Koto's POV

The next day, I knock on Mina's door to get her up for dance rehearsals. When she rolls the door open, bleary eyed and hair all mussed, she stops in her tracks. Her eyes widen slowly as her sleepy brain takes in my appearance, lips parted in shock.

"You like it?" I ask, twirling around. "Figured I'd shake things up a b-bit."

The skull shirt from Bakugo settles against my skin, almost swallowing me in its baggy fabric.

"How did you--"

"I just asked," I respond with an all-too smug grin. "Looks like we've reached a stalemate."

Mina grabs my arm and tugs me into her room, closing the door with a serious look. "No, but seriously, did you sneak into his room or something?" I just shake my head and she throws her hands in the air in frustration. "He won't even answer his door when I knock!"

I giggle, sitting down on her pink zebra stripe bed. "Maybe you should try teasing him less."

"His name is literally 'Ducky' in your phone!" Her eyes settle on me, narrowing suspiciously. "I see what's happening here."

"Care to share with the class?"

"You two are a thing!" She confidently states. "I knew it! He wouldn't have given his shirt to just anyone, he certainly wouldn't have gone with you to your recital or insisted that Kirishima buy you roses--" The girl covers her mouth in shock, magenta creeping up her face.

My heart does a stutter-step, leaving me breathless for a moment. "What--"

"You didn't hear that!" She shouts at me, shaking her head vigorously. "I wasn't supposed to say that!"

"B-but I did hear it," I protest, standing from the bed. I grab Mina's arms and make her look at me. "Did he really do that?"

Her eyes tell me enough, even though she doesn't answer. "You two really aren't dating?"

I laugh, ignoring that small twist in my stomach. "Of course we're not! Do you know who you're talking about? I j-just don't tease him twenty-four seven."

"I don't believe it," she whispers before perking up. "Unless! He has a crush on you!"

I once again shake my head, but she tightens her grip on me. "Just think about all he does for you! Sure, he probably doesn't express it with words or actions towards you directly, but think about all the little gifts. Like taking care of you when you were sick, going to your recital, being in charge of the rose bouquet, drumming for the band, and now the shirt! Girl, you can't tell me that it's not suspicious."

"You know, if we put this much effort into studying, we'd be a lot higher ranked," is my only reply.

"Fine! Don't believe me," she growls playfully, stalking towards her closet. "But I'm onto you two."

"Yeah, yeah."

•°•°•°•

Dance rehearsal goes...okay, I guess. I'm finally starting to get somewhere with Midoriya and Ojiro, helping them get their lines a little less sloppy. Meanwhile, Mina is having less than no luck with Iida. She can't seem to manage to get him to be less stiff.

I tentatively approach as she hides her face in her hands. "Have you ever t-tried tai chi, Iida?"

He pauses his robotic movements and faces me. "What does that have to do with dancing?"

"Well, dancing isn't just about placing your lines, but also moving fluidly between them. Your dancing is more like 'Place! Place! Place!'" The boy looks mildly taken aback, adjusting his glasses with his eyebrows furrowed. "You j-just need to figure out your pacing. Think of this as strength training. If you can execute a move slowly and with fluidity, you're exercising more of your muscle altogether. It requires much more skill to get right, but I know you can do it."

"Your faith in me is commendable," he says, placing a hand over his heart. "I hadn't realized the importance of these things. I'll try harder."

I nod, both in his direction and Mina's, who decides to call the group back together for a full run through.

"Okay guys! No need to be perfect, just see how much you can remember!" The girl cheers, hopping back and forth in front of the group. "No stopping! Koto and I will be up front, so just watch us if you forget. Let's go!"

She counts us off and I start illusing the music. We only make it through the first verse before I hear a yelp and turn to see Midoriya has tripped over Toru. Mina and I send each other a quick look, silently thinking the same thing.

We have a long way to go.

•°•°•°•

"Augh!" Kaminari cries. "I'm lost again."

"For fuck's sake," Bakugo mumbles, standing from his drumset and stalking off to the kitchen.

