A/N: I hope you guys really liked Yoshiho, because she'll be appearing more in future chapters. I love her way too much to only show her in the provisional license exam.

Please check the art for this chapter, if that's okay! I drew a fake manga screencap this time around, similar to the UA files where it explains the character's quirk. I made one for Yoshiho, since I never really had a chance to explain it properly in the story ^^;

Art -

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"Kanetsukabe."

Hitomi recognized the voice, her head swiveling abruptly to find Yoshiho Koatsu standing before her. Behind the girl, Hitomi noticed a small number of students here and there whispering to each other as they stared directly at the auburn-haired girl. Some of her own classmates had even fallen silent, anticipating what Yoshiho had to say.

Hitomi started to feel herself panic, worried over what Yoshiho was going to say to her this time.

Before that panic could worsen, Yoshiho bent forward, in a bow.

"...I'm sorry for the things I said to you earlier," she heard her mumble.

"Huh?!" Hitomi gasped, taking a step back. Behind her she heard Kaminari and Sero make noises of disbelief. Some more of her classmates had turned away from their exam results, their attention on the exchange between the two girls.

Yoshiho rose from her bow, holding on to her hat as she avoided making direct eye contact with Hitomi.

"I… had a lot of time to think about my actions during the exam. And I realized all those things I said to you were uncalled for.

They were coming from a place of anger that I ended up directing all towards you, but… I suppose that's no excuse for what I said.

I shouldn't have said all those hurtful things to you, and…" Yoshiho let go of her hat, her face adorning a shameful look. "I'm sorry for all that. The things I said to you were the exact kind of words I'd never want to hear directed at me, and... you didn't deserve that."

Hitomi was simply shocked, staring at Yoshiho in disbelief.

What's with the sudden change in attitude?!

Yoshiho's eyes widened, and Hitomi slapped a hand over her mouth realizing she'd said that out loud.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Hitomi stuttered. "It's just, it was obvious you really hated me, so your apology kind of threw me off…" Her cheeks turned red, inwardly cursing to herself that she didn't just accept the damn apology.

If she was going to embarrass herself, might as well go all out, huh?!

Yoshiho didn't look bothered though, only glancing at her own exam printout.

"What you said to me before you ran off…" she started. "I had a lot of time to think about it, during the second half of the exam."

What I said…?

"I suppose I was trying to ignore my feelings this whole time, and I just needed to hear it vocalized. I ended up thinking about what you said the whole time, which is why I didn't pass…"

"What?!"

Before Hitomi could protest about that, Mera had started talking again, causing her to fall silent as Yoshiho walked away.

Hitomi grasped her provisional license exam in her hands as she followed the class out of the arena, the sky a bright orange as the sun set.

The name "Blue Moon" was in large font at the bottom, making Hitomi smile.

I… can't believe this is real. I really did it.

As she followed the Bakusquad to the buses, she heard her name, realizing they were talking to her.

She stuffed her (shiny, new, aaaggh she couldn't believe it) provisional license into her bag, shifting her attention to them. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Oh, I was just pointing out…" Kaminari started, laughing a little. "Both you and Todoroki had those Shiketsu students apologizing to you. You guys must've really pissed them off, huh?"

"It wasn't like that!" Hitomi shot back, her mind drifting back to Yoshiho again. She'd finally had the chance to search up what the "Koatsu Family Scandal" was on her phone as they were waiting to get their pictures for their licenses taken, and she'd discovered a lot, to say the least.

Like Kirishima had said, the CEO of the Koatsu Support Company had accused his wife of cheating, but there was more to it than just that.

It turned out that Yoshiho was born with a completely different quirk from her parents, and because of that, her father had believed his wife was having an affair. Even though there have been rare cases of genetic mutations resulting in the manifestation of a completely random quirk, apparently Yoshiho's father hadn't wanted to take any chances, filing for a divorce.

There was dozens of news stories about it, many of which called Yoshiho's mother words Hitomi personally thought were too vulgar for the news, while Yoshiho herself was called things along the lines of an illegitimate child.

It explained everything Yoshiho had said to her back during their fight. What she meant when she said Hitomi was lucky that she had a quirk similar to her parents', that she had their support, and that she wasn't blamed for a broken family.

