It's a short one this time, but I really have nothing more to add to this one.
She just had to sit still and keep paying attention, that's all. A proper lady always sat at attention, with perfect posture and absolute focus, no matter how bored she was. The current geometry lesson felt as if it was dulling her senses, her hearing becoming muted, her eyesight going dark as he eyes desperately wanted to stay closed, she even started to lose her sense of touch as her pencil dropped from her fingers. The sound of wood hitting wood snapped Momo out of her daze, allowing her to realize what was happening. Looking over to see Moya laughing, the last bit of his sleeping gas quirk dissipating from his fingertips, she gave him a look of disappointment that made the class clown stifle his own laughter and look ashamed.
With the slightest shake of her head, she reached down to grab her water bottle. Moya's quirk sounded dangerous but due to lack of training, it was quite weak. Knowing it was happening was enough to break its effect, and hydrating was all that was needed to wash away any residual sleepiness from one's system. Now that she was fully alert, she was aware of how much noise the class was making. Trying to return her attention to Miss Tanchō, she couldn't hear the monotone teacher's voice over all the other students gossiping to each other.
"Have you seen the new line from Shanteel Jewels?"
"Of course I have, my dad is buying me the Emerald Lavaliere as soon as it's out."
On another side of the room;
"Did you hear Hansamu is single again?"
"Really? Do you think I have a chance?"
"Of course not. I'm getting to him first after all."
A small huddle of boys in the back corner of the class was loud enough to reach Momo's ears at the front.
"So we're all logging in tonight for the raid?"
"Yeah, it's the last night of the event and I still don't have the Dragona's Staff drop."
"You know you aren't getting it right? That thing has a 0.003% drop chance."
"Besides you know there are going to be sellers as soon as the event ends, just buy it on the market."
"I can't believe I play with you guys."
It was a cacophony of nonsense, and it was scratching away at the very last bit of patience Momo had left. And the worst part? It was only Thursday. At least with Friday, she has the weekend to look forward to, her own schedule, her hero training, her internet time, it was all up to her. But Thursday? All she had to look forward to was another day of school. And she liked school, most of the time. She loved learning new things, discussing topics with her peers, and testing her knowledge. But she already knew everything being taught, she didn't get along with her peers, and the tests were seemingly designed to allow the lowest common denominator to pass with ease. 'And yet others still complained about needing to study for exams.'
Suddenly Miss Tanchō clapped her hands together. "Alright, class. It's lunchtime, get out." As the students started packing their bags and getting ready to leave, most in this school deemed cafeteria food beneath them and left to one of many nearby restaurants, the teacher suddenly called out, "Except you Miss Yaoyorozu, I need to talk to you." As she heard the students giggling and ooohhing faded into the hallway, Momo got nervous being alone with the teacher. She hadn't done anything to get into trouble had she? She did lose focus at the end of the lesson, did she get called on and didn't answer? Hopefully, a sincere apology would be enough to – "You aren't in trouble. I just need to talk to you."
Momo realized she was outwardly panicking. Calming herself down she walked over to the teacher's desk and asked, "Is there something wrong Miss Tanchō?"
The woman pulled out a bento box and slid it over to her. "You might want to pull up a chair, this will probably take all of lunch period." This only made the girl more nervous but she did as she was told, pulling a chair closer to the larger desk, thanking her for the food as she hesitantly took a bite of the admittedly delicious-smelling meat. "Miss Yaoyorozu, I would like to discuss a few things with you, starting with your boredom with my class."
Momo nearly choked on the beef she was in the middle of swallowing, "Bored? No, I'm not bored, I just didn't get much sleep last night. I'm terribly sorry for losing focus today, I'll be careful to not let it happen again."
The older woman gives her what Momo believes to be a judging look before returning to her computer screen. It was hard to tell what the teacher was thinking at any given time, her expression never seemed to change. "You don't need to lie to me young ma'am. This class is a waste of your time and we both know it." Before the young girl could interject she was asked a seemingly unrelated question. "Do you have any plans for the future? Job aspirations? What high school to apply to?"
"I want to be a hero." She said with no hesitation. It was her goal ever since she understood what a hero was. "And I plan on applying to UA as soon as applications start."
