You often hear of romance and drama all over the world from all sorts of people. Romances that tend to fail, and/or become too toxic to bear. Romance that could be said to not even count as romance at all. Love that is false, and falsehoods seen as love. It's all a part of the learning curve on what it takes to find that right person for you.
It's rather difficult, however. Difficult to find the right person for you, and many of the experiences that you learn can and will hurt more than the last. At times it might even feel hopeless, and right when you think of giving up…
A miracle happens.
Arising from her slumber, a 20 year old Kyouka Jirou groans at the sound of her blasting alarm. She really needed to get a quieter one, but if she did she'd probably learn to subconsciously tune it out.
Turning off her alarm, Kyouka flopped back into her bed wide awake, staring up at the ceiling as her body refused to let her get out of bed. How could she? The memories of her breakup still sat fresh in her mind.
'I know it was mutual, but… It still kind of hurts.' She thought, remembering the apologetic face of her ex-boyfriend, Denki Kaminari. You could say things went rather smoothly for the most part up until recently, and now here she sat in her apartment alone. It's been like this for a week.
'Come on, Kyouka! You've gotta at least get out of bed today!' She encouraged mentally, forcing herself to get out of bed and stretching her limbs as she did so. That's step one done, next up: Getting ready for the day.
Sighing, the purplette makes her way into her bathroom, preparing to do all that she needs to get ready for the day. It's been a rough week for her, while she was glad the relationship ended, it hurt to find her first relationship ending like it did. It didn't help that she couldn't get the memory out of her mind.
She rested in the shower, just letting the water run down her body for a moment as memories passed through her mind of that night. She was glad it was over. She needed to be glad that it was over, but was it really okay? Was he okay with everything? Would it be bad for her to try and move on?
'Ugh! It's so hard to try and figure this kinda stuff out!' She thought, snapping out of her thoughts as she quickly finished up her shower. The questions wouldn't stop flooding her mind, and the answers remained unknown, it was driving her mad!
Stepping out her bathroom the girl huffed in annoyance at her own mind causing her such stress. But perhaps her problem was right in front of her, she hadn't left her apartment for the entire week, only going out to pick up any food she felt like ordering.
'That does it! I'm tired of being a shut-in over this, it's not that big of a deal!' She berated, grabbing a fresh change of clothes with a new determination to go outside and freaking do something! 'I'll try to invite someone out with me, I just need something to do instead of sitting inside all day!'
She opted to wear a bit casual, something that could be worn for most autumn hangouts. She wore a white graphic tee and black leggings, with a plan to put on a beige trenchcoat, a purple scarf, and some brown boots for warmth.
Oh, but how luck was against her, every person she found herself asking to hangout had other plans and couldn't spare any time. She began to fear that she was on her own, until a certain contact caught her attention. Izuku Midoriya, the famed number one hero of Japan.
'There's no way he's free, he works like… 24/7.' She thought, as her finger hovered over his contact idly as she stared at the picture of broccoli that she had used as his contact photo. She was hesitating.
"Gah! I don't have time to sit here, it's worth a shot!" She mumbled to herself, blushing as she rang his number and sat waiting for him to pickup. She knew how rare it was to get any time with the greenette, but if there was no one else, it was worth a shot to try and see if he could hangout with her. Though it might be a bit odd asking him to hangout out of the blue.
Doubts began to plague her mind. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, I mean really? Calling him out of nowhere like this? They hadn't really spoken to one another in quite a long time, aside from the occasional hangout with some of the class, and even that was rare! This was a bad idea.
Moving her hand to hang up the phone, the click indicating that someone had picked up caused the purplette to rush the phone back to her ear, fumbling slightly with a deep blush spreading across her face. Boy was she glad no one saw that…
"Hello?" Izuku's rather quiet voice spoke through the phone. It was oddly soothing to hear his rather relaxed tone, it certainly made Kyouka calm down a little from her embarrassment. It was only Midoriya.
"U-Uh, yeah, Hey, Midoriya. It's me, Jirou." She informed awkwardly, twirling her jack around her finger idly out of habit. "S-Sorry about the sudden call."
"Jirou? Oh no, it's fine! I just wasn't expecting you of all people to give me a call, it's certainly been awhile since we've talked one-on-one." He replied, chuckling slightly as Kyouka heard a small bit of movement before he spoke again. "So what's the occasion? You need something, or someone to talk to?"
"Well… A little bit of both actually." She admitted, sighing as she gently pulled on her slightly damp hair. "I'm sure you've heard about what happened with me and Kaminari a week ago."
"Right… Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Are you okay? You guys still on good terms?" Izuku replied, attempting to bring the girl some form of comfort over the phone.
