Author's Note: This is a silly fanfic I wrote after watching Boku No Hero. Most of this was written after watching the first season. I haven't read the manga or done too much research into the anime/manga, so I'm sure that I got some details wrong. Sorries.
Katsuki ended up being on the asexual spectrum, which was fun to write. :)
Warnings: Death, violence, and sex is mentioned/hinted at.
Summary: Ayami and her sister went to school to become heroes, even though their parents are villains. The hero thing didn't work out- but can they manage to stay on the right side of the law, at least? Katsukixoc, Tenyaxoc.
Part 1
Introduction
Ayami stepped onto the battlefield.
She was set to fight Katsuki Bakugou.
The crowd cheered in anticipation as the narrator said their names and a small tidbit about them. Meanwhile, Bakugou and Ayami faced each other, mentally preparing themselves for the fight.
Ayami's hands were in her pockets, and her feet were slightly wider than usual, to prepare herself for a sudden attack. In the last round she watched him take out his opponents by launching himself head first into them, and knew that he had a history of running into situations without knowing all the details.
In general, she preferred to keep her abilities discrete and not overuse them, in order to keep the element of surprise. For other reasons, she could never let her full quirk be seen. Especially not here.
Bakugou was powerful, had great reflexes, and would be one of the strongest people she'd ever faced. She needed every advantage she could get.
"Ayaaaa!" A high pitched voice screamed from the stands, and caused Ayami's entire body to stiffen. "You should marry him! You'd make such cute babies!"
The blood drained from her cheeks and she turned, seeing her sister hopping around and spewing fire in the air without a care in the world.
So much for the element of surprise. Ayami thought bitterly.
"Oh hey! You're the girl that survived that attack last year!" Someone yelled and pointed at her.
When she looked back at Bakugou, he still had that weird look on his face. He was ugly, and she didn't understand why Ashita was trying to hook them up.
The referee indicated for them to start, and Bakugou was already running at her.
She ran, too, and when he tried to throw a punch at her, she twisted and leapfrogged over him, spewing a tiny bit of fire at his shoulder. The small place ignited, confirming the rumors she'd heard about how his quirk worked.
Landing, she skidded to a halt, and then jumped back to avoid the blunt of his firey punch.
"Your sweat is ignitable, huh?" She asked with a smirk as she hopped away, able to see him through the smoke.
"So?" He asked as he threw another hit, and the flames went outward to envelope her.
In the flames, Ayami threw a punch at him, landing on his sternum and sending him a few steps back.
She went at him again, but this time he deflected and tried to hit back. Both of them exchanged and dodged each other's blows, and all the while, Bakugou got increasingly angry at the lack of progression he made.
1.
After the game, Ayami cracked her neck, sitting in the bleachers next to her sister and the rest of their class.
"You did great, sis!" Ashita yelled and hugged, trying to cheer her up.
"I lost." Ayami muttered, and sighed tiredly. If she'd fought almost anyone other than him… someone who's abilities weren't so close to her own…
"Mom and dad would be proud." Ashita assured, and Ayami grunted bitterly.
They can go fuck themselves. Ayami thought bitterly.
"Come on, you know that you would have won if you hadn't held back. And you didn't lose the fight, you just stepped out of bounds." Ashita spoke, trying to cheer her up.
"That doesn't make this okay." Ayami said, and glanced over at class 1A.
If Ayami hadn't missed the entrance exam, then she probably would have gotten into that class. She only got into the school because of a recommendation- a weak one, at that. At the very least, Ayami was able to get into the same class as her sister... that was something.
They were about to start the next match, which should be a promising one, but Ayami had no interest in watching. She'd watch a clip online later to see their moves.
"Where are you going?" Ashita asked when her sister stood up.
"Water." Ayami answered simply.
"But sis…" Ashita said, trailing off as Ayami walked away.
She kept her hands in her pockets as she watched and ignored the cheers ringing out. People screamed, yelled to support their favorite student, and other random things. Some of the heroes were making commentary.
There was too much energy in the air. Too much sound.
She needed some space to think, and evaluate how to fight better in the future. She needed to fight better- be better.
If she wanted to save other people, she needed to be stronger than her best.
As she roamed the halls, she was surprised by how many people were wearing cloaks. Sure, in the superhero business there were quite a few heroes who prefer to stay in the shadows, but as she walked she noticed at least 7 of them. Assuming that they were for security, she didn't think much of them, until suddenly she was surrounded by them.
All around her, about 7 cloaked figures stood, blocking her exit. No one else was in the hallway except for them.
