I Can't Cope Alone (A Kamijiro FanFic)

Chapter 7

JIRO'S POV

I knocked on Kaminari's door. He opened it, widened it, and motioned for me to come in. I handed him my sheet of paper. "I finished writing the song for you." I said. He grinned and took the paper from me. "It's not my best. Sorry." I quickly told him. He didn't know what I wrote though. It had a purpose. My head wasn't sure what I'd written was true... but  my heart was. There was somthing special about Kaminari, and i didn't know how to tell him. I just wrote everything down.  "Are you kidding? This is so awesome, Jiro!" he exclaimed. I felt my face heat up. "You really think so...?" "Yeah, I do! These are great!" He shuffled through the small stack of papers. "Oh. And you can keep that guitar that you like so much." I added. "Seriously?" "Er... yeah. I have a lot anyway." "Wow, thanks, Jiro! You're the best!" I played with my jacks, flattered. I didn't know what to say. Kaminari grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the window. He opened it. "There. You can see Orion." he said, pointing up at the bright constellation, completely visible in the cloudless sky. "I like this." He said. "What?" I asked. "I like hanging out. You know." "Oh. I guess its fun. Sorry... but I should go. I... there's just something I need to do."

"Oh. Are you sure?" Kaminari sounded disappointed. "Y-Yeah. I'm sorry. I really am. I just... I know everyone's supposed to be happy 'cause Ojiro's back, but... I... I... something happened nine years ago. I don't like talking about it. I'm sorry. I should go before I say something stupid and ruin this for you." I put my hand on the door knob and started to turn it, but Kaminari put his hand on top of mine. "You can tell me. I won't razz you or anything." I opened the door. "I know. But-" "Jiro," His face was serious now. "Talk to me." One of his hands was on my hand, the other gripping my wrist. No way out now. I sighed and sat down on his bed. He sat down and gazed at me apprehensively.

"Nine years ago today, there was a massacre. A big one. My parents were there when it happened. I had been left at home with my cousins even though I knew they didn't want to be there. I don't know what happened, exactly. But my cousins left the next morning and I was alone. I waited for two days before going to find my parents. I knew something was wrong. A police officer was patrolling on a sidewalk and he asked me if my parents were around. I told him 'no'. He asked for my name, and of course, I gave it to him. He looked at me with pity and told me that both of my parents were murdered during the massacre. I..."

KAMINARI'S POV

"J-Jiro... that's terrible." But she had run out of the room before I could say anything. I felt horrible. Why did I push her like that? I was about to go after her when Ojiro appeared in my doorway. I was surprised, and not ready AT ALL. "What're you doing here?!" I cried. He looked confused. "Looking for you...?" "Riiiiight... Okaaaaay." That just made him more confused. "Um. So. I heard you talking to me in the hospital. That was your, right?" "Wha?! How'd you know?!" I was downright panicking now. Ojiro rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Random guess?" "How much of it did you hear?!" "Uh... enough to know that you feel guilty." I almost screamed. There was no way. Kirishima or Midoriya must've said something to him. I would sue them later. "You didn't mean to space out like that." Ojiro said tentatively. "It wasn't your fault I got hurt. It was my own. I was too reckless." he finished.

It was like everything just froze. "Do you remember... what happened with Hagakure?" I asked after a minute. He looked everywhere but at me. "Yeah. I remember that. I wish I didn't. Of all the things to remember, huh..." he replied. "Yeah. Of all the things to remember... Hey... Ojiro." "Huh?" "D-Do you remember how long I visited you?" "No. No, I don't. I didn't remember anything after you came until I woke up later." "You do know that your heart stopped, right?" He went pale. "It did...?" He didn't know. I shouldn't've said anything. "Yeah." I said instead. I needed to shut up. "K-Kaminari? What else happened that I don't remember?" Ojiro's voice was shaking. I'd never seen him this way before. "I don't know." I tried dodging the question, but failed in futility. Ojiro turned to leave, his whole body shaking. He was terrified. "O-Ojiro, wait." I said. He glanced back at me but didn't turn around. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't do more to help you."

JIRO'S POV

I can't sleep. I sat up in bed. I don't know what got into me. Why did I tell Kaminari? He'll probably just assemble a pity party for me or something, then tease me about it later. I put my headphones on and set the track to my parents' guitar playing. That, my dad's guitar, and my quirk were all I had left of my parents. I don't know why I even try hiding this. It'll catch up to me eventually. I closed my eyes and fell into a fitful sleep full of gunshots, sirens, screaming, and crying.

I was jolted awake by the crackle of lightning. It was four thirty. No way I could go back to sleep now. I pulled back the curtain on my window and watched the rain fall. It was melodical. 2/4 time, actually. I decided to go into the common room. Playing instruments now would just wake people up. But when I got to the common room, someone was already awake. It was Ojiro. I tried to pass by without being noticed, but I only got the opposite.

"Jiro?" Ojiro questioned without even needing to peer back at me. I winced. "Yeah." That was the entire conversation. I sat down on the couch across from him and stared out the window. The rain had switched to 6/8 time now. Before I knew if, it was already seven a.m and people were already coming down. I didn't feel like talking, especially to Kaminari. He probably told everyone by now. Surprisingly, though, nobody said anything. That either meant Kaminari had snitched and broken his promise and everyone was just respecting my privacy or he was being loyal. I hoped it was the ladder one. Kaminari was the closest thing I had to a friend. I wanted to keep it that way.

When we got to class, none of the teachers nor Principal Nezu were there. "What the heck!" Ashido cried. "It's not like them to be here late. Not to mention all of them." Midoriya mused. Some of us started looking for the teachers while others sat down at their desks and waited patiently.