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CHAPTER START---
---1A Dorms, 6:35 AM...
After getting out of the showers and getting dressed, wearing a pair of shorts and a large shirt, Jiro gathers her things and begins the trip back up to her room from the showers and laundry area downstairs.
"Morning Kyoka!" Uraraka greets her, falling into step beside her as she too is heading back to her room to change.
'It's way too early to have that much energy,' Jiro thinks, but instead just looks over at her friend. "Morning Ochaco, a late start for you?"
"Oh, just a bit. I kind of got carried away sparring with Mina last night, so I overslept."
"Oh that, yeah she mentioned you've been teaching her some of the Gun Head martial arts from your internship," Jiro says as they enter the hallway, moving toward the elevator.
"Yup, she's a natural, atleast more than me, Mina's got some serious moves already.""Well she likes to dance so I bet that helps her out," Jiro shrugs.
"What about you?" Uraraka asks, taking a closer look at Jiro, seeing small dark bags under her eyes. "Trouble sleeping?"
"Uh, I, was up late studying for midterms," she lied. "They should be starting soon so I don't want to wait too long."
"Oh shoot!" Uraraka facepalms as they enter the elevator. "I totally forgot about those! Awe man I need to start studying more, I've just been so caught up with working at Ryukyu's Agency that my school work hasn't been as big of a priority."
"Yeah well I imagine that's difficult to manage."
"Yeah, you know how it is, every time you're out on patrol you come back exhausted, studying after that just seems like torture."
"Well, I actually wouldn't know," Jiro says, and she see's Uraraka looks like she's about to apologize. "Its fine, really. But don't think just because we failed the Provisional License exam that we can't catch up to you. Because while you're all out of UA we've been training harder than ever, you'll see."
"Yeah! Then we can go on patrol together and help people," Uraraka gets excited at the idea. "Oooh! Maybe all the girls can form a hero team together, with a super flashy Super Move where we all work together to take down a big villain and save everyone!"
"Let's focus on one thing at a time Chaco'," Jiro says. "I still have to actually pass the next exam first, then we'll talk about combo moves afterward."
"Oh you'll be fine," Uraraka says as the elevator begins taking them up. "The only reason you didn't get it this year was because there were just so many third-year students from other Hero Courses there, next year you'll be a second year during it, and a lot stronger."
"But I'll have fewer allies, so I think it balances out."
"Mmm, maybe, but I guess you've just got to be even stronger and win anyway!" Uraraka gives her a dazzling smile, and Jiro just gives an awkward one in exchange.
"You make it sound so easy, but yeah, that's exactly what I'll do!"
They chat a bit more while walking through the hallway, then Uraraka goes into her own room to get ready for school.
And after a few more steps, two doors down, Jiro arrives at her own.
"Honestly I'll never understand how anyone has that much energy this early in the morning," she mutters while casually stepping into her room.
"Morning people are annoying," Horizon agrees.
"Eehh!" she squeals out, dropping her items and holding her chest, breathing heavily as she leans against the door.
"Well good morning to you too," Horizon says.
He was currently in his full UA uniform, with the back of his jacket, his logo stitched into it staring at her. As he peruses the myriad of musical instruments lining her walls.
The entire room looks like a music shop, with instruments, posters, even some old records and a record player, beside a stereo system.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Jiro growls out, looking more cute than scary as she picks up her stuff, but Horizon doesn't pay her much attention, still inspecting her instruments. "This is my room."
"Obviously," he stops and turns to her. "But I didn't think you cared much for the notion of privacy, after last night," he gestures to the ceiling, where hidden behind a poster there is a small indentation where her Earphone Jack was but hours ago.
Jiro's blood runs cold, almost breaking out into a sweat as she freezes, unable to think of any excuse that could make this better.
"Can you really play all of these?" Horizon asks, and she leaps at the chance to change the subject.
"Atleast a little bit, you know who my parents are, it's in my blood."
"Impressive."
"You mentioned that you don't play anything, right, want to learn?" she desperately tries to distract him.
"I'd rather not, understanding it ruins the magic, and with how my brain works, if I can understand something it's difficult to enjoy."
"Right, we---"
"Why were you listening in on Momo and I last night?" Horizon asks, and a flash of embarrassment and fear appears on her face.
"Well, I, um---"
"I did a quick Scan of the dorms to make sure we weren't being spied on before I...well, you know, you heard, and imagine my surprise to find you, laying in bed with an Earphone Jack in the ceiling and a hand do---"
"I'm sorry!" Jiro blurts out. "I was just, worried you'd take advantage of my friend."
He considers it for a moment, then nods, "a good excuse for the first part maybe, but that doesn't explain why you listened in all night."
As Jiro freezes, Horizon walks over and gently puts a finger under her chin, raising her head so she has to look up at him.
As he looms over her, a full 16in -40cm- taller than the petite girl.
"I..." Jiro stutters for a moment, then her eyes get teary as she finally lets it all out. "Because I like you, and I know I tried not to but I really do. And I like Momo, and I don't know what to do, so when both of you got all, close, like that, I just kept listening in ok.
What else was I supposed to do? Both the people I'm attracted to were...and I just...I...I don't know. I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone, don't tell Momo that I'm---"
"As if I care about some teenaged sexuality crisis, and again, you aren't very subtle, but relax Momo is too sweet to treat you any differently either way."
"What about---"
"I already knew why you were listening in," Horizon shrugs. "I just like watching you squirm, atleast that makes us even."
"What?"
"But I do have one question," he ensures he's making proper contact with her, and reads her body as he speaks. "When you were listening in, how much can you see. I imagine you have something like echo mapping, right?"
"I'm not that good yet, I could only hear," Jiro says. "Sorry to disappoint...even more."
Luckily for her, he detects no lies. He was fairly sure she wouldn't have gotten much detail like his face and certainly not his tattoos, but better safe than sorry.
And removing Jiro from the board is always preferable to compromising Law Matani.
With her dodging that bullet he steps away and continues looking around her room, as she desperately tries to make sense of what's happening.
Taking deep breaths she wipes her tears and just observes him, before finally speaking.
"Are you going to report me to Principal Nezu?"
"Don't be stupid," Horizon says. "What Momo and I were doing is so much worse than your preerected antics, the teachers acknowledge that they can't fully stop students from fucking, but they have to atleast try to prevent it. But atleast try not to be such a creepy pervert in the future, or just ask to be there, doubt either of us would mind..."
Jiro's mind is sent reeling with that thought, and she blinks a few times to try and make sense of it, but before responding with some outrage, she takes stock of the situation.
And realizes she's really holding no moral position to be judging him "what?"
Horizon stops looks around and walks up to her, then leans in closer to her face, "I sensed it early on, so if I wanted to. If you were anyone else spying on us, this would have gone very differently, but since its you we're having a pleasant and hopefully fruitful conversation about this."
Jiro nods stiffly, feeling the hairs behind her neck stand up, a new sense of danger filling the room.
"But you're you, and how this ends is quite obvious, so I saw no reason not to let you have a glimpse of your future. Atleast now you know what you're signing up for..."
Jiro freezes for a moment, and from the look in her eyes, he can tell her brain is struggling to process all of this.
And the redness on her face says she's finally making some progress in understanding him.
Shaking his head he sighs, and pats her head, "don't be late for class, and try not to be any weirder around us..."
And with that, he warps away, happy with how he's using the perks that come from being Horizon.
END CHAPTER---