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The common room was unusually quiet.
Most of Class A had disappeared for the evening.
Some were training.
Some were studying in the library.
Kaminari had somehow convinced half the class to watch a terrible action movie in another lounge.
Izuku, meanwhile, sat curled up on one end of the sofa.
Three hero analysis books lay open on the coffee table.
His notebook was balanced on one knee.
A pencil rested between his teeth.
"...Hmm..."
He scribbled another observation into the margin.
Crossed it out.
Rewrote it.
Then reached for his phone.
Not to check messages.
Just to press play.
Soft music drifted quietly from the phone's speakers.
Instrumental.
Gentle enough that it wouldn't disturb anyone else.
Exactly the kind of background noise he liked while studying.
He smiled to himself.
Perfect.
"...You're listening to music through your phone speaker?"
Izuku jumped.
The pencil fell from his mouth and
clattered onto the floor.
"Huh?!"
Kyoka Jirō stood behind the sofa, one eyebrow raised.
"...Sorry!"
He scrambled to lower the volume.
"I didn't think anyone else was in here."
"I literally just walked in."
"...Right."
She glanced at the phone.
"...Where are your headphones?"
Izuku froze.
"..."
"...I think I left them in my room."
Jirō stared at him for a second.
Then sighed dramatically.
"...You're unbelievable."
"I am?"
"You walked all the way down here."
"Brought four notebooks."
"Three textbooks."
"Two different coloured pens."
"And forgot the one thing you actually needed."
"..."
"...When you put it like that..."
She laughed.
"...You're such a nerd."
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck,
smiling sheepishly.
"...Yeah."
Jirō walked around the sofa and sat
beside him.
Not right next to him.
Just close enough that their shoulders
almost lined up.
She pulled her phone from her pocket.
Untangled a pair of wired earbuds.
Then, without a word...
She removed one.
And held it out toward him.
Izuku blinked.
"...Huh?"
"You can borrow it."
"...Really?"
"I've got two."
She wiggled the spare earbud.
"It'd be weird if I used both."
He laughed softly.
"...Thanks."
He accepted it carefully, as though he were afraid he might break it.
Their phones sat side by side on the coffee table.
"...Hang on."
Izuku frowned.
"If we're using your earphones..."
"...Doesn't that mean we have to listen to your music?"
Jirō smirked.
"...Exactly."
He chuckled.
"...Okay."
She plugged one earbud into her own ear.
He copied her.
A moment later...
Music filled the silence.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
A mellow indie song carried by gentle guitar and soft vocals.
Izuku had never heard it before.
He closed his notebook without really thinking about it.
"...Well?"
Jirō asked after a minute.
"...What do you think?"
He listened until the chorus ended.
Then smiled.
"...I like it."
She looked genuinely pleased.
"...Really?"
"Mhm."
"I don't usually pay much attention to music."
"...I noticed."
"...Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize."
She leaned back into the sofa.
"...Maybe I can fix that."
Izuku laughed.
"...Fix?"
"Mhm."
"I'm officially making it my mission."
"Your mission?"
She nodded confidently.
"To improve your playlist."
"...That sounds serious."
"It is."
She offered him a mock stern look.
"No more listening to whatever the algorithm throws at you."
"...I don't think it's been that bad."
"The algorithm recommended whale sounds to Kaminari."
Izuku blinked.
"...Seriously?"
"Mhm."
"He listened to them for three days because he thought they were relaxing."
"...Were they?"
She burst out laughing.
"I have absolutely no idea."
Before long...
Izuku was laughing too.
Their books sat forgotten on the coffee table.
The music kept playing.
One song became another.
Then another.
Neither of them noticed that almost an hour had passed.
Or that somewhere along the way...
Sharing one earbud had started to feel strangely... natural.
"...Okay."
Jirō reached over and paused the music.
Izuku looked up.
"Hm?"
"I've decided something."
He smiled nervously.
"Should I be worried?"
