Izuku paced nervously in front of the principal's office, nervously trying to work up the courage to knock on the door.
'You know it's going to be harder the longer you put it off.'
He'd waited an hour out by watching a documentary on heroes so the principal would be back, Jirou remaining quiet throughout so her sudden voice caused the teen to jump in surprise.
"Yeah but what am I supposed to say? It's not exactly easy to explain."
'I'd just wing it if I were you. What's the worst that could happen?
"I'm branded delusional and have to be removed from the hero course because I was driven mad with grief." Izuku deadpanned, before his eye twitched at the amused snickering that rang out in his head.
A passing support student looked at him with a confused gaze, before seeming to pick up their pace away from him.
'Yeah I doubt that's going to be the case. Look, I'm going to be here with you the whole time, seeing as I don't have a choice, so just go in and try. I'll do what I can to help.'
With a sigh, the greenette turned to the office door and raised his hand nervously.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in." A voice called from inside, sounding dreary. Concerned, Izuku opened the door and walked into the luxurious office, finding the mammal hybrid that was Nezu sat at his desk with a more forlorn expression than usual. "Oh, young Midoriya. It's good to see you, I was worried after I realized you'd disappeared from the… funeral."
"Sorry sir. I felt too guilty and it got me." He admitted, and Nezu sighed with a wave of his paw, as if waving away the issue.
'Not that you have anything to feel guilty for.'
"But-"
'My decision, my actions. Also you said that out loud.'
"Wait I did-" He looked to the principal, who was now fixing him with an odd stare and flushed as he scratched the back of his head. "Right. Gotta get used to that."
"Mister Midoriya? Is something the matter?"
"Ok this…. This might not be easy to explain so please bear with me?" He asked, and the hybrid creature nodded.
"I promise I shall hold my tongue until you are finished explaining."
"Thank you. Alright, you were already informed how me and Jirou fused on the day of the villain attack?" He checked, getting a nod. "Well, it seems there was a… side effect. It didn't manifest at first I think because my body was still adapting, but I took on a lot more from Jirou than just her physical strength. When I ran out earlier and… broke down I was alone in my room, until a voice started comforting me. When I looked around however, no one was there and then I realized it was in my head. It was Jirou's voice."
"I… that sounds quite like a hallucination." Nezu spoke up immediately, unable to help himself. The greenette made no complaints though, simply nodding.
"That's what I thought, but she's still in here right now and she's insistent it's her. I was just going to write it off as grief but… I know next to nothing about that day's guest instructor's quirk and she did make a good point, that he may not know of the side effect if it took too long to manifest and he rarely uses his quirk."
"I'm not sure how likely that is." Nezu said, voice somewhat unconvinced. Izuku sighed, trying to not let his thoughts show to his new mind roommate, that was if she even could read his thoughts.
"I think it's possible it might also be a result of…. You know what." He said simply, making the principal's eyes widened.
'Wait, a result of what? Midoriya?'
"I uh… I'll explain later if I really have to." He said quietly to himself, and Nezu seemed to understand he was talking to Jirou now. "It's personal, put it that way."
'Well, fine I guess.'
"That does sound a tad more likely." The hybrid mammal interrupted, pulling the attention back to him. "I suppose there is one simple way to test this, you were out of commission after your first hero class, correct?"
"Yes sir, I was in the infirmary for the rest of the day." Izuku nodded, and Nezu smiled, somewhat tiredly.
"Young miss Jirou paid me a visit that day, for an issue I'm sure she can recall. If she really is in your head, I'd like for her to tell you what we discussed, as close to our actual conversation as possible. If you tell me what we discussed correctly then there shouldn't be a doubt about this."
"Alright sir." The greenette nodded, before leaning back with a sigh. "You got that, Jirou?"
'Yeah dude. Just give me a second.'
"When you're ready." The boy sighed, tapping his arm chair. It took a moment, but the girl came back soon enough with the answer.
'Alright so we had our first English class that day as well. My quirk made me pretty susceptible to sound and he is loud as hell. Side note, it's weird how quiet everything is through your ears now. Anyways, I went to Nezu to ask for him to ask Present Mic to either tone it down or find a way to help with the noise. Nezu said he'd have my desk supplied with specialized earplugs so I could still hear without it being overwhelming.'
