Yaoyorozu appears, sighing at the sight of a smirking Kyouka. "About time." Kyouka holds the door to the roof open for the taller girl.
"How did you open it?" Yaoyorozu shot a confused look at Kyouka. She smirks and pulls out the rooftop key that she swiped from Present Mic's office. Yaoyorozu frowns, "Jirou-san..."
"Come on." Kyouka tilts her head in the direction of the door. Yaoyorozu sighs and walks out. Kyouka follows behind her.
"Why did you bring me out here? You want to shake me down or something?" Yaoyorozu put a hand on her hip.
"If I was going to shake you down, I would've done it when I saw you earlier." Kyouka crosses her arms and leans against the door. "Shut up and sit down already." She points at one of the benches on the roof. As Yaoyorozu went to sit down, Kyouka walked over to the side of the roof entrance to grab the acoustic guitar she brought up beforehand. She let out a deep breath before turning to meet Yaoyorozu. "You can't be a musician if you're afraid of performing in front of people."
"Are you going to serenade me?" Yaoyorozu smirks at Kyouka. Kyouka swallows nervously, she's only seen Yaoyorozu's smirk once and she hated it.
"Sh-Shut up, and listen." Kyouka avoids eye contact. She takes a seat by Yaoyorozu, making sure to leave an appropriate amount of space between them. Any closer and Kyouka wasn't sure she'd be able to perform well. She clears her throat and stares off into the distance. "When I'm stressed, I just play the guitar. Doesn't matter what I play but it makes me feel better." Kyouka turns to Yaoyorozu, who was watching her closely. The other girl nods slowly and Kyouka continues, "So...Do you mind being my audience this time?"
Yaoyorozu's eyes widen in surprise and she nods. "I'd love to listen to you play." She gives Kyouka a soft smile and Kyouka looks down at her guitar. "Don't fuck up now, Kyouka." Kyouka nods at Yaoyorozu before looking down at her guitar. She decided to play the ending song from one of her favorite animes, Ouran High School Host Club. Of course, she wouldn't admit it out loud but living alone all the time meant she could watch whatever she wanted with no shame. The acoustic version of Sprint always relaxed Kyouka, and it was a song she felt really confident about.
She breaths in and begins plucking the strings on her guitar, for the beginning guitar rift. Kyouka closes her eyes, feeling the tension in her shoulders release as she starts to relax.
"Jirou-san, that was cool!" Yaoyorozu claps, "I can't deny it, you play very well."
Kyouka looks away to hide her face, she was grinning like a fool. "I hope so, I have a damn scholarship."
Yaoyorozu chuckles and Kyouka turns back to her, finding the other girl doing her signature hand gesture. Kyouka's noticed a lot that she uses hand gestures whenever she's in deep thought, embarrassed or really excited about something. Kyouka's favorite is when she's in deep thought and she brings her thumb under her chin or pushes her index finger on her chin.
Kyouka's cheeks warm and she tries to it hide behind her bangs. She just had to do something nice for Yaoyorozu, to lead up to this moment where she got to witness an angel laugh in front of her. She would beat herself up about her comparison later, but for now she had to stop looking like a fool.
"Can I ask you something?" Yaoyorozu starts slowly.
Kyouka turns to the taller girl. "Sure." She rubs the back of her head, hoping to relieve the heat that's trapped in her cheeks.
"I've been wondering for awhile now. The more I interact with you, I notice that you seem to have a lot at stake." She folds her hands on her lap. Kyouka props her guitar on the bench and leans back, maintaining eye contact with Yaoyorozu. "You have a scholarship. But why must you act the way you do? I can only imagine your actions hurting your chances at staying at UA. I really appreciate you helping me out in front of the arcade but actions like that might have consequences later."
Kyouka leans her head back, deep in thought. She felt her lips turn into a frown, she can't help it. Yaoyorozu seemed to notice, making her shift in place. "I-I didn't mean to offend you."
"You didn't." Kyouka answers. She glances at Yaoyorozu, who was waiting for the rest of Kyouka's answer. "Growing up, I was a rough kid. My parents raised me to be tough, I guess? I mean, they didn't purposefully raise me to be an asshole or to pick fights-" Kyouka laughs, "All my neighbors were boys and my old man encouraged me to play with them. I remember one time we were rough housing and I got hurt. I cried like a little bitch to my mom. She was the one to tell me to hit back and be strong and I guess it stuck with me."
Kyouka glances at Yaoyorozu once again to make sure she was still interested in the conversation. Yaoyorozu nodded and Kyouka took it as a signal to keep going. "I was too rough to really hangout with girls and the boys were scared of me because I could beat them up. So I just did my own thing for the longest time. I skip school and do my work at home, since there's no reason to spend all day there. And since my parents are always away, no one was around to correct my wrongs."
There's a short pause before Yaoyorozu broke the silence. "I guess I never thought about it like that. But you're smart and talented. You're even aware of it. But you haven't changed."
"I was worse in middle school. But now I'm comfortable. And lazy. I've been uncontested for so long...I think I'm just waiting for someone to call me out on my shit." The last part rolled off of Kyouka's tongue, when she sees Yaoyorozu smirk.
