Make This Canon

Kirishima looked up from his video game. "What about them? They're just… quiet."

"Quiet?" Mina scoffed, pointing a dramatic finger at the ceiling. "Kirishima, my dude, they are not quiet. They are a black hole of mutual pining. I've seen more chemistry in a bowl of plain rice. It's painful."

It was true. You, a transfer student with a powerful but unwieldy sound-manipulation quirk, were so shy you often communicated in nods. Ojiro, with his earnest demeanor and unshakeable politeness, seemed to seize up within a five-foot radius of you. Your interactions were a masterclass in awkward brevity.

"Morning, L/N-san," Ojiro would say, his tail giving a single, stiff wag.

"Morning," you'd mumble back, immediately finding the floor tiles intensely fascinating.

And then you'd both flee in opposite directions.

"They're hopeless," Uraraka agreed, floating slightly in her seat. "The other day, they both reached for the same carton of milk and just… froze. For a full ten seconds. Then they both apologized and neither of them took the milk."

Kaminari snorted. "It's like watching two squirrels try to cross the street. They just keep running back and forth."

"This is unacceptable," Mina declared, standing on her chair. "We are heroes-in-training! We face down villains! We cannot be defeated by two people who are too shy to have a normal conversation! I hereby declare… Operation: Tail Match is a go!"

A chorus of groans and reluctant agreements filled the room. Bakugo, who had been pretending to ignore them from the kitchen, slammed a mug down. "If you idiots get in my way with your stupid matchmaking, I'll blast you all to kingdom come."

"Aw, he's just grumpy because he's not the center of attention for once," Mina whispered loudly to Hagakure, who giggled.

Phase One of Operation: Tail Match was "Accidental Proximity." The plan was simple: create situations where you and Ojiro were forced to interact.

Their first attempt was during study hall. Sero and Kaminari "accidentally" took the chairs on either side of you, leaving only the seat next to Ojiro available. When you arrived, book clutched to your chest like a shield, you froze.

"There's a spot right there," Uraraka said cheerfully, pointing.

You looked at the empty chair. You looked at Ojiro, who had gone rigid, his tail completely still. You looked back at the empty chair as if it were a cage containing a wild animal.

"I… I think I'll stand," you whispered, backing away slowly.

Ojiro let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Phase One: complete failure," Kaminari muttered into his phone in the group chat he'd titled "Tail Match Command Center."

Phase Two: "Shared Interests." Mina discovered you both liked jazz music—a rare and unexpected overlap. She "organized" a movie night, featuring a film with a famous jazz soundtrack. She strategically placed a bowl of popcorn between the two designated love seats.

You arrived ten minutes late, slipping into the darkest corner you could find, which was unfortunately not next to Ojiro. He was already seated, looking like he was attending his own execution. Mina tried to salvage it.

"Y/N, come sit up front! The view is better!"

You shook your head so fast you looked like a bobblehead.

"But the popcorn is up here!" she insisted.

"I'm not hungry," you squeaked.

Ojiro's tail gave a sad, defeated thump against the floor. He spent the entire movie staring at the screen without actually seeing it, hyper-aware of your presence in the same room. You spent the entire movie trying to make yourself as small as possible, convinced Ojiro was annoyed you were even there.

Phase Three was where the instigation truly began. The class decided subtlety was for losers.

During training, Aizawa paired you and Ojiro together for a sparring match. It was a disaster. You were so afraid of hurting him with your sound waves that you barely used your quirk. He was so afraid of accidentally hitting you with his tail that he fought with both hands behind his back. It ended with both of you awkwardly circling each other until Aizawa called time, looking more done with life than usual.

"Did you two even touch each other?" he asked, monotonous.

"No, sir," you both mumbled in unison.

That was the breaking point for the class. As you were leaving the training grounds, Kirishima "tripped" and bumped into you, sending you stumbling directly into Ojiro's path. You collided with his chest with a soft "oof." His hands flew up to steady you, hovering awkwardly over your arms. For a breathtaking second, you were inches apart. His tail, betraying his calm exterior, gave three frantic, happy wags.

You both sprang apart as if electrocuted.

"S-Sorry!" you stammered, face burning.

"My fault!" Ojiro said at the same time, his face just as red.

