Chapter Thirty-Four : Jiro

Given the nature of her Quirk, Kyoka Jiro had a habit of eavesdropping. She knew it was rude, so she tried to abstain from it most of the time. But with the pressure of an array of concerned students around her, curiosity won out.

It didn't take much to convince herself to listen in—especially when it sounded like this might be one of the worst days of her instructors' lives.

It wasn't the incessant begging of people like Mina and Sero that convinced her. It was Tusyu.

Jiro could handle Mina's dramatic pleading, Sero's teasing, and even Kirishima's "come on, be manly about it" nonsense. But Tsuyu's quiet, steady request? That was different.

"She deserves to know what's happening, ribbit," Tsuyu had said, her tone even but firm. "Clay's hurt bad, and his mom should know exactly what's going on. I just… want to make sure they're treating it seriously."

That was all it took.

So now, here she was, earbuds plugged in as a cover, her jacks subtly pressed against the staff room's closed door, listening to a conversation she probably shouldn't be. The voices inside were hushed but urgent, a mix of concern, frustration, and forced professionalism.

The voice of Clay's mother erupted as soon as the projector screen clicked on. High, shrill, English, and undoubtedly Clay's mother.

"HELLO? HELLO? CAN YA'LL SPEAK ENGLISH? EEENG-LLIISHH?"

Jiro could almost see Aizawa groaning and closing his eyes.

Nezu spoke next, not sounding at all phased. "Yes, Mrs. Derreks, you'll find that many Japanese are quite fluent in—"

A hissing sound. Clay had mentioned something about his mother having a similar Quirk to him, but with possums. It wasn't too much of a leap to imagine the possum hissing at the camera, wrapped around Clay's mother's neck like a scarf.

Jiro nearly snorted but bit her lip, refocusing as the conversation continued inside.

"Alright, good," Mrs. Derreks said, her voice still sharp, but at least the exaggerated enunciation was gone. Jiro heard a dramatic sucking in of air. Jiro knew what was coming next.

"WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YA'LL? SOME GOD OF DEATH VILLIAN BROKE MY SON'S LEG?" Another deep breath. "YA'LL DON'T KNOW IT, BUT YA'LL DUG YOUR OWN GRAVE! MY SON'S THE SHERIFF!" Breath. A hiss from a possum. "AND I'M PRESSIN' CHARGES! COUNTY, STATE, AND FEDERAL CHARGES! YOU'RE DONE! YA'LL HEAR ME? DONE?"

Jiro had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Oh, Clay was so screwed when he woke up.

Inside the room, there was a long, weighted silence. She could just feel Aizawa rubbing his temples.

Nezu, however, remained unfazed. "Mrs. Derreks," he said pleasantly, "I assure you, we are taking this incident very seriously."

"DON'T YOU—"

A new voice, much closer to calm and measured. "Ma…" Clay's brother, no doubt.

"Stay out of this, boy!"

"He did this in defense of another student," came Midnight's voice. "He did what heroes are supposed to do."

"What heroes are supposed to do…" the mother huffed. Her voice was quieter now, probably because her throat was so raw at this point. "Ya'll are tryin' to change him. You told the other people there to be nice to him so he'd want to stay! You're trying to take my boy away from me!"

Another hiss from an irate-sounding possum.

Jiro's breath caught in her throat. Oh. This was about more than just Clay getting hurt. This was about losing him.

Inside the room, the silence stretched. Midnight, usually so effortlessly confident, hesitated before speaking again. "Mrs. Derreks, I understand that this is difficult for you—"

"No, ma'am, you don't understand," Mrs. Derreks interrupted, her voice raw but steady. "I lost his daddy to some stupid, reckless robbery that he never should've been involved in. Now my son, caught up in some damn villain attack, and I'm supposed to just sit here and listen to you tell me it's fine because he's actin' like a hero?"

There was a long pause, thick with unspoken weight.

Aizawa was the next to speak, his voice quieter than usual. "Clay isn't his father. He—"

"DON'T YOU TELL ME WHO MY SON IS!" she shrieked. "Ya'll don't have good enough folk over there so you're trying to get him to stay!" Jiro thought she could hear the threat of tears in her voice.

"We understand that you are concerned about your son," Nezu said calmly, his voice completely unbothered by the chaos blaring through the speakers. "But your son has made good relationships with the other students naturally."

Present Mic spoke next. "He's just genuinely a good guy."

"Shut the hell up, glasses," the mother spat. "Clay had NEVER been on a date while he was home. And now, do you realize that I get calls from him every day? Sayin' that he's head over heels for some frog woman? I bet you paid her to get chummy with him!" There was a clattering that came over the speakers, presumably Clay's mother knocking something over.