"Well, that's actually what I wanted to call you about." She stated, taking a deep breath as her heartbeat spiked. It might have been due to nervousness, or fear that he might take this the wrong way. "Listen, can we hangout today? I-I just need someone to talk to, and since everyone else is busy I thought I might try my luck with you- B-But if you're busy too it's fine, I know being the number one hero and all-"
"Actually, it's my day off." Izuku interrupted nonchalantly, his smile being heard through his tone. "I'd be happy to hangout with you today if you're alright with it. I don't mind being the friend you can talk to about this sorta thing if you want, even if I'm not your first choice."
"R-Really? You'd really do that for me?" She questioned, appalled at how easy it seemed to actually work out plans with him. She was sure that dropping this on him without any notice in advance was going to be a lot more difficult to plan.
"Of course! What did you have in mind for today?" Izuku questioned as Kyouka's smile widened at her plans actually working out, that was until she realized that she didn't really have a plan of what she wanted to do today.
"U-Uh, well… I hadn't really thought about that." She mumbled, hearing Izuku try to hold back a laugh as her face flushed. "Oi! I didn't think you'd accept! Let's just… I don't know, let's just meet up somewhere for lunch and just talk."
"Sure, text me the address and I'll swing by after I get dressed." Izuku commented, causing Kyouka's face to explode into a red hue. Was she talking to him while he was nude!? Is that why he was moving around!? Images of the greenette walking around his room while talking to her bare caused her face to flush and suddenly hang up the call.
"Why would you answer the phone like that…" She mumbled in embarrassment as she held her phone up to her forehead, her face continuing to look like a red tomato as her jacks twisted in embarrassment.
Izuku stood confused in his room, clad in his pajamas. "Ah… She hung up."
Standing outside of a local bar, Kyouka rested up against the wall in wait for her green haired accompaniment. Their call from earlier still caused her slight embarrassment, but she was able to look past it as she did kind of call him out of nowhere.
'Still though… It's been awhile since I've felt embarrassed like that.' She thought, gripping onto her scarf as her ears reddened due to the cold gust of wind that breezed by her. 'I almost forgot that kinda feeling.'
"Ah, sorry. Did you wait long?" A voice spoke from beside her. There, in all his green haired glory, stood Izuku Midoriya, the number one hero, and her confidant of choice for the evening.
Looking the greenette up and down she really began to take in just how much bigger he had gotten, both in terms of his bulk (Though he still looked as though it was lean muscle) and his height. He now stood at a solid 5'10, not the tallest, but definitely taller than he used to be.
The greenette had a small scar on his cheek from their earlier years, yet his boyish charm and gentle smile refused to leave him. He looked good, even clothing-wise as he was adorned in a gray turtleneck and black chino pants. On top of that he wore a black trenchcoat that he opted to leave open, black gloves, black scarf, and he even went as far as to change his shoes to match the rest of his outfit. Even had on a nice gray beanie that matched his turtleneck.
"Oh, Midoriya! No, I've only been here a few minutes. I'm glad you made it, it's… It's been awhile." She greeted, her brow furrowing slightly at how she had to stare up at the man. Despite growing in various ways herself, she still couldn't match up to most people in terms of height. (Though she still remained taller than Tsuyu).
"Yeah, but I'm really glad to see you. It's nice to talk to my classmates every once in a while." Izuku started, adjusting his scar slightly before sighing. "Though some I haven't really been on the best terms with."
"Oh? What's going on there?" Kyouka questioned, raising a brow as Izuku averted her gaze. He must not have been comfortable talking about it quite yet, and she totally just pushed a boundary. "Oh, sorry, i-is it not okay to ask..?"
"N-No, nothing like that, uh…" He sputtered out, his face flushing as his eyes grew a bit distant. He then gestured to the restaurant that laid before them. "H-How's about we talk about it inside?"
"Sure, y-yeah, that sounds good." She replied, nodding before Izuku held the door open for her, entering in shortly after and removing his hat. Kyouka and Izuku made their way over to a booth, sitting down and removing their coats so that they could get comfortable.
"Huh… This place is rather empty today." Izuku commented as he removed his scarf and placed it on top of his jacket. "So, I guess I should elaborate on what I mean about 'not being on the best terms with'."
"I mean if you feel comfortable sharing. I mean you came to listen to me, so I can return the favor if you need it." Kyouka informed, reaching a hand over the table to reach for Izuku's. The greenette smiled and tapped her hand with his index finger before crossing his arms and staring at the roof in thought.
"Thanks. Though, it's not that intricate. Uraraka and I still aren't on good terms, and as of recently… Neither are me and Kaminari. It's mainly because of how he's using partying as a means to cope, but… I guess you could say that's him being happy." Izuku recalled, huffing in annoyance. Kaminari had been the one to bring the whole breakup thing up, and now he had been ruining his life, though now he and the other guys in his class have been getting on his ass about it. Perhaps Kyouka dodged a bullet with him.
