Koto's POV

I sit happily on my bed, staring down at the little piece of plastic in my hands. My hero name, Maestro, is displayed proudly at the bottom with my credentials and a portrait shot of me. My smile fades a little as I tug at my blonde hair. 

Eventually it’ll turn back to red. Will I have to get a new ID?

As I twirl a strand in my fingers, it reminds me of a couple people I haven’t talked to in a while. Doing the math, it should be about 9 am where they are, but I figure I should try anyway. I tap on my phone screen and soon hear a ringing tone.

After a couple rings, a picture opens, showing Jupiter running outside. His sweaty hair drips into his face and his deep green eyes crinkle in the sun.

“Whaddup, snowflake?” he asks, slowing to a walk.

Before I can answer, a couple other screens pop up, showing Kati and Macy. They appear to have recently woken up. Seeing Jupiter’s face, Kati reddens and begins to comb her fingers through her hair.

“I got my provisional license!” I announce happily, bouncing in my seat. After all their exclamations of congratulations, I ask how things are going there.

“Goin’ alright,” Jupiter says. “I’ve agreed to stay with my current hero agency for at least the next year. Oh! Annie and I are heading to a huge hero festival in a couple months since we’re on a national list of recognition. That should be fun, but I’m not thrilled to be spending a week with her and a buncha other people with big egos.”

He just shrugs at the camera and swipes a hand through his hair. “But still, that must b-be pretty cool!” I exclaim. 

“Yeah,” Kati adds. “You’ll be making lots of connections, right?”

“Oh, for sure,” he says. “I’m already talking with a couple agencies in bigger cities. I’ve met with a couple in Chicago and Kansas City, but it’s still way too early to make any decisions.”

“Besides, you still have school to worry about,” Macy interjects. “But with all your success, I doubt you have as many choices to make as the other people in your class. You'll be in a top-ranking agency for sure.”

“Either way, senior year’s no joke. But yeah, I’ve got an easy schedule. I’ll be at school in the mornings, but every afternoon I have off to work.”

“Good luck!” I exclaim.

“You’ll do great!” Kati chirps, smiling brightly.

“Anyways I’m gonna have to get going,” the boy says, glancing up from his phone. “Gotta be at work soon.”

“Oh of c-course, sorry to bother you,” I say, suddenly feeling bad that I called them when I did.

“Nah, you didn’t bother me. It was nice to catch up. We’ll have to do this again sometime when I’m free.”

After we say our goodbyes and he hangs up, I stay on with the girls for a while to catch up. Eventually, I see the time on my phone reads 11:28, so I reluctantly hang up and let them get ready for their day. After changing into pyjamas, I’m about to climb into bed when I hear a knock at my door.

Who is it that can’t wait until morning? I think exasperatedly as I open the door. I have no time to process as Bakugo pushes his way past me, eyes bloodshot. 

“Put on a movie,” he growls, kicking off his slippers and sitting down on my bed. “And don’t say a fuckin’ word.”

Well, that’s rude, I think but I decide to keep that to myself. I’m still unsure of what brought him here, but all I know is that he’s hurting. I know he failed the exam, but he wasn’t like this on the way back. Sure, he’s always brooding, but this is different. Whatever happened, he probably just wants to take his mind off it.

I close the door, pondering why he came to me, and go to choose a movie. Nothing really sticks out to me; I'm not sure what would make him feel better. I decide on Cars because I always like to watch it when I'm upset. That and Bakugo mildly reminds me of Lightning McQueen. They're both extremely arrogant, though in different ways, but they can be caring at times. 

We both remain silent as I put the movie in the projector and press play. Even thirty minutes into the film, not a word has been spoken. I cast a glance his way to see his jaw clenched tight and his eyebrows scrunched. 

I'm at a complete loss for what to do. Despite his harsh demeanor, he's been pretty good at keeping me company when I'm feeling down. It's unfair that I have no clue how to comfort him. We both know I like silence or a distraction, but I've never had to be this person for someone. I've never been the comforting one. 

