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

Hey guys!

So of course, since Koto is with people who don't know sign language, she's going to be illusing much more to communicate. For the most part, I'm just using "illuse" as a replacement for "say" whenever she has any dialogue. Just assume if I use any other verbs like "ask" or "respond" that she's using her quirk for that. Tbh I'm just including this because in this chapter and some after, I forgot that she was mute and had to go back and fix it. Whoops.

So yep. Just a reminder.

Enjoy the story!

•°•°•°•

After a long day of quirkless hand to hand combat training against Shinso, who really has no clue what he's doing, we go out to the greenhouse to harvest vegetables for dinner. There are no chefs on the premises, so we have to cook for ourselves. Nyikang believes no hero should live without the basic knowledge of cooking. 

Thankfully, I'm already pretty skilled at cooking because Shinso is struggling and Nyikang isn't helping. It's "learning by doing," apparently. 

"And then, you carve around the inside to get all the seeds out," I illuse while cutting out the center of a bell pepper. 

"But why are you holding it like that? What if I cut myself?" He asks, picking up his own pepper. 

"Just...don't and you'll be fine," I respond, shrugging my shoulders. I turn to lean against the counter, watching his movements. "I'm right here if you need help."

"This is taking too long. Yamada, why don't you do that illusing thing you do to guide him," Nyikang suggests. 

I whip around to face him, eyes wide. "I've never done something like that before," I protest. 

"Yeah, can we maybe not try that while I'm holding a knife?" Shinso asks, concern evident in his voice. He lifts the knife to accentuate his point. 

I grab his forearm and lower the blade. "Don't gesture with the knife," Nyikang and I say at the same time. 

"Yeah, okay okay," he turns back to his cutting board. "I'll just cut the pepper. No need to try anything."

"Then hurry up and get on with it, yeah?" Nyikang leans against the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed. 

Shinso takes a deep breath and starts cutting the pepper. He gets the core out and looks at me expectantly. I give him a small smile and pat his shoulder, then turn and show him how to cut the rest of it. 

Thankfully, he does well with the rest of the vegetables. I have to watch over his shoulder (more like around his shoulder because he's too tall for that) while he cooks to make sure he doesn't burn anything. Soon enough, we're sitting at the counter, a plate full of food each. 

"I'm taking mine to my office," Nyikang says, carrying his plate out the door. "We're going on patrol in 45 minutes. Be ready in your hero costumes by then."

The door closes behind him, leaving Shinso and I alone in silence. 

He glances at me before picking up his chopsticks. "He does realize I don't have a hero costume, right?" The boy asks me, purple eyes flickering with genuine concern as he brings a piece of zucchini to his mouth. 

I shrug, digging into my own food. "He seemed pretty aware of your situation. He probably has something lined up for you. Did you check the closet in your room?"

He pauses. "Wait, we have closets?"

"Behind the other door. What did you think was through there?"

"Bathroom?"

"That's down the hall. And I checked, we have to share. It won't be too much of a problem, though, since there's only two of us."

"This guy's big on simplicity, huh?"

I shrug again. "You say that, but he could have us go in the woods and bathe in a river, so take what you can get. Ya know?"

I glance up to find myself under his scrutinizing lavender gaze. "Why did your mind go there?" He asks, though his tone isn't mean. He sounds intrigued, almost amused. 

I shake my head, grinning. "I don't know," I illuse while letting out a soft laugh. 

We go back to eating our food in comfortable silence. After a couple minutes, Shinso speaks up again. 

"So, what exactly is your quirk?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. "Nyikang said you're using it to communicate, but then you opened that can through the wall. How?"

I take my time explaining my quirk to him, clarifying when he asks questions. 

"That's pretty badass, not gonna lie," he says, stabbing a carrot in a frustrated manner. 

"Well, what's your quirk? I don't think they ever said at the festival."

He lowers his head a little bit, running a hand through his messy purple hair. Quietly, he mumbles, "Brainwashing. When someone gives a verbal response to a question I ask, my quirk activates and I can make them obey my every order."

