until he returned.

"Surprisingly PG," commented Asui, one finger perched on her mouth. "Huh. I expected more from Kyoka, she missed a chance to have him play nurse."

"Oh, I always love it when Mashirao takes care of me when I'm sick!" Hagakure cried giddily, clapping her hands together. "Whole days full of soup and blankets and TV shows!"

"Wait, that reminds me!" Setsuna slammed a palm on the table, a wide, contagious grin on her face. "This may sound a bit awkward, Toru, but I've been wondering… is, uh… is your snot invisible too? Like, if you accidentally sneeze on yourself, can you see it, or do you just know it's there?"

"It's invisible." She replied promptly. "Trust me- sometimes it's the worst, other times it's surprisingly convenient."

They all shared a laugh at that, and shortly afterward, their food arrived, an assortment of noodle, katsu, and tempura dishes. Ashido was the first to speak up again once they'd all started eating, gesturing in Hagakure's direction with her chopsticks.

"Let's go ahead and get to the main event before we get even more off-topic. If you'd do the honors, Toru? I'm feeling lucky tonight!"

"Pretty sure you were feeling lucky the last two times too," Setsuna sniggered, prompting a scowl from Mina as the sticks were shaken up and distributed.

"I'll have you know that the third time's the charm. So watch and learn, babe, because I'm gonna…" She trailed off in defeat when she turned over her stick and found nothing on the other side, slumping over with a heavy sigh in a dramatic contrast to her much louder reaction the week before.

"That's it, I'm cursed. Who's got it?"

On the other side of the table, Kendo held her stick in the air with a sheepish grin.

"Looks like I'm up."

And we're back again, with part two of the Jiro date and a bit of the aftermath! The cycle of guilt and secrets continues, but can Kendo break the trend and finally have a drama-free date with Midoriya? Will Izuku ever realize what's actually going on? How is Jiro going to handle her broken promise? Tune in next month to find out!

Next chapter might deal with a little bit of the Ochako situation as well, I'm still deciding whether or not that'll be a chapter of its own. What did you all think of Toga's swing and miss? She was a bit more successful in affecting this date than she was with Momo, but not necessarily in the way she intended. As always, let me know in the reviews what you think of how things are going! Until next time!