Bakugo's POV
(Tuesday the 30th)

I head back inside as the extras attack Curly with hugs. It's not like she's the one that left or anything, I think as I sit on the couch and scroll through my phone. My favorite brand is releasing a new skull shirt. 

She put us through all of that and now they're gonna welcome her back? As if.

I hear the door open and talking fills the room as my classmates return. They have concern in their voices, but I don't really care. 

"Why do you hide your scar all the time? You don't have to hide it from us!" I hear the voice of the invisible chick say. I look up from my phone, feeling my heart pounding for some reason. Maybe one of those extras screwed up cooking this morning and I mixed my food up with theirs. I swear if they got me sick…

I watch as Curly looks around in horror. As a matter of fact, her hair isn't actually curly right now. Why did she straighten it again? Now I need to think of a new nickname. Mute obviously doesn't work anymore, I think. 

Pinky steps forward. "Toru, I told you not to tell anyone!" She turns to her friend with sad eyes. "Todoroki told us."

I clench my teeth as Half 'n Half shrugs. Curly excuses herself and pushes past them, shoulders hunched. What an idiot. Don't those fuckers understand she hid it for a reason?

She goes into the elevator and as the doors close behind her, the others look around at each other with uncomfortable expressions. What did they think would happen?

"Should someone go talk to her?" Tail asks. 

"She obviously didn't want people to know about it," Emo Bird remarks. "It wasn't our business to know. We should apologize."

"Not right now," Half 'n Half tells them. "She probably wants to be by herself after everything. She has to unpack anyway. Let's not give her trouble. She'll come to us when she wants to talk, I'm sure."

Pink Cheeks shares a glance with Kirishima. I'm sure they also know that's not true, but the rest of our class moves on anyway. I go back to my phone. 

•°•°•°•

After dinner, Curly still hasn't left her room. 

"She probably went to sleep," Half 'n Half says to everyone. "She'll get food when she wants it."

Dumbass. Nobody's going to visit her 'cause everyone's listening to him. What do they know? She said she likes people to sit with her. 

I pause, blinking a few times. I didn't even realize I remembered that. Not that I'm gonna be the one to do that, though. 

I push back my chair and go outside. The air is uncharacteristically cool, especially at night. I guess it's just a brief cold snap before fall. The cold breeze brushes across my skin. On the deck in the back, there's a good view of the lawn where fireflies are swarming around. I've never understood what Curly said about them looking pretty. They're just bugs. 

Speaking of Curly, I hear something coming from her balcony, like someone singing. 

Like when she was singing by the campfire. Could she always talk? Or was she using her quirk? Or by some crazy chance… did she get her voice back?

I descend the stairs and walk over to the left side of the building. A couple stories up, I see bare feet dangling off a balcony. A quiet song rings out through the night, though it's not her voice. She's illusing a couple of voices, a man's warbling tenor and a pure, crisp woman's soprano. 

"A heart full of love
A heart full of you
A single look and then I knew
I knew it too 
From today
Every day."

I lay down in the grass and listen as the voices mingle together. I put an arm over my face, feeling overwhelmed for a bizarre moment. Those extras had to have messed up my food today, I think. 

"For it isn't a dream
Not a dream at all."

Another voice comes in as I hear sniffles. I remove my arm and look up at the sky. In a moment that takes my breath from my lungs, the fireflies blink through the night sky, making the stars seem as though they're swaying with her song. The hairs on my arms raise in the sudden chill that courses through my body when I realize what she meant. 

"He was never mine to lose
Why regret what cannot be?
These are words he'll never say
Not to me…
Not to me…
Not to me…"

"His heart full of love"

"He will never feel this way"

More sniffles come from above me as the music fades. I stand up and go to look at where she's sitting. Her pale legs are set between the posts of the railing and her forehead rests on one of the metal bars. She seems to notice my presence and covers her face with her hands. She makes no sound for a long time, but out of nowhere lets out a heavy sob.

"What're you doing out here, Mute?" I call up,  but she doesn't answer. "That is, if I should even be calling you that."

She still won't respond, so I climb painstakingly up one of the pillars and grab onto the balcony of the second floor. Pulling myself up, I do the same until I climb onto her balcony.

"IcyHot was just being a dick," I say as she wipes her nose on the back of her hand. Her loose purple shirt ripples in the wind. I notice she keeps her arms around herself and is shaking a little bit, but I can assume it's from crying.

"I sh-sh-shouldn't have kept it f-f-fr-from them," she stutters out. Another chill creeps through me at hearing her using her real voice. I notice she's still wearing her choker anyway to cover the scar. 

