CW/ death of a pet, implied self harm, implied suicide attempt
Despite his overly positive and enthusiastic demeaner, when it came to training, Present Mic was a hard ass. Sure, he was supportive and encouraging, but he pushed both Kouda and Katsuki to their limits.
He continuously tried to get Kouda to speak up in front of Katsuki, but the other boy would repeatedly refuse. Katsuki tried to reassure him that he wouldn't tease or make fun of him. That he was a safe person to speak to, but Kouda would simply shake his head and sign.
"I'm not ready."
Katsuki would shrug and move on. He wasn't going to try and pressure him. Mic would always set Kouda up on a task before he'd work with Katsuki. The blond teen wasn't exactly sure what Kouda had to do, he never really had a chance to watch the other train, except at the start where he would be surrounded by a flock of birds.
Mic would then sit Katsuki down and repeat the first exercise they had done together. He would pull a variety of random items from his pockets that he must have collected throughout the day. He would place them out before covering them.
He would give Katsuki a few seconds and then tell him to name all of the items there. He would then take one away and ask Katsuki which one was missing. The amount of time decreased as he added more items.
Once Katsuki got used to the task he then introduced distractions. He would randomly throw a foam ball at Katsuki's head. The first time Katsuki had freaked out, the squishy red ball bouncing off of his head. It then became part of the task. He would have a couple of seconds to examine the objects present, Mic would throw the ball at him during this time and he would have to catch it before telling Mic which item was missing.
Yamada then began making Kouda have birds take the items or land on Katsuki. He would have them pecking at his fingers or trying to nest in his hair. They were all attempts at distracting Katsuki, to confuse him and make his task all the more difficult. But he persevered.
"I don't really get how this is going to help me fight deaf?" Katsuki asked as they were packing up, his hearing aids back in.
"It get's you used to being deaf. Used to having to perform mental tasks whilst deaf and with the ball and the birds, you're interacting with a surprise stimulus. You don't know when I'm going to throw it at you, you can't hear my move. You have to be looking out for me, whilst doing an observational task. Multitasking." Mic explained.
"Oh." Katsuki said, frowning. "I guess."
"It's doing the little things. Fighting is second nature to you. I don't think you use that many audio ques when it comes to combat. I think you have pretty strong instincts; you just panic when you can't hear. So if we do little things, like catching a ball, we can move on to bigger things."
"I understand."
"Maybe you could spend some time without them in. Preferably around other people. Get used to doing little things without them?"
"Is that what you do?"
"Sometimes. Not since Eri, I don't want to not be able to hear if she needs something. I don't think she knows I'm deaf." Yamada shrugged. "But when it would just be Aizawa and me at home alone, I'd take them out. He obviously would know, and he doesn't talk that much anyway."
"I suppose that makes sense." Katsuki said.
"Kirishima is learning to sign right? Maybe if when it's just the two of you, then you could get used to being around people and feeling things without hearing." Mic said. "And he'll find it easier to learn if he has to use it more."
"I'll try." Katsuki said.
"You're a smart kid, and you've progressed quicker than I expected. You're doing well." Mic said.
"Thanks."
"You're doing great too Kouda. We just need to work on that confidence of yours." Mic said, Kouda nodded. "You're both doing very well."
"Thanks Sensei." Katsuki said.
Shouta was sat at his desk, marking some of 3.A.'s hero law essays. 1.A was working silently, writing their own essays. He'd given them a scenario of three civilians injured and a villain on the loose. The students had to decided what they would do first in the scenario and then prove to Shouta why it was the best choice. It was an application of their lessons on ethics and Shouta wasn't looking forwards to reading them.
The ticking clock in the corner was seconds from being thrown out the window. It was a constant reminder he wasn't at home. That it was 45 minutes before he could go home. He and Hizashi had agreed that it was for the best that they went back to their regular hours.
Nezu was a kind enough mouse, but he could only give them a certain amount of time off and they believed it would be better for Eri if they got her settled into their routine. It had been difficult at first. Eri didn't understand why they both had to go at the same time, she didn't trust them to come back.
In the end, Shouta had left his goggles with the girl. It hurt, so much, that Eri would believe he'd come back for his goggles but not for her. It had been about a week on this new schedule and she was getting used to it.
