Welcome back! Thank you all who have faved, followed, and reviewed this story. Please continue to do so, as it keeps me motivated to write more. Hope you all like the story so far!

Chapter 8: Fathers

Katori looks around for Todoroki during lunch and the minigames to see if he is alright. She saw the way he walked away from the arena, and knew that something was bothering him. He was nice enough to help her train for the sports festival, so the least she can do is see if he is alright and be an open form of communication if he needs to let off some steam.

She doesn't find him in the cafeteria, nor does she find him in any of the waiting rooms. She figures he is not in the men's locker rooms, and cannot find him near the arena or stands reserved for Class 1A students. She asks Kirishima, Jiro, and Kaminari if they have seen him, and Jiro mentions that she noticed him walking towards the lower-level bathrooms with Midoriya. She thanks them and heads that way, figuring that they should be finished by the time she reaches them.

She walks down the dark hallway of the lower level when she sees someone leaning against the wall and hears voices down one of the corridors. She squints, looking at the person who leans against the wall when she notices that it is Bakugo.

His head is turned away from hers as he peers around the corner with his hands in his pockets. He is clearly listening in on the conversation happening around the corner that is not meant for him. She approaches him, and when he hears her footsteps encroaching on him, he sends her an aggressive look with his index finger shot upright and pressed against his lips, shushing her silently.

She complies and tiptoes towards him, grabbing onto the wall as she peers around the corner to see Midoriya and Todoroki speaking to one another. She watches the exchange for a moment, noticing the distance and body language of the two boys to paint what appears to be a very uncomfortable and tense conversation that must be unfolding between them.

Katori feels uncomfortable watching the exchange without their knowledge and backs away from the corner, glaring at Bakugo with hard-pressed eyes. "Stop being a stalker, this is not our conversation to hear," she whispers to the blonde as quietly as her voice can manage.

He shushes her inaudibly again, completely ignoring her and positioning his ear towards the conversation. She goes to grab him by the collar when she hears Todoroki speak, "In that moment, I was the only one who could sense your true power," she catches, and she cannot help but listen in herself. "It reminded me of something… experiencing All Might's Quirk," he finishes and Katori's heart races as he felt the same as she does.

"Oh yeah? Okay… is that all?" Midoriya's shaky voice returns.

"I'm saying… the power coming from you felt the same as All Might's," she watches as Midoriya nervously gasps at this, and both she and Bakugo tense. "Midoriya, tell me, are you really All Might's secret love child or something?" he asks seriously and the two listen in intently. "Well, are you?" he presses as the boy hesitates to answer.

Midoriya begins nervously laughing and moving frantically, "No! No way, that's not it at all!" he begins explaining wildly. "But, I guess even if it was, I'd totally say it wasn't, so you probably won't believe me no matter what." he groans realizing that he cannot admit otherwise. "Anyway, I promise you've got the wrong idea. And… why would you even think that about me?"

" 'That's not it at all'," Katori whispers to herself and Bakugo looks over at her with narrowed eyes.

" 'That's not it at all' is interesting wording." Todoroki catches onto the same thing as Katori. "It suggests there is something between you two that you're not supposed to talk about." Midoriya sits there for a moment, a sweat drop on his forehead but he keeps his words to himself. Todoroki looks down to the ground. "My father is the hero Endeavor. You must have heard of him. Which means you're aware that he's the Number Two hero," Todoroki begins. "So, if you're connected to the Number One hero, All Might in some way, that would mean… that I have even more reason to beat you."

Katori steps away, not feeling comfortable hearing this conversation when Todoroki is not aware of their presence. "We should leave," she tells Bakugo, but he stays, completely frozen in their conversation. She can hear Todoroki continue about his father's quest to beating All Might and assuming the Number One position, and she cannot help but turn away, until something grabs her attention.

"Have you ever heard of Quirk Marriages?" Todoroki asks, and she stands frozen. "They became a problem in the first few generations after superpowers became widespread. There were those who sought out potential mates, solely with the intention of creating powerful children. Many people were forced into relationships."

