Some fluff before the angst. Music Selection: 10,000 Hours by Dan and Shay, and Through Glass by Stone Sour


Shitty Hair: {Hey, bakubro! We still meeting at your house for study group today?}

Lord Explosion Murder: {Yeah, my hag of a mother is cool with that. Come over around noon.}

Sparky: {Will there be snacks? :D}

Lord Explosion Murder: {She said yes. Don't push your luck.}

Shitty Hair: {Hey, Salinsa! Are you still coming?}

Shitty Hair: {Salinsa? Yoohoo, we have to be there soon, where are you?}

Short Stack: {Hey, sorry, I was talking to my sister and then went on a run with Izu. Noon?}

Sparky: {yup! Did you and Bakugo come up with hero names yet? Internships start tomorrow!}

Short Stack: {I haven't yet, but I'm doing my internship with my sister, so I don't really need one yet. What about you Katsu?}

Lord Explosion Murder: {I still like all of the ones Midnight turned down.}

Shitty Hair: {They were pretty childish, man. Not manly at all.}

Lord Explosion Murder: {You wouldn't know manly if it bit you on the ass, dumbass!}

Short Stack: {Alright, well, I'm gonna get ready. Katsu, you'll send the address right?}

Lord Explosion Murder: {How else are you guys gonna get here? Dumbass.}

I sigh softly, rubbing my face as I stare at the chat screen. The others sent their affirmations that they were coming soon, and I exited that chat to see the one I had strictly with Salinsa. I wait for the highlight saying she messaged me, my heart stopping for a moment. Is she going to say anything? Is she going to talk to me now? Fuck, why do I care?

Normally she talks to me out of chat anyway, about mundane things, like if I understood the assignment Ectoplasm gave us, or just how I was doing. But I guess she's really getting ready to come over. And that thought alone makes my stomach twist; what if the old hag scares her off? What if my embarrassing ass dad does something stupid? Maybe Shitty Hair and Sparky being here will help with that.

I wonder what she's going to wear...most likely something that covers up as much as she wears at school. Why does she wear that much? None of the other girls do. Maybe she's just modest. Maybe it's more a religious thing? Does she practice a religion? I don't think so. Fuck, why am I so worried about this?

I set my phone down and get up, rubbing my face again. My room is clean, of course. The old hag would yell if I didn't keep it that way. Especially with guests coming over. A handful of All Might posters were hung on the wall, just two or three of the older ones that were popular when I was a dumb kid. The medal from the Sports Festival sat on top of my desk, the dent still in the bottom where I threw it into the locker room wall. I scratch the back of my head and smile, remembering the fight with Salinsa.

It was well over a week ago, but fuck that fight was fun. Quick, short, but fun. A lot like her. Whoa where the hell did that come from? Why the hell did that thought pop into my head? What the hell is wrong with me? Is she really capable of projecting emotions over distance? No, she can't be. I just-no, her quirk has to be the reason for this. Stupid fucking emitter quirk. She still can't control it.

"Katsuki! Help me get the snacks for your friends out!"

"Shut up you old hag! I'll come down when I'm ready!" I yell back, starting to dig through my drawers for a pair of black sweat pants and my black skull t-shirt. They're coming to my house, why should I get dressed up for them? After getting changed into them, I head downstairs and help my mom set up the living room for them. She knew about Shitty Hair and Sparky, but she hadn't met Salinsa yet, so she didn't want to take any risks.

"I hope your friends are a lot nicer than you are," she tells me, grinning afterwards as I mess with the display of some of the cookies. "Stop fussing, they're fine!"

"Screw off and die," I grumble, but still anxious in my stomach. Would they be okay here? They wouldn't want to leave right away would they? Fuck what time is it? They should be here soon!

At that moment, the doorbell rings and I flinch, watching my mom go to answer it. Who was it going to be first? Shitty Hair? Sparky? Salinsa?

My heart skips at the thought of Salinsa being here first, of having just a few minutes alone with her. Her damn quirk-it has to be her first, there's no way I'd be having these thoughts without her being that close to me. Her stupid quirk.

"Denki, Eijirou!" Mom says cheerfully, smiling. "Welcome! I was told there was going to be three of you?"

"Oh, Salinsa is running a little late," Shitty Hair says as they take their shoes off and leave them by the door. "Hey, Bakubro!"