Jiro's eyes widened. Oh. Oh, wow.

"Good grief… You people… I need a smoke," she said. The sound of rumbling from the speakers.

Nezu, to his credit, sounded as unbothered as ever. "I can assure you, Mrs. Derreks, U.A. does not pay students to form relationships. That would be highly unethical."

"And stupid," Aizawa muttered.

Clay's mother scoffed. "Well, explain it then! My son, who's never given a lick of attention to girls, suddenly falls head over heels for some amphibian? He tells me she's 'real special'? That he wants to bring her home to Kentucky?!"

Jiro almost fell over. She desperately wished she had a recording of this.

Midnight, who had been quiet for a bit, finally spoke again, her voice measured but clearly amused. "Mrs. Derreks, it sounds like your son is simply… experiencing normal feelings."

"MY BOY DON'T GET NORMAL FEELINGS! DOCTOR SAYS HE HAS THE AUTISM!" Finally, the slamming of a drawer. "YA'LL STAY CLOSE!" Then, the sound of a slamming door.

There was a long stretch of silence, then a deep breath. "I'm sorry 'bout her," said the measured voice of Clay's brother. "She gets a little protective of us… Should go without sayin', but ya'll ain't in any legal trouble… I couldn't charge you even if I wanted to…"

Jiro narrowed her eyes. Clay's brother. The Sheriff.

A pause. Then, Nezu responded, sounding as unfazed as ever. "We appreciate the clarification, Mr. Derreks."

Jiro leaned in. There was something different about this guy—his accent was just as thick as Clay's, but his words were measured, careful. Not like his mother's rapid-fire emotion.

"Your mother seems… passionate," Midnight commented, her voice wry.

Clay's brother chuckled. "That's one way to put it."

The clicking of a pen. "Alright, how bad is he hurt?"

Another beat of silence. "Derreks had some flesh in his calf decayed and his shin broken. He passed out from shock, but he's better now. His leg will be missing some muscle, but at this time we don't think that he'll have any lasting major injury."

"Uh huh…" the brother muttered, surely scribbling something down on the notepad Jiro imagined him having.

Jiro listened intently, pressing her jacks even closer to the door. Clay's brother was so different from his mother—calm, collected, and taking everything in stride. He spoke with the practiced ease of someone used to handling messy situations. Definitely a sheriff.

Inside the room, there was a pause, filled only with the faint sound of scribbling. Then, Clay's brother let out a slow breath. "Alright," he said, voice steady. "And y'all say he jumped into this fight on purpose?"

Aizawa sighed, his voice carrying the usual undertone of exhaustion. "He did. No hesitation."

Another pause. Then, the sheriff let out a short chuckle—dry, almost fond. "Dumbass."

Jiro nearly choked on her own breath.

Midnight snorted, clearly amused. "So I take it this isn't exactly new behavior for him?"

"Oh, this exact situation? Sure, this is new," Clay's brother admitted. "But Clay throwin' himself into fights he don't need to be in? Tryna play hero when no one asked him to? That's been his thing since we were kids."

Nezu hummed thoughtfully. "That aligns with what we've observed. But in all fairness, it's probable that he did save a classmate's life by acting."

Another chuckle. "Yeah… I'm sure he did…" Another round of scratching on a notepad.

"Okay… So this froggy girlfriend of his… Is she tough?"

Jiro knew why he was asking it. Clay was taking Tsuyu to Kentucky after training camp was over. Tsu's screwed.

Tsuyu was about to be evaluated.

Inside the room, there was a pause—then Midnight let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, she's tough, alright."

Aizawa grunted in agreement. "She's got good instincts, keeps a level head in high-stress situations. She's physically capable, smart, and adaptable."

Nezu chimed in, his tone ever pleasant. "And from what we've observed, she genuinely cares for Clay."

What an odd thing for a school administrator to say…

Jiro could hear the smirk in Clay's brother's voice. "Well, that's real nice to hear, sir, but I asked if she's tough."

A pause.

Then, Present Mic, who had been shockingly quiet up until now, finally spoke. "Dude. She flipped a Nomu."

The sheriff let out a low whistle. "I'm assumin' that means somethin'?"

Jiro bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Nezu, clearly amused, added, "I would wager that if anyone in our school could survive meeting your mother, it would be Asui."

Clay's brother snorted. "Good. 'Cause Ma's gonna grill her like a damn steak."

Jiro winced.

Inside the room, Midnight hummed, clearly entertained. "I'd pay money to see that."

Aizawa sighed. "You are all deeply unprofessional."