Band practice hasn't been going the best the past week and a half. It's been setting everybody's nerves on edge, which only gives us more trouble.

"I'm sorry, guys," the guitarist continues. "I just can't figure this out. All I hear is the drums, but he keeps changing what he plays. It messes me up."

A glance around tells me the others understand. "I know," I assure him, walking over to sit on his amp. "I'll try to talk to him about it, but it'll also help the more you practice on your own. Like you said, we gotta practice 'till we can't get it wrong."

"Maybe we could try once without the drums," Momo suggests. I look around, but Bakugo seems to still be in the kitchen.

"Can't hurt to try," Ochaco chirps.

The taller girl speaks up again, seemingly in her strategic voice. "Also, we could hold some rehearsals during his supplemental classes. We know he'll do whatever he wants during the performance anyway, so it might be better if we can all form a more united sound on our own."

"I still wish I knew what he was gonna play," Kaminari gripes, readjusting his music stand.

"I think we should t-tell him he's gotta be more structured for the most part," I muse. "He can go wild at certain parts, but it'll consistently mess us up if we can't hear the one-two beat."

Tokoyami nods sagely, but Kaminari and Ochaco raise their eyebrows at each other. "Good luck telling him that," the blond retorts.

"He'll have to get over it," I say, shrugging. "Do we want to do another run while he's still in the kitchen?"

"Might as well," Tokoyami reasons. "We didn't call for a break."

I nod in full agreement. "I'll stomp the beats in the beginning so you can get the tempo."

With confirmation from the rest of the band members, we set off on another run-through. Kaminari is able to make it all the way to the second chorus before Bakugo rounds the corner, glowering at us with a glass of water in his hands.

His chin juts out defiantly, yelling over the music, "Hey! What do you fuckers think you're doin'?"

He begins running in our direction, causing Kaminari to fumble his part and jump aside. But Bakugo keeps running. The music dies away, all of us confused.

He opens the glass doors behind us and we can hear snickers and shouts outside. "Stay the hell away!"

"Is your little band getting tired of you already?" Monoma's voice croons from somewhere in the distance.

The boy launches himself from the back porch, teeth gritted, and I rush out after him. "Bakugo!" I shout after him. He glances back over his shoulder and hesitates for just a moment.

"Sorry, Bakugo," the boy from 1-B continues to drone, not an ounce of apology in his voice. "Looks like your girlfriend forgot to put your leash on. Go on, run back to her like a good little boy."

With every word, Bakugo's face becomes more fiery and enraged. A giant explosion blasts from his hands as he launches himself across the lawn at full force. What is his problem?

I illuse a cloud of white noise in front of him, forcing him to a stop. Trying to keep myself calm, I approach him as Monoma smirks and walks inside his own dorm. Bakugo's temper has been all over the place, especially today. And frankly, it's been obnoxious.

"Bakugo," I snap again. "Chill the hell out!"

"Somebody needs to tell that piece of shit to chill," he grumbles, bumping my shoulder as he turns and walks past me.

My impatience has whetted my anger into a white hot blade. "What's your damn p-problem?"

His shoulders tense and he stops in his tracks. I'm prepared to wield my anger in a deadly arc as he turns on his heel and marches straight up to me. I raise my chin, refusing to back down.

He pauses half a foot away, staring me down, and works a muscle in his jaw. When his voice comes out, it's firm and unyielding. But I see the smallest trace of uncertainty in his eyes.

"Go out with me."

"No."

The uncertainty shatters into a million tiny fractals. In his eyes, I see disbelief, frustration, anger, and...disappointment. A chill washes over me, my anger doused. My answer came out without hesitation. I didn't even need to think about it. It's clear in his eyes that I should've been a tad more sensitive.

"The fuck do you mean, no?" Bakugo growls, teeth bared as he makes to step forward.

My laugh is disbelieving and tense. "You're not serious," I say, causing him to instead step back.

For just one flicker of a moment, his facade cracks, revealing the hurting, vulnerable boy underneath. Just as quickly, it's gone. "Don't you laugh at me, Curly," he snaps, rage beginning to boil over. "I haven't been misinterpreting everything; if you don't see it, then you're just blind. As if I'd do everything I have for any of the other extras."

