Chapter 7

Hotaru's P.O.V

I had my headphones in as I walked out of the school. It had taken me longer to leave because of the small crowd of students blocking the way. All of them wanted to see the class that survived a real villain attack. It was very uncomfortable...The only way I got out was by following Katsuki, who already made the other students move for him.

I don't exactly know how I feel about him. I called his name cute. His name. Not him. I wanted to talk to him and even walked out right behind him, but now I couldn't see him anywhere. I sighed, deciding to get a head start on trying to figure out the other problem at hand.

"Still nothing?" I asked out loud. I got no answer.

"Damn it, Kiyo. Start talking or else I'm gonna lose my-" "There you go again."

I had just reached the front gates. I turned to my left to find Katsuki leaning against the wall. Had he waited for me?

"What?" I blinked.

"You're talking to yourself again," he scoffed. I sighed, understanding what he meant. I figured trying to make excuses was going to get me nowhere. Might as well tell him some of the truth. Make a note of the fact I said some.

"I was trying to get Kiyo to talk to me, but she's being an ass," I huffed. His eyebrows furrowed at the name that he must have recognized.

"Who is that?" he asked in a demanding tone. I rolled my eyes.

"The voice inside my head," I tried to make it as simple as I could. I knew his small brain couldn't understand the explanation I was given as a child.

"Quit giving bullshit excuses," Katsuki spat. I narrowed my eyes.

"I'm not making anything up. This is how my quirk works. Kiyo lives within me. I give her blood and she gives me power," I explained. Katsuki paused.

"Is that why you took a chunk out of that prick's arm?" he asked. I instantly knew what he was talking about. My seal started to burn a little. Kiyo must have gone on the offensive after Katsuki's question.

"Y-You saw that?" I asked, face turning beet red. The blonde nodded. I thought back to my very one-sided fight with the gas villain. I hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but while I was getting thrown around, a little flash of yellow had come up. It must have been Katsuki.

"Well...Basically, yeah," I shrugged as I started walking.

"Where do you think you're going? I still have questions!" Katsuki shouted, running after me. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Just walk with me," I shrugged. There was a moment of hesitance from the blonde. I had only gone a few feet when he walked up next to me.

"I'm just here for answers," he reminded me, keeping his eyes away from me. I smirked.

"Ok...Shoot."

Later...

(WARNING: INTENSE THEMES)

I had already told Katsuki more than I planned on. I didn't want to, but every time I dodged a question or stalled, he would yell. I even let him know we were right in front of my house, but he continued questioning me. So, in the end, Bakugo ended up walking me home and sitting on my couch in exchange for information about my quirk.

"My mother thinks I'm evil and everyone I know has told me I'll never be a hero. That's why I enrolled in UA," I explained. For once, Katsuki was quiet. Whether it was because he was at a loss of words or he was thinking of an insult, I don't know. I started thinking about the kids I used to go to school with. Their teasing. Their laughing...Their words...

"Like hell, you're gonna become a villain!" Katsuki suddenly shouted. I looked at him with a puzzled look as he stood up and slammed his hands on the coffee table.

"Don't let other people tell you what you're gonna become. If they want to scream and shout at you to stop, don't let them! It doesn't matter what stupid power you have! Becoming a hero is your choice, damn it!" my jaw dropped as he glared at me. Was he trying to give me a pep talk? We locked eyes for a moment.

Human Grenade was giving me advice...Good advice...

I was in shock. Why was he being so nice? Why had he followed me home? Why did he want to know about me? Why-

"What's going on?"

'Shit.'

My mother stood in the doorway. I closed my mouth and swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. She snapped her head in my direction ad she sat down her bags.

"I-I can explain," I shot up and out of my seat. My mother glared at me with her hateful eyes.

"You know you're not supposed to bring people here," she spat. I looked to the ground, only watching her feet as she approached me. She grabbed my wrist tightly.

"We have rules here. If you live here, you follow them," she squeezed. I was unable to stop the whimper that escaped my mouth as I felt her nails dig into my skin. She had on acrylics so she might have broken through.

Suddenly, Katsuku grabbed my mother's arm and forced her to let go of me. They glared at each other for a hot moment.

"Why are you looking at her like that?" the blonde asked. I couldn't tell if he was angry or shocked. I gave him a look with my teary eyes.

'Stop!'

"Who are you, exactly?" my mother asked, hand on her hip as she gained a disapproving look.

"He's leaving," I turned to Katsuki. He furrowed his eyebrows as I pushed him towards the door. I saw him look at my wrist, or rather the mark my mother had left on me. He put his hands out, grabbing the door frame and keeping me from pushing him out. I frowned, hands lingering on his chest.

"I want to know what kind of mother thinks they can talk to their child as if they're fucking garbage," Katsuki spat through grit teeth. I looked at my mother's shocked face. It took her a moment to process what had happened. Katsuki had only stoked the fire.

"Get out," her tone was cool as she glared at the boy. I widened my eyes a bit. If I didn't get him out, she'd hurt him, too. I sighed.

"Just go, Katsuki," my eyes begged him to leave as my tears overflowed and began to run down my cheek. The look he gave my mother made a chill run down my spine.

"Go," I said with a more demanding tone as I narrowed my eyes. Katsuki's scarlet iris' looked down at mine. We locked eyes once again. His eyebrows creased as he backed up. I shut the door slowly, mouthing an apology. I turned back to my fuming mother, not daring to speak.

"I let you stay here and this is how I'm treated? With this disrespect?" my mother clenched her jaw. I knew what was coming.

"This is the work of that evil..." she mumbled. I winced as she grabbed a fist full of my hair and began dragging me towards the kitchen. Bracing myself, I shut my eyes...

"I know that little devil inside of you wants to protect it's host because it's got nowhere else to go. Maybe I'll just draw it out," my mother hissed. I instantly panicked when I watched her turn the stove on. I tried to run but she yanked me back. She rolled up my sleeve and inched my hand towards the hot stove.

"Mama! Mama, please don't hurt me!" I screamed. My tears fell hard as I shut my eyes tight, waiting for the burning to happen. My mother stopped for a moment. She looked to me with wide, blood-shot, eyes. She almost stood down...

That was until she slammed my hand onto the stove.

The pain from the seal in my eye distracted me from my hand. I screamed a blood-curdling scream with a few sobs mixed in. Before long, I was sitting on the floor, crying. My mother grabbed a wine bottle then retreated to the living room. I sniffled as I held myself in my own arms.

'Let me take over...'

I took a shaky breath before gently resting my eyes. It was Kyo's turn to deal with her.

"P-Please don't hurt her..." I mumbled before slipping out of consciousness.

'I cannot promise that...but I'll try my best...'

-.-

Hey guys! Sorry, this chapter took me so long to post. I went to Comic-Con over the weekend and got to meet Caitlin Glass (Ashido Mina's English voice actor), Elizabeth Maxwell (Midnight's English voice actor), as well as many others. I even got some stuff signed! Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Also, the next couple of chapters might be shorter than normal.

Special Thanks To...

shika93

Dark flame mana

Reviews...

Dark flame mana: I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for taking the time to review~.