"I guess that's what I'm here for."
Kyouka rolls her eyes, "Whatever." Maybe Yaoyorozu's smirk was something she could get used to. It always riled her up to challenge the other girl.
"But you should really think about the consequences of your actions. You could get expelled." Kyouka notices concern spread across Yaoyorozu's face.
"I guess." Kyouka answers, looking down at her shoes. "But y'know? I'm okay with it. I deserve it. I did a lot of bad stuff last year, and I'm still trying to rise up from it. But I've got a bunch of friends who look out for me now, and keep me out of trouble way less."
"Like what? ...If you want to talk about it at least." Yaoyorozu tilts her head.
"Ah..." Kyouka mutters. She swallows slowly, trying to get rid of the sudden frog in her throat. "I'd rather not. Sorry. Maybe some other time." Kyouka laughs awkwardly.
"That's okay. You're not entitled to tell me something you don't feel like talking about." She waves her hand in dismissal.
"Thanks. But I've been getting in trouble way less, right?" Kyouka shifted topics. She didn't feel like remembering the train wreck that was her life last year.
"Way less?" Yaoyorozu raises an eyebrow, making Kyouka laugh.
"Well, to me I've gotten in trouble a lot less. But you're the prez. You're always gonna be on our asses. I know we're a bunch of troublemakers but I feel good around them. I feel in place and it's less lonely...I guess." Kyouka scratches her cheek. Since when did she get close enough to tell Yaoyorozu all of this stuff?
"I kind of understand where you're coming from." Kyouka felt Yaoyorozu place her hand on her shoulder. They make eye contact. Yaoyorozu realizes the touch and pulls back, and Kyouka tries to pay no attention to the lost contact.
"...I love my fellow student council members. We all work hard together to make everyone else's school experience fun." Yaoyorozu smiles to herself. Kyouka thought otherwise, but she decided not to ruin the moment. "I've only gone to private schools but being here at UA is so much fun. I mean, I could never do this at any other private school." She pointed out the fact that they were hanging out on the school roof.
"True." Kyouka replies. "Well," She gazes at Yaoyorozu, "I'm not all that bad, right? Good experience?"
"I-I never said you were bad." Yaoyorozu holds her hands out and shook them in defense. "I..." She looks down at her shoes, and made eye contact with Kyouka again. "Thank you for this, Jirou-san. You like to act all tough, but I know deep down you care."
Kyouka's first instinct is to scoff, and it surprises the other girl. "Yeah right. Shut up." It was too late to stop herself, the words already came out of her mouth. Yaoyorozu didn't seem to be offended, but Kyouka wished she could better control her word choice when she's flustered. Kyouka suddenly stood up, grabbing her guitar and securing it on her back. "It's getting late." Kyouka tilts her head toward the roof exit, waiting for Yaoyorozu to stand up. She didn't get up right away, Kyouka watches as her hand goes to cup her chin. "There it is. That dumb hand thing."
Kyouka turns to the exit and slowly begins walking.
"Jirou-san." Yaoyorozu stands up from her seat.
"Huh?" Kyouka turns back, tugging on the guitar strap.
"What are you doing after this?" Yaoyorozu shyly held her hands together out in front of her.
"Uh..." Kyouka mutters. "Going home." Now why would Yaoyorozu want to know?
"Um..." She starts. Kyouka raises an eyebrow. "Jirou-san!"
"Y-Yeah?" Kyouka asks. Now she was getting worried. "What's with the awkward pauses and stuttering?"
"Let me treat you to dinner. I still owe you one." Yaoyorozu glances at Kyouka for a second before averting her eyes.
Kyouka could only stare at the other girl. "Eh?" Kyouka couldn't fully comprehend what had just happened.
"I mean, if you don't want to go it's totally fine, I didn't mean to intrude-"
"I want to go." Kyouka blurts out. There she goes again. Talking without thinking.
"Great!" Yaoyorozu smiles. Her smile this time is a lot bigger than Kyouka's seen previously. She didn't even realize that Yaoyorozu had already walked past her and is already by the door. "Let's go?" Yaoyorozu turns back, meeting Kyouka's gaze.
Kyouka's never realized it until now, how beautiful Yaoyorozu's long hair actually is. Seeing it swaying in the wind made her want to reach out and touch it for herself. Was it soft? Did it smell nice? What would it look like if she took out her usual ponytail? Suddenly Kyouka really wanted to know the answers to all these questions.
Realizing she was keeping the other girl waiting, Kyouka clears her throat, trying to rid herself of feelings. "...Right." Kyouka answers slowly. She ignores how fast her heart suddenly started beating.
"Is that..." Kyouka mutters.
"Todoroki-san!" Yaoyorozu waves at the boy, who was waiting by the school gates. He turns over to them.
"Yaoyorozu, Jirou." He nods, acknowledging the two girls. Kyouka always thought he was really awkward, and this proved it. He just stood there, hands in his pocket, face as dull as ever.
"What are you doing here so late?" Kyouka asks.
"I had practice." He replies.
"Oh, I forgot you were one of those." Kyouka plays with her bags strap.
"OI HALF-N-HALF!" An angry voice calls out behind them. The owner of the voice is none other than Bakugou, who was angrily stomping in their direction, with Kirishima following close behind.