"It wasn't their business," I point out. They have no right to make her feel this way about that. Fucking extras. "You didn't answer my question. What're you doing?"

"Crying," she snaps. 

"That's not what I'm talkin' about."

"It helps m-me feel better, okay?" She sniffles and hugs herself. "I'm singing th-through Les Mis." 

"If you're 'singing,' shouldn't you be actually singing?"

She looks at me out of the top of her reddened eyes. I see she hasn't changed her makeup since last time, the color still dripping down her face in black streaks. "I c-can't sing three voices at once, D-ducky," she says in a condescending voice. 

"Tch, whatever. And don't call me that!!" I snap. For a crazy moment, it seems like the corners of her mouth twitch up at my outburst. I look away from her. We're both silent for a long while. For some reason, it starts to feel tense. Like she's waiting for me to leave. What an idiot. She specifically said she feels better when someone sits silently with her. Does she just want to feel horrible?

I sit down to her right and put my legs through the rungs like hers. I sense her gaze on me. "Well?" I ask. "You can keep going."

She looks at me with furrowed eyebrows for a long moment. "I'm in th-the middle of the sh-show."

"I don't care. Not like I'll be paying attention."

She looks away, resting her head on the railing again. I'm surprised to hear her clear her throat and start singing with her own voice, the one I heard in America.

"On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me"

Her expression is far-off. It's clear to me she's thinking of somebody. She still likes that bastard, doesn't she? After he was a total dick to her, she still wishes he was here. I clench my teeth, but stay quiet.  

"In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and forever

And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for us"

I glance over to see her expression strained. This song seems to resonate deeply with her. It's no longer like she's singing, but like she's speaking from her heart. The weird feeling in my stomach gets worse. Who was in charge of food today? Was it Deku? Of course he's useless at cooking too. 

"I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers

I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending
Without me
His world will go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known"

Her voice cracks from strain and she pauses, letting me hear my heartbeat in my ears. 

"I love him
I love him
I love him
But only on my own"

Her voice fades out as she illuses many other voices in, mingling with each other and singing vastly different parts. It occurs to me that she's not just playing the song with her quirk, but singing every part in a different voice and range and playing every instrument from memory. I contemplate how long it took her to learn this much control. 

The man from the first song sings about making a decision. From what I can tell, he either goes to war for the revolution or runs away like a coward to be with some girl. 

How is that even a question? Why wouldn't he go to war? If it's for the greater good, why would he place this woman above that?

The question boggles my mind. Eventually he states in a big crescendo that he will fight. Well, duh, I think. 

All of a sudden, every voice is present,  singing their parts at the same time. I can barely make out each part. I'm not sure how Curly can manage. 

It strikes me that the unease in my stomach may be from the unusual feeling that I might...maybe...be impressed by her. That's not the right word, I think as my hands begin to get jittery. Admire? No, that can't be it. Then why am I not used to this feeling? I've never felt this sort of admiration towards anyone but All Might, but this feels somehow different…

Unwillingly, my eyes glance over at her. Her long blonde hair covers her face as it's propped against the fence. I happen to notice her hand is resting on the stone between us. 

"Tomorrow we'll be far away
Tomorrow is the judgement day"

It's as if my hand moves on its own as it reaches out to scoop up hers, gently lacing our fingers. 

"Tomorrow we'll discover 
What our God in heaven has in store"

I blink as I realize what I just did. The twisting in my gut churns and I suck in a breath, but she doesn't move away. 

"One more dawn"

Nothing happens, her fingers don't tighten around my hand like I somehow expected them to. My insides seem as though they're about to catch on fire, particularly my eyes. I can't explain why, but I'm… disappointed…

"One more day"

I lean closer to get a better look and move her hair out of the way. Behind the silken curtain, I see her eyes closed, her mouth open, and a small trickle of drool falling from the side of her mouth. 

She's asleep, I think with a start. 

"One day more!"

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

Hey guys!

Just a small note, I know that the edges of the balconies in the dorms are actually solid concrete, but I decided to make them metal fences instead. I just think it works better for the story that they can dangle their legs between the rungs.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!!

We have more fan art this time around!

These beautiful pictures were done by GerlynNagrampa!! The first one is a gorgeous portrait of Koto(the eyes!!!), the second is an image of her in her new bathing suit, and the third is after being disguised in America! They're just all so pretty and I love the detail!

Anyways, let me know what you think about this chapter being Bakugo's perspective. I don't want to say too much, but we'll certainly see more of his perspective soon!!

Stay safe lovelies! ❤