"Dude, is she here yet?"

"Not yet, All Might's out there though."

"Move over, I can't see."

"Ouch!"

"Sorry!"

"It's okay Uraraka, not your fault."

"You're blocking the way guys."

"Look, look, look! Someone's coming."

"Shouldn't you know what Kiri's mum looks like Ashido? Didn't you go to the same middle school or something?"

"We weren't friends then! Beside I only saw his adoptive Mums once, I think. This is his biological Mum."

"Oh, right. I forget. To many Mums."

"Don't you think it explains a lot about Kiri though?"

"Huh? Like what? The fact he respects girls?"

"I don't know, just sort of does…"

"I kind of get what you mean."

"Shit, duck! I think Aizawa saw us."

The nosiest and nosiest of the watching students ducked, feeling like they were doing something wrong. Though technically it was a weekend and there was nothing stopping them from watching the entrance from the common room. Several other people looked over from the couches.

Since the moment Kirishima had told Kaminari and Sero that his Mum was going to visit, everyone in class 1-A and more knew about it. Curiosity was running high, you would have to be deaf and blind to not recognize the change that had come over Kirishima. His new quirk mutation had him jumping in the combat rankings, no one quite being able to bring down the new mountainous form of Unbreakable and everyone having a healthy dose of fear of Predator and the chains he now wielded.

The only one who seemed eager to fight him was Katsuki. But, well, that was expected. The blond just seemed happy that Kirishima could take more blasts of his Howitzer without falling.

Ashido slowly peaked her head back out from behind the sofa. "Can you see them?" whispered Kaminari, popping up next to her. Midoriya and Uraraka, who had been swept up in the hype, also rose.

Sero looked over from an armchair, he and Todoroki blatantly staring. Katsuki was loudly making it known just how much he didn't care, banging pots and pans in the kitchen. No one believed his show of indifference, the boy had been making protein shakes for an hour.

Kirishima approached the dorms, smiling and waving his arms as he energetically bounced along. Next to him, his Mum stalked along calmly. Aizawa nodded to them as they come close, gesturing to the dorms. Those with sharper eyes amongst the watching students noticed that his normal slouch was practically non-existent. An unexplained tension straightening his spine, weariness colouring his movements.

The doors opened, Kirishima's voice ringing out as they did so. "And this is the dorms! Oh, hay guys! This is my Mum. Mum these are my friends, the ones I was telling you about."

The onlookers froze, chills running down their spines and stealing their breath as predatory red eyes looked them over. Pining them in place. Aizawa made an abortive movement to get between the women and the kids. Holding himself back just in time. Eijiro smiled, rocking back on his heals, apparently unaware of the sudden tension.

Katsuki emerged from the kitchen, palms sweating and flexing reflexively as that crimson slitted stare landed on him. The women took a small sniff, focusing in with more interest. Could she smell Eijiro on him? She curled her lip, familiar serrated fangs flashing.

The first thing everyone noticed about Kirishima's Mum-other than the fact she made them feel like rabbits staring down the mouth of a tiger-was her height. She was a tall woman. A very tall woman. Towering over All Might by a clear foot. She had short spiky black hair, cut in a messy style. Willowy but packed with muscle, she didn't so much walk but prowl across the room. Her eyes were the same wine red as her sons, but they were narrow and slitted. Giving her a particularly sinister look.

A large hand came up and curled around Kirishima's shoulder. Katsuki's hackles rose, watching those claws curl close to his boyfriend's throat. Each nail like a talon, several inches long.

"These are the ones you've been scenting, right?" Her voice rasped and growled. Goosebumps broke out on several people's skin. Something about her tongue seemed to sit wrong in her mouth. Katsuki narrowed his eyes, was it forked?

Eijiro flushed, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Ahh, yep. That's Sero, Ashido, Kaminari and Katsuki."

Kirishima's Mum gave them another, longer assessing stare. Small nostrils flaring. Her mouth opened slightly, just the points of her teeth visible as she tasted the air. "And the others?"

"Friends from class."

"Hmm" she assessed them. Then lost interest. Katsuki could almost see the moment she dismissed them from her mind. Judged them not to be a threat. It had his teeth grinding in frustration but there was something about that stare that held him back from exploding, froze his feet and paralyzed his spine. His instincts telling him to fight or flee.

It was the same feeling he got when training with Eijiro. When those warm red eyes grew fierce and slitted.

Predatory.

Hungry.

Eijiro continued to chatter along happily, either unaware or simply ignoring the unusual silence. With a nudge and wave to the watching crowd he led his Mum over to the stairs, nattering on about showing her his room. All Might followed them closely.

As soon as they left there was a collective sigh of relief. Bodies slouching down as the tension broke. Whispering started up.

"Fuck that was scary."

"She doesn't really look like Kiri."

"She's got the same hair, and eyes, and teeth…"

"Okay true, but she doesn't feel like Kiri."

"Does anyone else feel like they were just measured for lunch?"

"You too? God, I felt like she was gonna tear my throat out. What was that?"

"Scary, ribbit."

Katsuki slowly released the tension in his palms, crackling off the accumulated sweat with some small explosions. He worked saliva around his suddenly dry mouth, idling up to Aizawa who was still contemplatively looking towards the stairs.

Katsuki grunted to get his attention. "Not what I fucking expected."

"That women's dangerous," said Aizawa lowly. A warning carried clearly in his tone.

"You think she's gonna attack someone? Is she even Eijiro's Mum? What the fuck?"

"She's his biological Mum alright. She explained the changes and quirk transformation in detail to Recovery Girl just fine."

Katsuki waited, recognizing that Aizawa hadn't told him everything. His teacher turned to look at him, dry eyes serious.

"We still don't know what her quirk is?"

"What? How?"

"The database simply says it's a human animal transformation but doesn't go into detail. Neither did she."

Katsuki bit his lip in thought, "Eijiro said he would get her to show us. Before she leaves or whatever."

Aizawa nodded slowly, eyes once more drifting to the stairs. Thinking of the women he had spent a good part of the morning with. The cold indifference in her eyes. Her aloof attitude. The sheer apathy towards the people she met.

Aizawa had met a lot of people in his time as a Hero. Good people, bad people, broken people. Kirishima's mother was the worst kind. The kind that simply didn't care. That valued people's lives as much as they valued grains of sand in a dessert. They had no reason, no motivation, no triggers and no weaknesses. Unpredictable, unfathomable and deeply, deeply selfish.

But where did her confidence come from? The disregard? Placing even heroes like All Might and himself beneath her. Not with contempt, but calculated coldness. A sign that she judged them as much as a threat as she did a passer-by on the street. Just what was her quirk?

"I guess we'll find out soon then."