I guess we're both alike in that sense. 

It just seems like it's so natural for him to sit quietly with me, so what feels natural to me right now?

I sneak another look at him. His whole body has been trembling this entire time, like he's going through shock. Part of me just wants to put my hand out and siphon away all his pain. The wiser part of me says he'd break my arm before I could lay a finger on him. 

But would he really? Maybe a comforting touch is all he needs. Just to know he's not alone. 

Pushing away the thoughts telling me to stop, I lean over, closing the gap between us, to rest my cheek on his shoulder. 

I hear his breath hitch, or maybe that was mine. It registers in my brain how comfortable his shoulder is to lay on; it has much more cushion than my bony little arm. 

For a couple tense seconds, we sit here, not moving a muscle. The fact that he hasn't pushed me away is enough for me to finally relax against him. I try to focus on the movie and eventually, I feel his tension ebb away. 

The boy and I sit like this the rest of the movie. When McQueen pushes The King over the finish line, a couple tears fall onto Bakugo's lap, and I know not all of them are mine. 

This time, I don't even hesitate to place my hand over his and squeeze tight. I hear the shuddering breath of someone trying and failing to resist their pain. When I look up at him, he's already turned his head away. 

As the credits play, I finally let go of his hand to reach over to my bedside table and grab a box of tissues, giving him a chance to wipe away his tears. I set them between us and Bakugo scoffs. 

"I don't need those, Curly," he growls, voice thick. "I'm not fuckin' weak."

I sigh and dry my own tears with one. "Look, I don't know why you c-came to me, b-b-but I can tell that you're hurting. Please don't be afraid to let yourself c-cry. I don't think you're crying because you're weak, but because you've been strong too long."

The blonde doesn't say a word, but I see his lower lip quiver as he swallows. There's a pain in his eyes that I've never seen before, like he's willing to let himself feel his sadness. 

"What are you holding onto?" I ask gently, reaching my hand out to place back atop his, but he jerks away. I recognize the mistake I made as the impenetrable wall I'm so used to seeing falls over his features. 

Bakugo's eyes narrow and his lips curl into a sneer. "Like I'd tell you," he snaps, standing from the bed and walking out before I can say another word. 

My hand hovers in place for a couple moments before it falls to the blanket, dejected. 

•°•°•°•

"What‽" Mina exclaims in the common room the next morning. "House arrest‽"

Apparently, Bakugo and Midoriya had gotten into a fight last night. They snuck out of the dorms to one of the training grounds and had duked it out. Their punishment was house arrest, three days for Midoriya, four for Bakugo. It's no wonder he was so upset last night. 

"I can't believe him," Sero remarks as the rest of the Bakusquad and I make our way out the door. "What was he thinking?"

"He obviously wasn't," Kaminari states, rolling his eyes. 

I choose not to comment. To be honest, I'm still trying to put the pieces together from last night. Whenever I try to recall if he was dirty and bruised or even mildly out of breath, my mind can't help but drift to when I held his hand. I mentally curse myself for letting my cheeks warm at the thought. 

But still, it doesn't add up, I think. He fights with Midoriya all the time. Why is this so different? Something's missing from this puzzle. When I asked, he froze up. He's definitely hiding something…

"Koto!" Ei's voice calls me out of my daze. I turn around to see my friends standing at the doors to 1-A, trying not to laugh. "Where you going?" 

I rush back to them, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry g-guys. I guess my mind's not in it today. I stayed up pretty late t-talking with friends. The adrenaline from getting my license made it hard to sleep I g-guess."

We enter the room and make our way to our seats. The day progresses as normal, though it's hard to ignore the empty seats on the left side of the room. Without the boys and Mineta, the only people in that row are Toru and Momo. 

