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Inko Midoriya was sitting in the kitchen, fiddling with the towel in her hand. The moonlight shining through the window barely illuminated the phone on the table in front of her - emitting no more sounds than herself. Her gaze rested on the analog clock on the opposing wall. All-Might themed, of course (Izuku had chosen it). Ever so slowly, the three hands converged, each new tick echoing louder than the previous in her mind.
As midnight struck, Inko breathed out. Another day gone by, without a call, or message… She took out a notebook - turning to the small calendar on the last page, and crossed off the day - February 12th. That would make a full month now. He’d promised her… for this week at least - Inko started trembling. She covered her mouth, a sudden urge to cry building up inside of her. Her boy was sleeping. She couldn’t wake him up. He couldn’t see her like this, not now… Tears streamed down the woman’s face, as her hands muffled her sobs.
The floorboard creaked. Inko’s eyes widened, quickly wiping her eyes with her sleeves, before turning her head. “I-Izuku? Why are you awake, darling?” She asked, as calmly as she could manage. Thankfully, the room was too dim to reveal the strain on her smile.
Izuku rubbed his eyes, tiredly. “Couldn’ sleep… water” he muttered, dragging himself next to the sink. The boy waited patiently for his mother to fill a glass for him, mumbling a “thank you” as he grabbed it with both hands. He took a sip, before looking up, brows furrowed. He kept still for a few moments, lost in thought. “Mom - your sleeve is wet…”
“That’s just the tap, splashed a bit on me.” She laughed nervously. “Why don’t you go to bed now sweetheart? You have school tomorrow!”
“But it’s gonna be the weekend!” The boy responded, slightly worried. They weren’t going to start sending him to school all the time now, were they?
“Ah right, silly me! I guess I'm a bit tired as well, I think I’ll be going then.” Inko quickly excused herself, picking up her phone along the way, before heading out of the room. Wait… she’d forgotten her notebook! The woman rushed back - and found the item firmly tucked firmly between her son’s hands, large emerald eyes staring at the page she had left open.
“Mom, what’s this for?” The boy asked confusedly. He flinched only a little as his mother hastily took the booklet away from him.
“Oh, that old thing? It’s…” Inko’s voice faltered. What to say, what to say… “Notes that I keep, for the people that matter to me most. For you …” she finally admitted. The woman bit her lip, feeling her eyes watering once more. “-and your dad.”
Izuku hesitated only a second before tackling her with a hug. Keeping a tight grip, he mumbled something unclearly, face buried into her.
Inko carefully removed the child from her leg and took him into her arms. A small hand removing a tear from under her eyes, as she sat down. “Nothing to worry about, alright Izuku?” She whispered apprehensively.
The boy looked down. “Mom, why are you sad?” He said, voice shaky. Receiving no response, he continued. “Is it - something I did?”
“No! Izuku.” Inko replied immediately. “This has nothing to do with you. Mom and dad just have some problems they need to figure out.” Urgently: “You did nothing wrong. I promise.”
Her child nodded, more hesitant than she would have liked. “Where is dad?” He asked. “He’s never here anymore…”
Inko breathed out heavily. “He has to work, Izuku! You know that. He’ll come back soon, okay?” She tried, a bit unconvincingly. “I’m sorry, I know this is hard for you…”
“But why isn’t he calling us at all? Dad was at work before, he still called us! During lunch breaks!” He gripped onto her pullover, stretching it out. “He still has to have lunch breaks, right?”
“Yes! Of course. He should.” Smart as always, Inko thought a bit proudly; even as she was panicking. “I - don’t know. I’ve tried. Maybe he is sick?” She cautioned.
The boy frowned. “But - they’d tell us about that, right?” His gaze met her own, pleading for an answer, an explanation that she couldn’t give.
Inko Midoriya sighed, taking a moment to gather the courage to admit what she had for so long tried to deny, herself. “Izuku. Your dad… isn’t coming back.”
Katsuki laid on his bed, wide awake. He glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand. Almost 3 am… Somehow, his parents still hadn’t found out what happened the other day at school. He stared at the door expectantly, waiting for the old hag to burst into his room, shrieking like a banshee and cursing up a storm any minute. His old man would probably be holding her back from smacking him upside the head. He would hold a calm and steady tone, but wear a cold expression of disappointment that the child dreaded even more than the tongue lashings his mom gave him.
It’s not like the explosion was really even his fault! Mostly, probably. Well, he definitely didn’t deserve detention or a call home. What was the point in this dumb arts project anyways? They were in second grade, it’s not like they had crushes yet (cooties were still very much real, highly contagious, and disgusting). Valentine’s Day was for grown ups who liked holding hands and kissing for some reason.
Most kids were planning on giving their projects to their parents, but not Katsuki. If the holiday was supposed to be about giving presents to someone important to you - well, no reason he couldn’t keep his gift for himself! The assignment was making vases out of clay, but their art teacher seemed to be of the opinion that he didn’t get paid enough to monitor whatever they were making, as long as they didn’t waste too much clay and keep it appropriate for school.
All the lame extras went ahead and followed the instructions for making a vase. Katsuki, (of course) knew that he was capable of making something much cooler. He didn’t need a stupid vase, he didn’t like flowers anyways. What Katsuki wanted to make was something strong and scary to impress everyone in class. Something difficult too, like… A dragon!
The idea sounded amazing at first! …until he actually started sculpting the damn thing. Why wouldn’t the stuff just take the shape he’d wanted? Katsuki was supposed to be good at everything! Must’ve been the shitty clay his teacher gave him… He grew more focused and frustrated as time went on, his palms began to sweat as the end of class approached.
Just as the teacher told them to start cleaning up, one of the extras decided it would be a brilliant idea to come up to him and ask him why his vase looked weird - did the idiot even have eyes? And when Katsuki calmly explained to him that he was blind and that it was clearly a dragon, that… that loser had the nerve to scoff and tell him it looked more like a worm! A worm . Well, he was just an inch away from blasting the moron’s ugly face, when all the rest of the idiots started laughing at him too. Deku didn’t, obviously… The bastard tried to “console” him, like he’d needed that! It honestly pissed off Katsuki even more, if anything.
Now that was usually his cue that it was time to send his classmate to the hospital, because clearly that’s what he wanted anyways... But Katsuki had been working on thinking before reacting, recently. He decided that there must be a better way to go about this. Di-plo-maticly, or whatever it was. That’s what his dad always told him, right?
The boy shifted in his bed, uncomfortably. He glared a bit at the horizon, daring the sun to show itself. He was not looking forward to the next morning.
Izuku still felt his wet curls weighing on his shoulders when he heard the doorbell ring. He slowly shuffled himself out of his room. The house was oddly quiet, not a sound, other than a few meek chirps coming from his window.
His mom hadn’t left her room, not even at the sound of the doorbell. Pressing his ear up against the door to her room, he couldn’t hear any noise from the other side. Izuku knew that she was feeling sad the other night… Maybe she just needed some more rest. Whoever was at the door began knocking, loudly . It unnerved the boy somewhat, but Auntie Mitsuki and Katsuki knocked on doors that way too, so that didn’t necessarily mean the person at the door was dangerous, right?
