This chapter was inspired by a good friend, feel free to thank him by looking up his Spiderman-Flash crossover
Reverse flashpoint
Masaru was not looking forward to the day he was about to have or the conversion he was going to have with his son, he took a deep breath and sipped his cup of tea then he checked the time, Mitsuki had left about an hour go to get Inko some things for staying at the hospital which left him and Katsuki alone in the apartment.
The place had been bathed in an eerie silence the moment Mitsuki had left but he couldn't find it in him to ask her to come back just yet, his wife needed time to come to terms with their son's actions or she might snap again, whilst he too was affected by the knowledge of their son's behavior he was more level headed and had taken charge of getting everything needed in order.
He had already called the school to inform them that Katsuki wouldn't be attending school due to a personal matter and they would likely need to 'discuss' his current enrollment, he also informed their employees that they wouldn't be able to come in due to a family emergency, Masaru had made those calls once his wife had left and Katsuki hadn't come back out of his room since Mitsuki snapped so he stood in the kitchen by himself contemplating.
The discovery of their son's violent tendencies was definitely an... emotional moment, when Mitsuki had told him what Katsuki had done he wished he could say he was more surprised than he was, he wanted to say that learning his son was a bully had completely blindsided him but he couldn't.
Katsuki had unfortunately inherited his mother's condition and though they had taken the steps they thought were necessary to prevent him from hurting others, it was clear that it wasn't enough.
Masaru could recall the multiple talks he had with Katsuki over the years of picking his battles or that there was no shame in removing himself from a room if he was uncomfortable, they had also helped to teach him some exercises that would help him relax, talked to his teachers about his condition so they could remove him from a situation before it could turn violent or call them if Katsuki had a fit.
While Mitsuki took medication to help balance her out the anger they had previously reframed from putting their son on meds given his young age and the apparent lack of need since there weren't as many incidents since Katsuki turned six.
Masaru scowled and cursed himself for being so naive and for trusting the boys' teachers far too much, the lack of calls should've been a dead giveaway as even his wife still had problems controlling her anger even with regular therapy and medication.
They had also considered putting Katsuki in therapy but it was a fruitless search for a child psychologist trained in explosive disorder, capable of handling the possible explosive fits or tantrums, and wouldn't be a quirkest that would put dangerous ideas in his head.
However, their efforts might have been for nothing given what Inko told his wife, they had a lot of decisions to make when it came to punishing Katsuki for his actions and how to prevent him from getting even worst.
The first step they had unanimously agreed on was that Katsuki couldn't continue going to Aldera and while home or online schooling was an option the lack of social interaction and perceived confinement to the house would likely drive him crazy. Masaru had tasked himself with making a list of schools in the district with the intent of vetting them thoroughly before making any suggestions to his wife.
The next decision was to get Katsuki in therapy, both with the three of them as a family and on his own regardless of how difficult it would be, Mitsuki was the one who insisted on finding family therapy not that he was going to argue given how clearly they were disconnected from Katsuki and his life, she was also going to be taking charge on that end since she had more experience with getting a good therapist.
Masaru could understand his wife being unaware given she didn't come home as often as the model and face of the business but he came home almost daily and had no such excuses for being so out of touch with their son's life.
Whether or not they were going to get Katsuki on medication like Mitsuki was something they were going to consult a doctor and psychologist with before making any concrete decisions given that might just make things worst.
He ducked his head feeling ashamed and disappointed with his inability to help his son or protect his godson, he had made a lot of assumptions when it came to their relationship in recent years.
Izuku while confident and happy as a toddler had become much shyer, nervous, and introverted after his quirklessness was discovered, he had attributed that to the bullying they were told about from pre-k to second grade, as well as him getting Inko's personality given how often children take after their parents and she was the main role model Izuku had, Hisashi abandoning them was also no doubt played a part in the way Izuku closed himself off.