Izuku relayed all this back to the principal, along with a thanks from the girl and the mammal's eyes widened as the situation truly settled in.
"Well, then this is quite the issue…" He sighed, before reaching for a book. "I'll have to consult mister Yuichi about this as soon as possible. As well as a few doctors."
"Um sir… What about us?" Izuku asked, crossing his arms. "What should we do? Especially with…. You know?"
"Well-"
'Ok, I get that it's a secret but if you keep talking about it this way your just gonna get on my nerves with wanting to know.'
"Sorry Jirou, but it's important!" He said quickly, before flushing as he realized he'd just interrupted the principal. "Sorry…"
"It's alright, I can't know when she is talking to you after all. Now, I would personally recommend keeping this a secret for the mean time." He said, pushing out of his seat. "I'll inform Aizawa, Recovery Girl and All Might. Everyone else though, it would perhaps be better to let them deal with their grief first before dropping this on them."
'yeah I gotta agree with the principal on this one. As much as I want to talk to everyone, better let this pass first.'
"As for… you know what. I think there will be no hiding it, but I shall contact Toshinori myself and have that discussion for you, and let you know what his answer is." He said and Izuku nodded his thanks. "For now, I believe it might be for the best if you return to the dorms, you're sudden disappearance had many of your classmates worried."
"Yes sir. Thank you, sir." The greenette said, standing up and heading for the door.
"I'll make an appointment for you with Recovery Girl tomorrow, I have a feeling we will want to see if there are any other side effects."
With that, Izuku nodded his thanks, closing the door behind him and continuing on his way to the dorms.
'See, that wasn't so bad, was it dude?'
"I guess not. I- Huh…"
'What?'
"I just realized when we get back, I'd normally watch a certain show before falling asleep. I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to though, and it's not fair if you don't have a choice. What do you want to do?
'Oh. Dude, it's your body, you don't need to give up anything or that.'
"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to get this to still be a decent situation for you." Izuku frowned, walking out into the cold air and purposefully keeping his eyes away from the funeral arrangement. "Come on, what do you usually do before you go to sleep?"
'Listen to my favourite band. We can just watch your show though dude.'
"It's fine, Jirou, really. I-"
'Ok enough, this is going nowhere fast clearly.' The girl let out a long sigh that reverberated in the teen's head. 'We'll flip a coin or something, ok?'
"….I still think you should get to do what you want to do…" He muttered quietly, coming up to the building. Before he could get a reply from the girl, a sobbing noise caught his attention. "Huh?"
'That sounds like…YAOMOMO! Midoriya, you better go see what's up right now!' Kyoka demanded, and the greenette nodded as he hurried around the corner to see the taller girl in what was a rather heart-breaking scene.
The tall teen was sat crumpled on the ground, arms holding her long legs tight to her chest as she let out heart-wrenching sobs, normally pristine hair frazzled. She was still in her funeral outfit and in front of her…
There were polaroid photographs of her and Jirou hanging out together.
'Oh Momo…'
Before Izuku could make his presence known, the wind picked up and the photos began to blow away, making the creation teen's eyes go wide. "AH! NO NO N-"
"2% full cowling!" The One for All wielder called, body lighting up with green sparks as he launched forward, quickly grabbing each photo and putting them into a stack in his hands. Once he had them all, his power died down and he made his way over to Yaoyorouzu nervously, holding them out. "H-here…"
"Thank you…" She said quietly, taking them and holding them closer to her.
'What do I say now?! I've never had to comfort Yaoyorouzu before…'
'Start by just finding out what's wrong, even we can guess what it is.'
"You ok?" Izuku asked dumbly, before flinching and sitting down at her side. "Sorry, dumb question…"
"It's f-fine. I'm…" she didn't finish, waving her free hand about and making the greenette sigh. "I miss h-her."
'I miss you too.'
"I think she misses you too." Izuku said, a part of him unable to help but feel happy Jirou was stuck in his head at this particular moment.
'Midoriya, do you trust me?'
'Yeah, I guess? Why?'
'Hug her.'
His face turned red, but Momo was too distracting looking over her photos to notice.
'W-what?!'
'Look, I've had to comfort her before, it helps ok? I'll guide you through this.'
With a small sigh, nearly inaudible, he hesitantly lifted his arms and put them around the taller teen's neck. She froze for a moment in surprise… then she grabbed hold of him tight.