"Correct choice. You are probably the only student this year capable of aiming for the top." Noticing Momo's surprised look she continued, "Don't mistake my monotone voice for a lack of attention. I've been watching all of you and taking notes on who is and isn't taking class seriously. Dadakko will be failed this year because she has her servants do all of her homework. Want to guess how I know this?"
"She bragged about it?"
"Different handwriting on every assignment," Momo swore she heard the faintest chuckle escape her lips.
"Is this really ok to be telling me Miss Tanchō?"
"Probably not but I don't see the value in torturing you." When the younger girl still looked confused, she decided to explain further. "Do you know why this school is so well respected in the academic world?"
"Because the families invest in the future of the students. The best teachers, equipment, most recent textbooks, all and more can be found in Narushisuto Middle School."
The teacher swiped away some of her pale blue hair as she spoke. "You are a very smart and sweet girl. Though, and I say this as respectfully as possible, you're a little naïve. What you said is certainly what the families who invest in us say, it may even be strongly advertised by the other teachers as well, but for an aspiring hero, I suggest you start learning how to read between the lines. We are respected in the academic world because, despite what many think of us, we don't take bribes. Momo, you are among three students who will actually pass my class this year."
"I don't understand."
"My class acts as a final stepping stone. The office collects the troublemakers that have made it this far and puts them under me. I teach the lessons, stay after school for additional help, email parents to keep them in the loop of grades and expectations and give these kids every opportunity to pass. But kids who end up in my class all have one thing in common, they haven't learned that you cannot buy your way out of everything, so they talk through class, don't come in after hours, and their parents either don't read my emails or are not involved enough in their kids' lives to care. And every year, at least 85% of my class fails."
"I didn't realize I was causing pro-"
"You aren't a trouble maker Momo." Miss Tanchō quickly interjected. "There was an open seat left and the principal thought it would be a good idea to put you in here. I vehemently objected to this decision but she thought you would be a 'good influence' on the others." She took a bite from her own lunch, a bowl of plain rice, before continuing. "The school works on a two-strike system. Failing this year will be strike one for most of the students here, and they will either learn to shape up and improve themselves both in and out of class, or they will learn nothing, fail again next year, and be kicked out of Narushisuto completely.
"Which brings us back to you. You're bored in my class because I can't challenge you. So we need to discuss what to do so that you aren't struggling to stay awake in my class every day. It's hardly fair to you, wouldn't you agree?"
"I… I don't know." The noirette admitted. "I don't want to receive special treatment, but I would be lying if I said I was learning anything in this class."
"Unfortunately the principal has blocked any attempts to have you transferred to another class, the old woman can't admit when she's wrong so you have to stay here to be a good influence. But I'm sure there is something we can figure out. What is it you do outside of school?"
"I follow a schedule of study and training for the upcoming UA entrance exam. And I attend events with my parents whenever they ask."
For just a moment the teacher stopped typing on her computer, giving Momo her full attention. "May I ask you a personal question?"
"Of course."
"Are your parents… in your life?"
Momo stiffened, for the first time in a long while she felt personally insulted but instead of reacting immediately, she asked a question of her own. "Why would you think they aren't?"
"I've seen too many students over the years to not recognize certain patterns. Certain behaviors or lack thereof can indicate something else happening in life. Having most of one's time eaten away by studying or working towards a singular goal at the expense of a social life. Only mentioning parents in passing. I just want to make sure you are ok, part of my job is to make sure you have the resources you need in your life."
The question clarified; Momo felt more comfortable giving a real answer. "My parents are very involved in my life Miss Tanchō. My father is very encouraging of my dreams of becoming a hero, and we make sure to talk every day. My mother wants me to attend events with her to make sure I am socializing with people my age and not staying buried in my books." She nervously started rubbing her arm. "There was one summer when I got so caught up in my studies that I barely left my room and didn't even realize that school was starting in a week. After that, my mother insisted that I attend at least one party with her every other week."
"I'm glad to hear that. Too many parents do the bare minimum, or less in some cases. I'm glad to hear that isn't the case." A thin, barely there smile spread across the bluenette's face but her voice was as monotone as ever. "Now I've pulled up your school records but I'm not seeing any mention of after-school activities over the years. No clubs, or event organizing, the closest I can find is a few teachers making note of seeing you help clean up after classes end. You realize a school as prestigious as UA will be looking for such items on your record, right?"