"Oh boy." Kyouka mutters, sweat already falling down her face.
"What now..." Todoroki turns to Bakugou.
"I'M GONNA CRUSH YOU NEXT PRACTICE, DON'T GET IT MY WAY AGAIN, ASSHOLE!" Bakugou kept walking, bumping shoulders with Todoroki.
"Bakugou! Calm down, and stop being a jerk." Kirishima walks over to Kyouka and the others. "Sorry about that, Todoroki."
"It's fine." He replies.
"Hey Jirou, Yaoyorozu." Kirishima waves them off, "Get home safe!" He yells before walking off after Bakugou.
"That was...strange." Todoroki mutters.
"Having him in the same band is one thing, but I can't even imagine having basketball practice with him." Kyouka shakes her head. "He's really competitive, right?"
"Extremely." Todoroki sighs, causing Kyouka to laugh.
"Todoroki-san, are you waiting for someone?" Yaoyorozu asks.
"Ah, yeah." Todoroki nods. He looks down and lightly scratches his cheek. "Midoriya."
"Oh. I see." Yaoyorozu had this sly look on her face as she replied to Todoroki. "And?"
"A-And?" Todoroki quietly replies. "Yaoyorozu I don't understand." He averts eye contact and looked at the ground once more. "Why are you making that face."
Kyouka's jaw dropped, watching the interaction between her two classmates. Todoroki was looking semi-embarrassed and Yaoyorozu was just giggling. Seeing the unapproachable Todoroki Shouto look embarrassed wasn't an everyday thing, and Kyouka was blessed enough to witness it. "Is this real life."
"Todoroki-kun! Oh, Yaoyorozu-san and Jirou-san!" Midoriya calls for them. The three turn toward him and watch as he quickly jogged over to meet them. "What are you all doing here?"
"Uh...The prez and I were just leaving when we ran into Todoroki." Kyouka explains.
"Oh, cool." Midoriya replies. Todoroki took a step closer to the other boy.
"Midoriya."
"Todoroki-kun, thanks for waiting." Midoriya smiles at him.
"You didn't hurt yourself during practice today." Todoroki's lips form into a small smile.
"I didn't think you would notice." Midoriya laughs and rubs the back of his head. "Thanks."
Kyouka's jaw dropped again. "They're so in love. What the fuck."
Yaoyorozu clears her throat, and Kyouka felt the other girl's hand grasp her tie. "If you will excuse us, Jirou-san and I will be taking our leave." Yaoyorozu lightly tugs on Kyouka's tie, leading her away from the two boys.
"R-Right." Kyouka mutters as she felt Yaoyorozu's hand loosen on her tie. She swallows nervously and grips the spot on her tie that Yaoyorozu was previously touching. Was that necessary?
"I apologize if that was too forceful." Yaoyorozu looks back at Kyouka.
"It's fine." Kyouka mutters. Fighting the heat in her cheeks, Kyouka clears her throat and elected to change subjects. "So...are they dating or what?"
"Huh?" Yaoyorozu replies, shock clearly displayed on her face.
Kyouka narrows her eyebrows, "What do you mean 'huh'? It's obvious they both like each other." Kyouka shoves her hands in her pockets. "Even a complete idiot would know."
"...I guess you saw through it but yeah. Midoriya-san talks about Todoroki-san a lot in the student council room and Todoroki-san seems to bring up Midoriya-san a lot when we talk. It's cute, but I wouldn't speak about that info to them behind their backs."
"'Course not." Kyouka replies. "It's none of my business anyway."
"Thank you." Yaoyorozu smiles. Kyouka's lips form into a small smile and she looks ahead of them.
"Let's not be a disaster anymore today, Kyouka."
"So...What are we eating?"
They decided on a family restaurant. Yaoyorozu admitted that she doesn't go to those kind of often, so Kyouka suggested going to Denny's. It was on the way home, making it pretty convenient.
Kyouka decided on a burger and fries, it was her usual (and not so pricey) while Yaoyorozu decided on pancakes. She said it was something she didn't have often, and not to judge her. Unbeknownst to her, Kyouka thought it was cute.
"So, how long have you been playing instruments?" Yaoyorozu straightens her posture, once the waiter takes their orders.
"Hmm…" Kyouka leans comfortably on her hand. "Maybe since I was around 6? Or 5. I'm not sure. But for a long time."
"Is your favorite the guitar?"
"I like the guitar a lot, but I also like playing bass. It's pretty solid sounding and cool."
"I think so too. I still can't believe Jirou-san did such a nice thing for me." Yaoyorozu chuckles once she sees Kyouka cross her arms and look away.
"Whatever." Kyouka mutters. "You said you wanted to hear me play anyway."
"I did." She nods. "It was a lovely song. Where is it from?"
"Uh…" Kyouka started to panic. She couldn't let anyone know she watched anime, especially Yaoyorozu. "...I heard it on the radio once. It's called Sprint."
"Really? I would've heard it by now...I guess we listen to different stations."
"Probably."
