Katsuki blinked awake with a snort, a headache lingering in his forehead and an entirely different ache within his neck. He hadn't planned to pass out on the couch, but in all fairness, he hadn't planned to be unable to sleep at all the previous night, either. Or the night before that. Or any other number of nights since Izuku had inherited One for All. In fact, Katsuki couldn't remember the last time he had slept through the night, and his sleep schedule had only gotten worse since moving back home from his friend's house.

Instinctively, he reached for his phone upon the coffee table and pulled it to himself, only to scowl as he saw exactly what he expected. The message chain of the U.A. applicants was still going in its muted state, and he opened the group chat just to see how many messages had been sent since the previous evening. After scrolling for a full ten seconds and still not seeing anything familiar, Katsuki gave up with a sigh of disgust.

As he closed out the chat and navigated back to his other messages, two new individual ones caught his eye. Kyoka had sent him something once again, but a second, unidentified number had also sent him a long, meandering message. Curious, Katsuki sat up and began to read the mystery paragraph.

Hey man- it's Eijiro Kirishima. Things were kinda confusing when we first met at auditions, and I have no idea if we were even properly introduced before Mina jumped on me in the hall. I can't even remember if we've even said anything to each other, but I've got a weird feeling that we got off to a bad start? Maybe I'm just being stupid, but I've been getting a weird vibe from you. Is it the public couple stuff with Mina? If it is, I totally get it. I kinda wish she'd stop throwing herself into me in public, too. If I'm wrong and just overthinking stuff, then just ignore this message. Looking forward to getting to know you better either way. You seem cool and super manly!

"…what the fuck does that even mean?" Katsuki mumbled to himself as he rubbed at his aching forehead. "Whatever…"

Katsuki tried for all of five seconds to remember which one Eijiro was before rolling his eyes and checking Kyoka's message. Before even reading it, he found himself far more interested in its contents simply due to the fact that it was only two sentences long.

Hey, I'm heading out on a walk tonight to just clear my mind. You're welcome to come if you want to.

"I don't," Katsuki said to himself before closing the message and locking his phone.

Just as he moved to set the device upon the coffee table, the sound of a car in the driveway caught his attention. Katsuki instead pocketed his phone and stood into an overhead stretch, already dreading the inevitable conversation that he knew would happen the moment his mother walked in the door. He had mapped out almost every possible scenario in his head from her behaving overly apologetically to acting totally uncaring. It wasn't clear to him which option would be worse.

Katsuki stiffened as the door opened to reveal Mitsuki in her usual business suit. The situation immediately became awkward as he noticed that she didn't seem pleased. Everything from her facial expression to her unnaturally stiff posture gave away that she had something to say, and Katsuki didn't particularly want to hear it. He turned away from her and walked into the kitchen without a second thought.

"…dishes are done," Katsuki began. "Already got the mail, a-"

"Stop."

Katsuki turned to face his mother and exhaled sharply through his nose. He gave her an annoyed look as she began to speak, his patience already wearing thin.

"Katsuki… I'm sorry we didn't get to talk much last night," Mitsuki said.

"Yeah. Important conference call. It's fine," Katsuki deadpanned. "I made it into U.A. because I said I would and committed myself to it. It's not a surprise, and it's not something you need to be involved with. Can we just drop it? It doesn't have to be some big thing now because you feel guilty for some stupid reason. I'm moving out soon, and then I'll come visit every so often I guess."

"But it should be a big thing," Mitsuki protested as she approached, her heels clacking across the wooden floor. "I'm happy for you. I'm proud of you. I know I've been a shitty mother, but… it's just you and me, now. I want to make things right. We have so much lost time to make up for…"

"Yeah, and we've got ages to do it," Katsuki countered. "I've got a lot on my mind, I slept like shit, my head is killing me, and I don't really want to talk right now. Drop it."

"You don't feel good?" Mitsuki asked as she leaned into the back of the couch. "Did you take anything for it?"

"No," Katsuki said with a bit more bite to his tone than necessary. "I just… I'll deal with it. I'll take something in a bit. I've got a lot to do tonight. A lot to take care of and deal with. I don't have the time or the patience to try to pretend that we're normal right now."

Mitsuki heaved a sigh and shook her head, clearly feeling defeated as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"That hurts… but I deserve it. I was hoping we could maybe go out tonight. Pick a place and go to dinner together. Celebrate in our own little way. Talk a bit. Start… actually taking steps to fix this."

Katsuki brought his hand up to his face once again, rubbing hard to try to chase away both his headache and the uncomfortable feelings that Mitsuki's words brought about. Going along with his mother's suggestion didn't seem quite as repulsive an idea as he expected, and yet, it didn't sound particularly promising, either. More than anything, Katsuki found himself experiencing a sudden and unexpected feeling of nausea, accompanied by a shortness of breath.

Part of him wanted to start to reconcile and lean into Mitsuki's offer. Part of him wanted to tell her to fuck off and that she had no right to celebrate anything. The only thing he could internally agree upon is that he wasn't ready for either option. Not just yet.

"I… can't," Katsuki said, infuriated by how lame he sounded to himself. "Not tonight."

"Not tonight?" Mitsuki asked as she raised a brow.