Asami stayed with her and Eri seemed to like her. It was difficult for Shouta, wanting nothing more than to go home and play with her. That wasn't to say he didn't enjoy spending time with his class. He loved each of them like they were his children as well. But he had to admit that sitting silently in a classroom was boring and he would have gone sleep a while ago.
If it wasn't for that insufferable clock.
He sighed for what must have the hundredth time that lesson. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Midoriya lift his head to look at him before going back to his work. He'd sighed too many times. They were noticing.
The past couple of days has been tough. He was back on his antidepressants. Which were supposed to make him feel less like shit, but right now he was being kicked hard by side effects. Part of him wanted to give up already, was it all worth it? But knew he had to. It wouldn't be good for his body to mess around with things like that.
But he didn't like what they were doing to him. His mother had been driving him up the wall, with her overbearing niceties and he'd snapped at Hizashi. His sweet, pure, loving husband who just wanted to make sure he was okay. He'd snapped. Told him to fuck off, yelled at him.
Hizashi took it all in his stride, knowing it wasn't personal. But it hurt Shouta that he'd said those things, even without meaning to. He hadn't snapped at Eri, thank the Gods. But he was scared it was only a matter of time. He didn't want that. He made sure he wasn't alone with her, so Hizashi or Asami could intervene if he got too snappy. It was just a precaution, but he was terrified.
Shouta hated how irritable he was, how uncomfortable he felt in his own skin, how tired he was. Long story short, he felt like shit and just wanted to go to bed.
A knock on the door made him look up from his marking. The class all paused in their own writing, staring at the door. Shouta cleared his throat before calling out.
"Come in."
The door opened and the sight shocked him. Asami was stood there with Eri by her side. Her cheeks were wet, indicating that she'd been crying.
"Mother?" Shouta said, getting to his feet. "Eri?"
"I'm sorry." Eri said, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.
"I've told you Eri, you did nothing wrong." Asami said, running a hand through her hair. Shouta saw that on the back of Eri's hand were two cat covered plasters.
"What happened?" Shouta said. He leant down slightly and Eri let go of Asami's hand and ran into Shouta's arms. He picked her up, cuddling her. "Are you okay?"
"Sora bit me." Eri said, sniffling.
"Sora? You're sure?" Shouta asked, glancing to his mother for confirmation.
"It was Sora." Asami said. "Eri just reached out to pet her and she bit her. It was a sudden thing, she didn't give any warning."
"Really?" Shouta said, glancing back to his class who were pretending not to listen.
"I saw the whole thing Shouta. It could have easily been me." Asami shrugged.
"I don't understand." Shouta said, kissing Eri's forehead. "Sora's never bitten before."
"I'm sorry." Eri said, her face muffled by his capture weapon.
"You've nothing to be sorry for Sweetheart." Shouta said. "It happens sometimes." He brought his hand up so Eri could see. "You see the scar on my thumb? That was Macha. When we first got him he was really grumpy and he bit me. It's okay."
"He did?"
"Yeah, a few times." Shouta said, offering the girl a small smile. "Did Sora eat her breakfast? I fed her just before I left."
"No. She didn't." Asami said with a frown. "She left it."
"So she hasn't had any of her medicine?" Shouta said with a sigh.
A deep sadness settled over him, he wasn't stupid, he knew what if meant. He knew what the vet had said at their last visit; terminal, keep her comfortable, 6 months at best. He'd known his time with his beloved cat was running short. But he tried to forget, tried to enjoy his time with her without the ever-looming threat of loss. But it was looking more and more likely that their time together was coming to an end.
"Mother can you find Hizashi please? He should be in the Teacher's Lounge, it's down the hall, to the left—"
"Shouta. I've been here before. I know the way." Asami said. "Sorry for disrupting your lesson." She said turning to face the class. "As you probably noticed, I'm that one's mother." Some of the class smiled at her. Asami waved before turning to leave.
"Erm, Eri, this is 1.A." Shouta said, turning back to face the class.
"Deku-san." Eri said.
"Hi." Midoriya offered her a small wave.
"Get back to work." Shouta said, sitting back at his desk, Eri on his lap. The class went back to writing.
"Shouta-san?" Eri asked.
"Hm?"
"You're sad?"
"Sora's not very well, Sweetheart." Shouta said, stroking her arm. "She…" Shouta took a deep breath.
