Title: band practice

Prompt: new kid au

Character/Pairing: jiro, Yaoyorozu

A/N: Written for the Bnha BB. : ) A little late in posting because I was sick but here it is now. The pacing in this is a mess since I rewrote it so many times.

Summary: Yaoyorozu did say she wanted to make more friends in her new school. She just didn't mean via tutoring Jiro.

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"I'm copying your homework," a confident, imposing voice ordered.

Jiro looked up from her sheet music, unsurprised to find it was Kaminari. There was that dopey look on his face again, the sign that someone had been spending a little too much time sniffing highlighters. She raised an eyebrow, not bothering to pause her playlist. This wasn't even worth removing her earbuds. "No."

His bravado vanished immediately and he slumped forward. Hands clasped, he bowed his head and begged. "Please?" When she remained silent, he pleaded, "I'll do anything."

A tempting offer. Highly tempting. She took in his teary eyes, his nervous smile, and shook her head disapprovingly. "No."

"Come on!" Switching tactics, he crouched next to her desk and gripped the edge. "You do this too!"

"Never to you," she snapped, flicking each of his fingers. "You." Flick. "Never." Flick. "Help." Flick. "Back."

"Ouch!" Kaminari recoiled, cradling his hands. He shot her a grump glare. "What's that gotta do with anything?"

"Everything." She rolled her eyes. They'd known each other since middle school and she was tired of this old game. "Get someone else."

"Boo." Pouting, he looked furtively at the rest of their gang.

Jiro almost wished him luck. He'd need it—she followed his train of sight to the rest of her friends. Sero was chatting excitedly with Kirishima about last night's wrestling match. Despite how fake the whole affair was, they both got really into it. They'd cheer when the face appeared, boo when the heel came out, and it was almost like watching a drama unfold when there was a match. Sero was almost as straight-laced as she was, on that border between rebel and normal. His uniform was on properly, each button properly closed, and if it weren't for the constant mischievous grin on his face, you'd be forgiven for thinking he was a good student. Kirishima, on the other hand, might have the heart of a model student but you couldn't tell that by looking at him. His red hair was always in disarray, as were the rest of his clothes. A wild style, but his easy-going grin and friendly nature made him popular with the class despite that.

Then there was the last of them, Bakugou, moodily sitting at his chair with a perpetual scowl on his face. He only had two modes at school: angry and angrier. After class, there was the rare third mode: when they managed to coax a smile out, an amused snort and a cocky retort.

To be honest, if there was any reason they ended up with a bad rep, it was him.

A bell rang and Kaminari sat on her desk. Sero came up to her. "I'll trade math for English."

"Deal." She smirked broadly as she swapped homework with Sero, ignoring Kaminari's indignant glare. "See, that's how it's supposed to work."

Sero looked up from the sheet. "What, was he trying to leach off you again?"

Before Kaminari could respond, the door swung open.

"Class." Their teacher, Aizawa, gave them a flat stare as he slouched toward his desk. A sloth would have looked more energetic. Dressed in black dress pants and a striped sweater, it was as though he had tried to wear his uniform and gave up halfway. Still, it was better than the other times it looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. Hell, he even looked stylish for once. When he'd reached his desk, he gestured to the door. "We have a new student."

In walked a princess. Ok, not an actually princess, but Jiro was pretty sure she was close to the real thing. There was something about dignified about her, with her neatly coiffed hair and proud expression that belonged more in a movie than in real life. Even Iida, the class president, who sat as though he had a rod taped to his back, didn't walk as straight and tall as she did. Reaching the center of the blackboard, with a dainty hand she scrawled a name on the board. Even her letters were neat—who in the world could actually write nicely on a blackboard? Turning around, she bowed to the class. "I'm Yaoyorozu Momo."

Her eyes scanned the room and when they landed on hers, Jiro's hand involuntarily went up to wave. She couldn't stop herself. Behind her, Sero whistled.

"She's cute." Kaminari muttered.

"Why are you two not seated yet?" Aizawa's words came out in a drawl, little power or force behind them, but both Sero and Kaminari flinched and quickly went back to their seats. When everyone was seated, he pointed to a seat on the right, next to Asui. "That spot's free, it'll be your desk."

"Thank you." Even her voice was elegant.

Not that this was the time for that. Aizawa was still paying attention to her group and Jiro had to discretely copy homework and take off her earbuds without getting in trouble. Judging by Aizawa's stare, it might already be too late.

