Nothing was okay anymore. Jirou looked out the window in class, as Aizawa talked about the qualities of a proper hero. It was mostly talking about rescue missions, and how to decipher minor injuries from major. How to treat terrified victims. Jirou snuck her ear jack down, and attached it to her phone. Her thumb scrolled down her list of songs, before she found her Halsey playlist. She pressed play, and quietly hummed along to Hurricane. The world seemed far away, and she mindlessly took notes. She was sort of paying attention, though her mind was on Momo. What exactly had she fallen for? Her hips? Her knowledge? Her kindness? She hadn't realized how far she was spacing out until Aizawa called her name.
"Kyoka? Are you feeling all right?" Aizawa had a serious tone. "You look a little pale."
Jirou nodded. "I'm fine. Just thinking hard about my plans if I ever have to rescue someone."
Aizawa let out a 'mmm' and turned back towards the board. Jirou swallowed the tickle in her throat, and continued looking out the window. A bird flew in front of the window, and Momo tapped her elbow. Jirou turned and looked at her. Momo had a smile, and pointed her pen down at a note on Jirou's desk. It read, Todoroki and I have been worried about you. What happened at the study party?
Jirou shook her head. She didn't want to discuss that night. The petals still flooded her throat, and Momo was still always on her mind. Jirou looked down at her paper, and along with notes found little doodles of flowers. Each petal had a unique design, and Jirou was happy with her work. Hurricane ended, and Colors began playing. She found herself writing down the lyrics that she found she related with. Momo stared up at the board, and Jirou couldn't help but begin to sketch her.
Class was going to end in ten minutes. Aizawa said that you should discuss forming a hero group with others, and immediately Momo was at Jirou's desk. She began talking, and she said that they should team up. She invited Denki over. Then all of a sudden, Todoroki had joined the team. He ruffled Momo's hair, and she looked up to him and kissed him. On the lips. Jirou was frozen in time. Before she could swallow them, petals fell from her mouth onto the desk. In spurts, blood came out too. Jirou covered her mouth, then a retching sound came out of her. More flowers escaped her, and at this point everyone was looking at her. She had petals and blood stuck to her face, and her desk looked like a mess. Denki gingerly put a hand on her back, and her eyes blurred. Black crept in from the sides of her vision, and Momo was crying. The last thing Jirou saw before passing out from lack of air was a spot of red landing on Denki's shirt.
"Sorry," She muttered, before falling back in her seat.
In little moments, her consciousness regained. She saw Recovery Girl at her side. Once she saw All Might and Aizawa discussing her well-being. Someone had the audacity to bring her flowers. Denki was at her left side most of the time. The final time she woke when she fully recovered, Momo was looking worried. She had her eyes locked on the door, as if expecting someone. Jirou's hand twitched, and she swallowed more petals and tears. If Recovery Girl saw that she was coughing more, she would probably send Momo away.
Momo looked down and saw Jirou was awake. "Kyoka-chan! I've been so, so worried. We all have been."
At that moment, the door gently opened to reveal all 19 of her classmates had come to see her. Mineta looked like he wanted to tear the hospital gown off of her, but Ururaka was already kicking him for Jirou. Midoriya held a teddy bear, at least he realized that he probably shouldn't get flowers for a get-well present. Kirirshima had tears in the corners of his eyes, and Jirou thought that he probably was holding them back for the "manliness." Todoroki stood in the back, and as soon as the door opened Denki came to her side.
He sniffed up tears, and said, "I guess the secret is out, huh? You've got Hanahaki."
Jirou started feeling better as soon as he saw him and Momo together. "I've also got a lot to say to the person who brought me flowers."
Denki laughed through his tears, splattering them across the sheet covering Jirou. "I was so desperate for you to come back. You know- you know the only thing I could think of while you were out, which was only a day and a half by the way, was that the last thing you said was 'sorry.' It took me an hour to figure out, that you were sorry because you got one drop of blood on me. And, it's funny, cause I'm the one sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't take care of you."
"Awww," Ururaka couldn't hold it back. "You see? Your boyfriend really cares about you, doesn't he Kyoka-chan!"
Jirou looked at Denki for reassurance, and she knew somehow that he understood what she was going to do. "Uh, actually, we're not dating. We're just really close friends."
Iida stepped in. "Well, there's gotta be at least some romance in between you too, you have a strong connection!"
Mineta glared at him. "Why do you have to be so observant? You're taking the meat off the market before I even get a chance!"
Jirou's voice grew raspier, but still she fought with, "One, Mineta, you never stood a chance. And two, Iida, there's no chance of a romance between us. I'm... I'm gay."
Some small gasps, when Midoriya stepped into the room. He gave her a honey-sweet smile that melted her insides. He patted her shoulder, and chuckled slightly. Jirou blushed slightly, and met eyes with Tsu. She was smiling, and pointed to herself. Then she held up two fingers— a peace sign. Then Jirou got it, and she let out a small 'ah.' Using all she had without really outing herself, Tsu said 'me too.' Jirou gave her a small, almost unnoticed thumbs up. Tsu slightly stuck out her tongue, as a sort of acknowledgement of Jirou's love.
