Chapter 1: An Electrical Connection

Kaminari had grown tired of the silence as the two walked and asked, "Remind me what we are doing again?"

An irritated sigh from Jiro followed. "Did you even hear a word I said at lunch?"

"You chose to tell me your plan while I was eating anpan (sweet bread filled with red bean paste). I just nodded along while I got lost in its sweetness. I can only count a handful of times they have ever served it in our cafeteria."

Kyoka placed a hand on her face as she stated, "Ah yes, my bad for not giving yourself some alone time with your anpan." She took a moment to brush off her classmate's dense statement before explaining, "You are going to accompany me on my weekly visit with Koda-kun. I am hoping the presence of another guy will help this along."

"Oh, right, to help him with his anxiety around others. Still, odd you chose me."

"Various reasons. I don't want to bother Midoriya-kun again. Tokoyami-kun and Shoji-kun are not exactly the best talkers. You love to run your mouth off and try to make friends with everyone. Even those that push you away, like Bakugo-san." Jiro recalled the fight between her classmates just before the second term started. It surprised her that Kaminari's behavior persisted with Bakugo despite what happened.

Denki puffed his chest. "We all live under the same roof now. The more you get along with everyone, the less hassle it will be. As rough around the edges Bakugo-kun is, I'll get through him eventually."

Kyoka couldn't argue with those first two points, at least. "Anyways, just don't go overboard with Koda-kun, okay? I've made some progress, but I don't want to lose that if you overdo it today."

"Can do Jiro-chan!"

The two continued through the forest in silence. By now, Jiro recognized the path despite the open woodlands. Usually, Koda led the way, but today, she was the one doing it. She felt confident she could do it on her own, and as a large teen came into view, pride filled her. The boy was sitting down, leaning against a large tree, and had a green pigeon standing on the horn of his head. From afar, Jiro said with a raised voice, "Afternoon!"

Koji froze up but eventually turned his head towards the voice. His demeanor changed from dread to confusion once he noticed Denki's presence.

Once closer, Jiro stated, "Kaminari-kun wanted to tag along today, if that's okay?"

Koda looked to think about this. As he did, Kaminari gave a wide grin, which seemed to win the large teen over. He said, "That's o-okay."

The newcomer then asked Jiro, "So, what do you two normally talk about?"

"Usually about what happened at school. If not, whatever animal Koda-kun has summoned to keep him company," Jiro answered as she set her backpack on the opposite side of the tree. She had learned that Koji was much more likely to respond to what she said if she sat out of his sight. Awkward, but it was the biggest breakthrough she had in a while.

Kaminari put a hand to his chin as he stated, "Hmm, I see. However, I guess there's not much to talk fromtalk about from school today as of late since none of us three got an internship. It's just been normal classes as of late."

"True." Kyoka wasn't fussed she didn't get one, she wanted to adjust to living at school for a bit anyhow before doing any extra work. She sat down by her backpack and asked, "Is that Nemui-chan again Koda-kun?"

The large teen took a moment to gather himself before saying, "N-No, this one is male. I haven't thought of a name for him yet as he doesn't visit often."

Denki took a closer look at the bird. It had olive-green wings, a yellowish-green head, and a pale-colored belly. It was curious about the new arrivals but now looked to be dozing off. "Are these rare? I'm used to seeing the brown or gray ones."

With confidence, Koda answered, "They are rare around here, at least. I hear they are common along the coast of Kanagawa, however. You're probably used to seeing rock and stove pigeons or Eurasian collared and oriental turtle doves. This is the white-bellied green pigeon."

Kaminari didn't know how to respond to that wall of information and instead asked, "And you know it's a guy how?"

"Male's necks are brighter green, and they have a maroon patch on their wings."

Now, Denki was truly clueless about how to continue talking about this subject, but an idea came to him, and he sat between the two. "Well, I am not much of an animal guy, so how about we do something different since I am new here?"

Kyoka leaned over and asked, "Like what?"

"A round robin of questions to one another. It will let me get to know Koda-kun better since I barely know anything about him. And I am sure there's plenty you don't know about each other." Kaminari turned to his left. "That okay Koda-kun?"

Koda scratched the side of his forehead as he thought about it. This awoke the bird, and it flew to the boy's right shoulder. "Uh, o-okay, but only if Kaminari-kun goes first."

Jiro sighed in relief. Maybe this would work out after all.

"Sounds fair enough." Denki took a moment to ponder a question. "So, Koda-kun, where are you from?"

Koji took a deep breath before answering. "Morioka in Iwate. Though I moved to Tokyo to stay with a friend of my dad's a little over two years ago."

Kyoka perked up to ask, "Why was that?"

"My p-parents wanted me to get used to living in a big city if I was going to become a h-hero. Morioka is the largest city in my prefecture, but it only has 300k people."

A nodding Denki stated, "I getcha. I lived in Saitama, and that's just over a million and is still only the tenth largest city in Japan." He then turned to his right. "You live close by, right Jiro-chan?"

"Yeah, I've lived in Shizouka all my life, so I was lucky that U.A. was here as well."

