Chapter 6

3rd P.O.V

Hotaru shielded her eyes as the power used by both sides created a shockwave-like wind. The shock absorption of the large, monster-like, villain was tested by All Might as he threw punch after punch. Hotaru was speechless as she widened her eyes. She, Bakugou, and Kirishima had escaped the collapsed building simulation they were in and now were witnessing All Might battle the main villains.

"Hey, villain, have you ever heard these words?" All Might asked as he rushed towards the monster, fist reared.

"Go beyond..."

"Plus...Ultra!"

The hit landed! Hotaru's jaw dropped as the large villain was propelled out of the facility and out of sight. The whole building shook. Even the normally cool Todoroki seemed shocked by All Might's display of strength.

"It seems I have gotten weaker...In my prime, it would have taken only five hits..." Hotaru looked to the grinning hero.

"But it took more than three-hundred hits." The look of admiration in Midoriya's eyes when All Might talked was something Hotaru had never experienced herself, but it made her smile.

"Now, villains..." All Might turned towards the two remaining villains. Hotaru's smile faded a bit as she narrowed her eyes.

"I'm sure we'd all like this to end as soon as possible," All Might noted. The villain with light blue hair began to scratch his neck. The revolting sound filled Hotaru's ears, a chill crawling down her spine.

All Might began to taunt the victim, telling him to attack him with his best. Hotaru saw the glint escape from Midoriya's wide eyes as he watched the pro. What had he said or done that caused the boy to worry?

"Midoriya! Anzai! We should get out of here now!" Kirishima suddenly shouted. Hotaru had a concerned look on her face as she starred at the green-haired boy.

"It'll be worse if we get taken hostage, instead," te redhead once again attempted to get the two to fall back. Hotaru went to put a hand on the scared boy's shoulder but stopped when the sound of the villain's neck-scratching returned. She was starting to get pissed off but did her best to hide it.

"If only I had Nomu...That guy would've been able to go up against him without thinking about anything!" the villain muttered. Hotaru figured he was rambling on about the monster All Might just threw into space.

"Shigaraki Tomura! Please calm yourself," the warp gate villain called. The purple-haired teen's eyes narrowed.

"Oi, Lizard Girl! How dense are you?! Hurry up!" Bakugou shouted.

"Midoriya...We need to go," Hotaru said as calmly as she could, finally putting her hand down on Midoriya's shoulder. He didn't flinch. He didn't even blink.

'This kid...He's terrified...' the girl thought, softening her gaze. She sighed. This was something she had definitely experienced first hand. Fear. Hopelessness. The overwhelming anxiety of knowing that there's nothing you can do...

"Midoriya," Hotaru called a little more forcefully, this time. A few mumbles came from Shigaraki, but she didn't care to listen. She cursed herself, wishing she had when he darted towards All Might. The hero stood there, not changing his stance or anything. He just furrowed his eyebrows and let it happen. That's when something finally occured to Hotaru.

'How much has this fight taken out of him?'

"Hey!" Hotaru widened her eyed as Midoriya attempted to run towards All Might. She stopped him by grabbing his shoulders and holding him back.

"I have to do something!" Midoriya shouted with tears in his eyes. Hotaru hesitated. Her jaw dropped. This kid was meant to be a hero. His goals were so pure...

"Midoriya..." Hotaru mumbled absentmindedly.

"Please forgive me, Anzai," the green-haired boy looked back to her with a tinge of remorse in his eyes. She gave him a confused look. Suddenly, he elbowed her in the gut and pushed her away. Hotaru gasped for air as she doubled over. Midoriya hadn't used his quirk, but it still hurt.

As Hotaru laid on the ground, she knew there was nothing she could do to stop this boy's determination. He was hero material, for sure. It was clear to see.

"Deku, you damn idiot!" she heard Bakugou shout, now closer to her than before. Hotaru groaned as she tried to sit up. Bakugou, who was now standing next to her, rudely asked if she was fine.

"I'm okay...You have to stop Midoriya. He'll get...killed," she took deep breaths as she replaced the air in her lungs. Bakugou clicked his tongue.

"That damn nerd just punched you and you're worried about him?" he narrowed his eyes. Hotaru looked over to see that Midoriya was safe but on lying the ground. All Might was still standing tall. She flinched and shut her eyes tight as a loud bang suddenly rang through her sensitive ears. Fighting could be heard near the entrance of the USJ.

"Reinforcements..." she sighed in relief.

"Aw, man, they're here...It's game over, now..." Shigaraki sighed as he started to scratch his neck again. Hotaru stared at him. They locked eyes for a second. She didn't know if what she saw was hatred or disappointment. The villain turned back to the warp gate, only to get shot by one of the heroes that had come to help. He fell to his knees before his colleague covered him.

A few seconds later, an injured Thirteen had begun to use their quirk to suck up the two villains. Unfortunately, the warp villain managed to take them away before they could be captured.

