My Jirou Academia: Chapter 1 New Horizons
It had been a grueling exam. Not many schools would make their aspiring attendees confront enormous machines as a metric. However she had managed, Jirou Kyoka had passed the U.A. entrance exams.
She had disassembled the machines from within, using her quirk to listen to the joints creaking when they moved. It was an ingenious application of her ability, or so they said in the acceptance letter. Compared to some people there, Jirou was a pebble in a pond. Especially that crazy green haired guy, who took down the biggest looking robot in a single hit. Though he was unable to move after, apparently too injured.
There were other amazing people there too, but something about that reckless guy was captivating, something about his way of carrying himself. She happened upon a weird feeling, a sensation she only felt towards girls. Up to this point, for all she knew, Jirou was attracted to women.
It was a sure fact, something she realized early. Whilst her dad watched a whole bunch of those talk shows featuring idols and female heroes, a part of Jirou understood where his admiration came from. These women were pretty, a work of art in her eyes. It was a harsh blow initially, the Kyokas accepting their daughter's sexuality but they eventually came around. Not only that, they actively supported her punk rock nature, which led her to reinforce the attraction towards her own gender.
So why was her heart beating this fast when thinking of the green haired boy? She couldn't accept it, everything she ever felt was betraying her. Why was this happening? Why did she blush when thinking of his face during breakfast? Why did she think of him while singing and practicing on her guitar? Why was he the only thing on her mind when falling asleep? Jirou had to get to the bottom of it. She built up courage as her first day as a U.A. student drew close.
Izuku Midoriya was his name, she had found out accidentally when she noticed a student sheet sliding across the floor. There was the worry that the green haired jumper hadn't even made it into the school, but it washed away when his face was plastered onto the paper, right next to his identification and personal details. One hundred and sixty six centimeters tall and fifty five kilograms, Jesus, she seemed like a stalker right about now.
Yet, she was giddy. Jirou looked forward to introducing herself to him, knowing his voice, seeing him smile, and move in action. She was simply pleased with the idea of speaking to him, and seeing his lips move in response. This was more than simple admiration but she gave it no deeper thought, too lost in her own cheerfulness. At this moment, she was the furthest away from being the image she made for herself. Lost in a silly crush for someone she barely even saw.
'Reality is harsh and unforgiving.' This was all that crossed her mind when she witnessed the scene unfolding before her. Of course, it was too good to be true. It was silly of her to blind herself with feelings. She was unremarkable, plain, flat, irreverent, all things that everyone ever said about her were true. How could she compete with the brunette bombshell that was casually conversing with Izuku? That was it, an impassable wall appeared before her, their relationship had been over before it had even begun. She covered her mouth as she felt the urge to puke, as she started snaking around them. She wanted to disappear, to be swallowed up by the earth, so she darted towards a clump of trees to the side.
Jirou sat down on some cold blue stairs on the side of the new student reception building. She made an attempt at a self pacifying method, hugging her own body. Her eyes were dejected. Around a year ago, she had made a vow to never cry again, so she simply wallowed in her sadness. However, if there ever was a close call where she broke that vow, this was it. She rubbed her feet together in frustration and sighed deeply into her own arms. All because of a guy. She herself from a few weeks ago would be laughing at the sight.
Just then, some soft steps made their way over from the clump of trees to her side. Huh? Who the hell arrives from the wrong side of the school gate? A tall female figure appeared from behind a tree, her hair was held up in an odd ponytail, it looked like a star. Her face was angelic, definitely Jirou's type, but her body was not, definitely Jirou's type. This girl took a deep breath before noticing Jirou's depressive state.
"Huh? Oh hello there, would this happen to be the welcome hall for new students?" She spoke in a refined tone and she looked high strung as she did so.
"Uh yeah, the entrance is right over there." Jirou pointed with her thumb towards the stairs where she saw Izuku speaking with the brunette.