-x-

"I'll take you around." Asui—Yaoyorozu was pretty sure her name was Asui—stood in front of her desk, a helpful smile on her face. A short girl with a frog clip in her hair, she stood slightly hunched over.

Yaoyorozu resisted the urge to correct her posture. She'd found people rarely wanted that kind of advice, at least not on the first day. "Thank you."

"I'll help too!" Another girl skipped to the pair, her short brown hair curling around her head like a mushroom. When she reached Yaoyorozu's desk, she peered down at her notes in surprise. "Did you write all that?"

"Yes?" She looked down at her notes herself, wondering if she made a mistake. Their last class was English; perhaps she had made a grammatical or spelling mistake. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, definitely not." The girl's eyes were wide as she continued to stare at the notebook. "I can't believe you managed to actually write it all down!"

An ineloquent "Huh?" escaped Yaoyorozu's lips before she could stop it. Judging by the impressed expression on both girls faces, this school might be a little different than her old all girl's school. Around her, her other classmates perked up and started to pay attention. Scratch that, this place was very different.

"I'm terrible at English." The girl sighed, drooping. "Like really, really bad."

Asui patted her on her back comfortingly. "We can study together."

"Yes, I can help if you want." Yaoyorozu nodded, pushing her fingers together nervously. "I should have my old notes somewhere if you want to look at them."

"Really?" Overjoyed, the girl clasped Yaoyorozu's hands gratefully. "Thanks!" Then, as though remembering herself, she let go and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I'm Uraraka—probably should've done that first."

"Uraraka," Yaoyorozu repeated. "I'm Yaoyorozu—nice to meet you."

"Nice to…" Asui cocked her head, tapping her chin as she considered the phrase. "You're kinda formal when you speak."

"Formal?" Perplexed, Yaoyorozu stared at her classmate. "How so?"

"Like that!" Uraraka nodded her agreement, once more clasping Yaoyorozu's hands. "We're friends! It's ok to relax a little."

"Relax." Yaoyorozu frowned, mulling it over. Certainly, this school was a whole different animal than her old one. Gingerly, she formed her next sentence. "I'll attempt to?"

Judging by Uraraka's face, she'd missed the mark. "Close enough!"

"Anyways, we need to show her the school before lunch is over." Asui gently tugged Uraraka's hands away.

After Yaoyorozu put away her notebooks, the trio left the classroom. The school was not as grand as Yaoyorozu's old one, certainly lacking in funding in terms of size and even quality and quantity of goods. The library was not only smaller, but the books had a musty smell and looked older than her parents. There were several classrooms, near identical, on each floor, with a few special rooms for special classes—the art room, geography, music. Eventually, they were nearing the end of the corridor for the final and third floor when Uraraka could faintly hear music escaping from underneath one of the doors. They couldn't afford proper soundproof rooms then either. "What is that sound?"

"What?" Uraraka looked around before Yaoyorozu pointed at the door. Following her line of sight, she laughed. "Ohhh, that! They're the Back Rows."

"The back rows?" Yaoyorozu's brow furrowed. No matter how hard she thought it through, the meaning didn't get any clearer. "I'm sorry, I don't follow."

"It's the name of Jiro—right, you haven't met them." Asui bit her lip. After a moment's consideration, she approached the door and gestured for them to follow. "They're a band."

"A band?" Yaoyorozu had heard rumours of bands, playing with guitars and screaming instead of singing. Nothing at all like the magnificent orchestras or even the graceful quartets. Still, this would be a good time to get some firsthand information. Quietly, she peeked through the door's glass window.

A blonde boy jumped, strumming a guitar as electric as his grin. A black chord bounced around him like ribbon, miraculously not tangling around his legs. Near him a second guitar rang out, a tone deeper. A toothy boy played the instrument, its shape an oddity compared to the first. His foot tapped to the beat. A beat played out by the giant drum kit behind him. Surrounded by drums and cymbals, the angry boy from their class was furiously banging out a tempo. His hands jumped from place to place, dragging the band along his pace.

And leading the group, singing her heart out into a microphone, was a short-haired girl, the girl who'd waved at her this morning. They were all from Yaoyorozu's class, she realized. All of them. The singer was clutching the stand, hunching over it as she shouted something unintelligible into the head. While not entirely soundproof, the room blocked out enough noise that Yaoyorozu couldn't make out most of the song. Only that it was loud. How much louder did it have to be inside?

For a moment she forgot to breath. This was no confused mess, no unharmonic discord. It was…it was…

"Amazing," Yaoyorozu exhaled.

"It is, isn't it!" Urara whispered, excited. "They're a club, sorta, and they're gonna perform again at the festival. This is a new song."