I let my mind absentmindedly wonder who will be replacing the creep, if anybody. I, as well as a few others, definitely want Shinso to get his chance, but I don't know if the teachers are going to back us on that. I cringe at how I left things with him after the internships. I really was trying to help him make friends, but I guess I could've gone about it better. 

Oh well… we'll just have to see. 

•°•°•°•

On the fourth day of the new semester, when Midoriya returns to classes with us, I pass by an angry Bakugo on my way to the door. It’s clear he’s mad that his rival is relieved from his punishment. What with his supplemental classes and the task set by our teacher, he’s had no time for anything else. Not to mention, the teachers forbade us from telling the two anything about what they had missed. I feel like that was especially harsh. I mean, of course they broke the rules and that warrants a punishment, but to withhold information about classes that could cause them to fall behind seems unnecessary.

I slow down as I approach the boy. “My door is open,” I say quietly so only he can hear, “if you finish cleaning and need another movie.”

He doesn’t respond, so I’m not sure if he even cares enough to listen, but I continue on my way out the door.

In class, Aizawa introduces the concept of hero work studies in a more in depth explanation. It’s very similar to the internships we did, but because we have our licenses, we’re actually going to be able to participate in these as first years. Because of the connections we made in those internships, some students are already being scouted, but I’ve had no such luck.

Nyikang isn’t that well known and I’ve already been in contact with him. He’s said that with all that’s going on, he can’t accept any work studies at the moment. As nice as it would be to have another set of hands, he can’t waste any time instructing students when the crime rate is increasing so exponentially. At least until he takes on another couple sidekicks.

I get it. Besides, I’m already swamped with school and ballet. I’ve officially talked with my teacher to tell her that this will be my last show. Even if I couldn’t be cast as the lead, I’m glad to be a part of such an awesome program with really sweet people.

As Aizawa continues his instruction, he brings into the classroom three students who I’ve seen around before. One is the blond guy who scared Ochaco and I by slipping through the wall while we were going to the dumpsters. He’s closely followed by a girl with long periwinkle hair who had been excited to talk about my dance performance during the internship and the raven-haired boy who had saved me from their questions.

Our teacher says that the information they give will be valuable, but as the blond, who introduces himself as Togata Mirio, rambles on, he seems to make less and less sense. He eventually decides for some reason that we should team up to fight him.

What in the world does this have to do with work studies? I can’t help but think as we stand before him in Gym Gamma.

“Mirio, you’re impossible,” the other boy, Amajiki, laments as he stands facing a wall. “It would have been simple enough for us to just tell them, ‘This is what it’s like, here’s what we learned from it.’ Not everyone has your level of drive. Plus, think about how bad it’ll look if some of them can’t recover after fighting you. No one wants to spend the next few years in a hospital bed.”

Sounds like this guy is more logical than the other two put together, I observe. I might want to talk to him afterwards and figure out more about these work studies. But what was this about years in a hospital bed?

I appraise the hero in training before us as he stretches and talks with his classmate. I know he can go through stuff. Like how he went through the wall to scare Ochaco and I. I guess if someone goes to punch him, he can move through it? That’s pretty darn useful for getting in close, but how does it work? Will I be able to use my quirk on him? Does he even have a tangible body when his quirk activates?

I’m left no more time to think when he decides he’s ready to begin. Midoryia decides to draw first blood as he rushes towards the boy, but at the last second, Togata’s clothes slip off and Midoriya’s foot passes right through his head. Aoyama, Sero, and Mina try to attack from a distance, but none of their quirks hit either. I decide to stay back and watch as the boy passes into the ground and out of sight. There’s a communal panic as he begins popping up in random locations, punching my classmates in the gut. 

At the very least, his hand seems tangible when he punches them. It might be my only shot.

I wait patiently, following the pattern he takes to get from person to person. Every single time, he hits the same spot. As long as I’m anticipating the attack, I might be able to get at least one hit in. I cautiously slip off my shoes and place my bare feet on the ground.