"How long?" I ask. 

He looks back, searching my eyes. "Until I choose to release them or something else, usually a physical force, knocks them out of it. More mentally aware people are harder to hold. Somehow Midoriya broke out easily."

"Can you try it on me?" I ask, suddenly curious. 

"It doesn't work," he says immediately. 

"Have you been trying this entire time?"

He remains silent, just staring at his food. 

"Shouldn't you get my consent before trying that?"

"Do I have your consent?" He asks, looking out of the tops of his eyes at me with one eyebrow raised. 

"Yes," I illuse in response. 

"Nothing," he shrugs. "It must be the fact that you're not actually responding--your quirk is."

I nod and finish off my helping of food. It wasn't very large in the first place, but seeing the empty plate fills me with a small sense of accomplishment. 

If only Bakugo could see me now, I think, then stifle a small laugh. He'd still probably tell me to eat more. 

"There's still more," Shinso stands up with his own empty plate and extends his hand for mine. "I can grab you some."

I place my chopsticks down on the plate, shaking my head. "No, that's okay. I'm good."

He just shrugs and serves himself more. "This better not be some crazy hero diet or something, cause there's no way I'm abiding by that."

I let out a small laugh. "No, I just don't have a huge appetite. The others in my class are like champion eaters."

"Then I guess there's more for me, huh?"

"Go for it. Sounds like we've got a long night," I sigh. 

"Ugh, don't remind me," he groans, sitting back down across from me. "But I guess it beats doing more grueling training."

I scoff. "It was only grueling because you're weak," I tease with a small grin. 

"Oh, come on," he rolls his eyes at my expression. "I wasn't that bad."

"How many times did you beat Nyikang?" I lean forward, placing my chin on my hand in feigned interest. 

"Well...none, but-"

"And how many times did you beat me?"

"Do you have a point here?"

I lean back, tapping my fingers on the table. "You'll get better. It just takes time."

"Yeah, well time isn't exactly something we have here, is it?" He drops his chopsticks in frustration, but not at me. "Just one week to prove I can actually be a hero. This could tip the scales to see if I get into the hero course or not. But I just...I don't see myself getting any stronger before this week is up."

He pauses, burying his head in his hands. His fingers run through his hair as he looks back up at me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dump that all. I don't know what happened."

"That's okay," I illuse, picking up one of my chopsticks to play with. "I've heard I'm a pretty good listener. Being mute does that to a person."

"Yeah," he laughs, humorlessly, starting to eat again. 

"You know, I'm really not that strong. I just had to learn a specific technique to give me the advantage. You'll learn in time. It took me a while too, but believe me, some people join the hero course with little to no fighting experience. One of my best friends joined to become a rescue hero, so yeah. She didn't have any fight training, but she learned. And so will you."

He's silent for a long moment before whispering, "thanks."

We clean the dishes and put the leftover food into the composter, giving us 15 minutes to get into our hero gear. I rush to my room and put my costume on, tying my hair in braids instead of the usual hairstyle. All the training in the dojo made it frizzy and hard to deal with. I apply a thin layer of eyeliner to my eyes under the mask. 

I exit my room and wait in the hallway for Shinso. I can hear scuffling in the room next to mine. Curious, I go to knock on the door, but it opens before I can get there. 

Shinso walks out wearing a black ninja costume with a black mask covering the lower half of his face. "Hey," he says in his monotone voice. 

"Hey," I reply, looking up at him. The bags under his eyes are fully prominent. "Wait here."

He groans as I run back to my room and grab my makeup. "What do you need that for?" He asks warily as I approach. 

"Sit down," I instruct, ignoring his question. 

"No," he grumbles, pushing past me. "We're not gonna have some stupid girly moment where you do my makeup or whatever bullshit you're trying for here."

I illuse just behind his knees, sending him forward. "Don't you think I've been knocked down enough today?!?" He exclaims, pushing himself up. I walk over and force him to sit back down. I run my fingers through his purple hair (which is shockingly fluffy) and pull it back into a tiny ponytail. 

