Chapter 3

3rd P.O.V

"This damned school is going to be the death of me," Hotaru groaned as she looked up to the cloudy sky. She let out a long sigh before moving her feet. When she began walking, she found herself going in the same direction as Bakugou. She stared at him with a curious glance, intrigue clear in her eyes. She wanted to learn more about the loud blonde.

Just seeing his last interaction with Midoriya was enough to tell anyone to leave him alone. Hotaru, however, wanted to see how things were going on his end. Curiosity killed the cat, but not the snake-human hybrid.

"Quit following me," Bakugou said after a while. Hotaru frowned.

"I'm just going home," she muttered quietly. Bakugou tsked and Hotaru rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," the blonde grumbled. Hotaru sighed.

"I saw and heard everything," she admitted. Bakugou was unphased and kept walking.

"That's none of your business," he spat. The purple-haired girl behind him cocked an eyebrow.

"Maybe he wasn't lying. Maybe...Midoriya did get his power from someone else..."

She received no reply.

"Maybe he's just a scared kid with a strength he doesn't know how to control," she narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe he hit his head too hard when he fell to the ground," she shrugged. Bakugou was starting to walk noticeably faster. Hotaru took a deep breath in through her nostrils.

'You want me to train? Want me to get stronger? Well, my dear Kiyo, here's step one...Confidence. I gotta learn to speak up, right?'

"Maybe you're frightened by his newfound strength," she tensed up as Bakugou stopped suddenly walking. He slightly turned his head, looking at her from over his shoulder as his eye twitched. Hotaru kept her composure as their scarlet eyes met. He was definitely more intimidating than Hotaru initially thought.

"Fuck off," Bakugo's words were dripping with venom. Hotaru was starting to regret trying to be more confident. The girl sighed.

"Just saying it's possible...After all, I do know a thing or two about borrowed power," she shrugged. Bakugou turned around to face her fully. His eyes narrowed.

"You're just trying to make me look like an idiot, like Deku. You think if you can make me believe you, you can start messing with me. I'm not stupid, Lizard Girl," Bakugou spat.

"It's Anzai. Anzai Hotaru."

"Why the fuck should I care?!" Bakugou asked with a scowl.

"Why would I want to mess with you? As you stated earlier, I don't know you. Seeing how I don't know what you're capable of, it wouldn't be a good idea to pick sides or piss you off," Hotaru said with a blank expression. Her answer only pissed Bakugou off furthermore.

"Whatever..." the blonde turned around. Once his eyes left Hotaru, she let out a relieved sigh. Bakugou began to walk again.

"Thanks," Hotaru mumbled so quietly that the boy in front of her could barely hear her. She got an over-the-shoulder glance from Bakugou in response.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he grumbled.

"You've helped me out in ways your tiny brain couldn't possibly understand," Hotaru smiled before continuing to walk onwards, her house awaiting.

Later...

"Kiyo, I just talked to a hot-headed kid like it was nothing!" Hotaru giggled with a proud expression on her face. She was like a child who had just gotten to pet a fluffy puppy.

'Congratulations. If I had hands I would clap...but very slowly,' Kiyo deadpanned. Hotaru rolled her eyes but kept smiling. Her happy demeanour faded when a loud crash sounded from the living room. The purple-haired teen sighed as her excitement was drained.

"Mother's home..."

Hotaru walked into the living room to find her mother, a partially spilt wine glass, and a flipped coffee table. The fifteen-year-old sighed.

"Oh...You're back," her mother, Anzai Satomi, narrowed her eyes. She sloppily stood up, pushing the coffee table off her and dusting herself off.

"I need you to clean this up and go get me some-hic-crackers. I'm providing for the church's communion," she dug some money out of her purse and handed it to Hotaru. The teen watched her mother attempt to traverse the stairs.

"And don't think of going anywhere else! Just to the store and back!" Satomi slurred before slamming her door shut.

Hotaru sighed through her nostrils as she stared at the hallway leading to her mother's room. She silently shook her head as she felt something that could only be described as emptiness. This was her home life. One of the better days, anyway...