"…I have plans…"

Katsuki continued along the sidewalk at a hurried pace. He zipped up his nylon windbreaker as the bitter cold wind continued to assault him. Given the address, he had chosen to wear a light black jacket with a white stripe across the chest, a pair thin blue basketball shorts, and a pair of sandals just in case they ended up where he had a feeling they might. He hadn't at all expected the ocean air to be quite so biting.

As he continued along the path, he spotted Kyoka leaning up against a lamp post and tapping away at her phone. The young woman was wearing an acid green shirt with DEEP DOPE printed across the front in block letters, as well as a pair of short shorts, sneakers, and a windbreaker of her own. She didn't notice Katsuki at first, until he was within ten feet of her. It was then that she pocketed her phone and gave him her full attention, looking a little nervous.

"Hey," Kyoka offered. "Sorry to bother you, it's just been… a rough day."

"Yeah," Katsuki agreed as he kept his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Today sucks."

"We don't have to talk much if you don't want to," Kyoka reassured as she pushed off the lamp post and adjusted the strap on the small bag slung diagonally across her chest. "Just thought it might be nice to have some company."

"Maybe," Katsuki considered as he looked at the nearby flight of stairs leading down to the beach. Heaps of garbage, discarded appliances, and broken-down vehicles clogged the sands as far as the eye could see. The ocean itself was barely visible beyond the trash, though occasional pockets of clear sand and rocky outcroppings were scattered about. "Why'd you wanna come here? This place is a dump."

"We can still walk the sidewalks," Kyoka offered as she set out at a slow pace. "I like the smell of the ocean. It's just… different, compared to the cramped industrial district I'm usually trapped in."

"…yeah, if you like the smell of the ocean mixed with garbage," Katsuki pointed out as he followed along.

"…better than stagnant and occasionally burning garbage," Kyoka countered.

"…fair point, I guess," Katsuki considered. "Still… what's it matter what it smells like? There are a lot bigger problems in both of our lives going on than how it smells outside."

"Sometimes, it's the little things," Kyoka said quietly. "I dunno. I'll take what I can get as a distraction."

"Distractions aren't worth much. They're temporary. If I'm going to shift my attention, I'd rather be doing it full time. Just a few more weeks and I can focus on blowing shit up and studying as my entire life," Katsuki explained.

"So you'd rather be at home right now?" Kyoka asked.

Katsuki sighed and shook his head. He knew that Kyoka was looking up at him, but he kept his eyes on the path ahead.

"…no."

"Then let's get distracted," Kyoka replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. "If the smell isn't enough…"

Katsuki watched as Kyoka turned and looked around, seemingly checking for something. Satisfied with her findings, she descended the nearest set of stone steps down to the beach and clambered atop a broken washing machine before hopping to the hood of partially buried car.

"…what the hell are you doing?" Katsuki asked as he turned to watch Kyoka climb.

"Exploring," the girl said nonchalantly. "C'mon. Let's do something of questionable legality before we become full-time heroes. Might be our last chance."

Katsuki stared blankly as Kyoka made a flying leap to an overturned refrigerator, windmilling her arms as she nearly lost her balance.

"…this is stupid," Katsuki accused as he moved along the sidewalk, keeping up with Kyoka while she continued making her way across the garbage. "You're stupid. I'm going home."

"Are you, though?" Kyoka asked. "Looks like you're still following me."

"Because if you fall and fucking die, someone's gotta get you medical attention," Katsuki snarled as he glared at the girl.

"If I fucking die, I won't need medical attention," Kyoka snarked in mid-leap.

"You know what I mean," Katsuki seethed. "Stop being dumb. I deal with that enough from Deku as it is."

"Stop being a pussy," Kyoka taunted as she pointed at a diagonal somewhere in the distance. "Come on, I see a clear section of beach over there! We can totally make it!"

"I'm not…!" Katsuki started, only to exhale forcefully through his nostrils. "Seriously? Are you gonna act like this at U.A., too?"

"If it gets you to move your ass, maybe," Kyoka considered with an impish grin.

The young woman almost lost her balance as a small explosion rang out to her right. Her eyes widened as she watched Katsuki rocket into the air, a trail of smoke billowing from his palm as he inverted himself. With surprising grace and accuracy, he landed atop the roof of an abandoned car a few feet to Kyoka's left, looking annoyed.

"…speaking of questionable legality," Kyoka pointed out as she smoothed out her hair. "Alright, follow me! I can see sand!"

"Good for you," Katsuki snarked as he began clambering over piles of garbage. "We touch sand, and then we're done. Deal?"

"Hm…" Kyoka pretended to consider as she took a running jump over a pile of worn-out tires. "No deal."

"I hate you," Katsuki growled as he copied her motions, landing next to her atop the next barely recognizable appliance.

"Tell it to me on the beach," Kyoka said with a smile as she lined up her next jump and began to run.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and sighed, focusing entirely on the next jump ahead. He knew he needed to time the leap carefully to avoid falling upon the jagged filth, and so he blocked everything else out of his mind other than following Kyoka as he prepared himself to run.

He hated how nice that feeling was.

Author's Note:

In two weeks, Part 2 of the beach adventure. Where could this be going…

-RD