My Jirou Academia Chapter 2: Battlefield
Fueled by anxiety, she sat alone in the 1A classroom. Jirou had woken up two hours earlier than usual, five hours before her first class. It was weird, seeing this space entirely empty, barring herself. Maybe the waiting would help calm her nerves. Why was she so anxious? Well, that might be because Izuku Midoriya was part of her class. Again she had stalk- found out through a student sheet on the exclusive U.A. student website.
Be that as it may, at least her new friend Momo was with her too. Though she might've misjudged that woman. It turns out she got into the hero program through recommendations. Including her entrance and that high strung attitude, she might be some bigwig's daughter. There were rumors of many extensive top hero families, maybe Yaomomo was part of one.
She also shut down two guys that went up to them to ask her out. Her eyes were scary, cold and piercing even. However, for Jirou, the more concerning aspect of that interaction was the fact that both guys had their eyes set on Momo. She had little to no concern for guys' attraction to her, but for some reason, deep down, the incident bubbled up feelings of insecurity. Was she just plain, unremarkable, flat? This brought up memories from her junior high days, some memories of that. Starting to squirm in her seat, she stood up and walked out of the classroom to get some air.
There was still about an hour and a half left until classes began. Jirou circled her ear jacks whilst walking to the gigantic student bathroom down the hall. U.A. was truly remarkable, the student buildings felt more like a college campus' would. Their other facilities were impressive even by pro hero standards, as expected of the 0.2 top percentile school.
She walked into the broad bathroom and made her way over to the sinks. On her way there, she spotted another girl who fervently washed her face. The water splashed everywhere as the orange haired girl aggressively rubbed both hands on her skin. Upon closer inspection, this woman was muttering something.
"... do it Kendo." she stopped scrubbing and looked at her own green eyes in the mirror. "You can do it ." Feeling another person in the room, she sharply shoots her eyes at Jirou.
This girl was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Her orange was held up with a ponytail going down her side until just below the shoulder. Her big light green eyes looked like they were alive. Her face rivaled some pro heroes' beauty, it rivaled Yaomomo's angelic countenance. Furthermore, even through her school uniform, her curves were incredibly visible.
As Jirou continues to be stunned by this persons' beauty, the girl takes a step forwards in her direction. The punk rocker reacts by bolting in the other direction. She saw something that she shouldn't have, so why deal with it?
Jirou speed walked back to the classroom, worried that the intense, gorgeous girl would follow close behind. Surprisingly she didn't, and maybe she should go back and check on, nevermind probably a terrible idea. She slid the door back open to the classroom only to find two other people already inside. There was a diligent looking guy with glasses sitting all prim and proper near the front row, as well as Yaomomo sitting quietly further back.
The plan was simple, talk to him once he walks through the door, introduce yourself as his classmate. A normal interaction.
At least that's how it sounded when Yaomomo relayed it to her, Jirou's head was on fire when thinking of even greeting him. What's more, it was an increasingly awkward plan now that a lot more people had arrived. There were a bunch of attractive women here, as well as odd looking guys. Not that she judged them, she knew better than to allocate a person's worth to their looks. That said, the added pressure of such a colorful classroom weighed down on her mind. How was she meant to stand out amongst them all? As she was worrying to herself, the door swung back open slowly and a green mane of hair poked through.
As this happened, there seemed to be an ego battle happening at the front of the classroom. The top scorer in the acceptance exams Katsuki Bakugo was cockily showing off in front of the guy with glasses. He seemed to be speaking about keeping his feet on the desk. Ugh, the plan becomes more complicated by the second. Nonetheless, Jirou stands up quickly and makes her way over through the desks. She takes a deep breath and approaches the sliding door.
"Izu-" She is cut off by a sound of exclamation from the other side of the entrance.
"Hey! You're the crazy guy from the exam!" The brunette bombshell from the other day has once again appeared as an impassable wall. "You passed just like Present Mic said! Of course you did, your punch was amazing! Like wham! Bam!" And they have even more history than she thought. Izuku even retreated into his own arms in embarrassment.