"What are you doing?!?" He screeches, trying to smack my hands away, but I won't let him. 

"Just stay still, would ya?" I walk around and sit in front of him. "If you don't like it, you can put it back to normal, now close your eyes."

He deadpans at me before complying, grumbling the whole time. I apply the dark makeup to his eyelids as softly as I can manage, but his eyes squint with every touch.

I sigh. "Relax your eyes." 

"How can I relax my eyes when you're poking at them?"

"Just try! Please?"

He takes a deep breath and I watch as his eyes slowly but surely relax. 

"I'll be soft. I promise."

After a while I cap off my makeup and drag him to the bathroom to let him see. He takes in his appearance in the mirror, turning right and left to get a better look at his hair while also taking in the dark war paint looking shadows I applied to his eyes. 

He huffs, crossing his arms. "It's not terrible," he grumbles. 

I nod, my face breaking out in a large grin, then turn and run back to my room to put the makeup away. When I walk back out, I see him still in the bathroom, fiddling with the ends of his ponytail. 

"Enough primping," I illuse. I can't help but be reminded of Bakugo as we head to the dojo. 

Just like when we were at the festival. "Enough primping, Curly," he had said. "Get the fuck out there!"

Why was he pushing me?

Why am I thinking about this?

"You guys were almost late," Nyikang stands in the middle of the floor, arms crossed. 

"But we weren't," Shinso says, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get out there."

He walks out of the compound with us two flanking him. I take in the quiet scenery as we pass. All of a sudden, I become curious as to why it is so quiet here. 

"Hey, why isn't there anybody else at the agency?" I ask. 

He turns around and begins walking backwards. "That's not the agency. That's our training grounds. I taught all of my sidekicks there. We're going to the actual agency tomorrow for you two to learn more about the business side of things."

Beside me, the tall purple boy groans. 

"There are many aspects to this job. Not all of it is fun or exciting," our mentor shrugs and turns on his heel, flipping around to face forward again. 

The buildings around us begin to become more dense as we get closer to the main part of the city. 

"Now, the point of a patrol is to remind the public as well as warning villains that we are here and ready to protect our territory. It allows us to become closer with those we protect. Taking pictures, signing autographs; it's all to raise the moral of the public and let them feel more comfortable putting their trust in us."

He looks over his shoulder, presumably at us, but I can't see his eyes. "Just try to seem friendly."

I nod, letting a small smile grace my features. Shinso merely grunts in response. I nudge his side with my elbow with a smirk. He shoots me a glare and puts a hand to his bruised side. 

"So, Maestro," Nyikang addresses me. "In the event we face crimes tonight, you will be with me in combat while Shinso--we really need to think of a hero name for you, buddy--you'll try to use your quirks on the villains to get them to turn themselves in. Of course every battle is different, so we can't predict what will happen or how our quirks are best used. We have to be open to adapting. When you become better at combat, you will be more versatile in battle."

"Understood," he says, clearly determined to get to that point.

"Onto more important business, Maestro," Nyikang continues. "What should our little trainee's hero name be?"

"Our?" Shinso asks incredulously. "I'm sorry, but since when has she become my mentor too?"

"How many times did you beat her in battle?" 

"Ugh," Shinso crosses his arms. 

•°•°•°•

That night, we get back at 11:30, leaving us 30 minutes until lights out. I let Shinso use the shower first, knowing I will take longer. I step out of the steaming room at 11:58, rushing down the hallway in a robe and slippers. I close and lock my door behind me. 

Slipping into baggy sweats, I hop onto my bed and turn off the lamp. In the darkness, I sit atop the mattress and braid my hair. My phone buzzes on my mattress. I look over to see it crowded with messages. A few from Ochaco, some from Midoriya and Tsu, but most from the Bakusquad group chat. I pull up Ochaco's texts first and respond. 

Ochaco 💕: Hey Koto!! I don't get a lot of free time, so I'm sending this right before bed. I don't know if you'll see this or not, but I figured I'd fill you in!