"Let's go—Bakugou gets pissed whenever people watch them practice," Asui whispered, tugging on their sleeves. At Yaoyorozu's confused look, she added, "He's the drummer. Kaminari's on the guitar, Sero's on the bass, and that's Jiro singing. Kirishima joins them sometimes, but he's more like a club manager than a band member. They're all in our class."

Bakugou. Kaminari. Sero. Kirishima. She repeated their names to herself as they walked away, taking one last look at Jiro. Her cheeks red from exertion, she looked like a thing of fire as she danced around. Yaoyorozu had never seen anyone look so alive before. Passionate. She wondered when was the last time she'd looked like that. Her fingers twitched involuntarily, tapping along to the music. It stayed with her, even through their afternoon classes, even after she had cello practice and did her homework and all the other activities her parents had arranged.

When she closed her eyes, all she could see was that band performing, all she could hear was that beat, as though it were her own heartbeat.

-x-

There were few things that scared Jiro. Conversely, there were many things that annoyed her: Kaminari, her hippie parents, Iida when he went hardcore, Kaminari, attention, Mineta, and did she mention Kaminari? Even horror movies weren't any issue generally, good for a few chills and scares before ultimately being forgotten.

However, the piece of paper in front of her terrified her. Scrawled on the top was a red 60%. An almost failing grade. It was blood curdling to stare at it and she suddenly felt very cold. Her parents would have no issue with this, she knew, as long as her music grades were good. No, the school, on the other hand, would very much have problems with this. The only condition her band had for using the school to practice and even perform was that they all passed their tests.

And a sixty percent generally ended up going even lower and lower. Shakily, she turned to look at Kaminari. His face was as pale as hers as he looked up from his test. Turning the other direction, she saw that Sero looked only slightly disappointed, though next to him Kirishima's million-watt smile was down a few degrees. The only person she didn't have to check was Bakugou —despite his attitude, his grades were nothing to laugh at.

Well, fuck. They were screwed unless they came up with something fast. The moment class was over, she grabbed Kaminari's test before he could hide it. It was worse than she'd expected. "Fifty percent? Seriously?"

"Hey!" Reaching up, he tried to grab the test from her. When she smoothly dodged, he sighed and sat back down. "Yeah, yeah, still a pass."

"Barely. I don't even know if this counts as a pass even—Aizawa definitely won't like this." To emphasize her point, she hit the paper with the back of her hand. "And I thought my grades were bad."

"What'd you get?" Grumpy, he reached over and tried to grab her test, only for her to yank it away as well. There were a few downsides to sitting next to Kaminari, but his predictability was never one of them.

"Much better than you." Concerned, she turned to Kirishima. He'd wandered over, still a little downtrodden. "How bad is it?"

"54. Sero's fine at least." Kirishima sighed before roughly rubbing his head with both hands. After a few minutes, he clapped his cheeks. "Ok! I'll figure out how to fix this. A man has to clean up after his own mess."

"It's nice I can count on you." Jiro gave Kaminari a pointed glare. "What're you gonna do?"

Disgruntled, he rested his cheeks on the desk. "I'll figure something out."

"Will you? Really?" Jiro stared at him incredulously, wondering if it was more unbelievable that he said it or that he believed it.

Clenching his jaw, Kirishima crossed his arms. After a few seconds of humming, he suddenly beamed. "We just need help."

"Help?" Kaminari glanced at him disinterestedly, still slumped over his desk.

Energized, Kirishima merely grinned before heading to Bakugou. As they watched, he slammed his hands on his desk, earning an irate glare from Bakugou. "What."

It wasn't even a question. Jiro shivered, a chill running up her spine. Despite the years they've known each other, on some level Bakugou would always be scary. "He's going to get himself killed."

"Yep." Kaminari swallowed, nodding slowly. He clasped his hands together, as if in prayer. "I'll remember him."

"Should I…" Trailing off, she gestured helplessly at the tableau in front of them.

Grabbing her hand, Kaminari shook his head sadly. "He's as dead as our band." He gave a small salute and Jiro whacked him.

"Our band is not dead," she snarled, turning back to the scene. Whatever Kirishima had said, she'd missed. Somehow, he was still alive. So far. Judging by Bakugou's expression, it wasn't for long.

"Why." Again, another not-question. It was almost impressive for an artist that he was able to convey so much anger with so few words. If they ever went into the heavy metal genre, they were set.