“H-hello?” Izuku stuttered hesitantly. He knew he wasn’t supposed to let strangers in, but it would be rude to just ignore somebody knocking on his door. They might need help after all!
“Izuku, it’s me. Open the door,” The boy froze at the familiar voice of a man that he hadn’t seen or heard from in months.
“D..dad?!” Upon the realisation, Izuku quickly unlocked the door and opened it up. His dad wasn’t a stranger, so it should be okay to let him in.
The face he found looked… different than he remembered, somehow twisted, perhaps. Maybe it was because he got a different haircut, or because he hadn’t shaved in a while. Maybe it was how angry he looked.
Even so, Izuku couldn’t be happier that his dad had finally come home . He wrapped his arms around his legs, sobbing into his grey slacks.
A hand reached over to his back; but instead of providing comfort, it violently grabbed the collar of his shirt and pushed him to the ground. “ What” The man rumbled coldly. “ Do you think you are doing?”
Izuku looked up, mouth agape. A shiver traversed his spine. Instinctively, the boy backed away from the imposing figure.
“Don’t touch me . I’m just here to get some things.” the man said sternly.
The words punched him in the gut, hitting him almost as hard as when he was diagnosed as quirkless.
“W-what do you mean?” he asked, even though he knew he wouldn’t like the answer.
“Isn’t it obvious? And I thought she told me you were supposed to be smart .” At the boy’s silence, the man continued. “I have no need for a useless son . When your mother told me what the doctor made of you… I told her to give you up! I tried, I really did. For months on end. She refused.” Hisashi grinned cruelly. “Do you understand? That’s why I left. This is your fault .”
Tears welled up in Izuku’s eyes. He scrambled to his feet, rushing inside to close the door behind him. The boy struggled to catch his breath again, the cruel laughter of the man outside echoing through his mind.
Slowly, Izuku looked up. His mind turned alert once more as he took in his surroundings - his familiar home, now replaced with a classroom. 20 pairs of hostile eyes stared back at him, mutely, as his teacher called from the front. “MIDORIYA! you are LATE AGAIN ” The woman screeched. “Good for nothing, quirkless brat… What are you doing here anyways? This is a place for people that have a future ”
As if on command, the entire class started whispering to each other, barely loud enough for Izuku to make out their insults. “ Useless” The boy flinched, making his way back to the door. “ Loser ” He grabbed for the handle, finding nothing but air in its place. “ Who’s ever heard of a quirkless hero?” Trapped, the child looked back, desperately seeking any friendly face among the crowd. Kaachan… Maybe? “DEKU! When ” The blond’s face turned to a snarl, slowly approaching him. “Will you finally ” He reached for Izuku, holding him up by his collar, “ GET OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY!”
Izuku shot up out of his bed, gasping for air as the words echoed in his mind. He shook his head. The real Kacchan would never say that to him! But knowing that wasn’t enough to disperse the fear that had built up inside of him. Normally, whenever he had a nightmare, he’d go wake up his mom and cuddle up next to her; he always slept better knowing she was there to protect him, and that he was there to protect her. As long as the two of them were together, nothing bad could happen.
This time, unfortunately, Izuku decided he’d have to be a big boy and deal with it by himself. His breathing tapered out as he leaned his head back onto his pillow and stared at the ceiling, dimly lit by the early morning sun. From the looks of it, the time couldn’t be any later than 6:00 AM. His mom would still be asleep and he didn’t want to wake her up, knowing how long she spent waiting by the phone last night. She had tried to hide her sadness, so that he wouldn’t get sad too. He had to be strong, learn to keep smiling no matter what, just like All Might always did! Even if he felt like crying because he was the reason his mom couldn’t be happy. A true hero would fix it.
But how was he supposed to save his mom? She missed his dad, but… The more he tried to remember things about him, the more he remembered how mean he used to be. Sometimes he’d yell at her for not cleaning something right or when she spent too long talking to Auntie Mitsuki on the phone. Or just because he was having a bad day at work! Mom deserved better than that.
If only he could get her a gift to cheer her up. The one he made her for Valentine’s Day was ruined… But that wasn’t Kacchan’s fault. Maybe Kacchan would have an idea of what to give her? He’d have to ask his mom if he could go visit him later. Maybe he’d have some arts and crafts he could use to make her a card! Or maybe they could go to the park and look for rocks shaped like hearts and paint them!
Izuku jumped out of his bed, a determined smile on his face. The boy hummed a bit as he changed himself for breakfast. His mother had always loved Valentine's day - or what she had told him, at least. She seemed sad during the last one, from what Izuku could remember... But he'd make sure that this year would be better! No matter what.
“KAAATSUKIIIIII!” The boy groaned, burying himself a bit deeper into the pile of blankets in his closet. “COME HERE THIS INSTANT, YOU BRAT! WHERE ARE YOU!” Maybe if he stayed here long enough, she’d calm down a bit… He heard the door of his room burst open, ruining his hopes. A few painful seconds later, a hand grabbed him by the ear and tugged him out of his hole - the decidedly furious face of Mitsuki Bakugou greeting him outside. “You think we don’t know your hiding spots by now, do you? 150,000 YEN!” A hard fist met his head. Then his dad walked into the room.
Masaru groaned, rubbing his eyes. “Mitsuki… Volume, please, it’s 8 in the morning! What’s with all the-” before being given a chance to even finish his sentence, she forcefully shoved her phone into his hands.
“Take a look at this! I was checking my email and saw a fucking letter from Aldera billing us for something the BRAT blew up!” She turned towards Katsuki again who was doing his best to pretend he was anywhere else. “And you had the nerve to try and keep it a FUCKING SECRET?!”
His old man adjusted his glasses and squinted at the device, since the characters were probably too small for his shitty ass eyes to read properly. “Honey, relax, maybe this is all just a misunderstanding. Let’s try-”
“A misunderstanding ? He blew up the school’s kiln! What the fuck am I misunderstanding about this?!”
“I understand you’re mad, but maybe it would be best if we let Katsuki explain himself first.” The man said, placantly, though the steel in his gaze betrayed anger under the surface. Katsuki struggled himself free from Mitsuki’s grip, rubbing his ear a bit. “Was a stupid accident!” He huffed.
His father looked at him sceptically. “And how exactly did that -”
“How exactly? You’re asking how he blew up a kiln when he has a fucking explosion quirk?”
“I didn’t even use my fucking quirk!” The boy complained. “I’m not stupid, okay!”
“But you did do something to break the kiln, then?” His father asked, inquisitively. Damn four-eyes always reading into what he was saying…
“It doesn’t fucking matter if you used your quirk or not! If you broke it we gotta pay this damn bill!”
“S’not my fault, I told you!” Katsuki retorted, a bit defiantly “I didn’t even know the stupid thing broke until Mister Sasaki told us yesterday!”
His mother yanked at his arm, bringing him closer. “Now listen here, you think lying to me is gonna save your ass? Because I’ve got some news for you!”
“Mitsuki! Not so rough.” the man hushed from behind her, a bit more intensity in his voice than was common for him. “We don’t know that for certain. I already told you, let the boy speak out, and we can resolve this calmly, alright?”
“I am fucking calm. Can’t you see how fucking calm I am?!” she yelled, tightening her grip.
