4

We wish Starlight

When I was in middle school, I was always anxious about getting into U.A. I couldn't sleep at night. It was strange, I would go outside to try and see the stars. The light pollution hindered me a little but I knew they were there, always there. It was during one cool summer night, the breeze hit me and I instinctively followed the direction of it. A bright light caught my eye. A lot closer than the stars, there was a green comet, I believe. It was soaring through the night sky across the city skyline and I couldn't look away. "A... Amazing."

Ever since that night, I found a new reason to stay up. It calmed my nerves and I would always fall asleep right after. I loved to see it soar across the city.

My personal star.

"Man, if Aizawa-sensei finds out about this, you're a goner. He's scary even in that sleeping bag." Jirou ruffled her hair.

"It should be fine. He did say we would be challenged outside of school. Facing it is better than running away, especially from a rival school."

"That sounds smart and all but... it's hard to believe that's your reason for doing this." Jirou pointed with her earphone and dropped her head disappointed. "That huge grin on your face can't lie..."

"Oh, is that so? Haha, I-I'm sure it will be fine."

"No, it won't dude... it's barely been our first day..."

"Say, Yoarashi, what game are we going to play?" Izuku cheerfully asked his new friend. They were taking an elevator to the roof of the mall.

"Catch!" Yoarashi was just as cheerful as Deku. "The referee will explain the rules before we start."

"He either decided to ignore the subject or he's too excited..." Jirou facepalmed. "Just... do your best. I don't care anymore. We're so dead tomorrow."

"Thanks for the support Jirou."

"That's what you acknowledge." She should have known something was off about him the moment he kicked a giant robot knowing it could have smashed him down straight to hell. 'He used Uraraka as a ramp and skated back down the city with a careless thrill!' "He's an adrenaline junkie..." Jirou laughed to herself in dread.

Ding. The elevator opened and they all stepped out excited for the game, except Jirou, she simply dragged her feet along. Izuku lit up even more. "It's the smile hero: Ms. Joke!"

"So referees are strategically placed all over! They can be from any faction really but while being a ref, they have to judge with fairness, if they don't, there are like huge repercussions. Some do it voluntarily, like Ms. Joke and Eraserhead but others treat it like Jury duty, like Endeavor and Mt. Lady!" Camie explained, playing with the zipper in between her cleavage. "Ugh lame. It's stuck fam." Tugging at it.

Izuku was about to ask her who she was talking to until he saw the zipper struggling in place with her body jiggling up and down. It was a sexy sneak attack and he received double damage! "C-Camie!" Covering his burning cheeks and bleeding nose.

"Izuku, help a home gurl out."

"I reluctantly have to decline." Holding out one hand in refusal and still covering his nose with the other.

Jirou's earphone jack twitched. 'That could never happen with me...' Refusing to stare down at her own deflated bust.

"Haha, that's your narrator? I feel bad for you kid." Ms. Joke pitied Izuku with a smile plastered on her face. "This is going to be great, I love when new students decide to go all out on the first day!" Ms. Joke was holding her side. "I know it's a simple game of catch, but oh man, this is huge! So many spectators! The first game of the new season!"

"I knew they worked fast but this is surreal." Jirou, like the rest, were awed by the stadium aura of the mall rooftop. In the center of the dome-shaped roof was an oval gap that revealed the outlets and customers below. The match was already being broadcast on the TV feeds in the stores. The roof itself had a variety of spectators; journalists, casual fans, pros and students of the game. They were sitting on bleachers set up on either side of the oval gap. "So this is the production quality of studio Bones?" Jirou mumbled seeing the stage crew had everything already on point. "Th-They even have a concession stand with merchandise!"

Ms. Joke was standing on glass in the center of the oval gap, she was holding a red rubber ball by her waist. "Izuku Midoriya and Inasa Yoarashi, please step forward. Don't worry this is a reinforced glass, specifically meant to withstand games." Clapping her boot on the glass she was standing on.

Without hesitation, Izuku vaulted over the barricade protecting people from the empty space in the middle of the roof. Inasa followed suit but floated down as Izuku squeaked his red boots along the glass. Jirou and Camie were standing behind the barricade the two hopped over, not walking to either side of the bleachers.

"This is how it's going to go! The field, the glass we are standing on, is divided into two sections, Yoarashi's and Midoriya's, split right down the middle." A white line was on the vertical half of the glass oval they were standing on. Ms. Joke pointed out which side belonged to which. Izuku and Inasa stepped to their individual side. "Good, now this is a regulation ball, so feel free to use your quirks on it." Spinning it on her index finger. "Everyone knows how to play catch right? Pass it back and forth." Playing with it in between her hands for an example. "Except competitively we always try to make them slip up, quick passes, trick shots, heavy throws. While you are in possession of the ball, you are allowed to bounce it on your side as much as you want, but are only allowed ten seconds of possession, passing that time limit will cause a penalty switch of possession, so be careful. If you are on the receiving side, the ball is only permitted to bounce once before you gain control of the ball if you pass that limit, that's an out. Out of bounds is also an out, the barricade wall is the end of the area. Missing a catch is an out. Retaliating a pass without having proper control is a penalty, for example, punching, kicking, or headbutting it! This is just a game of catch folks! Let's get to it! Yoarashi is the challenger! Midoriya call it in the air!" About to flip a coin.

"Yes!" He stared patiently until she flicked it off her thumb. "H-Heads!"