When Izuku stopped coming around after school and stopped coming over regularly to see Katsuki or sleepovers on the weekends he put it up to them simply drifting apart in the last five years, while Inko and Mitsuki were very close and had the same personalities as their sons', that didn't guarantee they would want to be friends and he certainly wasn't going to force the two to be friends if they didn't want to be.
He also hadn't blamed Izuku distancing himself if Katsuki and Mitsuki's anger issues had scared him and he wasn't comfortable being around it after being bullied, both had their moments, and Katsuki's quirk only made his fits all the more dangerous when they did happen.
There were a lot more things that floated up to his mind when he thought of the boys' behavior that made too much sense with the idea that Katsuki bullied Izuku, but the few times he had questioned Izuku about how things were or when something weird happened the boy always had at least three solid explanations for it.
Such as the one time he saw familiar scorch marks on Izuku elementary school uniform was dismissed with a story of a boy that was being mean to him and how Katsuki was a bit too eager in defending him.
Izuku had often told them that Katsuki was the one to defend him from the bullies whenever it was brought up, Masaru wasn't sure if the greenette lied because he was scared of Katsuki's wrath or out of misplaced loyalty to his son.
Another more concerning question was when the boy was asking Mitsuki about makeup, he claimed it was because he saw a commercial with a hero advertising it but now he was sure the boy was looking for tips on how to hide the bruises. It was suspiciously around the same time that Izuku claimed the teachers were starting to crack down on the bullying.
Katsuki calling Izuku a Deku of all things was, concerning but he just assumed it was just another thing he picked on from his mother after he misread Izuku's name, there were worst things he could have chosen to call Izuku than "useless" given Mitsuki's potty mouth.
Masaru knew Izuku was a smart and loving young man and he didn't know which part of that crushed him more, that Izuku either didn't trust them to help with the bullying out of fear they wouldn't believe him or that he felt the need to hide his pain from them to protect his son's dreams and their family, it, unfortunately, could go either way given how bad the bullying must have gotten.
After finishing his search he checked the time and saw that it was around breakfast time, Masaru made something quick for himself and Katsuki before going to Katsuki's room and hesitantly knocking on the door " Katsuki? Are you awake?" He asked feeling a bit uneasy as he stood outside the door.
Then there was a soft grunt back " I made breakfast Katsuki, do you want to eat at the table?" Masaru questioned, he could hear footsteps on the other side of the door before the click of the lock, the door opened and Katsuki shuffled after him much more demure than earlier.
Masaru sat down across from Katsuki and the lack of arrogant babble from Katsuki made the atmosphere around them stifling, looking down at the rice bowl with an egg he couldn't bring himself to really eat at the moment and decided to get this over with.
" Katsuki, we need to talk." Masaru stiffly told his son, Katsuki put down his chopsticks " Is this about the clusterfuck from last night?" The blond questioned and Masaru sighed " Yes... Katsuki, I need to ask you some questions and I need you to be completely honest with me." Masaru sternly informed the boy.
Katsuki normally would have scoffed but he was apparently still shaken from last night
" Yeah, whatever Old man, just be quick about it. I need to get ready for school." He grumbled, Masaru took a deep breath
" Katsuki I've already called in and told them you won't be coming today." Katsuki blinked seemingly taken aback.
" Eh?" He grunted confused " I'll explain later but first I need to know what happened when you left school yesterday." Masaru questioned, the blond rolled his eyes and put his head on one of his hands
" Tch, I just did what I always did Old man. I walked home partway with that shitty Deku and some dumbasses then did homework and training in my room until the Hag said it was dinner." Katsuki answered brushing the whole thing off.
Masaru felt his jaw clench but didn't call the boy out just yet " So you didn't follow Izuku and attack him with your quirk?" He asked choosing to cut straight to the point
" What... " Katsuki said staring at him
" Katsuki did you use your quirk on Izuku?" He reiterated giving his son a firm look.