"Is she going to die?" Eri asked, cocking her head to the side. It struck Shouta then, that as much as he'd tried to shield Eri from the reality of the situation, she had much more experience with death than most 6-year-olds. She understood death, she understood more than Shouta wanted her to.
"Yes." He replied in a small voice. Eri lent against his chest, her tiny hand splayed across the muscle. He wrapped his arms around her.
"Is it my fault?"
"No. Not even slightly. She was ill be for we met you." Shouta said, stroking his hand down her spine. "It's not your fault."
"She's so cute." Shouta was distantly aware of Hagakure whispered.
"Shut the fuck up." Bakugou replied.
Shouta would have to check on Sora when he got home, but in his heart he knew. Her fur had been getting dull, her eyes less alert. She spent most of her time sleeping, more so than a normal cat and she'd been having difficulty moving despite the pain killers. He knew he'd be calling the vet when he got home.
It didn't take long for Asami to return with Hizashi in tow. His sad smile told Shouta he was already aware of the situation at hand. Shouta stood, still cradling Eri close.
"Look, I need to go home. You guys can go early. Just make sure your essays are done by tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Yes Sensei." The class chorused.
"Sensei? Your cat, are you going to have to put her to sleep?" Mina asked.
"Yeah." Shouta replied. "It's not fair to keep her in pain."
"I'm sorry Sensei." Denki said., triggering a series of apologies.
"Thank you." Shouta replied automatically.
The four members of the Aizawa-Yamada family headed out of U.A. towards their car. Shouta sat in the back with Eri, Hizashi driving and Asami in the passenger seat.
"Did you walk here?" Shouta asked.
"Eri was upset and wanted you. It was quicker to walk than wait for a taxi." Asami said. "She was crying and seeing as how close it was to the end of the day, I didn't think you'd mind."
"It's a one off, it's fine." Shouta said, looking out the window.
The journey was short and when they got back to the house, he hurried inside to find his cat. As expected, she was in her brown cat bed. She was curled up in a ball, not exactly asleep but not awake either. Shouta's breath hitched as he knelt down beside her.
She didn't even lift her head.
Sponge came up be his side, meowing and butting his head against his shoulder. Shouta pet him briefly before reaching out to pet Sora's back. The black and white cate jumped at his touch, yowling. She dug her claws into his arm, sinking her teeth into his fingers.
He swore under his breath, the action surprising him more than hurting. The scratches and bite stung, but after having his face smashed in and both arms shattered, it barely registered. She let go eventually, hissing lightly.
"I'm sorry Baby." He said quietly, instead reaching up to pet her head, where he knew her pain wouldn't be. Sora meowed, a half-hearted purr erupting from her chest. "Do you not feel up to eating, Baby?" He asked softly. Sora tried to meow again, but it was a choked, cut off sound.
She flopped her head back down into the bed, unable to lean into Shouta's touches. Chamomile leapt down from the nearest cat tree, climbing into the bed behind Sora. She licked her sister's ear before settling to lie down. Macha was perched in the cat tree above the bed, looking down and Sponge had sat next to Shouta.
"How is she?" Hizashi asked, coming up behind him.
"Not good." Shouta said, stroking Sora's ears.
Hizashi sat down next to him, resting his head on his husband's shoulder.
"Did she bite you? You're bleeding."
"Yeah." Shouta replied.
"Should I call the vet?"
"It's probably for the best." Shouta said, tears built up in his perpetually dry eyes. "I don't want to let her go."
"Neither do I." Hizashi said, reaching out, fingers brushing up her nose. "But you're right. It's not fair on her. And it's not like she's going to get better."
"It hurts." Shouta said, stumbling over his words as the tears began to fall.
"I know." Hizashi replied, his voice wavering, as if he was trying to hold back his own emotions. "I know, Shouta."
Shouta stayed on the floor with his cats as Hizashi rang the vet. Eri approached cautiously, placing her plastered hand on Shouta's shoulder.
"She looks more sick now." Eri said, moving to kneel next to him. "Earlier she was sleeping… but now…"
"Is there anything you want to say to her?" Shouta asked. "Before we take her."
"Where are you taking her?"