"I was going to join the tea club but," she remembered walking into the club room, form filled and ready to go, only to hear the other members gossiping about one of the less popular girls in school and making jokes about her potentially have an eating disorder, "I thought it may eat up too much of my time."
The teacher sighed, either from tiredness or exasperation it was hard to tell. "I am going to write you a letter of recommendation for you to UA, I've already decided that much, but I need something to add to it. Your grades are phenomenal, your manners are exceptional, and your attendance has been perfect since the third grade." Momo felt herself blushing at the sudden onslaught of praise. "But without an official after-school activity, my letter will probably get lost in the stack of other contenders."
The ponytailed girl chewed on the last bite of her lunch as she processed what she had been told. 'I will have to ask what spices she used, this beef cutlet was amazing.' She knew most schools prioritized active students who participated in clubs, especially student councils and event organizers, but she never felt like she belonged with such groups. They were always either hyper-focused on their jobs or used the meeting times as an excuse to gossip and only did the bare minimum of their workloads. She never felt like she belonged, either not being as serious as the others or being more serious than everyone else combined. "Is there anything I can do? I know it's too late to join a club this year, but is there something else?"
The teacher finished off her bowl of plain rice, 'Oh God I didn't steal half of her meal did I?', before asking her one final question. "Have you considered tutoring?"
"I have done some tutoring in the past, but it was all online, and it was done sporadically."
"Well, Mustafa Private Middle School has been reaching out to others lately. More students than usual are staying after hours for tutoring and they are having trouble giving every student the attention they need. With your grades, I do not doubt that you would make a splendid teacher." Momo thought about it, unsure but tempted by the offer. Seeing her hesitation Miss Tanchō gave her one last push. "Mustafa is about a two-hour train ride from here. I'd have to give you permission to leave early instead of having you torture yourself trying to stay awake here."
"When do they need me there?"
"Waa waawaa, waa waa waawaa"
Jirou suddenly snapped to attention in her seat. For the last few minutes, the teacher's voice slowly transitioned from a foreign language, to gibberish, to cartoon sound effects. Forcing herself to pay more attention she caught the tail end of his calculus lecture. "Before we finish, let's quickly consider why this is useful. By finding the area under the curve of f(x)=3x2f(x) = 3x^2f(x)=3x2 from 1 to 4, we get a numerical measure of the accumulated quantity over that interval. This concept of integrating a function to find the area under its curve will become fundamental as we explore more complex functions and their applications.
So remember, integrating allows us to accumulate values and understand how quantities change over intervals. It's a powerful tool that will be incredibly useful as we advance in calculus."
'… what?' The young tomboy looked around her class, hoping to see at least a few students seemingly understanding what was being said. But all she found was a sea of children all with differing levels of confusion, horror, and panic on their faces. This wasn't good, looks like there is no one here who can help her pass the upcoming test.
As the older man starts erasing everything off the chalkboard, it is not like she was writing that down anyway, she gets an idea and takes out her phone. Being careful not to let it be seen she sends a text to Izuku. "Hey Green. Calc is kicking my ass here. Let me borrow your brain this weekend. Your place cool? Parents aren't home and they wouldn't like me bringing someone over unsupervised." Jirou sent the message and prayed that he would answer her shortly. The boy had barely spoken to her for the last month.
Huh… has it already been a month since they met? It hardly felt like it, but then again she never had the greatest sense of time. She easily could have initiated contact with Green but after meeting him it was clear that he was an extremely nervous guy. At first she just assumed it was because she was a girl and he was a hormonal teen, but it quickly became apparent that wasn't his case. Good thing to, he was cute but hardly her type. The guy was jumpy as if he was used to people not even acknowledging he existed. He said he was nervous around new people but she had the feeling he was nervous around people in general. After meeting him at her uncle's shop she decided to let him chill out instead of bombarding him with messages as soon as she got home. As nervous as the guy was, he was great to talk to. Online at least.
Two years ago
Jirou spun around in her chair bored out of her mind. Her parents were out of town dealing with a big delivery, all of her friends were at the movies for a rom-com marathon, and she had finished all of her schoolwork on time for the first time in her life. She did hear some of the guys talking about a site called Analytica today, apparently it had a section for just about anything you could think of. Maybe checking that out could cure her boredom.
