Chapter Text
A/N: This is also on Quotev and Wattpad, please don't steal my work or plot.
The first couple chapters are kinda rough but they get much better the more you read. Snow colored locks of hair blew and twirled in the wind, the long strands of hair tangling as the young girl stuck her head out the car door window. But she was unconcerned at the rat’s nest that would become of her hair instead she watched the lapping of vibrant blue waves crashing upon the grey rocky shore. Occasionally a fine mist of salt water would caress her wind burned cheeks as the black car drove down the long stretch that was the highway bridge. About half her body was stuck out of the fast moving vehicle, the wind muffled the loud music and hushed conversation her parents were having. The metal door dug into her upper chest as her hands hung limply letting the wind play with them, her confining seatbelt had been discarded the second hour she was stuck in the car, along with her brightly colored trainers in the hope of being more comfortable.
The back seat was a mess of plush pillows and soft blankets, candy wrappers were stuffed into any and every open drink holder. A bottle of half drank pink lemonade rolled around on the ground with each turn they took, it had been five hours now and they were nearing their destination but the girl had long grown restless and bored. She was itching to leave the confining car, long car rides were nothing new to the girl but that didn’t make them any more enjoyable. The stress and anxiety of moving to a whole new country only added to the girl’s growing impatience, she should have been used to this by now but this was different. She grew up moving from country to country, they never stayed in one country longer than five years. Her parents were Professors in Biochemistry, they were well known in their field after making some groundbreaking discovery between the link of having a quirk and their effect on that person’s biomolecules. They were highly sought after and college after college offered them a chance to teach at their school. The go getters that were her parents couldn’t deny the offers so they moved constantly. But this time they weren’t moving because of her parents, no they were moving because of her. A chance encounter had changed her whole life within a split second. And to be honest she wasn’t sure how she felt about that just yet.
“Vallea, stop hanging your head out the window, you’re going to get dry eyes!” Her mother yelled at the teenager who loudly groaned in response. “I mean it! I’ll roll the window up on your head.” Vallea threw her upper body back into the car dramatically knowing her mother would follow through with her threat if she didn’t listen. Her mother, Maze, was a loving but strict parental figure, she was the type who never let Vallea go to someone else’s home if she didn't know them or had asked at least three days in advance. Her turmeric yellow hair was always pulled into a bun, something she learned to do while taking chemistry when she was still in high school, her outward appearance was as strict and professional as her inward. Vallea never once recalled seeing her mother in anything that resembled sweats, instead she wore muted blouses and pencil skirts. The only vibrant parts were her electric blue eyes and ruby stained lips.
“Be nice to her Maze, you know how nervous she is.” Her other mother, whom Vallea just called mom, fussed. Ivory was the more gentle parental figure but she was just as strict as Maze, she just let more things go if Vallea gave her puppy eyes. Ivory, like her name, had ivory white hair and skin even though she was a Ethiopian descend, when she was four Ivory was diagnosed with albinism, with that came a copious amount of health related issues such as sensitivity to light, underdeveloped optic nerves and a high chance of skin cancer. She lost the sight out of her right eye when she was seven years old, she was viewed as a burden when she was just a child and it only got worse with age. No one wanted to date a nearly blind girl who couldn’t be out in the sun more than ten minutes without burning, not to mention her fluid sexuality seemed too open minded for that time. It was a stressful time for Ivory so instead she dove into what she loved, which was Biochemistry. She met Maze at a convection for students who had at least had a degree in Biochemistry. And well the rest is history. “I get that she is nervous but she’s going to be complaining all night about her eyes if she keeps hanging out the window like that.”
“Maze.” Ivory’s stern voice snapped.
“What? You know it’s true, I love the kid just as much as you do but her complaining could win an award for most annoying.”
“Maze! That’s your daughter you’re talking about.”
“Exactly, that’s why I get to shit talk her complaining.”
