(Koto's POV)

I may not know these people, but at least they're giving me food.

The teens brought us all to this table and left us with our breakfast while they discussed something amongst themselves. All except the one with the purple crystals for hair, Akihiko, who sits with us. He holds an inky black dog on his lap as he dishes out some eggs and rice for himself.

The dog is super cute. It tried attacking the toaster while they were cooking, which makes me wonder, if it hopped in there, how high would the toaster throw it into the air?

Either way, I hope to play with Tanami and Shishi after breakfast, which is why I snagged a seat next to her.

"Pancakes!" Sarada cries out, slamming her plate against the table. From down the table, Kita slides the platter, knocking into Hinata's juice cup. Thankfully, he's quick enough to grab it. Only a few drops splash onto the table. But his eyelids sag as if he's still tired. But how can he be tired if we have a whole day of play ahead of us? Good thing we're eating!

Sarada, Tanami, and I pile our plates full. The lavender-haired girl then snatches the syrup and douses her food.

"Slow down there," Tatsuya says from where he approaches behind me. "Save some for the others."

Tanami sets the syrup down with a thud and passes it over to me while the teen pulls up a chair.

"Hey everyone," Ju-in calls from next to Kita. He stands facing away from the table, his phone ready for a picture. "Say cheese!"

I lean over the table to smile as the picture is taken. When I sit back down, I feel the stickiness of syrup coating my hair, so I brush it out with my hands and dig into my breakfast.

At some point, one of the big kids must have left because I don't even notice until Ju-in opens the front door and carries in a box. I notice multicolored fluff sticking out from the top, so of course I go investigate.

"Thank goodness these were in the guidance office," he chuckles, setting the box down. "It's a shame we didn't think of this yesterday."

I sprint forward and dive into the open box of stuffed animals.

So fluffy!

I grab a toy from the box and show it to the boy standing next to me. I recognize the animal, but can't remember the name. "What's this?"

Ju-in crouches to inspect the fuzzy stuffed animal and smiles down at me. "That's a hedgehog!'

I smile brightly, gazing down at the animal's beady black eyes. "Hudge!"

"No," he tries to explain, "hedge–"

"Hudgy, wudgy, pudgy," I coo at the toy, rocking it back and forth by its stumpy little legs.

Ju-in sits back, his fluffy tails propping him up. "Yeah, alright, I guess," he chuckles. "I like that name."

○●•°•●○●•°•●○●•°•●○●•°•●○

"Hey, mister!" I tug on the pants of the tall boy before me. He's been reclining against the kitchen counter for like, five minutes, totally ignoring us. He must be having more fun over here. "You got games on your phone?"

Yamamoto peers over the edge of his phone. He reluctantly tucks it back in his pocket. "What do you need?"

"Games?"

He crosses his arms. "My phone went away. There are games over there." He points to the common room where my new friends play in tandem. I would go back over there, but I just stole Hinata's banana, and I don't want to be there when he realizes it's gone. I pat the lump in my sleeve and turn back to the teen.

"I can't go play over there," I state as firmly as I can, standing on my tiptoes to match his height. "I need water."

He pulls a plastic cup from the cabinet, but his attention is pulled away when the screaming starts. "You can get your own," he says, handing me the cup before rushing off to assess the situation.

Of course I can do it on my own, I think proudly. I march on over to the fridge and stand up on my toes to put the cup to the spigot. With the plastic balancing on my fingertips, I press the button.

The moment the water shoots into the cup, it tumbles from my hand and spills all over the floor of the kitchen. I glance over at the teenagers in charge, but nobody has noticed. Well, who's gonna clean this up now?

I remember Ju-in mopping up water with his tail earlier, so I reach my foot out and do the same. (A tail is basically an extra foot, right?) The water soaks into the fibers of my sock and creates a funny squelchy feeling. When it's clear my socks have done all that they can, and I'm just moving water around, I lay down and start rolling through the spill, creating that funny feeling of wet cloth all over my body.

"I lost it! I lost it," Hinata screams from the lunch table. The other kids join in the shouting, and I can hear all of the teenagers milling around, trying to calm them. The missing banana pokes my elbow from where I've hidden it, and I cover my mouth with a wet sleeve to stifle my laughter.

I remain there on my back, still giggling at the ticklish water when I tilt my head back and catch sight of the sink. My blue eyes latch onto the curved neck of the faucet as I remember that my cup has been laying on the ground. I can't just drink water from a dirty cup.

