"No... no, it's not - it's not, um..." Jirou stumbled over her words.
"It's - it's not what you th-think..." Midoriya stammered.
But their words to no avail. Mina Ashido dropped the package. She could care less about what was inside the box. Doing everything she could to not scream, she cupped her hands and placed them over her mouth, still letting out a short gasp.
Midoriya was dumbfounded. Jirou was furious. Yet, the two of them shared the same, exasperated expression, unable to think of a proper excuse to say to Ashido.
"I knew it!" Ashido cheered. "Congrats you guys!"
Jirou winced at the comment. Midoriya, meanwhile, grew all the more confused by Ashido's reaction.
"I'll... leave you be for now," Ashido said in a much calmer tone, grabbing her package and walking back inside the dorms.
Once the coast was clear, Jirou sat down on the ground. After a sigh of defeat, she curled up her legs to her chest, looking towards the ground. She did not want to be seen by anyone at that point. Midoriya sat down next to her, with his concern growing from Jirou's reaction.
"Kyouka, are you okay?" Midoriya asked.
"No."
The two of them remained silent for the next ten minutes. All that they could muster was to sit together, under the night sky, with no will or motivation to go back inside. While he too was not thrilled that someone had watched their first kiss, he could tell that Jirou was even more irritated than he was. He wondered why that was the case, leading him to start worrying about whether he had inadvertently done something that upset her.
"Did I, um, do something wrong?" Midoriya finally broke the long, uncomfortable silence.
Jirou finally looked up from the ground. It took everything in Midoriya's power to not break his expression, as it was the first time he had ever seen Jirou give such an angry look. Her scowl rivaled Bakugou's in terms of annoyance, and had one not known her, the look she gave would lead one to believe that she had never smiled before.
"Why is Mina such a bitch?" Jirou finally said.
"Um..." Midoriya had no idea what to say.
"You did nothing wrong. I'm done with Mina. Izuku, I'm telling you right now, she's the worst person in this entire fucking class. She ruined everything," Jirou continued.
Having realized that she had never told Midoriya everything that happened between her and Ashido, Jirou then went on a long, expletive filled rant to explain everything to him. Some of the things she made sure to mention included how Ashido had exposed her feelings at the sleepover, how she blackmailed Uraraka into helping her, and also how Ashido was the main reason she wanted to keep their relationship a secret.
"She has no boundaries at all. None. All she does is gossip and bully people. She claims to be a freakin' matchmaker or whatever, but she just tries to embarrass people at all costs. How is someone like her going to be a hero? Now she probably went inside and screamed about us being together. She fucking ruined our first kiss. You know, the moment that's supposed to be special and belong to us and only us? I can't fucking believe it... why can't we just enjoy our relationship without people always interrupting us..."
"I, um, never realized that Ashido acted like that. I knew she was really into romance, but like, not to that level," Midoriya said.
Jirou then jumped off the ground and stood up again. Midoriya did the same, now standing beside her. The two of them did a quick glance of their surroundings and leaned into another hug. The adrenaline rush from earlier was gone - this hug was much more comforting and reassuring for them, instead.
"I'm going back in," Jirou then declared.
"Me too. But I'll wait a few minutes so people don't ask us what happened," Midoriya said.
"Smart idea, thanks."
With a wave, Jirou then walked up the porch steps, slowly opening the front door that led to the common area. The first thing she did was scan her eyes all around the room to look for Ashido. However, there was no sign of her, much to her pleasant surprise. She then realized that not one person had walked over to her and accused her of what was going on between herself and Midoriya. Without a further thought, she walked over to a table that Yaoyorozu was sitting at by herself - the same table that was behind the couch being used for the Mario Kart tournament. Jirou took the empty seat next to Yaoyorozu.
Yaoyorozu was about to ask Jirou where she had been, but stopped upon seeing her friend's facial expression. There was no smile, no greeting, and no friendly vibe from Jirou.
"Is something the matter, Jirou?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"Nope," Jirou said without looking towards her friend.
The two of them sat together without a further word. Their silence was broken up by the music from Kirashima's speaker, which somehow sounded louder now than it did earlier. And as much of a music enthusiast as Jirou was, she could care less about what the songs were at that point.
Despite Yaoyorozu's concern, she knew it was best to not say anything. Moments later, Midoriya re-entered the building, walking past them to head towards the kitchen. While most of the class paid no attention to him as he entered, Yaoyorozu was the one exception.
"I hope nothing bad happened between Jirou and Midoriya," Yaoyorozu thought to herself.
Moments later, the final race of the night commenced, as it was nearing midnight by that point. The final race was held between Kirashima, Tokoyami, Bakugou and Uraraka, with the winner being declared the champion of the night. Bakugou led the first two laps of the three lap race, and it appeared that he was set to cruise to the win, until...
"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Bakugou yelled.
Everyone in the room whipped their heads towards the television. Bakugou was hit by yet another blue shell, while Kirashima was also collected. That allowed Tokoyami and Uraraka to pass them both, with Tokoyami holding off Uraraka to win the championship.
