Chapter Text
Katsuki pushed himself through all the rubble, fighting the smoke burning his eyes as he tried to follow the weak cry he barely heard for help.
There was a villain attack, almost one of the worst ones he’s ever seen. A group of highly dangerous criminals all gathered together and set destruction on the town square. It took over twenty heroes and almost double the amount of police officers to arrest everyone.
Smoke and debris was everywhere, it was hard to breathe. It was almost 3:00 AM, the attack started at 11:00 PM. Katsuki was tired, he was so tired. All he wanted to do was go home, take a warm bath, and lay in bed.
Katsuki was getting ready to leave, when he heard a soft cry for help. As much as he wanted to go home, he didn’t want to leave someone to suffer. He ran back, trying to follow the voice, “Hey! Can you yell out for me again?” He shouted, slowing down his speed.
He didn't hear anything for the next minute, he was about to shout again when he heard a small “Hello?” Katsuki’s head perked up to the sound. “That's it, just keep talking, I’ll find you.” His voice was hoarse, all the yelling towards the villains and the other heroes causing his throat to ache.
“I’m over here, please..” The voice was closer, and Katsuki walked towards the sound. His feet were aching, his palms and arms hurt from overusing his quirk, but he continued to search. Katsuki was beginning to grow frustrated, when he heard small sobs.
Katsuki followed the sound until he came across a small heap of broken concrete and more debris. “Hey, hey it’s okay. I’m here to help.” He spoke in the softest voice he could muster up.
More sobs and sniffles came from the pile of rubble, and Katsuki quickly began to create an opening. When there was a decent sized opening, Katsuki began to speak. “Hey kiddo, it’s okay, I’m gonna get you out of here.” He assured, but he only got a small whimper in return.
“Don’t worry, I’m here to help you. We’ll get you back home safe and sound. I promise.” More rubble was moved and Katsuki caught a glimpse of bright yellow eyes. He tried to put on the nicest smile he could.
His arms reached out to the child, and he nodded toward his outstretched arms. He took note of how hesitant the child was towards him, and he couldn’t blame them. His hero costume was most likely in tatters, and his face was covered in grime and sweat. “Are- are you one of the bad guys?” A small voice came out from inside the hole.
Katsuki’s arms fell at that. People always compared Katsuki to a villain, him being too ‘threatening’ for a hero. He just brushed it off, he could mope over it later. “No, I’m one of the heroes, I’m gonna get you out of here kiddo. What’s your name?” He asked.
“My name is Youko.”
Katsuki knew he wouldn’t be able to get Youko out with the way things are now. He needed to make sure he was as friendly as possible. He was still a ‘villain’ to the kid. “Hi, Youko, I’m Katsuki.” He barely noticed Youko’s head perk up at the sound of his name.
“Kats- like, like a cat?” Katsuki sighed at that, but kept his composure.
“Yeah, like a cat.”
There was no reply for a bit, but he was met with two arms outstretched in front of him. “I’m gonna pull you out of there now, okay Youko?” He didn’t wait for a response before gently grabbing Youko’s arms.
He huffed as he lifted Youko out, and then bright yellow eyes met his scarlet ones.
Youko had short pitch black hair, with bangs covering her forehead. Freckles covered the majority of her face. He noticed her eyes were visibly red, either from crying or from sleepiness, probably both.
Her skin was a fair, olive color. She had a lot of baby fat on her as well. There were freckles spotted against her arms, most likely from the sun. She was dressed in pajamas, but they were dirty with residue from the attack. Her shoes were missing, she must have lost them during all the chaos.
Youko clung to Katsuki, he didn’t want to imagine what she went through. The grip of her arms wrapped around his neck was strong, she didn’t want to let go. He could feel tears falling from her face onto his shoulder.
He hesitantly reached his arm up to her back, and he began to rub her back in an attempt to calm her down. “Hey,” he whispered. “Tell me about yourself. How old’re you?” He gently spoke, as he began to walk towards the remaining heroes.
“Six.” Youko sniffled. “You’re a big girl, huh?”
