Chapter Text
Bakugou could feel the bruises sting every time he moved. It was a struggle to breathe it felt like his ribs were squeezing his lungs every time he tried. He hoped his ribs were just bruised not broken.
Why did this happen the day she came back?
He wanted to blame this on the two fifth-graders that had decided to attack him today, but it would do him no good. She wouldn’t listen if he gave excuses. His heart was rapidly beating as he limped home, it increased when he finally reached his house.
Stopping on the front porch of the house he tried to calm his heart and hope for the best. Hoping that maybe he still had time and that she wasn’t home yet. He pried the door open as quietly but quickly as he dared to when he didn’t hear anything inside he rushed and closed the door louder than he intended to.
“Is that you, Katsuki?” A voice inquired from the living room.
Feeling alarmed but knowing it would do him no good to ignore the question he answered, ”Yes!” His distress must have shown because he heard footsteps moving toward his direction.
So, in a weak attempt at evading his fate, he tried running up the stairs to his room. Only to be yanked back by a pair of white thick leather gloves. Stumbling down the stairs, he fell over and was met with the sight of his mother. He quickly looked down to avoid looking at her and to prevent her from seeing how dirty he was and the bruises on his face.
Distantly he could hear her click her tongue and could feel her heavy and disappointed gaze. The thought that he had displeased her made him want to curl into a ball and cry. He could feel the usual sharp stinging in his eyes but kept them closed to prevent himself from crying.
The impatient sigh she released broke him out of his reverie. Losing her patience she grabbed his arm and held him up forcing him to look at her, but in a small sign of resistance, he kept his head down and gaze on the floorboards. She sighed disapprovingly causing him to raise his head begrudgingly to avoid disappointing her further.
Looking up at her face Katsuki felt his face pale as he watched as her face which a few seconds ago showed concern quickly twist into disgust.
This happened every time but it always shocked him how quickly she changed from loving into this. In the back of his head, a tiny little voice pointed out that it was his fault and at the moment he agreed wholeheartedly.
He could feel the world slow down as he heard the resounding slap of skin on skin before he felt the actual pain. He could feel the force of the slap push him back forcing him to fall on his back and hold his cheek as the pain slowly registered.
Mitsuki had bent down before him and delicately cradled his face in her sickly, white gloves- he had never seen her take off. He felt the pinpricks of tears welling up in his eyes but refused to let them fall. He ignored his mother who was kneeling in front of him silently demanding his attention. She raised a hand causing him to flinch back violently expecting pain, he was met with leather-clad fingers which firmly yet gently forced his head up. Forced to look up into her red irises which weren’t filled with as much anger as before. Her tone was firm and disgusted as she questioned him, “Why are you so dirty?”
“I-it was-” He could barely finish his sentence as his body was racked with sobs he had been unable to contain. Determined on finishing his sentence he continued, “There were the- these two fifth-graders-" stuttering as he tried to contain his sobs. Mitsuki could tell she wouldn't be getting much out of him in this state.
So she grabbed him by his armpits and held him up away from her and carried him to the bathroom.
The bathroom was clean and pristine like the house itself. It smelled of disinfectant and other cleaning chemicals as if it was cleaned just a while ago. She set him down on the closed toilet seat then opened the cabinets to grab a clean rug. She laid the rug on the floor then stripped him of his shoes which he forgot to take off in his panic. Removing the rest of his clothing she placed them all on the rug to avoid dirtying the floor. She picked him up and set him in the bathtub she then proceeded to turn on the shower making sure it was at its hottest setting.
Bakugou stood in the shower silently with his head hanging down as scalding hot water cascaded on him. He gritted his teeth in pain as Mitsuki started harshly scrubbing at his skin. She scrubbed him until he was raw and red, the hot water making his skin tingle painfully. When the water was finally turned off she gave him a fluffy white towel. Which would have usually felt comfortable but his skin was so raw and sensitive that it felt painful bordering on agonizing.
“Get dressed and ready for dinner,” She gruffed out as she left the bathroom. He slowly got out of the tub and patted himself down slowly to not irritate the burns. After he wiped himself clean he headed for his room.
He went straight for his closet and grabbed a T-shirt and baggy shorts. As he laid them out on the bed there was a knock and the door slowly opened. Masaru peeked inside the room and said, “Katsuki, thought you might want some burn ointment,” his smile was forced as he walked into the room and closed the door.
“Yeah,” Bakugou croaked out his throat hoarse from crying. Hearing him Masaru’s smile disappeared and was replaced by a slight frown. He slowly lowered himself down onto his knees to meet Bakugou’s height. Opening the ointment container he gingerly slathered some on him, carefully, but Bakugou still hissed in pain and winced.
“Sorry” Masaru whispered.
“It’s okay it just kinda tingles,” he huffed out.
“That’s not what I meant, I was talking about your mother,” he said as he finished slathering him with the burn ointment. “She forgets you’re just a kid sometimes.” He said getting up and heading for the clothes on the bed, Bakugou followed behind. “I know this is a selfish thing to ask, but can you try and understand her?” he said pausing to look at him pleadingly. Whatever he saw on Bakugou's face might have satisfied him because he finally continued, “Her father- your Grandpa -did the same thing to her when she was a child. So now she has the same habits, she can’t stand dirt or anything that isn’t thoroughly cleaned.” He said he carefully slid the T-shirt then the shorts on Bakugou.
“So, Can you please try to stay clean for her?” He asked
“Yeah, okay, I’ll try” He croaked out again looking down so that Masaru didn’t see his eyes fill with tears.
“Okay, good, thank you,” Masaru said as he headed for the door. “Just remember that she’s doing it because she loves you.” He said as he closed the door.
Standing in the center of his room pink and raw from head to toe Bakugou stood silently looking down crying silent tears of resignment. “Because she loves me, I’ll do it for her,”
But, what about me?