Dinner was over in a flash. Kyouka enjoyed both her meal, and time with Yaoyorozu. She had never really hung out with the taller girl outside of school, excluding both times she went over to her house. Those times were strictly business. Okay maybe not really, there was a little of getting to know each other involved. But certainly this time around was different.
Yaoyorozu was really talkative throughout dinner, smiling so brightly that Kyouka was sure her eyes should have burned out. They mostly talked about what they liked to do in their free time, favorite this or thats, and talents. Kyouka learned that Yaoyorozu's goal is to become a hero. If it doesn't work out, she said that she'd want to become a school teacher, but Kyouka knows there's no way she wouldn't be a hero. Yaoyorozu has this kind of positive affect on people.
On the way home, they passed the arcade near their houses. Kyouka hadn't stopped inside for a long time, so she was sure there were new UFO catcher prizes. But she was spending time with Yaoyorozu today, so she made a note to stop by sometime before break ended.
Although in the corner of her eye, she catches the spiky haired girl eyeing the UFO catchers from the window of the arcade. Kyouka smiles to herself before opening her mouth and getting caught. "Do you want to go in?"
"A-Ah, it's alright." Yaoyorozu stutters, waving her hand in dismissal.
"Are you sure?" Kyouka raises an eyebrow, taking a step closer to the arcade entrance.
"It-It's late! We should not stay out late like this." She shakes her head, walking past the shorter girl. Kyouka looks back and blows air out of her mouth in annoyance.
"No fun." Kyouka shakes her head, following behind Yaoyorozu. "We're on break."
"I know! But…" Yaoyorozu pauses. "Next time."
"...Next time." Kyouka mutters. "Will there actually be a next time, or is she just saying that."
"But I hope you enjoyed dinner." Yaoyorozu makes eye contact with Kyouka once she catches up with her pace.
"I did." Kyouka nods, trying to keep herself from smiling like a big idiot.
Having dinner with Yaoyorozu and walking home together was a good change of pace. Usually she did those things by herself, but spending it with a pretty girl for once was good. Plus her voice was nice to listen to. Today, Kyouka is a winner.
Yaoyorozu: That song you played for me.
Yaoyorozu: It's from an anime, isn't it?
Kyouka started to sweat. This was just great, now Yaoyorozu had information to blackmail her with. She could deny it some more, but maybe Yaoyorozu already knew? Girls always do that thing, where they ask a question they already know the answer to. She was bound to find out eventually. Sighing, Kyouka begins typing out her reply.
Jirou: ok yeah
Jirou: its from Ouran
Yaoyorozu: What's that?
Jirou: u don't know what that is?
Yaoyorozu: Enlighten me.
Jirou: damn right i will, prez.
Jirou: It's a CLASSIC anime. How could u not know.
Yaoyorozu: I don't watch anime. I'm not a nerd.
Jirou: yet ur on the student council
Yaoyorozu: Shush.
Jirou: Ouran Highschool Host Club
Jirou: watch it when u get the chance. It's good.
Kyouka lets out a heavy sigh. She wasn't a huge nerd but she knew her fair share of good anime. Hopefully Yaoyorozu didn't think she was actually huge nerd.
Yaoyorozu: I'll keep it in mind.
Yaoyorozu: Did you enjoy dinner?
Jirou: i did, thanks again. But i don't want to ignore ur watching habits. What is ur fav show
Yaoyorozu: I don't have a favorite show.
Jirou: SHUT UP
Jirou: HOW CAN U NOT HAVE A FAV SHOW
Jirou: UR FUCKING WITH ME AREN'T U
Yaoyorozu: I don't watch TV. I study a lot, Jirou-san.
Jirou: o
Yaoyorozu: Just kidding ;) I like watching documentaries. But I won't watch stuff about ghosts.
Kyouka shakes her head and laughs to herself. "Wow, so she can joke now." Little by little, she was learning and getting comfortable with the other girl.
They've been texting for hours. Kyouka can't even remember what exactly they were talking about, the conversation shifted so much but she never felt bored with it. She doesn't remember the last time she texted someone like this. She enjoyed it. It didn't feel forced.
Her stomach suddenly growls. "Woah." Kyouka mutters, rubbing her stomach. "I guess it has been awhile since dinner…" Taking a break from looking at her phone, she heads to the cupboard and shuffles through it, looking for cup ramen. It was the last one. "Okay Kyouka, let's make this one count." One time she forgot to put water in it and it burned the whole thing, and she didn't have anymore in the cupboard. Bad times.
Filling it with the appropriate amount of water and placing it in the microwave, she returns back to her phone on the couch. It vibrates and the screen lights up, showing a text message from Yaoyorozu.
Yaoyorozu: Are you going to come to school tomorrow as well?
Jirou: probably. I don't have much to do at home
Kyouka grabs the TV remote and logs onto Hulu. Aside from the occasional anime, she does enjoy watching Hell's Kitchen. Watching Gordon Ramsay yell at people was satisfying and mostly they got yelled at for doing stupid shit.
She watches for a few minutes before the microwave beeps. Excited, Kyouka carefully removes her from the microwave, making sure nothing spills. If she somehow dropped her last cup ramen, she was sure she'd have a breakdown. This time she actually put the water in. Give her a break.
