Senbazuru

by Genosha's requieM

Everyone and their mother knew the old legend that if you make one thousand origami cranes, the gods will grant you one wish. Well, four-year-old Katsuki has a wish and his one-month allowance. There's nothing that can stop him, no matter what his teachers and his dad's doctors say.

"I can't play with you today, Izuku," Katsuki said, quickly cramming papers and pencils into his bag. "I got something I need to do."

"Huh?" Izuku cried, scrambling to catch up to his friend. "I thought we were going to my house to play today."

"We were," Katsuki said easily. He threw over the outer flap of his backpack and got up, not bothering to latch the flap to the bag's bottom. "But I need to do something. It's important."

With wide eyes, Izuku gasped, "What could be more important than being heroes?"

Katsuki didn't answer and just walked out of the classroom and towards the school's exit. He heard his best friend call out his name before he heard Izuku's rushing footsteps. Katsuki guessed that he could understand why Izuku asked. They loved playing heroes together. It was their thing, and calling it off so suddenly like that was probably jarring to Izuku. Not telling him probably wasn't helping either.

"C'mooooon, Kacchan," Izuku whined. He grabbed onto Katsuki's hand and started shaking it, as if he could shake the answer out, "Tell me! Pleeeeease?"

It wasn't like he was trying to hide what he was going to do. He just... wasn't sure if he wanted someone else to know, which was so unlike Katsuki, who was never one to not talk about what he was thinking or doing. He was amazing, just like everything he did, and he always made sure everyone knew that. This wasn't any different. He was still amazing-the best, in fact-and still did amazing things. So, he should be sharing what he was going to do, but he wasn't. Why?

"Kacchan?"

He wasn't ashamed or anything, and he definitely wasn't afraid. At least, that was what he kept telling himself. He knew that was a lie though, and Katsuki hated lying, and... and... Screw it, who even liked doing what they hated anyway? Katsuki was scared. There, he admitted it.

"Kacchan?" Izuku worriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

What was Katsuki so afraid of? This was Izuku of all people. He couldn't be afraid of his own best friend, and he wasn't. That was the truth. The best way he could put it was that he was afraid of other people. Well, not the people but their reactions. Would they be mean? Would they try to make fun of him? Would they make fun of his...

"My dad," Katsuki muttered, tightly gripping the straps of his backpack, "My dad is more important than being a hero right now."

"Your dad? Did something happen to Uncle Masaru?"

Katsuki often said that to be strong was to be the best. Being weak meant you were lame. Katsuki fully believed that. It was why Katsuki was so great himself. So then why, why did this happen? It wasn't fair. This went against what he believed. The strong were destined for greatness, and the weak were lame-os, but... his dad...

Bakugou Masaru was not lame, and Katsuki would beat up anyone who said otherwise. Thankfully, though, Katsuki knew that Izuku thought his dad was just as amazing as Katsuki-Katsuki didn't know how to feel about that. He was the best, and there couldn't be two bests-so, Katsuki let himself believe that his friend wouldn't go blabbing about something like this.

"He's sick," Katsuki reluctantly admitted, "He's been coughing a lot lately and always seems to have a fever. We went to the hospital the other day, and the doctors said there was something wrong with him. Something about having a weak inside and getting sick easily."

"Oh," Izuku wilted at that. He liked Katsuki's dad a lot. Katsuki was pretty sure it was because his dad wasn't around. "Then, are you going home to be with him?"

"No, I'm not," Katsuki said, regaining his composure. "I'm going to the store and then somewhere else. Somewhere not near Dad."

"Kacchan!" Izuku gasped at that, clearly offended. "Why don't you want to go be with him?"

"Because, Izuku, Dad can't see what I'm going to do."

"Which is!?" Izuku crossed his armed, a pouty scowled clearly defined on his face.

"Senbazuru."

Izuku's stance loosened up when he heard the word. He had a dumbfound expression on his face now. It made Katsuki snort in amusement.

A long time ago, Katsuki's mom had told him how everyone and their mother knew the legend of senbazuru. Make one thousand paper origami cranes, and the gods will grant you one wish. Even if it was just a legend, Katsuki thought it sounded cool. Months later, Katsuki now had a wish he wanted to be fulfilled. He had a wish to be granted and he had his monthly allowance to help him pull it off. His plan was foolproof. Nothing could stop him from getting that wish.