"The power of the dark never fails, my friends," Tokoyami said in a calm manner, with Kirashima handing him a small, golden trophy.
"I'm going to bed. Goodnight," Jirou said while rolling her eyes, not caring enough to listen to what Bakugou was ranting about in the background.
"Um, Jirou - "
Yaoyorozu was interrupted by Jirou getting up from the table, walking towards the stairwell. Yaoyorozu followed her, however, with Jirou finally acknowledging her at the doorway of her room.
"I know you are upset about something, Jirou. Please tell me what happened," Yaoyorozu said.
"Just - just - "
"Hey."
Jirou and Yaoyorozu were startled by the soft greeting, turning around to find that Ashido was now with them. To Jirou's surprise, Ashido had a frown, giving one of the saddest expressions that either of them remembered seeing from their usually upbeat classmate.
"Yaoyorozu, I'm fine. Ashido and I... had an incident," Jirou finally said.
"We need to talk, Jirou," Ashido then interjected.
"Fine, come in my room, and I'll tell you how I really feel," Jirou said.
"I will be going to my room now," Yaoyorozu squeaked, grateful that she had found a way to leave the entirely too awkward conversation.
Jirou then opened the door to her room, motioning for Ashido to come in. Ashido, however, stood still, beginning to sweat and experience second thoughts over the matter. Unfortunately for her, she knew there was no way she could turn back now.
"Jirou, um, are you sure you want me to come in to your room? I know you don't love people seeing it and all," Ashido asked.
"I don't give a fuck, let's just get this over with," Jirou said.
The two of them then entered her room. Ashido was amazed by all of the Deep Dope merch and musical instruments in her room. However, she knew that now was definitely not the time for lighthearted compliments.
"Jirou, you have every right to be mad at me. I know how badly I acted at the sleepover. I don't blame you for holding a grudge against me," Ashido said.
"Is that because you're a mind reader, or is it because you're actually self aware now?" Jirou rolled her eyes.
"Very funny, but I actually regret everything I did. And I'm sorry I saw you and Midoriya - um, you know - but I swear it was an accident. I realized my package had arrived and I just so happened to go outside when... you know. I honestly had no clue you were even outside."
Jirou nodded. "Alright. I can buy that it was an accident, I guess. But you probably told someone about it, right?"
"Nope. My lips are sealed. You seriously think I would do that again after the sleepover disaster? Whether you want to believe it or not - and you have a right to feel either way - I really did learn my lesson. I haven't done any of that shit since then, and I won't be doing anything more, either," Ashido said.
They continued to stand across from each other at the entrance of the room. Ashido noticed Jirou's expression soften up slightly. Jirou then walked over to her desk, sitting down on her chair.
"Well, I appreciate that. And I'll give you this - you have actually left me alone this past week. And no one else seemingly found out about my feelings from you. So, maybe you have changed," Jirou said.
Ashido wanted to crack her trademark grin, but she knew that now was not the time. The last thing she wanted to do was to make Jirou think that she was not taking this seriously.
"I can assure you that no one is finding out about you and Midoriya from me. I'm guessing I'm probably the first person to find out, and well, I'm sorry about that," Ashido responded.
"Third person, actually," Jirou sighed.
Ashido paused and blinked. "Wait, what?"
"Bakugou found out from Midoriya. Then All Might found out because he caught us hugging. And now you caught us during our first kiss. So, sorry to disappoint you, but you're far from the first," Jirou explained.
"I'm actually pretty surprised by that... but it's none of my business, anyways. Look, I'm not looking for you to forgive me. I only came here for you to know I won't tell anyone else. Okay?" Ashido pleaded.
"Fair enough," Jirou said.
As Ashido went to leave the room, however, Jirou motioned for her to stop.
"Ashido. I have one more question. Why do you even care about other people's relationships? Why were you so determined to know whether I liked Midoriya?" Jirou asked.
Ashido looked back over at Jirou. "Simple. I'm not a mind reader, but I'm a damn good romantic at heart. It's so easy for me to see when two people like each other. I had a gut feeling that you liked Midoriya. And well... I figured you'd be happier being with him then wondering whether you two stood a chance. Sure, I enjoy it, but I really just wanted to give you the push you needed... but that was obviously not the right thing to do," Ashido said.
Jirou gave no expression or reaction to Ashido. The two of them continued to stare for a few moments. Ashido began to grow more and more uncomfortable, unsure of whether Jirou was about to give her a literal earful.
"Well, I guess you did help me then," Jirou said with a chuckle.
"Huh?" A surprised Ashido said.
"The only reason I had the confidence to even make a move was because I was worried he'd find out about my feelings from you or someone else. I wanted to be the one to do it. So, I guess you encouraged me after all, even if it was a really stupid and rude thing to do..." Jirou trailed off.
Ashido's trademark grin finally appeared. "Well, that's what friends are for, right?"