After successfully bringing it to the coffee table, she internally cheered. It was definitely too hot to eat right away. She goes back to watching her show. Kyouka was really hungry but she'd rather wait for it to cool down and eat it at an appropriate temperature than eat it now and burn her tongue. She's already learned that lesson before.
Her phone suddenly vibrates. "Oh." Kyouka mutters, forgetting that she was having a conversation with Yaoyorozu.
Yaoyorozu: Would you play for me again?
Kyouka feels her cheeks burn. Why did it take her so long to ask that, and why did it make Kyouka feel so fuzzy inside? Trying to ignore this funny feeling, Kyouka does the only thing she knows how to do.
Jirou: only if u ask nicely
Yaoyorozu: …
Yaoyorozu: Nevermind.
Feeling like she actually messed up, Kyouka quickly replies.
Jirou: kidding.
Jirou: I can play for u again if u want.
Yaoyorozu: If you say so.
Yaoyorozu: It's getting late and I've got to get to school early tomorrow. I'll talk to you later?
She feels a little disappointed. Sighing, Kyouka leans her head on the couch arm.
Jirou: sure.
Yaoyorozu: Good night.
"...Did I just ruin the moment?"
The next day, Kyouka arrived to school around noon and the other girl was nowhere to be found. She hadn't made her usual stop at the studio. Texting the other girl would be weird. It would make it seem like Kyouka was waiting for her, and that was NOT the case. Jirou Kyouka doesn't wait for anyone. With that, Kyouka starts practice.
"Phew." Kyouka sits down in the nearest chair. She rests her guitar against her leg and leans back. Her fingers ached, she was pressing against the strings too hard again. She decides to take a quick break but her phone vibrates on the table. She reaches as far as she can without having to get up, and opens her phone.
Mina: kyouka!
Jirou: what's up?
Jirou: also, when did u change ur name
Mina: a long time ago, weirdo
Mina: listen if ur not doing anything, come meet kaminari and i in the gym
Mina: bring ur gym clothes too ;)
Mina: also change ur display name, basic bitch
She leans back, poking at her bottom lip. Going to hangout with Mina and Kaminari would indeed count as a break.
Jirou: ok fine i'm coming
Jirou changed their name to Kyouka
"Hah?" Kyouka deadpans. Kaminari and Mina had gathered a small crowd. Midoriya, Asui, and Uraraka were waiting together with Kaminari and Mina. These people never really mingled with each other, save for Mina and Uraraka on several occasions.
"Finally, you're here." Mina throws her arm around Kyouka's neck. "We're gonna go get the equipment."
"Alright, we'll be here." Kaminari waves them off. Mina starts to pull Kyouka away. Once they are at a reasonable distance, Mina starts to breath heavily.
"Kyouka I'm freaking out." Mina whispers.
"Mina, what are we doing?" Kyouka asks, raising her eyebrows.
"Kaminari suggested playing volleyball since we got out of supplementary classes early, probably to see Shinsou, so he invited Midoriya because he ran into him but I didn't know he was going to bring Ochaco-chan and Tsuyu-chan-"
"Woah, breathe." Kyouka pats her pink haired friend's back. "You'll be alright. Just don't open your mouth in front of her." Kyouka snickers as Mina pouts.
"Not funny." Mina crosses her arms. They reach the equipment closet and Mina shuffles through the closet, trying to find a volleyball.
Kyouka decides to look in the opposite part of the closet, rummaging through a cart full of different balls. "There's basketballs...dodgeballs...baseballs...why aren't there volleyballs?"
"'Cuz you're looking in the wrong place." Mina replies. She quickly turns back to Mina and sees a volleyball flying toward her face. Kyouka quickly reaches out to catch it, before it hits her. The ball suddenly impacts her palm and she brings it toward her chest.
"Mina!" Kyouka yells, feeling a vein pop out in her forehead. "Save it for outside!" Kyouka tosses it back to Mina and storms out of the equipment closet.
"Aww Kyouka, I was just playing around." Mina quickly enters her peripheral vision.
"Go play around with Uraraka." Kyouka sticks her tongue out at her blushing friend.
"Kyouka!"
Having returned to the rest of the group, Kaminari quickly swipes the ball from Mina. "C'mon, let's toss the volleyball!"
"Why volleyball?" Kyouka speaks up. "We should've brought back the dodgeballs."
"Yeah, watching Kaminari get hit would've been funny." Mina nods in agreement.
"I mean, it's not too late to change courses." Uraraka joins in, shrugging. Mina makes eye contact with her, and looks at Kyouka for help. Kyouka only smirks and looks away, walking towards Kaminari with Midoriya and Asui. "Not bad, Uraraka."
"So, are you guys taking a break from student council work?" Kyouka asks the other two students.
"Yeah, it's super tiring." Midoriya stretches his arms in the air. "But I don't mind it. When I'm not playing volleyball, it's the only other thing that makes me feel productive."
"Also, Iida-chan was overworking himself because Yao-momo didn't come in yet." Asui adds.
"She...hasn't?" Kyouka asks, trying to subtly get more information.
"Nope. We think that she might have overslept. But that's okay, since she works really hard for the rest of us. She deserves a break."