" Yeah?" He told him giving him an odd look squirming slightly, Masaru wasn't sure how to take Katsuki's "relaxed" confession " So you have been bullying Izuku?" Masaru inquired and Katsuki immediately balked
" Fuck no! I've just been trying to teach that dumbass a lesson." Katsuki argued and Masaru's eyebrows furrowed.
" Katsuki do you know what bullying is?" He asked and he could see the anger rise in his son " Of course I do Old man!" He yelled likely insulted by the implication " So you've never hit Izuku, on purpose intending to hurt him?" Masaru questioned and his son paused.
" Well... Yeah, but that shit's different." The blond replied crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair, adverting his eyes with something akin to meekness from the boy.
" Why?" Masaru prodded and Katsuki scoffed " Cause that shitty Deku is still going on about that hero fantasy crap, as if that dumbass could become a hero just by fucking studying." Masaru felt a moment of annoyance at the reason he gave " So you have the right to hurt Izuku because he dreams of being a hero?" He asked trying to keep his tone neutral.
" What? Fuck no! I'm kicking his ass because he ain't doing crap but being an obsessive creep while saying he going to be a hero! Do you know how frustrating hearing that shitty Deku constantly going on and on about being a hero when he hasn't seriously trained a fucking day in his life is?! If he keeps this crap up he's going to get his dumbass killed!" Katsuki shouted pushing himself away from the table and began pacing, though the volume and energy behind it was closer to stomping.
" It ain't like I haven't tried to help that fuckwit! I tried to train with him when we were younger but that dumbass would just sit there like a crappy possum and fucking take it! Even after all these years that shitty Deku hasn't done crap to actually train himself physically!
Even Rescue heroes need to know how to throw a punch but does that useless Deku do anything to learn to fight? Fuck no! The only thing he does is obsess over those stalker notebooks he has and brag about going to be the first quirkless hero once those Hero Safety Commission fuckheads stop being quirkest assholes." Katsuki ranted occasionally letting off some pops from his palms.
" I mean, Deku's whole clusterfuck of a "plan" is to throw himself either in between the victim and their attacker or at the attacker while flailing around like a starfish?! After all these years and heroes he stalks and supposedly "learns" from and he doesn't know shit about strategy.
He hasn't done any training and he thinks he's going to be a fucking hero!? He's just going to get his ass killed throwing himself around like he has some kind of a death wish!" Katsuki growled letting off one big explosion from his right hand.
That... wasn't what Masaru was expecting to hear and it left him puzzled for a few moments but he was starting to connect some dots that were forming a much better picture than what he and Mitsuki previously feared he could have said.
" Katsuki, did you tell Izuku you wanted to train together?" He inquired a small bloom of bittersweet hope forming in his chest.
" Eh? That dumbass and I promised to be partners, of course, we were supposed to train together that's fucking obvious shit, and since shitty Deku's quirkless we'd have to train even harder and start sooner but every time we did that idiot turned into a big fat crybaby." Katsuki told him with an attitude like it was painfully obvious.
" And constantly insulting him?" Masaru asked and Katsuki huffed " When that idiot wouldn't fight me I tried to piss him off, I always want to punch someone when they're being annoying." Katsuki brushed off " I see... And using your quirk on Izuku, that was for what? Training?" Masaru pressed and Katsuki scowled.
" It's like I said, that shitty Deku wasn't doing anything but stupid crap, I tried everything at that point to get that fucker to do real training and I figured if I used my quirk the shock of it might at least get him to do something other than fucking lay there." Katsuki spat arms crossed again.
Masaru sighed feeling a headache building and rubbing his forehead " Katsuki... Did you ever say anything to Izuku about you still wanting to be hero partners or training together in the last couple of years to him directly?" He inquired and Katsuki gave him an odd look.
" No, but that shit was fucking obvious, we talked about this crap since we were tiny ass brats, about being heroes together and I've been trying to train together with him for years but he always tried to fucking ditch me, the fucking bastard." The blond responded waving a hand.
