A/N: And we introduce our therapist. I was tempted to make her either Cordelia from Angel, Phoebe from Charmed, or Lydia from Heroes but I decided to go with OC, since that was what was suggest. This does give me more freedom with the character.

On a side note, Heroes could totally be seen as a prequel to Boku no Hero, even though its live action and not at all an anime. Same basic premise, except at the beginning rather than the implied centuries of Boku no Hero.

Kyoka is from the word Kyokan which, according to translate, means Empathy. Hato, also according to Google, means heart.

Published: 2/12/2018

Warnings: None


Chapter 3

The Empath and the School

Kyoka Hato did not have a Quirk suited for battle. She had always know that. Her Quirk wasn't really suited for hero work. True, it had been a rather annoying blow when her dream had been to be a hero, but with her abilities, it just wasn't possible.

Empathy.

Feeling the emotions of others.

That was Kyoka's gift. It was also her curse.

She could feel the emotions of others. She would drown in them if she wasn't careful, drown in the beating flow of the hearts of others. That was why her gift was so very, very dangerous. That was why she was not suited for hero work.

For one, the last time she had tried back when she had attended UA, she had… Maybe accidentally gotten swept up by a villains emotions and ended up cackling like crazy while she lit things on fire in every direction?

Yeahhhh, no. Her Quirk was not suited for hero work.

It was, however, suited for this.

Mitsuki Bakugou growled at her. The woman leaned forward, palm on her knee, her lips twisted in a snarl. At first glance, this woman seemed wild. Out of control. Destructive. Kyoka could see more, however. She could see more, just like she could see more when she had looked at this woman's child.

She could feel more.

Those burning emotions…

This woman was worried. That was what it boiled down to. Worried, about her child and worried about the path he was going to take and worried about how she hadn't seen it before. That was good. There's no fixing a problem when you ignore the problem. If you pretend it isn't there, there will never be a solution.

Mitsuki Bakugou wanted a solution to her son's rage. The impatience burning in her, though… Now, that might be an issue. Kyoka was good at her job, but even she was no magical miracle worker, which it seemed was exactly what Mitsuki was expecting out of her.

"Well? Out with it! How do I fix my kid!" Mitsuki snapped.

Kyoka sighed, setting down her notepad.

"That," Kyoka gestured in Mitsuki's general direction, "is the first thing we need to repair."

"Excuse me?" Mitsuki's face was rapidly growing red.

Mother like son.

"Your child has no concept of what proper force is. In his own words, it's how he's 'being raised'. Meaning, he doesn't see anything wrong with his own actions not just because the school he's attending encourages them, but because he's also emulating someone he trusts. In this case, his mother." Kyoka explained.

It took only seconds for the words to sink in. Mitsuki's face, and her emotions, seemed to rage with all the changes of a roller coaster. Shock, anger, denial, rage.

Mitsuki shot up, fist clenched. Kyoka didn't move. Moving at this moment would not be advised. She'd be liable to provoke more out of Mitsuki, which is not what she wanted to do.

Kyoka wanted to help this woman and, from the emotions she could feel bubbling along the surface, that was the same thing Mitsuki wanted. Her pride, however, would be the biggest obstacle.

An obstacle that Kyoka didn't think would be too difficult to overcome.

Maybe if Mitsuki had come for herself, then yes. That burning pride would burn any bridge, any path she tried to forge for this woman. However, this woman was not here for herself. She was not here to help herself. She didn't care about herself.

This was a mother, concerned for a child, and that made all the difference in the world.

"Excuse me? I'd like you to repeat that. Slowly." Mitsuki's smirk promised retribution, bluntly proving Kyoka's own point. This woman was a wild card.

"I've said something that displeased you. Your first response, your first resort, is to insinuate violence. To threaten. Why, then, do you think your son would have a different response?" Kyoka's words cut across the room. Mitsuki's expression went slack as her eyes darted unbelievable towards her own fist, somehow surprised by it. Surprised to see it lifted in the air, ready to attack.

Much like Mitsuki before her, Kyoya leaned forth.

"My job, Mrs. Bakugou, is to help your child. And, that's exactly what I'm going to do, but I need you to help me help him. You're his mother, and you're his role model. I can help him, but not without you. Help me, Mrs. Bakugou. Help me help your son."

Mitsuki's face scrunched. There it was. That warring pride, urging her to turn and leave. Urging her to scream. Urging her on that there was nothing wrong with her actions, nothing wrong with what she was doing.

And there was the counter.

The feeling of fear running in her veins as her boy, as her baby, took a practical swan dive into the darkness.

Pride versus motherhood.

The fist dropped as Mitsuki fell back, falling easily into her chair again.

Kyoka smiled.