"C'mon guys, I'm waiting for you!" Kaminari yells, throwing the ball into the air and attempting to spike it in Kyouka's direction. Unfortunately for him, he swung his arm too early, and the ball ended up hitting the top of his head. Everyone bursts into laughter. Kaminari was truly a fool, but he somehow had the power to bring people together.
They formed a circle and just kept the volleyball from hitting the ground. Kyouka wasn't really a sports person, but she had to admit that this was fun. She felt like she got to bond more with Uraraka, Asui, and Midoriya.
Uraraka kept trying to prank Mina by using her quirk and making the ball float upwards when it was flying toward her. It earned plenty of laughs from Kyouka.
"Ochaco-chan, no fair!" Mina pouts. Uraraka laughs, and the volleyball comes flying down, hitting Mina's head. "Ow!"
"Oops! Sorry, Mina-chan!" Uraraka and Asui rush over to the pink haired girl, patting her head.
"Oh, does she need to go to the nurse's office?" Kyouka suggests, looking at Kaminari for some form of agreement.
"Yeah maybe. She may have lost a couple brain cells. She doesn't have a lot of brain cells to begin with, so she's gotta salvage what she can." Kaminari shrugs, smirking.
"You guys!" Mina yells, staring daggers in their direction.
"Good idea." Uraraka nods, already grabbing Mina's arm and dragging her away.
"I believe you can handle the rest?" Asui asks. Uraraka winks back at her, unknown to the fact that both Kyouka and Kaminari witnessed it.
"I'm fine, really!" Mina yells, failing to escape Uraraka's grasp. Kyouka's jaw drops and she turns to Kaminari for some input. He does the same.
"Uh…" Midoriya mutters. "Should we continue?"
"Y-Yeah, let's do that." Kaminari shakes his head and readies himself. "Teach me how to spike!"
"Me? Teach you?" Midoriya looked kind of confused, as if he wasn't confident in his own abilities.
"Me too!" Kyouka waves her hand.
"I want to learn too!" Asui latches onto Kyouka's arm.
"O-Okay!" Midoriya nods his head. "Uh, maybe we should set up the net? It would be better if you want to learn."
"Alright!"
"Oh? Midoriya, are you setting up for a match?" Kyouka hears a new voice outside of the equipment closet. Her and Asu- Tsuyu were grabbing the net while Midoriya and Kaminari set up the poles.
"A-Ah! It's Shinsou!" Kaminari yells. Instantly, Kyouka felt herself smirking.
"Kyouka-chan, you just made a weird face." Tsuyu pokes her way into Kyouka's peripheral vision. "Up to some mischief?"
"Hah." Kyouka scoffs, picking up the net. "Yeah you got me."
"Heyyyy." Kaminari slides into the equipment closet. He looked a little flushed, Kyouka already knew he was in disaster mode. "You guys okay in here?"
"We're okay in here...But are you okay out there?" Kyouka smirks.
"We're all disasters here." Tsuyu opens her arms, waiting for Kyouka to give her the net. "I'll take these out."
"Are you sure, As- Tsuyu?"
"Mm. He looks like he needs to talk." She sticks her tongue out, grabbing the net and exiting the equipment closet.
"Nothing gets by Tsuyu…" Kyouka places her hands on her hips. "So, you scared or something?"
"I'm not scared!" Kaminari tries to yell quietly. He paces over to the corner and sits down.
"Well, you look scared."
"Just let me sit here."
"Don't chicken out. Now's your chance to start being friends. The gay stuff comes later."
"Jirou!"
"Ask him to teach you how to spike, Midoriya can't teach all three of us at once. Actually he probably could but..." Kyouka pats the yellow haired boy's head. "Do it or I'm calling you straight."
"Fine, fine." Kaminari pouts. "I guess this is payback for teasing you at Yaomomo's house…"
"It is. Go outside and make a friend."
Mina and Uraraka arrived half an hour after Shinsou's arrival. Kyouka made a note to ask Mina about it later. Kaminari seemed like he was doing fine in front of Shinsou. She kept hearing Kaminari cheer every time Shinsou demonstrated how to spike, because it took Kaminari a few tries to be able to time his jumps properly. Shinsou seemed like the type to be annoyed by loud airheads like Kaminari, but they seemed to get along nicely. He was very patient and quick to give Kaminari tips. At least he was finally getting somewhere.
Watching her friends interact with their respective crushes made Kyouka feel a little lonely. She had Tsuyu and Midoriya to talk to, but it didn't help that much. She was stuck wondering where a certain spiky haired individual was.
"There you all are!" Iida suddenly comes running into the gym, breaking Kyouka's train of thought.
"Iida-kun, what's up?" Uraraka asks, holding the volleyball in her hand.
"We have work to do! With Yaoyorozu-kun coming late, we have to make sure we use our time here wisely." He replies, moving his arms in his usual robotic way.
"Aw, c'mon Iida!" Kaminari throws his arm around the taller boy. He stands in place, crossing his arms.
"Iida-chan, why don't you join us for a game?" Tsuyu places her finger on her chin and tilts her head.
"Good idea, Asui-san!" Midoriya looks at them excitedly. Uraraka joins him, hoping to wear Iida down.