"I still support you." That wasn't a surprise, Midoriya fucking supported everyone. Hell, if you said you were going to fuck a tree he'd probably be by your side every step of the way.
Everyone nodded, and Todoroki commented something that Jirou really did expect. "It was kind of obvious that she was gay. Once we found out she had Hanahaki, I knew the way to get it was by one sided love. Denki was the only male in this class that she had a close enough relationship with to fall for, which left the girls, which she is friends with them all."
People nodded at his observation, and Jirou looked at her feet. He just said she was friends with all of them to hide her crush. Besides Ururaka and Tsu, Momo was the only one she was really close with. And all the times those dreadful flowers came out, it was when Momo was near. It was obvious she had a crush on Momo. Jirou's eyes watered, because her throats hurt to bad to talk. Sure she was practically yelling earlier, but she had ignored the pain to put a smile on so no one would worry. It's what she did every day, really.
"Alright, you best be going now. She can't talk that much, otherwise her oxygen will be scarce too soon," Recovery Girl shooed everyone out. She waved her hands in a small, sweeping motion, and sometimes some were so stubborn she had to hit them. Of course, it was gentle—she was the school nurse after all.
Jirou laid in her hospital bed. Nothing could convince her that she was happy. She could barely speak because of some stupid crush, who would never love her back. She was falling for a straight girl with beautiful eyes and wonderful hair. Her smile was blinding, and Kyoka couldn't dream of not collapsing inside when she saw it. Momo was perfect, and she didn't like her back, and it was literally killing her.
"Kyoka, you'll need to rest for about another hour and a half. If you still feel weak, feel free to stay longer. Aizawa and All Might need to speak with you now, however. May I let them in?" Recovery Girl's voice was calm and reassuring, but Jirou's hands were still clammy when she nodded.
As soon as she gave the permission, the two teachers walked in. Aizawa was looking tired, as usual. All Might gave a encouraging smile, and said an altered version of his famous slogan.
"I am here to help you, young dying Kyoka!"
Jirou smiled, while Recovery Girl smacked him and told Jirou that she was not going to die. She loved the fact that Recovery Girl's voice was either stern or sweet as honey. Kyoka couldn't lie, she loved it. She loved getting love from her surprisingly rapidly growing illness. Although it felt a bit like pity, it still made Jirou's heart happy.
Momo's scared look still was engraved in her mind. Was she worried about Kyoka? Did she want her to die? Did she want her to live? Jirou left her thoughts alone to listen to the teachers. All Might and Aizawa fought over what to start with, the good news or the bad news. Jirou didn't care either way, she knew the truth. She was dying, and she was going to die because she refused to get the surgery. Momo might be the last face she ever sees, and that face could be filled with either love or hatred. Jirou ran the facts over and over in her mind before Aizawa finally raised his voice above a whisper to talk with her.
"Jirou. As you most likely know, you have Hanahaki disease. You have a very extreme condition, and we must figure out how to keep you safe," Aizawa kept a monotone voice, but Jirou knew deep down that he cared a lot about her. "We've decided that you must share your crush with the class, because 21 minds thinking about how to solve this is better than two. We do not expect you to fix yourself-"
"Or take notes in class!" All Might finished. Jirou knew that he was the one who thought of it, Aizawa probably wouldn't have cared either way. Jirou remembered the day he had Support Group make a robot that Iida could use so he could keep up with class. Then again, he was a very eager student to learn and probably would have requested it to happen anyway. "Jirou, all of your classmates and teachers care a lot about your state. I know it'll be embarrassing sharing who you have fallen in love with, but it must happen for your sake."
Jirou's heart dropped as she took in the words a second time. The first time she heard them, she thought that it was only Aizawa's choice and All Might would differ from the terrible idea. Jirou hadn't expected to hear that she was going to tell everyone about Momo, and she began to feel the flowers coming back up again. She gasped a couple times, and not that pretty gasp in movies when a guy asks to marry the female protagonist. They were ugly, and harsh, and they were the only things giving Jirou air until she could get the petals out of her system. All Might cringed, while Aizawa and Recovery Girl stepped forward, ready to help in any way possible. As Jirou threw up and saw the familiar flash of red and blood-stained white, she gripped tight onto Aizawa's shoulder to keep her lungs at the biggest size possible. She learned the trick when she had little stamina in P.E. and knew it let more air into her lungs. It still felt the same as her scrunched up chest, but it was better than nothing. She gave a silent thanks as Aizawa put a hand on her back to support her. All Might looked around for something to do, and his eyes filled with worry when he saw the blood trickling down both corners of her mouth.
She laid down, when had she sat up? Aizawa had brought out the true dad in himself, and was making sure Kyoka was okay. Aizawa never left her side, along with Recovery Girl, but All Might said he had 'business.' Kyoka's mind was filled with one thing however.
What will Momo think when I tell everyone about my crush?