"Thank you, Mrs. Bakugou. Now… We have much we need to discuss."


Of all the stupid things Katsuki had been forced to do, this was downright the stupidest. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Completely fucking stupid. Annoying too. Just because that useless bitch was a useless bitch, he had to suffer too?

Katsuki resisted the urge to glare at Deku as the four of them made their way through the school. Glaring at Deku would get him reprimanded. Again. Why was beyond Katsuki. Didn't anyone understand? Why didn't any of them understand? Katsuki was doing Izuku a favor.

Deku was going to get himself hurt if he kept up with this idiot plan of his. Deku was convinced he could be a hero, even without a Quirk, and Deku was wrong. He was wrong, he was wrong, he was wrong.

All he was gonna do was get himself hurt.

Deku was an idiot if he thought otherwise. Katsuki was being a good friend by showing him that he couldn't be a hero. The teachers saw that, so why couldn't his parents?

Katsuki stubbornly pushed down the look of horror on Inko-baachan's face. He stubbornly pushed away his father's words, painful and blunt and cutting into him. He stubbornly pushed down Deku's face, covered in snot and tears and confusion.

Confusion, because why was his best friend attacking him?

That useless nerd was weak. Weak and pathetic and beneath him, as far as Katsuki was concerned. Deku, though, didn't get the memo. No. Instead, Deku thought Katsuki was the weak one. Deku looked down on him, again and again, so it was only right for Katsuki to show that nerd his place in the world.

Katsuki was knocked out of his musings by his dad who literally kicked open the door to their classroom. Arms crossed and a huff leaving his lips, Katsuki did not pout as he turned his head away.

And they told him he was too violent. Hm. Buncha hypocrites.

Mizuki-sensei looked up from the board, his silver hair falling swinging as he turned to them.

"Yes?" Then, Mizuki's eyes darted down, lighting up. "Ah! Young Katsuki-Kun. And… Izuku. You're late." Mizuki shot a frown towards Deku, who, as usual, hid behind his mother.

Tch. Pathetic.

Katsuki watched as his dad stomped forward. Mizuki-sensei obviously had no sense of self preservation as he didn't seem to notice the threat in his father's eyes until a hand slapped him clean across the face.

A sharp gasp cut across the classroom.

Someone had slapped sensei. A parent had slapped sensei. Not just any parent. Katsuki's dad, the dad of the star of the class. Katsuki, smart, determined, with an awesome badass Quirk and predestined for greatness just because of his genetics. Katsuki's dad.

Mizuki-sensei backed away, shooting a glare at dad.

"Mr. Bakugou, what is the meaning-"

"You, and the rest of this school, are lucky I'm not setting my wife on you all. She's far less forgiving than I am." Dad interrupted coldy.

Katsuki shivered. He couldn't help it. Dad was usually the calm one in the family. He was usually the one that made things settle down when they were going out of control. The straight man between Katsuki and his mom.

Him being pissed was new. It was new, and just a bit terrifying. He didn't get angry like Katsuki or mom, though. No. Dad's anger… It was more dangerous.

That calm rage. The kind that destroys completely.

Deku, on the other hand, wasn't scared at all. Hn. Typical nerd. Didn't know when to be scared or what to be scared of. Instead, he was looking up towards Katsuki's dad with the same shining gaze that the idiot typically reserved for his fanboying moments.

Dumbass.

"Sir, I have no idea what this is about, but I'm sure we can discuss this civilly and humanely, we can-"

"Is it true?"

Inko-baachan's voice cut across the room. Every voice fell silent, including the muttering of the extras. Katsuki was impressed. Even he couldn't get the extras to be that quiet. What were their names, again? Katsuki wasn't sure. Meh. Didn't matter.

They weren't important, so why should Katsuki remember them at all?

He failed to apply the same logic to Izuku, who Katsuki could never forget even if he tried.

Mizuki-sensei turned to her.

"Is what true, ma'am?"

Even Katsuki could hear the disgust in the man's voice. It wasn't so much aimed at Inko-baachan though. It was the same tone of voice Mizuki-sensei took when talking about Deku. He was associating Inko-baachan with Deku. No, that wasn't it. It was more of an accusation.

An accusation that Deku being so useless was her fault.

Suddenly, Katsuki realized how pissed off that tone made him. Inko-baachan was the greatest and she made the best snacks. How dare this asshole talk to her like that?

How dare he talk to Izuku like that?

Katsuki paused. Wait… What?

Katsuki glanced at the nerd who was still looking up at Katsuki's dad as if the man had stripped aside his shitty work uniform and revealed he had been All Might all along. Why would Katsuki care if someone harmed Deku? They were just teaching him a lesson, right.