"To the vet, they'll… they'll give her an injection to make her go to sleep. She'll…" He took another deep breath, blinking back tears. "She'll die in her sleep. She won't hurt anymore."
"But you'll still be hurt." Eri replied.
"It's a different kind of hurt." Shouta said. Eri nodded.
"Can I pet her?"
"Her head, her body hurts." Shouta replied. Eri reached out to gently touch Sora's head.
"Goodbye Sora. You're a good girl." Eri said Shouta sniffed, wiping the fallen tears from his cheek.
"Sho?" Hizashi said from by the door, his phone in hand. "They said we can come in right away.
"Okay." Shouta said, nodding. He decided instead of trying to pick up Sora and risk hurting her, he'd pick up the bed. However, Chamomile wouldn't move. Shouta tried to pick her up, but the lavender grey she-cat hissed, her ears back and teeth bared. "They know."
"Can you pick Chamomile up?" Hizashi asked. Shouta tried but the cat growled low in her throat.
"You're not helping." Shouta said, wiping away more tears. He took Chamomile's collar in hand and used it to force the cat to her feet and out of the bed. He didn't like handling them roughly, but this was painful enough without having to negotiate with his other cats.
Shouta got to his feet, picking up the cat bed, Sora mewing softly at the action. Hizashi watched them, his eyes red and swollen from his own tears.
"I'm sorry, Buttercup." Asami said, kissing Shouta's cheek.
"Watch Eri for us?"
"You don't even have to ask." Asami said.
"Just distract her, or something. Don't let her focus on this. Play with her or colour." Shouta said. "Don't let her blame herself.
"I won't."
Hizashi grabbed his car keys and went outside. He helped Shouta into the car and with his seatbelt while he held Sora on his lap. Shouta continued to stroke her face as Hizashi started the car. He didn't pay attention to the journey, instead staring at his baby.
When they got to the carpark of the vets neither man moved.
"It's for the best." Shouta said quietly.
"We can wait a little while, if you want." Hizashi said.
"Do you remember, the first Christmas we had her, and she knocked over your tree?" Shouta asked.
"A smashed six glass baubles?" Hizashi laughed. "I remember."
"And you said you'd take her to the pound because she ruined the holiday?"
"I was mad. And worried she'd cut her paws on the glass." Hizashi said.
"She was a naughty kitten."
"Yeah she was. She used to chew on your scarf, lost a ton of baby teeth that way."
"And she chewed through the cord of your headphones?"
"Oh, she would have gone to the pound that day, if it wasn't for her cute little face."
"She's only eleven." Shout said, stroking Sora's face. "She should have years left."
"We knew when Sushi got sick that Sora would be too." Hizashi said gently.
"I know. It doesn't make it any easier." Shouta sighed. "We should go. Sitting here isn't helping anyone."
"If you're ready." Hizashi said.
"Are you? She's your Baby too."
"I know. I am. I think." Hizashi said. "Like you said, she's hurting."
Shouta nodded. The two of them got out of the car, Shouta needing a little help as he was still holding the cat bed. Hizashi held the door of the vets open and the three of them went inside. The vet saw to them straight away, ushering them into the examination room.
"Poor little Sora." The vet said as Shouta placed the bed on the table. "What happened?"
"She was okay this morning, walking around and everything. She didn't want to eat her food, but I had to leave. I thought she'd eat it when she was hungry. But she never ate it. She later bit our daughter when she tried to pet her. She bit me too. Her pain killers were in the food, so she never took them."
The vet nodded, examining Sora. The cat hissed as the vet touched her stomach. She swiped a paw at the vet, but it was weak and feeble.
Hizashi took Shouta's hand in his own, squeezing it. They two of them watched as the vet worked.
"Without doing scans I can only speculate, but in my professional opinion I believe the cancer has spread to her kidneys, possibly triggering Acute Renal Failure."
"What… What should we do?" Shouta asked.
"I can give her a higher dose of painkillers, injections. She'd live for a few more days, possibly weeks. But it wouldn't be a pleasurable life. Or we can put her to sleep." The vet said. Shouta closed his eyes, tears once again falling.
"We'll put her to sleep." Hizashi replied, his voice breaking.
"I think that would be the kindest course of action." The vet said, nodding. "Would you like to stay?"
"Yeah." Shouta said before looking back at Hizashi. "I don't know whether you want to. But I have to stay."