She was surrounded.
"Who the fuck are you?" Ayami asked.
"We have a proposition for you." One of them spoke in front of her. "Work for us, and we will forgive the debt that your father accued with us."
She blinked, processing what they were telling her, and a cold chill ran down her spine as the realization slowly befell her. The screams of her mother and father echoed through her head, and she quickly removed her hands from her pockets.
They were going to fight.
Something shot from the mouth of one of them, and Ayami spit her explosive saliva on it. Their tongue, or so she guessed, exploded and the owner cried out in pain.
She ran forward and grabbed the front of one of them, quickly turning them to use as a shield and head butted that human shield with another to knock them out.
2.
Bakugou was still reeling after watching the fight.
There were a lot of feelings for him to sort through for that day. People constantly challenging him, briefly winning, coming in third place… Bakugou was powerful, the strongest, and no one truly recognized just how powerful he was.
On top of that, everyone was giving him shit for 'acting like a villain.' All day today, he'd actually been holding back and fighting fairly, yet people were accusing him of fighting dirty. He barely held his own against that Ayami girl, and yet everyone was giving him shit for not holding back when fighting a girl.
To his further chagrin, he could tell that she was holding back. That wasn't a real win, and he could feel it. More than that, she knew that he didn't really win, and that bothered him even more.
He was powerful. He was strong. He was going to kick everyone's fucking ass in order to prove that he was the best there was.
While everyone was chatting away about the last match, he heard something from the doorway, and glanced over in that direction. There were grunts, a loud bump here and there, and the sounds were becoming irksome.
He was about to get up and tell them to knock it off, when a large body suddenly came flying out of the doorway and toppled to the ground.
A second human stumbled back with his arms in front of him, defending himself, and a third person was fighting him. They prepared their punch, pulling their arm back, and landed a punch that caused her opponent to disappear in a blur.
The railing broke. Some of the steps cracked and broke off.
Across the field, just a half second later, a boom erupted and there was smoke.
Another grunt nearby got his attention again, and he watched the person twist as someone attacked them, and sent them tumbling off the same edge that she'd just created by throwing the other person.
"Shit! She's in the stadium!" Someone yelled in the hallway, a cloaked figure that quickly grabbed another and started running.
"What's going on? Are you hurt, Ayami?!" Iida asked, being the first to get up and investigate.
Bakugou looked back across the stadium, where the smoke was, and realized that she'd single-handedly thrown that person over a hundred yards.
"You were holding back, you piece of shit!" Bakugou yelled as he stood, pissed off by the knowledge.
Ayami looked up at him, her yellow eyes darkening to a deep brown, and he saw some markings on her skin disappear.
"I'm fine, thanks." Ayami said to Iida.
Bakugou clenched his fists in rage.
3.
7 years later
The stadium was packed, just like 7 years ago.
UA was hosting a charity event. People with quirks of all skill levels were coming together to compete in games. Companies and small businesses were sponsoring the event, and on that list of contributors, was Ai Metalworks.
Ayami and Ashita were competing, and they wore their business's logo and merchandise.
The first event was a simple race. There was going to be two races: the hero run and the civilian run. The hero run encouraged quirks, especially from heroes, while the civilian run banned the use of quirks. Heroes were also not allowed to compete in the civilian one.
Ashita would be competing in the civilian one. Since she was 2 months pregnant she wouldn't win.
Ayami would be competing in the hero one, even though she wasn't a hero. She was a metal smith that worked out too much and had way too much experience fighting villains.
While waiting for the first event to start, the sisters stood together and chatted with their old friends from high school. There were a lot of heroes competing in this, and a lot of agencies wanted to be part of this competition for publicity. Many of the competitors were students from this school.
While Ashita got distracted by her husband and made kissy face with him, Ayami looked around to find any of her old friends to chat with.
To her horror, instead of finding a friend, she accidentally locked eyes with a man giving her the worst stink eye she'd ever seen.
A chill ran down her spine and she wanted to look away, but those red eyes kept her attention. No matter how much dread filled inside, she couldn't look away, and she had the sinking feeling that he was going to cause problems for her.
After 7 years, he was still pissed at her.
Bakugou had become a famous hero and proved himself to be exceptionally powerful. Yet, as she kept staring at him, she knew that he hadn't changed much from the 14 year old she fought in her freshman year in high school. He still hated her for holding back in their fight. He probably still hated Totodoki, too.
