Chapter Text
A Distant Memory
(You'll get your smut eventually just read)
We'd known each other since elementary, but I moved away in year 4 because of a job opportunity my father took in America. We'd been pretty good friends, I was the one who initiated the friendship by offering him a part of my lunch I hadn't particularly favored. When I moved, I gave him a small Hello Kitty keychain as a goodbye gift. I largely forgot about Iida after the move. Still kept the ingenium hero card he gave me, though. When I moved back to Japan because my father got a job offer, well, I couldn't exactly say no and live with my mom- she sucked, so I went with him, applied to UA high, and imagine my surprise when I'd seen Iida in my homeroom, yelling at some blonde over his feet being on the desk- I couldn't exactly talk, with my hair being dyed white, though. I wasn't expecting him to recognize me, I'd changed. I used to be tiny, black hair, bright blue eyes, I was also really short, standing at a measly 127 cm, but now? I'm 165 cm with short, bleached white, wolfcut hair, eyes cooled and darkened with one being grey and one a dark slate blue. Somehow, though, he did recognize me. Unsure how, but he did, greeting me with a firm handshake and a comment on how long it's been. I just nodded, asked how he recognized me, he told me it was the nose. I admit, I was a tad self conscious when he said it, but he quickly said it wasn't a bad thing, flushing slightly and apologizing for any misconceptions. Someone with short, curly pink hair, pink skin, small yellow horns and black eyes introduced herself as, "Mina", and asked how we knew each other. Iida said, "We were friends back in elementary school before she had to move away due to her father's work." I guess my face gave it away because he asked what was wrong, I answered truthfully, "I'm actually.. not a 'she' anymore.. I'm.. Nonbinary." I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment as I said it, looking to the side bashfully. "Ah. So you go by.. They/them, right, Akira?" I piped up, "Actually, my name is Jasper now." Iida looked a bit confused but nodded and made the correction. More people started talking to me, and I got a bit overwhelmed, but they seemed to.. Like me? It was a strange feeling, not entirely unwelcome, but slightly uncomfortable. Having a preset friend was nice, I suppose.
Now, after a string of villain attacks, we're moving into the dorms, I only have a few boxes, but they have everything I need. I peeked over at Momo's room, blinked a few times at the opulence and how cramped it seemed because of how big her bed is, before continuing to unpack, setting up my loft bed took an hour, but it saved so much space and the only other big thing was putting up the blackout curtains, because the sun is, well, a nightmare. Especially when you're trying to write or do schoolwork, hell, even pleasing yourself is worse when the sun's out. So, once I had that task out of the way, I was feeling pretty accomplished, since all I had to do was set up my desk, put my clothes away, then make sure my TV and gaming console work. Dad let me take the PlayStation because he prefers Xbox anyways. All done, predictably, without a hitch, though folding 20 pairs of missme and True religion jeans feels like an arm workout for sure. I'd made sure to pack more comfortable clothes than fashionable ones, since most of the time outside the dorms would be spent in a uniform, at school. I did try to pack many hoodies, though, because when my arms are bare after the shower, my scars are visible and when people see them, they worry. That worry makes me physically ill, I see the look in their eyes and my brain stops, my stomach churns, I try to laugh it off but there's barbed wire around my throat so all I can do is turn away and try to gaslight them into thinking they were imagining things. I may dislike sleeves, but a few moments of discomfort is better than the rest of the year feeling like everyone's staring at me... I shouldn't dwell on that, though. I should focus on unpacking, which is easy because I only have a few more things to unpack, mostly just shoes and other miscellaneous items that got tossed into the mi- Is that..? It's the hero card Tenya gave me when I went away in 4th grade, a little worn at the edges, but good care kept it lasting through 6 years, god, has it really been that long? It feels like it was just yesterday that we were exchanging our gifts to each other. He gave me his older brother's hero card, because he looked up to him for strength and admired him, I gave him a hello kitty keychain, because I liked hello kitty and wanted him to have something to remember me by.