Ochaco 💕: Gunhead is honestly great! He's taught me so much and it's only the first day! We're totally sparring when we get back! I need to show you everything I learned!

Ochaco 💕: Also you would totally expect him to be this tough scary guy, but he's a complete teddy bear! I'll tell you more about it when we get back! Gotta conserve minutes!

Me: That's great Ochaco!! Nyikang is pretty chill. He had me spend half of the day trying to open a soda can through a wall and guess what! I actually did it! I used Echolocation in the room next to ours THROUGH THE WALL!!! IDBWVFPSNFKLFXITEB

Me: I'll tell you more later, but you know that dude Shinso that Midoriya fought in the sports festival? He's interning with me here. He's a cool dude I guess. I haven't gotten to know him that well yet, but I don't think we'll kill each other by the end of this week, so that's good. Ttyl ily!!

I quickly respond to Midoriya and Tsu, then take on the group chat that's going beserk. 

Pikachu: Hey guys!! Just finished my first day! T'was sick as frick

Pikachu: Met a cute sidekick 😉

Spoodermun: How quick did she shoot you down? Lol

Pikachu: She just hasn't said yes yet

Spoodermun: Keep telling yourself that

Alien Queen: Please be respectful Kami!!

Kiri: Bros (and ladies) Fourth Kind put us through grueling work all day

Pikachu: Big oof

Alien Queen: Nice to feel included~

Spoodermun: Us? You there with someone?

Kiri: Yee Tetsutetsu

Kiri: We always get stuck together

Alien Queen: IT'S A CONSPIRACY

Bakugo: STFU I'm trying to sleep

Alien Queen: Roses are red, violets are blue, Bakugo goes to bed at 8:32

Bakugo: STOP

I find myself laughing at that. When we were all hanging out, Bakugo had mentioned that he was tired and just wanted to leave. When we checked the time, it was 8:32 pm. Since then, everyone's been giving him a hard time for it. Of course, I hadn't been in the mood lately, but since my talk with him, I've been feeling better about teasing him with the rest of the group.

As a matter of fact, since our talk in Recovery Girl's office, I've been feeling more like myself. Altogether, I've just been happier and more comfortable. I figure that must be why I talked back to Endeavor so fearlessly. It reminds me of my attitude back when I was in America and everything was still okay.

Spoodermun: Roses are red, violets are blue, sheep go baa and cows say moo

Pikachu: Roses are red, violets are red, everything's red, shit the garden's on fire

Bakugo: Roses are fucking red, violets are fucking blue, these will fucking die, why can't you?

Me: Roses are red, violets are blue, if I had a brick, I would throw it at you!

Kiri: Eyyyy the whole crew is here now!

Bakugo: Roses are red, violets are blue, I've got five fingers and the middle one's for you

Kiri: 😭

Kiri: Y u gotta do me like this Bakubro?

Bakugo: FUCK OFF I'M TRYING TO SLEEP

Alien Queen: How is everyone else doing?! I'm chillin here. My mentor is lit

Spoodermun: I'm training hard, but it's fun too

Me: Spent half the day trying to open a can 🤷

Kiri: Bakugo! How's it goin with Best Jeanist?

Alien Queen: Wait Koto whatchu mean?

Me: I legit had to open a can through a wall

Kiri: Did you do it?!

Me: Eventually, yee 🤙

Kiri: 👏👏👏

Alien Queen: 👏👏👏

Pikachu: 👏👏👏

Spoodermun: 👏👏👏

Kiri: C'mon Bakubro!

Pikachu: He's done with us

Spoodermun: Probably sleeping

Me: Speaking of, had a late night and I've got an early morning, so gnight!!!

Alien Queen: Goodnight!! 

Kiri: Sweet dreams!

Spoodermun: Sleep well!

Pikachu: I best be in your dreams cause you'll be in mine ❤️

I snort at Kaminari's response and turn my phone off, placing it on the windowsill above the bed. With a smile still on my face, I drift off to sleep.