Midoriya manages to anticipate his attack and tries to swing at him, but again, his attack goes straight through as Togata lands another punch. I catch the boy’s blue eyes for a second before he once again falls into the ground.

It’s me next. Focus on the point. If he thinks I’ll attack with my fists, he’ll probably let them pass right through. Maybe he won’t know it’s a feint.

I close my eyes and activate Echolocation into the ground. I can feel a foreign body moving through the cement, making its way towards me.

3…

I put up my fists and get into a fighting stance.

2…

I turn in the direction he’s heading, trying to ambush me.

1

I open my eyes and swing my right fist as hard as I can. As expected, my hand passes right through the boy’s grinning face. His punch comes quickly, but I focus on the spot just outside of my stomach and illuse the sound of a wooden bat hitting a baseball. His fist gets redirected, but his face doesn’t convey any surprise.

I reach out to grab him, but he swings his other arm out to grab the back of my neck and knee me in the stomach, sending me down with the rest of my classmates.

The pain burns through me, knocking the breath out of my lungs and sending tears to my eyes. I would probably throw up if I had eaten anything so far today.

A smiling face appears over me after a while, surely after everyone has been defeated.

“That was a good attack,” Mirio says, showing me his bruised hand. “But don’t let your guard down after you block one attack. A good fighter always plans the next move.”

I nod and slowly sit up with a groan. The boy continues telling us about how much further we still have to go, though I’m still confused as to the meaning of the sparring session.

•°•°•°•

I push open my door to see a very surprising sight.

Bakugo sits on my bed, propped up against my headboard, watching Brave on my projector. His attention snaps over to me as light from the hallway floods the room. After a couple seconds of staring at each other, I close the door behind me and set down my backpack.
 
“Good movie,” I remark quietly, walking over to sit on the other side of the bed.

I become a bit jealous, watching Merida on the screen. I like my blonde hair and it’s a nice souvenir from America, but I definitely miss the red. It was much more me than this light color. I just have to wait it out until it fades, I think, twirling a curl around my finger.

“Why’d you change it?” Bakugo asks, seeming to read my thoughts.

I think for a while before answering. “I somehow knew someone would c-come looking for me. I needed t-t-to do everything in my own time. I couldn’t come back early.”

“Ever heard of a wig?” The boy remarks pointedly.

An image of Evie surfaces in my mind. She’s dancing with her friends, singing around a campfire, driving to the beach, permanently memorialized in the school she fought to protect.

“Let’s just say it was a tribute to someone I admire,” I whisper.

Bakugo’s hand reaches out to tug on a curl. His dark red eyes glimmer in the light of the projector as he stares intently at me. If he was going to say anything, he decides against it, turning his attention back to the movie.

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

Hey guys!

There's a bit more fanart!!

These cute pieces are from the amazing riceygirl101!! She's an absolute sweetheart and these are adorable!! Gotta love the Bakukoto art! 😉

Speaking of art, I've set up an Instagram since I've been getting more into art as well!! You can also send me fanart there! Details are in my bio! 😁

Additionally, if you haven't already, you should totally go follow the UAStorytellers page!! There may or may not be some upcoming crossovers featuring my girl Koto, so drop a follow to stay updated on those!! Some of which I wrote myself! So if you're looking for extra Koto content in between updates here, keep an eye out for chapters there! I promise you won't be disappointed!!

And speaking of crossovers, definitely go check out Juni_Penguin_'s awesome crossover, Counter Clockwise where you can see our loveable redhead interact with some of my friends' OCs!! Not only is Jun incredibly awesome for designing the cover for Muted Voices and the new chapter banner, but she's an AMAZING author!!!

And just a PSA, any of the crossovers Koto will be participating in will happen under the belief that the Training Camp Arc never happened. As far as new readers go, I don't want there to be spoilers for what has happened lately in my book. So Koto will act and appear as she did before the whole America thing.

Sorry for the long author's note, but if you made it this far, thank you!!! As always, I appreciate your support!!

See y'all next time!!