I find a step stool in the closet and carry it with my super big muscles over to the sink. I slide it up against the cabinets, slamming into them to make sure they're shut and I'm as close as I can be.

Grabbing my little green cup from the floor, I push back my damp sleeves and climb up to the sink. In one bay, there's soapy water, so I plunge the cup into it, giggling at the sound the bubbles make as they surface.

"What's that?" Tatsuya asks, turning to check up on me.

I lift the cup from the sink, and the bubbles drip down my arm. "Washing my cup!"

"Oh shit," Raiden groans, "not more soap."

"Oh shit," Aoi mimics. The boy's attention flicks back over to reprimand her, eyes widening in dismay.

Tatsuya, though, keeps his eyes trained on me. "I think it's clean, go ahead and wash it off."

I give him a thumbs-up, flinging some suds onto the floor. He shakes his head and whispers to Raiden, "just don't look, man."

I turn on the faucet and begin methodically filling and dumping water until all the bubbles are washed away. Then, I fill the cup once more and sink my fingers into it. The water distorts the image of my fingers, which makes me laugh. I wiggle my fingers as if they were a person swimming.

"Do you want to go swimming, Hudge?" I pat my stomach where I've been hiding the stuffed animal beneath my shirt. Pulling him out, his face is lopsided and squished, which seems like a "yes" to me.

I dunk him under the soapy water, and he pops back up, splashing me with the suds. "Sudsy Hudgy," I sing, "going for a swim. Splishy and splashy, falling from the rim." I prop him up on the edge of the sink and poke his fluffy back quills until he tumbles into the water. I get sprayed with bubbles once more, and I squeal with laughter.

"Koto?" A voice calls from behind me.

"I'm getting water," I yell back, not even looking to see who asked.

I turn the faucet on again to fill my cup, then stare at the water as it overflows. It's not big enough for Hudge to go swimming, I think sadly. I'll have to stay at the sink.

I plunge my stuffed animal once again into the soapy water, dragging him around to make him look like he's swimming. In my mind's eye, he could be swimming.

I wish I could go swimming too. I wish we could all go swimming. I glance between the two sinks, and a question forms in my mind. I let go of Hudge so he can play on his own.

Why does the water stay in this one, but not the other one?

Hudge's black eyes seem to ask me the same question as he back-strokes through bubbles.

I stand on my toes, putting my full weight on the counter, so I can peer down the drain of the empty bay. Sadly, it's too dark to see down there. I look into the other sink, but the bubbles block my view.

I turn the faucet and spray a stream of water into the suds, but it only makes them grow. Huffing, I figure I'll just have to feel it out. I lean over the sink and run my hands along the sides and bottom. Water soaks into my shirt, and my curls fall into the bubbles, but that's not important right now. I have a mystery to solve!

My hand brushes against a sticky-uppy thing in the middle. I grab hold of it and pull. Immediately, a low gushing sound comes from the sink, and the bubble level begins to drop. I slam it back down, plugging up what must be another drain.

Is there another plug? I ponder, looking around for anything that looks like what I felt. Nothing seems similar, so I yank a handful of paper towels from the nearby roll and wad them up, stuffing them down the empty drain.

I turn on the faucet, and water pours out in a steady stream. Hudge washes himself off in the new pool and splashes about. The water continues to rise.

I prop my head on my hand, watching as the pool deepens. "Careful, Hudge," I say. "You're going into the deep end!"

Hudge looks at me with those deep eyes; he knows what he's doing. In fact, I can practically hear him say it. He continues to paddle around, even as the water rises and rises. He dips down below the surface and stares up at me.

I giggle, watching the waves in the water change the shape of my stuffed animal. "Wow, you can hold your breath a long time!"

"I've got this," Hudge says, "watch me!" He soars out of the water, whistling through the air, and lands with a crash on top of my head.

"Hudge," I cry indignantly. "You're getting my hair all wet!"

"Sorry, Koto. I needed to get up here for a high-dive!" The hedgehog leaps from my head and does a flip mid-air, splashing down into the water.

"The judges give him tens across the board," I commentate. "Hudge is champion of the world!" Leaping off the stepstool, I hold Hudge triumphantly above my head.