Bit first, he apparently had to explain the one thousand crane legend to his best friend.

---

Because Musutafu's shopping district was too far away from the school and their homes, Katsuki had to settle for the hyakuen shop near the ice cream parlor he and Izuku would sometimes visit. When they entered the shop, the boys greeted the owner and quickly set out to wander the isles in search of origami paper. In the end, it was Izuku who found them.

"Look, Kacchan!" Izuku excitedly shouted to him from three isles over. Neither boy was very tall yet, so if Izuku had been holding up a package and waving it around in the air, Katsuki wouldn't have known. It was something the green-haired boy was prone to doing though.

As Katsuki moved to that isle, he could hear Izuku muttering about how there were the solid colors of the rainbow and some sheets with patterns on them. When Katsuki grabbed a ream with the patterns, he made a face and put them back. The patterns were nice, he guessed, but they weren't what he wanted. For the time being, he elected to get the package of solids. It even had different shades of some colors.

After paying for the paper and some snacks, the boys headed to the park that was in between their houses. It was the perfect spot for Katsuki's project. There would be no one to bug him while he folded the cranes, and it was nice out, too. Katsuki spied an unoccupied table and nudged his friend's side, pointing to the empty space when Izuku looked at him. The two raced over to the table and heaved their bags onto it with loud thumps.

Katsuki quickly took out the paper from the store and one of his bags of habanero rings. Buying three bags of those spicy Bokun rings might have been a bit much, but they were the best. Izuku always disagreed, but that was because he had a baby tongue. Looking over, Katsuki saw Izuku tearing open his deep-fried snack. Katsuki personally didn't see the appeal in something that had been dunked in so much grease but ended up with so little flavor. At least Katsuki's snack had a taste to it, but he supposed Izuku liked it because it reminded him of katsudon.

"Hey, Kacchan," Izuku asked through a mouth full of chips, "how are you gonna keep track of all the cranes?"

"With string, duh," Katsuki rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna tie them together. There's no way I can just cram them into something. It'd be too obvious, and this is supposed to be like a surprise."

Izuku's brow creased in confusion. "Shouldn't we have gotten some string at the store then?"

"Nah, there's plenty at the house. Besides, I still dunno how I want them to look." When he saw Izuku's continued confused look, Katsuki explained, "You can string the cranes up any way you want. You can put them all on one long string or hang them on a bunch of strings. The long one's called a dragon, and the bunch of strings would be like a curtain."

"A curtain?"

"Yeah. Y'know how people had those beaded curtains a long time ago? It'd be like that."

"Oh, wow! You sure know a lot about this, Kacchan!" Izuku's eyes practically had stars in them. This was why Katsuki was the best. He knew things that others had no idea were even a thing. Well, others who don't look stuff up on the internet. "Do you know which one you like more?"

"Not really, but I was thinking of maybe making it look like one of those fancy lights. Like the big lights that they have in mansions!" Katsuki tried to explain. His hands curved above his head to make a circle shape. He brought his hands down about and make the circle smaller. He did this again with a pout on his lips, trying to think of the word.

Izuku scratched his head and asked, "Uh, a lava lamp?"

"No, those are the things with the neon goop in them." What was the word? Katsuki knew he had heard it before, but he couldn't remember it. Katsuki continued to make the shape with his hands over again, intensely staring at the space as if the word would magically come to him.

"Ugh!" Katsuki screamed. He violently grabbed his backpack and got out his notebook and a pencil. Flipping to a blank page in the back, he started to draw the shape of the light. Three rings that got smaller the farther they went down. Katsuki harshly drew down lines from the rings and added little dashes to represent the cranes. He dropped the pencil and shoved the notebook across the table to Izuku.

"Oh!" Izuku beamed, "it's like a backwards wedding cake."

"Kinda," Katsuki grumbled. He glared at the page, willing the word to make itself know. He eventually just huffed and stuff a ring in his mouth. He would just have to ask his mom later when he got home. He didn't have time to be worrying about the dumb word right now. Katsuki shoved another ring in his mouth before reaching over to the packet of paper again. As he was peeling the plastic off, he made a face. "It's not the right word, but it's gonna be like a wind chime."

Izuku grunted his understanding through another mouthful of deep-fried crap.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" Katsuki asked as he folded a red sheet in half. He folded the paper in half four times, twice diagonal and twice like a hot dog. Katsuki unfolded the paper after each fold, making sure to end up with four squares with creases in their centers that came from the diagonal folds.