"Iida! Iida! Iida!"
"..."
"Iida, pleaseeeee!"
"..."
"...Maybe we should go back with him..."
"I guess you're right…? We should work on whatever we can while Yaomomo's gone..."
"I guess so…"
"Hold on, hold on." Kyouka shakes her head, walking toward the council kids. "Let's play a quick match. First team to get 10 points wins. If we win, you stay here and spend some quality time with us outside of class."
"And if you lose?" Iida asks.
Kyouka smirks. "Then we come with you to help with whatever the student council needs. For the whole day."
"Kyouka, no fair!"
"Jirou, I didn't come here to do work y'know!"
"Alright, okay!" He smirks back, eyes shining through his glasses. "I accept your terms."
"So it'll be the student council versus the delinquents plus Shinsou."
"I'm in this too?" Shinsou asks, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yes." Kyouka replies, already making her way onto the other side of the net. "It's only fair. Four versus four."
"I suppose." He replies, taking position at the front of the net. "I'll play middle blocker."
"Don't use that kind of lingo around here, Kaminari doesn't understand." Mina laughs and Kaminari face turns pink.
"Sh-Shut up!" Kaminari tries to shake it off, and stand in the area behind Shinsou. "I'll just take the back."
"Like the libero?" Shinsou asks.
"Whatever! I won't let anything touch the ground behind you. I can do that much at least." Kaminari points at himself in determination. Kyouka watches Shinsou nod at him.
Kyouka looks over at Mina. She feels a small smile form on her face, "I'll take the back too. You good to go up front?"
"Of course I am." Mina winks, taking position opposite of Uraraka.
"Is everyone ready?" Iida asks, taking position in the back of his side of the net. Uraraka and Midoriya were in the front, with Tsuyu and Iida in the back. Kyouka had to admit, it was a pretty well balanced team.
But she couldn't afford to go losing bets she started. Shinsou is an ace on the volleyball team, Mina's a pretty well rounded player, Kaminari hustles like no other, and Kyouka herself was fast on her feet.
"Yeah!" Everyone replies.
"First to 10! No quirks allowed!"
"You hear that, Midoriya?" Shinsou asks, taking position. Midoriya awkwardly laughs and takes his position.
"We'll see about that." The green haired boy replies.
"You guys can go first." Kyouka says, getting ready for the first serve.
"Are you sure?" Kaminari asks, looking back at Kyouka.
"Are you scared?" Kyouka asks.
"I'm not!"
"Go on, Iida-kun!" Midoriya nods at the taller boy. He nods, throwing the ball up into the air, and hitting it just enough to make it over the net.
"Here it comes!"
The ball flies over to Kyouka's area. She moves into place and positions her wrists carefully. It impacts her wrists and flies back into the air. "Got it!" Her wrists hurt, but she doesn't have the time to be a big baby about it.
"Not bad!" Shinsou yells, getting in position to set the ball. "Ashido!" The ball flies over to Mina, and she quickly smacks the ball over the net, impacting the ground.
"Alright!" She clenches her fist and yells.
"Nice point, Mina!" Kyouka yells, feeling excitement growing within her.
"Ugh, the volleyball team needs to recruit me already." Mina does a hair flip and Uraraka laughs out loud from the other side. Everyone turns to her, and she quickly covers her mouth, cheeks turning pink.
"Don't mind, you guys." Midoriya tries to reassure his team. They all nod, getting ready for one of the delinquents to serve.
"I'll go!" Kaminari raises his hand, and Uraraka rolls the ball under the net. He takes it, stands in position and throws it in the air, hitting it so it just barely makes it over the net.
"Nice floater." Shinsou says, following Midoriya's sudden movement towards the ball.
"I learned from the best!" Kaminari quickly replies. Uraraka receives it, setting it up perfectly for Midoriya to spike.
"Ashido, together!" Shinsou yells. They form a wall and jump in front of Midoriya's spike path.
Kyouka blinks, and watches the ball swiftly break through their defense and hit the ground. She really had no time to react.
"Woah, Midoriya! That was really cool!" Kaminari yells, running to pick up the ball. "Oh." He picks up the ball, which was now flat.
"Midoriya, you broke the ball again." Shinsou deadpans.
"I am sorry."
"Isn't that cheating? Midoriya-kun, you have arm breaking powers! You used your quirk!" Mina yells.
Kyouka laughs, readying herself for the next play. Leaving the studio didn't seem so bad, so far at least.
It was 9-9. The student council was in the lead, but with enough determination, the delinquents plus Shinsou caught up. Kyouka didn't score any, but she did keep the ball from hitting the ground a few times. That's a pretty good contribution, right? Kyouka and Kaminari were now on the front row. It was up to them to score, unless Shinsou decided to swoop in and do some crazy volleyball move.
"Bring it on!" Kaminari yells, waiting for Uraraka to serve.
"Don't cheat, remember?" Mina prods at the other girl. Uraraka laughs, getting ready to serve.
"Of course not, Mina-chan." She replies. Uraraka takes a deep breathe and throws the volleyball in the air. She hits it, and it flies in Kaminari's area. He bumps it into the air.
"I got it!" He yells.