Clay's brother chuckled again, but then his tone shifted, turning a little more serious. "I appreciate y'all tellin' me. He doesn't talk much about his own safety. It's always 'this friend did this' or 'this person's real strong.' I gotta dig to find out if he's alright."

Jiro frowned slightly. Yeah. That sounds like Clay.

There was a rumbling. "Ma's done with her smoke… Appreciate what ya'll do." Jiro then heard the subtle humming of the projector quiet.

"Well…" came Present Mic's voice. "That explains a lot…"

Midnight laughed. "Better enjoy out freedom while we can. We're all going to Deercrown County Jail…"

The sliding of some chairs. "Recovery Girl said he'll be waking up any moment," Aizawa grumbled.

Footsteps coming toward the door.

Jiro yanked her jacks away from the door just as it creaked open.

Aizawa stared at her, deadpan. "…Seriously?"

Jiro swallowed hard. "Uh."

Nezu's voice carried out from the room, chipper as ever. "Miss Jiro, if you wanted to hear the meeting, you could have just asked. You should really work on your stealth."

Jiro forced a nervous laugh. "Yeah, um—gonna go now."

And with that, she bolted down the hall.

The others were never gonna believe this.

Jiro sprinted through the dorm halls, her mind racing faster than her feet. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

There was so much to unpack from that conversation.

Clay's mother was exactly as terrifying as she'd imagined—but somehow worse. Clay's brother, the sheriff, was surprisingly chill, and Tsuyu was about to walk into the most intense interrogation of her life.

She skidded to a stop outside the common room, still catching her breath as she pushed the door open.

Everyone was already gathered, waiting for her. Tsuyu, Midoriya, Ochaco, Mina, Sero, Kirishima—pretty much everyone who had been pestering her into doing this in the first place. Their eyes snapped to her the second she walked in.

Mina was the first to break the silence. "Well?!"

Jiro took a deep breath, still slightly winded from running. Then she exhaled, dragging a hand down her face. "Okay, so first of all… Clay's mom? She's insane."

Everyone groaned—half in exasperation, half in yeah, that tracks.

"She was screaming about pressing charges against everyone. She called Shigaraki a 'god of death' and basically threatened to sue Japan itself."

Sero let out a low whistle. "Damn. That's impressive."

"Yeah, wait," Ochaco interjected, eyes wide. "Can she actually do that?"

"No," Jiro deadpanned. "She's trying to get Clay's brother to come to Japan and arrest everyone."

Kirishima folded his arms, his expression a mix of concern and amusement. "Man, no wonder Clay doesn't talk about his family much…"

"Oh, it gets better," Jiro said, barely suppressing a grin. "Because then, when Nezu told her that Clay's made strong bonds at U.A., she lost her mind over the fact that he has a girlfriend."

A collective silence.

Then, Mina shrieked. "I KNEW IT!"

Ochaco gasped, clutching Tsuyu's arm. "She knows?"

Tsuyu, for her part, just blinked, completely unfazed. "Ribbit. Clayton said me going to Kentucky was her idea."

Jiro nodded, eyes sparkling with barely contained amusement. "Oh, she knows. And she's convinced that U.A. is paying Tsuyu to date him."

Silence.

Then:

"PFFFFT—" Sero wheezed, doubling over.

Kirishima slammed his fist into the couch, howling with laughter.

Ochaco shook her head. "That's kinda sad…"

Mina was on the floor, clutching her stomach. "OH MY GOD—"

Midoriya, who had been quiet this whole time, finally spoke. "I—why would U.A. pay students to date each other? That makes no sense."

Jiro shrugged. "Dude, you think logic applies here?"

Tsuyu, still calm as ever, just blinked again. "…So she doesn't approve of me?"

Jiro winced. "Uh. More like she's suspicious of you. Clay's brother, on the other hand, is—uh—doing his own evaluation."

Tsuyu tilted her head slightly. "Evaluation?"

Jiro hesitated, then sighed. "Tsuyu. He literally asked if you were tough."

The entire room went still.

Tsuyu, to her credit, only blinked once. Then she nodded, thoughtful. "…That's fair."

Mina screamed.

Jiro threw up her hands. "I swear to god, Tsuyu, you are not grasping the gravity of the situation!"

Tsuyu simply took a sip of her tea. "I don't see the problem, ribbit."

Jiro groaned, dragging her hands down her face. "Your boyfriend's family is literally lining up to judge you."

Tsuyu set her cup down. "I'm not worried. My father did the same thing to him."

Everyone stared at her like she had grown a second head.

Midoriya, still clearly trying to process this, muttered, "I don't understand how you're this calm."

Tsuyu took another sip of her tea.