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Kyouka sat clad in what she could only call a cheap costume courtesy of her best friend Yaomomo and the rest of the hero course students deciding abruptly to dress up and have a party to celebrate the holidays. She wasn't a huge fan of such a large gathering, but she'd participate regardless because this would be one of the last times she'd get to see her friends before they moved on to their second year.
Surprisingly, she was noticing a lot of pairings happening around her, some that she wouldn't have even expected to be a thing until she saw it with her very eyes, for example: Katsuki Bakugou, Class 1-A's resident hothead, was previously by his lonesome sitting in a corner of the room before Tokage Setsuna of Class 1-B found her way over to him and started flirting. Hell, even Mina was enjoying some quality time with Sero; it just seemed like everyone was slowly starting to split up into groups, everyone except her at least.
Or that was what she thought before she spotted a certain green haired individual check his phone briefly before slipping outside of the party away from everyone else. How odd too, she viewed him not moments prior lifting a table filled with dishware with ease and now he was vanishing before he could really enjoy the festivities. Was he alright? Should she check on him since the others are too preoccupied enjoying their teenage years?
She shrugged, downing the rest of her soda in a plastic cup before making her way towards the direction she had last seen him: The main door. It was a rather large door, one that many of their classmates noted wasn't exactly fit for anyone of their size, but it was necessary for anyone that could have been a bit of a "grower" like Mountain Lady.
Kyouka made her way over, spotting the greenette outside in the front yard through a window, but what was odd was that he was not alone. It seemed that he was talking to Mei Hatsume of the support course, was this about upgrades or something? Maybe she could get some insight on what he was requesting of her if she listened in…
Smirking while imagining any sort of cool gadget that came to mind, the purplette tuned out the lard party behind her, a skill she acquired due to having super hearing, and listened into the conversation happening just outside of the building. Little did she know that this conversation was a lot deeper than she had realized.
"...And I didn't want you to get the wrong idea about us. I appreciated you coming by as often as you did to check on me, but we're practically business associates; A future client. It's just a courtesy to treat you kindly." Kyouka heard Mei say, surprising the purplette as she listened. This suddenly took a turn, it was a conversation she probably should not have been hearing.
"R-Right, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know I was giving that impression…" Izuku spoke softly, rubbing the back of his neck idly as the cold wind breezed past the two of them. "Regardless, you're still my go-to for upgrades, so I hope this doesn't ruin that. You do better work than the professionals, heh."
Mei smiled gently, shaking her head before she turned to make her way to the support studio. Her work was never done, she just needed to settle some things beforehand. "Of course not, you're my number one client. Feel free to come visit when you want, I've got to get back to work on my babies."
Izuku waved her off as she left, Kyouka watched a cloud of mist escape from his mouth as he sighed and sat down on the steps that lead to the dorms, enjoying the festive night that allowed him to think before he would even think of heading back inside. He needed to clear his head, and as Kyouka witnessed, he was doing just that.
The purplette was shocked to say the least, she found it odd that Izuku and Mei of all people had something going on there, or maybe they didn't? She only heard the ending of that conversation, and from the looks of it there was no good outcome. Izuku's mind was filled with thoughts, and his eyes (From the angle she could see) were pointed up at the sky as he pondered an endless number of them.
Kyouka could feel a strange pull towards the greenette. He sat outside of the dorm only a few feet away from her with only glass and a door in the way, and for some reason she felt that she should be there with him. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but leaving a classmate alone after hearing something like that? It may not have been her place, but she definitely was going to try to do something to help cheer him up.
As she made her way outside, Izuku swiftly turned his head to face whomever just opened the door behind him, surprised to find that it was the resident rocker of 1-A clad in her costume. It was a tad funny to see the two of them matching at least a little, under normal circumstances their choices of clothing couldn't have been more different from one another.
"Oh, Jirou… Did you need something?" He asked innocently, feigning positivity as he often found himself doing as of late. The mixture of his destiny and school had been weighing on him, not that he let it show but there were often cracks in his behavior. Just like now.
"No, but…" She started, slowly making her way down the steps before sitting beside the greenette and pulling her legs closer to her for warmth as she turned to face him. "It sounds like you do."
"H-Huh, how-"
She simply pointed to her jacks, "I, uh… I kinda overheard a bit of that conversation. Are you alright? Do you need to talk about it?"
"No?" He said, making it sound more like a question than an actual answer. "I don't know, I just… Have you ever wondered if you're just incapable of something? Like maybe it just wasn't meant to be, even if you really want it to?"
Kyouka searched deep within herself for the answer, recalling countless times of her trying to play instruments or trying to be someone she wasn't. She knew that feeling well, it wasn't exactly foreign to her, but what interested her was what made him ask such a question? As far as she knew he was the type that believed everyone could do anything.