This girl was even cuter up close, enough that it even took Jirou's own breath away somewhat. She even had that 'aloof but attractive' vibe around her. Plus, the uniform she wore looked great on her, while Jirou's only accentuated her (self perceived) lack of shape. That in itself was enough of a shock to make the tomboy back away instinctively.
How could she approach him in that situation? It would be intruding in someone else's business, she would look like an insensitive girl, injecting herself in a conversation. Jirou spun back and bit her lip in frustration. As she walked back to her desk, she noticed Yaomomo making some hand signs in her direction. Huh? That's some rather confusing movements she's making, her left handed index finger is making a circle on her palm. Momo then sighs and mouths inaudibly 'Turn back around!'.
Right! It doesn't matter how cute the girl on the other side was, the plan was simple enough. Jirou straightens her back and nods as returns to the door, facing in Izuku's direction. Her friend was counting on her, giving her confidence. That support cannot be wasted. Yes, this was her moment, where she put herself into his life! It all starts here!
"If you're here to make friends then you can pack your stuff and go." A disheveled voice once again made itself known from the other side of the opening. "Welcome to U.A.'s hero course." A man in a yellow sleeping bag sipped on some unknown juice whilst laying on the floor.
It turns out this person was their homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa. He was an odd person, to say the least. He's like those people who're three years deep into their medical studies, looking like he hasn't slept for at least three weeks. What's more, his voice barely even reaches the back row. If her quirk didn't aid in her hearing, then she probably wouldn't have heard the man talk. His attitude also seems unfit for teaching, laziness looks natural to him. Yet despite their teacher's looks, the first thing he did was berate them on the lowdown and then make them take a physical test with quirks and all.
Safe to say, Jirou's quirk aided her poorly in accentuating her own physical abilities. She finished overall at seventeenth, not bottom by only three places. This didn't bother her too much, she expected as much from U.A. students. The variety and application of quirks surprised her though. Like Yaomomo using some rocket boots to finish the timed dash, or that weird guy with the tapes making a slingshot to throw the baseball.
Nonetheless, the number one surprise was Izuku only excelling in one of the physical activities. His quirk was powerful enough for him to jump into the air confidently, yet he settled for one simple result. The reason for this became clear after looking at his finger, which looked charred and heavily damaged after the baseball test. This confirmed what she saw at the entrance exam, he injured himself each time he used his quirk. Jirou wanted to once again approach him once she figured this out but he was rushed off to the infirmary.
It looks like properly meeting him has become harder and harder the more the day goes on.
That rains true even now, as she sits mindlessly through the subsequent classes, unable to approach him at all. She's not sure what her original assumptions were, but the hero course was more normal and grounded in reality than her preconceptions. They have every subject a normal school would have, even her dreaded mathematics. If only they had a music course, she would definitely pay more attention. Her mind starts to drift off into her favorite musical bands. Maybe she should've brought her old walkman to school.
After some more mind numbing subjects, she's alerted when her insane sense of hearing picks up on someone running on the other side of the classroom wall. The footsteps are incredibly quick in succession, only stopping once they arrive at the door.
It slides open slowly, two strands of blonde hair poke through. Another extravagant teacher walks through the opening. None other than the number one hero, All Might.
"Whoa punk rock! So cool!" A pink skinned classmate smiled at her and simultaneously held a thumbs up in Jirou's direction.
They were moved to a facility for combat training. Well, at least this part of the hero course seemed like it belonged as part of the curriculum.
"Thanks, uh, you look good too." Jirou told a harmless lie to the peppy pink girl. Her pink and green outfit together with it being skin tight was not doing her any favors. Yet maybe that was just her preferences for defined colors changing her opinion on the fit. This pinky's body was killer but she did think that a black leather jacket would look better on her, yep definitely just her bias for those clothes.