"Holy crap..." Hotaru let out an exasperated sigh as Bakugou helped her up. A sudden wave of drowsiness and pain began to set over her. Bakugou felt a bead of sweat fall down his forehead as she fell back to the ground.

"Damn it..." he groaned as he put her on his back.

"That was the most work we've ever done..." she mumbled.

"Yeah, well maybe you should have thought about that when you went all out against that gas freak," Bakugou spat.

"How do you feel, Kiyo?" Hotaru asked quietly. She received no answer. Bakugou gave her a puzzled look as he walked back over to the others.

"Why the hell are you talking to yourself?" he asked.

"Hm?" Hotaru hummed as she peeked one eye open. The red orbs in her shadow were gone. She sighed, closing her eyes.

"We'll talk later, I guess..." she mumbled before falling asleep on Bakugou's back. Her head was rested on his back and her arms hung loosely over his shoulders. The blonde sighed.

"You don't make any sense..."

The Next Day...

Hotaru's dull eyes were starring at her folded hands. She had no intention of listening to what Cementoss was teaching. Things has just calmed down after the villain attack and everyone was excited about the upcoming Sports Festival. Everyone except Hotaru...

She dreaded the fact that she was going to participate. They were to get scouted by pro heroes? Yeah, like any of them would want someone with her power. It was too dangerous, even when she was asleep.

When Hotaru had fallen unconscious after the USJ incident, Kiyo took over and simply stared into nothingness. Bakugou had noticed and even told her to stop acting weird. When she was told to go to Recovery Girl's office, she simply shook her head and walked home. She ignored Satomi's constant shouts, receiving a hard backhand from the woman.

'Where are you...?' Hotaru's question went unanswered. She closed her eyes for a moment. Kiyo seemed to have disappeared, but Hotaru could still feel her. Had she grown tired of her host? The last person that was able to hold Kiyo was Hotaru's great-grandmother. Even then, she didn't last long...

Hotaru was snapped out of her thoughts by the bell. The class split up into their friend groups to talk about the Sports Festival. Hotaru sighed, shaking her head to clear her mind as some classmates came up to her desk.

"Hey, Anzai! I just want to say you were really cool at the USJ," a familiar spiky red-head approached her, followed by a certain blonde. Hotaru gave them a nod.

"Thanks. You too," she muttered. With a worried expression, Uraraka walked over.

"Are you okay, Hotaru?" she asked. Hotaru paused, giving her a slightly confused stared. The brunette's lips curled into a nervous smile.

"We're friends, aren't we? I figured first names were appropriate..." she pushed her fingertips together. Hotaru let out a sigh.

"Yeah...I guess so...Ochaco," she managed to remember Uraraka's first name.

"Oh, me, too!" Kirishima pointed to himself with his thumb.

"Eijirou," Hotaru nodded. The boy gave her a toothy grin. Hotaru then looked to Bakugou, who had been strangely silent. She thought if her other friends would be called by their first name, why not him, too?

"Bakugou?" she raised an eyebrow. He looked to her from the corner of his eyes, watching Kirishima whisper something into her ear. She held back her laughter.

"Correction...Katsuki," she smiled. Bakugou flinched and Uraraka giggled.

"Why the hell did you tell her?!" Bakugou yelled at Kirishima. The redhead gave him a goofy grin.

"We're all friends here," he said with a chuckle. Bakugou grit his teeth as he grabbed Kirishima's collar.

"Damn you," he growled, lifting him up a little. Kirishima began to laugh nervously.

"Relax," Hotaru's light giggle filled the ears of the three before her. They all stopped, staring at her for a moment.

"What?" she starred back. Uraraka and Kirishima grinned. Bakugou simply turned away and crossed his arms.

"No one has ever heard you laugh before," Kirishima explained.

"Yeah, you should do it more!" Uraraka added. Hotaru's cheeks dusted themselves with a light shade of pink.

"U-Uh...Thanks, I guess," she mumbled. Bakugou mumbled something incoherent before letting go of Kirishima. He glared at Hotaru with his red eyes.

"For what little it's worth..." the purple-haired girl looked up at him, "I think Katsuki's a cute name." Her friends paused for a minute before erupting in laughter. Bakugou's face flushed.

"Didn't think I'd ever heard anyone try to consciously compliment this idiot," Kirishima's laughter finally died down. Bakugou clenched his fist.

"What did you call me?!" he glared at Kirishima. Hotaru raised an eyebrow.

"Did I...say something wrong?" she turned to Uraraka who shook her head as the boys fought.

"Bakugou's just an emotional hot-head," the brunette sighed. Bakugou grit his teeth.

"Well, I meant what I said," Hotaru smiled in his direction, causing him to pause and blush again. She felt she could open up her new friends and that's what she planned on doing. Even if the word 'friend' still felt weird to her...

"Whatever," the blonde grumbled, averting his gaze once again.

-.-

I hope so far you all enjoy reading this story and its...okay...chapters.

Thanks again, Loves!

Special Thanks To...

Somerandomdude242