From behind a bush, Mina gave a thumbs-up to Hagakure, who was filming. "We got it! We got the footage!"

The teasing began in earnest the next day at breakfast.

"Morning, lovebirds!" Kaminari sang as you and Ojiro entered the dining hall at different times, from different doors.

You immediately tried to turn back, but Mina and Uraraka were already there, gently guiding you to a table. Ojiro was already seated, looking trapped.

"So, Ojiro," Sero began, leaning his chin on his hands. "Saw you and Y/N yesterday. Looked pretty… impactful."

Ojiro choked on his rice. "It was an accident."

"An accident of fate!" Mina declared. "The universe wants you to be together!"

You wanted the floor to swallow you whole. You picked at your food, wishing you had an invisibility quirk instead of a sound one. You were certain they were making fun of you. Of course Ojiro wouldn't like you. You were weird and quiet and you could barely string a sentence together around him. They were just pointing out how ridiculous the very idea was.

Ojiro, on his side of the table, was having a similar crisis. They were teasing him because it was so obvious you didn't like him. You were always so uncomfortable around him. He was just making you anxious. He should just leave you alone.

The situation escalated. The class started "accidentally" leaving things behind so one of you would have to return them to the other.

"Y/N! You dropped your pen!" Hagakure would shout, kicking a pen toward Ojiro's desk.

Ojiro would pick it up, his heart pounding, and hold it out to you. "You… you dropped this."

"Th-thanks," you'd mumble, snatching it and fleeing.

"Ojiro! You forgot your notebook!" Kaminari would yell, tossing it onto your empty chair after you'd left class.

You'd find it, see his neat handwriting, and feel a pang of longing so sharp it hurt. You'd return it to his desk after hours when no one was around, leaving it with a note that just said "Thanks" that you'd rewritten twenty times.

The breaking point came during a school festival planning meeting. The class was deciding on a theme.

"We could do a cafe!" Uraraka suggested.

"Or a haunted house!" Tokoyami added.

"How about a play where Ojiro and Y/N confess their undying love?" Kaminari joked.

That was it. You couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop it!" you said, your voice louder than anyone had ever heard it. The room fell silent. You were standing, fists clenched, trembling slightly. "Just… stop teasing us. It's not funny. It's mean."

You turned and fled the room, the sound of your footsteps echoing in the stunned silence.

Ojiro stared after you, his gut twisting. He saw your face—not embarrassed, but hurt. He looked around at his classmates, who all suddenly looked ashamed.

"Dude, that was harsh," Kirishima muttered to Kaminari.

"I didn't think she'd get that upset," Kaminari said quietly.

Ojiro stood up. "I'll… I'll go talk to her."

He found you in an empty classroom, sitting with your knees pulled to your chest, staring out the window. He hesitated in the doorway, his tail drooping.

"L/N-san?" he said softly.

You flinched but didn't turn around. "Go away, Ojiro-san. I'm sure you don't want to be seen with me. It'll just give them more ammunition."

He took a step inside. "That's not… that's not why I'm here."

"Then why?" Your voice was thick with unshed tears. "Are you here to tell me to stop being so weird around you? Because I'm trying. It's just… hard."

Ojiro felt a pang of guilt.

He sat down in a desk a few feet away, giving you space. "No, that's not it at all," he said, his voice quiet but steady. "I'm here because… because I think they're right, but they're going about it in the worst way possible."

You finally turned to look at him, your eyes wide and glistening. "Right about what?"

"About… this," he gestured vaguely between the two of you. "About me being… well, about me liking you."

The world stopped. Your breath hitched. This had to be a cruel joke. "You… what?"

"I like you, L/N-san," he said, the words tumbling out now that the dam had broken. "A lot. And I've been driving myself crazy because I thought you found me annoying. The way you always look away, how you leave rooms when I enter… I just assumed you couldn't stand me."

You stared at him, his earnest face slowly coming into focus. His tail was giving a slow, hopeful wag. "I… I thought you found me annoying," you whispered, the confession feeling like ripping off a bandage. "I get so nervous I can't think straight. My quirk gets all staticky in my head. I say stupid things. I just assumed you were being polite by not telling me to get lost."

A small, disbelieving smile touched Ojiro's lips. "So we've both been complete idiots?"

"Looks like it," you managed, a watery laugh escaping you.