I scoff, eyebrows furrowed at him. The nerve he has talking to me like that is coaxing my anger back out. "Like that's reason enough for me to go out with you," I retort.

"And it's not?"

"Hell no! It doesn't just excuse everything else you do."

He bares his teeth and gets in my face. "I'm teaching you math every morning. I'm playing drums in your little band."

"You're snapping at everybody and throwing a tantrum at the drop of a hat. You ignore all of us and walk off whenever you want." The crisp fall breeze rushes over me, burning my eyes and tempting tears to form, but I hold myself firm. "Maybe I feel something, maybe I don't, but I'm not going to date someone who can't control his own temper. Who can't just relax and be kind. When I date someone, they're gonna be someone who does nice things just for the heck of it and actually treats me right."

"If you want me to do that cheesy couply shit, you're out of your damn mind."

"Of course that's out of the question for you," I snap haughtily. "If you're too scared to commit to somebody that way, then that's not my problem."

Glancing over at the 1-A dorms, I see my classmates beginning to gather around the glass doors. I sigh heavily and turn back to Bakugo.

"I would've been fine to just talk about this and move on, but you're clearly not considering the temper tantrum you just threw," I state, trying to keep any shakiness from my voice. "If you need any indication of why this wouldn't work between us, take a look at what just happened."

I push past him and stalk across the lawn. By the time I get through the doors, my eyes are searing with the tears I'm holding back.

"Band p-p-practice is done for today," I say with surprising calm to the assembled students, then head up to my room.

Locking the door behind me, I let my emotions finally wash over me. I let out a shaky breath, a vice tightening around my heart. My tears finally overflow and I climb into bed, wrapping as many blankets around myself as I can.

I can't fool myself into thinking that I don't have feelings for Bakugo. But, given everything that's happened, it's clear he's not ready for a relationship. Nor do I think I am.

I curse myself for getting so attached when I knew it wouldn't work.

Better all this ends now before I get hurt even more.

I jump off my mattress, emotions bubbling and burning inside of me, but they only fuel my actions. Approaching my dresser, I rifle through the folded laundry I did earlier today and pull out the black shirt that still smells like caramel despite the wash.

I throw it onto my bed and search another drawer for the sewing kit a friend had gifted me.

I climb back on top of my navy comforter, starting a video call. I turn on a lamp as the call goes through.

"Hey Koto," Jupiter says bleary-eyed. I look closer to see he's still in bed, surely early in the morning. His eyes take in my appearance and he sits up, resituating his phone. "What's wrong?"

I sniffle, wiping my eyes. "Can you teach me how to sew?"

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

Hey guys, it's been awhile! I once again apologize for the long wait between chapters, but it certainly helps leave time for other projects and making sure this story turns out just right.

Did this chapter shock you? It's been a nightmare trying to hold in any spoilers for it.

Anyways, there has been loads of new art for me to share with you!

My gal riceygirl101 has made a couple really pretty graphics including this awesome Vogue cover for Koto and the chapter banner above! They look stellar, fam!!

For the Christmas season, my friend aBitGrim made this awesome pic of Koto and their OC Rose dressed as Rudolph and Santa!! They're too precious!

Yet another gift from Grim!! They commissioned this beautiful piece of Mordekoto art from _sspiinch_ on Instagram! Just look at how cute they are!!! If you haven't read our crossover book about these two yet, you totally need to!! It can be found on their profile with updates every Saturday! We go back and forth writing chapters of their story. I hope y'all will check it out!

My friend QuaccSmaccSnacc surprised us with this other amazing piece of Mordekoto art!! Just look at them!! They're so tiny and precious, enjoying their hot chocolate in the winter wonderland!! I can't say thank you enough, fam!!!!!!

The amazing JunieWeathers made this awesome board for one of my favorite characters, Reina!! I'll always love writing her and it makes me so happy how loved she is.

It makes my heart so full to see all your love and support for this story!

Until next time!! ❤