She caught it. "Tails, first possession goes to Yoarashi! The minor league regulation ten-minute game has started!" Tossing the ball to Yoarashi and blowing her whistle.

"It will be an honor to go first! Midoriya are you ready?" Inasa held the ball in his hands, waiting for Deku to reply. Izuku nodded his head, making sure he had good footing. "Here it comes!"

"Eh?" The ball was floating, swirling around Inasa. Izuku gritted his teeth. He could feel the wind pressure changing. A whirlwind erupted from Inasa, hurling the ball straight at Deku. He couldn't time it. Impact dead center in the abdomen. "Gwh!" The wind enforced the ball and pushed forward engulfing Izuku. His feet lifted off the glass, and he flew, crashing into the barricade!

"Fuck, Izuku!" Jirou was about to pull her hair. "I knew this was bad from the start."

"Take a chill pill, bae won't go down with something like that, he's been through a lot of wicked wipeouts."

Jirou's eyes squinted with cringe. 'Bae?'

The debris cleared, true to Camie's words, he was keeping the ball in an embrace. He was safe. Izuku smirked at Inasa with him matching it. Deku repelled off the wall he had crashed into, with an added kick boost of his emerald flames. He was gliding with a curve to his movements. Inasa didn't let up and blasted wind pressure at Izuku. Deku narrowed his eyes searching for it. He lept with his knees tucked up, holding the ball by his waist. Inasa and Jirou both grew wide eyes. Izuku was using the wind as a draft and seemingly drifted over the invisible wind tunnel. He edged out of it with a flip spin, throwing the ball with his torqued up momentum.

Inasa anticipated to catch but, "it's a curve ball!" Inasa dived for it and recirculated his wind to catch it before it hit the ground. He skidded on his shoulder over the glass, barely grabbing the ball. He huffed but stood on his feet.

Izuku was standing close to the half line with an excited glare. Inasa's face was scratched up from the dive roll he just did and Izuku was scraped up from the wall crash he came out from. Each other held a smirk for the other in regards to healthy competition. Inasa began to make the ball float again.

Izuku tapped the toe of his red boot on the glass. "Let's do this." With a teeth gritted smile.

They went at it, back and forth. Neither Izuku nor Inasa gave up the edge. Inasa's controlled wind against Izuku's calculated agility. The red ball kept changing sides sporadically. Inasa always launched power throws with heavy wind pressure. Izuku replied with aerodynamic maneuvering and high-velocity trick shots.

One minute left. Ms. Joke announced.

Inasa recovered a surprise pass. It bounced onto his side before turning sideways on him, Inasa's wind guided the ball back in his arms. Izuku's eyebrows furrowed.

"He's got that look in his eyes." Camie absently uttered.

"Huh?" Jirou grumbled back.

"He's going for a clutch play."

Jirou stared back at the glass arena below them. "A clutch play?"

Inasa wiped the sweat off his chin. "You really are amazing Midoriya! But I can't allow myself to lose my first match because I was the one who challenged you!" Without warning, Inasa was at the halfway line. "Here we go!" He thrusted the hand with the ball, upward. 'A meteor Hail Mary! If the ball drops from the highest height I can muster, then it will be over, no one would be able to catch it! It's my victory!'

A hollow wind breezed through his ears. "Ara? Wind?"

The ball had passed the halfway line, but merely a few yards above Inasa. Izuku was a crescent moon coming from above. A powerful kick, fully twisting his body, mimicking the St. Louis smash, except with the ball in his hands.

He had sliced through the winds themselves. He did a corkscrew and unleashed a blitz throw straight down at Inasa.

'He repelled my wind back?!'

Bang! bounce... bounce...

It hit Inasa's head and then fell on his side of the field. The whistle blew and the game came to an end with Izuku's victory.

"That was really cool, Izuku."

Jirou, Izuku, and Camie were sitting on the bullet train.

"Yea, those were some sick moves, especially since it was against Inasa, I thought wind would be, like, easy shit post bait for you?"

"Really, what are you talking about half the time, Camie?" Izuku squinted an eyebrow and stared at her with a scowl of constant confusion.

Jirou's earphones twitched and she quickly turned off the phone screen she was scrolling through. 'I'm in so many shitpost groups... Oh God, I relate with the thot more than with Izuku!'

Camie laughed patting Izuku's shoulder. "I forgot the CQG (competitively quirk games) league is life for you. You don't know much about anything else do you?!"

"Of course I do! I'm good at school work and I always write down any interesting quirks. I-"

"And you know how to go on and on." She baited him, hook line and sinker.

"And he's smart, kinda dense but book smart." Jirou added scrolling through her phone. "Like this." She had a smug smirk and showed them both a photo.

It was a picture of a kid with an epiphany. He was holding out a taiyaki pastry with a cartoon light bulb over his head. "This is me!"

"Right! That is so like Izuku!"

Sunset laughter rolling down the train.

'Both, Camie and Jirou are sharing a laugh?' Maybe they can be friends. Izuku began to smile. 'At my expense...' It was a sheepless smile though.

"She actually had some good memes." It was a long day. Jirou clicked on her phone screen, accepting Camie's friend request. 'I can't believe I'm adding her before Izuku...' She sighed unplugging her ear from her phone forgetting about that. She glanced at the city skyline. "Where's that green comet?" It was already the middle of the night. She took a breath of the crisp air. "It'll show up." She smiled to herself, replugging to her phone.

And she waited under the constellations.