Chapter Twelve: The Ever Growing Guilt

                                    

                                          
The evening sunlight was saying it's final farewell as the sun began to set on this calm Sunday. It was around 7 PM, and all the students from U.A. were awake and healthy. All had been discharged, they were waiting on the last few stragglers to enter the lobby.
                          
"Yaomomo, Asui," Jirou said relieved as she came up to embrace both of them in a hug. 
                          
"Hello, Jirou, I'm so glad everyone appears to be okay," Yaoyorozu exclaimed.
                          
"Ribbit, what a weekend," Asui said as Hagakure came bounding over.
                          
"You girls are alright!" Hagakure said happily. "We heard room 133 had the students who'd been hurt the worst and we didn't know what to think."
                          
"I wasn't used for anything other than creating more spikes," Yaoyorozu said rubbing the back of her head. "It was Todoroki who'd been abused the worst," she added.
                          
"The doctors all said the venom should've left our systems naturally by now, so his effects won't work on us anymore, ribbit," Asui reassured them.
                          
"I wonder, does this mean we won't be returning to our dorms?" Yaoyorozu said as all the girls gave each other worried looks.
                          
"What if they get rid of the dorms?" Jirou asked.
                          
"They might just ramp up the security, but who knows," Hagakure replied. 
                          
Suddenly all of their phones seemed to go off, well- the ones who had their phones on them. The chaos made everyone hazy and easy to misplace everything, so some students probably even had their phones somewhere lost in the dormitory building still.
                          
"Midoriya just texted me to meet him at the park," Tokoyami scratched his head.
                          
"Hey, me too," Sero came up to Tokoyami to see the message.
                          
"Did everyone get one?" Jirou asked, looking around at everyone's confused faces.
                          
"Why the park?" Shouji asked, opening the door as the herd of students flooded the outside.
                          
"Probably because the dorms are going to be closed until further notice," Oijirou guessed.
                          
"Well the park isn't far from here, let's go see what he wants," Hagakure bounded ahead excitedly.
                          
"How are you so full of energy," Uraraka said tiredly, trailing after her.
                          
All the students talked among each other, taking a field trip to the park. It was odd too, because some of their parents had asked to see them at the park nearby as well. Jirou felt her phone vibrate as she got another text. She guessed it was from Midoriya, but to her surprise it wasn't. It was Kaminari.
                          
'Hey, you're gonna love what we got planned. I got a gift for you too.' Kaminari had sent.
                          
A gift? 
                          
"Hey! I'm so excited you're all here!" Ashido hopped by some picnic tables, filled with food, their friends, and some of their families.
                          
"Is this the surprise?" Uraraka's face lit up.
                          
"Midoriya suggested we make you all feel happy when you finally got discharged, so a few of the parents and us 6 helped to set this up!" Kirishima said with a big smile. Even Bakugo was here, helping with the food.
                          
"That's so generous!" Yaoyorozu clasped her hands together as everyone began chattering. The park was full of joyful smiles and hooting laughter, with parents embracing their kids, friends being reunited and teachers greeting their students, the area was full of happiness.
                          
"Hey Jirou, you're here!" a friendly voice caught her attention, and when she turned around Kaminari was behind her, holding a little white box.
                          
"Oh, Kaminari," Jirou replied with a soft smile as he held the box out for her. "What's this?"
                          
"Just take it," he said with anticipation.
                          
Jirou made a confused but somewhat curious expression, opening the box to reveal chocolate covered strawberries.
                          
"I know you like strawberries so I got you some," Kaminari gave a dorky grin while rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.
                          
"Really?" Jirou took a strawberry out, looking back up at him. She noticed a medical wrap around his neck and her expression changed. "What happened to your neck? Are you okay?"
                          
"No, I'm fine, I promise," Kaminari held his hands up. "You didn't hurt me that bad."
                          
"I  hurt you?" Jirou reeled back at what he'd said. She didn't remember a single thing.
                          
"No, no- it wasn't your fault," Kaminari quickly replied. "It was mine, I shouldn't have let you get stung."
                          
"I didn't know I  was the one who hurt you," Jirou said, her face washing with guilt as she lightly rubbed her arm over the band-aid covering her sting.
                          
She had hurt the person she cared for the most. How could she have let that happen?
                          
"Oh Jirou!" Ashido came to hug her as well, she'd been going around hugging all of the girls, being the extrovert she was.
                          
"Hi Ashido," Jirou slipped on a faint smile, closing her box of strawberries before even getting the chance to take a bite of one. 
                          
"Come take a group selfie with us!" Ashido tugged her by the arm, dragging Jirou farther from Kaminari.
                          
Neither of them wanted to leave the other, but Jirou was already across the park lawn with all the other girls under the shade of a tree.
                          
Both of them, however, had the same pit of guilt growing in their chests. 
                          
I let him get hurt.
                          
I let her get hurt.
                          
And that was all they could think about for the rest of the day.