"Probably."
She tucked one leg underneath herself on the sofa.
"So far..."
"You've listened to my music."
"Mhm."
"You've liked my music."
"Mhm."
"You've even laughed at my
unnecessarily long explanations about why I like certain songs."
"I did."
She pointed a finger at him.
"Now it's your turn."
Izuku blinked.
"My turn?"
"I want to hear your playlist."
He looked at his phone.
Then back at her.
"...It's not very interesting."
"I'll be the judge of that."
"I mostly just listen to whatever helps me study."
"Midoriya."
She folded her arms.
"Nobody says that with confidence."
"...Fair."
He unlocked his phone anyway.
His music library wasn't very large.
Most of it consisted of instrumental tracks.
Movie soundtracks.
Video game music.
The occasional hero documentary theme.
Jirō leaned over to look.
"...You have a playlist called 'Thinking.'"
Izuku's ears immediately turned pink.
"I use it while analyzing quirks."
"You also have one called..."
She squinted.
"'Walking Home.'"
"...Different music fits different moods."
"I can see that."
"And..."
She tried very hard not to laugh.
"'Organising Notes Version Three.'"
"There was a Version Two."
"I assumed there was."
She finally gave in and laughed.
Not at him.
Never at him.
Just because it was so wonderfully...
Izuku.
He laughed too.
"I know they're weird."
"They're not weird."
She smiled warmly.
"They're incredibly you."
"Go on then."
She nudged his shoulder gently.
"Play something."
Izuku hesitated before selecting a track from the "Walking Home" playlist.
Soft piano drifted into both earbuds.
A violin joined a few moments later.
No lyrics.
Just a melody that somehow felt peaceful without ever becoming sleepy.
Jirō closed her eyes.
She listened all the way through.
Only when the final note faded did she speak.
"...I didn't expect this."
Izuku looked worried.
"...In a bad way?"
She immediately shook her head.
"No."
"In a surprising way."
She smiled to herself.
"I thought you'd listen to All Might speeches set to dramatic music."
He burst out laughing.
"I don't!"
"You don't?"
"No!"
"...Not anymore."
She raised an eyebrow.
"...Not anymore?"
His blush deepened.
"There might have been a phase."
"A phase?"
"I was fourteen."
She laughed so hard she had to pull the earbud out for a second.
"I am never letting you live that down."
"...Please do."
"I absolutely won't."
The laughter settled into comfortable smiles.
Jirō looked back at the phone.
"...Can I ask something?"
"Of course."
"Why this song?"
Izuku thought for a moment.
Then shrugged.
"I don't really know."
"It..."
He searched for the right words.
"...Feels like walking home after a good day."
Jirō blinked.
"...That's oddly specific."
"I know."
"But every time I hear it..."
"I picture the sun setting."
"The streets getting quieter."
"And knowing everyone's safe."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then smiled.
"...You really do hear music differently."
"I do?"
"Mhm."
"I hear melodies."
"You hear stories."
He hadn't thought about it like that before.
"...Maybe."
Jirō picked up her own phone again.
"I've got one."
"One what?"
"A song."
She searched for it.
"This one always reminds me of sitting on my bedroom floor with my parents."
"They'd be rehearsing."
"I'd be pretending to do homework."
She laughed softly.
"I was actually just listening."
She pressed play.
A gentle acoustic guitar filled the silence.
Simple. Warm. Comfortable.
Izuku smiled before the first verse had even finished.
"...I can see it."
"You can?"
"Mhm."
"I can almost picture it."
She looked at him curiously.
"You really imagine scenes when you listen."
"I guess I do."
"Huh."
She rested her chin on her hand.
"I've never met anyone who listens quite like you."
Izuku smiled sheepishly.
"I've never had someone explain music to me before."
For a moment...
Neither of them spoke.
The song continued quietly between them.
One earbud each.
One piece of music.
Two completely different perspectives.
And somehow...
That made listening together even better.