He goes on to discuss how his father sought out his mother for the intention of creating him and Katori cannot help but think about her own father and mother. Not many of her father's underlings know that she exists, as he found it to be dangerous for her to be around questionable people. But those who did often whispered behind her father's back, mentioning his use of a Quirk Marriage with her mother in the hopes of creating a child that could surpass his strength.

She never liked to consider that her father used her mother's Quirk for the soul purpose of creating modified offspring. Her father often told her that he loved her mother, and he misses her every day. But she wonders now how much of that is true. She cannot deny that her mother's power is the bulk of her energy, and gives her the best edge over others. Maybe that was something her father had considered when he met her mother.

Katori shakes the idea out of her head, telling herself that her father loved her mother, and their arrangement was based on these feelings; that she was a product of their love, and not an experiment.

"In every memory of my mother, I only see her crying," Todoroki sighs and Katori frowns at this. She watches as he grabs for the scar surrounding his left eye. "I remember she called my left side 'unbearable', before she poured boiling water on my face," Katori gasps as Bakugo sends her a glare and she brings her lips down to a frown. She has no memories of her mother as she died not too long after Katori's birth and she cannot help but think that having no memories of her mother is better than the ones Todoroki must have.

"The reason I picked a fight with you was to show my old man what I was capable of doing. Without having to rely on this damned fire Quirk. You see, I am going to show him that I reject his power, and I can take first place without using it."

Bakugo scoffs at this and Katori glances over at him. She can see that he is annoyed with Todoroki's vendetta against his father and his decision to only use his ice in this competition. She cannot help but think back at his words to her after the hero vs villains training, where he told her to leave if she was not giving her all and she figures he feels the same here.

Todoroki begins walking away from Midoriya and that is when she realizes why he is fighting so hard in this competition. He can easily rely on his father's hero agency to skirt off of the fame his father built, but he rejects that path, and is focused on paving one of his own. Katori cannot help but see the similarities in them. Despite loving her father dearly, being here, she has been looked at differently because of who her father is. They are both shadows of their parents, forced into the path of their footsteps, despite their desperate needs to carve a path of their own.

Katori turns away from the corridor, wishing that she left when she first intended to. She feels terrible now knowing what Todoroki is going through and his drive to beat this thing.

"Copy-Paste," she hears Bakugo call out to her as he approaches her with his hands dug deeply in his pockets. She turns to him as he continues to walk towards her. "Whatever you're thinking, you bring it your all," he tells her sternly, reading her reservations of fighting Todoroki with the knowledge of what winning means to him. "You're not going to be doing anyone any favors if you don't," he says walking past her.

They both head back to the arena where Katori notices Yaoyorozu and the other girls all in cheerleading costumes. "Did I miss something?" she asks smiling at the black-haired girl.

"That little pervert tricked us!" she groans as Mineta high fives Kaminari.

Katori narrows her eyes at the little purple balled boy. "You want another smack to the head, you little creep?" she threatens in a low tone, punching her fist against her palm as he winces at her. "And you," she says with narrowing eyes on Kaminari. "I expected better from you."

"Why?" he asks lightheartedly and they all begin laughing.

They are brought from their banter by Midnight's discussion on the final round. She holds out a box, directing them to draw their opponents, and instructing them that they can spend the rest of their time training, completing more side games, or meditating.

After they choose from the lot, Katori looks to the bracket to see who she is fighting against. She groans in dismay when she sees the name that stares back at her: Momo Yaoyorozu. She looks onto the black-haired girl who smiles back at her. Katori presses a forced smile in return. Out of all the people here, Yaoyorozu's Quirk is the most useless to her. She is unable to use her Quirk for her own since she does not know the composition of anything, and she is embarrassed to say she's already forgotten how to make a rope. She will have to rely on someone else's Quirk to have a fighting chance against the creationist.