Katsuki tilted his head.

Hm.

Screw it. Only he was allowed to teach that shit head lessons. Anyone else would meet the end of one of his explosions. His path decided, Katsuki turned his attention back to Inko-baachan.

"Did you praise the children in this room for bullying my child?"

Bullying? It wasn't bullying. That's what villains did. Katsuki wasn't a villain. He was being a hero. Heroes help people, and he was helping Deku. Right?

Inko-baachan's face flashed in his mind. Dad's cold reprimanding eyes followed. And De… Izuku's face. Tears and snot covering his face like usual because he was a crybaby, and he'd always been a crybaby for as long as Katsuki remembered.

But, that time had been different. For the first time, looking at those tears didn't make Katsuki boil over like they usually did. For the first time, thinking back to it, Katsuki wondered why. He wondered what had been different. It was just the same as always, right?

"Does your friend look protected?"

Except, that time, Katsuki had been the cause. A shudder ran along his skin, although why was beyond Katsuki. It didn't matter. None of it mattered at all. He was doing the right thing, no matter what his stupid parents thought. He was being a good friend. He was being a good person.

No matter how shitty he felt, he was doing the right thing.

"Praise? Oh, ma'am, what would ever give you the idea?" Mizuki-sensei shot a condescending look towards Deku. Katsuki blinked. Huh? Why would Mizuki-sensei lie? There's only one reason to lie. You only lie when you have something so hide. So, why was he lying?

Unless… He was doing something wrong. But, if Mizuki-sensei was doing something wrong, didn't that mean that Katsuki was too?

Katsuki shot Deku a look.

Nah.

That Quirkless loser needed to learn his place before he got himself hurt. Katsuki would rather that he do the hurting. Sure, it made Deku cry, but it was better that way. Katsuki wouldn't hurt him too bad. He wouldn't hurt him as bad as a real villain would. A real villain would kill him.

Years later in an alternate reality where none of their parents noticed, Katsuki eventually forgot the reason he had begun this, and, with a twisted smile, told Deku to take a swan dive as one last twisted resort to get him to stop trying to be something he could never be.

"From my son." Dad cut it. He was starting to look a bit like mom as his skin started to color. Wow. That was pretty scary actually.

Mizuki-sensei froze, his eyes darting to Katsuki.

Katsuki took this as his que.

"Yeah, Mizuki-sensei! You told me it was a good idea 'cause Deku's should know their place!"

At Katsuki's words, the entire class burst into mutters about similar incidents. Mizuki-sensei lost all color to the point where his skin matched his hair.

Inko-baachan took a single step forward. That step seemed to shake the damn building. As one, the entire class froze, the mutterings of the random shit they'd done to Deku dying down as a dangerous aura began to surround Inko-baachan. For a second, Katsuki didn't see her. No. Instead, he saw twisted metal gates, screams, and fire.

Screw his dad being the scary one, holy fucking hell. Mizuki-sensei, who bore the full brunt of the killing intent leaking from her, looked like he was on the verge of pissing himself. Katsuki's respect for his sensei plummeted. How pathetic. Even Deku had never done that shit.

Then again…

Katsuki shot a discrete glance at Inko-baachan. Could he really blame the man?

The entire room began to tremble.

"Inko," dad proved he had balls of steel by calling out to the woman. Mizuki-sensei let out a pathetic whimper as Inko-baachan turned to look at dad. Her eyes still danced with that burning fire. The flame of a pissed off mama wolf.

Katsuki glanced at Deku.

"Why aren't you that badass?"

Deku, however, didn't respond. The stars in his eyes might as well have gone supernova. Tch. Stupid nerds.

A look passed between the two parents. Then, at long last, Inko-baachan let out a breath and the killing intent fell. The whole class have a single satisfied sigh of relief at the act. With a wave of her hand, several things darted forth, all into Inko-baachan's hands. Katsuki recognized them as his things and the nerds things.

Attraction of small objects didn't sound that impressive, but with a pull like that Inko-baachan would technically pull a dozen small items to make time thing big fall. Yikes.

Inko-baachan shot a brutal glare at Mizuki-sensei. This time, the stench was unmistakable. Katsuki wasn't the only one to scrunch his nose at disgust.

"Our children will no longer be attending this school. A school is a place of learning that helps shape our children for the future and you, Mizuki, are no teacher. You're a monster, and I swear to you, as a mother, I will bring the whole world down on your head for what you've done to my child!"

With that final declaration, Inko-baachan spun. Dad shot one last cold look towards the quivering Mizuki before following right behind, a hand on Katsuki's shoulders pushing him forth.

The silence lasted only until they reached the hall. Then, the mutters began. And so began the downfall of their elementary school.