" Katsuki, did it ever occur to you that Izuku didn't know you were trying to "train" with him and that he might've thought you were being serious when you were trying to "piss" him off?" Masaru suggested feeling slightly dumbfounded that something so innocent as a misunderstanding could be the reason Katsuki was bullying Izuku, he could see the gears turning in his son's head and stare at him confused.
" The fuck? What the fuck are you trying to say? Of course, Deku knows we were fucking training and there's no way he has his head stuck so far up his own ass to think I was being serious when I was talking shit, I was just spewing complete and utter bullshit!" Katsuki argued, his rage lowered to a simmer by his confusion, a part of Masaru was heartbroken by his son's ignorance of what he was doing.
" Katsuki... " he sighed under his breath then raised his head " Katsuki when was the last time you and Izuku did anything together? Or talked about anything? Have you done anything to make him think you were still friends?" Masaru asked gently knowing that the realization might be just as shocking to his son.
Katsuki's eyes narrowed and his mouth opened then closed as his eyes widened slightly " N-no but of course the shithead knows we're friends, we might not shoot the shit like Auntie and the Hag, or see each other outside of school b-but we... S-sure we don't do shit since we were eight but I mean w-we've, we... " Katsuki's protest trailed off as uncertainty began to creep in.
" What do the rest of your classmates do to Izuku?" Masaru inquired, Inko hadn't gone into details with Mitsuki but Masaru could hazard a guess considering Izuku's hospital stay.
" Tch, most of them are two-faced bastards. In school, they give Deku shit but most of them don't give a damn once school ends and just fuck off, a few of them are dicks but I'd kick their ass before they start shit with him, a couple of those extras have been leeches trying to get in on our training the last couple years." Katsuki explained annoyance coming back as he thought of them.
" Katsuki if one of your classmates did what you have been doing, would you think they were bullying Izuku or helping him?" Masaru proposed seeing his son's main hang-up was his perspective of the situation.
Katsuki's nose scrunched up and his chest puffed up with instantaneous rage and he was about to spit another rant full of vitriol then paused, his mind racing and his face became less angry and more uncertain as he thought of it " I... I-I, I'm n-not a b-bully... Someone would have stopped me if I was going too far with training, all o-of our teachers saw that shit." The blond responded looking distinctly uncomfortable at the implications of Masaru's questions.
Masaru felt himself scowl at the mention of Aldera " Have you ever used your quirk in classes?" He pressed " Yeah?" Katsuki answered a bit more hesitant " Have you ever been punished for it?" Masaru asked back, Katsuki was a smart young man and has been old enough to know the dangers of his quirk for years, Katsuki didn't respond right away " No... " he muttered.
" Have you seen any of your teachers stop anyone from picking on Izuku since we learned he was quirkless?" Masaru inquired and Katsuki's silence spoke volumes.
" T-there is no way you o-or Auntie would l-let me do anything to really h-hurt him." The blond countered, the uncertainty beginning to combine with fear as reality started to sink in, Masaru averted his eyes and his hands tightened on his cup.
" Do you know what your mom and I were talking about last night?" He asked finally looking back at his son after a moment of tense silence, Katsuki apparently couldn't find his voice as he shook his head " Your mother had just come home from visiting Izuku and Inko at the hospital." Masaru told him and Katsuki paled.
" What?" The blond said the horror in his voice making it meek " Until yesterday Izuku has been hiding everything you've done to him, none of us knew about your "training". Considering everything you've done to Izuku don't you think if we knew that Inko would have told you not to be so rough with him by now?" Masaru explained to him.
One could have seen the last threads of hope being crushed in Katsuki's eyes and he started to tremble " I-I'm not... I-Iwasn't...
I- " he said voice cracking before he fled to his room, Masaru didn't follow him and could hear him slam his door closed seconds later, his gaze fell to the now cold food as he sat in the kitchen alone with his thoughts again, as he tried to comprehend what to tell Mitsuki and Inko.