Work Text:
Kyouka hasn't slept a blink ever since the battle ended.
The aftermath of the war was catastrophic. The sheer destruction of the buildings that looked like it came straight out of a post-apocalyptic horror movie made her sick to the stomach. She remembers staring in pure horror at the ruin that came because of the failure of their plan to stop Gigantomachia. She remembers the terror of Gigantomachia stomping through the cities; a terror she felt up front, a terror that will haunt her for life.
Midnight's death - the teacher who had supported her and her friends throughout the school year; the woman, no, the hero who died alone on the battlefield, only to become another statistic.
There was also the socio-political consequences, such as the controversy surrounding the Todoroki family. She was never close to Todoroki, but she still felt that same guilt her other classmates had for never noticing just how much he was going through. She felt the pangs of guilt as she recalled how she had such kind parents who encouraged her choices, whether she became a musician or a hero, while he had a father who groomed him into being a hero and beat his own quirk into him since birth.
She saw the way Yaoyorozu tried to smile, to be there for everyone as class 1A's vice president. She saw the way her smile instantly fell as she turned around after checking on all of her classmates each day.
She also noticed Kirishima's eyebags darkening each day. How he tried to smile for everyone, and how it so clearly falters each time. She heard him sighing more and more each day. He had lost his shine; his laughter that never failed to make anyone's day.
She noticed her other classmates spiraling as well. Ashido's eyes were constantly red from the tears and the rubbing of her face, which was funny, since her skin was already pink. Hagakure barely did her pranks anymore. She didn't go up to people and yell, "Boo!" anymore. She knew it would remind people of the horrors they were in, and she understood.
But for her, the most devastating was the rigid, slow breathing of the boy in front of her in the hospital bed. Kaminari. She had seen the very moment that huge rock hit him - she vividly remembers the utter panic she felt as she watched his body fall from the air, but she also remembers the sigh of relief she let out when he fell into the arms of the girl from 1B whose name she did not remember.
The doctors tell her that he'll be alright, that it was just a concussion, that's all. She wants to believe them. She wants to believe that soon enough, he'll be smiling and laughing by her side, saying something dumb about chicken nuggets. Maybe this was all an awful nightmare, and when she wakes up, she'll wake up to a text message from Kaminari of some stupid meme or perhaps a song he liked. She was terrified for his fate, yet she can't find it in her to leave his bedside.
So on the fourth night after the day of reckoning, she looks out the window with a melancholic gaze that no one will ever see, at the full moon that rose upon them. Despite the crisis they were in, the moon still glowed, giving Kyouka a sense of normalcy. It shone as if society wasn't crumbling at that very second, as if they didn't fight in a war that led to a calamity. As if Midnight hadn't died, as if her friends were happy and laughing around watching TV together. As if Kaminari was awake.
She falls asleep for the very first time, listening to his heart monitor and its' steady beeps, sitting on a chair by his bedside. It felt uncomfortable, sleeping on a chair, but Kaminari's presence consoled her mind, no matter how cheesy it sounded. Although unbeknownst to Kyouka, the moonlight glimmered on both of them together, as if to connect them by fate.
"...Jirou?"
Kyouka was deep asleep, as the result of drifting in and out of consciousness for the past couple of days. Kaminari gave a soft smile at the sight of her sleeping face, but his smile fell into a panic as he remembered what had happened. They were in a battle and he had been struck by rubble.
"Jirou! What happened?! How long have I been asleep!?" Kaminari shook Kyouka's shoulders, watching as she slowly awoken and her eyes fluttered. He internally commented on how adorable she was, but this wasn't the time to dwell on his feelings for the girl.
Kyouka's eyes lit up as she realized that Kaminari was awake. "K-Kaminari!? Oh my God, you're finally awake." She couldn't stop herself from grinning widely. She didn't want to stop.
"How long was I gone?" He asked, rubbing his head. "What happened to everyone else?"
"You were only asleep for three - no, four days. Maybe five. But everyone else is fine.. I think." She had conveniently left out the part about Midnight, part of her not wanting to add onto the load he already has, and the other part still not accepting that she's gone.
"You think?"
Kyouka tenses up for a moment. "Midoriya isn't awake." She sighs, and with a quieter, a more somber tone, "But.. Mid-"
"Oh.. I'm glad everyone else is fine. I'm sure Midoriya will make it, that guy's tough." Kaminari visibly relaxes, his mouth perking up to a smile. Kaminari didn't hear what she was about to tell him, and she stiffens as she opens her mouth to break the news to him, but ultimately decides against it.