She looked around for Izuku and at first couldn't find him. Her classmates all looked interesting with all the various costumes they'd designed. Her favorite design was probably the blonde guy wearing a leather jacket and leather pants, both having a white lighting planted on them. The blue glasses also added to the clothing. Seeing all of these attires only increased her expectation of seeing Izuku in one. Jirou grew restless as she watched the entrance in anticipation. However, the exalted one soon walked into the battle arena with…. an entirely green outfit and bird wings on his head? Ok maybe his fashion sense wasn't all there. At the sight of the ridiculous costume, Jirou couldn't help but chuckle. She put him on such a high pedestal only for him to subvert expectations. That said, she didn't notice how close Izuku was once she started laughing.
"I-I knew it, I look weird." Izuku slumps over, his shoulders exaggeratedly low. "I shouldn't have based the design off All Mi-" He covers his own mouth before finishing. Nothing would be worse than being labeled as an otaku so early on.
"No, no don't take the wrong way, it's endearing really." Jirou clutched her stomach as she spoke back. "It fits you, that color." She subconsciously moves her hair back when conversing.
"Y-you think so?" The green haired boy rubs the back of his head as he absorbs the compliment. He's rarely ever spoken on equal terms to a girl before so even the slightest interaction was nerve racking,
"Yeah, it compliments your hair." Weirdly enough it did, though the bird wings atop his head still looked out of place. Her earjacks were retreating back into her hair, hiding themselves there. "I guess out of everyone here, your costume is the most herolike." His identity was hidden, as well as his expressions.
"T-thank you uhm." He seemed to be nervous about something. Maybe he was just naturally introverted. Izuku was somewhat different from the image Jirou had of him.
"Jirou Kyouka. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand forwards for a handshake. The boy squirmed before taking her hand in his own.
Wait a second, how long was she just casually speaking to him? Was it really that easy? Why was she holding his hand again? Jirou's cheeks immediately turned a bright pink after snapping back to reality. They were talking like it was the most natural thing in the world. Wasn't she riddled with anxiety at the thought of him? Her palms started sweating once the situation became clear. She snapped her hand back when she felt how grimy they were becoming.
"Nice to meet you Kyoka." Izuku simply smiled earnestly as he greeted her, oblivious to her internal struggle.
"Y-y-yeah nice to meet you too." She recoiled into herself after looking at his smiling face.
As they got acquainted with each other, from the corner of her eye, Jirou spotted someone else walking into the facility. It was his friend, that brunette girl. More importantly, that brunette girl wore a skin tight suit which highlighted her …. personality.
"Hmm, oh hey Deku! Who's this?" She just nonchalantly walked over and asked who Jirou was straight off. Izuku blushed heavily as he noticed how tight the outfit wrapped around her body.
"S-s-she's Kyoka …. Jirou a uh, new friend." Friend? One step closer at least. Hold on, was making friends really that easy? They'd only spoken once but he already categorized them as such. No good, Jirou's mind was racing at incredible speeds.
"Nice to meet you Jirou!" Not only was she pretty, she was nice too. It would be much easier had she just been an irredeemable person. Now it'll be harder to get closer to Izuku.
They didn't shake hands but the two girls beamed at each other. Jirou's smile had a lot more nerves behind it than her counterpart.
"U-Uraraka what do you think this combat training entails?" And this was her queue to leave. Uraraka huh? Looks like she'll be meeting her quite often from then on.
"B-b-bye I-Izuku, Uraraka." Jirou stuttered as she waved them off. The other two also waved their goodbyes in response.
Feeling elated and apprehensive, the tomboy made her way to Momo, who had her back turned to the entire student group. Her shoulders stayed high up as her arms crossed. The heiress was deep in thought. Sensing another person draw near, Momo turned to meet them.
"Ah, Jirou, what's up?" Holy shit, why was her outfit so revealing?! Her assets were basically out for the world to witness.
"Yaomomo, your outfit isn't it too…" the smaller girl struggled to convey the embarrassment of seeing those mounds on full display.
"Oh Red? Yeah I wondered that as well. Nevertheless, this garb's color ended at the bottom of priorities. The design machinations in combination with my quirk led me to land this particular hero costume. I struggled deciding the optimal location of the opening, that much is integral. Had the costume been harder or heavier, moving around would've required incredible difficulty. My creation ability being restrictive enough, it was imperative that the outfit be quite nimble and practical. Everything a hero could ever want amidst their duties is facilitated by this outstanding attire." Momo spoke quite candidly of her suit.