"Thank you for having us over, Mrs. Bakugo! This is great!" Sparky says, grinning up at my mom with that stupid stare. I glare at them as they walk over, plopping on the floor with their book bags. Mom walks over after closing the door and smacks me over the head, not hard, but enough to get my attention.

"Stop being rude and greet your guests, Katsuki!"

"Hey guys," I grumble, rubbing the back of my head. They laugh, pulling out their notebooks and textbooks. "Did Short Stack say how long she was going to be?"

"She said she lived a little further out, and that her sister wanted to meet your mom first," Sparky says. "Did you not see the texts?"

"No, I was down here getting your stupid snacks ready," I snap as Sparky grabs a cookie and begins to munch on it. I roll my eyes and stand up, a small knock coming at the door. I beat my mom to it, opening and feeling my eyes go wide when I see Salinsa there with a red headed chick. She didn't look too enthused; honestly she looked embarrassed. But I disregarded that, seeing her in jeans, a three quarter sleeved purple shirt, and a black sleeveless jacket with the hood bunched around her collar. Her hair was pulled into two pigtails tied just at her jaw line so they would fall over her chest.

"Hey Katsu," she mumbles. The redhead clears her throat, waving my attention over to her. I glared at her.

"Hey, is your mom around? I wanna talk to her real quick," she says. I sigh and lean back, yelling for her. She yells that she's coming, hurrying over. She puts on that stupid smile as Salinsa sighs and fidgets with the ends of her hair. Scars lined her forearms, crisscrossing in some areas. What the hell-?

"Hi, I'm Mitsuki Bakugo," Mom greets, holding her hand out. "You must be Salinsa's older sister?"

"Yeah, my name is Reina Salinsa," the redhead replies, shaking her hand. "This is my darling baby sister Leinei. I just wanted to meet you to make sure nothing illicit was going on or anything, y'know being a good guardian."

"Perfectly understandable. Katsuki, say hi."

"Hey."

"Hi yourself. You won the Sports Festival, didn't you? Boom Boom Boy, right?"

My eye twitches as I nod, moving to the side so Salinsa could walk in. Redhead sighs, rubbing her neck as she looks at my mom with a smile.

"Sorry, I have to get to work now. She has her phone if she needs me, and Leinei, behave please. Love you."

"Love you too," she mumbles, not looking back as she takes her shoes off. A look of irritated sadness paints itself on her face as she sighs and says bye to my mom before leaving. Said mother looks at Leinei, who smiles at her. And I swear to god, she melted.

"Now how did my Katsuki get a female friend as cute as you? And polite?"

"Shut up, you old hag!"

Salinsa laughs, shaking her head. Her smile makes my chest hurt and my stomach twist and turn. I feel lightheaded being this close to her; that damn quirk of hers.

"Thank you for having me over, Mrs. Bakugo," she says, tilting her head with that stupid signature closed eye smile of hers. "You have a beautiful home."

"Oh, I like her," Mom chuckles, patting my head as she walks towards the stairs leading up to the second floor. "You four have fun! Katsuki, don't destroy the living room again please!"

"Shut up!"

Salinsa laughs as she walks over and sits on the last open side of the table with her bag next to her. I sit on the floor between the table and the couch, watching them flip to a page in their notebooks. Sparky was already on his third cookie, Shitty Hair with his cheek on his fist.

"Should we start with the math assignment from Ectoplasm?" she asks us. "I already have it done, but I'm not exactly sure of some of the answers. What did you end up getting for number six, Kirishima?"

"I think I got negative thirty six point five forty-three."

"You got a decimal? I had a whole number!" She groans, rubbing her palm up her forehead. My eyes were once again attracted to the scars on her wrists and forearms, trailing down to her elbows. Her hand holding her pen trembled, the tip hovering just above the paper and leaving black marks across the blank space.

That must be why she wears the sleeves all the time. I wonder why she wears the leggings under her skirt. Are her legs scarred up too? Hell, why is she scarred up?

"Hey, Salinsa, what's with the scars on you?" Sparky asks, his mouth half full of half chewed cookie. Salinsa looks up, confused for a moment before looking at her wrists. She moves her notebook and pen into her lap, her face flushing red. "What?"

"What process did you use for that problem, Kirishima?" she asks, changing the subject without missing more than a beat.

And that's how the group went, us literally just doing homework and classwork. Having discussions about some of the current events happening. Once the boring shit was done, we actually just chilled and talked.