"W-why?..."
"Huh?"
"Why did it h-have to be K-Kyoka…"
'Her upper back, just rub small circles into it, ok? It sounds weird but it helps her calm down.'
Face somehow managing to heat up even further he did as his new mind roommate said, slowly but surely doing his best to help his taller classmate.
"I don't know…" Izuku sighed, grip tightening. "But I don't think this is what she'd want, everyone crying and depressed.'
"I mean… w-what WOULD she say t-though? I'd give so much to know, to… to hear her v-voice again." The girl cried, making Izuku flinched. It felt unfair he got that and she didn't.
'What I'd say is that you're too pretty to be crying like this. What I'd say is I want you to do everything you can to keep trying to be a hero, because that's what I want to see. And to make sure Denki still gets his comeuppance now that I can't give it myself."
Izuku couldn't help but smile, pulling away from the raven haired teen for a moment with his face still bright red. "I know I didn't know her as well as you, but at a guess? 'Keep Kaminari in line and just do your best.'"
Momo blinked for a moment, before a small wobbly smile came onto her face. "That d-does sound like her. I'm… I'm glad it was y-you."
The One for All wielder titled his head to the side, confused. "Me?"
"I m-mean when she…" Her smiled roped and she flinched, Izuku taking a tight grip on her wrist while patiently waiting for her to continue. "You were with her, and I'm just glad she wasn't a-alone in the end. I wish I could have been there but e-even if you two weren't close, you were at least sort of… of friends. Better than nothing, right?"
"O-oh… huh." The greenette frowned, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I'm glad you think that. Honestly I though… I thought you and Kaminari and that… I thought you were all going to be mad at me."
"Mad?"
"Yeah, I mean… it's my fault isn't it? She disappeared without a trace because-
'For the tenth time, it wasn't your fault!'
"It wasn't your fault!" Momo echoed with a small gasp, pulling him back into an embrace which he didn't fight.
'Thanks Momo. You tell this idiot-'
'Hey!'
'-that it was my fault!'
"It was my fault if anything…"
'DAMMIT!'
"Yaoyorouzu?" Izuku questioned quietly, going back to rubbing circles into her back.
"I should have been more aware. I should have made a shield to save her or just-"
"Stop that." The greenette said immediately, frowning. "There was literally no way you could have known what was coming. It's not your fault someone else planned something you had no idea about-2
His eyes widened.
'About time, you hypocrite.' Jirou's voice said, though it sounded more amused than anything else.
"Let's keep the blame where it really belongs… Shigaraki." Izuku said simply, helping the taller girl to her feet as he stood up as well, backing away. "And I promise you one thing now, whether I was close to Jirou or not, I won't let him get away with what he did."
"P-please don't get y-yourself killed as well." The creation girl sighed, but with a small smile Izuku returned with a bigger one.
"See? I think that's what she'd really want. One big smile, her friends still safe and alive. That's why she did what she did, right?" he asked, and she nodded. "Then on the count of three, two big smiles from both of us for her."
"R-right…"
"One. Two. Three!"
With that, they shared one two big bright smiles as best they could.
'Oh god dammit you dorks…. Thank you.'
"See, there we go." Izuku said simply, own smile turning to something more small and normal.
"T-thank you." The creation teen said, looking away. "You didn't need to…"
"Hey, what kind of hero leaves someone who's clearly upset?" The smaller teen asked, glad to see he'd helped if even temporarily.
"I um…. How did you know by the way?"
"Huh?"
"My back." Momo elaborated. "Kyoka would always rub my back to help me feel better, and you did the same just now…"
Thinking quick for an excuse, he gave her a nervous smile.
"Instinct? I think a small part of me kinda just knew because… you know." He said, and the girl nodded in understanding.
"I suppose that makes sense. T-thank you either way. I… don't really have anyone I usually go to, now that Kyoka is gone…" She said with a sigh, and Izuku's heart ached at the pain laced in that statement.
'You know she does because if you don't help her you will regret it, Midoriya!'
"I was going to!" he said aloud, getting an odd look from the taller teen and making him blush. "Sorry, that came out wrong. What I meant to say…. I'll be here if you ever need someone, I know we aren't that close either but… we are friends still, right?"
