Every afternoon, I went straight to dance practice, then, after dinner, I would practice my quirk with Mic. He was actually a pretty great teacher. He always told me stories of his school, UA, when we took breaks. It sounded more and more like a place I wanted to go, but I knew Ochaco was going to try to get in and I didn't want her thinking I had lied to her, even though I had. I let Mic know and he was very supportive. He even offered to put me in the recommended group, but I declined his offer.

"WHAT?!? BUT IF YOU COMPETE WITH ALL THOSE OTHER APPLICANTS, THEN THERE'S MANY MORE PEOPLE YOU WILL HAVE TO BEAT TO GET IN!!!!"

I unplugged my ears when he was done, then signed, "if that's so, then so be it. I don't deserve to be a hero, if I can't beat all of them, then they are just better suited for it."

He sighed, "LOOK, KID, YOU GOTTA WANT IT AND FIGHT FOR IT! THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN PASS IS IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BE A HERO!!!!"

"I do!" I signed, indignantly. "I'm just saying that I won't be upset if I don't get in, because that means that the people who DID get in will be good heroes too."

"FINE, I WON'T PUT YOUR NAME IN THE RECOMMENDED STUDENTS PILE, BUT YOU HAVE TO WORK EXTRA HARD!!!"

I nodded and we went back to training.

And now, it's the day before the entrance exam. Reina, Ochaco, and I are sitting on Ochaco's bed and just chatting. My hands are shaking and I can't really pay attention to what we are talking about. I glance around at her room. It's very simple with a small bed, a dresser, a small, square wall mirror, and a few posters on the wall.

"Koto?" I jump and take in the looks on my friend's faces. "What's wrong?" Reina asks.

"There's something I really need to say," I sign, shakily.

"What? What is it?" Ochaco asks, worried.

I take a deep breath and remember the story I made up. "I found my quirk. I actually found it a while ago. I was just too nervous to say anything to you guys though. I didn't want you thinking I was lying to you." Nothing I said was a lie. Just not the full truth. I didn't have to say how long ago I discovered my quirk. "I've been training... And I decided I'm going to try to get into UA." I let my hands fall, terrified of their response. My eyes study the sheets and I pick at a loose thread on my jeans.

Their screams shock me and I nearly fall off the edge of the bed. They grab at my arms to keep me from falling, while simultaneously pulling me into a hug.

"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!" Ochaco cries out. She's literally crying. They're both laughing and crying. I let a few tears slip out of my own eyes.

They're really happy for me. I never knew how good it would feel to tell them.

"SO WHAT IS IT?!?" Reina shrieked.

They both looked at my hands in anticipation, but I didn't even bother lifting them. Instead, I focused my energy to the corner of the room behind them.

I have to think about what voice to use, but in the end, I know the right choice. "I was right, it did have to do with my voice," my mother's voice says from the corner. They both turn in shock. As it speaks, I make it fly over our heads and settle right in the middle of our little circle. "It just wasn't my actual voice. I can make noises that travel wherever I want them to."

They look up at me in shock and I just smile at them. All of a sudden, I'm being tackled in hugs again.

"That's amazing!!!!!!" Reina squeals.

"WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?!?!" Ochaco's voice rivals Uncle Mic's when she gets excited.

I grab their hands right next to each other and place them against each other, so they can feel what I'm about to do.

I make the space between their hands vibrate with a quiet pure tone. They both pull their hands away quickly, but then realized that it's just a vibration and they bring their hands back up to touch it again.

"Amazing," Ochaco says breathlessly.

"It feels weird when my hand goes through it," Reina giggles as the two take turns putting their whole hands through.

"But that's not all. It's basically vibrating the air, so voices aren't all I can do," the voice says.

I think back to my favorite DCOM and the songs I have completely memorized. I focus on different points of the room and make each one into a different instrument and different voice. The space fills with a performance of Breakthrough from Lemonade Mouth.

They scream again and hop off the bed, dragging me with them to dance. It's the most fun I've had in a long time. I can't remember ever smiling this hard.

"This is AMAZING!!!!!" Reina screams.

"YOU'LL GET INTO UA FOR SURE!!" Ochaco yells over the music.