All eyes turn to me, just in time for the sink to reach capacity and overflow onto the ground. The room sets into motion, Kita and Tami climbing onto the table to get a better look as the teens rush for the kitchen.

Water pours over the edge of the counter, even as Akiba uses his quirk to shut the flow off. Tatsuya and Raiden grab towels to try to mop up the mess. Akihiko attempts to distract the kids with coloring pages as they try to join in on the fun. With Sarada flying over him and Hinata zooming across the room, there's only so much he can do to stop the rest. Aoi whines loudly as she pushes against his arm to get through.

Ju-in approaches me, mouth set into a firm line. "What did you do?"

I don't like that look on his face. Why is everyone mad? Hinata thinks it's fun! Sure enough, the blond is splashing about in the puddle, despite Yamamoto trying to usher him away.

"Koto..." the teen continues, giving me a serious look.

I clutch my stuffed animal close to my chest and look up at him with big eyes, imploring him to see that I did nothing wrong–that it was just for fun. "I wanted to go swimming!"

He sputters into laughter while Tatsuya just chuckles and the others give me exhausted looks. "Well, you certainly managed that," Tatsuya chuckles, wrapping his hands in paper towels.

"How did you even–" Ju-in asks, peering into the sink. He cuts himself off in shock. "She stopped up the drain!"

Now, I would have expected this to garner some laughs, even some praise for being so smart, but all I get are five variations of tired teenage expressions. Since when did growing up make you so boring?

I turn to trudge away, but find Akihiko advancing on me. "Let's get you dried off," he says.

The boy reaches for Hudge with a towel in hand, but I yank him back, out of reach. "Don't touch him!"

"Come on, Yamada," he says gently, his hand still extended. "You don't want him to be all soaked, do you?" I squeeze my hedgehog close to me, ringing water from it and causing it to splatter all over the ground. The boy sighs and tries again, reaching forward with the towel. "See, you're getting your clothes all wet."

"Stop! Stop," I shriek. I'll admit, I may have activated my quirk if only to see him flinch back like that. The crystals in his hair reflect bright, colorful light as his hood falls away at the sharp motion. Good, I can't help but think. Nobody touches Hudge but me.

"Stop with the loud noises," Yamamoto growls at me. I shrink into myself at his tone.

Not for the first time, I wonder where my parents are. That tone kinda reminds me of them. But at least I know they love me. I consider why they might have left me all night with these new people. They must be at Grandma's house. Maybe I did something to make them mad, and they dropped me off with these babysitters. Lame.

These people aren't at all like Mom and Dad who give me all their attention; they have way more kids to hang out with. But they at least have a cute puppy.

I glance at Tatsuya. His fluffy tail waves idly to stabilize himself as he lays towels across the puddle. It's so fluffy, just like Hudge. I bet it's just as cuddly too. His eyes meet mine, and the boy bristles. "Don't you even think about it, Koto!"

I smile to myself and turn away. Fine, then. Not when he's watching. Maybe Ju-in, then.

The other Akiba gives me a sideways glance, so I pout. I'm not even doing anything! Why is he giving me that look? My pout turns to an evil grin when I see someone sneaking up on him. I'm not even gonna be the one dumping applesauce on him!

As Aoi upends the bowl of applesauce, a blue light shines from every drop. "Dang it," she exclaims as Akiba turns the bowl over with his quirk and lowers the snack back into it.

How does he do that? My bottom lip juts out again in a pout. But at least I wasn't the one who got caught, I remind myself triumphantly. Even if my pool party was cut short.

I walk over and stoop to pick up the bowl, leading my friend away so we can plan something even more fun. "I don't think so," Akiba says, pulling the bowl from my hands before I can get too far. "You didn't even want applesauce. Where did you get this?"

Aoi pouts, crossing her arms. "Tami was eating it."

"And you took this from her?"

"No, she gave it to me."

Akiba hums and calls over to the table where Tami and Kita sit at the makeshift art station. "Tami?" He calls, lifting the plastic bowl way above mine and Aoi's heads.

"My applesauce," Tami exclaims, face lighting up.

Ju-in turns around with the soggy clump of paper towels in his hand. He winces and drops it into the trash. "It doesn't sound like she knew where it went," he points out.

"We'll find something else," I whisper to Aoi as Akiba floats the bowl back over to the table.

She giggles, takes my hand, and we run off to make a plan. As we go, I think I hear Akiba say something about keeping an eye on us.