"Yeah, a lot of times actually." She started, letting out a misty breath as she shivered due to the cold. "So many times I tried to give up instruments, or even parts of myself in order to fit into what standards I thought I should have, but I didn't give up. And eventually I mastered what it meant to be myself in a way…"
Izuku smiled at that, genuinely smiled at the fact she was able to stay hopeful despite the odds. "How did you do it? How did you stick with it even with how frustrating it was?"
"...I guess I just turned the frustration back on itself and doubled down on skills and traits I wanted for myself." She explained, her gloved hand moving some of her hair behind her ear idly before returning to hugging her legs closer to herself. "Now it's my turn: what happened? How does this relate to your talk with Hatsume?"
Izuku's smile fell at that and he hesitated before answering, "Well… We're young and all, so don't laugh, okay?"
"I promise to try." She joked, sharing a small chuckle with the greenette as he rolled his eyes and continued.
"I guess I just… I want to know what love is like. I'm sixteen years old and I've never once experienced love or even a relationship despite this being the age where that happens. I try to get close to people in order to give it a shot, but it just never works out." He started, mimicking Kyouka's position a tad as he crossed his arms over his knees and let out another misty sigh, "Sometimes I wonder if I'm even capable; if I'll ever be capable. I'm not much to look at, my personality is kinda bland, and above all else, I'm… I'm sensitive. I'm not exactly like Kacchan or something, words can hurt more than a punch. I would know."
Kyouka was astounded to find that Izuku had troubles of the heart, but she could understand why he'd be having these thoughts in mind. She too was feeling a bit out of place during the party as well as just around their class in general. There had been quite a few relationships popping up, and now there were only a few single people left in their class, her included.
"Is this because of the others? I know you were kind of close with Uraraka before she got with Tsu…" Kyouka mentioned, watching as the greenette's shoulders slouched and he let out a grunt.
"That was an example of me trying to get close to someone. I wasn't upset, it's not like I really held any romantic feelings, I guess I just wanted to try and feel something, y'know?" He explained, throwing an arm forward with an open palm as if he was pointing to some sort of imaginary figure known as feelings. "But that was a bust. It's hard to connect with people, it's always been that way… I know it's just stupid angst, but you can't help but wonder about things you never have, y'know?"
Izuku's eyes locked with Kyouka's, the two of them sharing a brief moment of silence as the light from the moon in the starry night sky reflected off their eyes.
"I get it." She started, letting go of her legs as she sat up and turned her face towards the moon. "But even so, it's not a reason to give up. You will find someone one day, someone who has no problem sitting down and talking to you for hours, someone who doesn't mind how sensitive you are, someone who can reassure you and bring you that feeling of love. You just have to flip that frustration on it's head and find that one person that makes you feel at home."
Izuku raised a brow, "A person making me feel like home? What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, don't be like that, you should know! Someone who makes you feel safe, someone who can bring you comfort in dark times, someone who is your safespace. Where you can feel like yourself without judgment and just… Exist." Kyouka ranted, her tangent ending as she couldn't really find the proper words and ended up using "exist" instead. "I don't know, does this make any sense? I'm kind of in the same boat as you to be honest…"
Izuku thought for a moment before his eyes widened and he nodded, smiling at the purplette. "Yeah… Yeah, I think it makes sense. Thanks for that, I think I just really needed to hear that."
"Well, I'm glad I could help despite my own inexperience," She said, rising from her position as another cold breeze passed by, making her hair flail with the wind as she shivered. "I think I'm gonna head back inside now, are you coming?"
"O-Oh, uh… You can go on without me, I think I just need a few more minutes to think." He informed, watching as she turned her back to him and walked away. He felt his face growing hotter as he watched her leave, the moonlight hitting her face in that moment as the wind breezed by just caused his heart to soar and he wasn't sure if she could hear it or not. "But, Jirou? Do… Do you think we could do something like this again? Just hangout, like, just the two of us?"
Kyouka turned back around as her hand reached the door, seeing that the greenette had stood up suddenly before averting his gaze with a light blush dusting his cheeks. For some reason she couldn't help but feel her own face heat up at his suggestion, even moreso when she realized that she had just thought that he looked cute when he was all bashful like that.
"Really?" She found herself mumbling the question, realizing that he hadn't heard her and instead fumbled to reply a second time. "U-Uh, sure! We can meet tomorrow for lunch or something after packing. We'll just ride the same train since we're in the same area."
Izuku smiled and turned to face her again, nodding in confirmation. That worked better than he had hoped. "Y-Yeah, I think we can do that. I'll see you inside."
Kyouka waved to him before heading off inside ahead of him, leaving the greenette to his own devices. He watched as the door shut, letting out a sigh as his face grew hotter than before at the realization of what he had just experienced. "A feeling, huh..?"
He put a hand to his beating chest and smiled, "I guess I'll be learning of home."