"Come on, we can't perform otherwise." The easy smile didn't slip off Kirishima's face, his arm wrapped around Bakugou's shoulder now as he crouched next to his chair. Jiro faintly feared that he'd lose the arm. "It's just math and English." When Bakugou glared at him, he laughed awkwardly and scratched his chin with his other hand. "And maybe a few more."

"I could beat it into you," Bakugou growled, looking practically demonic.

"That works too." Fearlessly Kirishima gave them thumbs up. "See you Saturday."

"Mad man. He's a mad man." Kaminari stared blankly at the scene for a moment longer before turning back to her. "I can't believe Bakugou's tutoring."

Bakugou. Tutoring. All Jiro could picture was a torture chamber. Did Bakugou even know how to teach? There were values like patience or compassion or not yelling that were definitely needed for this task. Shaking her head, she looked at the rest of the class. Choice aside, Kirishima had the right idea. A tutor. She just had to find someone who didn't look too busy and also looked like a good teacher.

Well at least it wouldn't be hard to look for someone smart. Their class was oddly full of them.

-x-

How odd. When Yaoyorozu had hoped she'd get closer to her classmates, tutoring hadn't been her first idea. Or even her second or a remote third. Yet when Uraraka had come forward with an awkward Jiro, she couldn't refuse. Especially not after hearing about her plight—if she could help, she wanted to.

And to be honest, she wanted to get closer to Jiro. Just a little. Despite how alive she'd looked in front of the mike, Jiro was practically apathetic in class. Even her humour was more on the dry side. There was little of the singer inside the student and Yaoyorozu couldn't wrap her head around how one person could have two very different sides.

"I'm fine with most subjects," Jiro informed her honestly, pulling out a notebook onto the table. It was Saturday and they were in Yaoyorozu's house. It was a little more modest than her old place. A traditional house, it was spacious enough to accommodate most of their furnishings, leaving only a few pieces in storage. The grounds not as grand as she was used to, but Jiro had complimented it all the same when she'd arrived. Fortunately, they were not expecting any other guests that day and Yaoyorozu had arranged for them to use the living room for their session.

"Then what do you need help with?" Yaoyorozu asked, settling herself on the other side of the table.

A maid knocked and entered, carrying tray of tea. "Where shall I leave it miss?"

"On the side table is fine." Yaoyorozu gestured to the table next to the chaise. With a soft clink, the tray was set down and the maid departed with a bow. "Want some tea?"

"Tea?" Jiro rubbed her wrist, her expression strained. "What kind of tea?"

"We have several blends—I requested a simple one for today, a green tea." Yaoyorozu slowly poured some tea into a small cup and offered it to her.

"Green tea? That sounds…normal." Jiro nodded, accepting the cup.

"Gathering the leaves was the hard part, there were so many different regions to choose from."

Holding up her hand, Jiro shook her head. "I don't really want to think about that. Green tea. Let's leave it at that."

"If you're certain." Yaoyorozu poured herself a cup, uncertain as to how that knowledge could ruin Jiro's enjoyment. She inhaled the fragrance, a touch milder than she was used to, before slowly sipping. It warmed her instantly, spreading through her body like a blanket.

"Not bad." Jiro sipped her tea slowly, examining the room. Her expression brightened when her gaze landed on the grand piano. "A piano? Can you play?"

"Hmm?" Following her line of slight, Yaoyorozu stared at the piano for a long moment. "I have taken lessons for years."

And yet, oddly enough, she never looked at that instrument the way Jiro had. Nor had she ever played it the way Sero or Kaminari or even Bakugou had played theirs. It existed, an item more for showing off than for enjoyment. A status symbol.

"Wow." Jiro looked at her impressed. "What level?"

"I'm at…I'm not all that great at it." Yaoyorozu lied, rubbing her shoulder.

"That's ok." Jiro shrugged. "I'm not the best either."

Somehow, that easy line made her want to play even less—there was a difference, Yaoyorozu was sure, between them. A difference in how they played, in how they looked when they played. Even a difference on what they thought was good. "That's not why we're here today." She tapped her notebook. "What subject do you need help in?"

"Math." Jiro grimaced, opening her math notebook. "It's just not clicking. At all. My other grades are decent enough, but I almost always fail that course."

"Math." Yaoyorozu pulled out the textbook, checking exactly what this class had learned in comparison to hers. It was fairly similar—calculus, some trigonometry, and a slow introduction into more complex equations. Her class had been ahead, but that was to be expected of a top class private school versus a public one. Confident she was ready, she looked expectantly at Jiro. "What sections should we go over?"

"…all of them," Jiro admitted slowly, her cheeks tinting a faint red. "Just…yeah, all of it."