To her dismay, those angry red eyes started getting closer, and she had to refrain from punching him when he got within distance of doing so. Only villains usually gave her that look, and that was right before trying to dismember her.
Physically, he'd grown. He was taller now, still had the hair of a bird's nest, and powerful lean muscle. He wore a t-shirt with his agency's logo and black shorts.
"Long time no see." Bakugou stated in a low voice, and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Katsuki!" Ashita exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, and promptly pulled him into a hug. A dark blush appeared on his face and he hastily tried to gently push her off. "It's been too long, Katsuki!"
"Would you fuck off?" Bakugou requested awkwardly, which caused Ayami to chuckle. He sent her another dirty glare.
"It's been too long, Bakugou. Are you seeing anyone now?" Ashita asked, smiling up at him as she took a step back. Tenya put an arm around her shoulders and gave a friendly smile to his old classmate.
"I don't give a shit about dating." Bakugou said with a roll of his eyes. "Never have, never will."
"You and Ayami are so alike. She doesn't want to date people, either. Such a shame." Ashita said not-so-subtly.
Ayami didn't date for multiple reasons, but those reasons weren't exactly her choice. She couldn't date because it would put their life in danger, and she was busy enough as it was protecting herself and the shop. Dating would be too much.
"If you hold back again, I'll kick your ass." Bakugou told Ayami, narrowing his eyes at her.
"I didn't hold back. You were the better fighter." Ayami said with a shrug.
"I am the better fighter, but I can't prove that when people fight me half-assed."
"Ka-chan, take it easy. This is just a charity event." Midoria said, and his appearance caused Bakugou's disposition to worsen.
"Fuck you, nerd." Bakugou told him.
"Hey," A new voice spoke, accompanied by a tap on Ayami's shoulder. She turned and looked up, surprised to see class 1A's old teacher, Eraser Head. "Are you busy after the event? I was hoping to talk to you or your sister about something."
"What about?" Ayami asked.
"There has been an increase in guns getting into the city, and I wanted to ask some questions about different types of metal. I've gotten information about the chemistry of them, but I was hoping that you could give me other details, like how they can be applied in certain situations." Eraser Head explained.
"I can help you after the games." Ashita spoke up. "I experiment with more metals than Ayami does, so I would probably be better help."
"Great, I would appreciate that." Eraser Head said with a nod, and then walked off.
4.
That night, Ayami sat in the front of the metal shop, leaning back in her seat with the front two legs up. A phone was in her hands, perusing the latest news, and she kept an ear out for customers.
Usually by this hour, no one showed up. They just liked staying open this long for consistency reasons, and Ayami didn't mind being here for a couple of hours. She enjoyed the silence.
Their shop was divided into two parts: the front half, which is where they sold merchandise, and then the back half, which was the size of a small warehouse. The back was filled with all of their equipment, metal working stations, and so forth. That was also where they taught all of their classes.
All was quiet, as usual, until the bell rung on the front door.
The cold and icy glare of Katsuki Bakugou entered her shop, and she nearly dropped her phone.
"Why are you here?" She asked him.
"I want you to make me a fucking hero suit. Iida said you're good at it." He did, and shut the door behind him a little too hard. The jewelry in front of the window jingled.
"I don't make hero suits." Ayami responded calmly.
"He said that he saw your work. He said it looked top notch. He also said that you need business."
Ayami silently clenched her jaw, having a feeling that her sister found her gear and showed it to her husband, and that concerned her. She'd need to move her gear to her apartment upstairs to keep Ashita from showing that to other people.
"I'm not licenced to make hero costumes. What my sister showed Tenya, without my permission, was probably my private collection. It's for show, not actual use."
"Then why are you wearing it right now?"
Ayami glanced down at herself, wondering what he was talking about, and saw part of her forearm guard glinting against the light.
She always wore loose clothes in order to wear her guards unnoticed. On rare occasions when she relaxed, sometimes the sleeve rode up a tiny bit.
"Why would you want me to make you a costume, anyway? I told you that I'm not licensed. I have no training."
"You still fight, and you still train. If you're making gear to hide under your clothes, that means that you regularly wear your gear, so you'll be better at designing a costume than most designers." Bakugou reasoned.
"I'm your last resort, huh?" Ayami asked, and watched his shoulders fall. In an instant, that confident demeanor faded, and was replaced by a tired and dejected one. "Did you threaten your last costume designer, or something?"
"All heroes nowadays are going to freelance designers who customize their costumes. The other freelancers I've gone to have turned me down or their designs are shit."
"What non-freelancers? Name brand people?"