"So you still don't know what you want your hero name to be?" Shitty Hair asks, crunching those shark teeth of his into a carrot. "You could be like Purple Riot. That would be a super manly name!"

"Then it sounds like I'm copying you," Salinsa laughs, tilting her head. She had pulled the hairbands out of her hair at some point, the black bands sitting on her left wrist so her hair could fall freely around her shoulders. She had the collar of her jacket in her hand, the fabric pressed against her lips. "I was actually thinking about something stupid, but it might not catch on."

"Tell us! Come on, you have to tell us, we're your best friends," Sparky says, slamming his hands on the table and leaning towards her. Shitty Hair nods, finishing his carrot. "We promise we won't make fun of you, right, Bakubro?"

"Don't call me that!" I growl, rolling my eyes as I sit back against the couch. "Just tell us already."

"Ahm...well…" She lets go of her jacket collar, picking her pin up to scribble something on her notebook before placing it on the table. Shitty Hair and Sparky lean over to read it, confusion coming across the blond's face.

"Na-how do you pronounce that?" he asks, sitting down on his heels. She messes with her hair, running her fingers through it as she looks at her lap.

"Nameless. But y'know, spelled N-A-I-M-L-E-S. I kinda want to be a background hero, out of the spotlight. I'm already support based because of my quirk, so...why should I take the light of any better stars?"

"Because your quirk is actually really cool and terrifying," Shitty Hair says, pointing at her. She stiffened, her eyes wide. "Hell, you probably could have won the Sports Festival if you didn't collapse. Definitely would have given Bakugo a run for his money."

"Shut up! I would have beat her too!"

"Yeah, you would have, Katsu," she chuckles, tilting her head as she smiles at me. I feel the back of my ears burn, my stomach leaping into my throat. Her damn quirk is working on me again. What the hell is her game plan?! I hear a phone ding, seeing Sparky get up.

"Agh, my mom wants me home," he sighs, starting to pack his stuff up. "Gotta get to bed early for internships tomorrow. I'll see you guys when the week's up, right?"

"I gotta get going too," Shitty Hair adds, getting his own stuff together. "I gotta get up early to travel to Fourth Kind's agency. Good luck at Best Jeanist's, Bakugo!"

"I don't need luck!"

"Good luck with your sister, Salinsa. She seems really cool! Maybe we'll get to see each other sometime this week, I'd love to see your hero suit," Sparky says, waving as he and Shitty Hair leave. "Bye guys!"

"Bye, Kaminari, Kirishima!" She calls after them, waving before relaxing and closing her notebook. Oh god I'm alone with her. What the hell do people say in these situations? Fuck is this even a good thing? Her quirk-I still don't fucking understand how it works!

"Katsu, are you okay?" she says, causing me to jump. Shit I spaced out. What if her quirk works it that way, by catching me off guard? "You've been really spacy all day, that's not really like you."

"I'm fine! Just getting ready for the internships tomorrow. Shouldn't you be getting home?"

"My sister doesn't like me walking by myself," she says meekly, messing with her hair again. She reached for one of the cookies Sparky didn't eat, breaking it in half before starting to eat one half. "She just likes knowing where I am, and when she's at work, she doesn't really check her phone."

"Makes sense," I grumble, standing up and closing my textbooks. "Did you want any more of this? I'm gonna start cleaning up."

"Oh, no this cookie is fine, thank you."

"Suit yourself."

She stands up, finishing her cookie as she helps me carry the plates into the kitchen. I direct her to where the tupperwares are, watching as she grabs them out and starts putting the food up. I wash the plates as she empties them, drying and putting them away. It's...weird how easily we worked together, how seamless the teamwork went. I still think it's her fucking quirk.

"Salinsa," I say, hearing a small thud as I see her jump a bit out of the corner of my eye. She seems scared that I called her by her last name, her eyes wide. Her hands were still shaking. Did they always tremble that way?

"Ye-yes, Katsu?"

I think of what to say, staring at her. The way she's staring at me, I must be glaring again. She looks like a dog I saw when I was a kid, that Deku cried over when some shopkeeper hit it away. She looks scared, her body tense as if she's ready to run. Does she think I'd hurt her?