"You're too kind." The raven haired teen said with a sigh, nodding. "Thank you, though for now… I think I just want to retire to my bed."
"I get that. I hope it helps."
"Me too…"
With that, the teen walked off, leaving Izuku on his own.
'Nice save.'
"Well, I wouldn't have had to make it if you didn't shout in my ear but nor problem." He said with a small smirk, walking towards the entrance.
'Did… did you just sass? What is this odd feeling? Pride?!'
"Oh ha ha. I'm just tired is all." He waved away, not noticing the odd look he was getting from Ojiro for talking to himself.
'Alright then I guess. Oh, can we visit Denki by the way? After Momo…'
"Yeah, sounds like a plan."
With that, he skipped his floor and went to the one the blonde boy resided on, walking out into the hall and heading for his room, knocking on the door.
It opened after a moment and the electric producing teen showed up, with a smile more fake than a politicians promise. His eyes were puffy, clearly having been crying earlier.
"Oh, hey Midoriya." Kaminari greeted, trying far to hard to sound cheerful. "Something up?"
'The sky.'
"The sky-" His eyes widened. 'Whoops.'
"That sounds like a Jirou answer." Denki said with a sad smile, looking down.
'You have no Idea'
"You have no idea-"
'Stop it!'
'Stop it!'
'No, you stop it!
'No, you stop it!'
"Uh, Midori?" The blonde asked with a tilted head.
"Sorry, just… anyways, I wanted to check how you were?" he asked, pushing the topic to the side and trying to ignore the small amused laughter in the back of his mind that sounded a lot like a certain purple haired teen. "It was a rough day for us all, and I know you two were close…"
"I mean… It fucking sucks." Kaminari bit out, grip on his door tightening and walking back into his room. It was a mess, clearly he hadn't bothered to clean since the villain attack. "If it weren't for that stupid league of assholes-
'New name for LOV acquired!'
'Jirou!'
'What? They are!'
'I'm trying to listen.'
"-We'd be playing like just some random game right now or something. This was the day we'd hang out, just watch videos or play games for a few hours. I had a new one I was so excited to show her." As he said this, he pulled out a game case and showed it to the greenette. it was clearly a fighting game of some type, and it seemed to be based on musical bands for some reason. "I thought she'd get a kick out of it."
"I…" he frowned, before looking up. "I'm sure she would have loved it."
'I mean, fighting games are kinda eh but looks interesting. More into rhythm games.'
"Yeah. Multiplayer only so…. That sucks. Not as much as the fact she isn't here but it's like… there's so much I didn't even realize how much I enjoyed and will never get to do again." The blonde vented pacing. "I'm scared to sleep, I keep having these dreams about the attack and….'
'Do- Do I hug him as well?'
'Ok that one's your call but damn… I mean I miss hanging out with him as well but I didn't realize it would be this bad.'
"Then there's my dad as well!" The electricity teen let slip, before his eyes suddenly went wide with seemingly fear and he slapped his hand over his mouth.
'Oh shit I forgot about that!'
"Uh, what's wrong with your dad?" Izuku asked confused, and his classmate tried to wave it away quickly.
"N-nothing! Just, he… will be sad as well?"
Yeah. That was a lie. An obvious one at that.
'Jirou? A little enlighten please?'
'Ok, Midoriya, you know how you had that whole thing in the principal's office about whatever your secret it? This is mine, if he doesn't want to tell you…"
'…fair enough.' he sighed, before looking down and noting the console on the floor. Wordlessly, he took a seat on the floor and turned it on, before holding the controller up to Denki who looked confused. "I know it's not the same, but if you can't sleep anyways… no harm in playing a few games together, right?"
"…You're too good for this world, dude." The blonde said, making the greenette blush in confusion as his electricity producing friend took a seat beside him with the game. "I guess a few rounds couldn't hurt."
Soon enough however, a few rounds would turn into a few hundred.
A few hundred would turn into a few thousand and they'd spend most of the night locked in a competition, Izuku doing his best to keep Denki distracted and at the very least, somewhat happy.
Even if Jirou had a tendency to shout instructions in izuku's ear and cause him to make mistakes, not that he really minded.
Before any of that though as the game booted up, she'd had one thing to say.
'I guess we figured out what we're doing for tonight at least.'
He couldn't help but smile at that.
'Yeah, I guess we have.'