Kyouka chuckled a bit, a laugh that felt uncomfortable in her own throat because of how fake it was. She looked at the clock, the time showing that it was an hour past midnight. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'll go get a doctor." She smiles bitterly, staring at her lap because she couldn't bear to face him after deliberately lying to him.
"Thanks, Jirou!" Kaminari grins at her as she gets up from the chair. Her heart skips a beat and she can feel her face heat up as she smiles back and walks out the room. What she doesn't see, though, is how his smile drops and his brows furrow as soon as she leaves the room.
After a minute, Kyouka walks back to Kaminari's room with a doctor behind her. Kaminari was sitting upright, staring outside the window. The doctor began testing on him, checking his heart rate and all that medical stuff. As she walked closer to him, she took a moment to look at him. The glint in his eyes as he absentmindedly gazed at the moon, the way his hair glowed in the light. He's beautiful, she mused to herself.
"..Ahem. Jirou-san." The doctor cleared his throat. "Did you hear what I said?"
Kyouka jumped slightly after being caught staring at the boy, her cheeks flushing like she was a deer caught in the headlights. She saw Kaminari chuckle lightly in the corner of her eyes and sighed. "Sorry. I was spacing out. What were you saying?"
The doctor just smirked. "He's fine. His vitals are all normal. His heart rate is a little high, but it's not a cause for concern." Kaminari blushed at that part. "He should be ready to go by the morning as we run more tests. Would you like a moment alone?"
Kyouka finds herself absentmindedly nodding. The doctor nods in confirmation and makes his way out, pausing right at the entrance to wink at Kyouka, as if to encourage her on whatever young love he saw between them.
She feels her face reddening and as she was about to retort back to the doctor who's already gone, Kaminari blurts out, "The moon is beautiful."
Kyouka couldn't find the words to reply. It wasn't like him to suddenly get sentimental. She watched as Kaminari stared outside with an emotion on his face that she couldn't figure out. For Kaminari to be silent with such a focused, yet somewhat sad look on his face, something had to be really wrong.
"It's raining."
She looked outside, and sure enough, it was raining lightly - just a few specks.
But before she could say anything, he takes the words out of her mouth. Turning around, he bluntly asks, "Jirou. You're hiding something, aren't you?"
Her body stiffened and her throat stuck. No, that wasn't a question. That was a statement. He had seen right through her when she tried to hide Midnight's death. She took a deep breath, nodding slowly, tears beginning to well up.
Kaminari's eyes widen as he notices her tearing up. "H-hey.. What's wrong? What happened?"
Kyouka's heartbeat rapidly rises as she begin panicking. She dreaded having to tell him, hoping she could put the responsibility onto someone else. But she can't do that - Kaminari knows something is wrong. So she has to suck it up and tell him.
"Midnight-sensei... She's..."
Kyouka sees Kaminari's face pales. They make eye contact and exchange a million unspoken words. She knows Kaminari is smart enough to piece it together.
"She's... dead..?" Kaminari asks, his voice hoarse and desperately clinging onto the small hope that somehow he's wrong about the whole situation, that his teacher isn't dead. The teacher who pushed him to make his move on the frontlines. Without realizing, his eyes begin tearing up too when Kyouka doesn't respond and he sees a tear fall from her eyes.
"And that's not all. Gigantomachia destroyed several cities, god knows how many heroes and civilians are dead, Aizawa lost a leg and an eye, Todoroki's family history got broadcasted into the public, half of the top heroes are out of commission, there were seven prison breaks, including tartarus, and.. and.." Kyouka spoke in one breath. She sobs into her hands, the gravity of the situation catching up to her. After a moment, she let out a loud sigh. "I'm sorry. I haven't slept in days."
Kaminari was stunned. He never saw Kyouka act so.. unnerved. He had so many questions and was also beginning to panic as it became clear to him that the whole situation was deeper than he thought. He looked outside, trying to figure out what to do with Jirou, when he noticed the rain getting heavier and louder. He turned back to Jirou. He would ask the questions he had, but right now, he had something more important to do.
