Koto's POV
(Tuesday the 23rd)

It's about 10 at night when I finally finish my story. Kati and I are sprawled across the bed, passing a stress ball back and forth. Whenever she catches it, she uses her wind quirk to do tricks with it.

"I can't believe he just left like that," she says, making the ball hover as she winds it between her fingers. "Like what the hell did you do to him? If anybody has a reason to storm out, it's you. I mean I guess that's what you did anyway."

"I d-don't know," I say, still struggling to wrap my mind around it myself. I switch back to illusing, my throat hurting like crazy from trying to speak all day, "I mean I did push him away. And there was everything that happened in the hospital. I don't know, it seems like he's more fragile than he lets on. He was probably embarrassed anyway that the therapist was making him show emotion. He only has about two moods that he shows us and both of them are angry."

"I still can't believe that he acted like that though. From what I saw at the sports festival, he seemed…" she trails off. 

"Feral?" I supply. She laughs dryly and nods. "Yeah, he's like that most of the time. But I guess there's more to him than that. There has to be a reason he's like that, ya know? I think he's too embarrassed by his emotions that he feels the need to put up a front. Whether that's about him being a hero in the spotlight or not, I don't know. But I know it's not healthy. Believe me, I do that enough. I'm just too weak to keep the walls up. I can't help but wonder how long he's been shutting people out. He's too good at it."

She is silent for a while. I glance over to see if she's asleep, but watch as she regards me pensively. 

"I think everybody has pain," she says quietly, looking back at the ceiling. "Some are better at hiding it. Maybe he's never had friends that he can talk about it with, so he might not know how to approach the topic."

"He doesn't really like talking about anything," I illuse. "I doubt that'd be the first thing he'd choose."

"Maybe if it's with the right person, he'd consider it the only thing important enough to talk about."

I let the thought sink in for a while. "Maybe you're right."

We sit in thoughtful silence for a while before I feel uncomfortable that we've been talking about my life this whole time. "So what's been going on with you?"

She sighs morosely, as if she was dreading that question. "Oh, you know...life…"

I observe her as she absentmindedly passes the ball from hand to hand, staring at the ceiling, brow furrowed. "I guess it's going alright."

I continue looking at her until she faces me, letting out a heavy sigh. "St-st-start from th-the beg-g-ginning," I try to say firmly, but the stutter makes that difficult.

"Well, after you left, a lot of people were nicer to me because I was injured, but there were plenty of people that thought I got what I deserved. They kept me at a distance for a while. But, you know, elementary school grudges don't last forever, so eventually it was forgotten. I was never really a part of the popular crowd, but sorta the outcasts that people wouldn't be too upset if they got paired up with for a project, you know?"

I nod and she continues, "anyway, the table I sit at in biology has all these hero course students and they were talking about some party."

"Oh yeah," I illuse. "What...path, I guess, are you taking?"

"I'm just in the business course," she explains. "Everyone kept telling me I couldn't do it. Be a hero, I mean."

That's horrible, I think. She seems to read my expression well. 

"Even before they did, though, I knew I couldn't do it." I start to say something, but she cuts me off. "I don't have the mindset for a hero. And personally, I don't think I'm the right person. Frankly, not all of us can be heroes. It's the fact that everybody tries to be a hero that nothing else is getting done. Science has been focusing on the study of quirks for so long, don't you realize nothing else is happening? The new cars have exactly the same engines as the old ones with slightly different lines on the exterior to look new, but they're exactly the same. A new phone hasn't been released in three years! At least not from the big companies. They don't have enough minds behind their invention teams. If I try to go into that field, I have a better chance and I know it's my only opportunity to have an impact."

I don't respond. It's the same way I had seen myself for so long, and still sometimes consider in case I can't make it in the hero world. 

"Anyways, there's that party in three days, do you think you'll still be around for it?" 

"I don't plan to leave before the weekend, since I need to be back by Monday. But who knows?" 

"What does that mean?"

"I feel like I should've put more in my letter. I don't know, I just have this gut feeling that Mic followed me. I know he wants to protect me, but I'm doing just fine, you know?"

"Well are you sure you want to go to this party, then? What if someone recognizes you? What if somebody actually is here and they see you walking around? Would you...go back with them?"

I sigh, knowing she's right. I'm sure they'd recognize me in an instant. "What if I wear a disguise? Nothing too crazy, just some contacts and a wig? Or…" I look down at my red curls, tugging on a strand. "I could dye it."

Her eyes widen as if I just suggested running myself over with a car. "No! Your hair is so pretty as it is, though!"

"But somebody could recognize me," I protest. 

"Are you really that scared that they'll come and find you?" Her voice is quiet, genuinely asking. 

I sigh and rub my face, illusing, "I just don't want them to come grab me and constantly be asking what's wrong or if I want to talk about it. I did this to clear my head. And I've already started to feel better, not to mention get my voice back. I don't want to ruin it now, just when I feel like I'm getting an understanding of what's wrong. And I can't face that look of pity I know I'll get…just not right now. It's too soon after everything else."

She pauses for a while, before saying, "let's go to bed. We can dye your hair tomorrow."

I don't respond as we lay there until I fall into a fitful slumber.