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In the sky was the moon glowing brightly, casting a dim light over the darkness that surrounded it. A humble, quiet breeze blew through the trees on the campus of UA High School, illuminated by warm light coming from the student dormitories.
Kyoka Jirou treaded over the school grounds until she reached the entrance gate, checking to see if she had her student ID on her before exiting. She had to step out, just for a bit. Upon reaching the exterior, Jirou leaned against the outer wall and breathed out a heavy sigh she had been holding in ever since she left the dorms.
Today had been pleasant in terms of temperature: lukewarm without a cloud in sight. The tepidity carried over into the late afternoon, rendering the Heights Alliance's heater redundant. Jirou didn't feel cold outside either, the warmth of the day lingering in the air.
From where she stood, Jirou's enhanced hearing picked up on sounds of nature she deemed calm and soothing: the calling chirps of crickets, the hooting of owls sitting on thickly covered branches located several meters above ground and the light scurrying of mice through the foliage in the woods close to UA.
Scurrying was, however, not the only means of taking the ankle express her ears picked up on.
There were footsteps. Jirou heard plenty of footsteps in her life and even remembered a couple of those. These, however, carried a significant weight to her, as did the memories she associated with them, subconsciously warming her heart whenever she heard it.
Those footsteps, heading off to find the fake weapon payload, located by Jirou using her earphone jacks during the Battle Trials on Ground Beta at the start of the school year.
Those footsteps, wandering aimlessly with thumbs up and a trail of drool.
Those footsteps, approaching her to reassure her that her hobby of playing music was amazing, which encouraged Jirou to perform in front of the entirety of UA's students at the School Festival.
Those footsteps, the ones Jirou unconsciously sought out among the large amount of heroes on the frontlines of the Gunga Mountain Villa Raid.
Those footsteps, stopping in their tracks to look back at the backup team in the distance…
Jirou turned her head left to see who she knew those footsteps belonged to. With his face lit up by the street lights outside of the UA campus, Denki Kaminari made his way over to her.
"I knew I'd find you here," he said, coming to a halt in front of Jirou who, in turn, pushed off the wall to face him.
"Kaminari…"
Jirou averted her gaze to the side. She could see him placing a hand on his neck from the corner of her eye. The two of them stayed like that for a few seconds, silent, before Kaminari spoke.
"Why did you leave the dorms earlier?"
Jirou looked up at him briefly. His eyes were focused on her, yet they were not harsh. She turned her gaze away.
"I just needed some air."
Kaminari looked over his shoulder, likely at the campus gate to check if no one followed him, before facing forward once more.
"That I understand, but why the moment Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki return from a successful patrol at their agency?"
Jirou clenched her fists. She just wanted a moment to herself. She wanted to just get lost in her thoughts for a while, thinking everything over.
"It's a coincidence."
She hoped that would be enough to get Kaminari off her back and make him stop worrying, but unfortunately for her, he realized too little and cared too much.
"Are you sure? You did the exact same thing three days ago…"
Jirou let out a quiet scoff.
Of course you noticed that, Jirou thought. Damn you and your attentiveness to your friends!
"I'm sure. Besides, shouldn't you be getting back to celebrate? Those three did great on patrol, didn't they?"
She had to force out the last few words and prayed that Kaminari wouldn't pick up on it. Unfortunately…
"Jirou-"
Before he could continue, she cut him off.
"Just go already. I'll be back in five minutes, tops."
Kaminari opened his mouth to protest, but closed it after a second. Jirou could feel his gaze on her for a moment before he ultimately sighed and gave a nod.
"Okay," he responded. "See you there."
He turned around to walk away. His footsteps were quiet as he made his way across the grass. Jirou finally allowed herself to look up at the back of his head.
She had been keeping it to herself for a week or two, but Kaminari's instinct was on the mark. She was bothered by something. Jirou wanted to get it off her chest, but didn't think venting to her dorm wall would do much.
Kaminari was right there. Jirou knew he would listen to her woes, perhaps even comfort her, but she couldn't get the words out. He was nearing the campus gate. Jirou could almost just keep her thoughts to herself, but her body refused to listen.
She took four long strides forward before grabbing his wrist. Kaminari looked over his shoulder, eyes widened in surprise, as he turned to face her.
"Jirou?"
Jirou didn't look at him, gaze averted like before.
