"Nope. Not gonna happen. Never again."
Midoriya trekked down the path he always took for his morning runs before school, although it was now the afternoon instead. Having been dismissed from class by Aizawa, he decided to take a second run that day rather than confront his other classmates once they were done for the day as well. Not to mention that he would also be able to avoid Bakugou and Jirou as well. He could see several stores beyond the trees of the campus, such as the food marts and corner stores like Sakamoto's, but he paid no attention to them this time around. He just looked downward, taking in the gravel pebbles of the path, as he ruminated yet again.
"I hate acting like this... why can't I just get over it? Who cares if t-that happened last night..." Midoriya said, while he felt his face heat up, "Stop that! It's not like I chose to lay my head on her shoulder, right?..."
He sighed. Avoiding Jirou the entire day only made everything much more awkward for him. Staring off into space and not focusing on his classes only brought more attention upon himself. And having it kindle another incident with Bakugou, even though it had nothing to do with him in the first place...
"I know I owe it to everyone to put this behind me. If I want to become the greatest hero, then I can't get flustered by girls or anything, even if it's someone that I know well. All Might would never be like this... it's like he said in our meeting the other day, before I went to her house. Heroes need to prioritize their time, and only think about certain things within the moment. I can't think about Jirou all day long and let it distract me... but how can I stop when I'm like this..."
Midoriya nodded. He knew that moments like these were not easy to deal with, given his awkwardness from the years before he entered high school, but he had enough trouble on his hands as is. After all, Jirou was a fellow hero too, not some lunatic villain he had to defeat.
"Yeah... Jirou's a friend. But what do I even do next after everything - "
"Stupid Deku! Shut the hell up already!"
"K-Ka-c-cchan?!"
Midoriya activated One For All to leap into the air and turned around instantaneously. The person who talked behind him was none other than Bakugou, standing there with a snarl.
"I'm not stupid, ya know!" Bakugou said.
"What d-do you mean, Kacchan?! I wasn't trying to hinder our team's performance, it's just... it's just that, um..."
"JUST WHAT?!" Bakugou yelled.
"It's, um... just that..." Midoriya trailed off.
"I know you're in love with lobes you fucking idiot, you don't need to stutter every other word to me! I'm not Jirou, you dipshit!"
Midoriya's legs shook, and he fell to the ground, almost taking a seat on the pathway based on how he collapsed. Bakugou moved closer to him while creating some small, crackling explosions from his palms. But Midoriya did not even notice that, for his mind was now stuck on one thing, and one thing alone. That one thing was not even the prior night now, with all those thoughts fading instantly upon seeing Bakugou.
All he could ask himself was how Bakugou had even the slightest clue that he had feelings for Jirou.
"Ha, what a wimp. You couldn't even respond with a single word? How freaking obvious can you possibly be?" Bakugou said.
"Y-You know, Kac-cchan, I'm not going to confirm or deny - "
"DENY WHAT?! THE FACT THAT YOU STARE AT JIROU DURING EVERY SINGLE CLASS?! THE FACT THAT YOU TWO ARE ALWAYS TOGETHER EVERY FUCKING SECOND OF THE DAY?! HOW ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU TOOK HER TO THE FUCKING ALL MIGHT CONVENTION OF ALL THINGS WITH YOU WHEN YOU DAMN SURE KNOW SHE DOES GIVE A SINGLE FUCK ABOUT YOUR HERO FANDOM?! So what the hell could you possibly deny, stupid Deku?" Bakugou screamed from the top of his lungs, launching an explosion skyward.
"U-Um... sure, maybe you are right... but now I have t-to, uh, ask you something," Midoriya muttered.
"What could you possibly have to ask me of all people?" Bakugou asked.
"Well... why do you even care? It's n-not like you have any interest in my life, as far as I know," Midoriya said.
Bakugou's palms sweated even more now. All of his yelling and emotions distracted him from the very reason he even followed Midoriya in the first place.
"You're damn right I don't give a fuck about your life. But, what I do give a fuck about is that you act like your normal self again. Because, you know, with One For All and the whole agreement we made about getting stronger - you do remember that, don't ya? Well, you can't zone out and be distracted during class and shit!" Bakugou said.
"Yeah, I do remember... and that makes sense, Kacchan."
"Deku. I don't care whether you date lobes or not. But you can't act like a buffoon every single day in the process!"
"I understand, I want to get better and focus, but that's the problem... How do I, um, not act like a buffoon? Especially in front of h-her," Midoriya asked.
Bakugou clasped his hands together and cracked his knuckles.
"That's not for me to tell you. You need to figure out how to act if you want to go anywhere with her, or with anyone, really. But... shit, how about instead of muttering to yourself every freaking moment, you instead just talk it out? You're not going to get anywhere by just talking to yourself all day long, so use that energy to be productive. That way, you can prioritize One For All again, damn it!" Bakugou said.
"Yeah, I guess that's a good point... I'll have to rip the band-aid off at some point anyways," Midoriya added.
"Ugh... don't tell anyone I told you this one piece of advice, Deku! But remember my old hag - I mean my mom?" Bakugou said.