"Course, Kacchan!" Izuku happily agreed. His friend's green eyes tracked each of Katsuki's hand movements, trying to memorize the folds. "What is it?"

"Can you see how many strings I should put on each ring?" Katsuki folded along one of the squares' edges to collapse the paper down onto one square. He set that page down and grabbed another. The new piece was white.

Izuku took the discarded paper and saw there were four flaps that came from the middle. He grinned as he pinched two flaps to make a little puppet. One was trapped between his index and middle finger, and the flap opposite was between his thumb and ring finger. He made the paper mouth move as he said, "Sure. How many cranes are you putting on each string?"

"Uh," Katsuki stopped his folding. Just like the mystery word, he couldn't remember the number, but thankfully, he wrote this part down. He jammed his hand into one of his pant pockets and tugged out a sticky note. Katsuki had written down the number after dinner last night when his parents weren't looking. He passed Izuku the sticky and said, "Google said, 'Forty strings with twenty-five cranes on each.'"

Izuku took the note and opened his own backpack. Like Katsuki, he got out his notebook and flipped to the back page. Katsuki watched as Izuku wrote SENBAZURU at the top. Izuku pulled Katsuki's notebook closer to him and started copying Katsuki's three-ringed design. To the side, Izuku wrote in "40 strings x 25 cranes = senbazuru!"

Katsuki gave Izuku an unimpressed look as the other boy started to mutter. He was used to Izuku's blabbering by now, but he better not spill the beans in front of his mom and dad, or Katsuki would be seriously mad. Tuning Izuku out, Katsuki went back to his folding.

The videos he had watched had told him that he didn't have to fold the crane all in one go. The later folds could apparently be hard. Katsuki wanted to take that as a personal challenge, but since this was a surprise gift for his dad, he wanted everything to be perfect. So, if that meant repeating the same folds a bunch of times to make sure they were right, then he would put up with that. It wasn't shying away from a challenge, Katsuki had told himself. It was to make his dad's gift perfect, and his dad was more important right now anyway.

The boys carried on with their own tasks, each too absorbed in their work to notice Izuku's mother running down the sidewalk towards them. They did, however, hear her frantic calls when she spotted them at the picnic table. They looked up at the call, and Izuku waved to his mom with a giant smile. "HI, MOM!"

"Oh, Izuku, honey," Auntie Inko hugged her son and sagged in relief, "You have no idea how worried I was when you and Katsuki didn't show up after school today."

"Sorry, Mom," Izuku looked down, feeling guilty. "Kacchan had a change in plans, and I wanted to help him."

Inko petted his head a few times and chided, "That's all well and good, but you should have called ahead to let me know. I am glad to see you're both safe though."

Izuku nodded silently. Over his head, Auntie eyed with interest all the sheets of paper Katsuki had managed to fold within the time they had been at the park. She stopped counting after twenty. "Picked up a new hobby, Katsuki?"

"Not really," he shrugged. He grabbed another sheet and started to fold again. "It's a surprise for my dad."

"Oh," Inko wilted a bit, "yes, Mitsuki told me. I'm sorry to hear about your father."

"Don't apologize," Katsuki scowled, "He's not dead."

"Of course not!" she backtracked. Her smile was hesitant, but her tone was nothing but confident. "Masaru may not be as stubborn as you and your mother, but he's plenty strong on his own."

Pleased with her words, Katsuki nodded in agreement. She was right after all. Masaru wasn't like his son or wife. Katsuki didn't think his dad was shy, but he never seemed to mind when others talked over him. It was like he didn't care if other people knew how great he was. To Katsuki, who thrived off people knowing how amazing he was, it was weird, but since Katsuki himself knew how great his dad was, he guessed it was okay. Though, it was nice to know someone else knew how great his dad was. It was nice to know someone thought his dad was strong. Because he was.

"So, what exactly is this surprise of yours, Katsuki?" Inko asked as she watched him fold. Katsuki swore she's where Izuku got his constant staring from.

"Senbazuru," he answered plainly. Katsuki counted how many papers he had folded and grinned when he got to fifty.

With a knowing look in her eyes, she prodded, "A wish for your dad?"