"Finally, I reached my destination!" The high strung woman winked at no one in particular then muttered something indiscernible under her breath. She then turned to Jirou and stuck her hand forwards. "I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, pleased to meet you um, uh" She seemed too nervous to ask for Jirou's name. In response, Jirou smiled softly at her.
"Kyoka, Jirou Kyoka. Nice to meet you too, Yaoyorozu." She shook her hand gently and courteously. All the worry and sadness from before seemed to be dissipating. This girl's weird entrance and apparent aloofness brought her out of the pits. "Yaoyorozu Momo huh? That's kinda long, how about Yaomomo?" Jirou immediately bridged the gap between the two. The taller girl's eyes sparkled at the nickname, for now she seems to like it. She then looked at the direction of the stairs
"Well, I did well enough in covering for the limo." The lanky woman said this rapidly, almost as if she was hiding what was said. "Anyhow, this is quite the reception I must say, even for most standards."
For a second there, Jirou could swear that the word 'limo' as in limousine was mentioned but the sentence was inaudible enough to leave ample interpretation. Moreover, her refined mannerisms and speech pattern garnered more attention from the tomboy.
"Why'd you, you know, enter from that way?" Jirou cocked her head to the side curiously.
Momo jumped at the question, visibly startled. Obviously there was something she was intentionally hiding, being asked surely revealed that much. What was she hiding though? Literally taking the longest way possible and appearing from a disparate side is concerning.
"I just- uh- I um-" Momo seemed to be scanning every possible answer to that question inside her brain. "M-my Dad is super embarrassing and I didn't want anyone to see him send me off!" this wasn't entirely a lie, her father was cringeworthy, he just wasn't actually there when she arrived.
"Pfft." Jirou chuckled for a bit at her answer. "I see, I see, I get it." She giggled some more after thinking about it more.
"Y-yeah he's cut from a different breed, my father is." Her noble way of speaking which had wavered came back at full force. "Gravely injuring my reputation on the first day is far from optimal." Momo blushed heavily, she seemed to still be embarrassed despite everything she did to avoid that.
"Family are the strangers which you are closest to." Jirou smiled, seemingly reminiscing about something withinin her own group of strangers.
"That's good, your face looks healthy now" the regal tone she started off with had disappeared entirely with this sentence. "Are you okay? You looked down a second ago." Momo softened her expression and looked at her carefully. Her eyes carried deep compassion and understanding.
Jirou got a knot in her throat when she heard that. She remembered the green haired guy speaking candidly with the brunette bombshell earlier. Her depressive state came back for a second but she brushed it off almost immediately.
"That was nothing just … personal problems, I'll be over it in no time." Jirou put her left hand on her right bicep as she pretended to flex it. She also beamed from ear to ear. Piling her feelings onto a girl she just met would be beyond unfair, not to mention how odd she would come off as. Nonetheless, she smiled to hide her own pain, also sparing Momo of that baggage.
Momo looked concerned but she decided to not press the matter. She knew better than to make others feel worse by intruding on their business, far too often did she see that around her family's acquaintances.
"So Yaomomo, let's get going, we don't want to get left out." Jirou started walking towards the stairs as she turned her back to Momo. Her smile disappeared the moment her face was the other way. Maybe she was being too harsh on herself, but her inability to approach Izuku was bugging her more as she ran the possibilities in her head of the green haired boy getting closer to that brunette.
Momo followed close behind Jirou as they made their way into the reception hall. While she tried to not judge her, there was clearly something very wrong with the tomboy. She had smiled in such a deceptive way, it was a gesture no one of their age should make. Her grin resembled more of an adult's, a multilayered lie with simple facial expressions. Perhaps on another date, would she explain what was wrong, yet maybe the issue is far deeper than what she just saw. Yaomomo pondered endlessly as they walked to their seats.