Clicking through the site she didn't really see the appeal at first, most of it looked like it was focused on heroes, school work, and other completely random subjects. But before too long she found her way over to the music section. Initially, it all seemed rather basic, sharing and discussing songs and bands. There were groups for more specific discussion for certain genres, but at first glance they all seemed rather stuck up and snobbish to anyone bringing up a different opinion.
Going back to the general music tab she saw a three-second old post.
All Green: Hi everyone. I was hoping you guys could help me find bands similar to Asian Kung-Fu Generation. I heard one of their songs earlier today and I've been listening to them since. Thank you in advance.
Jirou leaned back in her chair and lazily scanned her room. Instruments, CDs, posters, it was practically a mini Rock Hall of Fame. And she never got to share her passion with anyone. Of course, there were her parents, being musicians themselves and owning a successful guitar store music became a second language in their house, but there was no one her age. All her friends were great, but they didn't share her interest in learning every instrument she could, band tour dates, new indie hits, or drama around a new band ripping off the beat to a much more famous song but insisting they just sampled it. As far as music was concerned their interest went as far as asking what the name of the song currently on the radio was. They were much more interested in talking about heroes, the boys in their school and if they're single, or, like they were doing tonight, going on movie marathons.
They invited her of course, she just couldn't stand rom-coms.
Maybe she should stop lurking on this site like a creep and see if she could actually make a friend she could share her interests with. After quickly making an account, making her name Jack because she already learned that lesson the hard way, she found that the post she wanted to respond to was deleted by the mods for some reason. Something about being too vague? Good thing the username was easy to remember. It only took a moment to find the account page and send a DM;
Jackin-In: Hey, you're the guy who wanted some band recs right? Mods seem to be a little harsh over there.
All Green: Yeah, that was me. It was my fault; I should have read through the group rules first. I tend to stick to other groups on this site.
Jackin-In: Your question was a bit on the vague side I'll admit. You said Asian Kung-Fu Generation, right? Anything specific about their sound you liked?
All Green: I don't know how to describe it. I guess the energy they perform with? I know the guitars sound great but I don't know enough about music to describe why.
All Green: sorry, I know I'm not being helpful. I never tried to seek out specific music before but something about their sound drew me in.
Jackin-In: Hey man its all good. What song specifically drew you in? I might be able to go off from there.
And the rest was history. They talked for several hours, slowly honing in on what kind of music he enjoyed while throwing in some of her personal recommendations. Over the next two years, they would keep in contact, being sure to message each other every time they saw each other's usernames pop up. She even convinced him to join her in a few online gaming sessions but neither of them ever felt like using mics so it was all Discord messages.
It wasn't a mystery to her why she didn't recognize him the second he walked into Hidden Treasures, he was practically another person online. He was just as curious and asked a lot of questions, but he was much more confident and unafraid to speak his mind. Well, as his friend Jirou decided it was her job to help him bring that confidence into the real world. Besides, if he was going to get into UA, he couldn't jump out of his skin anytime someone looked in his direction.
Looking back at the board to see the teacher erasing several paragraphs from a book that she was supposed to be reading, Jirou realized she hadn't been paying attention for the last hour. "Fuck." Taking her phone out under the desk she sends "better add english onto that."
Meanwhile, at Mustafa Private Middle School, a pink girl flips over her test to see a bright red F on her science test. "Damn… I need a tutor."
Authors Notes;
Been feeling the gaming itch. Updates may slow down as the witcher takes over my life.
Man, I am not happy with this one. Specifically Momo's portion. Should have completley started over and tackled it from another angle but sunk cost fallacy I guess. I was TRYING to get a well meaning but overall tone deaf vibe from the teacher but that didn't really work out.
So Kirishima and Mina went to Mustafa Private Middle School. I didn't make that up its on the wiki. I didn't plan on Momo going to Izukus home turf so quickly but hey, maybe I can turn this into something. Or not who knows im making this up as I go.
Full disclosure, that calc lesson was chatgpt. I havn't been in school in years I don't remember shit.
Jirou is a little trickier to write for than I thought. Gonna have to cut down on the music obsession in the future, hopefully writing her into Izuku's wingman will allow me to expand her a little more.
Yes, Asian Kung-Fu Generation is a real band. They did a lot of anime music, my favorite being Haruka Kanata.
So this chapters question, who do you think Izuku's favorite pre quirk era super hero would be? I think he would love Spider-Man.
And as always, leave a comment/review. They tell me what I did right, what I did wrong, and I just enjoy getting them.