"Maybe," Katsuki said cautiously. He didn't want her to go blabbing to his mom, who would probably tell his dad. "Maybe not."

"Don't worry, Katsuki," she said, leaning across the table to ruffle his hair. For good measure, she winked conspiratorially at him. "I know when to keep a secret."

Katsuki didn't say anything else to her, but he did nod. Other than the sound of Inko's phone's keyboard, the three of them passed the time in silence. Katsuki assumed she was messaging his mom, probably saying that she found her angel and Mitsuki's hell spawn-his mom's words, not his.

"Kacchan, I got it!" Izuku broke their peaceful silence with a shout, face flushed with excitement and pride, "Six, thirteen, and twenty-one!"

The blond scrambled to grab his previously discarded pencil and notebook. He drew lines pointing to each ring and wrote the numbers down. He started to make evenly spaced points on the rings to show where the strings would attach from. After erasing a few of the points and redrawing them, Katsuki slid his notebook back towards Izuku and said, "Thanks for the help, Izuku. Looks pretty good, doesn't it?"

Izuku excitedly agreed. He was practically bouncing in his seat from nodding so hard. He cocked his head to the side and looked at Katsuki. "You said that you get a wish if you make a thousand cranes, right?"

Katsuki nodded his head, and Izuku's eyes widened before smiling with his lips pressed together. Katsuki automatically knew Izuku just had an idea, and he was proven right when Izuku turned to his mom and asked, "Hey, Mom? Can I do senbazuru, too?"

She shot him an amused glance and teasingly asked, "Is your wish to have katsudon for dinner every night?"

"Uh," the boy froze, gaze suddenly directed everywhere other than on his mother, "maybe?"

She burst out giggling and pulled her son into her side and continued to laugh into his hair. Both she and Katsuki knew that it was just like Izuku to wish for something like that. Katsuki had been to his best friend's apartment enough to know that he watched All Might's debut video every night without fail. If there was something his friend loved doing, Katsuki knew Izuku would try to do it every day.

Auntie Inko's phone suddenly dinged and vibrated a few times. The vibrations made the table shake and give off a low hum. As Katsuki started to reach for another sheet of paper, she said, "Ah, looks like it's time to go, boys. Your mom wants you back home for dinner, Katsuki."

Katsuki huffed but started packing away his things, mumbling out, "Fine."

Izuku copied him and soon their belongings were back in their backpacks. Katsuki held out his hand towards Izuku and made a grabbing motion, gesturing to his empty bag of deep-fried garbage. It was handed over in the form of a crinkled ball. Katsuki shoved it into his own empty snack bag and tossed it into the waste bin as they left the park. On the walk back to his house, Katsuki noticed the tingling in his back. It didn't hurt, but it was annoying. It was like the feeling Katsuki got when he was hunched over his comics for too long.

---

When the three of them got to his front door, it opened before he could pull out his key. He was promptly swatted over the head by his mother, who said, "Goddamn it, Katsuki. Don't scare us like that."

She ruffled his hair and told him to go get ready for dinner. Katsuki quickly said his goodbyes to the Midoriyas and kicked off his shoes in the entrance area. He ran up to his room, plopping his bag down on his bed, and flung open the doors to his balcony. He went to the side closer to the street and shouted down to the tiny figure of his friend, "SEE YOU TOMORROW, IZUKU!"

He got a "SEE YOU AT SCHOOL, KACCHAN!" in reply. He also got his mom yelling up from the kitchen to not disrupt the neighbors. Katsuki rolled his eyes but did quiet down as he went back into his room, making sure to lock his balcony doors. He shuffled into the bathroom down the hall and washed his hands. He had started to become the master of cleanliness, making sure to always kill the germs on him. The less germs around the house right now, the better. He wiped his hands dry on one of his All Might towels and elbowed the light off when he left the room.

Katsuki peeked over the railing to see on the first floor. He saw his mom in the kitchen, moving back and forth between the stove and the counters. She already had dishes and silverware out, but a glance into the dining room told Katsuki that the table still needed to be set. Red eyes continued to scan the first floor. This time, in search for his dad, who Katsuki found on the couch in front of the family room's TV.

The doctors had told him to take it easy, which meant no work or heavy lifting, just rest and relaxation. Katsuki and his mom had taken those words to heart. His mom always chased his dad away from their home studio with a glare and crossed arms. She was like a guard who looked down her nose at him, just daring Masaru to try and enter their workspace.