"All of it," Yaoyorozu repeated, looking down at textbook once more, at the helpful sticker Uraraka had placed to indicate the class's current spot. A quarter of the book, fortunately. Their next round of tests was a week away, unfortunately. "There's nothing that you understand?"

Jiro gave a wry look. "Nothing."

Well. This was certainly shaping up to be a longer day than Yaoyorozu had expected. "Very well then, we will start at the beginning."

-x-

"So?" Sero leaned forward conspiratorially. "How's it going?"

"How's what going?" Jiro looked up from her sheet music. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she was adjusting their song. Bakugou was late, oddly enough, though she suspected Kirishima had something to do with that. Miraculously, he had survived the weekend of hell and even managed to get Bakugou to help out beyond that.

If he managed to pass the tests with his body intact, she'd dedicate a song to him.

"The princess." Kaminari waggled his brow and someone had been spending too much time with Mineta again. "She's teaching you, right?"

"Yaoyorozu?" Jiro tugged her ear. Princess, huh? It was near impossible for Yaoyorozu to hide her rich roots, even if she wanted to—almost every move she made exuded the aura of wealth. Her mannerisms, her speech, even their identical uniforms seemed different somehow. "She's really good at it."

"Maybe she can help me too, then." Sero sighed.

"Science?" Jiro asked, knowing all too well his weakness. She stood up, brushing herself off.

"Chemistry," he corrected. He was better at engineering and practical work than the theoretical sections. Unfortunately, they were only tested on theory.

"And you?" Jiro didn't really need to ask, Kaminari's flinch said everything. "Iida's helping you, right?"

The second she asked, she instantly regretted it. As though given permission to break down, Kaminari grabbed her shoulders and looked at her with watery eyes. "It's a boot camp for devils. It's torture. It'd actually be better with Bakugou."

Sero covered his mouth, trying to stop his laughter. It didn't work; she could still hear his snorts even as he tried to speak. "Bakugou? Really?"

Kaminari shot him a glare. "Yes really."

Brushing his hands off her, Jiro rolled her eyes. "It can't possibly be that bad."

"Worse. It's even worse," Kaminari grumbled, crouching to the ground. His hand drew circles on the floor as he mumbled, "Not all of us are lucky enough to get a princess."

"She's…" The word strict died on her tongue—Yaoyorozu wasn't all that bad, actually. She was smart and stern when it came to her lessons, but she was also fair about it. If anything, it was more fun than she'd expected.

Not that she'd ever admit it.

"See." Kaminari narrowed his eyes and squinted up at her and really, he had been spending way too much time with Mineta.

"You're gonna pass though, right?" Resisting the urge to argue with him, she sat down and went back to their sheet music. Before Kaminari could answer, she added, "Otherwise I don't think he'll leave you alone."

Kaminari went white. "Oh god, you're right."

-x-

"So, this is my house."

Yaoyorozu stared at the main hallway, amazed at the compactness of it all. The house was small, almost as big as one of her family's sheds. Or maybe garage. Either way, it was amazing a person could live in it, let alone an entire family. There was something cute about it all, like living in a doll house. "It's a nice place."

Jiro stared at her for a long moment. Her tone was a bit dry as she replied, "Right."

"No, really, it's quaint," Yaoyorozu complimented as she pulled off her shoes.

"We could just do this at your house again," Jiro suggested, tugging her ear nervously.

"No, no, this is good." Yaoyorozu quickly shook her hands in front of her. When was the next time she'd get to see how the other half lived? Ever since she moved, she got to try coffee shops and movie theatres and honestly, it was a lot better than she'd expected. Following Jiro to her room, she tried not to stare too much as they walked but everything was so new and interesting.

Even Jiro's room was an oddity, covered from wall to wall with posters of singers and bands Yaoyorozu couldn't recognize. All she knew was that they were all rock bands, that there was something about a heavy beat and an electric guitar that made her heart sing where classical music could not.

In a corner, several guitars hung on a stand and Yaoyorozu almost floated toward them. "Are these all yours?"

"Huh?" Surprised, Jiro could only nod. "Yeah."

"Wow!" Yaoyorozu leaned forward to examine them all. Their shapes were all so different and she reached out to touch them. "Could I try?"

"You know how to play?" Jiro stood next to her now and she was surprised before, she was incredulous now.

"Oh, no, not at all." Yaoyorozu rubbed her shoulder, withdrawing from the instruments. "They just…they look…" It all sounded stupid now that she was trying to say it aloud.