“You’re hurting him!” Masaru shouted. The child flinched at that. His father never shouted…
“Being soft with him isn’t gonna teach him shit” Mitsuki huffed, letting go. “You know how stubborn Katsuki is, it’s the only way he learns anything! ”
“Maybe because it’s the only way you’ve ever taught him?” The man retorted, backing off slightly. Perhaps a bit much, but this was their child, for god’s sake! She couldn’t keep treating him this way.
Mitsuki’s eyes widened. “You’re blaming me? ” she scoffed, as if entertaining the wild idea for a moment, before realising he was completely serious. “Are you fucking kidding me? You think I’m the reason he’s like this? Well then, tell me, what were you doing the entire fucking time, huh?!” She slowly walked towards her husband, her piercing eyes fixated on his own. “I work my ASS off to provide for our family, but at least I make the fucking time to check up on him! You can’t even do the simple job making sure he stays out of trouble! Inko has been raising Izuku all on her own for god knows how long, but do you think he’d ever do this shit?” She snarled. “Maybe YOU’RE the one fucking up our kid!”
“And maybe he’d be better off if you left him alone once in a while, if that hasn’t crossed your mind!” Masaru shot back. “Mitsuki… he’s 7, of course he’s going to make mistakes. We’re supposed to help him when things go wrong. Don’t you think that there’s something off, if he feels the need to hide his problems from his parents?”
“What’s off about it? Every kid hides shit from their parents! They aren’t mature enough to face the consequences of their actions!”
“ Every kid does not fear his parents! There’s a line, and you’ve crossed it! Katsuki is…” Masaru stopped himself, furtively looking around the room. “Where is the boy now…” he murmured, voice still hoarse. “Wasn’t he right in front of you just a moment ago?”
Mitsuki glanced at the empty space where Katsuki previously resided. “How should I know? I thought you wanted me to… what was it… “Leave him alone?”” She huffed, sarcastically, and made a quick move out the door. “KAATSUKIIIII! That little… He’s probably hiding again.” She started frantically pacing through the house, opening every door she could find as her husband quietly trailed after her, urgency slowly creeping into the two as they continued to find nothing. “Where is the damned brat! Masaru! Check the beds, I’ll go through the cupboards.”
A few minutes later, the parents reconvened. A sense of dread filled the room, as they each came to the realisation that they had both come back empty handed. Mitsuki walked over to the sofa, desperately hurling the cushions aside. Nothing. “Shit... I think he left.”
Several blocks away, a red-eyed Katsuki Bakugou was running as fast as his short legs allowed him to, ignoring the concerned stares and whispers of the people around him.
Izuku went through his backpack one last time - a raincoat, water, keys, in case Mom was out when he returned, packed lunch, one for him and one for Kaachan - before walking up to the door. He glanced at the frame, frowning a bit. What if Kaachan didn’t like him anymore, after all? No… that was a dream. He calmed himself down. This wasn’t the time for this, he had an important mission today, after all!
Just as he was about to knock, a violent shout stopped him in his tracks. His friend’s mom, by the sounds of it… More shouting followed by a hollow thud . The boy backed off a bit. Maybe, another day would be better after all? Auntie Mitsuki could be scary sometimes! Not that she ever did anything to him of course, but still, definitely not something he wanted to get in between…
Izuku turned around, mumbling to himself. This was alright, he could do this on his own! Now, what did you usually get for Valentine’s Day… In the books he saw, they always brought flowers, but where was he supposed to find flowers in February? Or… there was a flower shop on his way to school… They always had really pretty ones, too! He reached for his pockets, rattling them a bit. The boy smiled brightly as he heard the few coins he’d saved up rustle. Maybe, he could even get some chocolate! That was also a Valentine’s Day thing, right? At least, he remembered mom eating a whole lot of them last year round after his dad… No, not the time for that!
Content with his plan, Izuku went on his way, carefully avoiding any cracks he encountered on the sidewalk. He passed by the park - doing his best to ignore the sounds of other children playing and laughing. He would have time to play later. The school was just a few more blocks away. Looking for something to distract him, the boy found a pebble on the floor; and after deciding to kick it all the way to his destination... he promptly lost it under a vending machine a few metres further. He made a disappointed pout, as he futilely attempted to fish the rock out - before noticing a 50 yen coin on the ground! After quickly pocketing the change, Izuku continued on his way, a bit faster than before.
The flower shop was packed when Izuku arrived, people from just about every stratum of society, from well-dressed elders to love-stricken teens, scrambling to get their hands on a presentable bouquet of flowers. Nonetheless, he did stand out quite a bit, half the height of anyone else. The boy flushed red as the others pushed him forward, to the front of the line - though he was grateful that they allowed him to skip all the waiting. He never liked being the centre of attention… But being cute had its advantages, at times.
The lady at the counter beamed down at him. “And what are you looking for here, young man? Who’s it going to be for?”
Izuku wavered slightly, as more and more eyes turned towards him. “I-It’s for mom! Wanted to get her some flowers…” The woman cooed.
“What a nice little boy you are! I’m sure your mom will be very happy about that. Did anything catch your eye?”
Izuku looked through the bouquets displayed in front of him. Now, what would his mom like? Maybe some of those really tall ones, that kind of looked like white butterflies, with purple in the middle. Those were his mom’s favourite! He couldn’t remember what they were called, so he did his best to read the label. “Or-ch-ids.”
The lady behind the counter nodded. “Very pretty, aren’t they? Your mom likes those?” The boy nodded, slowly, as she started packing the flowers. “That’ll be… twelve thousand yen, darling!”
Izuku froze. Twelve - thousand? . How much was that again? He definitely felt that had too many zeroes... The child shook a bit as he reached for the cool metal in his pockets. Standing on his toe tips for just a bit more height, he emptied the coins onto the counter top. “H-how many of these would that be?” He stammered unsurely, casting a furtive at the curious onlookers around him.
The shopkeeper stopped her motions as she quickly counted the money in front of her. She gave off a sigh, shoulders slagging. “Oh dear… I’m afraid that won’t be quite enough, darling.” She said, apologetically, putting the half-packed orchids aside. “Why don’t you.. get your mom a nice card instead, perhaps? Or maybe you could bake her something! I’m sure that would make her very happy too!”
Izuku felt his heart sink. He looked through the other flowers a bit desperately, pointing towards a slightly smaller bouquet. “Is that one okay?”
The lady shook her head, pensively. “I’m afraid that our shop doesn’t really carry anything within your… Budget.” Seeing tears build up in the child’s eyes; “But I could look behind if we have any loose flowers left after, if you can wait until I’ve served the others?” She tried, quickly.
“I-I’m sorry miss…” The boy barely managed to answer, clumsily retrieving his money. A passerby handed him a coin he’d dropped, as he turned around - Izuku quickly gave a short bow, before scrambling out of the shop, staring at the bag clutched in his arms so he didn’t have to see the pitiful gazes that followed him.
After making his way around a corner (out of sight), Izuku started muttering to himself once more. Who knew flowers could be this expensive? Maybe these were bigger, but he found pretty ones in the fields all the time! Well… He - still had most of the day ahead of him, didn’t he? The sun wasn’t even at its highest yet! Plenty more time to get this done.
The boy jumped a little, as a rumbling sound suddenly came out from behind him. He turned his head - and relaxed again, as he came to the realisation that he’d just been leaning himself against a - … vending machine.