Vallea rolled her eyes at her parents’ bickering and kicked her feet up into the air until they were touching the roof of the car. Her pale pink dress bunching up as her legs swayed mindlessly, thick grey knitted socks covered her legs and upper thighs from the draft of the frigid air conditioner along with a rather large white hoodie with bunny ears atop of it. Vallea always seemed to be cold no matter what, so she wore more layers and thicker clothes than what was expected out of any season. It was already spring, and the temperature index was higher than usual but she still wore her thick winter clothes in the hopes of retaining any heat. At home she was at least covered in three blankets at all times, there had been times where Vallea had just debated crawling into an oven just so she could feel some warmth. The only advantage she gained from constantly being cold were icy hands and feet, with her freezing limbs she tormented the people closest to her, placing a frigid hand on their neck or thigh when they least expected it. Their loud shrieks were pure entertainment to the slightly sadistic teenager.
“Are you sure our stuff will be there when we get there?” Vallea asked for the eighth time in a row.
“Yes, the packers contacted us yesterday to inform us that everything is already set and ready for us when we arrive.” Ivory sighed fiddling with the radio.
“But what about my stuff? Do you know if they have all ten boxes-”
“Vallea, honey, I get that you are nervous but I’m positive that they didn’t forget to ship anything from the states. And look on the bright side, if they did forget something all that means is that you get to go shopping.”
The teenager huffed loudly as she turned her attention back to the window once she received the undesirable answer. Ivory looked back at her daughter who seemed to be a squirming bundle of anxiety with empathy. This move was big for Vallea, this move would kick start her career and education, it was a leap of fate. She understood why the girl was so nervous, if Ivory was being honest she would also be scared to death if she was placed in her shoes. Vallea was only fifteen yet she was moving to a whole different country that held an unfamiliar culture and language so she could receive a once in a lifetime opportunity. The opportunity was more than wonderful but she knew that didn’t get rid of the worry that she was choosing to do the wrong thing.
“You know honey, I heard that our next door neighbors have a boy your age, isn’t that exciting!” Ivory cheered, expecting the girl to get thrilled at the idea of a new friend, instead her face went white within a split second.
“What?!” Maze winced at the sudden shrill shout almost jerking the wheel. Vallea couldn’t believe what she was hearing, a boy her age living right next to her! Oh god this was the worst thing that could happen. Screw not having her stuff shipped, a boy next door meant weird and awkward encounters. And she hated weird and awkward encounters!
“Why did you tell her that, you know she’s a hot mess when she has to meet someone her age and god forbid it’s the opposite gender. Remember her first day of junior high, she came home only an hour after school started covered head to toe in bruises because a boy said hi to her as she was walking down the stairs.” Her mother wasn’t lying, Vallea had gotten so flustered that she managed to trip and fall down two sets of stairs just because a semi-attractive human tried talking to her. It wasn’t one of her proudest moments but she couldn’t help it. She was at her peak of hormones and the boy was really handsome.
“Oh come on! I thought she grew out of that, she’s had plenty of guy friends in the past.”
“Mom they were either gay or my cousins.” She pointed out.
“Well you don’t know, this boy could also be gay.” Ivory tried to settle the teen down from her spiraling thoughts.
“Knowing my luck, I’m sure he won’t be.”
“Well aren’t you just a little ball of sunshine.” Vallea just stuck her tongue out, pink eyes closing feeling the car move beneath her.
“...Do you think I made the right choice?” She whispered the question, fist curling as she heard both of her parents take a sharp breath. The girl tried to keep her face blank but it kept crinkling up despite her efforts. There was a long pause before her parents answered.
“I think you made a very difficult decision, one that hurt your heart but if I’m being honest I think you did. It was very mature for you to follow your brain instead of your heart, you were able to put your feelings aside and make a choice with just your logic.” Maze was the first one to reply, her blue eyes flickering to the back of the car where the girl laid. “You should be proud of yourself, this didn’t come without sacrifice but you still kept a level head on and forged on.”
“Your mother is right honey, we’re very proud of you, don’t you forget that. I can’t tell the future and neither can your mother but I think you made the best and most rational choice. And if it turns out horribly we will be there for you, we will always be there for you.” Vallea had a hard time keeping the tears from spilling from her eyes so she threw her arm over her eyes. Shielding the glistening tears from view. The soft spoken words pierced through the girl's heart, she was so worried that she had made a horrible mistake but knowing her parents were supporting her made the worries lessen. It was also nice to be reminded that they were proud of her.