"Oh yeah, Mrs. Mitsuki Bakugou! I certainly wouldn't - "
"I DON'T NEED TO HEAR HER LIFE STORY AGAIN! Anyways, we would fight all the damn time, and I'd just lock myself in my room to get away from her. But ya know what? I realized that at some point, I'd have to speak to her again, since she is my mom after all. Whether I enjoyed it or not, we would talk and work out some agreement, even if it meant we agreed to disagree. Point is, just talk to lobes and put all this bullshit behind you already. It's for the sake of everyone, so don't even accuse me of being nice to you! Got it, Deku?" Bakugou said.
"Sure, I get that. Thanks for the advice, Kacchan. I guess I'll go see Jirou later then. This really helped!" Midoriya said.
"No shit! I'm King Explosion Murder and I'll be the top hero, even over you!"
"Well, I won't back down either! Uh, let's not fight again right now," Midoriya advised.
"Ah, you're right. Later."
Bakugou sprinted off in the direction of UA, using his explosions to propel him through the air. He certainly did not come close to the speed of Ilda, but his explosion speed technique did allow him to travel at a rather fast pace compared to most heroes.
"When I said I owe it to everyone, well, that includes Bakugou too... alright, I'm ready."
Midoriya continued his trek, resolving to finish his walk before returning to UA. But after he was finished, it would be time to confront Jirou about everything that happened.
"Aizawa."
Standing at the doorway of Aizawa's office was All Might. Aizawa looked up from his computer with an expressionless look. He continued to type as All Might approached his desk.
"So, what exactly happened in class? It's unlike you to just leave your class like that to discipline a few students instead of teaching," All Might said.
"Simple. Katsuki yelled at Izuku. Mina, Kyouka and Minoru got involved. I already hated the class assignment enough, since it's irrational to play sports except for the health benefits. And I did not feel like having the fight escalate any further. Simple, really," Aizawa responded.
"Oh, I see then. I would certainly not question your tactics."
"You just wanted to know what was up with the problem child," Aizawa interjected.
All Might gulped. He tried his best to avoid eye contact with Aizawa, but there was no way anyone could beat Eraserhead in a staring contest.
"Oh, um, I certainly wanted to hear if Izuku was okay, but I also wanted to know about the others, too," All Might said.
"Hmm. Well, Izuku zoned out during class all day long. I asked him about it and he said it was a personal matter. I'm sure he'll talk to one of us if he needs more assistance."
"Shit..."
"Shit?"
"Oh, shit," All Might said, leaving the room without another word.
Midoriya was now back in the dorms, as he had finished his walk at long last. On the couches in the common room were Ilda, Mineta, and Aoyama, who were bickering with one another before Midoriya entered. The television had some samurai movie on that Midoriya did not recognize, although the current battle appeared to make both characters very elusive.
"Ooh, trouble maker!" A voice came out of no where, signifying Hagakure was also in the room, despite wearing no clothes over her invisible body.
"And then Aizawa screamed at Midoriya and said he would expel him next time! And then, believe it or not, Ashido and Jirou hit on me for standing my ground!" Mineta said.
"Mineta! That is an obscene thing to say! As your class president, I demand you to apologize immediately to all parties involved!" Ilda said with a horrified expression, standing up in front of Mineta.
"Nah."
"Mineta!" Ilda screamed.
"Ilda, tais-toi. Mineta was joking, of course," Aoyama said.
"Am not!" Mineta said.
"Ha! Of course you're joking, grape. I'm leaving, I have to pack for Yaomomo's sleepover tomorrow night! Yay!" Hagakure said, leaving the room in a dash as she waved her arms - although no one could notice besides herself.
As Ilda and Mineta bickered more, Midoriya left the room, with no one objecting to it. He went upstairs to his floor, wanting to unwind in his room before talking to Jirou. It was best not to rush these kinds of things, even though he knew he had to talk to her tonight at some point. As he entered the room, the first thing that his eyes caught was not his All Might merchandise, his sloppy bed, or the blue box from the package he had received earlier, but instead a white, piece of paper on the floor, directly in front of him. He picked it up to find writing on the other side of the paper.
Izuku,
Thanks for coming over last night. Look, I get that was awkward, but it was just accidental. We just fell asleep on the couch together and I'm sure your head just slipped off the pillow or something. I dunno, but I'm not mad or anything. I just want the awkwardness to go away, okay? Forget about the couch. Yesterday was so much fun. I've always wanted something like that, just playing music with others, ya know? It's my passion for a reason.
Anyways, when I stopped by your room earlier, you didn't answer, so I left this note. Maybe you were out, maybe you just didn't want to talk to me, but I don't care. You're awesome, green. Just remember that. When you're ready, stop by my room if you want. Or just wait until homeroom tomorrow. But it's not a big deal.
Oh, and now that I think about it, I won't be here at UA tomorrow after classes. I'm going over to Momo's for a sleepover. We can text if you want though!
Anyways, see you soon. Don't worry about it. If I was actually upset, I would've told you right away. But I'm not. Everything's great.