○●•°•●○●•°•●○●•°•●○●•°•●○

"I wanna play!" Sarada exclaims, tugging at Hudge's nose.

I plant my hand in her face and shove her back into Kita. The girl's horns bonk Sarada on the head, and she begins crying.

"Hey, hey," Akiba insists placatingly. "Let's all get along now. Sarada, can you play with Koto with a different toy?"

"But–" she cries, "but I want that one!"

"Just let her play with the stupid stuffy," Kita insists, putting a hand on Sarada's head where she was hit.

My eyes fill with tears of indignation. Why is everybody against me? "Hudge isn't stupid," I shout, hugging him close. "He's a dinosaur doctor!"

Tanami plops down on a pillow next to me, her ink dog following not too far after. "There's no such thing as a dinosaur doctor."

"Yuh huh!"

"Nuh uh!" She crosses her arms. "It's a parry-ent-ologist," she proclaims, sounding out each syllable, then crossing her arms triumphantly.

"Paleontologist," Akihiko corrects absentmindedly as he wipes a splotch of ink from his sister's pale skin. Shishi barks and lunges for him instead. He catches the dog and holds it close to his chest. "What else does Hudge do, Koto?"

My mouth sets in a line as I think it over. "He, um, he dances with his friends," I say, spotting another few stuffed animals on the couch. I turn back to Sarada. "You can be the bear!"

Her antennae perk up, and she flits above Akiba's head, landing on the couch with a thump. This wakes up Hinata and launches the box from the seat, scattering them onto the floor. Kita and Tanami giggle and begin picking them up.

"Here's the bear," the pinkette says to Sarada once she rights herself. The bee girl slides off the cushions and cheerfully takes her toy from Kita.

Tanami flaps the ears of a rabbit back and forth while her brother watches with a knowing grin. "I'm the bunny," she sing-songs.

A pale hand reaches from behind me to snatch up the cat stuffed animal. Aoi gives me a big grin as she hugs the kitty close to her chest.

Kita holds an orange and black striped animal out before her. "And I'll be the tiger!"

"What sound does a tiger make?" Ju-in asks, furrowing his brows playfully. The room fills with loud approximations of roars. His and Tatsuya's ears flatten to their heads.

The latter looks at Ju-in with exasperation. "Why'd you do that, man? Really?"

Ju-in smiles ruefully. "C'mon, tell me it wasn't cute."

"I'm cute! And deadly!" Kita exclaims, holding her tiger stuffed animal above her head. "RAWR!"

I roar in response, along with the rest of the kids.

Tami comes around the couch and plops next to Hinata. "Can I have one?" the girl asks Hinata in my mom's language.

I take initiative to comb through the box for the one I think fits her best. I tug out what I think is a horse, but gasp when I see the silvery horn on top. "You can be the unicorn!" The rest of my friends exclaim in wonder as I pass the toy to Tami. Her big brown eyes gleam as she takes it from me.

Hinata hops from the couch and shuffles through the box as well. We watch in anticipation for him to find his animal. He thrusts his hand up in the air with a deep red stuffy. "Dragon!" he yells. "RAWR!!"

Everyone else joins in on the roaring as Hinata and Kita both raise their stuffed animals into the air. When the commotion has died down, I plop myself between Aoi and Tanami to begin playing.

But after a while, breathing becomes difficult. I cough, and a purple cloud puffs into the air. I run my hands through it, watching the tendrils swirl. Another cough bubbles out of me, adding to the cloud.

"Whoa," Hinata says, standing up to investigate, but he falls back with a cough, also producing a large puff.

Akiba looks at his watch, then to the other teens. "Yup, it's about the time we found them."

I continue coughing, my eyes tearing up with effort. My muscles all tense at once, and I let out a whimper at the pain.

Maybe I should go see Nurse Plasma.

Nurse Plasma...

My eyes widen. We're at U.A. We're...

I look down at my hands to find them back to normal size. And...ew! My sleeves are absolutely soaked.

"Tell me that was a dream," Sarada groans, her antennae drooping as she holds a hand to her head.

Aoi coughs out a final cloud of purple dust and wipes her fingers under her eyes. "Unless we all dreamed that together, that's unlikely."

Tatsuya and Ju-in share a grin. "Welcome back," the former says.

"Thanks for taking care of us," Kita murmurs. She rubs at her horn. "We were probably a handful."