It explained why people would look at Yoshiho warily, whispering to each other about her with few speaking to her directly.

Because turning out to be the illegitimate daughter of the leader of one of the largest support item companies in the industry was not something many would simply ignore.

That must have been hard, being seen that way.

Hitomi found herself seeking her, spotting Yoshiho's dark auburn hair as the Shiketsu class was approaching the buses. She was at the back of the group, as if isolated, staring at the ground and not talking to anyone.

She looked really, really lonely.

Before Hitomi realized it, her feet were moving towards them, breaking out into a run just as the Shiketsu students began boarding the bus.

"K… Koatsu-san!" the bluenette called out. The girl in question turned to look at her in surprise.

Hitomi slowed as she approached the girl, setting her hero costume case down as she reached into her pocket for her phone. "Do you have your phone on you right now?"

Yoshiho's eyes widened in confusion. "Yes. But why…?"

Hitomi held her hand out expectantly. "I just need it really quick."

Yoshiho looked at her suspiciously, eyeing her as Hitomi pulled her own phone out, her arm still outstretched. The Shiketsu student finally relented, taking her phone out and unlocking it before placing it in Hitomi's hand.

Hitomi opened her Contacts page, copying Yoshiho's number to her phone while she put her own number on Yoshiho's. Once she saved the info, she handed Yoshiho's phone back to her, scratching her cheek sheepishly.

"Sorry if that was a little pushy… but, if you ever need anyone to talk to, or anything…" Hitomi shot her a warmer smile this time, picking her hero costume case back up. "I'll be free to listen."

She then scurried back to her own class' bus before Yoshiho could object, feeling herself get embarrassed.

"What were you doing?" Sero asked, an eyebrow raised as their class began entering the bus.

Hitomi scratched her cheek, looking away sheepishly. "I… uh… I gave Koatsu-san my number."

"Your number, huh?" Kaminari teased, his head tilting to the side. "How bold of you, Hitomi!"

Hitomi spluttered, waving her hand erratically. "N-Not like that…!" She sighed, her grip tightening on her hero costume case. "I just… I don't know… I wanted to give her someone to talk to, I guess…? I don't even know if she'll keep my number…"

"Hah?" Bakugou muttered, raising a brow. "Didn't you piss off that paste face or something?"

Hitomi shook her head, the group beginning to filter into the bus. "She told me her anger came from a place that wasn't specifically meant for me… and she apologized for it." Hitomi felt her eyebrows furrow as she followed him down the aisle.

She watched as Bakugou sank into the seat next to Kirishima, before sitting into her own seat across the aisle next to Mina. "I just… hope she'll let me talk to her. And that… she'd be okay with talking to me."

"Don't doubt yourself, Hitomi!" Kirishima exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat. "You're the type of person to really grow on someone, not to mention no one can resist that adorable face of yours!"

Hitomi felt herself blush at her friend's compliment. "Eh?!" she stuttered, holding her bag tighter in her lap. "I'm not…"

"Kirishima's not wrong," Bakugou added, crossing his arms. "You may be quiet as fuck, but at least you're not constantly breathing down my neck like Pikachu or Pinky."

"Hey!" Mina and Kaminari both pouted.

Hitomi saw Mina huff, before the pink girl patted her shoulder. "They're right, though," Mina smiled. "I bet you guys'll be friends in no time!"

Hitomi felt her shoulders relax, feeling her heart soar at all her friends' kind words. "Thanks, you guys," she mumbled.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, staring at Yoshiho's contact info.

I hope…

I hope she'll let me be her friend.

A/N: [2/7/22 EDIT] Yoshiho's complete origin story, which shares specific details of her past, has been added to the side stories! It is highly recommended you read that before moving on to the next chapter! (but beware, it's 20,000+ words XD)

Okay. So now that the provisional license arc is finally done...

This is where the heavy Bakutomi plot begins. When I say "heavy", it's heavy. Like, it takes up such a large majority of the second half of this fic (30 chapters) that this story essentially becomes a romance novel.

Because this fic finally has a set ending.