"I do too." Hizashi said, squeezing his husband's hand again.
"I'll give her a sedative first." The vet said. "It'll just help her stay calm."
Shouta nodded, moving so he was closer to the cat. The vet worked around them as Shouta kissed Sora's forehead and Hizashi took her paw in hand.
"Such a good girl." Shouta whispered against her ear. "The best cat ever. I'm going to miss you, Babygirl. So much."
"You were there for us these past 10 years. You were there for our highs and our lows. We love you, so much." Hizashi said.
"So much." Shouta echoed.
"You're one of the greatest things that happened to us." Hizashi said, kissing her paw.
"You made us a family." Shouta said.
"You'll always be our Baby."
Katsuki cursed under his breath as he fucked up again. Denki missed a note, trying to catch up with Katsuki's altered rhythm and Jirou glared at him.
"This is like the fifth time now, Blasty." She snapped.
"Sorry." Katsuki said, moving to hold both drumsticks in one hand. "I'm just not in the mood."
"Worried about Aizawa?" Denki asked.
"I guess." Katsuki said. "It's hard losing a pet, and we all heard how important Sora is to Aizawa and Yamada-sensei. We all heard about how they got her. Both of them view their cats as their kids. He's been through enough shit; this is just kicking him when he's down."
"I wish there was something we could do." Momo sighed.
"Me too." Denki frowned.
"We could make a card or something?" Jirou suggested.
"I could make it." Momo said.
"Yeah and we could all sign it." Denki nodded.
"We should take this discussion to the others; I believe they would be interested." Tokoyami replied.
The band members nodded in agreement before packing up their equipment and going down the stairs to where the other class members were gathered.
"Hey guys." Sero called.
"How's practice going?" Uraraka asked.
"Not that great, we're a bit distracted." Jirou replied.
"Thinking about Aizawa-sensei?"
"Yeah." Denki said.
"We've been talking about that too." Mina said
"I was thinking about baking them a cake, or a pie or something." Satou said. "You know, like a sorry for your loss cake". I don't know."
"I think they'd like that." Shinsou said. "I was thinking about baking some cookies."
"Why don't I make a lasagne or something and we could take them to their house. They probably won't want to cook or anything." Katsuki said.
"Do you know where they live? I know you've been there before." Eijirou asked.
"No but Tenya knows." Katsuki pointed out.
"I would be willing to lead a handful of us to their house." Iida said. "I don't think a lot of us should go, it's a little insensitive."
"I'll make a card." Momo said. "We can all write little notes for them, and then some people can go visit them."
"So I'm taking Satou, Shinsou and Katsuki?" Iida asked
"Take Momo too, she's making the card." Mina said. "Five's not too many, right?"
"They can always send us away." Katsuki shrugged. "We're only dropping shit off."
"Erm, we actually need permission to leave campus though." Shinsou pointed out.
"I can go to All Might." Izuku offered. "If I explain what we want to do he should be fine with it. And three of you going have Licenses, so if you get into trouble, you'll be okay"
The class agreed at that. Izuku left the dorms to find All Might, the man pretty much lived in the Teacher's dorms, even when it wasn't his turn to stay the night. So much so that there were rumours he didn't have a home. Katsuki highly doubted the former Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace didn't have a home. Katsuki assumed, what was much more likely was that All Might didn't want to be immersed in a place that reminded him of his former life.
Katsuki and Shinsou worked around each other in the kitchen, Satou using his setup in his room. Katsuki didn't need the oven, as he was just preparing the lasagne for his teachers to cook later. Shinsou make chocolate chip cookies, primarily for Eri.
Izuku returned with signed permission slips for the five who were going, and everyone signed the card. Satou came back down a short while later, his creation in a cake box.
"Cake felt a little too celebratory, so I made an apple pie. I heard that Eri likes apples." Satou said. Katsuki nodded. He assembled the lasagne in a ceramic baking dish, covering it with clingfilm. Shinsou put the cookies in a container and they all got ready to leave.
"Wish them well for us." Hagakure said as the five who were leaving put on their shoes and coats.
"We will." Iida said with a nod.
Katsuki carried the baking dish as they walked down the road, Satou carried the pie and Shinsou had put the container with the cookies in a backpack along with Momo's card. Iida led the way.
