Chapter Text
Phone? Check.
Money? Check.
Flowers? Check.
Self-confidence? Dwindling…
Katherine took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She was currently standing in front of the Number Two Pro Hero: Endeavor’s, house, holding a bouquet of white roses. Her tawny wings flittered with anxiety. Endeavor didn’t like her very much—for many reasons—so she was hoping somebody else was home.
Thankfully, her wishes were granted when Fuyumi Todoroki opened the door and smiled at her. “Hey, Katherine! Here to pick up Shoto?”
“You know it,” she chirped happily. “Is he ready?”
“Almost. I think he’s putting his shoes on.”
As if on cue, Shoto appeared behind his older sister. “Hey, Katherine.”
“Hey!” As Fuyumi moved out of the way, Katherine held the flowers out to him. “I got these for you on my way. I was gonna see if I could find some half-and-half ones for you, but Loud Dad said that those were signs of death, so I decided these were better.”
Shoto chuckled as he took the roses and ran a hand through his red-and-white hair. “Luckily, that doesn’t apply to me.”
“Here, Shoto, I can put those in a vase for you,” Fuyumi said, taking the bouquet. “Have fun on your date, you guys!”
The two smiled and waved at her before heading to the car that was waiting for them in the driveway. “I hope you don’t mind; EraserDad is dropping us off,” Katherine mentioned.
“I’m fine with that,” Shoto assured her. “As long as I get to spend time with you.”
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “Aw, you’re so sweet.”
“Please refrain from doing that in front of me. I’m not used to it.”
Katherine’s father, Shota Aizawa (a.k.a. Eraserhead), had rolled down the window of his car and was glaring at the two. She glared right back. “You can’t dictate when I do or do not kiss my boyfriend, EraserDad.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Aizawa,” Shoto interrupted. “We’ll be more respectful.”
He nodded and rolled his window back up while Katherine and Shoto got in the backseat. “What are you two going to be doing again?”
“We’re just gonna walk around and window shop,” Katherine told him. “We’ll get a late lunch/early dinner, and I’ll call you when we need you to pick us up.”
“Or we could just get a taxi,” Shoto added.
“No, it’s fine. I’d probably be happier if I was the one who picked you up,” Aizawa stated. “You want me to drop you off by the train station, right?”
“Please and thank you, Father Dearest,” Katherine answered, smiling.
Within ten minutes, he had pulled up to the sidewalk leading to the train station. “Problem Child, remember, I want you to call me by seven tonight,” he reminded Katherine as she got out of the car.
“Can you do eight?” she questioned. “Please?”
“Seven-thirty. No later.”
“Fine. C’mon, Shoto.”
“So, where should we go first?” Shoto inquired as Aizawa drove away.
“Let’s head to that bookstore we passed on our patrols!” Katherine exclaimed. “It looked pretty cool, I wanna check it out!”
“Alright, let’s go.”
The two headed down the street in the July sunshine, laughing and chatting as they did. Katherine and Shoto had been dating for only about a month or two now, but it felt like it had been much longer for them. Ever since they started high school at U.A. Hero Academy, the two had crossed paths more than they thought they would, and although their friendship started rocky, it led to something neither wanted to miss out on.
Katherine smiled to herself as Shoto began talking about the latest news in his household, namely that Natsuo, his older brother, had invited his girlfriend over to dinner—while their father wasn’t home. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that when she had first met him, Shoto Todoroki had been an apathetic and borderline rude person who wanted nothing to do with her. Now, his eyes lit up when he looked at her, and he showed more empathy around her than anybody else. She knew he was working on putting himself out there more, at least emotionally, but she still felt pride knowing Shoto was the most emotive in her presence since she knew that meant he felt safe.
As for Shoto, he couldn’t believe he had ever thought of Katherine Ride as irritating. Although some of her actions were a bit annoying at times, her personality certainly wasn’t. She was now speaking about her newest sketch, which happened to be of one of her favorite dragons, a Mischievous Terror. She talked with such passion about the creature, telling Shoto about the species’ feeding patterns, habitats, and behaviors in general. Her enthusiasm and genuineness were what had caused him to fall for her in the first place, and witnessing it again for the first time in a few weeks was like a breath of fresh air in the suffocating feeling his household created.
“Hey! Speaking of dragons, any adventures to the pack in the woods lately?” Katherine asked. Many dragons resided in the forest surrounding Shoto’s house, including a group in particular that she had somehow befriended the Alpha Dragon of.
Shoto shook his head. “Unfortunately not. Natsu had been busy with schoolwork, and I just haven’t found the time.”
“Aw, what? That sucks. Maybe you can try and sneak out tonight!”
“Well, Endeavor is supposed to be working late. I could suggest it.”
Katherine grinned and kissed him on the cheek. “Good. You know, I really shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m glad my bad behavior is rubbing off on you.”
“I don’t know that it’s your bad behavior,” Shoto replied, smiling back, “but if it is, I’m not exactly complaining. Now c’mon, I see the bookstore, it’s up ahead.”
A bell chimed as the couple walked in, and a store attendant waved at them in greeting. Katherine waved back cheerfully, then looked at Shoto. “What should we look at first? I need some new mystery books.”
“That sounds good. And then we can look at some classical literature,” he suggested.
The two made their way over to the mystery section of shelves, where Katherine eagerly began looking through books. Shoto looked with her, always willing to try something she found great interest in. As they hunted, she asked, “Are you still writing letters to your mom?”