Akiba sits next to the girl and knocks his knee against hers. "Well, the teachers weren't going to help, and we couldn't leave you to fend for yourselves." They share a look, and a pink tint creeps over Kita's cheeks.

Raiden shrugs from where he leans against the wall. "Besides," he says, "we were all kids once. Don't I know I gave my Ma hell."

Ju-in laughs. "Oh, that would have been chaos. Imagine a strong little toddler going around and flipping tables."

"I didn't mean like that," Raiden grumbles.

"Oh, I bet you were quite the little devil," Aoi states, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Speaking your mind, being rude."

The boy's mouth tilts to the side. "Admittedly, that's about right."

"What about you?" Hinata asks Akihiko.

But Tanami jumps in to answer. "About the same as now: aloof, protective." She gives her twin a friendly nudge. "I always had to drag him to play with friends."

The edges of his mouth twitch up into a smile. "Not so much anymore."

"So you say." She surveys the space. "But what about the rest of you?"

Aoi turns her intuitive eyes on Ju-in. "I bet you were a talker. Always sharing something."

He gives her a bright grin. "We'll say that's true."

"And Tatsuya..." she turns to the other boy, but then trails off, lost in thought.

I clear my throat and illuse into the room. "I bet you were playful like a puppy."

His ears flatten back to his head, but the boy still smiles, showing off his elongated canines. "Well, you know, it was an interesting time, filled with so many different experiences."

"So true," Sarada says, nodding sagely. "What about you, Aki–"

Kita interjects, hand to her flushed forehead, "I'm so dehydrated right now. Were you guys giving us water at all?" With that, she pushes off from the couch and stalks away into the kitchen, surely for three large glasses full.

Hinata also grimaces. "Yeah, I'm feeling woozy too. How much sugar did we eat? I don't remember any fruit."

"Oh," I illuse, giving the boy a timid smile. "I may have taken this from you." I reach up into my sleeve and pull out the banana I had been hiding there all day. "I don't think it's too bruised, but it is kinda wet."

The boy takes the fruit and begins peeling it. "Enh, that's just the outside."

Tanami glances around, "Geez, am I the only one who eats that much sugar normally?"

"Yes," her twin replies deadpan. "Maybe the only human who can possibly stand it."

"I feel fine! That's just a regular day for me," Sarada chirps, still holding her teddy bear close to her chest. Her and Tanami high-five.

I look down to the poor hedgehog stuffed animal in front of me. Sorry Hudge, I think. I really put you through the ringer. There's no response, and I almost miss the childlike eyes I saw through that made him play, talk, and wink.

"I think I'll have to reimburse the school for this one," I illuse, holding up the wet, ink-stained hedgehog.

Tanami returns her rabbit to the box, and instead holds Shishi in her lap. "Sorry about that." She gives me a sheepish smile and motions with her chin to her brother, causing the chunks of amethyst to clink against her jaw. "It's easier to wrangle Shishi with the two of us."

"It's honestly so cute, though," Tami coos, settling down next to Tanami to pet the dog.

"Sorry you got roped into all of this," Akiba says to the twins. "I doubt this was what you were expecting to do this weekend."

Tanami shrugs and looks around the room. "It may have been odd, but it was fun to hang out with you guys."

"Maybe we can have a normal hangout at some point," Akihiko adds.

Ju-in leans forward in his seat. "Definitely," he exclaims. "Maybe during a school holiday when we're all free."

"I gotta get all your numbers," Tanami realizes. She grabs her phone from where her brother held onto it and passes it around the class.

The Mochizuki twins don't stay long past that. After helping clean up, they say their goodbyes and head back to Mizu Academī with the promise to stay in touch. I can't help but wonder if we'll run into them someday doing hero work.

I excuse myself and head up to my room on the third floor. From inside my jacket, I pull out the stained hedgehog and place him on my desk.

A day to remember, I mentally tell him. It must be a trick of the light, maybe tree branches blowing in the wind, but I can almost swear I see his eyes glimmer.

My phone vibrates, and I open it to see a message from Ju-in in a new group chat. "Say cheese!" the caption on the picture reads.

I smile at the image and memories of the day. I know deep down that this will be an experience I'll never forget.

Character Spotlight: Koto
Book: Muted Voices
Quirk: Illuse

Special thanks to FoxyPuff for writing this chapter!