"And where do you think you're going, dear?" was always her leading question when she spotted him.

He always sheepishly laughed and replied, "Ah, nowhere, honey. Just stretching my legs."

Mitsuki would watch as he trudged to a different room, sufficiently cowed, and you could hear the grin in her voice when she would say, "That's what I thought."

Katsuki had tried to imitate her stance once, but his dad had found it way less threatening than he did funny. Still, he had raised his hands in surrender and walked to the family room instead. From that point on, Katsuki changed his tactics. Instead of running in front of the studio doors when he saw his dad getting too close, he would shout "DAD" as loud as he could and make up random things he needed help with. Katsuki's latest "problem" had been that he couldn't reach his All Might fruit snacks, which had been conveniently moved to the top shelf in the pantry.

After helping Katsuki solve a few of his problems, Masaru had groaned when he realized his family was plotting against him. The blonds happily smirked when they saw him pout as he turned on the TV to watch the morning news or when he sank into his chair at the dining table without a glance up at the studio doors on the second floor. Mitsuki had jokingly said that they were successfully rehouse training him. Katsuki had snorted at that and barked out a laugh when his dad had thrown a piece of tofu at her in response.

Today was a little different, however, because instead of reclining peacefully into the couch, his dad was laying down, taking up all the cushion seats. Katsuki scampered down into the kitchen with his mom and quietly asked if his dad was okay.

"Yeah, he's just worn out," she said, turning over a piece of breaded pork, "had a hell of a migraine earlier today."

"Oh," he said, not knowing how to respond beyond that single sound. Katsuki frowned as he picked up the silverware. He stared into the family room, eyes focusing on the part of brown hair not blocked by the couch.

He didn't when his dad got migraines. They made him all quiet and dizzy, and if they were really bad, they made him puke. Katsuki scrunched up his nose, remembering the one time he got the flu and threw up a bunch. It was gross and he didn't like how it made him feel. He hated the idea that his dad felt like that or worse. Katsuki wished he could beat up the bad things that touched his dad.

Thankfully, his dad hadn't fallen over from the dizziness before. Katsuki had heard the doctors say to be cautious if Masaru felt faint or dizzy to make sure he didn't hit his head. His parents had tried to assure him that his dad would be okay, but still caught Katsuki staring at Masaru like a hawk if he stumbled or swayed wrongly. If he fell, Katsuki would be there to catch him, or at least, he'd break the fall.

"Should we eat in the family room tonight?" Katsuki asked, not taking his eyes off the little puff of hair.

His mom sighed and said no. "You know how he is. Stubborn bastard doesn't want things to be any more different than they already are."

"That's dumb. It might make things easier for him."

Mitsuki snorted and said, "Got that right, twerp."

Katsuki thought back to what Auntie Inko had said earlier in the park. Not as stubborn as Katsuki and his mom? It was times like this that Katsuki was inclined to disagree. His dad could be plenty stubborn, but sometimes, it was about the wrong things.

"Go finish setting the table, Katsuki," his mother said, sliding a scoop of rice onto a plate, "and then, go tell that donkey it's time for dinner."

Katsuki snickered as he went to the dining room. He knew that donkey was another word for jackass, a title his mother lovingly called his dad sometimes when he was being stubborn or obnoxious. Katsuki wandered into the family room and shook his dad's shoulder.

His dad opened his eyes, bleary and encrusted along the edged. He smiled when he saw Katsuki and said, "Hey, kiddo. How was school today? Do anything fun?"

Katsuki shrugged and reported, "It was okay. Everyone laughed when we were doing rhymes because fork goes with dork."

His dad chuckled lightly and said that he could see why his classmates would laugh at that. Katsuki grinned when he heard his dad laugh. It meant that he was feeling better, or at least, Katsuki hoped it did.

His dad pushed himself up into sitting position and stretched his arms and legs. Katsuki offered him a hand, and his dad took it without complaint. Katsuki backed up a few steps to allow his dad room to stand up.

"Hurry up, you two! Dinner waits for no man!" his mom called from her seat at the table.

Masaru hummed in amusement and tugged Katsuki to his side as they walked to the dinner table, squeezing his son in a one-armed hug. Katsuki quickly hugged his waist in return before pulling out of the embrace. He went to sit in his chair and kicked a leg out towards his dad's chair, making it scoot out enough for Masaru to sit.