She noticed Jirou fidgeting a bit as she looked down over the seat in front of them. Her eyes would rest on a particular green hairstyle, which was visible even in the dimly lit auditorium. The guy stood up for a second and then sat back down. Why was she focused on this guy? Hairstyle aside, he seemed to be just sitting there, nothing out of the ordinary. That was until Momo noticed Jirou's eyes shift slightly to the side. She would also look at the girl sitting next to him, appearing melancholic as she did so.
Ah so it was like that. Maybe the matter is a lot simpler than what Momo made it out to be. Who would've thought this small tomboy had boy problems. She had little to no experience with love herself so all she could do was smile to herself and giggle a little. Jirou noticed the gesture and focused her attention on Momo.
"What's up?" she cocked her head to one side as she looked at Yaomomo giggling.
"Nothing just ….. remembering something funny," Momo giggled for a little longer before reassuring Jirou. "Don't worry, they seem to be just friends."
Jirou's face reddened instantly and she tucked her cheeks under her shirt. She looked at Momo shyly, only her eyes were visible from under her shirt. She spoke, a little muffled from inside there.
"It's that obvious? Ugh, I wanna die." Jirou scrunched her shoulders upwards as Momo looked at her with a firm smile. "I-I've never felt like this, I don't know what to do. I just-" She cut herself off to stop tears from welling up. These tear duct frequencies were not normal, this feeling of anxiety and powerlessness was all new to her. How could she deal with something she doesn't understand, emotions she was entirely unaware of. If only she had her guitar right now, maybe that would help her escape, disconnect from reality for a while.
Momo looked at her retreating into her shirt and sympathized. She was highborn and thus somewhat disconnected from normal young women's struggles. All the heiress could do was put her hand on the smaller woman's right shoulder, trying to calm her nerves.
"Don't worry Ms. Kyouka." Momo smiled softly at her, trying to understand the overwhelming feelings that rained over this girl. She felt some sort of obligation. Now that she understood the situation, she created a fictional sense of duty. That's just who she was, so she would see this through to the end. All for her newly made friend, for the first person she spoke to in U.A.
"I know! I'll help you in your endeavor!" Momo winked at Jirou, who was still retreating inside her shirt.
Jirou had turned into an even redder mess as she melted into her own body heat. She basically admitted to liking the guy, even unintentional as it had been. Though even she herself was hesitant to call it 'like'. Her sexuality clashed with her true affection, a fact Jirou was unaware of. Being so self absorbed in her shyness, it took her a few seconds to realize what was said.
"Huh?! Wait for real?!"
To be continued ….
A/N:
Hey readers, how's life?
This is my first ever time writing a fanfiction, though I've been privately writing for a while now. I say that but it's still kinda weird, using other people's characters to write an "original" story. It feels a little off but maybe that's just me overthinking things.
I think I just wrote this on a whim after seeing that one fan art of Deku hugging Jirou in a bathtub. As far as I know, there is no dedicated DekuJirou (edit: lmao sorry I haven't read An Insecure violet) fanfic anywhere. Most stories that do have this ship are littered with polygamy/harem elements. That can be interesting but I wanted one where the sole focus is this singular relationship.
However, as I develop the story there might be some other relationships with the two. Jirou might date Momo for a while, but do understand that the final goal is to arrive at DekuJirou. I say that in full understanding that the latter half of this chapter hints at an entire different direction.
Moreover, I'm trying to make characters interact and behave like their actual selves. Rest assured, there will not be character assassination for the sake of plot, I'll try to make their decisions be as logical to their personalities as possible. I did take some liberties, like making sure Jirou a lesbian off rip, all for the sake of (at least I think so) adding some interesting internal conflict to otherwise flat characters.
Obviously I'm taking big inspiration from "Thank you" by MizuTori (I implore you to go read that btw) in the way that I'll be retelling the My Hero Academia story if Jirou fell in love with Izuku, whereas "Thank You" did the same but with Momo. Also, there will be explicit content moving forwards, I'll integrate it naturally as I write.
I'm open to any and all criticism and if anyone believes a character is misrepresented, please point that out so that I adjust accordingly.
Have a good rest of your day
- The Grand Ballad