"Their costumes are too regulated and safe. They keep breaking on me in fights. I need something durable that I can count on. Something that's durable, flexible, and fire proof. You're a fighter, you have a similar quirk to me... will you make the damn suit?"
She pondered the idea for a while, thinking about her own guards, and could empathize with the way his big red eyes looked right then. Bakugou was scared. Just like her, he needed guards to make himself feel powerful and in control. He needed them for safety.
Except, when she used her guards, the only life she risked was her own. If her costume failed him in a fight and he got hurt, then she'd never forgive herself. Knowing how brutal Bakugou was in a fight, he'd break her guards in a day.
Even though she fought thugs all the time, their quirks usually weren't that intense. Bakugou would be fighting some of the most powerful villains and heroes, both for real and in training. He needed guards that could hold up against powerful opponents time and time again.
Ayami sighed, and set her phone under the counter.
"Just how badly do you need gear?" Ayami asked.
"There's been a surge in guns being smuggled into the city. Ideally, I need something bulletproof."
"I thought guns became outdated when quirks appeared?" Ayami asked.
"They're making a come back."
"... alright. I'll show you the kind of gear I have, and you can decide whether it's your style or not. I can make you something that can help you until you find someone better."
"I'm going to fucking pay you. I don't need your fucking pity." Bakugou spat.
"Letting you use my gear is a huge risk for me. She shouldn't have let Tenya see my fucking gear in the first place." Ayami spoke, unable to hold back the anger bubbling inside. That gear kept her alive, and she was apparently showing it off to random people without her permission.
Bakugou seemed about to say something, but she told him to 'shut up' and follow her.
5.
That night, as she sat in her apartment above the metal shop, she went over the notes that Bakugou had left her.
Bakugou couldn't draw for shit.
It looked like a 5 year old's drawing, and the handwriting was nearly illegible.
Luckily, he didn't want her to make him an entire metal suit. More specifically, he wanted pieces of metal that would be inconspicuous beneath his suit, along with other parts to go on the outside, which he hoped would keep his costume from catching on fire. Ideally, he also wanted a shield that he could take out at a moment's notice, could be hidden easily, light, and strong.
Judging by the conversation, Ayami had the weird feeling that Bakugou recently had a close call with death, or at least almost received a significant injury, which had him rattled. He wanted new gear to feel safe.
Sighing, she pulled up her sleeve and looked at her own protection. The piece of metal was relatively thin, molded to her arm, and strapped down with leather. In a fight against a powerful villain, this probably wouldn't do much to protect her, but this would protect her against something like a bullet or a small time villain. This also protected her clothes from her own quirk.
Pulling her sleeve back down, she picked up the notes and went over to her window sill, taking a seat and pressing her forehead against the cool window and gazing up at the full moon.
6.
Bakugou sighed, again, sitting outside with his 'friends' and thinking about his conversation from the previous day.
As they chatted away about whatever, he wondered about whether he'd made the right decision or not. Sure, heroes nowadays were going to freelance designers for costumes, but those people were usually trained in some way or at least had experience. Bakugou was going on his gut alone and Ashita's word, which wasn't much.
"Bakugou, you okay? You're more quiet than usual." Midoria asked, pissing him off.
"I'm fine, nerd. Just thinking about something." He waved off.
"Are you thinking about Ayami?" Iida asked with that stupid grin on his face.
"No." He lied.
"Did you ask her about the armor thing?" Iida asked.
"... maybe." Bakugou admitted with a glare.
"Is she going to do it?" Midoria asked.
"She said that she'd think about it and go over the notes I gave her."
"Did you at least type the notes?" Iida asked.
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Bakugou snapped.
"That your handwriting is terrible."
"Don't worry, Bakugou." Midoria told him. "Even if she refuses, there are other great companies out there. She's not the only costume designer out there. You could start asking other fire quirk heroes for recommendations."
"Did you get to see the armor that she's already made?" Iida asked him.
"A little." Bakugou nodded. "Have you?"
"Ashita showed me one time. Ayami hides her armor in the metal shop, and Ashita accidentally found it once. It looks great."
"Why did she give up on being a hero, anyway?" Bakugou asked. "She was definitely strong enough to be one."
Iida shrugged, "I don't know for sure, but Ashita thinks that it's because of her. That Ayami gave up fighting so that she could create a business with her sister."
"Huh." Bakugou muttered.
"Oh, Ashita wants you to join us for dinner this week. When are you free?" Iida inquired.
7.