"At least it'll be a relatively quiet night," Hotaru mumbled as she put her mother's money in the pocket of her school uniform.

'I don't see why you put up with her,' Kiyo growled. Hotaru took a deep breath as she closed her eyes.

"She's all I have, Kiyo," she opened them and walked to the back door.

'Use some of that courage you had when you talked to the blonde and stand up to her,' Kiyo suggested. Hotaru pursed her lips.

"That was a spur of the moment thing. His speech had me in a mood," she muttered, a light blush consuming the colour in her cheeks.

'You forget I can hear your thoughts. I know what mood he got you in,' the smug tone in Kiyo's words made Hotaru stop. Her eyebrows lifted.

"It was just inspiring, is all," she glared at her shadow. The red orbs narrowed.

'Surprisingly...I'm going to have to agree with you,' Kiyo admitted reluctantly. Hotaru shook her head as a smile tugged at her lips.

...

Hotaru soon made it back to her house, putting the communion wafers on the table before letting out an exasperated sigh. Thinking over the events of the day, she went to clean up her mother's mess.

'So, want to share any thoughts about your new school?' Kiyo asked. Hotaru raised an eyebrow.

"Why? You can hear them, can't you?" she asked with a little more sarcasm than intended. She once again picked up the box of crackers.

'Sometimes I choose to and sometimes I don't,' Kiyo was very clearly annoyed. After a short moment of silence, Hotaru sighed

"I think you were right," Hotaru sighed. The red orbs in her shadow widened slightly.

"I think I should have waited to act and I just wanted to do what I thought was best. If I had thought it through for a little while longer, I would have been able to stop Uraraka," she admitted. Kiyo went quiet as her host walked upstairs to her mother's room. The purple-haired teen quietly opened the door and peeked inside.

Satomi was passed out, left foot and arm hanging off the bed. She also had a trial of drool trickling down her cheek and a spilt glass of wine on her bed. Hotaru placed the crackers by her mother's purse. When she shut the door and walked back in the foyer, she let out a deep sigh.

"That's a record. Took her less than thirty minutes to fall asleep," she forced out a small chuckle. There was a long silence.

'I apologize, Hotaru. I guess I have been a little on edge this week. To be completely truthful, I feel a big change coming,' Kiyo muttered quietly. Hotaru raised an eyebrow.

"You mean the school? You're worried about the hero school?" she asked. Kiyo hesitated.

'No...It's something else. I feel proud that you've decided to go to this school, however...I feel as if it's going to change you,' she sounded very unsure. Her tone didn't seem to be one of worry, but more like a warning.

"Well, I hope so! I saved up to go to this school for years, so I really hope it'll change me. Maybe...make Mom see the good in me..." the girl's voice trailed off.

Kiyo sighed, 'Let's just ope it's for the better...'

The Next Day...

"How would you describe All Might's teaching methods?!"

"Is All Might a good teacher?"

"What's it like learning from the top-ranked hero?!"

Reporters were shouting over each other. Hotaru felt her sweat fall as her wide-eyes looked from standing in the centre of the Press' huddled group. She began to panic.

"A-All Might?" she stumbled on her words.

"Are All Might's teachings just like everyone thinks they are?" a reporter asked shoved a microphone into Hotaru's face. The teen thought back to the prior day's lessons. All Might was a good teacher and even managed to keep the class's attention for the whole period.

"He's an...a man with..." she felt her throat dry as she attempted to answer.

"Is he-Hey!" a lady shouted as Hotaru felt a sudden tug on her uniform's collar. She yelped as someone pulled her away from the reporters. When she and her saviour were safely inside, she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Thanks...I-" she froze when she came face to face with Bakugou. He was looking away from her but she kept starring at him.

"Bakugou?" she asked, unsure of if she was seeing correctly.

"Don't," the blonde spat before walking away.

"What?" Hotaru blinked in confusion. Hotaru blankly stared down the hallway that Bakugou disappeared down.

"What was that about...?"

...

Thanks for reading, Loves!

Special thanks to...

Wolf-Shire Demons