Cogs started turning in the child’s mind.
Katsuki wiped the sweat off his face. Begrudgingly, the boy came to a halt, finally taking a moment to breathe. Feeling a familiar heat build up inside him, he let out a scream and started wildly punching the air - stopping again a few seconds later, as he noticed a woman staring at him, a few feet away. “What do you think you’re looking at, huh?” the boy called, aggressively. He smirked as she quickly turned away, before staring at the ground once more.
Of course, he could calm down in other ways… What did that idiot say again? Counting or something, was it? Katsuki started walking again, slowly enumerating the cracks on the pavement that he passed by. One, two, three, three and a half? Four… Thirty… One hundred and twenty five…
Surprisingly, it did seem to help somewhat, though he’d rather be found dead than tell his counsellor he was actually trying any of the rubbish that she told him.
Bakugou really did think he’d be ready for whatever got thrown at him this morning. He could take the shouting, and if it came to it, he could take the hits. But why did they have to start fighting each other ? Just because he broke some stupid oven at school…The boy suppressed the tears that were threatening to erupt. He was almost 8! And yet, here he was with wet eyes, running… Someone named Bakugou Katsuki did not run away from his problems. He’d make his two idiot parents make up again, damnit! If he had to beat it into them.
Resolved, the boy lifed his head once more, turned himself around and… came to the realization that he had no fucking clue which direction to go in. Where was this place, anyways? He didn’t recognize any of the bloody buildings! He didn’t have a phone with him either… He could always ask someone, right? Maybe at a conbini or something they should be ready to help. Katsuki was starting to get a bit hungry anyways… He was pretty sure that it was past noon already, and he hadn’t even had breakfast yet! The boy's stomach grumbled in agreement.
Spotting the familiar green and blue logo of a Familymart in the distance, Bakugou quickly made his way to the shop. A skeletal-looking figure with long blond hair exited the building as he arrived. The man gave him a curt nod as he passed. The boy briefly considered asking for directions… no, with a face like that, he probably had other things to worry about. He answered with a grunt of his own, before entering the store.
Cold air enveloped him as the doors automatically shut behind him with a beep. “Welcome to the store!” the cashier greeted. Katsuki ignored the teen, instead making his way into the snack isles, browsing for something to satiate his hunger. Let’s see, onigiri, sandwiches, cup noodles… Anything sweet was definitely out of the question. Maybe some yakitori?
The front doors beeped once more, letting in another customer who went immediately towards the check-out counter, grey duffle bag in hand. Long black needles protruded from the stranger’s back - which did in fact, look kinda cool, the boy had to admit. He’d always been a fan of spiky things. Porcupine quirk, maybe? Although… Looking up, Katsuki noticed an odd-looking mask and sunglasses on the stranger's face. Now, he might have only been 7, but he knew a suspicious individual when he saw one.
“Welcome to the-”
“Empty the register and put it in the bag, now ,” the porcupine man said, lifting his bag onto the counter. Only, he didn’t sound the least bit threatening because his voice sounded like he had just inhaled the helium from several balloons. Bakugou didn’t quite manage to suppress his snicker - receiving a glare from the robber. He opened his mouth, as if to say something - before reconsidering and returning his attention to the man in front of him. “You-you wanna laugh at me too, don’t you?” He said, tone slightly irritated.
The cashier quickly wiped the small smirk off his face before answering. “No, of course not!” He paused, reflectively. “Ah… what was it again that you wanted sir?”
The villain was visibly trembling; instinctively raising his defences. “I said EMPTY THE REGISTER AND GIVE IT TO ME! NOW” He huffed. “Or else I’ll…” He lifted an arm, pointing his pricks out threateningly.
“You can shoot those things?” Katsuki asked, unconvinced. The villain stopped himself, breathing heavily.
“Listen here you little punk…” He squeaked out. The man walked over to the child, picking him up by his collar - barely dodging an explosive punch.
“Sir! Please, no one has to get hurt! I’ve got you what you wanted.” The cashier called, waving the emptied register above his head. As the man turned his head, Bakugou quickly took the chance to land a hit into the man’s gut.
The man dropped the boy like a sack of potatoes, before dragging himself back to the counter “Put it in - here” He wheezed, holding his stomach. The cashier opened the bag up - and stuffed the register inside.
“THE MONEY, YOU CRETIN!”
“But - I thought you asked me to -” The teen said, a bit too innocently.
The bag clattered onto the floor. “Alright, it… You asked for it, I’m gonna fucking kill-”
“STOP RIGHT THERE, VILLAIN!” A booming voice called out from the door.
“All Might!” The robber gasped, fearfully.
“All Might!” Bakugou exclaimed, excitedly.
“Oh hey, All Might! Even faster than last time!” The cashier waved amicably. “I got you your usual ready, do you want ice tea or coffee today?”
The hero dashed forward - knocking the villain out instantly as he reappeared in front of the counter, before answering. “I AM HERE… FOR ICED TEA!!!”
The cashier bagged several meat buns and handed him his drink. “Here you go! Thanks for saving the day again!” Further back, Katsuki felt his mouth water as he remembered why he was there in the first place.
“No problem, citizen! It is my duty to keep the people of this city safe!” All Might flashed a blinding smile, before turning around. He dug through his bag, pulling out two meat buns - and kneeled down before the child “And you, young man, were very brave! Take some as well”
Katsuki scoffed, trying to stay cool and composed while talking to his hero. “That villain was weak. One day, I’m gonna be the number one hero, so villains like him don’t scare me at all!”
“You’ve certainly got the passion for heroism inside of you! I don’t doubt that you’ll make a great hero one day.” Katsuki stood a bit taller at the praise given to him. Of course, he knew he was gonna be an awesome hero, but it was another thing entirely to hear the number one hero himself say it! The hero finally shoved the buns into his hands. “Eat, my boy!”
Katsuki nodded dumbly. Just as he was about to take a bite, a groan sounded out from below them. Before anyone could react, the villain shot up and pushed over a turning display rack which then fell on top of him, causing him to drop his free meat buns.
All Might didn’t hesitate to help the boy out from underneath the rack instead of chasing after the villain. “That scumbag!” the cashier grumbled, rushing to check on the boy as well.
“Are you okay, young man?” All Might asked in concern.
“I’m fine! It didn’t even hurt at all, see! Now hurry and get the villain!” Katsuki admonished.
All Might shared a look with the cashier who nodded. “Alright then! I’ll be on my way!” The number one hero sped out the door leaving behind a trail of smoke as the cashier turned back to him.
“So, how about we have the paramedics check you out, little guy?”
“I already said I’m fine!” Katsuki grumbled, making a move to leave and get away from the annoying cashier, but immediately flinched when his foot hit the ground. His ankle…hurt just a little bit. But that didn’t matter! He was strong, a little bit of pain wouldn’t keep him down. Even when he broke his arm falling off the slide at the playground, he didn’t cry at all .
“And where exactly do you plan on going limping like that?”
Oh. He didn’t really think of that. He still didn’t know where he was, but he definitely didn’t want to go back home yet. Maybe getting his ankle looked at wouldn’t be so bad.
“Police! Hands in the air!” a cop shouted as he entered the store with his gun raised.