The next day, Ayami was taking stock, when she heard her sister squeal from the shop portion of their building. Her squeals of excitement tended to border on screaming, and unless they were planned screamings (as in, Ayami was notified in advance that she was having friends visit), then Ayami always had to go and check on her.
Setting the large tongs back in their placeholder, she moved her clipboard to her side and made her way through the maze of a room to the front. As she got closer, she could hear the continued squeals of excitement from her sister.
Those squeals usually only happened when cute babies or friends from high school entered the shop, so when Ayami saw neither, she froze in place.
There were two people by the main entrance, and one of them was an older woman hugging her sister.
Her mother.
Their parents.
Both of them had aged since last she saw them, some 15 years ago, but they had aged well. Only a few wrinkles here and there, non-conspicuous clothing, and average hairstyles. Matching brown coats, long straight hair on her mother, and short cut hair on her father.
"Ayami, dear," Her father spoke.
"Shut it. Get out of our shop." Ayami told him.
"Ayami!" Ashita yelled.
"We're a clean business. I don't want you here." Ayami said as she stepped forward.
Unfortunately, Bakugou had the worst timing, and walked into their shop just then.
"Leave or else I'll make you leave. I don't want you anywhere near my sister or I." Ayami told them.
"These are our parents, Ayami. Stop being so harsh." Ashita told her awkwardly.
"I don't care. Either they leave, or I'll have my hero friend force them out." Ayami stated, referring to Bakugou.
Her father glanced from Ayami to Bakugou, not missing the 'hero' part.
He was a villain.
"We'll come back once you've calmed down. We're sorry for disturbing you." He said with a nod, and calmly guided his wife out of the shop with him.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Ashita screamed at her.
"We have a customer, Ashita. We'll talk later." Ayami told her, and looked back at Bakugou. "Sorry about that. Let's go to the back for measurements."
"I'm not your bodyguard, you know." He told her.
"I know. Sorry for involving you." She apologized, and brought him to the back of the shop to work.
8.
Towards the end of the day, a half hour before they were supposed to close shop, Ashita turned the 'open' sign to 'close', and closed the blinders so that they wouldn't be seen.
Ayami stood up and leaned against the counter, hands in her pockets.
"They're our parents, Ayami. How could you do that?!" Ashita yelled at her.
"They're villains, Ashita. They abandoned us." Ayami said, and felt herself begin to emotionally shut down. Her body went from a racing heartbeat to a calm one, and a cold sweat was beginning to form.
"They wanted to protect us, so they left us at a school with plenty of money and supplies. They wrote to us, every Christmas and birthday, and-"
"Never visited, never called, dumped us at a school in the middle of nowhere while they used their quirks to destroy other families and take everything they had. We were raised on blood money!"
"You always exaggerate!" Ashita yelled.
"No, I'm not!" Ayami yelled back.
"I'm the older sister, Ashita! Stop acting like I'm not!"
"Then stop acting like a child!"
"I'm pregnant with my second child and living my life. What the hell are you doing with yours, Ayami? You spend all of your time hiding in your room or making hero costumes in the shop. You never go out, you don't make friends, you do nothing but work for a dream that you won't even admit you have!"
"Those are not hero costumes, and don't change the subject! I don't want you going anywhere near our parents again!"
"I'm a grown woman and will do what I want! I want my children to have their grandparents in their life!"
"Then you're going to give them a shit life, because our parents will only bring pain and death!"
Their yelling match continued for a while longer, and resulted in slammed doors and storming off.
9.
Bakugou looked down at his arm, where Midoria had just punched him, and flexed his forearm. He moved his arm around, feeling for any dents in the metal, and was surprised by how little he felt. Whatever material Ayami used to keep the guard strapped on was extremely flexible yet durable. No matter which way he moved, nothing bunched up or felt awkward.
This metal, called Zio, was a newly created one only discovered about ten years ago and made public a few years ago. The metal acted like a sponge, able to take high amounts of sudden pressure and distribute that pressure through the rest of the piece, and any dents would reverse to the original position. The metal could be formed once it was heated enough, but until that melting point, it was completely solid. It also had a remarkably high melting point, which made this metal even more ideal for his situation.
To have an entire costume of this would be expensive, but worth it.
He was in his agency's gym that day, and Midoria was the only one with him. This particular gym was the smaller of the two in that building, having only enough space to have two sparring partners practice.
"That kind of metal is hard to get." Midoria commented. "How did Ayami manage to get her hands on that?"
"I don't know. Didn't ask." Bakugou said with a shrug.