“T-thank you.” She hiccuped.
“Why are you thanking us, silly?” Ivory chuckled, turning in her seat so she could pat the crying girl’s knee. “We’re your parents, it’s our job to be there for you and make sure you’re okay.”
Breathtaking ocean views slowly but surely turned into cute neighborhoods with small kids running around, laughing, lips twisted into wide joyful smiles. Well kept homes and yards decorated the streets, houses varied from modern to traditional and even a few cute cottage looking ones.
“Well this is us.” Maze announced stopping in front of a gray two story house, it looked relatively modern with very few traditional aspects, the upper floor held a small balcony with large windows. Various shades of gray decorated the outside, a cobblestone pathway led up to the front door with lush green grass surrounding either side. It was nice looking but rather bland, at least to the girl who had lived in colorful and distinctive homes her whole life. Ivory spotting the girl’s look of apathy chuckled and hopped out of the car stretching her aching joints. Maze followed her wife with Vallea coming out seconds later still staring at the house with the smallest amount of disdain.
“It looks much more lively inside.” Ivory commented. “There’s even a flower garden out back, and a cute willow tree.” The teenager tilted her lips into a smile at the thought of her own flower garden, she had always loved helping her grandmother out in her garden when she was younger. Maybe she could use this garden as a living memorial for her late grandmother, she would be sure to plant some lavender if she did decide to do so. Vallea looked around at the houses around her, to her left sat a more traditional Japanese house with large green trees circling the property. Dark brown tiles accented it’s rooftop along with its beautifully detailed gate. To her right was a rather sizable tan house with a curved rooftop, it was the most modern looking house on the block with it’s unusual curves and windows. It reminded her of America’s contemporary style churches she had gotten used to seeing for the past four years.
“Do you remember how long the commute would be to your school?” Maze asked the girl as the older woman fished her keys out of her much too large purse with her lips puckered in annoyance.
Vallea thought for a second, trying to smooth out her hair before answering. “It would be thirty minutes walking and ten minutes if I took the train, if I remember correctly.”
“Ah I forget, when are you starting?”
“Well the new school year starts in about a month but I’m expected to start next week so I get myself familiarized with the environment and my new mentor.”
“Boo! That’s no fair! And here I thought I would get to spend a month with my baby before my work started.” Ivory complained, pulling the smaller girl into a hug, nuzzling her cheek atop of her head as she blushed wildly. Vallea had no issue with hugging or cuddling either of her parents but it was just a tad embarrassing when they would do so in public, but the girl never once complained or let her embarrassment known since she knew time like this was limited. “At least we will have this weekend to spend together.” She pointed out as her mother trimputhly raised the keys that she had finally found with a grin. “That’s right!” Ivory pinched the girl’s round cheeks with a sly smirk, “So don’t expect on escaping me so easily. I’ve missed spending time with my babygirl!” The mother felt quite a bit of regret for always being busy at work when she was younger, she had missed out on watching her baby grow up. And now just looking at the young girl almost made her tear up, it felt like just yesterday that Vallea was running around with unsteady legs and chubby cheeks babbling on about dragons and fairies. Yet here she stood looking more woman than child getting ready to begin her journey into adulthood. Her once shy baby had bloomed into a capable young woman who had managed to catch the attention on many just by being herself.
“I wouldn’t dare dream of it.” Vallea groaned, swatting the fingers that were pinching and pulling at her cheeks.
“Okay, okay, leave her alone Ivory. We have unpacking to do so let’s hurry it up and go inside.” Her mother led the way into the house that smelt too much like lemon cleaner, Vallea pried her shoes off and skittered past her parents so she could scope the place out.
“Ah!” She yelped as her sock clad feet slipped and slid across the polished dark wood floors, waving both arms wildly she tried to gain her balance back.
“Be careful honey!” Her mom called out behind her.