“Sorry, Villain got away already.” The cashier sighed, probably used to the police showing up late. “But All Might should have caught him by now.”
“Oh…” The man said, slightly embarrassed, as he quickly put his gun back in it’s holster. “Anyone hurt?”
“No,” Katsuki answered.
“Just this kid,” the cashier said at the same moment.
The cop waved over the paramedics who were waiting outside by an ambulance. They brought in a stretcher which Katsuki instantly backed away from. He wasn’t dying! He was barely hurt! He didn’t need a stretcher!
He ended up getting onto the dumb thing anyways, but only because he didn’t want them carrying him to the ambulance. He was already dangerously close to reaching a level of humiliation that there was no return from, but if anyone could make getting hurt in a villain attack cool it would be Katsuki.
“Here you go, sweetie!” one of the paramedics said, draping a shiny metallic blanket over his shoulders. “Now, can you point to which foot hurts for me?”
“It’s the left one,” he said, and she began removing his shoe. Katsuki went quiet for a moment, inspecting the blanket curiously as he pinched the metallic sheet between two fingers. “What’s this for?”
“It’s called a trauma blanket, it’s supposed to help you feel safe.”
“I don’t need this stupid thing!” Katsuki screamed, throwing the blanket off of himself and trying to rip it apart, though his efforts were futile.
“Hey! Let go of that!” she wrestled the blanket from his grasp as he had started trying to tear it with his teeth like a feral animal. “The patient is experiencing strong emotional reactivity from the trauma,” she whispered hastily to her coworker. (Katsuki could of course still hear that, he wasn’t fuckin’ deaf!)
Said coworker leaned down to the boy, an amicable smile on his face. “It’ll be alright. You’re safe with us now,” the man said, with a tone that somewhat reminded Bakugou of his Kindergarten teachers.
The boy’s eye twitched. Okay… He could handle this. Not much longer and these idiots would leave him alone… Just a quick checkup and they’d bring him home.
A hand rested itself on top of his head. Katuski saw red.
Izuku scrambled up from under the vending machine, a frown appearing on the boy’s face as he took a peek at the coin in his hand. 10 yen. He wasn’t getting anywhere at this rate! 2 hours already, and he barely even had enough to get himself a bus ride back home… The child kept walking, shoulders slouched. He’d have to find something else.
Siren sounds broke the child out of his thoughts. He jumped aside to let the ambulance pass by him - and collided with a pedestrian running in the opposite direction. “Watch where you’re going!” The man admonished.
Izuku rubbed a sore spot on his shoulder, quickly bowing down. “Very sorry sir! It won’t happen again!”
The man stared at him sceptically. “Alright, alright, I believe you. You seem like a good kid.” He sighed, relaxing a bit. “Anyways, you probably shouldn’t be going over there… There’s a villain on the run” he muttered. The boy perked up slightly. “They’ve got All Might going after him so it probably shouldn’t take too long, but… KID! STAY HERE!”
Izuku didn’t wait for the man to finish saying “All Might” before sprinting off. He hadn’t spotted his idol at all since he went absent last year and since then his public appearances were few and far between. He definitely wasn’t going to miss this chance! He just had to meet his hero and…maybe ask him a question. But where would he be? He’d probably be looking for the villain - or trying to, at least. Izuku was confident that All Might would catch the villain soon, if he didn’t already, so hopefully he still had time to find him! Even if he only caught a glimpse, seeing him in person would be the highlight of his day. Although, considering his day wasn’t going that great, that wasn’t saying much.
He cheered a bit internally as he spotted some police cars, parked in front of a convenience store. Definitely on the right track. Now, what could a villain think a good hiding spot would look like… Dark, scary, maybe a bit dirty? And somewhere there’s usually not many people. Most importantly, it would have to be somewhere nearby. Like… the alleyways!
Looking side to side, Izuku surveyed his surroundings. From the looks of it, there weren't any cops with mutant-type quirks that would give them enhanced hearing or smell. If he was quiet, he could easily sneak past them.
As soon as their backs were turned, he stealthily crossed the street and slipped into an alley. Once hidden, he breathed a sigh of relief. Mission accomplished! Maybe he would make a better spy than a hero. Or maybe he could be a spy hero! Hero spy? Eh. He’d figure it out later.
Time to find All Might! He turned around with a hop in his step, deciding to take a right after seeing a trash can knocked over. That was his one and only clue as to where to go next, but after that he simply wandered through the maze of buildings. Luckily, he was small, allowing him to even access certain areas where a fully grown adult shouldn’t have had room to walk through. Somewhere, deep down, the boy knew that he might get lost like this, but he’d think about that later!
It wasn’t long until he found another clue, but this time he felt a little hesitant about moving forward. On the floor was a small puddle of fresh blood and a trail of large bloody footprints leading around a corner. The young boy looked at the scene, a bit shaken.
Was it from the villain? Or did somebody else get hurt? Was it the person in the ambulance? This couldn’t be All Might’s blood…could it?
Just then, he heard a wet cough from (presumably) the end of the blood trail. Izuku quickly sucked in his breath, keeping as quiet as the child could manage. He had to hide or the villain might find him! That is, if it was a villain. It could also be an innocent person who got attacked. In that case, Izuku should help them! What to do…
He slowly peered out from behind the corner, doing his best to stay out of sight as he took a glimpse of the stranger. He didn’t know what the villain was supposed to look like, but he certainly didn’t expect them to look so…scrawny? The man looked like he was a skeleton…
Well, that settled it for Izuku. His mom did tell him not to talk to strangers, but - she also told him to trust his gut and his gut said that he had to help. He was going to be a hero after all!
Izuku quietly walked up from behind the man, careful not to startle him. “Excuse me, mister?” he asked innocently. The skeleton man seemed to jump a little, clenching his shirt where his heart was as he whipped around to face the small child. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt by the villain?”
The figure relaxed upon seeing who had addressed him, (Izuku couldn’t help but feel a bit proud that he made the man feel safe again!) and wiped away the blood dribbling down his chin. “Ah, no. All Might already turned that guy in. This is from an old injury. It acts up when I…exercise too much.”
The child frowned, slightly disappointed at hearing he’d missed out on meeting All Might. Then, as if he just remembered something; he slipped his backpack off his shoulders, shuffling through its contents before pulling out a lunch box. “Do you want a sandwich, Mister?” The boy asked, timidly.
He opened the box, offering one of the neat triangles to the man. “Tuna, I think. Mom packed me an extra for Kaachan, but he’s a bit, ah… busy!” He winced slightly at the thought. Well, at least his mom’s effort wouldn’t go to waste, the man definitely looked like he needed it… Though, Izuku kept that thought to himself.
The man laughed nervously. “That’s alright, my boy! I ate not that long ago and I already have a bag of meat buns and iced tea to snack on-” he patted his pockets, realising they were empty. “Which I…must have dropped somewhere.”
The boy placed the sandwich into the man’s hand, not giving him a chance to refuse.
He spotted a few milk crates at the end of the alley and turned one into a seat for himself. He patted the other one next to him, looking up at the blond expectantly.
The large man awkwardly lowered himself onto the small crate before taking a bite. “So,” he began. “What’s your name, my boy?”
