Kirishima's POV

"So this is where we're staying," Yaoyorozu leads us through the tall wooden doors of a giant house. "It's a little smaller than I would've liked, but it was the best I could find on such short notice."

We look around the massive entrance hall as we all take off our shoes. Crystal chandeliers glitter from the ceiling. Polished maple banisters snake down from the second and third floors. I'm positive that Denki and Mina will sneak out here later to slide down them. It won't be difficult to convince me to do the same; it looks fun.

"There's plenty of beds for everyone to have their own, but there are only seven bedrooms, so some people will have to share," Yaoyorozu says, sounding disappointed, but I don't think she has any reason to be. I have no problem sharing. "The boys will all be two to a room on the second floor. Present Mic has the master bedroom on the third floor, and us girls have a suite on the same floor if that's alright."

"That's perfect!" Uraraka chirps. Yaoyorozu smiles happily. 

"This place is insane!" Denki exclaims, running through the house already. 

"Kaminari, we're not here on vacation--" Midoriya starts, only to be cut off by Mic.

"GAME ROOM!!!" He screams from just down the hall. 

Everyone puts down their bags and runs off to explore. Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu's running after them, explaining where everything is. 

I'm about to investigate with the rest of the group when I hear Uraraka sigh behind me. I immediately turn around to see her with a troubled expression, eyebrows furrowed. I notice Bakugo hasn't left to explore either. Instead, he kicks off his shoes and brings his luggage upstairs. 

I place a hand on Uraraka's shoulder. "Don't worry, it's just new for them. We'll get them back on track."

She nods and follows Bakugo up the stairs. I trail behind, listening to the laughter from my classmates echo around the large hallways. Uraraka and I part ways when we reach the second floor, her going up to the top and me following Bakugo down the hallway. 

He chose the furthest room to the right with a view of trees on one side and a pond on the other. His bags are placed at the foot of the furthest bed, so I throw mine on the closest. 

"Nice choice, man," I say, giving him a thumbs up. 

"The hell do you think you're doing?" He asks, eyeing me as I launch myself onto the queen sized bed, sinking into the fluffy covers. 

"Getting used to my bed," I say, hugging a pillow close to my chest. "Yup, I'm used to it."

"GET UP, IDIOT!!" He shouts, jarring me from my peace. "This is my room!"

"You heard Yaoyorozu," I remind him with a cheerful smile. "Everybody's gonna share a room!"

He grumbles to himself and walks out, slamming the door behind him. Well, this is going great already.

Of course he's been different ever since the training camp and sure, he's usually cranky, but now even moreso. Despite this, the best thing I figure I can do is be the strong, dependent friend he can rely on. He took my hand when I reached out once, so I know he's willing. I just need to be there to offer it.

•°•°•°•

Around noon, once everyone is settled, we gather in the dining room for lunch and to sort out a plan. 

"Alrighty, yo!" Present Mic exclaims from the head of the table, Uraraka and I on either side of him, facing each other. "This is headquarters for now. We've got a couple days here to hopefully find Koto, but at the very least, find information as to where she may be. We're all gonna split off into groups to investigate the town. I want at least one group to come with me to Tyson, where she lived with her grandmother. It's a couple towns over, and it'd be a waste not to check. So, Yaoyorozu and Midoriya, you're coming with me to do that. Everyone else, will be spread out across the town to see what you can find out! But you guys gotta remember, we're in America now, so you gotta speak English. Extra credit, ya dig?"

"Let's narrow down things we should be looking for," Midoriya says. "Of course she could be anywhere, but we should highlight the places she's more likely to be like the cemetery or somewhere like that."

"Maybe her old elementary school," Uraraka adds. "I know some stuff went down there."

"Or the woods along Gervin Lane," Mic says solemnly. "There's a stream that goes underneath the road. That's where the crash happened."

We all sit in a tense silence, watching as Mic traces the wood grain in the table thoughtfully. 

"Obviously her red hair stands out," Mina says tensely. 

"That is, unless she's hiding it," I point out. I watch as all eyes turn to me. Ma's words get under my skin and make me start to feel guilty for coming. "We don't know if she would try to hide."

"Well, then what are some other defining features if she would try to hide the major ones?" Midoriya asks. 

"Freckles," I say, "across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. 