"Cool, right?" Jiro gave a half-smile, the most she'd ever given to Yaoyorozu. Her fingers grazed the varnish on one of them.

No, you're the cool one, she'd almost blurted out but if her words for the guitars sounded silly, this was downright idiotic.

"After we're done studying." Jiro tugged her ear, looking away now. "If you want, I could teach you a little then."

"Teach me?" Yaoyorozu stared at her and then back at the guitar. That was so much more than she'd expected, so much more than she'd hoped for. She felt so light she could float, a well of happiness overflowing within her. Almost hugging Jiro, she pulled back last second and nodded eagerly. "Yes, please!"

"You don't have to be so formal." Jiro shook her head, going back to their bags. "It's nothing."

"No, not it's not." Yaoyorozu looked back at the guitars one last time before getting ready to teach. The faster they went through the material, the faster they could get to it.

-x-

"Wow." Yaoyorozu stood stock still in the entrance to the McDonald's, gazing in wonder at the whole establishment. By expression alone, it was like they were standing at a rock concert or in front of the Mona Lisa.

Jiro had to resist the urge to rub her eyes, to confirm that this was actually a McDonald's and they hadn't accidentally entered some fancy restaurant. Cheap wobbly chairs, check. Dirty tables, check. The smell of greasy, fried food, check. "What is this, your first McDonald's?"

It was a joke but Yaoyorozu nodded, still clearly enamoured by the restaurant. "I always wanted to go to one of these fast-food establishments, but I never could find the excuse or time." She took a step in, her hand lightly brushing a table, and Jiro wondered if she should warn her about the germs. "It's exactly how I pictured it."

This is what you pictured? Jiro almost asked, because who imagined what a McDonald's looked like and why even imagine this? A strained smile on her face, she led the way to the counter. "Come on, let's order something."

Yaoyorozu slowly followed after, craning her head as she tried to look at all the pictures hanging on the walls. When they reached the counter, her jaw slacked as she stared at all the menu items. "This is an impressive selection! Far more items than I expected!"

"It's a normal amount," Jiro scoffed, not sure how she should be reacting to all this. Laughter? Ignore it? Taking it seriously? "And most of them are almost identical."

"That's true." Her eyes widened as she scanned the different burgers. "That one's just adding a patty and that one cheese—what should I get?" Jiro stepped back when Yaoyorozu turned her, excitement rolling off her in waves. Then, as though remembering herself, she straightened her posture and her smile dropped a notch. "I mean, is there anything you could recommend?"

The good rich girl act was back. It was funny to see how different she was when she was relaxed and when she was in public. Jiro wasn't sure if Yaoyorozu even noticed the difference herself. "Umm…I guess one of their desserts?"

"Desserts…" She bit her lip, eyeing the burgers once more. "I suppose I can try one."

"…or you could just take their burger combos."

Yaoyorozu's smile came back, and she nodded. "That is the best course to take." Sitting at a table, she waved at the cashier. "Hi! Could I have one of your…" She looked up at the menu board again, and her lips formed a small 'O'. "They can come with toys? I will try one of those. And a dessert."

The cashier stared at her. "Huh?"

"One second!" Jiro quickly dragged her off, her ears red with embarrassment. When they were in a corner, she hissed, "That's not how you order here."

"Really?" Yaoyorozu's face flushed a dark red and she covered her face with her hands. "It was bad, wasn't it?"

"Very bad." Jiro ran a hand through her hair. "Look, I can order for you."

She peeked through the cracks between her fingers. "Really?" When Jiro nodded, she smiled, revealing her face. "Could I have one of those toys then?"

"Those are…" Jiro cut herself off, not really wanting to destroy her smile again with the news that those were for little kids. "Sure, why not?"

-x-

"So, I think you almost understand the formulas," Yaoyorozu whispered, scanning the practice questions Jiro had finished. For once, the number of rights overtook the number of wrongs, and maybe their lessons were finally having their intended effect. She flipped the page and almost gasped at the sight, a full row of checkmarks. "Wow, you did so well here!"

Jiro didn't respond, instead settling her head on Yaoyorozu's shoulder. At the unexpected weight, she stiffened. They were in a library! The school library! This was improper! Furtively, she scanned the room. After school, there were only a few students here, most of them heavily engrossed in a book or chatting in low voices with one another. None of them were looking in their direction and she sighed with relief. Quietly, she hissed, "What are you doing?"

No response again. After checking the room once more, Yaoyorozu looked down at her pupil only to find her asleep. Asleep. Irritation rose up within—were her lessons really that boring?