“My name’s Izuku!” the child exclaimed, unwrapping his own lunch. “Midoriya Izuku. And you, mister?”
“Well then, thank you, young Midoriya!” The man said honestly. He had been quite hungry after that little adventure… And Mrs. Midoriya sure knew how to make a good sandwich! “Yagi Toshinori. You may call me Toshinori if you wish!” He looked at his young companion with some concern. “But, I must ask, what are you doing here? This isn’t the best area for a child to be alone…”
Izuku looked at the ground, avoiding the man’s gaze. “I wanted to get mom some flowers for Valentine’s Day, but I didn’t have enough money…” He hiccupped. ”So I went looking for some. Then I heard All Might was here! And I really wanted to talk to him, but I guess I can’t now that he’s gone, and now I don’t know where I am, but I saw you were hurt so I thought I could help!” the boy continued, each sentence faster than the last.
“That’s very kind of you, young Midoriya, but in the future you should be more careful about approaching strangers!” Toshinori warned him.
“I know, I know…” Izuku sulked in his seat. “But I wanna be a hero when I grow up! How could I become a hero if I walked away from somebody who was hurt?” He added, stubbornly.
Toshinori was stunned for a moment. Not many kids understood that being a hero was more than fighting bad guys. It appeared Izuku was a little different from most kids, though... “That’s very mature of you. I think you’ll make a great hero one day!” Admittedly, he did say that to pretty much every kid he met – but this time he truly meant the words.
The boy’s eyes glistened a bit, but he quickly wiped his eyes. When he looked up, there was a blindingly bright smile on his face. “Thank you, Mr. Yagi! I’m gonna work hard, I promise!” he exclaimed. “So I can be just like All Might… and save people with a smile!”
Toshinori gave a sheepish smile, blushing slightly as he patted Izuku’s fluffy green curls. “That’s the spirit, my boy! Now, how about I help you get those flowers for your mom?”
Izuku froze mid-bite and turned towards the man energetically. “Rweawy?!” he asked, mouth still full.
“Once we finish eating,” Toshinori added.
Izuku swiftly devoured the remainder of his sandwich, swallowing with some effort. “Okay! I’m ready!”
Mitsuki paced around her living room, biting at her thumb nail. She looked up hopefully, as she heard the front door opening – but that subsided immediately as she saw her husband enter, alone. “You were supposed to find him! What happened?!”
“Darling! I–” Masaru’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I looked everywhere the boy usually goes” He said, tone frustrated. The man walked over to the counter, dropping his keys, before continuing. “None of the neighbours saw him either.”
“Well go back out there and keep looking! What if he gets lost?! It’s getting dark and he’s still not back yet!”
“Mitsuki, be reasonable! You know how quick the boy is. He could be half way across the city, by now!” Masaru attempted
“That’s even more reason to look for him! You know what? If you won’t, then I will,” she said, stomping angrily over to the keys and swiping them from the counter.
“Mitsuki! This isn’t getting us anywhere!” her husband said, raising his voice somewhat. “We have to contact the authorities… I know , I don’t like it any more than you do! But… we have to accept that we need help. The faster they get on the case, the better.”
“ No. Do you know how embarrassing that would be? Everybody is already whispering about what shitty parents we are. Even you think I’m a terrible mother!”
“Katsuki could be in danger! We’ll have plenty of time to show the world that we can do better once he’s safe at home again! ” He grabbed his phone. “I’m calling them. That’s final.”
Mitsuki did her best to hold back the tears forming in her eyes, a knot tying up her throat. “I just want to prove that I’m a good mom! That I care about him! That I can find him myself! Is that so wrong to ask? I’m the reason he left, I have to be the one to find him!”
Masaru’s features softened slightly, approaching his wife. “I know you want the best for Katsuki. But right now, the best thing for him is to leave this to the professionals.” He handed his phone to her, smiling weakly.
Reluctantly, she took the phone into her trembling hands and sighed. “Okay. Let’s do this,” she said, her normally confident tone replaced with a more defeated one. She began to dial their local police station’s number, when the device started ringing. Mitsuki looked at the number, blankly. She gave a quick glance at her husband.
“It might be him…” He hushed, a bit hopefully.
The woman gave a quick nod, turning on the speaker before answering the call.
“Hello, this is a call from Mustafu General Hospital. Am I currently speaking to Bakugou Masaru?”
Mitsuki blanched. A large hand tightly gripped her own.
“So if I remembered this correctly… You wanted big white orchids, the red wrapping paper and pink ribbons. Bunkyo-ku 2, unit 14, delivery tomorrow morning at 8…” Toshinori listed out.
“Unit 16!” The boy corrected. “And, a card with hearts on it.”
“Unit 16, and a Valentine’s Day card, got it. Is that all?” The man pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you sure you don’t want to come into the store with me?”
Izuku shook his head vigorously.
“Very well… Stay here, my boy, I will be back shortly!”
The child’s gaze followed the man as he disappeared into the building, timidly peeking around the corner before hiding himself once more. He embraced the heart-shaped tin in his arms, a wide grin on his face. Mister Yagi had been kind enough to listen to all of his requests and even made a stop at the chocolate store they walked past.
Izuku couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. He knew it was probably really expensive, but… Mom deserved it! She rarely ever got flowers from dad, so he’d make sure to give her the best flowers he could find to make up for it! Although, he wouldn’t have been able to get them if it weren’t for Mister Yagi. He definitely was one of the nicest people Izuku had met. Not that there’d been many people that were nice to him, recently…
He really hoped that it would be enough to make mom just a bit less lonely tomorrow… She’d be smiling, sure, but Izuku knew that didn’t mean she wouldn’t still be sad. If only he could find something that could make her happy like she used to be, when dad was still there with them! It would have to be something really special to cheer her up, though. Spending time with Auntie Mitsuki usually did that, but somehow he didn’t think it would be the same.
The boy glanced towards the shop once more, waiting for his friend to come out, a bit impatiently. Well, Izuku wasn’t quite sure if the adult considered him a friend yet… he was still working on that! Just as he spotted a streak of golden hair - an idea formed in his mind.
Izuku sprinted towards the exit, a wide grin on his face. “Mister Yagi!” he called, excitedly, stopping just short of running into the man.
Toshinori turned towards him, eyes wide. “Young Midoriya, what’s the matter!” He asked, perhaps a bit concerned.
“I have something to ask you!” the boy exclaimed, bouncing on his toes. A gasp then caught his attention and he went still, suddenly remembering where he was.
“You’re back!” cooed the same woman working at the counter when he was there earlier. “Did you find something to get your mom, little guy?” Izuku felt as if he burst into flames in that very spot and quickly hid behind the man’s legs. “Aww. He’s so cute. Is he your son?” she asked.
“Ah! Well, he’s- he’s- I’m a…we’re not related.” Toshinori added, hastily.
The woman nodded as if she was able to understand everything. “I see. Well, blood relations don't mean much these days. I’m sure you’re a great step-dad!” Blood spurted out of the man’s mouth. “Oh my! Are you okay?” the lady asked in distress.
“Perfectly fine! Thank you,” Toshinori said, wiping a bit of blood dribbling down his chin. “I have a few…minor health issues.”
“I-I see. I’m sorry to hear that.”