When the music ends, we sit back down on the bed, a bunch of giggling messes. "So, real talk though," Reina says seriously. "You can do different voices, make any sound, and just put it wherever you want?"

I nod.

"Doesn't that take a lot of focus?" Ochaco asks.

I nod again.

"How long can you do it for?" Reina inquires.

I focus on the space in front of us and use the voice to say, "with all the training I've been doing, I can use it for a while, but there's still a limit to what I can take. Making a bunch of different points of sound obviously drains my energy faster, but even then, I can use it for a while. I've also been working on making white noise. If I can get that down, it'll take less energy."

"So how are you going to use it to get into UA?" Ochaco asks, then quickly adds, "I'm not being critical or anything! I'm just curious! How does it work in combat or rescue situations?"

I smile, knowingly. "Well, in rescue situations, it is useful when alerting victims and instructing them to stay put or in helping with evacuations. Also, with a strong enough surge, I can actually move stuff or break it. And as far as combat is concerned..." I try to hide my devious smile. "...it can be used as a distraction or in actual, physical combat."

Their eyes widen and Ochaco looks as if she's about to burst. "OHMIGOSH you have to show us right now!!!" She stands and drags us downstairs and outside.

"Use it on me!!" She hops up and down in the uncut grass, ready to see what I can do.

"Are you sure?" The voice asks, between us.

"Definitely!" She chucks her phone at Reina. "Take a video of this!! I wanna see how cool it looks from the outside!!"

I take a deep breath and ready myself. She comes charging at me, but I focus on the air in front of her and make a strong bass drum tone right to her gut. She gets thrown back a few feet. Before she can stand, I channel the sound of violins doing scales to trail up and down inside her body, from her stomach to her head. She cringes in discomfort and fights to get up, but the sound messes with her balance anytime it passes through her head and makes her muscles tense.

It's hard to watch her in this much discomfort, but I know it goes away when I stop. These vibrations aren't that powerful and shouldn't cause her actual pain. Suddenly, her face becomes pale and I immediately stop the sound as Reina and I run to her side. Tears streak her face as she breathes heavily through her mouth. She's shakey, but doesn't seem to be in pain. One moment, she's sitting in front of us and the other, she has her head in a bush, puking her guts out.

"I'm so so so so sorry!!!" I make the voice say as I run over and hold her hair back.

When she's done, she wipes her hand across her mouth and laughs. "I don't know why they say 'butterflies in your stomach.' Violins in your stomach are SO much worse."

"I'm sorry!! I guess I made it a bit too powerful, huh?" I signed once my hands were free and she was looking at me.

"No, don't be sorry! I told you to use your quirk and you did. It was really impressive too. I'm sure you'll get into UA with something like that. But now, I'm not so thrilled about my chances."

"What? Your quirk is amazing, you'll definitely get in!"

"Thanks... I'm gonna go clean up for a sec."

I nod and she turns to return inside.

I see Reina regarding me out of the corner of my eye. I glance over at her and she gives me a questioning look. "If you can use your quirk to talk, then why are you still using sign language?"

I take a deep breath and think. "I guess I just prefer being silent. I mean, I like using my quirk for music and stuff, but apart from that and combat, I don't really want to use it that much. What if I need it, but I've been using it to talk all day and my energy is all gone? Then I won't have it when I need it. Besides, sign language is sort of my thing by now. I kind of prefer being quiet."

She nods in understanding. Good, another not-lie that staunches the questions for now.

She thinks pensively to herself for a while until Ochaco reemerges from her house. "So, I was just thinking about it, Koto. Why do you still use sign language if you can use your quirk to speak?"

I sigh and basically repeat what I said to Reina. When I'm done, she nods her head.

"That makes sense, I guess. So do you just practice in your free time, or do your parents help you?"

I quickly sign "in my own time" before they get even more curious. I still haven't really told them about my living situation. They've never been to my house and I intend to keep it that way. There would be too many questions, otherwise. I told Mic to keep it to himself if I ended up getting in. Yamada is a common enough last name that nobody should question it, but then again, I do have his smile and that's pretty distinctive. However, it's not like I would be smiling all the time. I only really smile when I'm alone with Ochaco and Reina and can let loose.

With that, we walk back inside and hang out for the rest of the evening until I have to get back home. It's a big day tomorrow and I want to be well rested when it comes.