"Nice, Kaminari!" Kyouka yells back, readying herself for a spike, or something along the lines of it.
"You got it, Kyouka!"
"Do it, Jirou!"
She waits until the last second, to smack it as hard as she can over the net. The ball moves fast toward the ground, but Midoriya moves faster. "Not on my watch!" He smirks.
"Damn it!" Kyouka shakes her head.
"Asui-san!" Midoriya turns to her. She's already in the air, ready to hit the ball.
"Call me Tsuyu!" She yells as she hits the ball over the net. It flies over her head, in Shinsou's direction. "So fast!"
Kyouka couldn't keep up, but Shinsou had awkwardly bumped it. "Shit!" He says, as the ball flies to the left of the net instead of anywhere near the rest of the team. Before she can think, she's already running towards the ball. Kyouka knows she has to set it, there was no way she'd be able to wack it to the other side. It wouldn't count. She wasn't the best setter but she had confidence. "Mina!" She jumps up, hands ready to set the ball in the other girl's direction. She didn't know how, but Kyouka swiftly set the ball to Mina. It wasn't perfect, but the ball made it back near the net and Mina was ready to connect it.
But Kyouka didn't pay any attention to her surroundings when she was chasing the ball. She lands on some of the spectator chairs, knocking at least three of them over. "Ow…"
"Take this!" She hears Mina yell. She hears Mina's spike ring throughout the gym, but no impact to the ground. Suddenly everything went quiet. Kyouka slowly gets up, but slips on some of the sweat that dropped from her body. Since when did she start sweating?
Standing up, Kyouka looks around. Everyone on her team was staring in horror in the direction of the opposing team. On the opposing side, they were all turned around, staring at-
Yaoyorozu.
Yaoyorozu was holding the ball out in front of her, as if she was keeping it from hitting her. Kyouka feels sweat drip down her face, the atmosphere completely changed. They were supposed to have already been doing work, but having Yaoyorozu catch her team playing around with the delinquents? This could get bad.
No one dared to open their mouth. She stayed quiet for a few seconds, before looking around at each of them. "You all look like you're having fun." She finally breaks the silence.
"Y-Yaoyorozu-kun, we were just finishing up." Iida tries to reassure her. Kyouka swallows nervously.
"There's no need to explain yourself. You all looked like you were having fun. It was enjoyable watching you all." She replies, smiling.
"How long were you watching us?" Uraraka asks.
"Not long, I just saw this last part. I was wondering where you all went."
"Right, we should head back to the student council room." Iida nods, looking at his fellow members. "Let's clean up."
"Don't worry about it, we've already kept you guys! Don't keep Yaomomo waiting!" Kaminari waves enthusiastically.
"Are you sure?" Midoriya asks, already trying to disassemble the net.
"Hurry up and leave you nerd." Mina stops him. "Let's do this again sometime!" Mina smiles.
"Thanks, you guys!" Kyouka starts waving as they student council kids leave.
"We should probably clean this up." Shinsou mutters, already starting to take down the net. "Kaminari, make yourself useful and come help me."
"Right."
"Jirou-san." Yaoyorozu's voice scares Kyouka, causing her to jump.
"Aah, prez!" Kyouka yells. "W-What are you still doing here? I thought you left." She laughs awkwardly.
"I saw you land on those chairs. Are you hurt?" She gives Kyouka a concerned look.
"Me? I'm fine." Kyouka replies, trying not to make eye contact with the other girl. She really wasn't expecting her to still be here. "Uhh...You're certainly late today…"
"Ah that…" She chuckles. "I may have stayed up later than I intended to."
"Oh yeah? Doing what?" Kyouka tries to get back into her usual rhythm, which was teasing.
"I...I watched that anime you told me to watch."
"Eh?" Kyouka couldn't believe her ears.
"I did."
"...All 26 episodes?" Kyouka asks slowly.
Yaoyorozu nods in defeat and Kyouka wanted to bust out laughing right there. Instead, she covers her mouth, trying to supress the urge. "Oh man prez...I didn't tell you to binge the whole thing, now did I? Who's the nerd now?"
"Sh-Shut up!" Yaoyorozu says, cheeks turning pink. She turns away, still holding onto the volleyball tightly. Kyouka can feel her face betray her because her cheeks start to burn. She'd never heard Yaoyorozu tell anyone to shut up before. And she'd also never seen Yaoyorozu so flustered like this before. She had to do something now, or else she'd become a mess.
Kyouka clears her throat, "Uh, I'm going to go take down the...stuff."
"O-Okay." Yaoyorozu replies. Without looking, she pushes the volleyball into Kyouka's hands. "I'll see you later." And without another word, she leaves. Kyouka watches in awe, as the other girl quickly exits the gym.
"W-Wow…" Kyouka mutters, dropping the volleyball.
"You got that right…"
Kyouka turns to Kaminari and Mina, who's jaws were dropped.
"Man, Kyouka you're such a disaster."
"Jirou, ask her out already."
Her cheeks burn and she opens her mouth form words. But unfortunately she could not find the proper words to defend herself. It's not like she liked the president or anything!
"We get it, Kyouka. You're gay."
All Kyouka can do it sigh and throw the volleyball at Mina's face.