“A little too late for that!” She calmed down and decided her best option was to shuffle as if she were stuck in an ice-skating rink. ‘Okay not too bad. I think I got the hang of this. ’ She thought as she managed to shuffle past the bland looking living room with dark accents and white walls. Vallea popped her into the kitchen which again seemed to only have three colors, gray, black and white. It was spacious which was nice but there was nothing notable about and so far nothing in house was notable.
“The whole second floor is yours honey, the packers already put your bed and dresser together.”
“Okay, thanks mom.” She passed which looked to her parents bedroom and slid the back door open with a little too much force as the frame shook. ‘Oops.’ The backyard was charming and simple, in the right corner sat a large swaying willow tree. It’s long tendril like branches dancing in the cool spring breeze, a shed with chipping white paint stood in the farthest left corner. It looked like it would fall apart if Vallea even tried to breath near it, and just like her mom said there was a small garden filled with colorful flowers and bushes. A wooden fence gave the backyard some privacy from the neighbors, Vallea knew she would be spending a lot of her freetime out here. It just felt so peaceful, birds sung as the wind rustled the leaves creating an earthly song that had been sung for thousands of years. Her shoulders relaxed, eyes closing as she just took a minute to breath without feeling the dark mass that was her never-ending anxiety.
The fresh air swirled in and out of her lungs as she took deep and meditative breaths her therapist had recommended doing when she felt overwhelmed. And this move had been the definition of overwhelming. But now she was here and all she had to was- Boooom!
Vallea froze as her ears rang from the sudden deafening sound, slowly turning her head to the right she saw grey smoke fly into the air from her neighbors yard. Peach colored eyes widening each passing millisecond, her body moved as her brain scrambled to catch up. The only racing thought her head had was that someone was hurt, or dead, or mained, or- Booooom! Another expulsion rumbled causing the girl to quicken her pace.
The fence was too high for the teenager to look over so she ran and jumped at it hoping she could jump high enough that she wouldn’t slam into it. ‘Oh god this isn’t going to work!’ She cried to herself as her body flew towards the fence which she deemed was her inevitable death. Smack. Her upper torso hit the edge of the fence knocking all the wind out of her as she let out a wheeze from the impact. Her feet scrambled as they dangled over the fence trying to find any sort of purchase, hands gripping tightly onto the edge letting the wood cut painful into her palms. ‘This hurts!’ She whined scrunching her face up as the wood dug right in between her ribs. Looking up she spotted what looked to be a boy with blonde spiky hair and athletic build, his back hunched as smoke poured from his hands.
“Are you okay?” She yelled feverishly, worried that the boy had somehow injured himself. Body leaning farther towards him in pure concern, ready to jump, or well fall over the fence at any moment if he showed signs of distress or pain. The boy jumped, startled at the sudden voice, vibrant ruby eyes turning towards her in surprise.
“Eehh?”
“Are you okay? I heard the expulsion-”
“It’s my quirk, dumbass!” The boy barked loudly, lifting his hands up to show off his crackling and sparking palms. Teeth bared at the dangling girl who paused at the sudden hostility. “Mind your damn own business, extra. I don’t need noisy neighbors sticking their fucking nose in what I do, got that dumbass!” Vallea winced at his hoarse and deafening yelling, hands unconsciously coming up to cup her ears. Oh shit. Disks of taffy widen, inky black pupils dilating as she realized her mistake too late. She could feel her body be tugged down by gravity, body falling off the fence, world thrown upside down. Heart stuttering as she scrambled to latch onto anything that would catch her fall.
Stunned face slammed into the hard ground first with the rest of her body following closely behind. For the second time today Vallea managed to get the wind knocked out of her, she could feel each heartbeat pulse with pain. Oddly enough her face was numb, the girl, dazed, had to blink a couple of times to remember what happened. “Ow!” The white haired girl cried, her form crumpled, face still planted firmly into the dirt. The angry boy just gawked at the girl, for the first time in a while, speechless. Using her arms Vallea pushed herself up shakily groaning as she felt the familiar burn of torn skin on her forearms. She stood up, eyeing up the hedgehog hair boy who also just stared.
“O-oi dumbass your nose!” The girl tilted her head in confusion. Drip. Drip. Drip. Warm droplets of blood fell, staining the fuzzy white hoodie with vivid crimson. Scarlet streams poured from the girl’s nose, blood coating the bottom half of her face.