Later, I'd finished up with my room, putting the final glow-in-the-dark star on my ceiling, already tired and regretting not bringing an energy drink, Mina swung by and told me they were doing a room competition. I figured, hey, why not? So, I came out of my room after making sure everything was set up right and met up with the class in the common room, where Mina explained the rules, "Okayyy, everyone—listen up! We’re doing a dorm presentation contest. No voting for your own room." I can't say I was too thrilled, but I didn't want to be a buzzkill and pull out, so I went along. We went into Midoriya's room first, he just had a lot of All Might things. It bordered on concerning, but I didn't wanna make it worse because he already seemed embarrassed judging by the flush on his face. Uraraka made a comment on how he must really like All might before we invaded Tokoyami's room. It was very edgy, but hey, who hasn't wanted an edgelord room at some point, right? He said something about not touching anything, but I wasn't really listening. I was too busy looking at the sword. Aoyama's room was next, and it was... Sparkly, to say the least. I still don't get why he likes France so much, but to each their own I guess... We skipped Mineta's room for.. obvious reasons, and went to Iida's room. It all seemed relatively normal, an obscene amount of glasses, sure, but I have a collection of inhalers. He also had a LOT of books, which didn't surprise me. I had to pause for a moment, though, when I noticed a slightly scuffed hello kitty keychain on his dresser. It was the same one from 6 years ago, the same one I gave him when I left. He must've noticed my pause, because he gave me a curt nod as if to say, "I kept it." I nodded back and we moved on to Ojiro's room, which was simple, something you'd expect. Next, we went to Kirishima's room, which fit his manly aesthetic to a tee. Then was Shoji's room, it was almost empty aside from a floor mattress and a floor table. Sero's room was well-decorated with traditional Asian decor. We were pretty worked up to see what Todoroki's room looked like because he's probably the hottest guy in school, but it was quite the surprise since it looked completely different from the rest of ours. He'd really put in some hard work, the floors were redone, and there was some more work he did to make it look like a traditional Japanese room. It looked nice though, and I complimented him on how well-done the floors were. We went to Denki, and Koda's rooms next, Denki's was a little funky, but he's a teenage boy, so I expected nothing less, but Koda actually had a super cute bunny in his room. I admit, I swooned a little. The last boy left was Sato, so we went to his room and it was fairly normal, but he had this baking setup and was actually making some cake, which ended up being really good, it was soft, moist, and super flavorful.
Now, it was time for the girls, and Jirou was first. Her room was super cool and honestly perfect for someone like her, with the guitars and overall Rock n' roll theme. Next up was Hagakure, who had a super cutesy and girly room, it was oddly endearing but I will say, it seemed ill-fitting for her age. I didn't comment, though, since that would be rude. Uraraka was next, and her room was modest and practical — no flashy trinkets, just the sort of budget-friendly setup you’d expect when someone’s family couldn’t splurge. It was respectable, though. She had the essentials and wasn't complaining about not having much. Admirable. The next room was none other than Mina's, and it's exactly what you'd expect from someone like her; hot pink, and every bit teenage girl. It looked fun to be in, and I certainly don't think she was bored while decorating. Yaomomo's dorm was next up, and it. was. cramped. Her bed took up 90% of the space, but otherwise, it was very elegant, mature, and fit her vibe well. I was after her, since our dorms are right next to each other. I can't say I was the most thrilled, but I didn't have anything too bad. I had a space-saving twin size loft bed that had slate blue bedding with a desk below that had my laptop, sketchbook, journal, and other stationery on it, as well as my water bottle and a small lamp. I kept my inhalers in the desk drawer, since there were probably 70-80 inhalers. Asthma sucks, but hey, at least I have a reason to sit out during P.E... There was a small corkboard on the wall, with a few lists and the ingenium card Iida gave me in 4th grade pinned to it. In the center of the room, I had a large, rectangular checkerboard rug with a small table, on it were a few books- some classic literature like Dostoyevsky or Osamu Dazai, and some were books on the art of divination. On my dresser, I had a TV and next to it was a PlayStation 4 with 3 controllers. I also had a blue Nintendo switch lite. Above the TV, was my nonbinary flag, and I also had LED strip lights along the upper edge of my walls for lighting. I had light blue blackout curtains on the sliding balcony doors, and right next to it was a small altar with incense, tarot cards, my grimoire, and a few crystals like selenite, amethyst, carnelian, obsidian, rose quartz, and kyanite. I also had a few other candles and oils. Don't get me wrong, I'm an atheist, but manifestation can't hurt, neither can being certain for the future, plus, it smells really good. I just had to tell them not to touch anything, especially not anything on my altar, because I don't mess around with energies. I did not let Mineta in the room for a reason. Midoriya made a comment on how he wasn't expecting this, but that it wasn't bad, Mina asked me for a tarot reading, and Tokoyami said he respected the craft. Denki saw the PlayStation and asked, noticing the nonbinary