What do I even say? Hey are you using your quirk on me? Can you not? What if it isn't her quirk-no it has to be her quirk. There's no other fucking explanation for it. There's no other explanation for why my heart is fucking racing like I just ran a marathon. No explanation that makes sense why I think she looks really good in those jeans(maybe I could ask if they're Best Jeanist's personal line?), or the fact that I like the way that sleeveless jacket hugs her chest and waist. I'm being stupid; it's her fucking quirk.

"How exactly does your quirk work?" I ask, turning and jumping up to sit on the edge of the sink. She seems surprised by my question, scratching at her messed up wrists. I can see the gears in her head working. "I know you explained the basics of it, but can you..project emotions without knowing?"

"Not that I know of," she replies. "I mean, I can pick up on other people's emotions really easily. It's like...telepathy, but with emotions. Like right now, I can tell you're not mad, you're curious and confused. Well, maybe a little irritated, but I can't tell who it's directed towards. That part of my quirk is always active. I can't turn it off, but I can drown it out. It's one of the reasons I wear sleeves, it kinda muffles the emotional feedback I get from being around people, if that makes sense."

So that's why she's always covered up...I mean, that makes a lot of sense. I'd hate feeling what everyone else felt around me. It would drive me nuts.

"So you're a walking emotional radio tower," I say, looking ahead at the window overlooking the dining room table. "You can receive emotional waves twenty four seven, but have a hard time sending them back?"

"That part is a little more difficult," she admits. "The best way I can describe it is an emotional overload of your neural receptors, if I'm even saying that right. Basically I can flip the neurons in your brain that parrot and reflect emotions, and turn them on you. And in doing that, I can pick which emotion, or fear in some cases, that they relive. At the moment, the only emotions I'm really..able to pick are negative ones. Fear, anger, pain. My guardians think that if I practice and get better with it, I can even pick out the happier emotions, or completely shut down what someone feels."

"Holy shit.." I breathe, my attention coming back to her. Her face is pink, her gaze directed to the floor. She seems...almost ashamed. But I can't help but be impressed; she couldn't turn off her quirk two weeks ago, and yet she has a better grasp of how it works than someone who has been able to control it their whole life.

If she had used her quirk that day on me, I would have been the one in the nurse's office. She had to have known that. She knows how strong her quirk is; she has to.

But she can receive emotional radio waves as easily as breathing. If she could send them out as easily...but she said she couldn't send out the more positive emotions, only the negative ones. I wonder why that is…

"Does being a radio tower like that...get difficult?"

"Very. I used to have a lot of panic and anxiety attacks from it. But I found some ways, while not healthy, to cope with it, and eventually got much more...beneficial ways to do so. If I focus on something, I can typically drown the emotions of others out, but it's a glass half full type deal with me as well. Eventually I pick up the personality of others too, as that glass fills up. Usually the ones I'm around the most."

"Right, so I have to worry about you becoming a female version of Sparky and Shitty Hair?" I remark, raising an eyebrow. She laughs, rubbing the back of her neck. I could see the scars on the inside of her arm, how deep they were, how some were still pink instead of an off color of her skin tone. Some of these are recent…

"No, I don't think I'll act exactly like them," she clarifies. "It's more the mannerisms. It doesn't happen right away, heck, it might happen years down the road. I get told I act like my brother and sister a lot, so I dunno…"

"Right." I push myself off the edge of the sink and face her, studying her face. She shrinks back a bit, seemingly startled. Her eyes are really...really blue. So blue I feel like I'm in Kyoto on vacation again, staring at the ocean, waiting for it to suck me in. Dark circles sit just under those blue eyes; does she not sleep at night? If so, why not?

I want to know more, I need to know more. I want to know what's keeping her up at night, what makes her laugh, and smile. I want to know where those scars are from, and why she seems so afraid of her quirk.

"Katsu?"

I flinch, seeing her head tilted slightly to the right with her brow furrowed. She seems worried as she searches my face for any hint of anything I guess. There's a sadness in her eyes, hidden behind a wall of something I want to say is anxiety.

"Sorry, I spaced for a second thinking of what to say," I say, tearing my eyes away as I start to walk past her. I hear her footsteps behind me, following me back into the living room. I hesitate, standing next to the table and couch.

"Do you want to spar?" I ask, turning to face her. She perks up, surprised. "It's not like we have anything else to do and I don't want my old hag to think we're something more than we are."

"Sparring sounds good," she agrees, smiling. "Lead the way, Katsu."