10.
Ayami received an unexpected phone call the next day.
As she looked in the full length mirror, she pressed the phone to ear, and kept frowning at herself.
"Eraser Head? What's up?" She asked, and grunted in annoyance when she found yet another bruise on her skin that she needed to hide. The strappy red dress that Ashita was bullying her to wear was much too revealing, and required that she couldn't wear her guards. All of her muscles were also very prominent in the dress, and although she was fine with showing muscle in most outfits, none of that was flattering with this style of dress.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I was hoping that you could clear up something for me." Eraser Head spoke. "I asked your sister about a special type of metal called 'Zio', and she said that your shop has only ordered about 5 lbs over the last year. When I called the only distributer in Japan, they said that you're their biggest customer. They say that you've bought over 1,000 lbs of Zio over the last year alone."
"That sounds about right. My sister uses Zio for her large scale installation sculptures. They're durable in storms and easy to mold into different shapes. Ashita probably thought you were talking about a different type of metal."
There was a pause on the other end. "Is there any reason you can think of that your sister would lie about that? She seemed sure about her estimate when I talked to her."
"She's not good with numbers. She's an artist, and so long as she gets the materials, she doesn't pay attention to amounts. I'm sure it was an honest mistake."
She heard a crash downstairs in the shop. They were closed that day.
"Excuse me, I have to go." Ayami said, and hung up.
11.
Bakugou felt horribly out of place.
The two story house was well kept. The guests were in suits and dresses. The food smelled fancy. Candles were lit.
From what he could tell, this was a family dinner, not a friend dinner. Midoria had been invited to this but bailed at the last minute, leaving him to be the only person in the living room that wasn't related to Ashita or Iida. Both of Ashita's parents were there, Iida's parents were there, his grandparents were there, his brothers were there, his brother's wives were there, and all of their children were there.
Bakugou awkwardly sat in the corner of the living room with his phone, trying to stay out of everyone's way, and tried to act like he didn't feel. He tried to act like he was perfectly at home here and chose to sit alone in the corner. He chose to be here on this stupid fucking night.
He couldn't wait for the dinner to be done. He also knew that if he tried to leave early, then Tenya's pregnant wife would stop him, make a big deal, and force him to stay.
Nobody would sit down for dinner until Ayami got there. She was a half hour late.
Bakugou sent her another text telling her to get her ass over there.
Just after sending the text, he heard a knock on the front door followed by the squeals of Ashita. Those squeals shifted to anger, and was followed by some kind of strangled sound. "Why the hell aren't you wearing the dress I gave you?"
"It got caught on some scrap metal as I was leaving and tore."
When Ayami entered the living room, she seemed just as surprised as Bakugou had been when he got here. Her gaze wandered to the multiple bodies in the room and her hand awkwardly raised to give them a wave.
She'd been in a fight. Bakugou had seen enough women cover up their injuries with make up to know what it looked like. Unless the others looked closely, he doubted that anyone else would notice. She did a good job in blending and hiding the injuries.
They all moved to the dining room to eat, and somehow, he ended up getting seated next to Ayami. She went straight for the wine and made nervous glances to her parents frequently.
After they brought the food out to the table, Ashita stood up and clinked her small fork with her glass of sparkling cider.
"I have an announcement." Ashita said with a smile, and put a long hand on his father's shoulder. "I've brought you all here to share some great news. My parents are officially going to be part of the Ai Metalworks business. I made them official partners today."
"That's wonderful!" Most of the room started congratulating her and her parents, talking about what that meant, asking questions, and so forth. As they did so, they finally started letting people put food on their plates.
Bakugou was about to pass a basket of biscuits to his left, but when they didn't take it, they looked closer.
He had never seen anyone so livid before. Ayami sat in her chair, slightly slouched with a wine glas in her hand, and she was glaring daggers at her sister. At that rate, he wouldn't be surprised if she broke the glass in her hand.
He tapped her hand with the basket, getting her attention, and that icy cold glare turned their rays to him. He froze, unsure how to handle that intensity, and waited for her to respond.
After a few seconds he nudged her hand again with the basket, and she finally responded. She got a biscuit and passed it along.
Bakugou wondered if that's what he looked like when he was angry, and contemplated apologizing to people for making them feel that way. If he wasn't so lazy or actually cared, he might have.
12.
The next day, Ayami closed shop for the morning.
She sat in her small apartment above the shop, sitting with her dining room chair turned backwards and her arms resting on the backside. Her chin rested on her folded arms, and her eyes on the dirty rags hanging from the pantry door.