"I was going to say revealing." Jirou whispered this to herself.
"What?! You spoke to him all casually like that?!" Momo grasped her own mouth in surprise. "I didn't think you were capable of such a feat."
"Shhhh! Keep your voice down." Jirou's face was red from ear to ear. The pair was huddled away from the larger group, a little to the side so only they would hear.
"Right, sorry, I was just excited to see my plan come to fruition." Somebody should tell her all Jirou did was talk to the guy. Well the cute face Momo is making after her 'plan' succeeded is pleasant to look at, at least.
"Y-yeah, it might've just been me but I felt a connection." Jirou puts her hand on her heart and smiles with inner peace. She seems genuinely fulfilled, like an enormous weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"What about that girl next to him? Shouldn't you be worried?" Yaomomo makes a puzzled expression and tilts her head to the side.
"She seems nice but a little aloof." The earjacks tuck themselves in her hair as she continues. "She's a looker for sure but there's something else, like she only sees him as another person. I know that's weird but it's the vibe I get from her." Jirou prided herself as a decent judge of character and that girl Uraraka had an incredibly innocent aura about her.
"Well if you say so." Momo kept one of her hands firmly on the chin. "I wonder…."
Before Yaomomo could finish the rest of the sentence, a girl walking with her hands in front of her approached the pair. She looked derpy, in a good way, as very silent footsteps closed the distance. Her eyes were big, round and cute with pitch black irises in the middle.
"All Might is calling the group over." the hunching woman spoke with a tone suspiciously close to what a reptile would sound like. She then swiftly spun around and walked back to the main group.
Jirou and Momo smiled nervously at the girl's callousness. They lingered for a second and then quickly skipped over to where the main clump of students were located. The pair shuffled next to the stoic girl from earlier, settling in to hear whatever their teacher had to say.
As usual, All Might beamed joyously at everyone present.
"Good day young ones! This combat training will be divided in pairs!" Pairs? A chance! Jirou felt a pit in her stomach when thinking about asking Izuku to be her partner in this activity. Yet she had to make it happen, it was a perfect chance to get to know him better. "In this exercise, one group will face another in a simulation of a Heroes versus Villains situation! And the groups will be decided by drawing lots!"
Lots?! LOTS?!
Jirou was beyond disappointed when she heard this. Left to chance, she would probably not end up together with her green haired friend.
It wasn't just her, the entire group was showing nervous signs of having to fight between themselves. Noticing the somber aura befalling the class, All Might clapped his hands together. A small gust of wind emerged around him.
"Don't worry! Everything will be fine! Why? Because I am here!"
A sinister laugh came from within the group, as a certain blonde haired individual made his excitement known.
To be continued…..
A/N
Hey readers, how's life?
I'm sorry if this took a little long to continue but I genuinely needed to rewatch the show before resuming. It was around six years ago since I watched the earlier seasons so I needed a reminder of the finer details. When characters meet, how characters meet, why characters meet, minute character interactions, I needed to re-experience that part of the series. I'll try to make the schedule four days between chapters, three if I'm feeling inspired. Anyhow, the next chapter will come in a day or so. I decided to split it in two, since this one became a little long winded. Also if Kendo seems kinda shoehorned in, don't worry I have some interesting plans for her.
Moreover, I kinda struggled with what Izuku would call Kyoka. I guess the most natural sounding would be Kyoka-san but Japanese personal titles don't exist in english. Calling her Miss Kyouka just sounds weird, and simple "Kyoka" sounds distant. I dunno, personal titles are hard.
Also, I have a thing going with the chapter titles, props to anyone who notices.
I'm still open to any and all criticism and if you felt any character misrepresented, then feel free to say so.
Have a good rest of your day.
The Grand Ballad.
P.S. I'm having a difficult time deciding what to do (romantically) with Bakugo. I'll settle on it once Camie is introduced.