Finally Found: A Kamijiro Fanfiction

Chapter Twelve: A Day On Patrol

Warning: This chapter contains a sensitive topic of sexual harassment.

They were lucky Lisle wasn't as dense as Brion was, but as the elementary schools began releasing their students for the day, the district only became much more crowded. Many children adored the student heroes who've fought in the Sports Festival, Todoroki being a large favorite. But every now and then, they'd be greeted politely by strangers and their excited kids.

The district of Lisle was right next-door to Brion, which was where the outskirts of the buildings and corporate offices lie. The only problem with that, was that nosy reporters and inside journalists liked to roam around. And just their luck, they came across a very unpleasant magazine writer working for "Heroines", a magazine chain that strictly focused on female heroes. (The same magazine line Mineta adored reading.)

Kaminari was down the sidewalk, occupied with a kid who begged to shock his finger with his quirk. Jirou rolled her eyes with a light smile, startled when someone latched onto her arm.

"Earphone Jack! I haven't spoken with a U.A. student yet," a man with worn glasses approached her.

"Oh- hello?" She gently took her hand back.

"I'm just a journalist looking for people to interview for 'Heroines'," the stranger said enthusiastically. He didn't seem to be threatening in any way, in fact he just looked like an excitable man in his late thirties.

The only thing that seemed to be odd about him was how his iris and pupil looked like weird, mini camera shutters.

"'Heroines'? As in the large magazine line?" Jirou asked uneasily as he nodded vigorously.

"It'd be interesting to finally speak with the reknowned students of Class 3A," he added. "But finding you whenever you're not training is quite difficult."

"I'm sorry, it sounds appealing but I'll have to turn that offer down," Jirou rested her hands over the journalist's fists as he pleaded, slowly lowering his arms.

"Awe c'mon, I know there are 5 other girls in the class with you," his tone seemed to switch to a more coy, playful sound. "You'd be the first out of all them to be featured in Heroines," he took his hands and held them on her wrists.

"Apologies sir, but I'm really not interested-"

"You'd look really nice on that front cover page~" his voice lowered seductively as Jirou tried pulling back.

If you weren't a civilian, you would've been buried 6 feet below ground now buddy-

She knew what kind of a magazine line Heroines was. A chain for perverted people who enjoyed gawking at women's bodies. A majority of the time the photos were sneakily stolen or candid shots of normal female heroes just doing their job. They somehow always found a way to exploit their bodies, no matter how private they kept their lives.

"A young lady like you shouldn't be working so hard," his hands seemed to slowly edge their way up her arms as he hooked one hand to her coat collar. "And why the baggy coat? You'd look much better with it off~"

"Hey," Kaminari took an elbow to lean on Jirou's shoulder before the journalist had a chance to bring his grubby fingers along her neck. "She said, she's not interested," he leaned forward. "But I know there's probably other heroines who'd be delighted to talk to you, heroines your age." Something in the way Kaminari said that sounded somewhat like a threat.

"Ah, the young hero, Chargebolt," the man automatically released his grip, keeping his cool by switching the topic. "A paired patrol? Now that's interesting."

"Working on live jobs and whatnot," Kaminari brought his elbow down, taking a step forward to purposely stand between them. He was no taller than the nosy journalist himself. "We have to continue our patrol, but it was a pleasure meeting you," Kaminari with a double-sided tone, not caring to give him another glance as he turned away.

"Oh no, thank you for taking the time to speak with me," the journalist cracked a grin that held mischief as he waved them goodbye. He never took his eyes off the pair as Kaminari gripped Jirou's left hand, a light shock coming from his palm made her flinch from the pain, she didn't bother asking about it.

Jirou could've sworn she saw a flash in the journalist's eye as he blinked though.

"My god," Jirou let out a relieved breathe. "What a creep," She leaned her head back, letting go of his grip to cover her face in both hands.

"He needs to grow up. Maybe gain an ounce of decency," Kaminari said with disgust along his voice. When he looked up to glance at Jirou, she had her fingers along her coat collar to pull the fabric closed over her chest.

"When I said I wanted to be noticed as a hero, this wasn't the way I expected it," she rubbed the fabric on her coat nervously. "It makes me wonder how they got the all photos for their magazine line. . ."

Jirou knew she wasn't the most girlish person, in fact she preferred being more neutral in the way she dressed. She wasn't tall in stature like Yaoyorozu, or expressed a unique, flashy fashion sense like Hagakure. She wasn't loud and extroverted like Ashido, never thought of her quirk being very versatile, like Asui's, and was never considered the sweetest person, like Uraraka was. All of those were reasons why she lacked confidence in herself.

She'd overheard some of the things Mineta would say about her. She'd gladly punch him if he spoke about her friends, but when it came to herself she never argued. Never disagreed. Never fought back.

Because he was right.

She didn't see herself as attractive. She didn't walk like an elegant angel, it had more of a sassy jaunt, and—mixed with her typical facial expressions—it usually just looked like she was either pissed or bored all the time. Longer hair meant it interfered with her quirk, she aimed for practicality, not how pretty she'd look. Yet, she didn't think it mattered how long or short her hair was, she still looked into the mirror with doubt and self hatred.

If someone with no standards like Mineta didn't see her as attractive, then she wouldn't believe she was either.

"Are you alright?" Kaminari's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Did he say anything that bothered you?"

"Oh, no," Jirou replied, masking her inner feelings. "I'm fine, I shouldn't let something so small bother the patrol anyways."

"Well it bothers me," Kaminari said coarsely as he stared straight ahead, sweeping each intersection with his eyes as routine checks. "Anyone touching you like that pisses me off."

"It's not that big of a deal, don't mind it," Jirou responded. Although she was covering her feelings fairly well, it wasn't well enough for Kaminari; he still noticed how she hugged her arms whenever she felt uneasy.

"Well it's a big deal to me, and you know what I think," Kaminari spoke with rising tension in his voice. "I think you're worth more than what some nosy journalist has to say about you."

There was a brief pause of silence as they both gazed toward the ground.

"Thanks," Jirou said quietly, passing by a small flower shop filled with burgundy roses.

(*Cough* Gonna add this. Look up Plant Symbolism and click on the wiki to figure out what all the meanings for the flowers I put in the novel are :3 )