No, that couldn't be the case. She glanced at the sheet again, at the row of right answers. Jiro had been paying attention, had been working hard. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to let her rest a little. Peering down again, she watched the slight rise and fall of Jiro's chest, her mouth slightly open as she softly snored. Asleep, she looked more delicate than usual and Yaoyorozu looked away, not sure why her cheeks felt so hot.

Just a little, she'd let her sleep just a little and then they'd get back to studying. They only had a few more days, after all.

-x-

"Pass the papers down to the person behind you," Aizawa ordered, giving them all a grumpy look. "Though by now you should know the drill."

The test. Jiro stared at the paper in front of her, at the hand waving them so she'd take them. It was judgement time. Next to her, she could hear Kaminari freaking out and her pulse shot up. The idiot was going to make her panic and she almost chucked her eraser at him.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in. This was no time to freak out. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed the papers. She had this, she had this—oh who was she kidding? She definitely—

Ahead of her, Yaoyorozu flashed her a thumbs up and Jiro quietly released her breath, picking up her pencil.

She had this.

-x-

"I passed!" Jiro almost collapsed on her desk when they got their most recent test results back, the red pen at the top marking a 75%. Maybe not as high as Yaoyorozu would have wanted, but it was amazing for Jiro. Especially for math.

The band was safe. The concert was safe. And it was all thanks to Yaoyorozu. Turning to her right, she asked Kaminari, "Did you pass?"

"65%." Kaminari swallowed, a little ashen. "Do you think he'll leave me alone with this?"

Oh. Right. Iida. Jiro glanced at their class president, very proudly explaining answer to Uraraka and their other classmates. There was nothing about him that indicated he was the type to accept a passing mark. "Not a chance."

"Thought so." Kaminari sighed.

"But you passed, which is good enough." Besides, Iida's dogged determination had some uses—Kaminari would need the help for the next test. And any other test. Maybe it was a good thing he'd never be rid of him—Kaminari would never fail again.

A test was shoved in front of them, a bright red 70%. Behind it, with a wide grin, was Kirishima. "Got it!"

Kaminari grabbed it, staring back and forth from the test to Kirishima. "Wait, what?" He glanced at Bakugou, still in his default glower. "He actually taught you stuff?"

"Beat it into me." Kirishima puffed his chest with pride and Jiro wanted so badly to point out there was nothing to be proud of. If anything, it was a worrying concept. But a pass was a pass and if Kirishima was fine with it, she'd keep her mouth shut.

"Seriously?" Kaminari bit his lip, peeking at Bakugou once more. "Think maybe I—"

"No." Jiro immediately cut off, shaking her head. Kirishima might have survived, but he had always been a special case. Bakugou would either murder Kaminari for asking or just murder him while tutoring him. Hell, even she wanted to do it sometimes.

Kaminari looked like he was about to argue but thought better of it. "Nah, you're right. Got the music ready?"

Jiro grinned, pulling out the sheet music from her bag. "All adjusted, finally."

"Ohhhh." Kirishima gazed at it curiously. He couldn't read the notes, barely understanding anything about music, but his enthusiasm wasn't dampened at all. "Neat!"

"More than neat!" Kaminari whistled as he flipped through the pages. "Amazing! How'd you find time to do it?"

"Well, Yaoyorozu's really good at explaining, so our lessons didn't last too long." Jiro shrugged.

Looking up from the sheets, he squinted at her. "How good at explaining?"

"…I don't think she'll teach you." Jiro paused, then corrected herself. "You want a tag team of her and Ida?"

He frowned, mulling it over. "Princess and Ida, or just Ida…hmm…"

"Why is passing not even an option?" Jiro sighed. It wasn't a realistic option, sure, but he didn't even consider it.

"You're the only one left with a tutor, huh?" Kirishima teased, a wide grin plastered on his face. Humming, he carefully folded his test. "Bakugou'll be fine with this."

Oh, she should show hers to Yaoyorozu too. Looking across the classroom, her eyes met with Yaoyorozu's and she quickly gave her a thumbs up. Yaoyorozu looked surprised and shot back two thumbs up. They could meet after class, as usual, and Jiro could already picture the smile on her face as she read the mark.

And then—and then what? Tutoring was over. They didn't have to meet anymore. Jiro would go back to band practice, to hours after class locked up in a class room, singing her heart out. There would be no more afterschool lessons, no more practice tests.

For some reason, she didn't feel as happy about that as she thought she'd be.