By the end of the week… it had happened three more times.
Neither of them had planned it.
It just… kept happening.
If Izuku was studying in the common room, Jirō somehow wasn't far behind.
If Jirō wanted to listen to a new album, she somehow ended up sitting beside Izuku.
One earbud.
Every time.
It became so normal that neither of them questioned it anymore.
"...You're smiling."
Izuku looked up from his notebook.
"I am?"
"Mhm."
Jirō paused the song.
"You always smile at this bit."
He blinked.
"I do?"
"You've done it four times."
She pointed at him.
"Exactly there."
As though on cue, the chorus began again.
Without realizing it…
Izuku smiled.
Jirō laughed triumphantly.
"I knew it!"
He looked completely bewildered.
"...I didn't even notice."
"I did."
She grinned.
"You do little things like that all the time."
"...Little things?"
"Mhm."
"You tap your pencil when you're thinking."
"You mumble when you're excited."
"And..."
She smiled warmly.
"...you smile at songs before you even realize you're doing it."
Izuku scratched the back of his neck.
"...You're really observant."
She shrugged.
"I guess I pay attention."
For some reason… that made his cheeks feel warm.
The following afternoon, Izuku found a folded piece of paper tucked inside one of his notebooks.
He frowned.
"...What's this?"
Opening it carefully, he found neat handwriting.
‘Homework.
Listen to Track 7 on the playlist I sent you.
Tomorrow I'll be asking for your thoughts.
- J’
He laughed quietly.
"...Homework?"
The next evening...
Jirō was already sitting on the sofa when he walked into the common room.
"Well?"
She looked up expectantly.
"Did you do your homework?"
"I did."
"And?"
He sat beside her.
"...Track 7."
She nodded eagerly.
"What did you think?"
He smiled.
"It starts off sounding a little lonely."
Jirō's eyebrows lifted.
"...Go on."
"But then another guitar comes in."
"And after that..."
"The percussion."
"It keeps building."
"So..."
He searched for the right words.
"...By the end, it doesn't sound lonely
anymore."
"It sounds..."
He smiled.
"...like someone found the person they were looking for."
Jirō stared at him.
"...That's exactly what it's about."
Izuku blinked.
"...Really?"
"The songwriter said it was about finding someone who makes the world feel less quiet."
For a second… neither of them spoke.
Then Jirō reached over and gently nudged his shoulder.
"...See?"
"I told you."
"You don't just hear music."
"You hear people."
"Oi!"
A familiar voice echoed across the common room.
Kaminari wandered in carrying a bag of crisps.
He stopped dead.
"...Again?"
Jirō looked over.
"...Again what?"
"The earbud thing!"
He pointed dramatically.
"You two have been doing this all week!"
Izuku looked genuinely confused.
"We have?"
"YES!"
Kaminari looked toward the kitchen.
"Guys!"
Within seconds, Mina and Kirishima wandered in.
Mina took one look at the sofa and immediately gasped.
"Oh my gosh..."
Kirishima blinked.
"...Have they got one earbud each?"
"They do!"
Mina clapped her hands together.
"That's adorable!"
"It is not," Jirō protested, though her face was beginning to turn pink.
"It absolutely is," Mina replied.
"You've basically got your own romance anime gimmick."
Izuku's face went bright red.
"...R-romance anime?!"
"We're just listening to music!"
Mina and Kaminari exchanged identical grins.
"Uh-huh."
"Sure."
Kirishima smiled innocently.
"I think it's kinda sweet."
Jirō buried her face in one hand.
"...I can't believe I'm friends with any of you."
The room filled with laughter.
Izuku laughed too.
He wasn't even embarrassed anymore.
Not really.
Because without thinking… he reached over… picked up the loose earbud from the coffee table… and held it out toward Jirō.
She looked at it.
Then at him.
A small smile spread across her face.
"...Thanks."
She placed it in her ear.
The teasing continued around them.