He glanced at her and nodded. “I am. She says she wants us to come visit her again soon.”
“That sounds like fun! I don’t see why we couldn’t fit it in. I like your mom.”
“That’s good since neither of us like my father.”
Katherine turned to him and smirked. “Well, I only need one parent’s blessing to marry you, so…”
“Oh, shut up,” he mumbled, blushing.
“Aw, you’re blushing! That’s so cute, cariño.”
“Keep it up and you’ll be the one blushing.”
“Promise?”
…
Later that night, when most everyone else was asleep, Katherine took to the skies. The cool night breeze whipped through her ash-blonde hair and rippled through her feathers as she flapped her wings, leaning to the right or left slightly every so often. The bright lights of the city shimmered beneath her, as well as the vivid neon LEDs of some of the skyscrapers.
Katherine took a deep breath and swooped upward. Her muscles worked in rhythm to her heartbeat as she climbed, each flap bringing a rush of adrenaline through her veins. Eventually, she tucked her wings in and fell backward through the air, going for a dive.
She flipped herself around as she accelerated, drawing her wings in tighter. Once the lights of the buildings were visible again, she flapped her wings sharply and evened out, gliding on a gentle wind. Once she was settled, she closed her eyes and breathed in, enjoying the peacefulness of her nighttime activity.
Which was ruined when her phone began to ring. Katherine groaned and quickly found a roof to land on, taking out her phone as her feet hit the ground. When she saw it was her other father, Hizashi Yamada (a.k.a. Present Mic) calling, she groaned again.
Oh, great. I am so dead.
Katherine answered the phone and hesitantly held it up to her ear. “Hey, Dad.”
“It is way past your curfew, young lady. Where even are you?”
“Uh, if I had to guess…” She paused, taking in her surroundings. “Probably Nagoya.”
She heard Mic sigh on the other end. “And why are you in Nagoya?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she responded. “It was too hot in my room. And my wings needed a workout.”
“Another nightmare?”
“…Something like that.”
“Katherine, you know you can always wake one of us up to talk,” Mic said softly. “You don’t have to deal with it on your own.”
“I know, it’s just…” She walked over to the side of the roof and sat down, dangling her legs over the edge. “It’s my therapy, y’know? You listen to music, EraserDad takes naps, and I go for a fly.”
“I get it, kiddo, I promise I do. But with everything going on in the world, I don’t think it’s safe to be flying around this late.”
“I’m never close to the ground, Dad. And let’s be honest, there are worse ways to cope.”
“I guess you’re right,” he agreed. “Just—next time, seriously, wake me or Shota. We’re not going to turn you away.”
“I will. And I’ll be home within the hour.”
“Alright. Stay safe, I love you.”
“Love you. Bye.”
Katherine hung up and pocketed her phone. She scanned the perimeter, then sighed and stood up.
I really should get home. There’s nothing here. At least crossing Nagoya off the list will narrow it down a little.
Katherine spread her wings and took flight. The truth was, she hadn’t gone for a fly because of a nightmare. She was scouting the major cities of Shizuoka Prefecture, trying to find the League of Villains, or at least find their leader. If she could get the tiniest lead on where they were, she could stop another attack before it began. The Pros would be one step ahead of Tomura Shigaraki, and in turn, one step ahead of whoever he was following.
Tomura Shigaraki. That name brought a chill down her spine. It didn’t use to; up until a month ago, Katherine had thought of him as a low-level villain with a lot of ambition but no real brains. Even in Hosu City, when he had set loose his creatures called “Nomu,” the real risk she had worried about was the people who would’ve been drawn to his cause, not Shigaraki himself.
But during a school trip to Tokyo, she had been cornered by the League and had to fight against not only his recruits, but Shigaraki as well, and suddenly she realized the threat he posed. His quirk and spontaneous attacks were dangerous enough, and she knew from the U.S.J. incident that combined with a little organization, he was pretty threatening. His newest members, Toga and Dabi, were even scarier, and Katherine could only imagine the kinds of villains they could’ve brought in. Add the fact that she feared someone was orchestrating all this for Shigaraki in the shadows, and the League of Villains was slowly but surely becoming a true threat to Japan’s general public.
After a long, internal discussion with herself, Katherine had decided to do night patrols, disguised as her usual evening flights. She was looking for any signs of a hideout, any unusual occurrences in the cities nearby, the slightest whisper about the League would set her off on a new flight route, even though most were rumors and gossip that led to dead ends. She had delved into dark web forums as a lurker, hoping to find clues, even tried searching up Toga, Dabi, and Shigaraki’s names, although those didn’t warrant any leads. So far, she had crossed off most of the major areas in Shizuoka Prefecture, except for a few.
Where should I go next? Maybe I should wait for any new developments…it could help me narrow things down even more. Yokohama looks promising, but there’s also Kakegawa, Nagaizumi, Susono…I’ve still got tons left. Shit, the training camp is next week, too! I’ll be a week behind once I get back, and that leaves the League time to move while we’re away.
Katherine fixed her eyes on the moon, the glow of it lighting her path back home.
I guess I’ll have to just hope I can make more progress in the next few days. Besides that, I need to put my trust in the Pro Heroes. I know they’re probably working as hard as I am to monitor the League, and they’ve got the proper equipment and clearance to make some real progress.
She looked back at the stretch of the sky in front of her, dotted with stars.
Alright, Pros. I know you’ve got this. Find the League, please. It would really help me sleep at night.