"Ah so you are just like Bakugo-kun, Midoriya-kun, Tokoyami-kun, and Todoroki-kun. A quarter of our class is just from one prefecture."

Jiro then said, "I guess I'll go next." She knew asking Koda right away would be a bit much, considering he had just answered, so instead, she focused on her guest. I guess I'll make the best of it, she thought. "Kaminari-kun, why are you friends with Mineta-san?"

"Oh, come on, he's not that bad. Besides, it's not like he's done anything to you."

Sure, Kyoka wasn't the target of Minrou's perverse shenanigans, but she couldn't forgive him for what he tried to do to the other girls in his class. "He's done plenty, I can assure you. And you are only defending him 'cause you are his partner in crime."

Denki leaned towards the girl and whispered, "Hey, do you want me to help or not? You're making me rethink this."

"Just answer quickly, and I won't push it," Jiro whispered back sternly.

Kaminari cleared his throat. "That was only at the Hero Festival, and that was harmless compared to trying to peek at you girls changing, which I had no part of. Besides, you girls rocked those cheerleader outfits. Isn't that right, Koda-kun?"

No response.

Kyoka figured Koji was a blushing mess right now. She inserted her jacks into the ground to hear her friend's heartbeat, and it was indeed at a rapid pace. The girl was starting to think maybe this wasn't the best idea to bring Denki along.

Kaminari noticed the look on the girl's face and sighed. "Look, there's nothing wrong with liking girls, but I will admit Mineta-kun is too forward about it. I am still friends with him, though, despite our mutual love of girls. He helps me study, and we play video games together a lot."

"Fine, that's enough for me. Just try being more forward with Mineta-san from now on." Jiro paused to collect herself as she didn't expect talk of Mineta to happen today and it made her so angry. "Your turn, Koda-kun."

"R-right. Uh, what's your favorite food, Kaminari-kun?"

"Hamburgers!"

How American, Kyoko thought. "Just any burger will do?"

"If I wanna break the bank, anything with 100% premium wagyu is worth the price, but I guess my go-to is a Hawaiian teriyaki burger from MOS Burger." At this point, Denki had to wipe away the drool from his mouth just thinking about it. Once done, he asked, "Okay, Jiro-chan, I got one for you. Just how long can those jacks of yours get? When Togata-senpai destroyed our entire class, he used your jacks to wrap us up. I didn't think they could get that long."

"That's all? About 6 meters." A simple question, Jiro mused, is Kaminari already running out of ideas? However, the one Koda asked about earlier was also simple. Maybe it was time to set an example of something more personal. Something a classmate had said earlier gave her an idea. "Koda-kun, you eat alone outside the cafeteria for lunch, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"For the longest time, I thought it was because you didn't like the crowd and noise, but Midoriya-kun mentioned to me once that you were a vegetarian. Is that true?"

"Oh, t-that." Koda let out a long sigh. "I don't r-remember telling Midoriya-kun that. And I'm not a v-vegetarian anymore anyhow."

Kaminari pondered a moment before asking, "Would a teacher have known? Midoriya-kun has always seemed to be pretty buddy-buddy with the teachers, beside Aizawa-sensei. Maybe he found out from one of them?"

The idea intrigued the tall teen. "It's possible. I stopped just before coming to the U.A., so it could have still been on my medical form."

Jiro then asked, "So why did you stop?"

"That was just a p-phase. I even tried being a v-vegan for a short time as well."

Denki then stated, "Woah, that requires some dedication. What happened?"

With more confidence, Koji answered, "There was a time I wondered if I should feel disgusted or not that I eat the things I work with. So, at first, I tried going full vegan, but once I noticed how inconvenient that was for the family I was staying with in Tokyo, I instead tried being a vegetarian. That lasted for over a year until I thought about it some more."

"It's okay to admit you like meat." Kaminari then groaned, "I know I couldn't ever go that long without it."

"It wasn't even that. At first, it felt like the right thing to do, but eventually, I came to the realization that all the meat I typically ate was not from animals that usually assist me. I mostly ask for birds and, as of late, insects. So what was the point? It would be a different story if I worked exclusively with farm animals, but even back in my rural prefecture, I still lived in the city. This little forest behind our school is the most rural place I've ever been for an extended period of time."

Both Kyoka and Denki were taken back here. This was the most they had ever heard their classmate talk in one go. Koji seemed to notice this during the silence. "O-Oh, I'm s-sorry. I went far too into d-detail there."

Jiro was quick to say, "Dude, it's okay! Splurge if you want! It means you are getting more comfortable with others."

"Yeah, man. It's okay to be more open about stuff."

Koda instead gave a nervous grunt.

Kyoka felt they were on the cusp of something here. She only got quick answers from her friend, and finally, something deeper. But he was already pushing back again. Perhaps it was best to leave it for now. "Well, anyways, it's your turn again, Koda-kun."

"Sure, just, l-let me think." After a minute, Koji finally spoke up and said, "Kaminari-kun..."

Denki interrupted, "Hey, you already asked me a question. You need to ask Jiro-chan the next one."

"S-Sorry. You are r-right." Silence followed as the large teen thought of something else.