"She has a bunch of scars on her knees from when she was little," Uraraka points out.

"Blue eyes!" Mina shouts out. Of course we all know that, though. I see Bakugo roll his eyes. 

"She has a scar on her neck," Todoroki says. We all turn to look at him. He blinks a few times, then continues, drawing a line across his throat, "right here."

What?!? I think, staring at him. How does he know this? And what happened? How does she have that? Did she tell him and not me? Why? Thoughts run rampant through my head. 

I see Uraraka and Present Mic share a glance in my peripheral vision, and Bakugo snaps in a gravelly tone, "shut the fuck up, Icyhot!"

Todoroki glances around the table with questioning eyes and his usual aloof expression. "I wasn't aware it was a secret," he says blandly. 

Me neither, the sad thought crosses my mind. Even Bakugo knew about it. Why did she trust everybody except me?

"Well it fuckin' isn't anymore!"

"I don't know why you're upset," the boy replies, leaning back in his chair. "They asked for defining features and I told them. She usually wears that necklace to cover it. If it can help us find her, shouldn't everyone know? Scars are distinct."

It looks as if Bakugo is about to combust, right there in his chair, but Yaoyorozu hurriedly changes the subject. I can't help but wonder if she knew about this too. 

"You're right, Todoroki," she says. "But scars like yours are a bit too recognizable. All of us were in the sports festival, so it's likely that people here will remember us. Especially with the...unprecedentedly high viewings of the first years bracket." She side-eyes Bakugo, all of us knowing he's the reason many people watched, to see his outburst. Him and Todoroki, really, considering he's the son of the number two hero in Japan. 

"Considering this is technically an undercover mission, I propose the more recognizable of us wear disguises. Not anything too out there, just enough so that we're not immediately recognized."

"Good thinking, Momo," Uraraka says quietly, though I can tell she's trying to be cheerful. "What did you have in mind?"

She stands and begins ushering us out the door and up the two flights of stairs until she reaches the girls' room. Opening the wide double doors, I'm in awe. There's a fancy sitting room right in the middle with three other sets of doors on either wall, surely leading to each girl's room. 

"Just have a seat in the salon and I'll be back," she walks through the rightmost door and I'm left to ponder, does this place have a hair salon too?

But Bakugo just flops down on one of the couches, my other classmates following suit, which is enough to tell me that this is the "salon." Why not just say sitting room? Why do rich people make up all these words?

She comes back only a few seconds later with an armful of clothing and deposits it on the coffee table, complete with a doily lined tea set. She starts sifting through the clothes and distributing them. 

"It's just enough to look like an average American teenager while not drawing too much attention to yourselves," she explains, setting a hat on Todoroki's head. It's blue with a white "KC" embroidered on in fancy script. She grins and says, "go Royals!"

The boy looks confused, trying to set it better on his hair. She pushes back the white side to be hidden underneath the hat and pulls the red hair forward to cover his scar. "There you go!" She chirps happily. I can tell she's enjoying this, but my mind is still back at the table when they were talking about her scar. 

I can't get over why she didn't tell me about it. I'd been worried for a while now about everything she was keeping from me. All her sadness and fear. It never occurred to me that there was even more I didn't see. Even more she doesn't trust me with. I reconsider even being here on this trip. 

Maybe she really doesn't want to be found.

A pile of clothes lands on my lap. I see people standing to go back to their rooms and change, so I follow suit. 

"Kirishima!" Yaoyorozu calls after me. I turn to see her pointing at my hair. "If you could have it down? Maybe in a ponytail or something?"

I just smile and give her a cheerful thumbs up before walking out the door, down the stairs, and back to the room. 

Inside, Bakugo has already changed into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. He's wrapping a flannel around his waist when I walk in. No words between us are said as he stomps out. I sigh, wishing things could be different right now. 

------Author's Note------

Hey guys! Happy New Year to all!!!

This isn't so much fanart as it is just really sweet. I don't know if you recall, but a while back, I included a link to a YouTube playlist of the songs on GGG's old iPod. Well, UndeadBread07 made a Spotify playlist with all the songs! A massive thank you is in order! Here's the link:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/30nD3g8Zt6TQziz2EhDZl2?si=E6-F4vEESrOFzLu81cKUqw

Thank you so much for your constant support of this story! It really means the world to me.