"It's… not just a coincidence."
She could hear his breath hitching, likely because he wasn't expecting her to open up about her troubles, but listened nonetheless.
"You can tell me about it, if you want."
Jirou sighed, then nodded.
"Okay," she began. "Well, you see… Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki are already great heroes. They're getting really good at keeping civilians safe and have a lot of important events to their name, like ranking high in the Sports Festival, fighting Stain, the Shie Hassaikai Raid, studying with Endeavor…"
Kaminari nodded in comprehension.
"They are. I've even heard some people call them students in name only," he responded. Jirou nodded before continuing.
"Yes. And I know it's not their fault they keep getting roped into all those missions and that they're doing their best for the people… But I can't help but feel that they're the only points of interest in our class."
Kaminari tilted his head slightly at that.
"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice toned down a bit because he was standing close to her sensitive ears.
"I… no, it's not okay to think like this…" Jirou said, her tone quieter than before. She felt guilty for the mere thought.
"Hey, Jirou-jack."
Kaminari's free hand, Jirou was still holding onto his right wrist without realizing it, carefully landed on her shoulder. An anchor in a storm. Supporting her, encouraging her to continue.
"Go ahead," he said. "It's okay."
With that, Jirou swallowed. It was alright. Kaminari had always been and still was someone she could confide in without being judged.
"It's… They're the highlights of our class. Made it onto television several times. When people think of UA High's Class 1-A, they think of Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki. And…"
Jirou began trailing off, but Kaminari squeezed her shoulder in encouragement.
"It… feels like the rest of our class is not as known. Not as important. It sometimes feels like we're extras in a movie about their great adventures. Like we… don't matter. Just because we achieved less."
Finally, Jirou looked up at him, straight into his soft and empathetic golden eyes.
"Don't you feel the same, Kaminari?"
Kaminari stared at her for a moment. She could see lots of emotions passing through his eyes until they finally settled on something calm and understanding.
"I…" Kaminari started, struggling to find the right words. Jirou waited for him. Just like he did for her.
"…yes."
Their words hung in the air as silence washed over them, simply looking at eachother. Finally Kaminari spoke up.
"I doubt they'll ever stop overshadowing us…" he said. "But we can… Support them. Our time to shine will come eventually."
Jirou nodded before Kaminari continued.
"We don't have tireless, powerhouse quirks like them, you and me. We don't have as much opportunities to perform swift and efficient hero work as they do. But… we can still be important, y'know? Like you listening to everything happening at the Gunga Raid."
Jirou nodded in agreement.
"And you absorbing that enemy leader's electricity. Just because we can't save the same amount of people they do, doesn't mean we're useless in any way."
Kaminari nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. Not a wide, goofy one like she was used to seeing every day, but a more genuine and honest smile.
"Yeah," he answered simply as he slowly slid his hand down from her shoulder, slowly so Jirou could pull away if she wanted to. She didn't. Sure enough, Kaminari's hand slipped into hers, their fingers intertwining.
When Jirou let go of his right wrist to hold his other hand too, she could have sworn she saw a tint of red flashing across his cheeks. Jirou didn't comment lest she ruin the moment.
It was… unexpectedly comfortable. She always had Kaminari's back, and knew he had hers too. He was, without a doubt, one of her closest confidants. One she could always rely on. She wanted him to rely on her, too, which he luckily already did.
Jirou looked into his eyes for a moment more, taking in the sight. His gaze was softer than usual. Calm. Understanding. Trusting.
"Hey…" Jirou started.
"Hm?"
"Just wanna say… Thanks, Jamming-whey."
"Glad I could help!"
Jirou chuckled, tightening her grip on his hands. The red tint on his cheeks from earlier returned. Jirou continued pretending not to notice, focusing solely on his eyes, which stared back at her all the same.
"So… I think we should be heading back now," Kaminari started after a while, trying to figure out where to go next.
"Yeah…" Jirou responded before a small smirk crept up on her lips. She let go of his hands.
"Last to arrive at the dorms has to set the table for everyone tomorrow!" she said as she started running off.
"Hey! Wait up!" Kaminari shrieked as he gave chase, sprinting right behind her while attempting to catch up and overtake her, all while laughing.
Those footsteps, belonging to the one she knew would always have her back. No matter the difficulty, he would be with her and support her through thick and thin, just like she would do for him.