After the standings are announced, Katori decides to take this time to go for a walk around the area to gather her thoughts. She thinks about how she will catch the eyes of someone with a useful Quirk. She will need to drain someone from the stands, so she will have to spend her time before the match looking for someone in the crowd for a viable Quirk against the girl. She thinks about Yaoyorozu's weakness, and decides that it is her speed. She needs time to think about what she is creating and the various components that build that item, not to mention the scale in which she would like to build. If Katori attacks her with a series of quickly timed assaults, she won't have time to think, rendering her defenseless.

Katori runs into a hard body and staggers backwards, "Sorry about—"

Before she can finish her apology, the person grabs her mouth and pulls her into a janitor's closet. She lets out a muffled cry that falls flat against their palm. Once in the closet, the man releases her and turns to her. She looks onto him, not recognizing him. He has plain brown hair and flat blue eyes, with a face that is so bland, he is undefinable.

"Katori Satsuma?" he asks her.

"Who wants to know?" she sneers at him, reading that he is Quirkless and not a threat to her. He lifts a phone in her face and staring back at her through the screen is her father's face. "Dad?" she gasps in shock as she takes the phone into her hands.

"Katori," he smiles at her through the small screen. "I have been watching the games. You are doing well. I am so proud of you." She blushes, smiling happily as she has missed him so much in these past few days without him. "You have made it to the final round; I am eager to see you fight."

Her shoulders slump down, "I am against a girl with a Quirk that I cannot use."

"You can't be a pro if you only have one trick," her father tells her and she blinks at him, remembering Aizawa's words and wondering if they are originally his, or her father's. "Consider your other options and your surroundings. People in the crowd, moving in unpredictable ways, causing distractions, or draining her of her own Quirk," he tells her and she nods thinking of a way to beat her.

"Yes, Sir," she returns deep in thought.

"Katori," he says bringing her back to him. "Tell me about the attack at the USJ. You were involved."

Katori swallows hard, "They called themselves the 'League of Villains'. Have you heard of them?"

"What else?" he presses without answering her.

She shrugs, "The majority of them were low level villains, that barely held a fight against us. They clearly couldn't recruit anyone of worth."

"Don't underestimate," he scolds her as he has hundreds of times before.

She swallows again, "Yes, Sir," she returns to him. He asks her for more information and she continues, "They had some guy with a decaying Quirk calling the shots, but he didn't seem to be one for leading. He was nervous and scratching himself the entire time. When things were not going his way, he wanted to give up their mission. Then there was this… this monster," she says stumbling on her words. "He was huge, and patchy with his brain exposed. I was unable to take his Quirk, but he had at least a dozen of them. The decay guy said that he was genetically modified to kill All Might. He called him Nomu."

Her father thinks for a moment, and she wonders if he knows anything about the Nomu and the identity of the decaying man. He brushes his cleanshaven chin with the tips of his fingers as recognition lights in his eyes. "Anything else?"

Katori releases a building sigh, putting her head down in shame, "I took All Might's Quirk," her father doesn't respond and she looks up at the screen to see that he is thinking. "I did it to save a classmate, it was natural and he didn't seem mad," she explains quickly so he cannot respond. "They were going to kick me out of UA because they thought that I was involved with these guys, but All Might was the one who fought for me to stay, and—"

"I am not angry with you," he tells her sternly over the phone so she stops her ranting. "You did what you had to do to maintain your cover. You did well," he tells her and she bites her lip, not willing to tell him that her cover was the last thing on her mind.

"Dad, who are these guys?" she asks him with tangling brows.

"I am working on that," he tells her vaguely. "For now, focus on your studies," she nods and he continues, "Remember Katori, you never want to be at the top. Don't over exert yourself, you need to take it slow and place where you're recognized but not targeted."

She nods at him as she chews on her lip, something bothering her more than the sports festival or the attack on USJ. "Dad," she begins hesitantly. She swallows hard as she looks onto his purple eyes through the screen, wishing she could ask him in person and not over the phone. "You and Mom…" she begins, darting her eyes to her shaking hands that grip the phone tightly. "Did you… was it a Quirk Marriage?" she finally releases, watching his expression for a genuine response.