Jiro on the other hand didn't expect to be asked any questions from Koda today. However she couldn't see any reason to try and intervene here. Though as the minutes passed the girl was starting to think maybe they had reached their limit today. Kyoka looked over to Denki to see that he too looked concerned about the lack of a question after so long. Just as she was about to call it for the day, instead she finally heard the query.

"W-What is Deep Dope?"

Kaminari placed a hand on his chin as he leaned forward to say, "Oh yeah, I recall seeing you wear that shirt sometimes back at the dorms. What is that?"

Oh, all things to ask, Jiro sighed internally. Well this is what I get by asking more personal questions. "It's my favorite band."

Denki nodded slightly as he stated, "I see. I see. I am guessing they are a punk band?"

"Nothing like that, it's rock and roll. Progressive rock if you want to be precise."

Koji then spoke up. "P-Progressive rock?"

"Bands like Pink Floyd, Rush, Genesis, Yes, or King Crimson. They were full on progressive folk. Others like Queen, Electric Light Orchestra, Elton John, and David Bowie were borderline progressive or only in certain songs and albums. "

Silence followed. Neither of the boys knew about any of these people or groups.

Kyoka rubbed the back of her head. "Right, these are all really old to you guys. So you wouldn't know who they are. Uh, how to explain." Jiro wracked her brain about this. This wasn't going to be an easy explanation at all. Eventually, she just started trying something. "Think of it as an evolution of 1960's pop music. They tried to break the pop music formula by using techniques of blues, jazz, folk, or classical music. It also used new sounds and range from the jumps in technology. It's a fusion of styles and genres, making it hard to give a definitive definition since it's so varied."

Kaminari groaned. "You sound like Midoriya-kun or Ida-kun when trying to explain something difficult during coursework. Also, the 1960's? What grave did you dig this genre out of?" The boy almost slammed his head back into the tree as two jacks suddenly whizzed towards his face but stopped just before making impact.

Koda noticed and stood up to say. "L-Let's not make fun of J-Jiro-chan's passion."

"You know I was just teasing you, ya?"

Kyoka grunted before pulling back her jacks and turning around. "It's just a hobby, not a passion."

Denki and Koji exchanged looks to one another in silence. The former got up to say, "Seems like it's more than just a hobby."

"It was." Jiro crossed her arms and then said more firmly, "But that doesn't have a place in hero work." She hated saying those words, but it was a fact that she accepted when she chose this profession years ago.

Kaminari rubbed the back of his head as he wasn't sure how to proceed here.

Koda, however, did. "Even then, c-could you show us the band's music sometime, J-Jiro-chan?"

After some pondering, Kyoka turned her head back to the two boys with a smirk. "You know, I can. And I think I can do something better than just play you a song on my phone."

I promised to start this short story years ago, and we are finally here. And this time it's from the girl's PoV! After getting a taste of Tooru's PoV during the Dark Deku arc in Cubicity, I wanted to try it with Jiro once more. Another different detail compared to Iichako and MashMomo's short stories is that this relationship isn't established yet, unlike the other two. So here we are going to focus on the build-up we only heard about from the sidelines from Izuku's PoV in Cubicity. I feel I can do 4-5 chapters for this friendship phase, have 2-3 focus between Valentine's Day and White Day, just one post-relationship chapter before it almost immediately jumps into the war arcs timewise, focus on those arcs for three chapters, then everything else will cover after the manga ends before the time skip. I've thought pretty far ahead for this one, as you can tell...

So yeah, there are lots of Kaminari in this chapter (and the latter part of the next one). He and Jiro are still good friends in canon, and I don't want to abandon that here just to better the KodaJiro ship. Even when he starts to fade from the spotlight from there after I still got plans for his presence for the future. I am not a fan of the common trope of bashing/sidelining the more common ship to make the rarepair more believable. It might seem I am harsh on the boy here but you have to remember that Jiro commonly stops Kaminari's antics and even flipped him off early in the series. Friends they are but they have a rough dynamic as well.

Deep Dope is getting a focus here, despite us knowing absolutely nothing about them in canon. I wanted to expand on them but I never thought about it hard until writing this. I had never considered what kind of rock band I wanted them to be. Once I put time into it I figured I wanted to avoid punk/goth but had considered hard/glam/pop, synth, and alternative rock. I settled on the progressive cause of how varied it is and how niche it is in the modern sense. It was only mainstream for like a decade and has had a few new waves here and there with some bands.

A couple more details for this chapter. This is set sometime during chapter 21-22 of Cubicity. Anything earlier would have Jiro talking to a wall that barely responds, so I figured this is the earliest place I could start. The female bird Jiro mentioned, Nemui, means sleepy/drowsy in Japanese. Expect a lot more animal stuff once we get further in. If you recall, I had Izuku find out about Koji's food preference during his detention from the first term with Aizawa. At first, it was just a throwaway detail, but eventually, I walked back on the idea for the very reason Koda gave in this chapter. However, I didn't want to axe it, so I went with what happened here.

With this done, I finally feel satisfied with my progress with the side stories to return to writing Cubicity, especially since it's been a month since the series ended. Chapter 50 is now my #1 priority!