The tension in the room shifted, melting into something warm and fragile. Ojiro moved from the desk to the floor, sitting cross-legged a respectful distance away.

"For what it's worth," he said, scratching the back of his neck, "I don't think you're weird at all. I think you're really strong. Your quirk is incredible, and the control you must have… it's amazing. And I like how quiet you are. It's… calming."

Your face felt like it was on fire, but this time it wasn't from embarrassment. "I like your tail," you blurted out, then immediately cringed. "I mean—I think it's really cool. How you use it in combat. It's like an extra limb. And you're always so… honorable. You're one of the most genuine people I've ever met."

Ojiro's tail gave a more enthusiastic wag, thumping softly against the leg of the desk. "I was wondering if… maybe after the festival… you'd want to get some ice cream? Or something? Just the two of us?"

You nodded, probably a little too enthusiastically. "Yeah. I'd really like that."

Meanwhile, back in the common room, Operation: Tail Match had been officially dissolved.

"We're the worst," Mina declared, her face buried in a pillow. "We're supervillains. We emotionally damaged our friends."

"Total manly failure," Kirishima agreed, slumped over the couch.

Bakugo, who had been observing the entire debacle from his armchair, finally spoke up. "You're all idiots. You spent weeks pushing them together like a couple of malfunctioning robots and never once stopped to ask them what they were thinking. Useless, the whole lot of you."

"He's right," Uraraka sighed. "We should just apologize."

When you and Ojiro returned to the common room a little while later, looking significantly less like frightened deer, you were met by a chorus of immediate and sincere apologies.

"We are so, so sorry, Y/N!" Mina said, rushing over to you. "We were being jerks. We just got carried away and we never meant to hurt you."

"We messed up, man," Kirishima said to Ojiro, bowing his head. "We were trying to help but we just made everything weird."

You and Ojiro exchanged a look. A tiny, almost imperceptible smile passed between you.

"It's… okay," you said, surprising everyone with your calm tone. "It worked out. Eventually."

Ojiro nodded. "But maybe no more schemes?"

"No more schemes," the class chorused in agreement.

Life after The Great Intervention settled into a new, comfortable rhythm. The teasing didn't stop entirely, but it changed. It was no longer sharp and needling; it became fond and supportive.

If Ojiro saved you a seat at breakfast, Kaminari would just wiggle his eyebrows and say, "Looking sharp, you two," instead of making a scene.

If you happened to walk back to the dorms with him after class, Mina would give you two a subtle thumbs-up from a distance.

Your interactions were no longer limited to five minutes. You found yourself sitting next to him in class, your shoulders sometimes brushing. You studied together in the library, a comfortable silence stretching between you, broken only by the turning of pages or the occasional whispered question.

One evening, you were both in the common room, you reading on the couch and him watching TV. His tail was resting on the cushion between you. After a few minutes, you felt it gently, hesitantly, brush against your leg. You didn't move away. Instead, you slowly reached out your hand and rested it on the cushion next to it. A moment later, his tail shifted again, its tip just barely touching your pinky finger. It was the smallest, most tentative connection, but it sent a jolt through you more powerful than any of your sound waves.

From the kitchen, Sero and Kirishima watched, wide-eyed. They gave each other a silent, triumphant fist bump.

Your first date was for ice cream, just as he'd promised. It was still a little awkward, but it was a sweet, hopeful kind of awkward. You learned he had two younger sisters and was terrible at video games. He learned you loved old black and white movies and had a pet cat back home that could apparently predict the weather.

Class 1-A, true to form, had "coincidentally" chosen the same ice cream parlor for their own outing. They sat at a table on the other side of the shop, trying—and failing—to look inconspicuous.

"Is he holding her hand?" Uraraka whispered, peeking through the menu.

"No, I think he's just reaching for the napkins," Hagakure whispered back.

"Act natural!" Kaminari hissed, as he stared at you with binoculars.

You and Ojiro both pretended not to notice them, sharing a small, private smile over your melting ice cream sundaes. Operation: Tail Match may have been a disaster, but somehow, in the midst of all the chaos and teasing, it had managed to succeed.

♡‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡

A/N: not since my FIRST day on Tumblr here...have I seen a fully ojiro fic...my man (yes I have another) need more representation!!

comments and likes are always appreciated!