"How far is it?" Momo asked.
"Not too far." Iida said.
"Eri walked it today, so it's not that hard of a journey." Katsuki replied.
"True." Momo said. Katsuki glanced back at her, seeing that she'd rolled he jumper up to reveal her stomach. For a second, Katsuki thought she'd gone insane, that was until he saw her stomach glowing.
"What are you making?" He asked.
"Oh. I don't know if it's appropriate or not. But Sora was the cat he brought to Midoriya's birthday, the black and white one, I'm making a replica of her, like a teddy. I don't know whether I'll give it to them or not. I'll see how it turns out." She shrugged.
"I think that's sweet." Satou said. "You know, you can't replace her, but maybe something more solid that they can hold. I think they'd like it."
"Yeah." Shinsou said. "Eri will at least."
The closer they got to the Aizawa-Yamada household the more Katsuki began to doubt whether or not their presence would be welcome. Whether the family would want to be disturbed or if they'd rather grieve in private.
But before he could open his mouth to protest, they were there. Iida knocked the door, the others surrounded behind him. They waited patiently as they heard footsteps approaching.
Aizawa-sensei opened the door. To put it simply, he looked like shit. Which made absolute sense. His hair was up, in a ponytail, wet like he'd just got out of the shower. His eyes were ringed red, and he was wearing a horrifically hideous yellow cardigan. He looked surprised to see them.
"Did something happen?" he asked.
"No, Sensei, we came to see if you were okay." Tenya said. "We bought lasagne, and pie and some cookies."
"Oh." Aizawa said, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Come in."
"We don't have to, Sensei. We just wanted to give you these." Tenya said.
"Just come in." He said. "Take off your shoes."
The five students followed, taking off their shoes as asked. They then followed their teacher through to his living room.
"Just sit anywhere." Aizawa said. He himself went straight towards his husband. Yamada was in as equally a sorry state. His hair was dry but also in a ponytail. He wore red rimmed glasses and was wearing baggy lounge clothes. Eri was colouring in a book on the coffee table. Asami was sat in an armchair, the lavender grey Chamomile on the arm of the chair.
"Oh dears, let me take those off of you." Asami got up taking the lasagne from Katsuki's hands and the pie from Satou.
"Erm, it just needs like forty minutes in the oven." Katsuki said. "You can refrigerate it and it'll keep until tomorrow, if you've already eaten."
"We haven't. Thank you darling." Asami said.
Momo, Tenya and Satou went to sit on one sofa whilst Shinsou went to sit next to Eri. The girl looked up at him and said a quiet "Hi, what's your name?"
"Hitoshi." He replied.
Katsuki sat next to Aizawa, keeping a little distance between them. Shinsou unzipped his bag taking out the envelope, he handed it out to the couple. Yamada leant forwards, jostling Aizawa who had been leaning against him.
He opened it, revealing the black and white "sorry for your loss" card with a little pawprint on it. He opened it and smiled softly, handing it to Shouta after a moment.
"Thanks Listeners." Yamada said. "We appreciate it."
"Yeah." Aizawa said, reading the card.
Shinsou pulled the container out of his bag, taking the lid off and offering them to Eri. She took one with a whispered "thank you."
"Sensei." Momo spoke up. "I made you this." She held up the finished cat plush; its fur was thick and it was the size of a somewhat mature kitten. Katsuki had only seen Sora a handful of time, but from his knowledge Momo had gotten the markings correct. "It's okay if you don't want it, it was just a thought."
Aizawa sat up leaning forward, he held his hands out and Momo stood to pass the stuffed animal over. Aizawa took a deep stuttering breath, he ran his fingers through its fur. Hizashi touched its tail.
"This is brilliant." Yamada said softly.
"Thank you." Momo said with a small bow, as she sat.
Aizawa ran his hand over the cat's fur, tears in his eyes. He reached into the pocket of his cardigan, pulling out a baby pink collar. He undid the clasp with shaky hands and put it around the stuffed toy's neck.
"Thank you." He said, his voice breaking. He cleared his throat, resting his head on Yamada's chest. "Do you want tea, or something?"
"No Sensei, we don't want to impose."
"Tenya, you've been come here for years. You're not imposing." Aizawa said. Asami returned then, heading back to her armchair. She put her hand on Eri's head as she walked past.