Izuku tugged at his new friend’s pants a few times, silently begging him to hurry it up. He didn’t want to be there any longer, but running out would be even more embarrassing.
“Ah, we should really get going! It’s getting a little late,” Yagi said, picking up the card and receipt from the counter.
“Oh, that’s right! He probably has a bedtime. Well, you’re all set to go. Thank you and come again!” she replied and they finally made their way towards the exit.
As soon as they stepped outside, Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. “I can never come to this part of town again…” the child lamented.
“Agreed…” The man muttered, wiping some sweat off of himself. Well, at least not in this form. “Now then, my boy. What was it that you wished to ask me?”
“Oh! Right!” Izuku looked up at him, a bit nervous. “Could you, maybe, come to my place tomorrow morning?”
“My Boy! I must work, I can’t just…” Toshinori stopped in his tracks, the child’s large pleading eyes boring into his soul.
Well, Sir Nighteye had demanded that he take some time off. If he could use that time to make little Izuku a bit happier… Perhaps, this wouldn’t be so bad.
Mitsuki and Masaru hadn’t exchanged a word for the entire duration of the trip; Masaru focused on the road ahead of him, while Mitsuki stared mutely at her reflection in the window. They rushed towards the hospital as soon as the car was parked; the hospital staff graciously led them to their destination after only a few curt words. Mitsuki held her breath, as she approached the door of the room her son was supposed to be in.
The boy looked uncharacteristically peaceful as they entered, sprawled out onto the hospital bed behind a half-eaten tray of unrecognisable mush.
Mitsuki slowly walked over to his bed and took a seat on the side. Up close, she could hear him breathing steadily, silent as a mouse. That was her first clue that he was faking.
“You know, you normally snore really loudly. Get that from me, actually.” she commented. No response. “Look, I’m still mad, but more than that, I’m worried. So could you explain what happened?” Mitsuki groaned as the boy continued in his refusal to budge.
A nurse entered, picking up Katuski’s tray. “Poor thing… I heard that he had quite a bad traumatic response, after all that.” The nurse sighed, glancing at the mother pitifully. “No wonder, for a child getting attacked by a villain like that…”
“Who told you that? ” The boy shot up, clawing at the woman as his mother held him down with an outstretched arm . “THAT LOSER DIDN’T EVEN LAND A HIT ON ME, GOT IT!”
Masaru smiled apologetically at the nurse as she quickly hurried out of the room before turning to the bed. “Katsuki. They wouldn’t have brought you here without any injury - do you want to tell us what happened or do we have to wait for the doctor for an answer?” He tried. “It would help your mother greatly to get some peace of mind... And myself.”
The boy looked away, looking somewhat embarrassed. “Just hurt my ankle when I… fell. Fighting the villain!” He added, a bit proudly: “Got a way better hit on him though! And - All Might said I did great!”
“Katsuki… The whole truth. Now.” Mitsuki demanded, a bit aggressively.
Masaru gritted his teeth. “ Mitsuki! We said we’d do this calmly. Just let him finish his story!” He hushed.
The woman cast an annoyed glance towards him, crossing her arms. “What’s it now again! I didn’t touch him.”
“There are still better ways to talk to him! Katsuki got hurt , he didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Didn’t do anything wrong?” The woman huffed. “Don’t tell me you forgot about the incident from today morning already! ”
The man cast an annoyed glance towards the corridor - an onlooker hurried away as their eyes - before returning his attention to his wife. “We can deal with that later. Besides, we’re not entirely sure if he did that either! What is it with you, that you always have to shout, and ask questions later?”
“Of COURSE he did it! He basically admitted to it already!” Mitsuki shouted, tempering her volume only slightly out of respect for the patients next door. “We’re at a hospital anyways. Might want to get yourself checked, cause I’m sure getting the impression you’re going bloody deaf!”
“Wouldn’t surprise me, with the amount of shouting you do!” Masaru shot back. “And maybe he had a reason, even if he was involved! What does it cost you to just try to believe in your son for once in your life!”
“I DID DO IT, ALRIGHT!” The boy blurted out. The two parents became quiet, looking over to their son, tears streaming down his face. “I broke the damn thing. Shout at me if you wanna, I deserve it. Just… Please, please stop fighting!”
Mitsuki raised arm to say something, but words failed to come out.
The boy continued. “Some pricks from my class were making fun of my dragon, and they were gonna be displaying our stuff in front of everyone, and I just didn't wanna become the laughingstock of the whole damn school! ” The boy hiccuped, taking a moment to catch his breath. “I put a bit of my sweat into the thing before they put it into the oven. I didn’t think it was gonna break the whole thing, I swear! I just thought it would shatter my dragon, and maybe whatever those stupid extras made…” He muttered. A bit desperately: “I’m fucking sorry, okay! I was just angry, and wasn’t thinking. I - don’t wanna be the reason that you break up!”
“Katsuki! No…” Masaru stared at his son, guilt building up inside of him. “I - we’re sorry. This isn’t your fault, any of it. Understood?” He urged. “And… We aren’t going to break up. Mom and dad are just being a bit dumb… and need some time to figure things out.”
The boy looked up to him, hesitantly. “You - promise?”
As gently as she could muster, Mistuki sat down next to the child, embracing him. “Yes… We promise.”
Izuku made his way to his room as soon as he arrived home; after ushering a quick apology to his mom for staying out so long (no, she didn’t have to make him anything anymore he wasn’t hungry — yes, he already ate dinner). Once on his bed, the boy took out his phone, and opened a conversation with his newest friend.
Izuku grinned at the man’s All Might Agency-themed profile picture.
Shaking slightly, he sent the first message.
Smallmight10: R u an AM fan as well?
Time crawled as the boy waited for an answer, staring at his screen. Mercifully, the response came only a few minutes later.
Yagi Toshinori: …
Yagi Toshinori: you could say that
Yagi Toshinori: I work for his agency, after all
Smallmight10: That’s soooo cool Mister Yagi!!!
Smallmight10: do you see him often?
Yagi Toshinori: Kid - we’re texting , please just call me Toshi -
Yagi Toshinori: But yes, most days.
Izuku suppressed his excitement — this was definitely a good start! But, it wouldn’t make sure. He pulled out a page from his pocket. Let’s see…
Smallmight10: What kind of music do u like, Mister Toshinori?
Smallmight10: And, what’s ur favourite colour?
Yagi Toshinori: Just Toshinori. No Mister.
Yagi Toshinori: Rock, and Jazz, mostly.
Yagi Toshinori: And, yellow
Yagi Toshinori: Wait - why do you want to know that now?
Izuku looked up, pensively. Mom listened to Jazz sometimes! But, he was pretty sure her favourite colour was green… yellow was close enough, right? At least they were next to each other on the wheel… He added two checkmarks on his page, making the second one slightly smaller, and returned to his phone.
Smallmight10: Pineapple on pizza, y or n?
Katuski had already dozed off when the doctors came over to clear him, exhausted from all the walking and excitement, and a sleepless night the day before. Mitsuki thanked the man, boy dangling in her arms, before the couple made their way back to the car. Masaru took his time on the way back home on the empty streets of the city at night. Their son deserved his rest.