"Thanks, kiddo," his dad said to him as he sat down. Masaru looked across at Mitsuki and thanked her for another wonderful meal.

She just scoffed and said, "Kiss ass. We all know you're the better cook."

"That may be so," he teased, "but your valiant efforts are just as nice."

"'Valiant?'" she grumbled with fake annoyance, pointing her chopsticks at him, "I shoulda just started eating without your pompom-looking ass."

"But am I a cute pompom?" Masaru asked, batting his eyes as he brought a slice of pork to his mouth.

Katsuki made a gagging sound, "You're both gross is what you are."

His mother smirked at him and said, "Awe, don't worry, Pompom Junior. We love you, too."

Katsuki scowled at her, and his parents continued poking fun at each other and him. He focused on shoving the food in his mouth. It was good, but like his parents agreed, his dad's cooking was better. Katsuki's mind wandered as he glanced around the room. He wondered what heroes had fought today and how many villains they beat. Who were the heroes? What were their quirks? Were they in the top ten, or were they lower ranks? Did they win with a smile just like All Might? Obviously, they wouldn't be the same as All Might because All Might was the best, and there could only be one best. Katsuki was brought out of his thoughts when he heard his name called.

"Huh?"

"How was your day, brat?" his mom repeated.

He shrugged and told her what he told his dad, "It was alright. I made the others laugh because I said fork rhymes with dork."

"Pfft, nice job," she grinned. She also thanked him for not getting sent to the principle for other words he knew rhymed.

"Like duck and fuck?" His mother nodded her head with pride.

His dad, on the other hand, groaned loudly, not a fan that Katsuki had quickly latched on to the crude words that came out of his mother's mouth. He held his head in his hands and whispered, "At least he knows when to use a filter."

If the jump his dad did in his seat was anything to go by, Katsuki was pretty sure his mom kicked him under the table.

"I know when filter. I just choose not to. People are too sensitive," she said haughtily, "You should be grateful, Masaru. I'm desensitizing you."

Exhaling dramatically, his dad said, "Yes, yes, dear, whatever you say."

Mitsuki huffed and said, "Glad to hear that because I say, 'I want to know why Inko called me in a panic earlier, Katsuki.'"

Katsuki stiffened at the demanded. He glanced at his mom and grimaced. She definitely didn't look impressed. A glance at his dad just showed worry and concern, which honestly, might have been worse.

"We, uh, didn't go to Izuku's house after school today," he admitted, angling his face up at the ceiling. "We ended up doing something else instead and forgot to tell her."

"Katsuki," his dad said, disapprovingly.

"'Something else?'" his mom asked, clearly suspicious. "What are you hiding, Katsuki?"

Katsuki's face screwed up in displeasure and said, "Not telling."

"Katsuki." That was the first warning. The second would be his dad. The third would be when they exploded, but Katsuki wouldn't spill.

"Nope," he said, arms crossing over his chest. He had been worried Izuku would accidently tell them, so there was no way Katsuki would be the one to tell them. Not until the senbazuru was finished anyway.

"Katsuki." That was no fair. The surprise was for his dad. He wasn't allowed to gang up on Katsuki with his mom.

"Nuh-uh," he denied, stubbornly not looking at the increasingly worried and annoyed faces of his parents.

His mom banged her hand on the table and yelled, "Bakugou Katsuki, you tell us right now, damn it!"

"No," he said loudly, shaking his head back and forth, "I'm not telling, and you can't make me."

"Wanna bet, kid?" she asked. Katsuki knew that was the kind of question that wasn't supposed to be answer. It was fascist or something.

"No more computer privileges." That might be a problem later. Katsuki still needed to perfect the late folds of the cranes.

"No more watching TV." He could just ask Izuku what was going on with heroes. He was already a hero otaku anyway.

"We'll stop giving you an allowance." That was fine with him. He already bought most of what he needed.

"No more having Izuku over." Katsuki pouted at that. Izuku shouldn't be punished for his silence, especially when his friend had helped Katsuki.

"No more All Might." Okay, that got him biting his lip. That one wasn't fair! She knew how much he loved All Might. He was Katsuki's favorite hero. However, favorite hero or not, Katsuki wouldn't tell them, even if he had to say goodbye to his hero merch for a while.