Ayami wasn't poor, but she wasn't rich, either. Most of her money went towards armor to keep her alive and repairs to the shop from repeated burglaries and attacks over the years.
Most of her home consisted of gifts from other people. Ashita had connections everywhere and helped a lot of people, so she ended up with things she didn't need and passed them along to Ayami. Because of that, her apartment was mismatched in terms of furniture and decoration.
Somehow, those rags fit perfectly in her home. As if they were part of the decor.
She'd never come so close to being killed before.
Most of her parents' debt collectors just wanted to 'rough her up' in order to show her parents that they meant business. They damaged her shop to get to them. They hurt, beat, and threatened Ayami's well being routinely in order to get to her parents.
After the dinner last night, she spent most of her night cleaning up the shop downstairs from the fight. There was still blood in the alleyway outside the shop, but she'd let the rain handle that.
Without her armor, she couldn't use her quirk without being exposed. She was caught off guard and couldn't fight back properly. They held her down, tried to strangle her… they could have done much worse than beat her up if they'd wanted to. Five guys against one girl.
Ayami had been wearing a skimpy red dress, beaten to near death by a group of men, and had been completely vulnerable.
And now, the people responsible for that were 'partners' in the business that she'd helped create. Officially, Ashita was in charge of their business, since her name was on all the paperwork and she's the one that took loans out for it. Ayami bought this building with loans. The arrangement was going to save them thousands of dollars in the long run, and since Ashita was starting a family here and Ayami had no interest in moving elsewhere, that made the long term investment worth it.
Except, now that their parents were in the picture… Ayami refused to run a business with criminals. She didn't want any business ties to her parents when they eventually got caught. Involving Tenya's family of heroes had been horrendous and beyond disrespectful. Ashita was flaunting their criminal parents in front of their noses. If anyone found out about their parents' identity, that would tarnish the Iida family name.
Officially, Ashita owned all of the equipment downstairs. She owned everything purchased through the business. Ayami owned the building.
She'd need to find renters. There was another apartment on this floor that she could rent out, and that was just being used as a workout space. Once Ashita moved out with all the equipment, she could move the workout equipment down there for the short term.
That meant that she wouldn't be able to make Katsuki's costume, and she needed another source of income. That also meant that she wouldn't be able to make anymore gear for herself.
Her gaze stayed on the remains of that dress, and she slowly inhaled the scent of fall from her open window. Leaves were turning colors outside, drifting to the ground, and filling the streets.
She briefly imagined herself in that alley again. Wearing those rags. Her pale skin poking out from beneath that cloth and the dead leafs blanketing her corpse.
Then, she imagined that body as Ashita.
"Tenya can protect her." Ayami reminded herself outloud, and sighed tiredly. Her breathing was slightly hitched from the night before.
The reason people targeted Ayami was because she was single and lived alone. No one targeted Ashita because she was married to a hero. A famous hero from a hero family, nonetheless.
Ayami had spent her entire life protecting her big sister. She'd spent her entire life lying, fighting, and carrying on in pain without a word.
She sighed tiredly, her rib cage spasming in pain as she did so, and she answered her phone when the ringtone filled the air.
Pressing the phone to her ear, she tiredly said "hello?"
"Hello Ayami, sorry to bother you again," Eraser Head spoke into the phone. "But I wanted to ask you another thing about your business."
"It's not going to be my business for long, but sure. Ask away."
"What do you mean?"
"Family drama. What do you need?"
"... well, Ashita brought me some receipts this morning, backing up what she told me about the 5 lbs of Zio metal. They still contradict what the manufacturer told me about how much he's sold to you, but Ashita is claiming that she has the correct number. She's adamant that the manufacturer is wrong, and you haven't purchased much metal from the company."
Ayami sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I have to go through some records for an unrelated thing. I'll call Ashita and see what she's talking about, and get you accurate records if you need them. What do you need receipts for?"
"Well, Ashita brought them over without them being requested. I'm honestly just looking for some answers and trying to track down where this metal went."
"Do you think we're somehow tied to the increase in guns? They're using Zio, too, aren't they?"
"... I'm just trying to get answers. But yes, it is related to that. A friend of mine in the police force asked me to help find the source of weapons for the gangs, and since they're primarily made from Zio, I'm searching for places that have purchased it."
"Ashita primarily makes sculptures with the metal, which could hypothetically be melted down and turned into weapons. If you think it'll help, I can compile a list of all the clients who have received sculptures from us with that specific metal."