The two of them then began laughing together, finally able to let out all of their pent up anger, frustration and worries over the matter. Everything that had been bothering them over the past week was finally making sense.
"Thanks, I guess. And... I do forgive you. Just, don't do that again with others. We'll just chalk it up as a happy accident," Jirou said.
"Fair enough! See you later," Ashido said, leaving the room after they exchanged goodbyes.
Jirou, meanwhile, was then hit by a massive wave of tiredness. She was ready to crash for the night and fall asleep. After getting ready for bed, she laid down on her bed, not even bothering to listen to any music.
"I really kissed Izuku... finally... that dweeb was the best thing to ever happen to me," Jirou said to herself, smiling as she fell asleep.
Jirou found herself in the midst of a city. It appeared similar to the demo city that Class 1A used for training sessions, including the one they were in yesterday. But Jirou then realized there were several differences. For starters, the sky above was purple rather than blue. Additionally, there were several birds that flew right above her head - something that was not possible, given that the demo city was blocked off from wildlife.
By now, Jirou had realized that she was dreaming. It was not the first time that she had a lucid dream, but they were rather rare for her. Something in her mind prompted her to look upwards. There was a billboard with an image of Izuku Midoriya that was next to text that read 'Japan's Number 1 Hero!"
"Number 1 Hero..." Jirou muttered to herself.
Suddenly, All Might and Midoriya jumped from the top of the billboard. All Might was in his buffed up, hero mode, with no sign of him coughing up blood anywhere. They soared in the air, falling to the ground right in front of Jirou. They did not acknowledge her, however.
What happened next really startled Jirou. All Might and Midoriya began performing several attacks in sync with each other. When All Might made a punch, Midoriya did the same. When All Might kicked, Midoriya did the same. Every single move was exactly the same between the two of them.
All Might then walked towards Jirou, with Midoriya doing the same. The two of them bowed towards her.
"Umm, what's going on here?" Jirou asked.
"Ha ha ha! Haven't you figured it out, Young Jirou?" All Might yelled.
"Um... figured out what?" Jirou said.
By that point, she was just utterly confused. She was ready to chalk it up as just another typical random dream. But despite wanting to wake up and forget that any of it had ever happened, something told her to stay in the dream.
"Try to copy the same moves we're doing, Kyouka," Midoriya then said.
All Might then spun his arm into the air and grinned.
"Texas Smash!" All Might yelled, causing a huge burst of wind pressure to swarm down the road.
"Full Cowl," Midoriya yelled, causing his body to turn red, "Delaware Smash Air Force!"
Another huge burst of wind that rivaled All Might's was sent down the road, smashing into a building at the end of the block like All Might's.
Jirou also punched, and then tried to flick her fingers, but no wind was created from her attempts.
"Wait a minute..." Jirou then said.
"What is it?" All Might and Midoriya said simultaneously.
"You - that's not just Super Strength..." Jirou accused.
"And..." Midoriya said, walking towards her.
Jirou woke up before she could say anything more.
She looked over at the clock. It was 9:00am, just a few minutes before her alarm would go off. Turning off the alarm, Jirou jumped out of her bed, as she began to pace around the room. The only thing that consumed her mind at the moment was the parallels of All Might and Midoriya that she had seen in her dream.
"What does that mean..." Jirou murmured to herself.
After some more pacing, Jirou began to worry that she was driving herself insane from something as silly as a dream. Determined to get an answer, however, she searched for causes of dreams online. After scrolling through different articles and forum posts for far too long, she was able to get a consensus of the causes of dreams. Some of the top answers that she received included it being random, memories of the past, and ideas from the subconscious.
While the first two answers did not move the needle much, the last point about the subconscious was the one that piqued her interest. She was never one to care about psychology much beyond music, but given the oddity of the dream about her boyfriend and his quirk, she figured that this was worth an exception.
She sat back down on her bed and took a deep breath. She thought about anything related to Midoriya's quirk, All Might and any clues from the details of the dream that she remembered.
"So obviously All Might has helped Izuku... and Izuku is a mega fanboy of All Might... and the two of them share similar moves..." Jirou muttered to her self.
Upon realizing that she was muttering, Jirou began to laugh, falling onto her back on her bed as she thought about how her muttering was just like Midoriya's. And it was based on quirks and heroes, too.
"Wait, where was I? Oh. All Might... his quirk is similar to Izuku's. I know everyone in the class thinks that already, but they even create the exact same wind pressure. Is that really just a part of Super Strength?" Jirou asked herself.
She then caught the time on her clock out of the corner of her eye - it was 10:00am.
"Oh crap, it's later than I thought," Jirou said. "I gotta get ready so I can spend the day with Izuku... oh, crap."
A/N: Back in Chapter 11, Midoriya had a lucid dream. Now, it's Jirou's turn... what could this lead to?
Thank you for reading, please favorite, follow and leave a comment if you'd like! See you next time for Chapter 32!