"We'll have whatever the fu— flip you have." Katsuki said.
"Yeah, Sensei. We're not fussy." Shinsou said.
"Just call me Aizawa. I'm not your teacher here." Aizawa sighed. He pushed himself to his feet.
"Shouta-san." Eri spoke up.
"Yes Sweetheart." Aizawa replied tiredly.
"Can I borrow that?" She pointed to the pushie. Aizawa looked down at it in his hands, nodding softly.
"Yeah, just be careful." He said.
"I won't break it." Eri said.
"I know you won't." Aizawa said.
"What are you doing, Buttercup?" Asami asked.
"Making tea." He said, gesturing to the gathered teens.
"I can do that."
"Mother, it's fine." He said, walking out towards the kitchen, followed by a black cat.
"Are you okay staying with them? I don't want to leave him alone?" Yamada said.
"Yes, of course, Hizashi."
"We can go." Satou said. "We don't want to make you uncomfortable. We just wanted to drop some things up."
"No it's okay. You guys are a welcome distraction." Yamada said.
With that he followed his husband into the kitchen, followed by the ginger cat. The 1.A teens sat in silence for a while, Eri continued to coloured and Asami looked at them all.
"So you're all in my son's homeroom class?" She asked for a second.
"Yes, Aizawa-san." Tenya said. "I'm Iida Tenya."
"Tensei's little brother?"
"Yes."
"I know Tensei. Sweet boy, he came round quiet a bit when Shouta was younger."
"Oh he did? That's sweet." Momo said.
"Yes, Shouta, Hizashi, Tensei and Oboro were constantly in my house, causing trouble. It was strange, Shouta was such a quiet child, and then these three loud teenage boys would be around all the time." Asami laughed.
"You're telling me an Iida was loud and boisterous?" Momo said.
"Oh yes. Quite the troublemaker. Of course, they were all good boys, but they'd wind each other up and then they'd do something stupid."
"I would like to say that my brother has matured since then." Tenya said, crossing his arms.
"Oh of course dear, they were your age back then. They've grown up." Asami said.
Katsuki, Hitoshi, Momo and Satou introduced themselves as the orange cat returned and jumped up onto Tenya's lap.
"What do you do for a living Aizawa-san?" Shinsou asked.
"Oh I'm a children's therapist and counsellor." Asami said. "I mainly work with schools, I get referrals and talk to children and teens who need a little more help, emotionally. I specialise in treating depressive disorders mostly."
"Oh, that's an admirable field." Momo said.
"I haven't always been in that field. I had a career change 15 years ago." Asami said.
"What made you change?" Satou asked.
"Oh, one of my children hurt themselves." She said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "And I didn't know. I didn't notice until I got a call from the hospital telling me they were there. The doctors said they tried to kill themselves. They said it was an accident. I didn't know who to believe."
Katsuki knew she was talking about Sensei. He knew that Shouta had implied how dark his past was, he'd hinted to Katsuki how close he came to losing his life. Katsuki hadn't picked up on it then, but he understood now.
"I couldn't believe that I had missed all of the signs, so I trained to help other people's children. I knew it was a little late to notice my baby struggling, but I know I had to be there to help as much as I could." Asami shrugged.
"How… How many children do you have?" Momo asked, clearly unsure of how to respond.
"Two. Chiyoko and Shouta." Asami said. "I believe you met Chiyoko, Bakugou-san?"
"Oh yeah, she works for the Commission." Katsuki said.
"Mhm, a lawyer and a hero for my children." Asami smiled softly.
"You must be proud." Momo said.
"I am."
Silence fell in the room, nobody knew what to saying. They all tried to ignore the sound of Aizawa crying in the kitchen, instead focusing on the rhythmic scratching of Eri's pencil on her page. As if sense that everyone was looking at her, she stopped colouring. She glanced around to room, focusing on Katsuki.
"You're in Asami-san's book." She said pointing at him.
"Erm, what?" Katsuki asked frowning.
"What do you mean Eri-chan?" Asami questioned gently, Eri frowned, doubt flicking across her features before she shook her head.
"Your book, with the pictures." She got to her feet, placing the Sora plush on her colouring book. She went to the side of Asami's chair, bending down and pulling something out.