“Huh.” Vallea’s thumb swiped her nose, covering the finger in sticky blood. Peach eyes studying the red substance as if it was a foreign object before lifting both hands and prodding at her nose ridge. Wincing when her fingers brushed past a tender spot.
“Tch! Stop messing with it if it hurts, Idiot.” The boy snapped as he watched the strange girl carefully making sure she wouldn’t do something even more stupid.
“I’m okay, just a small fracture.” The boy’s eye twitched at her nonchalant statement, as if a broken nose was nothing unusual. “I’m more worried about my hoodie though, I don’t think I’ll be able to get the blood out.” She mumbled lips curling into a pout, the bunny hoodie had always been her favorite.
Bang! A door was slammed open with immense force. “What did I tell you about using your quirk, you brat! The police are gonna be called on us if you keep exploding everyth-!” Both teenagers whipped around towards the boy’s back door in surprise as the older woman who Vallea could guess was his mother stood also frozen in shock at the appearance of a bloodied girl in her backyard.
“Uh...Hello.” Vallea lamely waved at the woman cringing at her awkward actions.
“Dumbass why didn’t you tell me you had company?!” The girl took a step back as the woman yelled at the boy who gritted his teeth, she could literally see smoke come out of his hands in anger. What have I gotten myself into?
“Shut up you damn hag! I didn’t invite this shithead over, she fucking fell over the fence!” Maybe if she was quiet she could escape as they yelled at each other.
“That’s not a good enough excuse! How dare you not tell me such a beautiful girl was coming over, god knows when another girl who can handle your damn personality will come over again!” “
I’m a joy to be around, bitch!”
“Ha! Who knew my son was such a comedian!” Vallea looked around frantically to try to find away from whatever this was. Only for her heart to plummet when she noticed the fence that had she fell off also blocked her from leaving, the only exit was through the hotheads’ house. Why was the world so cruel to her? She just wanted to make sure no one was hurt and life rudely flipped her the middle finger. Vallea wanted to cry as the two seemed to get louder and louder, she had never been a big fan of loud noises so these two seemed like her worst nightmare. She tried to stifle the welling tears, she really did try, but they seemed to have a mind of their own. Unlike normal tears Vallea’s were arctic blue, so vibrant that they seemed to shine even in the darkest of places. The girl had always been self-conscious about her abnormal tears that made a display nearly everyday, but Vallea couldn’t help it. Her sensitive demeanor and quirk made crying nearly unpreventable, there were days when tears would randomly fall for no reason. She couldn’t help it. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as her lip trembled, nails bit into her palms as she tried to gain some sort of control over her disobedient tears.
“-you’re such a brat! Calling me an old hag like I didn’t carry you for nine-.” The older woman stopped when she saw the small girl crying in the corner of her vision. “Honey are you okay? Are you hurt? Oh god how did you get that blood on you?” Vallea only began crying harder at the woman’s soft voice and worried questions. She felt so bad for sobbing as the woman frantically tried to figure what was wrong. “Katsuki what did you do to the poor girl!”
“Nothing!” Katsuki shouted back, eyes glowering at his predicament.
“Then why the hell is she bleeding!”
“I already told you damn it! The crybaby fucking fell off the fence like a creep!”
“And you didn’t help her!” The woman whacked the boy upside the head as she moved past him towards the distressed girl.
“What the hell was I supposed to do!”
Quicker than light she turned towards Katsuki and pointed directly at his chest, “Save her you brat! You want to be a hero so bad but you can’t even save or help one small girl!”
Vallea having enough of the argument interrupted the two, “I-I’m so sorry, it wasn’t his fault I promise! My own stupidity and worry is what got me hurt, I’m so sorry for intruding!” She bowed repeatedly as tears continued to trickle down her face at an alarming rate.
“E-eh! You don’t have to apologize, I’m sure this brat’s quirk is what made you climb the fence.” The woman frantically waved off her apology, red eyes filled with warm compassion. “Why don’t we get you bandaged up, yea?”