Neither of them paid much attention.
Another song began.
And once again… the rest of the world quietly faded into the background.
The teasing didn't stop.
If anything… it became part of the routine.
Whenever Izuku and Jirō disappeared into the common room together-
Kaminari would dramatically announce:
"Music club is in session!"
Mina would ask what today's soundtrack was.
Even Aizawa, passing through one evening, had simply looked at the two of them sharing an earbud before saying:
"...Keep the volume down."
Neither of them ever bothered denying it anymore.
It was easier that way.
A few days later, Jirō arrived carrying a small notebook.
Izuku looked up from his studying.
"...More homework?"
She grinned.
"No."
She slid the notebook across the coffee table.
"I've got an experiment."
He looked intrigued.
"What kind of experiment?"
"I wrote down ten songs."
"Don't read the titles."
"I just want you to listen."
"And?"
"I want you to tell me what each one makes you think about."
Izuku blinked.
"...That's it?"
"Mhm."
"No right answers."
"No wrong answers."
She smiled.
"I just want to know what you hear."
An hour later… they were halfway through the list.
Jirō had barely written anything.
Just little notes beside each track.
Hope. Home. Rain. Starting over.
She wasn't writing about the music.
She was writing about Izuku's answers.
The eighth song ended.
It was slow. Gentle. Built almost entirely around piano.
Jirō looked at him.
"So?"
Izuku thought for a long moment.
"It sounds..."
He searched for the words.
"...like waiting."
"Waiting?"
"Mhm."
"But not in a bad way."
He smiled faintly.
"Like..." "...when you know someone is coming back."
"You don't know exactly when."
"But you're never worried."
"Because you trust they'll come."
Jirō stared at him.
She'd listened to that piece dozens of times.
She'd always thought it sounded sad.
He'd somehow found hope inside it.
"...What?"
Izuku asked.
"...Nothing."
She smiled softly.
"I just..."
"...I really like the way you listen."
They continued through the rest of the playlist.
When the final song faded away, Izuku handed her notebook back.
"...Did I pass?"
She laughed.
"There wasn't a test."
"...Good."
"Although..."
She looked down at the pages.
"...You did kind of change how I hear some of these."
"I did?"
"Mhm."
"I've listened to some of these songs for years."
"I always focused on the melody."
She looked at him with quiet admiration.
"You always seem to find the person inside the song."
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck.
"...I don't know if that's true."
"It is."
She closed the notebook.
"I think..."
She hesitated.
"I've started listening differently."
The common room was quiet again.
Rain tapped gently against the windows.
A familiar soundtrack to another peaceful evening.
Jirō picked up her phone.
"...One more."
"You sure?"
"Mhm."
"I've been saving this one."
She pressed play.
Soft guitar.
A gentle drumbeat.
Warm vocals.
Neither of them spoke while it played.
When it finished...
Jirō didn't ask her usual question.
Instead she simply looked at him.
"...Well?"
Izuku smiled.
"It sounds..." "...comfortable."
She tilted her head.
"Comfortable?"
"Mhm."
He nodded.
"The sort of song that reminds you..."
He glanced at the earbud they were sharing.
"...that even ordinary moments can become your favorite memories."
Jirō felt her heart skip.
Because that wasn't what the song had been written about.
Not officially.
But somehow… it described exactly how she'd started feeling about these evenings.
Not the songs.
Not the playlists.
Not even the music.
Just… this.
Sitting beside him.
Sharing one earbud.
Watching him smile whenever a chorus found him before he found it.
She smiled to herself.
"...I think..."
"Hm?"
"...That might be my new favorite song."
Izuku smiled.
"It's really good."
She laughed quietly.
"It is now."
He looked at her curiously.
"...What changed?"
Jirō met his eyes.
Then looked away again, smiling to herself.
"...I heard it differently this time."
And for the first time… she realized it wasn't the music she'd been looking forward to each evening.
It was who she'd been listening with.