"Oh, the magazine." Asami said. Eri nodded, she turned the pages before stopping at a page. Katsuki recognised the magazine as a fashion one. Eri brought the magazine over to him, putting it on his lap, the picture she was talking about was of him and Velcro, from the fashion shoot from the week before.
"That was quick." Katsuki mused.
"That's you, right?" Eri asked.
"Yeah, that's me." Katsuki said.
"You're pretty." Eri said.
"Thank you, kid."
"Why are you in the book, if you're a hero?"
"I'm friends with Best Jeanist. He makes clothes as well as being a hero, he needed someone to try them on and take pictures, so I did it." Katsuki explained.
"Oh." Eri said with a smile before going back to her colouring.
Yamada and Aizawa returned with a tray, covered in mugs of green tea and a glass of apple juice. Shouta gave the apple juice to Eri whilst Hizashi handed everyone a mug of tea. Then the couple went to sit back on the sofa, next to Katsuki.
Shouta leant against his partner, clearly exhausted. The 1.A. students were familiar with a sleepy Aizawa, so when he fell asleep on Hizashi's chest no one was that surprised. Hizashi played idly with Shouta's hair.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Yamada asked, "I've just put the lasagne in."
"No, it's alright. We'll eat when we get back to the dorms." Tenya said. "Thank you, though."
"It's alright." Yamada said with a sigh. Katsuki sipped his tea.
"Can I have another cookie, please?" Eri asked Shinsou. The purple haired boy looked up at Mic who waved a hand dismissively.
"Go for it, Eri-chan. Just don't ruin your dinner." Hizashi said. Hitoshi opened the container again, letting Eri take a cookie. "Thank you guys for coming, it's nice to know you care."
"We understand is neither of you come in tomorrow." Momo said.
"It's alright." Mic said. "We'll be in. Well, Shou' will be. He doesn't like to sit a dwell on things. It's illogical,"
"Well, if you need time off, that's okay too." Katsuki said. "I'm sure Jack and Kouda would agree that we don't have to have our after-school training"
"Thanks Bakugou." Mic said. "I'll let you know."
Macha returned from the kitchen, the black fur on his chin dripping water, clearly having had a drink. He jumped up onto Katsuki's lap, he ran a hand over the cat's back as he stepped off of Katsuki and clambered over Aizawa's body.
He headbutted Aizawa's hand, meowing softly. Aizawa moved to allow Macha to cuddle next to him. Katsuki smiled at the sight, at least his other cats would be there for him.
Katsuki found himself longing for Hoshi, wanting nothing more than to curl up with his own baby, wanting to make sure she knew how much he loved her. He drank the rest of his tea, putting the mug back on the tray Yamada had bought it in on.
"We should probably get going, it'll be dark soon."
"Katsuki-kun is right." Iida said, getting to his feet.
"Thank you for your hospitality." Momo said, gathering up everyone's cups and putting them on the tray.
"I'll sort them out Yaoyorozu." Mic said, and Momo nodded.
"Okay, Sensei." Momo nodded.
"We'll see ourselves out." Shinsou said. "Don't get up."
"Enjoy the food." Satou said, getting up with a bow.
"Thank you for coming." Hizashi said. "And thank you for the food, it really helps."
The five students left their teachers' home and made their way back to the U.A., getting there just before dark truly fell. Once they got there, Katsuki went straight up to his room, picking up Hoshi and burying his face in her fur.
He lay on his bed, curling around Hoshi's body. The cat purred, licking his fingers as he tried to tickle her chin. There was a knock on his door and Eijirou came in. He climbed onto the bed, sandwiching Hoshi between them.
"How were they?" he asked quietly.
"Upset, as expected." Katsuki replied. "But I think they'll be okay."
"You do?"
"They're a close family, they seem to be supportive of each other. It'll take time, of course but…"
"I understand." Eijirou said, stroking Hoshi again. "It must be tough."
"Yeah." Katsuki replied. "It is."
I hate me too. I have moved to my new house and it's terrifying, so please keep me company and tell me what you think. I had to kill Sora, I needed Eri to experience a death that wasn't her fault and one that she wasn't blamed for. I am sorry. To cheer you all up I have written a side fic about Hizashi and cats, set in this universe, so if you're sad, go read that one, it's happier; Time Never Wasted