He gripped his pants as he glared at the ceiling, willing himself not to cry. Getting that wish was worth not having All Might for a while. God, that was a painful thing to tell himself, but he believed those words. It was worth it because his dad was more important right now.

Katsuki felt two sets of hands on him. One pulling him into a sideways hug, and the other rubbing circles on his back and holding his hand. He heard his tell him to take deep breaths and his mom saying that he was okay and to just breathe. He belatedly realized that he had tears running down he cheeks and that his breathing was hitched. Katsuki sucked in a breath, forcing his chest to expand to get air. He also snorted, forcing the snot back into his nose.

"What's wrong, Katsuki?" his mom asked from above. She was squeezing him tight and running one of her hands through his hair. He wasn't sure who it was supposed to calm down more. "Why won't you tell us?"

Glumly, he said, "It's a secret. I can't tell you."

"Katsuki, are you hurt?" she asked, pulling back to look at him. "Did someone do something to do you?"

"No," he said, very confused, "Why would someone do something to me?"

His parents let out a relieved sigh. Katsuki really didn't get why they were worried about that. No one's ever tried to bully him, and he'd beat up anyone who tried.

Kneeling on his other side, his dad asked, "Then, what's wrong, son? You know you can tell us if something's wrong, right?"

Katsuki tilted his head and nodded. Of course, he knew that. "I've always known that."

"Then, why won't you tell us what's wrong?"

"Because there is nothing wrong?" That sounded more like a question than answer even to him.

"Katsuki," his parents said in disbelieve.

"Really, nothing's wrong," Katsuki could tell they still didn't believe him. He sagged in on himself. He didn't want to tell them anything about his project, but if it would get the stop worrying, he could tell them this much, "I'm making something, okay? It's a surprise, and you guys told me that you're not supposed to tell someone what it is."

"'A surprise?'" they echoed dumbly.

Katsuki rolled his mostly dried eyes and said, "Yes and I'm not saying anything more. If you don't believe me, you can ask Auntie Inko. She's not supposed to tell you what the surprise is either, so don't ask for specifics."

His mom groaned loudly before attempting to squeeze the life out of Katsuki. She wrestled him up into the air and swung him back and forth. "Don't freak us out like that, Katsuki! We thought something bad happened to you."

"The only thing hurting me is this hug," Katsuki managed to get out. Seriously, his mom probably hug him to death if she tried.

Finally, she set him back down, and her saw he hand rise, but unexpectedly, it was his dad who thumped him. "Son, please do as your mother says and don't scare us like that again. The thought of something hurting your is too much for this old man to handle."

"Okay, okay," Katsuki grumbled, "I'm sorry for making you worry."

Returning to her own chair, Mitsuki joked, "I thought I was going to have to go kill someone for a minute there!"

Joining her banter once again, Masaru added, "Poor Katsuki would have had to go live with Inko until he was an adult. He'd have to live with the fact that his parents were in jail for murder! Imagine the horror." And just for theatrics, he pounded a fist against his other palm, letting off a series of tiny explosions. Katsuki vaguely wondered if he was hot since he was able to make that much sweat.

"So, my darling hell spawn," his mom cooed, "is there anything we can help you with on this project of yours?"

Confidently, he said, "I'm good, and even if I wasn't, you guys don't get to help."

"Are you sure, Katsuki? We'd love to help," his dad nudged him.

Ugh, they were the worst at being sneaky. Katsuki viciously pointed at the brunette and declared, "You especially don't get to help."

"So, then," his dad rubbed his chin, "this surprise is for me?"

Katsuki clammed up right then and there. How could he have been so stupid? He knew they were fishing for information. He would have to watch how he worded things from now on.

"Is it something big or little? Does it have to do with my work, or is it related to your schoolwork? Does it make noise or no?"

Katsuki glared at him. Throwing subtlety to the wind, the man was just being plain nosy now. A donkey, like his mom called him earlier! Keeping eye contact with his dad, Katsuki pointedly picked his chopsticks back up and shoved some cabbage into his mouth. Katsuki's eyes practically screamed, "Take a hint, geezer!"

Masaru lazily smirked at his child. Katsuki thought he had too much fun teasing him. He could be as bad as his mom sometimes! "Are you sure I can't help, Katsuki? There's no questions that are driving you crazy?"

Katsuki froze. Now that his dad mentioned it, there had been something that annoyed him earlier.