He blinks at her, not fully expecting her to ask such a thing to him, his expressions more laced in shock than anger. He sighs heavily, as his features drop to an unreadable one, thinking for a moment before he says, "Katori, I loved your mother first and foremost, always. Whatever has you thinking about Quirk Marriages, forget it and focus on your studies," he commands her sternly.

"Yes, Sir," she says bowing her head slightly.

"Magnetic and I will be busy for a while and the location will be abandoned for now," he begins. "Stay on campus until I reach out to you and tell you it is safe to return," he says and she nods. "Hand the phone back to the man and return to your training," he says as she hands the plain man the phone who holds it up to her. "I am proud of you, little one," he says sweetly and she smiles at him.

"I love you, Dad," she returns with a smile as the plain man turns the phone to him and ends the communication.

The man opens the door to the janitor's closet and she walks out. She turns to look back when something strikes the man and he begins blinking rapidly and looking around with confusion taking over his expression. He rubs his head as he looks around. "How did I get here? I was looking for the bathroom?"

Realization strikes Katori that her father must have found someone with a brainwashing Quirk to help him get this message to her. The man walks away from her and she heads to continue towards her training with so much weighing down her mind.

Katori rushes to join the rest of her classmates, hearing the crowds cheering as she imagines the first round has already concluded. She runs up the stairs to their designated seating section, panting as she plops herself next to Bakugo and Kaminari, with Kirishima sitting in front of her.

"Ya missed it!" Kirishima states with a sharpy tooth grin as he looks back at her. "Midoriya and that general studies guy fought, and he had Midoriya walking to the edge of the ring, then right before he walked himself out of bounds, whoosh! He managed to knock the brainwashing out of him and knocked that Shinso kid outta bounds," he explains to her animatedly.

"He used that same over the shoulder move he used on Bakugo," Kaminari teases again.

"I said shut your face!" Bakugo explodes right in her ear.

"Hey watch where you're pointing your shouts," she says rubbing her ear with her shoulder.

"Tsh, whatever, it wasn't even that good of a fight," Bakugo grumbles as he sinks back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So, who's next?" she asks as she looks down at the arena.

"Todoroki and Sero. This should be good," Kirishima says.

She looks down, watching as they take their places standing across from one another. Sero is stretching, while Todoroki is stiff and unmoving. She leans in, looking intently at the fight.

Immediately after Present Mike announces to begin, Sero quickly snatches Todoroki with his tape and hurls him towards the boundaries of the ring.

"Oh man, he's fast!" Katori says remembering his reaction time in the cavalry battle to be quick, but this is on a whole new level. "He might have this!"

However, right as she says this, Todoroki steps down, planting his foot firmly on the ground and launching a colossal wall of ice towards his opponent. Katori leans back in her chair as the ice is only centimeters from their faces all the way in the nosebleed sections of the stands.

"Geez, Todoroki, overkill much?" Kirishima grunts as they all try to avoid piercing themselves against the ice. Bakugo pushes light explosions from his hands to break off the ice in front of them, while Kirishima chips away at the ice with his hardened fists.

She hears Midnight announce that Sero is immobilized and Katori frowns at how quick the match ended. She thinks about how terrible he must feel for being bested that quickly and that brutally. The crowd begins erupting in chants encouraging the boy for his attempt in fighting a good fight.

Katori thinks about Todoroki and what he said to Midoriya when he told the boy that he would win this battle with his mother's Quirk, and reject his father's. She figures he must be upset, and drowning in a lot of emotions with his father, which must have led to the overuse of his Quirk. Sero was just an unfortunate casualty to his emotions.

She swallows hard, empathizing with Todoroki, and understanding what it feels like to live within the overcast that their father's have created over them. She only hopes that they will both be able to be their own people someday.