flag and the crystals, “Not only do you game, but you’ve got style… What do you say we hang out sometime, just me and you, eh?” I just blinked at him, tilted my head as if I had no clue what he was talking about, then turned back to Mina, who was trying to talk to me about my craft, spotting the palmistry book and asking me to tell her something about herself based on her hands. I glanced at her hands. Conic, just as I thought, "You love meeting new people, have exceptional conversation skills and are incredibly generous to others." Her eyes widened and she squealed excitedly, "Oh. My. GOD! YOU COULD TELL ALL THAT JUST BY THE SHAPE OF MY HAND?? THAT'S SO COOL!!" I winced at the volume and placed a hand on her shoulder to quiet her, "Yes, now could you please keep it down? My ears are sensitive." She quieted down and turned away. With the newfound window of peace, I caught a glimpse of Iida, who's gaze was fixed on the ingenium card he'd given me in 4th grade, but his jaw was clenched, something was bothering him. I made my way over to Iida and tapped him on the shoulder, "Tenya-kun? You seem a bit.. Tense. Is everything alright?" I asked, dropping my hand to my side and waiting for his reply, "Yeah, I'm fine, just... You really.. Kept that?" His voice sounded sentimental. I replied, "Of course I did, you were.. Kind of my only friend back then, so I wanted to hold onto you." His cheeks tinged pink at that, I pretended not to notice, figuring I was reading too much into things, like always. When the class left my room so we could hold the votes, everyone voted for Sato because of his cake.
In my room, as I was unwinding, burning my frankincense incense and playing Minecraft, I heard a knock at the door, "Come in!" I said, distracted. My door creaked open and I turned my head to see Mina, standing in the doorway like she was about to perform an interrogation, "It smells really nice in here, Jasper!" she said, plopping down on the floor next to my beanbag, "What did you need, Mina-san?" I said, focused on building a base in my Minecraft world, "I just wanted to talk to you," she answered, I replied, "Okay, what about?" She took a brief moment to respond, "So I noticed, you and Iida-san.. What's you guys' deal? You seem to be on a first-name basis and you have an old-school limited edition ingenium card on your corkboard, and he has a hello kitty keychain from 6 years ago on his desk, and he doesn't seem like the type to actively seek out hello kitty-themed items, nor does he have a little sister.." I wasn't sure what she was getting at, so I answered truthfully, "We were friends back in year 4, moved to America though so we each gave each other something to remember the other by." Mina's eyes went wide, "Aww that's so cute!" I gave her a small chuckle, "Yeah. Y'know, he's only 7 days younger than me. I loved to tease him on that, especially like, the day after my birthday, because I'd turned 9 and he was still 8, so technically, for that brief 7-day window, I was older than him." Mina grinned, teasing, "So you're both summer children, huh? I'd never guess because of how quiet you are. Iida-san makes sense, but you? You're quiet as a mouse." I mean, I guess she's right, but, how would I tell her that I am actually super outgoing, I'm just scared of being myself because I got made fun of for it or treated like a joke? The thought alone is enough to make my throat tighten, "Yeah I guess I am pretty quiet, but hey, I can excuse myself- I'm a polymath." Mina tilted her head, "Poly what now?" Right. People don't always know the terms I use, "Polymath is a term used for people with a vast knowledge in multiple fields, such as math, science, language arts, and history." Mina's eyes widened again, "That's so cool! So you're like, super smart with everything you do?" I let out a small sigh, "I'm supposed to be, and I am when I put in effort, but, I get burnt out really easily. I do well for a while and then gifted kid burnout hits like a freight train, y'know? I'm quiet because all I ever do is think." Mina nodded, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," she yawned and stood up, "Anyways, I'm getting tired so I'mma go, okay?" I nodded and picked my controller back up, "Alright, make sure to close the door." Mina gave me a thumbs up and closed the door with a click. Not too long after, I got bored so I decided to turn off the game and try to sleep. I put the controller on the charge and went into my bathroom to take my contacts out, closing my eyes, I turned on the light and braced myself before slowly opening my eyes. It did little to sooth the shock though, since the bulbs were fresh, new and bright. Too bright. I made my way over to the sink and poured the contact solution in my contact case, washing my hands twice before gently lifting up my eyelid and removing the soft contact, putting it in the case before doing the same with the other eye. I blinked twice before setting the contact case down, putting my glasses on, and flossing before brushing my teeth. I then tied my hair back before washing my face and putting on a moisturizer+ eye cream. I might still have the dark circles anyways, but a person can dream, right? I put my glasses back on so I could take my melatonin, since everything gets blurry/doubled when closer than ~6-7 inches away. I must've forgotten it because I don't have my water, so I head out into my room and my water bottle isn't there either, so I sigh, throw on a bra/baggy shirt and some sweatpants, sliding on my slippers, glasses still on, and going down to the common area to check if I'd left it there. It was around 10:47 PM, so I didn't know if people would be there or not- hopefully not since it was a school night, but strays are unavoidable.