“Mama always said how strong I am. I wanna see mama.” Youko lifted her head up to wipe her eyes. “You’ll see your Mama soon, don’t worry.”
“What’s your favorite animal, kid?” Youko looked up to Katsuki. “Cats!” She said, with a happy look in her eye. She rubbed her eyes again, “Your name sounds like ‘cat’, so that’s what I’m gonna call you.” Katsuki chuckled at that.
“Sure thing kiddo.”
He spotted a tuft of green hair from a distance. Midoriya noticed Katsuki, and ran up to him. He was about to speak, but then noticed Youko. He bent down a bit to be face-to-face with her, “Hey! How are you?” He said, giving her the brightest smile he could force.
Katsuki noticed the pure exhaustion in his eyes.
Youko only stared at Midoriya, but she visibly seemed to calm down a bit, her breathing slowing. “I’m Deku! What’s your name?”
“I’m Youko!” She pointed to Katsuki, “This is Kats.”
Midoriya held back a laugh, and Katsuki glared at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Youko.” He paused. “You too, Kats.” Katsuki refrained from blasting his face.
“Can you hold her for a sec? I’m gonna go find her parents.” Katsuki huffed. “Sure Kacchan.” Katsuki looked at Youko. “Could you tell me your last name?” “It’s Hiyori.” She said quietly.
“Okay, I’ll be back.” Katsuki caught sight of Endeavor, him being the first to arrive as the number one hero. “Hey. Do you know anyone by the name of Hiyori? I got their kid over there.” Endeavor gave Katsuki a worried look.
“We just identified a couple with the name. Both had black hair. The mom had yellow eyes while the dad had a bunch of freckles, them?”
“Yeah. Show me them so I can bring Youko to them.”
Endeavor only looked at Katsuki, with an unreadable expression. “You can’t bring the kid to them.” He said, looking down.
“Hah? How hurt are they? She can’t even see them?”
“Dynamight, they didn’t survive.”
Katsuki felt his stomach drop. “What? Are you sure? Do you have the wrong people?” Katsuki endlessly questioned. He felt a tug on his finger.
“Kats? Did you find my parents yet?” Midoriya came running up behind them, “Sorry! I’m sorry she wiggled out of my hold.”
Katsuki looked at Midoriya in disbelief, and Midoriya immediately understood. “Cmon Youko, let’s go over here.” Midoriya spoke softly as he picked her back up. He looked back at Katsuki and furrowed his eyebrows.
Katsuki could only manage to watch them walk away. “So what’s gonna happen to Youko?” He asked. Endeavor sighed, obviously frustrated and exhausted. “Look, that child wasn’t the only one who lost family. I don’t know what’s gonna happen to her. Most likely she’ll go into foster care.”
Katsuki sighed, and walked off to find Youko and Midoriya. When he found them, he bent down to look at Youko. “Hey kiddo, you’re gonna be staying with someone else for a bit, okay?” Youko looked up at Katsuki with big eyes, “What about Mama and Papa?”
Katsuki felt his heart ache, and he knew Midoriya felt the same. “There uh, there was a rescue team that came and took them to safety, it’ll be a while until they come back.” Katsuki noticed the tears forming in her eyes.
“A rescue team?” She sniffed. “Why didn’t they rescue me?” Tears began to fall down her face, and Katsuki reached out to wipe them away, leaving a streak of dirt right under her eye. “They found them last minute, kid. The rescue team was about to be attacked by the bad guys, so they had to get out of there quickly.”
Youko didn’t say anything, but she reached her hands out towards Katsuki, wanting him to hold her. Katsuki took her from Midoriya’s hold. Youko snuggled herself into the warmth of his neck. “Deku. You can go home, I’ll stay with her until they come to get her.” Katsuki grunted.
“Ah- Are you sure? I can stay with you and Youko.” Midoriya offered. “It’s fine. Go home and rest.”
“Y’know Kacchan, you’re awfully sweet when it comes to Youko.” Midoriya poked, and Katsuki would’ve punched him if he wasn’t holding Youko.