"Really? Eesh… Though that kinda ties in to what I wanted to… 'Discuss'." Kyouka started, interlocking her fingers over the table as she sighed. Izuku leaned in, being attentive to what she had to say next as it seemed to cause her a whole lot of internal struggle. "I don't know… Is it bad that I've been feeling kind of glad that he's out of my life? I've been locked up in my room debating on if I've been a horrible person, or if I could've done something to be better, but I'm just… I'm happier now. I actually want to move on, and it's only been a week. Is that too soon? Am I… Am I being a bad person?"
"So you feel bad for being happier without him?" Izuku questioned, chiming in just to make sure he was understanding. Kyouka nodded in confirmation, looking down in shame as fear began to set in. What if Izuku judged her, or thought that she was a bad person? She didn't think she could live with that.
"I-I don't know, man… He was my first boyfriend, my first kiss! But I just… I just couldn't love him anymore. I'm not even sure if I ever loved him, and I feel terrible about it, I feel terrible about telling him the truth." She continued, tears building up in the corner of her eyes but she blinked them away. "I just feel horrible…"
"You're not a bad person at all. You were honest with your feelings, and I think that even if it's not right now, deep down Kaminari will be thankful that you were honest with him. And the same goes for you, you're happier that you two were honest with one another, right?" He said, staring right at Kyouka as she continued to look down. Kyouka paused and finally looked at the greenette in front of her. His eyes were intense, but his expression was rather… Relaxingly sincere.
"I-I mean, yeah, but-" She attempted to argue.
"Then you're not a bad person. Neither of you are, subjectively speaking, you're better than most. You did what you felt was right, and you're better off with that decision than staying in a relationship where you're unhappy." The greenette interrupted, taking one of her hands into his own. His firm grip on her hand was oddly soothing, and the foreign contact made her heart skyrocket as her face reddened. "You have every right to look out for your own happiness, Jirou. Never second guess that because you are the most important person in your own life. Even if you don't agree with it, you'll always have yourself."
Feeling her tears build up in her eyes, Kyouka went to wipe them away with her sleeve, but soon felt the scarred and rough hand of Izuku Midoriya wiping them away with his thumb.
"Don't cry. I know you're stronger than to let that happen." Izuku whispered, giving the girl a warm smile as he removed his hand from essentially caressing her face. Kyouka's eyes sparkled in bewildered amazement as Izuku's whole demeanor to her began to look… Different. "You're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for…"
No, he wasn't the only one that was different, she was feeling different too. She seemed different to Izuku, just as he seemed different to her. Their hearts were moving like crazy, and neither of them could really say they disliked it. Hell, Kyouka could even hear Izuku's heartbeat going crazy, but the feeling they shared; the air between them… It changed.
"You mean that?" Kyouka questioned, sniffling as a small smile graced her lips. Izuku could feel his face heat up at the sight, but nodded assuringly regardless.
"Of course." He started, leaning back into his own side of the booth as he fiddled with his hands. "I-I've… I've always thought that about you. E-Even back in school. You were both super cool, and super scary."
Kyouka failed to hold back a small giggle. "Pfft! How was I scary?"
Izuku rubbed the nape of his neck nervously, "Y-Your jacks… You could've killed any of us if we ticked you off, but on top of that you could hear nearly everything. Y-You could have listened to any conversation at any time."
"Yeah, but I would never invade someone's private-"
"Do I even need to bring up I-Island and the massive controversy that followed?" Izuku interrupted, deadpanning playfully as Kyouka's expression changed to an apologetic one.
"...Fair point. But still, I hardly cared enough to invade people's conversations. That time was only for Uraraka's sake, she had a huge crush on you at the time." Kyouka explained, leaning back into her seat and crossing her arms as she reminisced about their horrid trip to the I-Expo. "But, I guess that was my mistake. You totally rejected her and now she hates you."
"Ugh, don't remind me. I just…" He started, blushing as he locked eyes with Kyouka for a fraction of a second. "...I-I just had my eyes set out for someone else. Besides, it would never work between me and her. Her reasons for liking me were shallow, I'm not some kind of shonen protagonist that would fall into that trope."
Kyouka smirked, catching his eye lingering on her for such a small moment as a pink hue dusted her cheeks. Kyouka rose from her seat, confusing Izuku before his face turned a bright red hue as she sat beside him in his booth.
"J-J-Jirou! Wh-What are you doing!?" He questioned, leaning as far away from her as possible due to embarrassment. Kyouka smiled, her heart finding that this was the best course of action. Sure, this wasn't her intention when she first invited him out, but sometimes things just fly at you and you have to take a chance.
"I'm not really sure, but I was thinking…" She started, resting her head on the greenette's shoulder as he tense and froze up. "I've been feeling kinda blargh lately, and you seem to do a good job at cheering me up, so, if you don't mind…"
"Maybe you can be my remedy."