Mitsuki looked back at the child, eyes glistening. “He - he’s a good kid” she whispered, a bit carefully. “A bit rough around the edges, but… He has his heart in the right place. I just wish I could’ve been a better mother for him, that he could learn from...”
Her husband kept his sight on the road, as he answered. “You are a good mother. You care about him a lot, always want the best for him, probably more than I could claim. I never stopped believing that.” The man admitted. “Maybe a bit rough on the edges.” He smiled softly, before turning serious once more. “You love him. But you’ve learned from the wrong people how to show that… I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive your dad for that. Or myself…”
“Masaru…”
He shrunk slightly at her soft touch, caressing his arm. “I never hurt you, I know. But I should have been there to help you, Mitsuki. And I wasn’t. Not nearly enough at least. I’m sorry, I really am…”
Mitsuki stared at her husband. He turned towards her, before quickly averting his gaze once more. After all these years, Masaru still wasn’t all that different from the shy school boy she’d once known… She chuckled, playfully hitting his shoulders. “Don’t be so overdramatic, you did fine. Not perfect or anything, but – we both still got things to learn, don’t we?”
Carefully, Masaru nodded. “We do…”
“And we’ll do that together. Understood?”
“We will…” As the car came to a halt in front of their home, Masaru finally turned towards her - taking the hand closest to him into both of his own. They met in the middle for a chaste kiss, a bit self-conscious of their son stretched out behind them. “Happy Valentines Day, darling”
“Don’t call me that, how often do I have to tell you that!” She complained, lightly. “But happy Valentine's Day to you too, you dunce. I wager you forgot to write to the babysitter again, didn’t you?”
The man nodded, turning a mild shade of pink.
“Alright, what times do you have planned? Cause we are definitely not gonna do this like last year, we have far too much to catch up on for that .” Mitsuki purred, pulling out her phone.
Toshinori arrived at the Midoriya residence at the crack of dawn. He erred around the plain-looking compounds a bit, nervously, before ringing the bell of unit 16.
Immediately, the man heard something tumbling through the room, inside. “COMMMIIIIING!” his young friend’s enthusiastic voice answered him, behind the frame.
The door cracked open, revealing a green head of hair scrutinising him, for a split second - before it was thrown wide open. “MOM! MOM! Mister Yagi is here!” Izuku called, bouncing on his feet. The gentle voice of what the hero presumed to be the boy's mother called out from the kitchen. “Who is that, Honey? I’ll be there in a second!”
“You… didn’t tell her I would come?” The man answered, perplexed.
Izuku shook his head, shyly. Before the blond could react, a metal box got shoved into his arms. “Ah… could you hold onto that for a moment? Gotta tie my shoes…” The boy quickly ducked down as his mother appeared in front of them.
“Good morning, Miss Midoriya!” the man greeted, politely.
“Izuku, would you like to introduce us? You could have told me that you invited someone, you know!” The woman reprimanded.
The boy shot up again. “This is Mister Yagi, Mom. He’s really nice! Was supposed to be a surprise…” He murmured. More confidently “I got you a new boyfriend!”
“Izuku you did what ?” His mother said, incredulously.
Toshinori mirrored her expression “ Boyfriend? Who did you… oh” The man stared dumbly at the heart-shaped tin of chocolates in his hands. “Oh, I’m very , very… extremely sorry missus I-”
The large eyes of his young friend looked up at him, expectantly.
“Nothing to worry about, Mister Tooshinori, I understand. Would you like to come in for some tea?” the woman suppressed a chuckle.
“I… will take some, yes. Thank you.” the man said, reluctantly following the matron into her home. Beside them, the boy held a grin threatening to split his face. Well, at least someone was happy… That was his goal when he came here, right?
“I’ll - go make breakfast then!” The boy shouted excitedly, making his way to the kitchen.
At behest of his host, the man took a seat on a lavender couch, as she prepared his drink. The apartment was small but homely, although there were far too many iterations of his face displayed throughout the room for Toshinori’s comfort. “Izuku is a bit of an All Might fan, I see…” He stated, unnecessarily.
“You could say that!” The woman chuckled, pouring two cups of tea, and handing one to the stranger. “He’s always dreamed of being just like him some day! At least until…” She sighed. “Thanks for playing along with this. He’s had a rough year, I’ll always be grateful for anything that can make my boy smile like that…”
“He has the heart of a hero.” The man remarked honestly. “That’s what really matters. Even if he can’t become exactly like All Might – he’ll be helping a lot of people some day, I’m sure of it. No matter what quirk he ended up getting.”
Inko sat across from him, her hand shaking slightly as she put down her own cup. “Ah… you see, the problem is…'' her lips wavered. “Izuku doesn’t have a quirk.” She looked at him, intently, gauging the man’s reaction.
“And neither did I…” Yagi said, calmly. “And yet - I work for the All Might Agency. Your son can do great things Miss Midoriya – please believe in him.”
“Oh - And here I was worrying!” The mother smiled, relieved. “Yes, I will. I promise. But, you said you’re working for All Might of all people? Is that how you two met?” She asked curiously.
“Oh no, that was more of an accident really,” The man was interrupted by another ring at the door. “I’ll take that!” Izuku shot out of the kitchen towards the entrance; returning a few seconds later with a large pot of snow white orchids, hanging high above the boy. He slowly walked towards them, struggling slightly at the weight, before dropping the flowers onto the short table.
“Oh, they’re gorgeous honey! Where did you get those from?” His mother complimented.
“Mister Yagi bought them for you!”
“No! I mean yes, but I-” The man sputtered; his host giggling at his misery, before noticing the blood spurting from his mouth.
The woman immediately hovered over him, eyes wide in worry. “Oh dear - are you alright there? Should I call a doctor?”
“Oh don’t worry mom, he always does that! So, do you want syrup or strawberries with your pancakes?”
“You made pancakes?” Yagi looked up, positively surprised. His favourite! How had the boy known - The blond groaned internally, as he remembered his conversation from the night before. Scheming little brat…
“And then - right after they were getting all icky and clingy with me and telling how much they loved me and all, they kicked me out of the house with that dunce over there.” Katsuki motioned towards the bored teenager sprayed out onto the park bench next to them. “Well, at least they’re not shouting at each other anymore… I mean mom is still loud, but she’s always loud - do you know how strange it is to see dad shout? That freaked me out - Oi, Deku! Are you even listening?”
The green-haired child nodded mutely as he turned his attention back to his friend. He could always look for the bunnies later. He’d seen tracks all over the place - they couldn’t be that far, right? He let his thoughts trail once more, as the two boys kept walking. Izuku wasn’t quite sure if Mister Yagi and Mom were actually dating now or not, but in the end… His mom finally looked happy again, and that was all he’d really been trying to do. And if he ended up getting a new, better dad out of this - that worked with All Might of all people! Well, that would just be a bonus.
“You know what, Deku?” Katsuki said, seriously. “Adults are fucking weird ”
“Language, Kaachan!” He admonished.
“Yeah, yeah… But they are ” The boy muttered. “Don’t you dare become one, okay?”
“Heroes are adults too though” Izuku countered. “I wanna be a hero…”
“Of course we’re gonna be fucking-” “ Language! ” “Of course we’re gonna be heroes! But, you better be a cool one, alright?”
Izuku smiled brilliantly. “Alright, I promise!”