-x-

It was a little strange. Yaoyorozu listened to Uraraka and Asui as they walked to the courtyard, nodding and laughing where needed. There was nothing unusual about this, she had been doing this for the past month or so. They'd have their lunch together, trading stories about procrastination and dates gone wrong and unbelievable strokes of luck.

There was nothing unusual about this and yet it felt strange all the same. Two stories above them, Yaoyorozu could hear a guitar, the clash of cymbals, and a faint voice screaming through the instruments.

Not too long ago, that voice had been worrying about math homework, looking at Yaoyorozu for reassurance.

Not too long ago, it had been too easy to meet Jiro and now it seemed too hard. There was no reason not to, no reason to do so, and Yaoyorozu balanced on the rope, swaying between going and not going. Longing, this was longing, she realized, remembering the word from her trashy, five-dollar romance novels. She missed Jiro.

She missed Jiro. Now that she admitted it, the word felt right, and everything made sense. Yaoyorozu missed Jiro. It was irrational, they saw each other in class every day, but the feeling lingered still.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do something." Yaoyorozu stood up, shooting an apologetic smile at her two friends. "I'll see you in class."

"Huh?" Uraraka stared at her before nodding slowly. "Ok."

"See you," Asui croaked out, a knowing smile on her lips, and she tried hard not to read into that.

Waving goodbye, she quickly headed to the music room, to the music that had always been out of reach. Her fingers remembered her few guitar lessons, the feel of a chord between her fingers, the heat of Jiro's hand on top of hers, gently correcting her movements. It had been over a week since they'd last had one. The class bell rang as she reached the room but for once, Yaoyorozu disregarded it. This was more important. Far more important.

Just as she was about to turn the handle, it opened on the other side. Jiro stared at the girl in front of her, surprised. "Yaoyorozu?"

Exactly who she wanted to see. "Can I talk to you?"

"Uh, sure?" Jiro tugged her ear, a nervous habit she had noticed long ago. "After class, I guess."

Yaoyorozu shook her head. "Now."

"But the bell rang?" Jiro brow furrowed, concerned. "Are you feeling ok?"

Around her, her friends streamed out of the door, leaving only the two of them there. Yaoyorozu stepped into the classroom herself, taking a seat. "Now," she repeated insistently, firmly. If she didn't do it know, she was afraid she'd lose her courage.

"But…" Jiro sighed, rubbing her head furiously. "Alright, fine." She plopped down on the chair next to her. "Yes?"

Now that she was here, Yaoyorozu wasn't sure what to say. Jiro was staring at her and her words, her hastily thought up speech, all of it flew away. Tongue-tied, she searched the room for something to say and landed on the guitar cases propped up against the wall. "Guitar lessons."

"Huh?" Jiro blinked, surprised. "What?"

Yaoyorozu could just hit her head against the wall, it was such a stupid way to start. Still, it was something and she latched onto it. "We haven't had a guitar lesson in a while."

"Oh that." Jiro tugged her ear again. "I thought you were just doing that to get me to learn."

"Never." Yaoyorozu shook her head vehemently, clutching Jiro's hands. "Please teach me again."

"S-sure." Jiro stared at their joined hands, flustered by the desperate appeal. "If you really want." After a moment, she adjusted her hand, gripping Yaoyorozu's hand back. "I didn't think you liked that much."

"I loved it." Yaoyorozu took a deep breath, gathering her courage once more. "No, I…that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay." Jiro looked even more confused, if possible. After waiting a moment, she prompted Yaoyorozu. "So what did you want?"

"I…" She focused on their hands, on the calluses on Jiro's fingers. Her own were there as well, fresh and newly formed. "Could we meet again? 'Hang' out as you called it?"

"Slang, coming from your mouth." Jiro looked amused. She nodded eagerly. "And definitely, I…" She tugged her ear with her free hand, awkward and uncertain. "I kinda missed it."

"Me too." Elated, Yaoyorozu squeezed Jiro's hands. "I really missed it."

"Cool." Jiro smiled, a brief thing, and Yaoyorozu wondered if she could make it happen again. Make it happen longer. Suddenly, she looked up at the time and stood up with a shout. "Shit, we're really, really late."

Yaoyorozu looked at the classroom clock and almost fell out of her chair. She had never been late for anything before and this late? "We have to go."

"Yeah." Jiro looked terrified, already at the door. "Aizawa is going to kill us."

"He wouldn't—"

Jiro looked her dead in the eye, shaking her head furiously. "It will be a fate worse than death."

She swallowed. "Oh dear."

With a sinking feeling, Yaoyorozu knew that it would be a while before they had another guitar lesson.