The Couples of Class 1-A

LCO | Ch. 12: Suspicion, Omission, and Premonition

Author's Note: Don't ask why this chapter is twice as long as usual, I don't hekkin know 🤷

Is that a good thing? Y'all like long chapters? Meh--this'll probably be a one-time thing. Tbh, I just wanted to get most of the important conversations in 1 chap, and if 6,000 words is what it takes, than 6,000 words is what you get hahaha

Edit: It was not a one-time thing. 🫠

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"MOMO! Momo, WAIT!" Jiro shouted, making sure to keep her eyes on the exits so that no one noticed her chasing her. They needed a few minutes alone to talk, and if anyone entered, Jiro knew Yaoyorozu wouldn't say a single honest thing about what'd actually gone down in that classroom.

By the time Jiro had caught up to her, she'd already scaled to the topmost floor. Yaoyorozu was seconds away from opening it, with her posture and expression finally wearing her real emotions after all that'd happened. Even a flight down, she could see it—that crestfallen look she'd initially had when she'd first entered the dorms.

"MOMO!" she yelled this time with earnest, and finally Yaoyorozu's head tilted up.

She turned slowly, fingers hovering an inch away from the doorknob. "Jiro?"

Finally, she sees me!

"Wait up!" Jiro said again, this time in a normal voice since she could now see her.

Yaoyorozu waited a moment as she climbed the last few steps—heaving and panting after having run so far, until at last Jiro looked up to face her entirely.

"Wh... what is it?" Yaoyorozu asked timidly, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger to settle her nerves, "I didn't notice you chasing after me until now, but now that you're in front of me..." she hesitated, giving her a once-over, "you ran up five flights of stairs."

It wasn't really a question, but by the tone of her voice, Jiro could tell Yaoyorozu wanted to know why she'd done what she did. Of course, the whole reason for that meant Jiro would have to dig into Yaoyorozu's pain with her heels—which she was reluctant to do. After all, Yaoyorozu was a good friend of hers. She'd hate herself for making her cry, but at the same time, she knew Yaoyorozu would cry a lot more if she let her harbor her emotions alone.

Clearing her throat, Jiro finally managed a reply.

"Yeah, I did." she bowed her head slightly, which unintentionally looked a little intimidating with the overhead lighting, "...because you looked like you were about to cry back there, and I wasn't about to ignore that."

Yaoyorozu winced—used to her bluntness, but still partially hurt by it. "D-did I? Ah..." she gave a pause, her fingers still twitching undecidedly over the doorknob, "You must've been mistaken. I feel fine."

Jiro couldn't help but glower at that.

"Seriously?" she huffed, "Yaomomo, I know you. You might've been able to fool everyone else back there, but I know a fake smile when I see one. Especially yours. Now I'll say this again—and this isn't a question," she paused.

"Yaomomo, you're not okay."

She caught sight of Yaoyorozu's right hand, watching her fingers clutch around the shape of the doorknob like it were a life preserver. In those painfully long seconds, she kept her head turned away and her shoulders tight into her neck. She was words away from spilling now, but only Jiro could've recognized that; and that was without using her quirk.

The fact was, when it came to Jiro's intuition, she was second to none. Even around strangers, she was very keen about their emotions. Having a quirk that heightened her sense of hearing only helped—she could prove her own theories about people right or wrong just by tapping-in to the beat of their pulse, and then could afterwards steer the conversation in whatever direction proved more insightful.