I was halfway down the stairs when I thought about why I hadn't just teleported- then I remembered that I don't know the coordinates of the common room, and I'm too tired to calculate it, so trying to teleport would be a bad idea. By the time I made it down the stairs, I was a little out of breath and had subconsciously started muttering to myself- something I did to solve my issues originally, but by now I just like talking to myself. I went to the common room, still muttering something about a hypothetical, checked the table for my water bottle- wasn't there, I sighed and went into the kitchen for some water or a plastic water bottle so I could take my melatonin. I found a plastic water bottle, checked for any signs of ownership, then started making my way up the stairs. On the 5th stair, I missed a step and fell upwards, knees buckling, catching myself on the railing. "Fuck." I muttered, rebalancing myself. I made it up to my room, locked the door behind me, went to my bathroom, took my melatonin, then took my glasses off and went back into my room, taking my shirt and sweatpants off before climbing into my bed. It took an hour, but I finally got to sleep, which was great because most nights I couldn't at all.
I pulled the blanket over me and drifted off, nothing too special, as with all my dreams being just a plain black screen
The next morning I woke up at 6:18 AM, throat dry, still tired and slightly sore, the smell of my incense from last night filling the room with the deep notes of amber and a hint of sweetness, I sit up and rub my eyes, blinking a few times before climbing down from my bed to turn the light on before fumbling around for my glasses since I can't see up close. I'd finally located my glasses when someone knocked on my door. I glanced at my outfit- or, lack thereof, then put a bra, shirt, and sweatpants on before opening the door. Behind the door, stood Eijiro Kirishima.
I yawned and asked, "Is there.. Anything you needed?" My voice was deeper than usual and I could see him processing the glasses, "You wear glasses?" He asked, "I usually wear contacts, haven't put them in yet," I answered, "Why are you here so early? It's like- 6 AM.." He nodded as if processing the information then answered, "Right- I wanted to ask if you would maybe want to spar with me before breakfast?" I looked at him like he grew a second head, "Kirishima- Apologies for language, but why the fuck would I train before breakfast.." His face flushed and he suddenly seemed a bit diffident, "Well, training is important no matter what, so why not take advantage of these early morning hours to spar!" This boy is far too enthusiastic for 6 AM on a school morning, but I'll humor him. "Alright I guess, just- let me change first.." I shut the door in his face before locking it to change into a sports bra and tank top, skipping the binder today, sliding on some sneakers and grabbing my sports tape before stepping out of my room, still wearing my glasses and raking my fingers through my short, fluffy white locks. They're a bit tangled as the last time I washed them was several days ago, but I'll take care of that tonight.
"What do you need that for?" Kirishima asked, gesturing toward the sports tape I was wrapping around my wrist
"You said we were going to spar. I am preparing to spar." I replied, not looking up from the wrist I was wrapping, finishing it up and tearing it with my teeth before moving to the next wrist
"I guess you do have a point there." He says, watching me finish up my other wrist, "You done, Jasper?" He implored, "Yeah, lets go." I answered, gesturing with my head for him to lead the way