- Kyouka
Midoriya felt his heart race and his cheeks burn.
"She wrote all of that out, for real? Wow... I guess I had nothing to worry about after all. Stupid Deku... Kacchan's right. I guess I have a lot to learn."
A phone call is here! A phone call is here!
"Hello?" Midoriya answered.
"Young Midoriya, are you okay?!" The caller said.
"Oh, All Might! Um... yeah, why would I not be?"
"Oh, I just heard you got caught up in trouble with Aizawa. I thought something worse happened."
"No, everything's fine. Thanks for reaching out, though."
"Sure... but he did mention how you were zoning out all day long. I was just worried if something happened with One For All."
"Oh, it's nothing like that, don't worry. I would have told you right away if that was the case. It's just... I can't stop thinking about my crush again."
"Hmm... which watch should I bring... eh, I don't need one."
Jirou checked her phone again, for what felt like the one hundredth time, but there was still no text from Midoriya.
"And they call it a super smartphone, huh. Come on, Izuku..." Jirou mumbled.
She threw in a couple of shirts, so she would be covered for any sort of weather that could occur tomorrow. As she finished packing, though, her doubts began to grow that she would see Midoriya any time soon, but her door was still cracked open just in case.
"...and that's what happened. Bakugou's talk helped me, but I still need to go confront her about it. Ugh," Midoriya said, finishing his story about the past 24 hours, although he omitted Jirou's name for anonymity.
"Kid. You are really blowing this out of proportion. Just go to apologize to her. Yeesh! You're 16, cut yourself some slack already! Most kids your age would've zoned out because they were too excited to think about anything else!" All Might said.
"Hahaha... yeah, you're right. Sorry, All Might! I'm just nervous about these things, that's all."
"I get it, kiddo. Well, I gotta run, so I'll see you later," All Might said, ending the call.
"Alright... I can do this. Let's go," Midoriya said, taking one last scan around the room before exiting.
Midoriya was now on the third floor of the dorms, the same floor that Jirou stayed on. His heart thumped a little faster - okay, a lot faster. Noticing the door was cracked, he decided to enter without knocking.
"And that's why heroes... no. Not right. I can't ever get this damn - Izuku!"
Jirou's singing was interrupted by the only person she had longed to see all day long.
"Oh, hey Kyouka. Listen, I just w-wanted to apologize for being so d-distant today. It's just - "
"Izuku."
" - you know, it was kind of an awkward scenario, but I meant no harm, and - "
"Izuku."
" - I hope we can just put this behind us and start over, and - "
"Izuku! I don't care!"
Midoriya shut up instantly. Jirou got up from her bed and stood in front of him.
"You saw my note, right? I really didn't mind. I k-kind of liked it, actually," Jirou said.
The two of them stood in silence. Both of them tried their best to avoid each other's eye contact, as hard as it was.
"Green, just... be you. I like you a lot better when you just act like yourself. I wasn't kidding when I said you're awesome," Jirou added.
Before Midoriya could respond, Jirou stepped forward, and slid her hands down from his shoulders to his back. Midoriya did the same, and after a few seconds, broke from the hug.
"Th-thanks, then..." Midoriya said.
"I know I won't be here tomorrow evening, but during lunch I have a surprise for you. Okay?" Jirou said.
"A surprise? Sure thing, then," Midoriya said, feeling all of his pressure and anxiety wash away at once.
As he left the room, Jirou sighed, and then smiled.
"I'm glad that's over with. Too bad I can't spend tomorrow with him..." Jirou said, picking up her notebook to sketch out more lyrics.
Later that evening, when everyone was back in their own rooms for the night, one of the students shoved as many items as they could into their bag as part of their last minute preparations for tomorrow's sleepover. The last item she placed into the bag was a small mirror, which showed her pink hands as she put it in the bag.
"This time tomorrow, they won't call me Pinky or Alien Queen tomorrow... I'll forever be known as the Matchmaking Hero!"
A/N: Worry warts versus those who go with the flow... no two people are the same after all! (I hate to admit it but I would put myself on the worry wart side... sorry Izuku!)
Originally, the Midoriya-Jirou bit at the end of the chapter was going to be saved for the next chapter. But with all of the delays and short chapters recently, I decided to include it this time instead. Saving it as a cliffhanger would have been too evil on my part. Anyways, with that story arc over, we can finally move onto the sleepover next time without worrying about jumbled up chapters and hiatuses. I've been looking forward to writing this next arc for a while!
Also, I included references to six other current Weekly Shonen Jump manga titles in this chapter... like literally the titles of the stories themselves. Feel free to look for them if you want, but I'll share them in the A/N of the next chapter. As to why I did that, I honestly don't know, but it was fun to integrate them into the story.
One more thing: I wrote a one-shot for a Weekly Shonen Jump called Blue Box (Ao No Hako in Japanese) the other day! It's called One Day Trade, and it's on my FFN profile, along with my new AO3 profile with the same username of CuriousPug5. Check it out if you want, even if you've never read Blue Box before!
Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment if you'd like! See you next time for Chapter 19... wow, this story is about to go into the 20's for chapters!