“I-it’s okay, it’s already healed, see.” Vallea poked her nose and showed the woman her once scrapped up arms, the skin perfectly intake without a blemish in sight. “The blood just needs to be washed off!”
“Huh.” The woman stunned for a second before shaking herself out of it. “That’s a pretty useful quirk.”
“T-thank you.” Vallea blushed at her compliment.
“Tch. It’s nothing special.” Katuski grumbled, knocking his shoulder roughly into hers as he walked by and back into his house. Ow. The girl winced and rubbed at his shoulder as she looked away feeling the well of tears appear again.
“Oi shithead come back here and apologize! I swear you have a bigger ego-” The woman stopped shouting at the boy when he slammed the door shut, she shook her head and sighed. “I’m sorry about him, he means no real harm, he’s just a prick.”
“It’s okay, it’s my fault for being nosy.” Vallea shuffled awkwardly before lifting her hand up with a shaky smile. “My name is Vallea Leto, it’s nice to meet you ma’am, I apologize that our meeting had to be like this but my family and I just moved in next door.” The girl’s words were rushed and uncertain but the woman gave her large beaming smile and clasped her warmer hand into hers.
“Nice to meet you Leto-san, my name is Mitsuki Bakugou but you can just call me Mitsuki. The brat you met is my son, Katsuki Bakugou, I apologize on his behalf.” Ruby eyes crinkling up in tenderness for the shy girl.
“Ah! You can just call me Vallea!”
“Alright Vallea-san, so if you don’t mind me asking but where did you move from?” Mitsuki asked gently, leading the girl to her home so she could wash off the blood that coated her skin.
“...We moved from New York.” Vallea was worried on how she would react to her living in America, she knew Americans were often painted in a bad light. White teeth tugged at her lip, the young girl wasn’t American but she did live there for four years.
“New York! Wow I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from New York before. Have you always lived there?”
“U-uh no I was actually born in Italy, my family moves around a lot so we’ve never lived in one place long.” “
Really? That must have been an eventful childhood.” Mitsuki slid open the backdoor, tugging the girl in even before she could shed her soiled socks.
“A-ah wait, my socks are dirty, I’ll track dirt in.” Vallea cried trying to stop so she didn’t get anything dirty.
“It’s alright dear, I’ll just clean it up later, let’s just get that face washed. I’m sure it’s irritating the skin.” The teenager’s face once again became inflamed in red by the kindness she was receiving from her neighbor. Mitsuki’s house was pristine with tan and brown accents, it’s open layout and tall ceilings made it seem even more vast than it already was. The warm aroma of caramel and black currant helped soothe the jittery girl who stumbled behind the content blonde.
“Your house is very beautiful.” Vallea admired the house with wandering eyes as she tried to take everything in, she had never seen a house like this back in America or Italy.
“Well aren’t you just endearing, I wish Katsuki was as sweet as you are. I swear that boy is going to give me a aneurysm someday.” Mitsuki complained, ruby eyes holding years of exhaustion and exasperation behind them.
“He seems uh...um sweet.” The blonde threw her head back and cackled at the girl’s phrasing and hesitancy.
“Yeah as sweet and cuddly as a porcupine. You should have seen him at twelve, he was a whole different kind of demon back then.”
“I’m glad that I met him now since he was already scary enough.” The girl murmured pursing her lips at the thought of his loud and crass words.
“If he ever bothers you don’t be hesitant to tell me, I’ll be sure he won’t do it again. I can’t have him chasing a delightful girl such as yourself away.” Vallea nodded as she was led into a spotless bathroom where Mitsuki finally let go of her. “The wash clothes are under the cabinet and the soap should be right next to the sink. Let me know if you need anything, dear. I’ll have Katsuki take you home when you’re so he can properly apologize.”
“Y-you don’t need to do that! I can walk myself home, it’s right next door I’ll be f-fine!” The girl flustered waved her arms around wildly, cheeks tinging red as Mitsuki just laughed.
“~Sorry no can do. The quicker you two friends the quicker I can die peacefully without worrying about how Katsuki will die alone.~” The older woman winked playfully and shut the door as Vallea freaked out. ‘My cheeks will never be the same.’