"Jirou..." He trailed off, not sure how to respond to a girl crying during some sort of huge catastrophe that he doesn't even know about. "Come here," he held his arms out, inviting her into a hug. Kyouka looked up and wiped her eyes. It might've been her hazy eyesight after crying, but she could've sworn she saw a light dust of pink on Kaminari's cheeks. She felt flustered too, of course, but she still dove into his arms, sobbing loudly into his chest without shame.
"Shh.. Shh.. It's okay, Jirou. I'm here." Kaminari was never the best at comforting people. He rubbed circles in Kyouka's back, hoping to soothe her nerves even just a little bit. It does the job fine, until a thunder crashes and startles both of them. Looking outside, he realizes that a huge thunderstorm is approaching. He sighs at the gloomy weather, which definitely did not help the crying girl in his arms.
"The public is questioning about what it means to be a hero. It... it got me thinking as well. I can't even call myself a hero anymore. I... I couldn't save even one life out there." Kyouka let out her frustrations between sniffles, subconsciously leaning into Kaminari's touch. "I'm... not a hero at all. It's driving me crazy. We failed all those people."
Kaminari felt his tears overflowing, hearing someone so dear to him sound so hopeless. The same girl who got him to move while he was on the frontlines, shaking in fear. The very same girl he grew to fall in love over the course of the school year. "Jirou... That's not true. You saved me."
He felt Kyouka freeze for a second. "Huh?"
Kaminari flushed, his heartbeat increasing. He really hoped Kyouka couldn't feel his heartbeat right now. "Back in the frontlines, I was panicking out of my mind. I just wanted to be with you guys. But then... Midnight-sensei told me something." He swallowed bitterly, thinking of the teacher who he just found out had died. "She told me to think of the person most important to me... and I thought of you." He sniffles as his tears finally start running. The thunder and rain outside crackling, so loud that it starts drilling into his ears. He turns his head, noticing how the moon was almost completely out of sight.
Kyouka thought back to when she had her earphones plugged into the ground to listen for enemies. She had heard Kaminari panicking and Midnight-sensei's advice. What she did not think was that he thought of her, of all people. She thought that the friendly, happy-go-lucky Kaminari who tied the class together would've thought of all of his friends. Her eyes widen in shock at this revelation and her face definitely looked like a tomato now.
"Me..? Why?"
She heard Kaminari's heart skip a beat and his breath hitch for a moment. He clearly hesitates before speaking shyly, "Well... This is probably not the best time to say this, but... I love you, Jirou."
Kyouka sat up immediately, almost whacking her head on the wall. "W-what!?" She stammers, her cheeks red and her tears long stopped.
Kaminari wiped his own tears and chuckled lightly. He grabbed for her hand and noted how she didn't budge at all. "I love you, Jirou. Like, in a romantic way. A not-bro way. Always have. I love how you care about everyone, how you're so passionate about your interests, and h-"
"Agh!! Stop that!!" Kyouka felt like her heart was gonna explode at any moment now. She felt like she was on fire, but in the best way possible. Maybe Kaminari electrocuted her. "I.. I like you too." She shyly mumbled under her breath.
"Huh? What was that?" Kaminari perked up, feigning ignorance.
"Seriously..? I said that.. I, um, like you too."
"Haha, I heard that the first time. I just wanted to hear you say it again." Kaminari smiled - a genuine smile, one full of love and affection. A smile that Kyouka just couldn't get mad at. "Jirou. You said you hadn't slept in a few days, right? You should sleep, really. I feel bad for waking you up."
"Huh? Oh, it's fine. I'd have to wait for my parents to pick me up." She was sleepy - maybe it was the weather - but she was also ecstatic and exhilarated. She truly did feel like she got electrocuted. She smiled softly at Kaminari, a smile that no one else would get to see.
"You can sleep with me!" Kaminari grinned, holding his thumbs up. His cheeky smile fell into horror as he realized the unintentional innuendo he accidentally said. "Not like that! I mean, on this bed. Together. Sleeping. Yeah. Wait, there isn't even enough room."
If it were any other time, Kyouka would've hit him with her earphones, blushing furiously and berating him. But right now, she's content just being with him. So she brushed it aside and sat on the chair by his bedside and rested her head on his lap.
And in the hospital room, as the moon shone and the thunderstorm began clearing up, with a light touch of pink on her cheeks and a blissful smile, Kyouka slept peacefully for the first time in days.