It had been a few days since Jiro and Izuku had gone to the skate park together. Things had mostly returned to normal at U.A., but Jiro found herself thinking more and more about that encounter. Izuku's words had left her feeling conflicted. His distance, his calm demeanor—it was all a front, she was sure of it. But breaking through that wall was going to be harder than she thought.
Meanwhile, Izuku stayed true to his usual routine. He attended class, barely paying attention, then disappeared as soon as it ended. He had become an enigma to his classmates, and they could only wonder what he did outside of school.
On this particular day, Izuku found himself with Kaito, Ren, and Emi, heading out after classes ended. As they reached the edge of the U.A. campus, Izuku pulled out a blunt from his pocket, lighting it up without hesitation. The others didn't seem to mind; they were used to his habits by now.
"Yo, you good?" Ren asked, watching as Izuku took a drag.
Izuku gave a small nod, his usual blank expression in place. "Yeah. Just needed to clear my head."
Emi rolled her eyes, grabbing her phone and starting up the camera. "Come on, guys. Group pic, let's go."
Kaito grinned, pulling Izuku closer for the shot. "Let's get it!"
They stood there in the dimly lit alley, shadows cast by the nearby streetlights. Izuku kept his nonchalant pose, blunt in hand, as the camera snapped. The smoke swirled around him, adding to his mysterious aura. Kaito, Ren, and Emi struck goofy poses around him, contrasting his calm demeanor.
After they took a few shots, Emi posted them on Instagram, captioning the photos with, "The crew, as always. #SkateLife #Squad."
Back at U.A., Jiro was scrolling through her phone when she stumbled upon the post. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Izuku's face on the screen. The sight of him smoking casually, surrounded by his skater friends, was a jarring contrast to the person she knew at school. It was like seeing an entirely different side of him—one she hadn't known existed.
She stared at the picture for a while, wondering how he managed to balance these two parts of his life. It was becoming more and more obvious that Izuku wasn't just the quiet student who went unnoticed in class. There was so much more to him, and Jiro wasn't the only one starting to notice.
As Jiro scrolled through the comments, she saw some familiar names from U.A. A few of the students had found the post and were reacting with shock and curiosity.
"Yo, is that Midoriya?"
"No way, he skates?"
"Why does he look so... different?"
Jiro bit her lip, feeling a strange sense of protectiveness over Izuku. She didn't want anyone to ruin this side of him—the part of him that seemed free from the burdens of U.A. But she also couldn't help but feel closer to him in some way, knowing more about his secret life.
Later that night, Izuku and his crew had wandered to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. It was one of their usual hangouts—a place where they could skate, chill, and stay away from prying eyes. As they set up their boards and prepared for another session, the air was thick with excitement.
"Let's hit this spot," Kaito said, pointing to a cracked half-pipe in the middle of the warehouse. "See if we can get some sick shots."
Izuku remained quiet, focused on his board as he took a drag from his blunt. The others chatted and laughed around him, but he stayed in his own world. He liked it better this way—being with them, but not needing to say much. They didn't push him for anything more, and that's why he stayed.
Emi was recording them on her phone, capturing clips for their Instagram stories. She panned over to Izuku, catching him mid-trick as he skated across the warehouse floor. He moved effortlessly, his expression still calm and collected even as he nailed the trick.
Later, when they were all taking a break, Emi posted the videos online, tagging everyone in the crew. Within minutes, the comments started rolling in—people were reacting to Izuku again. It wasn't long before the video caught the attention of U.A. students.
---
In the U.A. dorms, Jiro's phone buzzed with another notification. She opened the app and saw the video of Izuku skating, looking completely relaxed and in his element. Her heart skipped a beat again.
She wasn't the only one watching, though.
Around the dorms, a few other students had started whispering about Izuku, especially after seeing the recent posts. Some of them were surprised—others intrigued. But no one really knew what to make of the nonchalant, mysterious version of Midoriya they were seeing online.
As Jiro lay in bed that night, staring at the video, she made a silent decision. She wasn't going to let anyone else get to him before she did.