"That would be extremely helpful. Thank you, Ayami."
"No problem. Anything I can do to help." Ayami said, and added a smile out of habit. "Is there anything else?"
"That's all. Please get the list to me soon- it could save lives."
"We've purchased a lot of Zio over the years, Eraser Head. It could take a few days, at least, to sort through all of them."
"That's fine. Take care." He said, and hung up.
Ayami groaned and rested her forehead on her forearms, not looking forward to the next few days.
13.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T MAKE MY COSTUME!?" Katsuki yelled at the top of his lungs, barging into the studio with little warning and causing the door to smash into the wall. The door handle clicked and fell, clinking to the ground and rolling away across the concrete floor.
Ayami hopped up to sit on one of the many workstations, the sturdy table holding her weight easily, and she calmly looked him in the eye.
"I'm quitting and Ashita is going to be moving the business elsewhere. She's the one that gets the metal, and she's the one that owns all of this equipment. I'm sorry, but I can't make your gear."
"Why can't you just buy more equipment?" He demanded.
"It's too expensive, and I'm going to be tight on cash as it is. I'm going to be renting out the space upstairs and have to get a job somewhere. I doubt that I'll be able to get any renters for the shop, given how often it gets broken into, and there's no way that I could afford to replace this stuff."
"What if I rent the apartment upstairs and paid for the equipment and materials? Would you make my costume then?"
Ayami leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees, slowly thinking and trying to make sure that she understood him correctly.
"Do you have any idea how much this equipment cost?" Ayami asked him.
"I'm on a hero's salary. I can afford it." He said confidently, and strode forward. "I pay for the equipment and materials, you make me the damn costume and sign an exclusionary contract. You only make costumes for me."
"... and you also want to move in upstairs?"
"This place is closer to my work anyway. I don't really give a shit where I live so long as I can sleep and eat there."
"... alright, Katsuki. I'll show you the place upstairs and you can think about this for a few days while I get the paperwork together. It'll be a few weeks until I can get your costume together."
"Just get it done." He grumbled.
14.
When Ashita showed up to work that night, the shop was still closed.
Ayami sat waiting at her seat, her feet up on the counter and crossed at the ankles, and paperwork sitting neatly on the counter.
When Ashita walked in, she was wearing her usual pretty outfit. A cutesy blue dress, black shoes, and large dark blue purse filled with various objects. She liked to carry just about everything with her at all times, "just in case".
"What's going on?" Ashita asked with wide, innocent eyes.
"You're going to sell me my share of the business and move out." Ayami said calmly.
"What are you talking about?" Ashita asked.
"Either you sell me my shares or I evict you from my building for associating with criminals. I refuse to do business with our parents."
"They're our parents, Ayami. They just need work."
"Then get them a job at the barber shop down the street, not entire portions of our clean business. I'm done covering for them and I refuse to have a paper trail with them. It's bad enough that I've been actively lying about my quirk for my entire life, which is insanely illegal, but I'm not going to ruin my financial for them. You shouldn't, either. If they get caught then it'll tarnish the entire reputation of your husband's family."
"You're over exaggerating as usual, Ayami." Ashita said with a flushed face. She was unusually pale, and stood still by the door.
"Mom and dad have been screwing over criminals for years, and those criminals have been getting payback by repeatedly vandalizing this store. Why do you think we've been the target for so much vandalism and burglary over the years?"
"Fine. Fine. Leave. I don't care." Ashita said, and walked over to the counter to start reading the forms.
"... you're seriously picking our parents over me?" Ayami asked her.
"They don't treat me like a child."
"You sold entire portions of our business to other people without even talking to me, and you've been giving false information to Eraser Head about a police investigation. I'm not in the wrong here."
"How did you know about Eraser Head?" She asked suddenly, looking up in alarm.
"He called me. You told him that we only purchased 5 lbs of Zio over the last year, and since the manufacturer has records showing we purchased more than that, Eraser Head called me to clear things up."
"What did you tell him?"
"That you made a mistake and that I'd get him proper information in a few days. He's going to be-"
"Why didn't you stick up for me?" Ashita snapped.
"It's not a big deal. I told him you're not good with numbers. It's an easy fix."
"Why didn't you stick up for me? I'm your sister!" Ashita yelled, and signed the paper. "Happy!?"
Ashita turned on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Ayami ended up spending her night in the basement going over records and receipts.
15.
Days went by, and her time was split between going over records, moving equipment, and doing paperwork.